Interlude: Paths of the Future
The door shut behind him with a gentle click, a flick of the wrist closed the door and locked it shut.
Their breaths escaped them in steady streams, in and out.
Beyond that, there was no evidence that there was truly anything amiss with them. One could be forgiven that there was nothing out of the ordinary with them in the least, but beneath the surface, that was far from the truth.
His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings, none of them could be truly narrowed down nor compartmentalised.
Not after what he had just witnessed earlier that night.
What was there to be said?
Every detail had been accounted for, every individual of importance had been noted down and recorded for further examination. Even those who had not yet been revealed were known and documented, their lack of an appearance was a recorded fact. Everything about the night had proceeded as they had foreseen.
Except for one single detail.
And it was that single detail which had left him so completely blindsided.
It was an entirely new experience for him - for them - to be so utterly caught by surprise by something. Deciding whether they hated it or disliked it was not the point, the point of the matter was where they would go from here. There was an entirely new figure to be put into the field and they were not one who could be underestimated.
But all the same, it was the nature of the figure that caught them so thoroughly by surprise.
Their feet carried them inwards, hands reaching up and removing their hat from the top of their head, placing it upon the hook near the door and unbuttoning their coat, slinking the attire off and folding it over their arms.
The frown on his face reflected back in the mirror, he paused as he strode past it and stared at his own reflection.
The longer he looked, the more agitated he became.
Everything had proceeded as he expected.
Everything that was worth knowing was known by him.
So then…where did this come from?
A flicker of something passed through his mind, he registered the light of the room flicking on in the next moment. Turning his head in the direction of the presence and then lowering it in subservience almost immediately.
"I did not anticipate your arrival. Apologies for not being better prepared."
He waited with baited breath for their response, the growing silence weighed upon the back of his head like a lead block. He was expecting something from them, it was something he would have deserved as well.
Words of reprimand or some manner of punishment for his failings, they would be wholly deserved in this situation. Offering his neck before the council and hearing their calls for his punishment was something he fully expected right now.
Yet he was greeted by only silence.
"Raise your head."
A beat.
He obeyed the command, bringing his head back up and staring across the room at the speaker.
With one leg folded over the other, their hands rested upon their knees, eyes focused away from him and towards the fish tank in the corner of the room, gazing upon it as though it was the most interesting thing in the world to them at this one moment. By all accounts, he would have agreed with them that it was more worthy of their attention than he was.
"I am aware of what transpired, explain in your own words."
His lips pulled themselves thin, then he exhaled.
"I obeyed the directive, pursuing them to the final confrontation. The battle proceeded as you expected it would have done, there was a prolonged conflict between Fabro Rowan and the impromptu alliance of the Devils, Church and Grigori. The alliance was swiftly overwhelmed and had it not been for the timely arrival of the Satans, they would have ultimately have been bested."
A brief pause. "...During which time, Fabro Rowan announced his arguments in favour of the death of the Lord, though they were met with mixed reactions. As expected, the Burial Agent believed they held no weight…though the singular conscious exorcist and Asia believed otherwise, I suspect they might be more willing to accept it."
Silence.
Bringing their hand off their knee, they rested their elbow upon the arm of the chair and moved their hand to support their right cheek. Giving only a low hum as proof that they even acknowledged his words in the first place.
Their response did not come immediately, there was something more.
"...You know the issue as much as I."
He did.
That battle was not supposed to have taken place in the manner that it did, the Exorcists were supposed to have perished during the fight at the hotel and then the brief alliance between the Devils and the Fallen Angel would have ended with the Grigori being killed and half of the Devils being wiped out before reinforcements could arrive.
It was a battle that should have claimed the lives of half of the Sitri Peerage and all but one of the Gremory Peerage.
Sir Bedivere would have arrived in the aftermath and claimed the other remaining Excalibur Pieces and then been on his way before anyone else could have stopped him.
That was how the battle should have gone.
That was how the battle had been foreseen to go.
Except…there were some complications during that time.
"The intervention of Romani Archaman disrupted the established chain of events."
"A small disruption." An excuse with a wave of the hand, sounding far from troubled by their own words. "Though it is one nonetheless. This is not the first time that Romani Archaman has positioned himself in such a place that he has changed what I foresaw at the time. The future changes in conjunction with his actions…as though he is aware of what transpires."
He had no words for that.
Their implication was telling.
"That is…difficult to prove." Was the way he replied, ensuring his words were selected carefully. "I would have argued it was impossible, had the actions of an hour ago not occurred. I will admit my fault, I overlooked Romani completely and there is no excuse for my failure. I deem whatever punishment you have prepared for me both suitable and deserved."
A beat.
Their head turned slowly, their expression remained blank. "Punishment? I would hardly consider this worthy of a punishment. They have alluded my attention just as much as they have done so with your own. Not even Wodime considered them to be a figure of any true worth when they met with one another, believing them to be nothing more than a…"
Silence, they trailed off, then turned their head away from him and back onto the fish tank. "No. That is nothing. Regardless, there was no reason to suspect that Romani Archaman was anything more than what he presented himself as being. That is, a simple school nurse who was dragged into a situation beyond his control."
