RSE B2 CH 11

After a few minutes of walking in a rather awkward silence, Leo found himself standing at the edge of the park where he’d killed the Fallen Angel, Regina, and her Nephilim companion. 

When he thought of it like that, he wondered if it wasn’t too spooky of a place to be taking a young woman to. But then he remembered said young woman pummeling a stray devil a few days before that, and he decided the deaths of a Fallen Angel and Nephilim weren’t that big of a deal, after all.

Fast forward a few minutes later, and the two of them were sitting in a gazebo at the center of the park. Leo had a bottle of chilled water while Kira was licking a vanilla ice cream cone.

They were quiet, each of them consumed by their own thoughts. Straightening, Kira seemed to have had enough of the not-quite-companionable silence. 

She broke the ice. “My older sister, Sakura, was my idol.” She said this so softly that Leo had to pay attention to hear her. 

Continuing, Kira told him about her sister, and the feelings she’d once had for Sakura. It had been what made waking up every day worthwhile. Her life hadn’t really been the best, she knew that much—though she didn’t have many memories of her younger years. 

She did remember her father being rather indifferent, and her somewhat submissive mother doing nothing for the girls other than loving their father.

Still, in all those loveless memories filled drear days with little to look forward to, the one thing that brought color to her otherwise monotone life had been her sister.

Sakura. Her sister was the epitome of perfection… at least in young Kira’s eyes. 

Sakura was better than Kira—better than anyone, really—in just about every way possible. She was smarter, more talented, more beautiful, and more glamorous. More than that, while Kira was a crybaby, her sister had an inner strength, and a strong will.

 Kira respected her for that more than anything. Because of this, she had never been jealous of her sister. Instead, she’d admired her greatly throughout her childhood.

The overwhelming admiration she felt grew exponentially after their parents died. By then, Kira and Sakura had no one to support them except for themselves. Thanks entirely to the talented Sakura, they managed to get by. She was recruited into the Circle of a powerful noble family and officially became a devil. 

Kira was also supposed to enter the Circle, as well. But Sakura had refused to allow it under the pretext that Kira was too young. Her master had accepted the older sister’s reasoning and had relented—for the time being.

Even though Kira hadn’t joined the noble devil’s circle and become a devil herself, her life significantly improved. She didn’t lack for anything and, compared to her life before then, felt like a princess. Sakura’s master was kind and attentive, and Kira couldn’t wait for the day she could enter the Circle. She couldn’t wait to show how grateful she was for the opportunity to fight alongside her beloved sister.

Sadly, this dream never came to be.

The talented Cat Spirit bloomed even more beautifully when she became a devil. She quickly reached the Peak level, besting the most talented devils and surpassing even their masters. She specialized in manipulating both internal spiritual energy and external sorcery, while also learning spatial magic. Thanks to her talent with spiritual energy, she quickly rose as a devil to the height of power in her Circle.

Kira did not understand why it all came crumbling down around her. All she could remember was blood that seemed to flow without end. Sakura did the unthinkable. She killed the King of her Circle and became a stray devil, constantly hunted by other devils.

 It seemed that combining internal spirit energy with sorcery messed with her head. It corrupted her and she succumbed to the temptation of power.

As for Kira, because she was also a Spirit Cat, the devils had debated whether or not they should simply kill her. Many wanted to make an example of her, to dissuade others from even considering such a crime—to root out the very thought of attempting such blasphemy. 

If Salvatore Mephisto hadn’t taken her in, then Kira would have been killed. She would have been sacrificed… all because of her sister. That had been too much for Kira’s fragile young heart. 

The death of her parents had been a shock, but the death of the man she thought would be her master and the betrayal of her sister made Kira completely shut down. Painful memories had ravaged her mind day in and day out. 

Ultimately, she’d fallen into silent and brooding despair. The girl had nearly constant suicidal thoughts. After all, why continue to live in a world when she had nothing and no one? Every day she lived was only torture.

At the time, she was sure death would be a mercy… a mercy she wished for more than anything.

Thankfully, she was never alone in the Mephisto manor. Rayne, Shuri, or one of the adults of the house, they ensured someone was always close by her side, even at night when she collapsed into a sleep full of nightmares. 

In their tender care, Kira wasn’t permitted to succumb to her suicidal impulses. And while she was forever changed by it, she managed to escape her depression—at least to the point where she was not a suicide risk.

Those events had forever changed her. They changed her at a visceral level, becoming the core of her very identify. And the cause of all this was her once beloved sister.

The love, awe, and devotion she’d once had for Sakura now represented her greatest fears. It transformed into its opposite—hatred. Since then, Kira refused to touch anything related to her Spirit Cat heritage. Instead, she focused on developing her skills as Rayne’s Rook

Nothing more, and nothing less.

…

When Kira finished her story, the ice cream in her hand had melted, spilling out of the soggy coned across her hand and dripping onto her shoes.

“Tsk…” Kira tutted to herself. “How clumsy.”

The young woman was surprised Leo hadn’t commented on her story. Instead, he took a napkin and kneeled down beside her. He carefully wiped the mess from her shoes before it became a sticky mess. 

She shivered when his warm fingers gently brushed her bare ankles.

Looking down as he wiped up the mess, he remarked, “You should pay closer attention to what you are doing.”

