[MORGAN]
I decided to follow the girl, creature whatever she was; and find out where she was heading. That type of bloodlust isn't normal, it was way too intense and carried a sense of malice. So this kind of hate towards the boy isn't normal. I kept my distance, as the girl walked past the locals, curiously enough, she had an annoyed and pissed expression, unlike all the joy and cheer she had a few moments ago.
Without looking away and making sure I was alone, I stepped into an alleyway and used the morning star to climb up to the roofs of the stores. When I got to the top, I quickly found the girl again and continued my silent pursuit.
I kept following her until we reached a secluded place. By now the sky has turned black with a few stars shining in the dark. The night life of the city was starting to wake up. She was still, almost as if waiting for something. Then out of her back, almost spontaneously a pair of black feathered wings sprouted.
"A fallen angel…?" This was…unexpected. Fallen angels had to be under Azazel's command, so why was she targeting civilians? Then just as quickly, she took flight into the sky, I rushed through the roofs trying to make the least noise possible. It was harder than it looked, trying to be stealthy and fast at the same time was a very tiresome task. Eventually I followed the fallen to the abandoned church I saw in my first days in town.
"...Ironic…" I said to myself, the fallen goes to church. And started sneaking towards the church. The church was in a state of decay and starting to go down. Vines creeping through the walls of the church, some even managing to enter the building through broken windows or the walls. Carefully, I started to climb up the walls using the vines.
The wooden walls creaked under my weight, but the vines held strongly. I was being careful to not get caught sneaking in, but so far so good.
Entering the building I made my way to the second floor of the church, where normally the church chorus would sing. At the end of the room was a church organ with clear signs of neglect and starting to fall apart, like the rest of the building. I noticed a person just standing over the railing, dressed in an exorcist garb. ´…What the hell is going on here…?'
I made my way silently towards the exorcist, and when he was just in arms reach, I quickly covered his mouth with my hand and with a headlock I started to asphyxiate him. He tried to move, and make noise, but with my free legs, I held him, preventing him from moving and causing noise.
"Go to sleep. Go to sleep…!" I hushed at him, well, mostly to myself. Eventually his movements started to cease little by little. I started to release the pressure over his neck until he stopped completely moving; just the small up and down of his chest, signaling his breathing. That was a close one, I didn't want to kill him.
"Everyone, I have the boy in my hands now." I heard the girl say aloud, particularly to no one. Leaving the exorcist on the ground I looked over the wooden rail still maintaining silence. I kept looking at the girl, with a sharp glare boring into her skull. She was just standing in the middle of the church. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw some shadows start to move. Out of the shadow, a man stepped out, wearing a button-up long trench coat, a scarf and a fedora. 'A Fedora? That's so lame' I snorted quietly.
Out of the back of the altar a woman with long blue hair, wearing a dark red long shirt and a big-ass cleavage. Seriously, how her boobs just don't slip out is beyond me. A lock of hair covered her right eye. With a slim yet voluptuous figure, stepped out and approached the girl in the center.
And lastly a little girl walked up the stairs by the altar. A young, blonde petite girl, dressed in what I could only describe as a lolita goth dress outfit. She looked almost like a doll with those bright blue eyes of hers.
The thing in common between all of them? The black feathered wings in their backs. It was a group of fallen angels, and immediately I had two options for what was happening here.
A) They are rogue fallen angels. B) Azazel isn't telling me something.
Whichever it was, I didn't like any of the options, not one bit. To be honest I preferred the first option. Holding back a curse I continued to listen.
"Really? Did you seduce him in that disguise of yours?" The man asked with a mocking grin on his face. The two other fallen just chuckled with the man. An angry scowl made its way into her face. In a flash of light her clothes got ripped away, leaving her naked for a brief second, and some pieces of leather started to appear on her body.
This had to be a messed up, pervy version of a classical magical girl transformation sequence. It had to be. She wore what had to be a Bdsm leather 'suit'; she even wore shoulder pads with spikes on them. Jesus. Even her face changed a little, gone were the large and cute eyes of hers, and were replaced by sharp eyes and with a look of disdain and arrogance.
"You should, really shut your mouth if you know what's best for you, Dohnaseek." She said with a glare directed at the man. The man in question did not appear bothered in the slightest but still kept his silence.
"This Sunday the boy will die," She continued "He represents a danger for us, and thus must be killed."
The rest of them only nodded in agreement, well mostly blonde petite girl spoke up. "Are these really orders from the higher ups?" She asked aloud with furrowed eyebrows. Directing a look to the girl in the middle. Now that is a curious question.
The eyes of the girl in the leather suit hardened and a look of annoyance crossed her face. "Are you questioning my words? The orders of governor Azazel?" The girl in the goth dress just furrowed her eyes even further.
"Of course not." She finally said. And looked away. This was bigger than I expected. Whatever was going on here I didnt like, at all. I heard the silent groan of the exorcist behind me. That was another thing that had to be looked into. If the church is really involved with this, it will turn into a shitshow. Before the man could wake up, I fled the scene by jumping out of the window, the morning star wrapped around the branch of a tree, and just like a swing, I used the momentum to gain a speed advantage.
I needed to clear all this mess with Azazel before I could act. But that will have to wait. I have classes tomorrow. That felt more weird than I thought to say.
On a fresh morning, I made my way to the school. I really liked mornings. The sound of birds chirping and the cool air against my face helped me relax. In my hand I had a thermo with hot coffee inside, it made my morning even better. Since now I know I have an extra hour in the morning before my classes started, So I took my sweet time getting to Kuoh Academy, trying to enjoy the views.
When I eventually arrived at the academy, the bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom. Just in time. I walked towards the 3rd year classroom and just stepped in. Everyone was sitting at their desks, waiting for me. As always all of them with a certain noble grace in them.
"Mornin' everybody" I heard a chorus of 'Good morning Venedetti-sensei' in response. I made my way to the desk to sit down and prepare my material for the class. In the desk, there was a list of the students in this class. Oh right. I didn't check for attendance in the last class. My bad.
Grabbing the list, I started calling for attendance, so far so good, everyone was present. I paused for a brief moment, my eyes fixed at the name in the list. 'Himejima Akeno' Himejima. Where have I heard that name before? Himejima. 'I think I may have heard the name before…" I couldn't recall, hopefully I could remember later or after doing some research.
"Himejima Akeno?" I called for attendance.
"Here!" My eyes widened a bit. This girl was the very definition of the quintessential Japanese beauty. Black hair, tied in a ponytail with an orange ribbon holding it in place. She has shiny magenta eyes, and a really nice smile adorned her face. She had a curvy figure and a slim physique. She's a very cute gal.
I noted her attendance and continued through the list. The list continued for a bit before I stopped almost completely, seeing the name in the list.
"Gremory Rias"
Gremory. One of the 72 demon pillars described in Ars Goetia. The Ars Goetia was a book said to contain all the information regarding the Devil Pillars according to King Solomon. Gremory, also known as Gamory, Gemory, and Gomory, was a Duke of Hell who commanded twenty-six legions of demons. At least the original. Members of the clan are said to possess knowledge of the past, present, and future.
