Broken pieces of drywall fell from the ceiling, while somewhere a broken pipe was gushing water and the dark room was lit by the occasional sparks of a torn cable. Sage was blinking the dust out of her eyes. Aether flowed out of her wounds and her right arm was a broken mess. In the back, she could hear the newbies groan in pain or confusion. A shudder went through the ruin and the wall to the right collapsed, bringing parts of the room down with it.

How could it have gone so wrong? Why did the Will abandon them? It was just supposed to be a simple scouting mission. A milk-run, nothing more. And yet, when she looked to the side, she saw the indisputable evidence of catastrophe. A single, black wing, tarnishing any purity that she might still have.

She was Fallen...

A single click pulled her attention away from her plight. She looked up, into the barrel of a gun. The metallic screech of metal sounded as blades were pulled and she and the others were surrounded. She looked up, staring into a cold pair of eyes. "I'm sorry, girl."

Then the trigger was pulled.

____________________________________________________________________

At the top of St. Peter's Basilica

A few hours earlier...

Cassiel was looking down onto St. Peter's Square. It was early morning, but even so there were already tourists and pilgrims walking around, taking in the sights. He was standing on the walkway of the dome, not bothering to hide himself. Not that he was worried about being spotted. Mundane mortals couldn't see angels, or really anything supernatural. A filter in their perception that prevented the disturbance of their peaceful ignorance.

He scratched his bearded chin and looked at his watch. Then he nodded and turned to his Host. They were a dozen of them, most of them new blood, fresh out of training camp. Once a mortal was chosen by the Will, praise be His, they were trained and then tested, to see where in Heaven they would be assigned. Today, they would be following him to see if they were fit to be part of the Authorities, the martial arm of Heaven.

Cassiel was a gruff and intimidating figure. Probably why he was chosen to lead this host. An experienced angel, with close to a hundred years of service, this was not the first time he did this. A greying, neatly trimmed beard covered his chin and his black hair, with white streaks, was slicked back. His face was weathered by both age and seemingly perpetual bad mood and there was a burn-scar covering down his left cheek. He wore a mostly functional attire. A black, tight shirt and vest, along with camo-pants and heavy boots. Strapped to his back was a large sword, easily as long as he was tall. Two pistols dangled in their holsters, under his arms.

"Alright, newbies.", he barked, his words coloured by a light french accent, still present even after all all these years. "This is gonna be a simple patrol. We are going to leave Vatican City and head east to San Giovanni and then turn south until we hit Ostia. Keep your eyes open and weapons ready. When we spot trouble, you are going to defer either to me or to Sage here." He pointed at a small teenager to his side. his second-in-command. "We stay together. Nobody is gonna play hero, comprendre?"

He looked at them sharply, almost as if he was drilling his eyes into their heads. "Before we start, any questions? Everybody got their equipment and knows what we're doing?" Nobody said anything, just an all-around mumble of confirmation and nodded heads.

Cassiel grunted. "Good. Host XIII, spread your wings and follow me!" With this, he stepped onto the railing and jumped. His wide eagle-like wings unfolded and he soared ahead.

Edited by TheNohen on May 31st 2020 at 10:40:33 AM

Acribus Lux, the Searing Light

Out of everyone in the flock of angels, Lux perhaps looked the most typically "angelic". Fair skin, long blond hair, and elegant white wings like a seabird. They seemed to shimmer under the sunlight, probably because of how much time he spent taking care of them.

It was odd that he looked so typically "angelic", mostly because he was the newest of the angels there. He'd been raised from the dead while everyone else was halfway through training, and as such he was a little...okay, a lot behind. But he'd be damned if he let it stay that way—he'd been nothing if not a perfectionist in life.

When Cassiel—the angel that was leading the expedition, alongside a teenage girl who was apparently a lot older than he was—asked if they had any questions, Lux was the first to speak up. "Yes, actually. What's changed since now and—"

He didn't finish before Cassiel took off. Lux suppressed a sigh. Alright, I suppose we're doing this now. He tightened his hold on his lance, climbed onto the railing, and took off into the sky.