Their fingers drummed away on their knee.
"This has brought the truth of Romani forth into the light, while I doubt the man is aware of it himself, there is no denying that there is something more to him than we knew. This will require a more focused attention, far more so than you had allowed previously. Redeem yourself for this failure, that shall be your punishment."
He lowered his head to them, folding his arms behind his back. "As you command."
"Hmmm." Another low hum, the shuffling of clothes brought his eyes up as he watched his guest adjust themselves in their seat. "On a similar note, the spell that Romani Archaman deployed during the encounter with the dragon. We are all aware of its nature by now, though you are the only one who was personally present at the time. A detection of the Leylines mana flow was detected. Was this the result of the spell?"
"It was as I sensed. Harvesting the mana of the Leyline and then condensing it into a single point. They focused the attack and then unleashed it. There is no doubt that had it struck the dragon directly in a vul-"
"Vulnerable spot, it would have perished instantly, I am aware." They interrupted with a dull tone, sweeping their hand once more as though to hurry him along. Falling silent soon afterwards and ceasing the drumming on their knee. The shift of the future is concerning, I have little doubt that this will bring ramifications for what will transpire in the future. If Romani Archaman holds the power we suspect him to possess, then there will need to be…greater care taken."
Slowly, they uncrossed their legs and rose to their feet, moving their hands across and buttoning up their blazer.
"With the assistance of the South American divinities secured, there is little need to be concerned about the potential of being outpowered before the time is right."
A nod of the head, he gave his own hum of affirmation before he responded to them. "The vision of the peace conference remains undeterred, though if there is such an issue as you suspect, then it is possible that Romani might disrupt the proceedings as they occur."
There was a brief moment of silence, then he straightened himself out and adjusted his posture, their intentions filtered through his mind as he understood what it was that they were suggesting. The words of his fellows came through as well, union was reached between all of them.
"We allow him to do so. The more prepared that they are in the event of an attack by the Old Satan Faction, the better."
The announcement was delivered with a ghost of a smile on the face of his superior, only for a moment before it disappeared. "Though I remain unconvinced by the validity of such a future, it remains only one of the potentials that might exist. The elements within the vision are still shifting, the actions of Romani have disrupted events…It shall take time to solidify once more."
A stray thought filtered through his mind. "Any others with the sight shall be similarly aware of the alterations in the flow of time. What are my commands if I am to face an entirely unexpected turn of events?"
"Proceed as planned. So long as your cover remains unbroken, then there is little need for concern. Though if such a time arises, then it shall likely no longer be required."
Another brief pause, they started to walk and moved past him.
"Keep track of the progress of Romani, but give nothing away. If he is clairvoyant, then it is imperative that his capabilities are properly assessed. If he is capable of such feats when untrained, then his potential is matched only by the likes of Wodime or Daybit."
It was a bold claim.
But it was wholly earned, if he had received this knowledge second hand then he would have not been so readily able to believe it. Even if it was something that he could hear no deceit in regards to it. All the more troubling that he had allowed such potential to be groomed into the support of the Devils.
He knew too well how much Romani cared for them as though they were human students, he was suffering for his own lack of foresight on the matter, but it was hardly as though he could have done anything without revealing himself to the powers in the region.
"...Am I to do anything during the peace conference?"
"...That will very much depend upon how the nature of the future unfurls. Expect to receive direction in short order. I have others prepared for an intervention, should it be required, but remain on standby. It might be possible that you would be personally needed."
He understood.
"As you say, my King."
They moved past him, their presence vanished from the house in the instant that they moved out of his line of sight.
Physically alone in the house, he felt his shoulders drop and his head hang low.
Moving forwards and across the room towards the fishtank, he stared down into it with furrowed brows. His own troubled reflection peered back at him through the mixture of clear water and glass.
"You do not make things easy for me, do you Roman?"
Still, to think that they were capable of such things in the first place.
His mind was burdened with the knowledge that it might already be too late to bring them into the fold.
In which case, if there ever came a time where they were a clear and present danger to the plan, he would need to deal with them directly. It would be the only method of accounting for his own failures in this regard. Clearing up a mess of his own creation.
A chorus of agreements from within his mind.
Her eyes remained fixed, straight ahead of her and staring out the window of the dingy hotel and to the city beyond.
The radio chatted away in the background, still speaking of the disaster which was now considered one of the worst recorded in the city, perhaps even the entire region. Something that she knew for a fact she would not have survived if it had not been for the intervention of the Devils and their human ally.
She owed her life to a Devil and their human ally, a nurse of all things.
No, it stretched beyond even that.
She was still alive because of the Satans themselves.
The Satans and a member of the Grigori - one of the highest members of their command as well - were the only reason that she was even still alive to fulfil God's judgement upon the earth.
Except…was that even right anymore?
The words of that foul abomination were nothing short of heresy, there was no reason for her to even entertain the notion that there was anything even close to being regarded as truthful in its statements. It could be nothing more than a feeble attempt to try and confuse her mind or make her lose heart.
