Odin: As with a thousand other things he likes, King of the fake World does not own Persona, nor High School DxD.
King: Okay, that's it. No more disclaimers for you lot.
Yu knew that trusting Kalawarner wasn't the smartest thing he could do. It had been too easy, she had offered her help too fast, to trust her. Even her explanation, while it seemed sound, didn't alleviate his worries much.
Since she tried to kill him, that distrust on his part was natural, though.
Nevertheless, her help was the fastest way to get to where he suspected Issei to be. And being fast was certainly important.
Kalawarner opened the doors to the church, and Yu followed her through them. The place looked abandoned. A good deal of the pews were lying around, many in disrepair. The stained glass windows sported cracks, and the cross that would normally stand at the wall opposite of the doors was a broken pile of wood, lying on the ground. Rubble was also lying everywhere, gathering dust.
Only the altar was in a more or less good condition.
"... Where would Raynare hold Issei?" He asked Kalawarner.
"Depends on how desperate she is."
"And how desperate is she?"
"Considering she snatched him in broad daylight... Very. You mopped the floor with us, and our favorite leader has a severe inferiority complex." She walked over to the wall. "I'd say he's in the chamber below. And with how very angry Raynare is, I'd say her taking some of our exorcists down there is pretty likely, too."
"... I'll just assume you're going to open the way to the chamber." The Fool looked towards the door at the side, the entrance to the backrooms.
"Yeah." She started to tap the wall systematically. "It's a real pain to find, though."
"... How many members of your group are here?"
"Everyone, I'd say. Other than Dohnaseek and Mittelt, of course." She gave him a brief look, and he was surprised to see worry fly over her face. They hadn't appeared to be particularly close. "Where do you think they are?"
"Probably with Gremory and her group. She didn't look happy."
"And whose fault is that?"
"Mine." He admitted. "I was harsher than necessary."
"She put herself between you and Hyoudou Issei." Siegfried said. "And after something similar happening before, you do not wish to take any chances."
… True. When he had been held at the police station, back in Inaba, he had seen the image of Nanako on the midnight channel. He had known she would be targeted. And he had been incapable of helping her.
Never before had Yu felt so helpless. It was something he never wanted to happen again.
It was also a certain way to get him very, very angry. That Rias did so, unknowingly, had its effect on him. Still, he'd overdone it.
"But unless they do something stupid, like try to fight, I doubt anything dangerous will happen."
"Yeah... So, Dohnaseek's in trouble. He won't pass up a good fight."
"... Would he be that stupid? I'm not that good at sensing power, but Gremory and Himejima, at least, are stronger than him."
"Himejima? Eh, doesn't matter. Listen, odds are that Raynare will be the only one down there who can fight. Even stray exorcists have a sense of camaraderie. The only one who would help her is Freed, and if she actually trusts him, then she's lost it... Ah, there's that damn switch."
He heard a clicking sound, and the altar glided to the side. Loudly.
"... Did anyone hear that?" Really, why would anyone make the secret entrance be so loud? It defeated the whole secret part.
The grin on Kalawarner's face was not entirely unexpected. "Everyone's used to it. We've been using this passage a lot."
"You enjoy this thing, don't you?" He let her go first, mostly so he could keep her in sight. The passage turned out to be a stairway.
She walked down the stairs slowly, calmly. "You're gonna beat up that stuck up moron. And I get to watch, instead of being beat up, too. Can't get much better." After a moment of thought, she added "Well, you could always give out a trashing to Freed, too. He's got it coming, and he's actually worse than Raynare."
"How so?" Lit torches lined the wall, all the way down to the end.
"Pfff... Let's see... Enjoys killing, enjoys torturing, enjoys raping, enjoys vulgarity... Want me to continue?"
… That sounded disgusting. "No."
"See?" They continued down the stairs in semi-awkward silence.
Yuuto did not like the current situation. Rias was angry, Akeno was smiling in that fear-inducing way and the fallen angels were only making things worse.
"I'm telling you, we were just following orders. It's not unusual for some squad leaders to interpret established orders differently." Dohnaseek looked almost bored as he repeated those lines for the sixth time. He had been informative before, but now he'd clammed up.
"And I have a hard time believing that." Said a miffed Rias. Miffed, because of Narukami Yu.
Credit where credit is due. He had riled her up effectively.
Which worried Yuuto. It was not something he expected the calm third-year student to do. Whatever could his motive be?
"Buchou?" Akeno, her smile still scary, intersected into what was becoming a loop of repeating questions and trivial answers. "I believe those two have nothing useful to say."
