AN: Chapter 3 woot! Things are gonna start to cook with gas now. Thank you all so much for the feedback and support. And I got the virtual cookie and potato thanks :).
Had a bit of a difficult time deciding which hero to use in the Asia retrieval arc and while unfortunately it's not Sven, don't worry he'll be showing up later in the story. As for who (or what) I have chosen, well you'll have to read and see.
Oh and on the off chance anyone was confused, Issei can't use the contract teleport circle but generic teleport circles are okay.
Enjoy.
Chapter 3 – Of lesser faith
"Don't go near the church again."
Issei blinked at the serious visage of his employer.
"Okay, why?"
She began to explain "The church and devils have a long going feud as I'm sure you guessed by all the gospel they spread against the summoning and contacting of devils." She clasped her hands together and leant her chin on them. "With you being officially contracted to me you may as well be a devil to them. So stay away from that church."
He sighed, this would reduce the chances of meeting Asia to nearly zero.
'But' he thought with a slight smile, he had imparted a small fragment of his power in her. If something happened to her he would know and he took comfort in that as much as he could.
"Understood." was his reluctant agreement.
Blood.
He instantly picked up on the scraping metallic scent when he pulled up to his client's house on his bike. It was a smell that he had become intimately familiar with during his battle wrought slumber.
Flashback
He screamed as blood flew from his arm, the bloody jade knife wielded by it's green enshrouded master came up once more aiming for his ribs.
Biting back the groan of pain that threatened to tear from his lips, he raised his long curved blade and parried the strike following up by cleaving its wretched head from its shoulders sending a fountain of blood into the foggy air.
But before he could capitalize on his chance, three more leafed warriors appeared before him, the icy blue sparks of light that were their eyes glaring at him. Snarling he forced down a flickering plume of faerie fire feeling his wounds knit back together as he drew into the Juggernaut's skill.
Eyes glowing with rage he drew the blade to his hip parallel to the ground.
"Blade Fury" he intoned before bursting into a swirling maelstrom of blades, a massacring vortex of edged wrath.
Blood and gore flew into the air as once more as his blade sang its bloody melody.
Flashback end
Shaking his head, he slowly approached the slightly opened doorway. Pushing it open he carefully examined his surroundings.
It was quite. Unnaturally so and the smell of blood intensified as he stole down the darkened hallway towards the only lit room he could see hands at the ready. Easing the door open slowly to minimize any possible noise he peered into the dim beyond.
All seemed normal. The room was a living room with some modest furniture and even a flat screen television.
But then his eyes swivelled to the source of the smell and stopped.
More blood.
A male that he assumed was his client was nailed upside down, his eviscerated torso spilling his organs past his chin leaking acid. Clumsy bloody letters were written on the wall above him.
"Punishment for those who did bad deeds." A sneering voice introduced itself to the cramped space. A young teen dressed in the white garb of a priest walked in lazily, a strange silver tube swinging whimsically by a clip around his finger. He reminded Issei of a white haired version of Kiba sans the ugly leer that decorated his face.
"You see~ this piece of shitty trash was reported to be summoning devils. And with me being the good priest that I am I did the world a favour by cutting him apart~" he sang dementedly twirling with a twisted smile on his face.
Foosh!
The cylinder that he had been twirling absently lit up like into a lightsaber-esque sword of light and he pulled a silver gun from his waist unleashing a barrage of light bullets that most humans would be hard pressed to dodge.
But for Issei they may as well have been going through treacle. Lighting his hands with flame, he propelled himself gracefully through the barrage right into the priest's startled face.
Grabbing his wrists before he could react he let the fire in his still burning hands sear him causing the acrid smell of burning flesh and a scream of pain to fill the air.
"I-Issei-san?"
'No. Dammit at a time like this.'
"NOOOOOO!" the person screamed as they glanced upon the reverse crucified human.
Looking up, his fears were confirmed as the trembling sight of Asia came into view.
"Why Father Freed!? Why?" she wailed in horror as she fell to her knees.
'Dammit how could I be so careless, I have a god-damn marker on her for gods sake.' he cursed. And in that moment of distraction the priest seized his chance through the pain and head-butted Issei in the face causing him to let go in surprise.
Wrenching his charred wrists from his grip, he leapt towards the blonde nun and grabbed her hair forcing her to look at the mutilated corpse that was nailed to the wall.
