Without much success so far but the goddess would freely admit she was procrastinating by training Akeno to not only be a better fighter but also into expanding certain skills that she saw as fundamental.
In either case both his girlfriend and lover agreed that any sort of conversation about schedules should have Rias present so nothing much was accomplished on that front.
Soon enough Shirou and Xenovia left, one to get ready for his meeting and the other back to her own training.
Sure enough the swordswoman offered to spar with Akeno but the proposal was shot down by the goddess claiming that it was time for another type of training and the bluehead could join if she wanted.
She rejected the moment Liz pressed a button in a remote control and loud music began to play at the studio. "Should we have a dance off?" Akeno was only half joking as Medusa quickly ordered for her to start her routine.
Xenovia practically ran away when she saw the energetic moves that Akeno was doing with her hands and feet, moves that should be endearing to anyone watching but everyone knew the ravenhead wasn't skilled enough to pull them off properly just yet.
And the former Exorcist knew she would do much worse in that environment. Her skill was with a blade and while her steps were swift Xenovia would claim to have two left feet.
Akeno could give no excuses since the goddess refused them all. "One, two. One, two. And spin." Guided Medusa with a harsh look while sitting in a director's chair. Her eyes missed nothing and the ravenhead knew that any mistake would be immediately called out. "You are not moving your hands enough. Remember that for this kind of song they must always be above your bust when making that step. That is right, hide your eyes aaaaaaand reveal them slowly. That is it."
Every praise was sincere because every pace was hard to execute. Akeno had no idea how hard dancing could be until Medusa introduced it both as part of her training and worship.
When she heard that the first time Akeno thought the purple haired girl was playing around or making some sort of joke. While dancing wasn't necessarily strange in certain forms of worship, Japan focused most of that in festivities and the steps were usually slow and almost shy.
However Medusa was Greek as far as the goddess herself could claim and when she shared worshipers with her sisters, the goddesses loved the free spirited dances full of energetic movements.
Stheno and Euryale had been the ones taking care of things for the most part and taught their own dances with Medusa usually just watching so the youngest never had the chance of choreographing her own.
Which meant that now Medusa could go all out without her sisters, even if she took some inspiration from them. In fact Medusa worked all the steps herself and showed them to Akeno with a precision that could only be called 'perfect'. It was another aspect of Divinity that she was still exploring as the Core of her sisters still made her a goddess of Idols.
A Muse in many ways even if the real Medusa knew she was something else deep down. If her sisters were still around, she knew their steps would be superior and if anything they would be sharing worshipers again.
That of course was never going to be the case as Medusa was now a sole goddess and had to plan and take care of her worshipers herself, by herself more precisely. She needed to plan and teach everything that would be of use, be either demonstrations of love or means to use her blessings to defend themselves.
Even if it was just Akeno for the moment, both knew that in the future there would be more and the blueprints for their happiness was being built at that very moment in the Vault of Prosperity.
Dancing was just one of many things they were working on together and while the young woman was reluctant at first, she was starting to enjoy the work.
Especially after Medusa explained the purposes and benefits of dancing in her veneration. Even just in practice both could feel something shift in them as the goddess' power filled the room.
Action and Faith, those had Medusa feeling her power growing little by little. Not being restored but actually growing as new energy filled her Core. The fact that Akeno danced despite her hesitation and lack of real interest, at least in the beginning, actually helped the goddess more.
Sacrifice, that was the last ingredient that gave the goddess more power and the more used to dancing Akeno grew, the less Medusa would get. Now the purple haired girl knew she could try and push the hybrid a little more but her conscience shot that down faster than light.
While dancing and eventually singing, and that was another boost right there, were part of things Medusa enjoyed and wanted to be worshiped with, she wasn't going to add anything dangerous or harmful even if Akeno could actually take the damage.
She liked her High Priestess too much and planned to spread those lessons to some of her most faithful in the future. Adding anything humiliating or dangerous would go against her principles.
But not against her nature as her Core demanded she took an approach more towards her Snake side than her Woman side. 'I wonder if that is where the dreams of having Akeno bath with snakes are coming from.' Medusa could make it safe, of course, but if her religion really spread she could see people screwing up and dying. "Say, when you think you are going to be ready to sing?"
"I don't think I will ever be ready for that…" Her breathing was even as the muscles of her feet were starting to hurt. Despite that they never stopped. "Do I really have to?"
"You do remember that as my High Priestess you will have to preach, right?" And Medusa was pretty sure her message was the kind which everyone could accept talking about health care, how to express oneself positively and not bully people for their size.
Three points so far and the goddess was proud of them. "Sure but that is different from singing." And Akeno agreed with them all so far even if she wanted a little teasing to be allowed. "By the way, are we really adding hair care?"
"Of course. Long hair is the ultimate proof of a woman's elegance." She threw her hair around and it danced despite the braids holding most of it in place. It was without a doubt beautiful. "The size, the volume, the treatment, all of those things indicate how well a woman takes care of herself. When longer, does it shine? If the answer is yes, you know that is a real woman."
"A little unfair, don't you think?" As a goddess, Medusa didn't need to put that much effort in her hair. Akeno was in the same boat as for a long time she heard many classmates praise her hair and wanting to know what sort of products she used. "And what about boys? Should they have long hair too?"
That made the goddess stop and rub her chin. "No, I don't believe long hair looks good on men… neither do beards?" Knowing little about the subject made Medusa think she was lacking. "Perhaps we should just accept women?"
"And lose at least half potential worshipers?"
"You are right, I will need to ponder it some more…" Medusa just didn't care about men's hair that much. "What we can't have is women with short hair. That is a waste of potential. A woman with short hair fears the challenge of keeping it pretty."
Still dancing, Akeno couldn't stop herself from looking to the corner and notice a completely uninterested Liz who was laying down and watching TV. The white haired woman wasn't a fool, she knew deep down she was being insulted even if indirectly and unintentionally.
She just didn't care which actually was the basis for Medusa's argument and Akeno knew it was a weak one to begin with considering how little Leysritt cared about things.
Yet,as a High Priestess, Akeno knew she needed to rein her goddess from time to time. "What if a woman is unable to grow her hair properly but she really wants to?"
"Then she should pray to me and I shall solve it!" Nothing would stop Medusa to make sure the women who followed her were the most beautiful in all Reality. Already she could see her ideal worshipers, enchanting all who came across their path. "For they all shall be idols, nothing less is acceptable!"
"I fear what she means by 'idols'…" The ravenhead admitted if only to herself. 'I won't really have to sing and dance outside of private ceremonies, right?' She was truly afraid to ask.
As she should and Medusa knew that Akeno would hesitate which was why she was planning to get a veteran idol to help complete Akeno's training. 'If I can get Serafall to stop hating me for a moment and see her own potential… While her control over her fans is horrendous, her confidence is something to be admired.'
That was the next part of her plan, the next worshiper that the goddess wanted if she could have her way, none other than Serafall Leviathan herself.
'Since I am considered important I am sure I can get a meeting of my own. Perhaps some of Shirou's cooking for a peace offer?' Then use Serafall to promote Akeno and have her Priestess start spreading her religion properly.
Yes, it was far from ideal considering the plan hinged on a devil not holding a grudge, and from what intel she gathered in the Vault Serafall also had problems with Gabriel so that was an avenue she could use to get the conversation going, but that was more or less an last resort as Medusa didn't want to start gathering worshipers through hate.
No, she had another path in mind, a path that was simple and beautiful in its simplicity, in her opinion at least.
The path of making Akeno a true idol in the Underworld. 'Then we shall work on things back on Earth.' That one was going to be easier with the ravenhead's natural elegance and beauty. Medusa just needed to give her confidence. 'First Japan, then the rest of Asia and finally, the World. At least the parts that allow music-'
Suddenly Medusa felt a powerful presence approaching her territory. Thanks to Akeno's actions and devotion the whole floor was basically her domain so she knew all the comings and goings.
Be it a devil or fallen angel, the goddess knew everybody who should be on her floor even if she didn't know their faces. She didn't need to meet them as inside her boundary field, her 'temple', she could 'taste' their mana and know when anyone new approached the floor.
Blood Fort Andromeda also could be activated at any moment after the days Akeno poured into dancing under Medusa's instructions and even another god would find her a hard quarry to catch.
However the power, hidden from anyone but at her thanks to Blood Fort Andromeda, held no hostile intent and 'tasted' of exhaustion. It was also familiar.
Too familiar as the daughter of that man was her Priestess. "Akeno, take five. Go drink some water while I deal with a guest."
"Are you and Shirou-kun dealing with the same problem today?" Because she found that incredibly funny.
