The Fourth Beast

7

The Top Ten

II

Unknown location

"Long time no see, Michael," Azazel stopped his greeting mid-way to give the Archangel a complete look-over, "Still wearing that same old bulky attire I see. You should try wearing casual human clothes sometimes. They are very comfortable, I assure..."

"It has been a while, brother," Michael, the current leader of Heaven, did not let him finish.

The word 'Brother' made Azazel completely drop his careless attitude. He took another good look at Michael and immediately knew that something was very wrong. For starters, Michael would only address him as a brother if the archangel felt utterly lost. Also, he would never interrupt someone, no matter who it was, unless it was necessary. And even though the archangel looked the same as usual, Azazel could see that his eyes did not have their usual spirit.

The last time he saw him like this was when they had lost their father.

Without a word, Azazel waved his hands, and not a moment later, they were teleported to his private chamber. He did not even ask or point at the guest chair; Michael sat on his own.

"Is this going to take long?" Azazel asked, pointing at his whiskey cabinet.

"I... do not know," Michael answered.

"Argh~" Azazel just groaned. He took out a few strong wines of his personal choice from the cabinet since he knew for sure that whatever Michael had to say would no doubt turn his world upside down.

When Azazel sat down on his chair opposite of Michael, he did not say a word. And just as silently, he filled his wine glass and drank its content. It was not before Azazel finished half a bottle of Hellblazer that Michael finally lost his patience and broke the silence.

"Do you think our father truly died that day?"

Azazel spewed out his drink from his mouth and his nose. It was not a good sight. His brother's words caught him so off-guard that he literally sat still, not knowing what he should do next when it was crystal clear; get a handkerchief and clean his face.

He could feel the gears in his brain slowly restarting. But the moment he saw Michael opening his mouth again, he swiftly motioned him to stop. After the spectacular way his brother started the conversation, Azazel knew he had to take control of the conversation. Otherwise, his whole wine cellar would not be enough to calm his nerves if Michael continued. He sighed and took out a handkerchief to clean his face.

Silenced reigned again as no one knew what to do. But a few minutes later, Azazel decided to speak, "Why not tell me what is truly bothering you? No need to beat around the bush."

"Have you seen Naruto Ōtsutsuki?" Michael asked out of nowhere.

"We never met face to face, if that is what you are asking. But, I had seen pictures of him." Azazel answered honestly, not knowing where this was going. But instead of continuing, Michael stayed quiet. He could see that the archangel was having a problem finding the right words. Azazel waited a few moments before he had enough. With a frustrated sigh, he spoke up, "Just spill it out already."

"Naruto Ōtsutsuki has the 'Eye of the One'."

The governor of Grigori blinked. He tilted his head to the side and opened his mouth but could not find the right words, so he closed it. He repeated the process a few more times. Then finally, he let out a pained groan before taking the Hellblazer bottle and directly chugging the rest of its content in one go.

"Tell me everything! Right from the start!" Azazel said, no, demanded while gritting his teeth.

Then Michael told him everything, which was not much, to be honest. But saying he was shocked at what he heard would be a huge understatement. And for the first time in many centuries, he did not know what to do, he felt... lost. It was as if nothing was making any sense to him anymore.