The Church Moves
Espoo, Finland,
Edelfelt Compounds, Westend,
"Now then, moving on."
Roman clapped his hands once and the sound echoed in the hall, possibly because of the awestruck silence hanging in the air.... To be honest, what he planned on doing next could be done with or without the support of those here and so, this was an opportunity to milk them as much as possible.
"For the treatment I've received from you lot over the years, I believe I'm owed compensation." The one eyed magician tilted his head to the side, lips cracking into a maniacal grin, "And don't think about denying it, I don't forget faces." More than half of the people here had in some way messed with him over the years, be it harmless rudeness or downright sabotage.
"Agreed, that seems ri-" Inorai tried to express her approval, and declare herself the judge of what compensation was 'enough' but was instantly cut off.
"And if you disagree, well then." Roman placed both hands on his cane, a red network circuits appearing all over his skin as he did, "I guess the Clock Tower will be fought over by two factions."
"Outrageous!"
"How can you even?!"
"I for one, am all for that." Lorelei mocked, an aloof barely noticeable sneer on her face, she stood to benefit a lot from such a turn of events.
Byron Valualeta Iselma took a deep breath, he was about to scold his daughters when their next Lord to be said something completely outrageous, "Is that a threat, Lord Trambelio?" He asked calmly, ready to engage at a moment's notice...
A clash... was to something the Lords that mattered expected, Roman Trambelio was just that kind of person after all.
"Oh my." The Lady Edelfelt simply covered her face with a fan, a bid made to hide the amused grin etching itself across her face.
"Wow sherlock, it's like I didn't just say I'd remove you if you didn't comply." Roman enthusiastically clapped his hands, 'praising' the brown haired lord, "But ja, es ist." He raised a hand to his chest and the hand caught fire, releasing immense heat that seemed to instantly raise the temperature of it's surroundings, "And the hell are you gonna do about it?"
The prestige and rank of one in the Clock Tower wasn't decided by their combative prowess but rather by their academic achievements, a system Roman greatly disliked for how inefficient it was.. It also meant that highly respected and established magi could be complete novices at actual combat.
This was also the reason Emiya Kiritsugu could so easily earn himself the moniker of Magus Killer. His strategies weren't indecipherable, nay, they lost because they didn't expect their opponent to fight as one would in a proper battle.
"Very well then, state your conditions." Inorai expertly manoeuvred the situation, quickly adapting to any new changes in the discussion, truly a person born for politics... Yet admittedly, coping with the sheer randomness of her current adversary was getting incredibly taxing and grating.
"I don't care where it's from or what part it's derived from or even if it's completely useless, hand over some segment of your family research." Roman smiled as some of the lords expressed their defiance at his demands while the more 'talented' simply stayed put, understanding that this was a great opportunity to get away scot-free by handing over harmless research.
"Hm..." A small satisfied smile crossed Lorelei's face, she wanted to invite this man to join the Aristocratic Faction, truly she did... While many seemed to have missed it, she didn't.. This proposition was only one to keep up appearances and was a benevolent opporunity granted to the idiots that looked down on him, even if they thought he was too stupid to realise that this 'punishment' was no punishment at all.
"The Valualeta Faction will do as you require, Lord Trambelio." Inorai smiled warmly, she too was satisfied realising the real intent behind his actions... This would affirm their loyalty, his intelligence when they realised what he'd done and also bring out those too stupid to be recognised individuals... Individuals that had no place with the Democrats and were only there because of their families.
"As will the Edelfelt."
"And for the branch families, I want half of all research... Don't say I'm stingy... It's more than fair." Roman put a hand on his chin, grinning..... This was a move befitting the Lord of a Faction, showing that while mistakes wouldn't go unpunished, he was also willing to be benevolent... Of course those that didn't realise that would need to weeded out, incompetence wasn't appreciated in any walk of life.
Those addressed now could only grit their teeth and accept the humiliation, fully aware that they had it coming and couldn't openly defy him without appearing as barbaric ingrates.
Of course handing over any segment of research was among the greatest humiliations one could force upon magi, which is precisely why it was a fitting punishment.
Punishment for denying him his birthright, failing to recognise his talents, attempting to sabotage his progress and being retards.
"Being mentally retarded doesn't give you the right to be a jackass, remember that kiddos." Roman gave a small salute, grinning just enough for it to come off as mocking. Of course he himself was exempt from that, being an asshole was now his Divine Right.
"What about yourself then?"
"I just do it cause I like it, no excuses needed."
"....Zero accountability?"
