Enjoy reading, rejoice and...
See you all on next time
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(...Continuing)
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With the magic circle appearing in the Orc's room, Micael, Rias and the others soon materialized from it, however, a strange and tense atmosphere was very palpable between them.
The silence among them was noticeably deafening, Rias and the others focused on Micael's back who, at that moment, was too deep in his own thoughts to notice.
'I shouldn't have done that.' With a furrowed brow, Micael looked at his hand. 'I acted on impulse and now things might get even more complicated for me.'
He shouldn't have made that final attack, sure it was really annoying to have yet another enemy he wanted to kill get away alive, that could definitely bring more complications, but he also needed to be smarter and keep his cool.
Conflicts like this are unknowns, nothing is guaranteed and just because an enemy survived doesn't mean their eventual return will be worse... okay, who is he trying to fool? Considering his luck, it's almost guaranteed things will go to shit, the only question is how badly.
'Now that I have Asia, I'll keep a clone at home constantly from now on, dad, Myako and Mari might have Okita Souji's protection and protective spells, but being cautious never hurts.' Ignoring the sharp pain in his eyes from using the weakened Dismantle, Micael relaxed his brow as he lightly flexed his fingers.
'...But looking on the bright side, at least all these enemies I didn't kill left with some trauma, either physical or mental.' A corner smile formed on his face as he remembered the state of that black cultist, the probably traumatized Raynare and now the crippled Freed.
Lifting his head and coming out of his reflection, Micael finally noticed the strange silence around him, he looked back with a raised eyebrow finding the silent gaze of all the others.
"What?" He asked, looking at each one before finally focusing on Rias.
"What? You suddenly released all that killing intent out of nowhere, we were surprised." Rias replied, placing a hand on her hip and tilting her head slightly.
"Ah, right, sorry if I scared you guys, it's just that he was about to say something that would've really made me lose it, so I acted on instinct." Micael answered while his hand pushed his hair back, his gaze drifting between the others before focusing on Rias again.
Issei in the back could only agree internally with a bead of sweat popping on his temple, if that guy had said the same thing to Rias that he said to Asia, he could only imagine how terrifying Micael would've become if that killing intent had been a reference.
Rias understood Micael's point of view, after all, she heard what that priest was about to say, if anything she appreciated the fact that he was so protective... okay, she definitely liked that a lot if the pure joy bubbling in her stomach was any indication.
But as much as she wanted to squeal like a little girl, she didn't let herself smile and act like an idiot and decided to tell him later while keeping her face calm on the outside, and it goes without saying that she didn't care even knowing that this kind of behavior wasn't ideal in a conflict scenario.
"It's okay, it's not like it was directed at us." Rias smiled slightly at him.
Micael just nodded to her but at that moment when he was about to speak, Akeno spoke first.
"Indeed, that was surprising Micael, although, what you said to him was what surprised me the most, I didn't expect you to have that kind of...special taste." Akeno's fingers lightly covered the lips that were smiling.
Micael took a moment to process what she had said. "I only said that as a threat, I'm not actually going to do that." That was actually a lie, if Freed pissed him off enough, he'd definitely do what he said.
Akeno smiled softly while nodding. "But of course you won't, I believe you." Her expression looked like anything but someone who believed him.
Among them, he could see how Issei took a sneaky step back while giving him a weird look, like he was afraid he might do something to him.
Micael then looked expressionlessly at Akeno, he thought about pointing out that she wasn't someone who could judge others for having strange tastes but that would only backfire on him, so he gave a simpler response.
Micael calmly raised his hand and show his middle finger. "This is for you."
Akeno laughed in response while narrowing her eyes.
At that moment it was Rias who spoke. "Don't worry Micael, no one here is judging you, just know I'm still on your side." She smiled understandingly at him, clearly teasing him too.
Micael narrowed his eyes looking at the smiling Rias and then gave a matching response. "This is for you too." He gave her the middle finger too.
Rias gasped slightly surprised, she hadn't expected him to dare point that finger at her, narrowing her eyes and smiling just a half-smile, she just stared at him without saying anything, if the others weren't there, she would've already pounced on him seeking revenge.
Micael understood the meaning behind her look but he just held it with a smile, she'd probably pinch or bite him later because of it.
But putting that aside, he finally brought up the main issue. "Well, with this situation resolved, I think we now have to decide what to do with her." His gaze then turned to Asia in their midst.
The others followed his gaze and Asia, who had been smiling at their interaction, suddenly tensed upon finding herself in the spotlight, the girl blinked while bringing her hands together over her chest. "Uh, h-hi."
"Hello." Rias returned the greeting while smiling. "My name is Rias Gremory, these are Akeno Himejima, Koneko Toujou and Yuuto Kiba." She said pointing to each of them respectively.
"Nice to meet you." Asia greeted each one with a slight bow.
"From the ones you already know, this is Issei Hyoudou." Rias pointed to Issei.
With Asia looking at him, Issei smiled while rubbing the back of his neck. "Hello again."
Asia returned the smile with a small bow. "Hello again."
Rias then pointed to Micael. "And this is Micael Alvez from Aoyama, my boyfriend." She continued smiling, pretending not to notice Akeno's amused smile and Micael's raised eyebrow.
Asia blinked surprised by the new information, both from Micael's full name and the fact that he had a girlfriend, the earlier incident coming back to her mind.
Blushing slightly at the memory, she felt a little bad for Rias, she decided to properly apologize to her for that in the future, snapping out of her daze she then bowed slightly to Micael. "N-nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." Micael returned the greeting with a nod.
Asia nodded slightly still blushing and looking at him a bit awkwardly.
"So, how about you start by explaining why you want to bring her with us." Rias said crossing her arms with her hands on her elbows, her head tilting slightly.
