Blasphemia II: Deus Vult Pt. 09

Father O'Carroll was a portly man, the kind of man of the cloth that was made far from the epicenter of the Church. But as the head of the Armagh Templar branch, he was, by technicality, the highest ranking Templar left alive after the carnage in Rome.

Judith, Filia, and Luca sat in the large command tent that had been set up on the outskirts of the Rome city limits. They'd told two church confessors what had happened - omitting certain things such as all the sex and Judith becoming a demigod - and had been briefed by an aide on what had happened on the outside while they were stuck on the inside. As the massive wall of eldritch magic went up, militaries around the world mobilized. The world of magic and monsters that the Church had worked for centuries to keep under wraps had been unveiled in spectacular fashion, with people around the world having no idea what was going on or how to deal with it. The world's superpowers had sent large military detachments to the edge of the vortex, probing ways to get through the barrier. When artillery and drones had vaporized on contact, any plans for humans to go through had been scrapped. All they could do was sit still, wait, and hope that the wall didn't expand. That went on for three days, until all of sudden, the barrier went down, leaving only the wreckage of Rome in its wake.

The three of them had been given blankets and food. Filia ate like she'd lived through a famine, packing away rations like nothing Judith had ever seen. Even now as they waited on O'Carroll, the succubus was still eating, scarfing down chili from an MRE. "Satan, what do they put in this stuff?" she mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"Salt," Judith answered. "Lots and lots of salt."

"Delicious."

Luca was working through his third apple, eating much slower than the succubus. "I keep expecting something to happen," he said.

"What do you mean?" Judith asked. Her fingers reflexively tightened around the Lance, propped up by her side against the folding chair she sat on.

"You know..." Luca waved his arms around. "Some new monstrosity to appear from the floor, or for the tent to sprout eyes or something."

"Hey, don't speak that evil," Filia said, tossing the empty MRE over her shoulder. "I'm still hungry, and you never get between a hungry succubus and her food."

"Shh!" Judith looked around hurriedly to make sure they were still alone in the tent. "Don't just blurt it out!"

"Oops." Filia put her hand over her mouth and giggled. The human form she'd taken was just as striking as her normal visage, with bronze Mediterranean skin and dark, braided hair. She looked like a maiden from mythology.

Footsteps sounded from outside the tent, and O'Carroll brushed through the flap, flanked by his aides. It appeared that they'd forgotten sunscreen, as they all were sporting red skin from the brilliant Italian sun. The effect was made all the more visible by the fact that the young aides had red hair, and Judith heard Filia struggling not to laugh.

"Good afternoon," O'Carroll said.

"Father," Judith nodded.

"I heard the testimony that you gave about what transpired on the inside." O'Carroll moved around the large table in front of them and sat down. He withdrew a handkerchief from the breast pocket of his dress shirt to dab the sweat off his forehead, and Judith couldn't keep a small scowl off her face. The Irish Templar branch lacked resiliance to minor discomforts it seemed. "But I wished to speak to you myself."

Filia drew her legs up on the chair, carefully tucking the robe around her hips to avoid flashing the priest. The moment was so out of character for her that Judith legitimately wondered for a moment if she'd gone insane. "What do you wish to know?" Filia asked, her voice a little higher pitched than normal.

"As I said, everything." O'Carroll paused for a moment. "I don't believe I caught your name, Miss?"

"Kass," Filia answered, reaching up to caress her cheek. The motion caused her robe to fall open a little to expose some cleavage, and when the succubus didn't move to correct it, Judith knew that things were, in fact, still normal. "I was just passing through Rome when it all happened."

O'Carroll nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer. "Much happened. Far too much that I ever could have expected. A demonic incursion like this hasn't happened in centuries."

Judith and Filia shared a flat look. Luca sounded confused as he said, "It...wasn't demons, Father. We said as much in our testimonies. It was eldritch creatures heeding the will of their master."

"Yes, yes, this 'Before God.'" O'Carroll fixed them with a skeptical look. "You know who Yog-Sothoth really is, correct? He's fictitious, a creation of H.P. Lovecraft."

"I know about Lovecraft," Luca said, speaking slow and insistant. "I'm also beginning to think the man may have had much more insight than he let on. We've spent the past three days doing battle with him and his minions. He called himself that by name!"

