C 117
I was sitting at the table, enjoying some delicious blueberry pancakes. Even if I didn't need to eat, that still didn't mean I would ever give it up!
I was also doing my best to ignore the hundreds of eyes staring at me as I ate. Apparently, my transformation into a 10-winged Angel was a bigger deal than I thought. While Ultimate Class wasn't the pinnacle of strength in this world, it still put me on the same level of power as the majority of Gods and Goddesses. For most supernatural beings, the gap between High and Ultimate class was so vast that they would never cross it, even in thousands of years.
"So, Layla? What exactly happened? You weren't supposed to be gone for days. And when did you even get back?" Gabriel asked me as I took another bite. She was looking at me with a lot of concern.
"Well, Azazel's Artificial Sacred Gear worked. It effortlessly breached the dimensional gap and took me to an alternate dimension as planned–" I started explaining.
"What!? Lord Azazel actually made a working Sacred Gear!?"
"That's amazing!"
"Lord Azazel is the best! This is a sign that our time has come!"
I had to pause my explanation as all of my eavesdropping siblings in the cafeteria started to cheer at Azazel's accomplishment.
A flare of magical energy originated from Gabriel and burst through the room. "Our youngest sister was speaking; show some decorum and don't interrupt her again," Gabriel said, and all of the Fallen in the room fell silent at her command. Asia, who was sitting next to her, was looking at Gabriel with stars in her eyes. I noticed that even Akeno was looking at her oldest aunt with respect. I wondered when that had happened? I'd have to ask later.
Hundreds of eyes were still on me, but the room had gone completely quiet. They were all waiting for me to continue my story.
"Right… So I was trying to find Earth Marvel, or the missing half of our world as most people refer to it."
Gabriel nodded. "That's where our Aho brother Azazel trapped himself, right? Did you find it?" She asked.
I shook my head. "No, but I should be able to by the end of the day or tomorrow at the latest. Anyway, Sif and I ended up on an alternative Earth where everyone was dead… a zombie apocalypse had completely overrun the entire planet," I explained.
Asia gasped in shock while Akeno just gave me a deadpan look. "You're full of it…" She said dismissively. "Zombies aren't a real thing."
Gabriel took a second to scold Akeno. "Akeno, this is a serious discussion, and there's no way Layla would lie. If she says she ended up in a dimension with zombies, then that's where she ended up," Gabriel said with a small shiver. Akeno put her head down and apologized to me.
From there, I gave a short summary of everything that went on up until I ended up meeting Lady Death.
"Lady D-death…" Gabriel voiced her name with trepidation. "A being that even our Lord Father feared above all others..." I almost wanted to scold Gabriel at the moment as she accidentally used "feared" in the past tense. Thankfully, it seems that Asia was still scared of hearing about zombies and missed Gabriel's slip-up. I noticed that Akeno did not, though, and she narrowed her eyes.
Gabriel continued. "Truly, your life has become complicated ever since you left Heaven, sister." She said while shaking her head with a faint smile. I could tell she was still concerned for me but knew I was strong enough to protect myself now. Maybe not quite as strong as her, though.
My life definitely was complicated, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. The Gamer System, the adventures, meeting unbelievably beautiful women, and all the excitement! I wouldn't trade any of that for anything.
[Damn right you wouldn't!]
I then told Gabriel how "I" had made a deal with Death, and in return, she granted me a massive powerup. I kept the contents of the deal private, along with the fact that Sif and I ended up destroying the planet. We'd promised Jarvis not to say anything about it, and I didn't need any rumors spreading across the supernatural community that I was capable of destroying worlds. There was a big difference between being able to travel through the dimensional gap vs. being a planet killer…
The former was something the majority of the world would come to know I was capable of in a few years anyway once we started implementing our plan to save humanity once our worlds recombined. Getting the information out there early will just add to my credibility with the fact that I wasn't hiding this information. And with that, my tale came to an end. I glanced around the room, and a blush formed on my cheeks when I saw everyone looking at me like I was their new idol.
I'd long since finished my pancakes, and all the staring was getting to me, so I decided to head back out for now. My crowd of siblings parted before me as I excused myself and headed towards the cafeteria doors. I exited without looking where I was going and ended up bumping into someone.
