"So, is this what you expected?"
"I did not expect to take a literal train to Hell, no." Jeanne said without much emotion. "It is surprisingly pleasant, however."
It was nice.
I could have easily popped over there with Venelana's help, one of their Teleportation Circles could have handled it fairly easily. But….I kind of wanted to go through the 'traditional' channels.
Hell wasn't completely cut off from the Human World. Even without Devils existing, there were paths that could be taken to end up in Hell by accident, let alone the intentional doors. It was a space that existed since time innumerable.
And for those in the know, it wasn't uncommon for various races and people to visit Hell. As weird as that is to actually think about. But apparently, hell had a thriving tourism economy.
Though, Venelana did warn us about the trip. She didn't specify anything, only that it was a bit difficult the first time for Humans.
Thankfully, we had this little train compartment to ourselves. Devils were nothing if not ostentatious. They had such extravagant train cars meant for 'VIPs'. Literally a single word from Venelana, and the car, along with the surrounding ones, were reserved for us.
"The train has been on a slope now, are we actually going down?" Jeanne asked, sounding a little incredulous. "I didn't think to enter Hell, we would literally have to go downward."
"Yes and no." I answered. "If you want to be pedantic about it, Hell is literally below the world. In a metaphysical sense, that is. But the concept of Hell is tied to a downward descent. It's not so much that we're going down more that Hell is 'below' wherever we are."
"….I only understood some of that." She whispered.
I just chuckled, patting her head. "We're getting ready to cross the threshold." I told her, sensing the spatial turbulence ahead.
Actually, it reminded me of my trip down into Gringotts. The way the Cart ride connected two points seamlessly.
It wasn't until the Train pushed through the boundary between the two spaces that I realized what Venelana meant.
Looking out the window, it was almost like a cavern, but the rocks had all been carved.
No, it wasn't right to call them carved. Despite the exquisite detail, these were…..natural and I felt my heartrate pick up.
My humanity was stimulated.
They were depictions of events, of past grievances and sins. Of every possible evil committed and those damned to this place. The suffering and guilt, the righteous indignations and hollow vengeances that marked every soul that passed on.
They weren't mere pictures, they were alive, in a sense. Every so often, you could see a slight movement. And even rarer, was when one of the figures depicted looked back at us.
The experience was….hard to put into words.
I almost wanted to call it nostalgic, but in a melancholic way.
It felt like I was remembering every one of these events or actions that were taken in the course of Human History. A vague recollection of feelings that threatened to burrow deep into my heart.
It's odd, I felt like my Magic Resistance or other facets of my being should have rejected this….invasion, but it still affected me.
But the answer made sense after a moment of clarity.
It was my Human Nature that allowed this to transpire. It was no true….attack, nor magical phenomena, but a feeling left behind in my human blood that wouldn't vanish regardless of how much I changed.
If I had to guess, this cavern has existed ever since the advent of Humanity, ever since the first Sin was committed.
A recollection.
….As expected for the entrance to Hell.
I reached for Jeanne's hand, noticing she was also feeling it heavily. There were faint shadows of tears at the corners of her eyes. She was much more empathetic than I was, she was certainly feeling more emotions than me.
"Its true name is lost to time, we call it the Cavern of Reflection."
Both Jeanne and I turned to look towards the source of the voice.
"Okita Souji." I said curtly.
The Former Samurai looked at me with an awkward smile. "Lord Schweinorg." He bowed his head, not trying to be familiar with me. I suppose our last….talk left a bit of an impression on him. "And his date?"
Jeanne, seemingly having broken from her stupor a moment prior, flushed slightly. "Jeanne D'Arc" She said softly.
He blinked, looking as if he wanted to say something, but held back and instead focused on what was happening outside of the train. "It had the same effect on me, as it does for all Reincarnated Devils from a Human lineage. I asked my King about it once, he said it had existed before Devils were created by our progenitor. He said that it dates back to the creation of Heaven, by the Biblical God." He winced slightly, apparently intentionally inciting the 'name'. "It makes you wonder if Hell was ever supposed to be a place of suffering that it turned into by the hands of the first Fallen and depicted in the minds of Humans."
It's funny, I've been to several different 'underworlds' at this point but I've never entered in such a way. Even when going through the 'normal' route in Hades, it was…pathed for me. At this moment, I felt like I was experiencing it from the perspective of a deceased soul.
