A New Normal
Disclaimer: Characters and premise are the property of Kazue Kato. I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.
Chapter Eleven: Gehenna Statecraft
One month and several missions after the battle against Monadalkni Rin found himself back in Kyoto along with Angel and Bon.
Shima Yaozo led them up the mountain, past the old Myodha temple grounds. "Since the attack we've been keeping our familiars in Assiah," Yaozo explained to Angel as he walked. "Ucchusma and Karura helped our Arias set up a permanent barrier to keep the salamanders in and hikers out. There were several old charcoal kilns on the mountain that we refurbished, our tamers have been keeping them fired up so the salamander can restore themselves without returning to Gehenna. It's been working out very well."
"I don't actually care about how you've been skirting the Vatican's guidelines regarding familiars," Angel stated. "Tell me about the attack."
Rin, Bon and Kinzo trailed behind the older Exorcists. As they approached the barrier Kinzo shifted closer to Bon, "Do you know what's going on with Ren?" he asked quietly, worriedly. "Juu-ni just says he's upset and confused and he'll come home once he calms down."
"I wouldn't count on it," Bon replied while Rin started walking slower still, trying not to intrude. "Renzo's not a kid throwing a tantrum. He and Shiemi-chan are doing something important, something he cares about. We talk enough that I know how hard he's working at getting Delphi fixed up proper for the kids. It's not what you expected him to do, but it's still worthwhile and until you guys recognize that, well, chances are he's not going to 'calm down'. And even if he does, don't count on him coming home. Still, I figure he'll patch things up with you guys once you stop trying to tell him who he's supposed to be."
Up front Yaozo directed Angel's attention to a seared patch of ground. The fire damage cut off abruptly where it encountered the barrier, but shield itself bore visible scorch marks even though it had no physical presence. "No one actually saw it and it didn't get through the warded barrier," he said. Angel knelt to get a closer look at the damage.
Out of the corner of his eye Rin caught a hint of movement. He twisted around, drawing his secondary sword, just as a burning length of chain whipped out to wrap around his blade and neck. Rin's quick reflexes saved him from being garroted, but he was yanked off his feet and sent tumbling toward a shadowy cleft; dragging him away from the other four Exorcists.
In a single movement Angel drew Caliburn and cast a fast attack into the shadows from which the chain emerged. "Show yourself!" he demanded.
Rin used the moment of Angel's attack to shrug free of the chain. He grabbed for the chain to drag his attacker into the light but it was drawn back before he could lay hold of it.
An unremarkable looking man with dark grey hair stepped out of the shadows casually spinning the chain, which was attached to a crude hand-scythe, about himself. "I wasn't planning to spend much time on this," he said and the chain flashed forward.
Rin stepped into the attack, intercepting it with his wakizashi. The chain wrapped around his arm several times, the links biting into his flesh. The man lunged forward, driving the scythe toward Rin's skull. Rin blocked the weapon as it descended, his flames rising. The man abort his attack and leapt back, pulling the chain around Rin's arm taunt. For a moment they were caught in a game of tug-of-war. The bones in Rin's forearm groaned in protest as the chain tightened, his shoulder joint was on the verge of being pulled from the socket.
"Kinzo, get Ryuji in the barrier," Yaozo ordered as he hefted his staff. Angel sliced through the chain binding Rin and Rin quickly shrugged free of it. He fell in beside his teacher.
The fallen chain slithered back to the man as if it were a living thing, the broken linking welding themselves back together. "You're going insist on being troublesome," the man sighed as Yaozo joined Rin and Angel. He resumed spinning his chain. Flames began to dance in his eyes. Suddenly, there were four chains spinning over the man's head.
"You could withdraw, Avnas is it not?" Angel suggested. He watched the spinning chains warily and jumped aside a moment before one smashed into the ground where he's been standing in a great cloud of sparks and steam.
"Avnas I am," the man said, graciously inclining his head. "Not that it will help your Arias to know that." He sighed again, "I would withdraw, in fact I wouldn't have bothered to come in the first place, but explaining why the brat's not dead is more troublesome yet."
