Okay, I wanted to get this up before Friday. To my followers, I may or may not be updating for the next three weeks. (Everyone is going to hate me for this, for one particular reason...). I am currently studying abroad in... Japan! It's a really intensive course, and I am looking forward to it a lot, especially because I want to study some of the Roman Catholic church architecture there. Regardless, it's a fair warning, as I don't know much about what we will be doing there, so it's a bit of a gray zone, but I will keep you all updated! Also, everyone will hate me as well, but I am also planning a trip to visit the anime Holy Land, Akihabara! It's gonna be fun!
Disclaimer: I do not known Blue Exorcist; only Kazue Kato-dono does. *sobs*
Thank you to ef07, Itharax, Makoto4days, YokaiAngel, Guest, Guest, somethingCool24x15, Guest, ShadeAllure, SakuraKoi, CrystalofTime, justaislinn, ElectraX12, Moonview, Lughv, FancyUsername, and the Hazel-Eyed Bookworm! Everyone else gets Satan! Yay!
Thank you as well to all those who favorited and followed. I apologize to those who thought the next chapter was going to be the Training Camp arc. Not yet! There's several important things for the plot that will be set up in this chapter, so I am proud to announce... the first almost entirely original chapter! You might have noticed that I use a lot of the episode material, but now it's mostly original, so any reviews here will be really useful! Now onto the show!
"But who prays for Satan? Who in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most, our one fellow and brother who most needed a friend yet had not a single one, the one sinner among us all who had the highest and clearest right to every Christian's daily and nightly prayers, for the plain and unassailable reason that his was the first and greatest need, he being among sinners the supremest?"
Mark Twain
Heaven smoked, and fires blazed as the destruction was widespread and enormous. The beautiful, crystalline towers were shattered, and the golden arches broken. Above it all, stood the armies of the Lord triumphant.
Battered, broken, and bloodied, they still stood, heads lifted high, as they looked down upon the traitor, the murderer, the sinner, the former Seraphim. However, it was a bitter-sweet victory as they looked upon the fallen one, one who had served as a pillar of virtue, of excellence, and none other than a older brother as well. Lucifer, now forever known as ha-Satan, the Adversary, he who was eternally opposed to God.
Trumpets blared, as the crowd of angels parted, and marched forward the seven who stood before the Lord, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Ramiel, and Sariel, now the highest angels in all of Shamayim. And all the angel bowed, as He, the Lord God, Adonai, marched forward before the fallen angel.
Satan just looked on with contempt, as the Lord stood above him, wreathed in glory. He shuddered with rage, as he looked on the Lord's splendor. That should have been his! God wasn't worthy of it! He just spit blood at God's feet, while everyone gasped at the sheer audacity of the once splendid angel. "So, come to gloat over your victory, eh, Father!~" He said, stressing the word mockingly.
God merely shook his head. "There would be no point to doing so, my prodigal son. To do so would merely inflate your own bravado. Something which you sadly have enough of as is." Satan bristled at the slight, but still said nothing. "It is a great tragedy, that you've led so much of Shamayim astray, and for what? You're own self-satisfaction." God chuckled slightly, then sighed. "It is a shame. The fact you stand there, still proud of your revolt, yet you don't understand the magnitude of the suffering you've put upon yourself."
His eyes lowered in sorrow. "I pity you, Lucifer, and now I strip of both your glory..." He held his hand, extended, as Satan watched as the light was drained from him, and his once beautiful white wings, faded and lost their color, as they melted to a hideous black, the light returning to its source that was the Lord. "And I strip you of your name. No longer, shall you be Lucifer, the Light-bearer. By the sin of your pride, you have set yourself as an enemy to me. From now on, you are My adversary, and so I give you a cursed new name, forevermore, ha-Satan. (1)
The newly-knighted Satan bristled in wrath, as he saw the pity in God's eyes, as well as in those of the other angels, while Michael shook his head, and Gabriel looked away in sorrow. How dare they! How dare they think he wanted their pity! "Don't look at me with those eyes! How dare you all deign to pity me!" Satan raged, his pride offended at the slight. "I'm above you all! I'm better! More perfect!" He burst into his signature blue flames. "I'm stronger that you all could ever hope to be! Don't dare to flatter yourselves by pitying me!"
God merely shook his head, "How wrong you are, my poor, unfortunate son..." But his voice seemed to get further and further away, and Satan watched as the ground gave way beneath him, while the Celestial Host just seemed to melt away. And he fell, for what felt like days, he fell.
He had no control, as he free-fell, when he heard a dreadfully familiar voice. "It's all your fault, Satan." And before him, Beelzebub, brown hair matted in blood, fresh from his wound, while his eyes were entirely dead.
"No... no, you're gone! You're dead! You can't be here!" Satan raved, horror filling him, as Beelzebub reached out and with a grip fiercer than the iron gates of hell, clutched Satan's throat.
