charclone
Well-known member
Aya reacted first, with a speed humans could only match with supernatural assistance. Her arm snapped out across Philip's chest, lifting him as she moved. Had it been under less dangerous circumstances, he might have jokingly called it a flash step.
It felt like only a heartbeat later that the white-haired devil appeared, shoving aside Diodora's servant and merely noting the corpse with disinterest.
He knew that the assassin(s) were still present.
Why he cared, Philip couldn't begin to guess, as he saw the man's face, just before Aya carried him around the corner and out onto the balcony.
Several powerful magic probes crushed Philip's illusions with ease but slid over Aya's ki techniques. A moment later, the power shifted, instead shattering the ki techniques. Philip barely had the presence of mind to call up the formulas for his spells again, keeping them hidden.
As the white-haired devil stepped onto the balcony, Philip realised both he and Aya were shaking. Their breathing was erratic, and Aya's grip on his chest was painfully tight.
A second series of probes came, but they were focused on the fields surrounding the palace/training camp as Rizevim Lucifer stood on the balcony, close enough Philip could have reached out and touched him.
Not that Philip would ever do such a thing, given that he could feel the raw power in his wards and active defences causing the air around them to buzz with energy.
A faint whisper in his ear from Tamamo snapped him out of the rising panic.
He raised his staff and pointed at the distant treeline.
The illusion of a shrouded figure with a fake invisibility spell collapsing around them barely had enough time to appear before Rizevim struck.
The blow was overkill, by several orders of magnitude.
The technique was a simple packing of demonic energy into a small space with the intent to do lethal damage, often called a demonic bullet.
Unlike Kuroka's usage of them, the largest being at most a centimetre wide, Rizevim's was measured in meters. It hit the ground behind the illusion, erupting into caustic energies that leapt in a cone towards the treeline and continued past for dozens of meters, leaving shattered trees and a deep, scorched furrow in the earth.
It happened so fast, Philip almost failed to cancel the illusion spell.
The white-haired devil frowned, staring at the scar in the ground, before turning back to the servant, sobbing over Diodora's corpse.
Aya buried her face into Philip's shoulder to muffle her sigh of relief, as he turned away from the corner they were hiding in.
They both heard Revizim's voice curse and the sound of the reincarnated devil being shoved aside.
Philip, slowly pushed himself away from Aya's grasp, peering around the corner to see the white-haired man stand from Diodora's corpse and stomp off deeper into the palace. For a brief moment, Philip felt confused, then he felt a pit of dread, glancing at his left hand, clenched in a tight fist around the snake of Ophis he had taken from Diodora.
Slowly, he leaned over to Aya, even as he heard shouts of panic from the guards.
"We need to get to the teleportation circle, and teleport to one of the fallback points we prepared," He whispered as Aya shivered. "Aya, do you understand."
She nodded, as her breathing slowly stabilised. It still came in ragged gasps, but she was no longer hyperventilating.
The teleportation circle, fortunately, was easy to find. Revizim went straight to it. After a moment, his immense power vanished with a flare from the leyline to signify a massive draw in power.
Aya stood, frowning.
"I hear patrols moving. Angry voices," She whispered back once Revizim's oppressive aura vanished. "W-what's…" She shuddered and stuttered before clenching her fists. "What's the plan to get past them?"
Philip, with far more confidence than he felt, smiled as he whispered back a reply.
"Ever watched Scooby-Doo?"
Illusions flickered in and out of existence as they jogged towards the teleportation circle. Characters from history and fiction leapt through walls or charged patrols. Doors opened and closed without anyone present.
The patrols made up of both of Diodora's servants and his peerage, collapsed. Some were in grief, but most quickly grew frustrated with the mockery.
Holy powers and more than a few sacred gears flared to no avail, as it would seem, to Philip's perverse pleasure, that Diodora's victims had been targeted before they had serious training, as well as Diodora's laxity at teaching them about their newfound devil powers.
Illusions simply ignored an axe summoner as she threw the manifestations of her sacred gear at them, while her compatriots chased after another bunch that would leap through one doorway, only to come out another a moment later. Made worse by the illusions of them that appeared, going through other doors, spreading greater confusion.
Philip was even treated to the sight of what he presumed was a knight running headfirst into – and through – a wall when confronted with the image of an illusion running down it and around a corner. Had the girl not been the victim of manipulation, he might have found it funny.
