"Dad, why do I have to go to Hayato's today?" A young boy asked as he looked up to his father. The boy appeared no older than eight, his skin tanned from the time he's spent outside. He had bright silver hair going down to his ears, completely messy like he had rolled around for hours, and dark blue eyes.

His father, a man who was just entering his forties, looked over to him as he finished putting on a silver gauntlet. He stood at an imposing 7'5, appearing all the more dangerous with his full body silver armor, a blue cloth wrapped around his shoulders. Much like his son, he had silver hair several shades darker and several inches longer in contrast to his son's, and bright red eyes that seemed to almost glow. "I told you Artorian, I got a call of important business. The Kisaragis were kind enough to offer watching you under such short notice."

"Are you going to go kill something again?" Artorian asked, getting his father to pause as he reached for his helmet. The boy didn't understand most of what his father did, but he knew that usually by the end of the day he was killing a Savage, an insect-like alien race that's been attacking humanity for almost two decades. Among the few phone calls he had heard, the words that have stood out to him were "Savage" and "Slayer".

His father hummed softly as he looked down to his son, turning from his helmet and kneeling down to Artorian. "Yes, I've been informed that a few Savage are going to be crashing a few kilometers away from Yamato. So I was chosen to lead the team to take them out when they land. And while I'm gone I want to make sure you have company. So would you mind staying with the Kisaragis?"

"Will you be back?" Artorian asked, getting a soft smile from his father.

The armored man gave a small kiss to his son's forehead, standing up after giving him a gentle pat. "I promise I'll be back in two days at the latest." Artorian had learned of his work just a year ago, and ever since then he's had to make a promise every time he left. It was a tradition that they unfortunately had started.

Artorian looked down sadly, not wanting his father to leave again so soon after his last mission. His father noticed this, and reached down to rub his head, smiling as he looked down to him. "How about when I get back we go visit that one parfait shop you love so much?"

"D-Do you mean it?" Artorian asked, getting a chuckle from his father.

"Of course, you should know better Artorian. I'm not a liar."

After their talk, the two prepared their walk to the Kisaragi Residence. Artorian's father was sure to grab his helmet on the way out, along with his weapon: a massive silver greatsword. The sword was about as big as him, yet even then he showed no trouble carrying it as he grabbed the hilt and rested the blade on his shoulder. As they walked through the streets of Yamato, just about everyone the two passed looked to the heavily armored man, not able to decide if the imposing armor or massive sword was what should take more attention.

It was something the pair were used to, the need of the equipment being so often there was fewer days that the man didn't need it then when he did. While he carried the gear, he tucked his helmet under his armpit, the blue plume hanging down and blowing in the wind.

Within ten minutes of their walk, the two had reached the Kisaragi Residence, a simple house with two floors. Artorian's father was the one who knocked, actually having to duck slightly while on the porch. The sound of two pairs of footsteps were then heard, following the door sliding open. On the other side were Hayato and Karen Kisaragi, Artorian's two friends with near identical features aside from Hayato's red eyes and Karen's violet.

"Artorian!" The fact the two were excited to see him brought a smile to Artorian's lips, the three all hugging as if they hadn't seen each other in years. Although they all looked similar in age, Artorian was actually a year older than Hayato, and two older than Karen.

"Oh Artorias, you're here early." Hamaki Kisaragi, Hayato and Karen's mother, said as she approached the four from inside. She had long black hair and red eyes, her age somewhere between her mid to late thirties.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that." Artorias said as he looked up from the kids, making sure to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling. "The Gudenberg family is in town and now Savage are being reported to land in the distance, so my team is being deployed early in hopes to take care of the threat immediately after landfall. I'm sorry about one thing after another coming up like this, it must be annoying."

"Nonsense." Matsuda Kisaragi said as he came. The man had short black hair and violet eyes, appearing similar in age to his wife. However he stood at a closer height to Artorias, although the armored man still had more than a foot over him. "You were always helping me back then, even when it completely dragged you out of you and your dad's training. Whatever you were doing you dropped to help, so don't think for a second this is annoying to us. And besides, it's always fun seeing the three play."