"You convinced us all to rebel, for what? The sake of your pride! Now look at us!" And Satan looked around, and saw the fallen angels, all looking upon with anger and pity. "We were much better off before! We were champions! Now, they are condemned to the pit for all eternity! And me, Satan?! I'm dead!" If it were possible, Beelzebub tightened his grip, while Satan struggled feebly, frantically trying to get a breath, all his strength seemingly leaving him. "Maybe you should just die as well!"
All it ended with Satan finally hit a surface, with a loud crash. Broken, he slowly, painfully got up and looked around, and he saw nothing. He tried to summon his flames to illuminate the area, but he couldn't even get a spark going, and yet another voice rang through, and this one made his blood run ice-cold.
"Satan, I thought I could count on you to protect me..."
With fear, he turned around, and lo, it was Yuri, burned, decrepit, and yet even then, Satan reached for her. "Yuri?" Yet when he grabbed her wrist, he recoiled in horror, as she decayed, leaving nothing but frayed clothes, and a skeleton, and yet still it spoke, even as bugs moved all over it, crawling from everywhere, the empty eye sockets, the barren ribs.
"How can you protect Yukio, if you couldn't even protect me? You promised."
She gradually sank into the ground. "If you can't keep your promises..." Satan looked down, as he saw himself sinking into the ground as well. "Maybe you should've stayed missing."
Satan tried everything, as he was slowly sucked into the bottomless abyss, clawing, scratching, trying to fly, but nothing seemed to work, as he slowly he was overtaken, hand outstretched, desperately beckoning for someone to take it, even as he saw the fallen angels, Yuri, the Celestial host, and God looking on, no one offered a hand. "No..." the ground began to overtake his sight. "No..." the ground overtook his arm. "No..." Finally it began to consume his hand.
"NO!" In a cold sweat, Rin burst up from his spot on the roof, gasping for breath, and absolutely soaked with sweat. He gradually calmed down, but rested his head on his head, while he just stood still.
"What... was that..." He muttered. That was different. He was accustomed to having those random flashbacks, but that wasn't a memory. That was... some kind of nightmare.
"Heh... imagine that... Me, the lord of all evil, bothered by a nightmare..." He chuckled. "I must be getting weak..."
He plopped back down, watching the sky, and feeling the wind on his face, perhaps his favorite sensation. It let him know that he was here in Assiah, that he finally had what he wanted! But... at the same time, he had to be careful. Mephisto was attempting to manipulate him, and the Vatican could kill him if he wasn't careful. That is, assuming he could be killed. 'Not like they wouldn't do everything in their power to find out...'
"It's not even time for class... But, I don't think I'll be getting back to sleep after that..." He grabbed Kurikara and used it to prop himself up. "Might as well head there for once..." He said, as he headed off. "All I can do now is empty my head and move forward... for now."
Needless to say, everyone was quite surprised when they got there to find that he was the first one there for once. Although they also noticed one thing. "Oy, Okumura-kun, all you alright? You look a little pale." Shima asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine..." Rin muttered, hoping they'd go away.
"Are you certain? You don't look too well." Konekomaru added, not noticing that Rin began clenching the table tighter.
"I'm sure he's fine. He's Okumura after all." Bon said, as he herded them towards their usual table.
For once, Rin was actually glad for Bon's albeit unintentional help. Shiemi came in as well, and sat down, but kept giving concerned glances to Rin every now and then. Izumo looked like she wanted to say something as well, but Rin silenced her with his glare.
A distraction was provided when Shura just barged through the door, having changed her pants for short shorts, and just plomped down on the table. "Nice to meet you!" She said, in a really high pitched, girly voice, with a giant shit-eating grin on her face. "I was dispatched by the Vatican Headquarters. I'm Kirigakure Shura, 18 years old! Whatever! I was taking classes with you guys for the past three months. Let's get along! Nya ha ha!"
Everyone had mixed reactions. Rin didn't care. He knew she was lying about her age anyway. (What? He IS the lord of lies!). Shiemi was confused. Shima was looking at... other things. Everyone else just didn't know what to think.
"Let's see... I'm in charge of teaching you magic circles, seals and... Damn, even swords?"
"Um... Sensei?" Bon said, raising his hand.
"Huh? What is it, Suguro?" She said.
Bon stood up. "Why did you disguise yourself as a student?"
"Adult matters. None of you kids' business."
"Kids?" Bon coughed out.
"Sensei! Neuhaus-sensei was our teacher for that class." Izumo said, just standing up. "Why would he be transferred in the middle of the term?"
Shura grunted, "Um... He's on maternity leave! Maternity!"
Izumo slammed her hands down. "Neuhaus-sensei is a man!" She was hiding something. She was sure of it!
"Fine, then it's paternity leave, or whatever. Just ask the Principal if you care so much about it!" Shura barked out. Honestly, she didn't know. Neuhaus just suddenly vanished as if... nah, like it or not. He was tough as balls. Nothing could make him kick the bucket, right? Shura felt a chill go down her spine at that same moment, as she noticed Hikaru in the back, having said not a single word, or even moved, yet she felt that he knew something...
