Hey everyone and get ready for this chapter. This'll be the last chapter of this arc and hopefully, you enjoy it, now there might be some things I add for the sake of foreshadowing later events but hopefully, I'll be able to keep them subtle. Anyway, this chapter will be longer than usual. Hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody, Highschool DxD, Highschool DxD New, Highschool DxD Born, Highschool DxD EX, and Highschool DxD Hero are all owned by Funimation, Fushimi Shobo, TNK, Passione, and Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.
"Shirou" Regular speech.
"Shirou" Thoughts.
DRAGON SHOT Attack names.
(Shirou) Words said previously.
"SHIROU!" Shouting speech.
[Ddraig] Dragon talking.
The End Of A Crisis And A New Beginning
I did it.
I was ten years old and I still remember it like it was yesterday.
I stood there was an empty look on my face.
Mika was only seven years old and was clinging to my back.
In my hands was a gun, a pistol that was fired just seconds ago.
And at my feet was a man of the age of an adult, he had a bullet in his head and was lying in a pool of his own blood.
"Not bad kid." A condescending voice spoke.
In front of me was a tall man with a muscular build, he was dressed like a thug and was sitting in a chair.
Around him was a group of thugs dressed just as bad as him.
We were all inside some ruined building.
Everyone one of them was looking at me with cocky smiles on their faces.
I hated how they looked down on me, I wanted to slug them, but not right now.
"I didn't think you'd actually do it, but you really killed him." The boss said.
"So is it a deal?" I asked him.
"Yeah, a deal's a deal. You're in the gang. Work hard and you'll get paid, here."
He threw me a small stack of money which I took.
I had to kill some guy to get in and so I did.
These people, this place, this job, it all made me sick.
But I had to do it.
Mom and Dad were gone, we survived that place but now have nowhere to go, we wouldn't survive living on the streets.
I need to do this, for myself and for Mika.
I will survive, no matter what, I will survive.
Shirou's gauntlet clashed with Freed's blade.
"You son of a bitch! Where the hell did all this power come from?!" Freed yelled while trying to hold his ground.
Shirou grinned. "Well how about this, if you can survive for one minute I'll tell you." Shirou's punch then won the power struggle and pushed Freed back a few feet.
Shirou taunted him using the same words Freed used on him from their last encounter.
Shirou was trying to play on Freed's temper and making his movement wild and uncontrollable.
And fortunately Freed was easy to anger.
"I'll kill you! You Fucking Deviiilllll!" Freed rushed in to try and mutilate Shirou.
SCCHHHHK! SCCHHKKK! SCHHKKK!
Even with his promotion, Shirou still had to admit Freed's speed was pretty impressive. He might be as fast as a Knight like Kiba, and almost as fast as Shirou's own normal speed without his weights. However, against the current Shirou, his speed was easily surpassed. Shirou could effortlessly evade all of Freed's attacks without sustaining damage.
Shirou then used his speed to move in and appeared at Freed's right flank, he then struck using his leg like a wipe, Freed couldn't guard in time and was kicked in the abdomen and sent flying into the wall.
"Man first Raynare and now you." Shirou watched Freed struggle to get up. "What is it with you guy's that makes you able to take punishment like that?"
Freed growled. "You'll find that hacking apart Devils like you make this all worth it."
"Then basically, right now you won't get anything from this tonight." Shirou taunted.
Freed roared and went back on the attack, Shirou stood in place, then when Freed was right in front of him, he waived out of the way, and Freed ran past him, Shirou then elbowed Freed in the back of the head knocking Freed off his feet.
Freed regained his footing and tried to cut Shirou apart again.
Shirou was sidestepping Freed's blades, avoiding his fierce attempts to hack and slash him.
Freed then raised one of his Swords in the air trying to bring it down like a guillotine. Shirou, fortunately, saw it coming and backhanded punched Freed's hand knocking the Sword of Light out of his grip.
Shirou then jumped back and avoided being chopped by the other Sword of Light.
"Would you just hold still so I can kill you!" Freed was getting frustrated by Shirou's defiance.
Shirou stared at him with half-lidded eyes. "I know crazy's your thing and all, but seriously has that ever worked?"
They continued their exchange of attacks, Shirou dodged a sideways arc towards his throat, he avoided a thrust aimed at his heart, and he sidestepped an upwards slash intended to claim his head.
Shirou was waiting for the right moment, then he saw it when Freed thrust his blade forward while standing right in front of Shirou. Shirou then threw a punch with his gauntlet-covered arm that connected with Freed's Sword of Light.
"Oh? Trying to break my Sword? Sorry, but it's made of Holy Light! A Low-Class Devil like you could never even hope to break my—"
[BOOST!]
CRACK!
The blade of light which made up Freed's Sword was cracked and then shattered into nothing.
Shirou smirked. "Better to be Low-Class than to have no Class like you guys."
Shirou cocked his fist back.
"…Oh, Fuc—" That was all Freed had a chance to say before Shirou's fist crashed into Freed's face and delivered a strong right hook.
Freed rolled with the punch, kicking out his legs to stop himself from being sent flying again, and kept his feet planted on the ground.
"…Gugh, why's it always the face—"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as Shirou continued his assault on Freed and smashed his right fist into Freed's gut, the impact was greater because of the metal braces on his gloves. A soft cry of pain escaped Freed before he turned to Shirou, trying to say something again.
Shirou landed another blow to Freed's face, which shut him up.
Then another blow on his shoulder.
Shirou relentlessly rained down a storm of punches on Freed. Shirou didn't hesitate, he used every last shred of speed he had in his powered-up state. Unleashing a fast-paced barrage of blows all over the fake Priest's body, with both overwhelming speed and power. "CO! CO! CO! COMBO!"
Face. Head. Chest. Stomach. Abdomen. Arms. Legs. Shoulders. Waist.
Not a single part of Freed's body was spared from Shirou's assault and Shirou didn't slow down for a moment, not giving his opponent time to counter, escape, or even think, He kept attacking intending to end the fight here and now. Freed had no chance to even defend himself.
Shirou then stopped and Freed was in terrible condition. Freed's body was bloody and bruised all over, his eye was swollen. His mouth, nose, and eyes were bleeding. And he was barely able to stand up straight.
Shirou cocked his fist back preparing to end it.
[BOOST!]
"Drop Dead!" Shirou delivered the final blow, smashing his gauntlet in Freed with a fierce uppercut. Knocking Freed into the air, sailing passed the Church, and crashing into the window breaking the glass and sending him flying outside.
Shirou breathed heavily from the scuffle he just had. He was satisfied that he was finally done with dealing with Freed, seeing him as more of a nuisance than an actual threat.
Shirou knew though that a reason for that was because of his promotion. He thought for a moment realizing he never asked Rias if promotion had after-effects on the body and wondered what the side-effects were of overusing it if that was the case.
Shirou didn't know what would happen from promoting to Queen twice in one day, but saving Asia took priority, anything else would have to wait.
But before that, he looked to his Sacred Gear and noticed something he felt was off for a while. For starters, the appearance changed. It went from being something of an armored gauntlet like that of a mech to being something of an armored gauntlet that resembled scales, the fingers were spikier, the gauntlet was a darker red, and the armor around the hand to the wrist had spikes on both sides pointing outwards, and there were two golden spikes at the end pointing backward.
Not only the appearance but the abilities seemed different too, the Sacred Gear was supposed to double his power for ten seconds and then need ten seconds cooldown. But against Freed it was different, he felt the power up leave him the moment his attack made contact with Freed.
"Hmm, is this one of those things where the power evolves the more I use it?" Shirou tried to figure this out. "This might be something to look into later. But first I need to save Asia, this can wait."
With that he turned towards the passageway hidden beneath the altar, revealing a winding staircase illuminated by torches at various points along the way. Shirou looked down at the staircase and felt his Devil instincts tell him danger was down there.
Shirou closed his eyes and willed his gauntlet away.
He then started to make his way downstairs.
"Hang on Asia, I'll finally put this to an end." He then clenched his fists. "And I'll also end Raynare."
BANG!
