My apologies for the long wait. As a reward for your patience this chapter is a bit longer than the previous. I hope you'll enjoy.
"'Too late, exorcists'? You sure that's all it said?"
"For the last time, Komui, yes."
"Don't be so snappy, Kanda," Komui sighed. "You can't blame a man for wanting more clues."
"I can if he's being annoying about it."
"Yes, we noticed," Marie muttered. He had yet to manage to accept their failing. They had been so close, only to discover the Earl had been closer. The taunt on the wall had hurt more than he was willing to admit. Worse, all of them were now convinced Allen had been an Accommodator. Just imagining what their enemy would do to the child almost made him retch.
There was silence on the other end, until Komui finally scrapped together the courage to ask what he'd been wanting to ask for the last ten minutes. "Was it really blood?"
Allen's blood was left unsaid, but nonetheless hovered above their heads like a guillotine blade.
"We don't know," was Kanda's blunt reply. "But probably not. Blood washes off when you try hard enough, and the owners almost scrubbed the plaster off."
It had been the only light on this depressing day. At least it hadn't been the unfortunate kid's blood on the wall.
A tired sigh rattled through the speaker. To unpractised ears it sounded more like someone blowing a raspberry. "Central isn't happy. This is the second time an Accommodator disappears. Is there any chance you'll find a trail?"
Subtly Kanda glanced at Marie, his unvoiced question loud in the sullen silence. It was a rare occasion nowadays that Kanda would ask for more experienced advice.
For a moment Marie didn't move, irrationally not wanting to confirm what they all knew, as if by not acknowledging it reality would change somehow to accommodate their wishes. But he wasn't delusional either. Wordlessly he shook his head. The Earl had taken Allen. All trails would end there.
Kanda gave a nod. "Unless there's a sighting, no."
They could almost hear Komui's face fall. "I see." Another sigh. "Alright. Kanda, Marie, thank you for your work. I expect you here before the week is over."
Both answered affirmative. What else was there to say?
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Komui put down the phone with the resigned air of someone with way too much responsibility on his shoulders and the knowledge he wasn't getting rid of it anytime soon.
For the umpteenth time he contemplated the wisdom of not informing the exorcists of the odd attack the Earl had launched recently, before deciding once again there wasn't anything they would be able to do with that knowledge.
"Now, explain again. What happened exactly?"
Reever, his right hand man and ever looking like he was ready to keel over from overwork, scratched his head and gave another summary of the disturbing report.
"We're still not sure, chief. It was an aerial attack that involved what looked like huge beams of light instead of the usual bullets. Each beam caused massive destruction and several big cities will be rebuilding for years. We don't know the death toll yet, but most estimate it within the hundreds, some even suggesting thousands." He flipped several pages before continuing. "Despite the loss we don't know what the Earl's goal was. We're not even sure whether the Earl was involved. The attacks were erratic and seemingly random. The readings indicate something else than Dark Matter was used to cause the destruction. In short," he sighed, "We have no idea what's going on."
Staring at his folded hands Komui sank into deep thought. Despite the lack of proof he was quite sure the Earl had a hand in the alarming incident. A dark sense of trepidation made his heart sink. Even a horde of akuma would have been hard pressed to match the destruction at any of the sites of disaster. If it was the Earl testing a new type they were in deep trouble indeed.
Even more worrying was that they had had not a single clue it'd been coming. Getting an idea of the Earl's plans was difficult at best, but with something this big they should have at least picked up some clues. However, devastation had rained down without warning, like lightning from a clear sky.
He sighed. There was nothing they could do at the moment, except try to pick up the pieces.
"Thank you. Tell the teams to keep gathering data."
XXX(xxxx)XXX(xxxx)XXX(xxxx)XXX
Back in his room at last, Allen was heavily contemplating the weirdness that was Road, Noah of Dreams. What that title entailed he still wasn't sure, but he'd already had a taste of some of her powers. Her doors were seriously disturbing. It didn't help she quite cheerfully told him that crossing distances in a way nobody ought to was just the start of her abilities. And that was not counting the casual admission each Noah had abilities of similar magnitude.
It made his skin crawl. Not for the first time he wondered exactly what he'd gotten himself into that fateful night.
Why, why was I that bloody stupid?
But he knew the answer. It had been Mana.
