@Lugubrious@rivaan

Gideon would've gored the poor Souta lad in cold blood, if only it weren't for the intervention of an invisible object that stopped the gauntlet in its tracks. The half-demon was taken a little off-guard, but even as he tries to force his might through, grunting slightly at times, he was unable to get through. That's when he heard a cold metal-like whisper come from the darkness.

”Don't you touch my baby brother.”

That's when Otsune came into view, apparently under an invisibility cloak, badly injured on her left, cybernetic, arm. He surely did a good deal of damage to her, but not enough to stop her from being out of the fight. Perhaps if the brute didn't intervene he would've killed her, but alas this was not the case. Gideon prepares to overwhelm the older sister until she and Souta jumped out of the fight.

It was then where Gideon would come to fight with Kousa, as he issues his Fast Slash at his opponent, only for it to be simply dodged by her nimbleness. She spun around, making a half step, as she jumped the rest of the distance towards the half-demon. Gideon was prepared to block her upward swing at him, until he finds that she swung her sword to the side to get away from him. The half-demon was confused at first, until she muttered something about the seal. It was there when his senses finally fluctuated towards the front of the room as a rush a wave of greenish energy approached with an ominous, worrisome pressure. It was power that was almost beyond his comprehension. He didn't realize at first what was causing such power. Then it finally hit him...

The Second Seal had been destroyed.

He already knew the Seal would be in this area, a long time ago actually, just before he entered the subway. He was considering on getting to it after this fight, however, it has been crushed by an unknown force, and with it, comes down the entire Antechamber. The rumbling turned into an earthquake as the whole place began to fall apart! The heroes would've escaped by then, but alas it didn't matter. It was time to survive. Gideon quickly dashes towards the nearest exit and rushes to get out of the chamber.

By the time he got out, it would've been reduced to nothing but rubble, the entrance Gideon came out of being completely blocked off by the rubble. He got out without any harm or debris falling onto him, just the dust from the impact as he simply brushes it off. The half-demon hisses as he contemplates the situation. With the seal destroyed, he must return to Lord Mundas and report about this situation. For now however, as much as he hates it, he must reunite with Blair. Perhaps she knows who the culprit might be? Hopefully she doesn't and with it take all the credit.

@I-Am-X
Regardless, he eventually finds Blair thanks to his enhanced senses and lands right beside her. As he gets up, he groans slightly as he twists his neck and shoulder.

"Blair." he says as he finishes stretching, "You've felt it haven't you? The Second Seal? Do you know of the culprit who did it?"

"Yes, your Holiness. The city was abandoned almost immediately.... No. The unbelievers here surrendered almost immediately. Only I and one other remain." Antonio spoke into a payphone, helmet removed. A reaper-like figure loomed behind him, raising its scythe as it let out a ghastly howl. Antonio pointed Uriel behind him, and the head rocketed off on its chain, decapitating the Hell.
"There are many demons here.... No, I believe we should fortify the Vatican for now. I will handle the situation concerning Barlour. Furthermore, I believe the battle to be localized here. I don't understand why.... Yes, it does seem rather arbitrary these demons would confine themselves to such a small area." he continued, whipping the flail forward. The long chain wrapped around another demon's neck, before he yanked it to his feet. As the demon slid on the ground towards him, he raised his foot, and stomped down on its head. No monster could resist a curb stomp from the heavens.

"No. Unfortunately, all armed forces evacuated immediately, even the so-called saviors of humanity. Because of this, the civilian casualty is rather high; as quickly as these monsters emerged, the people were caught by surprise. Even now, I see bodies. Some look like police who tried to fight back, but there are also women. I see a few children have also fallen victim..... of course, your Holiness. I shall say a prayer for them. No innocent deserves to be harmed in our Holy War. We must at least see to their safe passage to Paradise."

The knight rested his mace on his shoulder, and thought for a moment.
"If I had to say... It would be best to utilize the time to rally the forces and prepare a line in the sand, but I'm no strategist. A brash man would call for an assault, but we remember how well the Battle of London turned out. For now, I'll perform reconnaissance. If there are innocents left, it is my duty to save them. Afterwards, I'll locate the source of this demonic scourge."

The knight nodded at the words through the speaker, and motioned a cross across his head and chest.
"Thy will be done. Deus vult."

Hanging up the phone, Antonio turned to his newfound friend. "I don't know your origins, but you proved yourself against these heathens and demons alike. In my eyes, that proves you are a good person, and hopefully a Catholic. If you'd grant me a favor, I ask your help in this matter. We must rescue any innocents left in the city, and slay as much evil as possible on the way."

Wrath had picked up the unconscious and barely alive human before heading out of the city, keeping his head low to avoid being recognized by anyone that might have seen his face down in the Cairn in case they were going the same way. He'd initially intended to get in contact with Uriel and the Army of Light as soon as he was sure that there'd be no further issues with the ground crumbling away. However, that changed when he barely had time to avoid the scythe blade of a Vanguard from behind. The attack had prompted a drawing of his own blade and a short skirmish, which he'd received help from an Angel Champion who bade him evacuate and contact their commander. There was little argument from the fatigued Nephilim, who scooped up the old man and fled away from the fight.

Now, as he trekked away from what would soon be only the remains of Barlour City, he attempted to reach the Angel who had bidden his creation and instead found himself faced with one of the Charred Council's Watchers. "Well, fancy that. Heaven went and created a Nephilim of their own. Suppose it would be unfair of me not to tell you that the Council knew about you all along." Growling softly, Wrath laid the human off to the side and stepped up to face the Watcher.

"Oh did they? Mind telling me why I didn't die at the blade of Death or War? Or ripped to shreds by my sister's whip? Or turned into a hole covered corpse by Fury?" The Watcher seemed partially surprised at the amount of knowledge that Wrath had of his siblings, millienia younger than them he may be. So instead of answering the question, the Watcher sneered and gave a dismissive wave.

"Don't concern yourself with the reasons of those better than you. You're alive, you're breathing, and you can feel all the injuries you received today. All you need to know right now is the Charred Council would like a word with you." Wrath snorted and, feeling rather frustrated with the events of the day, took a swing with a vicious left hook. His claws were retracted, but the power wasn't any less. Unfortunately, it didn't even hurt the Watcher, much less touch it. In response, he got another snide chuckle before it rested a hand on the Nephilim, leading him back to the unconscious human. "It was a good effort, Wrath, but you can't hurt me."

"I noticed. So I don't have a choice about answering this summon's by the Council?" The Watcher shook his head and Wrath sighed, defeated. He sorta liked living too much to risk getting one of his older siblings sent after him. "Fine, I'll go. What about the human?" The Watcher glanced at him and sighed.

"He goes too." Wrath found that odd, the Third Kingdom only just beginning to really understand what their odds were, but didn't argue. However, if the crazy old man had woken up at any point during his exchange with the Watcher, he might.

[Collab post between me and @IncredibleBee]

Gene looked at Antonio, and saw that he was truly being earnest about his desire to help those still trapped in the city. He looked back at the shopping cart full of office supplies he had looted in the confusion. Gene had always wanted to have an MP3 player, and that prick Bob from HR was too busy either evacuating or being dead to complain about Gene stealing it. He'd also taken a laptop, a shiny red stapler, three smartphones, and a shiny red stapler. After all, Gene reasoned, if the world was ending and you just got fired from your job, why wouldn't you take whatever you can find?

However, the absolute most beautiful treasure Gene had looted on his driveabout with Antonio was a strange weapon he had picked off a corpse several blocks away from the office branch. Judging by the state the weapon's previous owner was in, he had valiantly sacrificed his life in a fight against some thing to secure a safe exit for his comrades. Though hideously burnt and a little melted, the corpse was dressed in nothing but their street clothes. Perhaps this was an ex-Demon Hunter, or a weapon aficionado. Whatever he was, he had demonstrated far more honor and bravery than any other human he had seen today aside from Antonio. perhaps what was even more interesting was the Devil Arm he was carrying.

The Devil Arm itself was, on the whole, not very interesting. A rubber grip stuck on the bottom of a silvery-white rod tapering down to a sharp point. In all regards, it looked like a crude hybrid between a lightning rod and a short spear. When a button was pressed, the rod lit up with spidery crackles of white-hot crackles of electricity. Perhaps, if Gene wasn't a moron, he would be able to actually use the electricity, but for the time being it was just a very fancy flyswatter. The fact that Gene would steal from someone with such honor and nobility filled him with guilt. Before being drowned out by his own self-importance, it made a very convincing argument for the merits of self-sacrifice and helping others. Gene frowned, and looked back to Antonio.

"Dude, I've been with you from the start." Gene said. "There's a middle school like five blocks from here; the kids're probably still in trouble. If you wanna start with saving people, we'd better get moving!"

The sight of a gleaming golden motorcycle, a burdened shopping cart lashed behind it, screaming down the road would have definitely turned some heads, but a roving melee between the forces of Heaven and Hell had proved to be far more interesting. Antonio had graciously offered Gene a seat, but Gene, being the humble sort that he was, opted to ride on the cart.

