WHEW! I apologize everyone that this took so long. It took me a while to research source material for this, and I had two exams, one in Chemisty and the other in Japanese, plus a paper to write. Then I have some artisan classes I'm taking... I'm just busy period... Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Things do tie in more Biblically now, as I'm trying to develop my Satan with the one spoken of in the Bible. We're starting to get into some big stuff now!
Anyway, I'm testing out some differences in my writing style. I hope you like it! I'm experimenting with a note system to help provide more information. If you see a number in parentheses, it's not a typo. It's a note, at least until I figure out how to do superscript on these...
Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Exorcist. It is the magnificent brain child of Kazue Kato-dono. I also do not own Paradise Lost by John Milton.
Ah, and before I forget. Thank you to ef07, P1nk4m3n4, Evilneko101, SakuraKoi, CrystalOfTime, Amber89107, life is short so am I, UnicornWithABananaHorn, animefangirltrash, Suicide Forest and Anamaria275 for reviewing! Amaimon didn't have to "play"with you all! Now I need to clean up what's left of those he did play with though...
Please report any typos to me as well, and I will fix them promptly!
"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.. In my choice to reign is worth ambition though in Hell: Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n."
Satan, Paradise Lost: John Milton
Flashback
Smoke and sulfur billowed across the dense and oppressive air, in the depths of the realm cut off from all light and hope. The fallen angels laid in ruin in the depths of the Pit, the realm created as penalty for the highest transgression, the daring to stand against the almighty himself.
Among them, the blue-haired leader of the revolt was the first to stir, formerly named Lucifer, now given the title ha-Satan, The Satan, The Adversary. He alone had dared to believe that he could equal the Almighty, and he lead a third of the host of Shamayim, or Heaven to believe that, and together he lead that third straight to Gehenna, named so by the Almighty himself. He slowly sat up, aching all over, "Ugh, what the Heaven just happened…"
He slowly gazed around, taking in the barren, lifeless surroundings that blazed with fire, with the unconscious bodies of the fallen angels strewn about haphazardly. "What is this place?" He looked for a while longer, but seeing nothing, looked to the sky, which was covered in eternal started looking for his right-hand man, when his eyes widened in remembrance.
He remembered seeing Beelzebub jump in front of the force of God, and looked around frantically, for him, seeing him lying near the ground, and he ran up to him, shouting, "Beelzebub!" unaware of the events that had transgressed in the time since his fall.
Heaven
The Father, the Unmoved Mover, stood in all His radiant glory, in all His Wisdom, Honor, and Justice, as the fallen host of Heaven moved against him, Lucifer himself leading the charge. He gazed in sorrow at what he must do to His children, but they unfortunately succumbed to pride, each believing that they would be a better ruler than He who created them.
Shutting His eyes, He spoke His Divine Name, unleashing its holy power upon them. All of the fallen angels shut their eyes before the brilliant light; what was formerly familiar to them was now anathema. Channeling His power, he directed its full force upon the leader of the host, his first, strongest, and most prized creation, the Seraphim Lucifer.
He intended to finish this fight quickly and cleanly, so He would end only the leader, though the rest would be punished severely. At least, that was what He intended until Lucifer's second-in-command, the one He knew as His second creation, the Cherubim Beelzebub, jumped in front. He took the full brunt of the blow, much to His surprise, and He smiled in sad sorrow. 'So, even now, the bonds of comradeship still exist somewhat... Even fallen, there is still goodness in him. Very rarely am I impressed to such a degree. Very well then, Cherubim. For your courage, I will spare the leader, but he will be punished along with the rest. However, I have a plan for him. One that even he is unaware of." He spoke.
The fallen cherubim fell to the ground, and as the light cleared, the fallen angels were scattered like leaves in the wind among the plains of Heaven. He walked up to Lucifer, and banished him to Gehenna. As the ground collapsed, taking all of the fallen with their leader, He stopped at Beelzebub, and holding out His hand, shone a brilliant light upon him. He stirred a little, and God continued walking, as the ground swallowed Beelzebub too.
"I have extended the moment of your passing by a little, so that what I have willed shall come to pass. You fit into a grand scale of things that you could never comprehend, and could not even imagine. Time will see how you follow this path. Thus saith I, the Lord your God."
Gehenna
Satan nor Beelzebub never heard those words, but Satan still ran to his right hand, frantically trying to see if he was alright. He was at least relieved when Beelzebub coughed, his brown hair messy, and his eyes, a different shade of blue focused on Satan's. "Lucifer?" He asked hoarsely.
Satan sighed in relief. "Good. You are alright. Come, it is time to regroup. Let's wake the others, and discuss how we can best continue. I will never give God the satisfaction of bowing. And our situation we've lost Heaven, so what else can we lose, when we have so much to gain! We are immortal! We will carry this plan out for eternity until we accomplish it!"
Beelzebub bowed his head, "No, we aren't immortal."
"What do you mean?"
Beelzebub's eyes began slowly shutting, "I can already feel that I won't make it. After that fight, I truly believe Him to be worthy of the title the Almighty. To face him again would be suicide, He who can end even the immortal." Beelzebub's eyes became more heavy, and Satan started shaking him to keep him awake.
"Oy! Stay with me Beelzebub!"
"Perhaps, we should follow His will as the conquered in battle. To follow his orders in the Pit." His eyes began closing, "Why worsen our fate even worse than it already is…"
"Beelzebub!" Satan forced him to look at his eyes, "To be weak is a curse, but I can tell you this. Doing good will never be our task! Whatever He wills, it will be our sworn mission in this pit to do whatever is contrary! Do you hear me! Beelzebub!"
Beelzebub's eyes seemed to close in death, as he said, "Satan… Satan…" And his voice changed, "Okumura!"
Rin flashed awake in the middle of class, having fallen asleep again.
He gazed up at the teacher, who was glaring at him harshly. "Mr. Okumura, if you are not intending on paying attention, feel free to leave!"
