At six fifty in the evening, Izumi and Takashi arrived at the main gate of the DSSP Sefira Condominium. Izumi wore white jogger pants and a blue long-sleeved shirt with a Christmas theme—he didn't know the details, since Erika had chosen it. On the front was a reindeer, and on the back, a Christmas tree.
Takashi, on the other hand, wore black cargo pants and a red long-sleeved shirt with the same pattern as Izumi's.
Both waited inside a black car while the driver chatted with the gate guard.
"So, how are things around here, brother?" Takashi asked, already tired of the nonsense coming from the two sentries.
"Peaceful… so far," Izumi replied, interlacing his fingers.
"Yeah… Kimisu told me you can partially see the System… Do you already have your angelic card?"
"I do… Veridiel, the Truth," Izumi said, recalling the little information he had.
"Damn… that's one hell of a slap in the face…" Takashi muttered distantly. "Izumi… do you really think you're telling the truth?"
In silence, Izumi tried to interpret the words of his cousin—almost a brother to him.
Before speaking, Takashi slid a glass panel closed between the seats, preventing the driver from listening.
"We were the unbeatable cousins. The dynamic duo… literally water and fire. Intelligence and strength… You surpassed me many times during our childhood. So tell me, brother—what made you give up?"
Izumi lowered his head, recalling a slender memory. The first time he defeated Takashi, when he was ten—while the current captain of Squad Zeta was twelve.
The feeling he had experienced back then returned briefly…
"Do you still remember why you dedicated yourself so much?" Izumi asked, not expecting an answer right away.
"I'm trying to feel that motivation again…" Izumi said, just as a knock sounded at the front.
The driver tapped on the glass, and Takashi quickly opened it.
"The pizzas have arrived. Should I go get them, or—"
"We'll go," Izumi replied, already stepping out of the car.
Soon, Izumi and Takashi walked to the gate, where a young delivery worker waited. He pulled five pizza boxes from his bag, greeting the two cousins politely.
"Good evening! Erik?" he asked attentively.
"Good evening. That's right—we came to pick them up," Takashi said, pulling a hundred-euro bill from his pocket.
"Alright," the deliveryman replied, taking change from a small pouch at his waist. "Here's your change!"
Takashi briefly took the five pizza boxes and thanked him again.
"Thank you!" Takashi said as he waved goodbye.
"No problem. Thank you, gentlemen…"
"Thank you," Izumi said softly. "Good work, and have a great night!"
"Enjoy the party!" the deliveryman replied, feeling a hint of envy. It was Christmas, and he still had to work.
Everything would be easier if he were a Sefira… a common thought.
Gathered in the shared backyard of the Sector Four houses, the future Sefiras sat around a massive wooden table. Little by little, members of the other Squads arrived to share the meal.
Aside from the four members of Squad Zeta, the other Squads did not have many members—at most three, including their captains.
That alone showed how unprepared they had been for the recent Wave of Revelation. For this visit to Atziluth, only five Sectors had been designated—around fifty Revealed. Some had been undergoing the Revelation process since early December, while the most recent were concentrated in Sectors Four and Five.
Even so, these could be considered the most suitable Sectors. In the others, arrogance and disparity—Sefira students since elementary school, most from noble and renowned families—would inevitably cause internal conflict.
In these cases, at least for the most part, the Revealed were ordinary people until the twenty-second, with exceptions like the Berta twins.
Because of that, the best atmosphere—the most friendly and comfortable—was found in Sectors Four and Five.
Crouched a short distance from the table, Erik adjusted a speaker to set the mood; light, low music played softly, barely contrasting with the swarm of noise thirteen people managed to create.
"Here it is! The best stew of all! A specialty of Squad Zeta!" Kinney announced, slamming a steel cauldron onto the table.
"Don't involve our Squad in this…" Kimisu said, distancing himself with his eyes.
Confused, at the corner, Meliu—member of Squad Alpha—watched curiously. With intimidating green eyes, she hid her direct expression beneath her long, straight black hair, green on the inside. She was tall—or at least appeared to be.
"The food looks… enticing," Meliu commented, judging for a few seconds.
As she stood up, she immediately regretted the compliment. A chicken leg, skin still on, floated in pure oil—nearly bubbling.
"Ergh…" she groaned, baring her teeth and furrowing her brows.
"Come on! Try it!" Kinney shouted, scooping a ladleful and offering it around.
"Kinney!" Erik yelled, adjusting the music. "Don't scare off our Sector companions! It's Christmas… we deserve something better than that slop!"
"What?! This is a masterpiece of French cuisine!"
"And that's why France is overrun by demons—if you're going to serve this kind of filth…"
A vein bulged on Kinney's forehead. Calmed by Kimisu, he swallowed a ladle of his own stew.
A short distance away, stepping out of a black car, Izumi and Takashi carried the pizza boxes across the lawn.
