Chapter 6: O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Jonah
(0 days after arrival in Asgard)
"..nah! Wake up Jonah!"
"W-wha? What's happening?"
I'm not a morning person. That's not exactly a secret, so why is everyone in such a-
"Jonah! Wake up already! The mansion is being attacked!"
That gets my attention. I roll out of bed and notice both Dad and Hayden dressed for battle, Hayden with his Thunder Axe and Dad carrying his engraved scepter.
"Attacked?! Who's-"
"No time for that Jonah, we have to move!"
I bite back on the numerous questions I have and instead grab a small pocketknife off of my desk, more for my peace of mind than because I know how to use it effectively. I'm more of a sword guy.
"Philip, Hayden, are you done yet? We gotta get our asses in gear here!"
I start at that familiar voice and sure enough Dominic sticks his head through the door, giving me a brief nod before going back to watching the corridor.
Dominic is Mom's other Rook, an African American man that used to be an underground fight ring gladiator until a competitor got a little too physical and ended up snapping his spine in half. Mom had been in the neighborhood checking up on some business and had seen potential in him.
One reincarnation later and Dominic has served our family loyally for decades.
It also drives home how serious the situation must be if he's telling us that we have to hurry. Dominic is never in a hurry.
Dad quickly beckons to me and I follow him out of the room, Dominic taking up the rear as Dad and Hayden create a Human wall in front of me.
Even as we start sprinting through the mansion's corridors I can't help but anxiously ask, "What about Caine, where's he? And Mom?"
Hayden tersely replies with, "Relax Jonah, Caine will be fine. Your Mother and Shyan are getting him now, he'll be headed to Tiffania and Fareth's home, you'll be off to my family in Asgard."
"Why me? Wouldn't Caine be better accepted since he's your Son-"
He cuts me off with a shake of his head.
"Your room was closer. And they'll accept you just fine, there's a friend of my parent's named Gondul who also-"
"GET DOWN!"
Dominic suddenly pushes me to the ground and takes up a defensive stance above me as Dad swiftly makes a hand gesture and a large Magic Circle with concentric formula's springs up above us, blocking a myriad of attacks both Magical and physical with resounding gongs as the projectiles are knocked away.
I rapidly glance around and see that we'd run into one of the open-air walkways that go through the central courtyard and are being attacked by what looks like 8 hooded and masked figures that have taken up position on the opposite rooftop. They'd probably have gotten us if it hadn't been for Dad's clutch shield.
Quickly realizing that attacking Dad's defense is a losing proposition the figures jump down from the roof, leaving one of them holding some kind of crossbow still in his previous position. A textbook strategy, attacking around the shield from numerous angles while the guy on overwatch can provide covering fire if it's dropped or moved out of position.
They didn't take into account just how strong my Dad and the other 2 are though.
With a roar Hayden swings his axe in a looping overhead chop that corresponds with a deafening CRACK as a bolt of lighting suddenly collides with the bowman that was posted on the roof. Once I blink away the glare all I see of the guy is a smoking crater almost 2 meters across and a few small fires where flammable stuff had caught fire.
The other 7 aren't deterred and 2 of them suddenly skid to a halt and raise their hands, Magic circles forming as they do.
Boy did they pick the wrong opponent to go up against.
Not missing a beat Dad drops the shield and raises his own arms, quickly chanting under his breath as 2 different Circles spring to life in his open palm and at the tip of his scepter. All of the sudden one of the Magic users shoots back with alarming force and collides with a stone wall, his back making a loud snapping noise before he bonelessly falls forward. The other guy's death is less dramatic, but no less certain. A mirror bright beam barely a centimeter round shoots out of Dad's circle and burns right through the assassin's head, leaving a smoking hole and the dude sways for a moment before limply pitching forward.
Neither of them even had time for an incantation.
While Dad was handling those 2 the other 5 continue their charge. Hayden moves forward to engage them and one breaks off to no doubt distract him while the others continue onward.
Another big mistake.
The leading attacker slashes out with a short sword…only for Hayden to suddenly blur as his axe smashes down on the guy, crumpling his body like some discarded plastic bottle.
Don't let his size fool you, my unofficial Dad can be scary fast when he needs to be. Further driving home my point with a fierce swing of his arm he throws his axe at one of the passing assailants who's so caught up in his charge that he doesn't even notice the weapon pinwheeling towards him until it buries itself in his chest and sends him bouncing across the ground for almost 8 meters where he comes to a stop in a bloody heap. Not content with that Hayden leaps to the side and quickly tackles one more to the ground and I think it's safe to say that particular mercenary is as good as dead.
The last 2 wise up and adopt a single file formation, putting Dominic in something of a bind. Only being able to see one of the assassins he'll essentially have to wait until the last possible second to counter them or they'll slip past and go right for me.
It's kinda obvious at this point it's my useless ass they're gunning for.
Well, no reason I can't be a little proactive…
Focusing I extend a Shade towards the lead assailant…and promptly trip up his leg, causing him to face plant full force onto the ground. The attacker behind him has to leap over his comrade or risk getting tangled up as well.
Dominic takes full advantage of the brief opening.
Leaping forward he throws himself into a spinning kick that brings his heel into contact with the still airborne guy's neck with a resounding snap that sends his now limp body careening off to the side. Not hesitating even a second he continues his forward stride and grabs the recovering masked assassin's neck and with a violent twist breaks it.
The 3 of them take a moment to look around and make sure everything is settled before Dominic turns around and gives a small grin, saying, "Nice thinking with the Shade there. Let's get a move on."
"When were you planning on telling me about this?"
Without missing a beat Dad replies, "When you or Caine were taking over the Family duties, although ideally you never would have had to know about these Circles in the first place."
