There is an abandoned church on the hill on the outskirts of Kuoh town.
But unlike the common belief of townspeople, the church is not actually abandoned. But that said, the inhabitants aren't humans either.
The inhabitants are none other than a group of fallen angels who are currently gathered in the hall.
A woman who appeared to be in her early 20s, a child who appeared to be in her early teens, and a man who appeared to be in his late thirties.
He was facing the two of them with a leader-like presence. He had three pairs of wings unlike the other two who had one.
"Are you telling me that Raynare was killed? And the possible culprit is someone who has a sleeping sacred gear?"
The man named Dohnaseek was furious.
"Not to mention she IGNORED my direct orders and went after his brother... KALAWARNA! Didn't I ask you to keep an eye on her?!"
"But, sir!" Kalawarna said, "She has never disobeyed her orders like this before. There is something weird going on here. I have to say this but she was not acting herself. It was almost as if she was being controlled-"
"EXCUSES!" he snapped, "are you telling me that you couldn't keep an eye on a trash that got herself killed by a human?!"
He stood there for a few seconds, fuming. Mittelt, the teenage girl, and Kalwarner kept their mouths shut. They both knew how much he cared for Raynare. Saying anything would only be adding fuel to the fire.
"No," he said, "something here doesn't add up... This is the case of a sleeping sacred gear..."
...
The sacred gear system was created by the God of the Bible to grant humans the power to stand their ground against the supernatural. However, it had the opposite effect. The acquisition of powerful sacred gears has become the current symbol of power among the supernatural.
The strongest ones amongst the sacred gears are called the 13 Longinus; also known as God destroyers. They are also called the supreme sacred gears. The reason for calling them such is simply because... they are just that powerful.
Boosted Gear, the possessor of which is called the Red Dragon Emperor (Izo), is one of the Longinus. In fact, it is the fifth-ranked Longinus with the killer ability to double the owner's power every 10 seconds.
When the user of a sacred gear passes away, it reverts to its basic form and waits in heaven, in the sacred gear system, for its new wielder to appear. This is a cycle that keeps repeating. The new wielder may appear at any time. To make things fair, the ones in heaven can only monitor whether a user has appeared or not. They are unable to know who the wielder is.
In the mysterious world of sacred gears, there is a peculiar case called the sleeping sacred gear. It is a rare case that happens when a sacred gear goes into hibernation, due to over-usage or due to suffering huge damage during a weilder's death, to heal. Due to an unknown problem or a bug, you can say, sometimes the sacred gear system tries to find a suitable match for the gear during its hibernation period and ends up selecting individuals who are underqualified for the fully awakened sacred gear. Hence, a sacred gear user is born who cannot use his sacred gear due to the hibernation factor and also the true qualifications factor. But since it is a sacred gear, it is obliged to provide some sort of benefits within its limits, but those are very very weak. So weak that it is only good for attracting unwanted trouble.
Therefore, even for a low-ranking supernatural being to die at the hands of a sleeping sacred gear user is unheard of or one can say downright ridiculous.
...
"That must mean it must be the devils!" He growled, "They must have found out about the mission objective and blamed it on a sacred gear user to escape the consequences!"
"But sir, even if they found out our objective to capture sacred gear users, it still doesn't explain why they are using Sirzechs Lucifer's personal investigation team right now for a matter of pretense and also it still doesn't explain Raynare's behavior-"
"Are you implying that Raynare," his tone went dangerously low, "was actually killed by a human with almost no supernatural powers at all?"
Kalawarna didn't say anything. A human with sleeping sacred gear killing a supernatural being? It sounds ridiculous even to her.
"B-but," Mittelt cut in, "changing the subject, with this much attention from the Devil King we cannot possibly continue our operation anymore! We must hurry up and report to Kokabiel and Azazel-sama!"
"No," he said, "we cannot possibly go back without avenging our comrade."
"B-but how?! They have the Red Dragon Emperor and many other powerful sacred gear users in this town! Not to mention the two high-class devils! Even excluding Sirzechs Lucifer's investigation team, we won't be able to scratch them!"
"They are not the only ones with sacred gear."
The two of them gave him puzzled looks.
"I heard she is coming in a few days, right?"
His face split into an evil grin as realization dawned on Kalawarna and Mittelt's face.
...
