Cross felt eyes on him as he made his way slowly down the street. Working a job that meant killing people, you pick up the trait pretty quickly. When Cross was about a quarter of the way down the street, he stopped and glanced around. No air blew, no sound graced his ears which heightened his hearing, and not a single ounce of movement was caught by his eye. Around him, tall skyscrapers and apartments stood tall, quiet, but not abandoned. Cross's eyes glowed a bright gold as he continued walking down the street. BANG! In an instant, Cross had disappeared off the street where a bullet hole now resided, and on the seventh floor of a nearby skyscraper, a shark demon held a sniper in her hands. She glanced around with her scope quickly, confused as to how Cross just suddenly disappeared.
"Where did you go?" She muttered softly. Around her was a couch, old and torn, some radio supplies, a box of holy bullets, and her pistol sidearm laying on the ground next to her.
"Shouldn't have blinked," The shark demon turned her head quickly as she saw Cross on her left as the angel he was, the ring back in his pocket. She blinked again and tried to turn her body to face Cross but she didn't get far before the lower half of her jaw was torn off her face. Blood poured down her chest as her eyes widened in pain. She couldn't even speak as she watched Cross reach into his coat and pull out his hilt before he ignited his blade. The demon watched Cross swing his blade up, slicing her skull in two, instantly killing her. She dropped to the ground as Cross released her mangled jaw from his hand and picked up her rifle.
"Definitely Carmilla's make, and high powered too. This could take out royalty and yet they're using it for sniping small fry?" Cross wondered how the demons could even load the bullets into the bolt-action chamber without burning themselves. He looked down at the deceased demon and saw silver gloves on her hands, concluding whatever the material was, it seemed to keep them safe from the holy power.
"Observant 13, come in Observant 13," A voice came over the radio behind Cross as he turned and went to it. A pair of headphones and a microphone were set in front of the radio equipment. He took off his mask and tucked it under his arm before he pressed the left headphone to his left ear.
"Observant 15, I'm not getting a response from Observant 13, please respond," Cross could plainly hear the voice of what sounded like a male demon over the radio.
"Observant 15 here, going to check on Observant 13. Heard a gunshot, potential enemy presence or she could have dozed off and pulled the trigger. Bringing BG 7 and 8 with me, over!" A higher pitched demon sounded over the radio next as Cross narrowed his eyes.
"Roger that, Observant 15. Report back immediately once you find Observant 13," Radio static went over the comms as Cross set down the headphones and returned to where the demon's corpse was. He heard footsteps approaching behind him as he turned quickly and saw a light underneath the closed door at the end of the dark room. Cross glanced around as the door opened quickly. Into the room came two silver armored individuals, followed by a small red skinned imp with black spikes on his neck. He had a similar sized radio pack on his back and held a rifle in his arms similar to the shark gal.
"We've got a body!" One of the armored individuals say as their flashlight, attached to what seemed like a modified assault rifle of sorts, shown on the corpse near the window. The imp ran to the corpse, throwing his rifle over his shoulder and kneeling down. He was immediately repulsed by the state of the corpse as he reached behind himself and grabbed a handheld microphone off his pack. The two armored guards slowly scanned the room with their flashlights as Cross was nowhere to be seen.
"This is Observant 15! Observant 13 is down! I repeat! Observant 13 is down! We have an enemy presence near the factory!" The imp yelled into the microphone. The headphones on his head were connected to the radio pack which allowed him to hear what was being said over the channel.
"Observant 15, this is Comm 2! You say there's an enemy presence? Do you see them, how copy?" A female demon voice came over the channel suddenly.
"Negative! I don't have eyes on-" The imp felt something hit his shoulder. He looked and saw a dribble of blood on his shoulder as he looked up quickly. Inches away from his face was Cross's blade as he dropped from the ceiling.
"SHIT-!" The imp had little time to react as Cross's blade, now resembling a thick dagger, was thruted into the imps eye and through his head, killing him instantly and staking him to the ground. The two armored guards turned their guns to see Cross knelt down with his pistol already out. At this distance, their was no chance of missing as he fanned the hammer, sending a barrage of bullets at both guards sending them off their feet due to the firepower of the pistol. The guards cried in surprise as they hit the ground, yelling and sobbing in pain. They had let go of their guns in the process, disarming themselves. Cross gripped the hilt of his dagger and pulled the dagger free from the lifeless body of the imp as he stood and approached the two guards.
