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(MoD) Chapter 14: Raynare's Scheme
🕑 Added 2025-02-22 08:18:51 +0000 UTCChapter 14: Raynare's Scheme
Kuoh wasn't a town with an especially large religious population, and even if they were, most of them would either be followers of Shintoism, or Buddhism. Christianity made up a very, very marginal percentage of not just Kuoh, but Japan's populace as a whole.
Therefore, after the local church's priest, Masaomi Yaegaki, had gone missing for some unbeknownst reason. The local government made no attempt to ensure that the place remained well maintained, nor had they received any notice from the Protestant Church itself that a new priest would be installed.
Now all that remained was a dilapidated, run-down building that existed as nothing more than a shell of its former self. Vines creeping up the exterior of its concrete similar to Kuoh's old schoolhouse, and weeds having completely taken over the small section that had been dedicated as a community garden, where the former priest would teach children about the joys of home-grown foliage.
There was no longer any warmth to be found inside, only the ever-present toe-biting gust of cold wind flowing through the cracks of the church's walls.
Yet strangely enough, the lifeless building had a visitor.
A young woman, who was dressed in a manner that wouldn't suggest she'd have any interest in visiting such an unalluring place.
The same woman that had approached Takauji earlier, and exchanged contact information with.
Yuuma Amano.
She slowly began to approach the heavy, wooden double-door stood at the church's entrance, carrying a demeanor that held a strange sense of confidence with it, as if she had visited the place many times before.
Her facial expression also differed from what she had shown Takauji at the local park, the gentle, disarming smile she wore was nowhere to be seen, replaced with a flat, almost threatening lack of emotion on her face that'd make most people flinch at the sight of alone.
As if her attitude had done a complete 180.
She put her hand on the rusted door handle, effortlessly pushing it through in spite of its weight, that someone of her build and stature had no business treating like a feather.
There wasn't a single piece of religious decor or imagery within the church's interior, removed in a manner that would suggest someone had done it in a purposefully, leaving behind anything that didn't adopt a holy likeliness, even if it were a valuable piece of furniture.
She walked up the altar, putting one hand on its edge and seamlessly shoving it aside, revealing the existence of a downwards-leading staircase, one that didn't have any business being in a church of all places.
Step after step, she started to descend, finding herself standing in the confines of some kind of underground lair that she was clearly familiar with, a group of individuals awaiting her arrival with bored expressions spanning across their faces.
"Well?" One of the individuals spoke, being a tall, buxom woman with brown eyes and long, navy blue hair that obscured her right eye.
She wore a maroon trench-coat with a wide-open collar, giving view to her bountiful breasts and cleavage, coupled with a gold necklace, a miniskirt that was similarly colored to her trench-coat, and black heeled shoes.
"Did you find any of the Sacred Gears Lord Azazel was searching for?" The woman continued.
"No, I haven't." Yuuma shook her head, "We'll probably have to expand our search area, either that, or we'll need to take a more aggressive approach to our investigation."
"Hey, Raynare," another woman spoke, albeit a much younger-looking one who had addressed Yuuma in a strange fashion.
She sported blonde hair that had been fashioned into twin tails, deep blue eyes, and a petite frame that resembled Koneko's to a large extent.
She wore a Gothic Lolita outfit, that consisted of a black dress with white frills accompanied by a large black bow that was tied around her torso, thigh-high white socks with suspender garters, black shoes, and yet another black bow on her head.
"Why are you still in that form?" She tilted her head, the blue-haired woman beside her nodding in shared confusion.
Yuuma, or "Raynare" as she had been called, looked down at herself. "Oh, I must've gotten used to strolling around like this."
The sound of fabric shredding apart resounded from her body, her clothes ripping into pieces as her height increased, and her overall figure adopted a more mature look.
Her eyes took on a darker, sharper, more sinister look, and her clothing had now switched from the short black dress she had worn in the park, to a set of black strap-like objects that were loosely wrapped around her breasts and waist, revealing a great deal of her curvaceous body.
Her hands were covered by a pair of long black gloves that ran up her arms, with small chains hanging off each of them, and on top of her shoulders rested a pair of spiked pauldrons.
Overall, her appearance seemed like a strange combination of a warrior and exhibitionist.
"Much better," she let out a relieved exhale, flicking her hair and letting it gracefully fall down towards her waist. "Even though I've yet to locate a Sacred Gear, I did happen across something almost just as interesting."
The blue-haired woman, who went by the name Kalawarna, expressed her intrigue. "Oh? Well don't keep us in suspense."
"I won't, but there is one thing I'd like to address beforehand," she turned to the only male present in the room.
He was a middle-aged looking man with short black hair, and dark blue eyes similar to the petite girl of the bunch, who went by the name of Mittelt.
He wore a pale-gray trench-coat and a white dress shirt, with a matching ascot and a pair of black pants and shoes, his look finished with a set of black gloves and a fedora.
"Dohnaseek, how much progress have we made on securing the exiled Holy Maiden?"
"I've managed to get in contact with her, and she appears to be desperate enough to entertain the idea of seeking refuge with us, all that's left to do now is organize her flight and have her brought to us."
"Good, and the Sacred Gear extraction device?"
"It's still a work in progress, it'll probably take at least a week for the Stray Exorcists we conscripted to gather all the materials we need."
She breathed a dissatisfied hum, "Very well then."
"Now will you tell us about what you found?" Kalawarna urged her.
A slow grin crept up Raynare's face.
"There's a Magician here," she stated plainly, watching as the eyes of her subordinates widened with a mix of surprise and curiosity. "And I highly doubt they're a newly awakened one, not only was he capable of creating a teleportation circle, but he also has the scent of a Devil firmly clinging to him."
