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(TPD) Chapter 31: Departure
🕑 Added 2025-01-07 07:50:53 +0000 UTCChapter 31: Departure
Avalon had just woken up, shuffling to escape the bed where he was sandwiched in between Adaloth and Zekram without waking either of them up, now stood in front of the bathroom mirror with his hand on his blindfold—preparing to go about his daily routine. It's getting worse, he pulled it down, revealing stress lines that had formed between his eyes and nose.
Studying with Zekram, learning spearmanship, working on his own actual training, learning the engineering material Ajuka had handed him, and most importantly managing Adaloth's mental state all at the same time had taken a heavy toll on him over the past year. I wonder if the Underworld has PTO? Maybe I could request a vacation from Zekram or something.
You need a break, Avalon. I might be able to keep your physical exhaustion at bay, but there's nothing I can do for your mental fatigue. Even Tomoe appeared to agree with him, genuine concern being conveyed to his vessel. As powerful as his Senjutsu was, even it had limits, it wasn't some omnipotent ability that would allow Avalon to work endlessly without facing any repercussions whatsoever. You're going to crash and burn at this rate, do you think you'll be able to handle both Zekram and Adaloth at anything less than your best?
I'm well aware, he picked up Ajuka's custom-made eyedrop and applied it before pulling his blindfold back up. Leaving the bedroom and heading downstairs to grab something to eat, knowing he'd have yet another long day ahead of him whether he liked it or not. I've chosen quite the demanding path haven't I? He grimaced while raiding the fridge.
"You're supposed to be in bed with Her Majesty," and as fate would have it, he wasn't the only early-riser in the estate this morning. A disapproving horned-servant had approached him, wearing her nightgown while glaring at him.
"What goes in bed between me and her is none of your business," he groaned, his early-morning self having little room for patience. "Unless you plan on making my bedtime activities your business? I certainly wouldn't mind that," he grinned at her, earning an eye roll from Albedo in return.
"I wish you'd put an end to your provocative comments, it's unbecoming for a noble, much less a Bael." She sighed, now unphased by the copious amount of food he and Adaloth consumed on a daily basis. Why is she even bothering to make you Great King? All you have is strength, you're better off acting as her guard or something, she brooded. No, it isn't my place to question Her Majesty's decision.
"Don't worry, you're the only one I'm using them on," Albedo narrowed her eyes at him as he sat down to eat and pulled out a chair beside him, motioning for her to side beside him. "What's wrong? I won't bite, I'm not Zekram." He pulled his collar to the side, revealing teeth markings that caused Albedo to flinch. These were actually from Adaloth, but with the way she reacts to everything it's hard to resist playing around a little.
I had no idea Her Majesty had such an—aggressive, approach. "You should keep such information to yourself," she masked her surprise and reluctantly sat next to him. "It would be problematic if rumors were to spread," she side-eyed him.
"Don't worry, you're the only one I'll tell," he used the same line again much to Albedo's indignation. "You want to know more about Zekram don't you? Beyond what you can learn from a master-servant relationship," he rested his cheek against his palm.
"I don't even want to know what mental gymnastics could've possibly led you to that conclusion," she huffed while popping an apple slice into her mouth. "I only need to know what Her Majesty deems necessary, nothing more."
"I'm not talking about what you need, I'm talking about what you want." His smile widened, revealing a pair of canines that were noticeably sharper than they had any need to be. "You've served her for a long time now, aren't you even a little curious about the personal life of the person you've been working for all this time?"
Of course I'm curious! But that isn't the point, the point is I only need to concern myself with my duty—that's all. She scowled, staring him square in the face. "What exactly are you trying to achieve here?"
"I'm not sure what you're talking about," he replied innocently.
"Your continuous questioning of how I operate, my duty, and your attempts to make me doubt my way of life that has served me faithfully my whole life—are you really so bored that pestering me is the only way to satiate you?" She pointed her fork that still had an apple slice on it at him.
"I'm not pestering you Albedo, pestering is what I'm doing to Zekram." He replied without a morsel of shame, "I just like talking to you, is that so wrong?" He leaned forward and bit the slice off her fork.
"Why?"
"Why?" Avalon repeated, "You honestly don't know?"
"No."
He appeared to be genuinely taken aback by her lack of understanding, "Albedo—other than Misla, you're the only person here I can talk freely with." Her eyes widened, "Whenever I talk with Zekram and Adaloth every word that comes out of their mouth is calculated, with a hidden meaning hidden under every hidden meaning. Honestly it's exhausting, I'm not cut out for that kind of prolonged mental warfare like they are."
