~ Chroma Kosetsu

1.

Japan, Tokyo - The year 2166

 "Chroma! Let's go or we will be late!" a call, made by a sweet voice that at the present time, he can only remember with nostalgia.

 "Now Mom!" after answering his mother's call, a 6 years old boy, under the name of Chroma Kosetsu ran towards his mother. The two of them were preparing to go to church like they usually did, every Sunday.

 His mother, Nicole Kosetsu was Romanian, and his father, Taketa Kosetsu was Japanese. They were living together in Tokyo like a happy family, with Chroma's mother being a True History enthusiast, going regularly to church, while Chroma was following in her footsteps, hoping that in the future he could become a teacher of True History, able to spend his entire life learning everything there is about religion. They were a really happy family, but the father Taketa was never taking his part seriously. He would leave the house and disappear for days, not talking about what he was doing. 

 That was until one day... The day when his hidden actions were unveiled.

 Coming home from the church on a Saturday night was Chroma and his mother. They were really happy every time they went to church, feeling God's embrace. 

 But their happiness wouldn't last forever...

 Flames... Shouts and screams... That's everything Chroma was able to hear at the time. The interior of their house was looking like Hell itself... 

 "I am sorry Chroma... Please... God. I don't know what your plans are, but at least... Save my baby..." said Chroma's mother who was lying in the sacrifice symbol that was drawn on the floor with her very own blood. 

 "Shut up!" screamed one of the many hooded figures that were surrounding the crying woman. But before he could take any action, there was one man, who was able to silence her. Kicking her in the belly with all his force was none other than the one she thought was her partner. Taketa Kosetsu.

"Good, good!!! You've proven yourself worthy of being one of us! Taketa! Now take this sacrificial knife and get your well-deserved power from the one and only power in the world!" shouted one of the many cultists who seemed to be a rank higher than the rest.

 Handing him the knife, Taketa closed the distance between himself and his wife, and without even letting her have any last words, he shoved the knife into her chest, laughing hysterically. 

 "N-No... Mom?" not comprehending what he witnessed, dragging his bloody body on the floor towards the now dead body of his mother, was Chroma. Close to death, he didn't even care about his own wounds and was still crawling towards her.

 "Go away stupid brat!" shouted one of the cultists who were watching the ritual. And just like the father did with his wife, the cultist kicked the young boy right in the gut, throwing him into the corner of the room.

 But his resolve didn't bend... He continued to crawl towards his mother, while the cultists were having their way into the same house he used to live in. 

 "Why...? Mom was a good person... Don't good people deserve better...? Answer me... God!" 

 A desperate shout,

 A call to the Heavens,

 And snow falling during the middle of summer.

The fire provoked by the cultists burned out instantly, the floor was freezing, and the weirdest thing... Snowflakes fell inside the house on a hot summer night. 

"I wish you'd all just DIE!" 

Another desperate shout...

The following morning, one silhouette entered the half-burned house. Many corpses lying on the floor, cold air emanated from the house, and snowy weather... This was what the sudden visitor witnessed when he stepped inside the house. 

 "Excorcist number 57 reporting: We realized too late. The number of victims: 25. Twenty-two from the Cult of Beelzebub, one adult man, one woman and one kid." but just as he was reporting the situation, the snow started falling even stronger. Taking a closer look at Chroma, the exorcist heard something really unsettling.

"You exorcists are a joke..." 

 Bewildered by these words let out by a 6-year-old kid who somehow survived with critical injuries, the exorcist changed his report.

"Exorcist number 57 reporting: Change the number of victims to 24, deliver help immediately. Healing Saint Soul Type Required!"

 Dark Alley, Romania - the year 2176

"Tch... So this is what it was. I should've known that you were acting way too weird, Miss Rebecca!" shouted Chroma whose chest was split open by the dark claw of a demon in flesh and bones.

"Now now, don't blame this cute girl for abducting your naive self! You see... She is just our wonderful puppet!" the one making this remark slowly approached Chroma from behind the demon. Next to her was Rebecca who was standing there silently.

"Tch... That robe you are wearing... The cult of Beelzebub!" Chroma was able to instantly recognize it... After all, it was the very same cult that destroyed his childhood and his family.

"Ding dong! You really are naive, Kosetsu Chroma! Or maybe our pawn here just did a very good job of abducting you..." said the cultist while continuously patting Rebecca's head. However. she was just staring into the void, silently.

"So? What did you do to her?" asked Chroma casually

"Hey hey, what are you asking? Shouldn't you be more preoccupied with that hole in your chest? But don't worry... This girl is a Saint Soul Type, moreover a healing one. We need you alive after all... The Bringer of Snowfall." 

"Hah, so that's what you're after... Just like back then..." muttered Chroma, with a painful tone.

"Indeed... You don't even realize your worth, Chroma Kosetsu! Not only did you destroy our plan 10 years ago, but you also took hold of it!"

