One foot in front of the other.

Lucia held her hand against the wall as she crept quietly down the hall. Behind her, Rias, Tosca, and Yuuto all followed. Her ears perked up when she heard hushed voices from around the corner. She stopped, causing the ones behind her to promptly halt their movement. Peeking her head out from around the corner, Lucia spotted two priests, wearing white hazmat suits.

The two walked out of the room, locking the steel door behind them and then, the dull thuds began. They weren't rhythmic, repeating thuds but something frantic, like a wild animal trying to break out. One of the Priest's pulled out a remote and pressed a button on it.

Nothing happened for a few seconds and then, the screaming began. Muffled, shrill screams of pain and agony came from behind the steel door and the banging became more and more frantic.

Yuuto's jaw tightened as he moved forward to try and do something but Tosca grabbed his forearm and shook her head. She closed her eyes and took a sharp inhale as a tear streaked down her cheek.

The screaming and banging only lasted for a few minutes before a deafening silence filled the entire hallway. There was no sound save for the sound of their hearts hammering against their rib cage.

"Come on, we don't have all day before Lady Camael gets here and levels the place." The man grabbed a backpack with a strange hose attached to it. He pulled the trigger, causing small jets of fire to erupt from the nozzle.

The other priest nodded before grabbing the other pack and the two walked into the room. Lucia motioned for them to wait before silently walking around the corner. She peeked into the doorway and her eyes went wide at the nightmarish scene before her.

The two priests prattled on casually as they lifted the bodies of children of varying ages and unceremoniously dumped them into a pile. After they gathered up the bodies, the two men went to work, firing jets of flame onto the pile. Lucia had to suppress a gag. The acrid smell of burning flesh permeated the room and hallway. She watched as one of the hands twitched slightly before being set ablaze, the sound of flesh sizzling and bones popping from the heat echoing through the room.

And then, she felt something in her snap.

Lucia stood up, much to the surprise of her friends. She slowly walked into the room, making her footsteps loud and deliberate.

"Huh? Did you hear that?" one of the Priests asked.

The other Priest stopped firing the flamethrower and turned around. "Huh? Did we miss one? I don't recognize this one."

"Whatever, man. Just set her on fire right here—" The Priest never finished his sentence as his head exploded in a shower of gore and bone. Blood sprayed like a gushing fountain from his neck stump, staining the walls and ceiling red.

"W- What!? What the fuck!?" the other priest sputtered as he saw his comrade's head explode. He quickly turned and aimed his flamethrower at Lucia, who unfolded her wings. His eyes widened when he saw them and her double halo. "A-An Angel? H-Here… N-No way! W-Were we too late—!"

Lucia gathered up Leliel's light into her hand before lobbing it at blinding speeds. The black and red orb pierced through the man's skull, leaving a gaping hole where his eyes, nose, and mouth should be. The upper half of his brain slid down before falling to the ground with a wet smack. The lifeless corpse of the priest fell over.

"L-Lucia! What are you doing…," Rias's eyes widened as the words died in her mouth. She took a step back involuntarily at the sight. She could care less about the priests but her eyes were fixated on the pile of burning corpses before her.

"Guys, what—"

Tosca pulled Yuuto back, seeing the look of fear and horror on the faces of the older girls. She shook her head and covered Yuuto's eyes as she walked past the open room. Lucia and Rias stood there for a few more seconds before following after them.

"The people here are bad people," Lucia said. "Mom needs to blow this place up."

"I've… never seen something like that before… not even when Anegimi tells me stories about bad devils who eat people," Rias whispered, hugging her arms. She looked at Yuuto and Tosca.

Seeing how shellshocked the two girls were, Tosca took the lead, moving silently through the compound. Yuuto followed after her with ease, being familiar with the place.

The lettered rooms passed by like a blur. B, then C, D, E, and F all came and went in the span of minutes. Each room they passed had closed doors thankfully, but it did little to hide the stench of charred flesh and bone. Signs of struggle were noticeable as one of the rooms had a bloody handprint at the top.

"We're almost there. Chamber G is where we did our tests for things," Tosca said quietly.

"Tests… for what?" Lucia asked quietly, dreading the answer she would hear. She may have been young but she was rather keen for her age.

"The monsters here," Yuuto said. "Injected us with stuff in our arms. They said they wanted to make something that can let people use Holy Swords. Like Excalibur and stuff."

Rias glanced between the two, the realization dawning on her. The desperation. The needle marks. The bruises. She said nothing and increased her pace to catch up with them.

"Chamber G is just up ahead," Tosca said.

"This is the last batch, Valper. There was an Exorcist outside who brought in SB-42 and found HSP-423 after we sent her out. I think the hypnotics wore off on her. Should we keep HSP-423 and burn the rest?"

The four froze and pressed themselves against a wall when they heard the voices.

Two men came from around the corner. One was a lanky priest that carried a pistol at his hip while the other was a morbidly obese older man in his mid-50s. The man wore clothes similar to that Lucia had seen on bishops. He rubbed his chin as he gazed inside the chamber, eliciting frightened yelps and whimpering from the children inside.

