Chapter 1318: Parallels
With Okita at his side, it wasn't long before Vahn found himself at the entrance of a palatial church several hundred meters between the earth's surface. The artistry that went into its construction was on the same level as St. Peter's Basilica upon first glance but, if you were to look closer, the figures of angels, saints, and historical religious figures had been replaced with demons, devils, and bloodied human figures experiencing various forms of torture...
After 'admiring' the macabre sight for a few moments, Vahn turned his attention to the entrance as he said, "Okita, I'll take point from this moment onward. Make sure to stay on your toes, though."
Hearing her Master's command, Okita simply took a few steps back until she was standing behind him, no words necessary. Vahn smiled wryly in response to this before walking up the marble stairs, passing under a group of thirteen demonic figures that seemed to be looking down at him. There was a thin spatial membrane than isolated the interior of the church from the outside but it did little to stop Vahn's progress.
Soon enough, Vahn found himself inside the church's nave, the central area that extended from the entrance to the chancel, a massive altar with a ten-meter tall crucifix positioned behind it. There, a young boy with raven black hair, lightless purple eyes, and an emotionless smile was seated with a ragged-looking golden-haired woman in the grip of his left hand. He seemed to be missing the left extremity but, as that wasn't an important factor in the present moment, Vahn's eyes hardened as he stepped unhesitantly toward the peculiar duo.
Perhaps due to surprise or amusement, the raven-haired youth raised his brow slightly as he cradled the woman's head in his hand, saying, "I never expected that you would be able to deal such a blow to the Church. You possess a truly inordinate amount of power..tell me, what compelled you to reach such extremes...?"
Rather than answer the youth's question, Vahn's eyes began to radiate divine light as he sternly commanded, "Let her go."
Blinking in surprise, the youth proceeded to tilt his head to the side, asking, "Did you not come here to kill this woman? Oh, perhaps you wished to make her one of your pets...? I see, I may have acted a little hastily then...how unfortunate."
As soon as he finished speaking, the raven-haired youth released the golden-haired woman from his grasp and, before Vahn's eyes, her body rapidly decaying as she convulsed in pain. Before she could die, however, she vanished in motes of white light, surprising the raven-haired youth. He didn't have time to ruminate over what had happened, however, as Vahn appeared right in front of him, the void tearing behind him due to the speed of his movement.
For a brief moment, the youth's eyes turned crimson red as he lifted his left hand, the tattoo on the back glowing with a vibrant light before it was snuffed out almost instantly by the force of Vahn's blow. He didn't appreciate people toying with the lives of others and, even without having to discuss the youth's intentions, Vahn knew he had likely tormented the woman in the hopes of getting on his good side. Fortunately, she had a relatively pure aura so, the moment her death had become certain, she was teleported to a world where she would be able to live freely, the Throne of Heroes undoing whatever the youth had done to torment her...
By the time the youth realized what was happening, most of the bones and organs in his torso had been completely crushed by Vahn's palm strike. He had been sent crashing into the surprisingly hard crucifix behind the altar, his body leaving a thick trail of blood as he slouched to the ground.
Despite the severity of his injuries, the youth never lost the smile on his face. Rather, he seemed even more amused by the development, using his left hand to pick at the bits of gore now marring his formerly white robe. He showed no signs of discomfort whatsoever and, as if he didn't require air to produce sound, the youth looked back at Vahn, musing, "You are quick to anger...though, I suppose that should have been obvious considering your past reactions...?"
Once again electing not to humor the youth, Vahn largely ignored his prattling and instead used his [Enkidu] to entangle his rapidly regenerating body. This caused the process to stop, surprising the youth once again as he tried to wriggle his way out for a few moments before ultimately giving up and asking, "Is this really necessary? I'm not even trying to fight back. Rather, I was never a true ally of the church. My only interests are freedom, animals, treasures, and humanity...will you fault me for being a victim of the church's machinations...?"
Now that he had bound the raven-haired youth, Vahn finally decided to respond, albeit after picking him up by the collar of his robe and asking, "Who and what are you? You are not human...no, you are something closer to a Counter Guardian...?"
Seemingly without minding the fact he was being dangled in the air, the youth responded with a simple shake of the head before explaining, "I am Merem Solomon, a Dead Apostle Ancestor and what some label a Planet Terminal. Most refer to my kind as Daemons, creatures given form by the wishes and desires of humanity, our sole purpose to fulfill the hopes and dreams of others. If not for a chance encounter, I would still be locked away within a room without arms and legs, destined to live my entire life at the whims of humans~."
Though he hadn't particularly cared about what response Merem might give, Vahn's brows twitched slightly when he heard the latter half of his statement. He knew better than most just how terrifying such a life was and, based on Merem's aura, he could tell the latter wasn't evil. Rather, it seemed as if he was 'detached' from the world entirely and, much like Jeanne and Okita, a presence similar to the Counter Force flowed through his body.
