Welcome to the next chapter!
ShadowUzumaki55; Thanks! Yeah, Asia's gonna be arriving in this chapter~ Zante did yeah, wanting her to have all of the information she could need before making her decision. Le Fay is yeah. I'm glad that you enjoyed it~
Silver crow; Thanks, glad you liked it. Yeah, he surely does~ They'll be figuring some stuff out soon. Yeah, that's how the peerage see strong humans, the Strada Class~ Isane is for sure. Glad you liked the lemon. That being shall be shown very soon~ Team hells bitches shall be detained quite soon yeah. We'll see what happens with her. Thanks for the suggestions. I could see Elmen being that.
Guest 1; Thanks, glad you're enjoying them!
Skull Flame; That will be answered this chapter~
Guest 2; Thank you, I'm happy you enjoyed it~
Haseo187; Thanks very much! I'm happy you're enjoying it so far~
Akeno fan; Glad you enjoyed it~ Glad you liked that part. Isane will do yeah. I'm happy you enjoyed Kuroka and Koneko's time.
Guest 3; Thank you!
Guest 4; Thanks for the harem suggestions!
Guest 5; Here's the next chapter!
Guest 6; Thanks, glad you like it.
Guest 7; Yeah, we'll see who it is.
Its time to start the chapter!
Chapter 16
Late at night, after spending time with Kuroka and Koneko, the girls laid next to Zante in bed, who's eyes were staring at the ceiling. He let out small yawns, seeing both women curling up against him.
Zante couldn't shake the feeling something was going to happen with Asia, when she arrived.
He wasn't worried about the Fallen Angels, it was something else.
"When that girl comes tomorrow…is it just the Fallen Angels….No, it feels more than that…the Fallen Angels either way, it seems clear from what Vali-chan said she's heading to Kuoh…"
Thoughts rattled around within Zante's mind.
It was concerning the Devil that went to go and see her in the first place, so he silently slipped out of his bed, letting the neko girls rest, and exits the room, quietly shutting the door, and begins going down the stairs.
It didn't even occur to him he was naked until he arrived at the kitchen, having felt Ravel there, and saw her sat at the kitchen table, getting a midnight snack, and when she saw him, her eyes bulged, blood rushing to her face.
"Fufu, sorry Ravel-chan. Guess I forgot I was naked~"
Ravel begins shaking her head, her eyes on his soldier that she didn't mind looking at. "N-No, not at all Zante-sama. It seems that you've had, a pleasant evening…"
Zante raised an eyebrow, upon seeing Ravel's gaze turn hotter and hotter.
She looked red in the face, her heated gaze turned more so every moment that passed by.
He didn't even know what was running through her mind right now.
Though he did have an idea, upon seeing Ravel's lips curl up ever so slightly, so he decided to have a little fun with her. "Ravel-chan, you're drooling."
Ravel's face dipped into crimson, and she begins rattling her body around. "S-Sorry~ I-I was just thinking of…f-food, hungry! S-So hungry!"
Zante snickers, moving to the right hand side of the young woman, sitting down. "Really? And what would help relieve you Ravel-chan?"
Choosing his words carefully, Zante's words could be taken in a number of ways, and the ways Ravel did…it didn't help Ravel's libido.
Ravel's eyes beginning to draw towards his upper body, running down.
Even though they were fiancees, and they were together, she couldn't help those shy feelings emerging, and Zante thought it was a very cute aspect of hers that he simply adored if he was honest with himself.
"Ravel-chan, you can look at my body. I'm perfectly okay with whatever you wanna do."
Ravel's face turned as red as a tomato, her fingers curling and uncurling as her eyes squirmed to his face. "Y-Yes, Zante-sama. I-Its just…"
Ravel's shy expression was something to be marvelled at by how adorable she was.
Ravel took in several breaths to try and calm her beating heart. "Z-Zante-sama, are you okay? Are you…up this late for a reason? Has something happened? Maybe with the nun?"
"You can read me like a book huh." Zante mused.
Ravel giggles, her heart easing up more as they spoke quietly together. "I've known you for many years Zante-sama. I can tell when something is going on with you. So, I guessed it was the nun. Can I take another wild guess that maybe its to do with how she was banished?"
"Are you like Professor X now or something?" Zante joked.
Ravel snickered. "More like Jean Grey~" Zante was impressed with her comic book knowledge, he didn't know she even had read any. "Honestly, I was a little unsettled to hear that a Devil happened to be near a healing nun."
Zante agreed. "If it was a Stray, I'm sure that Gabriel-sama, or the Exorcists would've found them. But, they didn't. Something tells me it has to be a Devil with connections, and those connections make me wonder more."
Ravel had to agree. "But it is within Church territory, and we'd have some problems going to see what was happening."
"Yes, that's what I was thinking. But, there isn't like there's nothing we can do. I'm gonna contact Gabriel-sama in the morning, to see if she can send us all of the info the church has. It does pay to have connections to an Angel after all."
Ravel's lips curled upwards. "Yes, you're right about that. Do you have any idea who it might be?"
"Well, a few faces come to mind. And the ones I'm thinking, not really liking who it is. But honestly, she is a nun with a healing power. That is a very useful ability in our world, one that can heal without drawbacks, many people would want that."
Zante's words made a lot of sense to Ravel.
