Rio stood outside, staring at the shrine that he used to play in with his sister. He saw a few brothers walk out. They smiled and bowed to him and he shyly smiled back before dashing off. He could feel the breeze rush through his hair as he took off towards the city, where his new job was awaiting. He smelled the city before he could even see it, since the air turned from crisp to exhaust. He slowed to a walk and pulled the paper from his pocket and read the address once more. Surprisingly, when he lifted his head, he stood at the exact address. A short old lady stepped through the automatic glass doors of the convenience store, readjusting her glasses that dug into her orange hair. She seemed to lean heavily on her wooden cane.
"You must be the new boy." She examined him closely as Rio pocketed the paper once again. He assumed that she was his new boss.
"Yes ma'am. I'm Rio Kurosato." He stood tall and straight. She waved a hand at him.
"Why'd you come dressed like that?" She croaked, eyes narrowing with question.
"What?" He looked at his attire. "I wanted to look nice for the first day."
His voice trailed off as she sighed.
"You're going to help me unload those boxes." A moving truck parked by the store and the driver stepped out to unlock and open the back. Rio sighed as he looked into the jam-packed truck.
Oh dear...

Hours later, Rio dropped his what seemed to be fifteenth box, spilling the potatoes. He tried to hurry and throw them back into the box, but not before his boss spotted him. He gulped and risked a glance behind him, and saw his boss's anger in the form of fire.
"I'm sorry!" He bowed on the floor as she stepped closer to him.
"GET OUT!" He let out a small yelp and ran out, before the boss could smash him with her wooden cane. He seemed to run for a long time before he came to a stop. He noticed that the sun had already begun to set, leaving orange trails in the pink sky. He looked around the quiet city and noticed an empty park. He sighed and walked over, his shoes slightly sinking into the sand of the playground. He grabbed the chains of a swing, remembering the time where Akaia would push him on the swing. He sat with a frown, slightly rocking on the old swing. He barely had a minute of peace before a scream ripped through the silence. He quickly stood, just in time to see two boys run down the sidewalk. The one with red hair was shot down with a large ball of fire, while the one with black hair stopped for a moment to look back before taking off again.
"What's going on?" Moments later, a white haired boy landed next to the redhead and a girl walked into his line of vision. From his distance, he could see that she wore a tan trenchcoat and black combat boots. He saw her shout something at them before turning away. Their eyes locked and she smiled at him before walking down the street again. He stared for a moment, then ran over to the boys.
The boy with the white hair was the first to stir, wiping blood that trickled from his mouth. Rio noticed that the boy's white tanktop was littered with burns and cuts as well as his jeans.
"I'm going to kick her ass." He ran at her with a raised fist before Rio could stop him. He helped the other boy off the ground as he watched the white haired boy throw a punch at the girl. She whipped around and caught his fist in her hand. He grit his teeth, bringing his knee to her gut. Before it could even collide, she jumped and flipped, bringing him with her into the air. While airborne, she pressed her boots to his back and pulled his arms back, resulting in him landing on his nose. He screeched in pain as she let go, hands instantly flying to his misshapen, bloodied nose. The redhead stood and limped over to the white haired boy.
"Boss!" The white haired boy cried out in pain as the redhead tried to help him. Rio paid no attention to them and continued to watch the mysterious black haired girl, who watched the boy roll in pain from a few feet. Her trenchcoat was open and he saw a unique red tattoo on her chest, on the center of her collarbone right above her white tanktop. She noticed him staring and smiled as he turned his red face away. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her walking over to him, avoiding the boys on the ground.
"That was interesting." The girl placed a hand on her hip. Rio looked around and blinked, then returned his gaze to her. Now that he was up close, he could see her ruby eyes and black hair with red bangs.
"Are you talking to me?" He seemed a little surprised.
"Yup." She smiled. For some reason, Rio felt his heart skip a beat, but brushed aside the thought when he noticed black smoke swirling into the air. He looked past her with a worried face into the black horizon. Then he saw black flames shoot into the air, and he knew those flames better than anyone.
Mordred.
"I have to go!" He sprinted past her, leaving her only to wonder.
"Where are you going?" She shouted.
"Mordred is in trouble." He muttered, positive that she couldn't hear him. He was panting hard, but his only concern was to get to the shrine in time. The house was soon in his sight and he saw several of his brothers fighting off Goblins. Coal Tar surrounded them in masses, swarming in their faces, making sight almost impossible. Rio looked to his right as another explosion rocked the earth. The shrine was on fire.
"Mordred!" Rio shouted. He ran to the entrance and made it inside, just before flaming boards crashed in front of the entrance. The inside was hazy, since the benches were on fire. He saw several more of his brothers firing away at Goblins as well as Mordred. He looked to the front of the shrine to see an open gate with Coal Tar and Goblins pouring out.
"Rio!" Mordred's voice broke this thoughts. His face was covered in soot, blood, and sweat. Rio noticed a Goblin lunging for Mordred. Without a word, his body acted on its own, throwing a punch into the Goblin's face. It seemed unfazed by his attack and slashed at his arm with its short claws.
"Rio, get back! It's not safe here!" Rio held his arm in his free hand, blood seeped through his fingers.
"I'm going to help." He coughed through the smoke. Mordred smiled a little, despite the situation.
"Summon your weapon Rio."
"What?" Rio was knocked to the side by a swarm of Coal Tar. "I don't know how to!"
"Look deep." The earth shook again, more violently this time, almost sending Rio to his feet. He tried to concentrate, but his thoughts were punctured by a deep cackle. He looked around, then a Goblin slammed into him. A brother shot it and it exploded into black dust. The gate spit out grey flames as a set of armor dropped out as well as a giant boar-like creature.
"Y-Yamakujira!" A brother said, firing at the boar. The grey flames deflected the bullets and filled the empty armor in place of a person. It stood at the head of the boar, holding onto its ear.
"Mordred." His voice was deep and sent shivers down Rio's back.
"Tanthius, I thought you were dead." Mordred readied his guns. The armor, apparently named Tanthius, cackled.
"Mordred, what's going on?" Rio dared a few steps closer to Mordred.
"Stay back, Rio!" Mordred turned his attention to Rio for just a second and a silver broadsword cloaked in grey flames pierced through Mordred's gut. Blood instantly pooled around him. Rio watched in shock as everything seemed to happen in slow motion around him. The sword exploded in his gut, and the shards stabbed several brothers.
"Rio," Mordred hit the floor. "Akaia."
Rio kneeled next to Mordred.
"Wake up!" He shook Mordred's shoulders. His closed eyes would not open. Rio felt anger boil in his blood like no other and felt an foreign warmth dance around him. He looked at his hand, grey flames poured from his body. The same as Tanthius's.
"How?" He managed to say.
"Ah, my son has finally awakened his powers." Tanthius cackled.
"Bullshit!" He felt new fangs in his mouth.
"Look at you, just like me when I was younger." Rio growled and felt a furry tail sprout from his back and furry ears on his head. Suddenly, he felt something heavy in his right hand. He looked down and saw a new weapon in his hand. It was a long pole with an axe on one end and a gun at the other.
"Vanquisher." He heard a brother whisper. He turned to see the cowering brothers staring at him.
"Vanquisher, grey flames, those features. He really is the son of Tanthius." The brothers seemed to huddle in one corner, still fighting off Goblins.
"I cannot be the son of this fiend." He pointed Vanquisher at Tanthius, baring his fangs.
"You cannot reject your own blood."
"I am not your son!" Rio lunged at the boar that Tanthius stood on. He swung the his axe at the face of the Yamakujira, cutting a diagonal gash across it and it squealed.
"Deny it all you want, those features prove otherwise." Tanthius disappeared into the gate. Rio growled as he watched Tanthius go. The Yamakujira roared and charged at him, ramming its tusks into Rio. Rio stopped it dead in its tracks by grabbing its tusks. With Vanquisher, he cleaved its right tusk off with just a flick of his wrist. It snorted and backed up a little. Rio slashed it with the axe again, leaving another slash across its face. Yet the Yamakujira still roared with energy. Rio swore as it charged at him again, bashing him through the wall of the shrine. He landed outside, into the pouring rain. Its tusk landed not too far from him and he looked over to see few brothers wave to him, then returned to attacking the Goblins. He heard the Yamakujira's hooves charging towards him. He wiped the blood that almost ran into his eye and grabbed the stray tusk, throwing it into the head of the beast, right between its eyes. The tusk pierced through its head like butter and blood pooled from the wound as it fell to the earth, soaking the soil with fresh blood as the body of the Yamakujira turned into black dust. The flames of the destroyed shrine had been doused from the rain as well as the debris of the shrine itself. Rio panted and looked up to see the shrine in a wreck, but the gate had been destroyed. He felt tears drip from his eyes as the brothers walked out, empty handed. He felt a hand clap to his shoulder and turned to see his sister with her usual serious face.
"What happened?" Akaia's face changed to worry when she saw her brother's expression.
"Mordred." He looked at his hands, the flames were gone. "He's dead."
"That's not possible." Akaia turned her head to the brothers who neared them. "I came as fast as I could!"
Rio shook his head slowly as the rain drenched the siblings. The brothers stopped in front of them.
"May Father Mordred rest in peace." They bowed their heads down and put their hands together. Rio's tears fell until the brothers left, leaving the siblings alone.
"Akaia," She turned to him as he stood. "Are we really the children of Tanthius?"
She bit her lip and turned away, clenching her fists.
"Yes." Rio's eyes widened.
"You knew?"
"Yes." Akaia turned her sad eyes to her brother. "Mordred wanted to keep it from you, since you showed more of his powers than me. He wanted to keep you safe."
Rio looked into the black clouds.

