The scene would open with a smoky, damaged downtown area which was lit by flickers of exploding magic. The ground began to shake for a moment as we saw a crack forming from the sky above with light and ash showing from the other realm.
The war zone stretched for miles upon miles. Fallen trees, splintered ruins and dark magic polluted the air. The screams of angels and shadows echoed through the city, blending with the clash of steel and the roar of rage.
And in the middle of it all?
A Single Tree in the city's park was still standing but was clearly burning at the very top.
We would shift to Taro and his crew for a moment beside the tree for a moment.
Taro, a laid-back but deadly fighter with blond hair and three piercings one on his eyebrow, nose and left ear, was seen leaning against a large rock, flipping a coin in one hand and dodging spells with the other.
Taro (bored): "Y'know... for a holy war, this is pretty mid as fuck.."
Beside him, his teammate Remy, a short, scrappy girl with a scythe twice her size was tearing through a winged beast while she laughed chaotically.
Remy: "Speak for yourself! I LOVE this kind of chaos!!"
Yui (annoyed): "We're not here to sightsee, dumbasses! Focus up!!"
A corrupted angel charged at them from behind. Taro sighed and flicked his coin into its mouth causing it to explode on impact.
Taro (yawning): "What a waste of talent... but I see this solely on a skill issue... BLEH!" Yuta would stick his tongue out in a mocking fashion.
They regrouped and continued clearing the area, moving toward where the main squads were pinned down.
We would shift back to the other part of the forest as we see Dakota and Kenshiro looking pretty tired as they were staring down Zarok for a moment.
Kenshiro was bleeding from the mouth. His shoulder was seemingly dislocated. Dakota was panting hard, one eye swelling shut. Zarok grinned like a vicious dog.
Zarok (taunting): "Aww. Are the little humans breaking already?"
He cracked his neck and shifted forms as we see his muscles distorting, bones cracking as he gained spikes down his spine.
Dakota (spitting blood): "You really ugly, you know that?"
Zarok: "Beauty is subjective, meatbag."
Zarok lunged, but Dakota vanished, reappearing with a high speed kick to Zarok's ribs. Kenshiro followed with a punch to the back of the neck. For a moment which felt like a single second..they had the upper hand.
But then Zarok laughed menacingly, causing the very ground to crack beneath them.
Kenshiro (under his breath): "This guy doesn't go down, huh..."
Dakota: "Nope. But we're gonna make him wish he did."
Elsewhere in the other part of the forest
Hikari had blood running down the side of her head. Arisu noticed this as she quickly dropped down, running towards Hikari as she helped her to her feet.
Arisu (worried): "You okay?"
Hikari (gritting her teeth): "My ribs feel like ramen noodles.. But overall I'm fine.."
A loud crash came from the clearing. Koji and Tsukasa were locked in a brutal standoff against a returned enemy, Kenji who was a long standing enemy to Hikari now wore a corrupted angel sigil. His dual katanas pulsed with corrupted mana energy.
Tsukasa (cocky): "Kenji. Back from the trash heap, huh?"
Kenji: "Funny. I was thinking the same thing, worm."
We would shift towards the other part of the forest where we would see an old ruined abandoned chapel nearby.
Inside, two lesser angels were fighting against Catalina and Sumiko. The building groaned with every attack, pillars crashing down, stained glass shattered across the altar.
Sumiko (yelling): "How the HELL are these guys still alive?!"
Catalina (sarcastic): "Maybe next time don't insult their wings!"
One of the angels, eyes glowing, began chanting a forbidden spell. Zahira, now rejoining them with Evelyn, narrowed her eyes.
Zahira: "Oh no you don't."
She threw her chakrams with perfect aim. They cut the spell mid-cast, exploding on impact.
Evelyn: "Teamwork, bitch."
We would shift back over to the other part of the forest as we see Yusei and Elysia staring each other down.
Their fight had moved into the air now. Elysia floated with no emotion, spinning her sais with eerie calm.
Yusei (taunting): "You ever blink, or are you just constantly stuck on 'creepy'? Like damn."
She didn't answer. She just attacked, however this time Yusei barely blocked it in time.
His cocky grin faded a little.
Yusei (gritting his teeth): "Okay... noted."
In the midst of the chaos, we would shift back over to Yami's castle for a moment.
High above, at the peak of Yami's spire, the self-proclaimed god watched everything unfold.
His black wings stretched behind him. His throne pulsed with corrupt energy.
Yami (softly): "Let them struggle. Let them scream. It only makes the silence that follows sweeter."
He looked to his right at a new figure stepping out of the shadows.
Yami: "Prepare the final wave. Begin Phase II of Project Kami."
We would shift back to Yusei and Elysia in the same part of the forest they were still at.
Yusei (Serious): "Let's take this up a notch, shall we?"