Ravel folds her arms, and she thought about it for a few moments. "So, we shall be investigating Zante-sama?"
"I'd like to for sure. Lets see if we can find out if any Devils have been to that region, on or off the books recently. The neko girls will be useful, we could go to just outside of the territory and see if they can sense anything, maybe they'll pick up a familiar aura. And the girl Asia Argento arrives tomorrow, so I'll be asking her, once we gain her trust of course."
"That wont be easy." Ravel expressed earnestly.
Zante agreed. "She is going to probably be worried about us. I'm guessing we've got to give her quite a charming entrance to us. Along with that, maybe we can find out a few things about her if she feels like speaking. She is a nun who's no longer with the church, and Gabriel-sama did ask us to look after her, and that's what I intend to do. I'll see if Gabriel-sama has anything that can help convince her we're on her side."
Ravel couldn't help but feel her lips curling upwards ever so slightly. "Zante-sama, even if Gabriel-sama didn't ask, I know you'd help her anyway."
Zante snickers. "Yeah, I would do. She doesn't deserve what's been going on with her."
"Its one of the reasons I adore you, Zante-sama~" Ravel's eyes turned rather dreamy.
Zante's fingers reach out, and lightly stroke her face.
Ravel's eyes flutter, then she blushes more when he gently brushes her lips with his own. "It is getting late, so I guess we should probably get to bed."
Ravel nods, then her mind wanders when she sees Zante stand up.
His manhood became quite apparent to her eagle eye, her body beginning to heat up as hot as her Phenex fire as a result.
Zante could see the girls eyes fluttering, and knew she was having some lewd thoughts, which he encouraged as he teasingly winked at her, and he began walking away.
Ravel's eyes stayed on her fiancee, blushing madly as she checked out her fiancee from behind, wondering what Vali would feel since she knew it wasn't a secret that was one of the parts she liked a good deal, but Ravel also liked it as well, she just was a little shyer in admitting such a thing.
"Ooh Ravel-chan, you're so adorable~" Zante thought upon noticing from the corner of his eye, Ravel's gaze was hotly on him.
His lips showing the ever slightest hint of a smirk, and he began walking up the stairs, wishing Ravel a good night and waved to her.
When he vanished up the stairs, and got into bed with the neko girls, Ravel in the kitchen laid her hot face on the table, and breathed out hard, her chest heaving, murmuring "I'll have to have some fun with Zante-sama soon." as she was a hot mess right now.
What cured her had just gone up the stairs, though respecting it was the night for Kuroka and Koneko to enjoy their King, she'd get her chance soon enough.
The day had arrived when the end of their world could be coming, and Raynare was sweating bullets as she briefly paced all of the church.
"Ooh shit…! We're going to die!" Raynare snapped, her eyes raising to the heavens above, stopping at the broken down churches ceiling, wishing she could see the stars, and fall into their welcoming arms, anything would be better than what she was feeling right now.
She could feel her throat clamming up, and her heart stopping and starting at intervals that she didn't like.
She knew that day would be her last, potentially, and she wasn't ready for it at all, in fact she wished to run away as fast as she could.
While her mind ran through many visions of what could be in her future, her eyes began to become heavy.
A yawn escaped her cherry lips, her elbow resting on the pew beside her, and her hand pushed against her head as if to keep it up, Raynare's eyes becoming heavier by the moment.
Soon her eyes began to close, thoughts of Azazel running through her mind, and her dream beginning to take over her mind…
"Raynare?"
Raynare's eyes shot open, looking left and right.
She saw the church was in the same state, and that Kalawarner was hunched over in front of her, shaking her body.
"W-What do you want…? Freed, is he dead? Mittelt, is she dating Kokabiel again?"
"What?" Kalawarner mused. "Erm, unless something happened that I don't know about…though I'm so so on the Mittelt one, that's entirely possible."
Raynare sighed, missing her dream. "Never mind, I just had the best dream, Freed was finally freed from our lives~ I wish that would happen…aah well, what's going on? Has Zante-sama arrived yet?! Are we dead?! No Kalawarner!"
Kalawarner waved her hand. "No, it isn't that, I'm sure that it will be like that soon enough. I was making sure you're okay, you've been up all night pacing back and forth. I'm worried too, but there's nothing we can do. All we can hope for is the saving graces that is Zante-sama, and his everlasting kindness. That's what I'm hoping for."
Raynare didn't want to admit it, but that's what she hoped for too. "Where is that Loli-sama? I have something's to say to her before my untimely end."
Kalawarner took in a few breaths, running a hand through her long blue hair. "Mittelt's doing…I'm not entirely sure. But I saw her go into her room about half an hour ago, saying she needed to vent her frustrations while clutching a pillow. Whatever that means."
Raynare shrugged. "Its Mittelt, what can you do? As long as Kokabiel isn't involved because I heard a little something something going on there."
If Raynare was going out, she wanted to have a little fun before she did.
Kalawarner nods very curiously. "Man, they would be a very awful couple. But its nice she has someone."
Raynare coughed. "A-Anyway, have you heard anything?"
Kalawarner shakes her head. "Raynare, my oldest friend. If we do end our existences today, I just wanted to let you know something."
Kalawarner became emotional all of a sudden, surprising Raynare. "Kalawarner? What's going on?"