So she was one of the Devil Heiresses here in Kouh, huh? She didn't even bother with any type of surname or alias.
"Sensei…?" the aforementioned heir questioned me. Regaining my composure I address her.
"Sorry, It's just that I've never heard that name and it surprised me. Sorry about that, Gremory-san."
She just smiled and told me not to worry about it. Hopefully she won't think too much about it, and just ignore my little remark. From my perspective I still have the advantage. I know about her status as the Gremory heiress and partial owner of the land. Hopefully I'm still in the dark and maintain an anonymous profile. But, classes must continue.
After my class ended, I went to the 2nd year classroom, arriving there was the usual ruckus of the students just chatting and complaining about school, the usual stuff, but when they saw me they greeted me in response. I only waved and made my way to the desk where the attendance list was.
I started passing attendance for my students, so far so good. Now my objective was to learn the names of the students and if possible try to identify a member of a devil peerage. Right now, I know of one heiress, and some other devils in the school.
"Hyodou Issei?" I asked aloud.
"Here!"
I looked over, and surprise, surprise, it was Harem King Boy. With a fallen angel on his ass I need to be more careful and vigilant around this boy. At least I know his name now. I can't just tell him that some supernatural creatures are trying to kill him, that'll panic him, and chances are that he won't believe me. The unspoken agreement between all of the supernatural world, to keep its secrecy.
Marking his attendance in the notebook, I couldn't help but wonder why of all things was the boy being targeted. I looked over to him, and at least by appearances, he was plain, skinny, and not that remarkable, the very definition of a mundane person. But then again looks can be decieving. But it was still hard to imagine.
I started with my class, but I could feel someone glaring at me. I acted normally looking all that worried on the outside, but the feelings I got from the glare were starting to worry me. I could feel anger, coming from the glare. The anger I felt was someone subdued but still, present. Without looking too suspicious, I turned to the class.
"Does anybody have a question regarding grammar?" I asked the class.
I started to look at their faces, trying to read their expressions. They were calm smiles, some confused and some just serious; paying attention to the class. My eyes roamed towards one boy, the blonde one with a mole under his eye. By all means, he looked rather calm with a soft smile on his face, but I could feel the intensity in his eyes. We locked eyes for a bit, and he looked away first, taking some notes in his notebook.
'Kiba Yuuto, if I remember correctly. He could be related to the moonlit world somehow.'
Taking a mental note of this I continued with my class. Everything went with the rest of the class but I was starting to realize something. Being a teacher was starting to be way more bothersome than I originally expected.
By now, my classes for the day had ended and it was lunch time. I decided to get to the roof to eat my lunch. The smell coming from the cardboard box made my stomach growl in response. Opening the cardboard box, I took a moment to appreciate my meal. Today I brought some pieces of grilled meat bathed in teriyaki sauce, the meat looking like a golden brown delice. Under the meat, a bed of steaming white rice and some grilled vegetables on top of the meat.
To make my meal even better, I was accompanied with the breeze of fresh air, the wind passing through my hair and ruffling my hair a bit.
Easily the best part of my day. I sat with my meal and a canned tea by my side. I took a piece of meat and savored it in my mouth. Glorious. Truly a symphony of taste and smell that danced in my mouth.
Enjoying my food and fighting the instinct of just straight up devouring it, I heard the creak of the metal door. Looking over, I saw a small girl half hiding behind the door, her yellow eyes looking at me with… caution? I'm not sure. She just continued standing there looking at me and my meal with a very stoic expression plastered on her face, borderline emotionless.
"...Umm… Hello? Can I help you with something?" I asked in a calm fashion. Trying to maintain the teacher persona. But the girl just stared at me; And then to my meal once again. And then to me once more. Oh, I see what this is.
Extending the meal towards her I asked her with a soft smile on my face and a somewhat awkward tone laced in my voice.
"Would you like a bite?"
Immediately the girl nodded quickly, much to my amusement, and stepped completely out of the door. She was a petite white girl with shiny yellow eyes, almost golden. I stilled for a moment. My senses told me that something wasn't quite right. Looking at the girl I realized what it was. She's a devil. Come to think of it, she was the girl that was watching me the first day of class, wasn't she? Putting those thoughts aside for a moment, I offered her some of my meal.
While I was lost in my own mind, she devoured a good part of the food. My eyes widened at that and with an awed expression I turned towards the girl. With her eyes closed, she was savoring the food, pure glee present on her face. Hmph. A face like that looked better than her normally stoic expression. Better eat something too, before this bottomless barrel devours all of it.
After we ate all of the meal, I offered her some of my tea. I wasn't even mad that the girl ate most of it, and by the looks of it, she didn't even seem satisfied. I could always go and buy another one. But jeez, this girl sure can eat. Both of us just continued to sit on the rooftop enjoying the air and the sounds of birds chirping. Eventually I turned to her.
"What's your name?" I asked her.
"..." She didn't respond. She had an odd look in her eyes. Most likely pondering about something.
"...Koneko" She eventually answered me. Didn't Koneko mean little cat or kitten in japanese? I took a glance at her, and only nodded to myself. She is indeed a kitten, the name fits her I suppose. A very hungry kitten. My lips formed a small amused smile.
"Morgan" I told her, and she looked at me. "That 's my name, Morgan Venedetti." She nodded and we both fell into a somewhat comfortable silence, but even then the girl just wouldn't talk. At all. Guess I'll have to take initiative.
"Did you like the meal?" She looked at me with almost shining eyes; Nodding quickly. A small chuckle left me. And once again we were back to silence. Damn, this is hard. I mean, I get at this point that Koneko doesn't really talk too much, but c'mon throw me a bone here.
Anyways, I had a question that had been bugging me. I looked at her, and she looked back at her usual emotionless expression still in place. It pained me a little that a girl her age could make a face like that.
"...Why…" I started, a little hesitant. "...Why were you watching me on my first day at the academy?"
Suddenly, the girl stilled and tensed, ready to bolt out as fast as possible, like a frightened cat. But the thing that worried me was the look in her eyes. Even if her face didn't change that much I could tell she was concerned and tense about something.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad or anything," I said trying to calm her. Making sure my body language appeared as relaxed as possible. "I just found it… odd." I could see her relax a bit more, even if the apprehension was still present. She looked down thinking about something.
"...You reminded me of someone, Venedetti-sensei," She said in a quiet voice. I wasn't sure if I believed her. She might be telling the truth, but I couldn't know.
"I see. Well, don't worry about it Koneko, I just wanted to know the reason. Thanks for telling me." I told her with a calm voice. And once again we were in silence, only that this time it didn't feel uncomfortable. While I could enjoy the rest of the day on the rooftop, I still had some work to do. Standing up, I addressed the girl beside me.
"Well, gotta go Koneko," we looked at each other. "I still have some jobs to do, so I'll see you around." I started to make my way to the stairs but a little idea popped in my head. A cheeky grin started to form.
"Next time I'll be sure to bring you an extra large meal just for you, because if I don't, you'll leave me starving to death." My grin still in place, I looked expectantly at her. She just narrows her eyes at me in an annoyed fashion, but still nods her head. Hah, this little glutton. I chuckled softly and made my way down the stairs.
