บท 98: Chapter 98
"Pardon me, but this one would like to ask. How old is he?"
Now that a moment of clarity had entered her mind, Aurelia remembered that the red-headed figure she saw definitely appeared to be no older than eighteen at most. With how short he was, it was a far cry from how tall the average fully-grown Aryan was.
Cleria took the time to ponder. The last she checked, he was roughly…
"Between 8-10 years old?"
"..."
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|DxD|
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Aurelia couldn't comprehend that the person who rushed over to Kyoto and massacred the Himejima clan was a boy who was barely ten years old. It completely blew apart all her logic. It wasn't so much that he was a boy, but the strength he possessed was far too much. And if he truly wasn't ten years old, then it would only be more terrifying.
If he was high class or even ultimate class, she could still accept it. But the power he displayed was already in the realm of supreme class. Furthermore, what he showed wasn't magic. As a person who had vehemently studied magic for over fifty years, Aurelia could tell with a glance that what Igor was used was not even remotely close to magic. The power was far too sinister, too full of malevolence to be magic.
She could vividly remember his spiky red hair, making her draw a conclusion that what he tapped into was a sort of transformation. The copious amount of excess energy leaving through his hair and the change in colour was a sign of that. *
[Was his state a transformation in our bloodline that gave him that strength he wielded?]
She couldn't think of any other reason. His overwhelming power had been engraved into her bones. The scene of that massive sphere was something she could never forget. Aurelia was very confident in her skillset, but she knew her limits. She knew that no matter how much time she was given, constructing a barrier to stop an attack of that scale was impossible for the current her.
She had worked countless hours to perfect her clan specialty which related to their own unique inscription and barrier magic. The knowledge of such magic came innately ingrained in their brains and once they turned ten, they would gain the knowledge recorded by their ancestors. From magic, to fighting, everything would become intrinsic like an instinct. It was a clever method employed thousands of years ago by their ancestors and without the new generation having to relearn already-known knowledge, their race could prosper even further and it was what made them so fearsome.
But now, it appeared there was someone who was destined to be even more fearsome.
[If he's this strong before he's come of age, just how more fearsome will he be when he unlocks his ancestral memories?]
Aurelia hadn't even met Igor. But now, she saw the chance for the revival of their race within him. Their race had a very long life and Aurelia was confident she could stretch her life expectancy to five-hundred with the right methods. If Igor could grow to enter the ranks of the top ten in the future, then Aryan's revival will be ensured.
Immediately, she recognised her duty.
[He is the last male. And I am the last female.]
Like Adam and Eve, it fell up to them to repopulate their race. She did not feel any trepidation. To her, it was simply a sense of duty. With their people effectively wiped out, she wouldn't let this chance to exercise filial piety to their ancestors and restart a new lineage, go.
But that didn't mean she didn't want to know more about her soon-to-be husband.
"Lady Cleria. May you please tell this one more about him?"
Cleria was silent in thought before she chuckled.
"Meeting him personally will be much better than me describing him to you. All I can say is, he really…really loves fighting, for some reason."
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|DxD|
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Vatican, Italy
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After Igor and Vasco talked further about some mundane details, the elderly exorcist retreated into the house and proceeded to bring Asia to pack her bags. It was already a done decision that Asia would depart with them, something the old man deemed a necessity.
Naturally, Akeno couldn't stay in the same room as Vasco without Igor, so she immediately ran out of the house towards him. There was absolutely no hesitation as she shuffled past the elderly exorcist and leaped into the waiting arms of her big brother.
A few minutes had already passed since then and the little lass still showed no signs of wanting to descend from his arms. The both of them were outside gazing at the lush vegetable garden Vasco owned. Under the cover of the moonlight, the blonde stood with Akeno in his arms. The midnight breeze, while cold for normal people, did nothing to their enhanced physiques.
From time to time, Akeno would twiddle with a strand of Igor's hair with interest, something the blonde didn't mind her doing. With one hand supporting her body, the other gently stroked the back of her hair.
It was a harmonious atmosphere, but not for Igor. His eyes were somewhat glazed over, the contents of the conversation he had with Vasco playing in his head. His issue had more to do with what he should do with Shuri and Akeno. For Asia, she would train no matter what. There were no negotiations to be had there. His mind was set on getting her strong, both physically and mentally.
But Shuri and Akeno were another thing entirely. By all means, he wanted the both of them to get strong, but Baraquiel would know the "how", better. And therein laid the crux of the problem. The fallen was nowhere to be found and even now, he wondered if he should ignore Cleria's warning and descend into the Underworld. Delaying things was not his style and were it up to him, bootcamp would commence as early as tomorrow. But without Baraquiel, he didn't know where to even start. His only hope was that upon returning to Kuoh, he would be there.
But hope wasn't something he liked to depend on.
"Hey Akeno."
"Hm?"
The little fallen replied in a daze. It was only when she processed that she was being called that she raised her head from his chest.
"Big brother?"
"..."