That is how she imagined Sister Griselda would describe it.
Really, there was no reason for her to pay and more attention to the worthless chunterings of this demon any more than she would have to the many Devils before who claimed that God had abandoned her or that the Lords light did not reach whatever hovel they were slumming in at the time.
She had proven them wrong time and again when it came to dealing with them, she doubted she was the first to hear such words and she very much doubted that she would be the last one to have them hurled at her either.
Agent Bow hadn't even so much as brought up the topic once, Irina was fortunate enough to have been knocked out during the conversation so she missed the entire thing, but that was beside the point.
Even if she had been conscious, then she knew for a fact that Irina would not have even given those words the time of day.
Really, Xenovia should not have even been thinking upon them either.
Not when it was apparent that their return journey was going to be swiftly harrowed by the intervention of the apparent still living member of the Round Table of King Arthur. There was still the matter of something like that, she knew not whether they were telling the truth or if it was just a case of a Heroic descendant or reincarnation becoming too enamoured with their past.
That was possible, that was the most likely option out of all of them.
It wasn't the first time that such a thing had happened, but it was something of a rarity.
Either way, it was clear that whether they were truly the original Sir Bedivere or not, their commitment and skill in fighting was not to be underestimated. While she would never say such a thing to the face of her superior, it was clear that they had skills equal to that of Agent Bow or perhaps just below.
She claimed they fought her and escaped and that neither herself nor Irina should engage him under any circumstances without them present.
No idle warning was that.
…This mission was a failure, there was no denying it.
Kokabiel was dead but of the Excaliburs they went out to claim, they were returning with only one.
And her mind cared little for the failure, instead it was returning again and again to the words of the creature. The poisonous words so very much like the snake of Eden, meant to insight doubt into her mind and make her question everything. Ensuring that the apple looked so very appealing to her.
Her hands slowly coiled into fists, gripping the bed sheets and bunching them tightly underneath her fingers.
She should ignore it.
She should just ignore it and go about her life as though there was nothing amiss. Treat the comment just as she would any other blaspheme, consider the speaker a heretic and then just as swiftly move on. They had outed themselves as a target and would likely be dealt with by the Church in the future.
That should be all there was to it.
…And yet, why did that hollow feeling in her heart remain when she thought on their words?
That feeling that pulled her right the way back to where all of this had begun in the first place?
Twilight Healing had displayed itself to be capable of healing Devils.
Blamed on Asia Argento for being a heretical witch and corrupting the nature of the Sacred Gear, she believed that and perhaps that was still the most compelling theory. Though having met the girl personally, she was troubled to find herself doubting that explanation with increasing fervour.
There was no denying Asia Argento was a heretic, she had accepted the offer of the Devils and had joined them.
In any other situation, Xenovia would have gladly stepped forwards and brought the justice of the Lord upon such a debased sinner. That was the only form of mercy that should have been allowed for one who corrupted the gifts of the Lord in such a way as that girl.
…Except she really didn't seem like a heretic in the least.
She knew that it was the nature of Devils to seem as such, that was how they appealed to the uninitiated. They would approach you with charming smiles and silver tongues, making it so you believed their every word while never once seeing the dagger they held in their other hand. Only when they were behind you did they reveal their true nature.
…Except there was nothing she got from Asia.
They had a chance, they could have left Agent Bow to die. She expected them to leave Agent Bow to die, she rather expected the Devils to take advantage of their moment of weakness and kill them all. It wasn't as though they truly needed their aid, given that they were able to summon two of the four Satans to arrive.
But everyone was alive and well, they were all heading back to the Vatican and there was nothing else that they truly needed to worry about.
So then why was it that she felt so…empty?
It wasn't just the failure in her objectives.
It was the doubts that were forming inside her mind, they were growing larger and larger as the seconds ticked by and no matter what she tried, they would not leave her mind.
The abomination claimed the Lord was dead, it was baseless slander.
…But what if it wasn't?
How could a simple girl from within Church possibly corrupt one of the gifts from God and provide healing to a Devil? What manner of sense would something like that make in the first place? Asia Argento was many things, but a skilled practitioner in curses was not one of them.
She'd seen the girl in action.
They were feeble, like they were made of glass.
Useful only for healing and little else, if she was truly so accustomed in the dark arts then she would not have been cowering by the side of a nurse.
…Except they had lied to her as well…or had they?
Their claim that they were not a mage should have been proven false, were it not for the fact they came stumbling into the room and then promptly fainted upon being faced with the truth of their actions. Not to mention that everyone else seemed just as shocked to learn that this simple man apparently had the power to shoot dragons out of the sky.
Her hands loosened their hold, pulling away from the bed and then moving towards her face, rubbing up and down her temples as the thoughts continued to burn in the back of her mind, bleeding forth.
God was perfect, so then how would a human corrupt his creation like such?
How could an abomination commandeer the gift from God himself and use it for their own aims?
How was it that they were able to withstand a blow from the very light of the Heavens themselves - a true attack that only the most devoted of the Lords followers could possibly conjure - and then walk out more or less unscathed.
