Hey everybody! I know it's been a while, but I got some good excuses. For one, I actually moved out on my own and moving was a bitch! I just recently got wifi for my house, so I can send stuff to my beta reader whenever I want instead of once a week. And Xbox Game Pass, my old PS3 along with getting a good controller for it letting me play Persona 4 and 5, The Sly Cooper saga and Infamous 1, 2, Festival of Blood again! And of course, work has been kicking my ass with it being weirdly slow and exhausting.
Thanks to my new wifi, I'll try working on my story more often and get the next one updated as soon as I can.
Now no more excuses! Enjoy the chapter!
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Chapter 6: Strike Three
It was the next day after the fight with the Stray as Sean was sleeping in his bed. When Sean returned to his home, he was trudging through the door and grabbed a quick shower and went straight to bed. He was so exhausted that he just plopped right onto his bed, not even bothering to get under the blankets.
Suddenly, the alarm on his phone started ringing from his bedside table. Sean moaned in irritation, half-asleep, and attempted to silence the noisemaker. But when he reached over to turn it off, his hand met a flat vertical surface. Sean was confused from the unusual obstacle and tried to maneuver his hand around it.
This was met with the same resistance and only served to vex Sean even more. Fed up with the obstruction, Sean turned his head towards the table to see that his hand was touching its side and also noticed that he was lying lower to the ground than usual. The realization prompted the human to fully wake up and lift himself off of his bed.
"Ah! Oh man!" Sean grunted in pain, grasping at his lower back.
Which was easier said than done because his body felt heavier than usual. Turning around, he saw that his bed frame was shattered, causing his mattress to sink towards the ground. It also explained why his back felt strangely sore. But it didn't explain why his body felt so heavy.
But as he made his way out of his room, he realized the reason why he felt weighty, especially when his normal walking footsteps sounded like he was stomping. He forgot to return his personal gravity back to normal last night.
Rolling his eyes at his forgetfulness, Sean summoned his Gauntlet and used the Reality Stone to correct his pull down to the world. Now he felt light as a feather as he started his morning routine. But not before he used the Time Stone to fix his bed.
"Sean."
"Morning, Yama."
"Good morning. Seems like you didn't sleep properly last night." the Hindu god mentioned after rising up from his slumber.
They may have been spirits in the Infinity Stones, but they wanted to retain some of their habits when they were in their physical bodies. It's why they had beds in each of their separate rooms; to sleep when their host did. Unless they wanted to talk with him in his dreams. But they also had their own ways of spending time when Sean was awake.
Heimdall had his weapons, practicing and maintaining them; Morrigan enjoyed wearing fashionable clothes; Thoth loved reading books from his library; Izanagi and Izanami wanted to spend time with each other as the married couple they were and Yama spent every day meditating in peace and quiet. Sean wasn't sure what Chronos did, but the time god told him that he wouldn't be interfering with his host's life as he did whatever he did.
"Yeah." Sean groaned as he rubbed his hurt back. "Forgot to turn my gravity back to normal, broke my bed and almost my back because of it."
"Indeed. Then perhaps you should consider some yoga. Stretching out your body may help alleviate some of the pain." Sean looked at his phone for the time and saw that he still had quite a while before having to leave for school.
"Eh, why not?" Sean shrugged as he went to the living room.
"You'll need a open area before you can begin." Yama said, materializing a cane for himself to pick himself off his bed and properly walk with his necrotic leg.
Sean nodded as he summoned his Gauntlet. Overlooking the entire living room, Sean started to use the Reality Stone while stretching his hand out towards the room, open palm facing down. And with a quick downward push with his hand, the furnishings of the living room were being flattened into the ground. So much so that it looked like that everything was being fused with the floor.
Stepping into the living room, Sean positioned himself in the middle of the room, right where the coffee table was, but because of its current flattened state, he could move without it being a hindrance to his movement. He couldn't even feel any difference between the table and the floor. After creating the open space he needed, Sean also created a yoga mat and laid it out flat across the floor.
"OK Yama, I'm ready." Sean told the Hindu god.
"Very well." Yama replied as he sat on his throne in his host's mindscape.
"First, lay down on the floor. I'll instruct you on some poses to help your back pain."
"Alright." The human did as Yama said and laid flat on the mat.
"Now, start by pushing your hips into the air while keeping balance on your hands and feet and hold it for a full minute."
Following Yama's instructions, Sean kept himself in the pose that the Hindu god described. The human winced at the twinge from his back after extending himself in such a manner, but he fought through it and focused on his breathing.
"Okay. Next, sit on your knees and simply bend forward, then stretch outward as far as you can go and hold yourself there, just like before."
Shifting himself onto his knees, Sean reached all the way forward and held his position. He could feel his back elongate and his knees pressing against his stomach, which necessitated him shallowing his breathing a bit, though he kept his pose regardless.
"Now for the final pose. Lie facedown on the floor and push your upper body off while keeping your lower body flat."
Moving off his knees and into a prone position, Sean moved his hands to the outside of his chest and lifted his torso off the ground. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing as he felt his hamstrings and back muscles stretch out. And not only that, but he could also feel his shoulders loosening up too.
"That's enough." Yama said, signaling the end of the yoga session. Sean got off the ground and turned his body back and forth.
"Wow! It really worked!" Sean noted as the pain from before was lessened. Not completely gone, but enough so that it wouldn't be a hinderance to him. With his yoga completed, Sean brought out his Gauntlet again and used the Reality Stone to bring the furniture back to normal.
He went to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Opening the fridge, Sean saw that he was out of a few things. He got a piece of paper and a pen to make a list for the store later today. After finishing his shopping list, the American took out some eggs and some frozen waffles. He liked eating the traditional Japanese breakfasts, but to him, nothing could beat the simple meals of home.
"Morning, Sean. Already making breakfast?" Morrigan said, waking up from her slumber. Her host was cracking a pair of eggs, cooking them on a skillet he placed on the stove and placed a pair of frozen waffles in his toaster.
"Morning, Morrigan. Yeah, I also need to head down to the store and stock up on some things after work." Sean replied as he poured himself a glass of milk, finishing off the container and adding "Milk" to his shopping list.
"You should add some fruits and vegetables to that list. Remember what I said about healthier eating habits." Thoth told his host.
"Right, Thoth. I'll get on that." Sean said as he wrote down "Apples", "Bananas", "Lettuce", and "Tomatoes" on the list. He felt like having some tacos for dinner tonight, so he also jotted down "Ground Beef", "Shredded Cheese", "Salsa", and "Hot Sauce". The eggs on the skillet finished frying on the stove, sunny side up as well as the waffles popping out of the toaster in a crispy golden-brown. Coating the waffles with maple syrup, Sean's breakfast was complete and ready to eat.
