Colonel Io had been born without magic. She had been born without the power to shape elemental energies or to weave dreams into reality. She had been born without the affinity for Telesma and Heaven’s blessing. She had been born without Mana or the power to interface with Celestial Energy.

She even lacked the skill to use Alchemic Energy and when she tried, she felt her mind run over as she tried to understand how to create energy from Ex Nihilo.

As such when Io had been growing up in the countryside, she had had a sense of wonder ingrained deep into her about the nature of magic and all that it could do along with the stories of heroes and Gods.

Yet when she had joined the army, she had a secret terror implanted into her, one that bloomed fully as she came to realise that as a member of the army, she was nothing more than a meat shield for the Mages and Sorcerers that could outlive entire nations.

As such she came to see magic as both wonderful and terrifying, and knew anyone stupid enough to fight it head on would only be destroyed.

Seeing this as a truth, Io began to view those that wielded magic as impossible beings beyond the reach of mortal men and women, beings who if you successfully killed, might one day reincarnate and if they felt like it, track you down and kill you.

However this hidden truth that lay deep in Io’s heart, hidden away from her fellow servicemen and women so as not to upset them, was both proven right and subverted when Ivan Stein had joined the Western army.

For Ivan had taught to anyone who would listen that while magic fought head on was only going to end in your death unless you yourself possessed mightier magic, if you fought with mankind’s greatest attribute, then you would succeed.

And according to Io mankind’s greatest attribute wasn’t their strength or speed or even their ability to spread across the world, it was their imagination, their ability to innovate and create new and wondrous things.

With this ideal in mind, Ivan rose up to the role of General as he proved that by fighting with tricks and traps, strategy and tactics, gadgets and gizmos, then mankind could overcome magic and in doing so Ivan had taken the Western army and turned it into the force it was today, one that always prevailed, one that stood tall and proud. An army made of men that stood equal to the Elemental Guard, to the Heavenly Seraphim and any other force that existed both inside and outside the Empire of Geb.

Which was why hearing about the Pirate King, Hawk had made Io turn very, very pale, for Io knew the weight and wonder of magic and someone who could defy that was worthy of fear and respect.

Especially when he had walked headlong into a Witch’s Territory, fought against a Mad Paladin, an Angelic Gunslinger, a Demon Cleric and a Fire Mage, and had only walked away, because he had feared losing more men.

And Hawk had only performed this impossible task with a tricked out pistol, a sword and a healing potion.

Io was aware that Lillian had stated this most likely meant Hawk was either immortal or capable of reincarnating, but either option left Io with the knowledge that this man had endured lifetimes and come out of it with the pure human skills needed to overturn everything that Io believed in.

Letting out a breath, Io used her training to refocus her mind so that she could read the rest of the reports that the God Squad had turned in. Reading through the documents on her desk, Io came to realise that the God Squad were so powerful and mighty that they failed to realise how these incidents looked to ordinary human eyes.

Each event was enough to shake Io, not because of the horror that had transpired but from the implications that it would have on the future of the Empire of Geb.

With the first and foremost being that the Demon King of Faith had tried to sabotage the faith between nations as a backup plan to failing to defeat the God Squad, and had almost succeeded. Yet from what was written in the reports, Io was all but certain that at least from Grey’s perspective that Ulkry had done this on the spur of the moment.

Knowing that this Demon King had almost created a second war front made her pause and count what blessings she could find, even as she read that the likelihood of a Vampire nation rising was all but certain from the way that Carmilla had spoken.

Groaning as the nightmare seemed to get worse, Io turned from the reports on her desk to look at the God Squad seated before her, each of them silent and still enough that if she hadn’t know better, Io would have thought that they were sitting in judgement of her or at the very least looking down on her.

Massaging her head as she felt a headache creeping up on her, Io spoke out to the waiting God Squad.

“Did you confirm Hawk’s story about how he bested Cedric Wolfheart?” asked Io, already knowing the answer.

“It’s all right there in the report,” replied Aleister, confused and a little wary that Io was asking questions that would be answered in the reports if only she kept reading.

“I’d rather hear it as these reports are giving me everything but an ulcer,” said Io with distaste as she pushed the reports away from her. Hearing this, Grey Silverman stifled a laugh but not without Io noticing.

Frowning at the Mad Paladin, Io put it out of her mind as she knew that trying to reason out a madman’s mindset was an exercise in madness in and of itself.

“Yes, Hawk’s claims were true,” said Lillian calmly as she looked Io in the eye, her gaze filled with respect. “I had the chance to examine him as we passed by and he lost two of his six kraken arms to the Hawk and is still a bit broken from the ordeal.”

“Broken how?” asked Io latching on to the word and the details that it might reveal.

“Emotionally, you try having someone carve pieces of you off your body and eat them, then wait for them to grow back enough to repeat the process,” said Lillian as she looked down as if some half hidden memory was lurking deep inside her mind.

“So he took the Knight of the Nile out of commission,” said Io as she pondered how much effort Hawk had to expend to break the heart of someone that had proven to be so strong in the past.

“You’re not going to go to war with them now that he’s no longer blocking your access across the river?” asked Edward in concern, his voice magically emanating from the coverings of his ruined mouth.

Quickly looking at Edward with a hint of reproach, Io could see that Edward was truly concerned about the fate of the Knight of the Nile. Whether it was from the fact that Edward truly admired and had befriended the man or simply in gratitude for the Knight not caring about Edward’s physical appearance, Io couldn’t tell, but she did know that he was different from the boy that had passed through here on his way to the Witch’s house.

“No, we will not be going to war on a second front and neither will they, especially with the bridge connecting the two areas being reconstructed, a silver lining about Ulkry’s attack if there ever was one.”

“But,” prompted Grey as he seemed to zone into the conversation.

“Carmilla’s actions mean that someone out there hidden from us is building a new nation, one for monsters and if we don’t end the war with the Wolfskard soon then we might be attacked on multiple sides, and that never ends well,” said Io as she looked down at the paperwork before her, her eyes lost as she contemplated what could go wrong if such an event unfurled, and how many lives could be lost.

“It concerns me too,” said Lillian with an intensity that made Io instinctively flinch backwards, a flinch that she was barely able to contain.

“Yes, but unfortunately that is the truth of all the wars that have spread throughout the world of Geb,” said Io in remorse, “the next war has already begun before the last war has even ended.”

“Indeed, but what concerns me the most is the fact that these Vampires could be amassing anywhere they desire and we would have no way of telling where they are,” said Lillian as she searched Io with her bronze eyes. Eyes that mirrored Argon’s in colour but different in intensity and with what emotions they held.

Pausing as she looked at the Dragon in human skin before her, Io had to admit that the idea of a Vampire army was as horrifying as it sounded, especially since it was well known that Vampires were capable of creating undead and shapeshifting, and an army made of them would be beyond mundane human’s might.

“Aleister said that the plan was to pass through the town of Ulkiss,” said Lillian after Io failed to respond.

“Yes, but that’s not to check if there are Vampires amassing there,” said Io with certainty, “The only reason we’re heading there is, because travelling along this route will enable us to pick up weapons and other supplies from the Southern army and the Alchemist Guild. And from there we will head to the east and the Wolfskard battlefields. Although having said that, we will be delaying our departure for a while,” said Io as she looked at those present to see how they would respond.

“What?” asked Aleister suspiciously as if he was uncertain about something, or if he suspected that something more was at play, “Did you think we would take that much longer to get Lillian to come back?”

“What month is it?” asked Io with a faint smile as if she already expected the responses that she would get.

Blinking, Grey who sat at the back of the room let out a dark chuckle that made the rest of the room glance at him before turning back to look at Io who smiled with respect that Grey had figured it out.

“Clever,” admitted Lillian, “If we are to fight the Werewolf hordes then we best do it without the light of the blue moon to grant them extra power and alternate forms.”

Seeing the Maw brothers blink before the light of understanding dawned on them, Io glanced at Jane who had remained silent throughout the meeting as if she had already guessed it.

“We’re nearing the end of the sixth month,” said Edward as if thinking out loud, more because he could than because he needed to, “So without the blue moon, Leto to grant them access to their Direwolf form then we only have to deal with their Wolfman form and that’s only when the silver moon is in the sky,” said Edward as if reciting from something.

