Creation began on 03-12-20
Creation ended on 03-25-20
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Grimoire of Evangelion: Rika's Request, Julius' Request
A/N: Does Rika Ikari, being from a time where her family accepted and respected those that came from low-class beginnings, still have some influence in a Clover Kingdom that has progressed in ways her family must adjust to? Does House Ikari still possess a degree of pull that most noble families have in order to get their way?
Nozel Silva was considered an educated man that led his squad of Silver Eagles with clear logic. However, when it came to the return of House Ikari, the ancient and powerful group of people that possesses the Infinity Affinity, he was rigorous in his understanding of where they stood in the Clover Kingdom, despite being reduced to a mere five members after their fifteen-hundred-year self-imposed exile. Looking into the laws and regulations regarding people forced into exile and people recognized as being deceased, Nozel found that, even if just one of the family's members was alive, and it didn't matter if they were a survivor or a descendant, the family was considered alive, resulting in their wealth, which was hoarded away when they were exiled, to increase astronomically over the centuries.
"These Ikaris are not to be taken lightly, Nozel," he remembered his father telling him when he joined the Silver Eagles, informing him of the likelihood that the family they were taught to despise since the time they could talk. "If even just one person shows up because of that ancient prophecy and it's proven they are related to House Ikari, they would be seen as the envy of the kingdom and, for all purposes, be our own family's superior."
And it seemed his father was right; having taken a look at House Ikari's financial resources, Nozel found that they were astronomically wealthier than all of the other royal families put together. This was part of the reason why when the Magic Knight tryouts were held, he refused all four Ikaris that applied to become Magic Knights, and he was surprised that the youngest member of this family, this Shinji that stood up to Rades Spirito, chose the Black Bulls over any of the other, more-suited Magic Knight squad that desired these people. Of the majority of these Ikaris, the young man that chose the Black Bulls was likely to be a lot more powerful than when he faced Rades without conflict and obtained his grimoire. He was reminded of an old story relating to House Ikari's past, about how there was one from a random generation that would hold more authority than the matriarchs and patriarchs did in their generation, someone referred to as the Supreme Head of House Ikari, believed to be a position that matched or exceeded the ruling body of the Clover Kingdom due to having an ability that represented the pinnacle of the Infinity Affinity, an ability nobody alive knew anything about…except perhaps the two elder Ikaris that survived their failed assassination massacre.
Two of them joined the Golden Dawn while the other two joined the Black Bulls, he thought as he reflected upon the failed attempt to remove Rika Ikari from the present after he, Nebra and Solid made a move on her life in Hage, unaware that the house the Ikaris had built was littered with Trap Magic spells, each one immensely strong and seemingly unbreakable. And the matriarch seems to have a close relationship with the Wizard King if she permitted us to get off with a reprimand and a warning not to interfere with the family again. I doubt that Noelle could even cause an accident that would render one of those Black Bull Ikaris incapable of serving as Magic Knights, even if she tried.
He recalled reading an article from some of the relics belonging to House Ikari that House Silva's ancestors of that time had taken to spite the powerful family. All it really said was that these Ikaris, with their mastery over the Infinity Affinity, possessed unfathomable potential to change people's hearts, swaying them to their side, even winning their trust and loyalty, and had to suspect that Noelle might've been swayed by these Ikaris. Even if it was the promise of mastering her magic, which would've been enough to incite the girl to forgetting about causing harm to one of them.
-x-
Landing gracefully on the skull of the demon destroyed by the first Wizard King that saved the people of that time, Rika Ikari examined the statue of the young man that was said to have fought the demon.
"You look like someone I knew back in my past," she said to the statue. "He'd probably be about your age if he were a young teen or a young man. He was a Light Magic mage. Our families got along, despite mine choosing to live in the Forsaken Realm and facing the criticism of the other royal and noble families that looked down upon the commoners and peasants because of their low magic. You probably heard of him during your time. He was Lemiel. Lemiel Silvamillion Clover. Yeah, I know, the middle name sounds like a combination of Silva and Vermillion. He was probably a relative of the two families. I honestly wasn't sure, and I never asked around about the Silvas being related to the Vermillions or Silvamillions. Anyway, you're the mage that saved the people of the Clover Kingdom from a great demon that was somehow unleashed upon them. You stood up for countless lives when you could've looked the other way and let someone else deal with such a matter. I thank you for your actions in saving the people. Thank you."
