Chapter 117 - The organization

An organization?

Azazel's "proposal" had taken Drako by surprise. He had never expected this man to say anything like that to him.

"Explain yourself."

"It's quite simple. I'm telling you that you can form an organization, a group of allies who make a name for themselves in this world."

"Even if I wanted to form that group, who would form it? Kuroka, Shirone, Mordred and me? Isn't that the same as doing nothing?"

It was obvious that Drako was going to have his doubts about this matter. First of all, why was Azazel giving him this idea? What would Azazel gain if Drako were to form his own organization?

"You're wrong, there are more people who would be part of the organization. Valina, Tobio, Lavinia, Kouki Samejima, Natsume Minagawa..."

"What are you saying? Aren't they all with Grigori, except Lavinia who's with Grauzauberer?"

Drako was confused. He was unable to understand anything Azazel was saying.

"You're wrong again. It is true that Grigori is protecting the victims of the Utsusemi Agency, but they are not part of Grigori. This obviously extends to Tobio and the rest, so they can easily get into your organization. In Valina's case, she has never officially belonged to Grigori, she's just my student. With Lavinia it's a different case, she belongs to Grauzauberer, but Mephisto has agreed to let her join this new organization.

What Azazel was saying seemed to make sense. But even so, Drako felt that something was still missing. Why would Azazel be willing to let Tobio, Valina and the rest leave Grigori and go to Drako's organization? What was in it for him? The same applied to Mephisto Pheles, it didn't make sense that he would let Lavinia go.

"What do you gain from this, Azazel?"

"Peace, Drako."

Azazel was totally serious, or so Drako thought. The half smile Azazel used to have on his face had completely disappeared. In fact, Drako knew that Azazel was going to be the one to initiate the whole peace process between the biblical factions. That's why Drako could believe in Azazel's words.

"I hear you."

"My proposal is as follows. You will form an organization independent of Grigori or any other faction. Those of you who will form the faction will be the new generation, people like you or Tobio, and you will build a remarkable reputation with the other factions. You'll become something of a mercenary group."

"A group totally independent of Grigori?"

"That's right, we'll be allies. Your group will perform when Grigori can't, and you'll be able to build that international reputation. That will be in the beginning, when you're not famous enough to get missions from the other factions."

"So, basically, you want us to become your errand boys."

"You're wrong. You're a mercenary group, aren't you? You're going to get paid for your work. You don't owe me any favours anymore, so it would be stupid of you to work for free. Of course, I can develop more massage creams for that greedy cat."

The last words hit Drako hard, reminding him of the favour he had just paid Azazel. It was precise because of Kuroka's greed that he had had to go through all the trouble associated with the Utsusemi Agency.

On second thought, the Utsusemi Agency had been nothing more than an incredible source of experience for Drako. The number of levels he had climbed had been incredible, and he was only a few levels away from evolving once again.

Come to think of it, this new mercenary group that Azazel spoke of could be very profitable for Drako. Starting with Grigori's missions and spreading around the world could mean many enemies to gain experience from.

"I still have to ask the other's opinion, but I agree with your idea. I'm personally interested in forming this kind of mercenary group."

Azazel nodded at Drako's words.

"As I have told you, my ultimate goal is peace between the biblical factions, and I would like to see it spread to the rest of the world. What I want is that when an opportunity comes for that peace, your organization will support peace. Do you agree with that?"

To obtain peace...

Drako nodded. Of course, he agreed with Azazel, he wanted peace too. Besides, he knew that getting peace wasn't that easy. Numerous enemies were going to try to break that peace alliance that Azazel was going to try to promote, which meant that there was going to be a lot of experience that Drako could get.

"Well," he said. "That's all I wanted to say. Now that you've agreed to create a mercenary organization, how do you feel about getting your first job?"

Drako raised an eyebrow. It seemed that Azazel had come well prepared today.

"It doesn't matter what my answer is, does it? The sooner my 'organization' starts working, the better."

Seeing Drako's response, Azazel smiled.

"I've mentioned this before when we were in the room with Tobio, but I'm going to repeat it. The problem related to Ryoukou High School is not over yet. Those witches are still free, not to mention Satanael. Specifically, I want you to retrieve, dead or alive, the two remaining Four Fiends."

Yes, Drako had heard Azazel say something similar to Tobio. Though they were not Longinus, the so-called Four Fiends were powerful Sacred Gears. It did not take a Sacred Gear outside the category of a Longinus for its wearer to become powerful, and there are numerous examples of this. Just look at Siegfried, who has only one variant of one of the most common Sacred Gears. As long as a Sacred Gear reaches its [Balance Breaker] status and its wearer is skilled in combat, that person can already be considered as someone "dangerous" in the world.

[Forbidden Balor View], Gasper Vladi's Sacred Gear, is the clearest example of this. This is a Sacred Gear of the highest level, but it doesn't come to be considered a Longinus until Gasper developed his [Balance Breaker]. With this new version of Sacred Gear, which was to be renamed [Aeon Balor], Gasper could easily consume an entire city in its darkness and devour the fog created by the High-Tier Longinus [Dimension Lost].

"What's the payoff?"

Drako was no fool. He wasn't gonna work for Azazel for free.

"You need a base for your organization, don't you? That's why I'm willing to give you that apartment building where you're living right now. The building's pretty big, so I don't think you'll have a problem even if your numbers are over 20. Is that enough?"