"Hey, just drop me off by the cafeteria!" Gene shouted into the wind.
"What? The wind's too loud!" Said Antonio, slowing to a stop.
"The cafeteria, drop me off by the cafeteria!" Gene shouted over the roar of an unbelievably powerful engine.
"What? Hang on, I'll turn off the engine!" Said Antonio, quietly shutting off his motorcycle. The familiar roar of holy engineering continued. Against his better judgement, Gene looked behind him.

The road behind him was filled with a blinding golden light. One that Gene had only seen once before. It was an Irenic, one of Laguna's very own vehicles. And it was coming straight for Antonio!
"Oh, shit! Drive! DRIVE!" Antonio's motorcycle started up and took off at a speed only possible through miraculous design. Godspeed took off down the street just barely quickly enough to avoid being crushed by the rampaging Irenic behind it, sparking a frantic chase through the streets.

Coming up on the middle school, Antonio realized he couldn't possibly drop Gene off without letting the Irenic catch up. Thinking quickly, he banked a sharp turn left. The cart lashed forward, throwing Gene into the air and straight through the topmost window in the front of the school. "Go with God, my child," Antonio called out. "It appears that I must be tested before I can join you!"

Gene's trajectory carried him not only through the window into the school, but downwards through the school's floor. With a shower of tile flooring and dust, Gene landed in the school cafeteria. The cafeteria itself was eerily empty, bereft of even signs of a struggle. Discarded trays of food cooled in places where only a few minutes ago students probably sat. It seemed that whoever had been here had left as soon as the seal was destroyed. Before Gene could applaud his good luck, there was a sudden ghastly noise and the room was bathed in the smell of ozone.

A demonic portal opened itself in the middle of the room, and from out of it came a single hulking figure. Chunks of polished bone gleamed in the sunlight, and electricity freely crackled along its monstrous form. Gene certainly didn't know what it was, but to any educated demonologist they would immediately recognize it as a Blitz, a rare and extraordinarily powerful Devil. "Oh, for fuck's sakes!" said Gene, immediately alerting it to his presence.

Before Gene could even raise his fists, the Blitz disappeared in a flash of light. The Blitz's enormous claw tore across the back of Gene's head, sending him crashing into an array of tables. Gene blearily got up to his feet just in time for him to be engulfed in a blast of concentrated lightning, sending him crashing straight into the wall. Gene readied a mighty strike just as the Blitz teleported in front of him, hoping to strike it in the solar plexus right when it thought it had the upper hand. As his fist collided with the Blitz, Gene very quickly realized that human flesh is a quite alright conductor when dealing with the amounts of electricity currently coursing through the creature he was touching right now. Paralyzed by his incredibly poor judgement, Gene could not avoid the Blitz's backhand, and so was sent to the other end of the room. Righteous indignation and a couple thousand Newtons of force went through Gene's head.

From a perspective borne of pain and repeated head trauma, Gene got a chance to think about his situation. This was like that one time back at the power station, Gene mused, only the transformer's jumping around and hitting me a lot more this time. How'd I deal with it before? The Blitz, not at all interested in seeing Gene's train of thought in motion, readied another blast of lightning. Gene idly tossed a tray of food at the Blitz, less out of any attempt to harm it and more in the interest of seeing how quickly it could melt the tray down. To Gene's surprise, the lightning arced away from Gene and into the tray! That's it!

With newfound confidence, Gene chucked another tray at his opponent. Sure enough, another bolt of the monster's electric shield arced into it. It was a small step forward, but not nearly enough to count. Thinking quickly, Gene shattered a nearby table, and sent its debris Blitzward. The Blitz valiantly defended itself against the incoming storm of shrapnel, but could not stop a particularly hefty piece of wood and iron from striking it directly in the chin.

The Blitz recognized that it probably wouldn't win a battle at range, and teleported out of sight. Gene whirled around to face... the wall. The Blitz, cheekily hiding above Gene, gave him a mighty whack about the head. Gene hastily rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding being crushed under the Blitz's weight. Gene continued rolling, avoiding a wicked stomp from his electric enemy, and found himself forced under the table. The Blitz leaped on top of the table, and readied a crushing blow.

With all his strength, Gene kangaroo-kicked upwards, sending a cloud of iron and wood into the Blitz's prone face. Gene capitalized on this good fortune and sent both dining chairs next to him straight up, forcing the Blitz backwards onto his behind.

Gene shot up to his feet, and faced the Blitz. Gone was the fiendish electricity, to be replaced with the raw, red flesh underneath. Gone was the Blitz's electric shielding and, with it, its main defense against Gene. With a wry smile, Gene clenched his right fist.

A blast of divine energy blew the Blitz off balance and partially blinded it, giving it no time to respond to a wicked uppercut from the God Hand. When the Blitz rebounded off the ceiling (taking several tiles with it), Gene quickly closed the gap and drove the God Hand into its flank. A flurry of withering blows rained down upon the stunned Blitz, hammering the gaps in its bony armor like a human jackhammer. Gene ducked under the Blitz's sweeping claws as it desperately fought to regain control, and righteously drove his fist straight into its groin. As the Blitz staggered back, Gene readied a vicious finisher. He reared back, put his hands together, opened his right palm, thrust it forward into the demon's chest, and...

The sound of the Blitz exploding in a shower of demonic power roared through the school. Though only a few dozen students and teachers had stayed behind instead of trying to find their own way to safety, they all came out in force to investigate such a worryingly loud noise. Gene, battered and bruised but still giddy at his own victory, welcomed the crowd of onlookers with a smile.

"Yeah, there we go-- beat the baddie, rescue the townsfolk... I could get used to this!" Gene muttered to himself. Gene addressed the crowd with an unerring sense of command, and spoke with no small amount of authority. "Alright, everyone! You guys wanna get out of here, you gotta follow my orders. Got it? Good! Alright, I got somebody coming over here soon _{I hope}, so I need you all to stay out front. C'mon, move quickly!"

---

Ten minutes later...

---

Gene was quite glad that there was a school bus still around. He wasn't sure if he could fit a couple dozen people on a motorcycle, and he didn't really want to figure out how. He listlessly listened to the sound of Antonio's divine motorcycle, hoping that he had managed to kill--or lose-- that Irenic.

From a long ways off, Gene heard a low rumbling sound. One that, strangely, sounded vaguely like a trumpet. Gene could easily recognize the familiar golden glow of Godspeed from a mile off-- Antonio was safe! Antonio pulled his sweet ride up next to Gene, and gave him a sly wink.

"Good job getting here, dude. How'd you get away?" Gene asked.
"There was a... misunderstanding. I am truly blessed to have avoided the wrath of one of God's servants." Said Antonio, beaming.
"Yeah? Turns out there was a demon in the school-- only a few people were left. They're all in that bus over there."
Antonio put his hand on his chin and thought deeply. "Hmm... we could escort it to safety! The only thing is... it probably won't be nearly as fast or maneuverable as my ride."
Gene scratched his head. A school bus would be a sitting duck in the chaos of the city. There had to be some way to make it as fast as Godspeed, but how? Gene's eyes fell on the rope tying his loot cart to Antonio's motorcycle, and lit up.

---

Five minutes later...

---

Antonio drove onwards through the city, his mind free of guilt. Behind him sat one end of Uriel. Several feet behind that was the other end of Uriel, tied around the grille of a school bus packed with adults and children. Thanks to the astonishing durability of Antonio's tools, he could easily tow an entire schoolbus behind him without worrying about losing too much speed. Standing atop the bus's roof, Gene kept an eye out for any demons looking for a quick snack.

Antonio and Gene's scholarly escort managed to make it out of the city almost entirely unscathed, safe for a few bruised shoulders and some scratched paint. As soon as it was safe enough to continue alone, one of the passengers took the bus's controls and drove off on the open road. Sitting together, bike and cart side by side, Gene and Antonio gave eachother a brisk high five.

"So... want to go for another trip?" Asked Gene.
"I thought you'd never ask!" Said Antonio, smiling.
Back into the city they went, on a quest to save as many people as possible, in the only way they knew how. It was a hard job, but somebody would have to do it.

KYL-9XX

The cyborg thought he had left behind chaos and destruction as he got out of the tunnels and stood on the streets of Barlour, but it didn´t take long until he was proven wrong. Portals were appearing throughout the city, harboring champions from hell and heaven alike. Their battles destroyed anything and everything around them, from cars, to buildings, to anyone who was unlucky enough to be caught in-between. Weak from his own, failed battle, KYL decided to not confront any of the beings, opting to try and find a way out of the city instead. His cybernetic eye wasn´t the only thing that had broken, his communication interface wasn´t responding either, leaving the damaged cyborg to fend for himself. Still getting used to his emotions, there was one name that was burnt into his mind, and brought up feelings of anger everytime he thought about it: Dr. Meldrich. Apparently, he was the one responsible for implanting the chip into KYL´s brain. The cyborg sure would love to meet the good doctor and exchange a few words with him...