He sighed, shifting for the thousandth time. His bed was uncomfortably soft, the duvet lacking even the barest hint of the prickling roughness of cheap wool and the mattress was utterly devoid of the unyielding hardness of wood. He wasn't used to this- this softness and it was seriously maiming his ability to sleep. Though he had to admit it beat trooping through more wacky sub-dimensions of the Ark. From Road's smile, he was pretty sure there were more. A lot more.
Who would have thought he'd appreciate her dragging him around on his wounded arm?
Grumbling he tried for the umpteenth time to fall asleep. Who on earth designed beds to be so damn fluffy anyway?
In the end he managed to snooze a bit, the exhaustion from last day's events not allowing him to forgo rest altogether.
Of course it wouldn't last.
The click of the door opening was the only warning he got before something landed on him with a cheerful good morning! Even with the wind knocked out of him, Allen still managed to lash out to his attacker, who was just as suddenly gone as she'd appeared. Immediately wide awake, the white haired boy scrambled to his feet, hindered by the unexpected tangle of down-filled fabric around him. His instincts were screaming at him for letting his guard down and he was almost shaking with adrenaline.
Before he could take a fighting stance his assailant was on him again, this time wrapping him in a hug, trapping his arms against his sides. He kneed his attacker as hard as he could but the odd angle made it difficult to land a solid blow. As it was, it only made them loose their balance. Allen let out a small oof as most of his assailant's weight landed on his stomach.
After a few very tense seconds Allen relaxed just a tiny bit when he realized just who was on top of him. He groaned. "Mistress Road…"
Road giggled in his ear. "Good morning, Allen!"
Allen growled, glaring at the slender girl. "Yeah right! You attacked me."
She grinned at him, utterly unashamed.
He glared a bit harder.
Her grin morphed into a smirk, golden eyes twinkling with mirth.
Allen closed his eyes and counted to ten, reigning in his urge to try and knock out some teeth. Even in the off chance he'd succeed, the Earl wouldn't be happy with him.
As if she'd picked up on his thoughts Road snickered.
"Now you're awake," she said, sounding entirely too amused for his tastes, "The Earl wants to see you after breakfast."
Thrown by the sudden announcement, Allen blinked. "Err…"
"It's preparations for damage repair."
"Um… Okay?" Allen said hesitantly, not entirely sure what kind of preparations she was talking about.
She gave him a cheeky smile before shoving him towards the bathroom. "Come on, Allen, hurry up and get dressed! Can't make the Earl wait.~"
"Hey, wait-!" Allen yelled, before landing flat on his face on the dark tiles, the door slamming closed behind him. Shaking his head he pushed some white locks out of his face, messing up his hair worse than it already was. "I don't have any clothes in here!" he called irritated.
Giggles drifted through the wooden barrier. "Yes you do. You should use your eyes better."
Surprised Allen looked around, his eyes falling on a small pile of clothes that hadn't been there when he went to sleep. How on earth she managed to get them there without him noticing he didn't know, though he suspected her powers had come in handy. Creepy as it was, it was also a remarkably thoughtful gesture, especially for an authority figure.
Curious he lifted the fine material and immediately developed a twitch in his eyebrow. "Mistress Road," he said with forced calm, "I think you made a mistake."
"I'm sure I didn't," Road called back mockingly.
"Don't treat me like an idiot. Why else do these things have lace?"
"It's fashionable!"
Allen gave the door a blank look. "Fashionable for who?"
On the other side of the door Road laughed. Allen's twitch got worse. "For you, actually."
Allen glared at the lace frills spilling out of the sleeves of the jacket. "… You're kidding me."
"Am not!~ Now, are you going to whine all day or are you going to be a good akuma and put your clothes on? Its rude to make a lady wait," Road called back teasingly.
"You're no lady," Allen muttered. Louder he called, "How on earth am I supposed to put this on?! I've never worn stuff like this before!"
Suddenly the door flew open and Road was standing next to him. "Oh, that's simple! I'll help you!"
Eyes wide Allen took a step back. "Um… no, wait, I don't think-" He was interrupted by Road pouncing on him, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
Several long minutes later Allen finally managed to get her to back off enough for him to dress and was thoroughly annoyed. Apparently the small Noah didn't give a damn about privacy and personal space, and she had way too much fun pointing out the proper ways to put everything on.
He went rigid when he got a good look at his appearance and the glare he aimed at the mirror would have scared away most thugs. Road just acted like she didn't notice and was gushing at how cute he looked.
