Kyoko was not at all convinced by Sayaka's claim that the Church was already suspicious of them.
After all, they had only just arrived. And her friend thought that they had been targeted already?
Ridiculous.
It became a far less ridiculous idea when they returned to the base and found that the bishop who had assigned them the mission seemed far too surprised by their return.
Why, if she had to hazard a guess, she would think that it was because they weren't supposed to come back.
At least, not alive.
He had probably expected them back in body bags. If they could even find enough pieces of them to fill one, considering how voracious Fatty had seemed.
The man had blustered and congratulated them on their success, even though they could see the insincerity seeping out of him like a leaking bucket.
She had wanted to pin him to a wall and demand him to tell them what the hell was going on but discarded that as a bad idea considering how much attention the bishop's rant had been drawing.
Irina and Mami had tried to subtly pry into how much the bishop knew what the specific details of the mission, but he had bluntly ignored their questions and scurried off without a word.
So now they were back at square one. In the base of an organization that may or may not be out to get them killed.
At least they got a nifty sword out of it. Or, to be specific, Sayaka did. The two exorcists didn't feel comfortable with returning the weapon considering the rather dubious means in which the weapon had ended up at the abandoned building, so Xenovia had taught Sayaka how to use magic to store the sword in a pocket dimension for safekeeping.
"So, what do we do now?" Kyoko asked. "Doesn't seem like they're gonna give us a new mission anytime soon."
"We should take this opportunity to investigate," Mami said. "We won't make any progress unless we take the initiative."
"I agree," Irina said. "But, where do we even start? Ideally, we should investigate around the Vatican, but since it's such a populous area, it is unlikely that we can get permission to go there."
And wasn't that one of the biggest downfalls of their plan? Exposing the corruption within the Church would require them to investigate the higher authorities within the organization, but most of them were in the Vatican, which was a heavily restricted area. Only the highest-ranking exorcists were stationed there, since having too many of them in such a populous area carried a high risk of exposing the supernatural to the public.
Perhaps if they posed as nuns instead, they would have been able to gain access. But Kyoko doubted that any of them would have lasted a day in such a disguise. She only had a vague familiarity with the Bible, and she didn't think the other two had much more experience in that regard.
At least as exorcists they could put their combat abilities to use as part of their disguises. But that meant they were stuck in one of the secluded bases the Church built around the Vatican to house its exorcists in.
As they ruminated on their dilemma, they were interrupted by the sound of rumbling.
Specifically, the rumbling of Kyoko's and Xenovia's stomachs.
Sayaka shot her friend a dry look. "Can't wait, can you?"
Kyoko was completely unabashed. "Hey, killing those Stray Devils took a lot of energy, y'know?"
"Indeed." Xenovia nodded in agreement. "Combat is a most strenuous task; it is important to curb your hunger when you can."
"In that case, let's take a break then," Mami said. "We will likely think better on a full stomach, anyway."
"Might as well, then." Sayaka's head spun to-and-fro. "Where's the mess hall around here?"
Irina pointed. "It's over here, on the left." She started walking in the indicated direction.
As the rest of them began following, Kyoko wondered what kind of food they had. The Church had a lot of money, so surely, they would put some of it towards a good cafeteria, right?
xxx
Kyoko stared at the blob on her tray. It was a brown, mushy thing. It looked soft, almost like mashed potatoes, but when she poked it with her fork, it was hard and unyielding.
She really didn't want to eat it, but her code of honor dictated that she had to at least give it a try.
She took a bite.
It was . . . slimy. As she swallowed, she could feel it slowly sliding down her throat like some sort of snail stuck in her windpipe.
Well, this was an easy verdict.
She pushed her tray away.
"This is not food," she declared. "This is a travesty against food! Against humanity! Against the basic right to eat well!"
Around her, she could see Sayaka and Mami staring at their own trays with equal looks of disgust. Xenovia and Irina, however, were gulping down the mush like it was ambrosia.
Irina shot her a perplexed look. "What's wrong? You don't like it?"
She returned the gaze with an incredulous look. "Don't like it? How can anybody like this pile of crap?!"
"It is not 'crap'," Xenovia said as she piled more onto her plate. "It is a highly nutritious, cost-efficient substance developed by some of the brightest minds in the Church. It is extremely healthy and very filling."
Kyoko sighed and gazed upon the two exorcists with pity in her eyes. She needed to show them the true wonders of food!
"Mami!" She turned to her former mentor. "I need you to commandeer the kitchen. I don't care what you have to do, but make it happen!"
Mami stood up, a determined look on her face.
"With pleasure."
As she rushed off, the two exorcists glanced towards Kyoko with uncertainty.
"Erm, is that really necessary?" Irina asked.
