[[Day 8 of Month -3, Santa Olivia (Night)]]<br/><br/>Countless Reapers, Pure Sinners, and Knights stumbled at a sudden burst of holy magic.  Though far away, they could feel the unexpected influx of power and it caught many of them off guard.<br/><br/>“Lethe..?!”  Seraphim asked with a clear note of alarm, purple eyes glancing in the direction of the surge.  The pink-haired Knight knew she wasn’t particularly sensitive to holy magic; for it to be so large that even<span style="font-style: italic">she</span>could feel it.<br/><br/>Unlike her compatriots, Lethe showed no response; if anything, her attack intensified as she took advantage of everyone’s momentary pause.  Flashes of light appeared all around her as her Heavens’ Judgment blades went to work, striking down all the Sinners and Reapers within her range before their confusion wore off.<span style="color: silver"> “Let’s go, Seraphim,”</span>she ordered, eyes scanning the battlefield and seeing three Deimos’s up ahead, flashes of silver the only indicators the Knight had been there.  Trust his divine magic to have manifested itself in a way to make him even more annoying.<span style="color: silver">“Form up! Advance!”</span>She shouted to the still stunned Knights around her, jogging after her rearguard.  Apparently her words were enough to knock them from their stupor and the surrounding Knights did as ordered, re-grouping into their formations and advancing.  As she had a smaller group to command, she’d decided against splitting her Knights into factions like Guilford had.  Rather than trying to force a new organization upon them last minute, she’d told them to just maintain their normal squad groups and follow her and her knights’ leads.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver"> “Seraphim, continue working with Deimos here.  I’m going to go check on Adair.”</span>The older woman barely had time to nod in agreement before Lethe was out of her sight.  How was Lethe moving so fast?<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/>Adair lifted his shield to block the downwards strike, forcing the scythe to slide against the shield.  One of the Knights hacked at the arm, trying to disconnect it from the Reaper’s body. Adair ground his teeth together in frustration: why aim for the arm?!  He was keeping the Reaper’s weapon pinned; they could just land a killing blow and finish the Reaper instead of trying to wound it!<br/><br/>He’d been given the (uneviable) job of leading the other divine magic capable Knights.  Though they could call upon Light’s Blessing, they weren’t quite skilled enough to be left on their own the way Deimos and Seraphim were.  Lethe had decided they’d needed someone to lead them and then she’d looked most pointedly in his direction.  What other response had there been but to smile and agree?<br/><br/>The arm finally fell to the ground and with it, the scythe he’d been blocking.  The other Knight rushed forward to (finally) finish off the Reaper now that it was defenseless and Adair turned his attention to the others in his group.  There was a shout of fear as one of his minions (because they certainly weren’t skilled enough to be his<span style="font-style: italic">companions</span>) scrambled backwards from another strike.  Somehow the minion had fallen to the ground and no other minion was free (or willing?) to intercept the attack.  With a mental sigh, Adair stepped into the gap and blocked the attack.  Why was he stuck on babysitting duty?  He thrusted out and stabbed the Reaper in its stomach.  A foul stench arose but the Reaper continued unhindered.  “Strike its--” his order was cut off when the upper torso toppled to the ground, followed shortly by the rest of its body.  The sudden empty space revealed Lethe behind it and his bad mood lightened at the sight of his Captain unharmed.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Good job,”</span>she praised with a quick smile to the other Knights even as her free hand motioned for them to keep fighting.  Because of Adair’s Light’s Blessing manifestation, none of his squad were injured, but all were heartened by the sight of a Seraph. They did as commanded.  Lethe placed a hand on Adair, channeling healing magic into him.  Aches he’d become so inured to over the course of the battle vanished under the spell’s effects.<span style="color: silver"> “You felt the surge from earlier.”</span><br/><br/>“They must be having a harder time than us for Master Guilford to flare his magic like that.”  Adair agreed, even as he and Lethe jogged forward to engage a set of Sinners.  For such simple enemies, it was no trouble for them to fight and discuss.  Lethe nodded,<span style="color: silver">“Knight Lance is rushing for the center of the town to do some spell he says will help us.  I want us to pick up our speed.”</span>As if emphasizing her point, she finished the Sinners with a quick flurry of strikes.  Half fell to the ground incapacitated and the other half screamed as the power of Absolve burned through their system.  She’d have to remember to send another thank you letter to Roland for Luna.