Chapter 5

As they walked towards the small wooden hut, Rengoku looked at the surroundings once more. Although he had killed many monsters and stray devils, this was the very first time he had killed humans. The Blood seems to make the surface he was walking on quite sticky and disgusting. But other than that there were no other feelings for the humans, devils, and fallen angels he had killed. It was quite unsettling for him. 

What surprised him most was the little girl who seemed a little unfazed by all this. He at least had countless years of bloody experiences in the dungeon, unlike the little girl. She seems to be just relieved that everything turned out fine. The older woman, Shuri looked towards him and asked.

"Are you fine? you are looking a little dazed."

Rengoku smiled wryly and said. "It's nothing much. Although I have faced many stray devils over the past few years, this is my first time facing humans and fallen angels as my enemies."

Barakiel surprisingly pats his back and says. "Don't worry about your enemies. You can't afford to care much about them when your own life is at stake. Although these incidents may seem rare and controversial in the normal world. In our world, these incidents are more common than you think." 

The little girl called Akeno separated from them and started looking for something. Shuri tried to call her back but the girl was stubborn and kept searching and then her pink eyes lit up as she found a Sapphire. It was the jewel that contained the Bounded field. Akeno then looked towards Rengoku and asked. "Hey, can I please keep this jewel?"

At this point, he realised that he had officially messed with the plot of the story. But he didn't care much for a so-called story he had read in his past life. While the story itself was just a wish fulfilment/fanservice story, the experiences he has been through did not resemble the story one bit. Blood and murder has become a part of his daily life. Every time he sleeps, he remembers the orphanage massacre and the monsters he had killed. Nightmares were more common for him than a peaceful dream. 

The bright expression Akeno carries despite her lonely past is an admirable quality. At least this gave him some hope that one day he could have his peaceful sleep. Maybe he won't have to be alone anymore at that time. Rengoku looked towards the girl who was a head shorter than him and said with a smile. "Sure you can keep it."

Akeno smiled happily and bowed. "Thank you for letting me keep this and also for saving us."

Rengoku sighed. "I'm tired of listening to you guys being grateful. Let's get this over with, I want to go home and rest well."

Akeno pouted and said. "Why are you so mean? I'm just being thankful." Rengoku just started ignoring the girl who just kept shouting at him.

The two adults smiled at the children who kept arguing as they stepped into the partially destroyed house. Shuri turned towards Rengoku and said. "I will prepare something to eat. You can take a bath and rest. Darling and Akeno can clean up the mess here." Rengoku turned towards her. "Please Shuri-san, you don't need to do anything. I'm just here to talk and nothing el-"

Barakiel interrupted him. "Don't try to argue with her. This is the least we can do for you. We will talk during dinner. Come with me I will show you the bath." Rengoku tried to argue but Barakiel just forcefully pushed him towards the bath. Akeno just kept staring at them walking away. Shuri noticed this and smiled while patting her head. "Akeno why don't you help me cook? Your father can clean up this mess." Akeno smiled excitedly while grabbing her mom's hand and dragging her away. "Okay, Mom Let's go! I want to learn how to cook."

After one hour, Rengoku opens the door to the hall and relaxes. "Bathing is the best way to relax. My mind feels refreshed." He walks into the hallway and as he walks he starts to smell something delicious. It had been some time since he had proper home food. He follows the scent and reaches the dining table where Shuri and Akeno seem to setting up the table and Barakiel is seated in his chair. Shuri spots him walking down the hall. "Seems like our hero looks well rested. I hope you had a great bath. Dinner is being served, come and have a seat."

Rengoku thanks Shuri as he takes a seat at the table beside Barakiel. Shuri and Akeno also take their seats opposite them. Barakiel spoke first. "Now that everyone is settled, we can start dinner. But before that, I wanted to ask. would you introduce yourself?" Rengoku now realises he still hadn't introduced himself to anyone. He bowed his head a little. "I apologise. I had forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Yamato Rengoku. I could be called a mercenary in this world."

Shuri giggled and said. "Fufu... It's natural to forget our introductions after all that happened. Let me introduce myself. My name is Himejima Shuri." She points at the Big Man sitting next to him. "This is my husband. His name is Barakiel and...." She points at the little girl next to her. "This little one is my daughter-"

"Mom! I can introduce myself." The little girl shouts. Shuri giggles and stays quiet. Akeno looks at Rengoku and bows while introducing herself. "My name is Himejima Akeno. It's nice to meet you Rengoku-san." He smiles. "It's nice to meet you too. Everyone can call me Ren." He looks around the table sees the delicious food and then looks at the family that he had unknowingly targeted just a few hours ago. This whole situation seemed a little unreal. Although he wanted to ask a few questions he did not want to disturb the atmosphere.

