Chapter 474

It all happened so suddenly, and to the point where I didn't even notice. I felt many different ways about this, my pride being hurt was the least of my concerns right now however.

I needed to consider carefully how this escaped my notice when I had time.

At the moment, my focus was almost entirely on the Archangel that looked to be on the precipice of falling.

I quickly moved next to Father Strada and dropped the kids off, Jeanne was nearly just as fast as we made sure they were immediately safe.

"Will, what's going on!?" Jeanne asked in panic.

"I have no idea…." I looked around, truly confused about how this all happened. It was rare, and annoying where I was completely and utterly in the dark about how a situation went so pear shaped. "Pandora's Box just left my storage by itself!"

Through Father Strada's efforts, a very powerful barrier of Holy Power formed around the children with him at the center.

At a glance, I could tell it wasn't…detailed, intricate? It was someone brute forcing the method with just an obscene amount of strength.

"Can you help her?" Father Strada asked. "We do not have much time. I have only ever seen an Angel fall in person once, and this is much different than that time. Whatever is happening, it appears that she is fighting against it."

"I'll help her!" Jeanne declared, standing up and shooting towards her.

The malevolent energy around Gabriel swirled outward as she approached, like a barrier almost, perhaps not in function, but it wrapped around the area Gabriel was hunched over and swept Jeanne back, pushing her away.

Her light protected her, but that seemed to only intensify the malevolent energies that were focused nearly entirely on the Archangel.

They whipped around like a hurricane, Father Strada's Holy Shield seemed to be slightly eaten away as the energies collided with it.

The powerful Priest had to exert more Holy Power to keep the barrier from fading. At the same time, it was as if the Malevolence treated the Holy Power as its arch enemy, fighting with it in an almost…..intentional way.

Jeanne's banner entered her hand and her own Holy Light burst out, pushing back the waves of Malevolence and hateful energies, only for the source of it to burst out of Gabriel at the core.

Her Wings grew darker by the moment, and the energies conglomerated again, hovering above her and once more, those Seven Heads reappeared, a bit more solid than before, each with its own horns and glowing eyes.

It was by no means weak.

It felt like a remnant, a wisp of something, and just that was enough that an Archangel was nearly falling as it was trying…. to possess her?

That's what was happening, that's why it wasn't like a normal falling. It was trying to override her, to bring her down to the point where it could take over.

I reached out and touched the Malevolent energies that were crashing against us like a tidal wave.

My Demonic Energy seemed to….stir, oddly enough. It by no means parted for me, but it didn't seem as hostile as when it collided with the Holy Power. The difference between a seemingly directed hatred and an unconscious desire to devour was how I felt when comparing them in that brief moment.

{She will not last much longer. You need to act quickly.} My Zanpakutō spirit spoke. {We can ponder the peculiarities of this situation after. The immediate concern is saving the Archangel.}

As soon as he said that, I felt something else shift. It was something I hadn't felt in a very long time, since I fought those disgusting creatures in the Soul Cairn and truly used the spear for the first time.

It was faint, like a whisper in the back of my mind.

The Spear, that was barely healed back to full after suffering so much damage, but an insignificant and dying will remaining within the powerful weapon, it reached out to me.

"Please….save my daughter."

The voice sounded so utterly weak and decrepit, pained and broken.

….how much effort did it take for what was left of the Biblical God within the spear to actually speak to me like that?

My Demonic Energy erupted out of me, and I left the safety of the barrier.

"Will!" Jeanne shouted in concern as I pressed against the wave of Malevolence.

My own Demonic power fed into my bloodline, and my Power of Destruction began to rend apart the Malevolent energies that slammed against me.

Oh it nearly swept me off my feet at first. Whatever the source of this was, it was not something to be taken lightly and that scared me.

Like a literal wave, it crashed down and I had to push through. The few dozen steps to reach her were slow, and I couldn't even think about using Shunpo as my entire body was impeded by this disgusting power.

