Night had fallen over Eryndor like a shroud.
Not an ordinary night.
Not the quiet darkness the city sometimes knew after the rain.
This one felt...
alive.
Black clouds completely covered the sky, thick and shifting, crossed by silent flashes of lightning pulsing behind the dark mass like the heartbeat of a dying creature. Wind whistled between the suspended skyscrapers, carrying dead leaves in chaotic spirals through the illuminated avenues.
The city was still shining.
Advertising holograms floated between the towers.
Suspended rails vibrated beneath the last passing trains.
Cafés still played music behind warm windows.
And yet...
something was wrong.
The guardian angels could feel it.
Perched above rooftops.
Hidden behind humans.
Silent among the crowds.
All of them stared at the sky.
Like soldiers watching an imminent execution.
—
Inside his apartment bathed in dim blue light, Seven suddenly opened his eyes.
His breathing was uneven.
Pain had just crossed his soul.
Not physical.
Spiritual.
A vibration.
As if something had torn through the world itself.
He stood immediately.
His phone was still vibrating on the coffee table.
No message from Kael.
For hours.
A brutal sense of unease tightened his chest.
Then—
a second presence.
Liah.
Her Ether had erupted somewhere in Eastern Eryndor.
Seven grabbed his black jacket.
His rosary chimed softly against his neck.
Then he vanished into the night.
—
The streets of Eryndor blurred beneath his feet like fragments of shadow.
The wind was screaming now.
Lightning occasionally illuminated entire buildings in unreal white flashes.
Then—
a figure appeared before him.
A spear descended.
The impact shattered the asphalt.
Seven leapt back.
His shadow sickles materialized instantly in his hands.
Standing before him...
Vapula.
The Colonel of the Abyss.
His black armor seemed to absorb all surrounding light. His cloak of ashes drifted slowly behind him while his massive spear rested across his shoulder.
And behind him...
dozens of demons.
Their twisted bodies crawled through the streets like an infernal tide.
Seven's gaze hardened immediately.
"Kael."
Vapula smiled faintly.
"Ah... so you felt it."
The ground trembled.
The demons began advancing.
Seven tried to push past him.
Vapula blocked him instantly.
Their weapons collided in an explosion of Ether.
The windows of nearby buildings shattered.
"Get out of my way."
"Impossible."
Vapula's spear blasted Seven backward with monstrous force.
The young angel slid several meters before regaining his footing.
His eyes drifted for a second toward the horizon.
Toward the East.
Toward Liah.
Toward Kael.
Then toward the demons.
More and more of them.
His heart tightened.
If he chased Kael now...
Eryndor would fall.
Thousands would die.
Entire families slaughtered.
Children.
Innocents.
Seven's gaze wavered.
Then he made his decision.
His chains slowly began rotating around him.
The air vibrated.
An invisible pressure expanded outward.
The world seemed to fold.
Street noise vanished.
The wind became muted.
Space around the district slowly bent inward.
"Arcane:
Silent Fold — Boundary of the Damned."
A gigantic invisible barrier enclosed several city blocks inside an isolated reality.
The city's lights flickered.
Humans trapped within the zone looked up in panic.
Some immediately began running.
Others screamed.
The demons rushed them.
Blood splattered across the streets.
A man was torn apart before his wife's eyes.
A teenage girl screamed as a demon ripped off her arm.
Cars crashed into buildings amidst absolute chaos.
Seven closed his eyes for a second.
Then he attacked.
His chains surged through the streets like black serpents.
Demonic bodies exploded into showers of dark Ether.
His sickles carved through everything that approached.
Every movement was precise.
Brutal.
Lethal.
But the demons kept coming.
More.
And more.
Vapula watched calmly.
Then he almost sighed.
"You really think you can contain all this... alone?"
He slowly raised his spear.
The bandages wrapped around the weapon began trembling.
Then—
they unraveled.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Even the demons stepped back slightly.
The true spear was revealed.
A monstrous weapon.
Forged from a material impossible to describe.