Aya remained silent, sticking close to him as they moved.
The spells were not difficult to power, but by the time they got to the room with the teleportation circle, Philip felt drained.
He almost stumbled when he ended the illusions to ready the teleportation spell.
There was no dramatic final boss before they left. No interruption that would force them to use their other escape plans.
In a flare of light, they vanished. The interior of the palace was replaced by the sandy dunes of the middle of the Sahara Desert.
Philip took a moment to breathe, then he cast another teleport.
Again, the scenery changed, as he muddied their path.
He cast the teleportation spell a third time, each time hard than the last. Then a fourth.
After the fifth time, he realised he wasn't going to be able to cast any more.
Around them, the deep jungle of the Amazon loomed.
Philip's head swam, and he nearly collapsed.
With a grunt, Aya caught him.
Gently, she lowed him down so that his back was against a tree.
"Well," Philip giggled as he waited for his head to stop swimming. "At least we know why the defences were so shit."
Aya blinked, staring at Philip.
"We almost got killed, and you're laughing?" She muttered. After casting a spell to keep wildlife and insects away, she sat next to him. "Who was that?"
"Revizim Lucifer, if I am correct. The son of the Devil… literally," Philip answered slowly. "We… we came very close to getting killed. I… I'm sorry for getting you involved."
Aya elbowed him, and Philip winced.
"If I wasn't there, you'd be dead, or worse," She glared at him. "… I don't have many friends, and having seen what we're up against… I'm… I'm afraid."
She leaned against him and shuddered.
"But he didn't see us. He could only batter down each of our defences one at a time, with no real skill. He's a brute," She said. "So, we almost died. But we survived, and I copied a lot of the letters. Some that I saw were of purchases of Phoenix tears."
Philip nodded, sighing.
"Still, I… I realise I didn't put nearly enough planning into this," He said. "No idea of the layout, no idea what the place looked like until we got there. Escape routes worked, but… I should have considered that he might be meeting with a member of the organisation he was part of, given he was so far away from civilisation, with crappy wards. He didn't want anyone to know he was meeting with Revizim Lucifer."
They sat there, in silence, for several minutes, as Philip readied himself for one more teleportation.
As he stood, staff in hand, Philip glanced at his fist, the snake still clenched within it. By chance, he looked up as he sighed, considering what to do about it.
"Well, at least we are done for the… oh," She slumped. "We still need to meet with Sirzechs."
Philip snorted.
"What?"
He pointed.
"We were sitting under a PapAya tree."
Aya punched him.
After a quick stop at the Brotherhood's headquarters to clean themselves, grab identification, and place the copies Aya made into a physical medium, rather than risk the spell she had used collapsing, they once more entered the underworld.
And came face to face with an upset-looking Serafall.
Both of their hearts leapt into their throats.
"Ser-Levi-tan," Philip smiled. "What seems to be the problem?"
They were standing in a large plaza, used for teleportation and official visits to the capital of the underworld. Surrounded by large buildings, it wouldn't have looked out of place in a modern city on Earth, barring the use of magic to light the streets, the magic circles on the ground to anchor or boost teleportation, and the purple sky of the underworld above.
"You met my sister months ago!" She shouted. "And you didn't tell me! Worse, you weren't taken in by her beauty!"
Philip blinked.
This was not what he was expecting.
Aya's grip on his arm tightened.
"Uh… I didn't want to impose, and we were there for Kuroka to meet her sister," Philip answered, panic in his tone. "Also… she's not my type?"
Serafall's glare increased by an order of magnitude.
"Oh? And what is your type?"
Philip, realising he needed to very quickly get his proverbial foot out of his mouth, decided to use Aya as a shield.
"Hey!" She hissed.
Serafall blinked, then pouted once more.
"Oh," She slumped. "You're like Sirzechs."
Aya blinked in confusion. Then after a moment, she blushed, understanding the implication.
Sirzechs had a bit of a reputation, given that devil society was rather accepting of polyamory, yet he chose to take only Grayfia as his lover and wife, and her alone.
Philip shrugged in response.
"Speaking of, I have a meeting with him on behalf of my organisation…" Philip trailed off.
