Chapter 2
"This doesn't look like Japan." Cornelia said. They were in a massive square which was ironic as it was actually a circular area with marble pillars framing the perimeter. Directly in front of them was a large standing stone spire surrounded by a fountain. Thankfully their teleportation went unnoticed by the multitude of tourists that were busily taking pictures of the architecture. Across from the fountain was an elaborate building with statues of Jesus and all his apostles that serves as the city's seat of power. "Don't tell me that you got distracted by Great Red again and teleported us to the wrong place."
"Once. That only happened once." Leo sighed. "Yet you seem to always bring it up."
"We ended up in Helheim." Cornelia pointed out.
"Thankfully this was a planned detour. I just need to do something here, and then we'll head to Japan."
"Don't you think all the exorcists patrolling the city would be on alert, since we broke through the ward to get here?"
"There's only one Exorcist that I worry about but he's also the easiest to deal with." Leo reassured, pulling what looked like a coupon book out of his breast pocket. "I trust that you know what to do with this."
"Unfortunately." Cornelia said distastefully. "How that man became the Church's Strongest Exorcist is not something I understand. He seems to always fall for this trick."
"I'll give you a ten minute head start?"
"That's more than enough to pull him away from the Basilica." She walked away, off to find her prey.
"As for me, I need to get to the Altar." Leo muttered pulling a noh mask that looked like a fox out of his dimensional storage area. Putting the mask on, he let the magic wash over him. The mask was one of his most powerful creations and had two abilities, the first cast a powerful illusion projecting one of 13 different people, while the second ability was passive and made people see him as the highest authority in a given place, i.e. if he used it in the White House he'd assume the identity of the President. It was the first function that he wanted now though, as the second ability would no doubt cause him no end of trouble.
To those who carefully watched, his appearance began to change. First his argent hair the front of which framed his face and the back was loosely gathered by a black ribbon and touched his shoulders shortened, taking on a golden what like color. Blue eyes became a dull green, and for the final touches his outfit changed into a priest's black cassock with a carefully embroidered shoulder cape trimmed in red with crosses. Let's see if I still got it. He thought to himself, changing his normally ramrod posture to a more relaxed almost lazy like one. To complete the transformation he adopted a lethargic smile, waving at the nearby tourists who hadn't noticed the change. A few even snapped pictures of him as he headed towards the Basilica.
Though he had been here many times before, its splendor never ceased to amaze him. Walking forward he started the baldachin a great canopy of black and gold bronze. Its four spiral pillars were decorated with golden vines and cherubs. The top of the canopy had four gentle upwards curves that came together to form a globus cruciger. At each corner of the main four pillars was an angel their hands extended. Underneath the canopy was a resplendent altar, and in front was a depression.
The basilica had been built on the supposed location of the remains of a saint, his body held in the crypt blow. The area was known as the Confessio, and it was cordoned off with two wings of golden and ornate balustrades.
All around him were spectacular works of arts that looked like paintings but were really mosaics, 4 great medallions decorated the main cupola and the piers below. These medallions represented the four evangelists. The great piers that supported the massive dome were inset allowing for four colossal marble statues. The first was St. Helena holding the True Cross, the second was St. Longinus gripping the sacred lance that pierced Christ's side. The third statute was St. Andrew and the final one was a statue of St. Veronica displaying the veil used to wipe Jesus' face on the road to Cavalry.
Approaching the Lectern, no one paying him any attention in his priest's garb, he placed his hand on a hidden rune cluster. A powerful compulsion spell emanated from the lectern, and he couldn't help but suppress a smirk as all the tourists left leaving not only the Basilica but even the surrounding Square. Another touch and all the doors sealed themselves shut with a resounding thud, as powerful barriers were raised to prevent intrusion.
In the distance he could hear the exorcists banging on the doors, trying to force themselves into the Sanctuary. Turning he moved towards the altar, and after spinning around the immaculate white and gold chair of the Pope to face the golden depiction of Heaven he took a seat. Snapping his fingers the three candles on either side of the altar ignited. "Gabriel." He called his entire body burning with the saturation of Holy energy that calling to her in the Language of Heaven caused.
