Where I Belong

A Phoenix Burning Bright and Blue

It was hard tracking Lilith down. She is cunning as a fox and slippery as a slime. She was always one step forward. But Beelzebub persevered. The consequence of not capturing Lilith is far heavier and unacceptable than his own tiredness. Lilith's a fallen angel but an angel nonetheless and her blood, the entirety of it, is needed for the ritual. He will not fail. He will hunt and capture Lilith even if he has to chase her around Assiah.

Beelzebub had been following Lilith's vessel for some time now. Give or take a few weeks. So far, Lilith was not able to detect his presence ever since Lucifer gave him an enchanted charm that hides his presence. Lilith's current vessel is of that of a little girl in her primary years and Beelzebub applied as a teacher in the girl's school. So far, everything's good. He just hopes that he already sealed her before she knows something's off.

Azazel and Samael awaits the latter's Death that holds the final soul with the patience of a demon that already lived thousands of years. Each of them holding their breath and trying to still their hearts. Scenarios of those pesky angels finding out about their plan of rebirthing Rin playing through their minds. Behind them, the locked and sealed shelf filled with glowing innocent and pure souls seems to echo the cries of the trapped souls. The sound of it so overwhelming that a middle rank demon will go crazy once exposed to the sound for a short span of time.

When the door to the hall opened, Azazel and Samael unconsciously stood straight and controlled their anticipation. The appearance of the Death with its trapping bottle glowing bluish white was like an ocean in the desert.

"The soul of a seven year old, possessed by Lilith herself, my Lords." The detached voice of the Death whispered in the hall.

"Lilith?" Samael asked. "Then does this means..."

A second later, the doors opened once again and Beelzebub entered with a chained and sealed woman with him.

"I've captured Lilith, brothers." Came his voice.

"There are too many deaths happening around Assiah, don't you think?" A being in a three piece suit asked his companion.

"There have always been too many deaths happening in Assiah, Senshi. It had been ever since the first purge." The lady in white answered.

"But the death of thousands in a span of few weeks without anything catastrophic is not something that happened before."

The lady stilled. "I suppose you are right. But it is not our job to investigate these deaths. We were commanded to just watch over the lower ranked demons. Let us leave this happening to the ones overseeing it."

"I can sense something coming." The Emperor of Creation said to the other two Grigori. "Something angry and powerful."

"Is it near?"

The Emperor of Creation paused. "No. Not yet. But it will be. And I fear it will endanger all of us."

Crushing the souls was not the hardest part. Brewing them to make them brittle was. Amaimon was just glad it was not his task as they watch Astaroth sweat under the pressure and brew one soul at a time. If brewed too much, the pure souls will get corrupted and it will be deemed unusable. Mephisto had summoned at least thirty Deaths now and Astaroth had messed up a hundred souls so far. Lilith was safely bound by Father's side and Rin's body lays in a pyre Amaimon made himself from poplar, rowan, juniper, amaranth, Dittany and sweetgrass.

And after a year, a month in Assiah, a thousand and three hundred thirty four souls, Astaroth finished making powders out of the souls.

Iblis and Egyn dragged Lilith towards the golden container then Lucifer, with his usual cheery gait, picked the holy angel blade and dragged it down the struggling Lilith. He cut off Lilith's head and they all watch in fascination as her golden blood flowed down.

Amaimon slowly scattered the crushed souls on Rin's undecayed body then Satan set it on fire.

When Lilith was bled through, Iblis set her body on fire and turned to watch the pyre slowly burn in hell flames.

Rin's mortal body slowly burned. The blue flames licked his unmarred skin. As it turn to black and charcoal, no one had said a word except for Satan's murmuring of rites. Everyone waiting for the true death of Okumura Rin. Once his mortal body returns to ashes, only then will he rise like a phoenix.

When the flames slowly died to nothing, Satan pour the golden angel's blood in what used to be a pyre and Rin's body but only ashes now. The incantation sounded ominous and powerful. It whipped them like angry winds and bladed ice. And slowly, ever so slowly, Rin's ashes started to form a body. Just a charred vessel at first until it showed bones then muscles then skin from head to toe. Blue flames running down his veins like lightning bolts flashing across the sky in a thunderstorm. One by one, the demon Kings fell to their knees and choked on the restricting aura filling up the room.

It feels like fire and ice down his throat. It feels like a hand was squeezing his insides and at the same time, he feels like being flayed from his skin down to his bones. Beelzebub never felt like this before. He can feel his nails being pulled out but he knows they are not. Like every bone in his body are cracking; turning to dust just like the souls that Astaroth was crushing earlier, except they are healing just to be cracked once again. He was being skinned alive and healed at the same time. And for the first time, he fears for his life.

They were a mass of writhing, agonizing, screaming pile of demons on the floor when the pain suddenly all stopped. Like they just imagined what they felt. They checked their bodies and found no trace of blood nor a scratch. They stood up and looked at their Father smiling proudly.

"Even while you are still on the process of being rebirth, your power astounds me, my Rin."

"What do you mean, Father?" One of them asked.

"It meant that that is one of Rin's power, my children. It manifested and it was out of control so it attacked you. You did not actually felt it but you only imagined it. He warped your mind to bring you the greatest pain."

They all stared in awe at their still reforming brother. No words would ever describe the wonder and pride they are feeling that moment.