Chapter 17
charclone
Well-known member
Aya glared at Philip.
Minori simply sighed as she drained her third cup of coffee.
Serafall had left shortly after Aya dragged him inside, promising to let him know if she found anything.
Philip just wanted it all to be over, as it was early in the morning, and he had been up all night, due to time differences between Egypt and B.C.
The fact that Aya was pinning him to the couch, by sitting on his lap, and somehow using what was nominally a cat's technique to increase her own weight. Part of him, due to Serafall's earlier comments, made him quite aware of how close she was to his body. The rest of him, which was the overwhelming majority, was too tired to care.
"Aya, I understand you are upset." Philip started to speak, breaking the silence.
"No!" She interrupted him, her glare intensifying. "You could have been killed! I don't want to lose my best friend."
Her mother sighed.
"Aya, Philip didn't get himself into that mess. I was the one that thought that group of magicians were safe."
Aya didn't respond, simply hugging Philip. He noted that there was wet spots on his shirt appearing where she was resting her face. Carefully, he extracted his arm, and began to stroke her back.
A sob escaped her.
Minori sighed and shook her head.
"Okay. I can call the firm, and have another lawyer take over for me."
"I'll be okay." Philip said, still rubbing Aya's back. "I just…"
He paused, tensing up.
The last several hours coming crashing down on him.
"I… sealed a fragment of Trihexa." He missed how Minori flinched at the name. "I… the Fallen killed most of the magicians, and forces the rest into the tomb to search for traps. And I sealed it. I… I think they were already dead, but if they weren't…"
Aya hugged him tighter.
"Philip, look at me." Minori looked him straight in the eyes when he complied. "They were gone. There was nothing you could have done against even a small piece of Trihexa. You did the right thing and saved a whole lot of people."
Philip didn't respond. His throat burning too much. After a moment of struggling with it, he gave up, and hugged Aya, resting his chin on her head. His cheeks felt wet.
Minori shook her head.
She wasn't sure if Philip would keep blaming himself, or if he was simply dealing with everything all at once and was being overwhelmed. She was a divorce lawyer, not a psychologist, and there were thing even senjutsu couldn't do. Not in a moral manner, anyway.
"I… there's only one other apprentice who survived. We… are going to split what's left of the group's stuff." He croaked out after several minutes of weeping. "I… I think he has my email, so he will contact me in a little bit, or if I figure out teleportation, I can visit the castle."
"Get some rest." Minori ordered. "It's the weekend, and I will tell the school you are sick for the week… Aya too."
"Should probably tell my parents. I doubt they care, but if someone asks them…" Philip mumbled.
"Right. True. Now, are you sure you will be fine without me here?"
Philip paused. His throat still burned, and he felt tired, but he didn't see a reason she needed to stay. He nodded.
"Okay. It shouldn't take long; I will be back by two. Go get some sleep, Philip, you look exhausted."
Philip stayed sitting for a long while. Partly because Aya still wouldn't move. But also because he was thinking, now that most of the grief had bled out.
He had been dwarfed in power by more than just Bastet and Serafall. Most of the Fallen had been more powerful than him. And then there was the fragment of Trihexa.
It compounded something he had learned a long time ago. Humans were weak. Historically, barring prodigies, they had been used as fodder, cattle, or disposable troops by the various supernatural factions.
He briefly wondered what a nuke would do but decided it would be an extreme escalation regardless.
The easiest solution might be to give up his humanity, becoming something else. He was tempted, and not just for the power. Most supernatural creatures lived far longer than humans, such as Kitsune.
Philip glanced down at Aya. He blinked, realising she had fallen asleep. Gently, he easer her off, and got up to get a drink of water.
As he waited for the glass to fill, he continued to think.
Sona or Rias were known factors, to a degree, and wouldn't turn away a magic user. But… Philip felt uncomfortable at the idea of being a devil.
Vampire was tight out, as were werewolves. He wanted something that was still human like.
Brave Saints weren't a thing yet, not to mention, that would require an in with Heaven, and there was the risk of falling, being humans turned into angels. If Philip remembered correctly.
He frowned, before draining the glass.
At the end of it, he didn't know many 'safe' options, and he felt uncomfortable at the idea of not being human anymore.
He filled the glass again.