"More likely a demon with too high an opinion of itself," O'Carroll said, waving a hand.

Luca's jaw dropped, and he looked to Judith for some kind of guidance. She shook her head the tiniest bit, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Father, believe me when I say this. I have battled many different forms of demonkind. I am...intimately familiar with their ways." A small snicker came from Filia. "This was like nothing I've ever seen from a creature of Hell. This was, however, something that I saw before during the incursion on Saint Bethany's last year."

"Yes, that report crossed my desk," O'Carroll said. "You painted quite a picture. But I was surprised to hear that Archbishop Caldwell took your word as such fact."

Judith blinked, then realized who he was talking about. After twenty-plus years she was just now learning her mentor's real name. "The Archbishop mentored me himself," she said. "I was his most astute pupil. He trusted my word over most others."

"Yet you admitted to coming into close contact with demons during the Saint Bethany's incident, and still kept his trust? I find that difficult to believe. Maybe the Rome they do things a little differently."

Filia tensed up next to Judith, until she put a hand on the succubi's thigh. Even though internally she was incensed at the remark, Judith wasn't in the mood for any more battles, verbal or otherwise. "Or he simply trusted me," she said. "And that may be all that it is."

Father O'Carroll made a face, his lips pursing, but didn't press any further down that line. "I'm curious about one thing in particular." His beady eyes shifted to Filia. "How is it that in an incident that took the lives of a large number of the faithful, including most of the best-trained anti-demon warriors in the world, a mortal resident of the city managed to survive the carnage?"

Filia shifted in her seat, like a student being disciplined by a headmaster. "I found Judith early," she said, staring intently at the wall behind O'Carroll's head. "She protected me through the whole thing. Luca joining us only made it easier."

"Yes, regarding you, Luca. You're a student of the defensive faith magics, correct?"

Luca nodded slowly, and Judith could see the gears turning in his eyes as he tried to figure out where O'Carroll was headed with all this. "Yes."

O'Carroll leaned forward and rested his head on the back of his hands. "Then forgive me, but I am inclined to believe the version of events you gave to the confessors earlier doesn't add up. A demon as powerful enough to uproot an entire city and corrupt it's population couldn't possibly be beaten by a lone Templar, powerful enough as Magdalena is."

"Hey, it's totally possible!" Filia said, glaring indignantly at the priest. "It literally happened right in front of me!"

O'Carroll's hand shot up. "Please, be silent. I want to hear it from Judith."

The hair on the back of Judith's neck stood up. "You're accusing me of something."

"Not in the slightest."

"Bullshit." The curse made the aides behind O'Carroll flinch, and the man's eyebrows shoot together. "You think I couldn't have survived without giving into darker powers? If you're like most others who read the Saint Bethany's report, you think my soul is corrupted, don't you?"

O'Carroll was silent for a time. "Your words, not mine," he said quietly.

Contempt rose in Judith's throat, and she had to fight to keep her lip from curling. "I survived through my own power," she insisted. "The power and will that lies within my own soul. I am free of guilt."

"Yet you are Nephilim, are you not? Beget of angel and demon, your soul already half-damned from the beginning. A soul that, may I remind you, came into close contact with demonkind during the Saint Bethany's incident, as well as heavily over the last few days."

Judith's fingers curled around the Lance. "You wish the truth?"

O'Carroll leaned forward, his eyes glittering. "Of course."

She took a breath. "I omitted my death from what I told the confessor, Father. Yog-Sothoth took my life." She put a hand on her chest, fingers splaying over her heart. "But I was visited by God himself, who showed me how to harness the fragment of Him that lives in us all. Through divine power, I was able to defeat Yog-Sothoth and bring the nightmare to an end."

O'Carroll's eyes narrowed. It was clearly not the answer he'd been expecting. "You dare speak such blasphemy in my presence?"

"It is not!" Judith insisted, shooting to her feet. "I saved all of Creation from that thing using the powers that we all strive towards. Faith in myself steadied my hand, faith in God gave me the strength to soldier on through pain that you couldn't even begin to fathom."