"Okumura, pull back," Angel said quietly.
Rin shook his head, "I'm a knight, there's I can do hiding behind a shield."
Avnas smirked and Rin was dodging strike after strike. The ground exploded around him everywhere the chain touched. Yaozo and Angel both attacked, trying to take advantage of Avnas' focus on Rin. Even as they attacked more chains formed and kept them at bay.
'Love the way he just stands there,' Bon thought as he drew his gun and carefully aimed. He kept chanting, hoping Avnas had discounted him, not wanting to draw attention to his change in tactics. The bullet exploded the moment it entered the sphere defined by Avnas' chains.
As the fight continued the explosions increased in ferocity and the chains continued to multiply. Yaozo dropped back until he was just outside of the barrier.
Rin switched swords. With his flames raging around him, he disregarded the explosions and charged Avnas. He ducked one burning chain, two more were knocked away by blasts from Angel's sword. Rin engaged the scythe with his wakizashi and brought Kurikara up to gut Avnas. Then everything around him exploded. To Rin's shock the flames burned, superheated shrapnel struck him, ripping through flesh and clothes.
Bon and Kinzo extended the barrier quickly enough to protect Yaozo.
Angel drove Caliburn into the ground and shielded himself behind the sword. A flying stone nicked the paladin's forehead. He leaned against Caliburn's blade, letting the sword absorb his blood before it could be wasted.
Avnas stood, untouched at the heart of the inferno.
Angel grabbed Rin's shoulder and threw him toward the barrier. The Paladin loosed a red-tinged blast at Avnas to cover his own retreat. Avnas gave a put upon sighed at seeing all five of them behind the shimmering shield. "Delaying the inevitable only annoys me," he said as he walked up to the barrier. His chains flayed it repeatedly.
"Reinforce it, make it one way if you can," Angel ordered.
"Follow my lead," Yaozo told the two younger Aria. He started a modified barrier spell, Bon and Kinzo echoed him a moment later. "Go ahead," Yaozo nodded to Angel but it was Rin who responded first. Rin swung Kurikara in a sharp short arc, a swell of flames ran down the length of the blade and broke free, flying from the blade to strike Avnas. The flame demon grunted at the impact but didn't let up his attack.
"What sort of monster is he?" Kinzo asked remembering those same flames consuming the Impure King.
"Avnas, Grand Duke of Flames, second only to Iblis in the Kingdom of Flame," Angel said.
A slow smile crossed Avnas' face to hear himself identified as such, he spared a moment from his attack on them to sketch a small bow.
Angel responded by sliding his hand down Caliburn's length, wetting the blade with blood. Avnas swung several of his chains to block. Rin, his flames intensifying as the battle continued, sent a second attack after Angel's. The two of them quickly fell into a rhythm, pounding Avnas with attack after attack. Bon bit his thumb and summoned Karura to aid them. Together, Angel, Rin and Karura forced Avnas on the defensive, even so they weren't doing any damage.
After fifteen minutes, Angel was pale from blood loss, but the delay was enough. Ucchusma arrived along with a number of Salamanders and their Myodha tamers.
Avnas looked at the forces arrayed against him and grimaced. "Okay, you've made yourself more trouble than you're worth. Catch you later brat," he said and disappeared.
Rin flexed his hand gingerly, the bruises left from Avnas' chain were already darkening long spirals up and down his arm.
"You may want to talk to Archknights Durov and Wang about improving your barriers," Angel said to Yaozo. The left sleeve of his coat was more red than white. Angel returned Caliburn to his sheet and started down the hill. He made it fifteen feet before collapsing.
The next day Rin hovered over a rich stew simmering on the stove in the Old Dorm's kitchen while Izumo divided her time between giving Bon narrow-eyed looks and slicing bread. When Rin went to lift the heavy pot off the burner Izumo exclaimed, "Put that down! Your arm is still hurt." She glared pointedly at Bon. "Someone else should get it."
"What did I do to get you in such a snit?" Bon demanded as he went to help.
