Midori slowly hopped after Akoni with her hands clutched to her chest. She was on her toes looking out for anything that could possibly hurt them. It would to be assumed the people that worked here would put down some traps, golems or whatsoever but they have found none yet.

She felt a little more secure knowing that an older man with some knowledge was there to kind of protect her? If he wasn't a demon hunter or anything like that but that was not to be expected from such a sweet looking old man. He wasn't taken into this group for nothing if he didn't have any kind of power to protect the young girl. She wondered if he was a strong man.

They had entered quite a small room in the giant ancient library, it looked pretty much the same as the rest of the library yet it looked quite important seeing the enormous book stand at the end of the room surrounded by benches. It was a sort of lecture room where they read the most powerful books to the apprentices.

Midori searched around the room a little hands playfully clutched to her sun hat slightly bending it down as she gazed over the books with a small open mouth. Out of the corner of the room she could hear Akoni reading something from an ancient tablet. She walked over and heard him mutter the ancient words that he had deciphered from the tablet. He seemed to have a hard time solving the riddle so she tried helping him a little from what she knew.



She held her wrist with her hand and held her hands in front of her lap waiting for her reaction on her answer just like any other sweet girl with some manners. Akoni asked her to hold the tablet for him. She didn't mind but she wasn't as strong as him she assumed. Still she picked up the tablet from the stand and held it with both her hands clutched to her body. See through scales started appearing on her arms opening up from her skin by the use of her muscles. It made the tablet feel a lot lighter and better to carry. She gave a small shy smile at Akoni to let him know she was waiting for him to walk in front again if he was finished with this room.

Akoni listened to Midori, though to some it might have appeared that he was ignoring her. Truthfully he simply preferred to multitask. It was far more efficient that way. Just as he had done back with the Charred Council to the other demon hunter, Akoni drew a rectangular outline in the air with his right index finger. Once completed, a piece of paper materialized in place, and he wrote a message upon it.

Found tablet in study. "The false light shall reveal the path." Taking it to central chamber. Speak a response and the paper will return to me with your message. Signed, Pompous Snotwad.

As soon as he had finished writing, the paper folded itself into the shape of an airplane and drifted through the air. It would navigate the library, seeking out the target it had been addressed to: Souta.

Once that task was done, he addressed Midori who had now grabbed the tablet, revealing a bit of her demon nature in the process. "Doubtful," he said rather curly, "But I don't know enough yet to outright dismiss your idea. Regardless, I think it would be best to return to the central dome with this tablet."

Akoni took a moment to grab a few more books, being sure to snag the ones near the tablet's original position. He also made a note to grab one or two books that contained information on the nephilim. After all, all legend he had heard said that there should only be four of them in existence. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The rest were slain by the Horsemen on the orders of the Charred Council in order to maintain balance, or so the legends went. Yet having met one personally made Akoni question all that. Either the stories were wrong, or someone had made a new nephilim after the fact.

"Let's go," the old mage ordered, "And keep your wits about you, little cricket."

@Lmpkio

“Ouch!!!!!!!!” Kosara shouted as she was sent flying through the air and to a clearing within the forest. She regained her directions as she leaned forward, and used her armored hand's fingers to claw into the earth and stabilize herself from all the momentum.” What's with that you, UNchained?” She asked, pulling her sword in her right arm again. She she took some damage from that impact of their fists, but it wasn' t enough to hindrance her too much.” Not enough that you side with all them demons when you can fight the HELL out of them, but you also seem terribly bent on ruining my fun!”

Following that in one swift motion she pulled a bolt from the small pack on the back of her waist and loaded it into the crossbow, using the moment of calm provided by her dancing partner. With the bolt loaded, she put the crossbow away again, charging at the other half demon again. “Say... do you feel watched?” She asked as she was at just the right distance from him to jump, leaning to the side and starting a spin, unleashing a barrage of attacks towards Gideon using her Whirl descend technique.

@rivaan@Sho Minazuki


Gideon continues to slowly walk towards her, gauntlets in town, even as she stabilizes her current position. He wasn't going to let this half-demon get away this time.

"What's with that you, UNchained?" Kosara asks, pulling her sword in her right arm again, "Not enough that you side with all them demons when you can fight the HELL out of them, but you also seem terribly bent on ruining my fun!"

The opposing half-demon remains silent for a bit as he slowly comes to an ominous stop as his blades whirl around him furiously, eying the opposer with a look that could kill.

"I have no time for your utter insolence." he replies back, "Rot like the traitorous scum you are."

Just following that, in one swift motion, Kosara pulled a bolt from the small pack on the back of her waist, unknowingly to Gideon's knowledge, and loaded it into the crossbow, using the moment of calm provided by her dancing partner. With the bolt loaded, she put the crossbow away again, charging at the other half demon again.

“Say... do you feel watched?” she asks.

At that moment, Gideon could hear the other demons behind him chitter in fear, as if someone close was nearby. For a split second, his attention was driven to their sound. The next thing he knows, he realizes that he was being barraged by crossbow bolts! With no time to issue protection with his whirling blades, he was forced to dodge the attack. However, he was slightly sloppy in the dodge, which failed in getting him out unharmed, having a rogue bolt able to puncture the general's left shoulder. He hisses in pain, thankfully being able to get back to his senses to see the other half-demon begin to slash at him. At that moment, Gideon quickly dodges the attack, by moving under her just before she lands, twirls around, and with his right gauntlet, gore the half-demon right in the back. This won't kill the opponent, but regardless it was going to be a sharp and unexpected blow. As he holds her opponent in place, Gideon places his lips close to Kosara's ears.

"I do." he replies to her previous question.

