Chapter Six: Primary Colored Suicide
Two And A Half Weeks Ago, April 11, Kuoh Academy, ORC Club Room
Rias watched as he dutifully worked on his graphics tablet and laptop in his lap. It was something she loved to do, seeing the big teddy bear lost in his own little world. Akeno would always tease her over it.
Their manga, Chaos Rider HxH, they had worked on for two years with quite frankly an alarming and blistering pace. In two short years, they had made one-hundred and twenty-seven chapters, soon to be one-hundred and twenty-eight chapters, and soon to be combined into sixteen volumes.
The manga didn't do very well on the human side of things. It was a completely different story when it came to the Underworld and the supernatural community in general, however. It sold like, how Sora would sometimes say, 'gangbusters.' The actual Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse (who were reincarnated during the 80s), who the manga was mainly based on, were huge fans of it. Even the Seraph Gabriel was on record multiple times for saying that she was a fan.
Rias insisted that they publish the first volume under a pen name, and he chose the pen name 'Happy Chaos.' Even made a silly little chibi representation of himself for the 4-koma pages and afterwards at the end of each volume. It was a stroke of luck that she got Sora to agree to using a pen name, it made hiding his identity so much easier. Sora himself believed that he was just posting a web comic.
The Gremory Clan exclusively published the manga and owned the licensing rights, they took 15% of manga sales and 25% of merchandise sales, and even with just that much they gained so much profit. Sora's earnings were in a personal account managed by the Gremory Clan… Rias couldn't wait to see Sora's reaction to how many zeros were on it.
Which was something she would hopefully get to see soon.
She loved him. It was something she had come to realize during their first Christmas together. Sirzechs had gotten wind of her and the ORC being invited over to Sora's place for a Christmas party, and things got a little out of control. Not only did Sirzechs show up, he brought Grayfia, little Millicas, and their parents. It was utter chaos, but… she couldn't help but smile at the memory, it was one of the most precious things in her heart. His and her families got along so well! Sora and Grayfia having a little competition over who could make the best sweets using Koneko as a judge (it was a tie), and Sirzechs taking so many Maou-damned pictures. Millicas, Sora, and Sirzechs doing Super Sentai poses.
Seeing him there, having fun, laughing with everyone, getting into ridiculous mischief with anyone and everyone… seeing him treat them all as one big happy family. She knew then and there that she had fallen deeply in love with him.
She had wanted to reveal her nature as a Devil to him, but the anxiety in her heart stopped her every time. Sora was a completely mundane human. He had no Sacred Gear, no special ability passed down from his ancestors, and absolutely no connection whatsoever to the supernatural. She didn't want to scare him off by revealing she was a Devil, she didn't want to ruin what they already had. The very thought that it was a possibility tore at her heart.
But she had made a promise to herself: when they reached the final chapter of their manga, she would come clean to Sora about… everything. And she would confess her feelings for him. And if things didn't work out, if he didn't take the whole Devil thing well… she would alter his memories. They could continue the rest of their days in Kuoh Academy in peace and the money he'd earned would be sent to his family under the pretense that they'd won a lottery. They would never see each other again after their graduation.
She hoped with all her heart it never came to that.
Rias got up from her desk, leaving her paperwork and contracts, they weren't important right now. She took a seat next to him on the clubroom sofa. While she was rather bold when it came to her Peerage, her anxiety made her more reserved when it came to Sora. It was why when she placed her hand over Sora's, it was a particularly bold move on her part.
Sora blinked as he noticed her hand over his, he turned and gave her a small smile that melted her heart. "Something up, Rias?"
" I…" She opened her mouth, she hesitated, but she powered through. "Sora…"
"Mmm?"
"I want you to meet me after school." She took a breath. "B-By the lake."
It was the same lake he took Issei fishing with him over the summer. Who knew the infamous pervert had more interest than just boobs? But more than that… It was a particularly romantic spot and famous for couples to get together, and it was absolutely gorgeous when sunset set the waters
…And it would give her enough time to gather her thoughts.
