REVENGE「GOJO SATORU X OC」

TWENTY-NINE

╔⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╗

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Heavenly And Earthly Father

╚⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╝

"A VERY very classic way to start a war,"

Aki emerged from the shadows, bronze eyes gleaming. Marius was against the wall, holding a book open with one hand. He frowned at her, his black eyes following her movements. She came to stand in the middle of the concrete room, slipping her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

"Though I do not believe summoning me was the best decision you could have made."

Marius closed the book in his hand before letting his arm drop to his side. "Why do you believe so, Akeldama?"

"For one, you just told me everything I wanted to know," She lifted two fingers to mark her points. "And two, you've made the mistake that will bring you to your grave."

"You are so confident in yourself," He pushed off the wall.

"Why shouldn't I be?" She asked, turning to follow his movements as he placed the book onto the table in the center of the room. "I've managed to keep the entire world at bay for the last ten years by myself. I think I have a little room to be cocky."

"I suppose so," He hummed, slipping his hands into the pockets of his pants. "I want to ask you something."

"If you summoned me for a short chat," She said, her eyes darkening, though her grin never faltered. "Then I think you should save your breath for your last dying words."

"Dum spiro spero." He stated. "Do you know that phrase?"

"It's Latin," She replied, her grin dissipating.

"Yes. It means: While I breathe, I hope," He removed a hand from his pocket, touching his chest with the tips of his fingers. "I repeat that phrase to myself a lot. Do you know why, Akeldama?"

"No."

"Every day, I wake up, and I think to myself: The Lord has blessed me to live another day. I hope that this day will be better than the last," He said, his gaze cast onto the book on the table. "And it makes me wonder."

"Wonder what?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"What life would be like if my brothers were still here."

Her shoulders tensed up. She set her jaw, her gaze hardening into a fierce glare. She balled her hands into fists in her pockets.

"I wake up," He said, tapping the space above his heart. "And I long for them. I wake up, and I hope that they'll come knocking at my door. I hoped...to see Adrian with you."

"Well," She said, venom lacing her words. "I guess you'll never know what that is like, would you?"

"I regret what I did, Akeldama," He sighed. "If I could go back in time and change things, I would."

"But you can't," He turned to meet her vicious glare. "You killed my entire family. My people. You left me alone. And now you're going after the only thing that I have left? Big mistake on your part, Uncle."

"Do you understand why I'm doing this?" He frowned, eyebrows lacing together.

"Revenge means nothing when you're dead."

"They were the ones that killed them all," He snapped. "They intruded on our sanctuary and they slaughtered all of them! One by one, they marched into our safe place and stained the floors and walls with our blood! The goddamned Jujutsu Sorcerers are the ones to blame! Not me!"

"Do you forget our one and only rule?" She asked, quirking a brow. "The one law that was burned into our minds? The one law that we swore upon when we took the oath?"

She began to walk around the table toward him. She took her hands from her pockets, letting her jacket fall from her shoulders. She tossed it away, rolling the sleeve of her shirt up. She brandished the inside of her wrist, showing the black cross on her skin.

"I solemnly promise to receive the priesthood, to magnify our callings in it, and to live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. The Lord on his part promises us that if I keep the covenant, I shall receive all that the Father hath, which is life eternal. Let me not be led into temptation as I venture into the depth of Hell, bidding to do the work of the Lord. It is my duty to lead the phantoms of this world back to the afterlife and to protect the children of God. Never lose sight of Faith, and ensure these wretched souls are put to rest. I shall never be tempted by the urge for revenge, for the Father hath mercy on us all. This is my duty. Amen."

She was inches from him, bringing her wrist back down to her side. She lifted her eyebrows at him, making him frown deeply at her.

"You took that very same oath many years before I did," She whispered. "Does it mean nothing to you now? All those years of abiding by this very oath...all of it means nothing to you?"

"You don't understand," He stated, closing his eyes. "You didn't see the things I saw."

"The things you saw while you fled, leaving your brothers and sisters to die?" She questioned. "I do think you forget, Uncle Marius..."

He tensed up at the sound of the safety being clicked off of her pistol. He opened his eyes as he felt the cold barrel press against his forehead.

"You killed my father. I watched him be gutted like a pig. I watched his blood splash across our floors, and I fled with his blood on my hands and on my face. Jujutsu Sorcerers broke into my home and killed my father in front of my eyes."

"Why do you side with them?!" He shouted. "You said in your own words; they slaughtered your father! They killed Adrian before your very eyes! Why do you protect them, Akeldama?!"

"Because unlike you, I listen to the oath I swore when I was eleven," She said, cocking the gun. "I shall never be tempted by the urge for revenge, for the Father hath mercy on us all. As much as I hate it, God forgives all. If I was led only by revenge, I would be where you are. An unfaithful piece of shit. I believe in what I swore to God himself. I swore that oath to my Father, heavenly and earthly. And I would rather die at the hands of Satan himself before I break it."

"You're making a mistake," Marius growled. "They killed your family."

"No, Marius," She replied softly. "You did."

"Adrian would hate you for becoming what you are!" He yelled.

"My father was never capable of hating anyone," She whispered. "He'd applaud me for this."

The shot rang through the air, bouncing off all of the concrete walls in the room. She felt his blood splatter across her face and it painted the wall behind him. It trickled from the hole between his eyebrows, and she watched as his coal eyes glazed over. He collapsed onto the ground, his blood quickly pooling under him.

Aki lowered her pistol to her side, staring down at him. She sighed the cross over her body, closing her eyes briefly.

"Lartă-mă, părinte," She whispered. "Căci știu că acesta a fost doar trupul lui pământesc."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