Hello everyone,

Long time no see. I'm very sorry I was gone for so long. But with the new year I made a promise to myself, I will start writing more. Not only I have the new Chapter ready but I'm also preparing a short story based on a game coming out this Summer. The game -I will let you guess what it is- is based on a dystopian England... I'm very excited about it. Ok, here you go. The next chapter will be ready more quickly.

My heart thumped in my chest and I felt like freezing water had just been thrown all over my body. What the hell had happened while I was preoccupied? I started running towards the nearest door, my hands frantically searching the inner pocket of my coat and finally finding what I was looking for. The closest door was that of a block of flats, probably belonging to a bunch of families that had no idea that demons had been lurking outside the doorstep just a few minutes ago.

Inserting the golden key in the lock I threw open the door. My eyes ignored the sudden change from the bright sun to the low light that engulfed the Main Center. The door that I had just come through was standing on its own in a circular platform with a single hallway.

I ran towards the end of the hallway leading to an enormous, metal door. A figure was standing in front of it and I recognized Yukio's posture.

I called his name and he turned around to face me. His eyes were clouded with worry and his appearance was slightly disheveled. I reached for him and I asked of what had happened.

'As I've said on the phone; Rin's in trouble.' He said vaguely, his mind obviously miles away.

'Rin's been in trouble since I first met him. Could you please be more specific? Weren't you guys out on an educational trip, anyway?'

'Indeed. At Mepphyland.' I groaned at the mention of the name. Mephisto had the inspiration of creating a theme park, years ago. It was a great idea, but he had felt the need to put statues and plushies of himself everywhere across the park; just in case people forgot who the creator was.

'Everything was going fine until a demon appeared.' He said in a gloomy voice.

'The hell is happening with demons, lately? We also had an outburst a while ago.'

'Ayame…' He whispered. 'It was Amaimon.'

I felt my mouth open in surprise. The King of Earth, Amaimon. The seventh strongest demon in Gehenna. Why was such a big shot just appearing now? And then it clicked.

'I think you'll agree that lately there's been lots of demon outbursts. And now that you've said that name, it makes sense. The demons that attacked us today were Goblins. There was also an infestation of Dekalp just the week before. Both of these demons follow the Earth King and I can bet you anything, when I get my hands on the reports from the previous attacks, they will be demons that follow exclusively Amaimon.' Which probably meant that the Demon King, had been lurking around in Assiah for quite a while. An upper-class demon like him could never just waltz around like that without being noticed. Unless of course…

Yukio's aura became even darker as he heard my hypothesis, confirming it had a strong base. He narrated Rin's fight with Amaimon, which had been very one-sided, as the demon lording overpowered him with ease, and left Rin a bloody mess, borrowing his sword in the process and playing with it like it was a kid's toy.

'At the end, one of our… students appeared and protected Rin as Amaimon retreated.'

'A student?' I asked surprised. 'One of our students stood up to a Demon Lording?'

'It was Yamada. It appears that in fact, Yamada is a first-class inspector sent by the Vatican to investigate my big brother.'

The image of a drunk redhead during that carnival popped in my mind. 'You don't mean…' I gasped

'It was Kirigakure Shura.'

I looked at Yukio and I saw my own dread reflecting into his eyes.

'Shit.' I grimaced and started pacing up and down. 'Of all the people they could have sent…' I paused and sighed trying to regain my composure. 'I presume the rest of our students were returned to their dorms safely.'

Yukio nodded.

'Good. What did Mephisto have to say about the break-in?'

'We haven't discussed it yet, but I'm sure he's taking extra measures to prevent any such event from happening again.' He said with an uncertainty I understood very well.

'That's good. And where is Rin then?' I asked looking around, hoping to see him coming from the end of the hallway, with that goofy smile on his lips.

'That's why I called you. Ayame, Shura is … interrogating him the right as we speak. They are inside the Great Cell.'

As if on springs I launched myself past Yukio and into the dark hallway. 'That's the kind of information you should have started with, Yukio!' I shouted at him while I ran.

'I'm sorry!' He shouted back.

I was worried, not terrified, as I knew Shura, but worried because… I did know her. She was exceptionally charismatic and smart but could be unpleasantly spontaneous when she wanted or needed to be. That particular characteristic had caused me a great amount of despair on the many occasions I had to work with her. And the fact that she was here for Rin, because I didn't want to kid myself. She knew what Rin was and she knows Mephisto knew. Which spelled trouble for all of us. If Rin didn't play his cards right he would be delivered in front of the Gregori council before I could do otherwise. Then again there was a small chance…

The door to the Great Cell was in front of me and … locked. Normally it wouldn't open until it was unlocked from the other side. But at the moment I didn't care.

'I'll just burst it open!' I growled and brought out my summoning papers. I brought my finger to my ring, ready to trigger a hidden blade when suddenly the door opened. I stood frozen watching the sight in front of me.

Rin was on the floor, beaten up and exhausted, while Shura was standing in front of him. But, what made me hesitate was the fact that they were both, smiling to each other. Their eyes were glowing with a hungry mischievousness as if they shared a common secret.

'Rin' I whispered without meaning to. Both of their eyes locked to mine. Shura's surprise was greater than mine, but she quickly bypassed it.

'Ayame! It's been fricking years. How have ya been?' She asked in the most carefree voice I had ever heard.

'Well, you know…' I answered not really sure how to continue. I glanced at Rin again and remembered why I was here. 'Shura! What the hell did you do to him?'

Shura looked at me confused. 'What? This?' She asked pointing at Rin. 'It wasn't me. I presume four-eyes filled you already, but it was that demon that did a number on his lil' brother… Well, for the most part.'

'What do you mean "For the most part?"' I asked feeling my temper rise. 'What kind of twisted interrogation did you go through?'

'You know how these things are. Anyway Rin, I won't be needing you for the time being. Yukio will take you to the infirmary as Ayame and I have to… catch up.'

I felt a sense of impending doom and suddenly wished I was going to the infirmary instead. Rin looked at both of us perplexed but he pulled himself up hesitantly and walked out of the Great Cell, giving me a quick smile before leaving.

I watched him go knowing Yukio was waiting for his return and would take good care of him. Hesitating for one more moment I entered the Great Cell. The door behind me closed slowly and eerily. I walked and stood a few feet in front of Shura. Her blank stare was making me feel more uncomfortable that I had been in quite a while, but I decided to stand my ground and looked at her.

'Severe the head of the snake-' she whispered after a long pause.

Her hands touched just above her chest and the symbols tattooed there started glowing. I gulped. And my hands quickly retrieved my summoning papers.

'-that devours the eight princesses.'