But it was more than that.
The Satans themselves had arrived, the White Dragon Emperor had arrived…
…But would it be wrong of her to ask why there had not been a single Angel that arrived to bring them aid? Was the Lord so confident in their victory that they were left with nothing more than the three of them?
It could not have been because of Sir Bedivere, they actively stole the Excaliburs and if it was truly the will of the Lord, then they would have been told to relinquish the blades to the Knight when they first arrived.
A groan and the sound of popping jerked her attention away from the window and towards the opening door of the bathroom, steam billowed out as Irina strode forth from the showers, still dabbing her wet hair with a towel and humming to themselves.
"Yuck…I think I had some sort of nasty slime stuck to my skin, I really hope that it doesn't cause a rash…"
Xenovia had to admire the carefree spirit of her fellow Exorcist, they were certainly unmoved by the failure of the mission. Or if they were troubled by it, then they did not make much of an effort to let such feelings show themselves.
"I can't wait to get back to the Vatican." Irina groaned out, rolling her shoulders until another pop echoed through the room. They slumped them and moved for the bed, throwing themselves onto it without any regard for whether or not they were still dripping wet. "Coming back here was really tiring, you know? I don't think that everyone is going to be pleased with how things turned out."
"...That is an understatement." She dryly retorted to them, shaking her head from side to side and rising up, moving to the window and drawing the curtains shut before they ran the risk of having someone peep in through them. She would put nothing past a town such as this, one that accepted the rule of Devils, even if it was through ignorance.
…But they had actually shown up to protect the people.
Her movements faltered for a moment, her hands froze the moment she drew the curtains and her eyes turned downcast.
"...Do you suppose that He is disappointed in us?"
"Huh?"
A grunt of surprise, she felt the weight of Irina's stare on the back of her head a moment later. "What do you mean? I…Do you mean…The Lord?"
"Hmmm."
"I…I hope not but I…I would understand if they were." The sombre nature was only matched by the resignation. "We did come here to reclaim the Excaliburs and managed to lose all of them. Not to mention that we almost lost a Burial Agent on this mission and if it hadn't been for the Devils…"
They trailed off, but they felt the same as she did.
If it had not been for the Devils, they would have died.
Her hands came away from the curtains and down to her sides.
"...I do not know…I am not sure what else we could have done." Xenovia replied in a slow tone of voice, choosing her words carefully and trying her best to avoid saying anything that she would come to regret. "I cannot think of anything that we could have done that would change the outcome of what transpired."
That was ultimately it.
What more was she supposed to have done? What more could she have given that would have made it so they could claim victory?
It was as though they were supposed to lose, everything they fought against just overpowered them, save for the Burial Agent. Not even Durandal seemed to be the trump card they needed to turn the tables, regardless of the damage it had inflicted upon the dragon, they would have never been able to achieve anything without the aid of the Devils.
…Was this the Lord's plan?
Were they supposed to be sent here and humbled with the knowledge that there were beings in this world that required the full might of the three factions to defeat? If that was the intention, then she was thoroughly convinced of it.
"Do you…do you believe that was the point?"
"What was the point?"
"Do you…do you think that we were sent so that we could see first hand what sort of monsters existed in this world?" She slowly turned around, locking eyes with Irina as they remained perched on the bed, giving her a slightly odd look. "It seemed easy to consider the Devils and Fallen as the ultimate Evil but…"
Kokabiel, the famed Watcher of the Stars, was dead.
He had been killed before they ever laid eyes upon him.
She had to suppose that was the case, because the alternative was too terrifying to admit.
"You think that this was part of the Lord's plan?" Irina sounded somewhat sceptical, indeed it did sound as though it would be a very convenient excuse for everything that transpired. Though she pinpointed the moment in which her incredulity changed into something more thoughtful and accepting. "That…Huh. I didn't consider it like that. It does seem rather strange, doesn't it? Members of the three factions came together to fight a common enemy."
It sounded appealing, but that wasn't it.
She had been told for so long that the Devils were the ultimate evil in this world, far and above even the traitors of the Grigori because as bad as they were, there was still something about them which had been related to mankind. Some of them had fallen because they loved humans too much, more than they loved God.
It was a vice that was seen in humans.
Not every member of the Grigori was akin to Kokabiel, but more than enough of them were to be considered untrustworthy as a whole.
…Except she had seen a Grigori come to their aid and fight side by side with them, decrying the actions of Kokabiel as insane and then doing their level best to ensure that everyone managed to live through the evening.
Devils who should have killed them showed them kindness and kept their word, the Satans arrived and saved them.
She was saved by the Satans who then thanked them for their aid and let them go.
How was she supposed to make sense of something like that?
It was as though everything she had ever believed was hurled back into her face within the span of a single evening. All of which pointed towards a single inescapable fact that did not stop rearing its ugly head inside her mind.
Someone messed up somewhere.
Men were fallible, they made mistakes, even those in the service of the Lord could be led astray.