"Don't drop it!" Rin exclaimed, hovering nervously as Bon moved pot to the table.
Izumo continued to glare at Bon, "Why do you think? Rin got hurt because of you… Again. Half the missions you go on, Rin comes back hurt."
"He doesn't get hurt that often!" Bon protested as Rin said, "It's just a little fracture. Normal knight stuff."
Once the pot reached the table without incident Rin started ladeling a healthy portion of the stew into a thermos while Bon opened the kitchen door and shouted, "Dinner's on! We'll eat without you before we let it get cold!"
"Who are you making takeaway for?" Izumo inquired.
"Angel," Rin said. "Meaty stuff is supposed to be good for blood loss. My wrist will have healed before he's over being anemic. Don't fight with Bon. I'm a knight, getting banged up a little is part of the deal."
The first year Exwires charged down the stairs. "You're a life-saver," Godain declared. "Miwa-senpai''s study sessions are brutal."
Konekomaru and Paku arrived behind the first years just in time to overhear Godain's comment. Konekomaru looked pleased with himself. "Mephisto is going to have to come up with a new post-first Exorcist Exam speech if I have anything to say about it," he declared.
"Demon classification?" Bon asked.
Konekomaru nodded, "They are going to pass that section… One way or another."
While they talked everyone grabbed plates and glasses and quickly set the table.
"Speaking of the Exam," Ito said. "Suguro-senpai, can I borrow your gun? I want to be a dragoon, I ought to have at least fired a gun once before the Exam."
"Stick to your sling-shot. They're not going to let you have a firearm in the Exam anyway," Bon pointed out. "They'll use the Exam to decide if you're responsible enough to have a gun… And knowing you, I'd vote no."
"I can't believe you're seriously putting Dragoon as your primary meister Ito," Ueno said shaking her head. "Sadao-kun and I are both testing for it, but only because you can work on your Doctor and Dragoon at the same time."
"Don't be mean you guys," Rin remarked. "Dragoons can be pretty cool. My little brother got a lot more use out of his Dragoon Meister than his Doctor."
Izumo, Bon and Konekomaru all tensed at the mention of Yukio.
"Your younger brother has two meisters already?" Maki asked disbelievingly.
"Well, younger twin," Rin clarified.
"Rin only started cram school the April before last," Izumo said defensively. "Okumura Yukio started studying when he was seven and got his first meister when he was fourteen. He's not that great."
Rin grimaced at Izumo's tone and quickly dropped the subject. "Maki, have you decided which weapon you're going to specialize in? They do let knight-hopefuls have a real weapon in the practical section of the test."
"I'm thinking a mace," Maki replied. He smiled like a kid thinking of christmas, "One with lots of spikes."
Mana glanced shyly toward Bon and Konekomaru, "Do you guys think I've got any chance as an Aria?" she asked. "I know you two started studying long before you started the Academy and I didn't even know demons existed until just last year."
"You'll do fine," Konekomaru said. "You have excellent elocution and a strong memory."
"How are you and Yips doing?" Izumo asked Godain.
"He's great," Godain said. "There were some shironeri in the cleaning closet at class, Yips chased them off without even being asked."
"Nagatomo and Tsuzo aren't here yet, shouldn't we wait for them?" Rin asked.
"There's a faculty meeting for the Cram School tonight," Bon said. "They'll probably eat with the other instructors."
Everyone settled into their meal.
After several minutes Godain glanced uncertainly at Rin. "Rin-kun, um, I know you don't really have a homeroom, because your apprenticeship makes your schedule weird. But for the Fall Festival, I, well, I sort of claimed you for our class. You have most of your classes with us… You don't mind do you?"
"Doesn't the class mind being stuck with me?" Rin worried.
"Not in the least," Paku giggled. "You've missed out on all the fun, being gone with Paladin Angel all the time. You see, they're doing a food booth... and so is the class you take English with. During our planning meetings the Class Reps practically got in a fight over who gets you. Then Sir Pheles got involved, he was talking about an obstacle course and you know him; it totally would have gotten out of hand. The staff representative on the Festival Committee intervened and they ended up having a spelling bee between the two classes while you and Bon were gone last week. Godain-kun was the best speller so his class gets you."