Rika was about to walk away when she noticed something about the statue.
"Hmm?" She went as she thought she saw something on the statue that…wasn't supposed to be there. "What's this here?"
It looked like…there was some sort of oval-shaped indent on the head just behind the crown the statue was wearing.
"That's odd," she uttered; she didn't think statues needed such features on them that remained hidden to the public…unless they were meant to hide something.
Then, she touched the statue…and felt it. It was faint, lesser than a small heartbeat from somewhere in the beyond, but she could feel it like the mana in the trees and air. There was a trace of mana within this statue, just barely hanging on, but too tired to carry on just yet.
"Mnemosyne," she spoke as she took out her grimoire, calling on the Spirit of Memory, "can you tell me if this statue is anything other than just a statue?"
As she manifested before Rika, Mnemosyne looked at the statue and responded, "There is a faint measure of mana deep within it. Statues shouldn't be able to hold any mana unless they're conjurations of mana in a spell. You know the spell to use, Rika."
"Time Memory Magic: Reveal the Past," Rika called out the required spell.
It was similar to her Memory Spirit Magic: Mnemosyne's Historic Guidance, only more potent and covered a wider range. The way she understood the spell, memories were a part of time, and time kept possession of all things that transpired, even if others forgot about them. In this way, the spell enabled her to revisit the past because the world was subject to the flow of time, keeping the memories of the past alive so that they could be passed on to those in the present or future to learn from. As the world around her disappeared and was replaced with a location of what had transpired long ago, Rika witnessed what happened…and who suffered.
Five years after her family was attacked by the other noble families, five years after the survivors were forced to flee from their home just to survive, their friends that hadn't been attacked that day or had survived the slaughter…were all attacked by a colossal demon that used to be someone she knew…and stopped by someone else she had believed to be dead due to the passage of time. She saw the massacre of the Elf Tribe, how a ruthless demon had manipulated events and instigated a ruination that could've been prevented had House Ikari been around to intervene, and how the leader of the elves had tried to stop the demon from taking possession of his grimoire by using the magic stones of their tribe to transform himself into the massive demon that had attacked the Clover Kingdom…and was then killed by none other than Lemiel himself, who was then transformed into a statue atop what remained of the demon skull by a young girl in a black dress…who was then turned into an anti-bird as a consequence of overusing the stones. Dropping to her knees in front of Mnemosyne, Rika cried as the spell ceased its effects and returned them to the present.
"Rika?" Mnemosyne asked, and her keeper looked up to her.
"That was five years after we were forced to flee," she told her. "Five years that…someone heartless wanted to cause insufferable agony to countless people. A demon engineered the extinction of the elves and forced two friends, two brothers…to face one another to stop him. It was unfair, what was done to them, Mnemosyne. Licht was mercy-killed by Lemiel and Lemiel was turned into a statue to prevent him from dying."
-x-
"Missus Ikari, I didn't expect to see you again so soon," Julius greeted Rika, who was let into his office by Marx. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Yeah, that's…that's why I came today," Rika sighed; she didn't like the idea of needing to see him when she needed assistance with something, as he was the Wizard King and therefore a very busy mage helping to safeguard the Clover Kingdom. "I needed to know…just how much do you know about the original Wizard King."
"The original Wizard King? Only that he protected the kingdom from a demon. There were some conflicting details behind the story, though. Some believed that he was a member of the nobility while others believed he was a commoner of unparalleled skill. Do you know anything about him that would clarify the story?"
"I went to look at the statue atop the skull in Hage two days ago. I noticed an indent atop the head of the statue and my curiosity got the best of me. I used a spell to show me what happened in the past after my family was attacked fifteen-hundred years ago…and saw the truth. That statue isn't a statue…and the demon skull was never always a demon. They were two friends forced to fight against one another by a demon that sought to inflict pain and suffering upon everyone at that time. I believe the original Wizard King is Lemiel Silvamillion Clover and the demon he faced and defeated was his brother-in-law, Licht of the Sword."
