The Seeker | Volume 2

"Haunted?" Aizawa was taken aback by Olive's sudden statement. Olive nodded. "I'm not sure what exactly I'm being haunted by, but I'm pretty sure that the pendant I found is causing it."

"Do you think it has some sort of omen laced within it? I may not know much about this strange world, but I personally believe that a bad omen being placed on you isn't an illogical answer. And I think I know who might have done so."

Olive raised an eyebrow. "Who?" Aizawa sighed as he looked out the shattered window. "The gang you previously encountered. From what I know gangs like valuables, a lot. And they would go to extreme lengths to get what they want…even if it means killing an innocent woman who simply got into trouble with them. "

So they most likely got to know your routine from the shadows and placed the artifact where they knew you'd walk."

"I wouldn't say innocent, Aizawa." she said as her eyes slightly softened, and the corners of her lips dropped downwards. "I killed one of them, one which I surmised to be the captain…his blood is on my hands, and I take full responsibility if they're the ones haunting me."

Aizawa took a few steps towards the woman, carefully and comfortingly placing a hand on her shoulder. "That was in the past. You need to get over it, Olive. Pain is something we all have trouble processing…but vulnerability can be the weakest form someone is in."

After saying that, Aizawa gave her a comforting smile. Olive looked up at the taller man and smiled back. After a few moments of silence he took a few steps back whilst still looking at Olive. "I think we should think logically with this. Hunting them down may not be the best option because you haven't told me much about them…what do you know about them?"

…

I would have to wait until next Monday to deliver the Demon Spider blood,so I had to keep it somewhere secure and away from prying eyes. After dropping off Damien and walked to the edge of the kingdom and approached the "headquarters" of the Sleepless Foundation. 

Since De-Taylel had garnered enough authority over "his" own Divine Kingdom whilst I was gone, perhaps "he" could keep the Demon Spider blood safe. In exchange I'll deliver the Order 9 Apocalypse characteristics to "him" as well to complete the slate. 

When the illusory door opened I walked through, and the spherical lights collapsed and converged, before making a change that made the entire environment change and allow me to enter the room with "his" statue. 

Even if I knew that De-Taylel had possessed Ian Vinigrad's body as a palpable host until "he" could achieve a true form, I figured that "he" would still be able to communicate to me through it without leaving "his" kingdom. 

I approached the statue and put down the golden sphere. When I did so the statue's eyes lit up, and a wormhole the size of a dinner plate opened before me. De-Taylel then crawled out of the wormhole, looking at me with "his" curious and flaming eyes.

"Apocalypse, I see you have some business?" "he" said as "he" stood up, "his" spear sized tail gently swaying back and forth. I took a shaky breath and said with a smile. 

"I do, De-Taylel…" I said as I pushed the sphere towards him. De-Taylel picked it up and studied it. "This is Demon Spider blood, why would you bring this here?"

"Because I'm entrusting you with it. In return for your favor, I'll deliver you your characteristic and find the Destruction Card."

De-Taylel raised an eyebrow as the corners of "his" lips curled up slightly. As "he" continued to study the sphere it lit up, and was suddenly engulfed in fiery flames. "I assure you this will keep it safe. At the level of a Lord of Angels, anyone below Order 1 without the given differential properties should not be able to break it. But since "I" laced it with a particular intention, you'll have no effort sealing it off."

The flames then shrank into the sphere, it fell to the ground and rolled to my feet. The sphere containing the Demon Spider blood had a marking on it, the Destruction Sigil.

"I thank you, De-Taylel."

The scorpion-like angel nodded as "he" watched me leave the room. The crimson wings on "his" back fluttered slightly as "he" began to descend back into The Underworld.

…

"The Uzriel Gang contains mostly traffickers and thieves. Since they mostly operate underground they have ties to numerous other organizations, including the Church of Azoth, the Sleepless Foundation, The Divine School of Order; and The Harmonical Church."

"The last two sound like they wouldn't like operating with thieves…with the limited amount of knowledge I've accumulated about this world, they're organizations or churches that were established by 2 angels named Bachkim and Abtussi, ones that served under the Church of Saints in their respective families."

Olive shook her head. "That may be the case, but I was always told as a kid never to believe in the gods' morality, but their power. Those angels you speak of were not the kindest individuals, and they often waged battles against the other churches when a dispute happened that took a little more talking than they wanted."

"The Domanik and Ophilum families were not very powerful in the Church of Saints, but they pulled a lot of strings behind the scenes. The Church of Azoth was a powerful cult in the previous epoch that hoped to resurrect the ancient deity: Azoth."

"But due to numerous complications and being ratted out, they were forced to flee into the shadows."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Then how are you aware of their current state? Were you, or are you a member of them if you're aware of their tacit ties?"

Olive shook her head again, running a finger through her blonde hair. "I'm a Seeker of the Demon Routeway. But I'm Order 9 so the enhanced features of Spirit Calling and the enhanced physical characteristics were quite helpful then confronting them."

"The dispute that got me into this mess was owing money. I met this man named Franklyn whom I didn't know was part of this organization. Once he bought me a drink I owed him a few Lumin in return. But unfortunately I forgot about what happened and got attacked by them and barely escaped. Then the next night I found the charm that cursed me."

"Did he say anything to you during your initial conversation? Maybe any details could help us track them down." Aizawa asked.

"Well, he told me that he was indeed part of a secret organization…although it is a mystery on why exactly he would reveal any information regarding such matters under the assumption that I wouldn't want to know more."

"What did he look like?"

"He was tall and lanky, had neatly combed back brown-blonde hair, blue eyes and freckles. He was wearing a classic dress shirt and vest with black dress pants. Within his eyes seemed to be some small, irregular, and almost dangerous charm…"

"Dangerous charm?..." Aizawa repeated the words in his mind. He recalled that Cattleya's mentor had told him about initial abilities of the Demon Routeway, and how "increased seduction" was one of them. 

"He might be on the Demon Routeway…I don't know for sure, but something tells me his eyes are a much more notable factor than usual. When you look into my eyes, what do you see?"

Olive looked up and peered into Aizawa's crimson eyes. Her eyes widened with astonishment when his pupils flickered with a strange sense of depravity, almost like a small pair of hands would reach out of them and grab her, taking her into his eyes.

Suddenly, a terrifying sensation overcame her as she suddenly closed her eyes and backed up. "Don't think of her, don't say her name!" she cried out, still covering her eyes. Aizawa froze on the spot, his expression freezing and his blood running cold. 

"What are you talking about, Olive?" he asked in concern.

Olive kept her hands over her eyes as she yelled out. "The Nest of Vulgarity…Mother of Impurity…Wants to retrieve…"

She suddenly fell unconscious.