"Uh, sorry…"
Rin felt hostile intent directed at him, and he turned to see one of the other students, a delinquent probably, glaring at him, with piercings in his ears, and a blonde streak in his hair.
The other student glared away, "Tch!" apparently angry at Rin for some reason.
The teacher continued on with his lecture, "Now these first five books, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy form the core basis of Judaism, known as the Torah…"
Rin wasn't doing much better in his other classes as well, even though they were covering one of his favorite hobbies in Grimoire Literature.
"Sorcery mainly comes into effect through a contract with Satan, and studies of its rules and methods have been compounded into books called Grimoires." The teacher paused to catch his breath.
"The study of grimoires have dated back to as far as the 13th century, when Bishop William of Auvergne published a pamphlet on demonology. Numerous other Catholic figures have given their own studies on Demonology as well, such as the revered saints Bishop Augustine of Hippo, and the Scholastic Monk Thomas Aquinas, honored as the greatest theologian and philosopher of the Church as a result of his famous work, the Summa Theologica."
Rin started nodding off again. He might not know much about school-related stuff, but he'd be even more damned if he didn't know all this stuff already about being an exorcist! He's the freaking king of Hell!
"The Grimoire you have in front of you is called the Lesser Key of Solomon, which is mistakenly attributed to Solomon primarily because of an apocryphal work known as the Testament of Solomon, which is where the myth of the 72 pillars of Solomon originates. The grimoire is divided into 5 parts, the Ars Goetia, Ars Theurgia-Goetia, Ars Paulina, Ars Alamdel, and Ars Notoria."
At this point Rin fell asleep again, while the student started bristling in barely contained anger again.
"Now, I'm going to start handing back your quizzes." Yukio said in his Demon Pharmaceuticals class, "Please come up when I call your name."
"Shima-kun."
"Yes." The pink-haired student walked up. Yukio handed his quiz back.
"Please review thoroughly review the questions you missed."
Rin turned to see Shiemi was… was she sparkling? Rin wiped his eyes. Indeed, she was sparkling… 'Humans never cease to surprise, I guess…'
"What's got you so sparkly?" He asked her.
"Because I know I did well!" She said.
Rin wondered why, until he remembered the visit to the exorcist shop, "Oh yeah, your family is pharmacists."
"Yeah! So this is right up my alley!" Shiemi said.
"Shiemi-san." Yukio called.
"Yes!" Shiemi stood up, perhaps a little too quickly, and nervously walked to the front.
Rin smiled a little bit at her eagerness, thinking about how she joined the cram school.
Flashback
Yukio stood at the front of the class as everyone waited for class to start. Yukio began, "Attention please. Before we get started today, I have a special announcement." He walked over to the door, "We are having a new student join today." He opened to the door, as a blonde girl dressed in a floral kimono entered in, much to Rin's surprise. "This is Moriyama Shiemi."
Shiemi bowed, nervously and quickly, "Pleased to meet you! I hope I can do well!"
Everyone greeted her as well, and Shiemi looked around, trying to find somewhere she could sit. She eventually settled on the spot right next to Rin. Rin looked at her in surprise, and whispered, "What brings you here?"
"I know nothing about this world… I'm so weak and useless! I couldn't even stand up to a plant demon, so I decided to join the cram school. I've always relied on Yuki before, but I want to rely on my own strength now!"
Rin nodded, understanding the want to lead of one's own strength. It was after all, part of the reason he led the rebellion against Heaven, albeit a failed one.
"Plus… I could see Yuki-chan more…"
Rin's eye twitched. 'She might have a crush on Yukio, but she better not be here just to stalk him!' Satan muttered annoyed in his head. He will never understand girls and their crushes…
End Flashback
Yukio pushed up his glasses. "Moriyama-san, could you please clarify what exactly Sancho-san is?"
Shiemi started tapping her fingers together. "Um… it's used to treat burns and other injuries?"
Yukio handed back her paper, which had red marks all over it. "So you mean aloe. Although using your own names for herbs is quite creative, please try to stick to the more universal names."
Shiemi took the paper and sat down depressedly. Rin tapped her on the back. "Don't worry! You should have them up in no time!"
Shiemi looked at him gratefully, "Thanks…"
Yukio looked at the next paper, "Ryuuji Suguro!"
"Yes, sensei!" The delinquent that had been staring at Rin constantly the entire day stood up, and Satan glared at him.
'So that's the kid's name that's been staring at me… Based on the looks of it, he's got a pretty big stick shoved up his ass, maybe even more than me. And considering I created pride, that's saying something!' He thought.
"Excellent job, Suguro-kun." And Yukio handed back his paper. Rin saw it had a 98 marked on it, which surprised him.
"Thank you, sensei." Suguro said. He walked by Rin, and murmured, "It's better than you'll ever own you slacker!" Rin simply let his bangs shadow his eyes.
"Okumura Rin!" Yukio called, and Rin walked over, his eyes still shadowed, keeping the sinister grin that nobody noticed on his face. He reached Yukio, "Your results, Okumura-kun were… more than surprising…" Yukio said as he handed Rin the paper.
Suguro mentioned under his breath, "Probably got less than a 5 given how much he sleeps in class. Even I couldn't do that bad if I tried!"
Rin looked at the paper as Yukio continued. "A perfect score. Congratulations Okumura-kun." Suguro's mouth nearly dropped to the floor as Rin's grin doubled in malice. Rin walked back to his seat as Yukio lost himself in his thoughts. 'When I said it was surprising, I meant it! I'm pretty certain I nearly had a nervous breakdown!' He sighed, 'I'm not certain who needs a doctor more, Me or Nii-san! I'm getting too old for this…' Poor Yukio. He'll get over it.