Walking down the hallways of Kuoh Academy, I couldn't help but to think of Koneko. I couldn't tell if she's just shy or doesn't like to talk that much, but the muted expressions she had throughout our whole conversation worried me a little. I could even say it hitted a bit close to home.
From what Victor told me when I was older, when he rescued me from the ruins of the necromancer, I barely talked, responded, or even ate. He said that I was "Muted" for the lack of a better word. To be honest I don't remember much of those days, everything is a bit blurry for me, but Victor told me it isn't fun seeing me like that. I think I now understand why.
"C'mon pick up the damn phone.."
"The number you dialed is currently unavial-" I hanged the phone without a second thought.
"...Shit…"
After I left the school I made my way to the little hotel room I was currently living in. I needed to find another place to live ASAP. The place was nice and all but I needed my own space, an apartment or house could be nice. But the bane of my problems, Azazel isn't picking up the phone.
Now of all times he isn't picking up. It almost feels like divine intervention; 'intervention my ass. This isn't funny.' With the fallen angel groups roaming through the city I needed to be extra vigilant. In fact, that was what I'm going to do. Checking my Venotaroes hunting vest and all my tools before I go out at night and try to find some more info about the fallen angel group.
I finished checking my gear; we're all good to go. And last but not least: The morning star. I wanted to contact Azazel for this, I really did. But I won't let them attack innocent people even if they are Fallens just like him. But for now, let's just do some intelligence gathering.
I went to the rooftop of the small hotel to start my run. Looking at the sky, the night city life was starting to come to life, with the city lamps, neon signs and even more lights. I started to run through the roofs, expertly making my way through them with my destination in my mind: The abandoned Church.
The nightly mundane life followed its course down below me, as I kept running through the roofs. People laughing and chatting as they dined with friends or even just walked down the streets.
"...ʜᴇʟᴘ...!"
I stopped violently, my boots scraping the rooftops. Looking around all I saw was night city life and the sound of the wind against my face. I tried looking over the roofs, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. I could swear I heard someone just now. I kept quiet, trying to listen for something.
"..."
I heard nothing. Using my magic, I reinforced my hearing sense, allowing me to hear way better than before. I kept waiting, waiting for something. Hm. Maybe I misheard someth-
"...Help!"
'There you are.' I sprinted towards the sound of the cry Maneuvering my way through the rooftops. As I kept running, I didn't hear the cry for help again. But I'm fairly sure that now I'm in the right place. Peeking through the edges of the rooftops, I saw dark alleyways under me.
Then I saw them.
There are three people below me. Two of them, judging by the clothes they were wearing, were exorcists. With their tattered coats and crucifixes hanging out of their clothes. The other person was a young woman, about my age, maybe less. Her wrists were bound in a rag, and in her mouth another rag tied preventing her from crying for help. Tears started to swell in her trembling eyes, threatening to fall in cascades.
A lustful expression in the faces of the exorcists, as they were groping the young woman. It was clear what they were trying to do. I felt my blood boil with rage. Without even thinking about it, I let myself fall from the ledge.
"This is gonna be fun~" I heard one of the exorcists say in between depraved giggles. This little fucker. Reinforcing my body, I landed a few meters behind them cracking the ground with my landing and making a loud sound.. The startled exorcist looked behind, and we locked eyes. One of the exorcists, one with a mustache, sneered at me.
"So what do we have here? Are you trying to play hero? Haha!" He laughed loudly. Walking towards me, with a carefree attitude, He then opened his tattered coat, revealing a pistol hanging from his belt. "If you know what's good for you pal, you should just walk away and forget what you saw. Got that?"
A conventional pistol. Most probably loaded with light bullets. So just your standard stray exorcist then. I didn't even bother responding to something that the exorcist apparently found very funny. I started walking slowly towards the exorcist, the magic energy inside me going wild, responding to my emotions.
The exorcist took his pistol and pointed at me. His smirk is still in place. "Don't take another step, boy. Or you're really not gonna like what happens next."
Here's a fun fact about reinforcing magic. Unlike the majority of magic branches, human and supernatural; Reinforcement magic doesn't have any clear indication of the charging of the spell because it doesn't work on the magic circles principle. Instead the magical energy that our bodies produce enhances our muscles, reflexes and senses. All the process is happening inside the body, outside of view. Meaning that if someone is unaware, you can catch the off guard and effectively disappear from viewin a burst of speed.
So I did that. In a burst of speed I disappeared from the sights of the exorcist, the only indication was the cracked ground and the dust that I raised and left behind. I made a fist, clenching it tightly. I slammed my fist in the face of the exorcist, before he could even know what was going on. His head slammed against the wall of concrete after I punched his teeth in. Blood coming out of his mouth, he fell unconscious.
The other exorcist holding the young woman, panic and fear present on his face, shoved her away and tried to make a run for it. Of course I wouldn't let him get away. The sounds of chains filled the Alleyway. The morning star flew towards the exorcist, the chains wrapping him and preventing him from running. With a hard yank, I send the exorcist flying towards me.
"Please! Mercy!" The guts of this man.
"Go fuck yourself" And with a roundhouse kick I slammed my steelplate boot in his face sending him crashing to the concrete wall. Blood splattered in the walls. Maybe I overdid it. I quickly checked the exorcist, and they were still breathing. Hmph, good enough. I made my way to the young woman who was still tied up and looked at me tear filled and wide eyes.
I took out one of my throwing knives and I saw the young woman start to panic again. "Hey don't worry, I'm just gonna cut the rags, ok?" She nodded in response. I cutted the rags, and freed her. She looked at me with wide eyes, shaking and still sitting on the floor. I kneeled before her and tried calming her down.
"Are you alright? Did they hurt you somewh-"
She immediately hugged me and started to cry her heart out. It took me by surprise. But, that's understandable. I hugged her back in kind and she just started to hug me tighter, still sobbing on my shoulder. I patted her back, trying to calm her down. After a while, she managed to calm down, her eyes red and her face puffed from all the crying.
"T-Thank you so much for saving me." She said with a shaky voice. I smile softly at her, trying to make her feel at ease.
"It's alright ma'am. I'm glad you're okay." I said and tried to stand up from the ground, but she had a firm grip on my vest. I looked at her and noticed that her eyes were starting to fill with tears once more.
"...Please…" She said quietly. "...Please don't go…".
"..."
I placed a hand over hers. And started slowly. "I know this is a scary and difficult time for you; I can understand that, but I need to leave, I have to make sure nothing like this happens if I can stop it." She looked at me with trembling eyes. A hand reached towards a small leather bag I carry tied to my waist belt. Finding what I needed, I grabbed it and gave it to the lady.
"What 's this?" She asked.
"A protection charm. Its effects are small, but they repel bad energies and offer a small degree of protection." The charm was a small stone with some engraved runes in it glowing softly. Her eyes shined softly, looking at the charm. Maybe now she felt a bit safer. I removed my hand from hers, and stood up. She looked at me with wide eyes. Her mouth is moving, most likely trying to find the correct words.
Before she coils ask me anything, I left the scene as quickly as I got in.
