Chapter 1,First steps

## Act 1 - Friends

It has been 5 years since Jude talked with the Explorer and witnessed the fight between him and the Demon Buerat

As a boy was running down the stairs of his house, he heard a voice coming from the kitchen.

"Jude, you didn't forget the meal I gave you right?" The voice asked

"No I did not mom!" Jude replied with an annoyed tone a second before exiting the house

"Finally I can join the SOF" Jude though while walking towards the huge barrack that was situated in a nearby town. He was very excited, so excited that the only thing that distracted him and caught his attention, in the distance far far away, there was it, **The Great Lignum Tree**, the highest and mightiest one, standing above the whole forest. A lot of lignum tree, from small to big ones, have been destroyed by someone, in particular one time a whole chunk of the forest disappeared whitout any reasons or explenation, and the mystery was still Unsolved. Despite that, The Great Lignum tree always stood tall and mighty, not matter what happened, it kept being in the center of the world.

Jude arrived at the barrack without even realizing. He saw a ton of people with uniforms similar to his: they were all talking to eachother. Some looked confident and some less, but there was still a joyful atmosphere all around, and so Jude sit down, until a man opened a door and screamed with an imposing:

"Your attention everyone! Welcome to the main barrack of the SOF, here you'll do one final test before officially entering the group! I won't wish you good luck. Because that will not help you!" The man said, before pushing a button that set multiple metalic doors open.

"Those will be the training place of each group! Look towards the number of your uniform and you'll know which group you are from!!" The man said before Jude entered the number 3, as he knew which was the number of his uniform because of how many times he looked at it.

The training was tiring, a lot. It consistent of doing push ups and other exercise, aiming at targets while moving, fighting with realistic holograms, all of that while having a belt that amplified the gravity around you. Saying it was hard probably was not enough, but anyway Jude succeded, unlike many other, which allowed him to go to the barrack's bar.

Here, there was a lot of agitation in the air, Mainly because people were proud to past the test and the hard work they did, but there was one person who was alone. Jude decided to sit next to him.

"Hello, what's your name?" Jude asked. The guy was surprised that someone sat down next to him, he replied in a polite way.

"Name's Axel" Axel said with a bored tone

"Sorry if this question bothers you but why is nobody sitting next to you?" Jude asked out of curiosity watching around.

"I have a pretty bad reputation, even tho I'm not like what people described me." Axel said while the barman served Jude a drink

"First time tasting alcohol?" Axel asked when Jude got the first sip.

"Well yea, I turned 18 this week and I wanted to taste it for the first time here, in case I succeeded the test" Jude replied.

"Eh, you're an interesting case, I think we could be-" but Axel couldn't be finished with his sentence before someone taped his shoulder.

"Hey lil' shit, you don't belong here" The guy said to which Axel immediately replied by getting out of his chair and getting right in front of the guy's face.

"Take. That. Back." Axel said with anger only in his voice.

"And why would I? A Monster has nothing to do here. "said the guy

"I am not a Monster, get that in your little shitty head!" said Axel getting even angrier.

"Shut up half-demon monster!" The guy said, making his voice louder, so loud that everyone was looking at them.

"You don't deserve to be here nor did you ever deserve to be born in our world, go back to where you belong you Abominable piece of shit."the guy added, as Axel was ready to hit him, only for a voice to interrupt the both of them.

"So what if he's half demon? He's also half human and he seems it far more human than demon,. Why the hell would he not be able to live in our world? He did not choose that no?" said Jude.

"He's half demon, meaning like every single one of them he's a violent piece of rodent shit, here let me demonstrate." The guy said as he punched Axel, only for him to catch his punch with his hand while looking at Jude.

"Thank you" Axel said as he crushed the guy's hand with no effort

"Aaaaugh you piece of shit! that's it you asked for it! Harmentias,these two are picking up shit!" The guy screamed, looking at a nearby table.

"Oh really? Let me get up then "Harmestias said, before getting out of his chair and standing tall.

Both Axel and Jude looked at the imposing figure, who was walking towards them, until he stopped to ask informations to the guy.

"What has precisely happened here?" Harmentias asked

"I told this half demon piece of shit to go back where he belongs, and he broke my hand. Oh and don't forget the guy who defended him." The guy said Still in pain.

"It is just sad..." Harmentias said.

"Right?" the guy said.

"That you are such a Dumbass" Harmentias said before knocking the guy into unconsciousness. He then turned to Axel and Jude.