"Mmm, actually, I'd like to know that too, I don't have anything you could want from me." Asia said looking a bit confused at Micael.
"That's where you're wrong." Micael said addressing Asia. "But first let's sit down." he pointed toward the sofas.
With them following his suggestion, Micael remained standing by the sofa where Asia, Rias and Akeno sat, with Issei, Kiba and Koneko on the other.
"Getting straight to the point, the reason I wanted to bring you with us is because of the gift you have, your Sacred Gear." Micael, with arms crossed, spoke to Asia. "Sacred Gear is your healing ability."
Asia blinked, her mouth opening slightly as her face showed surprise. "E-eh?"
"The 'gift from God' you said you had, it's literally that, something the biblical God gave to humans." As he spoke, Micael could see how she seemed more and more surprised, her hands covering her mouth as her eyes began to fill with tears, he could see how her eyes practically sparkled.
"Uh, I'm sorry I just...sob." Weakly sobbing, Asia spoke while wiping her tears. "Thank you Lord sob...thank you so much." She murmured softly between sobs.
Micael watched her in silence, this reaction from her wasn't something he expected, she seemed softer than he believed, he wondered how she reacted in the original work when she found out God was dead, she must've been devastated.
Looking at the others, from their expressions he could tell they had a similar impression of her, if anything, Rias and Akeno were smiling softly at her.
Even Koneko had an almost imperceptible smile, Kiba and Issei were also smiling at her.
'Really, pure as an angel.' Micael thought seeing the effect the girl managed to invoke.
Finishing wiping her tears, Asia looked at the others with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that." Her face was a bit red when she smiled at Micael.
Rias and the others gave understanding responses and nods as Micael himself nodded. "It's okay." He then continued. "The reason I want your Sacred Gear is because healing power is a rare power."
As soon as he finished he could see the surprised reactions from the others, specifically Rias raising an eyebrow and Issei freezing.
As Micael expected, Issei hadn't mentioned to anyone that Asia had healed that child, not that he could blame him, he didn't know about the rarity of a healing Sacred Gear, and even Micael himself hadn't brought up the subject with Rias.
While Issei seemed a bit nervous, Rias looked in his direction as if seeking confirmation to which he responded with a subtle nod.
"I see, but I can't do anything more than heal, I'll just be a burden to you." Asia said while her hands softly squeezed the skirt of her dress.
She might be a little slow but she wasn't dumb, Asia already understood who, or rather what kind of people they were, the reason they wanted her was probably the same as her previous group.
"This healing ability of yours is exactly what makes you unique so no, you're not a burden and even if you feel like one, don't worry, I'll train you so you won't feel that way anymore."
Asia looked at him without saying anything, just tightened her grip on the dress before finally smiling. "I understand, in that case I'll be in your care."
Micael raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't have to decide so fast, we're not forcing you and in case you haven't noticed we're not exactly on the church's side."
Asia nodded softly. "I know, you were kind in helping me even though you had no obligation, I won't judge you by your race, after all, I know all living beings have the same potential to do good."
Micael smiled faintly hearing that. "You really sounded like a true nun just now but yeah, we won't harm you and just to clarify, I'm not a devil, they are, I'm human."
Asia looked slightly surprised for a moment before regaining her smile. "I see."
With her already accepting her situation, Micael didn't question her since that was exactly what he wanted, and instead he asked Rias. "Since she already accepted, I guess she can stay here with you?"
Rias raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I thought she was going to stay with you."
Micael met her gaze calmly. "I think it'd be better for her to stay here, there are plenty of rooms, lots of space and it's very safe, she can stay in one of the rooms, right?"
Rias returned the look with the same calm. "I believe you should take responsibility for taking care of her, after all, you saved her, I imagine she'd feel more comfortable if she's with you."
Their exchange was followed by silence and nods from the others watching.
The focus of their discussion watched just the same, feeling awkward, she opened her mouth for a moment wanting to say more but ended up giving up.
While Rias and Micael stared at each other silently, they were literally exchanging a telepathic conversation.
'Why are you throwing her to me? Don't you feel uncomfortable having a strange girl living in the same house as your boyfriend?' Micael's voice sounded questioning in Rias' mind.
Externally, Rias slowly raised her eyebrow while keeping her eyes on him. 'And why would I feel uncomfortable? I trust you, unless you intend to seduce her?'
'No, I don't intend to seduce her.' Though he was lying, he wasn't, at least not now.
A faint smile then appeared on Rias' face. 'Then it's decided, she can stay with you, I guess she'll be more comfortable staying with humans instead of devils.'
Micael thought about telling the reason why she had been kicked out of the church but left it aside, Asia staying with him would only make his plans easier.
'Anyway, if you ever feel tempted in any way, just come to me, I'm your girlfriend after all.' Rias said with her smile becoming particularly playful.
Micael raised both eyebrows slightly at that, noticing the almost imperceptible blush appearing on her face. 'Don't worry, if that happens, I'll definitely come to you.'
'Hahaha~.' Rias smiled beautifully at him in response.
Micael shook his head slightly with a faint smile at her.
Although he felt a little bad about the lie, he went on since he already planned to apologize for it later.
"Well, if that's the case, then we better go now." He said, heading toward Asia.
She took a moment to process what he said before quickly getting up, Rias and the others following her actions.
"Can you teleport us?" Micael asked Rias.
"Sure."
"Let's go." Micael said to Asia, and going to the corner of the room with Rias and her, he turned to the others and said goodbye.
"Bye, everyone, have a good night." He waved his hand lightly.
"Bye and good night to all, thank you very much for saving me." Asia bowed lightly with her hands in a prayer pose, her lips forming a gentle smile.
With everyone else returning their own goodbyes, waves, and nods, the magic circle appeared and soon activated, with the three disappearing.
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(Continue...)