Akeno certainly didn't expect the words that left Medusa's mouth: "It is your father." The sentence couldn't have been heavier despite the light tone from the goddess. The ravenhead's attitude took a complete turn to shy and hesitant. "Don't worry, he isn't here to talk with you. If anything, he just wants to give you a gift." Her eyes turned to her friend before she continued. "Do you want to meet him?"
The ravenhead hesitated to do anything as Liz, noticing the mood, turned off the music and let the silence simmer.
Perhaps lying would be easier but Medusa refused to do so with her friend. "I sent him in a Quest, to gain power for you." Said the goddess clearly as the power approached the door. "I half expected him to fail but either he gave up or was successful much faster than I expected."
"... Was it something dangerous?" Akeno surrendered to concern and looked at Medusa expectantly.
Looking forward the goddess hid an amused smile. "Just as much as he could make it but since he returned, maybe not so much." Not a single lie was told. "Or maybe he threw himself into the deepest holes he could find just to finish the Quest faster. That was his prerogative since all I wanted was parts of snakes as long as he didn't harm them."
"I see…" What bothered Akeno a lot was that Baraqiel did whatever he had done for her. To say the conflict in her heart grew worse was an understatement. "Should I-"
Medusa never would allow her to finish that question. "Do what you want. Go talk with him when you are ready, no sooner than that. This wasn't for him to talk with you." Once again the goddess looked forward and began to walk towards the door. "This was for him to try and redeem himself in his own eyes. Take your time."
Nodding slowly, Akeno decided to accept her goddess' words and bow in gratitude. In the end the ravenhead knew her inner turmoil more than anyone but the goddess understood the need to take things slowly better than most. To take time and process everything that happened before making a terrible mistake.
Something Medusa knew all too well and so took steps to protect Akeno from falling prey to the same bloodlust and instincts that gave birth to the Gorgon. For those were still there, only muted and buried.
In fact Medusa was sure since Akeno swore herself to her and received the title of High Priestess that bloodlust became even more irrelevant.
The door slid open by itself and Medusa turned towards her Priestess who sat down to rest a little and take a glass of water. A last exchange of looks between them had the ravenhead nodding to let the goddess know everything was fine.
With that the door closed and the little goddess, a little bigger compared to when she arrived in the Underworld, made her way towards the hallway beside the studio.
She just turned the corner and froze at the sight. "Perhaps I should have Akeno come with me."
Other fallen angels tried to help the bleeding Baraqiel but the Cadre pushed them back with a wing. "I am quite grateful she isn't seeing me in this state."
From head to toe the Lightning of God was covered in blood which was very much his own. There were gashes, cuts, some of his flesh was torn and he was using a hand to support himself with a wall. But he was still standing for the most part, just badly wounded to the point was sure that if he wasn't a ten winged fallen angel he would be dead.
Hearing the other fallen angels panicking and trying to the side of what to do, Medusa flexed some of her energy and had Blood Fort Andromeda take a little of their mana as a warning. "Where have you been?" It was one of their questions but coming from her it held more weight.
"Island of Snakes." Baraqiel replied with a pained smile which had a pair of purple brows jump in the goddess forehead. "It is an island on the coast of Brazil that is closed to the public and contains a great variety of extinct species of snakes, as the name indicates." Holding his left arm the man revealed the vase Medusa had bestowed on him and she felt the power in it. "But besides some species of common snakes there are also the giant variety that inhabit that place. Species that, of course, the average Joe would not know about."
"The sort that belongs to the moonlit world." At his nod, the man winced and Medusa took pity on him. Raising a hand she manipulated Blood Fort Andromeda once again and used it to restore his body. "Stay still. The rest of you, calm down."
Baraqiel was surprised as some of his wounds began to disappear. "I am pretty sure you couldn't heal anyone but yourself."
"This is a somewhat recent development. Consider it an Authority I didn't know I had but started to understand once your daughter began praying to me." Medusa watched the surprise on all eyes in the hallway as the other fallen angels stepped down and let her mana work on Baraqiel. His wounds closed and his blood restored, soon the man stood at his full height. "Besides, snakes have been the symbol of medicine thanks to Asclepius. I am by no means capable of restoring everyone completely without assistance as of now but in my 'temple', that is more than doable."
Blood Fort Andromeda should be something to petrify and consume that Medusa could use besides her eyes when in a more intelligent state. However her experience back in Kuoh against Caliburn's Holy Aura taught her she could do more with it. Of course it wasn't simple, it still took too long to construct a boundary field and the cost was high without constant fuel.
However she had an worshiper now and that was a game changer. "Akeno's Faith is true." Announced Medusa to all in the hallway. "Thanks to her, the boundary field on this floor can stay up with minimal effort on our part as long as I call it a temple, a place of worship to myself." She made no note that because of how the symbol was used, the place would be more fitting to be called a hospital.
"So this is your church, in a sense, however temporary." Baraqiel nodded in understanding before frowning. "I don't know if she would like you using her efforts to heal me."
"As a goddess, I decide how to use my power. As her friend, I know she doesn't mind." The tallest fallen angel's eyes displayed hope. "She may not be ready to meet you yet but clearly she cares. Trust me, I noticed it when I told her you were coming."
Baraqiel felt a single tear falling from his eye before cleaning it up and holding back a sniff. "Akeno…" His voice was full of longing but quickly the man banished it and kneeled before the goddess. "Thank you for your kindness, great Medusa. Truly I am in your debt."
"You owe me nothing." It was more for her friend than the man before her. "As my follower I must take care of her but she is managing to recover with her own strength. Besides, if I had a voice in this matter…" Medusa studied the man carefully. "I believe you suffered more than enough to forgive yourself and her you."
"No, I don't want her to see me out of some sort of obligation or guilt." He was resolute despite his plea. "If she is to see me, I want both of us to be ready and that she does it because she wants to. Perhaps this Quest cleaned some of my sins, real or not, but it will never clean the past."
The goddess nodded in understanding and let the matter lie even if father and daughter wished to see one another but stopped themselves. Neither was ready and Medusa had no choice but to respect their wishes, no matter how much she wanted to have them meet again and be a family.
Because she realized how important family was. 'My sisters would approve of me adding that to my laws, wouldn't they? I hope so.' Looking at Baraqiel's eyes, she said. "Then so be it."
Baraqiel smiled gently. "Thank you again for taking care of my daughter."
"She is my Priestess, my First Worshiper. It is only propper I look for her well being."
Still the Cadre smiled and lowered his head. "Still I thank you for helping my daughter find happiness."
"She is getting there through her own strength, the same way you are." That made the man's smile bigger and the other fallen angels watched them with admiration. Fine with Medusa but unfortunately they had business to tend. "So you went to Brazil to collect everything?"
"Yes, milady." Baraqiel sounded even more respectful, holding the vase up. "However, the Island of Snakes was my last stop. Since there are many endangered species there, it is well protected both by mundane and supernatural means. The gods of the land also watch it closely."
"I thought Brazil was a Christian country…"
"It is but much like many of the Scandinavian countries, there are still those who pray to the old gods if you know where to look." Or, much like him, stumble on them while trying to find exotic snakes without getting caught. "The old Aztec gods still have a strong following, especially deep in the Amazon Jungle."
Collecting the vase, Medusa handled it carefully. "I suppose you went there as well?"
"There are many species of serpents in that area. Thanks to human settlements I managed to get by below their radar for a while until."
"Until you went to the Island of Snakes?"
"Exactly. I never suspected that a particular goddess had made it her nest even if she doesn't spend much time there." Touching his arm all noticed a wound that was taking more time to close than others. "It was a miracle that I survived and she didn't realize my real identity."
"Another Snake Goddess?" Medusa's tone was curious but cautious and Baraqiel nodded in confirmation. "Pity, I would have liked to visit that island." Not a risk she could take as weak as she was. "Either way, a good job you managed to collect so many skins and fangs. I can also feel poison inside the vase. From the more monstrous snakes I presume."
"You presume correctly, milady. The Quest was a resounding success if I say so myself even if I cheated a little by going only to one country."
"No, you used your knowledge to reach your goal as fast as possible, aiming for the place where you would find many sorts of rare snakes." She stared at the vase with admiration. 'I can feel his love in every fragment collected. He harmed no one and outran a goddess to return them here.'
All for his daughter and Medusa knew it. Previously she planned to harvest some of his bounty to restore herself a little.
These plans went to smoke with the emotions held in the vase.
If she took anything for herself, it would be a crime that Medusa would be unable to find forgiveness and she knew it. Nobody would judge her, it was her Quest and that was the agreed payment so nothing was stopping her from using some of it for her own sake.
None other than herself.
