Ardent Exorcist

by Cvicel

Althea (a medicine student or perhaps a spy) enrolls into the True Cross Academy where she finds new friends and turns Mephisto's carefully-planned world upside down. ***Rated M because it contains some mature content, but the focus is on my own story - characters, relationships and fights. The story does have an ending and you have much to look forward to.***

21. Prophecy revealed – Thea's fate sealed?

Chapter 21 – Prophecy revealed – Thea's fate sealed?

OoO

Four months later, the middle of December…

OoO

The Lord of Time shot his eyes open as he found himself back in his office, standing at the huge wooden desk. It was late winter afternoon with a heavy snowfall. In an instant, images of most disturbing events rushed into his head as memories of what might have been… Or rather, what might yet come to be unless he prevented the events from happening in the first place. Aegis… left him startled and disoriented by the confusing rush of the future memories. He ran his fingers through his hair, then shook his head in disbelief, his teeth gritting. "Verdammt! I'm such a fool!" his hand formed into a fist, keeping the claws from extending. "To think that the Grigori wretches would actually manage to push me to the point where I would need to use my ultimate ability, Aegis! Tsk…" he spat angrily and had to make a considerable conscious effort in order to keep his temper in check. Aegis spell was reserved for emergencies only, he could not use it anytime soon. It was incredibly potent, which in turn left him very vulnerable, which also meant he could no longer use it for… "Thea…" he breathed out on the verge of panic, his demonic energy clashing violently against the self-imposed barrier, his eyes glowing, as he tried to make sense of the confused memories. "NO! Compose yourself! Focus. Priorities. A plan." he willed his mind to calm down. In a moment of crisis like that, there was absolutely no room for mistakes and hasty actions, nor could he let his mind freak out about Thea. Instead, the demon lord entered the composed, calculating, detached state of mind. Detachment. Cold logic. A plan. That was what the current situation required if he actually wanted to alter the events and secure the best possible future scenario.

First, he fished out his cell phone and dialed Thea's number. His lady was supposed to spend the weekend with Ayami at her family's weekend cottage in the mountains of the Asahikawa region. Apparently, the long-time friend of hers had gotten engaged with Toshiro, so they wanted to properly celebrate such an occasion. She had a security detail with her whenever she wanted to leave the True Cross Academy Grounds, which she had reluctantly agreed to after the events of the summer. Naturally, his special squad tasked with guarding Thea would keep a discrete distance, but there were some additional rules she had to follow - such as keeping a series of protective wards up, carrying her 'doctor's cloak' and weapons when the situation allowed it or picking up her phone whenever Mephisto called her - no matter what time, no matter the circumstances. The demon lord listened attentively, subconsciously holding his breath. One long beep. Another long beep. Third long beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. "The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later…" Mephisto closed his eyes, processing the situation with his freezingly cold logic, while every fiber of his body burned with an almost primal urge to rush to the girl that very instant. However, if she really were… gone… as the Grigori claimed, or rather will claim according to the memories, he wouldn't know where exactly to teleport to, and he couldn't just waste his time on random guesses. Instead, he tried one more time - it was foolish, wishful thinking, but he had learned long ago not to jump to conclusions around his unpredictable lady. Unfortunately, another series of beeps only confirmed his suspicion - the Aegis did not reach far enough, she was already… in trouble. Before any of the terrible emotions and scenarios boiling in the back of his mind could manifest, the demon lord moved on to the next step. "Focus. Priorities. A plan." He kept repeating those words like a mantra in his head.

He dialed Gin's number. After two beeps, the spy finally picked up. "My lord, how can I be of service?" Gin inquired. "My office, Gin. Right now. Code Aegis." Samael's order was met with an immediate "Yes, Sire!" and in a few seconds, the spy appeared before his master and bowed swiftly. "My lord, what on Earth happens that you will need to use that spell?" he asked hastily, waiting to be briefed on the next course of action. "I will die today. And so will Rin. Unless we do something to prevent it." The Lord of Time said matter-of-factly, then motioned to the stunned spy to take a seat. "Who?" came another question from the spy. "The Grigori." Samael practically growled with disgust and anger, but soon composed himself. "Sit. We must think this through." "Of course, I'm listening." the spy nodded swiftly, taking out his notebook to make sure he captured all details and instructions to the letter. Over the long years in Samael's service, they had devised a certain strategy for anytime his master would be forced to use his ultimate technique. It rarely happened, but when it did, they started with Samael laying down the turn of events he glimpsed. Any piece of information, no matter how small or insignificant, could be of great importance in order to alter the future which was about to come. One day was all they had.

Samael took a deep breath, then closed his eyes in concentration and started massaging his temples, trying to remember all important events disclosed to him by Aegis while they were still fresh. "The day will flow quite normally until early in the afternoon. My little brother and I will be summoned by the Grigori to the Vatican headquarters under pretense of reporting on his training progress. However, half-way through the report, the situation will turn into an annihilation of both of us. No lengthy fighting, no legendary battle, just a swift and effective execution. We will go down faster than I like to admit…" the demon lord made a pause to let the information sink in, his expression completely unreadable. Gin gaped, unable to mask the surprise - the amount of power necessary to take down beings such as The Son of Satan and The Lord of Time would need to be beyond imagination. However, he reminded himself to stay professional and focused on capturing the specifics instead. "To take you down that fast… They will be incredibly well prepared, correct?" Gin raised an eyebrow, and the demon lord nodded. "They will set a trap. Most resourceful and with perfect timing. Let me see if I can remember all the essentials…" the demon lord focused again, his eyes closed firmly as he started counting out.

"Wards and spells with cloaked presence. Most of them energy-draining and sense-dulling. They will also use some binding circles and relics and… now that I think of it… the air was uncharacteristically moist - must be the holy water, perhaps sprinkled in the air. Not enough of a concentration to burn and alert us, but definitely enough to weaken us inconspicuously." the demon lord counted out. "Any curses or poisons?" Gin eyed his master, the pen in his hand never leaving the notebook. "None that I can remember." Samael shook his head after a moment of thought, then added. "They will also have numbers. I could recognize some high-level Exorcists, including the Angelic legion itself. Except for Shura, that is." the demon added thoughtfully. "Peculiar. It would appear that Miss Kirigakure truly has been left out of the whole mission regarding Miss Heilbrunn. They did not trust her, it seems… must be your influence… And here I thought that it was all but a ruse on her side to persuade us that she was not a threat and that her ties with the Grigori started weakening." Gin shook his head in surprise.

"Indeed. I had the very same hypothesis… Nevertheless, the individuals I did not recognize are of much greater concern." Samael eyed his spy, then lifted his finger importantly. "The Grigori have allied themselves with a demon who uses quite a bothersome technique. Anytime I try to use my time-wrapping or time-freezing techniques, my spells will be off… The space… does not work right around that demon… I suspect he can manipulate it - not too much, but effectively enough to throw me off balance, and hinder and delay my moves, that is for certain. And as time and space are extremely interlocked, his spells worked enough to disrupt mine, especially with the element of surprise on his side. He will not even fight directly, they will him behind the lines. Angel himself will be protecting him. When I realize that the odds are not in our favor, I will try to teleport away with Rin, but the shifting will not work." Samael summarized.

The spy took a few more notes, but something kept bothering him throughout the whole story. "Why now?" he finally voiced the pressing question. "Something doesn't add up, Samael. Not a month ago, your organizations were even cooperating on a few A- and S-class missions. As for young Mr. Okumura, I would assume that he is already considered loyal… or at least more loyal than a few months ago. After all, he proved himself and his loyalty in the fight against the Impure King at the end of this summer. And just recently, he helped his brother save Mrs. Kirigakure and release her from the pact with Hachirotaro Okami… The Grigori would risk too much, lose too much by killing you two - starting with letting the restraining time-freezing spells you put on the Gehenna gates fall. So, why strike now?" Gin scratched his head, surprised by the suddenness of the Grigori's actions. The demon lord's expression became unreadable, distant, then his hands formed into fists, his forest-green eyes glowing ominously. "Thea." he said simply. "She is… gone. Apparently, she has been of much greater interest to them than I have anticipated… By far, for her disappearance to force the Grigori to make such a move…"

Gin's eyes widened at that claim, and he could feel shivers running down his spine. "Gone?! But… my squad is with her… The reports…" was all the spy could muster, then he swiftly reached for his phone to check in with the team he had assigned to guard the girl. However, his actions were interrupted by Samael's hand raised to a halt. "Too late for that, Gin." Samael interrupted, then stood up swiftly and started pacing along the tall windows in an intense thought. The spy's mouth fell open and he could feel his heart rate quicken - if it was too late to alert the squad now, it meant that his men must have already failed the mission! But… how was that possible?! He was in touch with the men and kept receiving regular daily reports from them. And if they had truly failed, what had happened to Miss Heilbrunn? "Samael… is your lady…" Gin gulped, unable to finish the sentence - he could not even start to phantom what kind of implications the girl's disappearance or… something worse would have. Both on his master and on the whole Assiah… "Gin, time is a luxury we do not have at the moment. Focus." the demon lord pinned him with a firm stare, then clasped his hands in front of him. "As much as I wish to rush out this very instant and start searching for her, I must deal with the Grigori first. I will not be of much use to her when I am dead, now, will I?" he raised an eyebrow at the spy, who swiftly shook his head in understanding - Samael was apparently restraining himself, pushing his self-control to the limits in order to make the right decisions. "Forgive me, my lord. I'm listening." the spy stood up and joined his master at the windows - he too had to walk off the sudden adrenaline.

"Good." the demon lord inclined his head. "Now, apparently, the Grigori's agents observing Thea were taken down. One of the Grigori's agents managed to alert the Vatican before they were finished off, reporting that they had been attacked and that both Thea and Ayami were taken" Samael explained the situation as he remembered it from the soon-to-be meeting with the Grigori. "The reason the Grigori will summon me is their preposterous belief that it is all - surprise, surprise - my doing, my plan, my scheme to take their organization down. That it must have been my men who took their squad down. That I finally decided to kidnap Thea for myself and use her for my 'evil plans', whatever they imagine those are. Just as I apparently did it with Rin…" the demon lord chuckled dryly, angrily, shaking his head. "And so, they will decide to act right away. I will be summoned and accused of harboring the Son of Satan and training him at my Academy in the arts of exorcism in order for him to use that knowledge and skills to ultimately counter and wipe out the Exorcists when the opportunity presents itself. I will further be accused of arranging the take-down of the Grigori's special squad, kidnapping Thea, thus threatening the whole of humankind and taking its true hope away… She has been living at the True Cross Academy and under the protection of my barrier for almost four months now, which definitely made it difficult for the Grigori's spies to keep an eye on her. Additionally, Shura was the one who was supposed to spy on Rin. And while she was in the perfect position to do just so, the Grigori believe she ended up developing an undesired friendship with the Son of Satan, thus betraying them. And so, they will agree on the fact that me and Rin have grown too dangerous and impossible to control. They will take a shot and take us both down, so they can find Thea and have her do their bidding." Samael summed up as best as he could, his voice full of cold, composed anger.

