Belgrade looked like any normal city. Thanks to the Shield, the civilians had been evacuated to shelters, although it was much farther than usual. Beside the appearance of a few swarms of early stage daemons and a couple of evolved ones, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
That was before the drums had been played.
Donna was the first to see it, signaling to the others. They obeyed immediately, aware of the threat in front of them. The daemon was obviously a sin. No doubts about that. But it was too powerful. Most daemons were at least one to six centuries old. Harder to defeat, but still could be defeated. But as that daemon stood there, there was no way that Diego or Donna saw any sign of victory without any sacrifices.
The daemon stood menacingly. its hands behind its back. It had six eyes; two of which where at its normal positions, two underneath it and the last two above it. Its height and muscle structure were like that of a veteran soldier, sporting nothing but a hakama fastened too its waist with a thick black belt.
"Valerie, have you estimated our chances?"
"42%" She said, "and lower."
"Works for me." Diego said. "What's the strategy."
"Kai, Martha and Prime Donna will be the vanguard. Prime Diego, Kanon and Kyler will be the support."
"When do we strike?" Kyler asked. Martha and Donna drew out their swords; a broad sword and two short blades. Kai readied his spear. Diego took out a boomerang while Kanon activated her cannon.
"NOW!" Valerie commanded. Martha and Kai immediately rushed in for the kill; Martha aiming for the head while Kai aimed for the stomach. The daemon disappeared, appearing above them and rushed at Kai. Kanon fired at the daemon, giving Donna a chance to slash it across the chest. The daemon landed, avoiding the boomerang and Martha's downward slash only to be slashed across the chest by an invisible blade. As if by instinct, it rushed at Kyler, aiming to rip him to shreds only to be stopped dead its tracks, bending backwards to avoid Kai's plunge. Donna appeared from the daemon's shadow, piercing the daemon's back with her blades and kicking it. She spun round to slice of its head, with Martha matching her speed to do same. But the daemon disappeared again, popping up behind Valerie. It punched her in the face but Valerie broke into pieces, like glass. Kai thrust the spear into the daemon's chest just as the boomerang came around to slash it across it face, taking two of its eyes with it.
Out of nowhere, Jhin appeared, jumping on the daemon's back and piercing through it. The daemon fell to its knees as Martha finished it off with a perfect cleave.
"This was too easy." Martha said, wiping off the sweat of her forehead with the back of her hand.
"I agree," Kai said. "Its as hard as any other old daemon."
"Valerie." Donna called.
"I'm not getting any readings." Valerie said, standing up from the car she had been sitting on the entire time. "I don't feel anything."
"This feels more like an investigation than an extermination." Kyler said, "That why they sent both of you, maybe?"
"I don't think so." Diego said, examining the daemon, "It has no core."
"So it could be cloning itself?" Jhin asked.
"Unlikely. If it could, then it'd mean that it would still not be evolved."
"Or a phantom," Kai said.
"Yes. But still not evolved. Daemons in their white stage can't break apart. Heck they can't even regenerate."
"Valerie." Donna called.
"I propose we split up." She said. "Prime Donna can go with Kai, Kanon and I. Prime Diego, Martha, Kyler and Jhin."
"Basically, we're bait." Kai said.
"Exactly." Valerie replied, following Donna's lead. Diego remained put until the others were gone.
"So, what's on your mind, Prime Diego." Kyler asked.
"This daemon corpse." Diego said. "Its too perfect."
"In what way?" Martha asked.
"I wanted to rule in controlling daemon corpses. But since there are no prior injuries on its body, then that doesn't count. It can't be a clone, because that would mean its not fully evolved." Diego stood up, going through the city.
Thinking back, a daemon could exist with a core. A while back, a phantom appeared with such an physique. No core. But later on he found out that it was just another Shield experiment gone rogue. Considering he'd lost a friend, he'd maintained a grudge against them. But here?
Yes this was run by the Shield as well, for reasons best known to them. Yes they had evacuated the city to conduct their experiments. But at a time like this, they'd be smart enough not to complicate matters. Hence the Shield couldn't be behind it.
Diego stopped, looking up at the fortress. Old and majestic, towering before him. A part of this city's history rested in this place. Diego wasn't a fan of history but he respected those who sought after it.
"Um, this is made of stone right?" Jhin asked, touching the wall.
"Yes. Why."
"It feels rough."
Diego walked up to Jhin, turning and freezing on the spot. As if to reaffirm something, he slowly placed his hand where Jhin's hand was.
"Martha?" Diego said, his voice shaky. Martha turned to him confused.
"I want you to drive your claymore into the ground and charge up your licht flamme as much as you can into the ground."
Martha nodded, not knowing why. Driving her blade into the ground, she channeled her flame into the claymore and shot a beam of fire through the Earth.
It was only brief, but they all felt it. Even Donna's group felt the reaction, stopping in their tracks. For a brief moment the aura of the sin could be felt throughout. It was suffocating, menacing yet powerful, but most of all, it left a lingering presence behind. One could even say that it left a taste in one's mouth. The taste of wrath.