Kalawarner places a hand on her shoulder, showing very sentimental eyes. "I just wanted to tell you…I once went on a date with Azazel-sama, and he was a complete gentlemen."
Raynare's face stayed neutral.
She absorbed the information, and when she did, her face and eyes turned red with rage.
"K-Kalawarner?! What are you saying!?"
Kalawarner cringed, and began backing off, as a dark cloud erupted around Raynare. "Yeah, well. It just kinda happened. We were working one night, and it was getting late. He offered me a drink, I accepted it. One thing led to another, and…well, we went on a date."
That didn't help Raynare, who felt her heart spasming in her chest.
"Are you kidding me right now?!"
Kalawarner gives Raynare a calming look. "No, I'm not kidding you. I just wanted you to know, in case we do end up dying soon. Lets clear the air."
"I'll clear the air alright! I'll 'clear the air' by clearing you off the face of the earth!"
Kalawarner grimaced, seeing the ground around her breaking down. A massive amount of light radiated from her skin.
It looked like Raynare was going to go supernova, and Kalawarner could see that she was truly pissed off. Maybe the most pissed off Raynare had ever been in her entire life.
"I'm sorry, but I can't help if we are quite friendly with one another. It isn't like we did many things…well, Azazel-sama was so sweet, and when we poured me another drink, such a gentlemen~"
Raynare's rage reached the pinnacle, and she unleashed her incredible aura all around her, flattening the wooden pews, smashing them all apart, and she aimed a finger
"KALAWARNER!"
Kalawarner laughed and cringed, as Raynare rushed her.
Grimacing, Kalawarner ran away while Raynare began chasing her.
Kalawarner snickered ever so slightly, if she was going to end that day, she was going to have her own kind of fun.
Meanwhile, Zante went to go and see Isane early in the morning before Asia would come. She would be there within the hour, but Isane said she needed to talk, so he wanted to go and see if she was okay.
When Zante made it to Isane's home, he knocked on the door, and waited for it to open.
Moments go by, and soon enough, the door opened to reveal Isane's mother.
When they locked eyes, Isane's mother looked like she had seen a ghost, reasons unknown to Zante. "Erm, hello there. You must be Mrs. Hyoudou, my name is-"
"I-I know! Y-You're my daughters Bishounen!"
Zante coughed. "H-Her Bishounen?"
Isane's mother cooed. "You are quite a handsome young man, aren't you? Yes, I can see why my daughter is quite interesting. Ooh, though I'm sorry if she's done anything inappropriate, please forgive her!"
Zante waved his hand to quell her worries. "Please don't worry about that now, its alright. Isane-chan is…a very unique girl, and I find her very fascinating."
Isane's mother looked very relieved, as if her world had lit up. "Ooh thank you! N-Now, please come inside! My daughters in the kitchen!"
Zante thanked her, and went inside.
He saw the home being quite cosy, big enough for the family.
He could see a picture of the trio of Isane and her parents together on a table in the living room when they walked by.
He thought it was a nice home fitting for a family of three. He wondered if he grew up with his mother and father together like Isane did, how it would have gone down. But, he couldn't change the past, and it was a only a fleeting thought.
He saw up the stairs that Isane's father was coming down, and his mouth agape when seeing Zante.
"Aah, good morning sir, my name is-"
"Y-You're Isane's Bishounen?! You're here?!" Her dad as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
Zante blinked, it seemed that both her parents had been told about him from Isane, making him wonder what it was she had actually said.
"Dear, please calm down! Isane's Bishounen doesn't need to be scared off by anything!"
Zante thought "So I'm her Bishounen huh? Fufu, that could be fun to play with~" while snickering, continuing his path towards Isane in the kitchen.
When they got to the kitchen, Isane splutters when seeing Zante walk in behind her mother. "Z-Zante-kun?! W-What are you doing here?!"
"You said you needed to talk, so I came to see you. Bad timing?"
Isane's jaw dropped to the floor, seeing her mothers large smile growing even bigger on her face.
She also saw her father coming in behind Zante with the same expression.
"N-No! Not at all Zante-kun! I'm g-glad you're here!" Isane looked to her family, and saw the big wide smiles on their faces.
A flush rushed across her face, and she practically tackled Zante, grabbing his hand and then dragged him off up the stairs, before he could say anything to her parents.
Isane seemed to be a mixture of pleased, and embarrassed at the same time, Zante was trying to figure so many things out that day it was mesmerizing.
Zante was pushed into Isane's room, and she closed the door behind her.
"Phew, safe!" Isane cleared her hands by sweeping through the air.
"Safe…from?" Zante inquired.
"From my parents machinations, that's all~" Isane giggled out, trying to remain as calm as possible.
Zante's eyes scanned the bedroom, seeing some various things, such as figurines, and a picture of some men wearing swimsuits, one looked like Zante himself with some notable differences.
Zante turned to Isane, seeing her face still bright red. "You alright Isane-chan? You seem a little flustered all of a sudden."
Isane laughed nervously, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. "I-I guess~ I'm just trying to sort out my head right now. I never thought I'd ever get to have you in my room like this~ Though, I thought that maybe we'd be wearing much less clothing~"
Zante folds his arms, then a small teasing smile appears on his face. "So, in that thought of yours, in what position was I in exactly?"
Isane foamed at the mouth, her body beginning to feel heat running right through her entire body, hugging her breasts, and she imagined Zante in various positions that she found to be very good for her personally.
