Author's Notes: Hello there. This is my first Fan Fiction on Blue Exorcist. Of course, you might notice some significant changes I made to the flow of events when Rin was taken and trialed by the Vatican in Volume 4 of the Manga. As an example of this, my inclusion of explicit references to Catholicism and how it is directly in control of the True Cross Order.
Besides that, you will notice that I placed a special emphasis on Eastern Orthodoxy here as well. I did this to explore the differences between the two main branches of Christianity which IMO would add depth to the story. Other than that, do feel free to post your reviews and criticisms of the piece I wrote. I would love to hear from you guys(and ladies) who somehow stumble upon this.
In the presence of the Judge, I was forced to kneel. The Paladin pressed his sword upon my neck, a non verbal warning of my fate to come if I do not submit. Deep down, I felt angry, dejected and frustrated. All because my being came from the Devil himself, the world and its inhabitants would go against me despite the fact that I myself want to protect this world from the wrath of Satan himself. As I bask in my rage and anger, the murmurs and chatter of the judges and the members of the clergy emanated around the court.
"Order, Order! May the Accused, Leader of the Japanese Branch of the Order of the True Cross, Sir Mephisto Phelps please head to the Witness Stand" commanded the Judge
Mephisto in his usual comedic demeanor nonchalantly walked towards the stand, signalling the beginning of the proceedings that were to follow.
Hence the Judge announced,
"To the clergy of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, on behalf of the Bishop of Rome I, Monsingor Timote Timowas declare this to be an Open Court. The examiners accessing and placing the verdict upon the Son of Satan would be the Paladin, Arthur Auguste Angel, the Grigori who shalt oversee the proceedings of this Court and I myself"
The jury peered at me with their menacing eyes with attention, pouring out their spite and hatred upon me. Deep down, my frustration grew, I wanted to lash back but I knew I must submit, to show my true allegiance to God and Humanity.
Soon after, upon a screen flashed the image of my true Form. With ears pointed upwards and and tail curling upwards like a cobra intimidating its prey, the jury and the Paladin frowned upon the form that greeted them, both in imagery and in presence.
"Sir Mephisto Phelps, look upon the images of the incident that happened at your Academy. You are trusted by God and the Order to ensure such would not happen. Yet, lo and behold, a demon, announcing his intention to begin his reign of terror upon us, the Image of God. Without a doubt Sir Phelps, this demon on screen is the very same demon bound by the Paladin here. Am I not right?" The Judge explained and questioned.
"Yes" Mephisto calmly said.
"Then if I may ask, Is this demon present within our midst at this very moment the Son of Satan?" the Judge asked.
"Indeed Your Honor" Mephisto replied and let out a grin.
Immediately after, one of the Grigori spoke,
"If such is the case, does it mean that 15 Years ago, one of the Clergy of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, Fr Fujimoto did not exorcise the child the Lower Second Class Exorcist, Yuri Egin, that was held within her womb? And if that is so, you have lied to the Lord Himself for presenting to us and His Holiness, a false report regarding Fr Fujomoto's exorcism"
"Yes with my apologies and repentance for my Sins and Trespasses against the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. The mother, Yuri Egin, gave birth to twins. One of the child however doesn't possess the flames of Satan. But the other who inherit the Curse of Satan is none other than Rin Okimura who resides with us here. This child before you if left alone would become a demon and servant of Satan. His heart and soul, the essence of Satan himself held tremendous power which I sealed with the relic, Koumaken. Fr Fujimoto raised this child of his own until he is ready to accept his powers"
"And for what?" questioned another member of the Grigori.
"To create a weapon against Satan!" Declared Mephisto.
The entire courtroom gasped in shock by his declaration. Just as most of the disciples gaped upon the Disclosure of the Son of God Himself, the clergy strove amongst themselves, sending echoes around the arches of the courtroom.
"The Essence of Satan is Evil. The Child will not change!" yelled a cardinal.
"What blaspheme is this? This is just as the Heresy propagated by the East!"Another condemned in shock.
While under the wings of my father, Fr Fujimoto, I was able with my brother, Yukio, visit one of the monasteries of the East. The paradigm of the East, different from the West for they accept demons within their order. Demons, a monk once said, are simply Angels who have fallen, their Nature different from their persons. Yet, the West with a different paradigm ignored such a distinction, preferring to stay faithful to one of their most powerful exorcists, Augustine. The differing paradigms of the East and the West caused disputes and eventually lead to what my father called "The Great Schism".
"We should not worry, for the child's nature is different from his "person"" the Patriarch assured.