As he slowly made his way through the city, KYL came across the Gilgamesh branch office. Since his comms were down, he thought he might find some help here, but a quick look at the building immediately brought his hopes down. The building had been abandonded, and not a single Gilgamesh employee was in sight. Just as he turned away to resume his path, an old crappy station wagon stopped a few feet in front of him. A door swung open, and a kid in a pecluiar cltohing got out, greeting the cyborg with a lazy wave. "Hey Kyle, I´m your ride out of this mess! Get in" he exclaimed, as he leaned against the open door. KYL had no clue who this kid was, on the other hand, he did not look dangerous or menacing in any way, and he was being offered a safer and quicker way out of the war zone Barlour City had become. The cyborg walked over to the back door, thanking the kid for the help, and sat down.

The dialogue between the two was short. Apparently the kid was named Souta, and he was a Gilgamesh operative as well. He had received a message to come pick up the cyborg, after everything that had happened in the tunnels. When the issue about the broken seal came up, both seemed reluctant to talk about it, and so they spent the rest of the ride in silence. On their way out of Barlour, KYL was shocked by the amount of destruction that had already taken place. There wasn´t a borough that went untouched by the raging war, and behind every corner waited a new abomination or angelic being that aided in the eradication of the city. If things kept going like this, the city would be nothing but a giant pile of rubble in a few days.

It wasn´t until they got out of a tunnel a while later that the silence was broken by a third passenger, suddenly appearing out of thin air next to Souta . ”Ah, don'tcha just love the highways in the afternoon?” The kid on the wheel reacted as anyone would when confronted with a ghostly being that came out of nowhere: Losing control of the car. After careening to the sides, their vehicle came to a full stop, and Souta instantly stepped out, rolling onto the floor. The cyborg exited the car as well, his gatling gun aimed at the ethereal being that had decided to sit down on top of the car. ”Terrible manners to show to someone like me. I'm an important person, you know. Very busy. Very important.” Its tone was condescending, mixed with a good portion of mockery. As KYL was still considering if he should pull the trigger or not, Souta decided to take matters in his own hands, attacking the ghost with two hook-like weapons. The result was more than disappointing, the weapons passed through it without leaving a trace. ”Oh, aren't you the cutest thing. Well, quit fidgeting and listen for a sec. You've been called for. I'm here to take you in.”

The newcomer seemed to have a plan, and it involved taking Souta somewhere. The kid glanced at KYL, and the cyborg shrugged his shoulders in response, lowering the weapon that would have no effect on their uninvited guest. "You too tinman. Meeting is about to start, time we get going". came from behind them. KYL spun around, and stood face to face with a copy of the thing that was sitting on the car.

Akoni, exhausted, injured, overtaxed, was unconscious for several hours. Had the nephilim Wrath not pulled him from the Eidolic Cairn, he'd have surely perished. It was rather funny, in a way. A career in demon hunting that spanned decades, including an entire ten years within Hell itself, and he lived long enough to retire for twenty years... And it wasn't until he agreed to get out of retirement that he faced certain death.

But Death was not the one watching him or Wrath at this point. Death was nowhere to be found, but one of his associates kept a good eye on the two. Akoni began to wake as the watcher and Wrath had their conversation. He couldn't understand any of it, he was still too out of sorts and in pain, until the watcher referred directly to Akoni himself. "He goes too."

Akoni looked up with bloodshot eyes, recognizing the creature. Through slow, heavy breathes, he spoke. "I can... Understand why... The Council wants to see... A nephililm. What do they... Want... With a washed up... Old... Has-been human?"

"Don't presume you know anything about the Council, human!" the watcher shot back. "In any case, it is not your place, or mine, to question their orders. It is your place to prepare to be brought before them."

Akoni would have laughed, if it wouldn't hurt so damn much. The Charred Council wanted him? Really? Sure he had a reputation, but that was back in his heyday. Things were different now. Twenty years of laziness and stagnation did not a master combatant make. Even his magic had waned in that time. He recalled when he could forge his own gates between earth, Paradiso, and Inferno. Now? He struggled to create gates more than a few yards away. And more than that was his attitude. Akoni forgot his limitations, threw caution to the wind. He jumped into a dangerous situation and allowed himself to be distracted (mental note, send Snider an invoice for the boombox repair), and failed to properly assess the threat. Ultimately he had to use that technique. Probably shaved five years off of his lifespan with that little trick. Better than dying on the spot, but it wasn't exactly an ideal alternative.

"Thank you for, I assume, pulling me out of there..." Akoni trailed off as he addressed the nephilim, but his eyes glowed a dull blue for but a moment and he continued. "Wrath. I never knew there existed a fifth nephilim. You're not one of the Horseman, but I sense holy magic around you. An agent of the Lumen Sages? Or perhaps Heaven itself? Regardless, thank you. Such kindness has never been expressed to me by a non-human."

Akoni struggled to stand on his own two feet, but found the pain to be too severe. He slumped back down, his face contorting in a strange combination of pain and anger at his own inability to be self-sufficient, when the watcher spoke up again. "We're getting off track. Prepare yourselves to meet your betters, immediately."

With the imminent collapse of everything around them, Kosara didn't have much time to worry about anyone as she also started to make a run for it. She was rather well attuned to energy reading and she knew what was next... as the whole foundation of the city seemed to crumble, she ran through the dark tunnels, rumble falling all around her as she made her way towards the nearest exist possible.

She was nearly buried alive, before she made it to the exit, but luckily she managed to get into the metro tunnels in time. They too were crumbling, but she made it to the nearest emergency exit from those and out on the surface as everything seemed to go to oblivion...

----------------------------------------

This place was a lost cause... there was no way they were going to retake the city from this madness. Even Kosara who loved fighting demons found her hands full after the incident. Demons... angels... she fought them all to buy time for the evacuations from the first moment she made it above ground after the incident. Things were out of any control, Gilgamesh seemed to abandon the city, the remaining combatants on the human side were so busy that there was no time for rest. She was a half demon so she didn't really need much of resting and even she found it tiring to keep up. She had no idea how many lesser demons fell... or even weaker angelic creatures... She had to cooperate with other agents to manage to escort civilians out the city.

Finally after what seemed like a moment( for she really enjoyed fighting after all), she had a breather. Never had the feeling of being watched vanish since the event underground, but so far she had not the time to spare and check it. Right now the demons and angels were in full war mode and at each other's throats, so she could kick back and relax, watching from far distance...

She closed her eyes for a moment, following all energy around her, seeing it... feeling it. Now that the seal was gone, energies steeped into everything around. Normally human world seemed very barren of energy and her second sight was pretty useless, but in rare places where demonic and angelic realms seemed to overlap with the human world, energy was everywhere, making for pretty useful ability. Only now did the shadowy entity appear. It earned a raised eyebrow from her as she leaned back, one leg on top of the other as she made herself comfortable on the concrete rubble positioned like a chair.

“What do you want? You are blocking my view.” Kosara asked with a smile, sword in her hand as she still sat in her improvised chair.” A puny half demon dog dares bark ehhh?” The shadowy figure laughed in sarcastic voice as it's six eyes locked onto the demon hunter. She as tapping her finger on the concrete, studying the creature.” You've been extended invitation by The Charred Council and as much to my dislike, I was chosen to lead you there... You'd better be honored!” The creature said, causing Kosara to laugh.” A watcher? I've read about your kind... I've read about the council too actually... Well if you ask me, you seem to be doing pretty poor job at watching... this was a second seal getting destroyed.” She said and jumped from her place to stand up.” I say your bosses should probably buy some cameras instead of you guys... “ She said with a smirk, earning a narrowed six eyes from the watcher who seemed like he wanted to tear her to pieces.” You insignific...” The watcher began a rant, before he was interrupted.” You just came to meet this insignificant creature~ So I say you keep me amused and lead me to your superiors... come on smokey...” She said, sheathing her sword.” Don't keep a lady waiting... what a bad mannered creature you are...” Kosara was talking pretty fast, not giving the watcher time to retort back.

“I should te...” The watcher started saying something again, before being interrupted once more.” You should open the way to this place you have to take me right~?” She asked with a whistle. It was clear that she wasn't going to let the watcher say anything. Earning some annoyed grunts the watcher, as she was hoping around him, the watcher finally grasped her suddenly and they vanished. After them was left only silence in the ruined building.

Mary sighed as she looked at the war torn husk of a city that, frankly, wasn't even that good to begin with. It went from slum to probably worse than hell. Mary still couldn't believe Nero had lost the Yamato. She didn't even get much of a chance to look at it. All she had now were the last researcher's notes. With just that, getting it back or replicating it would prove to be a challenge. Especially with the destruction of the second seal.

Mary mentally cursed herself again for not stepping in. The damnable demon had distracted her enough for the doppleganger to get a clean hit. Currently, Mary's abdomen was covered in stitches, some form of regenerative drug, and gauze. Nero had helped her out of the ruins and got an Order medic apply it before leaving for Fortuna. He and Kyrie needed to form a plan of attack, he had said. Two seals were down, and the Order's most powerful weapon gone. Mary wanted to help them create a strategy too, but studying the effects of the seal breaking were important, and she was the only one who could reasonably risk getting this close to so many demons and angels. She would join the two heads of the Order once Nero gave the word.