"See!" he screeched "This, my cute little assistant is what we do to shitty devil summoners. Now hurry up and heal me so I can kill this shitty devil lover for burning me." Upon seeing the nun's unresponsiveness he brutally knocked her out with the butt of the gun.
Issei's blood boiled as he saw this and hurled an angry ball of scorching flames that weren't quite Phoenix's fire.
The gentle golden flames of both healing and harming gave way to the hatred fuelled flames of the Bone Fletcher's curse.
Narrowly dodging the flaming ball of fury, Freed was about to return fire only for the sudden glow of a familiar magic circle to make him think otherwise.
"Ah, looks like the rest of the shitty devils are coming." he turned to glare at Issei only to stop.
His face had changed.
A vengeful spark of hell-fire gleamed in place of his normally brown left eye and the skin around it had shrunk bringing the imprint of his skull to surface. It bored into him. Judging him.
Slowly, unconsciously, an ashen bow was forming in his hand, the name of it's wielder on his lips as he prepared to strafe the priest into a burning mess.
Yet it was not to be, fortunately for Freed his foe was once more distracted by the arrival of the Gremory peerage in its entirety.
Thinking quickly, the teen priest whipped out a flash pellet...
FLASH
...and escaped with Asia during the brief moment of blindness it caused.
"..."
He clenched his fists and fire that wreathed them flared in response, the Bone Fletcher's own unending rage bolstering his own as his eye smouldered.
[Partner you need to calm down now!]
Ddraig's voice desperately tried to break through the red haze that clouded his wielders mind to no avail.
"Issei." Rias's voice called out softly. When she felt a disturbance in the area where Issei had headed not long before for his contract she had quickly assembled her peerage and teleported to his aid. Or at least that was how it should have gone.
As soon as they had fully materialized she had quickly assessed the situation. It wasn't what she expected.
Issei, the perverted and slightly enigmatic self-proclaimed magician she had formed a contract with towered over the priest, hands filled with fire. A shape was forming too, what it was she did not know but she gestured for Koneko and Kiba to backup the magician. They did so, reluctantly. Koneko in particular was warily eyeing Issei's still burning hands with fear in her eyes.
Only for the priest to escape via a flash grenade before they could properly react.
"..."
For a few tense seconds all that was heard was the crackling of Issei's flame lit hands.
"Buchou, three fallen are approaching this location quickly. We should leave soon if we want to avoid them." Akeno reported, breaking the tense silence.
She sighed and turned to her queen "Prepare the circle again, if we stick around here it's going to cause more damage than we can afford right now." turning again to Issei as the others stood in the crimson circle she gently called his name.
"Issei."
Slowly he turned around and for the second time in the space of a few days she felt her breath hitch as she beheld the half skeletal appearance of his face, ember still burning in his socket.
Suddenly he blinked and the spark was replaced by his familiar doe-brown eye as the tension seemed to drain out of him.
The flames that had been hungrily writhing around his hands went out abruptly, as though the oxygen around them had simply ceased to be. His shoulders were slumped in sudden weariness like an invisible weight had been placed on each one.
"Hey guys." He said, weakly attempting to smile. None of them bought it.
The trip back to the club room had been in silence and upon arrival he had quickly asked if it was alright for him to head home.
Rias, either in concern or uncertainty at the sight she and the rest had witnessed was kind enough to dismiss him early.
It was lucky that today was Saturday, he didn't think he could face the usual shenanigans of Kuoh academy. Not with yesterdays events still fresh and looming above him.
His mind went back to his last meeting with Asia, her head bowed limply when Freed hit her with his gun. Rage had defined him in that moment, warping the golden flames of salvation he had wielded into the darkened flames of wrath and hellfire. He had been so close afterwards to storming the church and taking the nun from their grasp for good.
But that was not who he was.
Clinkz and a number of the other Dota would have no qualms about doing so however and were it not for Ddraig's presence he might have...become something he and Ddraig had done their best to prevent.
[Feeling better partner?] there was no judgement hanging in the dragon's question.
He smiled.
'Yeah and no thanks to you Ddraig.' he thought gratefully.
[It wasn't just me you know, your employer managed to distract you enough for me to cut the flames off.]
'Well I had better thank her too then hadn't I.' his mood suddenly dimmed 'If she isn't afraid of me at any rate.' One did not simply encounter something like a partial summoning of Clinkz and come out with their wits unshaken.