"Rejoice, Baraqiel of the Grigori, I, Medusa, declare your Quest fulfilled." The vase began to glow with her words and her Core knew exactly what to do.
Because she had done it before when working on her Gift for Shirou, the first creation she ever made. Medusa remembered Euryale working in many treasures, including a bow she gave to a hunter who killed a boar for them. Her sister was undoubtedly the superior craftsmith but that didn't discourage Medusa.
And it was easier this time because she was working with something born from her power alone with no influence from her sisters other than what was already part of her Core.
So the vase began to take shape as Medusa felt everything Baraqiel collected fuse with her creation. Every skin, fang and drop of venom was broken apart by her Divinity and turned into energy as the vase transformed into a proper vessel. Other modifications were also necessary, the removal of infinity storage of snakes was unfortunately needed.
With how much energy it will be inside her new creation, Medusa knew anything added after the fact would be broken as well to become part of the power already in the gem. A backdoor would have to be created to allow more remains of snakes to be collected but the goddess wasn't skilled enough to do it.
For she was still reduced and as such she was still lacking many things.
What Medusa was attempting to make was akin to a sacred gear, she learned as much as Shirou did and Azazel's knowledge wasn't lacking. Except that she was reduced and the distance between her current self and God was too large for her to cover even with the results of a Quest.
Still that knowledge came in handy as she already knew the form her new gift would take. 'Jewels are best; easy to transport and to stockpile mana.' There was a reason why so many sacred gears had jewels imbued or Jewelcraft existed. 'The color will of course be purple, a darker shade honoring myself and her father.'
Baraqiel risked his life to collect the materials and Medusa shall honor it by mixing her color with black for his wings. It also would match with Akeno's hair color and eyes nicely so it was an added bonus to the goddess.
Moving her hands, Medusa rested one at the mouth of the vase as the other held it from below. All watched as matter transformed right before their eyes with no energy being wasted or apparently even used. It reminded them how sacred gears could manifest without cost once the owner was aware of their presence.
It was the second time Baraqiel saw something like that ever since he Fell. Before he was used to watching his Father creating new things so he barely reacted.
Some of the fallen angels behind him never saw the process in person, most of them were descendants of his siblings, nephews and nieces he tried to learn the names of and protect at every turn in the honor of his original family.
It was with some mirth that Baraqiel was reminded of himself back in Heaven watching his Father work. The looks of wonder, of watching something amazing and unique as the first of something new came to the world. Unlike them the man was too used to it and found more wonder in their reactions than Medusa's work.
Easily Medusa turned the vase into a jewel, a magnificent stone with a glow similar to her aura but darker as she desired. An amethyst for all intents and purposes but darker than her eyes, its shape was similar to a snake's head but there was no sign of it being cut that way, it just was.
The jewel was also small, really small, the size of Medusa's little finger tip, certainly bigger than her nail. It was the kind of jewel that should belong on an earring or perhaps a ring if one wanted a gem a little too big.
Yet the power more than made up for its size for as soon as the transformation was finished all in the Vault of Prosperity felt a powerful presence flood the place for a single second before it retreated inside the newly created stone.
Medusa held it high as Divinity kept surrounding it for a few seconds as the goddess worked to stabilize its existence. 'Too risky to let anyone feel it.' A few seconds later the aura was under control and she was sure nobody would be able to detect its Divine origin. "That is better."
"Is it complete, lady Medusa?" Baraqiel asked with admiration and respect. After feeling the power that emanated from the stone he knew his Quest wasn't in vain.
However, Medusa shook her head with a smile. "Almost, the stone itself is already done but for what it can do…"
Gulping down his excitement, something the other fallen angels also struggled doing, Baraqiel asked what all of them wanted to know. "And what can it do if I may ask?"
"... I don't know." Everybody but the goddess fell on their backs from shock and surprise, she couldn't help but blush and clean her throat to get rid of the embarrassment. "What I meant to say is that it isn't complete yet. It needs the finishing touches."
"But milady, it is your creation. Father could-"
"I am not God." Medusa started with a glare that silenced Baraqiel. Then her gaze grew gentle as she held the jewel in her hands. "Your sacrifice wasn't in vain, the reward is powerful. But I lack the capability of making something… complete, as I myself am not."
Reduced, weak and missing parts of herself ever since her birth. Creating something great was proved possible, finishing it not so much.
A fact she already knew before ensuing the Quest. "If you want to know, at its most basic, this stone can give Akeno great power and energy but as it is now it is uncontrollable. Unfocused." Was the best way she could describe. "There is a reason sacred gears have certain abilities or purposes and God didn't just spread Divinity around for everyone; Divinity is versatile but without an Authority or Domain, people would just blow themselves up figuring out how to use it." She raised the stone to his eyes which were glued in it. "At this point, this stone contains a strong Divinity and now it must gain direction or else my Priestess may harm herself."
"And how do we give it direction?" For his daughter he would do anything.
Something that warmed Medusa's heart but she shook her head. "Your job is done and I also did my part. As I said, I can't create sacred gears. I lack the Authority and knowledge to make any of them." Looking at her newest creation, her smile turned from gentle to confident. "But this is close enough and with my protector's help, it will be enough."
Half expecting to hear his brother's name, the fallen angel was shocked about how a human could be involved. "Emiya Shirou can make sacred gears?" Baraqiel asked in disbelief.
"Not a sacred gear, a Noble Gear." Closing her fist around the stone, Medusa felt its power ready to burst out. "It lacks a specific ability but needs a direction to give it form because it already has a purpose; to protect Akeno at any cost." Her eyes met Baraqiel's. "Is this reward fair?"
"More than fair but… How is it going to become a Noble Gear? It isn't a Noble Phantasm."
To his surprise the goddess shrugged. "It isn't, I admit. But I can't call it 'sacred gear' either." Medusa confessed with a smile. "And unlike a sacred gear it won't evolve with the heart of the owner, only with their will and skill. If anything you can call this a Proto Noble Phantasm. Something that can one day become a Noble Phantasm through actions of great valor. A Divine Artifact that still needs a few adjustiments before Akeno can wield it safely."
And there was just one person Medusa trusted who could finish her creation. "And you believe that Emiya Shirou can create a… Noble Gear out of it?"
"I just don't know if the classification would hold but I trust my protector." The goddess was already decided but she saw the Cadre's hesitation. "You disagree?"
Baraqiel clicked his tongue and scratched his head. "Perhaps we could ask my brother? He created many sacred gears over the years."
"Perhaps he would be better in the technical sense. But I trust my protector and so does Akeno." Medusa reminded him with a smile. "At least we trust him more. Let him take a crack at it, after all he has experience with my Gift."
"A Gift he barely used or worked with…" There was no heat in his words, he just wanted to point out reality.
"True but his use of it with Bellerophon is exceptional. In a way, my Gift is still a mirror, a mirror for his soul." Only Baraqiel truly understood the meaning of her words. "But that was for him and this is for Akeno. This reward is something else entirely…" Then Medusa stopped to admire her hand work. "Reward, yes. That is a fitting name."
"Milady?" Baraqiel was confused.
Medusa didn't blame him. "For all this time I have called my gift to my protector just that, Gift. It should be its True Name, the Gift of Medusa. And this," she raised her new creation once again, "this is Reward, the Reward of Medusa given to a daughter through her father's efforts." Turning to the fallen angels, more specifically Baraqiel, she asked. "Any objections?"
There was a small round of applause from some fallen angels but the Cadre remained silent for a moment before shaking his head. "You are going to tell Akeno-"
"Already told her." She smiled at his sigh. "Both of you need to know that you aren't ready and if she came back to you because of a Reward then she wouldn't be the Akeno I know, the one I call my High Priestess."
Another sigh left Baraqiel's lips before he nodded. "Then a Reward it is." But his face remained conflicted. "However I would like to try and convince you to ask for my brother's help in completing your work-"
"My answer won't change." Medusa cut him off with a wave. "My protector shall do it."
"Is it because he is your Champion? That speaks more of his skills in combat, not as a craftsman."
Medusa stared at the man with confusion. "You have seen some of his works and your brother considers my protector his equal." She stared at the Lightning of God firmly but as expected of a man with his reputation, he wouldn't break easily. "He holds my trust and thanks to my Gift is far more familiar with my power than Azazel could ever be. He is the ideal choice."
Sound logic and coming from a goddess, not the kind many would challenge. "But why does it need to be him?"
"What is the problem with him?" Baraqiel's question raised many doubts in Medusa and every other fallen angel. Her question in turn finally made the man squirm a little which gave the goddess her an extremely frustrating answer. "Oh my me, is this because he is a man?"
