"It's been a long time," smiled the angel who had fallen at the same time as Azazel. Back then, she was still a young four-winged angel. "I didn't know you were in this city. I wouldn't have found you if I hadn't seen you by chance. How did you end up in Kuo?
"Oh, you wouldn't believe it, I've been watching the demons who live here. They're so funny." Her pleasant laughter made him smile. "Actually, I'm here incognito. Are you alone?"
"No," she shook her head, "I've got about ten fallen ones with me and my team. You know them, 'gangster', 'milf teacher' and 'gothic loli'. She giggled, remembering the nicknames I had given them when I was a child.
"So your special forces are all here. If it's not a secret, why are you here? You have to understand," I interrupt her mid-sentence, "I need to know what to prepare for. After all, I'm here to observe quietly. And I'm not lying, that's my official assignment."
The girl thinks for a moment, but then speaks.
"I'm telling you so that our areas of interest don't overlap." She looks around, lingering on a nearby café. "Maybe we should go in? We can't have a conversation standing up."
After ordering coffee and cake, we continued our conversation, shielding ourselves with my barrier.
"Cocabiel is stirring things up," she said, wrinkling her nose slightly. "He and Barakiel have started mobilising their fallen ones, gathering just beyond the border. Your father has decided to enlist me and my team to retrieve a healing artefact from a nun who will arrive in the city in two days by plane. She will be accompanied by an exorcist. Fried Sellzen is a madman, a maniac, a psychopath and a sadist, but he is an excellent performer. The girl will need to be prepared for the extraction ritual and the artifact handed over to a trusted person. I see you already understand how we're going to get it out of her. The fallen woman chuckled, moistening her throat with coffee. "I don't know what your father and uncle are up to, but if you remember that they want to pull this off in this very city, which belongs to two heiresses and sisters of Satan..." She looked meaningfully into my eyes, raising her left eyebrow expressively. "I think we understand where this is going."
"How interesting," I lit a cigarette and offered her one, "Did your father, knowing about our friendship, ask you to pass on a message to his beloved son?" I tasted the cake, keeping my eyes on the girl, watching her facial expressions.
"No, he's changed completely," she said, biting her lip slightly. "I don't recognise him. Before... before he was different, but now... I don't know what Kokabiel told him, but I doubt he'll turn his back on his brother.
It's getting more and more amazing!
"I'll contact someone, don't worry. Just a couple of seconds." I put up another barrier between myself and the girl and contacted Azazel. "Az? Yes, it's me. I have a question. How long has your old man been in touch? Uh-huh, I'm waiting... — A dozen seconds of waiting, "— The last report was seven months ago? So that's how it is. You didn't suspect anything? A little birdie told me something very interesting. Yes, yes, you're thinking correctly, it looks like Barakiel has decided to double-cross us.
The sound of a fist hitting the table and a loud, thorough, and long tirade of profanity in several languages. Wow, I didn't know you could swear like that in the language of angels.
"I don't like what I've heard," the fallen angel exhaled. "I will remain hopeful that my dear brother has not become too deeply entrenched in his infiltration and has not forgotten his mission.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. According to very reliable sources, which I tend to believe, daddy has been too deeply influenced by uncle's ideas, diving too deep into the 'rabbit burrow'. — I take out another cigarette, placing the pack on the table. Judging by Reynal's face, she needs one too. "It looks like our ranks have lost a strong figure.
"We're talking about your father, by the way," Az said, a little annoyed but understanding. "Listen, keep in touch with your contact and keep an eye on the situation. Maybe it's all Barki-kun's plan, but in any case, keep your finger on the pulse."
"What should we do if he's a traitor?" I exhaled smoke, forming the shape of the fallen woman sitting next to me. She smiled slightly.
"You know," Azazel squeezed out and ended the call. I removed the barrier and looked at the nervous fallen woman.
"Well?" she asks impatiently.
