Chapter 145 - Catching Up

Ahdem and Havvah, after being in each other's embrace for a good minute, still have not had enough of it.

"What happened? I couldn't find you after the World War."

"I was simply caught up in a battle between two forces…"

The two starts talking while in each other's arms.

"Why'd you think I was dead?" Havvah asks.

"It's just. You disappeared from my senses. No matter how hard I looked, and after exhausting maybe hundreds of horses to death travelling the world, I could not sense you." Ahdem says, remembering the ten years of nonstop search and another ten years of mourning his loss of Havvah.

"Oh… it must have been tough." Havvah feels the sadness in Ahdem.

"How about you? Did you ever look for me?" Ahdem asks.

"I did…" Havvah breaks off the embrace and looks in Ahdem's eyes.

"I first seek Raheem. But at the time I reached The Brotherhood, the members already went into hiding. Raheem was already dead."

"Only he knows of our existence." Ahdem nods.

"A tragic time that was."

"Yes. And after 60 years, when women could finally travel the world alone, did I try to go back to our home, hoping to see you there." Havvah sighs.

"But the town was wiped out and landscape itself was changed." Ahdem nods, having tried to do the same.

"Probably a huge battle took place there." Havvah nods.

"And after almost getting caught by some perverts, I gave up looking for you and settled down in Cairo. Accumulating wealth." She concludes her story with a bitter smile.

"I understand. It was the best decision." Ahdem gives a consoling smile.

"I always believed you were alive, out there. So, all I had to do was to survive until the day we met again… " Havvah says as her eyes start to water.

"I'm glad you did…" Ahdem sighs as he kisses Havvah's forehead.

"I'm glad you did." He flushes out the last of his relief from his heart.

The two then share a knowing look, hold each other's hands and excitedly enter the inn to book a room.

A few hours later, the two collapse on the bed, once again in each other's embrace, with nothing but a blanket covering their dignities.

"Looks like you forgot me for a time… I can smell another woman's scent on you…" Havvah jokes as she traces her fingers along Ahdem's body, even the scars on it, making her nostalgic.

"Ugh… come on, it was fifty or so years ago." Ahdem groans as he lays Havvah's hands on his cheek.

"Same goes for you, though. You even believed I was alive." He teases back.

"We lived long. But we're still human. You don't expect me to hold my desires for a hundred years?" Havvah scoffs.

"Besides. It's your face that I saw while I was in those men's arms." She adds.

"Yeah, well… it's just pleasures of the flesh. Who knew that the moment we felt each other again… nothing has changed." Ahdem ends the banter.

"...I actually thought I would fade in your memory, and so would you to mine." Havvah changes the subject.

"Oh? Why?" Ahdem raises his brows.

"You know, after Father left, I thought our connection would be lost. That we only felt this way because he made us to be." Havvah chuckles.

"A valid observation. After all, we started to resent each other's company from time to time." Ahdem gets it.

"Yes, but… after more than a century of not seeing you. I longed for you greatly almost every day." Havvah gently kisses Ahdem's cheek.

"So did I… I still can't believe we're here together…" Ahdem kisses Havvah's forehead.

…

The next day.

"The Japanese really define the word passion." Ahdem says as he drains the last drop of his miso soup before laying down his bowl on the table with a clack.

"I know. This place is cheap and shabby than McDougall's but the food is five times better." Havvah says as she too finishes her breakfast.

"Auntie!" Ahdem calls out to the owner.

"Oh. You younglings are done? My, my, you cleaned the bowls!" The owner of the small restaurant says proudly despite her old age and crooked back.

"The food was great. Thank you." Ahdem is about to pull out his wallet, but Havvah stops him.

"Let me." Havvah says with a smirk.

"Ooh… hashtag feminism~…" Ahdem pockets his wallet.

"Heh. Good one." Havvah smirks before pulling out ten 10,000 yen bills and hands it to the owner.

"T-this…" the owner's eyes go wide.

Ahdem's brows jump too, but gets over his surprise quickly.

"You must be mistaken." The owner refuses to take the money.

"Owner-san. I insist. You have no idea how much you've made our morning even better. I am merely sharing my happiness." Havvah holds the owner's hands.

"And besides. I value the history and the spirit of this place. If this money will help a bit in running this place for just a bit longer in the future, I'm glad to part with it." She coaxes.

"..." The owner is moved by Havvah's words and sincerity.

"Then I'll accept it graciously, dear customer." She receives the money happily.

"Thank you. I hope this restaurant is still standing when me and my husband find out ways here again."

With that, the couple walk out of the restaurant, leaving a happy restaurant owner behind.

"Still generous as ever." Ahdem smiles as he offers his arm as they start a stroll.

