A/N: Hey. I'm still not dead. Doing things at my own pace, so it's slow. Need money too, almost tempted to gate keep my content on 'that site' for a platry sum.
Arokaday: Cassius is a member of the Pontifica Cohors and Marcellus is the Cardinal who sent the two priests after Dante. They are completely original characters, since I'm doing my own things. You can imagine this story as from a completely different universe, I won't bother staying in cannon, and if things are weird and not like what the Lore say, it's either intentional, and I won't move anything, or it's not and I'll change it if it doesn't damage the story or force me to rewrite 20 chapters.
As for the other part, I'll try.
After getting shoved out of the room, they started talking about something probably important.
I would've hoped to listen in on their conversation, but I wasn't able to for a simple reason.
"So ? How did the test go ? Good I suppose ?"
Andoain, with one hell of an expression interrupted my attempt at spying on them.
He's smiling like he's hiding something.
Well, no matter.
There probably is still some kind of moral test or something. The kind of test that checks someone's mental capacity. I mean, I wouldn't want to put my life in the hands of someone that would break down the moment they see something unpleasant.
"I got only bullseyes, so I suppose so."
"What..? There should have been only one target ?"
"Yeah, I got yelled at since the other 5 weren't meant for me, but oh well."
Andoain's face goes through multiple phases, first shock, then confusion and finally acceptance.
It's not like you're mourning someone's death, you know ?!
Am I that weird or something ?
"You shouldn't do that, Dante. You might give people the wrong impression about yourself."
Dude. We met like what, 4 hours ago ? What do you know about me ?
"It's fine. When's the next test ?"
"Next test ? This was it."
"What ?"
Seriously, nothing else ?
You just randomly accept someone who could totally be some kind of monster, as if it was the most normal thing to do ? What if I was simply hiding what I was in the first place-
Oh. Yeah. I'm already doing that.
Fuck. The hell am I supposed to do then ?
Uh… Shit. Need to get my mind off this shitty mood and this weird 'Am I the villain ?' vibe.
… What to do…
Oh, I know.
"Is there a library here ?"
"Of course, as you might expect from both the HQ of the Pontifica Cohors and its instruction site, it possesses all the faculties necessary for education."
Why are you going on a tangent, my guy ? I literally just asked you if it has a library, not to recite the history of this building.
"Can you point me where it is, then ?"
"Of course. They probably need to continue debating where to put you for now, so it would be best to wait elsewhere."
Finally getting somewhere.
"What would you need in the library, if you wouldn't mind me asking ?"
"I'm searching for comedy."
"... Why ?"
"Why not ? Well, it's just something I was searching for, without any kind of special purpose behind it."
"That is still pretty odd… Why a comedy specifically ?"
"Who knows."
"Mhmm…"
His expression gets more and more unreadable. Well, he's probably wondering what I'm thinking right now.
I can't just randomly drop that I'm searching to see if the 'Divine Comedy' is a thing here.
Which it probably isn't, but well, I'll need to see if it is or not.
I'll also search to see if other kinds of things are written here from my world. See if there is any kind of correlation between here and there.
"Here we are."
"Thanks. Well, I'll get to searching, then."
"... I hope you find what you are looking for."
"... I sincerely hope I don't."
I probably shouldn't have blurted that out, but oh well. I just hope he hasn't heard that.
And now, to search this out…
Fun for the whole family !
"-nte ?"
Nothing.
2 hours of searching for nothing.
"Dante ?"
"Thank God."
"Were you praying, Dante ?"
Uh, what ?
"Cassius has decided where he wanted you to be. So I came here to fetch you. If you are praying, I can give you a little time, if you would like."
Alright, what would be the best for me ?
Option 1, go with the flow and try integrating as a follower. Wouldn't be that ideal since I'm an atheist. I would blow my cover 10 out of 10 times.
"-nte."
Option 2, deny it. I'll get ousted as a heretic if I do say that I'm an atheist, but at least if I just leave the ground for it and keep going with it I can get them off my back
"Dante."
Ah, fuck.
Panic Option 3.
"It's fine. I wasn't really."
"Truly ? Then what were you-"
"Unimportant. What were you saying about Cassius ?"
"... That he decided on where to put you."
"I didn't know he was that high in the totem pole."
"He is one of the elite squad leaders."
"Are their members public knowledge or something ?"
"No. Their leaders are. Since they are mostly out of mission and only take care of the political type of things."
"Alright. Where am I going, then ?"
"You will be stationed under the experimental team Epsilon."
"This does not help."
"Ahahahah, I'm aware of that, don't worry, I'll explain on the way. Follow me."
"Rude."
He began to move towards somewhere.
"So, what's that team meant for ?"
"Experimental team Epsilon include people that have potential while are also either trouble makers, problem children, or possessor of very weird and/or powerful techniques. It's a team that was made under Cassius's order to test said new recruits before giving them an accelerated course for joining us."
Those were words.
So it's the place where they put the ones they don't want to deal with, transforming them into convenient meatshields so that they can make sure they don't mess up other recruits.
Got it.
"How many are there ?"
"8, including you now."
7 others then.
"For curiosity's sake, how many people enter the normal course each year ?"
"200. And before you ask, last year, when it was formed, Epsilon possessed 4 members."
"... How long do people stay in said team ?"
"One year."
So there were 4 last year, and now 8 ?
What the hell happened ? That kind of team just up and doubles in the next year ?
"Okay. This is going to be a blast. Either literal or metaphorical."
And there will be no inbetween.
"Ahahaha, well, you seem to be adapting well to those news."
"I guess."