After finishing up the rest of his morning routine, Sean left his home and went to the Academy. Right when he walked down the outside stairs of his apartment complex, he quickly reset his gravity to its increased state. Although his back pain had returned, it was only a mild ache compared to what he felt when he awoke.
Sean took a look back over his shoulder at his home, his brow furrowed as he recalled an event that happened the night before meeting Asia and Issei.
XXXXX
Sean returned home and was just playing Persona 5 on his PS4. He always liked this game. About how the Phantom Thieves stood up against people lording themselves over others they thought was beneath them or using them for their own personal gain and making them pay for what they've done.
Sean watched the cutscene as he beat the final boss. A giant figure that looked like, what the voices in the game called, a demon lord descended down from the clouds and shot the arrogant god through the face. Sean felt a hint of satisfaction, seeing the game's iteration of Yaldabaoth receiving his just punishment.
"KA-ME-HA-ME-HAAAAA!"
Sean paused his game as he heard the yelling coming from somewhere. For a second, he thought he heard someone pretending to be Goku from Dragonball Z, doing the Kamehameha technique. He shrugged it off as the game was reaching its final scene. After seeing the end, he then turned off his PS4 and started to get ready for tomorrow when...
"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY, YOU PC-USING PANSY!"
Sean jumped up at the abrupt screaming he definitely heard. It sounded like it was coming from Morisawa's place. Although Sean never really talked to people, he had been around Morisawa enough to actually hang out with him. Usually around this time of the week, when Sean asked if Morisawa wanted to play some games with him, he said that he had some important business to attend to. It was weird, but what he did was his business, not Sean's. But this time, he was being louder than usual.
Sean got up from his couch as he went outside and toward his next-door neighbor's front door. He pounded on the door, trying to get Morisawa's attention.
"Morisawa!" he called out. "I don't care what you do in your house, but you should at least be quiet about it! I got school in the morning!"
Sean heard footsteps approaching the door in front of him. The knob turned, opening the door to reveal...
"Hyoudou?!"
"Harris?!"
Issei Hyoudou, inside Morisawa's house at the dead of night.
"What are you doing here?" Issei asked the American.
"I live next door." Sean answered. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh... well, um..." Issei tried to explain himself as he looked around to see if anyone else was watching them. When he saw that there wasn't, he leaned in close to Sean.
"I'm actually here on Devil business." he told him. "One of the others usually comes here, but they were already booked. So I'm taking their place." Issei was kinda sure Rias wouldn't mind if Sean knew what he was doing, especially since he already knows what he is.
Sean peered inside to see Morisawa, sitting at his table with a stack of manga on it. He then realized something about Devils and their business.
"Alright then. I'll get out of your way." Sean casually dismissed, about to go back into his apartment before he stopped himself. "Hey, Issei."
Issei looked back at the American as he was about to walk back inside Morisawa's apartment. "Yeah? What's up?"
Sean faced Issei with a stern look in his eyes, making Issei uncomfortable from the sudden change. The human also summoned his Gauntlet on his left hand and the purple jewel was now glowing and his eyes suddenly changing to their ominous purple/black coloring. Issei noticed this sudden shift and a sense of apprehension began to well up inside himself.
"Don't tell Rias about where I live." Sean told the Devil. "I don't want to come home and find her trying to get me into her peerage."
Issei nodded nervously at Sean. "Sure. No problem."
"You swear?" An oppressive aura was now emanating from the human, causing Issei's fear to build even more than before.
"Y-Yeah." Issei repeated, a little more forcefully from the tense atmosphere.
"On your life?" Sean added with a more aggressive tone and his aura increasing.
By now, Issei's increasing anxiety caused him to sweat profusely. "Yes! I swear!"
For a short while, neither of them said a word. Sean closed his eyes, as the purple gemstone dulled and the yellow one began shining. The human mentally focused on Issei, assessing any sign of deception in the Devil's expression while Sean listened to his thoughts. After a few more moments of strained silence, Sean relaxed and smiled at Issei in gratitude.
"Appreciate it." He turned to head back into his apartment and went back inside to get ready for bed. When the door closed, Issei sagged his shoulders in relief and let out a huge breath that he didn't know he held in.
XXXXX
Sean made it to school at the busiest moment at the front gates. Groups of students were going through the entrance to the Academy, chatting with each other. He saw a student stepping in front of another with their hands together and bowing. Most likely begging for help with their own schoolwork for some reason or another.
Although he used the Mind Stone to determine Issei's honesty, Sean still didn't feel comfortable with just leaving things as they did. Even if he did keep his word, how long would he hide that secret?
"You're just going to have to trust him, Sean." Heimdall told his host.
"I don't know, Heimdall." Izanami said. "He might've meant what he said about keeping Sean's home a secret. But that Gremory girl could just flash herself at him and he would break for being the breast-obsessed moron that he is."
"HARRIS!"
"Speaking of..."
Sean groaned in irritation and stopped himself in his tracks and the surrounding students to turn their attention towards the person in question. Sean turned around to see the Perverted Duo, the buzzcut and glasses guys, running toward him with furious expressions on their faces.
"What do you two want?"
"You know what!" Buzzcut shouted.
"Uh, no I don't." Sean replied flatly. "That's why I asked."
"What we're talking about is you having some private conversation with one of the Great Ladies, Himejima Akeno!" Glasses elaborated.
"Yeah, so~?" the American asked, drawing out his response.
"Stop acting dumb!" Buzzcut yelled, pointing towards Sean. "You were trying to hook up with her, weren't you? So you can keep her all for yourself!"
Sean shouldn't have been surprised by what the near-bald pervert just said, but he couldn't help but feel incredulous about what he heard. He brought his hands to his face and slid them down in aggravation.
"You're acting as if either of you had anything to do with her in the first place." he said. "And more importantly, why should I have to explain what I do to either of you? The only interactions you've had with any girl that didn't involve getting your asses beat into the ground are the ones in your dreams."
"Why you!" Buzzcut raged.
"You don't have the right to lecture us!" Glasses argued. "We don't have the gifts that you were given naturally and just choose to squander them like a fool!"
"It's not our fault that the chicks in this school think we suck." Buzzcut grumbled through his teeth.
"You're kidding, right?" Sean asked emotionlessly. "You two and Hyoudou go around, ranting about all the kinds of porn and dirty fantasies you can imagine out loud for all the Academy to hear. And on top of that, you all go out of your way to peek on the girls here in any way you can and you claim that it's NOT your fault that you're all as unlikeable as you are?!"
The tirade got shouts of agreement and encouragement to Sean from the girls. None of the other guys said a word as they just watch two of the biggest perverts in the school get chewed out by the American. The perverts in question just stood there as Sean just kept going on his harangue.
"Though, on the bright side..." everyone went silent when Sean's lecture went in a different direction with a sneer. "at least you know how much you suck."
"THAT'S IT!" Buzzcut ran right at Sean, fist clenched and pulled back.