"Oh, I'll walk with you then. I have paperwork to drop off on his desk," Serafall smiled, leading the way.
"So," Philip asked as they walked towards the immensely sized government building – devils did not do small – that housed many offices, including that of the reigning Satans. "How did you know we were arriving?"
"I didn't," The Leviathan answered, skipping along in her magical girl outfit without a thought to her political station. "I had just arrived before you, after visiting… ah, sorry. Shouldn't talk about that part."
"Ah, clandestine dealings," Philip snorted.
The trio continued to walk, as the sheer distance slowly set in for Philip. Mentally he cursed the supernatural for having such superior endurance to humans. Tamamo merely laughed at the thought, recognising the jest in it.
'You could have helped more,' he lamented to the kitsune.
"I would if I could, but unfortunately, this Sacred Gear seems to lack any ability, and what techniques I remember I am not sure would be safe for you to use, given the condition of your ki," She replied. "Perhaps I might be able to teach your friends some of them?"
Philip wasn't sure if he wanted her to talk to others. She did have a rather spotty reputation.
"So, Philip," Serafall asked. "You made an improved version of the Elemental Spear and Lance spell, right?"
"Yes?" Philip drew out the vowel, as he felt a trail of ice go down his back. Aya swallowed. "The Brotherhood purchased printing rights for it. Why do you ask?"
"Well, my sister recently bought one of the books, and she asked me if I knew you, not realising she had already met you," Serafall said. "Well, that's how I realised you had met my sister, and not fallen for her beauty. Anyway, she had several questions about the spell, and wants to meet with you to discuss it."
"I see… well, I…" He glanced at Aya. "I have no objection to discussing it with her. I occasionally make deliveries to Kuroka's sister when she is too busy, having been forced to get a part-time job, so I can see about meeting with her then?"
"Perfect!" Serafall cheered.
"Um…" Aya coughed. "Levi-tan, since I have the opportunity to ask… but did you deliberately include a real spell in season nine?"
"Kinda, see…"
Philip tuned out the discussion of the show.
"Well done," Tamamo said to him, giggling. "We'll make a liar of you yet."
'You can't see it, but I am giving you the middle finger.'
Eventually, they arrived at the entrance to the building.
Philip, still nervous that they might be caught – and Aya too, based on the firmness of her grip on him – noted that the guards paid them little attention, dressed in gleaming armour, with weapons that acted as foci in their hands, both decorated heavily.
He was slightly surprised at the lack of effort to confirm their identities.
Swiftly, they made their way to Sirzechs' office. He barely had time to blink at the opened door before Serafall conjured a person tall stack of papers to literally drop on his desk.
They landed with a thump.
"Okay!" Serafall grinned. "My job is done for the day, I'm off to go see my imouto! Later Philip!"
Sirzechs, (officially) undisputed ruler of hell, sighed, muttering something about Ria-tan, before looking at Philip and Aya, smiling lightly.
"Let me guess, you ran into her, and she dragged you along, given your meeting with me in…" He checked a clock on the wall. "Hmm. Now. Well timed."
Philip coughed.
"Erm, yeah. Sorry, not… not really used to this," He rubbed his head. "So, yeah, resched- wait, why did I have to talk to you directly about this instead of an assistant in charge of your schedule?"
Aya elbowed him for the second time that day.
Sirzechs laughed.
"That would be Grayfia, and believe me, I think you would prefer talking to me."
A cough sounded from behind Philip.
Sirzechs paled.
"So, does the same time next week work for him?" He said with a strained tone.
"Yup," Philip nodded rapidly.
"If that will be all," Grayfia, dressed in a blue and white maid dress, stepped into the room. "My King, an incident has arisen. So, I believe your guests should leave. If desired, I can arrange for a hotel for them to stay in."
"That won't be necessary," Aya spoke for Philip. "I believe this concludes our business here today."
"Actually, there is one more thing," Sirzechs' said. "But it can wait, as I suspect this is important. I will have my sister discuss the details with you, as I believe you visit her on the behalf of one of her peerage's family?"
"That is correct. Her rook, Koneko's sister."
Sirzechs nodded.
"Very well. Hopefully, next time we can discuss something more pleasant than boring meetings," He said, still smiling. "I hear you like music?"
