Satanael

Just a day later, a building burns down.

That isn't the only noteworthy thing that happened, though. The roads around it are destroyed. The trees lining the sidewalks are uprooted and now lay several meters away. And just a small distance from the burning house is a crater about a dozen meters in radius.

It's, genuinely, the first disaster Kuoh has faced in quite some time. The firemen quickly arrive to try and put out the fire, and a small crowd watches from afar as the grand flames gently die down. The smell of ash and sulfur wafts in the air, muted and dulled by the slowly falling snow.

I watch from a small distance, my expression cool. Akeno stands beside me, staring dully at the burning ruins. The scent of ozone lingers around us both.

Gently, I clasp her hand in mine, and I pull her closer. For once, she makes no other response than to hug me back.

I can't help but sigh.

Understandably, all the guests I called were tired out after the all-night celebration they went through. The town is especially silent after that, but neither Akeno nor I are tired in any capacity. We pretended to sleep when we got home, but we snuck out right after.

We didn't have any plans. We wandered this town of our making, flying past freezing winds and walking amongst snow-filled roads. Snow wasn't foreign to us—it'd snowed one time before—but at that moment, it felt new. Kuoh has changed massively, and I knew it'd change even more.

We toured the town, and committed this form of it into our memories. There was no telling how long this form of Kuoh would remain, after all.

Then, I suddenly feel something. Someone has activated one of my 'Alarms' at the western edge of town. Akeno feels this not long after, her enhanced senses picking up on something unnatural. We take off to the skies immediately, intent on seeing just who it is that has come here.

When we arrive, we see a young man walk into the streets of Kuoh. My eyes activate, and information floods through.

Stane Johnson is his name. He's a member of the Team Abyss that'd assaulted Sae and her friends some months back. Now he's here, under the orders of the cadre he works under, both to confirm Team Slash/Dog's strength, and to find out how Kuoh expanded as quickly as it did.

Which means,

"He's an enemy." I said simply, and Akeno nodded as we descended through the falling snow, landing silently before the young man. His eyes sharpened instantly, and his muscles tensed as he took a step back.

He didn't seem to know us, but he could feel our strength. And so, without a word, he attacked.

With a flick of his hand, tens of holes suddenly appeared across the street, leading to a pocket space outfitted with hundreds of seals. With another flick of his hand, tens of blocks appeared in the air, made out of pure magic and glowing a menacing red.

He muttered something, and the blocks flew, barreling towards us with speeds that would've crushed any normal human with no resistance.

But I didn't move. I didn't need to.

By my side, Akeno smiled. The scent of ozone filled the air, and suddenly balls of pure plasma formed over her head, glowing a bright blue before they fired off. They blurred as they moved, turning almost into streaks of light as they smashed into the magical blocks.

The blocks were melted through in seconds, and Stane had to quickly jump to the side to avoid getting his head melted through. And even then, some of the beams had cut through his torso, melting through the flesh and bone. The young man growled, and with a roar he sent more and more blocks of magic at us.

Still, I didn't move. I knew Akeno could deal with him just fine. If anything, she'd probably use the chance to play around a little.

Instead, I was more interested in learning about the man's Sacred Gear. Strategy Trap it's called. A creation-type Sacred Gear that allows the wielder to form all sorts of traps in a certain radius. Each wielder starts out with a predestined set of traps they could wield, though they could always grow their selection through training.

The Sacred Gear itself wasn't all that interesting. However, there was something odd about this particular Strategy Trap. It'd been…altered, to put it mildly. Someone had gone into Stane's soul, and forcibly tampered with it to help the Sacred Gear grow at an unnatural-

My thoughts were cut off when, suddenly, a surge of massive power appeared just behind Stane. It was incomparable to anything I've ever felt before, and it reminded me of that overwhelming weight I first felt when Kagutsuchi descended into the Vermillion Bird.

"Sir Satanael!" Stane called out, his voice relieved.