Rin sat down triumphantly at his seat, sending a smug grin at Suguro. 'Ha! I might never have paid attention to math or science, but if there's one thing I know about, it's demons! One doesn't become the King of Demons and not know all there is to know about them after an eternity spent in Hell with them! Too bad for you, Ryuuji Suguro! You picked a fight with me in the subject that no one else knows more about than I!' He continued cackling in his mind contently, while Yukio wondered just why Rin's grin seemed to send chills down his spine.
Rin face planted as they headed to the next class. Why of all things did they also need a Bible recitation class! He'd never even picked up one of the darn things willingly once in his life. Even when Fujimoto used it for his sermons, he never paid attention!
He of course remembered Yukio when he gave his smart answer, "Scripture verses are one of the most essential things an exorcist can learn. They are capable of exorcising many demons in a short amount of time. It's why arias are some of the most valuable exorcists. They can exorcist many more demons at a time then any other type of exorcist. However, in order to do so at the fullest extent they must also understand them." He popped the mental Yukio as he continued grumbling.
'Heck, I'm generally responsible for half the things that go on it, and I still don't care about it! At least don't have to worry about my Fatal Verse, unless we're planning on reciting the entire Bible in one class…' Satan mumbled in his thoughts as the class continued.
The teacher in the front, a rather large female exorcist started the class. "Today we're going to be going over one of the central passages from the Gospel of Luke. The temptation of the Messiah by Satan in the desert…" Satan zoned out at this point. There was no point in listening. He was there after all, and he lost himself in his memories…
Flashback
Satan sat on his throne in Gehenna, mulling over his own thoughts. How many years, how many millennia, how many eternities had it been since he had betrayed the Divine Host of Heaven…
His thoughts were interrupted as a lower-class demon burst into his chambers, shouting, "Satan-sama, you need to agh-!" He was interrupted as he burst into flames.
Satan glared at what was left of the demon, barely even ashes. He hates it when anyone interrupted his mulling. He was about to about to return to his mulling when he heard knocking on his chamber door. He saw another lower-class demon as well, hiding behind the door. "What?!" He growled.
The demon entered in and saluted, "Satan-sama! The outer defenses of Gehenna have been breached! We're-agh!" This demon too also was obliterated. Satan widened his eyes however, because he was not the one to do it. Even more concerning, was that it was holy light that killed one of his kin.
He placed his hand as support under his head as he heard steps coming into his throne room, preparing to incinerate whoever was coming. He was not prepared, however, in the heart of Gehenna itself, to see the Divine Himself enter his throne room. He stood rapidly, his usual composure broken, shouting, "What are you doing here?!"
The Father placed his gaze on Satan, who even at the heart of his throne room felt even a twinge of fear. The Lord spoke, "I have a wager for you."
"What?! YOU of all beings have a wager for me?! I think your power has made you go bonkers in your head!" Satan countered. "What makes you think that I'll even agree to it anyway!"
The Lord simply smiled, always amused by his rebellious attitude. "If you win this wager, then I will let you have free reign in Assiah."
Satan froze at that. Free reign in Assiah? To do as he pleases? He sat back down on his throne to ponder over this. It was quite simply too good to be true, but it was too good an offer to pass up! He picked up a glass near to him and began drinking. ""Very well then. What is it?"
"I want to you try to tempt my Son."
Satan spit his drink out at that. "You have a son?! Who? When? How?!" He had been in Heaven for a long time before he fell, but he was certain he would remember that!
The Lord answered him, "I would not expect you to understand. He is I and I am Him, separate persons, but one essence. That is the mystery of the Trinity."
Satan stared at Him in bewilderment. Just what in Gehenna did he mean by that?! "Regardless, just how am I supposed to tempt him? I can't exactly possess anyone in Assiah after all!"
The Lord simply raised His hand. "I can take care of that." And he snapped his fingers.
A brilliant light surrounded Satan as his surroundings drastically changed from the dreary stone halls of his throne room, to the shifting desert sands. His outfit had changed as well, much to his surprise, from his brilliant obsidian armor to the cloth of a nomad. He attempted to use his flames, but very little appeared, barely sparks, and he heard the voice of the Lord in his mind, 'I have restricted the use of your power in Assiah for now. Succeed, and you will be allowed the rest with no repercussion.'
He narrowed his brilliant blue eyes as the wind tossed his dark blue hair, and he covered his face with the cloth, and advanced into the desert, muttering curses about the old man in Heaven.
He walked and walked in the hot desert sun, until he saw another person walking in the desert. He did not know how, but he knew it was who he was supposed to tempt.
The Rabbi sat down and wiped his forehead. He had been in the desert for 40 days now, and he was worn and hungry. Then a rock was thrown against his path.
"Then why do you not turn that rock into a loaf of bread? You are the Son of God, are you not?" The Rabbi turned to see a person clad in the robes of a nomad, but He knew who it was, as the sinister sapphire blue eyes glinted at him from behind the covered face.
The Rabbi answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'" And He rejected Satan.
Satan frowned at this answer. He tried to tempt with promise of food. Most men would break at that, just after being in the desert for so long! He then summoned what power he could, and brought them to a mountain above the world, showing the Rabbi all the kingdoms of the world. He said to the Rabbi, "You want to spread your teachings, right? The easiest way would be to employ the power of these kingdoms! Just as this world is given over to vice, these kingdoms are given over to me! I will give them to you if you will admit that I am greater!"
The Rabbi answered him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.'" And he rejected Satan.
Satan growled at Him, and gathering his power again, brought the Rabbi to the holy city, Jerusalem, and stood him at the temple. "If you are truly God's Son, then prove it! Throw yourself off of this temple, and I will accept it as truth! He will save you if you are!"
The Rabbi fixed his gaze upon Satan, and he could see the gaze of the Almighty in the Rabbi. "It is written, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'" And he rejected Satan. The Rabbi continued, "Enough of these tests! You have tried and failed to tempt me! Now get away Satan!"
