To Kill a God, Chapter 1: Chimera Tower (IC)

[Isle of Lithonia]

Gloria Tibi, Domine, gloria Tibi.

Rex caelestis, Consolator, Spiritus veritatis, qui extas ubique et

omnia imples, Thesaurus beneficiorum et Largitor vitae: Veni et mane

in nobis, atque de omni immunditia munda nos, et salvas fac animas

nostras, Benigne.

Sanctus Deus, Sanctus Fortis, Sanctus Immortalis, miserere nobis.

Amen.

---

OOC

Fire burned across the plains of Heaven as the Demon-gods neared the Throne Room. The two Covering Seraphim stepped out in front of the door to the Throne Room, blocking the gods' path with their Angelic Swords. Beams of light burst forth from their hands, screeching towards the gods. Explosions rocked the heavens as the beams made contact, and great balls of flame spewed forth from the ground. The Heavens sat silent, awaiting the outcome. But the gods were not finished.

A great, many-headed dragon erupted from the center of the explosion, a sea of black flames pouring from its mouth. The Seraphim vainly charged it, swords upraised. A beam of darkness burst from the dragon's mouth, cutting the Angels to pieces.

At their deaths, the dragon disappeared, replaced by the Demon-gods. With nothing left to stand in their way, they entered the Throne Room of Heaven, their weapons drawn to smite the god lying therein.

---

Seven Years Earlier...


Seattle was much the same as ever in 2021 A.C.E. The lives of the many humans continued like normal, oblivious to the plans of Heaven and Hell. In the midst of the city lay Chimera Tower, the HQ of the world's largest arms manufacturer: Chimera Industries. Its first floor had an extremely open layout, with a large reception desk to the left of the main doors (manned by several, over-the-top good-looking ladies in black uniforms), and elevators on the far side of the room next to large stairs heading up to the second floor. The colors and general shapes of the room seemed to mimic the metals and technology of the postmodern world. Most of the walls were merely massive windows, looking out at the street. Several businessmen and personnel hurried along with their duties, paying little attention to anything outside of their current business.

It was at the top floor of this building that Balaam awaited the arrival of the Illuminati: the Demon hosts which he and Lucen had chosen to destroy Ira Dei and prevent the destruction of Earth.

[BlackDeath27]

Raven made way into the lobby though maybe she was over dressed and may scare some of the others that would show up. The girl made her way into the elevator following the directions of the message that was given to her. If she had money to make this building she would have a field day shopping or maybe even buy the Lexas she wanted." This guy must be must be crazy to hire some kids to help him right Aira." Suddenly the familiar appeared out of thin air back against the door as the elevator flew upwards.

" I would also agree to this is a insane tactic to invite kids to do his bidding. What worth could you be to someone like him." Aira let her wings stretch for a while before retuning her gaze to Raven."I truly do not know what's he wants from you or me but know that I don't trust a man with power." With that Aria disappeared and the elevator stoped with a loud dig sound signaling that they have reached the top. Normal parents would flip out if they new their daughter was going to see a man so she lied and said she'll be hanging with some friends from school. Pushing the doors open Raven noticed a man standing alone in the room." Are you the one that called me here?"

[Charmera]

"This is nothing but pure insanity." Was what Jack told his familiar as he stepped into the building. He took a quick second to admire the decoration, as he had for the architecture when he was outside. Then he made his way to the elevator, pressing the button to call it down. "How are we to defeat a god exactly? Do we just hope he ignores us until we're at his doorstep? Do we just hope that we can find some way to defeat him before he squashes us?"

"I don't know" Jane replied inside Jacks head, obviously a little tired of the young mans pessimism"But I trust Balaam..."

"You don't trust anyone, I've known you long enough to know that." James shot back.

The ding of the elevator did not interrupt the conversation. And Jack was fairly thankful it had come as soon as it did. The teenager with white hair was starting to get a few stares, which he didn't like. "True, I may not trust the man himself, but it's not like you have anything to loose by listening to him. Plus what exactly is the alternative? If we fail, the world dies. If we do nothing, the world dies. We may as well fight.

Jack grunted, pressing the button for the top floor. The elevator sped up the floors, the floor counter going up steadily.

You know I'm right. Your just being quiet because you don't wan't to admit it. Jane said coyly.

Jack narrowed his eyes slightly. The doors opening as he reached his destination.

Jack looked to Raven. "It seems we're not the first to arrive..." He commented, before turning his gaze to the solitary figure. "Your the one who called us here, I presume?"

[Isle of Lithonia]

The young man turned to look at the newcomers. Smoke rose from his lips as he exhaled, taking his cigarette out of his mouth for a moment. His cold, crimson eyes glared at them, slowly sizing them up. He flicked his red hair out of his face, and smirked at them. "I'm not Balaam. If you two assholes would have asked your Familiars, they would have told you as much. And if they aren't dumbasses like yourselves, they should be able to figure out who I am."

"I've been instructed to have you all wait here 'til the rest of the group arrives. Then I'll personally take you to Balaam." He gestured at some seats nearby, and said in a biting tone, "Until then, how about you take a seat. I'm sure your poor feet are just aching from having taken the elevator all the way up here."

[Firstaria]

He had to admit, he expected him to be a little scared about all this, not this confident. the guy was still his brother, and after the hell him went trough he expected to see more reverence and calm to a situation like this. Instead, Daniel seemed perfectly fine walking towards Chimera Tower, as his brother kept talking with him about how he could possibly take it so easily.

" Because you said this place has something that gives you a strange feeling, like our home; so it may be connected with your memories!" he said whispering, like talking to himself although there was someone listening. " And also it's not like I can ignore the knowledge that god wants to destroy humanity. "

" You are still taking it surprisingly easy. " the voice of his step-brother answered as he had the counter argument ready again " Because being involved in something this big beats any boring thing, and also we are back again, and this time you are forced to bring me with you. " Daniel concluded with an angry tone. He had been a little pissed off that Hector could not remember his past, as he was always curious on what he did all these times he disappeared from home.

The young boy arrived at the place and took the elevator, only to arrive in a room with two teen sitting and one man looking at them, and could not avoid to notice how one of the girl was dressed, very sexy and strange at the same time. " Is that..." Daniel asked in his mind pointing at the guy, as Hector answered "No, but I feel we are in the right place, let's sit..." he tried to suggest, but his step-brother had to open his mouth " So, nice place you have here, mr....huh..."

[Glovania]

"Well this is nice." Emily said, appearing beside Charlie as they walked in through the revolving door, the sheen of the sun concealing them briefly. Charlie was shocked by her appearance.
"Don't do that! What if someone saw you?" She said.
"So what if they saw me? Anyway, let's go. It's on the top floor apparently." Emily replied. They walked in through the lobby, and went over to the elevator, where the door opened after a brief wait. They stepped inside, the doors closing behind them. Charlie was wondering what this guy would be like, and how many others there were. She remembered how bad she felt after straight up lying to her parents that she was meeting some friends.
"Don't feel bad, Charlie." Emily said, their minds and thoughts linked.
"I can't help it. I hate lying to people."
"You're too nice. Anyway, we're here at the top floor." Emily said, as the doors slid open.