"What's going on here?!" Buzzcut was so surprised by the shout that he tripped on his own feet and landed face first right before getting to Sean, to the amusement of some of the girls.
The crowd parted like the Red Sea to show Souna and another girl walking alongside the Student Council President. She was a third year like Souna with blue, semi-rimmed glasses in front of heterochromic eyes: a violet left eye and a light brown right eye. Her straight hair was black and extended all the way to her knees with split bangs. Her attire was the standard girls' Academy outfit.
She was Tsubaki Shinra, Vice President of the Student Council and the fourth most popular girl in the entire Academy.
The two Council members approached the center of the student body's attention, all eyes on them. Souna had her arms crossed, staring daggers at the three boys that caused the commotion while Tsubaki stood attentively if the President needed her assistance.
Buzzcut stood back up and in a flash, ended up embracing Glasses and they froze with uneasiness from the sharp, cold leer of the Student Council President. Yet, despite the intimidating circumstances, the Perverted Duo felt a sliver of delight that they had the attention of two of the most beautiful girls in the Academy.
Sean, on the other hand, only regarded her with apathy as he was unfazed from the girl's gaze or her attempt to appear threatening.
"Well?" Souna asked, demanding an answer to her previous question. Her eyes only sharpened as her patience grew thinner by the second.
"It was those Perverts' fault!" a female voice shouted.
"Yeah! The bald one was about to attack Harris, just for talking to Himejima the other day!" a second female voice affirmed. The other girls nodded in sync.
"I'm not bald!" Buzzcut yelled in indignation.
'Seriously?' Sean mentally deadpanned at the perv's objection.
Souna's gaze turned to the American at the explanation. "Is that true?" she questioned critically.
Sean nodded. "Just about. They were mad that I talked to Akeno and were harassing me about 'keeping her to myself'. They even went to say that it wasn't their fault that the girls didn't like them. I explained to the contrary and they didn't take it well."
"You said that we sucked!" Buzzcut shouted.
"No, you said that. I just agreed." Sean countered.
Souna, meanwhile, took in Sean's side of the story and went into thought. Everything he said would correlate with the Perverted Duo's antics, not to mention the large number of witnesses that would corroborate his statement. And the fact that the Duo hadn't brought forth any convincing argument in their defense. With that evidence, her course of action was now clear.
"You two!" Buzzcut and Glasses flinched from Souna's shout. "You will follow me to the principal's office."
"Yes, ma'am!" the Perverted Duo stood as straight as they could at attention to the Student Council President. "And Harris..." Sean looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Try to stay out of trouble." The American's shoulders dropped in disbelief.
Souna turned around and walked away with the Perverted Duo at her heels and Tsubaki at her side. The other students that surrounded Sean began to disperse and return to their daily routine of school.
Sean himself shook off the shock of Souna's sudden sass and proceeded to go to his homeroom.
"'Stay out of trouble.'" Sean thought mockingly. "I wasn't the one looking for trouble."
"It's not like you helped in that regard, instigating those two like you did." Thoth said.
"Oh please, they would've been instigated with anything I said."
"Besides, those lechers don't deserve any sympathy." Izanami curtly added. "They keep allowing their lust and petty jealousy to drive them into their own situation. It's sad that they never learn from their actions, even when it's literally beaten into them."
"Never learning lessons has always been a terrible yet defining trait. That's especially true for humans." Chronos mentioned.
Sean said nothing as he entered the building. He couldn't help but agree with the time god's words. He had known about that trait firsthand from others back home.
For instance, there was a middle-aged man that always spent time at the local bar. Of course at his age, Sean never saw him there, but he did see the man outside of it. The man was a bitter drunk with a short temper; two traits that always brought problems to anyone near him when put together. His family had moved away from him because of his wife suggesting him to lessen his habit and he disagreed with the back of his hand. He would even start bar fights from time to time, which led to being banned from the place.
Afterwards, he started buying beer by the case and drank like a fish. He started getting DUIs and even had his license revoked. But it didn't matter to him, all he cared about was when he could have his next beer. And one day, he was found dead. Crashed into a lightpost and launched straight through his windshield. The police closed down the whole street just to get the place cleaned up.
No matter how many times his drinking had made his life worse, he didn't care to change his lifestyle for the better. And it cost him everything.
Some people will never learn.
XXXXX
Another school day ends and another work day was about to begin as Sean made his way to the café. Unfortunately, he wasn't as enthused to be working today than usual. After all, he had to deal with a certain red-headed Devil that was a member now.
Even after his straightforward refusal and laying down his condition for her continued patronage, he wasn't holding his breath that the line would stay drawn and uncrossed. His only hope was that she had more important business to attend to, but again, he wasn't holding his breath on that front.
Sean finally arrived at the café, went through the entrance only to find that the inside was barren. Not one customer could be seen. Even as Sean went towards the information desk, he didn't see a single soul in between the aisles.
'Slow day today, huh?' Sean thought to himself. It happens every so often, no one showing up at the café for a while during his shift. Gave him time to make sure the manga was properly arranged, restock the drink bar, and even catch up on some manga he was currently reading.
Sean got to the information desk; however, no one was there either. Which was strange, usually someone had to man the desk in case any customers did visit the café.
'Maybe they're doing something upstairs.' Sean shrugged it off.
He took out his uniform from his backpack and placed the satchel behind the desk. After that, Sean, with his uniform in hand, went to the shower room to properly change. He opened the bathroom door and walked right into something completely unexpected.
Keiichi and Rei, naked as the days they were born with their clothes spread all around the floor, having sex with Rei's back against the wall and Keiichi thrusting his hips into her without restraint. He was suckling on one of Rei's breasts while the other was in his hand and pushed her nipple into her own mouth, muffling their moans of pleasure. It would explain why Sean didn't hear anything before entering.
Sean quickly covered his eyes with his hand and shouted, "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
The exclamation broke Keiichi and Rei out of their lustful rutting to see their coworker standing in the doorway. Keiichi's jaw dropped in dismay, fearing that the American would call Yoshioka and he would lose his job.
Rei, on the other hand, just looked at Sean with half-lidded eyes. Her own nipple free from her mouth, she was breathing slightly heavier, and her face was flush, but otherwise she didn't look surprised from Sean's presence.
"S-S-Sean! Wait, I can explain!" Keiichi panicked, frantically waving his arms at his coworker.
Sean wasn't hearing any of it as he went to the wall opposite of the two. Placing his free hand against the wall, he traced the room's confines. Keiichi and Rei kept their eyes on him as he passed them by. Keiichi seemed confused by his actions while Rei, catching her breath, just looked on impassively.
Sean then met the corner and felt that the other side of it was smooth yet it resisted his sliding touch. Facing the direction of his free hand, Sean uncovered his eyes to see that he had reached the shower. Sliding the glass door open, he took the handheld shower head off its holster and turned the water on at full blast.
