There had been a constant rumble, caused by the stalwart march of the train. In an instant, however, a loud ringing noise echoed instead, and everything faded to black.

“A…xis!” The pain came, the first thing he felt. His eyes were open, but the blackness took some time to become a blur. Once more, there was a yell, urgent. “Alexis!”

This time, he heard his name clearly, but the horrible ringing in his ears was still there. He finally overcame his daze, more or less, propped up from the ground by two claws. His amber eyes looked into his violet ones, which glinted sharply with the ardent flames around them.

“Ur-“

They could not afford to stay still. There was another blast, which luckily was more distant. Both gasped and flinched, struck again by the shockwave of an explosion, which made another wagon of the train collapse onto a side.

Like many others that were still alive, they dashed to find cover, the only one they could find. The two slammed their backs against the wreckage of the steam train, panting. Shots echoed, not very effective against what had suddenly struck them.

“W-why… Why the fuck-“ He snarled and peeked over the amalgamation of torn and melted metal, wondering how they could have been at ease at one moment, only to be evading being burned alive next. “How did THAT sneak on us?!”

Uriel tried to steady his breathing, wishing he had a rifle like others did. Perhaps he could have gotten one from the wagon they had been in, but he chose to drag Alexis away from the fire that crept into it instead.

“The bastards were too high above.”

Only when the explosives dropped did they notice the danger they were in, but at that point, it was too late to take action against it. Not that there was much to do in the first place, for all had been inside the train, unprepared. No one expected an attack, not now, or here.

“W-we have to-“ Alexis shuddered, hearing the loud hiss of metal and steam. He knew what would follow. “G-god, move!”

Much like how Uriel pulled at Alexis after the first blast, the angel now pulled at the demon. After releasing another bomb, the airship began to erase altitude, descending slowly towards the ground. Its steam tanks were being emptied of hot air, and that would allow the humans inside its lateral compartments to take aim at a closer range.

There was another rumble, and more flames rose around them. Many recruits had been travelling in the train, but not all would reach their destination. Death was all around. Once more, it was by luck that they evaded the third strike.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck-“ He looked back and regretted it, because he saw a few mangled corpses. “We can’t die like this! We have not even attended a single drill! Why are we-?!”

Uriel’s eyes widened, because a human above heard Alexis, and promptly took aim when he saw a tail and horns.

“Quiet!”

Alexis paled, because if Uriel had not torn a piece of metal and swung it in front of them both, bullets would have struck them squarely. The angel let out a shaky exhale, seeing a hole on the scrap that his demon held, one of the shots managing to pierce it. Somehow, they were not wounded.

It was the fourth time they could have been killed, in just two minutes. Luckily, the risk of death decreased greatly, because their comrades were finally reacting and overcoming the shock of the ambush.

Itzal had been the first to emerge from the wreck with an angry growl, holding his trusty weapon tightly. While his most experienced soldiers tried to round up the novices that survived the blasts, he climbed onto debris to have higher ground.

His three eyes narrowed as he took aim with his sniping steam rifle. After one deep intake of breath, he pulled the trigger. A human that stood on an ell of the airship tumbled down, to hang dead from the lifeline that kept him secured.

The captain snarled, noticing well how those bastards began to pump more steam into the engines, to lift their contraption up into the sky. They were out of explosives to drop on them, and they were answering their shots fiercely.

“Don’t let them retreat!”

Such an order was easy to give, but not carry through. His men were fast to unload a lot of lead onto those tanks of steam, but sadly, that was not the only thing that fueled that ghastly aircraft. Like their machinery, it was driven by magic as well.

Shots kept echoing, accompanied by yells and the crackling of the fire. But the hissing of steam began to fade, each second more distant. Soon, only the laments of the wounded remained. Many had died, never to see their first battle. This was no fight, but a massacre.

Uriel let down their improvised shield, very slowly. Alexis was still frozen, barely recognizing how that airship was far in the distance, headed east, back towards the nearby ocean. It took them a while to breathe again, their minds struggling to recognize that the threat was gone.

They both slumped against the debris behind them, uncaring of the orders that were being yelled all around. During the onslaught, Alexis managed to take out the knife he had been given, and now he was staring at it blankly. It was Uriel who broke the silence.

“T-they… They should have given us the damn firearms before setting off…”

His angel just nodded repeatedly, gulping. They were supposed to reach a camp near the wall, where they would be trained and instructed. The train had reached the south after a few days of travel, but it was still far from its destination. This was not supposed to happen, at all. But the war was capricious, and it could not be predicted.

They did not know it at the moment, but they would not reach that huge barricade they were supposed to defend. This airship was not the only one that had ventured past that border and over the ocean. Many more had stricken different coastal areas, at the same time, to divert their forces.