With that, he would take his gauntlet out of her back and pulls out the bolt from his shoulder. It was a bit painful to take out, but regardless it was nothing. He then looks at the other demons as they all look upon the dark unknown. A familiar scent was already within the air. Soon enough, it became clear on who it belonged to.

At last... he finally found her.

In all that could've gone wrong, her reckless high risk move paid off and more. With the demons making no aggressive moves against her, as well as taking the brunt of the angels, things were going well for Blair. And unbeknownst to her, she was also fortunate to the fact that the archangel in the area decided to take his business elsewhere. Still, the demoness and wolf certainly didn't plan on making it easier for her to follow as they left behind some leftover angels. More work, with a sigh, she prepared to start cleaning up.

With a pair of compassions coming her way, she took Zalmonah and pierced it right through it's throat before using it as a hammer to crush the one next to it. Ruthlessly tearing out the spear she swung it around before swinging it at the wall and crushing the two compassions as if they were a fast ball. One tried to get her from behind but she reacted by spinning around and slamming its head into the ground below with a sickening crack. Just as she took out those 2, more started coming out of the woodworks. With the 2 other demons getting away, she couldn't waste anymore time with these insects.

Putting her spear away, she took out Sodom & Gomorrah and started slicing away at the buildings and walls. Using the falling debris to crush as many as she can, she charged into the opening and made her way after the 2 demons while she hacks and slash at those that remain in her way. Making up for lost time, she starts regaining ground in her pursuit after Lily and Fenn.

The two were on a warpath, with Blair managing to keep up from behind. The stunning team work of Fenn and Lily ensured not even an organized group of angels could stop them. The council was right to send these two, plus Vigrid was only beginning to become populated by angels, so they couldn't muster up a very powerful force, although their side-trip did buy the angels some time. They were in visionary range of their objective, but as soon as they turned a corner Lily was forced to duck and dodge an a golden blade, but before she finished her dodge, she heard the sharp sound of that same blade continue. All she saw was a blur of red and gold as she continued acrobatically dodging swing after swing after swing, until suddenly Fenn stopped it's blade, forcing the Ardor to back off.

Had she been hit even once, she would not have managed to recover until it's onslaught stopped... Plus, they were fast enough to keep up with Lily when it came to going on the offensive. As soon as the Ardor backed off, two more descended in front of it...

Of course, their goal was pretty much in sight, all that was left was to scale the skyscraper before them... After they take care of these red-knight angels. It looks like they were quick and strong, but their attacks were also just sword and shield, a rather standard form of combat... So maybe not so difficult to read.

---

Wrath's attacks were dealing some damage, but it appears it wasn't as much as he had hoped. The first cleave barely moved the Mephistos, or damaged them, in fact they probably didn't move at all. They began mustering a counter-attack, their golden fingers alighting, but Wrath's second attack came out right before theirs, staggering the cloaked demons, at the same time he saw their cloaks suddenly no longer protected them while they were staggered, as his second attack promptly dealt sufficient damage to the closest one, while the others simply staggered just out of reach.

He had a little bit more time before he would have to worry about the Scarecrows attacking, but until then he wasn't under too much pressure, but he would still have to hurry, or move his position. It would not be wise to let them encircle him.



Surprisingly, the facility was mostly empty... Little did he know though he was getting rather close. Only a few Assaults inside the facility, but he could already hear the horde outside moving towards the building. He had to keep moving. Eventually he reached what looked like a forest... Four different pathways... And in the center was a tall stone with an inscription upon it.

"Where there is light, there is shadow, but shadow only leads to darkness"

Cryptic... But it seemed simple enough. As Kyle looked at his surroundings, he would notice that the location of the sun was suddenly different in this part of the forest. It didn't match any astrological positions... Plus as he went through each exit and entrance, it would always loop him back to the same place, but each time the direction the light was coming from would change. Sometimes it would be from the north entrance, sometimes the east, and so on.





"You two are marvelous, it's a shame you both noticed me, I've never seen such incredible fighting", as she stepped from the shade of the forest, her slender, green, scaly figure became visible in the sun. Behind her in the shade were a pair of two golden eyes, clued in only by the long serpent bodies that created a silhouette against the the contrasting light.

"I am Gorgan, self-proclaimed queen of this forest. These other demons here seem to answer my every beck and call, so I guess they see me as queen too", as she said this, the two figures behind her also stepped out of the shade as she began to pet them, two giant snakes, even as she pet them though, their eyes were trained on Gideon and Kosara.

""Demons" you both say... Am I one too? I was born in this world, so I can only guess that that is what I really am... I also have a feeling both of you came for me one way or another", she began.

So this was Gorgon. She didn't seem bad... But those eyes were hungry, there was no denying she was definitely a demon, even if she was still questioning that herself. She still had the keen and base instincts of one, no matter how in control of them she seemed right now. Still, this was a chance to converse. Somehow though she's lived here for all of her life undisturbed until now.

---

As soon as they were done in their respective rooms, they eventually circled back to the main room, taking the sun and moon slabs with them. Sure enough, there were two slots in this room. The first one was spotted immediately, as it was on top of the big door, but the second one took awhile to find. It was where the skylight was. Where these slabs went was all up to speculation, but considering there were only two possible outcomes, this problem should not take very long to figure out.

Noting the lack of serious damage until that second attack, Wrath wastes no time in moving forwards and skewering the closest one after a quick change to the Unum form. Pulling Rage Bringer upwards through the Mephisto's head, he watched as it faded for a moment before lunging to the right to avoid the counter from the surviving three Mephistos. A quick check on where the Scarecrows were confirmed he still had time, but after a complete look at his surroundings, he realized he was in a bad spot.