"… I look like. A. Damn. Doll," Allen growled with barely restrained anger, wrinkling his nose in disgust.
Road cuffed him around the head, mindful not to hit the decorated top-hat. "Mind your language around a lady," she sniffed, daintily straightening her matching dress before grinning and grabbing his arm.
Allen huffed and allowed her to drag him away. He quite sure she was just pulling his leg but that didn't make it easier to accept. Even Mana hadn't been allowed to determine his life as much as the she did. The only reasons why he did allow it were that he needed the Earl to fix him and the distrust he felt towards him and his family. Or rather, their unknown abilities. It just wouldn't do to snap and get his head blown off in return or something equally gruesome. Mana would never forgive him.
Breakfast was a tense affair, at least from Allen's side of the table. Road was apparently immune to death glares and foreboding silences. She just chattered at him about fashion and homework and worthless humans that needed to be crushed like cockroaches. For the sake of his strained temper he focused solely on that last topic. He didn't have much love for humans. Even the few people that allowed him to nick some things from time to time weren't really worth his concern as they refused to do anything more to help. If people weren't actively trying to make his life miserable, then they looked away when others did.
Mana had been the only exception. The church was often nagging about some saint or another, but in Allen's opinion those stories were rubbish. Humans simply weren't that nice. Deep down, all humans were selfish bastards. Mana had just been far less of a bastard than most and for that Allen would forever be grateful.
And then there were the sermons. Oh god, the sermons, sprouting nonsense like worshipping God and being grateful. God was the biggest bastard of all. First making humans, then shunning them for acting like they were supposed to and abandoning them. In Allen's opinion God shouldn't have been so stupid to create them in the first place. Really, for someone who could build the entire world in just seven days the guy had been incredibly short sighted.
For some reason Road found that opinion hilarious.
Absolutely nuts, that's what she is, he thought, pointedly ignoring how Mana had reacted exactly the same way, laughing and heaping more sweets on his plate.
But he guessed it was an better reaction than he'd get from any pastor or priest. He didn't fancy people who'd go after his guts with a couple of candles and a wooden cross. Especially not when they did it for some supposed world-builder they only saw when they were high on holy smoke.
Not that he'd ever broadcasted that point of view. On the streets you learned to keep your head down and your mouth shut if you wanted more than a snowball's chance in hell to stay out of trouble. More than enough trouble found you without you needing to go looking for it.
It was almost unsettling how he could voice it now. But then again, the Earl had referred to the Big Bastard as 'that despicable God' when he offered to return Mana. He wasn't surprised these people shared his opinion. It was one of the few points in their favour.
… And Road was giving him funny looks, as if she was gauging his reactions. He was quite sure she hadn't intended him to notice but paranoia could be a wonderful thing. Had saved his life several times in fact. She shot him another one, this one decidedly annoyed and clearly intended to be seen. Allen mentally shrugged and chalked it up to her being weird anyway.
She stared at him a little longer before smiling randomly and insisting he should try the apple cake. Which turned out to be very good advice.
So good in fact, he was still munching on a piece when they arrived at the Earl's lab. Allen had never been in a lab before and was actually quite curious, not to mention eager to get his arm fixed.
Road cheerfully shoved him through the door and grinned at his startled expression, before grabbing his hand and running towards a conspicuous, rotund figure in a lab coat, top hat still seated above the long ears and decorated with a ring of small grinning faces.
The Earl let out an oomph when Road released Allen in favour of jumping on his back and wrapping her arms around his neck.
He laughed and handed her what looked like a lollipop before turning to greet her companion.
"Ah, Allen-" The Earl paused to take in his appearance. "My, I assume this is Road's doing? Very fetching.~"
Allen sighed and consoled himself that there were worse things than being forced to wear ridiculous clothes. At least he had good food and a roof over his head and it wasn't as if the humiliation was exactly public. It still didn't do much for his temper. Nothing really did.
"Well, unfortunate as it is, you'll have to change out of those. Now put this on and then come back. You can change in here,~" the Earl said as he cheerfully herded Allen into what looked like a storeroom. Curious Allen took a closer look at some jars on a shelf, only to resolutely decide not to explore. When someone had human hands on display you knew you didn't want to see what he had actually hidden. Imagining was bad enough.
