The fake moon of the Underworld hung suspended in a sky of perpetual twilight, casting a pale, silver sheen over the balcony. It was a masterpiece of magical engineering, designed to provide a sense of time and rhythm to a realm that naturally lacked both. Yet, to Jay, the light felt hollow. It lacked the subtle warmth and celestial weight of the true moon back in the human world.
This the first time he was in Underworld.
Lavinia stood by the railing, her blonde hair catching the silver glow. She seemed fragile in the wake of her ordeal, yet there was a newfound clarity in her sapphire eyes. She turned toward him, her expression a mix of curiosity and lingering exhaustion.
"Governor general said you want to talk with me... Um?" Lavinia asked, her voice soft and melodic.
"My name is Zayyn Illya Kovalenko," Jay said quietely, introducing himself.
Lavinia's lips curled into a gentle, surprised smile. "Illya? That's a lovely name. It has a certain ring of strength to it. It's nice to meet you, Illya-kun! My name is Lavinia Reni, as you might already know."
Jay raised an eyebrow at the suffix. 'Illya-kun? What...' He wasn't used to such casual familiarity but he decided to let it slide. There were more important matters at hand.
Jay decided to forget it then opened a pocket dimension and grabbed something.
"And yes, there is actually something that i wan't to talk to you about. It's actually about someone important to me. "
He then continued." I have something for you," Jay said, his tone shifting to something more solemn.
He reached into a small pocket dimension, his mana rippling like water as he pulled out a small metallic object. He held it out to her in the palm of his hand.
It was a chromed pendant, sleek and polished, featuring four fleur-de-lis crossed in an intricate pattern. The symbol of the Wizard of Oz was embossed sharply on its cover. It was a piece of jewelry that looked like a simple trinket to an outsider, but the moment Jay revealed it, the air on the balcony seemed to hum.
Lavinia's breath hitched. She didn't even need to touch it to recognize the resonance. It was her own magical signature, faint and weathered by time, but unmistakably hers. She had poured her intent into that pendant years ago before giving it away as a token of gratitude.
"You... how do you have this?" she whispered, her fingers trembling as she reached out to take it. Her eyes were wide, filled with a sudden, overwhelming surge of nostalgia.
"Sister Andrea gave it to me," Jay said, while a warm smile filled Lavinia.
The mention of the name brought a radiant, warm smile to Lavinia's face. The grief of the past few days seemed to retreat, replaced by a memory of sunlight and sanctuary. "So it really was her. I always wondered if she kept it."
She pressed a small hidden catch on the side of the pendant. It clicked open, revealing a photograph protected by a thin layer of crystal. In the picture, a young girl of perhaps six or seven years old stood with a beaming smile. Beside her was a woman dressed in the habit of a nun.
Light emitted for her sapphire as she opened the pendant.
No, this is not any other day, Lavinia definitely remember this. How can she not, after all this is her birthday.
"She saved me," Lavinia said, her voice thick with emotion as she stared at the image. "It was during one of my first missions as a member of the Wizard of Oz. Actually, it was less of a mission and more of a disaster. I had been abducted by a group of rogue nobles in a vampire-controlled district near Budapest. I was just a child at that time. I thought that was the end."
Jay who heard that can't help but scrouching his eyes. Another Vampire? It seemed that no matter where he went, those blood-drinking parasites were involved in the suffering of the innocent.
He need to give them a visit.
Meanwhile Lavinia remember vividly, as she reminiscing about how cold and lonely it was before she was saved.
"And mind you she was an Exorcist, you know that to Church, us magician from human factions like The Oz or Grauzeberer are a pagans, practitioner of the heretic magic... But that doesn't even concern her, she abandoned her mission to save me. "
Jay who heard that surprise, he didn't know that Sister Andrea was like that during her days.
Lavinia then let out a dry laugh.
"I guess that's also my fault that she was banished by the Church for helping pagans. Hence, stopping her from becoming an Exorcist."
Hearing that, Jay couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief. Had he really heard that right? The Church had banished one of their own simply for saving another human from a different faction. A bunch of hypocritical, holier-than-thou pricks.
Lavinia then smiled as their eyes met once again.
"And you know… after all that, she didn't even blame me. She said she had been thinking of quitting anyway and returning to her hometown in Romania to help run an orphanage an acquaintance of hers managed there. That was practically the last time I ever saw her. She didn't even give me her address… nor she ever visited mine."
Silence engulfing both of them as Lavinia then asked.
"So, I assume she's doing well? She must have been a terrifying teacher. Did she train you in swordsmanship? She was one of the finest swordswoman I ever saw," Lavinia said, her tone hopeful and warm.