For now, she took the roof access down to the ground, and walked into her motel room. Most of her stuff was, miraculously, still in here. Somehow, this place hadn't been attacked yet. Must've seemed too crappy to break or some such. Which was good, because she needed to grab her laptop to take some notes. She began sifting through her suitcase, mumbling to herself all the while. "Hmph. It was in here somewhere…"

Her musings were interrupted as a series knocks echoed throughout the room she was in, disturbing what little peace and quiet she had. The sound of the knocking also brought with it a pair of muffled voices; one deep and gravelly, and the other light and almost girly. What they were talking about was as of yet indistinct, only becoming a little clearer as she neared the door, making words such as “Work”, and “plan”, as well as “Imp”.

"What kind of people would still be in the city?" Mary asked herself. She would need to get these people out of here if they weren't DHO. Hell, she wouldn't be surprised if it was DHO members she did need to escort out. They seemed to have a penchant for grievous injury. But Mary pushed the thought out of her mind as a small 'click' sounded, signifying the door unlocking. Before opening it, though, her hand hovered over the handle. Was it possible that this was a demon? The voices sounded human enough. Besides, what kind of demon would use the front door? Still, something didn't sit right with Mary. With one hand she opened the door, slowly. The other hand was at her side, near the Plain Ol' Doll. If whatever was on the other side didn't look human… She would feel bad for it.

The door opened to reveal tall, raven haired woman with violet eyes and what looked like an easy smile on her lips. Beside her was something far less human. It was easily twice as tall as the woman even on all four, but would become a monster nearly without comparison should it rear upon its hind legs. The fur and scale covering its entire body, as well as the razor sharp fangs and claws certainly did not help mask its demonic nature.
The woman turned as the door opened, giving Mary a wide smile and a raised hand in greeting. “Hello. Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Lucifer the Fallen?” she asked, eliciting something of a tormented look from the large hound.

Mary stood, unmoving, for quite a few seconds, trying to make some sort of attempt to process what she had both seen, and heard. That failing, her mouth fell open and a quiet "Uuuuhhh…?" escaped. Without even thinking, she slowly closed the door, relocked it, and went over to her bed. She sat on the mattress, staring blankly into space. Whatever she had just seen, very clearly didn't happen. She would open up the door in a couple seconds, and whatever the hell that was would be gone. She was just… doing too much research. She would have to look up the side effects of that regenerative drug the Order medic have given her.

Outside, the conversation resumed, this time loud enough to be heard.

“She closed the door, Imp,” the grave voice that definitely did not belong to a giant dog monster observed.

“Yes.” The woman’s voice, sounding very pleased with herself. “That’s the usual response.”

“I do not understand this custom.” An irritated grunt. “Try again.”

Knock, knock, knock.

Oh my god. She could hear them. They knocked on the door again. They were real, weren't they? Even though Mary knew more than any other human the reality of the world, that angels and demons and ghosts, they all existed. She knew the grave dangers of magic, and how to end the world. But this? She almost refused to accept. She stared at the door again with an existential look in her eyes. Her gaze briefly wandered to her gun, before she shook her head. That would not be a befitting death for the head researcher of the Order. She would open the door and confront her demons. The lock slid away, and the door opened again. She looked at the two demons blankly. Her hand didn't even reach for a weapon, she was too preoccupied with her own reality to care about her safety.

Once more she was met with that strange smile from the woman outside, the towering monstrosity of a hellhound still with her. She did not repeat herself, however. Instead she leaned forward, eyes locked with Mary’s. “So you’re the one,” she said quietly. “Not the ordinary human are you, youngster?”

Mary's eyes widened as the demoness leaned in closer and essentially whispered into her ear. Was… that what Mary had to confront? This was making her feel very uncomfortable. She loved discovering things, but this sort of self discovery was… disconcerting. She considered the other options. She would just reply honestly. The lady would have to try harder than that to sweep Mary off her feet. "I'm not ordinary. I'm the head of the Order of The Sword. And twenty three isn't young for humans," she explained. Hopefully that would get the woman to back up a bit, and stop looking at Mary like that.

The monster at the woman’s side barked, and it took Mary a moment to realize it was laughter. “If this one’s human, I’m a ghost.”

The woman straightened back up, looking down at Mary. “And you are very young. I was already old when the Lord of Hell was young, my dear. That being said, we did not come here simply to exchange pleasantries and argue young and old. We have far more pressing matters.”

Mary's eyes widened in horror when the beast remarked on her humanity. Her face reddened and she turned away in shame. She guessed demons could sense these things, or maybe it was because he was a hound. She latched onto the other demon's words to avoid being pressed further. "Important things? Please tell me." She asked. She began to gesture for them to come inside, before realizing that the dog would have to wait outside. Good. "Please come inside."

The demoness gave no answer, but still followed Mary inside, glancing furtively about. “Coming, Fenn?” She called out suddenly, glancing at the large hound still outside. The demon peered into the room and its low ceiling with scowling eyes, then grunted and sat beside the open door. That was answer enough, it seemed.

A small laugh escaped Mary's mouth as she sat down on the bed. Still though, she was curious as to what the demons wanted with her. Was it her tainted blood? That certainly seemed likely, counting in previous comments. But it was obvious they wanted her alive, or else they would have taken her blood by force. She remained cautious, but not overly paranoid. "So? What are these matters?" Mary asked.

“Help,” the female demon said bluntly, then seemed to think otherwise. “Or rather, to establish contact and work together.” Her demeanor had been light and almost friendly up until that point, but her voice and eyes suddenly turned hard and determined. “The second seal of the apocalypse has been broken, as you well know, and we—I—intend to stop the rest from being destroyed.”

Mary stared, confused at the demon. A demon had just asked a human for help to stop an apocalypse that could only result in more land for demons to conquer. It almost seemed too good to be true. But it hadn't attacked her yet, and it didn't even seem the Hellhound wanted to. Mary was silent for a good moment, thinking. Could she trust these demons? Could Nero and the Order trust these demons? Would they even be of much help, other than her and Nero? She was unsure about this arrangement, too many variables. She needed more information. "What kind of help? Just working together to find and protect the seal? Is that all you two want?"

“That’s what she wants,” the one named Fenn growled from the entrance. It seemed his ears were keen enough to follow the conversation without effort from outside the room.

“And what you want, too, by proxy, Pup,” she called back, somewhat louder than seemed necessary. She turned back to Mary. “You are mostly correct. Working together would be optimal, and I have no intentions of becoming the lackey of an organisation such as yours, nor do I think you’d be willing to work under a demon, no matter how much our goals coincided.” She was silent for a while, then, eyeing the room they were in until her gaze fell upon a half-open suitcase, the lid closed by the handle of Mary’s sword sticking out.

She quickly walked over to it and tipped back the lid of the suitcase, pushing aside the swords with nary a glance. Mary quickly stood up. What odd behavior. A simple "Hey," to get the demon's attention. "What are you doing?" Mary demanded. What the hell was this lady doing? They hadn't even agreed on a business agreement and she was digging through Mary's stuff.

“My clothes are wet,” she replied off-handedly, then paused and looked up at Mary. “Mind if I take a pair? Fenn’s fire didn’t really dry what I’m wearing now, and it’s not exactly pleasant to walk in.”

A long-suffering sigh reached the pair from the entrance. A contemplative 'Hmm 'came from Mary as well. Mary didn't have many pairs of clothes left, and there wasn't exactly an easy way to get them washed... Mary deigned she could borrow them, for now. Under a few conditions, of course. "Fine. For now, you can borrow some clothing. After you dress, we are going to find an abandoned clothing shop. This is only on the condition you and… Fern, was it?”

“Fenn,” snapped the dog. It was clear he was growing impatient.

“Fenn,” she amended, “don't refer to my condition in the company of others, okay?" She commanded. She was a giving soul, but it was important to lay down ground rules, especially with demons. "So, are we working together, Miss…?"

“Lily,” the demoness replied, shamelessly stripping down to nothing, before grabbing a pair of dark blue dress pants, a form fitting white dress shirt, and a black blazer just long enough to fall to her hips. “Nice,” she murmured.

Mary looked away embarrassed as her new coworker stripped bare in front of her. Why were demons so socially inept? It was already making this one of the most awkward encounters she’d ever had. Still red-faced and looking away, Mary extended a hand in Lily's general direction for her to shake. "T-then, uuumm, I'll… get in contact with the General? After we get you out of those clothes, I mean." She stuttered.

“No complaints,” Lily replied, shaking the proffered hand. “And your name, Little Miss Half Demon?”

Mary huffed a bit, but still returned the handshake with a gentle vigor. "I guess if it's not around people…" She mumbled. "My name's Maria Dahl. Mary."

“Very well, Maria. Let’s go find a clothing shop, and then contact your commander.” She turned halfway towards the door, informing Fenn of their imminent departure. “And, just a fair warning, Maria Dahl,” she added, briefly turning back to the half-demon with a hard look on her face. “If any of your allies, or the like attack us, we will retaliate.” Immediately her expression lightened up and, giving Mary a quick pat on the head, she headed back out towards Fenn.

"So will I and Nero," mumbled Mary with a stoic expression on her face. She followed the demoness, but not before grabbing the weaponry hidden inside her suitcase.

