Since the early days of mankind, the unknown proffered a profound choice. Stricken by fear and a need for security, some would turn away and find refuge and solace in the familiar, but others would take the chance for adventure. Across the ages, sailors and pioneers pushed the boundaries on the known world over land and see, venturing into uncharted territories to discover new and amazing things. As humanity grew, however, the world shrunk. In the modern age a person could travel halfway around the world in a day, look up any information about the most exotic creatures or plants on the internet, and find a map to wherever they wished to go. There were no more blank spots on the map, captioned in the olden days 'here there be dragons!' Now, scientists looked for dragons in the reaches of space or the depths of the sea, but in their eyes the earth had been conquered. Not so for the champions of humanity. Over the untouched, pristine expanse of leafy green, a military helicopter hovered along. Within, eight pairs of eyes peered down at the wilderness below, wondering what lay in wait beneath that verdant canopy. Only hours ago, an important contact let slip that heaven and hell had scrambled platoons of their respective warriors to a supposedly unremarkable spot in the open ocean, and Gilgamesh Corporation mobilized its own response team in reply. Humanity would not sit idly by, a clueless buffoon caught in the chaos of the eternal feud, as another Seal fell into the hands of another faction. In the helicopter lay a bizarre technological device with the rough dimensions of a smart car, bristling with wires and tanks. Inside its tubes, a yellow liquid glowed ever-so-slightly. Gilgamesh's mission was to find the seal and plant this gas bomb, then escape and set it off from safety. Once triggered, the alchemical necrotoxin contained within would eke into the terrain and the atmosphere, turning the Jungle Tabernacle into a wasteland so brutally, corrosively toxic that no angel, demon, or monster could set approach the Seal and live. The helicopter passed over a towering grove, the trees began to shake. With unnatural speed, a pair of gangly, grotesquely hollow limbs shot out from the leaves and snatched at the vehicle. One hand missed, but the other clamped its claws around the chopper's tail. Like a caught fish, the helicopter struggled, its violent jerks throwing around everyone inside. Despite the pilot's best efforts to wrench his bird free, however, it was reeled inexorably in. A [url=http://orig03.deviantart.net/5085/f/2014/127/4/7/untitled_by_douzen-d7hgqqc.jpg]colossus[/url] emerged from the grove, a twisted giant whose form was a mockery of humanity. Its snaggle-toothed, lamprey-like maw opened up to reveal a human face within, frozen in a permanent open-mouthed jeer, as if laughing uproariously. Its other hands reached for the helicopter; one attempted to grab it by the rotors, but the spinning blade lopped off one finger and lodged itself in the next. As the monster reeled, even while its other hands clutched the vehicle like a toy, the chopper's side door slid open to reveal a [url=http://pre07.deviantart.net/ab1e/th/pre/i/2012/034/5/4/20120203_by_ardenrey-d4ojgo2.jpg]woman[/url] with rotors of her own. Skylark soared from the interior and, after getting a few meters away, unloaded a barrage of missiles from the pod on her back. Several deviated off course and exploded against the creature's flesh, prompting it to bring its wounded hand in front of its face as protection, and the remaining missiles blew what was left of the limb into chunks. A dark blur shot from inside the captured helicopter toward Skylark, stopped as it reached her just long enough to reveal its demonic [url=http://pre02.deviantart.net/e13f/th/pre/f/2013/297/6/8/sanguine_by_ignusdei-d6rmi5f.jpg]features[/url]. Using his comrade as a springboard, Gloom launched himself toward the monster, blood swirling around him. Another hand released the helicopter in order to pluck the demon out of the air, but in mid-flight he turned around to coalesce his bloody aura into a javelin that propelled at the incoming hand with enough force to pierce straight though. Gloom then span back around, just in time to latch onto the surprised behemoth's face, bury his wrist-blade into its flesh, and start to run up and over its scalp. The skin parted with little resistance, and in only a few seconds a gushing vertical furrow had been carved into the monster's head. The resulting pain sent the freak into a frenzy, and it made to hurl the helicopter into the ground. Instead, a magic rune sprung to life in mid-air, catching the vehicle and slowing it to a crawl. With her hair and garment well mussed, [url=http://orig01.deviantart.net/6e97/f/2015/334/d/7/magician_by_tahra-d9ijny6.jpg]Viola[/url] pulled herself from the now upward-facing door. On her heels came [url=http://orig11.deviantart.net/ac1d/f/2013/303/c/a/harrian_by_serenity2200-d6sg833.jpg]Macbeth[/url], who wasted no time leaping from the stalled transport toward the enemy. Thanks to impeccable timing, he landed on one of his enemy's passing arms, and with a flourish he produced his blades before burying them in the offending limb. For the first time, the monster screeched, its high-pitched howl sending birds flapping in panic from nearby trees. From the point of penetration, a wave of petrification swept across the limb, and by the time the spread stopped the entire arm had been turned to stone. Now possessing only one fully functional arm, the creature reached toward its head to tear Gloom off. The two remaining Gilgamesh operatives