In the city of Tokyo, the sun had just left, staining the buildings with a soft brightness that leaked through the curtains of a room where the mess reigned.
Ryu Tatzuki stirred in his bed, hugging his pillow.
He yawned with laziness.
"I have a lot of sleep ... I better sleep again."
But then someone hit the door gently.
"Ryu, wakes up." It's time to go to school, "said his mother, Akane Tatzuki.
"Yes, I'm going, mom ..." He replied in a voice off.
Another day of class. Great, he thought as he joined, dragging his feet on the cold floor.
With mechanical movements, he took the uniform and put it without eager. When passing in front of the bathroom mirror, he stayed at a moment contemplating his reflection: his black hair, always fallen on his forehead, and those dark circles that seemed never to leave.
He brushed his teeth and rinsed his face, trying to be spoiled.
"A more day ..." He murmured to himself, as he wet his hair with his hand.
He grabbed his backpack almost inertia and went down to the kitchen. There, his mother was waiting for him with the breakfast served and a patient look. Akane was a woman with brown hair collected in a simple ponytail and eyes of the same color, always with that mixture of tenderness and firmness.
"At the end you wake up," she said, crossing his arms.
"Good morning, mom." Yes ... barely wake up. I am very sleepy, "he replied, scratching his neck.
"Well, hurry up." You get late for school.
"Yes, I'm leaving." Goodbye, mom.
"Wait, Ryu ... and your glasses?"
"Oh ... I almost forget them."
He returned on his steps to his room. When he returned, he wore his black glasses, which framed his dark brown eyes.
"Now, I'm ready."
"Then go at once." It's too late.
-OK.
Ryu ran down the street, feeling how fresh morning air cleared his head a little. The city began to be filled with people: employees with briefcases, children with backpacks than them, old people watering plants on the balconies.
While ran, he thought that, despite everything, there was something comforting in that routine.
In the middle of the way, he heard hurried steps approaching. When he turned his head, he saw four figures who ran behind him. He smiled by recognizing his friends: Ryota, Haruto, Daiki and Ren.
-Hi guys! He said, while running. It seems that you are too late.
Ren snorted, pushing his glasses against the bridge of the nose.
"No mentions." Everything is Haruto's fault, being flirting with a girl.
Haruto took a hand to the chest, offended.
"Hey, she was a very pretty girl." In addition, it was worth it: I have your number.
Ryota, the highest in the group, frowned as he kept rhythm.
"What is that for us, idiot?" Let's get late!
Daiki placed between them, raising a hand in peace.
"And if we better concentrate on reaching school, huh?"
Ryu laughed as he ran next to them.
"I suppose I'm not the only one who has problems getting up early."
Between jokes and reproaches, the five continued on their way through the streets of Tokyo, with the first rays of light painting the buildings.
Maybe it was another normal day ... at least, for now.
After running so much, the boys arrived at school still panting.
The classroom was in relative calm, with some students writing while others fought against the dream.
The teacher, a middle -aged man with thick glasses, walked from one place to another in front of the digital board, marking the planets of the solar system with a laser pen.
"Well, students." As you know, today we are seeing the planetary dimensions and their approximate mass in the universe according to the modern astronomical model. Write down the following:
Sun: diameter of 7,000,000 km - mass of 127 octillones of tons.
Luna: 190,000 km - 12.2 quintillones of tons.
Mercury: 150,000 km - 11.4 Sextillones of tons.
Venus: 300,000 km - 750 Sextillones of tons.
Earth: 696,340 km - 991 quintillones of tons.
Mars: 500,000 km - 259 quintillones of tons.
Jupiter: 1,800,000 km - 4.11 Octillions of tons.
Saturn: 1,500,000 km - 1.19 octillions of tons.
Uranus: 1,100,000 km - 17.5 Sextillones of tons.
Neptune: 1,200,000 km - 244 Septillions of tons.
Pluto: 350,000 km - 143 quintillones of tons.
Ryu, who could barely keep his eyes open, murmured withnuisance:
"What boredom ..."
Haruto laughed under his.
"What do we want to know how much the sun weighs?"
Ren, who took notes quickly, frowned and turned.
"Shh." Make silence. Some are interested.
Daiki restored his head in his hand and looked at him with an lifted eyebrow.
"And what do you want to know that?"
Ren adjusted his glasses.
—Because it is important for the exam.
Ryu straightened suddenly.
"What exam?"
Haruto froze.
"Are there exam?" When?
Ryota released a growl from behind.
"And don't you know?"
Daiki shrugged.
"The exam is in two weeks, calm."
Ren sighed, exasperated.
"Even thus, we should be studying."
Ryu grimaced while stretching his hand.
"Then ... Boost me your sheet."
"Here you have," Ren was, giving it to her.
Ryu looked at the figures with a horror face.
"This looks like another language ..."
"Thank you, Ren, but I better," Ryu said, returning the blade with a lazy smile.
Just at that moment, heaven through the windows began to darken abruptly.
An uncomfortable silence seized the classroom when, in front of everyone, a bright red portal appeared that buzzed with disturbing energy.
