Chapter 17: Faith in One's Beliefs

After some time, we reached Black Light District. The people were running around in a state of panic as the angel flew through the alley looking for us. Eventually an opening in a door led us downward to a metallic door. It was not obvious if one was airborne as any door looked the same from the sky.

“Belle it’s me, open the door.”

Silence passed for a moment, eventually, the metallic door opened and we invited ourselves inside. We walked through the dark hall of the library, Lilia held onto my hand so we wouldn’t be separated. Then we end up at the circular room at the end of the hallway with a desk in the center. Explosions can be heard above us. The angels must be bombarding the Black Light District in an attempt to flush us out.

“Yato there’s no one here,” I said quietly.

“This place is creepy milady,” Lilia followed up.

“Just wait, we’ll be elsewhere in a moment.”

Yato explained, just as he finished his sentence, the space around us shifted. Suddenly we were in the well lit garden with numerous gardens and books similar to the library in the Basilicom.

“What is going on out there, if the noises persist like this, I’ll have to move, I wouldn’t be a hermit if I didn’t prefer peace and quiet.”

A voice complained, I immediately looked up, a little girl wearing a dark laced dress came floating down. She looked incredibly adorable, almost like a doll. She might be around the same as Lilia and I.

“Who are these girls?”

The gothic girl asked, then sat on her swing up high.

“It’s a bit of a long story,” Yato replied.

“Make it less than twenty words.”

“Their life is tied to a demon so we go to Invidia now and find a way to reverse it.” Yato summarized wittingly.

“Also I need to borrow your brand, I’m trying to undo the demonization with that lizard right there.”

Yato pointed at Levi, it tilted its head and made a chirp.

“So many demands, but no payment, I don’t want to,” the girl yawned to herself.

“Luke and Bee promised they’ll supply you a day's worth of meatbuns if you do,” Yato offered.

“Really? Ahem. You can’t fool me, you’re on a run right now, it won’t be anytime soon,” the said sarcastically.

I immediately walked over to her and grabbed her hand. She immediately tried to retract but I held on tight.

“Please, oh great record keeper, please help us,” I plead with my puppy eyes.

“That won’t work on me–”

“Please, oh great record keeper, please do it for us,” Lilia mimicked me in the same way with her innocent eyes.

The hermit cringed for a few moments, before giving up.

“Alright, alright! I’ll do it! Make it two days’ worth!”

The girl demanded, Yato only laughed nervously as he started counting the silvers in his pouch.

“The name’s Belle Elphor, what are yours,” the gothic girl introduced herself.

“Lilia is mine!”

“Hainé, nice to meet you.”

We revealed our names, Belle seemed pleased to hear them.

“So where are your buddies,” Bella asked, flipping through pages of her book.

“They’ll be here soon, I gave them some insurance to lend me earlier.”

I was wondering what insurance the hero was talking about, I saw him tossing something to Bee and Luke before they engaged in battle with the angels.

“I see, well, I guess we’ll make preparations then.”

“So you do have a path?”

“Who do you think I am, unlike Albus, I have an Atheneum set up in Invidia, I think you’ll find it familiar where it is.”

As Yato and Belle conversed. I felt worried for the two heroes fighting above ground. To think they would go so far to fight for me, I can only pray they were safe.

Bee danced all around the tanned angel with his chakrams. Uriel skillfully deflected all of the dancer attacks with her spear. Eventually Bee got the upperhand and knocked the weapon off of Uriel and pointed the chakram blades at Uriel's neck.

“You can’t beat me with hesitation in your stance. Be honest, you really don’t want to carry out your master’s order. You don’t find it just.”

Bee reprimanded her, her movements were sluggish, any seasoned warrior would figure it out after exchanging blows with her.

“I tried, I tried very hard to convince Him. But my words are meaningless.”

Uriel covered her face, her voice whimpered as she cried.

“That girl doesn't deserve any of this, I tried to keep her out of it all, but the Gods have a different agenda for her.”

Bee listened for a moment, then he extended his hand to her.

“You can still do the right thing, that girl loves you, she looks up to you, so as her mentor, shouldn’t you do the same?”