Alright, I'm between three Mephistos and a group of Scarecrows. Once those Scarecrows are in position, I'll be surrounded with a very limited area to move. So, let's get switched around with those Mephisto shall we? Sprinting forwards, Wrath switched back to the Magna form and swung in a wide slash, forcing the trio to move back. That gave the Nephilim enough time to leap up and over the trio and land behind them, closer to the other end of the walkway. Surging forwards and once more taking the Unum form, he delivers a quick pommel strike to the Mephisto in front of him before bringing the great sword around and cleaving downwards, taking down another of the four demons.

The one on the right had jumped back in an effort to try and avoid what they had thought would be another wide attack, which allowed Wrath to focus on the one on his left. Replacing Rage Bringer to his back, the claws on his Wrath Dealers bared as he moved into close-combat range and changed to the Comminus form. The Mephisto unleashed another pair of attacks, the golden spikes coming at Wrath from straight on and behind him and he dodged, side-stepping to the right, though he did take a glancing blow to his left arm for it. Grimacing, he delivers a quick thrusting punch to the demon's gut and follows it up with an elbow to the side of it's head before finishing with a Serrated Uppercut, destroying the Mephisto's head.

"And that leaves one." However, he couldn't find it as he turned to finish the strongest of the two groups and he found himself with rapidly approaching Scarecrows that he needed to deal with. Retracting the blades on his gauntlets, Wrath draws Rage Bringer again and assumes the Magna form, focusing for a moment before using another Cleaving Slice to dispatch the group. Now he just had to find that last Mephisto and he could move on.

@Sho Minazuki@Lmpkio



Kosara was outplayed this time. As she was struck in the back, she barely made a painful sound, but she did feel the pain!” Aghh...!” She grunted as the man pulled away his arm, using the very moment he also pulled her bolt from his shoulder, Kosara made a mad jump to the side, spinning before landing on a knee and arm some distance away, facing Gideon. Her sword was already ready, but she did not feel like fighting right away. She could feel the gored injury on her back. This was going to sting for a lil while even with the faster healing of half demons.

When the Gorgan showed herself, Kosara diverted her gaze towards the demon. She seemed rather... impressive actually. For a demon who grew on her own here, she had the proper presence for a demon of her status indeed. She also appeared to be... ahhh agreeable enough. Fun times!

“Well Gorgan, nice to meet you!” Kosara stated, standing up from her kneeling position as she caught her breath.” Name is Kosara Duran. I'm a Demon hun... actually I'm kind of demon hunter, but now I work for another force so ehhh...”She said with a shrug, sheathing her sword and loaded another bolt into the small crossbow, placing in it's holster.” Yeah, I'm here currently because I'm supposed to preserve the status quo or something like that. You see, demons and angels decided to use this world as battlefield. I bet Unchained there, wants to probably recruit you into their ranks. Am I right on this, my dancing buddy?” She threw a questioning glance at Gideon wanting confirmation.

“As for me, I'm supposed to keep that from happening one way or another really. Can't have demons gain a foothold here.” Kosara explained and looked at Gorgan” So before we go ahead to work and all chaos breaks loose... did you really live all your life here and alone?” Kosara asked with curiosity. She had vague understanding of what had transpired here... didn't knew many details, but enough.

“Did you never try to leave the forest and see what's beyond it? Also those are some very cool snakes you have! Mind if I take a photo?”

Akoni summoned a piece of paper in front of him to make a memento of some sorts. He wrote a little as Midori let out her thoughts to him. Just as she finished talking he let the piece of paper fly off. Midori looked a little dazzled by it but acted like it was nothing knowing he might think the same about her powers too and acted so cool despites that.

He replied with a general better idea instead of hers. Midori gave a short nod of approval thinking this was the best way to act too. If they weren't careful with the tablet it might break. Well if that was a possibility at least. It looked like a pretty sturdy tablet so it was almost unthinkable something like this would have a breaking point.

Midori waited a moment for Akoni to take the last pair of books around the area the tablet was in and they both returned back to the main room were they all slowly gathered up again.

@kapuchu@Lazo@I-Am-X


The Ardor seem to be having a bit of difficulty in containing the three demon forces. Kushiel can now clearly see this as he looks down at them with a frown. It was time to call in more reinforcements, though they would arrive just before the Archangel could ask for some...

As the three head towards the skyscraper, they would be stopped as a beam of vertical light blocks their path. Arising from the depths, a gold figure slowly rises from the ground. It was impressive in design, having a centaur-like body, large gold-plated armor, possesses four arms, and a giant gold sword that begins to be doused in flames. This figure is one of the strongest of the Third Sphere Principalities. Enter... Allegiance.

Flanking Allegiance, several elite Ador units also face the three demons, as well as other angel soldiers, the Castets and Compassions, and the Affinities. Levitating down from the sky, both Kushiel and the Champion stood in front of the units as they stand tall and proud against the trio. They all block the demons' path into the building and they sure as hell will not give it up without a good damn fight. With the Lance of Longinus in his hand, the Archangel points at the malevolent opposers.

"Demons of Mundas!" he calls out to them, "You have gone far enough! Your tenacity is admirable in taking you this far, but now you face the full might of the Hierarchy's power! I, Archangel Kushiel, shall see to it, that you all will be eliminated from the very face of this world!"

With that, all of the troops issue a powerful call as they prepare for one last hurrah against the demon trio. The final stage for the Battle Of Vigrid, has just begun...

---

@rivaan@Sho Minazuki


"You two are marvelous, it's a shame you both noticed me, I've never seen such incredible fighting."

At last, out comes what appears to be the demon Gorgon. About time she has as well. The demons behind Gideon began to step back a few feet and bowed to the being. The half-demon had heard about her countless times, but hasn't actually seen her in person, rather only in literature. Indeed, the legends were true for her magnificence. Like them, the general also payed his respects by doing a light bow, with his fist clenched in his chest. The Gorgon continued with her words.

