Chapter 320: Black Buds-III

Once they arrived at a large oak wooden door, Elise can't help but turn her head to see the door, checking if it would open for Ian to come back. She wondered what was very important that needed Cynthia to come?

Father Redrick who had pulled a large circular metal where keys gathered in the loop, saw the expression on Elise's face. She then turned at the same time and when their eyes meet the priest smiled. "I have seen countless people getting married in this Church. Is not something unusual for priest to be a witness to such a holy sacrament. Marriage is when two person becomes one and to me it is something that needed to be weaved carefully, in order for the couples to know the darkest part of their partner."

"I see," Elise replied, a smile on her lips. Last night too, she had just learned the darkest part of Ian and his past. To her, knowing Ian's past doesn't show what he was or to warn her about the evilness that lurked in him which tamed only after he met her. It was knowing about his past that makes her understood in pain and bring the, closer.

"There was many marriages that I came across since I've become a priest too," Redrick said when he turned the key, his hand had suddenly stopped as he sunk into his memories, keeping a trail of memory which had been buried deep inside his mind.

"Do you have any marriage that was very special to you?" Elise asked him curiously, wondering what kind of marriages others would have as she had only seen a few marriages.

The priest smiled, eyes on the key without looking at her but he wasn't looking at the key either as his mind was somewhere else in his memories, "There was. It was a very simple marriage in a meadow. It was not in the Church as the circumstances didn't allow but by far it is one of the most enduring marriage I have seen which is also sad."

Redrick didn't seem to notice what he said until he retrace his words. Elise's interest was piqued even more, "Why was it sad? Marriage is a blissful thing." and she heard that the marriage was endearing.

The priest looked at her, but his eyes which was blue deepened, the light that came from the gaps of the racks that covered the nearby window shines a little golden in his eyes that Elise noticed. 

She saw the priest looking sorrowful and a smile on his lips showing pity, "The marriage happened suddenly because they know they wouldn't last long. Some times fate is crueler to the people who had just regain their happiness. Just like the way an old woman wish to die everyday but rather live to the age of one hundred and a young child who wish not to die early but illness caught him in the age of seven. It is God's will, not his whims but his love. The couple know they would die soon. It was only me who was there to witness the marriage and a little creature."

Elise felt that the will of God had always been hard to understand by humans but Demons didn't seem to understand it either. "If I may ask, what happened to them after?"

It took a while for the word to leave Redrick mouth while deeply staring at Elise, "They died." in response, Elise's smile turned smaller in sympathy and at the same time, the key clicked open and the priest pushed the knob down, "Let us go."

Unlike the library outside, the special room held less light due to the room having no window with a very small one which was on top of the ceiling that's as guard with a metal grill. 

Elise came along the racks, following Redrick from behind while her eyes read the titles of the books where some written in alphabet she knew and some with other language she never know before. The book range from older times, causing it to look brown and yellow, part of the pages stuck out of the book as if it had been ripped apart and forced to stay inside.

The racks weren't placed horizontally with one after another, stacking behind like a domino. Instead, it was placed in circle. When she stepped out of one racks, walking to the next, through the gaps between the two racks, Elise saw a golden chalice placed in the middle of the circle. The cup was covered in a glass case where a part of the floor below it was built in a deeper level than the other side of the floor for a puddle of water to settle so the books in the rack wouldn't get wet.

When she took a better look at it, she noticed that the water that filled the chalice continue to overflow as if there was a faucet inside it, continue to pour more water to the puddle below them.

"This is the book," said Redrick, taking her attention away from the chalice. Noticing the priest was already far from her, she quicken her pace to make her way next to his side. The priest placed one book on her hand before looking for more books. 

"And this," he said, placing another book, "This two books talks about the Demons that reside in Hell, and the other one talked about sightings of angels that has horns. People claim that the Angels are called corrupted angels according to this book. What kind of Demons are you curious about?" asked the priest, offering to help her.

Elise wondered who she should search first. Beelzebub should be categorized here as he was very well-known. She doesn't know what Ian is called in Hell and doubted it would be his name. The most known person was that one Demon she didn't know why she was very curious of him, "Lucifer." The angels who had gone to the wrong side of the child of a demon and angel. She wanted to know him part of the reason being his wings that could be similar to Ian's and her deep rooted curiosity she wasn't aware of the reason.

"Lucifer," repeated Redrick with a much more rigid tone. "He should be there in this book. There is also one more Demon who is well known after Lucifer. His name is Leviathan. You might want to know him if you are learning about Lucifer."