A/N: (October 13th)
It's been a year since I first released Heaven's Fall.
…It's really been that long, huh?
Time moves fast. Still can't believe I wrote that much in that amount of time— and I'm still going, lol
I'm glad you took the time to check out this sequel.
It's late at night as I'm writing this so I'll keep it short.
Thanks for reading Heaven's Fall, and thank you for reading this one. I have some good stuff for you in this installment, so I hope you enjoy.
This is where The Second French Incident begins in earnest. With the Grail War behind them, what will our heroes deal with next?
Let's find out. Enjoy.
Chapter II: A Certain Palace of Popes
While it wasn't Touma Kamijou's first time on a plane, he couldn't get over how freakishly fast that one was.
Even now, sitting in a rented car and driving through the French highways, he could feel his bones still shuddering from the roughly five-hour turbulence of that superjet. They had moved so fast that the time for them hadn't changed between France and Academy City; they had practically landed at the same time they departed.
Academy City really didn't mess around when it came to technological superiority, but the cost came at possibly his breakfast that morning if the ride went on for even a few minutes longer.
Thankfully, they had landed before it came to that.
Sighing, Touma Kamijou leaned his head against the window, and watched the early morning sunrise of the French landscape. The summery hills and dawning air, paired with the occasional trees and running rivers really did make the country seem picturesque.
'At least the views are nice. And…'
Yawning, he glanced behind him. Two of the three girls were knocked out, probably from the exhaustion of the journey…he couldn't blame them, honestly.
Meanwhile, a certain red magus also watched the opposite landscape that he was, her palm lightly pressed against her chin and cheek as she watched the cars and trees and grass pass by.
A moment later, she noticed him looking and gave a tiny nod.
"You been to France before, Tohsa— Rin?" Touma asked. It was still a little uncomfortable calling her by her given name, but he pressed forward anyway. It also indirectly implied that she and Sakura had the same last name now, so he was happy to oblige by it.
The mage shook her head. "No, but I've always wanted to. My summer visits to Britain never allowed for any free time, so while I've seen it in person before…it's always been across the Channel. So in a way, I'm happy to be here— though hopefully next time it'll be for pleasure instead of business."
"Yeah. I get how that feels." Touma agreed. "Index and I went to Italy not too long ago, but never got to see the sights since it was for a mission."
"Oh, I think Index told me about that, actually." Rin said.
The two of them heard Tsuchimikado snicker from the driver's seat. "I remember sending you on that. Did you have fun, Kami-yan?"
"I nearly got killed."
"Par for the course, really." Tsuchimikado shrugged. "I don't think this excursion's gonna be any different, either."
Rin blinked at his nonchalance. "W-Way to bring the morale up, Tsuchimikado-kun…"
"Hey, I got you guys here in the first place, and that's already bringing up Avignon's chances. You have no idea how much work it was to convince the Lyon airports to let us land, or how much work went into getting an International Driver's License…"
Kamijou's eye twitched. Something about Tsuchimikado complaining about willingly doing a lot of work didn't make much sense. "…You forged half of those documents, didn't you?"
"And that takes a lot of time!" He protested. "In any case, we're not that far from Avignon now. Maybe another hour, so just sit tight. I'll buy you all another breakfast for your troubles."
Letting the topic go, Kamijou decided to shift the subject a little. "So what's exactly going on in Avignon?" He asked. "You haven't really told us much other than Ciel called for us, and I'm needed for the job."
Tsuchimikado shrugged as he flicked on his blinker and switched lanes. Frankly, Kamijou was almost surprised that he was driving safely— until he realized the speedometer read that they were going about thirty kilometers an hour above the speed limit.
'Ah, there's that recklessness I expect from him.'
"Honestly? I don't know the full picture. Ciel does, and she told me she'd tell everyone once we arrived. It's probably easier that way, anyway." Tsuchimikado explained. "But…from what I do know? As usual, that right hand of yours is invaluable for this mission. Need to destroy a document that's been causing quite a bit of worldwide chaos."
"Lemme guess…do I have to punch someone?" Touma asked, more like a muttered resignation than a question.
"Possibly."
Touma's shoulders slumped. "Oh, great. Please tell me they'll be a guy."
"What do you mean by that, exactly?" Tohsaka protested from the back. For some reason, he felt his hairs stand on end from the underlying malice in her voice.
"E-Er…Nothing, really. Just feels extra-weird looking a girl in the eyes after I sock them in the jaw."
"I can get that." Motoharu backed him up. "Guys beat each other up and then can become friends the next day. Gals…yeah no, most let that punch stick. For a while. If you're really unlucky? Probably for the rest of your life."
"Hey, that's not necessarily true." Rin countered. "I've been…uh…huh. I don't think I've actually been punched before. At least not outside of martial arts training."
Kamijou raised a brow. "And how did that go?"
"I proceeded to flip them onto the ground and put their punching arm into an armbar until they submitted." Rin said, without missing a single iota of a beat.
"Ah." Tsuchimikado whistled. "And there ya go."
xXx
A little earlier.
It was early, early morning in Avignon. The sun had only barely risen over the hilly horizon, and school wasn't going to be in session, nor would most workplaces be active for another hour or so. The only shops one would see open at this time of day were cafés— which was specifically the place that Ciel decided to huddle down for the time being.
Sitting down at a quaint, small bakery near the heart of Avignon, Ciel took a bite from a pain au chocolat, or chocolate croissant, while sipping from a morning coffee. She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep that night— barely any, really— so starting her day with caffeine was essential.
Her plan today was simple: until Kamijou and the others arrived, she would lay low, and just be an observer.
It was pretty easy to observe what was already happening, anyway.
Taking a second helping of her pain au chocolat, she watched as a small horde of people walked through the streets of Avignon, some with signs that read "Nous resister", "Ville Académique est mauvaise", among others. Ciel wasn't really sure of the grammar of some of the signs, but just chalked it up to them being angry.
That wasn't what she was concerned about, though.
'…They've been at this for as long as I've been here. Probably even before that, too.'
While individual people from the crowd would come and go, the actual crowd itself never went away, as if the protestors had arranged themselves to always be active, even in the dark of the night.
And as far as she knew, it was the same worldwide, too; specifically in places where the Catholic population was higher. Since ordinary people couldn't be this inhumanly organized, it was figured out a while ago that there was a stench of something supernatural to all this.
Fortunately enough, it wasn't hard to pinpoint the culprits. Since the mob outside was protesting Academy City, and a certain undercover organization had tried to infiltrate said city in the recent past, well…
'It's always them, huh?' Ciel took another swig of her piping hot drink. 'God's Right Seat.'
There wasn't any other organization aside from herself that could control the faithful populous that much, after all.
Scanning the crowd outside, she also was able to determine another detail. While it wouldn't be able to be detected by the naked eye, Ciel could sense a thin sheen of energy overcoming every single person outside, and even some of the patrons within the café.
'A bounded field. And an intricate one at that.' Ciel thought. 'All the pieces are there. Honestly, they haven't been doing a very good job at hiding their tracks. Almost like…'
She narrowed her eyes. 'Almost like…they want to be fou—"
"Oh?"
She put down her coffee cup and quietly produced her phone from her skirt pocket. An unknown caller ID showed up on its screen.
'That timing…' Ciel thought. '…It's too perfect. This line's pretty secure, too, so the only people that could tap into it are probably…'
She pressed Answer.
