Ok boys, its review time!
Clockwork Bun Bun & SkeletalPheonix - haha oops. Fixed.
Also SkeletalPheonix - Amen, brotha.
Escanor998 - I see, thanks.
Noxus sat in one of the church's many pews, inspecting several strange items.
"Mister Noxus, what are you doing?" Asia asked as she approached and took a seat next to him.
Noxus shrugged. "I'm just inspecting these incredibly elusive items, sweetums. Like say, check this out." He held up a small vial. "Phoenix Tears. Capable of healing just about anything. Just like your [Twilight Healing]. Isn't that just cool?"
Asia giggled. "Y...Yeah, it is, Mister Noxus."
…
…
…
Noxus put the vial back in the pile of various objects, all assorted carefully in a small wooden crate aptly labeled 'Property of Noxus, no touching.' "Miss Argento. Is something bothering you?"
The nun looked away.
"Look, if you need to talk about it, I'm all ears."
"W...W-Well…I…am I cursed, Mister Noxus? This Sacred Gear of mine, it's—" She was interrupted by a certain floating hand grasping her shoulder.
"Stop right there. No, you are not. Asia Argento, you are a bright young lady who was merely caught up in a series of unfortunate situations. You simply did what you thought was the right thing to do without any way of knowing the consequences until it was too late."
"Life is...unfair, miss Argento. People, even more so."
"I...I see."
…
…
…
"Miss Argento...if there was anything you wish you could do, what would it be?"
The nun thought for a moment. "W-Well, I'd really like to spend more time with Mister Hyoudou and Mister Kuraima…! I don't care if Mister Hyoudou is a devil! He's...he's one of the nicest people I've met…!"
"I see…"
He paused, staring at the evil device that would be used in a few hours to extract Asia's Sacred Gear.
"Can I make a request of you, miss Argento?"
"...Y-Yes?"
"Promise me that you'll be strong."
"Huh?"
"Be strong for me. I can't promise that you're gonna make it out alive. I myself can't help; using [Hand of Noxus]'s true power would level the entire building. This will hurt me just as much as it's gonna hurt ya'."
"So please, be strong. For me. For God. But most importantly, for Issei and Kuraima. Promise?"
"...I promise."
"Thank you. Please, allow me to do this. I'd hate for ya' to die without knowing what's under the hood."
Noxus pulled his cloak back, revealing his true identity.
"Yo."
School that day went by rather quickly, to say the least.
Once Kuraima got home, he found the Desert Scourge waiting for him, an array of gear displayed before her.
"Ma'am, what is this?" He asked picking up a pair of fingerless gloves.
...Huh, they fit his hands a little too well...
She crossed her arms and smiled. "Well, you see, before my own reincarnation as a Devil, I was a craftswoman. And a damn fine one at that, too. Devil magic could only do so much without dedicated equipment, but I think I did pretty well."
"...Yeah, uh...thanks...I...guess." He murmured as he gingerly lifted up a familiar-looking vial of acid. "Where'd you get this?"
"Eh, we Stray Devils have our territorial disputes too, you know. I know the secret stashes of everyone around here~"
Kuraima kinda looked away at that. "Well, give me a better containment device other than some flimsy glass, and maybe I'll consider using it."
"Duly noted. Anyways, you best hurry up, little Champion. You've got a maiden to save, and another to woo~!"
"H-Hey! I told you that it was all just a set up by Nyke…!"
Half an hour later, Kuraima found himself at the abandoned church, decked out in questionably legal attire.
Generic t-shirt so as not to tear expensive school uniform? Check.
Fingerless gloves? Check.
Steel-toe boots that were pulled out of the closet and still somehow fit after all these years? Check.
Weapons? One machete, one combat knife, and a pair of homemade knuckle bracers.
Check.
"Yo, Kuraima!" The Astral Champion looked up upon hearing his name "You're taking this seriously, aren't ya?!"
He chuckled nervously.
"Yeah, I guess. Truth be told, I'm this close to releasing my bowels in fear...even though I took...well, every measure to prevent such an event."
