English translation of prayer:
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins,
save us from the fires of hell; lead
all souls to heaven, especially
those in most need of Thy Mercy!
--Alternate Ending--
"The Murderer"
If Meene was murdered by Luchist before her match, after she refuses to withdraw.
After they leave the church.
"So then, this is the end?" Luchist asked sardonically.
Meene noted the shift in his voice and prepared herself.
"Murder before the match?" Meene asked as she ran from the entrance of the church and Luchist to put distance between them. She stopped ten meters away from Luchist and stared him down.
"No, something else entirely. This is your last chance Meene," the traitor priest answered back after a brief pause. His eyes followed the woman's movement and mentally calculated his aim.
"Sorry. I am a murderer and a coward but I don't have the gall to be a traitor."
It happened all so very quickly. The two drew their weapons and shot each other, not unlike gunslingers would do in western movies… Save that angels appeared to slay rather than a bullet biting the skin of their opponents.
It didn't matter anyways, Luchist had a modified gun holster which worked in such a way that the tensing of his shoulder muscles would spring his gun out even before he moved his hands to reach for the weapon. It was precious second that it afforded Luchist but it was more than enough.
It was also quite an irony because the holster had been made by Meene who demonstrated the benefits of having a quick draw holster to him when she first joined the X-Laws. It was for Luchist's protection in case his enemies caught him unawares, where a mere second is a truly precious commodity.
None of this registered really in Meene's mind however.
Gabriel failed to solidify in time to block Lucifer's attack. The X-Law only watched as her angel shattered and Lucifer advanced upon her without pause.
The battle was over.
"I am merciful, far more merciful than you can imagine. If you fight against Lord Hao, your soul will be eaten by the Spirit of Fire. You have suffered so much already, and I can not accept the idea of you suffering even more. Rest in peace child, pray that Heaven's gates open for you once more."
Lucifer had stabbed Meene right through her chest. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the former nephilim knew that it had gone right through her heart. Her body was bowed over the blade and her feet no longer supported her body, what was keeping her upright was the blade that ran her through. It was a fatal wound that would kill her in at least twenty seconds.
Lucifer dissipated like fog in sunlight and the blade through her chest that supported her to stand was gone.
She crumpled to the ground in a boneless heap. Her arms were slack but everything seemed so clear and so warm. There was no pain, surprisingly, she wasn't sure if she was grateful or not. Pain tended to mean there a chance of survival.
Another reason why Meene was expecting pain, at the very least. She had always figured she would die a horribly painful death… so dying painlessly was a big surprise for her.
Luchist Rasso took off his hat as he stood over the dying body. He began to Meene's funeral rites in Latin.
"O Bone Jesu, libera nos a peccatis nostris;
libera nos ab ignibus gehennae; perduc in
paradisum omnes animas praesertim eas quae plus
misericordia tua indigent!"
Meene tried to keep her eyes open, to fight for her rapidly fading life. Hearing Luchist Rasso say her funeral rites pissed her off more than she imagine but she could not move at all. Her body was warm but now was rapidly cooling, as though she had been dunked in cold water.
Soon the world began to dim and the words from Father Rasso seemed distant.
"AMEN!"
Rasso cried out and closed his eyes shut. He could clearly see in his mind's eye, Meene laying face down in a pool of her coppery smelling blood. To him she was beautiful as she laid dying there, white uniform seeped in dark crimson as her skin became paler due to blood loss.
A dying tainted angel.
It occurred to Meene that this moment was the last breath should would take. She vaguely felt the urge to say 'amen' to her own funeral rites, if only to somehow spite Luchist.
"Marco…" Meene breathed out in her last breath. If she had lived a second longer, it would have registered in her brain that she had not said amen to her funeral rites but called for someone. It hardly mattered now though. Her eyes were still open, eyelids half-lidded with exhaustion it seemed.
Luchist Rasso opened his eyes in surprise when Meene called out for Marco. He had not been expecting her to call out for someone.
Blood began to matte Meene's hair and her blood was now congealing in the warmth of the sun. The faint smell of death was beginning to waft to the former priest's nose. A mix of coppery blood, methane and human wastes from a dead body.
The dead tainted angel was no longer beautiful to see.
Luchist Rasso turned towards the stadium without looking back at the corpse.
Meene's open, unseeing eyes saw him off.
--Alternate Ending--
"The Coward"
If Meene decided to run away
"So then, this is the last time we will speak to each other?" Luchist asked as though not quite sure to believe this is truly the last time he would talk to this young woman.
"No… Perhaps in the future, in some far off place when this is all over… We will speak to each other once more. Or perhaps that is when you will hunt me down and kill me, who knows."
