Chapter 66

Far in the distance, he could send the energy signature of Vasco rushing towards here at high speeds. Although he was not sure why the old man would be running this quickly, it was an opportunity for him.

"I accept your apology sister. But I have a feeling that Signor Strada will give us the answers we both need."

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|DxD|

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Vasco was currently in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. This was the largest Roman Catholic Church in America and he had been requested to teach the next generation of exorcists for the past few months.

With his expertise, Vasco had been known and feared throughout the supernatural world not only for his power, but also his ability to teach. The elderly exorcist was known to be the godfather of numerous elite exorcist squads. Just one of the newer squads was already known to be capable enough to restrain ultimate-class entities. With that capability, it was also why there were so many attempts on his life. They did not want Vasco to nurture another version of him.

Currently, the old man was going through a list of names in his room. On his desk were the names of sacred gear wielders and non-sacred gear wielders. But the name he was focused on the most was the one of Dulio Gesualdo.

He was a ten-year-old boy with golden hair and green eyes. In a squad full of teenagers and young men in their twenties, he was certainly an outlier. But the reason why Vasco had to train him was because it had been discovered two years ago that he had the Zenith Tempest sacred gear. If that was all he had, then Vasco wouldn't have had to deal with him. But it turned out that Dulio was extremely talented to the point that he was seen as another 'Vasco Strada'. In these times where powerful figures were popping up left and right, the pope decided to bind the prodigies from different generations to one another. 

For two years now, Vasco had fulfilled his duties and taught Dulio the ropes. But there was one problem he had with the boy. Dulio Gesualdo simply adored food to the point that everytime Vasco moved to another region with the boy, he had to take a week off just to send him to every restaurant because if he did not, Dulio would randomly disappear, like now.

Just looking at the name alone gave the old man a headache.

"This brat. Where did he run off to now? I swear, once I find him-" 

He was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. He looked at it and felt out for who it was. It took him a good second, but he was able to tell that it was one of his students.

He gave a nod of approval at how his student was able to hide his presence.

[Good. I'll increase the scope of his lessons a bit more.]

Not wanting to keep the person waiting, he called out.

"The door is unlocked."

The door opened gently to reveal an exorcist in a hooded white robe. The man was relatively tall, easily reaching 190cm in height. His figure could not be seen through his robe, but his hands were filled with callouses and minor scars, particularly on the balls of his fist.

The man walked in and when he got to Vasco, he got down on one knee while taking out a letter from the inside pockets of his robe.

He lifted it up for Vasco to inspect, his head lowered in respect.

"Father. We have just recently received a letter from the church of Saint Jude in the town of Kuoh situated in Japan. It was marked as urgent and so I have brought it to you for your viewing, your holiness."

Vasco didn't mind the man's righteous way of speaking. Instead, he took the rolled-up letter and opened it. The seconds drawled by as he read the letter, his expression neutral for most of the time.

But that was until he read the last part.

"Members of the Himejima clan have been spotted in Kuoh?"

He was surprised at first, but then it descended into shock. That was because he could guess first-hand what the Himejima were doing in Kuoh.

He got up from his desk with a calm expression.

"Does the church of Saint Jude have a teleportation circle yet?" 

The man kept his head lowered.

"No, your holiness. Preparations had been made but were not initiated." 

Vasco almost clicked his tongue. Yet he couldn't because he knew the reason why the circle was not installed in the church. Due to Kuoh belonging to the yokai and yet being run by a devil, the situation had not stabilised enough. To put it in simpler terms, Kuoh was a stepping stone to spread the faith into Japan. But it was not one with enough guarantee for the church to spend money and materials on laying a complex teleportation circle.

So Vasco could only compromise.

"Prepare the teleportation circle here and set it to the closest church to Saint Jude's. Also, send an encrypted letter to Kuoh detailing the exorcists there to delay the Himejima as much as possible. If necessary, kill them in 'self-defence'."

