The Holy Man of The Church Creek

10

He stood there momentarily, confused with an expression of befuddlement on his face. The necklace around his neck was quiet and had dimmed considerably in the passing moments, but such things were irrelevant when faced with the matter at hand.
"

Ayakoji?" He said in bewilderment.
The man who had taken him from the airport and escorted him into his current lodgings was standing before him wearing faded blue pants and a tight form fitting black long-sleeve. A chain dangled from his pocket and was attached to some compartment on his back. On his wrist was a silver bracelet adorned with small trinkets that clattered with the man's movements.
Ajakoji did not look happy. In fact, despite only being able to see his eyes and lower face from the fedora Ayakoji wore on his head, he could tell that the man was far from just unhappy.
It was completely different to the way Ayakoji had acted with him during the ride, and briefing at the lodging. This was a cold and reserved operative, one who he had no doubts had killed before. It was reminiscent to that feeling he had when he first realized at the airport that there was more to Ayakoji than what met the eye.
No friend of a woman like Griselda would be normal. Especially one she had unintentionally admitted to have trouble with.
"I thought you said you wouldn't be able to help without risking the start of another war after leaving?" He said.
Ayakoji grunted before saying, "And you'd do a far better job than I ever would have."
He was startled for a moment, but Ayakoji didn't explain. Instead, he tilted the fedora on his head, and from his slouched posture, a sigh could be heard.
"Do you not recall what I had told you before you started this mission here? It's called tact and subtlety, not hasty, thoughtless, and negligent," Ayakoji berated.
He didn't flinch or even react much under Ajakoji's admonishments. Sure, he could understand what Ayakoji was getting at, and perhaps he felt more than a tad guilty, but he believed that there was nothing wrong in what he had done either.
Perhaps noticing this, a twitch appeared on the top of Ayakoji's lip, becoming increasingly glaring in contrast to the cool aura the man released. Finally, Ayakoji seemed to snap.
"I should've had known something was up when Griselda came back to ask a favour of me. I even should've realized it sooner when she warned me to take extra consideration." Ayakoji crossed his arms before straightening his back. "Listen here ya brat, do you know what you've just done?"
No, no he did not. All that he knew was that he saved those needing to be saved.
"Right there, in that room in the Church's basement, was Rias Gremory, an Heiress to a family of one of the Seventy-Two Pillars of Hell." Ayaokoji's eyes narrowed as he looked back at the distant church.
The two's current surroundings were in a location nearby to the local park in the neighborhood. As it was already late, and the sun had gone down, there were barely any other people close to them either. Shadows stretched from the dim lighting of the park's lamp posts, a calm wind blowing up clumps of fallen leaves.
"More than just an Heiress to the Gremory Family, she is the little sister of the current Lucifer, one of the Four Leading Devils in the Underworld," Ayakoji continued before he then went to explain the ruling system in Hell.
The Four Great Satans, the four original rulers of the Underworld during the Great War between Factions. They were named Lucifer, Beelzebub, Leviathan, and Asmodeus, and together they had spear headed the ambition of world domination. Fortunately, they were killed in the ensuing battles of Heaven's and the Fallen's armies, and the might of God himself.
Nowadays, only remnants of the original blood-line of these Four Great Satans remain, all wishing to accomplish the ambitions of their ancestors, gathering their forefather's past supporters. And yet not all Devils wished to continue the war, leading the emergence of what was called,
"The Anti-Satan Faction, the faction headed by another group of Devils to ensure the survival of the Devils as a species. From there, a Civil War began which ultimately lead to the leaders of the Anti-Satan Faction gaining power and taking over the positions of the Four Great Satans. Rias's brother, Sirzech's Lucifer, being one, or if not thee most feared. His name alone is enough for his enemies to place the highest of considerations before plotting against him," Ayakoji said, uncrossing his arms and taking the fedora off of his head before revealing a strained smile.
It was clear for him to see that this smile on Ayakoji's face was far from being able to convey the gravity of the situation. He wisely kept silent.
"It's a well-known fact that Sirzech is extremely protective of his younger sister, and not only did you not just meet her, you inadvertently threatened her."
O boy.
He knew exactly what Ayakoji was referring too, and at this moment, he glanced down at the necklace hanging off of his neck. It was all this things fault. If it wasn't releasing that wave of energy from it, would this situation have had even occurred?
"Was it not your own doing?"
The necklace around his neck twitched before laying still, the voice it had used to speak incredibly weak.
