Setting people free

Author note:

Like on chapter 50, I will once again remind my dear readers that Dio, as a proper villain, doesn't feel the urge to tell others the truth. He will undoubtedly lie and manipulate to get what he wants.

Anyway, this is the longest chapter I have ever written so I hope you don't get bored or something.

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[ 3rd pov ]

Father Risei strode across the courtyard of the church with his son Kirei at his side. The sun was high in the sky, showing both priests that it was already noon.

"Are things progressing well?" asked Risei, looking at Kirei with his usual serious expression.

"They are." replied Kirei, walking alongside his father and heading towards the church's doors. "Last night Dio defeated Rider and Kayneth, so now we only have to worry about him and Berserker's master."

Risei nodded, relatively pleased by the development of this war. While it had been undoubtedly annoying to have a child question his neutrality in the conflict, especially because it was true, the war itself had still progressed very well, neither his son nor Tokiomi had to spend any effort at all and their servants were in perfect state.

"A shame that Dio didn't accept our invitation." he said. "Though he is apparently smart enough to notice our relationship with Tokiomi... as expected of the rising star of the magus association." continued Risei, finally arriving at the doors of the church and opening them. "Be careful if you fight him, Kirei. It is beyond evident by now that he shouldn't be underestimated."

Kirei nodded at his fathers words and entered the church as well, however he immediately froze on his spot and got several blades out, ready for combat.

"I am not here to fight." said a blonde boy who was currently sitting calmly on one of the benches inside the church, looking at the altar with no concern for the two priest behind him. "Rather, I wanted to have a talk with you, priest."

Risei looked at Kirei, wondering if his son could feel the presence of any servants around. Kirei in turn shook his head.

Kirei asked Assassin and his servant didn't feel any other servants in the vicinity either, which confused him too.

"Are you curious about why I didn't come with my servants?" asked the boy, still not looking at them. "Well, its because I truly mean it when I say I came to have a talk. Besides, we both know I can summon them with a command seal at any moment so it's not like I am truly alone either. I am sure I they would get here before you can kill me twice." he continued, raising his hand and showing a golden ring with a red gemstone in it.

'He is right.' thought Kirei, slowly lowering his blades before he continued to analyse the situation. 'I could kill him once, however I am not sure if I could kill him twice before he uses the command seals, and if I attack him we would truly break the image of neutrality we are supposed to have, giving him the right to defend himself. Assassin doesn't stand a chance against Lancer and Caster combined, so a conflict wouldn't be beneficial right now.'

Risei chose to remain silent for a moment before speaking, slowly walking forward. "The church is neutral ground." he said. "So no, I wasn't wondering where your servants were, I was merely surprised to see you here after you rejected our invitation, Dio Salvatore."

Dio chuckled slightly at Risei's words. "Of course." he said in a slightly amused tone that reminded Kirei of the way the king of heroes spoke whenever he found something that wasn't completely boring.

"You say you came to talk." continued Risei. "So, what can I help you with?"

"I just had some questions I guess." said Dio, shrugging his shoulders. "I was a bit curious about how it feels like to live while suppressing your desires."

Risei looked confused at Dio's back for a moment as he continued walking forward, eventually reaching the bench where Dio was sitting and looking at Dio's face. "We priests do not suppress our desires, we simply choose to set them aside in order to follow the will of the lord."

Dio moved his head and looked at Risei for a moment before putting on a confused and curious expression. "But I don't quite get why someone would set their desires aside..." said Dio. "I mean, it is because we have desires that we can even be considered to be alive, why would anyone cast aside what separated us living creatures from the rocks or the air?"

Risei stared at Dio silently for a moment, wondering what the purpose of this questions was. No, he most certainly didn't think that Dio came here to talk about religion, so there must be something else... however, he couldn't just ignore the questions or show disinterest, especially since he had just said the church was neutral in this conflict.

"We set our desires aside because following them leads to sin." explained Risei. "Those who pursue their desires without care for the word of God choose to live sinful life and cast away what truly matters in exchange for momentary pleasure."

"Hmmm..." hummed Dio, rubbing his chin with his hand while still looking at Risei. "But how can desire be the same as sin?" he asked. "Or how can one say that a desire is evil because it was obtained through sinful means?"

Risei realised this might take a while and chose to sit down in front of Dio. He wasn't particularly worried because he knew that Dio wouldn't risk getting into a conflict with the church, besides his son was here and so was his son's servant, so if anything he was safer here than anywhere else.

"Pleasure exists to tempt us and it is our duty to not be led astray by those pleasures." said Risei as he began his explanation. "When you pursue your desires instead of the word of the lord you are bound to sin, you will go against what God has said no matter what, so we choose to cast those pleasures aside and focus entirely on God instead. We exist by God's love, so choosing something over that love is undoubtedly evil."

