"Don't move. One more step and this silver will erase your soul."Axel held the spear tip exactly one inch from the woman’s neck. They stood in the corner of an old long abandoned building and she was pressed tight against the wall. Her face was deathly pale yet her striking Asian features remained clear even through the exhaustion that weighed heavy on her.Axel studied her closely. He could see fine blue veins fluttering fast beneath her skin. The silver spear in his grip hummed faintly as if the metal itself could sense the darkness standing before him. But this vibration felt nothing like what he felt facing other demons. There was no burning heat no blind urge to drive the blade deeper.This woman Rena met his gaze without the slightest flinch. Her pale eyes glowed dimly catching the faint moonlight seeping through holes in the roof. There was no fear there only bone deep fatigue and a sadness that had settled there long ago."You are the Order’s pet dog aren’t you." Rena said so

A small child’s cry faded fast swallowed by the night market din lost beneath the off key carousel music and the steady drumming of rain on tin roofs. Axel pulled his hood lower while his eyes swept over the crowd huddled under vendor stalls to stay dry. Bright colored lights glowed faint through thin mist and in the thick of all that noise shadow energy hung heavy clinging to his skin like cold damp that would not brush away.Axel shifted his jaw to hold back his unease. The secondary team sent by the Order might still be searching the old building grounds but he had put plenty of distance between them already. He had powered down his earpiece the moment engine sounds drew close. The stained cloth in his coat pocket stayed warm and the guilt of lying to the order that raised him sat like a stone in his chest. But he could not turn back. Not after watching Rena’s blood purify darkness itself."There," he breathed catching an odd movement behind the cotton candy tent.A little boy in a

"If you need proof look at how your weapon reacts to my blood!" Rena shouted over the roar of bullets tearing through piles of brick along the alley edge. Her voice cracked beneath thunderous rain and gunfire yet her words cut deeper than any round ever could.Axel did not stop to think. Combat instinct honed over years moved faster than his mind could catch up. He drew his silver spear from his back then stepped squarely in front of Rena making his body a living shield. He blocked her smaller frame completely feet planted firm while his right hand held the weapon ready. Logic still screamed at him to move aside to let the cleanup team finish what they came to do. But the urge to protect rose up unbidden strong and impossible to ignore.A second silver round slammed into the wall right beside his ear. Shards of brick sprayed through the air stinging his shoulder and back. Axel felt tiny cuts prickle his skin but he did not flinch. Behind him Rena’s breath caught short and he could fee

Gunflashes lit up the rain soaked alley and sent dozens of deadly rounds tearing through the air. They were not aimed at the shadow witch. Every single one flew straight for Axel’s heart. He watched the red dots streak fast toward him like eyes of death that never missed.Axel spun his silver spear as fast as he could until it blurred into a whirl of light before him. The ring of metal striking hot lead filled the narrow passage and wove a wall of wind that deflected most of the fire. But there were too many coming. He felt one slip through the gaps and bury itself in his left thigh. White hot pain spread through him like the sting of a giant hornet."Axel get down!" Rena screamed.Before he could shift his weight the cleanup squad hurled a high voltage wire net. It coiled around him in an instant tightening across his chest and arms before he could dodge. Thousands of volts surged through his frame scorching his leather coat until the sharp stench of burning cloth filled the air. His

Beneath the flaking silver scorched by blast heat a name was carved deep and neat on the back of that cursed badge. Vane Elric.Axel held the disk up to the faint light filtering through the cinema’s broken ceiling. His hands shook so hard the metal gave a soft chime against his fingers. This name was the most precious shard of his lost childhood. The teacher who had taught him to balance a spear. The only father figure he had ever known. He saw again the large hand guiding his grip the first time he lifted a weapon. Heard the deep voice that taught him what honor and sacrifice truly meant. Felt the warm smile that always waited for him at the end of every training session even when he failed again and again."Vane Elric" he whispered his voice rough and thin. "This is his badge. The one that should have been buried with him five years ago.""You knew him" Rena asked softly. She lay weak and worn but her gaze stayed sharp catching every flicker of feeling on his face."He was my maste