Welcome back to another chapter! As an introduction to this world, the angels and demons have their own language of their own! Angels uses the Latin language written in italics (Latin is classy and prestigious in the religious world too, so win-win!) while the demon language is just words spelled backwards in bold letters. So for example: legna nellA would mean angel Allen in demon language. You don't have to worry much, because their conversations are not that important. But just to let you know. Now you can read the angel/demon language! Congrats!
Miranda started teaching Allen the hidden language of the demonic kind for days now, yet it would seem that Allen had no success in it so far. Miranda would chuckle at Allen's pretty stuttering and awkward pronunciations, smiling patiently at her determined student. In her eyes, Allen was a youngling that she never had. The angel fluttered around playfully like a child whenever Johnny and Reever were around to guard. Allen no longer had the urge to go out of his room, but anyone could see the yearning that Allen had hidden deeply in those angelic eyes. His pure, white wings gave a flurry of frantic movements whenever the door was opened or anyone of them mentioned the outside world to Allen. Although Allen was given the utmost attention and education from her and the guards, Miranda's keen eyesight could detect the underlying frustration from Allen; the angel was suffocating here, and there was nothing she could do to ease his pain. Nobody could. Nobody but the Demon Lord himself.
"What's going on here?" Lavi grumbled from the doorway, watching with caution when he saw his clan's medic lying on the floor with books askew everywhere with the bloody angel sitting opposite her.
Allen quaked as he saw the very Demon Lord in real life for the first time. The demon had the broadest shoulders he had ever seen on a demon and though his muscles weren't obvious, Allen could see the lean body that Lavi had kept in pristine shape. What had caught Allen's attention straightaway was not Lavi's powerfully built body, but of his wings. Those demonic wings were HUGE! They're probably double my wing span and stronger than they looked now! Allen gulped in amazement. Even when folded neatly behind his back, Allen could properly appreciate the majesty of a Demon Lord's wings. Imagine if they're spread out and open. How fascinating would that be!
"L-Lavi! I didn't know you were here!" Miranda's fearful voice stopped Allen's musing. It was clear that his new-found friend was scared of Lavi's reaction. Allen wouldn't be surprised if Lavi actually would strike Miranda right now, since she was forbidden to communicate with a prisoner of some sorts.
But Miranda was only sating his curiosity and desire for new knowledge, all the while with a cheerful smile and calm demeanour. So, for Miranda's sake, Allen bravely stood up and put on his best impression as he came in front of a stiffened Lavi, "Ym droL, ym retsaM, woh llahs I evres eeht?"
Lavi widened his one green eye as he took in the angel's words. It was spoken in his demonic language, which was for certain. But the petite angel was vomiting his pronunciations and his tone was all over the place. Instead of asking how he shall serve the master, the bloody angel was asking a woman the wonders of fish rainbows. It was like listening to garbled speech of a baby demon. He was torn between laughing in wild amusement or ripping out the angel's throat for deforming his preserved language. But what stopped his decision-making was the face of the angel.
Unbeknownst to Allen, the angel was standing at close proximity with Lavi. Therefore, Lavi could see the fearless bravery in the smaller being's posture. At the corner of his eye, Lavi could see Allen's wings wanting to curl around his body for protection against the potential danger. But Allen didn't do anything to betray his nervousness. Instead, he looked at Lavi straight into his eye. Lavi could practically feel the air around him dropping to sublime coldness, the smell of peppermint was flitting in the atmosphere. It was as if Lavi was dropped into a calm wave of peace, asking him to surrender to his animosity and embrace the tranquillity that was the angel.
But Lavi wasn't called the Demon Lord for nothing. He shrugged off the angel's strange aura and walked into the room. Ignoring Allen, he picked up one of the books and allowed Miranda to leave his sight. When the door shut, the demon turned to see a weary yet curious angel standing at the edge of the bed.
"Your mis wrong and your eeth should sound like ethe instead," Lavi mumbled carelessly as he flipped the opened book. Many of these books held nothing but simple words, most probably chosen especially to teach insolent angels on the language itself. A shuffle of wings alerted Lavi of the angel, but stayed still instead of moving around.
