"So, the devil's name is Diodora? And he's a member of one of the big factions in the Khaos Brigade?"
Michael asked his magic mentor as they strolled through the crowded streets of Rome in Italy.
It had been a week since his first magic training session with his new mentor, Le Fay Pendragon.
Besides practicing magic with Le Fay, he'd also been sparring with the other members of the group, like Siegfried, who turned out to be their faction's sub-leader; Arthur, Le Fay's older brother; Heracles, who lived up to his name as the inheritor of the soul of the great Greek hero; Perseus, the inheritor of the soul of the hero who beheaded Medusa; Connla, whom he'd just learned was the inheritor of the soul of a famous hero from Celtic mythology; and Marsilio, a descendant of a famous Italian figure.
He wasn't sure what "soul inheritor" or "spirit inheritor" really meant, but from what he'd studied before, it was like a more complicated form of reincarnation. But nine times out of ten, when he fought them, he got totally crushed.
He didn't feel ashamed about losing to them, he was seriously lacking in combat experience in this supernatural world compared to all of them.
The only win he'd ever scored was against Marsilio, who used an illusion-type Sacred Gear that he could quickly counter once he realized he was in an illusory world.
And that made him speculate that maybe Marsilio was the one who'd hit him with illusions before, using his Balance Breaker, because the illusions from their previous fight weren't the same as the first time he'd felt them.
He'd already come up with a few plans to deal with his illusions now, so he wasn't worried about them anymore.
Besides the magic and combat training he'd been doing over the past week, he'd also learned a ton about the supernatural world, like the hidden terrorist organization he was currently part of with the Hero Faction.
The Khaos Brigade.
A massive and chaotic organization filled with powerful beings from various factions across the supernatural world.
From what he'd learned from the others, he knew that there were even gods and other strong creatures involved, like devils descended from the original Satans.
And above them all was Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God, who held all the power over the massive organization.
But from what he'd heard from some other members and the way they described the dragon, he realized that maybe even that powerful dragon wasn't the one truly controlling the Khaos Brigade... she was just a ceremonial leader because of her immense strength.
He didn't know if his speculation was right or not, but he wasn't going to risk angering that powerful being over a possibly wrong hunch.
Especially after realizing that right now, he might still be a target for that strong angel, whose name he'd just learned was Gabriel.
He shifted his gaze to the book he'd accidentally found earlier in the forest where he trained his magic, which contained illustrations of the faces of various powerful beings from around the world.
It was from this book that he learned the angel who almost killed him was Gabriel.
"Yes and no."
"What do you mean?"
"Yes the name of the devil who stole your wife and your heart is Diodora Astaroth. But he's not part of the Old Satan Faction in the Khaos Brigade."
Le Fay held back a twitch on her face after spouting that ridiculous lie, she really didn't know why Cao Cao had come up with such a fabrication to manipulate this guy.
"From what I know, they rejected Diodora's request to join their group, and right now, they're just using him as a tool for their plans in the future."
Le Fay tried to recall all the information Cao Cao had given her earlier when he ordered her to monitor Michael's progress during their current mission.
"Is there a reason why they rejected him?"
Even though Michael had some speculations about it, he asked to confirm if what he was thinking was correct.
"Diodora lacks legitimacy."
"Like a bloodline for power?"
"Exactly. He has no blood ties that would let him join a faction that's only made up of descendants of the Old Satans."
It was just like the nobility among humans, devils had the same thing, but even stricter and more rigid.
Pure blood was seen as having greater legitimacy for power by them, and Diodora, who only had a minor connection to the Four Old Satans, was considered irrelevant... so they were just using him as a disposable tool for their future plans.
Especially since his blood relation was to the current Satan Beelzebub, there's no way those crazy devils would accept that cursed lineage into their ranks.
"That's why we can target him this time without worrying about a harsh retaliation from them if they find out. They won't risk clashing with our group just for that guy."
That was one of the reasons Michael had left his magic training at their headquarters over the past week to take on the mission assigned by Cao Cao.
That guy had said he'd found traces of Diodora in Italy after hearing news that a Holy Priestess had been expelled from the Church for healing a devil.
According to him, not many sane devils would come to Italy, which was one of the places with a heavy angel influence. And the only one who'd take such a risky action would be Diodora, to fulfill his fetish involving nuns and holy maidens.
Plus, there was the possibility of him manipulating the Church's stupid decision to expel a Holy Priestess with a healing-type Sacred Gear.
From any angle, that was one of the dumbest decisions ever.
That was one of the reasons Michael accepted the mission from that guy, he'd been training for too long without getting fresh souls to help him evolve.
He'd already targeted that in this mission, he'd evolve himself and his four magics.
"So, the Church is the first place we're looking for traces of that devil?"
Michael chuckled, staring at St. Peter's Basilica in front of him while adjusting his long white coat, the kind usually worn by Church Exorcists.
