章 22: Interlude
The Seraphic System
Chapter: 22
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(Interlude)
-{Rias Gremory-}
In a purple-walled room furnished with the finest amenities in the underworld, three teenagers sat around a table. One of them was none other than Rias Gremory, the Heiress of Gremory who was sipping some tea provided by a maid.
She possessed long beautiful hair that flowed down her back like a river of blood. Her skin was smooth and unblemished by the world around her. Her face looked as if it was made out of porcelain, with childish innocence plastered all over it.
Next to her was her loyal Queen, Akeno Himejima. Akeno looked like the perfect representation of a 'Yamada Nadeshiko'.
She had long black hair tied up in a ponytail. Akeno had a face that rivalled her King in terms of beauty. She also had some other features that surpassed her King's.
Opposite to them sat a handsome young teen with short blond hair and cold blue eyes. He had a cute face, but that face was currently filled with cold rage and seeming indifference.
His name was Issaiah, a boy who had recently been reincarnated as the Knight of Rias Gremory after she found him half-dead, escaping from 'The Holy Sword Project'.
Due to the non-consensual nature of his comeback to the mortal world, his integration into his new life as a devil and a servant of Rias had been difficult.
Rias let out a soft sigh as she idly twirled a strand of her crimson hair. For the past few weeks, she and Akeno have been trying to get him to be more open but all their attempts were met with a rather cold refusal by Issaiah.
This was yet another attempt, but Issaiah remained stubborn and wasn't willing to engage in conversation. He mainly responded to their questions with vague single-worded replies.
This was a new experience for Rias. In the past, she had never encountered such resistance from her peerage members after their revival.
The closest comparison would be Koneko, who had been unresponsive to her questions, primarily due to her trauma. However, Koneko had eventually become capable of communication.
Issaiah on the other hand was filled with rage and sadness. Lashing out at everything and everyone, something Rias, being only fourteen years of age, didn't know how to handle.
Things were starting to change for Rias, talks between her and Sona Sitri's parents where suggested that they run a territory together. It was no secret Rias wanted to experience Japanese school life and Sona wanted to learn more about running a school.
Which is why Serafall had suggested they run a territory together. Rias didn't mind sharing it if it meant she could finally stay in the human world for a longer amount of time. Apparently, Serafall was already looking into territories.
Meaning Rias couldn't afford to have an unruly knight in the human world. She was sure he would calm down soon after the situation cooled down a little bit and with some kindness, he would come to accept his position in her family.
After all, it had only been a few weeks and Issaiah was understandably still upset. Rias wouldn't rush him in any case.
Onto another topic.
Rias' frown turned into a smile as she thought about the misfortune of her so-called Fiancé. Riser Phenex, the arrogant third son of the Phenex clan and a man who thought himself to be above everyone, had recently received a reality check if the rumours were to be believed.
Since Rias hadn't heard of or seen him at the latest social gatherings, she thought they were indeed true. Riser had encountered something within the Familiar Forest, after he had escaped there with his sister, Ravel.
The Phenex family was keeping a tight lid on what exactly happened but it had left Riser Phenex with a damaged body, but his ego had acted as a shield and took the brunt of the damage.
She should probably try to act sad that such a 'tragedy' has befallen her 'dear fiance' but all she could feel was amusement and happiness. A bit of schadenfreude, one can say.
Her father and Lord Phenex had gone ahead and formed a marriage contract for her and Riser, while she was only eight. She could have accepted the contract for the betterment of her family if Riser was even a little bit like his eldest brother.
Riser was the third son of the Phenex clan who didn't know that his shitty regeneration wouldn't hold up against any true enemy. A spoiled brat who liked spending his money and showcasing the wealth and power of his family.
She had once asked him what his plans for the future were, on one of the silly dates their parents arranged where she tried her best to be open to the idea of marrying someone for her family.
