Julien: The Shadow Viper

“Here’s what I think.” Julien sat near the top of the stairs and listened to their parents’ chatter. “We need to target different points. I think Julien needs to study more advanced material… ” “No, I think it’s just a waste of their time, studying calculus. They need to focus most on what the exams are testing… ” “Well, we can never be too careful-” Julien sighed as they listened to their parents’ chatter. They walked to their room and collapsed on their bed. “I want to be free in the blue sky,” they thought to themselves, looking up at the roof of their bedroom. “Soaring through the air like a kite with a broken string.” The food poisoning incident that killed them occurred in the inner city. Their cousin took them shopping in Shibuya, and they were curious about some street food there. Later that day, they collapsed and threw up- regurgitating blood. They were in the hospital for two weeks. Some kind of intestinal parasite was in the meat they’d eaten, and it had quickly worn away at their body. Of course, their parents were anxious- if they’d lived, they would be very behind on studying for college entrance exams. And if they died, they would be dead. “I want to be free in the blue sky,” they thought to themselves, looking up at the roof of the hospital. “Soaring through the air like a kite with a broken string.” Their stay was unimaginably painful. Their parents were by their side for all of it, begging with the doctors to save their life. In the end, Julien apologized for not being a better child, and said many other things they couldn’t remember. But one of them was wishing they’d done something with their life, even if they didn’t expect it to be so short. Their final request was to see the sky again. As they did, they closed their eyes, trying to calm themselves of the pain wracking their stomach. It subsided in that moment. But Julien never got the chance to thank their parents and the nurses who brought them out. Julien died under that blue sky. The sky in Elysium stretched as far as the eye could see. They could stretch their arms out to match its width from horizon to horizon and still not comprehend the size of it. What a wondrous world! they thought. So when the skies above the Stronghold turned red, Julien made a vow by the sky’s vastness and blueness- they would defend the Stronghold- their friends, their Block, the last bastion of humanity, and all of the people living inside- with all of their might. “You’re defending civilians?” Their fiery-haired girlfriend widened her eyes at the orders. She was with them in the military barracks, stocking up for the battle with her selection of arrows- the front would be arriving in a mere half hour, and she had been assigned to guard the wall keeping the angels out of the city. “That’s what the Daemon Corps want me to do.” Julien pointed to their pager. “Sorry, looks like we won’t be together for this battle, Brooke.” “That sucks,” Brooke said, her eyes turning down. “I wanted to be your fire support.” “Yes, ranged units are being prioritized in the front line.” Their lanky, dark-skinned friend walked up to them, holding a large sniper rifle in his hands. His collar had a small paw print patch on it, showing he was a Shifter. “Julie, promise you’ll come back safe.” “I promise, Arthur.” Julien clapped their fist over their chest- the Resistance’s symbol of loyalty and fealty. “I promise too.” He nodded. “Brooke?” Brooke scoffed and flipped her hair back. “I’m not dying.” “Overconfident as ever,” Julien snorted. “But I trust your confidence.” “See you soon, then.” Brooke smiled at her two friends. “Julie, don’t you dare die on me.” Julien watched as the skies turned red. Every little black dot in the sky which she could see now- each one was an angel. A demigod, bound to a human, inevitably greater than them. And there was a whole army of them, flying towards the city with rapid force and one objective only- to decimate the Stronghold and take back their humans. “It’s begun,” whispered the commander through their earpiece. A few seconds later, some of the dots began to glow, before they fell towards the Stronghold like meteors. They were “divers”- those who chose to fly high above the Stronghold and fly down at rapid speed, trying to slip past the Stronghold’s defenses and slay their human before the entire Stronghold was caught in the throes of war.. “Commander, something’s wrong!” A shout came in a minute later. “The divers- they’re much larger than before! We have visual on one- it’s… multiple angels in one meteor! Commander, do you copy?! The divers are no longer solo angels! This is unprecedented behavior!” Julien’s eyes widened. What?! Because if there was one thing that these angels never ever did, it was