"Issei-san?" a familiar voice full of shocked surprise called out suddenly.
His slightly depressing train of thought was violently derailed.
He turned, scarcely believing that this was happening to him.
"Asia?"
RUMBLE
"..."
"..."
He scratched his cheek in slight embarrassment as they both refused to make eye contact.
"...Sooo lunch?" he asked hopefully.
She smiled brightly in response.
"I would like that."
There are many strange and unexplainable moments in life.
"Auuuu"
A Italian nun getting confused in front of a Japanese fast food menu was one of them.
"...she'll have what I'm having." her bemused escort broke in much to the cashier's relief. Perhaps letting her order had been an oversight on his part, no matter how enthusiastic she may have been to try.
"Haa, I can't even order a simple hamburger by myself." she looked down as she carried her order alongside Issei.
"It's not your fault." he quickly assured her "you just need to get your head around Japanese first." he said causing her to perk up a bit.
He sat down opposite her and unwrapped his burger. He was about to take a bite when he noticed her lost look at the sight of the wrapped meal.
"Here like this" he held the burger with his hands and took a bite to demonstrate.
Her eyes lit up in childish wonder as she watched him devour the stacked bun.
"Wow... We never ate like this back in Italy."
"You try." he prompted her and she eagerly unwrapped her own burger and took a large bite out of it.
"So good~" she chewed slowly to savour the taste.
"Is this your first time having a burger?" he asked between bites.
"Yes, we usually only eat bread, soup and pasta dishes in the church." she replied before returning to her oily meal.
Issei smiled contentedly across from her. Remembering the blow she had suffered from the priest he hesitantly called out to her.
"Asia, are you... alright?"
Silence save for the sound of continued chewing answered him that she was more than likely not alright.
He decided to let it drop for now. No matter how much he wanted to speak out he did not wish to waste what little time he had with her.
Finishing up their food, the pair were wandering the streets in a semi-awkward silence that neither wanted to broach so they settled for simply enjoying each others company.
"Issei-san what is that building?" she suddenly asked pointing to a familiar place that he himself often frequented.
"It's a game centre, a place people go to have fun."
His blonde companion stared at the place in interest and perhaps a trace of longing as well.
"Would you like to go in?" he asked.
"Umm-"
The sudden tiny gleam of hope in her eyes was all the invitation he needed.
"Come on then." he took her hand and started for the centre eliciting a squeak of surprise from the nun at the unexpected but welcome turn of events.
The centre was crowded, but this was to be expected of the weekend crowd. As the recently reunited duo wandered in Asia let out a gasp, eyes wide trying to take in as much of the new world around her in as possible. Issei found her expression to be frankly one of the most adorable things he'd seen, and he had gone up against the Enchantress herself in all her untouchable glory.
He shuddered slightly. As innocent as she looked, the Ancients had picked her for a reason and dammit that girl knew how to exploit her appearance.
"Is that Rache-kun?" Asia's excited exclamation cut into his musings of literal death by cuteness.
The nun had her face pressed against the glass of a claw game and was staring at the mouse-like plushes with sparkles in her eyes.
"Do you want one?" Issei asked her, causing her to look away shyly with her fingertips pressed together.
He grinned "Leave it to me.
After much fishing and spending a good chunk of his budget, he was finally rewarded with an electric yellow Rache plush which he gave to Asia electing a squeal of delight from the blonde nun.
The sun was low in the sky by the time they re-emerged from the game centre chatting animatedly about the afternoon. They had tried a plethora of games from racing to fighting which she was surprisingly good at for a nun. He'd even gotten the privilege of seeing her in cosplay when a group of cosplayers mistook her outfit for a costume and dragged her to try something else on. The pictures of them both from the photo booth would be something he and her would continue to treasure.
"Ouch!"
He had been so absorbed in the conversation that he had failed to notice the large rubbish bin in front of him and bruised his arm on it. He winced, it was the arm which had recently torn itself open when he drew into the Bane's power and while it was healed for the most part it, the skin had yet to fully reinforce itself to normal capacity. A price of using a power beyond his body's current capability.
"Here let me see." his arm was taken between her hands and a familiar ball of green light shined erasing the blackening welt.
"There, good as new." she said cheerfully
"Thanks." he smiled flexing the arm "That's a handy sacred gear you got there Asia, must be a real blessing for the church."
