The skies over Europa Cathedral darkened as bells tolled—slow, hollow, heavy.
From the tallest tower, High Bishop Verdan of the Ministry Church stared toward the horizon, where Vatican airships loomed like predatory birds beneath the clouds. The stained glass behind him, cracked from centuries of war and reform, cast a fractured mosaic across his white robes. Despite his age, his voice remained sharp as ever.
"They've begun moving relic-class demons," he said.
Across the table sat thirteen Ministry delegates—each representing a major cathedral city across the old world. Murmurs filled the room.
"A declaration of war—?"
"They wouldn't dare summon something so ancient—"
"They've already dared," Verdan snapped. "The one bound in chains that attacked our boys was once known as Vyrmak, a war beast used during the Lost Schism. Last seen 900 years ago."
Silence. And then—
"They've found the Reliquary," whispered an old priest. "God help us."
Verdan slammed his palm on the table. "God won't help us. That's why we raised those boys."
Elsewhere, in the cathedral barracks…
Kaito sat quietly, resting his sword beside him as he cleaned the blood from his gloves. The demon's ashes still clung to his sleeves.
"Do you ever wonder why we're the only ones?" he asked.
Daiki looked up from his repair work, binding small mana cores into the bracers on his wrists. "What do you mean?"
"We're the only kids trained like this. Element-born. Weapons of war. Raised in secret." Kaito's voice grew quiet. "They treat us like something sacred… but also something dangerous."
Ren entered, balancing a fire rune on one finger like a coin. "We're not just soldiers. We're bargaining chips."
Haru sat near the window, eyes glowing faintly as he read silent futures. His expression was unusually dark. "We were never meant to live normal lives. I saw it in the eyes of every priest and sister who ever smiled at us. Guilt. Because they know what's coming."
Kaito stood. "Then we find out. We get stronger. We end it."
Meanwhile, deep in the catacombs beneath Vatican grounds…
Cardinal Alaric knelt before a sealed chamber, surrounded by massive cogs and glowing glyphs. The machinery thrummed with a heartbeat not entirely human.
"Open it," he commanded.
Acolytes turned the sacred crank, and the door groaned open, revealing a massive, breathing sarcophagus—twisted metal and black bone. Bound in rusted chains was a demon unlike any before it: humanoid, but with serrated wings folded behind its back, and runes scorched across its skin.
Its mouth twitched.
"Have the Four awakened yet?" it rasped.
Alaric smiled. "They have. And they're already killing your kind."
The demon laughed. "Good. Let them burn bright. So it'll be all the sweeter when I tear out their hearts."
Later that night…
The boys stood on a tower overlooking the ruined part of the old city. Fires smoldered in the slums. Civil unrest boiled in the streets below. Posters of the Ministry's crest were being torn down, replaced by Vatican decrees.
"Rebellion," Haru muttered. "Staged by the Vatican to justify invasion."
"They're getting desperate," Ren said, flicking a coin into the wind. "Or cocky."
Daiki crossed his arms. "Either way, we're not ready for what's coming."
"No," Kaito said. "But we will be."
In the distance, a low screech echoed from the underground—the kind of sound no mortal throat could make.
"Looks like we've got company."
From beneath the city, the earth split open—and rising from it came a demon forged in the shape of a child. A puppet of flesh and steel, crafted by both science and sorcery. Its eyes were hollow. Its limbs flickered with ancient machinery—the kind the Ministry no longer dared touch.
The boys stepped forward, formation instinctive.Wind. Fire. Foresight. Earth.
"What in hell is that?" Daiki muttered.
"A Vatican experiment," Haru said. "And not the last."
The demon charged, blade-arms whirring.
Kaito met it mid-air, his sword slicing into a whirlwind that deflected the first strike. Ren blasted it back with a flare round, the fire exploding like a nova.
Daiki slammed his palms together, summoning twin pillars of stone to block the next wave of attacks. Haru ducked low, then shouted: "Three seconds—left side—watch your blind spot, Ren!"
Ren spun mid-dodge, landing a flaming bullet right into the thing's exposed joint. "Good call!"
It shrieked and exploded in a blast of purple light, cracking the tower beneath their feet. They jumped just in time.
Kaito landed hard, gritting his teeth. "That thing… it wasn't a demon. It was a construct."
"They're building monsters," Haru said coldly. "Just like they're trying to build a new god."
Back at Vatican HQ, Sister Maris knelt before a metallic throne. Resting upon it, a skeletal being adorned with cables and wires fused into flesh smiled faintly.
"Soon, my Sister," it said in a voice made of radio static. "The Four will come to us."