<br/><br/>“You’re following him,”  Green eyes narrowed unhappily.  It had been bad enough being separated from his Captain but at least she’d been with the rest of the squad.  Now she was planning to run for the middle of the city after some moron who hadn’t been in active duty for years.  He didn’t like it.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Yes.  If it will change the tides of this battle, then we must seize it.”</span><br/><br/>“It’s dangerous.”<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“War is dangerous.”</span>Adair’s mouth twisted into an ugly scowl.  He couldn’t disagree with that.  His stabbed at the Reaper who’d intercepted them with unnecessary ferocity.<span style="color: silver">“Don’t overextend.”</span>Lethe chided as she slipped out from the cover of his shield and decapitated the Reaper, tipping the body out of the way.<span style="color: silver">“Keep the troops rallied here, Adair.  Keep pushing.”</span>A hand crept into his and tightened, conveying more than words could hope to do.  Then the fingers slipped out of his and she was gone.<br/><br/>He didn’t like it, and there was nothing he could do about it.  Fueled by his emotions, his aura expanded, the previous glow intensifying as more of Light’s Blessing was channeled through him.  “Rally up! Fall into formations.  We push for the center!”  He commanded, feeling an accompanying surge of emotion from those within his range.  There was a roar of agreement and the squads increased their fervor.  Nothing he could do except get these reinforcements to her faster.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/>Deimos gasped for breath, dodging out of the way of a Reaper attack.  The clone he left behind stabbed at the Reaper before vanishing.  He wouldn’t say he prided himself on being a good Pristine Knight--pride held too strong an emotion he just didn’t feel--but he did think himself competent.  Right now that competence was being put to the test.<br/><br/>He jumped into the air, realized he was now directly in line for his opponent’s attack, and made himself a clone to push him out of the way.  The clone was bisected but the maneuver gave him enough time to land a killing blow on the Reaper.  Decapitation was apparently the name of the game.  It was a bit harder than the torso or limb strikes he was more used to (as lethal cuts were frowned upon for Sinners, his normal fare) but it wasn’t too much different.  Clean, precise, a slide of the blade as he slipped by.<br/><br/>There were just so<span style="font-style: italic">many</span>.<br/><br/>He jumped over a horizontal swing meant to bisect him, landing on the weapon and then kicking off, a trick he’d learned from Cricket.  Before he could hit his assailant, another appeared and he had to abort his attack.  He wasn’t used to being the sole focus of so many eyes.  He watched the Reapers carefully, tracking their positions in regards to his own.  The katana in his hand twitched as instinct both urged him forward (there was an opening!) and held him back (four enclosing, two incoming from the back).<br/><br/>He could make more clones but he was getting tired.  Divine magic might be endless, but it still needed a medium first; he had never had the largest of holy magic reserves.  He wanted to plant his feet into the ground, stabilize himself in anticipation of the upcoming attack.  No, it’d just get him killed; better to shift his weight forward so he could react faster.  No matter how fast he was, he couldn’t outfight-- a feeling of courage swept through him.  Before he knew what he was doing, he had covered half the distance between him and the two Reapers who had tried to box him in.  The other six Reapers were dashing after him but he moved faster than he knew possible.  What normally would have been a glancing blow suddenly sliced half through the Reaper he’d targeted.  It stumbled into the other Reaper and then not even a moment later, all eight were on the ground.<br/><br/>Deimos stared around him with wide yellow eyes, shock radiating from the normally indifferent man.  What had that been?  His arms trembled with energy that had been absent just moments earlier.  In fact, his entire body felt energized, not in the restful way that came from a good night’s sleep but in the false vigor Captain’s triple-shot granted.  He’d felt something similar, once, recently, but it hadn’t been half this bad then.<br/><br/>He turned to look behind him at the other Knights he’d left far behind even as adrenaline hummed through his veins.  What was going on back there?<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/>Lethe swerved to the right as a pair of Pure Sinners ran out of the building to her left.  They didn’t seem to realize her presence as they scuttled towards another building, scrawny arms clutching papers and tools.  Should she stop them or keep after Lance?  The time she’d taken to direct the squad leaders had somehow been enough for him to stay out of her range.  Was that a good thing or a bad thing?  There was a dull<span style="font-style: italic">thunk</span>as one of the items fell and bounced along the ground before coming to a rest.  