Heaven.
- "Well, that's strange," I said thoughtfully when I suddenly found myself in Seventh Heaven with Ophis.
One moment I was sitting peacefully at home, thinking about what to do next, because I didn't know what to expect from the archway with the vampires. For the most part, this concerned, again, Valery Tepes and her Sephiroth Grail, because something definitely had to be done.
I even started planning how to exchange the Grail with the Rizevim for something else, because, again, it was impossible to touch it yet.
- "Strange, Romani?" smiled the Biblical God in the body of the clone Gabriel, sitting across from me at the same table as before. "What exactly?"
- "Alaya's presence, for example," I pointed to another person at the table who I hadn't seen in a long time. "And also, the combination of you, her, and me. Ophis doesn't count, since she just stuck to me and most likely ended up here by accident."
- "I'm glad you haven't forgotten me," she said with some smugness, then suddenly became so serious that it seemed to me as if I was looking at a completely different person. "But let's get down to business, Sensei. And this time, it's really serious."
I raised an eyebrow and glanced at the Biblical God, who just sipped his tea but said nothing.
- "Well, okay, lay it on," I said, taking a sip of coffee.
- "What do you know about the Beasts, Sensei?" Alaya replied with a question, ignoring my words.
- "I guess I forgot something, since you brought it up."
- "The appearance of just one Beast triggers a domino effect, followed by the appearance of the rest," she said, causing me to freeze immediately. "In the case of the Great Order, there was no such problem, because Beast I essentially destroyed humanity, and with it the Beasts themselves, but in this world, we will have to face the consequences."
My thoughts raced to the limit, and after making a couple of conclusions and remembering some details, my neck turned sharply toward Biblical God.
I had indeed forgotten how complex Nasuverse was, especially when it came to something so conceptual and inevitable.
Now I understood why this conversation was taking place here. The main danger of this world and each of its alternatives is the Beast 666, which in Nasuverse was called Beast VI/G, where "G" was the designation of the ancient city of Gomorrah from the Bible. However, the city of Gomorrah was always mentioned in conjunction with another city, designated by the other half of Beast VI.
And if he was already present here, and the gap between dimensions existed, and had existed for quite some time, then it was quite logical that others would also penetrate here, simply following the cause-and-effect relationship. That is, now I REALLY had to get down to business.
- "Where is Beast VI/S now?" I asked Biblical God, then turned to Alaya. "And when can I expect the rest?"
- "That's... difficult to answer," Alaya replied first. "With your call, you have already revealed three whose presence in this world is extremely logical. And most likely, it was your actions that bought us time. I'm sorry, but that's all I can say, because until the Beast leaves traces, it's difficult even for me to track it down."
I thought about it.
Come to think of it, Alaya's words made sense. After all, in the world of DxD, such things were on a completely different level compared to Nasuverse.
The Beast I, or Goetia, embodied "Pity". He looked down on humans and firmly believed that humanity needed to be controlled in order to overcome their imperfections and suffering. He PITYED humans and, I suppose, himself, because before becoming a Beast, he had observed them for a very long time and concluded that humans, possessing wisdom, simply could not help but immerse themselves in the same imperfections and suffering.
I suppose I was able to correct him by forcing him to learn about humanity and himself. And, of course, the presence of demons and the Underworld influenced this. Moreover, right now, Goetia was closer not to the Beast I, but to the King of Men, but with an adjustment for demons.
The Beast II, or Tiamat, personified "Regression". Her maternal love was undeniable, but its form was extremely perverted. She wanted to keep her children close to her, close to the Sea of Life, which she embodied. She wanted each of her children to be back in her womb, where Tia and her children were one, just like during pregnancy.
I think she was able to correct this by merging with the local Tiamat, who suffered the same fate but came to different conclusions. And I, too, together with Morgan, did my part by forcing her to let go of her children and allow them to live their own lives, just as she lived hers.
That is, no matter how much I denied the illogicality of this world, it was she who was able to make corrections and suppress the "Sin" within the Beasts. But, returning to the Beasts I summoned, one particular Beast did not quite fit the essence of this world.
- "If that's the case, then instead of Fou, it would have been more logical for any of the Beasts III/L or III/R to appear, right? So why not them, but Fou?" I asked.
- "That's what worries me, Sensei," said Alaya. "Perhaps you influenced this, because even despite your eccentricity, you wouldn't be very happy with the company of any of the Beasts III, especially III/R. Therefore, you would already be subconsciously tuned to Beast IV."
- "Of course. Who in their right mind would want to deal with what is essentially a complete analogue of the youngest god of Chaos?" I smiled at the end, then the smile disappeared and my gaze turned back to the suspiciously silent Biblical God. "I would like an answer to my question. Where is Beast VI/S now?"
- "An ordinary person or a minister of the Church. Which of them do you think is more prone to sin, Romani?" he suddenly asked me.
- "A minister of the Church, of course," I replied without hesitation. "He simply becomes a time bomb, where every attempt to restrain his own nature only brings the moment of detonation closer, and... Stop. Don't tell me..."
- "Yes, Beast VI/S has been in this world for a long time, but she preferred to remain inactive. And so it continued until..."
- "Until?"
- "Until you gave her the artifact that is directly connected to both her and me."
At that moment, I froze, because I realized who exactly was the carrier of Beast VI/S in this world. And...
- "Master," I heard Grandpa's cold voice coming through the telepathic connection. "I sense the presence of the Beast."
There was no time to think. I immediately tried to teleport to the location, because I didn't remember Griselda's significance in the plot, and therefore couldn't allow her to die yet. But at the moment when I was almost transported to the church in the city of Kuoh, the teleportation circle shattered like window glass.
This puzzled me, because the only one capable of such a thing was...
- "Wait, Azrael. The evening bell has not yet rung her name," came the quiet but firm voice of Biblical God, which seemed to me to be heard throughout the Seventh Heaven. "Wait for your Master, he will explain everything to you."
Activating the connection between Master and Servant, I tried to see everything through Grandpa's eyes. And when I managed to connect to his eyes, I saw the Grand Servant of the Assassin class standing over Griselda, who was writhing on the bed, his massive black sword already aimed straight at her heart. The sharp blade hung ominously a millimeter from the nun's skin, but did not move further, as if waiting for a command.
- "Why did you stop him?" I asked Biblical God, breaking the connection with Grandpa. "And what did you mean by 'explain'?"
- "Have you forgotten that I can hear your thoughts, Romani?" he replied with a question, to which I grimaced, because I had indeed forgotten about that. "This world... It's different. It lives by different laws. To someone from the outside, they may seem stupid, illogical, and even unnatural, but I believe that this is what can fix what is impossible there, in Nasuverse."
- "What are you getting at?"
- "I want you to do the same thing with Beast VI/S that you did with the other Beasts. You managed to change their fate, and now you will change hers too."
- "Hm? Wait a minute..."
- "Right now, her consciousness is only trying to influence Griselda Quarta, but more actively than before. Fortunately, the nun's will is strong, so you will have time," Alaya said.
- "Time?"
- "You know what to do," replied Biblical God for her, then smiled. "Now go. She's waiting for you..."
This literally threw me out of Seventh Heaven and straight into the church, where I immediately saw Grandpa, waiting for an explanation, and Griselda, who seemed to be tormented in her sleep.
I definitely don't like THAT... definitely...
-0-
A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
My P.a.t.r.e.o.n: P.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m/mirzael
You'll be able to read more chapters there.