"Mmmm… no. While it's a shame to lose someone with a modicum of potential like HSP-423, we'll have to make do with what we can salvage. Up the dosage on the sarin. Hearing them scream loses its appeal after the third time," Valper sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He pulled a golden pocket watch and tapped his foot impatiently. "Where is this Exorcist? I don't have all day. We need to vacate the premises and rendezvous elsewhere before the Destroying Angels and the Church Exorcists get here."

"Sir, we're already at the lethal dose," the Priest said.

"Then up it. We're running out of time here," Valper waved his hand before stalking off.

The Priest murmured a curse under his breath. "Why am I always the one who has to clean up? This bastard's only doing this for kicks, and now he wants to quit. Bah. Up the dose, my ass. I'll run the regular dose."

He ran a hand through his grimy hair before a twisted smile appeared on his lips. "Alright, kids! We're not gonna wait for those two!"

"Mister…"

"A-Athanasia?" Yuuto whispered.

"Everyone's in there. Ezekiel. Jeremiah," Tosca said.

Rias exchanged a look with Lucia. "There's only one of him and four of us. We can do it. Especially us. It'll be easy for us to take him down."

Lucia nodded, but Yuuto was already jumping out from around the corner before she could move.

"Leave them alone!" Yuuto ran up to the man. He latched onto the man's waist while striking him with surprising strength.

The Priest, clearly not expecting it, keeled over when he felt Yuuto's fist bury itself in his gut. "What the hell—!? You little shit!" The Priest backhanded Yuuto, sending him flying into the wall.

"Yuuto!" Tosca ran out from around the corner.

"Wait! Stop!" Lucia tried to grab her, but the girl was surprisingly quick.

"Huh? HSP-423? You—" He had no time to react as Tosca slid between his legs and struck him in the groin.

The Priest's eyes bulged out of his skull as he immediately clutched his crotch, doubling over in pain. "You fucking bitch—"

But he never finished his sentence. Rias darted out from around the corner, gathering her demonic power into her hand. A black and red tinged flame-like energy erupted from her hand and punched through the man's chest.

He coughed up blood before falling over face-first.

Rias panted, her arm shaking before looking at Yuuto and running over. "Yuuto! Are you…?"

Lucia moved from around the corner and headed to the open door of Chamber G. She held her hand out to Tosca, who took it gratefully, before looking over at the sea of scared children.

"Um…," Lucia said, unsure of what to say. She looked to Tosca, eyes pleading for any assistance. It was clear that Tosca was one of the older ones of the bunch.

Tosca pointed at herself questioningly when she caught Lucia's gaze. She nodded before stepping forward. "It's okay. They're our friends. Come on, we need to go."

"T-Tosca," a boy said, stepping forward.

"It's okay, Ezekiel. It's okay. They helped me and Isaiah— erm, Yuuto, I guess is his name now," Tosca said, looking over her shoulder.

"Isaiah is here?" A little girl with blonde hair peeked out from behind Ezekiel.

Tosca nodded and stepped aside to allow Yuuto to step forward.

The blonde boy's grey eyes watered as he took one shaky step after another. "Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Ethan… Athanasia… I'm here. I'm here, everyone," Yuuto said.

"Isaiah! Isaiah!"

They all rushed forward, enveloping him in a tight embrace.

"You're… You're all safe!" Yuuto said, feeling the first surge of tears rush down his face. He tried to hug them all back with just as much ferocity as they did him. The group stayed like that for a few seconds until they heard Lucia coughing into her hand.

"We need to go," Lucia said awkwardly, pointing her thumb in the direction of the stairs. "That Priest guy said Auntie Camael was coming here to blow this place up. We can't be here."

Rias nodded before waving toward the stairs. "Come on, let's—"

"Hey, Marco, did you finish gassing those kids? I kinda wanted to borrow one of them one more time to— What the!?" An Exorcist came from around the corner and stumbled back when he saw Marco's corpse on the ground. Before any of them could act, the Exorcist immediately pulled out his pistol, aiming it at the kids.

Lucia moved. She jumped into the air, grabbing the Exorcist's arm and using her weight to push it in a different direction. He fired, but the bullet struck the wall instead of the children.

"You brat!" He swung his arm, throwing Lucia off.

She landed with the grace of a cat before rushing in as he fired bullets at her. She darted from side to side before jumping into the air. Leliel's black-tinged scarlet light gathered into her hand.

"Wha—!? A Miracle!?" The Exorcist sputtered as he stumbled back in surprise.

Without wasting a single instance of motion, Lucia kicked off the air and dove past him, her hand thrown forward and coated in the dark red light.

The Exorcist gurgled before stumbling forward and falling to the ground.

"Let's go!" Lucia said.

The shots he fired must have been heard by the entire facility. There was no way that no one noticed that. Uriel's training was kicking into high gear.

"Hey! Was that a gunshot?"

Lucia looked back and saw several cloaked men and women heading their way. She clenched her jaw. Her eyes glowed.

[895, [1,200, [798, [654, [537]

"R-Rias! Go! Go now!" Lucia said with urgency in her voice as she gathered Leliel into her hand. Her wings unfurled from her back.