The encounter with the lady left a bitter taste in my mouth. There were more stray exorcists in this town; More than I initially thought. Most probably is that the exorcist had made an alliance with the fallen angel group I was chasing. Or perhaps another reason, I'm not sure. But I've wasted enough time already. I continued to make my way towards the abandoned church, just as I planned. I arrived at the church grounds but didn't actually step in, for the moment I didn't need to enter the church itself, I didn't need to enter the building, so I'll try see who enters and exits the church, If I'm lucky I could spot their leader herself, that Raynare girl. So for the moment I'll just wait.
So I sat there on the roof of a nearby building, watching the church. 10 minutes passed and nothing happened. After 30 minutes, I saw something, my heart started to race, then I realized it was a bat flying through the night. An hour crawled by, still perched at the roof waiting for something, anything. I started to hear nearby steps. I looked over the roof, and surprise surprise, it was just a drunktard making his way home.
'C'mon, it's only tuesday! Why are you drunk on a tuesday!'
This isn't even funny. Lately I've been wondering if god likes to pull my leg and annoy me. Hahaha it's all fun and giggles, but I ain't laughing. An hour and a half and still nothing, by this point forward I was starting to give up. It's 1:30 in the morning and I have stuff to do in the morning, like going to school. Huh, that sounded weirder than I thought. My eyes started to feel droopy, and suddenly the concrete roof started to feel very comfortable. The coat I was wearing was very warm and cozy.
30 more minutes, if nothing happens in 30 more minutes I'm going home. That 's it. My eyelids started to feel really heavy.
'I'll rest my eyes for a bit, only for a little moment…"
With those last thoughts I fell asleep on a cold, slightly wet, concrete rooftop. Comfortable, right? After a few minutes of being asleep I started to hear the faint sounds of flapping wings. Normally I wouldn't pay too much attention, but the flapping sounds, were loud, and judging by the sound, were part of a bigger creature.
My eyes snapped open, and getting rid of the grogginess, I looked over the roof. Jackpot. Exiting the abandoned roof, I saw a fallen angel, the one with the trenchcoat and the fedora, I can't remember his name. He was starting to fly towards the direction of the industrial district. Without wasting time I followed him, this time in the streets, since tall buildings were starting to disappear the more we approached the industrial district. Keeping a distance from the fallen, about 1 kilometer away from the fallen and just outside the industrial district.
Reinforcing my eyesight, I could see the fallen perfectly. From the looks of it, he was roaming the place, as if looking for something amongst the factories and warehouses. His face looked eager and excited, for some particular reason. I continued to maintain a careful overwatch over the fallen; The fallen then approached a building and entered through the window. Shit. I'll have to get closer to see what is going on.
I jogged towards the building the fallen entered and started to hear some faint noises in the distance. Approaching I realized they were battling and the sound of destruction. Broken glass sounds, metal groaning and the sound of cracking concrete. I climbed the building in front of the fallen and tried to peek over the windows to see what was happening.
I saw the fallen, with a maniacal and excited grin on his face. A light spearcracking in his hand and two pairs of black feathered wings coming from his back. Wait. The number of wings someone had, represented how powerful the person in question is, right? I remember clearly that the tha raynare chick had only 1 pair. And she was the acting leader, right? So why was this man being ordered around? Must because he likes being ordered by a pretty face. Hah.
Shaking distracting thoughts away, I continued to watch the battle. The fallen threw two light spears, with each hand towards something. I couldn't see what he was fighting. I heard a loud painful screech coming from his opponent. And saw a creature in the most literal sense of the word. It was an amalgamation of flesh that barely resembled a human being. Disproportionate body parts, and the clue that gave away what the creature actually was; Leathery bat wings.
So a stray devil, then. Stray Devil vs Fallen Angel. In terms of magical affinity, both of them had an advantage over each other. Devils are weak to holy energy, true. But Fallen angels also had a weakness towards Demonic energy and Holy energy, the weakness to these elements is not mortal, but it does present a hindrance.
In this fight, the fallen angel had the advantage. He had the high ground for starters; and everyone knows that is a huge advantage. The stray devil might be resilient and tough but without a good way to counter attack the rain of light spears, it was as good as dead. Just as expected the stray devil eventually died and the fallen just stood there. Slightly panting, and only a drop of sweat over his temple. Clearly it wasn't a big challenge for the man. Now it was time for the things I came here in the first place. I started to approach the warehouse with silent steps. If I did this right, the fallen should be able to detect me from this distance.
The man stepped out of the warehouse, I frowned on his face. He started scanning his surroundings, most probably searching for me. Then, a calm demeanor and a cocky smile washed over him.
"I know you've been watching me." He said aloud in the eerie silence of the night.
'You don't know anything. You only know I'm here because I wanted you to know I'm here'
I thought to myself but kept silent, my watchful eye still locked with the fallen. I stood on the rooftop where I was perched on and I saw the fallen look up to me. My cover now is gone. Reinforcing my legs and body, I let myself fall off the building and landed on the floor a few meters away from him, now both of us were staring at each other, vigilant of each other's movements.
"What are you doing here, hunter?" He asked me first. "Were you after the stray I just killed?" He asked with his confident smile on him. His carefree attitude didn't match his stance. His body language told me he was tense and ready for anything; He clearly knew his way around a fight. With a carefree tone I matched his tone.
"You could say that again. Guess I was just too late for the job." I said with a relaxed smile on my face. I scratched my short beard as I turned away from him. "To be honest, the hunting of that stray would have paid handsomely."
"Better luck, nextime Mr. Hunter." As we continued to size each other up, the tension in the air thickened like a fog rolling in. I couldn't help but sense that this man knew more than he was letting on, and the feeling gnawed at the back of my mind. With a confident grin, he leaned on a nearby crate, his gaze still on me. "Why were you watching me Hunter? It's almost as if you were spying on me."
My relaxed smile didn't waver, though I couldn't ignore the growing unease in my gut. "Oh, come on now," I replied, attempting to maintain the facade of nonchalance. "Spying is such a strong word. Let's call it... professional curiosity."
"Is that so?" He said as he stood, leaving the crate forgotten. "You know Mr. Hunter? I've have a feeling you've been lying to me. Right in my face I might add. What are you? Hunter, Mercenary," He made a pause and a knowing shine made its way into his eyes. "...or an exorcist?"
I only watched him with a mute expression. Trying to guess If i've been caught and on what, I was pretty sure I didn't leave any clues that might pinpoint into my identity and profession.
"Because you see," He continued. "You emmanate Holy energy, a strong one at that."
My heart raced as his words sliced through the air like a dagger.
'Relax, he's most probably reacting to the Morning Star and confusing you with an exorcist.'
I maintained my composure, even though I could feel the sweat forming on my brow.
"Exorcist? Now, that's an interesting guess," I replied, trying to downplay the revelation. "But you know, some people just have a certain... aura about them, don't they?"
He didn't seem convinced. His gaze bore into me, his eyes like twin searchlights in the night. A silence fell between the two of us, like a thick fog that fell upon us. His stance was starting to grow more tense.