Before they managed to reach the door, a new voice spoke from outside. “I’m afraid the shopping spree will have to wait.” A rasping mix of joviality and toxicity filled the words. “Oh, how fortunate to find two and a half demons already gathered. I’m sure some other civil servant will be glad they won’t have to bother dealing with this mess…”

Fenn’s voice followed with a snarl. “What do you want, specter?”

Exiting through the front door, the two women locked eyes on the newcomer. A reedy thing, with blackened skin and pale, bluish light coming from vein like lines on its chest and arms. Similar lights shone as the only defining features on the gaunt creature’s face, forming six eyes. Chains seemed to be affixed to various parts of the thing’s body, like decorations. Small, wing-like protrusions were affixed to its shoulders, though Mary doubted they were the reason the creature was able to float before them.

“Why, I came to see a Hellhound playing chaperon,” it said, voice laced with sarcasm. “How does one go about getting such a large guard dog?”

Fenn’s lip twitched, the snarl held in check clearly visible in his eyes.

“And so well-trained too…” it cooed.

"...What did you call me? Half a what?" Mary asked, an obvious fire in her eyes, betraying her unmoving mouth. Was that three fucking people that knew her blood was a horrible tainted mess and it was all her fault? She was asking him, daring him to repeat himself. She wasn't exactly in the best mood to begin with, losing Yamato, losing the seal, and now this? She wanted the creature dead.

“Do you have cotton in your ears, love?” the thing asked, miming a digging motion at the side of its head with long, thin fingers. “You are a half-blood, an abomination. I can sense your stench from here, and I don’t even have a nose!” The thing belted out a high pitched cackle, as reedy of sound as it was of frame.

A grotesque roar escaped Mary as she charged at the being in a blind rage. She barely even registered its disgusting laughter as she began ripping it to shreds with sloppy but powerful slashes. Or at least, she would have torn it to shreds had it been solid. By some twist of fate, the being was intangible. Still, for a good ten seconds after she realized this, she continued in the vain hope she would hear it cry out in pain. But it never did. Panting, Mary attempted one last attack, pulling out her gun and firing it at the gangling black blob. The thing just laughed harder. Mary continued, sitting on her knees and firing into it until clicking replaced the report of gunfire.

“Ah…” As its laughter began to die down, the ghost wrapped an arm around its stomach and brought a hand up to its eyes, as if wiping away a single tear. “I really needed that.”

“Specter,” Fenn growled before reiterating his question, “why are you here?”

“You should feel honored, mongrels. Beings of your stature rarely get a chance to meet one such as I.”

“I suddenly feel better about my lot in life,” the dog remarked sourly.

“You’re trying too hard,” a disgruntled Lily remarked, seeming unimpressed by the specter’s attempts at insulting them. “Either learn how to insult people, or get on with your business.”

“The scenery is made to be chewed, missy. It is one of the few pleasures of this line business.” It let out a chuckle, a sound no less aggravating in its restraint. “Fine. I am a Watcher, and you have all witnessed something of great import today. It has… marked you, brought you to the attention of my masters,” it explained in sinister tones. “I am here at the behest of the Charred Council, to lead you to its majestic presence. Feel free to bow.”

Mary's eyes widened a bit. The Council? She had barely heard anything about them, but what little she had heard made her excited and anxious. They, apparently, held precedent over both angels and demons. She quickly stood up and dusted herself off. If she was meeting people that important, than it would be important to look presentable. One thing confused her though. "Wait. The all-powerful Charred Council summoned you to come get us?" Her tone was both angry and curious, as it was half a jab, and half an honest question.

“Yes,” it said, stretching the syllable until it was almost a hiss. “It must beggar the mind to think that such an illustrious agent as myself would be sent to offer reception to ones such as you. Why, the Council must hold you in high regard indeed…” It was a bizarre thought that the watcher could convey a sneer so perfectly even without a visible mouth. “But enough with… formalities.” Another chuckle escaped it. “My masters would see you. Now. Take my hand.”

It stretched one bony limb, holding long, clawed fingers towards the trio.

Mary looked at the demoness and the devil dog with an unreadable expression. It was excitement, but also mistrust and anger. If this were true, then they really did have a chance at saving Humanity. But of course, Mary had no idea if this was a ruse, and even though she knew she couldn't harm the specter, she was unsure if the specter could harm her. All the same, to her, it was a risk worth taking. She took the being's hand.

As for Lily, the distrust in her eyes was not difficult to see, even for Mary. The scowl she directed at the apparition could’ve burned holes in somebody else. Regardless, it seemed that she had weighed her chances, and found that going with the specter was in her favour, and so she, too, took the being’s hand, despite never looking away from its six eyes.

Fenn, however, looked at the watcher with disgust. “What happens if I decline,” he challenged.

The thing giggled. “Silly dog,” it said, “it was never a matter of choice.”

With that, the three blinked out of existence, leaving the rundown motel’s parking lot empty as though the four beings had never been there.

Snider caught his hammer as it jetted off from around him and back into his right hand. With a forceful yank with his arm and teeth, the old man fastened the bandage around his body. His jacket was laying on the ground, soaked with blood. Fresh wounds covered the old man's body, as well as opened ones from the previous bout. His left arm, covered in holes after facing the demon's last attack, was unserviceable, a tourniquet fastened midway down his bicep. Snider found himself sitting inside an ambulance that had ended up crashing against the brick wall of some building. A trail of blood was left between it and a hole in the asphalt undoubtedly created by the man himself.

"Goddammit" he groaned, pushing a roll of cotton gauze over a wound in his leg. Using the opposite food, he kept pressure on the wound as his working hand wrapped another bandage tightly around. He shuffled around the vehicle, looking for more usable medical supplies, before he heard a sound behind him.

Standing behind him, three beings covered in what appeared to be bandages, not unlike Snider in fact. Each hefted a scythe over the shoulder- they were Hell Sloth. Using his hammer as a crutch, Snider pushed himself on his feet. A powerful explosion went off from inside the ambulance, blowing a hole in the back of it. Meeting the face of one of the demons was the heel of Snider's boot, the entire body of the demon disintegrating into a pile of sand. Snider stepped back to face the remaining demons as more arrived to greet him.

"Hmph" Snider smirked, throwing himself onto the asphalt as two scythes came for his head, instead clanging against each other, Snider's stomach hitting the ground. As another swung at Snider, he rolled over, his gimp arm limply flailing out and catching the blade over his own flesh. An absence of dripping blood confirmed his tourniquet was effective. The weight of his arm brought the slow demon to the ground with him. Using the rocket on his hammer, Snider spun upwards and outwards, kicking the other demon closer to his boot, and backflipping around the other demon, freeing his arm from its scythe. He slammed the handle of his hammer into the Hell Sloth, putting it out of commission.

Another swing of his hammer caught the scythe of yet another. Snider picked up the demon by the scythe, slamming it against another Sloth, defeating both of them in one swing.

One by one, the demons fell. Then, once again, behind Snider, a noise. This time, a thunderbolt accompanied by a bright flash.

Snider quickly turned around, using the rocket on his hammer to move his near-crippled body, swinging it at the Blitz before it vanished with a spark of electricity. Snider waited, standing still as the demon zipped around. Meeting the demon's face, Snider's elbow. Using the increased power from his hearing aid, the demon hunter easily tracked the demon, even as he normally could not have. The demon vanished again, Snider rolling out of the way of the resulting lightning bolt.

Snider swung again, the Blitz catching Snider's hammer on its shield before zipping away. Snider kicked off the ground, and using his twin rocket hammers, propelled himself into the air, meeting the demon mid-flight. There, they exchanged an electrifying series of blows, a body falling out of the resulting mess, into the ambulance.

The Blitz materialized at the back of the ambulance from the air, poking its fingers on the inside.

Something slammed against the Blitz, emitting an earsplitting screech. Snider threw his hearing aid, disorienting the Blitz. Not a split second later, the demon was pelted with bullets. Snider had won.

The bloodied demon hunter crawled out of the ambulance, hands empty, all his weapons kept in their holsters, machine gun slung behind his back.

Using his shoulder, Snider wiped off a bit of blood from his cheek.

"AAAAH!" Snider shouted as he swung his hammer back, assisted with the rocket. With a blunt poof, his hammer met the mouthless face of some creature Snider was sure was a demon. Snider stepped back.

"The Charred Council wishes to-"

"Tell them to take the biggest dildo they can find and shove it up their collective asses." Snider spat at the watcher.

Earthquakes and the likes were going on outside, thousands and thousands of people were screaming. It was a terrifying sound to hear. The young girl Midori had been passing the time with hiding under a blanket. Her parents had left about a week ago for a honeymoon trip. It was typical for them to do such thing. Midori had been grown pretty used to it, she could survive without the two. But some help sometimes was appreciated. Like for example, Right now perhaps?

She was trembling under the sheets like a chihuahua, what was she suppose to do in case of doomsday being released upon the city. Hiding under a table was step one but step two on how to survive the apocalyptic world was never in the manual. She tried doing some fun things to get her mind off of it but nothing seemed to be helping. Calling for help wasn't gonna work either since the line was dead. Outside? Going to the police? Oh hell no! She didn't trust these people outside one bit. Well then there was one last option and unfortunately that was sitting it out.

