Want to try falling from the heavens with me?

He’s momentarily taken aback by the beauty of the accessory in his hands. Turning it over slowly in his palms, Ten takes note of how the jewels catch the light and shimmer every which way.

“Good grief... You really know how to catch someone off guard, Yuki-san.”

Ten turns away.

“...Thank you for the generous gift.”

“Unbelievable...”

Friends, hm? Azazel didn’t know about that. He’d be hard-pressed to call anyone he’d met in Spirale a ‘friend’–allies, perhaps, or in the parallel Lucifer’s case, maybe something slightly more amicable than that…but nothing more; and that was precisely how Azazel wished to keep things.

His ultimate goal was escape, after all. He didn’t need any unnecessary attachments causing him to hesitate when the time came.

In any case…moving forward, the ability to utilize this human technology would no doubt be useful. Provided his allies, too, kept their phones close at hand, it would take almost no effort at all to keep one another informed as to their whereabouts and alert each other should any trouble arise–

“…By the way, if you’re not human, then what exactly are you?”

Azazel lifted an eyebrow as he returned his full attention to the boy, his expression shifting to something decidedly unimpressed–as if the question was one of the most imbecilic he had ever heard.

“… I’m a fallen angel. A demon. Surely that much should be obvious even to a child.”

“...Ah. Well you see, demons don’t actually exist in the world I come from. I’ve never seen one in person before.”

So you are the messenger pigeon, he thought, but Ten was wise enough not to voice such a sentiment. It definitely explained the horns. And the claws. And the fangs. And pretty much everything else about the man’s ridiculously gothic appearance.

Had he been in any other situation, he would’ve written the man’s words off as someone who was far too eager to get into character with a cosplay, but Ten had been in these strange cities long enough to know that was not the case.

Still, the least he could’ve done was give Ten a name after Ten helped him...! Not that it really mattered... This man didn’t seem like he was too interested in getting friendly with the likes of humans.

“Alright then, Mister Demon. I hope you have fun with your phone.”

Battery? Chemical ions? Lithium? Explode…?!

The boy had certainly managed to lose him by this point. What exactly was a ‘lithium ion’? Did it have to do with chemicals of some kind? Azazel understood that alchemists and apothecaries and the like often mixed different substances and materials in order to reap the benefits of the resulting bi-products, but having never dabbled in such things himself, specific names and terminology flew directly over his head…–no, no, more than that, how could a substance with such potential for destruction be used to facilitate communication, of all things? Or did the power source have anything to do with it at all aside from providing the necessary energy for communicative processes…?

Ugh. For all that he’d learned in the short time he’d been speaking with this child, another thousand follow-up questions had cropped up in his mind. He doubted the boy could provide him with all the answers he wanted, though… Perhaps he could consult one of the numerous libraries he’d seen during the course of his wanderings for more in-depth explanations…?

Like what exactly electricity was, for example.

In any case…the ‘charger’ the stranger spoke of did ring a bell. Azazel hadn’t known what it was, so it’d been sitting untouched in his assigned room for some time now. To think its intended use would be connected (both literally and figuratively) to something like these ‘cell phones’… 

“I see…” The demon took one final look at his own device before pocketing it, something between a grimace and a smirk twisting his features as he did so. Cocytus would freeze over before he complimented a human (or humans in general), but he had to admit…–

“To not only engineer such a useful piece of technology, but to do so without magic…and to then streamline the design for widespread public use…” Azazel shook his head. “… No matter the world, you humans never fail to surprise.”

“......”

Yeah, this guy was definitely on the same brand as weird as Miyako had been.

“...Thanks? I guess. Anyway, I hope I could help. Try giving one of your friends a call some time.”

His own curiosity was piqued now. What did they use in this man’s world if not cellphones? The traditional pen and paper? Messenger pigeons? And the most important question that Ten wanted to ask......

The stranger’s fingers tapped and swept across the screen of his cell phone with practiced ease, and as Azazel listened in thoughtful silence to the explanation behind each core function, he made a conscious effort to commit the pertinent movements and button combinations to memory. It all seemed to require a certain degree of finesse…but he was confident that, given time to practice and familiarize himself with the technology, he would be able to utilize the conveniences of instant communication as well as any native from this world.

… Though he most likely wouldn’t be using any ‘emojis.’ Based on the boy’s description, they seemed disappointingly irrelevant to his purposes. Rather, he’d likely get far more use out of the ‘text,’ ‘call,’ and ‘camera’ functions…

“……”

How…did any of this work, anyway? The boy had offered explanations as to the purpose of basic features and how to access them, but he’d said nothing about the mechanisms at play behind them. Did he simply not know? The stranger didn’t strike Azazel as the scholarly sort…but what kind of fools used technology on the daily without understanding what powered it…?

Then again, perhaps it ought come as no surprise. For how industrious and innovative they could prove, most humans didn’t often concern themselves with details or consequences so long as they benefitted in the short term. 

“… I understand the essential functions now.” Azazel frowned down at the cell phone held in his claws, contemplative–then continued, “What I don’t understand is how it’s powered. I’ve not sensed any magic from these cell phones, but surely it must require energy of some kind to operate.

