Author Notes: For those who are unfamiliar, these events happen in the Volume 1 finale of Slash/Dog.
Exuvia Agency/Utsusemi Agency.
Within the heart of the agency situated in the wilderness of Japan, Hanezu Himejima watched with glee as one of the thirteen Longinus-Class Sacred Gears, Canis Lykaon, the Dog God of the Black Blade, consumed its wielder in a type of Balance Breaker.
"How Splendid." He whispered as the being growled in absolute rage.
Suddenly, the box that he kept in his breast pocket started shining, making him pull it out to see that its seal had been broken.
Yet, what really got his attention was the gentle voice that came out of the recording within the box.
"To think that the seal has been broken. How Unfortunate."
The being that was once Tobio Ikuse growled as his form hunched over, while peerless darkness started to creep up his body, all the while, his growling continued to grow in depth and volume.
Meanwhile, his Sacred Gear took on a new form of its own.
A large canine made of abyssal darkness.
"It means that the people who hold ill intentions towards this child have appeared."
"Ageha-dono's voice?"
Himejima felt complex feelings grow within his heart as he heard that familiar kind voice that he remembered fondly from so long ago.
Suddenly, the voice became stern as the woman delivered a warning from beyond the grave.
"Heed Ye! There is none other than this child whom I loved more."
"He was raised to be sweet and kind."
Tobio Ikuse slowly lost all reason as he plunged into the depths of his rage and heartbreak, as his sacred gear consumed him whole in its balance breaker.
"Regardless, this child.....was born possessing the ways of the Fake God."
Night Celestial Slash Dog, the true balance breaker of Canis Lykaon, howled, as its core, Tobio Ikuse, who was now completely transformed into a type of werewolf made of darkness, howled with it in despair and rage.
Hanezu, on the other hand, felt stunned as he heard those words from the boy's grandmother.
'He was born with the Balance Breaker?'
His shock was genuine and understandable.
There were a handful of cases in the past when the defects in Heaven's System allowed humans to be born with their Balance Breaker already achieved.
Yet, none managed to live past the first few minutes of their birth due to the sheer power that their sacred gears granted them through the Balance Breaker.
Hanezu stood taller and pulled out all of his Tokko along with his Khakkhara, ready to face this dog god sealed in the sacred gear head-on. Yet, he let the recording continue speaking, finding solace in that old voice that he was so familiar with in his childhood.
"If such ill will is now held against this child, let your own flesh taste the Gold-Smiting Blade."
"Be sliced until not even your soul remains."
As the voice finally fell, the door to the arena was forced open as a beautiful young woman with brown hair and eyes burst through with her sacred gear, one of the four fiends of Chinese myths, the Qiongqi, which she calls Griffon, already in its true form.
But her breath hitched the moment she beheld the dark god's form.
"Minagawa Natsume, was it? You arrived just in time."
Himejima smiled calmly as he took out everything he had. Talismans, staffs, weapons, everything, and started priming them.
"No explanation will be needed. Behold"
"Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!"
With his manipulations, the Tokko shot forward like meteors, with force enough to vaporize an ordinary man and even cause severe damage to a high-class being, while his talismans shot around Tobio, intending to seal his power.
Yet, it meant nothing to the Dog God.
Shadows erupted from around the pair of dark figures, forming blades of peerless sharpness that easily destroyed his Tokko and Talismans.
"Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!"
"Heh...My Vajra can no longer pierce your defences? Then, how about this one?"
Cowardly Leo, the Utsusemi, or Cicada, as they are called. An artificial being created to replicate the power of the Sacred Gears.
A being that could control shadows.
With a wave of his hand, Himejima set it forth, targeting Tobio.
"Kill him."
As the command was given, the beast jumped into the shadows and disappeared, heading straight for Tobio.
Yet, the boy consumed by darkness could not care less about the inferior creature that dared manipulate darkness in front of him.
All he did was wave his claw, as the darkness was severed at its roots, forcing the Cowardly Leo to jump out into the open.
Right in between Tobio and Canis Lykaon.
The duo of master and gear wasted no time in shredding the creature like the beasts that they appeared to be, reducing it to ashes on the spot.
"Not even a scratch, huh?"
Minagawa Natsume felt her heart go cold as dread filled her mind, witnessing the beast-like creature that used to be the sweet boy that she had come to know in the past few weeks.
The moment the creature met her eyes, she felt terror unlike anything she had ever felt in her life as her sacred gear prepared itself for a fight.
"Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!"
