"Sister!"
A raw, collective scream ripped through the courtyard.
Elena clutched the terrified Mihea, her face a mask of shock and tears.
Iacob and Ilie, the mischievous twins huddled together, their small bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Andrei, whimpered incoherently, and Filip, the quietest of all, simply stood rigid, his eyes fixed on the horrific scene in front of him.
Jay stood frozen, his eyes empty.
They were fixed on the dark crimson stain spreading beneath Sister Andrea.
Shock pressed against him, constricting his chest and making the air itself feel suffocating. The sight of the woman who meant everything to him, her blood dripping onto the ground, made it feel as if his entire world was being torn to pieces.
Still holding the line of shadowy creatures, Vali was momentarily powerless as he watched the holy light vanish from her sword.
The sight of Sister Andrea's body, impaled and collapsing to the ground amid Berjequel's swirling blackness, struck him with a pain he had never felt before.
"No... no, this can't be…"
He clenched his fists, his body trembling with anger, both at Berjequel, and at himself for allowing this to happen.
So you will finally accept this, partner.
The ancient, deep voice resonated in his head, echoing hum of the Ancient Y Ddraig Wein, Albion the White Dragon Emperor rang within the crystalline fortress of Vali's mind.
'Y-you! Albion.'
Embrace my power, young host. Stop rejecting me, feel the strength of a dragon coursing through your body. Crush this filthy creature with my power,... your power.
"I...."
Vali hesitated, but then... as he looking at the cruel smile on Berjequel's face and the helpless body of the woman who had shown him unconditional compassion and kindness.
Something inside him snapped.
A surge of raw, unrestrained desire for retribution overflowed within him.
The blue energy around him erupted, intensifying tenfold.
The ground beneath the chapel grounds shuddered violently, cracking under the force of the immense energy spike of the Divine Dividing.
And suddenly, an ancient dragon hum of the White Dragon Emperor vibrated through the night.
ROARRRR
Vali's eyes, visible behind the helmet's visor, snapped open, blazing with icy determination.
"Balance Breaker!"
A blinding flash of pure, sapphire-blue light pulsed outward, a shockwave of sacred power. Berjequel staggered backward, forced to shield his eyes. In that blinding instant, the light coalesced into a storm of raw, focused energy. The Divine Dividing Scale Mail erupted from Vali's soul, encasing him in flawless, ethereal silver armor. It was sleek, aerodynamic, and utterly terrifying.
The Divine Dividing balance breaker, the Scale Mail, the manifestation of the White Dragon Emperor's power, achieved at the tender age of thirteen erupted around Vali.
Berjequel stumbled back, his mind reeling.
'No way… kukuku! To awaken the Balance Breaker at the tender age of thirteen! This is unprecedented! This adventure is far more fruitful than I expected! Lord Rizevim would be ecstatic to hear this news! The boy has leapt to Ultimate Class in an instant!' he thought.
Before Berjequel could finished gathering his thoughts.
Suddenly Vali moved in a blinding blue flash, the white dragon emperor vanished and reappeared at Berjequel side as he delivering a kick charged with devastating power.
'Wha-'
BOOM
The force was immense, blasting through Berjequel's hastily raised shadow barrier, searing his body and shattering his composure.
He was hurled across the courtyard, crashing into the remnants of the broken chapel wall with a catastrophic impact that pulverized the stone.
"What the… I can't even see him!" Berjequel thought furiously, blood, shattered stone, and strands of his dark hair spattering from his mouth.
The half-devil finally cleared his vision, his eyes locking onto the terrifying silver figure. Blue, translucent dragon wings beat the air, flooding the battlefield with blinding divine energy.
Then Vali raised his hand.
"Divide! Divide! Divide!"
He chanted, his voice merging with Albion's, resonating through the air with every syllable. With each cry, the darkness around Berjequel contracted violently, stripping him of his power, his vitality, and his connection to the surrounding darkness.