"I know you're not who you claim to be." He suddenly said and I felt a cold sweat running through my back. How did he know that? I covered my tracks and always acted when it was safe. I don't understand. "Because you see, last night we found a fainted exorcist in our base."
My eyes widened at the revelation. The exorcist I choked and almost killed. It wasn't safe by any means, but I know what I'm doing to not kill him.
"You did a pretty good job, we didn't detect you in there." he admitted, breaking the silence that had enveloped us. "When he awoke, I questioned him, and he told me he didn't remember much of what happened, save a little detail." He extended a finger, pointing precisely to the spot between his eyes and his nose. "Expect a man with a big scar right here. So, I'll ask myself again," He paused and the carefree smile on his face was replaced by a sneer and a hard look on his eyes, his brow furrowed and angry. "... who are you?"
We remained in silence, the air so tense and our postures stiffened. The sounds of chains rattling filled the air as the morning star sliced the air towards the fallen. The fallen angel managed to get away with his wings and the cracking sound of the whip filled the air, striking the position where he was just a moment ago and breaking the ground with its spiked head. He looked at me, his eyes wide and a feral grin starting to form on his face. My eyes hardened and the carefree attitude was gone. I'll have to force the answers I'm looking for out of him, so much for info gathering.
[SONA]
Tonight was a calm and beautiful night, the shining moon high in the sky and the soft songs of the crickets filled the air. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to appreciate the night. Tonight we had a job to do. I gathered my peerage in the student council room, for a debriefing of the stray devil we were tasked with targeting tonight. Tsubaki, as always, by my side as my queen and keeping me company.
I reviewed the document holding the information about the stray devil. Apparently, the stray was once the pawn of a minor noble family, but for some reason the devil went start after killing his master. Sadly, it isn't an uncommon story. Noble devils tended to get drunk with power after acquiring their evil pieces, often by abusing or not choosing correctly their pieces that tended to be their downfall.
Pushing that to the side, the news Rias delivered in our last meeting was worrisome. She said that she and her peerage have been encountering whip wounds with holy elements in the bodies of stray devils or other monsters and the like. I haven't found anything resembling that and it annoyed me a bit; Must be the Grenory luck acting again in her favor. Bummer. The presence of that weapon, the Morning Star, raised more questions than answers.
A knock on the door broke me out of my musings, Tsubaki made her way to the door. Opening the door she received the rest of my peerage, all ready and dressed in their Kuoh Academy uniform.
"Good evening, President." Said Reya, my bishop, with her soft spoken voice with equally soft eyes. The rest of my peerage followed her, slowly entering the room, and making themselves comfortable for the briefing.
"Good evening, everyone." I said as a greeting, and I made sure that everyone was paying attention before starting. I cleared my throat before beginning. "Listen everyone, I'll be brief with this; we have information about a stray devil that has been hiding in the Industrial district. Our job is to go in, put down the stray and report a successful job."
Nobody said anything so I made everyone understand and had their roll memorized. Good, as a peerage, we lacked the raw strength and power Rias and her peerage had, but we had teamwork, like a precise bisturi, still deadly in the right hands.
"One more thing before we go," I said, regaining their attention. "Be on the lookout for whip-like marks or wounds." They suddenly turned to me, a confused expression over their faces.
"Whip marks…?" Tomoe, my knight, asked with a raised brow and a confused tone. "Why are we looking for whip marks, President?"
"Rias contacted me a few days ago, and she shared something deeply worrisome," I began, my eyes locked onto the members of my peerage. The room hushed as I continued. "Rias suspects that a highly potent Holy weapon is currently on the loose right here in Kuoh City. The weapon in question is none other than a Blessed holy Chain-whip, known as The Morning Star."
Momo couldn't help but mutter, her curiosity piqued, "That's an odd choice for a weapon..."
I paused for a moment, allowing the stakes of the situation to settle in. "We don't have concrete information about the wielder of this weapon, but we must exercise extreme caution. The Holy properties of the Morning Star are unlike those of conventional Holy weapons." Tsubasa, my rook, raised her hand, just like in a classroom.
"Yes, Tsubasa?" I acknowledged her question.
"Whaddya mean, President? I understand that Holy energy is like poison to us and all, but how is this one different?"
"Well," I began, "the Morning Star was a cherished heirloom of an extinct clan of Supernatural Hunters. The whip was their primary weapon, their history is long and complex, but for now, understand that a weapon with such a rich and ancient lineage carries immense power. The Morning Star doesn't discriminate. It has claimed the lives of devils, vampires, the undead, Youkai, and even the Fae."
"The other weapon I can think of that shares its age and ancient power was Excalibur before it shattered." The realization of such a weapon being on the loose was starting to sink in. "Anyways, we aren't sure if the weapon is here in the first place, we only have suspicions. That's why if we have some suspicious activity, we take note of it. If there aren't any questions, let's get this Job done everyone."
We all gathered in the magical circle that was installed in a corner of the room, this was a teleportation circle, way easier and low magical mana cost on the user. In a flash of blue blinding light we disappeared from the student council room, and just as quickly we arrived at the outskirts of the industrial district.
"Ok everybody let's go!" I said in an encouraging tone to my peerage.
"Alright!" A chorus of affirmations replied.
As we ventured deeper into the industrial district, our footsteps were as hushed as the night itself. Stealth was our most trusted ally at this point, given the unknown capabilities of the stray devil we were tracking. In situations like these, caution was our shield, and prudence our sword.
Ruruko, my inquisitive pawn, asked in a low voice, not quite a whisper, "President, do you have any idea where we should start our search? This district is quite vast, and it's like finding a needle in a haystack."
A good point. "Intel says that the stray was attracted to human populations, therefore its hiding place must be one of the factories near the streets, a place fitting for an ambush."
"President…!" The sole male of our group called out. He had furrowed brows and a concerned look on his face. "Check out these marks..!" Looking at the marks, there were some carved bricks out of the warehouse wall, touching it, I noticed it was still somewhat warm, this had happened recently.
Saji's dumb but endearing smile warmed the atmosphere briefly before he quickly assumed his serious demeanor. "Good job, Saji," I acknowledged with a nod. His honest effort had not gone unnoticed.
We continued to follow the direction indicated by the faint trail, and an unsettling feeling began to creep over me. The marks we encountered along the way were not ordinary; they were impact marks scarring walls, windows, and even the ground. Had someone else encountered the stray before we did?
In the midst of my unease, Tsubaki's voice broke the silence, low and concentrated. "Souna, do you hear that?"
I raised my fist to signal for everyone to remain quiet and strained my ears, attempting to discern the source of the sound. At first, I heard nothing, and I considered it might have been a fluke. But then, in the silence of the night I heard it.
The unmistakable sound of chains grinding against each other reached my ears.
My eyes widened in realization, and I exchanged a look with Tsubaki, who mirrored my expression. There was no time to lose. We took flight, racing in the direction of the chain noises. When we reached the scene we saw two men fighting. One of them had a somewhat tattered black trench coat and a fedora, a battle maniac expression imprinted on his face, borderland feral. Based on the two pair black wings on his back this was a fallen angel.