"Of course. And it's a happy occasion." Havvah says as she takes Ahdem's arm and enjoys the warmth of it.

The two soon arrive at the Havvah's parked SUV where a middle eastern man wearing a black suit and trench coat is waiting.

"I wish I brought my own demon too." Ahdem comments as he and Havvah take the back seat.

"Haaa.." Havvah meanwhile, sighs.

"I actually brought two, but the other one was caught at the airport. I almost wasn't let in the country because of it." She recounts.

"Heh." Ahdem chuckles.

"I heard from the High Scholar that Japan is probably the country with the most number of demon warding per square kilometer right now."

"I bet. Luckily, I managed to draw an anti-warding rune on this other one before it's too late." Havvah points her thumb at the demon driver.

"How strong is he?" Ahdem asks.

"Peak Knight Class. He can fly too." Havvah reveals.

"So around low tier A-Class. Not bad." Ahdem is relieved.

"Master. Where are we headed?" The demon driver asks Havvah.

"Let's continue to Niigata for now." Havvah says as she pulls out a wood chip that is tethered to her purse, and let's it float in the air like a kite.

Ahdem pulls out his too and does the same.

"They're heading to the same direction, right?" He asks.

"Yeah. Who knew that collecting the fragments of it will lead us to each other again." Havvah says with a smile.

Ahdem also thanks the two floating wood chips in his heart.

"How many do you have, by the way?" He asks.

"Twenty-six. I lost seven over the century and found two new ones." Havvah sighs in disappointment.

"A shame, but hey." Ahdem shrugs.

"I lost nine, and I didn't find a new one. So I still have thirty-seven." He reports.

"The Brotherhood has more than fifty by the way." He adds with a chuckle.

"What?!" Havvah is shocked.

"How did they even find that many?!" She asks.

"Well, apparently, between the end of The Great War and the whispers of the World War, they uncovered one megalithic site, a place we just happened to have settled down the longest.

After reading the wall carvings we left behind, they learned the fragments uses. They started looking for the fragments since then. Even Raheem kept it from me." Ahdem shakes his head.

"How did they even read the wall carvings?" Havvah asks.

"Well.." Ahdem scratches his cheek in embarrassment.

"No way…" Havvah looks at Ahdem with narrowed eyes.

"You taught them the First Language…" She says in disbelief.

"Correction. Not 'them', just Raheem. I liked the kid… Then he passed some useful phrases to his protégé which is the current High Scholar. The Brotherhood only knows them as spells and not as language." Ahdem rationalizes.

"Ah… so that's why I saw them working with demons. Those demons were actually subjugated." Havvah connects what she has seen.

"Angels too, actually." Ahdem adds.

"How?" Havvah is surprised yet again.

"Apparently, just like the demons whose true bodies died, the angels left on earth, whose bodies were destroyed, and had roamed in their incorporeal forms, had learned that humans weren't as bad as they thought. So, they set aside their pride and possessed some humans for the experience." Ahdem shrugs.

"The High Scholar even had two Hashmallims to escort me. Too bad, I killed them." He adds.

"That's just so you. You could have just used them." Havvah shakes her head.

"Na-uh. I don't trust the High Scholar yet. He's not like Raheem." Ahdem shakes his head.

"Wait… so why'd you initiate contact with them? They don't seem to be purely scholars anymore. Do you know that their whispers caused anguish?" Havvah asks with a suspicious glare.

"I know… They've become a psychopathically greedy consultation firm. Don't produce sh*t, but makes ungodly money. Money, which I found out, they use to experiment on demons and dig more megalithic sites." Ahdem shakes his head.

"At first, I made contact with them, to attempt to stop them from doing that and sacrificing humans for souls. But when I found out that they have quite a few S-ranks in their innermost circle, which includes the High Scholar, by the way, I can only observe to the side." He sighs helplessly.

"I can't believe it… A small circle of scholars has become like this." Havvah cannot blame Ahdem.

"Yeah… I don't know if Raheem would be proud, or repulsed if he's alive to see it." Ahdem chuckles bitterly.

"So. Do they know the real you?" Havvah asks in worry.

"Of course not. I didn't even join their ranks. To them, I'm just some grassroots researcher who just happened to have chanced upon ancient knowledge that only I have knowledge of." Ahdem explains.

"So… You killed two Hashmallims and two high ranking members… You must be quite important to dare do something like that?" Havvah asks in suspicion.

"Fine. I gave them the angel subjugation spell. In exchange for wealth and some privileges." Ahdem says, embarrassed.

"And you didn't actually expect that angels will start possessing humans." Havvah nods in understanding.

"Yeah…" Ahdem bitterly nods.

The two become silent after that, to ponder, while continuing to enjoy each other's company.