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Disclaimer: I do not own Shin Megami Tensei… other than copies of their games…
Warning: Ummm… This follows Amane's ending (Law ending) and, as usual, does not portray the Law's god as a kind and nice person. Spoilers for MC-kun's identity as I used it as his name for this fanfic and… uhhh… yeah… NaoyaxMC-kun with a little bit MC-kunxAmane and one-sided MC-kunxYuzu. What else… cameo on the end! Which may be considered as an open-ending?
Author's Rant: So… because those that reviewed 'Corruption' thought MC-kun was too OOC, I decided to make another one (thank you for being such a boring teacher, sir!) and I remembered how 'ugghh' I felt when I finished Amane's route. As you can probably guess, I'm pretty much inclined to Chaos alignment. –laughs-
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"Lord Abel, this man has gone against our Father's laws." An Archangel announced as he pushed a battered man to the marble floor. The man looked up fearfully and saw a young man standing in front of him, wearing an immaculate white robe.
"Abel…" The man whispered fearfully. The young man named Abel looked at him and reached out, touching the man's cheek with his hand. The man flinched against his touch and Abel's eyes softened. Abel turned to face the Archangel and his eyes hardened.
"Why is this man hurt?" Abel asked.
"This sinner had tried to escape, my lord." The Archangel replied, not a hint of guilt could be heard from his tone. Abel closed his eyes and began to walk away, "Lord Abel!"
"Cast the sinner to the demons." A feminine voice stopped Abel from walking. Looking up, he saw Amane walking towards them, followed by two Thrones. Amane bowed at Abel before facing the Archangel, "Our Father's laws are absolute. Those who have sinned shall be cast to the demons."
The man's eyes widened and he rushed towards Abel, kneeling before Abel and clutching his robes tightly as tears fell from his eyes, "Please, I beg of you, kind and gentle Lord Abel. Please have mercy. I have only stolen food for my family. They are in the verge of death. Please, Lord Abel… Please have mercy for this foolish man."
Abel turned to face the Archangel and said, "Relea-"
"Do not lie to Lord Abel, you sinner!" Amane ordered, walking briskly towards Abel. Abel's eyes widened as Amane slapped the man.
"Amane!"
"Do not believe that we would be foolish enough to not see the truth. You have tried to contact a demon." Amane said, causing Abel to be silent.
"I am not lying! My lady… what have caused you to think that I would do such atrocity?" The man asked, his bottom lip trembling, as he tried to plead for his innocence. The Archangel threw a destroyed COMP near his foot.
"Because of this accursed thing, pitiful son of man." The Archangel hissed and Abel's eyes widened. The man stared at the destroyed COMP for a while before picking it up in slow movements.
"Do you have any more words to say, sinner?" Amane asked coldly. The man stared at Abel and laughed maniacally.
"You are all insane!" The man screamed at them.
"I believe that would describe you better." Amane stoically said. The man continued to laugh before pointing a finger at Abel.
"You are the worst of all!" The man screamed, "King of the demons yet you decide to become the puppet of that 'GOD'!!! You could have had everything and yet you bowed down to HIM!!! Because of you, all of us have lost our freedom! We have lost everyth-"
"No!" Abel screamed as the Archangel thrust his spear on the man's abdomen. The man's eyes widened and he coughed out blood, smearing Abel's white robes. Abel took the man's hand and the man stared at Abel's eyes.
"Lord… Na… o… ya…" The man called out as his life slowly disappeared in his eyes. Abel's eyes widened as the man fell to the ground. Amane took his arm and pulled him away from the man as the Archangel took his spear out from the man's body.
"Cast his body to the demons." Amane ordered the Archangel.
"Yes, my lady." The Archangel bowed and took the body with him, looking as if he was only holding some garbage bag to be disposed of.
Amane turned to face Abel and closed her eyes, "So… it was Cain's doing."
"Cain…" Abel repeated the name in a whisper.