Uriel faced Bee, she looked down at the rubble for a moment, then something clicked in her mind. She summoned the spear back to her side. But this time she was not pointing at Bee but rather turned her back against him.

“Your words rang deep, thank you.”

Bee resized his chakrams, he smiled and watched as the tanned angel took off.

“You really should follow your own advice, Bee Al Zebul.”

He said under his breath then took out a piece of crumbled paper. He unfolded it, a matrix drawn on it, eventually his entire body glowed then faded out of existence.

The Archbishop Angel and the Fallen Angel locked in battle in the air. They threw countless spells at each other, as they were both mentor and student at one point, they knew each other's habits well.

“You should know better to follow him, Gabriel.”

Luke threw a ball of fire at the archbishop.

“What do you know, you were banished from Selestia for speaking out of line.”

Gabriel deflected the attack and rammed his spear into the ruby blade, pushing Luke down into the open roof hole of the Basilicom.

They landed in a library, the ground was soaked with water. Both angels stopped to catch their breath. Their mana was running low as they kept hurling magic spells at each other.

“You were supposed to stand with the Testament, yet you demand equality with Seles and seek affection from a Humes, that was blasphemy.”

Gabriel lifted his spear towards Luke, recalling an event only Luke would know.

“The old fart wanted me to do his biddings, I was tired of it all, I had found my love, I wanted to break free of his chains.”

Luke paused, he lifted the curved blade at Gabriel. Quickly, the water surface shook, and numerous chains locked onto Gabriel to restrict his movement.

“What?!” Gabriel shouted, then he looked up at the roof opening, Uriel descended and stood before him.

“Uriel you would go against Him?!”

“I’m doing what I believe is right, you should know this isn’t right.”

Uriel talked over Gabriel as he continued to struggle.

“What we believe doesn’t matter, we have orders!”

“Even if those orders mean killing someone we loved?” Uriel spoke with tears in her eyes.

“That girl told us she loved us, even as you declare your intent to kill her. Doesn’t that break your heart? It sure does to mine.”

“Our feeling doesn’t matter, it never has been,” Gabriel muttered under his breath.

Uriel scanned her surroundings. It was ironic that they were in the library where they had taught Hainé all this time. The feeling of melancholy filled her, then she felt resolute at her current beliefs.

Uriel turned to Luke, they didn’t say anything but Luke knew why she was here. He nodded and took out a piece of crumbled paper.

“Thank you, sister. I’ll see you again soon, you too Gabriel.”

The paper bathed him in a light before instantly removing him from the library.

“I’ll see you again too, Luce.”

In mere moments, Bee and Luke had appeared before Lilia and I. Bee for the most part was unscathed. Luke’s clothes on the hand were ripped in many places. He was also wet, he must have fought in a location where there was a lot of water.

“You both made it!” Lilia exclaimed.

“You all as well, I take it we’re ready to jump?”

Bee said as he walked over and took a seat on the ground trying to catch his breath. Luke on the hand used a spell to dry himself.

“More or less, I assume you both were victorious in your fights,” Yato asked.

Both heroes didn’t make eye contact, considering they didn’t look down when they teleported to Atheneum, safe to say they were at a stalemate.

Suddenly the ground shook, the library space felt like it was splitting.

“This might feel a bit nauseous, you two, hold on, we’re teleporting to Invidia now.”

Belle directed the statement at me and Lilia. In an instant, the scenery outside the garden was that of a pale red sky.

To my surprise, the scenery was familiar like that of my dream. We were in the castle where I had met the Demon Lord Kain.

“When you said familiar, I did not expect this, why in the nine hell did you set up an Atheneum at a Demon Lord Castle? There are no books here in sight.” Yato was stretching the cheeks of the hermit.

“Because the library here used to belong to someone from the royal family in this realm.”

However, when I looked at the throne, my face went white. The seat that was once seated by a demon lord, now sat by a person that was also from my dream. Yato’s gaze followed mine, his bulging eyes couldn’t believe what he was perceiving. A person whom he knew too well was present here, a woman he had spent the last two years searching for.

“Nia…”

“Good to see you, Yato.”