My facial expression is probably indescribable, the kind of in between despair, anticipation and resignation.
Getting mixed feelings from him, too.
"We are here."
In front of us, a large door.
Probably a place for said team to reunite.
"This is your stop."
"Not staying ?"
"No, Cassius is in charge of your team, I wouldn't want to take his place."
"Aren't you with him ?"
"Correct. But while I am also a babysitter- I mean, an overseer of team Epsilon, I also have other duties to attend to."
Babysitter.
My guy, you just revealed your true intention there, you know that ?
"Ahahaha…"
Considering that and his embarrassed expression, he is.
Fuck me.
"Well, good luck."
"Luck, huh."
And with that, he left as fast as he came.
That is to say, without a sound, and hoping I forgot his very existence.
Doesn't want to be held up here and have to do his job, would be more hypocritical than he already was.
His future looks grim, if it weren't for his blatant betrayal later on.
"Here goes nothing."
It's strangely silent.
I wonder why.
Holy shit.
What the hell.
"New guy ?"
A buff guy, -no fucking way that guy is younger than 18, he is built like a genuine tank, 1.8 meters at a minimum-, came and startled me.
"Yeah."
"We were notified of your recruitment. Considering the short notice, I am alone in greeting you."
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
"My name is Miles, I'm one of the members of this team. It is good to meet you."
Ever so serious, huh.
"Dante. As you can see I'm, well…"
"A Fallen ? I can see that."
"No comment on that ?"
"Are you willing to share the story ?"
"There is none to share tho, I was born like that."
"... If you wish not to speak of it, you do not need to invent such lies."
"It isn't one. I just was always like this."
"Well… Alright."
Well, this just got awkward as hell.
And judging his expression, he seems to still not believe me.
"Regardless, will it be a problem here ?"
"Not from me, but I do not speak for others. I doubt it would impede on our autonomy but there is a chance any team exercises could allow friction to be created. It would be wise to take care of it rapidly."
"Sadly, I doubt that is in my hands. I don't have much of a choice considering I can't exactly change the fact that I am a Fallen, I'll see with them individually once I meet them."
"Thank you. Doing such should at least not damage pre existing relations."
Well, I can see that. Dividing people between who accepts and who doesn't would certainly damage things.
In the end it all boils down to me being a Fallen. That's really annoying.
Why was I even born that way ? Does it link into some deeper things or it's just because of my connection, or lack thereof, to the Law ?
Well, it's not like the answer is just going to present itself randomly like that.
Shame, too. I would really like answers.
New day, new me.
Well, I just skipped the boring part, where I just got to my assigned dorm room.
This building is genuinely enormous, like, it's got apartments for the senior members and the trainees, more like a boarding school than anything, it also has training facilities, a school, and the rest of the HQ, which is in another, larger building in front of this one.
All in all, it's big.
I sat my ass on the bed and slept through the rest of yesterday. It's about 8 AM, where we have to gather in the meeting room he showed me before.
We should have training there, formal school is supposed to be taken care of outside Epsilon from what I gathered, and I don't know if I'll be eligible for that, being a Fallen kid that randomly decided to join here.
Who knows what they cooked up. Whether they don't do any kind of schooling or none at all would be suspicious in my eyes, so it doesn't matter.
… Well, here goes nothing.
Wait a second… The door is slightly ajar.
As Dante entered the room, three things happened.
One, people stopped talking inside it, as the others had all gathered already.
Second, a bucket of water was falling on his head, as a prank.
Three, Dante, having seen the door slightly opened guessed correctly that something would be falling on him, but couldn't disengage at that point, since he already opened the door and he was in the middle of walking inside.
Thus, he compromised.
In a feat of unknown strength, he flung his left arm like a whip, the bucket was deflected.
He understood in a split second that something was there and reacted before anyone could see.
Feeling no physical contact with the bucket, he expected to feel cold water on his body, but instead the bucket was thrown fast in front of him, splashing the three people in front.
"What the hell ?"
"How the fuck-"
"Saints above-"
All three got splashed, unsurprisingly, they weren't capable of doing something like that on the fly.
Now soaked and thoroughly wet, the now somewhat pissed future comrades were now hounding him.
"You reap what you sow." Dante said, as he was scanning the room.
"That doesn't make it okay throwing it at us, I didn't place the Law damn bucket !" The now burning with hatred red haired Liberi shot back.
"Well, you should have told them not to, or at least gotten out of the splash zone." Dante mentioned nonchalantly.
"You- you malus nequamque !" She insulted back.
"..?" 'What a spitfire…' Dante thought, rolling his eyes.
"It's fine, calm down. We'll deal with it later. The prank failed, and he seems capable, isn't that a good thing ?" Politely said the golden haired Sankta next to her.
"That doesn't help that this stulte completely soaked us ! Let me just punch him once, Octavia !"
"No means no." The now identified Octavia says firmly.
Now finally identifying every person in the room, Dante now has a good idea on the dynamics of this weird squad.
'Octavia is the mother hen, that Liberi is the easy to anger type, getting into trouble because she hasn't had any as a kid, the huge dude seems to be the stoic, no nonsense guy, the other guy I splashed is fearing for his life as if I had threaten to kill him, so he is the shy, panicking type, the girl one the verge of exploding with laughter is the prankster, the one reading a book in the back is the bored type, and the other two playing a card game were probably friends before this, and are also bored. Just great. This seems like it's waiting to explode.'
"I'm Dante, as you can see, I'm a Fallen. If you have something wrong with it, tell me now so we can take care of it now before it gets worse."
…
A pregnant silence fills the room.
That wasn't the best thing to say right now.