"I am Gorgan, self-proclaimed queen of this forest. These other demons here seem to answer my every beck and call, so I guess they see me as queen too."

General Gideon then retreats from his bowing position and nods.

"My queen," he says politely, "It is an honor to be under your very presence. I am Demon General, Gideon of Mundas. And I am~"

But before he could continue, Kosara happens to open her little mouth and began to yap.

“Well Gorgan, nice to meet you! Name is Kosara Duran. I'm a Demon hun... actually I'm kind of demon hunter, but now I work for another force so ehhh..."

An annoyed growl came from Gideon's lips as he eyes her ominously. How dare she open her mouth in the middle of an important confrontation? And it was just so... unprofessional too. He should've killed her on the spot, or at least made sure she was down for good.

""Demons" you both say... Am I one too? I was born in this world, so I can only guess that that is what I really am... I also have a feeling both of you came for me one way or another."

Gideon then tries again.

"My queen, I have been sent by Lord Mundas himself to~"

"Yeah, I'm here currently because I'm supposed to preserve the status quo or something like that."

Oh great... another interruption. God, was this worse then he thought. His annoyed growl turns into a sigh as he is forced to listen to this youngster's ramblings.

"You see, demons and angels decided to use this world as battlefield. I bet Unchained there, wants to probably recruit you into their ranks. Am I right on this, my dancing buddy?” she then finishes as she gives the general a questionable glance, only to be met with the eyes of death and humiliation.

Good fucking god, is she annoying. Can one also say very humiliating towards his rank? He was about to silence her mouth for good until she continues yet again.

“As for me, I'm supposed to keep that from happening one way or another really. Can't have demons gain a foothold here. So before we go ahead to work and all chaos breaks loose... did you really live all your life here and alone? Did you never try to leave the forest and see what's beyond it? Also those are some very cool snakes you have! Mind if I take a photo?””

"ENOUGH YOU FOOL!" the demon general snaps as he uses all of his encased and enraged energy to knock Kosara away and eventually into a tree. For the love of hell, this bitch was trying to jeopardize the entire mission! After all, this was a demon hunter anyways so of course she will try to.

With her out of the way for the meantime however, Gideon quickly kneels and begins to explain the situation.

"My apologizes for the violent outburst," he apologizes as he regains his cool, "She is not with me. As I was saying, Lord Mundas has sent me to come and ask for you to become an ally of our campaign here in the human world. Your army is legendary, your beauty, unmatchable... Your services that you and your army provide, will be most certainly valuable for our cause. If you choose to cooperate with us, come with me to Inferno and Lord Mundas will reward you quite generously, as well as the protection of your forest."

He then points to where Kosara is with his finger.

"And she." he says louder while pointing at the opposer, "She wants to kill you. She wants the entire forest to be eradicated, burned to ashes. She wants all of your troops in this forest slaughtered, and ultimately devoid of life...

"My Queen. Would you not want that to happen to your beloved forest? This is indeed a beautiful forest and both I and Mundas will hate to see this place be in smolders. Join us, O' Queen Gorgon, and we will help you protect your home in exchange for your service and commitment for our cause."

He then extends his arm out, a friendly sign to ask if an agreement can be made. He will not let that half-demon get in the way of his mission...

KYL-9XX / Mitis Forest

It took the cyborg a lot less time than expected to explore the facility. Whoever used to run this place, they had taken almost everything with them safe for some office furniture and minor electronic equipment when they left. Most of it was of little to no interest, a power supply was not to be found either. Kyle did encounter a few assault demons in some dark corners, but after the warm-up with the scarecrows he was able to make quick work of them, especially since they appeared in very small groups only. However, no matter where he was in the facility, he could constantly hear noises from outside, signaling the gathering of multiple demons converging on his position. The cyborg was getting anxious: he had spent more than enough time exploring the forest and this facility, but he had yet to find any signs of the Gorgon.

Once he was sure he had checked every corner to no avail, Kyle thought it was time to search further into the forest. Not wanting to go out the way he came in, the cyborg decided to exit through a hole in the upper floor, leading to a seemingly calm part of the forest. When he got outside, he checked for demonic signatures again, maybe following them would finally lead him somewhere. Kyle came across smaller groups of scarecrows, and took them out one by one with a combination of his gatling gun and flamethrower. The scarecrows were like breadcrumbs on his path that in the end would hopefully lead him to the Gorgon. A few minutes later, Kyle came across a particular stone, four different paths leading away from it. An inspection of the stone revealed a cryptic inscription: "Where there is light, there is shadow, but shadow only leads to darkness". He thought about it for a few seconds, but couldn't make much sense out of it. As his scanner didn't reveal any signatures close-by and his anxiousness was not dwindling, Kyle chose one of the four paths randomly and started walking down on it...only to came across the stone with the inscription again.

There was obviously some sort of magic going on here, so solving the inscription was probably a necessity to chose the right path. The cyborg was furstrated at first, sick of wasting time, but then a realization hit him. Why would anyone set this up? And who? If someone went through all the trouble of engineering this, there had to be something important waiting at the end, right? With new-found motivation, Kyle tried to crack the code. He decided to try the other 2 paths first however, just to make sure it would lead to the same result. And indeed, he always ended up back at the stone. As he looked around, the cyborg had the feeling something had changed. He couldn't put on his finger on it, but something was definitely different. Shadows, darkness, light...of course! The shadows from the trees, they were constantly changing each time he came back to the crossroads. Kyle looked up, the sun was high up in the sky, shining down on him and and the forest.

He decided to test something, and took the left path. When he reached the crossroads again, he looked up, and his suspicion was confirmed. The sun had changed positions, it was now located to the east instead of the west. The puzzle seemed solved. Kyle took a deep breath and started on the path that stood directly under the sun. If he was right, what would he find on the other side?

