---INTERMISSION---
[i][u]Subway - "Call to Arms"[/u][/i]

A demented portal opened within the same desolate subway that served as one of Hell's gates. This portal, however, did not belong to Thane. A horseman of death walked out of the portal, his mask seemingly absorbing the life around him... if there even was any life left. Wielding a deadly lance, the horseman let his steed slowly trot down to the center of the subway. Behind him was another of Hell's officers.

Actually, four of Hell's officers had appeared in a single area. And that usually happened in rare circumstances.

The second officer among the four was Apophis, who wore new skin for the left side of his body. He wore the skin of a virgin angel he decapitated before making it available for "fashion" uses. Unfortunately, since he accidentally lost the head, he was forced to wear his old demon skin he wore much, much earlier. With that said, he seemed to be the one responsible for bringing the horseman of death with him.

Idolon: a name to be feared. An essence of war, the immortal one who never dies. He was the bane of all warriors, for he always- ALWAYS appeared when one reached a certain level of power. In every battle, he made sure to brutalize whoever's army he just faced. Not only had he killed thousands of legendary monsters without using his steed, but he also did so with swift honor, and graceful brutality. Idolon was one of Lucifer's first hired officers, and everyone understood why.

Macbeth also walked alongside Apophis. The Ice Man, as demons liked to call him, was a peculiar case. He held a strange presence among the ranks of Lucifer's army. Not only was Macbeth incapable of using nearly all kinds of magic, but he also lacked some common sense most people would have. Nevertheless, he had one of the greatest potentials among Lucifer's hired officers. His loyalty proved to be flawless, though many demons held some sort of fearful curiosity as to why Macbeth killed demons as well.

Then there was one more officer who had not left Hell before, and just entered Earth once more. He carried a frighteningly sleek shotgun, and some sort of gas mask covered the man's face. With a dull helmet that had been left with scars from battle, boots that alarmed those who knew who he was, and disturbingly loud noises that came from his mask, Macht held a grudge against anything supernatural he faced. He created training camps for his own soldiers to train in, and massive prisons for those he captured. While he never exactly did anything to those he imprisoned, some of his soldiers responsible as prison wardens had been reported to disgrace nearly everything inside them. He had just recently done a "clean-up" by tearing apart every single one of those wardens, claiming that they failed to live up to his expectations.

Many demons, however, actually hailed Macht as one of Hell's greatest warriors. He never killed his own side's men unless he genuinely needed to take care of something. He had a creed.

This creed never applied to his enemies.

Apophis stopped in his tracks, turning to the three officers he brought with him. Clapping his hands once, he rubbed his hands together as he said, "Welcome, gentlemen... and ladies."

Lilith did a cute little front flip out of the portal, following Idolon like a good little girl. After all, she'd been told to stay by him, right? She made a small like snort and shook her head. Lulu worried too much. It wasn't like the young demoness couldn't handle herself. Still, she followed along, more than happy to learn more about the plans they were making. She nodded toward Apophis at his words with a smirk on her face. [b]"Just one."[/b] She shouted, smiling brightly.

The skin-masked deity of Chaos laughed, his eyes widened as he directly stared into Lilith's eyes. "Yes, yes," he said in a strangely high-pitched voice before continuing with a deep voice, "m'lady."

She smiled back and went to stand behind Idolon, playing with her clothes absentmindedly. [i]Creepy mother f-cker...[/i]

The man wearing skin simply threw his hands by his sides, pacing around mindlessly as he began to talk,

"Now, I am aware of how organized our plans are, in... you know."

Apophis looked Macht dead in the eye as he growled gingerly, "[i]Killing the children[/i]."

He continued with his usual, mixed voice,

"But, I have come to the conclusion that even [i][u]I[/u][/i] can make fascinatingly brilliant plans! Without further ado, I would like to present to you one of my FINEST creations... hehehehhehehehehehehheehehehehehehehehehehehehehe....."

The Deity of Chaos snapped his fingers with an extremely proud look on his face, as if a child had just finished a LEGO puzzle. Behind Apophis, something began to take form. Armor was the first thing everyone noticed about the being that just appeared. Wielding a mighty axe, the armored thing looked as if it could lunge out and kill Apophis at any moment. Idolon crossed his arms at the "creation," as if to observe how well it would fare in battle.

Thankfully, he had learned a little bit of his side's language a little more. He proceeded to ask Apophis,

"Creation has potential. Angel power...?"

The Deity of Chaos laughed. And laughed again. And again. Macbeth turned to Macht, as if he wanted to ask if Apophis was okay or something.

"[b][u]Yes.[/u][/b]"

This caught every single of of the officers' attentions. Apophis smiled like usual again, his hollow skin seemingly becoming more hollow at every second that passed: almost as if they were going to slip off of his body at any moment.

"I have... an angel. And a virgin one, at that too! A fallen angel banished from her home... I gave her a new home, however."

Apophis grinned, proudly announcing as he pointed at the suit of armor,

"And it stands RIGHT before your eyes, gentlemen! A fallen angel... a lost, poor creature that has been forever forgotten by her own kind! Lost, like some of us are. Poor, like some of us have been. It's no coincidence that we ever got to actually USE an angel instead of eating their tender, soft flesh while burning their organs to create one of the most holy bonfires Hell would ever come to see..."

The Deity of Chaos smelled the air, as if he were trying to remember the mentioned bonfire, closing his eyes as he let out of satisfied breath of joy. With that said, he walked over to the suit of armor, putting an arm over the armor's shoulders as if it were his best buddy.

"I couldn't let a cute creature die so easily," he said sorrowfully, a look of remorce falling upon his face. "It's... unfair. I know how she feels. She's gone through terrible things... just like you and I have experienced, but perhaps even more heartbreaking..."

Apophis passionately rubbed the suit of armor's helmet, letting the head move like a rusted machine that had been turned off. "Dying like that would be too much for her."

The skin-wearing man shot his eyes open, directly looking into his comrades in the eyes. Macbeth flinched for a quick moment.

"[b][u]So we should give the Academy a chance to [i]kill[/i] her, am I not correct?[/u][/b]"

Idolon tilted his head. Macht put his shotgun behind his back, crossing his arms comfortably. Macbeth stood still, wondering what Apophis meant.

"You see, we cannot kill the Academy's students," Apophis said, excited, his eyes glowing madly as blood drooled out of his mouth. "[i]We[/i] cannot kill them. But I believe that [i]THEY[/i] can kill [i]US[/i]."

Macht quietly asked, his voice sounding hollow due to his gas mask, "So you're saying that...?"

Apophis nodded madly, snapping his neck.

"YES! You and I are thinking alike! I will find a way for Athalia Academy's students to KILL this angel! Only then would their minds begin to grow corrupt. Only then will they realize that they can kill. And only then, the time for [i]us[/i] to kill [i]them[/i] comes sooner. It hastens the process without ruining my lord's plans, does it not?! RIGHT?!"

Silence fell over in the subway. Apophis, whose head was loosely hanging in front of the demons, snapped his head back into position, his calm demeanor returning again.

"And through this beautiful angel, we shall invent a beautiful game together. For our Lord and Savior. Our Lord who has granted us the chance to bask in blood together in utmost euphoria... The Beautiful Game is what I'd like to play with the Academy."

Idolon simply nodded, wondering how things would go on Apophis' end. Macht and Macbeth stood still, though Macbeth seemed a little disturbed by how Apophis had to transfer the information to him.

The skin-wearing god clenched a fist so tightly, his blood stained his entire arm as he whispered,

[i][b][u]"Tonight, we shall play with Cross' army... the Beautiful Game."[/u][/b][/i]

---END INTERMISSION---