The Seven heads seemed to stare unblinkingly at me as if….measuring me? Like I was some interesting toy it had just found.

And the implications that there was an intelligence in there didn't do anything to assuage my worries.

I pushed through it, ignoring the feeling of many more powerful presences descending upon the area. I could feel many more Angels coming down quickly, but I focused on the priority at the moment.

My Demonic Power was quick to clear away the immediate concerns around me as I closed in on the Archangel.

She was crying in pain, clutching her own arms as her veins filled with an inky blackness that crept up her limbs. Her eyes were bloodshot themselves, and wisps of Malevolent energy spilled from the orifices on her face.

If I wasn't concerned about the side effects, my first instinct was to summon my Authority and disperse this malevolence. But right now, I had a feeling that Gabriel would be affected and harmed.

I had no immediate thoughts, no clever ideas as this happened so suddenly. I liked to think I was quick on my feet when situations popped up, but I was caught completely off guard and I was turning a blank.

The only option I had was the stupid one.

Demonic Power and Holy Power do not mix.

It took barely a nudge and the Holy Spear shot out of my ring between me and Gabriel.

A burst of Holy Power pulsed out, faintly touching the Archangel and amidst the screams of pain one word stood out.

"Daddy?"

The Malevolence seemed to react in turn. The Malevolent energy collided against the Holy Spear's own, causing a rippling effect to pulse through the entire area.

It really did not like Holy Power for some reason.

I could taste the hatred behind its instinctual response.

The only thing keeping me from getting swept away amidst the torrent of energy was the fact that my Demonic Power and subsequent Power of Destruction were warding away the worst of it.

"Grab it!" I shouted, not sure if she could hear me amidst the whipping winds underneath these two colliding forces.

The Archangel Gabriel grabbed hold of the spear, but it didn't do much other than seemingly push away the energy within that singular hand.

I mentally sighed.

Demonic Power and Holy Power do not mix.

I reached out and grabbed the spear too.

My Body began to fill with Holy Power as it normally did when wielding the Spear. Normally I would have the protection of the Spear itself to stop my Demonic Nature from causing problems.

My Demonic Nature was running rampant due to utilizing the Hogyoku.

I could feel my skin peeling away where I was grabbing the Spear. Burning it, cleansing it as the two opposing forces unintentionally waged war within my body. My Aura was doing what it could, but both these aspects were essentially a part of me right now.

I ignored it and pushed on. The Holy Power I had access to, I directed it towards Gabriel.

Without action on my part, Wings sprouted from behind me, and a Halo appeared above my head.

Even with injecting Holy Power into her, it wasn't enough. This….thing, this energy was violent and fought tooth and nail against any semblance of Holy Power it had to be used more than just a hose to wash the other energies out of her.

It hurt, everywhere hurt as I was wrapping my head around my options. The wings on my back felt like they were searing away my flesh, the Holy Power in my body felt like it was thorns pushing through my internals, yet I found myself smiling.

Perhaps it was the ridiculousness of what I was about to do.

I knew a lot about the Church, but I wasn't entirely privy to their secret methods. What they teach to the Burial Agency, the things passed down only to the most devoted.

But there was one Magical Miracle that was freely taught to anyone by the Church back home. And I had the back door to the entire foundation of their Cosmology in my hands.

I felt the presence within the spear align with me. Its intent bubbling up to combine with my own.

So….I'll pray.

"I kill, I give life. I injure, I heal. There are none who escape from my hands. There are none who escape from my eyes."

As soon as I spoke the initial words, the spell began.

The Baptism Rite.

I, a Half-Devil, was going to perform a Baptism Rite on an Archangel.

The Symbol unique to this spell appeared below us, glowing brightly as the Spear fed into it.

The Malevolent energy around us hissed in fury as the line began to shine through the clouds of corrosive energy.

"May it be so that you are shattered."