The next day, Mordred was properly buried. Rio and Akaia stood at his grave, burning incense. Rio reached out and touched Mordred's gravestone.
"If only I was stronger. I could have saved his life!" Rio shouted. Akaia frowned, she hated seeing her brother like this.
"Is that your wish?" Rio and Akaia turned to the source of the mysterious voice.
"Morthal?" Akaia said in surprise. Rio looked at his sister.
"So this is your brother." Morthal said, stepping out from the shadows. He had a black tuxedo with a matching top hat and cape. Rio raised an eyebrow at Morthal.
"If I gave you power, what is your desire?" He stabbed his metal cane into the ground. Rio only hesitated for a second.
"To beat the s*** out of Tanthius!" He bared his fangs. Morthal chuckled and tossed him a key. He caught it and examined the brass key.
"Morthal!" Akaia exclaimed. Morthal held up a gloved hand.
"Don't worry Akaia." Morthal bowed. "Congratulations Rio Kurosato, welcome to True Cross Academy."
He snapped his fingers and disappeared into a puff of grey smoke. Rio looked back down to the brass key.
"True Cross Academy?"
"A school for Exorcists." Rio looked at his sister.
"How do you know?"
"I attend the Academy." Rio's jaw dropped. "Your classes begin tomorrow."
Akaia shadow warped away, leaving Rio to stare at his newly obtained key.

Rio sat in a black limo, staring at the clear blue sky above him through an open window. He let out a deep sigh and looked into the driver's seat where Morthal, the headmaster himself sat. He thought back to the previous day. So much had happened, he let out a deep sigh as he rolled up the window.
"Excited?" Rio looked into the rear view mirror and made eye contact with Morthal.
"I guess." Rio shrugged and looked out the tinted window. The view was different this time. He saw an amazing building located at the heart of the city. It was so large, he thought it must have had at least a hundred floors. Several bridges branched out from various parts of the school, extending to various parts of the city.
"This is True Cross Academy." Morthal chuckled. Rio was speechless.
Minutes later, they arrived at the front of the school. Rio was eager to see what was in store for him and he leaped out of the car in excitement. Morthal handed him his luggage.
"Oh yeah, what's this key for?" Rio held up his key.
"For both your dorm room and classroom." Morthal started walking towards the academy. Rio walked towards the school, admiring the architecture.
"I'm going to be late!" He heard a familiar voice call out, before turning around. Before he could even see who it was, there was a girl on top of him. He blushed when she lifted her head and sat up.
"You!" He instantly remembered her, those same ruby eyes and black hair with red bangs.
"Oh, hi!" She stood and helped him off the ground, then dusted her red shorts and fixed her trenchcoat.
"So, I guess you go here too?" He rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"Yup! Glad to see you here too!" She extended her hand. Rio took her warm hand in his and shook it gently.
"I'm Rio." The girl smiled when he said his name.
"Mel." She nodded as her name left her lips. Rio smiled as she checked her watch.
"Oh no, I'm late! Nice seeing you!" She waved goodbye and dashed off into the Academy. Rio watched her go with a smile and turned around. He jumped, surprised to see his sister behind him.
"Akaia!" He exhaled a breath.
"Are you ready for classes?" She beckoned her brother to follow as they entered the school and walked through the oddly colored hallways of orange, purple, and blue. They stopped at a door among the many along the hallway.
"I'm pretty sure this is your class." Rio took the key out of his pocket and slipped it into the keyhole.
Click.
"Give me your bag." Akaia held out her hand.
"Oh, sure." He handed her his bag and stepped into the classroom. A pudgy man stood at the front of the class, writing something on the chalkboard. Rio turned to ask Akaia something, but she was nowhere to be seen. The man turned around to face Rio. He wore a black Exorcist's robe, similar to the one Akaia wore, minus the gun holsters and ammunition. He wore a pair of thin glasses. He rubbed his grey stubble with his bandaged hand as he picked up a list from his table.
"Ah, you must be Rio Kurosato." He adjusted his glasses as he looked up at Rio.
"Yes." Rio replied. The man's raspy voice made his throat itchy.
"You may have a seat next to Daniel." He pointed to a boy with dark brown hair. He sat with his legs propped up against his desk and arms folded at the back of his head. Rio looked around the nearly empty classroom and took his seat next to Daniel. He noticed that there were only three or four more students in the corners of the classroom.
"Hey, I'm Rio." Rio stuck out his hand. Daniel looked at his hand and frowned. He placed his feet back on the ground and took his hand, grasping it tightly. Rio's mouth twitched a little when Daniel crushed harder and tossed his hand aside and went back to his usual way of sitting. Rio rubbed his sore hand and turned away. He felt a tapping on his shoulder and turned around to be greeted by a light brown haired boy.
"Don't mind him, he's always grumpy." Daniel snorted at the boy's statement. "I'm Cerberus."
Rio nodded instead of offering a hand, since he doubted he would be able to take notes for today.
"By the way Kurosato, where's your uniform?" The man said. Rio looked around, just now noticing that he was the only one without a uniform, which consisted of black pants, a white collared shirt, a red, black, and white striped tie with a silver Japanese character at the end, and a black blazer with white trim and a patch with the school's logo on it.
"Oh, my uniform?" Rio sweatdropped.
"Kurosato-" The door flew open and Akaia walked in with a book in one hand.
"He's my brother, he just transferred here today." The man nodded and stepped away from the chalkboard. Akaia placed the book on the desk and stared at the class.
"Alright Instructor, I'll take my leave now." The man bowed and left the room.
"Akaia?!" Rio stood. "You're my teacher?"
"I prefer 'Instructor', but yes." Akaia turned to the chalkboard.
"I thought that you were a student!"
"Nope." Rio sighed and sat back down. He bordered sleep for the remainder of class and was awoken by the sound of the bell. Everyone left, leaving him and Akaia behind. He slowly packed his things as he yawned. He looked over at Akaia, who was erasing the chalkboard. Once Rio had everything, he picked up his bag and started to walk out.
"Wait." Akaia shadow warped beside him. "Follow me."
They traveled through a maze of hallways and stairs. Rio was too tired to remember the path they took and nearly lost Akaia several times. Finally, the stopped outside a white door and Akaia opened it. The first thing Rio noticed was a bunk bed to the left and he threw himself onto the soft lower half. He then looked to the right of the room where there were two neat desks set up by a window.
"I'll set your uniform on the bed." He heard Akaia say before drifting off to sleep.