Meene stared at the sun in the east, away from the stadium. Away from certain death, the X-Laws and the Shaman Fight.
"So… You are running away… You will be hunted and killed, either by the X-Laws or by us… You must realize that," Luchist said calmly.
"Oh, I realize that but as long as I live, there will always be another day and the next one after and the next one after that…" Meene answered.
"I won't speak of miracles from Hao-sama… But as long as you stay out of his way, I am reasonably sure that you will not be killed by us until after he becomes the Shaman King. The X-Laws and Lady Iron Maiden being a completely different matter entirely of course…"
"Ha… always the comforting one, Father."
"Goodbye and take care," Luchist said in a voice that was neither kind nor cruel. He turned towards the stadium and walked towards it.
Meene felt the wind blow on her face and the warm sun look down upon her gently. A sudden feeling of freedom welled up in her heart and just as suddenly departed, leaving her cold. The still of the morning was obvious, there was no one in the streets. Everyone had gone to the stadium to watch the death of X-III. Patch village was like a ghost town.
The former nephilim removed her white X-Laws uniform shirt and threw it on the ground in front of the church. The pure white of the jacket, it's crispness and cleanliness was in start contrast to the brown muddy earth. Without further hesitation, she threw down her luger on top of the heap. The dull grey metal of her weapon/spirit medium shined in the sun.
She turned away from the church and walked away from it all.
Thirty minutes after her fateful decision, X-III was completely annihilated. Two souls were consumed by a merciless demi-god's hunger for power. A young boy's faith shattered. A band of brother's abandoned.
(fifteen years later)
Marco Innocenzo Testarossa had finally found Meene. The circumstances of him meeting her once more after so many years was unbelievably mundane.
He literally ran into her as he walked away from the Gemelli hospital where Jeanne was staying in. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was walking because he was fretting about Jeanne's health and angry at the gall of some of members of the Church pressing that Christina should become the next Iron Maiden of Roses. In such a chaotic state of mind it was natural that he ran into something, or rather someone.
That someone happened to Meene.
Marco swore as he landed on his ass and lifted his heated glare at the offending person he had run into. The Roman paled and found that he could not breath for the person he had run into was Meene. Even after all the years apart, he could immediately recognize that it was her.
Meene was currently gritting her teeth in pain and annoyance until she decided giving a glare of her own to the man she ran into. The shock on her face blossomed upon seeing Marco and gave the Roman all the confirmation he needed that woman in front of him was indeed his former comrade.
The world around them meant nothing as they picked themselves off the ground from their collision.
"… Meene…" Marco whispered unable to believe what he was seeing. Marco's voice released Meene from her paralysis and she attempted to flee from her former comrade. It didn't work because the former leader of the X-Laws seized Meene's arm and kept her from running. The painfully tight grip Marco had on the woman's arm caught the attention of many people on the sidewalk. Both of them noticed the attention.
"Not here Marco. Let's talk somewhere else, but not here," Meene gave up all thoughts of fleeing. The last thing she needed was people to call the police because Marco did something foolish in the street.
Marco said nothing but nodded in acknowledgement. He then dragged her away from the busy street and towards a lonely café in one of the alleyways.
"I can walk without a leash," Meene said indignantly. Marco glared at her but reluctantly removed his grip from her arm. Both walked towards the café in silence.
Café Tosca was almost empty. It was a small private café that most tourists would not go to. Here families would come for a dinner, tired office workers would drink a glass of wine before returning home, seniors meet old friends for a talk or housewives would sit in the outdoor tables and gossip a bit over coffee. It was a homey place, a people place where much happiness, much sadness and much life went about on it's normal business. It would be different for Meene and Marco to a certain degree. The gossipmongers noted the two and began to formulate a story. An older dignified looking blonde haired man, richly dressed, and a mysterious beautiful blonde woman in plain street clothes. A client and a prostitute? Husband and wife? Oh, what is this? The man wears a wedding ring and the woman does not? An unfaithful husband and a lover then?
Marco and Meene felt almost embarrassed by the questioning looks of the regular patrons.
After a quick request from Marco to the manager, a small private room was opened to them, away from prying eyes. They both entered, sat down in the chairs of the small room side by side without words and said nothing until the coffee was served and when they were, at last, alone.
The fact that they were sitting so close together did not bother them. They were not wary of any violence that might erupt between each other either. They were too old and tired after a lifetime of violence.
"Hao has been… defeated…" Marco stated quietly breaking the silence. Sunlight filtered through from the dirty glass windows behind them and played upon their hair.