"Hello?"
"…Burial Agent. Bow is your code-name…correct?"
Ciel closed her eyes, releasing an exasperated inward sigh. 'The Holy Church themselves.'
"Yes, this is she." She responded. It didn't seem like the elderly-voiced male across the line knew of her actual name. Casually, she sipped her coffee. "And who may you be? Must be a pretty high-ranking official in the Church to get a hold of me without official clearance. Did Pope Reese give you my number, or something?"
"Hm. No, no. Nothing of the sort."
"I see."
'That's totally what happened.' Ciel blew her bangs out of her hair in annoyance as the conversation continued. She couldn't say she approved of the Pope's continual shows of power— it made the Catholic Church look bad, and that wasn't even getting into the fact that he was continually getting humiliated at every turn.
'By Kamijou-kun, no less. Heh.'
The elder voice on the other end continued. "In any case, Burial Agent…I could be an ally of yours, if you allow me to be. I invite you to the Palais des Papes. I'm sure you have questions— as do I. We could negotiate something beneficial for both of us."
"Hmm. I suppose." Ciel replied. "Is this an invitation for now, or later?"
"Whatever is most comfortable for you."
"Well, how accommodating." She said. A dilemma quickly presented itself.
'Do I visit now, or wait for Kamijou-kun and the others and visit later?'
Checking the time, she realized it would still be a little while until her backup arrived. And, considering the Palais des Papes was only a few blocks away, it would only be a quick visit.
That's what she intended for it to be, anyway.
"Fine. I'll admit, I have some words for you, as well."
"Me? Specifically?"
"Of course. It's not every day that God's Right Seat directly contacts their competition like this."
"…"
'Hook, line and sinker.' Ciel grinned to herself.
"I'll see you in a moment, Terra of the Left."
Before either of them could say anything more, the phone abruptly cut off.
It wasn't terribly difficult to determine who it was on the other end. There was only one group aside from the Burial Agency with enough clearance to access the hidden lines of the Holy Church. On top of Vento being neutralized back east, with Acqua and Fiamma currently residing in the Vatican…
"Yeah, definitely Terra." Ciel sighed. A part of her felt a little bad for dragging Kamijou and his allies into this— if Terra was all they had to deal with, then she really could handle this mission all on her own.
Her 100% success rate spoke for itself, after all. Although…
Upon finishing the last of her breakfast, and walking outside, she was met with the crisp morning air, the shouts of protest, and…
…Missing persons signs, plastered in the dozens across telephone poles and walls, of many different people.
Because of the spell that Terra was using on the Catholic population, most of the citizens of Avignon cared more for protesting Academy City than caring about their missing neighbors. But for Ciel, whose mind wasn't twisted by any sort of mental spell, it was definitely the more pressing matter.
She had read the reports of Avignon the past few days. Overnight, men, women and children would practically vanish. The fact that the protests lasted twenty-four hours a day certainly didn't help.
'And since these cases are happening overnight…coupled with the higher Dead count…'
She nodded to herself. 'I was right to call them.'
As Ciel went on to the Palais des Papes, she felt her suspicions were becoming all-too real.
Avignon was a boiling kettle, about to overflow with red-hot blood.
xXx
Getting into the Palais des Papes was surprisingly easy. Ciel chalked it up to her clothes— her nun's habit made for the perfect disguise, and she could flash it into existence at a moment's notice. They didn't even make her go through security; she was guided through a back entrance, then left to do as she pleased.
'Pretty lax, all things considered.' Ciel concluded. 'Guess they assume anyone wearing a Cross is on their side.'
The Palace was quite the size, and Terra never specified where to exactly meet…though considering what she knew about his personality, there was probably only one place in the whole Palace that he was waiting for her in.
Turning down a stone hallway, lit by the morning sun with archways and a myriad of Catholic tapestries and decorations, Ciel made her way to the most visually impressive part of the Palace:
A grand chapel. Or, in her home country's terms, Le Grande Chapelle.
Its archways stretched to dozens of meters above her head. Tall, slightly tinted glass windows brought in the yellowish-orange glow of morning, casting a warmth across the Executor's face. While the interior itself was rather empty, mostly to accommodate tourists, it only served to exemplify the impressiveness of the architecture, built hundreds of years ago.
Aside from the murals and diagrams depicting the history of the Palace which were scattered professionally around the interior, Ciel's attention stretched to the opposite end of the hall.
The Grand Chapel was devoid of any other persons aside from herself…
"Burial Agent."
…and one other person, dressed in all green.
Ciel's eyes remained entirely neutral as she stepped forward, the history lessons and the impressive masonry now meaning nothing to her as she centered her focus on the man whose back was turned to her.
With no one around to hear either of them, and with him already addressing her position, she felt it right to respond in kind.
"Terra of the Left." Ciel said. "I'm here. So what is this about being an ally of mine, exactly?"
She stopped several paces behind him. He was easily a head taller than her, though she could easily tell his body was quite lanky and frail underneath his garbs. His older age, likely in his fifties or sixties if she recalled correctly, didn't help either.
The man slowly turned around. The massive hood around his collar obscured the sight of his head, though now she could tell that even his hair was the same color as his garbs. And when he finally, fully turned to face her…
…Ciel didn't exactly want to say it out-loud, but there were strong terms to describe his facial features. Put lightly, she didn't think he'd win any beauty pageants any time soon. Or ever.
His dagger-like, triangle-shaped teeth didn't help his face, and neither did his slit-shaped eyes, elf-like ears or wrinkled skin. She didn't outwardly react, nor did she really care inwardly, but she felt like others more shallow than her would probably be repulsed at his appearance.
In any case, she still had to take him at least somewhat seriously. He was, after all, a part of the Burial Agency's rival organization within the Holy Church.
She put her hand on her hip in impatience as the man began to finally speak his reply. "…Don't you feel it, Bow?"
She raised a brow.
"That stench. That horrid stench…all across Avignon." Terra explained. He began to walk toward her, but a glare from the Burial Agent made him stop after two steps. She drew an invisible line, and she didn't plan on either of them crossing it until she knew exactly what he wanted.
Still, Ciel did know what he was talking about. It was easy for any well-trained member of the Church to know what was going on during the cover of the night.
She crossed her arms. "Of course I do. We're both attuned to bring down heretics, after all."
Terra smiled, his shark-like teeth unnaturally brimming white. "Then you must be aware of the danger this stench brings. The existence of Dead Apostles, in a direct territory of the Catholic Church…do you not find that concerning, Burial Agent?"
He outstretched his arms, as if to show his passiveness. "Despite not seeing eye-to-eye, we both look toward the same God. So truly, you must see how much of an issue this is as I do. Which is why I have a proposition."
Cautious, Ciel goaded him on. "Continue."
He smirked. It was clear that he thought he had the leverage in the conversation. "We of God's Right Seat are aware of your transgressions against Vento of the Front. You were, after all, sent to Academy City to pre-emptively eliminate her, even if you didn't end up doing so by your own hands, in the end. Isn't that right?"
The Burial Agent sighed. "And so what if it is? Stop silver-tonguing and get to the point."