Rias shook her head. "There's too many of them. I'm not leaving you here!" she said. She looked at Yuuto and Tosca. "Go! RUN!"

Yuuto and Tosca exchanged glances before herding the kids in the opposite direction.

"Have you ever fought grown-ups?" Rias asked, gathering demonic power into her hands.

"I've been fighting my Mama since I was 7… does that count?" Lucia replied. She readied herself as her halo grew brighter. Words began to orbit her fingers rapidly as she prayed under her breath.

The first of the Exorcists came, cocking an eyebrow at the sight of them. A cocky smirk appeared on her face. "Two kids? Well, this is going to be the easiest—"

She never finished her sentence as a solid block of red demonic essence slammed into the side of her skull, sending her careening into a nearby wall. This single act shocked the rest into attacking them.

"G-Get them!" one of the Exorcists said as he pulled out a light sword.

Lucia rushed forward, forming small daggers with Leliel.

The Exorcist brought his light sword down on top of her.

Lucia reacted immediately, dashing to the side before rushing between his legs. Her hands moved, and her daggers arced, leaving multiple rapid trails of light. Spurts of blood erupted from his leg as Leliel's shadowy light began to eat away and corrode his flesh.

She took a deep breath and sighed. However, a shadow loomed over. She looked over her shoulder to see a burly, muscular Exorcist raise a hammer over his head to reduce her to paste. But before he could, a mass of red energy struck him in the chest.

She turned to see Rias with her arm outstretched. Her fingers curled, and she snapped them, causing pitch black tendrils of destructive energy to explode from the mass, blowing a large hole in his torso.

"W-What the hell!? We're dying to two kids! Call for back up, Captain—"

Lucia's fist connected with his jaw before he could finish. Despite her smaller frame, her supernatural strength was enough to crack apart the man's jaw and send him slamming into the wall. The hallway shook slightly as spiderweb cracks formed upon impact.

"Y-You think you can escape?" The First Exorcist from earlier asked as she stood up. She pulled two light swords from her belt and glared at them.

Lucia stared at her for a few seconds before holding her left hand out. The dark light dagger vanished and was replaced by a sword. She widened her stance and held her light sword tightly.

"I'll rip you to shreds, little girl!" The Exorcist said as she rushed forward in a burst of speed. "Angel or not! I'll cut your damn wings off!"

"Lucia!" Rias darted forward as the sword came down.

Lucia reacted quickly, raising her sword and blocking the two blades in time. Her eyes widened as her knees bucked from the force, and she fell to one knee.

"Hehe? Not so tough now, are you? You Angels aren't as cracked up as you're made out to be," the woman said.

Lucia tightened her jaw before sliding out from under the sword between the woman's legs. She sliced at one of the woman's ankles before hopping to her feet.

"Urk! What the fuck!? I'll gut you for that, you stupid—!"

"Haah! Rias Attack!"

The woman looked up to see Rias swing a large hammer made of red energy at her head. Her head lolled to the side and crashed into the wall.

"You… bitch…" The woman slurred as she struggled to maintain her balance. Blood trickled down her left ankle. Her hand landed on the wall, using it for support as her world spun. The taste of bile filled her mouth and she threw up. "I'll kill you two… for that…" But before she could do anything, her eyes rolled back and she fell forward, falling face first on her own vomit.

"Come on," Lucia panted. "Let's go."

Rias nodded, and they took off running after the others.

God had an apparent hatred for Tosca it seemed. Since she was born, she had never known family or home. She had never known her parents and she had been abandoned by the place that raised her. Abandoned to this hell. And now, she was going to die in this Hell with her friends. She stood in front of the group, being the only one with any semblance of combat training.

Before them, the beak-masked Exorcists approached them. One of them pulled a light sword from their belt.

"Valper said that we have the go-ahead to just kill them all here, then meet at the rendezvous point. We need to leave before they level this place," one of the Masked Exorcists said.

The one who pulled a light sword nodded as he approached, weapon ready to perform its grim duty.

Tosca spread her legs, eyes darting around the room for anything that could be used as a weapon. If only she could control it. That power that awakened mere moments after they helped Isaiah escape before Valper intervened. Her jaw tightened as she watched the man raise his sword into the air.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something on the man's leg and dove for it. The man stumbled back, surprised by her actions, and shook his leg to kick her off. "Get off me, you stupid—"

Tosca wrenched his knife free from his boot and drove it into his calf.

"AGGH! STUPID BITCH—" The man fell over, dropping his light sword. Tosca dove for the sword before it could deactivate and stood up, holding it out in front of her.

The other Exorcists rushed to attack her, drawing their own weapons in response.

Tosca quickly ducked under one strike before deflecting another. Using her smaller size to her advantage, she darted between the legs of one, slicing through their calves.

However, even if she was lucky enough to take down two of them, there were still too many of them for her to handle. Her eyes widened as she blocked at the last minute before being thrown into the wall by the sudden force.

One of the Masked Exorcists had his hand out, Enochian script orbiting around his hand rapidly. Lightning, fire, and ice formed around him.

Tosca rolled out of the way as the elements collided with the wall behind her, causing it and the room behind it to collapse. Before she could get up, another of the Exorcists drove their foot into her gut, sending her flying into the air.

