Silence welcomed Axel back into the realm of consciousness. Opening his eyes, Axel sat up to find himself surrounded by ashes and bodies. The camp had been burned to the ground. Any tent that was still standing was engulfed in flames and would soon join the other tents in becoming piles of ash.

Dismembered bodies lay strewn across the ground and were evidence of the violent raid that had taken place just hours before. The sun was rising, and Axel was alone. Utterly and completely alone. Hakken and Eryx were nowhere to be found, and Callon...

Axel's heart hurt as he remembered Callon being trapped within the electrified net and taken by the forces of Hades. Axel's head swooned as he rose to his feet. The lump on his where he had made contact with the hard ground when he was thrown aside by the explosion thumped with pain.

Grimacing, Axel studied his surroundings once more before slowly walking through the remains of the camp. The gun of a human soldier lay between a female's limp fingers, and Axel closed his eyes in a moment of silence for the fallen soldier before collecting the gun and checking how many bullets it had according to Callon's instructions.

After checking that the gun had three shots left, Axel continued through the camp scavenging for more bullets and supplies. He was lucky enough to collect five more bullets from other discarded guns lying about. By the time he had filled the gun's magazine, he had made his way toward the entrance to the camp where he saw the extent of the attack. The military base had been evacuated, and not a single living soldier remained. Only lifeless bodies now resided in the burning base.

As he approached the end of the camp and neared the entrance to the base, a hand sticking out from under a pile of ash caught Axel's attention. Axel's eyes widened when he recognized the ring on the male's hand. It was his father's wedding ring!

Racing to the ash-covered hand, Axel began to frantically dig through the dark dust until he uncovered the rest of the body. Sure enough, to Axel's terror, he had found his father.

"Dad!" Axel cried out as he lifted his father's head into his lap and cradled his dad. "Why are you here? Why...why?! Why did I have to lose you, too?"

Axel's father had woken from his drunken sleep at the sounds of explosions filling the city the evening of the invasion. Sobered from a whole day's rest, his father had raced out of the apartment in search of his son. Finding Axel's cram school to be blown to bits, his father searched for an emergency relief sight in hopes that his son had made it to a safe zone.

Axel's father had arrived at the camp the night before Axel and the three students from Dawning High had made it there and had frantically searched the entire camp for his missing son. When the camp had been attacked, his father helped get as many people out of the camp as possible and died saving a young girl from being taken.

"Why??!" Axel's cry filled the grey morning as he mourned for his father. Why had he lost everyone he cared about? Why had Hades taken everything good in his life from him? When was this endless suffering going to end? Would it ever end? Could it...ever end?

Tears streamed down Axel's face as he cried over his father's ash-covered body. Rustling from a nearby pile of tattered, burning tents caught Axel's attention as a rabid demon emerged from the rubble. Seeing the demon sparked a deep rage within Axel.

At first thought, he wanted revenge. He wanted to make Hades suffer just as he was suffering at that moment. He wanted to burn Hades to the ground and rid the universe of its murderous demons. However, when he blinked and looked at the rabid being again, Axel realized that the demon walking toward him was a regular citizen of Earth. She was just as much a victim of Hades' evil as he was.

Shot with a bullet infused with Hades' essence, she had been forced to turn rabid and was robbed of her sanity. She was now a monster. However, she was a monster that Axel must eliminate in order to survive. Although he had lost those most precious to him, Axel still burned with a desire for justice. And he needed to find Hakken and Eryx.

Should they have been taken by Hades just as Callon had been, Axel knew that they must be undergoing immense pain and suffering, and he could not let Hades take any more from him. In the short time he had spent with Hakken, Eryx, and Callon, Axel had become greatly attached to the three. And now, he was determined to find and save them.

So, Axel lifted the gun in his hand and aimed it at the demon's neck. Aiming carefully, Axel knew that each shot counted, so he drew a steady breath before slowly squeezing the trigger. Axel released a sigh when the demon dropped to the ground as the bullet severed her cervical cord.

Closing his eyes, Axel lowered his head when he heard the thud of her body hitting the scorched earth. Rest now.

The sound of the gun firing stirred the horde of rabid demons that had been waiting silently for prey to come their way. Axel's eyes widened when the sounds of rustling surrounded him. Swiveling his head every which way, Axel realized that he was being swarmed by demons on all sides. I've got to get out of here!