work together. The commander rang in again. “Copy. Daemon Corps, we have our work cut out for us. Air support, eliminate the intruders. Ground support, keep any landers away from civilians.” Julien nodded. “Copy.” A particularly large red ball of flame landed in the middle of a plaza. Julien bolted towards the source. As they did, another member of the Daemon Corps followed- black-clad, accompanied by a daemon of his own. “Kellos, give me a lift!” The other pair, a gunslinger and a large golden bird, acted in sync- the soldier holding their hand up, and the bird grabbing it between its talons, before lifting the human up into the air. The soldier fired down upon the blast of fire before landing on the roof of a building. “Six left,” the gunslinger said, through comms. “Sumi!” Julien shouted. Sumi, a small two-headed snake, leapt into their hand. As they entered the plaza, they thrust their hand forward. Spines of ink, like black lightning, shot forward out of their fingers. The blast blew away three angels, while the rest immediately turned their attention onto the defenseless warrior. Julien was by no means a long-range assassin. In video game language, they were a glass cannon melee DPS- able to deal heavy amounts of damage from close quarters, but very vulnerable in turn. “Three angels? No problem,” Julien said. “We can take those odds.” One of them shapeshifted, turning into a green lion. They bounded towards Julien, who quickly read their body language and dodged to the side. They unsheathed their katana as the two swiped past each other, slicing through its hide. The lion stumbled and struggled as Julien turned around and struck again. killing the beast for good. They felt a knife at their throat. Six months ago, they would have been terrified, but like the warrior they were, they could feel the assassin’s intentions as the blade drew close. Kill the warrior, swiftly, wordlessly. The angel suddenly shouted in pain and fell backwards. Julien felt it- a spike of black ink had pierced through his heart, from Julien’s back, one more piercing his hand as well, forcing him to drop the knife. Sumi too had grown adept at using Julien’s own body for his attacks, and had become good at thinking on the spot. “Good job!” Julien praised the little snake as it manifested again in their hand. The third angel was being dispatched by the gunslinger with the golden bird. The two were tag-teaming the angel, who could barely keep up with their movements. First, the human attacked, then the bird- over and over and over until the angel managed to land a solid hit on the human. At that moment, the bird spread its wings and fired a searing beam of light onto the angel’s body, burning it to ash. “Nice!” Julien gave a thumbs-up to the pair. Kellos and his master took to the skies again, gliding over the buildings. “Block 43 here, status update?” Julien asked, through their pager, watching the two fly away. “We’ve cleaned up a large meteor, can’t see anything else in the area.” “We’ve identified two high-risk targets near your location. One’s hunting people inside a building, and one’s an origami sniper.” “Origami sniper?” Julien asked. “That’s what Ground Support is saying, I don’t know-” “Sniper!” Julien recognized the gunslinger’s voice. “I have visual on a sniper, wielding paper bullets of some kind-” Julien watched as three small white paper bullets suddenly flew past the gunslinger and his golden bird. Three more, as the gunslinger readied his gun. He fired once, twice, missing both times. The “origami sniper”, an angel with small wings and long white hair, silently watched the gunslinger. From its hair, it produced a small square piece of paper. In an instant, the paper folded itself into a bullet, before the angel deftly tossed it like a dart- straight through the bird’s heart. Kellos tried desperately to flap his wings, to stay aloft in the air, but Julien, Sumi, and the gunslinger could only watch in horror as green blood poured out of the bird’s chest. He desperately flapped his wings, calling and screeching in pain, before his struggle ceased. The gunslinger was flying 10 meters in the air at the time, and with Kellos’ death, his master had nothing keeping him aloft. Julien watched him fall to the ground and hit the pavement with a wet THUD. Sumi rarely spoke in tense situations. But in this case, his little voice rang out. “Oh no,” he whispered. “That origami sniper just took out a gunslinger and his daemon,” Julien whispered through their pager. They narrowed their eyes at the angel before hiding behind a building. “Someone else needs to take care of it. I’m not equipped for this.” “Copy,” said the person on the other end of their pager. Julien glanced at the pair of corpses lying on the ground. The