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(TPD) Chapter 6: Shadow Of Conflict
🕑 Added 2024-10-18 03:43:42 +0000 UTCChapter 6: Shadow Of Conflict
(Third Person)
The border between the Fallen Angel’s Territory and Gremory Duchy was surprisingly lush if anything, filled with forestry, foliage, expansive rivers, and all sorts of greenery that even the Sitri would take a certain level of interest in.
Normally you wouldn’t see much activity in the region as a result of the major races of the Underworld being in a ceasefire at the moment, but the slight changes in the political landscape between them were starting to teeter in the other direction.
Conflict was brewing, silently, but fiercely. The murder of a few soldiers might not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things, but the implications their deaths made weren’t something one could just gloss over. Especially not for the Gremory Clan, who took compassion more seriously than any other Noble Clan in the Underworld.
Devils and Fallen Angels blended together like oil and water, all it really took was one small push to the left or right for everything to go south.
It had been centuries since they had spilled each other’s blood, but with their species’s lifespans they remembered it like yesterday. The sins they had committed against one another were not so easily forgotten, and the Fallen Angels had given Zeoticus quite the reminder.
The ceasefire only served to keep up appearances, no one in their right mind would believe that a piece of paper could mend the tensions between them.
Of course, Heaven was also a part of that ceasefire, but if they tried to get involved it would probably just result in the Underworld teaming up against them out of fear of mutual destruction.
It made much more sense to wait, let the Underworld do as much self-inflicted damage as possible, and then swoop in for the easy kill.
With that said, war had a tendency to breathe life into prodigies, Sirzechs Lucifer and Ajuka Beelzebub being prime examples of such a phenomenon.
Prodigies were dangerous, and prodigies given enough time to properly mature were fatal. The existence of those two Satans alone changed the entire power dynamic between all three races.
The Devils had certainly been blessed in that department with their current generation of youth, but it wasn’t as if Grigori’s talent pool had been left completely bone dry either.
After all, where there is light, there are always shadows to be found.
“Idiots working with idiots, fighting other idiots, to produce idiotic results, in the end that’s all this is isn’t it?” A young woman spoke, who looked to be around fifteen to sixteen years old give or take. “It’s a shame that my father also happens to be one of those idiots,” she took a swig from what looked to be a wine jug, uncaringly letting it spill all over her chin. “The Governor isn’t any better for letting him get to this point in the first place.”
She had long silky raven hair that reached her waist, and even though she barely paid any attention to self-grooming her locks looked like they had been perfectly maintained through the efforts of a rigorous routine.
Her skin looked awfully pale, as if she had contracted some sort of illness, and her pupils were completely pitch black and lusterless. Not a shred of life in them to be found, accompanied by her bright red lips that complimented her almost vampiric appearance, counteracted only by the lacking redness in her eyes, and evident absence of fangs.
She wore a simple black robe with a gold upside down cross with wings surrounding its sides etched into the back, the lower-half of her attire being short enough to bring attention to her slender legs, and the fitting being tight enough to pronounce her chest.
Each aspect of her figure seemed to breathe life into an almost otherworldly level of beauty, one that seemed to detach itself from all that it walked on.
She raised her jug to take another swig, but her mood soon soured upon seeing that she had run out of brew.
She clicked her tongue. “Dohnaseek!”
“Yes? Lady Eurus.” A middle-aged man appeared in front of her, knelt down on one knee with his head facing the floor, not daring to look up at her.
He had short black hair and dark blue eyes, and wore a pale gray trench coat over a white dress shirt with a matching ascot, black pants and shoes, a pair of black gloves, and a black fedora.
“Go get me a refill,” she held her jug out towards him.
Dohnaseek swallowed a nervous gulp, adjusting the collar of his shirt. “Lady Eurus, I’m afraid we’ve run out of Bamboo Wine.”
“What?” Her voice was like a low growl, the one syllable that had left her mouth being more than enough to infect Dohnaseek’s brain with overwhelming dread.
“I’ll go back and get more immediately!”
“Idiot,” she threw the jug at his head, the impact causing a single trail of blood to drip from his scalp. “We’re in enemy territory, you can’t just walk around as you please. Are you trying to get us caught?” Eurus facepalmed, wondering why her father had given her the most incompetent subordinates possible.
