Chapter 5

Motionless in Red (Pt 2)

A few miles away from where Issei is…

"Why did I even come back?" A woman whined.

A beauty with long blonde hair walked with no set path. She had a reason to walk around this area– of course– however, she doesn't have an exact destination.

The reason for her being here is simple.

"Ah, that's right." She continued to whine to herself. "That damn Michael, I'm a jujutsu sorcerer not a catholic exorcist, this shit is supposed to be yours to clean up."

Yuki Tsukumo is her name. One of the three special grade sorcerers of Japan. However, despite being that high up on the hierarchy, that's merely because of her technique.

She has beef with Jujutsu tech as well as jujutsu society as a whole. For this reason she has gained a reputation of being a slacker, a rebel, and "a bum who doesn't take on missions and travels overseas instead."

Although despite her whining about that last bit (to a certain special grade sorcerer many years ago), she truly doesn't care for her reputation. To be fair, her reputation only exists because most of it is completely true.

She would rather travel overseas than do missions from those in Jujutsu high.

Therefore, she has no affiliation with Jujutsu high. Normally her travels would lead her to Northern America (and sometimes South Korea if she really felt like it), but just a year prior she met a few interesting people in the United States.

A tall man with black hair, golden bangs, and a goatee, and a younger man with long blonde hair and golden eyes– with an almost androgynous looking face.

Over the past year she spent time in Italy–specifically in Vatican City.

However, that's a story for another time. All that's needed to know for now is that she owes Michael a favor, and that favor is the reason why she's back in Japan.

A certain group of exorcists (as well as an archbishop) have gone rogue. They had left traces in Japan, which is why Michael had gone to her for help.

There is a certain treaty between the Vaticans as well as the Sorcerers of Japan that has been signed and agreed upon by both factions many centuries ago.

Sorcerers of Japan are to not interfere with the matters of the Church and vice versa. Should the two collide for any reason it will be only because of mutual agreements– such as what's happening right now.

Despite hating Jujutsu society, Yuki knows a lot more than the exorcists of the Vatican when it comes to Japan, therefore she was asked to lend a hand.

Michael had somehow convinced Yuki to return to Japan in the middle of her "vacation" (slacking off).

"He's not my type but can you really blame me?! How can a man look so pretty?!" She continued to whine.

She really did not want to be back here. Even now while she's alone, she knows that the officials of Jujutsu tech are just waiting for her to let her guard down. Waiting to sink their teeth into her like the pests they are.

Also, despite being back in Japan for a mission, she really doesn't know where to look. When she finally decided to ask, Michael was too busy with official matters so she decided to go to the other guy.

The one with black hair: Yuki calls him "Azy"- merely because his name is too weird for her to remember.

When she asked him about where to start, he handed her a compass. It looked like an ordinary modern compass, however it is fundamentally different.

At the thought of the drunkard, she pulled that object out of her pocket. The compass could fit within the palm of her hand.

It looked like any ordinary compass, but it wasn't one.

She remembered the man's explanation.

"Think about putting your own energy into the compass. It'll work from there." Azazel explained.

"So… it detects cursed energy? That seems sort of useless to people like me." She said her complaints with her hand on her hip. She was an S-grade sorcerer, and not simply because of her technique. She had experience to back her position up.

"Not just that, it can detect even the smallest amount of cursed energy, "invisible curtains" of the church are no match for this. Even a sealed entity can be detected with this thing."

"How exactly does that work?" She observed the compass with slight interest.

"The mechanics behind it would bore someone like you, so all I'll say is that it won't make the mistake of sensing your own cursed energy as long as it's in your hand."

She released an amused exhale, to think that someone as eccentric as Azazel was accepted into the church. She's not a history buff, but she knows that a century ago he would have been prosecuted for stuff like this by the common people.

Actually, how old is he anyway? He looks like a middle-aged drunkard, but his words portray himself as someone far older.

"I'm getting off topic." She shook her head, refocusing on what's at hand.

She squeezed the compass in her palm ever so gently, and the device whirled to life.

The arrow spun for a few seconds before settling on a single direction.

"Hopefully this actually works." She muttered before proceeding to walk in the direction of the arrow.

Issei took a deep breath, calming his nerves. He waved around his phone– having turned the flashlight on. There wasn't any dim lighting for this passageway, so he had to resort to using his own devices.

The stench has not gone away yet.

Each step he took echoed across the passageway– getting louder compared to the last. Each breath felt heavier than the last. He could feel his heartbeat in his chest, each beat echoed to and through his ears.

What was the point in even being here now? What exactly is he supposed to be looking for? He doesn't know, but he knows that he's too far deep into this now to back out.

The pathway grew darker the longer he continued to walk.

He checked the time, though it was a fruitless effort, he didn't know what time it was when he entered this labyrinth, he could only assume that he'd been walking for a couple of minutes.

Even then, he still couldn't be too sure, sometimes it feels like the flow of time fluctuates depending on whether you're paying attention or not.

