Meanwhile, inside the clubroom...

" ASIA! Buchou, Asia is—"

Issei was still making a fuss, with Kiba trying to prevent him from rushing back to the place.

" Hyoudou-kun, calm down. Hey, calm down."

However, Issei's adrenaline ran out and fatigue kicked in. He instantly fell to the floor and groaned lightly. Still, he repeatedly slammed the floor with his fists.

Noticing he couldn't get meaningful information from an emotional and delirious man, Faust asked Rias instead.

" She's a nun Issei found. Apparently, she's got healing powers."

" Oh, a Sacred Gear?"

" Seems so. He got quite attached to her."

Faust knelt beside his friend and unwrap the crude binding on his thigh. His eyes widened at the revelation. The hole wasn't there. He chuckled at his findings. His theory was spot on.

" Rias-senpai, we found the treasure."

" Hm? Akeno, come here."

She beckoned at her vice-president, and sat on her big, classic-style chair. Himejima Akeno simply stood beside her. Faust dragged two chairs, but the yamato nadeshiko politely refused with her usual catchphrase.

" Are you saying that girl Issei's screaming about is the treasure?"

" Correct. Possibly one of them, at least."

" What makes you so sure?"

Faust nodded.

" First of all, the weird remark of a priest. He said about not touching her. Before you ask me if that's valid or not, he seemed pretty neurotic to me, and unable to form coherent thoughts. In the fallen that attacked Issei, along with attitudes of other supernaturals I met, contempt towards humans seem to be a common factor."

Rias and Akeno had a sweat drop. Faust, too, knew that this was a little too heavy-handed. But he knew that deep down, they understood. He basically accused them of thinking of humans as inferior beings, which wasn't false at all.

" The second factor is her ability. That healing ability surpasses Rias-senpai's healing ritual from before in speed and versatility by a lot. The raw potential's not very far off as well. It healed a wound from a light bullet in about 30 seconds to 1 minute."

Rias Gremory nodded. In essence, Sacred Gears were tools made for humans in order to even the scales a little bit. Most of them weren't too strong, but some had crazy potential. It wasn't hard to imagine Fallen Angels trying to snatch a few to tip the balance.

However, that opened a whole new possibility, that Faust had already predicted before.

The breaking of status quo was imminent, and a war would follow. At least skirmishes would happen soon. And this would be one of them.

" The third one, well, it's got to do with their chain of command. It's long, but if I have to summarize it..."

Faust smiled.

" Hey, you guys are actually cool, but you need more than just that to go up the ranks. I hear 'bout this nice town with great items and EXP. They've only got two devil kids as supervisors, so go ahead. I'll recommend you to *insert boss name* after that, deal?"

He didn't tell them about the deeper scenarios. This alone was plausible, but the plot hidden beneath was more wicked. Of course, there was nothing that could prove those proofs were 100% correct. But he'd read and seen what these types of guys ended up as.

Rias and Akeno both sweat-dropped harder at his analogy, and sighed at the same time. This underclassman of theirs was just too cunning and vicious. Both of them had seen how methodical and decisive he was when need be, thus his words were taken more seriously compared to before.

" There's this interesting thing quote about psychology..."

Faust popped his stiff joints and looked at the other members of ORC.

" People do what they want, and justify the reason with logic. In other words, logic caters to will most of the time, and not the other way."

Now, Faust had known for sure that they had actually trusted him more than he thought. The time they took to believe his argument was directly linked to how much trust was placed on him.

This time, his words possessed more weight than they were several days ago.

" Rias-senpai, what about that fallen angel?"

She glanced at her Queen, and stood up. Her crimson hair flailed around and a magic circle flared up beside the table.

" Yuuto, I'll be going for a while. Take care of things here, will you?"

" Yes, buchou."

She nodded, and the three persons moved on the transport circle.