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C 118
"Watch where you're going!" An angry voice spat out. "Oh… it's you." Their tone changed and added even more unsubtle loathing.
I looked up and spotted someone with whom I had rarely ever interacted in my memories. Every single one of them was negative, as they would always speak to the old Layla derisively. "Hello, Kokabiel," I greeted the watcher of the stars, and also somehow the only 'ugly' Angel I've ever actually seen. There's no way I'll ever be convinced that Father wasn't drunk off his ass when he made Kokabiel…
"Little sister… I heard rumors that you had gone missing, followed shortly by that fool Azazel. I decided it was prudent to return to our HQ even if I haven't been back in years. I see you have returned but haven't heard anything about our dearest brother Azazel, though." Kokabiel said with fake sincerity. I imagined he was probably plotting something stupid in Azazel's absence. How long has he even been away from our headquarters for now? A lot has changed in these past few years.
"Thank you for your concern," I told him. "You can rest assured that Azazel is fine and will be back soon." I said. I didn't miss the slight scowl Kokabiel had on his face…
Kokabiel continued. "I also heard that you went out of your way to pick a fight with that Devil maid and even almost killed that wretched child of Lucifer. Is any of that true?" Kokabiel asked me with actual interest. From what I could recall, he was always jealous of the attention I received despite being only a two-winged Angel.
"Yes, I honestly wish I could have finished off the little monster and his vile mother, but I wasn't strong enough at the time… and the repercussions would have been bad," I said to Kokabiel. That was an understatement. Sirzechs would have gone on to basically nuke our entire faction and then probably the entire world with his destruction magic.
Kokabiel's eyes widened. "You? You of all people want to kill the devils and are against the peace treaty?" He asked with shock in his voice.
I sighed. "Kokabiel, every Angel and Fallen is against the peace treaty! We're all just pretending we're not until we're strong enough to take out the Satans without them laying mutual destruction upon us." He could never quite grasp that concept. He wanted the great war to restart immediately, but he never truly comprehended that even if we won, there would be so few Fallen Angels left that we essentially have doomed ourselves!
The other factions would never miss the opportunity to finally wipe us out after that. We had reigned supreme for all this time across the world even with Father himself no longer in the picture. Every day, other gods across the world grow a bit weaker as their followers dwindle while our faction's numbers continue to slowly grow and we get stronger still. The Evil Pieces made the other supernatural communities incredibly nervous; I can only imagine that the brave saints system will throw them into a complete panic. That's on top of the world finally coming together again and all the powerful beings of Earth Marvel once again having access to our world.
"When did this attitude come about!?" He asked me with anger. "Azazel was all buddy-buddy with the Devils last time I checked. And what do you mean the Angels? They hate us all except for you last time I checked," Kokabiel said.
"How long have you been gone, Kokabiel? Has it been decades? The hatred between Fallen Angels and Angels is mostly gone at this point. Gabriel is literally in the cafeteria right now. She just finished eating breakfast amongst us with no hatred at all," I explained and gestured to the door.
Kokabiel blanched and rushed towards the door. He threw it open, and his eyes widened when he saw Gabriel sitting in our cafeteria like she belonged there. She turned her head and gave the two of us a small wave and smile. "Koka-kun! I haven't seen you in ages! I hope you're doing okay. I know the war was rough on you!" Gabriel called out to him with concern. Hundreds of eyes turned towards Kokabiel, and he froze in shock temporarily before he slammed the cafeteria doors closed again and turned back to me.
I giggled at his indignation and confusion. He looked like he truly had no idea what was going on anymore. "I left for a mere two decades, and it's like everything I know has changed! Where is the hatred!? Where is the Gabriel that donned her Heavenly Armor and cut down her siblings by the dozens in the name of our dead Father!" He spat out.
I walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder. "Honestly, that should have never happened in the first place. There was never any reason for us to fight when the true enemies were always the Devils after all. I think Gabriel also severely regrets turning her weapons on her siblings. I'm sure a lot of Fallen Angels feel the same. I know you must have had friends in Heaven that died during the Great War as well."
Kokabiel grimaced, and I know I hit the nail on the head. Even an asshole like him had to have had some friends in Heaven amongst the millions of former siblings we had. I highly doubt all of them ended up falling as well…
Brother killing brother and sister killing sister… The Great War was truly messed up when it came between the Angelic factions.
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