I gazed upon him and recognized him to be of the East with the distinctive robe and vestment. I was told that the East would sometimes send observers to the proceedings of the Order. As soon as the Patriarch declared such, the overwhelming vocals of the clergy of the West rebuked his supposed error. The Patriarch simply sat down, biting his tongue to hold his response.
"Order, Order!" The judge demanded in respond.
As soon as the jury calmed down, the judge gestured to Mephisto to continue.
"I know that the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church do not take the distinction between "persons" and "natures" but we still believe in the Freedom of Choice do we not? For we are not like our Protesting brethren who take all beings as being moved by the Divine Himself. So by the Teachings of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, I believe that even demons can change..."
"Cut the lies! Persons cannot act against their Nature!" a Bishop rebutted.
"So does this mean a person cannot move towards Salvation by choice?" Mehpisto countered.
The bishop simply kept quiet and sat down in defeat as the entire courtroom watched.
"With that unfortunate misconception cleared up, let me propose a gamble with all of you present. Let us all place our bets. Will this child before you become the Savior of Assiah or would he be her demise? Pick your lot and do keep to your word just as the Son of the Divine did" Mephisto offered and smiled upon the confusion of the jury.
At this point, my anger raged and scratched the confines of my mind, searching for a way out. I disliked the fact that I was being treated as a mere tool. After all, I was told by my father that the Church is accepting of anyone, scorning against the use of human beings as "tools". Ironically, the very same Church may very well be using me, a being capable of expression, affection and intellect just as a human being, as its tool. Yet, at the same time I knew that Mephisto was defending me for I'm one of his kind. However, whether or not he is against Satan I do not know.
"Halt! This charlatan here is a demon too is he not? Have you forgotten what our Great Teacher St Augustine taught us? He cannot change just as Satan cannot change. It's their Nature. Look at what Satan did to Adam and Eve in the Garden. He deceived them and forced them to take a gamble just as this one is doing to all of you! I say we execute them both before they overthrow us!" the Paladin countered.
With Arthur's announcement, I sighed in regret. If only I had controlled my rage and anger, none of this would have happened. Yukio had warned me over and over to stay in control each time my rage and anger boil up, yet I had failed. Whatever the verdict, I simply deserved it for I brought it upon myself.
As I contemplate my actions, the emotions I held back simply spilled out of every fiber of my being. The Paladin himself continued hurling obscene remarks and lies about my father and brother. While I know I must submit, I simply cannot allow for my father who raised the Essence of Satan as his own be dishonored and polluted with such lies. In rage, I screamed,
"SHUT UP! To hell with your silly little rants about my father. Enough with the judging. I may be of the essence of Satan himself but I operate by my own volition. I am not your tool, I'm not the Demon that you make me up to me, I'm Rin Okimura! I'll rise up against the best of your exorcists and become the Ultimate Paladin!"
My signature blue flames radiated around my figure as I let out my frustration. The judge and jury gazed upon my form in shock and fear. However, as soon as I let out my yell and frustration, the Paladin simply kicked me in mockery.
"The Ultimate Paladin you say? A Son of Satan can never be a Paladin yet an Exorcist in the first place. You are simply worse than all the heretics of the Church gathered together!"
"Well, what about you? You are simply a hypocrite, using your position to boast works which are not of your own" I lashed back.
Enraged that I bruised his pride, the Paladin readied his sword and prepared to let out a sharp slash until the Patriarch intervened.
"Halt and draw your sword Paladin. We of the East also see Satan as our enemy as you do. However, we willingly take in and learn the wisdom of the Fallen Angels that repent. We believe that Persons are not restrained by their Nature just as our Teacher St Maximus taught. Does the Roman Church after all venerate and ordain him as a Saint? Didn't the ascetic St Macarius, the Lamp of the Desert, prayed for a repentant demon to attain Theosis?"
"You heretic. We do not follow the teachings of Demons. We will not be swayed by your opinions. You are not even a member of the Order of the True Cross yet alone the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Who are you to even say anything you obstinate schismatic?" The Paladin spat.
"Order, Order! I would be forced to call in the Swiss Guards if anymore disruptions to the proceedings occur" The Judge immediately warned.
As the courtroom calmed, one of the Grigori stood up and announce,
"What our brethren of the East said is insightful and useful. After all Sir Phelps over here is a demon. Yet for 200 years, he proved himself to be against the Evil One and fought under the banner of the Order. I believe the Bishop of Rome himself would approve of taking this child under our wing as long as he is truly against Satan and on the side of Good which we fight for. Regarding the disrespectful remarks from our Highest rank and Champion, we apologize to His Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch of All the East and Archbishop of Constantinople on behalf of the Order of the True Cross. The Bishop of Rome advised us to take the considerations of the East and use them to better comprehend the Mysteries of Faith. Here, we believe that this would be insightful for all of us be it of the East or the West. Whence we propose, why not we decide the verdict of this child by a majority vote just as the Councils of old decide? Would you take Sir Phelp's gamble or reject it? Let us vote, pure of heart."
