VII
The Grigori

Kouji had flown plenty of times before, he actually loved it. The feeling of being in the sky was so freeing and washed away all of his worries. It was almost as if he was leaving his problems and flying off onto a new adventure, and since he always knew that he would be going to a different school the next semester, he was literally leaving all of his problems behind. That was a different case entirely now that he was returning to Korea.

Surprisingly, fans who happened to be flying to Korea were actually incredibly respectful of Aespa. According to Karina, the perception filter had to be turned off for them when they flew anywhere as a part of public declaring their departure from wherever they were. Fans would know they were leaving and most importantly, everybody else. Anyone who would be watching them knew that they were leaving, they would know to not make any moves.

Kouji sat in the middle of Winter and NingNing during the entire 12 hour flight. NingNing, surprisingly, slept the entire way there. She would occasionally drop her head onto Kouji's shoulder for a pillow but always ended up curling up and sleeping facing the other way. Winter, however, stayed up the whole time. When she wasn't eating her snacks or watching the entirety of Harry Potter, she would have him practice using his eyes.

It was surprisingly good focus, directions from Karina. With the leader and Giselle sitting directly in front of them, the lessons would continue with the three of them helping him out. For most of the 12 hour flight, Kouji practiced seeing without seeing, being blindfolded and having to tell them how many fingers one of them would be holding up or describing different passengers around them. It was startling how accurate he was getting with these descriptions. More and more, he was able to see so clearly with his eyes closed.

According to Karina, it was like using a new muscle he never had before. More and more, he was able to see clearly. Soon enough, he was seeing as perfectly as he did with his eyes open. He even watched a lot of the Harry Potter movies with Winter before they landed.

He was surprised how well he got along with Winter. She was so easy to talk to and much more down to earth and human than he expected angels to be. She even filled him in on her life before becoming an angel.

She grew up in 18th century England at the tail end of the industrial revolution. He didn't realize that Aespa were much, much older than he was. They simply stayed at the physical appearance they died at. Turns out, Winter was one of Jack the Ripper's victims but never declared because she was Reincarnated. She was taken in by Karina and Giselle until they found NingNing.

After an extremely long 12 hour flight, they landed at Incheon International Airport, at the heart of Seoul. The smell of South Korea came rushing back to him as they stepped off the plane and into the terminal. Everybody had their facemasks on and some with hats, however they all made their way through the terminal with their bags.

Winter clung onto Kouji the entire time, which he thought would raise some eyebrows, however she was incredibly insistent on knowing that nobody would notice him. He was shocked, however nobody did notice him.

Aespa were completely mobbed by fans as soon as the airport doors opened, however Winter clung onto him to make sure he didn't get swept away by the crowd. Even though it was a mob, the fans kept their distance and just took pictures from afar. There must have been hundreds of them all flooding the terminal even outside the airport until they all got into their van.

"That…never gets old," NingNing took off her facemask and smiled. "It feels good to be home."

Everybody got settled into the van while Kouji admired the view outside. The bustling city of Seoul was always close to his heart. The towering skyscrapers, the enchanting night life, especially the neon lights that turned the city into a city that never sleeps.

"Welcome home girls."

Everybody's attention turned to the driver. He was a man in his thirties with long brown hair with shades of blonde on his bangs. He had a scruffy beard and wearing a suit, almost like a butler. He smiled as his eyes met Kouji's.

"L-Lord Azazel," said Karina. "We didn't expect to see you so soon."

A…Azazel? Kouji had read parts of the Bible on the flight and had Winter fill in some of the blanks.

"You're…the Fallen Angel Governer General?" asked Kouji.

"That I am," said Azazel. "So you're the Valak clan's experiment, huh? I gotta say, I'm impressed you made it so long. I thought their snakes would've eaten you from the inside out by now."

"You and me both," Kouji sighed.

NingNing shoved an elbow into Kouji's ribs. "Show some respect. That's our boss."

"Ow!" Kouji rubbed his side. "Okay, I'm sorry…sir."