He looked at Le Fay, who was currently dressed the same as him.
"The Vatican is too risky with our current disguises, we can only look for clues here."
While ignoring the magic barrier they'd passed through, which must have alerted the people in the Basilica, she looked at Michael, who was smiling gently, while thinking back to the other mission given by Cao Cao.
"Try to recruit the girl with the healing-type Sacred Gear... and make Michael confront the devil I suspect is Diodora."
She didn't know why Cao Cao was so confident about pitting Diodora against Michael right now, since it would obviously mess up the lie they'd fed Michael if the devil didn't recognize his identity.
Was it because he didn't care about Michael's possible reaction?
It seemed like it... with the power he had, he probably wouldn't take Michael seriously, even though over the past few weeks, he'd shown incredible progress in his magic.
Le Fay pushed aside the thoughts she had and looked at the man greeting them in front of the strangely empty Basilica, which wasn't like usual.
The man greeting them was a plump old priest with curly white hair covered by a white zucchetto on his head; he also wore round glasses and a white liturgical mantle with golden yellow crosses all over his body.
"May God bless you. Is there anything I can help with?"
The old priest smiled gently as he approached them, looking at the two Exorcists in front of him.
"May God bless you too, Father. Let me introduce myself, my name is Michele, and this is my partner, Lefay. We're Exorcists sent from the Vatican to deal with the devil who dared to defile Lord's holy land."
Michael smiled gently, making the sign of the cross on his chest while ignoring the twitch in his nose from smelling a thick familiar scent in the air.
Since it would be weird for a little girl like Le Fay to lead the conversation, he took over to avoid showing any suspicion.
"Exorcists? Can you show your identification?"
Luckily, they'd anticipated questions like this, Michael and Le Fay handed over ID cards that identified them as Exorcists registered with the Vatican.
"Ah, I see... sorry you had to go through this; I just had to make sure you're really from the Vatican."
The old priest smiled apologetically before returning their ID cards.
"The situation in the Basilica right now is in mourning because the recently appointed Holy Priestess turned out to be a Witch who had connections with a devil."
"That's why we're here. Do you have any information about that devil to make it easier for us to track him?"
Michael looked into the old priest's eyes, which gave off a strangely gentle impression. The thick familiar scent he'd smelled earlier grew stronger in his nose as he faced the priest.
"You might try looking for traces of that devil in the old cheese factory warehouse north of the city; I heard that's where the Witch showed her true face before."
Witch? Is that how they refer to an innocent girl who might have been manipulated by that devil?
And a warehouse, huh... he narrowed his eyes while smiling at the old priest in front of him.
"Can you point us in the direction of that warehouse?"
"You just need to walk..."
The old priest pointed his right hand northward, causing the sleeve of his liturgical mantle to ride up a bit, revealing a red stain on his wrist.
Michael stared at the red stain on the old priest's wrist.
Ah, so that's it... that's why he'd smelled that thick familiar scent in the air.
He looked at the empty Basilica around them and the closed entrance to the Basilica, which was the source of the air carrying the thick familiar scent to his nose.
"Thank you for the tip, Father; sorry to bother you. May God bless you."
"No problem, glad to help. May God bless you both as well."
Michael smiled gratefully while making the sign of the cross on his chest, which the old priest returned in the same way.
After thanking the old priest, Michael and Le Fay quickly left the Basilica and arrived at the destination he'd directed them to.
That's the convenience of teleportation magic.
Michael shifted his gaze from the abandoned warehouse in front of him to Le Fay, who still hadn't noticed the suspicious situation.
"Expect something surprising to greet us."
"Why?"
Damn... this girl was more naive than he'd thought. Even though they'd only been together for a week, he'd realized that while she was smart, she was basically still pretty naive when it came to worldly matters.
He'd expected a cunning noble descendant given her background, but how could this girl be this naive? Had she always been protected by her older brother?
"You really didn't notice the thick scent of human blood carried by the air from inside the Basilica? The old priest we just saw also had a fresh bloodstain on his wrist."
That was the thick familiar scent he'd smelled earlier. He was way too familiar with the smell of human blood; even a little whiff, and he'd immediately recognize it as human blood.
"How do you know it's human blood... ah, that makes sense coming from you if it's really human blood..."
Michael raised his eyebrow at the compliment, it made sense if she knew his history; her protective older brother wouldn't have let her become his magic mentor without telling her about his past first.
Ignoring whatever thoughts Michael might have, Le Fay looked at him seriously.
"How sure are you?"
"Pretty sure. That Basilica must already be in someone else's hands right now, and to slaughter the entire Basilica without causing any commotion, they must be pretty strong."
"So that's why the place was empty and the suggestion barrier around the Basilica..."
Michael looked at Le Fay, who now seemed to have pieced together the full conclusion of the suspicious situation they were in...
"Let's get out of here."