The destination was rather unbefitting of a prison. The alley was clean and neat, and in front of them was a door. The door was luxurious, and looked more like a gate than a door.

" Faust-kun."

Rias Gremory was staring at him with her deep blue-green eyes.

" You're right. We do hold humans in contempt, like most supernaturals."

Faust faintly laughed and looked at them with his usual sleepy smile. It almost made his cold, calm, and merciless expression they saw not long ago seem like a dream.

" It's fine, Rias-senpai, Akeno-senpai. I understand."

" But it's not for the reason you may think of."

His typical Asian brown eyes met hers, and for a moment, Faust felt like a little ashamed for being extremely rational and scheming on this woman. Of course, that could've been her playing dumb, but honestly, there was very little chance that was true.

He'd have been bulldozed the first time they played chess then.

" I see. So supernaturals have it hard, too."

That meant, even though it was common for supernaturals to scoff at humans, the reasons for such behavior varied. He appreciated how she said it in lighter words while giving him the truth anyway.

" Let's enter then."

Her hand was put on the handle, and the door was pushed open just like that. Faust was a little surprised, as he thought he'd definitely see some sort of barrier filled with countless symbols creaking around like a super complicated safe.

What he desired came at a little different form. Waiting inside was the fallen angel soldier, taped to the wall like a cocoon by thick, glowing substance. His mouth was also shut by the same rope.

" Akeno, release the gag."

" Yes, buchou. Ufufu~"

Faust felt a chill behind his neck from that giggle. The vice-president made a beckoning gesture, and the glowing gag turned to particles. As expected, the moment his mouth was free, curses flowed out like a river.

" F*** you devils scum! How dare you—"

Rias Gremory sighed at the extensive zoo thrown at her direction. The fallen angel had recovered nicely, and become suitable for an interrogation session. Judging the restrains as sturdy enough, Faust walked to in front of the fallen.

He gasped when his eyes registered the information to the brain.

" Y-YOU! As I expected, you-you're the devils' servant!"

Faust internally ridiculed the guy, but didn't bother correcting him. That misunderstanding was rather convenient for him, anyway.

" Wha-What do you want?! Stay away!"

He didn't expect his mental state to break down that quickly, though. His head, the only body part that could move, was moving frantically. Faust looked at him with interested eyes, as he thought about what kinds of experiments he could do on him. A fully intact and operational specimen of a foreign species, moreover, an intelligent one was practically the wet dream of all scientists in the world.

Perhaps his eyes were a little too excited, as Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima mildly coughed to grab his attention. Faust chuckled nervously, and like always, examined what was in front of him.

The face was nice and chiseled, looked almost like European male with a dandy goatee. Well, his was distorted to a crazy degree possibly due to terror.

" Palpitation of pupils, increased secretion of sweat, breathing patterns... Hm, symptoms of fear. But, another source of stress is possible."

Of course, that applied to humans. The differences were noticeable already. However, that only excited him more.

" Faust-kun, we really will get along well~ Ufufu~"

" You both will."

Faust had finally come to realization how horrible his expression was. He quickly put back his usual expression, albeit with a slightly crooked smile. Rias thought that the way he looked at Dohnaseek was quite similar to someone excited about dissecting a frog. The words nearly left her lips before Akeno responded.

He felt that the fallen angel was pathetic. He was going on about lowly humans and all that, but now, the very same lowlife was making his bladder soft.

" Is this really the same fallen angel that tried to kill me?"

How surreal, was inside his mind. This reaction wasn't abnormal. Faust himself knew how brutal and unforgiving he was against the fallen angel, but this dude attempted to kill him, a supposedly powerless, lowly human who just happened to possibly be in cahoots with the devils. This pattern was quite popular for humans, but he didn't expect it to hold true in supernatural society as well.

" Bastard should've prepared to die when he tried to kill me."

That brief thought flashed in his mind, but it perished as fast as it appeared. Faust himself knew how important to not think of unimportant things during dire times. Berating and torturing this guy here out of vengeance was useless and could possibly bring disastrous consequences.

