D&devils 3: Celestial Artistry: Chapter 9

The first thing I realize when I claw my way back to consciousness is that I can't move. 

That causes brief terror to enter my body before my eyes crack open. 

My face is buried in the chest of the woman who had brought me here last night as she rests with her eyes closed, clutching me tightly with a serene smile on her lips. 

I resign myself to my fate, quietly accepting that I'm just going to be used as a teddy bear for 'the most beautiful woman in heaven'. There's worse ways to suffer pins and needles from your arm falling asleep. 

I return her cuddling weakly and close my eyes again, planning to catch a little more sleep. 

A quiet moan leaves Gabriel's lips causing my eyes to snap open. 

Well... moan isn't really the right way to describe that noise. There was nothing sexual about it at all. it wasn't intense enough to be a grumble or groan, not quite a hum. Just a cute sleepy noise of the seraph. 

She slowly sits up, freeing me from her grasp, she raises her arms up, chest bouncing slightly as she stretches, a quiet groan leaving her lips. 

She looks down at me after yawning, a hum leaving her lips. "Good morning~" 

"Good morning, Gabriel." I whisper, scratching my forehead now that I'm free and her hair is no longer tickling it. "What are we going to do today?" 

"Oh! We're going to meet all of the seraph! I can't wait to introduce you! They'll be overjoyed! It's been far too long since another angel has blessed our halls... and with your wings, it's clear that you were destined to be a seraph!" 

She gently takes my hands, practically floating out of bed. "Come on! You need to meet Michael, and Sariel, and Uriel, and Metatron, and- well- the rest of the seraph!" 

"I should probably call my friends first, right?" I mutter under my breath. "Or at least send a message to Griselda for them. I didn't return yesterday so they're probably worried about me." 

"Oh! Okaaaay!" The woman beams clasping her hands together. "We can do that right away!" 

[Split] 

I hand the letter I had just finished writing to Gabriel, she folds it and sticks it in an envelope, then with a flash of light it completely disappears. "I've sent it to Griselda! Now, shall we go visit the others?" 

Now I just kind of have to wait until my friends get that letter and begin to sit up a call for us to talk... more or less face to face. 

Or Gabriel gets me my painting materials and I create a new body for me to shunt my senses into. 

"I... guess?" I mutter under my breath as the woman lets out a cheer and practically drags me out of the room. 

we step through long white halls gilded with gold. A little... gauche for my taste honestly. The white's kind of overbearing. 

I see paintings here and there. Old. More than likely several hundred years old. 

They are extremely well made. Expertly painted. At my current skill with my magic brush... I bet I could only just barely match the skill required to create them. 

Well, except that one which looks like stick figures- 

Oh? 

G-Gabriel made that? Pfft- 

It must have been a long time ago... 

It looks akin to what a child would paint their parents... and it looks like god put it on the proverbial fridge that is this hallway. 

That's... kind of cute, actually. 

"Oh? Are you admiring the paintings." 

"I am." I nod once. "and despite being called 'The Artisan' by the factions down on earth... I think I could only just barely match the skill in some of these." 

The woman lets out a long sigh. "Jophiel... I miss her... she was the seraph of art but... she, like a lot of our siblings fell in the great war... oh, and I mean died... not... 'Fallen Angel' fell." 

"I... wasn't aware that Seraphs had their own sort of domains, Gabriel." I mutter. "Well... Aside from myself, I guess." 

"Oh! We do!" She smiles brightly as we walk. "I'm God's messenger and the angel of Good News!" 

"Neat!" I hum. 

"Oh! Metatron! Hey! Metatron!" My eyes stray from the bouncing Gabriel as she begins wildly waving at someone else walking down the halls. 

I turn seeing a- 

Ninja in white... with twelve large white wings on his back. 

"..." 

The man looking over some files looks up his eyes, some of the only things uncovered by his ninja garb, blinking once. "Yes Gabriel?" 

His gaze briefly strays to me, widening slightly. "Who... is- wait is this... Luce, was it?" 

"Yes!" Gabriel beams. "Luce, Meet Metatron! He's one of the seraph." 

"Not great seraph?" I ask, tilting my head slightly. "He has twelve wings, right? I always thought the seraph had ten and the great seraph had twelve?" 

