I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love.
———————————————————————
Naturally, the whole dining hall started screaming and shouting questions.

Arana: "SILENCE!!!!!"

The dining hall suddenly went dead silent.

Arana: "I am aware you are all frightened, however we must not lose faith in the Lord. He will keep us safe during these trying times. For those of us who stay true to our beliefs will survive this and lead us to a new salvation!"

Suddenly, May walked up onto the platform.

She walked up and whispered something into Arana's ear. Arana gasped and I saw a sparkle of hope in her eyes.

Arana: "I have received great news from our Prophet. May here has just informed me that the Lord has reached out to her. Please, inform us on what he has said"

May's face suddenly grew beet red. She looked over at Arana and spoke to her quietly, however I was sitting close enough to hear.

May: "I-I can't speak in front of everyone, I-I'll stutter or mumble"

Arana: "You'll be fine, just repeat what he said to you"

May: "O-Okay, I'll try"

She looked out at the crowd. She went to open her mouth, but her face turned burning coal red and she fell back, passing out.

Draco: "Uh.... Is she okay?"

Yuki: "She passes out at the thought of doing anything in front of people"

Nozomi: "She's a sweetheart, but she's super shy"

Arana looked down at her, shook her head with a slight smile.

Arana: "Luckily, she told me before she passed out"

She cleared her throat.

Arana: "Armageddon can be prevented, however it will be nearly impossible. I'm sure you all know of the Seven Sins and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They are the key to this war. If we defeat all of them before Armageddon truly begins, we may be able to prevent it for many, many years"

She sighed.

Arana: "However, I will not be able to go. This is our only base of operations on earth. If the House of God falls, we can say goodbye to any chances of us winning this war. So I have decided to send an elite group to attack the enemy. However, I will not force anyone to go, most of the group will likely not make it back alive, maybe all of them. So for those who would like to volunteer, speak up"

The dining hall was dead silent, no one wanted to speak up. I almost thought everyone stopped breathing too.

Suddenly, Annis flew out from nowhere, hovering right above me.

Annis: "Draco volunteers"

Draco: "E-Excuse me?!"

Arana: "A Guardian Angel wishes to send the one she is supposed to protect on a life threatening mission, why?"

Annis: "After what he's done last week, he is the most capable of combatting the Sins. If he can learn to hone his new powers, then we may have a chance at defeating them"

Draco: "H-Hold on!"

Arana: "Very well, Draco, you shall go fight the Sins and prevent Armageddon"

Draco: "I SAID HOLD ON!!!!!!"

I yelled so loud and with so much force that actually cracked one of the pillars that held the roof up.

Draco: "I'm not going!! There are probably hundreds of people here more capable than me, I've only been conscious here for a day! I haven't had any training and, quite frankly, I'm terrified out of my mind! You kept talking about my new powers and what I can do, but I don't want it anymore! I... I change my mind about this whole thing!! I want nothing to do with it!!!"

I pushed through a few people and made my way to the exit. Arana yelled out to me.

Arana: "You can't run from this! You're a part of this life now"

Draco: "I never asked to be part of this!! All I cared about was getting revenge on the demons who killed my friend!! But all this, it's not worth it!! I don't care what you say, I'm not staying!!"

Arana: "If you leave now, you'll be turning your back on God!!"

Anger flooded my body. Every bone in my body was filled with rage.

Draco: "WHAT HAS GOD EVER DONE FOR ME!!!!!"

Suddenly, my body erupted with pitch black smoke. I couldn't see much around me, however the only thing I could see was a bunch of weird floating orbs. They were light purple in color. I realized that where everyone was sitting before is where the floating orbs now resided.

Some of the smoke cleared when I suddenly heard multiple people scream.

Exorcist 1: "Demon!!!"

Exorcist 2: "He's a Demon!!!"

Exorcist 3: "A Demon got in!!!"

At first, I had no idea what was happening. Maybe they were just scared from whatever that smoke was. However, right to my left, was a large mirror. I looked into it and almost immediately collapsed from fear.