"Are you questioning Her Majesty's character?" Albedo's hostility rose.
"No, there's nothing about her character that I need to question anymore, the same goes for Adaloth. But you're different, you've always been open with how you feel about me, just like you're doing now by staring a hole through my forehead." He chuckled, "I like honest and open people, regardless of whether they like or dislike me. Even though I can handle the manipulating kind for a decent amount of time—" he pulled down his blindfold, startling Albedo as she looked at the stress lines between his eyes and nose. "—I can't keep it up forever, without someone like you around I'm destined to collapse under the pressure."
"You aren't calling me simple-minded are you?"
"No, I'm saying you're a good person." He put his blindfold back on and calmly continued to eat his meal, "Contrary to Zekram, I don't believe kindness is a sign of naivety."
Her mouth opened, but not a single word came out, followed by her blinking repeatedly while staring at him with uncertainty. "...I'm not sure how you want me to respond to that." She sat there blanky, scrutinizing Avalon even harder than before.
"You don't need to respond, I just felt like saying it," he stabbed his fork into an apple slice—holding it out to her in order to return the favour.
"I can feed myself."
"I never said you couldn't," he still had the piece of fruit held out to her, clearly uninterested in taking no for an answer.
"You're insufferable," she sighed, reluctantly leaning forward and taking a bite.
He smiled, "I'll take that as a compliment."
[Young Lord, there's been a rather—shocking development at Mortis.] Pandorica reached out to him, carrying a sense of severity with him as he spoke.
What happened? Avalon picked up on his tone, setting down his cutlery and preparing himself for whatever he was about to hear.
[There's been an attack, a pair of Cadres were just reported to have assaulted the city, going directly for the central command tower.] Knowing what Avalon was going to ask next, Pandorica continued, [I haven't received a report on whether there were any casualties or injuries just yet.]
Albedo watched as Avalon pushed his plate aside and got up from his chair with a deep frown on his face, his fists clenching out of sheer anxiety. Do you know which Cadres did it?
[One of them was reportedly a female Cadre, and the other a Cadre by the name of Baraqiel.]
The first one warranted more of his attention than the second, Hold on, the female was a Cadre?
[That is correct Young Lord, both fallen angels were ten-winged.] Avalon bit down on his lower lip, confident that the Cadre Pandorica was referring to was none other than Eurus, who he had last seen during the Mortis Campaign. The only other female Cadre—Penemue—was dead after all.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm leaving for Mortis, I'll leave a message behind for Zekram." Uncaring of the fact that he was still wearing his Levi-tan pajamas, Avalon prepared to take his leave. Please be safe, Lars, Esdeath, Ruval.
"Leaving?" She repeated in confusion, "You need Her Majesty's permission first—"
"I don't have time to argue with her, she's still asleep anyway." He swiftly interjected, "If it bothers her then I'll deal with it later. There's been an attack, Mortis was assaulted by a pair of Cadres." Nothing better have happened to them under your watch—Wilbert.
Even though she didn't take kindly to his breach of protocol, Albedo still understood why he was so insistent on leaving at a moment's notice. The hawk-like watch he kept over his peerage and Ruval was well known to her, Zekram, and Adaloth. "How did you even get a hold of that information? I haven't had anything reported back to me," other than Ajuka, Avalon had yet to inform anyone around him about Pandorica. I didn't detect a transmission spell reaching out to him, it must have something to do with that device around his neck.
"How I got a hold of it is irrelevant, all that matters is the fact that I have it." He glanced at her, "If you're so worried about me being out of Zekram's sight, then you might as well come with me."
"Me? No, I'd first need to ask—"
"You're my interim Queen right now aren't you?" He interjected, "It's your duty to watch over me wherever I go, and I doubt Zekram would be pleased if you decided to abandon that duty when I'm explicitly making it easier for you."
Easier? You might want to read up on the definition of that word, she scoffed inwardly. "Sneaking off will greatly displease Her Majesty, she's not a fan of people going back on an agreement."
"Like I said, let me worry about that. Now are you coming or not? Make a decision," he impatiently urged her.
Albedo pursed her lip, Her Majesty will completely lose the ability to monitor him if I don't go, and I doubt Wilbert Valen will be very keen on reporting back to her of his volition. Even if they installed more people from the Bael Clan into Mortis, Avalon's speed and elusiveness made him a near-impossible target for observation. Moreover, his senses would pick up on anyone who attempted to watch him without fail, regardless of whether they did it through using their Demonic Power, sight, or hearing. Her Majesty would probably blame me for that, wouldn't she? She groaned, fully aware of how her master operated.
