The Shibuya Stream, the newest addition to the Tokyo Skyline, was an architectural marvel like many that dominated the panorama of Japan's capital. Located in the space left vacant by the relocation of the Tōyoko Line terminal, the building was constructed in the arc of three years between 2015 and 2018 and officially opened on the 13th of September of this year. The skyscraper and retail complex stood at 180 meters, making it one of the tallest edifices in Tokyo, counting 35 floors, and currently contained the head office of a multinational mega-corporation (still work in progress), thirty-ish stores, the Excel Tokyu Shibuya Stream hotel, and many other attractions. But what met the eyes of Gabriele wasn't any of the contemporary aesthetics of the interior, but the amount of transfigured humans swarming in the shop/restaurant area of the facility. A curse den through and through, Romulus described it, floors upon floors for an infestation of proportion like the young exorcist had never seen. Swords were drawn, but the Empyreans were always passive, never attacking to fend off the monsters for anyone but themselves while the younger exorcist was like a hurricane in close quarters, darting left and right killing as many walking corpses he could with whatever he got a hold on.
By the time they reached the hotel lobby on the fourth floor, Gabriele's hands were bruised to the point of bleeding, the liquid dripping down on the wooden handle of the already bloodstained fire axe. He himself did not sustain any injuries, but he could feel his muscles aching from the massive endeavor. Fortunately the higher they went, the less transfigured humans they found, so he chose to sit a moment on one of the elegant couches in the lounge.
He brought his weapon on his lap to inspect it, passing a hand along the handle, rough to the touch until he reached near the head of the axe where he noted a discrepancy running across the width of the wood, moving it a bit he attested that it wasn't anymore sturdy, slightly dangling side to side. The teen grimaced, the weapon would definitely snap after a couple of well-placed blows, should it happen in battle it could be fatal for him.
The exorcist sighed, not wanting to discard the only good tool he had found since stepping inside the curtain, but the risks now outweighed the benefits. Hearing noises coming from his left, his eyesight soon tracked the source with expertise, a humanoid monster galloping full speed toward him. Springing up on his feet, he spun in the creature's direction, with a foot planted on the floor Gabriele tossed the axe at it, the edge burying deep in its clavicle. The mutant tanked the hit, not much to the exorcist's surprise, although its speed suffered significantly, it kept going in its pursuit of blood.
'I knew it, it must have lost some of its integrity the moment I threw it... due to the failing structure, the impact was highly mitigated when otherwise it'd have cut through easily.' Gabriele then paced in the monster's direction, ready to put this unfortunate soul to rest. Suddenly, the transfigured human stopped on its path, Gabriele looked at it as its limbs were by one contorted, joints collapsing in unnatural movement and bending backward with a final, loud snap of its spinal cord. The corpse fell lifeless, folded with its back against its legs, the monster wasn't even given the time to externalize the atrocious pain for how quick it was. The exorcist averted his gaze to look behind his shoulder, the responsible for the execution standing not too far from him, arm raised towards the mutant.
"Tsk, brat..." Remus lowered their hand and turned away peevishly, Gabriele refrained from commenting and limited himself to just glare at them.
"Seraph..." Romulus approached him. They, as well as their comrade, had their uniform tinted in blood. " Have you found out how to reach the roof of this building?"
"We're currently on the hotel section of the skyscraper, which comprises all the floors between the fourth and the thirteenth. From the fourteenth onward it's all empty space." He then pointed to the elevator at the end of the hall near the reception, "The elevators seem to be operative, but they only reach up to 13F. Don't know if there's an elevator that'd bring us to the roof but it's most likely that'd be the case."
"I checked the reception desk. The phones were constantly ringing, which means some civilians are probably stuck in their rooms." Romulus revealed.
The presence of civilians confined inside the hotel rooms didn't make Gabriele any calmer. In his head, instances of the nightmare occurred while on their way to the Shibuya Stream played uninterrupted, of the main streets flooded by the terrorized crowd. Dozens upon dozens of civilians fled from the metro station and up above in the empty streets of Shibuya like ants out of their nest.
It was chaotic, a disorganized mass diaspora they almost got caught into, some tripped over themselves and fell on the asphalt, not even half a foot out in the open. Useless were their screams as the unhinged mob ran over them, bones cracking and crushed under the weight of their steps. Who was unfortunate enough to survive it, the maws of starving monsters would serve a more painful end. The exorcist could do nothing but gaze in horror at the crude spectacle, men and women being chased by thoughtless creatures, dodging corpses and ignoring the gurgles of the blood drenching the nightmares' mugs as they tore the flesh of the poor victims. His face became pale while the square was painted in crimson. It was terrifying.