The coalition had managed to breach the wall that had been raised to divide the lands. Now they disposed of aerial and terrestrial machinery, fueled by unnatural magic… It was a deadly combination, and all were beginning to witness its capabilities.

“I…” Alexis laughed, but not in a sane manner. “I d-don’t think we will be able to keep our promises, Uriel.”

He did not scold him, for he was as shell shocked as him.

——-

He prowled in the dark, silently. His red eyes pierced the shadows of the fields, looking past uneven ridges and small crags. The night was young, for the moon barely peeked in the horizon.

Their scent was something he could never lose track of. He could follow them to the end of the world, with ease. It was something they knew well. When he sneaked down a slope and crept close, they were not startled.

“You are just like her…”

They were very resourceful in their deviousness, and imprudent in their love. As well, she had given them her boldness, which they always displayed.

“We’ll take those words as a compliment, Lykaios.”

He eyed them, very carefully. There was a lot of metal at their feet, hidden well by a small hollow in the crag. Their small hoard was far enough from the city for it to not be stolen, but it was close enough for them to reach it after a long walk.

The heat of the day was beginning to fade, bringing forth the intense coldness that plagued these arid regions; but they did not care. Both kept piecing together those scraps, barely looking back at him.

“You lied to me again, why am I not surprised?”

“We haven’t.” Aurora gave him a lean of head, having learnt to circumvent the fact that she did not lie well, much like her father. “We really have been working extra hours, as we told you.”

“Yes, we only get out here at dusk, and not for too long.” Ariel brushed some sweat off her forehead, extinguishing the fire she had invoked in her claw. “We would burn out if we worked harder…”

Aurora spent more time delivering parcels, while Ariel had requested to replace Uriel in his shifts. Both were trying to make more money, which they would not need if they were not hoarding these materials. They were barely at home anymore, and at first, he thought they avoided it due to the reminder of their absence. Perhaps it was still part of the reason, but they had other intentions.

“I believe that concealing a truth is still a lie. You should know that after all these years.”

“We have not hidden anything. Not once have we tried to fool you.”

That was true, they did not try to veil their actions. They brought scraps home multiple times, to then carry them out, right in front of his nose. In their youth, they did everything in their claws to delay his realization, but not this time.

“What in heavens are you building… and for what reason?”

Both exchanged a look, and then they were blunt.

“We must be prepared for the worst. Luck is something that runs out easily, so I want to have some leverage for when it happens.”

“I’ve been eyeing the contraptions those soldiers drive. Surely, I should be able to craft something similar. Albeit less elaborate, of course.”

He stared at them blankly. Then he snarled, extremely tired.

“You swore not to join this senseless war.”

They finally let down the scraps, to look at him with a sad frown.

“I promised to not stop them or fight like they do.”

“My pledge was to not follow and join their ranks.”

Lykaios bowed his head, sighing loudly. Their intentions were clear to him, and he would not be able to stop them.

“So you’ll roam in that thing instead… Doing what?”

Ariel took out a radio from her satchel and promptly slammed a claw onto it. The sound flowed in a buzz, distorted but clear.

“Multiple sightings have been reported. We advise all not to roam in secluded areas alone; safety can’t be ensured by the military. Although some squads are attempting to keep track of these assailants, their flight grants them an edge that is not easy to counter. Authorities and the hunting guild vow to put an end to the massacres that have recently-“

It was enough, so she moved her claw away. Those red eyes narrowed, not needing to hear the word to know exactly what monsters were roaming the land.

“They are doubling down on their efforts…”

Aurora answered his bitter whisper, with one of her own.

“And I know well that they have multiple goals.”

She had seen that bastard with her own eyes. He would never let go of his spite, and others would carry through his vile machinations until he or his target perished.

The huge demon pondered carefully the situation, for it was quite different from the one he could remember. Their scheme was not born out of ordinary care, but out of real concern for a threat.

“You have no idea how to approach an angel, much less how to fight one.”

They cringed, noting his scowl.

“Ah, there it is.” Ariel looked at Aurora, expecting him to forbid their venture. “Now he will-“

“You need to learn to hunt.”

They both blinked and glanced back at him, those words not ones they expected.

“What?”

Lykaios chuckled with a dark grin, recalling fond memories.

“Your mother was so young when she first confronted one of those wretched beings…” He licked his maws, remembering the taste of flesh and bone, which he could never forget, no matter how much he tried to. “If a frail human like her could bring them down, demons like you should be capable of much more.”

Now the two were the ones to feel apprehension towards the idea, for they had only planned to set off to keep an eye on those angels and maybe obstruct them, not hunt them down.

