Key:
Text
"Speaking, or in-text quote"
In-text emphasis
'Thoughts'
Additional emphasis
Year 16 AL, Shifts in the Welkin
Marcellus looked down at the paper with a frown, re-reading the words on it again and again. But yet, his mind kept coming up blank. The parchment in question, was a "small" exam written up by Eden, which the Seraph had very annoyingly left him with before disappearing off to who knows where.
In the purple-haired man's defense, he had attempted to listen to the lessons she had been trying to cram into his brain but after the first hour or so, his mind had gone elsewhere. Then, by the time he had realized that he had not been paying attention at all, Eden had slammed the test onto the desk he was sitting at, handed him a pencil, and now he was left wondering just how badly he was going to flunk this quiz.
"Quiz" being a full hundred-question long test!
At first, Marcellus had been somewhat confident in his ability to pass but as he progresses through the questions began getting more unorthodox. Case in point, the current question the Former Hero was on now, had him completely stumped.
(14. If one finds themselves 12 minutes late to Midday Mass, what should they do?
A: Drop to their knees and beg for mercy exactly 42 times.
B: Find the nearest Temple of Ilias and confess your sins to those in attendance.
C: Light 6 candles and pray until the flames die by themselves.
D: All of the above.
E: None of the above.
Now, Marcellus was good at process of elimination, but this talent would not help him much here. He had never even heard of the first three options so any of them could be true, but it also could very well be that either all of them or none of them were true by that same logic. Either way, he had absolutely no idea what the actual answer would be.
"Come on, just pick somethin' and stop wasting time worrying about it." Marcellus whispered to himself, finally settling on circling "D" before moving on. He began to move on, before he caught something at the edge of his hearing. The Former Hero whipped his head around, glancing around the Garden he was currently testing in.
Instinctually, Marcellus felt himself revert back to his days of being a Hero as he scanned the tree line, looking for any sign of movement. Slowly, he stood up from the desk Eden had given him, keeping his breathing even enough to hear for any other noises. When nothing else came, he spoke up.
"Oi," He called out while tightening both fists, "Who's out there?" Predictably, his call went unanswered. Nevertheless, Marcellus knew better than to think that this meant that he was alone. He knew he had heard something rustling in the bushes, there was no doubt about that.
Rustle Rustle Rustle
All of a sudden, a small section of bushes was moved as something seemed to scamper away. Marcellus didn't hesitate to give chase, dashing out into the bushes to follow after. He pushed through barrier after barrier of shrubbery, never getting a clear shot of whatever he was chasing but keeping up just enough to follow after. All he could tell was that it was small and brown.
Marcellus grimaced as he pushed through a final layer of underbrush, coming to a small glade in the middle of Eden's Garden. Standing tall above the trees, was the image of Ilias made out of emerald green hedges. As somewhat impressive as this sight was though, it was easily overshadowed by what stood beneath it.
It was a small and rather plain-looking squared table and looked to have a white teapot sitting on top, two similarly colored teacups sitting alongside it. The rather odd sight left Marcellus a bit confused, and so he abandoned his previous pursuit to investigate this oddity. A look of confusion came to his face as he neared, finding that there was nothing else but these three items on the table.
"Sorry for the lack of snacks..." A voice called out from the side. Marcellus's gaze turned to the side, seeing a very peculiar woman standing there. She was wearing a strange cutesy baby-blue dress and white apron, along with a matching ribbon atop of her pale-green hair. As innocent as she appeared though, Marcellus quickly noticed the mischievous glint in her fierce carmine eyes.
That, and there was something else about her, something gleefully sinister lurking just below the surface.
"...I would've prepared something, Marcellus, but I don't think we'll have much time for munching on scones and whatnot." The woman said, giving Marcellus an odd smile as she approached. The purple-haired man looked at her warily as she drew nearer, "That so? Sounds nice and all, but who are you and how do you know me?" He asked while raising an eyebrow.
