The Lost Lord

Lauren had just received a text message from Rainer saying that he was under attack from angels. She remained calm like she always was. It would be rather odd for her to make a loud outburst during the middle of sixth period creative writing class. She was not known for even talking in the first place. But she had to leave immediately to help Rainer, could there be an excuse she could use?

Nah, screw that, excuses are boring. It would be insanely more interesting for her if she just up and left, especially for her reputation. She prided herself for having an ominous and cool reputation among the students. Confirming that within her mind, she gathered her belongings and stood up. All eyes in the class, save for those who were sleeping, turned to her as she walked out the classroom door.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Class is in session Miss!" The teacher called out to her as she left through the doorway. The teacher walked over to the door in order to yell for Lauren to come back, but as the teacher looked out from the door, she was nowhere to be found. "What the... I'll take care of this after class." The class itself was in a silent uproar over Lauren's sudden departure.

Lauren first headed to Asmodea's class. Asmodea was just headed back inside the classroom after retrieving a stack of books with a student from the library. Perfect timing. Lauren called out to her, "Miss Asmodea, I need a word."

"Sure, I will be just a moment. Cassie, be a dear and take these in and hand them out to the class. Thank you." Asmodea replied as she handed her half of the books to the student named Cassie. As Cassie went inside the classroom, Asmodea turned to Lauren. "Now what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Lauren cast a spell that placed an invisible barrier around Lauren and Asmodea, the barrier muted all sound traveling from inside to the outside of the barrier's walls. She then reported to Asmodea, "Urgent, I got a text from Rainer saying he was being attacked by angels. He is heading to an abandoned factory next to Seventh Street. It's by that harbor with the old-fashioned steamboat. I'm going to head there now, don't worry, I can more than handle myself in a fight. I know a few tricks that'll work against an angel."

"This is serious... So what Nerissa and I discussed became reality. I'll fill you in on our conversation some other time. Yes, you should go help Rainer. I'll inform Nerissa of the situation and bring the two of us to that area. Rainer may have an immense power, but that doesn't mean he can use it properly, nor does he have any combat experience against foes like angels."

"One more thing..." Lauren added, "He mentioned an angel was helping him. Do you know anything about that? I have sensed an angel around these parts for a couple days now, maybe that's it?"

"That is odd... For now, go help Rainer, if he says the angel is friendly, it probably is. Shit, I am so not going back to that class... We are all going straight to the Land of Lust after this." Said Asmodea with a furious look; "It's too dangerous in the human world."

"I agree. Alright, goodbye, let's hope nothing too bad happens." And with that, Lauren ran to the nearest door outside.

Aureal and Rainer landed on flat pathway next to the abandoned factory on the harbor. They made their way inside so that they could have but a few moments of respite while hiding from their pursuers. Their pursuers were experienced, they would be found soon.

"Fuck, I won't be able to fight very well... I've memorized some spells, but without the Grimoire, I won't be able to use them very well. That's what I was told at least." Complained Rainer.

"That is troubling. I will hold them off, and if needed... I will resort to using darkness against them. Do you not have a spell to summon your Grimoire to you?" Aureal asked.

*Thunk* Rainer hit himself on the top of his head, "Why didn't I think of that, I think there is... But I haven't memorized it."

Then a sentence hit him. 'A peculiar thing about this Grimoire, is that once you read a spell, it is permanently burned into your memory, and you will somehow be able to remember it when you think about it.'

So that's what those words meant... All right, all right, what was the damn incantation? He thought, and then it came to him.

Travel through the void of infinite, Grimoire.

Travel through the doorway between nothingness and existence, Grimoire.

Travel and come to me, Grimoire.

Aureal couldn't comprehend the words that came out of Rainer's mouth, it was unlike any language she knew. It was neither angelic, human, or demon in nature, that she was sure. It was gibberish to Aureal, but complete English to Rainer.

After the final sentence of his incantation, nothing happened. Rainer looked around him, hoping to see the Grimoire. Even though he saw absolutely nothing, there it lay, on a box. "You see it get there?" He asked with confusion.

"No, I assumed you knew it would go there because you cast the spell. It does not matter does it? You have your means to fight. This should be a bit easier." Aureal was reassured at the thought of having the power of a Ruler of Sin next to her, even if it was inexperienced.