Dohnaseek had been regularly subjected to Eurus’s temper, which wasn’t something that got easier with time. However, he always made it a practice to withhold his tongue no matter how much frustration boiled within him, it was an act of self-preservation after all.
“Has the carriage come through yet?” Eurus asked.
“It’s been spotted, Raynare’s going to give the signal when it’s in the allotted area.”
Both Eurus and Dohnaseek felt a surge of Light Magic reach out to them. “I’m assuming that’s the signal?”
“It is.”
“Then what are you still loitering around for?” Eurus narrowed her eyes, glaring at Dohnaseek. “Go.”
He didn’t waste a second, a pair of black feathery wings sprouting out of his back as he took off to go execute the mission he had been given, and hopefully earn a smidget of goodwill from Eurus.
“It really is ridiculous, even if father succeeds, we’ll lose regardless. Oh well, I’ll probably retreat to the Human World when that happens.” She leaned back against a tree, breathing a deep exhale.
Time continued to pass as Eurus was left with her own thoughts, interrupted only by the sound of something beeping within her robe.
“Speak of the idiot,” she pulled out what looked to be some sort of communication device. A hologram of a man with long black hair, pale skin just like hers, and bright red eyes appearing out of it. “Yes?”
“Eurus. What’s the progress on the second carriage?” The man asked.
“They’re dealing with it as we speak.”
“Good, and what about the Duke?”
“He’s come to the border in person as you anticipated, the reinforcements they’ve made are minimal so I’m assuming they’re still trying to keep everything quiet.”
He chuckled darkly. “I’d expect no less of their kind, the second carriage should make them as loud as we need them to be.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“Then you’ll have to kill the Duke or the Border Commander outright, Azazel’s still proving to be a thorn in my side so time isn’t exactly a luxury we can afford at the moment. Bael will know what to do once that happens.”
“Roger that,” Eurus said without an ounce of confidence in her voice. “Anything else you need me to do?”
“No, that’s all for now. Notify me once you’ve ascertained their reaction to the second carriage.”
“As you wish,” the device deactivated as Eurus immediately shook her head. “What kind of idiot does he take me for? If I kill either of them, I’ll just end up becoming a scapegoat to sue for peace once we lose. Forget it, I’m bolting the second one of our Cadres are dead. I’m willing to bet money that my father will be the first casualty.” A faint exhale left her nostrils. “Superior species, inferior species, what’s the difference? Everyone has the right to survive and be killed, even if there are levels of royalty between beings, in the face of death none of that matters. They’re both dead after all.”
Eight crow-like wings fluttered from her back as she soared into the sky, looking down on the sight of her subordinates executing a group of guards making a pathetic attempt to protect their cargo.
She swooped down, the Fallen Angels around her all tensing up as she tossed one of the bodies laying in front of the carriage door aside.
“Here we go,” she picked up a crate that had a small seal engraved beneath it, effortlessly ripping it off with her finger as a faint blue glow started to emanate from within.
“Is everything in order? Lady Eurus.” One of her female subordinates, Raynare, asked.
“If everything wasn’t in order, do you honestly think you’d still be alive right now?” That was more than enough to render Raynare silent. “Grab all the other crates as well, we still need to make it look like a blatant provocation.” They immediately got to work, leaving Eurus with her own thoughts once more. “Hopefully I’ll get to see something at least a little interesting before I’m the last Fallen Angel alive.”
---
(First Person - Avalon)
I’m about to do something that’s probably going to get me scolded.
No, I’m definitely going to get scolded.
I plan to play it off as a child’s persistent intrigue, but I don't think that's going to save me from at least getting a few solid whacks on the head.
It’s really early in the morning, around the time when I’m supposed to be training with Souji. However, right now I’m sitting atop a carriage as a very nervous looking butler continues to glance my way, and justifiably so.
“Young Lord, this carriage is supposed to be for Lady Venelana.”
“I know.”
“I mean, it’s supposed to be only for Lady Venelana.”
I can feel his concern continuing to rise, and I do feel a little bad for him.