"Ah, well, uh…look, Kuraima-san! I brought friends!"
Sure enough, there was Kiba and Koneko following close behind him.
Kuraima waved halfheartedly. "Oh, hey."
'Hm...Kiba, Koneko, Kuraima. The three— wait, no, let's not finish that thought.'
Kiba greeted him politely. "Greetings, Kuraima-san."
"Hey." Koneko deadpanned.
The four sat in silence for a few moments.
"So what's the battle plan?" Kuraima asked, using [Third Eye] to see the enemies lying in wait. "Ooh, they've got an army."
"We just rush them." The little white-haired girl replied. "They already know we're here."
"...Eh, alright."
A large group of exorcists stood in front of the church's doors, waiting to ambush the enemy.
Only, they weren't prepared for the doors to come flying off their hinges, slamming into the clustered group and forcefully scattering those who weren't immediately knocked out by the impact.
"BANZAAAAAI!" The Astral Student roared as the four charged in, knocking even more exorcists out of commission.
A few managed to fire off a few shots with their guns, their shots going wide as they scrambled to not get cut down.
"What the actual fuck is that noise?!" A voice called out.
Issei recognized that voice. "Freed!" He called out.
"Oh for fuck's sake, you again?!" The madman complained, drawing his sword and gun. "You've come back to dance with me? Sorry kids, but I ain't gay!"
Freed ran forward, aiming to chop 'em up, only forced into dodging when Kuraima grabbed a gun off of one of the fallen clergymen and fired at him.
"Oi, oi! What the fuck kid! You really gonna try to cap my ass so soon?!"
"...yeah. I don't have the time to wimp out, y'know?"
PAP PAP PAP PAP!
Luckily for Kuraima, the Desert Scourge had made him some hearing protection, enchanted to counteract the sound of a gun firing at close range.
The gun eventually stopped firing, a sign that it was out of ammo. Seeing the chamber was pulled back, Freed decided to move in.
The madman smiled. "I've got you now!"
Only for him to get blindsided by Koneko, who punted him to the side, where he smashed into the wall.
"Heh, I owe you one, Koneko-san!"
"...You're welcome."
"Wh-?! Oi! 1v1 me, you fucking pussy!"
"Haha, no." Kuraima responded, picking up some more guns and stuffing them in his pockets the best he could. "Beat his ass, Koneko!"
"Oi, you really gonna leave me with the shorty?!"
Freed was quickly forced to dodge a flying church pew. "WHAT THE FUCK!"
"Don't call me short."
Kiba briefly glanced over his shoulder at the Astral Student. "Kuraima-san, why are you collecting their guns?"
"Part American." He responded.
"...I see." The swordsman eventually replied, not actually understanding it but choosing to just not question it.
Kuraima activated [Third Eye] once more.
"Behind the altar! There's a...an...uhm…" His mind blanked out for a moment as stopped working.
"Secret passage?"
"Yes! Thank you, Kiba-san. Issei! Let's go save Asia!"
The two threw open the secret door, and thus descended into the basement.
"Hey, Issei?"
"Huh? Yeah, Kuraima-san?"
"If...if we both make it out of this alive...you wanna go to that cafe I told you about?"
Issei thought for a moment. "I mean, yeah, sure. Just...why are you asking?"
The champion sighed. "Buddy of mine tricked me into flirting with a girl at that cafe. Thing is, though, she's apparently the one attracted to me. I figured that maybe if I was brave enough to rescue a maiden, maybe I'll have the confidence to ask one out. I've got nothing else going for me, considering that I already achieved my life fantasy of meeting an alien."
"..."
Issei stopped moving.
"Issei? Come on man, we gotta…" He trailed off as realizations settled in.
"It's about Yuuma, isn't it?"
"...Yeah."
Yuuma. Issei's first-ever girlfriend, only for her show her true colors as a Fallen Angel and kill him.
He had gone all out to impress her, only to be swept away like trash.
Kuraima approached Issei, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Issei. I don't really like you as a person. But you know what?"