"Satan's Flames… That is… a lot to process…" Gin shook his head, going through his notes. "I know, Gin. But you have to be quick about this, the time is running out." Samael intoned importantly, tapping his watch. "Any questions? Any ideas about the next course of action?" he prompted, and the spy took a deep breath, trying to process all the pieces of information, hoping to figure out at least some leads for them to follow. "Let me see… First of all, the story with our squad attacking the Grigori's squad - that definitely doesn't sound right. The Grigori's agents were actually a welcome help when it comes to guarding your lady. My men were instructed to keep an eye on them, but not to engage them, except if they decided to try something fishy, which might put Miss Heilbrunn in danger. And even then, they would need to alert us about such an event. Have you received any notion of a disturbance from my task force?" Gin inquired, hoping for Samael to answer positively, for the negative answer would have terrible implications. Unfortunately, his hopes were destroyed by one simple 'No' from his master. Gin closed his eyes. "An inside job, then… We have been betrayed… Damnation!" Gin ran his fingers through his hair in an uncharacteristically frustrated gesture. He was absolutely furious with himself - he had hand-picked and trained every member of the squad! And now, one of them, perhaps more of them, turned on Samael. Why?! They knew very well what happened to anyone who decided to cross Samael's path. Not only that. They all supported Samael's actions in Assiah. So why? What was it about the girl that everyone would suddenly risk so much, even going against one such as Samael? What was he missing?

"Yes, so it would appear. Any suspects?" the demon lord interrupted the spy's frantic thoughts with his calm, but urgent voice. The spy gave a start, but he soon remembered to compose himself. Every second was of importance. This was not the time to question his past decisions, nor was this the time to ask his lord for forgiveness. This was the time to muster all of his experience and wits and support his master in any way possible. He willed his mind to calm down, then finally supplied information which would be of use. "Tomoe. If we were truly betrayed, then I would suspect Tomoe. In fact, I've had my suspicions before, so I made some arrangements and transferred him from his previous task force to the special squad guarding Miss Heilbrunn. My most capable staff was in that squad, so I figured that having Tomoe there would make it easier for us to watch over Miss Heilbrunn and simultaneously keep an eye on Tomoe should he try anything suspicious." Gin supplied his theory, which was met with a soft nod from Samael. "And what about Shura?" the demon lord inquired further. "She was part of the security detail, but not with the rest of our team. She was supposed to secure the location and wait there for Thea and Ayami to arrive, then guard them inconspicuously on their 'ladies night' while the rest of the team would keep a discreet distance." the spy explained the original plan, and the demon lord inclined his head thoughtfully. "That is certainly a lead. We shall investigate it further later on."

"My lord… You mentioned that Miss Heilbrunn's disappearance was regarded very seriously by the Grigori. I am specifically referring to the 'threatening the whole of humankind and taking its true hope away' part." the spy quoted from his notes. "That sounds… far beyond the significance I would have originally assumed she had. Does this per any chance concern the prophecy's existence which Miss Kirigakure had let slip before?" he inquired, hoping his master could shed a bit more light on that particular issue. A sour grimace appeared on Samael's face. "Yes. The Grigori are apparently plenty confident in their ability to take me down, because they will be kind enough to share the exact wording of the prophecy with me during the execution." the demon lord admitted, then started quoting slowly, deliberately:

An angel fallen, and an angel risen;

woe, by parents never betrayed yet denied;

just born, and born into haven yet prison,

a heartbeat took the so so long timeless ride.

Harmony, and playing with Time

is of the essence, strength in prime

is when she becomes the true hope

or both the hangman and his rope.

Her powers existence is highest treason;

Second to the Almighty one, other none;

power to defy His plans and His reason;

if she so chooses, her own will shall be done.

The fate, the origin of Sin

she can erase, truly unmake

if she can choose her own kin

else to darkness her soul might take

never was there such a high stake

The Final End by one mistake

Heed my warning –

never lived, never was, never died

none revived, endless pause of timeless tide.

Gin was writing swiftly, carefully putting down the prophecy word for word. When the demon lord finished, the secretary kept running his eyes through the wording, absolutely astonished. Both his mind and his heart were racing because of how disturbing and confusing the new information was. "That's… Satan's Flames! Samael… What on Earth is she?" he met his master's eyes eagerly, questioningly. "Right now, she is my lady, and she needs help, and that is all which interests me." Samael answered pointedly, but Gin was simply too captivated at the moment. "I'm absolutely sure she's not a demon. We checked, Sire. Multiple times, I assure you. And yet… 'an angel fallen'. Then again, her healing abilities… they might not be exactly 'holy', but surely close enough when it comes to their potency and… yes, yes… But she cannot be an angel either, can she? No, they cannot step into Assiah and…" the spy was mumbling unknowingly, until the demon lord finally interrupted him. "Gin, focus. I shared the prophecy with you now because it is still fresh in my mind and we will, of course, need to look into it more closely. But we will have enough time to ponder about the prophecy's meaning. It can wait for now. Thea cannot." the demon intoned importantly. "I understand, my Lord." Gin nodded reluctantly, but he understood the priorities. "However, from what you said, it looks like the Grigori put a truly great importance to Miss Heilbrunn - her being the girl from such a troubling prophecy and all that…" the spy kept looking at his notes, thinking aloud.

Samael just shook his head, then leaned on one of the tall windows, watching the snowflakes gently drift down. "... despite what I will hear at my execution… it just does not sound right. It does not feel right. The Grigori believe that Thea is some kind of… 'true hope', destined to save Assiah by ridding it of all demonkind or something along those lines, for good. Or… the exact opposite." he made a pause, looking at the spy without seeing him, thinking hard. "In that case, her situation is quite similar to your younger half-brother, is it not? The Son of Satan might become the ultimate weapon against Satan, or he could embrace his demon self and turn on the whole Assiah…" Gin assessed but received a disapproving shake of Samael's head in return. "Not quite, Gin. As easy as it is to forget, she is not a demon. You double-double-checked right. But the premise still stands. The Grigori believe that she can 'cure this world'. Or she might as well doom it - that is yet to be determined. However, as I was saying, something about the prophecy just does not seem right… Me being The Lord of Time means that I have a very keen judgement when it comes to determining anything time-related. I have a general feeling of how old beings or things are, when approximately certain events happened or will happen. And the prophecy simply… the timing is off. And I mean really off. We are speaking a century or two off. Definitely further in the future. I really don't think that it is truly her the prophecy speaks about. And yet… The Grigori are so adamant about it. And I guess I also have this strange suspicion, more a feeling really, that it is related to her. Somehow…" Samael massaged his eyes, trying to make some sense of all the events.

"Well, it's the Grigori, Sir. All fanatics get adamant once they take something into their mind. And I assume, of course, that you are right, and Miss Heilbrunn is not the one the prophecy is about. No surprise the Grigori have not done their homework, at least not correctly, and just chose to have faith in their decision that it is her." the spy shrugged at the Grigori's unsurprisingly 'blind fate', then tapped the pen on his lips in thought. "However, what I don't understand is why they let Miss Heilbrunn 'run free'. I mean… You know how they treat anyone who seems to be 'blessed with some holy quest', no matter how insignificant it might be. Not to mention anyone who could potentially doom the world. Any such individual is immediately taken to the Vatican branch, trained as their own tool. If they are lucky… Why would they willingly let her out of their direct supervision, not to mention let her study at your Academy and get so close to you?" Gin's brows furrowed in puzzlement. "Because according to the prophecy, the Grigori must not interfere in her life until certain events happen first. It is that 'choose her own kin' part, I believe. Otherwise, it guarantees the 'bad ending'. However, now they believe that something has changed, and the time has come when they finally can interfere. Or perhaps they simply fear that the prophecy took an unwanted turn. Or not… more likely, they think their hand was forced when I made the move - they believe I took Thea, and yes, we both know they tend to cling to mistaken beliefs. So, they stepped in and took the 'righteous, necessary' measures they so love taking…" the demon lord pondered, struggling to wrap his head around the whole thing.

Gin ran through the notes again, assessing every single detail from different angles, weighing its importance, calculating possible actions. "... War… My Lord, from what you have shared with me, we would need to assemble a significant force to counter the Grigori. However, in order for us to handle this effectively, we should definitely be ready before they get the chance to set all the traps they will want to set as you mentioned. They must not get the chance to finish their preparations or else they will have the advantage, and they already have the control when it comes to the environment we will be fighting in. We would need to use the forces stationed in Assiah. I'm also assuming that some of the Exorcists of your Academy might be willing to support you in this case, but frankly, it's either you or the Grigori, and that's a hell of a choice for someone who swore to fight demons in the first place… On top of that - no matter from which angle I'm looking at the situation, interfering with the Grigori's judgement of you and Rin will ultimately lead to an all-out-attack, which we always tried to prevent…" the spy exhaled, not pleased with the scenarios which were playing in front of his eyes as he kept searching for other options. "I will not go into a war with the Grigori, Gin, and you know it. Assiah is mine, and I refuse the beautiful chaos it is now to be destroyed, so it can end up like Gehenna…" Samael stated, refusal strongly present in his tone. "I understand, Sir. But a small infiltration won't do. My best men are AWOL…" Gin clenched his fists at that thought.