Edited by LilyTheLitten on May 31st 2020 at 2:47:29 AM

"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."

Sagitta Caelorum, the Arrow of Heaven

"Yes sir, Cassiel sir!" chirped Sage cheerfully as she goofily saluted Cassiel at his side, then spread her owl-like wings to follow him in silent flight. She waited until all the other newbie angels had passed her, then fell in to bring up the rear-guard. "No more blowin' up the Vatican for me, no siree!"

"I'm really happy they were able to rebuild this quickly, though," she noted as she surveyed the landscape below. "At least the story can make a few folks laugh in the canteen now! Nothin' can equal the Vatican Fiasco, and my shame thereafter! So, newbies, don't be sad if ya can't make the cut! Just do yer best, ya can't fail as hard as I did on my first assignment!" Sage laughed raucously in the back and then quieted down.

"Okay, I geddit. Nobody wants to hear anything from me. I geddit. I'll be quiet," she mumbled, continuing to sweep the surrounding area for any signs of threats as she flew. Her hands held onto the many straps holding bayoneted muskets to her seemingly fragile back. A woodcutting axe hung at her waist, as did pouches of ammunition, and her fists were wrapped with scraps of cloth as if she were getting ready for a brawl. It seemed that despite her cheery demeanor and overall'd farmer girl exterior, she was still an experienced fighter.

...Just how did she handle all those muskets in battle? It was frankly ridiculous.

Edited by JumpingFruit on May 31st 2020 at 1:09:18 AM

I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.

Basilica di S. Pietro, Città del Vaticano, Italia

"Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita..."

—Could it really be called the middle, however?
Sure, he had around 30 years, a bit less even, less certainly than the Poet when he wrote those verses, but in a stark difference to his condition he was dead. Dante had gone to the afterlife while alive; and Bartolomeo, now, was thinking of his verses while dead and yet not in any of the three places he had wrote of. Ironic, in a way, wasn't it?
Let's see, according to Mister Alighieri, since he'd died without even repenting, he should go... well, probably to the violent ring of hell, really. The circumstances of his death pointed in that direction, as far as he recalled from his literature studies. But here he was. "Fuck you, Durante degli Alighieri"- he seemed to think, for a smug moment.

On the top of the Basilica, he looked down, the scythe that he had chosen as his weapon on his back. That place did bring back some memories, didn't it. He'd gone there on a school trip once, when he was in high school. His art history teacher had just started the unit on Renaissance painting- 'Rinascimento', as the italian word went- and it was decided they were to go to Rome to behold the art from more than just a school textbook. They'd looked around, went to the Basilica, where their prof was more than happy to act as the tour guide, and then went to the Vatican Museums. Thanks to tickets booked before the trip, they were able to skip the queue reaching about two buildings over (no joke).
It sure did bring back memories.
But the time for reminiscing was soon over, as Cassiel's harsh voice informed them that they would patrol from there to Ostia. With some mental calculations, and what he remembered of the region's geography, that would be around... thirty kilometres, give or take? Huh. Well, they were supposed to be soldiers, and the training camp had made that clear enough. He guessed that was to be expected.
While some person were talking on about somehow blowing up the Vatican or something, a feat he was not sure they should be proud of, and someone else's question went unanswered, he lit himself a cigarette and took a breathe of the smoke, a different smoke than the one that seemed to compose their current forms, yet one he knew far better.

He spread his wings and followed Cassiel as instructed, with an almost-mumbled grunt. He was, it seemed, not gonna talk much.

...Somehow, he had a feeling today would be a long day.

Edited by DarknessAwaits on May 31st 2020 at 2:03:57 PM

Gakusha

Gakusha sighed. Although he wasn't really fond of the whole being a soldier thing, he didn't mind these scouting missions, given the fact that they just had to be on the lookout for trouble and then report it to either a teenager that was supposedly at least double his age or a drill Sargeant that he really didn't want to piss off, given that he valued the form of life he had in this angelic life.

