The church was quite a distance from his house, thus he had to go there by train. Slinging his backpack, he was thankful that the train wasn't very crowded now. He wasn't really in the mood of having too many people around him. The train rides he was used to included getting pressed by human mass to the compartment walls, far from his ideal trip.

" Right... So the catacombs weren't there 10 years ago. Seriously, people need to investigate abandoned buildings sometimes... It's too outdated."

The map was littered with lines and patterns, most were escape routes and pathways to throw off pursuers. He had it memorized, but it would be great if he could find another path. Of course, in dire situations, plans would be damned, but being prepared would definitely up his chances. He was a believer in a bad plan was better than nothing at all.

" Come to think of it... How to correctly distinguish a good plan or bad one, it's kind of perspective, really..."

The commute was pleasant, but as all good things, it ended. He walked to near the area of the church. It was surrounded by a thick forest, filled with big, lush trees. It was preferable to somehow get inside and infiltrate their ranks. Honestly, with how they were masking themselves, almost like robbers. The only part that differed was that they wore black or dark blue priest robes.

They were roaming about without a care. They were simply smoking while talking loudly, or dozing off leaning on the trees. There were 5 of them, as in the report. He was a bit lost about taking down one to infiltrate, and even more lost at taking on 5 at once. Besides, there were about 40 to 50 armed men inside, so he didn't feel like making a ruckus.

" Heh, I got an idea... A crazy one, though."

His mind ran through the risk and implications from that plan times and times again while pondering his chances according to present state. These priests didn't seem too bright... Perhaps he could go through and kidnap one of them once he's inside? Or maybe catch one with his pants down in the bathroom and lock him in one of the cubicles?

Still... How much possibility that plan had to not go to hell? He must literally expect everything to ensure he could stay cool-headed and continue.

Finally, after a while, he decided to roll with it. He put on a cold and indifferent face that wasn't really far from his default, really, and strutted to them with.

" Who's that?"

" A teenager, skipping school, eh?"

The priests started murmuring amongst themselves as he drew closer. Faust didn't even spare them a glance and simply walked along, still with that cocky and icy attitude. As guards, they didn't let him go, of course.

" Plan A's a bust."

" Move."

" Hey, hey... Little kid, don't wander off too far. This place is off-limits."

His feet stopped walking right in front of the crowd. Unfortunately, the height of his body lost out to those priests halting his progress.

" Unless you want your head to be staked around this church by Dohnaseek-sama, you'd better put away your unsightly selves. Or better yet, take me to Raynare-sama. I have important news to deliver."

His cold tone underlined the threat magnificently.

" Alright... sir. I'll be your guide. Please follow me."

" Go on."

His aloof attitude had successfully convinced them to move and get inside the church. Honestly, how could this succeed so easily? He expected more resistance and having to pull out more cards before they could agree. Perhaps they were more retarded than he thought.

It wasn't like he'd complain if things went smoothly, but this was somewhat unnerving.

The church smelled like mold, and was cold. Faust inwardly sneered at the condition and the irony with it. The pews were scattered around, the altar was dusty and chipped, and several crosses were left as stumps.

This church looked almost like horror setting.

" I want to go to the bathroom. Show me the way."

He nodded, and simply turned sideways. Faust followed him, his hand palming a sword handle in his pocket. The toilet was dirty, but water was running. That was enough for them, and the good thing was, the place was almost empty, save for one person inside one of the cubicles.

Faust was honestly thinking to just neutralize this person here, scream, and ambush the one outside as he entered. The person outside wouldn't call for help, especially since that's the type of guy who took matters to his own hands.

One hammer to the back of the head shouldn't be too noisy.

He uneasily stroked the blade pommel, wondering if he should use it. The blade of light... or whatever substance it was, since how could light be shaped up like play-doh, he'd experienced it first-hand. Being called cold and heartless was one thing, but consciously killing others was...

Clicking sounds were heard, ending his hesitation abruptly.

" No second-guessing now."

He pulled out the hammer and twirled it once before firmly gripping it. The moment he came out, Faust swung from his blind side and struck him down in one blow. Like he predicted, the place he hit didn't make huge sound, and could be thought as normal.

The body was put back into the cubicle on sitting position with as little sound as possible. Even a total amateur could bring down people in a well-planned surprise attack, he thought. Blood dripped down from his victime's head, forming a pool that went to the drain as quickly as it formed.

Still, it's convenient.