"At least let me get changed first," unlike Avalon, Albedo wasn't comfortable entering the battlefield in her nightwear.
"Make it quick."
She changed into a sturdy three-part suit of sturdy pitch-black colored armor with a devilish shape, the thinly carved slit in the helmet serving as a visor being the only opening in the clearly pricey piece of equipment—with an added half-cape hanging by the back of the waist.
Avalon took a moment to observe the gear. A defense-improving armor, it's logical taking her upfront fighting style and the fact that her offense leaves little to be desired among the Ultimate-Class level, "You look good in that."
"You still have your blindfold on."
He grinned, "I know."
---
"It's been a while since you've experienced a fight of that level hasn't it?" Spoke a buxom, young-looking woman with bright red-hair and matching eyes, sporting an outfit that revealed a great deal of her legs and bountiful chest. "You clearly still have some unrusting to do, Will." She chuckled.
She was Sapphire Valen, the young sister of Wilbert Valen, who was sat down on a hospital bed in front of her being treated for the wounds, bruises, and plethora of Holy Power-related injuries covering his hulkish frame. Even though he had managed to hold against Baraqiel, Eurus decided to intervene during their battle by hurling an onslaught of her Light Magic which was totally not aimed at Baraqiel out of jealousy, and proceeded to signal for them to take their leave as she had already secured the host of Divine Dividing.
As much as Wilbert wanted to give chase, him being met with the sight of Lars, Esdeath, and Ruval's injured figures threw that idea out of the window, instead being replaced by him immediately administering a Phoenix Tear to each of them.
Sapphire had also assisted by providing what treatment she could, and although none of them were in any mortal danger, they were all still bedridden and unconscious for the time-being. In need of a drastic amount of rest even after being hit by a Eurus that was holding back significantly.
Out of the three, Esdeath had received the worst injury with Eurus's light-javelin piercing her abdomen, but when Wilbert approached her body there was already a layer of ice coating the wound that didn't look nearly as bad as it should've. I'm not sure how she managed to heal herself while unconscious, but I'm glad she could.
"That's for sure," he nodded, looking over at the injured children around him with a deep sense of guilt looming over his horned head. "They took the white-haired kid Esdeath and Lars brought back, and I honestly don't think they had any interest in eliminating me or my army beforehand." He had more than enough experience to differentiate between an enemy that was actually fighting, or just stalling for time.
If Wilbert was the target, then why not just have Baraqiel and Eurus go after him together and be done with it? He knew he wouldn't stand a chance against both of them together, hell, even Eurus alone might've been too much for him.
"That child had the presence of a dragon," Sapphire added, to which he nodded in agreement. "They must've known about him before he was found by Lars and Esdeath, the only question is why they were observing him in the first place." Vali had only been with them for a day, having spent most of his time unconscious after being knocked out by Esdeath—leaving them without any time to actually learn anything about him.
"We'll have to worry about that another time," Wilbert said with a solemn expression. "First, we need to make sure the children remain stable, and determine whether or not they're planning a follow-up strike while I'm weakened." If there was ever a time for Grigori to launch a counter attack to reclaim Mortis, it would be now while its General wasn't in prime condition.
"You should call for reinforcements, if you're right about them having a second attack prepared, you'll practically be a sitting duck once if it happens as you are now." Sapphire conveyed her deep concern.
"Would I suffice as reinforcement?" Sapphire and Wilbert both recoiled, flinching internally as their gaze shot to the other side of the room where Esdeath, Lars, and Ruval's beds were. A presence now stood in front of them, enveloping the three of them in some sort of white aura with a grim expression on his face.
"Who—!" Sapphire raised her first, but Wilbert swiftly grabbed her hand and motioned for her to stop.
Out of the blue, a young man had appeared wearing an all-pink outfit, with the patterned image of the Underworld's idol, Magical Girl Levi-tan plastered all over the surface of its cloth. He wore a pair of pink, fluffy slippers and had shoulder-length flaxen colored hair. The rest of his appearance was still invisible to them as they could see his back.
"We only met once quite some time ago, so I don't blame you for not recognizing me—Sapphire." He turned around after inspecting the sleeping children for a little while, revealing a blindfolded face alongside a strange device strapped around his neck.
"You're—Avalon?" Her voice was a low whisper, but Avalon could hear it just fine as he responded to her with a curt nod. When did he get here? And how didn't we hear the door open? She swallowed a nervous gulp, even though Avalon wasn't deploying his pressure or making himself appear visibly hostile, she could tell that he wasn't exactly in the best mood. "You should've let us know if you were coming," she forced herself to speak with composure. The attack only concluded a few minutes ago, how could he have received the information and arrived here in such a short span of time?
