"Your daughter?"
Azazel had a daughter? Since when?
"She's not my blood daughter, she's adopted. She's a troubled child with a tragic past. I hope she doesn't cause you too much trouble. Besides, she has something in common with you."
You're not talking about Vali? But Vali is a man.
A boy/girl with a tragic past and something in common with me. Vali has a tragic past, and his Sacred Gear is a dragon, so obviously he's talking about him.
"Hey, hey! We're not in the underworld!"
Kuroka, who had already returned to her "human" form, was screaming as she looked out the window.
"No, this residence is not in the underworld. In fact, many of the fallen angels do not reside in the underworld. A very clear example is one of our leaders, Barakiel. He lives with his wife and daughter not far from this place."
Huh...
That's quite a revelation you've dropped on me.
So Shuri's still alive. I already have a new target for a couple of Fate Points.
"Where are we?" Kuroka asked.
"The place where the sun rises, Japan."
I assumed as much since you said that Barakiel and his family lived somewhere nearby here, but I understand that Kuroka didn't know where we are.
"Azazel."
I have a few things to clear up with him.
"Tell me, young dragon."
"I need a place to train."
"Some specifications? What exactly do you want to train?"
"Archery and Senjutsu."
Azazel raises his eyebrows slightly, I seem to have caught his attention.
"A dragon training archery and Senjutsu, you're an interesting guy. Well, leave your things, and I'll take you to a place where you can train.
….
We didn't have much to leave in the room, just Kuroka's clothes.
My clothes were unique. Apparently, they were made of magic threads. What these threads did was transform into a red scarf that I tied around my neck the moment I retook my dragon form.
This was very useful since I wouldn't want to be buying clothes every day.
The room we have chosen is none other than the room in front of Azazel's daughter. Actually, it was Kuroka who wanted that room.
This is what she answered when I asked her the reason for her choice.
"I have to show that so-called daughter that I have the upper hand in this race."
So cliché...
Right now we're back in the elevator. Looks like we're going somewhere different now.
Azazel is very quiet, and Kuroka is very tense. I understand since it's not every day you share an elevator with a being of Azazel's calibre.
Come to think of it, we've been doing everyday life with Tiamat, so it's not that strange. At least for us.
Azazel repeated the same process as before, and the elevator began to descend.
What was there when the door opened... was an open white space. The ceiling was high, it was long horizontally, and it was very deep. Later, the floor at the foot of Azazel opened up, and a kind of machine rose from below.
It resembled an automatic ticket machine.
Azazel spoke as he waved the card in his hand.
"This is one of the doors leading to 'Nephilim'. Watch closely. I'll go through first, you have to copy me."
As he spoke, Azazel held his card in front of the machine. A green lamp in the machine showed an arrow. Azazel passed in front of the ticket machine and disappeared while wrapped in dim light.
Azazel, who had been there until a moment ago, had completely disappeared! We immediately realized that it was a special power of the money machine...
"Hey, that's interesting."
I couldn't help but mutter.
This money machine does a job similar to teleportation circles. But, unlike a real teleportation circle, it has a predetermined destination. In this case, the target must be this 'Nephilim' that Azazel is talking about.
At least, that's what I assumed.
"Guess we just gotta go, huh."
...….
Passing the ticket machine, I was waiting to be wrapped in the light from before...
What appeared before my eyes were somewhere inside a building.
Unlike space before, what appeared to be the inside of the building had a glossy black interior design. In front of me was a long passage that led deep into the interior. As I looked to the side, there were ticket machines lined up on the left and right, and when I looked back, there was also a long corridor that extended further into the building. With a high ceiling, I could see that the interior of the building took up a huge space.
"Welcome to 'Nephilim'."
When we arrived, Azazel said these words welcoming us.
"What exactly is Nephilim, Azazel?" I asked him.
"Nephilim is a school run by us, the Fallen Angels, to train and educate our human members possessing Sacred Gear without combat experience. Each of Grigori's leaders has their own class. We used to have an elite group, but some internal problems have happened, and we don't have that group anymore."
I see. The fallen angels have smaller numbers than the other two mythological factions, and their birth rate seems to be as low as that of the devils. They can increase their numbers by tempting the angels, but even that has its limits, just like the strays of other factions.
Recruiting Sacred Gears users with no background is a good option for them. If I'm not mistaken, Raynare's goal with Issei was to see if he had a powerful Sacred Gear and determine if he could be an ally or an enemy. Too bad for Azazel that the girl had other plans, as she could have gotten a powerful ally instead of taking the devils' place.
"Azazel-sama! You called me?"
That girl! It can't be...
"Yes, Raynare. I have a new job for you."
"Yes, Raynare. I have a new job for you."
The person in front of me is an attractive young woman with purple eyes and a slim body. She has long, silky black hair down to her hips.
She wears a uniform with considerable design style. The underlying colour is blue... but more than that, this is not a high school uniform.
More than a school uniform, it looks more like the uniforms of girls belonging to special countermeasure organizations such as the middle and high school students you see in the manga and anime. At first glance, it looks like nothing more than a cosplay game.
