Disclaimer: This chapter contains content which the reader may find unsettling.
The white-haired man tilted his neck, looking out of the corner of his eyes at Issei with a frown.
"What's up, kid?"
Issei stared in horror.
"Y-you … what are you doing? Who are you?"
The man rolled his eyes, then continued pumping his hips rapidly with renewed effort. Issei watched as his pasty white buttocks jiggled.
"Name's Freed, kid. Christ, can't a man get any peace around here? Give me a break."
"T-that's my mom! You … what–" stammered Issei.
There was no further reply, until the man let out a sigh of relief as he finished. And then he pulled up his pants and turned around, a deranged grin marring his face. Issei took a step backwards.
"That was your mom, kiddo. And she gave me a great time. Now I'll let you join her!"
A white beam of light erupted from the hilt in Freed's right hand, and he began to approach Issei like a cat playing with a mouse.
Seeing the Holy Sword, Issei's eyes widened, recalling Raynare's words.
This was an exorcist from the Church, and he'd just slaughtered his family. Some tiny part of Issei's brain – the inner child – squealed in delight at seeing a laser sword. That part was crushed by an overwhelming explosion of rage and fury. He trembled, hands shaking uncontrollably, but not from fear. It took all of his willpower not to explode forward and tear Freed from limb to limb, to make him suffer.
His left arm transformed into a crimson gauntlet, the emerald humming in approval to the storm of emotions that whirled in him.
Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost.
He coughed, spitting out blood. It felt good.
Boost. Boost.
Somewhere deep inside, a dragon roared in approval.
Boost.
It felt like someone was drumming in his head. It felt worse than when he had been stabbed yesterday, bleeding out on the ground. He liked it.
Boost.
This was his limit. His eyesight grew blurry, everything tinted red. He wavered, swaying back and forth as if he we were about to collapse. His legs shook with exhaustion. And yet, there was an eruption of power from within him. He felt like a god. He could crush this man like an insect.
Boost.
Issei surged forward faster than he'd ever moved before, bursting with unstoppable force. He swung his fist, knowing that he could kill the man with a single blow and crush his head as easily as squeezing an orange. Power singing through his veins, he roared defiantly.
He missed.
Recognizing the danger, Freed had sidestepped the punch. It was fast – for a baseline human – but clumsy and awkward by supernatural standards. Jolting forward, he lunged forward with inhuman speed, plunging his Holy Sword straight into Issei's chest.
Issei staggered to a stop, disbelief written on his face. He looked down incredulously, staring at the blade of light embedded in his chest. Only a small dribble of blood oozed out, as the blade of light had cauterized the edges of the wound.
Freed giggled wildly, taunting the boy, "Too slow! And now you've got a hol-y problem. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Issei continued to look vacantly at the exorcist, eyes glazing over and blood dribbling from his mouth. Freed frowned at the lack of response and pulled the sword back – only to realize that a red gauntlet had clamped onto his wrist. Freed sneered, reaching to pry it off with his other hand. After a few seconds, Freed began to panic, flailing and thrashing as he tried to move his hand. It was like his sword was stuck in a wall and his hand was encased in cement. Immobile as a mountain, he couldn't move it, no matter how much he pulled or pushed.
And then Issei began to pull. Inch by inch, he was dragged forward. Desperately twisting and turning, Freed was unable to escape his grip. And then Issei's strength was too much, and Freed's arm was ripped out of the socket. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Freed barely felt any pain, but instead took the opportunity to flee in terror and escape from this nightmare.
A growing sense of weakness overwhelmed Issei, and his gauntlet vanished. Feeling light-headed, he collapsed to the floor, staring in a daze at the hole in his chest. It hurt everywhere. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. Just white-hot pain spiking in his brain. With his other hand, he gripped the pendant at his neck, and it began to glow faintly. His world went dark.
o - o - o
Sona rhythmically tapped the wooden desk with her slim, tapered fingers, before raising her hand to push up the bridge of her glasses.
"It's getting out of hand, Rias. They're all coming out of the woodwork. Crows. Strays. I'm even hearing whispers about the Church moving in soon."
Rias turned, her ample assets resting on her crossed arms.
"You don't need to tell me that, Sona. I'm well aware of what's going on in my territory."
"Do you really?" challenged Sona. "You know very well there's a delicate balance between the Three Factions. With our family background, an incident here won't be easy to contain. If things get out of hand, do you really want to be responsible for restarting the Great War?"
The redhead rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic, Sona. Restart the Great War? You're too melodramatic. Yes, there's a rise in activity, but it's not that bad."
"Not that bad?" questioned Sona in a dangerous tone. "Just the other day, I had to send Tsubaki and Reya to cover up another incident. There was a murder. A man cut up into pieces, blood and organs everywhere! The police were already on the scene, you know. And you know what I found? A Gremory summoning circle. Yes, it was one of your clients. So tell me, why am I cleaning up your mess?"
Rias flushed, fidgeting slightly as she avoided her childhood friend's sharp gaze.
"It must have slipped my attention. It won't happen again, Sona."
Sona shook her head. "That's not good enough, Rias. Just because you say that doesn't mean it's true – you'll need to sit down with your peerage and take measures to address the issue. Besides, I'm not looking for a promise from you. I'm your friend, not your boss."