Dio nodded, as if pleased with the answer he received before putting on a serious expression. "Yeah... that is more or less the answer I was expecting." said Dio, still looking at Risei intently. "But tell me something, what about those who God made different?" he asked. "I myself am unable to feel that love of God you talk about, instead there is only an empty void that desperately asks me to get more things, to fulfil my desires... doesn't that mean that God made me evil? Does someone like me, who is bound to pursue evil through sinful means, have no hope?"

[ Dio pov ]

Risei stared at me for a moment with slightly wide eyes before shaking his head. "Everyone can feel the love of God." he said calmly, disregarding my question. "It is just a matter of effort. To feel God's love you must dedicate yourself to God first." he continued explaining, most likely thinking that I was saying this because I have never actually tried to 'feel the love of God', which is true but also really dumb, at least for him to say, because there is someone else in this room who, unlike me, actually has put in the effort...

After pausing for a moment, he continued his answer. "If one was truly created to pursue evil, chained by their own desires and forced to fulfil them through sinful ways, then they would be nothing more than a beast. There would be no difference between them and a monster like a demon or a vampire, and such creatures of evil are what we are tasked by the lord to eliminate."

A smile grew on my face as Risei continued speaking. Ahhh, what a perfect answer this man gave me.

"I see..." I mutter. "I must say, I completely agree with your words."

He stared at me for a moment, focusing on my 'out-of-place' smile, when he should instead be looking at the other priest in this church, the one who all this conversation was aimed to change.

"I for one consider myself a sinful man, someone evil." I explain with the same smile on my face as I began standing up. "And so I choose to follow my desires, regardless of how evil they are."

Turning around, I looked at the man who had been standing behind me and began to walk in his direction.

"Would you like to see?" I asked, looking directly into Kirei's eyes as the man showed slight surprise behind his usual stoic expression. "What following your desires feels like?"

The grip on his blades, which were poorly hidden under his sleeves, tightened as he looked at me while falling deep in thought.

Momentary silence fell on the church as Kirei was too surprised to answer and Risei was too confused to speak.

"You know what you want to do, the same thing you wanted to do with her, right?" I asked Kirei, walking around him and doing a full circle while speaking. "You should hurry up with your decision, before someone else takes your chance again."

"How?" asked Kirei in a serious tone, completely focused on me. "How do you know those things?"

The grip on his blades tightened once again. I had to give it to him... he had great self control, better than I thought he would. I expected one of those blades to be on my throat right now but apparently not...

I smiled as I looked at him. "I don't mind answering all your questions." I said. "But I gain nothing from doing that. I could answer all of your questions or even give you everything you truly desire, but what could you possibly give me in exchange?"

"What are you talking about?!" asked Risei loudly while standing up. Ahh poor old bastard, I bet he hates being the only person in the room who has no clue what is going on.

"This is your chance!" I say with a wide smile, still looking at Kirei as I moved next to him.

His eyes were momentarily shaken by the sudden shift in tone, clearly not expecting what was going on.

"Taste the pleasure you have denied yourself for so long!" I continue saying loudly, standing in front of him and looking him in the eyes with a smile, completely ignoring the priest that was getting closer me from behind.

"There is no need to pretend to be human when you have already been declared to be a beast!" I say and, for the first time, Kirei's stoic expression truly changed as his eyes slightly widened.

Behind me, Risei grabbed my shoulder and turned me around, however one of my fingers turned into a spear as I continued to smile.

In an instant Kirei stood in front of me, between his father and I. There was however something interesting, he was currently facing his father and turning his back on me.

With his still widened eyes, Kirei looked down. Blood fell into the carpet and painted it red as he saw his hand holding a knife that was going through his father's heart.

"Good." I said, looking at Kirei's back while Risei's blood continued to pour out from his wound.

Kirei moved faster than I have ever seen a human move and in an instant had his knife going through his father's heart. I expected a bit more resistance from him, perhaps even die at his hands a few times, however it looks like his father's words truly got to him. Well, in a way it was his father who said that he was a beast and that there was no hope for him, so I suppose I can't take all the credit for myself.

"W-Why..." muttered Risei as blood came out of his mouth.

Kirei stared at his father's surprised expression in silence as the old priest fell to the ground.

"You just said it yourself." I replied, crouching down next to the dying priest. "If one has evil desires that can only be pursued through sinful ways, then they are nothing more than beasts."

I chuckled a bit at the situation before continuing. "I guess you never understood your son..."

Kirei finally broke the silence and looked at me. A creepy smile momentarily grew on his face as he looked at his father's surprised face, however it was instantly replaced but he usual stoic face.

"And you do?" asked Kirei, who had been watching in silence as his father die.

"I most certainly do." I replied while standing up. "I am just like you, after all."

Kirei remained silent for a moment, staring at me with his stoic face. "You do sound similar to him..." he muttered.