After they had dinner, the four of them gathered around in the living room which was seemingly destroyed a few hours ago. The whole house now seemed like it was never destroyed in the first place. Magic truly is a convenient thing. Shuri was patting Akeno's head on her lap as she was sleeping. Those two were quite chatty during dinner. Barakiel who was quiet throughout the dinner now spoke. "You must be wondering why we seemed so calm despite the life-threatening situation which happened two hours back." Rengoku hesitantly nodded.

"Well, this was not the first time we were targeted. When Shuri and I first married, the Himejima clan was furious but stayed away from us because of me. Even still there were many other people aside from their leader that were angry, so there were few attacks carried out by them but it was thwarted by me. Since they couldn't do anything to us they stopped their attacks." Barakiel sighed as he looked at Shuri and Akeno.

"But it didn't last long. Whatever feelings they had buried within themselves had reignited when Akeno was born." Barakiel tightened his fists and Shuri just looked sad.

"Akeno being a half fallen angel and half human seemingly set their hearts on fire with vengeance. We tried to see if Akeno had the talent to inherit the clan's Bloodline talents. But fate seems to play more tricks on us. Akeno's talent in magic surpassed both of us but she was unable to inherit the proper bloodline talent of the Himejima clan." Barakiel smiled melancholically. "My bloodline seems to shine through within her. I was both happy and sad at the same time. Half-breeds have always been given harsh treatment throughout history and it seemed to be the same for my daughter."

Now Shuri spoke out in contempt. "All the 5 principal clans of Japan put themselves on a higher pedestal just because they were the ones chosen by the gods to protect the humans of Japan. Every member of the clan was proud of their blood. Anyone who tried to oppose their traditions and values was viewed as a heretic."

Barakiel then spoke after her. "Due to this, I decided to forego my role in Grigori for a few years. It was the best few years of my life that I had experienced. But my responsibilities as leader of Grigori kept piling up and with internal turmoil increasing by the day, I had to return to my organisation to maintain some semblance of stability."

"What I didn't know was that the Himejima clan had informed my enemies about the whereabouts of me and my family. All those devils and fallen angel traitors were the enemies I made during the great biblical war. Azazel was the one who informed me of the attack and I tried to come here as soon as possible but the Himejima clan had sealed off all the teleportation points I had set up in case of emergencies." He looked at Rengoku and bowed once again. "If it wasn't for you I would've lost my family. I truly am in your debt." 

Rengoku just sighed and accepted his gratitude again. From all that he could infer from their lives, he understood one thing properly. No matter how many monsters and strays he kills, the world would still be just as dangerous and evil as it was before. This situation also begs the question, why did those people even hire him in the first place? As long as he was out of the equation they would've succeeded in their mission. He would put this question in the back of his mind, he will get his answers through other connections.

Rengoku asked Barakiel. "So what is your plan now Barakiel-san?" Barakiel replied. "You suggested me that I should try contacting the devils. I did ponder upon this idea but the problem is I don't have any proper contact with the devils since their civil war ended. Do you have some way? I thought of getting Grigori's help but my allies have their hands full with quelling the rebellion within the organisation."

Rengoku said. "I have been wanting to get some information about devils. Who better to ask than the devils themselves right? I got few connections with the devils by chance encounters. It's time to cash in those connections." He gets up and gives Barakiel a card with his number. "Just call this number when you guys are ready. It's time for me to leave." 

Rengoku turns to Shuri. "Shuri-san thank you for the delicious homecooked meal. It's been a long time since I've been this relaxed. Please say goodbye to Akeno on my behalf." Shuri says. "I hope to see you soon again Ren-kun."

Rengoku turns to Barakiel and nods as says goodbye. Barakiel nodded in return. He watched as Rengoku activated a dark blue magic beneath him and teleported away. Shuri carried Akeno on her waist as she walked beside her husband. "Ren-kun seems like a nice child. I wonder what his story was."

Barakiel nodded. "But whatever he has been through is too much for a child his age. He must've suffered too much to gain that much strength. Fighting an Ultimate-class Fallen Angel evenly and coming out of that fight without a scratch is a proper testament to his combat prowess. He doesn't seem to mind tormenting himself just to gain even a little bit more edge. That state of mind is a result of being constantly threatened without any form of rest. I hope he treats himself better, this world severely lacks people like him."

Shuri just hugged her husband with her daughter in her arms. Barakiel hugs them back quietly.