Akuma awoke on a bed layered with plush purple sheets and a soft pillow cradling his head. As if the softness wasn't enough to lull him back into slumber, the sweet scent of jasmine wafted up from my pillow. He was expecting to hear a slight breeze -or even birds chirping in the back- but this room had zero windows.
The space around him was quite small and barely furnished. Only two beds filled it, as well as a ceiling fan slowly rotating. For anyone walking in the room, you'd find Akuma occupying the right bed, while Tenshi slept soundly in the other.
Akuma was relieved to see him reverted to his human form. Though he was a little confused about his outfit. He could only see he shoulder up, but from what he could make out, it was some strange matte black bodysuit. Eventually he realized he too was wearing some kind of matte black suit. He could feel it emit a level of heat on his skin. He had no memory of putting it on, so whoever did, had to be some kind of pervert.
(It's really quiet… I wonder where we are. In a bunker maybe? Nah, I doubt it…)
"…Guess I'll go back to bed-!"
*SLAM
Suddenly, the wooden door that led into the room burst open with a loud bang. It made an odd noise, one you wouldn't expect from a wooden door. It sounded more like metal than anything.
Standing in the doorway was a girl who couldn't have been older than 25, dressed as a nun.
"Supper is ready!" she announced.
An awkward silence broke out as the two just stared at each other.
"…So, you're the pervert who put this on me. Makes sense, only a pervert would cosplay as a nun."
"I am not a cosplayer!" She shouted, embarrassment evident by her flustered cheeks. "…Nor am I a pervert. And it was grandpa that gave you those clothes."
"I see… your grandpa. Great guy."
(And who the hell would that be…? Wait, do I know this girl?)
"Excuse my rudeness and I'm sorry for shouting. My name is Rin Ark and I'm Finral's granddaughter."
"No way… You mean THE Finral?!"
"Wait, you know h-?"
"Who the hell is Finral?"
"The pope dummy!"
"What was the 'sorry" for if you're just gonna shout aga-?"
"You brothers piss me off, you know that? You guys are so rude. I mean even after I saved you from that monster. Did you see his head suddenly get blown in? Huh? Well, who do you think did that, huh? It was me, that's who. I did it! I saved your sorry butts…! But I got nothing for it. Not even a thank you. Ugh! …As I was saying earlier, supper is ready so please follow me."
Tenshi had finally woken up -most likely from all her yapping- and was gently rubbing his eyes while peeking around.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty. The food is ready so hurry downstairs."
Following that, she stormed off into the distance.
Even though Akuma was wearing a tight heat generator, the chill in the air felt unusually intense. It was like being pushed into icy water without warning. He shivered his way to the door, rubbing his arms to desperately battle the goosebumps. Tenshi followed closely behind, battling his own shivers.
As he approached the doorframe, his curiosity got the best of him, and he grabbed the door to catch a feel.
"Hey. Why'd you suddenly stop? It's freezing man." Tenshi questioned behind him.
(Just as I thought. It's hard. Harder than a normal wooden door should be.)
"Hey!"
(I wonder if it's to protect this building from attacks like the one that happened to us earlier. Yeah, that'd probably explain why there's no windows. Then again, I can't rule out the possibility that we're in a random bunker or somethi-)
His thoughts were interrupted by his impatient brother who decided to knock him to the floor and trample over his fallen body. Some people I tell ya.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! The floor's cold as hell!"
"Well, I kept calling out to you, and you wouldn't answer!"
"I was thinking!"
"My ass! You can't think worth a damn!"
"Fight me!"
The two pushed, shoved and punched their way through the hallway and down the long staircase.
The floor below was mostly empty, with just a few tables scattered around and the kitchen at the far end. At the largest table near the kitchen sat the nun cosplayer and the priest from earlier.
"Good evening, you two." the priest greeted.
"I think way more than you! You, stupid head!"
"That's not even a good insult you mop head!"
"We have the same hairstyle, you baldie!"
"....."
Clearly they had more important things to do.
"GRANDPA'S TALKING TO YOU TWO!!"
*Clock! *POW!!
***
The old man cleared his throat -that seemed to be a habit for this family- as the two brothers sat across from him.
"Sorry about that. Rin can be a bit trigger happy at times."
"Tuh. It's their own fault." She commented, crossing her arms.
By now, Akuma was getting a bit antsy. The abnormal chill was starting to get to him.
"Umm, Sir. Why is it so cold?"
"......."
Both Rin and Finral stared directly into his eyes and maintained an odd silence. Meanwhile, Tenshi was busy devouring the porridge they'd been served. Such a fat soul.
"Why are you guys ignoring my question?"
"What question?" Finral asked.
"Why is it so col-"
"I want to start off by giving you my sincerest apologies." Finral began.
(Holy crap. These people are for real…)
"Let's see. Where should I start..."
"START WITH MY DAMN QUESTION, YOU FOSSIL!!"
"...I'll start with this: Firstly, I'm not actually Rin's grandpa. I'm her distant ancestor."
"Distant…? Wait, how old are you?"
"Ehh… Like a million or something? I forgot."
"Gah-?! Who the hell forgets something like that!"
"It happens. But the next thing I have to tell you is... hmm. There's no good way to say this so I'll just say it... The demon realm is after your lives. Seven of them, in particular."
"…Huh?"
"Yeeah…"
"Then that monster that attacked us… That was a demon after our life?"