A familiar wooden box mocked her, Sin’s eye staring out at her in amusement.  It was enough.<br/><br/>She shot off in their direction, slamming into the first Pure Sinner before it could even react.  The second tottered away in surprise but the Seraph was focused on the first.  She slammed a humming Luna into it, the enchanted blade slicing through Sinflesh like butter.<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #0080FF">Do you think there’s anything I could have possibly done to save her?</span></span>A vicious twist realigned her sword before she yanked it out, pulling some of the Pure Sinner’s ribs with the move.  She pushed off the Pure Sinner, dodging away from the tailswipe that sent her first victim crashing to the ground.<br/><br/>The silver-haired Knight barely spared it a glance as she threw a Banish at it, helping the creature dissolve into dust.  The remaining Pure Sinner glared at her venomously, clearly wondering how to escape.  One hand still clutched the paraphernalia it had emerged with while the other was pointed at her.  They stood in unnatural stillness before the Pure Sinner lashed out.  Before the Sin it had gathered could be released, it screamed in agony and then crumbled into dust.  Two of her Heavens’ blades floated in the air, their presence previously obscured behind the Pure Sinner’s bulk, before vanishing back onto the divine realm.  She didn’t need them anymore, for now.<br/><br/>Blue eyes swept the now scattered items: more Sin Crystal boxes, notes of some sort, and a half unfurled map.  She knelt down and reached a hand for the debris.<span style="font-style: italic">Even from far away, she could feel the suspicious topaz gaze like a chill creeping down her spine.  <span style="color: silver"> “Excuse me, Gil, I need to finish something for the Council,”</span> she muttered, nodding her head as a quick bow of apology, before spinning and fleeing as fast as she politely could.  Hesitantly, she glanced to the left only to see the last wisps of pale blue hair as Brynhildr left her post.</span>Her hand closed into a fist before re-opening.  Lethe piled the items up and drew a quick protection rune over them.  It might be nothing; it might be something.  Regardless, it was something she’d deal with later.<br/><br/>She turned back towards the center of Santa Olivia and continued running after Lance, firmly ignoring the phantom aches that crawled over her thighs.  She stumbled when the ground suddenly rumbled.  The creeping sensation had returned, though this time not imagined, lifting the hairs on the back of her neck.  There was a sudden pressure in the air, one that was oh too familiar.  Blue eyes widened in surprise even as Lethe picked up her pace.  How did he know divine magic?!  It wasn’t impossible, but Lance had said this was a trick he’d learned in the<span style="font-style: italic">First War</span>!  Very few had been renowned for their access to Light’s Blessing back then.  Up ahead, she saw a glowing figure, cloaked in white light with a mist of red around him.<span style="color: silver">“LAN--”</span>He lifted his hands skywards and a beam of light appeared, connecting the skies with the heaven in a continual pillar.<span style="font-style: italic">SAVE ME! I WAS INNOCENT!</span>Her shout turned into a wordless, unintelligible scream at the too familiar sight.<span style="font-style: italic">WHY DID YOU FORSAKE ME! MY DAUGHTER/SON/FATH</span>Light fell around her and she lifted her arms to shield herself from the inevitable pain--<span style="font-style: italic">Oh Light, it felt like she was being torn apart. and the screams.. the screams! They kept screaming but she wouldn’t stop.  No, she didn’t care, not when.</span>The high pitched sound abruptly cut off when she ran out of breath.  She gasped for breath but inhaled too much and choked.<br/><br/>All that could be heard was gagging as a swirl of darkness started to form.  Lethe wheezed, trying to get her breathing back under control, even as her attention was focused on the dark tear,<br/><br/>“Bam! Bam! Bam!”  A chipper voice chanted, “Hearts, Clouds, BUNNIES!”  The glee was unmistakable, unforgettable.  She couldn’t move.  A white boot emerged from the darkness, followed by another one.  A massive hammerhead slammed into the ground, shattering the cobblestones in its way.  A pink gloved hand held the shaft loosely and happy red eyes gazed over her two person audience.  One was sitting on the ground, her face a mix of shock and recognition.  The other looked mostly dead already but his eyes glared at her with sweet vitriol.<br/><br/>A wide grin broke over Vulcalina’s face.  “DOLLIES!!”  She cheered, clutching her hammer close to her.  She could almost faint in happiness!  Which one should she play with first?! Which one should she play with first?!  Eh, the orange haired one looked almost dead; it was no fun playing with already broken toys.  But then the girl looked useless.  She wasn’t even crying or screaming or running!  She just sat there!  Hmm, maybe the boy would fight harder if she killed the girl first?  