Finding Sin

Smoke rose above the ruble of the once great city, clouding the pink skies with it's poison. Daren stood on a near by hill, watching as the fires slowly began to die down. No souls survived the attack, there was little to nothing left to even indicate that there was life only moments ago. He grit his teeth in frustration. He was too late. . .Well, almost.
His eyes caught a small movement below. It was only but a strange movement of a single stone, but it was all Daren needed to pinpoint the location of the demon responsible.
Pein.
He wasted no more time. Within an instant, Daren appeared on the spot, unsurprised when he saw the demon waiting for him with a malicious grin on his face.
"Well, well. They send pretty boy to come and investigate? Tisk, tisk, you would think that they would protect their greatest asset more." The demon said, leaning away from the wall to walk around Daren.
Daren, however, was not phased in the slightest by Pein's mocking. "I am more than capable of handling myself, demon. I would be far more concerned about your safety."
The demon prince paused, the grin growing to a full out smile as brought his hands out. "Come then, Daren. Let's dance-"
Pein's sentence was cut abruptly short with an '-oof' as the back of Daren's blade slammed into his midsection. He quickly recovered and swung his claw tipped hand at Daren. He narrowly missed the attack, and spun on his heel, brining his sword around towards the demon's neck.
Pein was immediately gone from his side just before it connected.
Daren returned to his ready stance, his eyes searching for any signs of the demon. "Well, hell's seven rings, you can actually fight, angel boy." The voice reverberated off the valley, making it near impossible to find the origin.
"Are you playing games, demon? I thought your kind always finished fast."
A laugh bounced all around him. "You have no idea what you just said, my friend. We never finish fast, we like to take it slow."
The wind shifted above him. He instantly brought his blade up above in time to catch Pein's attack. He was expecting the demon to retreat once more, but he proved otherwise. Pein rallied quickly, sending another strike towards Daren's chest. He had just enough time to tilt away from the worst of the damage, but the attack hit true, scratching across his chest until it embedded deep into his shoulder. But Daren felt no pain. Without hesitation, Daren took hold of the demon by his neck and lifted him easily off the ground. For a split second, shock registered across the sharp red of the demon's eyes but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
"I would absolutely love to continue to play with you, chicken wings, but alas i have an appointment to keep. And, you have to get to Pompeii, I hear your darling sin is there."
Daren froze. Could he be talking about . . . her? 
His grip tightened around the demons throat, his eyes never revealing the reaction he had upon the possible location of the demon he had been tracking.
It did not matter though, Daren's hesitation caused Pein to slip out of his grasp and land a solid blow to Daren's face.
Stars danced around his vision as he stumbled away.
"Go now, angel. Go after your little, temptress."
And he was gone, leaving Daren alone to regain his wits.
If what the demon said was true, then he was close. And soon, he would have the demonesses head on a spike and the world would be safe.
He turned his gaze back up to the sky. The sun had set and no stars dared shine their light on this city.
He had been too late to stop this massacre, but he would redeem himself by killing the one thing that would be responsible for the end.
His temptation.

Beginning of the End

Daren rolled his shoulders as smoke literally rolled off his body. He stretched his muscles as if testing their feel for the first time.
Heaven was so different from earth. He wasn't referring to the typical vision of heaven that so many humans believed in, he was talking about the feel of that plane. It was so much lighter than earth, and time past by in slow motion as far as he could tell.  How long had he been gone? It seemed an eternity to him, and it wasn't because of the time difference.
He'd been away from Eireka for too long. He cursed her for being his fixation during the entire "reprograming" session Raphael gave him. The pain wasn't even the worst part of the torture, it was the thoughts that arose in his mind.
While he was here, Eireka was unprotected. He didn't know if he would be able to get out,  much less find her before they did.
You shouldn't care for her,Daren. She is the enemy.
Indeed she was. And a part of him cringed at his readiness to go back to her. But he promised her he would be back, and for whatever reason, Daren found himself focusing on her signature. Doing so caused a dull ache begin to grow in his head. The side effects of his escape were beginning to take effect. . . he had little time to waste in locating Eireka.
"Well, well. Daren, I thought you better than this." Raphael's deep voice thundered behind him, bringing Daren to jump around to face him. The quick movement made him wince as his golden eyes started down Raphael's green ones.
"You would think, killing one of your bretheren would cause you grief. But here you are, join back to the whore. She's your destruction, Daren. Why do you pursue sin?"
That was one question even Daren couldn't answer. He had never before felt anything. Before Eireka, he followed his commands without a single hesitation, his sights fully set on serving. Since she appeared in his life, he found himself questioning the most simplest demands of heaven.
"You will not understand, brother. I do not wish to harm you, but if you chose to pursue me, I will not hesitate to kill you." Daren's voice did not quiver in the slightest. It held just as much authority and confidence as it did when he was in command of his force.
Raphael's gaze held no emotion as he stared into the eyes of one of his most talented pupils. He knew, deep inside, that Daren would fall. And if he chose to find the demon Eireka today, he would seal his fate and that of the entire world.
"You know the consequences of your actions Daren. Should you continue down this path, I will have no choice but to act. You are still in time, brother, chose the path God has forged for you." And with that, he was gone without a trace. Daren stood there for the longest time, contemplating the words of his old teacher.
And still, knowing what lay for him and knowing well what his fate would be if he searched for Eireka, Daren set his sights for her location.