Chapter 28, The Truth Revealed

Warning: Language

After a series of thorough questions by the three exorcists, including them asking where she was on the day that the demon attacked the True Cross Town amusement park, the interrogation eventually lead back to the events of the day, where they had the girl recite every detail that had happened in the forest, from when they arrived to set up, all the way until she was found in the street. She denied ever having seen Amaimon before, and denied any allegations that she and the director were involved in any sort of way beyond friendly. The old man continued to eye her, as if he speculated that she was in on whatever Faust might be scheming behind the back of the Order. She wasn't allowed to ask anything, not even where she was; she could only sit, listen, and obey for hours on end. She was completely unaware of what had happened with everyone, and only knew that they were alive, and Faust was taken by the Vatican—for treason charges.

Once she was dismissed, the two men escorted her through a door using another key. She was exhausted, and still had no idea what time it was. They walked through yet another hall inside of a large, dreary building, passing by windows where the light of the morning sun could be seen. Stopping in front of a plain door, the two men bowed and dismissed themselves, leaving back through where they had come with the key.

She watched quietly until they were out of sight. The door clicked shut, and seemed to echo throughout the empty halls in a way that mirrored the dismay within her own heart. She felt lost and helpless, like a child. Not only did she have no idea where she had been for hours, and now she was left somewhere else that was completely unknown to her, but she had been completely useless in combat, not to mention, foolish and naïve.

Taking a breath, she turned the handle and pushed open the door in front of her.

Sitting inside were all of the cram school students, who's injuries had been patched up. Suguro, Shima, and Konekomaru were in their own cots recovering, and Izumo sat in a chair, relatively unscathed. Shiemi sat near the wall with a dour expression, and in the corner was Yukio. The men hadn't lied to her; her friends were indeed alive. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and her throat grew too tight to say a word as everyone looked her way with an expression of shock and relief wrapped into one. Before anyone could say anything, she burst into tears and ran into the room, falling into the comforting arms of Shiemi, who held her tightly, humming and stroking the girl's hair. They themselves had no idea where she had been, and feared the worst, so seeing her puffy red face liberated their minds of such terrible thoughts.

After she calmed down, she looked around the room again, sniffling and smiling as her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she spat, feeling like an idiot. "I'm just so happy you're all alive!" she yelped, voice cracking with emotion once more. Everyone smiled warmly as they got up, and they all exchanged hugs of rejoice. Even Izumo hugged the girl, though she tried to play it off nonchalantly.

Looking around, she finally could see past the cloud of her own mind and noticed that Rin was missing, and there was a heavy feeling bearing down on everyone. "Where's Rin?" she asked, searching each face for answers, only to find every eye would look away as she met them. "Did something happen to Rin?!" she shrieked, spinning to Yukio's somber expression. Something happened, and no one was telling her.

Yukio held out his hand and motioned for her to come with him. "There's something I need to tell you.." his voice was thick with explanations, the kind that wasn't anything to look forward too. He ushered her out the door to the halls, staying silent. They walked for a bit, their footsteps bouncing off the walls, becoming lost within the noiseless atmosphere. "I need to tell you something, and I want you to hear it from me first."

Her stomach churned. "Yukio. I can't take it, I can't," she begged, exhaustion taking over once more. "Please be straight with me. Was Rin killed?"

He twisted his head around to look at her with a baffled expression. "No!" he shouted, wondering how on earth she could jump to such conclusions.

"Then what?!"

The young teacher stood silent for a moment, collecting his words. "Years ago, Satan killed a massive amount of people in what was to become known as the Blue Night. On that day, Satan's newest children were born." He kept his head low, staring at the tiles on the floor. "They were twin boys. And only one of them inherited the blue flames of his father." He glanced up for just a second to assess the girl, finding a look of sudden, shocking comprehension as things were piecing together in her mind.

"So Rin is…a demon?" she asked, rather casually. She, unlike most of the other students, had never even questioned the shape of Rin's ears, or his sharp canines. Plenty of people she had known throughout her life had similar features; childhood friends, ex boyfriends, even Johann. She had always assumed it was genetics, and still didn't link the two together.

"The son of Satan, yes. His powers were awoken just this year, before that, he didn't even know what he was. We've kept it under wraps for all these months as per the orders of the director. But tonight, when Amaimon attacked, Rin had to use his powers."

It was starting to make sense, finally. Amaimon, the King of Earth, had come to play with his brother – he must have meant Rin. "Where is he?"

"He was taken by the Vatican as evidence of Sir Ph-Faust's…betrayal of the Order."

That's right, Johann – "Why is he being tried for treason?"

He seemed rather shocked that she knew this information, but continued. "He and our father - Rin and I's adoptive father - have apparently been conspiring since we were born. They kept our identities as the sons of Satan a secret from the Vatican."

"But why?"

His heart thumped as the words were on the tip of his tongue. He might have been ordered by Pheles to keep his identity a secret, but watching this girl become so close to him was eating him inside. He could barely handle it anymore, and it was about to burst out of him just as hard as his heart was pounding in his chest. "You don't know who he really is," he finally snapped.

Taken aback by his answer, she met it with an air of hostility as her lips coiled. "What the hell are you talking about Yukio?"

"Faust is a powerful, deceptive man," he began hastily, trembling slightly at his own words. "His name, Faust, is just an alias for Christs' sake—he also goes by Mephisto Pheles."

The look of scornful disbelief was completely wiped off of her face as he said that name. Memories came flooding back to her, like the time she overheard Rin carelessly spout the name while they were on the phone together. And then...'Mephisto.' She had said it before. She had said it to him. The look of Johann's surprised expression flashed into her mind. How could she have forgotten asking him about that name? Had she really been that drunk? What was his response when she confronted him, she asked herself. It was there, somewhere; hazy. "Yukio," she started slowly, staring off to the side with a deer-in-the-headlights look. "Why the hell is his name the same as the demon, Mephistopheles, from the old German tale?"

Shit, he thought as he froze – she's been studying.

And then as the memory came back, the two of them said in unison: "He has many names."

She felt sick to her stomach, and leaned up against the wall, letting a long breath out slowly. Everything began to twirl around her, like the demon playing games again.

"M-Mephisto Pheles is also an alias," Yukio stuttered, cursing to himself inside. "There's just a lot you don't know about him. You need to be careful," he stressed, knowing he couldn't tell her everything, but he could tell her enough. "He's the one who gave the order to postpone your Temptaint Ritual."

A lightning bolt of shock and anger zapped through her muscles. "What the fuck did you just say?"

"Pheles forbade anyone from giving you a temptaint. I don't know why, but he did. He has his hand in everything."