"Lord Abel…" Amane called out, taking Abel from his daze, "Why did you wish for the release of that sinner?"
Abel looked away, "Casting to the demons… it seems like a harsh punishment for him."
Amane's eyes softened, "You truly are a kind one, Lord Abel."
Abel smiled emptily, "Am I? Truly?"
"My lord?"
"That man's blood is on my hands." Abel's voice was soft, "Like those before him. All of those that were deemed as sinners... their blood are on my hands."
"It is the demons that killed them, my lord." Amane reasoned.
"And who orders them to kill, Amane? Is it not me?" Abel replied, placing a hand on his chest, "It is I that controls them. It is I that orders them… to kill… to-"
Abel stopped and closed his eyes, "I became king yet I bowed down to their most hated adversary."
"Lord Abel…" Amane touched Abel's shoulder.
"I know." Abel backed away from Amane's touch, "I hear them, Amane. I hear their screams, their curses… their hatred. Their hatred for our Lord… hatred… for me…"
"You must not listen, Lord Abel." Amane whispered, grabbing Abel's shoulder, "They wish to make you mad. They wish for you to loosen your hold."
Abel looked away, "I know. I know…"
Amane placed her hands on Abel's cheeks, "Everything will be alright soon enough, my lord. Once Cain is dealt with-"
"Dealt with?" Abel stared at Amane's eyes.
"Yes. Our Father has approved. We shall destroy Cain once and for all."
"Must… must he die?" Abel closed his eyes as he bit his bottom lip.
"The demons have hope because of his program. Even now, he is perfecting the program so the demons may escape from you. If Cain is left alone, he will destroy what we have worked so hard for… our Father's kingdom on earth…"
"But he has been cursed. He cannot die."
"We will cast him to the demons. That is the only way he may find rest. We are freeing him from his eternal suffering."
Abel stared at Amane's eyes as they beckon him to agree with her. Abel nodded solemnly and gently took Amane's hands off his face, holding her hands as he smiled softly, "I understand."
Amane returned his smile with one of her own, "Lord Abel…"
Letting go of Amane's hands, Abel began to walk away, "I am returning to my quarters. I am… tired… I wish to not be disturbed."
"Of course, my lord." Amane bowed as Abel walked away.
As Abel walked towards his room, his mind wandered to how this had come to be. A few months ago, he was in a lockdown with his friends. Now…
He was alone…
It was Atsuro that first left. It was a month after they have began doing their Father's orders. Atsuro had come up to him and said, "Can you truly say that we're doing the right thing?"
He had asked what he meant and Atsuro had shouted at him, "Look at us! Look at you! We're His puppets!"
He had warned Atsuro that he was saying dangerous things but Atsuro continued, "We… all of us… have lost our freedom. We're like dogs waiting for our owner to play with us and praise us! If I knew this was going to happen… If I knew…"
Atsuro had looked at him with determination in his eyes, "I would have agreed with Naoya…"
The following day, Atsuro had vanished without a trace. A part of him feared that his Father had deemed Atsuro as a sinner and have dealt with him without Abel knowing but no demons have whispered to him if they have dealt with Atsuro. Even now, Abel still wishes to believe that Atsuro was still alive.
Midori was the next one to leave. She had looked at him one day and asked, "Are… Are we really doing the right thing?"
He had asked why Midori appeared to be having second doubts and Midori's eyes watered as she replied, "Aren't we just doing what Keisuke was doing? Aren't we just… you know… killing people?"
He had reasoned that it was their Father's will and Midori had shouted, "But heroes should know how to forgive! Heroes should be merciful! I-I… I… I can't do it anymore! I'm sorry."
Unlike Atsuro, Abel knew where to find Midori even until now. Midori had decided to work in an orphanage which was sponsored by angels. It was a special orphanage created… for the children of the sinners.