"F-Fuck! My chest! My legs! I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS!" One of the guards shouted, writhing on the ground. Cross holstered his pistol and focused, sending his power to his pistol while he observed the guards. The bullets he had fired were dug in deep into the armor having protected the wearers. But because the bullets were so powerful, the armor had pushed into the bodies of whoever lay inside. The armor was thick and bulky around the chest and legs and the helmet they wore had two eye holes for visibility.
"Interesting," Cross muttered as his blade changed shape again back into his long sword. The other guard didn't speak, just writhed on the ground as Cross observed his bullets had hit the guard in the shoulder, knee cap, stomach, and chest. Cross bent down and grabbed the helmets of the two guards, pulling them off. He was met with the sight of two grey skinned and white hair fallen angel's, who stared at Cross with wide eyes.
"OH FUCK! CROSS!" The female guard on Cross's left tried to move but couldn't, helplessly shuddering under her armor as it tore into her skin. The other still didn't speak, just stared at Cross with a fearful expression.
"I remember you two. You worked for Adam during extermination day. Belevon twins if I recall," Cross heard the radio behind him from the dead imp as he turned away from the sisters and approached the body. He extinguished his blade and set the hilt on the floor before he gingerly removed the headset from the imp, removed his mask, and held it to his ear.
"Observant 15! Come in Observant 15! What is your status!?" Cross saw the handheld mic next to the imps hand as he picked it up and pressed the button on the side.
"Hello? Can you hear me just fine?" Cross said into the mic. Silence was heard on the other side before the voice responded, "...Who is this?"
"My name isn't important, what is important, is that I have some urgent business with your boss, Raphael. Is he there?" Cross said. Silence once again as Cross listened carefully.
"He's not here at the moment...who is asking?" The female demanded. Cross noticed something out the window and across the street in an opposing skyscraper as he began to see multiple lights moving throughout the building. Cross hummed as he raised the mic to his mouth and pressed the button.
"Let him know Cross-Off is coming after him and everyone who follows him. Your judgement day has arrived," The radio went silent yet again, the silence creeping over everything.
"...Good luck," Was all Cross heard as radio static filled his ears. He dropped the headset and mic and turned back to the twins, who were struggling to drag themselves on their stomachs across the floor back to the door. Cross put his mask back on and grabbed his hilt. He ignited his blade again as he approached the twins. He grabbed the silent sister by her ankle and pulled her back to him. She let out a soft cry as Cross lined up his blade with the back of her neck.
"I'm sorry, I truly am. May the High One judge you-"
"High One? High One!?" Cross looked to the other sister as she had somehow found the strength to turn herself onto her back to glare at Cross.
"There is no High One! He's just a lie angel's are told to keep them in check! If He is real, why doesn't He save everyone down here!?" Cross stared at her, his blue mask eyes reflecting nothing.
"You're nothing but a pathetic soldier doing their masters bidding! He has so much love!? Then why doesn't He show it to us!? Why doesn't He end our suffering-!?" Cross swung his sword down with such speed and fervor that it ran through her sister's neck like butter, decapitating her clean and quick.
"ANNIE!" The last sister screamed in horror as she watched Cross mutter something softly then turn to her and approach her.
"WHY NOT ME FIRST!? YOU BASTARD-!" Cross swung his blade and decapitated the last sister as her head rolled away from her body. Silence hugged Cross yet again as he closed his eyes.
"Take them, oh Lord. End their suffering. Amen." Cross whispered as he extinguished his blade. He had no time to consider the sisters words, he felt he was about to be very busy. This situation Cross found himself in was less than ideal as he tapped his mask and pressed two fingers where his temple was.
"E.V.E agency, numbers please," A female voice spoke to Cross.
"9925687." Cross said quickly.
"Please state the reason of your call,"
"This is agent Cross. I'm putting out an emergency order to agents Chorus, Stone, and Graves. I need them to my exact coordinates, now." Cross could hear yelling outside the door and down the hall as his mask beeped.