He kept walking for what he could only assume to be a couple more minutes. The only noise he could hear was the sound of his own breath and his own footsteps, that was until—

A loud roar echoed throughout the domain, followed by the rumbling of the floors and walls.

What the hell is happening now!?

Just a second later, he heard another pair of footsteps, this one lighter and quicker.

It sounded like someone— something— was running.

All his questions and confusion were answered when something entered his vision.

A disgusting little creature running for its life. Issei couldn't even begin to describe how horrid it looked.

The closest thing he could compare it to would be a rat— if it were the size of a wolf. It had four mouths for eyes and six legs. Its "fur" was a dark grey.

In the face of such a creature the brown-haired pervert could only think of one thing.

"What the fuck are you?"

His voice echoed louder than he expected, and the rat-monster squeaked at him. Physically jumping backwards and snarling.

It wasn't just being cautious, it was fearful.

Sheer dread washed over the creature like a large tidal wave.

It isn't exactly studied, but the habits of many cursed spirits are similar to animals. While there are plenty that can talk, there are also many that act more like wild animals. The less powerful spirits, and the smaller ones, are the ones that mostly rely on instincts, as they don't have the power to have a consciousness beyond "survive."

However, there is one major aspect of "wild curses" that differs from the instincts of wild animals.

That is, of course, the presence of cursed energy.

A cursed spirit (no matter how weak or strong) will always be able to tell where there is cursed energy or not. A spirit will always be able to tell what is also a spirit or not.

The very moment that weak spirits sense the presence of larger cursed energy; their instincts scream at them to run.

The longer the weaker spirit is able to live, the more heightened their senses and instincts become— much like a wild animal.

In this instance, let's say a weak spirit was lucky enough to survive for at least a decade, it's gotten stronger but it's not enough to make it as cunning as a human. Even still, it's instincts and senses are heightened compared to other curses of its caliber.

Even if it's just a little, a different source of cursed energy is leaking from the brown-haired boy.

The seal on that energy weakens, day by day.

What the rat-like spirit sees is not Issei Hyoudou. A red form envelopes the brown-haired human.

A single piercing emerald eye glares at the spirit.

Prey will always be able to tell when it's in the presence of a predator.

The rat-like spirit releases a loud and high pitch squeal, before proceeding to run off in the direction it came from.

"Huh," Issei did not take a single step during the entire exchange. He is still clueless. In fact, he's even more confused now.

"That was—"

"That was definitely something."

"Woah!"

A different person finished off Issei's thoughts. Not expecting the voice, Issei did a complete 180 in a single second.

He looked to see a silver-haired man in a strange priest's outfit.

"Jeez," Issei released a sigh of relief, half expecting some sort of axe-wielding psycho to be there. "That spooked me."

The priest(?) gave him an indifferent gaze for a few seconds, analyzing him.

He then gave a teasing smirk. "Sorry about that, it's kind of a hobby of mine."

There was something behind the priest's(?) smirk that rubbed Issei the wrong way, and perhaps if he actually thought critically he would have realized something off with the entire situation.

What's a priest doing down here? Perhaps Issei should have asked that first, alas, he was too preoccupied with the fact that he was able to find a single semblance of humanity in this dark labyrinth.

The priest(?) began to ask the questions.

"How did you get down here?" He asked. Once again, there was something else in his tone that Issei didn't pick up on.

The brown-haired boy shrugged. "No idea, I was just cycling my way home before I ended up in some weird place. I couldn't get out from outside so I thought I could find a way out here."

At the boy's explanation, the priest(?) raised an eyebrow. "Most people would have waited for help, 'curiosity killed the cat', you know?" The silver-haired priest(?) chuckled at the mention of 'cat'.

"Ah… well, I was curious, but I also really needed to get home so…"

"Ha! That makes this perfect then!" The bark of laughter caught Issei off guard.

"What do you—" Before he could even ask the priest(?) to explain, a horrible feeling sinked into the air.

The air felt suffocating all of a sudden, it felt malicious.

Before Issei could even react, the silver-haired priest(?) pulled out a long knife, and slashed forward, aiming to leave a huge mark on his torso.

Maybe it was instincts, or maybe it was luck, but Issei was able to fall back at just the right second. The knife cut into his clothes, leaving only tiny cut on his skin.

"Woah, what the fuck!?"

He landed on his back, and without thinking he pushed his legs forward into the ground, scooting his body backwards.

"What? I thought it was fitting." Freed Sellzen said with a tilt to his head.

"Fitting? What the hell do you mean fitting!?"

Issei screamed at the silver haired psycho. While there was— luckily— little damage to him, he just knew that that slash was meant to kill, or at least severely hurt him.

That suffocating feeling filled the air again— no, that's not right. That malicious feeling appeared as soon as the fake priest pulled out his knife, and it hasn't disappeared. What he felt just now is that feeling began to concentrate again.

