Listening to everything that happened to Tobio Ikuse, his group, and how my angels acted in the 'last fight' against someone called Hanezu Himejima, I did not know if I should laugh or cry.
On one hand, listening to the grand speeches that my angels gave in that fight, I felt like laughing at those grand words.
I don't exactly blame them for the way they behaved because, based on the limited research I was able to do in the short month and a half I have spent on this planet, most of my stuff is somehow being affected by their lore and flavor text from YGGDRASIL.
It is one of the reasons why I am afraid of what will happen when I use my Divine-Class armor and World Item, because I went full on nerd when I was fleshing out their lore while designing those things with a very outrageous background etched into their flavor text.
Who knows what kind of effect that lore is going to have in this world?
So, it was no surprise that the angels that were summoned by the Pantheon spell would be like this.
On the other hand, I can't help but feel both proud and frustrated at the same time.
Proud that my Angels had protected the innocent, including the kid who was attacking them at that time, by targeting the Sacred Gear's connection within the boy instead of the boy's body with their Judgement spell.
Frustrated, because they had missed the perfect opportunity to test out the limits of what a Longinus-Class Sacred Gear can do.
Granted, there is no baseline that can be established when it comes to the Longinus class from what I understand, since the information I got from the Heaven's System says that every Longinus Gear is different and has different powers suited for different situations, and would be very hard to compare and categorize.
Like comparing apples to oranges.
But still, it would have given me some idea of what to expect should the need ever arise (and it will if the stuff I had seen so far is any indication) to confront a Longinus user.
What's done is done, however, and I can say that I am satisfied with the outcome.
Looking at Azazel, who was sitting across from me with whisky in his hand, I asked the question that I had been thinking about after hearing about everything that had happened.
"So, what do you plan to do with the kids now? Are you going to pull them into the Grigori?"
"Well, that is the plan. But first, I need to have them properly educated, not to mention that all of them are still kids except for Lavinia. So, I will be sending them to my school, specially designed for such children."
I felt intrigued at that. A school for the supernatural? Very interesting.
Azazel must have caught onto my interest since he smirked and started speaking again.
"It is called Nephilim."
"Like the children of rebellious angels and human women?"
Azazel gave a shrug.
"More or less. I established that school for children like those kids upstairs, who have nowhere else to go after having awakened their power and accepted my terms to join my organization. They will be given education, both mundane and supernatural, and will be trained to become a part of my fighting force."
....That doesn't sound all that bad. But something in me still doesn't like this idea.
"Do the children consent to it, or do you forcefully recruit them once their gears awaken?"
"I give them a choice."
"Hm. What happens to those who refuse?"
Azazel once again shrugged.
"I leave them be and let them do whatever."
That statement has a lot of unpack.
I leaned forward and started speaking seriously.
"Then, in case the person who awakened their gear has nowhere else to go, but does not want to join Grigori, you just leave them there? Completely vulnerable to the Devils and others who would want their power as their own? With no way to help them get back to their feet in any way?"
Azazel just nodded and leaned forward as well.
"Let's be clear, Aetherion. I am not running a charity, and neither am I some saint. If the kid in your hypothetical scenario is unwilling to join me and my group, why should I waste my resources and manpower in helping him or her get back on their feet? What benefit does that give me?"
"Loyalty, maybe? Or gratitude? Or some kind of moral satisfaction?"
Azazel chuckled and leaned back again.
"Spoken like a true angel. Unfortunately, I am a Fallen Angel, and I don't believe in all that crap. I only deal in material and tangible benefits."
Hm. Can't really blame him for that kind of thought because I still don't like such a thought.
But still, this has brought another issue into the light.
If the Sacred Gear wielders are targeted like this, with their power being coveted and stolen by other races when they were meant to be for the protection of the human race, what is the point of them even existing at this point?