Her smile turned bitter and he knew the landmine he had been so carefully trying to avoid had finally blown. "You know about sacred gears don't you Issei-san?" it was more of a statement than a question. "Let me tell you a story, the story of the Holy Maiden."
She began to speak, began to recount the bitter cross she had no choice but to bear. She spoke of a young girl, who was discovered by the church when she healed a small puppy on the road. She was taken in by the church, her power to heal was revered by many and placed her on a pedestal of prestige. Many came from far and wide to be blessed with her healing touch and to worship the holy maiden.
Issei didn't like where this was heading but continued to listen.
She continued to describe the contradictory nature of solitude that surrounded her. How despite the constant praise showered upon her she could never gain a true friend from the masses. It was an isolation from companionship.
Then one day, the young girl saw a man bleeding on the side of the road begging for help. She did not know who he was but he was hurt so she helped him only to find that he was a devil that had killed the exorcist chasing him. Eventually, the church found out and when they did the ones that took her in became the ones that threw her out. 'Blasphemy!' they had roared 'The power of God is not meant to heal devils!'. She who was once heralded as a Saint was cast out by the same people as a Witch.
Not one person, not one lowly priest or nun was willing to help her even the ones that she had healed did nothing.
Eventually a group of stray exorcists found her, praying to a silent god. They took her in and granted her sanctuary with the fallen.
No matter how hard she prayed
No matter how much she believed
God did not help her
God had abandoned her
And yet she continued to pray
In the hope that God would save her.
"In the end all she wanted was for someone to stay with her, to talk to her as an equal, to look at books with her, to talk with her." she looked down longingly, "Someone to be her friend."
He couldn't take it anymore.
"Asia." he started laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You got one part wrong," she looked at him in confusion through her wet eyes.
He smiled.
"we're already friends aren't we?" he said simply.
Her eyes widened at the statement before she smiled back radiantly. For her the simple declaration of friendship would be one of her most cherished memories for the rest of her days.
"Asia what are you doing here? You are still needed with at the church."
A familiar fluttering of feathered wings descended from behind them and he could see the dread that suddenly marred Asia's face.
"Raynare-sama." she uttered, the words descending like an executioners blade in the silent street.
Issei automatically spun around hiding as much of the nun behind his frame as possible, his eyes hardening at the all too familiar fallen angel.
[Partner!]
BOOM!
Before he could even open his mouth to speak something blasted into his side, sending him careening into a wall.
"Shit." he cursed through blurred sight as he fought to keep both his mind and body under control. 'Fractured skull, spine damage, ribs broken and probably both arms as well. This is not my day.' he briefly lamented. Suddenly, before he could attempt to somehow heal himself without using his arms, a familiar green light made itself know as the nun's sacred gear did its work. When the last of the pain had faded she reluctantly stood back with a sad smile as Raynare and another shorter fallen responsible for his current state flanked her sides.
Before they teleported away she spoke two words, two words that held the finality of a dying wish.
"Goodbye Issei."
And they were gone, leaving the street silent once more.
Slowly, he pulled himself out of the wall uncaring of the lingering stabs of pain in his body. He clasped his hands to his head suddenly and gritted his teeth as roars of vengeance and rage boomed against his mind.
'STOP!' he thundered mentally at the voices. Immediately the unintended grating against his mind ceased, as the voices realised what was happening. Sighing in relief and slight bemusement, he took his hands from his head and let a wave of reassurance wash over his soul and smiled when an answering wave washed over him.
"I believe a visit to Buchou is in order." he said to himself as plans started to circulate in his mind. If he was going to risk starting a war he would at least have the courtesy of letting his employer know before hand.
It was bad manners to not formerly make your employer aware that your actions may start a war, horrible for the reputation as well as experience had taught him.
Turning sharply on his heels he took off running for the old school building.
"Buchou, I'm going to go sa-"
The sentence died in his throat as he took in the scene before him. His almost naked employer was being groped rather enthusiastically by her queen causing the wonderfully full orbs to undulate in her hands.
Kpssshhh!
A fountain of blood ejected from both his nostrils at terminal velocity and propelled him right into the wall with a terrific crack. He giggled deliriously as his body slid down the wall and for the second time that week passed out from boob overload.
The sound had been loud enough to alerted the other two occupants of the room of his presence. Akeno had paused her ministrations and upon seeing the sight of Issei's collapsed frame, quickly deduced what had happened and started to chuckle at his apparent misfortune.