"Sorry about that, there are a lot of piece of shit in the world, what are your names you two?" Harmentias said

"Axel." Axel said.

"Jude." Jude said.

"Well Axel and Jude, why don't you two have fun here? And not just you but everyone?" Harmentias said loudly before taking a short break. "Hey everyone, I'm giving y'all the permission to take everything you want! Take as much drink as you want, I'll be the one to pay!" Harmentias screamed, as everyone began to cheer and thank him. As the party continued and everyone was cheering, Jude sat next to Axel who was in a separate small space of the room and asked him: "Sorry to bother you, but you seemed more angry at the fact he noticed you were half demon than when he told you to leave, where does all this hate towards your demon half comes from?"

Axel looked down as he took another sip of his drink,then touched his left half and started explaining.

"This is the part of me that my mother gave me, which beside you, Harmentias and very few other people was the only to not discriminate me beacause of it. I'm proud of it...of my human side, but that other half...I despise it so much the entirety of the hate related words aren't enough to describe my hate. The problem is not because it's a demon half, it's beacause of who I got it from. My Father raped my mother, which gave birth to me. Although I was lucky to survive, I risked a lot and hell was just beginning for me... My mother died after some time due to giving birth the half demon side of me." Axel stopped his monologue,the memory of the past starting to break him, however he kept his calm and continued.

"My father was never present, he abandoned us, and I do not know anything about him. I somehow survived until I got captured by bounty hunters who took me and put me in an arena where people who put bets on fights to the death to try and get as much money as possible. I was 10 at the time, and I had to fight for my life against retired criminals or psychos that were captured and put here almost every day. All of this happened because of my father, it was all his fault. When I escaped the first thing I wanted was to find who he was, and after a lot of researches I found a picture, that picture was similar to what my mother described my father to be, and so I took a decision: I would join the SOF so I could find him, and when I'll find him...I'll tear him apart and make him suffer a fate worst than death." Axel said while taking his last sip and silence fell.

"I know I'm not in the right to talk, unlike you I've had a happy life, but if you ever need help, you can count on me" Jude said in a reassuring tone

"You can count on me as well, I've got a pretty big influence and if anyone tries anything I'll teach them a lesson" Harmentias added from behind them.

"Thanks, you guys It means a lot of me." Axel said as he smiled a little and then leaved.

"So anyways, I've got a question Harmentias, your name reminds me of something, are you perhaps?-"Jude asked before getting interrupted

"The guy who protected a whole city at the age of 16? Right in front of you"Harmentias said, leaving Jude partially shocked

"You sure you're a human?" Jude asked, trying to process.

"A special one you could say." Harmentias said before laughing loudly.

## Act 2 - Hate

Axel was walking pass the city and went to his house that he made himself close to it, he entered his room before hearing screams from animals, he went to look where the sound was coming from only to see animals corpse around a grey skinned demon with 6 arms wearing a pinkish mask, much to Axel's surprise he was sleeping, but that wasn't the main source of his surprise,he recognized that figure,he stared at it with hatred so many times by now...his father...Buerat...was right in front of him"

"What the hell is he doing here?!" Axel wondered while his blood was boiling and his heart was beating like it never did before.

"It doesn't matter! All that matters is that I'll kill him" Axel thought, before taking out a purple piece of metal out of his pocket which became longer and made appear a sharp piece of metal out of it's fence, which formed an axe.

"It's because of you that I suffered my whole life, and now it's time for payback!" Axel thought before striking with his axe at Buerat, however much to his surprise Buerat stopped it with one hand which ended up resulting in the collision creating a shock wave that could be felt up to the edge of the city.

"What? How? Isn't he supposed to be sleeping?" Axel thought as he stroke multiple times, however every single strike was stopped by one hand only, until Axel was exhausted by the amount of strikes he did.

"Damn you! Even when you're asleep I can't kill you, bastard piece of shit" Axel thought as he gave up and went back into his house thinking on what to do, however when he closed the main door, Buerat's eye opened.

"This way of fighting seems like a mix of demon and human.....eh,looks like my lineage is living well"Buerat said as he closed his eye

As the sun arose,Axel woke up,took a coffee and got out of his house,however much to his displeasure his father was there.