Luckily for her the scariest part had already passed, these were just small aftershocks from the main event. She had no clue to what had caused all this ruckus outside but she did not even care in the least. As long as it was gonna be over soon. Midori kept staring out of the window from under her blanket feeling like something was there.

After a while slowly but surely Midori had taken the courage to get out of her shelter and act normal as far as she could again. She had to call her dad, he was sure to help her at any given moment. She had gotten out a hoody and a magical enchanted sun hat custom made for her. The sunhat didn't cover her horns at all but it it hide them with the help of magic. And the hoody was just to hide her wings. Short after her preparations Midori went out to make her own adventure to the closest 24 hour shop. Bodies of dead people, broken down suv's crashed helicopters it was all there. Something was seriously wrong in this city. Yet she did not find any answer to what had happened.

It didn't take long before she arrived, most people had already gone and the place looked pretty abandoned too. She immediately went to the phone pole on the outside and hastily turned the number. Line was dead, must have gotten a pretty big part of the city. Nothing to be done about it. She had to come up with a plan to make it on her own. Well it wasn't like she survived a few days on her own before. She could manage untill her parents were back. She was not for nothing half demon! Midori went inside the store to see if anyone was still there but to her surprise nothing showed up.

She decided to raid the store a little so she had enough supplies to last for a week at least. Some water candy veggies meat and the likes. Mostly food. Midori placed it all into one shopping bag and went out again. But to her surprise a long tall creature blocked her way. In surprise she stammered backwards onto her butt dropping the bag with supplies she had just gathered. She made a small squealing noise while she fell and was found staring in fear up at the creature.

---

Staring down at the capsized child with five dim scars and a single piercing blue eye, the entity abhorred by Midori tilted its head slightly whilst it hung, puppetlike, in the air. Clearly savoring every ounce of fear and confusion on the halfling's part, the maimed watcher appeared to draw every atom of the pair's surroundings with excruciating patience. Finally, on the mirror's edge where Midori's discomfort and anticipation might give way to boredom -for familiarity bred contempt- the Watcher unleashed a potent and luxuriant drawl. "Weeeeeell, what a disappointment. When I heeard that I was bein' sent to find a half-demon, I...expected somethin' exciting. But heeeere ya aaare, a scared little schoolgirl with her cheeks on the pavement." He released an airy sigh of longing for something, anything, to spare him from this boredom. He managed to shrug, though, the chains on his wrists clinking softly like coins. "Whaaaatever. Council called; you're due fooor an appointment. They must see...somethin'...in ya. Nonsense if ya ask me. Whaddya say, missie? Ready for a li'l fieeeeld trip?"

---

Midori stook her hand in front of herself and pressed her eyes closed looking like a scaredy sheep the state she was in right now. She wanted to yell so it would go away but her voice didn't sound. She was scared for it to attack her but after having waited for quite some time she noticed it wasn't hostile in the least. It was trying to talk to her, might even try to help her if she was lucky enough not to have met a big liar. Midori slowly dropped her guard and opened up to the entity. She still sat on the ground as it talked to her, clearly mocking her.

"I-it's not like I chose to be this way"

She cried out with her soft tender voice, the courage on her face could clearly be seen as she spoke (not). Midori stood up from her fall again and brushed the dust of her clothes. Her knees were slightly trembling so she kind of hoped the entity wouldn't notice her fear, or otherwise it might even try to make more fun of her.

"W-what council...? What would they need from me... I d-don't know, I still gotta do the dishes and the laundry and and..."

She was interrupted from talking by a very loud explosion in the distance at the end of the street. Midori immediately squatted down placing her hands onto her sunhat with her eyes closed shut again. She was startled by the explosion but was quick to react again and reach out towards the explosion. Midori was definitely tearing up at the sight of the flames. What was she suppose to do without house...

"I-I think that was near m-my house. Daddy is gonna murder m-me... O-okay I'll come with you to calm down a little... Maybe it is better than this god forsaken place... Hopefully."

---

The Watcher shrugged halfheartedly at the young girl's complaint. If it could be certain of anything in life, it would have to be the insignificance of one's choices in the greater scheme of things. Then again, if everything went the way everyone wanted it to, everything would be dull and nothing would have meaning. "Mhm...," it murmured.

Though a witness of many a combustion in its time, the Watcher turned its one remaining eye to watch as a structure down the street went up in a glorious pillar of flame. "I wondeeeer...how that happened." Despite this pondering, it couldn't truly be asked to care about some habitation on earth, and awaited a reply from Midori, ignoring her distress until it became apparent that the annihilated house belonged to her. How convenient! Now nothing remained to her except to accept, not that she would have been permitted to decline. "Awwww. What a bummer. To lose one's home...well, moving on. You'll have a place to stay sooooon enough...if you be a good girl and do as you're told." If not for the lack of a mouth, the Watcher's smirk would have been all too obvious. Reaching out with a slender, spindly hand, it grasped Midori's shoulder and the two disappeared into darkness.

For a moment the silence hung in the air, thick and problematic. The Watcher stared at Snider, its feelings difficult to discern until it could hold them in no longer. ”Pffffffffffffff,” it exhumed, bowed over slightly in mirth for a moment. When it straightened up, however, its voice held a contempt so casual that one could only assume that in its estimation Snider soundly failed to outvalue urinal mildew. ”Well, aren’tcha a feculent, rebellious little snotwad? And the mout on ya!...ya just my type.” Its nasal drawl contained a pronounced lilt, giving it the impression of being English. “For making my day I’ll give ya a little advice. Get over bein’ a puffed-up li’l bitch before ya meet the Council. I could kill ya iffen I decide I don’t like the smell of your shriveled old sack, but the Council can wipe ya right out of existence, not that ya have anyone but me to miss ya, Roughdick. So take it from me: shut up and take the chance to do something significant wit ya life.”

The Watcher crossed its arms, sneering invisibly, and said. [color=cyan]”Oh, and cooperation isn’t optional.” It disappeared into a smear of darkness, and with it the world receded, spiraling Snider through an infinite void.



Even before they saw the fire, they felt the heat. Every single individual accosted by the Watchers felt the searing heat crash against them the instant before their sight returned to them, allowing them to see the awesome spectacle that lay before them. Around them lay a colossal, seemingly infinite realm of stone and lava, stretching endlessly into the distance. Torrents of the molten stone poured from above, and colossal pillars and stalactites could be seen easily, hinting at some sort of ceiling far above. None, however, could tell where such a ceiling lay, but all the same only a fool might imagine that above them lay a starless black sky.

All of them lay, in various levels of dignity, on a great stone circle. In short order, those without natural resistance to heat no doubt discovered a mobile white magic rune beneath their feet that followed them wherever they went, and without which the radiating heat from such extreme proximity to the lava would reduce them to cinders in seconds. Thought this place fit the stereotypical description of Hell as a vast molten cave, few could deny that this place did not feel disturbing or malignant. Instead, this fiery, dangerous realm gave off an aura of power, and the authority that dwelt therein.

Two features stood out. In one direction, across a bridge of ornate stone, lay a grand and ominous citadel. Opposite them, arranged among the lava, stood three enormous stone heads like monoliths. Their eyes blazed with a fire still more intense than all that surrounded them. As the arrivals looked around, their escorts abandoned them, with or without saying snide farewells, to float towards these enormous heads and take up positions around them. The chaperone of Wrath and Akoni said nothing while leaving, and after assuming his position, moved no more. Souta and KYL’s bringer, the condescending female, winked half of her eyes before taking her leave. Meanwhile, Kosara found herself dumped speedily and callously by the easily-frustrated male Watcher, who muttered to himself angrily as he flew. The particularly vain and irksome female watcher who accosted Mary, Fenn, and Lily made sure they knew how lucky they were before departing. Snider’s especially foulmouthed companion reminded him try looking more intelligent and presentable than diarrhea, and Midori’s escort bid her a prolonged goodbye.

When every Watcher hovered in place, another one, previously unseen, became apparent. Close inspection revealed this Watcher to be of an entirely different sort, larger and older, with nine emerald eyes that moved constantly across its face. This one said nothing, and waited.



A colossal voice, guttural and primordial, echoed through the chamber. It had issued from the center head.



The second head spoke then, its tone accusatory and demanding.

Akoni closed his eyes and accepted the transportation provided by the watcher. After all, not only would it be a colossal disrespect to refuse, and incredibly foolish, but it was against his own self-interest. Even at his peak, Akoni could never find a way to gate himself to the realm of the Charred Council, the keepers of the balance between the three kingdoms. Whatever they wanted with him and Wrath, even if it was to be punished for their failure to protect the second seal, it would be worth the journey just to see their realm.

Once the transition was complete, Akoni gazed all around him and marveled, if silently. To the layman, such a place would be described as Hell. He'd scoff at that. Hell actually had very little fire and brimstone. These were the flames of creation and life. He didn't know from any book or experience he had, but he could feel it in his bones. That's when he caught sight of several more people appearing, also guided by watchers. Most of them he remembered from the Eidolic Cairn. Greeeeeeeeeat. Why does my day need to be ruined with this bullshit?

