To be fair, the Dark Angel Evil Spirit wasn't particularly powerful. Otherwise, in the original story, Klein wouldn't have defeated it with just Colin Iliad and a few others.
But that didn't mean it was easy to deal with. In fact, even a normal Sequence 0 would hesitate to confront it.
The Dark Angel Evil Spirit could, to some extent, wield the power of the Chaos Sea. Sefirot like that were a poisoned chalice for most... wrapped in honey but deadly... except for those who naturally possessed a Sefirah or the rare few perfectly attuned to one.
Fortunately, this wasn't an issue for Alaric's group. Alaric himself was unfazed by Sefirot, Klein had Sefirah Castle, and Sasrir was practically half-master of the Chaos Sea. With the three of them, subduing the Dark Angel Evil Spirit was hardly a challenge.
After forcefully suppressing it, it was Adam's turn to shine. The 'Beware of the Audience,' who had once kept Medici rational even as an evil spirit, stepped forward. With a series of practiced maneuvers, the Dark Angel Evil Spirit's eyes, previously clouded by chaos and madness, regained clarity.
"Sorry, I didn't hurt any of you, did I?" The Dark Angel Evil Spirit said immediately upon regaining lucidity, its apology swift. True to being a remnant of Sasrir, its demeanor was strikingly similar to his.
Then, with a hint of hesitation, it looked at Klein. "…Sefirah Castle?"
"Yes, Your Excellency," Klein replied, pausing briefly as he grappled with how to address the evil spirit before settling on a neutral honorific.
The Dark Angel Evil Spirit's gaze shifted to Lil' Amon beside Klein. Noting their seamless cooperation during the fight and their evident camaraderie, it fell into a contemplative silence.
The world had truly become unrecognizable to it.
Though sealed in the Giant King's Court, the Dark Angel Evil Spirit wasn't entirely ignorant of the outside world. It picked up bits of information now and then, enough to know that after The Ancient Sun God and Sasrir's fall, Amon had veered onto a… questionable path.
Yet here was the wayward Amon, harmoniously coexisting with the master of Sefirah Castle instead of stealing it and gobbling up its owner like a biscuit. The world had indeed turned upside down.
"Sixth Dad, why are you staring at me like that?" Lil' Amon, noticing the evil spirit's gaze, grinned cheekily.
"…Sixth Dad?" The title clearly threw the Dark Angel Evil Spirit off, its expression one of blatant confusion.
"Yup!" Lil' Amon nodded matter-of-factly, counting on its fingers. "Big Dad's The Ancient Sun God, Second Dad's Sasrir, Third Dad's the True Creator, Fourth Dad's Adam, Fifth Dad's Medici... so you're Sixth Dad!"
Its logic was delivered with such conviction that everyone present fell silent for a few seconds.
"You don't recognize the True Creator and Adam as separate entities?" Alaric asked, glancing at Lil' Amon with curiosity.
"That's the main body. It doesn't recognize them, but that doesn't mean I don't. I cut ties with the main body ages ago!" Lil' Amon declared righteously. "I don't see them as the same person, but both Adam and the True Creator have always looked out for the Amons. The main body's heartless for not acknowledging them, but I'm not like that."
"I've got a conscience!"
"Heh!" From a corner, Amon let out a cold chuckle. Pushing up its monocle, it fixed Lil' Amon with an icy stare. "I should've recycled you when I had the chance."
"But you didn't, and now it's too late!" Lil' Amon's smile was positively gleeful. It ducked behind Adam, peeking out to add earnestly, "Oh, by the way, main body, Sequence 3's starting to feel a bit low. When are you gonna drop some coins for me? I'm not greedy... Sequence 2 will do." Its tone was infuriatingly cheeky.
…
"…"
For the first time, he realized how annoying himself could be.
Amon shot Lil' Amon a deep look, then glanced at Adam, who, while subtle, was clearly shielding the smaller avatar. Smiling, Amon said, "I think Amon matters are for Amons to handle, no outsiders needed."
"But I don't consider myself an outsider," Adam replied, smiling back. His golden eyes held a faint amusement as he gazed at his wayward son. "If I'm Lil' Amon's Fourth Dad, it's my duty to protect it. Of course, if I'm your Fourth Dad too, I'd treat you both equally."
"Keep dreaming," Amon retorted flatly, casting another glance at Lil' Amon. "You'd better stay behind your wild dads forever."
Lil' Amon stiffened briefly before relaxing, grinning. "No worries, I've got plenty of dads. Strictly speaking, Mr. Lucifer could count as one too!"
"Oh, am I included?" Alaric looked at Lil' Amon, his expression curious.
"Of course!" Lil' Amon nodded, explaining with impeccable logic. "Without you, there'd be no Lil' Amon. Plus, you've been teaching Amon what it means to be human. You're Amon's teacher, and a teacher's basically a dad."
"That makes sense," Alaric nodded, tentatively accepting Lil' Amon's reasoning.
"By that logic, I'd be your dad too?" Amon adjusted its monocle, smiling at Lil' Amon.
"Totally!" Lil' Amon nodded enthusiastically, then looked at Amon. "So, Eighth Dad, when are you dropping those coins?"
"…Seriously?"
It clearly had no interest in bickering with Lil' Amon. After all, Lil' Amon was still a part of it, not a puppet under direct control but sharing some emotional connection. Some of Lil' Amon's antics might even reflect Amon's own hidden thoughts.
Amon then turned to the Dark Angel Evil Spirit, intrigued. "You're planning to save it? For the Chaos Sea?"
Before anyone could answer, Amon shook its head and looked at Alaric. "No, knowing your style, it's not just about the Chaos Sea... or even mainly about it. I bet it's because you're short on manpower again."
Alaric gave a rare sheepish smile. "Can't help it. The Republic's got too much on its plate, and Sasrir's on the verge of collapsing. I can't let him be the first angel in history to die from overwork. Gotta find someone to share the load."
***
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