The 4 of us had entered an impressively hidden side door in one of the guest wings of the mansion, Dominic staying behind to watch the entrance while Dad and Hayden had come inside with me. It's an utterly plain room with no distinguishing features on it, the only decoration being an intricate Magic Circle on the floor that looks quite different than most Devil made Circles, almost as if it borrows formulas from other factions.
"Jonah, take this."
Dad suddenly pushes a simple metal box into my arms and emotionally says, "Much like this room, I'd hoped to never have to give you this at all. Inside are a few texts that might help you whenever you find yourself stuck. Lucifer willing I'll see you again in a few days, maybe a few hours at best, but…"
I swallow back the lump of emotion that forms in my throat and try to put on a brave face. I know Dad wants to tell me everything will be alright…but he's far too honest to lie like that. Which makes me even more scared since my parents would never just send me and Caine off just because of a little attack. They certainly didn't do that when the Stray Devil attacked a few months ago. Those 8 assassins earlier must just have been the tip of the spear, indicative of something far larger happening.
He leans forward and wraps me in a fierce hug and intensely whispers, "Stay strong Jonah. You've made me prouder than I can ever say all these years, and I know you'll accomplish great things with your intelligence. The higher head is the more important one…although maybe you'll be questioning that in the coming years."
My mouth twitches briefly despite the severity of the situation and I archly say, "A boner joke at a time like this?"
He offers a smile of his own and simply replies, "It's hard to find a good time to bring them up."
I briefly chuckle and give Dad one last hug before he steps aside and Hayden stands, or rather crouches, next to me with a sad grin on his face.
"We may not have been related by blood, but you're just as much as my son as Caine is. Watching you grow up alongside Caine has been one of the happiest times of my life. Much like my unofficial Brother over there said, I don't doubt for a second that you're destined for greatness. Until next time Jonah."
He hugs me much like Philip did, although It feels vaguely like getting hugged by a brick wall.
I treasure it anyway.
As soon as Hayden steps back a sudden tidal wave of Demonic Power saturates the area and I can't restrain my gasp.
That level of strength is Ultimate-Class, easily.
No…bigger than that.
Dad and Hayden both quickly stand straighter and Dad gives me one last meaningful look before he channels a bit of Magic into the Circle…
…And I'm gone.
In the blink of an eye I'm staring at the interior of a blank stone room, not much decorating it except for a few landscape paintings of varying quality.
Not really enough to distract me from the dawning realization that the events of the last few minutes actually happened, and weren't some bizarre fever dream.
I shake myself out of my stupor as I hear a few voices growing louder and suddenly a door bangs open and 3 figures march in, 2 of them displaying agitation and tenseness.
"Jonah? What are you doing here? And why so suddenly? What happened?"
I give a small shake of my head and focus on the speaker. Bjarke Geir, Hayden's father and almost as tall as Hayden himself. He's acting more than a little agitated, clearly not expecting me to be here and is worried why.
If only he knew just how right he probably is…
"I…I don't know. The mansion was under some kind of attack by these hooded guys, probably mercenaries, and Dad and Hayden had me use the Circle and get out of there."
Bjarke stands stock still for a moment before he leaves the room in a rush. Hertha, Hayden's mother and a beautiful woman with light brown hair, frowns after him before following in his wake. The last remaining person, an average sized older woman with hair that's equal parts silver and grey, sighs at their departure and fixes me with a kindly look.
"I'm afraid we haven't been introduced before. My name is Gondul Ragna, I'm a friend of Bjarke and Hertha. And you are?"
Swallowing back my nervousness and shock at everything I briefly recall Hayden mentioning a Gondul and reply with, "Jonah. Jonah Valefor."
Her eyes imperceptibly widen and she asks, "Valefor? As in the Devil to whom Hayden was wed?"
"That's the one."
"I was under the impression that it was Caine who was Hayden's son."
"You're right, but…the attack came too fast to do anything but send us on our way. Beyond that you know as much as me."
She gives a brief nod of her head.
"Thank you for satisfying my curiosity, and I apologize for asking such intrusive questions at such a time. Come inside."
I stiffly follow her, mind elsewhere, until all of the sudden Gondul freezes and authoritatively asks, "And just where do you think you're going Bjarke?"
"Is it not obvious? I'm going back! I will not let my only son face down assassins or worse by himself!"
"He isn't by himself. He likely has all of the Valefor Peerage as well as the head herself aiding him. And just how do you plan to go back in the first place? Walk there?"
I walk in the door just as I see 'Uncle' Bjarke carrying an axe and shield but no other armor. He scowls and angrily replies, "The Magic Circle obviously! The same way-"
"Use your head! If they had any sense at all they would have destroyed the Circle immediately so that it can't be used again. Face reality Bjarke, you cannot do anything more tonight."
Bjarke's face transforms seamlessly from anger to one of helplessness.
"Please Gondul, you are one of the best Magicians in all of Asgard, can you not-"
"Transport you to their manor? Given a day and the buildings exact location, perhaps. But at that point whatever is happening will have happened and our efforts will have been for nothing. Peace, warrior. Look into this Child's eyes and tell me he isn't already worried enough for us all."
Bjarke glances at me and immediately a flash of shame crosses his face before he grimaces and relaxes his stance somewhat.
"…My apologies Jonah, I didn't mean to worry you."
A self-deprecating smile comes to his face and he bitterly says, "Only our 3rd time meeting and you must have a low opinion of me already."
I shake my head in firm denial.
"No, I understand perfectly. I'm…worried too."
Hertha comes up behind him and despite her equally apparent apprehension she lays a comforting hand on Bjarke's shoulder. I try to think of something to say but all of the sudden Bjarke straightens his back and loudly states, "Gondul, can I ask you to watch Jonah for awhile? Hertha and I will see Lord Odin and inform him of this situation and the potential fallout it may cause."