He could understand the necklace's point though. If he didn't wish to help those Fallen Angels, then the situation would never have had happened.
It was just another favour he would have to add to his growing list of debts. First it was the items in the Sword Trials, and now it was getting bailed out from making a grievous error. Knowing himself as he did, he probably wouldn't have had truly asked questions at that moment and would have had prioritized saving the Fallen before considering anything else.
Yet Ayakoji had immediately intervened. It was just fortunate that the last Fallen was able to get away in the wake of his actions.
It was after thinking for a second that something clicked in his mind.
When Ayakoji had first mentioned Griselda speaking about extra consideration moments ago, it wasn't very clear about what sort of consideration Griselda had in mind. Now though, he could understand that it had been a warning to Ayakoji.
Speaking of Ayakoji, now that he thought about it, it would seem that the man had actually been monitoring him; testing him if he considered it further. And now, looking at the results, the hapless expression on Ayakoji's face, he knew he had failed.
Ayakoji grimaced before walking forward, motioning for him to follow.
It was the correct choice, they couldn't stay any longer or risk getting found.
With Ayakoji leading, he followed the man silently back in the direction of the safe house, his mind trying to decipher who Ayakoji truly was. One moment he was easy to get along with, fun even. And in the next, he could become so professional and calculative. Looking at him now after the man had the time to calm down, Ayakoji was back to that carefree individual.
Hell, Ayakoji had even started asking him about Griselda again and debating aloud about whether or not she had 'grown' since the last time Ayakoji had seen her.
This was probably one of the many reasons Griselda seemed to cringe even when she just mentioned the man. He couldn't fault her. Ayakoji could be vulgur.
Looking back and forth, Ayakoji seemed to scan to scan the surroundings for any traces of being followed.
He followed Ayakoji's example, and quickly verified that there really was no one following. Only the being in the necklace would know that Rias and her peerage would not dare come after what he had exhibited in the Church. Light, and Holy, were the greatest weaknesses of Devils, and what he had unknowingly released at the time, was the aura of light itself.
With the path clear, he and Ayakoji soon reached the safe house, entering quietly into the dark room.
Fumbling in the dark, Ayakoji soon flipped a switch, and the room illuminated; the old couple who had been managing the place in the morning were no where in sight.
"They can't help it. Age can get the best of anyone," Ayakoji answered, seeming to know what he was thinking of after his observations.
He agreed with Ayakoji's statement and then made his way to the bathroom. After taking a quick shower, he returned to the living space to see that Ayakoji was making himself at home, propping his feet up on a center table in front of the couches before flipping on the television and sighing in content.
It would seem that Ayakoji had no intentions of leaving, proving that he was legitimately going to stay with him. The man had once mentioned being in charge of a Church branch in the area, but now here Ayakoji was relaxing instead. Didn't Ayakoji say that he would return unless he wanted to embarrass the members under him?
He paused as he thought up to that point.
On second though, Ayakoji probably would.
He snorted, moving to the room provided to him with the intention of sleeping. He would have to get up early to attend his first day in Kuoh Academy tomorrow.
However, as he was going to his room, Ayakoji's hand somehow fell on his shoulder. His brows rose. Ayakoji had been sitting in the living room a good twenty feet away from him, yet the man had somehow reached him in an instant? Bewildered, he kept silent as Ayakoji's voice entered his ears.
"Isn't it too early to go to bed?" Ayakoji asked, maneuvering him back to the living space. There was a narrow hall separating the two areas, and a door that clicked shut when they walked through.
He quickly explained his intentions of sleeping to Ayakoji, and that he was planning on heading to Kuoh Academy tomorrow. His registration had already been finalized and for some reason he didn't want the new records created for him to be tarnished with tardiness or absence.
Yet Ayakoji quickly shot him down.
"Oh, you won't be attending for a while. Not anymore," Ayakoji said. "You forfeited that right the moment you walked into that abandoned Church and blew your cover."
Point taken, he thought, feeling dumb for a moment.
"Then what about the mission with the Holy Maiden?" He ended up asking.
"She's dead now," Ayakoji dismissed. "In fact, when I first laid eyes on her, it was clear to me that she was losing her vitals, but like yourself, I wasn't clear on the reasons."
His brows furrowed in displeasure. "Then you should have just left me to help her," he argued.