"I know, humanity still lives after all," Meene noted.
"Cebin, Venstar, Porf, Larch and Denbat are alive again."
"I know that too…"
"Lyserg married Jeanne, they have a beautiful three year old daughter and they named…"
"They named her Christina…"
"You don't seem very surprised by all this…"
"… I have been keeping tabs on everyone from time to time. I sometimes even check on how Father Luchist does in his exile at Arrach Roth…"
"Here's something you don't know then. Jeanne is dying… The Iron Maiden of Roses had been killing her for all time without us realizing it. She might only have five years to live now…"
"I thought as much…"
Shock entered Marco's face.
"You knew… You knew about the Iron Maiden of Rose's price for power!" the betrayed man said with anger, despair and disbelief. His fists unclenching and clenching.
"… Yes… I knew. It is impossible to forget or ignore it when the Iron Maiden cripples and wastes away the Commander of the Repenting Ones within a mere three years," Meene admitted.
"Don't you have anything else to say!" Marco demanded, his voice was drained of anger but the venom of bitterness remained.
"… What do you want me to say? Something stereotypically villainous? A heartfelt apology? Or something completely different?" she asked quietly.
"Anything… Anything at all…" he answered. The Roman groped for something to say, something to demand, and found nothing.
Marco became silent. Part him desired to severely hurt Meene, but another part of him wanted to talk to her. He wanted closure, he wanted to know the truth and understand and accept why she had abandoned the X-Laws.
The Roman looked down at his clenched fists then ran his hand over his hair, messing it up in the process. Then he looked at Meene on his left. He 'looked' at her for the first time in fifteen years and burned her image in his mind, transposing it over how she looked before she ran. The differences of the past and present became clear.
Meene was still very beautiful, time had not only added to her mysteriousness but made it more mature. The youth in her face was still strong but it was not the same youth of a twenty year old. There were hints of wrinkles at the corner of her eyes. Her wheat blonde hair was tied back into a simple messy ponytail and her green eyes were more distant than ever. She wore no make up and no jewelry, as always she needed no ornamentations. Quite similarly her clothing was plain as well, a white shirt and jeans with a blue jean jacket. Marco noted that his long ago traitorous companion was armed as well, a small bulge in her jacket gave evidence of a gun holster.
Meene also was observing the subtle changes appearance that Marco had gone through also at the same time.
She was in stark contrast to Marco's formal business suit and formerly carefully arranged hair. He permeated of expensive good taste and sophistication. There was a gun holster hidden under the folds of his outer jacket, though Meene didn't know what type of gun. In any case, time had made Marco look more patriarchal, like a overly dignified father. He was still handsome, but there were a few extra inches around his waist, wrinkles around his eyes and the beginning of his golden hair turning grey. Her former commander had aged very well in Meene's opinion but what caught her attention most was the single gold wedding band on his wedding finger. The thought of Marco getting married during the fifteen years she abandoned the X-Laws had never occurred to her and she hadn't bothered to check on Marco in the last several years.
Life moved on after all.
Marco noticed Meene's gaze on his ring.
"Ah… So you've noticed…"
"… Who's the lucky woman?"
Meene felt like an idiot for asking because Marco burst out laughing, bitter and vibrant, and slapped the side of his leg trying to control himself.
"This coming, ahahaha, from the same person, hehehe, who told me… hahaha…" The Roman couldn't continue, his eyes were watering with amusement and disbelief. He managed to control himself eventually.
"Then why are you wearing it?" Meene asked sounding a bit peeved when at last Marco wasn't laughing at her.
"Well… I am rich, single and still good looking. What woman in Italia would not want me? I got tired of all the gold diggers out there, so I went to a jewelry store and bought myself a wedding ring to wear. It didn't stop all of them but it made it a hell of a lot more manageable to deal with," Marco explained as he sipped his coffee.
"… The idea of you dealing with gold digging women is… a bit far out," she admitted at last.
"You have no idea," Marco muttered.
Then the silence fell inevitably. Their conversation was forced, an attempt to recreate what the past was like. One where they joked, antagonized and laughed together.
Marco spoke again.
"Meene?"
"Yes?"
"Stand up and let me look at you…"
Meene looked at Marco oddly. It was a strange request but she complied nonetheless.
She stood up and waited for Marco to say something.
He looked at her.
Nothing happened but Meene patiently waited for Marco to do something.
Slowly but surely Marco arms moved. He pulled Meene slowly onto his lap and held her body close to his. The tired man held her in his arms and buried his face in her slender shoulder. Meene did not resist and quietly cradled Marco's head, her warm lips rested on his forehead.