Faust placed himself in a cubicle next to his victim's closed door, and let out a supposedly pained shout and loud banging from hitting the pot. As his escort broke in and cautiously eyed the surrounding, he arrived at the closed cubicle. Of course, it was locked.

Soon after, he also dropped down without much fuss.

Actually, that guy made it far easier to him, since he was so occupied that he didn't notice him coming from behind. Faust's strike would definitely let him have a good rest for quite some time.

Just to be safe, though, he took out a thick roll of transparent tape, and wrapped them up like it's Christmas. Surprisingly, this stuff was hard to break by brute force. Moreover, he tied them so it's hard to move and exert power, plus wrapped up their mouth several times after stripping one of them.

In their possessions, he found several interesting things. There were two less flashy blade pommels, and two small black guns modeled after Glocks. It was far more concealable compared to Freed's stupidly big gun that shot really small bullets.

The sad thing was, the blades' output were the same as his. He liked the black coloring better, though, and the design was far less catchy too. Still, the more the better. After locking up their cubicles, he went out dressed as one of them.

In his robe pockets were the three blades, hammer, and his tape. He had one gun holstered on his waist, for easy access and more proffesional look. The other was tucked away for emergencies, and he wasn't proficient enough to use both at the same time, anyway.

" Besides, the guy didn't wear two."

The outfit was a little big, but beggars can't be choosers. Faust walked around the church, hoping to familiarize himself more with the place. Seriously, though, why were priests wearing such chuuni outfits? He understood the robes and shirt, but what's with the hat? And the mask? Were they robbing bank every other days while cosplaying as cowboy priest?

The inflitration was a resounding success. Now, his mission was to make the skirmish later far easier for his side.

It's time to sow chaos.

Faust explored the corridors and the huge room used for masses. Once again, it was absolutely horrible, and dark. He couldn't comprehend how 40 to 50 people plus several fallen angels would want to live here. Where was the living quarters, anyway? Faust thought to himself as he walked around carefully while making mental notes of the layout. After a while, he went back outside.

Lately, games were evolving. For example, there's this game that simulated a ship's hijack by a disguised alien seeking to kill its human occupants. It was a game that broke friendships and where liars and hypocrites were nurtured. To be fair, it was more fun when played with friends who wouldn't take things too seriously.

" Well... Just in time for another shift, I guess?"

Faust popped a few joints and sighed. Then, he went in through other entrance he found out earlier. The door was sealed with wooden boards, but it could be broken easily.

" Perhaps the church had some sort of pet raising acts in the past?"

Irina might know, though, since that person went here pretty much once every three days faithfully. He wasn't that interested, so he only accompanied that acquaintance of his sometimes. That was really good times. It was a shame that Irina had to leave to England back then.

" Come to think of it... If one of them is Irima's father, well, that'll be one hell of a coincidence."

First POV (Priest A)

Two of the previous shift's guards laid sprawled on the floor, one had their head bashed in, and the other with his tongue lolling out. Taken out separately, huh... There's no way you can bash someone's head in and choke another at the same time.

Unless that guy's a strong devil or something. I heard Dohnaseek-sama hadn't returned because of those blasted devils, Gremory or Sitri, whichever one didn't matter.

" Let's look for the other guys. They're s'posed to be five, no?"

Another one was found nearby, slumping against a tree. This one, however, could wake up after some light proddings. He gasped after getting slapped about ten times each cheek. Around that time, a guy in dark blue robe went out from the building. He was supposed to be a part of the previous five guards.

" What the hell happened here?"

I turned to him and pointed a gun at his face. However, the guy on the ground stopped me from blowing this suspicious bastard's head off. He just came here, right now? No need to be Conan to figure this out.

" Wait! That's not the guy. He escorted Raynare-sama's guest back then."

The guy coughed out the words with great difficulty. The sus person eyed me like I was some sort of sea slug, it made me kind of believe I was one. Luckily, that person shifted his attention elsewhere before gasping in terror. He pointed up, and my eyes followed his finger.

For the love of everything holy.

We found the fourth guy.

One hour later...

That incident still weighed on my mind. Who the hell had the skill and strength to screw the whole squad without them knowing who did what? If anything, that was far beyond the paycheck we're promised. We were supposed to be helping out with this project the S&M chick wanted, and not with this sort of messed up stuff.

