Chapter 37: Gleipnir (2)
Azrail Astaroth Pov:
"Your lore was a lot more detailed than I imagined… To think you'd end up crying at the end…"
"Please don't mention that repeatedly like a broken record…"
"Why? Are you embarrassed now?"
"Of course I am…"
Alice and I walked through the hallways of Astaroth Castle, and it was clear that she wanted to disappear from the face of this world, covering her face with her hand to hide her blush.
"C'mon, don't hide your face… You look real pretty when you blush."
"Azrail…!"
Alice glared at me, which made me laugh a little.
After over five years of hard work, I finally managed to get past her poker face once again.
The last time she reacted like this was when we were in Kuoh.
It was hard but worth it.
'Well, at least she isn't all gloomy…'
Now that the mood of our conversation shifted for the better, I decided to ask something to change the topic. "Come to think of it, isn't the news of Biblical God's death supposed to be classified information?"
During her lore drop, Alice also mentioned the Biblical God's death that happened during the Great War, something I speculated a long time ago.
"It's top secret information, so much so that at the end of the Great War, the Three Factions made sure to alter every survivor's memories who participated in the battle. The only ones who know of it are the higher-ups of each faction." [1]
'To think they'd go to such lengths, but it makes sense…'
The last thing any of the Three Factions wanted was for other mythologies to target them, especially when they had lost most of their forces.
"And you told me something so important without consideration…"
"Haha…" Alice let out an awkward laugh. "Please don't tell anyone else about it."
"Rest assured—your secrets are safe with me… But if that's the case, the Balance Breakers are now a permanent thing because no one present can control and fix the Sacred Gear System, right?"
"Yes… Michael can influence God's Holy System to some extent, but the Sacred Gear System is beyond his control."
"Do you know where the Sacred Gear System is?"
"It's said to be in the Seventh Heaven where once God resided, along with the Holy System and Throne of…" Alice paused and pursed her lips together at the sudden realisation, glaring at me from the side of her eyes. "Don't ask me for top-secret information when I'm too relaxed."
"Tch…" I avoided eye contact with her. "You realised a bit too quickly this time…"
"It's because I know you won't ask something like that without any reason."
"You know me so well, Alice."
Great Sage was an incredible hacker, capable enough to take over any facility as long as I was there physically.
'Great Sage… If I managed to sneak into the Seventh Heaven someday, would you be able to overpower God's Holy System and take over it?'
That wasn't a serious question but a random thought.
[Answer. If God's Holy System managed to detect my presence before I successfully infiltrated it, it might cause me a little trouble…]
'But would you lose?'
[Nah, I'd win.]
Those were some famous last words, and hearing them, I couldn't hold back a light chuckle.
"Ahaha..."
Alice frowned at me. "You shouldn't laugh at adults…"
"No… I wasn't laughing at you." It took me a few seconds to calm down. "By the way, Alice… No one knows about who attacked me, right?"
"Yes. The only ones who know about Shadow Fiend are the Four Great Satans, Grayfia, and Amy…"
"Then, let's keep it that way. If my parents knew someone was willing to hire an assassin as deadly as the Shadow Fiend to capture their son, they wouldn't let me leave the house for a while…"
A lot had happened ever since my engagement, and my parents had dealt with enough stress already. I didn't want to worry them anymore.
It was a good thing that no one from my family saw me until my body had healed completely, with the only exception being Amy.
"That'll be for the best."
Even Alice understood that if I couldn't move freely right now, it'd be impossible to cure my lifespan problems, something Celis and Sebastian weren't aware of.
"On that note, let's not publicise this incident, either…"
"My Lord and the other Satans wouldn't mind not publicising this incident, but what will you tell everyone who already knows about it?"
"That the Rogue Vampire in my territory happened to be stronger than expected, enough to defeat me without much trouble. However, before he could finish me off, my lovely guardian angel appeared and saved me, making me instantly fall in love with her."
The blonde's eyelids twitched at my overly dramatic tone.
"That's too much…"
"It'll work, and it's not like I'm lying. Isn't that exactly what happened?"
I gave Alice a meaningful smile, only for her to sigh in defeat.
We soon arrived at our desired location, and contrary to my expectations, there were quite a few people there.
Even without going inside, I could sense Celis, Sebastian, Sebas, Vanessa, Latia, and Rias.
"Should I go and bring Amy here, too? She has been locked up inside her room for a while now…"
"I'll visit her myself after this…"
It'd be best to consult my maid in private.
"If that's what you want."
With that, the two of us entered the room, and the moment everyone turned towards us—
"Hey… It might be a bit too sudden, but I've recovered successfully…"
I lightly waved my hands with a smile to show that I had recovered completely, with there being no missing parts in my body, but that detail seemed to pass over everyone's head.
"Azrail!"
The first to react was Celis, tears building up in her eyes as she ran towards me and hugged me tightly.
In response to her, my mind automatically filtered out what everyone else was saying.
'Ajuka made the correct decision by not informing her about my lifespan…'
Mother might have the strength to rival an Ultimate-class Devil, but her heart was weak regarding her family.
"I'm fine, Mother... Please don't cry."
