So, I'm back again with a new update. I would have updated sooner but I was on holiday for a week (and I needed a break from studying and computer related stuff). Yeah, I will update the other side story (Rabbit and Wolf) later today after I finish up the last few finishing touches. Considering the Cage of Gold side story, I'm still working on polishing the earlier chapters before continuing.
Please enjoy the newest chapter now.
Lucifer eased her body against the green cushions and waited for these words to sink in.
"Wait, wait, wait…Just for the record." Kota took a deep breath. "You are brainwashed like Alisa was?"
"I didn't get the soft treatment of hypnosis, no. Like Victor said, mental and physical torture is more…" She licked over her lips and folded her hands in her lap. "For 'rearranging' things than just placing a command in your head for later use. That said, I am a product of this."
"But isn't it good that it starts to fall apart? I mean…"
"It's just as good as undoing your bracelet. The process is a one-way ticket to hell for your sanity or any rational thought you ever had. The only reason we don't go around killing and burning everything down is because of the following brainwashing to create another personality and training. It's like…an aragami that has learned to keep his hunger in check. It works, but it won't last."
Victor cleared his throat beside her to catch their attention.
"I hadn't the honor of participating in the rite or know what exactly goes on there but I have seen what it does to people. I get, that you might consider it an inhuman practice but it isn't without benefits."
"Without benefits?" How that man phrased the matter of torture like a business contract made Alisa's blood boil. She could remember what had been done to her. The whispers, the pictures they forced into her head to make her act like a puppet. Alone the thought that someone was 'breaking' people made her sick. Her gaze fell on Soma who stood there with his arms crossed. His eyes narrowed but he didn't say anything.
"It does. You have seen her fight, yes? Just imagine what she can do when she do when she turns her sense of pain off?"
"Turning it off?" Sakuya titled her head to the side, rubbing her chin.
"A human body is stronger than we think it is but we can't use all of it at once. Pain acts like a safety precaution. Of course, this is for the simple reason to not get ourselves hurt. You could easily rip your tendons or break your bones when you punch something with the natural strength but the damage you do can also break bones."
"So…That time, your legs just gave out on you was because you overstrained them?" Sakuya mused, half intrigued, half worried about this kind of 'ability'. She had read reports of people who weren't born with the feeling of pain due to neurological disease or lost it due to unknown circumstances. None of these was pleasant since they tended to break their bones or rip their tendons without noticing it at first.
"You could say it like that. I used it extensively when I thought against Ira. Or how did you think how I managed to move after the scrapes of metal almost gutted me?"
Victor's head snapped up and turned to her.
"Mind to explain the last part?"
Lucifer grimaced but sighed in the end and followed his request.
"I fought Ira. Or a half mutated version of him. Let's say I kind of made use of the field with the landmines we have still laying around in the ruins."
"You jumped with him into the Shard field, didn't you?" He calmly stated and fell silent for a couple of seconds. Then he inhaled deeply through his nose. "Into a large field filled with land mines, explosives and all those unholy inventions that would just go 'boom' without an explanation?"
"Like I said…"
"Well, at least, it became useful for once." He shrugged his shoulders and nodded as if he understood her course of action. "But that guy really must have been out for your blood."
"I kind of called him a…coward along the lines."
"I see."
Then out of nowhere he suddenly raised his voice. "What the fuck were you thinking by calling him a 'coward'?! For fuck's sake and everything beyond that, did your mind just black out on ya or what?"
"You know that Ira's weakness was to become as dumb as bread when he gets too angry."
"You know that he rips people apart when he gets angry. You could have lost an arm or leg when he just had gotten near your body. Do you even understand how fucking lucky you are to have survived this encounter?"
"He was uncontrolled and unstable at this point. If he had his mind intact, yeah, I would be dead by now." She calmly retorted. "Which would have been, considering the circumstances, for the best but you know by now that Death doesn't like me very much."
"No kidding. I lost count how often you are supposed to be dead by now." Victor rubbed his good eyes with an exhausted sigh before he sat down across from her. "Can I be so rude and ask for a glass of water? My throat is drying up a little bit." Lucifer complied with a short nod and stood up to walk over to the counter to grab a glass.
He loosened his muffler but kept his hood on. "I'm sorry for the unpleasant sight in advance."
This left eye was covered with bandages but couldn't hide the burns which seemed to wander down from the left side of his face to his throat and possibly even further than that.