The woman grabbed her dress and did a little curtsey, "Black Alice, at your service~" She replied in an overly sweet tone. Marcellus blinked a few times at her behavior and moniker, "You aren't an Angel, are you?" He eventually asked, noticing the woman's distinct lack of any wings or Halo or anything resembling what he understood to be an Angel.
Black Alice gave a small chuckle as she rose, "Not quite, not quite..." She said, before turning to face the hedge sculpture of Ilias, "...But I am a humble servant of Ilias, nonetheless." She said while holding out a hand to the visage of Ilias.
'She's not an Angel, but she's up here in Heaven?' The purple-haired man thought. It was certainly strange, but he couldn't say that he cared enough to question it. He'd gone through most of his life going with the flow, no reason to switch that up now.
"As for how I know of you, that's simple. As a person of great importance in Heaven, I am privy to quite a sizeable chunk of Ilias's plans." Black Alice revealed.
Marcellus raised an eyebrow at the Monster, "Uh-huh, good for you. So, what do you want with me?" He asked, before narrowing his eyes at her. "You better not be here to give me anymore ridiculous tests. I still got eighty-six questions left on my last one!" The man quickly added.
Black Alice chuckled as she dropped her hand, "Hehehe, no I have no such thing. I just wished to speak with you for a small while; nothing more, nothing less." The Former Monster Lord said as she stepped up to the table, grabbing the chair before her and sitting in it. She wiggled a bit to get comfortable before flashing a smile at the purple-haired man.
"Have a seat, friend." Black Alice said, extending a hand to the seat opposite of her.
Marcellus eyed the chair in question with a great deal of uncertainty. His experience in Heaven had been awfully boring at best and heart-wrenchingly stressful at worst, making the Former Hero understandably very nervous at the idea of even interacting with the variable as unknown as the one sitting before him.
Hesitantly, Marcellus reached out and grasped the back of the seat, dragging it through the grass and moving to sit across from Black Alice. As he sat, the Monster reached out to the teapot and lifted it by its handle. "Would you care for a cup of tea?" She offered, lifting the teapot into the air as she did.
With a shrug, Marcellus grabbed the cup on his side of the table and raised it. "Sure, it's been a while since I had a decent drink." The Monster before him smile and leaned forward, tilting the pot to pour out...
...Nothing.
Marcellus's face slowly blanked in bewilderment as Black Alice poured out nothing with a smile, her carmine eyes full of glee upon finishing the job. She then did the same for her own cup, not taking any heed of her guest's dumbfounded expression. The Former Monster Lord returned the teapot to grab her own cup and raise it, giving Marcellus a nod.
"Cheers!" She exclaimed, taking a "sip" from the teacup soon after.
'Is there not a single normal person here?' Marcellus thought, still holding up his cup as Black Alice put down her's. Once the Monster saw what the man was doing, she smirked, "It's polite to take a drink when offered one, you know." Marcellus - without taking his eyes off of Black Alice - moved his hand to hover above the grass, turning it upside down.
Predictably, nothing fell out.
"Eh, looks like ya ran out?" He responded, returning his cup back to it's platter soon after. The wide smile on Black Alice's face turned upside down, "Killjoy." She muttered, letting her own cup clatter onto the plate before her.
Marcellus reclined back into his chair, "Look, I don't have a lot of reason to be the life of the tea party, no offense." His reply earned him back the smirk Black Alice had worn before, "Not too long ago, you weren't the life of any parties." She fired back.
The slight actually got Marcellus to chuckle ever-so-slightly, "Heh, suppose you aren't wrong about that..." The man trailed off, his pale-blue eyes suddenly hardening. "...Now, let's just cut to the chase. I gotta ask why exactly you brought me here, because I don't get the point of any of this." He said, gesturing at the whole tea party setup with a hand.
Black Alice grabbed her cup again as she feigned ignorance, "I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean about bringing you here." Her answer didn't inspire the same type of amusement as her earlier joke had, as Marcellus opted to silently eye his hostess for a few seconds before pushing his chair back to stand. "Look, I ain't interested in playing your little games-"
Marcellus was stopped by the feeling of something touching his shoulder, looking over to find the source being a brown bear. He raised an eyebrow as the stuff animal floated off of his shoulder and into the awaiting arms of Black Alice.