“More or less,” said Io, in confirmation that Edward was on the right track, “Despite the fact that the blue moon is going to disappear from the sky for the next six months, Mirror launched his war at this time which makes us think that he has something hidden up his sleeve or worse he doesn’t care about his troops and they’re only needed to protect his fellow Espers from harm,” said Io as she contemplated the idea and despite the fact that the enemy comprised of monsters, she had to admit if that was all Mirror was going to use them for then she really hoped that he died screaming.

Closing her eyes briefly so that she could dispel the thoughts from her head, Io looked back at the God Squad and saw that they were waiting for her to continue.

“Truthfully, we did expect things to take longer when it came to Lillian, but we never expected the likes of Hawk to get involved,” said Io as she felt her cheeks lose what colour they had gained. For in the back of her mind, she was aware that if the enemy had even more like him on their side then the battle ahead would not be as streamlined as they had hoped.

“Did Argon really believe that I would be so stubborn?” asked Lillian with something between approval and amusement filling her voice. “And did he really believe that I would allow them to remain long enough to convince me to join?”

“Ask him yourself,” said Io gently, “Argon and Ivan will be in Eurus and they will control the battlefield when you all go off to war.”

Taking in this piece of information, Lillian went silent, her eyes looking into the distance as if thinking about how she would face the General that had sent people into her quiet corner of the world to overturn it.

“Alright since you’re all ahead of schedule, take the next few days off and ready yourself for what is to come,” said Io as she looked into the faces of those present to make sure that they understood her.

Nodding their heads, the God Squad got to their feet and began to leave when Grey spoke up, the tone of his voice betraying the madness crawling through his mind.

“When we do get to the City of Dead Blood, will we be checking for the Scions of the King of Blood?” asked the Mad Paladin, his eyes gleaming with the desire to meet the ancient creatures rumoured to have been alive before Svar’s Sin.

“Yes,” said Io simply as she knew that it was better to delay the army than to risk a serious threat that would require the assembled might of the different forces of the Empire of Geb.

Narrowing her eyes, Lillian glanced at both Jane and Grey before each nodded their heads, fully aware that each of them wanted to get their hands on the Vampires for different reasons, while Aleister and Edward seemed to have fallen into a silent conversation.

Leaving the room, the God Squad departed in the direction of their prearranged living quarters, while Io found herself alone in her office.

Sighing thoughtfully as she gave a quick glance over the paper work scattered across her magic desk, Io reached down and pulled one of the drawers open and lifted her Mirror Scroll out of the draw.

Putting the mirror on the desk before her, Io tapped it with her gloved hands and waited for the image to form.

Glowing with the distinct blue/cyan glow of Mana, the mirror turned from a reflection of Io into a small window that showed Ivan, Argon and Rin Hono on the other side of the rectangular screen propped up on her desk.

“I take it you heard everything and have had a chance to go over the reports,” said Io, knowing that even if the three before her said otherwise they would in truth have already grasped everything she had been told by the God Squad.

“Yes, we heard and read it all,” said Ivan in monotone, but with haste so that he could get the issue out in the open before the other two could interfere and start up some antics.

Seeing the other two present on the other side of the Mirror glance at Ivan, one with amusement and the other in bewilderment, Io had to blink in surprise at seeing her normally impossibly stoic boss acting with noticeable human emotion.

“Anyway, I’m glad we allowed for the extra time as the City of Dead Blood should not be transversed with only humans present,” said Argon seriously, something that made everyone take note of what he was saying. “While Vampire activity in that city has been at a record low, I’m worried there might be other forces in there who will affect our forces worse than any Vampire could.”

Looking at Argon, both Ivan and Rin nodded their heads in tandem, knowing full well something that made Io shift nervously at being left in the unknown.

Picking up on this fact, Argon gave her a thoughtful look before speaking, his charisma leaking through the image, making Io sit up a little bit straighter.

“You can ask what we’re talking about,” said Argon, a soft kindness filling his voice.

“What else is at Ulkiss?” asked Io with a rising suspicion that the answer would be one that would bring with it all manner of trouble and dread.

“It’s in the name,” said Ivan, his voice with no emotion, “The city is truly one founded by Vampires back in the ancient past, but the truth is that it got its name from the time that Ulkry visited and altered the Vampires present. What we fear is that the recent Demon activity means that any Demons connected to the town will be out in force, if not worse.”

“So that’s why you wanted us to wait for the God Squad to join up with us,” said Io as she immediately began to plan how this would work and how she could get the God Squad to help protect her fellow soldiers.

“Yes and unfortunately, we never installed Mirror Wards in the town so we can’t even be sure if the place has been cut off from the network,” said Rin, clearly unhappy with having to leave such a hole in their security system.

“We had to,” said Ivan stoically, “The Vampires that were there wanted to remain undiscovered and offered up valuable information to get their privacy.”

“Oh, I know and remember,” said Rin with obvious distaste at the subject matter. “Doesn’t mean that I can’t wish we did things differently.”

“What was the information?” asked Io cautiously, knowing full well that there were things that the four Generals kept to themselves and didn’t tell their subordinates no matter what, especially when it came to magic.

“Let’s just say we offered them exemption from surveillance, if they reported to us the movements of Alucard,” said Argon with a grin that was almost bestial.

Hearing the name of the King of Blood, Io paused before shaking herself free of her fright, knowing that locating and keeping tabs on such an individual was well worth the price paid, especially considering that the Vampire King was worth a thousand Vampire Armies.

“Alright any other orders for me?” asked Io as she had already begun to jot down some notes and ideas that she could use to get the God Squad to ward the train from Demons.

“Yes. I want you to accompany our forces and when you arrive here, you will be in charge of leading them on the battlefield as my second,” said Ivan without a hint of emotion, but Io felt a small burst of pride as she knew that Ivan would never ask this of her if he didn’t believe that she could handle it.

“Alright then,” said Io trying to hold back a smile, “I will see you at Eurus.”

Nodding the three rulers of Geb’s various forces disconnected, causing the Mirror to revert back to its normal reflective visuals, a visual of Io grinning with delight that she of the four different Colonels had been selected with such an important task.

And even though that task meant that she was going to have to bear the weight and responsibility of the Arthurian Empire’s future, Io couldn’t be happier knowing that her hard work and willpower had paid off.

Sitting atop the roof of the barracks for the Western army, Edward looked up at the starry sky and waited patiently for the last blue moon of the year to rise before disappearing beyond the horizon for the next six months.

And as he waited for the moon to rise, Edward looked around and saw the various different zodiac signs that adorned the Heavens, each one holding a tale of how it had formed and what it meant, all 26 of the Zodiac signs bearing a past that might still yet affect the future.

Looking away from the sky, Edward looked down to his Mirror Scroll and the various different icons hidden inside the glowing screen, each one representing the different field of study that he had thrown himself into ever since he had discovered the dual nature of his magic.

“Enjoying the view?” asked a voice from behind Edward, a voice whose owner Edward had failed to sense coming.

“Hello Lillian,” said Edward telepathically, unbothered by her sudden appearance from behind him, as he knew that only someone of her ilk or strength could slip past his defences at least while in this city. And for all that his brother would scold him for letting his guard down, Edward trusted Lillian enough that if she wanted to slip through his defences, then he didn’t mind.

“Hello Edward,” replied Lillian out loud as she sat down next to him. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Yes. Actually I never really watched the stars before, but they have a beauty to them,” said Edward as he tilted his head upwards to look at the stars that glimmered back down at him, his face trying and failing to smile.

Seeing the look on his face, Lillian gave a small, sad smile of her own as she turned her own face up to look at the stars and the feelings of remembrance they gave her.

“You came here to watch the stars?” asked Lillian as she turned to look at her fellow teammate.

“Yes, but more importantly I came to see the last of the blue moon,” said Edward as he looked to the east where the first faint traces of the moon were rising over the horizon causing the sky to be filled with a blue luminescence.

Looking towards the east which was beyond Edward who sat beside her, Lillian took a moment to dwell on her vast knowledge before she spoke.

“Just because they won’t have the blue moon to empower them, the Werewolves of the Wolfskard won’t be without other forms of power to call their own. Both the red and silver moons will still fill the sky, possibly even at the same time,” said Lillian with remorse as she turned her gaze on the young man beside her, “They will still fight and they will die beneath the feet of this empire. And you might have to kill them.”