"I'm actually rather picky," Philip replied. When Grayfia cleared her throat, he recognised her meaning. "But that is for another time. Good day."
Sirzechs waved, as another servant led them out.
It felt like only a heartbeat later that the white-haired devil appeared, shoving aside Diodora's servant and merely noting the corpse with disinterest.
He knew that the assassin(s) were still present.
Why he cared, Philip couldn't begin to guess, as he saw the man's face, just before Aya carried him around the corner and out onto the balcony.
Several powerful magic probes crushed Philip's illusions with ease but slid over Aya's ki techniques. A moment later, the power shifted, instead shattering the ki techniques. Philip barely had the presence of mind to call up the formulas for his spells again, keeping them hidden.
As the white-haired devil stepped onto the balcony, Philip realised both he and Aya were shaking. Their breathing was erratic, and Aya's grip on his chest was painfully tight.
A second series of probes came, but they were focused on the fields surrounding the palace/training camp as Rizevim Lucifer stood on the balcony, close enough Philip could have reached out and touched him.
Not that Philip would ever do such a thing, given that he could feel the raw power in his wards and active defences causing the air around them to buzz with energy.
A faint whisper in his ear from Tamamo snapped him out of the rising panic.
He raised his staff and pointed at the distant treeline.
The illusion of a shrouded figure with a fake invisibility spell collapsing around them barely had enough time to appear before Rizevim struck.
The blow was overkill, by several orders of magnitude.
The technique was a simple packing of demonic energy into a small space with the intent to do lethal damage, often called a demonic bullet.
Unlike Kuroka's usage of them, the largest being at most a centimetre wide, Rizevim's was measured in meters. It hit the ground behind the illusion, erupting into caustic energies that leapt in a cone towards the treeline and continued past for dozens of meters, leaving shattered trees and a deep, scorched furrow in the earth.
It happened so fast, Philip almost failed to cancel the illusion spell.
The white-haired devil frowned, staring at the scar in the ground, before turning back to the servant, sobbing over Diodora's corpse.
Aya buried her face into Philip's shoulder to muffle her sigh of relief, as he turned away from the corner they were hiding in.
They both heard Revizim's voice curse and the sound of the reincarnated devil being shoved aside.
Philip, slowly pushed himself away from Aya's grasp, peering around the corner to see the white-haired man stand from Diodora's corpse and stomp off deeper into the palace. For a brief moment, Philip felt confused, then he felt a pit of dread, glancing at his left hand, clenched in a tight fist around the snake of Ophis he had taken from Diodora.
Slowly, he leaned over to Aya, even as he heard shouts of panic from the guards.
"We need to get to the teleportation circle, and teleport to one of the fallback points we prepared," He whispered as Aya shivered. "Aya, do you understand."
She nodded, as her breathing slowly stabilised. It still came in ragged gasps, but she was no longer hyperventilating.
The teleportation circle, fortunately, was easy to find. Revizim went straight to it. After a moment, his immense power vanished with a flare from the leyline to signify a massive draw in power.
Aya stood, frowning.
"I hear patrols moving. Angry voices," She whispered back once Revizim's oppressive aura vanished. "W-what's…" She shuddered and stuttered before clenching her fists. "What's the plan to get past them?"
Philip, with far more confidence than he felt, smiled as he whispered back a reply.
"Ever watched Scooby-Doo?"
Illusions flickered in and out of existence as they jogged towards the teleportation circle. Characters from history and fiction leapt through walls or charged patrols. Doors opened and closed without anyone present.
The patrols made up of both of Diodora's servants and his peerage, collapsed. Some were in grief, but most quickly grew frustrated with the mockery.
Holy powers and more than a few sacred gears flared to no avail, as it would seem, to Philip's perverse pleasure, that Diodora's victims had been targeted before they had serious training, as well as Diodora's laxity at teaching them about their newfound devil powers.
Illusions simply ignored an axe summoner as she threw the manifestations of her sacred gear at them, while her compatriots chased after another bunch that would leap through one doorway, only to come out another a moment later. Made worse by the illusions of them that appeared, going through other doors, spreading greater confusion.
Philip was even treated to the sight of what he presumed was a knight running headfirst into – and through – a wall when confronted with the image of an illusion running down it and around a corner. Had the girl not been the victim of manipulation, he might have found it funny.