I couldn't see the other man well enough. He wore a tattered brown cloak with a hood over his head. Preventing me from taking a good look at him. Looking for more clues of this mystery man I analyzed everything I could. He had wide shoulders and a broad back. My eyes then landed on his hands and I felt my blood run cold.
There it was. The morning Star. The handle of the whip makes a cross, its grip wrapped in leather, almost like a sword guard, the chains looked thicker than normal chains and it was all over the floor, like a serpent ready to attack at any moment, and lastly the spiked head in the end of the chain. It looked exactly like the books in my family's collection. Fortunately, neither of them had noticed our presence.
In a second, the fallen started to throw various light spears towards the man, each of the spears making its way fast. The sounds of chains grinding filled the air as the morning star swatted the spears down. Each strike makes the spears explode. Just as fast, the whip returned to the man and once more he sent the chain flying, wrapping itself on the fallen's legs and pulling him down. The cloaked man runned towards the fallen angel quickly shortening the distance between the two.
In the dimly lit arena, the hooded man was now at melee distance, with a sudden burst of speed, the hooded man unleashed a lightning fast punch towards the fallen's face, with a sickening crunching sound. The fallen tried to respond with some kicks and punches of his own, managing to connect some of his attacks, but It was clear who had the combat superiority in this instance. Each of the punches and kicks were met by strong defense.
"Whoa…" I heard both Tsubasa and Saji whisper in awe. I have to admit, his martial combat prowess is something to be very careful around, especially with that whip on his hip.
The fallen must have realized that he was at a huge disadvantage, and judging by the blood starting to spill from his broken nose and mouth, he was starting to feel the damage done. The fallen raised his wings, his intention clear. But before he could escape the man must have noticed it, a hand shot up, suddenly grabbed the heel of the fallen, preventing him from getting away.
Bringin the fallen to his level, Que started to pummel him in the stomach with his knee; He then threw the fallen forward where the spiked ball of the chain whip met the chest of the fallen with a cracking sound echoing through the night. The fallen flew away crashing into the garage door of a warehouse.
This man was dangerous. Clearly he had combat superiority over any of us. We might be able to beat him as a team if things go south but certainly not without loses. And I absolutely refuse for any loss of my peerages members. He must be an exorcist by judging the way he fights and the finesse with the Morning Star. 'Did the Church find the Morning Star and keep it a secret after all this time?' This didn't make any sense.
Removing the debris and broken bricks off him, the Fallen took to the skies and prepared more light spears in his hands. The cockiness and smugness from before was nowhere to be seen, only replaced with an angered expression and murder in his eyes. The fallen threw various javelins his way, and just as before the hooded man swatted them away with the whip, crashing by his side and raising dust.
The fallen landed on the ground and sprinted towards the hooded man, light energy started to take form in his grasp, and a light sword appeared in his hand. When the dust cleared the man barely managed to dodge the strike straight to his abdomen. A hissing sound reached my ears, as I realized the hooded man didn't manage to doge the strike completely, judging by the missing part of his cloak and some blood stains.
The fallen tried to retreat and use the distance to his advantage, but to his surprise and mine. A magic circle appeared in the hooded man's gloved hand, and just like a flamethrower; Fire erupts in the direction of the fallen.
"W-Wait, I thought exorcists weren't supposed to use magic…!?" Momo whispered a confused tone, towards Reya who had a similar panicked and confused face.
"They aren't supposed to…!"
"President," My queen spoke up. " This man is no exorcist, the use of magic would be considered heresy in the church. Furthermore, if that whip is genuine, the situation would arise problems beyond our own. Whoever this man is, he's a wild card acting in devil territory. We should report this to Lady Serafall."
She had a good point. Logically, this was the best choice to do. As the head of foreign relations, this situation falls in her jurisdiction. But a part of me didn't want to leave this situation on Big Sis.
"Y-You bastard..!" I heard the fallen yell with a pained tone on his voice. When we could see the fallen, my eyes narrowed, glazing at the wounds in the fallen's body. Just as expected, the mark of a whip wounds, just like Rias described. The wound was bleeding somewhat, and the smell of burning flesh hitted my nose.
"What the hell do you want, Hunter!?" The fallen yelled with rage evident in his voice. The hunter only maintained his silence.
"Why are you after the boy?" The man asked in a baritone and interrogative voice. A familiar voice. Pieces of a puzzle started to fall in place. I know this voice.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about." A thick tension rose in the air, making it hard to breathe.
"That boy presents a threat to us." The fallen eventually confessed.
"In what way does he present a threat to you?" The hooded man asked with a tinge of annoyance creeping through his voice.
"..." The fallen kept his silence. "He has the potential to become a force to be reckoned with. We will use that potential for ourselves."
Suddenly, the man smiled and a nasty smirk grew on his face. "I think that's enough questions for you. You see, my friends were around town, and you know they've come to say 'Hi'"
My eyes widen at the implications. Did he mean allies?
"President!" I heard the yell of Tomoe, who suddenly stood on guard, her sword grasped with both hands and facing the alleyway. Squinting my eyes, I saw them, robbed figures dashing their way towards us with guns. Numerous of them. "Exorcists!" Tomoe confirmed my suspicions.
With that outburst, both of the men faced towards our direction, clearly startled. The Fallen angel looked surprised at our presence. The whip wielder looked towards us, his hood still obscuring some details, but now I could see part of the lower part of his face. A short beard and stubble adorned his face. His mouth hung slightly open.
My peerage and I now were out in the open, more stray exorcists starting to appear from the alleyways, clearplay in support of the fallen. "Stall them until I have left the area!" The fallen angel ordered them. And he took flight with the intention of feeling the place. The whip shot towards the fallen, but an exorcist attacked the Hunter, forcing him to abandon the attack.
"RURUKO!" Saji's voice startled me. Looking around, my blood felt cold. I knew that as the most recent addition to my peerage, Ruruko was still fresh in many aspects. Even if she knew how to fight, she was still new in real combat scenarios. An exorcist managed to get behind her, the blade of a light sword threatening to stab her from behind.
"Ruruko, get out of there!" I yelled as I used my wings to propel myself as fast as possible towards her, a spell staring to form in my hand. The blade making its way towards her unprotected back, a manitical grin bloomed in the stray exorcist's face. 'Don't do it! Please don't!'
The sword flew in the air. And landed on the ground nearby. The spiked head of the Morning Star impacted with the sword and sent it flying. In a fraction of a second, the hunter sprinted towards the exorcist in a burst of speed surpassing my own, and with a lightning fast punch sent the man knocking down the man and tumbling through the ground.
He then turned towards me, his hood still in place and the lower end of his face visible. We maintained a tense silence trying to figure out each other. The Hunter then grabbed his hood, pulling it down, revealing his face to me. His hard, brown eyes looked straight towards mine.
"...I…" He started to be a little hesitant. "...I didn't know you were nearby." He said in a subdued tone. His eyes roamed over to my peerage still fighting. Then looked over to Ruruko, still shaken and looking at him with widened eyes. Shaking his head and releasing a sigh, he addressed me again. "We need to get out of here, right now."
I didn't know what to think of Morgan right now. Is that even his real name? Has anything he showed is genuine? I didn't know. But right now wasn't the time to be thinking of such things.