This view he saw, it was quite wonderful, although he didn't have time to enjoy it, he had a job to do and goddamnit, he was gonna do that job. He tightened his quiver, made sure his knives were secured, prepared himself, and then took off into the sky, unaware of what his future held for him.

St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Emil realises two things by the time Cassiel's voice falls on his ears. One, this was going to suck. And two: he didn't know how, just a tug at his gut telling him he didn't like it, but it was going to go wrong.

Cliched as it sounded, the past few weeks had been little but...well, a blur, at least for Emil—it wasn't every day you expected to be dead and woke up to a new pair of wings instead, after all. Whether that was supposed to include being recruited as some kind of discount Doomslayer or not. War was war, even in the afterlife, he supposed.
Not that it mattered to him when he was alive either, though. He'd given up on most everything around him since then. Once upon that time, Emil might've thought that standing perched on top of a dome overlooking the Vatican would've been a solitary, peaceful moment; as if a testament to how different this life was, right now it wasn't anywhere close.

But it was a lookout patrol, after all. Hardly the time for repose. It was time to get going before heaven turned into drill sergeant hell.

Around him, dust stirred and dissolved with the passing wind, whistling through the building's arches and spires. The building breeze caught his wings as he stepped onto the railing and let them unfold. Tapered; angular; most of all fragile.

Like him. Emil's hands wandered towards his side to soothe a sudden pang—really just the ghost of remembered pain, with this body there was no way he still had any wounds left over now—that didn't stop him from seeking the feeling of unbroken ribs like a lifeline before he caught himself, fingertips relaxing into creased fabric.

He closed his eyes and huffed a familiar smile.

"Let's go."

With that, Emil stepped out into the empty sky and let himself fall, air rushing into outstretched feathers as he took flight.

Well, that’d be jus’ a waste. Why would ya want to deprive the world of such anomaly as yourself?

San Giovanni

Cassiel rolled his eyes and Sage's lax attitude, but said nothing. Disciplining her would just be a waste of effort and they weren't here to whip anyone into shape. This was a routine-assignment, so the new recruits could get used to their new lifes and stretch their wings out a bit.

Sage's joke fell on awkward silence, mostly because many of the others were still too nervous and not sure if they were allowed to laugh. That and Cassiel glowered at them, as if he dared them to chuckle. "Just so you know, Sage had to scrub toilets and cook meals for thirty years after her screw-up. So, if any of you think on just getting into the same ballpark as that fiasco, I would inform you that Seraphim Lucius made sure to increase our disciplinary measures after that.", he explained.

It send a slight shudder down everyones spine. They were new to this, but they had heard about Lucius, the Seraphim in charge of the Authorities in Rome. A capable commander, who was famously lacking in humor. Nobody wanted to get on his bad side...well, except Sage, apparently.

After this exchange, conversation died down, as they left Vatican City behind and reached San Giovanni. It was a warm morning, with a nice spring-breeze. The sprawling metropolis below them moved like a lumbering beast, waking up from its slumber and quickly the streets filled with cars and people. Cassiel gestured for Sage to guard the rear and then flew up to the front. "Alright, listen up. These are ideal conditions for devils to appear. Keep an eye out for areas of conflict, like traffic-jams, alleyways or residential areas. They like to show up there and start trouble. Keep your eyes open!"

The Streets below

As he said this, something moved in one of the streets below. A man slammed the door to his car shut. Not that unusual, but what was noticable was the person following him. A lanky woman, looking a bit like a streetpunk, who had sat in the same car and simply moved through the door, as she followed the man down the street. He was talking on his phone and his voice got louder, as he let out a flurry of curses and slurs. The woman behind him was now extremely close, to the point it was a miracle he didn't feel her breath on his neck.

