Chapter 139

Emiya's residence.

I was sitting in the living room of a relatively empty house, gently stroking Tia's hair as she lay on my lap, processing the information I'd gotten from Zekram. Besides us, Rea-chan and Archer and Elaine were here, cooking dinner in the kitchen, and Morgan was watching them, but none of them were bothering me, even though there was a bit of noise.

So, Lilith was alive and well. Zekram hadn't said so directly, but from his words it was a foregone conclusion. When Lucifer had gone to the next world in the Great War, she had been able to escape. The ancestor of the Bael clan had seen her escape in person, but had not given it any meaning.

As Zekram put it, he and the others didn't care, and the reason for that was because of a setting at their creation where they didn't allow for even the thought of Lucifer's wrong doing. Of course, some showed glitches in the program, but he was quick to nip them in the bud, making the Underworld truly one under his rule.

Well, as it turned out, my assumptions were confirmed, and the first Fallen used it exclusively as a tool for creating demons because of the peculiarities of the body and no more. That is, he kept her on a chain and conducted experiments on her. However, where she was now, Zekram did not know.

Why did Alaia say that Lilith was 'unreachable'? Well, based on that, one could make the assumption that she was not in the human world. I would say that Lilith hid in some world, but not of humans, where Alaya's power was inferior to its owner. And there were many such places, for Alaya of DxD didn't have the same authority as she did in the Nasuverse. She was more of a shadowy hand or logistician.

However, there was one way available to me to scan more than half of the possible locations, and it was the Heavens. The domain of the Biblical God and his interpretations is vast, but for that I had to go there and look at the Throne of Heaven. That, however, was already in my plans.

Something told me that sitting on this very Throne of Heaven would give me a lot of answers, and I suppose things related to that were worth speeding things up a bit.

I made a couple of calls, and ten minutes later all the Servants were in the house and sitting in the living room, except for Da Vinci.

- "What's the matter, mutt? The punishment for distracting the king from his work is a long and painful death," Gil asked with a very disgruntled look on his face.

- "Yeah, what do you need us for?" Mo-chan supported him, "I'm just getting the hang of it."

- "Shirou, do you know something?" Artoria asked.

- "No," Archer shook his head, "He was just sitting there and suddenly wanted to gather everyone."

- "Is something wrong, Romani-san?" Gabriel, who usually spent time at Azazel's and had come along with Griselda and Irina, was worried.

- "He's probably up to something stupid again," the nun said stoically.

- "Silence," came Grandpa's deep voice, and everyone was instantly silent, "Let the Master speak."

- "Thank you," I nodded, "I'm going to Heaven, and I want you to guard the house while I'm gone, because I don't know how long I'll be there."

- "You'll like it there!" Gabriel was happy, and so was Irina, and the rest of you.

- "You will desecrate Heaven with your presence," Griselda said with a blank look at me.

- "Yes," Archer nodded.

- "That's right," Artoria agreed.

- "Uh-huh," Mo-chan shrugged.

- "Maybe," Lancelot commented.

- "Definitely," Morgan smiled.

- "No one doubted it," Medusa said indifferently.

- "It's obvious," Gil added.

Tia was asleep, Heracles didn't care, Enkidu just smiled, Arthur was drinking tea, Le Fay was pouting at them, Merlin and Runeas were already on the floor laughing, and Rea-chan and Elaine shook their heads.

- "Shut the hell up! I'm going there on business, and no one asked for your opinion!" I shrieked, then rubbed my temples, "Gabriel, the obscene nun, and Irina are coming with me. After all, you are part of Heaven."

- "Good," the seraphim nodded, along with Irina and the suspicious Griselda.

- "Should I keep an eye on the Servants?" Grandpa asked.

- "No, you're coming with us too," I shook my head and snapped my fingers, "Their seals are broken, so there's no need for you to keep an eye on them. A hundred faces, do you want to go? After all, you served Him too, albeit under a different name."

- "We..." Asako was greatly surprised, and then hesitated, looking at Grandpa, she fell silent.

- "If that is your wish, then let it be. It's not against the Hashashin Code," Grandpa said calmly.

- "...We wish to come with you, Master."

- "Good," I nodded, "Let's go."

-0-

Heavens.

Our group followed Gabriel as every passing citizen of the Heavens looked at us and discussed our motley cast of characters quite loudly. And it was understandable, for in addition to the seraphim and the two Brave Saints, there was the reincarnation of Solomon and two spirits with a distinct aura of Death, especially Grandpa.

The heavens were divided into seven heavens, each assigned to a specific function. We were now approaching the Sixth Heaven, and I can say that I saw exactly what I had envisioned, albeit with minor exceptions.