As the jury accessed and debated the proposal amongst themselves, Mephisto simply winked at me as I turned towards him. Eventually, the jury reached a verdict. One of the Cardinals that scorned at me earlier immediately announced,
"As the Clergy of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and on behalf of the Bishop of Rome who is not present, we accept the gamble that Sir Mephisto Phelps proposed under the considerations and suggestion of the Ecumenical Patriarch of All the East and Archbishop of Constantinople who is present amongst us. For the unity of the East and the West and ultimately, for God, we accept taking the Son of Satan, Rin Okimura into the fold of the Order of the True Cross. However, just as Salvation is conditional, we believe to be apropos that our approval of Sir Phelp's gamble be conditional as well. We hereby ask that Rin Okimura fulfill and abide by the following conditions,
1)He must pass the Exorcist Authorization Exam which will be held six months from now
2)He must not under any circumstance betray and oppose the doctrines of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and the Order of the True Cross
3)He must remain under control at all times by which we define as not succumbing to the Demonic Nature and Essence engrained within the fibers of his being.
4)He must remain loyal to the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in submission to the Infallible Bishop of Rome
5)He must not under any circumstance be swayed or influenced of the flawed teachings and doctrines of the Separated Brethren and doctrines that oppose that of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
6)He must not harm or kill any member of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church unless in exceptional situations such as inflicting wrath upon a clergy anathematized by the Church itself.
7)The failure to fulfill all of the preceding conditions will result in the execution of Rin Okimura
In purity of heart, mind and soul, this is our decrees laid out with Our Lord as our witness."
The strictness of the declaration birthed shock within my mind. Still, it's better than execution under the egoistic Paladin Arthur Auguste Angel. Therefore in agreement, I stood up and swore to the Lord to keep my vows and promise. With that, the Proceeding was decided. I was to be released under no charges on provision that I will pass the Exorcist Authorization Exam and keep to the conditions the clergy as a whole proposed.
As I was escorted out of the Courtroom back to the True Cross Academy in Japan, I saw the Paladin frowning upon me, as if waiting for the time to smite my being and slay me to feed his egoistic pride.
Despite all that happened, the verdict of the Proceeding wasn't decided based upon the tenets of the Bishop of Rome or the Order. Rather it was the Ecumenical Patriarch's intervention that spared my life. Just as I was told by my father, the East are more tolerant of Demons than the West.
After returning from the Courtroom, I saw Shura waiting who asked indifferently about the Proceeding.
"They were very tolerant though it was most likely due to the presence and intervention of the Ecumenical Patriarch but relations between the East and West may be strained..." Mephisto answered incompletely.
"What the Hell do you mean about the East and West being strained?" Shura grunted back.
"Let's just say the Paladin said some offensive things to the Ecumenical Patriarch but more importantly, you got to do something about him" Mephisto casually said and pointed to me.
While the two were talking, I was asked to reflect upon my actions and kneel in repentance. I realized at this point the need to control myself and more importantly my anger. I cannot become like the egoistic and boastful Arthur Auguste Angel, the false Paladin. Shura and Mephisto turned towards me as I looked up.
Just like the Prodigal Son I begged,
"I have reflected upon my immature actions and learned my lesson. I beg of you to teach me the way of the sword. Just teach me anything, anything. You shall be the Potter and I shall be the clay. Mold this clay into the shape that you wish"
"Well, you're acting much better than the brat you were so I will take you up. Just be warned, it would be as easy as a Catholic trying to set foot on Mount Athos" She replied.
As she said her last sentence, the grim reality dawned upon me. While the Ecumenical Patriarch did try to mediate on my behalf, he cannot change the outcome of the Proceeding. The clergy craftily framed their conditions in such a way that it is near impossible to accomplish. Just as it is near impossible for a Catholic to even set foot upon the Mount Athos, the Holy Mountain of the East.
Author's Note: Since you would've finished reading at this point, you may wonder about the differences with the flow of events in the Manga. Well I wanted to expound upon the disputes and differences between the Catholic West and Orthodox East. First off, you might wonder about the distinction between Persons and Nature, that's taken from St Maximus the Confessor while the West not bearing that distinction is based on the writings of St Augustine.
Even today, the mindset of the West and the East are different so what better way to express this difference by adding a different perspective towards Demons from both sides. The East, more tolerant while the West, more strict towards them. Either way, I do hope you enjoyed this fan fic I wrote :)