Shiemi leaned over to Rin, "Ne, Rin? Do you think Neuhaus-sensei is all right? I'm a little worried.
'I fucking burned him to ashes.'
"I'm sure he's alright! He's probably off playing with one of his corpses or something like that!" Rin said, a smile on his face.
"Now then, let's get ready to start the class!" Shura began, "Introduction to sigils, from the part about geomancy. Now then, Shima-san, will you please read?"
While Shima stood up to read, Rin just couldn't help but chuckle silently at the irony of his statement to Shura yesterday, 'Heh, I can't believe I am that stupid... To think, I, Satan, lord of evil, would be willing to reduce myself to this state... all for the sake of Yukio... God... you really love your irony...'
After class, right as everyone was about to get up, Shura's phone rang. "What, who's this now?"
Shima asked, "Um, Sensei? Can we leave now?" But Shura just ignored him as she kept talking on her phone, as her eyes widened.
"Yes, sir, yes, I understand. From where? In how long? Alright. I will." And with that, she hung up, and made an announcement. "Alright! Listen up! Normally, I would dismiss you, but we have a special case this time." She ignored the obligatory AWW! as she continued speaking. "Apparently, one of the higher ups has decided to visit the rising exwires."
Everyone's eyes widened at that, as Bon asked, "Why would they take an interest in us?"
Shura answered, "The higher ups generally do take an interest in our rising exorcists, usually those that are in their particular diocese. They are greatly concerned with our exorcist program, particularly because they know it's important for the well-being of the church; at least those who know about our existence anyway."
At this point, Izumo asked the question, "What do you mean, those who know?"
Shura looked genuinely confused at that. "What? They haven't explained that to you yet?" Everyone shook their heads. She sighed. "That's troublesome. Well, I guess I can explain, but since not all of you are Catholic, I'll have to explain the hierarchy of the Catholic Church."
*THWACK!* "UGH!" Rin groaned, as he just face-planted into his table for no apparent reason.
"Oy! Okumura, I don't care if you left the stove on or something! Don't interrupt me!" Shura yelled, a tic mark on her head.
"Yes, sensei..." Rin groaned, although in his head. 'God damn it... I never realized it, but keeping my promise to Yuri meant I was raised a God damn Catholic! They're the reason I could never get hold of the world in the first place!'
"Anyway," Shura cleared her throat. "As you know, the Church is headed by the Supreme Pontiff, the Pope, who, according to the Catholic interpretation of Sacred Scripture is taken as the successor of St. Peter, according to the Gospel of Matthew, when Christ made declared him the rock he would build his Church on. And by extension as well, of St. Paul, by virtue of their shared martyrdom in Rome at the hand of the Roman Empire. For this reason, the diocese of Rome is given special precedence, and regarded as the mother see of the Church."
"Under the Pope is the College of Cardinals, who are elevated from priests and bishops; many of them play in important role in the Roman Curia, the administrative branch of the Church, and as you might know, are responsible for electing the Pope upon the incumbent's death."
Konekomaru asked, "So can anyone become Pope?"
"According to canon law, any Catholic male who has reached the age of reason can become Pope. However, he has to be ordained prior to crowning, and he must be able to speak Italian. In theory, any male in this room could be elected the Pope, like Okumura for example, but traditionally, it's almost always been another one of the cardinals. Plus, he'd have to convert, be ordained, and named a bishop. It's just too complicated!"
Rin just chuckled, 'Yeah, and maybe you'll dress moderately for once! Like hell, that'll happen!' The irony of such an instance would just kill him!
"Underneath the cardinals are the bishops, archbishops, metropolitans, primates, etc. who are responsible for managing their particular sees, although many times some bishops are cardinals as well, so they share a dual function. After that of course is the parish which is managed by a parochial vicar, or head priest." Shura finished. "That's basically a general run-down."
Shima just groaned, "It's so complicated!"
"Anyway, to answer Izumo's question, in terms of knowledge of the Order, only the Pope, and the senior half of the College of Cardinals are made aware of the Order's existence."
It was Shiemi's turn to ask. "Why is that?"
"Two words: Plausible Deniability. It's very important that our existence is kept secret for two reasons. One, we must prevent the knowledge of demon's existence from ever being discovered. It's fine if people believe in them, but we must never let them try to harness their power. There's a disaster if I've heard of one. Two, can you imagine the sheer panic that would arise if it was found out there was a secret military organization in the Church?"
For once, Hikaru spoke up, "If word got out, no doubt many paranoid nations, some probably under the influence of demons, would do everything they could to destroy the Church, which would mean checkmate for the human race. And all the others would pile us under useless bureaucracy in order to keep their own security, which would produce only the same effect."
Sura nodded as she leapt off the table, and walked over to the door, shuffling her keys. Finding the right one, she inserted it into the keyhole and twisted, "Now, I'd like to introduce His Excellency, Cardinal Peter Fumio Shirayanagi, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Tokyo, and one of the main overseers of the Japan branch of the Knights of the True Cross." She announced as she opened the door, and allowed a middle-aged man in, only starting to go gray.