It was an inappropriate intimacy. One that was not earned, both of them knew it. Yet they continued to search for some sort of understanding, until at last they realized there was none. The betrayal, regrets, bitterness and loss was too great for them both. There were just some wounds and memories that they could never heal with loyalty, faith, love and time.
Meene broke away from Marco's embrace and Marco pulled his head away from her shoulder. Their eyes did not meet and words were not needed. A crushing sense of sadness settled upon the old commander of the X-Laws, greater than all the hatred and bitterness he had felt in his life. For Meene, a regret and loss greater than when she murdered Mathieu, the years as an Inquisitor in the Order and her abandonment of the X-Laws.
"I'm going now…" Meene finally spoke at last. She removed herself from Marco's embrace and walked towards the exit.
"Meene…"
Marco suddenly called out for her.
Meene closed her eyes as she touched the cool metal doorknob and listened to what he had to say.
"I should have made X-III drop out of that fight… I should have done a lot of things really," Marco quietly admitted.
Meene opened the door out of the room. She stood with her back turned on Marco and stared into the café beyond the quiet of private room.
She then turned to look at the man she once knew
"… Goodbye Marco."
Marco never told Lyserg or Jeanne or anyone that he had met Meene that day.
Or in the years to come that he saw her in passing like a shadow.
At Jeanne's funeral.
When Christina casually told the elders of the church to 'bugger' off when they presented the Iron Maiden to her.
At the various weddings and funerals of all the former X-Laws.
Nor did he say anything, when at last he felt death at his door step, when Meene came to his bedside and watched him in silence.
Watched him breath his last.
When Lyserg came up to Marco's hospital room with his daughter Christina, they were baffled to find a grayed old woman giving a silent prayer to Marco's still body.
The woman gave no name nor explanation about anything.
Just a warm smile that never reached her green eyes.
--Alternate Ending---
"The Traitor"
If Meene decided to abandon the X-Laws
"So then, this is the last time we will speak to each other?" Luchist asked as though not quite sure to believe this is truly the last time he would talk to this young woman.
Meene closed her eyes and remained silent. The former priest felt a change, a decision made, from Meene. So he waited until finally the X-Law opened her green eyes.
"… No… No… I suspect from now on, we will speak to each other quite often," Meene replied at last. Her voice was thick with emotion, at first there was hesitation but now there was force in her words and all indecision gone.
Luchist removed his hat and bowed his head.
"You will not regret your decision… Throw away the shackles of the old and vows of the past, they no longer bind you. Lord Hao will show you the path to power and to true redemption."
"… Father, I don't want power or redemption…"
Luchist raised his head and looked at the now former X-Law. He saw that she was staring at the blazing sun above the stadium without blinking at the harsh rays that must have blinded her.
"Just give me back Mathieu…"
"And if Mathieu kills you as soon as he returns to life?"
"… Just give me back Mathieu… My war is over."
(at the stadium)
Meene was going to come any second now.
Contrary to popular belief, Marco was an optimist.
Justice will always prevail.
Righteous defenders of the innocent will always find a way to victory.
Good will always triumph over evil.
The X-Laws was going to end the evil that is Hao.
Behind him, he heard the horror of the crowd and the screams of Cebin burning to death. A wrenching sound of absolute pain made even more unbearable by his raspy weak voice.
Marco gritted his teeth and waited for Meene to come.
In the background he could hear Hao's amused voice.
"Well… That was quick. This is why I proposed that you two come at me at once. You guys are really a couple of idiots. It's really cute that you're studying me to try to pierce my secret, but, if you die, you'll never win. I suppose I should applaud the fact that one of your members saw that it was suicide to fight me."
"Waa! A crushing victory! The fourth match just barely finished and here we already have the result of the fifth match! Against quite an adversary! An X-Law used an angel as his ghost!" Radim, the Patch Official of the match, announced with far too much energy given that yet another shaman had died due to Hao.
Venstar's icy furious voice rang out.
"So you figured out our plan… But don't think that my friend died for nothing. Your death sentence still hasn't been executed! My friend left behind the secret of your spirit!"
"Amazing! He's still alive and after everything he's endured. What courage! He's tenacious folks!" Radim announced.
"Oh a clever man, ignore the jab about your missing team mate and talk about something else. And so you succeeded in understanding that I use the air as the ghost for deploying my strength? Fire burns thanks to oxygen. It's easy to imagine that it's the ideal medium for my Spirit of Fire, don't you think?" Hao said casually.
Marco felt a degree of shock. That their enemy could so casually reveal the secret of his medium was an insult to their sacrifice.