"G-GAHK!" Tosca coughed out blood as she landed on the ground, dropping the light sword and rolling to a stop in front of Yuuto.

"T-Tosca!" Yuuto said.

"I-Isaiah… Jeremiah… E-Ezekiel… r-run…," Tosca whispered as she reached for the deactivated light sword.

Her eyes widened as she saw Yuuto stand in front of her with his arms outstretched.

"W-What are you—!?"

"We're family!" Yuuto screamed as tears streamed down his face. He glared as fiercely as he could at the approaching Exorcists despite the overpowering fear coursing through his veins. "We're not supposed to leave each other behind!"

"Well, well, well, ain't that cute. Then these kids can die as a family, then?" one of the masked Exorcists said.

"I don't have a problem with that as long as we can get out of here and meet up with the others before the Angels get here," another Exorcist replied as he ignited his light sword. He raised his sword and brought it down.

Yuuto closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable pain of the sword. But all he felt was a pair of arms enveloping him. When he opened them, he saw Tosca hugging him, her face contorted in pain.

"Huh," the beefy Exorcist said. His light sword was stained in blood. A large diagonal wound ran down Tosca's back.

"T-Tosca…"

"I said… run… dummy," Tosca said weakly.

"Ahh…," Yuuto looked down at his hands, which were now stained with Tosca's blood. And then, a flash of light erupted in the hallway as Yuuto let out a bloodcurdling scream. The Exorcists and the kids all closed their eyes as the light engulfed the entire hallway.

"AGGGGHHHHH!" Yuuto screamed.

And then, a field of swords erupted around them, causing the Exorcists to jump back. Tosca's eyes widened slightly. The swords held an ominous aura and were all pitch black in color. The other Exorcists eyed the weapons warily, clearly aware of what they were.

"A power that summons demonic swords… it can't be. Valper never said anything about any of them having one. A Sacred Gear!? That kid!" one of the Exorcists, a woman, said in shock.

Yuuto's eyes rolled back as he passed out from the sheer strain of activating his Sacred Gear.

Tosca weakly pulled herself off Yuuto, grabbing one of the swords off the ground. Immediately, she felt something dark coursing through her body. The wound on her back became an afterthought at the dark feelings she felt emanating from the blade.

"Tch! Screw it," one of the Exorcists said, stepping forward. He raised his sword again to finish off Tosca for good.

But before he could, a red mass collided with his skull. A sickening crunch echoed through the hallway as he collapsed on his back, his face caved in by the immense mass.

"We got here in time!"

Tosca turned to see Rias and Lucia running toward them.

"Where are all these goddamn kids coming from—" The female masked Exorcist fell as Lucia flew past her, slicing into her throat with her daggers.

"S-Shit—" the final one cried out in fear as a black sphere of energy struck him in the chest and rapidly expanded before consuming him entirely, leaving no trace of his existence behind.

"Yuuto!" Rias pushed past the other children and immediately cradled Yuuto in her lap. She sighed in relief when she saw the slight rise and fall of his chest. Her blue eyes flicked upward when she saw the field of black miasmic swords around them. "Demonic swords? Is this some kind of Sacred Gear? Lucia, you said he had a Sacred Gear when we brought him back to the cabin, right?"

Lucia nodded as she walked over to Tosca. "Your back," Lucia said, hesitantly reaching out to touch the wound.

"I-I'll be—" Tosca stumbled forward, her head spinning as the adrenaline wore off and the effects of blood loss began taking over. Lucia caught her before she could fall and gently lowered her to the ground.

"Rias, do you have anything I can use for her back?" Lucia asked.

Rias nodded and handed Yuuto to one of the kids, Jeremiah. She gently rested her palm above Tosca's wound as it glowed with a soft red light. The blood stopped flowing after a few minutes, but the wound remained. "My healing magic's not super good. We need to find Mathers. I can only make scabs," she said as the light disappeared.

Lucia nodded and helped Tosca to her feet.

"Come on. Let's go," Lucia said.

Thankfully, the other Exorcists had evacuated. The Church above was empty save for the birds that nested in the corners of the archways and the rats that scurried about the shadows of the vestibule. As Lucia blasted the door open with her free hand, she hobbled out of the underground facility with Tosca next to her. Behind her, Rias ushered the other children out while Yuuto was carried by Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

"Where do we go?" Rias asked.

"Back to the cabin?" Lucia suggested.

Rias bit her lip before nodding. She ran ahead, taking the lead with the rest of them behind. They barely took two steps out of the chapel when Lucia saw a notification pop up in her field of vision. Her eyes glowed as she scanned the sky with her Sacred Gear.

[Detecting massive energy surge. Energy parameters identified. Evelyn Thorn.]

[Special Trait - Paradise Lost]

Lucia's eyes widened in horror at the sight. She moved faster but tripped with Tosca as she stumbled over a rock. She fell face first in the snow, taking Tosca with her. Lucia groaned slightly as she pushed herself up, only to see Rias's gloved hand in front of her.