Le Fay would be a fool if she still decided to face this weird situation if what Michael said was true.
To slaughter the entire Basilica staff without drawing attention was something only powerful beings could do; there's no way they'd be fighting just a few magicians if they decided to enter the abandoned building in front of them.
"You don't feel confident?"
Michael smiled teasingly after hearing her desire to bail from the situation; he knew what Le Fay was thinking right now, because he was thinking the same.
"Only an idiot would stick around here."
Le Fay shook her head and started preparing a teleportation magic for both of them.
Michael smiled at the futile attempt the girl was trying, because if what his Sixth Sense was feeling was right, then...
BANG!
They were fucked up now because they were surrounded.
Michael pulled back his hand, which was now coated in reinforcement and defensive magic, currently in front of Le Fay's shocked face after seeing a light arrow that had exploded because it was blocked by his hand.
Along with the light arrow attack that almost hit Le Fay, a semi-transparent barrier appeared around them, clearly meant to prevent them from escaping.
"Looks like we can't run right now."
Michael smiled at Le Fay, who had regained her composure, while holding back the pain in his hand from blocking that light arrow attack.
"Thanks."
Michael nodded at her thanks and shifted his gaze to the three guys who'd attacked them earlier, who were now flying above them.
The three men had two crow-like wings on their backs, clearly showing what race they really were.
"Fallen Angels."
Le Fay muttered beside him, and it seemed her mutter was heard by the Fallen Angels flying in the sky.
"Looks like these church sheep know us."
One of the three Fallen Angels flew closer to them with an arrogant and haughty aura that they could clearly feel, and judging by his posture and flying position around the other Fallen Angels, this guy was likely the one in command among the three.
"It's a shame, oh nameless church sheep, you're going to die today because of that human's request, so our plans don't leak."
Even though the guy was flying a few meters from where they were now, Michael and Le Fay could clearly sense the arrogance and superiority the guy had.
Michael and Le Fay exchanged glances for a few moments...
"Rejoice, my sheep, for you will die by my hand. Remember my name, Luma-"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Before the guy could finish his long monologue, Michael and Le Fay attacked him simultaneously without any signal or warning.
Michael snapped his fingers and hurled dozens of Fireballs coated in Gandr at every vital point on the guy; he didn't care about politeness or ethics when attacking him. He didn't forget to reinforce his magic attacks with Security System Magic either.
This was the result of his week of training, he could coat the outside of his Fireballs with Gandr and strengthen them with Security System Magic, resulting in multiplied damage to the victim.
As for Le Fay, she also cast dozens of her spiritual magics along with one of her black magics.
Soul Reaver.
A black magic that targeted the victim's soul, leaving them with no resistance to any spiritual attacks.
She didn't forget to strengthen all her magic attacks with Security System Magic either.
They both went all out to attack the unwary Fallen Angel.
Michael attacked his body while Le Fay attacked his soul.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Szzzttttt!
Michael stared at the dozens of hard explosions from the magic attacks hitting the guy's body; he was already prepared to Blink behind the guy if he was still alive after their combined attack.
But after looking at the notification in front of him, he smiled with a bit of surprise.
[+10 Soul]
One Fallen Angel soul is worth 10? Is it because the amount of energy in a Fallen Angel's soul is ten times more than a human's?
No matter how curious he was and how many thoughts popped up from this new discovery, he ignored them all and focused his gaze on the remaining Fallen Angels now approaching the dead one.
"LUMAEL!"
"BOSS!"
The two Fallen Angels approached and caught the lifeless body falling from the sky while shouting in disbelief.
But unlike what Michael and Le Fay expected that they'd be angry and sad over their leader's death... the two Fallen Angels tossed their leader's body away carelessly after confirming he was really dead.
Thud! Buk!
Michael stared at the dust kicked up on the ground from the impact of the lifeless body.
"Internal group conflict, huh."
"Looks like it."
Le Fay beside him answered unconsciously to Michael's mutter.
It seemed Fallen Angels were a lot more like humans than he'd thought before. Had his encounter with Gabriel earlier really distorted his view into thinking all supernatural beings were majestic and holy like Her?
"Whoa, whoa... I didn't expect an Exorcist to actually kill that bastard."
The voice from one of the Fallen Angels with blond hair snapped him out of his thoughts.
"That arrogant bastard deserved to die."
"I should thank you for doing our dirty work."
One of the Fallen Angels with black hair smiled cynically as a light spear appeared in his hand.
"But too bad, your time's up."
Along with his last words, the Fallen Angel appeared in front of Michael in the blink of an eye, thrusting his light spear toward his heart.
---
A/N: "I came here looking for bats, but why the hell are crows showing up?" – Michael the sick evil bastard.
Hopefully that bastard dies from those crows; if not... this might be the time he meets his soulmate.
Try guessing who his soulmate is, I can only say they could be bros till the end of time lol.
Adios.