The exorcist's response was prompt.

"At once, your holiness."

The man vanished in a burst of speed in order to quickly complete his task. As for Vasco, he stood rooted on the spot, his head tilted up in contemplation. He was worried because he was among the very few people who knew of Baraquiel residing in Kuoh. To take it a step further, he was also aware that Baraquiel had a wife from the Himejima clan and that they both shared a child. He was not worried that the Himejima clan were there to possibly kill the child. It was already a definite because he was aware of their practices and ideals just as much as the rest of the supernatural world. 

What he was most worried about were the repercussions. He was already aware that Igor had a relationship with Baraquiel and his family. Due to the giant sphere Igor had launched on Baraquiel almost four years ago, he had to go and personally investigate the issue at some point in time as well. 

He was able to dig up some old footage from a CCTV near an elementary school of Igor happily roaming the streets of Kuoh with Shuri and Akeno. It was easy to guess that the blonde had a very good relationship with them. 

However…

[Those idiots!]

Vasco was very worried that if either of them died, then the blonde would go on a rampage and would instantly issue a blood-feud with the Himejima clan. The problem here lies in the fact that many people would be pulled into the fight. The Shinto Pantheon would have no choice but to hunt the blonde down in order to preserve their reputation.

Herein lies the crux of the matter. Igor was associated with too many people. If someone properly dug things up, they could find Igor has relations with Grigori through Baraquiel, the Yokai through Sun Wukong…

[And the church through me and Asia.]

Vasco couldn't help but release a sigh. He could already see a great war happening if things were to reach the extreme. While there was the option of cutting off relations with Igor, he already knew it was highly unlikely and very much an unintelligent move. Not to mention that the blonde had very good relationships with the higher-ups of each of the three factions, but it was also because he was already strong and had a very strong chance of reaching the realm of supreme class in the future.

Having an ally like Igor would be a massive boon for anyone and a stomach-churning regret for anyone who had the chance but turned him down. Vasco did not want the church to become the latter. It was even more so because Igor was a human. Although he was an Aryan, he was still human. This would not violate any teachings of the church and the blonde could be taken openly as an ally.

If political and logical reasons were to be used in the place of emotions and morality, Igor was the biggest wildcard that would benefit whoever managed to get him. The reason Igor was a wildcard was because he showed no preference for a particular race, even his own. This means that anyone from any race had the chance to establish an alliance with the blonde.

It had been a while since he had last seen the boy but he already had enough grasp of his personality that he valued every meaningful connection he had. This meant that the blonde was loyal and any chance of poaching him was very slim. Although Vasco was not sure if Igor would truly join a faction or pantheon one day, just having a significant connection with the blonde would be good enough in the future.

Now putting aside politics, Vasco did not want a war to happen because he did not want a bright child like Igor to go through unnecessary loss. He was too used to the blonde's colourful personality that the last thing he wanted to see from him was the darkness of vengeance should either or both mother and daughter die.

Giving out one last sigh, he folded the paper and placed it into his inner coat pocket. It was just in time too since the exorcist from earlier suddenly appeared in front of him on one knee.

"The circle has been set for the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo, your holiness. Further transport to Kuoh is being prepared as we speak."

Vasco brushed him off.

"Don't bother. I can run faster than whatever you can prepare-?!"

In the midst of his words, he suddenly felt the wards of his house back in Italy being tripped. Although there were suddenly two extra people in his house, the most notable presence he felt was that of Igor.

In an instant, he grabbed the exorcist by the shoulder.

"Change the coordinates to the Vatican! NOW!"

The exorcist humbly accepted his orders.

"At once, your holiness."

Su!

Vasco was then left alone again in his thoughts.

[It's a good thing he came back.] 

If he could get in touch with Igor, then the blonde would be able to get to Kuoh much faster with his [Instant Transmission]. He could only hope that it would not be too late when he arrived.