They said both devil families were younglings who were wet behind their ears, and would make easy target. Honest, even if I didn't get a turn to bang one of those fallens, I'd definitely catch one of them. Devils were physically exquisite, after all. Honestly, I could understand why those old coots at the church hammered the importance of steely mind and seething hatred for those bat-winged, admittedly sexy, abominations.

" Hey, man. Get your mind off it. Devils or not, they ain't gonna risk attacking this place."

Beside me was the guy who got his whole team annihilated while he was gone. Tense, he was, even though you couldn't look at his face with the black stocking covering his head. Still, look at the poor guy. He was the one that examined those victims, after all. The fourth guy in particular, was roughed up pretty badly. It seemed he got lifted while being strangled, and then tied up on that really sturdy branch. It was a miracle he was still alive.

" Just thinking about whoever did that still roaming around gives me chills."

" Well, can't deny that. Here ya go. Apology for accusing you."

He caught the can of beer nimbly. Glad to see some of us were still aware and skilled. There were more than a few strays that boasted their skills despite not being much themselves. Almost all of us were flunkies from the exorcist academy, looking for other job than washing dishes, praying, and preaching.

" Thanks."

" No worries, one can ain't gonna do jackshit. Just drown your worries for a bit."

He chuckled while opening the can. We cheered, and glugged the sizzling liquid. I felt some sort of camaraderie with him, being one of the more decent ex-church members. The others became two factions, with so much hatred to the church and God as general, or maniacs that thought God chose them instead of the corrupt faction.

Well, alright, the church was kinda corrupt, but enough of that.

" So, any idea about who or what caused all that mess?"

" Most probably devils, right? But if that's so, why aren't they razing this place to the ground already?"

The guy drank his beer reservedly. Well, he must've been quite peeved with how things were going. Yes, things might have gone to hell, but that's no excuse to not enjoy good beer. Especially when the beer's gonna take off his mind off the issue.

On the other hand, I'd finished half already. Man, nothing's better than flushing out your worries with some alcohol. Being serious was fine, but knowing when and how to rest properly was one of the must-have crucial skills. Otherwise, this shitty life would give more lemon anyone could handle.

" Thaaaat's the way, chug it down!"

" Better than usual."

He slammed the can of beer to the wooden pew so hard the corroded wood must've caved in. I laughed while smacking his back excitedly.

" Beer really does solve problems, huh?"

" Of course it does!"

The guy grinned excitedly and downed the rest of the can. Not very impressive, mind you, but good for a guy who was stressing out until 2 minutes ago. Usually, he'd drink about 5 cans, but seeing as they were about to enter the final phase of whatever the fallens were planning with that blonde nun, stopping at one was wise. He had to praise himself for that.

My can was also dry already. Drinking was always more enjoyable together.

The guy was smart, to say the least, although he wasn't the toughest one. Well, everyone would get shaken after seeing his whole squad trashed like that, but still, gotta praise him for staying vigilant and not underestimating the situation until it's too late. I mean, I know people who just reported them and be done with it.

Soon after, he left to get some fresh air. Granted, this place was far too moldy, not to mention overpopulated by less fair gender. He offered to come with him, continuing the talk, but not this time. I didn't feel like going out, until it's my shift. Last shift, and then we'd finally get some protection. As much of a bitch the fallen Reiner was, at least we wouldn't get killed or executed when we're finally introduced to the ranks of Fallen Angels.

He waved and went away.

Faust's POV.

It was a little risky, taking beer from unknown person in hostile area. But, it would be even riskier to refuse and get stuck with a clingy guy or antagonist so soon. The beer was good, though, not gonna lie. It might be the first beer I had, but that was better than I thought. From the books I read, they always mentioned that it was bitter.

" Well, if anything, I'm pretty glad. Those priests weren't as troublesome as I thought."

Riff-raffs be riff-raffs, I guess.

Just my luck. The guy came out early for a smoke.

I readied my restraining tools, which included tape, ropes, and hammer.

Sorry, man. It's just business.

Taped around the mouth, arms, and legs, and unconscious, he was left in an abandoned area of the church, which was a big cupboard near the passage I found. Of course, it was locked for safety measures, but he'd be out until tomorrow, or at least after no one was nearby to notice him.

Better there than participate in the madness about to come, really. He'd also find himself without his light sword and gun.

Now, let's get to work.

The church was in chaos, and seeds of uncertainty blossomed in the ranks of the priests. They were upset at the fallen angels' lack of care and reaction to this problem. Two patrol teams were decimated, and some men weren't found. All of them were accusing them for not honoring their end of the deal.