The older woman nods and replies, "I will. Rossweisse and Sylvi will no doubt be curious and want to meet him as well."
Hertha leans forward and gives me a quick hug.
"We apologize for leaving you behind so soon Jonah, but-"
"No, I understand. Please, just do what you can."
Bjarke gives me a quick squeeze on the shoulder before they depart without another word, moving quickly.
Thing's are quiet for a moment before Gondul sighs and turns to me.
"You no doubt have alot on your mind right now, but would you mind accompanying me back to my Grandchildren? They've no doubt become bored in the 5 minutes we've been gone..."
She must have taken my silence for a yes because she nods and commandingly says, "Follow me then."
She leads me into the living room which hasn't changed much in the 2 years since I've been here. A comfortable arrangement of couches with intricate wood carving and thick cushions situated around a large fireplace with a large coffee table set in the middle of it all and not much else.
"Where the heck did you go off in such a hurry Grandmother? And why were Bjarke and Hertha in such a mad rush to get out of here? And who's that?"
Gondul lightly chuckles before calmly replying with, "One inquiry at a time Sylvi. Curiosity is a good thing, but not all at once. Jonah, allow me to introduce my Granddaughters to you. The excitable one is Sylvi Magnhild and the quiet one is her older sister Rossweisse."
Instead of running after Bjarke and Hertha and finding out what's happening back at home, which is really what I want to be doing right now, I take a deep breath and focus on the 2 girls Gondul was introducing.
The excitable one, Sylvi, is staring at me in unabashed curiosity, a slight tip to her head and one side of her mouth curved upwards in a fun loving smirk. She has hair that's almost painfully white that reaches down to her neck in a loose waterfall, although it's her dark blue eyes that draw the most attention.
Who Gondul described as the quiet one, Rossweisse, is far more guarded with her observation, her light blue eyes carefully searching mine. In contrast to what I'm assuming is her younger sister her silver hair reaches down to in between her shoulder blades, her hands calmly folded in her lap.
Jarring me out of my observations Gondul suddenly clears her throat and then proceeds to walk away, saying to herself, "Perhaps a warm drink to help lighten the mood…hopefully Bjarke keeps something other than mead around…"
She walks out and there's a bit of an awkward silence between the 3 of us.
Well, mostly between Rossweisse and me, Sylvi simply looks like she can't decide what answer to get first. The silence only lasts maybe a quarter of a minute before the younger girl enthusiastically asks, "So are you a real Devil?"
Briefly amused by the question I slowly unfurl my wings for dramatic effect and reply with, "I am."
She looks like she's just seen the truth of the universe and whispers out, "That's so cool…anyway, what are you doing here? Bjarke and Hertha practically ran out of here after you arrived so whats the big deal?"
I clench a fist by my side before taking a steadying breath and replying with, "Hayden was my…well, Father-in-Law describes it well enough I suppose. And I'm here because our home started being attacked not more than an hour ago…they sent me here because they figured it would be safe."
There's a moment of silence before Sylvi's eyes widen as she no doubt makes the connection between Bjarke and Hertha's panic as well as my own quasi-shocked state to understand the severity of what's happening.
"Norsefire! I-I'm sorry, I just got overexcited at finally meeting a real Devil and didn't put things together, I'm really really-"
I raise my hand and offer a tired smile in reply to her frantic apologies.
"It's fine Miss Sylvi. You didn't have any reason to think my situation was so dire, I'm not offended."
She still looks mortified and Rossweisse suddenly sighs.
"Sylvi, this is exactly why Grandmother keeps telling you to keep better control over your excitement. You're lucky Lord Jonah was kind enough to not make a fuss over this."
The younger sister looks like she just got knocked down a pretty significant peg and I can't help the small smile that comes to my face before I speak up with, "While I agree with your Older Sister about having fine control over your emotions, curiosity is something I don't mind at all. I think it's a good thing you have such an unquenchable appetite for knowledge Miss Sylvi. And please, Miss Rossweisse, I'm not a Lord of anything. Just Jonah is fine."
The shorter Asgardan shoots me a look equal parts amusement and thankfulness before happily saying, "Well if you insist that we call you Jonah, then drop the whole 'Miss' thing with us. Just our given names will do. Right, Elder Sister?"
Rossweisse's mouth briefly quirks before she sighs and replies, "I don't have an issue with that."
Gondul suddenly returns with 4 steaming mugs in her hands and chuckles at our conversation.
"You can afford to learn a lessor or 3 on etiquette from this young man Sylvi. But enough about that, how are your assignments coming along?"
Sylvi suddenly winces while Rossweisse offers up a brief look of frustration before she tiredly replies with, "I'll need to take another few days to figure this assignment out Grandmother…it's currently above my abilities."
Gondul merely shrugs and says, "Take as many days as you need. Asgardans older than you have taken weeks to figure out the underlying principles of summoning Magic. You're doing just fine Rossweisse."
I raise an eyebrow despite myself. So Rossweisse is far ahead in her studies then? Interesting.
Gondul suddenly turns to me and says, "Would you like to try looking at some of my Granddaughter's assignments? It might help keep your mind off of things a bit."
Despite myself I'm feeling a bit of curiosity myself and simply nod in affirmation. Sylvi hands me a piece of paper with a Magic Circle drawn on it and says, "This is a standard Norse fire rune. If I remember right Devils use pretty different methods for using Magic so this'll probably look pretty weird to you. The assignment was to describe the method for how this rune is activated, it'll be something for you to work on if you're here for awhile."
I take it and nod in thanks, my mind slipping into it's analytical state regardless of my other worries at the moment.