Mephisto looked out of the window in concentration. "I can always negotiate with them. One good deal is all I need." the demon lord rubbed his beard. "Well, you could try, but… they will want the girl, Samael." he looked at his master pointedly. Suddenly, he picked up the sound of Samael's gritting teeth, and was pinned with such an intense, fiery, doom-promising glare, that he wished he had never even thought of such an option, let alone voiced it. "Out of the question! The Hell shall freeze before I just hand Thea over to those self-righteous fanatics!" the demon lord practically growled, slightly trembling with fury, his eyes glowing again, hints of purple entering the usual forest-green. "Then you'd better offer them something damn impressive, for your lady seems to be worthy of both your and young Rin's life, not to mention the fall of your time-freeze bestowed upon Gehenna gates and letting all the demons loose in Assiah." Gin said silently, then added. "The Grigori seem to place everything they have on one card - Thea. A major game indeed…

Abruptly, Samael stopped in his traces. "In that case, let us gamble, shall we?" a wicked grin crept upon the demon's lips as he eyed Gin. "What do you mean by that, Sir?" the spy asked, taken aback by the sudden change of attitude. "I mean a rendezvous in the Vatican. Right now. Just me and them. They will never see it coming…" he massaged his hands, catching Gin completely off guard. "I apologize for repeating myself, my lord, but - What do you mean by that?" the spy intoned importantly. "There is another way… You were right, Gin. The timing is the key here. The sooner we confront the Grigori about this, the better. I shall meet them right away and report personally that Thea has gone missing. Then, I will request their cooperation in the search for her." he explained briefly, while Gin's eyes kept widening with every sentence, leaving him practically googling. "With all due respect, my lord… Have you gone mad?! You cannot waltz into the Vatican branch in your current state, they plan to execute you! You know how vulnerable you are at the moment, right? The Aegis of Time, the twenty-four hours heads-up you gained us, leaves you vulnerable. Satan's Flames, even the Angelic legion would have a chance to take you on right now! I won't be able to protect you from all of them should things turn ugly." the spy burst out uncharacteristically, gesturing around wildly. "And you will not need to, Gin. As much as I appreciate your presence during times of crisis, you are not coming with me." Samael shushed the spy, which only seemed to infuriate the older demon even more. "What do you mean I'm not coming with you?! I'm your best spy, your right-hand man, I'm also your best bodyguard! That is exactly the place where I'm supposed to be, no matter how lunatic that idea of entering the Vatican on your own is…"

"You will have a mission of your own Gin." the demon lord interrupted the spy with an outstretched palm of his hand. "And it is crucial that you do not lose the time guarding me. If we are to succeed, everyone must play their role. Yours is to organize a searching party and find Thea and Ayami as soon as possible. Mine is to handle the Grigori and make sure they will at least stay out of your way, but preferably participate in the search. I will join you as soon as I'm done with them." the demon lord explained. "Assuming that you will walk out alive from that meeting. Tsk… That's not a plan, this is madness!" "Madness? This… is… a gamble, sorta…" the demon lord winked at Gin playfully, and while the spy was recovering from the preposterous proposal, Samael continued. "But I have confidence this might just work… A friend of mine gave me this great advice - 'Always do what is least expected.'. A clever Spanish fellow, was working for the Church half a century ago as an inquisitor… But that is not important right now." Samael smirked meaningfully.

Gin's hand found his forehead with a loud smack - he couldn't help but smile at that notion despite the seriousness of the situation. However, he soon collected himself. "I mean it, Samael. And despite the number of followers you have, you know very well how long it could take to revive the soul of one of the Demon Kings…" Gin pointed out firmly, but Samael just tapped his finger on his lips. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that - did you count in my Instagram followers, too? Social media does wonders when it comes to securing a devoted fandom." the demon lord grinned, sending the spy's irritation to completely new heights. "Still millennia, Samael!" he yelled as much as one could reasonably yell at their boss and lord given the situation but was interrupted by a hand which landed firmly on his shoulder. "I need you to do this for me. There is no one else I am willing to entrust Thea's life with." The Lord of Time said calmly, then held Gin's gaze for a moment and gripped his shoulder a little tighter. "Find her." he said so softly that he was practically whispering, urgency strongly present in his voice. Gin had to do his very best in order to keep his jaw from dropping. "By my Demon's Heart… That's not just an order… He might as well have said 'please' to go with that 'demand' of his… Satan's Flames!" the spy realized with astonishment. "To think he would grow to care for her so much, to risk so much… Damnation! What on Earth am I doing?! Allowing my temper to take the better of me and letting my master practically beg for my help. Satan's Flames! And here I thought that it was him who was always so rushed, so hot-headed. Now, look at me…" "Gin." came Samael's more urgent growing voice. "You can always count on me, Samael." Gin inclined his head, then both demons exchanged a nod of silent understanding, and Samael's expression turned nonchalant in a matter of seconds. "Splendid! In that case, onwards, my friend! The future awaits!" Samael called out theatrically, pulling out a key which would allow him to step right to the Vatican branch. Gin just shook his head, then glanced at his master sideways with a smug grin on his lips as they were walking towards the door. "So, just in case… how many followers are we speaking of?"

OoO

Shura blinked, her vision hazy and her head spinning like a rollercoaster. Just how much did she drink last night? She took a few ragged breaths, then tried to pry her eyes open again. It only worked for the right eye; the lid of her left eye remained plastered to her cheek. She reached for it with her left hand, only to feel a stab of pain jolt her body. "Crap! What the…" she breathed out angrily, then she suddenly felt the pain blossom in her whole body. It was a very strange feeling. While her body felt incredibly hot, she was also very cold at the same time. So… not a hangover. Probably. She felt that she was lying on her back, but the position she was in was highly uncomfortable, painful… Torturous, actually. She shifted a little, and finally, she summoned enough concentration to manage taking a look at her surroundings. "A very light coating of snow… in the middle of wilderness somewhere…" she mumbled, still quite disoriented. At least that would explain the cold she felt. And what were those weird black spots scattered over the white canopy? She blinked again, then recognized the broken pieces of her motorcycle. "Oh, damn! My bike!" she cried out, shooting out of the ground. Or rather, she tried to - she only managed to get to her knees, then she had to support herself with her hands swiftly, shaking like a leaf. "God that hurts…" she squeezed the words through her clattering teeth angrily. She didn't know where to reach first - to her head, to her right leg or perhaps to her ribs? All of them were throbbing painfully, making it terribly difficult to move around. She was bruised all over. Right in front of her lay most of her motorcycle, now reduced to scraps. Her bag was torn, its contents scattered around the ground, her cell phone broken beyond repair. The red-haired woman reached for her forehead absentmindedly, soon meeting the thin layer of blood which managed to trail down her face, covering her left eye. She voiced a silent thanks for having worn a helmet. She reached for a handful of snow right next to her, and put it gently to her eye and forehead, washing off the blood, while trying to process what just happened.

Suddenly, something just clicked in, making Shura gasp. "Thea!" her eyes widened in panic. "Holy crap, that's right! I'm supposed to be guarding her… so what am I…" she shook her head, trying to regain a clear state of mind. She had volunteered to the mission to support Mephisto's squad guarding Thea on her little trip in the mountains. After all, she could easily watch over her friend during a friendly ladies night, unlike the rest of the team which was supposed to stay discreet and out of the way. Having arrived a day earlier, Shura had placed some protective wards and barriers at the cottage and in the close perimeter. "Then what…" the teacher pondered, biting her lower lip in an intense concentration. "Everything looked fine… Ayami was supposed to arrive around noon and Thea shortly after. I wanted to greet them… and share that bottle of sake for the celebration with them… So, what the hell am I doing here? ...North! That's right!" Shura's eyes widened in realization. She had been waiting for the girls at the cottage, when she had suddenly felt a strong surge of power coming from the North, a few kilometers away from the cottage, where Thea had no business being as the road was south-east. And it certainly was Thea - Shura couldn't have possibly mistaken that weird, radiant power. Thea's power. The teacher frowned, remembering how she had hopped on her motorcycle, rushing to the very direction, calling the squad following Thea. However, no one picked up. And then, at one point during her ride, her brakes simply stopped responding and she had gotten into a nasty skid, which sent her flying and rolling over the forest path she was taking. "Tsk… A sabotage… We've been out-played!" Shura gritted her teeth in anger, feeling her temper rising. Or was it her temperature? She seemed to have developed a slight fever… "Someone must have fiddled with my breaks… Damn!" the red-haired woman kept thundering, one flowery word replacing the other as she got the frustration out of her system. She suddenly regretted taking her bike on the mission at this time of year in the first place, even if there was almost no snow and the roads were good.

"I've got to do something! Come on, Shura! Stand up!" she urged herself to her feet. Thea was obviously in trouble, and Shura might be the only one who could help her. Unfortunately, her options were limited, as her cell phone was completely useless and she was standing on some god-forsaken forest path, deep in the mountains during winter, all roughed up and bleeding, without transport… Clenching her hands into fists, Shura braced herself for what was about to come. She couldn't just wait near the road for someone to find her and pick her up. The whole Asahikawa region was remote, inhospitable, and sparsely populated. If Thea was in danger, she had to act quickly. She gave herself a quick first aid, cleaning the wound on her forehead and her leg with some snow. Then, she used the first aid kit she had salvaged from her crashed bike to bandage her slightly bleeding and slowly swelling right leg, wincing at the pain. "Geez, just my luck. It just has to be broken…" she thundered once she managed to fix it well enough with sticks. "Too bad I can't do anything about the ribs." she cracked a grimace, trying to breathe as calmly as possible and move her torso extra carefully. Having recited some passages from Holy Scripts, she managed to relieve herself of the intense pain. The spells would also temporarily prolong her durability and allow her to move around more freely and quickly despite her injuries. "Shame I could never grasp how Thea does her healing waves. Man, I knew I should've come to one of the seminars she teaches! Stupid! Stupid!" she talked to herself aloud angrily, while picking up everything which seemed at least a bit useful and not too damaged from the ground. "Hold on, girl. I'm comin' for ya'!" she said, her eyes burning with determination.

Almost two hours later, Shura caught herself cursing like an old pirate yet again, unhappy with how long it took her to get further to the North. But well, one could only move so fast with a broken leg. She started feeling exhausted - a clear sign that the spells were slowly wearing off. She paused for a moment to save some of her energy, her breath creating soft puffs of steam in the air. Pulling her leather riding gloves off her hands, she allowed her breath to warm up her fingers a little. Fortunately, this was not an issue with her toes, as she wore quality footwear and winter gear. "This is bad… It's getting late…" Shura pursed her frost-broken lips, looking at the darkening skies above her. She had to find a shelter soon, else she would freeze to death out there in the night. "Damn! Why must you be this far in the North! And where are Mephisto's spies, anyways?! It's been almost two hours and I haven't met one of them! Dammit to hell!" the teacher cursed again, her teeth clattering. At least she was already more or less at the point where she had felt Thea's power come from. Still, no matter how much her throat hurt from all the shouting, how raspy her voice sounded, she tried again. "Theaaa! Where are you? Theaaa!" she shouted from the top of her lungs. "If only I were any good with the Elementals! Some fire would be nice…" Shura mumbled softly in annoyance, rubbing her arms for some more warmth, then put the gloves back on. Her right leg started throbbing from the abuse she had put it through. "Missstresss!" came a soft hiss from her right. "Naga! Found her yet?" the red-haired woman inquired impatiently, looking at her familiar - a small white serpent. It was not a particularly strong demon. In fact, she never used Naga in a fight. However, what Naga lacked in combat, it compensated more than enough with the tracking skills. Also, Shura couldn't really afford to summon anything stronger in the state she was in - she had to preserve most of her energy for simply walking. Well, more like dragging herself… "Thisss way." Naga hissed again, and Shura sped through the banks of snow, stumbling awkwardly from the tiredness.