" It's so much easier blaming those you can reach instead of those you can't."

Humans were funny that way.

By the way, they were also accusing each other as the enemies' confidant. As for me, I was trying my best to melt into the background, and following the discussion without giving a clear allegation. Due to my lack of human interaction, it was quite hard. Luckily, as they weren't exactly solid either, they spent most time glaring at each other and cursing their boss.

I assigned myself to the guard squad, who were supposed to patrol above the catacombs and prevent intruders from entering and disrupting the ritual. Needless to say, those assigned were grumbling and complaining. But hey, all of them were grumbling, anyway. The only driving force was fear, of being abandoned or skewered with a light spear.

The force was twice the usual, which included ten men, including me.

" Rias-senpai, ritual's almost started."

" Alright. Tell me when I can barge in."

" Err, you think you can handle 30 armed priests?"

The magic circle was silent for a bit.

" Hm, well, that was more than I thought. I can, but my hands will be full with dealing the fallen angels."

" Two of them guarding the back-door, for whatever reason. I can separate, and deal with one, maybe. Would you rather deal with the priests or the fallen?"

" I'll deal with the fallen. Careful, Faust-kun. Activate the crest when you feel it's too dangerous."

Rias-senpai's voice was tinged with some unusual tone in her voice, the same one when I fought against that silly excuse of a living being Dohnaseek.

" Yes, senpai."

" Good luck."

I killed the call. How cool was a magic circle acting as undetectable comms? Magic was really intriguing, as expected. But, better focus at the task at hand. By palming the weapons I had at hand and taking a deep breath, I calmed my nerves.

Third Person POV.

To avoid getting jumped on, the squad separated themselves to duos. Some suggested trios, but there would be a lonely guy or an inflated group, thus covering less space. They were also taking initiative to look around the place, and hopefully capture whoever screwed the other guys.

Faust and one other priest walked around the church, but then, Faust was found out cold, sprawled on the floor of what seemed like a storage room, and his partner near him. Since the other guy couldn't be woken up, the other team resorted to Faust, and shook him awake.

" What happened?"

He tried to stand, but fell down anyways. There were four people that came, towering above him.

" You're down, and your friend can't be woken up at all."

Looking sideways at the unconscious stray, he cursed. The four looked at him swaying and shaking his head in pain.

" Really dizzy. Can't stand."

" Did you see who got you?"

Then, his expression suddenly lit up in terror. He pulled down one of them and stared them at the eyes.

" The one that attacked us... is one of the priests."

Silenced ensued.

" Are you sure?"

" Like hell I'm gonna mistake that robe."

All of them looked at each other and swore.

" Shit."

Just like that, all nine of them were taken care of. It was easy, especially since they were watching each other carefully, and suspected each other. That created moments of weakness he exploited.

Faust, though, was particularly appalled by close-up demonstration on how two of his squad became stray priests. After all, one of them was tied up while kneeling in front of the other. Both were naked.

Messed up stuff. The young boy's mind was scarred forever. He quickly whacked them out of commission without a word.

" For God's sake... Yuck."

They were defeated within the throes of pleasure, would be the accurate assessment of the situation. He considered shooting them with his gun, but the hammer was in hand. Faust was still regretting not shooting them and really wanted to draw his gun and shoot each of them once at least. In the head.

Right, the last guy was purposely given time to react and scream, before getting shot at the leg and hammered at the temple. Risky as it was, he thought of it as necessary risk. He needed an alibi, after all. Then, he talked through the comms.

Barging into the catacombs, he screamed in terror and huffed heavily in front of shocked number of priests. He looked around, at the sole fallen angel, the dragged and unconscious nun, and the scores of priests.

" We're under attack! Everyone's down."

Some of them were skeptical, and looked at him with contempt. With a rough growl, several people came near. However, Faust didn't care. His motive right now was to let as many of them hear.

" Tell me something I don't know, fool!"

Raynare laughed like she was high. Actually, she looked like Yuuma with 10 added years, wrapped in leather SM outfit that left nothing to imagination, boots, and spiky shoulder plates. He couldn't understand. Promise of pleasure and safety, from this SM player? She crossed her arms under her impressive bust.

" Gremory devils attacked, and? It's why you lot are here. And you, coward, are neglecting your post."

Faust's eyes narrowed.

" Gremory what? They're the Sitris."

Murmurs broke out, with panic in the voices. Raynare's face suddenly looked more monster than woman, with several sharp teeth in her grin, but only for a second.