She appeared in a flutter of golden feathers, her 12 wings spread proudly. A peerless beauty who unlike Aphrodite had a more innocent and worldly look to her. She wasn't an otherworldly beauty whose existence defied nature, Aphrodite and Venus were that type, shifting themselves to fit other's tastes. She had curly blonde hair that shone like the sun and a jaw dropping voluptuous figure that was as close to perfection as he had ever seen. Truly she deserved the title of the Most Beautiful Woman of Heaven. However it wasn't just her beauty that appealed to him, but also her power. He had been in the presence of Gods before, and he had seen the most powerful of beings lazing about, yet still her power was the most intoxicating. The sheer holiness of her unrestrained aura was enough to bring him to his knees if he hadn't been sitting in a chair and hadn't been exposed to it many times before. He had no doubt that any low or even mid-class devils would've died from just being exposed to it.
"Ara." She said looking at him. "You're not Dulio."
"I'm afraid that Dulio is indisposed at the moment." Leo smirked, removing his mask.
"LEO!" Gabriel squealed, diving towards him and wrapping him in an aggressive glomp that rocked his seat back.
He grimaced as she latched on and squeezed him tightly, thankful that he had taken the time to reinforce his body lest he be crushed by her superhuman strength. She was a great person to be around and her naiveté was a definite change from his and Cornelia's pragmatic pessimism, but she had no sense of personal space. Not that he could really complain when his face was currently enveloped in her chest.
No. Bad Leo. Bad. Doing anything perverted might make her fall. Then you'll lose a major source of income. The little imaginary angel on his shoulder said smacking his devil with a harisen, before it could even open its mouth, knocking it off its perch.
But if you make her fall, you'll have the respect of every man in the Grigori. The little devil said struggling to climb back up on his shoulder.
Griselda will slaughter you. His angel warned, and that brought the conversation to an abrupt end. He didn't want to get on the bad side of Griselda again; she fought dirty when she was angry.
"What are you doing here?" Gabriel asked pulling back to sit on his lap and releasing him from marshmallow hell. "We've only just begun testing the new pistols but so far the reception has been overwhelmingly positive. Not that I expected anything less from you."
"Thanks for the compliment." He smiled. "Actually I was wondering what it would cost me for some information."
She frowned. "You know that I won't sell you any information on Heaven or confidential information about the Church."
He chuckled at the response; it was something of a game between them. "No, no, I'm not looking for anything like that today." He promised. "I was wondering if I could get some information on a certain pair of devils as well their peerages."
"Devils?" She asked her eyes narrowing. "Don't tell me that Azazel has you doing another job for him."
"Then I won't." He grinned, shifting her a bit so that her weight was more even distributed across his legs.
"I don't understand why you continue to be a mercenary." Gabriel pouted cutely. "Your skills would be perfect right here."
"I can't." He said sadly. "Besides I'm much in demand no matter the Pantheon, and Cornelia wouldn't be welcomed here anyways."
"Before I ask which devils you want information on I need to know something." He nodded, gesturing for her to continue. "What did you do with Dulio?"
As if on cue, the doors crashed open. The first thing that Gabriel saw was the coupon like book floating through the air. The second thing was the Church's Strongest Exorcist chasing after it frantically waving his arms in an attempt to catch it. In the background she saw Cornelia and her eyes narrowed. The purple haired woman was waving her finger, directing the coupon book just out of Dulio's reach, with a mischievous grin. Griselda the church's strongest female exorcist was torn between chasing after Dulio and glaring at Cornelia who simply hovered in the air.
"FOOD!" Dulio screamed lunging for the coupon book, only for Cornelia to pull back at the last moment. The exorcist face planted into the stone floor with a dull thud, prompting Griselda to hurry to his side.
Gabriel sweatdropped before looking down at Leo, who was the picture of innocence. "Really?"
"He always falls for it, hook, line, and sinker." Leo responded, patting her leg. She got up, allowing him to stand. "I think that's enough Cornelia." He said, his voice traveling the distance of the Basilica.
In the distance she saw the woman nod and lower her arm. The coupon book fell to the floor, as Dulio crawled madly towards it.
"Leopold!" Griselda hissed in recognition.
"Hello Gris." Leo raised his hand, greeting the northern beauty.
"LEO!" Dulio exclaimed, hugging the younger man, crying on his shoulder. "Griselda's been mean again, and hasn't let me out to find food."