"T-That's something I can't even think about right now!" Isane's face resembled a tomato, as thoughts ran rampant through her mind. "A-Anyway, I'm glad you're here Zante-kun! Because I was thinking about a few things this morning!"
Zante was intrigued, sitting down on a chair at the desk.
Isane skips over to the bed, and plops down onto it, crossing her legs, and pushed her elbows to her knees, using her hands to rest her head on, Zante thought she looked incredibly cute when she was sitting like that.
"So, what have you been thinking about Isane-chan?"
Isane purses her lips. "I was thinking about those Evil Piece thingy's, and how anyone can get them, right?"
Zante nods. "As long as you reach High Class, yeah."
"And, I could do that?" Isane wonders.
"If you put in the work and effort, I'm sure it would be possible for you as well. You are an owner of a Longinus Isane-chan, that is going to be a great asset for you if you choose to decide to pursue a life like this." Zante clarified as best as he could do.
Isane thought about it for a few moments.
While she did, Zante received a message and looked at it, seeing it was Vali.
Isane noticed, pursing her lips. "I'm sorry, I'm keeping you, aren't I?"
Zante shakes his head. "Not at all, just my Queen telling me a girl was nearly attacked."
Isane gasped. "W-What? Someone was nearly attacked? Why?"
"Because of her Sacred Gear, no doubt. But not to worry, Vali-chan sorted it out, and has saved her for the time being."
Isane furrowed her brows. "People really want these Sacred…Sacred Gear things, don't they?"
Zante didn't sugar coat it, and expressed his thoughts. "Only humans and human hybrids, and the likes are born with Sacred Gears naturally. Its something that the supernatural beings would sort after, or wish to get rid of."
Isane thought back to Dohnaseek.
Though he didn't do anything at the time, she wondered if Zante hadn't of been there that day, he would have been attacking her, and she would be dead right now, or she would have been brought back by Rias as a Devil, and she'd not have her choice, it would be taken from her.
"…But to innocent people?"
"To some, it doesn't matter." Zante expressed sadly. "I've known people kill their own family to gain power. In the supernatural world, it isn't all smile and sunshine, there are people out there that would be so cut throat to do whatever they need to gain power, and especially things such as Sacred Gears, and particularly Longinus's as well. Boosted Gear, that power in anyone's hands could be very destructive."
Isane pursed her lips. "Because…it can strengthen you?"
"Yeah. Isane-chan, if you used Boosted Gear, it could take you from say a Low Class Devil, to being able to stand on grounds with Rias-chan by increasing your powers, and going further than that."
Isane whistled. "Damn, its that powerful?"
"All of them are. They're dangerous, they're powerful, in the wrong hands they could be very scary to imagine. The world could fall."
Isane paled. "Holy crap, and that's what the Fallen Angels wished from mine?"
"They didn't know what you had." Zante explained. "But if they did, then they would have. Even a person conceived as weak, with Boosted Gear, could reach the territory of the Gods, as they say. And the girl I was talking about before, is an innocent nun named Asia Argento, she has the Sacred Gear called Twilight Healing. I suppose you can guess what that does by the name."
"Yeah, it heals people by showing them Twilight~" Isane joked.
Zante snickered. "Exactly, she recites verses from that book, and peoples souls are healed~" Isane laughed as did Zante. "But yeah, people target her, for her healing power. She was booted from the church, due to that same power she possessed, because she healed someone she, in the eyes of the church, shouldn't have. Left to…say, I have an idea Isane-chan."
Isane perked her head. "What is it?"
"I'm gonna go and get this nun girl in about an hour or so, I think it would be really good if you and her managed to talk. She is, essentially in a similar boat to you right now. She was thrust into a world she doesn't know what to do in, and now is being targeted for a power she doesn't have a choice in saying she has. Sound familiar?"
Isane nods her head so rapidly. "Yeah, quite similar. So, speaking to this girl, you think would be good?"
"Yeah, I think it would do. Not only for you, but for her. So she has someone human to speak with. As a Devil, she might be afraid of me, and the others. This way, she is able to speak with someone she could feel more confident around. Though I've never met her, I do know of her gentleness and kindness from Gabriel-sama's words, she's an absolutely sweet girl, I'm sure you'll get on."
Isane didn't see any downsides to it.
In fact, she couldn't see anything other than the upsides to all of this.
"Sure, it sounds like this girls gonna need friends, right? Being kicked out from the church, she's not gonna know about the world a lot."
Zante nods swiftly. "Very true, so can I count on you Isane-chan?"
"Count me in~ I'll do my best~ And if you think its gonna help, I'm all for it."
Zante was thrilled to hear it, since he thought both could do with a friend that shared their unique circumstances, now he hoped Asia would do the same thing. "Wonderful, Isane-chan~ Ooh, your question about Evil Pieces, anything else you wanna know?"
"Erm, just generally, can I make anyone my servant?"
"You could, within reasons. There are beings that simply can't be transformed into Devils, but they're few and far between."
Isane nods slowly, wondering more about it, and spoke with Zante a while more about various things, enjoying their time together.
A little while later on, Zante met up with Vali, at the airport, and looked through the crowd of people. Zante could see through the crowd, yet Asia hadn't come into view yet. Vali stood close by, while Zante was being updated.
