14 Chapter 14 - Meeting the fallen and ?Culture?

-Last time on Drag-*cough*A Hunger for Blood and Magic.

'Yup, it's Azazel'

Now back to our regularly scheduled viewing -

Yep, he was there, with his hand on my shoulder and a grin on his face, like he had just caught a kid stealing from the cookie jar.

I turned fully towards him and did my best Kakashi greeting, eye smile and all.

"Yo"

We just stared at each other like that for a while. Meanwhile, Valerie looked confused, shifting her eyes between the both of us.

The staredown continued until we both burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, kid, what are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

'Of course he can see through my transformation, it's not perfect yet and he's Azazel'

"Just, chilling?" I said while silently charging my magic, I didn't know if he was like seeing canon yet. With me here canon already shifted a bit, who knows what else would be different.

*snort* "Yeah and I'm just a pervert" he retorted.

"Weeeell, aren't you?"

"Ha, touche, kid. Now, seriously, what are a dhampir and whatever you're supposed to be doing here?" He started joking, then went down serious mode and finally to a confused state when mentioning me. But he didn't seem hostile.

I didn't really have the need to lie so I began talking, I delayed him long enough for my escape plan to work in case he did anything.

"Well, we were just going around the city when we felt a sort of barrier appearing and sending the mortals away so we started investigating"

"Oh, and what did you find out?"

"So…" I started telling him what I saw downstairs in the warehouse.

"Damn these idiots" he murmured while massaging his forehead, loud enough for us to hear.

This was good, he seemed to be about the same as in canon and the guys below seemed to be some stray fallen that went against him. But I wasn't supposed to know that so I continued playing.

"You know these guys, gramps?"

"I'm not that old! Anyway, yeah, unfortunately, I do know them"*sigh*

"So, what're we doing now, go back to our Mexican standoff or…?"

He stood in thought for a while

"Listen, kid, I'm going to ask you for a favor, okay?"

"Sure, if I can do it, but it'll cost you"

*sigh* "Kids these days…"

"You in?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm in, let's get a drink after. Father knows I'll need it"

"So, what do you need us to do?"

"Well, I think you're capable enough since even I barely noticed you hiding here and that magic thing you got going on, pretty nice. Anyway, I'm going to ask you to go in there and stop those idiots while I wait for their reinforcements. I'll explain later, can you do it?"

"Sure, just one question"

"Shoot"

"Do you need them alive, dead, or half-dead?"

"Is there a difference?"

"Yea, it'll change my methods"

*shrug* "Make them half-dead, I guess"

"Alright, we'll meet here?"

"Nah, let's meet inside the warehouse, first floor, less prying eyes"

"You got it" saying that I and Val prepared to go inside.

"Oh, and kid, I don't think it needs mentioning but you know the guys are fallen angels, right?"

"Yep, got it"

After leaving the old crow behind, Val and I entered the warehouse. We walked through it until we arrived at the front of the basement door where we stopped.

Valerie finally had time to ask about the thing that's been bugging her.

"Hiro, who was that?"

"We just met the leader of the Grigori, Azazel"

"Really?"

"Yeah, the old scapegoat himself"

"Is everything going to be alright?" She asked, worried.

"Don't worry about it, you're still wearing the pendant I gave you, aren't you?"

"Yes" She said, running a hand over the pendant that I gave her a week ago.

"Good, don't lose it and everything will be good, even if gold bangs turns against us, though I don't believe he will"

"Umu"

"A small change of plans with regards to the fallen guys"

"I'm listening."

"Let me take care of them while you make sure nothing happens to the kidnapped guy"

"Good"

Finished with our plan-making, we approached the door and began to go downstairs. I was keeping tabs on the situation inside but nothing besides irrelevant banter happened there.

Arriving at the door to the big room, I stopped and opened it as silently as I could. Then, I nodded to Val who quickly disappeared out of view, going to do her task.

Then I began to walk.

(Unknown fallen 1 POV)

Here we were, fresh after kidnapping the guy who seemed to have an unawakened sacred gear inside him.

I and the boys were just sitting around, doing nothing, all the while waiting for the other team to come and lead us to the new base. Pretty, boring stuff, just staying here, blowing snot bubbles, or that was just Garret, he always had a problem.

Anyway, we hung out there, nothing changing.

Wonder what that hot piece Raynare was doing? I could never get the courage to ask her out, she seemed so strong, and nice and powerful, sigh. Maybe after this mission.

Until something did.

*tap tap*

Something was coming.

*tap tap*

I and the guys were looking at one another, readying ourselves.

*tap tap*

"Who is there? Come out, right now!" Yelled our squad leader.

And, there he was, out of the shadow came a teenager with a bored look on his face.

"Stop right there! Who are you?" Continued the leader.

The teen stopped and just looked at us, it was unnerving.