"That's because you cause trouble wherever you go." Leo sighed, pushing the older man away. Another one without any sense of personal space. "Remember that time we decided to go to France and try the cuisine, only for the restaurant you chose to also be hosting several Vampire Covens as well as an Aristocrat?"
"Or the time you got into a fight with a Pillar Devil because he used hypnotism to take your table at a restaurant." Cornelia added. "Really just about every major confrontation at a restaurant, and believe me I was surprised at the sheer number of reports there were, were all caused by you."
"It's because of you that Gris, who's your watcher, is all grey and old." Leo sneered. In the back of his mind a part of him screamed double kill, as both Dulio and Griselda hung their heads and black clouds floated above them.
Both his arms were smacked by Gabriel and Cornelia. "Be nice, Griselda doesn't look day over 35." Gabriel said innocently, depressing the poor woman even further.
"Griselda is only 28." Cornelia pointed out.
Leo as he had firsthand experience knew better than to interfere when a woman's age was brought up, and Dulio who still had his instincts as a man, kept quiet. The two males began inching away looking at the situation as a lit powder keg. Once far enough Leo placed his hand on the priest's shoulder and whisked them away, just in time to see Griselda go from depressed to furious as a grinning Cornelia sidestepped a sword blow.
"Haaa." Dulio exhaled as the two appeared in one of the many streets of Rome. "That was close."
"No kidding." Leo said, gesturing for the man to follow him. "I don't know how you put up with her."
"Gris isn't normally like that." Dulio explained. "It's only around you and Cornelia that she tends to fly off the handle." He pulled out the coupon book and began skimming through it. "Hehe."
"I can't believe that you fall for that every time." Leo deadpanned.
"Hey what can I say, I'm a gourmet of the highest order." Dulio answered. "By the way where do you even get these?"
"I know a guy, who knows someone who owns someone." Leo said brushing off the situation. The coupon book was really dozens of vouchers that were redeemable at certain restaurants for private tastings complete with wine pairings with the executive chef and sommelier.
"You know you're the best. Anytime you want to talk to Gabriel alone and want me gone, all you need to is give me one of these."
"Should I be worried for Gabriel's safety with how easily bribable you are?"
"Naw, it's cool." Dulio waved his hand dismissively. "She can handle herself. After all she fought against the original four Satans and came away from it alive."
"So dinner while we wait or you just want to laze about?"
"Dinner please."
"Let me just make a call and we'll walk there." Leo pulled out his phone and stepped to the side. 5 minutes later one of the people that owed him a favor was headed to his restaurant, screaming on his own phone for his sous chefs to speed up their prepping. "Come on the walk will be good for us."
They walked for an hour, all the while idly chatting, catching up on what happened since they last saw one another. Along the way Gabriel had managed to calm down Griselda and Cornelia gave him a call asking where he was. After informing them where they were headed the two groups decided to meet up at the restaurant. Arriving at the hotel that housed the restaurant, Leo lead them to the elevator, pulling out a keycard. One swipe later and they were zooming up to the restaurant at incredible speeds.
The elevator slowed and opened its door with a soft ping, revealing an expansive dining room. The floor was black carpet with golden diamonds patterned on the floor, the wooden furniture solid and antique. He enjoyed the entire sophisticated ambiance that the restaurant gave off whether it be from the vermeil plates and cutlery, the Sevres porcelain, the large 19th century Bronze candelabra, the hand-blown glass or even to the art hanging on the wall. Prominently displayed to catch a person's eye was an Aubusson tapestry, but personally he thought it all paled to the majestic view of Rome.
Stepping out they were immediately greeted by the maître d'hôtel who led them out to a candlelit terrace and a rectangular table covered with a white table cloth. He made sure to pull out the chair for Gabriel, seating her on his right while Dulio assisted Cornelia placing her on his left, and Griselda ever impatient decided to just take a seat. Sitting at the head of the table he watched as each person took a look at their menus. To his right was Gabriel and then Griselda, and to his left were Cornelia and Dulio. All was right in the world as he observed the city's nightlife from where he was seated. The Dome of St. Peter's shone against the darkened sky, so close that he could almost touch it.
"This is quite the restaurant." Gabriel started breaking the ice.
"Yes it is." Leo responded proudly. "It's the only restaurant in Rome to have been awarded three Michelin Stars, in addition to numerous awards. The wine cellar alone is home to over 60,000 bottles from 1888 to the present. Or for those that prefer other spirits they have a variety available for after meal imbibing."