"Fuck yeah."
Tamamo no Mae just stood there in silence, taking a thinking posture.... What was going on here again? It all happened so fast she couldn't quite grasp it.... It wasn't her fault though! She wasn't dumb at all, her Master was just too not dumb, that was definitely it!
"I get the feeling you're thinking something dumb." Roman commented on the pinkett's face, eyeing her in mild curiosity.
"W-Wha, no! I'm just thinking..... of the profoundness in your planning! Yes!" The fox-eared Caster quickly waved her hands, trying to deny the accusation and utterly failing at both maintaining her dignified image as well as her claims of being 'intelligent'.
"Hell you talking about?" Roman Trambelio was genuinely confused, what profoundness? Wasn't it basic shit? Oh wait, basic for him was advanced for others....
The Magician was a narcissistic asshole.
"I get the feeling master is going off on a tangent again."
"Wha...nooo, what do you think I am?"
It was somewhat scary to see someone engage in casual banter moments after threatening to massacre hundreds of people.
And yet that didn't last for long as a blur blew through the windows, shattering the glass windows into millions of shards that managed to injure those standing near them... Understandable considering they thought they were safe and subsequently, weren't quite 'on-guard'.
"Ah! Finally, the last of our guests!" Roman shuddered a bit, his grin transforming into one reflecting unbridled excitement as the lights shut down and the walls were blown open, followed by dozens of cloaked individuals entering one after the other, their speeds leaving them nothing but blurs to the sight of the more ordinary.
"The fucking Church is here."
The one eyed Magician made his announcement with both hands held out, even as the magical energy in his surroundings skyrocketed and every single magus activated their magic circuits, bearing no small amount of animosity for their new attackers.
The Holy Church, the 'underside' of the Catholic Church of the common world. Their ultimate goal was the betterment of mankind but at the same time, the surface leadership denied the very existence of heretical activities.
The Holy Church so to say was the part of the church hell bent on hunting down and completely annihilating all forms of heresy. Said heresy stretched from meagre stealing to killing to bending the world unnaturally, or more simply put, the use of magecraft which was fundamentally NOT a part of the natural order of things.
Roman held perhaps even greater animosity than the regular magus for the church, why? Well of course because they would rather humans turn a blind eye to the evil in the world and live in some paradise made up of nothing but self delusion that the world was all white or black... They also considered all magi heretics, wishing for their extermination while employing magecraft themselves.
Their fundamental beliefs were hypocritical for him though that in itself was no reason for him to dislike them.
Less than a decade ago, the world of magi and the Church were in open conflict, causing massive destruction in their engagements up until a flimsy truce was brokered between them in a bid to lessen said destruction... It failed to stop engagements anyway.
"No no no, you made a mistake, heretic." A tall man, much taller than his companions and even Roman, walked to the front with heavy steps, "Do not sully the name of our holy organisation with such savage assumptions... You do not face the Church in it's full might..." He threw off his cloak, revealing a suit much similar to Kirei's, the only difference being the massive axe in one of his hands,
"Nay, you face the Conservative Faction. Of course we too would have stayed put had the idiots you call companions simply handed you over, Roman Trambelio. You have touched that, encroached upon that which is sacred."
Glowing magic circuits appeared over his body as he walked closer, casting innumerable reinforcement spells, "For twisting the laws of nature for your own personal gain, you are to answer."
Roman only grinned in response, his eye glowing a bright crimson, "As I thought then,..." He tilted his head, the conservatives were the most extremist faction within the Holy Church.. although, unlike the loose administration and unity of the Mage's Association, the Holy Church was completely united and where the Mage's Association had arguments that could devolve to physical conflict, the Holy Church only had civilised discussions for compromises on the parts of both parties.
Truly unity to envy..
And yet,
"Duuumbass~"
Lorelei moved faster than the man could react, reeling her fist and smashing it into his chest except there was no grand scene where he was blown several meters away by the force. No, the Queen's fist simply blew through his body, scattering his crushed flesh everywhere.
"Fools."
Roman sneered as the magi around him got ready for combat, in response, the church executors did as well.
To unify opposing parties, one of the optimal strategies was giving them a common enemy.
The Church.. had reacted to the destruction of a Holy Grail, exactly as he expected..., or maybe they realised a Deity was born.
Roman couldn't help the massive grin spreading across his face.
And precisely because the Church was so unified, the blame for an assault on magi administration couldn't be put on the Conservative Faction alone. Why? Well no Church Regiment moved without the approval of all others.
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