Avenging Angels[Maria Woodsworth]

Training, ever since the Eternal Divide it has been his life, all day and night, the only reward was knowing your were serving the will of God. However the past few days he ended up skipping training due to busy schedule, and while he had some training equipment with him, like weights and practice sword, they were not enough in the long run. Thankfully, the church provided the right equipment and space for the knight units could train bodies and perfect their techniques.

After a long time training, the knight's body had become sore and was covered in sweat from the training while his breathing was a bit ragged, seeing his current condition perhaps it would be for the better if took a break to rest and hidrate. And so, Albrecht found himself sitting down in a bench all by himself with a bottle of water in hands, while the Lion rested he also silently observed the others present training. It reminded him of his time with the Black Lions, though the Lions had their members often trading blows to settle disputes. The Forgotten's memory started to drift back, further and further at each moment, until he was completely immersed in his own thoughts.


It got to the point that the only thing that occupied his mind was her voice, even after all those years that had passed, it still follows him, during his sleep or moments of solitude...

To an observer it was pretty obvious the Knight's mind was somewhere else, someone just had to call him to snap him out of this "trance".

It was a long day for Maria, but she was finally able to drag herself back home. There was work to be done in the evening, but after reporting what had happened back to the Mother Superior, extra free time was apparently her reward. It was something that she rarely had these days. That said, she remembered that training grounds needed some tuning and cleaning up these days.

The footsteps echoed as she went down the stairs. The sound of machines cranking out and bodies moving were audible to her. Soon when she arrived, Maria was holding a broom and a dustpan. Numerous members of this Church were here to train their bodies to the utmost limit. Whereas the Cadet was going to be busy cleaning.

Though while she was in the midst of her task, she noticed a familiar knight resting. Speaking of which, he awakened recently hasn't he? Perhaps it would be good to see what he was up to.

"Huh?"

After Maria's voice reached his ears, the Knight's eyes widened as he snapped from his trance. If it wasn't for the Nun he'd probably have spent quite some time in that melancholic state. The Knight would raise his head to look at the Nun, he would express a smile for a brief moment as he spoke to her.


"Yes, now that i have joined the cadets i must be at my best." Albrecht stated with some pride in his voice while nodding at his fellow Cadet. The Lion took pride in his physique, however... "To be honest, i felt unsatisfied with my performance during my initiation. You did most of the heavy lifting while i stood in the sidelines."

For Albrecht, that was a sign that there was a huge gap between him and the nun. While he had some admiration for Maria, he couldn't help but feel like he'd get in her way eventually.

"Also, there's something I have been meaning to ask you about. Ever since the initiation, I started to hear a voice in my head, it claims to be my Blade. However, i'm not sure if i should trust it. I fear it might be a demon tricking me." As much as he tried to hide, the concern in his voice was easy to pick up on.

When she walked nearer to him, she had a better look of what he looked like, not that she needed any reminder what his face looked like to her. Yet she couldn't help, but notice the shape and tone of his body. There was a kind of pleasing aesthetic about him training his body to reach the pinnacle of fitness. The sweat that glistened on his body, his strong muscular arms, and the shape of his clavicles...

Maria shook herself back to reality. She was a young woman who gave herself to the Lord and to the City, by extension to the Queen. She had no place to take any fancy in such pleasures. She couldn't.

"Careful..." she reasoned to herself in her innermost thoughts, "You're a postulant. You will become a nun, a Sister. Purge all thoughts. Purify them all. Like Father Jorge and Sister Louise said..."

"Ah, is that so? That's normal. Even I still feel inadequate. I've only became a Cadet very recently, so I'm sure you can catch up very quickly, Brother. I'm not very strong, after all, ha ha ha..." Maria encouraged her underclassman with a small smile as she giggled. She related a lot with him, with these feelings of inadequacy. Having gone through prior missions before, the Cadet knew very well that she was still rather weak. Hopefully it won't be for long until they can become more confidant in their growing power.

But her expression grew more serious at his concerns about his Demon Weapon. "It would normally be impossible for any demon, even through possession, to enter the Church so easily unless they were made into a Weapon like ours. We would've known if there was a demon in our midst. But if it concerns you greatly, you can refer to our scientists to give you a check-up."

Then she relaxed her demeanor a little.

Despite it being short lived, Albrecht had noticed Maria's gaze. Yet he kept quiet about it, the situation was somewhat embarrassing for him. Bringing it up would just make it worse for not only him, but for the Nun too. However a part of him certainly enjoyed the attention, a part which he would ignore with all his passion, as a Knight he can't have such sinful thoughts about a nun.

"Don't be modest, Battle Sister. Even if you just started, you show a great potential. And I plan to become just as strong as you." Despite his optimistic words, he still feared for falling behind. Perhaps it's a fear he could only overcome as time went by. "Another thing i'm curious about is Red's and Arctic's powers. They took the shape of beasts during combat..."