"I can only imagine." Artorias chuckled before he knelt down to the three kids. In his armor, Artorias had scared Karen, leading her to hide behind Artorian. "Now Artorian remember, I won't be gone for more than two days, so I don't want to hear you did anything reckless. Be respectful, generous, and most importantly…"

"Don't do anything you wouldn't do." Artorian finished, getting a chuckle from his father as he ruffled his hair.

"You're going to be a wonderful man one day." Artorias said as he put his helmet on, obscuring his face. "Try not to have too much fun while I'm gone, I don't want you spoiled for when we go for parfaits-!" As he stood up, Artorias hit the back of his head on the ceiling, wincing as he leaned down again. "Darn it."

The clunking of his helmet caused the whole group to laugh, even Artorias joining in at his own mistake. The farewell was brief, but even then to Artorian it could've possibly been hours. Times with his father, even when he was leaving, were the best times for the boy. And any second he had seeing his father was able to give him the hope that he'd stay, to choose his son over his work. And although the day still hasn't come, he knew it'd happen. His father could only kill aliens for so long.

"So there's more Savage coming?" Hayato asked, him and Artorian playing with cards while Karen watched. "Aren't we supposed to evacuate if they land nearby?"

"Nah, there's nothing to worry about." Artorian smiled, putting down a card with a 7. "My dad's going to be there the moment those things land. They won't even know what's going on before he cuts them into tiny bits."

"Man, it must be cool being a Slayer." Hayato groaned, putting down a card with a 4. "I bet your dad gets to see all kinds of places just on his regular missions."

"Do you think he's gone out of Japan ever?" Karen asked, getting Artorian to put his cards down.

"I don't remember everywhere he's been to, but I think he went to Gudenberg once. Then I think he had some business in the United States of Liberia, and one time something about something in a place called Rora once."

"Does your dad tell you about what he does?" Hayato asked.

Artorias shook his head in response. "Not too much, just the stuff about the Savage or the one time he acted as a bodyguard for some king or something." Artorian then looked down, hugging his legs to his chest. "Dad says I'm too young for him to tell me everything. But I don't get why when he told me about the Aby-"

"Ehem!" Matsuda coughed as he approached the kids, stopping Artorian from finishing. "Artorian, I thought your father told you that because you promised you wouldn't tell anyone?" The realization caused the boy to clasp his hands over his mouth, Hayato and Karen both giving annoyed looks to their father.

"Dad, why did you interrupt?" Hayato whined.

"Yeah, Artorian was going to tell us something cool about his dad!" Karen added.

"Sorry, but there's just some things about Artorias that can't be spoken." Matsuda said as he sat down with the three. "There's a reason he's such a secret to people. We're some of the lucky few that get to know him, and that's only because I met him before he became a Slayer."

"Mr. Kisaragi?" Artorian spoke up, looking up to the man. "What was my dad like before he became a Slayer? He doesn't like to talk about when he became one and he doesn't talk much about before."

"What was he like, huh?" Matsuda hummed as he leaned back on his arms, smiling as he looked at Artorian. "Well, the first thing I'd have to say was he certainly wasn't nearly as tall." He chuckled at his own joke, the kids tilting their heads in confusion in response. "Right, important stuff. Well, I guess where I should start was how helpful he would be. He could be in the middle of carrying a couch, but would drop it the moment you asked if he could stay for a second."

"He was also quite the lady killer back then. I'll tell you I don't think there wasn't a day when there wasn't some girl wanting to make a move with him. But he played it off flawlessly, even when there was only one he had his sight on." Matsuda would look at Artorian's eyes for a second before looking away, coughing into his hand at his blunder. "But anyways, the thing I remember about him the most was how strong he was. He needed to be too, considering how many fights he seemed to get himself dragged into. I swear he probably had broken his arm more times than anyone alive."

Artorian would look back down in response, holding his hands together as he thought. "Mr. Kisaragi, is it wrong that sometimes I feel like my father doesn't really love me?"

"Artorian?"

"It's just… he's always leaving on his missions, even when there aren't Savage coming he has to go for something. And then he always seems to look down when he stares at my eyes. Like I'm… not even there." Artorian began to cry, the tears building in his eyes as his vision shook. "I just… I want to know what I did wrong? Why does he always choose killing over… over me?"