Covered in shifting symbols that seemed to make space itself bleed around them.
Even Seven felt his soul tremble at the sight.
Vapula smiled.
Then threw the spear.
The projectile crossed the sky like a black star.
And struck Silent Fold.
The world exploded.
The barrier cracked with a deafening scream.
Then shattered completely.
The sounds of the city returned all at once.
And with them...
Hell.
The demons immediately poured into Eryndor.
Like a monstrous flood.
Hundreds.
Then thousands.
Screams erupted across the city.
Buildings were already burning.
The streets turned red.
And the guardian angels...
chose to fight.
Weak.
Terrified.
Doomed.
And yet...
they stayed.
One angel with torn wings protected an elderly woman until three demons pierced him.
Another luminous being held a child close before exploding together with the monsters surrounding them.
All across Eryndor...
guardians died for their humans.
And the sky itself seemed to mourn their disappearance.
—
In Eastern Eryndor.
The docks had become a battlefield of ruins.
The canal waters trembled beneath Ether impacts.
Liah was breathing heavily.
Blood ran down her arm.
Before her...
Malakiel.
His black wings were spread behind him like a funeral veil.
And despite all of Liah's progress...
she was being overwhelmed.
Their weapons collided again.
Malakiel hurled her violently into a fractured wall.
Stone exploded.
Liah spat blood.
Her breathing trembled.
"Too slow."
He appeared before her instantly.
His knee drove into her stomach.
Liah felt the air leave her lungs.
Then she was slammed into the ground.
Concrete cracked beneath the impact.
Malakiel slowly approached.
His eyes shone with a strange sadness.
"Your soul still doesn't remember who you are, does it?"
Liah forced herself to look up.
"Shut up..."
He crouched before her.
"I'll help you remember."
Liah clenched her teeth.
Her Ether suddenly erupted around her.
Sound vibrations distorted the air.
"Arcane:
Requiem Resonia."
A monstrous shockwave surged through the docks.
Buildings trembled.
The canal exploded beneath the sonic pressure.
The attack struck Malakiel head-on.
Then...
silence.
The smoke slowly cleared.
Malakiel was still standing.
Almost untouched.
Liah's eyes trembled.
Then he attacked.
A storm of black light descended upon her.
Her body was slashed.
Thrown.
Broken.
Blood splashed across the pavement.
Liah collapsed.
Her vision blurred.
The sky spun.
Sounds faded away.
I'm going to die...
Again...
I'm going to fail again...
Her fingers weakly trembled against the wet concrete.
Then—
something changed.
Her Ether surged violently.
The air vibrated around her.
The canal waters began levitating.
Her amethyst eyes blazed.
Liah slowly stood.
Then vanished.
Malakiel's eyes widened slightly.
A sonic blade tore through his torso.
Black blood splashed onto the ground.
Silence returned.
Then...
Malakiel smiled.
A genuine smile.
Almost happy.
"I finally found you again..."
His voice trembled slightly.
"My Liah."
And in the eyes of both awakened beings...
it became immediately clear that the true battle had only just begun.
—
Meanwhile...
in Northern Eryndor...
the Voss family home was burning.
Nils ran through the ruined streets.
Out of breath.
Blood ran down his forehead.
Then he arrived.
And his world collapsed.
His home barely existed anymore.
The walls were still burning.
Demons crawled through the ruins.
And among the wreckage...
his parents.
Being devoured alive.
Nils' heart stopped.
His little sister was curled against a shattered wall.
Tears silently streamed down her face.
Terrified.
Unable to move.
"MOM?!"
Nils grabbed a baseball bat from the ground.
And charged.
The demon sent him flying immediately.
His body crashed through a wall.
He stood again.
Charged again.
Thrown back once more.
Then—
a memory.
His parents.
Supporting him at every game.
Encouraging him.
Smiling despite their hardships.
They had always believed in him.
Always.
So...
the least he could do now...
was reach back toward them.
Even now.
Even if it was too late.