Yusei's Darkness Magic began to cloak him for a moment, allowing him to flutter violently in the winds while eyeing at Elysia hovering with angelic stillness, barely even flinching as his dark energy whizzed past her.
Yusei (muttering): "Alright, Emo Barbie... you wanna dance? Let's turn it up."
He vanished in a flicker of shadows, reappearing behind her mid-air. His punch connected barely but her expression remained unreadable. She twisted mid-spin and kicked him downward. He smashed through a tree, coughing hard.
Yusei (laughing through the pain): "...Yo, I think she cracked my spine. Or maybe that was just my pride."
Above him, Elysia descended slowly, twirling her sais like she had all the time in the world.
Elysia: "Your darkness is unrefined. No rhythm. No purpose."
Yusei (Standing up, bleeding): "Wow. She talks.."
Their auras pulsed. The next clash would eventually shake up the whole forest.
We shift back over to the opposite part of the forest as we still see Tsukasa, Koji and the others fighting against Kenji currently.
Kenji's eyes gleamed with mockery as his dual katanas clashed with Tsukasa's flaming blade.
Kenji (cocky): "Still swinging that oversized pinwheel of a blade, huh?"
Tsukasa: "Still crying in the depths of hell like some unnamed worthless enemy?"
Kenji's face began to shift to anger for a moment, before simmering down once Koji tried to throw a punch at Kenji before ducking under and countering it with a sweeping slice that grazed his arm.
Koji (Deadpanning): "Okay. He's faster now. Great.."
The Trio's weapons collided again and again, each strike heavier than the last. Sparks flew. Trees split. The ground cracked beneath them.
Nearby, Arisu tended to Hikari, who was trying to stand.
Arisu (shouting): "Stop moving. You're literally leaking blood."
Hikari (groaning): "I'm fine... I can still headbutt somebody..."
They both looked toward the chaotic duel happening nearby.
Hikari (quietly): "...Koji and Tsukasa can't beat him alone."
We would see an unseen presence walking from the shadows... one of Tsukasa and Koji's old allies, smirking.
???: "Then it's a good thing I'm not dead yet.."
We would shift to Taro and his crew for a moment as they were towards the city fountain area, seemingly looking as if they were pushed back a bit.
The Water from City's fountain looked tainted and off colored like something out of the one one level in the jungle from Super Mario Bros DS.
Yui: "Oh great, floating ghost choir."
Remy (licking her blade): "Can I eat one?"
Taro (tilting his head): "...What?"
The ghosts began screaming in layered harmony, creating an auditory hallucination that made the world twist sideways. Taro dropped to a knee, eyes squinting.
Taro: "Okay. Not a fan of surround-sound migraines."
Remy sliced through two ghost forms, giggling as their screams warped into glitches before vanishing.
Remy: "I like it when they go poof."
Yui jumped into the center, slamming her hammer into the lake, sending shockwaves up that shattered the floating spirits' formation.
We would shift towards the other part of the forest where we would see the same chapel shattered as of now with the very air crackling in the distance.
The group stood in a broken altar room, using half-ruined pews for cover as angelic artillery rained down.
Catalina (loading a magic crystal): "Anyone got, like... a holy grenade or something?"
Sumiko: "You think I carry divine explosives in my pocket?!"
Zahira: "Well now would be a great time to start."
An armored angel kicked down what was left of the chapel doors. Evelyn leaped from the rafters, kicking him square in the face.
Evelyn (landing): "Sorry, service is cancelled."
Zahira (side-eyed): "That wasn't it.."
The squad regrouped, preparing for a last stand as shadow clones entered from the back.
The chapel was half rubble now as the pillar itself collapsed and the air reeked of holy energy and burning shadow flesh.
Miyu: "I'm down to my last five arrows.."
Mai: "I'm down to my last nerve."
Sumiko stood in front of the shattered altar, glowing faintly—she had begun drawing energy from a nearby relic without fully knowing what it did.
Sumiko: "Guys... I don't think I can control this thing."
The relic pulsed. Zahira backed up fast.
Zahira: "Then maybe step away before you nuke us?"
A corrupted beast lunged through the window that was once there, before Catalina tackled it mid-air, stabbing it in the eye with a broken sword hilt.
Catalina (screaming): "WE ARE NOT DYING IN A CHURCH!!"
The relic suddenly glowed and surged out, amplifying Sumiko's light beam. A mega blast shot forward, frying every shadow that was still alive in a straight line across the horizon.
Evelyn (jaw dropping): "...Okay that was kinda hot."
Sumiko (barely conscious): "I can't feel my bones."
Miyu and Mai caught her before she collapsed. The team nodded for a moment, standing panting, before heading out of the ruined chapel before it crushed them.
We would shift back inside Yami's Castle.