Yuzu was the one who left last… and left for a different reason all throughout. She had talked to him in Yoyogi Park one day and asked, "Do you… remember our time here?"
He had replied that he had and he will never forget it. It was that incident that opened his eyes after all. Yuzu looked at him and asked once more, "Then… do you remember who you were back then?"
He had looked surprised at the sudden question and Yuzu looked away, "At first, I didn't leave because I was afraid. I was afraid and I believed that as long as you were with me, everything would be alright. But…"
"… before Atsuro left… he talked to me." Yuzu looked at him with tears falling from her eyes, "You… you're not here anymore, he said."
"At first, I didn't understand what he meant but now…" Yuzu embraced herself as her shoulders trembled, "You… you're not the one Atsuro and I knew. You're not the one… I loved."
"You're no longer yourself… and… I think…" Yuzu bit her bottom lip, "You've become worse than a demon. I'm sorry. I can't stay anymore."
Yuzu had left the following morning, living once more with her mother.
And…
Abel was left alone… accompanied only by the angels and Amane.
Abel went inside his room and closed the door behind him. Abel fell to the floor, looking at the blood on his robe. That man's blood…
"I never… got his name…" Abel whispered.
"His name was Matsumoto." Abel's eyes widened as he looked up. On bed, his cousin, Naoya, was sitting with a smirk playing on his face. Naoya continued, "He was brash and immature… but… he did believe he was doing the right thing."
"Cain-"
Naoya chuckled, "How about dropping the act, cousin? You're not Abel… and you know it."
Abel was frozen as he could only stare at Naoya. Naoya walked towards him and wrapped his arms around Abel, whispering almost endearingly, "It's painful, is it not? You try so hard to keep it inside but I can see it. It's okay. You don't have to hide it from me."
"You don't have to act like it doesn't hurt in front of me." Naoya had told him when Abel was nine, patting his head, "It's okay. You don't have to hide it from me."
"You can trust me."
"You can trust me." Those were the magic words. No longer wishing to think, Abel had returned Naoya's embrace, crying quietly on his shoulder. Naoya's arms around him tightened and he simply held Abel, "My dear cousin… He has asked so much from you already…"
Naoya pushed Abel to the floor and took out a knife from under his yukata. With a fox-like smirk, Naoya whispered, "How about resting now?"
Abel stared at Naoya blankly, causing Naoya to frown, "What? No screams? No curses? Have you truly become his puppet, cousin? You no longer have the right to speak for yourself?"
"Will you… kill me again?" Abel asked. Naoya smiled.
"Yes." Naoya leaned in and pressed his forehead against Abel's, "I will kill you and the demons would be released from your grasp. And then… I will redo everything from scratch…"
Naoya stared at Abel's empty blue eyes and whispered, "Just like you wish."
"Like… I wish…" Abel repeated.
"Do you not realize it? You have loosened your holds on the demons on your own accord." Naoya explained, "You are the reason why I am able to summon demons once more. You are the reason why-"
"DEMONS! DEMONS HAVE INFILTRATED OUR BASE!!!" Abel heard one of the angels scream.
"LORD ABEL!!!" Abel's eyes widened as he recognized that voice.
"Amane…" Abel whispered and he turned towards the door but gasped as Naoya held his throat tightly, his back painfully hitting the wall.
"Now, now, cousin. Your sweet Amane shall not be coming to disturb us any moment now." Naoya said, a cruel smirk on his face, "This is our time, you see?"
-----
Amane stopped as two figures were standing in front of Abel's door. She recognized one of them immediately, "Atsuro…"
Atsuro brought his COMP out, the very same COMP he used when he was in the lockdown, "I can't let you come inside, Amane."
His companion, a young man smirked, "So you're the genocide lady angel? Che. Naoya is certainly a worry-rat. I'm more than enough for little miss genocide angel here."
"Don't lower your guard, Kaido." Atsuro ordered his companion, summoning his demons, "We're here to stop anyone from coming inside."