Jay felt a sharp, cold knot form in his stomach. But the truth is not something that he will hide, not even said truth will ruin the beautiful expression that the young girl who is only three years older than him put up on her face.
"Lavinia... " Jay then opened his eyes, their eyes met. " ... Sister Andrea has passed away. She was killed by a devil."
...
The air on the balcony seemed to freeze. The warm light of the pendant felt suddenly cold. Lavinia's expression didn't change at first, it was as if her mind was refusing to process the words. Then, slowly, the reality set in.
Lavinia smile faded, the things that came out of Jay's mouth sounds like a breaking glass, shattering her reality.
"No..."
"Her last words were that she wanted me to give this pendant back to you... a friend, as she called you."
That was the breaking point. A single tear escaped Lavinia's eye, followed by another, until a torrent of grief began to spill down her cheeks. Her sapphire eyes shook with the force of her sorrow.
She began to sob, the sound raw and heartbreaking like a child who just lost her mother.
Jay stood there, feeling the familiar, hollow ache in his own chest. He knew this pain. He lived with it every second of every day. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and pulled her into a firm embrace. Lavinia didn't resist. She buried her face in his shoulder, her hands clutching the back of his hoodie as she wept for the woman who had given up everything to save her.
They stayed like that for a long time. Jay didn't speak.
Eventually, the intensity of her sobbing began to subside. She pulled back slightly, her face flushed and her eyes red, though she didn't let go of his arms entirely.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I've made a mess of your clothes."
"No, it's okay." Jay said.
Lavinia wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, looking up at him with a newfound depth of understanding.
"She must have been so important to you, too... "
Jay did not answer, she was everything to him. That's a rhetorical question that he feel like he didn't need to answer.
After sometimes, they are finally let out of each other.
Lavinia studied his face. She expected to see tears, or at least the flicker of a grieving heart. Instead, she found only a vast silent emptiness.
Jay eyes is just empty, void.
'Everyone grieves differently...' Lavinia thought.
After she calm herself, Lavinia felt she just projecting her sadness to someone whose pain tenfolds of what she feels.
"What about you, Illya-kun?" she asked softly. "How are you holding up? She must have meant everything to you."
"What about me?" Jay asked, genuinely confused by the question.
Jay said, he never even think about it. No, he doesn't need to think about it.
It wasn't about me. It was never about me.
He doesn't even care about what he feels.
Anger and Vengeance? Perhaps.
Grief and Sadness? Maybe.
'But what does it have to do with all of this?'
Seeing the lack of response from Jay, Lavinia couldn't help but feel pain in her heart. Those empty hazel eyes on someone so young. Even if he was as tall as her, his face still bore the resemblance of a young man. She didn't even think he was older than her.
Lavinia then hugged him once again.
She understood the feeling of loss better than anybody.
As such, moonlight though fake illuminated both humans as Jay simply let Lavinia hug him.
Not too long after that, the moment was interrupted by a sharp rhythmic knock on the door.
And then there is a voice behind the door.
"Um, guys… sorry to interrupt you two, but I think I need to talk to both of you, especially our princess."
It was Azazel.
Lavinia quickly stepped back from Jay, her face turning a deep shade of crimson as she realized how they must look. She hurriedly straightened her robe and smoothed her hair, trying to regain her composure. Jay, for his part, remained perfectly still, his expression returning to its usual mask of indifference.
"You can come, Governor General."
"Then i'll excuse myself~"
The door creaked open, and Azazel stepped in. He took one look at the two of them on the balcony and a knowing, mischievous smirk played across his lips. He leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms.
"Hmm. Ah, youth," he mused. "Nothing like a balcony and some moonlight to stir the soul."
Lavinia gave him a cold, piercing glare that would have frozen a lesser man. Azazel immediately held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Okay, okay! I'll stop," he said, though the twinkle in his eye remained. He walked further into the room and took a seat in one of the plush armchairs, his expression turning uncharacteristically grave. "But in all seriousness, I have some news that you both need to hear. And it's not particularly pleasant."
Azazel then sit in one of the chair as he caught Lavinia and Jay's attention.
"Is it regarding Satanael?" Lavinia asked.
Azazel shook his head.
"No, i would say this is a little bit more complicated." Azazel then continued as his eyes looked at Lavinia and Jay. He then bring out a letter.
"The Five Principal Clans, together with the Shinto Faction, formally demanded the trial of Absolute Demise Wielder and the Scorch Magician, citing the unauthorized activation of a Balance Breaker of the former within the forbidden sanctum of Kyoto's Holy Land, an act carried out without prior accord or consent."
Lavinia who heard widened her eyes. Meanwhile Jay didn't look like he cared.
" Now, what do you guys think? "