It was dinner-time and the dining room was quiet except for the TV. The three of them were there. Mom, Dad, and that dragon of a brother. They are usually quiet but not this type of quietness. Their normal quietness is similar to the one caused by scrolling through social media or watching TV. But this one is the type you usually see before heavy discussions.
Izo was surrounded by a dark red aura that took the shape of a dragon's head.
I took my seat beside Izo. Opposite to us our parents were seated. The TV was running in the background.
*Clink* *Clink*
Sounds of hitting cutlery on the plate, sounds of the clock ticking, the sound of the TV, everything could be heard clearly in that awkward silence.
The TV was running a local news channel.
*EVENING NEWS*
'A young woman was found murdered near Kuoh South Junction below a footbridge.'
... ?!
[Hyoudou Issei]
Ophis was warning me.
I know. I know...
[Don't look up. They are...]
She didn't need to warn me. My senses are pretty heightened right now. I can feel it. It's a miracle that my exterior didn't crack.
These three are staring at me...
They are carefully watching my reaction right now.
But, more importantly, didn't her body disintegrate?!
I have been preparing for potential investigations... But what is up with this approach?! Why are they putting supernatural news on local news?!
I have never been this thankful for my poker face in my life.
"My my, how terrible!' Mom said, breaking the silence, "It happened near your school, boys."
"How terrible indeed..." Izo said.
I can still feel his eyes on me which I kinda want to poke right now with these chopsticks with curry on it.
At this point, it would be weird if I didn't show interest in this news.
I looked at the TV and it was saying that the body wasn't identified which was honestly disturbing for me(cuz the body evaporated, duh). But I cannot show it no matter what.
The rest of the dinner continued without much drama. I could feel their gazes from time to time.
But one thing is clear. I am under surveillance, but they don't have proof yet. It must be due to my sacred gear which she explained earlier. Looks like I am one of the few sacred gear users in this town, even though it's a 'sleeping' one.
...
Sona Sitiri was doing a chess puzzle in the student council room even though it was late into the night. Her queen was standing closely by her side.
"You must be curious," Sona said moving a piece on the board.
"I am afraid so, Kaichou," Tsubaki said.
They were referring to the fact that they made fake news about a murdered girl just for Hyoudou Issei.
"As a sacred gear user, do you know how it feels to awaken before you are discovered by any member of the supernatural world?"
She moved her knight piece out of the way, opening the opposing king to a discovered check.
Tsubaki pondered over that question a bit.
"They will probably feel scared and lonely when they realize that a giant such as the supernatural world exists," Tsubaki said.
"Yes," Sona said moving her queen piece to attack, "and unlike the normal human world where ethics and laws are followed as closely as possible, the supernatural world is much much more... chaotic. Here, killing isn't exactly a crime. The only thing you have to pay attention to is who you offend because it is a matter of life and death."
She narrowed her eyes a bit.
"Hyoudou Issei is a person who has lived his life forever in the human world, unlike the rest of his family. Basically, a kitten in a tiger's den. Imagine such a person committing a crime, not just any crime but one which is one of the most unforgiving in human society. That is, taking another person's life. Murder. Perhaps it was in self-defense but, a normal human," she forced the opposing king to move with a check, "can hardly bear with the guilt. If Hyoudou Issei happens to be the murderer, then the fact that this crime is coming out on a normal news channel where other similar criminal activities in his society are presented, the place where a normal human watches different criminals and crime documentaries from his home; to see his crime listed there will shake him up no matter how tough he is."
She used her rook to force the king to move towards the edge.
"Then tonight we will wipe the memory of every human in the city except for the supernatural and humans with sacred gear energy, about this news article and ensure that Hyoudou Issei doesn't get any chance to check if the news is legitimate, online. Then comes our final piece..."
She moved her knight to place a check, forcing the king into a corner.
"You have completed the preparations, I presume?" Sona asked.
"Yes, I have personally seen to it," Tsubaki said, "Shinya Motohama and Hibiki Matsuda will approach Hyodou Issei regarding the fake news article."
Sona smiled.
