Calvin and Josephine stood frozen in the doorway.
The Blue Reaper sat in the leather chair, his fist pressed against his cheek, surrounded by corpses and a blood-soaked carpet.
Those glowing blue eyes fixed on them with an intensity that made Calvin's skin crawl.
"What are you doing here."Josephine's mind raced through the possibilities.
They'd been chasing Azzuri for information about Montez, kaiser and the serums destroying lives across Vitalis.
But somehow, this wanted criminal had gotten here first.
Calvin's eyes drifted toward Azzuri's body slumped against the desk
Their only lead, gone
He didn't have to think twice, it was clear this monster in front of him held no good intentions.
Rage ignited in his chest like a match struck in the dark and he came out guns blazing.
Josephine followed his lead,manifesting her bow and arrow.
They fired.
One moment the blue reaper was sitting in the chair, the next he was a blur of black coat and blue light.
Calvin's bullets struck empty air and Jsephine's arrow exploded against the leather chair, detonating in a flash of golden light that illuminated nothing but shadow.
And the next he was directly in front of Calvin who looked down to find his pistol, the one he'd been firing—had been cut perfectly in half.
The barrel fell away in two pieces that clattered to the blood-soaked floor.
He hadn't even seen the blade move.
Josephine tried to adjust her aim, pulling back for another shot.
The Blue Reaper's gloved hand caught her wrist with a more restraining than threatening grip.
"Azzuri doesnt know where Montez is." Said the Blue Repaer. "But I made sure to extract any useful info he had first."
"This isn't about Azzuri."
Calvin's hand went to his second pistol.
"Don't."
The blue reapers tone made Calvin pause, like a predator advising prey not to do something stupid.
"I'm not here to fight you," the Blue Reaper continued, releasing Josephine's wrist and taking a deliberate step back. "Despite what you might think."
Calvin's hands were shaking slightly
There was an aura round the Blue Reaper
And for just a moment, Calvin could have sworn he saw it.
A towering fiery blue silhouette overlaying him, with horns that curved like a crown of bone.
"What are you?" The words came out before Calvin could stop them.
The Blue Reaper's glowing eyes dimmed slightly.
"I'm trying to figure that out myself."
Josephine stepped forward, her free hand clenched into a fist, pneuma beginning to build around her in golden waves.
"You're a murderer. That's what you are. And we're not letting you....."
Calvin raised his remaining pistol, pointing it directly at the Blue Reaper's chest.
"Calm down."
Josephine blinked. "What?"
"I said calm down." Calvin's voice was steady now although his eyes never left the Blue Reaper. "Getting emotional won't help. And more importantly..." He tilted his head slightly. "He's right. If he wanted us dead, we'd be dead already."
The Blue Reaper's posture relaxed a bit
"That's Smart. Here's what we're gonna—"
"LUNA, NOW!"
The floor caved in, but from below.
Luna's crest had been working silently, applying pressure to the office floor's structural weaknesses, waiting for Calvin's signal.
The expensive hardwood and underlying supports gave way in an instant, collapsing into the room directly beneath.
The Blue Reaper, Calvin, and Josephine all dropped through the newly created hole, falling amid splintering wood and dust.
They didn't waste the opening.
Mid-fall, Josephine twisted, manifesting a spear that she thrust toward the Blue Reaper's center mass.
He deflected it with his forearm, the spear shattering against reinforced fabric.
Calvin's remaining pistol shot twice, using his crest to accelerate the velocity enough to make it impossible to dodge even for the Blue Repaer.
Yet the Blue Reaper's body blurred, electricity crackling around him as he used electrotransmission(the ability that temporarily turns his body into electricity) to phase partially out of sync with reality. The bullets passed through where he'd been a microsecond before.
They hit the ground, or rather what served as the mansion's industrial kitchen.
Stainless steel counters.
Hanging pots and pans. Racks of knives and a stove large enough to cook for a small army.
All of it now weapons in Calvin's hands.
The Blue Reaper landed in a crouch, perfectly balanced despite the fifteen-foot fall.
Calvin and Josephine hit the ground rolling, and already moving before their momentum stopped.
Luna stood at the far end of the kitchen, staring at him with her eyes going white.
The gravitational pull around the Blue Reaper's area intensified a trying to pin him to the ground and crush him under his own weight.
He moved before the full effect could take hold, using his supernatural speed to slip outside the gravitational well's maximum effect.
But it slowed him down.
Just enough for calvin to tear Every single piece of metal free .
The metal swarm converged on the Blue Reaper from all directions simultaneously.
He twisted and dodged, but a knife passed within inches of his throat and a pot slammed into his shoulder hard enough to crack bone—would have cracked bone, if he'd been normal.
A cleaver spun toward his face, he caught it mid-flight and hurled it back.
"You're wasting time!" The Blue Reaper's voice carried over the chaos of flying metal. "I told you, I'm not—"
Josephine's light arrow struck the floor at his feet, detonating in a flash-bang that filled the kitchen with blinding golden light.
He stumbled, being temporarily disoriented.
Luna's gravity doubled and the Blue Reaper dropped to one knee.
Calvin closed distance, metal flowing around his fists like liquid armor, the magnetic fields creating gauntlets that glowed with green energy.
"Not interested in fighting?" Calvin's fist came in fast. "Funny way of showing it!"
The Blue Reaper caught the punch.
The impact created a shockwave that shattered windows and buckled the kitchen floor.
But he caught it
More knives launched from the rack behind him.
He couldn't dodge, not while holding Calvin's fist and especially not while Luna was pinning him.
So he did something else.
Blue flames erupted from his free hand, a wave of plasma that swept across the kitchen in a burning tide.
The knives melted mid-flight, molten metal dripping to the floor.