Finral scratched the back of his head and let out a feint laugh. I guess that was his way of lightening the mood.
"Well, it was more like he was after your life… But yeah, pretty much."
"THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING FOR?!!"
"My bad-my bad. But look at the bright side. Your training starts now."
Akuma stared at him, a bit confused. Even Tenshi stopped eating, or rather he just finished eating.
"Training…?" Akuma questioned. "…The hell are we training for exactly?"
Maybe he was crazy, but Akuma had a hunch Finral was just trying to sound like some old o.p character from an anime. Does this guy even watch anime? For some reason, he felt like his old persona was just a facade, and he still had a youthful spirit in there.
"Ehm... War and stuff? Look, I would hate for another demon to show up while you boys are unequipped. These demons are trouble, and they'll stop at nothing to get what they want."
"While we're on the subject, what are demons?" Tenshi asked.
He sat with both arms crossed and only one eye opened. I guessed that was his idea of "looking cool"… What a loser.
To Finral's right, who had been nodding her head continuously this entire conversation, Rin was the one to answer.
"Demons are the incarnation of evil itself. Some of them can even wield the power of the gods so be careful. They come from the Underworld, Hell to be specific. If you're having a hard time picturing it, think of a random cabin in a large field of flowers. The field of flowers is the underworld and the cabin is hell… Hell is normally sealed off from the world, but there are times some demons will manage to slip through the cracked seal, as I'm sure you all are aware…"
Akuma and Tenshi were quick to pick up on that last comment. Their eyes twitched as they thought about one day punching this girl in the nose.
"…Demons can be split into four hierarchies: The ones at the bottom of the pyramid are called 'fiends'. They come in many shapes and colors. Usually, they're about the size of a human but it isn't rare for them to be a bit bigger. To put it in terms you'd understand, they're like the foot soldiers in a video game. Y'know kinda like you guys..."
That too would be a comment they'd remember until the end of time.
"…Above them are the Nephilim. What sets them apart from the rest is their huge, and I mean HUGE bodies. Some are known to adapt to certain attacks as well. Of course, they wouldn't be any problem for someone of my level. Above them are what we call 'Asuras'. If they look human to you, then it's because they were. In short, they're people who have not only committed evil atrocities, but have also sold their souls to Lucifer. And in return, they get the special privileges of demons…"
"Special privileges…?" The two questioned.
"Yep. Like I said, demons come from hell. There's a giant core inside of it. As long as that core is up, the demons will respawn even if you kill them."
(Respawn… Interesting way to put it.)
"You didn't make a snark comment this time." Tenshi pointed out. "Can you not take one in a fight?"
"No, I couldn't..."
They were a little surprised by her response. I think somewhere in their minds they imagined Rin to be some absolute unit on the battlefield. Guess she's useless after all. Scrub.
Tenshi restated his question, this time for Finral.
Akuma gulped down as he awaited his response, hoping for a satisfactory answer. This guy was clearly the O.P sensei he saw all the time in anime, so if he couldn't do it, then it's safe to say we're all screwed.
"Boy, I have walked the earth for millions of years, mastering all that hoshi has to offer. And you ask such a foolish question? …Of course not."
They dropped to the ground in disappointment.
Rin cleared her throat once again to get their attention as she readied herself to pick up where she left off.
"That just leaves the last group…"
Her body began to tremble from the mere mention of these individuals.
"…Amon the King of Diamonds,
Frankenstein the King of Clubs,
Kagutsuchi the Jack of Diamonds,
Hel the Queen of Spades,
and lastly
Dracula the Jack of Hearts.
...Though small in numbers, they are monsters beyond anything you could understand. We have come to call these demons by one name…The 5 Catastrophes. And leading these five, is one man. The evilest of scum. Lucifer."
(Oh no…) Akuma sobbed in though. (…They sound badass.)
"So how is it that you know all of that anyways?" Tenshi questioned. "Are you two some secrete task force in charge of dispatching demons or something?"
"Um… Well grandpa is the one who told me everything I know. I myself have only seen a demon once."
"Huh? The hell am I listening to you for then?"
Finral stood up from the table, commenting, "No need to worry about such matters right now" as he did. "Alright, gentlemen, I'm off. While I'm away, Rin will give you the basics."
(So, the time has come, Michael…) Finral thought as he channeled his power. (…The AntiGod has really been born in this world just like you prophesized. He doesn't seem to remember his past life. Or maybe it's sealed off like the rest of humanity… Whatever the case, let's just pray they stay that way. It would be much simpler to handle him this way.)
*Swoosh!
In an instant Finral disappeared, leaving only a gentle breeze behind. For all they knew, he could be halfway across the globe by now.
Rin let out a weary sigh as she walked over to a wooden double door. Or maybe it was hardened wood, like that other door from before.
"Well, you heard him. Come on, let's head outside..."
"Shouldn't we get dressed first?" Akuma asked.
"Hm… Nah, I think it's better this way."
She swung open the doors to the hideout, and the two could've sworn they almost died. A blast of frigid air rushed in, revealing a landscape of white hills and endless snow. Then it all clicked. The abnormal frosty air. The freezing cold floor. And porridge that got cold almost instantly. These three were smack dab in the middle of Antarctica. Akuma now realized why they woke up with heated body suits.
Rin grinned as they shivered against the cold. Unfortunately, she seemed completely unfazed by it. Unfortunately…
"Your first lesson begins now!"