"Oh! No!" Metatron warmly smiles. "There's a fair power gap between the two of us. Gabriel and the other great seraph are Archangels. You should think of them as fourteen-winged angels, really... well, aside from Michael and Sariel, they'd be sixteen." 

"Oh!" I gasp. "That makes sense." 

"So, Uncle, what do you do in heaven?" I question. 

"Well, originally I was a scribe, recording the actions and merits of humanity, however as of recently that has... evolved into more of a... intelligence gathering." 

"Oh... like... a Ninja?" I question. 

"Exactly. I may not assassinate like a ninja but I lean fully into the spying aspects!" 

"Oh! That's actually a misconception that has been popularized as of recently by fictional stories. Ninja's traditionally weren't necessarily assassins. Their jobs were primarily Infiltration, espionage, and sabotage. Though there are probably a few instances where a ninja did assassinate someone. Realistically as well they didn't wear what we see today as 'ninja clothing' and just simply looked like normal people." 

"Er..." Metatron mutters. 

"Oh! But don't get me wrong, I prefer the more fanciful version of ninjas that books and movies have popularized! They're much more interesting and I have to respect the artistry in that!" I smile brightly. "Ninjas are a lot cooler now." 

"Y-Yeah." He mutters. 

Gabriel grabs my hand and begins pulling me forwards again. "Come on, Luce! Let's go see the others!" 

She loudly stage whispers to me. "Metatron's Ninja obsession is a little weird but we still love him all the same!" 

She's loudly whispering this, loud enough for Metatron to easily overhear. This is some sibling level teasing. 

"Aunt Gabriel!" I gasp, acting scandalized. "You shouldn't make fun of another's hobbies! Ninjas are cool! It's a man' romance! Like piloting giant robots while fighting other giant robots or forging magical swords or saying cool one-liners amidst battle!" 

"Besides... haven't you heard the sayings about throwing stones in glass houses, Auntie?" I silt my head cutely, a slightly smug smile on my lips. 

I can see a small glint in Metatron's eye as he cups his chin, likely having his hobby... not quite mocked by the other seraph, but more... teased. To hear that Gabriel had a hobby like that greatly interests him. 

Gabriel's hand twitches slightly. "Come on! Let's go see Michael! There's something important we should discuss!" 

She leads me through the halls, past doors which she lists as personal rooms for some of the seraph or work rooms, offices, and more, eventually we come to a larger room with a large circular table in the center. 

Several large white chairs surround it, with five being slightly different. 

In the room are four figures sat within four of the five chairs.  

Four sets of eyes lock onto us as Gabriel had thrown open the door, the first is a woman with blue hair, six white wings at her back. I would have thought it was strange for her to be here... if it wasn't for the sheer power she radiates. 

She isn't your typical six winged angel, that's for sure. 

The next is a blonde man, kind of effeminate. Androgynous. His face has soft features and at a glance you could likely confuse him for a girl. 

His green eyes are full of warmth as he smiles slightly, he looks quite similar to the woman beside me. 

The next is a tall man with stern features, perhaps some dark circles around his eyes. He has neck-length golden hair and yellowish eyes that widen slightly upon seeing me. 

The final person is a classic anime pretty boy, white hair, gold eyes, his smile grows slightly upon seeing me. 

Gabriel pulls me into a hug and points to her siblings, first to the woman. "That's Sariel, the sleepy looking one is Uriel, the white haired one is Raphiel, and that's Michael." 

 "Oh... Hello." I bow my head slightly. "My name is Luce, it's a pleasure to meet you all." 

The woman across the table has a faint smile. 

Michael is the first to speak. "It is a pleasure to meet you after so long, Young Luce. Gabriel has spoken a lot about you." 

"It's been a while since a new angel has been born." Raphiel notes. 

"It was disheartening to hear what happened to you." Uriel speaks, his voice tired. "I am sorry you had to go through that." 

"Oh. It wasn't your fault." I shake my head. "Please don't apologize to me. You didn't hurt me in any way." 

we speak for a while, talking on how I have enjoyed heaven so far- to which I replied that I hadn't seen much of anything yet and cause Gabriel to declare that she was going to take me on a tour after we were done speaking. after that, there's a small lull in conversation. I can sense a small change in the room's atmosphere. 

"You... are aware of our father, yes?" Michael carefully speaks after a brief silence. 

"I am." I nod once.  