Her blue eyes were wide and desperate, filled with an overwhelming need to live. Yet in those eyes, her inherent attachment to those she cared about would not let her leave anyone behind.

It was playing out the exact same way it did in her dream. And then that meant that the only thing left was…

A flash of light. She looked up and saw it. A flash of light that illuminated the night sky, creating a false day across the entire mountain. The stars faded and the Moon was outshone for the briefest of moments, and with that Lucia knew they were too late. And as the light faded, rays of light were all that were left in its wake. Trails of light raced across the night sky, all resembling shooting stars. Yet these stars did not burn up and fade away. These stars did not exist the grant the wishes of those who watched them on the ground.

Each light that streaked across the vast night sky toward the mountain, toward them, carried in it the ruin of civilization.

Yet still, Lucia could not help but try to escape from the fate she foresaw in her dreams. She grabbed Rias's hand and pulled herself up before helping Tosca to her feet. "Can you run?" Lucia asked.

Tosca nodded weakly, seeing the streaks of light up above.

"We need to go, now!" Lucia said as she broke off into a sprint. The others saw her running and did the same.

"Lucia! What's going on!? What is this?" Rias asked as she kept pace with her.

"P-Paradise Lost! That's Auntie Helel's Miracle! Mama said that all the Archangels had Miracles that were related to Grandpa. Auntie Helel's is the closest to Grandpa! Mama said that her Miracle is the same Miracle that can create a world! And it can also blow one up!" Lucia explained as they ran.

"That's not fair!" Rias yelled over the sound of star-like projectiles whizzing past their heads.

In the distance, a flash of light lit up, and the entire mountain trembled violently, causing Lucia to tumble over once more. She groaned as she pushed herself up and winced a stab of pain shot through her leg. Lucia looked back to see her left foot bent at a slightly unnatural angle.

"U-Urrghh—! Ah!" Lucia tried to get up but fell back down. She tried to get up again but failed to put any weight on her left leg. "R- Rias! I can't get up!"

Around them, pillars of light fell in great numbers, leveling entire portions of the mountainside. Behind them, a streak of light slammed into the small makeshift village, causing the ground to shake violently. Lucia closed her eyes as the ground kept shaking, as masses of light began bombarding the mountainside behind them en masse.

"GET UP!"

Lucia opened her eyes, seeing Rias holding her gloved hand out in front of her. The crimson-haired girl held her hand out insistently in her face. Clenching her jaw, Lucia grabbed her hand and shakily got to her feet. Rias slid herself under Lucia's arm and supported her weight as the two hobbled after the children.

However, they weren't fast enough. One of the shooting streaks of light impacted the ground behind them, close enough to send the two flying into the air. They landed on the ground roughly, the snow absorbing most of the impact.

"R-Rias," Lucia said, pushing herself up.

But she got no response. Rias lay, slumped up against a pile of snow by a tree. A trail of blood trickled its way down her forehead where her hair parted slightly, revealing a nasty gash.

Lucia winced as she hobbled over on all fours towards her, reaching her with surprising speed. She took a deep breath before grabbing Rias by the arm and trying to pull her up. Around her, the lights continued to fall and eradicate everything they touched.

"Come… on!" Lucia grunted as she managed to get Rias's arm over her shoulder. She groaned as she managed to hobble to her feet, her legs wobbling and the pain in her left foot causing her vision to explode in a burst of colors. Her head swam as she fought through the pain, dragging her left leg along the snow for a few feet before collapsing to one knee.

"R-Rias, come on. Wake up…!" Lucia prayed as she tried to force herself to get up again, but this time, her body wouldn't cooperate. She grunted and heaved before falling back down, dropping Rias on the snow. "No… I won't… I can't," she gritted her teeth and reached out to grab Rias once more.

As she did, her holy power surged inside her as her emotions ran dangerously and erratically high once more. Her halo manifested instinctively, dividing into two, stacked on top of each other. Her wings unfurled from her back, and a second pair—an unnaturally dark and violet color—manifested on the lower half.

"Come onnn! Work!" Lucia begged. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as one of the stray rays of light rocketed toward her. She immediately put herself in front of Rias, her four wings spread in a defensive gesture.

She knew she could never deflect something like the Paradise Lost… but her body fought against the logic of her mind to survive. Red and black flecks of light gathered around her wings and her hands as she blasted the ray of light with her Leliel.

The dark light collided with the pure golden ray, halting it for a brief moment. Lucia's eyes flashed a deep violet color as the light of Leliel turned from red to purple. "Haaaaahhh!" she roared as the now black and violet light ate away at the ray from Paradise Lost. And, in a burst of energy that rattled the surroundings, the two lights dispersed, sending a shockwave that blew Lucia's hair back.

She panted, arms falling to the side as more and more of the rays of lights continued to fall in a seemingly never ending rain of destruction.

"Mama… I'm… sorry…," Lucia whispered as she fell forward. But before she could hit the icy snow, a pair of arms caught her. The slight scent of smoked wood filled her nostrils, enveloping her in a sense of warmth. Her gaze trailed upward, catching a glimpse of her savior's flaming orange hair as pinpricks of darkness began to eat away at the sides of her vision.

