Chapter 136
"And as a cadre."
BANG!
"What you did…"
Reeling his fist as far back as possible, memories of despairing fellow fallen flashed in his head. With those memories fueling his rage…
BANG!
…he let loose a powerful gut punch on Baraquiel.
"Argh!"
Blood flew out of his mouth, but Azazel remained unfazed. Bringing him closer, he looked at him directly in the eye with an angry, almost furious gaze.
"What you did, is just like what our father did."
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|DxD|
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The existence known as God, an omniscient and omnipresent entity who was known in all realms. The creator of the world and the All-Father to both angels and humans. There was no one Azazel despised more than his father, the one who so willingly abandoned them without a shred of mercy.
He had never shown it or even acted on it, but he harboured it. He hated God and everything he stood for. He hated how he abandoned his so-called "children" in their time of desperate need and turned his back upon them, even when he possessed the power to help them.
And what Baraquiel did, is too similar to what God did.
BANG!
Striking his gut again, this time, he did not stop.
BANG! …BANG! …BANG! …BANG!
Delivering hit after hit, it was like multiple gunshots were going off. Baraquiel couldn't even put up the barest hint of resistance. Despite his limbs not being restrained in anyway, he already suffered a few too many liver shots.
Resistance…was just something he could not muster.
"What you are feeling now pales in comparison to the despair they felt. You had the power to stop everything. But your incompetence made your family suffer irreversible damage."
BANG! …BANG! …BANG! …BANG! …BANG! …BANG!
Held by the neck, the cadre of Grigori, a man with substantial standing in the world…
BANG!
…was reduced to a ragdoll.
"Endure it. Because I am not done yet."
Azazel showed no indication of stopping. This man who was normally the least likely to resort to violence, was showing exactly what would happen if he got angry. Yet, he was both angry and rational at the same time. This sort of rational anger was most often, the most dangerous.
BANG!
He was angry enough to harm his own brother, but rational enough to just barely bring him to the brink of death. With the massive difference in strength between them, the power in his fists alone had already caused Baraquiel to suffer severe internal bleeding...
*Reels Fist*
…along with ruptured organs.
"Stop, Azazel! You'll kill him at this rate!"
Flying down from the balcony, Cleria couldn't bear it any more. The area of clothing around his waist area had been completely destroyed from Azazel's constant punches and gave way to a heavily bruised stomach.
Rushing forward, she grabbed Azazel's fist that was already primed for another release.
"Please, Azazel. Calm down!"
Seeing him like this wasn't something she was used to. To see the man who occasionally cracked jokes and teased her all the time have a dark face like this was the last thing she wished to see on him.
"..."
Standing in silence, Azazel had his head lowered, his eyes hidden underneath the shade of the sun. With Baraquiel firmly within his grasp, he considered Cleria's plea and ultimately decided to accept her request.
"Fine."
Dropping him onto the ground, he turned to look at his woman. Seeing the ambiguous, yet frightened look on her face, he realised he may have gone a bit too far.
Leaning down towards her…
Chuu~
…he gave her a kiss on her cheek.
"I'm sorry for scaring you like this, Cleria. But…I need to be away for a bit. Because if I stay…"
With a teleportation circle forming underneath his feet, he gave one last look at Baraquiel.
"...I'll cripple him."
Vwong!
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|DxD|
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August 7th, 1999, Kuoh Town, Japan
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Two days had passed since Baraquiel had been beaten into an unconscious state by Azazel. Having been laid in one of the guest rooms, his torso was revealed to be covered in bandages wrapped all the way around his mid-section.
The day was already nearing late evening with the rays of the sunset hovering over his face. As he slowly regained consciousness, he was met with vague, but frequent pleading that came from beyond the door.
As his mind cleared, he was eventually able to make out the words being said.
"Please, Lady Shuri. Madam Cleria asked me not to let you in. I beseech you. Do not make it difficult for me."
"Do not try to stop-"
Baraquiel immediately sat up when he heard her voice, but the pain from his injuries caused him to hiss in pain. But that momentary pain paled in comparison to potentially seeing his wife again.
