Capítulo 189: Chapter 189
Releasing a breath, she had to get her emotions in control. There'd be time to deal with them later. Putting on a smile, she walked towards the corner where they would soon appear. Closing her eyes in her typical closed-eye smile, she demurely clasped her hands over her stomach just as soon as Igor and Aurelia turned the corner.
"Ah. Dimori-kun. Aurelia-san."
.
|DxD|
.
"Ah. Dimori-kun. Aurelia-san."
"Hey, aunty. Man, this hospital is big."
"Fufufu~. Of course it is, Dimori-kun. Azazel-san put a lot of work into making it as big and efficient as possible."
"Uncle A sure is something else. I'll give him that. This is actually my first time in a hospital so I was surprised when…"
They continued talking as they walked along. Aurelia followed along quietly, her eyes ever-so-glancing at Shuri in both suspicion and wonder. Aurelia would not lie to herself. She imagined that Shuri would not be comfortable in either her or Igor's presence.
She could only applaud the high level of control Shuri held over her emotions. Regardless, things would have to be straightened out after this. One way or another-
"Heh?"
Su!
""...""
All of a sudden, Shemhazai appeared in front of them without warning. Not waiting for any of them to adjust to his sudden presence, he said his piece.
"Dimori-san. Aurelia-san. Shuri-san. Baraquiel is ready to see you. If you would please follow me."
Ever-so elegant, his voice was calm and melodic, his polite address almost guaranteed to earn anyone's forgiveness in seconds.
Regardless, Igor was more interested in seeing Baraquiel and he certainly wasn't going to walk the whole way.
"No need. I'll meet the rest of you there."
Without giving anyone a chance to react, he suddenly vanished.
Su!
"""…"""
They could feel his energy appear all the way on the other side of the wing. Shemhazai could only remark at how fast he was. For a brief moment, he still felt his energy signature here and there before his brain finally registered that he had moved away.
[Impressive. Very impressive.]
He wholeheartedly agreed with his brother to forge an alliance with them. Igor with his strength and Aurelia with her ingenuity: together, these two would be a massive boon to anyone they aliased themselves with.
.
|DxD|
.
Su!
Appearing in Baraquiel's room, Igor was immediately faced with three pairs of eyes. Penemue seemed a little surprised by his sudden arrival seeing as he could feel a concentration of energy that was about to gather in her hand.
[Light spear?]
It wouldn't surprise him since a spear seemed to be the go-to weapon for fallen angels. Either way, she didn't even register as a threat to him. At best, she was low-god class from what he felt from her.
Emphasis on "At best".
[Meh. Not good enough.]
Those dainty hands with barely any callouses told him she was as weak as she looked.
[Good enough for common scrub, but would get destroyed in the Heavenly Realm.]
Perhaps he worded it a bit harshly, but he was honest. However, he would not admit that his low opinion of her affected his rating.
"I know I'm handsome. But don't look at me too much. I'm shy."
"Pfft."
Azazel could barely hold back a snort. The comment was so random, especially in such a serious situation that he was completely caught offguard.
"..."
Penemue didn't like that she was made the butt of a joke, but she didn't say anything.
"Hmph."
Crossing her arms, she walked towards the door, completely walking past Igor.
"Call me when you need me, Azazel. I'll be in my office."
Closing the door behind her, she left the three men to converse with each-
"Wait for me, sister!. I still need to discuss some things with you."
Quickly catching up to her, he caught the door and closed it behind him, but not before releasing a snarky comment.
"After all, the two lovebirds need some time alone. Heh~."
BAM!
Quickly closing the door behind him, the only thing Igor managed to do with his ki blast was slightly burn the door instead of Azazel's face.
"Tch."
Feeling a bit salty that he couldn't hit him, he turned to face Baraquiel with an annoyed expression.
"I swear your brother is annoying sometimes, old man."
"..."