Rainer was still investigating the Grimoire and the box it appeared on, wondering how to came to be on that box, when he heard an annoying voice boom. "Easy?! You overestimate yourself, Aureal. Even if a Ruler of Sin is right next to you, he is still immature. He lives on borrowed power from his predecessor. He has no idea how to fight in the slightest! He can help you in no way. " Mocked Hannah, "Once Linias here, is done slaughtering him. We will eliminate you together, something you failed miserably at in your last mission. Evan died because of you, our orders are to give you your punishment for your failure."

"I detect... Pride." Said Rainer, he had yet to say a word to the two angels. "I can see Pride all over your words."

"What was that?!"

"Not only Pride, but I can also feel... Wrath. You knew Evan, didn't you?" He knew provoking her was not very smart, but he had to retaliate to her words.

"You have no right to speak to me, trash. I wil-" Hannah was interrupted by a hand raised in front of her, Linias' hand.

Linias then spoke; he spoke in the most cold and emotionless voice Rainer had ever heard. Linias spoke with complete tranquility, "Evan was a close friend to us. We served together in the same garrison. It is not uncommon for one to want revenge for another's death. But you are correct, revenge is a form of Wrath, and Wrath is a sin. She will reflect upon her words and actions accordingly once our mission is finished."

Once Linias finished speaking, a weapon materialized within his hands. A golden white hand axe appeared. The axe held a large spike at the top of the haft, as well as a spike at the bottom of the hilt. The entirety of the axe was made out of a metal that Rainer assumed to be the same metal as their armor. Leather straps were wrapped, crisscrossed, along the hilt. The axe, from haft to hilt was about eighty centimeters. It's a lethal weapon.

As with Linias, a weapon materialized in Hannah and Aureal's hands. Hannah's weapon was a slightly curved sword. Instead of a normal point, however, there was an arrowhead-shaped end to the sword. Its guard was completely connected to the blade and hilt, as if the guard was forged along with the blade. The hilt was covered in the same leather formation as Linias' axe. It's a lethal weapon.

Aureal's weapon was... Rather big, a large, massive war hammer. It was the same metal as her armor, and the head of the hammer was connected to its hilt like the other two weapons. The hammer had two different shapes for it's opposite faces. The hammer was tapered along each of its edges for the square face of the hammer. The other face was in the shape of a circle. There were four stars etched into the square face, one for each corner. From the top of the head, to the bottom of the hilt, the weapon itself was as only centimeters shorter than Aureal's whole height. There were only two notable differences in design, which differed from Aureal's weapon to the other two. There were blue silk straps wrapped around the hilt. And instead of the white gold color the other two angel's weapons had, Aureal's weapon, and her armor too apparently, began to lose it sheen and luster.

"Hannah, you will keep the renegade busy, eliminate her if you can, I will handle the Lord of Lust, Asmodeus." Linias ordered.

"Asmodeus? Wait, what? That's not even my name! That's that other Lust lord guy's name..." Rainer complained, though it was no time to complain, as Linias' attack began.

Faster than a normal eye could see, Linias thrust the haft's spike towards Rainer. Rainer, however, did not possess normal eyes. With the Grimoire in hand, Rainer tilted backwards, intending to jump back and avoid the attack. However, Linias' attack proved not to be that simple. Instead of a simple thrust, Linias dove forwards, the spike going further than Rainer anticipated.

With split second thinking, Rainer decided to go all or nothing with his dodge, and fell backwards instead of jumping back. However his fall wasn't just a fall. Rainer kicked his foot upwards, with the speed and skill of only Rainer's unorthodox caliber. Rainer managed to kick the weapon out of Linias' hand, much to the angel's surprise. Linias brought his free hand downwards and pushed himself off the ground. The angel went up into the air and grabbed his weapon, before landing on his feet. Rainer completed his fall, landing square on his back.

Frantically thinking of a short worded offensive spell within his mind that Rainer had read, one came to him.

"Air, be compressed.

Air, be shaped.

Air, be commanded."

