I take a deep breath and meditate while waiting for the guests to arrive. Romania is getting better. What do I mean by that? Previously, Romania was full of nasty natural energy that floated around the country like pollution that made you cough.
Now? Now it is getting better. Natural energy in this country is getting better, and I don't require a few minutes to enter Sage Mode completely if I am not in a rush.
I don't think it will be a country where monsters cease to exist because negative energy will always exist, and monsters will be born from that energy. They will always be there, but at least we will have fewer of them, unlike when the vampires ruled this country.
I let the Natural Energy go through men and purify them before expelling them. As a Sage, it is my job to make sure the planet is better. Sage in the Naruto Universe is someone who needs to carry the burden of the world. Sooth the anger the planet has from all the war and conflict the people living on it do.
I make sure not to enter Sage Mode because it will be weird for my guests to see me with toad's eyes.
"Boss! The guests are here."
I snap my eyes open and see Luca at the door.
"Thank you, Luca. Let's greet them."
"Of course, boss."
The two of us walk out of the mansion, and we can see a group of people approaching us. I am familiar with two of them. Vasco Strada and Dulio Gesualdo visited us in the past, and we are good acquaintances.
Father Swool, Vasco Starda, walks forward and says.
"Thank you for accepting our request, Lord Millefiore."
"It is not a problem. How are you, Father Starda?"
"I am doing fine."
He steps to the side and continues.
"You already know Dulio, but let me introduce you to my fellow exorcist."
A woman who looks like she's in her mid-twenties walks forward and gives me a small bow.
"This young woman is Griselda Quarta."
"Greeting, Lord Millefiore."
A middle-aged man with light-brown hair and light-brown eyes walks forward. He bows a little at me, and Vasco continues.
"His name is Touji Shidou."
"Greetings."
Vasco nods his head and looks at the last person. I look at him and frown because my Senjutsu notices something. He is not human, and I can feel a massive amount of power behind that unassuming expression.
There is only one race I know that can release that kind of power, and the feeling that power gives me. This man is an angel, and he knows that I notice it by the look on his face.
"It looks like you already know about me, Lord Millefiore."
"Yes. Let's talk inside. I have a feeling you don't want the others to know about you."
"Thank you."
We walk to my office, where the man lets go of his illusion and shows me his true form. He is around two meters tall now, with silver eyes and golden hair. The only thing that stays the same is his kind smile, which tells me everything will be okay.
However, what gets my attention is the six pairs of wings behind his back. He is a seraph, one of the strongest angels from Heaven. What do they want?
I sit on my chair and lean forward.
"So… What can I do for a Seraph like you?"
"First things first, I shall introduce myself. My name is Raguel, and I come here to ask for an alliance between Heaven and Romania."
I look at him for a second and say.
"What? Is the northern region not enough for you guys?"
"It is not what I mean by that. We are wondering if you are willing to let some of our angels enter your territory to create a friendly exchange program between our two factions."
I look at him for a few seconds before saying.
"No. I can tolerate the churches doing their things in restricted areas, but I will not allow heaven to meddle in the business of our people."
His smile disappears, and he says.
"May I ask the reason why?"
I lean back and say.
"The people of Romania still remember how the church abandoned them in their time of need. They also remember how the Heaven faction never once sent their angels to Romania. Why should we accept your presence here when everything is doing great, when you never once show your presence when we are fighting for our lives?"
"You must understand, Lord Millefiore, that we are created thin. We cannot send anyone to help the people of Romania."
"Not even once? Hell, we don't need you to fight our battle. We only need the hope that is lost in the suffering we experience for years. However, your race never appears and gives us that important thing. So, once again, why should you accept you, Mister Angel?"
I can feel multiple emotions flash through him, but the biggest emotions are Sadness and Regret. At least, he regrets it.
He looks at me and says,
"And it keeps hurting us. Sadly, reality is cruel, and we cannot do anything about the suffering of the people."
"Why? Just because your father is dead, there is no way for you to keep weeping."
After I say those words, a heavy weight appears around us. It is heavy and makes it hard to breathe. However, I will not back down from this show of power. I enter Sage Mode, enter the Ultimate Dying Will Mode, activate my maiden power, and summon my Sword of Damocles.
Raguel looks at me, and I can see there are no emotions behind his face.
"How do you know that information?"
"What? Did you think that information was as secure as you wanted? Maybe for another faction, but to us, it is information we know from the beginning."
"If you know that information, you must know the reason why we cannot help you."
I look at him for a second and say.
"Oh, I know about your reason, alright. You hate your father."
"What? I love him! We all love him!"
His face changed from grim to confused with a slight hint of anger.
"Are you sure? After all, you have put so much effort into destroying his legacy."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|3rd POV|
"W-What?"
Raguel looked at the mortal in front of him in confusion. Valerian looked at him with a serious mien. However, what catches his attention is not his expression but rather the eyes he has.
It is the eyes that are filled with concern and curiosity.
"If you loved your Father so, why have you ignored every lesson through word or action he has ever given you? Why have you done so much damage to his legacy?"
"I….I-I haven't?"
"You haven't?"
"NO! I LOVED HIM! I would NEVER do something like that!"
Vale hums a little and leans forward.
"Have you ever heard the saying, 'The only thing Evil requires to succeed, is for Good people, to do nothing.'? It is a very poignant saying, because while you may not have grasped at the bricks of his creations and torn them down with your hands, nor gone down to the Earth to scream out about how he was a liar and a wretched thing. Your inaction has allowed others to do just that. The very beings who proclaim to speak in his name and spread his word commit horrors that even the current generation of Devils recoils in disgust. And as those who act under His name dismantle all that He stood for, as those who once read His words and found Peace or Purpose, see that His heralds make a mockery of His lessons, as everything He loved and cared for rots and falls apart... Where are his Children? Where are those who vowed on their birth to uphold His Word and follow His Plan? Where are His Angels? Did they die with him? Did they even ever exist? Or like Helel and Azazel, were they all Selfish Creatures who cared more about their own Desires than His?"
The more Vale speaks, the more his power channels his voice. His Sky Flame ensures his words are delivered home, and the charisma of his Silver Aura boosts that effect even more.
Raguel looks at Vale in horror as his mind gives him a quick flashback. A memory of the church does an experiment for children. They might have eradicated the people who did that, but they are too late, as more than forty children died in the experiment, and the rest followed soon.
All the exorcists also look down as they know the dark side of the church.
"I didn't want to start things like this, and I apologize for it, but you come to our home thinking you can become our ally after years of abandonment, make me sick."
Vale leans back and takes a deep breath.
"You know what… Let's make a deal. You have been stuck in the same stage of grief for too long, and everything you swore to care about and love is slowly being razed to the ground and burning around you. God may be dead, but His Children and Legacy are still alive."
Vale stands up, and his whole body is blazing with Sky Flame, which gives warmth and comfort to the people in the room and outside of it.
"So Rise and Shine, Raguel, Rise and Shine. Prove to us that you and your siblings are not only talking. Prove to us that Heaven still cares. Prove to us that the Children of God are still watching over His creation. Prove to us and we can talk."