"Hey, I'm doing this as a favor to you two," Kyoko said. "I'm trying to revive those taste buds of yours that this sludge must have killed off a long time ago."
Sayaka rolled her eyes. "You mean you can't stand the taste, and you'd really rather eat Mami's cooking again."
"Shut it! I'm being generous here!"
xxx
Irina stared at the feast arrayed before her. She had never seen such a large amount of food gathered in one spot before; the Church had always frowned on indulging in excess, and gluttony was one of the easiest sins to fall prey to.
Next to her, Xenovia was already chowing down. "You should try some, Irina! It's really good."
Across from her, Mami smiled as she presented her cuisine. "I'm glad you think so, Quarta-san!" She turned to Irina. "Why don't you have some, Shidou-san? There's plenty."
Even as she wavered, other exorcists in the dining were already taking notice of the veritable feast that had been set up. Mami, gracious as ever, offered food to every one of them.
"This is delicious! Way better than the slop they feed us!"
"I know, right?! Hey, you gotta try this soup, it's amazing!"
"T – Thank you very much for making this!"
Mami beamed. "It was my pleasure."
Kyoko, seeing Irina still struggling against her engrained ideals, spoke up. "If ya still feel bad about it, then just call it a celebratory meal. After all, we did just finish a hard mission, y'know? Surely the Church ain't got a problem with rewarding yourself?"
Irina sighed. She really should loosen up a bit, shouldn't she?
She accepted a plate from the chef of the hour. "Thank you, Tomoe-san."
A smile. "Think nothing of it."
The next few minutes were spent engulfed in a blissful trance, where the only thing that mattered was enjoying the warmth and flavor of the meal that had been painstakingly prepared for them.
"What is going on in here?!"
The doors to the hall crashed open, and the bishop that they had been speaking with earlier barged in.
Everyone immediately froze, as if they had all just been caught red-handed.
The bishop stalked up to the table with the food piled on it. "Are these . . . are these ingredients from the faculty fridge?!" His face contorted in anger. "Who gave you permission to use these?!"
"Shit, this doesn't look good," Kyoko said.
"Guess we just got busted." Sayaka sighed. "Damn it, Kyoko. This is all your fault."
"Hey, how was I supposed to know the bishop would be an uptight jackass about it?" Kyoko paused. "Actually, I probably shoulda saw that coming," she admitted.
"No, the fault ultimately lies with me," Mami said. "I was the one who agreed with Kyoko's plan, and I was the one who carried it out. I will take the blame."
When Mami stood up to do exactly that, another voice cut in.
"Oh? That looks delicious!"
A young man with blonde hair and green eyes walked into the room. He wore priest garments, but the way he held himself was completely different from what one would expect of a holy man; his very posture was relaxed and carefree, quite unlike the normally strict discipline enforced by the Church.
He strode forward, completely unfazed by the sudden silence that had settled over the room and took a cheesecake that Mami had made.
Munch!
As he chewed, his face lit up in delight, as if he had found something precious to treasure.
"For some reason, that guy looks familiar," Sayaka noted.
"Does he? Pretty sure I've never seen him before," Kyoko said.
Meanwhile, Mami's eyes had widened in surprise. "T – That's Dulio Gesualdo! The Strongest Exorcist!"
That didn't ring any bells for Kyoko. "Who?"
"Oh yeah! He was one of the people we were supposed to memorize, weren't we?" Sayaka recalled.
Meanwhile, the bishop was staring at the new arrival in shock, floundering like a fish out of water. "G – Gesualdo-san?! What are you doing here?!"
"Mmmm, this is good." The Strongest Exorcist took another pastry from the pile, before finally seeming to register the bishop's question. "Oh, I was sent here actually."
"Wha – what?! Why wasn't I informed?!"
"It was a last-minute decision, so there was no time. Sorry about just popping in." He continued munching down on a variety of pastries.
The bishop, seeing this, regained some of his initial fervor. "Y – You can't eat that! Whoever did this didn't have permission to use the reserved ingredients!" He spun around with a death glare. "And the culprit, whoever you are, I will make you pay!"
Mami gulped and began having second thoughts about taking the blame.
"Oh, it's fine." Dulio waved a hand dismissively. "I gave them permission."
The bishop's jaw dropped, as did that of everyone else in the room.
"Wha – what? That doesn't even make any sense!" Sayaka said.
"No kidding. This guy is on an entirely different level." Kyoko said.
The bishop was utterly taken aback by Dulio's blatant lie. "B – But you just got here! When could you possibly have –"
Dulio shot him a lazy look. "Don't sweat the details. Now, you don't have to go chasing after whoever made this, right?"
"I – I can't just let this go – !"
The exorcist turned to fully face him.
And smiled.
