Chapter 143 – He Crawled Forth from the Sacred Coffin
Aisha clutched her trembling hands to her chest, her gaze flitting between the merciless interrogation playing out and the horrifying realization blooming in her chest. She had thought herself summoned here by fate, perhaps divine will. Instead, she now saw the truth laid bare—it was all an elaborate trap.
The Fallen Angel before her, with cold eyes and calculating cruelty, had targeted her for the divine relic housed within her body. Not for her soul. Not for her choices. But for the artifact—a sacred tool known to grant healing powers—that now threatened to tear her life asunder.
"My superior... is Lord Azazel!" blurted Rinalie in desperation, seizing a fleeting moment while the ruthless human questioned her with an eerie smile. Her voice was brittle, shrill with urgency.
"Hmm?" The man tilted his head as if he hadn't heard her clearly, lips curved into a quiet smirk. His demeanor showed no fear, no hesitation. Rinalie's blood ran cold. She had seen many monsters in her time. This one didn't need claws to kill—his gaze alone chilled her to the marrow.
"I said… my superior is Lord Azazel!" she repeated, louder this time.
"Oh?" he replied, unimpressed, almost amused. It struck her that he genuinely might not recognize the name.
"Azazel is the Governor of the Fallen Angels. He leads their faction—surely you know who you've provoked." Rinalie's words hung in the air, tense with menace. But despite her warning, her heart thudded with the terrible truth: she'd acted without Azazel's blessing. Her attempts to steal the nun's artifact and present it to her superior—to gain his love and approval—had been her own reckless gamble.
"So that's it," the man murmured.
Rinalie froze. His eyes shifted. In that instant, she saw it—not anger, not curiosity, but death.
"I curse—" she began.
But her voice died with a sickening crack. Her neck snapped. Silence followed.
"Let's go, Aisha," the man said calmly, brushing past the corpse without a second glance.
"W-We're just leaving her… like that?" Aisha asked timidly, her voice quivering.
"She'll be taken care of," he said.
Right on cue, a rustle in the trees revealed a girl with crimson hair brighter than fresh blood. She stepped into the moonlight with practiced grace, amusement in her voice.
"You killed her even after she revealed her superior? You're either fearless—or tragically naïve."
She was Rias Gremory—senior at the private Kuoh Academy, head of the Occult Research Club, and heir to the mighty House of Gremory. The barrier she had erected around the forest had prevented any nearby humans from noticing the burst of spiritual power. Without it, chaos would've spread through the town.
Her eyes narrowed on the strange man. "You've caused quite the disturbance."
"Oh? So this world belongs to demons now?" he asked, voice laced with mockery. "If I commit a crime, must I be judged not by mankind's laws, but yours?"
Tension snapped taut around them. The air seemed to crackle with unspoken threats.
"We don't meddle in human affairs unless they threaten something greater," Rias replied coldly. "But someone like you... one misstep, and you could drag this entire city into a war between factions."
He bowed, surprisingly sincere. "If that's the case… then I apologize. I didn't realize my actions would cause so much trouble."
Her gaze softened. "Then I accept your apology."
And just like that, the mood eased. At least on the surface. Rias still watched him, wary. She hadn't forgotten that only one had died tonight—and that victim had been a student at her school.
Later, at the clubroom of the Occult Research Society, Rias formally introduced her team:
"Standing to my right—Kiba Yuuto. He plays the role of my Knight. To my left—Koneko Toujou. She is my Rook. And this elegant woman here—Akeno Himejima. She serves as my Queen."
No reason to hide their chess designations; those were easy enough to discover. Their true powers, however, remained closely guarded.
"And as for myself—Rias Gremory, heir of the Gremory Clan."
Aisha hesitated. Her voice came out barely a whisper. "I... I'm Aisha Argento. A nun."
The word seemed to shrink her, guilt woven into every syllable.
The man simply said, "Bai Yue."
Rias frowned. "That's it?"
"That's it."
"Well, all right then..." She sighed.
Akeno stepped forward, holding a slightly damaged folder. "President, I forgot to give you this earlier."
As she handed it over, the folder broke open. A single photo slipped out, fluttering down right in front of Bai Yue and Aisha.
"Ah—!" Aisha gasped instinctively, then froze when Bai Yue gave her a steady, eerily composed look. She clamped her mouth shut.
He had taught her one critical lesson: never reveal weakness. Never panic. Panic is how people uncover the truth.
Rias leaned in. "You recognize this photo, don't you, Miss Aisha?"
"I do not," she said quickly—too quickly. Her denial echoed with tension.
"Oh? You're sure?" Akeno asked teasingly.
Aisha bit her lip and remained silent. Too late—her earlier reaction had given them everything they needed.
She glanced once more at Bai Yue, whose expression remained unreadable. But something about his stillness only added to the pressure she felt.
"Do you recognize it, Mr. Bai Yue?"
"I do not."
"Well, that's reassuring," Rias mused. "This photo is connected to the Church. If true, it could stir up more than just rumors."
Aisha flinched, casting nervous glances at Bai Yue. Her body language told them more than any spoken confession.
Rias didn't press further. Not yet. She suspected Bai Yue held secrets—ones she didn't dare try to unravel tonight.
Hours later, the two were settled into a quiet inn nearby. The moon hung low. All was still.
Until Bai Yue's eyes snapped open.
He caught a glimpse of motion just outside the window—a fleeting shadow vanishing into the trees.
Without hesitation, he checked on Aisha. She was asleep, unharmed.
He smiled faintly. He understood their game.
And he decided to play along.
Within minutes, Bai Yue had vanished into the night, tracking the elusive intruder.
Moments later, a magic circle flared into existence inside their room. Crimson light pulsed with demonic energy—the Gremory crest glowing at its center.
Rias stepped into the room.
She had sent Akeno to lure Bai Yue away, hoping to seize this moment and find the truth. It had gone too smoothly, which unsettled her—but he was gone, and that was enough.
She turned her power upon Aisha, rousing her from sleep with a flicker of hypnotic force. The nun's eyes opened—empty, dazed, receptive.
"Aisha Argento. Have you seen the object in this photograph?"
"I've seen it."
"Do you know what it is?"
"I don't."
Rias's brow furrowed. That didn't make sense.
Aisha's earlier reaction proved she knew something. But now she claimed ignorance. Had Bai Yue placed a spell on her—to block memory? To protect her?
"This item is the Sacred Coffin," Rias said softly.
Aisha's expression shifted instantly. Her lips trembled. Eyes widened.
She knew.
But she hadn't known the object's name. She'd seen it—witnessed it—but didn't realize what she was looking at until now.
Her eyes grew clearer. She was fighting the hypnosis. Fighting to resist whatever spell Bai Yue had woven around her.
And then, with voice shaken and barely audible, she whispered:
"This… this can't be the Sacred Coffin. If it really is… then how did Bai Yue… crawl out from it?"