gunslinger’s body was already fading away, dissolving slowly into motes of light. Those motes of light were a human’s soul leaving its body. They would float into the sky and disappear, eventually reforming back in their angel’s world alongside their body. No one ever truly died here in Elysium, after all. Save for daemons… The relationships between humans and the extraplanar “daemons” were like the relationships a human might have with a very intelligent pet, like the kinds fantasized about in certain sci-fi and fantasy video game worlds. Humans needed daemonic magic to protect their way of life. Those rare daemons who could talk said that they needed the vitality of Elysium to revitalize their home worlds. And of course, daemonic witches got along swimmingly with their daemons, to the point that the two usually went everywhere together. A loving bond of friendship- were it not for the fact that daemons could never resurrect themselves, and some angels took a special joy in killing them- their humans’ best friends. Kellos, the bird whose bond of trust with its master let them kill many angels before now, would never be seen flying through the sky again, even if his master returned. Julien turned and ran away from the sniper. “Daemon Corps 43-03.” The shout from the pager surprised Julien, who froze in their tracks. “Yes?” Julien asked. “Need an emergency rescue. Head northwest, and look for a Manalusa dragon shielding a large number of people. The nearby building has been infiltrated, and many casualties have been reported.” “Yessir!” Julien spotted the large green dragon immediately, spreading its wings over a group of trembling humans while casting a translucent shield to protect them. Manalusa, one of the many worlds that daemons hailed from, was home to dragons that could use their energy reserves to create metaphysical barriers. “Hey, be careful in there!” its master shouted, watching Julien bound past. “The angel in there- it took out every member that went inside,” the Daemon Corps member said. “But it hasn’t attacked me yet, meaning it’s targeting someone.” “Understood,” Julien said. “Looks like there are some angels who are still outright targeting their bound humans. Sumi, let’s be careful.” “Of course, Julien,” Sumi said. The two began to climb up the stairs, listening closely for any signs of movement. There was no one on the first floor of the building, which appeared to be some kind of hotel. No one on the second floor, either. “Julien,” Sumi whispered, “Should I scout ahead?” “No,” Julien said. “Stay close. If anything attacks, I need you to protect me.” On the steps to the third floor, the two suddenly heard voices. The voices of a woman and a young, nervous-sounding child. “Be quiet,” Julien whispered, pinpointing the source of the noise behind a slightly ajar door. They slowly walked up, stealthy as a snake, before peering into the room. An angel, purple-winged with long hair, was holding the tip of a sword to the neck of a boy. The metal protruded from its flesh, like a second, pointy hand growing like a branch from the arm. “Tell me you will not betray me for a daemon again.” The angel’s voice was harsh. “Why?!” The boy asked the angel. “Why would you just kill her like that?!” The angel turned its head slightly before thrusting the sword closer to the boy’s throat. Julien's eyes traveled to the ground. What they saw shocked them. The body of a bright blue feline- Mystrasian, probably- lay crumpled on the ground, its neck ending in a stump. Lying nearby was the missing head. The daemon's face was wrinkled with rage, its pointed teeth dripping with purple blood- a trail of which led to the angel’s wounded arm. The blade of the sword still hung millimeters away from the child's throat. The angel was aware of their presence. There was a good chance it wanted to dispatch them first. "That cat daemon's head was sliced clean off before he realized what was happening. And that sword is an extension of its body. This angel's power has to be the ability to cut through anything with one swipe." Julien gripped their katana. "I’m dead if I make one wrong move." "You have me at your side." Sumi stuck out her neck. "We have to find a way." Julien backed away and thought to themselves, calculating scenarios in their head. Somehow, I have to avoid her attack and kill her at the same time. Is there a way to do that with Sumi’s abilities? Their eyes widened. There was something they could do, but… Julien nodded. "Sumi, I have an idea. It'll hurt, but please humor me." "Of course." The trapped human’s eyes widened as a proud samurai, sporting a blue kimono, black hakama pants, and a sheathed katana, stepped into the room. "No honorable warrior attacks a defenseless person," they