With his mind cooled down, he examined this guy more meticulously. He was really tempted to ask about his biological functions, but there was a more pressing matter at hand.

" Hmm..."

Faust laid down staring at the white ceiling, thinking of the information he just obtained. His feet were folded, with the knees facing up.

" Well, if all goes well, we can just snatch that nun, and wipe out all those fallen angels with her as bait."

" That's a valid strategy, but Rias-senpai..."

" Hm?"

Rias Gremoy was sitting in front of him, on his chair, to be specific. She placed her arm above the chair's backrest, and rested her cheek there.

" I'm afraid they'll have the option to run away. We're screwed if that happens."

She tilted her head in confusion.

" Didn't you say they were some sort of recon?"

" Yes, but they running away means we don't even have the capability to eradicate this measly squadron."

" That was supposed to be sacrificial pawns, that is."

From the information they obtained, the squadron consisted of three fallen angels, and about 40 stray priests. According to Dohnaseek, they were lured by the promise of protection and seduction from their female members.

Hearing that, he was curious. Sure, Yuuma was cute, but he wasn't sure that much beauty would be enough to tempt a whole herd of priests. Of course, they might be a little starved for woman's embrace, but still, unlikely. Thus, they were gathered under the promise of protection and power, somehow.

But, was someone of Dohnaseek's caliber even qualified to give blessing or protection?

" Maybe I've really been grossly overestimating them?"

Faust's state was akin to daydreaming. Because of the prolonged silence, the devilish side woke up. Rias got up, and bent down a little. She lined up her face with his, examining his droopy eyes on a face that looked sleep-deprived.

She poked once at his cheek. Seeing no reaction, she moved and cupped his left cheek and rubbed.

" Rias-senpai, that tickles."

His clearly sleepy eyes that were unfocused before, were boring holes on her. She giggled, but didn't move away.

" Pardon me for asking, but are you always this affectionate to everyone?"

" Only to those interesting, and my family."

Sona Sitri had also mentioned before. Apparently, among the 72 Pillars, Gremory Family was very affectionate with their peerage members to the point where it was one of their famed points.

" I see. Glad to hear."

She had a complicated face. Rias Gremory was gorgeous, and she knew that. Thus, all men looked barely different from her point of view. Some might call it conceited, but it was just an application of natural reinforcement learning. This person, though, was barely fazed.

" Rias-senpai, please focus a little. We might die, you know?"

" Oh. Um, right. We were talking about taking Asia back, right?"

" That's a bonus. The real treat here is screwing the fallen angels and prevent them from escaping. I'd also like to thwart the boss' attention somewhere else to get some breathing room, if possible."

She moved and sat near his feet, placing her back on the pleasantly cool wall.

" I don't know. Personally, I don't think he'll come risking another war. I mean, Sona and I are the direct relatives of Maous."

His face scrunched up.

" That's even worse."

" What do you mean by that?"

" Rias-senpai, I'm a total newbie here at the supernatural turf. But can you say that with confidence after having several low-ranking fallen angels wreaking havoc in a town with two sisters of Devil Kings that could basically restart the Great War? For a human, that barely has any strategic value to the higher-ups?"

Rias Gremory was still firm on not believing, but somehow, she felt a chill inside her heart. It was as if her devil instincts knew that what Faust said was plausible.

" Let's say that's true. But we don't have enough information to actually do anything."

" That's right. Thus, we do the same to them too."

He chuckled a little, finding the expected result to be rather funny, if the plan actually worked at all. Just imagine a super mighty fallen angel with magnificent wings, black as night, getting bamboozled without him knowing.

Of course, actually bamboozling him was pretty much impossible though. Faust had no confidence he could beat a very old being with power and wisdom pretty much unfathomable to him in tactics. Still, a bad plan was better than none at all.