Rias on the other hand had seized her chance of escape and wrenched herself free, dressing in record time so as to discourage another attempt.
"What are you laughing at Akeno?" she asked as she straightened her blouse, a healthy red blush still on her cheeks. Turning around, eyes crinkled in amusement the sadist queen merely gestured out the still open door.
One glance told her all she needed to know.
Akeno, ever the opportunist saw the blush on her king's face deepen ever so slightly and was quick to seize the opportunity to tease.
"I think he liked what he saw Buchou. Don't you?" she whispered lewdly from behind her.
As though to reinforce her statement, a delirious chuckle followed by what sounded vaguely like "boobs." came from the unconscious magician before he fell silent once more.
"AKENOOOO!"
Her scream of embarrassment echoed through the old school building chased by the joyous laugh of her long time friend.
'What happened this time?' Issei sluggishly thought as he opened his eyes only to close them again as the light of the setting sun blasted him in the eyes. Grimacing, he slowly sat up and looked around. He was in the club room judging by the look of the familiar Victorian furniture. Swinging his legs off the couch he tried to remember why he had come fall unconscious in the first place only for a familiar voice to cut into his thoughts.
"Issei! You finally woke up." Rias exclaimed as she looked up from the papers she had been reading at her desk.
"Buchou?" something hazy tugged at the back of his mind, "What happ- ASIA!" he bolted to his feet.
"The continent?" Rias questioned confusedly wondering if maybe the blood loss was worse than they first thought.
"The nun!" he said distractedly as he worriedly noticed the setting sun through the window. "I'm going to save her." How long had he been out for?
Rias frowned. "Issei, nuns are a part of the church. If you try to take her it could be seen as an act of aggression from the devils-"
"Oh no." Issei wasn't listening but looking down at his hand in horror as a mark identical to the one that he had placed on the nun flickered red.
"I have to go." a vortex of blue light swirled into existence around him, glowing scripture flickering into life beneath his feet as the familiar glow of an imminent teleport made itself known.
"Issei wait!"
"Sorry, Buchou." he smiled, a melancholic effigy and vanished with a swirl of blue light leaving Rias alone in the room.
The abandoned church stood before him. Once a place of holiness, it now stood tainted both by the absence of its patron and the fallen within.
"Heeey~ you're the shitty devil from before." he leapt back as a familiar lightsaber sliced down in front of him.
"Get out of my way Freed." he warned lowly. He was not in the mood to waste any more time than he already had and the mark on his hand was starting to fade alarmingly fast.
"Don't wanna~" the insane priest was quick drop his sword and to draw out a pair of pistols to start shooting no doubt learning from his last experience of fighting close quarters.
"Che, screw this." Beneath his sleeve a single curling line of blue appeared around his arm glowing with the Radiant's light. "Omniknight!" he barked and started to deflect the bullets as the fabled war-hammer of the Omniknight blurred around him. The hammer, capped with gold and stamped proudly with the Omniscience's crest whirled through the air with practised ease as bullets were deflected left right and centre.
Suddenly he was forced to dodge to the side as a sneaky spear of light tried to pierce him from behind. Looking back he saw not one but three fallen angels floating with spears raised in preparation to launch another salvo. He recognized the familiar sight of Dohnaseek but the other two were new to him.
Especially the one on the left, he would've remembered a bust as big and wonderful as that.
"Not so cocky now are you shitty devil." Freed mocked as he took the chance to reload.
Suddenly the mark that represented Asia's life force flickered, nearly going out before weakly springing back. Any thoughts of busty fallen or holding back had left his mind as he started to allow the Omniknight's no-, Purist Thunderwrath's power to flow into his soul.
"Enough." he stated planting the hammer head first into the ground. Suddenly, to his enemies the air around him changed, as though someone else was now standing before them. Someone who was radiating pure holy power.
I who have looked into the Omniscience.
Twin ribbons of light helixed down from the sky and curled around his form before sending out a ring of pure holy energy with him at the centre.
The Chosen bearer of his Blessing. The Bringer of his Light.
"Shit he's from the church." the short one swore as they swerved upwards to escape the blast. Freed however was without wings and was blasted through the tree line where he lay groaning, burns littering his body.
Where Piety fails, my Hammer shall Fall.
