One their way back, they took their time to relax a bit and to process what happened the day before. They travelled by train and took some breaks to visit different culinary hotspots Dulio recommended. Dulio stuffed his pockets with food to bring back to the orphanage at home, while Ezekiel and Jeanne tried new cuisine they didn't know before.
After two days they finally arrived back at the Vatican and were promptly welcomed by Griselda. After a short exchange, she went to report back to Vasco, and they all went their separate ways. Since they just came back, they would have a day off tomorrow.
-o-
Uriel was currently sitting in heaven together with his sister Gabriel while drinking tea. Gabriel was plainly dissatisfied with something and threw all of it onto her brother.
"Did you really have to send him on that mission?" she asked her brother, unconvinced, that it was a good idea.
"Come on Gabi, the boy has to become strong and the earlier we can eliminate potential weaknesses the better. You yourself should know best that the world is not only sunshine, especially now with the undercurrents and what is planned for the next years. I don't doubt one bit, that Ezekiel will end up in the middle of it all eventually." Uriel tried to reason with his sister.
"Of course, I know that, but that doesn't mean that I like it. And did you ask his parents for permission?" Gabriel questioned, clearly not satisfied.
Uriel's eyebrow twitched heavily at her remark. Obviously, he wouldn't do anything like that without consulting Ezekiel's parents before. His mother wasn't any weaker than him. As for his father, it was just plain suicide for their whole faction if they were to anger him. Shiva himself could deal them enough damage they wouldn't recover from. Adding the shaky stalemate between them, the devils and fallen angels, it would be more than just dumb to anger him.
"Of course I talked with them. Actually, it was Shiva's idea in the first place. You know how he is. He is one of the most relaxed people the godly community has to offer. But his strength doesn't come out of thin air and if you anger him you have only yourself to blame. The beings strong enough to survive a direct contest with him could be counted with your hands. Do you really think I would send his son to kill without his consent?" Uriel was really agitated at the end bringing Gabriel out of her moody state of mind.
"Alright I won't complain about it, but you have to see to it that everything is alright with him. I heard they just arrived back at the Vatican earlier." She relented but still demanded he would take care of any problems that might pop up. She could be called unreasonable since it wasn't even Uriel's idea, but he understood, that she was only worried for her nephew.
"I will visit him tomorrow when we continue his training and talk about it then. But you underestimate the boy Gabi. Did you know that he came to me before to talk exactly about his worries of killing someone and if he will be as affected as others?" Uriel asked.
"He did? But you are right, he always seemed kind of older than he really is." Gabriel answered while thinking of the past.
"Hahaha, of course he would be more mature compared to you sister" Uriel laughed out loud, without thinking what he just said.
Gabriels expression hardened after what she just heard.
"Wha- stop Gabi, what are you doing?! Are you biting me?!"
-o-
The next day arrived and Ezekiel was currently standing in the training grounds together with his uncle Uriel.
"How did it go Ezekiel?" he asked.
Ezekiel thought for a moment before answering: "We managed to save all the children and none of the stray devils managed to get away. The mission was a success."
"You know that's not what I mean." Uriel answered while looking Ezekiel in the eyes.
"Hah…, It wasn't as bad as I worried. On the contrary, it felt too natural for me, that was what made me worry." Ezekiel honestly answered. Until now, his uncle was someone he could share his burdens with. He would always listen and give him advice when deemed necessary.
"You said it made you worry. Do you feel better about it already?" Uriel inquired.
"I had a talk with Dulio and a lot of time to think while we travelled back to the Vatican. I have come to terms with it. In the end its only an advantage as long as I won't go around wantonly slaughtering people." Ezekiel replied, not caring about his language in the slightest.
"Okay Zeke, but you know you can talk to me if the need arises."
Ezekiel only nodded in response but felt thankful to have a family like he did.
"Then its time to get serious again. We will go back into training and you will start to spar with me and the other seraphs from now on. Dulio told me that you weren't really challenged." Uriel announced and started to instruct Ezekiel once more on how to fight in different scenarios
-o-
"Sister Griselda, why did you become a exorcist?" Jeanne asked curiously from the side.
Griselda was currently teaching different things about the supernatural world to her. Jeanne was still lagging behind Ezekiel in certain areas. Taking the supernatural world as a whole, you could fill years of study and still don't know everything.
