School had already ended for the day, and most of the students were drifting toward the gates in scattered groups.
Sho waited outside the Occult Research Club building, leaning lightly against the wall as he glanced around for Asia.
Before long, she appeared with Koneko beside her.
"Sho-san!" Asia waved cheerfully as they approached.
Sho smiled. "So? Did you like the school?"
"Yes! But… the studying is really hard," Asia admitted, her shoulders dropping a little. "I couldn't understand a single thing."
"But Koneko helped me," she added quickly, brightening again. "She even asked me to study with her."
"Oh? That's great then." Sho nodded approvingly. "And thank you, Koneko, for helping Asia."
Koneko gave a simple nod in response and basically ignoring him.
In truth, Koneko was helping Asia because Rias had told her to. Normally, something like this wouldn't interest her at all. But after spending a bit of time with Asia, she could see the girl was genuinely innocent and straightforward. Helping her a little wasn't difficult.
Sho, however, was another story.
To Koneko, he was still an outsider—someone who practically didn't exist in her world.
Without saying a word, she turned and walked off.
Asia watched her go, then looked at Sho with a faint worry in her eyes. "Sho-san, don't think Koneko is rude. She's just quiet and shy. At first, she didn't talk to me either, but later she helped me a lot during class."
Asia had even asked Koneko about Sho—how they met, what she thought of him.
And Koneko's answer had been simple and blunt:
Sho sells good ice cream.
Yes. That was it.
In Koneko's eyes, Sho was nothing more than an ice-cream seller.
.....
After Koneko disappeared into the Occult Research Club building, Sho and Asia left the school together.
On the way, Sho stopped by a small shop and bought two packets of chips. The two of them walked while munching on them—especially Asia, who had never tasted anything like that before. The flavor hit her tongue like something from another world.
A silly thought crossed her mind: Maybe these chips could replace the holy bread back at the church.
Crunchier, tastier, far more flavorful… far better than the bland bread she used to eat.
Eventually, they reached the warehouse. But before Asia could step inside, Sho held out his hand to stop her.
He noticed the cracks along the door…and the faint trace of lingering magic.
"Asia, go in from the back door and head straight to your room," Sho said quietly.
Asia could tell something had happened, but she didn't question him and went around as instructed.
Sho pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Chaos.
Scattered things everywhere.
And Goro, Jiro, and Taro were cleaning up in a hurry.
When they noticed Sho enter, all three froze and immediately rushed toward him.
"What happened here?" Sho asked.
"Boss… Freed ran away," Goro said, looking crushed with disappointment, clearly blaming himself for letting the escape happen.
"He was tied up. How did he manage to escape?" Sho demanded.
Goro took a breath and explained:
Goro, Taro, and Jiro had been working when suddenly five priests burst into the warehouse and began sprinkling holy water everywhere like npc.
Then they started walking straight toward the storeroom where Freed was tied and imprisoned. Before they could reach it, the three intervened and blocked their path, telling them to leave.
But the priests suddenly jumped like ninjas—moving fast, performing kung-fu-like moves—and a fight broke out.
It went on for thirty minutes. They were evenly matched, each side pushing the other back.
Just when the fight was reaching its conclusion, the priests threw down a smoke bomb and vanished in dust.
When the smoke cleared and they checked the storeroom, Freed was already gone.
Only the tied-up blackmailer remained.
As Sho listened to the story, everything clicked into place.
Those "priests" were probably Freed's own team, coming to break him out.
But one thing bothered Sho—how did they even find this place?
Still, that wasn't what annoyed him the most.
What really pissed him off was the warehouse itself.
Every damn time, someone showed up and turned the place into a battlefield.
Furniture broken, walls cracked, things scattered everywhere.
I should just change the warehouse location… and maybe get Asia a room near the school, far away from all this bullshit, he thought.
"You guys weren't hurt, were you?" Sho finally asked.
"No, boss, we're fine," Goro replied. "But… Baka is missing since morning. I saw him early morning today, but now he's nowhere to be found. He's not even picking up his calls. Maybe those guys have something to do with it."
Goro's fists tightened. Just the thought of someone targeting Baka made his blood boil.
Baka was like a little brother to him. If anyone laid a hand on him, they were as good as dead.
"Ah, Baka? He's on a trip," Sho said casually.