Something ignited inside him.
Ether.
His bat became engulfed in blue energy.
Nils screamed.
And crushed the demon's skull in a violent explosion.
The monster collapsed.
But...
it was already too late.
His father no longer moved.
His mother was dying in his arms.
She weakly placed a hand against his cheek.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Protect... your sister..."
Her voice trembled.
"Help... the others..."
Then she smiled faintly.
"And above all..."
Her breathing faltered.
"Survive..."
Nils' lips trembled.
Then she whispered with her last breath:
"Thank you... my hero..."
And she died.
Nils broke into tears.
His sister clung to him, trembling.
The entire world seemed to be collapsing around them.
—
A few minutes later...
they came across an evacuation unit.
Awakened ones.
Their emblem was strange:
a silver eye pierced by a broken cross surrounded by white chains.
They killed demons with terrifying efficiency.
Blades of Ether sliced creatures apart mid-charge.
Luminous seals immobilized monsters before storms of spiritual projectiles reduced them to ashes.
At their head...
Nicole Lawyer.
A woman with messy short hair, wearing a long black tactical coat stained with demonic blood. Her gray eyes sparkled with an almost unsettling energy despite the apocalypse around them.
She crushed a demon's skull with an Ether axe before muttering:
"Damn... I swear they get uglier every generation."
Then she noticed Nils.
His burned clothes.
His trembling sister.
The blood on his bat.
And above all...
his eyes.
Nicole's smile faded slightly.
"Oh."
Her tone changed.
Nils immediately fell to his knees before her.
"Please... protect my sister..."
His voice broke.
The little girl desperately clung to his arm.
Nicole remained silent for several seconds.
Then crouched gently before the child.
Despite her eccentric appearance...
her voice became surprisingly calm.
"Hey."
The little girl hesitantly looked up.
"What's your name?"
The child hesitated.
Then weakly signed with her hands.
Nicole watched the movement.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Ah...
You're deaf."
She smiled gently.
"That's okay. I talk too much anyway."
The girl flinched slightly...
then hid behind Nils.
Nicole slowly stood.
Wind blew around them, carrying smoke and ashes.
Explosions illuminated distant Eryndor.
And despite everything...
she remained perfectly lucid.
"Take the kid to Evacuation Point Delta."
Two awakened fighters immediately nodded.
Nils hugged his sister tightly.
"It's going to be okay...
I promise..."
The girl's lips trembled.
She didn't want to let go.
Nicole silently watched the scene.
Then asked:
"And you?"
Nils roughly wiped away his tears.
"My friends are still out there."
"Bad idea."
"I have to go."
"Even worse idea."
Nicole crossed her arms.
"Listen carefully, shōnen hero. If you go back out there right now, you're going to die."
Nils tightened his grip on the bat.
"Maybe."
"No, not maybe.
Actually die."
An explosion illuminated the sky behind them.
Nicole sighed.
"You already lost your parents tonight.
You've got a sister who depends entirely on you.
Be smart."
Nils' gaze trembled.
Then he replied:
"If I listen to you...
I'm certain I'll never see them again."
Silence fell.
Even Nicole stood motionless for a moment.
Then a tired smile appeared on her lips.
"Ah...
That kind of look, huh..."
She glanced toward the burning city.
"I hate people like that."
"What?"
"The kind who run straight into hell while they still have something to lose."
She pulled a short blade from her belt.
Then tossed it to Nils.
He awkwardly caught it.
"Here."
"Why are you helping me?"
Nicole shrugged.
"Because I'm either extremely human...
or completely stupid."
She pointed at the blade.
"Channel your Ether through it like you did with the bat.
And try not to die. It'd make my dramatic speech look pretty bad."
Nils stared at the weapon.
Then slightly bowed his head.
"Thank you."
Nicole waved him off without even looking.
"Yeah, yeah. Get lost before I change my mind."
Nils gently rested a hand on his sister's head.
Then ran back into the ruins of Eryndor.
—
The city was burning.