As for the conversation about his weapon, Maria's words were very reassuring. Perhaps it was indeed the Angel in his blade that was speaking with him, the Queen's blood simply awakened it somehow. If what he had been told the truth about Lamina Sanctus, then he was in very good company.

"I'll try to talk to it later. Thanks, Maria." The Knight appeared much more confident than before. "That makes me wonder. How is your relationship with your weapon?"

She was admittedly embarrassed of her own misconduct. But ultimately grateful that her peer tactfully acted accordingly. Likewise, she pretended to not have done what she did. It was the best for both sides, after all.

Her smiled stretched wider when hearing Albrecht's claim. It was heartening to at least hear he was going to make a brave and strong effort to catch up. In a way, it did remind her of Lisa. Yet, she knew that a Knight wasn't going to be blinded by anything superficial. Anyone in the Church were all trained to optimize themselves for the sake of the mission they were given, even if it meant giving up their lives for its success. "Mmn, thank you. I am looking forward to working with you, Sir. With you at my side, I think I'm feeling more relieved."

It wasn't a lie, given how flawed the current Cadets were. They weren't recruits anymore after having their first mission. But there was still a lot to learn after all. Yet having someone trained in the same background as her was something to be feel heartened about. Maria admitted, "I'm just as confused as you are. But it looks like they aren't quite like demons. If there's anything I heard from the Prince, the Government is not working with demons at all. I can't tell what they are really, nor do I think they know either... But for now, we'll have to trust them to watch our backs for the moment."

It troubled her a lot, especially after witnessing Athena Griva's transformation. There's so much that the Church wasn't aware of outside of demons. Even Personas are still a great mystery to them and that was part of the reason why the Black Scriptures were dispatched in Endymion, to learn more of this space that they were lacking in.


While she said this, the Cadet still remembered that she suffered from the debilitating effects of the curse on her body. It was a godsend that she survived for this long. But that problem could be alleviated with competent party members and that's what pulled her through last night. So she had reason to feel somewhat confident, but she remained mindful of her condition.

"The feeling is mutual, Battle Sister." Albrecht followed it by quietly nodding at nun. The two seemed to have a good level of understanding of each other and synergy, hopefully this would reflect on the battle field too.

"Both seemed very docile when i talked to them prior my initiation, i really hope it's a different type of power rather than they demons... We should stay alert anyways, i'll try to question them about their powers if given the chance." He'd close his eyes and tap his chin as he pondered on the matter. The Knight also wondered why the Prince would need to even deny involvement with Demons in the first place, perhaps something to keep in mind for later.

The Lion remained quiet when Maria talked about her Demon Weapon, it was clear he had pried more than enough on this subject already.

"Should i start calling you sir and saluting you?" He laughed it off immediately after saying it. "Well, first things first. Are there any Cadets i should watch myself around? When is our next mission?" He inquired, giving some time between each question so Maria could answer. "And are you free this weekend? Perhaps we should take sometime for leisure, maybe some have some drinks together." Of course, he had no second intentions with Maria, he simply wanted to spend some time with a colleague.

"Mmn, that goes without saying. I'm sure that we'll find out one way or the other. No need to rush," Maria agreed with him. There was something she just couldn't quite put a finger on these people. It wasn't like it was a first for her to see such things. Noah awakened alongside with her and he transformed into some kind of dragon. There were a lot of questions she wanted to ask, but the Prince or the Government for that matter weren't interested in answering many of them. It was rather vexing. "Haha... You may still call me Maria if you wish. I have no preference in general. Though I would watch out for Cadet Maverick... and perhaps a Takeru Kagemaru if he joins our ranks. Keep an eye out on them for now and if they seem to be troublesome, report to me. I will deal with them. I've yet to hear any missions at the moment, but we will be notified soon. There will be an exercise in the next day. Please be present for it with me."

Not only was her unanswered questions bothersome, so were the new recruits that were coming in. Before them, she had no regrets or complaints about any of them. But now that these two are coming in, it made her feel ever more uncomfortable of her status. Of course with rank, there was responsibility. Yet this was the first time she was trusted with something like this and to be given such a job so soon... it turned out that maybe being a Cadet was going to be much busier than an Executor of the Church.

She found herself blinking blankly at his offer. It was like as if she was confused at first. But she quickly composed herself, though she seemed somewhat nervous and flushed a little. But she happily replied.


Going out with a person of the opposite sex had always seemed like such a lofty boundary for her to climb. After five straight years without having any contact with people of her age outside of work, Maria severely lacked any of the experiences that most normal people go through. Hatsuharu was a handsome guy too, but she mostly met him through work. Never in her life did she think she would actually spend some time with a guy. But it wasn't like she wasn't grounded in reality. She knew they weren't intimately related, but the heart of a maiden is truly hard to resist for her age. Yet she remained as composed as she could be.