"Agent Cross, you are not qualified to send orders-"
"Listen, I'm not going to argue with you or have you tell me what I can or can't do. Submit the order, now." Cross said, urgency in his voice. There was silence for a moment before he heard another beep.
"Order received. Agents on their way." The female voice responded. Cross looked to the rifle he had next to him that belonged to one of the sisters and picked it up. He observed it as his mask suddenly scanned the weapon and displayed instructions on how it worked inside of the mask. Cross realized this must be one of the updates Lucille made and kept a secret.
"Helpful. Thanks, Lucille." Cross muttered as he shouldered the rifle and closed the door to the room. Going to the window, he noticed nine squads of armed demons, differing in sizes, approaching and entering his building. He took a breath as his golden eyes glowed in his mask.
"Sinners and sinless are all loved and seen equal by the High One. But to me, I don't believe that we are equal. After all, sinners die better than us."
Act Two
Imps, shark demons, and more heavily armored individuals made their way into the skyscraper below Cross. They maneuvered their way through a dark lobby as more followed behind them. With multiple floors to search, it was obvious to have multiple squads search a large building. Each squad had two armored guards bring up the rear, two radio imps, and around four to five assault rifle armed sharks.
"Squads one through three, go up to levels two, three, and four. Squads four through eight, up to levels five, six, seven, eight, and nine. The rest of you, patrol the ground, and watch the skies! Your target is an agent of Heaven! Shoot to kill!" The radio imps received these orders over the comms from Comm 2 then relayed them to their squad. The squads then went about their separate ways as they each started ascending the flights of stairs. With this tactical planning, the imps and sharks were not dressed to fit the roles of soldiers, more like a militia as they wore the clothes they preferred but all of them wore silver gloves.
"So...who is this guy?" An imp from squad six asked as the group ascended the stairs.
"Probably some jerk-off who thinks he or she's hot shit! In my opinion, all angel's are overrated! They fly around with their fancy wings, big fucking grins on their faces, and kill whatever demons they want! Fucking pitiful the lot!" A shark demon replied, making the imp chuckle.
"If you paid attention to the radio broadcast earlier, he called himself Cross-Off. Before I fell, Cross was known as one of the top agents of E.V.E." One of the silver armored guards said, her voice coming through clear in the armor.
"Who the fuck is Eve!?" Another shark asked, as the group reached floor six and watched squad five split off from them.
"Not Eve herself! That's the name of the agency! Evangelical, Virtuous, Equilibrium or something like that! They handle maintaining the balance Hell and Heaven have!" The other guard spoke up, informing the group.
"Like there's any fucking balance at all! Listen, when the boss is done, Hell won't be a problem anymore and not even E.V.E can do anything about it!" The shark laughed as they eventually reached the seven floor. A shark took point as he opened the door to get onto the floor. His squad followed suit while squad seven and eight kept going up. Once everyone was through, he closed the door and went to catch up with the group. The seventh floor was originally an office with multiple rooms. However, Wrath turned it into a torched, dark room where any memories of its former use was now gone.
"I mean, how bad can E.V.E agents be? They're just like the exterminators right?" One of the radio imps asked.
"Not even close. Think of E.V.E like a black ops for Heaven. They do anything they are told, and I truly mean, anything. Killing, blackmailing, hostage taking, and message delivering, they do everything." One of the fallen angel guards answer. The imp shut their mouth as the group began investigating every room one by one. Eventually, they reached the last room as they opened the door and stepped inside. They were met with the grisly sight of the dead bodies around the room. A couple demons vomit in the corners as the two armored fallen angel's approached the decapitated twins.
"Whatever the hell Cross is using, he's still able to kill us even with this armor we have. But this was Cross's last known location, so where did he go?" One of the angel's asked the other as they scanned the room. The flashlight highlighted all of the dark spots in the room, revealing no one as they lowered the gun they held and turned to the radio imp.
"Connect with our forces outside, find out if Cross took to the skies," The radio imp nodded and quickly sent a message over the radio, asking for information. After a brief moment, the imp responded.
"They haven't seen anyone leave or go in since we came," The imp said.