His answer was downright pathetic. He already believed that he was above matters such as training, believing himself to be destined for greatness and not putting any effort into improvement.
Rias' hate for Riser ran deeper than her hatred for camels, and that was impressive since she hated the humped-back fuckers with a fervour. She just wishes that in future, she doesn't have to marry hi-
"Rias~ you shouldn't space out like this in front of your peerage. Issaiah is finally asking for something!" Akeno whispered, interrupting her train of thought with a complimentary elbow to the stomach.
She would have retaliated, if it weren't for the words that came out of her mouth.
"Really! What do you want Issaiah? I will try my best to make it happen." She excitedly asked the boy in question.
He looked uncomfortable and a little embarrassed but he made his request nonetheless.
"I would like to ask for a sword instructor. As you know, my sacred gear allows me to create demonic swords. It would be favourable for you if I knew how to use them too." He said with an emphasis on the last part.
He wants an instructor? She would ensure that he gets the best instructor the Gremory clan could offer. It's good that she knows someone who would be perfect for this job. Soon she asked.
"Have you heard of Okita Souji?"
-{Kokabiel}-
In a room, sat a lone figure. The room was very gothic in its decoration, with black walls with purple accents. The furniture was made out of dark oak wood, giving them a refined look.
This room served as the office of one of the most notorious Cadre of the Fallen.
Kokabiel, formerly an angel from the fifth heaven, sat in a comfortable chair behind a grand desk with his long fingers interlaced.
Kokabiel was a tall man with pale skin. He had long black hair and narrow, blood-red eyes. Unlike other Fallen Angels, he has pointy, elf-like ears.
'Things are coming along nicely.' He thinks, his red eyes staring apathetically at a picture on his wall. A picture of him with all of the other leaders of the Grigori posing for a picture.
Kokabiel's contact within the Khaos Brigade had just notified him about the man he had been eying for recruitment, Valper Galilei. Had been abandoned by the church for getting caught experimenting on children.
The church probably wouldn't have cared if he hadn't gotten himself caught by one of the more powerful exorcists among the church's forces, meaning they couldn't sweep it under the rug. Now was the perfect opportunity to snatch him up.
His contacts also informed him of the progress in accomplishing his other plans. All his plans were aimed to realise his goal. A war, more specifically a Great War between all the factions.
A small melancholy smile spread across his lips. He was pretty sure Azazel knew he was up to something again. That was fine. After all, despite what many thought, he didn't believe that the fallen angels would survive another Great War.
The rumours of Kokabiel being a warmonger who believed fallen angels were superior couldn't be further from the truth or purpose of the war. Simply put Kokabiel was broken.
He had been ever since the death of his father. The king of all angels, God.
Kokabiel would never admit he wept like a child when the news of his father's demise had spread. Never in his wildest dreams did he think someone as powerful as his father could die. Which was why he had taken him for granted.
God was meant to be unmovable and eternal. A force that never died and kept the presence of darker forces at bay. The newer generation of the fallen had no understanding of what a fallen angel was.
They were a disgrace in Kokabiel's opinion, believing they could be enemies of God. He nearly scoffed at the thought. Kokabiel guessed it was fine in the end, it worked in swaying them to his side with stupid proclamations.
Promises of glory and world domination.
"What a joke." Kokabiel snorted in disdain.
The true purpose of the war? To get rid of everything. Devils, angels and fallen. Kokabiel believed they held no purpose without God. Which made them useless.
He had long since wanted to die and let himself fade into nothingness. Kokabiel was broken. He held no drive for anything, no desire to indulge himself in any sin like Azazel. His pain wouldn't be drowned away by anything.
That's why he planned to leave the world with a bang. Rid the world of the mockery that was left after God's demise.
Angels who hid in heaven were scared. A fucking shame to the angelic legions that once fearlessly descended onto earth. An army of white and gold that obliterated all of those who opposed heaven.