"Wow, that looks nasty…What happened to you?" Just as soon as these words left Kota's mouth he earned a hit over the head from Alisa who flushed red in anger and embarrassment.
"I-I…apologize for his foul mouth."
Victor blinked, his brown eye flickering over them as the right corner of his lips curled up into a half-smile which turned soon into a pained grimace. Sakuya went to him to get a better look. His right eye carefully followed her movements but he didn't move away.
"Do you have something to moisturize the skin? It might ease the itching a bit."
Then his gaze flickered to Lucifer who placed a glass in front of him. She made a simple hand sign.
"Will it help when the whole left side is like this?"
"Well, you need more but if you carefully massage it in, it might help with the problems of your joints. I could give you a recommendation for salves to use if you like."
Again he looked towards Lucifer as if to ask for permission or some form of acknowledgment to this.
"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't use a medic." Lucifer wrinkled her eyebrows as if she was slightly offended by that underhanded accusation.
"Hmmm, true. It's still a little bit weird to be treated with kindness and respect, though. I stay an amoral assassin after all and with that, I'm not high on the priority list of other people." He turned to Sakyua again. "Thanks, Milady. Much appreciated but not needed." He gave her a nod and reached for the glass of water. "I carry this scars with honor as Ira would have said."
"The Self-torturing-tactic never suited you." Lucifer pointed out.
"I already saw the doors of hell and I said 'nope, not this time' and now I'm stuck with that. It makes for a hell of a pickup line. 'Hey, I am so hot, I literally combusted'." His strained laughter filled the room as the rest stared at him dumbfounded.
Lucifer, on the other hand, didn't seem really surprised by that statement. She rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Let me introduce you: That's Victor, my former right hand who is doomed to be forever single."
"As if you had more luck with that." He shot back.
"There is a difference between awful pick-up lines and choosing to be abstinent, you idiot."
"So the two flings you had with the other woman were you being abstinent now or what?"
"That was part of the job and you know that." Lucifer cleared her throat throwing an almost hesitant look at the rest of the group who just stared at them. "Please don't mind him. He is useful…but has a habit of sprouting nonsense every now and then."
"Of course, nonsense." Victor snorted but then he sighed, looking at the glass of water in his hands. "Ah…I'm gonna miss our quarrels and your insane but ingenious plans, you know."
"I'm not dead yet, so please save your speech." Lucifer retorted drily.
"Lucifer, there is a limit to what your body and mind can take and you are starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel here. You should quit. Nobody needs an unstable lunatic who endangers people in battle and you don't own these people a single bit of your remaining life." He drank the rest of the water and stood up.
"Just think about that. I have nothing against new company although I can't really say, I'm pleased but you are a danger." He paused. "I need to get back now before the others get worried about my absence. Consider this…We would take you in if you have nowhere to go. We owe you this much." As he walked out the door, Lucifer just looked at the empty glass in front of her.
"Lucy…"
"Leave me alone now. I'm not in the mood to talk."
Lucifer folded her arms and leaned against the railing which encircled the roof of the building. Her green eyes wandered over the lights of the city which illuminated the dark below her.
"A lunatic, huh?" The woman mumbled to herself and buried her chin in the fabric of her sleeves. After all these years, she was used to his rather blunt way of saying things. He was right, more often than not, even if she didn't want to admit it. Normally she would feel offended that he had called her useless but she couldn't gather the energy to get angry or even annoyed anymore. Inwardly Lucifer smirked to herself as she remembered that she punched him in the face the last time he went too far with his bluntness in front of other people.
Now it was just a silent agreement and it just underlined the seriousness of the situation at hand.
Her hands clasped around the railing as her gaze wandered downwards. As if out of a reflex her hands clamped down on the metal. She could feel cold hands closing around their wrists, holding them in place.
"No favors. No easy way out. You must pay the price."
Something was different. The voice was not build up from incoherent whispers but that of a girl.
"You have to pay."
A shiver climbed up her spine. She took a deep breath and waited for it to continue but it was gone. Then a nervous chuckle escaped her lips and she rubbed her eyes.
"I…should really get more sleep."
"I second that." This time, she jumped in surprise, clearly caught off-guard.
"A-Ah, it's just you, Death God." She couldn't hide the tremble in her voice and as she noticed she bit back a curse. He frowned at her behavior.
"Did you expect anyone else?"