I gently patted the back of her head with my right hand.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was?"
Her voice sounded so fragile… It made me sad.
Unlike what happened after the banquet, she sounded more scared than anything else.
If it weren't for my obsession, I might've even considered changing the subjects of my interest because of her, but that wasn't an option anymore.
I had already decided to see this through. There was no changing that.
"I'm sorry…"
The only thing I could do for her sake was ensuring that something like this wouldn't happen again.
Following that, the females present passed me around like a body pillow and hugged me tightly, including Vanessa, Latia, Rias, and Alice, who decided to join in out of nowhere.
As for Sebas and Sebastian—
"I've recovered completely… Have some faith in me…"
They forced me to levitate mid-air, checking if all of my body parts were properly functioning before releasing me.
However, we almost threw hands when Sebas tried to pull my pants down in front of everyone present.
The moment they released me, Celis captured me again, forcefully placing me on her lap.
"Mother, I won't run away…"
It had been a while since I sat on her lap, with the back of my head buried in her bosom.
On an unrelated note, her breasts were as soft and comfortable as ever.
"No! Grandmother, don't release him!"
"She's right! He always breaks his promises!"
As if that wasn't enough, Latia and Rias came from the sides and held each of my arms, not letting me move.
To think that the two who always disagreed and argued on the smallest of things would agree on something like that.
'This has to be some new form of bullying…'
They all cared deeply about me—it couldn't get any more apparent than this, but I needed to scratch my back.
'Alice, help!'
I glanced towards my only hope, but rather than helping, she gave me a small smile as if saying, 'Sorry. It's impossible.'
"Azrail… How did your arm recover?"
"Ah…" Father's question caught me a bit off guard, but I still replied instantly. "Ajuka retrieved my arm from the site, and Alice reattached it with a Phoenix Tear…"
That answer was certainly more believable than 'Since this world's tissue engineering isn't advanced enough to create limbs for supernaturals, I used the methods from my previous life to create spare parts for my body.'
"What happened after you left the underworld, then?"
I started explaining everything that happened after returning to Bucharest.
The tale started with how I, as the diligent and brave overseer, went straight to hunt the Rogue Vampire in my territory and found him after searching for over ten days. However, the vampire's strength was beyond my expectations, and he easily defeated me, only for Alice to come and rescue me at a critical moment.
Everyone knew me well enough to filter out the exaggerated parts, but they still got a general idea of what happened.
But even then, Latia and Rias seemed in disbelief that I lost to someone. From how it looked, they had already considered me invincible for a while now.
Our conversation continued for around half an hour, and only after I mentioned how Amy was still depressed inside her room did Celis release me.
"I supported Ajuka's decision to participate in the Civil War because I trusted his capabilities, and the same is true for you, but that doesn't mean you can neglect your safety and be careless."
It wasn't simple carelessness, as the incident was bound to happen one day, but at this moment, I could only reply with a small, "I know."
"We are used to having our son doing his own thing because of your eldest brother, but from now on, you must stay safe if you want to do whatever you want."
"I'll make sure an incident like this never happens again, Father…"
I could tell that my father had some suspicions that the attack on me wasn't a coincidence, along with my mother, and that we were hiding information from them, but they still decided to place their trust in me one last time.
"Now, go and talk to Amy…"
"We'll thank her later…"
.
.
.
"Waaaaaah…"
Amy sat on the edge of her bed while I stood in front of her, her face buried in my chest as she cried her lungs out, her hands clenching tightly around my clothes.
It only took one glance at me for her to break into tears.
'Haah… I only treated her like a normal person, and yet she holds so much attachment towards me...'
Now, Amy's intense reaction to my injuries made sense.
She hadn't even turned twenty yet, so witnessing such gruesome injuries on someone she cared deeply about was bound to be traumatising.
And as if that wasn't enough, she also knew about my reduced lifespan, although she didn't know the exact number of years I had left.
"I apologise… Even after the efforts and trust Lord Azrail put into me, I couldn't do anything about your arm and lifespan…"
At her whispers between sobs, a small sigh came out of my mouth.
She was so out of it that she didn't even notice both my hands resting on her back.
"You saved my life, Amy. There's no need to blame yourself for things that aren't under our control…"
"A healer's supposed to help her master, no matter how serious his injuries are, but all I could do was…"
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive. You know that, right?"
"That doesn't mean much when your life is still in—Ah!"
Before she could blame herself further, I grabbed Amy's shoulders and lightly pushed her back against the bed, which caused her to yelp in surprise.
My face was right above hers, with my hands resting on each side of her head, and I could finally see her expression for the first time since entering the room.
Her cheeks were red, her eyes swollen, with tears falling down her face.
However, even such a pitiful expression couldn't hide her beauty.
"Hey, I've decided… I'll marry you in the future. How about it?"
Any female from the Valmra Clan would be ecstatic at a question like that from their master.
After all, the best position they could receive in their master's harem was that of a concubine, which was rare in itself.
However, Amy didn't look happy at all.
On the contrary, she seemed… angry and frustrated.
"Lord Azrail, please be more serious about your condition and not waste time with a servant like—!"