"RAYNARE, COME OUT!"
Shirou burst into the room at the bottom of the staircase with a loud roar.
What he saw was a room lit by torches, it was filled with Exorcists all of who were holding Swords of Light. The room itself was wide with a really high ceiling and at the end was a large staircase going upwards, on top was an altar with a stone cross on the very top of the alter. On the cross was Asia who had been stripped down to almost nothing but a white sheet and standing next to her was Raynare.
"Shirou-san!" Asia cried out while tied to the large stone cross.
"Well look who's here." Raynare in a mocking voice teased. Shirou shot a death glare at the black-winged annoyance that started all this.
"Raynare, I'm here to finish this!"
"And how so, will you defeat me? Save Asia? Escape with your life?"
"All that and more, you forgot the part where I kill you!" Shirou summoned his Sacred Gear and pointed it at Raynare with narrowed eyes. "I think we both know how this'll end, hand over Asia and I'll kill you softly."
"Oho!" Raynare seemed amused by his threat. "I'm afraid I'll have to decline, instead you're the one who's going to die!"
Shirou raised an eyebrow. "Why the hell are you so confident, you ran away from me like a bitch twice now!" Shirou reminded. "Do I have to kill you for it to sink in? You. Can't. Beat me!"
"That was before, but now my plan will be complete." Raynare retorted. "Once I gain the power I sought out an inferior Devil like you will be nothing compared to me! I'll have you crushed beneath my feet where you belong."
Shirou snorted. "Right, 'cause we all know how good your plans are."
Raynare twitched a bit. "Moving on, it's too late for you to save this girl anyway, you can have the remains after I'm done."
"Done?" Shirou titled his head. "Done with what? What are you doing?" That was when he noticed, the green energy flowing through the giant cross and the increasing weariness showing on Asia's face. "What's happening to her?!"
"It's quite simple really." Raynare said with a malicious grin, enjoying the current situation. "To put it in words you'll understand, this is a special ritual that can only be done on the full moon. Once it's complete the treasure inside her will belong to me. And you will bear witness to me gaining the power to destroy you and her taking her last feeble breaths."
"Her treasure…" It took a few moments for Shirou to put two and two together, his eyes widening. "You want her Sacred Gear?!"
"That's right." Raynare confirmed. "Once the Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing is in my hands, I will be sure to put it to better use, I'll get back at all those fools who mocked me, I'll be loved!"
Shirou rolled his eyes. "Yeah that's swell, but what happens next. Somehow I get the feeling that losing a Sacred Gear isn't something pleasant."
"True, not for Asia anyway." Raynare smirked. "You see Shirou-kun the removal of a Sacred Gear is a rather forceful process, the nature of a Sacred Gear is something that embeds itself into the current holder. You see, when a person awakens a Sacred Gear the two become one like you have a new internal organ. And if that organ were to be forcibly removed like right now then…"
"They'll die." Shirou realized, gasping. "You bitch! I knew you were low down and jacked up in the head, but your really going to kill an innocent girl for some power!?" Shirou pointed his fist at her and glared. "Are you really that deprived?!"
"Deprived?" Raynare asked teasingly. "I'm only doing exactly what I should do, the life of a measly Human is a small drop of water in the grand scheme of things. In fact, she should be honored getting to die for the sake of a superior Fallen Angel like me."
"Oh give it up already!" Shirou spat. "No one's buying that "I am greater than thou" crap you keep trying to sell. Besides I won't let you kill her!"
"You won't let me?" Raynare scoffed. "Look at where you are, you can't stop me!"
"Man you really are an idiot."
.
.
.
The insult caught Raynare off guard. Sure all of Shirou's other attempts to insult her worked with near-perfect results, but the mundane insult like "idiot" was something she didn't see coming.
"E-Excuse me?!" And like usual it got under her skin. "What exactly makes you think I'm an idiot."
Shirou sighed. "You really want me to say it? Fine, let's start with this stupid plan of yours."
Raynare sneered. "What's wrong with it?"
"First of all, how long were you planning this?"
"A few months, why?"
"And how long have you been monitoring me?"
"Around the same time."
Shirou face-palmed. "Didn't your superiors tell you that I had some powerful Sacred Gear?"
"Well of course, but it turned out to be false. As I said yours is a worthless Twice Critical."
Shirou just stared at her. "But you only found that out today."
"Yes, that's true." Raynare confirmed.
"So you're telling me for months now, you had a device that had the power to steal Sacred Gears and someone who as far as you knew had a powerful Sacred Gear so strong your superiors warned you about it, and yet you never thought to use it on me?"
"Well, I…" Raynare paused realizing the huge oversight he just pointed out.
"I mean if you did, then you'd of had two Sacred Gears and I wouldn't have been in your way, two birds with one stone." Shirou pointed out. "And even if you didn't do that, there were still other ways you could have made this work."
"Huh?" Raynare stared blankly, still not getting it.
"This town is controlled by Devils, I assume you at least knew that."
"Of course I did." Raynare confirmed.
"And you know Devils can revive the dead?"
"Yes, so?"
"Well if you knew all that, why did you try to kill me out in the open? Even though you lost, back when you wanted to kill me you tried it in the middle of town where they would instantly notice you from a mile away and show up, why not try to recruit me instead or just pretend to and lead me to the Church? You could have still ambushed me and we'd be somewhere the Devils couldn't reach you, you'd be safe, you'd have back up, and I'd be dead."
".….." Raynare just stood there, taking all this in.
"Instead, however, you fought me out in the open and intended to leave my body right there instead of at least thinking of hiding the corpse, knowing it could be found by a Devil who had the power to bring me back to life for no apparent reason. What else can you call someone like that but an idiot?"
A look of realization and some embarrassment flashed across Raynare's face. "…Wow, It all seems so obvious now that you mention it." Raynare then pinched the bridge of her nose. "Man, I am an idiot."
"You got that right."
"You know, in hindsight, I probably could have done a better job at planning this out."
"In the end, all this is on you."
"True, but I don't think it really matters in the end." Raynare turned to Shirou and summoned a Spear of Light. "Since the end result still ends with your death!"
She throws her Spear of Light at Shirou, but Shirou unfolds his Devil wings and flies up to dodge it and the priests.
"Now, now, don't be hasty." Shirou reached into his pocket and took out his bomb. "You should know something first."
Raynare narrowed her eyes. "And what's that?"
Shirou smirked. "Devils also don't play by the rules!"
Before anyone could react, Shirou held up the bomb Ren gave him and threw it down towards the floor, once it smashed into the ground it detonated, causing it to explode into huge clouds of smoke. Everyone unlucky enough to take a breath at that moment inhaled huge puffs of smoke, causing them to fall to their knees choking and coughing violently.
"W-What is this…?"
"Is it some kind of poison?"
"I feel like I'm going to die!"
"I can't breath!"
Shirou looked down at all of them arrogantly. "Worked like a charm, I owe you one Ren."
"No it's not poison, it's only affecting Humans." Raynare then had a looked of shock and realization on her face. "This can't be. Senjutsu?!"
"Correct." Shirou answered. "I'm actually surprised you knew about that."
"Impossible! How could some worthless Devil like you have access to a deadly power like Senjutsu?!"
Shirou rolled his eyes. "Y'know I'd love to answer all your questions, but we're out of time."
Shirou then flew to the alter at fast speed and first appeared in front of Raynare, he then reached out and grabbed her face with his hand and held it with a strong grip, Shirou finished by throwing her to the side and slamming her into the wall.
Raynare seemed stunned from the damage of Shirou's quick attack, but that would wear off in a short while. Without wasting time, Shirou reached the altar and stood in front of the cross that Asia was chained to.
"Hey, Asia, crazy day huh?"
"Sh-Sh-Shirou-san!" Asia cried out, smiling, being the only Human in the room not coughing up a storm since the smoke clouds hadn't reached her yet.
Seeing as how that probably wouldn't last, Shirou brought out the face mask in his pocket and wrapped it around Asia's mouth, now that she couldn't inhale the smoke Shirou decide to free her. "Hang tight, I'll break these off." Thanks to his promotion increasing his already monstrous strength, Shirou ripped apart the chains holding Asia as easily as one would with paper. With nothing to keep her held up, Asia fell into Shirou's arms.
