Exalted
Chapter 7, A Call from Beyond
A Persona and DxD Crossover
I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously.
Also, p5's sound track is funky fresh. Hypnos is the TWIN of Thanatos. That is all.
[EX]
Minato was making his way up the stairs that led to his apartment when he saw him. Standing in his doorway with his arms crossed was a man with dual colored hair, his bangs blond while the rest was a peculiar shade of brown. He gave off the presence of a Fallen, that tainted light they seemed to wield, but it was the size of his magical signature that let Minato know he might have an actual fight on his hands for once.
"Are you Kokabiel?" Minato questioned while the Reapers Revolver appeared in his right hand. He knew it would be best to engage at a distance before closing in, and he did not much feel like destroying his only home with any of his stronger spells.
"Whoa, whoa, put the gun down Kid, I come in peace!" The Fallen said with a frown on his face, both hands raising into the air to show as much. "My name is Azazel, Governor General of the Grigori, and I believe you have someone that belongs to me."
Minato stared at he man for a few moments before nodding his head and motioning the man away from his door so he could unlock the barrier and enter his home. The two found themselves in Minatos' living room soon after, Azazel sitting on the couch while Minato sat back in the recliner.
"Tell me... do your adjuncts often go around killing innocent Human beings?"
Azazel had to suppress the urge to sigh at the tone of voice Minato took. "You have to believe me when I say that I had no hand in that. It was only brought to my attention tonight that I had traitors in my midst."
Minato motioned for the man to continue with his left hand.
"That name you mentioned, Kokabiel... He was a high ranking member of the Grigori. Fourth highest, and the leader of my Military Branch. It seems the cadre of Fallen that he kept around him betrayed their kin, though what his goals are I do not know, yet."
Minato was not pleased to hear that there was a group of Fallen that existed outside of the Cease Fire he came to understand had fallen over the land.
"You want your rogue Fallen back?" Minato questioned after a few more moments of silence, his silver eyes piercing the darkness looming around the two. When Azazel nodded, Minato leaned forward and the Fallen could see the pure determination on his face.
"There is information I am looking for. Tell me, what do you know of beings that have been sealed away that might bring about Armageddon?"
Azazel straightened up and almost snarled, "Why would you want to know that? What could you possibly need to know that for?"
"Because it is my purpose to make sure That Event never comes to pass."
[EX]
Issei had chosen to become a Devil. Minato was not present for the affair, but he learned through Koneko that it was a willing transition. A VERY willing transition. Her irritation at the subject of Issei let Minato know that he shouldn't press for a more elaborate answer and accept it for what it was.
The presence of a sixth Devil in his homeroom did not bother him in the slightest, especially with the knowledge that the Devils were at the very least friendly. It was the heightened perverse chatter that did.
Minato had finally had enough of the vacuous ramblings of the pervert by third block.
Minato turned his torso and neck until he was facing almost directly behind him, and silver met chocolate eyes. The message was gotten soon enough, as Issei had snapped his mouth shut and made a motion of zipping it in a nervous manner.
Minato continued to stare the teenager down until he returned his gaze to the front of the room, but not before hearing the snickering of a few students who had witnessed the silent reprimand, most likely from his small group of male and female "followers".
He had gained a small following after the day Koneko offered him sweets, along with his own nickname in the process. He shuddered when he thought about it, but he supposed it was better than having a negative reputation. It was also apparently common for 'popular' figures to have such a posse, something Minato had no recollection of during his time at Gekkoukan.
While quite a few of the more vocal students had grown to dislike him due to his 'closeness' to Koneko, the unofficial Mascot of Kuoh, those who supported him outweighed them to the point that quite a few scuffles had occurred in the hallways as the two passed by with the 'Anti-Prince' group sporting more bruises than their opponents.
"Sweet Prince!"
Minato was making his way to the Library when he was approached by a smiling Yuuto Kiba, his fellow 'Prince of Kuoh'.
"Don't call me that." Minato murmured while turning to face the blond Devil, his right eyebrow twitching once. While he was very secure with himself, he did not like having another male call him 'Sweet Prince'. At all.