"Ah, sorry… I.. Know I need to work on that. I kept mixing that with neh and it's all a bit challenging," Allen's wings finally caved in and wrapped the angel's body around like a feathery armour.
Only the shuffling of pages were the sounds that came from the bedroom, The angel's jittery appearance was getting into Lavi's nerves. He closed the book with a 'bang', making the other jump in small shock. He walked smoothly towards the jumpy angel, and reveled on the fact that the creature still stood his ground and even had the guts to face him with courage. Only the dauntless or the foolish can withstand his demonic pressure and presence, and Lavi was not above using his power to make imprudent demons bow down to him.
To his surprise, however, the angel remained resolute in his stance. In fact, the more demonic power Lavi excruciated to force the angel to heel, the more relaxed and unbothered the other became! Lavi can see the serenity in his angelic eyes, the smooth plane of his pale face and the undisturbed state of his body. True, the angel's wings were still solidly covering his non-armoured body, but even the wings themselves looked as if they were only there as a warning, not as proper protection. All in all, it was as if the angel was unaffected by Lavi's ultimate dominance!
Grudgingly acknowledging the very fact that his powers can do nothing to change the angel's attitude, he walked towards the window and kept his gaze outside as he spoke coolly, "Tell me what you are learning now,"
Allen knew resignation when he saw it, and the all-powerful and fearful Demon Lord was practically oozing it! Allen was more stunned than ever, but he respected the high-class demon for not giving up the fight until it was deemed worthless. Picking up the sharp turn of events with ease, he sat on the bed and allowed his wings to unfurl themselves a little to show his openness, "Well, Miranda was here on the e and the eth…"
Since Lavi was already inside the creature's room, it was only logical to eat his dinner inside with the angel. It was completely logical, right? So why was Lenalee looking so smug when she arrived to bring two plates of dinner instead of the usual one? Lavi didn't care either way. He took both their plates and placed them on the floor, finding a space away from all the opened and scattered literature devices.
Lavi ignored the company when said angel hesitantly sat opposite him on the floor. Lavi remained steadfast in the silence when he started murmuring prayers underneath his breath before he started eating his food. But he couldn't take it when the angel was openly gazing at his wings!
"What?" Lavi's wings fluffed outwards in a threatening kind of way, showing his annoyance to the stupid creature for the visible staring, "Ya know.. It's kinda rude to stare at people's wings…"
When the angel didn't answer but kept his curious eyes at his outstretched wings, Lavi softly hit the back of his head with one wing. He spread opened his demon wings and sharpened them to the maximum, showing off his massive appendages that easily covered half of the entire room with bleak darkness, "the more souls the demon has killed, the darker his wings will be," Lavi then enclosed both of them with his still-sharp wings, his tips touching the angel's shoulders and he felt his feathers just aching to sink into angel blood. He grinned darkly as the other's eyes widen in shock at the darkness that suddenly surrounded him. Even the purity of the angel's white wings drowned in the lightless that was Lavi's wings. Lavi edged closer, his voice dropping into a whisper as his wings came closer, "how many souls do you think I've killed, huh, little angel?"
But the only reply Lavi got from the angel was a gentle touch on his hardened feathers. The little angel was showing wide-eye amazement as his hands touched Lavi's wings delicately as if the battle-scarred wings were made out of glass, his angelic voice filled with undisclosed awe, "they're beautiful..." He said in a hushed whisper. It was Lavi's turn to feel shock; no one had ever complimented on his wings. A demon's wings represented the ferocity and power of a demon. Wings of a Demon Lord are to be feared upon, to be looked upon with envy and pride. So, to actually compliment his wings in such an aloof manner...
As soon as Allen ran his fingers downwards to feel more of the demon's wings, the pitch-black atmosphere withdrew from him and returned to their former state behind Lavi. Without a word, the Demon Lord got up and left the room. Oh no! Did I scare him off? Are demon's wings as sacred as my own? How could I do such a thing! And without asking for his permission! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
That was how Reever and Johnny found him the next day; sitting sadly and mumbling to himself on the floor with yesterday's untouched food still lying in front of him. It took them a while for them to help them recover, assuring the frantic angel that all was well and no, Lavi did not look like he was planning his murder when they had passed him just now.