Then again, right now I’m playing the role of a curious little child who doesn’t know his boundaries. I’m sure everything will be forgiven with time.
“I know that as well.”
“Then could you please return to the household?” He pleaded, but unfortunately for him all his words would be falling on deaf ears today.
“Could I? I’m not sure, maybe I could, maybe I couldn’t.” I leaned from side to side, my feet swinging as they dangled in the air.
The front door to the house opened, the outline of an all too familiar figure becoming visible to me from beneath my blindfold as I prepared the lines I had been rehearsing in my head all morning.
“What are you doing? Avalon.” My mother’s stern voice reached me, her hands on her hips accompanied by an unimpressed look on her face.
“Just tagging along for the ride,” I smiled. “You’re going to the border aren’t you?”
“Who told you that?” I think she’s glaring at me.
“The look of urgency on your face, and the armor you’re wearing under that dress.” Relax, I didn’t look any further. “Oh, and father talked about the situation briefly before he left.”
She sighed, pinching her nose bridge probably out of frustration for our father underestimating how bored I could get. “You’re supposed to be training with Souji right now.”
“Souji taught me that to hesitate, is to lose. He’d be disappointed in me if he knew that I had hesitated about coming along with you.”
“He should’ve taught you about listening to your parents as well. Point is, you're not coming with me. The border might end up becoming a battlefield, and a battlefield is no place for a child.”
“Oh? Zeoticus has already left, and if you leave as well then there’ll be no parent at the house to look after me and Adaloth. Isn’t that irresponsible?” Give it up mother, I’m bio-engineered for verbal warfare.
“I already called for your grandmother to come over to look after you temporarily, and there’s plenty of maids to take care of all your needs. Now go back, we’re done discussing this.”
I get why she’s so adamant about this, no responsible parent would want their child to be around possible danger.
But unfortunately, I really want to get close to some danger right now.
“Even if you don’t let me ride with you, I’ll just follow the carriage from afar while masking my presence.” I hopped down from the carriage roof, approaching Venelana with a cocky smile plastered on my face. “So either you can have me come with you while under your watchful eye, or you can put the skills you’ve learned from birdwatching to the test.”
I’m able to restrict the presence of my Demonic Power to literally nothing, giving me the ability to turn completely invisible when I really want to. Of course, limiting it to such an extreme extent puts a huge drain on my stamina so I rarely use the ability.
“When did you get so mischievous?” She groaned as she put her hand on her head. “Why do you even want to go to the border so badly in the first place? Don’t tell me you want to enter a battlefield?”
I just smiled in response.
“Just think of me as a tag-along security system, if any bad guys try anything along the way I’ll be able to spot them in advance.”
This is also a good chance for me to get away from Adaloth, she probably thinks I’m with Souji at the moment. Heh, what a fool.
Ruval and Esdeath are probably going to be asleep for a few more hours, so I won’t have to worry about them either.
“What do you think you’re doing out here at this hour? Dear brother of mine.”
I spoke too soon.
“Mother was just planning on taking me around for a brief sight-seeing trip, besides, shouldn’t you be with Mathers?”
“Shouldn’t you be with Souji?” She retorted, her eyes shifting between me, mother, and the carriage. “I see, you’re going to the border, and you were planning on leaving me behind.”
You really are a thorn in my side.
Can you even blame me? It’s suffocating being around your ever present creepiness all the time, I think I deserve a much needed breather.
“Let me guess, you want to come along as well?” Venelana said with a knowing look on her face.
Don’t let her come with! I’m more than enough, trust me.
“I don’t think it’s very fair if only Avalon is allowed to go, wouldn’t you agree?” She walked closer to me, staring me down at a distance I didn’t find comfortable.
“Fine, I’d much rather be able to keep an eye on you than let you wander off on your own. However, let me make one thing clear, if you disobey so much as one of my orders, even a little. You’re both going straight back to the house, understood?”
“Yes, Ma’am!” I gave her an affirmative thumbs-up.
“Understood,” Adaloth replied, pinching my waist with significantly more force than last time. “If you ever try to pull something like this again, you’re seriously going to regret it. Adrian.” She whispered into my ear in a threatening manner.