My skin had turned a dark shade of gray, almost black. My clothes had also turned black. My hair was like dark iron and my glowing red eyes glistened in the reflection. My pupils were sharp like a snake. My teeth were sharpened to a deadly point. My body itself was radiating some weird dark aura.

Within seconds, I saw my form return to normal. My skin, hair, and clothes all went back to their normal color. My vision cleared and the orbs turned back into actual people. However it may not have been a good thing.

Everyone was holding some kind of weapon, others having some balls of fire or light in their palms. I looked to Arana for some help, however she had an even more terrified look than I probably had.

One of the exorcists thrusted a large wave of fire at me. Right before it could roast me alive, Alex stepped in front of me and swung his katana upwards, sending the wave of fire onto the ceiling, making it slowly fade away.

Alex glanced at me and whispered.

Alex: "What was that?!"

Draco: "I don't know!"

Yuki and Nozomi walked over to me too, weapons in hand. The three of them stood between me and the rest of the exorcists.

Yuki: "Get going, we can't hold them off forever!"

Draco: "I'm not going anywhere, you'll get—"

Yuki: "Don't make me kick your ass!"

Alex: "We can handle ourselves, go!"

Nozomi: "We'll catch up"

I looked at them one last time before running deeper into the complex. Right before I could find the exit, I heard a voice yell to me from down the hall I came from.

Asuka: "D-Draco!"

I turned around and saw Asuka down the hall. She had bandages over her chest, so she wasn't wearing a shirt. She at least had her skirt on. She looked lightheaded, but seriously worried.

She limped over to me.

Asuka: "W-What's going on?!"

I turned away from her.

Draco: "I don't know, honestly. But you should go back and rest, I don't want you getting involved in this"

Asuka: "Involved in what?"

Draco: "Asuka, please, just go back"

Asuka: "No, I'm not! You protected me when the Demon attacked, so I'm going to help you with whatever's going on"

Draco: "You can't, please, just stop"

She finally slapped me across the face.

Asuka: "When we met, I asked for you to be my friend. And since we're friends, I'm not letting you go through this alone. It's either you take me with you or you don't go at all"

That was the first time I'd ever been slapped by a girl. Punches from Yuki don't count, since she just does it to beat your ass.

I sighed.

Draco: "Fine, but we have to leave the House of God. They're trying to kill me"

Asuka: "Why?!"

Asuka: "They think I'm a Demon"

I grabbed her hand and helped her through the halls of this maze they called a building. Asuka helped me navigate through it until we finally reached a door. I suddenly heard footsteps from behind us. I turned around and saw Alex, Nozomi, and Yuki, all sprinting down the hall towards us, with an army of exorcists behind them.

Alex: "Go!!"

The five of us rushed through the door.

On the other side of the door, was a dark alleyway. Nozomi slammed the door shut behind her after we were all out. Surprisingly, there was no sound of banging on the door.

Suddenly, Yuki grabbed me and pinned me up against the wall.

Yuki: "What the hell are you?!"

Draco: "You are the second person to ask that, and I'll say the exact same thing. I don't know what's happening to me!!!"

Yuki: "I know a Demon when I see one, and what you just did, that was something only a Demon can do"

Draco: "I'm not a Demon!! The fact Nozomi is human proves that! We're brother and sister!!"

Yuki slowly backed off.

Yuki: "Then what happened?"

Draco: "If I knew, I would tell you"

Asuka suddenly fell to the ground, clenching onto her chest where she was cut. Nozomi caught her and gently set her down.

Nozomi: "We can't stay here, we need to find somewhere to stay. It's only a matter of time before we have both exorcists and Demons hunting us down"

Draco: "We could go to my place"

Alex: "Probably being guarded by Demons now, after what happened with Chris. We need somewhere else"

Yuki: "We could go to my house, but it's kind of far away"

Alex: "How far?"

Yuki: "It's in New Jersey, maybe three hours away"

Nozomi: "I don't suppose anyone has a car?"

Yuki: "Oh yeah, I have one, wait here"

Yuki walked out of the alleyway and down the street. I didn't exactly see what happened, however she suddenly pulled up in a black van, with a broken driver's seat window and the wires, from where the key goes, sticking out after being hot wired.