Ok, it's circular in shape like quite a few Magic formula, that's a start. Circular runes make for good energy circulation and stabilization so the whole Spell doesn't fall apart on any sharp 'corners', that's mainly why most Magic Transport Circles are round in design. Don't want your telportation spell going haywire and dropping you in the Dimensional Gap or something bizarre like that.
That's mostly where the similarities end though. Afterwards there's strange formula and designs that focus less on directly causing said phenomena to happen and more on drawing power from…someplace.
Hmm…if memory serves most Norse Magic is casted with the aid of fairies and other sprites, since it was originally adopted from the Elves who communed with Spirits within their forests.
Ok, that explains alot. In fact, I think I got this.
Sylvi must have seen my expression because she asks, "Are you on to something? You look pretty intense there Jonah."
I shake myself out of my stupor and reply with, "Sorry, it's just that I got caught up in figuring this out. Mind if I share a theory with you?"
She raises an eyebrow in surprise but says, "Sure, go ahead."
Rossweisse and Gondel also listen attentively as I begin with, "Well to start with Devil Magic is focused more on directly altering physical phenomena. Since Devils, Angels and Fallen Angels tend to have more raw 'Magic' reserves than other factions do we can afford to be a little wasteful with how we use our Magic. That's a pretty broad simplification of what we do but it's a good jumping off point."
I take a deep breath and continue with, "This particular Rune caught my interest because it doesn't seem to alter anything so much as it does call upon something. I remembered that Norse Magic was partially derived from Elven Magic and that caused me to recall that Elves often communicate with Spirits around them to perform their Magical feats. Long story short, this Rune calls upon an already existing Fire Spirit's strength to cause flames, the amount of Magic put into it altering what level of Spirit is summoned. A pretty clever work around for having a smaller amount of 'Magic' available to you. Harder to learn, sure, but way more efficient."
I lean back and then notice that all 3 of them are staring at me like I just grew another head.
"…Did I get it wrong?"
Gondul slowly shakes her head before carefully replying with, "No, you described it perfectly…Jonah how much time have you spent studying Norse Magic?"
"As of today?"
She nods.
"Well…I studied a bit of Asgardan history, but this was my first time actually seeing a Norse Rune. Why?"
Sylvi suddenly heaves an explosive sigh and turns to her Sister.
"Better step up your game Rose, there's another genius in town."
I frown and confusedly ask, "Is it really that impressive?"
Gondul merely nods and explains, "Just by glancing at a Rune for a few minutes you were able to intuitively grasp the function behind it and why it worked that way. The academy for Magicians in Asgard spends at least 3 days covering that particular topic. It's no small feat Jonah, and I'm legitimately impressed."
I feel a little bashful before Rossweisse clears her throat and asks, "Perhaps you would like to examine my own assignment Jonah? I'm sure you'd find it interesting."
I can't help my brief chuckle at how her tone is equal parts legitimate curiosity and competitiveness.
"If you don't mind Rossweisse, I'll keep to the basics for now."
Sylvi chuckles and slides another Rune towards me.
"Then I'll keep em' coming Mr. Genius. Heck, in a couple days you might be able to actually help me with my own stuff."
I just give a modest shrug and bend over the latest bit of parchment, beginning to unravel it's mysteries.
It's not enough to completely distract me from my fear and worries over the rest of my family, and how utterly powerless I am right now…but it does help.
Caine
(3 weeks 5 days after arrival in Kalichi)
"I expect you to be on your best behavior Kid, Lisa might still be a bit…well, you know."
I resist the urge to sigh and instead reply with, "I'll be a perfect gentleman. You should probably keep an eye on Shirone though, she has a habit of talking too much and not letting other people say their bit."
Kuroka briefly snorts while the object of my little joke just shoots me a half-hearted glare before studiously ignoring me. Walking up to the front door of the Church Kuroka bangs on it a few times before Sister Bianca opens it and immediately fixes her raptor like gaze on us. After a second of careful observation she steps aside and taciturnly says, "Come inside. Lisa is in the garden."
She's almost as talkative as Shirone. Regardless we slip by and make our way to the back of the Church, passing the usual line of people waiting for the Church's handouts. Out of the corner of my eye I see Kuroka and Shirone gradually start to tense up as they approach the garden's door and I can't help but feel a little nervous myself. I hope this doesn't end badly for those 2…
Kuroka gently pushes open the door and walks inside, me and Shirone closely following behind and looking around for-
"Kuroka! Shirone! It's so good to see you again! Father David said that you 2 were off with the person who helped him find me, how have you been?"
Well…she seems fine to me. I take a closer look at Lisa now that she's actually awake and about, wearing a standard Nuns outfit. Her startlingly bright turquoise eyes appear happy to see the 2 Yokai and there's no hint of instability in her manner, just legitimate happiness. I guess David wasn't joking when he said Lisa was strong in the mental department.
Kuroka jumps forward and gives the smaller girl a big hug which is returned with equal enthusiasm and Shirone joins in on the action, leaving me standing off to the side like a discarded dance partner.
"Never mind us, how are you Lisa? Are you ok? Did you heal fine?"
She waves off her concern and airily replies with, "I'm in perfect health! Still keeping your Sister out of trouble Shirone?"
The albino cat gives a small smile and simply says, "Trying."
Giving a small giggle Lisa then notices me and asks, "Oh, I'm sorry for ignoring you, are you a friend of Kuroka and Shirone?"
Kuroka grins and wraps an arm around Lisa before saying, "You bet he is, say hello to Caine! And get this, he's the one who told Paladin how to get to you!"
The plain worship in her eyes is almost physically painful for me and she clasps her hands before intoning, "Oh God, please bestow your blessings on Caine for-"
I give a sudden hiss of pain as a moderate headache rips its way through my brain and I hastily raise my hand, desperately saying, "It's ok! You don't have to pray for me, I didn't even do much of anything."