Mittelt took exception to that. "Hey! Maybe you just don't ask the right questions?"
"And what would be a right question?" The fallen shivered, when Akeno looked at her.
"You-you'll have to figure that out yourself." Her voice hitched just a bit.
Rias walked away from the fallen, motioning for Yuuto to follow her. "I want you to go to their hideout with Koneko. Do you know the place they described?"
He had half-expected her to do that. "Are you sure? They may consider that an act of aggression."
"I am. But after what those two said, I can safely say that their group started aggressions. As it stands, we could easily press charges, if we don't kill anyone. If we play our cards right, the momentum is ours, and Raynare will be left alone."
"It could still escalate."
She shook her head. "I doubt it actually comes to that. They could already be considered rogue, after all they have done."
Yuuto nodded. "Very well. Do you want me to help Narukami-Senpai?"
"Yes." She grimaced. "No matter what he may think of me, I do not want him to die. And resurrecting him is not an option now. He made his point."
He still thought that the reaction was odd. They hadn't exactly given him a reason to believe they would just let him... die...
"Buchou. Do you remember when we had Narukami-Senpai in our club room? What you told him?"
"What do you mean?"
"... When he called your bluff concerning Kalawarner."
"... I assured him I didn't lie."
"Did you ever mention that you had no chance of actually interfering?"
"..."
"Because if you didn't, then he might be under the impression that you would have let him die."
"... I didn't mention that."
… Riddle solved? "So, he doesn't know. And suddenly, I'm not surprised about his attitude, or the way he misinterpreted things in the worst way possible."
She sighed. "It would explain a lot. I can hardly blame him for that, if he ran on the assumption that I would disregard lives callously."
"I'd have acted the same as him." Yuuto admitted. "Call it a feeling, but I'm not overly worried about Narukami-Senpai."
"Why is that?" Rias frowned thoughtful. "No matter what his power is, he's still human. From the records I checked, it doesn't look like he has any actual training, nor prior experience with outside influences. The idea that he could defeat four fallen angels so easily is quite difficult to believe."
"Still," He glanced at the others. Akeno was playing around with some lightning in her hands, which both Dohnaseek and Mittelt looked at, albeit with very different emotions. "it's rare for a human to gain the respect of the average fallen angel so quickly. Something extraordinary must have happened, and those two are stalling because of that."
"Yes. Which only worries me more." His king did not look happy. "Go now. Who knows what a few minutes could mean."
Even as he started his way towards the church, Yuuto couldn't help but think that Rias was underestimating Yu. It was more of a hunch than anything else, but he really wasn't worried in the slightest.
It took them about two minutes to get down to the end of the passage, where a door stood, visibly old and worn down. It didn't budge when Kalawarner tried to open it. "We never close this door. Raynare really seems to be serious about this." She was certain now, that her so called superior really had abducted some the stray exorcists. That was actually worse than she ever expected Raynare to be.
Yu, not in the mood for any further distractions, kicked the door. It opened loudly under the force he brought to bear, breaking off the hinges and flying through the air.
… Did he mean to do that?
Judging by his muttered "Huh.", he did not.
His way of opening the door did not go unnoticed. At the end of the chamber, on top of the flight of stairs, stood a shocked Raynare. Behind her was the cross, the lines running along it pulsing in a sickly green. And there, between the cross and her fellow fallen, sat six stray exorcists in a circle, bound and unconscious. Issei was lying to the side of the chamber, bruised and injured, but breathing. He wasn't conscious either.
"You!" She looked shocked at the human, while Kalawarner did her best to stay out of sight. She had no intention of interfering.
"Me." His sword already in hand, Yu walked towards her.
"Stay where you are, human!" It was an attempt at being intimidating. One that would have been more successful, if she didn't look so scared. Even the two light spears she created in her hands didn't help that image.
"You're in no position to tell me what to do." He moved. Much, much faster than even trained exorcists, Yu moved forward and put himself between Raynare and Issei.
Clever. She was alone, and that pervert was his weak point. If he could also put up another shield like the one before, Raynare's best avenue of attack would be gone.
She also noticed that, grimacing as she did.
"... You know, I'm not sure what to say." He admitted. "My usual opponents are very different. Talking them down never worked, but defeating them in a fight usually did the trick. You're different."
… Now Kalawarner wondered what he usually fought against. Were those opponents reasonable? Or under some rules? Was combat even realistic? It would explain his reluctance to kill.