Baraquiel was rather pensive, even more so when he was left alone with Igor. He was expecting a tongue-lashing from the blonde, not him commenting about Azazel.
"Heh."
Regardless, he was grateful. Only God knew how much regret he had in his heart. That well was already filled to capacity with the amount of mistakes he made.
"I know, right? Makes me wonder how our organisation still stands today with him at the helm."
"Pfft…hehehehehe…"
"Hehehehehe…"
The two shared a laugh, the atmosphere between them easing considerably. Long before he walked through that door, Igor had told himself that no matter what, he wouldn't bring up the news about Shuri or any subject related to her.
Right now, he was an old student visiting his teacher.
"Nevermind, Uncle Ai, old man. He'll always be the way he is. By the way, how you doin?"
"..."
Baraquiel did not expect for Igor to ask such a casual question. Still, he could see the concern the kid had. Lying on the bed with his back propped up, Baraquiel gave his bare torso a once-over before scoffing.
"Worse. Everything was fine until you got here?"
"Really? I thought I was your favourite."
"Heh. Not even close. And now you're lower on my list since you made a literal hole in my gut ya damn brat."
Scratching his head, Igor chuckled.
"Atleast I healed you, right? That has to count for something, old man."
"It'll count for more if you let me sleep you damn brat. I know that look in your eye and my answer is no."
"...what look?"
As much as Igor knew Baraquiel, the opposite was true. There were some things the blonde did unconsciously that Baraquiel knew enough of the queues Igor did when he wanted something.
"Don't give me that nonsense. I'm not good enough to fight."
It seemed the gig was up. It was a passive thought that manifested itself a few moments ago, but Igor wouldn't give up.
"...I healed you."
"..."
Vein Twitch!
"Brat. You blew a hole through my stomach!"
"But I healed it!"
"I still need to rest! Doctor's orders!"
"Bullshit! I know you're as healthy as a bull right now. Stop being lazy and have a spar with me for old time's sake, old man!"
"No."
"Come on."
"No."
"Damnit, old man. Just one…"
.
|DxD|
.
The walk back was a quiet one. Three pairs of feet, not one syllable shared. Shemhazai led in front, his back straight and his steps constant. By virtue of his personality, he wasn't a conversationalist and he wouldn't try to speak or even prod for information like most would.
Keeping his eyes in front, he navigated the various hallways with the two women behind him. His uncanny observational skills allowed him to notice there was an undercurrent flowing between these two women. A part of him was curious, but he quickly squashed it down. Digging his nose into matters that didn't concern him wasn't his job.
Turning down the last corridor, they were almost at Baraquiel's room when the door was suddenly slammed open.
Bang!
Outside came a very disgruntled Igor.
"Stupid old man. You've gotten lazy!"
"I've earned this vacation, brat! Leave me be!"
"YOU...hmph! Fine! But you better spar with me when you leave that bed!"
"Forget it! I won't-"
BAM!
Closing the door behind him, Igor smiled triumphantly at his little victory before he turned to face the trio.
"Hey, sister. Hey, aunty. You have about two minutes to talk to the old man before he 'enjoys his vacation' like the old fogey he is."
"Damn brat!"
"Hehe."
Ignoring the muffled yell coming from behind the door, Igor walked over to them. Giving Shemhazai a nod of approval, he grabbed Aurelia's hand and placed two fingers to his forehead.
"Either way, I'm ready to leave. You coming, aunty?"
"..."
Shuri's gaze wandered towards their intertwined hands for a moment. Such a simple action now held a higher meaning to her.
"No, Dimori-kun. I shall not depart yet."
"..."
Figuring that she still had some business with Baraquiel, he didn't pry.
"Alright. See you back home, aunty. Later, Mr Shemhazai."
"Farewell, Dimori-san."
Tswii!
In an instant, both Aurelia and Igor vanished on the spot.
"..."
Now that they were not here anymore, Shuri did not bother schooling her expression. Her face fell into a hollow frown, her eyes locked on the door that would lead her to Baraquiel. Uncaring for Shemhazai who was next to her, she would walk into that room and do what needed to be done.