"Shirou-san, why did you come for me?" Asia asked now being held by him.
Shirou smirked. "Didn't I tell you, I always keep my word? I said I wouldn't mind trying being your friend, and a friend wouldn't leave them to die, figured that was a given."
"Eh?" Asia was surprised as Shirou scooped her up in a princess-style carry.
"We're friends now, got it. There ain't no way in hell your dying for some black-winged prostitute!"
Asia didn't know what to say, all she could do was lay there as tears of happiness fell from her eyes.
Shirou noticed this and cringed. "Come on don't cry now, if you cry while I hold you dressed like that, people will think I'm some kind of creep."
Asia wiped away her tears and smiled, her heart at ease.
Shirou's arms tightened around Asia. "Hold on! I'm getting us out of here!"
Without waiting for confirmation, Shirou leaped from the altar and spread his wings, back in the air he flew past all the Exorcists still on the floor choking on the smoke cloud. Once he reached the doorway he lowered his flight and made his way to the stairs he came up from.
"Sayonara bitches!" Shirou taunted as he made his escape.
Using her wings, Raynare rained herself and flew above the others, she saw the chains around the cross broken and that Shirou along with Asia was gone. "Don't just sit there, I order you all to go after them!" She turned to her forces to see, they were all either unconscious or still writhing in agony, some were even coughing blood.
"Oh God, I can feel my lungs trying to kill me!"
"Is this my blood?"
"Please God, I beg you, mercy!"
An annoyed growl escaped Raynare's throat. "You're all USELESS!"
And so she went after the pair herself.
Ren was outside still in the woods.
"Shirou probably used the bomb by now." Ren puffed some of the smoke from his cigarette. "Well it's him so I'm sure he's fine."
Ren could sense more Exorcists in the direction he was walking in.
"Heh, another batch of Exorcists."
Ren was unusually excited tonight, and the reason for that was because tonight was a full moon.
Ren's primal wolf instincts as a Wolf Youkai made him more violent and feral during the full moon, though right now since he was fighting against enemies and since no one else was around, there wasn't a problem with that.
Ren then stood a few feet away from three Stray Exorcists. He then stopped hiding his presence and they noticed him.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?!"
The three of them immediately drew their weapons once they saw him.
"What am I doing here?" Ren let out a wild grin and dropped his cigarette, then stepped on it.
Ren then brought out his ears and tail, his hair got messier, and his fangs and claws sharped. Right now Ren looked wilder than when he revealed himself to Shirou before. And not to mention, both his eyes were glowing in the dark and he was letting out killing intent which was greatly intimidating his opponents.
"I'm here to hunt for some prey and looks like I found some." Ren said in a sadistic tone as he approached them.
The Stray Exorcists found themselves paralyzed with fear and unable to stop trembling.
"Something's not right!"
"Who is this guy?!"
"AAAWWWWOOOOOOO!"
Ren howled into the night before pouncing at his newfound prey.
Back inside the Church. Shirou and Asia were at the main hall, Shirou then placed Asia down by the seating area.
"Wait here a second." Shirou instructed.
Asia then removed her mask after it was safe to breathe.
"Shirou-san, you still haven't told me what you're planning."
"Well for starters, I'm not running," Shirou was determined. "If I don't finish this now she'll just keep coming back. Besides, alone she's nothing to me in a real fight."
Shirou was completely confident he could defeat Raynare in this situation, he just needed her to follow him to this room.
BOOM!
Asia took cover while Shirou stood his ground. The floor beneath the staircase was blown away and there stood Raynare looking completely pissed.
"You are not getting away! This time I'll kill you myself!" The Fallen Angel snapped.
"Hmph… That's what you said all the other times and yet here I am." Shirou then walked up to Asia. "Rest a bit."
"Shir—"
Asia was confused but before she could ask, Shirou used his speed to chop the back of her neck and knock her out.
Raynare raised a brow from watching his actions.
"What the hell was that about?"
"I didn't want her to see what's about to happen." Shirou then laid Asia down on the seating chair line and made sure she wasn't hurt. "She's nice, even to those who don't deserve it, that's why she won't want to see me kill you."
Raynare scoffed. "You think I'll die to an inferior Devil like you. I'll finish you and take Twilight Healing, and once the others get here you'll have nowhere to run."
Shirou raised a brow. "Uh, when the others get here?" He repeated confused.
"The fact that you're here means they escaped from you after I did." Raynare clarified. "After I gain Twilight Healing things will go differently from last time."
"Oh hahaha!" Shirou was now genuinely amused. "Escaped? Is that what you think happened haha!"
Raynare glared, irritated at his mockery, though deep down in her heart she had a feeling she knew a different reason on why the others weren't here and as to what happened to them. But she tried to banish those thoughts doing whatever she could to convince herself they weren't true, for the sake of her frame of mind.
"Now then, enough fooling around." Raynare spread her wings. "I'll show you it was a mistake to come here."
"Oh please, I FUCKED cunts tougher than a bitch like you."
"Ufufufufufufufu…" Raynare laughed. "How ridiculous, you seriously expect anyone to believe you lost your virginity?"
"Y'know just because your love life is crap, doesn't mean everyone else's ones are too." She immediately stopped laughing. "Just 'cause you're a bitch whose never been loved you have trouble believing it. I've gotten laid plenty of times, when's the last time somebody even held your hand?"
Shirou's taunt at her lack of anyone loving her really struck a nerve.
Raynare was now shaking with hatred. "You invaded my base of operations, brought down all my armed personnel, disrupted my ritual, and now here you stand still mocking me! Do you have any idea how livid I am that you're not dead?!" Raynare reached the breaking point. "Enough is enough!"
Play OST - Fairy Tail - Fire Dragon vs Flame God
Raynare summoned a Spear of Light, and Shirou summoned his gauntlet and spread his wings.
Raynare gripped her Spear of Light and launched herself at Shirou with a battle cry.
In the moment before he moved to dodge. Shirou grinned. "This never gets old."
With a hiss of super speed, the Devil vanished from where he was standing, and Raynare's Spear swung through empty air. The Fallen Angel skidded to a halt, her eyes wide as she looked around. "What the hell?"
"Looking for me?"
Raynare's eyes widened and she turned around, her Spear slashing in a horizontal arc at chest height, but Shirou dodged back out of range, narrowly avoiding the gleaming Spear. "Wow, you almost got me there." Shirou remarked. "Well almost."
"Hold still and let me kill you!" Raynare lunged, her Spear becoming a blur as she launched a rapid-fire series of slashes and jabs, but Shirou was even faster as he dodged and waived through the attacks with ease, not losing so much as a strand of hair. Finally, he sidestepped a particularly forceful vertical swing and ducked inside Raynare's guard, swinging around behind her and giving her a small push on her back, shoving her away as Shirou straightened up.
"Don't mock me, you—" Raynare snared as she whirled to face Shirou. A moment later, however, she gasped and staggered, clutching at her stomach. "What? When did you… Hit me?"
Shirou shrugged. "In the moment when I was in your guard, right before I stepped around behind you. I'm a little surprised you didn't notice, to be honest; I didn't put that much speed behind it."
"Bastard…" Raynare gritted her teeth, tensing before she sprung, her Spear coming around in a decapitating arc. But Shirou flowed smoothly out of the weapon's path, ducking in close and swinging an uppercut that cracked into Raynare's jaw, nearly knocking her senseless and landing her flat on her back. The Spear of Light fell out of her hand and faded into particles.
"Okay, you must have seen that one coming, right?" Shirou questioned with a note of amusement in his voice. "I even slowed it down a bit that time."
"What… The hell…" Raynare gasped for breath as she sat up, rubbing her jaw in an effort to ease the pain from that last blow. "I can't take another hit like that… Damn it, this damn monster!" She forced herself to her feet, swaying unsteadily back and forth. "I don't know how you got all that power." She remarked shakily. "But it doesn't matter, one stab is all I need to end you." Readying herself, she gathered magic in her hands and summoned another Spear of Light.