Sean quickly spun around, shower head in hand, quickly took aim at Keiichi and Rei and shot the running water at the two.
"AHH! COLD!" Keiichi yelled out as the shock of the cold water made contact with his skin, still hot from his earlier copulation. He raised his hands to protect himself, to no effect. Rei did the same, but she was more reserved about her dilemma.
Sean kept the blast going for a few more seconds until he decided that they had enough and turned the shower off. Placing the shower head back, he covered his eyes again and retraced his path back and out the bathroom door.
A couple minutes later, Keiichi and Rei were inside the back room behind the information desk, fully dry and clothed with the uniforms that Sean gave them. They both sat down at the table with Sean sitting on the opposite side.
Keiichi had his head down in shame. He had tried to avoid the exact situation he found himself in and now he was mentally preparing himself to receive his termination, as per usual in his life. And Rei, like always, had not a single bit of emotion to show on her face, despite the circumstances.
'Does anything faze her?' Sean asked himself. He decided to dismiss that train of thought.
"So, you mind telling me just what the hell you were thinking?"
"Uh, well..." Keiichi tried to find the words to best explain his actions.
"It was my fault." Sean and Keiichi looked to Rei, who had been silent throughout this whole event.
"How is it your fault?" Sean asked.
"It started a few days ago." Rei began. "I was doing a routine check in the private booth area when I heard noises coming from one of the stalls. I peeked inside and I saw Keiichi having sex with Kururu." Sean's eyes widened and snapped over to Keiichi, stunned at his exposure from Rei.
"Seriously, Kururu too?!"
"Y-yes." Keiichi softly confirmed, mortified.
"It hasn't even been a week!"
"Anyway, after that, I confronted him about it yesterday and he told me about his condition." Rei continued. "It was a bit hard to believe, so I started trying to set off his 'lucky pervert' powers by staying close to him. Then I began to notice a smell coming from him."
"Smell?" Keiichi asked, confused. Rei nodded, which led to Keiichi taking a curious sniff from his sleeve but didn't sense anything odd.
"I don't know what it was, but when I smelled it, I felt very hot, and I couldn't help but bring him into the shower room and you know the rest."
Sean just blinked at the explanation that his coworker just told him. He rubbed his face in disbelief that Keiichi had not only had sex with Rei, but Kururu as well.
"I don't even know what to say about this." Sean spoke. "I mean, you knew about your 'condition' and what it does to you, so why didn't you stop yourself?"
Keiichi propped his head into his hands, laying his forehead into his palms. "I don't know. Whenever this happens, I just can't help myself. It's like when I get into these situations, I have no self-control. It's like instinct."
Sean sighed at his explanation. To him, Keiichi did sound sincere. It's not like he had a reason to lie and knowing what the gods spoke about him and his species, it made sense why he would see it that way.
"I guess I'll have to start looking for another job." Keiichi stood up from his chair and went to leave.
"You're acting as if you just got fired." Keiichi turned around and looked at Sean, bewildered about what he just said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you're lucky that no one else saw you two. Sure, having sex with a coworker at your place of work would normally get you fired." Sean started. "And I can't really say anything about you and Kururu since she's a customer, even if that would get you fired too. But with what Rei just said, I can't really place blame on you for what happened earlier."
"But-" Keiichi started before Sean raised his hand, stopping him.
"You really want to keep this job?"
"Yes! I can't keep getting fired like this!"
"Then, I'll tell you what. I don't know what you three plan to do after this and it's not like I have any right to stop you. So, here's the deal: if you want to keep doing what you're doing, then keep it outside of the café. If you do that, then I won't say anything."
Keiichi was surprised from Sean's understanding and willingness to compromise. "Really? You mean it?"
"Yep, every word." Sean nodded.
Keiichi let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, Sean!" he said, standing up and bowing repeatedly in gratitude.
"Sure, but just one more thing." Keiichi stopped mid-bow, stood straight up to see Sean getting up from his seat and walking over to the corner of the room where they kept their cleaning supplies. He returned holding a mop inside its mobile bucket.
"You're cleaning the shower room." Sean handed the mop handle to Keiichi as he hung his head in compliance.
"OK." he took the handle and went to clean up.
XXXXX
Sean emerged from the bathroom after a hot shower. After waking up, he decided to go swimming for his morning training. He chose to tackle the 21-mile-wide challenge of the English Channel. Before arriving at Kuoh, Sean had completed the trek before. It took him a little over ten hours to do so. And while this usually had some amount of fanfare to go along with such an accomplishment, Sean made sure that no one was around to see this happen.
"Man, that swim really perked me up!" he said, drying off his hair with a towel.
"You made impressive time, Sean." Chronos said. "You've beaten your last run by a few minutes."
"Heh. Guess I still have some room for improvement, Heimdall."
"But not enough." Heimdall retorted.
"Heimdall, don't be like that." Morrigan chided. "He's getting better and that's what's important."
"I'm not denying the results, I'm just disappointed at them."
"At least there's progress." Sean countered, placing the wet towel in his dirty clothes hamper.
He started to get dressed in the clothes he picked out before leaving for his swim. His attire was now a solid white T-shirt with a blue plaid overshirt and blue jeans with a leather belt. Going to his room, he picked up his chain wallet, put it in his back right pocket and looped the chain around his hip to secure it on a belt loop.
Picking up his phone from his bedside table and taking it off the charger, he saw that his battery was fully charged. The time had said "3:23 pm".
"Dang, it's amazing how time can fly when you're doing stuff." Sean
He pulled the drawer of his table out and took out his earphone case. Connecting them to his phone, he placed them in his ears. Using the YouTube app on his phone, instead of the usual music, Sean decided to pick out a video game walkthrough that he could listen to.
He chose "The Wolf Among Us", a nice crime noir based on a comic book series about fairy tale characters or "Fables" living out normal lives in New York City. It was one of Sean's favorite games as he felt a connection between the Fables and himself, regarding his relocation to Japan. And he always went with the "Hero of Fable Town" walkthrough. There were already enough bad things happening in the world that there's no need of adding more to it. With earbuds placed, Sean walked out of his apartment and locked the door behind him.
XXXXX
Sean could hear the conversations from the game and the struggle that followed while strolling down the street. The people around him looked to be enjoying their day; parents walking with their children, teenagers socializing, even a woman jogging right by Sean with her own music to listen to.
"Ma'am, I know you can't hear me, but thank you for not wearing a sports bra." Izanagi said, right before letting out a scream that didn't sound out of place for a little girl.
"And thank you for not wearing a protective cup." Izanami added through gritted teeth, holding her fist up while her husband rolled around the floor of Sean's mindscape as he curled up in pain.
"Izanagi, can't you ever just keep those kinds of comments inside your head? It'd be less painful for you that way." Sean suggested.
"I'm not so sure, Sean. With Izanami, he'd have to be mute and blind for that to happen." Morrigan commented.