"Yeah, yeah…" Kaido smugly replied, summoning his demons as well, "Come on, genocide angel bitch."
"Pitiful sons of man." Amane said as she summoned two Thrones, "Our Father's laws are absolute!"
-----
"Now… where were we? Ah, yes." Naoya placed the knife by Abel's cheek, "Shall we talk for a while before the grand finale, my dear cousin?"
"What is there to talk about?" Abel asked.
"How about… why you have forgotten your real name?" Naoya asked.
"Abel is my rea-"
"No, it is not, you foolish boy!" Naoya angrily hissed, "You've lost who you truly are."
"And who would that be, Cain?" Abel asked.
"You are my cousin! You are the boy who used to pull my shirt and smile at me!" Naoya shouted, "You're not Abel."
"Why…" Abel asked, tears forming from his eyes, "Why are you… saying those words now…"
Naoya's grip on his throat loosen and Abel fell to the floor, crying. Abel wrapped his arms around himself, "I'm so confuse. Who am I? Am I Abel, like they say? Or am I suppose to be your cousin?! Who are you? Are you Naoya? The one I grew up with? Or are you Cain? The man who killed me? Why? Why are you tormenting me? Why? Why don't you JUST KILL ME?!!"
Naoya simply stood there and said, "Is that why you were calling me, cousin?"
Abel's eyes widened as he stared at Naoya, "I… was calling you?"
"You can hear the demons and they can hear you, cousin." Naoya explained, "The ones I summoned? They tell me that you would scream my name in your sleep. And you're not calling 'Cain'… you're calling me. You're calling 'Naoya'."
"I… was…?"
Naoya fell on his knees and wiped Abel's tears, "My dear sweet cousin… you're calling me to kill you. Is this what you truly wish your life to be?"
"I… What should I wish for?"
Naoya laughed. He laughed and clutched his stomach, sitting on the bed once more. Naoya smirked at Abel, "Why are you asking me, cousin? Have you forgotten? I'm here to kill you."
Abel stood slowly and walked towards Naoya, "Then… why haven't you?"
Abel stopped in front of Naoya and Naoya's smirk dropped. Naoya looked at Abel seriously and asked, "Why are you using Abel's name when you don't even understand it?"
"But… I do remember…" Abel replied, facing Naoya, "I remember how you killed me… with tears in your eyes."
Naoya frowned and placed his hands on Abel's cheeks, "Then… do you hate me?"
Abel smiled, "I've said it once, no… I do not hate you."
"Why? You should hate me." Naoya hissed, "I killed you out of jealousy."
"Then why did you cry… brother?" Abel countered, whispering softly. Abel took one of Naoya's hands and pressed it against his cheek, closing his eyes as he smiled, "Why did you cry for me, brother…"
Instead of answering him, Naoya closed his eyes as he whispered, "Return to my side."
"Who's calling me? Cain? Or Naoya?" Abel asked and he closed his eyes as well.
"Both. We're both calling for you. Brother…" Naoya leaned in, their forehead touching once more, "Cousin… We're both calling for both of you."
"Naoya…" Abel whispered his name and he leaned in as well, "Can I?"
"Of course. We can show Him. We can both show Him." Naoya whispered back, "You belong to my side. Not to His."
"Naoya…" Abel whispered his name once more and Naoya gently placed a hand on the back of Abel's neck.
"You belong… to me…"
"LORD ABEL!!!"
The door suddenly opened and Amane went inside, stopping Naoya and Abel.
"SHIT!" Kaido cursed as he destroyed the last Throne.
"NAOYA! LOOK OUT!!!" Atsuro shouted.
"The damn bitch has an angel inside her!!!" Kaido warned as another pair of Thrones stopped him.
Amane's eyes grew blanked and wings appeared on her shadow. With an emotionless voice, Amane ordered, "Abel… move away from Cain."