"YOU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"Axel screamed in anger,only for Buerat to reply with a calm tone

"I'm going to redo your education"Buerat said as he walked towards

"So what? Are you going to teach me how to say hello in a demon wa-"Axel said as he was cut short by a punch of Buerat in the stomach

"First rule of a fight:never let your guard down"Buerat said,as Axel took a few steps back and regain consciousness,as he charged at Buerat

"WHY YOU-"Axel said as he punched at Buerat only for Buerat to catch his hand and do a kick to the ankles which made Axel lose his support on the ground,causing him to fall

"Second and third rule of a fight:watch over your legs and don't rely on your emotions,they're only something holding you down"Buerat said,as Axel got on his two hands and delivered a kick towards Buerat,only for Buerat to deflect it and kick Axel.

This continued until Axel was exhausted,as Buerat walked away and said:

"Oh and I think you're working today at the SOF,and no I won't say good luck,because luck is for the weak,the strong don't rely on it"

"Wait"Axel said which caused Buerat to stop and look to him

"What's your goal? Why are you training me when you know I want to kill you?"Axel asked,as Buerat smiled and said:

"If I were to ever die I wouldn't accept it from any other hands than my child,is that a valid reason enough?"Buerat said before walking away

As Axel approached the barrack,he saw Jude sitting next to a tree while drawing.

“Never knew you liked drawing.”Axel remarked.

“I find drawing the perfect way to relax and be separated from the world,I don’t know how to fully describe it but you get me right?”Jude asked.

“Yeah,I sure do.”Axel said with sarcasm in his voice,that’s when Jude noticed his clothes and face were dirty and he had a blood on his face.

“How did this happen to you? Has something gone wrong?”Jude asked.

“Well actually-“but Axel couldn’t finish his sentence,he thought I’d be too humiliating to tell anyone that he met his father and not only failed to kill him but got trained by him.

“Nothing happened.”said Axel coldly,Jude knew something was wrong but due to Axel sudden change of mood he didn’t want to push things further,so instead he took out two sheets of paper.

“The first one is our first mission order,it’s classified as a level 1 mission,which is normal for a first mission.”Jude said before Axel took out the second and started to read in his head.

“Level 1 is classified as the easiest type of mission,the level of treat is equal to that of a few people being murdered. A squad of 3 to 6 people is enough.

Level 2 comes after,treats like this are usually threatening a whole neighborhood. At least 10 people are required for this.

Level 3 is when things starts to get out of hand,level 3 threats could threaten up to an entire city,which is why things such as plasma canons or advanced jets are often used to combat these treats.

Level 4 goes even further,treats are able to destroy multiple cities,an army of tanks and jets are needed for this.

Level 5 treats are nigh impossible to defeat by normal means,as these treats are able to destroy a whole chunk of the forest,the only way to beat this treat is the use of a plasma nuke,which is a weapon only reserved for extreme cases.

Level 6 treats have never been see before,but the treat has a chance to exist. Level 6 treats would be able to destroy the whole forest including The Great Lignum Tree,no weapon could defeat those beings.”

“Level 6 treats are scary to think about,but anyways,the mission we have is stop the action of a village situated in the south-east,they are apparently a cult that eliminates any intruders that step into their land.”Jude said

“Do we have any more teammates?”Axel asked

“Well due to my results at the test people wanted me to be in their team but I wanted to be with you so now I get avoided,which is why I was waiting for you to see if you could find a solution.”Jude said

“Sorry to burst your bubble but I don’t have any solution.”Axel said,before Harmentias approached them

“Need a teammate?”Harmentias asked with a smile.

“With pleasure.”Jude replied.

“So what direction are we going?”Harmentias asked. (edited)

“Wouldn’t you want to know first what the mission is about?”Jude asked,before getting interrupted by Axel:

“South-east”Axel said to which Jude looked at him with a “are you serious” type of expression.

“Then south-east we’re going,you’ll tell me what the mission is about while we’re walking,I’m a man of action.”Harmentias said as he started walking towards the south-east while bursting into laughter.

“I’m starting to regret my decision.”Jude said exasperated.

“I like his style.”Axel said before walking behind Harmentias

“What am I doing with those two.”Jude thought before walking behind them

As Harmentias,Axel and Jude were walking,Jude was explaining what the mission was about to Harmentias.

“Hm I get it now,a cult threatening anyone that approaches it,not the first time we’ve been through that…. By the way Axel since you’re half demon and half human you should have both magic reinforcement and magic barrier formation right?”asked Harmentias which caught Axel off guard.

“Well yea but I master none of them,which had me get a few share of laughter from others”Axel mumbled while hiding his face in his hood out of embarrassment.

“Well at least that means you’re more versatile.”Jude said with a smile.