It was at that moment Sean started to feel his stomach rumble with hunger. Before he left his house, he decided that it would be nice to order out for once. As for exactly what he'd eat, he just took it in stride and looked around town until something stood out to him. Eventually, Sean found a burger joint that didn't look too busy inside.
"It's been a while since I had a burger." Sean contemplated the option.
"Sean, you shouldn't eat junk like that." Thoth protested.
"Oh, it won't kill me to have some fast food once in a while."
Sean went inside the burger place and went to the line. Luckily, the line's only occupant had just finished ordering, so the American was able to make his with no wait time. After completing his order, the register lady gave him a large cup and Sean went to fill it up with some cola. Then he waited for his food to be served, which wasn't long as his order number was announced after just a few short minutes.
Taking his tray of food, which consisted of a large double cheeseburger and fries, Sean found a seat in an empty corner that was next to an open electric outlet. Plugging his phone charger and connecting it, Sean started to enjoy his meal. But not long after, he had an idea.
"Hey Thoth, wanna play a game of chess on my phone?"
"Very well." the Egyptian god accepted.
These games happened every so often. It was Thoth who taught Sean how to play chess and they would play the board game whenever the human wanted to spend some time with the god. Of course, being a god of knowledge, Thoth always came out as the victor.
Over time, Sean grew more frustrated with every loss and became discouraged from playing again. However, Thoth said to him that every loss is an opportunity to learn his moves and even predict them. He even told him that through perseverance, he could one day beat him in a single game.
Eventually, Sean decided to keep playing in hopes of prevailing over the Mind Stone occupant. Even if the chances of that happening were virtually zero.
Wiping his hands clean with a napkin, Sean opened a chess app on his phone. He set up a two-player game and the battle of strategy and wits began. Sean would make his move and Thoth would tell his host what move he wished to make. The back-and-forth kept going, both sides losing each piece to the other, until finally the game had ended with Thoth's win.
"Good game, Thoth."
"Good game, indeed. I see you lasted longer this time."
"Yeah."
"Harris!" a voice called out. Sean looked up from his phone to see Issei and Asia, sitting in a booth seat. Asia was waving towards the American while Issei simply looked over to him. Deciding to be civil and because he already ate most of his meal, Sean went to approach the odd pair.
"Hey, Hyoudou. Hey, Asia." the human replied as he greeted the Devil and the nun.
"Hello, Harris." Asia said to Sean with a smile, happy to see her other friend that showed her to the church.
"So, what are you two doing today?" Sean asked them.
"Well, I'm just showing Asia around Kuoh. We just came from the arcade." Issei told him.
"Yes. I thought the weather was nice today, so I decided to enjoy the day." Asia started with a smile, though Sean could tell that it was forced. "Then I ran into Issei at the park. And he brought me here to eat a hamburger!" she said to Sean, the happiness she exuded from her activities put a smile on Sean's face.
"Well, I'm glad that you're having fun." he said. Though, he was a little worried about if Asia knew that Issei was a Devil.
"Hey, Hyoudou. Can I talk to you in private about something?" Sean asked the Devil. Issei nodded and turned to Asia, telling her that he would be back. He stood up, got out of the booth seat and to another empty booth where Issei could keep an eye on Asia.
"So, what's going on? Does she know that you're a Devil?" Sean asked. Issei looked down as he remembered the moment Asia found out about that. It wasn't a pleasant memory.
"Yeah, she does." Issei said. Sean looked over to the nun, who was eating her hamburger gleefully.
"What you two are doing is very dangerous." Sean warned.
"I know. Rias told me all about the consequences, but I don't care." Issei answered with conviction.
Sean was surprised to hear such a claim from Issei. "And why would you do that? I mean, she is nice and all, but what would prompt you to continue involving yourself with someone who's basically deemed as your enemy?"
"Because I want to save her!"
Issei's reasoning only confused Sean. "'Save her'? You're gonna have to explain that to me."
Issei's expression turned grim as he recalled his latest encounter with the nun. Looking past Sean's shoulder at Asia, who was eating her fries, he could still see the last moment he saw her before today. The Devil took a long and shuddering breath, trying to find the words to explain his desire to protect Asia. He finally started recounting Sean with his last client.
Upon entering the client's house, Issei found the human dead and their corpse hanging off a wall. Then he was greeted by someone who was already inside the house, a Stray Exorcist named Freed Sellzen that had killed the client. Aside from the atrocious murder, Issei could easily tell that the Priest was deranged from his singing about how he wanted to kill the Devil.
Afterward, Freed started attacking Issei with a "beam saber" and a gun loaded with bullets of light. He managed to shoot Issei in the leg and was about to finish him off when he was saved by Asia's interference. Awkward didn't even begin to describe the situation then when Freed told the nun about Issei being a Devil.
But shocked as she was about this revelation, Asia stood between Freed and Issei to plead for the Devil's life. This only served to anger the insane Exorcist as he struck Asia and even went so far as to attempt to rape her. It took Sean all of his willpower to contain his rage from hearing this. Issei continued with telling of his attempt to protect Asia even with his injury.
However, before he had the chance to, Rias and the rest of her peerage showed up to rescue him. When Rias found out about Issei's injury, she was livid. But before she could dole out any form of punishment, the cavalry was starting to arrive for Freed. Rias decided to simply take Issei and leave, but Issei protested in wanting to take Asia with him. Unfortunately, they couldn't because the transportation circle they use only worked for members of the Gremory family. Issei could only wallow in his own ineptitude while Asia simply said "let's meet again" before the Devils departed.
Sean kept silent for a few moments to let the story sink in. The whole situation seemed unbelievable to him. A nun going out of her to save a Devil's life and that same Devil wanting to protect the same nun that tried to protect him. It seemed that Sean misjudged Issei. Sure, he was still a shameless pervert, but he actually had enough compassion to go out of his way to help someone who is supposed to be considered his enemy.
Sean stood up from his seat and moved out of the booth. "Come on. I think we've left Asia by herself long enough."
Issei followed the human's lead and went back towards Asia, who had finished her meal. Issei sat down first and made room for Sean to sit on the outside.
"Sorry, Asia. I didn't mean to leave you alone." Issei apologized.
"It's alright." Asia dissuaded.
"If anyone should apologize, it's me." Sean bowed his head towards the nun. "I'm sorry, Asia."
"No, please stop! It's OK! Really!" Asia's attempts to assure the boys started to become frantic. Sean, meanwhile, chortled through his nose at her desperation. But then he cleared his throat and adopted a more serious expression.
"Asia, are you comfortable with being friends with a Devil?" Sean asked the nun straight out. Asia was surprised to hear that the human knew of her Devil friend's race.
"You know, too?" she queried. Sean nodded at the nun.
"Are you OK with that? Having a Devil for a friend?" he asked her. Asia looked down at the table.
