First Rider Of The Apocalypse

"Let's see if a shadow can bleed..."

Launching himself in the speed of lightning at the creature that's about to cut him horizontally with its two shadow swords, Raphael smiles and slides himself across the watery floor, passing under the blades in slow motion with the drops of the liquid forming a shield above him.

A clanging sound of metal is heard when the blades clash with the shield as the liquid splashes the creature across its face, burning it like an acid, which gives Raphael an opening for attack.

Quickly getting up with some swift moves, Raphael grabs the creature by its head, spins with it in his right hand, and numerous times smashes its face to the closest pillar of the hallway.

With each smash, the facade of the hallway begins to crack, and the plaster starts falling from it as the pace of the smashes starts to speed up.

Finally, letting go of the creature that's clearly shaken, the creature loses its balance as Raphael spins and kicks it into its chest, sending it flying across the hallway with double waves of the black, acid-like liquid following it, splashing it more.

As it lands, the creature looks up in horror, its limbs starting to slowly dissolve from the acid which moves as if alive, as Raphael, wearing a mad smile, starts approaching it with firm steps while scratching the hallway wall with the claws of his right hand.

Sharpening them against the wall to the point that sparkles start to form while leaving deep scratches at the facade, the creature notices something.

"See, even a shadow can bleed..." Raphael speaks between his steps as only an image of the creature, lying on the ground in horror can be seen, while the continuously growing shadow of Raphael's body approaches him.

But something changes... The reflection in the creature's eyes shows something...

An image of a monster changing into an Angelic being surrounded by a golden aura, bathing in a golden light, with his black wings spreading out, with a halo spinning around his head, with his black, long hair reaching his waist, and with a glowing halberd in his right hand.

The face of the Archangel can't be seen though, but from the look of the creature, it must be beautiful.

...

Female dorms

Running across the room like a maniac, Sarah is throwing her clothes all around the room because she can't find what she wants, or what she thinks would suit her better while leaving trails of colors all across the air of her room...

As the image shifts, a similar thing, but in a calmer manner, can be seen happening in Monika's room as her boyfriend whose face is not shown yet is looking at her running from side to side, his head following her movements while he sits at the chair under the window.

"Babe, what happened to you today? Do you have those days? " He suddenly asks, making Monika stop in her tracks, and confusedly look at him...

"When did you get here? " Her eyes wide open, her face shows only confusion.

"What are you talking about? I was here from the start... I looked for you in the hallway when I heard what the Principal said, so I immediately ran here. When I saw this room empty, I was about to leave when you suddenly burst in, ignoring me completely while throwing clothes all around..."

"Mind explaining what the hell is happenin'? " Her boyfriend asks as Monika takes some deep breaths which slightly calms her down.

"As you may know, the Principal said we should leave the Academy grounds until the sun sets. And because tomorrow is the tournament, I arranged something. We have a double date, yay! ... Please, dress nicely..." Monika replies as she starts to slowly pick up her clothes.

"The tournament is tomorrow?! How come I forgot... But, a double date? And with whom? " Her boyfriend asks.

Putting the pile on her bed, Monika says: "You'll see soon darling... Now excuse me~" as she picks some jean shorts and a white top from the pile, and storms into the bathroom.

"..."

"...Hah, sometimes, having a girlfriend like her is a challenge..." says the boy as he leaves her room with a sigh and walks away, aiming in the direction of the male dorms.

...

Walking toward the creature, Raphael crouches down to it, already back in his normal appearance as the creature asks.

"Who are you..." Its voice is calm and quiet due to the sight it saw.

Not answering right away, Raphael forms a sharp claw on the index finger of his left hand and pierces the creature's chest with it as he finally replies.

"Why do you ask questions, for the answers you already know, my friend... You see... I said you talk too much..."

"But, back to our previous subject... As I said before, knowing a truth when you don't have the necessary power to prove it is kind of useless, yet, you decided to do it anyway... even after my warning..."

All this time, the creature which has already half of its body dissolved due to lying in the corrupting, black-colored acid, is looking at Raphael with a calm, somewhat happy expression on its face as Raphael continues to speak.

The creature no longer feels fear, hatred, anger, or any of those "negative" feelings, but rather feels calmness and happiness all over its wounded soul.

