Altair's room was warm as he sat at his desk, his bed behind him. Having it in front of him could be distracting while he studied. At that moment, he was sketching designs for wands. Lavender, Lily, Azalea, and Harley all needed new wands; theirs were now useless, mere souvenirs to decorate the house at some point.
A knock on the door distracted him from his notes. He turned around, turning his back to his desk.
"Come in," he said, raising his head to face whoever had interrupted him.
"Mr. Altair," Asia greeted him with a huge smile.
The girl seemed radiant since the duel against Ruval. It was as if witnessing that fight had been something special for her, as if nothing brought her more happiness than seeing him almost kill someone. Was it happiness at seeing him win? Maybe she was a sadist at heart? Altair looked at her bright face and dismissed the sadistic idea for the moment.
"There's no need to be so formal, Asia," Altair said. She approached him, wearing a skirt that was perhaps too short for a nun. She had a light blue shirt on top. It seemed that Lavender was dipping into Asia's closet a little too much. She probably bought her the clothes, and the former nun, despite not liking them, ended up wearing them out of respect.
"I was delighted," she said, her smile seeming capable of melting ice. "I wanted to make a request," she suddenly seemed embarrassed to be in front of him.
Altair nodded, wondering what the little nun might ask for. She would soon be entering Hogwarts; perhaps she would ask him to teach her magic? That was unlikely; Lily was teaching her the first courses of Hogwarts.
"Go ahead," Altair agreed quickly.
"Can I see... can I see your staff?" she said. Then she blushed. "I mean your Sacred Gear!" she exclaimed a little too high.
Altair smiled, remembering Azazel, who had asked the same thing. Although the old raven probably knew about the double meaning.
"Of course," Altair took out his Sacred Gear, and the red staff appeared in his hand. The gem glowed intensely.
Asia approached to inspect it, not daring to touch it. The Sacred Gear is linked to the soul, and for someone to show you their soul meant enormous trust. She spent several minutes looking at it, her eyes wide and barely blinking.
"It's beautiful," she said with restrained joy.
Altair barely reacted to that. The truth was that it was still a rough and unfinished piece of work; he would have to polish it if he wanted a perfect piece. However, he felt that modifying it would ultimately vandalize it. It was his first creation, so the fact that it was a little rough gave it a sense of originality.
"It took a lot of work to make it," he admitted. He took the girl's hand and placed it on the guard made of bones. She trembled, her initially cold skin quickly warming up.
"I'm glad God gave you this ability," she said confidently.
Altair felt the Sacred Gear reacting pleasantly to Asia. It was as if it welcomed her. Not in the same way as with Lavender, when Altair showed it to his girlfriend, Lavender, she was almost able to use the staff like a wand.
No, with Asia, it felt as if it welcomed her, but it would not let her use it.
"God, huh?" Altair did not dare to deny that.
He was not a believer, by any means, but he could not deny the existence of God either. There were unknowns. Did God help him? Does God hate him? Well, he was a devil, so God probably hated him.
"You're his son, just like me, right?" Asia said. "He loves us all," the girl said, returning his words from days before.
"I guess you're right," Altair replied, a little uncomfortable with the idea. Although for a moment, he felt that Asia had read entirely his mind.
"And... sorry for the trouble," she said, bowing. "Can I see your holy magic?" she asked with expectant eyes.
Altair held out his left hand, the empty one, and summoned a ball of light. Sacred magic was strange. It didn't require purity or being a good person; it required calm. Perhaps that was why fallen angels couldn't use it entirely as they had when they were angels.
Was Altair a calm person? He didn't consider himself to be. However, he was able to use his magic logically, rather than relying entirely on emotions. Of course, emotions could enhance spells, such as the Patronus, but in general, it was simply willpower, the desire to change the world itself.
"You don't need your Sacred Gear?" Asia asked, her eyes wide.
The girl had spoken with Lily, and the witch had told her about sacred magic, even teaching her a little. Thanks to her Sacred Gear, Asia was considered a prodigy with it. That made her feel secure, feel that God had not abandoned her.
"No... although it's strange, I don't know of any other devil who can use it that way," he said, remembering his conversation with Lily.
When she asked him the secret to continuing to perform sacred magic, he replied that there was none. He attributed it to being a half-blood.
"It's because you're The Devil Loved by God, Altair." She took his hand, the sacred magic brushing Asia's palm without harming her. Instead, she let out a small sigh of satisfaction.
"The Devil Loved by God?" he repeated. "We all are, aren't we?" According to the girl's beliefs, God loved everyone. Altair went along with that concept, even though he didn't quite believe it.
"How else could you use it without hurting yourself?" she asked. "God loves everyone, but the truth is that God does not bless everyone," she said, seeming sad as she said that. "God decided to bless you particularly; you are special. God's great plan... You are someone important on it, I am so sure," said Asia.
"You think so?" Altair smiled, unsure.
The blonde looked like a religious fanatic who had found a messiah. Altair didn't know how he was God's chosen one. He wasn't a good person; he was a lustful man with a desire for revenge at the slightest offense. His only role in God's grand plan should be that of a devil to be killed by some hero.
However, Altair began to consider the blonde's words for a few seconds. He was an atypical person, someone brought from another place, another time, from a mundane world with nothing special. Who reincarnated him? Who gave him that system to become stronger? Altair smiled suddenly. 'Surely God would not give a perverted system to his messiah,' he shook his head.
"I'm sure of it." She nodded frantically. "That must be why God put me in your path," she suddenly nodded as if gathering her courage.
"Ah... I'm sure there was a reason for that," said Altair, stroking her head.
"Sinner," Asia said suddenly. Her serious eyes looked at him.
Altair tilted his head, confused. Why did she suddenly call him a messiah and then a fucking sinner? It wasn't a lie, at least not the sinner part. But why call him that after saying that God favors him?
"I don't understand," Altair confessed.
"You are a sinner," Asia repeated, with the same certainty as before.
"I am," Altair nodded. It was a fact.
"That's why... I was sent to you. To control your... deepest sins," she said, like someone about to face their destiny in life.
"You've already lived too long serving others," Altair said suddenly, not wanting a nun trying to leave him with eternal blue balls. It was too much trouble for him. "Live for yourself," he said before turning away to continue working.
He heard a loud sigh. Was it defeat or someone gathering courage? Then he heard small sounds of fear. He resisted the urge to turn around immediately; Asia was probably crying. He steeled himself for a few seconds, preparing to comfort her. He heard something light fall to the floor.
He held his pencil, his gaze fixed on the white sheets of paper. He wanted to believe that what had fallen to the floor was not exactly what he thought it was. He turned around slowly.
Asia was there, only dressed differently. Her white skirt fell to the floor, while her shirt was about to slip from her body; the girl had her arms raised, trying to remove the shirt. Altair looked at her underwear. When the clothes finally fell to the floor, she was left wearing only white lace panties, a matching bra, and stockings.
"A woman must wear white as long as she remains pure," she said. "Today will be the last day I wear white."
Altair finally understood what she meant when she said "control your sins."
'Ahhh... I don't think you can do that, Asia,' Altair thought as he stood up. His figure dwarfed the former nun.
"Are you sure about this, Asia?" he asked, caressing her cheek.
She smiled in that pure and innocent way that only she could.