She whispered something in his ear and he stopped for a moment. Then he simply said something in his phone and then closed it, his eyes peeled towards a door of an apartment block. Moments later, he was walking across the street and banged against the door. A few minutes later, a window opened and a middl-aged housewives looked out. Before too long the two began shouting at each other widly, while the punk-woman stood nearby, her eyes closed and her nose high, as if she was inhaling some kind of drug. A shimmer of leathery wings appeared on her back for a brief moment.

Edited by TheNohen on Jun 2nd 2020 at 5:58:27 PM

Lux

"What..."

Lux stared at the cars rushing across the streets. They looked...different. People looked different. Gone were the excessively fluffy hairstyles and colorful clothes—now, almost everyone was dressed in varying shades of gray. Sometimes beige.

He stared in almost total wonder at the man shouting at the small black rectangle in his hand...and noticed a woman walking up behind him, leaning in close to whisper into his ear. The man seemed to listen, walking over to an apartment building for seemingly no reason other than to start an argument with the woman who lived there. The woman from earlier watched, nostrils flared like the whole thing was some kind of...drug...

...well, he'd be damned.

His grip on his lance tightened. He walked over to Sage and nudged her to get her attention. "Demon spotted. Let me just..."

He took a few steps forward, pulled his arm back, and then threw his lance at the demon.

"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."

It probably surprised Lux just how fast his lance moved, as he threw it. As an angel, his strength was beyond that of a normal mortal and as such, as he extended his arm, his lance cut through the air like he had just released a bullet.

The crack as his weapon flung from his hand, alerted the woman below and her head snapped upwards. She saw the lance flickering towards her and within the blink of an eye, drew a purple butterfly-knife. The two weapons collided, as blade hit spear-tip. She grunted and yanked her arm upwards. The lance was deflected and crashed deep into the wall behind her.

None of people around her even noticed, except for a cat jumping in panic and hissing, as the lance barely missed its head. The punk cursed, as she spotted the host of angel and ran as fast as she could down the street.

"What are you doing!?", yelled Cassiel and grabbed Lux's arm. "I told you to report to me, if you spot something! Now she knows we're here!" He growled in frustration and flew ahead.

"Host XII, follow me! Don't let her escape. DO NOT engage, until I give the order. Sage, try to loop around. We have to get her away from the mortals!", he ordered and rushed ahead at surprising speed.

Edited by TheNohen on Jun 2nd 2020 at 6:40:18 PM

Sagitta Caelorum, the Arrow of Heaven

"Roger, roger~!" Sage said as she peeled off from the back of the Host. Notably, even while flapping her wings forcefully to gain speed, her wing-beats were completely silent. That was one of the advantages of having owl-like wings, she supposed. One was like a stealth bomber, especially if one favored artillery, and Sage loved artillery.

"Commander, I'm in position! Permission to engage?" she asked, sounding more serious and soldier-like by the moment, as she armed herself with two muskets from her back. "Heh, I'll show you how it's done..." Sage whispered to herself, while sticking the tip of her tongue out in concentration.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jun 2nd 2020 at 10:01:16 AM

I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.

Lux

Lux blinked, staring at the wall his lance was embedded in. "Shit," he muttered. He knew he'd gotten a boost in physical ability, but he hadn't expected the boost to be that much. And now Cassiel was angry at him because he tried to take initiative—

Wait, was she getting away?

"Damn it!" Lux yelled, flying over to the wall and yanking his lance out. He planted his feet against the wall, then sprung off from it for a speed boost, soon catching up with the rest of the host. All the while, he kept his lance pointed at the demon, fully ready for another confrontation.

Hopefully one that would go a bit better.

"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."

San Giovanni

"Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita''...", 2

The streets of Roma where unfolding below them, the capital to which all roads lead slowly waking up from its slumber. From the occasional street sign he could spot along the way, Bartolomeo was able to tell they were moving to the outskirts, and then that they finally reached San Giovanni. Though not exactly on the direct road to Ostia, it was not that much of a detour either; besides, it seemed there was indeed trouble there.

He saw the demon- at least, he could have sworn it was a demon. It certainly wasn't an angel, that much he knew- and readied his scythe. Extracting it carefully from the sheath on his back, its blade glinting silver in the still soft daylight, he held it in both hands, ready to strike.
Unfortunately, someone had the same idea and put it into practice before he could, but missed.