Shirou smirked, arms hanging loosely at his sides as he waited for his opponent to make her move. Raynare lunged at Shirou with her Spear attempting to run him through, Shirou dodged by a narrow margin and flies upwards and is now in the air, Raynare flew after him, and the two of them were now engaged in mid-air combat. Shirou is constantly dodging her attacks and Raynare keeps trying to keep up with Shirou's speed.
[BOOST!]
Shirou boosted his power again feeling himself become lighter, while his speed and power increased.
"Y'know, if all I wanted to do was dodge…" Shirou then vanished from where he was as Raynare tried to get him with a horizontal slash only to slash empty space. She looks around to try and find him, only for Shirou to appear behind her and whisper in her ear. "I could dodge forever."
Raynare acted on instinct and immediately slashed behind her back, she sees that she missed again. And now Shirou was in the air at a higher altitude.
Shirou then looked at his Sacred Gear and noticed the green jewel was glowing again, even though he already boosted his power. Shirou then tried something.
[BOOST!]
"What the? It worked?" Shirou was confused wondering why his gauntlet activated a second time. He could tell his power had doubled again since he could feel his body lighten its weight and he felt his speed and power increase as well. Another way to tell was the current situation, while he was thinking about this Raynare was back on the offensive trying to land a blow, but with Shirou's second boost he could casually dodge her without paying attention. It was like watching a teenager dodging a child's attacks.
Shirou decided to test this and see if it would work again. He avoided being hit by an attack and resisted attacking while counting silently.
Raynare unaware of any difference whatsoever just kept hopelessly trying to connect with her Spear of Light.
"Eight…" A sideways arc narrowly missed a decapitating strike. "…Nine…" He waived to the right and avoid a thrust aimed at his throat. "Ten." Shirou then flew over Raynare's head and stopped a few inches away from her.
[BOOST!]
Shirou could feel the power coursing through him, once again his Sacred Gear boosted his power. "A third time? I need to think about this."
"Pay attention!" Raynare yelled sick and tired of the way Shirou seemingly forgot the fact that they were fighting. "This time you're finished!"
"Quiet, I'm thinking."
Shirou then shoved her with his right arm and connected to her left elbow, the force behind his seemingly gentle tap knocked her out of the air faster than a speeding bullet and made her crash into the stone statue above the ruined Church alter and shattered it making a cloud of dust and debris. Shirou then felt his power leave him and thought about all he had learned.
Music Off
"Strange, before I could only double my power once, and then after ten seconds it wore off and needed a cooldown time, but now It doesn't need a cooldown time at all, not to mention from what I just saw the boosts are stackable so I can double and then quadruple my power or even beyond that, but the downside seems to be that the boosts go away after I land a hit someone. Is there a way to make it last? I'll need to train with this later. But still, this is way different than what she described as Twice Critical. Either my Sacred Gear did evolve and changed its power like how it changed its form or Raynare was mistaken."
Shirou then noticed Raynare hadn't come to try and attack him yet and looked to where she had landed. "Wait, if I boosted three times then…"
Shirou got his answer as the cloud of dust cleared and he saw Raynare on the floor, she was groaning in pain and covered in dirt and dust, even more than that, her left arm was broken. Shirou's light tap to her shoulder carried enough force from his boosted power to completely break her arm, it was now bent in a painful-looking angle and was bruised purple around the bicep.
Shirou scratched his cheek. "Huh, I just meant to lightly push her, I didn't think the damage would be that much." Shirou then shrugged and slowly descended back to the floor. "Ah, what are ya gonna do?"
Shirou then walked up to the Fallen Raynare and inspected her current state. "As if I needed to say it again. You lose Raynare."
Raynare then coughed and tried to get up but then fell forward and was on her knees while using her right arm to grip her left shoulder. "Y-You monster..."
"Now then, I think time I settle this."
Raynare then clenched her teeth and gritted them, all arrogance and pride vanished and now all she had was hate. "No, No, NO! This isn't true! I refuse to accept this, I spent months of planning and preparations and was a minute away from success. I even lied to my superiors and kept myself completely under the radar this entire operation. All for that power, all for Twilight Healing, all so I could be loved. I'm a supreme Fallen Angel! A SUPERIOR RACE!" Raynare broke down in frustration, her true self now laid bare. "YOU! You're just some Devil trash, wielding garbage Sacred Gear, So how? HOW ARE YOU ALWAYS GETTING THE BETTER OF ME?!"
Shirou just stared at her with disgust. "Pathetic… If I knew this would happen I'd of just killed you sooner."
"Where are the others?!" Raynare continued. "Why aren't they here yet. Did they betray me?!"
"Do you seriously not get it yet. They're not here because they're dead." Shirou informed.
Raynare's eyes widened. "No that's a lie, they're going to—"
Shirou then reached into his pocket and held something in his hands, he then dropped it in front of Raynare, Raynare looked in shock and horror as she saw that he dropped three black feathers. These feathers were the remains of Dohnaseek, Kalawarner, and Mittel.
"Rias told me Angels and Devils don't leave bodies behind when they die, but people can tell which Angel was which from their feathers. I don't know how but I'm guessing you can tell these were your friends." Shirou spoke in an uncaring tone.
Raynare looked at the feathers, her eyes filled with fear and realization, she had no more options, her allies were dead, and she had no means left to fight, she hadn't been able to even faze Shirou this whole fight. She's lost. Faced with that harsh truth all she could think about was how she could escape.
"Besides, even if they did survive would they really come back here?" Shirou questioned. "After all, you betrayed them first, you grabbed Asia and ran back at the park leaving them to die. Why would they come here to save you after that, and yet you say they betrayed you? That's hypocritical."
Raynare grew more frustrated by his words but held herself back. Raynare quickly shot forward spreading her wings out and zooming passed Shirou. She flew up and tried to reach the window above the front door. "I just need to escape! I can survive if I escape!" Raynare was desperate and could only think of escaping. However before she could reach the window, Shirou appeared in front of her with a burst of speed. Before she could react, Shirou kneed Raynare in the face, this knocked her back and off course.
Shirou didn't stop there, he reached out and grabbed the base of her wing attached to her back.
"Grit your teeth."
Her eyes widened in horror as she realized the implications of his words. "No! nonononoNONONO!" He tightened his grip and started to pull. "NONONOOO-AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHKKK!"
There was an unpleasant noise, one that was really hard to describe. It was a little like the sound of flesh and sinew being torn apart by bare hands.
But the bloodcurdling shriek Raynare produced, both from the shock and the pain was a good indication of the grotesque image. It felt as if one of her limbs were torn off. Blood was spewing from the small part of her wing still attached to her back.
And with only one wing to keep her aloft, gravity took Raynare, hurling her in a spiraling fall to the unforgiving ground.
CRASH!
Raynare crashed into the floor in the middle of the main hall, dust fill the air of the entire Church.
"Auughhhhff…" Raynare groaned letting out the sound of the pain she was in. With both her left arm broken and her right wing ripped off, she didn't have the strength to even move at this point.
Shirou descended his flight and landed a few steps in front of her. "I knew you'd try that, every time we fight it always end's with you always running away. But since I saw it coming I stopped you, 'cause honestly, I'm tired of this shit, this is where you die. No if's, and, or buts about it."
Raynare could only look up at him as he began to approach her.
Shirou picked up something on the floor. It's the hilt of the Sword of Light Freed was using before Shirou knocked it out of his hands during their fight. "Why don't I kill you with this?" Shirou then activates it and the blade made of light appears. "Poetic justice at its worst don't you think?" Shirou smirked. "Yeah let's do that."
"N-No…d-don't—" Raynare trembled.
"And don't bother trying to beg for your life." Shirou interrupted. "Your friends tried the same and look what happened."
Raynare knew it, she was at his mercy. The possibility of her demise became very clear.
"Me, here."
Then, a shadow appears from behind the broken wall. The Priest— Freed Zellzan. He came back despite being beaten once although he still seemed injured from his previous fight with Shirou. "Wow! My superior is in serious danger! So what's going to happen now!?"