"Hey, hey, don't think like that." Matsuda said, shifting over to put his arm over Artorian in a comforting gesture. "Your father does want to stay with you, I can promise you that every time he leaves it's the hardest decision he can make in his life. But deep down, he doesn't do it because he doesn't want to be around you, but because he wants to protect you."

"R-really?"

"Of course." Matsuda smiled, wiping Artorian's tears away. "Ever since you were born, the Savage haven't made it within ten kilometers of Yamato. All because your father put it upon himself to keep them so far from you that you would never have to worry about them. I know it can seem hard to believe, but everything he does is so that you can have a normal life."

"Daddy's right." Karen added, getting everyone's attention. "He's really scary, but you dad loves you. That's what all parents do, love their kids."

"Karen's right." Matsuda said, patting his daughter's head. "When it comes down to it, a parent will do anything for their child. Just like how anyone would for someone they love. But the one thing that you can be sure above all else, is that a father will protect their child to the end." Matsuda then smiled to Artorian. "When it comes, no matter the circumstance, Artorias will choose you above everything else."

Hours later, Artorian remained lying down in his bed, looking out his window in though. He had tried falling asleep, but after the first hour of useless staring at his roof, he knew it wouldn't come and was left watching the night sky. He had at first been nervous, but the moon's light was slowly soothing him. Along with the moon, he was slowly counting each star, passing the time as Hayato slept silently in the bed next to him.

As Artorian reached 50, he came across several stars that confused him. They were moving, all seeming to be nearby the other. What's more, he was noticing that they were getting bigger and bigger. It wasn't until one started to glow green that his eyes widened in horror, a loud alarm going off outside as he jumped off his bed. "Hayato! Wake up!"

"Mmmmm." Hayato groaned, turning away from Artorian as he slept. That led to Artorian jumping on his bed, making him fall off and out of the covers with a thud. "Ow! What was that for!?"

"We need to get everyone up!" Artorian shouted, opening the door and running to Karen's room. "Go get your parents, we can't stay here!"

"Artorian, you're starting to scare me. What's going on?"

"There's Savage coming!" The boy shouted, opening the door and going over to Karen. "Karen, Karen! You need to wake up!" He half shouted as he shook Karen, seeing her eyes slowly open up in response.

"Artorian…? Is it morning… already?" The girl asked, groggy from having suddenly been woken up.

"No, but we have to go." Artorian responded, helping Karen up before getting down. "Come on Karen, get on my back."

"O-Okay…" Karen yawned as she listened to the boy, getting on his back so that he could carry her piggyback. Once her arms were secured around his throat and he had a decent hold of her, Artorian ran out of her room and into the family room.

"Artorian, Karen!" Hamaki gasped as she, Matsuda and Hayato emerged from their room.

"We have to get to the emergency shelter! Savage are coming!" Artorian explained, his words only half registering for Karen because of her tired state.

Hearing both him and the sirens, the two adults knew that the aliens were coming, flipping a switch in them as they went full parent mode. "Okay, then we have to move quickly." Matsuda said, the five all going to the door, knowing it would be pointless to try and change. "Remember, stay close to each other, and don't let anyone separate too far before-!"

The man's words were cut short as a tremor went off, followed by an immediate explosion of green energy. The explosion went off just as Matsuda had opened the door, and as a result the blast caused a massive shockwave that sent them all back, tearing down the front of the house like paper. In the few seconds it took, Artorian instinctively readied himself and took the brunt of the impact for Karen, twisting himself to make sure that when they landed he was on the bottom.

The impact hurt, but Artorian was the farthest away and was able to push himself up. His vision was blurry, and he could feel a warm liquid going down his face after standing.

"Ahhhhh!" The explosion had easily woken up Karen, and her scream pierced through the numerous explosions going off and shook Artorian out of his daze. When he turned back to the front of the house, he gasped in fear as he saw the damage, the entire ceiling seeming to have collapsed. He couldn't see anyone in the rubble, but Hayato had caught his attention to his side.

As he ran over to check on him, Artorian sighed in relief as his friend was getting up, somehow managing to avoid getting as injured as him. "Hayato! You're okay!"

"What… happened?" Hayato asked, rubbing his head as Artorian helped him up.

"The Savage landed, I don't think we have much time." Artorian answered, readjusting Karen on his back before going to the rubble. He gave a preemptive wince before stepping onto the top, feeling slinters enter his foot in the first step. "Dad showed me where the shelter is… we can get there if we… hurry."