“Maybe you should pay more attention to why I tried to get away from you in the first place, Makima.” I replied with just as much angst.
“Do you think I’m joking?” Her eyelids dropped a little. “We agreed to handle our situation together, I will not tolerate abandonment.”
“Whatever,” I brushed her arm off. “You’re coming with us now so you have no reason to whine.”
I’m the one taking this as a joke? What a laugh. You’re the one who insists on pretending as if my disdain for you doesn’t exist.
I didn’t trust you when we first met, and I still don’t.
You are cold.
You are detached.
You are lightless.
And I can understand everything about you, except what I need to know most.
I was able to figure out the motives of everyone I encountered as Adrian Shepard, and even as Avalon Gremory it isn’t very hard for me to do.
Everyone, except you.
Therefore, I hate you.
You, who is the only reminder of everything that brought me torment before I arrived in this world.
“What are you two bickering about? Are you getting in or not?” Venelana held the carriage door open, waiting for us to get in first.
---
(Third Person)
To say Zeoticus was annoyed, would be an understatement.
“What is the meaning of this?” His eyes twitched, his arms folded and his foot tapping irritably against the ground, a vein looking ready to bulge out of his head.
“It was either this, or we’d find them wandering around the border with Fallen Angels lurking about. I think you can take a guess as to why I chose the former.” Venelana replied, granted she was just as annoyed as Zeoticus was at the moment.
“They’re five,” Zeoticus stated.
“Really? How long have you been sitting on this information?” She said sarcastically, earning an irked groan from her husband. “It’s not like they’re going to be on the frontlines, maybe they’ll learn something valuable from observing how the border operates. One of them will have to be in charge of it some day anyways.”
“You’re right about the first part,” Zeoticus glared at his children. “I hope I don’t need to remind you what’ll happen if I catch you so much as an inch outside our encampment?”
They both returned affirmative nods his way, Zeoticus not sure whether he could take them at face value or not.
“I saw a beaten up carriage outside, what’s that about?” Avalon asked.
“We think it was attacked by a group of Fallen Angels, probably as a direct provocation to us.”
Avalon pursed his lips. “Why that carriage in particular? Was it carrying anything of value?”
Zeoticus shook his head. “No, we already triple-checked everything. There was nothing special about that carriage, the only thing of note was that it was headed to the Bael Clan. However, that alone doesn’t give us much to work with. So I’m having Wilbert do a bit of digging to see if he can uncover anything.”
Avalon hummed. “Mind if I take a look?”
“At the carriage?” Zeoticus raised his brow.
“Yeah, maybe I’ll be able to spot something that’ll help.”
If you were to consider physical prowess alone, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Avalon had the best senses out of any Devil in the Underworld.
“Go for it,” Zeoticus shrugged. “If you do find something make sure to tell me.”
Avalon smiled, exiting the tent they were gathered in with Adaloth following after him.
“You already noticed something didn’t you?” It was more of a statement rather than a question.
“Maybe,” he motioned for a few of the guards gathered around the torn up carriage to move aside, none of them daring to get in the way of the next clan head. Albeit, seeing him with a blindfold was a little perplexing.
He crouched down near the rear left wheel of the carriage, motioning for Adaloth to come closer.
“Put your hand there,” he pointed at part of the carriage's exterior.
“It’s warm.”
“It’s poison,” Avalon replied with a grin. “There’s a trace of Light Magic here, or at least that’s my assumption since the carriage was supposedly attacked by Fallen Angels. It’s not enough to actually damage us, but I presume it’s sufficient to be recognised by a Fallen Angel.”
Adaloth’s expression lit up with understanding. “I see, the carriages have been marked in advance so the Fallen Angels know which one to attack. But that still doesn’t make sense, why go for a particular carriage if they’re all carrying the same goods?”
“Like father said, maybe it isn’t about the goods. This carriage was headed to the Bael Clan after all, it’s possible that they are indeed up to something.”
She shook her head. “The Bael are all about strength and supremacy, why would they allow something that makes them look weak to happen on purpose?”
“None of this has been made public, and even if it is I doubt having one carriage loaded with supplies ransacked will mean a whole lot. Everyone will be too focused on the possibility of us going to war again.” Avalon paused for a moment. “Maybe the Bael want it to look like they were being targeted?”