"In fact, he looked really mellowed out... Come to think of it, his wings were loose today too," Johnny spoke in contemplation while explaining to the young Allen.
Allen had learned that contrary to angels, demons were openly showing their emotions without care through their wings. The demons didn't mind Allen's frantic wing movements all this time because they too, had such moments where they couldn't control their wings. It made Allen feel at ease; knowing that whenever his wings gave away his emotions, the demons either took no offense to them or unable to read his ever-changing feelings. Unlike his brethren, who always frown upon Allen's inability to contain his constantly-moving wings...
~.~
"Alright, my turn to babysit," a new voice called out in a carefree tone.
Allen's eyes widened in surprise at Lavi's announcement. The Demon Lord shoved the two shock guards out of the bedroom and sat back on the floor as if he was initially there in the first place. Without missing a beat, Lavi opened a random book after leaning back to find a comfortable reading position. Allen continued to stare in silence, before shrugging his shoulders and taking up the place opposite the quiet Demon Lord.
It became a sort of strange routine between the demons and Allen; the mornings and afternoons had Allen spend his time with Miranda or Lenalee, together with the two funny guards. Their laughter filled the once-gloomy hallways because Allen insisted that the door should stay open since "angels must always be ready to receive those who come to them for help,". The demons entertained their little angel about that open-door policy, but put their foot down when it came to sleeping at night or whenever his guards weren't around. All throughout the days, the demons flourished in Allen's presence; his angelic aura making the atmosphere lighter and brighter for everyone. Although they still didn't discover as to whether this was within Allen's innate powers, they didn't mind being just contented with spending time with Allen.
"Allen, Lavi's here!" Lenalee mocked both Allen and Lavi as their time came to an end. Allen's evenings and nights belonged solely to Lavi, their Demon Lord grumpily pouting at the babysitting duty that he took up upon himself. I don't recall anybody ordering Lavi to spend time with Allen though... Lenalee thought gleefully as she exchanged places with Lavi.
Lavi and Allen would spend their time quietly reading the books that was now permanently located in the bedroom. Occasionally, Allen would ask a few questions about the language to Lavi. The Demon Lord would reply at some questions with amused taunts or leave Allen's wandering questions unanswered. As usual, Lavi would -logically, if you asked him- eat his dinner together with Allen. That was when Lavi's patience was tested numerous of times more than the amount of times that Lavi had to invest in handle his clan's problems.
"Can I go out, Lavi?" Allen would ask.
Then, the answer would always be, "No, Allen, you can't,"
This time though, Allen didn't let the unexplained answer go unexplained. The resolute angel frowned, marring his pale face with such a negative reaction to show his dissatisfaction, "why not? Lenalee can follow me, if you want. All I want to do is to go out! I need-"
"NO is NO, you little fool! Stop asking me that! Uoy tonnac, tsum ton, og tuo ta lla! I redro uoy!" Lavi growled furiously, his wings opening up to show the seriousness of the matter.
Allen stared unwavering towards the demonic order. Lavi forbidding him to never escape was a normal thing, but to order him around in his demonic voice.. Allen felt his heart breaking at the false hope he once held so dearly. He dropped his gaze at the unfinished food, the tranquillity broken by the rumbling sound of a demon's voice.
Lavi continued eating like nothing had happened, but his wings spoke otherwise. Agitated by Allen's consistent and pestering questions, his black wings ruffled themselves as they started to sharpen by instinct. They moved more often now- Lavi thought, -more often in this shortstuff's presence.. He nearly didn't catch the angel's next question, the solemn being spoke in a toneless voice that was very unlike the melodious tune that Lavi was used to hearing, "... Then why am I here for?"
Needless to say, Lavi left the question without an answer. Allen was not surprised. Yet he still felt demotivated. To balance out his wayward emotions and fluffing wings, he delved into the teachings of the demonic language. He stopped asking Lavi unnecessary questions over the following days, holding his tongue stubbornly whenever dusk came about. Instead, he practised speaking when he was alone.
"Your ghe is still as atrocious as ever, Allen," Reever spoke his opinion as he caught the little angel red-handed.