"So? Are you saying you won't do anything excessive?" Raynare smiled in an ugly way, a sign that her control was slipping. "Like, killing me?"
"No. I'm saying, I will use as much force as necessary to make you stand down." Whatever he looked like from Raynare's position, it caused her to stumble back. "And if that means killing you, so be it. If it saves lives, I won't show you any mercy."
Predictably, Raynare exploded at those words. "Mercy?! Who do you think you are, human? Who do you think I am? I will not allow some pathetic human to order me around, no matter what kind of rare power he has! I'll fight you, and crush you WITH ALL I'VE GOT!" Defiant, Raynare strengthened her two red light spears, making them brim with more power than the average two-winged fallen could muster.
"That's where you're wrong, Raynare." Yu's voice hadn't changed one bit, but the wind somehow picked up. It whirled around, with him at the center. Pressure, the kind only truly powerful individuals could exert, picked up as wisps of blue appeared around him."There won't be a fight. I'll crush you and you will be lucky if you survive it."
Power. Raw power rippled through the air. It was getting harder to breath, as if something was pressing down on her chest. "So, here is your last chance. Stop this all, and walk away with your life. Find another way. Find some way that's better than this." He stretched out a hand, honestly and straightforward. Kindness beyond what Raynare deserves. A gesture of magnanimity, even if he himself would disagree.
In vain. "SHUT UP! I'LL SEND YOU TO HELL FOR THAT! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU HAVE ANY RIGHT TO TALK LIKE THAT?! YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER PATHETIC LITTLE HUMAN! NO MATTER WHAT; I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL SHOW YOU YOUR PLACE!" Raynare, all vestiges of sanity gone from her face, launched the spears at top speeds. Powerful. Fast. Dangerous.
Both were cut apart. "I already know my place." Kalawarner remembered the card she saw floating down. She expected him to summon that black construct again, which had defeated her without any trouble. It still scared her.
It would have been a thousand times better than what he did call.
The first thing his summoning did, was multiply the pressure she felt. Before it had been mildly uncomfortable. Now she was being crushed. As if invisible hands had appeared, clamping down on her organs individually, while also pressing her ribs closer together than ribs are meant to. It was made worse by how those hands felt. Like pure malice, dread and contempt. The message, the intent behind it was clear:
'You will not interfere.'
This power didn't care whether she wanted to interfere, or not. It put her down on general principle.
Kalawarner fell to her knees,wishing earnestly for this torture to end. Within seconds, tears of pain threatened to form in her eyes, as she tried to look up, compelled to find out what was happening. Oh, how she regretted that thought.
A horse, its coat a pristine white, its body covered with eyes. A figure in black robes sat upon it, a bow in hand, and a crown atop its bald head.
No.
Not bald. Skin never could be that bleached tone of white. That crown sat on a skull.
Any member of the Grigori Institute worth their salt would know what they were looking at. The crown, the horse, the bow... Those belonged to one specific being.
The White Rider of Conquest. A Horseman of the Apocalypse. Even in the supernatural world, the existence of the Horsemen was heavily debated, with the higher echelons not willing to give a conclusive statement.
And Narukami Yu summoned it like it was a cheap trick.
What was he? What was he?
Through bleary eyes, Kalawarner watched the White Rider lift its bow, purple energy gathering in its free hand. Raynare was somehow keeping herself on her feet, throwing more light spears, all of them simply evaporating into thin air upon coming close to the Horseman. She looked desperate now, scared. She realized how out of her depth she was, how helpless her situation was.
That she shouldn't have done that. "NO! N-no..."
The White Rider launched an arrow, which became a cascade of malevolent energy advancing on Raynare. Just before it swallowed her up, she started saying something. Kalawarner heard her voice, even if she couldn't identify the words.
Then the wave of dark power passed through the area where she stood, going beyond that and obliterating the cross, passing through the wall and creating a long tunnel.
As the White Rider disappeared with a scoffing sound, the pressure went down to levels Kalawarner could tolerate.
She staggered back onto her feet, knees shaking. Yu was kneeling at Issei's side, a hand over the unconscious boy, emitting white light. Raynare was completely obliterated.
"What the hell did you do?" She didn't care much for eloquence.
"... I killed her." His voice was much quieter than usual.
"That's not what I meant!" The fallen shouted. "Did you seriously summon the White Rider?!"
"... So, the Horsemen really exist?"
"Unclear. All we have are stories. So, what did you do? Was that the same power as before?"
"... Yes."
"It's more than meets the eye, then."
"... Yes."
"... You won't tell me what it is, right?"
