Looking him directly in the eye, she spoke the words that harboured what she felt in that very moment.
“I don’t know what I saw in you.”
“?!”
She felt disgusted that he would even think of using their daughter like that.
[To think that I used to love a man like you. How blind I was.]
BAM!
.
|DxD|
.
With the strength of old relationships coming into question and the integrity of ties being tested in Kuoh, Cuba was undergoing a different affair. It was early morning in the coffee-loving country. Even though it was Saturday, the streets were still busier than ever, and the small town of Baracoa was no exception.
As Azazel took a sip of coffee in the restaurant of his brother’s lover, his eyes remained focused on the documented information he had in front of him. These past two days, he wasn’t idle. Having sent a few operatives to dig up information, he had every single event that had to do with Alicia and Baraquiel since their rumoured first meeting around three years ago.
Flipping through the page summaries, he came across a page with a black&white picture of Alicia at the top.
…
Name: Alicia
Surname: Garcia
Born: 1973, May 23rd
Age: 23
Race: Human (Pure incl. Ancestry)
Alias/s: None
Summary: An orphan with no immediate family, she used her funds to turn the home she inherited from her parents into the restaurant known today as ‘Sabor Caribeno’. Three years prior, she happened to meet Cadre Baraquiel whom, according to rumours, indirectly helped her grow her establishment. Nothing worthy of note has happened since then.
Date of Issue: 1999/08/07
…
Reading through the information as well as some other miscellaneous knowledge, Azazel was able to verify his thoughts.
[A normal human with a normal ancestry. No abilities. No sacred gears. Nothing of note aside from losing her parents in a car accident.]
Paging through a few more times to make sure he didn’t miss anything, he closed the document folder and let it vanish into thin air. Taking a sip of his coffee again, he glanced around to find the woman who somehow ensnared his brother in her web.
[Baraquiel should’ve been able to tell if she had any ill-intentions towards him.]
Normally, he would trust his brother enough to be able to distinguish such things. Yet because of recent events, Azazel was forced to verify things himself.
[Her background is clean, but what about her heart?]
Azazel was not a stranger to many things…or concepts. Illogical occurrences such as reincarnation or soul-takeovers were not factors he was unaware of. Having witnessed his fair share of such occurrences, it would be very easy for him to spot any inconsistencies with her soul and body, especially over a long conversation.
Again, he would normally trust Baraquiel to be able to deduce such basic things. But after his brother proved that his intelligence drops around this woman, he knew it was best he did this himself.
And right on time, Alicia walked over towards him with a friendly smile on her face.
“May I collect your coffee, sir?”
Without any broken english, her question was phrased perfectly.
“No need.”
Tapping his finger on the table, a small magic circle formed before the surrounding noise gradually became indistinguishable. Dispelling the illusion magic on himself, Azazel revealed his true appearance.
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“In fact, I would rather we discuss some more important things.”
“?!”
For what it’s worth, Alicia didn’t immediately panic despite recognising Azazel’s appearance, which also served to show that Baraquiel didn’t wipe her memories. Though there was a visible trace of nervousness and fright on her face, she still managed to keep hold of her emotions.
“W-what do you…want?”
“...”
Azazel was not in a rush to answer. From the beginning, he had been monitoring her facial expressions, vitals, and even her aura for the faintest signs of attempted deceit. Through his patented magic that no one but him knew of, he was confident that only an extreme few could hope to outsmart it.
Monitoring her rapidly fluctuating aura and her rising vitals, he was able to glean that at the very least, she wasn’t some old monster from the past.
[Her nervousness and fear are genuine.]
Gesturing with his hand, he commanded her.
“Sit down first.”
“...”
Alicia hesitated, but Azazel was quick to shut that down.
“I have enveloped us in an illusion. Other people will willingly ignore the existence of this table. Even if you wave your hands, no one will notice. And…”
Taking a quick sip of his coffee, he looked at her with a friendly smile.
“You don’t want to run.”
“...”
Alicia wasn’t stupid. Although she was currently terrified for her life, she wouldn’t do such a stupid decision like running. The way both Baraquiel and this man had the ability to vanish was still very clear in her memories.
“I-I won’t. I know that you can cut me down b-before I can even turn around.”
