The bruises hadn't healed.
Jomarie sat on a rickety wooden chair in his dimly lit room, wrapping gauze around his ribs with shaking fingers. The exorcism had left more than wounds—it had opened something inside him.
"This power… it's real," he whispered.
His phone screen buzzed again with missed calls, overdue bills, and a text from his mother asking if he had eaten.
He hadn't.
But before he could respond, the system flickered to life.
-----------------------------------------
> [Divine Starlium Active]
> [Mission Trigger: Level 1 Demon Detected — 1.1 km radius]
> [Warning: Hostile intent confirmed. Civilian casualties likely if delayed.]
> [Unlock Condition Met: Sky Piercer – Binding Seal Lifted.]
-----------------------------------------
A searing light flooded the room.
On the floor before him appeared a weapon wrapped in white cloth, pulsing with faint lightning. It hovered, waiting.
-----------------------------------------
> [Artifact: Sky Piercer – Divine Execution Dagger]
> [Passive: Executioner's Surge]
> [Style: Close Combat. Soul-Linked.]
-----------------------------------------
Jomarie slowly unwrapped it.
It was no ordinary blade. Short, sleek, and silver with glowing etchings along the hilt—like veins of light frozen in metal. The second his fingers touched it, he felt it — alive, resonating with his thoughts.
"This thing... it's not just a weapon. It's part of me."
And then the mission marker flashed.
---
Location: Quiapo, Manila — 9:42 PM
The streets were quieter than usual.
The air carried the scent of incense and roasted peanuts, but something dark slithered underneath. The storefronts were closed. The light posts flickered.
Jomarie followed the trail his system projected — a faint shimmer in the air, like a heatwave only he could see. It led to an alley beside an old internet café.
Inside, a man stood hunched over a child.
The boy was shaking, eyes wide in terror. The man — or what wore the man's skin — turned slowly. He smiled with jagged teeth too sharp for any human mouth.
"You're early, Chosen One."
The voice was layered—two tones speaking at once. Human and inhuman.
"Let the boy go."
"But I'm hungry... and his fear tastes like mangoes."
Jomarie gripped Sky Piercer.
The system chimed.
-----------------------------------------
> [Demonic Threat Level: C-Class]
> [Kill Protocol: Authorized. No civilian host detected.]
-----------------------------------------
Jomarie stepped forward.
The demon lunged. It moved unnaturally fast—joints snapping sideways, claws out.
He ducked instinctively, years of street fights kicking in, and slashed upward with Sky Piercer. The blade hummed as it connected with flesh.
Black blood sprayed.
The demon screamed—not from pain, but rage.
"You cut me—you dare?!"
Jomarie didn't respond. He dashed forward again, Sky Piercer glowing brighter with every motion.
-----------------------------------------
> [Skill Unlocked: Triple Quick Slash – Cooldown: 10 seconds]
-----------------------------------------
He struck once.
Then again.
Then again — three blinding cuts in less than a second.
The demon staggered back, one arm severed.
"You filthy little—"
"In Jesus' name…"
Jomarie raised the blade.
"Amen."
He plunged the dagger deep into the demon's chest.
A burst of divine light erupted through the alley — not fiery, not explosive. It was clean. Final. Righteous.
The demon's body turned to ash mid-scream, crumbling like burnt paper.
The child collapsed into Jomarie's arms, sobbing. Alive.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
-----------------------------------------
> [First Demon Kill Confirmed]
> [Artifact Bond Strengthened: Sky Piercer – Passive Enhanced]
> [XP Gained: 114]
> [New Skill Unlocked: Teleportation (Cooldown: 5 sec)]
-----------------------------------------
Jomarie didn't speak.
He sat there, knees in blood and ash, the weight of what he'd done sinking in.
He hadn't just fought.
He hadn't just survived.
He had taken a life — a demon's life — in the name of something far bigger than himself.
And for the first time since his rebirth…
He didn't feel powerless.
---
Elsewhere…
Inside a blacked-out limousine parked outside a luxury casino, Tzeraxx — Sin-Bearer of Envy — watched the same footage through a demonic surveillance mirror.
He tilted his head.
"Sky Piercer, huh?"
"Then let's see how you handle your own blade... used against you."
The war had begun.
And the demons were no longer watching in silence.