~ I have added this Fanfic to my Patreon. If you'd like to read advanced chapters, feel free to check it out!
~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +50 this weekend!
~ I've edited some of the previous chapters to remove anything you might consider "cringe" or "unnecessary." I'll continue reviewing them from time to time!
~ Very soon, we'll return to releasing two chapters daily, including bonus privileges for Power Stone contributions
<><><><><><><>
"You did not think that it was a coincidence that it was us who greeted you first after you were excommunicated, did you? Nothing is a coincidence. Azazel wanted to study your ability. He sent his underlings to retrieve you. He did not realize his underlings had long since become my underlings. The difference between us is that while he wanted merely to study your power, I wanted it for myself," the ivory fangs bared again, "You were meant to have died that day. The ones Azazel sent, I told to harvest your Sacred Gear and bring it to me. They failed."
Kokabiel reared back. Disgust ran down his features.
"The problem with lackeys is that sometimes they develop their own feelings. They grow attached. They become useless. The one I felt sure was most loyal to me became very much useless," the Fallen Angel shrugged, "Perhaps she pitied your plight. Perhaps she saw something within you that reminded her of herself. Whatever it was, she started protecting you, shielding you from harm in her own twisted way. And whenever I demanded the Sacred Gear, she would stall for time. Time and time again she would come up with excuses and wear down my already thin patience. It got to the point that I that had to send another to bring her into line."
"Freed," Asia whispered.
"Yes," Kokabiel grinned, "The problem with human lackeys is that they are even more susceptible to weakness. Mankind has been always vulnerable to their primal urges, and for a crazed exorcist, Freed had a great many."
"No…" the girl placed both hands over her mouth.
"He agreed to help her stall. For a price, of course. And what did she have to trade beside her own body?"
They looked shocked at that. Stunned. Sickened. Yet that seemed only to heighten their opponent's enjoyment. The Fallen Angel drank in their dismay like it was a fine wine.
"And when she could no longer come up with any excuses, she decided to try one last desperate method. She thought that if I could not have Twilight Healing, then perhaps I would be satisfied with another Sacred Gear, one that is even more powerful than yours," Asia shook her head vehemently, as though trying to deny the words being said, "A Longinus. One of the Thirteen. She believed if I could be sated with one of the most powerful weapons in existence, I would forget about Twilight Healing and in extension, spare your life. And so she killed him, hoping to retrieve the Sacred Gear that would preserve your existence. A life for a life. There is something delectably twisted about that, don't you think?"
The one the question was directed to couldn't form an immediate response. Kiba placed a steadying hand over the former priestess's shoulder, but even then it barely brought her from the brink. Kokabiel chuckled at the girl's near catatonic state his words had caused.
"She was wrong, by the way. I don't just want Twilight Healing. I want both. And after today, I will get them. They will be the consolation prizes along with all the other things that were denied to me," the Grigori smiled at them, "Do not worry. After I pry them from your broken corpses I will use them as they were intended to be used. For destruction and mayhem."
They took off at that. They recognized a superior foe when they saw one, and even the most hardheaded amongst them would not willingly tempt death. Irina and Xenovia retreated, leaping over heaps of rubble and crumbling ruins with superhuman swiftness. Tsubaki and Kiba lifted Asia between them and darted into the air.
Kokabiel watched them go with all the confidence of a predator observing cornered prey.
"Running will not save you," he rose slowly into the air. Light spears formed in the center of his palms, "The night is still young and I have plenty of time to make this place your tomb."
The explosion obliterated the building they had been sheltering in and hurled the two of them savagely through its remains. They landed hard, falling amidst pieces of shattered glass and broken cement. One of them managed to free himself, raising on his elbows and heaving himself from the debris that had nearly crushed him.
Issei coughed and looked back at the eviscerated husk that had once been a portion of Kuoh Academy with his one good eye. The other was a swollen, bruised mess, and caused him to hiss in pain whenever it tried to blink open. A sudden realization made him forget about the pain. The devil glanced worriedly around until he found what he was looking for.
"Saji!"
Sona's Pawn lay where he had fallen, face down amongst the wreckage. One of his arms was bent the wrong way, angled awkwardly at the elbow. Issei crawled to him, wincing as his own wounds were dragged along the glass-lined floor.
"Come on! Come on!"
<><><><><><><>
~ If you like the story, please leave a review!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power
Stones]
~ (Soon +50) Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Anshufanfic