8 Polite Awakening

Groggily, I dragged my head off the pillow.

This feels strangely familiar, except the fugue state I'm in now apparently isn't severe enough to warrant another 'doctor visit' from the resident jerkoff. It only feels like getting woken up early as a child; I just want to go back to bed and not deal with the confusion in my mind.

So, from these facts, I can conclude two things: My skull wasn't fractured this time, and the experience of using my Sacred Gear didn't have much of an effect either, as I've gotten somewhat used to it.

I wonder why the Sacred Gear usage didn't have as much of an effect. From what I felt - as I can remember everything this time - I used dozens of times more 'Holy Energy' than before. Have I been unconscious for so long that my body got rid of that sensation on its own?

"Hey, Judy! He's awake… What do we do with him?"

"Nothing. I'll go get Leonidas. He told us to call him when Mr. Dimension Destroyer wakes up."

Oh, yes. I collapsed that 'sub-dimension' in on itself.

I don't know exactly how, but sucking up some of the 'Holy Energy' made the place feel like it was about to break, and then releasing it did just that.

The explanation will come to me on its own through others, like some of the other questions I've had so far. I'm still alive, so I'd assume that I haven't offended anyone enough to be in a genuinely dangerous amount of trouble.

"Hey. Heee~eeey? Wake up."

I am awake. I simply don't want to speak to either of you.

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes, seeing another random woman's face hovering above mine. To the right was a nearly identical one - maybe a twin - walking out of the room.

"You're in the infirmary," she said, answering my silent question. "Probably not for long. I think you'll be moved soon."

Good.

"And who are you?" I asked. "A nurse?"

"Yes." She smiled proudly. "I'm Leah."

"And what did you do to me?" I said, sitting up and looking around.

She could be a foul witch or succubus for all I know, one trying to lure me into a trap.

"Nothing, really. Me and Judy were just monitoring you in case of a heart attack, stroke, or other unexpected thingy, like maybe a brain hemorrhage."

"Did any of that happen?"

Are the Church's medical abilities good enough to heal things so serious in such a short amount of time? And the way this girl speaks is a telltale sign of an airheaded, moronic skank, so I can probably get some information out of her. Heart attacks, strokes and brain hemorrhages are referred to as 'thingies' nowadays by the youth, it seems.

My main concern is if she can actually heal something like that. Exodus, chapter twenty-two, verse eighteen: 'You shall not permit a sorceress to live.'

"No, sorry if you're disappointed," she giggled. "It was apparently your second time using your Gear, so pumping out that much power would usually be worrying, but you maybe probably definitely already got used to it from the first time. Doing something like that can kill people, even if the Gear has been with them since birth."

What infernal mannerisms. This girl is truly an indecent demoness - I wouldn't be surprised if she was unchaste at age ten.

Additionally, I'm glad to know I no longer need to worry about overexerting myself with my ability. No need to hold back against the philistines of this world.

"Okay, I'm back," said the other girl, with Leonidas in tow. "Here he is, Lord Leonidas."

"Sure. Don't interrupt us." He turned to me. "Can you get up?"

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and attempted to do so. I could stand with slightly shaky legs, but walking would take another few minutes.

Leonidas seemed to have a good eye, understanding the situation. "Okay then. You two," he looked at the nurses, "out."

Is he in a bad mood, or does he just not care about people of an especially low status? I can respect the latter and am neutral about the former, though I'd understand both.

"Yes, Mr. Leonidas," said the nurse - I've forgotten her name - who'd been speaking with me, scampering out with her friend.

"Are you a leader around here?" I asked. "The blonde one was acting like an immature schoolgirl with me, yet she nearly bowed in front of you."

He shrugged. "Yes, I'm fairly important, being a well-known Exorcist of Orthodoxy - Archbishop-rank, actually. Also, my uncle is a Cardinal. Not a Cardinal-ranked Exorcist, as you may remember," he chuckled, "he's an official Cardinal."

Good to know. Getting on Leonidas' good side would be favorable.

"What are the other ranks of Exorcists?" I questioned, stretching my arms out and feeling a few pops.

"You'll learn that later." He waved it off, sitting down on the bed opposite to mine. "For now, I need you to tell me what happened. Well, we know the actual events from Vasco, so don't worry about that. We want to know what happened with the Sacred Gear as well as whether or not it'll be a recurring issue."

