Ninth Chapter: El Cid's Origin

Part 1

This memory happened 8 years ago on Italy, to be more specific, on an orphanage in Naples during 2007. These kids had either lost their family or been abandoned by them. But this memory is about a duo that went through both.

One of them was blonde haired kid who was barely 6 years old, while on his side was a teenager who was 11 years and had brown hair. Despite the huge gap on their ages, they were really close friends.

"Hey, Jorge, catch me if you can!"

"Not fair, Giorno-niisan! You're bigger than I am!"

"Well, what if I chase you!"

"Still not fair!"

Jorge ran as Giorno pursued him. They were best friends despite their ages varied greatly, which clearly showed how pure their friendship was. And yet, they didn't have a nice past.

Jorge's mother died after giving birth to him, so his father put him on the orphanage because looking at him reminded him way too much of lost wife. Nobody knew if it was his real name, but everybody called him Jorge since he was born in Spain, and he didn't even have a surname.

Giorno was the son of a Japanese woman named Yoko Shiobana and the Angel who was a member of the Four Great Seraphs Uriel. His mother died of illness when he was 5, so Uriel sent him to this orphanage managed by the Church, since he was unable to take care of him because of his job.

As it was fated, Giorno and Jorge arrived at the orphanage on the same day, so they knew each other pretty well. In fact, Giorno always acted as he was Jorge's older brother, taking care of him on all points of his life.

They lost their biological family, but they were able to replace that love with their friendship. It was the pure friendship of kids who didn't have anyone else, and yet, something neither of them saw coming happened.

Because of his Angel blood, Giorno was considered a Miracle Child, so he was adored by the staff from the Church on the orphanage. This reached the point when an Exorcist arrived at the place.

It was the Ultimate-class Exorcist who never ages, an artificial and perfect warrior created by the Vatican, and his name was Sigurd II. As his name indicated, he was a clone of the Nordic Hero Sigurd, but he worked as a Catholic Exorcist.

"So you're Giorno Shiobana, it's a pleasure to meet Uriel-sama's son. Now, the decision from the Vatican regarding your fate has been made."

What Sigurd II spoke was that Giorno was going to be trained to become a warrior at the Vatican. But to accomplish this, he had to be taken away from the orphanage. The reason he and Jorge were playing like this was because they this would be their last time together at the orphanage.

They not only played to catch each other, since they also had a picnic, walked around the town and even played pranks to everyone they saw. Now they were on the same bed, knowing it would be their last night together.

"Do you really have to go, Giorno-niisan?"

"Yes, Jorge; it is the Lord's will."

"And what if his will is wrong!"

"Jorge, God is never wrong, his plans for humanity are always for the best."

"But… I…"

"Jorge, just stop fighting it and accept what he has planned for us."

"… Can you at least promise we'll meet again?"

"Of course we will, and whenever that day comes, we'll never part our ways again. You're more important to me than anyone else, Jorge, so I'll never forget you."

The duo of friends hugged each other for the whole night until Sigurd II took Giorno to the Vatican. Since then, Giorno never saw Jorge again. But someone was about to refute him that idea.

Part 2

Sachiel flew worriless above the field, looking around the place to find an opponent. He clearly remembered the reason he had gotten into this event on the first place: the success of his [Brave Saints].

His Queen and Ace, Tatsuya Shirogane and Tenshi Itsuka, had been important members of [Team Morning Star] during the battle against the Seven Sins led by the Red Dragon Emperor. The fact Tatsuya was the current White Dragon Emperor only overshadowed him even more.

He wanted to show Tatsuya, Tenshi and even Leonardo that he also had a legend for himself, and even when he was a minor Angel, his thick light would make a way for him.

And then he felt it. Some of his wings suddenly lost the tips of their feathers, which forced him to land on the floor. Right in front of him was the one responsible for that attack.

"… I failed? It looks like my accuracy is lacking."

El Cid, Rodrigo Díaz, holding the legendary Holy Sword Tizona, was standing before him. This blonde kid was one of the strongest humans, so even a High-class Angel like Sachiel couldn't underestimate him.

"I have to say you don't scare me, Díaz, I have known the White Dragon Emperor Tatsuya Shirogane for years, so just a human wielding a Holy Sword which is heritage from a hero won't make any impression on me."

"… I'm just a "human" to you? Maybe it is hard to believe being a mythical being like an Angel, but humanity is powerful, and we can do many things without borrowing power from the gods."

He put on a fighting stance and pointed Tizona towards Sachiel, the legendary Holy Sword which wielded the power to cut space to bypass durability if needed getting the High-class Angel nervous.

"I'll show you the power of humanity!"

Rodrigo slashed at Sachiel with his sword, dealing a clear cut on the middle of his torso. Tizona didn't need to touch its target, so it was perfectly fine for Rodrigo to swim it without being close to his opponent.

Sachiel answered back with a light spear, but Rodrigo easily dodged it, slashing once more and cutting the area around his knees. Sachiel could feel the pain from the slashes, but since he wasn't a Devil, he didn't have to worry much.

"I'll like to keep cutting you up, but my star guest is finally here."

Rodrigo said that as he turned around to see some other place. Sachiel was confused by this, so he decided to look to the same direction as El Cid. Then, he saw them.

