30 chapter 26
Castiel P.O.V.
Now it is night time. After the others arrived we explained the situation in details to them.
Things did not change much in the formation in case of attack, just that Arthur and Kuroka will be focusing on the exorcists as they can deal with them (even if they transform like that one I face and have absurd healing factor these two could deal with them no problem). LeFay, on the other hand, will go help Emily and Kanda in their fight against Lugh.
Lugh is too crafty and has many treasures. Kanda and Emily may be strong but they may lack in their means to deal with an ever-changing battlefield. LeFay is an amazing magician that could help cover that bridge.
Now that we discussed most of the plans we went to sleep, in turns obviously as who knows when the enemy may try to attack us.
I ended up sleeping on the couch of Miku's room this time around… I really need to get one of this couches to my room back on my apartment.
She did not make much of a fuss over me sleeping here this time around, but she kept giving me critical gazes every now and again. She did not talk anything and I also did not either, and so the night went by.
This time I did not dream of Serenity's past. I dreamed of killing her during a fight the next day, but when my sword was embedded in her stomach her current for over layered with that of her in childhood. Her crying eyes looking at me as blood escaped her mouth.
For some reason, I wanted to throw up as soon as I woke up.
It is now morning. Miku woke up as a… I want to say mess, but I feel she would somehow know what I am thinking (woman and their sixth sense for this kind of thing) and try to throw something at me because of it.
We all meet up at the terrace (I managed to convince Rin to rent the rest of the hotel for us… she cut my pay because of it *sniff**sniff*). The breakfast was not too sumptuous but very nutritive, with a lot of fruits, grains and all sorts of food that is good to give energy. We were all mostly in silent during this time, except for Kuroka that was talking excitedly with the Sister about gossip (the Sister is on a network that has so many points that gossip is something they never lack).
The chance a fight breaks out at any moment is very high. The tension is quite high but we tried to get a bit relaxed, being too stressed before a fight is not a good thing after all. So to relax I did the best thing I could think off.
Eat a pudding.
These things are delicious. I bought a deluxe package edition of my favorite mark (Compa's love), even the smell is good.
I took the first bite and I made a goofy smile, I just can't help it. This is just so goooooooooo~~~~dd.
I suddenly feel a person looking at me intently on my side, and look and behold Miku is still glaring at me.
No, now that I look better it is not at me that she is looking now.
"Do you want some?" I offered. She looks hesitant and then looked the other way.
It would normally mean 'no' but considering that she was stealing glances at this treasure of mankind I honestly doubt that. I can't really blame her, this is love in a cup (for me and anyone with good taste at least).
"Are you sure you don't want some?" I said again, offering a second time. It is courtesy to ask at least twice, or at least that is what Sakura-sensei told me.
"How would I know it is not poisoned?" She said looking the other way.
"And why would I do that?" I asked with a mix of irritation and amusement on her argument. It is like a kid throwing a tantrum if you replace kid for an attractive young lady (I am a man and will not deny that she is pretty, even if she is annoying most times).
"You may want to poison me so that you can go away and not get involved. Or you can want to put me to sleep to do things to me. Or anything else, I don't really know, but the important part is that I do not trust you." She said.
A vein must be about to burst on my forehead right now. She not only think I will betray her at this point, she even thinks I would ever resort to putting poison in a pudding.
Not the pudding. How can she think this bad of me?
"Eat it." I said with a serious face.
"No"
"Eat it now." I said with even more emphasis.
"I will not eat anything offered by you. I do not trust you, you are a liar." She said glaring at me.
The tension in the whole room raised to new peaks as this conversation got more heated. Everyone was looking to see what we will do next.
I glared back at her. Then I got up and did something that I normally never would have done. I filled a spoon with this pudding and-
Shove it down her mouth.
She started struggling, trying to get me to leave her so she could spit it out. Her eyes were ablaze in fury, a true inferno of fury, too big for just this much. She was looking at me as if she was not even actually looking at me, but someone else right now.
Kanda tried to help her, but as soon as he went for his sword another sword appeared at his neck. Arthur (as the good bro he is) stopped Kanda before he could try to do something stupid, but if their mutual glares were any indication they were as good as enemies now. I mean there were lightning between them with their glares.