"She was targeted by three Devils. All saw her power useful. And also came across another being who wished to try and fight me to get to her. He died quickly, I was disappointed in him."
Zante nods slowly. "I see, well it seems that she is quite the target for sure."
Vali folds her arms. "A little too much for my liking, it was surprising as it seemed some of them knew…no, make that all of them, knew about her location quickly. I'm not either of the Senjutsu sisters, but I could sense them, and them going to Asia rather quickly from their time appearing."
Zante could see that it was playing on Vali's mind, and he thought the very same thing after listening more and more to the story she was telling him.
"It seems that there's more going on. The Fallen Angels have been monitored the entire time, they couldn't have coordinated this effort to track down and get this girl. It has to be the Devil that's the reason she was excommunicated from the church in the first place."
Vali raised a brow. "How is the investigation going?"
"Want to join them?" Zante inquired, seeing her eyes looking like she had a gleam within them.
Hidden from many, but he was sure able to see his Queen's thoughts on display.
"I might as well if I'm not needed here."
"I can take Asia-san from here, Vali-chan. But, you're worried about the others, aren't you?"
"I am very aware of the capabilities of the others in the group."
Zante knew the truth. "Ingvild-chan and Ravel-chan are in Kuoh, just in case, so it would be good if you joined the neko girls when they're ready to go and explore, shouldn't take long. So far, they're trying to find out if there's been anyone who has transported to near that location around the time Asia-san was excommunicated."
"You think someone would be reckless as to inform the Underworld of their visit?"
"No, but I'm just covering all bases." Zante expressed his thoughts.
Vali thought it was a wise move. "Then I'll go and join the neko girls, then we can go to the location she was taken. Maybe something could be found, they are good at finding hidden secrets."
Zante thought that was pretty high praise coming from Vali, and he knew she really did care for the peerage, even if she didn't say it, he knew deep in his heart that she'd go to bat for them no matter what.
"Alright then, I'll leave that in your capable hands. Thanks for taking care of Asia-san for me, I'll make contact with her."
Zante watched as Vali took off swiftly out of the exit.
Zante then turned to the gates where Asia would be coming through, his visual acuity managed to cut through the crowd to see Asia when she was going to come out.
He didn't have to wait for long when she finally did come out. In her nun outfit, she looked lost, and she kept approaching others kindly. But because she didn't have the Language ability, she couldn't communicate with the others around her since she didn't naturally speak Japanese.
So he began to approach her, moving through the crowd and managed to dance around a number of people in the way.
When he saw her up close, seeing her long blonde hair, and her cute face along with her doe like emerald eyes, Zante begins to approach the young woman who was trying to speak to a businessman walking by.
"E-Excuse me, could you please help me?"
The man looked at her strangely, confused by her native tongue, and simply walked away.
Zante could see Asia looking unsure, when he noticed a Devil appearing in the vicinity.
"Hmm…odd, a Devil would come to such a public area like this? And I don't think this is a normal Devil…by the way they're moving, and sticking to the shadows, I'd say its a Stray…" Zante had to admit he was curious because it didn't happen like this very often.
He felt the aura of the Stray who was desperately trying to mask their own presence from him.
But it didn't work with Zante, who could feel them very easily.
When the Stray came towards Asia, Zante saw the Stray Devil trying to blend in with the crowd and cover their less than humanoid features underneath a large cloak.
He was surprised that the Stray would be so open to trying this publicly, also understanding what Vali was saying about how Devils would go for her right away.
He was honing in on her, and the young nun was unsure of where to turn as she was trying her best to understand those around her when they answered her.
The Stray thought that he was about to snatch Asia…
"Stop."
When he was stopped in his tracks.
Zante appeared behind him, his slim fingers tapping on his shoulder.
To the public at least, they only saw the Stray Devil.
Zante used his demonic powers to create an illusion around himself, so onlookers didn't know he was there, nor anyone else that could be looking on, since he didn't want to worry Asia either right now.
"I-It can't be…I didn't even sense you until this moment…!"
The Stray Devils eyes lost their light immediately, his face pale and lost all color, his body begins to shake more and more, to the point that it was clear that he was going to be killed off before being able to do anything.
"Its nice to meet you, however brief our meeting is actually going to be." Zante greeted.
His eyes turned to Zante, who looked right back, up close Zante knew this was a Stray Devil for sure, so he clenched his fingers down onto the Stray Devils shoulder. His arm begins to shudder under the tightening of Zante's fingers.
"N-No, you can't do anything to me…"
"Why did you go for that girl?" Zante asked.
He wanted answers, wondering if he was going to reveal anything.
The Stray Devils body begins to shake like a leaf, and he looks composure at the same time.
"N-No….!"
The Stray Devil tried to pull out a blade, some poison dripping off of the blade.
But Zante's Power of Destruction energy covertly leaked from his fingertips, and obliterated the knife completely until it was destroyed. It was reduced to nothingness, and Zante could see the fear in the Stray Devils eyes.
"So, you're not going to tell me are you?" Zante demands from the Devil, showing a more forceful side.
The Stray couldn't speak, frothing at the mouth.
He was being frightened deep within his core.
Zante's power was leagues above his.
His aura alone felt like it was able to crush him completely, and that was before Zante doing anything else.
