Freed's blade hovered above me, humming with desecrated light as he laughed maniacally. "Say goodbye, Devil-boy. I'll carve you open and nail your head next to that sinner over there—"
"Please stop!"
A familiar voice—clear, trembling, and filled with desperation—rang out from the hallway.
Freed froze mid-swing, the grin on his face twitching slightly. He slowly turned his head toward the sound, and so did I.
Standing there, near the doorway with her hands trembling and eyes wide with horror, was a girl I'd met only once before.
"Asia," I said softly.
The blonde-haired Sister stood in shock, her holy robes fluttering faintly in the stale breeze that crept in from the open door behind her.
"Well, well, well," Freed chirped with theatrical flair, lowering his blade just slightly. "If it isn't my sweet little assistant—Asia-tan! What happened, dear? Did you finish putting up the barrier outside like I asked?"
Her eyes weren't on him. They were locked on the corpse nailed to the wall. Her face paled instantly.
"N-Nooooooo!" she screamed, a hand covering her mouth in horror.
Freed chuckled darkly, waving his sword at the mutilated body like a game show host showing off a prize. "Thank you for the adorable scream! Oh yeah, that's your first time seeing a corpse like this, isn't it, Asia-chan? Drink it in. The artistic symmetry. The divine punishment. We make an example of humans who consort with Devils."
Her knees nearly buckled, tears welling up in her innocent green eyes. "N-No...this is wrong...this is evil!"
Then her gaze shifted to me, recognition blooming in her expression like a terrible revelation.
"...Father Freed... that person..."
Freed snorted. "That *thing* is a Devil. Trash. Filth. He probably whispered some sweet lies to make you think otherwise, huh? But I caught him red-handed!"
Asia's voice trembled. "...Ise-san is a... Devil...?"
Her voice cracked.
I could feel her confusion, her fear. She'd met me before. Back when I was just the "kind boy" who helped her find her way around the city. She didn't know then. She didn't suspect. Now, standing in this twisted room of death, the truth had cut her to the core.
"What, what?" Freed cackled. "You two know each other? Oh, now that's a juicy twist! Is this the forbidden love story between a Devil and a Sister?! Scandalous!"
He spun dramatically, his blade arcing through the air. "Asia-tan, you're part of the Church! Devils are our enemies! And we—us glorious rejects—serve the Fallen Angels now! You and I are both heretics, abandoned by God, clinging to His enemies for survival!"
I slowly stood up, ignoring the pain in my side.
"Asia," I said, my voice calm. "Now you know what kind of people you've been surrounded by. Freed isn't your ally. He's a killer. The people he follows abandoned your faith long ago. So I'll ask you, honestly... do you want to come with me?"
She stared at me, trembling. Her eyes darted between Freed and me, between the corpse and the stained cross on the wall.
Her lips parted to speak.
But before she could answer—
BOOM!
The front of the house exploded inward.
Splinters of wood and shards of glass scattered across the hallway as crimson light flooded into the home. The scent of ozone and otherworldly energy filled the air. Flames briefly licked the doorway before dispersing.
I turned toward the source—and my heart lifted.
A figure stepped through the haze of red energy. Her crimson hair flowed like a wave behind her, and her eyes burned with cold fury.
"Issei!"
"President," I breathed.
Rias Gremory.
Behind her, the rest of her peerage followed in perfect formation—Kiba with his sword already drawn, Akeno crackling with lethal lightning, and Koneko in a low stance, eyes sharp like a predator's.
Freed laughed, wide-eyed with glee. "Oh-ho! The Gremory heir herself! And she brought her little army!"
Kiba was the first to move, flashing forward with supernatural speed. "Get away from him!"
Freed parried just in time, their swords clashing in a flurry of steel and sparks.
While the others engaged Freed, Rias reached me. Her eyes scanned my wounds, fury rising. "Who did this?"
"I'm fine," I said, brushing dust from my shoulder. "But there's something else. The girl—Asia. She's... caught up in this."
Rias turned, her eyes narrowing as she saw the nun standing paralyzed near the door.
"She's a Church follower," Akeno said coldly, floating into the room with lightning dancing along her fingertips. "She helped erect the barrier."
"I didn't know!" Asia cried. "I didn't know they would kill people! I didn't know he would—!" Her eyes pleaded for understanding.
"She didn't do it willingly," I said. "She's being used."
But Rias frowned. "She's still a nun. A servant of the Church. She can't come with us, Issei. Only my peerage can use my magic circle."
Hearing that, I don't know what to say.
"I understand how you feel," Rias said softly, placing a hand on my arm, "but Devils taking in a Sister? The risks are too great. You are still new to our world. There are rules, even for me."
Asia looked between us, eyes wide and hurt blooming on her face like a fresh wound.
"Fallen Angel have entered the perimeter." Konoke said.
"Ise-san..." she whispered.
Then Freed, laughing and bleeding from a cut across his cheek, shouted across the chaos, "Aww, don't look so betrayed, Asia-chan! You're not welcome anywhere! Not with the Devils, not with the Church! But hey! I'll always have room for you. We're both fallen, remember?"
That was enough.
I stepped forward. "You're wrong, Freed."
I summoned my sacred Gear, letting it burn bright in my palm.
"She is welcome with me."
Freed snarled, but before he could charge, Koneko appeared beside him and landed a devastating punch to his stomach, launching him through the wall and into the street.
The battle spilled outside. And Rias magic circle activated.
Asia looked at me, tears in her eyes.
"Ise-san..."
"Just wait," I said. "I'll come back for you."
Ah, I should have take her with me, when I first meet her.
~~~
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