Shirou Shigen had gone missing—and it had already been a full week without any news of his whereabouts. No matter where they searched, they couldn't find a single trace. Even Sona had started to grow anxious.
"Where could he have gone?"
"Was the blow... really that serious?"
Yoru chuckled a little as he scratched the tip of his nose. Sitting across from him, Sona still maintained her usual strict expression. However, the subtle charm lingering in her brows couldn't be hidden no matter how hard she tried.
Ever since he had made this girl before him into a woman, Yoru's nights had been... indulgent. When it came to sex, demons really were quite open. Rias was one thing, but Sona—once she let herself go—gave him a whole new kind of pleasure.
The Power of Original Sin within Yoru's body truly did require regular release, but now he felt he may have overdone it a bit... Even his waist was starting to ache faintly.
If Rias ever found out, knowing her personality, she'd never let Sona beat her. If the two of them teamed up against him... he had a bad feeling about how that would end.
As he rubbed his chin, lost in thought, Sona spoke again.
"Yoru, where do you think Shirou might've gone? Could it be that he's already..."
She didn't finish the sentence, because deep down, she knew what it could mean.
"Lost himself, huh...? There's no need for you to blame yourself, Sona," Yoru said gently.
"To admire your master and harbor beautiful fantasies of them isn't a crime. Any normal man would have unrealistic dreams about someone as perfect as you. But a fantasy is still a fantasy. If he can't see his position clearly, if he refuses to accept being just a soldier... then eventually, he'll lose his way."
"And what about you? Aren't you a soldier too?"
Sona gave a slight laugh and shook her head, to which Yoru only smiled calmly.
"I'm different... I may be a soldier, but I'm destined to become a king."
His words were practically treasonous, but Sona didn't show even a hint of displeasure. On the contrary, the boldness in his voice shook her deeply.
Yes... my soldier—you will become a king.
"Sona, be careful these next few days. We don't know yet whether Shirou has really lost himself... but if he has—and he's gained power at any cost—then without a doubt, the first person he'll come for is you." Yoru's voice held a note of concern.
"Don't underestimate me. I am the sister of Leviathan, a Demon King. Did you really think I was just some pampered noble girl?" Sona dismissed his warning with confidence.
Still, a small hope lingered in her heart—maybe... Shirou hadn't lost himself. Maybe he had just gone somewhere no one could find him, to calm down and clear his head?
And maybe, once he came to his senses, he would return to her side and continue being her loyal knight.
◇
Because she had promised to help Asia at the church, Sona left school early that day.
Even though Asia now lived with Rias, she still insisted on cleaning the church every day. Ever since the priest there had died, she had taken it upon herself to maintain the place alone.
Even though she had become a devil, she clearly still held on to her faith.
Rias didn't know what to do about that. She hadn't tried to stop her, but she had reminded her to be careful.
After all, the church was God's domain. A devil coming and going too freely—sooner or later, something would happen.
"It's going to rain..." Yoru muttered as dark clouds gathered overhead on his way.
Thinking of Asia being alone in the church, he quickened his pace.
His school uniform from Kuoh Academy flapped in the wind as he walked through the downpour. The rain was so heavy it obscured everything—the sky was sealed off, visibility reduced to just a few meters ahead.
Yet despite the torrential downpour, not a single drop soaked Yoru's body. All the rain that came close to him froze instantly, dropping like crystals, then melting back into water on the ground.
The streets were naturally empty. And Yoru was walking on an isolated path leading to the church on the outskirts of town.
Splatter.
A sound different from the rain suddenly echoed.
A priest appeared before Yoru—wearing a silver cross over his chest, speaking the hateful name of God.
Blood leaked from the priest's abdomen. He spat out a mouthful of it and collapsed instantly.
Creak. Creak. The sound of something chewing echoed in the rain, grotesque and wet.
Yoru frowned slightly. The sound was sickening.
Blood flowed freely on the ground. The priest's body was slowly dragged by an unseen shadow within the rain and disappeared from view.
The priest... was eaten by something.
Hehehehehe... A bone-chilling laugh echoed from beyond the curtain of rain. The atmosphere turned eerie, filled with a killing intent so thick it nearly stung.
Yoru's eyes lowered slightly as he gave a silent laugh.
"What are you expecting? That I'll show you a terrified face... Shirou Shigen?"
As he spoke, the laughter from the rain stopped abruptly—like it had been strangled out of existence.
"Heh... hehehe. Much calmer than I imagined. I guess if you were running around in fear, this would be no fun."
A raspy, distorted voice replied. Then a black figure slowly approached Yoru.
It no longer resembled the familiar youthful tone of Shirou's voice—his vocal cords seemed torn apart, the sound grinding like sandpaper.
"I thought after gaining this power, you'd run back to Sona just to flaunt it. But instead, you curled up in a hole like a stray dog. Then again, with how hideous you look now, what face would you use to face Sona?" Yoru sneered as he took in the monster before him.
"You don't understand. This body—this power—it's glorious! How could you call it hideous?"
The thing before him—Shirou, or rather, the monster Shirou had become—grinned hideously.
The left half of his body still resembled a human, but the right side was covered in grotesque flesh and pulsating veins. The wriggling mass twitched like it had a life of its own, dripping thick, sticky blood.
Most notably, his right arm—it was absurdly large, larger than the rest of his body, twisted into a monstrous shape. And in that monstrous hand, he held a sword.
A thick, overwhelming holy aura radiated from it—so strong that Yoru furrowed his brows in discomfort.
This sword... seemed to hold immense power against him.
No—more accurately, it had overwhelming power against devils.
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