"Are you sure you and Sona can handle this on your own?"
Rias Gremory nodded seriously at her brother's question, even though she did not feel confident on the inside.
Yet, how could this prideful heiress admit to such a lack of confidence and risk getting her freedom taken away under her family's guise of 'protection'?
That is why she chose to follow through with this lie.
"Yes, Onii-sama. I will coordinate with Sona, and we will find out the source of that explosion. Don't worry. We can take care of ourselves."
Sirzechs Lucifer, the strongest Devil and the unrepentant sis-con, nodded reluctantly before the communication cut off, letting Rias sigh in relief and collapse onto her couch.
"....What are you going to do when he finds out the truth?"
"One problem at a time, Akeno. Right now, we need to know just how something like that even happened in the first place."
When Reynare the Fallen had lured in Issei Hyoudou with the pretence of dating him, Rias had already been on guard against the Fallen Angels that were infiltrating her town.
Given the way Grigori always goes around under everyone's noses and takes away the Sacred Gear users to recruit into their faction, Rias did not make any hasty moves lest she end up facing high-level agents from the Fallen faction and complicate the situation further.
That was why she had her familiar hand out her flier to Issei as a last-ditch effort to see if Issei might desire something so deeply that he would invoke her, something that the Fallen might not be able to give him.
Of course, she did not have much hope in that. Knowing the boy's personality that she observed so far, he would probably want beautiful women to sleep with him or something along those lines, a wish that the Fallen would fulfill in a heartbeat. Not to mention that Fallen Angels were formerly Angels of Heaven, and retained their peerless beauty from before they fell.
However, she never imagined things would escalate to this extent.
An explosion that was seen, heard, and felt across the town, forcing her and Sona, along with their peerages and familiars, to work overtime to erase the memory of.
Holy Energy that irradiated the park, so much so that, even now, no devil can even think of approaching the general area before getting a lethal dose. Something that can only be done by a holy weapon on par with Durandel, Galatine, or the original Excalibur could do.
The mysterious disappearance and reappearance of Issei Hyoudou and his subsequent refusal of her invitation into her peerage, much to her dissapointment given that she hoped he was the masked crusader that was going around killing the Stray Devils, which meant he had good potential.
And the even more mysterious disappearance of Raynare the Fallen, after which the rest of her teammates hightailed it out of Kuoh for some reason, along with most of the Stray Exorcists that her familiars had detected in the local Church ruins just that morning.
And then, to add insult to injury, the arrival of Rin Tohsaka and Luvia Edelfelt, who made fun of her after which they left for the Clock Tower, probably to make fun of her and ruin her reputation in their organization, which meant she could never hope to be taken seriously if she ever approached anyone from the Clock Tower to form a contract.
All in all, it was an utter disaster, one that she and Sona were forced to clean up as quickly as possible lest their siblings catch wind of the truth.
So far, Sirzechs and Serafall only knew that there was a huge explosion in Kuoh caused by a confrontation between the Fallen and an unknown adversary of hers.
They knew nothing about the potential Holy Weapon usage, the stray exorcist population until recently, or about the masked crusader, whom they had not identified yet, even though they now had a good guess on who it could be, with the only thing lacking being solid evidence.
If they knew about even one of these truths, there was no doubt in Rias's mind that they would drag her and Sona back to the underworld, kicking and screaming, and maybe even lock them up in their respective territories in the name of 'safety'.
On some level, Rias understood her brother's and Sona's sister's worries. They had lost many family members and loved ones during the civil wars, making them dote heavily on their siblings. But Rias and Sona felt quite suffocated under that smothering love of their elder siblings. Not to mention how Serafall and Sirzechs seem to lack the concept of personal space and privacy, leading to Rias and Sona avoiding their siblings like the plague most of the time.
As Rias lamented her situation, the door to her club was suddenly smashed open, followed by Sona Sitri running in with a rare look of shock.
"Sona? What is it?"
"Kiritsugu Emiya is returning to Kuoh with his wife."
Rias went rigid for a single second before relaxing again.
"And? What does it matter to us? Sona? He lives in this town, remember? And last I remembered, we never got any orders from our siblings to watch his moments."