Sora stared at her for a few seconds before a look of realization bloomed across his face. "O-Oh, yeah! S-Sure. Of course! Uh, what time?"
"A-Around seven, at the pier. With the café and canoes."
He gave her a wide smile. "Got it."
She got bolder, wrapping her arms around his. "You promise?"
He snorted. "Of course I promise."
She got closer, her breasts pressing against his arm. "You promise?"
"Goodness sake," He escaped her grasp with surprising ease and pulled her into a hug, "Yes, I promise. You know I'm a man of my word."
Rias practically melted in his arms then and there. Sora was a big ol' teddy bear in more ways than one, he loved giving people hugs. No one was safe, Kiba, Koneko, Sona… Issei. She could still hear the pervert faintly screaming in utter horror about being hugged by a guy on his Birthday instead of a busty girl. It was hilarious.
She nodded into his chest, he made the anxiety in her heart vanish. "Okay."
She chose to believe in him.
He never came.
She waited for over an hour by the pier.
She felt heartbroken, she felt angry, she felt… confused. This wasn't like Sora. If he couldn't make it, he would've at least sent her a text. She tried to text him over and over. He wouldn't pick up any of her calls.
Rias felt a pit of dread in her chest.
She dialed a new number this time.
[Hello? Gremory-chan how are you!] It was the voice of Sora's mother, Hina.
"Hi, is Sora home right now?" She asked.
[I was about to call him myself. I thought he was with you, working on that manga you two love so much.]
That pit of dread grew. "No… I haven't seen him since school ended."
[Hmmmm.] She could practically hear the woman pouting on the other side. [Maybe Issei and those two other delinquent boys dragged him off to do something stupid again. Smack them over the head for me when you find them, alright dear?]
Rias felt her blood run cold. "Y-Yeah, no problem. You have a nice night, miss."
She hung up.
Sora never forgot to tell his parents if he was going to be out late. Ever. Something was very, very wrong.
She dialed Akeno next. [Oh, hello Rias! I thought you would've wanted some more alone time with Sora-kun~]
"He's not here. He never showed up." Rias corrected.
[Wha… What?] The sheer confusion in Akeno's voice was telling.
"I called his mother, they don't know where he is either. Get everyone together, we need to search the town now! Koneko and Kiba will search the factory district. Meet me in the residential district!"
[Y-Yes, Buchou.]
They spent the entire night searching the town. Absolutely nothing, not a trace. They couldn't even find any Stray Devils, it was almost like the entire supernatural side of the town had gone completely dark.
Where on Earth could he be?
It wasn't until around four in the morning that they finally got a lead. They were combing over the town a second time when Koneko caught Sora's scent in the residential district where Rias and Akeno had checked prior. And they had tracked it to a house that belonged to one of their clients.
When Rias and Akeno got there, they saw Koneko incessantly ringing on the doorbell only to receive no response.
"Permission to break down the door, Buchou?" The shorter girl asked.
"Granted."
Bang!
The door flew off its hinges easily with Koneko's Rook strength.
They immediately stormed the house only to be met with the stench of blood and rot. Mutilated bodies littered the wall. Men, women, children. No one was spared. The house must've been used as the murderer's killing den for a while considering just how many people were here.
Kiba couldn't bear the sight any longer. "This is…horrible." And for Kiba, wasn't that saying a lot?
"Upstairs…" Koneko directed, her voice hollow.
Wordlessly, everyone followed the petite girl up the stairs. She stopped in front of the door that was presumably the master bedroom. Rias reached out her hand for the doorknob, but Koneko grabbed her arm.
They looked at each other silently.
Koneko's face held a deep sadness. Like she was already mourning.
No…
No, it wouldn't come to that!
She'd open this door, and they would waste whatever Stray that thought it could mess with her Sora!
