A/N: I was honestly thinking of going into another writing sabbatical but since I'm already delayed with this…
I sincerely thank the following for their support and reviews last chapter:
Satomika: I left a lot of mysteries last chapter and I do hope that no one has guessed the little shadows I littered all over last chapter. Hehe…
EiRist-chan: I too hated their parting but it was rather integral to the story. *sniffs* The drama last chapter was quite an adrenaline rush but I'm mellowing this chapter I've shed a few lights on the darkness of last chapter in this one. And I hope readers are still intrigued despite the benign tendencies of this chapter.
Shirayuki Sayura: I hope you won't be disappointed in this chapter because it is quite boring compared to the last one. About the names, I am absolutely sure about the use of Samael's name. In fact during my studies of angelology and demonology, I have never encountered an angel or demon with the name Samuel. The only Samuel I do know is Samuel the Judge, the last great judge who lived during the reign of King Saul and King David. I intended to use an archangel for this story and Samael was the one connected to Lilith. I hope that was informative.
The pinkmatini: Thank you. I can not thank you enough seeing that you review everytime I post a chapter. Much appreciated.. Huggles.
Standard Disclaimer still applies. I forgot to mention last chapter that the version of the Angelic Council that I used is Pope St. Gregory I's version of the Angelic Council.
Other God by Anne Raven
Chapter 7: Talks of Good and Evil
Do they not err that devise evil? But mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.
Proverbs 14:22
People are capable of doing things you never expect them to do. Even the noblest person has a despicable side. Even the vilest creature is capable of good.
I never thought that it would be Kirisawa who had to rub that in. Not even the sanctity of heaven can lift the feeling of her betrayal. It seems that I have a long history of betrayal. And although it happened many eons ago; even though I swore none of these will change our current lives, I was deeply troubled.
Samael had withdrawn since the incident, speaking less and he never spoke that much to begin with. He became a less active participant in the Council meetings. In truth, I hated watching these meetings as much as he hated attending them.
Now that he was no longer anyone's guardian, he preferred to spend his time fulfilling his duties as Archangel which was, as Michael had so put it, vanquishing demons. But I felt rather than knew that he took precautious measures to make sure that he never crossed paths with Lilith. However, her name was mentioned every now and then in the meetings of the Angelic Council.
Yes, he didn't want to see her yet but he truly wanted to hear of what happened to her. Only, it was discouraging that the only news I do hear of Lilith was never good in the first place.
I could only imagine Fuuko's reaction as she watches her former self kill by the hundreds. Yes, I have known Kirisawa to be one of the most violent of women but she was never the one who took a life. She was never capable of that kind of cruelty, not even during her fight with Mikoto. Maybe she exhausted every ounce of it during her former life that virtually none was left anymore.
Joking aside, I am finding it hard to reconcile my image of Fuuko to that of the demon Lilith. Facing her would be one of those awkward steps that I would nonetheless have to take.
It was during one of those meetings that Oriphiel entered the Council room bearing news about Lilith after quite a long while.
"Lilith works in cooperation with Asmodeus now." She said.
As if sensing Samael's discomfort, Raphael answered. "It's not much of a news, Ori. The Rulers of Hell can work in teams the way we do."
"Well yes, but what I mean is that she is his consort now." She stressed.
"Really now, Ori? Satan is finally sharing his favorite?" Zarachiel interjected.
"Can we not talk about the affairs of the Princes and Lilith? We have more pressing matters to attend to. We are on the brink of a war." Uriel reminded them.
"All the more we should talk about them. Knowing our opponents will do good when we finally meet them in battle." Michael uttered.
"Mike is correct. We know Lilith is pretty efficient and constantly meets her quota. Now that she's bonded with Asmodeus, there's no telling what she could do." Zarachiel added.
Raphael dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. "How are you, Sam?" I heard Raphael whisper whilst sitting beside Samael.
Samael raised his eyebrow but refused to answer.
"Is it not obvious that Samael would rather not talk about it, Raph?" Uriel said sitting on the other side of Samael.
As Michael, Oriphiel and Zarachiel continued their rather loud conversation about demons and battle strategies, Raphael and Uriel engaged Samael in hushed conversation.
I stood immediately behind them and listened.
"You know, Zach is quite right. Lilith is quite efficient." Raphael said.
Uriel and Samael glared at the blonde. I couldn't help but glare at him too. Whose side is he on anyway?
"It's true! She's keeping her 100 quota but she's also keeping her promise you know. Gabby asked me to check whether she's fulfilling her side of the bargain and big sis has never failed us."
"What do you mean, Raphael?" It was the first time I heard Samael speak since entering the Council Room.
"Raph, do you mean she's killing more of them than of ours? The promise, she's really doing it?"