"So what now? If you're going to act, hurry up. Otherwise, you're going to die…" the Destroyer pointed out unconcerned.
"Shut up!" Venstar roared enraged.
"I have a question for the supervisor of the tournament. The protection barrier of this ring, how strong is it?"
"Huh… Uh… It's sufficient. This barrier is supposed to prevent interference by the audience and keep attacks in the arena. Only the participants and myself can enter this ring. This barrier is impenetrable from all attacks outside of it and attacks within it," the referee explained into his mike.
"Ah… Good then. Even if there is a great explosion inside of here, the Iron Maiden and the public will remain unharmed," Venstar said relieved.
Marco knew that his companion was going to use his hand grenade.
"Unlucky for you, if you the oxygen leaves your ghost, you have no way to protect yourself."
BOOOOM!
A concussive force nearly knocked the Roman off his feet. Venstar had blown himself up, the stadium was silent.
Marco could not stand to ignore what was happening behind him and ran to the entry way of the fighting field to see what was happening. To see who had won. When the commander of the X-Laws arrived he found that the dust, debris and smoke thrown up into the air hid everything. There was no way to tell if Hao was still alive and so he waited for the air to clear.
Somewhere in the back of Marco's mind, the hope that Hao was finally dead was entertained.
Then that hope became shattered at the sound of a single young boy laughing. Hao was laughing full heartedly and the air settled to reveal that there was absolutely no injuries on the ancient young boy or damage on the Spirit of Fire.
Shock gripped Marco, he imagined that the other X-Laws was feeling the same.
The Spirit of Fire was blue in color and clear.
Water… Hao's spirit had morphed into water and resisted the loss of oxygen.
"Your sense of justice truly tires me. I can't congratulate him for blowing himself up but I didn't think you guys would push me to this point…" Hao flashed a pearly white smile at the stunned Marco and spectators.
The souls of Cebin and Venstar materialized in front of Hao and the Spirit of Fire. It looked like their bodies, but translucent and strangely white. Marco saw their faces, and found that they looked peaceful. As though a great burden had been lifted from them and were unaware of the great danger they were in.
"Thank you, I won't let you guys die like that. Whether the soul is good or evil, if it has a strong personality it continues to shine and becomes the source of great power. In my eyes, your behavior is ridiculous. But I must admit that the souls of X-III were brave enough to go to the point of sacrificing your lives… well most of X-III anyways. You souls are beautiful, we mustn't waste them. Become the food of my spirit and you will exist for eternity."
The Spirit of Fire perked up and seemed to grin as it reverted back to fire form. Hao casually pointed to the two dangling souls.
"Today is a day for feasting. Go, Spirit of Fire. Devour them and enjoy," the Destoyer ordered.
Without hesitation the red Spirit of Fire seized Cebin to devour first. That was when Cebin's soul seemed to awake and began screaming in pain. As though the soul could still feel the physical pain of being burned and bitten apart. The Spirit of Fire ate slowly, starting with soul's legs one by one and then half the torso in a nibble. Then the arms, one by one before Spirit of Fire simply threw it's head back and dumped the rest of Cebin's soul in to it's maw and chewed slowly. The screams could still be heard from within Spirit of Fires of mouth until it finally swallowed Cebin's soul whereupon the screams stopped.
The waves of power that rolled off of Hao and the backlash from the devouring of the soul so slowly was sickening. Like a miasma that clung to clothing and skin and was breathed in because it was everywhere.
Marco paled but watched the display. Hao smiled widely and seemed to enjoy the show that Spirit of Fire was putting on. More than a few stadium spectators began throwing up at the sight or began leaving, unable to bear witness to the scene.
Most members of Funbari Onsen and Team The Ren turned their eyes away also. Only Asakura Yoh, Amidamaru, Anna, Tao Ren and Bason bore witness to the entire scene.
Faust shielded Eliza's eyes and whispered soothing words of a German song in his wife's ears. Faust did not want her to see the barbarity of it all. Ryu threw up on the bleachers and dammed up his ears so he could not hear the screams. Tokagero said nothing and merely stood over his partner with understanding.
Chocolove and Manta had it easy, they both eventually fainted. The same could not be said for Tamao and Pirika, both clung to each other and began crying. Eyes buried in each others arms while Horo Horo tried his best to be there for them. Kororo simply hide in the snowboard and shuddered with terror.
The X-Laws watched stoically. Lyserg found he could not be so impassive, his hands were balled up so tightly into fists that they began to bleed. The Iron Maiden wept blood, symbolizing the pain that Jeanne felt for the enslavement of her chosen angels.