I wasn't one to get lost in this kind of thing. I would probably remember this feeling for a long time, but it was far from enough to lead me astray.
I quickly shook off the heavy emotions that were weighing me down.
"It's expanding, isn't it?" I asked.
He stiffened for a moment, but regained his composure. "That's right." He didn't try to hide it. "It's not common knowledge, but neither is it a secret. A thousand years ago, it was only half as large as it is now."
How strange…
If I had time to spare, I may have wanted to look into it, but at this point, I didn't care too much.
"I assume you're here to fetch us?" I asked again.
"Lady Gremory requested me to lead the Lord and Lady to the destination." He bowed his head again.
"That was nice of her." Jeanne beamed.
I held back a laugh seeing him twitch slightly. It wasn't hard to guess from his perspective that Jeanne was clueless about everything.
Venelana probably did it to express her displeasure, but also a way to wipe the slate clean, so to speak. Well, if he was lowering his head like this, I wouldn't hold a grudge.
I was already here in Hell, I may as well let some things in the past rest.
"Lady Gremory is waiting excitedly for you to arrive for dinner after the event, Lord Schweinorg." Okita Souji stated.
"Only Venelana?" I questioned.
He twitched slightly again. "Lord Gremory too is waiting with anticipation."
"just them then?" I raised an eyebrow.
"…..The Gremory Family is…thrilled to host you, Lord Schweinorg."
Alright, I wouldn't poke him too much.
Mostly because the Train was coming to an obvious stop because the cities of the Underworld came into view.
They were….much different than the layout of human cities. From what I recall, this place was about the same size as Earth, yet the population was a tiny fraction in comparison. Their cities were spaced out with huge open spaces between them, it was interesting to see in all honesty.
It didn't take long for the train to come to a complete stop. In fact, the whole train ride was rather quick to begin with.
"Would you please follow me, I have a car waiting to take you to the gathering." Okita Souji spoke, gesturing to the door of the train.
Jeanne was still holding my hand tight, but I chose not to comment. I gently led her forward as we disembarked
@***@
Jeanne was pretty much glued to the car window as she took in the sights. While she had popped up in a somewhat modern era during the Grail War, she hadn't properly seen a modern city in all its glory.
That is to say, the day to day happenings as we drove through it weren't much different than what you would find topside.
Frankly, without the occasional Wings from the Devils walking around, you would never know this wasn't a human city.
Okita Souji just looked amused as we both silently watched Jeanne marvel at the sights.
It's almost like she completely forgot we were in Hell.
But I did warn her it wasn't going to be what she expected.
"What can we expect when we arrive?" I broke the silence, addressing our 'guide' who sat opposite us in this limousine.
"There are many different forces present. More Factions than appeared in the Peace Conference have answered the call of cooperation." He responded.
"Oh?" I was surprised. The Devils were the most hated faction in the world, it was already odd that so many attended the Peace Conference in the first place. "So everyone's onboard for making this 'super kiddy squad' to hunt down the Khaos Brigade?"
"That is….partial the reason they are present." He twitched again. "Lord Odin was the voice that gathered most of the factions attending. No one disagreed with the concept, but the major concern is to speak about the mutual enemy in more detail."
Well, that's to be expected.
"Who are the Devils putting forward?" I could probably guess, but I may as well ask.
"That is undecided." Okita Souji responded. "However, the younger generation of the Underworld's elite will be present."
"Of course." I rolled my eyes. "Don't want to lose out on an opportunity to show off." Or something like that.
Well, I suppose it's their boon for hosting the event in the first place, they get to push their younger generation to the forefront, even if most of them probably weren't qualified to brush shoulders with the actual strongest of the generation.
Then again, I don't actually know where the standard power level is for what is considered the 'younger generation'. I wouldn't exactly be the best measuring stick in this regard and I don't really hang out with people my age…
I guess it doesn't matter, it's not like I'm going to stick around for long. Go in, make an appearance, politely decline recruitment attempts, make sure Jeanne has fun and meet the Angels presumedly attending and get some free food before leaving.
Simple and easy.
Obviously I'm doing the whole dinner thing with Venelana afterwards.
Honestly, it's surprising how this whole thing unfolded. A few words and a random idea form Odin, and then a few days later, here we are with several factions all descended upon hell.