"Forget about her. As much as I hate to say it, you're too good for her, bro. I mean, you can't just get over her at the drop of the hat, but…"
…
"...Alright, look. I'm sorry for bringing her up. But Asia's waiting for us, bro."
"...Yeah, you're right."
A small pause.
"...Hey, you see this door?"
"Yeah?"
"Watch this."
Kuraima ran up the door, which was partially cracked open.
"Some..."
While two of the four Fallen Angels Noxus had warned them about were elsewhere, defending the establishment, one lay in wait, ready to ambush her enemy the moment they came in through the—
"...BODY ONCE TOLD ME."
….the door, which had now just smashed into her face, instantly knocking out the very-not-legal-looking Fallen Angel.
The two highschoolers quickly ran in, brandishing their Sacred Gears.
"Loli down. I repeat, the loli is down."
"Dude! You just—"
"She's probably a few hundred years old, relax!"
"YOU JUST NAILED A LOLI!"
"Yes, I nailed her with the door. Went out like a light. She was waiting to ambush and kill us. What's your point?"
"I…uh…"
The two proceeded further.
"Good god, how many goddamn rooms do they have?"
"Can you please stop saying the G-word?"
"What, "God?""
"Agh! Yes! That one"
"Shit, my bad."
Finally, they came upon the room they were looking for. When the opened the door, they were greeted by the sight of Asia being fucking crucified on a cross with a large magic circle under it.
"Asia-san!" The two of them called out.
She looked up at them weakly. "Is...Issei...Kur...aima…"
In front of her, was a voluptuous woman in what was dangerously close to dominatrix gear, with her beautiful black wings completely unfurled.
"Oh, what have we here? A Low-Class Devil and a human!"
"Yuuma?!"
"W-Wait, that's your ex?"
She sneered with a smug smile on her face, crossing her arms under her chest. "Oh, I see that we missed one during damage control." She shrugged, sighing. "Ooooh well. Beggars can't be choosers. You're just in time to see your precious nun die in a really, really painful manner. And for the record, the name's Raynare. Be sure to remember that."
As if on cue, the magic circle glowed brightly, causing Asia to scream in pain. For one too many agonizingly long seconds, this continued until the glowing stopped.
"But, you know what? I think I'll let you have her back."
The device's restraints released their captive as she fell to the floor, where the two young men quickly ran to her aid.
"Asia-san!"
"The two of you...really came back for me…." Her voice was slow and raspy, like that of an old woman. "I'm...sorry for causing you so much trouble."
"No, no! Asia-san! Don't say that!"
"Ah...I wish...I could've spent more time with the two of you….M...Mister Noxus told me all sorts of amazing things about the world…"
Tears were building up in the pervert's eyes. "You're going to be fine, Asia-san! We'll...we'll beat up Raynare…we'll go to this really cool cafe that just opened up downtown…!"
"...Yeah…" Kuraima whispered. "...You'd fit right in, Asia-san."
Kuraima's vision began to warp and blur.
He found himself inside another church, except now he was in the body of the mysterious samurai. It was broad daylight, but the sun was blocked by a solid barrier of storm clouds.
The lyrics of Jenny's bardic tale permeated throughout the scenescape, each stanza echoing ad infinitum until her "original" voice finished the line, after which it simply faded away like whispers on the wind.
The Harpy Queen was a great raptor,
Whose bloodlust knew naught a bound.
All the villagers in her path came to rapture,
Their people never to be found.
Cradled in his arms was a little girl whose face had been clawed out by the sharp talons of a nearby Harpy— a half-bird, half-human creature— whose bisected corpse had been pinned to a half-crumbled altar.
'Kuraima' looked down upon the young girl, which caused text to appear.
Name: Nanalethene
Race: Human
Age: 10
Health: 10/50
Debuffs:
Bleeding - Health regeneration neutralized.
Grave Fate- Past the point of no return.
Kuraima could only watch as her breathing slowed.
9/50.
7/50.
5/50.
The little girl raised her hand up, which 'Not-Kuraima' grabbed and held tightly.
3/50.
1/50.