He frowned, if ever by an iota. Ciel took a bit of pride in that change in demeanor. "My point being, Burial Agent, is that I'm willing to overlook your sins against us…if you offer your chance to repent now, and work alongside God's Right Seat to eliminate this threat. Dead Apostles are an enemy to us both, and as they say: the enemy of my enemy is my friend, is it not?
How does that sound? No conflict, and no more Schism. Our two sides can reach a truce, and perhaps even link arms in the future for the betterment of the Church and mankind. So what shall it be?"
Ciel blinked. Inwardly, she was glad that he finally shut his trap and let her have her turn.
There was only one thing she needed to say to him, anyway.
"…Sure." She replied. She saw Terra's face light up. "…But only if you answer this question. Truthfully."
"Go on."
Ciel nearly bit her lip to choke back her words, but she had to ask it. It's something that she had been holding back all this time, after all…ever since that night.
She quit looking at the back of her ocean-blue bangs, and looked him directly in the eyes.
"Where were you, three years ago?"
This time, it was Terra of the Left's turn to blink. "I beg your pardon?"
"Three years ago." Ciel repeated. "That village, two hours north of here. You know what I'm talking about. Every single person in the Holy Church knows what I'm talking about."
His eyes narrowed. She was finally getting through to him, so she built up the pressure by pressing her foot forward. The invisible line she drew before was torn down in an instant.
His slit-shaped eyes widened, and his mouth gaped open slightly. "…Well I'll be." He muttered. "…You're a survivor of The French Incident."
xXx
Avignon was a quaint, relatively quiet country town. With the Palais des Papes in the heart of its center, there would be the regular visitors and tourists, but for the most part, its distance from the more urban areas of France made it an easygoing place where time and the people went slowly.
At least, that's what it was supposed to be.
Driving into Avignon, Kamijou and the others quickly learned that, at least for the moment, it was none of those things.
It was a few hours until noon, and while it was still early-morning enough for the town to be still in the wake-up process, it seemed like Avignon was anything but asleep at the moment.
Stepping outside of the car in a parking lot in the middle-southern part of town, Touma realized this truth nearly immediately.
"So many…"
Throughout the streets, there were at least one or two groups of protestors, signs waving in the air as they scream and shout French phrases that must have been denouncements of whatever they were pushing against.
These crowds also blocked off much of the streets— and since French streets in local towns such as this were more meant for pedestrians anyway, Kamijou and the others agreed to make the trek further into town on foot.
"Well? How was everyone's nap?" Tsuchimikado asked. Touma was tempted to ask if Tsuchimikado was tired himself, since he didn't really get any shut-eye ever since they left from Academy City, but it seemed like he was his ordinary, joking and chipper self.
"Head's a little sore…" Rin admitted. "…Tsuchimikado-kun, how fast were you going on the highway?"
"Oh, about a hundred-fifty."
"That explains it…" She groaned. "It's alright, I'll get over it. How about you, Sakura? Index?"
"I-I'm fine." Sakura quickly replied. Her face really didn't read that she was fine, but Touma left that concern for a later time.
A grumble of Index's stomach answered her question for her. "I'm hungry."
'Oooof course.' Touma's shoulders slumped. It had been a while since they had all eaten; but if he was a little parched for food, Index must have been dying over there. "What, want me to get you a baguette or something?"
"No! That's stereotypical!" Index retaliated. "…Though that also sounds good. Maybe I do want one."
"Well if you do, you're ordering and paying." Touma said. "I don't know how to speak French."
Tsuchimikado smirked and pulled his phone from his pocket. "I have a solution for that. Have to admit, French isn't exactly my strong suit either, so luckily I have a contact here that'll guide us around a bit."
"Oh?" Rin tilted her head. "Someone else is here to help us aside from Ciel?"
"Yep." He pressed a few buttons before placing the flip-phone to his ear. "I tried contacting her earlier—"
"When you were driving?" Touma deadpanned.
"Not important. Anyway, Ciel isn't available to talk to at the moment, but luckily there's another group here that's been investigating the same issue as us and Ciel. Figured we'd make it a three-way collaboration of sorts."
The phone picked up on the other end, and Touma could barely make out a light, feminine voice asking "Who is this?" on the other end.
"Yo. Tsuchimikado, here. Where's your location, exactly?…
…Oh, perfect. We're not that far away. So where do you want to meet up, Itsuwa?"
After a moment of deliberation between the two, it seemed like they had agreed upon a location. "A café it is. Just send me the location, and we'll be there soon. C'ya."
He hung up, and promptly gestured for the rest of the group to start moving.
As soon as they exited the parking lot, they were immediately met with the crowds of demonstrators. Even though not everyone was protesting, it did make foot traffic in general a lot more difficult to navigate.
He kept his head low to maintain a low profile as they waited for a mass of demonstrators to pass, then hastily crossed the street. Tsuchimikado was leading the front, meaning it was up to Kamijou to bring up the rear.
The sea of passing people, much of which were a good amount taller than him, made him somewhat uneasy.
…
But then a sight of something golden washed away his concern immediately.
His eyes widened. Something, or rather someone, adorned in white and gold caught his eyes, if only for a second.
He didn't know why his eyes and attention were drawn to her. Realistically, they didn't stand out much compared to any other person on the street.
Just an ordinary woman, with bob-cut blonde hair, making her way through foot traffic like everyone else. Well, absorbing the features of her face in his mind, Kamijou wouldn't call her ordinary.
'She's…'
He almost wanted to turn his head to see her again, but realized that he was going to lose his group otherwise. He was practically shoulder-to-shoulder with others, at the moment.
Telling himself it wasn't anything to worry about, he continued walking. In a few short seconds, he was right back next to Rin.
"You alright, Kamijou-kun?" She asked. "We nearly lost you back there."
He huffed quietly. He did feel a little claustrophobic, being squeezed like that, but he felt better now that he was next to people he knew. "I'm fine."
They continued on.
But unbeknownst to them, the woman he saw stopped at the other end of the street. The people passing by her gave her strange looks, since it wasn't exactly normal to just stop moving completely on a sidewalk.
She turned her head.
Ever so slightly, towards that group of young men and women already far away.
"…Hm." She hummed. "…So that's what he looks like."
xXx
For a place like Avignon, there were really only a handful of things for visitors to do: see the sights, and eat.
Since they weren't there for pleasure, but they hadn't eaten since first thing in the morning, they all agreed to meet Itsuwa at a café not too far from the heart of town.
Upon walking in, the immediate scent of brewed coffee and freshly baked bread filled Touma's nose. There were quite a number of resting demonstrators, too— Tsuchimikado gave them the advice to keep their heads down and keep to themselves, since Sakura, Rin and Touma's Eastern appearances could make them suspicious and draw too much attention.
Luckily, they didn't have to try and blend in too long. In the corner of the café, Touma caught the sight of a brown-haired young woman sitting by herself at a six-person booth. She immediately raised her arm to get their attention, and they made their way over with haste. Like all Amakusa members, Itsuwa's clothes were civilian to blend in with the population, with a basic crop top, green cardigan and pants.
"Salut, Itsuwa." Tsuchimikado said. He also made it a point to those who couldn't speak French, to not speak out loud. As far as Kamijou knew, the only ones who knew French in their group were Tsuchimikado, Index, and Rin— though for the latter, it was only basic and conversational. Luckily, Index told him earlier she would whisper-translate their conversation to him so he could keep up.