"Aw, there you are, Beary!~" The Former Monster Lord cooed, taking the little Bear into a hug. Marcellus sat back down while folding his arms across his chest, "So you say you didn't bring me here, but that bear there looks suspiciously like the thing that led me here." He noted.
Black Alice offered a crooked grin and exclaimed, "Ya got me!~" Marcellus rolled his eyes; as somewhat interesting as this conversation was in comparison to Eden chastising him, this talk didn't really seem to be going anywhere. That was, until Black Alice finally cut to the chase as she reached for her teacup again.
"Alright, alright, enough of the pleasantries..." She remarked, grabbing the porcelain handle and placing the cup in her other hand. "...I wish to help you with protecting your son, Luka." This immediately made Marcellus bristle.
"And what exact type of help would that be?" He asked, the question almost sounding like an accusation. Black Alice released her bear and raised her hands up defensively, "Hey now, it's nothing awful, I promise you that. I just need to converse with the Prophet, is all. At the moment, I've yet to be allowed to see him even once."
Marcellus frowned at this, "Yeah, not really interested in passing my son around to anymore of you people." He fired back, finding no resistance this time as he stood from the table once again. The man whirled on his heels to walk about, leaving Black Alice behind. However, she did not look too concerned.
"Have it your way," She remarked as she began bringing her cup to her lips. "If you don't want to know just exactly what Ilias wants from your precious son, then I'll be more than happy to keep that to myself." At that, Marcellus stopped mid-stride. He turned slow, his face questioning once he looked at the Monster.
Black Alice took her time, taking another "sip" of her drink before answering. "There's a lot more to being Ilias's cute lil' Prophet, Marcellus. A good deal more, in fact." She said, a thin smirk growing on her face. "As I said, I know a lot about the Goddess's schemes, and so I could help shed some light on how her obsession with your son fits into them, but I need some cooperation from you in return if you want to be in the know."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" He inquired, before narrowing his eyes at her. "Besides, you just said you were a "humble servant" to Ilias. But from the way you talk now, you don't seem like you're all that loyal to her."
"My loyalties suit my needs, and right now it's convenient for me to work alongside her. Though, that may not always be the case..." Black Alice trailed off, allowing her words to hang in the air.
Marcellus kept silent as he stared at her, a very intense curiosity shining in his pale-blue eyes. The purple-haired man already had something of a strange feeling about how Ilias had acted around Luka, and he had definitely gotten a vibe of obsession from the Goddess just from the way she spoke about Luka. To hear his suspicions be indirectly confirmed by someone - even if that someone was as strange as this woman - was cause for concern.
The only issue Marcellus had now, was figuring out whether or not trusting this Black Alice character in any capacity was a good idea.
Deep down, his gut said that it wasn't. However, if there was even a sliver of a chance that this woman could help him protect his son from Ilias...
Black Alice rose from her chair, placing her cup down as she did. "Now, I'm a patient person, so I'll give you some time to think it over." She noted, flattening out the front of her baby-blue dress. She moved to stand before Marcellus, standing just out of arm's length. "Take heed of what I've said, Marcellus. I can help you, but I need your help too."
The Former Monster Lord abruptly turned away, pacing away to disappear behind the tree line. She paused to look over her shoulder one last time, "If you are interested in keeping Luka out of Ilias's clutches, meet me here again once your son has left. Then, we can iron out the details."
Marcellus felt conflicted; on one hand the idea of actually being able to help his son instead of simply having to watch helplessly from the sidelines was tempting, but on the other hand he couldn't at all put his trust into this woman on blind faith alone. The troubled Father bit the inside of his mouth, debating his very limited array of options before opting to ask one last question.
"And how do I know that you aren't looking to just use Luka for your own gain too? How can I be sure that trusting you would be any safer than trusting Ilias?" There was no accusation in Marcellus's voice this time, just the genuine concern of a Father for his son. Black Alice did not turn to face the purple-haired man, but did opt to give him an answer before leaving.
