Chapter 24: The Child

Chapter 24:

"___" - Speech

(___) - Thoughts

{___} - Internal Voice(s)

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"It's quite something." Jin looked up at the large dark rustic gates shielding the mansion-like institute from within. "But is this enough? For an entire species?" However, a mansion wasn't nearly enough to house a whole population, not even close. 

"Haha, of course not." Azazel chuckled. "This is just our research institute, our territory is filled with plenty of housing and commercial centers for our actual populace." 

Jin nodded as he eyed the building from head to toe, carefully observing its finely carved exterior and profound demeanor befitting a place of knowledge and learning. "But in comparison to the other factions, our numbers are rather small aren't they?" 

The Governor sighed as his expression conveyed regret. "Mhm, a result of both the war and my continued negligence. Myself and Shemhazai are still trying to figure out the best way to introduce the [Corrupted Units] into our society. Thing is, unlike the Devils we don't have a proper ranking or promotional system in place yet." 

"And introducing one all of a sudden might induce unrest. So you'll have to be extra-delicate with it even if you do come up with a good solution." Implementing a ranking system all of a sudden would bring significant change to the lifestyle of most, if not all Fallen Angels. The margin for error was about as slim as the width of a single coin. 

"It looks like you have been paying attention, good." Azazel shot a brief nod of appreciation Oron's way. "Perhaps you have some suggestions in mind?" 

"I can't think of anything on the spot, but I suppose easing your citizens into the idea of a system before you actually implement it could work. That way the amount of blowback you get, if any, once you introduce it could be significantly mitigated." 

"That's a rather broad idea, but you do have a point. If I can get them on board with the benefits of reforms, the process ought to be smoother. Anyhow, we can continue this conversation at a later time. You're probably itching to head inside by now aren't you?" 

"Maybe." With a smile on his face, Azazel pushed open the doors to Grigori as he watched the excitement creep up his subordinates face. "Woah." 

"Not what you were expecting right?" 

"I'll say." From the outside the place looked like something constructed in the 1800's, but from within the place looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie. "Research-institute indeed." He commented, still in awe at the sheer radiance of the place. Well-chiseled marble tilings, contraptions that he couldn't even begin to make heads or tails of, and what looked to be dozens, if not hundreds of individuals in black lab-coats running amok. 

"Come on, there's someone you should meet." Just the Governor's sheer presence seemed to ignite the passions of his fellow knowledge-chasers, as if he were their lifeblood. "They're staring at you too ya know. I wouldn't have been able to make the pieces without them." Unlike the Devils, the fact that they had managed to turn a human into one of their own filled them with indescribable pride, some researchers even looked at Jin like he was their own son. Which was rather creepy to say the least, but wholesome in an odd way. 

(I'll admit, this is a little overwhelming.) 

"Though we have certain bloodlines running through our lineages, we don't form households. I won't pretend that we're a perfect race, but we are a collective. Believe me, these people would do anything for you, so if you ever need assistance whilst I'm not around all you have to do is ask." 

Usually Jin's first instinct would be to respond with some sort of snide comment, but this time all he could do was smile as he looked around at each of Grigori's brightest minds. "Sure." He replied calmly.

Eventually, they arrived at the doorfront of what looked to be a standard run-of-the-mill office. "This is the guy who talked me into creating the pieces in the first place." Jin's eyes gleamed as Azazel knocked on the door before walking straight in. "Oi Shem, he's here." Sat in his chair was a seemingly tired individual with light-silvery hair, violet-colored pupils and a matching beret on his head. 

"What is this abou—" The figure seemed to freeze up the minute his eyes laid on Jin, abruptly jolting out his seat startling the younger Fallen Angel. "I see." He whispered under his breath, walking around his desk as he approached Jin. "Which one did you give him?" 

"Take a guess." Shemhazai rolled his eyes as he grabbed Jin's wrist with little hesitation. 

"Anyone mind telling me what's going on?" Unfortunately, his misgivings appeared to fall on deaf ears for the time-being. 

"This is Shemhazai, our Vice-Governor. Obviously he too played a part in the creation of the pieces, other than hounding me day in and day out to start making them that is." 

"And you're welcome." His attention returned to Jin as he had still yet to unhand him. "Interesting choice, but I doubt you plan on getting another so it makes sense. Show me your wings." He ordered. 

"Huh?" Jin replied, understandably confused. 

"Just do it." Azazel pressed, gripping his forehead as a result of his Vice-Governor's evident lack of tact. "Otherwise he'll end up stalking you until you do." 

Jin shrugged as he did as asked, to which Shemhazai made quick work of inspecting his feathers. "They aren't dark enough, you haven't been training him correctly." 

"What did you just say?" Both Jin and Oron could feel the temperature in the air rise as they instinctively stepped backwards. "I'll have you know it's hardly been two weeks since he reincarnated." Shemhaizai's lips curled as he folded his arms together. 

"Even so, I could've done better." Seeing where the conversation was going, Oron put his arm in front of Jin in a defensive gesture. "Why not hand him over to me for the time-being?" 

"So that's what this is about. I'll have you know I've already found a suitable mentor for him, and even before that I was doing a stellar job. Isn't that right Jin?" As he looked back, he came to notice that both Jin and Oron had already left the room. "Ah, perhaps we got a little heated?" 