Satan faded away for now, but he will not fail! He will get Him to bow before him, so that Assiah can be his! (1)
A book flew threw the air and whacked Rin in his face while he was thinking about trying to conquer Assiah. He looked up and saw the teacher giving him a decent death glare. He looked at the book she threw, and saw it was a freaking Bible! 'If that isn't irony, I don't know what is…' Satan thought.
"Okumura Rin! If you are not serious about being in class, I suggest you don't come to class! Which, might I add, has been over for the past five minutes, and you still have not moved!" With that, she took her stuff and left.
Rin rubbed his face, and muttered certain things about seeing her in Hell at some point, and headed over to his next class, only to remember it was break period.
He headed outside to see one of his favorite spots at the fountain. He loved the sound of running water, since Yuri always loved to hang around the river near her cottage.
He was surprised to see Yukio and Shiemi talking there at the fountain as well. "I wanted to ask you Shiemi, are you getting used to the Cram School?"
Shiemi looked down, "Well… Um… Not yet…"
Yukio smiled, "Don't worry, just try not to let yourself get bogged down. Don't get anxious, and do your best. You're looking a lot more positive. You're almost another person!"
"Yo! Yukio! Shiemi!" They both turned.
"Hi Rin!" Shiemi waved.
"Nii-san." Yukio nodded.
"What're you talking about?"
"Just the cram school Nii-san. Although, I must admit, I was quite surprised by your quiz results, especially considering how much you fall asleep. You were even starting to annoy some of the other students."
Rin rubbed the back of his head, "I just got lucky I guess… What's the deal with that other guy anyway?"
"Ah, that's Ryuuji Suguro, better known as Bon to his friends. He's here on a scholarship as well, so I suppose he was getting annoyed by your lack of work."
Rin pouted, "Who the hell is he anyway? Some punk probably, especially with that hair and piercings!"
Yukio's eyes were blocked by his glasses' reflection, "You're one to talk about punks Nii-san."
"Oy! Whose side are you on!" Rin argued.
Rin swore Yukio's face got darker when he said that, actually getting a few chills down his spine, as Yukio replied, "Let's see, whose do you think?"
Shiemi laughed at the two brother's antics. They were both teens, but they honestly acted like children at times!
Yukio pushed his glasses up, "Regardless, he's the heir apparently to an old and prestigious temple in Kyoto, so he has a lot to live up to."
"Oh, so he is a little rich kid?"
"But he is still an accomplished student, brilliant athlete, and attentive in all his classes. You could learn a thing or two from him, Nii-san."
Shiemi got up, and excused herself, "Ano… I have to go get ready for PE, so excuse me!"
And she left, leaving the two brothers alone.
Yukio talked to Rin a little more. "Speaking of demons Rin, where have you been stashing Kurikara? Aren't you supposed to carry it with you at all times?"
Rin started acting a little frantic, "Err… well, I, have it stashed somewhere safe!"
Yukio pushed his glasses up so they caught the lens glare, "Nii-san." He said dangerously.
Rin started waving his hands in front of him. "Don't worry! I'll start carrying it from now on!" Inside Satan was cursing, 'Damn it! I was hoping I didn't have to carry that thing around since it doesn't hold my powers any more! I don't want to carry a sword around everywhere! That just looks weird!'
Yukio went back to smiling Yukio, which Rin swears scared him even more. Yukio was disturbingly good at changing moods… "Good. Anyway, I have another class I need to teach. Don't be late to PE!" And he walked off, leaving Rin to stare.
Rin grumbled. 'Great. Now I have to undo my demon seals to get that stupid Kurikara…' He had used his knowledge of demon magic and seals to place Kurikara somewhere safe, i.e. another dimension, but now he had to undo them all just to get Kurikara again, which is a major pain in the ass… "Damn it Yukio!" He shouted, while everybody just looked at him.
It was finally time for PE class, and today was Practical Training, better known as the Holy Shit, Run like Hell, the Leaper is coming! class, which Bon and Rin were doing exactly in the Leaper pit. And of course, they were arguing at the same time.
"I don't know why the hell a guy like you is here. It's not like you're taking your studies seriously at all!" Bon panted.
"Hey! I'm a more learn-by-doing kind of guy! I can't stand sitting down!" Rin countered, but Satan added in his mind, 'Though, I spent most of my time sitting on my royal ass in my throne room brooding about how to conquer Assiah. Then again, if there was something I didn't understand, I incinerated it…' Rin shook his head as he continued, "Besides, it doesn't matter how smart you are, it won't do you good in the real world!"
"What was that?!" Bon yelled, trying to keep up with Rin. 'Damn it! This guy is seriously fast!'
He cut a corner in order to catch, "In the real world, whoever's standing at the end survives!" And he flying jump kicked Rin.
At least, he tried to. Rin sensed the danger, and grabbed Bon's leg, throwing him quite a distance, while everyone looked in awe while Bon bounced away. "Ha! Take that topknot!" Rin laughed, at least until he saw the Leaper pouncing on him.
"Gya!" Of course he couldn't use his flames either. That would piss off Yukio! Rin braced himself for a world of hurt.
"Oy!" Tsubaki-sensei reacted quickly and pulled the lever in front of him, dragging the Leaper back to the cage. "Are you two trying to get yourselves killed?!" He walked down as Rin and Bon starting fighting,
"Oy! We're still in the middle of class! I can't believe you two!" He pulled Rin away while Konekomaru and Shima pulled Bon away.
Izumo and Paku watched the entire thing, Izumo scoffing at the idiots while Paku just smiled. "Idiots." Izumo muttered.
"Bon, could I please talk with you?" Tsubaki-sensei dragged Bon away to talk with him, while Rin stared in annoyance.
"What is with that guy?"
"Sorry about that." Rin turned to face Bon's usual goons.
Rin scratched his face slightly in embarrassment, "Sorry, what're your guys's names again?"
Shima laughed, "I suppose sleeping through class would make it hard to remember." A tic mark appeared on Rin, "But I'm Shima Renzou, and this is Miwa Konekomaru."
