Chapter 5 - A Civilian and A Villain
Explosion roared outside from the direction of dormitories of the True Cross Academy. The demon lord's head hit the table as it slipped off the hand where it had been resting. He finally spared an hour to take a nap, only to be brought back to reality in such a cruel matter. He really hated to be interrupted from his naps. They had already been so scarce and shallow… Mephisto didn't even need to look out of the large windows of his office to know that it was none other than his little brother causing another disaster by letting his demon powers flaunt around too much. "So little time and so much to learn…" he concluded.
Gradually, his senses picked up further sources of energy - young Miwa and Suguro were undoubtedly chanting the purifying incantations. The effect was far from Rin's blue flames, but at least they could battle the enemy without destroying half of the Academy's property. Rin had to learn to control his abilities as soon as possible but at the same time, he also had to learn to fight without depending too much on them. Not everything in the world could be battled by pure force or by simply burning it down. He just hoped that today's training would prove useful in that particular aspect. After all, he had arranged the trainer himself. Only the said training was supposed to start an hour later! Well, now when he was awake, he might as well go and enjoy the show.
OoO
"Dammit! Where did that bastard disappear?!" Rin breathed heavily, clutching his sword. "Get a grip, Rin, will ya?! We have to get Izumo outta here." Bon urged while reciting the Buddhist Mantra of Light in his mind. It kept a protective shield in front of his friends in case the demon appeared again. Izumo lay on the ground surrounded by Shiemi and Konekomaru. She looked pale and her breathing was slow. "I... I'm sorry...I couldn't move…" Izumo tried to explain. Her familiars Mike and Uke were long gone, as she couldn't summon even a speck of energy. "We have to do something - Nee, give me some Maca root, quickly!" Shiemi urged her Greenman familiar hoping to restore some of her friend's energy.
"We need to alter our strategy. The demon is just pushing us around and we are playing right into his hands." Konekomaru stated, already thinking about possible plans of action. "Yeah, but what the hell was that?! One moment we pushed him out into the open and Izumo was totally nailing it and as soon as I turned, she looked totally paralyzed. When I reached out to her and grabbed her by the hand, I couldn't move an inch. Nor could she! If Shiemi hadn't pulled us out with those tree branches, I…" Rin gritted his teeth. "I don't know how he did it." Konekomaru admitted grudgingly." I didn't see him cast any spells. Did you, Bon?" "No, I didn't sense anything like that. He never even touched Izumo." "Well, what does it mean then?" Rin demanded angrily. "It means that he must have done something before all this started. He came prepared for us."
OoO
"Shit! That bastard! He went too far! Come on, we gotta stop this or the lil' girl's going to end up in hospital." The extravagant, sparsely clothed redhead cursed as she prepared to jump off the roof she had been hiding on. "No, Shura. We have clear orders. This is the training our chairman requested, and we are not to interfere unless it is an emergency. Stand down." The man in uniform stated calmly while adjusting his glasses. "Are you blind, you moron?! The girl..." "The girl hasn't even fainted yet, Shura." The man interrupted, getting a little annoyed. "Geez Yukio...Fine…" It was not as if Yukio didn't want to interfere. The urge to protect his students and, well, friends, was strong but he simply couldn't. If he did, the Exwires would never learn to work on their own.
"Now, now, you two. Why the long faces? You should have more faith in your students, Mr. Okumura." An amused voice reached the teachers. They looked up and were greeted by their grinning employer who was sitting in his comfortable flying chair. "Mephisto! Ya pompous ass, what do ya think you're doing to the poor brats?!" Shura instantly exploded. "I suggest you calm yourself, Miss Kirigakure, lest you want to expose our location to the whole Tokyo." The demon shushed her. "Tsk...fine! But mark my words - as soon as I see any more trouble, I am going down for that Izumo girl." "Very well. Until then, why don't we just give it a little time? I am sure that things will yet get interes..." Mephisto trailed off.
"Huh? What was that?" Shura asked and was stunned to see the demon so focused, his eyes slightly widened. "Wait a minute...what's with that expression? He looks so serious all of a sudden. What is going on?" And then she saw it. Or rather, her. A girl was running right towards the group of Exwires. She instantly stood up. "That's a civilian! How the hell did she even get here?! Yukio!" "Right, we have to get her out of there." Yukio nodded. "Do not make a move." The chairman ordered. "But Sir Pheles, there is a civilian down there! We can't risk…" "I believe I expressed myself clearly enough, Mr. Okumura. Stay put. That is no mere civilian you are looking at." He said, sounding ever so serious. "What? Do you mean to say that this was supposed to happen?" the young teacher questioned. "Oh, there could have been no better timing, really." The demon grinned as he entwined his fingers in anticipation.