Fallen angels who picked on the weak and thought themselves hot shit. Pathetic in believing they defied an alive God who they thought was too intimidated by their leader's power to do anything about it.
Devils who believed themselves above the races they enslaved to rebuild their power. Acting akin to a virus, spreading and destroying everything around them to grow.
It was all a joke in Kokabiel's eyes, a really shitty joke.
He tapped his long black nail on the table as he thought about the current situation. Azazel was trying to call for a peace conference. God's death was a big secret. The only thing stopping other pantheons from encroaching on the divided factions.
There were also the two freaks but all pantheons had heavy hitters capable of killing them. It wasn't enough, but the three factions unified would definitely help ward off most pantheons.
Kokabiel understood the importance easily enough. Which was why he ran interference. Commanding small groups of fallen to cause problems all around the countries and territories of others wasn't hard.
A few orders here and there all marked with Azazel's signature wasn't hard. The only ones who knew what he was up to were Azazel and Penemue, funnily enough.
The purple-haired bundle of joy and warmth, who he still wasn't sure was a fallen angel, is much smarter than her demeanour would suggest.
She had never asked him, only sending him pitiful glances as if she understood. Never moving to stop or report him.
Meanwhile, Azazel made an effort to try to suppress Kokabiel with a bit of success. He sighed, ridding himself of the flair of emotions that briefly slipped into him at the thought of happier times with his siblings.
Kokabiel suppressed his emotions, knowing they could derail his plans. It was painful to witness their transformation from what they once were. He remembered the days of small children laughing and playing with their father in heaven.
He would make sure that the three factions don't continue to pollute his Father's creations.
The Fallen Star of God had no more tears to shed over his father. Only a determination to make things right.
-{Indra}-
Perched upon a golden throne, a young man adorned with a golden crown gazed down at the lady kneeling before him, his expression one of boredom tinged with a hint of irritation.
Indra had a buzz-cut hairstyle, sporting greenish-brown hair and lavender eyes. He wore a traditional cloth around his waist, complemented by a jewel around his neck along with a golden crown adorning his head. He also had a vermillion mark on the middle of his forehead.
Eye sockets that held nothing but pure light that were aimed down at the sole other being in the massive grand throne room cut for an unnerving visage, especially to the Devi kneeling before him.
"Is that so?" A thunderous but quiet voice said.
This voice belonged to none other than the man on the throne who was widely known by the name Indra, The King of all Deva and Devi.
The woman kneeling below was Sunita, the Devi of Death and the daughter of Yama.
She had just finished explaining the events surrounding the death of the Tempest Deva and the perpetrator who had escaped.
"How disappointing. A mere angel killing a Deva and then escaping three of you is pathetic. I expected better from my grand niece." Indra spoke disdainfully.
Sunita trembled in anger and shame.
"How do we proceed next then, Lord Indra? Shall we demand repentance from the Abrahamic pantheon?" Sunita asked a shiver of pleasure at the thought of getting her hands on the angel who had escaped her.
Indra tapped his finger idly against the throne's armrest.
"There would be no point in such an action, my sources have it that this lone angel and his minions are not aligned with the Abrahamic faction, as unbelievable as that sounds. Meaning it's not worth upsetting the Abrahamic God over it. Plus Shiva would never allow that to happen." Indra idly said, slowly breaking through the multiple reasons it wasn't a valid suggestion.
Sunita nodded meekly. Her already damaged pride took more blows as Indra listed off how bad her suggestions were.
"Though this does present opportunities, this slight cannot be allowed to pass," Indra muttered.
He thought about the new human group he had made, dubbed the Hero Faction consisting of human sacred gear wielders, led by a young boy he had found possessing the True Longinus spear.
Cao Cao and his little friends. It could be a good growing moment and a test to finally prove their worth.
As Indra contemplated his next move, he decided to task the Hero Faction with tracking down and slaying the rogue angel and his little minions. It would serve both as a test and an opportunity to prove their loyalty and worth to him.
