However, the same could be said about him. This man was a user of three swords. His using only one of them was proof that he was also holding back. You could say we were currently at a stalemate, since Mordred didn't have her full power, and the priest didn't have all his swords.
Gilgamesh saw Asia approaching the priest.
"Cristaldi-sama, may I heal your wounds too?" she asked gently.
Ewald gave Asia a kind smile and nodded, extending a hand with a bruise mark on the wrist.
"You may, child. It seems my little confrontation here dislocated part of my joint," he said, accepting the offer.
When Asia finished healing him, Ewald looked at his hand and flexed it, probably testing it, and he seemed satisfied as he looked at Asia with a smile.
"This healing ability of yours is excellent, as the rumors say," he praised her, and Asia smiled kindly.
"Thank you, Cristaldi-sama."
"Please, call me Father…" Ewald said to her, and Asia nodded.
"Let's get to business then."
Upon hearing this, we all straightened our posture. Asia herself moved to a chair beside Gilgamesh, and Ewald also put on a serious face as he looked at us.
"So, could you tell me what this is about taking Asia away?" Gilgamesh asked seriously.
"Right," Ewald nodded with a stoic face. "As you can see, Asia-san here was accused of being a witch and a traitor to Christ for being able to heal a devil. The Sacred Gears are a gift God granted us so we could defend ourselves from supernatural creatures that target us, those creatures being demons," he explained to us, and we nodded. "Therefore, it would be a great shock that the power to heal demons suddenly existed. We don't know how it happened, but there's a theory: the Sacred Gears are tools connected to the user's feelings and—"
"You all concluded that Asia here was a witch with a black heart and therefore could heal demons," Gilgamesh said, and he could see Asia's eyes widen in horror at this. Ewald nodded at me with a solemn face.
"You're kidding me? Look at her now," I pointed at Asia, who looked horrified. "If she's a witch, then what does that make you, Ewald Cristaldi?" I asked with a threatening look.
"You're a top-class exorcist. How many have you killed, Cristaldi-san? How much blood stains your hands?" I continued to ask. "So much that even you can't measure it anymore, right? And yet they praise your name and call you with an honorable title for the slaughter you've done," Gilgamesh laughed sarcastically. "A being like you, who has killed more than hundreds, should be called a monster? Why is Asia, who hasn't killed anyone and only healed others, being called a witch?"
Ewald showed no signs of being offended or anything when Gilgamesh started talking and pointing out the facts to him. He sat silently and looked at me with a stoic face while listening to his insults and complaints.
"Believe me, there's an explanation for this. However, as much as I hate to say it, I can't explain it to an outsider, even to you, since you're no longer part of the Church," Ewald responded to Gilgamesh while closing his eyes for a moment before reopening them.
"But one thing is certain: there's evidence that Asia-san here is not what she was accused of being, and if she comes with me, we can clear her name."
Asia looked at Ewald with wide eyes when she heard this. I could tell there was a glimmer of hope growing in her eyes. Evidence, huh? What did they find?
"And why do you want to clear Asia's name in the first place? For what reason do you need Asia back?" Gilgamesh asked. There had to be some reason they wanted Asia back, but what?
"Believe it or not, our intentions are sincere," Ewald replied, and I furrowed my brows. The priest let out a sigh. "Gilgamesh-san, I know that, from your perspective and considering what we did, we're probably the villains in your eyes, and I can't blame you. But you need to trust me this time; they are truly sincere and genuine. The Church is trying to save a lost lamb like Asia here. She wasn't the first to receive her title and reputation," he said, and Gilgamesh just looked at him silently.
Well, I couldn't just rebuke that claim. Although it was true that the Church had shown a bad attitude so far, that didn't mean there weren't good people there.
He knew that very well, after all, he spent a few years there.
"As you can see, when Asia was exiled, Cardinal Priest Vasco Strada tried to help her so she wouldn't be exiled," the exorcist said.
Gilgamesh couldn't help but be surprised by this statement.
