After we played some games, Kuro went back to her room. We need to get ready because we have classes today.

Earlier, I learned the skill Presence Sensing. Thanks to Kuro and Raphael.

I wonder how can I use it when it comes to fighting, could it be like the ones in the animes? The skill in which you could see every attack and skill?

Although I was talking about seeing every attack and skill, I didn’t notice Kuro’s presence at all.

“What’s the problem Shiro-kun?” she asked.

That made me jump for a second, I was scared for a second. I didn’t feel her aura. Seems like watching animes doesn’t help at all, because you can’t apply it in real life.

“H-How did you...?” I asked her.

“I did what?” she said.

I let out a sigh and asked, “I didn’t notice your aura, how did you do that?”

She sat beside me and answered, “I didn’t release any aura. That’s why you didn’t notice me. But even so, you should still be aware of your surroundings Shiro-kun. Presence Sensing is just an enhancer, you can’t always rely on that skill.”

“Ah… sorry. I was carried away. Having powers like this really makes you feel so powerful, when in real life you are just nothing.” I said to her.

She leaned on my shoulders and closed her eyes.

This girl, she always makes me nervous.

The way she does these things is what making me nervous, she didn’t say anything, she just leaned on my shoulders. Damn, my heart…

“Kuro. If you keep on doing that, I’ll fall in love with you more.”

Then I touched her shoulders with my right hand to keep her from falling.

“I don’t mind it. I want you to like me more.” She replied.

“I already love you so much, there’s no need for me to like you more.” I answered.

“No, you need to like me more, I demand it.” She said with a bossy tone.

“Yes, yes. Whatever you say, milady.”

I realized, if I die on this war, then I wouldn’t be able to do this with her again. I don’t want it. I want to stay with her.

“I wish we could be like this forever. I want to stay by your side, I want you to lean on me, I want you to talk to me, I want to love you forever. I don’t want this all to stop.”

She opened her eyes and looked at me.

“Shiro-kun, I know what you are feeling. But, if we keep on staying like this, then nothing will happen to us. I hope you understand.” She answered.

Yeah. She’s right. If we stayed this way forever, then nothing will happen. I really am an idiot.

“Sorry, I understand now. I just wanted to stay like this with you a little bit longer, but it seems like it’s time for us to go to school now.”

She smiled at me and said,

“Yes.”

After that, she went out of my room and went to the living room.

I wore my uniform and went out of my room to eat breakfast.

We had a fun talk together with mom, and my siblings. It’s nice to see that I’m getting along with them, even after what happened.

Kuro and I walked together to the station, we wanted to enjoy being together so we held hands while walking. She doesn’t want me to carry her bag since she wanted to show me that I’m not just her errand boy, she wanted everyone to know that I’m his boyfriend.

Well, that’s just on my own opinion, she never said anything like that, hehe.

Pretty much everything’s the same, the train, the people. It’s nice to see normal things every now and then. Ever since she came into my room, strange things started happening around me so, it’s nice for me to see these things. I hope it can last for at least two months, until I master every lesson that Kuro and Raphael will teach me. I don’t want to disappoint them, especially Kuro.

We went to our classroom and sat on our chairs. I was in the corner of the classroom, and Kuro was sitting beside me.

Nothing happened in particular, except that I was yawning all the time.

After our break, our adviser came to our room. She’s with a man wearing glasses and a book in his hand.

“Okay everyone, listen up. Your teacher in history, teacher Saza has resigned.”

When she said those words, murmurs of everybody filled the whole classroom.

“Listen, he got into a fight with the principal, the event that happened yesterday was a blast, but teacher Saza was left alone in the school because he was late. It wasn’t really a big deal, but when the principal told him that he shouldn’t be minding it since he’s just a replacement teacher, he became angry and fought the principal back. The principal didn’t tell him to resign nor fire him, but he resigned anyways. I myself is close to him but, I can’t do anything. When I talked to him, he said that it was his fault, and just because of a little misunderstanding, that happened. So, he doesn’t have any guts to continue teaching here in our school. If you want, you could go to his house and say thank you to him.”

Everyone became silent, some of them started to cry.

I, honestly wasn’t that close to him, but I felt sad when I heard that from teacher Shizu.

No one answered, as they keep on being sad or talking bad things about the principal.

Teacher Shizu noticed that, so she changed the topic.

“Okay so, everyone. Look at here in front, I will introduce you to your new teacher. He’ll be your teacher for a while, he’s a very good person so I know you’ll be comfortable with him in no time.”