Rio sat up from reading his manga when he heard the door creak.
"Akaia!" He called out. Akaia stepped back into the room with crossed arms.
"What?" She looked at her brother's pile of manga stacked up by the side of his bed.
"Where are you going?" He set the book down and sat at the edge of his bed.
"A mission." She frowned. "No, you can't come."
"Please, I've been here for nearly two weeks!" Rio begged.
"No! Besides, you're still haven't changed."
"I'll be ready in a second!" Rio grabbed his uniform.
"No! And I believe you have the Exwire Authorization Exam today anyways." Rio pouted. Akaia sighed and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Rio quickly got changed and surprisingly made it to the cafeteria before lunch. Since it was Saturday, Rio felt a little more relaxed. He decided to order the breakfast omelet and sat down at an empty table. The cafeteria was pretty crowded, but he was fine with sitting alone.
I wonder if I can find Mel?
"All students, there has been a slight change in plans. Please stay in the cafeteria until your group is called, thank you." Morthal's voice boomed through the intercom. Rio frowned when he remembered his group members were Daniel and Cerberus. Not long after, his name was called and they met in front of a metal door. A woman with dark brown hair tied up in a sloppy bun wore an Exorcist robe and stood in front of the door.
"I'll have to warn you three that the Leaper is a little," She searched for the word. "restless."
Rio and Cerberus nodded as the woman stepped away from the door. It opened and the three boys walked inside. There was a large ring of high ground that they stood on now and it sloped down to a circle made of dirt. Rio looked up and saw a huge cage dangling from the low ceiling. A gigantic frog sat in it, three times the size of an elephant. Rio gulped.
"Ready team?" He lifted his fist up into the air. Daniel shoved him and held up his spear.
"Don't get all friendly with me Kurosato. You don't even have a weapon." Daniel spat. He slid down the concrete slope and stood, ready for battle. Rio adjusted his black blazer and looked at Cerberus, who shrugged. Then Cerberus slid down followed by Rio. Cerberus flicked his wrists and long claws grew in place of his nails. He smiled at Rio, showing off his canine teeth.
"Challengers, are you ready?" Morthal's voice called out.
"Yes." Daniel said.
"Then begin." They heard the cage open and the Leaper jumped out, landing with a loud thud. Daniel was the first to attack. He threw his spear at the Leaper, but it slid off, without even making a scratch. The Leaper pounced at Daniel, who rolled out of harm's way just in time. The Leaper's landing sent a jolt through the loose earth.
"It's no use!" Rio shouted.
"I know that!" Daniel retorted, picking up his spear. Cerberus rushed at the Leaper's side. It turned and its tongue lashed out like lightning, striking Cerberus directly in the solar plexus, smashing him into the concrete slope. It withdrew its tongue, revealing the small crater that Cerberus lay in. Blood trickled down his forehead as he stood shakily. Daniel rushed at the Leaper from behind and jumped onto its back. The Leaper shook and let out ear splitting croaks, but Daniel still held on. Rio saw that he was struggling because of the slippery hide of the Leaper. Cerberus picked up a rock and threw it at the Leaper. It stopped for a moment, giving Daniel some time to regain his balance and plunge his spear into the head of the giant frog. Blood seeped out and Daniel took a step back, only to be thrown against a wall as the frog began hopping around madly. The spear stuck out from its head, becoming looser with every jump it took. It slammed into Cerberus, its body weight crushing him. The spear fell out from its head.
"Cerberus!" Rio didn't know what to do. He knew revealing that he was Tanthius's son would not be the best idea. Suddenly, Daniel slid down the concrete slope and picked up his spear.
"Hey!" He shouted at the Leaper. It stared at him with beady red eyes, then lashed its tongue out. Daniel threw his spear into the Leaper's mouth as soon as its tongue smashed him into the wall once again. Its tongue instantly flew back into its mouth. When it opened its mouth again, it made a terrible wheezing sound instead of a croak. Cerberus ran up to it, claws lusting for blood. What he did not expect was the opening of the Leaper's mouth as he was swallowed whole. Rio's eyes widened. Then, it looked as if it were coughing. Blood sprayed from its mouth when it spit out Daniel. It screeched, leaving its mouth wide open. Rio saw that there were hundreds of gashes made by Cerberus's claws on the roof of the Leaper's mouth. He then turned his gaze to Cerberus who gave him a quick thumbs up despite being soaked in frog blood and it dripping on the walls.
"The damn thing just won't die!" Daniel looked at Rio who had been standing in the same spot since the beginning. He let out an angry grunt at Rio before running towards it again. Then, the Leaper jumped at him, bloody mouth agape. Rio didn't even think when he stepped in front of Daniel. The Leaper slammed into Rio and swallowed him. He could feel its slimy saliva mixing with its sulfuric blood as he tried covering his nose and mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut and suddenly felt a warmth around him. He opened his eyes and saw that grey flames began to pour from his body. He looked into his hand and Vanquisher had appeared. He fired several rounds into the Leaper's throat and used his axe to destroy the inside. His grey flames then burst the broken bits of Leaper apart. The charred pieces flew everywhere. Rio stood panting in the center of the circle, coated with blood. Pieces of the Leaper's flesh still stuck to him. He gasped for air and looked at the horrified faces of Cerberus and Daniel.
"What? Never seen frog guts before?" They shook their heads slowly and he noticed that he still spilled grey flames from his body.
Oh no...
"You're the son of Tanthius?" Daniel said, dumbfounded. Rio bit his lip, the flames wouldn't go away. Rio tried to search for words to say, but failed. Daniel shook his head in disappointment.
"Congratulations Exwires." An automated voice echoed in the arena as Daniel left the room with a sullen face. Rio and Cerberus watched the door shut.
"Cerberus-" Rio looked at Cerberus, who was busy staring at his feet.
"It's fine." Cerberus didn't even look at Rio once and left the room without another word. Rio sighed as he was left alone in the bloodied arena, grey flames still pouring from his body and bloodied Vanquisher in his hand.

Rio looked up at the bottom of Akaia's bed with his hands tucked underneath his head, deep in thought when he heard the door open.
"Hey Rio." Akaia set a bag down on her desk and rummaged through the contents. He couldn't see what his sister brought back since her back was turned, but he didn't particularly care.
"Hey." He mumbled. He heard Akaia facepalm and turn to him.
"You don't look so good." Akaia raised an eyebrow.
"I don't want to talk about it." Rio turned away from his sister.
"Congrats on passing your Exwire Authorization Exam."
"How?" Rio bolted up, hitting his head on the underside of Akaia's bed. He shouted out in pain and then held his head.
"You okay?" Rio nodded slowly and Akaia continued. "Morthal showed me the video."
"We were being recorded?"
"They like to keep records. Besides, its not like we can choose every Page." Rio looked up at Akaia, who frowned. "Anyways, I don't think its safe for you to be using your flames so openly. I wouldn't consider it a blessing to be called Tanthius's son."
"It's not like I can control it!" Rio raised his voice. "If I could, do you think I would have shown them?"
"Rio, calm down. Morthal and I have already discussed some plans for you."
"Plans?"
"We've switched your regular classes with a special training program."
"I don't need help." Rio frowned.
"Don't be an idiot Rio. You need to know how to control your flames, plus your fighting style is a bit sloppy." Rio glared at Akaia. "Well, why don't you come with me?"
"Why?" Rio said coldly.
"I forgot to pick up something. And I do remember you begging to go with me earlier this morning." Rio sighed and stood, still trying to soothe his pounding headache. "Also, it would be a good idea for you to get some herbs for your headache."

Rio mindlessly followed Akaia, too busy trying to soothe his throbbing headache. He only noticed that they were walking on one of the many bridges of the Academy. It was night and the air was cool and crisp at their altitude. A midnight breeze washed over him as he looked at the bright stars and moon. The chill air was relaxing to his sore muscles. He continued to put one foot in front of his other, following closely behind Akaia. Soon, they came to a rather old looking building. Akaia signaled Rio to follow her inside. The old wooden building had rows upon rows of drawers on either side of them. There was a small counter in the back and behind that was an opening, covered by a curtain. A middle aged woman with black hair sat at the counter, pouring hot tea into a white teacup. The sleeves of her pink kimono were rolled up and she looked up once she was done and set the teapot down.
"Oh, Akaia. Did you happen to forget something?" Rio wandered around, looking at the many drawers as Akaia walked straight to the counter.
"Yes, I do believe I forgot to pick up my sage." The woman placed her hand on her cheek in thought. "I also need some herbs for a headache."
"Do you have a headache? You can have some tea." The woman's voice had a worried ring to it as she pointed to her white teapot with a cherry blossom design.
"No, it's for my brother." Akaia turned at pointed to Rio. He waved shyly and walked up next to Akaia.
"Yes, of course." The woman stood and poked her head through the curtained opening. "Cyres, could you please bring some sage and skullcap? And while you're at it, could you please bring three more teacups?"
"Yes Aunty!" They heard a female voice reply as the woman sat back down. Akaia and Rio chatted with the woman for a while as she drank her tea. When she finished, she checked her watch and looked into the opening.
"She's taking an awful long time. I better go check on her." She stood and brushed aside the curtains. "You two can wait here."
The siblings nodded and Rio wandered again, still amazed by the many herbs and spices this store carried. Rio opened a drawer to see dried frog legs. He shivered in memory of his exam and slammed the drawer shut.
"Be careful, herbs aren't cheap." Akaia scolded. Suddenly, a scream came from the other side of the opening. Akaia leaped over the counter as Rio ran around it. They both ran through the opening into a small, dark room. They looked around to see that no one was there and spotted another door that led to a garden. They stepped outside to see the garden, filled with life. Spices, herbs, vegetables, flowers, and trees all grew with great health. Rio stared until he noticed Akaia running towards something. It was the woman, but in front of her was some sort of turtle creature. Its neck sprouted pink flower petals and its back was covered in grass and dirt along with a small tree. Vines dropped down from the edge of its shell. He heard its roar from yards away and dashed to it. Akaia already stood in front of the woman and a girl with black hair and blue streaks.
"Rio, keep your distance from the plants!" Rio looked down to the grassy earth and raised an eyebrow. Akaia pulled out her dual pistols and fired away at the beast. Bullet shells rained down from her guns as the beast slowly back away.
"Dökkálfrs can control vegetation." Akaia stopped to reload, but it made a mad dash towards her. It slammed into her, but she held onto its head, preventing it from getting past her. Rio saw the woman shake with fear as she tried to protect the unconscious girl.
Akaia pushed the turtle to its side. Its legs swam in the air, struggling to get back onto its feet as Akaia fired at its belly. The turtle roared and managed to get back up. It stood on its hind legs, ready to crush Akaia, who was underneath it. She sidestepped, but crashed into Rio. He fell to the ground as the turtle landed on Akaia. He heard a sickening crunch come from Akaia's body.
"Akaia!" He shouted. Sweat dripped down her face as the turtle's leg drove her deeper into the ground. She grit her teeth as she struggled to push the turtle off her, but her position left her incapable. Rio then felt a familiar warmth around him and a familiar weight in his hand. He swung Vanquisher at the turtle, slicing off the tree on its back. The turtle roared and crashed into him. He defended himself with the middle of Vanquisher as its sharp teeth snapped at him. Suddenly, it reared back, hissing in pain as its left side began to steam. Rio looked to Akaia, who held a metal can marked 'holy water'. She threw it at the turtle's side and it exploded, leaving its side steaming. It screeched at them and charged towards the woman.
"No!" Akaia rushed towards it, but not before flaming Rio brought Vanquisher down into its back from above. It stopped in its tracks and crumbled into dirt with Vanquisher still wedged into the dirt mound. Akaia held her broken arm in her good one and walked over to Rio. Before she could stand by his side, the woman screamed.
"Y-you! Those flames; that weapon." Her eyes widened and she shook with fear. "Please spare me, I'll do anything!"
"I'm not going to hurt you." Rio reached out to her to touch her reassuringly, but she ducked down to cover the girl's face. Rio frowned, his flames and weapon would not go away.
"Is Cyres alright?" Akaia came knelt down beside them. Just then, the girl's eyes fluttered open. Her blue eyes looked into Akaia's silver ones and she smiled.
"What happened?" Akaia said softly. Cyres sat up, leaning on her aunt for support.
"I went outside to get your herbs, but he wouldn't approve of it."
"He?" Akaia raised an eyebrow. Cyres pointed to the pile of dirt. Akaia was a bit surprised that she knew that was the turtle seconds ago, despite her being unconscious, but she pressed on.
"I promised my mother that I would take good care of her garden after she passed away. But I got older and I wanted to explore, I was tired of staying here all the time. However, he wouldn't let me leave and told me that I would throw away all of my mother's work. I've tried to leave many times, but everytime he'd use the plants to keep me bound to the garden." She slightly pulled up her light blue kimono to reveal her scarred feet and ankles.
"But since he's killed, that means you can leave." Akaia said.
"I would love to, but I've never been in the outside world before. I don't know what to expect." She looked to her aunt. "Besides, I couldn't leave my aunt here alone."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Go explore, it's what you always wanted." Her aunt hugged her and smiled as Cyres returned the hug. Her aunt wiped away the tears in her caramel eyes as she looked into Cyres's blue ones.
"But where can I go?" Her aunt helped her stand.
"You can come with me to the Academy."
"Academy?"
"True Cross Academy, just past the bridge." Akaia pointed in that direction.
"I'm not sure." Her voice trailed off.
"You'll be fine." Akaia placed a hand on Cyres's shoulder. She smiled back and nodded. Akaia removed her hand, then turned to check on Rio, who was nowhere to be seen.
"Rio-"
"Are you looking for someone?" Cyres tried to look over Akaia's shoulder, but the girl was too tall for her to do so.
"No, let's go." They waved goodbye to Cyres's aunt and walked towards the Academy.
He probably just went back before me.

