55- Prosperity of the Underworld
…..
Working with Azazel was something new to Shirou on many levels. Not only he wasn't used to having a direct 'lab partner' as the fallen angel took to calling them, they were never alone in their forge or lab as their joint research brought in dozens of assistants, both of the fallen angels and devils variety.
The forge was also the lab and had state of art equipment that Shirou also wasn't very used to and barely needed for as the days passed. Most of it Azazel had under control and if not him so one of the assistants who were always willing and ready to care for any of his needs. That gave the Mage more time with his share of the work.
With over 20 people there to help in their research, the whole thing was a proper facility set to the creation of a new kind of metal and that was just some of the staff. The whole building, in Gremory territory but far away from Runeas than the Gremory Castle, was a 30 floor fortress where more than half of its infrastructure was underground.
It was all recently built and the Gremory forked over most of the money to protect their magician and interests while also sharing the spoils of anything from their joint investment with Azazel.
With a building like that with so many researchers there were many possibilities to be explored, including using it was also going to be used as a training facility and center of research.
There were more than 6000 people working all around the place in a myriad of projects, as security or as volunteers for new training equipment that the fallen angels brought over with them per the treaty.
There were dorms, entertainment centers, libraries and such, most of which was on the top levels as none of that was a secret of any kind. Almost all of them were also left mostly bare for the inhabitants to change or just to use it just for living since they could fly to Runeas if they so wished.
Only a few people had their own rooms and the whole thing was set on a hierarchy system that took into account the progress one made in the facility as well the kind of work and power they had outside it.
Many of the Gremory soldiers and lower level fallen angels accepted joining for the sake of their power or loyalty if they had any. Either way the point of the place, that started to get staffed before the ORC arrived in the Underworld, was research and growth while preparing for war with the Khaos Brigade.
Called the Vault of Prosperity because of the investments on the projects and accumulation of knowledge in it, it stood as a monument of cooperation and dedication whose goal was to bring their participants to new heights.
The Vault of Prosperity was the first of many future centers of development if proven successful. It was all new to everyone as they dealt with cooperation between factions and new forms of research. With Grigori and Gremory funding the project, getting it off the ground was easy, all it had to do was prove its worth.
The other reason for the Vault's construction, the reason Azazel admitted their small group in private as he was showing off the place, was that the Elder Devils didn't trust him as of yet. In that train of thought they didn't want the man any close to their main research facilities like Ajuka Belzeebub's lab for fear of what he could do or uncover.
"On paper we are at peace but to many that is just a pause of the war." Admitted the Cadre with some exhaustion but an honest shrug.
Either way soon enough he and Shirou got to work on each other's projects with 9 fallen angels who worked with Azazel for a few decades and 9 devils who actually considered themselves the Mage's appendices.
It was the first shock the redhead received when arriving on the Vault of Prosperity but Zeoticus hit his back with a laugh, saying he shouldn't be surprised. "These devils are smiths and the ones who worked on replicating your EM."Had said the Lord of Gremory. "They know your work and have studied every piece Rias sent here to be sold while also making repairs when necessary."
"We are under your care, Master Emiya." The image of 9 men bowing and eagerly waiting for him to teach them had him squirming and some of his friends laughing.
Despite that it was clear they all had a good deal of skill and knowledge about the forge, most of which acquired by studying his creations.
None of that helped Shirou get used to it but they were eager to learn and so he found himself stuck in the position of teacher once again. At least this time it was on something he was far more comfortable with and they didn't try to tease him like Akeno did, much to the Queen's amusement when he admitted that..
But then again, he barely had time to teach anything as he was there to learn himself and while Azazel was going to study his samples to understand how he combined many metals in one, he was going to be studying the center of the Cadre's research: Divinium or divine metal.
It was the centerpiece of how sacred gears were made, a metal that needed to be created by the power of a god, any god in theory but smith gods were the only ones who sold the thing to Azazel.
That didn't mean any god could create sacred gears, the metal was just part of the process and more was needed to create something that wouldn't just be an Artifact at best and a Mystic Code at worst.