Ayakoji seemed to draw amusement from his displeasure, a grin forming. "And this is why I hate dealing with kids. They don't look at the bigger picture," Ayakoji said, raising a finger to his temples. "Think. I'm sure Griselda must have had explained the concept of a Devil's peerage to you? Now, if you were the Gremory Heiress, and a user of a healing type Sacred Gear just appeared before you, what would you do? I'm afraid that the answer is fairly simple even excluding the type of character Rias may have. Only a fool would pass up that kind of opportunity. And only an even bigger fool would threaten the little sister of one of the Four Great Satans, and still feel regretful that he wasn't able to interfere in the little sister's recruitment of peerage. Ungrateful runt that guy is I tell you. He should profess his undying servitude to his saviour."
Ayakoji appeared quite smug.
He in contrast, although understanding Ayakoji's points, was just about ready to follow through on a very brutal favour Griselda had asked of him regarding Ayakoji. The man shouldn't appear so condescending when explaining another's faults. Just as he was going to act, at the last moment he controlled his urges, and attempted to walk away.
Though reluctant on his part, Ayakoji had acted in his best interests.
Still, why was Ayakoji staring at him so intently?
"Is there anything that you need then?" He asked, feeling Ayakoji's gaze.
"Not particularly at the moment, but there are a few crucial things I wanted to discuss, but fuck it," Ayakoji said before pulling out something from a bag not too far off.
Seeing what it was, his face immediately coloured from the explicit text and imagery on the cover alone. This was far out of his depth, something he had never done before.
Ayakoji smiled knowingly; seeming to detect his inexperience, the man quickly placed an arm over his shoulder.
A vice that would not let go.
"There are far more important matters that we can debate over as men. Trust me, you'll love the expression on Griselda's face when she learns of this."
It clicked, like the final piece of a puzzle that should have been easy to solve.
Griselda would not be happy.
And thinking about what Xenovia would do if she found out, the pit in his stomach only grew further.
This- This was punishment.
Payback for the night's ordeal.
Immediately he pushed against Ayakoji's grip, but by then, it was already too late; the door was locked and a sultry moaning echoed out across the room causing an embarrassed flush to come to his face.
Even worse, he finally noticed the camera in Ayakoji's hands.
This bastard.
BREAK
He was exhausted in the following mornings.
Ayakoji just didn't let up.
On top of placing him on house arrest for the first three days to avoid possible detection, Ayakoji had shown him a new video every day as if a teacher to a student. He was mortified, and more than once he considered just breaking the house down to escape, but all thoughts of such a thing escaped his mind when he realized that the house was not only managed by the caretakers, but it was actually the old couple's home too.
Eventually, he found out something about Ayakoji.
As it would turn out, Ayakoji worked as a video editor and graphics modifier as a side job from managing his position at the branch Church.
He learned Ayakoji's true forte in the art in the following nights when a super imposed image of a younger Griselda's face made an appearance in one of the videos along with Ayakoji's.
It, it was surreal, and at the same time, horrifying as he realized that Ayakoji had made sure to capture his every reaction.
When the third day finally came and he was free to leave the safe house, he bolted out of the place, a ludicrous expression on his face as if he had just seen an oasis in a desert.
Ayakoji.
That man was formidable.
Only now he could truly understand all the hate Griselda had as a woman.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, he made a vow to spend as little time in that house as possible. Because of this, in the following days, he had taken to following the various supernatural signatures he was able to detect; finding what Ayakoji and Griselda had explained to be Stray Devils
Devils from a peerage that had left their masters.
He didn't have much prejudice against them for that, but what caused him to begin hunting them down mercilessly was their tendency to attack humans.
He knew that Ayakoji had told him to stay low profile, but he couldn't dismiss such behaviour from the Strays.
It was on one such hunt that he was currently on now.
Swiftly he moved in the shadows of an urban complex that had undergone little to no maintenance. Walls were cracked on the buildings, revealing open sections of the steel frame beneath, and the glass framing the windows were blurred grey by piling dust.
The neighborhood was probably abandoned while the business men moved their sights to other prospects. Even still, there were people who lived here.
It was for that reason alone that he would act.
Crouching on the ground, his nose twitched before his head turned towards a direction past one of the back alleys.
A sword appeared in his hands, long jagged, and a bright red jewel adorned on its hilt, the sword gleamed in the moonlight.
"A human?" A voice spoke from the dark of the alley, venomous, and conceited.
His guard fell to his side, a twitch forming on his brow as the Stray Devil appeared.