Before the light had faded he was in the air, hammer pulled to his now armoured side in gauntleted hands as he bought it in a wide sweeping arc towards the startled fallen. He caught them all in his sweep and sent them crashing to the ground as a tangled heap.
Tremble before Me, for My Cause is Just, My purpose Righteous.
They recovered quickly as expected of the former soldiers of heaven. Light blossomed in their palms and lengthened into different coloured spears of light. Spears which hurtled towards his still turned back but failed to penetrate the gilded ivory plates that now spanned his body. Slowly he turned and it was not Issei's visage that greeted them but the bearded face of Omniknight, his glaring blue eyes piercing them where they stood.
I am Purist Thunderwrath, the Righteous Hammer at His command.
He gestured with his hammer and glowing white crests materialized above them before shooting down like vengeful stars and pinning them to the ground by both their limbs and their wings.
And through the Omniscience's Light, Thou Shalt Be Cleansed.
But the final blow did not come. Instead, the knight turned to the silent church his red stole fluttering as he marched into the darkness. His deep voice boomed to the fallen one final time before the blackness claimed him.
Rejoice, betrayers of the Light for 'He' has declared that Thine Judgement be delayed.
The Omniknight would have killed them instead of leaving them bound. Would have willingly crushed their skulls beneath his hammer instead of simply binding them to the earth.
But the Omniknight was also Issei, and Issei had made it clear that they were not to be killed.
Except for Freed though, but luckily for him he had woken up during the fight and scampered.
Break
The first warning they had was the sound of armoured boots marching methodically across the stone floor. The passage that lead to the hidden entrance in the altar above echoed with the heavy thuds of a hammer's hilt on the ground.
The rouge exorcists looked eagerly at the door, guns and swords held ready as the footsteps drew near.
Creeeak
The door edged open and a plated foot stepped forth.
"Now!"
"Eat this!"
"Die!"
A disjointed cacophony of war cries and gun reports filled the dank basement air as a wave of luminescent bullets surged forth towards the door.
Against the Omniscience's Blessing, no Sorceries shall avail.
The bullets converged, impacted and reflected back as they struck the shimmering blue barrier covering his plated form, arcs of blue light lazily orbiting around him. He marched forth, unhindered by the meagre attack and swept his gaze across the room and stopped.
There, at the centre of the dais was Asia.
Wearing only a barely opaque nightgown, she was strung up limply on a crucifix shaped machine while Raynare stood before her in her not-quite-bondage outfit.
But she seemed more...forlorn instead of triumphant, there was no joy to be found as she turned to regard the Omniknight's form. She seemed to mourn at the absence of the other three fearing the worst, but her eyes steeled and she turned once more to face the cross. "Hold him off." she ordered to the exorcists around her and began chanting.
He turned his gaze down to the charging horde, obviously hoping to overwhelm him with their sheer numbers. Their blades descended, aimed to pierce and skewer him from all sides and it would have worked had they wielded blades of metal instead of the blades of light that, while not born of the pagan arts were still magic in nature.
Repel.
And like all their bullets, they were reflected and blocked by the holy shield that shrouded him.
The Omniknight was not idle during this though, his sanctified hammer whirled through the air crushing bone and cartilage alike where it impacted. The others seeing that their attacks had no effect tried to run, to put some distance between them but as he drew near at a speed that belied his size they found the strength sapped from their limbs and muted whispers filled their minds.
Your Guilt weighs Heavily. You who are of Lesser Faith.
He proclaimed as he raised his hammer again and again sending groaning heaps of flesh crashing into the walls, beaten but alive.
"IYAAAAAAAAAAA!"
As the last of the exorcists fell to his hammer a scream cut through the air as the nun writhed on the cross, a ball of familiar green light leaving her chest and floating into Raynare's outstretched hands.
"No!" one of his eyes turned brown, his focus fading as he sprinted for the altar, shedding pieces of white armour as he went leaving them to fade into white particles.
"Oh by the Radiant please no." he leapt past where Raynare was panting and crushed the manacles binding her and lay her gently on the ground. Pulling what was left of the Omniknight's power into his hand he cast a concentrated Purification and pumped it directly into Asia's weakening body. The magic healed her body but her soul was already fading, too weak to anchor itself to her body after the strain of the extraction.
"Issei-san." she said smiling weakly despite the pain. "I had fun today, thank you." she breathing stilled and he watched helplessly as the light faded from her once bright green eyes.
The mark on his hand flickered once. Before it too faded into black.