The same slow feasting happened with Venstar's soul. The end of the gruesome display was signaled when Venstar's screams of pain ended and Hao's malicious laughter began.
A laughter that echoed throughout the stadium and in the minds of all witnesses.
(latter on)
Asakura Hao was in a good mood.
A supremely good mood.
He had eliminated a significant portion of the always amusing, always pathetic X-Laws. It boggled his mind that such weak shamans thought they had a chance to somehow defeat him in combat. The combined power of the two X-Laws didn't even match a single member of Hoshigumi, they were just so pathetically weak.
But…
Souls were souls, even if they were pathetically weak. Waste not, want not.
Hao smiled as he sensed the approach of Luchist and another, Meene. Luchist was quite happy, proud really, that he managed to recruit another X-Laws to Hao's side. It bolstered his morale and further gave him confidence that he had made the right choice in supporting Hao.
Meene who was with Luchist was less than enthused. Hao couldn't help but smirk at the sense of quiet horror and guilt from her and the constant debates in her head that she had nothing to be guilty of. She was a product of her upbringing, these Catholics always seemed to be punishing themselves over something. The only thing that made her not bolt or runaway from it all was the simple utter fact that it was too late to turn back because everyone in the X-Laws and Hao's group would kill her. That and the single, pure hope Hao would resurrect Mathieu for her.
Ah yes, Mathieu. He really shouldn't have sent Mathieu to recruit former nephilim alone. The boy was much too mentally unstable, naïve and righteous to appeal to the war weary, exhausted old former nephilim. Mathieu's proselytizing was ultimately a failure; most of the nephilim who gave Hao support were far too weak to do much except acknowledge Hao as the future Shaman King.
Actually, they were all astoundingly weak. These beings who once only slept one hour a day, healed wounds in a blink of an eye, could perform feats of power that astounded most normal shamans and other such amazing abilities as if it were nothing.
The sealing of Samael changed all that.
They now had to sleep as much as any other person. They now healed as fast a normal human unless they learned how to heal themselves with furyouku. They no longer had many of the abilities, knowledge, nor power that once made them one of the most feared beings in the world.
Many of them were now humans. Humans who could no longer see the supernatural, the beauty of nature or hear the spirits of the world.
Hao could not help but pity them. To lose so much power, so many gifts and to be forced to live as mere shadows of their former selves. Shadows who could no longer ever hope to have a glimmer of their former strength.
Mathieu was right to kill many of them. No self-respecting shaman could live like that. It was more merciful to kill them, so that they no longer had to suffer the indignation of living like a human.
Thus, Hao pitied Meene. He had heard once that she was the third most powerful of all the nephilim in the Order of the Repenting Ones. However, looking at her now and estimating her strength, it was hard to believe such a thing. She was stronger than the Hanagumi but no more than that.
The two approached Hao at last and Hao's followers gathered to witness the situation.
Luchist bowed lowly to Hao and in his calm wise voice spoke.
"This is Meene, Hao-sama, whom I've mentioned before. She wishes to join our glorious cause. She is the former Inquisitor of the Order of the Repenting Ones, former Paladin, former Commander of the Order of the Repenting Ones and former X-Law," Luchist listed as though it meant anything to most of Hao's followers. Meene doubted that any of them had ever even heard of the Order of the Repenting Ones.
"That's a lot of formers in there. Missed any?" Big Guy Bill asked smarmily.
"Yeah, he missed two in fact. I'm also a former Roman Catholic and a former baker of Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany," Meene answered back sarcastically.
Most looked absolutely shocked by the utter gall of Meene. She wasn't exactly in a situation that was in her advantage and Meene knew this perfectly.
It also occurred to Meene that this was the first time she had ever spoken to Asakura Hao, face to face. Actually, this was the first time she had ever met Asakura Hao, now that she really thought about it. She had read the reports on Hao, she had fought his followers, investigated their activities but she had never ever met Hao in a positive or negative way.
For all of Mathieu's bullshit about the greatness of Hao and clumsy attempts to recruit her to Hao's side, the 1000 year old pyro never bothered to directly recruit her.
"Watch your mouth, I could break you like a twig," Bill growled angrily, he saw Hao bade him to stand down and thus he did. Though the American still grumbled at Meene's rather quick-witted retort.
The stony faces of the rest of Hao's followers watched their possible new comrade with wariness and mentally calculated her chances of surviving through her first trial of initiation.
Hao casually circled Meene in a calm walk. Her full attention was upon the ancient young boy who could easily kill her even if it was through the corner of her eyes as she paid attention to her other enemies.