Kiba seemed to take it as a joke until he noticed the blank face of Minato. His laughter broke off into an uneasy cough before he corrected himself. "Minato-Senpai, the President is requesting your presence in the Club Room. Did you already forget?"
Minato tilted his head to the side at the question while wracking his mind for what he could have possibly forgotten. "Be more specific, please."
Kiba nodded lightly before elaborating. "Lucifer-Sama is waiting to speak with you."
Minato was taken aback at the statement for a moment before motioning Kiba to lead the way with his head. 'I thought she was joking when she said "Lucifer".'
[EX]
The Gremory Group quickly made themselves scarce when Minato finally arrived at the Club Room, but not before Koneko shot him a pleading look. He could infer that she was worried for him. He was touched, but the worry was not needed. He just placed his hand on her shoulder and gently pat down as he passed.
He did not want his only friend in this world to stress over something out of her control.
The man he came face to face with inside the Occult Research Club Room was not the Lucifer he knew. He made sure to iterate that.
"You are not who you said you are."
"Yes I am!"
"No, no you are not."
"Yes Huh!"
"Stop. No."
"Can you prove it then!?"
The Blade of Lucifer appeared in his waiting right hand, and baleful crimson lit up the room. The tip of the blade dug into the floor and there rested a sword Sirzechs thought he would never see again. He knew he thought the sword he saw in the pictures looked familiar.
"Where in the HELL did you get that?" The crimson haired man who bore an uncanny resemblance to Rias questioned, his tone shifting to be more serious. The weapon being used like a cane by Minato was a National Treasure as far as Devil Kind was concerned, and no small amount of searching for the blade has occurred over the years since the end of the Great War.
"He gave it to me." Minato answered with a straight face while shrugging his shoulders demurely. He crossed his left leg over his right and once again leaned back in the very same chair he was resting in the day prior.
"Who gave it to you?" The man questioned, leaning forward as if to hear the answer better.
"Lucifer did, of course. The Real Lucifer." Minato was forced to amend his answer at the argumentative look on the Devils face.
"Bullshit. Why would he just GIVE you his sword? How could he have?"
The swelling of Devil energy that had not been felt in a thousand years caused the Devil in the room to fight the urge to collapse into the fetal position. The pitch black portal that appeared in the center of the room caught Sirzechs attention the moment he felt the build up of energy. From that portal rose a coffin that was extremely familiar to the two beings in the room by now.
From that coffin came a figure Sirzechs thought long gone.
Long, platinum blond hair spilled from his horned crown like blankets of light and the purest blue eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness stared deeply into the sea-foam green of Sirzechs, who looked as if he swallowed his tongue. He was also doing his best ghost expression, it seemed, due to the ghastly shade of white he had become.
Six golden angel wings and six black devil wings wrapped protectively around the shoulders and body of Minato as Lucifer lowered himself around the sitting form of the teenager, almost reverently, lovingly. The pressure that was pressing down on Sirzechs eventually lessened when Minato held up his left hand.
It took a few seconds for Sirzechs to regain his bearings. "But... you're dead! I watched you die! How are you here?!"
The smile Lucifer gave could only be described as Devilish.
"I could not bare to hear you slander my Master any longer, Usurper." The melodious voice that twinkled through the air gave Sirzechs chills. "I have arrived from the Sea of Souls to prove you wrong."
Sirzechs stared at Minato as if he just announced himself Holy Pope. Minato, however, acted as if this were an every day occurrence for him. Of course, if the First Fallen was here calling him Master, it would only make sense that he was familiar with the beings presence.
"M... Master?"
The squeaked response from Sirzechs was enough to cause Lucifer to laugh once more, this time maliciously.
"Yes. Young Master here pulled me from the Eternal Darkness that awaited me after my premature death, and through his power, I have risen to new heights. I shall serve him faithfully until the End of Time for his graciousness. His enemies are my enemies. His friends, are mine. My life, is his."
Minato grew very, very uncomfortable at the stare he was receiving from the Devil in the room, to the point that he wished he didn't allow Lucifer this small favor. When the Mourning Star had asked to be summoned upon hearing Sirzechs claim himself to be Lucifer, he thought better of it. When his word was questioned, however, he changed his mind.