Shirou narrows his eyes at Freed's sudden appearance. "You're still alive? Maybe I'm losing my edge."
Raynare screams at the appearance of the Priest, regaining some hope of her survival. "Freed Save me! If you save me, I will give you a reward or anything you want!"
Freed makes a sadistic smile. "Hmm, hmm. I received a wonderful order from an Angel-sama. Eh? So I can have sex with you? To me, having sex with an Angel-sama is like the best honor and it will become a good social status for me."
"I wouldn't recommend that, she'll probably give you herpes." Shirou warned before thinking. "No wait she has no love life, never mind though you could still do better."
"Hmm, maybe but I'll take what I can get." Freed played along.
"Ku… D-Don't fool around and save me!" The Fallen Angel's expression is filled with anger. It also seems like she's in a rush. No, she is in a rush. She probably thinks that "A mere Human won't betray me". And this was literally her last chance to survive.
"Ararararara, you know that I'm actually serious… I mean, something simple like that should be all right, isn't it, Angel-sama? So it's a no? Is that so? Then I will take my leave now. No matter how you look at it, I'm at a disadvantage, so I will just take off." Freed says it in a funny tone while curling his body.
"Y-You are a Priest, aren't you!? You are supposed to save me! I'm an all-mighty Fallen Angel! I—"
"I don't need a superior who loses to trashy Devils!" Freed yelled completely shooting her hope down. "You are pretty, but you lack plans and you are hard-headed. The only thing you are useful for is masturbation. So just die away already. Well, a Fallen Angel who is abandoned by God won't go to either Heaven or Hell, but goes back to nothing. Maybe the experience of turning into nothing will be helpful? Ah, that's impossible. Since there will be nothing left. It's impossible. So namusan. Wait, that's Buddhism. Ah, I'm a former Christian! I'm such a naughty boy!"
After saying that, he moves his sight elsewhere as if he has lost interest in Raynare. With that, Raynare put on an expression of despair. She looks miserable. Her only ally left had completely abandoned her to her fate. Freed makes a big smile at Shirou. "Shirou-kun. You have such a wonderful ability. I'm getting more interested in you. You are so worthy to kill! You are definitely in my Top 5 for the "Devils I want to kill", so be prepared, okay? Next time we meet, let's have a romantic fight to the death, okay?"
"Hell no, I like girls." Shirou replied almost bored.
Freed is smiling but has an extreme killing intent. A challenge directed at Shirou. No, advanced notice for killing him. "See ya then! Bye-bye! Remember to brush your teeth!" Freed disappears immediately from the scene after waving his hands at them.
"Freak." Shirou commented. "Though he made the right choice, if he stayed I've killed him too."
Shirou then turns his attention back to Raynare. Her eyes were completely blank and devoid of any will, it was as if she had completely lost the will to even resist.
"Your friends are dead, your plans have fallen to pieces and your only ally left abandoned you. Now after all the hype, it's time for the kill."
"Who... Who are you?" Raynare asked in a lifeless tone.
"I go by many names actually. The White Demon, The Sliver Yaksha, The Dark Prince Of Kuoh, The King of Delinquents, Kuoh's Strongest Man, The Unstoppable Brawler, The Hellhound Of The Underworld, but right now, I'm the last person who'll ever see you alive."
Raynare stayed in that single spot on her knees with her head down and Shirou held the Sword of Light in position to strike.
"Now that you're at my mercy, should I tell you the difference between you and I? It's belief." Shirou informed her. "From the beginning, I always believed I could defeat you, not just with strength but against anything you threw at me. Even if no one else believed, I did and for me, that was enough. But you're different, you don't believe in anyone not even yourself, you tried to steal someone else's power because you couldn't rise up on your own, you didn't believe in your superiors so you betrayed them. And you don't even believe in yourself that's why you use others and run away whenever things get tough."
Raynare doesn't respond.
"And now look at yourself, you loved tormenting others because you thought it was your right as someone stronger than them. And now your beaten, alone, and you've lost everything. Raynare, you're vicious, petty, sadistic, treacherous, vindictive, arrogant, cruel, barbaric, and deceptive. This is what you deserved." Shirou then prepared to thrust.
"Any last words?"
"…" Raynare said nothing at first. She then looked up to him with eyes that were cold and dark and a smile that could send a chill up a man's spine.
"I love you you know, a man after my own heart—"
SSSCHHLLLKK!
BOOOOOM!
The second after she had said that, Shirou thrust the Sword into her chest and ended her life. As with the other Fallen Angels, her body instantly exploded and all that remained was a large number of black feathers.
"Don't feed me that crap, the only thing you love is power and you just cling to any guy stronger than you." Shirou spoke with hatred in his voice, directed at the now deceased Raynare. Shirou sighed. "It's finally over." He then walked over to the still unconscious Asia.
CRECK!
Shirou's body tensed at the sound of the Church doors opening.
Standing in the doorway was the Crimson-haired Rias, escorted on both sides by the white-haired loli Koneko and the prince-like blonde Kiba. Standing behind Rias was the big-busted sadist Akeno.
"Shirou, you're okay." Rias spoke relieved.
Shirou's eyes widened in confusion, never once expecting the people standing in front of him to be here now. "Rias, the club, what are you two doing here?"
"We came here to help you Shirou-kun." Kiba answered the question.
Shirou blinked. "Help me?… How?"
"From fighting alone of course." Rias said. "Where are the Fallen Angels?"
Shirou awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Uh, guys I… I don't know how to say this but, the fight ended already."
Now it was their turn to be confused.
"What do you mean over?" Akeno asked.
"…Explain." Koneko spoke.
Shirou groaned. "Look."
He pointed to the pile of black feathers behind him and they all looked and were surprised.
"You won already?" Rias questioned being the most surprised.
"Yep."
"And all the Stray Exorcists?"
"Beaten and in the basement."
"What about the other Fallen Angels?"
Shirou reached into his pocket and brought out another three feathers from the three he killed this morning. The others were shocked once again.
"You defeated all the Fallen Angels and their subordinates single-handedly?" Kiba asked.
Shirou raised a brow. "How do you guys not know this? I sent Mika to tell you what's going on, where is she anyway?"
"Right here!"
Mika's voice called out as she suddenly appeared almost as if from nowhere, she was riding piggyback on Akeno.
"Mika? You're here too?"
"That's right Brobel Peace Prize." Mika hoped off Akeno's back. "I figured I should go as well when they all decided to."
"Why are they here at all?" Shirou questioned. "You just needed to tell them, not bring them."
"Yeah, here's what happened. I told them what you told me, but they didn't believe me."
"They didn't, huh?!" Shirou glared at them, while the ORC members just looked away.
"And then when I told them how you were going to storm the Church and save Asia, they all decide to come here thinking you were gonna die." Mika shrugged. "I told them you didn't need help, but they still come."
"Well gee guys, thanks for the vote of confidence. Really shows how highly you all think of me." Shirou said sarcastically showing his irritation.
"Shirou." Rias stepped forward. "I know that you're strong, I've always known that. But still, charging into an enemy base is reckless no matter how you look at it, I was worried for you, how could I not come here after I found out what you planned to do. Is it wrong to care about your safety?"
Shirou sighed. "Alright, I guess maybe I did go a bit wild back there. But still, I'd appreciate you all not to just immediately assume I'll lose whenever I fight alone."
Rias smiled. "I suppose you have a point."
Akeno also smiled. "I was a little skeptical when Mika said you beat them, but now I just find it amazing."
Kiba smiled too. "She's right, you really are impressive Shirou-kun."
Shirou smirked, glad that they acknowledged his strength.
"…Or maybe they were just weak." Koneko chipped in.
Shirou stopped smirking and shot Koneko a glare and hostile intent while activating the Sword of Light. "Hey, shut yer hole."
Koneko then raised her hands up and took a step back.
"Umm.… Hmm…"
Everyone then turned to the sound of a girl's voice that was muffled and groaning. Asia who had finally regained consciousness had sat up and opened her eyes, she then turned to see Shirou and the others.