"Licht as in…a member of the Elf Tribe?"
"One and the same."
"But…how can an elf be turned into a demon?"
"Because he used the magic stones of his tribe, preventing the demon that orchestrated the massacre of his tribe from possessing him and his grimoire at that time. To stop the demon, one was forced to slay the other. I don't know how the story got twisted over the generations following the massacre and the establishing of the mantle, but it was not just a story…but one of cruelty inflicted upon everyone that believed in coexistence and equality between two different races. This…brings me to the reason of why I'm here. I need a favor from you."
"What is your request?"
"I need to ascertain any means beside my family's own to free Lemiel from his statue seal. He's not dead, but was put into a state of hibernation by someone he was affiliated with that used Sealing Magic in tandem with the magic stones. But to find these other, potential means… I need to do so without being subject to certain laws followed within the Clover Kingdom."
"You mean, you need to be unbound by the rules that we all follow? The very same rules that can be bent if you so choose to explore loopholes?"
"I could…but only when I need to. It's better to ask for permission first than to seek forgiveness second. While some believe it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission, that's not always the best option. How can forgiveness be given…when anything done may caused unintentional harm to others in the pursuit of someone or something?"
Julius nodded in his understanding of where she was coming from.
"Didn't there once exist a small group of mages that functioned in a separate fashion from the Magic Knights of that time?" He questioned.
"Yes," she answered him. "They were some friends of mine. We did things that the Magic Knights of that time couldn't do. It was more of a hobby than an actual job occupation. And…we could do things the knights couldn't. We were like hellions back then, but hellions with a purpose to do good."
"And the group's name?"
"AMF. I mean, heh-heh…Anti Magic Force."
"You were called Anti Magic Force, huh? That sounds like a group that could work beyond the laws. I'll let you do what you need to do, but I have a request for you."
"I'm listening. What is your request?"
"It was brought to my attention that neither you nor your son were ever registered as members of the Magic Parliament."
Rika sighed at the sound of that group. During the time after Tenshi ascended to the position as their family's patriarch, both he and her had received a letter from the Magic Parliament asking them to join, but neither one responded due to just one visit to the courthouse where they handled their passing of judgement to who they perceived as criminals. They couldn't imagine themselves joining such a diverse bunch of…royals and nobles that looked down upon commoners and former nobles with such discrimination because of their prejudiced beliefs and upbringings, even if their own ancestors had come from such beginnings in the past.
"That's complicated," she explained. "The Magic Parliament is so… I don't want to say 'corrupt', but the decisions they make aren't impartial ones. They don't really take the actions made by the accused to heart because of their backgrounds as either commoners or former nobles. And the current chairman of the parliament, this Damnatio Kira of House Kira… I met him there just once, and he gave me the worst vibe. It was like he couldn't or wouldn't see past the idea of being merciful to anyone, not even a small child that commits an offense as minor as stealing food because they're hungry or poor."
"Which is why I need people like you and your son to be there," Julius expressed. "You two have a different perception of justice that the majority of the nobility don't have. You can be impartial and have different views on what the outcome should be. You don't let things like peer pressure or other people's bias persuade you to side with them when they make life-altering decisions. And as for Damnatio Kira… He's obsessed with dispelling anything and anyone that is viewed as evil, no matter what others say or believe, but he can't carry out that drive unless all the members of the parliament agree with the outcome he strives for."
"So, you need Tenshi and I as members of the parliament to provide a degree of unprejudiced beliefs to keep people like him in check?"
"More or less. He can't carry out guilty verdicts if even just one of the members don't agree with him. It must be either all or none."
"So, even just one person against an execution verdict keeps it from happening. Is there anything else you need us to do?"
"Other than the parliament, nothing else at this time. I may have something else in mind, but that may be for the Black Bulls to deal with."
"It feels like it's been two days since you sent them to the Seabed Temple."
"It has been two days since they left to the Seabed Temple. Are you worried about your grandson and daughter?"