Aya remained silent, sticking close to him as they moved.
The spells were not difficult to power, but by the time they got to the room with the teleportation circle, Philip felt drained.
He almost stumbled when he ended the illusions to ready the teleportation spell.
There was no dramatic final boss before they left. No interruption that would force them to use their other escape plans.
In a flare of light, they vanished. The interior of the palace was replaced by the sandy dunes of the middle of the Sahara Desert.
Philip took a moment to breathe, then he cast another teleport.
Again, the scenery changed, as he muddied their path.
He cast the teleportation spell a third time, each time hard than the last. Then a fourth.
After the fifth time, he realised he wasn't going to be able to cast any more.
Around them, the deep jungle of the Amazon loomed.
Philip's head swam, and he nearly collapsed.
With a grunt, Aya caught him.
Gently, she lowed him down so that his back was against a tree.
"Well," Philip giggled as he waited for his head to stop swimming. "At least we know why the defences were so shit."
Aya blinked, staring at Philip.
"We almost got killed, and you're laughing?" She muttered. After casting a spell to keep wildlife and insects away, she sat next to him. "Who was that?"
"Revizim Lucifer, if I am correct. The son of the Devil… literally," Philip answered slowly. "We… we came very close to getting killed. I… I'm sorry for getting you involved."
Aya elbowed him, and Philip winced.
"If I wasn't there, you'd be dead, or worse," She glared at him. "… I don't have many friends, and having seen what we're up against… I'm… I'm afraid."
She leaned against him and shuddered.
"But he didn't see us. He could only batter down each of our defences one at a time, with no real skill. He's a brute," She said. "So, we almost died. But we survived, and I copied a lot of the letters. Some that I saw were of purchases of Phoenix tears."
Philip nodded, sighing.
"Still, I… I realise I didn't put nearly enough planning into this," He said. "No idea of the layout, no idea what the place looked like until we got there. Escape routes worked, but… I should have considered that he might be meeting with a member of the organisation he was part of, given he was so far away from civilisation, with crappy wards. He didn't want anyone to know he was meeting with Revizim Lucifer."
They sat there, in silence, for several minutes, as Philip readied himself for one more teleportation.
As he stood, staff in hand, Philip glanced at his fist, the snake still clenched within it. By chance, he looked up as he sighed, considering what to do about it.
"Well, at least we are done for the… oh," She slumped. "We still need to meet with Sirzechs."
Philip snorted.
"What?"
He pointed.
"We were sitting under a PapAya tree."
Aya punched him.
After a quick stop at the Brotherhood's headquarters to clean themselves, grab identification, and place the copies Aya made into a physical medium, rather than risk the spell she had used collapsing, they once more entered the underworld.
And came face to face with an upset-looking Serafall.
Both of their hearts leapt into their throats.
"Ser-Levi-tan," Philip smiled. "What seems to be the problem?"
They were standing in a large plaza, used for teleportation and official visits to the capital of the underworld. Surrounded by large buildings, it wouldn't have looked out of place in a modern city on Earth, barring the use of magic to light the streets, the magic circles on the ground to anchor or boost teleportation, and the purple sky of the underworld above.
"You met my sister months ago!" She shouted. "And you didn't tell me! Worse, you weren't taken in by her beauty!"
Philip blinked.
This was not what he was expecting.
Aya's grip on his arm tightened.
"Uh… I didn't want to impose, and we were there for Kuroka to meet her sister," Philip answered, panic in his tone. "Also… she's not my type?"
Serafall's glare increased by an order of magnitude.
"Oh? And what is your type?"
Philip, realising he needed to very quickly get his proverbial foot out of his mouth, decided to use Aya as a shield.
"Hey!" She hissed.
Serafall blinked, then pouted once more.
"Oh," She slumped. "You're like Sirzechs."
Aya blinked in confusion. Then after a moment, she blushed, understanding the implication.
Sirzechs had a bit of a reputation, given that devil society was rather accepting of polyamory, yet he chose to take only Grayfia as his lover and wife, and her alone.
Philip shrugged in response.
"Speaking of, I have a meeting with him on behalf of my organisation…" Philip trailed off.
"Oh, I'll walk with you then. I have paperwork to drop off on his desk," Serafall smiled, leading the way.