With a sigh as he listened to Cassiel's updated instructions, he looked at the demon, confirming its location.
His scythe clutched in his hands, he did not wait for further orders, and flew down, trying to outspeed the demon and get behind it. Surely, he was faster than a lowly demon, and as soon as he outsped it and cut off its escape route, he would be able to slash it to pieces.

At least that was the plan he had in mind.

"I might as well help out," Gakusha said quietly, aiming his bow at the creature. Gakusha pulled out an arrow from his quiver, steadying his bow and making sure that the shot went just as he planned out in his head, a circular aura surrounding him that would show multiple copies of him with the bow in a slightly different position for each one, but only one arrow would exit the aura and fly towards the demon.

Edited by dusk0bish on Jun 4th 2020 at 2:25:54 PM

Out on Da Streets, San Giovanni

As the Host carried on, the more urban landscape of San Giovanni finally began to stretch out beneath them. Slowly at first, but soon enough its yawning maw swallowed up everything in sight; buildings tumbled lazily over the horizon, early morning traffic starting to collect between them like gutters, and here and there the odd passerby was making their way home late.
It was almost like the city was still being rendered into the world, Emil thinks. It's only then it occurs to him that he's never really seen Italy like this before, or anywhere, really. Under the cover of dawn like this, he could've found it amazing even in spite of the demons.

...That is, if it wasn't for—well. You know what they say about plans. Theirs going in right now would be no exception.

The interruption to Emil's musings this time came in the form of a lance zipping by in a blur, deflected and embedding itself nowhere they could reach any time soon. He could've sworn the air turned to ice at that. The demon who'd been standing there seconds before met the Host's gazes; loosened cement from the wall trickled onto the floor and crumbled, as time ticked on in dissonant calm.
The only thing Emil could hear in that moment was Lux's quiet, stunned "shit".

With that, she was gone.

Emil took to the skies again with one deafening crack of air, a kick of something (he wasn't sure if it was adrenaline, the old flare of frustration, or both) surging right to the tips of his feathers. Swooping lower without even thinking, he arced away through the buildings, outwards from Sage's direction and at the edge of the rest of the group.
Right, then. "This is fine," he muttered, cutting across the sky a razor's width away from a cluster of rooftops. Absolutely fine. Even if shit hit the fan straight on, this was under control. Emil took a moment to clear his head—aaand that was when he noticed the guy below him about to loose his arrow, whatever happened to "do not engage"? He nearly sighed.

Either way, the chase over the distance let Emil's mind catch up to his body a little.
That was when an actual plan began to form in mind.

When he'd made up enough ground to be within range of the punk woman, Emil dove downwards. Irises suddenly slitted unnaturally and drawn to her like a hound to prey, he locked onto the fleeing target. He reached for his issued weapons, the air itself seemed to tremble, and...how strange.

At that moment, everyone around him would feel almost crushed under the weight of their own bodies.

A chance, if only for a split second.

Well, that’d be jus’ a waste. Why would ya want to deprive the world of such anomaly as yourself?

San Giovanni - The Streets

With an enthusiastic warcry the host descended onto the streets, chasing down the fleeing demon. One young angel with a red buzzcut drew two pistols and fired wildly around, while a buff, middle-eastern woman roared, as she dove down with a heavy hammer in her hands. Cassiel...just facepalmed. "Not again..."

The punk-woman looked over her shoulder and got a shock, as she saw the whole host of close to a dozen angels descend upon her. The hammer cracked the pavement, as she quickly jumped aside and kicked her assailant in the face, causing the buff angel to crash against a nearby lamppost, which shorted out and caused a traffic-jam. The bullets whizzed past her, popping a cars tires. Thankfully, nobody had been driving it.