She opened the door.
They would…
They were hit by the pungent smell of dried blood.
Rias's mind could not comprehend the sight in front of her. Not at first. Her mind desperately tried to deny the sight she so clearly saw before her.
He was a tall young man, his hands and feet nailed to the wall in a brutal mockery of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The Kuoh Academy uniform he wore was soaked in blood. The lacerations across his arms and legs were too numerous to count, and his torso was absolutely littered with knives and sharpened implements.
Above his head was written, most likely in his own blood: He cried out for help. You never came.
And his face…
His black hair soaked in his own dried blood stuck to his face; a single, blue, lifeless eye stared back at them, peering through the blood and hair.
Chainsaw Man OST - good night,boy
It was a face they all knew.
The face of a young man they had known for over two years. A young man that befriended them, baked them sweets, hugged them, bugged them incessantly, watched movies with them, made dumb jokes with them, and so many more things. He was there for them whenever they needed it, he cared about them. They treasured him, he was precious, irreplaceable even. He was family to them, they loved him.
"No…" Rias's voice was barely a whisper.
She stumbled forward, almost shambling in like a zombie. The other members of her Peerage followed closely behind in stunned and horrified silence.
It was the face of the first friend she had made at Kuoh Academy. The person who saw her simply as Rias. The person she loved.
Her vision blurred. She struggled to breathe. She wanted to scream - she needed to scream. Instead she fell to her knees, staring up blankly, tears falling from her eyes, at the macabre monument to her nightmares made manifest.
It was Sora.
Present Day
Hellsing OST RUINS Track 9 Primary Colored Suicide Bombing Love Song
This was suicide.
I knew that damn well going in. I just didn't care.
Bullets whizzed by my face, only avoided due to my 3D Magic Circle, which I had begun to call the Crimson Grimoire in honor of Blazblue, feeding information and predicting the trajectory before the bullets had even left the barrel.
I was a Pawn.
When Rias reincarnated Issei in canon Ddraig cost 7.9 of her pawns, Issei himself was worth 0.1. At most I was 0.2, 0.3 if I was feeling generous. Evil Piece Reincarnation cost depended not only on how strong the individual being reincarnated was, but how strong the devil in question doing the reincarnation was. And Rias herself was a very powerful devil for her age. Issei at the time had a Twice Critical version of the Boosted Gear and was even able to promote due to Rias throwing him a bone, I didn't have that.
They eclipsed my meager power.
The Crimson Grimoire was something I'd stumbled into: a combination of self-hypnosis, creativity, and a burning desire to perfect my edgy gun magic. Self-hypnosis proved to be a very valuable tool when creating spells with devil magic; not only did I have the imagination, but also the surefire belief that it would work. Devils were basically Orks from 40K if they decided they wanted to be old timey aristocrats and keep how stupid they were a secret.
The Crimson Grimoire was a supercomputer created through many overlapping calculation spells. They were basic, low cost spells used by devil children and newly reincarnated devils as training wheels for magic, and through pure dumb fucking luck alone, I was able to fuse the magic circles into something so much more than what I originally planned. Its potential was fucking astounding, and it was cost-effective to maintain. In reality, I wasn't the one doing magic anymore, I was just supplying the Grimoire with my mana, and it spit out whatever the hell kind of nonsense I wanted with extreme levels of efficacy, meaning no wasted mana. And that last bit really helped with the whole bootleg Reinforcement spell.
The coffin and guns? Fancy enchanted toys I made cause I wanted some style with my funeral. The coffin was a mecha-shifting tool loaded with ballistics and had several forms it could transform into, but it was slow, five to ten seconds depending on what form I wanted to switch to. The guns themselves were a novelty created by devilkind to channel magic through guns, but the advancement of that particular art had dropped off shortly after due to people being able to throw fireballs with a thought. But the methods known allowed me to directly load the gun with bullets through magic alone.