“You think they’re cooperating with the Fallen Angels?”
“If they are, then this would be a good way to eliminate suspicion. Make them appear as if they’re the ones who the Fallen Angels have a particular grudge against, even if it’ll appear as an obvious ploy to people like our father. It’ll have a lot of weight in the court of public opinion.”
Adaloth drummed her fingers against the carriage. “I still don’t understand, even if the Bael are the ones responsible for all this. What would be the point of that? If it’s just to get a war started, which I also wouldn’t see the rationale behind, there are so many easier and direct methods of going about that.”
“I don’t get it either, it all seems random-”
“What is it?” She noticed his sudden hesitation.
Avalon pulled his blindfold down and leaned closer towards the carriage’s floorboard, brushing his hand against the wood and holding it up to his face.
“Now that’s interesting,” he mused aloud.
“I don’t see anything,” Adaloth leaned closer to him.
Though it was invisible to everyone else, Avalon could see a gathering of small light-blue particles on the surface of his hand. Each of them carried only a few specks of Demonic Power in them, but the density of each speck was immensely high from Avalon’s perspective.
“Some sort of residue has been left behind on the wood, I don’t know what it is, but I can say with full certainty it isn’t food or blood.” Avalon held his open palm out, more of the particles gathering into his hand.
“What’s that?” Eventually, a small amount of blue powder, just barely enough to cover the tip of his pinky finger, had accumulated on his skin.
“No idea, but it’s something worth investigating alright.”
All of a sudden, Adaloth and Avalon heard a group of soldiers rushing into the encampment and shouting, carrying something heavy with them.
“They’ve attacked a second carriage,” Avalon discerned through the help of his enhanced hearing. “Good, this should give us some answers.”
Zeoticus and Venelana rushed out of their tent, heading straight towards the soldiers to see what all the commotion was about.
“I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that carriage was also headed to the Bael Clan?” Adaloth suggested.
“Let’s go and find out for ourselves,” Avalon approached the scene, met with the sight of a busted up carriage riddled with blood stains. He walked in front of his parents, kneeling down near the same spot as he did with the first carriage.
“Is it marked?” Adaloth asked.
“Yeah,” he confirmed.
“Did you find something out?” Zeoticus inquired.
“The first carriage was marked with a very faint trace of Light Magic, and the same has been done with this one. Feel it.” He motioned for his father to touch a specific part of the carriage.
“There’s a faint burning sensation,” his eyes sprung up. “It’s definitely Light Magic. Wait, doesn’t that mean-”
“You might want to investigate where these carriages are being manufactured,” Avalon suggested. “That, and one more thing.” He held his hand out, gathering more of the blue particles from the second carriage, accumulating enough powder to now cover the tip of his thumb.
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know, find someone to run a test on it.” He dropped the powder into his father’s hand. “Was this carriage also going to the Bael Clan?”
Zeoticus looked at one of the soldiers.
“According to the route we found it on, we’re confident it was also headed there.” They replied.
“I see, in that case tell Lith to get over here. I require his presence immediately.”
“Who’s Lith?” Avalon asked.
“He’s the Border Commander I assigned, his post is located too close to the Bael Clan’s route, and I can’t risk anything happening to him at the moment. He has too much valuable information that we can’t risk losing or letting the enemy capture.”
Moreover, if Lith were to be killed or captured, avoiding all out war would become a considerably difficult task to accomplish.
“If we do end up at war, what do you plan to do?” Adaloth asked Avalon.
“Is that even a question? I’ll fight.”
“Do you think mother and father will let you?” She raised her brow.
“I’m pretty confident in my speed, it’ll take a miracle for them to prevent me from going.”
---
(Third Person)
The Bael Castle had stood firm since its creation, having never once fallen in battle during both the Great War, and Devil Civil War.
It was protected by over fifty near-impenetrable barriers, with not even one of them having ever been compromised.
Hundreds of the Bael’s elite guards protected the castle at all times, all ready to flock to their masters at a moment's notice.
