Author's Note: Man fight scenes are really hard to write without making all actions seem random. Please vote or comment if you appreciate my efforts 🥹
Also read the note at the end!
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(3rd POV)
BOOM
Azazel was violently thrown backward by the explosion, his Kimono scorched, his body marked with burns and scars… yet he remained relatively unscathed.
He hadn't expected this new delivery girl to attack him out of nowhere. For someone with centuries of experience, it felt like he'd left his brain behind, falling for such an obvious trap.
His eyes locked onto Reze's Bomb Devil form, the last thing he expected to see today was a girl with a bomb for a head.
"Heh, for a cute girl like you, your true form sure is… quite repulsive. I think I lost my appetite," Azazel joked, finding enough strength to mock her even now.
"I apologize for ruining your precious time… but I do hope you cooperate, this won't hurt much, okay?~" Reze said as her voice dropped with an icy sarcasm.
Reze stepped forward through the doorway slowly, her arms outstretched, with sparks crackling around her fingertips.
She didn't let Azazel joke any longer. Pointing her right hand at him, in a motion reminiscent to Makima's 'Bang' attack.
She only said one word…but it was enough.
"Boom."
Sparks launched at Azazel with explosive speed.
Then—
BOOOOOOOM
Azazel would have been dead if he hadn't protected himself, curling himself into a cocoon using his twelve fallen angel wings. They were very durable, besides he had no time to do anything else.
Though he was alive, his room was quite the opposite. Cherished relics, collectible items, expensive furniture, all his prized possessions lay in ruin.
True to a Satan-class being, albeit on a lower-end of it, he took no fatal damage, aside from his severed right hand, which he had subconsciously used to shield his face from the explosion.
"Tch… you could've held back, you know," Azazel complained, as if this were just a friendly spar.
He was still not taking things seriously with all things considered, and that sent warning bells ringing in Reze's mind.
Reze said nothing. She vanished from her spot and reappeared right in front of him, aiming a kick straight at his face—
But Azazel dodged, the blow barely grazing past him.
"Shit," Reze cursed as Azazel countered with a left hook to her Bomb-head, sending her flying across the room and crashing through the wall.
Centuries of battle experience made such encounters a routine for him.
Azazel grimaced as he clenched the stump where his hand had been severed. Blood kept dripping as he tried his best to not let it distract him.
Damn, not even Phoenix tears will heal this. Fucking hell! Azazel cursed under his breath.
Meanwhile…
No broken bones, just minor scratches. Nothing serious. Reze thought as she pushed herself back to her feet.
"You know fighting a bomb-headed freak like you was the last thing I expected to do at the end of my day." Azazel said.
"I'm intrigued by your audacity, Reze-chan. You must be thinking that just because you managed to sever my hand… you can kill me."
"I'll prove you wrong…so don't run from me!" Azazel growled in annoyance, irritation flaring in his voice. Even his usually laid back attitude had limits, and today he wasn't in the mood to be passive.
He then slowly reached for something in his pocket…then he suddenly froze. Desperately he searched through his pockets again, but the item he was looking for was nowhere to be found.
Reze chuckled, her voice teasing yet sharp enough to catch Azazel's attention.
"You looking for this?"
She said as she held up a lance-like golden dagger which had a purple jewel embedded in its hilt.
It was his blood, sweat and tears; an artificial Sacred Gear he made himself; while powering it with the pact he made with Fafnir.
Downfall Dragon Spear.
Azazel's eyes widened as the realization hit. He lost his best weapon in this dire situation. He couldn't afford any more losses or…
He'd be killed.
His rationality was clouded by the desire to retrieve his prized possession.
He didn't waste time, and without hesitation, he lunged at her, determined to reclaim the dagger at all costs
But then…he stopped. No… he was stopped.
His body hit something he couldn't see or even touch, like an invisible barrier.
The more he struggled, the slower he moved as if he was walking into something infinite.
And then he saw him.
A figure stood between him and Reze. Taller than he'd expected. Strong physique. Black hair. And those eyes…beautiful blue eyes, which stared at him like he was already a dead man.
Naturally, it was none other than Aleks.
"Why so desperate… Governor?"
Azazel opened his mouth, but nothing came. He took a step back, secretly preparing himself to teleport away.
He realized something, this was a losing battle, the longer he stayed here, the closer his death became.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"
Aleks's voice carried no anger or heat. His tone was utterly calm yet cold.
"Come on now, say it. After all… you're the one who said, not to run. Right?"
And before Azazel could even think of finishing his spell, Aleks moved. Just a single blow, and the Governor of the Fallen Angels was sent flying across the room, smashing into the wall with bone-breaking force.
