The Divided Guardian [Cursed Anti-Hero, Progression, Dark Fantasy]

Angelo and Neiva crouched on the rooftop, the industrial district spread out below them like a sleeping giant. The warehouse they were watching sat in the middle of it all, lit up by a massive spotlight that made everything else look darker by comparison. This part of the city felt empty and hollow after work hours—just concrete and shadows.

Angelo pulled his hoodie up, his orange eyes glowing like embers in the darkness. Next to him, Neiva adjusted her metal mask, her blue eyes blazing through the eyeholes like neon lights.

"They grabbed my radio when they searched the house," Angelo said, his voice low and focused with just a hint of frustration.

"Doesn't matter. We already knew about tonight's meeting," Neiva replied, her tone matching his intensity.

"Just saying, there might be unaccounted for information..." Angelo turned to study her. "You absolutely sure you're ready for this?"

"Why wouldn't I be? Haven't I proven myself this past month?" Her voice had gone cold—eerily similar to Angelo's own deadly calm.

"Everything until now has been street punks and small-time dealers. When they ran, you just herded them back to me." Angelo's voice carried the weight of experience. "This is organized crime. Completely different game."

Neiva stood up, her movements sharp with determination. "Look, I didn't get my ass handed to me by Blue and listen to Red's creative vocabulary for a month just to sit on the sidelines. I'm better now—way better."

"Heh, heh, gotta give the kid credit," Red's voice cackled through their shared thoughts. "She can actually handle herself now."

"I must concur," Blue added with scholarly precision. "While hardly a prodigy, she has demonstrated remarkable persistence and exceeded my initial projections."

Angelo nodded slowly. "Alright, looks like you've got the other two convinced. But the second things go sideways, you fall back behind me or Red. No heroics."

"What about Blue?" Neiva asked.

"You know him—he's not big on getting his hands dirty unless absolutely necessary. I doubt we'll need his particular skillset tonight." Angelo shrugged.

"I notice you didn't bring your new scythe either. And hey!" Neiva's voice suddenly brightened with remembered annoyance. "Where are those Trinergy blades you promised me?"

Angelo's face twisted under his hood. "The cops took Mercy's Edge when they searched the place, and I haven't had a chance to get it back yet! As for your weapons, I just didn't have the t—"

"You forgot, didn't you!" Neiva cut him off.

"Ha! Kid sees right through you, Angie," Red's mental voice was pure amusement.

"Shut it," Angelo snapped internally, his teeth grinding. Then to Neiva: "Fine, you got me. But we don't need special weapons for this job anyway. They're probably just a bunch of small-time wannabes."

"I don't care what they are—you promised!" Neiva wouldn't let it go.

"Tch, fine! I'll make you something tomorrow. Can we please focus on the actual mission now?" Angelo's voice cracked with irritation.

"Yes, let's." Neiva crossed her arms, satisfied with the terms. "So what's the deal with this criminal group anyway? You said the police were talking about them on the radio, but why aren't they raiding the place?" She gestured toward the warehouse.

Angelo scanned the building for any movement. "My best guess? They're organizing a big enough force to hit hard while keeping casualties low. That takes time."

"And you think the two of us can handle what an entire police raid team can't?" She raised an eyebrow underneath her mask.

"Well, I am an evolved Auron," Angelo said with a casual shrug.

"But didn't you tell me evolution doesn't guarantee the win?" Neiva thought back to their conversation in that cramped inn room.

"Evolved Aurons win about... I'd say, eighty percent of the time? Something like that." Angelo dismissed matter-of-factly. "The other twenty percent are these monster-level fighters who are already so strong, that they never evolve."

"Couldn't be you," Red added cheerfully.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Angelo replied dryly, looking up as if Red was there. "Maybe instead of commentary, you could do something useful and scout ahead?"

"Fine, fine..." Red's crimson smoke began seeping from Angelo's body, drifting toward the warehouse like spilled blood.

"Anyway," Angelo continued refocusing on the warehouse, "by the time the police decide they're ready to move, these guys might be long gone."

Neiva simply hummed in understanding.

Meanwhile, Red's essence slipped through the warehouse walls like smoke through cracks. "Well, well, what do we have here?" he sang mentally as he took in the scene. Two distinct groups faced each other across the concrete floor—one wearing hazmat masks, the other looking like standard street thugs.

Red caught the middle of what sounded like a heated negotiation.

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"I'm NOT paying full price! You bring half the supplies and expect full payment?! Are you insane?!"

A woman in a hazmat mask replied, her voice muffled but clearly annoyed. "Chill out, man. I'm not saying you won't get the second batch. We just had some smuggling issues. You'll get it as soon as it arrives."

"Then I'm only paying HALF for HALF!" The thug crossed his arms defiantly.

"Yeah, see, my boss isn't going to accept that answer." The masked woman put her hands on her hips.

"Well, my boss isn't paying FULL FUCKING PRICE for HALF THE GOODS!" he exploded.

"Guess we're at an impasse then."

"Guess we are."

Red, listening to this exchange, felt like he was watching bad television. "Ugh, just fuck already. Hey Angie, when do we crash this party? I've seen better drama in soap operas at the hospital."

"Look, maybe we should contact your boss and work something—"

Angelo crashed through the window like a falling star, glass exploding around him. Everyone in the warehouse spun toward the sound, their powers lighting up in panic. He hung in the air above them, his dark hood casting shadows over glowing orange eyes. A ring of light hovered over his head like a crown, while orange wings kept him floating. In his hands, he held a massive orange scythe that seemed to cut through the air itself. Behind him, crouched on the window frame, Neiva sat like a predator in her metal mask.

"What the hell..." both criminal groups whispered at once.

