Bonus chapter.
...
"I am fine! Be careful of the bullets!" Issei grabbed his shoulder, his face contorted in pain. It was his first time being exposed to something holy, and it hurt like hell!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
More bullets came from the same direction, forcing Issei and Saji to duck behind a wall. The shots tore through it and whizzed past their faces. A burst of loud, mocking laughter followed. "Kyahaha! Devil-chan, where are you?"
"Devil, Devil
Clever Devil, Devil
How quickly they do sell their souls
For the feast, and the promise of gold
But Devil, that won't be me."
"Found you!"
With that grating voice, a man holding a gun and a sword sauntered carelessly into the building while humming a tune. His eyes soon caught sight of Saji's legs sticking out from behind the wall, and he immediately raised his gun and fired.
"Agh! My leg!" Saji's face contorted in pain as he clutched his wound and roared in agony.
"Saji! Damn it!" Issei grabbed him by the collar and pulled him farther back, asking worriedly, "How bad is it?"
"I'm not dead yet, but I don't think I can move with my leg like this." Saji forced a strained smile and pointed at his bloodied leg.
"I'll take him on. You look for a chance to use your Absorption Line," Issei said firmly, tapping his Boosted Gear.
[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]
[Dragon Shot!]
He crawled forward and aimed his hand at the man approaching them. A red beam shot from his palm toward the target, but just as it was about to hit, the man stepped back and twisted his body at an impossible angle, dodging the blast. His neck cracked in a disturbing way as he froze in that unnatural pose, staring straight at Issei. "Found you!" he said.
"Shit!" Issei cursed, creeped out by the weird guy. He walked closer, his teeth actually crackling, and asked, "Who are you? Why are you attacking us?"
"I didn't introduce myself? How rude of me! I am Freed Sellzen, the real Freed Sellzen! Not some fake! Call me the real Freed Sellzen, okay?" Freed Sellzen brandished a sword with a diamond-shaped gap running through it and licked the blade as he spoke. "I smell the stench of disgusting Devils, and I came to clean up the trash."
"As the real Freed Sellzen, I have to kill you all, okay? Go to hell, Devil-chan!" Freed laughed, his figure blurring as he suddenly appeared in front of Issei, slashing his sword down.
Clank!
"Damn you! Fuck off!" Issei slammed his gauntlet up to block the slash, then swung his other fist straight into the man's face.
Getting the Queen piece had enhanced Issei's speed and physical strength, so even when outpaced, he could still react and block the attacks.
"Hahaha! Oh, Devil-chan, that's dangerous!" Freed casually blocked the punch with his gun, then slashed again, moving even faster and striking dozens of times in a split second.
In the battle between Yusuke and Raynare, Freed was completely crushed by Yusuke and utterly killed.
When Valper Galilei discovered Freed had died, he stole several test tubes containing Sigurd's genetic patterns. After conducting experiments, he managed to create a clone of Freed. However, once the clone learned he was a copy, he became obsessed with proving he was the real Freed, insisting that the dead Freed had been the fake.
Naturally, Valper Galilei didn't care whether he was real or not. The most important thing was to cooperate with Kokabiel and get the Excalibur.
"Die! Die! Die!" Freed swung his sword faster and faster, his expression growing more insane. With Excalibur, his speed became astonishing, and Issei could barely keep up. Even a slight hit from the holy power would seriously injure him.
Clang!
Suddenly, just as Issei waited for Saji to find an opening, a figure appeared between them and stopped Freed's sword!
It was a blond, handsome man. Kiba glared at Freed and the sword in his hand, then smiled. "I will destroy you this time!" he declared.
"Another Devil? What's with those stares? Don't tell me you're in love with me?" Freed sneered, a nasty smile spreading across his face. He aimed his gun at Kiba and said, "Sorry, but I'm not into guys. Please go and die!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Kiba didn't dodge the bullets. He moved with godlike speed, slicing each of the three bullets in half. "I will kill you!"
"Ehh? Are you angry because I turned you down? Did your love turn into hatred?" Freed toyed with his gun as he spoke in his irritating voice.
"Yuuto Kiba!" Issei exclaimed, staring at the man before him. Why was this handsome guy, the same one he and his friends cursed about every day, here? Shouldn't he be off dating some good-looking onee-sans?
[Partner, he is a Devil,] Ddraig told him.
"Ehhh?! A Devil?!" Issei's eyes widened in shock.
Before he could make sense of what was happening, two new figures suddenly rushed into the building. "Found you!"
Irina and Xenovia, swords drawn, surrounded Freed. Xenovia glared at Kiba, her tone stern. "Rias Gremory's servant, what are you doing here?! I thought I told you not to interfere with our work."
"I am no longer Rias-Buchou's servant. I don't have to follow any of your orders," Kiba said, ignoring them completely as he charged at Freed, slashing his sword violently.
"Hyahaha! A scum Devil in his edgy phase!" Freed stepped back, dodging the attack, then turned and left the building. "Scum devils, see you later!"
"Stop! I won't allow it!" Kiba roared, rushing after him. He leaped into the air, swinging his sword at Freed's back.
"Khyahaha, you fell for it, stupid scum devil!" Suddenly, the moment Kiba landed on the ground, Freed flipped into the air and landed behind him. "I've got this!"
"This is the Holy Sword of Heavenly Flashes, called Excalibur Rapidly by others! But I call it the Super Fast Sword!"
Kiba spun around and blocked Excalibur.
The two clashed at blinding speed, exchanging blow after blow so fast that only flashes and afterimages marked their movements.
"Xenovia, what should we do?" Irina asked, staring at the fight from their position.