Relief instantly washed over Goro's face.
"So he's not missing?"
"No. He'll be back in four days," Sho said.
But inside Goro he fumed with anger as he thought That bastard didn't even bother telling us he was going on a trip.
After helping them clean up a little, Sho gave out instructions.
They needed to change the warehouse location. Immediately.
"And also find a room near Kuoh Academy for Asia," Sho added. "If there's no room available, then just buy whatever apartment or house is close by."
He paused.
Then shook his head.
"Forget that. Just buy a piece of land and build a villa. The Underworld construction companies can finish an entire apartment in one night, so a villa won't take long."
Goro, Jiro, and Taro nodded, taking the order seriously.
Once everything was cleaned to a somewhat acceptable level, Sho stepped outside the warehouse, ready to head home.
Just then—
> Mission Assigned
Your prisoner escaped. This is a stain on your reputation. Find Freed back.
Reward: 10 Gacha Tickets
Sho blinked.
'Oh? Ten tickets? That's actually a pretty high reward… I already have around twenty-one. With this, I'll have thirty-one tickets total. That's thirty rolls—my chances of pulling something good definitely go up.'
He tapped his fingers against his thigh as he walked.
'And according to Rias, the church members roaming around lately were probably the same ones who freed Freed Sellzen. That means they're still somewhere nearby.'
Even so, Sho decided not to rush.
He headed home first. Searching for Freed at night would be easier anyway.
The sun's last orange rays stretched across the sky, brushing against Sho as he walked toward his house, his shadow long behind him.
.....
Midnight hung high in the sky, its pale light spilling over Kuoh Town in a soft silver glow.
Sho hovered quietly above the clouds, floating in his "Superman mode," the faint hum of blue and red sparks crackling around him.
His eyes were closed.
All his focus was on his super-hearing.
Layer by layer, he stretched his senses across the entire town—picking up footsteps, whispers, late-night conversations… from harmless gossip to moans behind closed doors.
Slowly, he was getting better at it.
Filtering noise, isolating voices, sharpening the important ones with each focus his control grew stronger.
And then he caught a voice.
A familiar one.
A male voice complained, irritated:
"Sigh… seriously, are we gonna live in this shit hole? No light, no bed—there's not even anything to sit on."
Another voice responded, calm but cautious:
"Father Freed, please understand. We're in devil territory. We have to stay low. This underground basement under the shrine… no devil would ever guess we're hiding here."
Freed scoffed, filled with disgust.
"Scared of those filthy creatures? All you need to do is stab them with a holy sword and listen to their screams. It's bliss to the ears."
The other man quickly corrected him, alarmed:
"But Archbishop Vlaper told us to stay low. Please, follow the order. Don't cause any scene that would alert the devils."
"Fine… but I won't leave that kid alone," Freed muttered, his voice dark with hatred. "That bastard dared to beat me up and lock me away. Just wait… I'll find his family and torture them until they die."
"Father Freed, I just said we need to stay low," one of the priests reminded him nervously.
"Shhh." Freed held up a hand. "He's just a human. I can deal with him alone. You guys don't need to get involved."
"Fine," the priest said, giving in. "But if you get caught again, we're not saving you."
Freed immediately grabbed his collar and yanked him forward.
"You think you did me a favor by saving me?" he hissed. "I could've escaped anytime I wanted. I just didn't bother because it was amusing."
He shoved the priest back and relaxed slightly, a sick grin spreading across his face.
"That kid doesn't even know… I got a lot of important information about him. Just wait—let's see how he reacts when someone close to him is covered in blood."
The information Freed Sellzen had gathered came from the blackmailer who was basically his neighbor similar to him tied and locked up—the same man who had blackmailed Aunt Cass. Freed had questioned him, asked about his story how he got caught, and from that conversation Freed concluded that Sho had some sort of connection with the woman —Aunt Cass.
And if she knew Sho personally… then she probably knew his family information too.
Freed already had her address which he got from the blackmailer.
All he needed to do now was visit her.
And have a talk.
A very painful talk.
.....
Sho heard every word.
His jaw clenched so hard his teeth ground against each other, a low growl rising from his throat.
His eyes snapped open — blazing with fury — and his aura erupted outward, flaring like a Phenex's flames… except his were a violent mix of red and electric blue.