"Where's mommy and daddy?" Karen asked.

Artorian looked back to her, a trace of blood dripping out of the rubble at the corner of his eye. "I… I don't know. I think they might've gotten blasted somewhere away from us. I'm sure we'll find them at the shelter."

"It'll be… okay Karen." Hayato winced, following Artorian through the rubble and onto the road. The two boys shared a glance, their solemn eyes telling the other that they knew exactly what had happened to Matsuda and Hamaki. But neither said a single thing as they began to make their way through the city, having to navigate through the destroyed territory.

It was a terrifying sight to see, the Savage had only been attacking for what felt like minutes but the city was already in flames. Artorian didn't know how Savage worked, but he knew there had to be big ones to have caused so much damage so quickly. Which meant they had to stay off the roads to avoid them. They wouldn't be able to fit into the back alleys in Yamato, paths that Artorian and Hayato could barely recall ever going to.

The smoke in the air wasn't helping either, keeping the three from being able to move too far without having to stop and avoid breathing in smoke to recover. After they seemed to be clear enough, Artorian had placed Karen down to her feet, holding her hand as tightly as he could with his. As they would run, he was sure to avoid dragging her, but had to pull her a bit to make sure she kept up with him and Hayato.

When they had finally made it to the halfway point, Artorian began to slow down and direct them towards cover beneath a bridge. Once they were beneath it, all three collapsed in exhaustion, their lungs feeling ready to explode from all the running they did. It's been two hours, but it's only felt like minutes to them from the adrenaline pumping through them.

The Savage had also been causing pure chaos, the damages to the buildings unlike anything the kids could never imagine. It was utterly demoralizing, but even then the kids would try to keep moving. "We… have to keep… going…" Artorian gasped, slowly pushing himself up as he tried to summon some strength.

"Artorian… I'm tired." Karen cried, her voice weak from the smoke and her dried throat.

The boy kneeled down to Karen in response, forcing himself to lift her back onto his back. "It's okay Karen… I can… carry you again. Just… be my eyes for me… okay?" Karen gave him a nod in response, leading to him looking over to Hayato. "Are you ready… Hayato?"

"Yeah… I'm good." He responded, pushing himself up to follow Artorian. As they started with walking across the bottom of the bridge, Karen's ears perked as she heard crying other than her own, her head rising up to look straight ahead.

"Karen?" Artorian asked, feeling the girl shift on his back.

"There's… someone there." She answered weakly, pointing ahead to the end of the bridge. The two boys shared a glance with each other before walking forward, the two taking it slow before they could hear the crying themselves.

The source was a girl with silver hair and green eyes, sitting at the edge of where the bridge ended as she cried her eyes out. She was young, likely around the same age as the siblings, seeming closer to Karen's age then Hayato's. "H-Hey, are you… okay?" Hayato asked, getting a tired glance from Artorian.

'You did not just ask that.' Artorian thought, sighing in exhaustion as the girl looked up to them.

"I… I think I am." The girl replied, sniffing as her tears fell down her face. "I was separated from my parents and… I don't know where to go. We just… got here for my dad's meeting."

'Meeting?' Artorian thought, remembering his dad bring up something about a meeting between Yamato and Gudenberg over something. And while it's been awhile, he remembered his father saying something about a princess. "You're from… Gudenberg. Aren't you?"

"Y-Yes." She replied. "My name's… Emilia Gudenberg. And my dad brought me here so that when his meeting started he could have my bodyguard watch over me."

"Your bodyguard lives here?" Artorian asked.

"W-Well one of them does. He's watched over me before, but I haven't seen him for a year." Emilia explained. "He looks scary at times, but he's really nice when you get to know him."

Before anyone could say anything else, another tremor went off, causing Karen to scream in fear and clutch Artorian tighter. "We… can't stay here." The boy said, looking down to Emilia. "Are you able to walk?"

"I… I think I can."

"I know where the emergency center is. We're going there now." Artorian told her, holding a hand out to her. "I'll get us there, but I need you to keep up with me and Hayato, okay?"

"I won't… slow you down!" Emilia declared in determination, getting a smile from Artorian as he helped her up.