Draco: "You did not just steal a car"

Yuki: "I'll return it, probably. Just get in"

Nozomi got shotgun while the rest of us piled in the back. I sat in the far back while Alex and Asuka sat in the middle seats.

Alex: "Do you even know how to drive?"

Yuki: "Nope, buckle up!"

Yuki floored the gas and sped down the street.

The odds of us not running into any police was astronomical, however Yuki managed to pull it off. We didn't run into any problems, not even a tree, which was definitely expected. I looked over at Asuka and saw she had fallen asleep. Same with Nozomi, though Alex and Yuki were wide awake.

Draco: "I'm sorry, guys..."

Alex: "Don't apologize for that. Something's messing with us, and I'm not sure what"

Yuki: "I knew the second you joined more issues would come our way. You're a magnet for trouble. You're lucky you have me taking care of you losers, not counting Nozomi, or you'd all be dead within a day"

Alex: "You are such a brat..."

Yuki: "Do I need to turn this car around?!"

Alex: "Okay, okay, calm down, Tsundere"

She sighed.

Yuki: "Nerds..."

Yuki put on the radio and the person on the radio started a report.

Reporter: "Early today, five adolescents were seen breaking into a black van and stealing it. Their location is currently unknown. If you know anything, please contact the police"

Alex spoke sarcastically with a grin.

Alex: "Hey guys, I think we should call the police, I know where they are"

Reporter: "In other news, 10 adolescents, all bearing crosses and bibles in their clothes, were found brutally beaten and cut by what looked like a knife. This is the sixth innocent this week of this type of murder. People online have referred to this murderer as "The Shadow". They attack at night and seemingly vanishes into the shadows afterwards. There are no leads at this time"

Alex: "Sounds like exorcists. Someone's going around killing them"

Draco: "Demons?"

Yuki: "Maybe, but they don't like making themselves publicly known. This must be something else"

Alex: "Think they'll come after us?"

Yuki: "Maybe, but they've all mostly been in Stroudsburg, PA. We're leaving there, so we'll probably be okay"

Asuka moaned and groaned in her sleep, clutching her chest.

Draco: "Can Nozomi heal?"

Alex: "Yeah, why?"

Draco: "Can she help Asuka a bit? I think her wound is opening up"

Yuki gently shook Nozomi's shoulder, waking her up.

Nozomi: "Not exactly how I want to be woken up by my Water Goddess, but I'll take it"

Yuki rolled her eyes.

Yuki: "Get back there and heal Asuka. The wound is opening"

Nozomi crawled back over to us, switching seats with Alex. She held her hand over Asuka's chest.

Nozomi: "I call upon the power of the Holy Spirit. Allow me to channel your power to heal this poor soul"

The palm of her hand started glowing a bright yellow. Small light particles started raining down onto Asuka's chest. After a few seconds, Asuka's painful facial expression slowly faded away.

Draco: "Woah, I'm still new to this whole magic thing. But that was just amazing!"

Nozomi: "I've been practicing for years"

Draco: "How long have you been part of this?"

Nozomi: "Since.... Mom and Dad died..."

I leaned close and wrapped my arms around her.

Draco: "What about you, Alex? I never thought you'd be the type"

Alex: "My mom was also an exorcist, pretty famous one too. So naturally, I had to follow in her footsteps"

Draco: "Yuki—"

Yuki: "Not another word. I'm not saying anything"

Her eyes went dead serious.

Draco: "Okay, sorry"

I looked out the window.

Draco: "Does God really exist?"

Nozomi: "Of course he does"

Draco: "How do you know? Has anyone ever seen him?"

Nozomi: "Well... no..."

Draco: "So how can we prove he's real?"

Nozomi: "That's not something we can prove. It isn't about proving his existence. It's about blind faith"

I looked up into the sky. If there was a God up there, why was he letting all this happen? And why wasn't he helping?

After a long drive, we finally reached what Yuki told us was her house. However something was definitely off.