"Really?" Rin asked, eyes wide.
"We had a preliminary meeting and you're basically in charge of the booth," Godain shrugged. "As long as you aren't too busy?"
"No!" Rin exclaimed excitedly. "Do we have a theme? I can definitely make a menu around whatever theme we come up with. We decorate the booth and do up menus to match, maybe have costumes if people don't mind… They really wanted me involved?"
Suzuki glanced up from his meal with a disgusted expression, "I can't stand you but I don't turn down your food," he pointed out. "Stop looking for reassurances; they're running a food booth and you're practically a professional chef, of course they want you. Whichever class gets you is pretty much guaranteed to make the most money-" Suzuki broke off abruptly and from Ueno's expression the others guessed that she'd kicked him under the table.
Godain caught Rin's shoulder and subtly turned him away from Suzuki, "I think having a theme is a good idea, decorating the booth and coming up with costumes will get more of the class involved. I already talked to Itamae-san and the class; Itamae-san said you can take off from your apprenticeship early until the festival is over, that way you can take lunch with our class and we'll hold our planning meetings while we eat."
"So is everyone going to the concert?" Maki remarked. "Rules are students only and you've got to come with a date, which is just another way for the headmaster to stir up drama."
Godain glanced questioningly at Mana, she smiled shyly and nodded.
"Sadao-kun is going with me," Ueno stated.
Suzuki grinned. "Michi-chan is the jealous type." he said.
"I'm your babysitter," Ueno responded promptly. "You get in trouble every time I take my eyes off you."
"And we all know Kamiki-san and Rin-kun are together. Shiemi-chan and Aiko-chan both left school taking their loveliness with them," Ito sighed. "That just leaves Noriko-chan for the rest of us to fight over."
"Oh I have my own thoughts on that subject," Paku replied.
"Who's the lucky guy?" Ito teased.
"You'll see," Paku replied mysteriously.
After dinner Rin took his thermos and slipped out of the dorm. He crossed the darkened campus heading for the small apartment Angel kept just off the True Cross Academy grounds. Rin scanned the names on the mailboxes to find Angel's room then headed up the stairs and knocked tentatively on the older knight's door.
"Come in," Angel called then blinked tiredly at Rin. "You aren't Zi… Tereza and Ms. Annie lack sufficient manners to knock before letting themselves in." The Paladin still looked pale, his coat was off and his left arm was wrapped in bandages from wrist to elbow, but he looked better than he had the last time Rin had seen him. Caliburn leaned against the wall, close to hand.
Rin held up the thermos. "I brought beef stew," he said. "It's supposed to be good for blood loss."
"Thank you," Angel said gravely accepting Rin's offering.
Rin scuffed his foot against the floor. "I'm trying not to be reckless," he said. "You're using Caliburn too much because I get us in trouble aren't you?"
"It's hardly your fault Flame Demons persist in focusing their attacks on you," Angel said dismissively.
"We were just discussing new tactics," Lightening added and Rin jumped, not having noticed the Archknight's presence.
"You might as well sit," Angel said to Rin. "Saves me relaying whatever we figure out later."
Rin glanced around uncertainly then hesitantly took the armchair opposite Lightning.
"Alright, let's summarize," Lightning said leaning back in his chair. "Since spring we've been investigating infighting in the Flame Kingdom and, at best, we've been one step behind. Running around trying to figure out why Flame demons are killing each other and steadily losing familiars and demons who were contracted to provide us with Blessed Ashes."
"We would have figured it out if Pheles had told us what he knew earlier," Angel grumbled.