[EX]
Sirzechs, as he had learned the crimson haired mans REAL name was, seemed to be the one to finally shift the conversation to a more serious note.
"Let's cut to the chase... Why are you here?" Sirzechs eventually asked, not bothering to face The Devil wrapped protectively around Minato when he posed his question. The two were sitting in silence, amicably, though it was finally broken by Sirzechs after Minato made no indication of speaking.
"You asked me to be."
"That is not what I am talking about, and you know it." Sirzechs fired back, his voice gaining a slight edge to it.
A shrugged shoulder was all the response he got.
"Are you going to answer me?"
"I do not owe you an explanation. My reasons are my own." The look the Original Lucifer gave Sirzechs in that moment let him know that he should amend his line of questioning. He called this meeting thinking it might devolve into a one on one conflict. That line of thinking was obviously dashed. He could not force Death when he had such a being by his side, not alone. Hell, he couldn't even force Death if he WAS alone. Instead, he fell back to diplomacy.
"Please, tell me. I want to, NEED to know why Death of all beings is pretending to be a student in the academy I had built for my little sister years ago."
Minato heard the pleading in his voice and decided to humor him. If he claimed to be Lucifer, then perhaps he could make a deal.
"You have me confused with someone else, but none the less, I have a proposition. An eye for an eye."
"You have questions of your own?" Sirzechs seemed confused. Death was a being even older than him, why would he need information? There was a reason the saying 'Nothing escapes Death's Notice' came about, after all, so what could Sirzechs know that Death did not?
Minato did not answer. He just continued to stare at Sirzechs until the man finally nodded his head, confusion still evident on his face. It seems that the Crimson Satan as he proclaimed himself was smart enough to not and try to start a conflict with him.
The deep depths of that tainted, corrosive energy he wielded was indeed vast, and Minato felt the well of barely restrained strength the being held hidden deep in his core, but it was nothing like the sheer presence Nyx gave off.
Sirzechs eventually nodded his head in acceptance. "We have a Deal."
"How does one traverse to the End of the World?"
[EX]
Minato sighed as he stared at his ceiling that night. He had a feeling Hypnos would not be allowing him entrance into his realms, not this night.
Thoughts of the End of the World tended to keep him up, he noticed. Nightmares of The Fall still plagued him, reoccurring at least once a week. Dreams in which he failed to Seal Erebus away from Nyx and prevent their unholy union from bringing the body of Nyx down on the heads of Mankind.
This was his second night without rest, as conversation with Azazel had kept him awake the night before.
His ears perked up after hearing a peculiar noise emanating from outside of his room, almost as if someone were... tapping on his living room window?
Gently rising from his bed, Minato made his way to the source of the noise, and peaked through the thick black curtains he bought to prevent the prying eyes of flying bats from seeing into his home again. Devils thought they were slick, but they weren't.
His eyes widened a fraction of an inch as he came face to face with a floating, skull mask wearing girl with dark purple hair and golden eyes. The cloak she wore on her back fluttered in the wind and behind her were around thirty more cloaked figures, though they actually appeared to be skeletons and not humanoid like the purple haired one.
'An attack already? By who?'
So he opened the window and readied, pulling on the energy of Thanatos enough to heighten the strength of his body and enhance his reaction time. His shadow grew darker and the one eye hidden in the darkness of his living room became the silver eye of Death.
"Who are you and what do you want? I am trying to sleep."
The sound of cloth fluttering through the air filled the night followed by a squeal of terror. Minato was pushed from his standing position when the skull masked girl rushed into him and the two collapsed into a heap. The figure sat on top of his stomach, and was a split second away from receiving several Mudo spells to the face, perhaps even a Hama for good measure, when he heard their words.
"Imsorryimsorryimsorry! Don't kill me Death-Sama!"
"What do you think you are doing?" Minato questioned, the hand gripping around the nape of the figures neck glowing a blackish purple. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the small scythe laying not too far from the bundle on his chest.
The Blade of Lucifer was too long to strike the figure at the angle he was resting at, and the barrel of the revolver wielded by the Reaper was too long as well. Should this figure make a move for their weapon, He would be forced to use magic, and nothing he could think of would spare his apartment from further damage.