"A-Auntie… Camael…," Lucia whispered. "Help… Rias… and my friends…"

And the last thing Lucia saw before passing out from the pain and fatigue was Camael's twelve wings manifesting behind her and unleashing a brilliant flash of golden-orange light.

"Baby, Mommy loves you very much…" A woman with black hair and blue eyes placed a hand behind a shimmering barrier. She reached through her own chest, producing a small beating heart that she kissed before allowing it to float toward her.

And then, the vision split as the woman stood before the barrier. The air crackled like TV static as if the world around whatever stood there abhorred its very existence. A flash of black sliced through the air, and the woman in front of her fell, split in two down the middle.

The Shadow stood over the body, its hollow violet eyes radiating an unknowable ill intent. It loomed over the woman's body as the world around flickered. Its featureless face morphed, and a grotesque maw opened as its gravelly, grating voice came out in a slow, baleful tone.

"Do you feel like a hero yet… Sophia?"

Lucia's eyes snapped open, and she shot up. Her halos manifested above her head and her wings spread, sending everything around her crashing to the ground. Her eyes adjusted to her unfamiliar surroundings as she began leaking Leliel's holy power around her.

"Luci!"

A faint voice echoed from somewhere.

"Luci! Lucia!"

The voice grew louder until she felt a warmth envelop her. Her eyes slowly adjusted as her surroundings came into view. She was no longer in the snow-filled forests of the Apennine Mountains. Instead, her gaze met the walls of an old wooden room decorated with a few religious imagery. Around her, there were ceramic shards strewn on the floor along with a few flowers.

It took her another moment to recognize the warmth wrapped around her as its scent filled her nose.

"M-Mama…?" Lucia said tentatively.

The mop of blonde hair nodded imperceptibly. Uriel pulled back slightly, placing a hand on her daughter's cheek.

A few seconds of silence passed between the two before Uriel spoke. "Oh God… Thank God, you're okay…"

Lucia's eyes widened when she felt a few drops of tears splash onto her shoulder. Tears began to well up in the corner of her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her mother tightly and began to cry. The past day's ordeals and her brush with death finally caused her facade to crumble as she buried her face in her mother's shoulder and cried her heart out.

"It's okay, it's okay, Mama's here. Mama will never leave you," Uriel whispered soothingly as she stroked her daughter's hair.

And they stayed like that for a few minutes before parting.

Lucia's eyes were red and swollen from crying. She sniffled as she wiped her nose with her sleeve.

"It's been a long time since you cried."

She looked up to see her mother smiling at her with some amusement and sadness.

Lucia gripped her sheets and looked down, unsure of how to confront her mother after everything. Even with her brush with death, she still remembered what led up to her running away. Yet, Rias's words in the woods reminded her that her mother was her mother no matter what.

"Mama, I—"

"I'm sorry," Uriel began.

Lucia looked up at her mother with surprise in her eyes.

"I've been such a foolish and terrible mother. All this time, I've never taken your feelings into account," Uriel said. "I'm sorry."

"Mama," Lucia said.

"To be honest with you, Luci, I don't know how to be a mother," Uriel said, leaning back slightly. She kept her hand over her daughter's and squeezed it lightly. "When I found you and decided to raise you, it was all spur of the moment. Your uncle, Metatron, suggested I drop you in an orphanage and be done with it but I couldn't leave you to that. I guess you can say that the moment I saw you, I fell in love…"

Uriel smiled. "Without a doubt, you were the greatest thing to ever happen to me. So when I found out that you still had a real family out there, I got scared."

Lucia just gazed at her mother as she continued talking.

"I figured that if you suddenly found out you had a real family and that I wasn't the woman who gave birth to you that you'd… leave, so I brought your aunt here to…," Uriel bit her bottom lip before sighing. "In the end, I was being selfish. I didn't want to be hurt, so I assumed everything about what you wished for and ended up pushing you away. I'm so sorry, my little star."

Lucia remained quiet for a moment before opening her mouth. "It's okay, Mama. I… No matter what, you're still my Mom. It doesn't matter who gave birth to me. To me, Mama has always been Mama. So don't be scared, Mom," Lucia smiled. "I'll always be your family."

Uriel's eyes widened slightly. She immediately began wiping tears that threatened to streak down her cheeks. "Haha, when did my little angel become so smart?" she let out a watery laugh.

"My friend told me— Ah! Rias!" Lucia threw her covers off.

"Woah, hey, take it easy," Uriel placed a hand on her shoulder.

"B-But! Rias! She's—!"

"Sirzechs's sister? She's fine. Just a minor head injury. Nothing that they couldn't fix," Uriel said as she pulled a small empty vial from her pocket. She held it up to Lucia's eye. "To think that they came with these…"

Lucia's eyes glowed slightly as she gazed at the vial.

[Analyzing component…]

[Phoenix Tears]

[A substance produced by the Phenex Clan that heals most injuries and allows for the reattachment of severed limbs.]

"Thankfully, they had a few of these on them. We were able to treat your leg," Uriel said as she placed the vial on the nightstand.

Lucia let out a sigh of relief.

"I didn't know you were close to Sirzechs's younger sister. When did this happen?" Uriel asked.