Two others had already arrived, with a figure by the window.
"I hope we're not interrupting anything." Emily said, stepping out of the elevator first. "Wait a minute - you're not Balaam." Emily said, not recognising the man in front of them. Charlie felt her tense up, wondering who this guy was.
"It's all right, I'm sure he's on our side." Charlie said, putting a hand on Emily's shoulder. "Who are you?" Charlie asked the man.

[Imperial--japan]

A brunette stood in an elevator as it made its way towards the assigned floor. It wasn't every day that Lavi was invited to such a prestigious place, and if she was informed of the reason why, she had most certainly forgot. At this point, William had given up on trying to remind his host on the purpose of their endeavor. Instead, he only made it clear to remind her to be on her best behavior.

"Stand up straight Miss Lavi. Now press your chest up. Not that far up, we don't want to give this bloke the wrong impression." William was busy scolding Lavi on her posture and proper etiquette before the target of his lecturing interrupted him.

"Don't worry Willy I doubt we would be invited if they didn't like me. I'm sure everyone will be as happy to meet us as we are to meet them!" Lavi had a large grin on her face and she was absolutely bustling with excitement. She paced back and forth from the ends of the elevator before the door finally opened. The little brunette cartwheeled out of the elevator and toward the man at the end. The move ended with her landing a near perfect frontflip, and she then looked towards the smoking figure.

"I gotta talk to Mr. Bologna," Lavi said smiling. Her familiar sighed and reminded her the actual name of their host.

"Oh I mean Balaam, heheh sorry about that," she corrected herself. The smile never left her face, but when she saw the other people she froze.

"I didn't know this was a party! I didn't bring any gifts! I'm so sorry," she announced and put a hand to her heart. "I can go back and get something....do you all like subway? I like subway! Their five dollar foot longs are the best!" She said and continued her little monologue about subway a little while longer. Looking back to the man, she asked him another question.

"Does Mr. Balaam like subway? I can get him subway if he wants!" Lavi asked.

[Isle of Lithonia]

A brunette stood in an elevator as it made its way towards the assigned floor. It wasn't every day that Lavi was invited to such a prestigious place, and if she was informed of the reason why, she had most certainly forgot. At this point, William had given up on trying to remind his host on the purpose of their endeavor. Instead, he only made it clear to remind her to be on her best behavior.

"Stand up straight Miss Lavi. Now press your chest up. Not that far up, we don't want to give this bloke the wrong impression." William was busy scolding Lavi on her posture and proper etiquette before the target of his lecturing interrupted him.

"Don't worry Willy I doubt we would be invited if they didn't like me. I'm sure everyone will be as happy to meet us as we are to meet them!" Lavi had a large grin on her face and she was absolutely bustling with excitement. She paced back and forth from the ends of the elevator before the door finally opened. The little brunette cartwheeled out of the elevator and toward the man at the end. The move ended with her landing a near perfect frontflip, and she then looked towards the smoking figure.

"I gotta talk to Mr. Bologna," Lavi said smiling. Her familiar sighed and reminded her the actual name of their host.

"Oh I mean Balaam, heheh sorry about that," she corrected herself. The smile never left her face, but when she saw the other people she froze.

"I didn't know this was a party! I didn't bring any gifts! I'm so sorry," she announced and put a hand to her heart. "I can go back and get something....do you all like subway? I like subway! Their five dollar foot longs are the best!" She said and continued her little monologue about subway a little while longer. Looking back to the man, she asked him another question.

"Does Mr. Balaam like subway? I can get him subway if he wants!" Lavi asked.

The man stared at Lavi for a few moments before speaking. "So, thus far we have Lavi Corellia, Raven Croft, Jack Jones, Daniel Mercury, and Charlotte Lindholm."

A female Demon appeared next to him, her blue eyes piercing into the persons gathered. Her red hair matched the color of the man's, and they looked very much like twins. Her voice was sharp as a knife and cold as ice as she spoke. "And we have Hector Mercury, William Watermanboro, Aria Odensen, Emily Croft, and Jane Winters, their Demon Familiars."

The man puffed on his cigarette for a moment, then continued. "Since even you Demons are too fucking stupid to figure this out, I'll introduce us slowly, using tiny words so that even your fucking hosts can understand. I am Lieutenant Christopher Karlson, the head of Chimera Security. The Demon over there is Lady Jessica Lightheart, one of the few Blue Demons that walk this planet."

Jessica glared at the humans and their Demons. "I am very disappointed that none of you remembered who my host was. God fuck, it shouldn't be difficult for you to remember who the top dogs are in Hell and their hosts. It's not like the Lieutenant gave you a head of lettuce and told you to shit out a Caesar Salad."

Christopher smirked at her comment, and continued, "I expect much more from you all, since you will be taking on god himself. You all have a long way to go, it seems." He turned around, and stared out the windows as he continued to smoke.

[Firstaria]

"Actually you could sign that forgetfulness under free-will." Hector said to Daniel, who looked confused until he remembered that his brother said to him that one of his boss confirms the fact that Hitler must have gone to hell, since one of her illegitimate daughters was a blue demon. To be fair, he actually took that as a joke, but now it was clear he stand corrected.

"Well it's not like we are superhero or something, two weeks ago my biggest problem was math, not God." He decided to answer with sincerity, as his brother was undecided if to laugh or not at the simplicity he was putting in the matter. "What he wanted to say is that is better to do presentation accordingly, since the humans are completely new to this in the end." he tried to put more formality in the words, not wanting to deal with hours of trash-talking from these superiors.

Hector looked then at the others, hoping to find some support. Although a Blue Demon was on another level in terms of power or authority, he was hoping they could use the card of being chosen to avoid useless lectures. He had no time for those, between God and his memories to recover.

[Nature-Spirits]

A young, tall blond man walked into the lobby of Chimera Tower, smiling at everyone and nodding in greeting to each person he passed. But in his eyes, one could see, if they looked hard enough, a sadness.

Oh, get over it, a low, yet feminine voice said in his head, and though the words seemed harsh, the tone in which they were spoken was soft and comforting. You know we couldn't have brought it with us.

His smile faltered for just a moment as he pressed the elevator door's button, and his mind suddenly backtracked to earlier that day.

---

"Mom, I'm going to go out with some friends downtown in a couple hours with some friends. Don't know when exactly I'll be back, but it'll probably be before tonight," he informed his mother at around 10 o'clock.

She nodded, sipping from her mug of tea. "Got it. Just don't get in trouble with the police. And try not to get drunk. And if you do, call me and I'll come get you. You're a happy drunk anyway, right? So I suppose I wouldn't mind too much. And if the police crash the party -- well, just remember all those stories I've told you about my partying years." She winked, and he rolled his eyes, smiling at her. "Sure, Mom."

