NOVEL SIMPLE Silla’s tale
The first thing Charlotte had in the morning was an American breakfast. Bacon, sunny side-up egg, and a cheese sandwich. Her drink was a cup of very sweet coffee.
Compared to the portions Silla gave her at the headquarters, this looks heavier than what she is used to. But she enjoyed it anyway.
While eating, Charlotte thought back to what Euphoria said.
Get close to Silla... learn to be more flexible...
"Little one~!", Silla called out, still in her sleepwear, "How's the food?"
Charlotte thought for a moment, "It's great."
"I made it!", Silla cheered.
"It's good.", Charlotte changed her mind.
Silla became a blur and appeared right in front of her. Charlotte has gotten better at seeing Silla's mood, not from her mouth but her eyes. They spoke of annoyance.
"You brat!", Silla laughed in a cheerful tone, grabbing her into her chest, "You cheeky little brat, now you can tease me?"
"I had... an upgrade."
Silla tilted her head, "An upgrade? Tell me!"
Charlotte looked around the room, "Can I use something to test out?"
"Oh, absolutely! What do you wanna use?"
"Something hard and sturdy."
Silla pointed at the balcony, "Try the railing, it's made of metal."
Charlotte left her almost-finished breakfast behind and went to the balcony. Before demonstrating her power, she stares over the wide city of Las Vegas.
"Beautiful isn't it?", Silla walked over from behind, smiling with a proud tone, "The city where laws are suggestions, a country in a country as it's often referred to."
Charlotte's interest perked up, "Why is it that way?", her hands were already on the railing, doing squeezing tests.
"You know how I got the city?", Silla took a step back, "Ah, before I tell you, show me!"
Charlotte used all her strength to squeeze the metal railing, creaking it into the shape of her palm. She let go, giving Silla time to observe it.
"Woah! That's strong!", Silla clapped cheerfully.
"I'll show you what I got...", Charlotte stared at another part of the railing, "Euphoria."
The calling gave Charlotte a relief sense, as if all of the limiters in her body were released. She formed a smile on her face, as she was not in active combat, Survive's emotion-suppressing ability was not active, and the adrenaline and euphoria were let go to do as they wanted.
She squeezed the bar with all her strength, tapping into the hysterical strength. This phenomenon is something that is still not explained, some theories it can only be activated in extreme situations; but Charlotte knows passively from Reverie, that it ties directly with emotions, more specifically, the emotions represented by the eight Devils of the Akashic Records. Her bones cried out in agony, muscle fibers snapped from the pressure as she brought out her human body's full potential.
Silla stayed silent for a moment as Charlotte showed her the result, the steel bar was compressed into the size of a pencil, "Well, I dunno what to say. You're as strong as me when you use this upgrade."
Charlotte frowned, "Only that much?"
The woman nodded affirmatively, "Yep! Don't get your hopes up yet, little one, I am the strongest in the world, after all."
"Is that true?", Charlotte asked. Survive's truth-sensing power discerned the statement as true, not a hint of a lie. But she has her doubts.
Silla just shrugged, "Other than some hiding gods, I'm pretty sure I am the most powerful person alive. I have Lucifer, being the Absolute Evil and all."
"Absolute Evil, what does that even mean?", Charlotte asked.
To answer that, Silla took a step back and she spun around as if she was beginning to tell a story in bard style.
"It means I am born to be evil. Certainly, I have all the traits to be evil and have acted that way for a very long time. When people despised me, I said to myself, 'Well, if they want me to be the villain they so desired. So be it!', I fucked over Britain, then helped in the Revolutionary War, and was painted as the Absolute Evil by the British so I rolled with it!"
She sat down on a comfy chair before resuming her story again.
"The 13 States at that time took advantage of that, I can't remember who it was since I really didn't care. Apparently, they spun the story in a way that I would still be the evil in the play, but in a good way!"
"How so?", Charlotte asked while staring into space, envisioning what Silla was like back during that time.
"The story goes along the lines of the tyranny of the British monarchy forced the Revolutionary Army to go to me for help, who was just contended at at watching from the sideline. But I was absolutely into fucking over the Brits! I wanted to humiliate them, fucking drag that country down into the fucking mud!!"
"But... how does it relate to this city?", Charlotte tilted her head wondering.
Silla took a glance at her city with genuine fondness, "Because of my huge contribution to the war, and because of the guilt of the Founding Fathers when they dragged my name through the mud for their fight. I didn't really care though, but they kept on insisting I be given a reward. So I relented, I'm too nice to act against old men. They rewarded me a single plot of land the size of a decent Duke's territory."
She pointed at the ground they were standing on.
"I chose here at the end of the Civil War, a lovely place in the middle of nowhere! This place was once a nice marshland but became a desert over time."
"So this place is a reward for you?"