So they studied each other's work, shared notes and after half day working both had a notion of what the other could do, something no one else in the lab was able to grasp. But then again it was understandable since Azazel was one the first 'smiths' and Shirou just needed to study a sword made of the material.
Sure he discovered with absolute certainty that his Reality Marble couldn't Trace even a speck of the thing and he couldn't understand what the artificial sacred gear could do but the Mage learned every step Azazel took to create it by studying it the old fashioned way.
Indeed in half a day the two of them were already working on the Cadre's first idea of how to make his metal more malleable: combining it with divine metal and creating a new species of sacred gear.
Sure their assistants still had to catch up with a lot but the two of them got to work together, discovering that Shirou's skills and Azazel's knowledge complemented each other extremely well.
For the Mage had the magic and the predisposition to forge and create while the Cadre had the know how and imagination to think and modify. It was like two musicians with different instruments finally had met and started to make a song together with a similar style.
There were just a couple of problems, both with the project and the place. If asked which one actually bothered him Shirou would say, without a shadow of a doubt, it was the second one.
Something he was reminded of over the last few days since he arrived on the Vault of Prosperity, something that had Liz and Medusa a little more than sad or annoyed by the state of affairs, something he couldn't change because he had work to do.
As they grabbed their trails and got on the line, Liz stared at the 5 star buffet with depressed eyes. "It is not Shirou Standard."
"Can't you let that go?" Medusa replied with some irritation. As a goddess she could ask for someone to fetch her food but after the first day she dismissed her attendants composed of fallen angels and devils alike.
It wasn't that they weren't capable, she was just too overwhelmed by suddenly having dozens of people ready to serve her hand and foot. During those days with her sisters when Medusa had to share such attention Stheno and Euryale were actually the ones who enjoyed it the most.
She was also used to doing things herself and having people jumping to do it for her actually began to get really old really fast.
So she returned to her old routine of watching Shirou's work with a book in hand and some treats if she was in the mood, even if the redhead was too busy to make them. "Besides, the food isn't so bad." Said Medusa as she got some lamb's meat on her plate. "The cooks are decent."
"But they are not Shirou Standard." Her trail was still very much full with at least four different plates worth of food balanced in one hand.
It still impressed many around the buffet trying to get their pick, wondering how someone so skinny could eat so much food.
A sigh escaped Shirou's lips as he was forced to remember how much of a headache that so-called Standard gave him a few nights ago.
It was their first and last night on the Gremory Castle and Sirzechs casually mentioned how good of a cook Shirou was, something that Zeoticus quickly supported, abandoning his duty as host to suggest the Mage cooked for them that night as everyone would split up for training after.
Only for a honey haired woman, one of Zeoticus' peerage and harem, to step forward and protest about that being the second time her ability had been snubbed by him. Then Liz mentioned the Shirou Standard and that woman couldn't stop herself from challenging him to a cooking match, no matter how much he protested.
And everyone was on board with it, at least until it ended.
Pride was something that Shirou usually kept in check but not when it came to doing good work, either with his creations or in cooking. He loved to see the happy faces of everyone that loved his food and present there were also Rias' parents. So surely he wasn't going to back down or slack off in making everyone the best meal they ever had.
Sometimes the redhead forgot that his Reinforced Food wasn't something common nor ever thought that he would ever place it in a competition because that would be cheating. Still he did his usual thing and in the end the honey haired woman was crying a river to the side as everyone liked her food but loved Shirou's.
Her pride had taken such a strong hit, mostly because people half eaten her food and demanded seconds from his, that she just went to a corner and cried. Shirou tried to say something but only Zeoticus managed to pierce through by finishing her food and taking her away.
Either way, suffice to say, he was never getting into any sort of food competition ever again. "Liz, please don't start this again. Their food is great and the cooks obviously put a lot of effort." Shirou commented while getting jello for dessert. "You should be grateful for it."
"But-"
"Consider it an order if you have to." Shirou wasn't having any of it anymore. Traumatizing someone with his food was like a nightmare he didn't want repeated.
Liz ended up closing her mouth and nodding before trading a look with Medusa. Both girls knew the situation but the goddess didn't blame the tall woman for pushing too much.
Shirou's food was just that good.