Releasing Merem from his grip, though not releasing him from [Enkidu], Vahn turned to Alaya and asked, "What exactly is this person? Is he truly a Daemon...?"
Without any pause for thought, Alaya immediately replied, answering, "He is as he claims to be, a Planet Terminal. His purpose is to give form to beings that have been abandoned by humanity, a natural balancing factor of the World to prevent the loss of Mystery. This one seems to have been corrupted by an Alien Factor, however, so it has obtained a will of its own."
Hearing Alaya's response, Vahn felt as if his thought process began to dull slightly as, in many ways, Merem was exactly the type of entity he had sworn to protect. Not only that, Merem's existence was a direct parallel to his own and, much like the raven-haired youth, he would have been powerless if not for the intervention of a far more powerful entity. The only real difference between them was the path they walked after obtaining their freedom. He could tell that Merem had a somewhat sadistic nature and, based on the purity of his aura, it was easy to deduce that he simply didn't comprehend that his actions were 'wrong'...
Vahn could only imagine what kind of life Merem must have lived to have developed this kind of personality. For the time being, however, he elected not to kill the raven-haired youth as it would leave a bad taste in his mouth. Rather, the boy seemed to possess a very high degree of immortality so, while he had undoubtedly committed heinous deeds in the past, there was a functionally infinite amount of time to correct his course.
After sorting his thoughts, Vahn squat down so that he was eye-level with Merem, asking, "What is it that you desire from life? Why is your reason for existing...?"
For several seconds, Merem seemed to contemplate Vahn's words, the smile on his face remaining the same emotionless mask as he finally answered, "My only desire is to live freely, unbound by the expectations and desires of others. As for my reason for existing...I give meaning to my existence by living purposefully. If I were forced to choose something, I would say my purpose is to destroy that foul woman who has tainted the legacy of my idol...that, and perhaps, making sure the Princess is able to live happily...?"
With Merem essentially saying his dream is the same as his own, Vahn actually felt a little annoyed. It was painfully obvious that Merem had made a lot of mistakes but, just as he had purported to others time and again, he knew it was only a matter of time before he made his own. However, no matter how things developed, Vahn promised he would never stop trying to make the world a better place, even if he must fail a thousand times in the process.
Fearing that he would become a hypocrite if he denied Merem a similar opportunity, Vahn loosened [Enkidu] as he sternly stated, "I will assign something to watch over you. From this moment onward, you can live as you please. However, if you continue to commit acts of cruelty, do not blame me for showing up to eliminate you. This is the last opportunity I will give you...do not make me regret my decision to show you mercy, Merem Solomon..."
Without [Enkidu] binding him, Merem's body rapidly recovered until he returned to his pristine and youthful figure. His height was only 143cm tall so, despite being well over a thousand years old, he had the appearance of someone between the ages of ten and thirteen. The only thing that ruined the image was the eerie smile on his face but, seemingly taking Vahn's words to heart, Merem gave a small nod before saying, "I would have hoped to ally with the Empire. It seems you are not in need of my power, however, so I will do as you suggest. Worry not, as I'm actually quite fond of humans. If it displeases you so, I vow to never harm another human unless my own life is endangered by my inaction. This should be acceptable, yes...?"
As the terms mentioned by Merem were similar to what he had in mind, Vahn gave a curt nod in response, adding, "Citizens and affiliates of the Empire are assigned Companions. My only mandate is that you take yours around with you, protecting it from harm. Should you conceal yourself inside a Bounded Field or harm the Companion in any way, I will consider it an announcement of malicious intent. Other than that, you are generally free to live as you please...the world is going through great changes at the moment so you'll have to exercise a bit of caution in the interim."
Rather than show any signs of frustration, Merem actually seemed pleased by Vahn's words. He was one of the primary members of the Burial Agency, representing the Fifth Seat, so he knew quite a bit about the peculiar creatures seen around those associated with the Empire. Since he was quite fond of animals, especially those with unique appearances, he had no problem with accepting one as his traveling companion. His best friend was actually a giant rat that had the ability to transform into the appearance of any human it had ever seen so having an adorable humanoid Companion was a boon in and of itself...
---
Though it couldn't exactly be stated that he and Merem were on good terms just yet, the latter went out of his way to expose the secrets of the Holy Church while simultaneously acting as a guide. This made progress through the underground tunnels much faster and, rather than have to figure out the nature of every prisoner he encountered, Vahn could rely on a brief explanation from Merem. The Burial Agency had only existed since the twelfth century so Merem knew virtually everything about it just by virtue of how long he had been a part of it. This would have caused his 'allies' to puke blood but, considering most of them would be dead by the end of the day, it ultimately didn't matter that he had 'betrayed' them...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'RIP unnamed Pontiff-chan...','Seriously, how can Vahn and Merem have so much in common!?','Burying the Burial Agency...')
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