Part 3

Giorno and Elizabeth flew sometime over the field looking for Rodrigo, but they weren't able to spot him. While Giorno had no idea why this kid was so fixated on him, he needed to find it out.

"For God's sake, can you fly faster?!"

"First, I can, but I won't since I'm looking for someone. Second, don't use the Lord's name in vain."

"These religious fellows take me out of my mind."

"Can you at least show some respect? I'm a strong Catholic believer, so I'll take care of everyone who worships God, and I don't care if they're Christian, Jewish or Muslim, because that is my duty as a Guardian Angel."

"Oh, fuck off, my country was destroyed by your religion, I have no reason to show respect to you."

"That was a group of world level criminal Devils; you shouldn't use them as example for all of us. That is like saying all Muslims are evil because of the terrorists."

"Bite me."

Their conversation was going nowhere, so Giorno decided to stop arguing against Elizabeth. He even started wondering if everyone from her country was the same…

"Look over there!"

Giorno pointed at Sachiel, who was falling from the sky. Taking into count the names they have heard retiring lately, it was either the duo of legendary Ultimate-class Devils, King Arthur's descendant, or…

"Rodrigo must be there, let's follow Sachiel-san!"

The duo flew towards Sachiel's direction until they were close enough to land on the ground. Giorno and Elizabeth, who were followed by the Wyvern, ran until they finally saw the duo.

Rodrigo and Sachiel were fighting, so it was clear they made it in perfect time. The kid stopped attacking the Angel and looked towards the just arrived duo while speaking.

"I'll like to keep cutting you up, but my star guest is finally here."

Part 4

"So we finally meet again."

Rodrigo said that to Giorno, totally ignoring Sachiel was preparing an attack. A light spear with high density was thrown towards his direction, but Rodrigo's enhanced senses allowed him to avoid without looking at him.

"Sorry Rodrigo, but I don't remember seeing you in my whole life."

"… So you're breaking your promise."

Rodrigo said that as he charged towards Sachiel, slashing multiple times as the Angel was damaged by Tizona's power. Sachiel tried to attack with more spears of light, but none of them hit.

"Even after everything we went through together; you dare to say you don't remember me!"

"I don't see how I should know who you are."

Sachiel tried to attack with his fists this time, but Rodrigo was able to evade it easily. Why he was known as one of the strongest humans wasn't questionable at all.

"Everything you told me at that orphanage was a lie then? Was it a lie, Giorno-niisan!?"

After being called by that name, Giorno remembered him, that blonde kid who called him like that.

"You… you're… Jorge."

After evading a series of punches and spears dealt by Sachiel, Rodrigo counterattacked by slashing right to his abdomen, dealing intense pain, and then kicked Sachiel on the cut, sending him flying only to fall to the ground.

"Yes, it took you quite a long time to remember."

"Well, you look nothing like you did back then."

"That was 8 years ago, I have gone through puberty now, off course I don't look like I did."

Giorno made his calculations, and if Rodrigo was 6 years old 8 years ago, then it meant he was 14 years old now. Well, given Giorno was 19 years old, time hadn't stop for him either.

While Giorno made all those calculations, Sachiel stood up and charged at Rodrigo, attacking him with many light spears. However, even these spears were cut down by his Holy Sword, as Tizona was able to distort space if necessary.

"I'll catch you up later; let me finish this annoying Angel first."

Rodrigo charged at Sachiel, instantly closed the distance between them, and stabbed his throat. With a sword piercing his neck, Sachiel could do anything but cough blood before disappearing in white light.

[Sachiel from Team Angel retires.]

Rodrigo stared at the blood that remained on the blade of his legendary Holy Sword as he spoke.

"Do you want to know what happened to me after you left me to become the Guardian Angel of the Vatican?"

Giorno only nodded with his head, and while Rodrigo didn't see him, his enhanced senses allowed him to feel Giorno accepted, so he decided to explain his history.

"After Sigurd II took you, I held a strong grudge against the Church. I escaped that orphanage because it reminded me too much of you. I eventually found out I was the reincarnation of El Cid, so I changed my name to Rodrigo Díaz to match his. Tizona was something I stole as a way to feel closer to my roots and to take vengeance on the Church."

That was his history, simple and understandable. Giorno was able to see his unmotivated behaviour was his fault, as it appeared that putting too much effort on something was hard for him, as he did so with their relationship and that led to nothing, so maybe he got so kind of trauma.

"Rodrigo, I'm truly sorry, I-"

Before Giorno could finish talking, they felt that ominous presence close to them. It was a holy aura, yet it wasn't kind, it was the aura of a heavenly judge.

"So it's only you against us now, huh. The Lord's ways are truly mysterious. Let's meet at the desert, that way I'll be able to grant you the divine punishment you deserve for going against my will, which is God's will."

It was Virgilio Baggio who spoke on a cold tone, and yet, he kept his calm and innocent smile. His eyes were set on his teammate was now his enemy.

"Especially you, Giorno Shiobana, you'll feel the punishment fit for betraying our creator."

After that, the Joker of Heaven flew back to the place he came from. Elizabeth pointed to where direction he flew to.

"What are you waiting for?! He's running away! We have no time for sentimentalities now!"

As soon as Elizabeth said that, she jumped over her Wyvern and headed towards Virgilio's direction, so Giorno and Rodrigo followed her shortly after. The final battle was closer than ever.