"... Yes." He stood up. This was when Kalawarner noted, that Issei didn't look as beat up as before.
"That was a rather anticlimactic end. No fight. No chance. Just... death."
"I drew a line." At that point, she understood why he seemed so quiet.
"Your first kill." He hadn't actually killed before. Had he mentioned that? She didn't believe so, but there was a lot on her mind. In either event, this just now was important.
"... Yes."
That was big. The first one was always the hardest, usually followed by gnawing doubt, questions and second-guessing. "She wouldn't have left you alone."
She was surprised by herself. That was very unlike her. The look he gave her was as indecipherable as always, but she was sure he didn't expect it either.
"That girl was absolutely crazy. You've seen it too, haven't you? She'd never let it go."
"... I saw it. That doesn't make it any easier."
… She understood him, then and there. The circumstances were very different, but it did remind her of something. Even if she didn't want to.
"Of course it doesn't." She laughed. "If killing came to you easily, what would you be?"
"..." No answer. Instead... "Shouldn't you check up on your exorcists?"
… Oh, right. He didn't hit them. "Probably exhausted, but not in mortal danger. Else she'd have started doing her thing already."
"... Are you..." A groan interrupted him. Issei was waking up.
Kalawarner just knew, that this would be a longer discussion.
It had been, Yuu reflected, rather difficult to calm Issei down. Sometimes, even the most understanding words were insufficient to help. Judging by what he said, Raynare had been thorough in destroying his self-confidence.
Considering the difference in power between them, she beat him up solely to rub salt into the wounds her actions already caused.
On their way back up, he'd shown signs of getting better, though. He'd been shooting looks at Kalawarner's chest. She didn't seem to mind.
Back in the church proper however, they found the stray exorcists of the church, standing around in the chamber. All of them looked at the odd trio.
… Let's see how this goes.
"Kalawarner-san? What's going on? Who are those?" One of them asked distrustfully.
Yu shot the fallen a glance. She caught it, and nodded. "Those two are with me."
"And what were you doing? Especially down there?"
"Stopping Raynare from sacrificing some of you guys." Eyes went wide at those words. "She couldn't wait with trying to gain power. Now she's been taken care of."
Murmurs erupted around them. The exorcists were trying to make up their minds on that, until one of them walked into the center of the half-circle they drew around the three.
He had white hair and red eyes, which glinted with insanity. "Heeeeyooo~ Guys, don't forget~ Raynare's the one in charge~ If she was trashed, we gotta avenge her~ Kill them! Kill those guys! Rape Kalawarner and kill her, too!"
… Everyone looked at him. Disgust was the predominant emotion on their faces. "Freed. Not everyone is a sick psychopath like you." Another exorcist said.
"Whaaa? You guys need a reason to kill and rape? Coooome ooooon~ Show some backbone! Show some life! Show that you deserved being kicked out by the church!"
"You know, there are other reasons to get kicked out." Those stray exorcists were a surprisingly reasonable bunch.
"Pah!" Freed fixed his gaze on Yu. "Hey! You're that guy Kalawarner failed to kill! Are you teaming up with her? Did she seduce you? Did you fall for her? I also fall for everyone I trash and kill! All the time!" He let loose a round of laughter that made Raynare look sane.
"... Wow. I don't think I ever met someone as insane as you."
"Heeeh? How nice of you! Mind if I kill you?"
"... I would mind that."
"What is with that guy?" Issei whispered to Kalawarner.
"He's nuts." She whispered back. "Nuts by everyone's standards. Only someone like Raynare would actually take him along."
"Hey! There are plenty of others who'd take me along! Right guys?!"
… Absolute silence greeted him.
"Pah!"
Kalawarner snorted. "Wow, way to proof it."
Yu gave her a deadpan stare. "Shouldn't we have someone go down there, to check up on the guys Raynare abducted?"
Save for Freed, all the exorcists perked up. "Wait, the sacrifice function of that cross-thingy?"
"Yeah." Kalawarner nodded. "They're alive. Some of you better go retrieve them." Seven of them did just that, after a moment of deliberation.
Freed, however, walked closer to Yu. "Soooo~ What did'ya do with Raynare? If you catch my drift~"
"She's dead. That's all there is to it."
"Whaaa~ You killed her?! That's awesome~ She was a real bitch, ya know~" Apparently, he was ambivalent about her.
"... Ise, let's go back." Yu didn't want to talk to someone like Freed, right now.
"R-right, Senpai." The still rather intimidated Issei agreed.