" Are you telling us the Gremory devils will come too? This is insane!"

" Not gonna be able to deal with them."

The fallen clicked his tongue in annoyance. She materialized a light spear and stabbed it to the ground, causing a minor explosion to shut everyone up. However, the priests' eyes were filled with both fear and doubt.

" Her next line is..."

" Why are you all so panicked?! They're all just a bunch of devil kids playing house here. All of you made your living by killing those pests, so make yourselves useful already."

" Kids won't be able to take out twenty of us easy, without knowing whoever the hell did them in."

He growled lowly, but somehow, that had better effect compared to having a shouting match with the BDSM exhibitionist. Soon, the whole priest population there were whispering at each other. Faust heard several useful information, like them being disposable pawns, the real possibility of this female actually having no power whatsoever and was just a delusional scum who tried shooting big.

The best thing was, Raynare was too occupied to start the ritual.

She sent Freed and further ten priests to hold them off, and barked orders to start the ritual. The insane priest happily obliged the chance to kill more devils, but the rest hesitated. After all, an unseen terror was much worse than seen ones. In the end, only five went ahead.

However, this spiraled out of his control.

Murmurs started to become talks, and talks become shouts, filled with a whole zoo of complaints. Faust Kuroki had underestimated their mental fortitude, and several priests started palming their weapons, and considering to just give the blonde girl to the devils to plead for their lives.

He didn't realize, though, and kept on egging them on. The rumors spread like wildfire, and they became more and more bizarre. He realized he was furthering his plots a little too far when the males started thinking with their lower halves. Feeling of danger could invoke the most basic of instincts, which was procreation. As much as she was an exhibitionist, Raynare was a fine piece of meat.

" This is going better than I thought."

Meanwhile...

Issei, Koneko, and Kiba were met by 6 priest, one of them they were absolutely certain was a loon. However, said loon did a sensible thing, or maybe not, by simply sitting around and giving the go ahead to his peers, who appeared to be absolutely terrified.

Of course, Kiba had a sword unsheathed, looking almost knightly if not for his school uniform. Four of the priests immediately threw all caution to the air and charged forward. Their fear dulled their fighting instincts and ruined their teamwork. Koneko's unwordly strength and Kiba's speedy swordmanship made quick work of them.

" Where's the nun?"

Kiba pointed his black sword at the trembling priest. Said priest almost went cross-eyed at the blade, and glanced at Freed, then Kiba again.

" AAAHHH!"

He turned tail and ran to the altar. Kiba made no effort to capture him, knowing there was a bigger threat around. Freed took out a light sword and threw it casually. With a sickening sound, it buried itself to the escapee's stomach and charred his flesh. Koneko scrunched her face in distaste.

"...burnt meat."

" Hggrghh... Help...*wheeze* Help..."

Freed didn't even bother collecting the light sword, and let the priest fall down to the stairs of the catacombs. Then, he kicked the altar back to its place, closing the catacomb's entrance. Finally free of all the 'pest', Freed cackled like a maniac and unsheathed two light swords.

Meanwhile...

The tension was clear between the two sides. Raynare was positively scowling at the priests, and the stray priests were eyeing her in a cluster of jumbled emotions, including anger and lust. Some of the bolder ones had even pulled out blades and guns.

Of course, due to peer pressure, more followed.

Raynare, who was too busy tying up Asia to the deformed cross, got sucker-punched by the ones supposed to be her minions. About 25 priests ran up the stairs, weapons drawn, and warcry up their throats.

" Job's done."

Faust escaped unnoticed during the mayhem, and exited the catacombs.

He removed his mask while on the spiral stairs, and went up. It was dark and damp, with distinct smell of iron. His ears picked up faint slick sounds from his steps, and low gurgling very close to him. Pulling out a light sword as makeshift torch, he could just what he'd stepped on. One of the priests sent out with priests was leaning to the cold stone wall, bleeding out from a hole in his torso.

" You... "

He coughed out blood, and shivered. After a few coughs, he grabbed Faust's arm and looked at him with disbelief.

" Are... the impostor?"

" Damn."

He was too careless. Well, he was going to die, from the looks of it. He'd lost too much blood already, and would be gone in minutes. Taking a deep, painful breath, the guy sighed. Faust knew he was already feeling chilled and numbed.

" I expected as much."