"I'd never wish to hurt someone of your lineage, Marcellus. That much, I assure you." With that, Black Alice left, disappearing behind a thicket of trees.
Marcellus blinked in confusion; the true weight of the Monster's words being completely lost on him. Eventually, the man just shrugged and turned away, leaving the empty tea party set-up behind. "Why is it that everyone here is so freakin' weird!?" Marcellus hissed to himself as he went back to go complete his Heavenly test.
As he did, some movement began to happen from the facade of hedge-constructed visage of Ilias that stood tall over the now vacant tea party. Suddenly, a small red worm poked out of the left eye and began hurriedly crawling down the shrubbery until it reached the ground.
The worm dug itself into the dirt, venturing down to return to its Master...
Right around the same time Marcellus had finished his rather bizarre meeting with the Eighth Monster Lord, Eden and Luka had touched down in the Seraph's garden.
Upon landing, Eden released Luka from her gentle grip. The purple-haired boy was quick to put some separation between himself and the Seraph, keeping his gaze averted from his sage-haired Aunt. However, this was not due to anything Eden herself had done. No, the blame for that landed solely on Ilias's shoulders.
Luka cringed upon thinking back on what had occurred between himself and the Goddess of Light. His heart thumped painfully in his chest at the mere thought of what she had done, even worse at what she almost did. Ilias had, by all intents and purposes, had been purposely pleasuring Luka.
It wasn't a cleansing, it wasn't a purification, it had been nothing but a lust-filled indulgence in the flesh. Luka would know, it certainly hadn't been his first time being involved in something like that. But unlike those times, he had nearly done it with the Goddess of Light herself.
And Luka couldn't even begin to place how that made him feel. His heart was still beating in his chest, each throb painful and confusing. To some degree he knew that what had happened between him and Ilias needed to be addressed, but he was absolutely terrified at the thought of facing it.
"Luka, are you quite alright?" Eden asked, gaining a small jolt from Luka. He looked up to his Seraphim Aunt, finding his soft eyes full of worry. For a moment, he felt his distress swirl up from inside. It called for him to say something, to tell Eden about what happened to him, about what Ilias had done. However, the urge to remain silent was so much stronger than the need to confess.
No, he shouldn't burden her with that. Luka would rather try and handle it himself, than let someone else do it for him.
"Y-Yes, I'm just feeling a bit s-sick is all. Can we continue on with your tour, pl-please?" Luka asked. Eden frowned at the quickness of her nephew's decision to shrug off her question. It bothered her to see him so obviously troubled, especially when she could tell that he was hiding something. Clearly, she wasn't going to get anything out of Luka without upsetting him further.
Which left her with only one other option: asking Ilias herself about what happened.
"If you say so, Luka. But if there is anything else troubling you, then don't hesitate to tell me." The purple-haired boy's eyebrows lowered just a tad at this, having to bury the urge to spill his guts again. Meanwhile, Eden pulled out her Heavenly Itinerary and began reading it over while attempting to clear her thoughts.
"Well, the next level of Heaven I was supposed to take you to was the Archangel's..." She started, her soft eyes narrowing. "...Although, our visit to the Ninth Level was technically cut a bit short. There's not a whole lot left in it really, much of it is closed at night anyways, but even still." The Seraph debated it to herself for a few more moments until finally looking to her nephew for his opinion.
"Which would you prefer, Prophet Luka?" Eden asked, bringing his attention to her. The boy didn't take very long to form an answer, "I would rather finish seeing the rest of the Ninth Level, please." As interesting as it would be to see where the Archangels lived at, Luka's experience with Archangel Ariel didn't really inspire much eagerness to meet again so soon.
Eden smiled, folding her Heavenly Itinerary up as she did. "Sounds splendid! Here, let us go right away!" The Seraph reached down and all but scooped up her nephew into her arms and descended downward through Heaven. Level after Level was swiftly passed until the pair finally reached the bottommost area of the Heavenly expanse.