That bullet-catching stunt should've fucking killed me. But I used the Grimoire to create a small intangible barrier around me that fed a constant stream of data in a small dome around me. I had complete awareness of my surroundings up to ten meters in diameter. A bootleg Byakugan if anything. Not to mention I had super charged my brain to process information well beyond normal human limits. Then again, I wasn't exactly human anymore. If a normal man saw the world in sixty frames a second, I saw a couple hundred more. The Grimoire barrier ran data on Freed's movements down to how his fucking blood flowed into his body and predicted his movements, and fed that data directly into my brain. The magic circles over my eyes gave more visual feedback on how to deal with Freed's movements. And it was barely enough to keep up with the bastard.
I was sloppy, out-skilled, with little experience.
He knew every inherent weakness of my new race. Verses from the Bible, objects of holy origin, fucking holy water. He had weapons made especially for killing my kind.
I was a two-week-old reincarnated Devil. I was a complete and utter idiot for even thinking of a plan this stupid. I had no back-up, and even sabotaged my fellow Peerage members, King, and Sona's group by keeping them busy with the exorcists and other Fallen. I had nothing but bullets, some fancy tricks, and pure crackhead energy.
I was going to die…
But I was on straight Demon Time. My Black Airforces were strapped the fuck in.
I would make this shithead work for every drop of blood!
Hellsing OST RAID Track 15 Survival on the Street of Insincerity
Freed made a mad dash towards the factory that the devil had smacked Raynare into. He had an extra body, meat shield, and someone with semi-competent aim, and he sure as fuck was going to use them!
Freed scowled. 'I swear to God if that whore got knocked out…'
He cursed himself. Shit had just gotten way more real than he expected. He had forgotten one of the most important rules about killing shitty devils. Newly Reincarnated Devils are the most unpredictable devils of them all. Their masters hadn't fully broken them in just yet, so they haven't had time to conform to 'how a true Devil should fight.' Which basically meant monologuing, posturing, wasting mana with flashy moves and whatnot. Newly Reincarnated Devils? Nah, they were the trickster types, they thought for themselves. It was why Stray Devils had such a wide variety of powers despite being completely insane. It was also one of the many reasons why there were so many Strays: you either conformed or got kicked out for your 'bad habits.'
And this fucker was a little more American than he was expecting. Sure he could maybe, probably take him out pretty easily, but not out in the open. And that sucker-punch back there felt a step or two below Rook strength.
He jumped in through the Raynare-shaped hole in the wall to find her groaning on the ground, covered in rubble. He grabbed her by the arm roughly, and pulled her up. "Oi, bitch. Wake the fuck up!" He snapped as he slapped her.
He head snapped to the side, but it did the trick. "Ow! The hell!?" She made a red light spear and leveled it at Freed's neck. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't fucking kill you!?"
BOOM!
The garage door that let in trucks to be loaded up with goods exploded. Smoke, and debris burst into the large front room of the factory, and once their ears stopped ringing, they heard slow ominous footsteps.
The magic circles that covered his eyes looked like demonic lights peering through the smoke and ash. The devil walked out of the smoke, the coffin over his shoulder. It had changed shape, transforming into what looked almost like a rocket launcher. "Ooooh, Freddy-boy! Come out to play~!"
Freed gave Raynare a hard stare.
She sighed. "Okay, fine. That is a good reason."
Freed took out the handle of his light sword. "I'm going from the front, you flank the fucker. This'll be quick and easy."
The exorcist dashed out of the corner and ignited his blade.
Fire Force OST - Devil's Beat
The devil saw him immediately, but didn't oddly enough he didn't fire. Slow reload? He shifted the transformed coffin over his back again, reverting its shape as he closed the distance.
The devil drew his pistols just as Freed came in range of his sword. He aimed at his legs, letting off a few shots, but Freed saw it coming, he dashed to the side with practiced ease and used his momentum to swing at the devil's side. The devil, however, blocked the light sword with his pistol of all things, sparks flying on impact, his arm barely even moving with the force of the swing.