He looked like a very simple man, clad in the standard black cassock and white collar of a priest, but trimmed with red to indicate his upper-level position as a cardinal. Over that his waist was wrapped with a crimson fascia, a sash ending with a fringe. Over his shoulders he wore a pellegrina, a shoulder cape also with red piping, reaching down to his elbows. Finally, on his head, he wore the red zuchetto, the skullcap of many higher level clerics, and upon his chest his simple silver pectoral cross. However, his eyes indicated a very kind demeanor, and his face only just showed aging. He bowed respectfully towards them all.
"Nice to meet you all. Shura has probably introduced myself by now, but I am Cardinal Peter Fumio Shirayanagi, Archbishop of Tokyo, and one of the overseers of the Japan Knights." He bowed again, "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."
"Ah, I suppose I should introduce them all." Shura pointed out. "These three are Ryuuji Suguro, Shima Renzou, and Konekomaru Miwa." Cardinal Shirayanagi bowed in respect.
"Ah, the heir to the Myou Dha sect." He began, "We are very grateful for your help. Ever since the Blue Night, we've needed every last ally we can get. We lost many members that night."
"This is Kamiki Izumo, Nemu Takara, and Moriyama Shiemi."
"Ah, another shrine heir, and our resident Exorcist Shop's daughter. It's a pleasure to meet you as well."
Shura finally turned to the last two, "These are Kageyama Hikaru, and Okumura Rin."
Cardinal Peter smiled, "I'm not familiar with the first, but I have heard of you, Okumura Rin. You're Okumura Yukio's elder brother? Aren't you? Hopefully, his exorcist skills are genetic! Ha ha ha!" He laughed heartily, which everyone very quickly joined in. He was a very cheerful man, and his presence just exuded kindness!
A tick mark just appeared on Rin's head, 'This old coot! He has no idea who he's talking to! Why I oughta-' He was interrupted by the Cardinal, who once again began speaking.
"It is an honor to meet you all. You might not understand just how important you all are for the fate of this world. Every day, the agents of Hell infiltrate this world more and more. It is our job to prevent that, per the Secret Commission."
Hikaru was curious at this, and actually spoke up for once, "Secret Commission? What's that?"
"Ah," The Cardinal began, "Many of you are perhaps aware of the Great Commission given to the Apostles by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, 'Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.' Chapter 28, Verse 19. It is after the mission statement of the Catholic Church. However, within the order itself, we have secret traditions, left to us by the Apostles themselves, who founded the Order, and had it spread over time across the world. They tell us, 'Be noble and courageous in heart, pure in character, kind in spirit; for the protection of the innocent, take up your sword and fight against the snares and fires of Gehenna.' It has been the duty of the Order for years, both to ensure the protection of this world, and to keep knowledge of the other worlds secret. I'm sure I don't need to explain why."
"How has the Order been able to keep itself secret for so long?" Konekomaru asked, genuinely curious.
"It's been a very long, and arduous struggle. Sometimes, less... that ethical methods have been used. It is absolutely necessary that our existence is kept secret, and so, although many of the higher-ups disprove of it, sometimes other methods must be taken. There are numerous examples, the French Revolution was orchestrated by the Order, in order to ensure that the French monarchy did not reveal our existence, since their agents had been getting close to our trail, and as such, we had to remain quiet. Another famous historical event was the reign of Pope Boniface VIII, who came into conflict with several kings, who were exorcists as well, who believed that the order should be subject to their reign, while Boniface believed it should be subject to the Papacy; the consequence of that was the formation of the Grigori, who ensured that the Order was still under the Church's control, but could not be used as an enforcement agency for the Pope. The last remaining example was the American Civil War. It is the only time the Order has ever interfered in American history, in order to respect the dignity of human life, we helped instigate the war to end slavery. General Sherman was a notable leader, and his guidance was invaluable, as he helped end the war, and also helped establish the Order's presence." (1)
"Wow! I can't believe the Order has that much influence!" Shima said.
"Yes, but it's also not cheap! You have no idea how hard the Vatican works to keep how much money we actually have a secret. Admittedly, yes, we do more charity than any other organization in the history of the world, and being so ancient means you wrack up a few funds, but if anyone should find out there's a large amount of money that just seems to disappear, we wouldn't be able to explain that." He sighed, "So many nations have started to interfere, it's quite the tragedy... However, we do what we can, especially since we fear what should happen should Satan return."
Rin perked up at that, "What do you mean?" He asked. Honestly, he was curious to see what information the cardinal had.
Cardinal Shirayanagi lost himself in thought for a bit, before he continued. "Not much information is known, even to us upper-levels. We've heard rumors of an exorcist who became affiliated with Satan..."
'Yuri...' He thought.