"ANSWER! Who are.." the boss tried to continue but stopped as the teen just raised his hands in what appeared to be….mock defeat?

"Yeah, no, I can't do this and I'm annoyed, let Azazel deal with you lot"

"Wha…"

Before we could find out more, the boat's eyes appeared in our eyes, shining and filled with power. (A/N imagine the scene where Madara used his Sharingan during the ninja war against that poor rando shinobi alliance guy)

Then all was darkness and the torture began.

(Hiro pov)

*thud* *thud* *thud*

I looked on as the fallen dropped to the ground one by one. When I saw how weak, trash-tier mobs they were, I realized that there was no point in fighting. So I simply put them all into an illusion that will show their worst nightmares. They were so weak that I just needed to look at them and they were done for.

After they fell, Val dropped near me from her place of hiding.

I summoned some bats who dangled the fallen and the kidnapped back to the first floor.

Azazel was there when we went up, but he wasn't alone. Near him were 6 fallen, all of them in seiza with their heads down and their faces bruised and swollen.

"Shared with them some tough love, eh?" I asked Azazel

"Yeah, they deserve it. How was it on your end?"

However, before I could answer, Valerie stepped forward and, with her hands on her hips and chest puffed, proudly declared:

"Hm, they didn't stop when we arrived so we had to deal with them. Guess they had eyes but didn't recognize Mt. Tai" finishing that, she flushed red.

Both Azazel and I sputtered simultaneously, stopped doing that, looked at one another with a glint of recognition and then nodded in mutual respect.

Then I turned to Val.

"Val...what was that?"

"Ummm" She blushed even more "I saw that being used in the novels you showed me, and I really wanted to say it once" She whispered the last part.

"Wait, Val, you actually enjoyed them?" I asked, astonished.

"Aha"

Nothing more needed to be said, I rushed to her and enveloped her in a hug. I was so proud, those novels were the first step down the road of my stupidity, soon enough she would transition to fanfics.

"You're the best, Val" I whispered in her ear.

Meanwhile, Azazel, as a fellow man of culture, just watched everything with his jaw hanging.

*cough*

The moment ended a while later when Azazel's jealousy peaked.

'Hmpf, he's just feeling left out, poor guy needs some culture' I thought.

"Well, if you two lovebirds are done, let me send these guys back to Grigori and then we'll go for that drink"

I simply nodded.

Azazel went around to gather the guys and place them on the magic circle, the boys in seiza were eerily silent, the old crow must have beaten them into submission. The gathering went well and good until Azazel 'accidentally' stepped on the hand of one of the fallen who then proceeded to murmur in a low voice:

"Raynare, Raynare, Raynare, no! Don't leave me, no, not for Garret, at least let me watch, please!"

The three of us just stared blankly as the guy soon passed out again.

Azazel spoke out first.

"Jesus, what did you do to them?"

Valerie also raised a brow in my direction and I put my hands in the air in mock surrender.

"I just put them under an illusion that showed them their worst nightmare, each tailored to break their psyche if left unattended for too long. Hey, don't look at me like that, the spell will cease soon enough. Plus, you wanted them only half-dead so just threaten them later that, if they don't talk, the nightmares will come back to stay."

I finished my spiel with a shrug.

"You're cold, kid."

"I guess"

"Alright, let me send them, and let's meet at the bar, you go on ahead, it's on…." He then gave us the address and the name of the bar and we went on our way.

While walking to the bar, I couldn't help but turn to Valerie, I had to ask.

"So, you've been enjoying the novels" *small nod* "you even read the manhwas?" *small nod 2* Amusement filled my voice.

"A-ha! So that's why you wanted to go to Korea, Japan, and China! You wanted to learn the written parts of the language so you can binge! You minx!" On the inside, I was laughing so hard.

*whisper* "I can't stop" *whisper*

"What was that, dear?"

"I can't stop, ok!? Sometimes, when you fall asleep, I just go on my phone to read more of the ones you sent me! They are so long but so short! But I realized that the translated chapters for my favorite will end so I need to learn the language! I need to see how Solo Leveling will end!"

By the end of her tirade, she had the classic sparkle of the weeb in her eye so I couldn't contain my laughter anymore.

"Hahahaha, oh my, Val, you're a treasure!" I said as I hugged her.

She got embarrassed and tried to hide her face in my chest.

"No need to be embarrassed princess, we've all been through that phase"

"Even you?"

"Oh yeah, big time"

Soon, enough, she calmed down and we continued on our way to the bar.

It was time for my first drink with Azazel.

-----

A/N

Here it is, the big secret why Valerie was desperate to come to Asia. Hope you like it and find it as stupid as I did when I first imagined it.

Originally, this chapter was supposed to contain the drink with Azazel but it felt right ending it here and putting that up in a new chapter.

See you next time.