“It’s about time we settled this,” and standing at the very top of the castle, was none other than Lord Bael himself. Casually sipping on a cup of wine as he looked down on his courtyard, observing the sight of gardeners tending to his plants. “Wouldn’t you agree?” He turned his head a little to the left, facing a hooded figure standing in his office.
“My job is only to observe and report, Lord Bael, not to comment.” The figure replied, Lord Bael breathing a faint exhale and flaring his brows in response.
“Then report.”
“The second carriage was attacked and left for the Duke to find as planned, the cargo has also been successfully delivered.”
Lord Bael’s impression conveyed neither pleasure nor displeasure, just plain indifference. “And?”
“Kokabiel has made no move, nor attempted to relay any message.”
“That in of itself is a message,” he took another sip from his cup before setting it down on his desk. Clasping his hands behind his back. “We’ve both done our part, now all that’s left is to put our pieces on the board and see who’ll come out on top.”
“The outcome is already a foregone conclusion is it not?”
Lord Bael plastered on an eerie smile. “So much for not commenting,” a ghastly chuckle escaped his lips. “Granted, your comment is not without merit. The conclusion is indeed already decided, Kokabiel was simply too deluded to see that. That sad excuse of a Governor is also at fault for not having a tighter grip on his people.”
“How should we proceed?”
“We’ll use the attack on the carriages as leverage to gain temporary oversight on the Duke’s border, which will turn permanent once Zekram does what he needs to do.”
“You plan to command from the frontlines?”
“Do you have a problem with that?” The hooded figure felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
“No, not at all.”
“Unfortunately Sairaorg is too young to be of any use to me, and I must admit I’m starting to doubt whether he’ll show any promise. Therefore it’s important that I’m there in person to make sure we absorb all the credit.” Lord Bael hummed. “I hear that Venelana’s children are rather blessed? Were we able to get access to their files?”
The figure shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
Lord Bael shrugged. “That’s fine, I’ll ascertain their value first hand once I’m at the border. Their strength comes from our blood, if we deploy them on the frontlines it’ll only bolster our position in the long run.”
“Aren’t they also a bit young to prove effective on the battlefield?”
“The Lucifer was rather young when he fought, but we made the mistake of not taking advantage of the moment to credit his accomplishments to us as much as we should’ve, and because of that we ended up gaining our strongest competitor instead of what could’ve been our strongest tool. I won’t allow a recurrence of that mistake.”
“The Duke will try to oppose that.”
He scoffed. “Of course he will, Zeoticus’s heart is just as soft as his mind. If not for Venelana what value would he possibly have? He should be thankful that I’m nurturing his children’s talent for him, we both know it would be wasted in his hands.”
“And what about the Lucifer’s Knight and Bishop? Since they are the ones responsible for training them, it’s possible they may also try to get involved.”
“Let them, we’ll have them assist in their training during the war. They’ll see it as an opportunity to both oversee their student’s growth, and keep a close enough eye on them as the battle goes on. With or without their students, they’d end up being called to the frontlines regardless. At least this way we have some level of control over their actions.”
Souji and Mathers listened only to their King, they couldn’t be puppeteered around as Lord Bael pleased.
But if he played his cards right, a few nudges here and there would be possible.
Avalon and Adaloth both needed to demonstrate their prowess on the frontlines, and remain alive so that he could use their accomplishments to his benefit later on.
In a strange way, he had become their malicious benefactor.
“Once the conflict begins, won’t the Satans start looking for ways to suppress us?”
“They will, but dealing with that is Zekram’s department. Not mine.” Lord Bael sat down on his chair, leaning back into it as he stretched his arms. “The Underworld Supremacy War is about to begin, and it’s important that the Bael are remembered as the ones who led the charge. We have both the advantage in numbers and firepower, our deal with Kokabiel might’ve helped their Cadres out just a little, but that’ll only delay our victory by a few years at most.”
“I see,” the hooded figure nodded. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be taking my leave now.” He vanished into thin air, leaving Lord Bael alone in his office.
“Try not to be defeated too quickly Kokabiel, the more fierce this war looks the more influence it’ll bring us. Maybe I’ll even consider letting your name be remembered if you make it a decade. And once you’re dealt with, Michael’s next.”