Wrath kept his great sword held up and at the ready, turning slowly and watching for the attack. The Mephisto knew it was alone and so it wouldn't be so quick to attack unless it was sure that it could land a hit. And it almost did as the golden spikes launched at Wrath from behind, forcing the Nephilim to roll forwards and spin upon coming up, slashing diagonally from hip to shoulder and staggering the Mephisto again. It wasted no time in countering itself, unleashing another wave of golden spikes as soon as it recovered which had him dodging once more with a short dash to the left. Jumping up and over the demon, Wrath comes down with a Crushing Slash, which caught the Mephisto off guard.

There was a moment of resistance before the demon found itself sliced in two, the two halves crumbling even as they fell to the ground. Standing from the crouch he'd landed in, Wrath sighed before placing Rage Bringer back on his back and continuing on with his search for Gorgon, crossing the walkway the direction he'd been walking before the demons ambushed him. He only hoped that one of them found the blasted demoness before the demons of Mundus' army did.

@Lmpkio @Sho Minazuki



“Why you son of a....” Kosara mumbled as she flew backwards and was interrupted when she impacted into a tree. That bloody hurt! Her eyes unfocused for a good while until she quickly got her stuff together and shook her head as her sight returned. Her eyes narrowed menacingly as she watched Gideon be overly theatrical and put words in her mouth that she had not said before! That bloody bastard!

As Kosara listened to him slander her and trying to very amusingly woo the gorgon, Kosara in a fit of a anger comparable to Gideon's earlier one, made a lighting fast dash forward as he was extending an arm to Gorgan. Without much chance to react, she jumped about a step or two from him, extending her legs forward as she dropkicked him with full strength coupled with the momentum from her speed, sending the demon general flying to the side in similar manner he did to her earlier. Effectively interrupting his plans once more.” Shut it, chains for brains! Who told you to interrupt me when I was trying to have a friendly conversation!” She shouted and quickly jumped back on her legs, stretching her arms.

Then she turned to the gorgon.” First of all... I serve the Charred council not the demon hunters. Second, I don't want you dead... neither your forest burnt. I just don't want him and his buddies to gain a foothold in the human world.” She said and looked at Gorgan.” True I love to fight, true I want to fight you because it will be fun. Fighting is FUN, but I don't really want to kill you. I killed some demons on my way here, BUT that's because they attacked me. That said, here is the fun part. You see they...” she said pointing Gideon.” Cannot allow for a rogue demon of your power to exist. So either you join them or they kill you. Angels will kill you because you are a demon. Humans will kill you because you are a danger. I personally do not care. I hate only the Mundus lobotomites like Unchained over there.”

“You've been born here on this world. Thus you are a resident of it and not obliged to fight for the demons. You've lived here for so long without any incidents so far, so I propose this... why don't you join the Charred council instead?” She asked.” Mundus's lobotomites and the angels will lay waste to this world if left alone. This forest will be surely gone if this 'war' is allowed to happen. Tell me, Gorgan, do you like this world?”

Further inspection of the room turned up little. For once the Lumen Sage Silas appeared to have nothing to say and no activities to occupy him, which suited Souta just fine. He resorted to standing by, a faintly interested expression on his face, while Mary studied the tablet he checked with a summoned skeleton. Thinking more about his summoned skeltal comrade than the sun-inscribed stone, he ruminated on how awesome it would be to eventually call upon entire mobs of skeleton servants to fight his battles for him. Lost in imagining this, he didn’t notice a paper airplane soaring his way until it poked him in the neck. Souta, annoyed at the interruption of his reverie, grabbed the offending piece of paper and opened it. He read silently and quickly before a smirk came to his face. Closing the paper, he told Mary and Silas, ”Old guy found another tablet in another room. He’s taking it to the main area. Guess we should do the same. Don’t know if a show-and-tell is gonna help us much, but whatever. Shush for a second.” Still grinning slightly, he opened the paper and told it, ”So wait, this little magic paper can just record whatever I say out loud, and it’ll fly on its own back to the wizard and tell him all about the huge monster we found? How does it know when to stop? Do I just say, ‘send’…”

Souta tossed the paper up and watched it refold itself, then take off. He watched it go, amused at the message that is would convey: So wait, this little magic paper can just record whatever I say out loud, and it’ll fly on i’s own back to the wizard and tell him all about the huge monster we found? How does it know when to stop? Do I just say…

Before long the trio of adventurers returned to the central chamber, sun tablet in hand. Souta leaned against a wall, scanning the room for any sort of clue. On a hunch he stared at the skylight he mentioned earlier, and after a full fifteen seconds of not noticing anything he became suddenly aware of a little indentation in the ceiling, conveniently tablet-sized. ”Oh hey, bet we have to shove the little sun nugget into that hole up there. It’s just like in the movies, after all.” He cast a dubious glance at the rune-wreathed door. ”Of course, after solving the puzzle, there’s usually some sort of big monster or big trap in the next room.” Souta wondered whether anyone would chide him on comparing real life and a potentially dangerous situation to a movie, and began working together a witty retort in his mind.

The large sword aimed for Lily stopped cold as it met the chains wrapped around Fenn’s arm. The large angel regarded the sudden intrusion, or so it seemed to the hound as the Ardor’s armored face angled upwards to face him. With a violent motion, the sword was pushed aside and a massive fist slammed against a hastily raised shield, sending the angel sliding back several feet.

Flashes of red and gold announced the arrival of two more, and Fenn was forced to take a step back as a golden blade flashed towards his face. The second angel moved to flank him, but a flash of steel struck its side, sending armor plating flying and the angel tottering.