Reever laughed as he watched Allen's face turned beet red of embarrassment. Closing the door and ignoring the glaring Allen, he made himself comfortable by sitting on the bed that was so neatly made. He could smell the tantalising smell of angel seeping through the materials; the familiar peppermint scent was comforting for Reever's delicate sense of smell. As Allen continued shuffling through the books given by Miranda, the guard watched with relaxed wings as the innocent angel started butchering his demonic language once more.
"Why try so hard to learn our language, Allen? Don't all angels have to stay pure and holy? "
Allen fumbled with his pronunciations at Reever's question, his angelic pale face started to blush a pretty light red. Reever tried not to laugh as he leaned forwards with a jeering smile, "is it for Lavi?"
Allen's wings popped open to hit Reever directly in the face. The sudden wing attack felt much harder than any other demon's wing, enough to send Reever reeling back onto the bed once more. Reever took no offense in it whatsoever though, since Allen was livid with a now slightly angered face, "who would want to talk to a demon like him? Lavi has no manners at all! I don't like him and I'll probably never will!"
"Hey, hey, come on now, Allen. Lavi's actually a not-so-bad demon, ya know. I thought angels were supposed to love everyone," Reever pointed an accusing finger at Allen as he rose to defend his Demon Lord, "Lavi is actually k-"
A sudden rise in noise that came from outside made Reever jump up and stood in a defensive stance in front of Allen. The coming noise came closer, and Allen's bedroom door opened with a loud thud to reveal a panting Johnny.
"T-The patrol came back! But they're injured! Come on, Reever, they need all the help they can get!" Johnny shouted in panic, not waiting for Reever's reply and swiftly ran through the corridors once again.
Reever moved forwards to follow his friend, but was stopped when Allen moved to intercept his advance with wide open wings, "wait! Reever! Take me with you! I can help!"
"No, it's too dangerous, Allen. Someone might see you out of your room!" Reever retorted at once.
But Allen stomped his feet once on the ground and held his open position with pleading eyes that could melt the hardest of metal and a voice that sounded like a quivering bow, "I can heal, Reever! Really, I can! Please, Reever!"
Not wanting to waste any more time, Reever nodded his consent and the two went racing down to the ground level where the infirmary was. There were injured demons everywhere; a total of 7 could be counted by Allen alone. Allen's heart wept out with pity and remorse, but didn't stay for long as a commanding voice rang out,
"Reever! What is he doing here?!"
Allen came to see a tall, lean demon with smoothen yet messy wings talking to Reever. His body had bruises even underneath the blackened armour that he wore, but his mature face showed no sign of pain. Instead, he was looking quite angry and fearful at the same time. Allen didn't quite like that sour look on such a handsome face. He took a step forward to save Reever from a verbal-lashing and remembered to smile politely as he was always taught to do, "Hullo, I'm Saint Allen Walker. Please to meet you,"
"Pleasure is all mine, angel. I'm Captain Komui. I've heard about you from my sister, Lenalee... You shouldn't be here, Allen. Hurry and do what you must, before Lavi figures out what's happening," the demon in command nodded his approval, albeit wearily. Allen showed his open hands and closed his eyes, murmuring the familiar prayers to start the healing process.
"Pater , da mihi ut faciam Deus voluntatem tuam virtutem," Allen's singing voice sung its harmonious tune, his power resonating in echoes. Komui was unfamiliar with the language, but somehow knew that Allen was speaking in the tongue of angels.
The angel's first language; listened by all but known to none. He had heard that their very language was directly tied to their 'God', taking spiritual strength from the very archaic words themselves. Komui rarely believed that such Latin-like words had power; but seeing and practically experiencing it was a whole different matter.
Komi took a deep breath in, amazed that his lungs inhaled a refreshing gust of air instead of ashen dust. His mind accepted the calm atmosphere as readily as a physical hug, the coldness sink into his blood veins like ice to a hot wound. Without wanting to, Komui felt his aching muscles loosened themselves and his entire body felt like sleeping the dreamy peace away. Instantly, he felt rejuvenated as if he had gotten a good night's rest or two. He felt as if he could take over the world, what with his body already recovered fully without any sign of wounds or scars.