Miku then ended up swallowing the pudding. She started coughing and her glare intensified but I looked at her with indifference.
"I said more than once and will say it again, you are safe with me. I would never resort to poisoning you or hurt you, so stop looking at me as if I AM YOUR FUCKING ENEMY ALREADY!" I said the last part with considerable power in it. She looked taken aback with this, something flickered in her eyes but vanished right after as she gave that same smile again.
I hate this smile.
I choose to ignore it and restart eating my pudding.
Haaah~, this is delicious. It is like all the tension on my body vanished just like that. There is nothing else now, just me and my puddi-
*Cellphone ringing*
I am not eating my pudding in peace at all, right?
With a sigh, I answered the phone.
"Hello, this is Castiel. Who wants to talk to me?" I asked as the number appeared blocked, not a good sign.
"*sigh* And here I was hoping for you to have walked away."
A shiver went down my spine hearing this voice, it was that fat fucker from yesterday. I immediately made a quiet sign so that everyone would stay quiet as I put the call on the speakers.
"What do you want?" The steel in my voice made all people in the table tense up, they obviously realized that it must be someone among the enemies that is calling me.
"What no greetings? What a disappointment. Oh well, at least you are not that bimbo bitch you are protecting, so I guess it is progress." He said with a letdown voice. My irritation went through the roof with this guy.
To be offending a woman like that is NOT okay.
"Shut your trap. If you are going to call me just to talk badly about Miku you may as well take this phone and shove it so high up your ass that it comes out of your mouth." I said a bit too much, I know, but talking about a girl like that is never okay.
"*sigh* And here I was hoping that you would not act like that. I will ask you one last time, are you going to leave her and go away?" He asked seriously.
"I will stay right here." I said without a second thought or a second of delay.
There was a silence of a few seconds then he said.
"Suit yourself. Bitch, do it."
I heard on the background a very small sound of a click, then
KKKKKAAAAABBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM
.
.
.
.
The hotel went down.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
When I woke up after the fall I saw that we were on a dome made of something silvery.
"Volumen Hydrargyrum" a woman voice said beside us, then the whole dome started liquefying and shrinking becoming a glob of mercury at the feet of the mage that used it.
LeFay sighed in relief seeing that she managed to use her magic in time, the fall would not be fatal for them but the wounds would make things complicated. But the look she had when she looked at me was strange, to say the least.
I then looked at myself and realized that I had hugged Miku during the fall putting her on top of myself so as to protect her. It was a reflex motion as I had put myself on a small self-hypnosis to 'protect her whenever I can', so for me to act this way without even realizing was not strange at all to me.
Everyone else started getting up after the shock passed. When we all were together we saw that the whole hotel was blown in pieces so staying here was not a good idea as the police and firefighters would be coming.
As we moved away from the scene I was thinking about what we should do next. Staying on the street like that was the worst option as we could be attacked anytime, and the damage to civilians was not something I desired and considering that our enemies did not seem to care about it, it would be best not to stay like this for long.
As we reached an alley a fair distance away an idea passed through my mind at that instant.
"Kuroka, you can sense life energy right?" I asked.
"I can, but what use could it have now? We are in the middle of a city so sensing where there is life is as useless as it gets." She said dismissively.
"No, it is exactly what we need." I said, making Kuroka tilt her head in confusion. "Our enemies have some humans that are closer to a mix of different life-forms and some others that, while humans, do not have life-force or is transformed into pure magic. If you can sense life-force so you should be capable of noticing where these individuals are as they are very different from the rest." I proposed this idea to her.
After a while, she nodded her head and decided to give it a shot. She stayed quiet on the same spot for a few instants, then she shot up and said.
"They are coming!"
Not two second later and a giant thunder strike hit us from a distance, breaking right through the building without a second thought.
We managed to make some defenses against the thunder thanks to Kuroka's warning, but the damage on the area around us was quite big as many light poles exploded due to the current that went through them from the aftermath of this attack.
As we looked at the responsible for this we saw Skin Bolic. He was not using his full sacred gear yet, just the arm in this case, but the thunder he released was powerful. Much more so than the one he used on the last attack.
He probably did not go all out before, but now he is serious.