Rio sat in class with a frown. Cerberus and Daniel were being unusually distant. Moment's later, Akaia walked in, followed by Cyres, who wore the girl's Academy uniform: a purple skirt with a white collared shirt and red, black, and white stripped bow.
"Sorry I'm late, this is your new classmate." Akaia turned her back to everyone and began writing on the chalkboard.
"Hello everyone, I'm Cyres. Nice to meet you." She bowed politely.
"She's pretty cute." Cerberus commented, nudging Daniel. He scoffed and looked away. Cyres walked up to Cerberus and pointed at the empty seat next to him.
"Is this seat taken?"
"Nope." Cerberus grinned. She gave a small smile and sat down, smoothing her skirt before she sat.
After over an hour of Akaia's lecture, Rio nearly fell asleep. His head began to nod off until the door swung open and a girl in a trenchcoat walked in, panting heavily. It was Mel.
"Sorry I'm late!" She declared. Akaia turned to her.
"God damn it Mel." She sighed.
"Mel?" Rio said. Mel turned to him.
"There you are!" Mel chirped. She began to walk over to him, when Cerberus surprised Rio with his voice.
"No way, you know her?" It was the first time Cerberus had spoken to him since the frog incident.
"Huh?"
"Mel Okumura? The Upper First-Class Exorcist? Do you have any idea how many guys have their eyes on her?" Before Rio could respond, Mel grabbed his arm.
"Let's go." She smiled, then looked over at the other boys and winked.
"Mel, stop playing around." Akaia scolded her.
"Sorry Akaia." She flashed a peace sign at Akaia with her fingers, then got Rio to stand. As Mel dragged him out of the room, everyone watched in awe as he left. The door slammed behind them and Akaia turned back to the class.
"Alright everyone, page ninety-five." Akaia looked into her book. She noticed Cerberus raising his hand. She rolled her eyes and called on him.
"What is it Inugami?" Cerberus slammed his hand onto his desk, startling Cyres.
"Why the hell does Kurosato get her?" He pointed at the door. Akaia sighed.
"Shut up and get to work." Cerberus cringed.

Mel continued pulling Rio through the hallways, humming the tune of the song Core Pride.
"Where are we going?" Rio asked, letting himself be dragged by the smaller girl.
"To the cafeteria." Mel said enthusiastically.
"I thought we were supposed to be training?" Rio was starting to doubt her rank.
"No use training on an empty stomach." They reached the cafeteria and Mel slid open the doors to reveal an empty cafeteria.
"Nobody is even here." Rio said bluntly.
"That's okay, we can use the vending machines!" Rio followed her without any further questions, staring at her boots as they walked. He almost crashed into her when she stopped.
"What do you want?" He lifted his head to see huge vending machines with pictures of full meals on them. His face instantly lit up. He ran to each vending machine, checking the pictures on each one, drooling at the sight. Then he saw a picture with one of his favorite meals.
Lobster...
He looked at the price and his enthusiasm shattered.
"2930 yen?!" He sunk to the ground. He heard Mel shuffle past him and pressed a few buttons. A beeping sound followed, then a ding. Rio looked up to see a large platter with a red lobster sitting on it. It still steamed with freshness and the aroma was enticing.
"This is what you wanted right?" She shoved the platter at him, then turned back to the vending machines.
"You didn't have to buy it for me." He said, blushing slightly. The aroma of lobster filled his nostrils and made his empty stomach growl in hunger.
"I didn't." She slid her ID card into a vending machine and pressed a few buttons. He heard a familiar beep and ding and she turned to him with a bowl of ramen in her hands. By its scent, he could tell that it was beef.
"Then how?"
"I'm an Upper First-Class Exorcist!" She grinned and beckoned him to follow. They sat down at the closest table and began to eat. Rio looked across from him, Mel slurped away at her ramen.
"I hope your not abusing your privileges." He said as he took another bite of the delicious lobster. It melted in his mouth and he swallowed it.
"I can eat that if you don't want it." Mel said, pointing her chopsticks to his lobster.
"That's not what I mean." Mel raised an eyebrow. "What I mean is, are you sure this what you should be using your ranking for?"
"I don't want to hear that from an Exwire." Mel said in a harsh tone. Rio choked on his food and Mel pat his back. She apologized and they continued to eat in silence afterwards. Once they finished eating, they left the cafeteria and Mel led him through the maze of hallways and stairs. Rio wanted to start a conversation, but couldn't think of anything. He felt awkward walking in silence with his new mentor.
"So, are you aware of your popularity?" He remembered what Cerberus told him about Mel.
"Popularity?" She stopped and replied to him.
"Oh, nothing." Rio mentally kicked himself as they continued walking.
"I know I get a lot of comments from newbies that I don't seem deserving of my title." Her voice was strangely upbeat, despite the topic. They began to climb a flight of stairs and soon became shrouded in bright shadows.
"Your personality seems," She turned to him."Fine."
She smiled at him, making him blush before she turned away and continued climbing the stairs. Rio tried to rid his mind of Mel's smile the rest of the way up, but only blushed harder. They came to a stop at a dead end. Rio bumped into Mel, since he was lost in his thoughts.
"Sorry!" He stepped back. Mel ignored him and chanted something in a foreign language. The wall flashed white and a portal opened, revealing a well lit corridor. They walked through; Rio was surprised by the new place. The walls and ceiling looked almost like a chapel and they walked down a stone walkway. The water around the walkway reflected the light from the lamps on the pillars. The place certainly had a peaceful aura to it. Two exorcists walked by her, one with an eyepatch and the other with strange Elvis-style hair. They bowed out of respect and she smiled at each of them as she passed them. Rio looked back at them, who continued watching Mel walk.
"Lucky guy." He heard one mutter to the other. Rio followed Mel until they came to a steel door and Mel turned the handle. She pushed the door open and let Rio walk in first, then followed him. He turned to her when he heard the heavy door slam behind him. He watched Mel walk across the concrete room and stood at the other side. Rio looked around, the room was plain and boring, a perfect cubic room made of concrete.
"Tell me, Rio." He looked at her, she had her hands on her hips. "What is your goal?"
"My goal?"
"Everyone at the Academy has one. Everyone wants to rise to the very top, were they have the power to achieve their goal." She took one hand off her hip and clenched it. "I want to close the gate to Gehenna forever."
Rio thought back to Akaia's lectures. If he remembered correctly, Gehenna was the demon realm and Assiah was the name of their realm. He frowned and remembered the rankings his sister taught him. First came Pages, the lowest class, then came Exwires, which he was since he had passed the Exam. After Exwires came Exorcists which were further branched off as Lower Second-Class, Lower First-Class, Middle Second-Class, Middle First-Class, Upper Second-Class, Upper First-Class, Honorary Knight, and Arc Knight. And finally came Paladin. Second came their title or meister, an individual's style of combat. Their meister would be chosen as an Exwire and one would follow through. This was separated into Knight, who specialize in close-combat and use swords as their weapon. Dragoon, who specialize in ranged combat and use guns. Tamer, who use magic to summon familiars by drawing magic circles. Aria, who use sutras or spells to attack, like a cross between a priest and mage. And Doctors, who specialize in healing.
"I'm going to kick Tanthius's ass." He growled, baring his fangs.
"A rather ambitious goal." Mel commented. "You're his son, are you not?"
Rio snorted out of anger.
"I'm going to become Paladin." Mel frowned at his statement.
"That's going to be hard to do, Lysander was just appointed Paladin."
"What?" Rio was shocked. "Isn't there only one spot for Paladin? No one would give up that spot."
He looked to Mel, who was still frowning.
"Mordred is dead, we need to have another man step up to be Paladin."
"Father was Paladin?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He already knew Akaia was far ahead of him in ranking, being a Middle First-Class Exorcist, but he did not expect his old man to be the Paladin.
"Yes, and my mentor." Rio was far beyond confused. "Mordred trained me when I was younger. He was a great man. When he introduced me to you, he then told me that one day you would awaken your powers from Tanthius. He wanted me to be your mentor."
"I," Rio paused. "don't understand."
"You will with time." Mel dropped her hands to her sides. "Lets start off by showing me what you've got."
Rio smirked and pushed aside all his confusions. Then, his flames consumed him, followed by Vanquisher. He smiled.
"I'm still not impressed." She smiled and crossed her arms. Rio charged at her recklessly. She jumped up and kicked the back of his head, sending him toppling over to the ground. When he got up, Mel was standing on the other side of the room, checking her nails.
"You're up!" She chirped, throwing her hand down to her side. Rio growled and sent a huge grey fireball hurdling towards her.
"Now you're getting serious." Mel stood in a battle stance. "Devour the Princess, graceful like the Tiger."
Rio saw her tattoo glow purple as she pulled a katana from it. It then returned to its normal red and she cleaved the grey fireball in two. Rio then came at her afterwards and metal sparked against metal. Rio tried to press harder on Mel's sword so his axe could reach her, but she was stronger than she looked. Suddenly, Mel smiled. This confused Rio and she dropped down to the ground and kicked his feet. He lost his balance and she drop kicked him straight in the chest. He fell to the ground and Vanquisher clattered next to him.
"Your recklessness might work with demons, but not with me." The tip of her sword poked his nose when he sat up on his elbows. She helped him up and her tattoo glowed purple again as she inserted the sword back into it. She didn't even look at him when she began to walk out of the room.
"Where are you going?" Rio had to speed walk to catch up with her.
"I'm not going to fight you until you have control over your powers."
"But I do."
"No, look." She pointed at him. "You can barely call forth your flames when you need them and you can't make them go away."
She did have a point and Rio still spilled flames like she had mentioned.
"How do I do that?" Mel opened the door and walked outside, followed by Rio. They walked over to a nearby table and Mel handed him three candles.
"Candles?"
"I want you to light these with your flames all at once." He set them on the table and stared. He imagined his flames igniting the tips of the candles. But still, nothing happened. He stared harder at them when suddenly the table went up in grey flames and the candles melted into one big pile of wax. Mel beat the flames with her tan trenchcoat and handed him a few more candles.
"It's getting late, you better get back to your room. I want you to try again, and please don't set the school on fire." Mel walked off and Rio stared at the candles.