"He won't turn back even after seeing Minagawa? Are you sure we are talking about the same person here? Azazel?"
Natsume felt startled and turned back slightly to see the youngest member of her group, Vali, stare with a mix of trepidation and excitement on his face as the Dog God stared down the humans.
The small dragon toy on his shoulder, the communication device he used to contact his governor, spoke something in his ear which made the 12-year-old boy smile wryly.
"What do you mean by 'it's a puppy compared to the Heavenly Dragons'?"
The dragon puppet stretched its body as the voice that would be very familiar to certain people came out of it.
"This Monster, This black beast that repels the very landscape around it as it roams..."
"Good grief...Every Longinus I find is surrounded by trouble."
"Governor?"
The puppet ignored Natsume's whisper and turned towards Himejima.
"Yo, Mister Laboratory Chief."
"Grigori...?"
"How is it? The power of an Irregular?"
"....I see. So it was decided from the beginning. I had lost from the moment I met Him and That Girl."
The puppet said nothing for a moment before it spoke again.
"He is a Black Blade that can cut even gods. Furthermore, this boy seems to have manifested his Sacred Gear from birth."
Himejima hummed at those words.
"That is not necessarily rare. The Problem is..."
"Exactly."
"Ikuse Tobio was born at his apex. His full potential already realized."
"A power strong enough to destroy the balance of the world. Ikuse Tobio's grandmother tried to seal the power that her grandson was born with. Many layers of seals."
Suddenly, the puppet fell silent and became lifeless as the man himself walked out from the same door through which Natsume arrived.
His black and blond hair styled in a strange way, and wearing a rather dashing suit, he walked with a confidence that showed his suppressed power. His violet eyes, which are usually filled with mischief, were now filled with a calm that made everyone unconsciously avoid looking at him.
"Despite all those seals, all that work. You people decided to disturb it. With no trouble or reservations, you wanted to expose it."
"You wanted to see it, even if it meant giving up on everything, just to have a look at this form."
"Now, pay the price. Be slashed to your heart's content."
Himejima simply smirked and prepared to move forward. Intending to challenge the Dog God and be killed by this blood-related young uncle of his.
Yet, a divine pressure erupted from the air, forcing everyone to stop moving at once as a bored voice rang out that sent chills down everyone's spines.
"What a farce. A blade that can cut gods? Did you go senile after falling from God's grace? Azazel?"
The humans stared warily as eight bursts of light appeared in the air, revealing the forms that were hidden there from the very beginning, and were observing everything.
But the one who was the most shocked was none other than Azazel, the leader of Grigori.
"The Pride of the Lion? Impossible!"
The leader of the Cherubim Gatekeepers simply grinned down at the fallen angel.
"Impressive. I thought you would fail to recognize us after so long and in this form."
Azazel felt like the world around him no longer mattered, as he stared at the eight beings that he once called his battle brothers.
So long ago was the time when he and his brothers marched alongside these Gatekeepers and their appointed lord. So many were the battles where they had saved his life and he had saved theirs. So many were the times when he had spent long hours of the day chatting away with them.
Memories long forgotten came to the forefront as he remembered the last time he had seen them.
That day, when they and their master, along with a large contingent of angels, chased after a possible lead about a secret meeting, where Lucifer and his fellow satans would gather alone to discuss battle tactics.
Then came the news from that smug bastard that he had killed them all, down to the last angel.
That was the day when many of his fallen brethren had shed tears along with their white-winged counterparts.
Because even after falling from the Lord's favor, they still never resented these beloved brothers of theirs who were always there for them in their time of need.
And now, after so many centuries, they suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Honestly, Azazel was very much tempted to test if he was in some kind of a dream or in an illusion. But before he could do anything like that, the Gatekeepers suddenly moved as one and surrounded Tobio and his sacred gear, who were now growling at the angels.
"Tell me, dog. My former brother claims that your blade can cut gods. But being told something and seeing something in action are two different things."
"So, come at me. Creature. Try and cut through this shield that has pushed back the eldritch, protected the gates of Heaven for uncountable eons, has guarded the innocent and punished the wicked."
The dog god did not need to be told twice, as he shot forward as Canis Lykaon moved with its master, aiming not just for the shield that the leader of the Gatekeepers wielded, but also at every part of his body.
Darkness erupted from the ground, from the sky, and from everywhere in between, as these tendrils transformed into blades that could fell even gods.
Yet, the angel was undaunted.
For he was the shield that protects the weak.