With a feeling the Earl was definitively off kilter Allen hurried to change. As it was 'this' turned out to be a plain robe that could be tied closed and a pair of simple black trousers that ended just below his knees, which earned the Earl a point of approval over Road. Though the preserved body parts evened it out again. Frightening as it was, he might just prefer Road over the Earl when it came down to it. Weird clothes just weren't as bad as missing limbs.
Bare footed, Allen returned to find the Earl in a flurry of activity concerning an adjacent room. It seemed to involve setting up all kinds of stuff around a big metal table which, by the look of it, could be adjusted in height and angle of the top. Above it hung an big, odd, and above all very bright, lamp from a narrow metal construction he'd only ever seen in desk lamps. Somehow the sight of the table caused a twinge of unease in his stomach, which in turn made Allen quite nervous. He knew better than to ignore a gut feeling.
As the Earl was still distracted and Allen was not one to pass up the chance to get a feel of the situation, he took the time to take in the rest of his surroundings. Somehow they reminded him of the sub-dimensions.
The place looked like a weird cross between a library, a cluttered office and the lab of a mad scientist. That last one came not exactly as a surprise. Enormous bookcases surrounded tables covered in stacks of notes and what looked like the results of various national competitions of Creative Glassblowing While Hiccupping. Weird machines and crates filled with all kinds of spare parts stood next to carefully arranged boxes full of bottles containing what looked like every kind of unhealthy liquid there was.
Many Skulls were milling around, working on various projects or distributing supplies and who-knew-what-else. Some disappeared through the dozen or so doors that were scattered all over the place, adding to what looked like barely organized chaos.
Allen shook his head, trying to get rid of the wide-eyed stare he knew was decorating his face. Even the chaos of the circus just before a show hadn't prepared him for this. There were just too many strange, interesting things going on.
With a great deal of curiosity he watched as one Skull operated a big, bulky machine that lifted the massive carcass of some kind of mechanical animal in the air for easier access. Suddenly a few yards to the left something that looked like dark-purple lightning leaped from a couple of rods towards a green glowing globe and cast the entire room in stark contrasts. Startled, Allen blinked and rubbed his eyes to get rid of the spots the sudden change in light had burned in his retina.
An unexpected touch made Allen swallow a yelp of surprise and he whirled around to punch whoever had snuck up on him. It felt as if he'd struck a big squishy cushion. The Earl let out an oof, hand still hovering above the boy's shoulder.
"Well, Allen, that wasn't very nice,~" the Earl rebuked a few moments later to the embarrassed white haired child whose face was still a dusty red as he stared at his feet from his seat on the table.
"I'm sorry, Master…" On the inside Allen was turning the air blue. It was just like his first days with Mana. His reflexes would lash out and would have landed him into loads of trouble hadn't Mana preferred to laugh it off as his own mistake. The Earl was less forgiving, though he seemed to be content with scolding him. For now.
Alright, back to self-control. On the streets restraint was mostly a waste of time, but he would have to bite his tongue and keep a tight leash on his reflexes if he wanted to avoid antagonizing his… owners… creator. Whatever.
It would take a long time before he'd be used to referring to the Noah as such.
The Earl quietly hummed as he selected something from what looked like a cross between a table and a toolbox. Allen eyed it warily. "It is alright, child. Just refrain next time, hmm?~"
Vaguely Allen nodded, eyes fixed on the odd syringe-like instrument. Gulped. "Um…"
The Earl followed his gaze. "Ah, not to worry, child, not to worry. This will merely put you to sleep for a while so you won't have to be bored when I work on you.~"
"… Work?" Not appeased at all, Allen kept shooting worried looks at the liquid-filled glass, nerves whining like tortured violins. He. Did. Not. Like being put to sleep. He loathed being helpless.
The Earl tilted his head and glanced at him while his hands were busy ensuring there were no air bubbles left in the instrument. "Well, you wouldn't wish to be awake for most of it. I can't assess the damage without taking a look, you know?~"
Blanching, Allen reluctantly nodded. Visions of being cut open for a look at his organs undermining his resolution quite thoroughly. He swallowed, trying to ignore his raging instincts. "W-when I wake up… I won't be in pieces, right?..."
The Earl chuckled, earning himself a glare. "Of course not, child. Why, you'll barely even notice you've been in my lab!~"
Allen wasn't reassured but didn't resist when the Earl emptied the syringe in his arm. He had to fight to keep any semblance of calm as numbness slowly crept through his veins. He cursed the exorcist for making this necessary.