Rainer remembered reading about the spell before his transformation. It forced air into a compressed ball and it would move wherever he willed it too with his hand. The ball gathered itself within Rainer's right hand, as the Grimoire was cradled in his left. Linias was about to swing his weapon towards Rainer until he saw what Rainer was up too. Thrusting his arm towards Linias, Rainer willed the ball to work. The ball shot out with bullet like speed towards Linias' stomach, intending to knock the wind out of him. Linias simply stepped to his left in order to dodge the ball. After sidestepping the ball, Linias resumed his attack on Rainer with haste.

"Come on, come on... Get back here!" Yelled Rainer, if Linias was confused at what Rainer was yelling, he didn't show it. Rainer was having trouble controlling the ball at first. It hesitated when Rainer gave it a command to hit Linias. Now, he believed he had the hang of it, giving the ball an order, the compressed air halted in its erratic path and shot back towards Linias. Rainer apparently still had troubles commanding it, as the ball hit the wrong target. The ball whizzed past Linias, either he very slightly dodged it, or he had no need to, the ball missed Rainer's intended target. It struck Rainer dead center in the chest, tossing him several meters backwards. The impact felt like a baseball, thrown at far above top speed.

!! Aureal saw what happened to Rainer, one of his spells gone awry. He may wield incredible power... But he sucks at using it. "Oh? Look's like the demon fell. Linias made short work of him. He's rather weak, isn't he?" Taunted Hannah, the two female angels were swinging away with their weapons. Hannah used her sword to make thrust and slash attacks. Aureal was twirling her massive hammer in the air like a quarterstaff, attempting to land a strike and deflecting what attacks she could.

Combat prowess wise, Aureal would be considered superior to the two angels. She had plenty of free time between tasks, so she trained herself with her weapon and abilities in Heaven. She however was distraught at Rainer's fall. She didn't believe her friend would die like that.

Hannah swept with her legs, intending to knock Aureal over. Aureal jumped over the legs, dodging the simple maneuver. Hannah pointed her sword at Aureal, who got ready to block again. However, at the tip of Hannah's sword, the arrowhead started glowing with light, gaining energy. "Looks like you too, will die right here. Be gone, sorry excuse for an angel." Cackled Hannah, with confidence. Light, in the shape of an arrow shot out from the sword's tip straight at Aureal, passing her hammer. An explosion of light filled the scene, and Hannah, despite being used to the brightest of lights, was forced to close her eyes.

"Oh well, this was an easy mission." Said Hannah, eyes still closed. She opened them, and shock hit her as she saw the sight before her. "What is this? You're far too weak to even be standing from that attack."

"You have far too much confidence. You forget what power I wield. I wield not only light, but darkness as well." Aureal said through clenched teeth. "My darkness can completely negate your attacks, as well as strike you down. And that's what I am going to show you..." She was angry, angry that her friend was defeated. Darkness started to flow around her hands, as Aureal's counterattack began.

Rainer pushed himself up off the ground. His spell had completely failed him. "I seriously need to practice this stuff... Oh well, it's still my first day as a full demon." Rainer spit out some blood, the compressed air hit him harder than he thought. Though he was tough, and his new demonic body only made him tougher.

"I found that... Odd. I would have expected Asmodeus, the Lord of Lust to be stronger than this." Linias said without remorse.

"Why do you keep calling me Asmodeus? That's not my name! It's Rainer... Though, Asmodeus does sound like a pretty cool name." Admitted Rainer.

"I suppose since have only just made your transformation, that you do not know of these simple facts. Very well, listen, these may very well be the last words you hear." Then Linias began to explain, "All the Rulers of Sin hold a title, in your case, the Lord of Lust. Along with that, all the Rulers of Sin hold a special name, in your case, Asmodeus. The original demons of Sin had these names, Asmodeus of Lust, Mammon of Greed, Leviathan of Envy, Beelzebub of Gluttony, Satan of Wrath, Belphegor of Sloth, and Lucifer of Pride. After those demons died in wars or personal conflicts, the rulers after them took their names as respect. You may call yourself Rainer personally, but to everyone who does not know you closely will know you as Asmodeus, the Lord of Lust." Rainer had no idea why he was getting a little history lesson from the angel, how convenient.

"How interesting... No, really, that is interesting." Assured Rainer, he wasn't sure what to say after Linias' explanation. Rainer did know one thing. He would not be able to defeat Linias in a fight, not because of a power gap, but of a skill and experience gap. Linias had a lifetime of battle experience to call upon. Rainer had only fought a few delinquents and failed "gangstas."

