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The afternoon sun bathed the streets of Kuoh's commercial district in a golden glow, marking the end of the school day. The sidewalks were packed with students, office workers, and families, creating a constant, lively murmur that felt intoxicating to someone who had spent most of her existence confined.
Asia Argento held a pair of paper bags with both hands, looking at the shop windows with wide eyes, amazed by the sheer number of colors, smells, and sounds. Beside her, Sylvie walked with firm steps, mentally reviewing a shopping list.
"Good, we already have the vegetables, the chicken, and the seasonings," Sylvie murmured, stopping near a small plaza with a central fountain. "I only need toasted soybean flour for the kinako bread. Kaiju has been in a terrible mood all morning because... well, because of the lack of sleep. I want to make him his favorite dessert for when we get back."
Asia nodded energetically, with a sweet smile. "I can go with you, Sylvie-san!"
"Don't worry, the shop is in that narrow alley and there are always too many people pushing around." Sylvie tucked a lock of blonde hair behind Asia's ear with a clearly protective attitude. "Stay here, sit on that bench by the fountain, and wait for me. I won't take more than five minutes."
Asia obeyed without complaint. She walked toward the wooden bench and sat down, leaving the bags beside her. Inside her personal bag, hidden between a small coin purse and a handkerchief, rested a peculiar object: a red-and-white metal sphere, about the size of an apple. That very morning, before leaving the tree house, Kaiju had given it to her with an expression of absolute seriousness, ordering her not to take it out or touch it unless her life was in imminent danger. She did not know what it contained, but the simple idea that the scarred boy cared so much about her safety gave her immense peace.
As she watched the fountain water fall rhythmically, a familiar voice pulled her from her thoughts.
"Asia?"
The nun looked up. In front of her, wearing a slightly wrinkled academy uniform and an expression of deep exhaustion, stood Hyoudou Issei.
"Ise-san!" Asia greeted, standing with a radiant smile.
The brown-haired boy took one step toward her, but immediately grimaced in pain. A lash of migraine pierced through his skull, and his skin seemed to burn slightly beneath the dense and immaculate sacred aura the girl naturally radiated. His demonic body, still weak and in the middle of adaptation, rejected the nun's purity with instinctive violence.
Even so, Issei clenched his teeth and forced himself to stay where he was.
"W-What a coincidence finding you here," the brown-haired boy managed to say, forcing a smile. "Are you alone? I thought Kaiju or Sylvie were always with you."
"Sylvie-san went to buy some ingredients. She'll be back in a minute," Asia answered, noticing the discomfort on the boy's face, though without understanding the biological cause behind it. "Are you all right, Ise-san? You look very pale."
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just... a little tired from the club," Issei lied, putting his hands in his pockets. He looked at the blonde girl, remembering Rias's warnings and Kaiju's own words about how lethal she was to him. But when he saw her smiling, surrounded by the evening light, any sense of self-preservation evaporated. "You look really happy, Asia. I'm glad Kaiju gave you a home."
The nun's face lit up even more, and a soft blush colored her cheeks. "Yes. Kaiju-san and Sylvie-san are the kindest people in the world. I finally feel like I have a family. I'm not afraid anymore."
Issei was going to answer, going to tell her he was also glad to see her safe, but the words died in his throat.
The temperature in the plaza plummeted. The murmur of the people around them seemed to muffle, as if someone had submerged the entire street underwater. The orange sky was abruptly darkened by an unnatural shadow descending from above.
A dry sound echoed against the asphalt.
Black feathers, like blades of obsidian, began to slowly fall around them.
Issei felt his heart stop. The primitive terror he had experienced on his first date resurfaced with paralyzing force. He slowly turned his head.
A few meters away from them, with her immense raven wings spread wide and a smile full of cruelty and arrogance, stood Raynare. The girl he had once known as Amano Yuuma wore her revealing black leather outfit, holding an incandescent spear of light in her right hand.
"What a touching reunion," the Fallen Angel purred, her sharp eyes fixing first on Issei and then on Asia. "I was wondering where the little excommunicated Saint had hidden herself. And to think I would find you chatting with the demonic trash I forgot to clean up."
Issei took a step back, clumsily placing himself between Raynare and Asia. His legs trembled uncontrollably, but his pride kept him from running away.
"L-Leave her alone, Raynare!" the brown-haired boy shouted, trying to summon the crimson gauntlet on his left arm, but fear and lack of concentration made the energy simply crackle and go out. "If you hurt her, President Rias will destroy you!"
Raynare released a shrill, icy laugh that echoed through the plaza. Curiously, the human passersby around them continued walking as if nothing were happening; the Fallen had raised an isolation field to avoid drawing the attention of the mundane world.
"Rias Gremory? Please. That spoiled girl wouldn't dare start an open war over a simple exiled nun and a useless Pawn," Raynare mocked, taking a step forward. Her gaze fixed on Asia, and her smile widened, revealing a sick greed. "I don't care about you, boy. I came for her. Her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, will be mine. With that power, I will rise through the ranks of Grigori, and no one will ever look down on me again."
Asia stepped back, clutching her bag against her chest. Her green eyes filled with tears. She had believed the nightmare was over, but the monsters from her past had found her.
"Run, Asia!" Issei shouted, throwing himself forward in a desperate attempt to tackle the Fallen Angel.
He did not even manage to touch her. Raynare simply moved her wrist with disdain. The handle of the spear of light struck Issei in the stomach with crushing force. The brown-haired boy spat saliva and flew backward, crashing into the stone base of the fountain. The air left his lungs, and his vision filled with black spots.
"Pathetic," Raynare spat, walking toward the terrified nun.
Asia looked at Issei writhing on the ground, injured because he had tried to defend her. The panic in her heart was replaced by crushing resignation. She knew that if she resisted, or if Sylvie arrived at that moment, Raynare would kill them all. Sacrifice was her only purpose.
"Ise-san... I'm so sorry," Asia whispered, letting her shoulders fall and taking one step toward the Fallen Angel. "I'll go with you. Please, don't hurt him anymore."
Raynare smiled in satisfaction. She roughly grabbed Asia by the arm, pulling her toward herself.
"Good girl. Let's spare ourselves the drama," the Fallen said.
With one powerful beat of her black wings, Raynare rose into the air, taking the nun with her. In a matter of seconds, both disappeared into the twilight sky, breaking the isolation field and returning the plaza to the usual noise of the street.
Issei, still coughing and clutching his stomach, tried to stand. In the distance, he heard Sylvie's voice calling Asia, running toward the fountain with a bag of flour in her hand.
The brown-haired boy did not wait for the gray-haired girl to arrive. Terror, guilt, and adrenaline born from the purest desperation took over his system. He had to warn them. He had to ask for help.
He struggled to his feet and began running at full speed toward Kuoh Academy, knowing perfectly well that the only force capable of dealing with this was not Rias Gremory... it was the monster who dictated the rules of the city.
The atmosphere in the Occult Research Club was exasperatingly normal until the double doors were thrown open with a blow so brutal it nearly tore them off their hinges.
Issei burst into the room, panting like a cornered animal, his uniform covered in dust and his face pale from lack of oxygen.
Rias Gremory rose from her desk instantly. Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko tensed, feeling the desperation in their companion's aura.
"Issei! What happened? Were you attacked?" Rias asked, quickly approaching him.
"They took her!" Issei shouted, falling to his knees in the center of the room, grabbing his head. "Raynare! The Fallen Angel who killed me! She appeared in the plaza and carried her away!"
"Calm down, Issei. Breathe. Who did they take?" Rias demanded, with an authority meant to center the boy's mind.
Issei lifted his face, tears of frustration sliding down his cheeks.
"Asia! They took Asia Argento!"
The silence that buried the room was colder than the ice of Cocytus.
Kiba Yuto released the grip of his sword, stepping back as if he had been struck physically. Akeno Himejima lost the color in her face, bringing a trembling hand to her lips. Koneko dropped her sweet onto the floor.
Rias Gremory was completely petrified. Her blue eyes widened, processing the apocalyptic magnitude of her Pawn's words.
They had not taken a simple nun. They had not taken a random human with a Sacred Gear. The Fallen Angel faction had just kidnapped, in broad daylight and within their territory, the protected one and new member of Kaiju Hano's family.
Kuoh's infinite-yield hydrogen bomb had just been switched on.
"Kiba..." Rias whispered, her voice trembling for the first time since she had assumed leadership of the club. "Call Sona. Tell her to evacuate the academy. Tell her... tell her the peace treaty has just been broken."
Less than five minutes later, the doors of the Student Council office were opened with the same brutality. Rias ran in, followed by her complete peerage and an Issei who could barely remain standing.
Sona Sitri was already standing behind her folding table, with Tsubaki at her side and Saji pale as wax in a corner. Kiba's call had been brief, but the panic in his tone had been enough for the Sitri heiress to activate every emergency protocol of her clan.
"Rias, tell me this is a joke. Tell me Grigori was not that stupid," Sona pleaded, losing every trace of her stoicism.
"Raynare took her from the plaza. Sylvie was with her, but they had separated for a moment," Rias confirmed, placing both hands on Sona's table, breathing hard. "Sona, if he finds out... if Kaiju discovers that we, the ones in charge of this territory, allowed a Fallen Angel to kidnap his adopted little sister right under our noses... he'll erase us from existence along with the entire city before going after them."
Tsubaki clenched her teeth. "We have to find her before he does. We have to storm the old church, massacre the Fallen, and return the girl to her home before he notices her absence. It's our only chance of surviving."
"It is already too late for that, Vice President."
The voice, deep, bored, and carrying a clear trace of sleepiness, did not come from the door. It came from the darkest corner of the office.
Every devil present jumped, instinctively summoning their auras and turning toward the source of the sound.
Lying at full length across the plush leather sofa he himself had claimed as his personal bed that same morning was Kaiju Hano. His right arm covered his one healthy eye to block the ceiling light, his uniform jacket used as an improvised blanket, and his expression showed infinite irritation at having been awakened.
The demonic endurance he had given Sylvie with the Lunar Mark had charged him a monumental physical bill during the night, leaving him completely drained. He had skipped classes to sleep, using Sona's office as his private sanctuary, completely ignoring faction politics.
Sona stepped back, bumping against her own table. Rias swallowed, feeling the air in the room become dense as mercury. The "Ghost" had been there the whole time. He had heard everything.
"K-Kaiju-san..." Rias stammered, taking one step forward and lowering her head in a bow of total submission. "I beg you to listen to us. We did not know about Raynare's incursion. We will mobilize all our forces at this very instant. We will recover Asia without a single scratch, I give you my word as the Gremory heiress..."
Kaiju let out a lazy snort. He moved his arm, opening his brown eye, and slowly sat up on the sofa. He rubbed the back of his neck, making it crack with a dry sound, and looked at the two terrified peerages with an indifference that bordered on insulting.
"You people make too much noise," the teenager complained, openly yawning. "And your tactical instinct is terrible. Do you really think I need a bunch of students with bat wings to go rescue my family?"
Issei, who was on the verge of tears from guilt, stepped forward. "But Kaiju, they took her! They're at the old church! That woman is insane, she's going to extract her Sacred Gear and kill her! We have to go now!"
Kaiju leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. There was no fury in his gaze. There was no red aura of Kaio-ken nor the destructive flash of Hakai. There was only absolute calm, dark and deeply disturbing.
"Don't worry about Asia," Kaiju said, his voice dropping into a rough and lethal tone. "If you want to worry about someone tonight, if you really want to feel pity... feel it for the idiots who made the mistake of taking her."
Sona frowned, completely bewildered. "What do you mean? Kaiju-san, the Fallen Angels have numbers and sacred barriers. If Asia is alone..."
"No member of my family is alone. Ever," Kaiju cut her off sharply, drawing a sharp, cold smile devoid of any human mercy.
The teenager stood from the sofa, settling the jacket over his shoulders. He looked at the ten devils watching him in dread.
"You think I'm dangerous because I can disintegrate matter or rewrite memory. You think I'm a monster." Kaiju released a small nasal laugh, shaking his head. "I'm a lazy guy, Sona. I'm a pacifist who only wants to sleep and eat carbohydrates. I'm a delicate flower... compared to the damn bad temper of the bodyguard Asia carries in her bag."
Rias and Sona exchanged a look of pure existential horror. There was something worse than him?
The inside of the abandoned church on the outskirts of Kuoh stank of dampness, dust, and corrupted energy. The wooden pews were rotten, the shattered stained-glass windows let in only thin threads of moonlight, and the central altar had been profaned with arcane symbols designed for one single purpose: the extraction of souls.