"Shirou-san?—"
Before Asia could ask, she was tackled by a very happy Mika.
"ASIA!"
Mika embraced Asia in a relieved and worried state of emotion while having a grateful smile on her face, she hugged Asia tight while wrapping her hands around her.
"M-Mika-san?!" Asia was surprised and unprepared for the sudden showing of emotion and not to mention unsure as to the reason why Mika was even here.
"When Big Bro said you were captured, I was so worried about you." Mika said still holding her close. "I thought you might die."
"Hey, guy who just saved her like a badass standing right here." Shirou stepped forward to join them, almost offended.
"Heh, sorry."
Asia then realized Shirou was here and Raynare was gone, putting two and two together in her mind. "Shirou-san does this mean…"
"That I curb-stomped Raynare? Yes, I did." Shirou said, then had a warm smile. "It's over now."
Asia felt relief like never before as if a great burden had finally been lifted from her shoulders. Though if she was being honest she wasn't surprised, deep down she knew the moment she saw Shirou appear back in the basement, she knew he would be victorious.
"Now let's get the unholy fuck out of here."
The mismatched group of teens was all walking through the woods, now having left the Church behind.
They all walked while Shirou was carrying Asia on his back. While they walked Shirou was a bit sluggish and felt inner pain. Asia was healing him with her Twilight Healing while on his back.
"Alright, that's enough." Shirou said. "I'm good now."
Asia then stopped healing. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, though that pain came out of nowhere."
"Not really. It's because you overtaxed your body." Rias noted. "From what you've told me, you used the permission I gave you to promote anywhere in town and promoted twice in one day, first this morning and then in the Church where my permission wasn't needed, not to mention both times you used the Queens promotion."
"I'm my defense, the situation warranted the actions."
"Be that as it may. You basically forced your body to work at its maximum abilities and after you were done you immediately did it again without rest." Rias explained. "Even if you are a Devil, your body still retains similar limitations to the way it was when you were Human. When you use that ability, both your magic and your physical body are stretched out like a rubber band. Use it too many times and you will be torn apart."
"Hmph, but that problem will lessen if I train myself, so I'll just train harder."
Rias sighed but smiled nonetheless. "That's the kind of solution you would come up with." Rias then turned to Asia. "Moving on, what do you plan to do with her?"
Shirou and Asia both blinked.
"What do you mean?" Shirou asked.
"Even though you defeated the Fallen Angels, they were a rogue group. But she still can't go back to the Church and I doubt Raynare's superiors would welcome her. And you said you would only shelter her until this matter was dealt with." Rias reminded. "So what are you going to do with her now."
"Rias, it seems your misunderstanding something." Shirou responded. "It's not what I'm going to do." Shirou then looked at Asia. "It's what she wants to do."
"Huh?" Asia blinked. "What I want?"
"Oh come on, do you not remember everything we talked about this morning. What's most important is what you Asia Argento wants," Shirou reminded. "Those stupid crows are gone now and you don't have to worry about the Church or any of that other baggage anymore. You're truly free now, so ask yourself what do you want to do now? It's no one's choice but your own."
Now all eyes were on Asia and she knew she had to answer.
"I-I, well um." Asia muttered nervously. "I want to, to…" Asia then breathed in and mustered whatever confidence she had to answer. "To stay with you and Mika-san."
Play OST - Overlord - The 41 Supreme Beings
The members of the Occult Research Club were a little surprised by her declaration, but Mika had a knowing smile on her face.
Shirou didn't say anything. "And why is that?"
"Before I felt like I only had one path in life, in order to keep my faith, which was to be a follower of the Church or a follower of the Fallen Angels… But you freed me, Shirou-san. Now the heavy feeling in my heart is gone and I don't feel sad anymore. When you came to save me, I felt so happy because… I finally realized I have a true friend. And I want to make more friends. I want to be able to laugh and cry as well as smile with them. I want to try it all!"
Shirou didn't respond yet, as he could tell she wasn't done.
"I feel as though a whole new world has opened up to me and I no longer have to feel afraid." Asia smiled brightly. "You gave that to me Shirou-san, and I will never forget it."
Asia, Mika, and the ORC all waited to hear Shirou's response. Shirou hid his eyes hidden beneath his bangs, and thought of the right words.
For Shirou. For as long as he could remember, the world was split into two different groups. The first was his family, him and Mika. The second group was everyone else in the world. No matter who they were or how much time had passed, that number didn't change. It was as if a line had formed, one that no one could cross, even friends had a limit on how far they could get. But now before he realized, in the span of a few days, someone had crossed over to his side.
Shirou then had a small smile. "I see, well then let's go home." He then turned back to face Asia. "All three of us."
Asia then looked at him with surprise and hope. "Y-You mean…?"
Shirou then looked forward and smirked. "Hmph, I said you should do what you want. It'd be a dick move to shoot it down after you said it."
Asia then had tears leaking from her eyes and a large smile plastered on her face.
Rias and the ORC all smiled as well, feeling some warmth at the heartwarming scene in front of them.
Mika then decided to kill the moment and came over to Shirou with a grin on her face.
"Fess up, you were hoping she'd say that because you wanted her to stay." Mika accused.
Shirou scoffed and looked away. "I will admit no such thing and deny anything of the sort."
"You're Lyiiiinnnngggg!" Mika teased.
"Shut it! And you too!" Shirou then pointed to Rias who looked almost amused.
Music Off
"Well, looks like this story has a happy ending." Rias said.
"Not yet, first, we gotta get back to my place and find Asia something to wear." Shirou was refereeing to the fact that Asia still was only dressed in a thin white sheet, and then he sighed. "This is the second time I walked home carrying you while you had almost nothing on, here's hoping there won't be a third."
"I'm sorry." Asia apologized.
The three of them then walked in a different direction then the rest and intended on returning to the Tsukiharu residence.
"Oh Shirou, there's one last thing I wanted to ask you." Rias called out.
Shirou turned back. "What?"
"Why are you dressed like an edge-lord?"
Rias was refereeing to Shirou's current attire of jet-black clothing that had a threatening look to it.
Shirou's eye twitched a bit. "It's my combat suit, it's something I wear for a tough fight. And I'll thank you not to call me that."
"Sorry." Rias sent a smile.
Shirou and the rest then continued their leave.
Rias and the ORC began to leave as well.
Kiba glanced around the surrounding area and frowned. "Hey, Chief?"
Rias turned to the blonde. "Yes, Yuuto?"
"Don't you think it's strange?"
Rias raised a brow, in curiosity. "Think what's strange?"
"We entered Fallen Angel territory a long while ago, but even after entering we never come across any guards." Kiba explained. "Not even a single Stray Priest or anything. Considering what the Fallen Angels were planning to do, you would think they would've had tighter security."
"…That is odd …How come?" Koneko wondered.
"It makes no sense. By all accounts, this forest should be crawling with Stray Exorcists." Akeno added.
Rias, however, shrugged it off. "Regardless, the situation has been resolved. There's no point in worrying about the reason for this. It's probably unimportant."
Ren Todo was standing by a tree holding his cell phone close to his ear, a satisfied grin on his mark-less face.
"I see, that's great." Ren spoke on the phone.
"So you saved Asia and everything worked out… Well, I finished up over here to… Yeah, see you tomorrow."
Ren then hung up. After which it is seen that all the Stray Exorcists he found were being him, they all had cuts and open wounds all over their bodies, while Ren didn't have a single scratch.
Ren then re-concealed his ears and tail, also his eyes went back to normal.
"Looks like Shirou won," Ren shrugged. "Well, it was obvious. And as for me, I finally got to let out all those primal urges that I've been building up every full moon."
Ren then took out a tissue and wiped off the blood on his hands.
"Probably be a good idea to get out of here before someone sees me."
Ren then took his leave and exited the forest without anyone knowing of his involvement. But before leaving he turned back once last time to face the Church.
"That aura I felt… Who was that?"
The Next Day…
Shirou got out of his room, letting out a tired sigh.
Shirou had now recovered from the after-effects of overusing the Queens promotion. He then walked downstairs wearing his casual attire.