Her green eyes widened in alarm at what she saw in front of her. "Ayami!" Shura scrambled over the pile of snow towards the raven-haired girl, who was thrashing at the ground violently. Her eyes were wide open but looking at nothing in particular, her breathing was erratic, her body burning from a high fever, contorting in cramps. "Dear Lord!" the teacher exclaimed when she recognized the demonic glyphs covering her skin in a chain pattern. She turned to her familiar swiftly. "What about Thea? The blonde?" Shura urged, looking around frantically, but the small snake just shook its head. "Nothing, missstresss. I sssmell no other human in thisss area." "Damn! This is not good… Not good at all…" the red-haired woman cursed, getting a start from the snake. "My humblessst apologiesss, missstresss." Shura eyed the snake and waved her hand dismissively. "No, it's not your fault, Naga. In fact, good job with finding Ayami. Thank you. And sorry for making you work in this cold. I need to take care of Ayami asap. God, this is gonna need some serious Aria stuff…" Shura dispelled her familiar, then took a deep breath, looking at the poor girl in concentration. Not only was she cursed, but from the unnatural color of her skin, it was very well possible that she had been poisoned as well. The teacher pursed her lips, thinking furiously of the next course of action.

"Right. Lemme' see…" the red-haired woman started rummaging through her bag. She fished out a flare - the first one out of three she had prepared - and fired it. She needed to alert Mephisto's men, first. Hopefully, they would arrive fast and help her take care of Ayami. Then, she searched her bag again, looking for her hip flask. Luckily, it had survived her driving accident - unlike the small vials with concoctions. She unbottled the flask with fingers all clumsy from the cold, then took a firm hold of the girl lying in front of her and pushed some of the liquid down her throat as carefully as possible. Shura was prepared for the cold and had switched her usual sake for rum. It was not much of a help, Ayami would definitely need a mixture of a poison-specific antidote, but for that moment, Shura was simply buying the girl some time. Shura knew that the girl wouldn't last long unless she took some crucial precautions. And fast. "Here we go…" the teacher took a deep breath, concentrating on a short but effective psalm against curses, then started reciting it silently while disrobing the coat off the poor girl. "Sorry, girl, but we need to do something about that fever of yours… I almost envy you having a strong fever, frozen as I am…" Shura gave her an apologetic look. Once she was done, she used clothes along with her belt and twigs to build a makeshift litter, so she could pull Ayami over the hill to the nearby forest which would at least provide some respite from the winds. The teacher was a strong woman, but she couldn't possibly carry Ayami with broken ribs and a useless leg. Heaving the belt and her bag over her shoulders, she fastened the litter and set off to where she hoped a shelter could be found. At least the frozen ground with snow here and there made it somewhat easier to pull.

The road was much more difficult and exhausting than before, and Shura had to take several breaks before she even reached the top of the snowy incline. It was a very small incline, but felt like a mountain to her tired, strained body. Still, she tried to cheer herself up by the fact that from that point onward, it would be basically down the hill, which was actually practically flat, but it would still allow her to speed up. Also, Ayami's spasms lessened a little after that bit of imported rum, so even though she still trembled, Shura could pull the litter without the fear that she might fall off it. A cold wind picked up. The red-haired woman looked up, just when a small snowflake landed on her nose. "Oh, you've gotta be kiddin' me!" she thundered at the sight of puffy clouds rolling her way, her frustration and anger rising at an alarming speed. "Of course there will be a friggin' blizzard! Never mind the nice and sunny forecast for the following weekend. No. A blizzard! Dammit!" Cheeks puffed up, her teeth gritting, the teacher set off towards the near forest at as much speed as she could muster, which meant she could probably outrun a turtle… a very old turtle… She was doing her best to ignore the thick, heavy clouds which were carried her way by a freezing-cold wind. She couldn't allow them to be caught in a snowstorm with night approaching. Ten stressful minutes later, Shura managed to drag them both to the forest at last. She wanted to start a fire, but the wind was too strong for it to last without protection, so she started setting up a small provisory tent near a huge tree. The thick trunk provided a good enough shelter from the wind and snow from one side. And even though her sword no longer held any demonic power after being released from the pact with Hachirotaro Okami, the branches were still nothing to its sharp edge. Pulling Ayami closer to the tree and into the makeshift shelter, Shura covered Ayami up with her own somewhat dry coat. Ayami's fever seemed to have receded and now cold seemed to be the thing to watch out for. Then, she rummaged through her bag, producing a second flare. She stumbled a bit further from the forest clearing, to the open. "Someone get your asses over here! And quick!" the teacher said while firing a flare, hoping that someone would notice the red light in the darkening sky. It looked so small in that freezing, wild fury of snowflakes…

Then, she returned back to Ayami and allowed herself to sit and stretch her legs. Her right leg was so swollen that she couldn't even bend it in the knee anymore. She tried to ignore the painful heat emanating from her side where the ribs had been broken for the time being. Every movement was extremely tiring, not to mention excruciating, and she soon found herself heaving and wheezing. But she had to stand up again and get to work! After a few most exhausting, torturous minutes, she managed to cut off enough branches with her sword. She gathered as much wood as she could, then started a small fire with her last flare, small dirty twigs and some handkerchiefs. It was a tough call, whether to use the last flare to call for help or to make fire. But hell, they would likely freeze before help got there! And if the help didn't get there, the fire would be pretty visible, especially in the dark. Besides, it was necessary to keep them both nice and warm. Shura nodded to herself, mustering all her concentration, then started a more advanced purifying mantra against curses. "Don't ya' worry! We're gonna make it. Just ya' wait, help is on the way." Shura assured the girl in front of her, as she lay down as close to Ayami as she could for warmth, and tried reciting the mantras in calming, lullaby-like tones. The teacher gulped, peering somewhere far away, and nowhere in particular. "What if Thea is still out there? Lying in pain in the middle of nowhere without help… But no, Naga said there was no other human in the area. And Naga is never wrong." Shura tried to persuade herself and calm down. As much as she wanted to set off and find Thea, she couldn't just leave Ayami. The girl would die without help. Shura wasn't sure she herself would last much longer without treatment… Warmth blossomed on her face as a few tears rolled down her cheeks, and she sniffled as she imagined Thea being out there somewhere in similar condition to Ayami. "Please, be safe… Please…"

OoO

"See?! What did I tell you?! He's become too dangerous! I beseech you, we must act, and we must act now!" a fist landed on the wooden podium stand situated in the middle of the large oval room, swirling the heated debate once again among the Grigori. Arthur Angel was burning with fury, itching to just grab Excalibur and devoid that foul demon of his insolent existence. But he would get his way. He knew he would. No other way, not now, not after what the demon had done. The righteous fury would be unleashed upon him at last, Angel could feel that. The Paladin had received an alert from one of the agents assigned to oversee Althea Heilbrunn. The woman of prophecy, their salvation or perhaps doom - that was yet to be determined - has disappeared without a trace. Not only that. The whole squad couldn't be reached, presumably dead. And so, Arthur had rushed with the news right to the Grigori. The only reason why his hands were firmly gripping the wood of the podium stand and not a certain headmaster's throat was the fact that the Grigori themselves weren't able to unanimously decide whether it was the right time to do so. The prophecy itself seemed to have taken the dark turn. "If he really took her… then we must intervene. Angel is right, Samael has gone too far this time, and in doing so, forced our retribution on him. He must be punished for that kind of transgression." came a prompting voice, which was swiftly interrupted by an outraged one. "The prophecy clearly states that the girl must be left to her own devices until…" "The prophecy also states that she could very well destroy the world as we know it if she takes the wrong path. What if this is the moment? What if she has already taken the path by… associating herself with that demon? Or she will soon, if he forced her by taking her…" another voice pressed.

Arthur gritted his teeth at that notion. He still couldn't swallow the fact that their fate rested upon the shoulders of a woman such as Althea. "She might be beautiful, smart…. But no good person would ever fraternize with a demon! Not to mention that no one should wield powers such as she had according to The Prophecy. No one should be able to rise as the Almighty's second, to defy the one and only God's will. That is just an unthinkable insolence. How dare we not kill the one who spits in the face of God?!" he raged inside, but knew an answer came in another verse of The Prophecy. "For a hope of undoing the first sin…" he pursed his lips. "Well, the world without sins would be a heavenly utopia, of course. Heaven on Earth. Just as the Grigori wanted it. Just as everyone should want it. But still… Is it worth the risk? More likely she would just doom the whole world… Her very existence is… it's blasphemy!" Arthur could feel his heartbeat quicken. "Thinking of blasphemy… She practically gave herself to a demon lord! True, I didn't expect her to be exactly virtuous, but still… Faith…" the Paladin reminded himself. "God must have some plans with her. Or can He truly, if her powers can disrupt His own will? No, He must have a plan even with a being such as her. And if so, then there must still be some hope. Her sinful 'association' with Mephisto Pheles… It was not her fault. It was the work of that devil. It was he who had clouded her mind! Spinning lies just to win her over to his side, to bring darkness and doom to this world… And she, a foolish young girl, truly believed him… Tsk, she should have been saved by the Grigori long ago, even if by killing her to prevent her powers from insulting the Almighty." he kept telling himself over and over. He would never forgive that demon for tainting her soul like that! And should she truly take the path of destruction, he would personally make sure to end her miserable life…

"... we must act now!" another Assembly member tore through Arthur's intense train of thoughts. "If that demon truly took her, it must be because he believes that her strength has finally reached its prime - just as The Prophecy says. After all, he would know the best. He had been keeping the girl 'under the protection' of the Academy barrier, making it difficult for all our spies to monitor the situation properly. Who knows, she might already be on his side, willing to doom the world!" the woman finished with a concern showing on her face, and another man agreed. "Exactly my thoughts! Your Honor, we must intervene. If her power has already reached its potential, we have to eliminate Pheles before he uses her for whatever evil plan he has. Just like he has with the spawn of Satan." another voice joined, and Arthur perked up. The discussion seemed to take the turn he had hoped for a very long time. Too long of a time. And so, he eagerly pitched in, betting on the heated conversation to move his suggestion forward. "I'm glad you finally see the reason. Yes, both demons should finally be obliterated. They have caused us enough trouble by playing with forces which only the Almighty should wield!"

"You are not thinking straight!" an opposing male voice sounded, accompanied by a loud thud of hands on the desk. The elderly man was standing, gesturing wildly around. "Even if we decided to bring divine justice upon those creatures, how exactly do you suggest we go about it, hm? Do you have any idea how strong both demons are? How do you fight that tremendous power? Pheles might be a demon, but he's no fool. Attacking the Academy is a suicide!" the man trembled angrily, trying to talk some sense to his definitely righteous, but way too hasty associates. In that moment, a smile crept on the Paladin's usually serious face, and he spoke to the Assembly from the pult. "And that's where you are wrong. We can defeat evil, even this strong. And we will succeed - if we act unified and follow the plan." Angel intoned importantly, getting confused looks from the Assembly. "What are you talking about? What plan?" one of the participants inquired.