Lux and Bartolomeo were now the closes to the demon. They could see she was physically in her early twenties and her hair was shaved on one side and dyed bright blue. She had her ears, lips, nose and eyebrows pierced and her arms and back were heavily tattoed. Bartolomeo raised his scythe, his wings flapping as he dove down to gain speed and landing in front of her. Then he sliced at her, trying to behead her.

The demon saw him, took her wicked butterfly-knife and parried his scythe. Then she grabbed the shaft of his weapon, pulled him close and decked him right in the face, slamming onto the ground, cracking the pavement. She jumped off him and ran now onto the busy street, trying to use the mortals as cover.

Then Emil suddenly appeared beside her, having managed to use his speed to prevent her from crossing the street and run towards a grocery shop, which had more than a few civilians currently near it and would have provided excellent cover for her. The air around the boy trembled for a brief moment and everyone suddenly felt a pressure in their head, like their ears were close to popping.

The demon grimaced, but then opened her mouth and tried to speak. "Step aside..." her words formed slowly, almost as if they crept over her lips like insects. Emil felt compelled to obey her, but before he could do so, an arrow hit the woman in her shoulder and interrupted her. She screamed in pain and the spell was broken.

As aether rose out of her wound, the demon hissed. Emil blocked the way and the rest of host converged upon her. Leathery, batlike wings suddenly grew out of her back, throwing her black punk-vest off. She beat them and dove as fast as she could into a side-street, to escape the angels.

And suddenly found herself face to face with Sage, who had flanked around and just waited for her. Wielding two muskets, she grinned at the demon. Sage could hear Cassiels voice through her ear-piece. "Don't kill her, Sage. I want her alive for questioning." The punk-demon snarled and drew her knife again. Then she lunged at the girl...

Lux

"What the—" From the demon's back sprouted a pair of bat wings, which she used to take off down the side street. "Oh no you don't!" Lux yelled, drawing his lance and going after her.

Sage burst out of nowhere to cut the demon off, which gave Lux the perfect opportunity. Putting on an extra burst of speed, he flew up behind the demon and swung his lance, aiming to slice off her wings.

Edited by LilyTheLitten on Jun 5th 2020 at 11:55:40 AM

"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."

Sage

There was a sudden glimmer of light from the demon's knife, and then aether started to leak from Sage's wounds on her chest. However, the aether soon crusted over the wounds to stop further bleeding, a useful side-effect of her Virtue. Sage silently thanked her lucky stars.

Sage fired at the demon's feet. If her shots didn't land, they would at least force the demon back, but if they did? The demon's feet would be mangled. Oh look, here comes Lux! This really was a good day for demon-hunting.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jun 5th 2020 at 12:29:01 PM

I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.

San Giovanni - Sidestreet

The demon was faster than Sage was expecting. Or perhaps her long muskets were simply unsuited for the narrow sidestreet. Shots echoed off the walls, as she fired. The demon jumped up, the bullets whipping past her feet and she wildly slashed at Sage, cutting her across the chest and tackling her to the ground.

Her expression was wild and twisted in panic, with her knife raised up high. But...she hesitated. Despite the perfect chance to kill Sage, she didn't do it. Instead, she just stared at her, the knife in her clenched fist trembling. "L-Leave me alone..", she stammered, looking more like a scared woman, rather than a bloodthirsty demon.

Then, Sage caught the glimmer of a weapon and quickly rolled to the side. The demon couldn't react as quickly, as Lux came from behind and sliced her wings off in a wide motion. Smokey, golden aether spewed from her stumps and the demon screamed in agony. Her cut-off wings hit the ground and turned into black dust. She stumbled against the wall, holding her wounded shoulder and shivering in pain. by now, the rest of the host had arrived, aiming their weapons at her.

She flinched in fear and stumbled away, trying to reach the other end of the street. But then, Cassiel landed in front of her, his face grim and his Zweihander drawn. "Give it up, demon. You cannot escape."

The demon stared at him, then at the young angels and her face contorted with despair. Then, she slowly raised her hands in a gesture of surrender....

______________________________

A few minutes later...