extracted themselves from their helicopter to see Gloom slip onto the monster's shoulder, and its hand claw at nothing but its own bleeding gash. [url=http://pre03.deviantart.net/bc7d/th/pre/i/2015/300/7/e/the_sample_collector_by_amycornelson-d9en0jt.jpg]Jekyll[/url] snickered and threw himself into the air, apelike in his appearance and strength, to crash into the beast's petrified arm. It cracked and tore free from its socket beneath his weight, and the agony sent the monster into a mindless spasmodic fit. With a clear shot, [url=http://pre13.deviantart.net/4682/th/pre/f/2014/251/d/9/sleepers_by_marko_djurdjevic-d7yfjg2.jpg]Silver[/url] opened fire on the exposed head, ripping into the wound there to create a vulnerability. Right on cue, Gloom reappeared, standing atop the creatures cranium, and with little ceremony he drove a blade of blood into the fracture made by Silver. The sudden intrusion into the brain did not go over well with the monster, who died instantly, and with a resounding crash it toppled over. Viola, still standing atop the sideways helicopter alongside Silver, took great care as she lowered it to the ground. The other operatives made their way to the place she deposited it, forming a crude circle. Jekyll, his face hidden now that his helmet had misted up in the excitement, held a chunk of unidentifiable flesh, perhaps as a trophy. After cleaning his blades, Macbeth put them away, and stood with a wry smile on his face. Gloom, taciturn as ever, crouched in silence. After touching down, Skylark stood with her arms crossed. With her characteristic blank look etched on her features, Silver, hoisted herself from the chopper, and stood for a moment staring at the mud on her boosts before wiping them on her opposite pant legs one after another. A stirring noise from the helicopter's inside announced the survival of the pilot—though not many expected that she would have died. Hyobanshi Otsune appeared from the cockpit, sporting her everyday white augments, but as she walked toward her allies a white flash surrounded her. When it died down, it revealed her in her black battle-ready augments, looking every inch like a revenant. “Well,” she began. “That was disappointing. If you had responded two seconds sooner, Skylark, you could have kept it from damaging the rotors. As it is, we can no longer find the Seal from safety, and must wander through the jungle. Jekyll, please carry the bomb.” Tossing aside his scrap of monster, the hazmat man climbed into the helicopter to retrieve the device he'd so lovingly nicknamed 'the Defiler'. Otsune turned to examine some ruins in the distance, set into the side of a mountain. “Let us depart.” [center]-=-=-[/center] In the heart of the area of the jungle occupied by hell's demonic legion, a lone woman stood upon a promontory. Beneath the lush canopy, a series of intense skirmishes raged back and forth, but she did not deign to participate. The rabble could die as far as she was concerned; to Gomory, a premier agent of Mundus, all that mattered was the mission. For the moment, however, the pain had distracted her. She held a hand to the right side of her face, gingerly brushing the edge of the grievous wound. For her failure to secure the Eidolic Cairn, her master had chosen to punish her without mercy. The baleful axe of his execution had cleaved diagonally through Gomory's head, taking off the upper-right fourth, including her right eye and horn. Since then, of course, the demoness had regenerated, but her missing features did not reappear. A black silk bandage lay across her face, covering the damaged parts. It still hurt to worry at the area. Gomory did not blame her master. After all, a seventh of the fate of the world had laid in her hands, and she'd failed him. This punishment was hers to bear for her weakness—that much she understood completely. This time, however, would be different. Today, the Seal would belong to hell. Gritting her teeth, Gomory snapped her fingers. Beside her, three Hell Vanguards that had been standing idle snapped to attention. At her command, they flung their cloaks over her, and the entire party disappeared in a cloud of darkness with the toll of a bell. [center]-=-=-[/center] Until now, Souta had remained quiet in the presence of two demons. Not having Wrath along for the ride, however strange a Nephilim was, made him more uneasy. In a strange way he felt as though Wrath was one of the more normal paranormal beings he'd come in contact with. Now, however, he had only Lily and Fenn for company. A certain reason in particular could be found without too much reaching for why he wasn't keep to speak up, but Souta liked to think that he wouldn't have much to say anyway. A more prominent thought in his mind was why exactly he'd been thrown into a combat mission yet again when by all rights he should have been allowed to stay in the Citadel and keep working. Inspiration came to him the night before, after all, and one does not simply cut a man off right as he's gotten himself excited about a new project! Yet, the Council cared little for a lowly human's opinions -this was a presumption, for he'd thought it wiser to not voice them in the first place-, so here he was, on some jungle island looking for another Seal. This time, there was no helpful guide or hint-giving asshat to provide any kind of assistance; the agents were on their own. Fortunately, it did not take long for the hellhound to improvise. By some miracle Fenn managed to catch an important scent, and after taking a moment to marvel at the convenience of it, Souta set off after him and Lily at a vigorous trot.