Everyone looked at the man, and they started to say something like, “He’s so handsome!”, “Looks smart.” and things like that.

“His name is Raphi-sensei. He’ll be your history teacher from now on.”

The man waved his hand and smiled.

“Yo! You can call me Raph or Raphi-sensei, whatever you want to call me.”

Hm, he kinda looks familiar to me.

Though they look similar, but this teacher’s hair color is different from Raphael. Oh, even their names sound the same.

Wait.

I closed my eyes and started using Presence Sensing. I feel so much sleepy in front of us, that means that he’s an angel! That’s the reason I was yawning and feeling sleepy all this time, it’s because there’s an angel here!

I leaned towards Kuro.

“Kuro. That teacher. He’s an angel, isn’t he?” I asked while whispering.

She nodded and replied, “He’s Raphael-san.”

My jaw dropped, “He doesn’t look like Raphael to me! Though he looked familiar, but this is way too much!”

The Raphael that fell down from the sky was nothing compared to the Raphael that’s here right now, he’s wearing glasses, with a happy aura around him! That’s what I’m bothered the most!

“I hope we get along everyone!” and then he smiled, and the whole classroom was filled with happiness.

This is not what I felt when I first saw him.

After that, teacher Shizu went out of the classroom, and Raphael was asked by my classmates some questions like, “How old are you?”, “Do you have any girlfriend?”, “Where do you live?”, “How did you get so handsome?” and things like that.

I didn’t bother asking since I was laughing at the back, imagine how much he has changed when he became a teacher, from a complete badass to a plain man.

Then we spent the whole time of history asking him questions.

After school, Kuro and I went to the faculty. She asked if we could go there and talk to Raphael.

So we went, but we saw no one there. What’s happening?

Then we thought maybe they were just having a meeting, since it’s already after-class. So we decided to go home.

While on the train, I saw a commercial on the screen. There’s an army of soldiers marching. They are going to kill the germs on the toilet. What a nice commercial.

After that I realized, how do this ‘Armageddon’ start? Sure, I know what will happen if this occurs but, how do this so-called ‘war’ really start?

So, I asked Kuro. She was looking at the scenery at that time.

“This world, really is beautiful. I hope it stays the same ten years from now.”

She saw me looking at her and said,

“A-Ah! Don’t mind me, I’m just talking to myself.”

I replied, “It’s okay. I know how you feel. These people around us, they don’t know anything about the Armageddon, and they won’t even know if it already started.” I told her.

She was surprised, but she didn’t answer.

“Speaking of, how could ‘that’ happen? You already told me what will happen if that occurred, but I don’t know how will it happen. Are there any conditions or anything?”

She was still looking at the scenery at that time, but she replied.

“That war can only occur when an Asmorith, an Angel and a Demon started fighting. It doesn’t matter who they fight, as long as they release their powers. The chain of heaven, the inevitable fate. It will consume those powers and then guide the world into an inevitable war, whatever you do, no matter what you have done, the war will still occur.”

I became confused. So, I asked her.

“What kind of fate is that? Just because some beings started fighting, the world will be led into destruction? Why?”

Kuro moved her hand from my shoulder and hugged me instead.

“Beings aren’t supposed to fight each other in the first place. They are guardians, they are supposed to guide the world to a better one. And they did, for thousands of years. Until that day, when Azazel’s son was born. Remember the time of Noah? God forbid the angels to have an offspring with humans when he flooded the earth. But Azazel couldn’t stop it. He loved a human more than himself.”

“Isn’t he an Asmorith?”