"Yes, I humble request that you do not resist. I will make your death swift and painless. You will not be able to win against me." Linias looked towards the fight between Aureal and Hannah.

Aureal was swinging her hammer around like a maniacal berserker. Rainer also noticed that Aureal had ominous dark energy flowing from her hands and facial orifices. The angel, Hannah, was desperately trying to stay alive, jumping from one spot of the factory to another. She was unable to deflect Aureal's hammer attacks that seethed with powerful dark energy. Rainer remembered that Aureal said that light is a poison to demons; darkness is a poison to angels. And such a massive amount of darkness seemed to emanate from Aureal...

"It seems I am sorely needed in the fight over there. I will finish you off now." Said Linias, who had turned back towards Rainer, ready to finish his mission.

Rainer scrambled to his feet, trying to think of a spell he could use before Linias closed in. "I was interested in seeing how much power you had to offer, apparently, you have none." Linias said it as fact, not an insult.

"That sort of high and mighty attitude pisses me off... I don't know much about this power I have, but what I do know, is that I have a lot of it. Why don't you see for your damn self!" Rainer then released his demonic form. Black wings sprouted from his back, ripping apart the threads that held the clothes together. (He had changed into different clothes from the ones he had that morning he awoke to his new form) Black horns jutted out from the top of his head; a tail shot out from his bottom.

"So this is the form of the current Lord of Lust... How peculiar, your skin remains the same. No matter, this does not change anything." Linias' voice wavered not once.

Rainer had noticed this morning that while he was in his demon form, he felt calm, collected, and... Powerful. While he was in his human form, he felt anxious, nervous, and weaker. Was it like that with all demons, he wondered, or just me?

"Ah... That's why." Mused Rainer as he figured out the reason. It took no small amount of effort to keep his demonic form inside him. While he was subconsciously keeping it in during the fight, Rainer still felt that something was keeping a good amount of his concentration occupied. "That's why my spells were unruly... No, that's still probably because of my vast inexperience. Now that that's out of the way, let's see how I fare now." Rainer's mind felt clear and devoted to the battle in front of him, because of that, something caught Rainer's eye.

Through a darkened window with shattered glass adorning the sides, Rainer saw a welcome sight in the form of a demon and witch named Nerissa and Lauren. Relief washed over his mind, he was fairly certain he was safe now... Safer now. Knowing that they will interfere with the fight when the time is right, Rainer focused on Linias' piercing gaze.

"Mercy shall not be shown on you demon, just die now and let us be done with this pointless struggle." Linias stole a glance towards the fight between Aureal and Hannah, "It seems my companion is having more trouble than she should, let us finish this."

"Didn't you say that awhile ago? I'm still alive. You don't understand what's gonna happen here." Rainer then intentionally got cocky, "See, I'm awesome, that's the reason why I'm still alive. I'm going to save me, obviously, save Aureal, and I'm going to kick your damn ass right here!"

Rainer then waved his hand forward in an arc, breathing heavily while he mouthed out a spell, "Fire, burn hot!" The air grew hot, as red and orange fire grew in front of Rainer. He devoted all of his thoughts in aiming his fire spell at Linias, it was a basic spell, so Rainer figured he could at least control it now his mind was free.

Rainer's assumption was correct, finally. The wave of fire sped towards Linias, leaving a trail of fire dissipating behind it. "Even if you can control it, a basic spell can only do so much. In my case, it does little." Said Linias as he sliced his axe downwards, cutting through the wave. Partial amounts of Linias' armor and skin were singed, but nothing major or minor was damaged, however, the spell had the effect Rainer desired.

"Just please die no-" Linias was cut off as he coughed out blood. He and Rainer looked at his chest, an arm stuck its way through, as if the armor was nothing. The arm was covered in blood and bits of organs, the hand connected to the arm had its fingers shaped in a sharp cone. Standing behind him was Lauren, whose arm was currently embedded in Linias.

"Arm of the Wraith." It sounded like a whisper, yet Rainer heard it as clear as a sunny day. Her voice had an odd rasp to it as well, but it disappeared with her next words, "You have lost, angel. Through a sneak attack I admit... But it was necessary."