Sona glared at Rias and smashed her fist on the table with anger and fear.
"He is not returning alone. He is bringing along the Dead Apostles."
That immediately caught Rias's attention as Akeno's breath hitched.
For a long time, Rias believed it to be mere fairy tales. However, ever since she came to know that he was real and was living in her very town, she did not spare any effort in researching his deeds and legends along with Akeno.
And among those legends, the most infamous ones were the Dead Apostles. The title given to the organization of humans led by the Supernatural Killer himself.
Not much is known about them, except that they were nothing more than regular human mages with a few Sacred Gear users mixed in here and there. Yet, just like their leader, they were feared across the supernatural community.
Every time they are spotted, they always wear black tactical gear without any markings that were enchanted through various schools of magic and masks shaped like skulls. Their bodies rigged to detonate the moment they die or they will it. Their magics specialized in killing the supernatural creatures through various rituals and spells.
They were so good at infiltrating that trying to catch them was like trying to catch a ghost, simply impossible. As for trying to turn them away from their group or trying to make them betray their comrades? That was a pipe dream.
Loyal beyond doubt, even beyond the veil of death, as one unfortunate necromancer found out the hard way. That was the kind of will that these Dead Apostels held. Of course, this depended on whether any Dead Apostel would even allow himself or herself to be captured in the first place, since most of the time, when they feel like they are about to be captured, they choose to self-destruct and leave behind nothing but a crater in their wake.
An army of shadows that followed the Supernatural Killer's every order without question. A powerful force all its own in the Supernatural world.
And now, this force was heading to Kuoh along with the leaders.
Rias shot up to her feet and started pacing worriedly.
"How do you even know this, Sona? The Dead Apostles never show themselves unless they want to be seen."
Sona nodded, worry clear in her eyes.
"That is exactly what they are doing. They intentionally exposed themselves to the barriers around the town and...."
"....And?"
Sona took a deep breath and spoke in a worried tone.
"And, they sent a message, addressed to me directly. At my home. My real home."
That sent chills down Rias's spine.
While Sona's official address is listed in the School's registry and was known to those humans that Sona was acquainted with, her real home address was something that only her peerage and Rias knew about.
Not even Serafall knew about it since Sona went to great lengths to hide her real home address from her sister lest the Satan suddenly teleport into her living room out of nowhere and embarrass her in front of her peerage or ruin her peace and quiet.
But now, these Dead Apostels somehow found out this address and sent a message straight to her.
Once again, the terror of the Supernatural Killer and his Dead Apostles was solidified in Rias and Akeno's minds.
"...What did the message say?"
Sona opened the letter and showed it to Rias.
A single paragraph that was packed with threats despite the wording.
[I heard an interesting rumor while I was working overseas with my wife. I hope you and your friend will keep up with your duties and take care of things on your end as per your kind's agreement with the Shinto. If you can't, you know where to find me. Tell Serafall that I said hi.]
[Kiritsugu Emiya]
It was a jab at their incompetence at handling the latest debacle, a reminder of the responsibilities that they carry as part of the deal between the devils and the Shinto, and a threat to take care of things himself should they fail to, and the sheer weight of his connections by mentioning Sona's sister directly, all wrapped up in a single letter.
"....He is really scary."
Akeno nodded at her 'King's words.
"Very scary."
Sona glared at Rias.
"Take this seriously damnit! This is no joking matter."
Sona started to pace just like her friend.
"Everywhere the Dead Apostles go, ruin follows. Entire mage families wiped out. Supernaturals killed and processed into regants for their group's rituals. Entire hidden societies reduced to ash."
"We really cannot allow them to run rampant in Kuoh."
"....What do you suggest?"
"We capture what is left of the stray exorcists in the town and interrogate them for information."
Rias nodded in agreement, knowing that it was probably the only way they could get out of this complicated situation. By extracting information from the strays and get the full picture of what they were doing in their town.
Meanwhile, the boogeyman that they were so worried about was sharing a warm dinner with his family on the other side of the town.
Author Notes: So, about Rias's hope that Issei was the masked crusader. In the previous chapters, Sona guessed that Shirou was the masked crusader, but the girls didn't have solid proof that he was the one, so Rias was hoping that Issei was the one instead of Shirou, since she thought he would be easier to recruit. Hope that clears things up.
Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1 Like ReplyReport Reactions:FioraVorela, Enverion, Kaine941 and 154 othersRuijardSunday at 12:50 PMNewAdd bookmarkView discussionThreadmarks Chapter 24 New View contentRuijardKnow what you're doing yet?Yesterday at 12:04 PMNewAdd bookmark#442'Man, my everything is sore.'
'Stop being a crybaby and suck it up. This is the best training you can ever ask for.'
Issei glared at his left arm.
'Easy for you to say. You are not the one who is getting his ass whooped by Shishou.'
Ye Ddraig Gosh. The Red Dragon Emperor of the British myths. One of the Twin Heavenly Dragons. Chuckled at his latest host's words.
Two days ago, when Issei had asked Shirou to train him, he had anticipated many things.
Outright rejection. Harsh training. Meditation. Or those katas or whatever that practitioners speak about in their interviews.
What he did not expect was the brutal fighting style that Shirou adopted to instill within Issei through practical training.
Meaning, Issei Hyoudou had his ass beat like a drum by Shirou Emiya in the name of learning Pankration.
A beating that traumatized poor Issei, who now feared anything made of stone and vaguely shaped like a weapon.
It was during this traumatizing experience that Issei's sheer desperation finally unlocked the full potential of his Sacred Gear, manifesting what the old man in the Clock Tower called 'The Boosted Gear'.
And with its awakening came the awakening of the soul held within the Sacred Gear, the dragon who now spoke to Issei and called him a partner.
'Look at it this way. Do you prefer to learn the practical combat arts from your 'Shishou' or learn magic from that suspicious old man called Zelretch?'
That instantly shut Issei up.
Issei liked the old man, there was no doubt about it. He was fun, patient, and taught Issei about the supernatural world more than Shirou, mainly because Shirou himself was supposedly an amateur in terms of pure knowledge.
However, Issei will not deny that Zelretch is very unhinged and very creepy. He saw it firsthand when Zelretch genuinely contemplated throwing Issei off into a nest of Stray Devils so that he would learn to fight through real-world experience.
Just thinking about that incident where he narrowly avoided the fate of becoming stray devil chow made Issei tremble uncontrollably.
This was also one of the many reasons why Issei was truly grateful for Shirou's existence, since he seemed to be the only one who could curb the old man's impulsive actions and save Issei from doom most of the time.
Zelretch's heart was in the right place, but his mind worked in a truly alien way.
As one dragon and one human conversed in their minds, Ddraig's attention was suddenly pulled when he sensed a faint holy aura nearby.
'Issei, look ahead. We got company. I sense Holy Aura.'
Issei fell silent and went on guard. His body going taunt like a bow string, ready to summon the Boosted Gear and use it as a shield as he retreated in case of a fight.
However, what he saw made him reconsider a lot of stuff.
A young teenager, probably his age, sat in the alleyway with her knees to her chest and a heartbroken expression. Her eyes showed how dead she must be feeling inside as she stared blankly at her surroundings.
Her clothes were also rather dirty and a bit disheveled. Combined with the stains on her face and her overall disposition, it was clear that she was someone in a rather bad situation right now.
'....Are you sure this is the source of the holy aura?'
'...No doubt about it. That girl is radiating a holy aura....but what is up with this situation? Shouldn't the church be valuing someone with such a pure aura instead of...whatever this situation is?'
'You are asking me? How the hell should I know? Anyways, first things first. I need to see if she is alright, and take care of those scum over there.'
Isse felt fury rise within his heart as he looked beyond the girl at the strange men on the other side of the alley who were wearing lecherous expressions while discussing something, sneaking glances at the girl who was unaware of her surroundings.
Issei Hyoudou is an unrepentant pervert. He knew this better than anyone. However, even with his perversion, he would never stoop to forcing someone into a relationship, whether it was emotional or physical. That is a line he would never cross.
But these men? They were clearly upto no good.
Making up his mind, he walked towards the girl with a bright smile.
"There you are! I've been searching everywhere for you! Come, Kaa-san and Tou-san are worried about you!"