"Do you know the implications of a girl getting gifts from a boy?"
"They have known each other for a few years now, obviously they already traded gifts!" Medusa remembered everyone sharing presents at the most recent New Year party. Birthdays also counted.
But Baraqiel wasn't having none of it. "This is different! This is a man giving a woman jewelry. That usually is a symbol of- of- of-" It was like smoke was escaping his ears. "SHE IS TOO YOUNG!"
Back in the studio Akeno hid behind her hands, happy that only the uninterested Liz was there to watch her shame.
Taking her hands off her ears, Medusa calmly replied. "Most modern cultures would say she is at the right age." Quickly she placed her hands back on.
"BUT SHE IS JUST A LITTLE GIRL!" The other fallen angels didn't have that much luck and some of them fell on their backs with the potent scream. "She never saw a star be born! Or the construction of a civilization! Or-or-"
"I am pretty sure those things take a few centuries to actually happen and modern people would call either of them 'too much'." Before Baraqiel could shout something else, Medusa stepped on his foot. It didn't harm the man, reduced as she was there was no contest, but it got his attention. "Also, if you don't want her to be legitimately upset with you it would be best to let this go."
The man wanted to protest, to keep saying his daughter wasn't ready for a relationship, to protect her from all the evils a broken heart can inflict. From anything really if Baraqiel had his way.
But the goddess was right and so the man did the only thing he could; he prepared his best scowl and declared. "If he wants to really court my daughter then he best get ready for a fight."
While the fallen angels began to fear for Shirou's security, Medusa just rolled her eyes. 'He acts like Akeno couldn't just walk there and ask him and he wouldn't cave in a fraction of a second.' Still it was better this way so the goddess would let things be and take the most mature decision she could under those circumstances.. "Not my problem."
Dismissing things, Medusa would let father and daughter settle things on their own when they were ready.
…..
Hours later Shirou was opening his eyes slowly, extremely slowly as the first thing he noticed was how lethargic and heavy his body felt. Before opening his eyes he tried to move his arms only to notice they were stuck in a hard surface of some sort and that he was missing his shirt.
It was upon noticing his state of dress that the Mage realized he was sitting in a chair and finally managed to open his eyes and check his surroundings. Only to realize that he could see almost nothing as the place was completely dark, so dark in fact that for a moment Shirou feared he was blind.
Not allowing himself to panic, the redhead tried to move his arms again, finding the former stuck into the chair by manacles that kept his fingers free but didn't allow his hands to touch anything other than his chair.
Next was checking his legs and the magus quickly determined that while he was using pants he was missing his shoes and that his feet were just as stuck as his hands.
Taking a deep breath Shirou tried to use Structural Analysis to look further in his condition only to note that his circuits failed in activating. 'Something is blocking my mana.' If he didn't know something was wrong before, that was the worst kind of redflag. 'Looks like I was captured by someone, but how?'
He tried to mess with the chair, to pull, push, anything that would make it move or even make it fall. Nothing worked which led him to believe that the thing was bolted to ground, making his concerns grow. Once more he tried to channel his mana only to fail miserably as he felt nothing.
Remembering his father's lessons, Shirou took another deep breath. 'Something is blocking my mana which means this is some sort of set up. I was targeted by someone…' Unfortunately the list wasn't as small as Shirou wanted it to be. He began to try and scratch the chair and managed to figure out it wasn't made out of wood or metal. 'This material is odd, too smooth but my fingernail isn't getting stuck? Some sort of special chair?'
Time ticked while he tried to break free and part of him expected someone to show up after he began to struggle or test his seat's resistance. Nobody appeared which had him questioning his situation again.
'Am I being watched or not?' Shirou needed to determine it quickly to evaluate his odds of escaping. 'I have been moving for a while and am still breathing so it makes sense someone should be keeping an eye on me.'
Yet nothing happened, he was just there, stuck in a chair in the dark without being able to move his hands or legs while his mana was completely absent. And since nobody was showing up to explain anything, Shirou began to work with his nails to weaken the chair as his mind tried to piece together how he ended up in such a mess.
He remembered fixing himself up to visit Lakmia in the Vault, Xenovia helped him pick a dark button up blue shirt with a jacket and black pants so he could look nice while also letting out a certain air of aloof professionalism.
After spending an hour trying to tame his hair his knight escorted him to the teleportation room where a magic circle would take him to the Gremory Village and from there it would be a short walk towards the Matron's residence.
Remembering arriving at the place, Shirou quickly dismissed being kidnapped on the way. He remembered exiting the building and looking towards Gremory Castle, honestly debating ditching the meeting and going to visit Rias. Only his desire to not get in the way of her training stopped him.
'After that… After that I went straight to her villa, trying not to look at the castle.' The redhead was starting to get annoyed at his own memory and tried to contact the resident of his soul. 'Bellerophon?'
Feeling the echo of a response the redhead was relieved that despite his weakened state he would still contact the legendary mount. The pegasus sent him a wave of confusion that had him worried for a moment but the magus suspected that the abstinence of his mana was thinning their connection.
Still his friend was here and perhaps could help. 'Can you try to give me some of your power? Something happened and we are quite stuck.' For a second Shirou felt Divinity running though his body before it disappeared, much to the pegasus' confusion. The Mage understood immediately. 'I don't have any mana for you to use.'
Shaking his head the magus began to talk with Bellerophon as his mind fought against the fog surrounding his memory.
Arriving at the villa, Shirou remembered being greeted by a devil smaller than he was but with a smile that appeared to be a little forced. Either way the magus suspected he was older than he looked but from the way he was acting the redhead felt like he was the one hundreds of years old.
Regardless it was just an impression easily dismissed. Working at the Vault the Mage grew used to being regarded as the most important person in the room even if he never felt as such.
However Shirou remembered taking note of how nervous that devil and a few others looked while the majority of the people in the room looked happy to see him. All were men and none of them were weak. It was in their posture, their size and presence, just walking inside the villa Shirou felt like he was surrounded by tigers.
None of them had much mana to speak of, the Mage was pretty sure his reserves were actually bigger than the majority, but their behavior wasn't truly akin to servants and butlers but to soldiers.
The situation wasn't helped by the fact that, much like the first ones he saw carrying Lakmia when he first arrived in the Underworld, every single one of them was taller than him by a couple heads besides the door man who quickly disappeared somewhere when he wasn't looking.
Most of it was pure muscle and even if their uniform fit all of them without fail, clearly some didn't like the suits like they didn't belong in them.
'Yes', Shirou remembered thinking to himself, 'these guys aren't fit for suits or to wait hand and foot for someone. The place of these men is in battle.' None was armed but with magic circles they could be ready to fight in a heartbeat. 'Huh? Is that guy afraid of me?'
It was the impression he got when the older devils looked at him nervously before turning his head and avoiding looking at Shirou completely. That would be suspicious and concerning by itself but Shirou was trying to fight his biases so he just accompanied one of the butlers who escorted him deeper inside the villa.
While not as big as Gremory Castle, Lakmia's home wasn't frugal by any means. Many pieces of art like portraits and statues decorated the place. He didn't recognize any of the words but noted that the place looked to be illuminated by certain stones spread around the walls, giving the manor an eerie glow.
It was bright enough that Shirou could have taken off his glasses but he didn't want to look too comfortable considering what Lakmia was planning. He was dense but not dumb and while he had troubles understanding and noticing people's emotions, the Matron's were bare for him to see.
As bare as her back when he saw her sitting on a long couch with her legs extended. She stood up with a smile and a swing of her hips, her low cut wine colored dress just reminded him how dangerous that woman was.
"Welcome, Mage of Swords. For a while I feared you would be too busy for our tea." Her voice was confident, her poise was elegant. Her dress also highlighted her curves perfectly but none of that phased him. "Please, please, sit down. Do you want to eat something this time? Some fruit, meat, perhaps me?"
With a little chuckle, Shirou couldn't help but ask. "Laying a little tick, don't you think?"
"As a woman of business, I like to get straight to the point. Don't worry, you can refuse and we can part as friends-" She said something else but his memory failed him a little. It was something a little embarrassing but not mean spirited. "If you want to try, of course."
"Sorry but I will keep my reply as a 'no'." A small twitch of her eyebrow showed she was frustrated but it was almost microscopic and Shirou only caught on because of his amazing sight.
It lasted for less than a second and her smile remained honest. "Is it something I am lacking?"
Sitting down on the couch, Shirou tried to keep the conversation lighthearted as a butler came with cups and tea. "Don't you think I am the one lacking?" He commented before taking a seat and noticing it was a blend he had never tasted before. And quite delicious. "What is this?"