It was a playful smile, one that might adorn the face of any joyful, young man. But this smile contained steel; it was such a simple gesture, but it held immense willpower behind it.
The bishop felt his knees buckle merely at the sight of it.
"Do we still have a problem?" Dulio asked calmly.
Realizing that any argument against the Strongest Exorcist would only be in vain, the bishop turned tail and ran.
The pressure vanished, and the only thing left behind was a young man happily enjoying some baked goods. "Mmmm, this is some good stuff." He looked up. "Who did make all this anyway? Don't worry, you're not in trouble or anything."
As several eyes immediately shot to her, Mami slowly raised her hand.
He smiled. "Thank you very much for treating us to such a delightful meal, young miss." His face brightened, as if he just had a great idea. "I know! Why don't you help me carry some of this to Strada-san? I'm sure he would love a taste, and it's only fair that the cook is there to see the fruits of her labor being properly enjoyed."
The silent hall broke out in conversation once more at the mention of a particularly famous name.
"Strada? As in Vasco Strada? The Cardinal Priest? He's here?!" Irina asked in an incredulous voice.
"It would seem so," Xenovia said. "As a fellow warrior, there are few I respect more than him."
Kyoko leaned back in her chair. "Well, looks like our next lead just fell into our lap. Guess we can just let Mami handle this one, then." Her hand strayed toward the pile of food . . .
Sayaka grabbed her arm. "Nuh uh. This mission is a group effort, and you're not sitting this out just so you can stuff your face some more."
Kyoko turned to her with a deadpan face. "Notice how Mister Strongest Exorcist over there only said that the cook could come along. Which is Mami, in this case. What do you want us to do?"
As Sayaka shut her mouth in realization of the fact that for once, Kyoko had a point, a voice echoed through the hall.
"Why, of course your friends can come along! Food is best enjoyed with others after all," a certain exorcist said.
Kyoko facepalmed.
"Damnit, Mami."
xxx
Vasco Strada looked up from the file cabinet he had been searching to see that a certain someone had finally decided to come back from his unplanned detour.
"Back at last, Gesualdo-san? Would you care to lend me a hand –"
He was interrupted when Dulio thrust some sort of pastry into his face. "You should try it, Strada-san! It's quite delectable, and you know that I have some pretty high standards."
Vasco gently pushed the offering away. "Perhaps later. For now, we need to finish our investigation –" He blinked when he noticed that there were far more people in the room than there should be. "And who might you all be?"
"Oh, right." Dulio pushed a blonde girl forward. "This here is Mami Tomoe, the maker of this fine delicacy!" He turned to the other girls. "And these are her friends . . . ah, sorry, I didn't quite catch your names?"
Vasco inwardly sighed at the young man's fickle behavior as the others introduced themselves to him. He was already familiar with one of them and vaguely recognized another, but the rest was a mystery to him. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you," he said with a smile. His gaze lingered on one in particular. "I hope you've been taking good care of it, Quarta-san."
Xenovia stiffened and straightened up. "Y – Yes I have, Strada-sama!"
He turned to the mysterious girls who all seemed mildly puzzled by his exchange with Xenovia. "I don't believe I've seen you three around before. Are you all new graduates?"
Mami nodded. "Yes, we only recently finished our training."
"Congratulations on your success. Not everyone is suited for the hardships that come with being an exorcist, but I have high hopes for all of you. Who was your instructor, if I may ask?"
He noticed that they seemed to grow a little uncomfortable when he asked that.
"It was Sister Griselda," Mami said.
"Oh? You all are Griselda's students?" Dulio tapped his chin. "I wasn't aware she took on any new students after that Xenovia girl. Didn't she resign a while ago?"
"Ehehehe." Sayaka rubbed the back of her head. "It was an off-the-books kind of thing. We didn't go through the regular training program, but Sister Griselda did teach us everything we know."
Vasco quirked an eyebrow. "Interesting. You three must be exceptional students if Sister Griselda was willing to come out of retirement to train you three."
"Yeah, you could say that," Kyoko said lazily.
He couldn't detect a lie in their statements, but something still felt off. They were hiding something . . . but he didn't think they were doing it out of any sort of ill will. Dulio was an excellent judge of character, so he doubted they had any malicious intent, but just to be sure . . .
He turned to Xenovia. "As someone else trained by Sister Griselda, would you vouch for these individuals?"
She replied immediately. "Yes, I would," she said firmly.
Simple, blunt truth. He always knew Xenovia to be a straightforward girl, and if she believed that these girls weren't here to do any harm, then he would lay his suspicions aside as well.
There were more important matters to attend to.
"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, why have you brought them here, Gesualdo-san?" Vasco asked. "While I do enjoy conversing with others, you know that we have business to conduct."