Rin stared at them. Konekomaru seemed alright to him, a little nervous, but he seemed calm in the presence of friends. Shima seemed very lax and laid-back, especially since he dyed his hair pink, 'Seriously! Who even does that!' Satan muttered. However, he gave off somewhat of a weird vibe, but Satan dismissed it for now.
"Bon can be serious at times, but it's cause he's really driven about his ambition."
"What's that?" Rin asked, kind of curious.
Shima answered, "Bon's studying to be an exorcist so he can defeat Satan."
Rin dropped his jaw at that, his eye slightly twitching, "Wha?" He knows that he might be the ultimate evil and all that, but he's pretty certain he didn't do anything to piss this guy off!
"See? Makes you laugh, huh?"
"Wait, that was supposed to be funny?!"
Konekomaru finally picked up the conversation, "Bon's so intense because he wants to restore honor to our temple. It fell into ruin because of the Aoi Yoru, the Blue Night."
Rin froze at that. Blue, like his flames? "Aoi Yoru? What's that?" Rin asked confusedly.
"Eh?! You don't know about the Blue Night!" Shima said in bewilderment.
"The Blue Night is one of the darkest days in exorcist history. It happened 16 years ago when Satan massacred the world's most prominent clergymen." Konekomaru began.
Rin stared in amazement as Konekomaru continued. "According to the Head Priest, many of the clergymen began spouting blue flames from them as they all died painful deaths. Our priest remained huddled in a corner terrified, unable to move until dawn. He then finished his training and took over the temple, but the damage had been done. People started calling our temple the Cursed Temple, and one by one our followers slowly left…"
Satan was quite amazed. He honestly could not remember such a massacre, until his eyes widened at one key detail. 'Wait, 16 years ago? I remember that time! That's when Yuri had Yukio!' And memories began flooding through him again, as he remembered all the events of that night, forgotten in his haste.
Flashback
Satan was out and about, trying to find where exactly Yuri had gone off to this time. Of course, he was limited to a simple ball of flame since he couldn't exactly go for a leisurely stroll in Assiah. "Now how hard is it to find a pregnant woman in the middle of the forest!" He muttered in annoyance, plus a hint of worry. It was the middle of winter, and it was quite cold, so he was worried for both her and Yukio's sake, at least until he heard humming.
He came to the nearby stream, where Yuri was sitting under what shade the trees could offer her with no leaves, petting a hobgoblin. He paused to look at how serene she seemed. She almost seemed… angelic, but he shook such thoughts away. He had left that life a long, long time ago, but of course, he gathered himself and shouted, "YURI!"
Yuri jumped in surprise while the hobgoblin took off in fright. She turned to see the ball of flame there, and she could almost imagine him tapping his foot in annoyance. Of course, she wasn't going to let that stand either! She puffed her cheeks out, "What was that for!"
Satan blinked, or at least tried to. He was a ball of flame at the moment after all! This woman dared speak back to him, the Devil himself! She was something else! He continued though, "What are you doing out in the cold! Don't you have a child to worry about!"
Yuri's gaze softened at that, as she placed her hand on her stomach, smiling serenely at the life it contained within. She chuckled softly, "Fine. You win this one, Satan." And she followed the ball of flame back to their quaint little college.
She talked more with Satan later that day in the cottage, who then departed to take care of things in Gehenna. She finished her lunch, and started cleaning things up, until she heard a violent banging on her door. She turned in fear. 'Who could that be! Nobody should know I live here!" She slowly walked towards the door, unsure about whether or not she wanted to open it.
Unfortunately, she didn't have to make that decision, as a big, burly man jumped through the window. She screamed in terror as he walked over and opened up the door, allowing the other exorcists to enter in as well. She recognized one of the men as Fujimoto Shirou, questioning him "What are you doing Shirou! Why are you here!"
Fujimoto bowed his head, as a sorrowful frown marred his face, "Yuri, I'm sorry, but we're going to have to take you in."
Yuri's eyes widened, "On what charges!"
"On account of baring the child of Satan, you are charged with the ecclesiastical crime of consorting with high-level demons. As such, you have been condemned to death by the Grigori."
"What?! I haven't slept with any demons! My child is human!"
"Unfortunately, we have a witness who claims he saw you talking with Satan, and you called the child 'our child.'"
Yuri started shaking in fright. They honestly thought Yukio was Satan's child! She remembered that conversation too, but she wasn't talking about him fathering the child, she was talking about him being an older brother!
The big burly exorcist grabbed her as Fujimoto closed the cabin door and placed a key in the keyhole, linking it to the Vatican. She screamed, "Help!" As the exorcist lead her to Shirou who tried to lead her as gently as possible to the door.
Deep within the heart of Gehenna upon his royal throne, Satan heard, or rather, felt Yuri's cry for help. He stood quickly, shouting "Yuri!" much to the confusion of the castle of Pandaemonium. He converted all of his essence to flame as he rushed across the bounds of time and space. Although no form could hold him in Assiah for long, it might just buy him enough time!
Fujimoto had almost guided Yuri through the door until the first exorcist screamed.
"AGH! HELP ME!" And he fell to the ground burning, but what truly froze Fujimoto in fear was the color of the flames: brilliant azure blue flames.
Each of the exorcists quickly burst into flames as well as Fujimoto pushed Yuri through, and he felt a presence almost, he couldn't quite describe, as if it was as if another brain was trying to take control of him, but he quickly gathered all the strength of his will, and pushed it aside. And he shut the door, ignoring the cry of "Yuri!"
The burning bodies had quickly lit the rest of the cabin on fire, as Satan panicked. Yuri had told him that Yukio's life was far more important to her than anything else. He began rushing around with a speed unheard off, even in Biblical prophecy, starting from region to region. People looked on in terror as holy men of the cloth, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, Shinto, Hindu, all of them burst into flames inexplicably.