"Then we need to go." The four then began to make the trip once more, managing to stay out of sight as they took each alleyway they could find. For most of the journey from there seemed to be going smoother, but they could still feel faint tremors from the Savages walking, meaning they were getting closer to them.

After all the running and dodging in the alleys, all four of the kids were completely exhausted and filthy, soot covering most of their bodies from the fallen debris. "We're almost there." Artorian informed as he slowly walked towards the edge of a wall, peeking around the corner to see if there were any more back alleys.

When he saw rubble blocking off the next alley, he bit his tongue in anxiety. They were less than a 200 meters away from the shelter, but they'd have to run right through the street in order to progress any further. And with the growing frequency in tremors, he could feel that a Savage was close by.

"Do you see anything Artorian?" Hayato asked, confusing Emilia as she looked past his shoulder.

"Your name's Artorian?" The silver haired girl asked, getting a nod from him.

"That'd be it, but we got a problem." He responded, turning back to them. "The next couple alleys are completely blocked off or destroyed. The only way to get to the shelter from here is to go straight down the middle of the street. There isn't too much rubble, so we shouldn't have to worry about maneuvering."

"But we'll be in the open." Hayato argued.

"I know, but maybe the Savages won't be focusing on us. They tend to search for groups, the larger the more they search. If we're lucky, maybe a bigger group is trying to get there now and will be distracting them."

"Artorian, that's horrible." Karen said, getting Artorian to look down.

"My main goal is to get all of you to safety. I can help them, but I can get you all out of here." He then looked back to Karen, giving her a sympathetic look. "I know it's wrong, but I don't want you or your brother getting hurt. And it might be the only way we'll make it out of here."

Karen didn't protest, although the thought of having others distract a monster while they ran felt horrible. So much, she was just about ready to puke. And after not getting any more arguments, Artorian stood at his full height and readied himself. "We're going to have to sprint, we can't afford to stay here any longer than we already have. When I say go, you run as fast as you can and don't look back. Okay?"

"Yeah." Hayato nodded, Emilia giving a silent yes for an answer.

"Alright." Artorian whispered, taking a calming breath as he got himself ready. "Three… two… one…" Just as he got ready, he felt a tremor go off, screams filling the air as it did. "GO!" At his shout, the three standing ran as fast as they could, running down the road for their lives. They knew that if they stopped for even a second, it could mean the end of them. And it'd honestly be an insult to die so close to the shelter after the effort they put to get there.

Despite carrying Karen, Artorian had got there first, getting down the stairs to the underground shelter. Hayato followed just behind him, seeing his friend put Karen down gently and lay her against the wall. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Y-Yeah…" Karen responded, sniffing as Artorian wiped the dirt off her cheeks.

"I know it was scary, but it's over now. You and Hayato are safe." Artorian smiled. "We're all safe now."

"Emilia's missing!" Hayato shouted, shocking both Artorian and Karen, the former standing up at the news.

"What!?"

"She's not down here!" Hayato explained. "I think she might have tripped or got stuck!"

"Damn…" Artorian cursed under his breath, running for the stairs past Hayato.

"Artorian, wait!"

"Keep an eye on Karen!" He shouted back, running himself up the stairs as fast as he could. "I'll go and get Emilia!" Artorian didn't even wait to hear Hayato's response as he went up, his senses feeling like they were being dialed from ten to a hundred. It only took him a second to find Emilia, seeing that her leg was trapped under a fresh pile of rubble.

'The last tremor!' He mentally kicked himself, realizing just how far back she had been caught. She was probably shouting for them as they ran, his focus on his friends keeping him from seeing her fall behind.

He ran faster than he ever had before, clearing the distance to Emilia with speed he didn't think he had. He was there so quickly that he was already reaching down and trying to lift the rubble off of the girl before she saw him. "Artorian!?"

"Sorry I… left you." Artorian groaned as he tried to lift the rubble, wincing as he felt the skin on his hands burn and cut. No matter the amount of strength he put in, he couldn't manage to get the rubble off, but even then he kept trying while ignoring the blistering pain. "It won't… move!" Both his and Emilia's eyes then widened in horror, the tremors from before returning and getting more powerful.