“Yes, he is. But he’s still an angel, so heaven punished him for disobeying the rules of their creator. Back then, I was ordered to take back the Nephilim, nothing more. But instead, I fought him back. I can’t capture him since he’s possessing tremendous power despite not having any knowledge in the world. I knew that he’s not that easy of a foe, so I released all my powers. The angels that were there also fought the Nephilim. While the Asmoriths, they want to convince the Nephilim, but he didn’t listen. Instead he kept on fighting both me and the angels, and the Asmoriths helped him. Then I felt something, I want to fight, I want to kill. It was bloodlust, coming from nowhere. I knew it was something bad but I kept on fighting the Nephilim, until I killed the Asmoriths. The Angels were trying to help me so they stopped the Nephilim from moving. But I was consumed by bloodlust so I killed even the Angels. And finally, I killed the Nephilim. The fight didn’t stop there. After I killed the Nephilim, Azazel appeared only to see his son vanishing into the sky. We fought with all of our powers, I was on par with him. I don’t know how did I get so strong, but I was on the same level as him. Until I realized, why are we even fighting? We shouldn’t be, I was ordered to take back the Nephilim. But instead, I killed him. And now, I was fighting the leader of the Asmoriths all by myself. “How did this happen?” I said. So I stopped on attacking and he noticed it. He asked me why did I kill his son. I answered, “Lucifer ordered me to take—” but he didn’t let me finish, when he heard “Lucifer ordered” he attacked me. I told him that I didn’t know what I was doing, but he kept on fighting. Until an Angel came down from the heaven. It was Michael. He stopped Azazel from attacking and explained what happened, about the punishment of heaven, and how to stop it. He just needed to let go of his hate and do a ritual, and then the fight will stop. As we were talking, humans from around the world was fighting each other too, they fought each other, they hurt each other, and they kill each other. That’s what Armageddon is, it doesn’t only affect beings, but also humans. Azazel didn’t want it to continue, he just wanted to see his son. He doesn’t want the world to end like that, so he accepted. And that’s what happened after I killed the Nephilim. This time, when Lucifer brought you into this world, the chain of heaven moved again. And this time, Azazel had a chance to do what I did to his son, kill you.”

I was surprised. I thought they would only capture me and use me for their own benefits, but I know now. They won’t just use me, they will also dispose me after that.

The case is the same with the Dark Lord. She just wanted to raid the heaven, maybe after she uses me, she’ll just kill me.

Look at what I got myself into. But I won’t lose hope. I have a demon right beside me, one of the strongest. The one who fought the Nephilim from two thousand years ago, and the one who was on par with the leader of the Asmoriths.

But wait, if she’s that strong, then she could’ve just defeated Mordecai and Zecharias when they appeared, right?

“Kuro, back when Mordecai and Zecharias attacked, you fought them equally. But you said you were on par with their leader. That means they are as strong as Azazel?” I asked.

She laughed and said, “I… tried not to release all of my power, since I could destroy that whole forest. I used my brute strength instead of using demonic power, so that I won’t destroy the whole place.”

I looked at her with my face being blank and sighed.

She could've just saved me back then. But, it's okay, she still went to where I was that day.

“I shouldn’t be even worried, since I got a hell of a monster right beside me.”

She tightened her hand in my stomach and said, “Calling a girl a monster, that’s rude.”

I laughed and kissed her head.

Seems like I don’t need to do anything, she’s strong, she could’ve just defeated anyone who tries to capture me.

But that won’t do. I’m a man, I still need to get strong in order for her to do less, and I can prove myself worthy of her too.

But how can I do that? When I don’t have any powers?

Ah, forget it. Maybe someday we'll figure out how to control my powers.

When we got home, we saw a man looking suspicious at the front of our house.

He was wearing a black jacket along with a black beret, and he was looking around.

Kuro and I watched him while hiding, and then the man took out something from his pocket and unlocked the door.

That signals it! He’s a thief!

We ran towards the house and then we saw the man walking towards the stairs, Kuro jumped at his back and the man fell down to the floor.

Kuro locked the man’s neck with her arms and asked him, “Who are you?! What are you doing here?!”

Then I ran and took off the man’s beret.

“Uhm… what are you doing… dad?”

It was Lucifer.

“Ah… I will explain but please, could you let me go first?” he asked Kuro.

“Ah- Sorry!” Kuro released him from the lock and bowed to him.

Lucifer said that it’s okay, it’s only natural for her to be aggressive like that since he ordered her to protect my family.

“So, would you mind telling us why are you looking like a thief?” I asked him.

He held his head and said, “Ah, no one was around when I came, and I don’t have any keys. So, I made one. I checked first if anyone could see me creating a key with magic so…”

I facepalmed.

“Couldn’t you just teleport inside?”

He stopped for a second to think.

“Ah! I didn’t think of that.”

I facepalmed again. Is this man really Lucifer? He’s like a disappointment to all the stories in this world.

“Anyways we’re inside now so all is good.” He said.

I sat on the chair and asked him,

“What did you come here for dad?”

He became silent for a second and said, “I… forgot to give you powers. That’s why I came back.”

I answered with a “Huh?” look in my face.

I put my hands on the table and ask, “You could do that?!”

“Yes, I took your power. So I can give it back. Although your power is an enhancement to all other powers so I couldn’t use it since I mastered all of them already.”

I laughed, “Dad, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“It’s because you need training. And I can’t give it to you suddenly, you could have destroyed our house.” He replied.

Then I stood up and bowed to him, “Please! Give me my powers back! So that I can protect myself, and everyone around me!”

“No.” he said.

“What?! I thought you came here to give it back?”