---

Walking downtown, he saw a bedraggled, obviously injured cat. He gasped, and was about to kneel down to pick it up when an invisible finger tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped, and whirled around, then sighed. "Steph--"

Princess! the female voice reminded him primly.

He sighed. "Fine. Princess, what is it now?"

We have to go meet with Balaam, said the voice, and an invisible hand stroked up and down his bicep as he felt a warmth press close to him. And you certainly can't bring that with us, now can you?

A pained look crossed his face, and he bit his lower lip. "But--"

Shhh. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything.

---

When he stepped out of the elevator he was smiling again. "Um, hello. I'm Sander Andersen," he announced to the assembled group.

[Imperial--japan]

Lavi's smile didn't drop in the slightest as her and William were scolded by the powerful and authoritative demon in front of them. When the comment about 'shitting out a Caesar salad' was made, she couldn't help but let out a small laugh. What Lavi found to be the most intriguing subject was the fact that they were going to take on god.

"I always thought god was supposed to be this supreme being and all. Being an omnivore and all that. If he's god wouldn't he know what we're doing right now? He could easily just strike us with lightning!" Lavi exclaimed. She made the dramatic motion of lighting coming down through the ceiling before resuming the rant.

"If he can't stop us then is there like some magic thingy that stops him from stopping us? Or if he doesn't know what's going on then he isn't really an Omnivore! Then he isn't really god because god can do whatever! That means he's just some really powerful dude. That means he can be toppled like you said....then can someone else get the title of 'god'? I want to be god! Can I be god! Please...Please...Please....," Lavi begged. Her talking was cut off by William who spoke to Lavi.

"And what would you do if you were god?" He asked from his seat, adjusting his monocle. Lavi grinned and put her hand on his back.

"If I was god I'd make everyone get along forever! No more hunger, no more war, and I'd have lots of friends since I was god and stuff. Everyone would be happy," she crossed her arms and looked confidently at William before sitting down next to him.

[Charmera]

A brunette stood in an elevator as it made its way towards the assigned floor. It wasn't every day that Lavi was invited to such a prestigious place, and if she was informed of the reason why, she had most certainly forgot. At this point, William had given up on trying to remind his host on the purpose of their endeavor. Instead, he only made it clear to remind her to be on her best behavior.

"Stand up straight Miss Lavi. Now press your chest up. Not that far up, we don't want to give this bloke the wrong impression." William was busy scolding Lavi on her posture and proper etiquette before the target of his lecturing interrupted him.

"Don't worry Willy I doubt we would be invited if they didn't like me. I'm sure everyone will be as happy to meet us as we are to meet them!" Lavi had a large grin on her face and she was absolutely bustling with excitement. She paced back and forth from the ends of the elevator before the door finally opened. The little brunette cartwheeled out of the elevator and toward the man at the end. The move ended with her landing a near perfect frontflip, and she then looked towards the smoking figure.

"I gotta talk to Mr. Bologna," Lavi said smiling. Her familiar sighed and reminded her the actual name of their host.

"Oh I mean Balaam, heheh sorry about that," she corrected herself. The smile never left her face, but when she saw the other people she froze.

"I didn't know this was a party! I didn't bring any gifts! I'm so sorry," she announced and put a hand to her heart. "I can go back and get something....do you all like subway? I like subway! Their five dollar foot longs are the best!" She said and continued her little monologue about subway a little while longer. Looking back to the man, she asked him another question.

"Does Mr. Balaam like subway? I can get him subway if he wants!" Lavi asked.

The man stared at Lavi for a few moments before speaking. "So, thus far we have Lavi Corellia, Raven Croft, Jack Jones, Daniel Mercury, and Charlotte Lindholm."

A female Demon appeared next to him, her blue eyes piercing into the persons gathered. Her red hair matched the color of the man's, and they looked very much like twins. Her voice was sharp as a knife and cold as ice as she spoke. "And we have Hector Mercury, William Watermanboro, Aria Odensen, Emily Croft, and Jane Winters, their Demon Familiars."

The man puffed on his cigarette for a moment, then continued. "Since even you Demons are too fucking stupid to figure this out, I'll introduce us slowly, using tiny words so that even your fucking hosts can understand. I am Lieutenant Christopher Karlson, the head of Chimera Security. The Demon over there is Lady Jessica Lightheart, one of the few Blue Demons that walk this planet."

Jessica glared at the humans and their Demons. "I am very disappointed that none of you remembered who my host was. God fuck, it shouldn't be difficult for you to remember who the top dogs are in Hell and their hosts. It's not like the Lieutenant gave you a head of lettuce and told you to shit out a Caesar Salad."

Christopher smirked at her comment, and continued, "I expect much more from you all, since you will be taking on god himself. You all have a long way to go, it seems." He turned around, and stared out the windows as he continued to smoke.

Well their both just rays of sunshine, aren't they...I suppose we're going to have to wait for this Balaam. Jack commented to himself before he heard laughter from his familiar. "Wait a second...Jane, did you know who he was?"

"Of course I did! It was just too priceless to see you go in with so much "confidence" and "control" and then see you get slapped on the wrist... Had you not been such a pessimistic ass earlier, I might have told you before you made a fool of yourself."

Jack gritted his teeth at being betrayed by Jane for such a cheap laugh. This was one of the reasons this whole "Demon Familiar" deal annoyed him sometimes...

Lavi's smile didn't drop in the slightest as her and William were scolded by the powerful and authoritative demon in front of them. When the comment about 'shitting out a Caesar salad' was made, she couldn't help but let out a small laugh. What Lavi found to be the most intriguing subject was the fact that they were going to take on god.

"I always thought god was supposed to be this supreme being and all. Being an omnivore and all that. If he's god wouldn't he know what we're doing right now? He could easily just strike us with lightning!" Lavi exclaimed. She made the dramatic motion of lighting coming down through the ceiling before resuming the rant.

"If he can't stop us then is there like some magic thingy that stops him from stopping us? Or if he doesn't know what's going on then he isn't really an Omnivore! Then he isn't really god because god can do whatever! That means he's just some really powerful dude. That means he can be toppled like you said....then can someone else get the title of 'god'? I want to be god! Can I be god! Please...Please...Please....," Lavi begged. Her talking was cut off by William who spoke to Lavi.

"And what would you do if you were god?" He asked from his seat, adjusting his monocle. Lavi grinned and put her hand on his back.

"If I was god I'd make everyone get along forever! No more hunger, no more war, and I'd have lots of friends since I was god and stuff. Everyone would be happy," she crossed her arms and looked confidently at William before sitting down next to him.

Jack paused for a second, giving Lavi an confused look, an eyebrow raised. He then shook his head. His pessimism coming back to him. "She does bring up a valid point. Do we have some sort of plan for stopping the end of the world or are we hoping we don't get crushed in a pico second?" He said, then paused "Then again, I suppose we're meant to wait for Balaam to inform us about that..."