"What do you-?" 

"Shut up!!! Now please, just faint so we can take you back without any problems! You see, this place is full of patrolling exorcists, so we'd like to avoid a direct confrontation."

"Pff..." Chroma let out a small sigh, followed by a quiet giggle.

"What was that?" asked the dumbfounded cultist.

"Well, you say you wanted to avoid a direct confrontation, but you decided to hunt me out of all the students... Using as bait a girl that you couldn't even hypnotize properly." then, looking at Rebecca, the cultists saw her pained expression. Even though she stood silent the entire time, tears were streaming down her face continuously.

"You useless-!" and without even thinking twice, the cultist slapped Rebecca, throwing her on the ground.

"Didn't you want to see your parent once again?! Huh?" he added.

"Now you've done it... You piece of..." Saying this, Chroma stepped back, leaving the cultist dumbfounded. The hole was clearly there... With such a wound, he shouldn't have much time left. But there was no blood. On the other hand, the cultist never thought of looking at why the demon he was using was standing so still... But then he finally understood.

"That useless bastard... He became a popsicle!"

"You see now... As you said, I am The Bringer of Snowfall!" after this call, the weather around them changed, and snowflakes fell slowly to the ground.

"Of course, I didn't underestimate you... Not that much at least... You see, the higher-ups of the cult are smart. They knew we wouldn't be able to contain you with one low-rank demon." then, at his snap of fingers, many pentagrams appeared on the ground below Chroma. Dozens of demons appeared from those said pentagrams, each and every single one of them scarier than the other.

"Wow, you actually aren't scared of the other exorcists patrolling these streets, aren't you?" asked Chrona

"Oh, don't you worry... I was just joking before, though if I don't hurry they might find out... About their colleagues' corpses that is..."

"So you've prepared the terrain beforehand huh?"

"It's so many of them... I have to escape this situation. But how can I also save Rebecca? If these guys know my weakness, I am done for..." thought Chroma while looking around him.

"Also, mister Chroma, you better are not hoping for any help. You see... I think you realized, but this alley is covered by a demonic barrier. Nobody will find hear you from here..." explained the cultist.

"So that's why I felt shivers down my spine when I came here..." thought Chroma. He really didn't realize that he entered a barrier at first.

"Now, what about coming with me without making a fuss? Bringer of Snowfall?" 

"What about... No?" and with this last line, he engaged the demons surrounding him. A huge wave of snow appeared instantly, covering most of the demons in it. Some managed to leave it, while others were already frozen to the bone.

"I see how it is... The ones that died were no match. But these ones are... Fire Demons" muttered Chroma.

 One of them charged recklessly at Chroma, slashing him with his claw, tearing his body apart, but even without his lower half of the body, Chroma retaliated with a swift jab, knocking that demon to the ground. 

"Those attacks won't work, you see... I am made out of snow!" shouted Chroma just before rushing, not towards the demons, but towards the one leading them. 

 He launched a powerful snow attack, aiming at the cultist, but two factors were against him. First, he didn't take into account that the Fire Demons would defend the cultist to that extent, completely thawing off his snow, and second, the fact that the cultist was such a coward...

"You... Really used her as a human shield. You have no dignity!" shouted Chroma. His attack was stopped by the demon, but if it hadn't, he would've definitely killed Rebecca.

"Hahahahah! You should take a look at your face! What will you do now?! Bringer of Snowfall?! Will you just... Melt completely?"

 And then, looking behind, he saw the incredibly large-scale fire attack that the demons were preparing for him.

"Crap-" he didn't manage to dodge it completely, and as a result, his right leg was no more. 

"Wow, your Soul Type is truly incredible! No blood is spilling from that leg! But I guess it still really hurts!" shouted the cultist while laughing hysterically.

"It won't heal in time... Damn it... Did I fail?" thought Chroma with a pained expression, lying on the ground.

 "Get him..." said the cultist, ready to wrap off the mission.

The demons were slowly approaching the now defenceless Chroma that was still trying to fend them off using his snow. However, the fire was his biggest weakness, and the fire demons' very cores were made out of fire, making Chroma really ineffective against them.

 "Is this the end...?" muttered Chroma

However, like thunder, holding a pitch-black katana in his right hand was running Paul Tryphon, slashing the demons until he got right next to Chroma. 

 "Huf, this is exhausting... Are you alright, Mr Chroma?" asked Paul

 "P-Paul? What are you doing here?!" asked Chroma astonished by Paul's entrance.

"Well, Theodor said that you were acting weird, so I stalked you the entire day," he said with a straight, innocent face as if it was a normal thing.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" 

"It wouldn't have been spying if I did." another dumb answer.

 Then, looking at him, Chroma realized. 

"Will you be alright?" he asked. It was obvious... Paul was not even taking part in the practical lessons, after running towards Chroma, he already looks horrible. He is panting and heavily breathing, and sweat is streaming down his forehead.