"Of course, we retrieve the Holy Sword. If any of them stand in our way, we kill them," Xenovia spoke calmly. She rushed forward, jumped into the air, and joined the fight.
"Wait for me! Ehh! Ise! What are you doing here?!" Irina stepped forward to join them, but when she saw Issei, her eyes widened in shock. "Ise, you actually became a lowly, despicable Devil!"
"You know me? Who are you?" Issei was surprised that this cute girl actually knew him and called him by name. He pointed at himself as he asked.
"It's me, Irina Shidou! Your childhood friend!" Irina spun around, spreading her arms. "I came back to Japan not long ago!"
"Irina Shidou? You're a girl?!!!" Issei's eyes widened as he yelled in astonishment and amazement.
What an unexpected and strange way to reunite with a childhood friend. More importantly, to think that the boy he used to play in the dirt with had actually turned out to be a girl, a cute girl at that.
This development felt like a cliché harem anime. Could this be his chance?
"That's rude!" Irina pouted and looked away. She had dressed like a boy before, but how dense was this man not to even recognize her gender?
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
On the other side, Xenovia, who had joined the fight, struggled to land a blow on Freed. He moved incredibly fast, and each time she swung her sword, the blast from the strike shook the surroundings, yet Kiba and Freed always dodged with ease. Now that Kiba was no longer attacking recklessly without evading, it had become even more difficult for her to land a hit on him.
"Irina, why are you just standing there?" She turned around and called out to her.
"Yes, I forgot to help! To think I would be distracted by you and forget my duty. Devils are sure insidious! May the lord incinerate you, Amen!" Irina lightly knocked her head cutely while staring at Issei. She gripped her sword and rushed into the battle to assist Xenovia.
"..." Issei stood there, speechless.
"Gotcha!" Suddenly, Saji appeared from behind a tree. On his hand was a cute but deformed lizard face. A line shot out from the lizard's mouth like a tongue and wrapped around Freed's leg.
He leaned against the tree, bracing his wounded leg, and pulled Freed toward him.
"What the heck is this?" Freed nearly stumbled to the ground as Kiba's sword flashed past his face, grazing his cheek. He tried to cut the tongue with his sword, but failed completely. Every strike passed through as if the tongue had no physical form.
"You can't escape this time!" Xenovia seized the chance. She leaped up and dove down, swinging her sword.
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted, engulfing all three of them, including Kiba.
"Excalibur Destruction? Nice try, busty tomboy, but my Excalibur is Excalibur Rapidly! In terms of speed, it won't lose to anything!" When the dust settled, Freed was revealed blocking Xenovia's attack. His sword vibrated, moving so fast it had become invisible. "You know, my other Excalibur can also move fast and hit hard. If you want, I can show you how it works later, Hyahahahaha!"
"How could a priest say something like that? How obscene!" Irina rushed forward to help Xenovia. Her katana transformed into a long rapier, piercing toward Freed from a distance.
"Being fast isn't something you should be proud of," Xenovia said, pressing forward with her sword, her expression full of disgust.
"What can a stupid virgin like you understand?! Being fast means I can rape as many women as I want in a short period of time," Freed sneered, his face twitching. He jumped back and spoke arrogantly, his tongue hanging out as he licked his lips in a disgusting manner.
"Die!" Kiba suddenly appeared at his side, two swords in hand, blocking his path.
"Annoying blondie, I told you I'm not gay!" Freed cursed, easily dodging the sword attacks. "...This is!? Shit! Are you absorbing my powers!?" Suddenly, as he moved, he felt his strength being drained by the line coiled around his leg.
"Heh! How's that! This is my Sacred Gear, Absorption Line! As long as this line is connected to you, your power will keep being absorbed by my Sacred Gear! Yeah! Until you lose consciousness!" Saji held onto the tree, a smug expression on his face. "This is the price for injuring my friend and me!"
"Dragon-type Sacred Gear, is it!? The most troublesome type." Freed hurriedly dodged the trio's attacks, trying to get rid of the line, but he failed. "Scary! Man, what a nuisance!"
"Sword Birth and two church warriors, heh," came another voice. When Kiba turned to look, he saw an old man dressed in priest robes standing there.
"Is it you, old man Valper?" Freed looked back and exclaimed.
"...Valper Galilei!" Kiba glared at the old man, his eyes filled with hatred.
"Valper Galilei!" Xenovia and Irina shouted together.
"I certainly am." The old man nodded faintly, then turned to Freed and asked, "Freed, what are you doing?"
"Old man! I can't run away because of this guy's weird lizard tongue!" Freed shouted as he retreated, taking advantage of the moment when the others had stopped attacking him.
Valper Galilei spoke to Freed in a somewhat dissatisfied tone. "You still can't use the holy sword perfectly yet. Use the element I gave you more wisely. Gather the holy element flowing through your body into the blade of the holy sword. With that, you should be able to cut it."
"Yeah, yeah!" Freed's holy sword began to gather auras, glowing brightly. "Like this! Horyah!"
Swoosh!
The line coiling around his legs was successfully cut this time. He turned to the others with a nasty grin and said, "I will be escaping now! The next time we meet will be the time of our ultimate battle!"
"I won't let you escape!" Xenovia rushed forward, her sword meeting his in a shower of sparks. She glared at both men and spat, "Freed Sellzen. Valper Galilei. Rebels. I will cut you both down in the name of God!"
"Don't be that serious. If you have any dissatisfaction, we can take it to bed!" Freed retreated toward Balba Galilei, taking out a glowing orb. "But not for today!"
He threw the orb to the ground. A blinding light flashed, and when it faded, Freed and Galilei were gone.
...
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