Chapter 27: Life Finds a Way (1)
"Pardon?" Sona stood there dumbfounded, facing her Contracted Magician, standing side by side with the Governor-General.
"I said, I'm going to the Underworld for a bit. Azazel has something rather interesting he wants to show me, and it'll probably boost my strength."
The fact that Takauji of all people was being so easily trusting caught her off guard.
Azazel nodded as Takauji spoke, his expression similar to a child asking his parents if his friend could have a sleepover.
"It won't even take a full day," Azazel added, noticing Sona's hesitation. "In and out, we'll be back before you know it."
Naturally, Sona wasn't fond of the idea of Takauji entering Fallen Angel territory—even though they were at a ceasefire, there was still an ocean's worth of bad blood between them, just waiting to explode.
All it would take was one incident, and then bam—total and utter chaos.
Something she definitely didn't want Takauji to find himself in the center of.
"Absolutely not," she firmly denied the suggestion. "I'm grateful for your cooperation thus far Governor, but you can't seriously expect me to authorize sending my Contracted Magician to Grigori of all places?"
Azazel exhaled, realizing that he'd have to be a little more persuasive if he wanted to get Sona on board.
"Then why don't you come with?"
"What?" Both Sona and Takauji asked in tandem.
"If anything happens to you while you're there, then I'll attract the wrath of your sister—and I think we both know I wouldn't want to risk something like that. You can consider it extra insurance to ensure I don't try pulling anything sneaky." He let out a wry chuckle.
In truth, Azazel genuinely didn't have anything malicious planned. It was simply his status as a Fallen Angel and his overwhelming strength that put Sona on edge.
To those who knew him, Azazel's personality was hardly any different from one of the Four Great Satans, Ajuka Beelzebub—the creator of the Evil Piece System.
He was a man who simply loved to research and innovate, having long since lost his thirst for conflict, which some of his peers would say never even existed.
As long as he could remain within the comfort of his own laboratory, he was more than happy to maintain the status quo forever.
'Does he really not have anything sinister in mind?' Sona still couldn't help but doubt him a little.
Although she couldn't deny that he had a point, if Sona were to be harmed in any way, shape, or form, Azazel would have an enraged Satan Leviathan at his doorstep—and probably the rest of the Four Great Satans taking their tight-knit kinship into account.
That would spell the end for Grigori.
"Alright," Sona sighed, reluctantly deciding to go along with the Governor's wish. "Against my better judgment, I will go ahead and take your word for it."
She didn't want to say it out loud, but Takauji's lack of suspicion made it easier for her to agree with Azazel.
He was a relatively good judge of character after all. Well, of everyone but himself, apparently.
"Excellent!" Azazel clapped, "We'll set off immediately. I already have Grigori's cross-realm train prepared."
"Wait," Sona stopped, something besides Azazel seeming to displease her. "Does she have to come with us?"
She pointed to the raven-haired, busty, lascivious figure of the woman standing beside Takauji.
His new servant/test-subject, Raynare.
"Of course, she will serve as my steward from now on. Isn't that right?" Takauji asked her.
"Yes, Takauji-sama." She could naught but obey, fearful of meeting the same fate as her subordinates had at the hands of Azazel.
'Of all the people to have a servant, it just had to be the person with an already over-inflated ego.' She couldn't help but groan inwardly.
An ultra-rare element, the talent to grow at a monstrous pace, his Senjutsu ability, and now this. Where on earth was he getting all this fortune from?
"Whatever," she rubbed her forehead sluggishly. "Let's just go already."
…
Azazel had teleported them to what appeared to be a small underground subway station. The station sported a black and gold color scheme and an unhealthy number of portraits of Azazel.
'Oh great, he's ultra self-absorbed as well!' Sona vehemently fought the urge to throw something.
Other than them, there wasn't a single soul present in the vicinity.
"Uh, I promise I wasn't the one who had those made." Azazel cleared his throat in embarrassment, quickly focusing his attention elsewhere.
A bullet train was waiting for them on the station's tracks, adopting the exact same color scheme as the station's interior, with the letter "G" etched into the cabin's surface.
"What's all this supposed to be?" Naturally, Takauji's interest was piqued.