He is smirking while looking at us and was preparing one more strike when-
WOSH
Okuyasu appeared in front of him, using his sacred gear, and went straight to punch him so as to stop Skin. Unfortunately, the thunder was ready and he fired at us anyway.
The sister entered in front of us all.
"Don't think you are the only one that uses thunder here, says Misaka trying to be heroic." She then used her control over magnetism to change the course of the thunder from straight to an upward curve, missing us all.
At that instant, 20 exorcists appeared from the top of the building (they were probably waiting in ambush). One of them started to transform their arms into tentacles and some of the others transformed their arms into… canons? How the hell you turn an arm into a canon?
The ones with canon arms aimed below and prepared to shot, but faster than the release of said shot Arthur jumped using mana burst and slashed in a wide arc using his sword. If it was a normal sword it would not do much but his sword was Excalibur Galantine, the sister sword of Excalibur that Saber has.
With this one strike, he released a wave of flames that covered all exorcists. But the ones with tentacles covered the ones with Canons and the regeneration speed of the tentacles offset the damage received.
Normally if someone sees their attack being useless they would be discouraged, but Arthur smiled seeing this. He fished out a cube from his pocket and released it in the middle between himself and the exorcist, being pulled to the death arena.
He probably was excited to see someone that can resist his sword, the flames it releases are quite strong so most enemies just die instantly, so whenever he sees someone that can survive the first strike he gets 'a bit' animated and forgets everything else around him.
Seeing that part of his support was gone, Bolic did not seem bothered at all, if his smile was anything to go.
He liberated a wide arc of electricity all around him so as to force Okuyasu to jump back before another strike could happen. When he had some space between him and us he took out a bunch of cards from his pocket and throw them in the air.
From each of those cards a magical circle appeared and from each one of them an exorcist popped up. It is sorta like the system the devils use, but more militarized.
"What you going to do now?" He says, rushing in with 5 transforming exorcists and around 10 with vacant eyes.
Answering his challenge is Okuyasu, Seryu (that rushed in with Koro already looking like a white mini Hulk) and the Sister. They took out another death arena cube and thrown it in their midst, pulling themselves to a death match.
It may have seemed to have taken long, but it all happened in under 10 seconds. Now there is only me, Miku, Emily, Kanda, Kuroka, and LeFay.
I then looked at Kuroka and asked.
"Do we need to worry about more people jumping at us now?" My voice was probably steely as she took a step back when I said that.
"Just a minute please, I need to look at abnormal flows in a whole city with millions of people. This is not an easy job at all, Nyaa~~. I just noticed them earlier that fast due to their proximity." She said and then stayed very quiet with her eyes closed.
While she stayed like that LeFay made a magic shield around us to protect us and make us invisible. It was a good call as staying in the open was never a good idea under these circumstances.
We were worried about our friends, but now all we can do is trust them and keep going. There is no helping someone in the death arena so all we can do is go forward.
After a minute Kuroka opened her eyes and looked straight at us.
"There are two groups of them right now, Nyaa~. One is coming from the east, has about 3 modified exorcists, 35 modified humans and one normal one that is exuding considerable malice. On the west, there is a force made with about 15 modified exorcists, 15 modified humans and one life signature that has an amazing amount of life-energy." She said, not showing the least amount of worry on her face or voice. She probably isn't anyway as she is quite strong.
"What do you guys think? Should we stick together or should we separate to deal with both sides separately?" I asked, but before I could receive the others input my phone ringed again.
As I took it out I saw that the number is blocked a chill went down my back.
"What is it, you fucker?" I said, knowing that there is almost a 100% chance of it being who I think it is.
"Is that any way to talk with us?" The voice of that fatso said with disdain on the other side of the phone. "Well, not that it matters. I just want to warn you of something. There are two groups of us in two separate locations, the fir-"
"We already know where you are, and we are all going there to kill your fat ass." I said with killing intent oozing out of my mouth. Knowing my friends are right now fighting in death matches with people that lost their humanity because of this fucker experiments made me want to gut him alive right here and now.
I swear that if even one of them is hurt I will put all curses I possibly can on his very soul to make even his existence on whatever pit in hell he ends up even worst that it would be. I myself never went to this extreme, but this bastard is making me want to experiment on that.