"Hi, Tsuchimikado-san." Itsuwa— er, Index said in his ear, quickly translating what they were saying. "And to the rest of you, hello. If you haven't met me before, I'm Itsuwa of the Amakusa Christians."
They all nodded to her.
"Thanks for helping us out last week with the whole Holy Grail War thing," Tsuchimikado said, "you really came in clutch. Without your help, I'm pretty sure the situation would have gotten much worse."
That was putting it lightly. If Itsuwa hadn't provided that portal for Emiya, Ciel Saten and Assassin to enter through, then who knows what would have happened to Illya.
A light blush came across Itsuwa's face. "I-It was no issue, really. I'm just glad I was able to help. I'm guessing the situation about the Grail was all resolved?"
Tsuchimikado shifted his eyes to Rin and Sakura. Without verbalizing, Rin smiled and gave a nod.
Touma noted how much weight was behind that smile, but Itsuwa seemed to either not read it, or simply overlooked it as she sighed in relief. "That's good. One less thing to worry about."
"Yep. Thanks to the efforts of everyone at this table, we can keep moving forward." Tsuchimikado said. "Which brings me to the main issue…
The Document of Constantine, or C for short. What do you know about it, Itsuwa?"
Touma saw Itsuwa's posture and face tighten up a tad as Motoharu said those words.
"W-Well…" Itsuwa began, sheepishly. "…Not a lot. The Amakusa Christians were asked by the Anglican Church to investigate the French leylines, so we're all scattered across the country in various notable cities. I've been assigned here, to Avignon."
"Ah, gotcha." Tsuchimikado nodded. "I'm guessing the reason why they asked the Amakusa Christians to investigate was to see how strong the leylines are and to narrow down the location of the Document."
"Erm…what does the Document of C do, exactly?" Itsuwa asked.
Motoharu fixed his sunglasses, which for some reason he insisted on keeping on indoors. In fact, Touma wasn't entirely sure if he'd ever seen him with them off. "It's basically a brainwashing spell, wrapped in what looks like a piece of parchment. It uses the Pope's words and turns them into truths for those who follow Roman Catholicism. Normally, it's supposed to only be used within the Vatican, but…"
Itsuwa's eyes lit up, as if putting together the puzzle in her head. "Of course. The Palais des Papes— it used to be the home of the Papacy, in the 13th Century. By using that connection, they established a magical pipeline between Avignon and the Vatican, allowing the Pope to use his authority remotely…"
"…Which means that the Document of C can be used here, in Avignon." Tsuchimikado finished. "There aren't any other places in Europe where the Papacy physically moved, so this town has to fit the bill."
They both nodded, clearly on the same page. Itsuwa turned to Kamijou and the others, and they all seemed to be on the same level as well, thanks to Rin and Index acting like translators.
Itsuwa looked around for a brief second. Seeing that there were no demonstrators nearby, she cleared her throat and leaned in a bit. "Well, before we continue…" She spoke low, in clear and perfect Japanese, "how about we get in line and order something? I know you all are hungry."
Needless to say, they all jumped at the opportunity.
xXx
Every official of the Roman Catholic Church knew of The French Incident. It wasn't just them, either: the Anglicans, Russian Orthodoxy, Amakusa Christians, and many denominations in-between all knew of that horrible event that occurred that fateful night in 2001.
It was well-known how dangerous Dead Apostles could be. They were bloodsuckers who specifically targeted, and could take over humans to make them their own.
However…no one really expected a mass destruction of human life on the level of what happened that night.
One day, there was a village. And the next, there was…
'…No. Focus. Focus.'
Ciel locked sights with Terra and didn't let go as her vice-like vision tried boring into his soul. Carefully, she asked her question again, to the green-clad man standing just ahead of her.
"Where were you?" She uttered. "…The night where the people I loved, grew up with, and cared for…were all taken from me. The night where I watched my entire world be crushed. The night, where…"
She inhaled. Just as she took in a breath, she remembered the sight of the inhumans standing along the impassable walls, blocking all human life from any chance of salvation.
She remembered hearing cries that sputtered out, one-by-one.
She remembered smelling the foul stench of smoke, ash, blood and viscera.
She remembered—
Ciel blinked hard and concentrated again. "You're God's Right Seat, correct? The supposed strongest organization within the Holy Church? So why? Why did you not act? Why did you just watch as thousands of lives, pious lives that served the same Lord as you and I do, were slaughtered like animals?"
She felt sick. Just re-iterating those events made her feel like vomiting right then and there, but she maintained her bubbling composure as best she could.
Meanwhile, she could see Terra's wilted, ragged eyes narrow at her. "…So that is the reason you visited, hm?"
"You could say that." Ciel crossed her arms. "Not for anything you said, that's for sure. To partner with you? Of course not. You claim to be fighting for the Lord, and for the goodness of Catholicism as a whole…heck, you and your constituents seemed to have even nearly purified yourselves of Sin. Paragons of virtue, right?"
Ciel scoffed and turned away. She felt disgusted looking at him any longer— and not just because his appearance was displeasing. "Well screw that. Your entire organization can go to hell. After abandoning us, that's a sin that no Saint, Angel or Archangel will forgive you for."
She marched off. She was satisfied with what she had to say.
She wouldn't dare lift a finger to help someone who couldn't even bother to help the innocent, let alone herself.
"Well…it's tragic to know you feel that way, Burial Agent."
He continued to speak to her, even though she no longer had any interest in anything he had to say. To be honest, she hadn't cared for him since the beginning.
"…Especially since you haven't even waited to hear my side of the story."
She paused, just for a second. Without turning around, she replied. "Go ahead, then."
xXx
"The truth is, Burial Agent…God's Right Seat was informed of that day. Fiamma of the Right asked Acqua of the Back and Vento of the Front to investigate…I had to stay back for other duties, but rest assured, they did arrive on the night."
Standing on a hill overlooking a massive valley, a certain Saint of Gabriel looked through a pair of binoculars, staring at the burning orange flames in the distance. He wore blue and white attire, to reflect his elemental affinity to water.
His teeth clenched. He almost felt like crushing the binoculars in his hand at the horrid sight before his eyes. "…Dammit."
"Upon arriving with forth-haste, however…they discovered there wasn't anything either of them could do.
By the time they arrived, the village was already a lost cause."
Just from their distance, which must have been a good five or six kilometers, Acqua spotted massively tall stone walls, acting like barriers that kept the flames within, and any person from escaping.
Even worse, upon those walls stood creatures— each one of them able to equal a Saint in power, or even surpass them.
A few humanoids stood along its edge, but the most notable he could make out were two: an impossibly large, circular monstrosity whose dozen, pillar-like legs held up its towering body. Acqua equated it to something akin to a walking castle.
Next to it was something somewhat as large, but thinner and more arachnoid in shape, with curved, organic-esq appendages, each one several times the length of a human.
"There has to be something we can do." Acqua muttered. "…Even if the village itself is gone, maybe there are still stragglers that I can…"
He turned his gaze over to Vento.
She had fallen to her knees long ago. The look on her face was one of terror— horror, even, like she couldn't even fathom the nature of what was unfolding before her.
Acqua turned away, almost disgusted at his comrade's pathetic showing. "…Your cowardice will be your downfall one day, —"
He gripped his hand around a materialized, massive lance, and blasted his body forward as fast he could.
Even if there was a small chance, it was all he needed.