"And your ability. Is it truly as you say?" Sariel speaks, she's a woman of few words, seemingly quite introverted. "Well... I suppose Gabriel and I did see a fraction of that yesterday and you would have no way of knowing." 

"I can ask myself questions and have an eighty percent chance to know the answer, yes." I nod once. 

"So. Could you... for instance... tell us the exact location of the Longinus sacred gear wielders?" Uriel mutters. 

"I could... but is that something you wish to roll the dice on? Because after I ask a question... if I don't know it I can never ask that same question again, nor similar questions. Say for instance if I ask 'what is their plan' and get nothing, I can't turn around and ask something like 'what are their plans in this city'." 

The four seraph aside from Gabriel look between themselves. 

"Can you ask a question again if you know?" Sariel asks. "For instance, if you ask for the location of an enemy, and provided you know could you ask again at a later date and get updated information?" 

"I am unsure." I tilt my head. "You know what, I'll ponder that." 

My power surges briefly. 

I flinch, hand coming to my nose as I get a nosebleed.  

"Are you okay?!" Gabriel is at my side instantly and the others all look genuinely concerned. 

"Ah... yes? Totally fine. Just a little nosebleed. uh... maybe using my flashes of omniscience... on my flashes of omniscience wasn't the best idea? Like a calculator dividing by zero. Ow... but- uh- I know, at the very least." I admit, healing light pooling in my hand as my headache lessens. 

"The answer is yes with a small caveat. I can get updated information at a later date, yes. But I must wait a week. If I ask again within a week and I have previously gotten an answer, the original answer will repeat one hundred percent of the time even if it isn't exactly accurate anymore. But beyond a week? As long as it isn't a one hundred percent chance, it's likely I'll just... stop... getting information on something." 

Raphiel looks to his brother as Gabriel continues to fuss over me. "Michael, what do you think?" 

He seems to be thinking deeply. "On one hand. Knowledge on the location of the Longinus is something that would allow us to plan things out much better. Potentially even allow the church to gain another under their banner. On the other... to know where they were at all times... that is a gift that I don't think we should risk." 

Uriel speaks up. "Reasonably nothing would change if we exhausted the option now, however... but isn't there two ways to locate the Longinus? Asking where they are and asking who wields them? The prior is much more useful, sure, but the latter at least gives us a place to begin looking." 

"That is a fair point." Sariel nods once, cupping her chin. "I believe that we should save the prior. The latter? It would be helpful. A lot of the Longinus have gone quiet since World War two and that has left me... worried. It would put my mind at ease to at the very least have names we could look into." 

My eyes stray around the four as they discuss the pros and cons of using the ability now. Gabriel daps at my nose with a handkerchief she got from... somewhere..." 

"Oh, one moment Aunt Gabriel, I've got it." I whisper to her as a wave of bubbles washes over my face, removing the blood completely. 

With a wave of my hand, it also is taken off the handkerchief. 

My attention is drawn back to the other great seraphs as Michael nods. "I see. Yes. That makes sense. We will do that, then." 

He turns to me. "Luce... would you mind asking the who the wielders of the Longinus are?" 

"Very well." 

I close my eyes for a long moment. 

"Huh... uh... does anyone have a piece of paper on them?" I ask slowly. 

Uriel leans forwards, eyes lighting up. "It worked?" 

"Yes." I nod once. 

With a small flash a quill and a piece of parchment appears in Raphiel's hands. "Proceed please?" 

I take a deep breath and exhale. "Spear of Longinus, Hong Mengde. Zenith Tempest, Dulio Gesualdo. Dimension Lost, John Faust. Annihilation Maker, Otello Davinci-" 

I watch as their eyes sharpen at the last name. It's Italian so they're probably going to start an absolute manhunt.  

I wonder if they'll reach him before Georg and Cao Cao does... 

Wait... Cao Cao's real name is Hong? 

Georg's real name is JOHN!? 

That's like calling him John wizard or something. I'm going to have so much fun using their original names- not the names they stole from their ancestors- if- no... when we meet. 

"Boosted Gear, Issane Hyoudou... and I'm going to pause here for a moment. That sounds... familiar- Oh! Irina says that she has a friend named Issane. I wonder if they're the same person? Anyways. Divine Dividing, Vali Lucifer." 