The Paladin shifted, his stature suddenly much straighter and decisive, as he started explaining all the important details of a plan he had been working on for a few months already, just waiting for the right opportunity to bring it up before the Assembly. Arthur painted every step for them, starting with the ruse, where the Grigori would simply pretend they had an ordinary, yet important matter to discuss. They would disregard the woman of the prophecy and pretend they have not yet learned that the demon took her. Instead, Mephisto Pheles and Rin Okumura would be summoned in order to 'report on Okumura's training progress'. Believable, but still quite ordinary. Too ordinary to raise any suspicion. He described all key traps, spells and even relics they would need to utilize in order to ensure the demons' defeat. Everything from the sense-dulling spells to wards and barriers against teleportation Pheles was so fond of. And last but not least, their trump card which was on standby to be used anytime the Grigori required it - Alastor. A demon whose life the Grigori had spared once in return for his servitude as one of their spies. As much as it infuriated Angel to rely on the powers of a filthy demon, his particular skills were too valuable. His shapeshifting had been of great use, especially when the Grigori had needed information about Althea Heilbrunn, more specifically, of information Mephisto Pheles had on the girl in his personal Archives of The True Cross Academy… Not only was he a superb shapeshifter, he also possessed the rare power of space manipulation - a splendid counter to Pheles' time manipulation. If they combined Angel's plan with some additional manpower and the element of surprise, their victory would be secured. Finally, the highest ranked Exorcist suggested executing the plan right away, summoning both demons the next day just as soon as the preparations were finished. Angel's confidence in the whole plan was rising with every widened set of eyes, with every appreciative nod from the Assembly.

When the Paladin was finished with his speech, a heated discussion filled the room, throwing it into a chaotic turmoil, until loud slams of a gavel reminded the Assembly of a proper behavior. "Order!" the judge thundered, silencing everyone in an instant. "Your concerns have been acknowledged by The Grigori. The Grigori acknowledge that Mephisto Pheles probably suspects the woman's importance, despite not having the full knowledge of The Prophecy itself, which is among the best-guarded secrets of the Vatican. Otherwise, the demon would have 'forced' her to choose kin long ago. The Grigori further recognize that Pheles' actions do interfere with the flow of The Prophecy and might spell doom for the world. We shall vote." Timothy eyed the plenum importantly, then asked. "Those in favor of the Paladin's plan to execute Mephisto Pheles and Rin Okumura, raise your hands." Angel's hand shot up decisively, and he could see further hands joining his cause. "Those against?" the judge asked again, a matter of process, really, as the majority of the Assembly had already stated their opinion. He then turned to the Grigori, who nodded one by one. "Very well. The Grigori hereby put Arthur Angel, the current Paladin, in charge of the preparations and actions leading to the execution of Mephisto Pheles and Rin Okumura." The resolution was sealed by a final thud of the gavel. "Now then, to our next objective - the disappearance of Althea Heilbrunn. There is still a chance that it is not the work of Mephisto Pheles. And even if it is, we still do not know where she is hidden. In that case, we must organize an investigation party. We cannot intervene too much, but we have to find her." Timothy stated, sending Angel to inexplicable levels of frustration. Hadn't they just agreed to finish the demon off because they thought he had taken the girl in the first place? "Why search for her, when we know very well where she is… or whom to ask?"

"Oh, you do? Now that would be a huge relief!" a sonorous voice echoed through the hall, as an unexpected intruder pushed the huge door open. Arthur's brows furrowed and his lips contorted in anger at the sight of Mephisto, who yet again managed to just barge right in, wearing that annoyingly nonchalant, self-important smirk on his smug face. "How dare you eavesdrop on our meeting and barge in this sacred place like that?!" came an accusatory outburst from one of the Assembly members, who pointed his finger at Mephisto. "Goodness, no, there was no need to eavesdrop, I assure you - Arthur was kind enough to make sure that the whole Vatican is informed about the current situation with that heated speech he gave a moment ago~" the demon mused, his steps echoing on the marble floor as he casually strode to the podium. "As for the 'barging in' part, I believe the urgency of the situation more than justifies the breach of protocol, assuming you could hear me knock over Arthur's shouting, anyway. Now, let us skip the pleasantries, as I am currently needed elsewhere - I came to report the disappearance, most probably the kidnapping of Meister Doctor Althea Heilbrunn." he stated, then turned towards the Paladin, arching an eyebrow. "But I hear that her whereabouts are already known? Have I done the impossible, and actually underestimated your Intelligence?" The question seemed to send the highest-ranking Exorcist to new levels of fury. His hand soon grabbed Mephisto's ascot tie, pulling him roughly closer. Fiery sky-blue eyes met a set of freezingly-cold green ones. "Of course we know! You took her! And yet you dare come here, spinning your lies!" he bellowed heatedly. The demon eyed him flatly, his expression unreadable, but somehow so intense that it was piercing his very soul. A mocking grin crept upon his face. "So, you have no clue, then? How very disappointing." Mephisto shook his head lamentably. "Just drop the innocent act already, demon!" the Paladin spat, produced his sword in a blink of an eye, and held it up high. Mephisto smirked, revealing his sharp fangs, then whispered. "Really, Angel? Are you sure you want to fight me now, without any aces up your sleeve? No wards, no steamed holy water… Do you lack the imagination to think something clever up or are you just too arrogant to take me seriously?" the demon lord mocked while the Paladin's face paled at his words. "Well~? Are you truly going to fight me without Alastor on your side? What a shame… I was dearly looking forward to meeting him, but there are more pressing matters…" Mephisto mocked in a whispered voice only for Arthur to hear, relishing every drop of panic, tension and bewilderment Arthur's face betrayed. Arthur was breathing heavily, unable to mask his shock that Mephisto knew about the trap he had been planning for months. He even knew about their secret weapon! Even his name… "Damn the demon and his spies! Always privy to even the best guarded secrets. Always two moves ahead!" Angel just couldn't believe it. The demon always knew, always escaped his rightful punishment. "WHY YOU DEVIL!" No longer able to keep his internal rage in check, the Paladin growled and swiped Excalibur at the demon. The razor-sharp, shining blade reached Mephisto's throat with a swift motion, stopping mere millimeters from the skin. Mephisto did not flinch, did not move, did not even wipe that condescending smile from Arthur's face, which seemed to upset the Paladin further.

"Angel! Compose yourself." came a firm order from one of the Grigori, and the Paladin lowered his sword and released the hold on the demon reluctantly. Silence fell and a tangible tension filled the room, until Mephisto's voice tore through it. "Honored Assembly, both mine and your squad, which were assigned to protect Dr. Heilbrunn, have gone dark, unresponsive." he said, earning himself surprised gasps and bulged eyes. Mephisto rolled his eyes in response. "Yes, I do know of your agents - they were actually quite a welcome addition to her safety. One can never be too careful…" he said off-handedly, waving his hand dismissively at the fact, then eyed the plenum meaningfully. "Especially when it comes to a human as unique as her, right?" he winked. "What do you mean by that?" came a careful question from one of the Grigori. "Oh dear, and here I thought we were long past the point of pretending…" the demon shook his head lamentably, then said theatrically. "I know you believe the girl to be… true hope? The one to unmake the original Sin, to restore humankind to Grace? Or perhaps doom it, but you know how it goes with prophecies… always so cryptic, unclear and open to interpretation…" Mephisto shrugged carelessly, as his words had completely shaken the Assembly. If there were gasps before, now the room buzzed with nervous activity, the smell of panic and fear prominent to his delicate senses. He could hear their shocked, panicked, whispered 'He knew?!', 'Impossible!', "How?!'. As soon as Arthur overcame his own bewilderment, his face burned crimson, and he addressed the Grigori with hands spread widely. "See?! What did I tell you? Deceptions! He knows not the words, merely learned of the existence of a prophecy…" "Good grief, Arthur, well done. I must always admire the way you immediately notice and proudly present the obvious." the demon mocked the Paladin again. He couldn't help it - the vision of Arthur running his monstrosity of a blade through his chest in the final blow was still too fresh in Mephisto's memory. That was one reason… The other was that it was all a misdirection from his own nervousness and bluff… Mephisto was too weak and vulnerable after using Aegis to handle the Paladin along with the whole Assembly. But… he could still present himself in a way which screamed 'I am the one in control. I came prepared.'. And that was the best armor, but only if left untested… All the more reason to let it shine brighter.

"Yes, yes, 'An angel fallen, and an angel risen; woe, by parents never betrayed yet denied; et cetera et cetera… She becomes the true hope, ... Second to the Almighty one, other none; yada yada yada… The origin of Sin she can erase, truly unmake... IF SHE CAN CHOOSE HER OWN KIN.' " the demon lord intoned importantly, then added off-handedly. "Ah, and also that mysteriously dramatic warning - 'Never lived, never was, never died, none revived, endless pause of timeless tide.' " he finished with a satisfied, devilish grin on his face, taking everyone aback. "You know, that one. We are talking about the same prophecy, right?" he asked almost innocently, savoring the expressions on their faces. Red from bewilderment and fury, ashen-white from anxiety and terror - both kinds were absolutely priceless. He didn't hesitate and continued on with his speech, not giving them any room to recover from the shock. Now they knew that he did not only suspect Thea was related to an important prophecy, but he knew the exact wording of their treasured knowledge. "Quite frankly, you are wrong about Thea being the one The Prophecy is about, if you take the professional opinion of an expert on the matter. But do not feel bad, I understand she fits quite well… an easy mistake to make." he said in a mockingly understanding tone, then pushed some more. "However, your timing is off by at least a century or two. I did not bother correcting you, as your interest in her security was beneficial to my agenda… Also, if you chose to believe it was her, who am I to judge…" Mephisto raised his hands up in indifference. "Oh, please! What would a demon know about faith? About hope?" came a spiteful growl from the Paladin. "Arthur, as much as this holy environment and the presence of celestial beings must be stimulating for you, I do not have the time, nor the energy to discuss your spiritual journey right now." the demon answered flatly, then addressed the Grigori again.

"Take this piece of information as a sign of my good will, and the Academy's will to continue the successful cooperation we have had. You want your foretold hero back, and I… have my own reasons why I want the girl returned, safe and sound. It is wonderful, really - Angel would say it is providence, I am sure, once he processes the obvious - that we have this goal, once again, in common. A search party is being organized as we speak, and you are welcome to join the search and investigation efforts. I will be busy searching for Thea, so I will not be attending the meeting with you and Alastor tomorrow. And I believe such a meeting would not be in the interest of the Grigori now, nor in the future. Auf Wiedersehen~" the demon said with an air of finality, then produced a lavish bow and turned on his heel, leaving the Assembly and Angel stunned and dumbfounded. "We shall convene and vote on the further course of our action, taking into consideration this new… information." one of the Grigori voiced resolutely and the others nodded silently. "W-Wait… You seriously cannot be considering joining that fake search of his! It's clearly a ruse! She's not…" the Paladin practically exploded on the Assembly, unable to contain his righteous fury any longer. "Order!" came a strict imperative from judge Timothy. "Angel! This kind of behavior is not befitting someone of your position! You will compose yourself and await the Grigori's final judgement on this issue. Have I made myself clear?" the older man with an air of command raised an eyebrow. "Crystal-clear, your Honor." the Paladin practically gritted through his teeth, then left the podium.