They should be more than equipped to deal with the angel and they were also playing along with some group. The Khaos brigade, if he remembered correctly, so they would have assistance if they failed to achieve the task alone.
"You are dismissed." Indra suddenly regarded the kneeling Devi. Staring at her with a mild amount of disdain.
Sunita clenched her teeth.
"My Lord, what about the angel? Allow me to temporarily leave my post and I shall bring you his head." Sunita promised. An arrogant smile on her face.
Indra snorted.
"You have already proven yourself to be incompetent. I shall have my Hero Faction take care of it. Dismissed." Indra replied lazily.
"But-" Sunita started.
Indra snarled, letting his power rumble out. The Skies darkened and the ground shook. There was a reason he was the king of all Deva and Devi.
He possessed tremendous power easily on par with Gods and it wasn't uncommon that he would be forced to remind the arrogant Deva's and Devi of this fact. They were semi-divine beings only missing true domains instead of the pseudo-domains they all possessed.
What was a Deva/Devi? To put it simply they were divine beings, possessing divine power but not quite gods. Who possessed true Domains and Godly Authority that made them much stronger.
Sunita was forced to the ground as lightning rumbled continuously around them.
"You. Are. Dismissed." Indra punctuated every word slowly.
Sunita nodded desperately and the pressure dissipated, the skies clearing and the ground ceasing all its trembling. She quickly left after, not wanting to anger Indra further.
Indra nodded in satisfaction.
'That should keep her defiance down for the next thousand years or so.' Indra thought. Mentally checking a list of all troublesome Deva and Devi he would have to intimidate in a certain amount of time before they started acting up.
'Hm, thinking about it Shanu has been acting very rebellious lately. Well, he always acts that way, but this is more so than normal. Perhaps a little show of power is needed.' Indra thought with a smirk.
"Vayu," Indra spoke.
Vayu appeared with a deep bow.
Vayu was a robust man with a slightly green complexion. His expression was sharp and seemingly permanently set into a serious look.
"Yes, M'lord?" He replied respectfully.
"Go fetch Cao Cao for me, it's time for him to show his use," Indra ordered.
"As you command." He replied, disappearing. Going to fulfil his lord's orders.
'I guess I'll send a message to little Shanu too, requesting a meeting. It'll present a wonderful opportunity to lower him back to his place.' Indra thought.
He let out a chuckle.
-{Michael}-
Michael once again found himself sitting at the head of the long circular white marble table as all his siblings, excluding Gabriel who still surprisingly hadn't found the missing Angel, sat around him.
Raphael, was a gorgeous woman with an hourglass figure and soft chocolate-coloured hair that was braided into spirals running down her back. Beautiful emerald eyes that shined mesmerizingly and smooth pale skin sat on the left of Michael.
Uriel was a buff man who constantly carried a spear with him on his back. He had a handsome face only marred by the scar running down his neck. Uriel had short blonde spiky hair and red sharp eyes.
Uriel sat diagonally to him next to where Gabriel would normally be seated. There were other seats but they were empty. Something which the three angelic leaders tried to ignore.
Currently, all of them sat with twisted expressions on their faces. They didn't know what to make of the news Michael had given them. Not even Michael himself.
"P-perhaps-" Raphael started shakily, hope igniting inside her eyes. A hope that had long died.
"Don't," Uriel whispered. Unusually quiet.
Michael didn't say anything, cycling through emotions at an unhealthy rate. Hope, sadness, despair, happiness and fear. Michael knew what Raphael was going to say.
How could he have not thought about his long-time dream? Six new angels appearing out of thin air isn't something that had happened since-
Michael cut those thoughts off. He couldn't allow himself to continue. Gaining hope like that again would kill him if it was just false hope.
The dark times that had come after the death of God were still fresh on all their minds. Not all angels had decided to fall, in fact only 20% of the loss of angels after god's death had been from falling.