His own eyes hardened and he turned to Raynare causing her to stumble to the ground at his gaze, the bloody gauntlet of the red dragon appearing on his hand in response to his silent fury.
He let his rage induced silence speak for him and raised the gauntlet high before driving it down causing the air to scream at the speed it travelled.
"I'm sorry, Issei." the fallen did not struggle or attempt to defend herself, seemingly content with her fate as her death orbited towards her like a red meteor.
And yet despite the noise, despite his rage her words reached him and triggered something in him.
He stopped, mere millimetres from her nose as he stared at her, rage forgotten.
Flashback
The fallen screamed as Juggernaut's blade cut into his side. Cold eyes looked on from behind a chalk white mask marked with red as another nameless body fell to the ground. It was the last one amongst many that had attempted to ambush him. And like the others, he too fell to his blade.
Flicking the blood off with a quick turn of his wrist, he turned and limped of into the night leaving the pile of carnage behind him.
Flashback end
She is only one drop in an ocean of many, his pragmatic mind reasoned but the weary side of his mind, the part that was tired of all the bloodshed told him to let it go.
He looked at Asia's fallen body. Had she been alive it would have looked as though she simply fell asleep. Something was missing though, the familiar rings that represented her sacred gear were absent from her fingers.
"Give them back." he spoke up suddenly startling Raynare at he sudden breach of silence. He crouched down with her "It hasn't had time to bond with your soul yet so," he held out his hand "please."
Normally she would have refused, would have leapt at the chance to strike while his guard was down, to smite the life from him like an insect.
But like the last time his eyes stopped her. They looked tired but despite that tiredness, pure power lurked behind them caged behind his will. It gave his eyes quite an alluring effect she realized even as she reluctantly returned the rings for him to put on the nun.
When both rings were once again present on their proper owner he turned to her and she tensed despite his earlier mercy.
"Go," he said, "the restraints binding your companions will've faded by now." he noticed her surprised expression "What, did you think they were dead?" he made an attempt at chuckling only for it to come out as more of a hollow grunt. "Go, before the others get here."
She looked uncertain, not that he could blame her given the previous events.
"Why?" she asked at length never taking her eyes off him in case he decided to change his mind.
He looked longingly at Asia, "It's what she would've wanted."
She still seemed unsure, as though the penny had yet to drop but nevertheless she quickly took to the skies and disappeared in a flutter of wings.
Issei sighed as he slid his back down the side of the cross.
"Heh," he muttered to himself "to think that a being like her of all people would be capable of showing remorse." Monsters were remorseless, people like Freed who felt no regret for their actions were monsters in all but species to him.
A monster would not have tried to repent in the last seconds of their life.
"Aahhh." he sighed tiredly "How in the Dire am I going to face Buchou and the others." he tilted his head back against the infernal machine which had cost Asia her life and gave a humourless laugh "Oh well, it's not like I'm gonna be welcomed back after this stunt." he talked aimlessly into the silence.
He was not prepared for the silence to talk back.
"Really, to think you had such a low opinion of us. I'm offended Issei."
His head snapped up in shock as the familiar teasing tone of Rias's sadistic queen reached his ears, tinted with slight awe at the crumpled bodies around them. Looking around to the entrance, his fears were confirmed when the entirety of the Occult Research club made its way towards him.
His throat went dry.
How in the hell was gonna explain this one?
As soon as the light from Issei's abrupt departure had faded, Rias had wasted no time and immediately gathered her peerage and after explaining the circumstances gathered them into a teleport circle to the church.
"Be prepared for anything." was her only advice to them when Kiba had asked what to expect when they got there. Koneko however had a more serious concern to voice.
"What should we do if we meet Issei-senpai?" she asked in her usual stoic manner. Her king contemplated the question for a minute, recalling the expression he made when he left. It was almost sad the way he smiled, as though he knew full well what his actions could cause and was prepared to never see them again. It was a good question though, he had gone directly against her orders and rushed away to save the nun. A nun that may have been official fallen business in which case she had no choice but to renounce their contract. 'But then again, that exorcist Freed Zelzan was wanted in almost every supernatural circle including the fallen's, so maybe they weren't acting officially?' thoughts continued to bounce around her head as the silence drew on.
"I see." she was broken out of her thoughts by the rather solemn two words Koneko had said
and it took her a few moments to compute what them.
