I know. [ He states simply, hand relaxing under her ministrations. He knows all the stories, all the religions, by heart because it's woven through history so tightly there's no way he couldn't have learned about it all. The Order too was made up out of different ones, an inevitable fact when its members were so ethnically diverse. ]

Not that different from you, I imagine. They're all bible stories so I don't know.

[ He may be skimming over the question a little, but at least he's answering, right? The mention of angels brings back the wry smile. ]

If you want angels— well, the Level Four Akuma look a disturbing lot like them.

[ Horrible, grotesque abominations parading around in a mockery of the image. Still, the closest thing they had to the angels she's referring to.

As for losing sides . . . that actually gets a chuckle out of him, but he doesn't comment on it. Whatever side, really. Winning or losing didn't matter, it didn't affect them. They were just observers, moving from one place to the next, unattached.

Supposedly. ]

That's right, Akuma and Noah aren't things normal people know about. It's a secret war.

[ He moves his free hand to press a finger to his lips, an almost childlike shushing gesture with the way he does it. He manages a more proper smile, secretive but tinged with a weariness he can't hide. ]

That's why you can't tell anyone the things I just told you.

[ A lie. It didn't matter very much in this place, it's for her own safety more than anything. It's just Tyki now (and he doesn't want her anywhere near him to start with) but that was apt to change in this place. It could be the Earl next for all they know. ]