The next day, Nico showed up at Kevin's house, everyone was ready for departure as Nico asked, Gabriel was at the garage packing his things, instead of sleeping, he spent the night playing games on his computer, that left him with just a couple of minutes to pack because he didn't notice that the time has passed and it was already morning, Mak was ready and they now they gave Gabriel a couple of minutes to pack as they sat in the living room drinking freshly made coffee...

Kevin-I swear, Gabriel is the most irresponsible person on this planet.

Mak-Don't make it so light, he is a moron.

Nico-We have time until the flight.

Mak-I was wandering, what do we know about Ozymandias?

Nico-You would have to be more specific.

Mak-Do we have a picture of him or a way to find him?

Nico-No, the unfortunate thing is that warlocks also don't have auras of their own unless they unlock their Source by means of a contract, as far as I know, Ozymandias hasn't made a contract yet, he hasn't made any moves and that's the reason he

has escaped the Vatican's sight for this long, we only knew from the remnants of the Silver Sector that he was looking for Faust's notes and just a few weeks ago we discovered that he is in Mexico.

Mak-So you can't find him with your helmet because he hasn't unlocked his source?

Nico-Precisely, warlocks operate by using rituals and single time contracts with demons, with this method they can perform their spells using the demons as catalysts and they leave no trace behind.

Mak-And we also have no idea what he looks like, right?

Nico-Yes, that shouldn't be a problem though, the village we are headed isn't exactly full of Polish people, Ozymandias should stand out, that is if he goes out at all.

Mak-Well, knocking on doors to find Polish people isn't going to cut it, maybe we should bring Carmen with us to single him out with Telepathy.

Carmen-Does that mean...

Nico-I have already booked the tickets and the flight leaves in a bit, we can't bring her.

Carmen-Mh...

Kevin-This is for the best, I don't want to see her get hurt, she is a valuable asset.

Mak-And her cooking is ways better than Kevin's.

Carmen-Is that why I am here?

Kevin-Maybe you should leave Mak behind to, I think I know where Gabriel keeps his gun.

Mak-I am joking, Carmen is useful in many ways besides her cooking.

Kevin-That's not making the insult on my part any better.

Mak-I know.

Kevin-Where is that uzi?

Gabriel-All done, let's go.

As soon as Gabriel finished packing his things, the three of them left for the airport leaving behind Kevin and Carmen, as always, Carmen didn't get her chance to go on a mission, that has taken a toll on Carmen because every time she was left

behind she felt a bit unwanted, that feeling was eating her from the inside, her parents left her because they didn't want her and now Gabriel isn't letting her close to her, by not bringing her with them each time, she felt unwanted all over again, she might have not said anything because of her shy nature but that doesn't mean she liked being left behind and she also wants to get closer to Gabriel and spend more time with him. For now, all she can do is believe what they tell her and stay put, as she was now alone in the living room with Kevin who hasn't gotten in his lab yet they started a conversation that wasn't very helpful for Gabriel...

Kevin-I don't understand, what could be so interesting with this game for Gabriel to spend so much time?

Carmen-I thought you would be one to know, doctor, you also spend a lot of time with your machines in the lab.

Kevin-That's different, I explore the properties of many things and find out about all kinds of new stuff, before Nico showed up I had a discussion with Munderic about how...

Carmen-I know, I was there.

Kevin-Right.

Carmen-Where is Munderic?

Kevin-He said that he didn't want to be here when Nico showed up, I think he was scared.

Carmen-So...

Kevin-He is sleeping in my room, I was at the lab last night.

Carmen-Oh doctor, again?

Kevin-Hey, Gabriel was up all night too. When did he even get out to work?

Carmen-What?

Kevin-He said that he bought all that stuff by doing mercenary work.

Carmen-Really? He told me that he asked Eric for money.

Kevin-WHAT!?

Carmen-Yeah, Eric gave me his phone number and Gabriel asked me to give to him, they talk from time to time, he asked him for money, Eric said he didn't mind.

Kevin-That bastard, he asked for money to buy a computer and not to fix the car he broke!

Carmen-That wasn't entirely Gabriel's fault.

Kevin-Well, I can't find the Shinigami and ask it to pay for the repairs so it is his fault.

Carmen-Hey, doctor...

Kevin-Yes, Carmen?

Carmen-I was thinking...

Kevin-About what?

Carmen-Mr.Nico said he has been watching us for a couple of days, right?

Kevin-He mentioned that.

Carmen-And he is not fond of warlocks...

Kevin-Oh...