At last, the great Destroyer; the great madman; the great visionary spoke. Charisma, self-confidence and power dripped from his words as he circled around her slowly.
"I see that you're not all at peace with yourself and your decision right now but do try to be civil. We are all merely attempting to provide happiness and justice for all shamans… but you, you're not exactly here for that which makes me wonder, what will it cost to keep you happy? What will motivate you serve for the greater good of all shamans in the long run? Power? No, you have no desire for it much to my disappointment. Revenge? All who you despise in the human world is dead or dying, by your hand or someone else's. Justice? Ah, but even you have given up on that."
Meene made no reaction to cruel verbal jab. Asakura Hao had made a complete 360 degree circle around his potential new member of his group and stopped abruptly. His eyes stared at Meene's green eyes and waited for the woman to respond.
"You will be the future Shaman King… You will have the power of resurrection," Meene stated in a flat voice. She didn't need to explain who she wanted to return to life, Hao already knew. She could tell by the lively fire in his eyes which he spoke of his amusement.
"Ah, I know what you want and who you speak of. You want me to bring back Mathieu, former Hospitaller Mathieu Kamynin… The Fleshsculptor," the great visionary answered for all to hear.
"A small price to pay for you is it not?" Meene found that her voice was weak and waited for the Asakura Hao to agree or refuse. She found the five seconds of silence as he considered excruciating though she it never showed on her face.
"So then we have a deal?" A smile graced her new commander's young face.
"… Yes… But I will not call you Lord Hao or Hao-sama," Meene stated firmly. Hao's group seemed slack jawed at Meene's nerve.
"Don't worry, you're not required to call me Lord Hao or Hao-sama. I'm sure you're tired of calling that weird girl Lady Jeanne and Jeanne-sama. But you'll start calling me that soon enough after you see my grand vision for the future of all shamans… Until then call me Asakura-san and I hardly need to tell you what happens if you try to betray me," Hao smiled cheekily as he light his entire hand on fire. She could sense that the hypnotic dancing flames were powerful enough to reduce to her a crisp. The awe in Hao's face as he stared at his summoned flame made Meene wonder if she was really dealing with a 1000 year old pyro or a teenager who happened to be a pyro.
"… Then Asakura-san, you will keep your end of the deal?"
"I promise Signora Meene," Hao said in Italian and flashed a flawless smile.
Meene was vaguely surprised that Hao could speak Italian but she mostly concentrated on keeping her guard up.
She was amongst enemies here. Her only ally that held even a shade of trustworthiness was Father Luchist Rasso, and even that was tenuous.
"Chou Senji Ryakketsu, I trust you've heard of it before?" her new commander casually asked.
"Yes I have."
"Oh ho, as expected of an Inquisitor, you just have to know everything. So explain, briefly and within one hundred words."
"The Chou Senji Ryakketsu was written by the onmyouji Asakura Hao some 1000 years ago. It details his observation on the nature of shamanic powers, his personal thoughts and incantations and charms. By reading it, it is said to grant the reader immense power and insight but at the risk of going insane or being completely consumed by the knowledge and power contained in it. All members who join Asakura Hao's group are said to experience the contents of the Chou Senji Ryakketsu which increases their power."
"Ah, excellent, that saves me a great deal of trouble explaining what I'm going to do. I will soon send you through an extremely condensed version of it so that you can quickly experience the enlightening effects of my great writing… As it stands now, you are far too weak to be of much use to me," Hao explained unapologetically.
"And if I fail to gain any strength from it?" Meene ventured to ask. A small kind smile appeared on Hao's handsome face.
"Then I spare you the indignity of it all by killing you and letting Spirit of Fire eat your soul," the 1000 year old pyro, winsomely stated. Meene felt a chill go through her. She didn't want to consider that possibility in her head just yet.
"That's one of hell of a winning deal you got there…" The former X-Law managed to answer in low voice which did not betray her fear. It didn't matter, Hao picked up on it and so did a few of her new comrades.
"When it is over follow Mari so you can get a change of clothing. As much as I would love to piss off the X-Laws and that weird girl by keeping you in X-Laws uniform, I don't want to confuse the shaman community about your new allegiances."
Meene nodded and found her mouth dry.
Hao began to chant ancient Sanskrit prayers and weave his mana into a gate of sorts to the core lessons of the Chou Senji Rakketsu. He made it seem like child's play but Meene's head spun as she tried to trace the weaves of power that Hao was doing. It was far too complex and eventually Meene found she did not understand how Hao was creating the gate at all. Finally it was finished and stood before Meene. All she had to do now was step forward and enter what could possible kill her, drive her mad or return a fraction of her former power.
