Me? Human? : Chapter 38 : Awakened Light Human.... (Patreon)

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–Penemue–

She turned to Kokabiel, her eyes wide as she needed to confirm something, something that might just help them weather through the boy until Azazel came back and put a stop to this, as more than the Man’s might, she trusted Azazel’s brain to come up with something on the fly to make sure that the boy was stopped but was stopped in a way that did not harm the prospects of the strongest student in the Nephilim Institute.

“You’ve seen him move. You think he is in control of himself right now?”

“No,” Kokabiel snarled, having fallen to the ground, as the strain of maintaining such a taxing attack for so long had taken its toll on him, “He used to have some intelligence behind those eyes before, but they were dead long before I decided to attack him using my Stars. I don’t think there is anything but instincts left inside that Armoured head of his.”

Alright. That was a confirmation she did not need all these words for, but with that in mind, she could do something. 

She remembered him asking Kokabiel about the other girl the first thing he woke up. 

Asia Argento. A Sacred Gear wielder. A healer on top. 

Someone who was guaranteed admission into the institute, simply because there could never be enough healers on staff, especially ones who could heal everyone, provided she had the juice to power it. 

She could heal Angels, Fallen, Devils, Gods, Demi Gods, and more, as long as she had the appropriate power, which is why Azazel had created a whole routine for her, so that her personal power increases and she can heal a wider variety of people, ultimately leading to more capital for the Grigori.

It was one of the things she admired Azazel for, and apparently, his decision to make sure Asia was treated with gloves was probably going to save the bacon of the entire Grigori.

If the kid’s mind was shut down, something that was expected if one took into account the amount of pain and suffering he had to go through before finally becoming this strong, in such a short period of time, then they had to wake him up. He did not seem like the type to needlessly indulge in senseless killing, even if the other person was Kokabiel.

Sure, one could make the case that seeing nothing but Kokabiel’s cocky face for over a month on end would lead to anyone going insane, but she suppressed that thought with ruthless efficiency and turned to Kokabiel, “I think it’s the girl.”

Judging by the way Kokabiel’s eyes widened in realisation, he understood her line of thinking, as he snapped at her, “Go!”

Quickly undoing the seal she placed at the entrance, she sealed it shut behind her, barking orders at the wide eyed group of 4 Winged Fallen looking at her for direction, "Guard the entrance. With your life, if you have to. I’ll be back soon.”

She didn’t wait for their reply as she flew through the entire facility, quickly reaching the upper level before bursting out of the elevator and teleporting the second she stepped out of the range of the anti-teleportation wards.

Her vision cleared as she found herself right outside Shemhazai’s office. He was tasked with Asia’s initiation and training, as per Azazel’s orders. Bursting through the door, she was about to warn him of the horror brewing beneath their feet, but could not find him inside.

Cursing, she marched outside the lobby and asked the receptionist, who told her that he had taken Asia training to Nephilim. Teleporting once more, she found herself at the teleportation room, before rushing out towards the training lab created for healing type magic, figuring that was the most likely place Shemhazai would have taken Asia.

She heaved a sigh of relief as she finally reached the lab doors, only for them to open from the inside, nearly hitting her as Shemhazai was in the middle of dragging Asia somewhere, the girl had a look of confused surprise on her face at the gesture.

“Penemue!” Shemhazai exclaimed, “I got the alert! Something went wrong at the testing facility?”

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say, as Asia’s eyes widened in worry as she rushed towards her, “Motohama-san! Is he alright? He was the one taking the test, right? I was told that he was fine. Oh, Lord, what is happening?”

Her hand shot out to stop Shemhazai from knocking her out. While that would have been the right move had this been a normal event, they needed her to survive this time. The irony of the situation was not lost on her.

At Shemhazai’s confused look, she elaborated, switching off the magic that allowed Asia to understand what they were saying, “The boy she came with, Motohama Kenji, has grown too strong for Kokabiel to contain properly.”

Shemhazai’s eyes widened in terror at that, because that meant that even they would not be able to contain the boy, as Kokabiel was widely known to have the second highest combat power in all of the Fallen Angels of Grigori, after Azazel himself. Some debated that Baraqiel might match Kokabiel, but the man had long since lost his will to fight properly ever since he lost his human wife.

They flew out of the Institute, teleporting as soon as they were inside the teleporting specific room, Shemhazai carrying Asia in his arms, who still looked mighty confused about the whole thing.

As they rushed to the elevator that would take them down to the test facility, once again cursing her past self for the ward network, “The boy has slipped into a trance of some sort, focusing only on the combat ahead of him. Unfortunately, he has also grown far too strong for Kokabiel to deal with properly. We need to snap him out of the trance.”

Shemhazai continued her thoughts, “And you think the girl can do that?”