Lily stepped in beside Fenn after having sent the angel flying, a spear-like weapon with a large, curved blade, instead of a shorter tip meant for stabbing, held in one hand. Her stance was an unprofessional one, seemingly full of holes in her defense, but Fenn had been on the receiving end of her Guan Dao, and knew full well that she was a terrifying force to behold when using that weapon especially.

She sprang forward, engaging the one she had wounded before. She blocked its initial sword strike, batting it aside with the handle of her weapon, before cutting downward across its faceplate. The armour protected it, but it was sent reeling. It charged again, attempting to stab her, but once more she batted its weapon aside, sending the angel flying back with a powerful blow to its gut. Again and again it attacked, slashing, hacking, and stabbing, and each time Lily ducked, dodged, parried, or simply swept its offense aside and retaliated.

Of course, for all of this display, it still left Fenn with the remaining assailant. Fenn backed away another step as the golden blade flew across his vision, almost nicking his snout. The Ardor took another step, drawing its weapon back as it readied for a lunge. Fenn took the opportunity. He drew to the side as the weapon darted forward, and instead of plunging into his chest, the blade struck against his side at an odd angle, eliciting a pained grunt but otherwise skittering harmlessly off the hardened scales. The claws of his left arm wrapped around the angel’s armored wrist, pulling him off-balance, while his other paw clasped the back of the Ardor’s neck. Drawing forward, Fenn lifted the armored figure before slamming it down face first on the concrete with his full weight. The large, golden blade fell out of its hand.

He raised an arm to deliver the finishing blow, only for a flash of red at the corner of his eye to catch his attention. He drew his arm back, blocking the first Ardor’s blade just as he had done when it had been targeting Lily. This time, however, red filled his vision as the Ardor twisted and brought his shield forward against the Hellhound’s head.

The blow staggered him, and Fenn stumbled back just in time to escape the sweeping slash aimed for his throat. The angel stepped forward, raising its arm for another strike. Below him, something heavy clattered against his claws. Fenn grasped it on instinct, and with a furious bellow swung the object against the Ardor. The golden sword the first Ardor had dropped batted its cousin aside with tempestuous force, crashing against the angel’s armor and sending it careening away from him, an ugly gash marring the upper part of its chest.

Beside him, Lily continued playing with the lone Ardor. She met its charge, hitting its weapon hard with her own. She jumped back, leaving herself open. It sprang forward, intent on taking advantage of her moment of weakness. She grinned and sidestepped, swinging her guan dao at it even as it transformed into a warhammer.

“Too slow!” she cried, the hammer impacting on its helmet, shattering it and sending the angel crashing to the ground several metres away.

Fenn bared his fangs as he watched the three battered angels. The one Lily had hammered away rested splayed on the ground, still reeling from the impact. The other two, one only armed with an unsteadily held shield and bent armor, the other nursing the wound in its upper torso, drew back slowly towards their companion, shields facing the two demons.

The Hellhound snarled, taking a step forward, before several pillars of light descended from above between the two groups.

Fenn forced his anger to cool as reinforcements took shape before them. Anger and excitement. He had begun to worry that they had already taken the measure of the angels stationed in this city, but the forces arrayed before them seemed fit to sate him. Of the two angels that alighted before the mob, the larger of the two drew Fenn’s eye.

They had found their target, he understood, and suddenly the entourage made sense. A valued commander was bound to have bodyguards. Fenn set his left arm on the ground, holding the arm bearing the angelic blade out to the side, as though ready to charge. The ends of his fur simmered with small flames.

“It seems they welcome us personally, Imp,” he grunted under the small one’s speech.

She smirked, leaning her hammer against her shoulder in a relaxed position. “And with as much drama as one would expect of a school play.” She cocked an eyebrow at Fenn’s look. “What?”

Fenn grunted. “A failing. Drama never killed the enemy.”

And only one needed to be killed this time, even if they were faced with a small army, Fenn reflected. He had not forgotten about their shadow, either. It had not bothered to hide from them, but neither had it seen it fit to intercede so far. If their intentions had been harmful to them, he felt they would have taken steps to conceal themselves. This, in turn, made him wonder if they had not been waiting for this very confrontation. If they had, Fenn and Lily may have created an opportunity. For what, he was not completely sure of, but he had his suspicions. Some of which could greatly simplify or complicate their mission.

Whatever the case, the die was cast. The soldiers behind the general cheered at the conclusion of their leader’s posturing. He had never understood why some being’s tongues ran loose at the moment of killing their foes. Barks and snarls were warnings. Murder needed no words, and to think otherwise was to allow the chaos to unfold on another’s whim. Fenn himself had never been one to squander such opportunities, and as such he had began to ready himself from the moment they spotted their target. An orange glow had appeared on the pavement under the general’s feet as the Archangel’s declaration neared its conclusion.

As the first ‘Hurrah!’ died down, a torrent of fire blossomed from below the Champion. A series of javelins followed as Lily’s weapon changed shape, already held over her shoulder. The projectiles were aimed slightly to the side of the general, so as to catch him should he discover and dodge the fire.

Eventually, Mary gave up looking for stuff. She had searched the room high and low for stuff but that turned up not much but ancient utensils. All those did was make Mary hungrier. And Mary was pretty hungry. She couldn't wait to get back to the Citadel. With luck, they would have some sort of kitchen and she could try out the recipes she had gathered here. It would be nice to congratulate everyone on a mission accomplished with a big feast. She hadn't really cooked much before, but it couldn't be that hard could it? Besides, she was sure the others could help out. She could try and get the Watchers to do it, but she had a feeling they were overworked already honestly.

Mary turned to address both Souta and Silas, but stopped herself as she noticed Souta reading a note. She quickly gave the room a onceover to see if anybody had joined them, but Souta told Silas and her that Akoni had found another tablet. It was probably a magic note he sent, then. Souta suggested the group join Akoni and the little girl in the main room, before playing a small prank. Mary giggled quietly in the background as Souta told the note how they had encountered a huge monster. After some slight merriment, the group traveled to the main chamber.

