CHAPTER 91: [91]:XENOVIA

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"The Church then!" the man gurgled out, "I did it for the Church! They made me do it! You can’t kill someone who serves the Church!"

"The Tower of Babel was a church," his tormentor said mirthlessly, "The very first one. Within each of its great levels, a thousand worshippers knelt to listen to the words of their priests who believed they understood the Will of God. We still razed it to the ground. On wings of fire we descended and slew any who resided within its unholy halls. And when we finished, we impaled those same priests on the ruins of their own folly," Valper whimpered and tried to look away from the seraph’s ruthless stare, "I have killed priests before. Holy men. I have killed bishops, and cardinals, and even popes. Men of importance who believed themselves immune to punishment," Uriel shrugged, a creak of his armored shoulders, "I will tell you a secret. They burn like any other man."

"P-Please..."

The angel leaned in so the next few words were hissed into the priest’s face.

"Do not beg for a life you do not deserve to live."

He was dropped, Valper, landing in an undignified heap at their feet. Disgust marred the seraph’s handsome face.

"Do the deed," Uriel jerked his head back to the figure behind him, "The longer I look at him the more I want to burn him."

Kiba nodded stiffly and strode forward. The devil halted midway and abruptly turned back.

"Are you sure you don’t want to do this?"

Uriel arched a perfect eyebrow. The sword-user looked distinctively uncomfortable.

"You are the Archangel of Retribution, after all."

The seraph smiled. Some of the earlier charm returned.

"What a polite devil," the plated hand gestured airily, "No, no. This kill is yours. I insist. Retribution might be my domain, but watching others inflict it is just as satisfying. Though if you are going to kill him, may I suggest a way?" Kiba nodded again, even more stiffly than before. The angel beamed and tapped a finger against his breastplate, "Stab him here. Slightly below the heart. The cavity will fill with blood quite nicely and you will get to see him last a little longer and suffer a bit more."

They shuddered at those words. He did not, for he had long grown used to it. The sword-user swallowed and then spun to face his quarry.

"Don’t do this, Y-Yuuto," Valper stuttered as Kiba approached, "D-Don’t listen to him! What do you want? I’ll give you anything! Just don’t k-kill me! Please! What do you want!?"

In comparison, the boy’s face was perfectly composed when he finally reached the quivering priest.

"Can you give me back my friends?"

The man’s eyes were wide.

"N-No..."

Kiba looked down. A pained smile spread over his lips.

"Then why ask the question?"

The sword flashed down. Blood spewed into the air. None of them looked away. Not even Asia. Frenzied hands beat against the floor in wet slaps before finally falling listlessly to the side. The body continued to spasm well after the last breath escaped.

"You were right," the devil said softly as he stared down at the twitching corpse.

"I am always right," Uriel nodded, "That is another of my glorious virtues."

Kiba turned to look at him, to look at them.

"Then why don’t I feel any different?"

The Archangel smiled.

"I have said that angels have one purpose when they are born. That one purpose is what makes them, them. It is their identity. Their reason for existence. Humans are different. You are not born with a purpose. You make your own. And even though you have been reincarnated into a devil, that does not change what you once were," Uriel nodded to Valper’s body, "You have completed one purpose. Now, you just need to search for another."

The boy closed his eyes. For once, he seemed calm, tranquil, at peace.

He frowned. Not because he was unhappy at the situation but because the surge of power was there and for once it did not come from him. His eyes flickered upwards to meet the bemused gaze of Uriel.

"It would seem that not only Persona users are capable of undergoing a resolution of the heart."

It was what he suspected. He was not quite sure what to feel about that.

"The bonds you forged before granted you power," the Archangel inclined his head towards Kiba’s solitary form, "Now, those same bonds grant power to the individuals you choose to aid. Igor would have been proud."

Again, he was not quite sure what to feel about that.

"Now let us up the ante," the seraph smiled, "Let us make it even more interesting."

The angel gestured. From the ground, ephemeral figures rose. They were incorporeal things at first, barely visible to the naked eye, but as they solidified, they began to take the shape of beings they all recognized. The smallest of them barely reached their waists. The tallest, barely their chests.

Issei made to go to the sword-user’s aid. He placed an arm over the boy’s chest and barred him from doing so. The devil looked at him in surprise.

"This is for him."

Kiba’s eyes snapped open. Wonder lit up in them as he saw what surrounded him.

By Issei’s side, Asia clasped her hands together over her chest.

"Those are..." the former priestess wore an awed, happy expression, "Those are..."

Irina muttered a prayer. Her face bore an equally reverent expression.

They watched as the sword-user knelt down and reached with painful slowness towards the closest figure.

Xenovia turned to glance up at the Archangel.

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