"More corruption, no doubt," O'Carroll said. He snapped his fingers, and his attendants came to attention. "Relieve her of the Lance. I'll get to the bottom of whatever demon caused all this." He smirked at her. "Even if I must use the holy word on one of the faithful to get it."

Judith bowed her head. "Filia?"

Filia perked up in her chair. "Hm?"

Judith gave the succubus a sidelong glance. "Kindly show the good Father what a demon can truly do."

Filia sighed and put a hand over her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you, Jude, the correct term is Infernal." Her hand dropped, and as it did, the normal violet hue of her eyes returned, the irises glowing bright even in the midday light of the tent. "But since you asked so nicely."

Shadows erupted from Filia like smoke, her glamour dissolving to reveal her naked, purple-skinned body. The shadows quickly covered every inch of the tent surface, shrouding all of them in deep blackness. Chains lashed free of the ceiling, hooking under the arms of O'Carroll and his attendants and hoisting them up in the air.

Judith folded her arms, a smug smile crossing her face. "As I told you, Father, what Infernals do is quite different than what the being that destroyed the Holy See did. They are not, as you so confidently claim, the same thing."

"Blasphemer!" O'Carroll squealed, swinging at the chains that bound him. "Harlot! I'll see you executed for this!"

"Psh, like you could catch any of us in a footrace, you fat fuck." Filia hopped up on the table, her wings flaring wide. She tweaked O'Carroll's nose, then paused, a dark look crossing her face. "Hang on." She slapped her hand over O'Carroll's face, and for a moment Judith was worried she would have to pry the succubus off the priest. Then Filia let her hand drop, shadow chains clanking off her arms. "You might have to let me kill this one, Judith. Or at least horribly maim him."

"Why?"

Filia's eyes went to the two attendants, both of them also trying to squirm free of their shackles. "He's gotten awful handsy with some of the altar boys on a few occasions."

O'Carroll went white as a ghost. Judith let her disgust show on her face, fingers closing around the Lance. "Allow me."

Filia waved her hand, and the chains that bound O'Carroll moved along the ceiling, bringing him closer to her. She stared into his fearful, nervous eyes for some time. "You're not lying to me, are you Filia?" she asked.

Filia shook her head. "Something like this I wouldn't lie about. Even Infernals have standards."

"She's lying!" O'Carroll protested. "That's what demons do!"

"She's." Judith gripped the Lance tight. "An." She reached into the depths of her soul to grasp that little spark of divinity again. "Infernal." As the caressed the spark, it jumped to life in her hand. Holy power flowed through her, suffusing her body in a golden glow and making the gossamer wings burst from her back anew.

"Oh, God," O'Carroll said. "You weren't lying."

"Lying is a sin, Father," Judith said, her voice layered with a divine thrum. "Something you seem to be acquainted with very well."

"Please, I beg you for mercy," O'Carroll whimpered, trying to shy away from her.

"Even if I did, your punishment after death is still assured." Judith made the sign of the cross, a mote of holy power flickering to life at the end of her finger. "So I won't kill you, you disgusting pig in priest's clothing. But I will not let you off either." She flicked the mote of power into O'Carroll's chest, and he began to convulse, his eyes rolling back in his head. "That's all I needed, Filia."

The succubus pulled all her shadows back into herself, returning the tent to normal. O'Carroll's attendants moved to his side, one of them checking his pulse. "What did you do to him?" he asked in a tiny voice.

"Until he breathes his last, he will be tormented by his sins." Judith resisted the urge to kick the prone O'Carroll for good measure. "It is nothing compared to the suffering he will endure at the hands of Filia's brethren after he dies, but he will never know another peaceful night of sleep again. Or waking moment, for that matter." Judith took a deep breath, then quelled the power within her. Her body returned to normal, the glow fading from her skin.

"What are you?" the other attendant asked, sounding terrified of her.

Judith looked down at the Lance. "I am a servant of God's will. Something I know more about than you or him. I have gazed upon His face and been found worthy. And I know what my purpose is now. Filia, Luca. We're leaving."

"Righto." Filia had no such regards about physical violence, and gave O'Carroll a swift kick to the side as she followed Judith and Luca out of the tent.

"Well, now what?" Luca asked. "What do we do now?"

Judith rested the Lance on her shoulders. "Simple. I require food, a real bed, and a long time to rest and recover. Where can we go for that?"