Inside the obsidian-colored citadel, Yami stepped into a circular ritual chamber. The walls were covered in ancient symbols, many pulsing faintly. A holographic projection of Earth's surface hovered in the center.
Yami (calmly): "They're still resisting. How disappointing."
He extended a hand. Black Tendrils slithered down from the ceiling, wrapping around floating angelic corpses suspended in the air.
Yami: "Let's move beyond simple domination... Let's rewrite them."
A scientist-angel hybrid, face hidden behind a porcelain mask called 'Majiku', approached nervously.
Majiku: "M-My lord... the vessel for the 'Kami V2' isn't ready–"
Yami turned. Majiku's eyes widened in fear as black flames formed on him, before finally exploding without another word.
Yami (Sighing): "Ugh. Incompetence."
We would shift to Kairo standing atop a burning hill, looking down at Yami's citadel in the distance.
Kairo's hand clenched the handle of Executioner, before pulsing with divine heat as his eyes burned with resolve.
Kairo (To himself): "This ends now.."
A single shadow-angel dropped in front of him.
Shadow Angel: "You're too late."
Kairo didn't even flinch as he then transformed the executioner into a katana.
Kairo (coldly): "Wrong. I'm right on time."
He vanished in a blur, slicing through the enemy in an instant. The path to Yami had opened.
We would shift back towards the other part of the forest where we would see an old ruined abandoned chapel nearby as it was on the verge of collapse as it shook rapidly from the corrupted shadows leaking through the broken stained-glass windows, crawling like tar across the floor.
Catalina (to the team): "If anyone has a plan, now's the time."
Miyu would begin to form a gauntlet from her hands for a moment, aiming down at the ground.
Miyu (firing arrows from her gauntlet): "Shoot until they stop moving. That's my plan."
Mai (clapping sarcastically): "Wow. So creative."
Sumiko hurled a beam of compressed light energy, blasting a shadow through the wall. Evelyn did a quick headcount for a moment as she counted ten of them, despite two of them being already injured and the rest of them are half injured, low of mana and still surrounded.
Akari and Wei were seen against the wall, knocked out from their last fight against the other two shadows from before.
Zahira: "We're out of options."
Then, Miyu cracked her knuckles. Her eyes were cold but her voice had that weird calm she always got when things got bad.
Miyu: "If I die, someone erase my search history."
Mai (deadpan): "We all know your search history is just tea reviews and cat videos, not very exciting if you ask me."
A corrupted angel broke through the roof, wielding a divine whip, glowing blue fire around her hands. Miyu, without hesitation, shot a reinforced arrow straight into her chest. The angel screeched and exploded on impact.
Catalina (grinning): "Okay... we might just survive this."
We began to shift back to Kairo as he would be seen continuing his path down the burning wastelands outside the black spire, dodging falling debris and the occasional corrupted meteor from above. The sky rained ash. His footsteps left glowing marks in the dirt.
He stood at the edge of the main staircase. A massive gate blocked his path, guarded by three elite shadow-saints.
Shadow Guard 1: "Halt, Mortal. Your presence—"
Kairo vanished and reappeared behind them.
Kairo: "I don't have time for speeches."
In one smooth motion, his executioner sliced through them. The gate shattered. He walked through calmly, eyes glowing with divine heat.
In another part of the mortal realm towards the urban section of the downtown strip, screams echo as shadows and angels alike were seen tearing through buildings as Flaming cars and falling electricity poles and the sights of collapsing streets made it look like some kind of 'Parallax' Episode.
Three teens ducked behind a broken-down school bus.
Alan (ducking): "WE'RE GONNA DIE—"
Rebecca (grabbing a bat): "Shut up and stop being dramatic"
Paul (crying into Alan): "Tell my pet hamster, 'Juno' I loved her..."
Rebecca rolled her eyes, picking up a nearby metal pipe, and whacked a charging shadow across the face. It disintegrated on impact.
Rebecca (to herself): "I'm too pretty to die in a parking lot."
A group of shadows began to surround them but just before the strike, three new figures dropped above.
??? (Annoyed Guy voice): "Yo. Back away from the civilians, freaks."
??? (Serious Girl voice): "Or we send you to whatever bootleg underworld you crawled from."
??? (Hungry Girl Voice): "You think those shadows will taste good grilled?"
The newcomers glowed with magic. One had burning blue gloves, one had a silver bo staff and the last had tattoos that lit up when they spoke.
We would shift back to the same part of the forest where Yusei and Elysia were located with it as they were standing in the air.
Yusei's body was coated in bruises, lips split, one arm barely holding his weight, as his laughter began to subside for the moment.
Yusei (panting): "Okay... you're actually built different."
Elysia slowly walked forward, her sais trailing electricity
Elysia: "Emotion clouds you. Silence gives you clarity."
Yusei: "Cool speech. You ever do karaoke?"