"... But even then, we don't know why Satan of all times attacked, nor why he disappeared. However, if we thought Satan's disappearance would have made things better, on the contrary, they've become even worse. Demons seem to have begun attacking even more fiercely, and even more randomly. Just recently, a scientist just commited suicide after discovering a rare cure. We did an investigation, and found that he did so under demonic influence... It's quite sad. Hell's road certainly is paved with good intentions..." He crossed his arms, "I don't suppose I could ever claim to understand his actions, but certainly, he is quite tragic."
Bon scoffed at that, "Please, as if anything about that monster could ever be tragic!"
Cardinal Peter shook his head, "No, I must disagree with you... You see, in Catholic tradition, as you know, Satan is the new name of a fallen Seraphim, the highest who ever was in Heaven. However, you might be curious about this. Did you know that the Virgin Mary, and Satan actually share a title?"
"Really? What title is that?" Shiemi asked, genuinely curious.
"Morning Star. For Satan, it's the meaning of his old name, the title Lucifer. For Mary, the title was taken from the Song of Songs, which we of the Church have applied to her for centuries. This is turn, is why I think that Satan is so tragic. For whatever reason, he was created so perfect, and yet, he fell. The highest being in Heaven, and yet for the sake of his own pride, he lost it all. Perhaps he was called the Morning Star because next to God, he lit up the heaven as if it was morning, even still compared to God's glory. As such, according to the book of Genesis, eternal enmity was set between him and the woman. Mary was the New Morning Star, because she was Satan's replacement. She was created the perfect human, whose glory was so great that it was the replacement for the void that Satan left."
Everyone nodded, as he continued. "Satan is a creature that exists only for himself, and loves only himself. Everything he does is to move his own position higher, and doing so only increases his damnation. All of human suffering has come from him. Perhaps, you might have heard of the nature of intercessory prayer, that is, praying for God's grace to come upon others, especially sinners. However, Satan and the fallen angels are those who cannot be aided by it. Their pride has taken them too far, and it is entirely irreversible. If even in the full presence of God, he rejected him, then how could prayer help him? That to me, is tragic. I have to admit, I really do pity him... Regardless, It has been a pleasure to have met all of you. And I hope you all do great things." Cardinal Shirayanagi bowed again, and Shura opened the door again, and with that he was gone.
"Alright, everyone! Sorry to keep to longer! Now, don't forget to do your homework, and get the hell out!" Shura yelled, as she bounded out, wanting some alcohol.
Everyone got up as well, but Shiemi noticed something was off with Rin. Who she noticed had gotten up rather fast, especially the claw marks that were left on his table! She quickly followed him, noticing he was twitching a lot, and his hands were clenched. "Rin, are you alright?" She asked.
"Yes, I'm fine, Shiemi." He said, but she could tell it was through clenched teeth.
"Are you sure, Rin?" She insisted.
"YES." Rin said louder.
"But-"
"I SAID I'M FINE!" Rin shouted, turning around, rage in his face. Shiemi backed up, very clearly scared, as Rin stomped off again. 'Rin...' She thought, watching his back.
Rin was downright furious. How dare that Cardinal! How dare he say he could love no one! How dare he pity him! How dare he! He thought, as he marched off to find the nearest train to Bunkyo.
Mephisto marched off yet to another meeting with the Grigori, honestly, it might have been impending war, but he had anime to watch! Plus, there was the fact that he still couldn't find Amaimon. He was quite concerned about that. It wasn't like Amaimon to just disappear like that. Normally, he'd been trying to get Amaimon to go away, not to find him! However, he did finally arrive, much to the impatience of the Grigori.
"It's good to see you've finally shown up!" The head Grigori chided.
"Ah, good to see you too." Mephisto smiled. As annoyed as they were, Mephisto knew they were quite desperate, especially as their best advisor. "Now then, what is the situation currently?" He asked.
The second Grigori cleared his throat, "Currently, America is beginning more hostile aggressions against Cuba, along with various other nations, just like what happened so many years ago. The Middle East is currently carrying out aggressions towards Europe and Northern Africa, and the European Union is starting to break apart, while alliances are starting to form. We're waiting for more details currently."
"Hm... That is quite difficult." Mephisto said, "The other nations are not going to be a very large concern. Most of their responses are in reaction to the American hostility. Meaning, if we can defuse American tensions, we might be able to divert a larger tragedy."
The female Grigori spoke, "However, that is very hard, given we do not have a strong presence in America. Much of their actions have unwittngly forced us to shut down facilities, especially given heightened concerns of terrorism. However, we still do have several agents who are providing central intelligence. One should be entering right now." She slowed speaking as a door opened. "Ah, here he is now."
Mephisto listened to the sound of shoes clacking on the stone floor, as the mystery person entered. His eyes widened in shock as he realized just who it was, and he began laughing. "Ha ha ha! I'm impressed, I'm very impressed my dear Grigori, that you managed to keep this a secret from me of all people!" He took off his hat, and bowed in mock salute, "It's a great honor to meet the most third most powerful man in the free world, John Davis, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives!" (2)
"Cut the shit, Samael." Davis spoke, as he turned to the Grigori.