The phenomenon expanded from the region of Japan to include China, Russia, the Orthodox countries, to England, France, Germany, even America. Mass panic started at the magnitude of the massacre of holy men. Police authorities could never explain it, while the Vatican did what it could on damage control. The world must never learn of the world of demons. They could only imagine the horrors that would ensue should the wicked try to harness their powers.
The Vatican itself was on high alert, scrambling all orders of holy men. The Pope himself was escorted deep within the heart of the Vatican, to the chambers said to have been built by the Twelve Apostles themselves, and blessed with seals that not even Satan himself could break, while he could offer up his own supplications to the Lord. The bishops and archbishops themselves embarked to their respective dioceses and archdioceses, offering up prayers in supplication for protection, which the Lord granted, impeding Satan's progress, while priests and deacons departed for their local parish to pray.
The monastic orders also mobilized, setting up barriers and establishing protection for the lay people. Benedictine monks, Franciscan monks, Dominican monks, Jesuits, Carmelite nuns, Sisters of the Good Shepherd nuns, Clarisse nuns, Trappist monks, (2) just to list even a few, all moved as one body to ensure the protection of the innocent, even as the sheer presence of Satan incinerated them. They put the other's lives before their own.
Deep within the heart of the Vatican, a group of clergymen began setting up barriers to keep the Vatican out. Hieronymites (3) began gathering around the altar as candles burned, chanting a barrier spell. Five clergymen stood on the altar chanting as well. Four of them were quite young in age as well, but bearing the black cassock and the magenta sash of the ecclesiastical rank of monsignor (4). They chanted a protection spell to protect the cardinal (5) in the center, robed in his liturgical vestments, who was leading the main hymn.
The monks continued the chant, even as one of the candles suddenly blew out. They were truly terrified when the holy statue of the St. Helena began shedding tears of blood. Her statue cries only when times of great calamity are upon the Church!
"Stay calm!" Urged the cardinal. He would not let any harm come upon Assiah! "Now the hymn!"
The Hieronymites continued chanting, until they were interrupted again. This time, by one of their screaming in pain as his body erupted into blue flames until there was naught but ashes left.
The cardinal shouted, "You must keep chanting!" Even as they recoiled in horror, backing up and crossing themselves. But the damage had been done, the barrier had fallen, and like dominoes, one by one the monks burst into flames.
One of the monsignors jumped in front of the cardinal, asking "Please step back, Father!"
The cardinal countered, "Don't be ridiculous, if we succumb, who will be left to defend Assiah!"
Until he seized, as blue flames suddenly erupted from him. The monsignors fell back in horror, as the flames erupting from the cardinal grew in brilliance until they enveloped the entire hall.
From the outside, it was a almost surreal sight, as St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world, main capitol of the Vatican City, and the heart of the Catholic Church, was wreathed in blue flames and the dying screams of many innocent clergyman.
The bleeding and burning form of the cardinal walked into the central chambers of the Grigori, who as the heads of the Knights of the True Cross had been escorted safely away, where the pyre of Yuri had been lit. The cardinal, though possessed, and falling apart, grabbed a barrel of water and extinguished the pyre, grabbing Yuri and escorting her to a door, used her key to open a path to her cabin, whose door was fortunately still intact, and leaving the dying body of the cardinal behind, Satan departed with the pregnant Yuri Egin.
After that day, Father Fujimoto Shirou, newly elected Paladin of the Knights of the True Cross adopted two young infants, Rin and Yukio Okumura, while Yuri Egin was labeled deceased under witness of Fujimoto and Sir Mephisto Pheles, precept of the Knights' Japanese branch. The throne room of Gehenna was left absent, under the mysterious disappearance of its king.
End Flashback
Satan came back to the present day, while Shima and Konekomaru were still talking with him. "Both Shima and I are both members of Bon's temple. We followed him to help bring life back to our temple, so please cut him some slack."
Rin narrowed his eyes. 'I had forgotten about how many clergymen I had killed trying to save Yuri…' He turned to look at Bon who had finished talking with Tsubaki-sensei. 'This guy… might be justified for hating me…'
Bon walked over to Rin, ready to say something, until they all heard a cell phone ring. Everyone looked around, trying to find out whose phone was ringing. Bon asked the obvious question, "Whose phone is that ringing in the middle of class?"
Tsubaki-sensei answered it, causing Bon to face-plant into the ground. "Hello? This is he? What's the issue, honey?" His face widened in shock as he gave a glance to the students. "Y-you mean now?! Well, I'm kind of busy…" He sighed, "You really are a handful my honey…" He hung up the phone, "Attention everyone! Until I get back, this class is going to be a study session! Do not go into the Leaper cage at all, they will read your minds and use any weakness you have. Now…" Tsubaki-sensei took off running. "I'm coming my little kitty!"
"Oy…Did you hear he said my cute little kitty?" Shima asked.
"What a creep." Izumo said.
"Tch. What kind of place is this?" Bon said. "I thought this was supposed to be a sacred place where only the motivated go. Not with teachers like that, and people like this guy!" He glared at Rin.
"Oh shut the hell up!" Rin countered. He was really starting to get annoyed at the arrogance of this brat, and he started a freaking war over his own pride!
"I heard this kid is some kind of special case. You're just some spoiled rich kid, aren't you?"
Rin wanted to laugh. He was raised in a freaking monastery for 16 years! Then again, he was the king of Hell… "If you want to carry out your ambition, that's fine with me." Rin countered, 'You'll find it a lot harder than you think, boy!' he added mentally. "I'm just here to look after my little brother."
"Ha! You mean Okumura-sensei! I think he'll do a better job looking after you!"
"Why you-"
"If you want to be show me you want to be an exorcist, prove it!"
"Prove it? How?" Rin asked. He was legitimately a demon after all, so he absolutely loves wagers. He just can't resist them!
