She recognised the file. It contained the formal report she had written for the Administration Bureau, the one he had supposedly lost. He put it down in front of him before looking at her intently.
"We have much to discuss, cousin. We will first start with the…blunder on your first report."
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|DxD|- Chapter 8.5- Consequences 2
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The town of Kuoh buzzed with the sound of vehicles on the roads. The early-morning bustle had faded, yet the town was still very active. The weather was cool with soothing winds rustling the many trees planted across the districts.
Shuri drove towards town with her modest SUV. Dirt lined the tire treads and sideskirts after taking the gravel road leading from her home to the main road. Streaks of drying mud had caked themselves to the steps and even the undersides of the doors.
Igor took in the sights through the open window. The wind tousled the strands of his hair, sometimes flicking it over his eyes. The countryside rolled by in beautiful sights. He could see the distant fields planted with neat rows of crops. More than anything, it was the smells that fascinated him. Deep in the early morning, it had rained a bit. The smell of the earth, grass, and the thriving flowers had him keep the window open just to savour the scent more.
His fellow passenger had fallen asleep shortly after eating breakfast this morning. Her little hands held on tightly to the rim of his shirt while her steady breaths tickled his neck. Though Shuri drove slowly, Igor had covered Akeno in a blanket to shield her from the wind.
Buildings very soon began appearing along the road. Some were grey. Some were bright. Some were tall and most were short. A welcome sign was on the road. He looked at it and the…squiggles, were confusing until those very squiggles slowly made sense.
"Ku…wo?"
"Ah?"
Shuri looked at him through the rear-view mirror with intrigue.
"You know Japanese?"
However, what met her was his confused gaze.
"...japanese?"
"..."
Another unique aspect of Igor she had to uncover. That welcome sign was strictly in Japanese characters. From the looks of things, it took him some time to understand it.
"Do you know English?"
"..."
Those pearl-blue eyes rippled like a pond disturbed by a pebble. His nose scrunched like he had smelled something foul, but she had learned it was a visible showing of his confusion.
"...who is…English?"
"..."
It was her turn to be silent. The entire time since he had awakened, she had been speaking to him in English. The question she asked just now had been in Italian and the one prior in Japanese. Igor spoke all three languages seamlessly and that in itself did not make sense.
[He was not conscious of the language switch.]
Her grip on the steering wheel grew tighter. There were very potent implications for this. She was glad she discovered this first because now, she really had to be careful. In this world, anomalies are rarely welcomed.
"Don't worry, Igor. From now on though, never talk to anyone unless I'm there, okay? Remain silent and come find auntie."
"Yes, auntie."
He replied quietly. His eyes drifted towards the stores and the parked cars. People were going in and out, and some carried plastic bags.
[Who is English?]
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|DxD|
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Humans, the creations of the Biblical God, were a dime a dozen in this world. They bred like rabbits and in the world of the supernatural, their lifespans were treated as such. Humanity as a whole was the livestock of the world. Some races viewed humans as non-entities. Some equated them to monkeys. Few saw them as pets. An extreme rarity saw them as equals.
This was the common consensus of the supernatural world. It was not born out of malice. There was no evil intent behind it. It was a simple yet very realistic reality. Supernatural races lived for hundreds, if not thousands of years. An entire human's lifetime is but a short sleep for long-lived entities.
Another crushing factor was strength. Humans by far were considered the weakest species in the entire supernatural world. Their feebleness was a stark contrast to many. Their inability to live long and adequately protect themselves placed them at the bottom of the chain as pawns, resources, and tools.
Devils were no different. Humans were resources to use and reincarnate. Diehauser would not absolve himself of the same guilt. Humans were pieces of interest for him. Only a rare few would he have a high opinion of. Few in Devil Society shared his views and especially, would not accept what Cleria did.
"You, my dear cousin, insinuated to all of devilkind in your neatly-written letter that you used a strategic resource, one that can shape the outcome of war—a strategic resource that can reverse the consequences of power—you, Cleria, used it on a human for no reason other than humility. Like burning a lottery-winning ticket to keep a stray cat warm."
The air in the office was heavy. The room was sealed with powerful magic enchantments designed to negate any eavesdropping. Diehauser leaned against the chair with his arms crossed. He was no longer the kind older cousin. He was the patriarch of the Belial Clan who just stopped a clan member from committing a very foolish mistake.
"The moment you wrote 'human', a great deal of many things would've happened had I not intercepted your first letter. List them for me if you may. Take it as a chance to show me if you've grown or not."