"Oh yeah, the investigation." Dulio waved a hand towards the file cabinets. "Well, if we're gonna be trawling through all of these, I thought it would be better if we brought some help along."
Vasco rolled his eyes. Leave it to Dulio to find a way to indulge in his food connoisseur hobby while also getting out of doing work.
"Wait, wait." Kyoko made a "stop" gesture with her hands in front of her. "I didn't come along just to look through a buncha dusty old files."
"Ah, don't sweat it." Dulio slung an arm around Kyoko's shoulders. "I chased off that big, scary bishop for you, didn't I? Just think of all the delicious food you'll get to eat once you're done!"
"There won't be any food left when we're done!"
Ignoring the commotion erupting behind them, Irina turned towards Vasco with a questioning gaze. "Um . . . what are you looking for in here, Strada-sama? I don't mind helping, but what are we even looking for?"
"Since Gesualdo-san roped you all into this, I suppose I should fill you in, shouldn't I?" He folded his arms. "We're investigating the mysterious disappearances of several members of the Church over the past few months."
The five girls all froze. Could it be . . . ?
"What do you mean by mysterious disappearances, Strada-sama?" Xenovia asked.
"Several nuns have vanished while performing errands; a few Holy Maidens have disappeared without a trace while traveling, and many exorcists never came back from missions that should not have been beyond their capabilities." He paused. "The strangest thing is that we've never been able to find the bodies of any of these individuals." He gestured toward the filing cabinets. "I had hoped that by looking through these records, we would be able to piece together some sort of common discrepancy or pattern for all these cases."
"Ya know, I think we were supposed to be one of those groups of exorcists that never came back," Kyoko said dryly. "Think we should tell him?"
"This does seem to be our only lead at the moment," Sayaka said. "I'd say we go for it."
"It is possible that this is a trap," Mami warned. "Pretending to investigate so that we divulge what we know to them is an underhanded, but possible tactic."
"Woah, I didn't think you'd be so suspicious, Mami."
"I am simply being cautious. And if your claim that the Church is already wary of us is true, then such a tactic is not so unlikely after all."
"I hate to interrupt y'all's discussion, but it's kinda a moot point now. Pigtails is already spilling the beans."
Brought back to reality, the two of them noticed Irina giving Vasco and Dulio the run-down of what happened on their mission.
Sayaka rubbed the back of her head. "Well, that's awkward."
Kyoko sighed. "No kidding. Here we are, debating the best course of action, only for all our efforts to be dashed by a rather glaring oversight." Her eyes met Mami's. "Think we should set up a telepathic link with them? It'll help prevent stuff like this from happening again."
Mami frowned. "It would have been preferable if we didn't have to, but this most recent incident has shown that holding back in this regard is not an option."
"What about the secret?" Sayaka asked.
"Just say it's magic. They'll eat it up," Kyoko replied.
"Hey! What're y'all up to?" Dulio's cheerful face thrust itself between the three of them. "Having a silent conversation?"
Startled, the three girls realized that they had been silently staring at each other for a while now.
"O – Oh!" Sayaka blinked and made a sheepish expression. "Sorry, just got lost in thought."
"What a lame excuse."
"Hey, I'm doing my best here!"
"Irina-chan here just finished telling us about your recent mission," Dulio continued. "You three must be pretty strong if you managed to beat Strays as tough as those."
Mami slightly bowed. "Thank you for the compliment, but we wouldn't have been able to do it without Shidou-san's and Quarta-san's help."
Vasco, meanwhile, was frowning heavily. "Strong as you all might be, there's no way a mission like that would be assigned to your group. Not if the proper procedures were followed." He stroked his chin. "And if what you say about other exorcists already having fallen to those Strays is true, then someone must have been very, very careless. Either that . . ." His eyes narrowed. "Or it was an intentional set-up."
"That is indeed what we believe," Xenovia said.
"That is quite troubling." The Cardinal Priest glanced at Sayaka. "Shidou-san said that you found an Excalibur Shard at the site as well? May I see it?"
Sayaka pulled the sword out of the pocket dimension and handed it over.
"Thank you." Vasco eyed the blade intently, his hands trailing along its keen edge, as if searching for something. "Ah. I found something." His expression saddened.
"Hmm?" Dulio, who had been lazily sprawled against a cabinet, perked up as he heard that. "What did you find?"
"A ward designed to mask the sword's Holy aura." His hand clenched, and with a loud snap, the blade's dim glow suddenly intensified, like a lamp with a freshly changed lightbulb.
Dulio whistled. "Man, that's definitely not good." The usually chipper exorcist seemed to grow a lot somber.
The others, however, were confused. "What is the significance of such a ward?" Mami asked.
"This technique is a closely guarded secret," Vasco said. "Can I trust you all to speak nothing of what you learn here?"
They all nodded.