“Well, I’ll give ‘some’ of your powers back. But not all, just like I said earlier. You could destroy the whole house if I gave it to you suddenly, you could have killed your mother and your siblings.”

I realized something. Yeah, he’s right. I shouldn’t be greedy for power, for I could kill thousands of people with just a little bit of it.

I stood up and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t think of what would happen if I get my powers back.”

Lucifer crossed his arms and said, “It’s okay, you only said that because you wanted to protect your family. If I’m in your place, I would do the same. We’ll talk about this later. For now, let’s rest first. You just came from school, right? You should rest.”

Dad, I’m sorry I told myself that you’re a disappointment to all the stories of the world.

“Yes, you too. Let’s wait for mom and the kids to go home.” I replied.

Kuro and I went to our rooms and changed clothes, Alicia and the others came back right after that.

We ate our dinner and talked to each other with dad on the table. It was fun to be honest. I hope we could do that every day, but it’s impossible since dad needs to do his work.

I thought he would just give my powers back and then go back to hell, but instead he joined us in our training.

We went to the river after mom and the kids fell asleep. In there we saw Raphael already waiting for us.

Wait, what happened to the crater from yesterday? Since when did it get fixed?

Raphael noticed us and teleported right in front of us.

His eyes were angry, we don’t know what happened to him.

Lucifer tried to talk to him, “H-Hey, Raphi. How are you? Why are you looking like that?”

Raphael looked at him but he ignored his question.

“Azazel.”

Azazel?

“Azazel took some of the people at school. I was there when he did that, but I couldn’t do anything since he was with other Asmoriths.”

What?!

“W-Why did he do that?!” I asked out of anger.

“Most likely he’ll use them as resources. Humans may be weak, but they have strong spirit powers. The faith they have for God is what makes them a valuable resource for us beings.”

I didn’t know that! But wait, I remembered something. When mom was praying at the backyard, is that really dad’s doing? Or is that because she has a strong spirit power?

I looked at dad and asked him that.

“Huh? What do you mean? I didn’t do anything to your mom except f—”

Kuro stretched his ears while blushing.

What was he going to say? Ah, never mind. So he didn’t do it. It means she really has a strong spirit power. I should take care of her too, since someone may use her for their own benefit.

After that, Kuro released her hands and dad started to talk.

“Ahh… it hurts… but anyways, even if he did take some of the people, he doesn’t have any reason to kill them. So they should be alive.”

Raphael crossed his arms to think. “Hm. That’s right. I know he’s not like Sanata, he’s just blinded by revenge. Hah! Even after many years he wouldn’t still let go of it. What a stubborn man.”

So, they won’t greet each other or something? Just what kind of friendship these two have?

“Ah, but there’s no use in thinking about him, we should think about how to save those people. We can’t just let him do what he wants. But, Shiro. You still don’t have any powers, do you? Well, then. Oi stupid Lucifer, give him his powers.” Raphael added.

Lucifer laughed at him and said,

“Don’t say that I’m stupid, we’re good friends right?”

“I don’t care, just do what I say.”

“Yes, yes.”

Raphael bows to Kuro, but he talk to dad like he’s nothing?! Kuro! You are some good general!

Or maybe dad really doesn’t act like he's a lord.

After that, Dad walked in front of me and held out his hand.

He closed his eyes and started chanting.

“Ash, Foruen, Meilai, Shamou. Fan!”

When he finished chanting a ball of light came from his hand towards my chest.

I feel… powerful.

Kuro touched my shoulders and asked me,

“Shiro-kun, are you feeling something now?”

I replied, “I feel stronger. I don’t know what really is strong in me, but I think I became stronger.”

She smiled and said, “Then let’s try it.”

She told me to try and block her punch with my hand.

Kuro formed a punch in her right hand and a chop with her left, just like at that time when she’s fighting Mordecai.

But this time, a dark flame was covering her fists.

“Kuro… what are those flames?” I asked her.

She smirked and said, “I added demonic powers in my hand. Try to block it. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt. It’ll just throw you to the other side of the river.”

I’m starting to think that I’m not going to survive this. But, I won’t step back. This is part of the training.

“Shiro-kun, here I go.”

I held out my right hand with my left hand supporting it, that’s where Kuro will hit.

I don’t know what will happen, and it made me feel excited.

Kuro jumped back and ran towards me.

I thought of strengthening my body, and I felt something. A light covered my whole body, and Kuro saw it.

“Good luck, Shiro-kun.” she said.

And then she punched me with all of her might.

- End of Chapter 10 -