Upon hearing her question Griselda answered after recalling her past: "I was born to exorcists, so the question didn't really arise. You could say I only followed after my parents. Are you unsure about something Jeanne?"
"While we were on the mission, I realized I couldn't just sit still when injustices like this happen before my eyes. But I don't know if just becoming an exorcist is the right path for me. I don't want to just go around hunting stray devils and other dangerous beings." Jeanne honestly answered.
"You know, you don't have to become an exorcist to help people. There is a lot different ways to do what you imagine." Griselda replied.
"But I am still best with my sword. I wouldn't want to waste it just like that."
"I think you misunderstood me. There are different ways you can still use your sword while helping people. The path you take would definitely differ though." Griselda said.
"What do you mean?" Jeanne inquired after hearing Griselda.
"Did you think the seraphs are doing all of their work alone? They have heavy responsibilities, even heavier than the church. Of course, they can just delegate some tasks towards the church, but more often than not, every seraph has subordinates that they can trust." Griselda further explained.
"You mean I could become the subordinate of a seraph? But-" Jeanne wanted to retort, but remembered the identity of one of her friends. Of course, she could just ask Ezekiel if she could become his sword and subordinate.
"That is a valid option, but you will have to convince them yourself. Most of the time their subordinates are angels themselves. Their longevity is only one of the factors that makes them the best choice. But then again, it isn't unheard of that humans were chosen. I am sure you already have someone in mind, don't you? Griselda said with a slight smirk.
"Yes!" Jeanne shouted before running off.
"Hey! We are still not done here!" Griselda herself shouted before running after the free-spirited girl.
-o-
Meanwhile a certain white-haired girl was running laps around a big field. Every time she would stop because she was out of breath an arrow would strike close to her, pushing her further in fear to get hit. Since the day she came back, her mother started her training and occasionally her bigger family would help. Today it was her far older cousin that was responsible for the physical part of her training. And she hated it. She would rather keep her animalistic friends company. But she knew better than to voice her opinion, it would only spell another few rounds to run.
And so began another eventful and challenging six years.
It was the start of another pleasant day in a town called Kuoh. The people were waking and starting to prepare themselves for the day.
Kuoh was most famous for being a scenic little town with one of the best academies in the country.
Ezekiel and Jeanne were currently walking towards the towns church. Their apartments were in the same complex which was in the same district as the church. The first thing they wanted to do after their arrival was to stow away their belongings before taking a look at said church.
Ezekiel was now 18 years old and grew a lot in the last six years. His height now reached close to 1,90m while his body became even more muscular, courtesy to Vasco's physical education. His hair reached the midsection of his back. As to where his strength had risen to in the last years, he himself wasn't completely sure, but Vasco wasn't his opponent anymore and it took at least 2 seraphs to somewhat match him. Still the spars were kept in a form not to harm the surroundings and only serve as a vague reference.
Next to him was Jeanne. She has grown up to become a beautiful young woman. A few days after their first mission, she came looking for him and asked him to accept her as his subordinate. It seems it was a normal thing to do for seraphs and other high-ranking members in different factions. At first, he was unsure since she was one of his few friends, but after realizing that wouldn't change, he accepted. Without slacking in her normal training, she began to learn many other things a typical assistant would do. After all this time she ended up as some kind of secretary you definitely didn't want to cross swords with.
As for what he would need a secretary? Since became one of the leaders of the angel-faction he naturally had some responsibilities. Michael had to keep the system in check and couldn't leave most of the time and because of that Ezekiel took it upon himself to deal with outside forces and other factions. Jeanne would help him keep in contact with various members of different factions, while planning his schedule.
He still remembered the talk he had with Michael a few days ago. It seems this little town is bound to become the focal point of many important events in the future and needed someone of sufficient strength to keep it safe. Other relevant factions didn't dare to send stronger people here, but he was relatively unknown in the supernatural world for now. You wouldn't even need one hand to count the individuals that managed to learn of him.
They would use a covert identity while joining the academy for the next months. Of course, they didn't need to change their names, but they would act as normal humans and students in the open until they had to reveal themselves. The current year already started, but since they didn't come to learn, it wouldn't really matter.