[DEAD].
'Wait...is this…those lyrics were from that song Jenny sang at the cafe! So why am I…?!'
"We lost her, sensei." The samurai-wanna said as he gently laid the body to rest.
There was another person with him; the man in red from before. The one with the glowing blue eyes. The 'sensei' snapped his fingers, and the body went up in flames, slowly reduced to embers and ash.
"Do you feel it? That burning feeling inside you. That is anger, Astral One. This is the true world of "Heroes." This is what doesn't get put into the books and the tavern songs. A hero is always surrounded by death and destruction. You will feel ceaseless anger. Anger at others for their actions, and anger at yourself for your own inability to take action."
The warm, soothing rain began to pour, the droplets gently landing on the terrain, soiling the ashes.
"You can wash away the anger, my pupil. But it will come, like a flood of pain."
"Through your darkest day, and your final hour. It will never let up, until the clouds are clear."
"That being said, young pupil...vengeance is perfectly acceptable in this case."
The man in red held his hand out.
"Come on. Let's go commit regicide, Astral One."
"A...Asia-san! Wake up!"
Kuraima snapped back to reality. Issei was trying to get Asia Argento to reawaken, but it was clear just how futile it was.
"She's….she's dead, Issei."
The two set her down on one of the church pews.
Cause of death? Soul splintering.
A Sacred Gear is directly bound to one's very soul. Remove the Sacred Gear and the soul becomes incomplete and thus is forcefully ejected from the body, causing death.
The two stood there silently, staring at Asia's dead body.
Meanwhile, Raynare giggled, holding [Twilight Healing] between her fingers.
"Ohoho! She died!" She taunted, slipping the ring on. "Who could've seen THAT coming?! Pft, hah! You humans are so easy to toy with!"
The Astral Student closed his eyes, sighing deeply.
"Issei."
"Huh?"
"I take back what I said."
Kuraima turned around, drawing the machete from its sheath. "Forget about getting over your ex."
"We're gonna beat the everloving shit out of her."
Issei thought for a moment, before materializing his [Twice Critical].
"Let's do it. For Asia-san!"
Raynare has Awoken!
"Oh?" Raynare questioned, tilting her head. "The two of you think you can take me on?"
She grinned, forming a pair of spears made out of tainted light in her hands. "That's real cute."
She took to the air, throwing her weapons at the two, immediately forcing them to split up and dodge.
The Astral Champion dived behind a church pew and pulled out one of the exorcists' guns out and started blasting, forcing the Fallen to move lest she get capped.
"A gun? Really? Why, I—"
"Nooooot faaaaaair!" Kuraima said in a mocking tone of voice. "Yeah. I know. That's why I'm shooting at you!"
While she was distracted, Issei ran around and jumped.
Boosto!
He decked her in the face just as she turned towards him, sending her flying into the wall.
"Nice shot!"
"Thanks!"
Raynare sneered once more as she got up. "Did you really forget about this?" She grinned, showing off [Twilight Healing]. "Shame on you!"
The beautiful ring shone brightly, the bruise on her face disappearing as it healed up.
"What are you gonna do about it?!" She paused, then shook her head. "No, that's not the question here." She laughed maniacally. "What can you do about it? That's right! Absolutely nothing!"
'Kuraima' found himself in a rather grand cathedral. In Raynare's place, was a Harpy wearing some rather revealing royal garments, a partially opaque cyan aura covering her body.
He fought with all his might
But however the hero tried to make things right,
The Harpy Queen did not move a slight,
For she had a ring of great might.
When 'Kuraima' shot at her with a crossbow made of feathers and an unknown metal, the bolt simply just pinged off of her shield, causing her to laugh maniacally.
Raynare looked down at Kuraima, whose movements seemed to mirror that as 'not-Kuraima's' as she took to the air. "Hmph. For a human, you sure are a pain in the ass. Shooting at me while I'm down? Clever, but not good enough!"
She dived at him, forming another spear, which the Astral Student barely managed to avoid by hopping away at the last second. Raynare went in for a follow-up, which the Astral Student managed to parry by grabbing her wrist and kneeing her in the stomach.