"However, when Strada-sama tried to gather evidence that Asia-san was innocent, the other people had already made the decision on their own, making it too late to save her. However, that doesn't mean Strada-sama was willing to give up. He went to the cardinal responsible for Asia-san's exile and talked to him, trying to prove her innocence," Ewald explained to us.
"Strada-sama…" Asia murmured. It was clear from her tone of voice that she was very happy to hear this.
"After some debates, Strada-sama managed to get permission to conduct an investigation, and he managed to prove that Asia-san here is innocent, so Asia-san's name and reputation will be restored. And Strada-sama did his job very well," Ewald told us. He then started to reach into his robe and pulled out a folder. He opened it and took out a paper that he handed to Asia: "Tell me, Asia-san. The devil you saved, does his appearance match the description on this paper?"
Asia started to take the paper, and I also looked at it with my enhanced eyes. Short black hair, between 17 and 19 years old, milky pale skin, yellowish-brown eyes, handsome face, image included.
Yes, the devil in that photo was clearly Diodora.
"Y-Yes. I-It's him…" Asia said with a nod, and I immediately saw Ewald's face darken as if he had just confirmed something bad.
"Asia-san, when I said Strada-sama took his investigation seriously, I meant it. Strada-sama read the data and tried to find a flaw in your accusation. He searched for the devil's appearance by asking the priest who saw you healing him, and after that, he looked him up through the Church's data and found something. He found a flaw…" Ewald took a packet of documents from the folder before placing them on the table.
They started reading the papers on the table.
Each one was a record of a nun who was excommunicated from the Church for healing a devil.
"My… God," Gilgamesh let out a sigh in the middle of reading.
He knew what Diodora did, but even so, he couldn't help but be irritated.
"What happened?" Valerie and Mordred asked behind Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh handed the papers to them to read.
"What do they all have in common?" the King of Heroes asked with anger in his voice.
"They were all exiled because of…" Valerie stopped as her eyes widened in shock and disbelief. I had no doubt she was already aware of it, even Asia was able to piece it together when she let out a gasp and had tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
"No…" Asia whimpered weakly.
"All of them were exiled due to contact with a devil, and according to the witnesses Strada-sama managed to gather, the devil's appearance matches exactly the one there," Ewald pointed to Diodora's information on the table. "All of them happened over a period of four years, 15 Holy Maidens exiled or excommunicated due to contact with him and then never seen again."
Even I was still in the midst of disbelief and shock. I could hear Asia starting to sob, and Valerie and Mordred had already moved to comfort her, while Ewald silently stared at Asia with pity.
Enkidu and Sebas hadn't moved, but I could feel their power rising with anger.
Then the house shook.
Gilgamesh's power began to pour out in waves.
The power of the greatest hero combined with a heavenly dragon began to leak in waves, making the house tremble.
Reacting to their master's anger, Arashi began to release its power alongside Regulus and Ddraig.
Around Japan, natural disasters began to occur.
The sea waters started to invade the land, storm clouds generated storms and rains with hail that destroyed cities, tornadoes swept through the land destroying everything they encountered, massive blizzards began to change the country's climate, large-scale earthquakes extended to the sea, lightning and thunder struck the land, and even the city of Kuoh was enveloped by a sudden massive storm with gigantic torrents of water falling from the sky.
All of Japan was immersed in this immense power, which could be described as if it were the very fury of nature bringing its power upon the earth.
Inside the house, the power was also emanating; the ground experienced a sudden drop in temperature to the point where ice formed around the house, and water droplets in the air became visible.
Everyone was having difficulty breathing.
Until a hand was placed on his shoulder.
"Gil, calm down," Enkidu said seriously to his friend.
If Gilgamesh's power continued to leak, all the factions in the world would know about him; there's no doubt that the Shinto Faction would try to find the source of it, but with the barrier, they wouldn't be able to find them.
Gilgamesh calmed down, thus stopping the disasters around Japan, sparing thousands of lives.
Looking around, Gilgamesh saw the shocked faces of everyone.
"Wow, Gilgamesh… You scared us way too much… Seriously," Valerie sighed while shaking her head exasperatedly.