[Matariel Islands]

Dropping off from her yellow cab, a young female dressed in an asymmetrical black suit entered the Chimera building with haste. There's nothing wrong with her in the first glance. But if you look hard enough you'll notice that swarm of people who tending their own business in the lobby seems to be avoiding her when she walk near them. Like a shark that split the horde of fishes to halves when it approach them

Guess she is intimidating enough to even scare total stranger.

"Is it really a wise decision to shout your existence and presence so hard right here right now, Marie-san? There's may be some enemy hiding around us right now.", A Japanese man suddenly appeared out of thin air, holding his black hand-held fan near his mouth. His eye seems to see his host with certain degree of respect, but not fear like the people earlier, just respect.

"It's not really matter right? After all, you said we invited by your high superior. Can't a powerful demon you spoke highly of like him at least secure one building?" Marie reply to him in a very low voice. Her eyes still focused towards the elevator door, as if rejecting Akane's invitation to meet her eyes with his.

"That's right, Marie-san. We may become an even faster friend than I was excepting.", Akane chuckles to himself. Seems that he found one of the word she just said funny.

Marie ignored what Akane just said as she open the door to the room Akane specifically tells her to go to. There, she taken up a glance of total 7 person, with 5 of them sitting and one, presumably the host of the demon that Akane tells her that is his superior, standing in front of them and the other one looked like he was just arriving like her.

"I think we'll need to sit down as well, Marie-san.

[Kuwabarka]

Should he be more scared of what is to come? Desmond pondered this, while walking towards the lobby, of. Of course, at first Desmond was a little shaken. Surely anybody would feel some sort of nervousness when being told that the world rested on their shoulders. Alas, Desmond didn't feel much. Maybe he just coped with it quickly. While Desmond was talking, he heard that voice again.

"C'mon, say something! Why did Lilian have to get paired with such a boring person?" the voice said. Yes the voice, the voice of Lilian Colleen Baxter. She was right behind Desmond. So close that Desmond had to quicken his pace so she wouldn't step on his heels. Desmond walked across the lobby directly toward the elevator. The interior of the building was more impressive then he was expecting, but now wasn't necessarily a time to worry about that.

Desmond pressed the button for the top floor, and waited while the doors closed and the elevator lifted upwards. Desmond wasn't looking forward to the elevator ride. Chances are Lilian is going to say something. Instead, she laughed. Or, maybe it was more of a giggle. "Hey, aren't you even a tiny bit excited? You should be, you know. This is the chance of a lifetime. Or maybe one in a million lifetimes. Plus, you even got paired with the great Lilian Colleen Baxter!" she said. The elevator opened, and Desmond stepped out and walked towards the others. It seems they were waiting, probably for others who have yet to arrive. Desmond didn't say anything to any of them. Not that he was trying to be rude, but he just really didn't think anything needed to be said

[Firstaria]

Listening to miss talk-too-much and his worried friend, Daniel had only one thing to add...and that was rolling his eyes in annoyance.

" He probably doesn't get down because it's God! That's why! He's like one of those arrogant idiots in film and videogames that believes he's totally winning and even if not all he has to do is move an hand and it's done. He probably think of this as a game or something..."

And ar that, Hector could only comment even more annoyed but also more collected " Did you just compared all this to work of fiction? " at which his brother answered " Well, if step-brother dead returning to you has an half-angel or something informs you that religion got everything horribly wrong and you have to kill god and save the world, and go to Seattle to do so, it's ordinary life to you, then yes, it was a stupid paragon. "

And at that, Hector had no idea on how to answer.

[BlackDeath27]

"Well I like Levi's idea and maybe she's right about this god not being all that he's cracked up to be. I mean look we have two blue demons right in front of us, on a ranking pyramid they are the next to the whites. If anything go should have blown us all to kingdom come by now." Raven stated as if this was common knowledge and made complete since. She was just setting down when she announced this plan hoping others would see reason.

"Raven you know your not showing much respect to our host right. Well I like you boldness right now keep it up and I'll very pleased." Cooed Aria inside Ravens head in a soft tone.

"Look Aria you didn't tell me nothing about these people how could you do that." Asked Raven on the verge of raging out on Aria." The lack of courtesy you show is insufferable."

"Well I never cared about ranks and who was over me I only cared about getting stronger. Now that I look back on things I never really remember anything but fighting. Oh well they must not be much of importance for me to care. Answered Aria in a thoughtless tone trying to think of her past and only drew blanks.

Being feed up with Aria Raven turned back to everyone." Aria said she does not know any of the blue demons and could careless at this point. This my be due to her memory loss so excuse our not being informed. Then when do we actually do we get to meet the man in charge." Questioned Raven only to see the response she'll receive.

[Kuwabarka]

"Well I like Levi's idea and maybe she's right about this god not being all that he's cracked up to be. I mean look we have two blue demons right in front of us, on a ranking pyramid they are the next to the whites. If anything go should have blown us all to kingdom come by now." Raven stated as if this was common knowledge and made complete since. She was just setting down when she announced this plan hoping others would see reason.

"Raven you know your not showing much respect to our host right. Well I like you boldness right now keep it up and I'll very pleased." Cooed Aria inside Ravens head in a soft tone.

"Look Aria you didn't tell me nothing about these people how could you do that." Asked Raven on the verge of raging out on Aria." The lack of courtesy you show is insufferable."

"Well I never cared about ranks and who was over me I only cared about getting stronger. Now that I look back on things I never really remember anything but fighting. Oh well they must not be much of importance for me to care. Answered Aria in a thoughtless tone trying to think of her past and only drew blanks.

Being feed up with Aria Raven turned back to everyone." Aria said she does not know any of the blue demons and could careless at this point. This my be due to her memory loss so excuse our not being informed. Then when do we actually do we get to meet the man in charge." Questioned Raven only to see the response she'll receive.

"It's not really my place to say, but God is well....a God. You are thinking like a person, a mortal. It would make sense that he would destroy us now if he could, but that is according to human logic. He is a God, he is on a completely different level than you and I. You can't really expect him to act predictably." Desmond said, out of the blue.

"Well boy, now you are acting like you know how God thinks, aren't you? Oh, Lilian never expected you to be such a hypocrite. Ah well, Lilian forgives you." said Lilian. Maybe she did have a point. Neither of us knows much about this God, so maybe we shouldn't be overestimating or underestimated him. Even then, Desmond couldn't care less about her forgiveness.