"Wow…" Komui was speechless for once as he took in his newly-recuperated body that was immediately healed of its terrible wounds a few seconds earlier. He had to admit to himself, Allen was a much faster and effective healer than Miranda, even on the demon healer's better days! "This is amazing, Allen,"
Allen breathed out in relief, smiling a light smile as he took in his work proudly, "Thank you, Komui. You're all healed now.. And I do hope it stays that way," he said automatically, like he had rehearsed those lines for some time now.
"Allen! Come quick! Here!" Lenalee's frantic voice called out towards them.
Allen rushed to the corner of the infirmary, taking in the sight of Miranda trying vainly to heal a heavily injured Kanda. Even from his angle, Allen can clearly see Kanda's broken and burnt arm, the injury was a far worse cry than Komui's scattered marks. Miranda's normally-straight hair was tied up in a messy bun and her eyes had black bags underneath them as a testament of the healer's constant healing.
"Allen… I can't heal him any further! But if we don't do anything, Kanda'll…" Miranda clasped her hands together in helplessness. Allen nodded in composed understanding as he walked towards the unconscious demon. Wait… What am I doing? Am I really going to heal a demon? Kanda was the one who attacked me! He's the one who despised me the most, after Lavi! Why should I heal this worthless demon? But as soon as he thought his last opinion, Allen shook his head fervently. No! Father didn't teach me to be selfish! I must heal and protect all of His creations!
As Allen looked over Kanda's multiple injuries –looks like a combination of claw and weapon origin-, he didn't ignore the fact that many demons were watching him with begging eyes. By then, Allen knew that this demon, this despicable BaKanda, was well-liked among his clan members. So for that reason, he gave a heavy sigh as he made his verdict without turning around to see crest-fallen faces, "Kanda's damage is all too serious to be healed normally, even by a high-level demon healer like Miranda-"
Lenalee swallowed her whine as she stepped forward; she felt her energy drained as her legs gave way to the ground below. But a soft shuffle of wings made her look up again. Allen's wings were open slightly, revealing muscular yet smooth feathers that ran from side to end. Allen had his right hand over his heart and his other hand floating inches away from Kanda's bare chest, "-but I'm here now,"
Allen's left hand that hovered over the sleeping body came down with a bright glow. Allen stifled a hiss as he felt the tingling sensation of contact, but he gritted his teeth instead and spoke out in a commanding voice that never failed to call upon his Father for help, "Si suus voluntatem tuam fiat, Pater. Sed placet hic calix transire animae" Allen felt his hands burning, but he kept contact as he ran his hand through Kanda's poor body. He felt his power grow by then, trying to heal the broken demon. Allen's hands finally clapped together in a praying position; straight fingers and right thumb crossing the left. He felt his power surging as he gave the final prayer with closed, serene eyes, "Feci operam , pater. Tu autem in ceteris suus,"
The power surge was like a powerful wave of cold sea water to the demons. Demons from every level of the castle felt recharged for some unknown reason, their spirits lifted high and their senses on high alert. It was undeniable now; the angel had restored every single demon in the castle to full health.
The Demon Lord was one of the affected ones. He felt the power surge and his body accepted the healing spell like a man thirsty for water in the desert. The power was addictive, as if any demon would gladly bury himself in that soft, seductive power for the rest of his life and would never complain about a thing. Instead of being thankful or even confused however, Lavi felt rage bubbling from inside him. He slammed his book down onto the table, making the furniture crack under the massive pressure. Bookman shivered in fear as the Demon Lord growled in undisguised fury, "erehw si eht legna?!"
"Urgh…." Allen slumped down onto the ground, his shaky hands holding the bars of the bed. He felt hands hesitatingly helping him back up, but Allen shook his body free of the help as he tried to clear his head. The prayer took a lot out of him, apparently, "I'm alright. Thank you, Lenalee,"
"No, thank you, Allen," Lenalee thanked with gratitude. There was no questioning the look from Lenalee's eyes. Allen knew that look. Had experienced it himself before it was taken ruthlessly away from him.
He looked at Lenalee's teary eyes and he smiled a small smile as he whispered, "you love him,"
Lenalee only shook her head as she whispered back, but with a wistful look, "demons can't love, Allen,"
"Everyone can love; everyone deserves to be loved," Allen said sadly before bringing himself up to face the other demons.