They made their way to a table to the side of the lunchroom and while the girls were dressed in their usual clothing, Shirou was dressed in a lab coat with the Gremory symbol on his shoulder. The three of them also had badges around their necks for identification and access level 4, the highest one in the place.
Still nobody paid them any mind as everybody in the lunch room was chatting or focused on something else. Much like Shirou there were people dressed as scientists, much like Liz there were people using normal outfits, or dressed as security guards of some sort. Only Medusa could afford a dress that was also a reminder she actually had nothing to do in the Vault.
She wasn't a volunteer or anyone training there and so far she hadn't had to do any work. Indeed she didn't need to be there as the Gremory offered her a castle or mansion for residency if she so desired. Not even that was needed because if she wanted Medusa could stay with them like Rias who remained there for training.
Instead the Goddess of Snakes insisted on going where her protector went and Azazel agreed because he had some ideas a goddess could help him with. So far he asked for nothing but it was less than a week and he was working with Shirou. Medusa also got to watch the work and learn a little about divine metal while having any book she desired.
Didn't change the fact she felt restless in some way and not even the goddess herself understood why.
Finally the trio saw the wave of a familiar hand and began to move in that particular direction. All tables in the lunchroom were average size and could easily fit six people with those in the corner of the area better fit for four. This was one of the smaller ones but two of their friends were small enough it wouldn't be any trouble.
And already sitting there were Akeno, Xenovia and Gasper, the Queen smiling slightly as she lowered her hand as the Bishop was eagerly drinking some of his tomato juice with Xenovia by his side who stood up and bowed slightly.
While Gasper was dressed in a simple light yellow dress with some frills, both girls looked like they just came back from the gym and dressed the part. The two of them had nylon outfits that showed their bodies enough to gather some attention. Akeno was wearing yoga pants with a black top showing her midriff while Xenovia had shorts similar to her combat uniform and a blue top.
It was an allure sight and there were few who resisted it to at least try to take a peak. Both women were sweaty and there were some that already tried to invite them for an outing or another during the week.
All had been rejected with the most recent victim of Akeno's tendencies departing just before she noticed the others arriving.
The girl didn't care if they were devils or fallen angels, none of them was good enough for her and if they tried to insist after the first 'no' then she played with them a little before dismissing them with more than mild embarrassment.
Xenovia was more kind as in she was just direct but that could carry a different kind of embarrassment as she just took a look at her supposed suitors and just claimed that they weren't strong enough or worthy to give her children.
A guy got especially offended and challenged her to a fight to prove his power.
He was a devil and her Ki was attuned to Light.
It wasn't a fair fight anyway but she didn't use Durandal and just knocked him out but the point was made and most tried to focus on Akeno.
Even some ladies made an attempt and Akeno was having fun giving out tongue lashes where she could. The Queen had the distinct impression some devils liked them.
Besides Xenovia, Durandal rested with just its handle on the table as Shirou insisted that she sit down. "No can do until you do, Master. You know that."
"Liz, don't you dare."
"Ah, Shirou-kun-"
"Don't you start either, Akeno."
"How has your morning been, Liz?" Gasper asked and Shirou was relieved.
"It was fine." The maid started to place her dishes on the side of the table as Akeno pulled her own closer. No matter her problem with the fallen angels, she could admit they made an excellent casserole. "Nothing to do."
"Sorry." Shirou said immediately and some people actually let out a sigh. "Come on, it is my fault Liz is bored."
"Not bored."
"Yes, you are."
"And it isn't your fault either." Medusa commented immediately. "She is also upset because she can't help you with your swords anymore."
Finishing munching some of her food, the maid let out a soft, "Damn machines", escape before returning to her food.
Compared to anyone else working with the projects in the main lab, Liz barely understood what was happening and usually would just work with strength to guarantee the blade was hammered to its limits.
Only that everyone there was almost if not equally as strong as her since they were fallen angels with 6 or more wings or devil smiths who worked in the forge diligently.
At that point she was just there as Medusa's bodyguard and while she didn't mind standing around and doing nothing, it felt like a small regression.
Then again she got to share goddess' treats that everybody scrambled to get the moment she asked for anything. "Medusa is good company."
