The council hall had gone still. The torches sputtered low, their light choking on the shadows.
Damion Snow stood alone in the silence, his whip coiled loosely in his hand, his breath steady but low, as though he feared the air itself would betray him.
DAMION (low, almost to himself):
"Something is not right… I feel like I'm forgetting something."
From the throne, Theodus Nightshade swirled his wine, his grin lazy, mocking.
THEODUS (shrugging):
"Well… that is not my problem."
Damion's eyes lingered on him, pale and searching, but he said nothing more. With a sharp turn of his cloak, he left the room. His footsteps faded down the corridor.
Nightshade sat in silence for a long moment, then chuckled softly.
THEODUS (to himself, slyly):
"Fufu… I'd better find a better excuse fast."
He reached into the folds of his robe and pulled out a worn, blackened page. Its edges seemed to breathe, its ink alive. A page from something greater.
He dipped a quill in red ink and began to write:
Damion Snow — suicide.
Axel Spade — suicide.
Dylan Plane — suicide.
Hakari — suicide.
The letters glowed faintly, as if reality bent to the words. This was no ordinary page. It was a Death Note, an artifact said to warp fate itself. Theodus's smile widened as the final stroke dried.
THEODUS (whispering):
"Such fragile lives… nothing more than stories I choose to end. And with each name, the web tightens."
He closed the page, tucked it back into his robe, and leaned lazily against the throne.
But what he did not know was that Damion had never truly left.
Silent as a wraith, shielded by the sanctity of his office as a Church Executioner, Damion slipped back into the chamber through a hidden passage. The Death Note's curse could not touch him—holy rites bound to his very soul repelled it.
From the shadows above, his pale eyes narrowed as he watched Theodus move.
Damion drifted later, when Nightshade had retired to his chambers. He entered without a sound, executioner's senses honed to every breath, every flicker of movement.
On a cluttered desk sat a journal. One page lay open, written in Theodus's jagged hand. Damion's gaze locked onto the words scrawled across the parchment:
"Hail Jitara."
The ink pulsed faintly, as though the very name carried power.
Damion's grip on his whip tightened. His voice was a whisper, cold as the grave:
DAMION
"…Jitara."
The chamber seemed to shudder at the name.
The halls of the citadel groaned as if weighed down by unseen chains. Damion moved like a shadow until he reached a locked iron door—Murphy's private study, sealed since his death.
With a twist of his executioner's blade, the lock yielded. Dust stirred in the stale air, the scent of old parchment and steel filling his senses.
He lit a lantern and began rifling through the shelves. Tomes of war, ledgers of bloodlines, documents stamped with ancient seals. But beneath them all, hidden in a false compartment, he found a leather-bound codex.
The pages were cracked and brittle, but the words within pulsed with a cruel vitality. Diagrams of celestial beings, notes on reincarnation, and finally—one passage circled in ink.
Damion's breath slowed as he read aloud:
DAMION (whispering):"…Jitara… no… not Jitara."
He turned the page, and there it was—scrawled in Murphy's own hand, a correction, a revelation:
"Jitara is a mask. His true name… Xerion Black."
The lantern flickered violently, as if the name itself rejected light.
Damion staggered back, his hand trembling, the weight of truth crashing upon him. For the first time in years, the executioner felt fear.
DAMION (hoarse, almost breaking):"…Xerion Black… the shadow behind it all."
Damion burst from Murphy's office, codex clutched tight, blood already seeping from a gash on his arm. He sprinted down the corridor, boots slamming stone, whispering through gritted teeth.DAMION (panting):
"Dylan, Axel, Hakari… Xerion Black lives."He rounded a corner and skidded to a halt. Theodus Nightshade blocked his path—black silks, crimson thorns, eyes glowing red in the lanternlight.THEODUS (smirking, voice like oil):
"Lost, priest?"Damion's whip snapped free, silver glinting. Blood dripped from his knuckles.DAMION (snarling):
"You're no man."Theodus' grin showed sharp teeth, his shadow twisting like claws.THEODUS:
"Sharp. But not sharp enough."