She drove up to a large gate. She stuck her head out the window and the gate opened on its own. She drove through the gates and on the inside was a large mansion!!

Draco: "What the— You can't tell me you actually live here!!"

Yuki: "Well, it's not my house. It's my Dad's. He's away for a while, so we can use the mansion for as long as we want"

I noticed the walls surrounding the mansion had crosses lining the walls. However there was something off. They went in a pattern, one cross pointing upwards and then a cross pointing downwards.

Draco: "What's with the crosses?"

Yuki: "Keeps out Demons and Angels alike"

Alex: "Why would you want to keep Angels out?"

Yuki: "Angels are sometimes just as bad as Demons"

We finally pulled up to the front door, where we all got out. I had to carry Asuka, however I was a little embarrassed since she still didn't have a shirt on, just the bandages.

We all walked inside, and to my surprise, the inside had a bit of a medieval style to it, with a large golden chandelier on the ceiling.

Yuki: "Shoes off, now. I don't want you tracking any mud or dirt into the house"

We all took off our shoes.

Yuki: "Take her into my bedroom, she can rest in my bed for now"

Draco: "Where is it?"

Yuki: "Up the stairs and to your left"

I started walking up the stairs when I heard Yuki yell up to me.

Yuki: "If you go peaking around my room, Demons will be the least of your worries!!!"

I walked over to the room Yuki had directed me to. I pushed the door open and saw a pretty average bedroom, despite being a bedroom in a mansion. There was a large bed with drapes over the massive windows on the wall. She had a few dressers against the wall and a desk with a small book on it. I decided to ignore it since I valued my life. I set Asuka down gently on the bed. I pulled the blankets over her and let her rest.

I walked back downstairs and saw everyone relaxing on sofas in the large living room. On the wall, was a large flatscreen tv. It had the news on, and from what I was seeing, things were going to literal hell.

Reporter: "I'm standing here in lower state Texas where a massive pandemic has broken out. Disease is ravaging the southern half of the United States and moving north. There is also a famine on the west half of the country, working its way eastward. At this time, we do not know why this is happening, however we will do everything within our power to keep you informed"

Yuki shut the tv off.

Yuki: "Arana was right, it's begun"

Draco: "Armageddon?"

Alex: "Yeah, what you just saw up there was Famine and Pestilence, two of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They're the first two that arrive"

Draco: "So basically we're screwed"

Nozomi: "Not necessarily. Arana said we can prevent it"

Yuki: "By killing the Sins, blah blah blah. Easier said than done. That one came into our base of operations and took down the best fighters, us. The only one who stands a chance is Arana, maybe May"

Draco: "May?"

Alex: "She may not look it, but she's second in command. She'll take over the House of God when Arana either dies or quits"

Yuki: "We also have the House of God on our asses too. We helped Draco escape, so we're not in God's good graces right now. We've got Demons, Exorcists, and probably Angels too hunting us down. Hence why I brought us to a place Demons and Angels can't enter"

Nozomi: "What should we do then?"

Yuki: "I say we hunker down, wait this whole thing out"

Draco: "Isn't this whole Armageddon thing supposed to last for years?"

Alex: "Seven years total, yeah"

Yuki: "Seven years isn't that long. Yeah, we'll nearly be in our mid 20's, but it won't matter. God and Jesus will come down to earth and place judgement on us all, determining if we deserve to go to heaven"

Draco: "What if you don't?"

Yuki: "You get thrown in the eternal pit of fire and your very existence is slowly burned away"

Draco: "What the— Is God some kind of sadist?!"

Alex: "No, he punishes those who don't deserve to be in his domain. He created us, so he decides our fate"

Yuki: "Anyways, back to what I was saying. We should just hunker down here. We have enough food stored here to last decades. There's even an underground garden under the mansion, which we use hydroponics to grow. We could last here for decades. And this place is so heavily fortified that I don't think even Satan himself could get in"

Draco: "So what? We let all hell break lose out on all those innocent people?"

Yuki scowled at me.