The Aunt-nephew duo dropped into the middle of the Ninth Level, coming to land right in front of the Angel Barracks. "Now, I recall that Samyaza and her Troop had shown you a portion of the Barracks, but there is still more to the District of Leisure than just its housing." Eden explained while allowing Luka to drop to the golden clouds below. "There is Heaven's Refectory, where all Angels meet to eat their meals. That is housed in the middle of the Barracks, alongside the Communal Showers."
Luka, who had been nodding as Eden explained more of the inner workings of Heaven, felt his brain snag on the last detail. "Communal Showers?" He parroted whilst looking to the Seraph standing over him. "So, all of the Angels here... b-bathe together?" He asked carefully. Eden, not having any foresight into why this would bother her nephew, continued on without issue.
"Yes, most of them do so. Why, the Communal Showers can fit thousands of Angels at a time!" She exclaimed, moving to begin walking towards the Barracks. Luka, meanwhile, nearly chocked at the mere idea of it. To think, so many Angels all packed into one place. All of them naked, washing and lathering themselves so openly...
...No, he mustn't think about such things. Especially while in the presence of Eden.
"S-Sounds convenient." Is all the purple-haired boy could offer in response, attempting with all of his heart to not think about groups of naked Angels bathing together. "S-So are we going back through the Barracks, then?" Luka asked, internally fighting away the lewd imagery his mind was attempting to conjure up.
Eden nodded, unaware of the crimson mask spreading on her nephew's face. "Indeed, it shouldn't take us too terribly long to see the rest of the District of Leisure." The Seraph remarked with a smile.
Luka followed just a few paces behind his Aunt, his gaze finding the rows of Angel homes they were approaching. At that, he remembered how his last visit had gone when he was accompanied by Samyaza and the other Angels. 'It isn't really fair how our time together was cut off so abruptly by Archangel Ariel.' He thought as he looked up to Eden.
"Um, Eden?" Luka started tentatively, to which the Seraph swiftly responded with a turn of her head. "Do you think that I could visit the Barrack of Samyaza and her Troop again? I wish to make up for how tense things had ended last time, and they were never able to show me their home last time like I had wanted."
"Hmmm..." Eden hummed, her strides slowing down considerably as she mulled his question over. Permitting the five Angels to stay up and active past curfew hadn't been something she ought to have allowed the first time, and so doing so a second time certainly would also be an unwise decision. However, this potentially gave Eden the opportunity she was looking for.
After all, Samyaza and the others had been mostly successful in watching over Luka in her stead before, so they shouldn't have trouble doing it a second time. Thus, that would give Eden the opportunity to meet with Ilias and clear up just exactly what had happened between her and Luka. That and, as Eden looked down at her awaiting nephew, the idea of refusing such an innocent request seemed so cold-hearted.
And in the end, Luka having more exposure to the Angels couldn't possibly be a bad thing.
"...I'll allow it for tonight, my Prophet. But let's try not to make this too regular of an occurrence! Rules such as curfew are in place for a reason." Eden instructed, gaining a nod from her nephew. With this agreement now made, the two made for the home of Troop number Five-Hundred Thirty-Five.
"...And may we always be blessed with the guidance of our Mother, the one and only ruler of this world, the Great Goddess of Light, Ilias!" Captain Samyaza exclaimed, holding her hands folded over her bountiful breasts as she prayed.
Currently, the Angels of Troop Five-Hundred Thirty-Five were all kneeling inside of their single-roomed home.
The inside was rather plain in comparison to how someone like Cupid had her Barrack personalized, as the only notable splash of color to offset the marble walls was the dark blue carpet that covered the floor. Five beds lined the walls, three on the right side while the other two were on the left. On the side opposite from the entrance was a small alter dedicated to the Goddess that these Angels were praying to.
Well, most of them were praying.
Indeed, Captain Samayaza in the front was leading the prayer and the other three in Baraquel, Kabaiel and Penemue were diligently following with closed eyes and bowed heads as they followed along in the back most row. However, kneeling by herself in the middle row, Lieutenant Sariel was having trouble keeping her mind on prayer. The reason?