"Shit, this can't be!" Berjequel screamed inwardly as he felt his supernatural energy, his vampiric traits, and his shadow manipulation draining at an alarming rate, nearly eighty-seven and a half percent gone.
He was being neutralized with terrifying efficiency.
He was an Ultimate-Class devil, albeit one of the lowest tier, yet the divine dividing power was utterly overwhelming him.
But, Berjequel was still confident in his vampire natural ability.
The shadow sustains him, binding him to its darkness. As long as it exists, he is immortal.
"This is only a matter of time! The energy consumption of that armor is astronomical, especially after just awakening it, even if you are a Lucifer descendant! Let's see how long you can endure this, Vali Lucifer!!"
Berjequel already knew that the duration of the Scale Mail's activation depended entirely on the user's physical and mental condition. Push too far, and it could become severely lethal. The Sacred Gear itself acted as a fail-safe, forcibly removing the armor when the wearer reached their limit.
Vali's strength in his Balance Breaker form was undeniable.
He was putting immense pressure on a borderline Ultimate-Class devil.
Fueled purely by rage and grief, Vali pushed the Scale Mail far beyond its limits.
But Vali's relentless assault suddenly ceased.
The silver dragon armor hovering above the courtyard tilted, the helmet snapping down toward the ground where Sister Andrea lay.
Vali knew the flaw too. He had stripped Berjequel to near powerlessness, yet the devil remained standing, slowly regenerating in the deep shadows.
Rather than engage in a direct contest of stamina, Berjequel realized he needed a way to break Vali's focus.
A distraction.
In a maneuver of cruel intent, Berjequel dematerialized entirely, melting back into the shadows of the ravaged courtyard and confusing the rampaging Vali.
Vali's enhanced senses screamed a warning.
Then, with a sudden explosion of darkness, Berjequel reappeared.
Not near Vali, but directly behind the children still huddled in abject terror in the broken alleyway.
"Well, well, young master...," Berjequel purred, his voice regaining its confidence, amplified by the shadows that clung to him.
"Look at your pitiful, human weakness... I see your mother must be so proud of you right now." He said sarcastically.
Vali froze mid-air, the sound of his own breathing labored inside the helmet.
He saw the children, Elena shielding Mihea, the twins Iacob and Ilie pressed against each other, Andrei and Filip trembling, their faces streaked with tears.
They were his family. The quiet weeks, the shared hammock, the stale bread, the warmth that had quietly filled his heart.
'No...'
From the ground, thick, black, shadowy hands sprouted like lethal plants, their dagger-like claws hovering just inches from the children's necks, poised to execute them.
"Now, stop the armor," Berjequel commanded, his voice cold and menacing. "End this pointless battle and come with me, quietly, back to the Underworld. Their lives in exchange for your obedience…"
Vali's teeth ground together inside his helmet. The image of Sister Andrea's lifeless body dominated his vision. He would not lose them too. He could not.
Don't believe every single word that came of out of his filthy mouth, young host.
'No! Albion, you don't understand! I won't let them die because of me!'
Albion's ancient voice was devoid of emotion, purely objective.
Its futile, young host... Now, either we kill him or he will control you. In the grand scheme of things, a mortal connection will only hurt you. These human emotion, your connection to them, is irrelevant.
'They are not irrelevant! They are everything! They are the only family I have! I won't let you dictate my thoughts, Albion! I am the host of the White Dragon Emperor, and I will protect them even if it costs my freedom!' Vali roared internally, the conflict between his fragile, newfound humanity and his cold, devil-dragon instincts tearing him apart.
Then fight, young host. The lucifer blood, an ancient blood run through your veins, and dragon's power emanating from your own existence. Don't let his words contro-
'I'm sorry, Albion,' Vali cut him off sharply.
Vali lowered his head, the blue light of the Scale Mail flickering violently.
His heart felt like cold, crushed glass. The power he had unleashed was immense, the power he needed now even greater. He knew Albion was right... he had only known them for weeks, and as a descendant of Lucifer, it was fated that they could only ever be a small part of his life.