"Will, I just realized, why is there a Sun in the sky?" Jeanne suddenly asked.
"It's fake." I replied.
"Really?" Jeanne sounded surprised. "How did they make a fake sun?"
"It was a joint effort between the Fallen Angels and the current Leaders of the Devils to provide a more suitable environment for newly Reincarnated Devils. Before they created this fake sky to mirror the Human World, there was a constantly purplish hue that permeated every corner of the sky." Okita Souji explained.
"Amazing…" Jeanne whispered.
Seeing her happy like this, without anything else, made this trip worth it.
"We're here." Okita Souji stated as the car came to a stop.
I didn't know exactly what type of building this was meant to be, but it was large and ostentatious like most things the Devils do when trying to project their wealth and status.
I quickly got out of the car and opened Jeanne's side, offering her a hand. She happily took it and I gently guided her out of the seat.
"….Is it too late to turn back?" Jeanne asked, whispering in my ear.
"Are you getting cold feet?" I chuckled.
"I…..I don't know what I'm supposed to do or what I'm doing at all." She admitted nervously. "I've never done these kinds of parties or anything before. What if I mess up? Won't I make you look bad?"
"Jeanne, you could never make me look bad. Besides, do you think I know what I'm doing most of the time?"
"Yes. You always look like you know what you're doing."
"I'll let you in on a secret. I usually make it all up as I go along." I said without a hint of shame. "We can pretend together. Don't you also want to see the Angels?"
"Yes…" She dipped her head.
"I'll be here with you." I offered my arm.
She smiled brightly. "Thank you, Wilhelm." She replied, taking it.
Okita disappeared, but we didn't really need his guidance anymore.
Instead, we began walking to the front doors. The Guards there bowed and opened it up for us, we didn't even need to produce an invitation.
But as soon as we walked in, it was like a whole different world.
I think extravagant was too light of a word to describe what was inside.
From the golden decorations to the marble statues, to the decadent art that filled the walls…I think they even surpassed the Clock Tower in this regard.
I didn't have much time to dwell on it because immediately, we were beset by numerous gazes as soon as we entered.
The whole area was filled with people of all shapes and sizes, and I would say a good majority of them were currently staring at myself and Jeanne.
"I didn't think you would come."
Both Jeanne and I turned towards the source. A young woman with short black hair and a matching pair of glasses wearing a light blue dress sauntered over.
Sona Sitri.
I admit it took an inordinate amount of my self control not to react to her presence.
Huh….I didn't realize I even still had these feelings. What do you know?
Good to know I guess, even if it was annoying.
I like to pretend that I'm all grown up and mature sometimes, but honestly, I still appreciated acting like a young kid every now and then.
Just like now.
"Sorry, have we met before?" I looked at her.
Whatever she wanted to say, it died the minute she opened her mouth without any proper words to respond. She just stared at me in shock like she didn't know how to respond to what I said.
I took the opportunity to lightly nudge Jeanne to keep going.
Was it petty?
Yes.
Was I feeling good about myself right now?
Also yes.
"That was mean." Jeanne puffed up as soon as we cleared some distance.
"Oh look, Angels." I pointed in some random direction.
"Where!?" She perked up. "Wait, don't try to distract me!"
"No idea what you're talking about."
"Neh!" She lightly hit my shoulder. "Don't be mean." She told me again.
"I am the epitome of grace and elegance." I countered. "But honestly, It's not like I'm going to go around picking fights. I hardly –"
A thunderous snort carried its way across the entire room. Of the probably hundreds of people of varying backgrounds, they all stopped to look at the source because it carried with it an unnatural pressure.
I was familiar with the hint of power contained within the simple gesture. I had fought with the source not too long ago.
I neatly pivoted, turning around to mee the gaze of Indra who stood at the entrance with his own retinue.
He wore that gaudy Hawaiian shit again, with some cargo shorts and flip flops. As well as a pair of sunglasses, very similar to what he wore previously.
"I should have expected them to invite some trash here too." His words weren't actually very loud, but they carried a hint of thunder to them, making them be heard by everyone present. And the way he was staring at me, it was obvious who those words were meant for.
"Nice glasses, are they new?" I smiled innocently at his provocation.
That was apparently not the correct thing to say, because the whole building began to shake.
Whatever could have set him off like that I wonder?
[***]
A/N
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