"Oh, that is surprising. You must have someone very good at detection on your side then." His voice was condescending. As if my treat just now did not even register on his mind. "It is quite true that you COULD come after us right now with your full force, your chances of finishing me off then would be quite high. BUT you won't do that." I could swear I could see his smirk through the phone. "And you know why? Because I ordered my soldiers on the other side to go on a rampage all over the city in case no one fights them in 10 minutes."
THIS BASTARD!
He is not killing civilians as an after-thought, he is using this whole city as a hostage.
"What do you want?" I asked trying to reign in my hate, and likely failing quite bad.
"Haha, I knew you would understand. I want you and the dirty bitch to come to me alone, those others with you can go and play with Lugh or just go back home for all I care. I am on the top of Towa Tower, Lugh and her squad are on Piece of Heaven elementary school terrace. Remember, you have ten minutes or we will start to rampage throughout the city." The fat bastard is truly the worst type of asshole there could be. He not only is using this whole city as a hostage but he also is positioned in an elementary school and the top of one of the biggest firms in Japan.
What do I do? Do I follow his instructions or go in force to kill him before anything else can happen?
Before the call ended I heard a whisper, very soft and extremely quiet, to the point that I almost missed it completely.
"…please don't come…" I heard a voice, Serenity's voice telling me not to come over there.
"*SLAP* Who said you got to talk when superior beings are discussing something, you low life-form. Learn your place." He then started stomping on something, the sound of a boot and flesh filled the call.
SNAP
You know what? Fuck it, I will go and kill this bastard myself.
"I will be there." Was all I answered before ending the call and turning to the others. "Guys, I am sorry but we will follow his demands. You are all to go and face Lugh and a group of his monstrosities at Piece of Heaven Elementary school. I will go with Miku to Towa Tower to face off against him and the ones he has there." I said, knowing full well how bad it all can get. But I do not have much of a choice if I don't obey he is just going to rampage across the whole city and the collateral would be on the thousands of lives at the very least.
I cannot and will not let that happen.
The others look concerned, they know it is risky. Hell, I can die very easily if we do this, but I will do it anyway.
"Do your best out there, Nyaa~. If you fall, at least take them with you Nyaa~." Kuroka said before starting to dash off to the school. Since what happened to Koneko she has a soft spot for kids and does not let them get hurt at all whenever she can help.
"I will be leaving then, Castiel-sama, Miku-sama. W-wish me luck." LeFay said before pulling a broom out of her hat and flying off using it. She always had a thing for theatrics.
"…I will go settle the score with Lugh." Kanda said after a moment looking at me and Miku… who was still silent since I shoved the pudding at her. Kanda then just started running full speed to face off Lugh, he REALLY must hate to lose.
Then it was just me, Emily and Miku at the park. Emily looked conflicted for a moment, then she took a strong face and left without saying a single word. Who knows exactly what is on her mind, but she has chosen to simply go and did not turn to look back.
I then looked at Miku in the eyes. I saw insecurity, fear and something else in there. She was conflicted between going and not going.
"Miku, I know I am being a failure as a bodyguard now. I am taking you straight to the enemies and you may get hurt if you go with me, but I need to go. If I… no, if WE don't go many people out there are going to die. Please, please will you go with me there." I said to her in a pleading voice.
It may seem counter-productive but I will not simply take her against her will to somewhere that may bring her harm. If she refuses to go, I will put a barrier around her. One as strong as I possibly can, and go alone. I will not let the innocent die, but I also will not let Miku die.
"I-I.." She did not know what to say to me.
THUD
I went down my knees. It is humiliating and something I should NEVER do as it would tarnish the Tower reputation. But if I must do this to help save lives I will do it without a second thought.
She looks shocked as she also understands what my actions may entail if looked by others.
"Please Miku, please help me save them. I swear with my very soul that I will not let you die, so please help me." I said to her.
She looks at me for some time, then she closed her eyes and said.
"Of course I will go too. I am a goddess from the Japanese Pantheon, protecting our people is my duty." She said, but before she started leaving she turned to me and said. "I still don't trust you, liar."
I just gave a tired smile at that and started walking to my destination beside Miku. As I walked my face morphed from a tired smile to a poker face. No emotions on it what so ever.
But if someone could see past that, what they would see is just one thing.
A promise of DEATH.