I was sure these two knew something they never told Samael. And he simply looked at one tenshi to another.
Raphael smiled sheepishly at Samael and said to Uriel, "Fair exchange, or the pretense of it, at least."
"The things she had to go through." Uriel mused.
"Could you please not do that in front of me?" Samael said.
"Sorry." Uriel quickly apologized. "Do take this in mind, Sam. No matter what they say about Lilith…" he quirked his head at the other angels, "She has her redeeming qualities."
I could not understand half of what Uriel and Raphael were talking about and I'm pretty sure Samael was having the same dilemma.
"It's all Lilith's fault." Oriphiel bellowed.
"Oi, why do you hate her so much, Ori?" Raphael asked loudly.
"Raph, if she did not help Satan get inside Eden, he would have never tempted Eve. Look what has happened since the Fall of Man: Abel, dead; Cain, banished, men born more wicked than their fathers. How can I not hate her?"
"Enough of this bickering!" Gabriel said as he entered. "I can hear you from outside. Why is it that whenever I'm not around you're always at each other's throats? Even the devils would pale in comparison at such a show of hostility."
Gabriel took a deep breath and sat on a high-backed chair at the head of the table. The rest of the Council assumed airs of formality and nodded to each other as a sign of apology and forgiveness., their quarrels completely forgotten. When you're an angel, it's easy to forgive. But I was no longer an angel and I could still feel resentment towards some of the Council.
Loyalty… In the short time that I have known Fuuko, she had earned my loyalty. That is why, despite the ambivalent emotions I was feeling for her at the moment, I still would willingly stand by her.
"Prepare yourselves." Gabriel started once everyone was seated. "The battle is nearer than we initially thought it would be. Satan is nearly finished in gathering his forces and at this moment has poised them near the battlefield."
"Which would be?" Michael asked.
"Eden." Gabriel replied solemnly.
"What does that Devil want in Eden?" Oriphiel asked in fury.
"The heralds tell me he wants the 'Tree'." Gabriel replied.
I was sure that the Tree Gabriel referred to was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. If that tree fell into the hands of Lucifer, who knows what he'd be capable of doing with it.
"What are we up against?" Samael asked.
"The Seven Princes and their armies."
"Does that mean Satan will be there in the battle?" Uriel interjected.
"Not really. When I said the Seven Princes, I meant the Six. Satan won't move unless the Almighty does. That is why the Queen will stand in his stead."
I immediately looked up to face Gabriel, surprised at his announcement.
Lilith will be there. Fuuko will be there. I thought. And I still didn't know what to tell her. It would be the first time I'd see her since Lilith decided to become a demon.
One question was running in my mind:
Will Samael be able to destroy Lilith?
Even I can not answer that question.
-TBC-
A/N: here I go again posting without proof-reading. Please bear with my laziness. Anyways... Because I absolutely love you guys, I posted this despite the fact that my board exam is on Sunday.
I did say I'm going to reveal the characters behind the Angelic Council. Well, here they are:
-Gabriel is played by Saihitei/ Hotohori from Fushigi Yuugi. Well, he's responsible, he's leader material (he's an emperor for goodness' sake) and he's level-headed, good candidate for the Angelic Council's leader, if you ask me.
-Michael is played by Ran Fujimiya from Weiss Kreuz. I was looking for someone who is serious, militaristic (somewhat), a good fighter. Well, Ran was the first person in my mind.
-Raphael is played by Amano Ginji from the Get Backers. I was looking for someone who was fun and lively and light. Ginji seemed to be good and so he was casted. About Raphael being Lilith's younger brother figure, since they both controlled the Air element, might as well make the connection.
- Uriel is played by Yue. I was looking for another serious character but much kinder than Michael's character. I sort of combined Yukito and Yue in this one. Besides, when you think of an angel in the anime world, Yue has to be one of the firsts who come into mind.
- Oriphiel is played by Skuld. In all honesty, CC from Code Geass was supposed to play this (I absolutely don't know why I like CC so much) but since I plan to put Lelouch in here somewhere, he part had to go to someone else. I scouted for candidates in Ah! My Goddess and since I love Skuld, she got the part.
-Zarachiel is played by Athrun Zara from Gundam Seed/ Gundam Seed Destiny. I placed him here in homage of my grandmother's death anniversary this month of December. What's the connection? You see, my grandmother's maiden surname is Zara. So, somewhere in my family tree, the Zara surname exists. (I'm quite ecstatic about that.)
Okay... again please pray for me... It's my licensure exam this Sunday. And I'll be moving from the comforts of my home to my dorm tomorrow.
Please tell me what you think about this chapter. I'll be waiting.
Lovelots,
Anne Raven