proclaimed. "He’s unarmed." The angel kept her sword trained on the human's throat, barely turning her head to look at the intruder. "What makes you think he was unarmed?" she asked. "You killed a daemon, not an attack dog. It attacked you of its own free will, not because any human asked it to." "Daemons are an invasive species in Elysium. Fit for extermination and nothing more." She turned around. "Humans, angels, and the dead of the Earth populate the land we call Elysium. That is our harmony. Other things do not belong here." "Demons think and feel. How do you think that dead one felt when you attacked its friend?! It risked its life to save him, and it paid the ultimate price. Humans know the loyalty of animals, and even animals don't abandon the humans they care about." "Are you done?" The angel sighed. "You're getting on my last nerve, human." "I'll kill you." Julien’s hand hovered over their katana’s blade as the angel readied its sword. Suddenly, a snake-shaped shadow darted out from the corner of the ceiling, its fangs aimed at the angel's neck. The angel whipped its body around and slashed above its head, cutting clear through the snake's neck as its sword effortlessly carved a wide arc into the wall. The snake hissed as its head faded into the aether, with the stump fading away as well. The trap had been sprung. A second shadow suddenly emerged from below the floorboards and caught the angel's neck in its fangs. The angel's eyes widened as it realized it had been bested, before it fell back onto the ground, dead. Purple blood pooled over the ground, mixing with the electric blue blood of the dead daemon. The shadows of six snakes coalesced on the ceiling, before falling onto Julien’s head as one singular snake. “Good work, Sumi.” Julien disentangled the eager snake from their hair and stuffed it into their pouch before they approached the terrified boy. He was lying on the ground with his eyes drifting shut. "Hey, wake up!" Julien exclaimed, trying to shake his shoulders. "Come on, don't faint on me!" "I'm just tired," the human muttered. "You can be tired once you get someplace safe. Now come on!" “But I-” “Come on!” Julien grabbed him by the arm and urged him to stand. As the two walked out of the door, the boy stopped them. He briefly knelt beside the demon and closed its eyes and mouth, then placed its severed head next to the rest of its body. "Rest in peace, Zizi," he whispered, before following Julien out of the building. They ran down two flights of stairs before Julien promptly deposited them at the building’s front door, where the Manalusa dragon was still shielding the humans. The dragon’s eyes widened with joy at Julien’s return, and its master breathed a sigh of relief. “I got him.” Julien urged him under the shield’s protection before turning to the master. “Any updates?” they asked the Daemon Corps member. “No more divers, so we’re past that part of the attack,” the dragon’s master said. “But they’ve identified the infiltration point that the angels are coming from- they carved a hole through the wall near Negative 60. The Daemon Corps working there could use some help sealing it up.” “I thought the Corps worked faster than that. Where’s Block 43? I need to make sure they’re okay first.” “Repelling invaders at the Negative 35th.” “Oh, that’s not bad!” Julien smiled. “All right. I’ll get to the Daemon Corps. Just let them know I’m gonna take the long way around.” The Daemon Shielder scoffed. “You’re not seriously thinking of running a marathon around the wall under heavy fire, are you?!” “Gotta keep my girlfriend in check before she goes and gets herself killed.” “Your girlfriend?” “Angry red haired archer, pink bow, wind and fire spirit mage?” “I don’t keep track of every mage in this city.” “Worth a shot.” Julien glanced at the ground. “Sumi, we’re heading to the Negative 35th.” A giant snake head rose from the ground from an illusory pool of ink, large enough for Julien to stand on. “Wait!” Julien turned around when they heard a young boy’s call behind them. The boy they had rescued was looking up at them from behind the barrier. “What’s your name?!” the boy shouted. “What are you?” “I’m Julien Kashima, and I serve Block 43’s strike team.” Julien frowned. “Don’t look up to me, okay? I’m not a hero. I’m just a soldier fighting for humanity.” They hopped onto Sumi’s giant head as it sped off into the distance. This war had no need for reckless soldiers. And yet, there they were all the same- a trio of friends- or a couple and their third wheel, depending on how you see it. When the relentless siege ends, Julien thought, then I will finally look into the depths of the blue sky, and I will know freedom. Now if only Amelia Victoria, my angel, saw the same boundless sky I did…