"I'm letting you know now aren't I?" He replied with a tinge of irritation, "Or would you have hosted a parade to greet me while you were recovering?" The sarcasm wasn't hard to spot, Avalon choosing to spare one more glance towards Esdeath while Sapphire was thinking about a response. Thank you Acina—I'm in your debt.
"I take it you've already heard about what's transpired here then?" She could feel a cold, reptilian stare scrutinizing her from beneath his blindfold. Are you really Avalon? How have you grown so much already? You don't feel like the same child I met back at our household.
"Eurus and Baraqiel attacked, I'm aware." He turned to Wilbert, "I'm surprised you're still alive."
Eurus? Is that the female Cadre's name? How does he even know that? He pondered, "I might be old, but I still have some—"
"I didn't mean that as a compliment," his words made it seem like the temperature in the room had dropped. "Why are my children more injured than you are? General Wilbert Valen."
Wilbert intervened before Sapphire could muster any sort of retort, solemnly bowing his head. "I'm sorry—"
"Don't apologize either, putting me in a position where I get to decide whether to forgive you or not isn't a good idea at the moment." He sighed, "Granted, I also share the blame for not being here in person." I suppose Sahariel's level is their limit for now, that's already amazing enough taking their age into account. However, Eurus is just far too much for them to handle right now, so it'd be best to send them back home to train.
"I thought I told you not to rush in without me?" Wilbert and Sapphire looked to the door, watching Albedo clad in all her armor save for her helmet stepped in. You're still alive? She glanced at Wilbert, "Hello Lord Valen."
"Hello?" He replied, not sure who she was, "Are you with Avalon?"
"Indeed, I'm responsible for babysitting him on behalf of Her Majesty while he's here," she said while staring right at him. "I hope our presence won't be too much of a disturbance for you."
"No, not at all, as a matter of fact we could use a bit of assistance right now—which you've probably already figured out." He mustered up his courage, "If you don't mind me asking, how long do the two of you plan on staying?"
"That would depend on him," she gestured toward Avalon. Hopefully it isn't too long, I'm not sure how long Her Majesty's tolerance can hold out for.
"I plan on standing guard here until they've recovered and been sent back home," Wilbert chose not to comment on the matter in spite of knowing that the three probably wouldn't take kindly to Avalon's decision. They were his subordinates at the end of the day, and Wilbert certainly wouldn't go to any lengths to keep children on the battlefield. Moreover, now really wasn't the time to be disagreeing with Avalon. "I'll also help you out with whatever I can while I'm here, loitering around isn't exactly my style." If they were going to send out a Super Fallen Angel, it was only fair that a Super Devil was deployed in return.
---
"Zekram! Zekram!" The Ancestral Devil felt a hand tugging at her side while she was asleep in bed, causing her to breath a miffed groan as her eyelids gradually parted, greeting her with the sight of Adaloth's concerned face nudging her awake. This is definitely a superb way to start the day, she sighed inwardly. "Zekram! Wake up!"
"What do you want?" She said in her morning-voice while rubbing her face.
"He's gone!"
"What are you talking about—" Zekram looked over at the mid-section of the bed between her and Adaloth, noticing that a certain someone wasn't present. "He's probably just downstairs or something, you know how he prefers to eat earlier than both of us."
"You think I didn't already check that?" She said sarcastically, still shocked to find that Avalon was capable of escaping her iron-clad grip this whole time. "Avalanche can't smell him anywhere around here either."
Now Zekram was starting to share her concern, reaching for her phone placed on her nightstand to see if there was any information there. You better have a good explanation for this, and lo and behold—Avalon had left her a message. "Look," she held up her screen to Adaloth.
[There was an attack on Mortis and I didn't want to disturb you while you were sleeping, so I went ahead and took the liberty of leaving of my own volition—don't worry though, I took Albedo with me. I'll be back soon Honey! 😘]
Adaloth's jaw dropped, something about the text bothering her far more than the fact that he up and ditched her. He actually calls her Honey! And he took Albedo instead of me! Her expression darkened, her knuckles cracking as a malicious smile crept up her face. "I think I owe Mortis a visit."
"Do as you please," Zekram shrugged. "Just make sure you don't interfere with Wilbert's work."
Ding!
They both looked back at the phone after hearing a notification ring.
[Since I know you don't believe me, here's some proof.]
It was a selfie of Avalon and Albedo together.
---
As promised, the action part has returned once more! And I have some more development between Avalon and Albedo planned since I want to make the latter more than just a one-dimensional character.