I turn my eyes, and there I see a man. He's rather handsome, with his brown hair and striking silver eyes. He's wearing a battlesuit of some kind, weaved from all sorts of enchanted materials. And on his back are ten wings, with jet black feathers that impossibly glinted in the dark of night.

He stared at his student, and then turned his eyes to me. There was something calculating there; he stared at me like I'm some sort of experiment he can't understand. I smile back, polite and vicious all at once. A small grin lifted the cadre's lips, and a tinge of respect shone in his eyes.

But then he turned his eyes to Akeno, and a sense of danger rose in me as his grin turned positively manic.

"To think I'd find you here." He said slowly, as if he was talking to a child. "How wonderfully you've grown."

Akeno said nothing. The smile she had just moments ago was gone, now replaced with an empty expression as she stared at the cadre.

And then, a storm crashed onto the snow-filled roads, and suddenly Akeno flew forward, her body surrounded by lightning, her Raikiri in hand as she raced towards the cadre. He smiled back, and with a flourish a longsword appeared in his hands.

I quickly pulled out an 'Isolation' Ofuda, and I activated it as quickly as I could. The paper burnt, and the dome formed just in time for the two blades to clash.

When it did, the world exploded white as the two forces collided. Her lightning smashed into Satanael's Light, and the earth trembled in its wake. Stane screamed as he was blown away, and even I had to steady myself, lest I get blown away by the thundering shockwave.

But it didn't stop there. Akeno continued attacking, her mythical naginata glinting in the moonlight as plasma danced around her like fireflies. And Satanael met it all with comparable strength, his Light smashing into her plasma and his sword clashing against her blade.

I turn my eyes to where Stane had been blown away, only to suddenly feel another burst of power. It came from Stane this time, and he was grinning wildly as he swallowed something. My eyes quickly went to work, diving seconds into the past to see what it-

Abruptly, my mind scrambled. The energies that are so integrally tied with my being were suddenly out of my reach, and a terrible weakness struck me. Even my control over Primal Energy dulled, and it almost reminded me of the terrible control I had back in my younger days.

I grit my teeth as I staggered back, taking a deep breath to try and steady myself.

Then, I heard Stane laugh. "So this is what it feels like…!" He screamed, his eyes bleeding and drool dripping from his chin. What poise he had moments ago was gone, and now he looked like a raving madman as he slowly walked towards me. "Ha! Why did I wait so long for this!? This is awesome!"

I frowned, and information flooded my mind.

It didn't take me long to realize what happened.

That tampering I'd seen in Stane's soul? That was all a catalyst for what just happened. The thing he consumed seemed to be some sort of artificial Sacred Gear enhancer, produced by Satanael after years of experimenting with Sacred Gears. He used all the knowledge he cultivated, and all the information he stole from his time in the Grigori, to create something…monstrous.

A Sacred Gear is tied to its wielder's soul. If the soul grows, then so does the Sacred Gear.

Then, what'll happen if the soul, say, breaks? If the Sacred Gear is so closely related to the soul, what'll happen to the restriction holding the Sacred Gear in check?

It'll break, and now I saw the result. The Strategy Trap I'd been fighting moments earlier was gone, shattered and mutated into something that breached into the realm of a Longinus. No one would confidently call this mutated Sacred Gear a Longinus, of course. All the tampering Satanael had done had made the Sacred Gear unstable. It wouldn't be long before it imploded.

But right now?

The thing I'm fighting is a Longinus, one that created an invisible barrier around he and I. A territory-type Sacred Gear that generates a force that scrambles all earthly senses. It's why I felt so disorientated. My Ki and Divine Energy were suddenly cut off, and my Primal Energy was slowed to a crawl.

It's similar to Sae's Infernal Arm in that sense, just immensely more powerful and, given the chance to grow, would become something that could take down even gods.

I wasn't afraid, however. Instead, I found my lips lifting into a grin. Stane saw this, and the joy he felt drained away to rapturous anger. "Why're you smiling, huh!?" He screamed, drool flailing all over as he barked at me like a manic dog.