"Mission update." The head Grigori announced.
"As loath as I am to say it, Samael-"
"I prefer Mephisto these days." Mephisto chided.
"MEPHISTO was right. I haven't been able to narrow it down, but in my interactions with the upper-level cabinet, and with the president, there's definitely evidence of demonic influence. I've done what I can to help, but I can't do much. If Lucifer really is in America, then I can't give away my position. I'm already under suspicion due to my association with the Catholic Church."
"How could we have let this happen..." The second Grigori lamented.
"Ah please, there was very little you could have done. As far as my own network has told me, there's reasonable suspicion that this has been going on since the 1960's."
"What do you mean? Explain." The head Grigori ordered.
"As you know, only one time in the history of America has a Catholic been elected to the presidency: John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Lucifer never made a move before as the presidents before were much more easily susceptible. No hidden exorcist network to provide additional protections. However, upon Kennedy's election, he made moves to act before any exorcists could provide further protections, namely, orchestrating the famous assassination of Kennedy himself. After that, Lucifer slowly weaved his way in, and took control." Mephisto explained.
"So we need to figure out how to flush Lucifer out, and how to change the situation in our favor." Davis concluded.
"Yes... Although knowing my elder brother, he will no doubt make his own move first, but even if we do, no doubt it would be too late to halt American intervention, although..." Mephisto smiled.
A shudder went down the Grigori's spine at the smile. It always meant bad things. "Although... what...?" The female Grigori hesitantly asked.
"It's quite simple really. Especially since the third most powerful man is here, and if my understanding of the U.S. Constitution is correct, it would solve all our problems!"
"Well, get on with it!" Davis barked.
"We just simply assassinate the president of the United States!" Mephisto said with a cheerful smile.
Mephisto's lab
Yuri pouted, as she tried once again to pick the lock of the lab door. Mephisto really was a meanie! She'd been trying to get our for a while; she wanted to see Yukio so bad! She wanted to see her son! But Mephisto, time and time again said the time wasn't right! Something about she was supposed to be dead, she'd undo everything, blah, blah, blah, as if she cared about that! She was going to see her son, even if she had to break through this door to do it! At least, that was the plan, until the door was suddenly ripped off it's hinges, and a very ragged, and very pissed looking Amaimon walked in.
Yuri fell back in shock, as she realized just how unmatched she was. Here was one of the Baal, a very pissed one at that, and Mephisto took all her hidden guns! This was not good, as she tried to crawl away in vain, even as Amaimon, the Satanic spiral in his eyes, crouched in front of her, pupils burning with a blazing red. Tears came to her eyes, as she realized she'd never get to see her son!
"You," He said, "Satan's love..."
Yuri froze at that, 'Love? What is he talking about?' She thought, but it was very quickly interrupted, as Amaimon reached for her. Her scream echoed throughout the room...
The mother church of the Archdiocese of Tokyo is St. Mary's Cathedral, in the heart of Bunkyo, Tokyo, unique even among modern day churches. The original wooden structure having burned down in World War II, it was replaced by a magnificent church of futuristic architechture, designed by an architect who apparently loved parabolas and 007 stories. The outside was a dream for math lovers, designed with sloping parabolas, while in the shape of a cross. The inside however, looked almost like the lair of some secret villain. This was the thought drifting to Cardinal Shirayanagi as he finished cleaning after the Vigil Mass. 'I swear, this building always makes me feel as though I have a duty for the salvation of souls, then it's off to conquer the world... I almost need a Persian Cat now...' He thought, at least until he sensed a presence behind him, a HOSTILE one.
He quickly flipped around, brandishing his pectoral cross, ready to recite sacred verses, until he saw Okumura Rin. He sighed. "Ah Okumura-san, I didn't expect to see you here. Did you mind helping me? I sensed a particular malevolent demon, and I need some help locating it. I suppose I'm getting old. Ha ha ha..." He said, but for some reason, every instinct was telling him not to trust Okumura. 'Why would that be?' He wondered. At least, until he got his answer.
"You... how dare you..." Rin muttered, causing the Cardinal to turn back.
"What do you me-" His eyes widened, as he saw the tail twitching behind Rin, and the lethal black claws extended from his hands. He had no doubt as to what they were intended for. "A demon!" He shouted, quickly darting back, even as Rin darted forward.
'This is bad!' He thought, as he quickly brandished a rosary, hands folded in prayer as he began chanting, "Psalm 31: Verse 3! Bow down your ear to me, make haste to deliver me. Be unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge to save me!" He finished, as a golden barrier appeared in front of him, preventing Rin from approaching. "Good, now then-"
KRSH!
With shock, he watched as Rin effortlessly slashed through the barrier. "WHAT?! That's not possible! That barrier can repel nearly any demon! Unless..." His eyes narrowed, 'This isn't any ordinary demon, whoever he is, Okumura-san has been possessed by a very strong demon...' He thought. 'Then...' Clapping his hands together, he began again, "Psalm 31: Verse 22! Blessed be the Lord, for he has shown his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city." He chanted, this time forcing a golden shield to crash onto Rin.