Once there, Mary began looking for some sort of place for the tablet. If there were two of them, it was obvious they would have to solve a puzzle of some kind. "I wonder if the other tablet had an inscription..." Mary mumbled to herself. That would have helped figure out where the tablet was supposed to be placed. Luckily, Souta noticed a tablet-sized hole that would fit the bill. The tablet's inscription also made sense in the context. Mary was willing to bet that he was right. He was also probably right about danger being behind the locked door. "Yeah, it may be a good idea to arm ourselves before placing both tablets." Mary affirmed, before trying to find a way up to the skylight.

Silas was grateful that there were at least the books and scrolls available for him to claim, or he'd have written this expedition off as a waste of time thus far. What little he'd been able to see from glancing at the Enochian manuscripts did not seem to reference anything about the Seals, but he'd assumed that would be the case- the most sensitive information was likely behind the sealed door in the main room, including that of the Armageddon Seals. If there was any to find- he wasn't exactly brimming with confidence that there was any pertinent information here, but he kept his skepticism to himself. Fanning the flames of conflict between the lot of them seemed like a poor decision at the moment.

It was somewhat of a relief when Souta, Mary, and he found the sun tablet. And according to a message from Akoni, they'd found a similar tablet, along with a similar message inscribed. "The false light will clear the path."

And the true light will inspire. Hm. Curious. He glanced about with the others as he entered into the main room and quickly found the slots to place the tablets, or so he assumed. They were the right sizes for the job, after all. He mused for a moment as Souta spoke up, positing his theory, as well as Mary's cautionary statement. He thought briefly, then nodded.

"I believe you're right, Souta. Think about it- 'the true light will inspire.' Logically, the sun tablet should be placed near the skylight, as the 'true light.' And 'the false light will clear the path?' The moon should go near the door, clearly. All that said, we ought to exercise caution. As I've mentioned previously, this location likely predates humanity, which would mean it was built by Hierarchy hands. And the Laguna are loath to surrender secrets." He punctuated this statement by summoning Pleiades' blades, and reaching for Kazfiel and Sraosha's presence beyond the veil of Purgatorio.

"We should all be prepared for whatever is hiding behind that door. Even if it's nothing, better safe than sorry."

The demons that fought against them were impressive. By their own right they had earned respect as warriors, but a demon was a demon, scum to be eradicated from both the human world and heaven. Along with their trusted general Kushiel, the Champion who was leading the defense, and his several Light Angels hovered down to meet them. As he hovered just off the ground, his keen senses allowed him to back away quickly and evade the flaming pillar, and as if he had already choreographed this in advance, spun and struck down the javelins with a swing of his blade.

"I am afraid you will require more than cheap tactics to defeat me. Now come, show me your mettle", the Champion... A powerful and seasoned veteran angel of combat. Senses and reflexes razor sharp, while all it uses is a colossal blade of light and a shield to match, it makes up for lack of variety with it's expertise in combat.

Alongside them were more Heirarchy angels, and among them, an Allegiance. A bit rare as far as angels for combat go, but judging by it's looks, it seemed to be almost as formidable as the Champion himself... This may be a tough fight if they all stuck together, seeing as the Allegiance had a posse of lower rank angels too, and the Champion had a coordinated group of Light Angels.

---

"I see... You of the demons offer my allegiance with the demons, and you ask me to defend this world?", she asked. She took a step forward and a tall upright stance as a fine straight dagger slipped out of her wrist, from which she took. She with a graceful motion of the hand threw it to the ground where it would jut out of the ground, and snakes began to pour from it. Gideon and Kosara would find themselves backing away. Their instincts shouting out to them that these snakes were incredibly deadly, but once they were a distance away, they stopped.

"Unfortunately for you my little flower, I have no interest in this world. It may be the one of my birth, but my desire to find my origins far outweighs some dainty little forest, let alone this world", she made her choice. She would walk with the demons. The snakes began to approach Kosara specifically, slowly creeping and trying to surround her as Gorgon's giant twin snakes kept their eyes trained on her.

"You, general of Mundus, I would like to depart as immediately as possible. I grow tired of being a queen of a droll place such as this", she demanded.

From the other entrances of the clearings arrived Wrath on one end, and Kyle on the other. What they saw was simply two demons who seemed to be showing levels of threat towards their ally Kosara. Naturally it would deem them to jump in and fight, but neither of them attacked Kosara... Yet. It also appears to them that the two demons wish to leave this place... Should they let them? They might win a fight here, since it was two versus three, but Gorgon the green demon seemed to command much power. There would be no telling if two versus three was an even battle, or in their favor. So what will they choose? Fight? Or let them leave?

---

After much deliberation, they placed the moon tablet atop the door, and the sun tablet on the skylight. It seemed to be the right choice, as the sun tablet reacted to the skylight, whereas the moon did not, but as soon as it was in place, they saw the entire floor and walls light up with what looked like magical circuitry. It was a brilliant thing to behold. The patterns along the floor drew out a sun, and all the lines connected and joined at the location of the moon tablet, which after few moments, lit up with a brilliant silver light. The brilliant white light would pour down and onto the door in what looked like canals, and the seals upon the door lit up, before the giant double doors began to slowly swing open.

What they saw at the end of this, was a hallway, lined with books towards the back no less, and lit by the sun tablet's circuits, which as they see, extended into the hallway... It was a magnificent sight to behold. At the far end they saw someone... Someone was here? Beyond the sealed door? The hallway was long and the figure still yet discernible, but it was a near scary thought to behold... Akoni suspected it might be whoever had ruffled the books in the first room.