"Let's get going." Romulus urged the exorcist to follow them. Gabriele squinted his eyes a bit, he didn't actually have any clue of the reasons why they were here in the first place. When he questioned his seniors about it, they simply responded they would disclose the objective of the mission once on top of the building.
Together they met the other Empyrean in front of the elevator. Stepping inside the small space, Gabriele watched the doors shut as they went up to the 13th floor. Automatically his gaze moved to the open view of the city, his eyes widened in realization as something in the skyline was amiss. 'The smaller curtain is gone... Did Itadori and the others manage to break it?' A hint of pride adorned the thin smile on the exorcist's face.
'Good job, everyone. I can't wait to see you again.'
"If you die I'll kill you, right?" Megumi sighed in frustration as he soared through Shibuya on Nue's back, Itadori, that idiot better come out of this unscathed so that he could carry out his promise and kill him with his own hands. The teen glanced behind him at the unconscious body of his senpai, Takuma Ino, lying within arm's reach to prevent him from accidentally free-falling to his death. In particular, his eyes landed on Ino's face, the kind of onslaught it had been put through judging by how swollen it was, Megumi could hardly imagine it. The sorcerer turned his head straight ahead as he frowned, he had to get Ino at the tollgate on the metropolitan expressway route, where had her in-field infirmary installed, to receive some medical attention before going back to the station.
Shoko and Principal Yaga immediately bolted out as soon as they saw the massive owl approaching the medical tent, landing on the firm ground a few meters from them.
"What happened?" the medic asked.
"I don't exactly know, me and Itadori were dealing with a curse user. Once we were done with him, we saw Ino-senpai falling from the Cerulean tower." Fushiguro answered, he tried to help the unconscious senior off of Nue but Masamichi stopped him before he could do so, saying that he'd have a cursed corpse take Ino inside the tent. The black-haired teen followed them a few steps back as they put him in a cot beside Ijichi, Shoko noticing the apprehensive expression of Fushiguro she quickly reassured him: "Nanami-san brought him here, he's not in critical condition... he may not look the resilient guy, but he was training to become a sorcerer as well." Her words of comfort had some effect on Megumi's troubled state, but his eyes could hardly leave the oxygen mask on the assistant's face fog with the condensation of his breathing.
"Nanami also mentioned running into several dead assistants on the way here, we have reasons to assume that the one behind these killings is the same one who attacked Ijichi." The principal said as he sat on the lone chair they brought, "However, there's one whom we had lost contact with far earlier than the rest. Kimura Junnosuke, the auxiliary manager insigned with the exorcists' squad." Masamichi put both hands, one on each of Fushiguro's shoulders, the teen looked anything but alarmed, Gabriele was with them, right?
"I know you and the others have bonded quite significantly with the boy but the situation is critical. At the moment three Empyrean-level exorcists pose as much of a threat as the cursed spirits down in the station."
Megumi stepped back in shock, once again people were trying to point him to whom he should fight against. But could this time be different? Exorcists are known to seize every given opportunity to wreak havoc, with Gojou-sensei out of the equation this should be like a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, the timing for the two masked crusaders to show up also seemed too perfect to be a product of coincidences. Was it all orchestrated? Was Gabriele aware of this? Was all the friendliness he portrayed in these two months just an act? The teen could hardly believe it, though he needed answers from him, for now, he could not allow himself to jump to hasty conclusions.
"I understand." The black-haired sorcerer nodded before dismissing himself from the infirmary. Hopping on Nue's back, he lifted off high above the skyscrapers of the district, clueless of the fact that he was flying over the head of the exorcist, now walking past the door that led to the roof of the Shibuya Stream.
'Was that... Fushiguro?' He thought. His first instinct was to rush onto the landing pad right at the edge of the building, he had so many questions to ask, but he was too distant and too quick for thought manipulation to work. There were no other options, he had to know if the news about Gojou being sealed was true. The young man leaped one leg over the railing, his spirit filled with determination as his wings began to form. But as soon as he got his other leg over, a hand grabbed him by the uniform and yanked him back harshly onto the roof's cold floor. His head hit the ground violently, the concussion staggered his brain for a moment as a shadow hovered over him.
"Where do you think you're going, Seraph?" Romulus said, their distorted voice matching perfectly the emotionless, almost robotic tone. "I have to say, your persistence in the face of destiny is noble, you keep fighting for those unfortunate civilians despite knowing their fates were sealed the moment the veil was cast. There's nothing to gain in trying to subvert what's already written, only wasted essence." They then walked away from Gabriele, joining the other Empyrean once again.