"We know what they want to do." I reveal the "terrible" truth to the girl, whose eyes widen. "And, alas, everyone who is connected to his plans and helped them come to fruition, even indirectly, will not meet a very pleasant fate."
"But we don't know what they want to do!" Reynal bangs her fists on the table, releasing her eight wings. Ha! A little more and she'll get two more. "Wait a minute, you didn't start this conversation for nothing." She narrowed her eyes. "You've always been a cunning bastard. What do you want in return for protecting my people and me?"
"Now we're getting to the point." I smiled smugly at my interlocutor, who rolled her eyes. "You're doing what Kokabiel wants you to do. You're preparing the nun, retrieving the artefact, and not giving anything away. But." I leaned forward, resting my head on my clasped fingers, "in Gendo style." "You gather information for me personally, as the only intermediary, and in return, I save your delicious ass and your entire team from our brave punishers."
"Can you do it? It's not that I don't believe in your strength, but you understand that Barakiel and Kokabiel won't stand around playing nice for long. Vzhuk," she ran her finger across her neck, "and your head will roll."
"Oh, ma chérie," I grinned at her, sending energy drawn from sins through my body, which made my face take on a frightening appearance, "I can surprise you.
"Eek!" she recoiled, grabbing at her missing sword, "That power... Oh, for fuck's sake! What have you done to yourself?!"
"What a violent reaction," I raise an eyebrow, returning to my previous appearance. "The consequences of the experiment, there may be some minor flaws, but the benefits outweigh them.
"You call those minor flaws?" she asked nervously. "Where's that cute kid? What did you do to him?
"Come on, you setaconist," I say, turning away with a sour expression. "I'm revealing what you might call the 'secret of the century' to her, giving her a reason not to be afraid of her superiors, and she... " I wave my hand dismissively and begin to eat the cake with a frown.
"Ahem, sorry. It was just unexpected. And my memories of him aren't the most pleasant. Slowly, as if struggling with herself, she put her hand on my shoulder. "Don't be offended, Verg.
"I'll think about it." I continue picking at the cake.
"Come on," she decided to shake me out of my reverie, "Don't be offended." She moved closer and hugged me, trying to turn my face towards her. "Vergi-i-i-i-i."
"Hm," I turned away, trying to hide a grin.
"You!" The girl saw my face after all. "I'll get you!"
A small fight ensued, with Reynal emerging victorious. She sat on top of me, her hair tousled and falling over her face, hiding it from everyone but me. Thanks to the barrier, no one paid any attention to us.
"Ha, ha, ha, hu," the girl was slightly out of breath, "You've gotten stronger, much stronger." Her smile was dazzling.
"You don't know much about me yet," I relaxed, putting my hands behind my head.
"Verg..."
"M?
"Thank you. You decided to help, even though you could have just gotten rid of us and solved the problem much more easily, while gaining more benefit by simply killing all the fallen and the people. Now her hair covered her face, even from me. "I don't know how to thank you.
"Don't worry about it," I say encouragingly, taking her hand in mine and squeezing it slightly. "We've known each other for a long time, Setakon. Who would I be if I didn't help a friend?"
She snorted softly and, almost imperceptibly wiping away a tear, smiled again.
"And who made me a setakonist?" she decided to change the subject.
"No idea. I'm playing dumb." "When I came, you were already like that. That's it."
"So that's how it is," Reinal narrowed her eyes and rushed into "attack" mode. The second round of playful wrestling began.
***
Using Reynal to gather information was very useful, as she was quite high up and a lot of information passed through her. The fallen angel met with me periodically in a café. There she handed me documents with her notes and verbally supplemented what I already knew.
That's how I learned that a certain Asya Ardzento had arrived in the city, the owner of "Twilight Healing," an artefact that had become so buggy that it could heal absolutely any living creature. From humans to gods, regardless of their lightness or darkness.
No, something had to be done about the god system, otherwise it would cause another critical error and force us to literally shit ourselves, running around looking for a solution.