Luka, the Goddess's Prophet of Light.
The purple-haired boy had been bouncing in and out of her thoughts ever since having met him the night before. The Angel had enjoyed her short time with the Prophet but the whole experience was stained with uncertainty, an unease birthed from her accidentally overhearing of one sentence. The single question she had heard Luka ask, had been enough to completely muddy her thoughts.
"W-Why is it that Angels aren't allowed to have intercourse with Humans?"
On the face of it, there was nothing wrong with the inquiry. It should have been a harmless thing, a trivial request for elaboration that would be clarified without issue. However, it hadn't been. Eden, Ilias's very right hand in Heaven, failed to give an answer to Luka's question and to Sariel's knowledge, the Seraph still hadn't offered and explanation.
With this, the Angel Lieutenant was left with two things to ponder: Why Angels weren't supposed to have intercourse with Humans and - perhaps even more pressingly - why did Luka wish to know the answer in the first place? For whatever reason, simply pondering the latter left Sariel feeling queasy.
"Sariel, are you quite alright? Prayer is over now." The voice of Samyaza asked out of the blue, rattling the Angel Lieutenant out of her unsure thoughts. "Apologies, Samyaza," Sariel replied, hurriedly rising to her feet soon after to meet her Captain's concerned gaze. "I've been feeling unwell, I admit."
The Angel Captain smiled, but her worry still shone in her blue eyes. "I can tell that much, you've been off since we met with Prophet Luka..." Samyaza let out a small hum, "...Hmm, I wonder if you may have caught something from him. But then again, he didn't seem sick himself."
"Prophet Luka does turn red a lot though, maybe he had a fever and gave that to Sariel?" Baraquel suggested. Her twin Kabaiel shook her head, "No, no, he wasn't red all the time. Only every now and then, like when Penemue wouldn't stop smothering him." She said, giving their fellow Angel an accusing look.
Penemue smiled, "He smells nice, and has soft skin." The Angel stated, her shimmering eyes in contrast to her monotonous tone of speaking. Captain Samyaza took a pause at her fellow Angel's rather odd - but not quite inaccurate - observation.
Knock-Knock-Knock
The three sharp raps at the entrance of the Barrack, rousing the attention of all five Angels. Samyaza swiftly fluttered to the door, opening to find Eden standing in front of the doorway. The Seraph - having to hunch over due to her towering over the average Angel - waved happily at the Captain. "Greetings, Sister Samyaza!" Eden exclaimed.
"Er, hello Seraph Eden! What brings you to-" The Angel Captain paused, finally seeing the visage of her Prophet standing off to the side. "-Oh, Prophet Luka! I hadn't expected to see you again so soon!" Samyaza's exclamation roused the attention of the rest of her Troop. However, while the others looked to be very excited at this, Sariel looked as though her heart just jumped up into her throat.
"Hello, it's very nice to see you again, Samyaza." Luka said with a small smile. Baraquel, Kabaiel and Penemue didn't hesitate to rush through the doorway while giving ot various greetings. However, Sariel did not move from where she stood, merely hearing Luka's voice already stirring up the tangle emotions she had already been feeling. The Angel took her time moving towards her fellow Angels.
"To answer your question, Captain Samyaza, Prophet Luka here requested your Troop's companionship." Eden elaborated. At this point, Sariel had finally made it to the doorway, now able to gaze upon the purple-haired boy himself as he added to what the Seraph had said. "Y-Yes, I had enjoyed our time together quite a bit. So, I figured I would ask if you five wished to do so once more?"
"Of course we would, Prophet Luka!" Samyaza proclaimed, the other Angels aside from Sariel swift to agree. The Angel Lieutenant, who felt her heart flutter oddly. She clutched the collar of her white robes, pulling at the suddenly uncomfortable cloth while the others conversed.
