Issei lay in bed trying to sleep, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fall asleep. The thought of whether they had noticed his true identity kept swirling in his head.
"..."
(What are you thinking about that you can't sleep, Cheon?)
While Issei was unable to sleep, light emanated from his left hand, transforming into a red gauntlet. A majestic voice came from the green orb embedded in the hand part of the gauntlet, and Issei knew exactly who the voice belonged to.
"Old friend..."
(Could it be that you're worried that the Gremory girl or whatever you saw today noticed you're from the Heaven? If that's the case, it's a needless worry. You haven't used your angel powers once in four years; the aura of an angel is no longer felt from you.)
".....I know. But...."
(It's a needless worry. You're no longer a being of the Heavenly Realm..... although you were half-angel to begin with....)
"It's not about that..... I and you once saw that girl before!"
(!? Whhhh...what?! )
The voice that had been ringing in Issei's head seemed startled by his words. Issei muttered, "This won't do," opened his closet, and began to put on black clothes as dark as the night. Once dressed, he put on a hat, grabbed a black towel, and jumped out the window, landing safely. "What are you trying to do?!!"
"I'm going to check if she sensed my presence, or if someone else is in that room..."
"!! Stop it!! It's reckless. Even if you've mastered everything about the Red Dragon Emperor and earned the fear of fallen angels and devils as the Red Dragon King, that was when you led an army!! Now you're alone, and your opponent is the Gremory family, a noble family among the great nobles of the Underworld!! You don't even know how many there are, and you're wanted by angels, fallen angels, and devils! At least realize that and stop!!"
"It's too late."
Issei had already reached the front of the school, and he covered everything except his eyes with the black cloth he had brought. The Red Dragon Emperor on his left arm realized that trying to persuade Issei was pointless, and he advised him.
(..... If it gets dangerous, run away immediately. Avoid fighting as much as possible. If running away isn't possible, then I will use my power.)
"Hmph..... Why are you like this, old man? It's not like you at all."
(... This kid...)
"Okay, enough chitchat. Shall we have a match after a long time?"
(Is that your real intention!! I told you not to fight!!)
"Of course it's a joke. Why are you so excited?"
(...This damn kid...)
Regardless of what the Red Dragon said, Issei, with a stoic expression, quietly scaled the wall and began to approach the old teacher's building, making no sound with his footsteps.
Issei took a deep breath and dashed forward. The speed at which he ran was noticeably different from that of a normal human. He quickly started circling the school, and in the process, he found a part of the barrier that was quite weak. It was the window of the old teacher's office where Rias had seen Issei earlier that day. Moreover, judging from the faint light shining through, it seemed like someone was still inside.
'...Something's here.'
(A barrier. Looks like a Two-Second Barrier.)
'Two-Second Barrier? Never saw one of those. So... Rias Gremory is really here.'
(Do you even know what that is?)
'Touch it for two seconds, an alarm goes off. Right?'
(...Close enough. What's the plan?)
'Saying "I'm going" is the standard approach, but... if we fall into a trap, it'll be difficult to escape. Our goal is to eavesdrop on Rias's conversation. So... let's enter through the main gate, where the barrier is the fourth weakest.'
(?? Why not the student council room, where the barrier is the second weakest...)
'This is the territory of the Grimoire family.'
'The second weakest point... the student council room... that's probably a trap.'
(What's that?)
'Simply put, if the first method doesn't work, people go to the second.'
(!? Ah, so it's quite psychological. If you're alone and the enemies are at the weakest point, the only option is a surprise attack. Then, knowing there are enemies, they'll try to find the next weakest point, not the first.)
'That's right. But if there are devils inside, they'll be completely wiped out. It's a complete exploitation of psychology.'
Issei arrived at the door leading into the school. He took a deep breath, then ran and opened the door.
'One second.'
Then, quickly and silently, he closed the door and quickly moved away from it.
"...."
After a few seconds, the alarm didn't sound. Issei breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed.
'I'm alive....'
(So, what do I do now?)
'I have to get to the ceiling... !?'
Issei suddenly sensed someone coming and quickly jumped onto the indoor toilet. Soon, several student council members were walking towards the indoor toilet where Issei was.
'Gulp.'
"Strange. The barrier seemed to have been shaken..."
"Yeah. There's no sign of anyone entering."
"Did the barrier weaken?"
"I guess we have no choice. Should we patrol the area?"
"!?"
"Let's do that. In case there's an intruder."
They turned off their flashlights and began to thoroughly patrol the area around the door. Issei knew for sure from the fact that they turned off their flashlights to search for something. That they were devils....
'If they were normal humans..... they would have searched with their flashlights on.... The fact that they turned off their flashlights to search is conclusive evidence that these guys are devils. But judging by their slightly clumsy actions, it's likely they are devil servants.'
They patrolled the hallway of the slipper storage, but when Cheon came out, they finally tried to check on top of the slipper storage. When their hands started to become visible, the Red Dragon asked Issei as if testing him.
(What are you going to do, Cheon?)
'.....'
"If it's not there even now, it must be our imagination."
"We jump up when I say one, two, three?"
"One.... two.... three!"
The devil servants in human form jumped up simultaneously to look on top of the slipper storage. But…
"What? There's no one here?"
"Ara.... I was going to be cute to the intruder if one had come in....."
"Let's go report to our masters that there was no one here."
The devil servants, who had slightly hoped that someone had intruded, turned back with slightly disappointed faces when there was Cheon, and as they disappeared, the ceiling opened and Issei came down.
'Whew..... It was a close call.'
(If I had been even a little late, it would have been a disaster.)
'Ah.... Let's go quickly.'