However, she still had a free hand. An advantage she was determined to not waste as she formed a second spear…
….and impaled him in the stomach.
PAIN.
That is all Kuraima could comprehend.
Up until now, he had yet to receive any truly life-threatening injuries.
And now that he finally did, he dropped like a sack of hammers as his body almost instantly went into a state of shock.
PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS
The stomach cramps from before could never compare to what he was currently feeling.
"Hahaha! Do you see this, Hyoudou-kun?! It's futile!"
Kuraima, his mind numb, tried to crawl away, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.
He wanted out.
He wanted to go home.
He wanted to go to bed.
He wanted to forget all of this.
"Ho? Where do you think you're going, kid? A lot of dangerous weapons for a highschooler to be carrying!"
She grabbed him, stripping him of his stolen guns, his machete, everything he could use as a weapon. Now that he was disarmed, she tosses him aside like a ragdoll, after which he slammed into the wall. His heel caught onto the edge of certain small crate, causing glass vials of various liquids to crash upon him.
Issei shouted "KURAIMA-SAN!" and began to run to where he landed. However, a light spear stopped that plan in its tracks.
"He's too far gone, Hyoudou-kun! Now it's just you and me!"
"Grrrrrrah! Damn you!"
The pervert threw his punches, but his ex-girlfriend dodged them with ease.
"Haha! Cry and plead all you want! But God won't come to those who have turned their back on him!"
Issei only roared in anger, swinging his gauntlet at her with every chance he got, only for her to tauntingly dodge every time.
"I've grown tired of your games, Hyoudou-kun!" The she-bitch called out, forming another light spear.
"Don't…" Issei murmured, the rest being indecipherable, even to the ears of the supernatural.
"Oh? What was that? I couldn't hear you~"
He clenched his armored fist, looking up at her, his eyes burning with rage and determination.
"Didn't you hear me?"
Boosto!
"Do."
Boosto!
"Not."
Boosto!
"Call me."
Boosto!
"Hyoudou-Kun!"
Raynare stumbled upon feeling the sheer amount of energy Issei was emanating.
"This is ...on par of that with a High-Class Devil's power! How did he...no! It's only a measly [Twice Critical]! How could he…!"
Then she saw it.
His gauntlet had transformed, becoming more heavily armored and now resembling the scaled talons of a dragon.
"No...he had the fabled [Boosted Gear] all along?! This...This can't be happening!"
"If God won't help me, then that's perfectly fine by me!"
He looked her dead in the eyes.
"Any God who would turn their back on someone like Asia is no god of mine!"
She panicked, forming a spear and throwing it at him as hard as she could.
…
…
…
He reared his fist back punched it, shattering it like it was nothing.
Stunned, Raynare could only watch in horror as the reincarnated devil walked up to her, his fist drawn back once more.
For a brief moment, his fist threatened to break the sound barrier as it dug into her abdomen as he channeled his animosity into a single strike. She slammed into the concrete wall hard enough to leave a human-shaped hole roughly several inches deep, where she finally came to rest.
"Grrh...no! I will not be stopped here…! Not while I…!" She raised her arm up, channeling her magic to...to…
The ring was gone.
"Wh-What?! How?! W-Where did…?!"
A mixture of laughter and sharp coughing answered her question. Kuraima was sitting between some of the church pews holding his hand up.
Asia's ring fit almost perfectly.
"Hah...finders keepers..." He spat out, activating the ring's healing power on himself. "...fucker."
"You...YOU…!"
When they had briefly grappled before she tried to turn him into a human donut, he'd managed to yoink the ring off of her finger. The action had left him open, but it the end, it worked out quite fine.
The space worm's champion took the piece of cloth that was covering Noxus' box of "personal" items and wiped some of the blood and shattered glass away, slowly getting up with shaky legs.
"Heh. I don't even know why I did it. Why I didn't go for the knife."He shrugged weakly. "But I'm sure glad I nipped that problem in the bud."
