"Greifia, why are we here?" The red-haired girl tilted her head to one side.
The woman dressed in a maid's costume did not answer, looking at the ruins of what had once been the temple where the fallen family had lived. They were too late, and the little heiress had lost the chance to become a powerful figure who could have helped her rise. Lucifer, although he knew about the attack, decided to turn everything to his advantage, saving Barakiel's last offspring and psychologically binding him to his younger sister.
But things did not go as he had planned, and his wife and sister arrived only to find the embers cooling.
"I simply miscalculated," was all the maid replied. "The distortions in space shifted the final destination. I'm sorry," she bowed. "Let's move to your estate in the mountains."
The red-haired girl just nodded, ignoring the obvious lie from the strongest and most intelligent queen in the underworld, who couldn't possibly have made such a mistake. But what could you expect from a child with no experience in communication? Rias was overly naive.
"Let's go skiing!" Little Gremory jumped up and down, looking forward to an exciting holiday.
"As you wish, my lady," Lucifer smiled, touched by the child's spontaneity. In six months, they would need to "accidentally" find the only survivor of the church project. But that was later; for now, they could relax.
*****
"Well, how is he?" asked Barakiel as he entered the room.
"How can I put it," mused Grigori, head of the church and part-time "mad scientist" Azazel, " "We've stabilised him, but his core is damaged, his soul is a sieve, letting energy pass through with almost none remaining. It's a miracle he's even alive (author: it's just a miracle in the script)." With every word, the boy's father grew paler and clenched his fists tighter, berating himself for not arriving in time.
"And?
"What 'and'?" Azazel tilted his head to the side.
"There's always a 'what,' especially when you say it, so don't keep us in suspense. — Barakiel glared menacingly at his brother. — We're talking about my son, so I don't understand jokes."Tsk, tsk, don't get so worked up," the scientist raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture. "We found a divine mechanism in your son's soul..."
"What? Where from?!"
"Don't interrupt," the fallen angel cut him off coldly.
"It is unknown to us, it is not listed in the Longinus or Other Mechanisms, including not only our mythology. I don't know what kind of artefact it is, but it affects Vergil, gradually healing him with the energy of light it generates.
"Light? But only HE could use it. You don't think...
"No, my father did not create this. And the light emitted by the artefact does not carry a particle of his power. There is not a shred of my father's "goodness and forgiveness" in it. On the contrary, this light is indifferent to everything. It only heals its bearer and cripples the rest. It is as if it is alive, reacting to aggression and kindness. I can't explain it." Azazel showed this expression on his face for the first time. Complete ignorance and incomprehension of the situation, an inability to guess what to do next. "This isn't like your power. Not at all. It's something alien to our light."
"Ugh," Barakiel sighed after five minutes of silence, "it doesn't kill, and that's good. Even better, it heals him. When he gets better, I'll teach him.
"I'll help, and at the same time I'll gather data on his abilities. Maybe it will help us, the demons are running wild these days," Grigory said sharply, "I'm so tired of this.
"I understand, but you could..." What he could do, Azazel would never know, because one of the doctors who had been monitoring his nephew's condition burst into the room.
"Mr Azazel... and Barakiel? Ahem, the patient has regained consciousness, and you'd better come and see for yourselves." The doctor was quickly grabbed by two fallen angels and dragged towards the ward.
"What's going on?" Azazel demanded. "Speak!"
"The core is showing strange readings, it's deforming, the artifact fused with the soul has begun to transfer energy from itself in huge quantities, directly into the patient's soul.
"What? That's impossible, where did all that energy come from?" the scientist was horrified, sensing the demonic energy. "Where did it come from?!"
"We don't know," the medic shrugged, "but the energy is quickly filling the core and the reserve, mixing with the energy of light. I have no idea how, but it's working. Although it should explode...
"WHAT?!" Barakiel roared, "How can it explode?!"
"Ugh! The mixture of opposing energies is unstable and highly likely to explode if not properly controlled. But here, the process is being controlled by the artefact. I don't know how, but the treatment has accelerated and in a week, the patient will be healthy.
"Bring the analysing artefact from the third cell," ordered the chief scientist of the fallen, "We need to gather as much data as possible about this extraordinary event. Hurry!"
"Az," Barakiel said quietly, causing his brother to tense up. "Don't you dare harm him with your experiments and measurements. Do you understand me?"
"Yes," a drop of sweat rolled down the fallen one's temple. "I would never harm the son of the Lightning of God, and he is my nephew.
"You heard me, Az. I won't repeat myself." Barakiel turned and left without waiting for his brother's reply.
"Who would have thought that love would make him like this," Azazel wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Well, screw it, I'm not going to tempt fate and test the strength of the strongest of the fallen." He whispered the last words under his breath, glancing at Virgil. "You have a good father, and you'd better survive, for the sake of us all."
*****
Nine days later.
"Ugh, why didn't I die when I was little," I moaned into the void, "My head hurts, I'm thirsty and hungry.