Doubtful, at least from my point of view and understanding of each incident. How is it my fault that every time I've brought out my Sacred Gear, there just so happens to be a large mass of Holy Energy?

In both of the events, I, a beginner who knows nothing about Sacred Gears and hasn't even acclimated to his own, had the energy that powers my ability thrust at me under dubious circumstances. It's everyone except for me that should be blamed.

But there's another concern on my mind. Should I tell him information about my ability? It seems to be included within what he's asking.

With a mind afflicted by tunnel vision, I'd say no. But, when looking at all of the facts, it wouldn't mean anything. Those documents Vasco had were heavily redacted and probably cut down in the first place, so they most likely already know everything I do - which isn't much in the first place.

In conclusion, I have nothing to lose by telling them. I also won't get in trouble or have my future reputation damaged by refusing to comply.

"When I first pulled it out," he nodded, signifying that he was listening, "it was just an ordinary pair of gloves. I couldn't do anything with it. Then I clenched my fist and the designs lit up a bit. After doing so, it gave me a kind of sixth sense, which also affected my sight a little bit, but it was mainly a feeling where I was simply… aware of the 'Holy Energy' around me. It was surprising, so I suppose that surprise suddenly triggered the ability and absorbed all of the Holy Energy around me. Then it was released."

"Hm." Leonidas intently observed my hands for whatever reason. "How did it affect your sight?"

"Everything had a strong golden tinge."

"How did this so-called 'sixth sense' work?"

"It just told me where everything was. I could feel it - being 'aware' is the best way to put it. It was kind of like how you feel heat, because as soon as the gloves activated, it felt like I was standing in an oven. Also, if the world was like an oven, Vasco was a bonfire, and the illusory - at least now that I look back at it - heat was downright shocking. Imagine if you were suddenly transported from here to a forest fire; it would be a fairly similar experience."

I hadn't noticed it until now, but his right hand was writing all of this down on a notepad near his knee. The fact that he seemed to be unconsciously doing so, not even looking at it, didn't help in terms of drawing attention.

"Why do you think the energy was released? Was there any feeling to accompany it?"

"I don't know exactly why, but the gloves felt like they got 'stuck' right before the explosion. Maybe the Gear reached its full capacity?"

"But if it released because it was at full capacity, why did the first explosion happen?"

"The first explosion happened when I clenched my fist; it didn't just detonate on its own like the recent one. How long has it been since then, by the way?"

"Around a day." He sighed. "A day of chaos. We'll figure out the specifics of your ability later. We're not allowed to hold any more tests for a while. First, check if you can walk."

I checked, and I could.

They'd seen fit to grant me a shirt this time around as well, one equally high-quality as the last.

"Alright. Follow me. Rather than overwhelm you with the details of what's been going on, you're getting introduced to a few Sacred Gear users of the Church. They'll give you advice."

"Tell me the details of everything first. It shouldn't take that long."

"Well, it wouldn't, at least when heavily summarizing it, but you'd be confused. Do you want me to do it regardless?"

"Yes."

It can't be that complex.

"While we walk, then." He gestured that I follow along. "So, basically, you collapsed a sub-dimension. It'll need to be reformed now. It caused a lot of chaos that is still ongoing, but the gist is that the higher-ups realized why 'Heretical' is in the Gear's name. It can be used against the Church and Heaven itself quite effectively. Before, you were just a valuable asset who should be protected, but now, you're a potentially valuable asset who needs to be monitored and kept under lock and key. They've assigned me to do that in the short term. People are also weirded out by you. Beginners shouldn't be able to collapse dimensions. This is all a gross summarization, but just keep it in mind."

So I'm still valuable, it's just that I'm now viewed as unstable and unreliable.

I can live with that.

Also, saying that people are weirded out by me sounds dubious. The nurse was fascinated, and I assume that others will be the same - especially with how he phrased the reason why.

"Oh," he added, "this is also why you're going to meet with Sacred Gear users rather than do anything immediately important. Some important people are acting like they're biting their nails and tearing up at the thought of you losing control again, so they're doing this especially early to make themselves look good - 'helping to stabilize the situation' and all. It's obviously not because they'll benefit from doing this. Talking to the people waiting for you is a necessary duty, as much as it is a waste of time."