"I Welcome the Defeated, the aged. Surrender to me, learn from me, obey me."

A returned light flashed in Gabriel's eyes as the Malevolent power around her rampaged and began to recede, being pushed back. Wisps of it were escaping from her body, from the pores of her skin.

"May you be at rest."

Gabriel reached out her hand and I took it warmly.

"Do not forget song, do not forget prayer, do not forget me. I relieve you of all your burdens."

"I am the light and relieve you of all your burdens."

The Malevolent power was furious as it rampaged, but the light shining from the spear was…focused now. Directed, purely to combat this source of….evil in the purest form I've ever felt.

The Symbol of the Baptism Rite below us intensified, the brightest light filling the room even among the Angel inhabitants.

The Evil power began to dissipate and was forced to retreat at a touch.

It was like two sides of the same coin. They were both each other's enemies and the Evil portion was slowly being pushed back.

"Retaliation unto forgiveness, betrayal unto belief, despair unto hope, darkness unto light, death unto life.

"May you rest in my hands. Let there be a mark of your sins. Eternal life is found only in death!"

Gabriel stood up together with me, her hand gripping the spear tightly while I held her other as the Malevolent aura around her was visibly leaving her body at astonishing speeds. Like smoke drifting up to the sky, and dispersing once it drift too far away as the Cleansing light was making short work of it.

The Heads of whatever wisp of 'will' within it were roaring furious, each one of them making a distinct sound as it became the last hold out, clinging to Gabriel with everything it had.

"Forgiveness is before you, and so my incarnation vows."

Gabriel smiled warmly as her former radiance returned in full. Her wings the purest of white, and the Halo above her head shined golden.

The last vestiges of the malevolence were above her struggling as the light from the Baptism Rite surrounded it and pressed down.

"Kyrie Eleison."

"Amen." She finished and like a thousand blades, the Light pressed down severing the last bits of the Malevolent power completely as it dispersed into nothingness.

Comically, I was the one who nearly fell over once it was finished.

I let go of the Spear and I couldn't feel my hand. The Archangel caught me, not letting me fall over completely.

"You're hurt!?" She exclaimed as a Fiery Sword entered my vision. "Uriel." Her head snapped towards the source with a glare I never thought I'd see on a woman with such an innocent demeanor.

"Gabriel, he –"

"Sword away." She intoned.

Before he could utter another word, the ground below us began to crumble and break apart. Gabriel grabbed me and guided me off the point of collapse over towards Jeanne who was quick to wrap me up in a big hug.

"Will, you're hurt! Are you okay? What happened? Let me help you." She panicked seeing the various burns on my body.

"It's alright, I can't even feel it anymore." I gave her a smile.

"That's not a good thing!" She let out a squawk.

"Wah, it's my fault!" Gabriel also seemed to mimic her, and they both started panicking.

I….didn't know how to react.

Especially with dozens of Angels all standing around us, most of which were glaring dangerously in my direction.

Thankfully, the Holy Power finally receded, the Wings and Halo disappearing so they were no longer fighting against my Demonic Power. I also relieved my Demonic nature back to its original state to start healing properly.

My Aura was working overtime, and I would need to visit Artoria to get a Sheath healing when this was over…

The Kids were being taken care of by Father Swole, so that was one less thing to worry about.

But my eyes narrowed in on the leader of the Heaven Faction as he walked over. My second time meeting him, the Archangel Michael.

"Gabriel, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, brother." Gabriel forced a smile. "I'm a bit weak right now, but I'll recover, thanks to him."

"And he is at fault in the first place!" Uriel raised his blade up, pointing at me.

I guess Father Swole filled them in on what happened.

"Gabriel, Saintess, remove yourselves from his person and I will smite this defiler while he is weakened."

"You're still far from my match." I let my Spiritual Pressure seep out to add to my words.

It was one thing to take responsibility for what happened, but I would be damned if I let him actually move to kill me. It's not like the kids where it was an instinctual response to their training and they didn't really know much better.