Quickly she glanced at the sky, noting that the moon wasn't full today and then to the man with the standard sulky expression standing next to the door leading to the stairs. He wasn't here to converse with Shio, so much was sure.
"I didn't expect anyone being around here at this time."
"Yeah, I can see that." He paused and his expression turned angry as he crossed his arms before his chest. "What the hell were you planning to do just now?" Lucifer looked at her hands which still clung to the railing like it was a lifeline. This must give off a false impression.
"You wouldn't buy it when I say I just wanted to clear my head because I couldn't sleep, would you?"
"No, because you have a trend to do ridiculously dangerous things when we don't keep an eye on you." He pointed out, only making her chuckle. "Oh, and the great Death God doesn't? Of all people, I didn't expect you to be here. Alisa, Sakuya or Kota maybe but not you. Shouldn't you be in bed? There is a mission tomorrow."
"I could ask you the same thing."
"Let's be honest here, after this discussion, Sakuya will have me benched and I should be glad that you don't put me…What's the word for a hospital for the mentally sick?"
"Mental institution?" He answered since he got the notion that this question was actually serious as it lacked the usual teasing tone.
She repeated the word, letting every syllable rolling over her tongue and from her expression it was clear that she heard this for the first time. "Ah, will I get drugged up when I land there?"
"You will be put under watch and treated according to your mental state. Yeah, you probably will get medicine and sedatives and since you are clearly suicidal, they make sure that you won't get through with it."
She titled her head to the side.
"I kind of…don't like the idea of such a place."
"Were you scared that we are reporting you?" Her chuckle that followed his question was nervous, almost as if she tried to play it off. Her body language screamed cornered animal as she was avoiding his gaze and fold her fingers to avoid him noticing that they were trembling. It was unusual to see her like that but he guessed that insomnia, combined with too much pent up stress could throw even a person like her easily off-balance.
"I was locked away for lesser reasons," She answered instead of outright denying the possibility which made him only frown more.
"You really thought we would do something like that?"
"Well, as far as I have gathered, you people wouldn't kill a threat off, so the next course of action would be better to lock it up before it does something…bad."
"The only person who is locking anything is you."
"You are the one to talk, dear Death God. Besides that, I never lock the door when I'm inside and rather trust that you will understand my wish for privacy. I'm rather surprised that after you didn't go through my stuff after your whole…well…searching for 'clues' and information with my involvement with the former director."
"Since when did you know that I was searching for something behind your back?"
"Because I never gave you a reason to trust me from the very start. Teasing and ridiculing you, dropping hints and pieces that something was wrong…" This time, Lucifer looked directly at him. A smirk gracing her features. "Especially when suddenly important files of me go…missing, for the lack of a better term."
"You…" His eyes narrowed for a second and then widened. "You deleted them?"
"I deleted lies and the coverup was bad in itself."
"For what exactly was that necessary?!"
"Because I wanted to you to notice that something was 'wrong'."
"By making yourself a suspect?"
She didn't answer.
"So the thing that you wanted to kill Shio…Was that staged as well?"
"No. At that moment, I seriously considered pulling the trigger. It was nothing personal but he couldn't trigger the apocalypse if she isn't there."
Out of her mouth, it sounded like a calculated, logical move to make and not that she almost shot a dear friend to him. It made his blood boil and he gritted his teeth.
Lucifer closed her eyes.
"I'm almost surprised that you are not going to rip my head off for this. I applaud your restraint." She sighed. "Besides my profession, I was never forced to kill an innocent kid like her and to be honest, I never owed humanity so much that I would go so far. Well, that decision almost killed us all."
"But it didn't."
"That was a lucky coincidence. Morals are fine and all but they don't help you to stay alive. Still...I couldn't find myself being able to care that humanity might die with it and that is…unusual to say at least."
"You never gave off the impression that you care much about anything."
"Neither do you and there are you, trailing being the others and trying to not getting them killed which begs the question why did you contact Victor in the first place?"
"Since you weren't talking, we thought it was time for…the alternative."
"You knew that he was probably an assassin or a dangerous individual."
"I had a hunch considering your other 'friends'."
"You still let them contact him?"
"I was against the idea. Sakuya was too, for your information. She had other reasons, though."
"That might be?"
"It would put too much stress on your health. I was just against the fact that we invite another nut job into this building."
"Ouch." Lucifer chuckled in an amused way. "That hurt."
"It didn't."
"It's called sarcasm, Death God. Not everybody has to have the mentality of a grumpy, blunt, old man."