"The Underworld and Earth are split by a border," Sona began. "Which is why we developed special trains as a medium to facilitate efficient travel between the two; they're imbued with technology that makes the crossing process pretty much effortless."
Azazel nodded affirmatively, "Convenient isn't it? I could teach you about its mechanics later on if you'd like."
"I'll take it into consideration."
They proceeded to board the train. The realization of just how fatigued Takauji was hit him in full force the second he sat down on one of the train's immensely comfortable couches.
His eyelids immediately grew heavy, his mind urging him to take this chance to get some rest.
"How long will this take?"
"Grigori's pretty far out in the Underworld because of the border between us and the Devils, so it'll be a few hours before we get there," Azazel said in a knowing tone, fully aware of Takauji's current state.
"I see, in that case, I'll go ahead and take a nap. Wake me when we're there."
He propped his feet up on the couch, and without warning, he laid his head against Raynare's supple thighs, indulging himself with a lap pillow.
'Atta boy!' Azazel smiled inwardly, his Fallen Angel personality heartedly approving of his move.
Even if Takauji himself didn't have any lustful motives.
Sona on the other hand, couldn't physically look any more distraught.
"Takauji!" She yelled, forgetting to use his last name or any honorifics.
"Keep your voice down, can't you see that I'm trying to sleep?" He replied in an irritated tone.
"Don't give me that attitude! What do you think you're doing?!" She continued to protest.
"Sleeping, obviously." He audaciously turned his head inwards, facing towards Raynare's abdomen and away from Sona. "Now be quiet, this Shogun requires his rest."
To make matters worse, he had the gall to shoo Sona away with his hand, causing her to turn bright red out of sheer anger.
Raynare couldn't help but snicker at the sight, Sona's displeasure giving her a deep sense of spiteful satisfaction.
'So that's how it is… alright then.' The corners of her lips curled upwards into a malicious smile.
"You—!"
Sona watched in disbelief as Raynare started to lightly caress Takauji's hair, making full eye contact with her.
"Ahhhh, to be youthful again." Azazel couldn't help but murmur while witnessing the spectacle.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Out of the blue, Takauji opened his eyes, looking at Azazel. "Once we're done, I want to go visit my family, including my not-so-amiable relatives, as you mentioned."
Azazel shrugged. "Sure, I can take you to them. But I should warn you, it will get messy once you're there—and I'm not interested in getting personally involved with the Ashikaga Clan."
"Hmph, I'm more than capable of dealing with my own blood." He insisted before closing his eyes again, and soundly returning to sleep.
"If you say so," Azazel chuckled, his demeanor suggesting that Takauji might be in over his head.
Of course, he would never interpret such a thing of his own volition. Nothing in this world was too much for the self-proclaimed smartest being alive.
'I should probably tag along for that as well,' Sona thought to herself. Takauji's family had been a big topic of interest for her for quite some time now, and she'd much rather get some answers sooner rather than later.
It would also be the first time she ever met his mother. She could only imagine what kind of person she had to be to give birth to such a bizarre specimen.
…
Several hours had passed, and Takauji found himself awoken to the sensation of someone gently nudging his shoulder.
"Takauji-sama, we're here." Raynare purposefully leaned in close and whispered into his ear, thoroughly enjoying Sona's visible response to their close proximity for the entire duration of the train ride.
"I see," he yawned deeply before standing up.
He felt a million times better than before the train had set off, having successfully staved off a good portion of the exhaustion he had amassed while working on his original technique.
"Welcome to Grigori," Azazel smiled, ushering them through the train door leading directly into the organization's basement level.
And once they went up an elevator to Grigori's first level, both Sona and Takauji could witness the splendor of the esteemed research institution for the first time.
Sleek marble flooring, high-tech lightning, the sound of an endless array of unfathomable machines whirring, dozens upon dozens of Fallen Angel eggheads running about in their lab coats—and multiple small containment zones where small-scale tests were being run.
The list went on and on, as if the place was a sci-fi aficionado's wet dream come to life. The sight before them literally looked like it had been ripped right out of Interstellar.
"Yeah, that's about the reaction most first-time visitors have." Azazel had seen the speechless expressions on Takauji and Sona's faces countless times, but it just never seemed to get old.
Grigori was his pride and joy after all.