"Uriel, please." Michael raised his hand, pushing down Uriel's sword. "Let's figure out what happened first before we start finding blame."

"She nearly fell, Michael!" Uriel roared in response. "What more do you need to act? Does it require her wings to turn black completely before you realize the danger these things propose?"

Gabriel's aura…changed, and she was…glaring, that's not something I think I'll ever get used to.

"Hmph." The Archangel twitched slightly, and after a moment of Gabriel's intense stare, he lowered his weapon with a scowl and took a step back.

The other Angels, they seemed to start the beginnings of shielding the area most metaphorically and very literally.

Michael put a hand on Gabriel and he frowned. "Gabriel, you're much more than weakened." He said with a noticeable amount of concern.

"Ah?" Jeanne voiced her concern much less pointedly.

"I'll be fine." She reassured him. "I just need to stay in Heaven for a few weeks and I should be back to full health soon enough."

"That's good." Jeanne let out a sigh of relief.

Michael seemingly was about to argue with her but also wisely closed his mouth after noticing his own glare from Gabriel.

Right, I was the one who helped her, there was no way in hell – Heaven, that she was going to recover so quickly. Whatever that was, it wrecked her insides pretty badly.

….she didn't want to worry Jeanne, did she?

Michael seemed to reluctantly accept that and turned to me. "I need to know what happened. I don't believe you intentionally did anything but…." He paused and glanced at the surroundings then at me. "You're hurt as well. This is a mess."

"I'll be fine." Oh it hurt like a bitch, Holy Power still fucking hurt like some people couldn't understand, but I wasn't in danger of dying.

I'm fairly sure the Spear helped somehow, staving off the worse of it.

Note for the future, don't use my Demonic Side and the Spear at the same time.

"The Box." I looked around, remembering the initial cause of everything.

Michael held his hand up and it appeared in a burst of Holy Light. "Father Strada told me that this was the….cause? I did not know what to do at first, so I sealed it immediately." There were Golden Chains wrapped tightly around it, all composed of Holy Power. "I admit, it gives off a very bad feeling, but I don't know what it is."

"It's….Pandora's Box." I didn't want to go into detail, but I was stuck between a rock and a hard place here. This was a fucked up situation and I was pretty much forced to be truthful. "Loki used it and tried to corrupt the World Tree some time ago. There was something inside that he wanted to insert into the Tree, but I thought it was….empty at this point."

I was negligent.

Michael frowned, floating the box back over to me. "That doesn't explain what happened. From what Father Strada spoke, this was merely a catalyst for the events…."

As if to answer his question, several more stone tiles broke off falling down the pit that appeared.

We shared a look and I slowly pulled myself out of Jeanne's arms as she was being very protective.

"Will, you're still hurt." She said softly.

"It's alright, trust me." I found myself kissing her forehead like I did with my girls and already finished before I caught myself.

She made an awfully cute noise that seemed to heal my soul more than my body.

"Uriel, you probably wish to join us?" Michael stated, rhetorically of course.

The other Archangel had been glaring at me without hiding his intent to lop my head off.

"You are far too trusting of the Devil Spawn." He snorted, moving by himself and jumping into the pit that had formed.

God, it fucking hurt still, but I pushed past the pain.

I wanted, no I needed to know what happened. This was a fuck up that seemingly originated from me, and I would find out what happened to rectify it for the future.

Seeing the state of St. Peter's Basilica I sighed in my heart.

I absolutely despised destroying historically significant things.

I followed Michael and jumped down into the pit.

Gabriel and Jeanne would be fine together. And I doubt Father Strada would be gone for long. Making sure the kids were fine, then coming back was my guess.

The pit was…. surprisingly deep.

It took several moments for my feet to hit the ground.

The light of the two Archangels illuminated the enclosed space.

An old stone room, half caved in except…this looked much older than the original building, like it had been sitting here for a very long time.