Reever and Komui came forward, wanting to help the wavering Allen but stood at standby when Allen only waved his burnt hands in retaliation, "I'm tired, not invalid, guys! I would like to go back to my room now, please,"
Reever and Komui walked silently behind the exhausted angel, his white wings were sagging tiredly behind him. They were at awe towards the healing angel; Komui a bit more thankful than Reever. He wondered just how powerful the young angel was and how much power was Allen still hiding away from them. Surely the angel can do more than just healing! The amount of mastery invested into healing Kanda can attest to that! Allen was a walking enigma, a puzzling mystery that urged Komui to peel away layer after layer to finally discover what Allen was made of. Komui rolled his –recovered- shoulders easily, ignoring his demonic instincts to kill the strangely unnatural angel.
But it wasn't Komui's demonic instincts that Allen had to watch out for.
Like resonance of a pebble dropping into still water, both demons felt a chocking compression that made them want to collapse onto the floor below. Demon Lord Lavi was coming, and he definitely wasn't looking happy to greet an unaware Allen. Komui pushed Allen backwards as Reever took the angel's place, "GO, Allen! Get away from-"
Allen let out a surprised gasp as Lavi came out of nowhere and pushed Komui into the conjoining wall. Reever wanted to intercept his Demon Lord, but Lavi only flicked his wrist and the demon guard was thrown out of the glass window. Acting upon maternal instincts, Allen ran towards the smashed window, "REEVER!"
But Allen was pulled back by his wings and Allen screamed in fright and agony. My wings! Allen tried to turn and struggle, but the harder he tried to escape from Lavi's clawed clutches, the more blood from his wings began to bleed out. Allen shouted with a voice similar to a broken song without a proper tune and a pitiful rhythm, "LAVI! Please! LET GO!"
Lavi still held onto the infernal angel's wings with all his might, uncaring of the frantic movements that came from the creature itself. He dragged the crying thing across the tiled floor as its singing cries rang around the castle. Finally reaching his destination, he threw the baggage inside the dungeon where this whole thing started and locked the door with a triumphant huff. The key he had kept in his pocket, his patience for the creature he had left in the dungeon.
As Lenalee heard what had happened, she shook her head and told her saddened brother, "It's not your fault, Komui… You did your best to protect Allen…" It's my fault; if I didn't beg Allen to save Kanda, none of this would've happen and Allen would've been safe… The demon mage left Miranda to care for an unconscious Reever. She didn't dare to confront Lavi when he was overcome by wrath and demonic storm. Instead, she buried herself in the library and covered herself in books about angels.
That was where she stayed for a couple of days and nights. Although there were only less than a handful of books about the demons' archenemies, she drank every piece of information she could find. Most of what she read was obviously fake (part of the book was saying that Allen had the ability to shape-shift and another part said that Allen had the kiss of death). But upon one of her discoveries, she uncovered something that was crucial to Allen's survival. Something that she couldn't dare risk it to be false. Taking the book in hand and running towards the main chamber, she burst inside the gloomy room that was filled with destroyed furniture.
"LAVI!" She called out to the Demon Lord without caring of the consequences of spooking an infuriated demon, "You have to let Allen out!" Lenalee pointed at a segment from the opened book with a sharp finger, "Angels need sunlight or they'll die!"
I really love writing this story although Lavi feels a bit OOC in the beginning. But I do hope you're still sticking around for more, because my ideas keep coming in like waves haha Oh yes, if you really want to know what Allen was praying about in his lovely angel language, here is the translation if you're too lazy to use google translate (yes, I used google translate. So if I made any mistakes, please forgive me!)
Pater , da mihi ut faciam Deus voluntatem tuam virtutem (Father, give me the power that I should do Thy will)
Si suus voluntatem tuam fiat, Pater. Sed placet hic calix transire animae (If it's Your will be done, Father. But please let this cup pass from him)
Feci operam , pater. Tu autem in ceteris suus (I did try my best, Father. You have the rest of it)
Hopefully I didn't make you confused. If I need, feel free to ask me anytime! Hope you enjoyed this latest update and I wish to hear from you soon! Have a wonderful day!