The blast wave tore everything in its path for a few seconds that passed slowly. When it fizzled, all that was left was ground charred in a cone shape. Nothing remained of Varangar. The threat was gone.
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|DxD|- Chapter 45- Parallels
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Baraquiel crouched down to pick up the severed head. The hybrid mess of insect and humanoid was not the most desired of sights. He stood up, his boots shifting on the cold concrete. He was quite surprised at Igor's way of dispatching the stray. The boy usually went for the kill.
"Igor. Is there a reason you acted the way you did?"
He casually inquired. Igor was standing by the corpse of the woman. His fists were clenched tight enough to snap bricks.
"Come look, old man."
Baraquiel complied and walked over. The corpse was gruesome with chunks of flesh strewn here and there. Varangar opened this woman up like a bloody flower. It was sad if he were to be honest.
Baraquiel came to a stop next to Igor and what he saw chilled him to the bone. A foetus—its head half-eaten—lay atop the woman's innards. Baraquiel didn't say anything, but he understood why Igor acted the way he did. It opened…old wounds.
"Old man. You said evil pieces have been in use for over three centuries, right?"
It was a rhetorical question. Igor never once looked up from the dead mother and child.
"So the one who created this system…"
He snarled.
"...he knows this is happening. He knows full well that this…this system of his is doing this!"
"Careful, Igor."
Baraquiel's voice deepened.
"Focus on yourself. Don't hold unneeded ambitions."
"..."
Igor fell silent. He believed he'd grown numb. Or at least he could stomach everything. He had hunted far too many stray devils throughout Japan. Sometimes he was late, just like today. But he always told himself he wasn't doing this to be a hero. He was doing this to learn about the world. But…he saw too many families destroyed.
"One day…"
Igor spoke quietly.
"...one day I will kill the creator of this system."
"..."
Baraquiel sighed and put an arm around Igor's shoulder. At fifteen, Igor was at the height of puberty. Emotions were running hot.
"Not everything is black and white, Igor. Some things are not as they seem."
Igor tensed. He almost angrily retorted, but he forcefully calmed himself and asked.
"Then what are they? What justification, what REASON does the creator of this system have?"
Igor had long considered this. The creator of this rotten system, Ajuka Beelzebub, Astaroth, or whatever the hell he called himself; is one of the five leaders of devilkind. He made this system of forced slavery to fill up devil numbers. Igor was sure all these defects on the evil pieces were just leashes to keep the slaves in line.
Baraquiel didn't know what to tell Igor. Or rather, he knew, but the boy might not like it.
"Igor. At this point in your life, you are far too weak, too young, to have any considerable impact. What you need to do is—"
"Train myself. I know that."
"And respect your elders too."
"..."
Igor realised what he did was out of turn.
"I'm sorry, old man. I'm not in a good state of mind."
"I can tell."
Baraquiel chuckled lightly. But he quickly turned serious.
"Igor. When I tell you to train, it is not because I want to deflect. I tell you to train, because many of the world's problems need strength to be solved. There is no use talking about them when it will only end at talking. And you…"
He pulled him close and poked him in the chest.
"...you have your own problems, Igor. You have yet to guarantee your survival. You have no leeway to worry of other worldly matters. First, surpass me in strength. Prove you can survive. Only then can you start thinking of world reform. Only once you can intimidate pantheon leaders can you begin to act."
"..."
Igor absorbed the words. His eyes fell on the people before him. The world was unkind to those who could not protect themselves.
"I'll keep it in mind, old man."
Igor crouched down and picked up the limp corpse. He quietly apologised to the mother and her child and promised to reunite them with her husband.
"Please hold onto the head for me, old man. I'll see you in Kuoh."
"No. I'm coming with you."
Igor paused, then smiled weakly. He appreciated the gesture. Truly.
"Thank you."
He was the first to vanish. Baraquiel followed soon after. This warehouse wouldn't be the grave of the mother and child.
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|DxD|
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Baraquiel stood with his back against a tree. The stale midnight air bit at him, accompanied by the crunching footfalls of shoes on gravel. This farm was beautiful…once.
He watched Igor walk out of the house with a man in his hands, a dead man. Another family was killed, a 'wild animal attack' would be the reason. Or perhaps it may a serial murder. The reasons might change. What will not change is how three people lost their lives. This family of three would be nothing more than a 'plus two' to a statistical chart. Foetus's were rarely considered people.
Igor put the man into the grave he dug. Husband, wife, and child were laid together by the driveway. Baraquiel was proud of Igor's strength. He rose from Low-Class to Mid-Class in four years. The boy was a prodigy, even if he didn't know it.
But what Baraquiel took more pride in was the way Igor carried himself. The boy had integrity and smarts. But most importantly, he was noble, someone who will one day, be trusted and admired. Few would bother to give the fallen a proper burial.
Baraquiel walked over to Igor who climbed out of the grave. It was perfectly rectangular, cut and dug with precise energy control. The woman and man lay together. Their hands were intertwined: the foetus laid between them.
Igor dressed them as best as he could from the clothes he found. It was the last bit of dignity he could afford to them. He bowed his head at the couple and wished them a safe journey.
"Please rest in peace. You have been avenged."
His words were quiet. He performed this last rite for the many deceased he encountered. Perhaps it was soft of him, but he could not grow numb. It was the one thing he never allowed himself to become.
He stood up straight and stretched out his hand. His energy gathered around the heap of sand like a giant invisible claw. The sand hovered upwards and poured into the grave until it was filled. Igor walked around and picked up a single plank of wood. He wedged it into the soil to form a grave marker.
'Here lies a family', it read. He bowed one last time in respect. They may not be together in this life. But in the next, hopefully they will.
"Farewell."
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AN: Welp…can't judge things too soon I guess. A baby? That's a new low. It's actually just sickening. Stray probably ripped the baby outta there with a bootleg C-section.
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Chapter 45
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