"Alright, stay close to me Mr. Morgan."
Magic circles flared to life in my hands, and potent torrents of water flew out hitting the exorcist like a super powered water cannon. "Everyone! to me!" I yelled, and my peerage members quickly disengaged from their fights and gathered around me. When everyone was gathered, a teleportation magic circle with the Sitri crest appeared and glowed in the ground. In a flash of light we disappeared from the battle grounds, reappearing once again in the student council room.
In a sudden motion and a loud sound, Morgan retreated to the window. Looking over, I saw Mr Morgan tensed up and ready to flee. His hand looming over the Morning Star, ready for anything. His eyes were somewhat narrowed and looking cautiously at us. It might have been my imagination. He seemed almost hesitant about this.
Has Morgan been truthful since I met him? Or perhaps it was only a lie for the sake of keeping appearances and a low profile. I really don't know now.
[MORGAN]
My outing for more information has been a bust. At least now I know a little more about why they were targeting the boy in the first place. Maybe the boy came from a family of powerful magicians? Or maybe they somehow know of the presence of a sacred gear. I'll have to ponder on the information later. Right now I have other types of problems. I had intended to keep my identity secret for the time being, only for its convenience and avoid any possible political problems. Apparently my luck has run out, and now I'm in a group full of devils that may or may not attack me on sight.
If things went south, I wouldn't hesitate to defend myself. Even if I have to get nasty with it. A thick silence fell between us. Her group looked at me with surprised and cautious expressions, meanwhile Sauna was looking at me with furrowed brows and a displeased expression imprinted on her face.
"Who are you, Mr Morgan? If that even is your name?" Souna suddenly said, adopting a more business-like act and detached. Her narrow eyes glaring cynically at me.
"...My name is Morgan; I didn't lie to you, I just didn't tell you the whole truth." I tried to defuse the situation.
"Omission of truth is a form of lying, Mr Morgan." Clearly it didn't work.
I kept my silence, something that bothered her. But that was the ebay thing I could do for the moment. I didnt know if they were good people to begin with, just as Souna said it, it may be just all an act for the sake of appearances. Speaking of her, she had enough of my silence and began talking once again.
"I've been lying to you as well, Mr. Morgan. My real name is Sona Sitri, heir to the house of Sitri."
My eyes widened a little. "So you're the other devil heiress in Kuoh, huh?"
Sitri, one of the 72 demon pillars described in Ars Goetia. The original Sitri Devil was known for its intriguing powers in the domain of human desires, particularly when it comes to matters of love and sexuality.
It was said that Sitri possesses the ability to influence and manipulate human passions. It is believed that this demon can incite intense feelings of lust and create powerful sexual attractions between individuals. Judging by her magic prowess, at some point the Devil clan must have changed their affinity to water magic. Between the descriptions in the family's bestiary and the magic prowess I just saw I wasn't sure what to believe.
While I was pondering over what I knew about the Clan as in general, the Student council president spoke up once more.
"Where did you find the whip?" She asked me while watching the Morning star with a hint of wariness in her eyes.
"I can assure you this whip is mine alone; It's been with me for some years now." I replied while tapping the whip tied up to my waist belt, safely secure. "I ain't handing it over." I said with narrow eyes.
"That can't be right. The Morning Star was supposedly lost centuries ago." She pauses, gathering her thoughts. "Did the cristian church find the Morning Star, or maybe you are a special type of exorcist?" She asked in a more detached voice than before. At the mention that I may be a member of the church I couldn't help but make an annoyed look on my face. Something that Sona noticed.
"No. I'm not part of the church in any way, nor am I an exorcist." I made a small pause. "Well, If you really want to get technical, I guess I can be an exorcist? Guess it's just a matter of perspective."
She hummed in response, and her eyes once again roamed to the Morning Star tied in my waist. Clearly she was still skeptical and unsure of the whip. Her eyes once again roamed to mine, helding the stare for a bit. It was clear that she knew something about the Morning Star, and taking a guess, she was most probably thinking about how it was possible that the whip was here.
"Who are you, really? I theorized that you may be part of the church, but your ability to wield magic circles shot down that idea. The church doesn't like magicians. But now, I'm not sure what to think."
She then started to walk towards me, just enough that she was at arms length. Her eyes are just a bit more soft than before. "...I appreciate you saving Ruruko, I really do," She said in a quieter voice.
"To be honest I may not have been able to aid her if you weren't there. So I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I need something to know you aren't a threat to us." She continued. "So, let's try this again. My name is Sona Sitri, what's yours?" She finished while extending her hand to me.
I looked at her hand for a moment. I really wasn't sure to reveal my real name. If more people started to learn more about me, and therefore more about the Venatores Clan still being alive; well alive as one member still remaining. Operating in incognito was easier and more convenient. The threat of a possible enemy hunting me down to finish off the clan for good was a real possibility.
Over the time in the Academy, there weren't any disturbances or missing students. True, my time in the academy is very short but I still believe that. And today I saw that she is indeed a good person. Now I feel kind of obligated to answer.
"My real name is Morgan…" Still feeling a bit nervous and hesitant, I continued. My hand shook hers. Hopefully this won't bite me in the ass in the future. I really doubt it, but, hey, a man can dream. "... Venatores. Last descendant of the Venatores Clan."
I felt her grip in my hand tightened a little; A surprised expression fell into her face, her mouth hanging slightly open. The shorter girl trying to maintain her composure.
"H-How!? I thought the clan went extinct centuries ago!" And for the first time since meeting a girl, I saw the girl breaking out of character from her stoic and composed Student council president persona. A part of me wished I had a camera right now.
The rest of the Student council shared my surprised thoughts. Judging by their expressions and flabbergasted faces.
"...It's a bit of a long Story, you already have something to work with when I told you in the cafe, I just omitted some details."
"What sort of details?" She asked me with narrow eyes, glaring softly at me.
"Well, remember when you asked me about this scar?" I said pointing to the scar on my face. The girl only nodded in response. "I did in fact get caught in an accident when I was younger, but it wasn't a car crash, It was the attack of a necromancer on my hometown." I said with a complicated expression on my face.
"After the attack, Victor Venatores found me, my mentor and took me under his wing. I think that at the time, he was the last Venatores heir and descendant of the clan. He passed away a few years ago."
Sona's face fell a bit as her eyes grew softer.
"I'm sorry to hear that Mr Morgan."
"...Ahh, it's alright, he went down like a mighty warrior. Just like every descendant of the Venatores." A little silence fell between us. "Also,just call me Morgan, I think I have already told you this."
I then turned my head towards the rest of the peerage that had been looking at us with surprised expressions on their faces. I felt a smirk starting to grow on my face. Maybe I could mess with them to lighten the mood in the room. "So, does the class have any questions?"
To my surprise someone raised a hand. The owner of the hand, a young girl with marine blue hair barely reaching her shoulder blades, and eyes a lighter shade of blue. Tsubasa Yura, I think it was.
"Yes, Tsubasa?"
"How did you learn to fight like that sensei!?" She asked me with an excited grin on her face. "Those kicks and punches carry a lot of strength! All of that while being human!"