A moment later a sommelier appeared to explain the wine pairings that went well with each course. In addition he brought a plate of various cheeses and meats with a chilled bottle of wine. Being the head he was responsible for the appetizers and sent the waiter scurrying off with a simple command to bring them everything. Everyone idly chatted, nibbling at the cheese and meat as they waited for the sumptuous feast to be brought. And what a feast it was.
A group of waiters came to them bringing dishes filled with delicious and gourmet dishes. Gabriel always a sucker for seafood saw four of the six appetizers were seafood and immediately smiled; her hand shot towards a crudo of red shrimp and John Dory on grana Padano cream with a pepper infusion.
Dulio was jealously guarding his duck foie gras on pear cream with walnut and chamomile infusion. His face shifted between bliss and shooting warning looks at Griselda who was occupied with her sweetbreads. Both Cornelia and he had opted for the scampi carpaccio with caviar and chives. A part of him was hesitant to share, but a single look from her promised that he'd be on the couch if he didn't move the plate closer to her. So reluctantly he moved it. He was still picking at the plate, Gabriel having gracefully devoured her crudo in addition to both an amberjack appetizer as well as a tuna one, when the waiter reappeared to take their orders for the first course.
The scene repeated itself twice more, the first course further driving poor Dulio up the wall as the medley of flavors left him wanting more and more. By the time the main course was finished the man was glassy eyes, having cried tears of joy as his taste buds danced in his mouth. Griselda was only slightly better, being a nun she was unused to such fare and it had shown. Gabriel having really no need to eat as she was a divine being ate for pleasure, and company, though she would freely admit to this being one of the best meals that she had. Only Cornelia and he who normally dined in high class restaurants as befitting their status were visually unfazed. Still a most delicious meal. He shot towards Cornelia who graced him with a small smile. "Now for dessert."
Iced spheres of pomegranate on gianduia cream and cannelloni filled with salty pine-seed Chantilly cream.
It was the finishing blow as the flavors, the saltiness of the pine seeds mixed with the richness of the cream, combined to deal a one-two combo to Dulio. Griselda had taken a single bite, froze and then begun to eat mechanically as if she were in a trance, only stopping to stare at her plate in disappointment once it was all gone. Once everyone had eaten their desert, a cart was brought forth with various coffees and teas, as well as a selection of fine spirits.
"How was it?" Leo asked, taking a Glencairn glass filled with his favorite single malt Speyside from the waiter.
Dulio shot him a thumbs up, forgoing a drink in order to remember the taste of the meal. Griselda was out of it, having always had a weak tolerance to alcohol, leaving Gabriel, Cornelia and him the only functional members of the party.
"Cornelia told me about your latest job." Gabriel began. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"We have no choice now. Both of us already took payment, and I'd never renege on a deal." Leo said shaking his head.
The seraph shook her head sadly, a stack of paper materializing on the table. "This is all the information that we have on Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri."
"Of the 4 Maous why did we have to get stuck with the two that are uncontrollable Sis-cons?" Cornelia grumbled taking Rias Gremory's file and looking it over.
"Karma, probably." Leo answered looking over Sona Sitri's file. Both had to do nothing more than glance at the page to memorize it, perks of being a magician of the highest order. "Thanks for this, Gabriel."
"It's no problem. You've helped the Church out in a few situations, so it's the least I can do."
"But we were compensated for all those jobs." Leo said.
"Then let's just say that it's to pay for dinner." She smiled, sending a burning sensation though him. Thoughts of the two of them dining alone played in his mind, before he managed to recover and shake his head free.
As much as he wanted to act on the feelings several things stopped him, the first being that she was an angel and would immediately fall. The second reason was that Michael would hunt him down for messing with his baby sister. Now that he thought about it, doing anything that endangered Gabriel would bring him no end of grief and enemies. "Thank you." Leo said crossing his legs and bringing the paperwork up higher so that Gabriel couldn't see his face.
"I'm worried about you." Gabriel said.
He felt his heart wrench. "There's nothing to worry about." Leo reassured. "It's a simple reconnaissance mission. We'll be in and out within a few weeks."
"And it'll be you and Cornelia alone?" Gabriel asked, innocently.