"WHAT?!" Uriel shouts. 

I look him in the eyes. "Divine Dividing. Vali Lucifer." 

Sariel lets out a long sigh. "Wonderful." 

"Regulus Nemea wielded by Regulus N- wait that not- oh... it's... a free independent avatar sacred gear after previous wielder was killed doing Breakdown the Beast. It's current... well... owner is Sairaorg Bael." 

"It should have returned to the heavenly system when its previous wielder died." Michael whispers, eyes growing wide. 

"Would you like me to ask why it didn't?" 

"No... not right now. Maybe later. I can hazard a guess as to why it didn't. Tch. Evil pieces." He shakes his head. "I apologize, please continue." 

"Canis Lykaon, Tobio Ikuse. Sephiroth Graal, Valerie Tepes." 

"Oh, that poor girl." Gabriel whispers. "The holy energies of that sacred gear are probably causing her so much pain if it is awakened." 

"Incenerate Anthem, Walburga. No last name given. Absolute Demise, Lavinia Reni. Innovate Clear, Mitsuya Kanzaki. Taelos Karma, Momiji Nakiri." 

"I see..." Michael rumbles. "This information is invaluable, Luce, you have no idea how much this means to us-" 

I interupt him. "Nereid Kyrie, Ingvild Leviathan." 

Everyone in the room freezes at my statement. 

"Star Buster Star Blaster wielded by Shooting Star- yes that's his legal name he changed it a few years back." 

"Aeon Balor, wielded by Gasper Valdi. Alphecca Tyrant, Meredith Ordinton." 

"Unknown Dictator... Magnus Rose." 

"..." 

"..." 

"..." 

Michael takes a breath as if he is about to say something. "And then there's Genshirou Saji who has Absorption line. The other Vritra gears were taken from their wielders over the past century or so, however. So each of them are currently without wielders. And also Eden's Dual wielded by Zekka Miyamoto. The other half of which is currently owned by Loki. Though I assume he just has it in a vault somewhere as a collector's piece." 

He notices my bright smile. "You were waiting for me to say something, weren't you?" 

"I have to have my fun somehow!" I beam. 

"Vritra isn't... a Longinus, Uriel slowly points out. 

"It would be if the pieces were successfully combined." I reply. "Almost certainly the weakest, but a longinus all the same." 

"What about the other five?!" Sariel questions rising to her feet. "Nereid Kyrie, Aeon Balor, the dumb sounding one and Unknown Dictator?" 

"Alphecca tyrant isn't a Longinus either." I can hear Michael whisper. 

"Oh, there's actually a few other Longinus as well, but they're all in the Sacred Gear system as nobody has yet met the requirements for them. Like the Miracle Child one made from the crown of thorns. It's just... none of the past Miracle Children have gotten lucky yet and there's just so few overall. Then one which was put into the system but wasn't officially added to the... ah... 'rotation' of sacred gears. The Ark of the Covenant." 

"How many?" Michael whispers. 

"Six total. Though if the Tarrasque and Peluda gears were finished that number would arguably increase to eight... maybe... I'm not entirely sure on that one. That wasn't me using my powers just guessing." I point out. 

"What can you tell us of these... new Longinus? The ones outside." Sariel demands, before blinking. "If... you wouldn't mind, Luce." 

"Alright, alright." I rub my temple. "I'll go case by case. Nereid Kyrie, has two key abilities. Sea Manipulation and dragon manipulation. Well, dragon control, empowerment and weakening. Almost certainly a high-tier Longinus... or it would be if the wielder hadn't been in a coma for the past several hundred years due to Devil Sleeping Sickness. We should be fine on this one." 

Aeon Balor is forbidden Balor View evolved. It retains the time manipulation aspect but is now able to affect stronger targets, in addition it gains the ability to create tremendous amounts of darkness and can make 'shadow monsters' whatever that means. 

Unknown Dictator is only dangerous because of how much humanity has advanced. Its main ability is iron and electrical device manipulation. Dangerous hundreds of years ago due to metal weapons and armor. Terrifying nowadays due to all the advancements in technology." 

"Alphecca Tyrant is- oh dear... it lost its ability to manipulate all humans and now manipulates sacred gear wielders... exclusively... including other Longinus." 

