Akuma awoke on a bed layered with plush purple sheets and a soft pillow cradling his head. As if the softness wasn't enough to lull him back into slumber, the sweet scent of jasmine wafted up from my pillow. He was expecting to hear a slight breeze -or even birds chirping in the back- but this room had zero windows.

The space around him was quite small and barely furnished. Only two beds filled it, as well as a ceiling fan slowly rotating, casting a warm glow. For anyone walking in the room, you’d find Akuma occupying the right bed, while Tenshi slept soundly in the other.

Akuma was relieved to see him reverted back to his human form, evident by the sight he let out. Though he was a little confused to see his outfit. He could only see he shoulder up, but from what he could make out, it was some strange matte black bodysuit. Eventually he realized he too was wearing some kind of matte black suit. He could feel it emit a level of heat on his skin. He had no memory of putting it on, so whoever did, had to have been put on him by a pervert.

(It’s really quiet… I wonder where we are.)

“…Guess I’ll go back to bed-”

*SLAM

Suddenly, the wooden door that led into the room burst open with a loud bang. It made an odd noise, one you wouldn’t expect from a wooden door. It sounded more like metal than anything. Standing in the doorway was a girl who couldn’t have been older than 25, dressed as a nun. "Supper is ready!" she announced.

"............”

An awkward silence broke out as the two just looked at each other.

“…So, you’re the pervert who put this on me. Yeah, only a pervert would cosplay as a nun.”

"I am not a cosplayer! Nor am I a pervert." She shouted, embarrassment evident by her flustered cheeks. “And it was grandpa that gave you those clothes.”

“I see… your grandpa. Great guy.”

(Do I know this girl?)

"*Ehem. Excuse my rudeness and I'm sorry for shouting. My name is Rin Ark and I'm Finral's granddaughter.”

"No way…" Akuma went, his face expressing shock. “You mean THE Finral?!”

“Wait, you know h-?”

“Who the hell is Finral?”

“The pope dummy!”

"What was the 'sorry" for if you're just gonna shout aga-?"

"You brothers piss me off, you know that? You guys are so rude. I mean even after I saved you from that monster. Did you see his head suddenly get blown in? Huh? Well, who do you think did that, huh? It was me, that’s who. I did it! I saved your sorry butts… As I was saying earlier, supper is ready so please follow me." Tenshi had finally woken up -most likely from all her yapping- and was gently rubbing his eyes while peeking around. "Good morning, sleeping beauty. The food is ready so hurry downstairs." Following that. She stormed off into the distance.

Even though Akuma was wearing a tight heat generator, the chill in the air felt unusually intense. It was like being pushed into icy water without warning. He shivered his way to the door, rubbing his arms to desperately battle the goosebumps. Tenshi followed closely behind, battling his own shivers. As he approached the doorframe, his curiosity got the best of him, and he grabbed the door to catch a feel.

"Hey. Why'd you suddenly stop? It's freezing man." Tenshi questioned behind him.

(Just as I thought. It's hard. Harder than a normal wooden door should be.)

"Hey!"

(I wonder if it's to protect this building from attacks like the one that happened to us earl-)

His thoughts were interrupted by his impatient brother who decided to knock him to the floor and trample over his fallen body. Some people I tell ya.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! The floor's cold as hell!" Akuma asked, his anger evident as he immediately jolted up.

"Well, I kept calling out to you, and you wouldn't answer!"

"I was thinking!"

"My ass! You can't think worth a damn!"

“Fight me!”

Of course, this led to fighting as they pushed and shoved their way through the hallway and down the long staircase.

The floor below was mostly empty, with just a few tables scattered around and the kitchen at the far end. At the largest table near the kitchen sat the nun cosplayer and the priest from earlier.

"Good evening, you two" the priest greeted, ignored by the two fighting.

"I think way more than you! You, stupid head!"

"That's not even a good insult you damn, mop head!"

"We have the same hairstyle, you baldie!"

“……..”

They were clearly too busy with their "discussion" as one might put it.

"GRANDPA'S TALKING TO YOU TWO!!"

*Clock! *POW!!

…

The old man cleared his throat -that seemed to be a habit for this family- as the two brothers sat across from him. "Sorry about that. Rin can be a bit trigger happy at times."

"Tuh. It's their own fault." She added, crossing her arms.