OoO
Thea stood before the enormous golden-glided gate and had to gulp twice to suppress her nervousness. "So, this is The True Cross Academy?" A great mason-like building with high windows was stretching behind the gate. The walkways were lined by trees of every sort and height, there were rose bushes and other flowers right next to exquisite fountains. "May I help you, young Miss?" the receptionist asked, interrupting Thea from her moment of admiration. She showed the man the business card and explained that she was visiting the chairman of the academy. He nodded as if he expected her to come and then handed her a map of the place so that she could get to the principal's office. Judging from the brief look at the map, the place was huge! So many buildings, sections and even dormitories. Not to mention all the parks and... training areas?
The great golden gate opened, and she stepped in. Suddenly, her vision blurred and the only thing she was able to see were dozens of hues of colors radiating from all around the place. "What in the…" the blonde exclaimed, as she was clutching her head with both hands. "So many auras! How come I didn't feel them before? Is there a barrier put over the place? Gosh, I have never felt so many people with spiritual powers in one place! Well Thea, seems like you found just the right place!" She was usually able to ignore the auras around her. After all, everybody had one, no matter how small. However, this was totally different. The auras were a lot stronger and larger. And those were only the auras she was allowed to see, uncoated by a barrier. She instantly thought about the strange demon whom she had healed. Now his aura had been something to behold!
As she passed the big garden section, Thea found herself close to a set of buildings marked as a training area No 5. In that instant, she heard something like an explosion. How strange… she must have imagined it. However, what she felt seconds later proved her wrong. A powerful red and a terrifying blue aura blazed from that direction. Thea froze in her steps. Those did not belong to humans, but to… "No way! What would demons do in a place like this? Is it… a trap? Am I in a demon's lair now? Did that trickster lie to me?! No, no. I am positive that I can feel holy powers too… Something is wrong. What now? Think, Thea!" One of the auras coming from the direction of the training area suddenly weakened to the point where she had difficulties to even pick it up. "Oh no." the blonde thought. She knew this feeling. She had felt it so many times already, especially in hospitals when people were about to… No! Better not to think about it! She had to act! And fast! "The meeting with the chairman would have to wait." she decided, already running right towards the slowly diminishing source of energy.
As she was closing in on the training area, her senses alerted her about the presence of two other demons. Fortunately, they were the types to let their aura flaunt around freely. Lesser ones, then. Good. She waited away from their sight, assessing the situation, seemingly concentrating at the map in her hands. A group of three students approached them, pointing at something in the direction of the training area. Thea held her breath, hoping that those demons would not leash out at them! To her surprise, one just shook his head and the other folded his arms, assuming a defensive stance. And so, the group of students left. "I see. So those demons are guarding that place." the blonde pondered. "And it looks like the students had no idea about the guards being demons, too! Wow, ignorance really is a bliss!" She turned away as if she was about to leave in a different direction. When she was certain she was out of sight, she carefully moved through the trees and bushes around the whole building section. The task was difficult, because while she had to hurry, she also had to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Even the lesser demons had perfect senses, after all.
When Thea reached the other side of the training area, she decided to enter the building through one of the enormous doors. There was something akin to a barrier put around that training area. She stopped to think. "Would that alert the demons? Well, there is only one way to find out." As soon as she had clutched the handle, she felt two most unsettling things. First of all, there was indeed a barrier placed there. And second, one of the two guards was closing in on her, his turquoise aura leashing out. She had to do something, or she would be discovered! "Here goes nothing!" the blonde quickly pushed the door. A wave of electricity-like energy shook her body, prickled, and burnt. Still, it was not that bad. It felt like walking through a jelly, the air was so thick! When she was finally through, the chocolate-eyed girl quickly took in her surroundings. "Gotta hide, gotta hide!" her heart was racing as she held her breath.