"Of course, she is my partner after all." Leo said. If he had been paying closer attention he would've seen the slight tensing of her muscles and her jaw, the sharpening of her eyes as she turned to Cornelia, and if her wings had been visible they would've darkened slightly, not flickering between black and white but to a more grey white than pure.
Cornelia shot her a victorious look, her eyes shifting to Leo. He's mine. The look said. "When you finish your job, come back okay. I should have some more feedback on the weapons you provided." Gabriel said.
"Of course. I always enjoy coming here for a visit. The works of Michelangelo have always fascinated me the Dome of the Basilica and The Last Judgment are some of my favorites."
"Please don't break into the Vatican again." Gabriel sweatdropped. "Last time you were found in the Sala Regia and Cappella Paolina you almost had to fight your way out."
"No promises." Leo said relaxing into his chair as he took a sip of his scotch. "When I see something as beautiful as those works I feel almost compelled to make them mine."
She fidgeted in her seat at the double meaning of his words, an action copied by Cornelia whose face was slightly flush. "I know." Gabriel exclaimed. "Next time you're here why don't I take you on an all-inclusive tour. You'll be able to see everything and I'll be able to talk about some of our lesser known works."
"Really?" Leo asked eyes gleaming in excitement.
She nodded. "I was there when they laid the first brick that would become the foundations of the Vatican. I watched as every great artist took their first brush stroke, as every carver took chisel and hammer to stone. It became somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me to skip through time to watch all the artists as they worked."
"That must've been amazing." Leo commented. "To have seen the greatest artist at work."
"It…was." Gabriel said after a moment's hesitation, "but lonely as well."
Both quieted down as they processed the information. "Be careful there okay."
"Of course. When have I ever not been?" Leo said. She stayed silent. "Though if it's not too much trouble…"
"What is it? What do you need?" Gabriel all but demanded lunging forward so that their faces were inches apart.
"I was wondering if I could borrow Secace for a bit." He asked sheepishly.
"Secace?" She asked, blinking owlishly for a moment. "Why would you want that lance?"
"Because I doubt you'd be able to get the Church to part with one of their Excalibur fragments." Leo grumbled.
"You already have Carnwennan why would you want a fragment of Excalibur."
"Mostly to study, I'm quite interested in Mimic which I believe is one of the strongest fragments. I learned a lot already from that time I was able to experiment with Ascalon. It's thanks to that research that I was able to begin to comprehend anti-dragon properties. Vali definitely learned that lesson when I shot her with a 1000 grain bullet enhanced with anti-dragon abilities and imbued with the concept of Piercing. She certainly wasn't smiling when I was digging lead out of her. My next step would be able to add light and then Holy to the bullet, but sadly there's only so much space."
"Have you made any progress in creating Holy Swords?" Gabriel wondered.
"Not much. The swords are little better than the mass produced swords of the Light that exorcists use, though like the pistols that you purchased from me are equipped with an runic seal to draw in wild magic and convert it to light. That way they don't need to be recharged by angels or blessings. If anything I would rate those swords a little below the level of Blade Blacksmith."
"But it's still vastly inferior to the sacred gear." Gabriel said, not a question but a statement.
"Correct." Leo nodded. "Blade blacksmith allows a person to create any holy sword according to their imagination and in a fraction of the time that it would take for me to create a holy sword. Even Azazel with his sacred gear fetish is nowhere near being able to replicate the abilities of those sacred gears. His so called 'artificial sacred gears' are nothing more than disposable gears good for a use or two before they fail."
"You seem to know quite a bit about the ongoing research of the Grigori."
"Of course." Leo scoffed. "The Healing rings that I created were cutting edge when they first came out, capable of healing just about any wound slowly. But once I got my hands on the Grigori's research into Twilight Healing I was able to upgrade my Healing rings, imbuing them not only with the concept of Restoration but also Fortifying. Over time the ring will give the person a natural defense to whatever hurts them. One day I hope to be able to create items capable of warding off sickness."
"To sell for a profit no doubt." Gabriel sighed sadly.
"We'll have to agree to disagree when it comes to me selling my wares."
"As for your request to borrow Secace I'll talk to my brother and see what he's willing to trade in exchange for a few hours with the lance."
"Tell him I'm more than willing to part with anti-dragon weapons, seeing as those are what I can create easily and am experienced in their use as well as any of my holy swords, except for Carnwennan."
