"We have to rescue Asia!" Issei intervened, unusually serious.
"Asia. She's that nun you met yesterday morning, right?" Rias recalled. "If she arrived in Kuoh yesterday morning and was taken away at night, also in Kuoh, then perhaps Lucifer really does operate only in Kuoh and is keeping watch over the high school" she analyzed.
"Then she must be somewhere around here, right?!" he asked hopefully.
"Issei, not only is there no reason to rescue someone from the Church's side, and now the fallen angels' side as well, but it is also most likely that she was not actually kidnapped.
Last time, when he took Hitori, there also seemed to be a hidden story behind it, and she wasn't actually against going with him.
And although I only met him briefly, Lucifer doesn't appear to be a tyrant, at least" Sona explained.
"Impossible. Asia told me about it. She was a saint in the Church because of her healing powers, but she was expelled after accidentally healing a demon.
And when she was abandoned with nothing, a church in Kuoh took her in and gave her a chance"
"Healing both people and demons? That is..." Rias recognized the effect.
"What is it?" Issei asked, as confused as always when it came to supernatural matters.
"Twilight Healing. Although it is not at the level of a Longinus, it is a high-level Sacred Gear, highly sought after because of its ability to heal all species with the same effect as sacred magic, something normally reserved for non-demonic species" Sona explained. "Besides, Azazel, the leader of Grigori, is known for his interest in Sacred Gears and experimentation.
Fallen angels don't have churches, Issei. Think about it. If they really just wanted to take her in, then why would they pretend to be a church to lure her in?"
"What do you mean?" Issei asked, confused.
"What Rias means is that it is most likely that the fallen angels' objective was simply to steal or experiment with her Sacred Gear" Akeno said.
"Most likely" Rias nodded.
"But since we have to investigate, that church you mentioned earlier is a good place to start. Kokabiel said they were only passing through, but I think there could be more behind it"
"Besides that, Asia, Hitori, and Kuroka are three points of interest that we should investigate as much as possible, especially Hitori, who seems to have had some special relationship with Lucifer"
"By the way, who is Kuroka? That winged Dracula said she is someone's older sister"
"Well... that..." Rias looked at Koneko, hesitating over whether to speak.
"She is my older sister" Koneko answered, surprising those who knew her story and how difficult it was for her to talk about it. "When we were little, she killed our master and became a fugitive. She is supposed to have gone insane because of Yoki, a natural energy that Yokai possess, and that is why the demons started a great hunt against all Yokai. I survived because Rias made me part of her peerage"
"Supposed to?" Issei asked, noticing the word.
"Yes. Yokai and Yoki have existed for millennia, and there has never been any record of something like that. Most likely, our master was a pervert who wanted to do something to her, so my sister killed him" Koneko replied.
"E-eh? Koneko? What are you saying?" Rias murmured nervously. "There is evidence that happened, you know? You don't believe in the evidence?"
"No" Koneko shook her head. "I believe in my sister"
"...I see" Rias nodded after a few seconds. "Although I don't know the truth, I'm glad you're making peace with your past.
As long as you're happy, I hope that if you're right, someday you can make peace with your older sister as well"
"Oh, and if you do, she could lead us to Lucifer, right?!" Issei said excitedly.
"I haven't seen my sister in years. I don't think I'll find her in less than a week" Koneko replied, as curt as always with Issei.
"That's true, but it is still another point from which to investigate. We have to do everything we can" Sona said.
None of them had any idea that by the following day, they would no longer need to search for anyone.
...
"Kaito, I expect another reward for making me work this much" Kuroka complained.
"Sure. Just help me this time and nothing more until a long time from now" Kaito agreed.
"Kaito, is it here?" Mashiro asked while floating on top of a white floating pillow that Kaito had given her.
"Yes" Kaito replied, looking ahead, where there appeared to be an ordinary suburban house. "Megumi followed him here. Apparently, this is his hidden laboratory"
"Should I destroy the whole thing?" Mashiro asked.
"We'll make noise later anyway, so it wouldn't matter, but there are multiple defenses, besides the fact that he has many subordinates. Use whichever method is most efficient for you"
"Understood" Mashiro nodded and raised a hand.
As if they were being produced by an automatic generator, small creatures thirty centimeters tall began appearing, made of mana. They wore small armor, carried a shield and a spear, and also had two small wings on their backs that allowed them to fly.
"Kill them all" Mashiro ordered them. The small army immediately charged toward the entrance of the house.
The noise did not take long to become noticeable, with various sounds of alarms, destroyed barriers, and people dying or fighting. Every now and then, an explosion livened up the atmosphere.
'What a monster. She creates artificial life as if it were nothing' Heekapoo's voice echoed inside Kaito.
Kaito laughed and advanced toward the house, with Mashiro and Kuroka following him.
The exterior structure was the only thing without any damage, because as soon as Kaito and the others entered, they saw the collapsed floor of the place, leading them to a basement several floors high and filled with multiple rooms. An entire secret base beneath a simple house.
With a jump, they reached the bottom, where they saw fallen angels and rogue exorcists being killed by Mashiro's flying army.
Most of them were simply low-ranking, so they died easily, if they were lucky taking an enemy down with them.
The mid-ranking ones were more difficult, but although the battle should have been even, the numerical difference made it easy. While one fallen angel fought against the small enemy, another came from behind and drove its spear into him, barely surviving only to discover that he was already surrounded and had no way to escape.