Against his better judgement, Faust sat next to him wordlessly. There was no word one could offer to someone bracing death, after all. The man gave away a hint of smile during his labored breath.

" You know... I'm kind of glad it ends this way."

" I didn't expect that."

The man let out a short laugh.

" That brat there... She saved my life once, and probably a whole lot of others until now."

Faust stayed silent.

" Then I got excommunicated, and street life... ain't easy. I deserve this, but that girl didn't. Good brats like that ought to get more, see? And look what I've done."

More blood was drained from his body. Breathing grew difficult for him. Faust knew, he was basically burning through his remaining life by talking like this. Light-based weapons cut through flesh like hot knife through butter, he felt it already.

" Silly, huh? Go on, laugh at my face. Just right. Damn hypocrite I am. Most of us, really, since some of us probably also got his ass saved by that saint."

" Mouth cramp. Can't laugh."

The guy laughed, but couldn't since he coughed out blood again.

" Decent lad you are. Well..."

He reached to his stocking mask and pulled it off.

" Take this from someone about to die..."

He tried to spit the words, but he tensed up, and slumped over. Faust grabbed his gun and light sword, closed the man's eyes, and went upstairs.

Freed was formidable indeed. He'd taken a hammer blow to a place where most people would keel over instantly, and still had the mental capacity to react. Seeing how he stalled Koneko and Kiba renewed that once more. Even after getting bombarded with wooden pews twice the size of their thrower, he managed to fight on even scale with Kiba.

Faust couldn't help but be impressed by how he managed to predict how Kiba moved and attacked where he would be to throw him off multiple times. His dodging techniques were also noteworthy, evident from how he stayed on even ground despite Kiba's far superior speed and agility. Kiba's speedy movements reminded him of that crazy girl in the alleys not very long ago, and he knew a devil's battle was far off from human scales.

Getting in that kind of fight would only hinder Kiba.

Still, against his better judgement (again), Faust drew his gun, still out of sight, and shot the moment Freed and Kiba were locking swords. It seemed for something immaterial, the light it spewed was powerful enough to blow a hole on his thigh.

" I was aiming for the stomach."

" Kuroki-kun?"

" Senpai?"

" Take care of him."

Faust returned to the underground catacombs. The fighting sounds were receding already, but it seemed it was persevering more than he thought. And here he thought 25 libido and anger boosted priests would be able to make quick work of Issei's ex.

In front of him was a terrifying sight.

Raynare had mutilated 5 men, knocked out another 10, and the rest were already desperate and afraid. After this, they knew there'd be no way but forward, and take down this fallen. The sight of the bodies made him cold and sick, not just from sight, but from the knowledge that he'd compelled them to die.

Faust creeped around the room and the brawl, and went to Asia's chained form.

It was the perfect time. Raynare was tired and invested at the fight, while the priests were occupied with her. Had he gone for Asia right away, he could've been one of those corpses there, and his identity would've definitely been blown.

" The crippling Freed part wasn't planned though."

Raynare was definitely not easy kill, that's for sure. She lasted long, and still did even while being ganged by dozens of stray priests.

" Any time now..."

Kiba, Issei, and Koneko barged into the room, gobsmacked by the view in front of them. The perpetrator walked in on them casually with Asia.

" Did you kill Freed?"

" Well, he escaped."

" How?"

" Flash-bang."

Faust was very curious on how he managed to escape despite being so cornered, and mobility impaired. According to Koneko, the hole in his leg suddenly closed after he popped something to his mouth, then he flashed them and escaped.

" Why didn't you just, you know, shoot her in the head or something, Kuroki-senpai?"

" You insane. I would've been screwed so hard if those priests and Raynare focused on me while I ran back here."

The rest who were still fighting stopped the moment they realized they'd been utterly fooled and bamboozled, but Raynare didn't. One slash of her spear cut down about 3 down while they were stupefied, sending the rest on a desperate attempt to escape.

Kiba, Issei, and Koneko took care of them easily.

" YOU! YOU..."

Raynare was so angry that she lost all words. She pointed her light spear at Faust, what traces of beauty left her already. With fangs bared and madness in her eyes, she looked nothing more than a human-shaped monster.

" Come, miss fetihist. Finish your appointment."

Faust's fingers beckoned Issei's murderer.

Koneko, Issei and Kiba looked at him like he was insane. Koneko in particular showed more emotion than she'd ever shown them. Issei was wondering how the hell he caused an internal strife there.

And then taunted the supposed big boss.