Lisa drops her hands in confusion until Kuroka smirks at me and tells her, "I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but Caine over here is a Devil, so prayers are gonna hurt him something fierce."
And just like that Lisa freezes.
Kuroka's eyes widen as she realizes she just said something very dangerous and Shirone gives both me and Lisa equally concerned looks.
I nervously try to think of something to say to the obviously terrified Elf, who seems to be instinctively edging away from me, her legs trembling and eyes not blinking nor leaving mine and I can't help but feel like I directly took part of her torture just by being a Devil.
Guilt by association and all that.
Unable to come up with anything I just sigh and tiredly say, "I'll be outside, I don't think now's a good time for me to be here."
No one else says anything and I dejectedly walk out of the room.
…Should I really even be surprised? No matter how tough someone might be, there's no way they could go through what that poor girl expirienced and come out perfectly fine, like none of it even happened. And then the 3 of us went ahead and just pretty much slapped her in the face with a nice hot plate of PTSD!
I can't even bring myself to be mad at the 2 cats, they were worried about their friend, I should have been the voice of reason and suggested that maybe introducing a Devil to someone who'd just spent who knows how long being the plaything of one might not be a good idea.
Dammit…
"Ah, I see you've returned from your trip Caine."
I barely display any sign of acknowledging David's appearance and I hear him sigh as he sits next to me.
"…May I ask what's bothering you?"
Heaving a sigh of my own I despondently reply with, "Just reflecting on the fact that I'm nowhere near as smart as I sometimes think I am."
"That can be said of a great many people."
"Fair enough, but what I just did was really dumb. For crying out loud David, me and the 2 cats pretty much walked right up into Lisa's face and said, 'hey, remember that time you were tortured by a Devil, here's another one'!"
I finally look into his face and find a disappointed frown on his face and immediately feel even worse.
At least until he says, "Kuroka and Shirone didn't try to dissuade you from meeting her so soon?"
"Uh, no, now that I think about it. They actually pretty much dragged me along."
He gives a low groan before tiredly muttering, "Those 2…honestly, would it kill them to try thinking ahead for once?"
I give a confused look at his words and he elaborates with, "While it was rather foolish and insensitive to so abruptly meet with Lisa, and you're right to feel bad about that, I'd say much of the blame should ride on the Sister's shoulders."
"Huh? But why? They didn't mean to-"
"Of course they didn't mean to, but the fact remains that by being overly excited they both frightened Lisa and hurt your feelings. Or is there another reason you're sulking alone over here?"
I scowl in annoyance and retort with, "I'm not sulking…"
I then realize how dumb that sounded and grudgingly admit, "Ok, maybe I am sulking a bit, but it's not that big of a deal."
David just gives me an amused glance before standing up and asking, "Could you indulge my curiosity and have a quick spar with me Caine? I'm curious to see what 3 weeks has done for you."
I feel a bit elated at the prospect of actually going up against someone who isn't Kuroka or Shirone…until I remember that David is the one who trained the 2 Yokai in the first place and I inwardly wince, resigning myself to yet another beatdown.
Well, I wanted to train with the best…
We walk out to a small dirt patch in the middle of the Church's courtyard and square off.
"So do we want to do physical stuff only or the works?"
David shrugs and says, "Use whatever you wish, it'll give me a clearer idea of what you're capable of right now."
I nod in agreement and settle into a crouch…right before David immediately pushes off the ground and sprints toward me with zero warning whatsoever.
This would have likely caught me off guard if it wasn't for the fact that both Kuroka and Shirone did it several times during our weeks long 'vacation' and I just kinda grew to expect it.
I see where they learned it from.
Not losing my head I immediately summon a Shade and snake it right beneath his foot just before he's about to lift it up, causing him to pitch forward and I can't resist smirking.
Said smirk is erased an instant later as instead of face planting David slaps his open palms onto the ground and in an impressive display of agility and strength manages to turn his fall into a very fast, if not rough, forward roll that brings him within arms reach of me.
Biting back a curse I immediately backpedal and dodge to the right, narrowly avoiding his fist as it shoots toward my skull. I have to immediately kill my rightwards momentum, however, since his other arm shoots and would have smacked me in the face if I didn't awkwardly grind to a halt mid-dodge.
Which is when I realize that was his plan all along, since I'm now completely motionless and inertialess with my feet firmly planted in the ground, the perfect target for a good old fashioned pummeling.
Sure enough he lashes out with a straight punch towards my nose and I get my open palms up in front of the approaching appendage, hoping to absorb some of the impact.
It works somewhat, as instead of knocking my lights out, my head merely snaps back as the back of my hands collide with my forehead and I stagger back.
Thankfully I've had plenty of expirience with getting brutalized by Kuroka and Shirone.
Turning my stagger into a backflip I flare my wings and flap downwards mid flip, causing a wave of dirt to hit David in the face and giving me a large push backwards that puts about 6 meters total distance between us.
I re-summon my Shade and focus on hardening it, creating a tendril of Shadow that has the toughness of a solid wood stick, but the flexibility of flesh and blood. No sooner does David clear his eyes of the dust that got in them does he hastily throw up an arm in front of my descending 8 meter long Shadow appendage.
There's an audible thwack noise as it connects with the meat of his forearm and he winces slightly while my Shade bounces off…before I immediately swing it back around at his feet, forcing him to jump over it in an improvised game of jump rope. I grin as through the Shade's feedback I can actually feel the force my blows are landing with, giving me a decent idea of how much damage my blows are actually doing.
Getting slightly desperate David actually grabs hold of my Shade and gives it a hard yank, apparently assuming that doing so would somehow pull me off balance.
I merely dispel it and immediately form a new one, landing a solid hit on his side since his attempted pull left him briefly off balance.
I guess all that training with the girls really did payoff.