“How did you get into the SOF?”Axel asked sarcastically.

“Optimism doesn’t mean naive,I’m also a realist.”Jude replied.

“Whatever you say bro,whatever you-“but Axel was cut short by Harmentias as the three of them realized there was a weird change in the atmosphere,suddenly everything went silent for some seconds but it felt like years,only the wind was caressing the leafs of the trees,when suddenly,the silence was broken: a perturbation in the silence,a shot,the sound of something piercing through skin….

Axel was shot,quickly Jude and Harmentias created a combined barrier to protect themselves. As most of the shots were being parried the cult members went out of their hiding spot and went towards them,as Harmentias jumped above the barrier and went towards the cult members.

Meanwhile Jude went towards Axel and asked:

“Okay first tell me how you’re feeling.”

“A bit dizzy but I’m fine,this blowpipe needle was filled tranquilizer,luckily it hit my right side,and demons are more resistant to this type of shit”Axel said as Jude as he got the needle out and healed his wound with magic.

Suddenly cult members came towards them,as they both got ready to fight. One of the cult member tried to hit with his blow pipe only for Axel to dodge it,the cult member then tried more hits as Axel dodged and deflected all of them,as he noticed the cult member wasn’t paying attention to his legs,the memories of his father’s words ran through Axel’s mind:

“Always watch over your legs in battle”

Remembering this,Axel then gave the cult member a kick to one of his leg,causing the cult member to trip,as Axel finished him with a chop to the neck.

Suddenly Axel then heard a sound and barely dodged a needle fired by another cult member,the cult member tried again only for Axel to catch the needle with two fingers.

“WHY YOU-“the cult member said enraged as he charged forward,which made Axel remembered again Buerat’s words:

“Never rely on your emotions,they only hold you back”

Axel then created an incomplete magic barrier which caught the cult member by surprise,and as the cult member got ready to break the barrier Axel made it disappear causing the cult member to miss and allow Axel to deliver a punch to the gut.

“He’s doing better than I expected.”Harmentias said while taking care of the other cult members.

“Can’t believe the lessons of that piece of shit of a dad actually helped me,tch.”Axel said to himself.

The battle continued for what felt like hours,the three SOF soldiers were all it took to beat an entire cult,that’s when Harmentias stood in front of the cult and asked:

“Now you’ll be coming over with us and explain your actions,if you kindly follow us things won’t have to get violent”Harmentias declared,which left the cult in anger,as they looked at each other.

But that’s when footsteps could be heard,as an old man was approaching.

“You three…defeated the group made out of the strongest men in our village…. Perhaps….perhaps you could help us…”the old man said,only for Axel to reply:

“You attacked us and now you’re asking for help,you better have a good explanation”

“Axel is right,we cannot just trust you like that after what happened”Jude said while cautiously watching over the old man in case he could bring up a weapon

“That is totally understandable,I know you must be on your guard after what happened but….I plead you….please….we need you to get us out of the nightmare…”the old man pleaded in a weak voice as he slowly started to get on his knee and kneeled,which left the three SOF soldiers in silent,until Harmentias raised his voice:

“Get up old man,we’ll follow you and help you with whatever is your problem”

“T-thank you…”the old man thanked as he slowly got up and started walking

“We’ll go to my house and I’ll explain everything”the old man continued,as everyone started to follow him,before Harmentias turned over to his other companions with a look that meant “stay on your guard”

As they arrived at the old man’s house,he asked the people of his village to start patrolling again.

“Come in”the old man said,as the three followed and sat down. When the old man sat on his chair,he started monologuing:

“You see…..4 weeks ago….a terrible disaster fell upon our land….the god of life,Katame no shiroi Kistune….had lost an important object,and to make it again he decided to….he…decided to”the old man was trying to contain his tears as he continued:

“He decided to create that same object again with a pure life…so he decided to take the life of a girl in the village each night…..and….and my…daughter is next”the old man said as he fell into tears

“I beg of you,you must help us,we’ll paid you anything,we’ll give you anything you want,but please,help us,I plead of you…”the old man pleaded as Harmentias replied:

“No need to give us anything,we’ll take care of it,just allow us to go outside concert each other”Harmentias said as him,Jude and Axel leaved the house.