But how did Heaven not know about Bedivere? Or if they did, why did they not tell them to support the knight? It did not make sense in her head, surely if they knew Bedivere was both alive and on the move - or anyone with his name was moving on the Excaliburs as well - then surely they would have been alerted to it.
It was a blasphemous thought, but it was one that made sense.
God did not make mistakes.
Men did.
Which meant that this was not a mission overseen by God.
It couldn't have been.
There was no way in which she could see God working hand in hand with the likes of the Devils or the Grigori, not after everything they had been through. Not after the Great War had caused so much death and misery.
Unless this was another lesson?
Her mind hurt, trying to make sense of everything, all of those thoughts that were bubbling around inside her head.
Leaning back, she put her weight against the wall and stared blankly across the room.
All Xenovia could comprehend was what was in front of her.
The Holy Sword project would never have happened, she knew in her heart that there was no way in which God could ever condone such a thing, nor was there a way in which it could have possibly escaped his sight.
But it happened.
Why did it happen?
God didn't make mistakes.
Men did.
It happened.
Twilight Healing had proven the capacity to heal the enemies of God, even if she believed that Asia Argento was some witch, she was not more powerful than God. She was not going to be able to corrupt the nature of the Sacred Gear in any capacity, so that meant that God wasn't there.
Except that was impossible.
But the abomination said otherwise.
…Did that mean they were telling the truth?
She didn't want to believe it.
She truly didn't want to consider it an option in the first place, but there was no denying that it was now a possibility that existed in her mind. It was something that she would need to find the truth of, or she would never be able to come to terms with herself.
It had not been the Angels of the Lord who saved her that day, nor a Miracle from above.
It had been the Devils.
Things that she believed would leave her to die, instead fought with her to the very last when she would have expected them to flee.
God didn't make mistakes.
Men did.
She did.
In which case…how many of her actions had been a mistake?
"Xenovia?"
"Hmph?"
She turned on Irina, blinking and inclining her head, they stared right back at her with a mixture of worry and confusion.
"Are you…alright?"
"...I'm fine." With a swift reply, she stepped away from the wall and cleared her throat. "Merely thinking about the mission."
Moving for the shower, she paused and glanced sideways at her friend. "...You knew the Devil boy, Issei, yes?"
Irina smiled lightly. "Yes, it does seem very strange to meet him so many years later and find out that not only was he a Devil, but he is also the Red Dragon Emperor…but I was surprised to see that he…he hasn't actually changed all that much. Which is a bit of comfort that he hasn't been totally corrupted."
Closing her eyes, Irina clasped her hands together and lowered her head. "It makes me hopeful that there is some part of him deep down that will one day be able to embrace the light of Heaven. Even if he has become an enemy of the Lord, I do not believe he is beyond redemption…he is just a lost lamb who was so terribly led astray, as so many others are."
A lost lamb led astray.
Xenovia wondered about that.
"You knew him better than I." With a shrug, she made for the showers. "But if you believe it to be true, then who am I to argue with you…but I doubt that Agent Bow will be as merciful with them should their paths cross again."
The Agent was out trying to hunt down Bedivere.
…With no success, they seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth.
"In which case, I shall only hope that he is met with a swift and merciful end…He doesn't deserve to suffer."
Xenovia elected to ignore the way in which the voice of Irina hitched as they spoke.
She wasn't sure if they were trying to convince her or themselves about it.
…She hated this doubt that now plagued her mind.
She just wanted her confirmation, it would be easy before today.
But now? Now she just…wanted to know.
She wanted to know if they were truly fighting for the Lord himself, or fighting under the banner of someone else.
There were few things left in the world that could surprise him.
Or he liked to believe as such, very rarely did something happen that could knock him so off balance as right now.
Which was why he found himself a little bewildered in more ways than one, spraying alcohol out through his nose and all over the countertop, breaking down into a coughing fit in the next moment, hammering his fist away as he tried and failed to get his body able to speak again.
It was nothing more than a show, but it gave him time to actually think of something to say.
…Only that he couldn't think of anything to say.
Finally shooting back up, he levelled a bewildered look at the person opposite him and looked them right in the eyes. The only words that sprung forth out from between his lips were the simple demand for what had happened.
"Are you drunk?"
Penemue shot him a strained glare. "Do I look drunk to you?"
"You look like you just got fished out of a skip, if I'm being honest." He chortled a little, they were both a little far from alright at the moment.
The glare on her face turned deeper for half a second, then it vanished as the woman slumped forwards, dropping her head onto the bar top with a dull thud, moving her hand out to clasp the bottle of rum and slid it closer to herself. "Yeah well…that's what happens when you fight a zoo."
"...There's no doubt then?"
"None." Dragging her head up, she rolled her jaw from side to side and paused for a moment as she moved to bring the bottle up to her lips. "...You should have seen the magical energy coming off that guy. It was monstrous, not just because of the fact he managed to spit out a fucking Hydra and a dragon from his damn gut, but literally everything else he was tossing out from his body. Hundreds of these damn things."
She flung an arm out, pointing a finger square at his face. "He dropped a whale on someone. A whole whale!? Who the hell does that?"