Deciding to put an end to this I carefully sneak my 2nd Shade towards David, hoping to tangle up his legs and land a disabling blow somewhere. He's in the middle of taking a step forward, no doubt planning to simply charge through my strikes, when I wrap the hidden 2nd Shade around his foot and manage to keep him in place.
With a triumphant grin I swing my attacking Shade downwards towards his head…just before he suddenly opens his palm in my direction, showing a small Magic Circle formed in it.
That's the last thing I see before my vision goes white and a stabbing pain shoots through my head, causing me to give a brief shout of surprise and pain and stagger backward.
That sly Bastard! That must have been a Holy spell if my sunburned feeling skin and dissipated Shade are anything to judge by, normal light wouldn't have burned away an already formed Shade.
Furiously blinking I feel David tear loose of my 2nd Shade, it still being rather weak unfortunately, and I just backpedal as hard as I can, fervently hoping my eyesight returns in time.
Thankfully it clears up enough that I can make out the blurry figure of David charging towards me with frightening speed and I pull out my last card I have. Pointing my finger towards him I channel a bit of Magic and shout out, "[Shock Bolt]!"
A crackling arc of electricity shoots out towards the advancing Priest…only to be deflected off to the side by a Magic Circle Shield that David already had in his hand.
Well crud. That was my last gasp.
Speaking of gasping, he finally get's close enough to send out one last punch that hits me right in the gut and knocks me flat on the ground, where I spend the next few seconds trying to remember how to breathe.
"Hmm…that was quite impressive Caine. I daresay you'll actually be helpful during the fight against Adder 2 days from now, contrary to what I originally thought."
"You don't mince words, do yah?" I manage to wheeze out.
Definite amusement in his voice he says, "You strike me as the type that appreciates candor."
I painfully get to my feet and mumble out, "Only so much of it…On a side note how'd you figure out 2 days was the time limit?"
"I have a few friends around Kalichi that have ears in various places. One of these friends heard one of Adder's gang members talking about when they were going to come over here and try to recruit me one last time."
Well at least we have a timetable…
Apparently judging the conversation over he stands before motioning for me to follow him. I do so after spastically swallowing a few moutfuls of sweet, sweet air and he leads back inside the Church, then into a small unmarked door that he unlocks with a key he had hidden in the folds of his robes.
I can't help but gape at what I see inside. It's a freakin armory, walk-in closet style. A wide variety of handguns, melee weapons, a few scattered pieces of armor…I even spot a few Holy weapons that admittedly make me rather nervous to be around.
"Hmm…it should be around here somewhere…ah, here it is."
He pulls out a large gun and the little boy inside of me can't help but marvel at just how cool it looks. Then again I'm only a few weeks away from being 11 years old, so maybe not that little.
"Wow…what is that?"
"This, Caine, is a .44 Smith and Wesson Revolver. When my fists or blades won't bring down an enemy, this tends to do the trick."
My eyes are wide as I ask, "I thought Exorcists mostly just carried light guns or stuff like that…"
He gives a wry smile in reply to my query.
"Kalichi is home to a great many predators, and only a few of them are Devils. It's been almost 4 months since I last had to use this however…leave it to Adder to force my hand."
He shrugs before proceeding to disassemble the gun on a nearby workbench before saying, "Caine, do you know how to get to Chow's restaurant?"
I raise an eyebrow in confusion but reply, "Yah, why?"
"Why don't you go there and pick up a meal for yourself as well as the other 3? In the meantime I'll give the sisters a stern lecture on being more considerate of others once I finish inspecting my weapons."
I shuffle on my feet nervously and say, "I appreciate the gesture, seriously, I do…but is that really necessary? Also I uh…don't have any money."
He wordlessly hands me a few rupees and without breaking stride continues with, "Yes, I do believe it's necessary. Mistakes are best corrected early, I know that from bitter experience. Get going, once you're back hopefully things will be less tense between you 4."
"Hey it's the Little Bastard! You not dead yet! Sure surprised me! Did the Skanky Cat abandon you or send you to do errand by lonesome? It's errands isn't it? Ha! You a total pussy!"
I try not to fold like a deck of cards and instead shakily reply with, "Uh, hey…Chow. Actually Kuroka is busy with other stuff, so-"
"You think I have time for conversation Little Bastard? Hurry the fuck up and order, time is money! Speaking of money, you show me money first!"
I mentally throw my hands up in the air and just do as Chow says, figuring things will be easier that way. Without further conversation he piles 4 cartons to the brim with food and I pay before hightailing it out of there. Just as I'm about to go out the door a sudden thought occurs and I turn around.
"Hey Chow, do you do deliveries?"
"Ah, you arrived in one piece."
I give David a wry glance and blandly reply with, "Well it wasn't easy on the way back, lemme tell yah. All this food kept giving off an aroma that everyone with half a working nose could track even though I was hiding in people's shadows. Talk about nerve-wracking."
He merely chuckles before walking away with, "The other 3 are in the dining hall, you can find them there."
…You know, in between David and the 2 cats, they'll probably end up killing me faster than Kalichi will. With a shrug I just head in the direction he was pointing and carefully open the door, trying not to let my apprehension show as I do so.
My apprehension was apparently unfounded because as soon as I open the door I'm immediately treated to the image of Lisa bowing and in a frantic voice rambling out, "I'm so so sorry for my awful behavior earlier! I treated you so badly when you were the one who saved me and I can't believe-"
"Whoah whoah whoah, slow down there!" I frantically raise my hands in some ridiculous self defense gesture and proceed to ask, "Where did this come from?"
Apparently getting ahold of herself Lisa stops her frantic bowing and instead composes herself before replying with, "I wanted to apologize for how I acted when we were earlier introduced. You were obviously hurt by my reaction, and for that I hope that you can forgive me. Can we start over?"