Damion's whip cracked, silver tip ripping through stone, igniting a blazing cross sigil. Blood sprayed from a slash on his cheek as he vanished, reappearing at the cross, blade flashing. Theodus' hand morphed—black scales, claws like daggers. He blocked Damion's strike, claws shredding Damion's sleeve, blood gushing.DAMION (gritting teeth):
"Demon scum!"He snapped the whip again, carving a second cross into a pillar. Theodus lunged, claws tearing through air, but Damion teleported—slash to Theodus' ribs, black ichor spurting. Theodus roared, smashing a wall, stone exploding. Damion rolled, blood pooling under him, and lashed the whip across Theodus' face. A glowing cross burned into the demon's cheek, sizzling.THEODUS (howling):
"Coward!"Damion vanished, reappearing behind Theodus, blade plunging into his shoulder. Black blood sprayed, burning Damion's skin. He hissed but swung again, whip cracking, another cross searing the floor. Theodus' claws raked Damion's chest, tearing flesh, blood soaking his coat. Damion teleported, slashing Theodus' thigh, ichor gushing like oil.DAMION (cold):
"Bleed for me."Theodus' silks burned away, skin splitting—horns spiraled, wings oozed ichor, veins pulsed red. His roar shook the chamber.THEODUS (DEMON) (voice like thunder):
"I'LL RIP YOUR SOUL APART!"Damion's whip lashed faster—crack, crack, crack—crosses blazing on every surface. He teleported, blade slicing Theodus' arm, then vanished, whip tearing through his wing. Blood and ichor mixed, pooling on the stone. Theodus swiped, claws shattering a pillar, rubble flying. Damion dodged, blood streaming from his side, and snapped the whip across Theodus' chest. A massive cross sigil burned, glowing like a furnace. The demon screamed, black blood boiling.DAMION (voice like steel):
"In my father's name… burn."He carved a final cross under Theodus' feet. The sigil exploded, chains of holy fire erupting, piercing Theodus' chest, wings, throat. His screams turned wet, gurgling as chains tore through scales and bone. Damion leaped, whip cracking one last time, splitting Theodus' skull in a spray of ichor and gore. The demon collapsed, body crumbling to ash, sulfur choking the air.
Damion staggered, blood dripping from his torn chest, whip trembling in his hand. The codex slipped, falling open. Blood-red ink scrawled: "The executioner will fall before the shadow king rises."DAMION (spitting blood):
"Let him come."He grabbed the codex and vanished, leaving Theodus' ashes behind.
Chapter: Beer and Shadows
The tavern roared with music and laughter. The smell of roasted meat and spilled ale clung to the air, thick and heavy. For once, no one had to fight. For once, they could just be young.
Hakari slammed his seventh pint down, foam splashing across the table.
HAKARI (in mock British accent, swaying):
"Still standing! A record for Kinji excellence!"
The table cheered. Dylan rolled his eyes, sipping his milk with all the grace of a priest.
DYLAN (flat):
"You're not standing, Hakari. You're barely sitting."
The laughter doubled.
Across from them, Lena—Axel's girlfriend, dark-haired and sharp-eyed—tilted back her mug, draining it with ease. She slammed it down next to Hakari's empty one with a wicked grin.
LENA (smirking):
"Seven? Pathetic. Watch and learn, playboy."
She raised her eighth, chugged it, and slammed it down before Hakari even blinked. The tavern erupted. Hakari clutched his chest, groaning.
HAKARI:
"Gods save me. She's not human."
LENA (mock serious, wiping her mouth):
"Please. If I were a demon, Damion would've already shown up with his holy whip to drag me back to church."
She laughed, raising her mug again. The others chuckled—but the words landed bitterly true.