The only saving grace was Rias having powerful enough backer to deter or even eliminate the threat altogether.

However, there was no way he would come if this boss fallen angel had unexpected timing. He couldn't station there for months and leave the matters back in Underworld alone, or place lots of soldiers here, since the information wasn't conclusive enough yet. They could exhaust their supplies, and then the opponent could swoop in and destroy everything.

Besides, it'd be faster to just take Rias back to Underworld.

The end was clear. The war plan would be aborted, or executed in a way far different from his imagination. Of course, he could be wrong. He hoped he was wrong, even. There's nothing good with dying.

There's a saying, if 10 people die, it's a tragedy, but when 1000 people die, it's just a number.

But, what about being included in those 1000? Could he say it was just number?

" That's not it..."

Rias Gremory's snap woke him up again. She had a comical grin in her face.

" I'm sorry, Rias-senpai. Even after what I said... I'll do my best to focus this time."

His slight bow left her speechless. She'd wanted to tease him, but this guy beat her to it. In front of such heartfelt apology, how could she even have the face to tease him? Her hand was retracted, having done its job.

" Well, anyway. Rias-senpai, do you have something like, a magic oath or something? That could allow someone to force another to comply to a certain demand?"

" Of course. That's the basis of devils' contract, after all."

" Hmm, hmm. Alright then. Is it something like, by the honor of Maou and the glory of Underworld, I swear to etc, etc?"

Her eye twitched at the casual comment he just made. However, contrary to lashing out and revealing the actual swear phrase, she was genuinely surprised.

" How did you know?"

" Eh?"

" You must've met a devil before, but you don't know it. Hmm, come to think of it, the previous sovereign was missing from here. Could that be related?"

...

Faust knew that the cultural value of humans and devils were different, but for such chuuni oath to be taken seriously, was she screwing with him?

Understanding that he was skeptical, Rias pulled out a book from her dimensional pocket, browsed through, and then showed him a page.

" Seriously? It's legit?"

" What? It's a really great phrase, showing the seriousness of the oath!"

She continued the lecture for another 10 minutes before settling down. Faust was lucky. If his words were heard by Sona Sitri, he might get chewed to death, and spat out like a piece of gum.

" Alright, alright. Rias-senpai. Can that apply to Fallen Angels?"

" They can, but theirs is pretty lame. What, you're gonna use them to deliver false information?"

Faust chuckled.

" Something like that. Hm, well, I'm still thinking about it. We'll see."

She didn't push the issue. He would not talk if he didn't want to. At most, he'd just skillfully divert the topic or something along those lines.

He popped a few disobedient joints, and looked at his new stack of books.

" Rias-senpai, do you think you can spare me some magic books?"

The question was unprecedented, but it was typical of him, Rias Gremory thought. From the beginning, he was someone with unquenchable thirst for knowledge. That part was very similar to his legendary fiction self.

He'd moved from his bed to his chair, and picked up a book.

" I'm still unfamiliar with all this supernatural stuff, so it'll be beneficial for us to gain more knowledge in this matter, no?"

Rias Gremory giggled at him.

" No need to convince me. Alright, I'll lend you some."

She raised her hand as she chanted. After a few seconds, a red ring appeared just above her palm, dropping down a stack of thick tomes. With how she handled them, he thought he could simply take them off her hands. He wasn't wrong.

" Alright, here we go."

She snapped her fingers, and suddenly the books weighed a ton. With a groan, he used his back to stave off the overwhelming pressure on his arms. Rias Gremory nodded and took off some of those books from him. He panted and put the rest on the table, and plopped on his chair.

" I guess that's the way it is."

" Rias-senpai, you're brutal."

She giggled, although she raised her hand apologetically.

" Sorry. I forgot devil tomes are dependent on magic."

He crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and lost himself in thought for a while. Then, he nodded at her explanation.

" Maybe it has something to do with magic capacity?"