Zante's fingers tapped the man's shoulder once more, then sighed. "Alright then, goodbye."
"Wai-"
Before he could finish, Zante destroyed him with a simple infusion of his power.
Zante used his powers via demonic power to create an illusion of the man walking away, while hiding their presence from the others, in case humans didn't see the demise of the Devil.
When he vanished, Zante exhaled, and looked to Asia once more, seeing her still try and failing to be able to speak with people.
"Time to approach." Zante mused, when seeing Asia looking troubled, so Zante came closer towards her. "Hello there."
Zante greeted as kindly as he possibly could do.
Asia's eyes shifted to Zante, since it sounded like he was speaking in her native tongue, really it was just the Language ability translating his words for her to understand.
When looking at Zante, she was taken aback. His handsome face dazzled in the sunlight shining through the open windows of the terminal they were in. The crowds swam around them, yet to her he wasn't a face in the crowd at all.
"You, speak my language kind sir?"
Zante chuckled. "Sort of. My name is Zante Bael."
Zante didn't want to hide it from her, only for it to be revealed later. He didn't think it was fair on her, he wanted her to know from the get go, so she didn't have to be worried for long, and he was going to do his best to make sure she's safe and okay.
Asia's face dropped considerably.
She knew that name.
"Z-Zante Bael…t-the heir to the Bael clan?"
"Ooh, I'm famous in the church it seems~ I knew some knew of me, but even the holy maiden knows of me."
"Y-Yes, I heard about you from Eminence Strada…but, I don't know what you would want with someone like me." She asked with a confused face.
"Strada-san huh." Zante gives tender eyes. "I was asked to come and meet you by someone that knows you."
Asia was dubious at best that would be the intention of someone that knew her. "S-Someone? Who is it?"
Zante hummed, and then fished into his outfit.
When he did, he pulled out a golden cross necklace.
Asia's eyes widened, and was shocked a Devil like Zante not only held the cross, but also had it on his person for as long as he presumably did. She knew he didn't teleport it at that moment so he had it when he arrived.
He passed it towards her. "This is yours, isn't it?"
Asia took the golden cross necklace, and holds it to her chest. "I, I thought I had lost it. But you had…Zante-sama, who was it that asked you to come to me?"
Zante looked around, adopting a sweet smile. "Its better if I show you. Would you please follow me to that cafe just over there?" Zante points to the right, Asia looked over. "And also, please don't worry about being so formal~"
Asia looked at Zante briefly, seeing his approachable smile.
She then turned back to the cafe.
She didn't see anything significant about the cafe, it just looked completely normal to her.
But she was curious about it, and she didn't sense anything negative coming off of Zante either.
So she consents, and follows Zante.
When they make it to the cafe, Asia didn't see anything out of the ordinary beyond it was entirely empty which she did find to be odd considering the bustling terminal that was outside of the cafe.
"Zante-sam…Zante-san, is someone here?"
"Not yet, it'll become clear in a moment." Zante sat down at a table, and his fingers drew on one of the tables. "She couldn't come herself, but she did give me permission to contact her when we did come across one another. I know it seems like a whirlwind, but I promise it'll begin making sense when I finish drawing this circle, so we can have a private conversation."
Asia didn't say anything, simply watching on.
It did make her head spin a good deal on what was happening.
But clarity came when a hologram of Gabriel appeared, upon Zante finishing putting up a barrier.
When Asia saw Gabriel, she was stunned to silence.
Asia could feel the holy power radiating off of the hologram.
It couldn't be faked.
This was the genuine article right now, and Asia thought she'd never get a chance to speak with an Angel like this.
Gabriel inhaled, and begins speaking softly. "Asia Argento-san. My name is Gabriel. I am glad that you decided to follow Zante-kun. I asked him to come and collect you, because I didn't want anything to happen to you. I wish I could've come myself, but circumstances are beyond my control currently."
"G-Gabriel-sama…" Asia wasn't sure what she was supposed to say.
Seeing an Angel, was out of this world.
Especially now that she had been kicked out of the church.
"I am sure that it must be worrying when Zante-kun introduced himself. But I assure you, Zante-kun is my most trusted person. I trust Zante-kun with my life." Zante was flattered by her words while Asia was in awe an Angel said that about a Devil. "I can't stay for long, I am currently in the middle of a situation."
Zante raised a brow. "Something happen Gabriel-sama?"
"Yes, a church was attacked. Our agents are on it."
Zante furrowed his brows. "If you need a hand, don't hesitate to ask."
Gabriel giggled. "You're such a sweetheart~ I will, Zante-kun~ Fortunately, no one was hurt. But, it does seem that some items have been stolen from the church."
Zante folds his arms. "That sounds troubling Gabriel-sama."
"Yes, and until we do an inventory of what was lost, I worry on what this could mean…but, please don't worry~ We have good agents on the case! So, please focus your attention on Asia-san!"
"Of course, its my promise, I'll make sure she's safe."
Asia was bewildered, listening to an Angel and a Devil just having a natural conversation.
There was no hesitation in either of their voices.
It was just a chat between people who knew one another intimately, showing concern and care for one another.
Gabriel then turned to Asia. "I'm sorry dear, for what happened with the church. If you have anymore questions, or wish to contact me again, then Zante-kun will be able to help you. I know its asking a lot to place your trust within a Devil, but I can guarantee this Devil, this young man, is someone I trust with my life."