Hearing this, Edward turned to look at Lillian and saw that there was something else weighing upon her.

“I know that I will have to fight and even kill humans with souls,” said Edward, “but what’s weighing on your mind?”

“I feel like I’ve seen this all before. War and Death, Horror and Terror, in the end they all feel the same and the notion of these two forces colliding is making something in the back of my mind itch,” said Lillian as she shook her head as if hoping to dispel it, knowing that it was her old self trying to wake up and destroy her. “I think I’ve had wars fought over me before.”

Unsure of what to say, Edward looked down at his Mirror Scroll that he had acquired from Jane, before briefly raising it to catch the blue moon half risen over the distant horizon. An image that would be forever recreated inside the Mirror Scroll Edward held in his hands.

Looking at the mirror in his hand, Edward spoke out loud, his Demon voice filling the quiet of the night and making Lillian turn her distant eyes back to the present.

“I used to see my brother fight tooth and nail to keep me safe, not from monsters or Demons but from those born of Angel lineage. And as I grew up and they realised that I could use their magic made even the humans who had simply desired that I be hidden away turn on me and yet my brother fought them off,” said Edward, his Demon voice traced with sorrow at the fact that his brother’s life had been consumed by the crusade to save his. “So yes I know what it is like to have wars fought over you. I know what it feels like, but I also know this that the more I found out about this world, the more I read and learned, the more I realised it was never about me. I was only the catalyst that sparked everything. It was never my fault and whatever you’re trying not to remember, I bet my new shiny mirror that it’s the same thing for you.”

Looking at the Demon Cleric sitting beside her with a hint of wonder in her bronze eyes, Lillian turned her head to hide her smile under her blue hair.

“Do you want to see what I’ve been working on?” asked Edward with the eager joy of a child, his eyes lighting up.

“You can show me if you want,” said Lillian as she felt his joy run over into her mind, something that made her pause and wonder if she had been unsettled enough to lower her mental defences or if Edward had gotten good enough with his mental powers to overcome her own barriers.

Either way Lillian smiled and encouraged Edward to continue while making no attempt to sever their mental connection nor to hide things away in the depths of her mind.

“So Jane gave me a basic course on Runes and how much more stable and complex Mana magic could be if correctly channelled through them,” said Edward, his excitement making Lillian smile. “What’s more you don’t even have to write in ink or stone or wood, anything can be used so long as the Runes are written well enough to be able to channel Mana through them.”

“That’s a well known fact,” said Lillian with a little laugh, “But the question is, was it different for your magic?”

“It was kind of different, especially when I compare it against what I normally have to do to channel it into Telesma geometric magic,” replied Edward, “I’ve also been noting down the difference between the two avenues for my magic and finding ways to combine them, not so that they work in concert together, but so they are a single unified whole.”

“And what have you learned?” asked Lillian, truly interested in what this completely new form of magic could create.

“I don’t know, but I get a feeling, a sense of what my magic is. It feels like life,” said Edward with a nod, as he looked up so that the stars were reflected in his purple eyes.

Following Edward’s gaze upward, Lillian saw that the Odin Sea had emerged, creating a sea of gold and green stars that floated through the sky like a wave or river, the green and gold lights beckoning those that could to enter the Dreamscape and the realm of Odin within Valhalla.

“You know I was shocked that you decided not to come, then I was delighted when you changed your mind, but can I ask why? Why did you change so quickly, was it really because you wanted to be a protector and not a destroyer?” asked Edward as he gazed up at the door to a realm of warriors.

“Yes,” said Lillian simply. “If you ever get the chance read up on us Dragons, we are elemental and temperamental, we change our entire plans and goals simply by being provoked the right way. And I think that’s what Argon was counting on, by assembling all of you, he had enough random and unique elements together that no matter what I would be roused to emerge from my little corner of the world. Even if it was simply to rouse my anger enough that I would come find Argon, so as to break his bones, for sending the war into my home.”

Listening to this Edward tried to muffle a laugh, but the fact that he had no cheeks made sure that the sound escaped out into the night air.

“It’s not funny,” said Lillian with a huff as she gently, for a Dragonspawn, pushed Edward, who went sliding across the roof with a hilarious yelp of surprise.

“Hey that’s cheating! I don’t have magical strength to push you around,” said Edward with mocking yet fake disgruntlement.

“No, but you have the speed of a Demon and the ability to hide in shadows like any other darkness shaper,” said Lillian radiantly, a delighted smile upon her face. “If you didn’t want me to push you around then all you needed to do was let me pass right through you.”

“So you’re saying that you don’t mind me being inside you,” said Edward, while wiggling his eyebrows.

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” said Lillian with a seriousness that made Edward pause as he tried to discern whether she was messing with him or had somehow missed the remark’s true meaning.

Frowning at her, Edward looked around to see if anyone had been disturbed by their antics before he made sure that he hadn’t dropped his mirror or damaged it.

Getting to his feet, Edward raced back to where he had initially been sitting and the two of them sat next to each other talking about all the things they could think of. From magic to history to amusing stories of trouble they had gotten into when young.

And as the two hybrids sat beneath Odin’s eyes until it vanished just as fast as it had appeared exactly one hour before dawn, the two hybrids had to wonder as they looked up at the sky if the one eyed God who dwelt there looked back through his Celestially created construct of stars, all the while a silver raven sat atop a nearby tower and watched the Dragonspawn with knowing eyes.

The God Squad had been on only two train rides before, but their experience had made them convinced that when mixing trains and them together, the only outcome was disaster.

This was a sentiment that was shared between Grey and Jane, Aleister and Edward, and even Lillian Darkseed, who had yet to ride a train from the Empire of Geb, but was aware of the God Squad’s reputation when it came to trains.

In fact, this was why the group had travelled back to the empire without using the machine, even when they had had to trek across the bridge over the Nile.

And now the God Squad was once again upon a train and heading towards a city fabled for its history with Vampires and Demons. Everyone on the train was totally aware that this might brood the beginnings of a calamity.

A calamity that no one wanted to think about, which was why Jane Burnout and Lillian Darkseed had gotten into a squabble over their respective magical fields.

Which was why, Edward, in retrospect, kind of regretted asking them both to sit with him so that they could all talk magic with one another.

Sitting next to Lillian who in turn sat opposite from Jane, Edward found himself between the train wall and the wall made from the barbs of the two female magic users.

Looking beyond the two who sat next to him, Edward tried to see if he could get any help from his brother or Grey, but in Edward’s eyes the two of them appeared to be unsure about what to do themselves.

Aleister, who looked back at his brother with uncertain eyes, was truly at a loss about what to do to rescue his brother from the situation before him. However even as he glanced at Grey, all he saw was a broken man lost in remembrance of a horrific past. Letting his observations filter across to Edward, Aleister tried to send a burst of positive emotion to his brother who had become trapped by his own curiosity.

Learning that his brother wasn’t going to be of any help with the women next to him and Grey seemed to have broken, Edward turned his attention to the conversation that was occurring next to him in the hopes that he could get it to lead to topics he was more interested in and not one that promoted such friction between the Mage and Witch.

“I just don’t get why you would think that you’re more qualified to teach him Mana magic than me,” said Jane, as she was clearly torn between two emotions of genuine confusion and irritation, at the implication that she wasn’t skilled enough to teach anything about Mana.

“I actually am better at teaching than you,” said Lillian in response, completely unruffled by the flaming intensity of Jane’s annoyance. “Both because I am old enough to have accumulated more knowledge than you and I am not afraid to use Mana in ways that your Elemental Guard is. And that’s not even getting the fact that Manacraft and Witchcraft can intersect under the rite rituals.”

“What’s wrong with the Elemental Guard?” asked Jane dangerously, as she gained an intensity found only in flames that burned at their most extreme.

“They have banned the use of pure Mana magic in attacking and defending,” said Lillian as if this fact alone was enough to damn their case forever.

“And why would that be bad?” asked Jane perplexed at the sudden change of the conversation, especially to a subject that Lillian should already know the answer to.

“Tell me then, why don’t you use pure Mana then?” said Lillian as she leaned back in her seat, her arms crossed so that her leather and fur clothing hugged against her body.

“If you use pure Mana against another opponent then the Mana can do one of four things, damage, deflect, absorb, or mutate. And with the exception of the first option, the rest are not worth the chance that the effect might occur,” said Jane as if she truly couldn’t understand why Lillian failed to grasp this fact.