Syndra had mentioned something about how the dollies would fight back more if she killed the tiny and female ones first.  Alrighty then!  Mind made up, Vulcalina swung her hammer back.  Bye bye whitey!<br/><br/>It was the sudden clarity of knowing if she didn’t move, she was going to die that gave her legs strength and her body action. Lethe threw herself out of the way, pivoting with the motion to rock back onto her feet and face the demon.  Luna reappeared in her hands and her Heaven’s Judgment blades behind her.  The last time she’d fought like this, it had been in another city versus another foe.<br/><br/>A mouth twisted into an enraged scowl / a happy smile.<br/>A city swathed in Sin / a city crumbled under Sin.<br/>Countless innocents / countless brothers-in-arms.<br/>Gil / Lance.<br/>Turquoise eyes stared out in determination at the city in front of them,<span style="color: turquoise">“No, but it’s a worthwhile endeavor.  Seeing Luciano and Sovereign Palaugrim flourish… it inspires me every day to work my hardest.”</span>/ A woman crouched by a dying child, frantically pressing her hands against a wound as she sobbed, “It’s okay sweetie.  Mommy’s got you.  You’ll be okay,” and up above, there was laughter: laughter and a joyous shout of bunnies.<br/><br/>The last memory spurred her into action once more.  Lethe shot towards the demon who dodged, smile extending with manic glee.  “YAY!!!”  THe hammer came back with disturbing speed, threatening to bat Lethe off her feet.  The white-haired Knight leapt over the strike, wings fanned to keep her aloft as the hammerhead passed under her and leveled a building that had been in the way.  Could she close the distance?  Lethe ran towards the demon; if she could get within the reach of the hammerhead, she might be able to--she stabbed at the demon’s body but it vanished.  She hit nothing but air.  There was a looming sensation from above.<br/><br/>Lance watched in disbelief as a hammer crashed into the place Lethe had been standing.  The ground had crumbled under the impact, the edges of a crater already forming around the head.  How? No. She couldn’t, but how could she not?  He struggled to stand properly, cursing himself for his weakness.  The hammer shifted and then came swinging back up and he stared helplessly at--his brown eyes widened in surprise.  There.. there was no blood?  A scream broke him from his stupor and he saw the demon slam into another building, thrown there by a beam of light.  Who?  He turned in the direction of the Banish bolt’s origin, just to see a grim Lethe.  She was alive!  But.. how?  Prayer swirled around her as she gathered holy magic for her next attack.<br/><br/>Lethe dodged out of the way when a ball of Sin went rushing past her.  There was a shout from the building she’d sent the demon through and then the building exploded, revealing the demon once more.  Rather than anger, the demon seemed overjoyed.  The demon lifted one hand, formed a fist, and slammed it down.  Countless Sin spheres hailed through the air, not unlike the Smite spell.  Instinct kept Lethe dodging, weaving through the falling bolts.  When the attack lessened, she rushed forward in an attempt to get close enough to strike but the demon jumped out of the way, teleporting to put greater distance between the two.  The two continued the futile chase for a few more minutes, the demon failing to strike her and her failing to close the gap.  The two came to a pause at opposite sides of the townsquare, Lance having long been forgotten.  Lethe lifted Luna once more, eyes focused on the demon that had lifted its hand, no doubt to summon more Sin.  As if prompted by some unknown signal, both attacked.  Countless Sin bolts converged on the white Knight’s location.  In contrast, Lethe struck with her sword as if the demon was right in front of her rather than on the other side of the square.  For a moment, all that could be heard was the sound of explosions and screams.<br/><br/>Vulcalina screamed as countless gashes appeared on her body.  It hurt! It hurt!!  She stumbled backwards at the sudden agony, trying to get her footing when she only two feet instead of eight.  Her hammer slipped from loose fingers as she lifted her hands to the wounds, trying in vain to press against nonexistent blood.  How?  What had she done?  What had that dolly done to her?<br/><br/>Lethe staggered to stand upright, having been forced to her knees under the onslaught of Sin.  Her Heavens Judgment blades had kept most of the damage from her, but the sheer number had overwhelmed them.  Bruises were already forming where the Sin spheres had hammered her defensive Prayer.  The demon didn’t seem particularly smart but Lights Above, she hit like Daria.  There was a flash of pain at the memory of her now dead teammate but she tampered it down.  Not the right time.  The demon was on her knees, hands covering her wounds as she screamed.  Perhaps the demon wasn’t used to pain?  Lethe lifted her hand, gathering Light’s Blessing around her.  Her blades glowed with the divine magic before vanishing.  She swiped her hand in front of her, her left hand following in another circle.  