“If I tear it apart, will I find the power source inside…? Is it stable?” 

It was a relief to hear that the man understood how it worked (really, Ten was relieved that he didn’t have to explain all of that again) but he nearly blanched at the man’s next question.

“Don’t...tear it apart. They’re powered by a ‘battery,’ which is a portable power source that relies on the flow of chemical ions to keep it running. Also, if they’re anything like the phones from my world, then the batteries are probably made of lithium ion. Not only is it not of any use to you in a form like that, but it’s flammable, will explode, and isn’t something you want to get on your clothes, or your skin. Once the battery runs out of energy, you can recharge it with electricity.”

He had all the mind to suggest that the man could also charge it in the microwave, but...no, he would probably believe it and try it. And then come after Ten’s life when it blew up. Ten wasn’t stupid.

“It’s little more than a rectangular tablet when deactivated! There’s little, if anything at all, to distinguish the top from the bottom!”

Kh… He’s getting too agitated–even he knows that. He knows that…but to be talked down to this way by some nameless human child is simply…–!

“–You must’ve at least seen the texts from that madman who’s been going around stabbing people, right?”

Azazel’s simmering indignation towards his own circumstances cool abruptly, if only temporarily, at the example the boy offers him. Those messages sent from Belial… So they’re called ‘texts.’ He’s often heard that word on the streets as well–sometimes on its own, other times in conjunction with words such as ‘group’ or ‘mass.’ Thus far, the boy has only referenced single-recipient texts, but–

“… Tch.” Azazel’s eyes narrow; his reflection in the phone’s currently black screen glares back at him. “… Yes, I’ve seen them. They were addressed to ‘all contacts.’”

He pauses.

“… I have attempted to experiment with this cell phone before. At one time I managed to come upon something labeled ‘Contacts,’ with a series of names I did not recognize displayed beneath it. That long list… Do you seriously mean to tell me that man transmitted that image to all those people at once?

“To begin with, how can this tiny device capture and preserve a moment in time like that…?”

Ten paused, deliberating his next choice of words. The man seemed like he had never been exposed to technology in his life. Ten would have to start from the beginning.

“Your cellphone has a unique sequence of numbers associated with it. This is called a ‘phone number.’ If anyone dialed that sequence of numbers on another phone, you would get a call from them. If you pull up the keypad like this,” Ten took out his own phone and demonstrated, “you can just dial a person’s number and reach them that way.

“Your ‘Contacts List’ is a list of people whose phone numbers, and in some cases, address information, are stored on your phone. If you don’t like or aren’t good at remember numbers, then the Contacts List makes it easy to call someone on the dime. You just search for the person’s name, tap on it, and tap on the ‘Call’ button that comes up. You can also tap on ‘Message’ if you want to text them instead.” Ten demonstrated again, showing the man the sequence of buttons to press before reaching the Call and Text screens. 

“This is where ‘emojis’ come in. They’re picture symbols you can add to your text messages. Some people like to add them for flair or character. Or to be cute. Something like that.

“You can also send pictures through text messages. These days, phones come built-in with a device called a ‘camera.’ The camera can snap a ‘photo,’ which is a still picture of whatever was within the sights of the ‘camera lens.’ That’s this thing right here.” He pointed to the lens on the back of his own phone. “As long as you’re in camera mode, anything that this lens sees at the moment you snap a picture will be preserved in your phone’s ‘photo album’ until you delete it. But, I’ll let you figure out how to find the camera on your own.”

Right side…–? Oh. 

Oops.

“……”

Without a word (but with a swiftly-growing scowl on his face), Azazel adjusts the phone’s position in his claws. He has no reason to be embarrassed by his present ineptitude–he knows that. After all…

“Why would I…? Technology of this nature doesn’t exist in Mistarcia. Almost everything in this wretched city is completely alien…”

“Ah, is that so? I’m pretty sure anyone would be able to tell whether they’re holding something upside down or not, though? But suit yourself.”

A world without cellphones, though... In the heavily digitalized era that Ten had come from, it was hard to imagine. 

Azazel glances briefly at the boy addressing him–then fishes his phone out of his pocket, curious. So ‘emojis’ have to do with these ‘cell phones,’ do they…? But what exactly does he mean by them being ‘on’ the device?

… Ugh. He abhors the thought of turning to a human for guidance, but when it’s so abundantly clear that this child has more know-how, does he really have a choice…?

“That tells me neither what they are, nor their purpose. Explain.”

Ah. This man was one of those cases, wasn’t he. Then perhaps Ten had to rephrase the question...

“...First of all, do you even know how to use a phone?”

Judging by the fact that the man was holding it, probably not.

He’s heard the term used a few times in passing while walking the streets, but he’s never been able to pick out enough context clues to be able to figure its meaning out for sure–

“Just what is an ‘emoji’ supposed to be…?”

What’s with his outfit? Is he some kind of Visual Kei fan? ...Since when did they have horns in Visual Kei?