"Ouch… that hurt," Azazel groaned through clenched teeth.
"Aleks-kun! I was sooo scared. Took you long enough!" Reze said in mock distress, as she slipped her arms around him from behind, hugging him.
Aleks glanced at her, tilting his head in amusement.
"Reze, we were together like ten minutes ago." Aleks said with a smile.
(1st POV)
I slowly walked toward Azazel, who looked as relaxed as he ever could be. Like he wasn't fazed by the beating he'd got at all.
How does he remain so calm when he knows he's losing?
For the most part, everything that happened here went as we had planned.
We'd spent a few hours digging into Azazel's whereabouts, his daily routines, and habits. Among his various hobbies and habits which I would not mention, one detail stood out above the rest; his pizza addiction.
Something so mundane yet it could be easily exploited.
All I had to do was let Reze disguise herself as a pizza delivery girl. The moment she handed Azazel his order, she'd transform.
Her transformation had that explosion effect, so it was perfect to get him off guard.
From there, she would intentionally aim to sever his right hand.
Why? Well I was not dumb enough to underestimate a mind like his. In case he ran away, we would still have an insurance policy..
Nobara's technique.
What would follow is for Reze to distract Azazel enough to let him focus on counterattacking her, while she would stealthily steal his Downfall Dragon Spear, preventing him from ever using it.
From the start, Reze's goal was never to kill him. She only pretended to go for the kill.
Imagine losing something you spent decades researching and perfecting, only to have it stolen right from under your nose. Wouldn't your desperate, selfish drive to get it back completely override rationality? That's the risk I took. And he fell for it.
And that's when I stepped in… to finish things off.
As I stood right in front of him, he looked up at me, clearly pissed off.
"What do you want from me? I believe we haven't met before," he said, trying to act rational even now. But he knew he'd already lost.
"Hmm… that won't do. Let's see." I pulled out my phone, opened Photos, and scrolled until I found what I was looking for.
It was me..no…it was previous Aleks with Yana and Yelena. They were celebrating Yelena's promotion together, roughly a year ago.
They all looked happy together. Seeing their smiles…it felt strange as heavy nostalgia washed over me… it also reminded of my previous life.
New memories were kicking in, filling in blanks in my memory that had been fragments up until now.
I knelt down, holding the phone where he could see.
"You see these two women? They're my family…my everything in this world.. Does that ring any bell?" My voice sharpened with each word.
"This girl with blond hair, her name is Yana. Opportunistic, bratty, short-tempered…but a reliable younger sister who always had my back. Her dream is be a kendo champion…"
"And this woman with black hair is Yelena, my stepmother. She raised me for ten years of my life, looked after us, and never made me feel the abscence of my biological mother."
"That fallen bitch murdered her in cold blood."
Azazel's gaze flicked to the screen. Slowly a sly smile crept over his face.
"I see…so you're that girl's brother huh. No wonder you're after me."
"I know it's too late for this…but I may have messed up. My apologies?" His tone was almost casual, like he was discussing weather conditions with me.
I softened, as a kind and understanding smile crept onto my lips. I slowly nodded, then exhaled deeply, letting the tension ease. Then, I stood up.
"Apology accepted."
Azazel couldn't see any deception in my words. He was someone capable of discerning lies with extreme precision, and to him, my words held no falsehood.
Then his shoulders loosened, he thought I was walking away, probably thinking I lost interest to seek revenge.
But…
…he thought wrong.
SMACK
My toe connected with his face with considerable force. Not enough to kill him or anything, but enough to crack his bones and sent him flying sideways, crashing into the wall with a thud.
I walked toward Azazel, my steps heavy and deliberate. Looking at his state…his jaw was fractured, while blood kept dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Cough Cough
A ragged cough escaped him.
Soft moonlight filtered through the shattered windowpane, casting the room in ghostly silver. It illuminated his pale skin even more, making the wounds look more grotesque.
"The moonlight's shining all the way through…" I smirked, enjoying the sight of his pathetic state.
"It's helping me see your pathetic state more clearly."
I grabbed a handful of his hair and lifted his head just enough to force him to look at me.
"Come on now, keep trying. Is this all the governor of fallen angels can do?"
"Getting thrashed by a race you look down on so much?" I mocked him with biting amusement.
"I'll play along with you again and again… until I'm tired of this."
Azazel's eyes gleamed coldly as he summoned a light spear, the manifestation of his light power. Unlike most fallen angels, this seemed more powerful, controlled, and brighter. Enveloping the entire room in blinding light just through its presence alone.