He clicked his tongue at her awfully pleased smirk. "Still better than being a brainwashed, workaholic assassin who doesn't take things seriously sometimes." This time, she snickered.
"Please never lose your brutal honesty. Combined with your grumpy expression and hilarious awkwardness in social interactions, it makes your charm."
"What the hell do you mean with 'hilarious awkwardness'?"
Lucifer turned to him, with a smug smile on her face.
"You are handsome but sometimes just awfully cute when you don't know what to do."
His jaw dropped at her sudden words and as he tried to regain composure and noticed he was failing spectacularly, she started to laugh. It was different than before as it hadn't the hollow ring to it as it sounded more delighted and 'normal'. He could feel his face heat up and clicked his tongue again in annoyance.
"Especially when you do that." She pointed at his face. "That doesn't save you from punishment, though. This was awfully dangerous and stupid."
"Like something that you would do?"
"Ah, now we are getting cocky." The smirk on her face vanished. "No, the difference is that I know Victor and I know Mammon and I can halfway estimate what they are going to do and how far they would go. Yes, a few 'insane' decisions would have been involved, like going to a place in the first place but…"
"You jumped into a field full of explosives."
"…You will never let that live that down, will you?"
"No."
Lucifer sighed in defeat and then looked up at the sky.
"You should go back to bed. The mission tomorrow might be essential and dangerous."
"A standard cleaning up at the City of Mercy."
"What do you define as 'standard'?"
Soma threw her a short glance before answering. "A couple of evolved cocoon maidens, a Chi-you and a Fallen Borg Camlann according to the latest report of your scouts there."
Her eyes narrowed but still observed the stars.
"…I see. The job never ends does it?"
"No, since we can't kill them completely and they just form newer stronger forms." He cursed under his breath. "This world has really gone to hell."
"I disagree. Just because it has gone to hell for the human race for a change, it doesn't make it hell for the rest of what is alive on this planet."
"You mean the aragami? Yeah, they are having a blast by tearing us apart." He shot back. "You know that we are struggling here to fight a battle that is basically hopeless, don't you?"
"If you go out with that notion tomorrow, then I'm surprised that you don't get yourself injured or killed." The woman retorted bluntly and underlined the words with a smile. "Just thinking something is not destroyable always ends with your loss. Trust me, we operated on that belief. The whole thing with demons, the rumors, and everything is just psychological warfare."
"Then what do you call it then?"
"Hmm…A battle of endurance or patience. They started to kill us, we found a way to harm them, they evolve, we evolve…and so on. Maybe our generation is not the one who will beat them but the next could be. We just have to ensure that there is the next generation." Suddenly the smirk fell from her lips and she looked dejected.
"Ah, I knew I would die soon but I haven't imagined that it would be like that."
He was quiet for a few seconds.
"In what way?"
"I wasn't made to live long. Hell, I should already have fallen apart a year ago but I'm still here and the rest is dead…" She rubbed her tired eyes. "And everything is gone. Ah, should have seen that coming."
The woman pushed herself away from the railing. "You should really go to sleep and tell Alisa and Kota that they should stop spying on us. It's a nasty habit to have."
"And you?"
"Sorry, I need just a little more time alone. Clear my thoughts and all. A lot of shit has happened in quick succession."
"Then I'm not leaving."
She glanced back at him.
"Are you my watchdog now?" She looked displeased. "Fine…I'm going to bed and try to sleep." The woman grumbled under her breath. "Hey, Kota, Alisa! You should get some sleep too!"
Just on cue, they heard something shift and then tumble and hit the floor.
"Kota! Get off me!"
"W-Wha…?! Ouch!"
Soma and Lucifer exchanged a glance and sighed simultaneously.
"Goddammit, I know I should have gone with Victor."
"No, you don't."
"Death God?"
"Hm?"
"Shut up."
Yeah, not much development, I know but I didn't want to rush this kind of topic and Lucifer needed a break. I just noticed that was the longest conversation Soma and Lucy had without getting at each others throats. (Hey, that could count as development of some kind).
Oh, well, for those interested, I have still a lot of unused stuff that didn't make the cut (or so to say, fillers) and yeah, there is romance involved in those as well, but not the AlisaxFemc kind of stuff. (That has its own spinoff.) If any of you are interested, I will release them as well. (I write a freaking lot in my freetime if you have noticed it already. xD)
So, have a nice night,
TheNocturnalHunter