A sonic boom cracked the sky as Sho tore through the clouds, ripping them apart in a single burst of speed.
He flew straight toward the source of the voices — an old, abandoned shrine on the edge of town, isolated by trees and far from any crowds.
In less than a second, he crashed down.
The shrine didn't just break — it disintegrated, exploding into dust and splinters. The ground cratered beneath him, a massive impact hole spreading outward like a meteor strike.
At the same moment, a shining barrier flickered to life, forming over the entire area.
Down below, in the underground basement the priests were hiding in, everything happened too fast.
One moment they were resting.
The next, the entire underground room violently shook apart.
Walls cracked.
Stones rained down.
Dust filled the air.
"The hell—what happened?! Is it an earthquake?!"
"I heard Japan has a lot of earthquakes—"
" Could it be somebody launched a mushroom "
"Shut up, idiots! Help me first!" Freed yelled, furious and half-suffocating.
His entire body was buried under rubble and mud, only his head and one arm barely sticking out.
He gasped for air, struggling. The priests scrambled, confused and terrified, as the underground hideout collapsed around them.
Outside, above the shattered remains of the shrine, Sho floated in the air. Dust swirled beneath him as he listened to every word the priests spoke—every cough, every grunt, every frantic attempt to dig each other out.
He had heard everything.
And the rage simmering inside him hadn't calmed at all.
Sho could have crashed directly on top of them.
If he had landed even a few meters closer, the impact alone would've crushed them—injured them, maybe even killed them instantly.
But he chose not to.
They should know who killed them.
Sho slowly descended, the red-blue energy of his aura flickering around him as he stepped onto the broken ground. He walked straight into the dust-filled crater, toward the collapsed underground space where the five church members—including Freed—were buried and scrambling to escape.
Down in the shattered basement, the priests were coughing, groping blindly through the dust. Everything around them was broken beyond recognition.
"Can you see anything?"
"No—there's too much dust—"
Then they froze.
Footsteps.
Slow, steady, echoing off the rubble.
They turned toward the sound, peering through the haze.
And then they saw it—saw him.
A glowing figure emerging from the dust, his outline human yet eerily illuminated, the shape distorted by the swirling debris. For a moment, in the thick haze, it looked like a headless figure approaching them.
Sho's "suit" was pure energy, shaped like a Superman suit, and in the darkness it glowed even more fiercely—especially now, fueled by rage.
The priests' eyes widened, clearly on gaurd
Something was coming.
And they knew it was an enemy.
The priests finally managed to free themselves from debris around them enough to stand, each pulling out their light blades. Their hands trembled, but they forced themselves into a defensive stance as the "headless" glowing figure approached through the thick dust.
Then—two red points snapped open.
Eyes.
Glowing, burning red.
So bright it made them jerk back in fear, as if merely looking at them might scorch their eyes.
Sho inhaled sharply through his mouth.
Then exhaled.
A powerful gust blasted out in front of him, sweeping the dust away instantly. The priests covered their faces, stumbling as the sudden wind hit them. The strange part was how fresh the wind felt—almost like breathing in sharp mint.
The dust cleared.
And priests eyes widened.
There he stood—Sho—fully revealed in his luminous, energy-forged suit. A bright blue glow surrounded with a red S symbol on his chest, and the red cape behind him rippled slightly dramatically in the fading wind.
"Who the hell are you?!" one priest shouted, pointing his blade. "Are you the one who did all this?!"
Sho didn't answer.
He didn't even move.
He simply turned his head slightly toward the man.
The glow around his eyes brightened—sharper, more violent.
A flash of red cut through the air in single blink.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
The priest who had shouted continued yelling, demanding answers, completely unaware. But the other priests stared at him with horror-stricken faces, frozen in shock.
"What?" the priest barked. "What are you looking at?!"
He turned, but their eyes weren't on his face.
They were looking lower.
Confused, he tilted his gaze downward.
And froze.
There was a hole in his chest.
A clean, round hole—right where his heart, lungs, and ribs should've been. Nothing remained inside. There wasn't even blood to pour out as the skin was charred. His body hadn't registered the pain at all; the attack had been too fast.
"Ho…w…" he whispered, the last word rasping out of his throat.
His legs gave out.
He collapsed onto the rubble.
Dead before he hit the ground.
...