"Good to know. What are the restrictions that I'm now under?"

I don't particularly care about the politics going on; I'm more worried about what he previously meant by 'restrictions'. I should at least be able to find out before they start affecting me personally.

My father always emphasized to never tolerate the obstruction of privacy. Mostly because he was quite secretive.

I'm not complaining, though, as being watched and put under restrictions is something I despise. There's a reason why I believe the fumigation of every Soviet Republic is ineluctable.

"There's a lot." He pulled out a piece of paper from a pocket within his robes, reviewing its contents. "'You cannot do anything without a supervisor' would account for the majority. Others are just common sense, like not going outside of Church territory without explicit permission, and any usage of Heretical Crusader must be done away from Holy Energy."

All I can do is hope and pray to the Heavens that I don't get an obnoxious nanny of a supervisor. Leonidas seems alright, but he said he'd only be with me for the short term.

I also appreciate the condition that any usage of my Gear must be done away from Holy Energy. I don't want another explosion, but I do want to be able to test out my God-given powers freely.

"By the way," Leonidas turned and stopped, "how do you know Latin? And so well, at that. Alessandro and Cael informed us of it beforehand, so we knew what to expect, but they never said why."

It's a fair question, one with an innocent answer. He hasn't been rude or disrespectful to me, so I'll tell him - it's not like they can do anything with the information that my father taught me Latin. What are they going to do, kill him?

They'd be too late.

"My father taught me Latin."

"Oh, really? He must've been an intelligent man."

Well, yes and no. He was equally complex as he was knowledgeable, to a point where I can't understand half of the memories I have of him, even today.

"He studied many things and wanted me to know everything he did."

No need to give too much information. While I doubt my background is fully shrouded in mystery to an apparent all-encompassing, supernatural organization, they can't know everything - unless they can command the Heavens themselves to spill forth their tomes of lore.

Although, while it sounds like something you'd hear a Jew rant about, I'd be interested in seeing such a thing - or at least knowing whether or not it would be possible.

"That's a respectable goal."

Afterwards, we continued in silence.

My father was very, very strange. I wouldn't call it the peculiarity of a genius - he wasn't one - it was just that his experiences and wealth of knowledge had warped his mind in bizarre ways. Frankly, I'm surprised that there aren't more middle-aged oddities in Russia; they've gone through a Great War, severe economic downturn, the end of a Tsarist regime, a few revolutions and uprisings, a civil war, the Red Terror, and are now living in the Stalinist Soviet Union. I can't blame my father for acting a bit deranged while alive.

His legacy, at least in my mind, is mixed, and the best example of that would be his beliefs. I distinctly remember him telling me of his personal philosophy, something I nearly committed my life to during my childhood.

'The goal of life is to know as much as possible. No other creature on this planet has been gifted the gift of sentience, of wisdom; it is your duty to use that gift as much as possible - and it is a sin not to.'

It's an admirable mentality, I admit. But, as a priest, he should've known that the goal of life is to devote yourself to the Lord and achieve eternal life - in Heaven, of course. Eternal life on Earth sounds like the perfect method of falling to hedonism.

"We're here. Time to… wait." He stopped just before opening the door. "I forgot the other girl. I should probably bring her as well. Stay here for a second."

I understand why he said 'a second' rather than a minute, because he was literally gone in the blink of an eye.

Stunned, I glanced around, trying to find where he went - nearly designating it a forever unsolved mystery until I saw how the chandeliers in the left hallway were swinging.

How is he so fast?

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This chapter is literally just the starting events of the actual chapter I had in mind. It was originally supposed to include the entire interaction with the couple Sacred Gear users of the Church and then end after that, but I've already written 2,700 words. Trying to include the rest of the events I had in mind would make it as long as the average chapter of my last fic (3k+ average word count per chapter), and I've been trying not to do that for this one.

Anyway, sorry if this is just another 'okay' nothingburger of a chapter. After so many chapters without much content other than talking, I've begun regretting my choice of how to start the fic, but I'll power through.

Tell me whether or not they've been entertaining, at least. It should give me some solace.

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