And so, the Saint of Gabriel, the one blessed by the Divine Mother, rushed forward into a fiery hell of inhumanity.
xXx
"Vento yielded. Perhaps you were right to forsake her…" Terra of the Left admitted, "…but Acqua did try to save someone. Whether he did or not, I cannot say…but I have to give him credit and admit that he gave an effort."
Ciel almost couldn't find the words to respond to his story.
In the first place—
'…I don't remember anyone arriving, to…'
She shook her head. She didn't want to recall anything more than necessary.
She decided, just for the sake of argument, to take Terra's words at face value. Even if they were true, well…
"…So." Ciel huffed. "God's Right Seat was there, on that night. But you, yourself, decided to not do anything?"
"I already told you that I was tied up in prior, pressing commitments." Terra rebuttaled.
Ciel's eyes narrowed. "What could possibly be more pressing than humanity's greatest enemy? Is that not why you called me here, hm? And you're expecting me to lend a hand even though you couldn't even bother to do the same for me?
Your story just makes it worse, honestly. Knowing that your organization was there, but couldn't do anything in the end…that just speaks more for your incompetence, than anything. God's Right Seat don't deserve to be the 'heads of the Holy Church'. It's a funny joke, I'll give it that."
She turned back around. Now, she really didn't want to hear a single other word that came out of the green-clad bastard's mouth. "Maybe if all four of you were there, it could have been a different story. But as it stands…the deal's off."
Once again, the Burial Agent marched off.
"Verl well…" His voice told her that he had relented on his efforts, and decided to let her go after all. "If you change your mind for any reason, you can contact us. All we desire, after all, is unity within the Church. A house divided against itself cannot stand…especially when there's a common enemy that we both must defeat."
Ciel stopped in her tracks.
'The actual, absolute audacity of…'
Slowly turning her head, she spoke one last time. Even she was surprised at how icy cold her words felt.
"I will protect Avignon and its people to the best of my ability. But if I hear your cries for help…I will turn the other cheek."
She knew what she was saying was hypocritical. Some might say even heretical.
But she didn't care.
God's Right Seat was active and at its height three years ago. Their members possessed angelic spells that proved powerfully effective against Dead Apostles. She knew at least two of them could even compete with the Ancestors on equal ground.
And yet, they couldn't do anything for her hometown. Not a single one was able to quell their cries for mercy and salvation.
So what gave Terra the right to ask for her help?
Clearing her throat and choking back her emotions, Ciel left the Palace of Popes without another word.
xXx
If there was one thing that brings all people together, it would be food. Even the demonstrators all agreed that restaurants, bistros and cafés were neutral zones, as they politely leaned their signs against their tables and got in line or partook in a coffee or tea.
With a spread of sandwiches, with bread made fresh and in-house, Kamijou and the others delightfully dug in. Since their translators were currently stuffing their faces— moreso Index than Rin— planning and explaining had to pause so they could catch up on lost calories.
Gliding his eyes across the table, Touma was glad to see everyone was having their share. In Index's case, twice of a share. Or thrice.
"Hey uh, Tsuchimikado-kun…how were you able to pay for us, exactly?" Rin asked.
He waved off her concern. "Universal credit card. Works everywhere, even North Korea."
Rin's mouth gaped open slightly in surprise. "…Have you…have you been to North Korea?"
"Classified."
On that lightly concerning note, Touma continued to eat. He had to admit, with the long flight and ride here, on top of only eating a light breakfast, the taste of a BLT was exactly what he needed at this hour of the day.
He thought about eavesdropping on everyone else's conversation, but decided to take a page from Index's book and just indulge in the art of consumption. That is to say, he was starving.
In a few short minutes, he completely decimated his sandwich, leaving naught but crumbs on his tray. Washing it down with a gulp of water, he looked over to the silver-haired nun beside him and noticed she was only halfway through her own meal.
"Oh hey, I actually beat you for once." Touma said.
Index looked at him like he was crazy, her cheeks filled like a chipmunk's. "Thoumah, thash's mai sixth wahn."
"Oh."
He suddenly felt bad for Tsuchimikado's universal credit card.
Leaving Index be, he decided to turn his attention to the other side of the table. "Hey uh, Rin—"
Shockingly, she too had finished her plate, and was in the middle of dabbing her lips with a cloth. "Hm? Yes, Kamijou?"
"You said earlier this was your first time in France, so what do you think of the food?"
"Erm…" She pursed her lips. "Not bad. I think I'll have to go to a proper bakery to get a true selection of what France has to offer. As it stands though, maybe a light 7. What about you, Sakura?"
"I'd say the same." The younger Tohsaka replied. Unlike Rin, Sakura's plate was only half-finished, but she seemed to be satisfied with that much. "Um…Index, if you want, you can have my—"
"Okay!"
Index immediately reached her arm across the table and wolfed it down in one gulp.
Frankly, the action was a little exorbitant. Touma noticed a few eyes were pointed in their direction from his roommate's outburst. "Index…" he muttered. "Have you heard of etiquette?"
"Silly Touma." She patted him on the shoulder. A small crumb on her cheek was the only sign of the torrent of food she had shoveled down. "We both know that I don't know what that word means. Though I will know forever if you tell me!"
"You're just being coy."
"Probably." She said, coyly.
He was so distracted with Index's usual antics, that he hadn't even noticed a set of approaching footsteps coming in from behind him. He was seated facing away from the front door, so he was surprised to feel a light tap on his shoulder of someone new.
"Hm?"
Just before he turned his head, Index noticed before he did.
And so did the whole café lounge, in fact.
"CIEEEEELLLLL!"
She practically jumped out of her chair as she rushed to pull her fellow Nun into a tight hug. Touma was about to lecture Index about etiquette again, but just let the two have their moment as a warm smile came across his face.
"H-Hey there, Index…!" Ciel's smiled started to strain as she was pretty much carrying the Anglican Nun on her own. Touma couldn't blame her— those sandwiches must have added at least a kilogram or two.
'She'd definitely bite me if I said that out loud.'
Carefully, Ciel set her down. "Guess I came a bit late, huh? Looks like everyone's already done eating."
"Nah, you're fine." Tsuchimikado grinned, and casually whipped a chair from the adjacent empty table, placing it at the end. "Take a seat, we were right about to get down to business anyway."
"O-Oh. Don't mind if I do, then."
She dutifully took her seat. During that time, Touma couldn't help but see the bags under her eyes.
From the times he met Ciel, he'd always taken note of her practically perfect skin— at the very least, it seemed as if she regularly exfoliated, moisturized, and got a good amount of shut-eye each night.
Now, however, while her skin still texturally seemed smooth, the darkness under her eyes was a bit concerning for him. It seemed like the past week wasn't particularly kind for her.
'To be fair, it wasn't kind for anyone.'
"Well, before we get into it…" Ciel holstered her bag across the chair's back, then neatly folded her hands on the table. Opening her eyes, she shifted into a tired, but genuine smile. "…How's everyone been?"
After a beat of silence, Rin decided to break it herself. "It's…been a long week. And I think I speak for everyone when I say that's putting it lightly."
The blue-haired Nun nodded in complete understanding. "Yeah. Between the current world events, and what happened with us not too long ago…honestly, I'm just glad you all are this willing to move forward this quickly. I love all of your determination."