Again, Silla just shrugged, "Eh, more like keeping me rooted in the U.S., they don't want their trump card to leave them. Most of the time, I just lounge around the White House like a ghost unless something comes up."
"So does... the current president know about you?"
"Oh, he absolutely does! The upper echelons know about who I am. Oh, by the way, remember the fighters that attacked us?", Silla waited for Charlotte to nod before continuing, "Apparently, those are what I like to call 'Garbage'. The General talked to me after we landed, they were Russian spies in the army."
"What about the jets?"
"Eh, nothing to really worry about. U.S has a lot of those if it wants more, tax money.", Silla laughed at what she said.
Charlotte did not understand, but she nodded. Charlotte has a timeframe for Silla now, The Revolutionary War was hundreds of years ago, more than two hundred. Silla is old.
"So how much does your opinion sway the U.S.?", Charlotte was curious.
"Hm, not much as you would think. I'm only responsible for national defense, the only one for the higher-ups. I do go to meetings sometimes, the most recent one is after the 9/11 incident. I stopped most of the planes save for one, the one that caused Pandora's Sin.', Silla shrugged, "Well, to mend my standing, I erased the terrorist to the last person."
Silla chuckled a bit, "Killing children wasn't on my bucket list, but eh, fuck them, kid. They know what they signed up for, or didn't? Who cares!"
Once more, Charlotte was reminded how much of an evil person Silla was. But an evil person is flexible, Silla can do a lot of things in many ways.
Yesterday night, Silla could just find her in an instant if she really wanted to. Charlotte is sure of that. But she opted to send out demons, instead of calling her. Even if the demons were the only way to find Charlotte, she did nothing even after a few hundred have died.
Then Charlotte realized, what Silla did. Silla wanted Charlotte to have fun on her own, even if that 'fun' was fighting a divine wolf and keeping Athen at bay from rampaging across the city. The Pandemonium Princess achieved three goals last night, helped Charlotte have fun, kept Athen at home, and stopped further damage from the Undead Ash.
"So enough about myself, how about you?", Silla gave Charlotte a sly look, "Enough about politics, let's talk about something fun! We'll be going around town in the morning, have lunch at a restaurant, in the afternoon we will be going to a casino!"
"I don't think that was about politics...", Charlotte muttered.
"Well, it sounded to me it was politic! Asking like a true American!", Silla spins around, "Man, it still cracks me up sometimes. Politics, two parties, the things about America now, Washington would be rolling in his grave if he knows what a chaotic pot his country has become."
There was a brief nostalgic look on her face, before returning to her normal self.
"Well then, we have spoken enough for breakfast, now finish it and get ready! Go for your fanciest clothes, you will be the center of attention on the street! Oh, and might you summon the little Fallen Angel?"
Charlotte unconsciously touched Enna's feather on her hat. She furrowed her brows, "How long have you known about Enna?"
The woman just shrugged, "Since you went back, I just didn't want Athen to make a fuss. I swear to Hell, that bitch is a worrywart, making a scene over anything."
"And why do you want to call Enna?"
"Because I realized having just one bodyguard isn't enough for you. At least a Fallen Angel is easier to control than the God of Blood."
"God of Blood?", the girl asked.
"Yep! That's the Prince's god title, God of Blood.", Silla winced a bit, which surprised Charlotte, "Ehe, Luci thinks that title doesn't fit him too much, something about 'Being too cheerful for an Underworld God', but that's just him."
"Now summon Enna! I wanna see the Archangel of Rage!", Silla happily clapped her hands.
With a tired sigh, Charlotte plucked out Enna's feather from her hat with her left hand.
"You know, I think that that is a part of your body, not just decoration.", Silla commented.
"I know.", Charlotte answered with a scowl before returning her focus to the black feather, "Ennael."
The feather burned up, leaving a ritual circle on the back of Charlotte's hand. The circle has in it an eight-pointed star colored a sapphire blue, and in the star is a golden sword.
"The star represents you yourself, the sword represents the Fallen Angel you are contracted to.", Silla explained, "The sword inside the circle means the Angel has to obey you, a master-servant relationship. Now repeat after me, 'Soul of honor and strength, by the Great Pact of Earth and Heaven, come to me'."
Charlotte repeated it felt natural to her due to the grace of Reverie, "Soul of honor and strength, by the Great Pact of Earth and Heaven, come to me, Ennael, Fallen Angel of Rage."
The ritual circle on her hand fully becomes a Seal, a Pact between humans and the supernatural. Appearing out of thin air are three pairs of wings, blackened with darkness, just like the crow nest she has for hair. Her hazy golden eyes looked over Charlotte, and her lips formed a thin smile.
"Greetings, my honored summoner. What may you ask of me—", she choked on her words as her eyes wandered to Silla, "Oh shit."