"Oh can it with the formalities," said Azazel. "The important question is, why didn't you tell me about him sooner, Karina?"

Karina buckled and lowered her head. "A-Apologies sir. We didn't know how you would react. A lot happened in London and I swore to protect him."

"You did, did you?" asked Azazel, pulling out from the airport and driving away. "We got time until we make it back to the dorm, fill me in."

And Karina did just that, reporting back to Azazel about everything that happened in London. Turns out that Azazel had known about Kouji for a long time and thought that the snakes would have devoured him, turning him into Imugi's vessel for good. Aespa were sent to kill him to make sure Imugi never has a way of returning and therefore the Valak clan would never return.

"I see…" said Azazel. "I'm sorry kid, that's a lot to go through for someone so young."

"I'm sorry sir," said Karina. "I made a decision that affects all of us. I take full responsibility."

"Don't sweat it Karina," said Azazel. "I know how you are about lost kids. But you should have told me the mask surface sooner, and especially about the church. That complicates things."

"How so?" asked Kouji.

"The Church isn't exactly the organization you think it is kid," said Azazel. "Yeah they exorcise spirits and protect humans, blah blah blah, but they're extremely corrupt. They'll do anything and everything to keep their secrets hidden and if the world finds out that they let a nephallem slip through the cracks because of their own decision to turn you into a weapon, they'll lose all credibility."

"They wanted to turn me into a weapon?" asked Kouji. "Then why were they so set on executing me?"

"Because they can't control you," said Azazel. "And whatever they can't control is a threat to them. Granted it's what I would have done, but they make it more of a show, a spectacle to boast their power and influence."

"They wanted to kill me…to put on a show?" asked Kouji.

"Don't think too hard on it," said Azazel. "It's just how they've done things for centuries."

"And what about you?" asked Kouji. "Do you want to turn me into a weapon too? Or kill me?"

"If you give me a reason to," said Azazel. "I was going to have you killed but now that my favorite idol group has chosen to protect you, what kind of boss would I be if I went against that?"

"Thank you sir," Karina and Aespa bowed their heads. "We're grateful."

"Please…stop,' said Azazel. "But there's going to be some changes…now that I know the Church is after the kid."

"We can protect him," said Winter.

Azazel let out a whistle. "Looks like Winter's fallen for you. Protecting him isn't the issue Winter, it's how to keep him from the factions. Can you imagine when Sirzechs finds out there's a literal demon wandering around?"

A cold silence fell over the car.

"W-Who's Sirzechs?" asked Kouji.

"The Devil King," said Karina. "There's four Devil Kings but Sirzechs Lucifer is the Devil King. He and Ajuka Beelzebub are the strongest Devils in existence right now."

A cold shiver went down Kouji's spine. "W-What's he going to do to me?"

"My best guess…" said Azazel. "He's gonna rip Imugi out of you and kill it for good, but because you've spent 15 years with Imugi ingrained in your soul, it'll kill you too."

"That's not going to happen," said Karina.

"I appreciate your optism but it's not that simple," said Azazel.

The car parked outside of a hotel called Shilla, atop a large hill in the middle of the city. A massive tower decorated with autum trees and a great view of the city. Kouji was a little starstruck walking in with Aespa, however before he knew it they were on the top floor in their loft. Turns out that Aespa usually stay at their dormatory a few miles away, however Azazel had upgraded them to one of the best hotels in the city.

"Four rooms," said Azazel, setting their bags down in the living room. "Someone's gonna have to sleep on the couch."

Kouji's jaw dropped. The living room was the size of his entire house. Marble floors, Greco-Roman columns, a sunken in couch, protruding T.V from the ground, glass walls to see the entire city, and a grand chandelier hanging over the couch.

"Dibs," said Kouji.

"That's decided then," Azazel smiled. "What's wrong kid? First time at a hotel?"

"Well…first time at a five star hotel, yeah," said Kouji.