“While I get that you are afraid that your magic might be stolen and used against you or even others,” said Lillian slowly as if processing a new idea she was having trouble figuring out, “that doesn’t mean that you can just discard an entire half of your powers so that you don’t risk positively influencing your enemy.”

“What then, hmm, should I use my power to let those that can wield Mana but not produce it steal my Mana and use it to affect me and mine? Should I spam Mana into rabbits to see if any Mana Hares mutate from the Mana into beautiful, bunny women that hunger endlessly for Mana and will kill to get more,” said Jane, a low burning anger in her voice.

“No, you use your power to test out the enemy and then when you know it’s safe you can use Mana to obliterate your enemy and have the Mana cost be less than what you need to wield an element,” said Lillian with a certainty that made Edward look back and forth in bewilderment as to how this argument had gone from one about who should be teaching him what, to something that he had never read about before.

“Even testing can be dangerous,” said Jane slowly as while she did see the truth and wisdom in what Lillian was saying she also knew the horrors that Mana could create.

“So can using fire against an enemy, especially when you don’t know if they can absorb the elemental energy to heal themselves,” said Lillian with a small grin that made it clear that whatever Jane tried to bring up now her argument would be invalid.

“Elemental Shapers who can do that are so rare that I have never met one and I most certainly can’t do it,” said Jane as if being forced to admit she couldn’t do something with fire was a massive sore point for her.

“True, but consider this, even with your affinity with fire reducing the Mana cost for manipulating that element, if you had used pure Mana you could have defeated Hawk’s men and still have been a threat to the man,” said Lillian as she uncrossed her arms, her eyes filling with a distant look in them as if she hated pointing out the flaws in her allies and friends.

“Maybe,” said Jane without pausing, “Or he and his men could easily ignore, reflect or even absorb the Mana to make their victory over us even more crushing. Besides your Witchcraft is just as flawed, the only reason the Elemental Guard is so focused on using Elemental power over Mana is because that is the point of our organisation, we use the elements to guard against the horrors and misuse of Mana magic. Your Witchcraft is limited because of its own innate failings.”

Blinking at the implication that her Witchcraft was naturally inferior in nature if not in design, Lillian narrowed her eyes, while in turn her bronze encircled, slitted pupils narrowed even further.

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Seeing the possible literal Dragon wrath that was brewing, Edward hurriedly cast around to see what and who could help him prevent the fallout between Lillian and Jane.

Stealthily casting his mind over to Aleister, Edward found that his brother’s mind was just as unsure about what to do and how to fix it. But in Aleister’s mind, Edward also found the belief that Edward himself would somehow turn the situation into one of personal growth and learning.

Blinking at this, Edward was shocked to learn that his brother truly believed that Edward was a better people person than Aleister himself.

Unsure about how to respond to his brother’s hidden beliefs, Edward turned his gaze to the visibly immobile Grey Silverman who was looking out the window with the eyes of one who had long since stopped caring about life itself.

Looking to see what Grey was looking at, Edward glanced out the window he was sitting next to, only to pull the curtain back in shock, one that made his mangled maw drop even further.

Outside Edward could see the destination that the train was heading for and there in the distance was a strange oddity that made Edward disbelieve his own eyes, for the rolling grass land and even the occasional farmland simply ended and instantly changed into a desert.

“What is that?” asked Edward, having unknowingly found the answer to something to distract Lillian and Jane from their little squabble.

“That,” said Lillian with a small smile as she turned to see the wonder in Edward’s purple eyes “is the area surrounding the City Of Dead Blood. The Desert of the Dead, named for its inhabitants. And as you can see it is something absurd.”

Nodding his head, Edward could see that the desert wasn’t something that changed gradually from fertile land to sand, but instead it was an instant change, one that went from beautifully lush green ground to brilliant sand that reflected the light majestically.

“No one knows for sure who set it up, whether God, Demon, Dragon or even the Vampires that lived there, but the truth is that the world was altered so that the change in environment is altered perfectly along the line of the desert,” continued Lillian after she saw Edward nod to signal that he was listening. “There are many, many places like this throughout the world where things that shouldn’t be able to coexist, do.”

“And that’s only the places that appear like this randomly throughout the world, but if you take into consideration the location and buildings that have been created one way or another by magic or science, well, then you will find that there are more holes in the map than there is map,” said Jane as she referred to the fact that this world was vast and that even within the Empire Of Geb there were things that had yet to be explored or fully understood, a challenge that she would answer one day.

“Can I ask a question?” asked Aleister from across the aisle.

Turning to look at the Angelic being, who had his hand raised half-heartedly like he was secretly sure that he would be ignored, both Jane and Lillian had to suppress a laugh at the comical sight.

“You know a lot about Vampires and the other dead blood don’t you?” asked Aleister after he realised that their collective silence was them indicating that they were both willing to answer his questions.

Growing still, Lillian nodded her head, clearly not too happy to hear the new topic of interest, especially since she would most likely be the one answering the questions, even those that hit too close to her past.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. But can you tell us more about them?” asked Aleister, knowing that he was asking about things that were very painful for Lillian.

“What do you want to know? Surely Seraphim teach you about Vampires, especially since they hunt your kind if able,” said Jane as she interceded on behalf of Lillian who clearly wasn’t in a hurry to talk about the renowned monsters.

“Yes, but that’s it, we know how to kill them, but not their origin or their history. We didn’t even know that Vampires could hide inside of Ghouls,” said Edward as he turned from the window to support his brother’s interest in learning.

Sharing a look with Lillian, Jane turned to look back and forth between the Maw Brothers and seeing the truth in their eyes she couldn’t help but ask her own question.

“How and why wouldn’t they teach you more about Vampires?” asked Jane incredulous, especially since they were one of the most abundant monsters on the planet.

“It’s because Vampires are some of the worst abominations, the worst monsters on the planet, according to the Arthurian Church’s dogma,” said Grey as he blinked away his lost and broken look to replace it with a sneering, mad glint. “Vampires, since they found out about Telesma granting them the power to walk in the sun, have long since tried one way or another to acquire it for themselves. And with the advent of the Seraphim race, the Vampires have tried either through force or diplomacy to get their races allied together to provide them with immunity from the sun,” said the Mad Paladin as he grinned with a feral intensity at Aleister who was sitting across from him. Aleister seeing Grey’s grin tried to press himself as far back into his chair as he was able, while watching Grey for the first sign of hostile movement. “But Heaven can’t abide the race as Vampires are monsters and when they die they go to a different afterlife than Heaven or Hell. And that is the worst thing imaginable to the Seraphim.”

“Why did you decide to ask?” asked Lillian as she heard Grey’s truthful spiel.

“Because we’re heading to a place literally named City of Dead Blood, a city named after another word meaning Vampire. And given our track record with trains, I thought it would be prudent to know what we could be in for if we encounter the fanged community when we pass through the town,” said Aleister as he looked away from Grey who had also turned his mad gaze upon those near him.

“I see why you asked about Vampires,” said Lillian with a softness that echoed her shift in attitude about the topic at hand. “Dead Blood isn’t just a name for Vampires, it’s a name shared amongst all of the creations of Alucard, the Immortal King of Blood,” said Lillian with a noticeable distaste.

“Alucard,” repeated Edward not too familiar with the name.

“Tell me, how did, the Vampires, the Ghouls and the revenants come into being?” asked Lillian of those present, even those that were clearly not a part of the God Squad, but who had been listening in anyway.

“They were made by the after effects of Svar’s Sin,” said Aleister already knowing that he was wrong simply from the context of what was being said.

“True if only technically,” said Lillian as she shook her head in bafflement that the Seraphim had refused to tell the truth to their own about one of their greatest predators. “Alucard was the great grandson of Svar, and when Svar’s Sin occurred he was changed into something born and fuelled by the power of blood until Alucard was immune to death. He became the King of Blood and over the centuries, millennia, eons that followed, Alucard became lonely that he was the only one of his kind. So he tried to create more, first came the Ghouls, soulless monsters that hungered for flesh, then came the Vampires, beings who had their souls entombed in a walking corpse powered by blood. Finally were the Revenants, monsters that were akin to Alucard, but instead of just being fuelled by blood they became monsters fully capable of harvesting and consuming Qi of others until they broke down and became minor living calamities, which even Alucard tried to get rid of.”