"Wait, no that's not what I meant!" she hastily waved her hands to halt the extreme line of thought that her silence had lead the rook to believe. "just-." she sighed "We'll deal with that when we come to it." she settled on at last. She turned to her patiently waiting queen, "Akeno."
"Yes Buchou." she replied evenly, still slightly nervous at the prospect of teleporting into what was essentially enemy territory for the first time and activated the circle sending them away in a flash of light.
They arrived and immediately sprang into battle stances before the light had even faded. The ground was saturated with holy power, enough to cause their inbuilt devils instincts to automatically scream at them. Around them the ground was scorched black, as though a flammable gas cloud had spontaneously ignited in the exact shape of a circle. And at the edge were three struggling fallen angels, bound to the ground by what appeared to be circles of white energy.
"God damn it, why the fuck did he have to nail our necks as well!? When I get my hands on him I-"
The bindings must not have been very comfortable if the way the short one was swearing was any indication.
Then the one with the fedora caught sight of them and alerted his fellow captives.
"..."
"..."
"I uh, don't suppose you would be kind enough to let us out would you?" he asked with as much politeness as he could spare to a devil.
"Idiot, these are holy bindings. What the hell are a bunch of filthy devils going to do?"
"Well its not like we can do anything ourselves is it midget?"
"Will you two stop arguing!?"
The busty one joined the fray as they descended into an incomprehensible argument seemingly forgetting the devils in the background.
Said devils could do no more than sweatdrop at the display of childish immaturity unfolding before them.
"Lets... just move along." the crimson haired king said awkwardly as they shuffled round the arguing trio and slipped into the church.
The inside of the church was surprisingly orderly given the current state of things outside, rows of pews were lined up to face an altar where someone would preach. The altar however was in pieces, as though something had impacted the front with enough force to completely obliterate the wooden box into foot long wooden splinters.
"I can smell Issei-senpai... from there." Koneko spoke up and pointed towards the hidden stairwell that was peeking out from the wreckage.
They walked down into the cobbled passage and came to a set of doors. A disjointed laugh suddenly echoed through the opened crack, a laugh that they recognized as Issei's. Haltingly, Rias placed a hand on the door and pushed, her peerage following closely behind.
Bodies lined the wall, like demented white marionettes that had had their strings cut they were scattered around having evidently been pummelled with enough force to crack the walls on which they lay against. Koneko wrinkled her nose, the stench of blood amplified by her sensitive nose. And there, at the centre of the far end of the room was Issei, the nuns body laid out beside him as he lay with his back against the extraction machine muttering to himself.
"Oh well, it's not like I'm gonna be welcomed back after this stunt." his voice bounced across to them hollowly. Rias did not like that.
Fortunately, Akeno thought the same.
"Really, to think you had such a low opinion of us. I'm offended Issei." she called out to him causing his head to snap up and stare at them in shock.
For a moment all he could was stare at them, unsure of what to do. Without warning, Rias broke away from the others and began to walk over to him.
"Buchou?" he managed to get out tentatively as he pushed himself to his feet.
"Issei," she started before looking at the nun, "Is she...?"
Suddenly his eyes widened. 'Devils, of course!' he thought, mind racing with sudden hope.
"Buchou please reincarnate her!" he sank to his knees "I'll pay any price you want just please bring her back." he begged unashamedly for the life of the girl he'd grown to cherish over the past month.
She placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see her smiling at him.
"I'll bring her back Issei." she promised and took a crimson bishop from her uniform pocket to punctuate her words.
Relief flooded through him and he all but collapsed where he knelt only to feel something grab his arms from both sides.
"Easy there Issei, you've done enough here." Kiba's voice appeared at his left while Koneko supported his other arm, the short girl making the most of her rook strength.
Knowing he was in good hands, he smiled a small smile and allowed one tear, unnoticed by anyone to slide down his cheek.
Deep within the Boosted Gear, underneath layers of steel and enchantment the Great Welsh smiled as he observed his host. It had been so long since he had seen Issei this happy after Irina left.
Shifting his gargantuan head on his equally vast haunches, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep, the Boosted Gear vanishing from Issei's hand as he did.
Hey sorry for the delay, stuff happened and my mind was being assaulted by a whole bunch of different ideas. Next chapter will be much longer hopefully.
Hopefully, I'll be putting out a new fic sometime soon.
Thanks for the continued support, read and review.