To strengthen the very enemies of humanity that they were meant to fight against? To act as bargaining chips or something along those lines? Or maybe even liabilities for their wielders should they be deemed too dangerous?
Another thing to investigate when Michael is done preparing the ritual that would allow me access into the Heavenly System's core in the Seventh Heaven.
That reminds me, I need to apologize to Michael and Gabriel, and even Strada, for my outbursts and irrational anger that I have been directing at them all this time (provided I don't lose control the moment I see them and start saying stupid shit again).
Putting aside everything, the very fact that their karmic light shone with such brilliance means that they are good people. So they do not deserve what I said to them that day.
Truth be told, I have been feeling like a dirty hypocrite ever since then. I mean, I chose to be friendly with Masaomi despite the fact that his girlfriend is a literal devil. (Granted, her karmic light is gray, which means that she is just as neutral as a regular human, but the point still stands) simply because I liked his ideology and his determination to fight against his oppressors. But in the case of the angels who are truly good people? and even Vasco Strada, whose karmic light was even brighter than Masaomi? I acted like a little shit and a know-it-all.
Just remembering that incident is making me feel like shit. Like, I am the same kind of bastards from my old life that I knew who had double standards for everything.
So, I need to find the opportunity to apologize to those three as soon as possible.
And, aside from that, I need to seriously start pursuing all the knowledge that I can get my hands on in this world's supernatural scene and understand things that everyone considers common sense.
And the best tool that I have for that is the System that is connected to my soul. But to access all that knowledge, I will need time.
So, the best choice now is to wait for the few days that Michael needs to prepare that ritual so that I don't end up being annihilated for entering the System's core without permission (which I think is highly unlikely, given the way the system is practically begging me to go to it, but better safe than sorry).
Then, once I am done with that investigation, I will go back home and lock myself away for as long as needed to study.
After that, I will need to start looking at myself again to see what is up with my sudden bursts of emotions and why I am being so erratic and unreasonable. Far more than I usually am.
In the meantime, I guess I know what I am going to do to pass the time.
I looked at Azazel and spoke out my plan.
"Mind if I sit in as you teach those kids? I want to see what your school actually looks like and what you teach them."
Azazel simply smirked at those words.
"Sure thing. I am sure my colleague will be thrilled to see you there."
'I guess I'll take this opportunity to relax for a little bit and observe my mental state while also seeing what this guy and his group do with the children.'
It was after nearly an hour that I finally left that room and headed out, flanked by my angels.
"Ornithael, what do you think about Canis Lykaon's power?"
"Impressive, but not insurmountable."
"In terms of level?"
".....I would say around Level 70. 75 at maximum."
Hm. That's a pretty low number. I was expecting more, considering that it is a Longinus-Class gear.
Oh, right.
"What would you say the power of Canis Lykaon is, if it were not in its Sacred Gear form?"
Ornithael paused and thought for a few minutes before speaking slowly.
"It is hard to say, my lord. But, based on the sheer breadth of darkness that I felt from that Dog, and if we remove the limitations of its human wielder, I would say it is somewhere on the level of the most powerful Divine-Class item, or maybe even a lower-ranked World Item."
Shit! That's some seriously high evaluation. And in the worst-case scenario, I will need to assume that it is a world item at the very least and proceed accordingly.
I really need to start grinding my levels again. But the question is, where do I even do that?
Again, I lack the necessary knowledge, so I will have to wait until I get my hands on the Heavenly System's Core.
.....Actually, now that I think about it, is it possible that I can try and patch out all the problems and bugs in the System?
I could try and use my connection with the System to try and patch out the issues. If not, I still have a lot of the Shooting Star rings with me, so I can use them as well.
Worst case, I also have my YGGDRASIL Creator Kit that I once bought from the shop back home, so maybe that can work as well?
An interesting thought that I should try out when I get the chance.
With those thoughts in mind, I walked towards the temporary room that I was given by Azazel.
The next few days are going to be very interesting in more ways than one.
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Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1