'It's getting closer!' Artorian thought, clenching his hands hard against the rubble as he doubled his efforts. He could feel it begin to shift, but even then he was barely able to get it to budge. 'At this rate, I won't be able to get her out in time!'

"Artorian!" Hayato shouted as he ran up to the two, shocking his friend as he knelt down to help push the rubble, positioning his shoulder underneath it. "The Savage is getting really close!"

"You idiot!" Artorian shouted, you were supposed to stay with Karen! There's no telling how much time we have!"

"Then we better hurry!" Hayato argued, getting Artorian to grunt and look away. He simply didn't have a choice anymore, but he now had three reasons to get the rubble off Emilia.

And with the two both working together, they were able to lift it enough to give Emilia room to move. "Now… while we can still carry it." Artorian said through gritted teeth, blood now dripping from his hands after getting several cuts.

Emilia was able to get her leg out to allow them to drop the rubble, but as she tried to get up she immediately fell back down. "I can't move!" She cried in fear, seeing her bloodied leg.

"It's okay!" Artorian assured as he and Hayato moved to help her up. "We can carry you back over to the shelter. There's nothing to worry about." He then saw Emilia and Hayato's faces slowly devolve into utter horror, causing him to sweat in fear as he felt a massive tremor. Turning around, his expression turned to the same horror as the others, seeing a Trenta-class Savage now between them and the shelter.

A Trenta Savage was easily over twenty meters tall, the top of its smooth black and green shell passing over most of the buildings that were still standing. The pair of eyes then stared at them with focus, the alien's massive claw slowly rising as it readied a swing. Just as it brought it's claw down, Artorian released Emilia and put himself in front of both her and Hayato. When the Savage's claw hit the ground, all of them were caught off guard at it hitting from behind and causing Artorian and Hayato to all fly in separate directions.

When Artorian stopped skidding back, he was able to stand back up, although he felt his entire right arm go numb, even more of his blood going down his face from getting a deep cut just above his eye. He stared in terror as he saw Emilia between the Savage's claw, the alien having grabbed her when it slammed down. In a surprise amount of courage, Artorian clenched his teeth and ran towards the Savage. "Let Emilia go!"

As Artorian charged at it, the Savage raised its other arm up, preparing to squash him with a quick swing. But even then, Artorian continued to run and even rear his fist back, not backing down from the alien. Just before the Savage could crush him, the Savage was stunned as a silver blur crashed right into it, causing its legs to back up from the impact.

Artorian stared up in shock as he saw his father, fully armored and glowing with a violent black aura. His left arm was extended out, his greatsword in his right as he managed to punch the Savage without trouble. "Don't you dare go near my son!" Artorias bellowed, swinging his sword and cutting the Savage's claw that was holding Emilia clean off. The Savage's bright green blood flew like a geyser, the Slayer not even reacting as he opened the claw and grabbed Emilia, landing on his feet just in front of Artorian before the claw even touched the ground.

Artorias then turned to his son, slowly lowering Emilia to the ground as he hiked his sword over his shoulder. "Artorian, you need to get this girl out of here now. The Savage is stunned but it won't be still for long."

"But Hayato got hit!" Artorian shouted, pointing over to where Hayato was knocked over to.

Artorias looked over to see the downed child, cursing under his breath as he stood back up. "I'll have to kill the Savage before getting to him. Artorian!"

"Yes!?"

"Don't die." Artorias simple said, his aura growing in size as he jumped up, easily reaching the max height of the Savage. He then spun in the air horizontally, bringing his greatsword down with so much force that he caused the Savage's head to crack, the inside's core being exposed from the single blow. Without even recovering, Artorias flipped over his shoulder before stabbing into the alien's core, cutting right through it like it was nothing.

As the beast began to fell, Artorian looked down to Emilia before gasping in horror. The girl had a massive cut going down her abdomen, the Savage's blood from when Artorias cut the claw off having seeped into the wound. He didn't know much, but he knew how deadly a Savage's blood could be, and that her chances with the amount in her wound would be lethal. She'd be dead in minutes, if she weren't already with her near corpse like stillness.

He didn't even think as he began to try and suck the blood out, remembering that his father taught him the same thing with a snake's venom. If it worked with venom, then it should work with a Savage's blood all the same. Right?

