"Tch~ now I really hate that magician." Creed growled as he massaged his head hard.
"Be grateful that he was willing to let us go, otherwise we both would be captured and the last thig we need is Galilei on our hides." Lyle commented as he helped him up from his spot.
"Yeah~ I am so happy." Creed rolled his eyes as he straightened himself. A few minutes of silence hung between them as they entered the compound of the safe-house before Creed spoke again.
"You know, I should be cutting you down where you stand, considering the possibility of you betraying us." Creed said lazily as they neared their destination.
"Logically you should, but I also know your personality enough that you would be probably plan something real nasty." Lyle replied blandly. "That and I know that you would likely use this as an excuse to pick a fight with me."
"You're right." A light hiss at his side was all Lyle needed to draw his sword and turned in time to stop Creed's blade from cutting his head off. "I am really liking this excuse I have."
"Well then, I guess I too can use this as an excuse to get rid of you." Lyle narrowed his eyes while tightening his grip.
"Enough."
The both of them turned to look at the priest that was standing at the gates and looking on with a disapproving eye. "We are running behind our schedule, and your bickering is not helpful in our situation." The two looked at each other and with a reluctance that was evident in them, stepped away and sheathed their weapons.
"Come along now. The preparations are almost complete." Silently the two of them followed the fake priest back into the safe-house, only to find a sight that made Creed crackle uncontrollably while Lyle having a troubled expression.
The devil knight they had in their custody was currently standing in the middle of the area, his back facing them and revealing what Galilei had done to him; his uniform had been removed to make room for an apparatus that seemed to be grafted right into his flesh and bone, the dried blood that oozed from the wounds being a clear indicator that the priest did not use anything to stem the blood flow during the operation. The arms had a pair of gauntlets attached to the apparatus with thick wires and an odd crimson mesh around his fingers. On the back of his neck, the spider-like device sat snugly in his flesh, looking like an enlarged organ that pulsed every so often.
At a gesture made by Galilei, the devil slowly turned to reveal more of the twisted horror that the man had inflicted on him. He had some sort of metal plate embedded roughly into his chest and the tubes attached to the gauntlets were embedded deep into his arms.
But the thing that got Lyle's attention the most was the eyes. Up till his capture, his eyes held a flame that burned like an inferno, showing how his entire existence was consumed for his thirst for revenge. Now it was completely void, lifeless, as if there was nothing in him.
A mere puppet.
"Like my work? It took a long time to graft the equipment onto him without killing him outright." Galilei strolled to Kiba and waved his hand like he was promoting a new product on sale. "But it is worth it. His compatibility to withstand the holy attributes from our equipment is high enough to ignore most of the injuries placed on him."
"So what can he do? Play 'Fetch'?" Creed came forward to inspect Galilei's work, snapping his fingers in front of the devil to see the reaction.
"Well for that matter…" The priest turned to the devil. "Go pick up a shard." Silently Kiba turned to the table where the Excalibur Shards were resting on and grabbed one by the handle. The sword immediately reacted by glowing a dull red and the smell of burning flesh filled the room. With no indication of the rejection, Kiba lifted the sword and presented it to Galilei, showing no pain or any expression at the burns spreading across his hands or the blood dripping from the wounds.
"As you can see, he can handle most of our standard holy equipment without any feedback, but if we are talking about higher grade weaponry like the Excalibur, he would still experience some form of rejection. But he can wield them for a short while before the cleansing effects burn his entire arm off." Galilei replied while taking the sword from the devil using a pair of pliers to avoid contact of the sword.
"That would be nice, but I am guessing that you will use him more as a decoy for our eventual guests." Creed said as he looked at the tubes forced into Kiba's collarbone.
"Exactly, he would be a nice distraction for the Gremory group at least. Speaking about our guests…" Galilei turned to Lyle with a raised eyebrow. "I heard that you went to meet up with the exorcists and the magician. Care to share what you were discussing with them?"
"I wanted to meet the magician alone, however the exorcists happened to be with him, so I decided to engage them to force their hand in a non-violent manner." Lyle replied while narrowing his eyes at Kiba.
"Well good thing I was following you so as least you did not get your head chopped off." Creed motioned with his hand while rolling his eyes.
"I will think of a suitable punishment later, but since you have make contact with them, what are your thoughts based on our plans?" Galilei asked while placing the sword on the boxes next to him.
"Based on our conversation, it is safe to assume that they are fully prepared for the confrontation that is to come." Lyle replied as he checked his firearms. "Griselda would definitely be the one we must watch out for, the apprentices and the devils are more of a hindrance compared to her."
"I see." Galilei paused while tilting his head. "Then what of the magician? What is your opinion of him?"
"…" Lyle kept silent as he replenished the bullets in his firearms and holstered them securely. "Honestly speaking, he is a big wild card in this situation. Skill-wise for combat, he is perhaps as good as Griselda if not better, and he can be tricky with that weapon-type magic of his."
"Personality-wise, now that is the question."
"Is it because he reminds you of yourself?" Galilei's remark made Lyle look at him with an unusual expression of uncertainty and curiosity. "I have been hearing a lot of comments from Creed about this magician and seen the small clip of your tussle with him, and I had to agree with him."
"I know, they are like carbon copies of each other." Creed shivered at the thought. "Seriously, one of you is bad enough for me."
"Do you think he is a liability?" Galilei ignored Creed's comments and asked again.
"… He might be a bigger problem than Griselda." Lyle gave that answer after some thought.
"I see." Galilei tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Then we might need to speed up our plans a little. You will get to the school to prepare the last portions of the ritual. We will be there shortly." He paused as he checked the clock. "Get everything done by the hour. At the very least, that should be more than enough time for you to get the students out and to safety."
"…"
Galilei looked at the two exorcists and inwardly enjoyed their god-smacked expressions as they gapped at him. Even the mind-controlled devil seemed to have an expression of shock if the widened eyes were of any indication.
"What, I know that Lyle keeps worrying about innocent lives, and considering how well this mission has gone so far, I would indulge him and give him more time to get those students out. It is also to prevent any unforeseen issues if one of them is around." The priest gave his reasoning to which the other two looked to one another and lightly nodded dizzily. Inwardly he thought this had to be the first time they agreed on something other than fighting.
"Oh one thing though" The two turned their heads back to him. "You will be taking our friend here for assistance and a test drive if you would."
"What?" Lyle asked in the flattest tone possible.
"You went AWOL for a few hours, went to see the magician against my orders and possibly brought their attention to our plan earlier than needed." Galilei's eyes gleamed darkly while his tone went grimmer. "Be thankful I am not doing something more drastic."
"…" Lyle looked at Galilei with a frown before directing his attention to the devil. "Come on." Kiba merely followed him silently at his tail as they both went out of the door.
"Well, that could have gone differently." Creed remarked once the door closed.
"Indeed, it is troublesome that Lyle has gone behind our backs to quench his curiosity but this does not change the plan at all. If not for the fact that you two got this project of ours moving at such a quick pace, I would have probably dissected both of you at this point." Galilei remarked as he took up the shard and went to the table where the others rested.
...
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