It was always the same for one reason or the other.
"Frightened now, are we?" The voice came from a narrow-eyed woman, her lower body that of a spider's. "Well I'm afraid your bravado will cost you."
The Stray Devil's arms began moving to her bust, twin peaks that began to bulge with a buildup of magical power concentrated at the center.
Enough.
He had enough.
A sword pierced through the Stray's chest, ending the entire ordeal with the sound of a surprised gurgle. It was like ever since Ayakoji had revealed to him the world of men, every fight he'd encountered so far with the Stray Devils had been a joke. Even now, suspected that this had all been orchestrated by Ayakoji in the shadows. Otherwise, how could he possibly believe in running into these kinds of Stray Devils every single time?
Flicking his sword and clearing it of the blood, he soon dismissed it before deciding to call it a night. After all, he didn't have long before Rias, or another Devil with black hair, glasses, and a peerage of her own would show up. They always did in pursuit of the Strays.
It was just too bad they didn't have his unique magic sensing skills to arrive before him.
Making sure that the Stray was tided up enough to not inconvenience whoever would come to pick up the mess, he then left with a strong gait as the scent of a frigid glacial cold wafted into his nose.
Black haired and spectacled would be coming today, he concluded just as he disappeared into the night.
Other than Rias and her peerage, the black haired and spectacled girl had been the only one to try and convey a message to him instead of looking around in hopes of finding him; rather smart really.
It had been a drawing of a knight's chess piece left in clear view for him to see.
In Devil Society, every High-Class devil was in possession of what was known as a peerage: The followers of a High-Class Devil who have become Devils themselves through the use of the Evil Pieces invented by Ajuka Beelzebub of the Four Great Satans.
Evil Pieces were identical to the appearance of Chess Pieces, and each piece had its own role when reincarnating a being that was recently deceased or has agreed to become a Devil. In which case, the Evil pieces were still divided into the classes of Pawn, Rook, Bishop, Knight, and Queen, with the King piece always remaining in the hands of the High-Class Devil in control of the peerage in the past. Presently though, the King pieces were banned due to some unforeseen circumstances, and only a few were left in Devil Society.
In any case, he was clear about what she was asking just by the piece alone.
Evidently, she had been impressed with his skill enough to want to ask him to join peerage. Flattered as he was though, he still hadn't given her answer. After all, although it was a tad embarrassing to admit, he just didn't have enough time to write anything before she arrived.
It was the same tonight as he had left without writing a reply. However, he resolved to eventually get this settled out, but until then, his priorities shifted to avoiding Ayakoji for the night.
Walking back to the safe house, he crept up to one of the windows on the main floor and opened it just enough to sneak into the kitchen.
The sound of the television was on, the static clear to hear even from where he stood. Ayakoji was probably in the living room right now, making it the main place to avoid. Yet for some reason, he paused as he was just about to leave, noticing Ayakoji release a white dove out the window.
Perplexed, he stood rooted long enough to hear the sound of the door bell echoing from the hall adjacent to him.
As Ayakoji went to move towards the door, he ducked for cover, positioning himself crouched by the center isle facing the glass cabinets in the kitchen.
For some reason, something just seemed off about tonight, like a premonition of sorts triggered by Ayakoji's action of sending the dove off. If he could recall, doves were a symbol of great status in the Church as a Holy bird. The fact that Ayakoji had received and sent one off here, something must have had happened.
Just as he was pondering more on the subject,
BANG
The front door burst open, hanging off of its hinges.
At that moment, all he could see from the reflection of the glass cabinets was a smooth and slender outstretched leg covered with a black silk stocking reaching to a black combat boot.
As the leg descended to lay gently on the ground besides its matching counterpart, and the sound of frantic admonishment began to echo in the air, his mind blanked.
Blue hair the colour of sapphires and tinged with the refinements of emerald. A face that was impassive and cold, yet possessed a pair of eyes that was more expressive than most.
It was Xenovia.
She had grown a bit from when he had last seen her, her cloak no longer dragging against the ground as she walked. Even then, that familiar standoffish aura she exuded was in full display; unique only to her.
And as her mouth moved, and words escaped her lips, a feeling of nostalgia surfaced from within him after the time spent apart from her.
Yet that nostalgia shattered at the next moment when he registered what Xenovia had just asked of Ayakoji.
Strong.
Loud.
And Clearly without a change in her expression.
She had said:
"Where's my wife?"
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