Details were fleeting, but he knew he hadn't lived to the age of fifty. He'd worked his entire adult life, never married, hell he hardly dated, and died a pointless death. Hell, he'd never traveled more than a few hundred miles from his home town. He'd gone so far as to die in the very hospital he'd been born in. How sad was that?
But now? Now here he was, looking up at the Eiffel Tower, thousands of kilometers from where he'd been born in this life. He'd gotten here in a vehicle he'd modified himself. He could do all these amazing things, had all this power and knowledge, it was an entirely different world, life, and reality. Seeing these great landmarks just brought it all home to him and made him grateful for what he had.
…
Still, he wanted more. Seeing these places, finding powerful treasures, all of it just drove him to find more. To do better. To be better.
He tightened his hands into fists as a smile curled his lips and his eyes practically glowed with determination. One way or another, he would become a Devil soon. As soon as he did his personal strength would grow in leaps and bounds. He was planning, preparing, and soon it would all come together.
The world would be his oyster.
Junichiro returned to his ATV and immediately took off. He had the Loot Compass guide him toward the nearest treasure that he didn't know anything about. He wanted a surprise. He'd already gathered two supremely powerful treasures, scales from Albion, tons of gold, and even materials from dead Angels, Fallen, and Devils. He just wanted one last little adventure before he got back to work.
He drove the ATV slightly southwest for quite a while, he was pretty certain they'd crossed the border into Spain at this point. He could see a large city near the ocean in the distance but the compass wasn't pointing directly toward it. Before he reached the city, the compass needle suddenly spun and reversed direction.
The ATV was slowed and driven in a closing circle to get as close to the marked treasure as possible. As the circle got tighter, Junichiro drove the ATV lower to get a view of the area. It was a small cleared area in the middle of a forest. Within the clearing he could see an old mound of stones, probably an ancient building that had succumb to time.
As he landed, the compass pointed directly to the ruins. While he examined them, Mittelt came out of the trunk and looked around. She frowned a bit as she looked at the ruins, they seemed a little familiar. Maybe.
Junichiro approached the ruins while retrieving a wand. With a wave of the wand, the large carved stones of the ruin began to lift into the air and move out of the way. Telekinesis was such an enormously useful tool! It had to be one of his favorite spells in the world. So many uses for it.
Once the large stones were moved out of the way, the pair could see an ancient staircase leading down into the earth. Mittlet's frown grew as they approached it. This place was really giving her a feeling of deja-vu. It wasn't until they came to the bottom of the stairs and saw a large ornate door with a roaring lion's head on it.
Mittelt grabbed Junichiro's arm and stopped him in place, "We shouldn't be here."
When he turned to face her, the question clear on his face, Mittelt continued, "This is the final resting place of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, you'd know him better as El Cid, the hero of Spain." She pointed to the stone relief of the lion head, "That was the symbol on his shield, a magical shield. He fought on the side of the Angels and they swore to protect his tomb. If you open that door, they will come and they will not be happy. This isn't some lost and forgotten tomb you can raid freely."
Junichiro frowned as he looked at the door to the tomb, "Are you certain?"
Mittelt nodded, "I am. It's been a while and I nearly forgot, but Azazel briefed us on it almost a thousand years ago when he died. El Cid's body, armor, weapon, and shield are all entombed here. Though only his shield was enchanted. The lion head on it would roar weakening his enemies and bolstering his allies. It's power is really only effective in large scale battles."
She looked at him with concern, "Stealing it would upset the Angels, especially since its only useful in war. They might see it as a declaration of war, even."
Junichiro sighed and turned around to walk away. Mittelt seemed very certain and he had no reason to doubt her. If she was right and he broke into the tomb only to piss off the Angels, that would be pretty bad. He didn't want to be on bad terms with them.
Even more importantly, he didn't want to be on bad terms with the church. He had no idea what that corrupt organization would do to him if he pissed them off. Some of their members might be decent folks, but he knew there were far too many corrupt individuals doing some seriously shady shit in the organization.
Of course, anyone familiar with the Kokobiel incident would have a negative opinion of the church. Letting a child murderer go free while still using the research he conducted for their benefit? The church just lets the evil people they produce go free and makes it someone else problem instead of dealing with it themselves.
The condescending 'holier than thou' attitude of their few decent members doesn't help either.
Honestly, no one in the entire Abrahamic faction is a 'good guy,' not even the angels themselves.
Junichiro let out a sigh and just turned around to talk away, "Damn."
The pair returned to the ATV and took their seats. Junichiro flipped open a switch cover and flicked the switch beneath. The ATV was surrounded in a transparent sphere that could only be seen because it warped their sight of anything outside the bubble. The world outside swirled in a bright kaleidoscope of colors for a second before uniformity returned.
When the bubble faded, Mittlet looked around in surprise, "We're home?"