Lightning ignored him. "Seems things have been going on for longer than we realized, for generations Iblis has been hunting down Exorcist bloodlines with Flame Affinity and eradicating them…" Lightning trailed off for a moment. "According to the True Cross, God made a pact with mankind giving Assiah holy water, blessed ashes, sacred soil and venerated relics to use as defenses against incursions by Gehenna. The pact carried such weight that as the Kingdom of God split into factions and eventually became the Eight Kingdoms we know today God's sacred word was inherited by those that came after him, even by the demons we fight today. That oath still binds them to provide Assiah with the tools to fight Gehenna. It seems Iblis is out to break the part of that oath which was inherited by his kingdom."
"But demons can't just go around breaking their oaths," Rin pointed out.
"They can if there's no one alive for the Oath to lay claim to," Lightning said bluntly. "We didn't notice as the number of Fire Tamers dwindled. The Myodha plague that began around twenty years ago and was ended by Fujimoto Shiro may suggest that Iblis went so far as to treat with the Kingdom of Decay to try to eliminate a strong hold of humans with Flame affinity. We didn't notice as contact was lost with the more friendly fire gods: Perun, Helios, Agni, Brigid, even Chantico. It was only last spring, when Iblis escalated his efforts to purge his kingdom of any demons who are allies of Assiah, that we took note. And, Okumura-kun, since you swore yourself to the Myodha it seems you've earned a fairly high place on Iblis' hit list."
"Someone else who thinks I should just die," Rin sighed. "Is it bad that I'm thinking at least Iblis wants to kill me because of things I did instead of because how I was born?"
Angel looked startled.
Lightning chuckled, "Fair enough," he said. "But, as hard as it is to get anyone to admit to making a mistake, there is a chance you can pry their eyes open and make them see you for who you are. You actually earned Iblis' enmity, the only way you'll make peace with him is if YOU change. Well, he could change I suppose, but he's been carrying out calculated warfare against Assiah for hundreds of years; I wouldn't hold out much hope for him changing his opinion of humans."
"I guess," Rin said reluctantly. "Our last mission was a trap wasn't it? That Avnas guy could have broken through the barrier if he'd wanted, his first attack was just to get our attention wasn't it?"
Angel grimaced, "We were lucky that Avnas is a lazy bastard who couldn't be bothered to think of anything more creative than attacking the Myodha stronghold to draw you out. If we hadn't had the Myodha barrier right there to retreat to or all of your allies nearby to reinforce us we wouldn't have survived."
"Which is why we need a new approach," Lightning said. "Okumura-kun, how much do you understand about Gehenna's ranking system?"
"Um, well… There's the Eight Kings," Rin said after a moment. "Amaimon told me told me a little about how they compare to each other." He grimaced then added, "He said Satan's a lot stronger than them, but Gaia's on Satan's level, right? That's good news since she likes Shiemi-chan. You guys talk about Dukes and Counts and stuff, they'd be below the Kings. Ucchusma said I was a Prince but I'm only as strong as a Count, um I mean a Viscount. Is that better or worse?"
"Worse, but don't let it get you down. You'd be a full count in the Spirit Kingdom," Lightning said consolingly, "since they don't bother with gradations. And demons in the former Kingdom of Death tend to claim whatever designation appeals to them personally without regard to power. I've heard Astaroth tried to force some sort of order on his Kin after the Kingdom of Death split into Time and Rot, but it never really took."
"The most commonly used ranks in order of strength are king, duke, marquis, count, baron and knight. That only applies to the strongest demons, most of the ones we see in Assiah aren't strong enough to hold a rank," Lightning said. "To give you a frame of reference, a first class exorcist is generally on par with a demon count… Luckily for exorcists, the efficacy of fatal verses doesn't change as a demon's power grows. If you know the right words, and the demon hasn't prepared counter-measures, a king will fall to their fatal verse as easily as the lowest coal tar."
"Each rank covers a broad range of strengths," Angel contributed. "Which is why most of the Kingdoms do use gradations. The most commonly used is Grand Duke, indicating a demon whose power begins to approach the power of the weaker kings like Amaimon or Anubis. However demonic power is neither static nor easily predicted once humans get involved. Take Caliburn for example: alone, he is too weak to hold rank as a demon." Rin got the distinct impression that Caliburn was pouting at Angel. Angel rolled his eyes, "I am making a point," he told his sword. "However, if I offer him even a minor sacrifice, together we can and have defeated demons ranked as marquis, quite handily at that. As you've seen, with a major sacrifice, with blood, we can do injury to Dukes of Hell. For my life… In twenty generations my predecessors have never found an opponent that they couldn't defeat at the cost of their life and soul."