"Cast your eyes upon Lady Justice's messenger," Angelo's voice echoed through the warehouse like thunder. Red's smoke had already flowed back into his body. "The Angel of Death." The name hit them like a physical blow—sweat broke out on faces, hands started shaking. "Change your hearts. Surrender now and find redemption. Or fight me and discover what lies beyond Mercy's Edge." He shifted the scythe in his grip.

"Shit," the thug leader muttered, shooting glances at the hazmat woman. Nobody moved. They were all calculating their odds.

"I'm waiting," Angelo said, his voice cold as winter. "Your silence tells me you're surrendering. I'll restrain you all unless you choose otherwise."

"GRAB THE GOODS AND RUN!" the thug screamed. Four metal Aurons on his side lifted the container with their combined strength and bolted for the exits.

"Oh hell no!" the hazmat woman shouted. "Don't let them take it!" The warehouse erupted into chaos as the two groups turned on each other.

Angelo sighed and shook his head. "Criminals... They never learn—"

"Wait!" one of the hazmat crew called out. "Why are we fighting each other? We can just kill that Angel of Death bastard! He's one guy, we're like forty!"

The realization hit them all at once. Both groups stopped fighting and turned toward Angelo.

"YEAH!" they roared.

"YEAH!" Red cheered internally.

"Whose side are you on?" Blue asked with scholarly detachment.

"I'm on the side of violence!" Red declared happily.

Angelo closed his eyes and shook his head sadly. "I gave you a fair chance. But you chose to fight among yourselves before uniting against justice. You've proven yourselves beyond redemption." His eyes snapped open, burning like coals. "I hereby sentence you all... to death!"

Angelo dove into the crowd, his scythe cutting through one thug like paper. Another jumped at his back, but suddenly red spikes shot out of nowhere, impaling the attacker. Angelo spun and weaved through the mob, his energy tethers whipping around him like living snakes. Crimson constructs appeared from thin air, fighting with minds of their own to cover his blind spots.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HE?!" some of the hazmat crew screamed.

Neiva jumped into the fight, her metal forming armor around her that looked straight out of a video game. The typical revealing female armor design materialized over her regular clothes. A shield formed on one arm, a sword on the other. She spotted a few criminals heading her way.

Angelo's last words echoed in her mind:

"Don't kill anyone. It's a heavy burden to carry. If necessary, I'll take their lives. You just stall them."

"Aye, aye, captain," she muttered, clearly not thrilled with playing defense.

The first attacker hurled boulders at her. She dodged easily, sprinting toward them. The second one jumped, lightning crackling around his body as he fired bolt after bolt. She twisted away from each strike, then launched her gauntlet straight into his face.

Two more ganged up on her—a fire Auron threw a flaming punch from the right, which she blocked with her shield. The other came from the left, fist shimmering with raw force. At the last second she dodged, making them hit the fire Auron, sending them crashing into the wall.

"Force Auron," she whispered, recognizing the type. She dodged a few swings from the force fighter while the earth Auron kept manipulating the ground around her. She maneuvered until the force Auron was between her and the earth Auron, letting him get pelted by his own teammate's attacks.

"Hey, watch it, you moron!" the force Auron snarled at the earth guy.

Neiva seized the opening. Her blue aura flared as she put everything she had into one strike, her sword cutting clean through the force Auron's forearm. He collapsed, screaming, while similar screams echoed from Angelo's side of the fight.

"He said I couldn't kill anyone," she said, watching the guy writhe on the floor. "Didn't say anything about cutting off limbs."

"You... bitch!" the force Auron wheezed.

The earth guy charged in for close combat—bad choice. Neiva easily dodged his clumsy swing and buried her gauntleted fist in his stomach, launching him several meters away.

She glanced over at Angelo, who was locked in an energy beam struggle with four opponents. His orange blast was almost reaching them when something weird happened. Some attackers came at him from behind, and Red's constructs shot out to hold them back. But as soon as Red took control, the four energy fighters started winning the beam clash.

"What the—?" Angelo gasped. "RED, STOP!"

The moment Red let go, Angelo's power returned full force. His beam devoured all four energy users completely. He spun away from attacks he couldn't have seen coming, then jumped back to where Neiva stood.

"What happened?" Neiva asked as they went back-to-back.

"I don't know—it's like I get weaker when Red controls his constructs!" Angelo replied, parrying a sword strike.

"Fascinating," Blue observed. "This suggests that while not manifested, Red draws energy from your own energy connection to power his abilities."

"WHAT?!" Angelo shouted, seemingly to empty air. "I always knew you were a parasite!"

"Hey, it's not MY fault! How was I supposed to know?" Red shot back.

Angelo kept the rest internal as he fought off the growing crowd. "Then why don't you just come out and fight with your own energy connection?!"

"Nah," Red cackled. "I love the look on their faces when I attack from 'nowhere.' Way too much fun!"

An explosion tore through the warehouse wall, sending chunks of concrete flying. From the flames stepped a fire Auron, definitely one of the thugs, his smile pure evil as he walked into the battle. But one thing caught Angelo's attention immediately.

"Evolved," Angelo muttered. "But that makes no sense... Novaira's threat level doesn't account for that... Is he new here?"

"Who cares about that! What do we do?!" Neiva shouted back.

"We—" Angelo started, but the evolved fire Auron hurled a strange-looking fireball straight at them.

The evolved criminal stepped toward the smoke, his grin saying he was sure he'd killed them. But through the smoke glowed three pairs of eyes—orange, neon blue, and now crimson red. When the smoke cleared, his confident grin faltered at the sight of Red's more sinister smile. Red had joined the fight, and together he and Angelo had thrown up a sub-Trinergy shield at the last possible second.

"About damn time." Angelo said not looking away from the evolved fire Auron.

"What can I say?" Red replied, his expression turning more sinister "I love making an entrance."