[The Floating Island of the Sleeping God]

A late arrival stepped into the elevator and began to ascend. Adjusting his collar, he turned to the elderly Brit standing beside him. "We need to make a good first mpression, Jack, so let's be on our best behavior, shall we?"
The demon laughed. "A Surrey man is always on his best behavior, Francis!"
Francis Krouse raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I can only hope that a Surrey demon is held to the same high standard, 'Mad' Jack."
This elicited another chortle from Mad Jack Churchill.
"Alright, Jack, just point out whoever's in charge and tell me their name, I can introduce us just fine. I have a certain degree of experience with formal gatherings. I'm sure you would, too, being a military man. Enough small talk, we appear to be at our floor." The elevator dinged open, and Krouse stepped out, ready for anything.

Except, perhaps, what appeared to be a group of high schoolers at an internship rather than a gathering of Balaam's chosen warriors. "Oh, terribly sorry, we seem to have gotten off on the wrong floor." Krouse turned back to check the floor number before being spun bodily back towards the room by Jack.
"Nonsense, my boy! There's the Lady Lightheart, a powerful demon indeed! We're exactly where we should be!" He strode over to the corner of the room occupied by a sharply-dressed man and, as Jack had introduced, Lightheart. Krouse followed, obviously unnerved by the fact that there was only one real adult in the room.
"And who is that man with her?" asked Krouse.
"Oh, that's her host!"
"I gathered that. I meant his name, remember? The thing you were supposed to tell me first?"
"I don't know. I just recognize him from the press events and whatnot."
"Why wouldn't you ever bother learning his name?"
"I never thought it would come up."
"Fantastic."
"Really? I thought you would be upset by my forgetfulness."
"Sarcasm, Jack. We'll work on that."
The two reached the corner of the room. Smiling broadly, Krouse extended a hand in greeting to Lightheart, who simply stared down at the offered appendage as though he were holding out a dead animal. Without missing a beat, Krouse turned to the man next to her, hand still outstretched. "Francis Krouse. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

[Isle of Lithonia]

Lavi's smile didn't drop in the slightest as her and William were scolded by the powerful and authoritative demon in front of them. When the comment about 'shitting out a Caesar salad' was made, she couldn't help but let out a small laugh. What Lavi found to be the most intriguing subject was the fact that they were going to take on god.

"I always thought god was supposed to be this supreme being and all. Being an omnivore and all that. If he's god wouldn't he know what we're doing right now? He could easily just strike us with lightning!" Lavi exclaimed. She made the dramatic motion of lighting coming down through the ceiling before resuming the rant.

"If he can't stop us then is there like some magic thingy that stops him from stopping us? Or if he doesn't know what's going on then he isn't really an Omnivore! Then he isn't really god because god can do whatever! That means he's just some really powerful dude. That means he can be toppled like you said....then can someone else get the title of 'god'? I want to be god! Can I be god! Please...Please...Please....," Lavi begged. Her talking was cut off by William who spoke to Lavi.

"And what would you do if you were god?" He asked from his seat, adjusting his monocle. Lavi grinned and put her hand on his back.

"If I was god I'd make everyone get along forever! No more hunger, no more war, and I'd have lots of friends since I was god and stuff. Everyone would be happy," she crossed her arms and looked confidently at William before sitting down next to him.

Jessica walked up to Lavi, pinching her cheek. "Now, ain't you one cute little bitch." She glared at her, fire burning in her eyes. "No more hunger, no more war, lots of friends. Take your fairy shit to rainbow pixie land and shove it up some unicorn's asshole. Shitty fantasies like that will just get you fucked."

Well their both just rays of sunshine, aren't they...I suppose we're going to have to wait for this Balaam. Jack commented to himself before he heard laughter from his familiar. "Wait a second...Jane, did you know who he was?"

"Of course I did! It was just too priceless to see you go in with so much "confidence" and "control" and then see you get slapped on the wrist... Had you not been such a pessimistic ass earlier, I might have told you before you made a fool of yourself."

Jack gritted his teeth at being betrayed by Jane for such a cheap laugh. This was one of the reasons this whole "Demon Familiar" deal annoyed him sometimes...

Jack paused for a second, giving Lavi an confused look, an eyebrow raised. He then shook his head. His pessimism coming back to him. "She does bring up a valid point. Do we have some sort of plan for stopping the end of the world or are we hoping we don't get crushed in a pico second?" He said, then paused "Then again, I suppose we're meant to wait for Balaam to inform us about that..."

Christopher looked back at Jack, his face impassive. His voice rang in Jack's head, Cut the shit, Jane. If you don't want your host to get torn to pieces by Lightheart, you'll help Jack in the future. Don't keep important info to yourself just to gain a few laughs. Neither I or Lightheart will allow shit like that to go on.

Then he spoke aloud, "The plan for stopping god is on a need-to-know basis, and only Balaam will decide when you need to know it."

Marie ignored what Akane just said as she open the door to the room Akane specifically tells her to go to. There, she taken up a glance of total 7 person, with 5 of them sitting and one, presumably the host of the demon that Akane tells her that is his superior, standing in front of them and the other one looked like he was just arriving like her.

"I think we'll need to sit down as well, Marie-san.

Desmond pressed the button for the top floor, and waited while the doors closed and the elevator lifted upwards. Desmond wasn't looking forward to the elevator ride. Chances are Lilian is going to say something. Instead, she laughed. Or, maybe it was more of a giggle. "Hey, aren't you even a tiny bit excited? You should be, you know. This is the chance of a lifetime. Or maybe one in a million lifetimes. Plus, you even got paired with the great Lilian Colleen Baxter!" she said. The elevator opened, and Desmond stepped out and walked towards the others. It seems they were waiting, probably for others who have yet to arrive. Desmond didn't say anything to any of them. Not that he was trying to be rude, but he just really didn't think anything needed to be said

Christopher nodded to the two new arrivals, "Desmond Watson and Marie St. Claire, and Lillian Baxter and Asakura Akane, their Demons. I expect that you two Demons will let your hosts know who I and the Lady are, since I am already tired of introducing us."

"Well I like Levi's idea and maybe she's right about this god not being all that he's cracked up to be. I mean look we have two blue demons right in front of us, on a ranking pyramid they are the next to the whites. If anything go should have blown us all to kingdom come by now." Raven stated as if this was common knowledge and made complete since. She was just setting down when she announced this plan hoping others would see reason.

"Raven you know your not showing much respect to our host right. Well I like you boldness right now keep it up and I'll very pleased." Cooed Aria inside Ravens head in a soft tone.

"Look Aria you didn't tell me nothing about these people how could you do that." Asked Raven on the verge of raging out on Aria." The lack of courtesy you show is insufferable."

"Well I never cared about ranks and who was over me I only cared about getting stronger. Now that I look back on things I never really remember anything but fighting. Oh well they must not be much of importance for me to care. Answered Aria in a thoughtless tone trying to think of her past and only drew blanks.

Being feed up with Aria Raven turned back to everyone." Aria said she does not know any of the blue demons and could careless at this point. This my be due to her memory loss so excuse our not being informed. Then when do we actually do we get to meet the man in charge." Questioned Raven only to see the response she'll receive.