Seeing their response, Vasco continued, "It is a secret weapon, so to speak. As you all know, Holy power is extremely deadly to devils and fallen alike. However, that has resulted in the other two factions being much warier of us, going to great pains to avoid allowing us to land a decisive blow." He paused. "However, what if they did not know that our weapon is, in fact, a Holy Sword? Mere metal is wholly ineffective in comparison against them, and many of them do not even bother trying to dodge such weapons. Combined with plain clothes rather than a standard exorcist uniform . . ."
Their eyes widened as they understood the implications.
"They would be struck down in surprise before they even knew the truth," Irina concluded.
"Huh. That's actually pretty clever." Kyoko said.
Vasco nodded somberly. "Indeed. Of course, such a tactic is only effective if it is kept under wraps, which is why only those specialized in subterfuge make use of this ward."
Xenovia's lips curled in disgust. "Assassins, you mean."
"Don't be too hard on them. They're just doing their jobs, just like you and me," Dulio said.
She grimaced but seemed to reluctantly concede the point.
Vasco coughed politely. "In any case, for security reasons, the only person who knows how to apply the ward . . ." His face turned grim.
"Is the Pope himself."
xxx
Asia was beginning to think that she had made a mistake.
She glanced at the given address. Then back at the building she stood in front of.
Nope. Still matched.
She was confused by the rather odd choice in venue. After all, why would the Church tell her to go to a fancy Italian restaurant? She had expected her readmission to take place in a church, or at the very least, some place of religious significance.
She perked up as she had a thought. Perhaps, this was how the Pope wished to apologize to her before revoking her excommunication? By treating her at a high-class restaurant?
She flushed as she glanced down at her garments. They were rather plain, by most standards. A simple, modest nun outfit – she didn't think it was suitable for such a luxurious venue.
But she didn't have time to procure anything more formal and being late would be far ruder than showing up underdressed.
So, she would just have to make do. She hoped the Pope would understand.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and stepped through, a bell tinkling to herald her arrival.
"Ah, you're finally here."
Asia blinked. The restaurant was utterly barren, completely devoid of any other people aside from the handsome man who sat at the only table that had been set.
"O – Oh! Y – You're – !"
She recognized this man. He was the one that she had healed, the one they had called a "devil" before lambasting her for her actions and excommunicating her.
He smiled gently at her with a warm and inviting face. "I see you remember me. That is good; it would be difficult for me to thank you if you did not even recall what you did for me."
Asia's confusion was only further compounded. "T – Thank me?"
"Indeed. I was most terribly injured, and if it were not for your compassion . . ." He made a swooning motion. "Why, I may have perished then and there! It is only right that I properly thank you for your deed." He patted the chair next to him. "Come, sit with me."
She fidgeted nervously. "Um . . . I – I was supposed to be meeting someone else here . . ."
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You must mean the Pope! I'm afraid he'll be running a bit late; he had a few errands to run, you see. He's a busy man, after all, and he was gracious enough to allow me to use his reservation for my own agenda."
Asia felt her head might explode at this rate. "H – Huh? A – Aren't you a devil? W – Why would the P – Pope be so familiar with a devil?"
He sighed dramatically. "My dear, the time of the Great War is over. The hatred and grudges that have long divided us are in the past now. Now, all of us: angels, fallen angels, and devils . . . we are all simply just another group of people. Albeit people with some very special characteristics, but people nonetheless." He tilted his head at her. "I had thought you would understand this. For is that not the reason that you chose to aid me? Because in your infinite kindness, you could not let another soul suffer, no matter who he may be?"
Asia shifted nervously. "W – Well, I didn't know that you were a devil at the time . . ." she confessed.
"And now that you do know, do you regret your decision?"
She thought about it. About the ridicule she had received at the hands of those she once trusted. About leaving this man to suffer from his wounds. If he had died because she refused to aid him, could she be considered his killer?
Could she bear for her hands to be stained, even just a little bit?
". . . No."
He smiled. "See? I knew you would understand. Now, come sit and keep me company for a while, would you? I'm sure we'll have many things to talk about."
Drawn in by his honeyed words, Asia's legs carried her closer to the table, not entirely of her own will. As she sat down in the stiff, mahogany chair, in front of a set of utensils that probably cost more money than she would ever see in a lifetime, she remembered a question she had forgotten to ask.
"W – What's your name?" she asked.
He blinked. "Oh, dear me! How could I have forgotten something so important." He stood up and bowed gracefully.
"You may call me Diodora Astaroth."
xxx
Asia's first impression of Diodora was that of a complete gentleman.
He was courteous, almost excessively so. He would pour her drink for her, listened patiently whenever she spoke, and took great pains to ensure that the cuisine was to her taste.