"Yeah." Kamijou nodded. He felt like speaking his next thoughts aloud, but decided it would be better if he didn't.
'…We have to. I have to. If I keep sitting here, dwelling on what happened before…I'm just going to stagnate. You told me it was okay to rest…but I've rested enough. There's still things that need to be done.'
The large, rectangular table they were sitting at still had two empty spots. In his mind, Kamijou imagined two people sitting there.
Siblings of fiery metal and icy white snow, laughing as they peacefully enjoyed a dessert together. In the table adjacent to them, he spotted two Tokiwadai girls sharing a freshly baked baguette, with the twintailed one wanting to meet the other in the middle.
His eye twitched as he took a breath to hold up his heavy heart. 'I hope she's okay. I don't think I've gone this long without talking to Misaka.
…Agh, I just told myself to keep looking forward. C'mon, Kamijou.'
Ahead of him, he glimpsed at the smaller, older sister trying to feed her brother a scoop of gelato.
He relented, and let his feelings overcome him for a second.
'Wish you guys were here.'
xXx
Since everyone had finished eating, and since they found using Index and Rin as a translator to be rather cumbersome, they all agreed to exit the café and find a hotel room or two to book and be able to speak freely without the fear of demonstrators eavesdropping on them or looking over their shoulder.
Luckily, thanks to Ciel's appearance that made her blend with the Catholic scenery quite easily, a local hotel was glad to let her and her friends nab a large suite for six or more people— just enough to fit all of them in one place.
It would take a little while until the room was ready, however, so the group agreed to split up and explore the sights a little. Even if they did have a mission at hand, it didn't mean they didn't have at least some time to relax.
After making sure they all had each other's phone numbers in case of an emergency, they set out.
Kamijou's group consisted of himself, Index, and the two Tohsaka sisters. Though after exploring some outlet stores that were far above his own pay grade, he realized that his roommate and Rin's sister had split off from them to do their own thing.
Leaving him with…
"…Hey, how do you think I look in this, Kamijou-kun?"
He put some chic-looking jacket back on its rack as he saw a certain red magus adjust a pair of red eyeglasses on her face.
He couldn't lie.
"Not a bad look, actually." Kamijou chuckled. "Do you need glasses, though?"
"Hm? Not at all." Tohsaka said, putting them back on its display. "Vision's perfectly twenty-twenty. I think. It's been a few years since I last checked up on it."
"Pfft. Imagine getting into a mage battle but not hitting your target because you lost your glasses."
Tohsaka snickered. "Yeah. That's precisely why I never got a TV. Those things ruin your vision, you know."
"Tell that to Index, she watches TV at least ten hours a day."
"Eh? Really? She should be blind by now."
Satisfied with wandering around this store— everything was out of their budget, and that wasn't even taking into account that they didn't even have the right currency to buy anything, anyway— the two of them made their exit and continued down Avignon's streets.
They were a little further away from the heart of town, where the protests were much less in number. The streets were mostly empty, and the overhanging sun provided much light but less heat— typical for this time of year.
It was perfect autumn weather, and perfect to take a stroll through.
"So…" Touma started. "…You didn't tell me you knew some French, Tohsaka."
Back in the café, he overheard Rin being a translator of sorts for her sister, while Itsuwa and Tsuchimikado were exchanging words in French so they didn't seem like outsiders.
"Ah…" Rin sighed. "Only a little. Just enough to make conversation."
"That's still impressive, either way. So that makes it, what: Japanese, English, and French?"
"Oh, German too." Rin noted. "Mostly for my spells. The incantations are all pretty much German."
He really was taken aback by her multi-linguality. Here he was, still struggling to figure out which kanji meant what, sometimes. "Y'know, you could probably make it pretty far as a translator for some government agency. I hear they make a lot of money since they're so high-demand."
"Yeah?" She laughed. "Maybe, if this whole mage thing doesn't work out. But…it's not really something I can take too much pride in. I just…had a lot of time to myself when I was younger."
Touma nodded in understanding. She didn't need to say anything more, especially not in an environment like this.
"How about you?" Rin tilted her head forward. He was almost too distracted by how her hair fell around her shoulders to listen to her question. "You have any special, hidden skills, Kamijou-kun? Aside from your right hand, which…eh, I'll ask about it later."
Both of them paused for a second as they both likely thought about the same thing.
'I still don't know what to make of that. What happens when it…comes off…
…yeah. Questions for later.'
"Well…" He scratched his chin. "I can run for a while."
"Lots of people can do that, dummy."
"No, like, a while, a while." Kamijou remarked. "I spent— er, actually still spend a lot of my time running away from things."
Rin raised a brow. "Like…what, exactly?"
"Not important."
'Mostly Index. Or a gang. Or Misaka. Or…Index.'
"Point is, I have a high stamina. I think my record was full-sprinting for a good…half hour, or so?"
The brunette mage's cerulean eyes finally widened in understanding. "I see, I see. That is a long time, actually. Good stamina, huh? Good to know."
He didn't exactly know what she meant by that— probably that he'd last a while in fights, all things considered. Those were something he always seemed to get roped in, after all.
The two of them stopped at one of the few intersections in town. A lot of the streets were blocked off due to the demonstrations, but thanks to their distance from the center of town, vehicles were actually allowed.
Seeing that there was a small park across the street where they could sit down and relax for a spell, Touma pressed the button requesting to cross the street.
As he did so, that's when he noticed a quite…sizeable man walk into his periphery.
Oddly too close for comfort, too. He took a step back as he realized the man was in his personal bubble.
"Pouvons-nous vous aider, monsieur?" Rin asked from Touma's side.
He had no idea what she just said.
Kamijou peered up to get a better look at the man. The person was dressed in all black, basically from head to toe, complete with a tight-fitting longsleeve and raven black, belted pants.
His skin was pale— a little too pale, even for a European, but Kamijou wasn't one to judge other people's genetics. His dark hair was also slicked back with what was probably pomade or gel, with only a few strands falling forward to frame his face.
His height was also extremely impressive. Easily passing two-plus meters, towering over him by at least a few heads. While his outfit was decent at hiding it, Touma could also tell there was muscle behind his build that could rival Kirei Kotomine's.
'Huh. They weren't kidding when they said Europeans dwarf us.'
The average height between East Asians and Europeans was several centimeters. This was a very exaggerated, but still realistic demonstration of said difference.
The man looked down, and scratched his forehead. Despite his somewhat intimidating frame, his face seemed a little puzzled, like a gentle, confused giant.
"Y-Yes. Forgive my ignorance, but I appear to be lost." He spoke out in clear Japanese, to both of their surprise. "Ah, my apologies. You two appear to be from Japan, so I just assumed…"
Rin waved off his concern. "N-No, it's not a big deal. We're just glad that there's someone here that speaks the same language as us. Right, Kamijou-kun?"
He nodded. "R-Right. Well, what do you need help with?"
The man reached into his pocket, and produced a leather-bound notebook of some kind. Flipping through the pages, he finally landed on a drawing of what seemed to be a castle. "I just got into town, and I'm looking for a building that looks like this. Could you two help me out?"
After inspecting the sketch for a brief moment, what it was depicting was pretty obvious. He couldn't believe the man hadn't seen it already, at this point.