"And you'll die if you do something like that again. I'll strangle you myself, you good-for-nothing!" My mother, sitting next to me, hissed like a snake in God knows what generation. "We were so worried," she sniffed, "but thank God everything turned out all right.
"I'm not going to make excuses, it had to be done." I relaxed in my mother's embrace. "Yell all you want."
"I will," she muttered, "Akeno, you tell him.
"Brother, you fool! I was so worried," my sister said, hugging me. "Don't make us worry like that!" She tapped me lightly on the chest with her fist.
"All right, all right," I said, grabbing the squealing girl and putting her next to me on the bed, hugging her like a squid. "You're so warm."
"Let me go," she mumbled, blushing cutely. My mother, standing nearby, laughed and took out her camera to take a few pictures.
"No, never," I said, hugging her tighter as she fell asleep.
"Silly brother," she smiled, wriggling out of my arms and hugging me back. And so we fell asleep.
*****
We, that is, me, my father, and Azazel, were sitting in Azazel's study, drinking tea with cookies (me) and cognac (them) and having a very interesting conversation.
"Verg," my uncle addressed me, "did you know that you have an artefact?"
"No," I shook my head.
"You're lying," the fallen one nodded.
"I'm lying," I agreed, pushing my cup away and looking at him. "I found out about it a long time ago, but I couldn't summon it, so I decided not to say anything until I had proof. After all, Dad didn't sense it. So before the incident, during my meditations, I tried to reach out to it.
"You're not lying anymore, but you're not telling me everything," the fallen one grinned. "All right, it's your business. Don't say anything if you don't want to." "From now on, your father and I will be training you more... intensively. I want to study all the possibilities of your unknown artefact, and your father, well, that's obvious. You both have lightning, so he'll be the best person to teach you how to use it. So, do you agree?"
"I have a proposal for you," I looked into the fallen angel's eyes, which made his grin even wider, "I want to be your personal student. Teach me everything you know. You study me, and I'll study everything you know.
"You're not stupid, kid," the fallen one grunted. But Barakiel just slapped his face and sat there, whispering something quietly. "Come on, Baraki," Az laughed cheerfully. "The kid wants it, and I don't mind. It's a good price. It's a deal." He held out his hand to shake mine.
"It's a deal," I shook his hand. And no special effects. We're not in Potterland with their crazy contracts and oaths. Just a verbal agreement. "Shall we start now?"
"Let's go," he finished his glass, and I finished my tea. Still, Akeno's is better. "Come on, kid, just don't let me get behind you, I'm a little rough, but you'll get used to it."
"Dad," I said to the man walking beside me, "Help Akeno control her power. I want her to be strong."
"All right," he grunted, patting me on the head. "You'll learn it together. Maybe her success will spur you on, just like yours spurs her on."
"Can you find more books about Mum's magic? Their ofuda and shikigami could help my sister. There's no point in wasting such potential; let her mother teach her." I say seriously, looking at the floor and thinking it over.
The men looked at each other in surprise and nodded with a smile.
"All right, all right. Then you'll learn from Aza and me, and Akeno will learn from Mom and me. I'm glad you're thinking about her strength and safety.
"After what happened, I'll protect her and Mom too." My body was overcome with emotions from my memories, and lightning began to flash through me, and my hair moved as if in water.
"Take it easy, Verg," Azazel put his hand on my shoulder, "We'll make you strong yet.
"By the way," I asked, calming down a little, "can these holy mechanisms of yours be removed?
"Yes, but the donor will die, they are attached to the soul after all," the fallen one glanced at me, "Why do you want them?
"What about mine?" I ignored the question.
"You don't have one, it's part of your soul. It will be destroyed along with it. Will you answer me?"
"Well, yes, I have some ideas," I replied absently, remembering the Longinus carriers and interesting artefacts.
"Well... okay." Azazel looked at me strangely, then grinned, apparently realising that I had an imagination and understood why I was asking. "Aren't you afraid to take such a 'sin' upon your soul?" The irony was palpable.
"Are you kidding? What sin? I'm like an angel, I lighten my wings and people slit their throats for me." I shrugged.
"Hmm, apparently the demonic energy has affected you more than we thought," Az looked at Barakiel, "But so far everything is within normal limits, except that he has become more cruel? Was he always like that?" The fallen angel asked his brother mentally.
"No, but I can understand him. You can't go through something like that and not become tougher," Bar shrugged, "But we'd better not let this develop. I'll ask Shuri and Akeno to spend more time with him," he concluded seriously.
"Here we are," said Az as the doors to the training ground opened. "Let's start with some physical training to find your limits. Then we'll test your knowledge of ordinary science and magic. After that, we'll see what you can do with magic. Then the real training will begin.
I don't like his smug face. I feel like hitting it with something heavy.
"Don't look at me like that," Azazel snorted, "You can beat my face later when you get stronger, we'll spar. Now go!" he barked, sending a weak spear of light after me to switch to a new speed. Bastard, sadist. I'll remember this!
***
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