~ The Return

After Asmodeus was sent back to Hell by force, the attacks against the Vatican subsided. It was decided that after all, it was all her doing since she was known to have the best transportation powers in Hell. The theories regarding the true reason and the ones behind the invasion remained just theories, only known by a small group of people, with Olson in the lead.

 The reparations began soon after, but the forces of the foreign countries didn't want to be stationed there too much, leaving their own territories unprotected. In the end, the last ones to leave the Vatican after the war were the Romanian forces, led by Dumitru Forester.

 It was decided that Anton would stay imprisoned in the Vatican since they had the best security on the globe. He's lost all of his demonic abilities, so escaping should be no easy achievement for him.

 "Are you sure you can't stay anymore?" asked Yona in a sad tone.

 "We are sorry, but we also have to go back and protect our own territories. After all, most of our forces came as reinforcements, so the demons might go rampant if we were absent too much," explained Claude who was the only possible candidate to take care of the team after Chroma's imprisonment.

 "I see... Well, good luck out there, and I hope that we'll meet again soon," said Dena with a gentle smile.

"Hopefully not in the same circumstances..." muttered Fabio.

 Looking at Paul who just stood there, absent-minded, Stephan placed his hand on his shoulder and said: "Take care... Don't forget, even like this, you are still you. Don't let uncle Wilbur take that away from you."

"I see... I will do what I think it's best. My last thought before the experiment was that I have to protect everyone and take revenge. So I probably won't lose myself until those two objectives are completed," explained Paul in a rather mechanical manner.

"I-I see... Well, take care," said Stephan.

"I will," he replied.

 After parting their ways, the Romanian group went towards their forces who were about to get transported back to the academy soon. Their numbers have been cut in half in less than a week, so they are expecting a stricter schedule following their arrival back home.

 1.

 Romania, The Saint Nicholas Academy, The Year 2177

 Upon arriving, they were allowed to rest for the rest of the day, as well as the following one. Because of the lack of exorcists, they had only two days for themselves, but even that was plenty considering how tattered and worn they all were.

 However, not every soldier decided that just resting was the best course of action. Another group had a different objective in mind, the reason for which, the next day they reunited in one of their empty classrooms at the academy.

 "So, how do we get to Hell?" asked Rebecca, leaving everyone speechless.

2.

 "Enter please..." said the principal, allowing Dumitru to enter his office. He then added: "The report..."

"Yes sir! We've lost 16.000 soldiers... With the forces that stayed back, we only have around 20.000 soldiers left in Romania," said Dumitru, upon reviewing the report.

"I was afraid it was going to be this bad..."

"Also, there are a few special cases that I'd like to discuss," added Dumitru.

"Please, go ahead."

"Chroma Kosetsu was targeted by the Deadly Sins from the very beginning, and the reasons for that are currently investigated in the Vatican. As a result, the boy sacrificed himself for his team, and was captured alive and brought to Hell by the Deadly Sin of Sloth," explained Dumitru.

"I see... Please, announce the official in the Vatican to try looking for clues in the Japanese case involving the cult of Beelzebub. The year 2166..." said the principal.

"Understood, and there's also the matter involving the Tryphon family," said Dumitru catching the principal's attention. He then voiced the issue: "We know the power and influence the Tryphon family has, but we never thought they'd start their weird experiments again. The disappeared Bronze-Ranked soldier, Paul Tryphon appeared on the battlefield in the Vatican."

 "How comes...?" asked the principal, astonished by this comment.

 "Not only that but it is now confirmed that he will be the next head of the Tryphon family, announce made yesterday by Wilbur Tryphon, the current head."

 "So, what kind of experiment did they do...?" asked the principal.

 "They erased... The Soul Factors of Paul Tryphon."

 "W-What did they do?! But that's the very essence of one's personality!" said the principal, rising from his seat angrily.

 It is a well-known fact that a person can have 4 distinct Soul Factors, but they don't always know what all of those are... But a lesser-known fact about the Soul Factors is that there's a fifth one, which is exactly the same in all humans... The Humanity Factor. Emotions, feelings, personality... They are all given by this Soul Factor.

 "How could he do that...To his own son at that?" muttered the principal after standing back down in his seat.

"It was a known topic in the Tryphon family that the only son of the main family, Paul, though talented was cursed by two Soul Factors that deemed him unworthy of ruling over the greatest family in the country," explained Dumitru.

"So they just erased the entire term of Soul Factor for him... What impact did it have on him?" quietly asked the principal.

 "His growth was like something we've never seen before... He fought on equal footing with Asmodeus even after her second power release. If it wouldn't have been for Anton's last desperate attempt to retreat, we could have cornered and defeated a Deadly Sin for the first time in history... But other than that, he is just like a robot now. No emotions, just pure ration and the fleeting dream left behind by his former self. A dream filled with revenge and the will to protect what's left of his old group."

"I see... As long as he's not a threat to humanity, we won't do anything. It's not like we can even do anything for him..." said the principal with a sad tone.

"No sir. If there is someone at fault for this, it is me for not being able to protect them from the very beginning... I failed them as a mentor," said Forester, taking the blame on himself.

"I am sorry I've put you and the soldiers through so much... You can go now. I have to think things through..." said the principal, urging Dumitru to leave the office. In the end, he remained alone with his thoughts.