To his surprise he saw Rias sitting at the dining room table sipping elegantly from a teacup, with her was Asia dressed in a girls uniform and Mika who was dressed in her normal attire. Shirou then approached them.
Rias then noticed his approach. "Ah Shirou, good morning."
Shirou raised a brow. "Rias, how nice of you to… Show up at my house uninvited… Again."
"Actually I was invited." Rias noted. "By these two."
Now Shirou was surprised. "Wait what? How come?"
"We were just talking about it actually."
"Um, well we…" Asia fidgeted nervously in her seat. "Shirou-san, we wanted to ask Rias-san that…"
"We asked if she could make us Devils like you." Mika said bluntly.
Shirou's eyes widened. "What?!"
"Mika-san." Asia berated.
"Sorry, but it was going to take you forever." Mika shrugged.
"Back up a bit. Why in the name of Satan would you two want that?!" Shirou questioned.
"Be-Because I wanted to be able to repay for everything that you've done for me." Asia answered still nervous.
"And how does this tie into that?"
"I know that in the future you'll have to fight more and you be facing stronger opponents." Asia then became determined. "But I want to be beside you when that day comes, I have the power to heal others so I can help you if you ever need healing, I want to be someone who can help you instead of just burdening you!"
"But if you do this you'll never be able to go near a Church again." Shirou pointed out. "You'll never be able to pray, or read the bible, or even say God's name."
Asia nodded. "I know I'll never be able to go back. I never thought I'd be able to return to the Church, to begin with and I won't say I'm not sad. But when I think about not being beside you when you might need my help, it makes me feel worse. So I don't mind being a Devil, as long as I can still be with you and Mika-san I'll be happy."
Shirou was a little surprised by this development, he then turned to Mika. "And what about you, why do you want this?"
"To be honest, I've been considering this for a while now." Mika admitted.
"You what?"
"I made up my mind after last night, the fact was I couldn't do anything. I'm just a weak little girl. I mean you were always strong but after becoming a Devil you're so much stronger, you saved Asia and kicked Fallen Angel ass. And all I could do was go call Rias." Mika said upset with herself.
"But I'm not normal and no one expects you to do what I do." Shirou noted.
"But that's just an excuse." Mika retorted. "I want to do what you do, Asia is important to me too, yet I can't do a thing to help her when trouble comes. And not just her but you too, I want to be able to protect you." Shirou was surprised by Mika's declaration. "Even since we were little all I could do was be protected by you, but if I can gain the power to protect you just like you do for me and all I have to do is become a Devil. Then sign me up."
"Mika." Shirou was still unsure about all this. He then turned to Rias.
"And you're okay with this?"
Rias smiled kindheartedly. "They gave me a very convincing argument and after hearing all that, how can I refuse? But I wanted to wait until you heard them first."
Shirou then took a deep breath. "I can't talk you guys out of this can I?"
Both of them shook their head.
Shirou sighed. "Fine if your that serious about this, then go ahead. I'm cool with it."
They were both relieved, Asia brought her hands together and looked thankful, while Mika made a fist and whispered "yes", Rias then stood up.
"Well then let's begin."
Asia and Mika got out of their seats, stepped in front of Rias, and closed their eyes. Rias then took out a Rook and Bishop Evil Piece and placed them in front of the two girls standing before her. A Crimson demonic power surrounds Rias' body.
"I order, in my name Rias Gremory. You, Asia Argento and you, Mika Tsukiharu. I, resurrect you back to this soil as my servant and have you reborn as Devils. You, my Bishop, and you, my Rook, be delighted with your new life!"
The Crimson Chess pieces glow and go inside Mika and Asia's bodies. At the same time. Rias stops her demonic power after confirming that the Chess pieces went inside Asia and Mika. Then Rias makes a sigh.
"It's done."
After saying that, Asia and Mika open their eyes and Black leather bat-like wings sprout from their backs.
"It worked!" Asia said relieved.
"So Cooool! I have wings!" Mika marveled.
Shirou then walked up to Rias. "So is that how it looked when you reincarnated me?"
Rias nodded. "That's right. And like you, I choose their pieces based on their abilities, for example, the Bishop's role is to support the rest of the peerage, and her Twilight Healing will be a great help, I already used one of my Bishop Pieces, but I feel confident in using the other one for Asia."
"You have another Bishop?" Shirou asked, not knowing this until now.
"Indeed I do, you'll probably meet in the future."
"Well do you have any other Pawns I should know about?" Shirou questioned. "Or at least do you have anyone you plan on making into a Pawn, 'cause that'll make things easier."
"Yeah, I've been curious about that too." Mika chipped in. "If it's the same rules as Chess you should have eight Pawns at most, so why is their only Brokemon?"
Rias smiled and shook her head. "It's because Shirou's my only Pawn, and the only Pawn this peerage will have."
Shirou then blinked. "Whyyyy…?"
"There's a saying like this in the world of Chess. Queens have a value of 9 Pawns. Rooks have a value of 5 Pawns. Knights and Bishops have a value of 3 Pawns each. Like this, there are standard values that also apply to the Evil Pieces. A similar phenomenon happens to those reincarnated. If there are those who can only be reincarnated with 2 Knight pieces, then there are also those who need 2 Rook pieces to be reincarnated. There's also the compatibility with the pieces as well. You can't use 2 separate Pieces to give them different roles, so it's important to think about how to use the pieces. Once you use it, Devils won't be given a new Evil Pieces."
Shirou then started to get where she was going with this. "What, how many Pawns did you use on me?"
"All eight of them." Rias answered.
Asia then placed a hand over her mouth. "All of them, then Shirou-san must be pretty amazing then."
Mika nodded. "Yeah, he's great."
"No! There's nothing great about this." Shirou retorted. "You're saying that this group's entire vanguard consists of just one person. That's a terrible idea, that means that we'll almost always be outnumbered."
Rias kept her smile. "I had no choice, without using all eight Pawns I couldn't resurrect you. Besides after finding out you possessed a Longinus I now see it was well worth it."
"A Long-what now?" Shirou raised a brow.
"A Longinus, Shirou." Rias clarified. "Remember when I told you there were many different types of Sacred Gears?"
"Well sure, what about it?"
"Well, there was more to it than that. There are types of Sacred Gears with mundane uses while there are others that are suited for even non-humans. They are all sorted on a scale ranging from Low-tier to High-tier, and at the very top, there's a completely separate class altogether. The Longinus-Class of 13 Sacred Gears. Sacred Gears so powerful that if completely mastered the user could even kill a God. After observing your abilities for a while now, I've confirmed that you possess one of them and I have a pretty good idea of which one. Summon your Gear."
Shirou was curious so he raised his arm and summoned his Sacred Gear, through his own will, the red gauntlet materialized. He then grasped his arm, brushing along the surface.
"This mark proves it." She said, gesturing to the Dragon-shaped sigil inside the gem mounted on the back of the gauntlet. "This is the Boosted Gear, also known as the Red Dragon Emperors Gauntlet, it can—"
"It doubles my power every ten seconds." Shirou interrupted, surprising Rias. "I realized its power while fighting and I noticed something was off when I somehow destroyed Raynare's arm just by patting her on the shoulder. But really I pretty much overpowered everyone there only after just boosting once or twice."
"Well, most aren't outrageously strong even before they became Devils." Rias noted. "But still the current you may not be able to withstand the strain, but if mastered you could even surpass God or The Devil King. To think you would possess such a legendary treasure." Rias said passively before smiling. "I must truly be lucky to have obtained such a valuable servant."
Shirou rolled his eyes. "Yeah well, don't get too comfortable about it, I only plan on being your servant for the shortest time possible. And I still don't plan on bowing or anything like the others."
Rias nodded, not bothered by his words. "Yes, I'm aware of your feeling on the matter."
"By the way, what's the Red Dragon Emperor?"
"The Red Dragon Emperor is the title bestowed upon both the possessor of the Boosted Gear as well as the spirit of the Welsh Dragon sealed inside." Rias explained. "While you must still try your hardest in order to fully master your power, it is a title only you possess as of now."