Rio unlocked the door and walked inside to see Akaia and Cyres sitting on the floor with a stack of papers and a calligraphy brush between them.
"Why is she here?" Rio threw the candles onto his bed and sat on the edge.
"Who are you?" Cyres raised an eyebrow.
"He's my brother." Akaia assured Cyres. "Lets try that once more."
Cyres nodded and picked up a clean sheet of paper. She grabbed the calligraphy brush and dipped it into an ink jar. Rio watched her draw a magic circle on the paper and close her eyes.
"Kyubi." Ice danced around her as the magic circle on the paper glowed blue. A white fox-like creature appeared. It had distinct wolf-like features despite its size, only being as large as a small cat. It had blue markings on its head and made a soft barking sound as it jumped into Cyres's lap. Akaia pat her shoulder.
"Great job. But if that paper gets damaged, your familiar will disappear. Anyways, it's late. I'll walk you to your room." Akaia offered.
"It's fine." Cyres walked out, with Kyubi crawling across her slender shoulders. Akaia stood, then sat next to Rio.
"What are the candles for?" She pointed to them.
"Training." Rio took them in his hands.
"So how's the training with Mel going?" Akaia smirked at her brother.
"Great." Rio replied quickly, instantly thinking of Mel's smile.
"You do know that you'll probably gain a lot more enemies by getting together with her, right?" Akaia nudged him.
"I never said I liked her." Rio stammered and turned away to hide his blush.
"Your face says otherwise." Akaia laughed. "Besides, I can tell she has an unusual interest towards you."
Rio turned to Akaia, her words seemed to have perked his attention.
"Really?" He exploded with delight inside.
"Yup."
"Wait," Rio held up his hands. "How would you know?"
"She told me."
"What?"
"I'm her best friend. We've known each other for years."
"And you never told me?"
"I never really thought my brother would particularly care about who his sister was friends with." Rio fell to the bed with the candles still in his hands.
"I'm going to sleep." Rio announced with a small smile. Akaia nodded in response and sat up to turn the lights off. Rio dropped the candles at the side of his bed and placed his head on the soft pillow. He heard Akaia climb up the ladder of their bunk bed and lay down.
"Hey Akaia?" Rio pulled the blue blankets over his body.
"Yeah?" She replied with a sleepy tone as he heard her shift her blankets.
"Does Mel really like me?"
"Yeah." And with that, Rio drifted into sleep with a huge grin.

Akaia awoke in the middle of the night. She noticed her throat was dry and swallowed in attempt to soothe it. She looked down from the bunk bed and saw Rio sitting on the floor. Before she could even ask, she saw that he was practicing with the candles. She sat and watched for a while as he failed again and again. A while after, he was able to light all three at once without burning the rug underneath it. She heard him whisper excitedly and she smiled at his success. She then decided she didn't need water and drifted off to sleep once again.