[Kirei pov ]

'Just like the king of heroes said...' I thought as I looked at the boy in front of me.

There is something about his words, something about the way he speaks that makes me want to indeed pursue my desires, even if I know they are twisted.

I refused the king of heroes' words when he said that pleasure was not evil, and yet this time I couldn't restrain myself...

Pausing for a moment, I took a deep breath and felt my body while calming down. He couldn't have used any mind controlling magic or any spell to influence me, otherwise either Assassin or I would have noticed, which means...

This is what I have wanted all along.

The king of heroes knew it.

Dio Salvatore knew it.

I knew it.

Yes... I knew it already, I realised the way I was long ago and tried to change so hard, yet it was for nothing. My void was never filled, nor my purpose ever became clear.

I don't trust him, I don't know how he knows so much about me and I don't like how much his words influenced me, to the point were I killed my father as soon as I noticed that he might take the kill away from me, that someone might claim my father's life instead of me, that I would once again be denied the pleasure of causing pain on others... but still, there is something I must ask, something I need to know.

"You say you understand me, and that you are just like me. You say that you have the answers to my questions, so tell me..." I said with my usual serious expression, ignoring the smirk on his face. "Why was I born flawed?"

I saw him shake his head as he stood up, the amused expression on his face disappeared and was instead replaced by a serious one. "Who says that you are flawed? To say that you are flawed is to say that your desires are wrong, and who dares claim one type of pleasure to be 'wrong'?" he said, pausing for a moment before he opened his arms widely.

"The joy that comes from making someone happy and the joy that comes from inflicting pain upon another are both equally pure, as long as it is what you truly desire and you act upon it then you are not flawed..." he explained while a kind smile grew on his face. "You are just human."

I was right... there is something about his words that makes them sound sweeter than honey, like if every wish you had would turn into reality if you listen to them...

Still, my questions aren't over yet, there is something important I still need to know now, though this is about him rather than about me.

"What do you want?" I ask, the seriousness in my expression evident.

The smile on his face grew as soon as I asked the question.

Putting his hand on his pocket, Dio took out a paper and threw it at me.

Opening it, I couldn't help but be surprised. "A Geas scroll..." I muttered before I began reading it.

The contents themselves were surprising, almost unbelievable. If I wasn't certain that this document is true then I would by no means belief it at all.

There were also no apparent loopholes, no misguided words that could be exploited on either side.

As soon as I finished reading it, I raised my eyes and looked at Dio, whose amused smile revealed none of his thoughts. "All intentions to kill me or harm me are forbidden for all eternity form you, likewise any plan that you might have set already to kill me or harm me must be imeediatedly stopped." I said. "Basically you can't order anyone to kill me or harm me, nor can you do it yourself, and you guarantee that you have given no orders already to kill me or harm me."

"Exactly." he replied smiling. "Though this also applies to you. Neither one of us can harm each other, which I suppose is quite good, don't you think?"

I nodded at his words. "Indeed. This makes your intentions much more believable, however it is the second part that confuses me... you said that you would give me the grail."

Once again he nodded. "You are totally right." he replied calmly. "I will give you the grail so that you can make whatever wish you have, wether it is to inflict pain on the world or simply to ask what you truly desire." he explained calmly as he walked closer to me. "However you too need to fulfil your end of the deal."

I nodded in reply. "To serve you for 40 years huh." I muttered.

"Indeed." he replied. "Of course that is not all."

"I know." I said while nodding, looking once again at the scroll. "You also want me to-"

"Yes." he said, interrupting my words. "There is no need to read the entire scroll aloud, after all we never know what little bird might be hearing, just accept it or reject it."

I paused momentarily and nodded. His words indeed held a lot of sense, after all if 'he' was hearing us, this would take a bad turn.

"Still, what you are asking me to do may very well end in my death if something goes wrong." I said.

This plan of his would require me to get the king of heroes on my side, and for that I would have to tell him about the true purpose of the holy grail war. If he doesn't take the fact that this is a sacrificial ritual well... I will undoubtedly die, which would mean that he will win the war and I will fulfil this part fo the contract, after all 'he' would die too.

"It will be fine." he replied while waving his hand. "After all, he would never expect you to stab him in the back."

It is not the stabbing in the back part that bothers me, in fact I am sure it will be great, but getting the king of heroes on my side...

"I suppose you are right" I said while chuckling slightly.

After a moment of silence I got a serious expression and looked at him. There is something about this deal that has been bothering me.

"Answer me one last thing then." I said, focusing my attention on him. "Why did you join this war if it wasn't the grail what you were after?"

"Oh the grail was indeed what I was after, at least at the beginning." he said. "However I found something much better along the way, and now the grail itself has become useless to me. My wish is already within my grasp, partially granted, so I have no need for help from a holy relic."

"I see..." I replied while smiling at his words before looking at the scroll one last time. "Of course, I choose to accept."