Carrying a tray to the table, Erika looked at her cousins, a great satisfaction swelling in her chest—not because of them, but because of what they carried.
"Finally! The saviors have arrived!"
"Yo! Is everyone here?" Takashi asked, setting the boxes on the table.
"No," Kimisu replied, pulling out a chair to sit. "The captain of Squad Alpha didn't come… The DSSP needed her in the medical department, due to the Qlipoth Seed that awakened along with the Wave of Revelation…"
"Ah…" Takashi murmured, slipping a hand into his pocket, lamenting in silence.
Approaching Erik, the captain of Squad Z returned a few bills and coins. The young Berta laughed as he reclaimed the money.
"A good son always returns to the house…" he joked quietly.
Takashi laughed along, without a childish retort.
"Hello, everyone…" Izumi said, locating a chair with Kimisu's help.
"Hello!" Meliu replied, sitting across from him. "I'm Meliu, Rank F of Squad Alpha. It's a pleasure to meet you!" She laughed warmly, showing confidence toward the young Kairen.
"Pleasure, Meliu! I'm Izumi Kairen, from Squad Zeta."
Revealing one's Rank—especially Rank F—was irrelevant; all the Revealed shared the same Ranking. That introduction alone was enough for Izumi to deduce that Meliu did not have a Sefira's upbringing.
He soon inferred that most of the other Squads were the same.
"Izu…" Asbell Gian murmured, placing a tray beside Erika.
The casual address caught not only Izumi's attention, but also Kimisu's and Takashi's. Calling him that implied great intimacy—something they did not share.
"Hmm?" Izumi said, curious.
"Mi—Izumi? Are you of Japanese descent?" Asbell corrected himself, arranging the tray on the table.
"Yes. We're from the Michizane family, one of the five Great Asian Families," Takashi answered, knowing Izumi would dislike introducing himself with such pride.
"Really?!" Meliu asked, resting her face in her hands.
Under the table, she bounced her legs excitedly.
"Our captain, Hana, is from the Sugawara Family!"
"Huh?" Takashi choked, a slice of pizza in his mouth.
'Damn it, Meliu…' Asbell thought, grinding his teeth inwardly. 'The Sugawara and Michizane families are rivals in Asia… You shouldn't provoke that rivalry…'
"Interesting," Izumi said firmly, turning his face toward Asbell.
Piercing… even with the blindfold, Asbell felt his heart stabbed.
The small step Asbell took back in tension triggered Takashi's sixth sense: Izumi's movement had been completely natural and calm. That reaction didn't match.
Erika, however, did not share Takashi's perception.
"This is Bell, born from the Frontier of Avarice!" she exclaimed, a bit tipsy.
"Oh… cool. Born on the France–Germany border?" Kimisu asked from the end of the table.
Asbell simply nodded, hiding a nervous smile. Jumping onto her Sector companion's back, Erika shouted:
"Hey, hey! Shall we start? Tonight's going to be insane!"
"Damn it… are you already drinking?!" Erik exclaimed, grabbing his twin by the arm.
"What? Can't I?"
"It's not ideal! We haven't even prayed yet!"
Shrugging Erik's hand off her shoulder, the young Lady Berta walked to a chair and sat beside Izumi, clearly annoyed.
Following the formalities, members of all Squads in Sector Four sat down in unison. At one end—dominated by captains and supervisors—the Revealed followed an order: on the right side, where Takashi and Kimisu sat, Squad Zeta lined up.
After that came the members of the other Squads, with Squad Alpha sitting directly across from Team Z.
Seconds later, once everyone was seated, Kimisu stood and looked at the last chair—it was empty.
"Lord, I would like to thank You, on behalf of all the members at this table, for this divine opportunity—be it curse or blessing. We heard the voices of Your messengers. Your call is an honor to us, the Apostles of God," Kimisu said with his eyes closed.
"We open our arms to receive You at this table, for this is Your day. Not only this one, but the entire year must be devoted to You… I ask that You forgive these children for their actions, words, and thoughts in which they have sinned. Forgive us as well—those who think themselves superior…"
"Continue to guide us toward the light, away from the hands of demons… Let our swords tear out the souls of those who profane You, of heretics and hypocrites… Guide us to the path where we shall sit just below the Father, the Son, and Your Holy Spirit…"
"Amen!" all the members of Sector Four proclaimed from the heart.
As he prepared his plate, Asbell Gian discreetly glanced at Izumi. He was smiling, joking with the Berta twins.
Izumi's smile shone like the last glimmer of hope.
In truth, to Asbell, it was…
'I won't see your suffering anymore, Izu…' Asbell thought, lowering his gaze to his plate. 'I'll offer my time, just as you offered your life to humanity… I won't let you meet the same fate…'
Applying pressure to his hand, Asbell restrained a surge of despair.
'No one at this table will die!'
Among everyone there, only Takashi kept watching Asbell for the entire night.