"Master Earl, can I ask you something?" Allen asked, half wishing the anaesthetic would hurry up and kick in already, half wishing to make a run for it before it could.
Absentmindedly the Earl nodded while he arranged some worrying pieces of machinery. Allen did not like the sight of them at all. He was already regretting his choice to sleep. He really didn't like not knowing what they'd be used for. But it was too late and he doubted the Earl could explain before he lost consciousness. The numbness had already spread to most of his limbs.
"Would you allow me to visit someone once I'm repaired?" he asked instead.
The Earl paused for a long moment and gave him a curious look. "And why would you wish to do that, child?~"
Allen scowled at the memory of drunken laughter and the scent of alcohol, body throbbing with remembered pain. "I owe him payback."
The Earl blinked before chuckling. "Then I don't see why not.~ Who is this person? The other akuma should be able to locate him."
Inwardly Allen smirked in victory. At least something good would come from this. "His name is Kojimo. He works as a clown."
"And what would you wish to do with him? I'm assuming you've got something planned.~"
As the drug did its job Allen's speech became slurred. "'s thinkin'… to dump 'm in the sub-dimensions..."
The Earl tut-tutted as the boy began to teeter, slowly sagging to the side. Gently he helped the child lie down. Allen gave him a mild glare before he succumbed to the anaesthetic's influence.
"Why don't we continue this talk when we're done, hmm?~ Sleep now, Allen… That's a good child.~"
The last coherent thought Allen had was that the Earl had no right to sound so much like Mana in that last sentence.
XXX(xxxx)XXX(xxxx)XXX(xxxx)XXX
The Earl was swift to set aside most of the machinery. The equipment had mostly been a show to give Allen a good motivation to take the drug. No need to tell the child the Earl wouldn't need much more than a bit of magic for what he'd actually planned.
Pondering their short conversation he gave the sleeping boy an appreciative look. He knew it shouldn't but still, every time it was a surprise how vicious street children could be. He hadn't been fooled by the mild suggestion. He knew the look in the boy's eyes too well for that. The child had an axe to grind and wanted to make it hurt.
It was quite convenient Allen hated someone enough to want him dead. It would make teaching him to kill a lot easier.
Having given himself more room and having sent a mental message to all his field agents in Europe to be on the lookout for the clown, the Earl was eager to start on his real objective. Namely getting a proper look at his apprentice's work.
First the curse scar. As he'd already established it was a lovely piece of work. It would take a lot of time weaving a matching enchantment to turn the sight of the akuma's souls into something more bearable but it would be worth it in the end. Allen would have to work with other akuma somewhere down the road and loyalty was difficult to gain when your underlings looked like nightmares in the eyes of your target.
Singing softly to himself he sat down and traced the scar with his finger, reaching out with magic to draw the shape of the spell to the surface. Glowing, his apprentice's personal runes appeared like golden light from the closed eye, the angry red lines of the scar glowing with the same light. Fluttering like agitated butterflies the odd circular shapes twisted and turned around one another in that terribly distinctive style that was the trademark of that man's magic.
For a long moment the Earl simply watched, before picking up pen and paper to make enough notes to fill a small book.
After several hours of careful observing and prodding the revolving rune-patterns he had everything he would need at the moment. He released his hold and watched as the runes returned to their proper place. Taking great care to bind his notes together and having a Skull bring them to his study, he turned to his abandoned equipment for the other preparations.
At this stage there wasn't much he could do yet, but some small scale experiment with Dark Matter was needed if he wanted to be able to predict the boy's reaction when the time came. It would take quite some time before he could truly start converting the boy so the materials he used for ordinary akuma were out of the question. But neutral magic was alright, simple spells for monitoring with just a hint of Dark to protect them against the sleeping Innocence's oppressive influence.
Gently he started stroking magic into the young flesh, sending subtle ripples of change into blood and bone.
Unexpected were the few that bounced back, echoing with the distant music of a half-forgotten song. The Earl paused.
Then reached out, sending more ripples and listening with keen interest to those that returned. Joy and warmth whispered against his fingers, change like an open invitation in the boy's energies, protection entwined with the sound of a softly singing voice. The Earl smiled. He'd been right, his apprentice had done more than bestowing Sight on the child.