She took a long swing of the bottle and necked probably a good third of it with that single gulp, dropping it back down with a clack and shaking her head from side to side, looking barely affected by the fact she'd just downed some rather expensive booze. He was a little miffed about that, but the occasion called for it.
Taking a bottle into his own hands, Azazel unscrewed the lid and moved it away from her and to the empty glasses of the others present at the bar counter. Ensuring that his eyes remained on Penemue as he did so, but he was sobering up rather quickly under the combined weight of everything she was just throwing at him.
Bombshell after bombshell.
"Hydra, huh?"
The comment from Baraqiel was a quiet mutter, his eyes remained on the glass as it was filled up only a small amount, stopping when they raised his hand.
"...Guess we know how he died then, huh?"
A collective grimace went between all of them.
Hydra venom.
A nasty way to go.
That hadn't been his intention in the least, a good freeze in Cocytus would have been what he planned for Kokabiel, hence why he dispatched Vali out to get them in the first place. Then Penemue went flying out there only to call him back about an hour later that Kokabiel was dead and had apparently been eaten by Fabro Rowan.
"Bastard."
"Which one?" Azazel asked with a raised brow, the bearded man spared him barely a glance as he brought his glass to his lips.
"Both."
"Heh. Yeah." With a wry chuckle, he moved onto Shemhazai and poured them out a small glass. "Kokabiel was always running headlong into stupid shit. I always said that it would one day be the death of him but…I just figured that it had been avoided when the ceasefire came into effect."
Shemhazai frowned at him, though it was a soft expression. "You know what Kokabiel was like. There was always the strong chance that he would attempt something like this. I'm surprised it took him as long as this…though the question remains, what are we going to do about it now?"
Azazel screwed the bottle closed, setting it to the side.
"...Run damage control." With a shrug of the shoulders, they answered simply. "I've made it clear that Kokabiel was moving on his own and Penny running out there and throwing her weight about gives us a little bit of strength to that claim. Enough that Sirzechs didn't immediately try to dust her…no offence."
The purple haired woman only groaned as she upturned the bottle to her lips once more.
"All the Excaliburs are gone and we don't really have anything to do with that."
A moment of silence passed.
Then he broke into a faint chuckle, shaking his head from side to side as he turned on the purple haired woman once more. "But seriously, Bedivere? That guy? I know we sort of lost track of him but…was he hiding away in Avalon or something for the last few hundred years? He had to be…"
A grunt from across the room, Armaros spoke up. "I mean, didn't Richard wander into Avalon or something? Or did they just come close to one of those little Fairy Towns before they all closed up shop and moved out?"
"I don't think Lionheart counts for that, besides I bet it probably involved Saint Germaine." He dismissed with a shake of the head, but a thought occurred to him that suddenly made a great deal more sense. "Merlin."
"What about him?"
"He probably cast some sort of stasis spell on Bedivere to leave him to chill for a while…" Shrugging his shoulders, he stared at the bemused faces before he continued on. "I mean…you really think he's literally just been walking around the earth for the last fifteen hundred years? Someone would have spotted him by now."
It wasn't like Bedivere was anything like Fabro.
Barely a grunt from Tamiel. "Whether that is the case or not, all that really matters is that Bedivere is away into the wind with the Excaliburs, which means that there is only one that remains that he doesn't hold…what are we going to do about it?"
What were they going to do about it?
The answer was simple.
"Nothing." He replied, then beamed as he took a sip of his own drink. "That's a matter between Michael and Bedivere, they want to argue over who is doing what, then that is completely up to them. I think that the Grigori have messed about one too many times with the Excaliburs and I, for one, have no desire to lose anyone else over them."
"Here, here." Penemue raised the half empty bottle. Then paused and turned further down the counter towards Baraqiel. "Oh yeah, your daughter is a dead ringer for Shuri, you know? Except she's got your eyes."
Azazel stared at her for a half second, then turned his gaze onto the father in question.
A slow nod of the head from the man. "...I see. I'm glad to hear it, she always did take after her mother more than me and…I'm sure she likes having less to do with me."
"I mean…I saw her use your lighting."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. Pretty strong too, for a girl her age." With a faint smile, she nodded down the line to the man. "Give it a couple more years, I bet she'll be just as tough as you are."
"Hmmm." Baraqiel hummed to themselves, silently bringing the glass to his lips once more and taking another sip. "...On that topic…"
His eyes turned onto him and narrowed rather swiftly, an air of warning entered his tone of voice. "What is this I hear about an unknown being near my daughter for so long? Unless you mean to tell me you knew about how strong this person was…I thought your associate said her husband was harmless."
He figured this was going to be where the conversation ended up.
Stepping back, he raised his hands in surrender and offered an easy smile. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I was with that guy multiple times - sometimes for hours - and not once did Roman even so much as give me an ounce of reason to suspect he was packing that sort of heat."
The eyes of Baraqiel lingered on him for a moment, then turned back down, seemingly satisfied with his answer, but clearly more than a little concerned.