By now, Akuma was getting a bit antsy. The abnormal chill was starting to get to him. “Umm, Sir.” He addressed Finral. “Why is it so cold?"

".........."

They both stared directly into his eyes, maintaining an odd silence. Meanwhile, Tenshi was busy devouring the porridge they’d been served. Such a fat soul.

"Why are you guys ignoring my question?"

"What question?" Finral asked.

"Why is it so col-"

"I want to start off by giving you my sincerest apologies." Finral began.

(Holy crap. These people are for real…)

"Where should I start..."

"START WITH MY DAMN QUESTION, YOU FOSSIL!!"

“...I’ll start with this: Firstly, I’m not actually Rin’s grandpa. I’m her distant ancestor.”

“Distant? Wait, how old are you?”

“Ehh… Like a million or something? I forgot.”

“Gah-?! Who the hell forgets something like that!”

“It happens. But the next thing I have to tell you is... hmm. There’s no good way to say this so I'll just say it... Do you boys remember when we first met, and I attempted to break Tenshi's seals?"

"Yeah?" They questioned in unison.

"Basically, I did a pretty rough job. Which may or may not have caught the attention of the demons…"

"…Huh."

"Yeeah…"

"Then that monster that attacked us… That was your fault?"

"Haha... Pretty much."

"THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING FOR?!!"

"My bad-my bad. But look at the bright side. Your training starts now."

Akuma stared at him, confused. Even Tenshi stopped eating, or rather he just finished eating. "Training!?” Akuma questioned. “The hell are we training for exactly?" Maybe he was crazy, but Akuma had a hunch Finral was just trying to sound like some old o.p character from an anime. Does this guy even watch anime? For some reason, he felt like his old persona was just a facade, and he still had a youthful spirit in there.

"Ehm... War and stuff.” Finral answered. “I would hate for another demon to show up, while you boys are unequipped."

"While we’re on the subject, what are demons?" Tenshi asked. He sat with both arms crossed and only one eye opened. I guessed that was his idea of "looking cool". What a loser.

To Finral's right, who had been nodding her head continuously this entire time, Rin was the one to answer. "The demon race is split into four main groups: The ones at the bottom of the pyramid are called 'fiends'. They come in many shapes and colors, but to put it in terms you'd understand, they're like the shed skin of Nephilim. In other words, mere foot soldiers."

Tenshi and Akuma were more than a little disappointed to hear that. They understand they were new to all this, but to think that they put well over 130% into that fight, and still almost died to a mere grunt was quite depressing to the ears.

Rin continued with her explanation as such:

"Above them are the Nephilim. What sets them apart from the rest is their huge bodies -and I mean HUGE bodies. Of course, they wouldn't be any problem for someone of my level.

Above them are what we call 'Asuras'. If they look human to you, then it's because they were. In short, they're people who have not only committed evil atrocities, but have also sold their souls to Lucifer. And in return, they get special privileges of demons."

"Special privileges?" The two questioned.

"Yep. There's a core inside of hell. As long as that core is up, the demons will respawn even if you kill them."

(Respawn… Interesting way to put it.)

"Y'know, you don't have that smug tone this time. Can you not take one in a fight?" Tenshi questioned her. Oddly, I was also interested in her reply.

"No, I couldn't..."

They were a little surprised by her response. I think somewhere in their minds they imagined Rin to be some absolute unit on the battlefield. Guess she's useless after all.

"What about you?" Tenshi restated his question, but this time for Finral.

Akuma gulped down as he awaited his response, hoping for a satisfactory answer. This guy was clearly the O.P sensei he saw all the time in anime, so if he couldn't do it, then it's safe to say we're screwed.

"Boy, I have walked the earth for millions of years, mastering all that hoshi has to offer. And you ask such a foolish question? …Of course not."

They dropped to the ground in disappointment.

(Damn faker! I've watched enough anime to know your secretly o.p. as hell.)

Rin cleared her throat once again to get their attention as she readied herself to pick up where she left off. "That just leaves the last group…" Her body began to tremble from the mere mention of these individuals.

"…Amon the King of Diamonds,

Frankenstein the King of Clubs,

Kagutsuchi the Jack of Diamonds,

Hel the Queen of Spades,

and lastly

Dracula the Jack of Hearts.

...Though small in numbers, they are monsters beyond anything you could understand. We have come to call these demons by one name…The 5 Catastrophes. And leading these five, is one man. The evilest of scum. Lucifer."