She let out an exasperated sigh, taking off her glasses and putting them on the desk. Without her glasses, her bare, unframed face exposed the dark shadows under her eyes and bloodshot eyes. Seeing this, Rias swallowed, feeling somewhat guilty. As strict and uptight Sona was, she'd always been a good friend, and she silently vowed to herself to try a little harder to treat her better.
Sona leaned forward, looking Rias straight in the eyes. "You know, Rias. You and I come from a position of incredible privilege. But that power comes with a great deal of responsibility. I'm not going to lecture you. I just want you to be aware that regardless of our friendship, there will come a point where I will have to make decisions in the best interest of my peerage and my family. Decisions that you might not agree with. Are we clear?"
Rias frowned. She always hated being reminded that she was a Gremory first, and Rias second. But that didn't mean Sona was wrong. For a moment, she thought of her looming engagement with the Phenex Clan. She nodded. "I know, Sona. Sorry. I've just got a lot on my plate."
Sona leaned back, watching her with an analytical gaze.
"You don't need to apologize to me, Rias. While we're on this topic, don't you think your peerage is too small? You've only got three."
"Four," interrupted Rias. "I have four."
Sona arched an eyebrow. "He lives in a cardboard box, Rias. Permanently."
Rias blushed again. "Okay, three. But they're all beloved members of my family, and I won't have you look down on them."
"Look down on them? Akeno, Kenko, and Yuuto all have a lot of potential, Rias. I don't question that. But at the end of the day, three is too few, don't you think? You're stretched thin. There's no way you can govern Kuoh on your own. One of your clients was slaughtered, and you didn't even notice! And your upcoming engagement … you really need to start building up your peerage."
"I know, Sona. I'm working on it. I've got my eye on one, and I'm trying to recruit him right now."
Sona sat up straight, pulling her chair closer to the desk.
"That's right. Hyoudou Issei. Let me be frank with you. You asked me not to touch him months ago, and you haven't made any progress. Now things are heating up, and I think you're running out of time. So let me give you this ultimatum – you have until the end of this weekend, and then I'll take him if you don't. Understand?"
Rias frowned, staring at her childhood friend.
"Fine. I'll pick him up tomorrow," she replied confidently.
Sona smiled. "That's more like it." Finished cleaning her glasses, she placed them back on. "By the way, Serafall asked me to let you know – we're having a get-together for the event next month, and the date's been moved …"
o - o - o
Raynare smiled, looking at the blonde nun in anticipation. A Longinus in one hand and Twilight Healing in the other. She was well on her way to becoming a major player in the game.
And then the jewelry she'd given to Issei began to go off. A deep sense of unease grew within her, and she spread her wings, flying over to his house, in the direction of the signal. As she grew closer, it continued to increase in intensity, as if his life was in danger.
No … it couldn't be.
She'd given very clear instructions to Freed. He wasn't to harm Issei, or she'd thrash the living daylights out of him. No, he was only meant to show up and cause a scare. That wasn't that hard, right?
Her mouth grew dry as Issei's house entered her gaze. From above, it looked like a natural disaster. The front door had been ripped off its frame, the windows shattered, and furniture and belongings were broken and scattered everywhere.
No!
She dove forward, accelerating faster as the wind tore at her skin and eyes.
She barreled inside, not even landing, and saw Issei.
No, what she saw was his broken body lying there, a pool of crimson blood blossoming underneath him.
Impossible.
How had things escalated like this?
How had her plans gone so awry?
Dread and anguish threw her thoughts into a turmoil, before an idea occurred to her. Back at the Church, she still had a nun with a Sacred Gear that could heal injuries. Yes, she could still fix everything.
It took her only a minute to fly back, driven by urgency and despair. Without even landing, she swooped down and grabbed the nun, like a bird hunting its prey. Dangling from her arms and soaring through the sky, the nun flailed in terror, screaming and crying. Raynare ignored it all, but instead continued to fly faster and faster, until they had returned to Issei.
Dizzy and confused, the nun looked at Raynare with questioning look.
"Heal him!" she growled, losing patience with the girl.
She staggered over and knelt over his body, hands glowing with a gentle viridian light. It washed over her, strangely calming and soothing. As the seconds grew into minutes, her dread returned. Raynare stalked over, tightly gripping the nun's shoulder with her hand.
"He'll be fine, right? Tell me he'll be fine."
Tears welled up in the girl's eyes, and she shook her head.
"I can't do anything. He's … already gone."
"Try harder! You useless girl, try harder!" screamed Raynare.
She continued shaking the nun's shoulders, as the girl shook her head, and Raynare stared in disbelief.
How had things ended up like this?
Freed.
It was all his fault.
A simple plan, and everything could have gone her way. She had made it very clear to him that Issei was not to be touched, but he'd gone and done it anyway.
It was all his fault, wasn't it? Not hers. No, not hers.
"Go back to the Church," she told the girl.
She stood there quietly and waited, unwilling to leave.
Eventually, she knelt and whispered a quiet prayer, even though she knew there wasn't any point.
And then she spread her wings to go hunting, after one long, hard look at the face of a stupid boy.
Only a few minutes after she left, a large, crimson magic circle formed nearby and two figures appeared.