He swung again but she managed to catch his fist just in time. Then slammed him into the side of a tree mid-air. Bark exploded.
He laughed, coughing up blood.
Yusei (smirking): "Okay, fine. Let's get serious."
Dark mana flared around his body like a flame igniting. His pupils thinned. For the first time, Elysia hesitated slightly.
The world blurred as Yusei's body shifted. His left arm morphed, shadow tendrils twisting up his skin. One eye glowed violently red. His voice dropped an octave.
Yusei (grinning darkly): "Now you've pissed me off."
Elysia paused mid-air. Her expression didn't change, but her aura flared—divine light surrounding her as her wings extended.
Yusei: "I'm done playing. Let's see who dies first."
He dashed in a blink, delivering a devastating left hook that forced Elysia back. She countered with a double sai cross-strike, cutting his shoulder. Blood splattered, but Yusei didn't flinch.
They clashed again, and again, each blow cracking the air with enough force to level buildings. Below them, the ground began to split.
Yusei (mocking): "This is the most fun I've had since... probably ever."
Elysia (quietly): "Fun... is a weakness."
Deep within the tower, beneath the throne room, Yami would step back and forth in the sealed lab chamber noticing the other lab assistants working attentively watching the broken angelic bodies, half submerged in thick fluid tanks. Runes on the wall began to shake and light up violently.
A hologram flickered above a table. A prototype schematic of "Kami V2" which was a fusion of corrupted soul fragments, angel DNA, and shadow essence.
Yami: "My masterpiece... is almost ready."
He placed a hand over the core. It pulsed.
Suddenly, alarms blared. One of the vats cracked. Inside, a figure twitched.
Lab Assistant: "My Lord, something's wrong with the containment—"
The figure inside the vat opened its eyes–pure white. Then it screamed, shattering the glass.
Yami (grinning): "Ah. Perfect timing."
We would shift back to the other part of the forest as we see Dakota and Kenshiro holding off Zarok as they equally looked relatively tired.
Zarok began to lick the blood off of his mouth, clearly enjoying himself. One of his horns was chipped. His claws dripped with Kenshiro's blood.
Zarok: "You two are tough... annoying but tough."
Dakota (panting): "You're gonna regret breathing air near us."
Kenshiro (groaning): "Assuming he breathes."
They were bruised, beaten, barely standing but they weren't quitting. Dakota cracked his knuckles, triggering a risky speed technique called "Phase Echo", which is a technique that uses a burst that lets him create afterimages at full velocity.
Kenshiro popped his shoulder back into place and gritted his teeth.
Kenshiro: "Time to get stupid."
The two launched into a dual attack with Dakota weaving in and out of reality, punching Zarok from different angles while Kenshiro absorbed blows and returned them with earth-shaking fists.
Zarok laughed through it. Until Dakota hit his jaw clean. The beast staggered.
Dakota (grinning): "We're not done yet, ugly."
We shift back over to the opposite part of the forest as we still see Tsukasa, Koji and the others fighting against Kenji still, as they all looked beaten and battered.
Kenji began to speed up faster now, and worse—he was getting cockier. His dual katanas sliced at the wind itself, cutting inches from Arisu's wings.
Arisu began to wince in pain from this, spiraling in the air before she crashed down onto ground but thankfully Hikari managed to catch her in time.
Koji: "We're losing ground."
As Koji said this, Hikari and Tsukasa glanced at each other for a moment, nodding in response.
Hikari would grab her Katana from the ground, as she closed her eyes letting her inner demon abilities warp her mind–before opening her eyes showing that her once black pupils turned into a red catlike eye appearance, as she began to step towards Kenji in the same fashion as she once did in their last encounter in the past.
Hikari: "Still slow, Kenji?"
Kenji (snarling): "I KNEW you weren't dead."
Tsukasa: "Huh, you two had history together?"
The team formed a triangle formation – Koji up front, Tsukasa controlling the sides and Hikari dashing with unpredictable strikes from her katana, Izanagi.
Kenji summoned a dark aura, warping gravity in a small radius which was something Hikari remembered before she killed him in the past.
Hikari (steady): "No more playing around. Time to finish what you've started."
To Be Continued...
(Teaser for Angels vs Shadow Hunters Arc: Part Three)
"When the world breaks, it doesn't shatter all at once. It cracks slowly... until someone pushes too hard."
The battle has dragged everyone to their limits. Light is flickering. Shadows are mutating. Bodies are falling. And in the heart of it all, Kairo stands alone at the gates of Yami's throne, preparing for the fight that could either save the world or end it.
But while Kairo rises, something far more dangerous wakes beneath the citadel.
The lines between shadow and angel are blurring.
Project Kami is nearing the completion of its second phase.
And not everyone will make it to the other side.
(PART 3 COMING SOON...)