Hearing all of this, Aleister closed his eyes and nodded his head, knowing now why the higher ups had hidden this information away from their own kind. To know that one of their foes had a direct blood connection to the man that had broken and overturned reality was not something that was taken lightly.

Thinking about it more, Aleister and Edward, their minds intertwined, couldn’t help but also come to the idea that if the Vampires were threatened too much, or even driven to extinction by the Seraphim, then Alucard himself might appear and seek vengeance for his destroyed creations.

And in a world where having an empire that lasted less than one thousand years was considered barely adequate and where some of the citizens were themselves older than the Seraphim race, the Maw Brothers understood why Vampires, who could in theory be older than Heaven, were treated as a threat while also being brushed aside.

“You seriously didn’t know that?” asked a voice from the other side of the seat that Aleister was sitting on. Recognising that the voice belonged to Colonel Io, Edward tried to grimace expecting for the Colonel to express disappointment that the God Squad wasn’t living up to what Ivan and Argon had promised.

“Yes, we Seraphim are taught the basics and not much else,” said Aleister in defeat as he turned to face Io, yet even as Aleister turned away from Grey who sat before him, Grey chipped in to make it worse.

“The truth is they don’t tell them, because they don’t want them to become enamoured with Vampires and the possibilities that could be created from joining together. Nor do they want the kind and good souls of the Seraphim race to try and save those doomed to the life and death of a monster,” said Grey with a tinge of sadness in his voice, while his eyes only seemed to glow with madness.

Shaking off Grey’s words and not bothering to look further into what the madman was saying, Aleister instead focussed in on Colonel Io, only to find she was looking at him with approval as were several of the other officers that were scattered throughout the train carriage.

“If you’re worried we won’t hold you in high regard, because you don’t know something, then you really do need to get to know us better,” said Io with a swell of pride as she glanced over her shoulder. “Ivan has always taught us to ask for knowledge, when we don’t know something. In fact, the only way we would turn on you, Aleister, is if you refused to learn and grow.”

Hearing this praise, Aleister, and Edward through him, suddenly both found themselves looking at a crowd of people that respected them not because of their lineage or race, but because they believed in them personally, because the Maw Brothers had impressed them with their deeds.

“Truthfully, I was going to remain quiet while you performed your team building, but I have to ask, did the lot of you set up the wards like I asked?” questioned Io as she shifted her steady and unflappable gaze from one member of the God Squad to the next.

“I did,” said Edward quickly without bothering to generate a mystical voice, “The wards are stable and have yet to detect anything. Some of your men helped me set up so we were able to get it up and running in no time and the wards cover the entire train.”

Not reacting to his demonic voice, Io just turned to the others present and saw them give the same response, if non-verbally.

Seeing that neither Io nor her subordinates had reacted to his voice, Edward looked around a little lost and unsure how to feel as if the world had suddenly stopped making sense, or perhaps it was finally making sense.

Not caring for the fact that Edward’s world had been shaken to its core, Grey instead spoke up and his words were truly unwelcome.

“Why ask them to set up wards and why not have the other forces aboard this set up the wards? After all, they are meant to be the most trusted in their respective field of magic,” said Grey, not really caring if what he said was even considered a question. “Or were you trying to trick these young and innocently trusting boys into revealing their secrets to you and your army.”

Stopping, the rest of the carriage looked around with a nervous flutter at the accusation of disharmony between the force of the Empire of Geb, while Io stared stonily at Grey for daring to even, if falsely, bring up such a dangerous subject.

However before any more could be spoken, the train crossed over the barrier which separated desert and farmland.

Feeling the wave of heat settle throughout the carriage, the room seemed to collectively grimace as they looked around for someone to start up the cooling devices that the Alchemists had promised to put into the trains.

Chuckling at their discomfort at the heat, Jane raised her hand to steal the heat from the air when she felt it, something that made her hand clench in rage.

Seeing the sparks trickle from Jane’s hand, Lillian sprung into action and immediately stood up and faced towards the direction that the train was travelling in.

Connecting her mind to her familiar, a fox made of blue fire, Lillian used her Witchcraft in tandem with her Dragon senses to see that the desert area in front of the train was crawling with Demons.

Demons of Earth.

Demons of Life.

And in the distance, and in the shadow of the City of Dead Blood, Lillian could see that there were even more Demons, Demons of Sin, War and Faith.

The town that they would have to travel through was infested with Demons and any Vampires that were once there were either long dead or long gone.

“Halt the train!” commanded Lillian, her voice brooking no objections.

Feeling the train grind to a stop, Lillian told those present what she had seen through the eyes of her magic and that the Demon horde that she had seen was now on its way towards the train as they had spotted that it was no longer moving.

And Demons of Earth and Life were not known to be thinkers, so they had charged towards the train without regard to whether they should or not.

Seeing all of this displayed in the blue flames that had appeared throughout the train carriages, the war host of the Empire of Geb prepared itself. For while the armies of the West were not trained in fighting or even dealing with infestations of Demons, they were still a trained force capable of taking commands and orders even if they seemed to defy common logic.

Watching the flames and the images contained within, Io saw creatures that were physically impossible advance their way towards the train, Golems made from dozens of stones, firebirds made from wicked green flames, and amongst them were animals that had been distorted and enlarged to a level that they dwarfed humans when it should have been the exact opposite.

Turning to Lillian, Io spoke and while her voice was steeled against emotion, she knew that the Dragon in human flesh would notice her concern for her fellow servicemen.

“What do I need to do to keep my men alive?” asked Io as she stared Lillian straight in the eyes, knowing that she was disregarding those with more experience fighting Demons, but at the same time knowing that Lillian contained a wisdom older and greater than the rest of her squad.

“Water,” said Aleister instead, his voice clear and untouched by the turmoil that surrounded him, for in this moment he knew what to do and how to save those around him.

“Water?” repeated Io in puzzlement.

“Yes water, the elemental energies of water, being the closest to life, is naturally opposed to Demons. It won’t kill them and for the strongest amongst them it will only hurt them a little, but it should stun them enough that you can destroy their physical vessel,” said Aleister as he held Io’s gaze to show to her that he was telling the truth and that he was ready to help them in their time of need.

“Unfortunately, we’re in the middle of a desert where it is not exactly overflowing with water,” said Io as she looked out the window at the desert that surrounded the train.

“True, but Edward can use his power to create a field, a sanctuary, that will slow down and damage the Demons that get too close and then you can use your physical ammunition to destroy their vessels to cause the Demon to be sent back to Hell,” said Aleister as he nodded his head at his brother who stood across the aisle.

“I can do it. The wards, I set up, are ambiguous enough to allow me to reconfigure them into a way to claim the territory around the train and make it a holy land, enough that the Demons will struggle while inside them,” said Edward unafraid to take on the responsibility of protecting the train from the Demons. “And while the road we’re on might not be directly linked to Albion and Excalibur, we are still on a road between holy cities and I can rig it so that this entire train will be a sanctuary for you and yours. It will keep you safe while we go out to the City of Dead Blood.”

As understanding hit Io about what Edward was implying, she chose instead to shrug off the matter and focus on the immediate objective of ensuring victory without loss of life.

“I’ve read about your ability to create sanctuaries as the Seraphim call them, so I’m not worried on that end, but I am concerned about the living hosts of the Demons. I get that damaging their containers will cause the Demons to return home, but what of the Demons possessing the living isn’t that a different story.”

“No, while Demons especially on Marked Earth can heal, if enough damage is done to their vessels then they will be forced to leave as the bodies won’t be able to contain them anymore. It’s the reason you never hear about Demons of Light. They are so powerful that even attempting to possess or influence their chosen vessels will cause the vessel to be destroyed,” said Aleister, as he divulged extra information, knowing that the surplus of knowledge would help convince them that he was correct.

“That’s all well and good for the physical Demons, but what of the Demons that were possessing fire and wind?” queried Io as she recalled the firebirds made of those sickening, green flames.

“I’ll deal with them,” snarled Jane as waves of heat radiated from her while her hair seemed to sizzle as if fire danced amongst each of the individual strands of hair.

“Good,” said Lillian, a respectful look in her face before she turned to tell Grey what he needed to do. “Grey we’ll need you to…where’s Grey,” said Lillian as she realised that the Mad Paladin had disappeared and hadn’t been quiet throughout the entire conversation like everyone had assumed.