Having used the special portal door leading to the Academy, the Lord of Time appeared back in his office. The moment the door closed behind his back, an audible exhale left his lips. "My, my… That was one hell of a bluff…" he eased his tie in a nervous gesture, trying to occupy his shaking hands. "Satan's Flames, but I've still got it!" he smirked triumphantly, his ego regaining a portion of its former glory. Everything went just as he had hoped. Perhaps even better with Angel being, well, Angel, and providing one inviting opportunity after another for Mephisto to mock him and persuade everyone just how in control he had been the whole time. "Redirect, misdirect, ridicule, cloud and then pretend you hold all the cards. Works aaall the 'time'.~" Mephisto grinned. Throwing in some juicy details and quoting the prophecy only emphasized his hard-earned reputation of a well-informed, always prepared, sly fox. The demon lord chuckled. "How very kind of them that they would share The Prophecy with me before executing me…" Gradually, his chuckles turned into an outright laughter which resonated through the whole office. Some might find it disturbing, even outright maniac. However, Mephisto could only feel the thrill of his well-played win. That is, until the worry about Thea's well-being crept in… The bastards in the Vatican would now think twice before even considering going against the second most powerful demon of all Gehenna! Now it was time to reclaim what was his and deal with the lowlives who dared take his lady. His eyes burned with purpose. "I am coming for you, Thea."

OoO

Gin cursed grumpily, pulling the hood of his winter jacket closer. "Satan's Flames! I'm not getting paid enough for this…" he rumbled, rubbing his hands to bring some warmth to them. "Honestly, what is wrong with humans and their irrational fondness of building their vacation establishments in the most remote, inhospitable places on Earth?" the demon shook his head. He simply didn't understand. If a place proved inhabitable, lacking the most basic, life-sustaining resources and comforts, demons would withdraw from that location. As simple as that. Not to mention logical. And yet, humans seemed to take it as some kind of a twisted challenge to re-make the world to suit their needs and wishes, be it burning dunes of a desert or freezing snowbanks of mountains. "Man, how I hate the cold! I just ha-ha-achooo! Cursed snow! Wasn't the weather supposed to be chilly but sunny for the weekend?" the spy bellowed quietly, then motioned the freshly-assembled squad of Exorcists to move forward. He had never been to Asahikawa, for he hated the cold. That also meant he had never been to Ayami's winter cottage house, which meant he couldn't teleport right to the place, but had to take a chopper with his squad like all 'normies'. Fortunately, the weather was still good enough for them to fly and save some time in comparison to taking cars. They had to hurry, though. It was already getting dark, and the weather forecast was now showing a blizzard in the area. Gin turned to the Exorcists just as they were about to land, speaking to the transmitter. "Alright, listen up. If the weather gets too bad for flight, land and stay grounded until it is reasonably safe. Group A - perimeter. You will cover us. Group B - with me. If the enemy is still here and holding the girls hostage, we will negotiate first, but be ready to engage the enemy forces as soon as there's an opening. Wait for my signal. Understood?" "Yes, Sir!" came a collective response, then everyone disembarked the choppers, rushing towards the cottage.

They found nothing… It was not entirely surprising, but from the looks of it, the girls had never even made it to their vacation destination. That would mean that he had indeed been fed false intel… There were no signs of the girls or the enemy. Shura was supposed to be there, but was nowhere to be found, either. Some of her wards were active, though, so she had obviously been there. After a closer inspection, they finally found some tracks leading to the north, so they decided to follow them on foot at a run, before the snow could completely cover them. A few kilometers later, the heavy-breathing, searching team stood at a narrow forest path, inspecting the results of a peculiar driving accident. "Shit! That's Shura's motorcycle…" young Yunokawa exclaimed when he recognized the serpent design on the scratched fuel tank. His eyes widened as he also noticed the traces of blood on the ground, prominent against the white snow. "We must find her, she's hurt!" he said with alert, already looking around, his eyes searching through the piles of snow. "Right." one of his colleagues, a Tamer, nodded and immediately summoned his three Black Dog familiars. The creatures sniffed at the few drops of Shura's blood and started padding around the place, trying to catch the scent. "It won't be that easy, the snowfall covered the tracks." Yunokawa pointed out but was glad for the familiars' help. Not many demons were better at tracking than Black Dogs. In the meantime, Gin pulled out his cell phone and typed a quick update for his master, who should already have dealt with the Grigori and been on his way to Asahikawa. Gin turned to the Exorcists, issuing orders to all teams, organizing the search party. "Split up, at least two members per group. We will search the surrounding area of 10 km radius, then widen the perimeter if necessary. Send regular updates every 15 minutes to me, Suzuki and Kim. You two - set up a temporary base back in the cottage, we will need an operation command there. Sir Pheles will arrive soon to join the search. Go! Go!"

OoO

"Must not fall asleep. Must. Not. Fall. Asleep." Shura repeated in her mind, trying to stay awake without stopping the soft humming of the purifying mantra. The crackling fire she had managed to start was still defying the freezing cold brought by the blizzard. The red-haired teacher was no longer lying next to Ayami. She had found out that lying was too comfortable, it would be too easy to just relax and drift away. At least she would no longer feel the throbbing pain in her right leg. Or the swelling lump on her forehead. Or that terrible pricking in her chest. But she wouldn't be able to continue the mantra. And so, she was sitting, leaning on the trunk of the huge tree, with her hands wrapped around Ayami. Before she knew it, she got caught up in another coughing fit. She winced at the sight of the red liquid on the palm of her hand - if she didn't get that internal bleeding treated soon, she would be done for. And so would be the life of the girls she was trying to save. "C-come on… Anyone… H-hurry up." she said, peering into the darkness. "Someone must have seen her fire. They must have realized something went wrong by now, right? Surely they are searching… Or is the blizzard really too strong?" She feared that she was no longer in the state to get up again and bring some more firewood…

Suddenly, she heard howling not far from their little shelter. Her breath got caught in her throat. "Wolves?" she thought with rising panic. She listened closely again, completely silent. Nothing. "Geez… am I hearing things? Must be the wind or…" before she could finish the thought, more howls sounded, and this time, they were getting closer. A shiver ran down Shura's spine - the barking had a terrible, ominous sound to it. "Demonic wolves! Damn it!" She stumbled to her feeble feet groggily, pulling out her sword with her clumsy, cold hands, ready to fight them off with everything she had. Seconds slipped by and Shura could practically hear her heart beating in her ears. Soon, barks and… voices reached her ears. Silhouettes and small, blurred lights emerged from the endless white surrounding her. "... two individuals, will confirm their identity…" a man shouted through the strong wind. Three blood-hounds, familiars, soon reached her, sniffing at her and wagging their tails. Shura exhaled and smiled as she recognized the Black Dogs, then fell to her knees, feeling the exhaustion taking over her body. In a few moments, two men appeared in front of her - she recognized her colleague Yunokawa and… was that Mephisto's secretary? "Ah, Shura! Rather bad time for a camping trip, isn't it?" came a relieved tease from Yunokawa. "T-took you long enough." Shura pouted, silently thankful for the warm blanket which soon found its way around her shoulders. "Sorry, we got caught in that blasted blizzard… Things got really ugly… Anyways, the chopper will be here soon." Yunokawa explained.

"...found them! I repeat, we found them! Shooting the flare now, look north-east." She heard the secretary talk to a transmitter, then the middle-aged man approached. His eyes ran over them swiftly, but she felt like he somehow took in much more information than an ordinary person would. Gin turned to Shura. "And Miss Heilbrunn?" He asked almost expectantly. "Ya' didn't f-find her?" Shura returned a question. The secretary shook his head, confirming Shura's worst fears. "I didn't see her…" she said solemnly. Gin just nodded, then turned to Yunokawa. "Start a purifying mantra immediately. Miss Ayami is seriously cursed." he ordered and Yunokawa's eyes widened as he spotted the chain pattern entangling all the way to her throat. "And p-poisoned, and hypo… ah, hypothermic." Shura added, unable to formulate a coherent sentence with her teeth clattering and her mind as clouded as it was. "S-she needs immediate… dammit!" she said, while fighting another coughing fit. Her ribs pricked with every cough, and her sight blurred, causing her to waver. However, instead of hitting the cold snow, she landed in an equally white, soft, warm fabric. "Got you." a sonorous voice said. "Mephisto…" the red-haired teacher blinked in surprise at his presence. He looked uncharacteristically disheveled and was breathing fast, as if he were running, which was very difficult to imagine for her. "Where is Thea?" the demon looked around swiftly, then his eyes rested on Gin. "No signs of Miss Heilbrunn yet, Sir." the secretary answered carefully, and Shura thought she heard a low growl reverberating the demon's chest.

The red-haired teacher tried to supply the only lead she had. "M-Mephisto… felt… her power… north of here. And… s-slightly west…" Suddenly, she started wheezing and coughing again. Mephisto looked at her as if he had just realized he was holding her. His look was strange and unreadable, his eyes moving left and right thoughtfully. Finally, his jaw set firmly, he pulled Shura closer and lifted her up very carefully, mindful of her injuries. "Yunokawa, alert the Hospital Wing." Mephisto said to the teacher, then turned to Gin. "They need immediate treatment. We shall take them to the Academy first." "As you command, Sir." the secretary nodded, then cradled Ayami carefully into his arms. In the meantime, Yunokawa was already speaking on the phone. "Correct. We have a 25-year-old female with second degree frostbite along with a serious poisoning. We'll need at least three experienced Arias, too, to handle a Grade 5 curse. Next, a 27-year-old female with first degree frostbite, effusion in the right knee, head trauma and internal bleeding, most probably caused by a rib fracture. Might be pneumonia, too." he reported swiftly, running his eyes over Shura, noticing the laborious breathing pattern. "W-wait… Thea's still out t-there… We gotta…" she tried to explain, clutching the demon's coat urgently. "Easy there…" Mephisto shushed the teacher, then looked her in the eyes and nodded. "I know." he said silently. "But you both have to be treated, first. Gin, let us go." the demon said. The secretary turned to the other Exorcist. "Yunokawa, no chopper, we will teleport. Hold on to my arm and do not let go until I tell you." Yunokawa nodded swiftly and did as ordered. Then, all of them disappeared in a flash of black and white.

