A man sighed. He adjusted his bangs and continued to walk through the streets of Japan. He wore a shirt.
With his black hair and red eyes, he was fairly 'ill-omened.'
"The human world is far more exotic than how Father taught us. I'd better make sure the months I've been here don't affect me as Judgement."
This man was a vampire.
In fiction, vampires are creatures, in the shell of a human, who suck human blood to keep themselves alive. They have several weaknesses. Garlic, silver bullets and etcetera. The most popular one is the sun.
In the real world, vampires are still weak against the sun, though vampires are usually mindless creatures who focus on getting blood.
This man is what is called an Arcane Vampire. They can walk in the sun and can last without human blood far longer than normal vampires. Their only other major weakness are silver bullets.
Currently, this man is living in the human world, attempting to find his target, the Key.
His true name is Ragnarok, Ragnar for short.
In his journey in searching for the Key, he found an amusing 'specimen.'
He entered the cafe and went to a table where a girl was sitting alone.
"Hey, Maki."
"Oh, Ragnar."
The person he had gotten interested in was Maki Homura, the (ex-)childhood friend of Shoya Sasaki.
He was intrigued in her behaviour. They first met when they bumped into each other on the road.
Everybody else, up until that point, had avoided him. Yet, she confronted him. He found her different.
Interesting.
However, a few months ago, he met her childhood friend, Shoya Sasaki.
He instinctively acted, acted without motive and grabbed his arm.
Next instant, he let go by the sudden burst of bloodlust.
In that moment, he felt anger. He was angry that the person who put Maki into dispair was acting all high and mighty.
Even he still has not noticed that he has developed the unnecessary emotions that he wanted to avoid.
Only one person caught on...
...
"Oi, Ragnar!"
A young man called out to Ragnarok. He was darker skinned with white hair, which shone silver in light, and lime green eyes.
The Devil of the Major Arcana; Asmodeus.
"What?"
"I've been watching you from time to time."
"And?"
"'And?!'"
Asmodeus snapped and gritted his teeth. He rushed toward Ragnarok and grabbed his collar.
"You've been getting needlessly close to that human girl!"
Ragnarok glared at him.
"What are you saying?"
"I also saw that time when you were at her house. You got angry on her behalf and still lost the dispute."
"So?"
"So, I'm saying, don't get attached to that fucking bitch! Don't forget that we're trying to destroy those pitiful humans."
Asmodeus growled at him. His eyes were like sharp knives.
"I am not attached to her."
The man let go.
"Really? Because to me, it looked like you were caught up in your anger that you didn't notice who that boy was."
"Hm?"
Ragnarok looked over at Asmodeus, who opened the door.
"That boy had the shadow under him."
The red-eyed Arcana did not react.
"Of course, everyone has a shadow. I don't understand what you're trying to say the boy is, Asmodeus."
"No, you stupid fucker. Not 'a' shadow, 'the' shadow. The shadow of Erebus. Only one person wields Erebus..."
The man's red eyes widened.
"The Black Emperor..."
"Don't make a move against him. If you do, we'll never be able to fulfill the plan."
Asmodeus' green eyes narrowed.
"If you do make a move, it clearly proves that you're a traitor to our cause. I'll dispose of you myself, if it comes down to it."
Ragnarok also scowled.
"Do not forget, Asmodeus. I am Judgement, the leader of our cause. If you think that you, Devil, can defeat me, then you'll crumble against me before you even try."
It was like a dragon and a tiger. They silently glowered at each before going their seperate ways.
---
"Master."
On a cliffside, near the ocean, a woman called out to a man.
It was Ophelia. The man turned to her.
"What?"
"Faith is back."
"Nice."
An orange-haired woman walked up to the two. The man looked at the woman.
He had ash-blonde hair with yellow eyes. His stubbled beard from before was gone and he had a fresh haircut.
"Faith."
He smiled.
"Master."
The maid shed a tear.
"I thought y-you were dead."
Suddenly, tears flooded from her eyes. She attempted to wipe them but they would not stop. Ophelia went over to comfort her.
"Well, I'm alive now."
"'N-now?'"
Faith sniffled and removed her choker. She pointed at her pale neck.
"M-my crest. It disappeared all of a sudden. I thought you were gone but Ophelia then contacted me."
"Alright, alright, I get it."
Weissmann stood up and walked over to her. He hugged her.
"It's alright."
Faith began crying even more.
"I'm here now. I won't leave you ever again. That's a promise."
---
"I-I'm sorry that I cried too much. It must've been annoying."
"Faith. Neither Master nor I thought of your cries as annoying."
Ophelia smiled.
The man nodded.
The woman wiped her tears.
"So, how did you survive?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Both Ophelia and Weissmann reacted.
"What is it?"
"N-no, I just thought you would understand since your crest disappeared."
Weissmann said, pointing at himself.
"I did die."
Faith stayed silent as she looked at her Master.
"You... What?"
"I did die. I died but I was resurrected."
"Oh, thanks to Ophelia's power!"
"No, not Ophelia. Not even her Singularity can revive the dead. I mean, my corpse would simply disintegrate."
Faith looked genuinely perturbed.
"I knew someday, the homunculi would rebel against me. I made it so that their abilities cannot kill me. If I am killed by them, I would resurrect weeks later."
"That is... smart."
Ophelia commented, surprised by Weissmann's precautions.
"But... I know that someone influenced the 5 Arcana who left."
"Some--"
"--one?"
Faith and Ophelia started and finished for each other.
"Let me explain. Judgement's given Singularity is Balance. It's a defensive Singularity. He can reflect damage afflicted by an enemy. Of course, it has its limits but that doesn't matter now. Do you think that a defensive Singularity could kill me?"
They shook their heads.
"Whatever Judgement used to kill me wasn't a Singularity. He must've gotten it from somebody else. Somebody on Mortal Sin level or higher."
"Who?"
Ophelia dared to ask.
"Mostly likely... It was the White Prophet."
"White Prophet?"
The maids repeated.
Weissmann looked over at the sun setting.
"I mean to say, the King of Sorcery, King Solomon. She'll be awakened any time now. This year, the world will be turned on its head."
Weissmann reached out his hand, as if to grasp the sun.
"Solomon is sure to be awakened this year. That is surely Judgement's true objective."