Her blades reappeared in a circle above the still screaming demon.  She stepped backwards, body falling into a familiar rhythm even as her blades shot towards her oblivious target.  Let that demon feel heavens’ judgment.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/>They were winning! They were winning!  Countless voices lifted in a roar of triumph.  That mysterious light had fallen upon the battlefield, scouring away their enemies.  Some still remained, but the majority had been cleansed away.  They no longer faced overwhelming odds.  They could win,<span style="font-style: italic">were</span>winning!<br/><br/>The gathered members of squad Ten advanced as one group, grim as they were still in battle but heartened by the knowledge their Captain was safe.  Seven hearts had stuttered in terror when the pillar of light had pierced the sky,<br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: silver">“These havens that we can find in the world… they’re something worth protecting.”</span><br/>You are changing this world for the better; you have changed this world already.  I am so, so very proud..<br/><span style="color: silver">“Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound! That saved a wretch like me.”</span><br/><span style="color: #0080FF">“Stop her now if you don’t want her to die!”</span><br/>A smudge of white in a sea of deep blue; it looked like the massive room was trying to swallow her up.</span><br/>and then started up again when there was no shockwave of light.  Instead, light had fallen from the skies, destroying the Sinned creatures in its way.<br/><br/>“It-it’s not Captain,”  YunQiao had barely managed to stutter out from the oppressive presence of Light’s Wrath.  “Sh-She didn’t. She didn’t have any spell like this.”  The words were enough to rouse the others from their horror-stricken memories.<br/><br/>“We need to tell the others.”  Cricket spoke up, eyes focused on the origin of the light show.  The other three were still on their own and wouldn’t know if it was or wasn’t Captain.  “Leon?”<br/><br/>The blonde Knight shook his head, “There’s too much ambient divine magic to sense them.  We’ll have to find them physically.”  He ignored Cricket’s angry click of the tongue, knowing it wasn’t directed at him.  “Let’s get moving.  They need to know as soon as possible.”<br/><br/>The other three all nodded and the group moved forward, knocking other Knights out of their surprise as they passed.  Though most of the enemies had been vanquished, some still remained.  They came across a worried Adair first.  It was clear their Vice Captain wanted to be running towards where the pillar of light had been, but he was stuck with the other divine magic capable Knights.  The man’s stony mask crumpled into relief at the news it wasn’t Captain.  The aura of oppression around him lightened at once and the surrounding Knights no longer found themselves paralyzed with worry.<br/><br/>“Gerald!”  Adair turned to one of the squad captains who’d come under his command, “You’re in command.  Keep the troops structured and keep pushing.  After that light show, things should be easier.”  Command successfully passed off, the blue-armored man slipped back into control of his own squad.  “Let’s go.  Captain said she was going after Fitzherburg; she said he said he had some spell to help us.  That must have been it.”  Although he had never heard of The Lion being capable in divine magic.. something to look into later.  For now, Captain.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/>Seraphim and Deimos skidded to a halt at the edges of the townhall, throwing their hands up to shield their eyes from the sudden burst of light.  They knew that spell; it was Captain’s most famous one, after all.  But before they could rejoice, there was a sudden wave of Sin so strong that it felt like being punched in the face.  Their feeble prayers strained under the pressure before flaring once more as Light’s Blessing replaced the holy magic.  When they dropped their hands, they blanched in horror.  They might be Squad Ten, Seraph Lethe’s Squad, but none of that would ever make them ready for…<br/><br/>Two brunettes stood by a sobbing orange-haired figure.  One had dark brown hair and pasty white skin; she wore a militaristic outfit of dark blue, the bottom cut open to reveal mini shorts and thigh-high stockings.  Her fingers were skeletal in nature and her eyes burned dark red, but none of that captured their attention.  Instead, their eyes were focused on the shorter brunette who had hair so light it was almost white.  The other demon--for with so much Sin around her, what else could she be?--wore a pleated dress not unlike their Captain’s.  A black corset hugged her stomach and a black cape fluttered in the air.  The smaller demon’s smirk twisted to form one word: “Seraph.”<br/><br/>Lethe stared back coolly, seemingly unruffled by the overwhelming Sin.  She nodded her head in acknowledgment even as her Heavens’ Judgment blades reappeared at her back with a lazy wave of her hand.<span style="color: silver">“Eve.”</span>