Dakaang…
"Lady Shuri. Please-"
Yet in front of Shuri's confident stride, the portly man was unable to hold her back. Advancing forward, she met Baraquiel's eyes but didn't pay attention to him. Turning back to the servant who was frozen by the door, she gently instructed him.
"Please leave us for a moment."
"..."
The servant could only sigh in defeat. Mumbling to himself in French, he closed the door behind him.
Bam…
"..."
"..."
With her back facing towards him, Shuri took a deep breath before turning around to face him.
Badump…
She was as beautiful as always, Despite wearing an old dress with a faded purple colour, Baraquiel still found her to be as enchanting as always.
"Shu-"
"Baraquiel."
But, the tender eyes that were always filled with affection had turned into a gaze of steel. Standing over him, Shuri felt nothing upon seeing his pitiful appearance. To be accurate, she tried to feel nothing.
Whether it were the feelings she harboured similar to the affection she held for Akeno or something else, she felt this subtle compulsion to take care of him. She had given in when she wrapped him up in bandages, but that was only because she wanted answers as soon as possible.
Pushing that subtle feeling to the back of her head, she took a deep breath.
"It has been twenty days since I had died."
Thinking of Akeno and Asia who were being looked after by one of Cleria's servants, she continued.
"Why did you…"
Feeling a sudden lump form in her throat, she stopped herself from continuing. Looking into his eyes, all she felt was a deep pain in her heart that she couldn't explain. But the last thing she wanted was to appear weak, especially in front of him.
"Why did you abandon us, Baraquiel?"
And there it was. The unavoidable question. The same thing that got him in this situation.
"Shuri. It was never…my intention to abandon you like this. I just…needed some time. I…"
Lowering his head in shame, his voice lacked any sort of life.
"I wish that we had met under better conditions."
Sitting up properly, he bore through the pain before taking a deep breath.
"Haaaa. I will not ask for forgiveness, nor will I ask for your understanding. I am aware of my actions and of my failure. I failed you. I failed Akeno."
With his hands lying on his lap, his eyes closed themselves in regret.
"I failed our family."
Silence…
The only sound that could be heard was of the evening wind making its presence. Billowing through the open window, it carried a prelude of what would most likely be a cold night.
"..."
Wordlessly, Shuri began closing the windows and curtains. She feared that if she didn't do anything, she would lose her emotions and hit this man in front of her who was telling her a sob story.
But it seemed that Baraquiel was able to guess her thoughts.
"I know you are angry. I can see it in your eyes."
There was a brief silence as he ended his sentence. Shuri continued to close the curtains, but her actions were visibly a bit more forceful. Sighing as she roughly closed the curtains, he spoke.
"I deserve your hatred. I deserve your anger. I deserve it all, for nothing I do will atone for what I've-"
"Stop."
With her hands on the curtains, Shuri repeated herself.
"Just…stop."
Gripping the fabric of the curtains tightly, she took a deep breath before speaking.
"I have lost my memories of you, Baraquiel. It was a consequence of being resurrected."
Glancing out of the corner of her eye to see his shocked look, she quickly looked away when she felt that same pain in her heart.
"But I do have some glimpses of the past. I know that we were married for over a decade. I…no. SHE abandoned her family for you and endured the pain of not being able to return home. SHE was labelled as an outcast that was reduced to a hunting target by her family. SHE was trapped in a small town that she could never leave without the risk of being killed."
Her arms trembled as her breaths got deeper.
Qing!
One of the little parts holding the curtain up snapped, causing the curtain to sag a bit from the top. But she did not care.
"In spite of all of this, she gave you a daughter and created a home for you. When you always went on missions, she never complained. Whenever you returned, there was always a plate of hot food for you. When you came back injured, she always carefully nursed you back to health."
Turning around to glare at him, she ignored the throbbing pain in her heart.