"In this case, if Hyoudou Issei shows any reaction to their approach such as, 'I heard that on yesterday's news,' he is most likely the suspect because his sleeping sacred gear is powerful enough to register as a normal one in the memory wiping magic; hence excluded from the memory wiping magic. If Hyoudou Issei responds with something like, 'I didn't hear about it. What happened?' we can analyze his body language which we will extract from his friends' memory to reach a possible conclusion. If everything points to him lying then we will arrest him and forcefully go through his memories. Even by any miracle he manages to keep a calm demeanor, he will sooner or later make a slip after being cornered this much. After all, no human can keep their calm after being thrown into this chaos for the first time."
"I would say," Sona continued, moving her rook to checkmate the cornered king, "already declaring that we know that we are watching him is like making an early check. But eventually, it will result in a mate (checkmate)."
Tsubaki nodded with a look of admiration on her face.
*KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Enter," Sona said.
Rias Gremory entered and Sona gestured for her to sit.
"I have put my familiar to keep an eye on Issei as you requested but... isn't this going too far? Even going so far as to destroy their modem just to prevent him from going online, when you just said earlier that he isn't likely the suspect?"
Sona didn't say anything.
...
...A few hours ago...
"What do you mean your brother might be the most likely suspect?" Sona asked with narrowed eyes.
Izo and Sona were alone and he had just said that his brother might be the most likely suspect to Sona.
"The crime happened on his usual route to home and he returned home late. Moreover, there exists the fact he was the only sacred gear user not under surveillance due to his sacred gear being a sleeping one. So, isn't he the most likely suspect among sacred gear users?"
"That is true but," Sona narrowed her eyes, "it is a sleeping sacred gear, and also Izo, you are not hiding anything from me, are you?"
Izo didn't respond.
...
'Could it be that Hyoudou Issei has a past the reports don't cover?' Sona thought, 'But that is impossible... The info came from a trusted source-'
"Hello? Earth to Sona?"
"Oh, my apologies. Go on, please."
"I am saying this is a bit extreme," Rias said.
"He is a possible suspect since he wasn't being monitored," Sona added with a teasing smile, "but I thought maybe I shouldn't spy on him using my familiar since he is your boyfriend."
Rias made a blank face at her and sighed.
She took a look at the chessboard.
"Still playing at this hour? You never change Sona."
Rias chuckled.
"Yeah," Sona said, "I must always be at my top. After all, my entire life depends on a chess match."
...
Rias' familiar was watching Hyoudou Issei sleep. It had already reported to Rias that he hadn't used any electronic devices and had expressed nothing but a mild surprise when he saw that the fiber cable of the modem was burned.
It was now close to 11:30 pm and suddenly Hyoudou Issei got up, rubbing his eyes. The familiar, a small bat-like creature, held its breath waiting to see what happens next. But it was nothing but a nature's call (the familiar watched him doing that too, in case anyone is curious).
...
The sun rose from the east as always and it was finally morning.
A guy with a newspaper bundle hummed a tune while riding his bicycle. He arrived at the Kuoh Southwest junction and waited for the traffic light to turn green. Even though it was still early, there was quite the traffic.
"Hm...?"
He noticed that many people on the sidewalk were pointing to a nearby building and he naturally let his vision drift there.
His eyes went wide.
...
Sona was slumped on her desk. She had fallen asleep there.
"Kaichou! Its an emergency Kaichou!"
Tsubaki burst open the door making Sona wake up with a start.
"What happened?"
Tsubaki showed her a tablet. Sona's eyes went wide from shock.
...
Hyoudou Issei had breakfast with his parents. Izo wasn't there. But he didn't inquire about him. After the silent breakfast, Issei set out to his school.
On the way, people were talking about the southwest junction, to where he was headed.
When he arrived there, it was already packed with people. The police had arrived at the scene and they were trying to make the traffic go as smoothly as possible while controlling the growing crowd. Many were taking photos and videos. Some were texting their friends.
The object of this commotion was nothing but a message written on the walls of a multi-story building. A message was written using red color spray paint, using large letters, clearly visible from any side of the junction which read:
I SAW YOUR MESSAGE. THE ONE WHO KILLED THE GIRL HERE YESTERDAY IS ME.
BEWARE, SUPERNATURAL WORLD.
...
Hyoudou Issei didn't show any reaction upon seeing this message.
It wasn't because of his poker fact, but the fact that- the message was actually written by him.
"Excuse me," Issei asked a nearby bystander, "Any idea what this message is about? I don't see news that much. Was there a murder here yesterday?"