"A rare herb from the Underworld. Our ecosystem obviously grants us a great variety of them that you can't find anywhere else. This one is called Lilith's Kiss." Returning to her couch but in a more conservative position, she hummed, savoring the tea. "It used to grow around where it is now our capital and as you can tell, it is a delicacy." By her giggle she found his expression amusing. "You said you wanted tea and I went all out for some of the best in the Underworld."
"Thank you but that wasn't really necessary." It made him feel bad about rejecting her.
The woman just smiled and nodded. "Of course it was, you are the Mage of Swords, someone extremely important for the Gremory. And you haven't answered my question."
Shaking his head, Shirou skipped most of the conversation as he tried to dance around the fact that while Lakmia was beautiful she didn't hold his trust and some of her actions made him doubt her character.
And considering he was stuck in a chair after having tea with her, it seemed she was actually worse than he thought. 'Never jump to conclusions.' Shirou cautioned himself, feeling his fingers start to hurt before stopping and touching the chair's arm. He frowned at the lack of damage. 'This is bad.'
Another deep breath later the magus tried to feel his Ki only to fail as his body felt weaker than if he was just out of mana. To distract himself and find his center, he went memory diving again.
"Besides, your type seems to be more… on the bigger side…" Shirou tried to point out as politely as possible.
"My, my, what a naughty boy. Do you think I sleep with all of my men?" The way she said 'my men' was far more provoking than the rest of the teasing. "Well, you can rest easy knowing that I only lay with warriors and while many here own the title proudly, few are truly great."
"Right, sorry." He found himself surprised how easily he accepted that, suspecting that his own situation desensitized him from the idea of harems.
"It is fine. Don't think too much about it." But the way she moved her legs and her arm to support her face and generous bust, she wanted him to think about it. However he wasn't as affected as he should one way or another. "You don't need to think about it, friends can have fun, right?"
"To me it shouldn't be that simple or easier." Shirou honestly, avoiding her personality. "It should have meaning, the act itself is about people giving each other something… personal with absolute trust."
With a hand on her mouth, obviously she was holding back her laugh. "Such a human way to see things."
Except it wasn't just human by her definition as he knew Rias shared his point of view. To them sex wasn't just a pleasurable activity but something to be done only with absolute trust and certainty.
Emotions should be real and not something born out of pure pressure or just curiosity.
Shaking his head, Shirou tried to focus back in the pass but he was almost sure Lakmia was the one who imprisoned him. He needed to get to the important parts of his memory but the fog in his mind was making him focus on the wrong things. That and the exhaustion that he couldn't explain but suspect it was a drug of some kind.
After a few more minutes of small talk, which wasn't all that unpleasant from what he could recall, Shirou noticed Lakmia's look at the sword in his hand and smiled before presenting it to her.
Giddy with excitement the redhead woman stood up, met him in the middle and drew the weapon swiftly, her eyes growing with fascination as the multiple blades revealed themselves.
However the surprise didn't last long and Shirou was impressed how she managed to break down the flower sword's characteristics and how it could work best with her fighting style.
Practicing a few stabs and slashes, Lakmia ordered her subordinates to bring some targets, jars and vases made on the cheap and the kind that shouldn't be in a manor as her own.
Her moves were as close to perfect as they could be if the sword was a normal saber or rapier, her stabs were precise and always hitting the center of the jars like if she was aiming for invisible bullseyes.
Still the flower sword wasn't any of those weapons and in return for six stabs at the same time there was little slashing power as a blade could easily get in the way of another. Sure a skilled fighter could compensate but the goal of the weapon was to penetrate and then exit as violently as possible for maximum damage.
It was all built for Lakmia's fighting style so obviously she had no complaints. "It is perfect." She purred while caressing the blades. "I can even channel my mana rather easily despite how many blades it has. Is that because of your metal?"
"Got it in one."
"And there is only one weapon of its kind in existence?" He nodded, smiling at her excitement. "Such a great prize, and from the Mage of Swords himself, I can't thank you enough."
"No need. I, or better yet my knight, promised a service."
"Oh, please, don't be like that. We both know you could have rejected the request. Could even reject coming to have tea with me today." Lakmia's smile showed she knew more than was letting on. The magus avoided saying anything, even when she approached. "But with such talent and supreme skill to make an impossible weapon." Her free arm held him close to her breasts but he remained impassive, staring at her eyes. "Can't I convince you to perhaps part with a few more works? Just to make sure the Gremory is going to be ready for what is to come?"
"And what is to come?"
"Isn't it obvious? A war." Lakmia stepped away, all her flirty demeanor gone. "Sirzechs is a great leader, a true Gremory and probably the greatest of us to ever be born." When she turned, her eyes held a haunting quality the magus remembered made him cautious. "However he isn't Lucifer."
"You think some of the Pillars-"
"Some of the Pillars, the remaining descendants, the other Factions and the factions inside the Underworld. Gremory still has too many enemies and we cannot back down from this fight. Now that Sirzechs is the new Lucifer, if he falls, we fall, the Gremory as I whole. And I refuse to allow that to happen."
Her words were passionate and Shirou remained there, stunned. There was logic in her thoughts and fears and the implication of what she wanted was obvious.
She still voiced her desire. "To protect the Gremory, I ask you to reconsider, Emiya Shirou. Please, keep making swords for our armies." It was an honest request, born from the heart. "If you do so, I swear on my honor to make sure none of your weapons fall in the wrong hands again and to give you anything, anything, you desire if it's within my power."
Shirou felt bad for what he said after, more for the plea than for the offer. "I can't. Not after what happened. The thought of my creations harming innocents-"
"Just a few bad apples-"
"And making enough for an army doesn't mean finding more bad apples?" He cut her off with a glare before calming himself down and staring to the side. "How many 'bad apples' are we going to find then? My weapons aren't like normal weapons and I can't just ignore the damage they can cause."
Chuckling, Lakmia replied with clear disappointment. "You dream of an ideal world and in that Gremory has no enemies. But this is reality." Her words carried a resolve stronger than before. Shirou could feel it even if he was avoiding looking at her. "And to defeat them, we need more. Sirzechs and the other Maou can't be everywhere all at once, it was exactly that which defeated the Old Satan Faction; the lack of strong able fighters. Your swords can-"
"But the Old Satan Faction was defeated and the Underworld is more prosperous than before." Shirou cut her again, turning to look right into her eyes. He saw frustration and anger, but wasn't going to back down. "Besides, you don't need my weapons to grow strong and, if it comes to it, I won't hesitate to fight as well to protect the peace the Three Factions are building."
"You think you are going to live long enough to see it? You are just human, in a century or so you are going to be in the dirt and instead of having a legacy that can help us, your name will mean less than nothing."
"Maybe. Or maybe I will live long enough to leave a lasting peace behind me. Or maybe you don't need me or weapons but to have faith in the leader you praised so much before." It was the first time Lakmia hesitated in their conversation and Shirou kept pressing. "Sirzechs is a good man and from what I have seen, a great leader. He was even willing to sacrifice his sister's happiness for the sake of peace." A decision the man himself regretted and Shirou hated but as a leader that was the correct one. "He loves Rias as much as his own child and was willing to give her up. Saying he isn't going to do everything in his power for peace is a lie."
The woman said nothing, recovered her balance and nodded. "True but there are other factors-"
"But my swords are not your only solution. Weapons are only as good as their owners and arming a bunch of bystanders will solve nothing depending who decides to start something." Shirou knew he was right, devils could fight without his weapons just fine. They were just a shortcut for the weak or a complement for those already strong, nothing more in the Mage's opinion. "I will only entrust them to the people I trust. Nobody else."
He had been trying to say then and there that he was placing his trust in her too but the look in her eyes, a look filled with disgust and resignation, made him reconsider for a second. For the life of him Shirou couldn't understand how he missed that look even if the memory of it was pretty clear in highsight.
'Something was definitely wrong by then…' Looking at his hand he could see nothing but feel the blood as his attempts of freeing himself failed. 'Tch, this isn't a normal chair. What I wouldn't give for some light.' While he worked, his mind couldn't help but go back to the puzzle of his memories.
Perhaps he missed the look because it lasted less than a moment, maybe a trick of the light or he was seeing ghosts after remembering his failure to protect his designs. Looking at that point of view the insistent Lakmia was certainly seen in a more negative connotation.
However, like he remembered, it lasted little before the woman smiled sincerely. "Maybe you are right and I am just overthinking things." When she placed her new sword on a small table and grabbed Shirou's arm, there was no flirting or desire in her moves, just confidence. "I promised a tour of my collection, didn't I?"
Calling it a collection was underselling in Shirou's opinion, thousands of swords were lined up on walls and several open closets or in cases forming dozens of hallways inside the biggest room in the whole villa.