Meanwhile, beneath the council hall…
Damion's whip cracked like thunder, carving burning crosses in the stone. Theodus' demonic claws shredded air, ichor spraying. Holy fire lit the dark as Damion bled, teeth gritted, still fighting alone.
Back at the tavern, Axel sat quieter than the rest, a faint smile pulling at his lips. Lena leaned against him, her warmth steady, her grin mischievous.
LENA (teasing):
"You look gloomy, love. Should I out-drink Hakari again to cheer you up?"
AXEL (dry, muttering):
"You'll kill him if you do."
HAKARI (groaning, head on the table):
"She already has…
The tavern glowed golden with firelight, mugs clinking, laughter rising like smoke. For the first time in too long, Axel and his friends sat together without blades drawn.
Hakari was halfway through his sixth pint, wobbling on the bench, cheeks red. Dylan sat beside him with his usual milk, unimpressed.
HAKARI (boasting, voice slurred):
"Sixteen pints… sixteen victories! The Hakari name shall echo in the halls of legend!"
DYLAN (flat, sipping):
"It'll echo in the privy before morning."
The table burst into laughter.
Lena—sharp-eyed, lips curled with mischief—leaned forward, raising her mug toward Axel.
LENA (grinning):
"To the dead man who came back—Axel Spade!"
The tavern cheered, mugs slamming against wood. Axel only smirked faintly, lifting his drink in silence.
Hakari tried to copy Lena's toast but swayed dangerously. She outdrank him again, slamming her mug down with a victorious laugh.
HAKARI (groaning, clutching his head):
"Not fair… she drinks like a monster."9
LENA (mock serious, tilting her head):
"If I were Damion, I'd accuse Theodus of being the real monster. Smiles too much, don't you think?"
The group chuckled. Dylan even allowed a faint grin.
DYLAN (calmly):
"If Theodus were a demon, Damion would've cut him down already."
LENA (raising her brow, sly):
"Maybe he's doing it right now."The tavern was thick with warmth—spilled beer,
Hakari slumped, chin in his palm, groaning over his seventeenth pint.
HAKARI (slurred):
"I swear the floor's moving… someone stop it."
LENA (snickering, raising her mug):
"Blame the ale, not your legs. I told you—you can't beat me, Hakari."
Axel smirked, but his eyes softened as Lena leaned closer, cheeks warm but voice steady.
LENA (teasing, with a sigh):
"Funny, isn't it? After all we've been through, sitting here feels stranger than the battlefield."
Dylan, milk in hand, stared into the glass. His voice was calm, but a shadow passed over his face.
DYLAN:
"When I was younger, I thought strength was all I needed. That if I could grow strong enough, nothing could hurt me… but strength never stopped the people I loved from dying."
The table quieted. Lena reached out, touching his wrist gently.
LENA (softly, smiling to break the tension):
"And yet here you are. Still standing. Stronger than any demon I've met."
Hakari hiccupped loudly, breaking the moment. Everyone burst into laughter again, shaking off the heaviness.
Axel leaned forward, mug in hand, finally ready to speak—his voice low, carrying weight.
AXEL:
"When I was a boy, Murphy—"
The tavern door creaked. Cold air knifed into the warmth. Every laugh died.
Damion stepped through. His coat was shredded, skin laced with blood. In one hand, his whip still smoked. In the other, a bundle of gray-black ash slipped through his fingers like sand. And clutched under his arm, a tattered page scrawled in crimson ink—the death note.
He staggered closer, eyes hollow.
DAMION (hoarse, almost a growl):
"Theodus… won't be smiling anymore."
He dropped the ashes onto the table. The tavern went silent—beer, fire, laughter forgotten.
Lena's hand froze on her mug. Hakari blinked, sobering instantly. Dylan's eyes narrowed, jaw tightening.
And Axel, hand clenched around his drink, didn't take his eyes off the page in Damion's hand.