Curiosity peaked but not daring drawing the runes out for fear of disturbing something he shouldn't, he sank tendrils of his own energy into the boy, gingerly feeling the shape of the spells already there. A shift. A change. A predetermined alteration. But what kind remained elusive as mist. Softly the Earl laughed to himself. How typical.
He sat back, humming thoughtfully. These enchantments would be unknown factors, wild cards so to speak. He would need to examine them more before he could guess their function, maybe even having to experiment.
… Well, no time like the now.
Carefully he used a small syringe to release a small amount of Dark Matter into the child's bloodstream, mindful not to endanger his health. Both Innocence and Dark Matter could be immensely corrosive after all, especially to living tissues.
The result was not what he expected.
Like dropping ink in water, swirls of colour drew the patterns of the invisible currents in delicate curls, slowly condensing in a recognizable shape. The Earl crowed in delight, the brilliant mind of his apprentice amazing him once more. He couldn't discern how or why but somehow his student had made the boy capable of integrating Dark Matter into his body as if it belonged to him. It even twined around the slumbering Innocence, weaving Dark and Light together to form a smooth veil of conflicting influences. Soothed with a delicate echo of music, ringing like hammer and anvil forging steel together.
It was a miracle.
For long moments the Earl could only stare as if in a daze at the pulsing weave he saw with his mind, Innocence and Dark Matter mingling into a undulating sea, only the glow of the waves betraying the differences between them. It left him breathless with its beauty, the potential beyond anything he'd ever imagined.
It was exactly what he needed.
But immediately he also realized the dangers. He would have to be very careful. He didn't know how far his apprentice had gotten before his untimely death and there was a good chance Allen wouldn't be able to take more than a few slivers of Dark Matter before the strain would start to harm him. Together with the Innocence there would be an incredible pressure within the thin body. No, it would take some throughout studying before he could risk giving the child more.
Maybe it would be best to treat it as a safety net, allowing him to make some Dark based alterations without having to worry about corroding Allen's body. Thoughtfully he tapped his chin.
The Earl sighed. Clearly he wouldn't be able to get any more done before he had given this intriguing discovery some considerable thought. Not that he could be bothered to be disappointed.
He shook his head. One thing was confirmed for sure, he'd never truly understand the man that had been his apprentice. It was obvious him getting Allen wasn't the lucky coincident he'd first believed it to be. It took a special kind of person to orchestrate something of this magnitude and how that man had predicted everything he had no clue. Even beyond death Neah continued to baffle him.
The Earl smiled. Despite all his past doubts it seemed that in the end taking that man as his apprentice had been a good decision. Who would have thought?
Before people start bringing out the flamethrowers: no, I'm not trying to ridicule religious people with this chapter; or God for that matter. I feel I must mention that the only problems I've ever had with religion were with people who tried to force their believes on others, which I think is justified. No one likes being told what to believe. I myself don't believe in any particular god but am willing to consider the existence of one or more entities of such nature. However, if such beings exist I've never seen any sign of them and frankly don't believe they would really bother with us. I mean, would you pay loads of attention to ants? Because if I understand the stories, that is what we would be compared to them. Also, if they really were supposed to take care of us or the world, I think they could have done a better job. But maybe that's just me.
Again, I'm not trying to insult anyone. The modern science most atheists cling to these days originates from people who were convinced of the existence of higher entities. Some of the greatest works in history have their roots in religion and countries have been formed because of it, just like many important cultural characteristics like basic morals and values. Many behavioural patterns have their roots in history, which is drenched with religion. Like I said before, I have absolutely no problem with people who belief. I just don't feel it's necessary to commit myself to such a thing.
As for Allen's view on God, remember life seriously screwed him over several times already and he hasn't even reached puberty yet. In such cases two things can happen. Either he turns to religion believing his suffering has meaning and God is looking out for him, therefore making it more bearable. Or he says, screw the bastard that gave me this shitty life, why on earth should I be grateful? and decides never to waste time on it again. Obviously Allen falls into the latter category. Even in the manga he only became an exorcist for the akuma's sake and to atone for what he did to Mana. As far as I could see, Allen never mentions any form of affection for either the church or God.
I hope this clarifies things. Of course, if you still feel the need to comment, please feel free to do so. My only request is you try to remain civilized despite any ire you might feel. I know religion can be a sensitive topic, but shouting matches won't do anything except damage my opinion of you.
PS. I don't know if there are other versions of Reever's name floating about but once again this was the name used in the manga.
Reviews and feedback are welcome.