" Yeah. Most humans are inferior in magic compared to devils, so the weight change got pretty huge. When they left my hand, my magic lingered for a while so you were able to lift it. But after that... "

" Fascinating. How does that work?"

He poked around at one tome with interest. She smiled and stood beside him, then peeled the cover a bit. She showed a set of runes behind the thick paperback cover, glowing and pulsating slightly.

" Featherlight charm. It's powered by the magic of its holder."

" Whoa."

She put the cover back and sealed it. Her red mane swayed behind her as she walked back and sat on the edge of his bed. She put on a complicated face while staring at him. Of course, that didn't pass his attention, even if he was being occupied by one of those thick tomes. Her stare could literally drill a hole on his back.

" Yes, senpai?"

" No, I'm just thinking. Won't it be faster if you just ask me?"

She leaned to the wall.

" Does she want me to talk to her?"

He alternately turned at the tome and her a few times, but he reluctantly closed the book in the end. The book could wait, but Rias Gremory couldn't. There's also some sort of unnerved, uncomfortable expression on her face too.

" Maybe it's that? No way, she's a devil, isn't she? Slaughter's gotta be part of daily life already."

However, his suspicion was confirmed almost immediately. She looked at him with resolution on her face.

" Faust-kun... Have you had a difficult life?"

He snickered a bit at the question.

" That was unexpected."

" Fufu, is that it?"

To be perfectly honest, he thought this was starting to smell like a typical devil ensnaring he'd read in several literatures. Magic tomes... Hard life... And the next one, he assumed, would be an offer to make his life easier.

" This isn't much to go for, though... I need to goad a little more."

" Well, depends on what you define as hardship."

His face was doing the best mimicking of solemn, but interested expression. Not only that, he also looked aside to add more impact. She fidgeted for a while, but finally found her answer.

" No, forget I said that. Sorry, Faust-kun, if you feel I'm too intruding."

He raised his eyebrow in amusement.

" Alright. I get it."

Entertainment could wait until later. Now, they had to use the crows to capture the eagle somehow. Personal life wasn't even a priority right now. Also, Rias thought, it's wrong to chastise his cunning, methodical, and merciless approach when they're helping a lot.

" By the way senpai, would you like to help me out?"

Issei Hyoudou had never been one to lose sleep before. His nightly rituals had ensured an increase of wisdom and good sleep afterwards But somehow, the necessary desire never reared its head tonight. His mind couldn't help but wander to the blonde nun's tear-stained face. As a result, he woke up feeling very cranky, and had to down a whole cup of coffee to fix that issue.

It didn't help that it was about 7 in the morning, and it was weekend. It's common knowledge that people wake up late on weekends. He donned a t-shirt and a training pants, put his keys, phone, and wallet into his pocket, and walked out of the gates.

" Like hell I can save Asia, as weak as I am now."

That one thought brought him to a park. His eyes landed on the bars, and he grabbed it. Deciding to start his workout regimen with pull-ups, his legs curled as the whole body's weight was on his upper limbs.

" One..."

" Two..."

" Th—"

Just from several pulls, his arms were already in agony. Weird, those athletes always did it like no big deal, and they were normal humans. Surely a devil can do better, he thought. Still, he tried to persevere.

By the time he'd reached ten, sweat was already dripping.

" DAAAMMNN IITTT! ELEVEN!"

With a growl, he forced his aching arms to bend again.

" Dude, you're gonna hurt yourself like that."

Issei fell down on the sand with a dull thud. It was better than dirt or stones, but he was sure there would be bruises on his arse. He turned around and shot a reproachful glare at the origin of the voice.

" Sod off, Faust. I'm just gonna get my ass beat again if I don't do this."

" You're right. But you're definitely gonna die if they see you needlessly cripple your arms."

As painful as it was, Faust was right. He got toyed around by a single priest when he was healthy. He didn't like his chances without arms. Meanwhile, his friend swiped his long bangs away from his eyes, and started stretching.