His voice was silky, like a spider web; once caught, she found her attention fixated on him, unable to tear away from the grandiose recounting of his travels through many parts of the world. She did not even notice the women when they came bearing dishes, nor when they came to take away finished platters (had she paid closer attention though, she might have noticed that several of them seemed to have oddly vacant expressions).
After finishing a particularly extravagant tale about journeying through the Amazon Forest and wooing the Amazon Queen (which ended rather poorly, as one might imagine), Diodora glanced at his watch and made a surprised expression. "My, how time flies! I hardly notice the passage of the hours when I'm with a lovely flower such as yourself."
Asia blushed. "T – Thank you."
"No need to thank me for that compliment; why, if you took the time to thank each and every man who praised your elegance, you would spend the rest of your life fulfilling that task, such is your beauty!"
Asia reddened even further under the assault of his words.
"But I digress. While I would love to spend more time with you, the hour grows late, and I do believe that this is around the time the Pope said he would be finished with his errands."
Her head shot up. "R – Really?!"
"But of course. Would I lie to you, dear?" He smiled. "In any case, while the Pope's current locale is not too far away, I would be ashamed to call myself a man if I made a radiant beauty such as you make such a trek." He bowed once more. "So, if I may, I would like to trouble you to bear with me a little longer."
"Y- You mean –"
"Yes, I would like to give you a ride."
Asia didn't see any problems with that suggestion. She had spent an entire afternoon with him, and he had been nothing but unfailingly polite and pleasant.
"I – I would be happy to accept!"
He smiled, and if one looked closely, they might have seen some trace of a viper's grin hidden within. "Wonderful. If you would follow me . . . ?"
Diodora led her through the back door and down a stone staircase. Parked at the curb was a sleek, black car; its very appearance gave off an air of luxury and prestige.
He opened a door and beckoned her closer. "Please, be my guest."
As she moved to get in, a sudden breeze kicked up –
"Not so fast."
And like a phantom, she appeared.
Asia's eyes widened. "A – Akemi-san?!"
Diodora's eyes darkened. "And just who might you be?" he asked with a hint of venom.
She stood between the two of them, barring Asia from entering the car. In one hand she held her bow, in the other . . .
Thump!
The bodies of two women hit the ground as Homura indifferently dropped them, their ragged breathing the only sign that they were merely unconscious instead of dead.
"Pay close attention to their faces."
At first, Asia couldn't tell what Homura was talking about. The women were wearing waitress uniforms, and she distinctly recalled that the women serving them had been wearing the exact same outfit.
As her eyes trailed up to the faces, they widened. "T – They're – !"
Homura nodded, knowing exactly what Asia had realized. "Yes. They're both Holy Maidens. Former Holy Maidens." Her eyes narrowed. "I did some digging. They both went missing a while back; no one knew what had happened to them." Her expression became absolutely frigid. "I suppose you're the one who abducted them."
"I – Is that true?" Asia asked with a betrayed expression.
Diodora was silent. However, his gaze darted to-and-fro, calculating everything with a cold efficiency. Suddenly, his expression morphed back into one of warmth. "Nonsense! I would never do such a heinous thing to such lovely ladies. Their resemblance to the missing Holy Maidens is but a coincidence."
"Oh?" Homura arched an eyebrow. "Even if that were true, just where did you plan on taking Argento-san in your car?"
"To the Pope, of course! Speaking of which, we really should get going; if we're late, he might decide to not rescind your excommunication, which would be quite terrible!"
At that, Asia became much more flustered, wringing her hands indecisively as she looked between Diodora and Homura. "A – Akemi-san? I – I'm sure this is all just one big misunderstanding! A – Astaroth-san has been nothing but polite so far . . ."
Homura held up a hand. "One last question." Her eyes narrowed. "If you really planned on taking her to the Pope, then you should be able to answer this question." She paused.
"Where is the Pope?"
"I imagine he would be at his office in the Vatican," Diodora replied without missing a beat. "He is a very busy man, after all."
"Wrong." Homura's gaze was utterly merciless.
He froze. "Oh? And just how would you know if I am correct or not?"
"Because I just came from the Vatican, and the Pope wasn't there," she said. "Digging around their old records wasn't fun, but it gave me the chance to expose your lies." A glare. "Since you clearly didn't even bother with finding out the Pope's whereabouts, you had no intention of taking Argento-san to him. The letter was faked too, wasn't it? That promise of revoking her excommunication was a lie from the start."
Asia's face grew paler as Homura exposed each of his deceptions one-by-one, like a condemned woman slowly being led to her execution.
"In short, this was all just a set up for your own benefit," Homura finished.