But to him, that small part was already enough to fill his heart.
He had to choose.
Vali inhaled a shuddering breath, the air whistling through the vents of his helmet.
"I'll come with you," Vali croaked, the words thick with defeat.
"Stop this. Remove the shadows. If you touch them, I will find you, and I will reduce your soul to nothing."
Berjequel's smile returned, triumphant and sickening.
"Good boy~. I always knew the Lucifer blood had sense. Now, unbind the armor."
With a scream of tearing energy, Vali dropped the Scale Mail.
The silver armor dissolved into motes of blue light, leaving him kneeling, his body radiating exhaustion after activating his Balance Breaker for the first time.
The tension finally broke. Berjequel laughed, dissipating the menacing shadowy hands that had hovered inches from the children.
As the immediate, lethal threat receded, Jay's body finally unlocked.
He moved desperately, scrambling over the rubble toward the collapsed figure of Sister Andrea.
"Sister Andrea…" Jay cried, sinking to his knees beside her.
Her breathing was shallow, ragged, her face pale. She looked at Jay, and somehow, through the overwhelming pain, she managed to focus.
A thin, frail smile touched her lips.
"Jay… I'm sorry for failing to protect all of you," her voice barely a whisper.
Jay shook his head.
No… how can it be your fault? he thought.
The other children rushed forward, crying and calling her name, but Jay was already holding her, the crimson blood on her back staining his hands.
"I… I have a friend," Sister Andrea strained, the words flecked with blood. "In a place called the Emerald City… To go there, you must find the Chapter Library of Verona, in Italy. Meet someone there…"
Her weak hand lifted, fingers trembling as she gripped the simple silver chain around her neck. She pulled it free and laid a small, chromed pendant into Jay's shaking palm. The pendant was cool against his heated skin, etched with a distinct four-crossed fleur-de-lis symbol.
"Just show her this pendant…" she whispered, her gaze soft, filled with a desperate plea. "Take care of them, Jay… all of them... Elena, Andrei, Mihea, Iacob, Ilea, and Filip. You are their older brother. Promise me you will keep them safe."
Tears finally broke through Jay's control. He sobbed, grief tearing through him, echoing the anguish of a boy.
"I promise… we'll go! We'll be okay!"
She gave a final, gentle squeeze of his hand, a soundless peaceful exhale escaping her lips. Her eyes went dull, fixed on the sky above the destroyed chapel.
And just like that-
Sister Andrea was gone, dead in his arms.
Jay's scream of anguish tore through the night, a raw, devastating sound of loss, instantly joined by the hysterical, heartbroken wails of Elena, Mihea, and the others.
Vali watched, tears mixing with sweat and blood on his face. He staggered to his feet, ready to walk toward the devil, his mind reeling from the sight of Jay's utter grief. He took one step toward his captor-
-and that was Berjequel's opening.
The half-devil half-vampire moved with terrifying speed. Berjequel seized the back of Vali's neck, his fangs elongating. He bit down hard, sinking his teeth into Vali's jugular.
"ARGH!"
Vali cried out, a strangled gasp of pain. The shadow-infused venom spiked through his system, searing his veins. His consciousness wavered, his strength drained from the Balance Breaker and the relentless energy assault collapsing completely.
As Vali's vision swam and faded, Berjequel extended his true power one last time, reveling in the cruelty.
From the ground, thick, hardened shadows erupted like deadly obsidian spikes/
The shadow spikes shot through the children, impaling them where they knelt weeping around Sister Andrea.
Mihea, Elena, Andrei, Iacob, Ilie, and Filip all of them were killed instantly, pinned to the earth like macabre trophies.
The horrifying, gruesome recreation of Vlad the Impaler's cruelty was the last agonizing sight Vali saw.
No…
He couldn't move. He couldn't scream. He couldn't call on Albion. His strength refused to manifest, leaving him utterly powerless.