Christopher smirked. "Well, smart-ass, I'm not a Demon. I'm merely the human host of my Lady. Honestly, shit like that isn't too difficult to figure out, if you've at least got the IQ of a Donkey's ass."

At Raven's mention of Aria's words, Jessica really got pissed off. "You know how fast the speed of light is, Aria? ITS THE SPEED AT WHICH YOU'RE GONNA GET YOURSELF TORN TO A BLOODY STUMP, DUMB-FUCK!!!!

"IF A FUCKING NUKE IS GONNA GO OFF IN YOUR FACE, NORMAL PEOPLE WOULD CARE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE FUCK IT IS AND WHERE IT'S GOING OFF!!! GOD FUCK, YOU MAKE MONKEY SHIT SOUND LIKE ALBERT EINSTEIN!!!"

She cooled off slightly, continuing, "We are just as much 'in charge' as Balaam. Talking shit like this to a state governor would get you screwed, even though you didn't piss off the President."

Christopher continued smoking, But we can't beat the shit out of them, Jessica. At least not yet.

Her voice growled in his mind, No fucking duh.

"It's not really my place to say, but God is well....a God. You are thinking like a person, a mortal. It would make sense that he would destroy us now if he could, but that is according to human logic. He is a God, he is on a completely different level than you and I. You can't really expect him to act predictably." Desmond said, out of the blue.

"Well boy, now you are acting like you know how God thinks, aren't you? Oh, Lilian never expected you to be such a hypocrite. Ah well, Lilian forgives you." said Lilian. Maybe she did have a point. Neither of us knows much about this God, so maybe we shouldn't be overestimating or underestimated him. Even then, Desmond couldn't care less about her forgiveness.

Christopher rolled his eyes. "Wow, we've got ourselves a fucking philosopher. As brilliant as that shit may have sounded in your brain, it would only stand in a court manned by Catholics. God isn't what he wants you to think he is. He's not all powerful, all knowing, or any of that other shit. But enough of that.

A late arrival stepped into the elevator and began to ascend. Adjusting his collar, he turned to the elderly Brit standing beside him. "We need to make a good first mpression, Jack, so let's be on our best behavior, shall we?"
The demon laughed. "A Surrey man is always on his best behavior, Francis!"
Francis Krouse raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I can only hope that a Surrey demon is held to the same high standard, 'Mad' Jack."
This elicited another chortle from Mad Jack Churchill.
"Alright, Jack, just point out whoever's in charge and tell me their name, I can introduce us just fine. I have a certain degree of experience with formal gatherings. I'm sure you would, too, being a military man. Enough small talk, we appear to be at our floor." The elevator dinged open, and Krouse stepped out, ready for anything.

Except, perhaps, what appeared to be a group of high schoolers at an internship rather than a gathering of Balaam's chosen warriors. "Oh, terribly sorry, we seem to have gotten off on the wrong floor." Krouse turned back to check the floor number before being spun bodily back towards the room by Jack.
"Nonsense, my boy! There's the Lady Lightheart, a powerful demon indeed! We're exactly where we should be!" He strode over to the corner of the room occupied by a sharply-dressed man and, as Jack had introduced, Lightheart. Krouse followed, obviously unnerved by the fact that there was only one real adult in the room.
"And who is that man with her?" asked Krouse.
"Oh, that's her host!"
"I gathered that. I meant his name, remember? The thing you were supposed to tell me first?"
"I don't know. I just recognize him from the press events and whatnot."
"Why wouldn't you ever bother learning his name?"
"I never thought it would come up."
"Fantastic."
"Really? I thought you would be upset by my forgetfulness."
"Sarcasm, Jack. We'll work on that."
The two reached the corner of the room. Smiling broadly, Krouse extended a hand in greeting to Lightheart, who simply stared down at the offered appendage as though he were holding out a dead animal. Without missing a beat, Krouse turned to the man next to her, hand still outstretched. "Francis Krouse. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Christopher was really getting pissed off. "Since nobody here seems to have a fucking clue as to what's going on, let me explain things even further.

"I am Lieutenant Christopher Karlson, as most of you know. The Demon over here is Lady Lightheart, one of the most powerful rulers of Hell. We are third only to Balaam and Lucen himself in the war against Yahovim."

Jessica continued his speech. "Neither of us is your fucking buddy, nor your partner in this endeavor. We and Balaam are like the generals in this assault on god, you are mere soldiers. No, you are more like physical assets or pawns. If you want to treat us like your fucking school-buddies, we will gladly kill you. Trust me, we can find others to fill your ranks. The only thing special about you shit-holes is that your brains are the size of mouse turds. The more I talk with you, the less certain I am of Balaam's choosing you all."

Christopher grabbed another cigarette, lit it and continued smoking. He let out a puff of smoke, then continued. "I'm tired of talking. Let's head on over to Balaam so he can deal with you all."

With that, he walked over to a set of doors on the far side of the room, opened them and gestured to the others inside. Telepathically, he let the receptionists at the front desk to show any latecomers to where they were heading.

Behind the doors lay a large room with windows instead of walls. In the middle lay a long table with several chairs around it. At the farthest end sat a young man in a blue robe. That man, which was really a Demon, was Balaam. He looked at the newcomers, and smiled. Although his general appearance was somewhat dark looking, he spoke with a kind voice. "Welcome, friends. Please, take a seat."

[Charmera]

Well their both just rays of sunshine, aren't they...I suppose we're going to have to wait for this Balaam. Jack commented to himself before he heard laughter from his familiar. "Wait a second...Jane, did you know who he was?"

"Of course I did! It was just too priceless to see you go in with so much "confidence" and "control" and then see you get slapped on the wrist... Had you not been such a pessimistic ass earlier, I might have told you before you made a fool of yourself."

Jack gritted his teeth at being betrayed by Jane for such a cheap laugh. This was one of the reasons this whole "Demon Familiar" deal annoyed him sometimes...

Jack paused for a second, giving Lavi an confused look, an eyebrow raised. He then shook his head. His pessimism coming back to him. "She does bring up a valid point. Do we have some sort of plan for stopping the end of the world or are we hoping we don't get crushed in a pico second?" He said, then paused "Then again, I suppose we're meant to wait for Balaam to inform us about that..."

Christopher looked back at Jack, his face impassive. His voice rang in Jack's head, Cut the shit, Jane. If you don't want your host to get torn to pieces by Lightheart, you'll help Jack in the future. Don't keep important info to yourself just to gain a few laughs. Neither I or Lightheart will allow shit like that to go on.

Then he spoke aloud, "The plan for stopping god is on a need-to-know basis, and only Balaam will decide when you need to know it."

----

Christopher was really getting pissed off. "Since nobody here seems to have a fucking clue as to what's going on, let me explain things even further.

"I am Lieutenant Christopher Karlson, as most of you know. The Demon over here is Lady Lightheart, one of the most powerful rulers of Hell. We are third only to Balaam and Lucen himself in the war against Yahovim."

