A man tilted his head back and puffed out a stream of hazy white smoke. He flashed a pearly white smile when he heard footsteps approaching him, already having an idea of who it was. "Dante, have you decided to join me for a smoke break?"

Dante glared at him fiercely with his good eye. His left eye was adorned with a black eyepatch. "Shouldn't you be finishing that paperwork on your desk instead of smoking, Liam!" he fumed.

Liam blinked a few times in surprise before laughing out loud. "Aw, come on. Ease up a little. Besides, it's due tomorrow, so I'll just do it later today," he said with a soft smile as he looked through the purple-tinted lenses of his sunglasses over at Dante.

Annoyance flickered across Dante's face. "You're also the same person who easily forgets, and you know the second batch of rookies will be arriving today," he announced before he snatched the cigarette out of Liam's hand, causing a small sigh to escape his lips.

"You know, if you wanted a cigarette, you could've just asked; I have a whole box after all, instead of you snatching mine," Liam pointed out. He didn't bother saying another word when Dante ignored him and blew out a plume of smoke.

"You're as grumpy as ever this morning," Liam teased with a smile, earning him a frown from Dante. He craned his head back and looked up at the azure blue sky above, littered with fluffy white clouds. "I still can't believe seven years have passed since Lena has been in charge of this organization."

Dante's dark blue eyes flickered over to Liam after he heard his comment. "I'm still damn annoyed they didn't let us join in the fight against that monster," he snapped.

Liam couldn't help but chuckle. Dante was still as stubborn as ever, and after all these years, the man still hadn't changed. "You do realize that we were rookies at the time and would've only gotten in the way, right?" he announced.

Dante's eye narrowed before he handed the half-gone cigarette. "Like they did any good that day. They could've used more people," he said before tucking his hands into his pocket.

"Damn, that's cold," Liam teased as his violet eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint. He knew that Dante was still upset over feeling useless that day when people were out there losing their lives while the two of them did nothing but train that day.

Liam's mouth hung open when he heard Dante click his tongue in irritation before walking away. "The first years are going to love you, that's for sure," he playfully mocked as he walked alongside Dante.

"You're much better when you don't talk," Dante declared as he looked straight ahead, pretending that Liam was a ghost he couldn't hear or see.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you for now. But try not to be too harsh on the rookies; otherwise, you'll scare them away like the last ones," Liam explained. He remembered the one year Dante was in charge of greeting all the new members on their arrival, and it wasn't pretty.

"Don't expect me to sugarcoat anything," Dante mentioned as he pushed open a door and walked inside.

Yep, things are going to go the same as last time, Liam thought with a smile as he already imagined the freaked-out expressions everyone would have after Dante was done.

—--

Selena stared at the red envelope with a golden seal on her bed. She softly shook her head before clenching her fists. What am I getting so worked up for? Everything will be alright.

"I accept your invitation," Selena called out. She reached over and traced the rose engraved into the gold seal. Her eyes widened when a purple surge of energy emitted from the letter.

It swirled around her. The energy blew upward, pushing her light violet hair in every direction. She squeezed her eyes shut when a blinding light consumed her whole. When she reopened them, a gasp left her lips when various-sized buildings greeted her.

Her dark violet eyes flickered to the left and right. She could see people all around her wearing the organization's uniform. Just great, I have no idea where I'm supposed to go from here, she thought as she grimaced as unease chewed at her.

Maybe if I walk around, I'll find the welcoming ceremony building, Selena thought. She glanced over at the beautiful flower beds decorating the cobblestone pavement. After walking around for a couple of minutes, she felt her eyebrow twitch when she still hadn't found what she was looking for.

"You gotta be kidding me," Selena fumed as she stomped her right foot. She let out a defeated sigh and crossed her arms, unsure of what to do next.

"The buildings here can be pretty tricky on the first day," a man spoke up from behind her, causing her to jolt.

Selena turned on her heels to face them. Before her, she saw a man with short, silky bubblegum hair and blue eyes that could rival the ocean. A warm smile adorned his lips that could light up an entire room.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just felt bad seeing you struggle to navigate the place," the man said as he rubbed the back of his head with a goofy smile.

"Did you have any idea what building is holding the ceremony to welcome the new recruits for the organization? I'm worried that I'm already late," Selena asked him. The last thing she wanted to do was make a bad impression on anyone.

The man's eyes sparkled as a big smile appeared on his lips. "You're in luck. It's the building just over there," he said as he pointed to the right. "You have about ten minutes; if you head over there now, you shouldn't be late. Trust me, the last thing you want to do is get on Dante's bad side," he joked as a chuckle escaped him.

"Thanks a lot," Selena said, feeling a bit of relief flood her system. She quickly ran past him in the direction he had told her.

The man nearly chuckled when she almost tripped in her panicked state when she had more than enough time to slow down a bit instead of running there. He reached up and held his chin, "She's kind of hot," he mumbled quietly to himself.

—--

Selena opened the door to the building and placed her hands on her knees as she struggled to catch her breath. When she looked up, her eyes went wide. She lost count of the number of seats that were unoccupied.

Is this really the number of new recruits? Selena wondered as she quietly took a seat. Her attention went to the man with black, messy, shoulder-length hair with an eyepatch in the front of the room. To his right was a man with short-neatly combed, dirty blonde hair and sunglasses nearly hiding his eyes.

The blonde-haired man cleared his throat. "As the second batch of new recruits, it's an honor to have you here. I'm Liam Verlice," he said as he placed his hand over his heart. "The man to my left is Dante Pierce. He might look menacing, but he's actually pretty caring---" he was about to open his mouth before Dante started talking over him, causing a nervous chuckle to leave him.

"I'm going to cut to the chase. You're here because you want to fight against The Demon King and put an end to his reign. Some of your parents were probably exorcists, or maybe you were interested because you wanted to stop that demon. But remember, this isn't a game, and you could die at any moment. So, if you're afraid of dying, then leave now," Dante announced with an ominous tone.

The room grew quiet, and some whispers filled the air. But, not a single person rose from their seat to leave.

"Damn it, Dante, you didn't have to be that harsh," Liam grumbled lowly as he cupped his hand over his mouth so the only person who could hear him was Dante.

"I told you I'm not a person who sugarcoats things, and they should have the truth thrown in their faces just to make sure they haven't forgotten that detail," Dante stated. His eyes flickered away from Liam and back at everyone before him.

"As you know, you've been advised not to try to use your powers until you were twenty-one years old because a person's powers do not fully manifest until then. It's also dangerous because you don't have a key in your possession," Dante explained as he dug into his pocket before holding out a gold key.

A bright light surrounded the key as it swiftly morphed into a jet-black gun. "It helps you regulate your powers and can transform into various weapons."

"Since you're all new to this organization, you'll assume the rank first year; think of this place as a university," Dante mentioned as his lips curved up into a grin.

"The road won't be an easy one if we don't have any cowards who want to leave now and waste my time. Then we can dive into things right away," Dante stated. He held a devilish look in his eye, already determined to work them to the bone until he was proud of them.