'Yeah, damn bastard definitely has to be a Rook.'
That meant he wouldn't be able to keep up with him unlike a Knight would.
Freed grinned psychotically as he let out a flurry of blows. Death by a thousand cuts was still a death. And unlike that midget bitch he had to dump holy water on, a freshly minted Rook like this asshole would still be taking some damage.
…But nearly every time he swung his blade, it was blocked or parried. Sure he got in a few scratches here and there, but never an actual clean blow. How the fuck was he keeping up with him!?
The exorcist came in with an overhead slash which was blocked by the devil raising his pistols in an X formation. Sparks flew on contact, especially so when Freed put more and more force into it.
"You've got some moves, don't ya?" Time to keep him distracted. "Didn't take you for someone with skills when I had you screaming like a whore two weeks ago!"
He let out a happy gasp. "Oh, Freddy-boy! You do remember me! Now I can beat you like an angry Hispanic mother with a slipper, and you understand why! Ah, you're the best."
Okay… not the response he was expecting, but at least he had him talking. He had the fucker's arms busy, all Raynare had to do was get off her lazy ass and kill the bitch.
He saw Raynare float in the air above them, wings flared out, and an angry red spear of light in her hands.
She charged, a grin of bloodlust on her face.
The devil smiled, and winked at him.
Freed's eyes widened. "Wait!"
Too late.
The devil had a sudden burst of strength, Freed lost his footing and he was tossed to the side. The devil twisted his body counterclockwise, the chains wrapped around his arm and the coffin lengthening and giant metal death box followed with him as Raynare narrowly missed Sora with her spear halfway through his rotation. As he came back around, he grabbed the skull near the top of the coffin, and slammed it down using his full weight… right down on Raynare's head mid-flight.
Black feathers were scattered everywhere.
There was a loud, metallic 'wham' sound followed by an equally loud cracking and crunching sound that he couldn't tell if it was the concrete that got obliterated, or her skull. The rest of her body still carried the momentum of her flight, and from the neck down, her body smacked into the back of the coffin before limply falling down.
Freed had seen a lot in his years as an exorcist and as a subject of the Sigurd Institution. Yes, he was on record for killing an Ultimate-Class Peerage, but that had to do with a lot of preparation and planning. You didn't fuck with Ultimate-Class beings without a surefire plan after all. He had killed many, many devils, but the sheer grace and skill this son of a bitch showed practically defied all logic.
'Like hell he's a two-week-old devil!'
But he himself knew the facts. He himself killed the human this devil once was.
Freed had never seen such bullshit before.
Holy fuck, did I actually just do that!? What kind of Rule of Cool bullshit just happened!?
…Was it animated in sakuga? If my life's an anime, make that shit epic!
I lifted the coffin off of Raynare's head and stood to my full height once again. "Someone get me some bitches, cause this bitch is out!"
Also, was Ray-Ray alive?
At the question, the Crimson Grimoire fed data directly into my brain.
Ah, yeah she was still kicking. Just knocked the fuck out gonna wake up with one hell of a headache. Gonna need some Ibuprofen for that.
But oh fuck, I blew my load way too early with that entrance. I seriously underestimated how much mana the ballistics would cost. And thanks to the previous skirmish, I was down to half my mana already. I needed to ration that shit before Freed realized I was actually nowhere as powerful as I was making myself out to be. That was going to be difficult though, the Grimoire was running all of my spells, from Reinforcement to my small scale Awareness Field. The Grimoire did vastly cut down on the costs on spells for a novice like myself, but my mana was on a constant drain, and if I got too bullet happy without results, I was going to run dry fast.
Melee? Shit, I was gonna have to go melee. Motherfucker went full Vergil on me for a second and I could barely keep up, and the scratches from that lightsaber rip-off still stung like an absolute bitch. But he himself taught me far worse pain.