"Huh, Red Dragon Emperor." Shirou seemed pleased. "That's actually not bad. Okay, I'll add that to the last of all my other titles."
"I thought you hated those titles." Mika noted.
"Well most of them, but there are a few that I don't mind and it gets updated like every week." He turned to Rias. "By the way, keep this a secret, the fewer people know the better advantage I'll have when I surprise them."
Rias nodded. "Okay, I'll keep it confidential, after all, I somewhat agree."
Shirou then noticed what Asia was wearing. "On an unrelated note, what's with the uniform?"
"It's because she'll be transferring into your class." Rias responded.
Shirou's expression didn't change. "Huh, neat."
Shirou then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes, flipping it open and shaking one out, picking it up by the filter with his mouth. He returned the pack to his pocket before pulling out a lighter and striking the end with his thumb, calling forth a small flame that he used to light the cigarette.
Shirou took a deep breath, coughing slightly as he exhaled. He then pulled the cigarette out of his mouth so he could talk. "So anyway, I thought I'd…"
And that was when Shirou noticed the stares.
The stares Rias and Asia were giving him.
"What is that?" Rias asked, an oddly stern look on her face.
"What's what?"
"You know." Rias accused, snatching the cigarette out of his mouth and holding it in front of him. "THIS!"
Shirou blinked. "A cigarette, clearly."
"And why, pray-tell do you have these?"
"So I can smoke them, why else?" Then before Rias could react, he snatched it back from her.
Rias crossed her arms. "Well don't! It's bad for you! Not to mention you're underaged!"
Shirou rolled his eyes. "So is drinking and yet I still do that."
"What?!"
Shirou then blinked. "Probably shouldn't have mentioned that."
Rias then snatched the small pack of cigarettes out of his hands. "Do you know how bad these things are for your health? Don't you care about lung cancer? I don't ever want to see these again. It's a bad habit. A dirty habit."
Shirou scoffed. "Okay, that is where I draw the line, this is my house, my roof, and my rules! So if I want to take a smoke, then so-help-me I will take a GODDAMN smoke!"
Rias didn't back down on this. "How long have you been smoking and drinking for that matter?"
Shirou thought for a moment. "About… Four years." Rias' eyes widened. "I only smoke these once a month," Shirou then spoke in a quiet tone. "Don't make me look like a *(Bleep)*"
Rias then turned to Asia and Mika who were just watching the whole argument up to this point. "You two say something, what do you think about this?"
Asia nodded. "It's true Shirou-san, smoking is very bad for you!"
"Your point?" Shirou asked with half-lidded eyes.
"Smoking is very bad for your lungs!" Asia pointed out. "And you're a Devil, so you'll live with that lung damage longer than a Human would, which makes it so much worse!"
"My lungs are fine!" Shirou argued. "And no one knows my body better than I do, so I know I can handle a few smokes while avoiding cancer, besides I thought you said you'd always be there to heal me, so you could just heal my lungs if they get too damaged."
"Huh I-I um well, um I." Asia fidgeted nervously and couldn't find the words to say. In truth, she wanted to convince Shirou that he shouldn't smoke, but at the same time, she couldn't deny that in the event that his lungs were damaged she would heal him immediately. Thus she couldn't continue her argument.
Shirou turned to Rias with a grin. "See that? I can make a good argument too."
Rias narrowed her eyes and turned to Mika. "What about you? What's your say on this?"
Mika shrugged. "I'm cool with it."
[What?!] Both Rias and Asia were surprised by her response.
Mika let out a tired sigh. "You really think I didn't already know about this? I've been with Big Bro this whole time, you seriously thought I wouldn't know about his habits. He does it occasionally after all."
"But if you know, then why didn't you try and stop him?" Rias asked.
Mika snorted. "Oh please, first of all: it's like he just said, no one knows his body better than him, so if he says he fine then that's good enough for me, and second: Bronii-chan doesn't just do what others tell him, you know that, so even if I told him to stop, if he wanted to smoke or drink, then he would. Besides, it's like he said, if anything does happen to his lungs Asia can fix it." She pointed out.
Rias opened her mouth to argue, but instead, let out a sigh. Knowing full well that continuing this discussion was pointless, both Mika and Asia were no help and Shirou wouldn't listen to her even if she ordered him. Thus she decided to finish this at a later date.
"Very well." She sighed. "But if you must, then promise me you won't smoke or drink on school grounds. I still have to answer to the Student Council if my servants cause trouble and smoking on campus is forbidden."
Shirou considered that option for a while. "Hmmmm… All right fair enough." Shirou then turned around and headed for the front door. "Anyways I gotta go."
"Go where?" Asia asked.
"To the local tavern. I'm meeting someone there."
"Shirou wait." Shirou was halfway out the door when Rias called out to him. "It's only 2:15."
Shirou looked at her with half-lidded eyes. "I know what time it is, Rias."
He then walked out the door closed it and left.
Rias turned to Mika. "What are the odds he'll follow our agreement?"
Mika just stared at her. "Well let's see, in the whole time you've known him, has he ever not followed through on something after giving his word?"
Rias remembered that and felt a bit better.
"Another Devil?" Shirou asked.
"Yeah, I definitely sensed one last night." Ren answered.
The two of them were sitting in a booth, inside a tavern. Even though it wasn't the drinking hour there were still a few people besides them who were here and drinking alcohol in the afternoon. Even though they were underaged, after a little convincing the barkeep decided he didn't mind letting the two of them in. And now they were regulars. Shirou and Ren were discussing the events of last night's battle.
"So you're saying there was some other Devil at the Church, hiding in the shadows?"
Ren nodded. "That's what I'm saying, did Rias know about this?"
Shirou shook his head. "Rias showed up last minute, I doubt she'd call someone else for help."
"That's weird because the Devil I sensed was around the same level of power as Rias." Ren noted. "And he was leaking evil intent as if he wasn't happy that you saved Asia."
"Based on all that, there's one possible reason." Shirou narrowed his eyes.
"A new enemy?"
"Yeah."
"Should we tell the others?" Ren suggested.
"No we can't, we don't even know who this guy is so there's no point right now." Shirou pointed out. "Besides to prove it, you'd have to reveal yourself and tell them."
"Yeah, you got a point there." Ren agreed.
After a few moments of silence, Shirou perked up. "Hey, let's stop worrying about it. We already dealt with one problem and whoever that guy was we'll just beat him if he ever comes for a fight."
Ren smiled in agreement. "Yeah, can't argue with that. Okay, let's drink up before our drinks get warm."
They then both picked up their cups of alcohol and start drinking.
"And remember, this rounds on me, I still owe you one." Shirou reminded.
"I'll drink to that." Ren said.
They both tapped their cups into each other and then continued to drink.
And so this incident finally had a happy ending. And everything returned to normal in Kuoh.
That's the chapter. And finally, it's the end of the Fallen Angel arc. Tell me what you all about all that, I know Shirou's fights in this chapter were pretty one-sided but Shirou already had the power to beat both Freed and Raynare with just his promotion, so Boosting his power more than once would just be overkill. And because Shirou didn't waste time on his fights he saved Asia and freed her before she died which is something I prefer.
As for Ren, his violent change during a full moon is something I added for him, and it will show up again later.
Now when it came to making Asia and Mika into Devils, Asia was a given but Mika is something I really wanted to do. After all, I plan on making Mika a very important character in the story and also a very strong character so look forward to it. But I also wanted to have Rias wait until Shirou knew about their decision first and understood why rather than just arbitrary deciding it was perfectly fine to just reincarnate them without any tact and expecting Shirou to just be okay with it.
And as for the other Devil that Ren mentioned who was at the Church. No spoilers but, I'm pretty sure everyone who watched season three of the anime knows who that was.
Anyways, next chapter will commence the start of the Phenex arc. And personally, I've really been looking forward to this one.
One more thing, if any of you are interesting in seeing Shirou's character info then you can see it on my main profile.
Anyways thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, if you want more be sure to leave a review, if you like the story click the follow/favorite, and as always have an awesome day.