"Hey, guys...how many did we have in our squad?" A shark demon spoke up which caught one of the angel's attention.
"Eight, why?"
"I count six..." The shark said. Sure enough, the angel observed the group in the room as both radio imps, both guards, and only two shark demons remained. Where did the other two shark demons go?
"Stick together, on me." The two fallen took point as the other four demons followed up behind them. There was no talking between the squad members now as they retraced their steps. They found nothing relating to the disappearance of their two squad members. When they all entered a room they had previously searched, they all felt a brush of wind hit them. They stopped as one of the fallen turned and stared in shock.
"Where's the other radio imp?" They asked. The last radio imp turned as his buddy had just been by his side but was now missing.
"This is fucked up! This ain't an angel!" The two shark demons were scared straight but suddenly, the squad heard humming. It was all around them, in a tune so haunting, they began looking around in quick, desperate motions.
"Attention all units! Attention all units! We have unidentified enemy combatants in the building! Squads three and five are not responding! I repeat-! NO, NO! STAY AWAY! AHHH-!" The radio imp heard this broadcast and threw off his headphones as his face was white and sweating profusely.
"What's going on!? I thought there was just one angel!" One of the sharks exclaim. The fallen stayed quiet as the humming seemed to get louder and louder. But, the most terrifying part was when the humming abruptly stopped, leaving the group in silence. The only thing they heard was the sound of their own breathing.
"What happened to the humming?" One fallen asked the other as they held their guns tightly, their eyes dancing around the silent room.
"Fuck this-!" One of the sharks ran to the door, but the second he stepped outside, BANG! The squad watched his head disappear, his body hit the floor dead. The squad all aimed toward the door and opened fire. Their bullets shot through the walls, sending debris everywhere. When they stopped firing, the door was still barely attached to the hinges. Four shots were heard in rapid succession as the two fallen angel's heads were thrown back and hit the wall. Blood splattered from inside the helmets as the shark demon had also been shot in the head, blowing it open like a cantaloupe. The two armored fallen angel's collapsed in a heap quickly while the imp observed this. He screamed in fear as he ran out of the room and back to the door that led to the staircase. It was here he would turn back when his hand touched the handle and his blood froze.
There, at the end of the hall, he saw a blue eyed and mouth angel which stared at him silently. The demon shook and felt his heartbeat in his chest as the angel stood still. Suddenly, the angel ignited his blade as this caused the imp to scream and open the door, running down the stairs. He threw aside his gun as the sound of screams, gunfire, and humming was heard all around him. He threw off his pack as he ran down the steps quicker than ever. He heard a scream as an imp fell right down the middle of the staircase and splattered onto the ground. The imp that was running had watched the imp fall and practically jumped over the corpse as tears streamed down his face. When he finally reached the outside, he thought he would be graced by the sight of the last allied squad.
"Enemies! Enemies inside-!" The imp stopped as his heart sank in his chest. Where the last squads had been stationed to stop any potential enemies or Cross from leaving or entering, they now all lay dead. A pool of blood, body parts, destroyed weapons and armor lay scattered about, with two black winged angels staring at the imp. He turned to go back inside the building but was caught by his throat and picked up by Cross, who now stood in front of him. The imp choked and sputtered as he noticed another angel leaving the building behind Cross. Cross wound his arm back as he threw the imp, sending him right at a stone pillar. His face connected with the pillar as it split in half sending blood everywhere and killing the imp on impact.
"I'll give you a seven for form but a three for not staying on target with that throw," The angel behind Cross said.
"Seven is generous! Hear that darling? What would you have given him~?" One of the angels asked the other next to her with a sweet, sultry tone in her voice.
"Five, tops." The angel chuckled as the three angels stood next to one another, staring at Cross. From left to right, there was Graves, Stone, and Chorus who were the ones to graduate with Cross in becoming investigators for E.V.E. Graves was a slim, long haired angel that wore a mask that read, "R.I.P" over the top. His mask eyes and mouth were illuminated golden like Adams. He wore a gauntlet on his left hand and a sawed-off shotgun rested on his hip on his right side. His wings were a wondrous cyan color which helped enemies and allies to recognize him from just a glance. He wore a hoodless jacket, backpack, puffy, black jeans, and military boots with a black glove on his right hand. It was his choice of clothing which also differentiated himself from other angel's.