Spotting Snider amongst them, Akoni rolled his eyes and sighed. Using his left index finger, he drew a rectangle in the air, tracing lines of blue magic energy. Once he completed the shape, it solidified in the form of a piece of paper, which drifted through the air and right up into Snider's face. It read as such:
Parts - $20
Labor - $15
Twisting the laws of physics into a balloon animal - $300
Total cost of boombox repair - $335
Make checks payable to Akoni

The old wizard chuckled to himself, when a loud booming voice commanded his attention. The Council addressed them. They were... Not what Akoni was expecting, but then again he wasn't sure what exactly he was expecting. What he did know was that they gave a chance, an opportunity. He could correct his massive failure. He may even have the opportunity to work with the Horseman, to meet War or Fury or Death. He also knew that their word was absolute, and choosing to walk away would have dire consequences. It wasn't something he had to think twice about. Akoni immediately stepped forward, composing himself through the pain of his cracked ribs.

"Honorable Charred Council, I accept." His words were simple, but he needn't say any more.

Wrath ignored whatever snide remark his and the human's retriever may have made and stepped forwards towards the three Council members, his eyes on them intently. He knew the trio by reputation more than anything, as did most of both Heaven and Hell, but that wasn't why he looked so hard at them. He had, admittedly, expected and hoped that his older siblings would be there, offering some kind of advice or even reminding everyone who they were. But that didn't seem to be the case, so instead, he waited and listened as the first of the three spoke.



A colossal voice, guttural and primordial, echoed through the chamber. It had issued from the center head. Wrath considered Dregs being nice, considering the things that lived in Hell and the way they treated each other there. He also wondered how many Lords of Heaven there actually were, a question for Uriel he decided.



The second head spoke then, its tone accusatory and demanding. Wrath frowned slightly at that line, thinking on what it meant. All three Kingdoms moving into place for a battle that will have only one victor. That wouldn't go well at all.



Oh sure, because we all knew that some human possessed by...something, was going to waltz in and slash the seal in two. That's totally fair. Still, Wrath spoke after the old man he'd saved did, his voice unwavering in the face of those who'd ordered the extinction of his race millenia ago and his mind made up.. "I too accept, Charred Council. But I would ask where my siblings, Death, War, Fury, and Strife, are. One of them could do what you're asking all of us to." He knew he was pushing a very dangerous envelope, but it made sense to the Nephilim that the Horsemen could defend the seals without issue in the event of them being broken too soon.

Only a short time passed before the first two of the new arrivals to the conflagrant realm of the Charred Council made their choice. In the wake of the resounding, bone-rattling rumble that was the Council's voice, there came a heavy and expectant silence. More burdensome than this quiet, however, lay the truth accepted by Akoni and Wrath prior to their pronouncement of acceptance: that to save the world, and every human upon it, agency with the Charred Council will be the best bet. After the courteous elder and the Nephilim of Heaven made their replies, the third great head spoke up, its voice calm, level, and reasonable compared to those of its fellows, though no less powerful.



From his elevation the nine-eyed, ambiguous Watcher swooped down. Compared to the rest, he appeared to be the most eminent and the most powerful, and his ever-shifting emerald gaze held no warmth. Upon arrival, he reached down and dipped his finger into lava, and with the scalding digit traced a simple design across the foreheads of Wrath and Akoni, one after another. For a moment it seared abominably, but afterward the blaze nearly disappeared. Now the brand merely glowed warmly, like the embrace of a tiny electric blanket. "Guess I owe you a welcome," he murmured, his voice gravelly and grating, as he floating between them. "Did you not hear, halfbreed? The Horsemen, by law, cannot set foot on earth before the destruction of the Seventh Seal. If all goes to plan, you won't ever meet them. You really don't want to, either. Not very friendly to Nephilim, I hear." He paused to examine Akoni, who appeared to be in some sort of pain. "Hey now, we want you standing a sporting chance. Hold still" A green light emanated from Panoptos' claws, wreathing Akoni's body and restoring it to a state not just recovered but rested. "There's a perk you can look forward to. First time's free." The First Watcher chortled under his breath. "Now stand aside, you two. We have plenty more oaths to take." Again that smothering silence took hold.

Kyle (KYL-9XX)

The cyborg was still processing everything that had happened in the last few minutes, just as the world around him faded away. He felt weightless for an instance, confused and scared about what was taking place. Maybe the two ethereal beings did mean them harm after all? Kyle glanced around, and saw that Souta was in the same boat. For some reason the thought of not being alone calmed the cyborg, as if the company would make death - or whatever was coming for them - less painful. Without warning, the void around them vanished as quickly as it had appeared, dropping them into a scene straight out of some apocalyptic movie. Kyle wrongly assumed to have entered hell, but what else could be expected from a simple cyborg like him? "Why have you brought me to hell?" he asked his watcher in confusion, the being made out of fog and eyes. It remained silent for a second, before breaking out in a sarcastic laugh. "Hell? Well, sorry to disappoint you Robocop, this is not hell. Now be quiet and listen, or else you´ll keep buggering me with stupid questions...". Kyle wanted to reply, but his watcher floated away before he had the chance. At that moment, he realized Souta and him were not the only ones standing around. Most of the figures he recognized from the battle for the 2nd seal, although there were plenty of new faces as well. The cyborg´s staring around was promptly interrupted by a gargantuan voice.

"The law is clear. When the Seven Seals are broken, four Horsemen shall ride forth to punish the wicked, be they Sons of Man, Lords of Heaven, or the Dregs of Hell..."

When Kyle realized who was speaking, his mouth opened in awe. A trio of colossal stone heads, eyes seemingly alive, stood in front of them. The horsemen were the heralds of the apocalypse, that much he knew at least.

”Yet five Seals remain. Heaven, Hell, and humanity all move to war, threatening the Balance, and breaking the great truce. It is unacceptable. The Balance must be maintained. That is why you are here.”

A second voice spoke. So that´s why they had been visited by the watchers? They had witnessed the destruction of a seal, or to be more precise, failed to protect it as they fought each other. Was this a punishment for their shortcomings? The cyborg braced himself for the worst. What came next however was not immediate anihilation or pain, but an offer.

”Most of you were present for the Second Seal’s destruction. Your failure is outrageous. Yet it has put into motion a chain of events that you may yet fix. You have been chosen because you are outcasts. None of you are exemplars of the faction to which you belong, if any at all. We give you not an offer, but a choice: agency or annihilation. Serve the Charred Council, the balance, and the three realities, and be rewarded. Yet the cowardly defiler might choose to betray this cause. Know that if you turn your backs on the Charred Council, you will be released from this place, but sooner or later you will pay. Step forth, outcasts, and be branded as agents or adversaries.”

This entity, which went by the name "Charred Council", was offering them the possibility to make ammends, to set things right again. The term "offer" might be a bit generous in this case, as opposition would be met with retribution. The whole thing was a lot for the cyborg to take in, and so the hall grew quiet, every individual processing the information they had just received. After a few moments, the old man who could cast portal magic was the first to accept the offer, followed by the demon-angel, who was brave enough to ask a question as well. Shortly after, a watcher, this one different than the ones who had visited him and Souta, seemed to bless both, officialy branding them as agents of the Charred Council. Kyle looked to his left and to his right, wondering who would be the next brave soul to speak up.

How would he decide though? He was done with Gilgamesh, that he had decided as soon as his emotions had come back, and he had no place to go, or family to protect. The cyborg had been nothing but a weapon of destruction for far too long, and although he was free now, he had no goal, no ambitions to speak of. Becoming an agent of war once again, this time for a council of beings beyond humans, angels and demons might seem like a contradiction, but what other options did he have? This way, at least, something good might come out of his doing, or at least entertaining that hope would make accepting the offer easier. There were still questions nagging at him though...

KYL stepped forward, raising his one working eye towards the council trio. "I too accept your offer, to do your bidding until the destruction of the seals has been stopped..." that out of the way, it was time for the difficult part: "...If I may ask though, how are we supposed to stop whoever is responsible? As you didn´t fail to mention, we couldn´t do anything to stop the 2nd seal from being broken...what can you do to help us?" As Kyle finished, he hoped he hadn´t overstepped his boundaries.

@Lmpkio
Making it out of the cavern, she is stopped by a familiar presence coming from behind. Sure enough, it was Gideon who landed next to her groaning and twisting his neck and shoulder. Staring at him apathetically, "You're here." she said ever so simply.

As Gideon asked, upon finishing his stretching, she stared at him in silence before finally answering. "Possibly," she then stared off into the distance for a moment before continuing, "the presence, which appeared human, was familiar, terrifyingly so. While familiar, his name alludes me. But one thing was for sure, in his hands he carried one of the blades of that accursed Sparda."

"Whatever the case may be, Lord Mundus needs to know about it immediately. Let's be off." she turned and headed off, having no interest in continuing the conversation.