"Good to know I can keep you entertained." The goddess shrugged before looking back at the youngest person on the table. "And you, Gasper? Is the training too exhaustive?"
"Not at all. So far it was just refining my sacred gear, zoning it into multiple targets." The former dhampir got to do it in a special room with dozens of crystals that moved around. "The teachers are nice people and really patient."
"Venelana was the one who recommended them." Akeno felt the need to mention. "Buchou asked who could help you here and her mother talked about how these girls were really good at taking care of the plants around the castle. And also kept Rias from running around too much." A couple of chuckles escaped as Gasper thanked for the attention he was being given.
Some time passed as everybody ate before another question was asked. "What about you, Akeno?" Shirou found the conditions Azazel gave to her odd.
Then again the ravenhead didn't look upset at all. "Honestly I don't mind a fallen angel controlling those golems and giving me advice from the speakers. My power is a bit too dangerous anyway." The woman's voice was odd but Akeno didn't mind so didn't complain. "And her advice was useful and the moment she tried to bring up that man's Lightning I asked her not to and she didn't try ever since."
"It is still your best weapon, no matter how much you don't want to use it." Medusa pointed out.
"Honestly it feels like a waste." Xenovia took a bite of her spaghetti before patting her sword. "It would be like not using Durandal in a fight or using it like a club."
"Durandal used like a club can still take someone's head off." Akeno shot back. A few seconds later she created a Lightning Knife. "Besides, I am growing stronger. I don't need that Lightning."
"But you are still thinking too hard."
Staring at the goddess with a calm but deadpan expression, the Queen asked for the third time since they arrived at the place. "What is that even supposed to mean?"
"Perhaps because you aren't used to fighting with weapons." Shirou observed and Akeno's attention turned to him. "Your moves are still a bit too stiff and you have no practice."
"But that is what I am doing against golems everyday; practice." A sigh escaped the hybrid's lips. "If at least they reacted a little more. Just turning on some lights after being hit is not enough." She leaned forward on the table to give Shirou a better view. "Perhaps you can help me with that~"
A peak and a blush were the result but Medusa didn't let things go further. "While he is right, he isn't correct."
That got the redhead thinking and his attention turned to the goddess. "What do you mean?"
Frowning a little, Medusa took another bite. "It will be better if she figures it out by herself. That and she is right, golems aren't good enough." A small smile made its way to her lips. "Perhaps you two should share some exercise since your first sword is finished."
"It is?!" Xenovia jumped in surprise and the table shook. Quickly everyone, mostly Liz, moved to protect their food with Gasper helping the maid by stopping one plate midair. None of that was noticed by the bluehead. "Are you sure? Didn't you say it would take weeks?"
"Sit down, will you." Xenovia did so immediately. "Azazel and I work well together. Once we understood each other's processes, we managed to synthesize a new form of metal by using our combined knowledge." Shirou explained with a chuckle at his knight's wide eyes. Then came the bad news. "But in reality we are far from done. That is just a prototype."
"What is the difference? You guys managed to create a new kind of sword. As expected of the Mage of Swords and the Governor of Grigori." Xenovia couldn't help but be excited.
"There are lots of differences between a finished product and a prototype." Akeno said softly, remembering the times Shirou struggled with many models of EM until reaching the correct one. However, she doubted mass production was the problem this time. "What is it missing?"
Happy that his friend wasn't reacting negatively despite Azazel's participation, the redhead nodded in appreciation. "Many things. Noble Phantasms need a History to gain power so creating something new and giving it a History is an obvious paradox." That was just the first stumble if Shirou was to be fair. "Then there are sacred gears and their necessity of cohabitation with a soul and a Core for their existence."
"A what?" Gasper asked with a tilt of the head.
Shirou chuckled and patted the former dhampir's head. "Think about your sacred gear, the Forbidden Balor View, if it is a rare sacred gear because of its ability, the power to stop time. Question: where does that power come from?" He looked around the table as Xenovia looked frustrated, Akeno interested, Liz who was just eating and Medusa thoughtful. "Any takers?"