"Growing up in the church, I was taught that Devils were evil beings." Asia looked back toward the boys with a gentle smile. "But then, after what Issei did for me, I knew he couldn't be like that. So yes, I'm happy with having Issei as a friend."
Sean couldn't help but smile at Asia's words while Issei was struck speechless.
"Well then." Sean stood from his booth seat. "I think I've been the third wheel for long enough. You two enjoy your date." he told them, walking away and waving his hand over his shoulder. At that, Issei was shouting at the human that he was mistaking their situation while Asia had a blush from the implication.
XXXXX
Inside the abandoned church, the four resident Fallen Angels were gathered in silence. The discovery of Asia's disappearance was not well received by the sole male of the group and leader, who was standing at the podium while massaging his forehead in irritation.
The other three female Fallen were in the pew area: Kalawarner, standing ahead of the first row of seats, while Raynare sat in one across from her and Mittelt was sitting next to the ravenette with her head down.
"I still can't believe that you three actually lost her!" Dohnaseek said, breaking the quiet with his increasingly irate tone.
Kalawarner crossed her arms and glared at the male Fallen. "How were we supposed to think that she would actually try to escape? She didn't look like she would break a rule to save her life."
"Well, she did. And we need to get her back for the ceremony tonight!"
"Dohnaseek, I understand that this is bad, but it's not like she has anywhere else to go." Raynare reasoned. "She will be found, and the ceremony will go as planned."
"It had better." A knocking sound was heard from underneath the floor that Dohnaseek stood on.
The Fallen Angel moved the podium and revealed the outline of a hatch, disguised with the floor's paneling. The hatch door was pushed open from the inside and out came a man dressed in a priest outfit with short white hair and red eyes. The priest stepped out of the passage and onto the stage of the church.
"Hey, boss man!" the priest exuberantly greeted. "Just coming up to let you know that the prep work is just about done!"
"Good, at least there are those who can actually pull their own weight around here." The barb didn't go unnoticed from the other Fallen Angels in the room. Kalawarner stared daggers at him while Raynare turned her head away.
But strangely, Mittelt just simply kept quiet. Normally, she would've made some snide remark back towards anyone who would talk to her like that. But after she came back from her failed mission of killing the human that fooled Kalawarner, the boastful Fallen just withdrew into herself. Not that Kalawarner or Dohnaseek were complaining.
Raynare, however, had tried to bring her out of it. She went to Mittelt's quarters, but when she entered the room, the blonde was curled up in her bed, her back facing Raynare. The ravenette approached her and as she did, she saw that Mittelt was actually shaking. She reached out to touch her shoulder. And when she did, Mittelt let out a scream of terror that startled her.
Raynare herself was taken back by her reaction. It took some time to calm her down, afterward, the blonde lunged at Raynare into a tight hug and broke down to tears. The ravenette reciprocated the embrace and the pair just stayed there until Mittelt stopped crying.
Kalawarner, on the other hand, actually found Mittelt's situation to be funny. After a while of her constant postering and ego-stroking, it was a welcome sight to see the petite blonde be brought down several pegs and witness how empty her words truly were.
Back in the present, the church doors suddenly opened, and a human man ran through to approach Dohnaseek, kneeling at his feet. "Lord Dohnaseek, we found sister Asia in town, accompanied by a Devil. They were last seen in a fast-food restaurant."
"A Devil, huh? Must be that brat you failed to kill properly, Raynare." Said Fallen Angel only remained silent.
"Come on, boss man! Lemme go after that little sister! I promise she'll have only a little blood on her!" the priest pled, ending with a lecherous tone and tongue wagging.
Kalawarner grimaced from the priest's words. "Disgusting pig."
Dohnaseek himself just sighed at the priest's antics. "No, Freed. This needs to be dealt with discretion, something that you obviously can't do."
"Pardon me, but there is something else." The man spoke, gaining the other residents' attention. "After finding sister Asia and the Devil, I also saw someone else with them that matched the photo of the child that was also targeted."
"Tch, that human seems to pop up more than a cockroach." Dohnaseek remarked.
BZZT BZZT
Everyone looked over to the man as he reached into his pocket and pull out his cell phone that started buzzing.
"My apologies." he said, before answering his phone.
"Hello? Yes? OK. Very well." he ended the call and placed his phone back into his pants pocket. "Lord Dohnaseek, it seems that sister Asia has arrived at the park in town with the Devil. The park is currently deserted. And it also seems that the human has separated himself from them as well."
Hearing about the human that fooled her, Kalawarner clenched her fists in anger. The thought of a lower being fooling her in such a manner set her blood to boil. She needed to rectify this affront. Uncrossing her arms, she approached Dohnaseek.
"I'll take care of him." she declared. Dohnaseek only humorously snorted in response.
"You?" he asked mockingly with a smirk. Kalawarner only glared at his tone. "I think you've done enough along with that prissy brat." Jerking his head to gesture to Mittelt, who still sat mutely.
"I know his tricks now! I won't be fooled again!" Kalawarner argued.
"Forget it." The male Fallen's immediate refusal only served to enrage the bluenette even more. "Besides, we shouldn't waste our time on that punk. Recovering Asia for the ritual is the important part here. Raynare!"
"Y-yes!" Raynare replied surprisedly.
"You'll be retrieving Asia. Plus, you should handle that baby Devil, if he's still with her." Raynare stood from her seat, ready to make herself useful. "As for that human, I'll take care of him."
XXXXX
Sean was approaching his apartment after walking throughout the town once again listening to the game walkthrough. He had made it to the point of what sounded like a shootout in the rain. Having enough, Sean turned off his earphones and decided to let his ears rest.
His mind soon drifted back to the odd couple of Issei and Asia. The date thing was just a joke that he played on the two. He was laughing from hearing Issei's denial of his situation, and he could only imagine how Asia reacted.
"That was such a devious thing to say." Morrigan said to Sean.
"Oh please. Like you're one to talk about teasing." he countered. Morrigan said nothing in her defense.
"Still, it's quite rare to see someone as kind as that nun in the world." Izanami mentioned about Asia's demeanor towards Issei.
"I know, right? I just wish you were as kind as her." Izanagi said to his wife. The destruction goddess didn't take that jab lightly as she started pulling on her husband's ear.
"OWOWOWOWOW!" Izanagi cried in pain.
"I would be nicer if you didn't gawk at every girl that crossed Sean's path." Izanami replied with a dangerous, no-nonsense tone. She refused to let go of Izanagi's ear until he started praising her and begging for her forgiveness.
"Sean, something's coming!" Morrigan said to Sean. He looked around and saw that the sky turned to purple, just like the other times with his encounters with the Fallen Angels.
"Hello, human."
Sean looked up to see yet another Fallen Angel, no doubt to kill him. This time, it was a man in a pale gray trench coat and black fedora, floating in the air with his black wings and arms crossed. The man's expression was a mixture of disgust and scrutiny.