I braced myself mentally, my mind flashing back to that dark room as I bleed out. Cold, alone, and in agony.
My first death was a hit and run by a truck. My second death was this psychopath torturing me to death.
My third…
If I died today…
I would do everything in my power to take him with me. The Angels of Heaven wouldn't be able to stop me. The Devils of the Underworld wouldn't be able to hold me. The powers beyond could not match the utter burning fury within me.
It was like every cell in my body was boiling in rage. Screaming for his blood.
If I was to die today then I would drag Freed's very soul into the depth of what this world truly considers Hell!
Freed tensed as the devil approached.
'Shit, I'm on my own here.'
The devil's arms sparked red as his guns materialized in his hands again, only this time they had transformed. Large curved blades had been merged into the underside of the barrel, one black with a red hexagon pattern, and one blade silver.
God damn he wanted one…
"Shit!" Freed yelled, dodging a slash that took off a few hairs.
Fire Force -MainTheme-2nd
He went on the defensive as the gunblades came at him in a rapid dance. He ignited his sword once more as he met the devil, sparks lighting up the dark factory with each clash.
The devil occasionally let off a shot or two with his pistols. The clever bastard would usually shoot near his feet and legs to force his movements into his blades, forcing him to block and parry. The fucker had near complete control of their momentum as he pushed them deeper and deeper into the factory.
He needed a way to break his rapid assault to get his own hits in and reposition himself. And while he did have a dozen holy water grenades on him, it wasn't exactly the best idea to use them at such close range. But luckily he knew more than a few verses to break this fucker's concentration.
"Aye, fucker!" He yelled as he parried another slash. "Tell me if you've heard this one: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him - shit!"
The fucker's eye twitched, that was all the warning he got before he spun around and smacked him with the coffin, sending him hurtling into some rusted machinery.
"'Shall not perish but have eternal life' John 3:16." The devil finished for him in an almost exasperated tone. "I've read the Bible before, Freddy. Do you honestly think a little headache is going to stop the ass kicking you're about to experience? Fuck no. Now, get the fuck up. I've got a lot to pay you back for, choir boy."
'Oh? He's toughing it out, eh? Then let's see how long you can keep that up!?'
Freed reached into his coat, grabbing a few grenades. "Alright, how about this one: So the Lord God said to the serpent-"
"'Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals!'" There was the sound of metal scrapping against metal coming from behind the tall fucker, and he shifted the now transformed coffin into his arms; it was a large rifle now. "Genesis 3:14…"
Freed jumped out of the way immediately and-
BANG!
The sound of thunder deafened his ears, dust filled his vision, and then came the ringing; and when that stopped then came the sound of tiny bits of metal dinging as they bounced off the floor. The dust had cleared, and the machine Freed was standing in front of was nearly obliterated. There was a bowling ball sized circle of red-hot steel in the middle of the contraption.
Freed felt his heart practically begin to beat out of his chest.
'Jesus Christ…'
He turned to the devil. "The fuck are you?"
The devil smiled. "My name is Sora. I am worth one Pawn."
Freed felt his mouth dry, and a bead of sweat fell down the side of his face. "What?"
A Pawn? He was a Pawn!? Fucking bullshit! The bastard hadn't even used his promotion ability yet. How the fuck was this a Pawn!?
"But let's get back to our Bible study time. Let me share my favorite verse." His smile grew cruel. "'The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.'" The sound of mechanical scraping began once again as the rifle in his hands transformed, Sora's voice growing more and more unhinged and loud with each word. "'The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish! Deuteronomy 28:20…'"
In Sora's hands was now a gatling gun with far too many barrels than Freed was comfortable with, being pointed at him.
"Some advice, Freddy-boy." His expression turned utterly manic. "RUN, BITCH, RUN!"
Then the storm of bullets came.
Chapter End