The second floor held the bedrooms however it was more like a balcony. The kitchen was to his right and the dining room to his left. He felt nervous walking in, as if he was stepping foot in a royal palace.

Winter jumped onot the couch and smiled. "Oh this is comfy. How come we've never stayed here before?"

"You never asked," said Azazel. "Besides, most of the Grigori stay here on their downtime. I'm pretty sure Shemhazai's at the pool on the roof, he'll drop by later for a chat."

"Shemhazai…Isn't he the leader of the Grigori? In the Bible I mean," said Kouji.

"Somebody did their homework," Azazel smiled. "That would be me kid. Shemhazai hates work like that but he helps out. We co-run the Grigori. Speaking of which, I gotta call a meeting with Shemhazai and Baraqiel. We gotta figure out what to do with the kid before Sirzechs finds out."

"Is there a way of removing Imugi from Kouji without killing him?" asked NingNing.

"That's…actually a good idea," said Giselle. "There's gotta be something we can do, right?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" NingNing glared at Giselle.

"Maybe…" said Azazel. "But the tricky thing is removing the snake without damaging the kid's soul. That snake probably wormed his way into his very essence, his soul is probably so intertwined with Imugi that removing it is like ripping out the kid's soul."

"There's got to be something," said Karina.

"Leave that to us," Azazel patted Karina on the shoulder. "For right now, just enjoy yourselves. Take the kid out for some sightseeing, eat some food, hell have a swim in the pool. Everybody here is either a Fallen Angel and they're on instruction to not kill you, you'll be safe."

"That's…good to know," Kouji smiled.

"Smell ya later kiddos," Azazel waved before closing the door behind him.

"That is not how I thought a Fallen Angel would be," said Kouji. "He's so…human."

"Lord Azazel loves humans," said Giselle. "He fell in love with the culture and the people. He's changed since the days of the Fall."

"Don't Fallen Angels fall because they hate humans?" asked Kouji.

Karina shook her head. "They Fall because they love humans, but in ways that are deemed impure by angelic standards. He probably has had a lot of kids over the years. He sired a lot of nephillim back in the day."

"Oh…you meant that kind of love," said Kouji.

Winter smiled. "Can we go eat now?"

"Unpack first," said Karina. "I hate clutter."

Luckily, Kouji didn't have much to unpack besides a backpack of things he managed to grab from the convenience store. It was strange being in a new city with no belongings. He wandered around the loft as everyone got unpacked, exploring this new place before looking out at the city.

Night had fallen over Seoul thanks to time zones but he was nowhere near sleepy. Instead, he watched as the night life of the city took over. Lights flickered all around as the hotel came to life. He could see the old school he had attended, a large domed building off in the city. He wondered if the friends he made were still there. It would have been a year since he's been back, they probably were in high school by now.

"It's beautiful, right?"

Karina walked up beside him, changed into her comfort clothes and smiled.

"I've been all over but something about Seoul just draws me back everytime," said Karina.

"I loved it here last time," said Kouji. "You don't know how much I missed authentic tteoboki."

"Do you want some?" asked Karina.

"I thought it was dangerous for me to go out," said Kouji.

"We're in Grigori headquarters," said Karina. "Nobody's stupid enough to attack us with so many Fallen Angels close by. You're safe in Seoul."

That brought him a sense of relief. To know that he can just walk around the city without worry of being attacked or being kidnapped.

"Thanks Karina," said Kouji.

"For what?"

"For…everything," said Kouji, smiling as he looked into the city. "I never thought I would be back here, I never thought any of this was possible. A lot's happened but…thank you for showing me that it's gonna be okay."

Karina ruffled his hair and smiled. "I promised your sister I would look after you, didn't I? We're gonna figure this out together, I promise."

"I know," He gripped his chest. "Actually I've been thinking…if you're a Reincarnated Angel in the Grigori, does that mean Azazel's the one who Reincarnated you?"