Next to him was Stone, Chorus's husband who she met during their training at E.V.E. He wore a robe, like Adam, but his robe separated in two down below his waist earning a swaying look when he walked. He wore a hood over his mask which reflected a white mouth and eyes like the exterminators but no crossed off eye. He was taller than Graves, Chorus, and Cross, making his height rival that of Sera. His robe was crimson, now whether or not that meant it was covered in blood was a mystery to most but Stone insisted it was it's natural color. On his back was a massive hilt that took both of Stone's hands to hold correctly. He wore armored leggings and metal boots which could be seen when he walked.
Next was Chorus. She was taller than Graves but shorter than Cross and Stone which made her poke fun at Grave for being the shortest in the group. She wore attire similar to the exterminators since that's what she did before transferring to E.V.E after meeting Stone. The only differing attire that was noticeable was her Hi-Top sneakers, the color of her eyes and mouth which were green, and the sharpened metal ends to her wings which shone beautifully when she flew. Her weapon was her exterminators spear and the gauntlet on her left hand which, just like Graves, held a secret purpose.
"Alright, spill it, Cross. Why are we here? You hardly ever make emergency orders, especially if it means bringing us off our vacations to come help you." Graves asked.
"First, thank you all for coming and assisting me in this endeavor. I'm sorry to have pulled you away from your vacations, High One knows you earned them. But this issue needs this many E.V.E agents in order to achieve success," Cross said as he turned from the group and started walking down the street to the factory. They caught up to him and walked side by side with him as Stone looked to him.
"You seem different, something happen?" Stone asked, earning a glance from Cross.
"I've got an issue of my past catching up with me. You remember my old apprentice, Raphael? I have reason to believe that he's the cause of this. The reason all these demons and fallen angel's have weapons."
"Wait, he's fallen?" Graves asked, surprise in his voice.
"He had his wings torn off and couldn't return to Heaven. It was my fault, I thought he was ready and let pride cloud my vision." Cross shook his head in disappointment. The group knew what loosing Raphael did to Cross and his position as a Chief Investigator but for him to resurface like this years later?
"So...is the factory his?" Chorus inquired as the group now stood outside the giant iron door entrance.
"Yes, to my knowledge, Raphael is inside, preparing for something big." Cross said as he looked to the group.
"Well, if this is his base, he's pretty lax with the security. If those guys back there was all he had for protection, then you could've done this by yourself." Stone brought up as he removed the hilt from his back and gripped it tightly in his hands. The hilt became illuminated as light shot out of it and created a massive blade. Stone grunted as he placed a foot behind him and dug it into the ground. He yelled loudly as he swung the blade forward and watched it slice through the door diagonally with ease before he pulled it out and sliced it the other way diagonally, creating a giant, "X" on the door. Stone extinguished his blade as he placed the hilt onto his back and gently pushed the door forward as it fell inward, showing the dark inside.
"Well, let's see what we're dealing with here..." Cross muttered, taking point as he ignited his sword.
Act Three
"Well, I'll tell you what we're dealing with, fucking nothing!" Graves voice echoed off the empty walls of what was the production room of the holy bullets. It was dimly lit and not a single bullet was in sight as Cross looked around.
"This can't be right. There were piles upon piles of bullets here, I swear!" Cross said as the group examined the underground production site.
"Well, there is evidence they were making bullets down here. I can still feel the holy energy pulsing off the wall, enough to give a demon holy poisoning." Chorus said as she ran a finger down the strangely white brick walls.
"Well!? How the hell could they have moved it!? How, Cross!? Cause I swear if your minor omniscience you got from Michael is acting up, so help me-!" Graves threat went unnoticed by Cross as he looked to Stone who was outside the door, too tall to fit into the room.
"Stone, what do you think?" Cross asked as the large angel sighed.
"Well...can you remember anything of importance from the memories?" Cross quickly ran through his thoughts as he remembered the room Clara had met Raphael in. He turned to the dark stair case as he ascended them and reached the door. Turning the knob, he opened the door as he stepped into the large room. Around the room were scattered notes and papers that Cross could tell weren't important. The way they were strewn about told Cross whoever was here left in a hurry. He turned and after carefully observing the room saw a speck of light behind a console. He approached and, grabbing the console, pushed it away from the wall revealing a secret room behind it.