OoO

Mephisto was breathing heavily, sweat running down his temples. However, he did not slow his pace in the slightest, quite on the contrary. Every second counted! The moment they had brought Shura and Ayami to the Academy hospital wing, he and Gin had teleported back to the meeting point at Ayami's cottage to resume the search for Thea. He set out to the field immediately, altering the time flow for himself to speed things up. His best lead so far was a piece of information from Shura before she had been rushed to the operating room. " 'Go north-west. That's where I felt her powers last.' she said…" Mephisto kept replaying those words, trying to figure out what on Earth Thea and Ayami had been doing in that far-away place, basically almost ten kilometers from the cottage. "If Shura felt Thea's powers spike in that direction, at such a distance too… Thea must have used a lot of her powers. She had no guards, no spies. Despite all that careful planning, all the precautions, she had to face the enemy all alone…" he gritted his teeth and quickened the pace again, the freezingly cold wind itching his cheeks. "Faster, Verdammt, faster! If she is in the same condition as Ayami… It's already been hours, Satan's Flames… Thea…" His heart kept beating wildly, and the demon knew his insanely fast movement was not the reason. However, he soon realized that the rising panic would only distract him from the objective, perhaps even make him overlook some very important detail. And he definitely couldn't afford that. "Focus. Priorities. A plan." he reminded himself. He had to do so more and more often during the last hours. And so, he focused on engaging his senses to his best abilities.

Unfortunately, even though his eyes provided him with a near-perfect night vision, he could not find any clues, as the snow covered most of the trails. He tried to feel the time trail again - just as he had done when he had investigated the slaughter in the U.S. supposedly caused by Mammon. The glimpses of the past would present themselves to him if he passed a spot resonating with strong emotions and… Suddenly, two silhouettes sprung up in front of his eyes. A male with a familiar demonic aura stood to his left, holding a woman at her arm roughly. "Tomoe!" Mephisto recognized the fox demon who dared betray his companions, his superior, and his lord. A wicked sense of victory emanated from him. Triumph. Satisfaction. All that in a strong contrast to the terrible fear and pain Ayami felt when the demon tossed her to the ground carelessly. The scenery faded away. Agony. Confusion. Desperation. Thea's friend was trembling on the ground in the cold snow, screaming for help while tears were running down her cheeks. He could only recognize a few words, most of them were 'help', 'please', 'Toshiro' or 'Thea'. The image blurred away. Hopelessness. Inevitability. Sadness. Loss. Emotions even stronger than the ever-lasting, excruciating agony. The vision evaporated like a smoke, tossing Mephisto back to his current reality. He was standing in the middle of a snow-covered field, surrounded by darkness and snowflakes falling at such a slow pace that they looked almost unmoving - his personal time-altered dimension took care of that slow-motion effect. His hand formed into a fist at what he had just witnessed. The enemy didn't just want to dispose of the girl. They wanted to make sure she would suffer greatly before her death. Mephisto's demonic aura started clashing against his barrier, tiny portions of the energy seeping slightly out of it as the fury inside of him rose to dangerous levels. "If this is what they prepared for Ayami, then Thea…" he stopped himself before he could finish that thought, before his mind could spin another scenario he didn't care to see in the slightest. "No… not her…" His eyes took on a predatory glow, their color turning dark violet, including the eye white. His gloves got pierced by his extended claws, the fangs grew more prominent, so that they were sticking out of his mouth slightly. He couldn't remember the last time his horns had manifested, either. "Tomoe… and whatever lowlife is behind all of this… You will pay dearly for your audacity! No one threatens mine and what is mine! NO ONE!"

OoO

Gin was standing on a pile of snow at another forest road where the searching team found further… 'clues'. Despite the freezingly cold wind, Gin took down his winter cap and pulled it to his chest, his fingers clutching it so tightly that the knuckles on his hand grew prominently white. His eyes glistened at the sight of the mingled bodies lying motionlessly on the ground around the place. His best men, his reliable squad, his good comrades. He had checked every one of them, but all vital signs were long gone, their bodies as cold as the thick coat of snow covering them. The demon gritted his teeth as a tear rolled down his cheek. Must be that stupid cold. Stupid snowflake melted on his face. Stupid winter… Before he knew it, his self-imposed barrier wavered, his eyes shining golden, and he had to make a tremendous conscious effort to keep his demonic powers from manifesting completely. "Curse you, Tomoe! Foolish fox demon, who crosses The Lord of Time, will live only to regret it. A lesson that will be taught in pain." the spy hissed, swearing revenge on the only member of the squad, whose body was not among the dead, but had disappeared without traces. The one sly, cunning fox demon must have used a strong demonic poison, as the other squad members had been briefed about Tomoe's powers and knew what to watch out for. He had taken the life of his comrades… And also, on the Grigori's spies. Gin exhaled, reining in his emotions, then produced a humble bow and addressed the dead squad. "Karin, Satoru, Garry - may your souls find peace. Takumi, Ren, Gaia - until we meet again." he spoke to the demon members of his team, whose essences would reform in Gehenna. That was the way with humans, whose souls moved on, and with demons, who lost some of their power, but their essence reformed over time. The stronger the demon, the longer it took, though rituals and followers could speed it up significantly. His companions would re-appear. Somewhere. Some time. A long time… Dozens of years, centuries perhaps… Until then… he had work to do. He had to keep his mind focused and occupied. Further up the same road was Thea's car. Unscratched, but completely empty… Gin kept combing through the surrounding area together with the team, but with no results. And so, he teleported back to the cottage, to take a better look at the situation. Maybe the maps and the new reports would tell him more…

OoO

The door to the provisory command in Ayami's cottage flew open, bringing in cold and snow. The Lord of Time entered, and Gin immediately stood up from the large map which was resting on the table. It showed the searched area divided into smaller sections, some of them colored black - those with no signs of Samael's missing lady. "He's back soon. Too soon." the spy thought suspiciously, watching his master carefully. "Good news, ladies and gentlemen~" the demon mused on his way towards the hearth, dusting off his clothes from all the snow. "You can abort the search of this area and report back at the True Cross Academy for further instructions." he announced. "You found her, Sir?" Suzuki shot up, his face beaming. "No." the demon answered simply, warming his hands at the fire, deeply in thought. "B-but Sir, how's that good news? If she's still out there, then…" Kim scratched her head, completely confused. "I assure you that she is not. I checked." he looked at the Exorcist from behind his shoulder. "What do you mean 'you checked'? You were only in section… twelve." she checked Gin's map briefly, then turned again to the headmaster. "The rest of our teams are still searching a good half of the perimeter and we have yet to hear back from them." "What I mean is that I checked the whole perimeter. Twice. No traces of Miss Heilbrunn. Now, make yourself useful and inform all teams as I have just instructed you to do." he ordered more firmly. "Right away, Sir…" Kim said, still quite baffled by the turn of events. How on Earth could Sir Pheles cover so much space in that short time? And what could be good about the fact that he couldn't find Miss Heilbrunn out there? Well, she was not in the position to ask questions at that point. The Exorcist turned to Suzuki, who just shrugged and started speaking to the transmitter, calling off all the units.

"My lord…" Gin approached his master at the hearth, speaking silently enough that only he could hear. "...here." he produced some high-protein energy bars and a thermos-bottle with warm tea, then handed it to the demon. The demon lord raised an eyebrow questioningly, and the secretary exhaled. "Sire, in order to cover that much area in not as much as an hour… You clearly had to speed yourself up and we both know very well how much energy that takes. Judging by the time, you must have skipped at least three lunch meals already, not to mention the sleep. We have a lot of work in front of us, so I strongly suggest you keep your energy at a sustainable level." he looked at his master as pointedly as a servant could allow himself to, frowning at the vampirically pale face and the terrible dark circles under Samael's eyes. The demon lord nodded silently, a soft smile on his lips. Then, he started gulping down one bar after another, washing them down with the tea. Apparently, he had realized just how hungry he had been the whole time. Oh yes, his master might have looked all calm and composed, but that was precisely how he wanted to look, especially in such a vulnerable state. After all, the ultimate Aegis spell was extremely power-demanding. And yet, he would still push himself to the limits for that mortal girl… He was practically searching for three days straight on top of expanding huge amounts of energy to keep altering time. Incredible, yet he must have been near collapse from exhaustion. Everyone had limits. Even The Lord of Time…

While Samael was wolfing down his third energy bar, Gin spoke. "So, based on your findings and the sudden decision, it would appear that Miss Heilbrunn was not found frozen in the snow, which means she must have been kidnapped and is now being held hostage, correct?" A silent, surprisingly calm nod was his only answer. "Well, I guess it is good news then… Better than finding her frozen body in the snow, that's for sure…" the secretary added understandingly. "Precisely." Samael confirmed while the fire kept casting soft, orange shadows on his pale face. "The fact that they didn't let her die out in the snow, much as Ayami, means that they still need her. They obviously want something. And since we know the Grigori did not take her for that prophecy of theirs, I assume whoever took her wants something from me. Or rather, they took her to get to me, and they will not hurt her. Yet. That is a game I can play. It gives us some time and options for us to maneuver and plan our next steps. We will broaden the search and report her missing to the official authorities, too. ...Besides, I am quite confident in my negotiation skills, too.~" Samael looked into the fire intently, a wicked grin creeping up on his devilish face. A strange, metallic sound soon reached Gin's ears - the thermos-bottle apparently couldn't withstand Samael's passion for the upcoming 'negotiation'. Even though Gin had been standing right in front of the warm fire, he had to suppress the shivers running down his spine - he could very vividly imagine just how his master would 'negotiate' with someone who had taken and threatened his dear lady. "I need to take care of a few more things. Meet me in my office in an hour." Samael ordered and disappeared in a flash of white, while the thermos-bottle fell to the ground with a dull clang, completely wrinkled.

OoO

Kei shifted on his legs impatiently as he was waiting in front of the Smuggler's cave in Gehenna. He had been planning his return to Assiah the moment Lord Samael's watch dogs had banished him back to Gehenna for 'the transgressions against the Code'. The incubus snorted, remembering the demon lord's insane amount of power. And even though he was reluctant to admit it, he was absolutely sure it had been but a tiny portion of Lord Samael's true power. "Easy for him to issue all those stupid rules… He could do just fine without killing people! He's already so strong that he no longer benefits from consuming souls. But what about the other demons? Doesn't he care at all?" he pouted, angry at how unfair the power distance was. Not that incubi and succubi needed human souls for their survival, but it was much better than the 'food' from Gehenna, which all tasted like ashes. He never understood the lord's decision to stay among humans. Kei had tried to rationalize that it had been Lord Samael's ruse all along, that he would pretend to work along humans, then open a Gehenna Gate when the time came and let his kin roam Assiah as they pleased. But that never happened, and he felt almost foolish for ever hoping it actually would. "No wonder so many think he's a traitor to his own race…" he shook his head. "Then again… if we really were to make Assiah ours, would it look like Gehenna with time?" the incubus wondered, looking around. The environment of the Warren Caves was depressing at best. Just a huge barren wasteland with a few withered-looking, burning trees scattered around indicating that a small water reservoir was somewhere close by. And then, there were high reddish mountains with a huge cave system. The wind was always blowing annoyingly, sending the dust spiraling meters high, completely obscuring one's view. "Well, we're far from Assiah's paradise, that's for sure…" he grimaced. He had never thought it weird for most of the food to taste like ashes. Nor had he ever thought the acid rains or fiery whirlwinds to be strange. Until he had set his foot on Assiah… He could already feel the anticipation building up inside. In a few moments, he would cross the border and finally taste his favorite takoyaki again! He would also buy himself a nice set of headphones so he could listen to his favorite Babymetal cuties! Why, he would just buy the tickets to the concert! And then, he would finally taste the souls of fair, beautiful women. Just small portions, though. He would stay low, inconspicuous. He couldn't afford being sent back to Gehenna again… Or rather, he couldn't afford to pay to be sent back up to Assiah again.