Issei didn't know at this moment, but that suffocating feeling in the air— it was killing intent.

"Curiosity kills the cat, after all." The psycho exorcist took a step forward, sharp blade in hand. A manic smile present on his face.

He flipped the knife in his hand, and then lunged forward.

With wide eyes and panicked breaths, Issei rolled to the side, and out of the way just in time. However, the maniac had assumed that the boy was going to roll to the side. Without giving Issei any time to get up, he swiped again— right towards the scared boy.

Issei gasped as the knife cut— slightly— into his arm. He swiped at the silver-haired maniac's hand, hitting it away.

He kicked him towards the ground, quickly pushing himself back onto his feet. He hissed at the cut, it was larger than the first one but still wasn't anything lethal, more blood seeped out of this one. At this moment, Issei didn't know if he was lucky and unlucky.

Unlucky in the fact that he ended up in this situation at all, but lucky in the fact that he was still alive.

Just have to stay alive then!

At this very moment, Issei was too preoccupied with the killer in front of him to notice the strange feeling that enveloped within his body. A blue aura surrounded him without his knowledge, emanating off him like a flame.

Then, the cursed energy turned crimson.

The priest got back onto his feet, twirling the knife in his hand. His eyes focused on the dense curse energy that surrounded the boy.

It had no focus. For cursed energy to be effective it had to be focused. Stuff like cursed techniques are improved when a sorcerer is able to consciously (or better yet, subconsciously) focus their energy into a single task.

Effective attacks are possible when the curse energy flows, focused on a single task. The energy surrounding the brown-haired boy was wild. Uncontrolled. It seeped out of him like a broken dam.

Did he just unlock his cursed energy? The stray exorcist thought. That could make things a little more complicated,

Or…

The smile on his face grew.

It could make things more fun!

He lunged forward again. This time he only wanted to test something, purposely making his movements slower and easier to predict.

He swung downwards; Issei jumped to the side.

The brown-haired pervert had no idea what was going on. He didn't know why he ended up here. He didn't know what this feeling was. There was a different feeling, one that wasn't the suffocating pressure in the air. It felt different, that's the best way he can describe it. Specifically in this situation, he would have thought that he had already shit himself to death– having been slashed at multiple times by an insane priest (he still doesn't know if the psycho was a priest, or just had on religious-looking garbs just to look cool)- yet he kept his head on.

He was panicking but he still could think in this situation. Somehow, just knowing that made him panic all the more.

So, he took a risk, was it smart? He doesn't know, but he didn't have any other options.

The maniac priest missed another swipe, and this time Issei moved to the side to dodge again. However, instead of moving his entire body to the side, he only turned his upper body.

He held out his hands, and pushed as hard as he could.

It was a poor move, anyone with any shred of combat knowledge could easily just take the hit. The exorcist could have just taken the hit without a problem.

But both of them had underestimated something.

When his hands came into contact with the exorcist, he finally saw it.

The crimson aura that surrounded himself.

It is wild and uncontrolled, but it's because of those two factors that Freed was sent flying a few feet backwards.

"What—" Issei wanted to know, to understand where that came from.

The stray exorcist landed upwards on his feet.

Shit! But now was not the time to be flabbergasted, taking the shock of the moment as an opening, Issei turned around and ran for his life.

In his panic, he didn't realize that he was running deeper into the tunnel.

He disappeared into the darkness and out of the exorcist's vision. He didn't have any hidden talent for speed or anything (though he does have enough exercise from biking most of the time).

Freed let him have a head start.

The stray exorcist gave a sigh.

"He isn't going to like this, but." He referred to the acquaintance that he had arrived with, that young man will definitely get annoyed if someone else interferes.

But... "This is just too fucking appealing to pass up!"

The stray exorcist waited for exactly three minutes before he made his move.

It's not much of a game if there's no chase, right?

With a gleeful smile and a manic laugh, the killer sprinted forward.

"The hunt is on!"

(A/N)

Meant to finish this chapter earlier, but things came up. Got sick for nearly an entire month, and then my summer classes started. Then I got distracted by Honkai (again, fuck I can't stop thinking about that damn franchise, Star Rail got my fixation back into it). Then I started to have doubts about this story and started to lose motivation for continuing (I've sorted that issue out though, I was still on the fence on the nature of this crossover, but by now I've decided that I'll keep using JJK-verse as the base and then cherry picking from dxd).

Then I decided to binge a few shows that I missed out on, the most notable definitely were Castlevania and then The Boys. Both come from different genres, yet both have shot up to my top five. In particular, The Boys shot up to my top 5 from the very first season.

And then (if all of that wasn't enough), when I finally got a stopping point in my writing, I didn't know if I wanted to continue it on another chapter or just finish it in one (and judging by the fact that this chapter ended on a cliff-hanger, you know exactly which choice I made).

Anyways that's all for now. Reviews, questions, and criticisms are all welcome!

Much love

- An idiot on the internet