It was like he had stepped out of the manor, even if he didn't as the Mage was sure they had walked through a couple of hallways, and arrived in a hidden armory below the surface or something of the type.
The place was so big that it was at least two or three kilometers in length with a few floors from the ground to the roof. He remembered joking about how cleaning it all must be a huge labor but Lakmia had just brushed it off.
"Now you know why I have so many employees."
She took her time explaining most of the weapons in the place, all swords and several of the same kind at least on the surface. The Matron of Gremory's collection was the only thing the Mage could remember perfectly and all of them were forged by different people throughout the years.
However that didn't explain its size and he asked as much so Lakmia took her time explaining that whenever one of her subordinates died she would add their weapon, if a sword, to her collection.
That prompted Shirou to pay even more attention to the swords and he easily realized that the majority of them were used in several combats with their owners perishing for or by Lakmia's hand and she quickly amended the other reason for the collection's size was because she also took the weapons of anyone she personally killed.
During the explanation they kept walking around the hallways as the Matron pointed to a sword or another, telling him how she acquired them either by blood or by coin.
There was no real organization on the place even if the blades were well taken care of, it seemed that Lakmia had chosen to place them all in the order they were acquired and so it wasn't uncommon for him to notice several of the same weapon spread around the gigantic room.
Most of them were swords with two edges commonly associated with knights, weapons that most devils used in the Underworld Civil War, be them on either side of the conflict. That was where the bulk of the collection came from but it wasn't just that as there were several types of swords from all over the world and History.
"Perhaps you have a Noble Phantasm around here." He remembered joking and earning a legitimate laugh from the woman.
"Besides the smiths who forged them and the men who died with them, nobody else held those swords. So it is impossible for them to be Noble Phantasms."
She still took her time to show them all, each with a story associated with it. Shirou could see most of them playing in his soul.
Besides being part of her collection, those swords had nothing really special, unfortunately. Lakmia was right that they were mostly mass produced for war and those made after just weren't good enough to be anything but what they were. All of them were decent swords, but none of them held real power and even Shirou's most basic work easily surpassed most of them.
Not that he was going to mention that and after their previous intense disagreement Emiya was willing to let the woman talk and guide him wherever she wanted for a while.
Unfortunately for him time escaped his grasp for some reason, perhaps because of the magic stone illuminating the place or the lack of sun, artificial or not, that stopped him from noticing how many hours passed.
He only was able to tell when Lakmia announced it was time for dinner and had a small meal served for them.
Shirou tried to refuse, tried to say he needed to get back while remaining polite but the woman refused to take a 'no' for an answer. "Consider it the second part of the tea." And tea was served so it wasn't like she was wrong.
Gritting his teeth the redhead barely remembered taking a few bites and drinking the tea before his memory brought him back to his current predicament. So by taking all the evidence in, there was no denying anymore that the Matron was responsible for his imprisonment.
Add the fact that he found no success using his mana, damaging the chair or even moving it, Shirou was truly with too few cards to play other than call his captor. "Lakmia! Show yourself!"
For a minute or so he remained there, sitting in the dark and staring straight ahead where he suspected there was a door. He was proved right when it slowly opened, a huge heavy one by the sound of it.
Darkness ruled the room until Lakmia revealed herself with a magic circle illuminating the room with a dark red eerie glow. "You woke up… faster than you should." She sounded confused.
For a few moments the sudden light had forced Shirou to flinch and his eyes couldn't help but shed a tear. It disappeared as he looked at Lakmia's familiar face he grew familiar with earlier on the day.
She also had changed clothes and now was sporting a dress shirt of a sort that reached her tights and trousers for easy movement. Her hair was still in an elaborate hairstyle but her eyes carried no emotion the magus had seen on her before. On the contrary, they looked more apathetic if slightly frustrated, almost as if she couldn't hold that specific emotion back.
Not that Shirou cared, his mind was completely in his current predicament. "You drugged the food."
Shrugging like it wasn't a big deal the Matron replied. "The food, the tea, the second tea. Funny thing about Lilith's Kiss is that it can make people more susceptible to suggestion while messing with their attention span." That explained the fog in his memories but that wasn't all. "Then again, you are a Mage. Expecting you to resist the many herbs on the food and tea should have been expected. I underestimated you."
"And you took the antidote."
"Just for the tea. A great thing about having you here was that I had my subordinates lace your cup and plate while leaving my own alone."
With a small burst of anger Shirou tried to get free but could only glare once his sight was used to the lack of light. "What is your goal?"
"Straight to business then? Excellent." Lakmia approached and tried to caress his face only for Shirou to move and try to bite her fingers. She quickly stepped back with a laugh, his action too slow. "Oh my, and here I thought we could have a reasonable conversation."
"You drug me, tie me in a chair and steal all of my mana. Reason was never an option." The Mage started with a confident smile and a sharp look that could put most people on edge. The Matron wasn't one of them. "You won't get away with this."
"I think I will. One way or another."
"People are going to come looking for me."
Lakmia's hand landed on his shoulder, far enough he couldn't get to it. "Hmm~ indeed, indeed. But, I think a young man like you," she caressed it lovingly, "can take his time in the manor of a lady such as myself, don't you think."
The prisoner wanted to scoff but instead just glared. "And you are planning to do what with however much time you have left." Shirou made sure to look her in the eye as she snapped her fingers and the magic circle moved to the ceiling. Soon it began to grow brighter, allowing the magus to look around and see several torture instruments. "Is this a threat?"
"Fufufufu. Not a smidge of fear. Impressive but naive." She waved to the several blades, whips, chains and other instruments that could break bones and tear flesh while keeping the prisoner barely alive. "But no, these are for the less important guests and I can't damage you too much. It would be detrimental." The Matron shrugged again and moved around until she was out of Shioru's sight. "Not when recently I gained a new Piece, someone capable of torturing in a way that won't leave any scars and is undetectable." Her arms around his neck, she began to play with his naked chest. "But of course, we don't need to do that if you give me what I want."
"My swords…" An easy conclusion to make.
However he wasn't entirely correct. "Yes but unfortunately we are way past just swords." Separating from him, Shirou's eyes found her swiftly as she stalked like a cat watching a canary. "With Rias' triumph over Riser, the Gremory lost an ally in the Phenex. Now, that isn't a bad thing, that brat proved himself to be unsuited to ever be the consort of the Gremory Head. However, her actions also tied us to you and your inventions." Her pause came with a side glance as she placed her hands behind her back, visible to him. "That and many of your swords proved to be excellent weapons that even the weakest devil could use to rise a little in life. And those were the common ones too… We need them just in case of a war."
"You are repeating yourself and my answer is the same." Remaining steady, Shirou's glare grew darker. "And that wasn't what we were talking about."
Snapping her fingers again, a small magic circle appeared in her hand. "But that is the reason why I wanted to use this." A Knight Piece dropped in her hand. "Your compliance isn't the only factor anymore, your eternal servitude, on the other hand..."
Shirou revealed a smirk. "Why then haven't you Reincarnated me already? Can't?"
"Don't play coy, Mage. You know I already failed." Just after Shirou passed out thanks to the laced food, Lakmia moved to try and Reincarnated him with any of the Pieces she had.
First she tried a Pawn but it was almost expected that it would fail, the man was a Mage after all and that was a class of magicians acknowledged by their deeds and power as much as their magic.
But she had just used three of her Pieces since she acquired them; a Rook, a Bishop and her Queen. The Matron had plenty of options to spare, including using all of her Pawn Pieces in one go to an almost guaranteed Reincarnation even if she already had a Queen.
Only for Shirou to not Reincarnate at all.
Lakmia had tried every combination and even thought about killing her Queen but brushed the idea away remembering that she wasn't dealing with a normal person but a Mage. Someone with tricks and secrets that managed to bring down the White Dragon Emperor, a confirmed descendant of Lucifer.
She may not know all the details but with leaders of the Three Factions as witnesses, there was no shadow of a doubt Emiya Shirou won that fight.
Yet Lakmia could only accept it was through some sort of trick. "Tell me how you are doing it." She made it sound like it wasn't a demand. "Wouldn't it be better to live forever as a devil, an Apex Predator, than just as a simple human?" Moving her knight Piece in her hand, the woman made sure to lean forward to tempt him some more. "And once you are a devil, with your abilities, you can live like a King. I will of course make sure you have whatever you desire, be it for your research or just for your heart." It was the magus' turn to look apathetic, something that the Matron didn't expect. "Come now, isn't all magi's goal to reach the Root or whatever it was called? Instead of leaving for some descendant to work towards it, you will have all the time in the world to get there by yourself-"
"Rias is going to be so mad at you~" Shirou couldn't help himself, he was still smirking but his tone was playful and even mocking. "Oh, she is going to rip you apart."
