Alpha and Omega - Jackal's Story
Chapter 19
In collaboration with Subzero Dragon. Visit their profile to see the other side of this story.
"Azrail?" I manage to squeeze out before the girl pounces onto me. I fall flat on my back and land awkwardly against the ground. It doesn't help that the girl on top of me snuggles into me and makes me grind against the ground as well. I grunt awkwardly before finding the strength to forcefully push her off. As soon as I had, I scurry away from her, just in case she decides she hasn't finished squeezing the life out of me.
"What's Azrail?" I hear Robin speak from beside me with a hint of confusion. I must have subconsciously scurried in her direction when trying to get away from this girl.
"And who are you?" I chip in as I get up from the floor. These last few seconds had been pretty confusing. After managing to kill the Garuda, we suddenly find ourselves at the mercy of woman clad in a modest-length red dress that hugs her, dare I say it, enticingly curvaceous frame. She adorns a soft, innocent-looking face as well as long, brown hair, the fringe of which covers most of her forehead. The woman opens her mouth as if she is about to speak but stops as we hear a set of footsteps.
"Did you just leave Alisa in there?" She asks so casually but also suspiciously. How does she know Alisa? Has she been watching us? Now that I think about it, how is it that we run into her, or her into me, right after the mission?
"How do you know Captain Alisa?" Robin speaks up, seemingly thinking along the same lines as me. The woman doesn't answer and merely looks to where Alisa emerges from the building.
"The helicopter is on its way." She says between breaths as she runs towards us. "Oh, Lucia? I didn't know you were here." She speaks with a surprised expression, but I doubt her surprised expression could beat mine. Possibly even Robin's if I had bothered to check. After a few seconds in which Alisa and the girl now known as Lucia begin a conversation, I regain my composure and look towards Soma. Surely if he knew that Alisa knows the girl then he would have said something. Actually… since he is Soma, I should have expected nothing from him. I give a heavy sigh before walking towards him.
"You could have saved us a lot of trouble if you had just said that you knew her." I speak in a voice slightly above a whisper, patting his shoulder to let him know that I am talking to him rather than Alisa, despite being a few metres away from the woman catching up with Lucia. I turn my head backwards to see that Robin has decided to join the two females, though I can't quite hear what they're talking about.
"You could have saved us a lot of trouble if you were the one to start the attack." He speaks back in a deep voice.
"What are you talking about?" I enquire with confusion lacing my voice. He shrugs off my hand that was still on his shoulder.
"If you were the one to lead the attack, we could have defeated that Aragami a long time ago." He angrily states. I blink in surprise before I can formulate a response.
"You aren't… really? Soma, that's just petty." I don't even dignify him with speaking to his face. Thankfully, I don't need to as the helicopter appears overhead. I walk towards it as it reaches the ground, only to feel a large weight almost make me topple to the ground. "Woah!" I turn my head to see Lucia on my back. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"I must admit that I'm surprised as well." I hear Alisa speak. I struggle as I look in her direction and see the shocked face of Alisa as well as Robin. Even Soma stares at us.
"She's your friend, right? Get her off of me!" I try to throw Lucia off of my back, but she somehow manages to stay on.
"Lucia, maybe you should…" I can see Alisa's going to be no help in this.
"Sorry about this…" I whisper, hoping she hears it, before I begin walking backwards, and eventually run backwards into a wall…
Let's just say that my method of doing things wasn't very appreciated; and, along the ride home, Lucia ignored any questions coming from me, including questions about what an "Azrail" is as well as why she was here.
Upon arriving back at the Far East, I had already thought of a possibility as to why Lucia was here. So, immediately upon landing, I set off towards the Director's office.
"Director Sakaki?" I knock on his door a few times.
"Jackal? Come in." He seemed surprised to hear from me. Regardless, I walk into the room and stand in front of his desk.
"So how did you fare in that mission? I heard you had a surprise encounter." He smiles as he clasps his hands together in anticipation for me to speak.
"Two surprise encounters actually…" My face contorts into a nervous one.
"Oh? Please tell me about them."
"Well, the first one was the Garuda and, with a plan devised by Robin, we were able to defeat it. For some reason though, Alisa's and Soma's God Arcs weren't very effective against it, but Robin's and mine were."
"That is very interesting. Was there anything different about this Garuda compared to the last one you fought?" He enquires with a serious look. "You're probably better off asking Robin about that. I think I'm more focused on the second surprise encounter."