Filia cocked her head for a moment, then grinned, her wings flaring wide and nearly knocking over a couple of men in military fatigues standing close by. "I know just the place."

Despite being a resident of Italy for most of her life, Judith had never once been to Venice. It had forever been outside of her reach, a place deemed too distracting for Templars in training to go to after several prospects had left the Order upon exposure to the outside world. Now, however, it was proving the perfect place to recover and take refuge.

After flying in and scouring the city for a few hours, they managed to find a small, relatively cheap hotel bordering one of the city's iconic canals to hold up in. Filia payed for the room in cash, though Judith had no idea where she'd gotten the suspiciously large sack of euros from. She didn't pry - she was too tired.

The first night they all took real showers to wash the chemical disinfectant smell off their bodies from the operations base outside Rome. That done, Luca ducked out and came back a little while later with bread, cheese, and slices of meat from local shops. They ate every morsel he brought back, craving more. The second time, Judith went out, and bought pastries from a baker down the street. Though she half-expected to find Filia having sex with Luca the moment she got back, both of them were simply sitting by the window in peaceful silence, staring out at the water as the sun went down and turned the eddies crimson.

"It seems so strange," Luca said, gratefully taking a croissant and biting into it. "Just a few hours away from here one of the most destructive events in human history took place, yet here it's business as usual."

"I wouldn't say that," Judith said, sitting down next to her two companions. "Every conversation I eavesdropped on the way to the bakery and back was about Rome. Things are changing. The secret it out."

"I don't want to think about that right now," Luca muttered. He leaned his body against Judith's, and she leaned back, her hand finding his and linking fingers. She closed her eyes and breathed in his lovely, masculine scent.

The next thing she knew, morning sunlight was filtering through the window to the canal. Luca was sprawled on his back, snoring at a volume liable to wake the dead. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. Guess using that holy power takes more out of me than I thought.

A floorboard creaked behind her, and she turned her head. Filia looked like a deer in the headlights, her hand on the doorknob. "Crap, I was trying not to wake you up. Side note, you're incredibly cute when you sleep."

"Where are you going?"

Filia lifted her other hand. In it was a curious little creature that looked like a sentient ball of smoke with two bat wings and a single, slitted eye gazing out at the world. "Got a message from the big boss. He wants a report, and I've gotta figure out what to tell him."

Judith bit her lip. "You won't be punished for not keeping His Holiness alive?"

Filia shrugged. "I'm honestly not sure. I guess I'll see when I get there."

"That doesn't fill me with confidence."

The succubus flapped her wings once, the motion carrying her across the room to Judith. She leaned down, and the two of them kissed for a brief moment. "I'll be fine, Jude. I'll be back before you know it."

"Very well." She squeezed Filia's hand, thinking how strange a thing it was that she and the succubus were now on terms of casual affection when days prior her first instinct had been to stab Filia in the face on sight.

"The room's paid for for a week," Filia said. "Just hang out here with Luca and get your strength back." She winked, then moved away from Judith. She petted the little soot sprite on the top of it's head, and its eye flashed. A dark, swirling portal appeared in the center of the room. Through it, Filia glimpsed the red stone spires of Hell. "I'll be back before you know it."

Judith raised a hand. "Be safe."

Filia blew her a kiss before stepping through the portal and being lost to sight. As the portal closed, Judith roused herself and threw on the secondhand clothes she'd bought while out the day before. She left the small room, locking the door behind her as she went to find more food.

On the way, she let the bustle of the city swirl around her, its controlled chaos much more manageable than everything she had been through. Her fight or flight instinct still wasn't completely off, and she wasn't sure if it ever would be. As if to prove the point, a street vendor dropped a metal pot that hit the cobblestones with a clang. Judith's reaction on instinct was to half-draw Celerity from its sheath hidden under her shirt before she realized the local police would likely take umbrage to a woman drawing a sword in the middle of a crowded marketplace. She forced herself to calm down, jamming the sword back into its sheath.

Things had changed drastically, yet everything was still the same. The vendors in the market were still selling the same things they had yesterday, and presumably many many days before that. But there was a tension in the air, a furtive glance in everyone's eye as they regarded passerby. Did they know the true scope of what had happened in Rome?