"What about the Harp?" Gabriel asked.
He winced. The Harp of David was one of his most useful items, having been used as inspiration to create the Healing Rings, and he still hadn't managed to reverse engineer the Songs that it was capable of producing. "Unless he's willing to let me study the Excaliburs in depth, the Harp isn't on the table."
"A shame." Gabriel said. "Not even exchange for my Horn?"
"Don't joke around like that." Leo warned, a dangerous glint in his eye. "Michael would never let you part with it, and the Church would hunt me down if they knew that I had it in my possession."
"But would you trade for it?"
"In a heartbeat." Leo replied without any hesitation.
Gabriel nodded to herself for several seconds before grabbing his wrist. His flesh began to burn and sizzle, as he opened his mouth in a silent scream. Cornelia was at his side trying to pull the angel off him to no avail; even if she was powerful she still wasn't at the level of a seraph.
A minute passed and Gabriel let go. Biting back a curse he looked down and saw what looked like an ancient horn seared into his flesh. "What is this?" He hissed, touching the sensitive skin. His own enhanced healing began to come into effect, working to repair the damage.
"You know how magicians make contracts with devils for power, knowledge, and goods from the Underworld." She tested. He nodded, while he himself didn't have a contract it was by choice. Heaven knows that he had dozens of requests come in daily. "Well this is similar. It's a contract with me. You'll be able to use it to call to me and like my Horn you'll be able to compel the truth out of people." Not to mention that it'll allow me to find you no matter the protections surrounding you. She thought.
"Cool." He responded, the pain already forgotten as he thought about all the useful benefits that their partnership would yield. It was certainly better than making a deal with a Devil as they were liable to stab you in the back. "Does this mean that I can have access to some of the grimoires in Heaven's possession?"
"Maybe." She teased, ignoring the dark look that Cornelia was shooting her. "We'll see how things go." She looked out at the night sky. "I think I should go back now. I've been away from my desk for too long, the paperwork has surely begun to pile up once more."
"Paperwork?" He chuckled, raising a brow in amusement.
"The bane of any organization even Heaven cannot escape its might." She moaned, moving closer to the edge of the terrace. "Don't forget when you're done with your latest job, to come back here. Just touch the symbol on your wrist and I'll do my best to meet you within a few minutes." Jumping up on the railing she cast one last look at the two exorcists that had accompanied her. "I trust that you'll be able to return them to the Vatican."
"Of course, and because it's you asking I won't even take humiliating/embarrassing pictures of them or draw on their faces." He beamed.
"Bye Leo." She smiled spreading her wings. "Cornelia."
"Gabriel." His partner responded curtly. The seraph disappeared in a burst of light, leaving them to return the two exorcists.
"Dulio you mobile?" He probed. He got a jerky so-so motion from the priest.
"Griselda is passed out." Cornelia said poking the nun. "I'll take her to her dorm."
Walking over to Dulio he threw him over his shoulder in a firemen's carry. "Do you need portal?"
Cornelia shook her head, as she picked up Griselda with ease, turning on her heel she disappeared in a flash.
"You've got to lose some weight." Leo complained, a magic sequence tracing itself around his legs. He took a single step forward and space folded in on itself so that with a single move he was in front of the Exorcist barracks.
Dumping the man on the first open bed he resisted the urge to do something embarrassing, opting to simply teleport out before he gave into temptation. Arriving at their hotel room he was unsurprised to see Cornelia already there.
"Leo." She purred, walking towards him, her pantsuit fading away to be replaced by a negligee that left little to imagination.
"Yes, my love?" He said placing his hands around her waist.
"What did you think you were doing with that heavenly feather duster?"
"Talking." He answered.
"It looked more like flirting to me." She whispered darkly, sending shivers down his spine.
"You have nothing to worry about." He reassured.
"I'm not worried." She snapped, before relaxing into his embrace. "So long as I'm always number one in your heart, I don't care who else you might take to our bed."
"Your mother is such a bad influence." He remarked.
She chuckled, "it's not her fault that harems are so common in the supernatural world."
"The downfalls of such a long life, it gets boring to have the same partner for a thousand years."
"We have all that time together. Take me."
He grinned pushing her towards the bed, creating a barrier with practiced ease.