She then smiles of all damn things and says, "My name is Lisa Ali, and thank you for helping to save me Caine."
…David really wasn't kidding when he said that this girl was strong. Like…holy Hell…how can she just act like nothings wrong? I wish I had that level of mental fortitude…
I shake myself out of my stupor and instead gently grasp her hand.
"While I appreciate the gesture, I was mostly angry at myself for just showing up out of the blue like that and perhaps causing you even more discomfort. Trust me, I'm not angry at you."
She brightly smiles and easily replies with, "Kuroka and Shirone were right about you, you are kind of a pushover."
I give a halfhearted scowl and retort, "I am so not a pushover, it's just that I'm surrounded by very convincing people."
She giggles before hesitating somewhat.
"May I ask for a favor Caine?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Can I…can I touch your wings?"
I raise an eyebrow in surprise but shrug and simply reply, "Sure."
Without further ado I unfurl my wings and Lisa slowly reaches out and drags her fingers across them, all the while saying, "Sorry for asking this, but I have bad memories of Wyert's wings…I'm hoping by doing this I'll have a more positive experience to offset the old one."
While I can't argue with that logic…her fingers are so damn ticklish! It's taking alot of my self-restraint to not break out laughing and ruin her moment of recovery.
After almost a minute of gently exploring my wings she stops and giggles yet again.
"How are you supposed to fly on those? They're so thin and velvety!"
I'm about to defend my natural born appendages when Shirone gently speaks up with, "By suffering 42 crash landings and counting…"
I shoot her a playful scowl and retort, "Hey, no comments from the back row please."
Lisa chuckles and points to the bags I'm carrying.
"Is that dinner? If so allow me a moment to wash up and say thanks outside before we begin. I've already prayed for you enough I think."
Her little joke causes me to chuckle and I easily reply with, "Thanks for the consideration, besides it's usually those 2 cat's job to cause me various kinds of headaches."
She laughs and says, "That's so true!", before walking out with a quick wave to the 2 Yokai who are still hanging back at the table. Inwardly marveling at how friendly Lisa is I sit down at the table and am surprised to see the sisters look slightly ashamed as I do so.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me you 2 are also feeling guilty about this…"
Both of their ears and tails are dropped low and Kuroka quietly says, "Paladin came in and gave us an earful about how we were stupid and ended up hurting both you and Lisa. Look Kid…that was a crappy thing to do but the 2 of us were excited to introduce you and-"
I sternly interrupt them with, "Apologetic does not suit either of you. Seriously, I told Lisa and I'll tell you, I'm not mad about anything. Sure, we could have handled that better, but I'd say the mess up was a group effort. And c'mon, I wasn't that upset."
Shirone looks visibly downcast, an impressive feat considering her usual stoicism, and says, "Paladin says you were sulking alone at the back of the Church."
I roll my eyes and testily reply with, "Ok fine, maybe I was kinda bummed out. But do I seem all that teary eyed as of now? Jeez, just relax already and let's actually enjoy dinner now that we're not feasting on squirrels or some other crap like that."
Both cats are still noticeably quiet and I wryly grin before asking, "How about this, at this point I think we can call each other friends, right?"
They both nod and Kuroka immediately says, "Of course."
"Well the Humans have a saying. 'A true friend is one who overlooks your failures and tolerates your success'. So let's just go ahead and overlook our failures as friends do and enjoy Chow's food that wasn't bought with our money, just like always."
Kuroka promptly drops her head on the table with a dull thud and starts muttering under her breath. I catch the words 'selfless' and 'pain in my ass' which causes me to grin. I turn to Shirone and offer her a carton of chow mien and sweet and sour pork, her favorite.
"Peace offering?"
She gives an angelic smile that I'll admit makes my own grin grow larger and she happily takes the food.
"Offering accepted…do you want to share?"
I frown and have to double check I heard the right words come from her mouth. Apparently Kuroka has the same thought as me because her head swivels to stare at her Sister's so fast I'm surprised she didn't break her neck.
"Sorry, Shirone…you did just say you didn't mind if I took a bit of your food..right?"
She's about to nod but stops herself and fixes me with a sharp gaze.
"Only one bite."
Kuroka goes back to staring at the table's surface and mutters out, "Well…now I've seen it all."
I'm with her on this one. Regardless I grin at the smaller Yokai and offer her my own mix of steamed vegetables and orange chicken.
"Well, I'll offer you an equal trade of 3 bites of my meal for 1 of your own."
Her eyes are practically sparkling by this point.
"Ok, I'm back! Did I miss anything?"
Lisa happily walks in and Kuroka fixes her with a disbelieving gaze.
"Yah Lisa, you missed the end of the world. Shirone just offered Caine her own food."
Lisa stops dead and fixes me with a disbelieving look.
"She did what?!"
"I know right?"
Shirone looks mildly peeved and replies, "It's not that big of a deal…really…that's what friends do."
Almost 4 weeks spending time with Shirone and I know that her offering to share food with me is a big freakin' deal…but I think I'll just take it for what it is.
"So the day after tomorrow is the big one, eh?"
Kuroka shoots me a sideways glance and playfully asks, "You nervous?"
"Hell yes I am. I mean, what if I embarrass myself by tripping midfight or something?"
She snorts in amusement at my list of priorities while Shirone just snuggles deeper into her Sister's stomach since the lucky girl is in her feline form right now.
Lisa is currently being held close in Kuroka's left arm while me, the mobile heater, is being held almost uncomfortably tight in the older sister's right arm. A neat little trick that I'd found out is that if I push a very small amount of Magic into the Phoenix Heart, instead of bursting into flames it just raises the ambient temperature around me by a toasty few degrees.