From that vortex an demonic, high and threatening figure emerged, which launched a shocking roar that made the walls tremble.
The students were paralyzed, while the professor backed into the pale face.
The shout of terror filled the classroom when everyone rose suddenly, trying to run to the door.
But the demon extended a huge and twisted hand, and with a violent movement generated a burst of energy that pushed the students against the walls, blocking any escape route.
His reddish eyes shone with a wild hunger as he raised an arm, ready to crush everyone in one blow.
Ryu, with a runaway heart, took a step forward.
"I'm not going to let them kill them!" He shouted, squeezing his fists.
He threw himself towards the demon with all his might and assaulted him a direct punch in his chest.
But it was like hitting a mountain.
The devil did not even flinch.
With a guttural roar, he raised his huge arm and gave a blow that crashed Ryu against the classroom wall with a dry rumble.
"Ryu!" Their friends shouted in unison.
Ryu felt that everything was spinning while the pain spread by his back and a thread of blood lowered him on his forehead.
Ryu, trembling, supported a hand against the ground and forced himself to join.
The pain was unbearable, but his determination burned more strongly than ever.
"No ... I'm not going to give up ..." he muttered hoarsely.
He launched again towards the demon, throwing another punch with all his might.
The impact did not tickle the creature.
The demon slowly turned his twisted face to him, with a flash of contempt in his red eyes.
-That's all? "He seems to say his empty gaze.
Effortlessly, he extended his enormous hand and held Ryu in his head as if he were a doll.
"Ory, no!" Chilló Daiki, helpless.
The demon raised Ryu in the air and crashed into the wall.
One, two, three times.
Each impact started a scream of pain and a jet of blood from his mouth.
His bones creaked like dry branches.
Finally, the demon threw it to the ground with brutality.
Ryu's glasses were broken aside, covered with red spots.
His uniform was torn, soaked with blood.
The pain mixed with an ice cream dizziness that threatened to make it lose knowledge.
But, even so, his gaze had not lost that spark that refused to go out.
The demon began to move forward, every step by shaking the floor of the shattered classroom.
His black claws rose, shining with a red glow while signing up directly to the group of students paralyzed by fear.
"Look ...!" He won in a cavernous voice.
In a flickering, his arm descended in a deadly pit.
But before he could reach them, something stopped him.
A trembling hand clung to his doll with all his might.
It was Ryu.
His body covered with blood trembled with pure exhaustion.
His knees seemed about to yield.
Even so, his gaze burned with an impossible determination to break.
"No ... the ... touches ..."
The demon observed it with a mixture of amazement andcontempt.
But for a moment, his attack had been arrested.
The demon turned his head towards him, his deformed jaws curving in a grimace of fury.
"How do you dare to stop my attack, cursed human weakening?" He bramed his voice rumbling like thunder.
For a moment, his red eyes narrowed, trying to understand.
As…?
How a simple human, broken and on the verge of death, could you stop my strength ...?
Ryu raised his face, breathing with difficulty.
His hands were still clinging to the arm of the creature, although their fingers were covered with blood.
"No ... I'm going to let ... you approach them ..." he said in a broken voice, but firm.
Although his body was made pieces, his eyes did not show fear.
Suddenly, something changed in Ryu.
His eyes turned from a deep red, shining with a supernatural intensity he made to the demon hesitate.
A dark heat traveled his arm as he squeezed the creature's doll more strongly.
"I told you ... you wouldn't touch them ..." He murmured, with a voice that no longer seemed entirely human.
Before the demon could react, Ryu threw a direct puncture to the beast's chest.
The impact rumbled on the air.
At first glance, it seemed useless.
But when looked down, the demon saw a small scratch in its hard black skin, just a crack of dark blood that began to drip.
For a second, he was completely motionless.
Impossible ... he thought, with a chill traveling the thorn.
No human can damage demons ... Who is this human ...?
The classroom was in absolute silence.
Ryota, with open eyes wide, barely managed to babble:
"Did you see that ...?"
Ren pressed his notebook against the chest, unable to look away from Ryu.
"That ... is not normal ... no human being could ...
Haruto swallowed with difficulty.
"What the hell ... happens to Ryu ...?"
Daiki looked at his friend, trembling, while a mixture of fear and hope swirled in his chest.
"Ryu ... What are you ...?"
Even the teacher was paralyzed next to the door, with a trembling hand on the spicy.
The demon continued to observe the tiny wound in his chest, unable to process what had just happened.
And in the midst of that silence loaded with tension, Ryu raised his face stained with blood.
His red eyes sparkled with a cold shine.
"I told them ... I wouldn't let you hurt them ..." He murmured in a firm voice.
The demon began to tremble, a roar under sprouting from his throat.
His gaze became completely wild while his demonic energy grew around him like a dark fire.
-Unhappy…! He bramed with a visceral hatred that made broken windows. How do you dare ...?
Their claws rose, full of a crimson shine.
"I'm going to destroy you, damn insect!"
Ryu breathed with difficulty, every beat of his heart a hammer in his skull.
But his red eyes were still fixed in the demon, without departing a millimeter.
A heavy silence fell on all.
It seemed that, this time, nothing could save it.