"It's alright... I can do it. But I'll have to sleep a lot in tomorrow's classes."

 And after saying this, he started his show off against the demons. Decapitating them was enough to kill them, but weirdly enough, even the ones that had superficial bruises weren't doing too well. In the end, he managed to get rid of most demons around.

"Paul! Focus on the cultist! He is the one pulling the strings!" shouted Chroma

"Roger that!" and with a sudden change of pace, his speed doubled. It was instant, he arrived in front of the cultist and slashed. A demon managed to step in front of him in time, but the cultist was caught totally off guard. He couldn't even use his "puppet" as a human shield anymore. The demon that stepped in front of Paul was split in two, and the tip of Paul's katana managed to scratch the cultist's cheek.

"Y-You brat!" with this desperate shout, the cultist kicked Paul right in the gut, knocking him a few meters ahead, right next to Chroma. His nausea has reached a critical point after using too much speed, making him unable to react in time to the cultist's desperate attack. 

 However, using his foot to kick Paul, made the cultist lose balance, falling over to the ground.

"I-I can't get up... Why is it so hard to move?" muttered the cultist.

 After managing to get up from the ground, hardly breathing, Paul explained:

"I am an Artillery Soul Type, my created weapon is the Weighted Black Katana. Getting cut by it triples your weight and also adds more weight based on how much damage the cut has done to you. That superficial cut you've taken just added 150KGs to your previous weight, most of which is in your left cheek now..." 

"Wow... You are incredible, Mr Paul!" shouted Chroma, bewildered by this power of his. 

"Tch, kill him off! Fire Demons!" desperately shouted the cultist.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you... Even if I die, the effects can't be undone unless I want to," added Paul

"What...? Wait, demons! Stop!" but it was too late. The Demons launched their fire attack together, engulfing both Chroma and Paul.

 However, melting continuously after the fire dispersed was... 

"Snow Igloo... Damn this is exhausting," said Chroma coming out unharmed from the fierce attack.

 "Now that was incredible, and also... Your leg is back," said Paul astonished by Chroma's ability.

 "If I have time to prepare, I can counter such mediocre fire attacks by continuously changing the snow from my Snow Igloo while it thaws. It is really tiring though..." explained Chroma, and then he added: 

"This is Check Mate, Beelzebub Cult!"

"Tch... Ha, Haha, Hahahaha! Do you think it is over? You didn't even see my Soul Type in Action!" hearing this, both Chroma and Paul take back a fighting stance.

"Hole!" after shouting this word, a pitch-black hole appeared under him, and the cultist slowly sank into it.

"What the-?" both boys were dumbfounded.

"Bye-bye, Bringer of Snowfall, Weighted Katana! I'll let my superiors know about your whereabouts!" but before he could fully sink into the hole, one shining arrow flew right through Paul and Chroma, decimating all the demons that were on standby behind them, and stopping right in the cultist's gut. With this, the Hole he created vanished.

"What... What is this!?! It hurts, damn it!" while the cultist was whining and screaming in pain, from the other end of the alley, came one mysterious person, which could be said to be the one saving the day.

"Who are you?!" shouted Chroma after turning around.

 However, Paul was way calmer, realizing who this mysterious presence was.

"Don't be so harsh, mister Chroma Kosetsu." said the tall figure that appeared. Brown-haired with blue eyes, wearing a white suit and glasses, his resemblance to someone Chroma knew was striking.

"Long time no see, Stephan..." said Paul with a low tone.

"Indeed, I didn't even get to greet you at the Academy... Paulie."

"Paulie...? Who's Paulie?" was thinking Chroma while looking from Paul to Stephan.

"Let me introduce you, Chroma. This is Stephan Tryphon... My cousin and Theodor's older brother. He is also in his last year at the Academy and is the current Student representative.

"T-The Student Represenatative?! I-I am Chroma Kosetsu! It's an honour to meet you, sir!" 

"No need for such formalities, mister Chroma. I've heard about you. Now... Won't the young lady silently watching introduce herself as well?"

"U-Um, she can't do-" tried to say Chroma but was immediately interrupted by Stephan who said: "Of course, she can't... The one giving her orders is currently crying in pain on the ground. She is under strong hypnosis currently. Probably this guy's demonic power. We'll need to take her to the Academy to undo the curse."

"Y-Yes, sir!" awkwardly answered Chroma, while Paul was almost falling asleep standing.

"Well, I've already talked to some of the Academy's superiors and agents, so I'll get some help here with this guy and the girl. I take it that the two of you are unharmed, am I right?"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"Well, you can say that..."

"Good, then I'd like you to go home now... I'll take care of the rest. And also, mister Chroma..."

"Yes?" 

"Take care... We'll interrogate this guy and find out his reasons, but until then, try not to go out this late at night."

"Uh, sure."

"Okay, you are good to go!"