"...Eh?"
Issei did not give the bewildered girl the chance to say anything before pulling her up and dragging her away.
While he was doing that, his newly enhanced danger sense picked up the movement from the men on the other side, probably intending to stop him or something else.
However, a quick glare backed up by Ddraig's presence that he learned to pull on under Shirou's training, forced these men to stay put in terror.
It was only when they were some distance away that Issei finally let go of the bewildered girl's hand and bowed in apology.
"Sorry about that. Those men in the alley looked really shady, and I could not leave a lost girl like you there without doing anything to help. I hope you don't mind my actions. Oh! I am Issei, by the way, Issei Hyoudou."
"Mi dispiace, non capisco bene il giapponese." (Sorry, I don't understand Japanese very well.)
'....Error. Issei Hyoudou. Exe cannot understand this language. Please reset to Japanese and try again.'
'This is no time to joke around, Partner.'
'Then what the hell am I supposed to do? This cute girl is spouting gibberish that I can't make heads or tails of!'
'Try English.'
'Good advice, except my English is....very broken.'
'...Haah. Such a useless partner I have.'
'Oi!!! You take that back right now!'
Issei glared at his arm again before smiling wryly at the girl.
"Err....I...Issei Hyoudou..name....You?"
"Oh! Um. Asia Argento...English...no speak well."
'Fuck!! No English as well?? What do I do now??'
'Maybe take her to Emiya?'
'Ooh! Nice one, Ddraig!'
"Ah...I...Take you...friend...home?"
Asia Argento looked confused for a bit before nodding timidly, following Issei as he guided her towards the Emiya household thanks to how familiar he had become with his teacher's house in the past days.
Unfortunately, the boy forgot that Shirou may not be at home right now since it was time for school, just like how he was supposed to be at school as well instead of playing hero to some foreign girl with a holy aura.
Asia Argento walked silently behind the boy who saved her, listening to him trying to explain where he was taking her in his broken English.
Not like she understood much since her own English was rather rusty.
However, she still got the gist of what he was trying to say.
He was taking her to the home of a friend who might be able to help her.
Honestly, if it were any other girl in her place, Asia knew that they might be really cautious of this situation, and even more so when a stranger guides them to their friend's house.
Even Asia had heard enough stories about how women were taken advantage of when in unfamiliar places to be wary of such things.
However, the former holy maiden no longer cared about such things.
Because she had long since given up on this life.
The Church was all she ever knew her whole life.
As an orphan who was found at the doorstep of a Church and raised as a devoted nun of the Lord, she was taught to be kind to everyone around her and follow the teachings of God.
When her Sacred Gear manifested, everyone hailed it as a blessing. A sign of a true holy maiden.
However, that was when her nightmare truly began.
She was placed on a pedestal, treated more like an object, a status, than a person. She was no longer allowed to take the simple joys in life, like playing with animals like dogs and cats. No longer allowed to form true bonds, like friends and trusted companions. No longer allowed to meet the Nun who took care of her as a child.
All because these actions were beneath someone of her status.
Yet, she did not blame the priests for these restrictions. She believed that these were trials set for her by God to overcome and become a better person.
So, she persevered.
She persevered when people who were jealous of her power called her names. She persevered when they said she was a woman who attained her position through illicit means.
Yet, the day when she was accused of blasphemy for healing an injured man, who turned out to be a devil, and excommunicated, she could not help but doubt herself for the first time.
Was she wrong? Was she truly a witch? Was she really someone that God rejected because she healed a devil, even though she did not know the truth?
Was her power really not a gift from God but blasphemy against him?
The very first crack in her heart appeared that day.
From then on, she wandered from place to place, not knowing where to go or what to do.
During these few months she spent as a homeless person, she learned the true nature of people. She saw the darkness within them. She saw how humans can be just as evil as demons and how the holy cloth of those who claim to be servants of god can hide the sinister hearts of the devils.
It was during this time that she received an invitation from a Fallen Angel called Raynare, who said she would give her a place to belong should she accept it.
A proposal that Asia accepted out of desperation and exhaustion. Her sheltered heart, already on the verge of shattering after seeing the darkness of humanity, no longer cared about who helped her out, only that she found a place to call her own.