"She loved you! She sacrificed everything for you! She was devoted to you! She took care of you! She fulfilled her duties as her wife even when she didn't need to! AND YOU…you…"
A strong will she had, but it was too much. The emotions that she so desperately held back slowly trickled out.
Drip… Drip…
It wasn't anger. It was pain. It was sadness that she couldn't even pass off as feeling sad for Akeno. She had more than two days to understand that despite losing her memories, she loved him. And seeing him with another woman when they were in such dire times affected her greatly.
Feeling herself break down, she struggled to not let her tears cloud her face.
"I-I don't understand. Was it not enough? Was I lacking anywhere? Did I not fulfil my duties properly? Was…was I not good enough?"
Her voice lowered as her pained gaze met Baraquiel.
"Is that why you left for another woman? Is that why you…abandoned-"
"NO!"
Ignoring the pain in his stomach, Baraquiel got out of bed and marched over to Shuri. Without hesitation, he grabbed her in a hug and held her close to him.
"I would never do that. Do you hear me? I would never do that!"
"But you were gone!"
"Because I was broken, Shuri."
It shamed him to say it, but it was the truth.
"I was a broken man that day."
"..."
Shuri did not try to break free from his hold. She let herself be held. Just like the old times, she let herself fall into his embrace. But, the difference between now and then was evident. With her face pressed against his chest, it didn't feel warm. SHE didn't feel warm. She felt uncomfortable. She felt estrangement.
The chest that she would previously lean on and indulge in its comfort no longer felt like it did before. The feeling of safety. The feeling of dependability. The knowledge that she could let go and everything would be alright…she didn't feel it from him.
The feeling of his embrace…was not like 'his'.
"Get away from me."
Her voice was low, bordering on the level of a whisper. But in such a quiet room, it was as loud as a gunshot.
"Get away from me, Baraquiel."
"..."
It took a while for Baraquiel to process what she said.
"W-what?"
"..."
Resolving herself, she looked up and stared right into his eyes.
"I do not want you to touch me anymore."
Eyes brown like jasper pierced into quivering violet eyes like amethyst. He heard her loud and clear. She even repeated it three times for him to hear. The room was silent with no interruptions and his brain heard her words clearly.
Baraquiel couldn't believe it.
"S-Shuri…"
"Let me go."
"I love you, Shu-"
"Let me go!"
"Shuri plea-"
"I said let me go!"
Breaking free from his grasp, she walked around him and walked towards the door. Yet before she could get far, Baraquiel quickly grabbed her hand and knelt towards the ground.
"Shuri. I'm sorry. I know my actions are abominable but please...please give me a chance. Please…I beg you."
"..."
Shuri had no words. She couldn't believe that for the past two days, she spilt tears for this man. She couldn't believe that she allowed herself to even briefly entertain the thought of forgiving him.
Watching him like this on his knees, her heart grew progressively colder as it was filled with disgust.
"You willingly abandon your family. And now you plead for a chance? You plead for redemption? You think you can disappear, come back, and everything will return to normal?"
"...please. Just one chance. That is all I ask for."
"..."
She had no more words to say to him.
"Go and see Akeno. She misses you."
Wrenching her hand free from his grasp, she walked away without turning back.
Dakaang…
Pulling open the door, she was about to exit before-
"Then what about our daughter?! She needs a father!"
"..."
Looking at him out of the corner of her eye, she found him still on his knees, his eyes filled with panic. There was sweat on his face that trickled all the way down to his abdomen where fresh blood splotches had formed.
But, she felt no pity for him. Rather, all the pity, all the regret, even the little pain she felt in her heart everytime she looked at him, disappeared.
Looking him directly in the eye, she spoke the words that harboured what she felt in that very moment.
"I don't know what I saw in you."
"?!"
She felt disgusted that he would even think of using their daughter like that.
[To think that I used to love a man like you. How blind I was.]
BAM!
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AN
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I will put it out there. The 'God' in DxD and the God we have are different. One is a failure (according to Azazel) and the other has a sense of humour…hopefully.
If you're interested in reading ahead, here's the link: patreon.com/HolyGambler