Carmen-Isn't this a bit weird?

Kevin-Not just a bit, if Nico has been watching us for as long as he says then there is no chance that he hasn't seen Munderic perform the ritual or my fight with Gabriel where he used his powers of hellfire.

Carmen-Why would he ask you about your powers then? Why would he ask about Gabriel's?

Kevin-I don't know...Maybe to see if we will lie to him? But I did lie to him, Gabriel also lied to him when he said that he killed the warlock who worked with Marbas. Why would he let us off the hook?

Carmen-Perhaps Mr.Nico doesn't want to arrest us, maybe he really wanted to recruit Gabriel.

Kevin-That's not possible, although, he didn't really argue about Gabriel's decision, he jumped right to how it could be done.

Carmen-Do you think it's safe to leave them with Mr.Nico at this point?

Kevin-If he wanted to harm them he would have already, us being here wouldn't pose a problem if he wanted to fight or arrest them.

Carmen-Should we call them?

Kevin-It can wait, I don't want to put any stupid thoughts on Gabriel's head as it is now, maybe we are just imagining things and if we tell Gabriel anything about that, there is no guarantee to what he will do.

Carmen-Yeah, Gabriel tends to be a little impulsive.

Meanwhile, Gabriel, Mak and Nico are already at the airport, they had a couple of minutes before the flight and Gabriel felt the need to ask a question...

Gabriel-So...Mr.Nico?

Nico-We are a team from this point on, Gabriel, you can call me by my name.

Gabriel-Ok then, Nico, I want to ask you something.

Nico-What is it?

Gabriel-You said that you investigated my past, right?

Nico-Yes, up to the point of you living in that orphanage.

Gabriel-It's about the orphanage.

Nico-I don't know anything about how you got there or who left you.

Gabriel-Well, that wasn't my question...

Nico-I am sorry, I thought that as an orphan you might want to look for your parents.

Gabriel-I am not concerned at all about that. (Well, now that he mentioned it, I am quite curious, I mean, Kevin said that my DNA was different from the beginning.)

Nico-What is it then?

Gabriel-What happened to the orphans when the priest died?

Nico-Some of them went to an internal school where they provided housing, some were picked up by the Vatican church since f.Johnnathan belonged to the Catholic Roman church and for some of the children, the records are missing.

Gabriel-What about a young girl? She should be about eighteen years old by now, blonde hair, blue eyes, her name is Helen.

Nico-I don't know, the matter of the orphanage was under Paladin Daniel and Bishop Adantino. Because the cause of death of the priest was demonic possession, someone of the Bishop rank had to intervene, he is actually the one with the records.

Gabriel-I see, when I come to the Vatican, can I meet this Adantino?

Nico-It will be a while before you can request an audience with a bishop, as a trainee there is no way but you are my partner right now and as a Paladin I can make a request for that.

Mak-(What's the matter with all this "I can make a request for this and that? Damn, these guys sure have to follow a lot of rules.)

Gabriel-Thank you.

Nico-Our flight is about to take off, let's get on board, it's going to be a long flight.

They got aboard the plane and as it took off Mak was having some thoughts, the same thoughts that Kevin and Carmen were discussing back home...

Mak-(Why would he let Munderic off the hook like that? Why would he want Gabriel with him? Something is fishy here but there is another thing, if he knew more than he said why would he fight Gabriel fairly, he could just use that petrifying thing on him and then take us all out, Kevin isn't that strong and he is quite inexperienced with his powers, Carmen and Munderic are the same and I have no battle use whatsoever, there is no reason to not report us to the Vatican and have us all arrested, well Kevin and Carmen didn't do anything but espers are not exactly free to roam wherever they like, Eric fought for that reason, espers are oppressed at many levels to the point of stuffing drugs in them and using them even as computer processors, humans always want to control things and espers are one of these things, given this, there is no reason for Nico to just ask us for help on this mission, unless he plans something else, I have to keep an eye on him.)

Mak was suspicious of Nico from the moment he sat on that couch, there is no telling what he has on his mind since Carmen isn't with them at the moment and Gabriel isn't even thinking about using Mind Read on Nico, even if he wanted to he would have to touch him and Nico isn't exactly eager to start hugging Gabriel either, for the time being, despite Mak's suspicion, he has to watch Nico carefully and go with the flow, Gabriel has no idea about all this and he doesn't even care if he knew then he is foolish enough to confront Nico straight on and that could also pose a problem.

Gabriel-Hey, Nico?

Nico-Yes?