"Feh, you are overestimating your value, Mage. While it is true that us, Gremory, value our followers, we value family even more."
"But how do you value your love?" The question caught the Matron by surprise, something Shirou expected. Letting out a sigh, he extended an olive branch. "Look, just let me go and we can forget this whole thing. Clearly you care about the Gremory but-"
"Hahahahahaha! Hohohahahahoahoha!" Lakmia bursted out laughing for a full minute before controlling her nerves. "You really overvalue yourself, Mage. A devil loving a human like that? As if."
"Now, listen-"
"No, you listen." Weakened as he was, Shirou couldn't fight back when Lakmia threw her substantial power on his head. The Mage struggled to keep his head high but it felt like she was crushing his bones. "Here is an offer for you to evolve, to become greater than a simple human. Take it and maybe you will earn a place by her side forever as something more than a toy." The power relented and Emiya took large gulps of air as the Matron stopped by his side, Evil Piece in his line of sight. "Power eternal, most humans can't come close to that even with Evil Pieces. Accept it and join us." She smiled gently again. "Rias is missing a Knight still, you could become her Knight if that is what you want."
Closing his eyes for a moment, Shirou processed everything she said before going back to glare at her again. "Thank you." He said confidently in a tone that shocked the woman. "By the way you act I am sure as hell that you won't keep your word." Lakmia stared at him for a few seconds before releasing a sigh and stepping back completely. "So I think I will be waiting for my rescue. Between being the Gremory Magician, Azazel's lab partner and the Son of the Magus Killer, I bet that it won't be long before someone comes knocking. Question is; who is going to get you first?"
"Naive." Lakmia stated coldly, Evil Piece returning to her magic circle.
"Right back at you. Did you really think for a second any of that was going to work?" Shirou sounded more confident than he felt at the Matron's attitude. She was too calm which made him think she had more cards on her sleeve.
She didn't disappoint. "And you think you are going to even remember me by the time they find you?" Lakmia's smile returned, a cruel one this time. "You are out of mana and your mind is already weakened. Getting your trick out of you or, in the worst case scenario, altering your memories isn't far from the realm of possibility."
"As weak as I may be, you are underestimating me far too much." Shirou was confident in his defenses, his experiences. His mind had been burned by a fire that consumed all of himself. He didn't fear it happening a second time. "Besides, this chair may be siphoning my mana but I am still breathing and the air around here is full of it."
"True, true. The ice of Cocytus you are sitting on always leaves its victim with enough so the person can stay awake to feel hell." At the magus' eyes growing wide, Lakmia's smile grew in turn. "Ah, you didn't notice." The magic circle above them grew brighter and Shirou looked down to see that indeed he was sitting on a chair of dry ice with his wrists and legs bound by it. "My, my. The herbs really left you a little out of it. That or the cold is doing you in. Don't worry about dying to it by the way, nor escaping." Touching a section of the chair close to his head with her finger and it broke apart easily. "Cocytus' ice exists to preserve those stuck on it, even if it is just your wrists. Anyone can break it from outside but inside it, your power turns against you."
"Someone will find me."
"Your faith is… correct for all intents and purposes. Sure I can convince Rias that your Reincarnation is for the best but she will be upset if I am found with you in my basement after you disappeared for a couple of days."
'More than upset, no doubt.' However Shirou didn't voice his thoughts, knowing the woman before him wouldn't believe them. "If you know about this, what are you planning?"
"Oh, torture you until you tell me what I need to know." Lakmia spoke of it as if it was about the weather. "Or erase any knowledge of my participation, throw you to an already prepared group that won't know they are scapegoats and pretend to find where you are after they have a few days to try and force you to talk by more physical means." There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that she wasn't bluffing. Lakmia fully intended to torture him and, if that failed, throw him to the wolves only to pretend saving him later. "Like I said, you won't remember being here; thanks to Lilith's Kiss and my new Piece's magic, you are going to think you left this place very satisfied and was captured going back to the Vault. Such a tragedy."
"That won't work." Shirou said with conviction.
Lakmia didn't care. "Why not? You are just human after all, my race has been manipulating you all for milenia… Who knows, maybe we can revisit this again after a couple of months? When Rias lowers her guard? You certainly will be more cooperative the second time."
Shirou glared at her with as much hatred as he could muster before noticing something he hadn't before. "My necklace."
"Oh, you mean this?" The Gift of Medusa was resting on Lakmia's neck and the Mage's hate became very real. "A gift from a god, such a precious thing. Pity you lost it when you were kidnapped. Or, you can accept my offer and I will return it." Shirou bit his lip in anger hard enough to draw blood. "No? Your loss. If this is how you defeated the White Dragon Emperor then your value just shrunk while my power grew."
Finally Shirou snapped. "People will notice! They will know you stole it from me!"
"And who is going to complain? A destitute goddess? An insane Mage that was caught and tortured?" She asked rhetorically and even if Shirou knew she was wrong, dread filled his being. "No one that matters will care anyway. The main tenets of being a devil are to protect your Clan and grow your power. I outsmarted you so your loss is my gain." Lakmia leaned forward again, looking him in the eye. "Unless you are going to accept my offer. A Geass can be written then to make sure you won't open your mouth, of course."
"I won't forget this." Shirou said back with disdain. "Not a single thing. You better kill me now or else I will get my Gift back and expose you for who you are."
With those words Lakmia knew negotiations had failed. "Very well. Since you didn't take the 'carrot', time for the 'stick'." Someone else entered the room and thanks to the light Shirou saw exactly who he was. And he was pretty sure that man was supposed to be dead. "Oh, you know his face? Did your friend Nero tell you about him?"
"Macabro…" Shirou said the name carefully, studying the criminal who should have been put to death. Just by looking at that man in the eyes the magus knew something was terribly wrong. 'It is like his insanity is completely gone and left nothing behind.'
Dressed in a different suit than the last time Shirou saw him, Macabro had small burn scars in his face and just by looking to the sides, despite the poor light, it was clear he had found some metal prosthetics to replace his hands.
Superficially the man looked fine but compared to before there was no malice, hatred or insanity on his gaze. It wasn't like Lakmia's or some people when they manage to perfect poker faces either, his expression was truly empty.
His eyes were empty, completely utterly empty, like his eyeballs were replaced by glass or marble that perfectly matched the previous pair but had no sign of life in them.
"Hmm, your reaction is odd." Lakmia snapped him out of his thoughts as she in turn studied him. "What did your bounty hunter friend tell you about my new Bishop? Something nice?" She turned to Macabro, his suit looking less like one belonging to a businessman but from a butler. "Hey, Macabro, look at him. This is Emiya Shirou, the Mage of Swords. You are familiar with his work, right?" It was an order even if poorly worded one and the man's gaze finally focused on Shirou.
For the first time since he saw Macabro again there was some life behind those eyes, a fire had been lit even if just for a second before it was put down again by whatever happened to him.
Remembering his previous disguise, Shirou minded his words. "Wasn't him the kind who would enjoy watching someone in my situation?"
"Yes, he was. But we… adjusted his attitude a little, didn't we?" Lakmia grabbed Macabro's chin but the man barely reacted, choosing to stare at Shirou instead. "I couldn't just let him die, you know? He had plenty of contacts, names and addresses that would ruin the business if he took those to the grave."
The magus easily realized the implications of her words. "You- you were involved in the selling of my swords!"
A chuckle escaped her lips as she let Macabro go. "Of course. Didn't Sairaorg explained that as the Matron of Runeas, I ran its Underworld?" She chuckled again, shaking her head in disbelief. "What sort of fool wouldn't use that opportunity to arm her population properly? I just told you I was getting ready for a war."
Gritting his teeth, Shirou couldn't disagree. "That was why you had so many weapons in the Arena, you made sure your men had the best ones as well."
"Look at that, the human can think."
But Shirou wasn't done. "I bet you hated when Nero showed up with Sairaorg, hiding that from a Heir would be too much even from you since that was truly illegal." His eyes returned to Macabro. "And he crossed the line."
"Right again." The amusement vanished and Lakmia glared. "Had to waste a Bishop Piece and promise to keep an eye on this idiot so he was spared. Easy with my influence, except that he isn't my type." She hit his back and Macabro fell to his knees. He was still glaring at Shirou. "Weakling without any combat potential. Well, can't call him completely useless either, his hypnosis is top notch and he is good at diving into memories. He tried to get yours before but… what did you say again, Macabro? That since he was unconscious, reading his mind was harder?"
