Chapter 63: Observation
'This brings back memories...' thought Vahn, sitting in a comfortable, high-backed, maroon-brown leather office chair with Grayfia standing stoically to his right and Asia to his left, his fingers linked and hands resting on his abdomen as he scanned the nineteen displays hovering before him. Each was linked to a different person's or Familiar's perspective, so while Issei, Kiba, Koneko, Xenovia, and Irina acted as bait and Rias and Akeno visited various temples and shrines to petition the local Ujigami to reinforce the city's wards, he sat in the broadcast-room-turned-command-center with Sona's Peerage, monitoring the search and ready to provide backup at a moment's notice.
Fortunately, unlike the previous time he was in the broadcast room, Vahn wasn't expected to sit still and wait to see how things played out. Grayfia had been permitted to mobilize, and depending on the situation, Sirzechs and several members of his Peerage were prepared to aid them within an hour's notice. Sona had also contacted her sister but asked that she only mobilize with Sirzechs's forces, so if the situation devolved, they had two Satan-Class Devils, three Ultimate-Class, and conceivably even a Dragon Queen to fall back on...
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"All the local Gods have been informed of the situation. How goes the search?" asked Rias, appearing from a crimson Magic Circle with Akeno wearing her Shrine Maiden outfit.
"No luck so far," responded Sona, her expression and tone serious as she explained, "We've been checking abandoned buildings along the city's periphery, but the enemy has likely erected one or more barriers to avoid detection. We likely won't know where they're located until our connection with the search party is severed."
"I see..." muttered Rias, turning her attention to Vahn or, more accurately, his unoccupied lap. She knew it wasn't the time for such things, but after a moment of consideration, she adopted a smile and sat down, entrusting her back to his chest as he unhesitantly settled his hands on her stomach and said, "Well, hello there..." with a smile of his own.
Peering back over her shoulder with slightly narrowed eyes, Sona calmly chided the duo by remarking, "Stay focused..." before returning her gaze to the displays and contending, "Though, if my suspicions are correct, the enemy will likely wait until we're in class to move about. If inciting a large-scale conflict were their only goal, they could simply mobilize their forces and attack Heaven or the Underworld directly..."
Raising her brows, Rias garnered the attention of nearly everyone in the room by asking, "Do you think they're after Vahn...?"
Shaking her head, Sona reasoned, "They would have doubtlessly heard about him by now, but unless they have an informant within our ranks or Heaven, they shouldn't have enough information to justify such a brazen course of action. It's more likely they simply want to delay the impending summit and plant the seeds for future conflict."
"Sona-sama is very likely correct," stated Grayfa, her brows furrowing as she explained, "Kokabiel has always reveled in war. He never wanted the Great War to end and formerly led a group of extremists who believed the Fallen should have sole dominion over the earth and humanity. This belief got most of his supporters and subordinates killed in various conflicts, so we presume he is acting independently or with a small group of loyalists. If he were to mobilize Grigori's forces directly, he would not have escaped the notice of Governor General Azazel."
"That's both a comfort and troubling..." remarked Rias, crossing her right leg over her left and shifting more of her weight onto Vahn's chest as she stated, "Fewer enemies is good, but it almost sounds like he's planning to become a martyr. After all, there are only a handful of ten-winged Fallen. If one were to die, regardless of the circumstances, it would cause quite a stir..."