When the Savage finally collapsed, Artorias pulled his sword out and turned to Artorian, freezing as he saw not only Artorian drinking the Savage blood but also two more Trenta Savages approaching. "Artorian!" Rushing at blinding speeds, the Slayer was able to get between his son and the Savage, seeing them open their mouths and reveal the built up energy.

As he held his sword with both hands, ready to take on the blast of both Savage, he was caught by surprise as the one to his left fired first. The beam of green energy flew right by the three, leading his attention to see as the beam went towards where Hayato was trapped. "Hayat-!" The second beam then crashed into him, ripping his focus away back to the alien in front of him. The force had caused his left arm to snap back, a sickening crack heard as he held his sword strong with his right hand.

When the beams finally went down, Artorias let his right arm rest down as his left hung limply. His armor was damaged, the left shoulder armor completely blown off and several parts being cracked. His helmet took the most damage, two open gaps revealing his glowing red eyes and blood soaked mouth. He was breathing heavily, blood coming out with every exhale he released.

"This isn't good." Artorias panted, slowly lifting his sword back up to rest it on his shoulder. "I took too much damage with that direct attack. If I don't play my cards right… it'll take over and I won't…"

"D-Dad…" Artorian's voice cut through to Artorias, the father turning back to see his son. Tears were building up in his eyes as he held Emilia, Savage blood dripping down his lips while the remaining seeped into the girl. "I… I couldn't get it all." Even in the dangerous situation, Artorian was thinking of everyone else, his hold on Emilia tightening as he allowed himself to cry. "I don't know… I don't know what to do. Where's Hayato? Why did everything go bright?" Artorias didn't respond to the question, causing the tears to freely go down his face.

"No… Hayato…" Artorian whimpered, causing his father to flinch, his whole body tightening as his child began to cry. "But we… we did everything right. Why did he… WHY!?"

Hearing his son bellow in agony caused a wire to snap in Artorias, his eyes brightening impossibly as they exploded in red light. A dark, more sinister aura covered him. The calm yet terrifying presence had completely enveloped Artorias, the only parts of him being visible were only his glowing eyes and damaged armor.

"You know what? Fuck it." Artorias swore, standing back up to his full height as he looked up to the two Savage. "Fuck the self control, fuck holding back. Let it consume me, I want to let loose and kill every last one of you." His voice was ominously calm, as if he wasn't standing in a suicidal position. "Artorian, take Emilia and get back to the shelter. I'll buy you all the time you need."

"But dad-"

"Just listen to me!" Artorias shouted, scaring his son silent. "The Abyss is already starting to chip away at my mind. I don't know how much longer I can hold it before my mind collapses." He explained as the two Savage's began to approach. "Get to the shelter and make sure Emilia gets treated. And watch over Karen, she'll need you after everything that happened today."

"But… but what about you?"

"I made a promise, didn't I?" Artorias smiled, tightening his grip on his greatsword as he spoke. "I'll come down there and get you two out, and then we'll go for parfaits like I said we would. I'm sure we can find some place to serve us somewhere outside of Yamato."

"Dad… please don't die!" Artorian shouted as he slowly picked Emilia up, carrying her bridal style as he began to run forward.

Artorias could only give a bittersweet smile in response, shooting out and slamming his sword into the right Savage's abdomen. "Of course Artorian! Just move!" Just after attacking, he jumped off the Savage and twisted in the air, avoiding the second Savage's claws before cutting down, splitting it right down the middle and killing it. And when he touched the ground, he dashed backwards and blocked the surviving Savage with his greatsword behind him, protecting Artorian as he just ran past.

Seeing his son run away, Artorias could feel his conscious fading further away. Closing his eyes, he'd hold the Savage back as several more began to approach, all different sizes. "I'm sorry Artorian… I don't think I'll be able to keep my promise. Please, live a full life for me. And don't end up the same battle hungry fool as I was, scum that would choose a fight over his own family. And please, learn from your mother and I."

Once Artorian was out of sight, Artorias' head snapped up, pushing the Savage's claw away before he lunged at one of the approaching Savage. "Come on!" He shouted as he impaled his sword right through the Savage's armor and core, ripping his blade out to cause the blood to shoot out violently. "Which one of you will be the one that will finish Artorias of the Abyss!?" The Slayer would then ready himself as two Trenta Savage readied an energy attack, a crazed, bloody grin going across his face as his eyes glowed brighter.

