Emiya residence.
- I... Thank you for saving me... I thought... that I would spend the rest of eternity in such a... state..." Azazel practically whispered in a weak voice as Gabriel spoon-fed him, her worried gaze never leaving him. Neither did Michael, who was sitting across from him.
Honestly, I'm still shaking from what happened in the house of the Governor General of the Fallen. I never thought I'd naturally find myself in a horror movie.
And Azazel? I managed to resuscitate him, although it took a lot of effort. With 3rd magic, I erased the most... unhealthy memories from his mind, scraping out every detail of what he'd been through. And now Azazel is slowly recovering with support from the archangels. Griselda stood behind Michael and watched the whole thing.
I didn't completely erase his memory because, given his temper, he would have wanted to get to the truth. He wouldn't now. Definitely not.
- Well... I didn't expect it to turn out this way. I'm sorry," I tilted my head toward Azazel, "I assure you, she won't bother you again.
At the mention of Nightingale, he began to tremble, and Gabriel hugged him gently to quiet his trembling.
- As... compensation, I'm willing to help you with one thing of yours and provide one Servant of your personal choice," I said and rubbed my temples, "Besides, I'm the reincarnation of Solomon. That's just for the record.
He froze and slowly looked up at me.
- Solomon? - He blinked with disbelieving eyes - The same Solomon I used to hang out with?
Heh. They hung out together? I guess my local counterpart's attraction to women brought him and Azazel closer together.
- I don't know about that, since I'm not him," I shrugged and turned toward Michael, "Where did our conversation break down? Ah, yes. Solomon's abilities.
I paused for a moment before continuing.
- Since the theory of parallel universes makes sense because of the Space Between Dimensions and the existence of two dragon gods... In short, I'm from another world.
- Another world? - Michaell was surprised, but not too much - Can I ask how different it is from ours?
- Not much. It's just that mankind has left the gods there," I began, to which I received a raised eyebrow from the current ruler of the Heavens and a surprised look from his sister, "In my world, time can be divided into three eras: Gods, fairies, and humans. During the first one, supernatural beings walked amongst ordinary humans and it was considered the norm.
- That is, what is happening now. - Michael commented thoughtfully.
- Right, - I nodded - In the second - something happened and dealt with almost all of them. It was then, with the support of the planet itself, that the fairies forged Excalibur, the physical embodiment of the prayer called "glory", which is conceptually indestructible as long as at least one person is alive. And now do you understand why I called your Excaliburs 'toothpicks'?
- Unfortunately," Griselda replied, "your sword is far superior to ours, though I don't want to admit that fact. After all, ours was forged by God himself. And if your words are true, this sword can defeat even someone like Shiva, the god of destruction, and is virtually indestructible.
- With enough mana? No question. And not "virtually indestructible," but "indestructible in principle." Well, at least as long as one person is alive. But that doesn't matter, because the power of the gods depends on the number of believers, does it? - I grinned, to which I got a nod - What am I talking about? Exactly. And the third one - only a few still walk among humans and are carefully hidden due to some factors I won't mention. And that's the one going on at the moment, the age of man.
Having finished my explanation, I took a sip of coffee and waited for my words to fully sink into their heads.
For them, the very possibility of excluding supernatural beings from the lives of humans is... unattainable. They are so used to the current realities that they haven't even considered it. A cost of Sefar's absence from this world, I suppose.
I wonder what the history of the world would be like if she were here? After all, the local gods are far weaker than their Nasuverse counterparts. They don't embody a concept, they merely borrow it. It's like comparing a guy scooping water out of a lake with a bucket to the lake itself. The difference is so enormous that the comparison becomes ridiculous.
- By the way, - I heard Michael's voice, coming out of his thoughts - you said something about Solomon's abilities. What did you mean?
- Were there others? Well, besides demon control and good magic, of course. - Azazel, who had more or less come to his senses, joined the conversation. And Griselda and Gabriel's ears perked up.