Of course again, Rin crashed through this. "How dare you!" He shouted, even as the Cardinal through a fire extinguisher at him, which he effortlessly slashed through. He wasn't prepared however, for the searing sensation that accompanied it! The cardinal prepared his next move, even as Rin's shrieks echoed throughout the chamber. 'What he doesn't know is that most everything in a church is blessed, from the pews to the water, to even the foam in a fire extinguisher. Everything must be usable to fight a demon, and he's experiencing that right now.'
Eventually Rin forced his way out of the foam, looking rabidly for the Cardinal, and he found him, just as he finished a magic circle, and dripped blood on it! "Seeker of the nine paths, messenger of suffering; I humbly invoke your aid, tricks and treachery are your gifts, show them unto my enemy." And great smoke rose up, sparks flashing, as a great nine-tailed fox appeared, the Dao emblazoned on his forehead.
"Why have you summoned me, mortal?" He questioned, as the Cardinal answered.
"This berserker is an exceptionally strong demon. I need your help to exorcise it from the boy."
"Very well then. You know what I require after than."
"Yes, yes, fine sake, I know..." His face became serious again, "Now, the Path of the Righteous exorcism!" He commanded.
Rin roared as he charged forward, any reason he had lost in his berserk rage. The kitsune spread his tails, foxfire illuminating them, as Rin was suddenly surrounded by mirror images of them. He began slashing them all, growing more and more angry with each failed attempt. Unaware of above, as the kitsune twirled about in a graceful dance, celestial swords appearing above, and when Rin got into place, they thrust down.
"WRAGH!" He yelled, as the swords pierced him, pinning him to the floor by his hands and legs. The kitsune marched down, and bound him as well using his tails, while he chomped on Rin's throat as well, with his very sharp teeth. Cardinal Shirayanagi quickly marched on top of him as well, brandishing his crucifix. "Now then, wicked demon, release this boy at once!"
He just laid there, silent for a moment, until he began laughing, albeit with a struggle, given the jaws currently embedded in his throat. "Ha... Ha... Ha ha ha ha!"
'What?' Cardinal Peter thought.
"I suppose, *cough*, I owe you one, if it wasn't for that fox, I might not have regained my senses... But, you're wrong on one account, I am indeed a powerful demon, but... I'm not possessing this body! It's mine!" He shouted.
"What, that's not possible!" Peter responded.
"Oh, it is." He said, a smile on his face, and he let loose. With horror in his eyes, Peter watched, as Rin burst into flames. BLUE flames.
"Agh!" The kitsune yelled as he was consumed by them, and the swords as well.
"Tsubasa!" Peter shouted, even as his mind worked a thousand miles a minute. How could this be?! The demon before him could be none other than Satan, but he had disappeared years ago! And in a body that wasn't self-destructing, but that only be if...
Satan's eyes narrowed in glee, as he watched the cardinal realize the truth, and taking advantage of that distraction, made his move, and thrust his tail through Peter's chest. Even as Peter's vestments, dyed red after the blood of Christ, became stained with his own blood, as Satan withdrew his tail, he gloated, "No doubt you've realized the horrifying truth, how does it feel? Knowing that the Church's greatest enemy is under their very nose?"
Shirayanagi groaned, blood leaking fast, "W-why?" He croaked out. His wound was a fatal one, no doubt
Satan's eyes narrowed, "Because you dared to say that I could love no one! You dared say that when it was you who took away the only person I ever once felt love for! Who taught me what love was! You took her away! And then you dared pity me as well!" His flames flared, as he held up his hand. "I am above your pity!" The angels eyes glared into him. "I am above you! Don't you dare look down on me!" Flames began concentrating in his right hand, even as he continued gloating. "How does that make you feel now!"
Cardinal Shirayanagi smiled, apparently not fazed by his own impending mortality. "It's simple... I forgive you."
Satan's eyes widened, "What?" His flames flickered slightly.
Cardinal Shirayanagi chucked, "I have no reason to bare a grudge against you. I will die anyway. And I will go with a clear conscience." His eyes took on a tender light, "And even now, confronted by you, I know, that you believe you will triumph. I tell you, you won't, yet you are too far gone to listen." He smiled, "I forgive you, and... I pity you."
Satan roared in anger, as he unleashed his full wrath upon the cardinal, and St. Mary's Cathedral exploded. And with that, Cardinal Peter Fumio Shirayanagi, Servant of God, expired and departed to the afterlife.
In the rubble, Satan dwelt, even as he pounded the ground in anger and frustration, "Why?! Why do they care?! Why do they pity me?! I'm above them! I'm above all of them! So what gives them the right to pity me! What gives them that right to look down on me, when I have every right to look down on them!" And for perhaps only the second time in his life, in grief and despair, confused by the kindness and emotion of humans, Satan wept.
