บท 20: Moving Forward
"Come again!" Ezekiel shouted, standing upright with two wooden swords in hand.
"Ahh!" Xenovia gave a shout and used every ounce of strength she could muster while swinging her own wooden sword toward Ezekiel, who easily deflected it to the side. Feeling as if she wasn't strong enough, she jumped while holding her sword over her head. Before she could swing it down Ezekiel tossed one of his swords into her face, making her rotate in the air before landing on her back.
"It is good, that you are strong, but only relying on your physical strength will put you at a disadvantage against opponents of a level higher. Especially since you are a human. Even Vasco is a master swordsman in terms of technique and isn't only relying on his abnormal body. And don't even get me started with you jumping while doing such a ridiculous attack." He lectured while turning his head slightly.
"And as fast as you are, it won't help you against faster or vastly more experienced opponents." He spoke in the direction of Irina who was closing in on him from the side. He vanished and appeared directly in front of her bumping her head with his wooden sword. Again.
"Honestly, you have to stop relying only on your physical advantages. In the supernatural world they are negligible. As humans, you are at a disadvantageous starting position. Just take a devil for example. They are born with stronger bodies and inherently have bigger energy reserves than most humans. If you want to overcome this disadvantage you should use everything that would help you to gain the upper hand. Even if its throwing dirt into your enemy's eyes." He lectured them.
Meanwhile Asia, who was watching together with Jeanne, came over to heal Xenovia's bloody nose.
"But that isn't honourable!" Irina cried out with a shocked look on her face.
"And what is that worth when you are facing death? Listen, I don't want you to turn into a cheap fighter only using tricks. I want both of you to start using your heads. Analyse your opponent, use your surroundings and train against different kinds of opponents. I will arrange for more training back at the Vatican." Ezekiel countered, quickly shutting her up.
When they came back yesterday, they were emotionally unstable, and Ezekiel gave them food for thought before sending them to sleep early. "What is your belief based on? Why did you become an exorcist?" is what he asked of them. Early the next morning he dragged them behind the church to spar a bit and point them into the right direction. He knew someone like his teachers were rare and most humans will never reach such heights without guidance. He may be young, but he was talented and learned from experts in their respective fields. For the last hour he let them attack while hitting them when they showed obvious openings and flaws in their attacks. Aside from that it was a good way for them to empty their minds of unnecessary thoughts.
"Now, did you think about my questions from yesterday? Any idea why I asked you in the first place?" He questioned.
They immediately adopted serious expressions before falling into thought.
"You must come to terms with it yourself, but just remember that Heaven and the church aren't only existing because of one entity. Sure, he acted as the pillar of Heaven for a long time, but even someone as strong and wise isn't infallible Times are changing and we aren't exempt from that change. But I think that is enough for now, you will need some time to yourself before you can come to a conclusion. At least I can promise you, that you won't get into trouble for knowing about it. Go and get ready, I will send you back to the Vatican later."
"Thank you, Ezekiel." Irina honestly said. Xenovia who was next to her nodded seriously. They knew why he spent his time on them. He wanted to make sure they were alright and who knows what mistakes they might have made in the spur of a moment? And would they even be able to go back to the church if it wasn't for him?
"Don't worry about it. Just make sure to do your best in your training." Ezekiel said in response as he was walking away from them.
Jeanne and Asia just smiled at them. Both knew the truth as well and at that time Ezekiel took his time to help them just like he did for Xenovia and Irina. It was times like these, that they were reminded, that he was just as much angel as he was a god with more extreme tendencies when dealing with problems.
-o-
Most of Heaven's current leaders were sitting together in front of a big TV.
"I will deal with you filthy fallen angels!"
"Guhurgh?!"
The video suddenly came to an end as all the seraphs began to laugh. Even Michaels usual smiling expression began to slightly crack, and he had trouble to stifle his laugh.
"Alright, who wants to watch it another time?" Uriel loudly asked while already pressing the remote to restart the recording. His question was met with the cheering of his siblings before they quietened down again.
They got a call from Ezekiel earlier, but they weren't the least bit worried. He could deal with most circumstances thrown at him. The only thing they had to do now was to wait for the big meeting. Until then they would enjoy themselves in their free time.
-o-
Currently the four Satans were sitting together and browsing through a small stack of pictures accompanied with a short report from Srizechs' and Serafall's sisters.
"Michael told us he would send someone from the younger generation, but that is unexpected." Ajuka voiced his thoughts. They had strong individuals in their younger generation, especially the youth from the Baels, but that was another level.
"I could have done the same." Sirzechs grumbled while holding a picture showing the big hole in the schoolgrounds.
Serafall rolled her eyes before responding: "This isn't a competition Sirzechs. I'm just glad that nothing happened to my dear sister."
Sirzechs perked up at the mention of sisters and instantly thought of Rias. Grayfia who stood behind him cleared her throat, making him concentrate again.
"Now what will we do about the situation at hand?" Ajuka asked before these two fools would go on about their siblings again.
"As for the angel, I don't think we have any reason to act. Michael informed us beforehand, even if he didn't mention his strength. But exactly this strength helped our sisters and Rias said they will have a talk later. The more pressing concerns should be why a leading member of Grigori attempted to start a war. I will have a word with Azazel about this." Sirzechs reasoned.
"Indeed, it is worrying. Just as Azazel came with his idea of peace his subordinates act out of line. It seems he doesn't have his organization under control. Then again, he was always crafty, and it might just be another of his schemes. Just wait for that peace meeting of yours and confront him at that time. It would be helpful to sit together with all three factions when dealing with important topics." Ajuka replied.
All three of them came to an agreement while Falbium was sleeping quietly on his chair.
-o-
After their morning spar, Ezekiel sat in his apartment and read through a file on his desk. There was various information about former priestesses, holy maidens and other important women and girls of the church. They all had one similarity. All of them got excommunicated because of weird circumstances or the involvement of third parties. When Ezekiel reached the last page of the document, his aura fluctuated greatly as the air around him grew heavy.
"It's time to meet up with them and have a talk." He said to himself as he got up, ready to leave his apartment. His eyes still held a dangerous glint as he added. "If you really want peace, you will have to make a few concessions. Either that or I will force you to make them."
As he left the room, a picture fell from the file onto the ground. The picture showed a kind looking young man with squinted eyes.
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Tardigrada
Tardigrada Hello there!
This fanfiction isn't dropped, but the release rate will be slow for a while. I will upload another chapter on the weekend (either later or on sunday) and I will try to write two more each weekend. I know it's not much, but that's the limit for now.
The peace meeting will begin in 2-3 chapters and afterwards he will be away from canon for a good while.
I hope you have a good day. :)
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