- Not bad? - I grinned - Azazel-kun, you don't realize what an understatement of the century you just made.
- What do you mean by that?
- The seventy-two Pillars are very powerful on their own, aren't they? - I asked, to which all four of them quickly agreed - What if I told you that the Solomon of my world made them even more powerful?
They froze when they heard my words.
- More powerful? - Michael asked cautiously, while Griselda and Gabriel gave me a concerned look.
- How? - Azazel asked, intrigued.
I answered them with a flick of my finger, and a few seconds later, Goetia materialized at the table. Upon seeing him, Griselda bared her sword, Michael and Gabriel opened their wings, readying themselves for battle, and Azazel examined every detail of Beast I.
- Ah, yes. I forgot to mention one very amusing fact," I said, placing my hands on the table and crossing my fingers in a lock. And my chin rested on them, keeping my head upright - With the advent of the age of man, seven entities were born. Seven entities embodying the seven sins of mankind. Not trivial ones like 'Envy', 'Lust', and so on, but far more profound ones. Like "Regression" and "Comparison" and so forth. And in my world, they're called Beasts. They're conceptually immortal beings who can't die until human progress stagnates or goes extinct altogether. Amazing, isn't it?
I paused, and the eyes of my listeners widened at what I heard.
- And before you sits the Beast I. The very first of them, created personally by Solomon with his "not bad" magic, who combined all seventy-two original demons into one being, making him the Demon God King. A ritual to correct the Order of Mankind, epitomizing the sin of "Pity", Goetia.
- It is interesting to meet you in person, representatives of Heaven. - He said in a dramatic voice.
The guests did not blink. Didn't move. Even stopped breathing. They looked like statues of the most skillful work that mankind was capable of. And it was Griselda who was the first to come out of her stupor.
- What?!" she exclaimed, her eyes practically bulging out of her eye sockets, "You've got to be kidding me! You mean to tell me that we are essentially having all seventy-two Pillars sitting in front of us?!
- Indeed. We are here. - The simultaneous response of dozens of different voices rang out in the room at once, and magical circles with the seal of each demon Pillar lit up around Goetia - Does this embarrass you, servant of God?
Hearing them, the guests flinched, and Gabriel generally began muttering the names of the demons whose voices she could recognize.
- Sitri, Beleth, Leraye, Phenex, Morax...
- Fun fact, damn it! - Azazel picked up on it - Do you realize what you've just revealed to us?!
- I-I agree with them," Michael joined them in a trembling voice, "Y-you realize how much power you have in your hands?
- In his hands? - Goetia raised an eyebrow - I obey only myself, Archangel. This wretched man is not my command.
- Oh? - I rolled my eyes - It is not good to lie. I don't give you orders just because I don't need to.
- Your comment has been ignored, Wizard.
- Uh-huh, - I waved it away and turned to the guests - Anyway, don't pay attention to him. He's not worth it.
- Not worth it?! Wake up, Romany! Do you have any idea what will happen if the others find out about him?! They'll start treating humanity as a disease to be eradicated, for crying out loud! - Azazel yelled, pointing his finger at Goetia - And the fact that he's basically part of Biblical mythology makes it even worse! There's going to be a war! Everyone is against us!
- Well, about the first point - they already think so, at least some of them, but about the second? I doubt it. And besides, what makes you think I don't have enough power to deal with all of them? - I shrugged, to which I got twitchy faces - Servants haven't been canceled, you know. Some of them killed gods and, by enlisting themselves in the Throne of Heroes, got anti-divine properties at their disposal. And weapons of the same type. That's just for the record.
He froze again and stared at me intently.
- Servants? Throne of Heroes? - Gabriel asked, uncomprehending.
- You'll find out from Azazel. I was tired of repeating the same explanation.
I rubbed my temples.
I suppose it was wise not to tell them about the two more Beasts living under my roof. And the Grand Servants, of course. Otherwise they'd have died right here. Uh-huh.
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