Buildings collapsed with monstrous roars.
Bodies littered the avenues.
Suspended trains hung motionless above the void, some torn apart by the fighting.
And everywhere...
screams.
Humans running in every direction.
Families separated.
Children calling for their parents amidst the chaos.
The sky itself seemed black beneath the accumulation of demonic Ether.
Yet Nils kept running.
His breathing was heavy.
His entire body trembled from pain and fear.
But he kept going.
Because he refused to lose anyone else.
Then—
an explosion obliterated a building ahead.
A figure was launched through the debris.
The body smashed through several walls before crashing violently into a ruined structure.
Nils froze.
His breath stopped.
Seven.
His black wings were spread behind him.
Massive.
Torn in places.
Covered in blood and ashes.
His coat was nearly destroyed.
And yet...
he was still getting back up.
Nils' eyes trembled.
"Seven...?"
The young angel immediately looked up.
And understood.
Nils had seen his wings.
Silence lasted a second.
Then Seven shouted:
"GET OUT OF HERE!"
A monstrous pressure suddenly descended upon the street.
Vapula appeared behind Seven.
His massive spear crashed downward.
Seven instantly crossed his sickles.
The impact exploded the ground.
His arms shook violently beneath the demon's strength.
Vapula completely dominated him physically.
The Colonel glanced toward Nils.
Then smiled.
"Interesting."
Seven gritted his teeth.
"Look at me."
"And yet..."
The pressure increased.
The concrete beneath Seven's feet began to crumble.
"How can you afford distraction when you could die?"
Seven's blue eyes wavered.
A fatal mistake.
Vapula hurled him away.
Seven blasted through an entire building.
Silence briefly returned.
Then—
pieces of the facade collapsed.
Nils felt his heart pounding.
Even now...
Seven was still trying to protect others.
Vapula slowly walked toward the wreckage.
His spear dragged across the ground in a shower of sparks.
"Humans are truly fascinating...
You always cling to hope."
He raised his spear.
"Even when it's already dead."
Then—
Nils charged.
A roar burst from his throat as Ether instinctively coated his bat.
Vapula slightly turned his head.
Too late.
The bat smashed into his face.
A monstrous crack echoed through the street.
Black blood splattered everywhere.
The demon staggered back.
Nils froze.
He...
had hurt him.
Vapula slowly turned toward him.
And for the first time...
his smile vanished.
"Ah..."
Demonic Ether exploded around the Colonel.
"Now that's interesting."
He raised his spear toward Nils.
The boy immediately felt death.
Pure.
Absolute.
Then—
a black chain tore through the street.
It wrapped around Vapula's arm.
And nearly ripped it off.
Black blood exploded.
Vapula was forced back.
Seven emerged from the rubble.
His wings beat violently behind him as he severed both of the demon's arms in a flash of black light.
His chains wrapped around the Colonel's body.
"Mors Luminis."
Light erupted.
A gigantic beam tore through the avenue in a blinding explosion.
Nearby buildings were literally cut in half.
The shockwave swept through the entire street.
Then Seven grabbed Nils by the collar.
And dragged him behind the ruins of a collapsed parking structure.
Both hit the ground heavily.
Seven's breathing was completely unstable.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
Nils still stared at him with trembling eyes.
"You're...
really an angel..."
Seven remained silent for a few seconds.
Then answered weakly:
"Later."
A massive explosion echoed in the distance.
Demonic Ether immediately returned.
Heavier.
More oppressive.
More violent.
Within the flames...
a silhouette slowly reappeared.
Vapula.
His body was already regenerating.
And his smile...
was returning.
"Magnificent."
The demon slowly picked up his spear.
Then looked at Seven.
"Let us continue the symphony."
And this time...
even Seven understood that the night had only just begun.
Far above, beneath the clouded sky, Malakiel watched everything in silence. His smile slowly faded, replaced by something darker.
And amidst the chaos, a single sentence was lost to the wind and the rain:
"The symphony is only at its prelude."