Which is why the 4 of us are currently on the roof of the Church, staring at the bloodlit sky despite the city being a lovely -2 degrees celsius. With the Heart pumping out hot air it's a balmy 4.5 degrees around us, nothing a blanket won't solve for our naturally tough bodies.
Besides, when she's not making weird advances on me, being close to Kuroka is actually pretty nice.
Lisa has a sad tone to her voice as she says, "I'm sorry I won't be able to help you 3 then…unfortunately I'm pretty useless when it comes to fighting. I've been learning some bits of Magic from Father David, but it's mostly healing based…"
"Aw don't worry about it Lisa!" Kuroka happily replies with, "Once the fight is over and we're all beat to pieces we'll be happy that you know some first-aid!"
"…You know I don't like it when you joke about that Kuroka."
Shirone accents Lisa's point by gently smacking her sister's side with her tails and I can't help the grin that comes to my face.
Like 2 younger siblings ganging up on the older one. Speaking of which…
"Hey Kuroka? A couple weeks back you told me that we were all orphans, or at least close enough to it. What exactly did you mean by that? And on that note, how did you end up meeting Adder in the first place?"
She's silent for a moment and I don't miss how Shirone cracks open an eye to watch her Sister's reaction. Eventually Kuroka just sighs and tiredly replies with, "It's kind of a personal story…tell you what, let's make a deal. Once this fight with Adder is over we'll all tell each other our pasts and all the crud that came from it. Sound good?"
I wryly smile and ask, "Once the fight with Adder is over? Doesn't that sound like we're tempting fate a little too much?"
She snorts in response and says, "We're tempting fate everyday just by walking around in this city. What's a little extra?"
"Well, no arguments here. You ok with this Shirone?"
Her only response is a quiet meow before she promptly tucks her head into her belly and curls up even tighter than before.
I'll take that as a yes. I almost jump as Kuroka suddenly pulls me tighter against her and says in a serious voice, "So you better not go dying on us Kid. We've got alot to talk about once this little drama is done with."
"…You're being pretty selfish with that request there."
"Cats are selfish beings, and I'm not afraid to admit that."
Lisa suddenly giggles and archly asks, "Why Kuroka, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were actually legitimately worried about Caine…that's so sweet of you!"
Instead of getting all embarrassed, which is what I certainly would have felt, she proudly draws herself up as best she can while laying down and says, "Heh, you're damn right I'm sweet! And little Caine over here is definitely worth it! Seriously Lisa, wait until you feel him work your head with his fingers-"
"-aaaaand this conversation is now officially over Kuroka. Good thing you weren't born an Angel, otherwise you would have fallen in the span of a few weeks…"
The raven-haired Nekoshou merely chortles while I remain shyly quiet the whole time, deciding to stay silent for the moment and just enjoy the moment of companionship we seem to be having right now.
Conversation dies down after that and we spend the next hour or so watching the sky with occasional glances towards EDEN. The other 3 can probably only imagine the luxury within those walls and in a brief flash of empathy intermixed with a fair dose of optimism I decide that one day I'll show them that life has something to offer beyond just the daily struggle for survival, for having to fight and kill just so the few people you consider friends don't end up as a corpse on the side of the road.
Reaching for the stars when I've barely clawed my way out of the mud? Pretty much, yah.
But as the Humans like to say, 'Rome wasn't built in a day'.
I'll work on it for as long as it takes. It's the least I can do for the people who saved my life.
Hoo boy, alot of things to mention in this AN section. Buckle in Boys and Girls, it's gonna be a doozy.
First off! At the risk of sounding like an idiot, were Rossweisse or Gondul ever given last names in the LN? I skimmed over the whole thing but never saw anything so I can only assume they were never given one. Which is kinda fucked up if you ask me, but never mind.
Secondly! Yup, Rossweisse has a younger sister. Again, I went through the LN and am pretty sure it was some distant family member (cousin? nephew?) that took over her family head position but I'm switching things around here :D
Thirdly! I think the closest the LN ever got to really explaining how Magic works was something like this: IT"S MAGIC! On the one hand that pretty much means I have a blank slate to go off of and create my own vague rules on how things work. On the other that means I have to fill a blank slate with my own vague rules on how things work. I figured following the KISS (keep it simple stupid) rule was best for now and tried not too get too fancy with the Magic descriptions.
Fourthly! Yup, Jonah is still alive. At first I was planning to have his side of the story take place after Caine's, their tales being separate. But now I kinda like the idea of them running parallel to each other, especially since I'm keeping a tally of each of their timelines.
And fifthly! After all the positive feedback and everything I've received from readers so far as well as a few plot monkeys banging their metaphorical symbols throughout my brain, I think this story is gonna run alot longer than I ever expected it too. I originally planned for somewhere around 200,000 words (still pretty long) but there's just so much stuff that I want to write about, and actually connecting them all in one giant timeline that flown naturally is both a challenge and something I want to see come to fruition (much like my tomato plant. I suck at gardening).
So yup, since this story is gonna be far more expansive than before I realized that also affords me time and situations to actually expand the relationship list by a few members (look at me already breaking my word by Ch 6 lol) as well as further characterize said harem members. Writing Shirone and Kuroka's 'new' pasts was pretty fun for me and I want to keep that gravy train rolling.
Revised lovely ladies list (in no particualr order): Shirone/Kuroka/Ravel/Jeanne/Rossweisse/still that secret character/?
And while I'm sorry to be a cocktease to most readers who no doubt would like to know if their waifu (God I can't believe I just used that term) made it to the list, until said character actually makes their debut in a chapter they won't be added to the list.
Yes, I'm a bucket of ice water on a cold day, but the element of surprise is a thing I do so enjoy :D
Next chapter is the showdown against Adder!
Sheesh that was long. As always muchas gracias for all the lovin and supportin!