"Come, damned creatures of destruction! Give me a rhythm to dance to!"

Hours passed before the military opened the shelter doors, and when they did Artorian ran past them at surprising speed. Looking around as the sun shined in his eyes. "Dad? Where are you!? Dad!?" Artorian's frantic search would come to a halt as he saw his father slumped against a fallen Trenta-class Savage, surrounded by over a dozen soldiers while his eyes glowed violently.

"Dad!" Artorian cried as he ran for his father, getting stopped as a soldier grabbed him. "What are you doing!? Let me go! That's my dad!"

"Kid you can't go near him!" The soldier warned. "That man's been consumed by the Abyss, he's killed five of our men already."

"What?" Artorian gasped, looking back to his father to see a horrible sight. Several cut up bodies lay around Artorias, his damaged sword soaked in both human and Savage blood. Some time during the fight, Artorias' greatsword had broken. An uneven shatter close to halfway down the blade had been made, the once shining and beautiful blade now broken and stained. His armor had done no better, entire chunks of the silver metal now completely missing or stained in the Savage blood. "Dad!"

"Kid stop!" The soldier ordered, surprised as Artorian began to fight against his hold. "If you get too close to him, he'll kill you! Even if he's your father he won't hesitate to rip you apart!"

"No! He! WON'T!" Artorian screamed, his eyes glowing red for a split second as he broke free from the soldier and ran to his father. "Dad!"

"Rrrrrrgghhhh…" When Artorian got close, Artorias raised his head up, a primordial growl the only thing that escaped his mouth.

The growl scared Artorian, but he gulped his fears down and slowly walked towards his father. "Dad, please… you can't give up. You promised me that you'd come back, that you wouldn't let it take you. Please, don't go." When he had gotten close enough to his father, he was scared out of his skin as Artorias released his blade and reached out, grabbing his neck violently and lifting him into the air.

All of the soldiers readied their weapons as Artorias stood his full height, everyone looking in horror at his mutated state. The Slayer now stood over 9 feet, black shadows and liquids escaping from the missing chunks in his armor. And as he held Artorian, his eyes appeared hollow, no signs of life past the red haze.

"Dad… you're… hurting me…" Artorian choked, grasping at his father's hand as he struggled to breath. Artorian was holding him tightly, his fingers slightly digging into the skin and causing blood to drip down. And as he saw the complete loss in his father's eyes, Artorian could help but cry again, giving up as he felt his vision blur. "Dad… please…"

"Rrrrgh…" Artorias growled, moving his head close to look into Artorian's eyes. The red haze glowed brighter for an instant, before it slowly began to dim. "Ar…tor…ian…" The Slayer choked out, his windpipes tight and barely functioning. A shred of humanity then reentered his eyes as he looked at his son, lowering him to his feet before releasing him.

Artorian fell to his knees and gasped for air, coughing as he tried to regain his senses. "D-Dad?"

"You… safe…" Artorias growled as he fell to his knees as well, his form still towering over his son. A small smile formed on his lips as he slowly raised his hand, running his fingers through Artorian's hair in a familiar caress. "I… kept… safe…"

"Y-Yes, you did." Artorian cried, smiling up to his father as he leaned down. "Karen and Emilia are okay as well. They got Emilia to someone who could help her and I… I stayed with Karen like you told me too. Now let's… let's go to her and… and…" As he slowly began to cry and cry more, Artorian could feel his control fade as Artorias kissed his forehead, pulling away to collapse back against the Savage.

"Lied… gone… together… barely…" Artorias gasped, his eyes dimming until they turned to blue, the same exact as Artorian's. The Slayer then gave his son a single smile, the last of his strengths vanishing. "Good… proud… you…"

The life then left Artorias' eyes as he exhaled one last time, his entire body going limp as he passed on. Tears now fell free from Artorian, who desperately hugged himself to his father as he cried his heart out. "Dad? Dad… Dad… Dad… Dad… Dad… Dad… Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"

The boy cried and screamed, clutching his fathers bloodied and mutated corpse unlike anything he ever had before. And as he did, not a single person had the heart to approach him. No one could even watch the sight as the blood from Artorias slowly seeped and stained Artorian.