"Remiel…"
Before Abel could do anything, Naoya roughly grabbed his arm and forced him to face Remiel. Naoya wrapped his arms around Abel's shoulders and pressed the knife on Abel's throat, "Don't move, Remiel."
"What do you wish to accomplish from doing such a thing, Cain." Remiel's voice resounded from Amane's lips, "Do you plan on deepening your sins once more?"
"I've heard that I'm already been ordered to die by Him. What's a sin or two, right?" Naoya sarcastically replied.
"Naoya…" Abel whispered.
"Shh… Quiet now, little brother. We don't want anyone to get hurt right?" Naoya teased, smirking at Remiel, "If you do not wish for your precious Abel to die, you will let us go now, Remiel."
"Then do it, Cain."
"What?" Abel whispered.
"Well… what are you waiting for, Cain?" Amane closed her eyes, "Or is it… that you cannot do it?"
Naoya's eyes hardened, "He would really let me kill Abel? This is the One you chose over me, cousin."
"Naoya…" Abel looked back at Naoya.
"Abel…" Amane opened her eyes once more, her empty eyes staring at Abel's, "Our Father has seen the hesitation and the doubt in your soul… Do not forget Metatron's warning, Abel."
Abel's eyes widened and he leaned towards Naoya, "No…"
"This is the end, Cain." Atsuro's, Naoya's and Kaido's eyes widened as the entire room was suddenly filled with angels of all kinds.
"NAOYA!!!" Atsuro yelled rushing towards them. Everything went too fast for Atsuro and Atsuro's eyes widened at the scene he saw.
Abel had turned around, grabbing Naoya's hand and pushing it against his chest. The knife he was holding was now on Abel's chest, blood dripping to the floor. Abel began to fall and Naoya caught him.
"Why…" Naoya whispered as he held Abel. Abel turned towards him and smiled.
"With this… the demons will be free…" Abel replied as he held Naoya's hand, "You have to run… Naoya…"
"Idiot! You could have ordered them instead of doing something this ridiculous!" Naoya shouted.
"No…" Abel closed his eyes, "Metatron… warned me…"
"I see the doubt in thy heart." A voice said, causing Abel to turn around. He came face to face with Metatron, the voice of their Father.
"The doubt… in my heart…?" Abel asked.
"Do not lose thy faith, Abel. For if thee loses it then mankind shall pay the price." Metatron warned. Abel's eyes widened.
"Wh-Why must everyone suffer for me?"
"… You idiot!" Naoya shouted once more, "They were just trying to keep you from betraying them!"
Abel chuckled, "Maybe… but… I don't want other…"
"No…" Naoya weakly said, "Don't-"
"Maybe… next time…"
"No. No…"
"Naoya! We have to go!!!" Atsuro shouted.
"Cain…" Amane hissed as she approached Naoya, floating in midair, "You are truly the worst of all! Because of you, Abel has, once more, been led to the afterlife! If it wasn't for yo-"
A figure suddenly appeared between Amane and Naoya. Amane's eyes widened as she recognized the figure, "You…"
A malicious smirk appeared on the figure's lips and he grabbed Naoya by the collar of his yukata, "We shall now be leaving, Remiel…"
Before the angels' eyes, a few demons have appeared and grabbed the humans. Before they could move, all of the intruders were gone in an instant. Remiel left Amane's body and Amane fell to the floor. Breathing heavily, Amane looked at the place where Naoya was and tears fell from her eyes, "Lord… Abel…"
-----
"Ouch!" Kaido shouted as he painfully hit the floor. Growling at the demon that transported him, he yelled, "HEY! WATCH IT!!!"
Atsuro landed safely and looked around. Atsuro blinked before making sure he was really seeing what he thought he was seeing. Turning around to face his companions, he informed them, "We're in the abandoned Shinjuku Medical Center…"
"Shinjuku? Why the hell are we in Shinjuku?" Kaido turned to face one of the demons who seemed to be the one ordering the other demons, "Oi! Why are we in Shinjuku?"