(Oh no. They sound badass.)

"No need to worry about such matters right now.” Finral said, a chuckle escaping his lips. “You boys wouldn't mind losing a bit of your soul, yes?"

"Huh?" they asked in confusion.

"Well, it doesn't matter." Raising his cane towards the two, he conjured an army of shimmering silver stars that enveloped the entire area, surrounding them completely. I could call them beautiful, but that would hardly do them justice. Dazzling might be a better fit, but even then, I still feel iffy. Then the pries began a chant:

"He who is my catalyst, lend me vigor.

The soul sleeps within, while I sleep without

Come forth thou inner and accept thou offer!

Come forth!!”

A serene, misty black aura emanated from our skin, swirling gently around us. Soon after, this aura began to stretch toward the staff, as if reaching out to a beloved companion. The tips of our auras touched the staff, and then, like a bubble, they separated, leaving two small orbs of aura behind. The orb from my aura transformed into a radiant gold, while Tenshi's faded into a rich crimson. That’s when something strange occurred. Like a storm, Tenshi’s orb started to crackle with thunder and lightning, wreaking havoc on the nearby furniture and belongings. Rin and Akuma shielded their faces from the sparks, while Finral gripped his staff tightly, attempting to stabilize the soul, but it was all in vain. The orb swelled and then burst like a balloon.

"Umm… Is that supposed to happen?" Akuma questioned sarcastically.

"Obviously not!" Rin shouted.

(It was a rhetorical question, woman! Geez, does this girl have any friends?)

Finral was visually the most taken aback, dropping his staff and leaping from his seat.

Akuma’s orb floated above the table, gently bobbing up and down, appearing quite stable, unlike the “other one”. Tuh. Noob. Finral hurried to the opposite side of the table and placed his palm on Tenshi's forehead, pouring all his focus into whatever he was attempting to do.

In that moment, he felt like he was immersed in an infinite sea. He dove deeper and deeper, yet it seemed he was making no progress. Suddenly, the environment shifted dramatically. The vibrant blue waters transformed into a dark crimson hue, resembling a vast ocean of blood. He yearned to plunge even further, but beneath him lay an abyss of utter darkness. Gathering his courage, he continued to descent. But before he could cover much ground, a vision of pure malevolence appeared before him. A sinister grin emerged from the depths, as if he were staring directly at the devil himself.

Like a disc ejected from a malfunctioning player, he was abruptly expelled from Tenshi’s inner being and returned to the ordinary world. "I couldn't tell you why…” He went, catching his breath. “…but it seems there's someone or something disconnecting your soul from anything on the outside."

Right away, Akuma could tell he was hiding something, it was written all over Finral’s face. But he wasn’t going to pry.

"Well, no Tamashi for you." Rin interjected unexpectedly.

“………….”

"What’s a Tamashi?" Tenshi inquired. Akuma had the same question, but the last thing he was going to do was ask this stuck-up woman anything.

Rin smirked at the question, puffing out her chest. "Fu-fu. You want to know?"

"Yeah, on second thought, I'm alright."

Smart man.

Finral stepped away from Tenshi and picked up my aura blob from the table. "Alright, gentlemen, I’m off. While I’m away, Rin will give you the basics."

He took a deep breath, as a thought came to his mind.

(So, the child of prophecy is finally awakened. No, it isn’t quite complete… Let’s hope it stays that way. For if the AntiGod is born, then it’d spell the end for humanity.)

*Swoosh!

In an instant, he’d disappeared, leaving only a soft breeze in his wake. For all they knew, he could be halfway across the globe by now.

Rin sighed, walked over to the hideout’s entrance and said something quite peculiar. "Well, you heard him. Come on, let’s head outside..."

"Shouldn't we get dressed first?" I asked.

"Hmmm.” She thought, tapping her chin. “Nah, I think it's better this way."

She swung open the door to the hideout, and the two could’ve sworn they almost died. A blast of frigid air rushed in, revealing a landscape of white hills and endless snow. Then it all clicked. The abnormal frosty air. The freezing cold floor. And porridge that got cold almost instantly. These three were smack dab in the middle of antarctica. Akuma now realized why they woke up with heated body suits.

Rin grinned as they shivered against the cold. Unfortunately, she seemed completely unfazed by it. Unfortunately… "Your first lesson begins now!"