I only laughed in return. "It's always interesting to see the lengths people will go for power." I say casually, remembering all the Devils I killed in the past month. "Like moths to a flame, you disregard anything in your untimely pursuit."

"Shut up!" He screamed, and he leapt towards me with strength he didn't have moments ago. You don't get to spout shit like-"

He didn't get to finish his word, because suddenly his entire jaw snapped as I punched his chin. The man took a step back, words caught in his throat as he gently cupped his chin. He found, to his horror, that his entire lower jaw had been cracked.

I grinned back. My magical energies may be cut off, but my body remained. All the time I spent training hadn't disappeared. I was still as physically strong as I was before his Longinus came into effect.

Stane tried moving away, but I moved behind him before he could. He shrieked as he fell onto his ass, finally realizing that he was fully out of his league here.

I raised my hand, and I smiled.

It wasn't a pleasant smile.

With all the strength I had, I smashed my fist into his skull. The world froze for a moment, and then the impact followed. The skin on his head tore. The flesh beneath bruised and broke away. His skull cracked beneath the impact, shattering into a dozen pieces. His brain exploded in blood, and was flattened as Stane's corpse crashed into the street.

Just like that, he was dead. The Longinus' effect faded, and I sighed in relief as I felt all my energies return to normal.

I turned my eyes up to the sky, and there I saw Akeno and Satanael battling it out. Neither of them seemed particularly injured. Satanael had some minor burns on his arms, but I could see them quickly healing. Akeno's dress is burnt in some places, but the skin beneath was completely unharmed.

Neither of them were any closer to winning. It seemed neither were trying to win either. Akeno, despite her anger, was trying to scope his strength. Satanael was doing the same, though he turned down to me when he felt Stane die.

And at that, annoyance filled the cadre's eyes. Not because he cared for his student, but because I'd effectively destroyed his work.

He tried flying down to me, but Akeno was quick to stop that, striking him in the head with a lightning-infused kick. Annoyance gave way to anger, and the world exploded in white as Satanael is fully enveloped by a cocoon of Light. Wind blasted across the air, clearing away the falling snow and sending Akeno downwards.

She quickly righted herself, and she landed cleanly on my right. She turned to me, her vicious smile still fixed on her lips. I gave her a thumbs up in return.

"I must admit, you are stronger than I expected." I heard Satanael say, and I turned up to see the cadre floating high above, his wings fully covered in white Light. "To think there lives a human as strong as you."

That statement nearly made me laugh. That statement was terribly wrong, and quite racist as well. And it wasn't as if I'm a normal human in the first place.

I would've spoken some sort of retort, but I was more focused on learning the capabilities of that longsword he's holding.

"And you," Satanael continued, turning his eyes to Akeno. "I can't believe someone like you could've come from that foolish man." He scoffed. "He is but a fake who tries to cling to the phantoms of the past." He smiled then, sharp and jagged. "You are more of a Fallen than he will ever be."

Once more, I found that statement humorous. Akeno's no normal Fallen, and in time, she won't be a Fallen at all.

There's an odd look on her face as he says that. Amused and hateful and regretful all at once. Her hatred for her father burnt viciously, but so did her hatred for Fallen in general. It seemed she couldn't decide whether to be amused or to be angered.

"So I shall grant you this." Slowly, he lifted up his sword. The Light radiating from him began swirling around it, gathering into a vortex of Light and Corruption. The falling snow turned into a miniature hail from the unseen weight, and I could see the invisible 'Isolation' barrier begin to tremble from all the magic he's infusing into his sword.

At that moment, a calculation passed through my mind. The distance between him and us was factored, and I quickly determined that we wouldn't be fast enough to interrupt him. There's no point in trying; it's better to just meet his attack head on.

So I prepared. I glowed a myriad of blues and whites and golds as three different energies began swirling through my body. I held my arm back, muscles fully tensed, and I infused every inch of my arm with as much power as it could hold.