“This is worst than what we expected,a god? That makes the mission at least go up to level 4 to maybe level 5,but we have to save those people”Jude said

“The only way we could help them is either get back the same object or defeat them”Axel proposed,to which a voice replied:

“I doubt you can beat me but oh well,you can try”

A figure stood right before them,standing on the house,it had a white coat so pure it was almost blinding,it’s red eye could pierce into your soul,before them stood the god of life:Katame no shiroi Kitsune

Quickly,the three humans took out their weapons and aimed at Kistune,who ignored them and looked away,before looking towards them again,seemingly bored:

"You three really think you have a chance against me? Good god,nowadays you humans are so boring,oh I remember eons ago when your race was a treat to gods,you were a good distraction,but now,most have regressed:demons,humans,vampire,undead...wait no undead were always weak. Anyways you get what I mean,nowadays I can't get a single amount of distraction,the only ones who are still strong are fairies but there are barely a hundred of them."Kistune said with a mix of annoyance and boredom.

"What do you mean humans were a treat to gods? And why are you harassing those people for some object,you said nothing was making you distracted,so why are you even putting effort into creating that object again then?"Jude asked,which made Kistune slowly look at him before taking out one of it's claws

"Watch what you're saying with that noisy mouth of yours kid,you aren't in place to be the arogant one"Kistune said with a cold tone mixed with a bit of anger,which made Harmentias take one step forward and look at Kistune.

"But since I'm bored I'll guess I'll give you a bit of education. To answer your first question,you humans were a treat to some gods many eons ago,and the reason is simple: we are all made of magic,magic created us all,magic created the concepts of this world,we are all pieces of a narrative made up by the same source. Our mind,our souls,our body,our existence,all of it is just a metaphysical mind,an uncountable infinite amount of metaphysical minds,all of it,all of us,we are all linked,we are biologically all different,and yet we're metaphysically all the same,hence why humans and others in their prime were treats to some gods,and I even think they could go further than that. As for your second question? I won't answer it,doesn't concern you."Kistune said

"What the hell? What is that even supposed to mean? Next you're gonna say Jesus is real or what?"Axel asked

"Nothing and everything,though you probably aren't smart enough to understand. Oh and as for that Jesus guy,too many mysteries around him,can't say anything on that subject"Kistune replied,which made Axel a bit annoyed

"That isn't our main concern,what we're here for is to save those people,so I've got a proposition for you,God of Life"Harmentias said to Kistune who seemingly didn't care as he started to lick it's fur,Harmentias was confused yet decided to go on:

"What if we bring you back that object you desire so much?"Harmentias proposed,those words making Kistune stop to lick his fur and slowly look towards Harmentias,as he created a glass and put some of his fur into it

"My fur will be attracted to the object I search for,but be aware that if you don't bring it before the night starts,let's say 9 pm,I'm taking the girl's life"Kistune said,as Jude looked at his watch

"It's currently 7 pm,we have to hury"Jude said as Kistune threw the glass with fur inside it towards Harmentias,before the three ran away towards were the fur was being attracted.

The three individuals were running as fast as they could, with Harmentias far ahead regularly checking the glass to see where the fur was being attracted. After what felt like hours of running, Jude and Axel noticed Harmentias stopped in front of a gigantic field.

"What's wrong? Why are we stopping?" Jude asked

"The furr...it stopped moving, meaning we're close."Harmentias stated

"But there's nothing here, the most logical explanation would be that the being who stole Kitsune's object is hidding"Axel noted

"There are two options: either the being is using an illusion, or he's simply underground"Harmentias said

"Can't be the first"Axel said while turning his head looking at the field

"Is that because of your demon eye?"Jude asked, which made Axel smile a bit

"Someone's been reading a lot of books. But yeah, demons are well known for their ability to feel things such as illusions or drugs, and I know there isn't any illusion there, which means..."

"Which mean that they're hiding underground"Harmentias completed

The group began searching for any hideout that could lead them to where they could find who they were looking for, until Axel noticed a farm far away. As he approached he saw a corpse of a human wearing a straw hat, his face was half torn appart, one of his eyes was at the verge of falling, and his hands were so broken you could see the bones coming out of the flesh.

"Looks like they killed the farm owner"Axel said as he contemplated the corpse with disgust and then looked away to the field.

Suddenly ,the corpse begun to move and opened it's mouth, charging towards Axel who simply dodged and sliced him in half with his axe.

"Good god, I don't like where this is going, I think I should warn the others."Axel said as he was about to scream only for tentacles to come out of the farm and grab him.

"What the!"Axel said as he tried to scream only for a tentacle to cover his mouth, pulling him in the darkness.

[To be continued]