The Vice-Governor cleared his throat as he averted his gaze in mild embarrassment. "Possibly." The door behind them creaked open, as the two youths walked back into the room. 

"Finished with your lover's spat?" Jin mocked with a smile, receiving a playful chop to the head from Azazel in response. 

"Don't let the attention get to your head brat." Azazel spared a glance towards his aid before the two nodded at one another. "Actually, there was something we were hoping you could help us with." 

"It's not as if I can refuse." 

"Haha, you've got a point. Come with me." Jin looked towards Oron to which the latter simply shrugged with a befuddled look on his face. 

"I'm tagging along, I have a feeling that I'll be able to witness something rather interesting." Shemhazai announced. 

"Suit yourself." 

.

"Time for you to witness a little bit of Griogri's magic." The four were stood in front of a set of steeled double-doors, with guards stationed on either side. "You guys can take a break if you want, this place might even be decommissioned once we're done." The Governor placed the base of his palm on some sort of biometric-scanner as the doors made way. 

"Azazel-sama, what exactly is this place for?" Oron queried. 

"Just wait and see, but it looks like he's already caught on to it." Adaloth had already taken hold of his left eye as Jin's expression seemed awfully tight. "I've already ensured that no one below Satan-Class would be able to extend their auras through this room, so how are you able to sense it?" 

"Smell, not aura." He replied. 

"Ah, I see." Azazel bumped his shoulder into the Vice-Governor as the latter quickly pulled out his notebook and got to scribbling. "Well if the surprise is already ruined I might as well go ahead and ask, what do you think?" 

"I only know what she thinks at the moment, I'm going to need to be face to face if you want my response." The Governor nodded as he opened yet another set of steel doors, revealing a both immensely pleasant and confusing sight. 

Lush fauna, a bold river running through the valleys, trees and a bright blue sky that stretched as far as the eye could see. "We're outside?" Jin questioned. 

"No, we're still inside Grigori. Impressive isn't it?" 

"The sky is artificial, with a multitude of weather simulations at its disposal." Shemhazai added, although their technology was indeed impressive, Jin's mind was too preoccupied to pay it much attention.

"Where is he?" Jin asked, his nose twitching as he surveyed the land around him. 

"I'll call him over now." Part of the grass below them opened up like a trapdoor, sending up a cage filled to the brim with red meat. "There's plenty of wild animals for him to hunt, but we use this when we need to check up on him." 

"Jin-sama, what exactly is going on?" 

"You can't hear anything?" Oron's confusion rose as he shook his head. "Well you should be able to any minute now." 

Just as he said, a faint crackling sound echoed through the atmosphere as if thousands of birds were chirping in unison. "It's young." Jin commented. 

"Well if he were older I'd have to keep watch over Grigori 24/7, an adult isn't exactly something you can house in a place like this." The sound grew louder as sparks of light-blue electricity appeared within the 'clouds' above. "Looks like he's hungry, we might want to give him a little space." Azazel, Shemhaizai and Oron all took a step backwards as the cluster of lightning started to descend. 

"Jin, I said we might want to give him a little space." Azazel repeated, but his subordinate continued to stare upwards, showing little reaction to his [King's] warnings. 

"I'll be fine." A clear shift occurred in his demeanor, the two flagships of Grigori could see it clear as day. Something far more, innate, had arisen within Jin.

(What's with this reaction? This didn't happen when I introduced him to Tannin.) 

Shemhazai turned to Azazel looking for answers, but the latter was just as lost as him. "We'll use a barrier if anything happens." He muttered, earning a nod from his second-in-command. 

Crash! 

A cloud of dust shot up from the dirt below, in but a mere moment the amalgamation of lightning had blitzed from dozens of meters in the sky to the pod containing the feed. 

"Hello." Jin calmly greeted. In front of him sat one of nature's most elegant and mightest beings, a creature that couldn't be much larger than a shopping trolley. It donned beautiful, pearly white scales all over its skin, accompanied by radiant electric-blue reptilian eyes. Almost each and every crevice of its figure was covered in a mix of white and blue feathers, alongside a set of spikes running down its back. 

A Dragon, a being that sat at the absolute top of the food chain. Seeing as he was the closest, Jin was the first to attract its attention. "Why is he here? He's supposed to be out in the wild." Out of instinct, it drew its head closer to the floor as it flared its maw at Jin, sparks of electricity gathering around its body as its wings spread out. 

"I don't know everything, but Tannin simply said that it wasn't safe for him to be in his territory. And handed him over to me instead." 

"Just like that? He doesn't seem the type." 

"I know, and although we've done our best to accommodate, I don't like keeping such a magnificent creature cooped in Grigori either. Which is why we thought you could be of some assistance." 

"Hm, couldn't you have asked him about what happened?" 

"Though they are incredibly smart creatures, Dragons aren't born with the innate power of translation like us. They're fast learners for sure, but they need to be taught." 

"Then why didn't you teach him?" 

"See for yourself." The hatchling continued to show clear aggression against Jin, not even sparing a moment to look at its food as its eyes remained locked with his. 

"I still have a lot of questions, but I'll set them aside for now." Jin kneeled down, almost bringing himself to eye-level with the creature. Small patches of silvery scales appeared around his throat as he tried his best to appear non-threatening. 

"Hello." And all that came out of his mouth, were low beastly growls. Or at least that's how it appeared to those behind him.