"Hey, Drako. Will you look after Akeno for me?
"Huh?"
It's not that I don't understand what Shuri means, it's just that she's caught me by too much surprise. It was so sudden that I don't know how to react.
"I mean, if something happens to me, could you take care of Akeno?"
Shuri seems to know her situation well.
"Barakiel says he'll always protect us, but that's impossible. He's very strong, of that I have no doubt, but that's not the problem. As much as he wants to, he can't be with us 24 hours a day. I don't want him to be with us all the time either. He's already been with us for fourteen years because of the threat of Himejima Clan. I know he's happy with us, but I know he misses spending his time with his fellow Grigori. You should see the smile on his face as he talks about you..."
She knows her situation very well. Shuri knows that Barakiel can't be with them forever, and her enemies may seize the moment when Barakiel is not at home to attack them.
It is a complicated situation, but there was a simple solution.
"Why don't you move to Grigori?"
It's a simple, obvious question. Shuri and Akeno would have the protection of all Grigori, they would not have to worry about the Himejima clan or other alternate dangers. I am confident that Azazel would not remain silent if they attempted to do something against them.
Shuri looked at me and smiled. She seemed to know everything that was going on in my mind.
"We have already considered that option, and we were about to do it a few years ago. But events have occurred within Grigori that have made us rethink that option."
In other words, Grigori is not a safe place for Akeno and Shuri. That's what she's trying to tell me.
But why wouldn't Grigori be safe for them?
Once again, it seems that Shuri knows what I'm thinking.
"Traitors."
Traitors in Grigori. Even I understand how troublesome that can be.
"There must be some high command to keep Barakiel and Azazel from letting you live in fallen angel territory."
Shuri nods her head.
"Several high officials, and one especially powerful one. Satanael, one of Grigori's leaders, was the one who led this rebellion. But he is not the one we are most worried about, but the most dangerous is the group he leads. They are Nephilim's elite, Abyss Team."
Abyss Team...
The casual words that Azazel said a week before resonate in my mind again.
"We used to have an elite group, but some internal problems have happened, and we don't have that group anymore."
I should have guessed at the time, that the internal problems Azazel was talking about had to do with betrayal.
"Barakiel and Azazel have known Satanael for thousands of years, and are sure that they have left some spies behind in Grigori. That's why we, Akeno and I, are potential hostages with whom they can threaten the person with the most powerful attack in the entire organization."
Shuri closed her eyes and sighed again.
"Satanael... he has only one conflict of interest with Azazel. According to my husband, the two are very similar. They're both scientists interested in Sacred Gears, but their approach is different. Azazel still takes his role as an observer of humanity seriously, but Satanael is different. Satanael has no attachment to humanity, never had. I don't know if you've ever read the bible, but Satanael became a fallen angel by refusing to bow down to a human."
Satanael...
He comes from a different lot than Azazel and Barakiel, who came down from heaven by having sex with human women. Satanael comes from a group of angels who despise humans.
Azazel investigates the Sacred Gears created by God just out of curiosity, but Satanael investigates them with the war in mind. That's what I believe.
But if so, why has Kokabiel not betrayed Grigori? Is he one of the spies?
"There are not a few fallen angels who seek war with the other factions, but the great majority of them are loyal to Grigori and Azazel. They take their job as observers of humanity seriously, but not all of them are like that."
I see...
I suppose I should place Kokabiel in the group of fallen angels who are loyal to Grigori, but who also seek war.
In fact, I think Raynare and her buddies could get in there, too. They are loyal to Grigori, in Raynare's case, it is extreme fanaticism towards Azazel. However, they still "betrayed" by acting on their own and disobeying the orders of the high command.
"So, will you take care of Akeno for me?"
Shuri repeats the question again as she looks into my eyes.
"What about Barakiel?" I ask her.
I, knowing what will happen in the future in case Shuri dies, already know that Barakiel will literally abandon his daughter. But why doesn't Shuri trust her husband?
"I know my husband, and I know my daughter. If anything happens to me when Barakiel is not around, Akeno... she would blame it all on Barakiel, even if she knows it's not her father's fault, so she can move on. As for Barakiel, he, too, would have strong guilt and remorse for his failure to protect me, which would lead him to feel too ashamed to face a desperate Akeno because of her mother's death."
This woman...
It's kind of scary.
"What about Grigori?"
Shuri shakes her head.
"Even if Azazel was willing to let her into Grigori, Akeno would refuse. She would hate anything to do with fallen angels, even herself."