"Because it has the power to stop time." The goddess pointed out the obvious. Not really fair since you were there when Azazel explained but Shirou wasn't going to complain. "Much like the Pillars have Powers, sacred gears can have multiple forms of gaining its abilities. Be it a soul like the Boosted Gear or, in the case of yours, it uses a fragment of the Concept of Time with Balor's Legend to back it up."
"Balor?" Asked the Bishop with curiosity.
"A god. Once who could kill with just its gaze." Medusa laughed the first time she read about him. They were so similar and different at the same time she couldn't help but find it funny. "Regardless, God used his Legend as… inspiration if Azazel can be believed. Either way, he just picked the idea of the Petrifying Gaze-" Then she stopped and turned to Shirou. "Should I be offended that I wasn't considered for it?"
Amused by the question Shirou shrugged but Akeno replied. "Forbidden Medusa View doesn't roll off the tongue as easily."
"Hmph." The goddess returned to her food, leaving her protector to continue.
Mage and Queen traded looks and he shrugged again before taking his cue. "Sacred gears need something to have power; a soul, a Concept, something. Getting one of those can be hard. Azazel basically cheated by making a deal with Fafnir but some of his other works use Concepts." At that the redhead frowned. "Except their dependence on the soul is concerning."
"He means parasitic." Medusa added much to the others' surprise.
Not Akeno though, if anything the Queen of Gremory looked like she expected such a thing. "Let me guess, they consume life force?"
"Kinda? It is hard to explain. And to be fair, Azazel is still trying to midgate the problem." An raised eyebrow showed how much Shirou would have to work on that line. "Look, he offered it to some people-"
"He shouldn't."
"Yes, he shouldn't. I agree." Shirou already directed his complaints to the Cadre. "But everyone rejected it anyway because he made them all aware of the risks."
"That is… good, I suppose." Akeno relaxed back on her seat.
Only Xenovia still looked interested in the subject. "So they were parasitic? Like an insect or…"
"Every sacred gear, at least how Azazel was making them, needed to inhabit a soul or a connection with one. Like the ones made by God." Shirou was going to simplify it a bit. "There is a dependence there, one that was unexpected and without His hand on making it, dangerous."
"Souls are complicated." Liz just cut to the chase. As an homunculus of the Einzbern she knew a thing or two about that. "Really complicated."
"But that is what my protector's metal is helping with, to help ground the existence of sacred gears without a soul. Although I don't believe they would be sacred gears anymore but something else."
Medusa's observation was one that Azazel shared but Shirou not so much. "I already said that I only name my successful projects and we are still in the prototype stages." He looked a little annoyed even. "I mean, do you guys want to know which EM we would be if I named them all? Even if it was just adding numbers?"
Everybody else looked around the table and Akeno smiled before taking a shot. "In the hundreds?"
"Try thousands."
"Oh my." She knew he had done a lot of experiments but that was a little more than she expected. Or a lot more if she was honest with herself. "That is… annoying. I can see why the improved EM is just EM II."
"Yeah, simple, right. Not like Azazel that wants to name anything that actually works a little."
"But back to that sword." Xenovia was obviously interested. "Did you guys use Fafnir's soul? Or another dragon's?"
"No, we created a separate Core since it was the first experiment. One of my earlier works, if you can believe it and not a soul at all." Shirou was a little proud of that. "While it worked, since the thing was made of cheap metal, it ended up failing more times than not until Azazel had a great idea; get a better metal." He Traced one of his works, one that everyone but Gasper recognized for a reason or another. "So we made this using a special kind of titanium of a god that tried to make it into divine metal. Not as strong as the real thing but is basically blessed to be strong."
He made the blade disappear and the bluehead frowned. "A decent ability for a sword but not that strong."
"Of course not, it is just a cheap Mystic Code at best. Because of its lack of History, even if we got a devil to place a better spell on it, the thing still costs a boatload of mana to use." And that was technically a failure. A flaw that didn't ruin the work but a flaw nonetheless. "With that the sword consumes a lot of mana but it can be compensated with stamina."
"So it works like a sacred gear." Which was what Xenovia wanted to hear.