Rin shivered.
"As much as certain parties on both sides may wish to deny it, Gehenna and Assiah are intertwined," Lightning resumed. "Exorcists use power gained from demons to fight demons. Demons can increase their power through dealings with humans, either by being worshiped or by collecting sacrifices. To reach the rank of Grand Duke demons need humans. To oppose Gehenna effectively humans need demons. And then, Okumura-kun, there are Princes of Hell, like you."
"I'm not-" Rin protested.
Lightning continued over him. "A Prince of Hell is more about potential or perceived potential than power," he explained. "A prince is a king-in-waiting. Defeated kings are also considered princes because, like Anubis, they could return to power. Due to your parentage, it's assumed that you could rise to become the King of Flames."
"I want to defeat Satan, not join him," Rin said firmly.
"And taking the Flame Kingdom wouldn't forward your goal?" Lightning asked. "Thanks to Iblis' policies it's a relatively weak kingdom as a whole, but still…"
"I agree with Okumura," Angel said. "I don't want him involved in infernal politics or hierarchies."
Lightning sighed, "Arthur, what you or Rin want is largely immaterial. If he is perceived to be involved, then he is involved and Sir Pheles has told us that he is."
"What does this have to do with not getting ambushed?" Rin asked uncomfortably.
"The four greater Hell Kings; Lucifer, Samael, Azazel and Beelzebub; hold power because gap between their power and a Grand Duke's power is such that they can only be challenged by each other, Satan or another elder god," Lightning explained. "The Earth Kingdom has more Grand Dukes than any other and Amaimon has always depended on coalitions within his kingdom to hold his territory. Anubis was the same during his previous reign, I assume he will be again. Egyn has a close relationship with his mother, Tiamat, and Astaroth had one with Satan, they're both known to depend on their parent's strenght to scare off challengers, although you can see how well that worked for Astaroth."
Angel looked disgusted. "I may not like or trust Pheles, but I have to admit he has ice running through his veins to entrap one of Satan's sons and conspire to keep a second from him."
Rin started to point out that Mephisto was also Satan's son and the King of Time to boot, but the words didn't come. He frowned and tried again, Angel and Lightning watched curiously as his face contorted with the effort to spit it out. To Rin, the restriction felt a bit like an Oath, but not. He shut his eyes and focused on the feeling. There was a binding on him, but it felt more external than a Demon Oath; Rin had no doubt that it was Mephisto's doing. Rather than continuing to try to fight it he asked, "What do you think Mephisto's rank is?"
Angel scowled darkly. "Whatever he claims, I know Mephisto Pheles is a pseudonym; there is no possible way that he is a two hundred year old demon. I can't imagine why he even bothers with such ridiculous lies."
"Because they amuse him," Lightning replied smiling. "And they draw attention to his obvious secrets, which are like bright shiny toys that distract the eye from his true secrets." The archknight turned to Rin, "Debating Sir Pheles' true identity and purpose is one of the primary forms of entertainment at higher level True Cross meetings. It is blatantly obvious that he is much older and much stronger than he professes himself to be; at least a Marquis, possibly a Grand Duke of the Time Kingdom."
Angel made a disgruntled sound. "Better to call it the Kingdom of Entropy, everything it touches tends toward chaos."
Rin looked confused.
"The King of Time claims to be a champion of freedom." An ironic grin hovered about Lightning's lips. "In practical terms that means there is very little formal structure in the Kingdom of Time and he doesn't exert much direct control over his subjects. For that reason, knowing that Sir Pheles is kin of Samael tells us very little. And, as I mentioned, the Kingdom of Time doesn't conform to standard ranks; Sir Pheles claims the rank of Harlequin."
