Chapter 23, Art Gallery.

After a thorough debriefing from the higher-ups on the events that had taken place at Mephy land, causing the destruction of multiple rides, buildings, and tents, including the statue of the director, the exwire's were excused for the rest of the evening. Rin however was drug off somewhere with a strange woman who no one had seen before, claiming she was a first class exorcist and senior inspector. She wore the same pants as the elusive boy in the hoodie, but surely, everyone speculated, they couldn't have been the same person—that would have meant she had been spying on the class for months.

The girl returned to the headmasters' mansion like he had asked her to. The iron knocker on the large, wooden doors startled her for the very first time; it was in the image of a black, twisted demon with horns, while the knocking ring was clenched between four sharp fangs. She stood on the steps staring at it's cat eyes, unable to take the ring within her grasp for quite some time.

Finally, she quickly grabbed it, knocking as hard as she could three times, and tossed the ring back at the little black demon as she launched herself backwards with a huff.

After just a second, the heavy door creaked open to reveal the butler, who stepped out of the way for her. "The master was expecting you, but I'm afraid he is out at the moment. He informed me to let you in, and asked that you wait for him."

He must be busy dealing with the wreckage, she thought to herself in silence as she stepped through the door. There was no doubt in her mind that the green haired demon caused all the damage to the amusement park. He had disappeared just moments before she began hearing the turmoil in the distance. She was positive, that as the head of the Japan Branch of the True Cross Order, that Johann was meeting with the other upper class exorcists, debating how to hunt down and get rid of such a powerful, destructive demon.

To take up some time, she strolled the halls of the mansion as she was lost in thought, looking at the dated art hung on the walls. It was obvious that the University and mansion themselves were extremely old, but seeing some of the dates on the paintings gave her just a bit more of an insight as to how old they might actually be. How on earth could the director afford some of these pieces, she asked herself – some of them were from the middle ages all the way up to the Victorian era, depicting the war between God and Satan, the battle for Assiah, demons, and the reaper. They were from all over the world, and it was quite the private collection, but fitting for an exorcist with expensive taste. She giggled at that last thought.

There were old, unnamed portraits hung every once in a while, and she would stop and inspect them before moving on. One in particular stole her attention; an oil portrait from what appeared to be the Georgian, or Rococo period, based on the soft lines, the fluffiness, and the pastels used. It was a portrait of a man from the waist up, an obvious elite by the intricate details of his garments; he wore a light lavender purple coat, which had gold leaf brushed into it, as if the original fabric was a brocade of some sort, and it had gold trim and buttons. The collar was high up to the mans strong jawline, and a fluffy, mauve and white cravat was tied around his neck and tucked into a cream and gold leaf waistcoat with pastel buttons. His dark hair was pulled back and tied off with a bow, and his angular face was partially obscured by a dark, almost black tricorn hat, which a had similar gold trim around the brim folds, and a large cream plume in it. From what she could see of his eye from under the heavy brim, were electric green eyes that struck her to her very core. His long fingers were draped over the gemstone-encrusted hilt of a rapier sword, which hung from his hip. She cocked her head to the side, finding it curious how similar his facial structure was to that of headmaster Faust's. There was of course, no name, but it was dated in the mid 1700's. It must be one of his ancestors, she thought; and perhaps that's where he had gotten so much money, he must have come from a very old, wealthy family.

She then walked by an old painting that caught her eye even more than the others. It was a great interpretation of Assiah and Gehenna taking up a majority of the large wall in the corridor, with what appeared to be an angelic hierarchy on the bottom, and a demonic order along the top of the canvas. In the center were two beings, on each side of the worlds, which seemed like crude, Gothic era depictions of God and Satan. The godly figure held the scripture in his arm, and the angels around it were glad in gold robes, with white wings, and silver trumpets; on the other side, the Satan figure held a baby within its fangs, and the demons depicted wore black and silver robes, with tails twisting out from behind them, and blue flames being cast from each of their hands. The flames of Satan.

Her eyes scanned along the top of the almost mural-like work. There, in the background of the portrayal of Hell, was a demon with a sharp point on its head, with large arms and horns on its forehead. She stared at the point on the demon's head, her mind flashing back to the demon that came to her earlier that day. She rested her fingers lightly on her lips, remembering how his skin felt; she shuddered a bit, still uneasy. 'My brother,' he repeated, over and over and over. Who was his brother, she wondered, taking in the scene before her. Could it be, that the demon that came to her was part of this Demon Hierarchy-could he have been a Demon King? She speculated, eyes widening. That would mean there wasn't just a 'brother,' but seven brothers in total. All extremely powerful; all terrifying. A cold chill ran up her spine, freezing her in place so much she could barely breathe. Shaking her head, she trotted off, far away from the painting.

After perusing the halls for quite some time, feeling lonelier with each passing minute, she returned to the main living area, grabbing a blanket to curl up into. Plopping herself onto the couch, she turned on the television to keep herself as busy and distracted as possible, while her mind tried to replay the events of that day.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the sun was going down and painted the sky a muted pink and orange and navy by the time the director walked through the front door. She glanced over at him from the couch as he handed his cloak to the butler, who seemed to have motioned towards the girl. Johann's tired gaze whirled her way as he loosened his necktie. "I'll be in a meeting in my office," he said in a serious tone, his feet almost never stopping once he entered to when he headed for the stairs to his private study. The woman from the amusement park earlier that day followed suit, her red hair bouncing lightly with each stride. As she passed, she glanced over at the girl with a hard expression, until she herself headed up the stairwell after the chancellor.

Carefully closing the door behind her, Shura quickly turned to Mephisto-who slumped into his chair-with a dour look in her eyes. "Why is that girl, a student, in your house at this time of night?"

His eyes narrowed as his lips curled into a toothy smirk. It was just like the fiery woman to get straight to the point. "I'm merely teaching her how to use her talents, of course," he lied through his fangs. "I had her wait for me – I never dreamed that the interrogation would take so long."

Seeing through his dark façade, Shura dropped in the chair across from his large wooden desk. "So I guess the rumors are true then, about you and her?"

The headmaster's whole demeanor changed within an instant. "What rumors do you speak of? Surely I have no clue as to what you're talking about," he said, smiling in such an inviting manner that it was even difficult for a person as suspicious as the redhead not to fall victim too.