He heard a gentle female voice call out to him. Turning around, he smiled.

"Now I know I'm dreaming," he said.

His smile quickly faded into sadness, and tears began streaming down his face.

"You promised me... You promised everything would be okay."

The girl walked toward him, gently cupping his face and lifting his head.

"Come find me," she whispered. "Because I still believe that even in death, we can find happiness."

She slowly began drifting farther away from him.

"Where are you?! Please tell me!" Davonte yelled as tears poured from his eyes. "Don't leave me!"

He suddenly jolted awake.

The first thing he saw was Tama sitting beside the window, quietly staring at him.

"Bad dream, huh?" she asked.

"If what I had was a bad dream... then I don't think I've ever experienced a good one."

Tama pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, lit one, then offered another to Davonte.

"Do you smoke?"

"Nah. I'm pretty sure I'm still underage."

He got out of bed, placed a chair in front of her, and sat down.

"So... are you gonna tell me who that angel guy was?"

"His name is Julius. He's one of the Four Knights of Royalty, an elite squad formed to protect the children of the King of Heaven."

"The King of Heaven? So... basically God?"

"No. The King of Heaven is handpicked by the Divine Creator."

"The Divine Creator?"

"Yep. Apparently, he created everything that exists, so most people believe he's what humans would call God."

Davonte stood up and put on the top half of his Cleaner uniform.

"Well... that still didn't answer my first question."

Tama also stood and put on her uniform.

"If you're really that curious, go ask Yukei."

"You're right... but first we need somewhere to sleep."

The two looked around at what was left of their destroyed hotel room.

Just then, Sai walked in.

"Hey guys, I found us a place to crash for the night."

He looked around the ruined room before asking,

"Where's Yukei?"

"She was feeling down, so she went for a walk," Davonte answered.

The three gathered their belongings and left the demolished hotel.

"Uhm... Davonte, I've been meaning to ask you something," Sai said.

"What is it?"

"That woman... who is she?"

"It's Tama. The guy from earlier."

"...WHAT?!"

"Yep. Don't ask her why. She gets pretty sensitive about it."

"Man... this kind of stuff is bad for my soul."

Later, they met up with Yukei and followed Sai to the place he had found.

It was an old barn on a local farmer's land.

"This is the place you found?" Davonte asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm not sleeping here," Yukei complained.

"This place is disgusting," Tama added.

"Well, it's the best twenty dollars could get us," Sai replied. "Besides, this city is so broke there's only one hotel."

"...And we destroyed it," Yukei muttered.

"Yep."

Silence filled the barn for a moment.

Eventually, everyone gave up complaining and spent the night there.

---

The following morning, Tama gathered everyone together.

"Today we're meeting the Street Cleaners of South Bisilia. But remember... according to our intel, the Base Commander might be working with the demons."

The group traveled for several hours before arriving at a surprisingly small Cleaner headquarters.

"Wow... how broke is this city?" Sai asked.

Davonte stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Before anyone answered, Tama activated her ability and transformed back into her male appearance.

Sai's eyes widened.

He hadn't believed Davonte before.

The door slowly opened.

Standing there was a tall man with an annoyed expression.

"You must be the Cleaners HQ sent. Please, come in."

The group nervously followed him inside.

The local Cleaners silently stared at them as they walked through the building, making Sai even more uncomfortable.

Eventually, they stopped outside a large office.

"Please excuse me," the man said. "I need to make sure our captain is ready to see you."

He quietly stepped inside.

Almost immediately, loud shouting erupted from the room.

"You dumbass! I told you to get rid of this crap!"

"A real man never stops gambling!"

"Damn it! That's why we're broke!"

"Minna, why do you keep letting him do this when guests are coming?!"

"Maybe if you behaved, HQ would finally increase our budget!"

The shouting continued for another minute before everything suddenly went quiet.

The man stepped back outside.

"The captain is ready to see you now."

Davonte and the others awkwardly exchanged glances before entering the office.

Sitting behind the desk was a young-looking dark-skinned man with crimson eyes and messy dark hair. Despite his youthful appearance, there was a commanding presence about him.

He smiled.

"Welcome, fellow Cleaners."

"My name is Jin Harima..."

"And I am the captain of the South Bisilia Cleaner Base."

End.