He really needed to find a good, sturdy dagger.
"I asked you a question."
The quivering figure sniffled once more before answering, her voice as shaky as her body was. "I am Bennia, and I came to serve you, Death-Sama, to get away from Hades!"
Well, that answered his question about the existence of the other mythologies outside of the Abrahamic Faith.
"Why me?" Minato questioned, deciding he was quickly getting tired of people calling him Death.
"Because who better for a Grim Reaper to serve than you, Death-Sama? Did you not call for your servants last night? I'm sorry if I am late, it was hard making my way out of the Underworld! I brought some of my shitty fathers underlings to serve you, don't be mad please!"
The girl was almost breaking down in tears again, causing Minato to sigh. "Get off of me."
Bennia was quick to crawl off of his chest and sit herself on his couch, ignoring the glass and debris that littered its surface.
He looked at the window, then to Bennia, then back to the window. His jaw clenched and unclenched before his shoulders sagged. He was really, really starting to hate the supernatural beings that inhabited the world he found himself in. Why couldn't he have a peaceful existence while he waited for the End of the World?
Minato stuck his head out of the window and stared at the congregation of what he assumed were also 'Grim Reapers'.
"Go. Away."
He pulled his head back into his apartment and pulled the almost ruined blinds over the opening before turning his attention back to the now smiling figure sitting on his couch.
"You too." Minato stated with a frown, just wanting to lay back down and be done with the cascading snowball effect his life had gained. He sorely missed the simple days of Gekkoukan, and he was honestly beginning to think he would have preferred climbing Tartarus again than deal with this worlds beings. Alone. With nothing but a bent spoon as his weapon.
Bennia made no move to leave his apartment, and she showed him no signs of aggression. The fact that she, too, called him Death-Sama and claimed to have come all the way from the Underworld to serve him was the only thing that prevented him from using physical force to remove the girl from his abode.
He could not sense any intent to attack, or any real form of negative emotion coming from the girl besides resentment, and fear. The resentment was not aimed at him, nor was the fear any longer. It was also the fact that she claimed he called for her that let him know there was more going on with his persona abilities than he thought. A frown made its way to his face as he felt the connection he had with Thanatos tremble, as if in response to his train of thought.
It continued to grow in strength as the days passed, and he felt that before long, it would be impossible to separate his own energy from that cold darkness that suffused through him. Through that connection with Thanatos, so could he too feel a link between himself and Bennia, not to mention the skeletal figures that were floating around his apartment.
"Please let me stay! Hades is a big, mean skeleton and you seem so much nicer already!" The tremble in her voice was just too much. He couldn't say no to such a display. Instead, he said nothing at all.
He walked back to his room and shut the door. The clicking sound afterwards signified him locking the door, something that was meant to be purely psychological, and to leave a message. He knew that no flimsy lock would keep out the supernatural. His broken window attested to that.
'Stay Out.'
Bennia let out a victorious cheer and made her way around the apartment that her new Master lived in, curious as to what type of being Death was. She was left with nothing to go on, other than figure out he was researching the Pantheons due to the book left on the coffee table. 'It isn't even accurate, either...' Bennia thought with a frown as she thumbed through the old lore.
The guest room was completely empty and so was the bathroom across from it.
She sighed under her breath as she sat down in the recliner, leaning back into the comfortable chair while crossing her arms over her chest.
"I guess I will figure out what my duties will be tomorrow. Master sure is smart, to not rush a decision like that." With a resolute nod, the young Grim Reaper closed her eyes and basked in the presence left behind by the being that called her from beyond the barrier that separated the Realm of the Dead from the Realm of the Living.
It felt like Home, and she couldn't get enough of it. She idly wondered if Death was fond of pranks before Hypnos beckoned her into his embrace.
[EX]
Azazel received a text message from Minato a few moments before he went to bed, causing the man to raise his brow. He honestly didn't think he would be hearing from Death so soon, or at all for that matter. After he relinquished a heavily damaged, but still living Raynare, Azazel had made sure to give the being a way to contact him should he ever need more information.
'What do I do with thirty one Grim Reapers?'
Azazel was not sure. What DID one do with thirty one Grim Reapers?