The rest?
Suicide.
Many angels simply couldn't handle it. The dark times of finding random angel corpses of his little siblings who had decided they couldn't continue were found daily.
Hundreds of cases of angels finding their close brothers or sisters dead and deciding to join them had happened. It was something that haunted Michael. Truthfully if it hadn't been for that, heaven would have rivalled the devils even now.
Michael still remembers the Seraph of Knowledge, his cute little sibling whom he had found dead in heaven's library. It had taken centuries to put a stop to the mass suicides and even then there had been cases after that.
Gabriel had locked herself in her bedroom for centuries after it. Uriel had never been the same. Becoming explosively angry wasn't what he had been like originally.
A fiery attitude? Of course. Now though there was true maliciousness behind it. The only reason he hadn't fallen was due to the fact it was born out of an overprotectiveness and love for his siblings.
Many angels had fallen due to their rage, not because they hated their father for passing but because the devils had started the war.
Which is why the fallen angels mostly caused problems for them instead of the church. Many of the seraphs like Penemue and Shemhazai had fallen like that. Even changing their names out of pure shame for failing their father.
"B-but it's something that needs to be considered!" Raphael said with some emotion.
Uriel crossed his arms.
"Don't start Sister," Uriel growled.
Raphael glared half-heartedly. With no real heat.
"Then how do you suggest the fact that in the past year, seven new angels have appeared on the angelic board." Raphael retorted.
Michael sighed, his head in his hands. It was true and certainly pointed towards a certain suggestion but Michael couldn't accept it, even if he desperately hoped it was real.
There was a reason that he withheld this information from the ten seraphs even though they were part of the heavenly leadership. This kind of hope would kill them if it turned out to be false.
Michael had long since learned he needed to be a realist for the sake of his family. He had dreamt of a situation like this for thousands of years.
Father suddenly returns from the cold grasp of death. Michael would even happily give his life for it, he was sure all of his siblings would but it just wasn't something that happened.
Uriel went silent.
"Perhaps one of our siblings has found a way to copulate safely." He suggested.
Raphael paused, considering it.
"I'm sure our siblings would have notified us, the angelic community would be overjoyed at such a revelation." She retorted.
"It could have been one of the angels that left after the Great War," Michael suggested quietly. A few angels had left after God's death. Determined to find a way to revive him.
Michael hadn't heard back from them since, but their names still shined so they were out there somewhere.
The only one who worried him was Azrael.
The Angel of Death.
If she found out even a hint of possibility that their father could be alive…
She had been even more obsessed than Lucifer. To the point she didn't even care if their father loved humans more as long as it made him happy.
Lucifer had created an entire race just to try to impress their father and then proceeded to start a Great War that killed billions, just to try to trap God all for herself. So the fact Azrael was even more obsessed than that was scary.
When news of God's death had spread, she had just disappeared with a few other powerful angels with a note stating she was looking for a way to revive him. That had been over a thousand years ago and no one had heard from Azrael or the group she took with her again.
They were alive, Michael had checked.
'It would have been nice to have such a powerful Arch-Seraph around. Certainly would have boosted morale considering she's stronger than me' Michael thought with a sigh.
"We will proceed with caution, for now, we don't tell anyone outside of this room. This is a matter that can't be ignored. Uriel, please start a search for whatever is causing this. Also, try to call Gabriel back as soon as you can. Tell her it's urgent. We need all of us four searching for whatever or… whoever has somehow allowed for the inception or creation of angels." Micheal finally decided. The last part was said hesitantly.
Raphael and Uriel both nodded.
"Brother, couldn't this be seen as mobilisation for war?" Raphael asked.
Michael nodded grimly.
"We have no choice, I too shall be joining the search. This matter is too serious to ignore any further. As a precaution, Raphael please prepare some diplomats to go to the other factions and explain our situation vaguely." Michael ordered.
-End-
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