However, even this hope was taken away once she arrived at Kuoh.
Raynare was nowhere to be found. Neither were her companions around.
With no choice, she found the location of the local church and headed there, hoping to find the Fallen Angels there.
However, what she found there was nothing more than a nightmare.
A handful of stray exorcists. What remained of Raynare's forces after she supposedly died in a fight against a Sacred Gear user.
These exorcists were led by a man called Freed Sellzen.
From the very beginning, Asia knew that something was wrong with the deranged man.
The way he kept looking at her, the way he would make unnecessary physical contact. The way he would stare at her when he thought she was not looking.
She felt a sense of danger from him that she had felt only once before in her life on the run.
That was why, the first chance to escape that she found, she took it and ran into the town, hiding in the alleys and scavenging for survival for several days.
All the while, her circumstances slowly eroded her will to live on and her faith in God.
And yet, just when she was on the verge of giving up and letting the world claim her soul, this boy called Issei Hyoudou appeared.
Like a ray of light piercing through the darkness, he offered her help unconditionally despite knowing that she could not possibly repay him give her situation that was very apparent to anyone.
A helping hand in her most desperate moment.
That was why she decided to trust him. Clinging on to what little remained of her faith and hope that there were still good people in this world.
Yes. She believed wholeheartedly that Issei Hyoudou is a kind and good person. Her instincts said so. The very instincts that saved her from countless dangerous situations in the past months.
Soon, the two arrived at a rather homely place that had a plaque with Japanese characters. Asia could not make sense of the line,s but Issei knew that name by heart now.
Yet, before Issei could press the buzzer, the door swung open, and a teenager with shocking crimson hair and golden eyes walked out.
His stance and the way he walked showed that he was ready for combat, and the way his eyes glared at the surroundings showed that he was anticipating an ambush of some sort.
However, when he saw Issei and the slightly dirty girl by his side, his tense shoulders relaxed, and his expression softened.
Then, they hardened again and glared balefully at Issei, who started sweating bullets under that look.
"兵藤一誠,なぜ君の隣に傘もささずに嵐の中を歩いてきたような女の子がいるのか,ちゃんと説明してもらうぞ.もし君が彼女に何かしたとか,この状況を引き起こした張本人だとしたら,私がこの手で君を刑務所にぶち込んでやるからな" (Issei Hyoudou, you better explain why you have a girl with you who looks like she went through a storm without an umbrella. Because if you did something to her or caused this situation to her, I will throw you into jail myself.)
Issei's face went pale instantly at those words, while Asia simply stared in confusion between the two men.
"おい!俺は何もしてないぞ!街中で彼女がこんな状態になっているのを見つけただけだ!彼女は路地裏でしゃがみ込んでいて,何人かの男たちが怪しい行動をしていたんだ.警察署か彼女の家に連れて行こうとしたんだけど,彼女は聞いたこともない言葉を話すんだ.英語も通じなかったから,君ならこの状況でどうすればいいか知っているんじゃないかと思って!それに,君は俺のことをどんな人間だと思ってるんだ?俺は犯罪者なんかじゃないぞ!!" (Oi! I did nothing! I just found her like this in the town! She was squatting in an alley, and some guys were up to no good over there. I tried to help her get to the police station or her home, but she speaks a language I never heard before. Even English failed, so I thought you might know what to do with this situation! Also, what kind of image do you have of me in your head? I am not some criminal!!)
Finally, the other man's face softened a bit, and he nodded before turning to Asia.
He thought for a bit before speaking hesitantly.
"English? Portuguese? French? Spanish?"
Asia shook her head at the names of the languages before speaking in her native tongue.
"Parlo solo italiano. Mi dispiace." (I only speak Italian. Sorry.)
The man nodded with relief as he fully relaxed.
"Capisco. Va bene. Parlo un po' di italiano, anche se non in modo molto fluente." (I see. That's fine. I can speak Italian a little bit, even if I'm not that fluent.)
This time, Asia's eyes lit up with hope, realizing that she could finally hold a proper conversation with someone in this country.
And so, the innocent girl who had experienced things that nobody should be forced to experience met the kind but perverted dragon and the living sword.