"No."

Working to get the house where he had been living all this time? What was the difference between that and working for free?

"Huh, you're greedy. I'm not surprised, you're a dragon after all. So, name your price."

"Training. I want Grigori to take over the training of the members of my organization. At least, I want them to do it until they can defend themselves."

"They can defend themselves..."

"No, they can't. They barely survived a weak organization like the Utsusemi Agency. Kouki was seriously injured, and Tobio almost killed his best friend. What will they do when they face Satanael and his group?"

If Drako was going to form an organization, he needed capable people to be part of it. Lavinia and Valina didn't have a problem. Those two were capable enough, although they still had a lot of room for improvement. On the other hand, the students at Ryoukou High School couldn't do anything without their Sacred Gears, even though Kouki knew how to defend himself a little. Tobio Ikuse and Natsume Minagawa were nothing without their Sacred Gears at their side, so they could not face any danger or they will easily die. The Utsusemi Agency was nothing compared to the real dangers of this world.

"Mmm... I guess that's good. I must say I'm personally interested in Tobio Ikuse, so I have no problem getting them to train at Grigori. Baraqiel is only training his beloved daughter and Raynare, so I don't see any problem with him taking over a group of children."

Now that Azazel had agreed to train Tobio's group, Drako had fewer problems on his hands. He didn't have much idea how to train Tobio and the others, so it was better to leave them to Grigori in that regard. They are part of Grigori in the main story, or at least Tobio was, so this is the best course of action.

"This is it for today. By the way, Sae Toujou-san said she wanted to thank you or something, so go talk to her before you leave."

Drako simply nodded and left the room.

Once Azazel was alone, he took a slight sigh.

"Drako... I have great faith in you. I believe that, if it's you, with your help, peace in this world is not something impossible to achieve."

Azazel could not help but have a slight smile appear on his face. His dream of the last few hundred years could be fulfilled once and for all in this generation, and he was sure that this young dragon would be the key to it.

......….

When Drako left the room, he wasted no time in going straight to the room where Tobio Ikuse was hospitalized. It hadn't been long since he had left the room with Azazel, so Sae Toujou should still be there.

Personally, Drako could not care less whether Sae was grateful or not. He had not obtained any [Fate Point] by saving her, so Drako knew that Sae was not going to die even if he did nothing to save her.

Why would he talk to her?

To get a problem out of the way.

Sae was going to thank him sooner or later, so better to talk now than to waste time later.

"Huh, Tobio is sleeping."

When Drako entered Tobio's room, Tobio had already gone back to sleep. It seems that the side effects of activating his [Balance Breaker] were still in his body. I mean, he was extremely tired.

Next to him was Sae Toujou, Tobio's childhood friend, sitting in her wheelchair. She still had to recover.

"Huh, Drako-san..." Sae started talking...

"Forget the suffix, I'm not used to this kind of thing."

...but Drako interrupted her.

Drako, who had been a fan of anime in his previous life (that was one of the few things he could remember) was not against Japanese suffixes. Actually, he just hated the -san.

(The real reason is that I am very lazy to be writing the -san suffix whenever there is a conversation like this)

Of course, he didn't mind being called oni-chan, nii-san, onii-sama and many of the suffixes that the Japanese used to communicate in their daily lives. Even Lavinia, who was not Japanese, used the suffix -kun when talking to him.

Sae nodded her head, her cheeks were a little flushed. Though she loved Tobio, it would be a lie to say that she was not physically attracted to Drako. But that was all, Drako was a hot guy, and that was it.

"Eto... Drako..."

"Yes?"

Sae played with her fingers while her head was down. She seemed to be gathering courage for something.

"Thank you so much for all you've done! Not only did you save my life, but you also saved Tobio several times. I... I don't know what I would do if Tobio had died from the monster attacks. I..."

Sae stopped speaking when she felt Drako's palm on her head. Drako stroked the girl's hair, and to Sae's surprise, it did not bother her at all.

Is this what it feels like to have an older brother?

Sae had friends with older siblings, and many had talked about how her older siblings would pet her in this way. Sae thought that Drako was a gentle and kind man, as well as handsome, which is why Sae was overlaying Drako with the figure of an older brother.

Drako spoke as she stroked Sae's head, her gaze fixed on Tobio and Jin.

"Tobio Ikuse and Jin, Canis Lycaon, are two different existences united in one body. Not only do I have an interest in Canis Lycaon, but I have an interest in Tobio himself. He's an introverted boy, and that's why his other face is so brutal. His [Balance Breaker] is just a sample of Tobio's hidden personality, influenced by his Sacred Gear. A wild dog, that's what he is. But even a wild dog has attachments to his female. You, Sae Toujou, untied the Hyde that was hiding in Dr Jekyll's body. What I mean... you are the only pillar that supports this wild dog's state of mind. You have to put him on a leash, Sae, and tame him. But, above all, you must stay alive. Because the moment Tobio's pillar disappears, he will be consumed by the madness inside him. If that happens, I'll be the first to eliminate him."

Sae, who was beginning to enjoy the caresses Drako was making in her head, was paralyzed when she heard everything the dragon was saying. The situation was made worse by Drako's emotionless face and voice.

Drako knelt in front of Sae and now stroked her cheek. He now flashed a sincere smile at Sae.

"That is why not only does Tobio have to be strong, you have to be strong. Become strong for me, Sae, and live for Tobio."