Issei began to climb the stairs, and various traps were in front of him, but he skillfully avoided them and finally reached the door of the clubroom where Rias Gremory was. Inside the clubroom, voices could be heard, indicating someone was present. Issei sprayed himself with a spray that prevented devils from detecting him, then jumped onto the ceiling and entered the room. Inside were Rias Gremory, with her tall figure and crimson hair, Himejima Akeno, with a black ponytail and a figure that rivaled Rias Gremory's, Kiba Yuuto, the most popular male student in the school, and a white-haired girl who looked like an elementary school student.
'Not only Rias Gremory, but also Himejima-senpai, Kiba Yuuto, and even Koneko Toujou, a first-year with a loli body type, are devils. If the students knew this, it would be a shock in many ways, wouldn't it?'
(..... Even though you guys hardly show any facial expressions, your expressions right now seem like you're ecstatic. Am I mistaken?)
'More than that, let's listen to see if they're talking about me.'
(You're not getting worked up, are you!! Are you excited again?!)
'..... I'm not excited, so don't worry.'
Issei casually ignored the Red Dragon Emperor's words. He slowly pressed his ear to the ceiling to hear their voices. That's when it happened.
".... Intruder."
"!?"
'Bang!'
Startled, Issei hastily lifted his face, and at the same time, a fist pierced through the spot where Issei's cheek had been, accompanied by a voice that held almost no emotion, just like Issei's.
'!! I've been caught!!'
Issei frantically crawled out of the ceiling. Akeno, watching him, smiled with a troubled expression.
"Oh my~♡ An intruder."
Issei, who had been running down the second-floor hallway, entered a classroom and threw himself through the window, escaping to the playground. Then, yellow lightning bolts began to fall from the sky towards Issei.
Issei instantly accelerated his speed to avoid the lightning bolts. But he looked quite surprised.
'!! This power... It's the Queen, but something's different... It's not the power of a devil! What is she...?'
But it wasn't just Issei who was surprised. Rias, who was outside the window with her red hair flying, watching Issei's movements, had an admiring expression on her face.
"Oh... He dodged them all."
"Dodging all of Akeno's lightning bolts... He's incredibly fast. But..."
"I'll never let him escape!"
When Issei looked ahead, the blond-haired boy who had somehow already reached in front of him from the occult clubroom, was holding a sword, and behind him was the white-haired girl... Koneko.
'Fast. The chess piece that values speed is the Knight... Yuuto Kiba is the Knight.'
"Judging by their attire, they're assassins. Then there's no need to uphold chivalry. Let's go!! We have to stop them no matter what!! Koneko."
"... Yes."
"Yuuto's speed... Koneko's power... There's no way to escape."
Rias thought to herself. It wasn't just Rias. Souna Sitri, Rias's close friend and the student council president of the school Issei attends, who was watching the playground from the student council room, also expected that the assassin in front of her would be caught by Koneko and Yuuto. But Issei caught Kiba's sword with his hand, rotated, and struck Kiba's side with his other hand. Then, letting go of Kiba's hand, he grabbed Koneko's arm and threw her over his shoulder.
"!! No way...."
"..... That's not normal movement."
"Guh....."
Rias and Sona were quite surprised, and Akeno's expression was tense, with all traces of amusement gone. Meanwhile, Kiba, who had been hit by Issei's heavy fist, got up clutching his aching back, and Koneko also grabbed her aching arm.
'What? This guy.... He read all my moves?'
'.... His speed is great, but his strength is also tremendous.'
'A Knight and a Rook. Child's play… Knights have speed, and Rook have strength and defense.... I've fought devils like you guys more than once.....'
"I didn't come here to fight you guys.... So, I'm leaving."
Issei said that and was about to jump to climb over the wall when more yellow lightning started falling from the sky than before. Issei stopped from jumping and dodged in a zigzag pattern, and at the last moment, seeing the lightning falling in front of him, he quickly stepped back. Then, a barrier unfolded around the school, and seeing the barrier unfold, Issei, with everything but his eyes covered, turned around. Sona, who had created the barrier, and Akeno, who was preparing the next lightning strike.
'..... Even leaving is going to be tough.'
Issei turned. Sona was holding the barrier. Akeno was charging another attack.
'...Annoying. The Queen and the Bishop. At least there's no Pawn... But that Queen... Do I have to... no.'
"That speed... small bolts won't work, President. I'll end this in one blow." Akeno's hand crackled with terrifying power.
Issei ran for the gate. Akeno unleashed her attack, aiming for where he would be.
Issei leaped. Directly into the lightning.
'He went into it?! Akeno's full power... even a High-Class Devil would be killed by that!'
The lightning vanished. Rias and Akeno jumped from the window.
He was gone and the barrier was broken.
"...He escaped?"
"...He broke through my lightning and Sona's barrier... What a tough spy. Huh?"
Akeno bent down. Something was glittering on the scorched grass.
"...A pendant?"
…
...
"Hah... hah..."
Bzzzt.
"Ugh! Damn it...."
Meanwhile, Iseki, who had broken through the barrier and escaped, arrived home, threw away the tattered handkerchief covering his mouth, and collapsed forward. Perhaps because he had been hit directly by Akeno's lightning bolt, sparks were flying around his body.
(Be reckless, but only to a certain extent!! No matter how strong you are, that's a thing of the past!! You have a four year gap in your experience now!!)
"Hahaha.... Shut up, old man.... (bzzz) Ugh.... That girl.... It wasn't just ordinary lightning...(bzzz) Ugh.... Damn it... Sparks are still flying."
'Hahaha, that was dangerous. Come to think of it, was it just my imagination that she noticed my identity..... Then all the trouble I went through today was for nothing.'
"I'm tired.... I need to sleep."