"To be in the Prophet's presence once was a blessing indeed, to do so again so soon is a miracle in of itself!" Baraquel said, a loud clap coming from her hands as she brought them together. Kabaiel nodded vigorously alongside her twin, "No doubt about that, we'd love nothing more than to escort Luka once more!"
Inevitably, Penemue had to interject as well with one of her... interesting... cut-ins.
"I prayed for this, and it happened. Prophet Luka, I am prepared to entertain you all night long, whatever it takes." The Angel declared, her half-lidded eyes staring off into the distance at seemingly nothing at all. The others had a mix of bewilderment on their faces, Luka in particular looking just a touch more flustered now.
"Ehm, right then." Eden quietly remarked, clasping her hands together in an attempt to move on. "Anyways, I'd be leaving Prophet Luka here under your watch while I take care of other business." The Seraph elaborated.
Luka, not knowing that this is what Eden had planned, looked to his Aunt with confusion. "Where are you going, Eden? Is something wrong?" He asked.
The Seraph offered the young boy a smile, "It's nothing to worry about, Prophet Luka. I'll be gone just for a few minutes to... Do fulfill some of my Heavenly duties!" She proclaimed, turning to the onlooking Angels while holding out a hand. "In the meantime, this gives you a great opportunity to bond with the Angels here in Heaven, just as you are supposed to as Ilias's Prophet."
Luka - after a quick cringe at the mentioning of Ilias's name - turned from Eden to the other Angels, who looked to be excited at the idea. The hopeful expressions of the Angels helped to encourage the young Hero, and in the end, Luka decided to agree to the idea. "Alright, Eden." He agreed while turning to his Angel friends, "I'd be glad to visit for a while."
Four out of the five Angels cheered in unison at this, moving to crowd around their Prophet as they voiced their excitement. Of course, this was barring Sariel, who still remained at the doorway of the Troop's Barrack. The Angel Lieutenant's mouth formed a thin line as she looked on, a peculiar blend of emotions warring within her.
In no way was Sariel upset about spending more time with her Prophet, but she couldn't ignore how her mind kept wandering back to his question. It had already been bad enough that the memory had made her feel confused, but now being in Luka's presence made this problem even worse. The Angel felt an uncomfortable warmth spreading within her, one that caused even her soft white robes to feel uncomfortable to the touch.
"Fare thee well, Prophet Luka!" Eden exclaimed with a finally wave, fluttering her many wings as she flew up to Ilias's throne room and leaving Luka behind with the others.
Samyaza smiled, "Well, what are we waiting for?" The Angel Captain asked rhetorically, grabbing Luka by the sleeve of his nightshirt and pulling him towards the Barrack. Baraquel, Kabaiel and Penemue followed right behind them towards their shared home. Sariel quietly moved out of the way for them, watching with a growing apprehension as they filed in.
A smirking Penemue took a hold of the door, closing it behind them to enclose the young boy inside with the five Angels...
Just a couple rows down from Troop Five-Hundred Thirty-Five's home, one Angel of Love was in her home.
The Angel's room was an absolute mess; the dark red sheets on her heart-shaped bed laid in a large, twisted pile beside her, alongside some of her frilly and fluffy pink pillows. Similarly, the dark red curtains surrounding her bed were wide open, revealing the Angel of Love herself.
"...Me-aah-ahh, e-eh ooo-ooo..." Cupid mumbled incoherently, shuddering and jerking as she did. Her forehead was clammy, trails of cold sweat falling down her face as she laid there bundled up in a plain white robe. "...Hehe-ah-AH, la-ala-ehhh..." She stammered some more, still not forming any type of intelligible speech.
Home imprisonment had not been very good for Cupid's mental wellbeing.
In spite of the fact that, overall, Cupid had not really spent all that much time in solitary, she had very much so experienced adverse effects because of it. The Angel of Love, with having nothing much better to do while locked up, had spent most of her time masturbating. Luckily for her, having a new body meant that she had found herself able to climax for the first time in a long time.
So naturally, with nothing else to do, Cupid indulged in herself for hours on end after making this discovery. That being said, she had overdone it to a considerable degree and had plateaued hard as a result. Thus, she had put herself into something of a love-high, which left her mental state somewhat dilapidated.