"Strange, the barrier is intact." she could hear the demon from outside. He then stepped into the building; his steps echoed in the corridors. "Found anything?" a strange disrupted voice sounded followed by a beep. "Nah, it looks clear all right." "I told you it was nothing to worry about. Stop being so uptight." the muffled voice answered. "Hey, don't you order me around! I said I felt something!" the turquoise-aura turned to leave the building. "Hey, the hell is this? Oh man, don't tell me this was another false alarm!" the demon grunted. "You still there? Hurry up back. All the beautiful schoolgirls are over here." the muffled voice cheered. "You idiot! Guess what I found?!" "Your sense of humor?" "Shut up, moron! It's another dead bird! I swear you cannot cast a decent barrier! How many times did I tell you to…" the voice was cut off by the sound of door slamming. Thea let her breath out as she came out of the bathroom. "That was a close one! Now then, let's get moving." she nodded with resolve in her eyes. In contrast to the huge red and blue demonic auras, the poor pinkish one was getting difficult to pick up!
OoO
"Shiemi, how is she? Did the plant help?" Rin asked, concern written all over his face. "I am afraid not, Rin. I... I don't know what else I can do. The plants just don't work fast enough." Shiemi replied with tears building up in her eyes. "We've got company!" Bon said suddenly. "Where? Where is he? I am going to tear him to pieces!" Rin growled and before Konekomaru could stop him, the half-demon dashed off somewhere towards the trees. "Why must he always be so impulsive!" Konekomaru adjusted his glasses and shouted after his friend. "It's not him! It's a... girl?!" "What? No way! A civilian! - Hey! You there! Stop right there! Do not interfere!" Bon shouted. "Get back! Do not get any closer!" Konekomaru joined in, waving his hands. But the girl with short golden hair didn't stop until she reached their group.
"Please wait, I can help!" the young chocolate-eyed blonde panted. "What?!" everyone cried out. "Who are you? How could you possibly help?" Konekomaru questioned. "There's no time. The girl on the ground, her life force is weakening! Please, I can help!" she urged. Shiemi whimpered "If you can, please help her." she looked up, tears already streaming down her face. "Right. But first, we have to leave! Those demons are very close by. We need to get the girl out to safety." Thea urged. "Sorry girl, but we are in the middle of a fight. If you wanna help, do it here." Bon cut in. "But the demons! Careful! One is coming closer!" she said pointing at the source of the tremendous blue aura. "Oh, that's all right, he's with us." Konekomaru said, trying to reassure the newcomer as he saw her eyes widen. "B-but, that's a demon! The one with the blue aura! We need to go! Now!" A hand reached for Thea's shoulder and the doll-like girl in pink skirt said. "It's true, he is our friend. You need to trust us. Please." she pleaded with her earnestly. "Are you sure?" Thea asked with disbelief. "Yes." "Positive?" "Yes!" everyone said in union. "OK, let me see the girl." Thea nodded and turned her attention towards the person lying on the ground.
A teenage boy with black hair and katana in his hand was rushing towards the group. "Bastard! The park was clear! We are not here to play hide and seek! You hear me?! Come out and fight!" the boy yelled. Then he spotted the blonde. "Hey, where did you come from?" he looked at her questioningly. She didn't seem much of a threat, but neither did that red-headed bastard at first. "I-I came to help." the girl answered slowly. "No kidding! So, you can take care of Izumo?" he asked. "Yes, I hope so." the blonde knelt on the ground, put her hands on Izumo's temples, took a deep breath and suddenly, a strange golden-white light enveloped them. Everybody gasped. "What is this?" Rin wondered, clutching his hand on the chest as a strange warm feeling spread through his whole being. "I don't know, but it feels so...peaceful. Who is she?"
OoO
"Not fair~" came an annoyed complaint from the demon the group had been battling just moments ago. "It was already getting fun!" The demon said as he appeared before the group. He had long red hair pulled up in a ponytail and wore a simple black suit. After having fought him, the group already knew that he did not use any weapons but strange reddish orbs of energy that seemed to explode when touching anything of substance. "Oh, I'll show you fun!" Rin shouted, sending a wave of blue flames with his sword towards his opponent. "Is that all you've got? Tsk...those blue flames are wasted on you." the demon mocked while dodging the attack effortlessly. Then he formed another set of those peculiar orbs on each of his fingers. "What did you say?!" "Rin! Focus! He is just taunting you." Konekomaru tried to calm him down. In the meantime, Bon repositioned his barrier just in time to absorb the flying orbs aimed at them. Some of the energy spheres hit the ground only to send a huge amount of debris into the air. However, Shiemi was also ready this time. In the blink of an eye, Nee sprouted trees with strong branches and bushes all around them, protecting everybody from the pieces of earth and paving which was raining down on them.