Ryu squeezed his fists, willing to launch a last attack even if he cost his life.
"I'm not going ... to give up ..." He murmured between gasps.
But just when it was driven forward, a luminous presence descended from the sky torn by a white flash.
A young woman with silver hair appeared floating on the shattered classroom.
His armor shone as pure silver, and a couple of huge white wings spread behind him.
In his hand he held a radiant sword, so sharp that he seemed to cut the same air.
His eyes - one celestial, the other green - shone with a serene glow while watching the demon.
With a simple movement of his arm, he easily arrested the attack of the creature, as if it were a children's game.
The demon was petrified, his voice turned into a broken squeak.
"No ... you can't be ... you ...!"
She tried to go back, but the young woman tightly squeezed the hilt of her sword.
"I will allow anyone else to touch," he said in a firm voice, as beautiful as it is relentless.
A flicker later, his sword drew a perfect cut in the air.
The demon barely had time to understand what happened before shooting at a wall, crashing with a deafening rumble.
His body was sunk in the debris, twisting with pain.
The silence returned, heavy, while everyone looked at the mysterious girldescending calmly against Ryu.
The students were paralyzed, unable to look away from that heavenly figure that floated between the remains of the classroom.
Ren ran a hand on his face, trying to convince himself that he wasn't dreaming.
"A ... Angel ...?"
Haruto could barely whisper:
"Where did she go ... that girl ...?"
Ryota swallowed with difficulty.
"I just with a movement ... he sent him flying ...
Daiki looked at Ryu, who was still standing with the body covered with wounds, and then the young woman with silver hair.
"Did you come ... to help us ...?"
Even the demon, caught in the wall, trembled while a thread of dark blood lowered him by the chin.
Ryu, with broken breathing, looked up at her.
His red eyes began to lose his inhuman brightness, gradually returning to his dark brown color.
-Who are you…? He asked to ask in a weak voice.
The young woman turned her heterochroma gaze towards him, her wings agitated gently behind her.
At that moment, no one could doubt that they witnessed something that went far beyond any human explanation.
A gutural growl sprouted from the demon's throat, which shook the debris furiously.
His eyes injected into blood were fixed in the silver hair.
"You ... damn ...!" He won as he threw towards her with the raised claws, a last desperate attack.
The young woman did not even move from her place.
He only raised his sword in an elegant gesture.
When the demon was a meter away, she downloaded a dry and precise blow.
The impact rang like thunder.
The demon shot the ground, crashing against the rubble.
This time he did not rise again.
Only a spasmodic tremor stirred his huge shattered body.
The girl lowered her weapon calmly, her heterochromes eyes watching the monster defeated with a mixture of piety and contempt.
Everything remained in absolute silence.
Arthelia slowly turned his heterochroma look towards everyone present.
"Tranquilos," he said in a serene and firm voice, "I'm not going to harm them."
A soft brightness emanated from his armor while talking, transmitting an unexpected calm in the middle of chaos.
"I have just come to help them."
He made a little reverence, elegant and respectful.
"My name is Arthelia Luxiel Mikaelis."
A murmur toured the room, while the students exchanged surprised looks.
Ryu watched her carefully, trying to process the arrival of that mysterious saving.
For a moment, nobody dared to say anything.
Silence only broke when Haruto raised his hand trembling a little.
"E-this ... are you ... an angel ...?" He asked with the broken voice between amazement and fear.
Arthelia nodded gently.
"You could say so."
Ren took a step forward, still holding his notebook against the chest.
"Why did you appear right here?" Were you ... watching?
-Not quite. I only perceived the presence of a demon and came to stop him, "Arthelia replied calmly.
Daiki looked at the demon's remains, which lay unconscious under the rubble.
"That monster ... was it so dangerous that someone like you had to intervene?"
Arthelia looked at the defeated body for a moment and then looked at them again.
-Yeah. Although it was not the most powerful, in a place like this it would have caused a massacre.
Ryota swallowed, still nervous.
"Then ... are we safe?"
"For now, yes," he replied serenity.
Finally, his gaze stopped in Ryu, who was barely standing.
His eyes reflected a quiet interest, but showed no sign of hostility.
Ryu passed the back hand in his mouth, cleaning a thread of blood.
He still felt the sore body, but his breathing began to calm down.
"Thank you ..." his voice murmured. If you hadn't arrived ... all ...
Arthelia slightly bowed her head.
"Don't thank me." Protecting the innocent is my duty.
Haruto rubbed his neck, releasing a trembling sigh.
"This looks like a bad dream ...
Ren looked down at the ground full of dust and fragments of desks.
"What the hell is happening in this world ...?"
"Is this ... it's going to keep passing?" Daiki asked with a lump in his throat.
Arthelia was silent for a moment, watching everyone's pale faces.
"I can't promise that they won't appear again." But while I am here, I will do everything possible toprotect them.
The morning light leaked through broken windows, illuminating its silver silhouette.
For a moment, the classroom was in a deep silence that was no longer only fear, but also astonishment.
And so, with the demon defeated at his feet and the promise of new dangers in the air, the story of Ryu and his friends took his first step towards the unknown.