The flames created a curtain of heat and light that forced everyone to shield their eyes.
When the fire cleared, the Blue Reaper was gone.
"Behind us!" Luna called out, The Blue Reaper had used the flames as cover, circling around them in an instant.
He struck Josephine first, a quick jab to her solar plexus that folded her over.
She hit the floor hard, gasping for air
and in that same instant he yanked Luna forward delivering a strike to her sternum that sent her stumbling backward
Calvin immediately created a storm of metal to subdue the blue reaper and with his katana still lyinging upstairs, the Blue Reaper was forced to rely on hand-to-hand combat and his Crest alone.
And Calvin was good.
A kitchen knife curved around the Blue Reaper's dodge to strike from an unexpected angle.
He deflected it with his forearm, but two more came immediately after, forcing him backward.
A pot slammed into his knee, and a cleaver grazed his shoulder, drawing blood.
Calvin pressed the advantage, his fists wreathed in magnetic force and each punch carrying force amplified by his pneuma output.
The Blue Reaper blocked and parried but he was being driven back, step by step, toward the industrial oven.
"You're slowing down!" Calvin's grin was fierce. "Not so tough without your....."
The Blue Reaper's fist connected with Calvin's jaw.
The impact lifted Calvin off his feet, sending him crashing into what remained of the steel counter.
He hit hard, the metal warping around his impact, and slumped to the floor.
"You should never let your guard down."
"Calvin!" Josephine scrambled toward him.
The Blue Reaper stood in the center of the destroyed kitchen, breathing hard and his mask slightly cracked.
A thin line of blood visible could be seen around shoulder.
Calvin pushed himself up on shaking arms, spitting blood but looking to go another round.
"You're here for Montez and what's inside Azzuri's safe right??."
Those words stopped Calvin cold.
Calvin's eyes snapped to the Blue Reaper's masked face.
"What did you say?"
"Montez." The Blue Reaper's aura began to recede, the blue flames pulling back. "The package Azzuri was keeping safe. It contains information that the golden chalice needs"
Calvin stared.
Josephine helped Luna to her feet, both of them watching warily.
"How do you—"
"Because we're after the same thing." The Blue Reaper extended a hand toward Calvin, offering to help him up. "Kaiser, Montez, the serums and the people pulling the strings behind all of it. The methods may differ, but our goals align."
Calvin looked at the offered hand for a long moment and brushed it away.
"Remember you're scum. The moment we get past this, you and I have a score to settle"
The safe was built into the wall behind another painting, this one depicting some long-dead Azzuri ancestor looking stern and judgmental.
The four of them stood before it, an uneasy truce settling over the destroyed office
Calvin's Crest made light work of the electronic lock, his powers sensing the tumblers and pins, manipulating them until the mechanism clicked and the door swung wide open.
Inside the large safe space was a single tiny box.
No larger than a jewelry case, made of dark wood, intricate gold carvings along its edges and a keyhole in the front.
"That's it?" Luna's flat voice carried disappointment. "After all that."
Josephine reached in carefully, retrieving the box.
It was heavier than it looked, dense with whatever was inside.
"There's a lock," she observed unnecessarily.
The Blue Reaper pulled a small key from a gold chain
"Was around Azzuri's neck," he said, handing it to Josephine. "I tried it already. Doesn't work."
Josephine frowned, examining the key.
It looked right size, shape, and clearly designed for this specific lock.
She inserted it herself carefully and turned it, but the mechanism didn't budge.
"Let me try." Calvin took the key, his confidence returning now that metal was involved.
He inserted it with more force, probing the locks interior trying to find out what was wrong.
Still nothing.
"Move," he muttered, applying more pressure.
"I don't think the box is made out of metal" Luna observed. "And you become a caveman when there isn't any involved"
Calvin's face reddened. "I'm perfectly capable of—"
He pulled the key out, raised his fist.
"smashing it."
"No!" Josephine grabbed his arm. "Whatever's inside could be fragile."
Calvin lowered his fist reluctantly.
They all stood in silence for a moment, staring at the uncooperative box.
Finally, the Blue Reaper spoke.
"I thought the Trinity would have a solution for this." He took the key from Calvin's hand, his gloved fingers turning it over thoughtfully. "But since you don't..."
He began pacing, the key held up to the remaining light.
"Pneuma," he said, almost to himself. "The breath of life and the Empire's foundation. For a thousand years, humanity has believed Crests are the peak of humanity. God's grace made manifest."
The Trinity exchanged glances saying the fuck is wrong with this guy.
The Blue Reaper continued, his pacing steady and rythmic. "But in recent times, Crests have made humanity forget a power that existed long before them. A power accessible to all."
He stopped pacing, turning to face them.
"Crest or not."
Josephine's eyes widened. "You're saying there's something beyond Crests?"
"Not beyond, Before." The Blue Reaper held up the key, examining it against the dim light.
"Charis, It's God's divine and inherent blessing. "
"Unlike like his grace(Crest) which is subject to whom he wills, his blessings are connected to and come directly from the soul, unchanging in it's nature."
"In other words everyone is blessed in one way or the other."
Calvin leaned forward despite himself. "I don't believe this, the church teaches that Crests are—"
"The church teaches what maintains the hierarchy." The Blue Reaper's voice was sharp. "But before Crests, before pneuma classifications and before the empire divided humanity into marked and unmarked..."
He raised the key higher, his eyes beginning to glow brighter.
"There was the truth."
A fierce wind began to blow in the office, and
The Blue Reaper's voice took on a different quality, layered with a power that made the next words that came out of his mouth feel heavy.
"For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light."
The bible verse from Luke 8:17 resonated through the space.
The Blue Reaper's eyes blazed brilliant blue as he spoke two final words.....
"Charis: The Witness."