The human agitatedly sighed at yet another Fallen Angel approaching him, no doubt with the intention of killing him.
"I just want to go home and enjoy what's left of my day off." Sean grumbled in his head.
"You're the one who's been giving Kalawarner and Mittelt all the trouble?" The Fallen Angel wondered aloud skeptically as he shook his head. "I swear those bitches can't do anything right."
"And you are?" Sean asked, making a rotating gesture with his hand to urge the man to continue.
"Hmph. My name is Dohnaseek. Not that it should matter to a worthless human like you."
Sean didn't appreciate the arrogant tone coming from the guy. His eyes narrowed and hands clenched into fists as his anger started to grow. He then took in a deep breath through his nose and exhaled softly through his mouth, letting the negative feeling go.
"Seriously, don't you and your group have anything better to do than bother me?"
"Well, if it's really such an inconvenience to you," Dohnaseek uncrossed his arms, leaving one outstretched and conjured a blue light spear in his hand. "Then let me make sure that this will be the last time." He threw his weapon at the human, who only continued to appear indifferent to his situation.
Readying the Infinity Gauntlet, Sean used the Time Stone to slow the approaching projectile. With the spear now moving at a snail's pace, Sean just waited until it was about to hit him before casually moving out of its path and ceased using the Stone, time returned to its normal speed and the spear simply pierced the ground beside Sean.
Dohnaseek became irritated at his failed attack. "So that's your Sacred Gear, huh? Well, let's see how long you can keep this up!" He immediately began a barrage of light spears to skewer Sean, but the human only repeated the previous outcome of slowing down time.
Effortlessly weaving through the onslaught, Sean moved closer to the Fallen Angel, who only perceived the human as a blur. Dohnaseek's ire only grew as he tried to adjust his aim and throw one spear after another, just for Sean to dodge them like the others.
"Dammit! Stand still!" the Fallen Angel shouted in frustration.
To his surprise, Sean actually did stop his dodging. He now just stood tall amidst the scorch marks and puncture holes left by the impacts of the light spear barrage. The human stared down Dohnaseek and spread his arms out, provoking the Fallen Angel.
"Well, here I am. Gimme your best shot!" Sean shouted.
Dohnaseek couldn't stand the mocking human and chose to seize the opportunity presented to him. Creating another light spear in his hand, he took aim and threw his weapon at the human, who simply stood as he did with his arms still spread out.
The Time Stone still shined; however, the power was lessened. This allowed the spear to approach him in a faster pace, yet slow enough that Sean could still avoid it with ease. At least, he would if that's what he planned to do.
He just stood his ground, letting the incoming light spear get closer to him. Sean seemed like he was actually waiting for the spear to hit him. Looking behind the weapon, he could see Dohnaseek still in the sky with a vicious smirk on his face. Seeing that, Sean himself had a smirk of his own.
The light spear was now only a foot away from piercing its mark until Sean added more into the Time Stone so that the weapon completely stopped and chose to grab the spear right out of its place mid-air.
"Huh, it doesn't hurt when I touch it." Sean said to himself as he inspected the light spear then tapping it on his free open palm. "I figured it would be like touching a lit light bulb."
The Time Stone stopped glowing and the temporal flow was now at its normal pace. Dohnaseek's eye widened in shock at the human now brandishing his own light spear.
"How did you do that, human?!" the Fallen Angel asked demandingly. "How could you catch my spear like that?!"
Sean looked up at the perplexed winged man. "I just grabbed it while it was in the air." He shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, isn't that obvious?"
As he finished his response, the Power Stone was now active, and Sean sent the light spear flying back at its original wielder. Unfortunately for Dohnaseek, the strength behind the throw was so great that the spear soared faster than he could see and managed to hit the ends of the feathers on his right wing.
"AH!" Dohnaseek cried out. With one of his wings suddenly clipped, he started to drop on his side while using his other wing to keep himself aloft. This was a losing battle of its own that left the Fallen Angel no choice but to land on the ground.
"You little bastard!" he cursed the human that hurt his wing. Dohnaseek summoned another light weapon in his hand, this time in the shape of a sword. He then propelled himself towards Sean.
Switching back to the Time Stone, Sean began to effortlessly dodge each attack from Dohnaseek's light sword. He even decided to toy with him by making it seem as though the Fallen Angel was only an inch away from connecting his strikes, which enraged his wannabe assailant even more.
Dohnaseek then tried to use a wide slash against Sean's chest, but he missed as Sean suddenly disappeared from his line of sight. Not a second later, he felt something push him from behind that made him stumble forward to regain his balance. He turned around to see Sean with an amused smile on his face, his left foot out in front of him and promptly back on the ground.
"Damn it! I'll wipe that smirk off your face!" Dohnaseek shouted in outrage. He opened his empty hand to create another light sword. Crossing his arms, the Fallen Angel shot himself forward again to cut the human down with a double strike. Sean stood his ground and switched to the Power Stone.
Dohnaseek sneered at the human as he was quickly getting in close to the human. Priming his arms, he unleashed a twin swathing strike on Sean. But his confidence was soon transformed into disbelief when his weapons suddenly shattered on contact.
Sean took advantage by grabbing Dohnaseek by his collar and strongly embedded his knee into the Fallen Angel's gut. Dohnaseek gasped out as the air was abruptly forced out of his lungs and found himself on the receiving end of a flurry of punches to his face.
One after another, Sean hit the Fallen Angel without pause. The first few caused some swelled bruising and not long after, a well-placed punch to the nose caused it to bend out of position and started to bleed. Stopping his assault, Sean released Dohnaseek, making him fall to the ground.
But the Fallen Angel was so disoriented from the punches to the head, he didn't react or even notice that Sean's foot connecting to the same spot his knee hit him, sending him into a nearby lamppost and causing it to bend from the impact. Unfortunately for Dohnaseek, the world decided to add insult to injury with the lamp's glass cover coming loose and shattering itself on his hurt cranium.
"Damn it." Dohnaseek grumbled in thought, rubbing his head to ease the pain and also noticing that his hat was missing. "How can a human be this strong and fast? Seems like he was just toying with Kalawarner and Mittelt." The Fallen Angel saw his hat next to him on the ground and placed it back on his head.
"You know, I would've just left you guys alone if you did the same for me." Dohnaseek faced Sean, staggering to his feet with the human approaching him. "The first time, when I tricked the first woman into leaving, I had a sliver of hope that you would take the hint and leave me be."
Sean kept walking up to Dohnaseek at a brisk pace while the Fallen Angel matched his pace going backwards. "The second time was a warning. About just what was in store for you if you chose to ignore it. But now..."
Sean blinked and his eye color suddenly changed to its purple/black coloring once again. "Three strikes and you're dead."
A sense of dread started to wash over Dohnaseek. It was looking into the human's eyes that seemed to give him such an unnatural, unnerving fear. "This can't be happening!"