Rio and Mel were sparring. It had been nearly a month since Rio mastered igniting the candles and Mel decided it would be best for him to fit some sparring in. Vanquisher clashed against Mel's katana and she easily pushed it away, only to clash with it again. Metal continued to meet metal and Rio parried her moves easier than before. Rio swung Vanquisher's axe side at her katana and swung his body around, using the curve of the axe. He kicked Mel's side, but she blocked it with her arms and pushed his leg aside. He fell to the ground, bringing Vanquisher down with him. He saw Mel's katana closing in on him and rolled out of the way. Her sword hit the concrete and he stood. He charged again and Mel jumped over him. This time, he had loaded Vanquisher with practice bullets and fired them at her. She fell to the ground and he rushed at her with the axe. She somersaulted away from his strike and sent a kick to his chest, which he blocked with Vanquisher's handle. He threw Mel off balance and she backflipped to regain it as she landed. Vanquisher clashed with Mel's katana. Then, Mel dropped to the ground and executed a low kick to his ankles. Rio jumped to avoid it, but when he landed, he was greeted by Mel's leg kicking him in the side. She then jabbed at his gut and he fell to the ground. He was about to throw Vanquisher at her, but felt Mel headlocking him from behind with her sword pressed gently to his throat. He sighed and his flames wisped away along with Vanquisher.
"Better." Mel offered him a hand off the ground with a grin. He grabbed it and stood. He looked at Mel, who seemed to be staring at him.
"Is there something on my face?" He touched his cheek. She shook her head with a smile and put away her sword. She stepped closer to him.
"Do you notice that your flames only come when there are demons around or when you are in danger?" Her body was so close to touching his.
"How are you dangerous?" Rio knew she wasn't a demon, since most had distinct features. Mel pulled his tie so that he bent down to her height. Then, he felt her warm lips press to his. He slowly closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. He felt her arms wrap around his neck and she stood on her tiptoes, allowing Rio to stand at his full height. Rio broke the kiss and touched her soft lips. He gazed into her warm ruby eyes, when suddenly the door swung open and they jumped apart from each other.
"Mel!" The Exorcist with the Elvis-style hair ran up to her. She was still blushing slightly, but managed to respond.
"Tsubaki?" He was panting heavily and had his hands resting on his knees, gasping for air.
"There's a breach in the system!" He shouted.
"What?" Mel was alarmed by the news. "What's going on?"
"There's no time!" He grabbed Mel's arm. "We have to hurry!"
Tsubaki dragged Mel with him and Rio followed. They ran through the hallways of the Academy until they smelled something foul and stopped. Two Ghouls jumped in front of them through windows; they were both dog-like. The stench of rotting corpses became stronger as the Ghouls neared them. They growled and a greenish liquid dripped from their mutilated mouths.
"Devour the Princess, graceful like the Tiger!" Mel pulled her sword out from her tattoo. She bit her thumb and smeared her blood on the flat of the blade. Her blade grew twice in length and bulk and the blade itself became serrated, like a saw. Red, black, and gold streaks ran down the sides and she held the golden handle.
"Kingusō!" The Ghouls jumped at her and she swung her blade at them, turning them into black dust. "Let's go!"
Tsubaki and Rio quickly followed her lead.
"Since when were you able to do that?" Rio asked, running next to her.
"No matter, we have to look for the breacher. The school has a barrier to ward off demons, but I have no idea how they could have gotten inside." Mel swung her sword at three more Ghouls that jumped in their path.
"This person might have somehow gotten into the Academy and carried out his or her plans from here." Tsubaki said as Mel turned another Ghoul into black dust.
"Then," Rio dodged a swarm of Coal Tar. "he's a traitor?"
Mel and Tsubaki nodded. They burst through the door that led to the main bridge of the Academy, which was the only one students could enter through if they came from overseas. They spotted a man with an Exorcist's robe and messy jet-black hair standing on the bridge.
"Show yourself!" Mel shouted, pointing her blade at his back. He laughed and two Ghouls leaped out of a purple light that flashed in front of him. Tsubaki grit his teeth. The man turned. It was the Exorcist with the eyepatch.
"Neuhaus?" Mel said at the same time Tsubaki responded.
"Igor?" Tsubaki said.
"Okumura and Kaoru. Fancy seeing you here." Neuhaus held a black book in his hand.
"Put the book down Neuhaus." Mel said. The Ghouls leaped at her and she swung her sword at them. They disappeared into black dust and Neuhaus laughed.
"Why are you laughing Igor?" Tsubaki said, clenching his fist.
"You are only helping with my plan." The black dust swirled around him and flew past the barrier and towards a strange darkness in the sky.
"He tricked us!" Tsubaki said, running towards the door.
"Kaoru, this is the only way to go." He cackled. The winds began to pick up speed and the stench of rotting corpses became stronger.
"Tsubaki, go. Get the others, we're going to need backup." Mel readied her sword. Tsubaki ran through the door hesitantly, unsure if he should have left Mel with the Exwire.
"Okumura Mel." Neuhaus said, tucking the book between his body and arm.
"What do you want from us?" Neuhaus paced on the bridge as Mel shouted at him, ready to strike at any moment. The wild wind lashed at his hair.
"The runaway child." Rio looked at Mel, who shifted uncomfortably.
"Mel-" Rio reached out to her.
"Don't think I don't know you."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Mel gripped the handle of Kingusō tighter.
"Your mother left you and you ran away." Mel's eyes widened. "Mother Phaenix loved you so much, why did she leave you?"
"Stop it!" Mel shouted. Her red bangs covered her eyes.
"Then Iblis found you. You loved him, didn't you? Didn't it break your heart to find out that he was one of the Baal?" Neuhaus sneered.
"She said stop!" Rio shouted. His grey flames spilled out and he swung Vanquisher at Neuhaus, who stopped the blade with his hand. He grabbed Vanquisher and threw it at the wall, taking Rio with it.
"Rio!" Mel cried out. She almost ran to him, but felt Neuhaus grab her hand.
"Even now, you carry the blade he forged you." Mel threw a punch at his head and it landed. Direct hit. He seized her other hand and brought her closer to him. Mel looked into his brown eye. She struggled in his iron grasp and freed her right hand. She ripped the eyepatch off of Neuhaus's left eye and gasped. It was a dull olive green.
"Astaroth." He let out a booming laugh. His teeth grew sharper and small spiraled horns could be seen growing from his head.
"You remember?" He grinned with his sharp teeth.
"Brother of Iblis, second king of the Baal. The king of rot." The stench became overpowering and Neuhaus's Exorcist robe shred to pieces, revealing Astaroth, the king of rot himself. Rio got up to analyze him. His body was like a minotaur's, but had reptilian skin that peeled rather than fur. His horns were curled more like a mountain goat's and his snout was much shorter. A long tail whipped out from behind him, lashing against the powerful winds. Astaroth flashed his sharp yellow teeth at Mel and swung his hand at her, sweeping her off the bridge.
"Mel!" Rio ran towards her, but Astaroth's foot smashed him against the stone floor.
"Even if you are the Prince, I won't hesitate to crush you." Up until then, Rio struggled with keeping Astaroth's foot from completely crushing him, but Astaroth pressed harder this time, crushing him deeper into the stone.
"Mel must have a thing for noble demons, but why can't she love me?" Astaroth felt burning in his left foot. It burst into grey flames and he hopped away, stomping his foot to extinguish the flames. His stomping shook the sturdy bridge. Rio rose from the crater, his grey flames burned even more intense than before. Vanquisher had a red glow to it and his eyes became silver with red around the iris.
"If this is about love," He punctured Astaroth's belly with Vanquisher. "I don't want to hear it!"
Astaroth dropped down to one knee, clutching his punctured stomach. He swung his free arm at Rio and it slammed into him. Astaroth snickered at his foolishness, then saw him running up his arm. He had cuts and bruises everywhere and his uniform was torn up badly. Astaroth tried to shake him off his arm, but his grey flames stuck to his flesh like glue, leaving trails of grey fire in his wake. Rio leaped up once he reached Astaroth's shoulder and swung Vanquisher with all his strength. Astaroth managed to turn his head in time so that his horn was cleaved off. When it landed, it instantly turned to black dust. Rio flew close to the ground, then levitated, grey flames still surrounding him. Black dust poured from Astaroth's stomach and horn. He grit his teeth and spit out a waterfall of green sludge from his mouth at Rio. It splashed into him, washing away some of his grey flames and singing his clothes. The acid, however, did not affect his skin. He grabbed Vanquisher and was about to fire at Astaroth when an orange dart shot across Astaroth's chest. Mel then landed beside Rio and the gash ripped open on Astaroth's body, oozing black dust.
"Mel." Rio smiled a little as his flames reignited. She smiled back.
"Throw him to me." Rio smirked at Mel's statement and dashed to Astaroth, avoiding the sludge that he spit out at him. He grabbed Astaroth's leg and hefted him into the air. Mel sprouted wings from her back and threw Kingusō into his chest. It pierced through him and cut into the bridge. Astaroth's body flashed white and exploded into masses of Coal Tar and black dust. Like the Ghouls, it flowed past the barrier into the darkness that seemed to gather in the center of the main city. Mel landed and her wings burst into wisps of orange fire.
"What's wrong?" Rio looked at her as she dropped to her knees.
"He was just a distraction, he's been trying to open a gate to Gehenna this entire time!" She struggled to stand, then started to run on the bridge and pulled her sword out of the stone as she passed it. Rio noticed that his flames disappeared and quickly followed so that he wouldn't loose her. They made it about halfway across the bridge when the once clear barrier flashed and slowly turned dark purple in color.
"Hurry!" Mel shouted. They were almost at the edge of the barrier when a Gale swooped from the sky, grabbing Rio. Mel turned to see Rio hanging by the crow demon's talons.
"Rio!" She looked at him, then the opening in the barrier that was slowly closing.
"Just go, I'll be fine!" Mel looked again between the two, then ripped her eyes from the barrier and threw a fireball into the Gale. It screeched and released Rio, sending him into freefall.
"Stupid flames, I need you now!" Rio shouted at himself. Suddenly, someone caught him. He looked up to see Mel, who was no longer holding Kingusō, but glided through the air with her fiery wings.
"Thanks." Rio said in a small voice. He looked at the barrier and noticed that the entire thing was dark purple now. He sighed in shame, then heard the screech of the Gale. It was coming back towards them. He heard Mel mutter something under her breath as the Gale came closer. Then, sounds of gunfire filled his ears. He looked up to the bridge. Akaia and Cyres! Akaia continued to fire at the Gale, puncturing bullet holes in its body with her dual pistols. Black dust poured from its wounds.
"Cyres, your Byakko!" Akaia kept firing at the Gale. Mel landed between Akaia and Cyres, setting Rio down rather rough for her nature. Cyres whipped out a sheet of paper with a magic circle drawn on it.
"Kyubi!" The wolf creature from before appeared, but this time she was a lot bigger and looked much more aggressive.
"What happened to it?" Rio asked.
"Familiars often respond to the atmosphere around it, and right now the Byakko senses danger." Akaia said as she threw a holy water grenade at the Gale, which exploded into black dust once it hit. She turned to them as the black dust followed a similar path as the others.
"Kyubi will lead us out of danger." Cyres climbed on and signaled everyone else to follow. Kyubi jumped off the bridge, startling Rio, but she soon began to soar through the air.
"It seems as though the more we defeat, the closer Tanthius will get to opening the gate to Gehenna." Cyres said as Kyubi searched for a safe place to station.
"There are demons everywhere though!" Rio commented. Mel frowned.
"That's unusual." Akaia said and Mel turned to her. "What's up, you almost never frown."
"Tanthius might bring back the Baal. And if he does, we're screwed." Kyubi swerved past an incoming Gale and a swarm of Coal Tar, nearly throwing the four off her back. Kyubi barked and soared through the air faster to look for cover.
"What is the 'Baal' anyways?" Rio shouted in both frustration and confusion.
"God damn it Rio." Akaia cupped a hand over her brother's mouth. "Keep it down. And haven't you paid any attention in class?"
Rio looked away nervously. Akaia sighed.
"The Baal are the eight demon kings created by Tanthius. There is Samael, king of time. Astaroth, king of rot. Amaimon, king of earth. Lucifer, king of light. Egyn, king of water. Azazel, king of spirits. Beelzebub, king of insects. And Iblis," Akaia turned to Mel, whose bangs hid her ruby eyes. "King of fire."
"Mel, did you like him?" Curiosity got the best of him.
"Rio-" Akaia tried to scold him.
"Yes." She simply replied.
"Then why did you kiss me?" Akaia and Cyres looked at each other, obviously surprised by the news. Mel stood.
"Mel, sit down!" Akaia tried to get her to sit, but she jumped off Kyubi.
"Mel!" They all called. When they looked down, they saw that she had landed on a Gale and it swooped away with her riding on its back.
"Rio!" Akaia shouted, smacking her brother in the head.
"I didn't know!" Akaia sighed at her brother.
"You see, she's a half-demon as well." Akaia explained to her clueless brother.
"What?" Now he knew why he was able to bring out his flames when he was around her.
"Her mother is a Goddess, but her father was a demon disguised as a faerie. Her mother, Mother Phaenix, often traveled to the faerie world to help out since they were held dear to her. She fell in love with Mel's father and they had a child. However, the father never stayed. He wanted to hurt Mother Phaenix as much as possible."
"But why?" Akaia shook her head at Rio's question.
"He was the Impure King. He had placed a dangerous amount of miasma in both Mother Phaenix and Mel. Of course it didn't affect Mother Phaenix as much as it would Mel. She raised Mel with great care, so she would not disturb the miasma inside Mel's body."
"What would it happen if the miasma took affect?" A stray Coal Tar hit Rio in the face. "Would she die?"
"I'm afraid she'd become a demon herself." Rio's jaw dropped. "She no idea of this when she ran away. Apparently Iblis took care of her before I found her, being the kindest of the kings. She fell in love with him, but she had no idea that he was part of the Baal, who were greatly hated at the time. He supported her since she was a half-demon and gave Mel that tattoo and weapon. Iblis then left her, since Astaroth told him that he would disturb the miasma in her body. I found her by the park in the city and introduced her to Mordred. He was her mentor and eventually Morthal took her in as part of the Academy, and she's been going there ever since."

Rio looked down at Kyubi's white fur as it came to a stop. Akaia and Cyres jumped off and Rio was left still sitting on Kyubi.
"Rio." Cyres signaled Rio to come down. He jumped off and Kyubi barked as she turned back into her smaller form. Kyubi jumped into Cyres's arms and she pet her.
"Rio, this is no time to be sulking. As much as Cyres and I want to find Mel too, we have to find a way to stop the gate to Gehenna from opening." They looked past the purple tinted barrier that surrounded the school. Black dust still flowed into the soon to be formed gate.
"We need to tell everyone to stop destroying the demons and work on removing the barrier first." Akaia commanded, bringing the other two inside the school. "Cyres, you go with Kyubi and find the intercom room and tell everyone to stop killing the demons. Rio, you come with me and find a safe place to devise a plan."
Cyres nodded and Kyubi transformed into her larger form again. Cyres jumped on Kyubi's back and waved goodbye as she rode off into the dark hallways.
"Alright Rio, lets go." They ran off into the darkened hallways.

"Is it gone?" Rio panted as they hid behind an empty classroom door.
"I think so." Akaia was breathing heavily. They stood and walked over to the only standing desk standing in the classroom.
"We're going to need a lot of power to break the barrier." Akaia said, setting down a map of the school onto the table. "We'll need to gather all the Knights, Dragoons, and Tamers we can."
"Why not use the Arias?" Rio suggested. Akaia stared at him, expecting him to explain further.
"All demons have a 'Fatal Verse', so what if we find the Fatal Verse of the barrier?" Rio said.
"Why didn't I think of that? If we find out which demon is possessing the barrier, we can find its Fatal Verse. We have to get to the library!" Dozens of Goblins burst into the classroom and turned their heads to the siblings.
"Run!" Rio shouted, jumping through a broken window.
"That sounds good right about now." Akaia ran beside him as they made their way to the library.
"Alright, now we just have to find out which demon is possessing the barrier and a book of spells." The Goblins burst through the doors just as Rio finished his sentence.
"Which is easier said than done!" Akaia said as she punched one in the head. "Rio, hurry and find it!"
Rio looked at his sister and took off to look for the book. He remembered reading one with both demons and spells in it just the other day when studying the meisters. He ran down a row of books.
"L... L... Lan... Liu!" He pulled out a green book and sat on the floor to read. His eyes skimmed the pages as fast as he could. He stopped at a page.
"Akaia!" He ran to his sister who stood above a pile of unconscious Goblins.
"You found it?" She punched the last Goblin in the face and they took off. Then, they heard the intercom turn on.
"Hello? Is this thing on?" Akaia led Rio through the halls. "People of True Cross Academy, put down your weapons, defeating the demons will only aid in Tanthius's plot to open the gate to Gehenna. Also, we need all Aria's to report to the front of the school."
The intercom turned off and Rio looked to Akaia.
"How-?" Akaia tapped her head and smiled at Rio.
"So are you going to tell me which demon it is or what?" Rio looked into the book, but struggled to read the moving words.
"I think its some sort of corrupt Seraphim." They burst through the main doors of the school. Several Arias already stood in the front, awaiting orders.
"Rio, what's the Verse?" Akaia whispered to him and he pointed to it in the book.
"Aku no raito, kono saishū-tekina uta ga kikoetara kyō." Rio stumbled over the words.
The Arias repeated the Verse with no trouble. Akaia turned to be greeted by Cyres and Kyubi who had somehow appeared in the past few minutes. They looked at the barrier.
"Um, guys," Rio looked at them. "Is it just me, or is the barrier starting to shake?"
Everyone looked up. It was indeed shaking.
"Keep reciting the Verse!" Akaia commanded. The barrier began to shake even more violently than before. Then, it exploded in a flash of blinding white light and pieces of the barrier came raining down on them. Once all the pieces hit the floor, everyone looked at the school, which was still being attacked by demons.
"Keep the killings minimal." Akaia pat one guy on the back and climbed onto Kyubi.
"Where are you going?" Rio asked as Akaia took Cyres's hand to help her up.
"You need to come too." Cyres helped Rio onto Kyubi's back. Akaia looked towards the dark clouds in the sky and grit her teeth.
"Over there Kyubi." Cyres said, pointing towards the darkness. She barked and set off towards the darkness.
"Morthal's going to have to put up a new barrier." Akaia commented. They were closing in on their destination.
"Who's that?" Cyres pointed her slender finger to a figure standing on the platform that the clouds gathered above. As they neared the platform, they noticed who it was. Rio jumped off before they even reached the platform and his grey flames levitated him to Mel.
"Mel!" She was looking at the clouds.
"It's opening." Lightning ripped through the clouds and the thunder roared with power like a lion. The clouds began to swirl.
"Too late!" Cyres said. A golden ring opened in the sky. The ring had different sorts of demons etched into it as well as the body parts of demons moving around. Inside the ring were demons of all kinds, waiting for their moment to enter Assiah.
"Is that-" Rio gulped.
"Gehenna." Akaia looked into the hole in the sky, filled with demons waiting to drop into their world. A set of armor dropped down and instantly filled with grey flames.
"Tanthius." Rio and Akaia said. He laughed.
"Hello my children." He turned to Mel. "Iblis would be delighted to see you."
"Why do you bring him up?" He pointed his flaming broadsword at her. An orange dust entered her body through her mouth.
"Mel!" Rio caught her.
"Rio-" Akaia's sentence was cut off by Rio being thrown across the huge platform. Mel turned to them.
"She's possessed." Cyres said.
"Its funny what love can do." Tanthius chuckled.
"How dare you!" Cyres shouted at Tanthius, who floated thirty feet above them.
"Iblis only does what he's asked of." He turned to Mel. "Iblis, make the girl kill them."
Mel's eyes only glowed orange and her veins glowed orange under her skin. She grew claws and fiery devil features from the fire that danced around her.
"S***." Akaia muttered, looking to Mel, then Tanthius. The flames around Mel were becoming hotter and even her fireproof trenchcoat began to catch fire.
"She's going to be so pissed." Cyres commented.
"This is no time to be making jokes!" Mel's fiery fist almost hit Akaia's chest. She backflipped and landed by Cyres. Mel lunged at them, Akaia readied her weapons. Suddenly, Rio came from their right and slammed into Mel. She staggered a bit, then threw a punch at Rio, who blocked it with Vanquisher. They blocked and returned blows and Akaia quickly joined. She fired rounds into Mel, who swiftly dodged them. Mel seemingly warped in front of Akaia and grabbed her guns. They melted in her touch and she grinned. Akaia tried to let go, but felt Mel's fiery hand catch her wrist. She hefted her across the platform and she slammed into the railing on the other side. Kyubi leaped in front of Cyres to protect her and growled. A black blur slammed into Mel. Akaia and Rio stood shakily with blood dripping from their wounds.
"Morthal?" Akaia muttered. Tanthius turned to her and sent his flaming broadsword into her gut. Akaia fell to her feet. She grabbed the sword and pulled it out of her body. She saw Tanthius grin. She felt the sword pulling towards Tanthius, but she held onto it. Grey flames erupted from her body.
"So, my daughter has finally awakened her powers as well." The tugging on the sword stopped. She let her muscles relax. Then the sword tugged her to Tanthius. If she let go, there would be a chance that she could survive the thirty foot drop. Tanthius stared at her with his empty eye sockets through his armor that spilled out grey flames. She looked down to the ground. If she was going to let go, she'd have to wait for the right moment. She looked up and Tanthius slammed his armored fist into her jaw.
"Cyres, I need an empty magic circle!" Morthal was pinning down Mel, who was thrashing and biting at him like a wild animal. She placed one in his hand and he slammed it onto her head.
"Hi no ō wa, shōjo o kaihō shimasu!" Mel snarled, then the orange dust exited her body and flowed into the gate. Morthal stood and looked at Mel, who lay helpless on the floor. Her body was steaming and her trenchcoat had burns and cuts all over it. Cyres looked up to see Akaia dangling by Tanthius's sword. Grey flames spilled from her body. Tanthius's fiery fist slammed into her face and she fell. Before Cyres had time to call out, Kyubi leaped into the air and caught her.
"Thanks." Akaia muttered. Cyres saw that a bruise was already forming on her jaw. Akaia leaped off Kyubi next to Rio. They smirked.
"Together." Rio held out Vanquisher. It was glowing red, but once Akaia took hold of it, the red aura around it became darker and they both became engulfed in a grey blaze.
"Wait-" Cyres wanted to run up to them, but Morthal stopped her. She looked at him pleadingly but he shook his head slowly. She frowned, then looked at Mel. Demons began falling out of the gate to Gehenna, but as soon as they came near the siblings, they burned up. They both jumped up and flew towards the Gate. Goblins and debris of rock fell on them, but that didn't stop the huge flaming grey dragon that consumed everything that was in their path. Mel began to wake and sat up the moment that the grey dragon collided with the Gate. Morthal, Cyres, and Mel all shielded her eyes. They looked into the sky after the intense grey light. It looked like the Gate was being sucked into the sky and the demons that fell out flew back into the Gate. Rio and Akaia levitated close to Morthal, Cyres, and Mel. Tanthius looked at them.
"Kare, akuma wa, watashi no kotoba o kiite, horobiru." Morthal recited from memory. Tanthius laughed.
"Your silly Verses won't work on the Devil." Tanthius flew towards the open Gate.
"Wait!" Rio called. He flew up at Tanthius, swinging Vanquisher at him. It didn't even reach him and Rio was shot down. He made a small crater in the earth. He dusted rubble off of his uniform. He saw Tanthius enter the closing gate to Gehenna.
"Hey!" Rio shouted at the top of his lungs. "I'm going to beat your ass one of these days!"
The Gate closed and Morthal helped Mel off the ground. She saw Rio, then started walking towards the edge of the platform slowly. He grabbed her hand and spun her around to face him. Morthal placed a hand on their shoulders and pointed to the Academy, which was in ruins. Mel looked at Rio one last time, then jumped off the platform and sprouted her fiery wings. Rio watched her until the beat of her wings died off. Morthal snapped and disappeared in a plume of grey smoke. Akaia clapped a hand to Rio's beaten shoulder.
"We did it." Rio gave a shy smile at this sister's remark. Kyubi walked up to them.
"We're the only ones left to go back." They all climbed on.
"I think Mel is still mad at me." Rio said as Kyubi took off.
"Just give her some time Rio." Cyres said over the rushing wind. He looked off into the distance.

It has been three days since the repair of True Cross Academy started and Akaia and Cyres worked on a classroom alone. The dark green paint was peeling off the walls and most of the desks were in ruins. The room still smelled quite foul and they had to be careful where they walked, so they wouldn't trip over a loose tile. Cyres finished drilling the final screw into the new chalkboard and she stepped down from the ladder.
"Do you know where Rio is?" Cyres looked back at Akaia, who was assembling a desk. "He's supposed to be helping us."
"I think he's-" Tsubaki burst into the room.
"Have you seen Mel?" Akaia and Cyres looked at each other and laughed. Tsubaki looked at the two girls in confusion, then slowly closed the door as he left.

Rio stabbed Vanquisher into a Goblin. It fell to the grass and its blood seeped from its fresh wound. As he pulled out Vanquisher from that one, he swung it around to smash it into another. A Goblin rushed at him from the side and he fired a few rounds into its head. He swung Vanquisher in back of him, slicing off the jaws of the two Goblins behind him. He ducked as one leaped at his head and shot it. He brought Vanquisher to his right and stabbed another in between the eyes. He carried it on Vanquisher and threw it at another incoming Goblin. He turned to see three Goblins rushing at him and shot them down in rapid fire. He quickly turned and sliced the Goblin behind him and swung Vanquisher like a tornado as a swarm surrounded him. Once he stopped spinning, one flew at his head and he cleaved Vanquisher right through it, letting the symmetrical sides of its body hit the ground. He slammed the Goblin to his left with Vanquisher's axe and kicked the one to his right. One knocked him from behind and he fell, its round body crushing him. He grabbed its tiny arms and threw it off of him as he rushed to grab Vanquisher out from a corpse. He ducked from a Goblin that flew at his face and grabbed Vanquisher. He swung it around when it came back. He saw a few more Goblins coming at him from a distance and readied Vanquisher's rifle when suddenly they disappeared from his vision. He was no longer standing in a field, but a concrete room.
"Hey!" He whipped around to see Mel, holding his Virtual Reality Goggles in one hand and the other on her hip. He looked at her trenchcoat, which seemed to be new.
"I knew I'd find you here." Her voice seemed to have returned to the tone he was accustomed to and she smiled at him. He rubbed the back of his head nervously and gave a shy smile. She giggled and tossed his Goggles back at him. He watched her turn her back and take a few paces away from him as he fumbled with the Goggles.
"I know about your past." He said cautiously, hanging the Goggles on a nail in the wall. She didn't move, but he stepped closer to her.
"I'm sorry that I upset you before, but I know now." He frowned towards the ground, then looked up to her back. "So, can we try again?"
She saw her clench her fist as she shuffled her feet. He stared at his shoes.
"I mean, if you have someone else you like, that's alright too since I'm only an Exwire. I guess you'd rather have someone like Lysander because he's powerful- wait, no that's not what I mean. I mean, yes. What I mean is-" He felt Mel's lips press to his again. He was too surprised to even close his eyes. She pulled away and grasped his forearms even tighter.
"When you're nervous, you can't shut up, can you?" She smiled at him. He looked down at her.
"You weren't mad at me?" Mel punched him playfully in the shoulder and stepped back to laugh.
"I was, but you're a good guy Rio." He blushed at her compliment. "Most guys would only like me for my ranking and 'sweet personality'."
She air quoted 'sweet personality' and giggled.
"In some ways, you reminded me of Iblis-"
"You're comparing me to him?" Rio quickly interjected.
"No!" Mel seemed surprised that he would say that. "You've seen me at my best at worst and you still want to try."
"Of course." Rio took her hands and gazed into her ruby eyes. She smiled back at him and stood on her tiptoes. He closed his eyes and brushed his lips over hers.
"I knew it!" Akaia slammed the door open. Rio and Mel jumped apart in surprise. Cyres walked in afterwards with a smile.
"Akaia! Cyres!" Mel exclaimed as they walked closer to her. Akaia pat Mel's shoulder.
"You could have chosen any guy, Mel." Rio pouted. "It doesn't help when you lead them on with your mindless flirting."
"I wouldn't kiss anyone I didn't like though." Mel glanced at Rio. "I was only having some fun with the other boys."
Akaia and Cyres laughed as Rio smiled at the friends.
"You four better get your asses back to the classroom before Morthal expels you!" Tsubaki shouted into the concrete room with anger.
They laughed and ran past him. He looked back to see the four playing as they ran back to the classroom. He sighed and slicked a stray hair into his Elvis hairdo.
"Kids these days." He followed their useless chatter down the hallway. Stray Coal Tar floated across the hallway, into a large crack in the wall. Glowing red eyes glared back and a sharp white grin contrasted against the darkness.