"With that!" Bon pointed to the Leaper. "They sense weakness, anger, fear, jealousy, sadness. If you're weak in spirit, you're dead! This should be nothing if you want to be an exorcist! I'll do it too, and I'll win of course."
Rin gave him a deadpan look. There's no fun to a wager if the other side doesn't have a decent chance at winning. Only weak demons make wagers that are almost unbeatable! "Fat chance. I'm not gonna waste my time on something like that!"
"Please. You'll want to focus on trying to fulfill you're ambition more. You'll need every last inch of will if you want to defeat him."
Bon gave his friends a death glare. "You told him!" They pointed at each other. "Tch! You're all just mocking me! To hell with this, I'm gonna do it!" And he slid down the wall.
"Oy! Bon! Stop it!" Shima yelled.
Bon walked straight to the Leaper, and stopped in front of it, memories of his childhood and the disappointment in his father echoing through his mind. 'I'm not a coward like you!' He focused on the Leaper. "I"m gonna be a real exorcist, and defeat Satan!"
Rin blinked. He actually said it! 'Perhaps you might be more impressive than I thought, Ryuuji Suguro…'
Izumo started laughing hard, "Ha! You? Defeat Satan? In your dreams! Nobody even knows what happened to Satan! You'll have to find him first!"
Rin glared at her. He was nearly ready to unleash his own special type of hell on this girl if she didn't shut her stupid mouth!
Bon clenched his hands in frustration, as others had acted the same way towards him. "Stop laughing at my ambition!" He yelled, trying to hold back all the frustration he had felt because of this.
The Leaper felt the weakness in his heart though, and immediately pounced on him. Bon recoiled, fully expecting to die, while everyone else expected the same as well, until they felt a sudden gust of wind.
They all turned to see Rin running extraordinarily fast, as he leapt from high atop the wall into the pit. He maneuvered almost acrobatically in the air, adjusting his balance on form, and slam kicked the Leaper into the ground, sending up enormous plumes of smoke while shattering the ground at the same time.
The explosion sent Bon flying back into the wall as well, knocking the wind out of him. He looked up to see Rin standing there, one foot planted firmly on the unconscious Leaper's head, glaring at it. Bon swore it was almost like looking at a demon out of the deepest pits of Hell, and Rin turned to face him, his eyes looking like shades of red and blue were mixing together as one.
"If you want to face Satan, and you couldn't even face this thing, you stand a ice cube's chance in hell!"
Bon blinked, "Huh?"
Rin walked off, "Get stronger, or else you'll burn like the exorcists who fell before you."
Satan did not save Bon out of the mere goodness of his heart. No, quite the opposite. 'Get stronger, Ryuuji Suguro, and I will eagerly await you. Then once I have shown you the deepest pits of despair, then I will let you die.'
Yukio dropped his gun, which he had trained on the group at all times in case the Leaper went out of control. "No, Sir Pheles. He did not draw on his flames. He relied on his own natural abilities to put down the Leaper. Yes sir, I understand sir." And he hung up his phone.
'The power of Satan is beyond your wildest dreams, Sir Pheles.' He narrowed his eyes at the scene. He must admit, his brother is a lot stronger than he gave him credit for…
"Your brother is quite the impressive lad, Yukio-san." Yukio turned to face Tsubaki-sensei, who was watching the scene as well. "I've never seen anyone force a Leaper to submit by sheer strength alone."
"Yeah, but it doesn't matter. I joined the Knights to protect him, and that's what I fully intend to do."
Tsubaki rubbed his five o' clock shadow, "At the state he's at, I think he might be more able to protect you than you him."
Yukio sighed, "Regardless, thank you for following along with this little ploy to test him. I understand it was an inconvenience for your teaching."
"It was nothing at all! I was just repaying you for saving my life on that one mission! Now speaking of that, I have to get back to my kitten! I'm coming my little kitty!" And he ran back.
Yukio pinched his glasses. Tsubaki was a strong exorcist, if not a little eccentric. He watched his brother for a little bit longer, than walked back into the shadows to head to his next class.
The next break period however, he looked like Sir Pheles had burst into a room and announced he was renouncing anime and his otaku ways forever. Rin was reading?! Yukio's eyes started sliding off his face as his eye twitched. Shiemi smiled at Yukio's usual reaction when something like this happened.
"N-nii-san? What're you doing?"
Rin looked up from his book, "What's it look like I'm doing? I'm studying!"
Yukio grabbed one of his spare bullets and dropped it. Yep, gravity was still working, but still! "Nii-san is reading?!" He exclaimed, "This is a bad omen. The apocalypse is happening soon!" And he ran off in panic, Rin and Shiemi watching him in confusion.
"Um, Rin? Is your brother okay?" Shiemi asked.
"I think?" Rin answered. 'So I got bored after not reading a book for a few years! I can still read though!' He turned when he heard the door opening, seeing Bon enter in. He walked up to Rin's desk. He tried looking every direction except Rin's.
"I never got the chance to say this, but… thanks."
"Whatever. It was nothing." Rin replied as he tried to brush his hair out of the way. A hair-clip was held out in front of his face.
"Here, take this. It'll help keep the hair out of your face." Bon said.
Rin stared at it for a while, then smiled, "Keep it. I'm not so weak as to need a paperclip to read!"
Bon smiled, "Whatever. Don't come crying to me when you can't read!" And he walked out.
Shiemi got up as well. "I need to head home now, but have a nice day Rin!" And she left as well, leaving Rin alone as well.
Rin blew his hair out of the way as he tried to continued reading. 'A decent offer, Ryuuji Suguro, but I can't accept it. I don't need anything to hold me back when you ultimately confront me!' His hair fell back in front of his face again. 'Although, it would be useful…' He brushed his hair out of the way, cursing his pride.
Mephisto waited on top of the skyscraper in construction, Yukio's report on the incident magically floating in front of him while he sipped his tea. His expected arrival was running late as usual. Honestly, a proper demon is always on time!