"Kuraima-san…"
"Help me out here, I'm feeling' a bit lightheaded…"
"Yo kid." The modulated voice of Noxus called. "That was fucking awesome." The man in question was standing in the doorway of the room. "I...would've liked it if you didn't spill my precious belongings, though."
"Noxus?! Ho...How long have you been here for?"
"Just got back in time to see the Hyoudou kid falcon-punch his lame ex. Anyways, as much as I'd like to let this battle drag on, I'm afraid I gotta bail. You see, the boss wants info on a traitor who might actually stir up some really tough shit and your ex probably knows more than the others considering, that, well, two of them died at the hands of your devil buddies, third's clueless."
"That said, you wanna say any last words?"
"Yeah…" Kuraima replied, "Fuck you, Raynare."
"Simple and eloquent. I like it." Noxus paused for a moment, then shrugged. "You know, I'm surprised you didn't already figure out my true identity, kiddo."
"Huh, what're you…?"
Noxus pulled his hood back, revealing a very, very familiar face.
"Oi, Kuraima. Nice seein' you here, eh? Small world."
"N...Nyke-san!?"
"Yep, the one and only. I figured a couple of bright kids like you two would've figured me out once you saw my arm. Anyways, your red-headed lady friend's on her way. Thought I might let y'all know."
The large gray hand grabbed onto Raynare, hefting her over Nyke's shoulder, might to her childish dismay.
"No! Noooo! Unhand me, human!"
"Haha, no."
Nyke looked back over his shoulder. "We still meetin' up at the cafe?"
Kuraima shrugged. "Yeah, sure."
"Aight, see ya soon. Just drop by anytime— I'm there practically every day."
"See ya."
Silence reigned as Nyke just up and left.
Kuraima and Issei looked at each other, and shrugged, not really sure what just happened.
After a few moments, the Astral Student looked down at [Twilight Healing]. "Might as well return this…"
He walked over to Asia's body, slipping the ring off of his finger and gently placing it upon hers. Her hand was still warm as, contrary to how it works in the books, bodies actually take quite a while to cool.
"Hey, Asia-san. If you're listening...send us a few postcards from Heaven, will ya?"
Once the ring was returned to its rightful place, it locked in place, now bound to its original owner.
"Arrivederci, Asia Argento."
Silence once more.
…
…
…
...Until…
"Nn."
"What the—?!"
The two boys jumped back as Asia's body suddenly made a very human sound.
"Issei, you seeing this shit?!"
"No fucking way!"
"She's alive! She's alive!"
Sure enough, she was alive. Her chest was steadily rising and lowering as she breathed softly.
"She's...she's not responding, but she's alive! It's an honest to...Astrum miracle!"
Asia was alive, yes. But in a comatose state. After having her soul forcefully cut apart, her what was left had evacuated the body. However, by putting the ring back, the wayward soul fragment had locked itself into an empty shell.
"Issei! We gotta get Rias!"
"W-What? Why?!"
"We...it's not too late! We can still save her! We just gotta do that thing Rias did with you!"
"...what are you...Ooooh, you mean the reincarnation thing!"
Back upstairs, the group of devils had finished off the exorcists and other priests. While Freed had fled, cloaking his exit with a flash bomb, all the other enemies had been neutralized, including two fallen angels, who were finished off by Rias and Akeno.
"Good work, everyone." The scarlet devil in question was in the middle of praising her present peerage on a job well done.
"Rias! Rias!" Kuraima's voice called out from the unveiled staircase. The two highschoolers were rushing as fast as they could, with Kuraima carrying Asia's comatose body over his shoulder.
"You gotta do the reincarnation thing!"
"...You look like shit." Koneko deadpanned, staring at him and his bloodied clothes. Truth be told, he looked like a murder victim.
"Yeah, well, at least it's my own blood. Suits me well. Because it's mine. You get the point. But that's not important."
"...Kuraima-san, what is the meaning of this?"
Issei and the Astral Student explained everything they could.
Asia's backstory, of how she was tricked by a Devil and abandoned by the church.
How Raynare decided to tear out her Sacred Gear and use it for herself.