Akeno saw this, and she prepared as well. She held her naginata back, and the blade glowed an eerie blue as lightning cackled around it. Winds began gathering around her, forming a cyclone of Mana and Ki as she infused as much lightning as she could into her blade.

Satanael brought his blade higher. The black sky of the 'Isolation' barrier had been completely overpowered by the bright white of the cadre's weightful Light.

The winds around us built, and we stood in the literal eye of the storm as the smell of ozone wafted between us.

Then, with a bellowing voice, Satanael commanded. "Burn in Valor, O' Shining Arondight!"

Saying those words, he swung his blade down. And following it, a giant pillar of light descended towards the earth, carrying enough power to level the entire city.

We watched as the pillar of light fell towards us, filling every edge of our visions with the burning white of the corrupted divine. We waiting for the perfect moment, for when the barreling mass of magic would come before us, for when there only existed inches between us.

Eventually, that moment came, and as one we struck.

I punched, she swung,

And time seemed to stand still as our attacks collided. All sorts of energies clashed against one another, smashing into one as a canvas of twisting colors.

Then, the world exploded. The energies collided as one, forming into a giant expanding ball of heat and plasma. The earth trembled as the ball expanded, digging out the dirt and stone as if the ground had turned into a liquid. All the snow vaporized and turned into steam. And the 'Isolation' dome keeping us all hidden shattered, incapable of withstanding the impact.

Slowly, a thin plume of smoke began rising into the air, growing thicker as the air that'd been blasted out rushed back in. Before long, the plume had morphed into a mushroom cloud, filled with ash and steam.

A crater had formed on the earth. The roads were cracked and carved. The trees—those that hadn't been burnt from the terrific heat—had been uprooted and flung several meters back.

And one, unlucky vacant house had been lit aflame.

The scene was damning. It was as if a meteor had struck the earth. Or, perhaps, a small nuclear bomb had gone off.

We escaped from the crater just seconds later. My entire right arm was gone, blood dripping from the charred wound on my shoulder. Akeno's arms were entirely black, the skin and flesh turned to char. Her naginata is held limply across her arms, its pole snapped in half.

Satanael was gone. He hadn't suffered any injuries like we did; he'd been floating far above us. But he'd seen us fully combat his attack, and he'd fled.

He didn't escape with fear, but he certainly left filled with respectful caution. And that was more than enough to elicit a small laugh from me. Akeno joined in in the laughter just as we walked out of the crater, and soon both of us were laughing like lunatics.

It didn't matter that our bodies were burnt terribly like this. We could heal this all without much issue. It didn't matter that her Raikiri's guard had snapped; we could always outfit it with a new handle.

It didn't matter, because we faced off against someone that stood in the leagues of the old Satans, and we'd come out on top.

So we laughed amongst the gently falling snow, our laughter muted to all but us two.

And then, after we healed ourselves and changed into some new clothing, here we are.

We stand just a distance away from the people, watching the flames finally be extinguished. A palpable sense of relief rings across those who are watching then, but some still can't help but turn to the crater we left behind.

They'll most likely chalk it up to a meteor of some kind, and this place will probably become somewhat of a tourist attraction in the future.

That manic amusement we felt is gone, and now we stand there in silence. Akeno's deep in her own thoughts. She'd faced that cadre alone for a good while, and she'd realized that he hadn't been taking her seriously at all. Had she faced that final attack on her own, would she have come out with injuries as minor as the one she had?

Granted, I don't know who'd actually win if the two fought. Akeno may be weaker than Satanael, but the longer she lasts on the battlefield, the stronger she'll become. Perhaps, given enough time, she'll eventually overpower the cadre and tear him apart.

But no one will know just yet, and I can see that realization hanging heavily over her.

"We'll get stronger." I whisper to her, gently patting her head. "He escaped, and that'll be the worst mistake he'll ever make."

She doesn't respond.

I sigh. "Come on," I tug her along. "Let's go home."

She just hums.