Out of nowhere, I placed my lips over Amy's and kissed her, not letting her finish her words.
Her eyes widened in disbelief, and her body froze for a moment.
'This wasn't what I had in mind for our first kiss, but as long as it helps her calm down…'
Since the marriage proposal didn't work, this was the second-best option to calm her down.
A sudden disruption like this would cause someone to temporarily stop feeling the intensity of their emotions as they shift their attention to the new situation and stimuli.
However, that didn't mean one should randomly start kissing crying and distressed females. That'd be considered assault.
Ba-dump!*
I used [Sound Magic] to monitor Amy's heartbeat, noting how it accelerated when our lips met, only to calm down slowly after almost thirty seconds of physical contact.
My own heart raced at the moment of contact, but it only took a few seconds for it to calm down.
After Amy had calmed down, I slowly pulled back from the kiss and stared at her.
"Amy… Do you believe in me?"
"Mmh…" She nodded without much thought.
"Since that's the case, I'll grant you one wish for saving my life… Tell me, what is it that you desire?"
Maybe it was because the question came out of nowhere, but Amy took quite a few seconds to reply. "I… don't want Lord Azrail to leave me alone…"
"Your wish isn't that hard to accomplish, Amy…" I smiled at her and slowly wiped away her remaining tears. "Not when I already have a method to heal my lifespan."
"Really…?"
"Have I ever lied to you?"
As the mood of our conversation was, I doubted Amy would say something other than a simple 'no,' but contrary to my expectations, she didn't hold back at all.
"You told me Berserk was a lovely romance despite rough starting chapters and that Griffith was a true homie... I trusted you…"
"Ah…"
"You told me Pitou was supposed to be Gon's love interest and even showed me their couple pictures and merchandise…"
"Hey…"
"You said Bucciarati won't die and that Polnareff meets Jotaro again in part five…"
"That's enough, Amy…"
Maybe my little pranks scarred her too much, so before she could bring up anything else, I pinched her nose with my left hand.
"I'm not messing with you this time… See? Even my left arm healed completely."
Amy slowly moved her hands and grabbed my left hand, almost as if to confirm it wasn't an illusion. "How…?"
"Ajuka retrieved from the site, so all it took was a Phoenix Tear to reattach it—something that only happened because you saved my life, Amy… So, don't blame yourself for anything."
For the first time in a while, she smiled a little. "I understand, Lord Azrail…"
Soon after, I got off her bed, and she sat on the edge again, but before I could say anything, she opened her mouth.
"Umm, Lord Azrail…" This time, she seemed embarrassed, murmuring with a light blush on her cheeks while fidgeting with her fingers. "A-About what you said earlier. Please don't make such crude jokes. If someone heard you, it'd affect your public image…"
"It wasn't a joke, though."
"Pardon…?"
"You don't want to marry me?"
"N-No..!" Amy vigorously shook her head. "It'd be my greatest honour, but... If that decision negatively affects Lord Azrail's image, I'm happy to stay by his side as his servant…"
Her words weren't entirely wrong.
While no one would say anything about me for marrying a servant to my face, it was bound to come out as an odd thing to do that'd make people talk behind my back.
However, did I care about such things?
Not really.
If someone couldn't even talk shit about me to my face, that in itself made their opinions not worth considering.
"You're overthinking it, Amy… I like you, and that's all that matters."
She was undoubtedly pleased, but even then, her first concern was my reputation.
"Then…"
Amy stood up and looked into my eyes.
Her height was around one hundred and seventy centimetres—almost fifteen centimetres taller than my current self.
"Please don't mind my actions…"
Amy leaned forward, pressing her lips against mine.
Maybe it was because I didn't take the initiative this time, but the soft, warm sensation of her lips on top of mine caught me by pleasant surprise.
After that, one thing led to another, and…
I hoped the devil race's low fertility rates lived up to their reputation.
Two years of isolation truly did a number on my conscience.
.
.
.
"Mmh…"
While standing next to her bed, I watched as Amy nestled inside the thin blanket, her slender frame twisting slightly.
Even though I only saw everything recently, the outlines of her figure under the blanket were enticing nonetheless.
'I need to deal with her carefully from now on, or if something like this happens again, it might hinder her growth as a healer…'
Amy's potential as a healer was unmatched under my training. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that in a few years, her proficiency in [Healing Magic] would surpass most healing-based Sacred Gears.
'On the other hand, if this incident can also motivate her to work harder than ever to improve her [Healing Magic], it'll be worth it…'
After all, I doubted any other healer learned how to heal various parts of the body in the most efficient ways or anatomy in general.
From Great Sage's estimates, she might even reach the pinnacle of [Healing Magic] in a decade or two, allowing her to regenerate limbs—which people considered a long-lost art.
However, her potential would go to waste if something happened before she could reach it.
'But for now, I need to focus on my lifespan…'
As those thoughts passed through my mind, the Astaroth Clan's [Transportation Magic Circle] appeared under me.
It was about time to finally visit the Familiar Forest.
---
Words: 3,145
A/N:
1. No. Alice, or any of the current four great satans, weren't even born until after the Great War had ended. She's talking about the things she knows about history.