"Does this Maverick happens to be a brash Irish man?" Albrecht would rub his forehead, depending on her answer this might make things slightly awkward. He met a Maverick not long ago, and while he had a loose mouth he didn't appear malicious, perhaps he had misjudged the man. He took mental note of the other name but didn't gave much importance to it at the moment. "Either way, you can count with my presence tomorrow, Maria." Despite her higher position in the hirearchy, she remained humble, many would have it get to their heads and would boss around those bellow, in the Knight's mind that just meant she was the perfect for leader.

After hearing Maria's reply, Albrecht stood up wearing a smile on his face, he appeared to be excited. It was an opportunity to bond with his Battle Sister in a more casual situation, away from the seriousness of the Church or the adrenaline of the battlefield.

"That's great! I never been to the Emporium, but i heard it's a comercial district of sorts. I'm sure there's something for us there." He was somewhat expecting to be turned down, so hearing an yes got him all pumped up.
"What time would be better for you?"

"Yes. He seems to drin-- Eh? You've met him too?" she cocked her head in surprise and confusion. It was boggling her mind on how small her world was. But then again it was the case if you lived in only a city for your entire life so far. Maria cleared her throat and composed herself, "Yes. Please watch out for him. He exhibited rather disturbing activities including killing animals in public. Honestly, I don't get why the Prince let him in... But I suppose we'll have to see if that judgement pays off or not."

She nodded happily at his promise, pleased that he was ready to get to work. It was great to have teammates like these. Despite the new recruits and the busy work from last night, it felt rather refreshing to have new people like him to be ready and able to learn more. "Oh, maybe sometime in the day would suffice for me. I'll let you know which time will suffice, depending on the schedule so far. Being a Cadet has its ways of keeping you busy, y'know. Ha ha..."

Maria had something to look forward to. She wondered what they could be doing at the Stretch other than window-shopping. But since it was just a casual thing, she thought better that it's best to keep it relaxed. After all, Julius did say something about getting along with other team members, right?

After receiving the news Albrecht didn't knew how to react, he just lowered his head and rubbed his temples in annoyance. Having to interact with Marverick from now on would be extremely uncomfortable, hopefully they wouldn't have many missions together. The Knight let out a frustrated sigh before he spoke again "Yes i have, honestly he didn't look like the type of person who would do such thing. My guess is that our Liege is giving him a chance to redeem himself for his transgression..."

"I would be shocked if we had a lot of free time, between school, the duties as an Agent of the church and a cadet there's barely any room to breath." He affirmed. Just thinking about all the obligations was stressful, however as knight this was only the tip of the iceberg and shouldn't be difficult to endure after a while. "Either way. I'm looking forward to it, Maria."



The knight laughed, he grew up used to a lot of noise around him before a good night of sleep so it was odd for him to rest at night without it.

"Jokes aside, I'll get used to it eventually. Thanks for the offer though." He added, still smiling at his fellow Forgotten.

She gave a grim look while nodding in agreement. Perhaps it was such a case now that she thought about Julius allowing Takeru to be "rehabilitated" and to join the Cadets. It did bring up a question as to why he never bothered to "rehabilitate" Maverick as well, but perhaps it required him to have awakened to a potential first. Maria responded with a sympathetic face about their busy schedule, but since this was an order from the Vatican, what else could they do? To disobey an order was unheard of, after all.

But to give some ease to her junior, Maria supplied with a gentle smile, "I'm sure his Majesty would give us some days off as needed. He doesn't seem to be the type to unnecessarily overwork his subordinates if what I've seen so far seem to suggest."

Maria was under the command of effective administration before as a member of the Black Scriptures, but even then a lot of work was demanded from them. But she knew a capable leader when she saw one, especially when Claire seemed to enjoy being a Cadet until "that time".

She found herself chuckling at the mention of a "quiet". True, the life of an Agent was rather tumultuous and usually never a dull moment. The same can be said for a Cadet as well. Even from a single night alone, Maria was thrust into a real life scenario that demanded all of her capability to succeed and that was one of her first days as a Cadet. "I wouldn't worry for long, Brother. There are enough threats lingering around Endymion. I'm sure it will keep us all occupied sufficiently enough."

If anything, today was especially chaotic after a Psyche-Terrorist showed up here out of nowhere with some unclear motivations if not inane. Demons alone were a staple that Maria could count on as being a threat, but Psyche-Terrorists were far scarier. At first she felt uneasy, but now she was growing confident. Not just because of her rise in power, but that there were reliable comrades she could count on and that's what it would all matter in the end.


She gave him a light friendly wave as she flashed her teeth at him. It was time for her to get back to work to clean the place before one of the Sisters in charge of the area for today would begin to scold her for procrastination.

[Exit]

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