"So," Philip asked as they walked towards the immensely sized government building – devils did not do small – that housed many offices, including that of the reigning Satans. "How did you know we were arriving?"
"I didn't," The Leviathan answered, skipping along in her magical girl outfit without a thought to her political station. "I had just arrived before you, after visiting… ah, sorry. Shouldn't talk about that part."
"Ah, clandestine dealings," Philip snorted.
The trio continued to walk, as the sheer distance slowly set in for Philip. Mentally he cursed the supernatural for having such superior endurance to humans. Tamamo merely laughed at the thought, recognising the jest in it.
'You could have helped more,' he lamented to the kitsune.
"I would if I could, but unfortunately, this Sacred Gear seems to lack any ability, and what techniques I remember I am not sure would be safe for you to use, given the condition of your ki," She replied. "Perhaps I might be able to teach your friends some of them?"
Philip wasn't sure if he wanted her to talk to others. She did have a rather spotty reputation.
"So, Philip," Serafall asked. "You made an improved version of the Elemental Spear and Lance spell, right?"
"Yes?" Philip drew out the vowel, as he felt a trail of ice go down his back. Aya swallowed. "The Brotherhood purchased printing rights for it. Why do you ask?"
"Well, my sister recently bought one of the books, and she asked me if I knew you, not realising she had already met you," Serafall said. "Well, that's how I realised you had met my sister, and not fallen for her beauty. Anyway, she had several questions about the spell, and wants to meet with you to discuss it."
"I see… well, I…" He glanced at Aya. "I have no objection to discussing it with her. I occasionally make deliveries to Kuroka's sister when she is too busy, having been forced to get a part-time job, so I can see about meeting with her then?"
"Perfect!" Serafall cheered.
"Um…" Aya coughed. "Levi-tan, since I have the opportunity to ask… but did you deliberately include a real spell in season nine?"
"Kinda, see…"
Philip tuned out the discussion of the show.
"Well done," Tamamo said to him, giggling. "We'll make a liar of you yet."
'You can't see it, but I am giving you the middle finger.'
Eventually, they arrived at the entrance to the building.
Philip, still nervous that they might be caught – and Aya too, based on the firmness of her grip on him – noted that the guards paid them little attention, dressed in gleaming armour, with weapons that acted as foci in their hands, both decorated heavily.
He was slightly surprised at the lack of effort to confirm their identities.
Swiftly, they made their way to Sirzechs' office. He barely had time to blink at the opened door before Serafall conjured a person tall stack of papers to literally drop on his desk.
They landed with a thump.
"Okay!" Serafall grinned. "My job is done for the day, I'm off to go see my imouto! Later Philip!"
Sirzechs, (officially) undisputed ruler of hell, sighed, muttering something about Ria-tan, before looking at Philip and Aya, smiling lightly.
"Let me guess, you ran into her, and she dragged you along, given your meeting with me in…" He checked a clock on the wall. "Hmm. Now. Well timed."
Philip coughed.
"Erm, yeah. Sorry, not… not really used to this," He rubbed his head. "So, yeah, resched- wait, why did I have to talk to you directly about this instead of an assistant in charge of your schedule?"
Aya elbowed him for the second time that day.
Sirzechs laughed.
"That would be Grayfia, and believe me, I think you would prefer talking to me."
A cough sounded from behind Philip.
Sirzechs paled.
"So, does the same time next week work for him?" He said with a strained tone.
"Yup," Philip nodded rapidly.
"If that will be all," Grayfia, dressed in a blue and white maid dress, stepped into the room. "My King, an incident has arisen. So, I believe your guests should leave. If desired, I can arrange for a hotel for them to stay in."
"That won't be necessary," Aya spoke for Philip. "I believe this concludes our business here today."
"Actually, there is one more thing," Sirzechs' said. "But it can wait, as I suspect this is important. I will have my sister discuss the details with you, as I believe you visit her on the behalf of one of her peerage's family?"
"That is correct. Her rook, Koneko's sister."
Sirzechs nodded.
"Very well. Hopefully, next time we can discuss something more pleasant than boring meetings," He said, still smiling. "I hear you like music?"
"I'm actually rather picky," Philip replied. When Grayfia cleared her throat, he recognised her meaning. "But that is for another time. Good day."
Sirzechs waved, as another servant led them out.