Diodora buried his face in the crook of his arm dramatically. "Oh, you wound me with your accusations! I'll admit that my ignorance of the Pope's whereabouts was a mistake, but that's all it was: a mistake! Your other accusations are utterly baseless!" He flashed Asia a charming smile as he stretched out a hand. "Come, dear. I shall get in touch with the Pope, and we can get this all sorted out. No need to stand around listening to this harlot jabber on for any longer."
When Asia made no move to approach, he allowed a slight frown to mar his face. "What's wrong, dear? Don't tell me this cretin has tainted your perception of me so? Pay her no mind!"
"U – Um . . ." Asia shuffled her foot. "A – Akemi-san has been very kind to me . . . and I don't think she would say all that stuff about you unless she had a good reason . . ." She waved her hands in front of her frantically. "I – I am grateful for the hospitality you've shown me today! B – But I think it would be for the best if we parted for now . . ."
Diodora was silent, his head tilted down. Slowly, a dark shadow passed over his face, an ugly peek at the twisted monstrosities that had coiled themselves around his soul. In an instant, his gentleman persona had disappeared like the lie it was.
His hand slowly reached behind him . . .
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Homura interrupted. "While you may have chosen a good spot: relatively isolated considering the quality of the venue, a fight here would still draw the public's attention. And that would bring all three of the factions down upon us."
He glanced up, revealing an ugly expression that belied the fact that the same face had borne such a kind façade a few moments prior. "Tch." His face hardened. "This isn't over."
Demonic circles sprung to life around the unconscious women, whisking them away. Without a word, he slipped into the car.
It drove off into the distance, leaving them with an ill omen hanging above their heads.
Asia seemed visibly sickened by Diodora's sudden transformation. "S – Such malice – !"
"Yes . . ." Homura grimaced. "I shudder to think what would have happened had you gone with that man."
The nun hastily bowed. "T – Thank you very much for helping me again!"
"Think nothing of it." Homura brushed some hair back. "You're certain that your instructions came from the Church?"
"Y – Yes!" Asia straightened back up. "The higher-ups use special stationery for important communications."
"Is that so?" She frowned.
"Something's rotten in the Church . . ."
xxx
The door to his office opened.
One of his men walked in and placed a report on his desk before bowing and walking away.
The Pope glanced at the file. A few bishops were embezzling the Church's funds. Several pastors were blackmailing their flock for various material goods and services. A couple of priests were discretely selling "free passes to Heaven" to the unwary.
Nothing he hadn't seen before.
Once again, he wondered if he should do something about these sinful men, to bring to justice those who would use God's influence for their own gain.
He glanced at the tally etched into his wall. Each line represented someone he had sentenced to death. Or a fate worse than death, in several cases.
What right did he have to mete out justice, when he was the greatest sinner of them all?
Carefully, he folded up the report and placed it along with the others in his safe.
The investigation into the Church's corrupted side had been something he had started when he had still been new to his post. He had been all fired up, ready to turn the institution back into something everyone could be proud of!
But now . . . now, it wasn't his place to bring these evildoers to justice.
It would be his successor's job. And these reports would come in handy when the day came for him to step down.
The door shot open once more, and the Pope looked up as a certain someone stormed into his office.
"You seem awfully displeased," he commented.
Diodora's eyes widened upon seeing him. If possible, he became even more enraged.
"THAT BITCH!" he hollered. "I was right! You were in here all along! But she bluffed her way through! Damn it!" He kicked the wall in his anger.
The Pope continued his work, doing his best to ignore the racket being created by his unwelcome guest. "I take it your plan did not go so well? If you need to vent, kindly do it somewhere else. I'm trying to work here."
"No. No, no." The other man stalked up to him. "You don't get to pretend like it's none of your business." He thrust his face forward. "She was supposed to come alone! That was the deal! You were to make sure of it!"
The Pope rolled his eyes. "I did instruct her to come alone. And my men tell me that she entered the specified location by herself. I fail to see the problem here; any late party-crashers are your responsibility, not mine."
"That bitch knew about the letter! Clearly, you were not thorough enough!"
He narrowed his eyes. "You claim that I was not thorough enough?" He set down his pen as he calmly met the other man's gaze. "The reports seem to indicate that you were unsuccessful in upholding one of your ends of the deal. After all, the exorcists came back alive when they were not supposed to come back at all." His eyes narrowed. "I was unable to prevent the other officials from investigating, but I am glad that I wasn't able to: because I discovered something interesting." His tone grew frosty. "There was quite a bit of demonic blood at the scene. Now, I understand the mission was supposed to be a Stray Devil extermination, but it seemed to be an awfully large amount for a beginner-level mission."
"You know that I value efficiency," Diodora said. "I sought to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. The Strays would kill the exorcists, but they would be weakened enough for the next group to easily handle."