Each sky was separated from the other by a separate enclosed field and a gate that prevented anyone from entering. Of course, this rule did not apply to seraphim and archangels, and so, since we were led by Gabriel, there was no problem. We could have teleported straight to the Sixth Heaven, which served as Heaven's headquarters, but Gabriel wanted to show us everything she could.

Heaven itself was a full-fledged multi-level city of white stone surrounded by pure clouds, and all the gates looked just like in the movies, that is, shaped, tall, golden and lattice.

And I have to say, it's not without modern chips like cafes, restaurants, public baths, hospitals, parks for walking and all that, but without extremes. Everything is free, everything is clean, everything is too perfect, to make a long story short.

True, this was only the First Heaven, and the subsequent ones were very different from it. The Second was an endless darkness with stars, where angels who had committed sin were exiled. Dead souls were sent to the Third Heaven, where they found themselves among white clouds and clear blue sky. The Fourth was the Garden of Eden with the Tree of Life. The fifth was reserved for scientific organizations, where the Brave Saints system was established. The sixth was the headquarters and heart of Heaven, and the seventh was the house of God, where the systems and the very Heavenly Throne were located.

Anyway, at this rate, we were in the Sixth Heaven, and before us stood a golden temple in the form of a cathedral the size of an entire neighborhood in Tokyo that drowned us with Holiness like this. And that was the only building that was here.

- "Well, you know how to live with taste," I grinned, "Too much gold for my taste, though."

- "Have some respect for the Almighty, Mr. Archaman, because he created the Heavens," Griselda said.

- "It's all right," Gabriel smiled, "This is Romani-san's first visit here, and father always talked about the right to choose and think."

- "What do you, Grandpa, Hundred Faces think of this place?" Shrugging my shoulders at the words of the two residents of Heaven, I asked.

- "It's too bright here," Grandpa said, but refrained from commenting on his idea of heaven. I suppose he felt that he shouldn't have set foot here because of the murders he had committed, even if God had given him that mission, so King Hassan was only following my orders at the moment.

Hundred Face, on the other hand, unlike Grandpa, was actually interested in her surroundings. She was frequently turning her head, her eyes were running from side to side, scrutinizing every detail, her expression was frequently changing from one to the other, and her shadow was deforming and wriggling every now and then. And the reason for that was…

- "We... It is difficult for me to answer your question, Master," Asako said, "As you know, there are many different consciousnesses dwelling within me, and each one's opinion differs from the other. But if I try to generalize them, then... we are not worthy to be here."

- "Nevertheless, you and the other seventy-nine personalities are still here, aren't you?" I shrugged, "This world has different laws, and also, your Master is me. Which means that if you want to get here, you'll get here, won't you?"

- "That's... true," Asako agreed and lowered her head, and Grandpa's eyes shifted toward the Hundred Faces, "But there's no need for that. We have chosen our path, and so we will humbly await the Almighty's judgment on us, even if he has already left this world."

- "As you wish," I smiled, accepting her determination and understanding her adherence to the Hashashin Code, where doubt is a grave offense and the penalty is death, and at the hands of Grandpa.

- "Excuse me, Romani-san, but who are these two?" Griselda asked, causing Gabriel to look at her sadly, and Irina listened.

- "You know about the Hashashin, the order of assassins founded at the beginning of the second millennium, right?" I began, to which the nun nodded, "'Grandpa' is its founder, Hassan Ibn Sabbah, nicknamed 'Azrael, the Angel of Death'. The girl, on the other hand, is the nineteenth head of the order, 'Many-Faced Hassan', well, or 'Hundred-Faced Hassan'."

Upon hearing the names, Griselda and Irina's eyes became saucer-like, as did their wide-open mouths.

- "Are they...? The same ones...?" Griselda muttered, and Irina became speechless, "Assassins in the service of the Most High... The ones who did the job of humanity's protectors from the shadows, without fear of staining their hands and keeping the true meaning of faith and His will..."

- "Yep," I shrugged, "You can ask Gabriel if you want. She'll say the same thing."

- "It's... It's..." Griselda and Irina still couldn't believe it, and we had already reached the door to the temple, where Michael appeared before us.

- "Good afternoon, Romani-san, honored Servants. I am glad that you have visited Heaven, and I hope you will like it here," he said with an eternal smile on his face, "Please follow me. I'll explain everything inside."

I followed Michael, as did Gabriel and the Assassins, followed by Griselda and Irina, who were still frozen.

Well, let's see what Michael has to say. Although, I was more interested in looking at the systems and the Throne than listening to his explanations. I think my eyes will provide more information. Uh-huh-uh.

-0-

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