Nice one, Shiemi!" Rin complimented and sent another surge of flames after the attacker. The blast was so strong now that the red-haired demon did not manage to fully evade it and part of his left sleeve got burnt. Rin did not wait any longer with another attack and started after him. Then, all of the sudden, he tripped and landed facedown on the ground! "What the hell?!" he yelled angrily. "Rin!" his friends called. The young half-demon scrambled to his knees, but he couldn't move his left leg. Not only that. It hurt really badly! That was unbelievable. He had been hurt so many times and was always able to withstand a lot of pain. So why the hell did it hurt so much?! Was he getting weaker? He looked up and saw the demon inspecting his arm. "Heh, looks like I got him this time. And thanks to Izumo's previous attack, he is now limping a little too! Serves him right, bastard!" Rin thought, encouraged. "Congratulations. You actually managed to land a blow with those pitiful skills of yours. However, your pathetic attempts end now." the redhead narrowed his gaze and aimed another set of his explosive orbs at Rin. The Exwires saw that Rin couldn't move an inch so they started after him to offer some cover.
"Stop! Don't move!" shouted the strange girl catching Bon's sleeve. "Are you crazy? We won't abandon our friend!" Bon shouted back, shaking her hand off. He moved a few steps towards Rin and repositioned his protective shield in front of him. "You don't understand, you will get trapped too!" "Huh?!" Suddenly, another wave of those reddish orbs came flying towards the group. Bon didn't hesitate and outstretched his ward towards the attacking demon. An explosion roared as the orbs hit the barrier Bon conjured, completely annihilating it. "Listen to me, please!" Thea was panting. Her hands were trembling from the sudden rush of adrenaline and from the flow of energy she willed to intensify. This was getting really exhausting! "You must watch your step. There are strange… pools all around you. I think that they will consume your life force if you touch them!" She tried to explain through the explosions.
The blonde looked at the black-haired boy whose leg was stuck on the surface of one of those oval-shaped traps on the ground. She had to use all of her willpower to ignore the fact that the boy was one of the sources of demonic energy. After all, he really seemed to be protecting his friends against the other demon. That was the true villain, the true enemy. So instead, she tried to figure out how to get him out of there. The strange 'pools' were like whirlpools of energy, sucking the boy's energy deeper and deeper, latching at his life force. She could see the boy's powers and those blue flames slowly flowing down the whirlpool, leaving him weaker by the second.
"What are you talking about?" Konekomaru wondered. "There is nothing on the ground." Shiemi said, looking around her. "There is no time! Get him out!" the girl cried. Suddenly, huge vines and thick branches sprouted from behind the Thea's head. They grew and twisted until they reached the two boys trapped in the reddish whirlpools. "I've got you, Rin!" Shiemi called. The branches entwined around him and started lifting the trapped boy. "Oh, I don't think so." their attacker shouted as he sent his orbs flying towards Rin and the branches. Bon quickly repositioned his own barrier while Konekomaru started off chanting one of Psalms from the Bible that was supposed to ward off fire. He was frustrated that until now, he still couldn't figure out that demon's weak spot and thus the correct psalm to use against him. Explosion roared all around Rin, but he could feel none of the treacherous orbs managed to land. The teenage half-demon was really thankful to his friends. However, he had to help too! He couldn't just lay there letting his powers get all sucked out! And so, he used the moment when the opponent would think him covering before his orbs, summoned his strength and let his flames blaze and find their way towards the red-haired bastard.