Rin snickered, "Even he calls himself a clown?"
"A trickster would be more appropriate," Angel muttered.
"I think it's likely the definition he'd claim is a light-hearted, nimble and astute servant, acting to thwart the plans of his master while pursuing his own love interest with wit and resourcefulness," Lightning suggested.
"Mephisto, with someone?" Rin's nose wrinkled in disgust.
"Perhaps less distracting for a teenager to simply say 'while pursuing his own interests'," Lightning amended.
Rin decided the appropriate response to the slight against his maturity would be to make a face at Lightning.
Lightning smirked then became more serious. "The more important question is who does Mephisto Pheles consider his master? Or perhaps who has made the mistake of considering him their servant? Samael? The Grigori? Satan? God?"
"Not Samael," Rin said with certainty.
Lightning glanced at him sharply.
"What about Iblis?" Rin asked. "What does he do?"
"Some kingdoms have a half-dozen Princes waiting in the wings, but Iblis is jealous of his power," Lightning explained. "He kills off anyone capable of challenging him before they reach their full power. Okumura-kun, to the best of my knowledge you're the only living Prince of Flames. Ucchusma is close, but he was defeated too definatively back when Iblis was consolidating his Kingdom. While you're not particularly strong right now, in all of Assiah or Gehenna's history you're the sole inheritor of Satan's blue flames, what you might become is down right terrifying. So you can either be killed because Iblis sees you as a threat to his power or you can become a threat in truth and hopefully defeat him."
"If he's really that much more powerful than me, how would I beat him? You pretty much said he's not going to sit around until I'm strong enough to fight him." Rin asked.
"By swearing yourself to the Myodha you've already made a good start against Iblis," Lightning said. "I'd guess that the only reason Iblis didn't eliminated Ucchusma was because he needed him as a bulwark against the Kingdom of Rot. You notice the Burning Impurity Kongo didn't waste any time securing you as an ally once the Impure King fell? The two of you along with the rest of the Myodha familiars have become a coalition that Iblis can't casually eliminate. We need to start strengthening that coalition before Iblis can find someone to assassinate you or muster the forces to take on the Myodha directly."
"How?" Rin repeated.
"We should start making contact with anyone else who might be on Iblis' hit list-"
"No!" Angel interrupted. "The Grigori will never agree to it. Okumura cannot go about making overtures to demons."
"Arthur-" Lightning began.
"No!"
"I kinda like the idea of getting more demons on Assiah's side," Rin said.
Angel winced.
Lightning sighed. "The Grigori doesn't want more demons on their side," he said then turned to Angel, "But we need them."
"Okumura's position with the Grigori is tenuous enough as it," Angel argued. "Maybe I would consider broaching the subject once the True Cross is more sure of him, once he's passed the Exorcist Exam. Until then Pheles and Ucchusma can do what they want with the information that Okumura opposes Iblis, but Rin? You will not actively do anything except fight the demons who attack Assiah. That is my final word on the subject."
Notes:
Perun - Slavic mythology. God of fire, lightning, mountains, the living world and a number of other things. Counterpart to Veles.
Helios - Greek mythology. Titan sun god. I picked him over Apollo due to Apollo also having an association with light.
Agni - Hindu mythology. God of fire, acceptor of sacrifices.
Brigid - Celtic mythology. She is the goddess of all things perceived to be of relatively high dimensions such as high-rising flames, highlands, hill-forts and upland areas; and of activities and states conceived as psychologically lofty and elevated, such as wisdom, excellence, perfection, high intelligence, poetic eloquence, craftsmanship (especially blacksmithing), healing ability, druidic knowledge and skill in warfare. Associated with perpetual, sacred flames.
Chantico - Aztec mythology. Goddess of the fire in the heart and volcanoes, noted for her possessiveness.
Entropy and Time - From some of the more philosophical discussion in physics classes: the arrow of time always points in the direction of increasing entropy aka increasing disorder. With Mephisto as King of Time, linking Time and Chaos has appeal.