Jessica continued his speech. "Neither of us is your fucking buddy, nor your partner in this endeavor. We and Balaam are like the generals in this assault on god, you are mere soldiers. No, you are more like physical assets or pawns. If you want to treat us like your fucking school-buddies, we will gladly kill you. Trust me, we can find others to fill your ranks. The only thing special about you shit-holes is that your brains are the size of mouse turds. The more I talk with you, the less certain I am of Balaam's choosing you all."

Christopher grabbed another cigarette, lit it and continued smoking. He let out a puff of smoke, then continued. "I'm tired of talking. Let's head on over to Balaam so he can deal with you all."

With that, he walked over to a set of doors on the far side of the room, opened them and gestured to the others inside. Telepathically, he let the receptionists at the front desk to show any latecomers to where they were heading.

Behind the doors lay a large room with windows instead of walls. In the middle lay a long table with several chairs around it. At the farthest end sat a young man in a blue robe. That man, which was really a Demon, was Balaam. He looked at the newcomers, and smiled. Although his general appearance was somewhat dark looking, he spoke with a kind voice. "Welcome, friends. Please, take a seat."

Lovely, I'm part of a suicide mission and my familiar stabbed me in the back for a joke. Im just having the time of my life. What could possibly make this day better? Thought Jack to himself sarcastically as he walked towards to room.

When the door opened there was a ding from the elevator at the exact same time. As the elevator doors opened it revealed a girl and a man in a trench coat as her familiar. Both their eyes were squarely on their goal, one determined and hate filled and one cold.

"Sorry we're late," She said, not bothering to give an excuse, as she walked with a hurried pace over to the room that everyone else seemed to be in. Reaching it quickly enough and sitting in one of the seats.

"Did we miss anything?" asked Jim out loud, neither of their voices friendly. Both to the point and direct as possible.

[Matariel Islands]

Christopher was really getting pissed off. "Since nobody here seems to have a fucking clue as to what's going on, let me explain things even further.

"I am Lieutenant Christopher Karlson, as most of you know. The Demon over here is Lady Lightheart, one of the most powerful rulers of Hell. We are third only to Balaam and Lucen himself in the war against Yahovim."

Jessica continued his speech. "Neither of us is your fucking buddy, nor your partner in this endeavor. We and Balaam are like the generals in this assault on god, you are mere soldiers. No, you are more like physical assets or pawns. If you want to treat us like your fucking school-buddies, we will gladly kill you. Trust me, we can find others to fill your ranks. The only thing special about you shit-holes is that your brains are the size of mouse turds. The more I talk with you, the less certain I am of Balaam's choosing you all."

Christopher grabbed another cigarette, lit it and continued smoking. He let out a puff of smoke, then continued. "I'm tired of talking. Let's head on over to Balaam so he can deal with you all."

With that, he walked over to a set of doors on the far side of the room, opened them and gestured to the others inside. Telepathically, he let the receptionists at the front desk to show any latecomers to where they were heading.

Behind the doors lay a large room with windows instead of walls. In the middle lay a long table with several chairs around it. At the farthest end sat a young man in a blue robe. That man, which was really a Demon, was Balaam. He looked at the newcomers, and smiled. Although his general appearance was somewhat dark looking, he spoke with a kind voice. "Welcome, friends. Please, take a seat."

Third to the top, huh. Quite a position for someone to have, Marie thought to herself, which is unsurprisingly guessed by Akane after reading his host's face. Akane himself grinning a little to her, then explaining the actual worth of power of the said position. "Third only to the top means that Lady Lightheart is a blue demon, which means that she is among the Lords and Ladies of the Demons, which means more and more power to the host. And yes, with enough time I too can become like her."

"Really? And how about this Balaam? Who is he in the Demons realm?, Marie asks to Akane, who is quite suprised because he was sure that he just answer all the questions in her mind.

"He is the prophet of Lucen, which is the god of the demons to put it simply. You'll know more once you met with him yourself, Maria-san.", Akane flutter himself with his hand-held fan, playing to expect the question.

The pairs then enter the large room with the crowds, scanning the whole room before making any move. Akane black hand-held fan suddenly morph to a hoisted katana sword, but with the very low level of existence that he taken, Maire doubt that the sword will ever connect to anything, much less cutting something.

Hearing Balaam invited them to take a seat, Akane suddenly whispers in to the very deep of Marie's mind, "Take a seat somewhere that you can see and run to the exit as fast as possible, Marie-san. And for our own good, stay away from both Lady Lightheart and the prophet. Trust me on this and we'll may live without any scratch if things go wrong."

---

"So this is the famous Chimera tower huh, it's HUUGGEEE!!!" Thomas grinning to himself as he take pictures of the tower's entrance. His demon Theo however not as enthusiast as his host and even look annoyed, the trip earlier has somewhat burn all of his patience. Seriously, why the hell people need to be so arrogant and selfish these days? Maybe the goddamn Yahovim actually do humanity a favor by wiping them out, but that mean entering the purgatory, and getting tortured is just not on his schedules.

"Let's get in already, Thomas! We have already late you know!" Scream Theo while watching his host enthusiastically take picture.

"But this is my first time I get to go here, Theo! Besides, I'll maybe catch another demon wandering around here!" He said while keep focusing on his father camera.

Yeah right, there's no way another demon will make a rookie mistake like not awware that he was get taken picture of by a 15 year old boy. But it's not much of his fault though, the library is closed, it's 2 pm in the middle of the night, and it was Thomas that trespassing and randomly taking picture inside. Still , a demon like him should already know better.

But, wait! The demons have been called by Balaam here! With a few good words, Thomas will run as fast as he can to the meeting to see other the other demons. That's his chance to go to the meeting right now!

"You know, there's should be a considerable amount of demons at the meeting. You may be have better chance to photograph them in the meeting room rather than in open like here, right? Hell, if it's you might as well as taking the first picture of the Prophet of the Emperor of Demon, Balaam! Theo said with a smile splitting his face. Thomas freeze for the moment listening to his words, and suddenly rush to the lobby, asking the receptionist, and jet his way to the large room filled with Balaam, the human host, and their respectful demons. It's a success!

[Firstaria]

Christopher was really getting pissed off. "Since nobody here seems to have a fucking clue as to what's going on, let me explain things even further.

"I am Lieutenant Christopher Karlson, as most of you know. The Demon over here is Lady Lightheart, one of the most powerful rulers of Hell. We are third only to Balaam and Lucen himself in the war against Yahovim."

Jessica continued his speech. "Neither of us is your fucking buddy, nor your partner in this endeavor. We and Balaam are like the generals in this assault on god, you are mere soldiers. No, you are more like physical assets or pawns. If you want to treat us like your fucking school-buddies, we will gladly kill you. Trust me, we can find others to fill your ranks. The only thing special about you shit-holes is that your brains are the size of mouse turds. The more I talk with you, the less certain I am of Balaam's choosing you all."