A smile started to grow on my face. My body is starting to relax after a long night. Maybe I succeeded in lightening the mood, or maybe she's just like that.
"Well, that is the result of getting your ass kicked on a daily basis," I chuckled softly. Victor never held back, beating me black and blue; saying it was for my 'benefit'. I guess he was kinda right. "Along these special boots of mine." I said as I tapped the floor with the tip steel plated boot. Of course the reinforcement spell was the main reason, but I'll keep that for me.
"Morgan," Sona addressed me once more, this time more relaxed than before. "There's still some issues left to address. Most importantly, why are you operating in Devil territory."
Ah, I actually forgot that territories are supposed to be respected, and if you wanted to work or do something in someone's else's territory you had to ask for permission from the land owners, in this case, the Sitri and Gremory heiresses. Come to think of it, Azazel also lives in the city of Kuoh and I'm pretty sure that he didn't ask for any type of permission.
"Ah… well… It kinda just slipped my mind…?" I tried to make up an excuse, but by the raised brow Sona gave she clearly didn't believe one bit. "Alright, fine. I just wanted to maintain my incognito status for as long as I could is easy and convenient to move around under everyone's noses."
Sona and her peerage did not approve of my actions for maintaining incognito.
"I'm sorry Morgan, but I need to report this in the stray devil hunt report." I started to feel a sudden nervousness grow in my chest.
"Please don't." I replied quickly.
"I have to do this, it's my responsibility to report everything we found and how the hunt went."
"At least, wait a little. To the end of the weekend." This time Tsubaki intervened. Still standing besides Sona, supporting her.
"Why do you need to wait until the weekend Mr. Morgan?"
"Umm… as you may or may not know, I was trying to interrogate the fallen angel for some information that I learned recently by chance. A group of fallen angels are trying to kill a student this Sunday, I'm trying to figure out why."
I revealed to them my motivation for my little fight and Sona analyzed the situation straight headed and pragmatic, pondering about the situations at hand. She took a bit thinking about it. "Who is this student?" she asked with an underlying tone that I detected behind her voice.
"Sorry about this Sona, but for the time being, I can't tell you that."
Sona maintained that usual calm expression she always wore, but this time was a little different from before. I couldn't put my finger on it but I felt it.
"And why is that, Morgan?"
"With all due respect Sona, I know how Devil Society works, more specifically I know how Devil peerages works, and what it means to be part of a peerage." I looked over at them acknowledging all of the Sona members, and watching their reactions and movements, some of them became stiff or just returned my look.
"Chances are that either you, or any other devil, if has the power to reincarnate a powerful magician, warrior or sacred gear user into a devil of their peerage, they're most likely to take the chance, either by promises, need or desperation." An uneasy silence began to grow between them and I. "If I have a word in that, I wont allow a reincarnation out of anyone's will." Maybe I came out as harsh or rude, but that doesn't change the fact that these cases are known because they happen constantly.
"Don't talk about the president like that!" The sole male in the peerage stormed up to me, his brows furrowed, and his eyes glaring at me. "We all accepted to be reincarnated as devils, of our free will!"
I looked at him, not expressing anything, a stoic expression on my face. I was a little surprised that he stormed to me, armed with holy weapons and all. A brave action, if very stupid one. I looked over and I could see the rest of the girls nodding in agreement and a determination set in their eyes.
"Well said Saji-kun!" Tomoe, the girl with twin pigtails, and reddish brown hair, yelled in support. Sighing I rubbed my templates, ready to redress the situation.
"Look;" I started addressing Sona and her peerage. "I'm not saying that you would do that to a person, I'm just clarifying that these are things that do happen, alright?" They all nodded back at me, their glares starting to soften. "Getting back on track…"
"I theorized that this student must come from a powerful magic bloodline or even have some sort of sacred gear, hence why the fallen are chasing the student." But the thing is something didn't match. According to the words of the fallen angel, their reason to kill off Hyoudou was because he presented a form of threat to them. But if that was the case, why bother killing him?
Chances are that the boy would pass unnoticeable in the moonlit world, only detection specialists might have known any sort of powerful bloodline or sacred gear. So it would be just better to leave Hyoudou alone, without him knocking off the moonlit world. So, the fallen lied to me about their reasons, or he didn't even know the true reason behind the hunting of the boy.
"Supposedly, this student presents a 'threat' to them. Unfortunately that's all I know for the moment." I concluded after I told them everything I knew about their fallen angel problems. Honestly this wasn't what I wanted, far from it actually. Azazel has disappeared for some reason, and these fallen are trespassing devil territory. If something bad happens it's on them.
"Fine;" Sona said, breaking me out of my musings. "I'll give you until this Monday to do whatever you need to do before I send my report of the stray devil hunting," She made a small pause, our eyes locked. "Including the rediscovery of a Venatores and the Morning Star.
Far from ideal but I guess this would have to do. Then a knowing look appeared in Sona's face; a look I didn't particularly like by the way a little smile started to grow.
"But I have another proposal for you." She started. "I would like you to join my peerage as my rook."
The silence in the room was palpable. Eventually a series of shrieks came from the student council. They were mumbling out questions, and even Tsubaki with her stoic expressions seemed baffled at the moment.
"...I…" I started gaining the attention once, more their eyes roaming over me with anticipation. "..I'm sorry, But I can't do that. I can't give up my humanity, I need it to keep a promise I made to my mentor."
I heard Sona sigh in a resigned tone and a wry smile on her face. "I had the feeling you were going to turn down the offer. I just didn't want to be left with the doubt." I relaxed after that, it was nice to see that she took the rejection well. And between you and me? I have a feeling that she wouldn't be able to reincarnate me as a devil either way. She still lacks some strength and power.
"Anyways, if that's all, President." I teased her with a grin. Trying to lighten the mood. "I have a date with my pillow. Unlike you devils, I do get tired in the night, and I have to be ready for tomorrow." I made my way to the window and opened it, allowing the cold midnight air to enter the room. I jumped out of the window and landed at the Academy's entrance. I looked back and saw Sona and Tsubaki staring with disapproving eyes, my grin grew into a smirk.
With two fingers I saluted, and with a reinforced body y dashed out of the academy. This night wasn't what I expected, but I can't say it was the worst outcome. Turns out that one of the devil heiresses seems like a nice person overall, unlike the stereotypes Devils usually had. I haven't really talked to the Gremory heiress so maybe she could be a nice and caring person or a huge bitch. Who knows? For the time being, I wasn't in a hurry for a meeting, so that could wait.
My hotel started to grow in the distance, just imagining the warmth of my bed started to make me more tired. I really need to move out of the hotel. Really wanted a small house or apartment of my own, it would be nice. But those are problems for future Morgan. Right now I just wanted to sleep in the warmth of my bed. Hopefully, next time my plans go according to the, well, the plan and it doesn't screw me. I really doubt it though.
Author's Note: Hello, its been a while. So, this chapter was harder for me to write and quite honestly didn't like it all that much. Lately I've been busy with college so my writing time has been cut down, hopefully I'll be able to write more in the future. Anyways, thanks for reading and have a nice day.