"We met in the woods. She… found me there," Lucia said. "You know… after…"

"Oh."

An awkward silence passed between them.

"She's a really nice person. I think… we could be really good friends," Lucia admitted.

Uriel's eyes widened slightly. Lucia had never made any friends without prompting from her or Irina. Not even with Vali and Vali's friendship was born from Lucia's worry and mutual loner tendencies. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

The Gremory Heiress might be the first person her daughter clicked with without any preconceived thoughts or notions.

"I see. Well, you can see her after—"

A soft knocking came from the door, catching their attention.

"Speak of the devil, the person I wanted you to see is here," Uriel said.

The door slowly opened as Togame peeked her head in. She slowly stepped into the room, glancing awkwardly between Uriel and Lucia. "H-Hello, I know we met earlier yesterday. I-I'm Togame Kamiyo," she said, walking over and taking a seat next to Uriel.

Lucia stared at the woman for a good second, taking in her features for the first time. The woman resembled her greatly, almost as if Lucia had been copy and pasted, using her as a template. "H-Hello," Lucia said shyly.

"I'm sorry I didn't explain this properly and sprung this on you, Luci. This woman is your birth father's younger sister," Uriel said.

Lucia's eyes widened. "My… Dad…?"

A nostalgic smile graced Togame's lips. "You have that same dumb fish out of water look that my brother had."

Lucia turned to her aunt. She had so many questions that had been brewing in her head since Uriel revealed her status a day ago. Questions she didn't entertain due to fighting for her life, such as where her birth parents were. Of course, she had a faint inkling if the fading memories of her dream were anything to go by.

"Who… were my parents?" Lucia asked quietly.

Togame and Uriel exchanged glances before the younger woman cleared her throat.

"Mmm. His name was Noah Kamiyo. Our father, your grandfather, was an exchange student in America for a semester. When our mother, your grandmother, got pregnant with my older brother, he wanted a western name for his oldest son," Togame said.

Togame paused for a second before continuing. "Your mother… well, now that I know she wasn't human, but angel, I don't know if this name for her still fits but when I knew her, she was called Sakuya Hoshizora. I think Uriel said your mom's real name was Laylah."

"Noah… Laylah," Lucia said, the name rolling off her tongue naturally.

Uriel nodded. "I don't know much about your father but your mother was a Destroying Angel under my command. And while I may not have known much about their marriage, I understand how they felt because just like me, your parents loved you very much. Enough to lay down their lives just so you can live."

Lucia felt tears welling up in her eyes once more. So she wasn't abandoned like she dreaded she was. Her parents. Her birth parents did want her.

"Mama…"

Uriel smiled as she hugged her daughter again, rubbing her back as a fresh wave of sobs was muffled as Lucia cried into her chest.

"I didn't think you were such a crybaby."

Lucia glared half-heartedly at Rias as she rubbed her red and swollen eyes. She had done a lot of crying in the past hour: meeting her aunt, learning about her birth parents, and reconciling with her mother. It was all too much for her, despite her usual calm and collected attitude. In the end, Lucia was still only ten years old.

"How's your head, Tomato?" Lucia asked, gesturing to the band-aid on Rias's forehead.

"Oh, this! Onii-tama put it on after he gave me Phoenix Tears. Like it?" Rias said, pointing to her band-aid, which was decorated with small red dragons.

"No…," Lucia kept stealing glances at it. "How is everyone?"

"Yuuto is in one of the rooms, resting with the other kids. Oh, and Tosca wants to talk to you, but she fell asleep when I went here," Rias said as she pulled out a cookie and offered it to Lucia.

Lucia gladly took the cookie and bit into it. She chewed and spoke with her mouthful. "What thid she shay?" Lucia asked.

Rias grimaced at the sight before sighing. "I don't know. You ask her," she said. "Still, it's a shame. I asked Tosca if she wanted to be my other Knight but she said no. I thought she'd be good since Yuuto is in my peerage and Koneko could have more friends."

Lucia nodded absentmindedly as she took another bite of her cookie. Her body went rigid as a series of images flashed through her head, all of them being that of a girl with black hair, looking frightened as she huddled behind a dumpster in a city she didn't recognize. The girl muttered a name in between her shivers. "Shirone…"

"Maybe you should go find a black cat for her," Lucia suggested.

Rias raised an eyebrow. "A black cat…?" Rias furrowed her brow before the thought dawned on her. She didn't know if Lucia had known about her Rook's situation, but in her mind, this was the best possible idea. Not only could Koneko be happy, but she could also get a super strong peerage member. "That's a great idea! I'm gonna ask my brother to look for a black cat for her!"

Lucia was startled by her sudden burst of joy and leaned back as Rias clasped her hands.

"Thanks, Luci! I was told pigeons were stupid birds, but you're actually pretty smart!" Rias exclaimed, shaking her hands roughly.

"Ahhh! Stop shaking me…!"

As the two argued and bantered inside the room, Uriel watched from the slightly cracked open door with a smile on her face. However, before she could enter the room, she sensed someone behind her.

"My Lady."

Uriel turned to see Camael standing behind her dutifully.