Walking towards the door…
"Haaa..."
…she let out a deep breath before opening it.
Dakaang~
Once more, she came face to face with Baraquiel who was already expecting her. The man looked at her with surprise and awe. Yet all of that was drowned beneath the immense guilt he felt. She also felt guilt, guilt at what she would do.
But she had grown tired of hiding, and grown tired of lying. Uncaring for the consequences, she would clear everything up right here and right now.
"Baraquiel…
.
|DxD|
.
Tswii!
Igor and Asia appeared outside Shuri's house. From the position of the sun, it still appeared to be late noon. He could feel Asia, Akeno, and Lina all approaching him. From upstairs, Asia was already rushing downstairs along with Akeno.
"Heh~."
Releasing his hold on Aurelia, he turned towards the door with his arms outstretched. It was only a matter of time until those two came bursting out that door-
BAM!
"Big brother!"
"On-onii-chan!"
They ran towards him as fast as their little legs could carry them.
"Come here!"
Crouching low onto the ground, they slammed into him and immediately, he wrapped his arms around them.
"Ohhhh. You have no idea how big brother missed the both of you!"
Standing up with them in his embrace, he gave both of them a kiss on the forehead. Akeno's smile and Asia's giggle infinitely brightened up his day.
.
|DxD|
.
Mount Kailasa
.
Once more, Shiva was enjoying his free time with nature. Without worry and without care, he let himself indulge in a state of emptiness, to forget all his responsibilities and obligations. The minutes passed and gradually, he descended into a state of sleep.
Unlike most would assume, Shiva did not care that the grass was his bed. Protected by the shade and blanketed by a cool breeze, he was content to fall asleep as it was and he did. For a few blissful hours, he slumbered in peace without care.
The sun gradually set as the moon made its appearance in the skies. The winds grew colder, but they couldn't compete with the coldness of space.
"..."
The only reason he even woke up was because his wife would pester him if he didn't come for dinner. He loved the woman to death but sometimes she needed to let him be.
Opening his eyes, Shiva didn't get up immediately, mostly because Nandi suddenly appeared next to him.
"My lord."
"..."
He didn't know whether to applaud or groan at the man's patience in waiting for him to wake up. His mind idly remembered that the war with Indra wasn't to be for atleast a few weeks or so…unless he forgot again. Did he forget?
He didn't even bother thinking about it any further.
"Yes, Nandi. What do you need?"
Smiling lightly, the pale man reported.
"In accordance with your wishes, I have kept my eye on young Dimori. As we speak, he is alone meditating just a few kilometres from his abode. It is quite convenient that you woke up at this time, my lord."
"..."
Go meet his potential successor or fall back asleep? Choices…choices. The former was the obvious solution, but the latter was somehow more appealing at the moment.
"Fine…"
Going straight from sleep to work wasn't something he particularly enjoyed. Standing up, he allowed Nandi to dress him with magic. Though, he was surprised when instead of a suit he expected, he was garbed in his godly attire.
It had been quite a while since he had adorned it. He didn't want to be mistaken as suddenly converting to the Egyptian Pantheon. Too troublesome.
So he had no clue why Nandi would make him wear it now. Though it seemed he was willing to answer him.
"To answer your unasked question, we are going to meet a very important person, my lord. What do the humans say? Dress to impress? I believe if he sees your majesty, he might be all the more willing to enter under your tutelage, my lord."
"..."
He couldn't be bothered to fault his logic. Besides, he was more interested in finally taking the kid in. Igor had so much potential that it was just begging to be trained properly.
"Alright, Nandi. Let us depart."
"Yes, my lord."
.
AN
.
Finally we got to Shiva. We've been waiting a long time for that one. I do hope Igor accepts.
If you're interested in reading further, my patrons have the privilege of being three chapters ahead.
Until the next chapter.
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder