I want to thank Hunter1 for joining my Patreon. I would have liked to upload a chapter of the fic he follows, but since I don't know how, all I can do is thank him through this spam.
Okay, I used the first line so you can read it. If it's not too much trouble, could you go to my Patreon and donate for my breakfast? It's not an obligation, and I won't stop uploading; I'm just asking for a little help. Obviously, the Patreon is about five chapters ahead. Please be kind. Support this poor soul.
https://www.patreon.com/c/Panoli
-------
Issei's perspective.
"Aaaah, yeah, yeah, I'm just a weak Pawn. I don't have anything good, so can I really have a Noble Title…? What do you think, Demon King-sama? Well, it's probably useless to discuss this with Demon King-sama anyway."
I laugh bitterly at myself.
I'm going to have a goal. That's it.
First of all, my goal will be to use the magic circle to teleport.
That will be my first step. Yes, that's it. Yep! I'm getting fired up.
The time for crying is over. I became a Devil. That can't be changed.
So I'll have to live as a Devil. And I'll make my dream come true as a Devil.
Even if I can't, I'll work hard to achieve it. That will be my goal in life.
Yes! I can do it! I'm going to do it!
....
It's late at night, and I'm riding my bicycle toward a certain house.
Not a mansion or an apartment, just an ordinary house.
This is my first time. What should I do?
Since the client doesn't live alone, won't the family see me?
After all, I actually have to visit the house to make the contract. I was told before that ordinary humans can't detect me, but does that apply to this situation too?
I'm worried, but I notice something just as I'm about to ring the doorbell.
The front door is open.
...Really, leaving the door open in the middle of the night.
THUMP.
Suddenly, I feel uneasy. What is this? I have a very bad feeling.
But I'm already walking into the house.
I look inside from the entrance.
There are no lights in the hallway. There's a staircase leading to the second floor, but no lights are on.
There's only one room at the end of the first floor with some lights on, a dim light.
...Yeah, something is definitely wrong. I don't feel the presence of any humans.
Are they sleeping? Impossible. If not, I wouldn't feel this uneasiness.
I take off my shoes at the entrance and carry them in my hand.
I walk into the room without making any sound.
I'm a Devil, not a thief. I'm thinking of an excuse like that.
I look inside the room through the slightly open door, and it's lit by candles.
"...Hello. I'm a Devil from the House of Gremory... Umm, is the client here?"
I ask calmly, but there's no answer.
It can't be helped, so I enter the room.
It's the living room, and there's a television, a sofa, a table, and so on. It looks like an ordinary living room.
Then I stop breathing. My eyes are glued to the wall.
A wall. There's a body nailed to the wall. It's upside down.
...A human. It's a man. Is he the person who lives here? But why...?
The corpse has been viciously cut. Something that looks like entrails is spilling out of the wounds...
...
"Gough."
I vomited what was in my stomach right there.
I didn't vomit when I saw that monster, but my body reacted when I saw the corpse.
I can't keep looking at the corpse anymore.
The corpse is nailed to the wall with screws, forming the shape of an upside-down cross.
There are large, thick screws driven into both palms, feet, and the middle of the torso.
This isn't normal. This isn't normal at all!
You can't kill a person like this with a normal mind!
There's a pool of blood on the floor from the drops falling from the corpse.
There's writing on the wall.
"W-What is this...?"
"It says, 'Punishment to those who did evil deeds!' I just borrowed the sentence from someone important."
Suddenly, a young man's voice came from behind me.
When I turned around, there was a man with white hair. He looks like a foreigner and seems to still be a teenager.
He's dressed like a priest. He's also a bishounen. Upon seeing me, the priest gives an evil smile.
"Hmm-hmm. Well, well, if it isn't a little Devil-chan!"
He seems really happy.
Then, what Buchou told me comes to mind.
"Don't get involved with people from the Church. Especially Exorcists. They are our greatest enemies. They can eliminate us easily because their power is supported by prayers to God."
He's a priest, so he's connected to the Church. This is bad...
He even knows I'm a Devil, so am I in the worst possible situation again?
"I'm a priest♪ A male priest♪ I cut people who look like demons, and I laughed at them♪ I cut off the heads of you Devils, and I got my food~♪"
The priest starts singing.
"I don't understand. What is wrong with this guy?"
"My name is Freed Zelzan. I belong to a certain Exorcist organization. Ah, just because I introduced myself doesn't mean you have to. I don't want to remember your name in my memory, so please don't. It's fine, since you're going to die soon. I'll make sure of it. It might hurt at first, but after that, you'll feel so good you'll cry. Now, let's open the new door—Ze!"
I've never met anyone like him before. His words make no sense.
So this guy is an Exorcist. I'm in trouble now.
But there's something I want to say to him. I swallow my saliva and ask him.
"Hey, was it you? The one who killed this person?"
"Yes, yes. I killed him. Because~, he was a habitual criminal who had been summoning Devils, so I had to kill him."
What kind of excuse is that?!
"Huh? Are you surprised? Are you not going to run? Isn't that weird? Really weird. I mean, humans who make pacts with Devils are trash. Trash indeed. Can't you understand that? No? Is that so? Well, you are Devil trash after all."
This guy is insane! You can't even have a normal conversation with him!
But I'll say what I have to say!
"How can you kill another human?! Aren't you only supposed to kill Devils?"
"Haaaaa? What the hell is that? A mere Devil like you lecturing me? Hahaha. I'll laugh at this. You could probably win an award for being funny. Fine then, listen carefully, you shitty Devil. Devils also use human greed to survive. Relying on a Devil proves you're no longer human. It's the end. That's why I killed him~. I make a living killing Devils and those who have contracts with Devils. That's my job."
"Even Devils wouldn't go that far!"
"Haa~~? What are you talking about? Devils are trash. Do you know you're shitty existences? Do you know that's common sense? You didn't know? Seriously, you should restart your life as a baby. Wait, it's useless saying this to a reincarnated Devil like you. Rather, I have to kill you! Hahaha. It's amazing, isn't it? It's the best, isn't it?"
The priest pulls out a sword without a blade and a gun.
BOOOM.
The sound vibrates through the air.
The sword that only has a hilt turns into something like a lightsaber.
What is that? It looks like a Gundam beam saber.
"Somehow, you irritate me, so can I cut you? Is that okay? It's okay. Now I'm going to stab your heart with this lightsaber and blow your head off with this cool gun! Man, I'm really going to fall in love!"
FAST!
The priest comes running toward me!
He tries to cut me with his lightsaber.
Oh shit!
I barely dodge it, but intense pain runs through my leg.
There's smoke coming out of the priest's gun. Did he shoot me?
But I didn't hear any gunshot. Then, suddenly, I feel another shot in my leg again.
"Guaaaah!"
I fall to my knees while groaning. This time, I was shot in my left calf!
It hurts! But I know this pain!
"How is it?! The special bullet made for Exorcists, the light bullet! And it doesn't make any sound. Since it's a bullet of light. This situation excites both of us, right?"
The pain of light. Yes, this is the pain of light.
For a Devil, light is toxic. Once hit, the pain runs through the whole body.
"Die, die, Devil! Die, Devil! Turn to dust and disappear! This is all for my entertainment!"
The priest is laughing madly and is about to finish me off.
"Please stop!"
Then I hear the voice of a woman I'm familiar with.
The priest stops just as he's about to attack me and looks in the direction the voice came from.
I also look in the same direction.
"!"
There's a girl, and I know her.
"Asia."
Yes, the blonde Sister is standing there.
"Look, if it isn't my assistant, Asia-chan. What's wrong? Did you finish setting up the barrier?"
"N-Noooooooo!"
Asia screams after seeing the corpse nailed to the wall.
"Thank you for your adorable scream! Oh yes, this is the first time you've seen a corpse like this, right, Asia-chan? Then look carefully. We humans, who are entranced by Devils, die like this."
"...N-No..."
She then looks at us and is stunned to see me.
"...Father Freed... that person..."
Asia looks directly at me.
"Person? No, no. This shit here is a devil. Hahaha, what are you not understanding?"
"!"
"Ise-san is a... Devil...?"
She seems shocked after learning the truth, and I don't know what to say.
"What, what? You guys know each other? Wow. Now this is a big surprise. Is it forbidden love between a Devil and a Sister? Seriously? Are you serious?"
Freed, the priest, looks at both of us, Asia and me.
...I didn't want her to know.
It should have stayed that way. It would have been better if she didn't know. I didn't plan to see her again.
I just wanted her to think of me as a high school student from this town.
Man, I don't know what to say. What rotten fate. Asia's eyes are making me feel terrible.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a Devil.
"Ahaha! Devils and humans can never coexist! Especially Church humans and Devils are the greatest enemies! Besides, we're a group of heretics abandoned by God. Asia-tan and I are humans who can't survive without the support of the Fallen Angels-sama."
Fallen Angel?
What does he mean? Don't priests and nuns work under God's orders?
"Well now, setting that aside, I need to kill this trash or I won't be able to finish my job, so here I go. Are you ready?"
The priest moves his sword toward me again.
If I get stabbed by that in the chest, I'll be dead... Even if I survive, I'll end up like the client nailed to the wall and have my body cut apart.
Fear takes hold of me when I think about it. This is bad. This situation is really bad. Where the hell is Kaiju when he's needed?!
I'll be killed without being able to move my body!
While I'm thinking that, the blonde Sister walks between the priest and me.
She stood in front of me with her arms spread as if protecting me.
The priest makes a severe face when he sees it.
"...Hey, hey. Are you serious? Asia-tan, do you know what you're doing?"
"...I know. Father Freed, I beg you. Please forgive this person. Please let him go."
I was left speechless after hearing her.
Asia? Are you protecting me?
"I can't stand it anymore... You can't kill people just because they're tied to a Devil, and you can't kill Devils either. It's wrong!"
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?! Don't talk shit, bitch! You also learned in the Church that Devils are trash! Seriously, is something wrong with your head?!"
Freed now has a distressed expression.
"There are good people, even among Devils!"
"They aren't, idioooooooot!"
"T-That's what I thought until recently... But Ise-san is a good person. That doesn't change even after learning he's a Devil! Killing someone is unforgivable! This kind of act...! God does not allow these acts!"
She saw the corpse and learned that I'm a Devil, so she should be shocked. But Asia doesn't back down as she tells the priest her beliefs.
What a strong character this girl has. This girl is amazing.
BAKI!
"Kyaa!"
That bastard priest strikes Asia to the side with his gun.
Asia falls to the floor.
"Hey, Asia!"
I go to Asia, who was knocked away by the blow.
...There's a bruise on her face. That bastard really hit her.
"...The Fallen Angel girl strongly told me I can't kill you. But I'm getting angry. Since I can't kill you, can I rape you or something? Otherwise, I won't be able to heal my heart. But before that, I need to kill that trash."
The priest points his lightsaber toward me again.
...I can't run away and leave Asia here.
I can't leave her here with him, who just talked about doing terrifying things!
If I'm going to escape, then it will be with Asia. So I have to fight...
Can I fight using my Sacred Gear?
I'm also the weakest Piece, a Pawn. I have a small chance of winning.
But I have to do it...
"I can't leave the girl who just defended me. So come!"
I made a fighting pose in front of the priest.
The priest whistles and looks really happy.
"Eh? Eh? Seriously? Seriously? You're going to face me? You're going to die, you know? You're going to die in a lot of pain! I have no intention of killing you painlessly, okay? Now then. Let's see if I can set a new record for the smallest piece of minced meat!"
He's talking about something terrifying again.
But I can't act pathetic in front of Asia, and Kaiju will definitely get angry if he sees me being this pathetic!
Shine!
Turning my gaze, I looked at the button that began to shine in Asia's hands. It was the button Kaiju had given her that day.
Then, in front of Asia, where there had been nothing, Kaiju's figure materialized. Except he was only wearing shorts.
"I told you a miracle would happen, Asia," Kaiju said, his voice incredibly soft and protective. "Though I would have liked it if you had done it at least during the day."
Then, slowly, Kaiju turned his gaze toward Freed Sellzen. The boy's eyes no longer showed boredom or morning laziness. His eyes were completely empty of emotion, cold and dark like the abyss of outer space itself.
"And you," Kaiju said, his voice losing all warmth, becoming so heavy that the house's windows began to crack from the sheer pressure. "You just interrupted my night with Sylvie. You're dead."