Cassiel stepped away from the demon, who was now slumped against the brickwall. Her hands were cuffed and a holy seal was painted around her. Every time she tried to leave the circle, it glowed bright and shocked her. After the first try, she quickly stopped. Now, she just sat there and silently sobbed.

"Alright, that's one abomination apprehended.", said Cassiel to the others. "She told me that she is serving a Demon of Gluttony called Aludamon. He has his minions all over San Giovanni, trying to spread chaos and push mortals in decadent or self-destructive behaviour. Caused some problems here for a while now"

He threw a look of disdain at the demon, who had her arms wrapped around her legs. "We got intel a few days ago, that there will be a trade of drugs at a nearby address between Aludamon's gang and another unknown demon, probably a smuggler. Thanks to her, this is confirmed now. I suggest we scout that place out. It is an abandoned apartment-block, not far from here.", he continued. "If we're lucky, we can shut down whatever they try to do there."

"Any questions?"

Edited by TheNohen on Jun 5th 2020 at 9:54:51 PM

Sage

Something churned uneasily in Sage's gut as she watched the demon sob in the sealed circle.

"Cassiel, sir, we've already captured her, there's no need to keep on calling her an 'abomination' and looking at her like she's trash, right?" she asked, voice even. "We're supposed ta be the good guys here, the poor lady's already scared enough as it is. No need ta rub it in."

"If we're hunters, then we need ta respect our prey. That's why they made the Geneva Convention in my lifetime, right? It's better to just let me shoot her than keep her around to bully," Sage said, reloading her muskets while she talked. "We've got what we need, anyhow. All respect due, sir."

Her countryside drawl was oddly subdued as she stated her point of view, and her bearing was completely opposed to the cheerful, happy-go-lucky front she'd put up at the start of the mission. Was this another indication of insubordination from Sage?

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jun 5th 2020 at 1:39:25 AM

I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.

Cassiel shook his head. "We leave her for Host II to clean up. Just in case, she has more information to divulge.", he explained. The demon looked up, as he said that and her eyes were wide with panic. They had heard about Host II. They were most decorated host in Rome and had a reputation for being ruthlessly efficient.

"Besides, she has no doubt ruined many lifes already. Being a demon, she is a soul chosen by The Desire, which means she is rotten to the core. Only remorseless sinners and monsters get revived as demons, so don't be fooled by her act. She has more than deserved her fate.", he explained to the others.

Edited by TheNohen on Jun 5th 2020 at 10:40:33 AM

Lux

Lux stared at his own hands as Cassiel spoke, barely able to believe what he just did. The blade of his lance was covered in aether, smoky gold dust that had spilled from the stumps of the demon's wings and onto him. He brushed some of it off his hands, but he wasn't sure if it did anything. Or if he'd ever get the aether off.

He looked at Cassiel, doing his best to ignore the sobbing woman in the circle. "Sir," he said, keeping his voice even, "what exactly are we expecting during this mission?"

"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."

Sage

"Sounds like war propaganda during my time, but alright," Sage muttered to herself. "Whatever you say, sir. I'll just do my job. I don't want no more toilet scrubbing."

"Lux, you alright there?" she asked as she noticed Lux staring at his hands. "Don't—don't you worry about being 'unclean.' You're just doing your job, okay?" That's what everyone tells themselves to cope with this damn war. "A bit o' holy water and a nice, stiff drink when we get back to Heaven will clean that right off and take this off of your mind. Don't you worry now."

Sage patted Lux on the back in an awkward attempt to comfort him.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jun 5th 2020 at 3:11:00 AM

I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.

San Giovanni - Sidestreet

Cassiel gave a big sigh at Sage's rebuttals. She had never been the most disciplined of angels, but right now he really wished he hadn't invited her on this patrol. She was good, when he needed someone to watch his back in a fight, but teaching newbies really wasn't her strong suit. Her distate for authority was probably the reason. If she wasn't careful, her mouth would eventually get her into big trouble...