" What are you doing here, anyway?"

" Morning workout. Slept like a log yesterday, and too sleepy to read. You know how I loathe the damned bean juice."

" Just call it coffee man. You and your kiddie tongue."

Faust didn't even find that verbal jab to be worth replying to. He just shrugged the devil and put one of his feet on the metal contraption that looked like a huge, curved ladder planted on the ground. Then, he started pumping at the direction of his raised leg, before finally kissing his knees for a minute or so.

" Hey, Faust?"

" Hmm?"

The guy in question was doing his other leg. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe this guy literally obliterated the guy that toyed with him before with cold and heartless indiscretion and brutal but effective tactics. His face scrunched up when he recounted how he turned Freed from a maniac to an unrecognizable wreck.

" I don't like it, but it's amazing at the same time."

Faust was now doing pull-ups. Unlike him, his movements looked trained and smooth.

" I'm sorry, I should've believed you and contacted buchou."

" Mm-hmm."

He was about to continue his effort at getting stronger, but a familiar voice interrupted. Issei jerked his head to face the origin so quick Faust winced at the low cracking sounds his neck made. Still, Faust was quite shocked to see the blonde nun beaming at them. She approached them happily, her smile never left her face.

Faust could see why Issei was so enamored with this girl, now that he could take a proper look. She was sweet and innocent, while bearing disturbingly close attributes to some cultural content Issei had recommended before, except for the bust, though.

" Don't kidnap her, man."

His friend glared at his sneer, and returned his attention to Asia. She blinked confusedly, but bowed a little to Faust. As usual, she was wearing navy blue nun dress, and a veil on her head.

" Thank you for your help before. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't come."

Faust nodded at her gratitude, then went back to finishing his reps. Issei sighed at his friend, and turned back to his acquaintance. Asia, however, looked somewhat conflicted. Faust sort of knew why already, but he couldn't and wouldn't bother with that. That was why he acted dismissively at her.

There just wasn't any merit in indulging her self-righteousness, right now, at least.

" If anything, that's quite useful."

He'd rather have Issei help her. Devil as he might be, he was far closer to her in personality and values compared to the human him. He refrained from going too sweaty, for obvious reasons.

Issei was excitedly talking to her, with Faust just leaning to the curved ladder.

Soon, Issei decided to take Asia for a walk. Meanwhile, suddenly, the back of his hand itched like never before. Rias Gremory had contacted him from the rune she'd implanted some time ago.

" Where are you?"

" Not very far. Running off my drowsiness."

" Come back, Faust-kun. I got news."

" Alright. Wait a bit."

He tapped Issei's shoulder, breaking the lengthy conversation between two opposite sides of supernaturals.

" Sorry, Issei. Mom's calling. Ms. Argento, I'm sorry for excuse my early departure. Believe me, I'd love to spend more time getting to know each other, but it seems that will have to wait."

He quickly ran back to his house after waving at them. After reaching his house and a glass of water, Faust was fully awake and ready for whatever news coming, hopefully. Rias' figure entered his sight the moment he opened his room's door. She was sitting on his rarely disfigured bed.

" So? How did it go?"

" Here's the guard rotation routine, up to minutes. Say, Faust-kun, are you going to infiltrate?"

" Something like that. I have the inner layout map after looking around for a bit, but I still need to see their routines, and if possible, sneak in."

Her blue-green eyes widened in disbelief.

" Sneak in? Are you insane?"

" Well, mostly I'm gonna perch somewhere and if there's a chance, kidnap one of them and infiltrate."

He said it as if saying the sky was blue. Unlike his usual paranoia, Faust was unnaturally calm this time. She'd felt this atmosphere not too long ago.

" It's almost like when we saved Issei... Those eyes..."

He looked up the ceiling, but his stare seemed to go far, far beyond. She felt that he stared far beyond what people his age could, mulling over possibilities inside his brain. In fact, she could kind of hear his brain's gears noisily grinding against each other.