Asia felt moved by her words.
If an Angel was pleading such a case, she felt unworthy of such a thing.
"Yes, Gabriel-sama."
Gabriel beamed at the young former nun, turning to Zante. "Then I'll leave this in your capable hands, Zante-kun. Use that charm of yours~"
Zante snickered. "I'll be sure to do my best."
Gabriel giggled and waved, disappearing.
Zante then faced Asia, showing a compassionate smile. "For what its worth, I'm sorry about what happened to you."
"You know that much?" Asia inquired.
Zante nods. "I know that you were excommunicated from the church for healing a Devil, weren't you?"
Asia's eyes lowered. "Yes, that's right. He needed my healing power but when I did it, it didn't end the way I thought it would do. I knew healing a Devil would be bad to the church. But in that moment, when someone needed me…"
Zante's smile grew wider. "You're a very kind soul, Asia-san. Even when you knew the consequences for you would be difficult, you still went out of your way to do the kind thing. That never could be criticized."
Asia felt a wave of emotion run through her being.
It was the first time she had heard someone say she had done the right thing.
She was brought to a happy place within her heart, and tears of happiness shed from her eyes.
Zante approached her, standing just before her. "Since I'm asking you to trust in me, why don't you ask me anything you'd like? So you can get to know me, and understand more about me? Would that be a good way to go about it?"
Asia did think it would be good, and she was also intrigued in a Devil that had even captured the attention of an Angel so pure like Gabriel.
So, they sat down together, and talked for a few hours.
As they talked, Asia found herself becoming more at ease.
She learned a good deal about Zante, from his beginnings, and his peerage. She learned about his dreams, and desires, while she felt more comfortable, she also began sharing things about herself to him as well.
They had a good back and forth, and soon enough, Asia did begin to feel as if Zante was quite an approachable Devil.
After making sure that Asia was in safe hands, the time had come to go and see the Fallen Angels.
While Raynare was sat waiting in the main area of the church with a bag of chips in her hands, Mittelt was also there while eating a few brownies, Kalawarner was munching on some popcorn, and waited for what was to come.
Suddenly, the door was disintegrated, reduced to not even atoms. It vanished from the face of the earth, and fear set within Raynare's heart. "No…!"
Raynare panicked, while Kalawarner hopped to her feet.
Mittelt's face drained of color, as Zante came walking in together with his trusted manager beside him, and his Bishop Ingvild.
The rest of the group were working on either making sure Asia was safe, town safety in general, or researching the Devil that had approached Asia.
"Raynare-san." Ingvild spoke up, Raynare put a hand to her mouth, her eyes losing their light. "Remember the talk we had, to do with not getting involved with any activities that you shouldn't be getting involved with?"
Ingvild's words worried Raynare. "W-Wait, please. I, I don't know what you're talking about."
Zante folds his arms. "Do you really think that's going to work with us?"
Ravel gives knowing eyes. "Should we speak about Asia Argento-sama?"
Raynare and the others felt sick to their stomachs.
They couldn't face the Devils, it was a nightmare for them.
"W-We…We heard of the girl, and we wanted to offer her assistance, and our unyielding support. You see, I am but a humble Fallen Angel." Raynare tried to make it seem as if they weren't doing anything nefarious.
"Is that right?" Zante mused.
Raynare nods, eyes shining like stars. "Yes, that's right! Please let me tell you of our story! I wanted to help…yes, help and support this young nun. To help her on her path. So, I asked her to meet us, because we could help her. Azazel-sama would have been delighted with me for helping her."
Raynare did her best to put on a good show.
To show her best sides, and to show Zante and the others she was a good person.
But Zante chuckled lightly. "And the fact she's just an innocent nun with, Twilight Healing, is just really a detail you ignored, isn't it?"
Raynare nods so quickly it was a wonder her neck didn't break. "Y-Yes, that's right! We wanted to keep her safe! That's all we wanted! I promise you, that's all I want!"
Zante shared a look with his peerage.
Ravel sighed her frustrations. "Are you telling me you've had all this time, and that's the best you could come up with?"
Raynare hung her head low. "…What do you expect me to say?"
"How about starting with the truth?" Zante urged her.
Raynare shuddered, Mittelt begins to tear up, while Kalawarner places a hand over her heart.
No one said a thing for over thirty seconds.
Ingvild could see the hope in their eyes was vanishing, and apart of her did feel for them. But she also knew they were going to put an innocent nun in danger for this, and that didn't sit right with her at all.
Ravel looked to Zante, who exhaled. "Does no one have anything to say?"
Kalawarner inhales deeply, gaining their attention. "I have something to say, if I may."
Zante nods. "Go ahead."
Kalawarner was thankful he was the type to do things like this.
She could see others looking down on beings like her, and her friends, but Zante was different and was allowing her to speak her mind, so she was going to do it with all of the strength that she had inside of her, to show her clear convictions.
"Then Zante-sama, the truth is, yes. We did have an intention to go after Asia Argento for her Sacred Gear." Raynare's eyes bulged, Mittelt's bottom lip trembled. "I wont deny, though I didn't instigate this, I also did nothing to prevent it. Raynare is at fault, as I am, and Mittelt too."
"What did I do?!" Mittelt roared.