"Come on, if we want to get everything done in time, then we'd better not dawdle." He continued to lead them through the building, making small talk with all of the researchers under his employment along the way.
Even though the number of tests being conducted seemed endless, the Governor was somehow capable of keeping track of each one, like his mind had archived everything happening around him into a grand library.
He wasn't their Governor for nothing.
"Here we are," they arrived at a door that required a biometric handprint scan, which Azazel promptly inputted, opening it up and leading them into an enclosed hallway. "I'd advise you all to hold your breath."
The sound of machines shifting into place could be heard, followed by a torrent of some white, foggy substance being shot at all of them.
"This is just a standard decontamination procedure to ensure that we don't bring any unwanted bacteria inside, we don't want anything accidentally harming her."
The decontamination ended after a few seconds, the door on the opposite end of the hallway sliding apart, allowing them entry.
"Her?" Sona repeated with a smoulder.
Once they stepped inside, they were greeted with what could only be described as an observatory room facilitated by a glass pane, with a wide expanse of lush foliage, fauna, and flora on the other side.
"This place is part of an initiative run by our paleontology department. We've been collecting fossils of prehistoric demonic beasts and carefully studying their structure and anatomy—in hopes of one day being able actually to replicate a living specimen."
Sona gasped inwardly, immediately picking up on the shocking implication Azazel had just laid out to her.
In the supernatural world, the word "prehistoric" is usually associated with the time before the Biblical God created his Angels—at least most of his major ones, like the Archangels—a time when mankind's current form and Devils didn't exist.
A time before all the current pantheons bothered to interact with the world, since primitive humans didn't have anything worth interacting with in the first place.
A time before even most of the current Gods existed, where only primordial creators and destroyers like the Biblical God, Buddha, and Shiva were around.
"Prehistoric? You mean like a dinosaur?" Takauji asked, his curiosity gradually beginning to surge.
"Exactly," Azazel nodded proudly. "In this chamber resides our first and only successful specimen, a demonic beast that shares a deep resemblance to a velociraptor—we call her Ash."
"And? What exactly does Ash have to do with me?"
"We've been trying to pair her up with someone as a familiar so we can study her growth in further depth, but we haven't managed to find a successful candidate. She's been unbelievably hostile to every person unfortunate enough to have made an attempt, which has resulted in some pretty nasty injuries."
His eyes lit up, quickly catching onto what Azazel was suggesting.
"You want to pair me up with her?"
"Precisely, like you, Ash also possesses the Dark Element. We Fallen Angels naturally emit a signature of Light Magic from our bodies, which I'm fairly confident is the main trigger for her anger from all the tests I've concluded. She's captive-raised, so she's already familiar with being around people to an extent, but mainly just by seeing us through the glass pane."
"Hold on just a second," Sona interrupted. "You're not planning to have him go in there, right? Especially after mentioning those nasty injuries."
"Sounds like fun," Takauji smiled, already standing before the door separating the observatory area and Ash's enclosure. "Send me in."
"Wait! Takauji—!"
"Aye aye, captain!" Azazel flicked a lever, opening the door and allowing Takauji to set foot on the tropical expanse.
'Hmph, it's your fault for not giving me a familiar sooner.' With his rested mind, he felt more than up to the challenge.
"I'm going to lure her in now, get ready." Azazel pushed a button, causing a patch of grass a few meters in front of Takauji to slide apart—a metal box containing multiple chunks of raw meat rising up from the ground.
"Governor!" Sona desperately wanted to protest.
"It'll be fine, he and Ash are bound to get along. I can feel it in all twelve of my feathery wings!" He grinned excitedly, eagerly looking forward to what would occur.
Did he have any scientific evidence to back that claim?
Not really.
But true innovation demands risk-taking! And he was most certainly a man who liked to play with fire.
Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
Everyone's attention turned to the foliage within the expanse, the sight of some of the leaves moving apart as a shadowy figure carefully moved through them, becoming visible.
It was time for Ash and Ashikaga to meet.
━━━━
I'm a huge Jurassic Park and world fan, if you couldn't tell already by this chapter. This part of the story was one of the first things I came up with before writing it, so I'm pretty excited to see it finally be put on paper.
Dino-time!
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