"Camael. What is it?"

Camael cleared her throat before straightening her posture. "My Lady, it's about the Young Miss. It seems that… she has inherited wings. Judging by the shift in her Miracle, it appears that Laylah might have…"

Uriel rubbed her chin before nodding. "I see. We'll make preparations then. I'm appointing you as her teacher from henceforth, Camael."

Camael nodded and bowed reverently. "As you wish, My Lady."

May 3, 2007

Wow, it's been a long while since I wrote in here. Almost a year and a half. I still see my doodles in the other pages. A bunch of interesting things happened.

Rias told me she found the black cat I suggested to her 2 years ago. She had to beg her big brother to let her keep it but in the end, Sirzechs caved and let her keep it. Her Rook, Koneko, was a little mad at first but the two got along after a while. I didn't think that Rias would reincarnate a cat as her bishop. She's super weird but she did say she was going to introduce me to her cat. I just hope it doesn't get scared of me and runs away.

Anyway, Mama got Auntie Camael to teach me some things about my wings. Apparently, my birth mom put some weird heart in me. Is it weird? I have 3 hearts now. That's super weird. But enough about that. I know it's been a while since I wrote. The last time I wrote, I became an Exorcist and so did everyone else. That hag, Camael, said I might become a Destroying Angel at this rate.

Aunt Togame sends me things from Japan from time to time and visits me in the summer. She got into university recently and is studying to be a teacher. But Mama told me she got into this school for an internship at a town called Kuoh.

Oh! Tosca is staying with us now officially. Mama got her transferred to Germany, and Irina got a Holy Sword from her dad as a present for officially starting as an Exorcist. I think things are finally looking up for now.

"Lucia!"

A light thud hit the window of her room. She groaned as she placed her pen down on her desk before stalking over.

Irina and Vali stood in the yard, waving at her with grins on their faces. Irina had a wooden katana resting on her shoulder. The cool air of the Alps blew past her, ruffling her shoulder-length hair slightly. Vali crossed his arms, a slight smirk on his face as he looked up at her.

"Okay, okay! Jeez! I'm coming down!" Lucia called back as she closed the window and ran back to her desk. Her pen flew across the page, scribbling a few more words down before she slapped her pen back on the page and ran out of her room.

It took a year and a half, but Mama said we can go on our first official mission as Exorcists.

I wonder what Egypt is like.

Housekeeping

RoyalRain20xx: These interactions between Rias, Lucia, and Kiba sure are great! Not only do they act like they're about to rip each other's throats out almost every time they try to one-up each other, but the fact that Kiba's first interaction of his new life as a devil is getting "ghostly-wailedif you know, you know) by Lucia's terrible singing felt like the cherry on top. Also, I like how the plot regarding the holy sword project seems more personal this time, as we're literally living through something that was quite traumatic for Kiba seeing as his friends all died from something so horrible. Not to mention the fact that Tosca seems to play a role in all of this, despite how Lucia's sacred gear seems to have labled her a "extra" which is so messed up, yet funny given the situation at hand. Overall, I'm really liking how this arc is turning out so far, and despite getting a glimpse into future arcs regarding Issei, I'm very much looking forward to the next chapter or so considering we're heading towards DARK territory, call me morbid, but I'm anticipating some monstrous moments from the church, cant wait!

I wonder what you thought of that moment in the opening of the chapter. I had to say I thought it was pretty dark when I wrote it. I was going to medically describe them being burned but the thought of them watching it was less appealing and thought it would be more effective for them to listen to it. But yeah, I decided to save some of Kiba's friends. Note, not all of them lived. They only got to the last chamber of kids where the children Kiba was most familiar with were. I figured, why not, since we're already here. BUT Valper is still alive. What I do with him will in the forseeable future is up for interpretation but with the new antagonist group being here, I've had a few ideas in mind. I am glad though that you like the interactions between the kids. I tried to make it as appropriate to their age as possible without making them seem to childish. I mean, Lucia and Rias are ten years old and are raised by supernatural beings. Their sense of normalcy is much different from that of a human child's.

But yeah, the whole "extra" thing was something I decided on a whim. There's a lot of future characters that will receive that trait. It's my funny way of saying that way too many named characters exist with very little roles in the actual story. Like a lot of the named Exorcist in Team Trump Card of Heaven just exist to fill up slots and don't do anything important all too much.

Thanks again for reviewing, you are like, the only consistent reviewer I have lmao. I don't know if what I'd do if you just suddenly vanished. I might as well pack up shop and stop writing forever, ahaha.

I hate calling these mini-arcs, but that's essentially what they are. Mini-arcs. But yeah, we've reached the final chapters of the first overall arc which is titled "Childhood's End". This chapter's a good 7.6k words, which isn't bad. I will try to write longer chapters when I have more time, especially with the finale of the childhood arc and the next arcs.

Yes, this will be the final chapters of this arc. These next few chapters are the chapters that introduce our main antagonistic group officially, a new major character, and the chapters that make and break Lucia. So stay tuned. But hey, two-year timeskip. Oh, one thing I never mentioned that this does take place in the early 2010s after the childhood arc is over.