OoO
The red-haired bastard didn't see the outburst coming so short after his own attack, but managed to avoid it, nonetheless. "Damn, but the son of Satan is something! The brat might be untrained and still hopelessly far from assuming any fighting style, but boy oh boy, I could kill for that exquisite raw power of his!" he mused. "I have to be careful or I might end up like a French fry myself." Mephisto had expressed himself perfectly clear on the matter of his 'students' well being, so he held himself back. But only to the point of not harming anyone too severely. He wanted to see some blood tonight. Oh, would the brats hurry up and get Okumura out of his Sphere of Despair?! That's right...A cool technique deserved a cool name! His eight demon vortexes covered strategic points of advance on the ground, sucking the life force out of anybody who was foolish enough to step into them. Or anybody who was unlucky enough to be unable to see them. Which was almost everyone, apart from individuals with the spiritual awareness of upper-class exorcists or demon dukes and higher. That reminded him of the cute newcomer who, apparently, could see them. That was preposterous! She was obviously far beneath his level, merely a human with some healing powers. How could she possibly see it? Was that Mephisto's doing? Come to think of it, he had not mentioned her when he had assigned this job to him. Was Mephisto testing him too? His thoughts darkened. He had agreed to give the brats a little beating, but he would not be made fun of! Not even by the Lord of Time himself. "Just you wait, you trickster! You want a show, then a show you will get!"
OoO
"Dammit!" Rin swore as the blue flames missed his target by inches. At least he could move now, and his energy was no longer being sucked away. He had to strike that bastard down, before his powers were completely depleted. Damn, he felt so exhausted! Suddenly, Bon's aura appeared in front of him and he saw the strange girl standing next to him. "Hey, I healed your friend, she should be all right now. I will help you too, just please… please promise me you will not kill me, OK?" she asked, trembling all over. "What the hell is wrong with her? Why would I want to… Ah right… 'cause you are a demon, stupid!" "Hey! I am the good guy here, you know?!" he poked at his chest with his finger. "Don't you worry. My only enemy is that son of a bitch over there." he pointed his sword at the demon in the suit. "All right, I will trust your word." the girl nodded. "Sure, sure. Now enough with the chit-chat, we need to strike!" the teenage boy said, setting off for his enemy. "Wait! You can't just rush in!" the blonde caught his arm. And burnt it in the process. Curse her stupid unstable powers! The boy yelped. "H-hey! The hell are you trying to pull here?! I thought we were on the same team!" he shouted at her. "I-am sorry! I really didn't mean to, I swear!" she said, calming her aura. "Tsk, fine." he shook the arm, the burns already starting to close. "So, what's the plan?"
"Listen, there are… pools of energy on the ground. They look like red ovals. And yes, I know you probably cannot see them, but trust me, they are there! And if you step into them, they will drain you out of energy. You must not touch them." the blonde started. Rin held her gaze for a moment, then nodded. "All right, so what now?" "If you mean to get any closer to that demon, I can navigate you through this minefield. Are you in?" she shouted through all that rumbling and exploding. "Right! Let's do this! So… how exactly are we going to do it?" "Just give me your hand, I will be your eyes. Your friend is holding up a barrier for us." The curious newcomer grabbed his hand, careful not to burn the demon again, and started off towards their enemy. They ran and zigzagged through the training ground, dodging those blasted orbs and vortexes. However, the opposing demon made sure to give them a hard time getting anywhere near him. "Left!" the girl shouted. "Jump! To the right. Now!" she navigated, and Rin did his best to avoid the invisible traps. At last they managed to reach him, though. Rin jumped out from the smoke; his katana aimed at the demon's throat. He didn't hesitate and put all of his remaining strength into that blow, commanding the flames to burst intensively all around his figure.
A terrible cry echoed through the academy grounds as Rin's katana caught the flesh of the demon's left shoulder, digging deep into it. "You…!" the redhead gritted out, blood trailing down his shoulder. "I must admit that your sheer power is really something. However, that won't be enough to defeat me!" he growled. Then he caught Rin's katana that was digging into his shoulder with his left hand and backhanded Rin with his right, where another set of orbs was already prepared. The impact sent Rin flying while releasing the sword in the process. The redhead picked it up admiringly, swishing it around. "What a beautiful toy you have, and yet you cannot even use it properly. What a waste." he lamented. "Now then, where was I?"
Rin's head was ringing, and his chest felt as if it had been pierced. Wait… It had been pierced, blood already seeping out of it at an alarming speed. No! He had to stand up! He had to fight! Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled up by the strange girl. Now, he too was enveloped in her golden light, feeling some of his energy slowly returning. It really did feel peaceful. "It's OK, it's OK… got you. Hey… hear me? You have to stay conscious!" he heard the strange girl saying. His eyes widened as a strong surge of energy suddenly flowed into him. The wound in his chest instantly started to close. Rin knew that his half-demon body wouldn't fail him! He always healed faster than humans. But the girl's energy boost was just what he needed to speed it up significantly. "Ah, thanks!" Rin managed to say as he took the surroundings in. The blonde girl did not look too well. "Hey, you OK? You look..." "Forget it!" she cut him off and urged, panting. "Stand up! We have to move, or else…" she suddenly trailed off. "Oh no." "What? What's happening?" the half-demon tried to find out. "We are trapped." she gulped, looking alarmingly all around her. "He closed up our escape route, too!" "What are you talking about?" "All of the whirlpool things are around us; he made a circle of them!"