But let's get back to Asia. She's a girl as simple as a nail and just as straightforward. She has zero social skills, but she's extremely useful. It turns out she's the daughter of Vatican exorcist Vasco Strada. Why doesn't he know about his daughter? It's simple: her mother, not wanting to give her daughter to the church, wanted to raise her herself, but chance and a truck sent her to the other world, and the girl to an orphanage, which, ironically, turned out to be a church orphanage. The Fallen found out about this but decided not to use the information because it was of little use, as Vasco had already ceased to be a cardinal and exorcist by that time.
Finding an artefact in the child, Koki decided to strengthen his faction and ordered the pious girl who had healed the demon to be framed. The demon had been attacked by Kokabiel's angels and driven like a piece of trash straight towards her. Asya healed him, and the angels who appeared drove the demon away so that he would not take her with him.
The plan was simple and designed to last for many years, and only now has it borne fruit. The girl was thrown out of the church like a kitten, but she was immediately picked up by the "kind" Fried and Co. Showing her a drop of love and sympathy, they quickly attached her to themselves and took her here, where they would prepare her body and spirit for the removal of the artifact.
This should happen in a week, just one day before the arrival of Valper Galileo and the fragments of the stolen Excaliburs.
The plan is cool, no matter what you say, because if it weren't for the "strong" twist in the canon, it would have been carried out, and a war would have begun. The death of Satan's sisters by Excalibur, which was in the hands of a former exorcist, albeit... The demons won't tolerate that. And attempts to prove that Fried no longer has anything to do with the church will look like excuses. Clever! I'm even ready to applaud Kokabiel for coming up with such a plan. Although, perhaps it wasn't his idea, but that of the demons from the chaos brigade.
I've already decided what to do with the sword fragments. Once Galileo finishes merging them into a single weapon, I'll take the pickaxe and the ball with the souls of the test subjects. It will be an excellent source of energy for rituals or artefacts.
Valper himself can be disposed of, but only after we find out how to instil a predisposition to holy artefacts. Maybe there's something else interesting in his bald head.
Fried. Also expendable, although he could be left alive. I haven't decided yet, I'll leave it to chance.
"Here are the names and power levels of the newly arrived angels," Reynal handed me a folder. We were sitting in the same café as the first time. "I told my people about your proposal, and they accepted it well.
"Of course, no one wants to die, especially if you're tortured first," I grunted, looking through the list of names, searching for familiar ones. "No one suspected you? All of you? After all, you're the only one in your team who can act."
"Not that I know of, no one showed any signs of knowing anything." The girl closed her eyes, remembering the past. "No, everything seems quiet."
"That's good. When is the extraction scheduled for?" I lean back on the sofa, putting the folder aside.
"Tomorrow evening, she'll be ready for the procedure," Reinal shrugged. "I was told to extract it as soon as she's ready. So tomorrow evening, around midnight, we'll start."
"Okay. — I nod, closing my eyes. — Then you give me the signal, and I'll go into the church. Will everyone be there?
"Yes, to 'ensure the safety and security of the valuable artefact,'" she mimicked someone. "What's the plan?"
"The plan is simple. — The cigarette takes its place between my lips. I look at the girl and pass her the second one. — You give the signal, I create a barrier preventing anyone from leaving our celebration of life, and I begin the field interrogation. Who, where, where to, and from where.
"And us?
"Better stay close to the nun, I don't want her to get caught or some idiot cut her throat.
"Okay." The fallen girl quickly understood the situation and stood up. "Then I'll go, I need to explain the plan to my people."
"Yeah," he waved her away, picking up the folder with the information again.
"Verg," Reinal called to me from behind.
I turned around and felt the touch of her soft lips on mine. The kiss was short but tender.
"That's for everything you do for me," the fallen woman smiled radiantly as she left the café.
"She's so old, but she acts like a teenager," I muttered, watching her go. "I guess that's what I like about her."
***
The next evening. Nine o'clock.