His voice was as empty as his eyes. "When someone is unconscious or asleep, their mind becomes like a labyrinth of chaos that I can't influence. I can give them nightmares but would not be able to control them-"
"That is enough." Macabro shut up immediately and dread was starting to fill Shirou's heart as he recognized the signs. Lakmia didn't notice how stiff the Mage became. "Dreams are territories of the gods and the people who have them. Dear Macabro here is good but not godlike. Not like you and swords at least." But now he was awake and she was confident her Bishop would succeed.
That was clear to Shirou but despite his worries he banished those thoughts aside and focused on something far more concerning. "You have a King Piece." His answer came at the shocked look on Lakmia's face just before she grabbed his forehead and forced her to look in her eyes.
"How do you know that?!" There was panic there but Shirou took no satisfaction from it.
For if there was one, there could be more. "How did you get one?"
"I think you forgot who is in control here…" Her hand began to close on his skull but the magus barely reacted. Pain was an old friend, after all. "It may be risky damaging you and losing some of your precious swords but if the secrets of the Underworld are in the hand of some Mage, perhaps killing you is a good idea."
"Ajuka gave the information to Azazel." Immediately her grip grew slack even if she remained frustrated. "I know how the King Piece works, how not only it gives the owner more power but absolute control over their Pieces." His eyes grew full of pity as Shirou ignored the woman and looked at Macabro still on the floor. "You can order him to do anything and he will be forced to do it unless his will is strong enough to fight back." Not as easily as he made sound and the man obviously wasn't. "'Adjusting his attitude', you stole his emotions, his core, his being. Perhaps even damaged his soul…"
"Pitying him now? After your bounty hunter friend cut his hands and left him for death?" If anything the Matron was amused.
However the retort confused her. "He should have killed Macabro. Leaving this alone, refusing to keep looking, that was my mistake." He didn't give her time to dwell on his own words, looking right back at her with anger. "You were never returning me to Rias, you just wanted to make me your slave the first chance you got."
"Tch, I wanted you to make swords for the Gremory. Your morals are on the way." Animosity filled her tone but it wasn't just with him. "And why in tarnation did Ajuka give Azazel that sort of information? Did he truly choose to ignore the risks?"
Shirou spoke from the heart. "A gesture of good faith. Unlike you, they truly believe peace can work." At her incredulous look, he sighed. "King Pieces were a mistake, as you just proved it. But their existence alone isn't the problem, their use is." His eyes focused on Macabro who was looking right back at him. "If the other Pantheons know devils are messing with Free Will, even if it is possible to fight back, they are going to unite and destroy the Underworld. By using a King Piece, you are putting the Gremory in more risk-"
"Silence!" Lakmia held her hand close to Shirou's face and while the magus stopped talking he otherwise didn't react. His fellow redhead glared at him with a passion which was missing throughout the whole day. "You think I don't know that? Then you are a fool. King Pieces shouldn't be used for everyone and certainly not by the masses, just to control certain problematic but useful individuals…"
"You realize now your plan is going to fail, right? If Azazel notices anything wrong with my behavior, he will know something is wrong." Shirou stated confidently, knowing she couldn't kill him either or risk a deep investigation which would ruin her even if Rias didn't care for him.
Eliminating emotions from the equation, pride and honor would demand that the Gremory responded with force, even against one of their members. Already Shirou could feel himself more confident and secure despite his situation since there was absolutely no way the Matron could really kill or Reincarnate him.
Fact was that Lakmia's plans were ruined before they even began. "Macabro!" Fury almost blinded her but she wasn't the Matron for nothing. "Weaken his mind and take away his memories. Later in the week we will dump him somewhere easy to find."
That didn't mean he was safe and the outcome was far from what Shirou was expecting. "You could just give me my necklace and let me go with a Geass."
"Fool. Do you think I will trust a magician to keep his word?" Then she raised the Gift with a smile. "Besides, if you are missing this, I can learn how to use it properly. The Gremory will benefit from you, one way or another." She began to leave the room as Shirou glared at her back. "Who knows, maybe I do Reincarnate you anyway. Just will have to mess with your memory just right and you will think it was a request from your part."
The security the Mage felt was suddenly missing but there was no dread, only rage.
"I won't forget this." She ignored his words but the Mage didn't care. "I will escape, get my jewel back and kill you if I have too. Getting that King Piece will certainly guarantee a fate worse than death."
Stopping at the doorway, Lakmia turned with a cruel smile. "Do you think I am the only one?" His eyes grew wide at the implications. "Ajuka should have taken better care of his toys. See you in a couple of days, Mage of Swords." With that she departed and the magic circle illuminating the room was extinguished.
'I need to get out.' Yet Shirou didn't fight with the chair made with ice from the deepest prisons of Hades. "Are you still there, Macabro?"
"Yes, I am, Nero."
Uncertain if the Bishop was still on the ground or on his feet, Shirou closed his eyes and sighed. "I knew you recognized me."
"It is hard to forget the man who destroyed my hands."
"Why didn't you tell your boss?"
"Because she didn't ask…."
Silence reigned in the darkness as the information sunk in for the now lone redhead in the room. "Would you be interested in making a deal?" When Shirou got no response he continued. "If you help me escape, I will make sure she pays for what she did to you."
"I would love that, love that a lot." There was nothing in his tone. Absolutely nothing. "Unfortunately she took away my enjoyment of things, my desire for suffering and the pleasure I took from it. She took it all because of you."
"If you have nothing, you shouldn't hate me…" Yet the Mage knew that wasn't the case.
Indeed another magic circle illuminated the room from Macabro's metallic hand. "Doesn't mean I don't dislike you. Actually, I think the former me would be happy that you can't be Reincarnated and made the Matron upset since she ordered me to weaken you." His eyes recovered some of his insanity and a small twitch could be seen on his lip. "That means that I can break you completely. Yes, the former me would like that."
'Will apparently isn't the only way to break from the King Piece's control…' Shirou recognized silently. 'Hatred works just fine.' He let out a sigh, knowing that the man's condition was partially his fault. "For what it is worth, I am sorry."
"It's worth nothing-"
"Sorry that I didn't kill you." Shirou could swear he saw some surprise in Macabro's expression. "Nobody deserves to end like a shell of a person. Trust me, I know that better than most." Taking a deep breath, the magus did his best to relax in his prison. "If anything I should have paid more attention to what happened after the factory. If I had followed your case and saw it to the end… Perhaps you would be dead or I would see her scheme from the get go." Or maybe none of those. Maybe Lakmia would be able to convince him that having Macabro working for her was for the best. "Either way, this happened because I wanted to forget about you and what you did. For that I am sorry."
Shirou utterly refused to forgive the man for his actions or excuse his participation on the black market that forced the magus's hand in the first place. Yet he was completely willing to recognize his faults, how he should have kept an eye on Macabro so he was properly punished.
Or should just have killed him when he had the chance.
Either way Macabro was surprised by the honest apology and couldn't help but snicker. "Dear me, look what you did… Perhaps she didn't take everything. Then again, I doubt she ever would consider that I could draw amusement from an apology." Another magic circle came to his free hand, both hovering over Shirou's head. "You know that doesn't change anything, right?"
"It clears my conscience." Shirou replied with a smirk. "Don't worry, I won't make that mistake again." His eyes recovered their edge as devil and magus faced off once again. "When this is all over, I will make sure you are dead."
"Phf, sure, if you aren't a vegetable by the end of this!" Whatever was left of the man he was before began to stir in Macabro. Perhaps it was that man who spoke next. "Just so you have a head's up; I'ma gonna to throw you inside your worst memories where you are going to feel the most pain in a loop." He could almost feel the familiar shiver as his magic prepared to invade his victim's mind. How he was shivering as Lakmia had stolen his emotions, Macabro had no idea. "Gonna do it again and again until you are crying. Then gonna do it until you are begging and then I'll keep doing it until the Matron shows up and stops me."
Which meant that if she didn't the man wasn't going to stop, if anything he didn't care that Shirou was a vegetable after or retained the memories that Lakmia wanted gone.
His will, his hatred, demanded the redhead be broken completely and utterly so Macabro was challenging the Bishop Piece in his chest, ignoring the pain he himself was feeling by going against orders even if it was just the intent.
"Can't wait to see what goes around your head. What the Mage of Swords fear the most."
"Are you coming with me? Because if so, I am sorry." Both were smiling for different reasons. "It is going to be unpleasant."
"For you. I'm just gonna watch you squirm." Magic circles glowing brighter and Macabro took a step forward so the prosthetics made contact with Shirou's head.
In the blink of an eye Shirou saw hell and couldn't help but chuckle. "Back here again…"