“Ouch!” Kosara exclaimed as she was basically dropped on the ground. Well this place was bloody hot...” Hey! Come back here, I'm billing you for the dry cleaning...” She said with a smile and nimbly stood up, looking around.” This isn't hell...” Was what escaped her mouth as she took a more studying look around. Sure this place looked hellish, but this was more of a place filled with what appeared to be raw primal presence. That said she saw what was she supposed the Charred council... looked as interesting as one would assume by the name, but man it gave off quite the presence. Especially after the colossal voice rang through the entire area.

Kosara did flinch at the 'little' speech this council seemed to be giving them. She rolled her eyes in annoyance as the entity/ies known as Charred council finished talking.” Sure... that's sounds fair... We get group up along with heaven and hell who basically wage their war on our realm and we are as guilty as them because we want to protect ourselves?” She asked in annoyance, but not really expecting an answer. She didn't even mention the basic extortion these creatures made to them. Serve us or die... great this was communism all over again!

Kosara gave it a little bit of thought as the watcher moved to take those oaths from some of the present people here. She seriously gave it a thought to say to hell with this and go back to fighting demons, but there was a more seducing idea here. Whomever was destroying these seals was sure to do it again... and heaven and hell will surely be there. She loved fighting demons, but angels seemed about as much fun... She clicked her tongue as she made a spin on her heel.

“Fine, I swear an oath to thee Charred council. I shall serve thy to preserve the balance of the three realms.” She said with a smile.

“And in the process I will get to fight all sorts of fun opponents, I bet.” She added with a giggle.” Let's get this over with and get to searching for the force responsible for the destruction of the seal. I want some more opponents~”

At almost an instant after being touched by the watcher the scenery had completely changed around her. From apocalyptic wasteland town to hell. The resemblance was almost uncanny. Midori watched around her with her hands clutched on her chest as she landed on the ground. Her shoes almost immediately burned away exposing her bare feet to the public. Her feet turned somewhat scale like but they were almost like any human kids feet. She did not pay any attention to what was happening beneath her since she found it pretty usual for her after having come to hell multiple times. Further on her appearance wasn't changed in any way, it looked rather weird wearing a sunhat in hell though.

The people around her looked a bunch older than her and seemed to be more experienced with fighting than gardening and household tasks. Midori stayed quiet not wanting to annoy any of these other people. Soon the scene came in action as the watchers everyone had left their sides after saying a quick goodbye to join up with the more powerful looking watcher that appeared after every other watcher was in place. Midori blushed a little and gave the watcher that accompanied her to here a quiet wave with a small smile on her face as she did when he also left her side.

The nine eyed watcher spoke up leading the main conversation to the point of what was happening around their lives at the moment. Midori was found confused on what he was all saying to them. Did she do something wrong? How was she suppose to safe the seal when she didn't even know what it was. Well anyway she felt kind of sorry for them to be quite mad at her and the others.

After the explanation was done Midori understood on the situation and looked a little more reassured to be given this task. It was still scary though to be given such a big task! Well if she was indeed chosen by the council she couldn't disappointed them, could she. Well not now anyway after having dragged her here all the way.

Four other people before her had already swore to the oath to protect the remaining seals. The watchers waited for all the others to do the same or decline of course. She didn't know if it would be completely safe if anyone would decline or if it was safe to do it but she wasn't gonna be the first to try anyway.

Midori quietly raised her hand in the back of the group looking away from the council and all the others. She was pretty embarrassed to speak out loud in front of all these people. What would they think of her, maybe they will mock her if she messes up. The pressure began to rise and Midori began to blush as her voice quietly sounded.



Midori suddenly started shouting out of nowhere, she herself was a little surprised too. Midori glanced around her to see if anyone noticed and would embarrassedly look at the ground after. She pressed both her index fingers together and bit her lip just a little as she waited for response of the council. Her face was brighter than a tomato and if you looked closely you could see steam coming out of her ears.

Today has not been the best of days, mused Silas, as he limped through the wreckage of Barlour city.

First, he'd gone chasing after that bloody half-demon. Attempted to go chasing, more like, as the half-blood was faster than he'd anticipated, and using Light Speed required him to be in some sort of duress to use it. So he'd lost him. Briefly. Kazfiel and Sraosha had picked up the scent soon after, as well as that of... others. Silas' mouth twisted as he considered the other intruders to his operation- a group called Gilgamesh. He'd heard of them before- experimenting on Angel and Demon alike in search of weaknesses and strengths to exploit, modifying themselves in an attempt to match blows with their perceived enemies. He'd thought them delusional before, but he had to admit- from what he'd seen of their prowess, perhaps they were on to something.

The fighting had then delved underground, and things got even more confusing. More demons. More empowered humans. Some not-empowered humans. The Nephilim. Lots of shades. It ended up that the only recourse, rather than try and make sense of the melee, was to move toward his objective, the Seal that the Nephilim had mentioned. One that, long before he'd reached it, he had an inkling of just what he was headed toward.

An Armageddon Seal, right underneath Barlour. One that, were it destroyed, would cause untold havoc across all planes of the Trinity. It was his duty as a Sage to protect the balance, to defend the people of this city from the depredations of Inferno and all spaces between.

He failed.

He hadn't even gotten to see who had destroyed the Seal- he'd been too far away. He heard the voice, though. And especially he heard the laugh- he'd remember the chilling sound of it for the rest of his life, or at least until he ran Pleiades through the culprit's eye sockets and major joints. Whichever came first. And then all the caves and chambers beneath the city- and, by extension, the city above- had begun to collapse.

All in all, a complete and total failure. Father Roderick was going to be displeased.

And then, of course, to cap all of this off, there was this condescending shadowy blue bastard following him around.

Silas turned to the demon- for what else could it be?- growling quietly while cursing such a habit at the same time. Being attuned to the more animal minds of Laguna did little for his own psyche. The demon seemed merely amused by this, wagging a finger in animated fashion at him.

"Temper, wolf boy. Wouldn't do to make a bad first impression to the boss, would it?"

Silas scoffed, too exhausted to be offended. "Away with you, foul miscreation. I answer to only two authorities, and you aren't one of them."

The creature scratched its ethereal chin. "That a fact? Well, I answer to the authority that your authorities answer to. So it looks like I win." Silas stopped, then, turning to glare at the specter who trailed behind him.

"I answer to Father Roderick, master of the revitalized Lumen Sages. I answer to the Hierarchy of Laguna, and the Army of Light who conduct them. I answer to the light of Creation, demon. What authority could be higher than that?"

The specter still seemed infuriatingly amused by his tirade, crossing his arms. "Firstly, I'm a Watcher. Not a demon. Very different things, wolf boy. Secondly, everything you said is all well and good, but I answer to the Charred Council."

Silas paled suddenly. The Watcher seemed to smile.

"I see that means something to you. Good- less for me to explain. The Council would like to see you, blah blah blah, please make an appointment with the receptionist for immediately. Understood, werewolf?"

Silas sputtered for a moment or two. The Charred Council- the absolute authority of all realities. They... wanted to see him?

"Why me? Father Roderick would be more suited--"

"Father Roderick," said the Watcher, butting in, "was not present at the destruction of the Eidolic Cairn. You, on the other hand, were. You bore witness to something important. Something that makes you one of the only ones capable of understanding what deep shit reality is in. So you get to meet with the Council, not boss man. 'Kay?"

Silas mulled this over briefly. "I... I don't know. I feel as though I should still confer with my--" His words choked off as the Watcher's hand shot out, gripping around his throat.

"Lucky for me, wolf boy, I WASN'T ASKING."

And in a puff of black smoke, they were gone.

==~==

And so it was that Silas found himself here, in the fire that lay between the Trinities, listening to the words of the venerable Charred Council. He felt the sting of their words at his failure, and the hope that such a failure might be redeemed. He felt the courage take root in his heart, and his resolve begin to steel.

They are wrong. I am a paragon of my people. A Sage second only to Father Roderick himself. But... they are correct. I have failed. But I will not fail again. He stared up at the molten visage of the Council, fists clenched.

"I may regret this... but I will regret refusing even more. Reality is threatened, and it is the duty of the Lumen Sages to protect the balance. Our goals are aligned, then, Council. On my honor as a Sage, I will aid you in destroying this threat to the Trinity."

@I-Am-X

"Possibly... The presence, which appeared human, was familiar, terrifyingly so. While familiar, his name alludes me. But one thing was for sure, in his hands he carried one of the blades of that accursed Sparda."

One of Gideon's eyebrows slightly raised up in surprised. This person was wielding one of the legendary weapons, the Sword of Sparda, held by the legendary Dante? How was he able to even steal it from the first place? There were already many questions running through his head, but regardless they don't know a name as of yet.

"How did this mortal come across such a powerful weapon?" the half-demon wonders aloud, "And why did he destroy the seal?"

"Whatever the case may be, Lord Mundus needs to know about it immediately. Let's be off." she turned and headed off, having no interest in continuing the conversation.

With that, Gideon simply sighs and forces himself to follow Blair. At least he may have a chance in encountering this person... and perhaps, when he finally kills him, he may eventually receive the credit he so rightfully deserves. But first, they need to know where he is now...