Dohnaseek unfurled his wings and tried to escape the human with whatever strength he could muster into them. "I need to get back to the church!"
But just as he took flight, a bright light emanated from behind him. But as soon as it appeared, it suddenly flew right through his unclipped wing and past him.
"A light spear?! But how?!"
With both of his wings unable to support him, Dohnaseek fell right back down to earth with a hard thud into the unforgiving pavement. He lifted himself off the rough ground and turned to see Sean holding a light spear of his own, but in a purple color.
"Yeah, I can make these too." Sean said matter-of-factly, waving the weapon in his hand.
"Damn you!" Dohnaseek shouted in rage. He summoned more light spears in hopes of hitting the human, only to lead to the same result of failing with each attempt as Sean deflected the projectiles with a swipe of his own light spear.
The human's approach wasn't even delayed as he kept his pace towards his enemy. Dohnaseek's attacks were becoming more desperate as he abandoned throwing them with his hands and started launching them as they materialized in the air.
"Sean, just end this already. It's embarrassing to watch at this point." Heimdall requested.
"Alright, alright." Sean dropped the light spear, making it disappear. He then started to use the Reality Stone. Meanwhile, Dohnaseek gathered all of his remaining power to conjure two dozen light spears behind him.
"Let's see how you deal with this!" The Fallen Angel threw his arms forward with his light weapons doing the same.
Raising his left hand out towards the oncoming onslaught, Sean brought his arm around his opposite side and swiftly waved it back out to its side. As a result, the light spears suddenly disappeared.
However, they weren't the only things to disappear as the barrier that surrounded the area was also gone and Dohnaseek was nowhere in sight. The only thing left was a bunch of black feathers scattered around the ground where the Fallen Angel was previously.
"So, he used that last attack as a distraction to escape." Sean surmised.
"Coward." Heimdall remarked. "After starting this fight, he should've at least faced his end with honor."
Seeing the bent light post and broken glass, Sean used the Time Stone to reverse the fixture until it looked as good before the fight started.
"Oh, man!" Sean yawned out. "I'm gonna sleep like the dead tonight."
He walked up the stairs of the complex and entered his apartment. After taking a shower, he changed into his sleepwear of a T-shirt and pajama pants and went straight to bed.
XXXXX
Back at the church, Dohnaseek was livid from the humiliation he suffered from the human earlier. Every effort to kill him was treated like nothing, his attempts to escape easily prevented, and those eyes... those black and purple eyes that chilled him to his very core. It was then that he felt Mittelt's new attitude adjustment was somewhat justified.
The Fallen Angel was sitting in a pew, his wings out as he observed his damaged feathers.
"Damn human." he cursed, grimacing at his burnt pinions.
"Well, well, looks like someone had a tough time with 'that punk'." Dohnaseek only glared at the source of the mocking voice, Kalawarner.
The bluenette strutted into the interior from the underground passage, a satisfied smirk on her face from seeing Dohnaseek's poor state. After dealing with his refusal to redeem herself from her own failure against the human, there was no chance of her not taking the opportunity to relish this.
"Seems like he managed to rough you up quite a bit, huh?" Kalawarner said.
"Shut the hell up!" Dohnaseek shouted. Kalawarner did keep quiet but kept her smirk. "Has Raynare returned yet?"
"No, not yet." Kalawarner replied. "But she did tell me that she's made contact with the nun and her former pet, so we should expect her here soon."
As if on cue, black feathers burst out from overhead, revealing Raynare holding Asia as they gently descended onto the church floor. Asia had a sad look on her face when Raynare brought her back. The Fallen Angel walked ahead of her to speak with her fellow Fallen.
"Wow, what happened to you?" Raynare commented on Dohnaseek's ragged state.
"Don't." Dohnaseek cut her off. He looked behind the ravenette to see the nun returned to them. "Well, looks like our tasks were successful after all.
Kalawarner scoffed. "Really? You get your ass handed to you by a human and you call that a 'success'?"
Dohnaseek turned to Kalawarner with renewed superiority. "Didn't I tell you? Bringing the girl back was the important part. Even if I didn't kill that human brat, at least we have her. So yes, Kalawarner, I would call this successful."
Kalawarner grit her teeth in frustration at his smart retort. He had gotten the worst out of the human between her and Mittelt and he had the nerve to say that he was successful? How she wanted to slap him across his smug face and hopefully knock some teeth out of his mouth. But she managed to hold herself back. After all, it was almost time to do their real work. And once that business was done, she didn't have to put up with him anymore.
"Hey girl!" Dohnaseek called out to Asia. The nun flinched at the Fallen Angel's beckoning. "Get over here and heal me."
Asia hesitated only for a moment but conceded to Dohnaseek's demand. She held her hands out and her Sacred Gear appeared on her fingers. The rings began to glow and in turn began to heal Dohnaseek's wounds.
The bruises on his face began to reduce their swelling and the pain started to ebb. His wings were a different story. Some of the feathers were charred but they could be healed, but Asia couldn't get the feathers that were gone to grow back.
Asia dismissed her Twilight Healing and stepped back. Dohnaseek stood from his seat and reveled in the feeling of his newly healed body. But when he saw his wings, he was irked that they weren't fully restored.
"Hey! What about my wings?!" Dohnaseek angrily shouted.
"U-um..." Asia stuttered nervously. "My Twilight Healing can heal wounds, but I couldn't bring the feathers you lost back."
Dohnaseek snorted but chose to let the argument go. "We're wasting time. Is everything set for the ritual?"
Kalawarner looked off to the side, still irritated from earlier. "Yes." she confirmed through gritted teeth.
"Then, let's get this over with." Dohnaseek looked behind him towards Raynare and Asia. "Raynare, prepare the girl for the ceremony." he motioned the two towards the underground passage.
"And when this is over, we'll just see how long that brat will last against me when his attacks will be pointless against me!" The Fallen Angel mentally raged with anticipation of his rematch with Sean.
Asia couldn't help but think about the day she spent with Issei. Even though that they should've been sworn enemies, it made her happy that he said that she was her friend.
But when Raynare showed up and threatened to kill Issei, she couldn't help but acquiesced to her ultimatum. Even after Issei tried to protect her, she couldn't let him die for her.
"Asia, it's time." Raynare softly told Asia, with her hand on her shoulder.
The Fallen Angel herself felt the sister's depression. With Issei, it was just a simple deception to ensure that he couldn't become a threat to their work. And no matter how sad this situation was, she had to do her duty for her lord, Azazel.
Asia could only look down in sadness. She had just made her first friend and now...
"Issei..."
XXXXX
So that's the chapter. Again, sorry for the wait! I also have big plans for Sean's backstory and his Order. Just need to know how to properly pace it.
I just want to say how I appreciate the steady increase of follows and fav and your endless patience with me and my procrastinating bullshit.
Anyway, you all know what to do: Follow/Fav/Review
See you next time!