"You, like me, said nothing." Kalawarner swiftly explained, stopping Mittelt. "Look, we are not Angels…in many sense of the word. We're Fallen Angels~" Zante gives an amused eyebrow, Kalawarner played coy. "And you know…I can't beg for mercy, we don't have the right. All I can say is, when you decide our fates, that from me at least, I am sorry. I should have said something, I simply wished to be seen as a Fallen Angel of merit, with power, and got taken away with that thought."
Zante looked over Kalawarner, trying to see if she was speaking falsehoods, or speaking the truth.
Even Raynare didn't know if she was lying through her teeth to save her life, or if she genuinely never felt comfortable about this in the first place.
Zante pulls closer. "Your words have been noted, and I'll be expressing that to Azazel-san, and see what he has in store for you. So, it would be easier if you came quietly with us."
Kalawarner consented, Mittelt shudders, but does the same thing, followed by Raynare.
Raynare's eyes met with Zante's own. "What's going to happen to us? Are we going to die?"
"That's up to Azazel-san, I'll tell him you came quietly, it might help in his judgement of you."
Raynare resigned to her fate, and thought at least she'd have a chance to plead her case, it was the best she could hope for in this outcome.
Zante watched as Ravel and Ingvild took them away towards Azazel, trusting they'd be strong enough to do so.
So Zante went to go and round up the Stray Exorcists they had brought with them.
Zante found a bunch of them, who tried to put up a resistance to Zante, but wasn't able to get past his Power of Destruction energy shield. It simply vanished into nothingness when the light bullets hit the energy, the same for their light based swords as well, all disappearing into nothingness.
Then Zante was left with Freed. "And then there were one."
Freed backed away, only for Zante to unleash his aura.
His aura floored Freed, he wasn't able to do anything about it, and he began trying to pull himself up.
"Wow Onii-sama, you're seriously scary! Your auras insane! Are you really a monster by chance?!"
"Not quite like you, Freed Sellzen. So, its been a while since I fought your Sensei huh. He always did have quite the temper."
Freed's face grew angrier. "Even speaking about the Slash Dog incident are you? Heh, that was a failure for sure, but Sensei would want me to carry on his work and end the disgusting Devils such as yourself!"
"You can certainly try." Zante retorts.
Freed didn't waste time, and launched himself forward.
Zante stands there, as a wall of destruction formed and flowed around him like water.
The sword of Freed's vanished upon hitting the destructive field, then he shot numerous bullets of light for the barrier.
But like the sword, it vanished completely off the face of the earth.
"Y-You're a bit tougher than back then."
"That's so nice of you to say~" Zante muses.
As he does, Freed's anger grows, and he lunges at him.
But the Power of Destruction repels him away, and he slams into the ground painfully.
While panting hard, Zante's fingertips show Power of Destruction energy, in the form of small orbs. The orbs looked dangerous and ready to erase anything that would be in its path, including that of the Stray Exorcist himself.
"So, what to do with you, Freed?"
"Let me kill you!" Freed yells, producing an orb of light to blind Zante.
But Zante shot it out of his hand, along with grazing his palm with Power of Destruction energy. "Nah, not gonna let you kill me~"
Freed's hand erupts in blood from the small graze, and he screams bloody murder. "I hate you! I've always hated you!"
"Get in line, many people tend to not like me when I'm kicking their ass."
"Yes, that's certainly true, isn't it~?"
Zante's face dropped when he heard that sound.
He looked back, and saw rising from the ground, looked to be a shadow.
Shadows bending and flowing all around the ground, Zante watched as darkness came for him in the form of a wave, so he launches his Power of Destruction energy right back at it, creating a huge explosion that flung Freed back, knocking him unconscious.
Zante felt the air and winds brush all around his body, flapping his clothing and hair.
His eyes looking directly at the darkness. "To think you'd show yourself. I know my Queen and Bishop wouldn't be pleased to see you, since you targeted them last time. Am I wrong Goddess-chan?"
A deep chuckling unnerving came from the darkness.
Emerging from the darkness, was a figure unlike any other.
A female with long black hair, and darkness surrounding her entire being emerged.
"Zante-kun...I am so happy to see you...I've missed you so, so much. So, now its time for you to come with me, and if you don't want that...well, I'll have to dance with you, in a dance of battle!"
The primordial Goddess from Greek Myth herself, Nyx had arrived, radiating a massive aura that was beginning to collapse the world around them.
Zante answered that with his own aura, surrounding his body in particles of Power of Destruction, getting ready to fight against this primordial Goddess.
End chapter!
So this chapter includes getting Asia and Zante to come together, getting to know one another more. Isane and Zante had a conversation, and decided together to help Asia adjust to her new life now. They also dealt with the Fallen Angels, with Freed revealing a little of their history, and finally at the end, Nyx herself, has arrived!
Lets see what happens next time, thanks for reading!
Zante's Peerage.
Queen; Vali.
Bishops; Kuroka, Ingvild (mutation).
Rooks; Koneko, Free.
Knights; Xenovia, Irina.
Pawns; Ravel (x2), Le Fay (x1), Elmenhilde (x1), Rest Free.
Zante; Ravel, Serafall, Kuroka, Koneko, Akeno, Vali (fem), Ingvild, Xenovia, Le Fay, Elmenhilde, Irina, Sona, Isane, Rias, Asia, Rossweisse,