His other option was to find a power that ignored the monstrous strengths of the supernaturals. Ki was not an option. His learning was too slow, and he had only been able to master basic techniques to enhance his body. If he worked at it, he might reach Olympic levels, but that would take time, something he wasn't sure he had enough of.
"You can ask me for anything you like, except time." He quoted Napoleon to himself. It did rather fit his situation, in some ways.
But magic.
Philip drained the glass once more and set it on the counter. He summoned an elemental bolt, conjuring a short beam of water, hovering in front of him. If the spell were fired, the water would be condensed and pressurised. His control of it, and the limitations of the elemental bolt spell, meant it was far from lethal, though quite capable of rending a human unconscious if it struck the right spot.
Philip blinked as an idea occurred to him.
Devils were tough enough to shrug such a spell off. But what about their senses? They needed to breath, ate the same food as humans, and their eye shape was the same as well. Even Fallen could have children with humans, with little ill effect, if any.
A new spell formed in his hand.
It was a simple spell. Designed more as an introduction to this type of magic, but it came easily to Philip. He decided it was a poor example of illusion magic. After all, the spell made light appear, to all observers that could see physical light.
But illusions could be so much more.
He glanced at Aya.
Really, he should have considered it sooner. Why waste effort hitting your foe, when you could instead make them hit themselves, and their allies? When you could make them question every facet of what they smelled, saw, felt, even their own thoughts and memories?
Who cared if it took a small nuke to break down a high-class devil's barriers, if one only needed to convince them to drop them for a moment? Or better yet, make them see treachery among their allies, and allies among their foes.
Philip grinned.
The grin soon vanished as he felt the room spin.
"Okay, bed, yes. Good idea. Too tired for plans, and delusions of grandeur. I can plot out what to learn tomorrow. Need more spells, illusions. Fae as a good start." He yawned as he used the wall to guide himself to the guestroom. "But I should do some research, and master teleportation first."
Sona hated when her sister showed up unannounced, especially early in the morning.
"So-tan!" Serafall cried as she hugged her sister at a time far earlier than Sona's normal waking hours. She began to say things Sona's subconscious filtered out, for the sake of her sanity and her sister's reputation.
Sona paused.
"I'm sorry sister, but could you repeat that? And let me go?"
Serafall complied, though not without a large pout.
"You used to love being picked up by your onee-san!" She huffed. "And I said, I need to speak to a member of Rias' peerage, its part of an investigation I am doing."
Serafall gasped.
"Don't tell me someone beat you in chess, and now you are engaged! That would explain why you suddenly became so serious!"
"Sister, you know well I am simply not wasting my time and energy. I am the student president for Kuoh Academy now, and it has recently become co-ed. Thus, my workload has increased." Sona answered. Her tone firm, but her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Now why do you need to meet with a member of Rias' peerage?"
Serafall frowned.
"I can't say. Sorry. Secret investigation."
Sona frowned and thought about what she knew of Rias' peerage.
"The nekoshou." She deduced. "Koneko. Something related to the genocide of ki users a few years ago?"
Serafall sadly smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
Sona sighed.
"If you aren't joking about the accuracy of my guess, then I suppose it is quite serious. Very well, I will schedule a meeting her Rias later today, so you can talk to Koneko later this week."
"Thank you, So-tan! So, what are you having for breakfast?"
Sona sighed. She wasn't going to be able to convince her sister to leave anytime soon, was she? Better schedule that meeting sooner, rather than later, so she has less reason to stick around.
Philip started as she heard the door open. He relaxed after a moment, lying in bed, as she recognised Minori's footsteps. He yawned and started to roll over, then froze as he realised he had fallen asleep on top of the blankets.
'Then what is it on top of me keeping me warm?' He wondered, then froze as he saw a tail twitch. He looked down, seeing Aya's tails sprawled over him, and noted she was resting her head on his shoulder. 'I… am going to have a hard time separating myself from her, aren't I?'
Minori stuck her head in. Blinked. Then stifled some giggles.
'Help.' Philip mouthed at her.
She put a hand over her mouth to keep the giggles from waking her daughter.
"Philip." She whispered after a moment. "When she wakes up, please tell her to clean her room."
Philip blinked in confusion. Minori's next words alarmed, excited, and informed him.