"Reinal!" Kokabiel's liaison called out to the girl. "There's a mission for your guys."
The man took out a folder and opened it to the right page.
"Look," he said, pointing to a sheet of paper. "This is the assignment for them. They'll play a family." The fallen angel chuckled slightly. "They'll infiltrate the circle of people who know where the people we need are."
"Why not send someone else, Kalavarnar? Milte and Donasik will help ensure their safety; they're not the weakest of the fallen," the girl tried to defend her subordinates.
"Of all those available, they are the most coordinated. Besides, when they argue, they are very reminiscent of a married couple and their daughter. Anyway, it's an order from above; they know better who to send. I'm just passing on the information," the angel shrugged.
"Fine," the girl said irritably, sending a signal to her trio, who appeared half a minute later. "There's a building for you," Kalavarnar Reina said, handing them a piece of paper. "Infiltrate."
"Why now?" Milte raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know, the higher-ups need the information," Reinal sighed.
"Then let's go," Donasik nodded to his boss and, saying goodbye to the others, teleported himself and the girls away.Two and a half hours later, the fallen gathered outside the church, leaving the exorcists on guard to signal if anyone crossed the perimeter.
"Bring the girl," ordered the liaison.
They brought the nun, who had been quickly pumped full of sleeping pills, and quickly secured her to the artefact table that had been taken from Azazel's laboratory. As it turned out, Barakiel had taken it, claiming that it was necessary to maintain the legend.
"Begin," he said, looking at Reynal, who sent a signal to Virgil and approached the table.
The ritual began. Despite being sedated, Asya began to scream in terrible pain, which could not be muffled due to the nature of the ritual. After all, Azazel had not told anyone how to properly extract the artefacts.
Sweat poured down Reynal's body; she felt not only immense physical tension but also spiritual tension. The moment of the ritual's end arrived, and the girl, arching her back from convulsions and incredible pain, went limp for the last time. She was lucky; she had survived. A soft green light floated out of her chest and, taking the form of two rings, hovered in the air.
Reinal was about to take the artefact and place it in a special container, but she was distracted by the voice of the liaison standing behind her.
"Reynal, Reynal, Reynal," the man began reproachfully. "I thought you were a smart girl, to live so many years and still make so many mistakes.
"What are you talking about?" the fallen woman tensed up.
"How could you not? You're suspected of espionage," the liaison officer drove in the first nail. "We haven't been able to find enough direct evidence, but we have plenty of circumstantial evidence." He snorted and walked around her, standing so that the table separated them. "Who did you leak the information to?"
"I don't understand what you're talking about," the girl put on her best acting performance.
"You don't want to do this the easy way, then." The fallen nodded to himself. "I expected as much and hoped for this outcome. Because..." He created a rune circle used for teleportation.
"Wh...," the words stuck in her throat, her stomach twisted in spasms. "Why?" was all the girl could manage to say.
Three heads lay on the ground in front of her. Kalavarnar, Donasik, and Milte.
"I assumed you would go into hiding," said the fallen man, calmly looking at Reynal's grief-stricken face. "Everything would have gone much more smoothly if you hadn't betrayed us." I didn't report your mistake to the authorities, wanting to resolve the issue quietly, because if they found out, I would have been in trouble too." He chuckled. "We sent them to a prepared location where my men were waiting, and they immediately attacked from ambush. Chick, chick, chick, and three heads. Minus three fallen. Minus your family. Don't worry, no one will find out about your betrayal. They'll blame it on the local demons, giving them another excuse for future war."
"Why?" Tears streamed down her face, she had lost the most precious people in her life in an instant.
"Maybe before you die, you'll tell me who you passed the information to? Then maybe I won't torture you before I kill you." The fallen smiled sadistically, coming closer.
"Oh, oh, oh," a voice came from a dark corner of the dungeon, "you can't do that, sir.
A figure emerged, dressed in completely black robes resembling a hood and light armour covering the limbs and torso. The face was covered by a helmet with slits for the eyes, from which eyes burning with molten gold stared at the fallen.