It was kind of awe-inspiring, she thought.

" Alright. Guess I'll be going soon, then. Could you give me those weapons I snatched from that deranged scum?"

He stood up and popped a few joints, then went down for a bath. The cold water spurred him awake, as his thought ran to whatever was going on. It hadn't been a month, and his life was very much at risk, along with his friend, family, and pretty much everyone in town. Although, to be perfectly honest, he didn't have much care for them.

Except, well, some of his actually good friends, like Sona Sitri, perhaps, this Rias Gremory and her peerage members, and Issei.

He let out a long, long breath and opened his eyes.

" Well, whatever goes, I guess."

Faust himself knew, that as much as he hated this plan, it was quite effective, and frankly, the best he had currently. It was challenging of course, but he was confident he could do it. If things went south, he could escape. That was the whole point of the mapping.

He sighed, and cursed as he realized that his jersey was soaked with sweat. Putting it on would be really dumb, but he had to weigh that against going out with towel wrapped on his waist to a very popular and objectively beautiful upperclassman who was also a devil.

" Yeah, what am I thinking. Raiha, you there?"

" Bro, stop hogging the bathroom..."

" As soon as you get me clothes."

His sister teased him all her trip upstairs. Worst case, she'd get her memory adjusted by Rias, with the clothes in her arms. Okay, maybe that's not the worse case. His mind flew around thinking about whatever could happen upstairs. However, it was broken when he heard rapid approaching footsteps and the rattling door.

" Oy! There's this woman in your room!"

" Yeah, that's why I need clothes. You got them?"

It was silent for a moment, and the footsteps grew distant for a while. Then, she returned and rattled the door quite violently. She shoved the clothes the moment the door was unlocked, and ran back to her room after. If there was something good about his sister, it was that she knew when to not ask questions.

It was a t-shirt and shorts she must've picked up from laundry, since there was no way she risked going back to his room. He went back to his room, seeing Rias Gremory spinning around on his chair, whispering 'whee~' happily. She didn't notice until he sat on the bed and stared at her for a good minute.

" WHA—"

She almost toppled back, and would have, if her back hadn't faced his table.

" Finally. The items?"

Rias Gremory's cheeks flushed as she pouted, and summoned the items he left in her care for safekeeping. A huge gun and a hilt fell from a circle with a puff from the bed. Faust picked up the hilt, twirled it around, and extended the blade. The light protrusion hummed lightly, almost like it was alive. He was extremely tempted to break it down and learn it, but it was currently the only weapon in his possession aside from the gun.

She had extreme interest on her knees, and her cheeks were red still.

" Well..." Faust thought. " So much for a mature senpai image."

He opened his wardrobe and picked up a gray hoodie. The light sword could be carried inside a hidden inner pocket, but the gun must be left behind. It was far too huge to be carried without alerting nearby people.

" Do you really have to do this?"

" Well, I don't have to. But the alternatives are disturbingly reliant on luck, and will always result in the nun's demise."

" Can't Yuuto or Issei accompany you? At least you won't be alone, and Yuuto's adept at combat."

He looked at her while zipping his hoodie.

" Rias-senpai. They're devils. Those priests will know them in a heartbeat, I mean, Freed did. If anything, it'll become more dangerous if they come with."

Her shame was forgotten, as her blue-green eyes stared at his own orbs. His face was cold and hard, as always.

" Don't worry. I got at least 4 escape routes and plans down, and I'm sure they won't chase me far or kill me right away since the ritual's pretty much underway already. We also got the failsafe ready."

" Mm-hmm."

" I'll be going then. Most likely, we'll settle this tonight."

She nodded, visibly tense. Faust also put in the hammer he snatched last time, and tape. Very handy for silencing and immobilizing. He opened the door and went out.

Next destination, the abandoned church.