"Actually, we're in the morgue of the facility." One of the other demons near Kaido clarified.
"What are we doing in a morgue!?"
The demon who was acting as their leader chuckled and stared at them, "We are safe here at the moment. His royal majesty has erected a barrier for us."
"Majesty?" Atsuro asked but the demon did not pay any attention to him, walking towards Naoya instead.
Naoya simply continued to stare at the lifeless body of Abel as he held him. The demon sat next to Naoya and whispered, "There is not enough time, Naoya. You must summon him."
"Summon who?" Naoya asked, his eyes blank as he stared at the demon, "Summon who, Loki? What sort of demon can I summon that will bring back my brother?"
"He is dead… once more." Loki said.
"Stop it!" Atsuro shouted but Loki paid no attention to him.
"But you are still alive." Loki continued, staring intently at Naoya, "Do you not think you owe it to him to kill that big ass up there for causing your dear brother to go mad? Who caused your beloved sweet brother to kill himself?"
The light in Naoya's eyes began to return as Loki continued, "Our lord, Lucifer, has seen your hard-work and had remembered your tragedy. He has erected a barrier in this world for you to complete your program and destroy the shield that He had created."
"A shield? You wish for me to summon the demon world?" Naoya asked and Loki laughed.
"For course not! I am not asking you to summon the demon world. I am asking you to summon something far, far greater!" Loki leaned in and whispered, "If you do… You might see your dear brother once again."
Naoya's eyes widened and he turned to face Loki once more. Loki smirked, "Lord Lucifer does not lie. And I may lie but I will not lie in my lord's name."
Naoya placed his brother's body on the cold floor and stood, "What do I have to do?"
Loki smirked, "Start typing."
It only took an hour to finish the program with Atsuro's help. Kaido, during that time, had begun to talk to the other demons, asking questions and smirking at the answers he got. When Naoya finally took his glasses off and Atsuro sighed in relief, Kaido knew they were finish. Kaido turned towards them and smirked, "I heard from them that we're summoning something really strong! I can't wait."
Atsuro looked away, "I wonder… if we're doing the right thing."
"Hey, hey, hey." Loki placed an arm on Atsuro's shoulder, "He got your best friend into killing himself. How can you be getting cold feet now?"
Atsuro's eyes burned with hatred as Loki said the forbidden words. Turning towards Naoya, Atsuro nodded. Naoya nodded and placed his COMP on the middle of the room. The COMP was connected to Atsuro's laptop. Naoya's eyes hardened and he ordered, "Do it."
Atsuro began to type and the COMP turned on. The OS disappeared and a string of lines began to appear.
Demon Summoning Program Activated…
Lines of codes began to appear. In a few minutes, the codes disappeared, leaving a blank screen. Atsuro turned towards Naoya, "It won't respond, Naoya."
"You did something wrong?" Kaido asked, a hint of annoyance in his tone. Then-
Words began to appear on the screen once more.
My lord has heard your cries…
I have felt the very same pain as you have…
All because of the one they call god…
And now…
…
It is time…
The COMP's screen cracked and a smoke erupted from inside the COMP. The entire room was engulfed in smoke. Naoya could hear Atsuro and Kaido coughing and Loki's maniacal laugh. Then… a sudden gust of wind dispersed the smoke. All of them stared at the middle of the room.
Instead of the COMP, a lone figure of a young man appeared before them. Wearing nothing but tight black shorts and black and blue sneakers, his body was covered by glowing markings and his eyes were of the color of blood. The young man stared at Naoya with his blood red eyes.
"Who… the hell…" Kaido mumbled, surprised at the sudden appearance of the young man and the frightening aura he radiated.
"Allow me to introduce him." Loki smirked as he bowed, "He is… one of our lord's greatest general and a commander of our brethren in our final battle against your adversary. He is called… Demi-Fiend."