Azazel would admit that he was rather shocked as well, especially because it seemed as though nobody had any idea exactly what Roman had done until he actually did it. He never would have assumed that the really plain and lazy dude would have been able to shoot a damn dragon out of the sky.
He was beyond gutted that Leona never officially decided to join the Grigori, but losing someone with the sort of power that Roman was apparently throwing around? Damn, now that was really starting to sting him a little. If only because it sounded as though they were in the dark about all of it.
Now they were right in the clutches of the two little Devil sisters.
Well…not that he was really bothered, if everything went as he had been hoping it would, then the need for all of this would be far behind them and Roman would hopefully be a boon for all sides, rather than a weapon turned on one in particular.
Not that he really considered the man a game changer…but it was better to have him on their side than against them.
However, there was something else that troubled him.
"All of that aside, Fabro really just came out and said it?"
That brought the mood down to a grinding halt.
Penemue raised her head up and slowly nodded it up and down, confirming what he had really hoped she had misheard.
"...Damn. Michael isn't going to be happy. The Burial Agent will probably just dismiss it as hogwash but the others? Well…even if they don't immediately believe it, Leona is definitely going to put all the pieces together now that they are in front of her and she'll know. Heck, if she figured it all out that same evening, I wouldn't be surprised."
Shemhazai hummed in a low tone. "Does it matter? I doubt that the sisters of the Satans are going to truly give it much thought, I imagine they would dismiss such claims quickly and if Leona is as smart as you claim her to be, then she would understand the importance of keeping this all quiet."
They weren't wrong.
Leona was a smart little human, so she would probably figure out that advertising the death of God was a really bad idea, even if anyone actually believed her. It was more liable to get her killed for blasphemy or something like that, no matter how true it really was.
"...So…anyone got anything else they want to drop on us before we all get hammered-"
"You're not getting drunk." Shemhazai didn't even skip a beat in interrupting him, he turned his gaze onto his friend and furrowed his brows at them, they remained utterly stone faced as they continued onwards. "There are several meetings you need to attend in relation to the fiasco in Kuoh, not to mention the new information that we managed to obtain from our sources elsewhere. None of which can be done if you're slumped over a desk with a dozen empty bottles next to your head."
Azazel fought back a groan of frustration, his hands came up and he pressed them against his forehead.
Yeah.
Because peace between the three factions didn't sort itself out, it seemed.
"...What do you guys think Kokabiel would say if he was here?"
Sahariel jerked upwards, lowering his drink from his lips and tilting his head. "Before or after they insulted you for being a coward, made several threats against your life for being said coward, and then tried to make good on those promises and kill you for being a spineless coward?"
They all stared for roughly half a second.
Ripples of laughter bubbled up from all of them.
That was exactly the sort of thing that he imagined Kokabiel would have said if they were here, right now.
Another sigh, the angel reached up and scratched the underside of his chin. "But…they would also say that moping around doesn't change the fate of the fallen. All we can do is see that they didn't die for nothing."
Azazel softened his expression, lowering his head down and humming along with the words.
Yeah, that was also the sort of thing that Kokabiel would have said. Nothing really dampened that guy's spirits in the least, every loss was just fuel that would make the next victory burn all the brighter, or something along those lines. That sort of thing was really inspiring during the war, he would have to admit.
"...Guess we can see to it that Kokabiel didn't die for nothing." He grunted, bringing a hand up and pointing down at the table. "He can inspire us, one final time. Not to make the same mistakes he did, to live in the past is to die with it…those who don't change with the times are gonna be the ones forgotten with them."
"He'd hate you for that too." Baraqiel grunted with a wry smile and a nod of the head, "Imagine if he found out we were using him to push for peace even stronger than before, he'd be furious, wouldn't he?"
Azazel nodded along. "Yeah, he really would be."
Clearing his throat, he brought his glass up. "To Kokabiel, the tough bastard who fought for war and died for the sake of peace."
They raised their glasses - and one bottle - back to him and chorused it right back.
It was definitely going to be a lot quieter around here without the constant howling of Kokabiel or the rants and ravings of their arguments that would go on for hours and maybe even days, all of which would end up relating to the fact that they both just wanted different things.
Maybe Kokabiel was right, maybe the dead did deserve some justice for all they had fought and died for.
But Azazel figured the biggest justice they could receive would be that no one else was going to end up joining them in their graves.
She grit her teeth.
No sign of them.
Not a single trace that they were anywhere in the town, it was as though they had just been teleported away. But even that should have left some hint of a signature that she should have been able to extrapolate and figure out where it had come from and who was responsible for it.
Even if she wasn't able to figure out the who, she would have at least been able to figure out the direction that it had gone, but there wasn't anything. The knight hadn't been anymore than a couple minutes ahead of them.
Her hands clenched into fists, her head hung low.
This was already shaping up to be a colossal failure, her first true failure that she had ever experienced.
True enough, there were mitigating circumstances that made the entire ordeal much less biting to her but that didn't make it sting any less. They had sent her out here purely because they expected results and she would certainly end up providing them those results, they would just happen to be the absolute worst results that the world had to offer them.
