“Hold on!” Rex called to Dmitri in panic.

　　　　They were both inside the mouth of a volcano grabbing on for dear lives. The heat from the lava below them teased their skins with promises of a quick yet painful death. 

　　　　Dmitri had stabbed his twin blades into the sides of the mountain, hoping they did not melt from the intense heat. Rex on the other hand had no weapons save his guns, so he just hung onto some loose rocks jutting out the sides. His hands burned and scabbed from the heat but he knew if he let go, it would be over.... probably.

　　　　What had caused this predicament and why could they not just bust out with their powers? It was a slight technicality they all knew but had not bothered much with since they had always been lucky.

　　　　Thing about portals; they require a mirrored glyph or door or whatever the medium is on the other side or destination. Now, when one fails to put up a gateway at the destination for any reason, several things go wrong. Least of which is a screw-up in the destination.

　　　　Rex and his friends found out the hard way when they were flung out of the portal into the volcano. To make bad circumstances worse, the chaotic energy of the portal had throw all of their spiritual energy off. Which basically meant they could not channel any energy for a limited time.

　　　　Liz had been lucky enough to miss the volcano. Unfortunately though, she had banged her head against a rock while falling and lay unconscious above them.

　　　　“Hold on you say,” Dmitri chuckled, “Don’t think I’ve got much of a choice either way here.”

　　　　“Well, look on the bright side...”

　　　　“Bright side?” he interjected.

　　　　“Now you know those swords are genuine. Remember you said you did not trust that warlock.”

　　　　“Ha!” Dmitri laughed heartily, and righted himself when he almost fell off. “Wonder what this ranks among our worst situations.”

　　　　“I’d say.. 5th?” Rex replied as he repositioned himself, back facing the wall so he could survey the area around him. The good news was the volcano was quite narrow - Shingami standards - and had many jutting rocks he could grab onto. Bad news was the ash and heat would make navigation really difficult.

　　　　“5th? What’s first then?”

　　　　“Remember the elves and the one tree?” he questioned as he pushed his weight against the wall.

　　　　“Oh, yeah. That was far worse. How’d you get us out of that anyway?”

　　　　With a grunt, Rex leaped off the wall and held his breath as he sailed through the thick smoke bellowing out from the sleeping volcano. He grabbed onto a loose rock when he made it past, an balanced himself next to Dmitri, ignoring the searing pain from the heat.

　　　　“I didn’t. Lyra was the one who saved us remember?”

　　　　“Ah, yes, elves ca-” 

　　　　“Are you okay down there?!” a panicked voice called out and they both turned sharply to see who it was. They could tell it was a woman from her voice, but the smoke distorted her image, so it was impossible to see her face.

　　　　“We’re still alive,” Dmitri joked, “Guess that counts for something right?”

　　　　“Hold on. I’ll be back,” the woman shouted, followed by the sound of retreating footsteps.

　　　　“Sure!” he replied, and continued in a lower tone, “not like we have much choice.”

　　　　A few minutes later, a rope fell next to Dmitri who grabbed it and climbed out of the volcano, followed soon after by Rex. When he got topside, Rex took in the longest breath he ever had, relishing the fresh air he took for granted.

　　　　He looked around and found Liz laying down a little ways off, still unconscious, and he walked over to her with a worried expression.

　　　　“I suppose we owe you our thanks... um?” Dmitri said to the woman, who was pulling up her rope. She looked to be in her twenties, and had the bloodiest red hair he had ever come across. Her eyes were also a dark shade of green, confirming they had landed in Elysium at least.

　　　　“I believe it is customary to give your name before demanding that of others?” she replied coldly, as she inspected him with suspect.

　　　　“Ah, my bad,” he apologized, “I’m Dmitri, and you are?” he answered and held out his hand politely.

　　　　“I am called Arie,” she replied as she gripped his hand in a firm handshake. “And your friend?”

　　　　“Oh, his name is -”

　　　　“Terry,” Rex interjected, drawing their attention. He was carrying Liz in his arms, but the worried expression was gone. 

　　　　“Where did you come from?” Arie inquired with undisguised suspicion.

　　　　“We just returned from Mearta,” Rex lied, “We got ambushed and were forced to use a makeshift portal. The result is as you see.” He took a few seconds to look around and his features creased into a frown. “By any chance are we in Hitoryu?” he asked cautiously as if ruing the answer.

　　　　“Yes,” she replied, shocked by his knowledge.

　　　　“Well then we’d best get to town,” he said, “I need to get her looked at,” he said pointedly at Liz.

　　　　“Forgive my rudeness,” Arie apologized, “this way,” she directed and led them down the hill.

　　　　“Mind telling me what’s with the shit story?” Dmitri whispered to Rex as they followed a fair distance from Arie.

　　　　“Just being careful,” Rex replied, “The council may have already put out a bounty on my head.”

　　　　“I see.”

　　　****************************************************************************************　

　　　　Several miles away, an abandoned city buzzed with life as its new inhabitants worked around the clock. Armories were being built in several locations, while actual living accommodations took back seat. 

　　　　Emily watched them work with a worried expression as it dawned on her that whatever Bel was planning could not be anything good. 