"Regardless, the fact that such powerful Stray Devils were in the area is concerning," the Pope replied. "And the fact that they managed to evade our notice for so long is worrisome as well. Why, it's almost as if someone was helping them." He paused, allowing the implication to sink in.
Diodora hastily changed the subject. "You failed to deliver the sword to me as well," he quickly pointed out.
"It was delivered to the designated area at the designated time," he said. "You were the one who decided the location was to be the same place as your killing zone. If your failure in that regard is the cause of this one as well, then you have no one to blame but yourself."
The usually cleanly-dressed man fell silent once more. "This partnership is over," he announced. "I'm leaving."
The Pope raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? In that case, good riddance."
The door slammed shut, leaving the holy man to his thoughts once more.
He sighed as he leaned back in his chair. While he certainly wouldn't miss the other man, that did leave him with several problems.
Problems that he would now have to deal with himself.
He had been prepared for this eventuality. In fact, one could say he was even looking forward to it.
Because he was tired; tired of the deception, the killing, the underhanded dealings . . . he couldn't bear it anymore.
At least the Church would be in good hands. Vasco would likely be a much better Pope than he ever was.
But first, he had one last loose end to tie up. If the sword fell into the hands of the other Church officials, it was only a matter of time before they came looking for him.
As he stood up to leave, he paused as he remembered something.
"Right, I shouldn't leave this lying around."
He went back to his desk and took something out: a picture that he slipped into his pocket.
"Off we go, then."
He glanced back once more at the doorway, taking in the room he had spent most of his life in, devoting himself to a god who was now dead.
He closed the door for the last time.
xxx
Diodora was having a bad day.
With several of his plans falling through due to bad luck and ill-timed coincidences, it was all he could do to keep his anger in check.
With some external aid, of course.
A muffled protest.
He ignored it and adjusted his position, making himself more comfortable.
Now that he had broken off contact with the Pope, collecting his latest (unwilling) prize would be more difficult than ever. Especially now that she was wary of him. All thanks to that black-haired bitch.
And that was another thing to add to his list. The bitch had to die, and he was going to make it slow.
But before he watched her life slowly ebb away, he was going to crush her in battle. And to do that, he needed more power. His ladies were quite lovely, but none of them had the martial expertise he was looking for.
A stifled groan.
Ignoring that as well, he pushed down harder to stop further struggling.
For scenarios like these, he found that enough excess power was sufficient to make up for a lack of technique. Thanks to his experimental activities with his peerage, he had learned how to manipulate their Evil Pieces in ways that no one had ever done before.
One of his favorite discoveries was the ability to force their demonic energies to wildly fluctuate. He always found it entertaining to watch them as their bodies were jostled from the inside by powers they could not control, to see their faces increasingly contort in pain and discomfort as the internal chaos climbed higher and higher –
It was that very technique that he intended to leverage for his little revenge scheme. With proper amplifiers that he managed to acquire from his contacts (he had to call in a lot of favors to get more of these), he hypothesized that the amount of unrestrained demonic energy that would be generated would be enough to forcibly induce mutations like that of a high-class Stray Devil, with all the power to match.
Another bout of thrashing and he turned to look down at his victim with an annoyed expression.
It was his Queen, one of his very first conquests. He still remembered the day he first saw her, the day her porcelain visage and silky hair enthralled him and borne in his dark and sinful heart the desire to see her face twisted in agony – !
A desire that he was fulfilling at that very moment.
He was straddling her, keeping her pinned with her arms behind her back against the floor. With one hand, he held her mouth open, with the other –
A gagging noise and he pulled his hand back to allow her some relief.
The moment she relaxed during that moment of reprieve, he thrust his hand back forward, forcing his tweezers to violently scrape the small, black snake it held against the back of her throat.
As he allowed her violent choking and coughing to wash over him, soothing him, he ruminated further on his plans.
The forced mutations would likely be irreversible. And he most certainly did not want to keep a peerage of such heinous creatures. But he had been growing tired of this batch anyway, so he wasn't too bothered by the prospect of sacrificing them; in fact, he relished the opportunity to start fresh.
And the first member of his new peerage would, of course, be the very nun he was chasing after even now.
He gave a small smile. While he normally preferred to seduce his to-be peerage members, he was willing to resort to brute force as well.
And in this instance, that was the only option left to him.
He found that he was looking forward to it.
As the struggles underneath him began to weaken, he decided to show a small amount of mercy and release the snake he had been holding, allowing it to finally meld with its host.
There were far easier ways to go about implanting Ophis's snakes. He himself took one in rather painlessly.
But after the day he had so far, he wasn't in a very forgiving mood.
He stood up, stepping over his Queen's limp form and turning to the others in his peerage. They were standing in a neat line by the wall watching his display, a small amount of dread on their usually vacant faces.
He smiled.
"You're up next, dear."