"Oh, that's the Palais des Papes. The Palace of Popes." Rin explained. She pointed down a northward street, where the very tip of a distant castle-like structure could be seen above the blocking buildings. "It's just down there. Keep following the road and you should get to it."
The man smiled and nodded. "Thank you, you two. I shall be on my way."
"W-Wait," Kamijou stammered, noticing he completely missed the button he was supposed to press, "maybe you should use the pedestrian crossing butto—"
The man marched across the sizably wide street, completely ignoring all traffic laws. An incoming car honked loudly as it slammed on its brakes.
He, however, kept trucking along like he didn't even care— or was even aware of what happened.
"…Huh." Touma and Rin both blinked at each other.
"Weird guy."
Deciding to take it extra-safe, Touma pressed the crossing button and waited patiently until it allowed the two of them to cross.
Upon entering the modestly-sized park, the two rested at a nearby bench to let the soles of their feet have a moment.
They watched a handful of families take full advantage of the nice weather, either picnicking in the grass, or playing in the fields. Even with the magically-induced demonstrations going on in Avignon, there still seemed to be some sense of normalcy.
It was quiet between them. Touma didn't mind it— sometimes it was just better to enjoy the outdoors and nature without words.
He also didn't mind the feeling of her head falling softly onto his shoulder. "Tired?" He asked.
"Tired." She confessed. "Hope that hotel room becomes open soon. I'd really like a nap right about now."
"You could just take one right now." Kamijou pointed out. "Wouldn't be the first time you…"
He trailed off. For some reason, he couldn't say it aloud— it seemed way too intimate for what it actually was.
He was just lending his shoulder. That's all.
"…leaned on you?" Rin giggled, finishing for him anyway. "I knooow. Might take you up on it, actually. Yeah, I think I…"
He started to feel her breath stabilize and her voice trail off.
Letting her be, he continued to watch the peaceful scene in front of him.
But then he heard a phone ring.
Rin's eyes immediately popped open.
'Ugh, really? Now, of all times?
E-Er. I mean. Yes! The hotel room's open!'
She pulled her phone from her pocket as she yawned and answered, pulling herself off of Touma's shoulder. "Hello? Tsuchimikado-kun?"
"Yo. Room's all ready."
xXx
All things considered, Touma was quite impressed with what Ciel booked. Considering it was last minute, they really seemed to strike gold.
Their suite came with a kitchen, a small living room with a pull-out couch, with one side having a set of queen-sized beds and the other having a master bedroom.
For now, however, Kamijou and the others found themselves gathered around the living room, with a map of Avignon prepared by Ciel on the table to plan out anything if needed.
Catching Ciel up with what they had discussed before didn't take too much time. She herself seemed pretty familiar with everything they were speaking about— from the leylines in France, to the Document of Constantine.
"So…" She started, turning her gaze to the brown-haired Amakusa member across from her. "Itsuwa, right? Thanks for making that portal for us back in Academy City, by the way."
"Oh, you're very welcome." Itsuwa smiled. "What is it you need to ask me?"
"You and the Amakusa were investigating the leylines, probably to check which ones were being tampered with, right?"
"Y-Yeah." Itsuwa agreed. "Avignon had been tampered with, and is being used to facilitate the Pope's power remotely."
"Which then comes to…" Ciel turns to Tsuchimikado. "…The Document of C, which is using a worldwide brainwashing spell to alter the beliefs of Roman Catholics. And since it's a supernatural item…"
Finally, she looks to Kamijou. "…it's your job to destroy it. Right, Kamijou-kun?"
Touma nodded. "That about sums it up, yeah."
Ciel fixed her glasses. Despite their objective being crystal clear, her expression still made it seem like it was easier said than done.
Her next words, however, left them in confusion. "Well, I'll say this right now: with this many people, getting to the Document of C won't be too much of a problem."
Touma blinked. A brief pause of surprise came over the half-dozen teenage combatants. "W-Wait. Really?" Rin asked.
"Really. The person guarding it is…well, his title is quite important, but he himself is a pushover. Has anyone here heard of the name…
…God's Right Seat?"
Index and Tsuchimikado both nodded in familiarity, but the others were left a bit befuzzled.
"Yeah," Index said, "you showed us a transcript of one of their conversations back in Academy City."
"Right." Ciel responded. "For those unfamiliar…they are basically the true head of the Roman Catholic Church. An organization that controls Church operations from the shadows.
There's four of them in total, for the four cardinal directions: Vento of the Front, Terra of the Left, Acqua of the Back, and Fiamma of the Right. In accordance with their names, they also reflect the four base elements of Wind, Earth, Water and Fire. Additionally each of them also aligned themselves with an Archangel of God: Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel and Michael, respectively."
"So we're dealing with Mages who are using spells of the Divine…" Rin muttered. "…Wouldn't that make their powers kinda close to True Magic?"
Index nodded. "Yeah. True Magic is a bona-fide miracle that has survived to the modern day because humanity hasn't solved their mysteries yet. Since God's Right Seat is using spells from Divine Beings from the Age of Gods, they're essentially using True Magic-esque powers."
"That's what makes them dangerous." Ciel said. "Well…most of them dangerous. We're lucky to be dealing with the easiest one of the bunch…Terra of the Left."
"What makes him so easy?" Kamijou asked.
"His power. It's called Light's Execution." Ciel explained. "I won't get into the specifics of why it works, but how it works is it basically manipulates hierarchy. He can take any two objects, and give one object absolute precedence over another. For example…"
She opened her black backpack, and produced a large rifle on the table: her Seventh Holy Scripture. "…if he were to say his skin has more precedence than a bullet, then no matter how many bullets I fire, his skin has a higher hierarchy than my bullets. He can't be harmed by them."
Rin tilted her head. While it did seem powerful on paper…there was something about its power that seemed deeply flawed. "Wait…what if I were to shoot my Gandr at him while he's immune to bullets?"
Ciel clicked her tongue. "Bingo. That's the fatal flaw: he can only make one Precedence call at a time, and he has to physically speak it aloud for it to work. So as long as you go at him with more than one ability or attack, he's basically defenseless. And there is…"
She counted the people in the room. Kamijou, the two Tohsaka sisters, Index, Itsuwa, Tsuchimikado, and herself…
"…seven of us. Needless to say, we'd make short work of him. Considering he probably has the Document of C close by, destroying it won't be much of a problem."
"So what are we waiting for?" Touma asked. "If our chances of winning are high, and we can put an end to all this protesting and rioting, shouldn't we head out to stop him as soon as possible?"
The others seemed to nod along with him…all except one.
Ciel cleared her throat. "Well…I do have a plan to deal with him…but let's wait another half day, at least. When it starts to become sundown."
Touma raised a brow. Before anyone could ask anything, the Burial Agent continued.
"…Aside from the constant protesting outside…have any of you noticed something…peculiar about Avignon?"
"Peculiar?" Touma questioned.
Ciel reached into her bag. Aside from her Seventh Holy Scripture, she seemed to have way more stored in it.
Carefully, she produced a manila folder, and flipped it open and spread its contents across the table.
Everyone quickly realized what they were…every single one was a Missing Person's poster. Men, women, and children alike were listed, reported to have gone missing upwards of the the past four or five days.
"This is only a small sample I gathered earlier…" Ciel began, "…there are a lot of missing people in Avignon right now. Way higher than what's proportional for a rural town like this. Not a lot of people are caring or investigating because of the Document of C…but I find this to be way more concerning."