"And for Star Buster Star Blaster? Sorry. Twenty percent. I have no idea. Maybe it shoots black holes at people? Or miniature stars? I mean, I imagine something is being blasted at people as the boosted gear boosts, and divine dividing divides but beyond that... I apologize. I can't give you much information." 

"Luce... this gift you have given us is more than enough." Raphiel smiles warmly. "Thank you. Truly. If there's anything we can do to make you happier, you need just ask." 

"Can you get me more materials to paint?" I ask slowly. "I had a few ideas and, well..." 

"Of course." Michael nods. "We were pondering on how to get what you needed before you arrived. You should have what you need in the next couple of days." 

"Can I also have some sort of heavy warded vault room to keep my paintings within?" I ask. 

"Of course!" Uriel agrees. "We wouldn't want the paintings damaged or stolen. It will be perhaps the second most well protected location in heaven." 

"I'm glad." I gently smile. "I would also appreciate some training. I wish to get as strong as possible... as soon as possible. Because I want to get to a point... where I can go back to earth and return to my friends." 

"Are you sure that is a good decision?" Michael carefully whispers. 

"Xenovia and Irina freed me from a genuine hellish existence. And I would appreciate if I could see them often as they are among the very few people who I care deeply about. Michael, how would you feel if you got grabbed by a random relative you met only a month ago, they rip you from heaven here and say that you can't go and visit your family here because it's dangerous. I mean, fair point, it is. But the options we have realistically is I go there, or we figure out a way to make our own evil pieces and they come here." 

"Could you?" Raphiel leans forwards slightly, steepling his hands in front of his face. "I am of the belief that it would be incredibly dangerous for you to go back down to earth. But I don't want to tear you from the people you've made deep connections with. I understand your situation. You feel you owe a tremendous debt to them and you've grown closer to them over the months." 

Uriel speaks next. "Yes... I know of your pain child... I do not seek to drag you away from your friends but... I have been told you have golden wings... an angel that has the potential to rival- and almost certainly surpass our strongest if your powers are anything worthy of note. That level of... potential... you have responsibilities." 

"Losing you would be a crushing blow that would cripple heaven." He continues. "For the first time in hundreds of years. For the first time since our father died. We may just have a solution to our greatest problems. A way to stop spiraling. To recover. Your powers have worried the world at large. Azazel has already sought you out. What happens when another who doesn't have intentions to merely satiate their own curiosity? How long until you are sent on a mission that is a trap specifically made to kill you? Seeking to utterly destroy you before you can reach your potential. Many would sacrifice their own lives just to see you die. It's a notable strategy that even we used once during the great war to ensure the destruction of the Zagan devil clan." 

I wince, gazing down at the floor. 

In a way, he's right. When I first arrived in this world I just wanted to hit level five... then just paint and paint and paint. 

Paint until I wasn't in danger anymore. 

But then I got friends, and... well. 

The danger kind of helped my growth, but... people now know of my abilities and he's right in saying that someone might just try and kill me. I have no delusion that my current defenses could stop something like... I don't know... Rizevim popping in out of nowhere to kill me. 

Holding off Azazel for a few minutes? Maybe- and that's a hard maybe. But killing a super devil? Absolutely not. 

The girls I painted may be level twenty... but stronger ultimate class beings are almost certainly epic-level. Beyond twenty.  

"I know you hurt. And I know you seek to see your friends. But it truly is far too dangerous to allow you to roam without protection." He finishes. "However. That doesn't mean we don't want to help you. If you find a way to turn them into angels... they may come and stay with you. In addition, you may occasionally visit them, provided one of us five are with you." 

"Why can't they come now?" I ask slowly. "I've heard that miracle children can't either? Why is that?" 

Gabriel looks saddened. "Heaven is... inherently divine in nature. The higher- and closer you get to heaven's system. The more that... divinity weighs on someone. A Human body cannot handle the strain. The spirit is willing and accepting, but the body is weak. They will basically get poisoned by the high concentration of light as devils do. Miracle children are the same. They are half human. They can certainly visit. Even humans could theoretically visit first heaven for a short time depending on the strength and vitality of the person in question. But even still they will eventually become weakened and may even die if they remain for too long. It may take a decades for miracle children. Maybe centuries. But it happens all the same." 

A long sigh leaves my lips. "Alright... You're right. You're right. I know. Fine. I'll make an angel equivalent to evil pieces, then."