In another part of town, a small girl had eventually cried herself to sleep again. It had happened after she found out her daddy wasn't coming home. First she lost her brother, then she lost her daddy. Her mother had broken down, as she told her daughter that she could get better, but... daddy wasn't coming home. The girl had lost it, yelling at her mother, she didn't want to get better, she just wanted her daddy! But eventually the day had ended, but her tears didn't, and she slept, crying.
With a sorrowed expression on her face, The Woman watched the girl, very grieved, and she watched as a dove flew into the room. Suddenly though, the dove was gone, and replaced with the same boy in white as before. The boy walked over to the girl, watching her cry, and sighed. Extending his index finger, an orange flame appeared on it, different in nature from other fire. Whereas fire by nature consumed, this flame radiated warmth and kindness, almost like the love of a father. He extended it, and touched the girls forehead, and her tears ceased, but her sad face remained.
"Thank you, Seirei, for answering my request." The Woman said, adjusting her shroud upon her head. "I know you rarely assist anyone who has not been reborn in water... but, this is necessary."
"You know, my Lady, very well why I did." The boy chided, his eyes burning as if with fire. "He's killed three people now, including a cardinal. There's no reason at all they had to die.
"No, no there isn't. I thought I could talk to him, perhaps, but no... I suppose I thought I could help him."
"Human compassion is a strong thing, if not sometimes misguided. Sometimes, there are those who just don't deserve it." He said, "Otherwise, the only ones that suffer are the innocent." He said, looking at the girl.
"But we still give them anyway. But you are right, this is my fault..." She said, and Seirei looked with awe at her face. Usually emblazoned with kindness and gentleness, it was filled with determination now.
"You do know that God won't turn a blind eye to you anymore, right? Not if you interfere now." He warned.
"I know my Lord has not, after all, he's watching me right now, after all, you are Him." She chided.
"But I am not him at the same time, do not forget that." He sighed.
"Regardless, this is my mistake." She turned to exit the room, eyes steeled, "And I intend to help fix the mess I made."
"ἀγαπητοί, μὴ παντὶ πνεύματι πιστεύετε, ἀλλὰ δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα εἰ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν, ὅτι πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸν κόσμον."
"Carissimi, nolite omni spiritui credere, sed probate spiritus si ex Deo sint : quoniam multi pseudoprophetæ exierunt in mundum. "
"Dearly beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits if they be of God: because many false prophets have gone out into the world. "
1 John: 4
"ἀπὸ τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς πρὸς σὲ ἐκέκραξα ἐν τῷ ἀκηδιάσαι τὴν καρδίαν μου ἐν πέτρᾳ ὕψωσάς με."
"A finibus terræ ad te clamavi, dum anxiaretur cor meum; in petra exaltasti me. Deduxisti me,"
"To you have I cried from the ends of the earth: when my heart was in anguish, you have exalted me on a rock. You have conducted me;"
Psalm 61: 3
DUN DUN DUN! And now, it draws near to the time everyone is waiting for! Soon, very soon! What has happened with Yuri? What does Amaimon plan? Will the Knights follow Mephisto's plan? What will Satan do? Who is the woman, and what is she going to do? Find out, as we enter into the Training Camp arc, where things are really starting to heat up!
Notes:
(1) A quick history lesson, Pope Boniface VIII is often considered a controversial pope, because he set up the papacy as one both of temporal and spiritual authority, in a time when the Pope actually ruled over lands, the Papal States, which eventually became Italy. But he was well-known for doing all in his power to ensure the Church was not subject to any nation. Another fun fact is that General Sherman himself was a Catholic, but after the war he ceased to practice. My own spin on history anyway, yeah!
(2) Another fun fact, the current Speaker of the House (who by the constitution is third in line for the presidency, after the vice-president), Paul Ryan, is actually a Catholic, just as the former Speaker, John Boehner was, coincidence? Yes, yes it is...
Anway, in other news, not many people have voted in my poll so far, only three here and one on archive. I hope I could get some more feedback on this, Anyway, I've been thinking about this for a while, and it's entirely up to the fans. I'm so very thankful to everyone that supports my story, and leaves reviews and such. If you all are willing, if enough fanart is submitted, then I'm willing to hold a contest for one to be picked as the new profile pic for Paradise Acquired, and, if I get a facebook page, to serve as the official profile notice for any updates! But, it's all up to you all! If you don't like it, then I'll just edit this out of here, but if enough people are interested, then I'll gladly do it! Again, thank you all for your support!
Please do leave a review, and let me know what you think, also given that this is my first entirely original chapter, so any form of feedback is great! or else I'll send uh... trigger-happy Yukio after you! Cheers!
Shinigami
"The power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God's reign. Although Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and his kingdom in Christ Jesus, and although his action may cause grave injuries - of a spiritual nature, and indirectly, even of a physical nature- to each man and to society, the action is permitted by divine providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history. It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but 'we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him.'(Rom 8:28)"
Catechism of the Catholic Church 395