Yuki: "You don't get it, do you? Everything we know about Armageddon is destined to happen. There's no stopping it, only delaying. Armageddon has been delayed six times already, this would be the seventh time it's come close to happening. With how weak the House of God is now, they won't last. This is it"

I looked out the window at the bright blue sky. One of the clouds in the sky looked like a massive dragon. Dragon...

Draco: "Did we ever have the Dragon Bane before?"

Yuki: "No, we didn't. But I doubt it could make much a difference. Besides, you turned away from all this. You said you didn't want any part in this"

Draco: "I know what I said... I'm just really confused and frustrated right now. I mean, I find out I have this mythical power that can kill the Devil himself and I have under a week to do so, that's not something a normal person can handle. It doesn't help that Annis volunteered me for it"

Alex: "I know you never wanted to be part of this, the rest of us had a few years to get into the groove of things. You've been conscious for maybe a day, and now you're tasked with saving all of existence. We definitely don't blame you"

Draco: "That's not all, I want to know what happened after my outburst. I... looked like a Demon?"

Nozomi: "Yeah, however most demons look somewhat more human, you looked more like a pure monster"

I looked down at my hand, remembering the darkness that engulfed my skin.

Draco: "Am I a Demon?"

Nozomi: "You can't be, like you said earlier. That would mean I'm a Demon too. And I know for a fact that Demons can't use Holy Magic"

Draco: "Then what happened?"

Alex: "Maybe you got possessed by something"

Draco: "But by what?"

Suddenly, the sound of something hitting the roof of the building ran through our ears. I looked outside and saw the sky had turned dark, clouds covering any source of light.

I looked over at Yuki. She whispered.

Yuki: "Get down"

We all got onto the floor, hiding from the windows using the couches to block us. Suddenly, the power went out, leaving us in darkness.

Draco: "I thought you said Demons and Angels couldn't get in here?"

Yuki: "They can't, it must be something else. The only way for a Demon or Angel to get in now is for the owner of the house to allow them passage, which I sure as hell didn't"

Out of nowhere, the glass in the living room shattered. We all screamed as a harsh wind crashed into the building.

Yuki: "Draco!! Nozomi!! Go check on Asuka!!

Yuki grabbed Alex's arm and pulled him out the window. I then saw them leap up onto the roof.

Nozomi and I ran up the stairs and into Yuki's bedroom. Asuka was sitting up in her bed, her face filled with fear.

Asuka: "What's going on?!"

Draco: "We're not really sure"

Nozomi and I helped pick her up and walk her downstairs. We set her down on the couch. The sound of metal clashing echoed through the air. I suddenly heard the sound of Yuki let out a painful scream.

I looked over at Nozomi.

Draco: "Watch Asuka, I'll be back. Alex and Yuki need help"

Asuka: "Wait! Let them handle it! You have little to no experience with this stuff!"

I kept running towards the window, not looking back.

Draco: "I can't just let them die up there. I need to help"

I leaped out the window, somehow not cutting myself on broken glass, and looked up on the roof. I couldn't see much, so I attempted to climb up. I grabbed onto the balcony and climbed up. I jumped up and grabbed onto one of the ceiling tiles. I pulled myself up.

The second I was on the roof, I almost died. I small, sharp blade nearly pierced my chest, however I was able to dodge it just in time. I stumbled out of the way and looked directly at my attacker.

My attacker was in a veil of shadows, kind of hiding him in the darkness. He looked about the same age as me, with hair darker than pitch black. His hair was so dark it almost seemed to take the light out of the air. He was extremely pale and had dull, light green eyes. His eyes looked dead, so maybe he was a Demon. He wore all black with green trimming on it. His clothes were almost like Japanese robes. On the back of his hands, were large blades that looked like something right out of Assassin's Creed. However they were on the top of his hand, instead of under his palm. He had a mask that covered his mouth and nose, so I couldn't get a good look at his face.

He only spoke one word, and it sent chills down my spine.

???: "Repentance"

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Hey everyone!!

So, I felt that R.O.A. was getting a little too similar to my other original story, Mytho-Academy. So I decided to change things up~

Also, Yuki is a badass XD

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!! See you next time!!