But most importantly, her wish.
Her wish to spend more time with the two of them; the kindest people she ever knew.
"And before you ask, yeah, you get a free healer unit. A win/win situation!"
"...I see…"
She paused for a moment, before withdrawing a bishop piece from…somewhere.
"Let's get to it, then." She motioned over to one of the church pews. "Set her down. Don't wanna accidentally reincarnate you, now do we?"
Asia's body was gently put to rest, and Kuraima backed away.
"Now, Asia Argento! Rise once more, and live on as my servant!"
The redhead posed dramatically as she lowered the now-glowing piece onto Asia, where it sunk into her chest.
A moment passed, and then another.
"Ah…?"
Asia's eyes fluttered open. "Is...is this heaven?"
"Nope, not quite. But hey, we're glad to have you here nonetheless."
"Huh?!" She suddenly sat up, looking around. "This is…"
Then, she saw them.
"I….Issei! K-Kuraima! You…!" Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Everything's gonna be alright, Asia-san."
There was lots of crying and hugs to be had.
"Huh. Wow, you look like shit."
Kuraima looked at the Desert Scourge and shrugged. "You're not the first to say that. But don't worry about me, I'm doing just fine."
"Heh. If you say so, kiddo."
"Anyways, I'm exhausted. Gonna get cleaned up and go to bed."
"G'Night then."
"Good night."
An hour later, once Kuraima finished scrubbing all the dried blood off of his body, he flopped onto his nice, warm bed.
That night, Kuraima slept very well, knowing that Asia Argento was safe and sound.
…Well, that, and the fact that his stomach cramps were completely gone and forgotten.
Back at the church, everything was quiet.
However, the silence was not to last.
The puddle where Kuraima had nearly bled out began to bubble as it mixed with the various liquids from Nyke's crate.
A layer of an unknown substance began to form. It was gray, practically more of a silver. Orange boils formed on top of it, sprouting finger-like digits as they popped.
They grasped one of vials, one labeled 'Blood of Nidhoggr', crushing it to pieces with logic-defying strength to let the vial's contents be absorbed.
In an instant, the puddle simply exploded in size, covering much of the floor and even snaking up the walls.
Everything it touched, it investigated. Anything that wasn't nailed down, it assimilated.
The steel frames of the pistols were melted down via acid, alloyed with various organics of alien origin.
The crate's remaining contents were swallowed up, and so were the screws holding the box itself together.
A large boil formed in the center of the massive blob of pseudo flesh, growing larger at an unnatural rate.
Then, finally, it exploded, splattering glowing orange liquids all over the walls.
Crouching down on one knee in its place was a naked person, skin pale beyond what was possible for a human. Boney armor plates covered its arms and legs, as well as its upper body.
"Kuuuuuu….."
Its head turned up, pair of glowing orange eyes darting around to observe its surroundings.
'I am conscious. But what am I?'
It looked at its hands, clenching its fists to get a feel for its new form.
It heard the sound of something in the distance and stood up.
It began to walk, intent on fulfilling its curious whims.
'I am...Astral Infection.'
It continued walking, a layer of Infection covering the floor behind it like a snail leaving a slime trail. Up the stairs, until it found the top floor. The front door was creaking in the breeze. It wandered up to it, staring at the squeaky hinges.
Then it saw the light of the moon and the world beyond it.
'I need...decency?'
It grabbed the cloaks of the fallen exorcists, slathering them in Infection. They shriveled up like leaves in Autumn, before forming clothes that looked suspiciously like those that Kuraima had worn that night.
And so, the Astral Infection entered the moonlit world.
—
Author's Notes
I haven't completely a chapter like this, start to finish, this quickly ever since freshman highschool.
So anyways, I let myself get carried away again, and once again, Kuraima took the spotlight.
Sure, he's the main character, but believe me, I wanted to give Issei a time to shine.
Maybe. Just maybe one day.
Doesn't help that the next arc's most likely gonna be a Terraria Boss arc.
I also considered splitting this chapter up into two, but ultimately decided against it.