"[Holy Shield]"
The blades that can cut gods were stopped in their tracks by the Tier-8 spell that was imbued into the Angel's shield, just like with the rest of the Gatekeepers.
"Your blade lacks purpose. Boy. It has power, but it does not have true purpose."
"And it is know, that power without purpose is meaningless."
The angel pushed back the tendrils as his holy energy burst out as he invoked another spell.
"[Mass Sanctuary]"
The Tier-10 spell activated, pushing back the darkness with pure light as those caught in its radiance felt a warmth the likes of which they had never felt before.
As if they were being embraced by their mothers. As if everything would be fine. As if there was nothing to be worried about anymore.
As if they had found salvation and had been delivered from evil.
The Dog God howled as he forcefully pulled on more of his power, his darkness and rage, as Canis Lykaon tried to tear through the barrier.
Yet, the Dog God would fail as the Angel once more invoked his shield spell, pushing it back.
"I see. You have truly lost yourself in your own power. Such a shame."
"Well then. In such a case, let me purify that darkness within you."
The angel raised his spear made of holy fire and aimed it at the dog god, who suddenly felt a chill in its heart.
Knowing that something bad would happen if it did not stop the angel, the dog god, and its wielder moved as one.
Yet, it was too late.
"[Maximise Magic: Time Stop]"
At once, everything came to a halt as time itself came to a standstill.
Even Azazel, who had once heard about a sacred gear that could stop time, could not help but feel shocked as this effect engulfed even someone of his power, rendering him immobile.
Yet, despite time itself being stopped across the world, the angel's words still resounded in everyone's ears, especially the dog god, who could only stare as the holy fire on the spear of the angel danced as if it were alive.
"Behold, being of evil. The time for thyne judgement has come."
"I am the shield of the lord, that protects the weak and innocent."
"I am the spear in his hands, that smites the wicked."
"[Judgement]!"
The world was engulfed in light as a ray of holy power, big enough to consume an entire dragon, fell upon the Dog God, who could only howl in agony as the effects of time stop ended the moment the Tier-9 holy spell was invoked, while the shockwave of the attack was strong enough to knock out Himejima, who was the closest to the blast radius.
Soon, the howls turned into human screams before falling silent, making the angel stop using his spell.
What was revealed was a colossal crater, and at the center of the crater was Tobio Ikuse lying unconscious, along with Canis Lykaon, which had reverted to the form of a puppy.
Before anyone could react, the door once again burst open as the Ice Witch, Lavinia, ran into the arena.
"I am a little late! Natsume-what the heck!?"
Azazel sighed as he turned up, staring at the group of Gatekeepers with a complicated look.
"...Will you grace me with your company? I wish to speak with you, privately."
The lion-headed warriors simply grinned at those words.
"...You have calmed down a lot, Azazel, compared to the last time we were summoned by our lord and perished fighting by his side."
"Very well, we accept."
Azazel put aside the worrying words he heard from them and simply moved inside, prompting the team of children to follow him as the Angels landed and followed him inside, while Lavinia was given the unsavory task of carrying the unconscious Himejima with her while one of the Gatekeepers carried the supposedly dead body of Sae Toujou.
"Oh! Right."
Azazel turned towards the children and spoke with a grin.
"Don't worry about the relatives of the other children. I have sent a subordinate of mine to retrieve them-"
"He wouldn't happen to have gone about a few levels underground towards the eastern section of this base, right?"
The sudden interruption made Azazel give the angel a dumbfounded look.
"Um, yeah? Why?"
"...Lord have mercy on that poor fool. Because Lord Empyrean definitely will not."
"What? What do you mean by that? And who is this Empyrean that you speak of?"
The Gatekeeper leader sighed at those words before patting Azazel's shoulder.
"You will know soon enough. I just pray that you are not short by one subordinate by the morn."
"Wait, seriously, what the hell do you even mean by that?"
The poor Fallen Angel did not even get a response as the angels moved inward, making Azazel follow them glumly.
On the other side of the facility, a certain Cadre of the Fallen was getting beaten up like a training dummy by the Seraph Empyrean for his 'foolishness'.
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Hanezu Himejima: (Click here for image)
Tobio Ikuse and Canis Lykaon: (Click here for image)
Night Celestial Slash Dog (Balance Breaker): (Click here for image)
Canis Lykaon (True Form): (Click here for image)
Minagawa Natsume and Griffon (sealed form): (Click here for image)
Lavinia Reni: (Click here for image)
Sae Toujou: (Click here for image)
Vali Lucifer (12 years old): (Click here for image)
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Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1