"Chorus! Graves!" Cross called out. He waited for the two to show up as Cross looked to Graves.
"Take point," Graves nodded as his gauntlet illuminated and a kite shield of pure light appeared. Taking his shotgun off his hip, he carefully stepped into the room as Cross and Chorus made their way after him. The room was more like a hallway as it led deeper and deeper inside the factory. Graves and the other two didn't say a word as they made their way down the dimly lit hall that ended with a door. Once outside the door, Graves stopped and kept his body hidden behind the shield. As he holstered the sawed-off back on his hip, he reached for the door handle. Cross caught something out of the corner of his eye as he saw a red light beeping softly up in a dark corner.
"GRAVES!" Cross quickly grabbed his allies arm as he pulled it back. The door handle exploded as a softball sized hole was made followed by three more that collided with Graves shield. He braced himself as Cross took his pistol and shot the hidden camera in the dark and fired four rounds through the door. The echo of gunfire riddled the hall as the group held position. They heard something crash on the other side of the door as Graves rushed the door and burst through it. Wood splintered everywhere as the three were met with a large communications and map room. A female demon lay face down on the ground with a pump shotgun next to her and blood pooling beneath her. The group felt heat on their bodies as they saw the shotguns chamber was open, releasing a black smoke.
"Hellfire..." Cross growled. The group checked the room before deciding it was clear and spread out.
"Hellfire bullets? Those exist?" Graves asked as he softly nudged the shotgun.
"Raphael's invention. They are made with his hatred, or so I speculate." Cross said as his eyes went to the destroyed radio that was on the desk where the female demon sat in front of. Cross wondered if this was the female voice he heard over the radio. He then glanced to the many screens next to it as he saw live video of the entire factory.
"They have eyes all over this factory, no wonder she knew where we were. Let's see here..." Graves extinguished his shield as he typed in a few commands on a keyboard near the radio equipment. Within moments, earlier recordings of the factory appeared as Graves observed the movements of the enemy force.
"Cross, come here," Graves called as Cross approached quickly. The two watched the enemy moving large containers of something out of the factory with Raphael observing them with a female demon by his side.
"Raphael..." Cross muttered as his open hand clenched into a fist.
"Question is, where did they take it all?" Graves asked softly.
"Hey guys, come here," Chorus called out. The two went away from the cameras as they saw Chorus looking down at a massive map which seemed to hold all of Hell's levels. All nine, with each a number written next to it.
"Lust: 27. Wrath: 9. Gluttony: 28. Violence: 30. Pride...Pride has 50. Isn't that were Lucifer's daughter is? Heresy: 10. Treachery: 35. Fraud: 8. Avarice: 20. Avarice is another word for Greed I think...What are all of these supposed to mean?" Chorus and Graves began to think hard while Cross frowned. He moved a couple papers out of the way at the top of the map to reveal a name, "Project: Exorcism" Cross began thinking of what the numbers could mean as he suddenly thought of the squads he saw going to his building. He counted...9. His heart sank so incredibly low as he made a discovery.
"Squads...the numbers..." Chorus and Graves looked up to Cross as he had a look of unrest on his face having taken off his mask.
"What?" Chorus asked.
"Before you showed up, I counted the squads that would enter the building you found me in. I counted nine. Look, Wrath has nine squads and different levels have way more...Pride is where Charlie and Lucifer live, yes? Other levels have double digits except Fraud. If all of the squads have holy bullet loaded weapons, that means...no...it can't be..." Cross, Chorus, and Graves shared the same feelings Cross did upon realization where he was going with this.
"Raphael is going to start a war with Hell,"
(Hello everyone! This is the end of part two! So, this next part I will put out will most likely be ten chapters unlessI don't feel satisfied with it. I hope you all have had a wonderful week, and that you are doing well. Expect in this next part plenty of death and action, and once again, had I had the ability, I would have definitely created some songs to add in with the story! I hope you are enjoying my work and will catch you later!)