Together they unsheathed their longswords and plunged them deep into the concrete. In the meantime, the exorcist recovered from the brief trauma, slowly turning to face the ground and pushing himself back to his feet. As he worked out his balance, his gaze landed on his superiors who stood there silently, their heads hanging low while their hands were directed toward the sky in prayer. Gabriele felt his soul freeze on the spot, knowledge turned into anger as he rushed to the templars.
"What's the meaning of this?!"
"We can't save them, Seraph. What we can do is grant them a much faster death."
"By mandating a cleanse?! There are thousands of people trapped in this district alone!" Gabriele grabbed the taller man and spun him in place to face the angry teen in search of answers.
"And so are the majority of the cursed practitioners." A kick sunk into the exorcist's stomach mere moments after the Romulus's word got registered in his brain. Gabriele stumbled back a few steps, arms crossed over his abdomen as he fought the urge to puke what little he had eaten hours prior, but still, he stood on his feet. The Empyrean glanced at their partner who just attacked their subordinate in disapproval, he might be mutinous and prove sympathy for the heathens, but he wasn't one to not indulge in reasoning.
"Once they have been wiped out, subjugating those outside of Tokyo would be a formality. The world would be free of cursed energy, no more would have to die." The faceless man bargained, although not strictly needed to complete the cleanse, his aid would only shorten the process. He was useful alive, but he wasn't crucial to the fruition of the plan. "Unsystematic, for rich and poor, human and heathen, all equal in a quick and painless end. There's clemency in our actions, wouldn't you prefer this instead of whatever agonizing death awaits for them in this hellhole?"
"They won't even know it happened..."
Gabriele, overcome the pain from the blow he had just received, felt his entire body turn into stone. Flashing memories of his life passed before his unblinking eyes as he stared into the nothingness, hollow faces of strangers he had met throughout his existence on earth of which he no longer remembered the features, replaced by shapeless, ever-morphing mush of characteristics. Even though he couldn't remember any of their names or likenesses, the exorcist knew this sacrifice was necessary for the world to be safe. However, something was different, it should be much more exultant, this is a perfect death, the perfect martyrdom worth the eternal anguish of hell. Then why? Why does it feel forced? Like chains dragging his body to tend the hand towards the Empyreans, the easiest of answers.
More recent memories came by, the mush in those strangers' visages began to replenish with details, colors blooming like flowers in their complexion and smearing into the faces of the people he grew to care about. Megumi, Nobara, Yuuji, Maki, Toge, Panda, Mai...
"One day you'll be forced to choose duty or yourself, and the answer won't be as clear as you think."
He recalled Gojou's words the day of the incursion, the clouds fogging his thoughts started to clear, unveiling the serenity of the cerulean sky. One by one the shackles came undone as he began to pull the chains with all his strength. The silent paladin noticed the signs of struggle in their comrade, the young man was severing his ties, and he was taking back control.
"People can tell you what's good and bad so much till your own experiences dictate them for you. Their worldview will soon be too narrow, too limited, and it will be your choice to go over the boundaries or die in them." He jabbed his finger into the foreigner's forehead three times as he spoke these last words.
"Not mine. Not theirs. Your choice."
"You talk of killing thousands as an act of mercy..." Gabriele retorted coldly with every ounce of hatred he could gather. "Denying bystanders the choice of life for a mere advantage in an anachronistic war... doesn't make you any better than the cursed spirits who trapped them here in the first place!" His fists lightened up in pearly flames, the Empyreans limited themselves to watch the Seraph go off, unmoving.
"It appears you have finally taken a side." said Romulus, there was no anger in their voice, nor their movements as they went back to pick up their sword. "I always knew you were too young for this task, the creed wasn't consolidated enough for you to not be swayed by meaningless rhetorics, but everyone was too bewitched by your constant growth to see beyond the prodigy." They extracted the weapon from the concrete, exhorting their comrade to do the same. You could tell the resentment behind their action, something they themselves weren't aware of, jealousy, envy perhaps for the younger exorcist, phantoms of a previous life that should be long forsaken. "Now, comrade, would you kindly remind our colleague in which circle of Hell do traitors inhabit?"
Gabriele felt his muscles contract abruptly, chills of cold pervaded his body as if he was suddenly catapulted into the Northern Pole. Though his surroundings hadn't changed, the gelid sensation impacting his skin made his appendages tremble and difficult to move. "...Thereupon I turn'd, and saw before and underneath my feet...A lake, whose frozen surface liker seem'd to glass than water..." Remus whispered, the hand brought in front of their mask having slight tremors as their comrade noticed. This was no good, the chant was affecting them already, they couldn't afford to let them die before completing the cleanse. No matter, they will end this before hypothermia kicks in.
"With the power God almighty, the only true judge of our mortal spoils and soul, has bestowed upon me, I declare you excommunicated and hereby sentenced to immediate execution for high treachery."