"Suki has learned to be adaptable due to growing up in an environment that was…not as graceful or enlightening as anywhere around here. And in the months following our return, she has accessed different forms of magic that have improved her confidence into becoming an excelling witch, so I'm not too worried about her magic-wise. Socially, though…the only person that might get her to a degree is Shinji, since they're around the same age, even though Suki is actually older than he is. But Shinji, on the other hand, I do worry that his desire to escape from the darkness of his unpleasant past, something his parents are at fault for, will be more difficult for him due to the possibility of temptation."
"Why is that?"
"You know of the purple giant that was seen in Hage a few months back before the Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony that occurred and it disappeared shortly afterward?"
"Ah, yes, the giant that none of the Magic Knights could move because it was unaffected by any spells, which was quite a surprise."
"My youngest daughter, Yui, helped build that thing…and was part of the main reason Shinji was made to operate it back when we were in the other world we were self-exiled to. If she hadn't done so, if she hadn't made choices that often make me wonder if I should forgive her for having made them or question her very sanity… Well, I know I wouldn't be worried about Shinji having a positive future pursuing his own interests if he had never been exposed to something as traumatic and terrifying as that behemoth."
"It sounds like you worry a lot for your grandson."
"He's my only grandchild, so I often worry that he's doing better."
"Well, he's with the Black Bulls, and one of the things they're known for is being a bunch of mages that most don't seem to get. The majority of its members are older, with only its two members from the previous Magic Knight tryouts, Asta and Noelle Silva, being only a year older than he is. It's unlikely that he'd be unable to get along with the whole squad."
"Oh, I get letters from he and Suki, and they tell me that their time in the Black Bulls has been rather…fulfilling. Although, Shinji mentioned in one of his that he had a minor altercation with Ms. Silva that he didn't go into details about, but I get the feeling that he probably had a similar altercation with her as he did with Mr. Spirito, which ended up with the two of them becoming friends afterward."
"And…your concerns about that behemoth?"
"As long as the spell it was turned into was never used by him, I'd be relieved that he has moved on and put it behind him."
"Was this behemoth…that dangerous?"
"My Yui and Shinji have different memories relating to it, but based on their feelings regarding it, they tell completely different stories about how it affects them. With Yui, she considered it a necessity for doing what she claimed to be saving the world, the very same world that she helped to maim, so that puts a strain on whether or not she has put that behind herself. But with Shinji, there's only pain. Too much pain. For him, it was not something that could save anyone if he had no understanding of what it was for and why there seemed to be so many people that put its value above other people, even if he did save people from giant threats at the cost of being overwhelmed in his mind, which some would say was the cost of controlling such a behemoth. But he never felt in control. He actually tried to walk away from it once, but he ended up getting pulled back, even though he told me once that he really didn't want anything to do with what his father was doing back then. And after seeing Yui's memories, my curiosity begged me to question something serious: Is Shinji really better off here in the Clover Kingdom, away from his father, away from these giant creatures that were attacking the world we were forced to dwell in until such a time came when we could come back…or will he forced to return to that violence he wants to escape from…but can't because of his parents? Even now, I don't have the answer…and I hope I never have to get a bad one. So…yes, the behemoth…is dangerous…and should never be unleashed upon anyone, for any reason, for better or for worse. But so long as Shinji never gives into temptation…or is ever pressured by someone to use it…I believe we can all go on with our lives and never have to fear its return."
Julius agreed with Rika; if such a giant like this…Evangelion was ever unleashed upon the Clover Kingdom, it would've spelled disaster in ways that not even he could've predicted. But so long as it resided within her grandson's grimoire and he never had any reason to use it, so long as he never wanted to see it again, everyone could enjoy their peace in the kingdom because of his choice to bury it away.
"Still," he went, "you can never know when or if it may come a day where it's seen again."
"Too true…and that frightens me, the not knowing when or if he'll be made to use it again," she responded, truly concerned with Shinji being forced to return to that painful part of his past that promised no real future.
To be continued…
A/N: And with this, things have continued to deviate from what was originally set in stone, even reducing the stone itself into dust in the wind. What do you think?