　　　　“Anything catch your eye?” an unfamiliar voice asked and she spun around to see a tall, muscular boy a little older than her walking over. Like everyone else he possessed yellow eyes, which she had learned was a stigma of the Nephilim, much like green were the stigma of the Shinigamis. His golden-blond hair, which was a complete mess, was held away from his eyes by a red headband he touched every other second.

　　　　“Sorry, I don’t follow...?”

　　　　“The name’s Stan. Stan Kulitz,” he introduced with a bow.

　　　　“E-”

　　　　“Emily Osborne. Age seventeen. Sole heir to Ozzy Inc. Short time friend of Rex. Vampire turned Shinigami,” someone rudely interrupted.

　　　　“You seem to a lot about me,” Emily said angrily as she turned around and came face to face with the coldest eyes she had ever seen. This was not easy either since his eyes were a bright yellow. But somehow they still sent a chill down her spine. 

　　　　“On the contrary, you are simply a by-product of my research into Lord Beelzebub,” he countered calmly. There was a way he said it, totally devoid of animosity that threw her off her pace.

　　　　He was quite tall too, though not as tall as Rex, and  a lot skinnier. His jet-black hair was neatly slicked back and unlike most of the Nephilim, he was dressed almost formally. Clad in a dark brown waist coat, matching pants, all that was left were a pair of glasses to complete his image - which he either did not use or was not wearing them at the time.

　　　　“Don’t scare the girl Eusteus,” Stan chided mildly. “The scary guy is Eusteus Maverick,” he said to Emily who was still glaring at Eusteus. “Try not to take anything he says to heart. He’s a little... “

　　　　“Blunt,” someone finished for him.

　　　　Emily turned with trepidation to see who the new person was. To her surprise, relief and terror, it was Luca who had answered. The young leader had a soothing smile that made Emily wonder if it was really the same girl she had met at the gate.

　　　　“Forgive Eusteus,” Luca apologized, “He doesn’t do so well when it comes to relating to others.”

　　　　“I-it’s no problem,” Emily said uncomfortably. “It wasn’t your fault.”

　　　　“Ahh,” Stan sighed with exaggerated exhaustion, “Captain’s done it again.”

　　　　“I don’t follow,” Luca said with a glare.

　　　　“He means Captain is too scary,” Eusteus affirmed, and left before Luca could think of a retort.

　　　　“Geh!” Stan gasped, “Ha... Ha... Ha,” he laughed nervously, “Captain can take a joke right?”

　　　　“Staaaan?!” Luca growled.

　　　　“Yes ma’am!”

　　　　“Would you please be so kind as to take care of the entire fifth quarter by yourself?” she asked sweetly.

　　　　“But, that’s like a te-”

　　　　“Haa?!” she asked as her features creased into a scary frown. “Do I hear a complaint?”

　　　　“No! On my way!” Stan shouted and sprinted off before she thought of something worse to punish him with.

　　　　“Well, that was fun,” Luca said to Emily who had been watching the exchange with amusement.

　　　　“Yeah, I guess,” Emily laughed nervously.

　　　　“Now that we’re alone, I guess it’s time I got serious.”

　　　　“What do you me-”

　　　　“Say, how has it been, being stuck in a strange land without your boyfriend?”

　　　　“I’m sorry? Wha-”

　　　　“I guess it’s only been a few days huh?” Luca mused. “It’s going to get dangerous from here, so if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m always here okay?”   

　　　　“Okay? Bu-”

　　　　“Good then, I have to go. This city isn’t going to put itself together,” Luca said and was gone before Emily could get a word in.

　　　　“How do I talk to someone who won’t let me get a word in?” Emily complained to nobody in particular, and surprisingly burst out laughing.

　　　　“She has that effect on people,” Eusteus said from right behind her, causing her to jump and squeal like a cat. 

　　　　The two stared at each other for what felt like eternity, then Eusteus broke the ice. “Cute.”

　　　　Embarrassed, Emily wished she had a bag to hide her head in. “What do you mean?”

　　　　“You were tensed when we arrived right? Your worry-lines are really obvious,” he answered.

　　　　“What?!” she panicked, rubbing her temples as if they would magically smooth over any wrinkles.

　　　　“...To very few people who are masters at reading expressions,” he added when he saw her reaction.

　　　　“You... You’re not very popular are you?” she asked angrily.

　　　　“I fear that is the truth,” he answered with what seemed to be a smile and she relaxed.

　　　　The two continued their chat, not noticing a pair of yellow eyes on the castle roof fixated on them. 

　　　　Bel wondered how long that smile would last once everything started. Definitely not long, but he could and would not let that deter him.

            "Do you always watch the world with such a scary look on your face," a voive he vaguely recognized asked.

                He turned to his side just as Luca sat down beside him.

　　　　“What happened to your earlier formality?” he asked, though he really could care less.

　　　　“There are times for formality and there are times when a lonely guy just needs some company,” she replied with a goofy grin that surprised him.

　　　　“Do what you want.”

“Ah. I always do.” she said with a dangerous glint in her eyes. One he liked.