"But I'm a man of my word, and even when you fell, you still gave me some action, which at least amused me... Therefore, I'll make you my pet as I promised..."

Pulling out his claw covered in the blood of the creature, Raphael places it into his mouth and sucks it in, making his eyes turn into black and white in the process.

A few seconds later, the creature's body suddenly starts to dissolve quicker, and when it's almost gone, from the shadows covering the corpse, a raven with feathers black as night suddenly flies out.

Stretching its wings, the Raven flies around the hallway, until it finally lands on Raphael's left shoulder and croaks.

Both as if gratitude and happiness to be free.

"Splendid... Now, go and be my eyes, my first rider... Death is your new name... Now go, and look after our target, while I look for the girls~" Raphael says as he stands up from the floor, sharing his information about a particular someone with the raven which then flies out from his shoulder, out of the hallway through an open window.

In the direction of Sarah's dorm room, Raphael then walks, wearing a knowing smile.

A smile that proves he knows about them, about the person who saw the entire encounter with the shadow creature from the corner of the hallway.

A person who somehow saw through his illusions, a person who might become dangerous with this knowledge if remains alive or is ignored.

A person who is now slowly following Raphael from pillar to pillar, from one corner to the next as if his shadow.

The shadow of an Archangel of Air.

...

"I see..." Vega suddenly speaks, cutting off the silence as Raphael walks across one of the hallways of the female dorms.

'You see what...' Raphael replies with his inner voice.

"I see that, even after becoming a Demon, you didn't lose your Archangelic form..." Vega elaborates further.

'You are wrong, my friend. I lost it right away after I fell from heaven... My soft wings were forcefully torn out of my back, my halo dissolved into sparkles and disappeared into thin air, the air I previously ruled over, and my beloved halberd crumbled into dust...'

'What you saw... Was just an illusion, showing my prime...' Raphael explained.

"That sounds kinda depressing..." Vega comments.

'Everything has its prize... For respect and power, I sacrificed myself... That's the prize I paid...' Raphael adds.

"Well, if you say-... Raphael, are we being followed? " Vega suddenly asks.

'Really... How come you didn't notice sooner... We have been followed since we entered the female dorms, Mr. I-know-everything...' Raphael chuckles.

"What do you mean by that? " Vega asks.

'Why do you think I made the illusion of me being an Angel? Hmmmm? ' Raphael asks.

"To calm down the creature? " Vega replies.

'Well, that's part of the reason... But the second is our little stalker... I don't know how though, but she somehow saw us fight, so I needed to use stronger persuasion tactics to show them what I wanted them to see.'

'Because, who would you approach sooner? A Demon? Or an "Angel" disguised as a Demon who shows his true face? ' Raphael explains as Vega speaks.

"Smart..."

'That's not smart but rather logical thinking... I'm a Demon of lust, illusions, corruption, manipulation, etc.'

'You will not see through my plans, nor understand my motives, or see behind the curtains until it's too late. You will be drownin' in confusion until I reveal everything. But by then, you will be already dancin' at the palm of my hand, doin' what, when, and where I want...'

While talking with Vega, Raphael is passing by countless doors until he suddenly passes by a boy.

The boy looks into Raphael's blood-red eyes with a tired expression, but seeing his pupils and the color of those eyes, unconsciously, a pair of goosebumps run down his spine.

Feeling pleasant from his scared expression, Raphael casually passes him as if nothing and continues on his way to Sarah's dorm when from behind, he hears the boy's mumbling voice.

"Huh? Yua?! AHHmmmmm! "

Turning around, Raphael wears a casual expression, but seeing no one, he just shrugs and continues to walk.

'So it's a female, and her name is actually Japanese... Well, they always tend to have stalker natures...' He speaks in his mind as he all of a sudden orders.

'Vega, hack the Academy servers and find everything about a student named Yua... I want it before I go out...' Raphael.

"Consider it done, user..." Vega.

'Never ever call me a user again, you idjit...' Raphael.

[... The name has been changed from: @User_ to: @Gremory_573 ...]

'Better... But never call me that...' Raphael.

"You never told me what should I call you..." Vega.

'Just Raphael... Like always... Like my father did...' Raphael.

...

... ... ... ... ...

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