"Then he must be a Contracted Magician," Dohnaseek concluded. "However, both the Sitri Clan and Gremory Clan reside in Kuoh, which leaves the question of which family he's contracted to."
Kalawarna scratched her temple, "Does it really matter? We're at a ceasefire with the Devils, and Lord Azazel's only concern was looking for Sacred Gear possessors. Getting involved with a Magician only seems like a waste of time."
"Not necessarily," Raynare shook her head. "The Devils are technically our direct competitors at the moment, since they'll also be on the search for Sacred Gear possessors with the hopes of turning them into a part of their peerage. If we could convince the Magician to give us some information on them, then the success rate of our mission here is bound to soar."
Her subordinates all exchanged an unsure glance, they saw the logic in her argument, but they highly doubted the feasibility of its execution.
Contracted Magicians, as the name suggested, were contractually bound to follow the wishes of their contractor, if one were discovered to have betrayed them, then they'd not only lose all credibility as a viable suitor for other Devils, but have their career as a Magician practically cut in half. Losing the resources and benefits they gained from their contract.
And from how their leader was talking, they were all fairly confident that she was going to attempt to convert said Magician to their side.
"And how do you plan on accomplishing that?" Kalawarna sighed, knowing that once their leader had decided on something, she'd rarely ever budge.
"I'll figure something out," she replied confidently. "In the meantime, start expanding the search area around Kuoh, the sooner we find those Sacred Gears, the sooner we can get praised by Lord Azazel."
Raynare clasped her hands together, the thought of it alone plastering a beet-red flush across her face.
So you're basically telling us to go do all the work while you embark on your little side-mission.
"Understood," she said with poorly masqueraded reluctance.
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Takauji and Murayama had finished their stroll around Kuoh's local park, and had now begun the trip home. The younger sibling practically staring a hole through the side of her brother's face as they walked side by side.
"I saw that," she said in an accusatory tone.
He smouldered, "Saw what?"
"You met up with Himejima-senpai, don't think I didn't notice."
If Murayama tried to narrow her eyes any further, she'd probably end up running head first into a lamp pole.
"That wasn't Himejima-san, it was just a stranger."
"Riiighhhtt, because people with Himejima-senpai's proportions can be found just all over Kuoh." She folded her arms, "There's no use in lying. I've caught you red-handed, now fess up. What's going on between you two?"
Granted, Takauji had also initially mistaken "Yuuma" as Akeno.
It looks like I have no choice but to use one of my secret techniques.
He halted, turning around and narrowing his eyes towards the distance, attempting to focus on something that had apparently caught his attention.
"What?"
"I think I see Yuuto-kun over there," he put his hand over his eyes, staring more intensely.
She flinched, "Yuuto-kun!? Where!?" Her body immediately spun around, frantically searching the area behind them as she looked for her crush. "I don't see—"
And by the time she had turned back, Takauji had already taken off in a full sprint.
"TAKAUJI!"
Unfortunately for her, she had absolutely no chance of catching up with the Vice-Captain of the Track & Field Club.
And once said Vice-Captain had returned home, he immediately entered his bedroom and locked the door behind him, wiping the sweat off his brow and letting out a sigh of relief.
Foolish Sister, you're a millenia too early to try probing me for information.
Now that he was back in the comfort of his own home, it was time to start looking through the books on barriers that he had requested from Sona.
He proceeded to open up the first of a series of instruction manuals regarding the subject, but quickly noticed that there was a key difference between some of the books.
Some were stated to be written by practitioners of Eastern Magic, and others that of Western Magic. The two primary Magic Systems that were used by Magicians, the former being a system of spells and magical knowledge founded in Europe, and the latter being a form of sorcery founded in Asia.
Of course, it made more sense for Takauji to research the one that used Western Magic, since that was the system he had been made familiar with uptill now.
However, he'd be lying if he said exploring Eastern Magic didn't interest him, it was something he had never gotten a chance to have a look at yet, and something he believed would have its own strengths just like Western Magic.
It's not like diversifying my magical knowledge would ever be a bad thing, and even if it ends up not being suited to me, I'll just ditch it in favour of the Western one.
But right as he was about to begin his exploration into the unfamiliar magic system, his phone rang, receiving a notification.
And upon glancing at his screen, he was instilled with an immediate sense of surprise, not expecting the person that had messaged him to have already done so.
It was from Yuuma.
[Yuuma: Hey, I don't mean to be overtly pushy, but there's something I'd like to ask of you.]
He frowned, I hate people who ask for permission to ask something. Just say whatever it is you want to say from the get-go!
[Takauji: Yeah?]
[Yuuma: I was thinking about checking out the plaza tomorrow like you suggested, but I thought it'd be nice if I had someone to act as a guide for me while I'm there.]
[Takauji: And you want me to be your tour guide?]
[Yuuma: If that's alright with you, I don't mean to pressure you or anything though.]
He hummed thoughtfully, his suspicions that Yuuma was planning something starting to grow a little firmer.
Tch, I definitely should've used Mana Sense on her back then. However, the plaza is going to be heavily crowded tomorrow since it's a Sunday. So I highly doubt she'd try anything there.
He started to twirl his phone around, not replying for some time as he carefully thought over what he should do next.
[Yuuma: Hello?]
Yeah, totally not pushy.
[Takauji: Sorry, something just fell down in my room. Sure, I'll be your guide tomorrow.]
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El plot is finally starting to roll in, let's see how Raynare and Takauji's relationship ends up developing. You can also let me know your thoughts/suggestions on what's going to happen next if you're interested.