Centuries, thousands of years?

However, the remnants of the Malevolent energy were….obvious.

At the center was a sarcophagus and I immediately guessed who's.

"This is Saint Peter's tomb." I voiced aloud.

Michael's expression meant I hit the nail on the head. "Father oversaw his burial himself. The original Basilica was built on top of it, and when it was destroyed, it was rebuilt again into what it was….earlier today."

"Have…neither of you actually seen this before?" I looked at them in surprise because they seemed confused as I was currently.

Actually, it made sense, why would they care about the burial of a Saint when he's up in heaven manning the front doors?

The only thing noticeable….the Sarcophagus was slightly ajar as if something was pushed out.

I took another moment to inspect things and there were carvings on the walls, words from a language I didn't recognize. They filled the room in minute proportions and even the Sarcophagus was inlaid with them.

"It's Enochian." Michael seemed to notice my gaze. "Much of it is destroyed, but it roughly translates to suppressing Evil."

"It's a seal." I stated. "Whatever….that was, it was sealed down here. The Biblical God used Saint Peter's Tomb to act as a seal."

"….I didn't know." Michael said softly. "Father merely said that this was an important location and I did not think to ask for details."

I held my hand up, testing a few things on my end. "Space is sealed down here as well. Time isn't moving properly. If I had to guess, our location would be obscured by Divination as well."

{It was the Seal.} My Zanpakutō stated. {An unintentional side effect. It was seemingly created intentionally to suppress this….evil entity or this wisp of its power. The Box contained another fraction of it from somewhere else if I were to guess. The Seal itself was hiding its own existence as well through various measures. All in all, it did what it was supposed to, but there was no expectation that someone would bring this….fragment from somewhere else.}

And If we're still going on that train of thought, the one I had resonated with this one and probably attacked from the top while the other attacked from inside. It wasn't built to defend against the evil thing coming from the opposite direction and basically poked a hole through it.

I raised a hand up, covering my face in exhaustion.

What a fucking mess.

I retrieved a Healing Potion from my ring, drizzling it on my hand where probably the worse of my pain was coming from.

"You're hurt." Uriel stated, staring at me.

"No, It's normal for me to flay my own flesh to pray away Evil." I snorted.

On that note, whatever this entity was, it was enough that it could overcome my Magic Resistance. I didn't think about it at the time, but it was able to 'touch me' so to speak.

This did not bode well.

The Archangel scowled. "….you have my thanks for protecting our sister." He grunted.

I let out a long sigh. "It's technically my fault in the first place."

Well, he didn't argue with that, nor did he demand my head or rub it in my face.

So…..progress there.

I should have sealed the box.

I should have immediately taken it to Pandora.

I should –

{It was not a misguided assumption.} My Zanpakutō interrupted my pity party. {You can claim that you were negligent, but no one else around you showed further concern either.}

….I just don't like being taken off guard like this.

"Do you have any idea what the source of this power was?" I finally asked.

Uriel turned to Michael, and I was guessing that he didn't know either and was wanting answers just as well.

The Leader of the Heaven Faction shook his head. "I'm afraid that I am in the dark. We….will need to investigate further. I was completely unaware that this was down here other than the tomb itself…."

He seemed lost.

I pitied his position, leading a Faction and finding out that there was something like this under one of the major capitals of their faction?

"I assume we're being deported?" I said it humorously, but also with seriousness.

Michaels smiled awkwardly. "I believe it would be for the best if you leave. It will be difficult to placate the masses after they learn what has occurred and your presence here. However, your actions are undeniable, so I believe we will be able to salvage the situation."

Right, sprouting Angel Wings and praying the Evil away would probably lend credence to my innocence here…

"Many will demand answers." Uriel crossed his arm with a low growl. "Such as why a Devil was inside the Vatican in the first place. The coincidences line up to make it appear as though it was a timed attacked." He turned to look at me.