His voice was calm as if he was talking about the weather. However, that did not diminish the gravity of Cleria's actions. Her hands shook. Cleria knew she had messed up. No, the words 'messed up' did not do her predicament justice. Just those two letters, if the first reached her clan and the second reached the Administration, her life would well and truly be over.
"I would lose my position."
The thought of the consequences made her chest tighten. Being the Overseer of Kuoh finally allowed her to contribute to her clan just like her older brother. To not be considered a flower vase to be married off, she had studied and scrambled for years to obtain this title. Losing it would be like carving her heart out with a knife.
"That is the best case scenario. Continue."
Diehauser remarked off-handedly. No longer being overseer was but the lightest of consequences. If the Administration and the Maou themselves subsequently determined her decision was encouraged by emotion rather than pragmatism, she would lose her post and forever barred from any leadership or strategic position that places her in control of resources—and that was only in the hypothetical scenario the boy was a normal human.
"Then…"
Cleria quietly began. Her voice was soft, but it carried in this soft room.
"...my peerage and I would be pulled in for interrogation."
"And why would that be?"
"Because I willfully provided a strategic target to the Shinto Pantheon instead of delivering him to the Underworld."
"Indeed."
Diehauser's eyes gained a dark glint.
"The moment you were unable to reincarnate the boy, you had two options. You either capture him, or eliminate him and deliver his corpse for research. After the war against the Ariyans, our population saw its sharpest decline in a century, leaving our position tentative amongst the three factions and the supernatural world as a whole."
Fifty years ago, the entire supernatural world was embroiled in a conflict, an event where all major factions and races united against a single clan that broke the balance of power. The casualties alone rivalled the numbers caused by the two Heavenly Dragons.
"You have given me two eventual possibilities. Name more."
"..."
Cleria had no words. That was what she could think of immediately. Besides losing her position and being interrogated, what else could happen? What she did was ultimately misappropriation of resources and mishandling of a potential strategic resource. They weren't necessarily crimes.
"I will take your silence as your inability to comprehend any further. Let me assist you then."
Diehauser sat up straight. His fists hammered onto the table when he leaned forward. The sound startled Cleria, but she listened.
"You did very well to use the phoenix tears. That boy Igor is an anomaly that can be contained. Keeping him alive by using the phoenix tear is worthy of commendation on your part. It is your next series of actions that will lead to your downfall."
He let the last word hang in the air. Cleria was listening. She was disturbed, but she was listening. That was good.
"Shuri Himejima is your supervisor here in Kuoh. She is here under the orders of the Yokai leader Yasaka to evaluate your governance of this town as it is ultimately a territory they leased to us. It does not matter if she is your friend. It does not matter if you trust her. Shuri Himejima operates under the banner of the Shinto Pantheon and so it is pre-determined she will act in the best interests of the Shinto Pantheon."
"But I know her—"
"Silence."
One word, barely above a whisper, yet it was as powerful as a commandment. Her mouth closed before conscious thought could give the order. It was hierarchy, a response to an Ultimate Class giving an order to a High Class.
"Devilkind does not operate on feelings. It does not consider intuition. It does not evaluate emotions. It only believes in contracts and allegiances. Shuri Himejima has allegiances to the Shinto Pantheon. She is indeed an accomplished healer of the mind and spirit. That is an agreed-upon statement. But from the moment you provided that boy with the phoenix tear, he became devil property not by law, but by implication and investment. His ability to resist reincarnation designates him as a strategic resource of extreme importance on par with the phoenix tear. I believe I do not have to inform you what will happen if his ability is replicated and distributed. Try thinking long-term and you will realise your charge."
"..."
Indeed Igor couldn't be reincarnated. The ability to reincarnate humans is what allowed her people to rebound faster than the other factions from the war. It stands to chance—no, it is a fact that many would seek to negate the Peerage System entirely. Devils by far had the weakest reproductive capability out of the three factions, Angels not being included.
Each faction had their own advantages. The Angels could rely on the Church and the power of faith to recruit humans and absorb power. The Fallen Angels had a better reproductive rate and appealed more to Sacred Gear users, magicians, and contractors who wished to be largely independent. Devils had the Peerage System as their main edge in keeping up and remaining relevant. If they lost that crucial lifeline, the next five centuries would very well unravel in a war for their…extermination.
"!!"
Cleria suddenly gasped. Her hands covered her mouth as a horrifying thought sank her stomach into the pits of despair.
"T-T-T-Treason?"
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AN: Well…that spiralled out of control pretty quick. Diehauser came to the rescue with that big brother energy.
Chapter 8.5
END