Chapter 34: The Secrets Of The Crosses

“… Peter?” I raise my voice in shock. “Then, does that mean…”

“Yes. I, too, was once chosen to be an owner of the crosses.” Michael slowly nods his head. “In fact, my partner then was the same one as Otsuya’s – Byleth, the Demon of wind.”

“Byleth…” I utter in complete disbelief. Not only did he just say that he’s a part of the chosen ones to fight against God, but the crazier thing was that he’s that damn horse’s partner in crime. No matter how I see it, I can’t think of a world where those two would work together, let alone sworn partners.

“It seems that you have heard of him.” Michael, looking at my reaction, as well as the red cross on my neck, concludes. “But you don’t seem to be wearing his cross. If he’s not part of your companions, then I assume he’s the one that caused the destruction of your house in town?”

“Yeah, you got me.” Seeing no way to lie, I nod in confirmation. “He’s the culprit behind my house getting destroyed.”

“I see… But I digress. I was considered a traitor to the other cross owners, and they were correct. I didn’t betray them for what I’m about to say, but when I did learn of it, I was truly glad that I decided to do what I did.”

“So, out with it. What ‘truth’ are you talking about?” I ask.

“The crosses were created by a greater power, just like the Archangels’ gifts from God. However, while we strived to guide the people in this world to a better life, the Demons planned to offer their power to another being from beyond our world, to forever doom us to outside force!” Michael grips his hands tightly and slams his fist down the table, showing his genuine emotions for the first time since we’ve met.

But his words do jolt back a piece of memory within me. A memory that I only recently acquired.

“A being from beyond our world…” I mumble, remembering the only encounter which I still couldn’t make sense of.

“You look strange. Have you perhaps heard of it?”

“Byleth’s cross…” I answer, piecing together the information I’ve received. “The reason why I had it in the first place was because of a strange boy… And he said to tell it to you, Michael… ‘the being from another world’ is already here…”

“What… did you say?” Michael, as if not believing a word that I just said, raises his voice to ask once more.

“Look, I only know what I know.” I swipe his hands off my shoulder and answer with an annoyed look. “The guy told me that, alright? Who knows if he meant the truth or not.”

“No… it can’t be…” Michael, upon hearing my answer, lowers his head as if deep in thought, and starts to mumble to himself. “The prophecy… It’s happening… There’s really no way around it…”

“Prophecy? What prophecy?” I try to touch his shoulder and ask, in hope of getting more information about the truth of the matter. However, returning my question is only a shake of the head:

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.”

“Why so?”

“I don’t know the reason myself. But I do know that God has placed all of the Archangels under a curse to never mention it to anyone not directly involved, meaning that only him, us Archangels, and the Demons themselves can know. And I supposed that the Demons are also subjected to the same thing with their Lord.”

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Michael’s words remind me of the encounter I had when I got Byleth’s cross. I sound in my mind once more to ask my partner in crime. “Is that why you refused to answer me back when I met that guy? And how it seemed like I couldn’t use my power?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that question of yours,” Asmodai answers, but vague as it might be, that pretty much hits the nail on the head.

“Miss Petra, if you know anything else about this individual, tell me right away.” Meanwhile, Michael keeps on pressing the matter, even though I don’t really have anything else to say to him.

“I got nothing else besides his name,” I answer with a shrug. “The guy said it’s Kuroshi Ryuuro. That’s really all I have.”

“Kuroshi Ryuuro…” The archangel ponders once more. “The name sounds Japanese, but not quite at the same time… But if he’s from another world, then why would he…”

All of a sudden, a sudden realization crosses Michael’s head, making the angel immediately turn towards me, squinting his eyes as if he’s trying to judge me for something.

“Well, if we’re done here then I’m just going to leave.” I immediately stand up and let out an awkward smile in the uncomfortableness of the situation. “Where is this place anyway? Tell me the exit, so I can…”

I don’t get to finish on what I’m going to ask. In an instance, Michael stands upright once more, as if there’s a spring under him the whole time. With a snap of his fingers, I’m now surrounded by angels once more. In fact, this time, it’s even more than when he first appeared in front of me. Now the number easily reaches several hundred, so much that all I see in front, behind, and even above me is a simple shade of white. All of them come equipped with weapons, naturally: spears for the ones on the ground, and arrows for the ones in the air. In this situation, I don’t think even an ant could escape the onslaught that I’m about to take.

“I thought you meant no harm? What’s the meaning of this?” I ask with a sarcastic smile, although even I’m not sure if it’s meant for the angel or for myself.

“I forgot to tell you, Miss Petra. I lost Byleth’s cross around two weeks ago. The cross wasn’t supposed to appear before you. I’ve sent men to investigate since then, but not a single clue was found. The thief was good. Too good, in fact. So, that brings me to my question… even if one of your companions were compatible with that cross, how in the world did you get it?”

I could see where he’s going with this. Damn it, Ryuuro, whoever you are. First, you stole the cross, then you put us in this situation. ‘On your side’ my ass; you’re literally the root of all of this nonsense. But Michael doesn’t know it yet; maybe I can bluff my way through it.

“… What if I told you we stole it?” With a nervous laugh, I ask back.

“Impossible. I’m sorry, but I’ve already investigated your group and powers, and needless to say, none of you have the capabilities to pull off that kind of feat.”

“… Fine. It was him, alright? He gave the cross to me, but I’m just as clueless as you are.” I let out a sigh and tell him the truth. All I can do right now is pray that he believes me, no matter how unbelievable of a story it might be. “The guy just popped up, gave me the cross, and left. That’s it.”

“Come on now, Miss Petra. I’m not so much of a fool to be deceived with that kind of childish lie.” Michael, unsurprisingly, lets out a sarcastic chuckle at my answer. “But unfortunately, it seems like you’re not the type to cooperate with us, so I have no choice but to invite you to a… longer stay here in Edo Castle.”

As soon as the words leave his mouth, the angels surrounding me start to charge with their full force. However, at the same time, far away from where I stand, I can see angels being flung up into the air against their will, and along with it comes booming sounds echoing through the garden, as if something has burst open after being contained for too long. It’s far away from me, but I can still see a faint trace of moving leaves blowing in a spiral direction as the angels get knocked up one by one. That’s the wind’s doing. And if we’re talking about the wind, then it’s only one thing.

Blasting through the angels appear a feminine-looking boy about my age. On his shoulder is now a black jacket that he only drapes over instead of putting his arms in the sleeves, and his head wears a black cap embedded with a golden crest of the sun. The young man exudes an air completely unknown to me, which is beyond strange considering that I’ve known him for two years. And as he opens his mouth, I have to take another look to see if I have the right person, even if his voice is still the same as before:

“Yo, miss me?”

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