“When did he leave?” asked Aleister, blinking in amazement at the fact that despite wearing such heavy armour and that he was normally the center of everyone’s attention due to the madness that he seemed to extrude always, Grey had slipped away without alerting anyone to what was happening.

Changing the images in the blue flames that were still dancing overhead, Lillian saw that Grey was running at full tilt towards the enemy, laughing as he went a feral and dark laugh that looked like Grey had unleashed every ounce of madness within him. A madness that twisted Grey’s face into a savage requiem of death, death that Grey would bring to the Demons before him.

Running as fast as he could, the Mad Paladin’s armour was dyed gold as he tore across the land like a golden comet that sawed along the ground towards a target. And upon reaching the first giant Golem of stone that towered over Grey, Grey leapt into the air and with his blunt gauntleted finger pierced into the Golem’s main body.

Seeing his finger penetrate into the Golem’s body, Grey let loose a laugh that made the Demon housing within the stone tremble, even as Telesma poured through the Sword upon Grey’s back through his armour and into the rocks that surrounded his fingers, rock that tried to repair the damage that Grey had inflicted on it.

Howling with madness, Grey channelled the golden power of Angels and Heaven into his hands and ripped apart the core of the Golem causing it to literally explode into dozens of minor pieces of stone, none strong enough to house the Demon of Earth that had been in the original stone.

Collapsing apart, Grey jumped from his perch on the stone to land on his feet and watch with relish the exorcism of the Demon of Earth as it was cast back into the depths of Hell. Except that the Demon that Grey had banished back to Hell wasn’t the only one that had been in the multitude of stones.

Cackling to himself, Grey saw the stones rearrange themselves causing the Mad Paladin to comprehend that the numerous stones were each an individual Demon possessing each of the stones, with the first Demon’s power masking the others that had joined with it to create a Demon Hive or Hive Golem.

“Thank you,” screamed out Grey as veins of golden burning Telesma flowed through his body, causing an ethereal flame to haemorrhage from his skin, as his face took on a horrific mix of rapture and rage.

Watching Grey through the blue flames, everyone aboard the train felt their face lose colour as they watched the Knight of Vengeance punch each and every one of the stones to death.

Staring, even the God Squad had to pause as Grey slaughtered the Demons of Earth and from his action it was clear that he could have killed them all instantly, but was taking time to enjoy their suffering and exodus from the World of Geb.

“Edward, phase me through the roof,” said Jane in a commanding tone that had Edward sending his card upwards to the roof before he had even realised that this might not be what Lillian had planned for, “Lillian take command here and organise them. I’ll deal with the abominations of fire.”

Launching herself upwards, Jane surfed on her staff, as her hands were wreathed in fire her eyes set clearly on the Demons of Flame, the firebirds and the orbs of green, wicked flame that had been altered by the Demons to continue to burn even in a vacuum.

Yet Jane knew that fire and heat were inevitably linked together and even the Demons had failed to alter this aspect of the elemental powers that they had taken as vessels, so as Jane flew near, she immediately siphoned off their heat causing the fire to be twisted and broken, causing the Demons to panic as they lost control of their wisps of flame making them explode and dissipate into the air, leaving nothing behind.

Seeing this new threat weaving its wave through the sky, the Demons began trying to attack her with birds and wind Demons, trying to catch up to Jane as she sailed over the top of the battlefield incinerating anything that dared to try and match her in the dance of death she wove across the sky.

Seeing the threats that had arisen both in the sky and upon the earth, a new Demon appeared, a Demon of Life, wearing a snake that it had engorged until it was at least a hundred meters in length.

Seeing the monstrous creature roar and lift its head high enough that Jane could see that its fangs were as long as her body, both the Fire Mage and the Mad Paladin readied themselves to do battle with the serpent when a soft bang echoed throughout the desert.

Widening their eyes, they saw that a small hole had appeared in the Serpent’s underbelly from which a wave of cold touched the area around the body, causing frost to form a meter above and below the small hole in the serpent’s belly.

Twisting its head to peer down at the damage it had taken, the serpent didn’t seem to understand what had happened before the second round of the sniper’s gun echoed out, causing the ice to shatter, breaking the serpent into two unequal parts.

Seeing the still living head of the serpent thrash on the ground, both the Demons and the mystical warriors turned to see the open window of the front carriage of the train glimmer before a third round shot out with such force and speed that when it hit a Golem that was made from a single clump of iron. It shattered into uncountable pieces with the bullet continuing on to hit a winged beast that had been walking behind it, killing it by tearing it in half, its heart literally impaled by the bullet.

Chuckling in delight, Grey turned back to see that the serpent had finally given out and died leaving its giant corpse to sit and rot in the sunlight of the brilliantly clear sky, the serpent’s fangs dripping venom that caused the sand beneath it to turn into a steaming melting slag that seemed to hiss with steam as if it was burning.

Reaching over his shoulder, Grey pulled free his sword and turned to attack a nearby giant scorpion that had surfaced from the sand in an attempt to kill Grey by plunging its stinger in his back.

Grabbing the stinger with his free hand, Grey pulled and twisted the stinger so that it imbedded itself into a Demon made from sand and glass that also attacked Grey as if trying to catch the madman in a pincer attack.

Without paying attention to either the Glass Golem or the Scorpion Chimera, Grey offhandedly stabbed the scorpion so that the golden light of Telesma poured through the black and twisted, mutated beast before flowing through the stinger and into the Glass Golem, causing both of them to rupture and die.

Walking away from the twofold death throes of the Demons of Earth and Life, Grey attacked a Demon that had possessed the ice which had formed on the corpse of the dead Demon serpent. Marching out to meet it, a wave of heat made Grey quickly look up to see Jane fly overhead and drop from her staff and land before the Mad Paladin.

“I thought that Demons couldn’t possess water, that it repelled them,” said Jane as she eyed the Demon of ice that grew bigger and bigger as it screamed out a challenge to the warriors before it.

“True, but Ice and Snow are nothing more than crystallized water and crystal is fair game to be possessed by Demons. That is what has been possessed, not water but just another type of crystal. And I doubt I need to explain the difference in the elemental energies of water and crystal to an Elemental Guard,” snapped out Grey annoyed and livid that he had been stopped from doing battle with the Demon strong enough to possess crystal before him.

Snapping her fingers, Jane sent out a wave of fire that burned with enough intensity that the Snowman began to melt, causing rivulets of water to form all across its body sending the creature to its knees in pain.

Smiling at the Demon’s pain, Grey flicked his golden sword, sending out a crescent blast of Telesma that severed the Snowman in half, causing the thing to evaporate into nothing but steam.

Gesturing to the rest of the Demons that were before him, Grey beckoned for them to come, yet the Demons seemed to hesitate whether from fear or from obedience none knew. But before Grey could take action on the still Demons, a song touched the ears of those present in the Desert of the Dead.

Seeing the Demons turn their head in awe, Grey looked to the horizon where the City of Dead Blood was and there he saw it, a pillar of white light that scorched the sky.

A pillar of light that rose from the ground up to the clouds that formed above the city, yet at the same time caused all of the shadows to turn in the wrong direction towards the light.

Letting out a silent yell, Grey bolted towards the tower, for in his twisted madness he heard it, the song of a Demon of Light.

For while the Demons of Light couldn’t possess things in this world, they could be summoned here in their true forms by their lesser brethren, or they could be manifesting in the shadow of a moon, yet regardless of which method they used to arrive in Geb, they could remain here forever.

Having never had the pleasure of seeing a Demon of Light or even talk to those that had, Grey felt a swell of madness within that made him race forward like a sailor called by the song of a siren.

Hearing the song as well, Jane watched the retreating back of the Demon Hunter, all the while she felt a craving arise within her, one to set the world alight, a desire to see the beauty of what burning sand looked like.

Shaking off the effects of the song long enough to use pure Mana to block out the sound, she could then let her mind realign back to normal.

Panting, with her chest heavy, Jane leaned on her staff to keep her upright as she couldn’t help but recognize that she had been a hair’s breath away from igniting the desert.

Feeling the surge of emotion diminish, Jane couldn’t help but feel awe and fear at the fact that despite being touched by the Demon’s song, Grey even at the bottom of an ocean of madness still maintained the balance of his magic so that he remained a being of breathing, bleeding flesh, instead of turning into a twisted construct of living iron.