"Kuroka is confirmed to be coming here, she will arrive this afternoon."
Minori simply sighed as she drained her third cup of coffee.
Serafall had left shortly after Aya dragged him inside, promising to let him know if she found anything.
Philip just wanted it all to be over, as it was early in the morning, and he had been up all night, due to time differences between Egypt and B.C.
The fact that Aya was pinning him to the couch, by sitting on his lap, and somehow using what was nominally a cat's technique to increase her own weight. Part of him, due to Serafall's earlier comments, made him quite aware of how close she was to his body. The rest of him, which was the overwhelming majority, was too tired to care.
"Aya, I understand you are upset." Philip started to speak, breaking the silence.
"No!" She interrupted him, her glare intensifying. "You could have been killed! I don't want to lose my best friend."
Her mother sighed.
"Aya, Philip didn't get himself into that mess. I was the one that thought that group of magicians were safe."
Aya didn't respond, simply hugging Philip. He noted that there was wet spots on his shirt appearing where she was resting her face. Carefully, he extracted his arm, and began to stroke her back.
A sob escaped her.
Minori sighed and shook her head.
"Okay. I can call the firm, and have another lawyer take over for me."
"I'll be okay." Philip said, still rubbing Aya's back. "I just…"
He paused, tensing up.
The last several hours coming crashing down on him.
"I… sealed a fragment of Trihexa." He missed how Minori flinched at the name. "I… the Fallen killed most of the magicians, and forces the rest into the tomb to search for traps. And I sealed it. I… I think they were already dead, but if they weren't…"
Aya hugged him tighter.
"Philip, look at me." Minori looked him straight in the eyes when he complied. "They were gone. There was nothing you could have done against even a small piece of Trihexa. You did the right thing and saved a whole lot of people."
Philip didn't respond. His throat burning too much. After a moment of struggling with it, he gave up, and hugged Aya, resting his chin on her head. His cheeks felt wet.
Minori shook her head.
She wasn't sure if Philip would keep blaming himself, or if he was simply dealing with everything all at once and was being overwhelmed. She was a divorce lawyer, not a psychologist, and there were thing even senjutsu couldn't do. Not in a moral manner, anyway.
"I… there's only one other apprentice who survived. We… are going to split what's left of the group's stuff." He croaked out after several minutes of weeping. "I… I think he has my email, so he will contact me in a little bit, or if I figure out teleportation, I can visit the castle."
"Get some rest." Minori ordered. "It's the weekend, and I will tell the school you are sick for the week… Aya too."
"Should probably tell my parents. I doubt they care, but if someone asks them…" Philip mumbled.
"Right. True. Now, are you sure you will be fine without me here?"
Philip paused. His throat still burned, and he felt tired, but he didn't see a reason she needed to stay. He nodded.
"Okay. It shouldn't take long; I will be back by two. Go get some sleep, Philip, you look exhausted."
Philip stayed sitting for a long while. Partly because Aya still wouldn't move. But also because he was thinking, now that most of the grief had bled out.
He had been dwarfed in power by more than just Bastet and Serafall. Most of the Fallen had been more powerful than him. And then there was the fragment of Trihexa.
It compounded something he had learned a long time ago. Humans were weak. Historically, barring prodigies, they had been used as fodder, cattle, or disposable troops by the various supernatural factions.
He briefly wondered what a nuke would do but decided it would be an extreme escalation regardless.
The easiest solution might be to give up his humanity, becoming something else. He was tempted, and not just for the power. Most supernatural creatures lived far longer than humans, such as Kitsune.
Philip glanced down at Aya. He blinked, realising she had fallen asleep. Gently, he easer her off, and got up to get a drink of water.
As he waited for the glass to fill, he continued to think.
Sona or Rias were known factors, to a degree, and wouldn't turn away a magic user. But… Philip felt uncomfortable at the idea of being a devil.
Vampire was tight out, as were werewolves. He wanted something that was still human like.
Brave Saints weren't a thing yet, not to mention, that would require an in with Heaven, and there was the risk of falling, being humans turned into angels. If Philip remembered correctly.
He frowned, before draining the glass.
At the end of it, he didn't know many 'safe' options, and he felt uncomfortable at the idea of not being human anymore.
He filled the glass again.