"I have no idea," the bystander said, "I didn't see anything of that sort on yesterday's news."
'Just like I thought,' Issei concluded, 'nobody remembers the news from yesterday night anymore. Otherwise...'
'There wouldn't have been confusion but panic and excitement amongst the crowd for getting a message from the murderer.'
...
I reached the front gate of the school.
If you are curious about how I managed to spray-paint the message, it was mainly with the help of my powers and the information Ophis provided.
I learned about many supernatural beings last night from her. When she saw Izo she said he was a devil and a dragon. She had told me that this area was a devil's territory.
At first, I thought the devil who rules this area might be my family but she said that's not it. She didn't give me further clues as to who they were.
What scared me was they used real-life news media to post supernatural news. At first, it didn't make sense to me but when I saw the modem damaged and sensed a flux of huge energy wave throughout the town... Ophis said a large-area magic spell was happening in the whole city but wouldn't tell me what magic exactly.
I thought they might be onto me but lacked evidence. Therefore the news might be a trap maybe not just only for me but for other suspects too. That implies there must be follow-up traps for me. This magic spell might be the first sign of the next trap.
But seems like, Ophis doesn't want to tell me what this magic spell is about. It was a gamble but I trusted the signs and decided. If what Ophis said about the Supernatural world's code of secrecy was true, then this circle might be related to their secret nature.
The supernatural world she described resembled the hidden magic society concept from the Harry Potter series. It didn't make sense that they used local news as a weapon when they were supposed to be as secretive as she said, so there can only be one reason. They showed it at night and they might take it down soon. This modem burning must be used to prevent me from going online.
When I presented this theory to Ophis, she didn't say anything. I felt like she was slightly annoyed. A sign of victory? Am I able to feel her emotions too?
But the real pain in the ass was this small bat-like creature that was always looming around me. She said it was most likely a familiar of the two rulers.
But first of all, I need to do something about the possibility of the news being buried. The only counter I saw was... well, making a piece of physical evidence.
I need to imagine myself in the role of a noob sacred gear who saw the message on TV and who thought he must respond to it in some way. But how can I go out and make physical evidence when this thing is watching over me?
What made my plan possible was 'Kuro' itself. Believe it or not, shadow powers are OP. Stealth is OP.
You can create a clone of yourself with your presence to trick your enemies.
I, of course, named it Shadow Cloning (now I can do both Goku and Naruto, just how cool am I?). I kept watch of the familiar. Last night, when I went to the restroom, I was taken aback that it was watching me take a leak. But the reason I didn't feel completely violated was the fact that it was my clone that went to the washroom. The familiar would have never imagined that I was still in my bed.
After that, it was much easier than expected. I sneaked out through the window. Using Kuro I was able to hide my presence. I couldn't fly but used the instant transmission steps I found earlier to dash short distances.
I knew a paint shop where they had spray paint cans.
There were people here and there. Some of them weren't humans. Nobody noticed me (stealth is OP). I could see some devil auras here and there. But, what about fallen angels? I killed them in devil's territory but still... shouldn't they be out here?
A sense of urgency filled me as I finally found the shop.
Sneaking in was way too easy with my new powers.
After a few minutes of searching, I found the can: PRIMER TURBO!
I went to the junction hoping to see someone guarding there but fortunately, I saw no one there. Perhaps they went to patrol? After confirming that nobody wasn't around, I sprayed the message onto a wall. It took me some time; pausing and checking if no one was around. I disposed of the can after that and returned home. I was getting increasingly tired as I used the dash more.
The familiar was still there watching my clone sleeping. I switched places with the clone and slept.
When I woke up this morning, the familiar was gone. Most likely due to my message.
...
There is still an unaddressed issue, I have no idea who the rulers of this area are. What should I do...
I entered my class which was bustling with noise.
I sat at my table thinking about my next move. There could be some other trap for me as a follow-up. Did they already destroy it because of the chaos I created this morning-
"Yo, Issei-kun!"
It was Motohama. The duo was here unexpectedly in the morning itself. Perhaps they want to talk about the message-
"Did you see that news about the girl murdered last night?"
Eh?...
"You go home by that route, right?" Matsuda added.
...
... I see.
"You mean the message at the junction?"
...
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