Talking to a person who could and possibly would kill her in a heartbeat was terrifying in of itself. But she could only bite the bullet and sit down.
Calming herself down, she took a deep breath for a few seconds. Opening her eyes, she forced herself to meet Azazel’s.
“What do you want from me?”
Lifting a finger, he replied to her question with a question.
“Before we continue, I just want to confirm something. How much do you know of the supernatural.”
“N-not much. I only know that you and…Baraquiel, are fallen angels. I…don’t know more than that.”
Her hands gradually clenched the fabric of her skirt.
“I…never asked him.”
“...”
As she spoke, Azazel did not fail to verify the authenticity of her words. So far, she had been truthful.
“I see. It was good that he did that. Now, you have two choices here. I can see that my brother wiped everyone’s memories except yours. Frankly, I fail to understand why he would do such a thing. If you were a woman of note, I would understand.”
It was time to do what he came for.
“But from what I’ve found I’ve managed to dig up, everything about you is average. Even your lineage which we have tracked all the way back to Africa has no noteworthy figures. You have no special abilities. You have no useable talent. Even to get this restaurant from the shabby state it was in two years ago required my brother’s help.”
This time, he made sure to look her directly in the eye.
“In comparison, my brother’s wife comes from a prestigious family in both the normal and the supernatural world. She possesses talents that would place her amongst prodigies in her generation, ranking her in the top position amongst the strongest humans in talent alone. She is well-known and has the respect of many even outside her family. Compared to you…there’s no need to even compare.”
He let his words simmer into her mind while also examining her. One thing Azazel had come to learn, was that all reincarnated individuals had a certain pride to them. Although he had verified through his magic that her soul “age” matched her body, it never hurt to use other avenues of approach. *
“...”
It didn’t take long for the results to show themselves. Alicia was…downcast. With her head hanging low and her skirt crumpled like a paper in her grip, her shivering body was a glaring symptom of the rising feeling of inferiority.
For Alicia, this was beyond the typical feeling of inferiority when she interacted with foreigners of paler colours. Flipping the bird was enough to absolve it any day. But this feeling…this feeling was deeply rooted.
“I-I…”
“...”
Seeing her lost for words, Azazel decided to press on. Wanting to seal the final nail in the coffin, he struck her where it hurt the most.
“Yet somehow, you managed to win, Miss Garcia. But at what cost? You may not know, but because of your existence, terrible events happened, events that could’ve been prevented. On the sixteenth of July, or for your country, the fifteenth of July, my brother’s wife suffered a heart attack. According to what we know, my brother was with you during that time.”
Alicia raised her head in shock.
“What?!”
“This is not the time to be surprised, Miss Garcia. Just understand that because of you, my brother almost lost the opportunity to say his final goodbyes to his wife.”
This was not the truth, but Azazel was willing to place the story in a way that framed her. He wanted to arouse as much guilt from her and weigh her conscience with regret.
His main purpose here today, was not just to find out about Alicia. It was also to test her.
“As it stands, my brother is at a crossroads. As I’m sure you’re aware, in a situation where he should’ve been with his family, he chose to come back and stay with you.”
There was nothing remarkable about this woman, be it be from a magical or normal perspective. Baraquiel was no stranger to women here and there, but she managed to worm her way into his heart.
Whether her advantage was in the amount of times they met or some other reason, Azazel was no longer interested.
“What I want to know now is, with all this information I’ve told you, what will you do?”
“...”
Alicia did not know that all of this had happened because of her selfishness. All she knew was that barely an hour later, Baraquiel returned to her with his heart filled with despair. For days upon days, he was barely functioning. Just getting him to eat was hard.
And finally knowing why this man who was like a pillar in her life, appear so broken…there was only one response she could give.
“I…”
.
AN
.
1. Although he had verified through his magic that her soul “age” matched her body, it never hurt to use other avenues of approach.
Explanation: Some of us are wondering why Igor wasn’t detected since his soul should be around ten years older than his actual body. The only reason I can think of is that when Ted shrunk the blonde’s body, his soul age was also shrunk to match his body. That was probably why there was never any suspicion that Igor was a foreign entity, even when he mingled with gods and caught the eye of people like Nandi and Shiva. After all, it was transmigration, not reincarnation.
If you’re interested in reading ahead, here’s the link: [email protected]/HolyGambler