"Yeah, a bad one." And that was why it was a success. "Want to take a look?" Shirou asked suddenly and his swordswoman stopped in confusion. "You haven't been in the workshop since the first day."
"Master, if you need me there, just say so. But you have plenty of assistants to help you in any task." Xenovia looked more fierce than before. "Besides, I have to train."
Akeno began to massage her forehead. "By the love of- please tell me this isn't still about the exhibition match."
"I literally took myself out in the middle of the fight." Xenovia's fist hit the table and most of them had to scramble to protect their food.
Shirou fixed his plate and gave his 'sword', as she liked to call herself, a sad look. "But you have been overreacting."
Immediately the former Exorcist looked at the redhead with concern. "Did you check on me, Master? My apologies, I didn't mean to worry you."
"I would be worried anyway with how you are acting and I asked Medusa and Liz to pass by the gym now and then." The goddess nodded while Liz just looked at the young woman. "Besides the training we already had agreed to, you have been running, lifting and jumping far more than you should. Over the human limits or not, everybody needs a break for the muscles to recover and the training to settle in." He gave her a concerned look. "And you didn't lose because of your physical aptitude."
"Need I also remind you that we lost and you had a goddess on your side?" Akeno pointed in Medusa's direction who offered a smug smile. The Queen shivered a little before looking back to her food. "We got destroyed the moment Medusa decided to take the fight seriously."
The smile vanished and an annoyed look took its place. "I was taking the fight seriously from the beginning. Later I just… decided to risk falling to some of my more dangerous impulses." With the way everyone was looking at her with concern, Medusa didn't know to be offended or flattered. "But the old bloodlust didn't return even if I used almost all of my mana."
"Wait, you aren't joking?" Akeno suddenly realized that the fight was closer than she thought.
Medusa motioned to herself. "Weakened goddess, remember? Although I am still a goddess and the minimal for me is the top performance of a lot of you, I was exhausted by the end."
"You certainly didn't look like it." Medusa offered Akeno a small smile and said nothing else, which made the Queen pout. "Because you are an idol?" The smile grew more beautiful. "Or because we weren't that close to begin with." And a little more mischievous. The Queen turned to the sole redhead on the table. "Your goddess can be a pest when she wants."
Shirou smiled innocently and shrugged. "Anyone can if they try hard enough." Both women looked at him but the redhead wasn't going to play their game either. His focus was on Xenovia at the moment. "Look, you can't rush these things and you didn't lose because you were weak. You made a mistake-"
"I know I made a mistake but if I was just faster-"
"If I could fly, I wouldn't need Bellerophon to even try." Shirou interrupted. "If we had claws, maybe we wouldn't have swords. Saying 'if' isn't the problem nor is helping."
"Medusa is strong." Gasper commented and Xenovia began to mess with his hair. "Ow, ow ow."
"Stop bullying Gasper." Liz said with a deadpan look and the former Exorcist stopped.
"Point is, you can't rush this stuff." The Mage reminded his sword. "And training until you are half dead isn't going to solve anything." At that the girl was starting to get embarrassed. "If you need, I can separate some time so we can go back to training together."
"That isn't necessary, Master!" If there was one thing Xenovia didn't want to do it was to get in the way of the research.
However it was clear she was hesitating and Medusa called her on it. "Then are you going to slow down?" The bluehead looked to the side and the purple haired goddess turned to Shirou. "Perhaps you should ground her."
"I'm not a kid."
"You are acting like one."
"Enough!" Shirou began to rub his eyes before taking a sip of his soda. "Maybe there are other solutions. Just give me some time, Xenovia, and I will make something to increase your strength."
Now everyone was looking back at the redhead. "You are talking about making sacred gears?" Akeno asked directly and the redhead nodded. "Shirou-kun, didn't you just say that you all were still on the prototype stage." She only voiced what everyone else was thinking.
Fortunately for the Mage of Swords he had a retort. "Yes, things like these take time but a breakthrough can happen at any moment with everyone working together." He smiled gently. "Just give us some time and perhaps a new sacred gear will be born, one which will help your fighting style. I promise." Anything to slow her down.
Then the former Exorcist deflated. "But how long is that gonna take?"