While they were walking in enjoyable silence, they chanced upon two individuals walking into the direction of the church. Ezekiel instantly narrowed his eyes. He could feel emotions and guess what sort of person he was confronted with. One of the two individuals was a young blonde nun. She seemed to be innocent and pure. From his first impression, she looked like a person that wanted to do good in her life.
The other person of the two, while having a few good traits, seemed disappointing next to the girl. He seemed at least good enough to care for his friends, but these feelings were overshadowed by self-doubt, insecurities, and a heavy amount of lust. To top it of he was a devil, something Ezekiel doubted the nun knew. Aside from that there was a draconic aura coming from one of his arms. He was sure he had a Sacred Gear and from the looks of it a strong one at that.
While they were walking behind the first couple, Jeanne seemed to question him with her eyes. Ezekiel shook his head, already knowing what she wanted to ask.
"I feel suspicious just like you but let us grant him the benefit of doubt until he really does something. We aren't here to start a war. Considering he was reincarnated, he is most likely a servant of one of the heiresses here. I would at least lay low until we have a clear picture of the towns power structure and what is going on exactly." Ezekiel reasoned in a quiet voice. It was obvious, that the devil might hear them if he concentrated and they spoke loud enough.
"Okay Zeke, what are your plans?" Jeanne answered.
"We will see if he tries something and if not, we will just go to our apartments before taking a look around." Ezekiel said before looking to the front again.
After a while they reached an old church. While it wasn't the in the best of conditions, it would do for a town so far from the Vatican.
As expected, the devil excused himself when they came closer to the building. After saying their goodbyes the nun entered, while he turned around to leave.
While crossing paths with Ezekiel, the devil stiffened before walking away faster, as if he knew he wouldn't stand a chance. Of course, he didn't know that Ezekiel had anything to do with the supernatural world. He and Jeanne supressed their aura and acted just like normal humans would. To the devil's defence, Ezekiel's stature was nothing to scoff at and from the looks of it he was just recently turned. Habits like only relying on the appearance for a judgement of strength won't die that easily.
"Since he did not do anything for now, let us leave him alone. But I want you to keep an eye on the nun. The church in this town shouldn't have any personnel currently here." Ezekiel said.
"Understood. Do you want me to meet her or just watch for anything out of the ordinary?" Jeanne asked.
"For now, just watch. We still just arrived today. There will be plenty time to meet people. After we put our stuff into the apartment, I will look around the town for any faction that is present in Kuoh. We should relax afterwards since we will start school tomorrow." Ezekiel replied.
Jeanne only hummed in response. It was their first time away from the Vatican for a longer time. She knew they would face many conflicts in the future, but still looked forward to it all.
-o-
After their respective tasks, Ezekiel and Jeanne met up again in his apartment. Ezekiel was walking around the town, while Jeanne kept an eye on the church nearby.
"There are quite a lot of supernatural beings for a human town of this size. Most of them are devils, fallen angels and stray devils. A few humans seem to be involved as well, mostly stray exorcists and magicians. I really doubt their intelligence, hiding in this town. Not only are there two clan-heiresses of the devils, but they practically act out in the open. It is a surprise nobody did anything about it yet. It seems we have some cleaning up to do in the next days." Ezekiel talked about his findings, while Jeanne mentally noted down everything important.
"How was it on your end Jeanne?" he asked.
"It is the same as you said. Some fallen angels and stray exorcists have taken residence in the church. When do you want to deal with them?" she asked in response.
"Hm interesting. The nun we saw today doesn't really fit the bill. I want you to watch them for now and tell me if anything unexpected happens. Of course, if they go after innocents, we will deal with them immediately." He said, before turning to look out of his window. It had a clear view of part of the town, including the church.
Jeanne expressed her agreement before leaving him alone to ponder why the devils didn't do anything. Should this be some kind of trial for their little sisters? They could definitely do a better job. It just shows how inexperienced they really are. He wont ever understand how most supernatural beings with long lifespans waste away their earlier years and with it some of their potential.
Hello there!
Three chapters today, with the first having more than double the average word count.
I will be busy in the foreseeable future, so the rate of updates will probably go down a bit.
If you have any advice to improve my writing, feel free to tell me. Contructive criticism is always welcome. :)
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