Losing all of the Excaliburs.
…But that blame could be placed on a lack of information.
But she should have been able to account for it, it should have been well within her ability to count for it.
Had it just been this Bedivere, real or fake, then she was sure that she would have been able to defeat them and claim the swords. Except everything went off the rails in the exact moment that the abomination showed up and then the Satans arrived for their family, this was far beyond what she alone could deal with.
Especially when they had all but proclaimed that Bedivere would get free transport out of Kuoh, they didn't need to speak it but she knew, their words had signalled as such which was why she left not soon after them and sent her charges away.
Speaking of…she was rather concerned for Xenovia.
They were showing some troubling signs.
Clearly the words of the abomination had gotten to her in a much deeper way than before, but it would matter not if they were a true sister of the faith, they would push through such feelings and then come out all the stronger for it.
Or they would lose to their doubts and fall to the wayside, whichever happened.
…She would rather that it didn't come to that, they were a young girl and being thrown into a situation like this - even if they were a wielder of Durandal - was far from desirable. She was dubious about them when it was just Kokabiel, but this had been far beyond what she…
A scent came upon her.
A very familiar scent.
Slowly but surely, she turned her head away from the direction she had been staring and towards the smell.
Walking towards her was a man in a long dark blazer, a velvet waistcoat and smart black trousers. Long white hair bunched up into a braided ponytail draped over the front of their shoulder and tanned skin, the man with dull golden eyes moved towards her with a touch of a smile on their face and a white paper bag held in their right hand.
They came to a stop, then held up the bag with a crinkle. "It has been a long while since we've met, Elesia. I figured that you wouldn't disapprove of me getting something to celebrate our little reunion…or is this a bad time?"
She stared at them with wide eyes, which gradually shifted with understanding, her lips drew thin. "...The very least you could do is call me Ciel. It is the identity the Church gave me, after all."
"You'll always be Elesia to me." They didn't even so much as hesitate to shoot down that response.
"...Would you answer me if I asked if you were responsible for this?"
A blink, then they inclined their head to the side. "Responsible for what? I was just passing through the town on a minor errand to meet with an associate of mine and happened to spot you. I bought some curry and remembered how much you enjoyed it."
Taking in a deep breath, she glanced between his face and the bag, then clenched her jaw. "I sincerely hope you are not trying to bribe your way out of a stern talking to. Especially if I believe that you are the reason that I have lost track of my quarry tonight…aiding an enemy of the Church is tantamount to admitting you are one yourself."
A thin smile.
"...I have naan bread."
That wasn't an answer to her question in the least.
With a sigh, she lowered her head into her hands and groaned into them. If they were as involved as she suspected they were, then there was no doubt that there was nothing she was going to be able to do in order to find where the thief had escaped to.
"I will let you know, right now, that if I find out that you have any true influence in this situation then it does not matter what relationship we have with one another, I will not hesitate in dispensing justice upon you, do you understand?"
They clearly did, lowering their hand to the side and inclining their head. "In which case, I shall avoid admitting to whatever it is that you believe I am involved within. Unless it refers to the rather destructive battle that you had at the edge of town."
She froze up and narrowed her gaze.
"In which case, I am somewhat involved in that, or an associate of mine is." They continued onwards, raising up their other hand and waving down. "They informed me of what was happening and I asked them to establish a field around your location to avoid attracting the local news teams."
A brow was raised by them. "Unless you suddenly had a desire for a rather titanic beam of light to be featured on the eleven o'clock news."
Rolling her jaw from side to side, Ciel fought back the grimace that rather desperately wanted to appear on her face. Instead she elected to give out a long and exasperated sigh, moving her hand up to cover her face and rub at her temples. "Your efforts to ensure that the greater public was not made aware of the battle are…acknowledged and appreciated. I thank you on behalf of the Church."
"The thanks of the Church does not interest me all that much, but if it aided you in any way, then I am glad to have lightened your burden."
She lowered her hand, greeted by the sight of them looking her up and down with a touch of concern.
"I would say that you have been through a rather long evening…"
"...Yes."
"You have my sympathies, I too am familiar with what happens when things do not go the way you expected them to."
She merely hummed back at them and folded her arms, then glanced at the curry bag once more. Fighting the urge to lick her lips at the rather tantalising smell. "...That is probably going to go cold out here."
"I suppose it would be best if it gets eaten quickly then." They replied with a wry smile. "It is fortunate that I have someone nearby who is the archenemy of curry."
"...You make it sound as though I eat nothing but curry." She accused, narrowing her eyes as she advanced on them.
They inclined their head, raising a brow. "You mean you do not?"
"...Please do not try to tease me so much tonight, I've had a very long evening."
"I would not be much of a teacher if I did not lend an ear to the woes of my students."
"I am hardly your student anymore, Jedidiah."
A soft chuckle came from the man. "Just because I have nothing more pertinent to teach you in the matters of magic does not mean that there is nothing left to teach. Though yes…I suppose that you would hardly count as my student anymore, Elesia."