Igor was looking at the line of drool stretching from her lips to his shirt. The little minx had fallen asleep, but he wouldn't fault her for such a little thing.
"Akeno. Do you want to get stronger?"
This question he asked was a simple formality. Regardless of her answer or whether Baraquiel arrived or not, he would throw her into the jaws of training. By fire or by force, tomorrow morning he would begin teaching her a few things along with Asia. It was an instant conclusion he arrived at when he saw just how scarred those violet eyes of hers were. She could try to hide it, but as someone who knows pain, she couldn't hide it from him.
He could never erase the pain she felt, but he would damn well make sure she never had to experience it again. He would show her the basics of how to fight and leave advanced techniques like magic to Baraquiel…once he finds him.
But for now, he decided to listen to what Akeno would say. He couldn't help but be interested in what her answer would be after everything she'd seen and experienced. He hoped she would say yes, but if for some reason she replied in the negative…he'll still wake her up at five in the morning tomorrow.
But to say her answer intrigued him was an understatement.
"Yes. I want to get strong!"
Igor wasn't impressed by what her answer was, but how she said it. There was pure determination in her eyes, something that had him smile with pride. He liked those eyes of her and the conviction behind her words.
He needed no further confirmation from the little fallen.
"We'll wake up at five in the morning."
"No problem!"
She tried to look fierce, but her puffed-up chubby cheeks and cute face brought the opposite effect. Nonetheless, Akeno hated how weak she felt when everything happened and did not want to experience the same helplessness as before. She remembered that her father once asked her the same question and she danced around the issue. Now, she was firm in her resolution.
"Alright then. I'll find the old man and see what we can do for you."
Hearing about Baraquiel made her feel inexplicable guilt in her heart.
"Yeah…I wanna see papa too."
When the situation calmed down and she saw Shuri was alive, Akeno felt guilty for saying all those words she said to her father. Usually, she would receive a beating for uttering even a single word out of line. But rather than discipline her, Baraquiel left. Akeno was young, but she wasn't stupid. Her words hurt him and she knew it. It was why she wished he would be found so that she could sincerely apologise to her father.
Back in the house, Vasco and a very excited Asia walked out the front door with only a small brown bag in her hand. Vasco noticed the rather delicate atmosphere and tried to stop Asia, but she slipped through his grasp.
Dashing forward, the little blonde was quite literally skipping in excitement.
"Big brother! Grandpa said I can go with you to Japan!"
Igor turned around with an eyebrow raised. Their appearance somewhat caught him offguard but that could be attributed to his familiarity with their aura.* Smiling at her, he stretched out his hand towards the little bundle of energy who was literally trembling in excitement.
"Yep! And you're going to love it there."
Her eyes sparkled.
"Really?"
"Yeah. But where are the rest of your things?"
Vasco replied to that question.
"She can't take them. All of her clothes have a tracking enchantment on them. Only two pairs of clothing were left untouched because I bought them myself. You'll have to purchase her some clothes. I do hope you have the money."
"..."
The blonde remained silent. Money was such a foreign concept to him that he couldn't remember the last time he held it.
"Don't worry, old man. I'll make a plan."
Vasco nodded condescendingly.
"Ah…yes. And funeral parlours are about to experience a big boom."
"..."
He couldn't refute that statement. So he chose to bail.
"Well, time to go. Later, old man!"
Asia also chimed in.
"Bye, Grandpa~!"
Vasco smiled.
"Bye kiddo-"
Tswii!
"..."
*Sighs*
"I hope they stay safe."
As soon as he said that, he stretched out his hand and immediately, Durandal appeared in his hand. A cold glint sparkled in his eye, his muscles bulging as he flexed. With Asia now safely away, he would no longer restrain himself.
Killing intent instantly emanated from him.
"Time to clean up the rats."
Starting from the bottom, he would kill every single person who conducted immoral experiments up to the person who approved them. By sunrise, the church would've undergone a bloody massacre that only came second to the Himejima Massacre.
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AN
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She could vividly remember his spiky red hair, making her draw a conclusion that what he tapped into was a sort of transformation. The copious amount of excess energy leaving through his hair and the change in colour was a sign of that. *
Explanation: I will not go into too much detail here since further explanations will come in later chapters. However, picture it like this. Hair is like a chimney that can be used to let the excess smoke out. At the time, Igor had so much energy that any excess energy he had not only escaped through him via his skin in the form of aura, but also through his hair.
Igor turned around with an eyebrow raised. Their appearance somewhat caught him offguard but that could be attributed to his familiarity with their aura.*
Explanation: I'll put it in an analogy like this. If you drag your finger along your arm, you won't feel much. But if someone else drags their finger on your arm, you won't be able to ignore the sensation even if you tried. Igor being somewhat caught offguard is because he is just that used to Asia and Vasco's presence. But place an unfamiliar person in the vicinity and he would immediately sense them. Similar to how you will instantly feel an ant walking on you.
If you're interested in reading ahead, here's the link: patreon.com/HolyGambler
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