Daniel didn't stop. Every meter felt like a kilometer; the stabbing pain in his back forced him to slow down every few steps. Maybe something had broken when he slammed against the wall, but with the exit not so far ahead, he gritted his teeth and forced himself onward.
—"Damn it! Now I'm angry!"—the spider-demon roared.
She wasn't in good shape either: cracks split her exoskeleton, and a purple fluid leaked out, dripping onto the floor.
Seeing her rise again only heightened Daniel's urgency. He ordered the golem to fire and hold her back.
—"That won't happen again, brat! I'm sick of this!"
With a furious cry, the creature spewed a torrent of webs, binding the golem and restricting its movement. At the same time, energy began to gather in her mouth once more. But this time, she wasn't aiming at the golem.
She didn't take long to release it. The sphere shot forth at alarming speed. Daniel clenched his teeth, praying that—just like in duels—his trap cards would work here.
When the sphere was only inches away, two cylinders materialized out of thin air, absorbing the demonic magic. In an instant, they reflected it right back at the spider.
It was one of the two trap cards he had drawn: Magic Cylinder (negates the attack and redirects the damage).
The spider hadn't expected such a trick, or maybe the reaction had simply been too fast. Before she could defend herself, the sphere exploded directly in her face.
Daniel seized the chance: he aimed at where the creature had fallen and ordered the golem to unleash everything it had left. Like relentless artillery fire, the shots continued until the cannon glowed red-hot. It was clear it was overheated, damaged.
He stopped long enough to glance at the unmoving spider. He didn't dare approach or confirm the kill; she could have some hidden trick or a final transformation. So he hurried toward the hole in the wall.
But he had barely taken a few steps outside when he froze. A sharp pain ripped through his abdomen.
A grotesque hand, covered in scales, had pierced him with its claws.
—"What do we have here…? A little mouse trying to escape," said a reptilian creature, grinning with a terrifying smile between its fangs.
With a tearing sound, it pulled its claws free and shoved him back inside. Daniel's body flew several meters before crashing against a column.
With heavy, dragging steps, the enormous reptile moved into the warehouse. Two oversized arms hung grotesquely from its back, and in the middle of its forehead, a woman's face spoke:
—"Where's that witch? I told her to stop playing with her food. If Gremory finds out, she'll come hunting us…"
The words died as its gaze landed on the spider's lifeless body in the corner. Soon its eyes shifted to the golem, which, even with its cannon broken, tried to fire automatically.
—"What the hell? How…?"
Turning back, it grabbed Daniel by the throat, lifting him into the air. Blood dripped onto the ground as the creature opened its jaws.
—"Who are you? An exorcist? You don't smell like a devil. Maybe a magician…"
Daniel couldn't answer. He couldn't even breathe—the claws at his neck had crushed his airway, and blood clogged his throat.
—"No matter. I'll eat you and clean up the mess. As long as it's quick, Gremory won't notice."
As the jaws drew closer, Daniel made his decision.
"I'm wounded, and I probably won't survive. Then we'll both go down together."
With that thought, he activated his final trap: Ring of Destruction (destroy the opponent's strongest monster; both players take damage equal to its attack).
It was a suicidal move: both would take the hit. Daniel didn't think twice; there was no other choice left. A burning ring appeared around the creature's neck, confusing it. Soon, flames ignited, feeding on the beast's demonic power.
—"What did you do? What is this!?"
Daniel focused everything he had. The golem, silent and broken, stirred once more. Its gears screeched, glowing red with strain. Before the reptile could react, the golem rammed into it, forcing the monster back and dropping Daniel to the ground.
Flames burst from the ring, one after another, consuming the creature's power as the golem held on as long as it could. Daniel crawled away with what little strength he had left.
The reptile threw the golem aside and rushed at Daniel to finish him. But at that very moment, the flames detonated.
KABOOOOOOOM.
The blast roared skyward, tearing through the fragile walls and collapsing the ceiling, burying everything under rubble.
Daniel, still alive, found himself in a bitter irony: trapped under debris. Unlike in his previous accident, this time he felt everything—the pain was everywhere. And, just like before, he couldn't move. His eyes welled, his throat choked. After spitting blood, he tried to calm himself.
His head buzzed; the cold seeped into his bones. His mind was fading, but one thought burned clear—maybe the only one he had always wanted to shout:
—"I want to live."
And with that, his eyes closed, and his mind sank into darkness.
****
Shortly after the explosion, a crimson magic circle lit up among the rubble. From its center emerged a voluptuous young woman with long crimson hair: Rias Gremory. At her side stood a blond boy and a petite girl with white hair: Yuuto Kiba and Koneko Toujou.
"Are you sure this is the place? Wait… yes, I can sense the demonic energy," Rias remarked as she sniffed the air.
Koneko silently watched her master's childish gesture. Kiba said nothing either; he simply nodded, gripping his sword firmly.
"You're both too serious… I'm starting to regret not bringing Akeno along. Anyway, let's see what kind of pests dare to wander around my territory."
Rias had heard rumors about stray demons causing trouble in Kuoh. As a member of the Gremory family and the one in charge of the city, it was her duty to eliminate them. However, due to certain family matters—and the habit of those demons to hide like cockroaches—it had taken her longer than expected to track them down.
"Kiba, check what happened here. It's strange for those timid strays to cause such a large explosion.""Understood."
The boy hurried off to investigate while Rias tried to strike up a conversation with Koneko.
"Ehh… Koneko-chan? Why are you so quiet? Koneko?"
The girl seemed distracted. That behavior had started a few days earlier. If Rias's memory was correct, it was around the time she asked her to keep an eye on Issei. Did she dislike him that much? Or was there another reason? Considering she had just reincarnated Issei as a devil a few hours ago, she hoped it wasn't because of him. The last thing she wanted was tension within the club.
"Buchou, I think you should see this," Kiba called as he returned, his face filled with surprise.
Rias quickly approached. Among the scorched remains, she could make out several pieces of skin and a couple of charred corpses. Were they the stray demons? Had they killed each other?
"Buchou, that's not it… come this way."
Kiba led her toward another pile of rubble. There lay a strange golem—or what was left of it. Pieces of metal and broken gears were scattered across the ground. Even though it was destroyed, it was clear that it had protected something: the burn marks stopped exactly where the machine had stood, leaving a strip behind it untouched by fire.
"Did that robot protect something? Did you check what's underneath?"Kiba shook his head."It seems buried under all that debris. I don't think I can move it unless I cut or destroy the rubble, but if I do, I can't guarantee whatever is there will remain intact."
Koneko, who had silently followed Rias, stepped forward. As the Rook of the Gremory peerage, her strength and endurance far surpassed that of a normal human. For her, moving a few hundred kilos was nothing.