"Clever girl. You can see my vortexes, can't you? Well, in that case you can also see that there is no way out for you." the demon in the suit said, holding her gaze. "Hey, girl. You said that the things are surrounding us, right?" Rin asked. "Yeah...and he is making them come closer to us." she answered and backed off a little. "I've got an idea. Hold on!" he caught her around the waist, pulling her hand around his neck, and jumped as high as his demon powers let him. They soared a few meters above the ground and Rin tried to maneuver them to the side towards the balconies. He figured that if he tried to just jump to the side, that son of a bitch would just move the vortex for them to conveniently land in it. So up they went. Just as they were about to land at the balcony, the girl he was holding suddenly gasped. He felt her letting go of the hold, pushing his hand away from her waist and putting all her strength into kicking him off her. "What the hell?! Did she just… Dammit, she actually kicked me off!" Rin was so stunned - it all happened in a second! He found himself dropping to the balcony roughly. "Are you crazy? What was that for?" he yelled, brushing the blood from his torn lip away.
Suddenly, a painful scream sounded above him. The girl who had the nerve to push him off was now levitating strangely at the exact spot where he was pushed from just seconds ago. Her expression was one of pure anguish and pain. Just as… just as Izumo's was before she ended up in a heap on the ground. "No way! Don't tell me he can move those blasted things up there!" "That's right, Son of Satan. Seems like she pushed you away in the last second. What a troublesome woman. But you, I expected far more from one of your… reputation. Pathetic." the demon sniffed. "Let her go! She's got nothing to do with this! Ya hear me?! Take her down, you bastard!" Rin threatened while his eyes were searching for his katana. "Oh, don't you worry. I will do just that." a devilish smile spread across the demon's face.
The Exwires looked up. The blonde girl was silent now, fists gritted, eyes closed, brows furrowed in concentration. A strange golden light was pulsing all around her small form. As if she tried to burst out of the vortex trap. "You little vixen. Trying to escape my Sphere of Despair, I see. Not today, dear." All of a sudden, the girl opened her now completely golden eyes and one of his vortexes fell apart. "No way!" The redhead gaped. "How dare she?!" The demon's expression grew sinister as he moved the remaining vortexes closer to her. They closed up from all sides, forming a globe. "Sync!" he finished the incantation, getting another scream from the girl. Her eyes stopped shining, but the light around her continued to pulse, if a tad slower. An incredible amount of rage raked the demon. He summoned a set of orbs. However, instead of sending them flying right away, he formed just one powerful globe out of them and aimed at his trapped victim above. The girl seemed to sense it coming and the light pulsed more urgently around her. "You are going to pay for this. If Mephisto really sent you, then you would be strong enough to get out of there. If not...well..." the demon thought while releasing a powerful blast of energy towards her.
OoO
"I didn't really think this through, huh?" Thea sulked. She was levitating in the air in those 'vortexes'. That's how the demon called those disgusting things. "I just wanted to help, dammit! Why am I always like this… Stupid! Stupid!" The blonde clutched her chest, tears streaming down her face. It hurt so much! As always when she tried to summon every speck of her energy. She actually managed to dispel one of the whirlpools! But what now? Her strength was completely depleted. She felt so drained, so tired. Everything hurt. Was this how she would end? "Oh man, I should have gone to the principal. Tsk...who are you kidding, Thea? That is not you. A girl with some twisted heroic complex, that's who you are. And now, you are going to pay for it… If only… there was a way to avoid this end. A help. Protection…"
"However, my offer still stands. Should you require my assistance, simply say my name." Thea's heart almost stopped. Those were… the demon's words. Right? But she couldn't possibly… he had already spared her life! But what if this was the only way? And the guys down there! The villain was simply too strong, too twisted. They needed help! And she was already losing consciousness. "Maybe… maybe he would come." And so, she selfishly voiced her plea. "S-Sir Pheles...please...I... need...ugh..." her voice faltered as tiredness and pain overcame her.