"Why have you stopped? Continue, pay no attention to me," the figure continued mockingly.
"Who are you?" All the angels in the room prepared for battle. "How did you get past the exorcists and our barrier?"
"It was easier than I thought," the stranger shrugged, "But I'm not here for that.
"Then why are you here?" The fallen angels began to surround the figure, as quietly as they thought they could.
"To save a friend." He nodded towards the tearful Reynal, who had moved away from the group and was trying to get closer to the stranger.
"Hmm, so that's who our rat was giving information to.
"Yes, but you'll get the most for the 'rat.'" The figure nodded to itself and cast two unknown spells that swept through the room like the wind.
"What did you do?" Before the liaison could finish his sentence, the fallen began to scream, one after another falling to their knees, tearing the skin off themselves and shouting incomprehensible, incoherent words.
"Don't bother trying, I've blocked teleportation. I brought plenty of artefacts for every eventuality. To prevent any excesses. But apparently it didn't help," the figure said, glancing at the three heads. "I've preserved the souls of your men, both angels and exorcists, and I'll question them later. Do you want to settle this quietly and peacefully, or will you resist?
"Go to hell!" The angel rushed into the attack, but a second later fell like a broken doll, and his soul flew into the artefact lying in the hands of the black figure.
"You have no strength, you're just a six-winged piece of shit. How do you think you can win?" asked the figure, moving towards the lying nun, over whom the artefact was still levitating. "I don't understand these people. Where do they get such a desire to overcome?
"Virgil, they... they... it's all because of me. Reinal cried, burying her face in the boy's neck.
"There, there, it's not your fault. You couldn't have known they were onto you. Don't blame yourself. They'll pay, because even death won't save their souls from the 'interrogation'. Vergilius' voice took on a tone that Reina had never heard before. "They'll answer for everything." He continued to stroke the girl's hair, holding her close to him.
***
Forgive me, my dear, but I have no intention of resurrecting your Sonderkommando. I need you for your experience, your brains and your strength. It's no joke, four pairs of wings, and soon a fifth will appear. You'll live with me, I'll give you "political asylum" and a place in my future entourage. And if you find out that I can resurrect people, I'll remember a couple of restrictions and shift the emphasis. Just think that I can't resurrect those who have been dead for several hours.
While the girl was wetting my armour, which, by the way, the redhead and I had spent a long time designing, going through my and Lucifer's memories to get another image for battles and raids. The result was a kind of Sith armour. A little manipulation of energy and my eyes acquired the right shade. Cool, pretentious, and scary as fuck.
After sitting the fallen woman on a chair that was lying nearby, I approached Asya. A sweet, beautiful, and incredibly innocent soul. She's so beautiful it hurts my eyes and makes my jaw clench. Let me fix you up. Using the Grail, masking its effects with healing magic, I double-check and make sure that the girl is fine, both in body and soul. I grab the artifact dangling in the air and approach Reynal.
"Take it," I say, handing her the rings. "Accept and wear the artefact in memory of those who are no longer with us. Take what you deserve." I lift her head, forcing her to look into my eyes, which are burning with molten gold.
We stare at each other for a long time. She thinks I'm not interfering, until she finally makes up her mind. Reaching for the artefact, she puts on the rings without a word and, groaning from the connection that is forming, falls into my arms.
Why such a reaction? Was it removed crookedly, leaving pieces of Asya's soul behind? Was that why the rings were so reluctant to accept their new owner, as if rejecting the wearer?
Watching the process, I was convinced that everything had gone well. I picked up Reynal and approached Asya. We teleported to the island and Argeno lay down next to the vampire. Now I had two bargaining chips, one for the demons and one for the church and the angels.
After nourishing their bodies with magic and making sure they would be fine, I return to Cuo.
Damn, how am I going to explain to Shuri and Akeno that Reynal is going to live with us now?
***
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