HighSchool DxD Volume 21 (Encounter)

This is the beginning of Volume 21! The illustrations can be found here.
Continues on to Khaos Disaster

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Encounter           The White Dragon and Black Angel

A certain night seven years ago.

The day I met that child, I remember it very clearly. It was a very cold and snowy night. Shemhazai had brought a boy before me — Azazel. The boy was wearing tattered clothes, his hair was messy, and he had wounds all over his body. What made me even more concerned were his eyes which expressed hostility, and demonstrated that he had been raised without being able to trust anyone. It was obvious that he had been harshly abused. In fact, this boy had been subjected to the cruelty of his own chichi ^[1] and sofu ^[2]. Shemhazai told me that this boy was using a deserted house somewhere in the mountains of Europe as a stronghold; both the police and agents of the Vatican wanted to apprehend him, but they were repelled by the youth’s unimaginable ability. After the agents of the Vatican found out that this boy had the power of a Devil as well as — the power of a great Dragon, they planned to send several higher level agents. At that point, Shemhazai received contact from the side of the Devils, saying ‘I hope that you guys can protect this boy’. When Shemhazai went with his subordinates to capture this boy, they discovered that he had the Sacred Gear of the [White Dragon] — the light wings of the Hakuryuukou; he was the Hakuryuukou of this generation. Although we constantly monitored all of the Longinus wielders, it could be described as the first time that we were right next to one, moreover, it was a boy. Upon seeing the boy for the first time, I spoke first.

“You sure did cause a lot of trouble. …What is your name?”

In response to my question, the boy remained silent for a while, and then replied

“…Vali…Lucifer.”

Indeed, this boy — Vali wasn’t just a Longinus wielder, he was also a descendant of the Maou, and could be said to have inherited the blood of the father of all Devils, [Lucifer]; his existence itself could be called a joke. The Vatican — if Heaven knew the truth, they would most certainly be afraid, and would immediately kill him. Or perhaps even if the Devils’ side knew about his existence at that time…. …Shemhazai’s source of information about Vali came from a servant of the former Lucifer’s son — a servant of Rizevim. That servant contacted Shemhazai — through Devils who had connections with Fallen Angels, and conveyed that information about Vali. Precisely because we knew this, Vali was able to safely take refuge inside the Grigori. If the Devils’ side learned of the existence of Vali, how would the current government, who had a poor relationship with the Old Maou Faction, especially the Great King Family treat him? Perhaps he would be imprisoned until his death, or perhaps they would dispose of him as a person that had never even existed—. He was an existence who was born from a human, yet at the same time he had the power of Lucifer and the Hakuryuukou, so there wouldn’t be a single person among the higher-ups that wouldn’t panic. In order to allow Vali to survive, I felt that the choice that that servant made was not wrong. But not long after, we stopped receiving any contact from the servant. I was afraid that, no, that person had become a victim in order to allow Vali to successfully escape. Why did that servant try to save Vali even at the cost of their own life? Someone suggested that they did not want to see the good blood of Lucifer be lost. Perhaps it was because they couldn’t turn a blind to the cruel treatment that Vali received from Rizevim. Anyway, under such circumstances, how would we deal with Vali?

Sacred Gear…perhaps to the System of the Sacred Gears, none of the wielders had a choice. Thus, I witnessed several tragedies. Being one-sidedly given a ‘miracle’ from the Heavens — it was more appropriate to call it an ability. The ability controlled them, and ruined their lives…the sight of them enveloping their surroundings in misfortune simply made me feel emptiness. Especially the wielders of the Sacred Gears of the Two Heavenly Dragons; their lives were burdened with the fate of battle, thus they experienced many rough situations and the lives of those all around them suffered similar misfortune; there were far too many of these cases. At that time, I thought that Vali might also have been drawn into such a fate.

After keeping Vali in the Grigori for a few months—.
Although Vali hadn’t opened himself up to us, he had already become accustomed to life in there. I also spoke with him seriously many times. After I informed him of the events related to that servant, his eyes widened in surprise, and he then turned around and said a single thing.

“……How stupid.”

What did his young mind actually think about the demise of that servant? Using that as an opportunity, Vali began to ask me how to use the Sacred Gear. Reading and writing, I increased my parenting of him. That boy slowly grew up and also began to show his potential. Relying on that, when he was finally able to communicate with Albion, which he was unable to do before, I was unable to forget the wide smile that had emerged on his face. He had a very vague concept of family and loved ones, but he unconsciously pursued power…the contradiction of his existence flashed before my eyes. Vali had inherited the blood of Lucifer, and also held the power of the Hakuryuukou. The child who possessed such an ability when he was born…his own chichi feared him, and was incited to abuse him by Rizevim. You should have opposed him. Even if he is your biological father, it was a life-threatening situation, so you should have been able to oppose him with that ability. When Vali heard me say this, his eyes were filled with sorrow.

“…If I wasn’t beaten by that man, kaa-san ^[3] would have been beaten in my place. Also…”

The next thing that Vali said was something that I would never forget in my life.

“…When that man was hitting me…he had a calm expression. Although I was scared, felt pain, and hated it, I think it was something that man had to do.”

The man who feared Vali; upon seeing that his own son was being beaten without resistance, it was the first time that he could feel at ease. As the man who was born as the grandson of Lucifer, he should have been a ‘special’ existence from the moment that he was born. However, his own child — was a ‘monster’ greater than himself. He felt fear from the bottom of his heart. Having the expectations that came with the position of Lucifer’s grandson, he was fearful that his child who had even more potential than himself would kill him while he was asleep in the future. There was also pressure from his own chichi, Rizevim. All of this was added together. That man beat his non-resistant son in order to secure a place for his own existence. That point was realised by this boy, so he allowed himself to be abused without resisting. —He was the child who was discarded by his family, without ever knowing anything about the warmth of a family.

A year after Vali came over to me—.
The silver-haired youth who had learnt how to use his own power was already able to overwhelm the Sacred Gear wielders of his generation; he had confidence in his own power, while moving forward with his life’s goals. Vali said to me

“Azazel, I want to become stronger than anyone in this world. Where my own power, and my innate ability can reach, I want to know that clearly. I want to be stronger than Rizevim, the previous generation’s Lucifer, and even the Sekiryuushintei ^[4] Great Red.”

The boy who was born with the power that brought misfortune to himself decided to pursue the path of power. Compared to the power to protect someone, he didn’t pursue the power to protect himself, rather, he pursued the power which wouldn’t lose to anyone else. He will be at the mercy of the power of the Two Heavenly Dragons, or should I say—.

“Yes, Azazel. My opponent…what kind of person is the Sekiryuutei?”

When the silver-haired youth asked me that, his eyes were sparkling with the splendour of curiosity. Then, a few years later, Vali finally saw the Sekiryuutei. In his eyes, I wonder how he saw Ise—.

[1] chichi: father
[2] Sofu: grandfather
[3] kaa-san: mother
[4] Red Dragon God Emperor

(Part 1 of 1) (24/3)

Continues on to Khaos Disaster