OoO
"S-Sir Pheles...please...I... need...ugh..." a soft voice reached the demon lord's sensitive ears. A silent plea that thundered louder than all the explosions until now had. Mephisto's eyes widened for the second time today. "Null. Verweile noch." a calm command stopped the rushing orb before hitting its target. The Lord of Time had made his move even before he heard the words leaving her mouth and ripped her out of the torturous vortex prison. The girl called for his aid. In the last moment, she remembered his promise to aid her. And she called him! Of course, calling for help when in need was a natural and selfish thing to do but for some reason, the demon felt strangely flattered to be the one in her last thoughts. Especially knowing how distrustful she was of all demons and well, him in particular.
"You...you came." a muffled voice interrupted his thoughts. "Oh, du liebe Güte, you are really battered." She was clutching her chest in pain. The vortexes must have drained her. Not to mention the extensive healing she performed. She even managed to break one of the vortexes! It had been a few decades since he had seen anybody do that to Apollyon… Oh yes, she would be a great asset for his Academy. Come to think of the Academy, she also must have got into the training area through his guardians. He couldn't help but feel… impressed. What she managed today was no easy feat. Mephisto looked at her more closely. Her chocolate-brown eyes were only slightly opened, and a small grateful smile graced her lips. "I-I thank…" she trailed off, clearly too exhausted to speak. "Hush now. Rest." he tried to calm her down. "The group! The guys… down there… still in danger." she clutched his tie. "Oh, of course she would be more concerned for the Exwires than for her own wellbeing... How very noble of her." "They are safe now. You are safe." the demon assured. "Oh...am I?" she smiled and leaned into his embrace, eyes fluttering shut. "Trustful as usual, I see." he smirked and pulled her closer, letting the time flow again.
The Lord of Time appeared before the group of Exwires, the young girl firmly in his grip. "That would be enough for today, Apollyon. Your services are appreciated." he stated, looking the red-head demon in the eye. Apollyon knew better than to oppose that dismissal, even though it irked him to the bone. "As you command." he uttered, teleporting back to Gehenna to replenish his strength. Satan son's flames merely brushed him and the wound on his shoulder was really nothing serious, but man, was it effective. If it weren't for those flames, his wounds would have been halfway healed. But what gnawed on him more was the girl who got off with breaking one of his vortexes! Fifty years of harvesting souls and his own energy to create one - all gone to waste! Oh, she would pay for that dearly! There would be another opportunity, as long as his 'master' intended to use him for training his humans...
"Mr. Okumura, Miss Kirigakure, I believe it is time for you to take care of your students." Both teachers rushed towards the Exwires, so they could inspect Izumo's condition and check upon the others too. "What was that about?!" Rin exclaimed. "Don't tell me this was another of your so-called training sessions!" "Gee, Okumura. Of course, it was a lesson. We are still on the academy grounds, aren't we?!" Bon exclaimed. "Yeah, well, what does it matter? Izumo is wrecked, you know?" "Then I suggest you both moderate your tone. Our patients will need some rest." Mephisto cut in, irritation rising. "Miss Kirigakure, Mr. Okumura, would you be so kind as to see the Exwires to the hospital wing? I see that Miss Kamiki's condition is stabilized after the treatment she received but another healing session will surely do no harm. We shall meet tomorrow and discuss today's training." "Eh, sure. The Izumo girl really does seem OK." Shura wondered as she inspected her sleeping student "Remarkable. Her lifeforce was almost fully restored." Yukio marveled. "So, the supposed civilian is in fact a Doctor?" "Not yet, Mr. Okumura." Mephisto cut in, urgency in his voice - Thea's body was growing cold and she seemed to have some kind of chest pain. Strange, he didn't notice her being hurt there. He would need to have her checked thoroughly. "And if she does not receive a treatment any soon, she might never become one. Now, if you excuse me, ein-zwei-drei~"
OoO
Disclaimer: Blue Exorcists belongs to Kazue Katō. Please, do not re-post or publish my story without my consent.
Author's note: Hello there :) Apologies for the slight delay in posting this chapter. In the last second, I decided not to end the chapter with a cliffhanger and post a longer one instead. Thank you for your patience and hope you will enjoy this one :) This is my first FF-writing attempt, so I would really appreciate your feedback :)