The entire group looked on and waited. Much to their surprise, the X-Law woman didn't hesitate or look back nervously before she took a simple step forward into the gate.
The gate devoured her it seemed. All they could do was wait and see if the trial killed her or strengthened her.
It wasn't what Meene expected to be. What she meant to say was, she felt overwhelmed by the innate wisdom and keen observations that the original incarnation of Asakura Hao possessed. Yet the personal power of the onmyouji failed to impress her, she had seen a fallen angel demonstrate the extent of his powers after all.
Despite that she honestly found it easier to connect to that hidden well of power within and found herself enlightened by Hao's instructions.
But she felt herself less interested in that compared to the vision that he hoped to achieve for the world.
His vision of a world free of humans and only of strong shamans who connected with nature was all that was left…
It was beautiful.
It was idealistic.
It was perversely noble.
But in the end, she could describe it with words. She had seen heaven and hell, this vision she was witnessing was ultimately the vision of a man who was trying to become a god.
Heaven and Hell were just… she found calling them simply heaven and hell inadequate but it was the best she could do.
Then it was all over and Meene found that herself alive and uninjured from her jaunt into the very essence of the Chou Senji Rakketsu. Around her were her new companions (if she could even call them that) and a brightly smiling Asakura-san.
"That was it?…" Meene asked calmly.
The look of shock which started with Luchist quickly spread to the entire legion of Hao's followers. They stared at Meene as if she was from another planet. Peyote merely smirked and seemed unaffected by her comment.
"Stop looking at me as if you expected me to proclaim that Hao is the greatest thing since sliced bread," Meene said in an irritated voice.
Hao began chuckling, then snickering and then, he could no longer hold back, started laughing. An even more bewildered look entered the faces of Hao's followers. Meene noted that the Hanagumi looked ready to murder her, despite the fact she wasn't sure exactly what she did this time to piss them off.
"Oh, you're a rare one. But I guess if you have seen past the very gates of Heaven and Hell before then my vision is not grand at all," Hao managed to say between his laughs.
"Hao-sama! She is another one who has accepted your power without bothering to accept your teachings!" Turbine managed to say as he recovered from his shock.
"So, Peyote doesn't believe in most of my teachings but he's more than willing to accept my power and follow me and you don't complain about it… much," Hao observed.
"But Hao-sama! Peyote's never killed or tried to kill any of us! More over she used to be in the X-Laws!" Kanna spat out with venom as she glared at Meene. Meene was tempted to blow a raspberry at Kanna but decided that pissing off the Hanagumi right now was probably not conductive to her long-term health.
"Erm… I used to be in the X-Laws and I have killed or tried to kill many of you," Luchist coughed.
Turbine and Kanna seemed far more reluctant to simply accept Meene into the group. Bill, Peyote, Zhang Ching, Macchi and Brocken did not care in the least, Meene had survived and the Lord Hao had accepted her. While Mari and Opacho accepted Meene's membership without question.
Hao could sense this all with his empathy. Just as he could sense that Meene was more than ready to prove that she would follow without complaints. As long as Hao was on the winning side, she would not betray him like she did to the X-Laws.
Meene was not unlike a number of shamans who supported Hao simply because they were too weak to oppose him.
"Hao-sama's dream is for the good of all shamans. She will see and she will learn to believe," Opacho stated in her cute high pitched voice.
Hao smiled as Opacho spoke. He could not read her mind, but he never worried about betrayal from the little African girl. She was pure, innocent as a child could only be and her words were always what she truly believed.
"And if I believe in a different sort of future, a different sort of dream?" Meene asked calmly.
Hao read Meene's mind and found out her beliefs, her dreams, the future she thought was perfect. It sadly impossible to achieve and included humans, it was also more idealistic than even Hao dared to attempt to make. But he didn't have to disabuse of her fantasies, she knew they were impossible.
Nonetheless he couldn't help but make a jab at her.
"What is your Eden on earth like then?" Hao asked with both amusement and malice.
"It is sort of like Utopia…" Meene answered concisely as she walked off to follow Mari to get a change of clothing.
Hao smile darkly at Meene's answer.
"She's an interesting one… Mathieu was right in trying to recruit her in the beginning. If only I believed him a bit more she might have been a very valuable shaman for me in the beginning… Well then, I'm off to get myself a small snack."
"What does she mean 'it is sort of like Utopia', Hao-sama," Bill asked.
Hao summoned Spirit of Fire and stood in it's hand with Opacho.
"Utopia means 'no place'… A perfect Eden that doesn't exist, no… it can't exist. It's an unattainable ideal," Hao explained and took his leave.