“Uhh, Lykaios, we don’t wish to kill or-“

“No, we are not looking for a fight, just-“

He interrupted, jumping closer and circling them slowly, growing even more in size as he whispered darkly.

“If you near those fiends, I assure you that death will present itself, sooner or later. And I won’t let it take you, no matter what. If you wish to leave, you must learn her ways.” He found their haunted expressions amusing, but he was indulgent. “Rest easy, you will not have to slay an angel unless it is necessary, for I’ll make sure to claim every single kill… It’s simple, children.”

Long ago, they feared when they saw him twist into a feral form for the first time. At the moment, they felt something similar, for he was smiling with bloodlust, no longer doubting to conceal his real nature in front of them. They were no longer children in his eyes, no matter if he pretended they were.

“Demons prey on angels; it’s an instinct that can’t be denied.” He brushed them softly with his mane and chuckled grimly, to then walk away with one last whisper. “Finish that contraption of yours… We will set off into the wild, where I’ll teach you all she knew.”

They stood there, one clutching her wings close, the other struggling to keep her tail from swaying anxiously. All ever slowly, they eyed the scraps again. Part of them now doubted in their ploy, but he would compel them to see it through.

——–

Even with the unification of the entire continent into a single force, they were still losing the war. In the past years, the authorities demanded defensiveness out of all their officials, not offensiveness.

And look where that has taken us…

She opened the hatch above her and stepped out of the armoured carrier as it halted, to then eye her grim surroundings. The remains of a train lied by the ripped rails, metal and embers scattered all over the deserted coastal area.

She and her troops had taken a day to arrive, yet the sight was still grim to witness. Bodies were still being pulled out from the debris, and the wounded rested in a makeshift camp away from the carriage.

This attack was unexpected and costly. She had called for more recruits, and half of them had been taken out of the equation. To make matters worse, the wall was down, and her own troops had to retreat deeper into their territory.

She had a horrible mess in her hands… but she did not know yet how much it would impair her crusade. The damage was either serious or irremediable.

With a sigh, she jumped down the carrier, to then march forward through the chaos. Although the recruits had been travelling under the supervision of some adept troops, their journey was not meant to face any conflict.

The coalition had only bombarded their lands once. She warned that it would not be a one-time occurrence, yet her superiors ignored her words. After this strike, she would have more leeway to enforce her will onto those stupid administrators, but at a cost.

She stopped striding past the wounded and restless soldiers, for she found the individual she looked for. He tensed immediately, for he picked her scent between the one of blood. She spoke up sternly as he turned to face her, demanding.

“Report the extent of the damage.”

Itzal gulped, for he was in charge of this operation, to provide her with what she needed. Still, his failure was not that severe.

“It is manageable.”

She raised an eyebrow, eyeing the wounded and dead. They mattered much more than the burnt armament inside the wrecked wagons.

“Many recruits are dead.”

“Yes.” He bowed his head, but there was a glint in his three eyes. “Not all have perished, however. The force you sought can still be attained.”

She relaxed visibly with those words. After a minute, in which she eyed all survivors, she decided to get to work.

“Salvage all that can be of use and prepare the wounded for travel. We can’t stay in this area; our proximity to the ocean is a threat. I need these recruits alive.”

“Of course…”

Both captain and general got to work, shouting orders to their adept troops. Meanwhile, the novices did all they could, even if they were inexperienced and haunted by their first taste of warfare.

Two figures kneeled by a wounded man, who had gotten shot. They were slightly away from the rest, for there were not enough paramedics to deal with all who needed aid. Their actions and help were not supervised.

Uriel cut another string of bandage, to hand it to Alexis, who would proceed to tie it around the wound. They had treated multiple recruits by now, this one just another number. This time, however, a different kind of aid would be offered. The angel eyed his surroundings very carefully, and then did something that the demon did not approve of. He pressured his fingers on a cut he had on his face, opening it again. Before he could be scolded for it, he let those droplets of blood fall onto the soaked cloth he used to clean the wound.

“You idiot, don’t-“

“Shh.” Alexis glared at Uriel, nodding sideways. “They can’t smell it, and this guy is out of it.”

“If they get close enough, they could!“

“Well, keep watch while I work here, dammit!”

The wound was clean, so he stole the bandages from his claws. Uriel just sighed, doing as told, both far enough from other demons.

“I still believe you should have stayed with them.”

“You will protect me. You’ve always done so.”

“Yes, but…“

He was done helping this man; they had taken out the bullet and tied the bandages. There were others in need.

“Come on, I spy a guy who has lost a leg. That hurts more than any fucking bullet.”

And off he went, without waiting for him.

“I knew what I signed myself into…”

The demon stood and followed his angel, knowing that they needed to act, even if many horrors surrounded them. Passivity was not an option.