The two of them walked towards the gate, but Freed had no intention of letting them go.
"Wait a second there! Raynare wanted to extract his Gear! Why would we let you go!?"
Issei was the one to speak up. "How do you know that?"
"Huh?" The psychopath looked at him.
"I mean, didn't she try to hide that from you?"
… Good point.
"How do you know that, Freed?" Kalawarner chimed in, smiling just a tad too sweetly. "Maybe because you helped her?"
The remaining three exorcists looked at each other. "He did try to keep us from even getting here." They withdrew sword handles from their coats. "Worth being careful with him."
Freed did the same. "Maaaaan~ Guess I shouldn't have helped that bitch, after all~ And I didn't even get to fuck her~ What a waste~" A blade of pure light erupted from the handle, and he dashed at Issei.
Yuu got in between them, far faster than the stray exorcist could move. He grabbed the sword, still save from light because of White Rider, and punched Freed. Yu's grip proved superior, when his punch sent his enemy flying through the church. He was flung against the wall and fell to the ground.
He changed his grip, now holding the sword of light properly. He kept his eyes locked on Freed, who took his time standing up. The exorcist was coughing up blood. "Fuck! What the hell are you?!"
Kalawarner's light spear embedded itself in the wall right beside Freed. "I think you have some questions to answer." Another spear penetrated the wall on the other side of him.
"Gah! Shut up!" He tried to run away, but another spear went through his shoulder "AAAAAAH! FUCK!"
"Hey, Narukami." The fallen angel turned to the Fool. "I suppose, I should thank you. Without you, who knows what Raynare would have gotten us into. Still, I hope we never meet again. You scare the hell outta me and I don't get paid enough to deal with someone like you." The smile she showed him took the edge off her words.
He made to give the sword of light to one of the exorcists, who waved his hand. "Keep it. I'm guessing you saved some of my friends down there and Freed won't need it anyway. Just will it to stop, while touching the cross in the middle. You activate it the same way."
"How generous of you." The blade fizzled out.
"Hey, you're they guy who killed our superior, and beat down Freed with one punch. I don't wanna make you my enemy."
With a sigh, Yu turned back to the gate. "Come on, Issei. Let's go." With Freed's screamed obscenities and curses as terrible background music, the two high school students left the church.
King: Yay, I managed to update! But damn, real life got into my way for this.
Rias: That sounds like an excuse.
King: Oh, you're here.
Rias: That's no way to greet the first DxD character who joins you here.
King: Excuse me for not being in the best possible mood, then.
Rias: Apology accepted.
King: ... You're ignoring the sarcasm.
Rias: Let's start this for real, already. I'm curious~
King: Riiiight. So, this chapter involved quite a few things.
Rias: The perspective on my actions, for an example.
King: Or Raynare's death. Yes, death. I actually did that. I might be a bit fed up with protagonists in stories that just can't do this. Yu, with his focus on truth, can't deny the danger of someone like her.
Rias: True, true. Did you enjoy the comments that believe you were too harsh?
King: It wasn't me, so much as it was Yu just unwilling to wait any longer. He knows he went too far, as I alluded to in this chapter. I'd like to take this moment and say, that all kinds of reviews are appreciated. Positive, negative, praise, criticism... I like them all.
Rias: How very interesting.
King: Stop smiling like that. Just to get something clear, though.
Rias: Had I been capable of interfering with Narukami-kun's situation, I would have. Why wasn't I? Wait for the next chapter.
King: I guess I came across as not liking you in the last 'Fake World'. Which is wrong. I set up a misunderstanding. Forcing both sides to reexamine the situation by turning up something drastic seemed like a good idea to me.
Rias: If you manage to do it correctly.
King: Trust me, few people are as harsh with me as I am myself.
Rias: Did this chapter have to be so short? And take so long?
King: Didn't I mention this before? I happen to have a life. Just started with university, in fact. You'll forgive me for being somewhat preoccupied with my own future.
Rias: Of course, of course. Back to the story, Asia hasn't appeared yet, has she?
King: It's still before she even arrives in the city. Don't worry, I have plans. Plans that have nothing to do with canon. Plans that will alter canon. Plans that...
Rias: I think we all get it.
King: Just steal the fun I have with this segment. Sure, just go ahead. Are you trying to dispirit me?
Rias: Ah! You have seen through my diabolic scheme to stimulate your brain discreetly.
King: Ooooookay. Uh, would you?
Rias: Dear readers, please review. Share your opinion. Get another traumatic guest for the next 'Fake World'.
King: Oh, how I hate this part...