There was nothing else to do but go down this way...

The hallway they walked was beyond ancient, the dust so thin and everything so untouched, it was almost as if it was frozen in time. With a little bit of cleaning up, this place would look almost new. As they neared the end of the hallway, the figure at the end became clearer... And clearer... Until... The people in the party would utter his name.

Sevrin.

"Now now, quiet in the library, you don't want to get the librarian mad", he responded. He was flipping through a book as they saw him, standing there by one of the bookshelves, in his free hand was the Yamato. As he mentioned "librarian", the endless darkness that stood beyond him seemed to be more foreboding, this entire place should be lit up with the tablets placed, based on what they saw walking through the hallway, so why was that area completely dark...? In any case. This was a chance, either for questions... Or for combat.

"By the way, good work figuring out that puzzle in the last room. I couldn't be bothered doing it myself, so I cut my own way through", he must mean he used the Yamato to break in. Where he broke in from isn't clear right now, but that was of little concern.

KYL-9XX / Mitis Forest / The Gorgon Encounter

The path Kyle was traveling on was surrounded by a dense concentration of trees and foliage, making it impossible to see where it was taking him. At least he did not come across the crossroads with the stone again, which meant his suspicion about the puzzle had been correct after all. A few minutes later, it seemed like there was sort of opening in the distance.

As the cyborg picked up his pace, he could hear faint voices coming from in front of him. Wherever he was headed, he would not be alone for much longer. Was that? Kyle thought about it for a second, but he was pretty sure: One of the voices belonged to Kosara, her bubbly and wild tone stood out like no one else's. Who is she talking to? Kyle tried to listen for a response, but whoever she was talking to either remained quiet, or the cyborg was still too far away. He decided to use his thrusters for some extra speed and find out what was going on. Not long after, the cyborg reached a clearing.

The picture in front of him spoke for itself: A Snakelady stood in the middle of the clearing, her figure graceful and imposing at the same time. That had to be the Gorgon, his target for the mission. Next to it stood some sort of man, his signature was clearly demonic. Apparently, the Charred Coundil were not the only ones interested in the Gorgon. And finally, there was Kosara, stepping back from a mob of snakes. Judging by the looks of the Gorgon, the snakes were probably her doing in some sort of way. His ally was in trouble, and Kyle decided to take immediate action.

Two rockets crashed right into the group of snakes, creating a small but powerful explosion. Next, he took aim at the demon standing by the Gorgon. "Hey there! Two on one seems a bit unfair, don't you think? How about I join this little party of yours." The Gorgon had the looks of being a formidable opponent all by itself, and the presence of the demon would more than likely only complicate things.

Keeping his aim steady, Kyle prepared to attack at the first sign of battle.

As Akoni and Midori headed back to the central dome, the old mage spotted his message paper flying back toward him. He snatched the paper out of the air, unfolded it, and read Souta's response without breaking stride. He rolled his eyes and grumbled at the words, then tossed the paper over his shoulder where it promptly vaporized into blue dust. Damn kids and their pranks. Did Souta take him for an old fool? If they had found a large monster, they wouldn't have had the time to read the letter, let alone respond to it! Damn crickets.

A moment later the two arrived back into the central chamber, and only a few seconds passed before the other team joined them. Akoni didn't bother addressing their little prank. He didn't want to give them the dignity of even a token response, so instead he examined the slots: one of sun and one of moon. Well that was incredibly simple. The true light on the tablet the other group had found clearly denoted the sun, whilst the false light on his own could only be the moon. As long as you could actually read the language there was no possible way you could be tripped up by such a simple test!

Then Souta spoke. ”Oh hey, bet we have to shove the little sun nugget into that hole up there. It’s just like in the movies, after all.” He cast a dubious glance at the rune-wreathed door. ”Of course, after solving the puzzle, there’s usually some sort of big monster or big trap in the next room.”

"You might actually be surprised at how often these sorts of things turn out like the movies," Akoni commented, taking the moon tablet from Midori and sliding it into place. I've certainly seen enough of them to know."

The next to speak was Silas. "I believe you're right, Souta. Think about it- 'the true light will inspire.' Logically, the sun tablet should be placed near the skylight, as the 'true light.' And 'the false light will clear the path?' The moon should go near the door, clearly. All that said, we ought to exercise caution. As I've mentioned previously, this location likely predates humanity, which would mean it was built by Hierarchy hands. And the Laguna are loath to surrender secrets." He punctuated this statement by summoning Pleiades' blades, and reaching for Kazfiel and Sraosha's presence beyond the veil of Purgatorio.

"We should all be prepared for whatever is hiding behind that door. Even if it's nothing, better safe than sorry."

"Actually," Akoni interjected, for the first time directly addressing the Sage. "I believe that this library is a joint effort by your people, the Lumen Sages, and the Umbra Witches. That, or it was crafted by a common ancestor. It's not unusual for the celestial bodies to be utilized in ancient cultures, but few revere both sun and moon."

At that point the sun tablet had been placed. Just as they had all theorized, this began a complex, semi-magical mechanism which opened the gran doors of the library. The old man couldn't help but smile. Ah, how he missed this feeling. Why had he retired, again? But his smile was short lived, as a lone figure was just barely discernible in the distance. No doubt this was who, or what, had messed around with the books. Then how had it gotten inside? They strode forth, Akoni keeping his guard up just in case. Once they had gotten close enough to see who it was, he was glad he did.

"Sevrin..." His devil arm Lammasu reacted to the ice-cold venom pumping through his veins at the sight of the traitor by morphing multiple blades on the knuckles. "Tell me Sevrin... How long were you planning no betraying the Organization? What could possibly be worth it?"

The contempt in the old man's voice would be evident to even the most naive of individuals.