"...Hehe-haha, ohoh, woo-WOooO!~" Cupid cooed, letting out lewd little giggles every now and then. As she lay curled up in her bed, the voice of a familiar Dominion filled her head.
"Cupid, are you there?"
"E-Eh, wha? Endiel?" Cupid replied dumbly, her head barely rising off of her bed as she stared off into space.
"Yes, it is I, Endiel. I have some interesting news to report you. Not too long ago, Eden flew through my realm. Unless my eyes are sore, I believe that I had spied LUKA in her arms~"
Cupid sat still for a few moments, her rather hazy mind needing some extra time to understand what the Dominion had just relayed to her. But when she did, the Angel's pink eyes widened and she sat up, "Oh, Luka! Oooohoooo, hehehe!~" Cupid's reply seemed to concern Endiel just a touch.
"...Cupid, are you quite alright? You sound off."
The Angel of Love in question hopped off of her bed with a cry, giddily picking up her discarded bow from the floor. She practically danced around as she picked up arrows that she had spilled earlier - pausing once reaching one that she had used for very unintended purposes earlier, before deciding to grab it as well - and then started heading for her door.
"Heeheehee, Luka-luu-luu!~" Cupid cooed, slinging her quiver and bow over her shoulder before placing her hands on her home's door...
...Just to find that it wouldn't open.
"E-Eh!?" Cupid grunted, attempting to shove the door open again before remembering something: Archangel Ariel had placed her under home confinement, which meant that the Angel of Love was locked inside of her Barrack. Something which would make getting to Luka just a tad bit difficult.
"Endiel, En-En-ENDIEL!" Cupid shouted as she grabbed onto the handles of her door, her long blonde hair flying around as she tried to break down the entrance to her own home. "ENDI-AAAUUUGGHHHH!" She screamed, only making Dominion Endiel's concern grow.
"...Ehm, pardon?"
"AH-AAAHHH - ARIEL! - EHHH! - Vile bitch! GAAAAHHHH!" Cupid roared, banging her small fists on the door in front of her. "Valkyrie - GAH! - Get her here - WHAA! - HEEEELP!" Cupid pleaded, thrashing her shrunken form around as she now futilely attempted to wrench open the locked door. "LET ME OUT - LET ME OOOUUUUTTT!" Cupid wailed.
"Patience, Cupid, patience! I will retrieve Valkyrie post haste. Just, eh, don't freak out too much?"
With that, Dominion Endiel separated connection from Cupid, who most definitely did not heed her fellow Angel's words, opting to begin throttling her door again.
"SEX, N-NEED - EEeeuuUUA! - SEX!" Cupid cried, actual tears coming down her face now as she all but threw herself against the door once more. "WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The Angel of Love's screams reverberated through her room, echoing with a perverse desperation only she could muster.
It most certainly has been a while. Apologies for that, other matters simply got in the way and progress slowed to a crawl. But I've finally been able to get back into writing now.
Speaking of, this Chapter doesn't have quite a whole lot going on but definitely helps lead to certain things. Already Luka's relationship with Ilias has had a major wrinkle form in it, but it certainly will not be the only one to undergo such a dramatic change...
espioll: Luka is definitely in self-imposed denial for Ilias's sake, but he isn't anti-Heaven necessarily. With his relationship with Eden only growing stronger and certain other things on the horizon, he'll be nudged back towards Heaven as well.
F14M3RZ: The rules will be bent, for sure. Though the question of who gets Luka's virginity in the end will remain a safe-guarded secret on my part. I'm glad you enjoy how Eden is coming along. I quite like what she's blossoming into as well.
omegaqilin: A line has certainly been crossed, certainly. To say that this will have adverse effects on Luka mentally, unfortunately, is an understatement.
incorrectREVuse: Well, you'll see where the no underwear thing goes very soon.
dagolas: Your thoughts on Ilias are quite close, I'll admit to that. He quest for Luka's heart takes her down a more depraved path...