He turned as another person appeared on the boy, appearing no older than a teen about to become a young adult. He had a very… unique sense of clothing, a mishmash of colors in a vest, shorts, overcoat among other things. The other traits were the pointed ears signifying him as a demon, his green hair with the spike, and his light blue eyes.
Mephisto addressed him, "It's been a long time, Chi no O, Earth King, Amaimon."
"Yes. It's been a long time, Aniki."
"What is the reaction in Gehenna?"
"Everyone's in an uproar. Ever since Father disappeared, the factions clambering for succession of a new king are going absolutely ballistic. They are demanding you turn him over to place him as king."
Mephisto took a sip from his tea, "Then tell them he is not ready yet. What's the status of Astaroth?"
"Brother is still unconscious. Whatever our little brother did to him has left him in a coma, and we honestly don't know when he'll wake up."
"Hm… That is troublesome. Go relay the message to our brethren, unless there's something more?"
"I was just wondering when you'll return to Gehenna."
"Go." Amaimon left, although Mephisto sensed disappointment in him. "I'm not going to leave my favorite toy box anytime soon! What better place for a prodigal son like me than here!"
He took another sip of tea as he continued reading Yukio's report. "Just what happened to you, Satan? Whatever it was, I intend to find out!"
Rin tossed and turned in his sleep again, dreams of the past once again coming to haunt him.
Satan stared at the corpse of his right-hand man, and long time friend, Beelzebub. He would not cry no matter what, but he cursed the Almighty even more. He would not forgive Him for this. EVER!
He released his brilliant blue flames, flooding the abyss of Gehenna with ethereal blue light, incinerating even more of the already charred landscape as he channeled his anger. "GOD! This is the final straw! I don't care what you throw at me! I will never submit to you! I will never bow! I will never yield! Not until the day where you fall beaten at my feet!"
He plunged his hand deep into the dirt of the abyss, and focused his powers into it. The ground began to shudder as massive amounts of it were upheaved. Giant spires and towers emerged as a giant castle began to take form, all the while burying the still form of Beelzebub. His castle would be his friend's monument!
Satan looked at the black skies of Gehenna, perched on the spires oh his castle, steadily lifting him higher and higher. "So in the depths of this abyss, even God's light can't breach it… No, that isn't right. Rather, we are hidden from His light. No, we aren't worthy of his light! Then so be it!" He gazed upon the vast barren expanse of Gehenna. "We are hidden from God, just as he created this world to hide us. Then I, ha-Satan, hereby bestow a new name on you, I hereby declare you Hell, the hidden world (6)! And I hereby christen this Pandaemonium, my castle, and tomb to Beelzebub (7)!"
"I hereby set myself as ruler of Hell, and leader of the fallen angels and demons. Should anyone ever dare to oppose me, I will kill them myself! If these barren wastelands are what are given to us, with the golden gates of Heaven forever lost, then so be it!" He spread his wings, no longer white but black as the abyss, and launched himself up. "Evil, be thou my good! Farewell, brilliant lights of Heaven! Farewell, radiance of God! Farewell, all peace and happiness! Thus, Hell shall forever be my Heaven! No longer will I submit under your tyranny, O God!" He began to rain his fire down upon the barren earth, as his voice raised in madness, anger, and pride. "Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven!"(8)
" καὶ ἐβλήθη ὁ δράκων ὁ μέγας, ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὁ καλούμενος Διάβολος καὶ ὁ Σατανᾶς, ὁ πλανῶν τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην, ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν γῆν, καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτοῦ ἐβλήθησαν. "
"Et projectus est draco ille magnus, serpens antiquus, qui vocatur diabolus, et Satanas, qui seducit universum orbem : et projectus est in terram, et angeli ejus cum illo missi sunt. "
"The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it."
Revelations 12:9
" ὅτι ὄψομαι τοὺς οὐρανούς ἔργα τῶν δακτύλων σου σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας ἃ σὺ ἐθεμελίωσας."
"Quoniam videbo cælos tuos, opera digitorum tuorum, lunam et stellas quæ tu fundasti."
"When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place.."
Psalms 8:4
Ta da! My longest chapter so far. Anyway, here's a key for everything, including some of the references, as well as the some of the other information.
1- The information for these comes from the scripture verses from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, specifically Luke ch.4 and Matthew ch.4.
2-To be clear, all of these are indeed official monastic orders of the Church. And to be honest, it's only a few of them. The Church has a crap-load of various orders, and I'm still trying to sort through them all!
3-On what I have analyzed at the beginning of the anime, based on the design of the habit of the monks, they belong to the Hieronymite order inspired on the teachings of St. Jerome and the rule of St. Augustine, two very early doctors of the Church.
4-Monsignor is one of the ranks that clergymen in the Church can be given. Although it seems it can be given most often to bishops, it is a very prestigious honorific. They usually wear magenta sashes, in contrast to the red that cardinals are given. It seems in the anime the four clergymen are cardinals, but in order to add variety, I decided to make them monsignors instead. Plus, they were all a bit too young to be cardinals...
5-Just to clarify, and this is very important. The cardinal is not Ernst. I am not including him in any way shape or form in this fanfic!
6-Hell comes from the Old English meaning to hide, so Hell literally does mean hidden.
7-Pandaemonium is the name of the castle in Paradise Lost, and Satan's main headquarters. It means "all demons.'
8-These are some of the most famous lines from John Milton's Paradise Lost, one of the most influential books behind the creation of this fanfic. "Evil be thou my Good" and "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven" are just the tip of the iceberg! Expect more references soon, and you all should check out the book as well! Oh, and just to clarify Beelzebub in the flashbacks and the King of Insects are two different people with the same name! That could be important later on!
Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought! Or else I'll make you watch what Professor Tsubaki and his kitty do... Cheers!
Shinigami
"Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. "The Lord is my strength and my song." (Ps 118:14). "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (Jn 16:33)."
Catechism of the Catholic Church: 1808