Sensing that the Demons had encircled her, Jane grimaced in disgust before she sent out a wave of fire that roasted and reduced the creatures around her to nothing but cinders, cinders that Jane summoned to her with a raised hand before forcing them to form a platform, inscribed with red Runes, that was then caught by the wind and carried off into the sky.

The Maw Brothers heard it the moment after Jane Burnout had left the carriage, a song that seemed to lull them into a hapless state of mind, a feeling that their sense of self was being eroded, that they were no longer bound by the higher instincts of their mind, that they were free to follow their true desires.

And as the song that called to their Demon blood washed over them, the Maw Brothers fought back from the depths of their mind. They had both been contained and enslaved before, by the hand of those that had cared for them, and neither were willing to give up the new control over their lives, especially to a Demon. A Demon that would bring them to the edge of ruin and watch laughing as they were the ones that took the plunge, when all along they could have saved themselves.

Fighting back to a sense of awareness, Aleister struggled to make sense of what had happened even as the feeling of pain from his hands and knees told him he had collapsed to the ground and was fraught to even remain on all fours.

Feeling the fog that the song had placed on his mind lift so that he could remember himself, Aleister’s concern wasn’t for himself but for his brother.

“Edward,” croaked out Aleister as he searched around for his brother, his senses still scrambled because of the music in the air.

“Don’t worry, he’s fine,” said a voice from Aleister’s side that made him turn his head to look up and see Lillian kneeling nearby trying to help him, “and the effect will wear off in a moment.”

“What is this?” asked Aleister as he looked up to see that the rest of the occupants of the train were at the windows shooting or organising the rest of the forces of the west into repelling the Demons that had swarmed around the train.

“You were affected by a Demon of Light,” said Lillian as she helped Aleister sit back down in one of the aisle chairs while Edward was already laying on one.

“What?” asked Aleister as his mind seemed to clear due to the shock of the news that a Demon of Light had actually decided to invade the World of Geb.

“What happened? What affected us?” asked Aleister as he cast his gaze across to the seat opposite him, where his brother was also trying to shake off the after affects of the sound that they had heard.

“It looks like you were hit by a Lull. One specifically targeted at those that are demonic in nature,” said Lillian, sympathy in her voice as she knew that the news would upset the brothers before her.

“A what?” asked Edward in his demonic voice which caused Io, who had been commanding her army, to turn and listen.

“A Lull, a magical music that renders those it affects docile and subservient to the singer,” said Lillian with distaste at the idea of taking control of another against their will.

“Magic music is real,” said Edward in shock that he had no detailed knowledge of this type of magic, only stories of half believed myths.

“Yes, magic music is real and the bards still practise it,” said Lillian as she looked the brothers in the eyes to both confirm that she was telling them the truth about what was being used, as well as not making up excuses for them having come under the sway of a Demon King.

“It’s tricky and hard to do as the requirements for being able to use this magic is knowing the song note for note, knowing what it does and being able to play the music perfectly,” said Lillian as she listed out the restrictions to the fabled, magical music.

“This Lull that we were hit with, are you the one shielding us from it?” queried Aleister, his face twitching as if trying to contain the fear and pain that was dwelling within.

“No, once you realised what was happening to you, it took you a bit, but you were able to throw the effects off,” said Lillian with nothing but honesty and reassurance.

Breathing out a sigh of relief that he was free of the Demon’s influence, Aleister hung his head backwards and stared up at the roof of the train as he gathered his thoughts, while also noting that his brother was doing the same.

Sitting up, Aleister looked around to see what was happening, and now that he no longer had the fear that he would end up being a Demon’s Puppet, his mind worked much better, enough for him to know that he needed to help slaughter the Demons or else the train and those on it would die.

“Get me to a window and I can shoot them down,” said Aleister as he tried to stand up, only to feel the lingering effects of vertigo kick in.

“If I get you to start shooting the enemy you’ll miss more than you’ll hit,” said Io from the side, her voice commanding, “Not to mention you might weaken the blockade that’s holding the Demons back. So instead, I need you to do something else.”

“What?” asked Aleister, his tone suspicious.

“I’ve heard a rumour that Angelic Gunslingers, like yourself, can create weapons and guns from pure Telesma, weapons that don’t run out of ammunition unless they aren’t supplied with Telesma,” said Io, her voice filled with a longing and an almost wishful desire.

“We can,” said Aleister knowing what she was after, and that with Edward here to turn the Telesma road beneath them into a constant source of unending Telesma, they could create unlimited ammunition. “What guns do you need?”

“A sniper rifle, a grenade launcher and as many automatic guns as you can make. Although if you’re feeling ambitious, I would love to have one of those new gatling guns,” said Io shamelessly.

While Aleister had to admit that he had either never heard about a gatling gun or simply knew of it under a different name, the rest of the guns were already within his repertoire, he just preferred to use his normal handguns.

Clasping his hands together, Aleister summoned forth a ball of Telesma which he then shaped into the various different guns that Colonel Io had requested.

Seeing the finished products, Io grinned as she hefted up a grenade launcher that looked like it had been made from transparent glass filled with a golden liquid. Yet if one were to look closer, they would see that there was no glass and that solid ripples could be seen under the surface of the golden material when touched and moved about.

Walking over to a window, Io opened it and started firing with deadly precision that would normally belong to a sharp shooter or even a talented sniper.

As each of the grenades sailed from the gun, they hit some of the larger Demons of Earth and Life causing the grenades to explode. These explosions created an area of effect that damaged the smaller Demons of Earth and Life in such a way that they had to turn around to protect themselves from the splash back that was coming from behind them.

Seeing the Demons break and become confused, Aleister had to smile as he saw the Demons which had been in a deadlock with the human army break apart and become easy pickings. Yet the moment that that thought passed through his head, Aleister let his eyes drift over to Lillian who viewed the carnage and slaughter of Demons with concern.

Telepathically communing with his brother, Aleister shared a brief flash of concentrated thoughts filled with ideas and theories before Aleister spoke up.

“What’s wrong?” asked Aleister of Lillian as he stood up, having finally cast aside the lingering effects of the Demon’s song.

“These Demons even if they’re only Demons of Earth and Life, they should be more organised than this. Especially if there are Demons of Sin, War and Faith in the City of Dead Blood,” said Lillian as she viewed the dying hordes of Demons with concern rather than triumph.

“She’s right,” said Edward as he too regained the ability to stand and move, “I can’t detect anything that would suggest that the Demons of Faith have marked the earth. In fact, I think that none of the Demons that we’re sensing are that powerful, it’s only their numbers that are making us feel that they are present.”

“The Demon of Light, he must be controlling them even from the depths of Hell, and because he is controlling them, they either aren’t strong enough or coherent enough to perform like they normally would. They’ve been lulled into nearly mindless followers,” said Aleister slowly at first, but as the idea took root he began to speak faster and more certain about the situation.

“So I guess we have to defeat this Demon of Light in order to defeat this Demon horde,” said Io, having followed the conversation all the while blowing Demons to smithereens.

“First, we have to kill all of these,” said Aleister as he silently created a plan with his brother.

Jumping upwards, Aleister phased through the roof and the moment he was clear and knew that he couldn’t interfere with his brother’s magic, Aleister began to fire.

Each bullet shot from the two hand guns that Aleister had summoned forth seemed to multiply while in travel turning into a stream of nine different bullets each hitting at the most weakest points on the Demon they were targeted at.

Firing his guns with abandon, Aleister quickly and efficiently tore through the horde of Demons, his guns shooting dozens of times, something Aleister allowed as the Telesma that went into each shot came not from Aleister but from the golden road that lay beneath his feet, a source of unending power.

Clearing the horde, Aleister allowed his rain of golden light to slow down as the Western army went about destroying the vessels of the Demons that had been overlooked by Aleister as their numbers had diminished to the point that they were child’s play to kill.

Turning from the now silent battlefield, Aleister looked towards the pillar of light and the throng of Demons that had invaded the city of Ulkiss and knew that the battle would only truly end when they had destroyed the fabled Demon of Light.

“Brother,” said Aleister silently as he stood in the spot that Edward had outlined as the place he would phase his older brother back into the train.

Landing inside the train, Aleister shared a look with Io, Lillian and Edward before walking over to look at the map of the town that had been stored away on Edward’s Mirror Scroll, which the other three had gathered around.