"Come to the lab then." Shirou insisted again. "Take a look at the new sword, hear what progress we made. Even if you don't understand the technical side, you understand swords." He smiled cheekly. "After all, you were chosen by one."
Xenovia touched Durandal again in deep thought before nodding her head with renewed resolve. Trust in Shirou was the reason she swore herself to him and not even once he had broken that trust. On the contrary, he had delivered everything they had agreed with and more.
She had a roof on her head, a liege to follow, people to protect and the training that was allowing her to become the strongest Durandal Owner who ever lived. Sure she hadn't reached that yet but here was her Master offering another avenue to grow and all he was asking was patience.
"Yes, sir." Impulsive she could be but when reassured, Xenovia could be patient as well.
"You better take a shower then." Medusa observed after a sniff. "Both you and Akeno could use it."
Akeno was going to make a joke before just shaking her head and getting her trail, her food done. "Not yet, I won't. After all, I have some training to do." Then she walked close to Medusa and whispered. "But some people would pay good money for the sweat of their idols."
"What has the world come to?" Medusa shook her head in pity as the Queen said her goodbyes and left the lunchroom.
Despite both her and Gasper using the building for training that didn't mean they were in the same room or even close as their exercises were different. The Bishop's training area was on the 2nd floor of the surface as it was used for technique and nondestructive exercises.
Hers was on one of the lower floors and was built to be as sturdy as it could be, using a cave for materials while using its natural position and structure to put a ton of earth between that area and the main facility.
For that was the place constructed for the real powerful beings to use their power unimpeded. Dozens of boundary fields, metal plates, the very earth and each other in the same floor would be there to stop things from going out of control.
At the moment Akeno was the only one really training in that floor as even with Durandal, Xenovia was judged to have more control than her because the Queen was far more explosive in her approach of fighting unless she was making weapons.
And even then those tended to explode but she was already on the right floor anyway.
The elevator shaft took her to another floor quickly where she would have to take a different elevator to the last underground floor. Unlike most workers she didn't need a badge and just needed to input a sequence of numbers to open the last elevator.
Once there she began to descend a little further and watched as much of the facility gave way to the structure of a cave even if one obviously man-made with plenty of space for a truck if necessary.
Not that it would ever be, it was just to give breathing space in case anyone felt claustrophobic, a problem some of the volunteers that were to use that floor suffered and asked to be moved out or trained anywhere else.
They would not have their power expanded quickly and would instead be forced to improve their control and that wasn't what Akeno wanted. She wanted power.
It also explained why her instructor was never there personally even if it was just a few days since they met. Not only was it safer and Akeno was allowed to really let her power loose but they may not like the enclosed space. At least that was what the Queen believed, she didn't bother nor cared to ask.
But then again there was evidence that the person on the speaker was on the floor with her, the same evidence that proved they were a person and not a computer of some kind.
Either that or the Grigori was far more advanced than the Underworld thought. "I am back." Akeno announced as she stepped in the empty room.
*Welcome back Miss Akeno.* Same distorted voice with the same tone she grew used to. *Have you eaten properly? You came back a little earlier from lunch.*
"The talk with my friends ended up a little sooner than usual." Akeno commented as she began to stretch, noting the camera on the up corner of the room moving in her direction. "One of them is training a little too much and Shirou-kun wanted to stop her from overheating."
*I see… Wouldn't you say the same about yourself?*
"Are you really concerned about a random devil?" Akeno pointed out with a smile. "Are you sure you are a fallen angel?"
There was a noise like something had fallen on the ground, it was too high pitched to tell. *Not all of us want your death. Peace is the best after all!* Then the voice cleared their throat. *But a young girl like yourself is also training too much. Perhaps spending some time with your friends would be best?*
Another note of concern that had Akeno convinced that it could be only a person and someone who cared. In that light she couldn't hate them even if they were a fallen angel since they were doing their job and trying to look for her well being. The last few days were great in helping her deal with old nightmares.
Then again Akeno realized there were only two fallen angels she truly hated, the rest were people like her. "Forgive me for giving you too much work. Did you have lunch?"
A little while later the person replied. *Yes, some casserole. Good stuff.*