"Next one. Come on, come on, we don't have all day." the little green imp with two horns said impatiently, waving his hands at the tall Oni demon who was waiting right in front of Kei. If the Oni demon hadn't already been completely red, the insolence of the little imp would have brought crimson to his face. "Watch your mouth little pest! I'm paying a little fortune for this passage, so you'd better show some respect!" the Oni demon thundered, affronted by the puny imp's attitude. Kei just rolled his eyes. "Tsk… newbies…" he thought to himself. Nobody insulted the Smuggler. It was already difficult enough to secure the passage, you wouldn't want to be turned down so close to the other side just because you couldn't hold your tongue for a while. However, the little imp must have been in particularly high spirits, as he just waved his hand dismissively at the Oni demon. "Yeah, yeah. In that case, you'd better have some veeery good excuse up your sleeve for Duke Mammon as to why you are late on such an important day. Dontcha' look at me like that ya' lummox! The time flows differently in Assiah, and we have a tight schedule here. I'm expecting an important delivery." the little demon brushed the brute off, not even blinking at the fact that the Oni was towering good three meters above him. Mentioning the name of The Duke of Greed himself always proved effective enough to bring even the most problematic customers down to earth. And indeed, the Oni looked as if his body color had just lost a few shades of red. Kei suppressed the urge to laugh.

"Now, move it and put the payment on that scale." the Smuggler pointed to a table, which was actually a simple piece of polished rock. The Oni scrambled to the table and produced a small white ball-like object. Kei's eyes almost popped out of the sockets. "Unbelievable! A cocoon from the demonic Bombyx mori moths! A small one, very small, barely enough for a tiny handkerchief, but still…" The imp raised an eyebrow at the unusual treasure, then adjusted his oculus to take a better look and verify the origin of the object. "Interesting. Veeery interesting. Alright, pal, I'd rather not know from whose stolen treasure chest this piece came from…" he eyed the Oni demon suspiciously. The brutish creature gulped - it had already been a whole year since he and his companions had attacked some caravans loaded with weapons and treasures. A few of the bandits had managed to escape with fortunes. He had not been so lucky… The guards had stricken him down and left him to die there. However, Satan's own mercy must have smiled at him that day. Not only had he survived, but a piece of what had looked like a simple bandage had fallen off from one of the caravans. The moment he had realized what kind of treasure he had found, he had been holding onto it for his dear life and had finally decided to use it as a payment for a passage to Assiah.

"Now then, stand still." the imp ordered and started chanting, so that a dark blue glyph appeared on the demon's forehead. "Good, good. Now the portal bearers will recognize you. That cave to your right. Here's your map. When you reach the destination, hold your tongue, stand still and cover up your demonic aura. Otherwise, the Bawaaba snake will spit you out crumbled and hollowed by its poison like you walked through an acid rain." the little imp started laughing wholeheartedly while the Oni demon lost another shade of red. "A snake?" he inquired carefully, his body tense with nervousness. The imp laughed again. "That's right, big guy! A special breed of snakes - my precious, little things. You walk in in Gehenna and walk out in Assiah. As simple as that." "But how do you… 'walk in'?" came another question from the Oni demon. A devilish grin appeared on the imp's face. "Why, you let yourself be eaten, of course." "What kind of nonsense is that?! How do I know this isn't just some weird ritual?! I'm not gonna be some snake's dinner, you little twerp!" he thundered at the imp. A sly smirk appeared on the Smuggler's face. "Careful, my short-tempered friend. I might just ban you from teleporting for all eternity." he said pointedly. "N-No, it's fine, all fine. I'll do it…" the Oni nodded reluctantly. "Aren't ya' a smart one. Well, don't just stand there like an oaf! Go on, off with you! Can't you see I have other customers? It's already busy enough!" the imp ushered him away, and the Oni truly nodded obediently, then entered the huge cave.

"Satan's Flames, if it ain't Kei Tanabe!" the Smuggler turned to face the incubus and spread his hands in welcome. "Didn't expect you to show up so early, pal. Tired of Gehenna so soon?" he started laughing again. Kei returned the obligatory smile and shrugged. "What can I say, burning trees and acid rains just don't cut it for me… Not when all the cute ladies wait up there." he winked. "I see, I see… Well, just make sure ya' behave, youngling. I had to close up the portals for a good half a year! Some aristocratic nonsense again, so our dear Duke Mammon had to keep a low profile, and I… I lost half a year of precious transactions… Bah!" the imp shook his head disapprovingly, then leaned in closer to Kei as if to share a secret. "But here's a good one - some fool of a demon actually tried to suck out the soul of none other than Lord Samael's current plaything! Hahaha! Can ya' believe it?! What a moron! Guy must have the brains of a Cyclops, that's for sure! Ahaha!" Kei's face took on such a beetroot-red shade that it could easily battle the Oni demon's crimson skin. His breath got caught in his throat and his mouth got so dry that he had to gulp. And while the Smuggler kept holding his stomach from all the laughter, Kei started seriously reconsidering his journey back to Assiah. "Ah… r-right… What a… What a fool, huh?" he stuttered awkwardly. "I know, right! Guess that prick had a death wish or somethin'. Knowing Samael, that oblivious imbecile gotta be begging for death till this day! And still will be beggin' years from now, the fool!" the imp clapped his palms on his knees, unable to control the outburst of laughter. That piece of rumor always got him! The Smuggler just loved Samael and his travel restrictions, as it created huge business opportunities if one knew… other ways.

The incubus just lost all the accumulated color from his face as he wavered on his legs. "T-that's for sure… Ah… Uhm… By the way…" Kei cleared his throat, trying desperately to collect himself and re-rail the topic. "What is the date today in Assiah?" he inquired carefully. The time flew… funny between those two worlds. Sometimes at the same rate, sometimes a month passed in one world and a day in the other, and vice versa. You never knew, and frankly, few demons had a reason to care. One simply had to be prepared to deal with the time shift. After all, the time was pure chaos in Gehenna. Not that he had known before the visit to Assiah… "Lemme' see… Well, whaddaya' know, you'll arrive just in time for Christmas!" the imp grinned at Kei, then outstretched his hand. "Sooo, it being the time and all, got a present for me, young boy?" he arched an eyebrow, and Kei hastened to offer his passage payment. "My, my! Look at that! Ain't today special? A horn of a unicorn!" Nods of approval were accompanying the imp's thoughtful inspection. "A beautiful specimen, indeed. You've got my compliments, pal, I wouldn't want to stand against those creatures, not in a million…" the Smuggler suddenly trailed off as the glyphs on one of the caves started shining in green hues. "Hold up for a moment, gotta take care of this…" he scrambled away, leaving the curious incubus stand at the table.

A thick metallic carriage pulled by two onyx-black scorpion demons halted in front of the Warren Caves. Guards were standing around it, geared up and clad so that everything but their eyes were covered. Two of them rushed to the cave with red-glowing chains which they were carefully holding in thick gloves. When they came out, they were carrying an unconscious female individual with those red chains fastened to her wrists and ankles. The guards then put something akin to a black sack over the girl's head, but not before Kei got a glimpse of her. Then, they rushed with her to the coach. Kei's eyes almost popped out of his sockets for the second time that day. He stumbled backwards and his mouth fell open. "No way… it can't be… Is that a mirage?!" the incubus wondered incredulously. She was put to the carriage swiftly, then one of the guards fastened the chains to the bars and to the floor tightly while the other one started chanting, creating a barrier over the coach. Even though the guards were all armed to the teeth, they removed themselves from the girl as swiftly as if she were but a sleeping beast. Well, in Kei's opinion, that wouldn't be far from the truth. Only he would rather face a dozen beasts of any kind than her! "Satan's Flames, it really is her! The crazy witch! Lord Samael's… Thea…" he blinked away the paralysis, remembering to breathe. "Satan's Flames… I knew she was a demon! Otherwise, what would a human be doing down here?!" the incubus gawked, completely astonished. The imp kept running to and fro, fetching some documents, then accepting another precious payment. Once everything was done, the guards covered the carriage with a thick black cloth and set off to the desert, leaving a dense cloud of dust behind.

"Unbelievable… Does Lord Samael know? Well, duh! Of course he would know. Damn, he probably sent her down here himself, that annoying little witch. Got tired of her expensive whims or that insolent bitching or something… Heh… Serves her right." A satisfied smirk appeared on his face, and he finally allowed himself to relax. "Anyways… This is not my business. And if Lord Samael really sent her here, that would mean he has had enough of her and would no longer be hunting for me. Well, Merry Christmas to me!" he congratulated himself, stretching his arms, already feeling much more enthusiastic about his journey to Assiah. Soon, the imp hurried over to Kei again. "Ooof, it sure is busy today! OK, let's get back to business." he said, holding up the horn of a unicorn to inspect it closely. After a few hums, he nodded to the incubus and set the horn aside. "Consider your payment accepted. Now, I'm sure ya' already know the drill, right?" the Smuggler grinned, then started casting the familiar dark blue glyph on Kei's forehead. "Here's the map, champ. That cave to the left." he pointed. "Yes, sure." the incubus set off immediately, unable to hide his impatience. Before he entered the cave though, he shot one last glance to the damned place he was leaving. He wanted to savor the moment and say something pretty colorful to that depressing world and its occupants. However, the girl's face suddenly appeared in his mind. Kei shook his head and entered the cave. "Not my business~ And Satan have mercy on the poor demon guards if she escapes those chains…"

OoO

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Disclaimer: Blue Exorcists belongs to Kazue Katō. Please, do not re-post or publish my story without my consent.

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Author's note: Hello everyone! I'm publishing this chapter sooner than I expected, the vacation spent at home because of the Covid travel ban on my country sure speeds up the writing :D. So, we have finally heard The Prophecy, masterfully created by my totally awesome husband 3 There are multiple interpretations of any prophecy, and soon we will learn where Thea and her powers fit in the grand scheme of things.

I hope you liked my representation of how and why Mephisto always manages to be two moves ahead, outsmarting and outmaneuvering his opposition while looking so damn cool :D

Well, I did warn you, it gets darker... The story will get even darker from this point onward, so brace yourselves (Winter is coming :D well, in the book, not here. We've got like 32°C / 90° F here right now.)

As always, I will be happy to hear your feedback - any comments can help me improve, no matter how small ^^