"Hahaha! Sorry, sorry," Gilgamesh laughed shyly before taking a look at the surroundings and paling: "I just increased the damage, didn't I?" he asked with a visible grimace, and Mordred nodded, looking amused.
Recovering his composure, Gilgamesh turned his gaze back to the priest, who was still shocked.
"Anyway, all these files aside… You want to use these files as proof of Asia's innocence?" he asked Ewald, who had been silent since that outburst.
The cardinal's hand moved away from his sword, and his muscles relaxed after seeing there was no longer any danger.
"Yes, this evidence may not be strong enough to accuse the devil if we took it to a discussion with the demon side; however, seeing as the Church is also quite paranoid about demons, we can use it…"
"He plans to use the Church's hatred against demons. Vasco is still very clever and cunning," Gilgamesh thought with a smile.
"That's acceptable," Gilgamesh said while leaning on his left hand.
"Well, then it's settled!" Ewald nodded to them before picking up a paper and handing it over.
"Contact this number; if you're done, I'll visit your house in an instant."
Gilgamesh took the paper and looked at the numbers. "So, are we done?"
"We're done," Ewald confirmed. "However, may I ask a question?"
"You already did," Gilgamesh pointed out while smiling, making Ewald's eyebrows twitch. "Just kidding, ask…" he stated.
"Thank you," Ewald said with a fake sincere tone before his face turned serious.
"Judging by your tone and expression… It's clear you've met this devil, am I right?"
If Gilgamesh was surprised, he didn't show it, as his face remained stoic. He should have expected to see who he was dealing with. This was Ewald Cristaldi they were talking about, a veteran warrior and a man who had his own legend and mark in the books of fallen angels and demons.
"Yes… Indeed, a week ago, this devil came here and proposed to Asia," Gilgamesh confirmed, making Ewald's expression darken.
"I see… I expected him to do something like that, no doubt he planned to 'save' Asia-san from the reach of fallen angels," Ewald said in a knowing tone. "What's the name of this devil?"
"Diodora Astaroth," Gilgamesh replied, not trying to hide it. He knew Ewald was also very angry inwardly.
Ewald's eyes widened at this. Astaroth. Oh, he knew that name very well; it was the family of the current Beelzebub. This changed everything. It was difficult to get this devil because of his position. He couldn't just kill him without a good reason or proof.
"That complicates things, seeing as he's the brother of a Maou, doesn't it?" Gilgamesh asked with a small smile, and Ewald smiled back.
"No, it doesn't…" Ewald replied in the same tone before sighing.
"What are you going to do with him?" Gilgamesh asked.
"As much as I want to kill this devil, I can't. He's not just a brother of the current Beelzebub, but the evidence and files we have won't be enough to accuse him. If we killed him, the blame would fall on us," Ewald said while gesturing to the files and folders he had, fortunately only disheveled by the earlier outburst.
Gilgamesh looked at the files. Ewald was right. All this evidence clearly wasn't enough to accuse Diodora and ensure he was punished. They needed more, something bigger to be able to get him.
[New Quest]
[Title: Pests in my backyard.
-Description: Kill Diodora Astaroth.
-Reward: 50,000 Gold, 1,000 Exp, Kankara Formula, Sword Magic.]
Upon seeing the mission, a predatory smile appeared on Gilgamesh's face.
"I take it you have a plan?" the priest asked upon seeing Gilgamesh's smile.
"Oh, yes… but I need your cooperation. Are you willing to work with us?" Gilgamesh asked, and Ewald blinked before letting out a hum while rubbing his chin.
His mission was only to retrieve Asia; doing this was very dangerous and risky, and it also wasn't on his to-do list. While Ajuka Beelzebub didn't show great affection for his siblings, except for his younger sister whom he loved, like Serafall Leviathan and Sirzechs Lucifer, he obviously defended Diodora.
This was dangerous… He wasn't playing with ordinary fire here, but a great blaze of hellfire, and given his situation with this secret mission, he was already walking on thin ice.
But on the other hand, if he succeeded, it would worsen the demons' reputation, and the Church would also be able to rub it in their faces… And it would also prevent another devil from trying to steal or corrupt someone from the Church.
"Tell me your plan first…"
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