"….if you don't mind me asking, why were you here?" Michael also seemed to realize.

"Did….you not know I was coming? Yasaka sent requests through the proper channels and it was authorized."

Michael's lips twitched and his continuous smile seemed forced. "I did not receive any such missive. And while I do not police every action that occurs within the Faith…such a guest should have reached my ears."

"But it does not explain why you were here." Uriel reiterated.

"Jeanne was responding to Gabriel's letter, and we were being polite to observe the niceties that came with that. We can't exactly send mail up to Heaven. And….." I scratched my cheek awkwardly. "It was something like a date to see the sights."

Uriel blinked in realization. Did he expect something much more nefarious? "…..why did you wait until this moment to respond? I recall Gabriel handing that parchment during the gathering."

"Uh…it took Jeanne awhile…" Shit, I'm really going to have to tell them this, aren't I? I groaned, relenting. "Jeanne doesn't know how to read or write; I was helping her learn both and she wanted to do it by her own hand. Please don't tell anyone, she doesn't need to feel self-conscious about it."

I teased her about it, but that was mine. I wouldn't allow anyone else to make fun of her for something like that.

Both of them seemingly had the same look about them after I explained that.

Michael awkwardly coughed into his fist. "We will not speak a word. I believe we have enough information to sway public opinion away from immediate anger. However, the immediate concerns remain."

"I'll leave immediately." Even with the Holy Power searing my body hurt, telling Jeanne that we were kicked out, well, that was going to hurt much more.

Can't I just have a normal fucking day, is that really too much to ask for?

One simple day where something doesn't literally blow the fuck up in my face, that's all I want!

Maybe I should go back and visit Yoruichi, find some Hollows to beat up because I really needed to vent my frustration right now.

God I'm tired.

I was supposed to be relaxing, but the last few days of mine had not been slowing down whatsoever.

Well, better get this over with.

I got what I needed below, I roughly know what happened even if the peculiarities of it are still unknown to me.

Suffice to say, we've encountered two different instances of the 'thing' so far, that means it stands to reason there are more.

The Biblical God was apparently aware of it and thought highly of it enough that he sealed it away.

Once more, this did not bode well.

The circumstances of his Death are also a mystery, and I'm starting to wonder if it's connected.

"Will." Jeanne smiled happily as I flew up from the hole in the ground. She seemed to be happily chatting with Gabriel, which made it even worse. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, we figured out what happened, I'll tell you later." I just wanted to hug her and my arms seemed to unconsciously wrap around her tightly.

"Ah?" She squeaked. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"We're being kicked out."

"From…the Vatican?"

I nodded.

"…oh."

"I….I'll talk to Michael!" Gabriel interjected. "You helped me! That – "

"It's alright." Jeanne interrupted her. "Thank you, Lady Gabriel, but….I don't want to cause any problems to stay."

The Archangel pouted.

"I'm sorry for ruining your trip." If I had been less of an idiot, maybe things would have been different.

Jeanne though, she just smiled beautifully like she always did. "You said it earlier. It wasn't enjoyable because I was here, it was enjoyable because I was here with you."

I wasn't blushing.

There was a tug on my sleeve by Gabriel who looked at me with warm eyes. Before I realized what happened my face was pushed between her sizable bosom and her arms wrapped around me.

"Thank you." She whispered. "I was scared, and you reached a hand out to me. I even felt like Father was there, it was a feeling I think I almost forgot."

"….I'm glad to help." Better not mention anything.

"If you make her sad, I won't forgive you." She whispered very quietly, just enough for me to hear, in a tone I had never heard from her before.

Did….she just threaten me?

I am conflicted because that felt like a genuine threat on her part, but I was also appreciating my face wedged between her boobs.

Wasn't she supposed to be the nicest one of the bunch?

{Actually, the Archangel Gabriel has slain more enemies than all the other Archangels combined.} My Zanpakutō helpfully informed me.

…wonderful.

[***]

A/N

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