Karina shook her head. "The Fallen Angels don't have the Heavenly Saint cards required for angelic reincarnation. I was Reincarnated by Gabriel, the girls are too. She doesn't like to keep us confined in Heaven so she said we're free to live our lives how we pleased. Azazel asked if we wanted to join and said we were free too…he's even our manager sometimes."

"Gabriel? Wait the Archangel?" asked Kouji. "Like one of the Four Archangels?"

"The one and only," said Karina. "Normally Angels don't work well with Fallen Angels, but Lord Azazel's kind to us."

"That's good at least," Kouji smiled. "What's your schedule looking like? For Aespa the idol group, I mean."

"We're technically on hiatus for our new album," said Karina. "Once the tour ended we're just doing promotions but that's not for a few weeks. Right now we've got free time."

"What're you gonna do?"

"Train you, obviously," Karina smiled. "As soon as we eat, we're starting your training right away. There's an entire floor we can use. As soon as the girls are ready to go, we're off."

Kouji took a deep breath. This was it. The start of his new life. He was worried about how it'd go but more than anything else, he was excited. If they can remove him from Imugi, he'd be able to go home and see Irina and King again.

"Let's do this."

…

Kouji was sent flying, rolling across the wooden floor of the training area as Giselle sighed.

"You didn't guard again."

Kouji rolled over and panted for breath. He hadn't realized it until now but the magic he had possessed up until now was a constant source of power for him. It allowed him to immediately guard against attacks and even detect danger. Now that Winter had sealed it off with the bandages on his arms, all he had to rely on were his intellect and instincts.

"You're…making it sound…really easy," Kouji panted as he got to his feet.

Giselle was like an entirely different person when she was training him. Their first session together and it felt like he was being taught by the Devil herself. Karina, Winter, and NingNing watched from the sidelines, amused and eating snacks while watching Giselle kick his ass for the past hour. Giselle was even dressed for the occasion, a baggy pair of white sweat pants, a black tank top, and her hair braided over her shoulder.

"It's about focus," said Giselle. "You can't rely on Imugi's perfect defense to protect you anymore Kouji. Those eyes can do a lot…it's time you use it."

He had learned a lot over the 12 hour flight, one of them being that Purgatorial Phantasm could be controlled. Even if he made eye contact with someone, the illusion world wouldn't activate unless he wanted it to.

"The Mystic Eyes have another feature, Kouji," said Karina. "Imugi's perfect defense is one thing, but it's been infused into your Sacred Gear as well. You can do this."

Kouji stood tall and took a deep breath. It wasn't as if he hadn't tried before. Everytime his eyes would shift, it was always to Purgatorial Phantasm. He didn't even remember how he activated the first time…it just happened under the threat of dying. He didn't know how to cast it willingly.

"Okay…Okay," said Kouji. "Hit me again. I can do this."

Giselle smirked. "That's the spirit kiddo. You ready?"

"Do it."

Giselle clapped her hands together and opened a magic circle in front of her. He watched as the circle gathered water before shooting a stream of concentrated water towards him. It was like a stream from a fire hydrant, extremely condensed and with enough pressure to actually hurt him this time. He had to defend…defend…defend!

Kouji's eyes shifted. It took on the same appearance as Purgatorial Phantasm, however the tomoe symbols were spinning. Kouji crossed his arms and set his feet, bracing for the impact. He watched as scales formed in front of him, forming a shield that looked to be made of light. It didn't look strong enough to guard against Giselle's attack, however the water completely dispersed as soon as it hit.

He was right on about the pressure of the water. The attack diverged as soon as it hit the shield, slashing the ground and cutting into the wood of the floor.

"He did it!" Winter jumped to her feet. "Rina he really did it!"

"That's the perfect defense?" asked NingNing.

Giselle finally closed her magic circle and allowed Kouji and the girls to get a better look at the shield. It was thin as glass but somehow had enough strength to completely block Giselle's attack.

"Serpent Phantasm," said Karina. She smiled and ruffled Kouji's hair. "Good job Kouji, you really did it."