She nodded, “Yes, I believe so. The first thing he asked for when he slipped out of the Darkness Mental Curse was to ask for the girl and her safety. If that doesn’t work, then all three of us will have to work together to stop the boy, and hope that Azazel comes back in time.”

Shemhazai’s eyes widened in realization. “He is not here. The Greek Trade Agreement.”

She nodded, rushing towards the Exam Hall. “Yes, time is unfortunately not on our side. You have to explain everything to her quickly.”

She watched as Shemhazai quickly set the girl down before explaining things to her. She flinched as she heard a loud boom, followed by a muffled groan from Kokabiel. Things had regressed by the time she came back, it would seem.

Shemhazai stood up and nodded at her, holding onto Asia tightly as she opened the seal, but not before ordering the gathered Fallen, “Make sure everyone stays out, no matter who it is. Unless I give the order, don’t let anyone come in.” 

She did not want Motohama to switch targets from Kokabiel to Baraqiel, given that they were both roughly the same in terms of power. She and Shemhazai were both weaker than Kokabiel, so hopefully, they could somewhat pacify the human’s combat instincts.

The door burst open, her arm already in the motion of flinging multiple Light Spears, the strongest she could summon, at Kokabiel’s periphery, to ward off the boy, but to her confusion, the boy was nowhere to be seen, only an injured Kokabiel, holding onto his face.

“Kokabiel!” Flashing right next to him, she saw his nose was broken, but before she could ask him about anything, she heard Asia scream from behind them, “Motohama-san!”

She looked all around them, as Kokabiel groaned softly in pain and exhaustion, and only then was the condition of all the Light Spears made clear to her, as they began dispelling one by one.

Kokabiel knelt on the ground in exhaustion, his body nearly empty, but her entire focus was in the air, trying to figure out where the boy was. The task was becoming easier by the second as the hundreds of Light Spears that Kokabiel had conjured were beginning to dispel one by one, clearing out the space in front of her.

Asia screamed the human’s name once more, her voice amplified by Shemhazai’s magic, as she kept her gaze on a swivel, trying to track him down, only to pause as she heard Shemhazai gasp behind her.

Instantly whirling on the spot, she had a Light Spear in her hand, only to pause as she saw an armoured figure, glowing white top to bottom, a very familiar White Spear in his hand, but thankfully, it was pointed down, and the boy was motionless, looking down at Asia, seemingly ignoring Shemhazai.

Shemhazai wisely chose to take his hand off Asia and take a few steps back, correctly deducing that the boy was entirely focused on Asia and his continued presence near her might aggravate the boy’s subconscious mind.

Kokabiel stirred near her feet, trying to look behind him, only for her to knock him out immediately. While she sympathised with Kokabiel, what with almost getting killed by the human, she did not forget his past transgressions and his personality. With his thinking, he could have made the boy target him further, and they could not afford to lose access to Kokabiel’s strength.

Though, looking at the boy and what he could do on his own, depending on how his tenure at Nephilim went, the Grigori might not need Kokabiels’s strength anymore, and nothing would make her happier, as that would finally remove the thin veil of excuse that Azazel used to stop anyone from moving against Kokabiel and his treasonous activities.

Asia hesitantly reached out towards the Boy’s armoured face. The moment her fingers made contact with the boy's head, the Light Spear in his hand lost its grip and disappeared into motes of light. 

She nodded at Asia as she summoned her Sacred Gear, bathing the area in its green light, suffusing the boy with the healing power of the Twilight Healing, though she had a hunch that the boy did not need it for any physical injuries.

Tears gathered in Asia’s eyes as her Sacred Gear continued to do its job before, ultimately, with a sound akin to glass shattering, the White Armour disappeared, leaving behind a naked boy who promptly collapsed, drawing an alarmed gasp from Asia, who frantically tried to heal him the only way she knew how, using her Sacred Gear.

Shemhazai slowly approached them, as she almost fell to her knees in relief.

Patting Kokabiel on the cheek condescendingly, she said, “Good job, buddy.”

Then, she looked at the damage around her, and then at the Fallen who broke down the door, likely to help them, and sighed, her relief fading away as she just imagined the increased paperwork because of this event.

____xx___

Seventh Heaven

–Michael–

He was slumped on the chair, an entire day of connection with the System taking its toll, as he tried to do his regular activities and learn something new about the System, as was his routine whenever he sat on this throne.

He was just about to get up and disconnect from the System, to take a brief rest before meeting his siblings, as he did not wish for them to see him in such a haggard state, only to pause as he felt a new urgent notification from the System.

Hurriedly opening the notification as anything tagged URGENT from the System had to be dealt with post haste, only to pause in confusion, then freeze in shock at what he was reading.

AWAKENED LIGHT HUMAN - APPROACH FOR SAINTHOOD