Touma's eyes narrowed. Something about this seemed…oddly familiar.
It was against his rational thought, but he couldn't help but glance at a certain lilac-haired girl sitting on the couch. Sakura's eyes were covered by her bangs, and her hands were clenched quietly on her lap.
Quietly, Rin's own hand fell atop her's, trying to quell her down as much as she could…though both she and Kamijou knew there was only so much they could do for her.
"…Ciel-san."
"Yes, Sakura?"
"…Who did all this?" She asked quietly. The lightness of her voice fell an octave.
Ciel sighed as she began gathering up the papers again. "I have to admit, I don't have solid evidence…but there's enough circumstantial evidence for me to point toward a particular candidate. I'm sorry to throw a new word onto all of you again, but…between the missing people, and the general sickness I feel from the local magical energy, I'm fairly certain…
…there's a Dead Apostle here."
The room grew quiet. While Touma himself didn't feel much from the two words Ciel spoke, he could see the dreadful expressions growing on the ones in the room more magically-attuned than him.
He saw Index and Rin's faces begin to drain in color. Even Tsuchimikado's laid-back nature had been replaced with a dead-serious scowl.
Running through his memories, Touma did remember Ciel mentioning the word Dead Apostle before. Back when they were at a certain Castle in Fuyuki, discussing how to defeat Angra Mainyu…
"What's a Dead Apostle?" Shirou asked.
Ciel waved him off and fixed her glasses. "Not relevant right now, Emiya-kun."
…
'Well, it's pretty relevant right now, Emiya.' Kamijou inwardly joked. Though, not a single part of him was laughing.
"Dead Apostles…" Ciel muttered, placing her hand lightly on the map of Avignon. Despite her normally calm composure, Touma could see the beads of sweat growing on her forehead. "…They're…let's just call them the direct antithesis of humans. If Servants are the shining beacons of humanity's power, and Beasts are the inner follies humanity created for themselves…then Dead Apostles? They're a species made to tear humanity down from the outside.
They're heretical, vampiric predators…and their prey is us humans."
"Dead…Apostle…" Touma muttered. 'Ciel said they were Vampiric…wait.'
"Ciel, are they Vampires?" He asked. "I know someone who's dealt with them before…though they never said they were these Dead Apostle things."
Index turned to him. "Himegami…right! Man, if only we knew, maybe we could have…but then again…"
She and Touma exchanged words with just a few stares, and came to the same conclusion. 'Yeah. She's been through too much…I don't think we should drag Himegami into this unless we have to.'
Ciel nodded to Touma's earlier question. "Yes. Vampire is the general term for a bloodsucker— there's plenty of those types all across the globe. Japan has Oni, for example, some of which can suck blood. The one that I'm talking about, though, are ones that base their power on the Moon. That's what truly defines what a Dead Apostle is."
"The…Moon?" Touma asked. Even after all he'd learned from the Magic side, there was still plenty he clearly wasn't familiar with.
Index and Ciel looked between each other, and seemed to mentally agree. "Well, we do have a lot of time," Index said, "Ciel and I will explain as best we can."
xXx
Thousands of years in the past, the Planet itself, also known as Gaia, pleaded for help. Yes, the Planet is alive, Touma. Try and keep up, please.
The reason Gaia asked for help was because of the Magic Gods— powerful, Divine beings whose powers threatened to tear apart the entire world. Foreseeing this, Gaia reached out to the other celestial bodies of the Solar System to create a defense mechanism against them.
Gaia eventually got assistance from the Moon, which is also alive. The Earth and Moon struck a deal, and from their intermingled powers, beings known as True Ancestors were born. These were the first, and most powerful Vampires, immortal Nature Spirits made for the purpose of keeping balance on the Planet. One could say they are extensions of Nature's Will.
Once born, the True Ancestors waged war against the Magic Gods. While the Magic Gods had more powerful spells, the True Ancestors had the advantage of receiving backup from the Planet itself— giving them not only limitless energy, but the ability to never truly die.
And thus, the Magic Gods were eventually defeated. They were forced to retreat far underground, in a place that was basically their prison: the Inner Sea of the Planet. Again, guys, don't think about this stuff too hard. It's just background info.
Once the Magic Gods no longer became a threat, the True Ancestors' new goal was to keep the human population in balance. However, despite their Immortality, their psychological thirst for blood caused them to eventually succumb to their madness, in which case they would either turn into corrupt Demon Lords, or lock themselves in eternal sleep.
To stave off this impulse and stay active for longer, the True Ancestors created Dead Apostles— humans turned into Vampires that would serve to be their emergency meals. Dead Apostles, unlike True Ancestors, physically need to drink blood in order to survive, and so effectively became direct predators of humans.
Eventually, some Dead Apostles, with their own sentience and intelligence, rebelled— they broke free of their True Ancestor masters, and established their own, unique domains.
The most powerful Dead Apostles created their own organization: the Dead Apostle Ancestors. They are conglomerate Kingdoms of Dead Apostles, with one goal, and one goal alone: to be humankind's rulers, and to destroy the Human Order.
xXx
"This is the origin of the Dead Apostles." Index finally finished. "They are descendants of the Moon, and born for the sole purpose of controlling and culling humans."
"That's…" Ciel scowled. "…That's why the Holy Church hunts them down. That's why I hunt them down. Beasts are a cancer to humanity, yes…but if you want my opinion, Dead Apostles are the true antithesis. They are a denial of humanity itself…and I have a very strong feeling there's one lurking in the shadows of Avignon as we speak."
…
After all that, Touma Kamijou only had one thing to say.
"…Holy shit."
It was a lot to take in, but even though only half of it had sunk in for him, it was already almost too much to handle.
'Born from the Moon…predatory Vampires…these things are our enemy now, huh?
…And I thought Angra Mainyu was bad. Crap…'
"Y'know, there's one thing that doesn't add up." Tsuchimikado interjected. "…Why would a Dead Apostle be attacking now, of all times? And why a decently-populated town like Avignon, and not a more rural, small village that's easy to prey on?"
Ciel seemed to acknowledge his concern. "I thought about that too. There has to be a motive behind this coming attack…and I think I know what it must be. It's really the only explanation, since there's no way they'd attack a town this large, so casually, otherwise…"
She pointed her finger at the heart of Avignon— at a certain Palace of Popes.
"…They're after Terra of the Left. God's Right Seat is the head of the Holy Church, after all…so of course they'd take a chance to eliminate one of its major leaders."
"So…our job is to not only have Kamijou-kun destroy the Document of C, but to also save Terra, and kill the Dead Apostle?" Rin inquired.
Ciel only glanced at her for a moment, as if the next words about to come out of her mouth were ones that she would regret. However, she took a breath and spoke out anyway.
"…That's why I want to arrive in the evening. Dead Apostles only come out at night— the stronger they are, the weaker they are to the Sun. I'm going to use Terra as bait to draw them out…and once it does, we'll take it out, and Kamijou can destroy the Document of C. Two birds with one stone.
However…if Terra ends up dying in the process…"
Kamijou saw a look in Ciel's expression he hadn't seen from her…ever.
"…I won't bat an eye."
A/N:
Be sure to leave a review, and thank you for reading!
I'll see you all next week.
Next Chapter: "A Reunion Most Repulsive" (October 20th)