Raynare descended from the ceiling, throwing Asia Argento onto the cold stone floor with no delicacy whatsoever.
The nun let out a cry of pain upon impact. Her shopping bag slipped from her shoulder, spilling across the cracked tiles.
From the shadows of the temple columns emerged the other figures of the Grigori faction. Kalawarner, with her exuberant figure and dark wings, crossed her arms. Mittelt, the small Fallen with gothic lolita attire, let out a mocking giggle. And leaning against the altar, cleaning the barrel of his light pistol with a bloodstained handkerchief, was Freed Sellzen, who had miraculously survived his stratospheric flight courtesy of Kaiju.
"Well, well. So the traitor finally came home," Freed said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he walked toward her. "And to think that brat in shorts sent me on a trip through the skies. Too bad he isn't here to save you again, little sister."
Raynare walked toward the altar, looking at Asia with a mixture of disgust and triumph.
"Tie her to the center of the ritual," ordered the mission leader, spreading her wings. "I will extract Twilight Healing tonight. Her body will die in the process, but that is the price for betraying the light."
Asia curled up on the floor, trembling in terror. She looked at the Fallen Angels surrounding her, thirsty for her power. She was alone. She was in the deepest darkness.
Then she remembered the promise.
She remembered the brown eyes of the scarred boy. If you are ever in danger, if you feel the darkness cornering you... I promise you a miracle will happen.
Asia slid her trembling hand toward the things that had fallen from her bag. Her fingers brushed against the cold surface of the small red-and-white metal sphere. She gripped it tightly, closed her eyes, prayed not to the Church but to the boy who had given her a home, and pressed the small central button.
Click.
The sound was tiny, almost imperceptible.
But the effect was the beginning of the apocalypse.
The metal sphere snapped open. A flash of white light, pure and blinding, erupted from the floor of the church, illuminating the ruins with the intensity of a supernova.
Freed covered his eyes with a scream. Raynare, Kalawarner, and Mittelt stepped back by instinct, feeling the temperature of the place plummet, as if the atmosphere itself were being sucked away.
The white light expanded upward, taking a colossal, serpentine, overwhelming form.
CRAAAASH!
The roof of the abandoned church exploded into a thousand pieces. Centuries-old wooden beams, slate tiles, and solid stone were pulverized and launched hundreds of meters into the air. The building's structure could not contain the immensity of the creature that had just materialized.
Dust and debris fell like rain. When the cloud dispersed beneath the pale moonlight, the Fallen Angels stopped breathing.
Raynare fell to her knees, her legs giving out beneath the physical and spiritual pressure that crushed the gravity of the entire hill.
Before them, majestically coiled among the ruins of the temple and rising toward the night sky, was a titan no mythology of their world had ever documented. An immense serpentine dragon with emerald scales, crossed by patterns of yellow rings and red aerodynamic fins that cut through the wind.
The creature measured dozens of meters long. Its mere presence altered the weather; hurricane winds began to swirl around the hill, and the clouds above Kuoh began to rotate into a dark and stormy vortex.
Rayquaza, Lord of the Stratosphere, supreme predator of the skies, slowly lowered his colossal armored head. His immense yellow eyes, with black pupils sharp as spears and overflowing with the fury of storms themselves, fixed directly on the Fallen Angels.
Asia Argento, still on the ground, looked up. The emerald dragon did not emit any hostile sound toward her. In fact, the beast lowered its snout to just a few centimeters from the nun and released a soft, warm huff through its nostrils, caressing her blonde hair. Its instincts had immediately recognized the harmless and pure energy signature of its Creator's protected one.
Then Rayquaza lifted its gaze toward the black-winged creatures who had dared threaten its charge.
The dragon opened its enormous jaws, gathering a sphere of Hyper Beam energy so dense that the space around its mouth began to visually distort.
Mittelt let out a strangled whimper. Kalawarner dropped her spear of light. Freed Sellzen, the exorcist who laughed before death, simply went silent, his human brain unable to find a joke for the end of his days.
Raynare swallowed, staring at the atmospheric deity that was about to wipe them off the map. She understood, in that final and agonizing second, that diplomacy, Sacred Gears, and Grigori's plans no longer mattered at all.
They had kidnapped the wrong person. And the miracle Asia had summoned had not come to save her with mercy; it had come to eradicate them from the face of the Earth.