"It's not propaganda, if it is the truth. Remember that recruits. Do not let the enemy take advantage of soft hearts or misplaced mercy.", he said. "Our fight ensures the safety of the mortals. This has to always be our highest priority."

Then he turned to Lux and seeing him rub his hands, caused Cassiels hard expression to soften a bit. Not by much, but he remembered the feeling of his first battle. The boy was holding up better than him back then.

"If all goes well, we will disrupt Aludamons operations. In the best case, apprehend and eliminate some of his minions. Expect armed resistance and an enemy that is going to be on the lookout for us. We will have to be careful", he explained. He looked at the recruits. "I would like to avoid a straight-up fight, if possible. That means, we will scout the place out first and foremost. Only under extreme circumstances, will we engage them."

He eyed Lux and Gakusha in particular at the last sentence. "Unlike this one.." He pointed at the woman. "The others will probably be more experienced and better equipped. I doubt, Aludamon trust ordinary lackeys with his shipments."

Then his phone buzzed and he looked at the message he got. "Alright, Host II is on its way. Time for us to move on. Host XIII, follow me!" And with that they spread their wings and were off.

San Giovanni - A few Seconds later...

The demon hugged her legs and buried her head in her knees. She was done for, she knew that. So, when she heard boots hit the ground and steps coming towards her, she flinched and shuddered in fear. But...no hands grabbed her. No angry angels invaded her thoughts or ended her life. Instead, she just felt the shadow of someone looming over her.

"My, my...what have we here? Looks you got yourself into some trouble..", said a smooth voice, with just a hint of amusement. As she heard it, she stiffened. Slowly, she looked up and when she saw who was speaking to her, her eyes went wide. "Y-You...", she stammered.

"Indeed...now, why don't you tell me what happened here?", said the voice and a smile split its lips. A terrible, terrible smile, that made her gut freeze...

Roma Delle Torri

The directions, that the demon had been forced to give them, led them out of San Giovanni and into the residential area known as Roma Delle Torri. It was a sprawling residential quarter, with apartment blocks, narrow streets and grey concrete dominating much of the view.

It took them about half an hour of flight to finally reach their destination. A crumbling building, isolated from most the streets around it and situated in a impoverished neighborhood. Police was scarce here and so was the presence of angels. A perfect place for criminal activities.

The building itself used to be an apartment block, build like so many others in the 70s and 80s with efficiency in mind, not looks. Grey, ugly and mostly abandoned, even the lower class that had once been crammed into the cell-like rooms had left it behind. Now it stood empty...or so one might think.

They got on to the roof of a neighbouring building. Not the best vantage-point, but that was on purpose. Cassiel had explained that any lookouts would keep their eyes peeled on that, expecting their presence there. They also had walked up to the roof, instead of flying, for pretty much the same reason.

Looking at the ruin, Cassiel gestured for the others to join him. The middle-eastern angel, Tamara was her name, rummaged in her backpack and gave Emil binoculars. Cassiel himself looked through his own, following one lone lookout, who thankfully hadn't spotted them.

Then he silently cursed. "Merde...they already brought in the package.", he mumbled, pointing to a window on the lower left. There, they could see a brutish giant standing next a chest.

A chest, which had the seal of the Dominions.

Edited by TheNohen on Jun 8th 2020 at 3:05:00 PM

Sage

"Aw, heck, we got here too late," Sage said, diligently observing the situation. "Sir, what should we do? There's only one guard, but there could be more waiting around the corner."

"You know what, I have a bad feeling about this. You tell me what to do, sir, I'll do it snappy and it won't be my fault," she added while checking all her muskets to see if they were in the proper working order. It wouldn't do to have one of them malfunctioning in combat, after all.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jun 8th 2020 at 10:08:07 AM

I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.

Lux

"Well...crap." Lux let out a long sigh. "Alright, boss, what's the plan?" He wasn't going to attack until he was absolutely sure of success. He'd learned his lesson with the woman— demon from earlier.

Don't think of them as people. That'll just make it harder.

It's already hard.

Shut up.

You shut up.

"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."