His other option was to find a power that ignored the monstrous strengths of the supernaturals. Ki was not an option. His learning was too slow, and he had only been able to master basic techniques to enhance his body. If he worked at it, he might reach Olympic levels, but that would take time, something he wasn't sure he had enough of.
"You can ask me for anything you like, except time." He quoted Napoleon to himself. It did rather fit his situation, in some ways.
But magic.
Philip drained the glass once more and set it on the counter. He summoned an elemental bolt, conjuring a short beam of water, hovering in front of him. If the spell were fired, the water would be condensed and pressurised. His control of it, and the limitations of the elemental bolt spell, meant it was far from lethal, though quite capable of rending a human unconscious if it struck the right spot.
Philip blinked as an idea occurred to him.
Devils were tough enough to shrug such a spell off. But what about their senses? They needed to breath, ate the same food as humans, and their eye shape was the same as well. Even Fallen could have children with humans, with little ill effect, if any.
A new spell formed in his hand.
It was a simple spell. Designed more as an introduction to this type of magic, but it came easily to Philip. He decided it was a poor example of illusion magic. After all, the spell made light appear, to all observers that could see physical light.
But illusions could be so much more.
He glanced at Aya.
Really, he should have considered it sooner. Why waste effort hitting your foe, when you could instead make them hit themselves, and their allies? When you could make them question every facet of what they smelled, saw, felt, even their own thoughts and memories?
Who cared if it took a small nuke to break down a high-class devil's barriers, if one only needed to convince them to drop them for a moment? Or better yet, make them see treachery among their allies, and allies among their foes.
Philip grinned.
The grin soon vanished as he felt the room spin.
"Okay, bed, yes. Good idea. Too tired for plans, and delusions of grandeur. I can plot out what to learn tomorrow. Need more spells, illusions. Fae as a good start." He yawned as he used the wall to guide himself to the guestroom. "But I should do some research, and master teleportation first."
Sona hated when her sister showed up unannounced, especially early in the morning.
"So-tan!" Serafall cried as she hugged her sister at a time far earlier than Sona's normal waking hours. She began to say things Sona's subconscious filtered out, for the sake of her sanity and her sister's reputation.
Sona paused.
"I'm sorry sister, but could you repeat that? And let me go?"
Serafall complied, though not without a large pout.
"You used to love being picked up by your onee-san!" She huffed. "And I said, I need to speak to a member of Rias' peerage, its part of an investigation I am doing."
Serafall gasped.
"Don't tell me someone beat you in chess, and now you are engaged! That would explain why you suddenly became so serious!"
"Sister, you know well I am simply not wasting my time and energy. I am the student president for Kuoh Academy now, and it has recently become co-ed. Thus, my workload has increased." Sona answered. Her tone firm, but her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Now why do you need to meet with a member of Rias' peerage?"
Serafall frowned.
"I can't say. Sorry. Secret investigation."
Sona frowned and thought about what she knew of Rias' peerage.
"The nekoshou." She deduced. "Koneko. Something related to the genocide of ki users a few years ago?"
Serafall sadly smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
Sona sighed.
"If you aren't joking about the accuracy of my guess, then I suppose it is quite serious. Very well, I will schedule a meeting her Rias later today, so you can talk to Koneko later this week."
"Thank you, So-tan! So, what are you having for breakfast?"
Sona sighed. She wasn't going to be able to convince her sister to leave anytime soon, was she? Better schedule that meeting sooner, rather than later, so she has less reason to stick around.
Philip started as she heard the door open. He relaxed after a moment, lying in bed, as she recognised Minori's footsteps. He yawned and started to roll over, then froze as he realised he had fallen asleep on top of the blankets.
'Then what is it on top of me keeping me warm?' He wondered, then froze as he saw a tail twitch. He looked down, seeing Aya's tails sprawled over him, and noted she was resting her head on his shoulder. 'I… am going to have a hard time separating myself from her, aren't I?'
Minori stuck her head in. Blinked. Then stifled some giggles.
'Help.' Philip mouthed at her.
She put a hand over her mouth to keep the giggles from waking her daughter.
"Philip." She whispered after a moment. "When she wakes up, please tell her to clean her room."
Philip blinked in confusion. Minori's next words alarmed, excited, and informed him.
"Kuroka is confirmed to be coming here, she will arrive this afternoon."