The spear grew brighter and sharper by the second, surging with holy energy….it looked like he was preparing to unleash his full strength.
"I don't regret this," he muttered, aiming the spear straight at Reze.
But before he could release it—
I stretched out my left hand calmly, voice steady as I invoked the technique I knew well.
"Cursed Technique Amplification: Blue."
A concentrated orb of deep blue energy formed in my palm, exerting an immense, magnetic-like pull, sucking everything in it like a black hole…except me.
I flicked my hand as I sent the orb toward Azazel just as he was about to unleash the light spear.
The spear faltered under the overwhelming force.
Azazel's body was dragged violently by the invisible pull of Lapse: Blue. The light spear's energy spiraled out of control, as its radiance flickered every second:
He crashed through several walls and blasted uncontrollably through adjacent rooms with immense force.
Finally, he was flung out of the apartment building entirely, landing hard on the pavement below with a crushing impact.
The uncontrolled and unfinished light power exploded around him, releasing the built up holy energy, inflicting serious damage on Azazel.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"Pft, what a fool… getting hurt by his own power."
I began stepping through the jagged hole in the wall, moving into the next room without hesitation.
The faces I passed were a mix of shock and fear. It was understandable, after all they were just normal people living in this apartment.
A young girl clung tightly to her mother's side, eyes misty and wide with confusion and tears.
"W-what's happening?" she stammered.
"Are we under attack?" her mother had a horrified expression, her voice trembling.
"Somebody help!" a man shouted, pressed beneath the debris, pleading for his life.
I gave a small, apologetic smile as I walked past.
"Sorry, coming through. I promise I'll fix the damage." I said as I waved past the crowd of the residents.
I stepped through the final crumbling wall and finally saw the pavement below. Azazel lay sprawled, battered, barely clinging to life.
Without hesitation, I jumped down, landing just a few feet from him. His breath was ragged, blood streaked his face. I dragged my toe across his cheek, forcing him to look at me.
"W-what do you w-want?" His voice was hoarse, as he spoke each word with difficulty. He knew death was close.
I knelt down, close enough for him to see every detail in my expression.
And then a knowing smile formed on my lips.
"I want you to make a contract with me," I said quietly, my voice almost gentle. "Do that, and I promise to heal you."
Azazel hesitated, coughing blood onto the cracked pavement. He had already given up resisting.
"…Fine. I will make a contract with you… Please, hurry…" His fingers trembled as he summoned a magical document in his hands. It looked like a simple A4 sized paper, but my Six Eyes confirmed it was anything but ordinary.
"State your terms and name… quickly!" he urged in a weak voice.
I took the blood-stained parchment from his grasp.
"I, Aleks Constantine," I declared, my voice firm, "hereby offer this contract to Azazel. In exchange for your healing, you must accept these terms without question:"
And then my tone dropped, almost cold and deliberate.
"Whenever I say the word 'Enchain' to you, your will becomes bound to mine. You will obey every order, without hesitation or resistance."
I locked eyes with him, ensuring every syllable sank in.
"And when I say 'Release,' you will forget all the events that transpired under my control. You will forget everything, including the memories of this contract."
A shiver ran through him. His eyes darkened as if he was searching for a loophole to exploit.
But I was already ahead of him.
"You will become my slave, Azazel," I said softly, the smile fading into something sharper. "And you won't even remember the chains that bind you."
I pressed the contract into his trembling hands.
"Do you accept?"
His voice was barely a whisper, broken but resolute.
"I… accept."
I smiled in delight, happy that I got what I wanted without much struggle.
From the start, my goal was to form a contract with Azazel. I didn't want to blindly force him to submit; if I did, he would lose his plot relevance, and worse…I might get exposed.
I had to find the perfect solution, one that no one would easily suspect. I would let Azazel willingly be himself, and all I have to say is Enchain, and he will follow my every word.
I just gained access to Grigori's valuable resources and information… something that would greatly help me accelerate my training.
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Author's Note:
Now I must clear some things. Nope Aleks is not acting like that for no reason. The encounter with that fallen angel in chapter 1 and his near death experience really messed him up. From that point, he wanted to get revenge on Azazel, and he finally got it.
As for Azazel shown weak here? I have my reasons. First he is a pacifist, second he is not really the strongest of the fallen angels. Most importantly, I used a psychological trick here to write his desperation.
In DXD LN it is shown that he made that artificial sacred gear with dedication and years of research, so naturally he must be proud of it and values it very much as it enhances his over all power level. Losing it was the trigger for everything to go wrong.
See you next time!