"Are you interested in the uniform? It's a special one we've developed for Nephilim's students. I've already had yours made, but it's going to take some time because of your special circumstances."
Azazel has sharp eyes, he noticed right away what caught my attention.
As for the special circumstances, I think it has to do with my human transformation. They will have to make me some clothes made of the same material as the present one.
But...
"No need. These clothes are enough for me."
I quite like my clothes, so I don't want to change them at all. Kuroka nods her head, it seems she doesn't want to change her clothes either.
Azazel shrugs.
"If that's what you want, I don't care."
Azazel then looks at Raynare.
"These two are special guests. From now on, you will be in charge of guiding them and taking care of all their needs. Understood?"
"Got it, Azazel-sama!"
Raynare is especially energetic while talking to Azazel. And her eyes... her eyes are those of a radical religious practitioner who has seen her god.
Those eyes are scary in some ways.
Azazel doesn't seem to realize it. No, I think he's deliberately ignoring her. He seems to be muttering something.
"Each of Grigori's leaders has his own class within Nephilim, except Barakiel. That guy spends most of his time with his wife and daughter, so I think it's time he got to work."
I'm sorry, Barakiel. I didn't mean to be the trigger for your return to work.
If all Grigori's leaders have their own class inside Nephilim, what class runs Azazel? I'm curious to know.
"What class do you lead, Azazel?"
Azazel stops looking at nothing to look at me.
"None, that's too much trouble."
Some Governor-General... That's not the attitude of a leader of one of the most powerful factions in the world.
"Don't get me wrong. I have enough on my hands with having to put up with that daughter of mine, she keeps asking for sparring partners. In fact, I had to send her on a mission just to have time to meet you."
We all have our own problems, Governor-General.
"Well, I leave you in the hands of little Raynare. Raynare, I think Barakiel is in Nephilim today, take them to him. By the way, stay with them. You're too lazy, and you have to train more, or you'll be stuck for ever with only two wings."
"Yes, Azazel-sama..."
I can't get over Raynare's grimace, no matter how hard she tries to hide it. If she can't hide it from me, I doubt she'll escape from Azazel.
"Sigh..."
Just as I expected, he's noticed.
"I've said all I have to say. I have to hurry and hide in one of my secret labs before she arrives, or I may not be able to continue my research. Bye-Bye."
Azazel says goodbye and disappears into the same ticket machine we had come in.
"Come on, I want to finish this quickly."
A cold voice sounds behind me as I look at the place where Azazel had just left. There's no doubt that this is Raynare.
"Puchi..."
I've tried to hold back my laughter, which means I'm not the one who's laughed. It was Kuroka who chuckled.
"What are you laughing at, cat?"
"Hahahaha!"
Kuroka, who's in her cat form, can't hold her laugh.
"Damn... Are you laughing at me? Know your place, cat."
Raynare... She's just as stupid as she is in the canon. She's underestimating Kuroka, just as she did Issei in the canon.
Does she trust her own strength that much?
[Status Inspection]
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
[Raynare]
Race: Fallen Angel (Two wings)
Status: Normal
Lv: 15/25
HP: 60/60
MP: 50/50
Strength: 50
Defense: 35
Magic: 50
Agility: 40
Skills:
[Light-Based Weapons]
[Magic]: [Memory Alteration]
[Flight]
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
Huh? Does she have a top level?
"All beings that have the potential to evolve have a clear level top."
I see, thanks for the information, man.
But, uh...
Doesn't that mean that people like Kuroka or Mordred have no chance to evolve?
"That's right. Kuroka no longer has the potential to advance because of the experiments they conducted on her. Her power may increase, but she cannot advance very far. As for your Servant, her strength increases at the same rate as yours, so her potential is the same as yours."
I wish I could have saved Kuroka earlier...
"You don't have to be sorry for what might have happened. Just be glad you were able to save Shirone before they experimented on her. Unlike the canon, that Felix would have experimented on her and Kuroka couldn't have done anything. Those so-called Superdevils would have been too slow to act."
Well, the two Nekoshou had nothing to do with them. Whether they died or not, they wouldn't have to care at all. In fact, if I were them, I would have killed everyone who knows about these experiments. It's dangerous material for the devils.
"But you're not them."
Huh, you know perfectly well that I saved them because I'm physically attracted to them and "know" them from light novels. If there had been others, I might even have taken advantage of Kuroka's weakened state to get more experience.
"Haha, at least try to hide it, kid."
Why should I hide anything from you? You know me best in this world.
"That's true."
By the way, is there anything I can do to fix Kuroka's problem?
"Stop playing stupid. You've already thought of that solution."
Yes.
Making Kuroka my Servant...
But is it really worth doing that?
"Only you can decide if it's worth it or not. Think that at the Gacha you could have a much better Servant than a regular one, or you could get a much worse one. Turning Kuroka into a Servant is a safe and stable option."
New Tiers and Goals coming soon on P atreon!
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