"Hmm… Very well, I'll ask Robin about it soon." He speaks seriously before regaining his smile, "what was this second surprise encounter?"
"After the mission, a girl called Lucia appeared." I grimace as I remember the events of not even an hour ago. "So I was wondering, is this the person that the Singapore Branch sent over to verify my identity?" Actually, now that I think about it. She kept saying 'Azrail'. Is it possible that that is a name? My name?
"If she is, then she hasn't reported to me yet. I'll make sure to call for her and see if she is the representative. For now though, you should probably make a start on your mission report." My eyes widen. I'd forgotten all about the fact that I need to produce mission reports for every mission I go on with Robin, starting with this one. "I'll be looking forward to it." He speaks evilly. Well, it's not as though it is the first mission report I've ever done. I can just copy most of another one and then edit it to suit this mission… No, this is all so that Robin can remain as a God Eater. I should do it properly.
Five gruelling hours later, I manage to complete a report that I think captures how well I believe Robin performed. I included all the parts where she helped me and made sure to draw attention to the fact that it was Robin who thought of the plan that ultimately brought down the Garuda. Speaking of Robin, I wonder if she has already been asked to see the Director yet. Oh well, I'll hand this in and then get to sleep.
I leave my room and head back up to the Director's office. I open the door and completely disregard the fact that Lucia and the director were in the middle of a conversation as I hand him the report and immediately head back to my room. Upon arriving, I flop onto the bed and fall asleep within minutes.
I grumble as I hear several loud noises. At first, I think of these as being knocks on my door, but when I listen closely, I can hear the scraping of metal on metal. I attempt to rub my eyes but find myself unable to move my hands. Immediately, worry consumes me as I know I've been in a similar situation before. I remember the dream I had a while ago where two shadow figures entered the room while I was bound to a wall. Now, upon opening my eyes, I see darkness but not only that. The room has a few candles scattered around the floor. Moving my head, I look at each of them and see that they surround me in a circle. As I become more familiar with my surroundings, the more things I notice. The candles do not give out the same light as regular candles. Instead, they give out an eerie blue light. Connecting each of these lights, are strange blue markings along the floor that make a star, with me being in the centre of it. Also present are numerous strange liquids in vials as well as some strange plants with white flowers.
Suddenly, I hear multiple voices and quickly look around. Many figures clad in black robes that cover their faces as well gather closer towards the circle, and me. The voices all appear to be speaking in synchronicity and it is only when I see a 3-metre large figure materialise from a black and blue mist that I begin to panic. From somewhere, I hear musical instruments.
"I" The figure speaks in a very deep, male voice despite the effeminate appearance. The man appears gentle, but can't possibly be with such a deep voice. "… am…" Wait a minute. This seems like… is this a ritual? I quickly look over all of the things I had noticed again. It is a ritual! It's the only possibility and I'm… the sacrifice?
"NO! NO! I DON'T WANT THIS! I SHOULDN'T BE SACRIFICED! I WANT TO LIVE!" I wail but nobody listens.
"Paimon." The man finishes, and the musical instruments stop. I continue to wail. Surely now that the chanting has stopped, they can hear me. "I require a sacrifice." He hisses, and I feel my heart painfully constrict in my chest. "Then, I will give you what you want."
"There's your sacrifice!" I hear a druid shout and can feel them pointing at me.
"You're all monsters!" I shout and don't even attempt to hide the tears that fall down my face. I can't even curl myself up into a ball as my legs are bound as well. Regretfully, I open my eyes, only to come face to face with the demon in front of me. I open my mouth to scream but feel nothing come out. That's when I feel a sharp claw through my gut.
"AAAHHH!" I shoot up from my bed screaming but suddenly feel someone's hands over my mouth and push me down onto the bed. I bite the hand and it pulls away quickly.
"Ow! Jackal!" The familiar voice of my best friend shouts in pain. Immediately, I realise that Robin is with me, meaning that I had bitten Robin.
"Robin! Are you okay?" I ask with worry lacing my voice, moving to switch on the light before rushing to her side.
"Yeah." She shakes her hand a few times. I sigh and use my arm to wipe the sleep from my eyes, only to realise that they were wet. I turn away from her and wipe them properly. "But are you okay?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" I ask, walking into another part of the room to give myself an excuse not to face her.
"I heard you talking in your sleep… You weren't just mumbling either. You were loud. I had no choice but to check on you." She says kindly, but worriedly. The tone of her voice makes me think that we're going to be here for a while…