As for high-class ones, there were none.
This was a private army under Kokabiel's name, beings who knew of Kokabiel's intentions to restart the Great War. And nobody with enough strength would be foolish enough to want to die in a war.
Well, except for one. Although his objective was not actually to restart the Great War, the method Kokabiel wanted to use to do so happened to coincide with his own objectives.
There, in a large room far too big for the place they were in, Kokabiel easily destroyed all the small mana creatures in the room before turning to look at the newcomers.
"Kuroka" he said, stopping at the only one he recognized. "So you're the ones who attacked my subordinates earlier. How did you find me? Or why? Rather..."
"We made you come out of your hole and then followed you"
"They made me come out" Kokabiel frowned. "So that damn woman betrayed me. I'll kill her later"
"There won't be a later" Kuroka said with a smile as she took a stance to begin fighting.
"Oh, please. Do you seriously think you can defeat me? While I was fighting in the greatest war that has ever existed, most of your bloodline didn't even exist yet.
Do you think that just because you're also Supreme Level, we're on the same level?" Kokabiel said mockingly.
"You fought a lot" Mashiro suddenly said, drawing Kokabiel's attention. "Aren't you tired?"
"Me, tired?" Kokabiel muttered in confusion. "Maybe a little... No. What did you do?"
Nobody answered. Kuroka had already appeared behind him with her entire body reinforced several times over.
Kokabiel did not take her seriously. He simply raised his hand, forming several sacred spears and throwing them toward her.
Kuroka dodged them all with ease as she moved with the agility of a cat, which made Kokabiel notice that something was wrong.
"My power, is it weaker? How?" he muttered incredulously, but still not too concerned.
"Don't get distracted!" Kuroka told him, appearing behind him and delivering a slash that wounded his wings.
"Aaarghh!" Kokabiel groaned in pain before deciding to get serious.
He quickly turned around and grabbed the cat girl's neck, slamming her into the ground with all his strength.
But Kuroka only smiled before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.
Within the cloud of smoke, Kuroka's voice echoed from all directions.
"Where am I?"
"Am I here?"
"Here?"
"Here?"
"Or maybe here?"
"Or maybe everywhere" they all said at once as five different Kurokas surrounded Kokabiel and struck him from all sides.
"Useless tricks" the fallen angel sneered disdainfully.
Kokabiel conjured a ball of sacred energy that fired five rays at all of them, piercing them all before they disappeared.
Suddenly, without Kokabiel noticing, his shadow spread out and Kuroka emerged from it.
"It wasn't any of them" she said right next to his ear. As soon as he turned around, she scratched his face, leaving a claw wound that made him bleed.
"Damn you, you dared?!" Kokabiel rose into the air to try to evade her while roaring in anger, but he soon realized that something was wrong. His flight speed and reactions seemed slower.
Not only that, but he seemed to be slowing down more as time passed.
'Aren't you tired?'
Suddenly, he remembered Mashiro's words and knew that it had to have something to do with them. He searched and quickly found the expressionless girl on the ground, deciding to attack her directly.
He forcefully flapped his eight black wings and flew toward the girl.
Seeing this, Mashiro conjured a small ball of fire in her hand.
Kokabiel laughed. He could not feel any power coming from that fireball.
However, when he was about to reach her, he stopped, not because he wanted to, but because he could not. Only ten centimeters away from the girl, he had become completely powerless, unable to move forward.
Looking back, he realized the reason. The enormous space and his proximity to the fireball had created a huge shadow behind him, from which dozens of shadowy chains emerged, holding him in the air and preventing him from advancing.
Suddenly, all the chains began moving at tremendous speed, transforming into a single one in Kuroka's hands. She pulled it with force, slamming him into the wall.
Boom!
It did not stop there. Kuroka continued moving the chain from side to side, slamming him against the ground again and again.
Finally, Kokabiel managed to resist and flew as high as possible, pulling himself along the chain and drawing the cat girl toward him with several attacks prepared to receive her.
But when he was about to touch her, both the girl and the chain disappeared into mist, confusing Kokabiel.
His gaze quickly swept across the area, and he finally discovered Kuroka's location thanks to the shadow in front of him cast by a candle. He tried to turn around quickly to avoid it, but it was already too late.
Crack!
The sound of something breaking echoed through the enormous room as Kokabiel's two upper wings bent downward unnaturally.
"Arghhh! Damn you, die, die, die! How dare you attack the symbol of an angel's nobility?!" Kokabiel roared in pain before simply beginning to conjure attacks recklessly and throwing them everywhere, hoping to hit Kuroka.
But it was already too late. After spending so much time under the domain of Mashiro's Sloth, Kokabiel's attacks were already comparable to those of a High Level demon or a six-winged angel. To Kuroka, they were as slow as if a child were throwing a ball at her, and she dodged them agilely while continuing to attack.
With Kokabiel weakened, there was no longer any need for techniques with Yoki. Using only her body enhanced by it, she began beating him with force, leaving the fallen angel in a miserable state.
______________________________________
I have a new fic about Syndrome in Marvel. Go check it out if you're interested.
Name: Marvel: Creating a World Where Everyone Is Super.
(Don't worry, this message will only be here for one month and then disappear)
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)