Kira blushed a bright crimson, wondering why he was acting like this with her— being so gentle… acting like he cared. She wondered if he was hoping to catch a peek up her skirt. Was he sneaking a peek at her underwear? She watched him closely for evidence of malicious intent, but saw that he didn’t bother looking up from her feet.

“You… Don’t you have anything to say about my story?”

Leo paused for a long moment, then shook his head with a wry smile. He stood, his green eyes never leaving her face. “What do you expect me to say?

“That I… that you understand me? That… I can understand your pain?” Her bottom lip trembled, and she clenched the hem of her blouse in her hands. “That… everything will be better… if not today, then one day?”

Smiling softly, Leo used another napkin to wipe the sticky melted ice cream from her hand. “While it is true that I endured my own pain and, like you, I suffered in my youth… this isn’t a contest. Nor does it help me understand your pain.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “Our pain is not equal, and should in no way be compared. Even had we experienced similar kinds of pain, thinking that I can understand you because of that similarity would be the height of arrogance. Don’t you agree?”

Leo had a clear understanding of himself. Despite that, he wasn’t able to deal with his own issues. How could he be expected to understand the problems of other people?

Still, he had gotten pulled into this situation between the sisters. And it wasn’t his style to walk away from a problem without at least doing something. Some might call him a busybody for that… but it was what it was.

Kira was astonished by his softly spoken wisdom. This was the first time someone outside of her Circle hadn’t simply repeated one of a dozen platitudes the psychiatrists all used. Most pretended to listen and then gave her lips service while acting as if they understood. 

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, but Kira did her best to fight them.

Seeing them, Leo gently pulled her close until her face pressed against his chest.

“You can cry. It’s okay to cray. It isn’t weakness to cry, you know?”

Shuddering, a sob ripped itself from deep inside her. She shook like a leaf as it all came out. For the first time in a long while, Kira let herself cry—because he’d said it was okay… that it wasn’t weakness. Her sorrow found a way out of her heart, departing with her tears.

Through it all, Leo never spoke a word. He gently caressed her hair, rubbed her back, and soothed her heart.

***

It was a few hours later that Leo returned to his house, after making sure Kira reached her home safely. Putting one hand to the doorknob, he was surprised to feel only one presence in the house. Only Asa was home.

“Welcome home, Leo.” She smiled at him from the kitchen.

“Asa.”

When he said her name, she sprinted towards him. 

Leo caught Asa when she jumped into his arms. This time, she wasn’t nearly naked, only wearing an apron. Instead, she wore one of his t-shirts—though on the petite blonde, it hung more than halfway down her thighs. When he grabbed onto her, his hands cupping her tight rear when she threw both her arms and legs around him, he discovered she was only wearing a pair of panties beneath his shirt. 

His shirt was so big on her slim frame that the opening at the neck slid part way down her bare shoulder. The sight of her collarbone and obvious lack of a bra made Leo gulp. It was equal parts anxiety and lust.

Asa seemed so pure that any erotic act on her part was ten times more potent.

Once their hug ended and a blushing Asa climbed down from him, Leo looked around and asked, “Where is Lucy?”

“Ah… Lucy departed not long ago. She said she needed to go meet someone. She told me not to worry, and that dinner is warming in the oven. She said to go ahead and eat, if you are hungry.”

“Huh…” Leo frowned. 

Who could Lucy be meeting? 

“We’ll still wait for her.”

In the Karteros household, food was always eaten with everyone present unless that simply wasn’t possible. It was one of his mother’s ironclad rules.

***

Meanwhile…

Lucy was standing in the living room of a hotel suite. Without an expression on her blank face, she blinked at another maid with gray hair and a girl wearing a sparkling magical girl costume.

“Hello, Gwen. Hello, Livinia,” Lucy said, no inflection in her tone. “I have the Nephilim sent by the Fallen Angel with me.”

Livinia whooped, thrusting a fist in the air. “Beautiful! Now, we need to discuss what they were up to with Azrael.”

Lucy nodded. “I am surprised to see you here. I thought you would already be bothering little Sharon.”

Livinia pouted. “You think I don’t want to pester her? But I can’t show myself—not yet. Salvatore is playing the long game, and those we hope to catch with their hand in the cookie jar would all flee if they learn I am here.”

Livinia Sitrin might be inferior to Salvatore Mephisto and Aiden Leviathan, but she was still the strongest female devil in the underworld. Even if Abaddon had the hosts of heaven that supported him when he was an angel, Livinia could kill him with a snap of her fingers.

Sadly, in the tense ceasefire between the fallen, the heavens and the hells, such an action would never be allowed. 

“Salvatore wants to contact the angels to avoid any misunderstanding—the last thing we need is the heavens believing we are colluding with the Fallen.”

The current three-way cease fire was rather tenuous—worrisomely so.

“I see… is it finally time?”

“Indeed.” Livinia nodded, her expression turning serious. “Salvatore hopes to finally end this cold war. He seeks true peace.” She blew a raspberry. “Sadly, we still lack a catalyst to bring about the necessary talks to take things beyond the current ceasefire.”

There was simply too much bad blood between the three races. 

It would take a dire change—a drastic reason, for all sides—to bring about a lasting peace. Despite how difficult it seemed, the main leaders of all three factions were tired of war, even a cold one. 

They were tired of the current tenuous ceasefire. They just wanted peace.

And for that, they were willing to exterminate anyone threatening to fan the spark of war into flame again. 

No matter who that might be…