Christopher grabbed another cigarette, lit it and continued smoking. He let out a puff of smoke, then continued. "I'm tired of talking. Let's head on over to Balaam so he can deal with you all."

With that, he walked over to a set of doors on the far side of the room, opened them and gestured to the others inside. Telepathically, he let the receptionists at the front desk to show any latecomers to where they were heading.

Behind the doors lay a large room with windows instead of walls. In the middle lay a long table with several chairs around it. At the farthest end sat a young man in a blue robe. That man, which was really a Demon, was Balaam. He looked at the newcomers, and smiled. Although his general appearance was somewhat dark looking, he spoke with a kind voice. "Welcome, friends. Please, take a seat."

Daniel looked at the guy for the entirety of the speech, with a neutral look, until the door was opened, just to add " Wow, I didn't realize how you could get so detached to not feel scared about some things. " Hector looked at him a bit surprised, but then the boy added " I would like to take him seriously, but he feels so much what I was expecting from a general of Hell army that he would be more scary without the scream, the menaces and the bad words. "

His brother then said " You know you are now part of this army, right? " at which he answered " That's the point, I'm excited even from having an angry general! This is exactly as I hoped, they even have the sinister gentle corporate boss! " referring indeed to Emperor Balaam. Hector looked at his superiors with an apologetic look as he said " I just hope formalities will be REALLY short, I can't believe you told me I was the most crazy of the two. "

[Imperial--japan]

Lavi looked back into Jessica's eyes. Just because someone had lost faith in happy endings wouldn't mean she would too. William of course hoped Jessica was ready for another rant.

"I'll have you know that it is definitely not a fairy tale! By the way, I couldn't go to rainbow pixie land if I wanted to because I don't know where it is! Though if there's a hell and heaven then is there a rainbow pixie land? Or maybe nobody has found it yet! Ooooh...if I was god I could make rainbow pixie land real! Then it wouldn't be a fairy tale! So in that case, your argument is invalid!" Lavi crossed her arm and grinned triumphantly while William was merely one to let her go off. There wasn't much point in stopping her once she got wound up.

"Miss Lavi if I may, I believe it is time to meet Mr. Balaam now," William said to Lavi. The brunette turned around with her mouth gaping open for a moment.

"Who's that?" She asked. William visibly sweat dropped. Could demons even sweat drop? It didn't matter because Lavi tapped her head as soon as she remembered.

"Ah I remember. Sorry...I was a little focused on something else for a moment," Lavi apologized to William and went off in the direction that Balaam was. When she entered the room, Lavi saw the robed man on the other end of the table and waved.

"Hi!" She said enthusiastically and took a seat.

[Isle of Lithonia]

Lovely, I'm part of a suicide mission and my familiar stabbed me in the back for a joke. Im just having the time of my life. What could possibly make this day better? Thought Jack to himself sarcastically as he walked towards to room.

When the door opened there was a ding from the elevator at the exact same time. As the elevator doors opened it revealed a girl and a man in a trench coat as her familiar. Both their eyes were squarely on their goal, one determined and hate filled and one cold.

"Sorry we're late," She said, not bothering to give an excuse, as she walked with a hurried pace over to the room that everyone else seemed to be in. Reaching it quickly enough and sitting in one of the seats.

"Did we miss anything?" asked Jim out loud, neither of their voices friendly. Both to the point and direct as possible.

Christopher looked over the two, not so pissed off now that the nicotine was kicking in. "Nothing of importance."

Balaam smiled. "We were just about to get started though."

Daniel looked at the guy for the entirety of the speech, with a neutral look, until the door was opened, just to add " Wow, I didn't realize how you could get so detached to not feel scared about some things. " Hector looked at him a bit surprised, but then the boy added " I would like to take him seriously, but he feels so much what I was expecting from a general of Hell army that he would be more scary without the scream, the menaces and the bad words. "

His brother then said " You know you are now part of this army, right? " at which he answered " That's the point, I'm excited even from having an angry general! This is exactly as I hoped, they even have the sinister gentle corporate boss! " referring indeed to Emperor Balaam. Hector looked at his superiors with an apologetic look as he said " I just hope formalities will be REALLY short, I can't believe you told me I was the most crazy of the two. "

Christopher bit his tongue, in spite of his urge to chew the fuck out of the little bastard. But doing so wouldn't help at this point, so he let the comment slide and walked over to stand to the right of Balaam.

Jessica, however, clenched her hands tightly, ready to punch the punk in the gut. But Balaam held her back telekinetically. So, she cooled off, taking a position to the left of Balaam.

Lavi looked back into Jessica's eyes. Just because someone had lost faith in happy endings wouldn't mean she would too. William of course hoped Jessica was ready for another rant.

"I'll have you know that it is definitely not a fairy tale! By the way, I couldn't go to rainbow pixie land if I wanted to because I don't know where it is! Though if there's a hell and heaven then is there a rainbow pixie land? Or maybe nobody has found it yet! Ooooh...if I was god I could make rainbow pixie land real! Then it wouldn't be a fairy tale! So in that case, your argument is invalid!" Lavi crossed her arm and grinned triumphantly while William was merely one to let her go off. There wasn't much point in stopping her once she got wound up.

"Miss Lavi if I may, I believe it is time to meet Mr. Balaam now," William said to Lavi. The brunette turned around with her mouth gaping open for a moment.

"Who's that?" She asked. William visibly sweat dropped. Could demons even sweat drop? It didn't matter because Lavi tapped her head as soon as she remembered.

"Ah I remember. Sorry...I was a little focused on something else for a moment," Lavi apologized to William and went off in the direction that Balaam was. When she entered the room, Lavi saw the robed man on the other end of the table and waved.

"Hi!" She said enthusiastically and took a seat.

Balaam smiled at Lavi, and nodded in her direction. "Good evening, Lavi. Did you bring me a foot-long sub like you wanted?"

---

After waiting for a reply, Balaam started, "Since most of you are here now, I think we can begin.

"As your Familiars, and the Lieutenant, told you, I am Balaam. As a prophet to Lucen, I am the highest ranking Demon in Hell. Thus, it was given to me to choose a group of humans and Demons to finally end this war with god.

"Now, if you have any questions, I am more than willing to field them. For the sake of time, please limit yourselves to two questions each, and only the humans can ask. If the information that you ask for is not something I can tell you yet, you may ask a different question in return. Just know that no question is a dumb one at this point."

[The Floating Island of the Sleeping God]

Krouse raised a hand awkwardly, as though he was in a classroom, then started to put it back down before Balaam turned and faced him expectantly.
"Well, not to disrespect anybody's plans or planning skills, but I've been going over this In my head over and over again in my head and haven't been able to come up with a satisfactory answer: Why on Earth would anybody pick a group of kids to fight God? It just doesn't make sense to me why it was decided that the best plan was to drag a bunch of teenagers away from their lives instead of people with life or combat experience."