Jay, Elena, Andrei, Iacob, Ilie, Mihea, Filip…
It's my fault… I'm sorry.
His consciousness plunged into total darkness as Berjequel lifted the limp body of the White Dragon Emperor's host to his shoulder.
Jay felt the world shatter into pieces with the silent overwhelming wave of loss.
Sister Andrea's lifeless body was heavy in his arms. Tears streamed down his face, hot and stinging, while inside he felt a coldness deeper than the harshest Maramureș winter. Around him, the final sounds were the muffled, sudden screams of the children, cut abruptly by a brutal silence.
Jay didn't look up. He didn't need to. He knew they were gone.
No... he simply couldn't bear to see it.
Mihea. The shy smile, the two fingers waving hello.
Andrei. The constant hunger, and the baked potato he loved the most.
Ilie and Iacob. The inseparable twins, always together.
Filip. The quiet presence, the timid nod.
Elena. The tired sigh, the maternal protection.
They were all gone.
His entire world had collapsed.
They had taken it from him.
Grief turned into hatred, pure and distilled, began to rise in his chest.
He felt the cold touch of the ground on his back, the warm, sticky blood of Sister Andrea soaking his clothes.
'Why? Why did they have to die? '
His spirit, already an empty void, began to resonate with a power he had never known he possessed.
From the deepest part of his soul, a purple light began to pulse beneath his skin, steady and sure. A burgeoning, destructive inferno manifested.
The purple flame, a sign of Incinerate Anthem.
A Sacred Gear, one of the thirteen Longinues and a judgment of sin began to erupt from beneath his body.
"No fucking way hahaha, that's the Incenerate Anthem, one of the thirteen longinus!! This already perfect day is becoming even better." Berjequel laughed hysterically.
But before the flame could fully ignite, before Jay's consciousness could recognize the birth of his own destiny, the purple light was violently choked.
The power, sensing the extreme hatred for all things supernatural and the deep sorrow surrounding the chapel, twisted. The purple light was instantly suffocated by a darker, colder force, filled with judgmental neutrality.
The power of a black flame, said to exist only in the deepest part of hell, the antithesis of the sacred light, yet still possessing a terrifying holiness, stirred.
Berjequel, about to teleport away with the unconscious Vali to Jay and claim another Longinus for himself, felt the shift in the air.
He paused, his gaze locking intensely on the kneeling boy.
"What… is that? Not divine power. Not demonic. But it feels… holy, yet so cold. Don't tell me… a subspecies Balance Breaker!?" Berjequel's eyes widened in surprise.
He was familiar with one of the Holy Relics, one of the thirteen Longinus, Incinerate Anthem. He had fought one of its wielders in the past. The purple flame... it should have been that.
But this… this was different.
Those black flames.
Jay felt the black flame envelop him. His entire existence was now dedicated to a single purpose.
Judgment.
The terror was gone. The grief had been replaced. Only pure, cold, and sinister rage remained.
An ancient song filled his head.
As the bell tolled, it sang the anthem of the End.
Jay, the boy who did not believe in God or the Devil, gained his power from the ruins of the faith he had never held. As the black flame enveloped him, he felt the true weight of his purpose.
The true nature of his power.
He who was ordained to judge the wicked
cast forth the flame of righteous wrath,
and by holy fire were sins unmade,
consigned unto the deepest abyss,
where neither name nor memory endure.
He clutched the Chromed Pendant, the relic of the dead Sister Andrea, the cool metal a sudden anchor to his burning soul.
Hatred filled his being, becoming his creed, his only reason for existence.
Thus were the transgressions burned to naught,
and silence reigned where darkness once dwelt.
Jay looked up, his deep dark hazel eyes now glowing with a cold, terrifying black fire that absorbed all light but burn hotter and brighter than the sun.
He saw Berjequel, the devil, still holding Vali.
The True Cross of Golgotha
His voice, ragged with unshed tears and the nascent power of his Sacred Gear, was a whisper that carried the weight of a thousand judgments.
"I will kill every single one of them."