It was so comical that he forgot that he was supposed to be angry at his ex. He didn't forget to whisper 'you're mad' to Faust, though. The latter just shrugged.

" How does it feel, stripper? Why don't you share with us, hm?"

Raynare's red face turned purple.

" Dance here. Well? You're a stripper, no?"

He clapped at her. Raynare's body was shaking like a vibrator. Even Issei was starting to feel sorry for the woman. Then he remembered she brutalized him.

Issei was not sorry anymore.

" Take care of this, you guys. I got better things to do."

Rias and Akeno had arrived as he went to the dark stairs. They were staring in wonder at just what happened there.

The red-haired devil shivered at what happened.

Her peerage made the witnesses, the surviving ones at least, spit out what transpired there. She and her queen were interrogating the shaking fallen. What she found out was a nasty plot that gave her chills. From the chunks of info they got, Faust played all of them like fiddles to the very end.

And he executed them himself, to damn near perfection.

" Ufufu~ Ahahahaha~ Looks like that's one terrifying kouhai human, buchou. I'm not even sure which one of us is the devil."

Akeno's giggle turned to laugh as she failed to contain her amazement at the human.

" Nasty."

Koneko commented, albeit with a slight shiver at the explanation.

" Haha... It's just like him."

" Issei-kun, that's one mean friend there."

" He sure is."

Kiba and Issei bantered with glee. Issei took the chance to walk near the completely restrained fallen, and squatted in front of her with unreadable look on her face.

" Issei-kun, please save me!"

She turned back to Yuuma, albeit still tied up by glowing yellow ropes. Issei stood up and grinded his teeth.

" Gotta apologize to Faust later. He made an awesome guide for this... Buchou, please."

He grimaced, and walked back, leaving Rias to atomize her with one volley of dark red magic filled with rage, and a bit of pity.

Together, they walked back upstairs. There still was a job to do, and that was to round up all the victims, and deal with them. After stripping all unconscious or dead priests of their weapons, and put them all in one place, then the bodies in another, the labor was done.

Issei was particularly happy when Asia woke up while they were working, and was exempted from further work by Rias' grace. She knew he'd needed that very much. While her pieces were working however, her mind couldn't help but wander.

" Where's Faust?"

Her best friend looked at her, and like usual, managed to discern her intentions. With looking around as an excuse, they walked around the building. The whole church building was scoured until they heard vomiting sounds from one of the cubicles, followed by what sounded like sobbing.

" Akeno, could you wait here for a moment?"

" Oh no, is he..."

" I guess we're the devils, then."

Her queen nodded and faithfully stood by a bit farther to ensure privacy, and stop others from wandering accidentally. Rias smiled sadly and entered the toilet.

I felt so utterly sick after all was said and done. I'd led dozens of people to their death, fooled them to the grave...

Urgh, here's another one.

I wanted to eject whatever left in my stomach, but there was none already. What's left was some dry heaving, and that wasn't any better. The throes were still there, along with those bloody corpses, sliced in half by Raynare.

Because of me. They knew, and I knew too.

The place was smelly, and dirty. But they weren't in my mind when I coughed hard in front of the potty, still feeling sick in the stomach.

I knew already. I expected some death. The data-based simulation didn't lie. The algorithm was spot on. But experiencing them myself, in real life, was too much. I'd seen some murder, some terrible ones before. After all, that couldn't be helped when one was a little deep in the net.

But this, and knowing I was the cause... felt sick, but satisfying.

Realizing that, I grimaced, and phantom pain urged me to throw up again despite there's nothing inside.

I'm sick.

I'm disgusting.

I'm filthy.

My body felt like they were filled with lead, heavy and sluggish. The moment I saw my hands, I saw them coated sticky red. Quickly, I ran to the sink.

No. No. No.

Water and soap couldn't wash this.

I know, for God's sake. I know that they were bastards who would have no one to miss them even if they kicked the bucket. Of course, they deserved that, and more. There was no need to remind me of that.

" Guess I'm still weak then."

" Nonsense."

I turned around to see white legs, and peeking red hair. Alarm jolted through my body, and I tried standing up, but failed miserably.

Looking up, there was Rias Gremory that look on her face.

No, don't look at me like that.

" Sorry. I guess I'm not that used to blood."

" Faust-kun..."

I stood up, and shamefully, was unable to be taller than her. Not that it mattered though, since I couldn't meet her face.

" I'm fine. There's no need to worry about me."