Kouji tapped on one of the scales as it shattered, creating a cascading effect with the entire shield.

"I remember this…" said Kouji. "Imugi…it used it when it was in my body. It blocked Jeanne's sword attack back at my house."

"Does that mean Imugi has control over the Mystic Eyes?" asked Giselle.

"It would make sense," said Karina. "It's been incubated in Kouji's body since he was a child, more than enough time to become acclimated to his Sacred Gear."

The scales…they were all connected to each other like a honeycomb. He was starting to get an idea of how he can use this more sparringly to avoid putting up the whole shield.

"Giselle," said Kouji. "Hit me again, but this time use a spell shoots an arrow or something smaller."

"Again? Are you sure?" asked Giselle. "You already proved you can manifest the shield though."

"Trust me…" said Kouji, unusually confident. "I've got an idea."

"I like this side of you," Giselle smiled as the girls distanced themselves.

If he was right, Serpent Phantasm could be a lot more useful than a simple shield. He had to get the timing just right, one second too late he'd probably end up dead. He had to get this just right.

Giselle opened another magic circle, however it was smaller just at the tip of her finger. He watched as she shot a beam of light at him, small like a bullet but a lot faster.

Kouji's eyes shifted. He used the enhanced vision of the Mystic Eyes to slow down time as much as he could to get the timing down precisely. Inches from his face, Kouji created a single scale. Rather than putting up the whole shield, Kouji raised his hand and created a single scale on the palm of his hand.

The scale completely absorbed the attack and immediately shot back out through a different scale as soon as Kouji held up his other hand.

"What?" asked Winter.

"Did he just…" said NingNing.

"Rina…Did you know the Mystic Eyes could do that?" asked Giselle.

Karina shook her head in stunned disbelief. "No…Kouji, how did you know you could do that?"

Kouji help but have a giddy smile on his face. "It actually worked…the scales looked like glass but they were made of hard-light. I remembered in one of my classes that hard-light could potentially have the capabilities of absorbing light based attacks. If something can be absorbed, it can be contained, and if it can be contained it can be dispelled. I didn't think it could be redirected from a different scale but…it worked."

"You…thought of that on the fly?" asked Karina.

"And something else too…"

Kouji jumped and created another scale under his feet. It was larger this time and more than solid enough for him to stand and even hop on. He was spot on about the hard-light theory, the scales were completely under his control. He could freely move the scales, allowing him the ability to fly. It wasn't true flight but it was enough maneuverability to do what he had in mind.

"You're amazing KoujI!" Winter cried. "Gahhh I'm so happy for you!"

"You really are…" said Karina. "I can't believe you're creating different uses for a Sacred Gear I thought I always knew."

Kouji broke the scale and landed in front of the girls. "This way…I can at least help you guys out if it ever comes to a fight."

"What?" asked Giselle. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not good at magic yet but…these eyes can at least let me be useful to you guys," Kouji smiled. "I don't want to be a burden, especially after everything you guys have done for me. I want to help out. If you guys are going out on another mission, I want to come with and watch all your backs."

Winter shot straight at him to give him a hug. "I love you Kouji! Isn't he so sweet?"

Kouji blushed. "I still have a lot to learn but-"

"You'll learn," Giselle placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is amazing Kouji."

NingNing wrapped an arm around Winter and Kouji. "C'mon Rina, the kids a natural talent at this. Are you really gonna lock him in his room the next time we have a mission?"

Karina smiled. "No, I guess not. You have a lot to learn if you're going to be out in the field with us Kouji, but you know you don't need to do a thing to repay us. We helped you because we wanted to, not because we wanted something in return."

"I know…but I hate being useless," Kouji smiled. "One day, I hope you guys can trust me to have your backs when you're a fight."

"A feast!" cried Winter. "C'mon it's only midnight, and after this? We have to have a feast!"

"Agreed," Karina swung an arm over Kouji's shoulder and smiled. "Let's enjoy our time in Korea."