Gabriel-Something else, how come you have no problem with Carmen?

Nico-Why would I?

Gabriel-Well, she is an esper, you know this much.

Nico-Espers have been oppressed for years, for now, the Vatican has ordered us not to chase them, this changes of course if they cause trouble, as far as I know, Carmen is just living a normal life, just learning about her powers hasn't caused an issue for the Vatican to worry about and there is no reason to go after her.

Gabriel-Good to know, I am starting to like you.

Nico-What?

Gabriel-Well, you are a guy who doesn't actively seek to harm others and you seem to be like a nice guy, you were honest from the second you entered the house and you are not judging others just based on rumors, I mean, you even accepted a

goblin in your team.

Nico-Goblins are weird creatures, no offense Mak.

Mak-Oh, don't worry, I have heard worse.

Nico-They have been causing all sorts of trouble, some years ago, when humans have just started expanding their territory.

Gabriel-What kind of trouble?

Nico-Goblins are by nature brute and dumb creatures, they used to plunder villages, rape women and kill anyone in their sight, that has stopped since the Vatican has formed our group, I personally haven't killed many of them but there are notes of Paladins hunting goblins and killing them in their nests.

Gabriel-Nests?

Mak-Goblins used to inherit memories from animals, that made them act based on instincts, feed, reproduce and basically survive, mindless.

Nico-You don't seem to care much about your own race.

Mak-I don't, anyway the thing is that as humans have expanded and invaded goblin nests, the new generations of goblins have inherited many of human characteristics, they have gotten way more social with each other and their intelligence has grown immensely, not the extent of the humans but basic strategy and communication has led goblins to form villages and clans, they started to leave humans alone out of fear and have hidden themselves far away from human sight, nests were just the reproducing places for goblins, usually cave systems and dug up holes, they used these nests to bring female creatures there and reproduce, sometimes without the consent of the female as Nico said.

Gabriel-You bastard.

Mak-Of course I haven't done anything like this and neither have many goblins in the past years, we learned that to survive as a species we had to keep to ourselves and with the introduction of humans, goblins have even used magic, Glamour spells are one occurrence but there have been cases of goblins even making contracts with powerful beings and claiming large masses of land.

Nico-That is true, goblins have been very quiet for now.

Gabriel-So...

Mak-There was no reason for someone to invade a goblin village and kill anyone, yes.

Gabriel-Well...

Mak-You did save me from an execution, yes.

Gabriel-Do I have to apologize to someone for that?

Mak-Not really, although Kevin would appreciate if you haven't lost his gun.

Nico-Mak here is an excellent example of what goblins could have been, I am impressed that you can even hold a normal conversation.

Gabriel-He can't, he is an ashole.

Mak-Hey, fuck you.

Nico-Even that shows signs of a personality, Mak may even surpass certain humans in a matter of intelligence. (To the point of being problematic.)

Mak-See, someone is talking sense around here.

Gabriel-He doesn't even care that I killed his own people, what kind of personality is that?

Mak-Humans aren't exactly social either, in recent years, more and more people are just keeping to themselves and are avoiding social interactions, that has rubbed off to goblins as well.

Nico-It's true, humans have a long history of distrust and conflict, I can't do anything about this though, any ill activity of human on human is the jurisdiction of the police.

Gabriel-So, if you come across a murderer, you are not going to stop him?

Nico-Of course I am, what I meant to say is that it's not within my power to exact judgment on others, that's what only God can do, as a human I have basic principles and I won't stand idle in the face of evil.

Gabriel-That's good to hear, I hoped you wouldn't be just some sort of moron who just acts based on orders and jurisdiction.

Nico-Order is what keeps people in line if you defy it too much you enter the place of acting stupid and dangerous to others, there always has to be balance.

Mak-I am tired, I am going to take a nap, wake me up when we arrive at Mexico.

Gabriel-As always.

Nico-You should also take some rest, Gabriel, we will have work to do soon.

Gabriel-Maybe I will take a nap too, I am leaving the waking part to you.

Nico-Don't worry.

As of now, Gabriel and Mak are sleeping on the plane, the flight is a long one to Mexico and as Nico said, they will need to be well rested for what it is to come, once they arrive, they will have to begin the investigation to find Ozymandias location, his whereabouts and what he is planning exactly, they don't have much information on him and that is what makes this mission difficult, even if they find their target, there is always the possibility of a fight breaking out and even Nico isn't sure he can take Ozymandias alone, that's the reason he asked for Gabriel's help, this is what he told him at least...