Gripping the gun in his hand, Axel sprung to his feet and began dashing for the border of the camp. Locked on the half-angel, the rabid demons adjusted their course to follow Axel through the camp and into the war-torn city.

Axel's lungs burned as he ran for his life. There were at least ten rabid demons in pursuit, and several more emerged from the fallen city and joined the chase as Axel raced between the barely-standing skyreachers.

Knowing there were more demons than bullets, Axel used the gun sparingly. Instead, he relied on his speed and hid wherever he could. However, any time he thought he had finally found a place to take shelter in, he would soon be discovered by the rabid demons.

Running and hiding, Axel spent the entirety of the day trying his best to evade the horde of demons that was intent on hunting him down. However, one can only evade for so long. Axel was exhausted by the time the sun had set. Finding temporary shelter in a parking garage, Axel counted the four bullets he had left before fleeing the garage upon being discovered yet again.

Blood seeped from wounds in Axel's arms and legs he had gained from close encounters with the demons. Limping as he ran, Axel clutched his side where he had been clawed by a rabid demon as he managed to escape the horde while the sun was setting.

Now that it was dark, Axel knew he would have to move very carefully. Demons had great night vision, and he was not blessed with such a trait. If he moved too obviously, he would be discovered in a heartbeat. Grimacing from the pain in his side, Axel leaned against the wall of a skyreacher as he caught his breath.

His breathing was haggard from the endless running and fighting, and he felt faintish from lack of water. Although he had finished the bottles of water the emergency camp had provided him, running for the whole day had completely drained Axel of his hydration and energy.

A snarl to his right alerted Axel to his location being discovered by a new demon, and he moved to leave his hiding spot. But the sudden appearance of five demons cut him off. He was cornered.

Axel was stuck against the wall of the skyreacher as the demons closed in on him. Heart racing a thousand beats per second and frantic to survive, Axel closed his eyes and mustered up the remainder of his strength. If he were to do something to get him out of the dire situation, it would be then.

Feeling a burning sensation ignite within him, Axel let all the trauma, pain, and despair flow through him in a desperate cry. The moment the cry ripped from his throat, the concrete behind him shattered, and shards of the sharp material flew into the demons rushing toward him. Snarls and growls filled the night as the five demons were crushed and pierced by the concrete shards.

With the sudden burst of telekinesis, Axel's body immediately became void of all energy, and he slumped to the ground. He did not even have enough to lift a single finger. So, when ten more demons responded to the snarls and growls of the fallen five, Axel knew that there was nothing else he could do. He had tried his best to make it through the night. He even unlocked some of his abilities, but alas, it was not enough.

Axel was about to close his eyes and wish for a quick death when a sharp tzing raced through the air. A thin, blue object raced past him and whipped through the horde of demons that had gathered. Axel's eyes widened as all the demons fell to the ground lifeless. A sword had flown through them and severed all their cervical cords.

The blue blade then whizzed through the air and flew toward a man who was walking toward Axel through the dusty haze of the torn city. He wore the blue and silver uniform of an angel of the Heavens, and he caught the sword effortlessly, bringing it down by his side as he walked through the bodies of the fallen demons.

Axel's desire to live reignited as he saw the man walking towards him. Don't leave me here...please. Summoning the strength he did not have, Axel managed to stand up in a slumped position and took a step toward the man in an effort to show his desperation. However, the moment he took the step, he faltered.

But instead of hitting the cold, hard ground, strong arms reached out and caught him. Looking up through droopy eyes, Axel saw a pair of cool, blue eyes staring down at him. They were distant and steely, emotionless. However, the instant Axel's silver orbs met the angel's clear blue eyes, a symphony of emotions swarmed through Axel.

Longing, passion, pain...and confusion. Axel could not say where these emotions were birthed from. But they were there. And they were vibrant. It was like nothing he had felt before.

Allowing the emotions to consume him, Axel feebly reached his hand up and cupped the man's cheek. The man's blue eyes faltered for a split second when Axel's hand touched his caramel skin before quickly returning to their cool, distant gaze as he continued to gaze down at the boy in his arms.

Feeling his consciousness retreating and his energy fading, Axel managed a weak, "Help...me..." before his hand fell from the man's face and he entered the realm of unconsciousness.