A map that the four of them looked over to see where the Demons had gathered in large numbers and over which the four members of the Empire of Geb’s fighting force planned out how to raze, or save the city.

“From what I can triangulate from the various cards that are acting as my sensors, the Demon of Light is most likely in this location,” said Edward as he pointed to an open court or market area that looked like it was the largest open area in the city.

“Very well then, we’ll go in and deal with the Demon of Light and destroy the mechanism by which it has used to manifest here in their world, and once we do the rest of the Demons will either scatter or return to Hell hopefully without killing their hosts,” said Lillian with an authority that made the rest of the group snap to attention.

“What of Jane and Grey?” asked Aleister as he looked down at the map, trying to figure out where the madman would go and where he would attack while also wondering if the Queen of Burning had already tried to set the city on fire to purge it of the wicked green fires that she had clearly loathed upon sight.

“We’ll have to plan around them,” said Lillian as she turned her Dragon eyes back to the map before her, as she began to consider how best to plan for the unknown variable that was Grey Silverman.

“What of us?” asked Io quietly, not having bothered to speak up when Lillian had been analysing the city or when she had been commanding the Maw Brothers.

“You want to join to fight the Demons,” said Aleister as if unsure why Io would be willing to risk her life and the life of her army in this battle.

“Yes, if they just saw the three of you go off to do battle with the Demons then they would know that the only reason the army is headed for the Eastern battle front is because they are the expendable meat shield for those with true power and magic,” said Io with a daunted look upon her face. A look that told the rest of those present that she knew no matter what they chose, the army would suffer for it. “The men and women under my command are already dispirited, because it was your magic, your Telesma that was the deciding factor for this battle, and not us. We trained and learned in order to face any threat, no matter how unknown or unknowable. But now when the very thing we have trained for is before us, all we can do is depend on the mercy of Angels and Gods. Hell we even have a Dragon here giving us aid, not to mention the infamous Maw Brothers.”

“You feel like you’re being contained and only used when needed or convenient,” said Edward slowly and solemnly as he looked down, his cowl hiding his eyes and the glimmer that would give away his feelings of empathy.

“No, we feel we’re not living up to what Ivan has tried to allow us to become, a force equal to those of the Paladins, the Elemental Guard, the Knights and Nobles who possess ancient powers or artefacts. A beacon of mankind’s strength and power, and one of hope,” said Io proudly as she looked the others present in the eye, daring them to even hint that they disagreed with her.

“What say you?” asked Lillian as she turned to look at the stunned Seraphim.

“Me,” said Aleister incredulously, “I’m not the leader here, if anything it should be you Lillian, you’re...”

“Not the grandson of the Emperor of Geb, Arthur Exaltia,” countered Lillian, as she already knew where Aleister was heading.

“Not to mention you are one of his favoured descendents with several factions behind you, even if you don’t know it yourself,” chipped in Io, as she repeated what she had heard from Ivan.

“I don’t know what to say to them. Regardless how they feel we’re asking them to go to fight an enemy that hosts of Clerics and Paladins can end up dying to,” said Aleister as he writhed under the sudden burden of having these men and women’s live in his hands.

“Then tell them the truth, but also tell them what you’ve wanted to hear from others our entire lives,” said Edward with hope in his voice, hope for a change in the way the world would treat them. “Tell them that this is the moment when mankind’s fate is altered.”

Looking at his brother and seeing that in some way Edward felt kinship with these ordinary men and women that had chosen to battle the monsters and madness of the World of Geb, Aleister nodded his head in affirmation, before turning to face Io, his face the same rigid mask that he wore when walking the halls of the Inner City of Albion.

“I’ll tell your men what awaits and if they still want to fight, then they can stand next to me when we wage war on Hell.”

Standing atop the train, with both Edward and Lillian behind him, Aleister looked at the amassed men and women of the Western army, all of whom waited in disciplined silence for their commander, Io, to turn to Aleister and give him command of them.

Hearing Io finish speaking about the choice that lay ahead of them, and how they would have to hear the real danger from one that knew what he was talking about, Io turned and gestured for Aleister to step forward.

Stepping forward even as Io retreated back to stand next to Lillian, Aleister looked out at the assembled masses and as they looked back Aleister felt a swell of emotions spread inside himself.

For the masses before Aleister weren’t an ordinary crowd, they didn’t jaunt about in excitement, they didn’t tremble in fear, they didn’t laugh and gawk with each other, instead they stood in stony silence waiting for what was to come, each one bearing an iron will that made them unbreakable.

“I’ll keep this simple, since we’re running low on time,” said Aleister as he regarded the army before him, “I don’t know how you normally do this but here’s the facts. We need to go into the City of Ulkiss, the City of Dead blood, and we must destroy the Demon horde that has gathered there. And most importantly of all, we must defeat a Demon of Light, beings that have only been alluded to in ancient texts, beings so powerful nothing in this world can act as a container for them, at least not without the vessel’s permission. What awaits us in that city is nothing short of certain death, especially for those of you who lack magical powers.”

Hearing this, the Western army didn’t even flinch. They knew that the battle before them could be their last and they simply waited for the order to charge.

“We could go alone to that city and most likely make it out alive, with no casualties. You could stay here and be perfectly safe,” said Aleister, only to be met by a low grumble from the troops as if they were upset that Aleister even dared to think they weren’t willing to enter into battle.

“So I tell you this, here and now, march with me! I don’t have the heart to lead, but if you come with us we will make sure that you will be as safe as possible. So I tell you this… take this moment, this opportunity to rise up to fight without the fear of death, to no longer cower in the shadows of those mightier than you. To stop being satisfied with being shielded by powers you can’t control. Stand beside me as we march into Hell and when the Demons come, show the Angels and Demons, the Gods and Dragons that they shouldn’t fear each other or the vast unknown. They should fear man. For we do the impossible. And on this day, we will make Death itself but a legend. For mankind when granted the power to use their imagination can create miracles and wonders that will be spoken of for millennia. And today is one such day.”

Stopping, Aleister let his gaze wonder from soldier to soldier, making sure that each one of them understood what he was saying and what Aleister was offering, a chance to break the logic of the world, to show that it has always been and will always be mankind that writes their own fate.

Saluting on mass, the soldiers all stood ready in attention waiting for their orders, waiting for the chance they had always wanted. To prove to the world that man was a creature that everyone and everything should hold in wonder and awe.

Smiling, the army watched as Aleister got his answer and nodded, his golden eyes shining as he assessed the forces before him.

“Alright then here’s the plan,” said Aleister as Io, Lillian and Edward came up to stand beside him. “This is how we defeat the first Demon of Light to ever invade the Empire of Geb, and this is how we do it so no one dies.”

Arriving before the city of Ulkiss, Aleister and the others present marched forward in grim silence as they watched the amassed hordes of Demons of Sin, War and Faith turn towards them.

Yet high up on the top of a Church that stood abandoned in center of the city, a Demon looked at the approaching armies and had to marvel that perhaps something or someone else was twisting the threads of fate and destiny.

Feeling the wind blow its purple and black robes, the Demon couldn’t help but wonder what the human armies before the city could possibly do against the might of the Demon horde gathered here.

The Demon understood what Aleister and his God Squad could do, but what threat could the human army pose. For even under the control of the Song of Sung, the Demon of Light that was attempting to manifest in the world, the forces and power that the Demons possessed could not be opposed with strength alone.

Caring not, Ulkry turned its black orbed eyes towards the Mad Demon Hunter who even now had circled the city and was attacking it from the southeast, and as he cut through waves of Demons, Ulkry couldn’t help but have its eye drawn to the sword that linked the Paladin of Gray to the Angel of Death.

Feeling a swell of dark intentions towards the Paladin surface within, Ulkry paused long enough to make sure that the traitor hadn’t noticed its presence before slipping down from the top of the Church.

Skulking though the back alleys of the City of Dead Blood, a city that he had a very personal history with, one involving a chalice and some Vampires, Ulkry walked southeast to meet the Grey Silverman in battle once again.

Knowing even as he went, the city and all that happened to be inside would soon be gone forever, Ulkry took the time to enjoy the city before the Sixth King arrived.

The Demon King of Light, Ruler of the Sixth Hell, the Sixth Circle.

Abraxas.