Not a single member of the church dared to move. They stood frozen in place, their bodies stiff with fear as they struggled to process what had just happened.
The confidence they had was completely gone, replaced by the instinctive realization that making even the slightest mistake could cost them their lives.
'Why did this guy show up again?' Raynare thought, her body still refusing to move. 'Don't tell me he's a friend of that useless nun? Is that it? Is that the reason you came to this place? Or could he be one of them?' Her thoughts raced as she watched Meguna standing among the fallen priests.
She couldn't understand what he wanted, and that uncertainty only made the situation worse. There was no obvious sign that he intended to negotiate, nor did his expression give away what he was thinking.
Meguna casually glanced across the remaining church members. And that was enough to make one of them instinctively shifted his foot backward.
A faint smile appeared on Meguna's face. The priest barely had time to realize his mistake before an invisible slash passed through him, cutting him down where he stood.
The others immediately tensed, desperately trying to remain perfectly still, but fear made it increasingly difficult to maintain their positions. Another priest's hand trembled and another slight movement followed. Then another slash cut through the room.
One by one, the lackeys were sliced, diced, and cut apart as their fear prevented them from remaining completely motionless. Some tried desperately to control their breathing, while others stared straight ahead, hoping that Meguna would simply overlook them but he didn't.
Each small movement seemed to catch his attention, and every mistake was met with another slash.
'Fushi-san is brutal,' Kiba thought as he watched from behind. 'I didn't think he would turn this into some kind of game.' Kiba's eyes remained fixed on Meguna, trying to understand what was going through his mind. There was something almost casual about the way he handled the situation, as if the people surrounding him were nothing more than pieces on a board.
Issei also remained still, his eyes wide as he watched the scene unfold. Even though he had seen Meguna fight before, witnessing him control the entire room so effortlessly left him struggling to comprehend the difference in their abilities.
Koneko remained quiet beside him, her gaze focused on Meguna while her expression stayed mostly unchanged.
Eventually, the room grew emptier. The once crowded group of church members had been reduced to a scattered handful of fallen bodies, leaving only one person still standing. Raynare
The fallen angel stood completely still, her face pale and her body trembling uncontrollably as Meguna's attention slowly shifted toward her.
For the first time since arriving at the church, Raynare had no words to throw at her enemies. She simply stared at him with a terrified look on her face.
Meguna slowly approached her, his hands resting casually inside his pockets. Raynare watched him approach, her body still trembling from what she had witnessed. The other members of the church had already been dealt with, and she knew very well that she would be next if she failed to do something.
When Meguna finally stopped in front of her, he looked down at the fallen angel without much interest.
"I'm getting kind of bored," he remarked casually. "So, if there's nothing entertaining you can do, then I'll just simply kill you."
Raynare's expression immediately changed. She quickly dropped to her knees, lowering her head as it touched the floor. The pride she had displayed earlier had completely disappeared, replaced by desperation as she tried to think of anything that might convince him to spare her.
"Please, spare my life!" she pleaded. "I'll do anything you want. I'll listen to whatever you say, and I won't bother you or your friends again. I won't interfere with that nun either. I'll stay away from all of you if that's what you want." Her words came out rapidly as she continued making promises.
"I won't cause you any trouble. I'll leave this place, and you'll never have to see me again." Raynare hesitated before making one final offer, apparently willing to sacrifice whatever dignity she had left if it meant surviving. "I'll even offer myself to you. So please, just spare me."
Meguna's expression stiffened slightly. For a short while, he simply looked at her without responding. Then said "Get up."
Raynare slowly lifted her head. She seemed confused by the order, but she didn't dare question him. Carefully, she pushed herself up from the floor and stood before him, keeping her eyes fixed on his face as she waited for what would happen next.
The instant she fully straightened herself, an invisible slash passed through the air. Raynare's arm was suddenly severed at the shoulder.
Her scream echoed throughout the room as the severed limb dropped to the floor. She immediately clutched the place where her arm had been, staggering backward as pain overwhelmed her expression.
Meguna remained completely still. His hands were still inside his pockets, and he hadn't made any visible movement. "Did you really think I would be interested in you?"
Raynare in anger and desperation "You bastard!" With no other option left, she summoned a spear of light into her remaining hand. The weapon formed brightly in her grasp as she immediately rushed toward him, intending to stab him.
Before the weapon could reach him, an invisible slash passed through Raynare's body. In that same instant, her entire body was torn apart and turned into a splash of blood across the floor.
"Tch, so disappointing," Meguna muttered as he looked down at the remains scattered across the floor. There was no satisfaction in his expression anymore, only mild irritation, as though the fight had ended far sooner than he had expected.
He then turned his attention toward the others, who were still standing nearby in dazed at what had just happened. Meguna looked from one person to another before speaking. "Hey, aren't you guys going to clean up this mess? Because I'm going home now."
Issei blinked in confusion at his words. After everything that had just happened, Meguna was apparently thinking about nothing more than leaving and going home.
"Wait, are you just going to leave like that?" Issei asked, his voice carrying a mixture of disbelief and confusion.
Meguna glanced back at him without stopping. "There's really nothing here for me to enjoy anymore," he simply replied.
His tone was casual, as if he had merely finished watching something that had failed to hold his interest. Without waiting for anyone to respond, he turned around and walk away.
The others watch as Meguna walked past them and headed toward the staircase leading back to the ground floor.
-----
As Meguna was walking out through the forest, he noticed Rias and Akeno standing inside a barrier that Akeno had conjured. He slowed his steps and looked toward them, noticing two fallen angels floating above on the opposite side.
Kalawarner and Mittelt were facing Rias with confident expressions. They seemed to have no intention of backing down, even after everything that had happened.
Meguna stopped a short distance away and watched the exchange without saying anything.
"Isn't this interesting?" Kalawarner said with a mocking smile. "That pathetic boy really believed Raynare cared about him."
Mittelt let out a small laugh. "She had him completely fooled. He was so desperate to believe her that he never even questioned what she was doing."
Kalawarner with a cruel grin. "She made such a fool out of him, and he still followed her around like a loyal puppy. Honestly, how embarrassing can someone be?"
Mittelt continued, clearly enjoying herself. "And now look at him. He couldn't even protect the girl he was so desperate to save."
Kalawarner smiled. "That's right. All that shouting about saving Asia, yet he couldn't do anything when it actually mattered."
Rias's expression remained calm, but her eyes gradually hardened. The fallen angels continued laughing between themselves, completely unaware of how far they were pushing her patience.
"You devils really picked an amusing servant," Mittelt remarked. "Perhaps you should find someone more useful next time."
A powerful aura then began gathering around rias as her Power of Destruction started to condense. The energy around her intensified rapidly.
Kalawarner's expression changed. "Tch. Don't think we're going to stand here and let you attack us."
Both fallen angels raised their hands and summoned their light spears. "Take this!" They threw the spears toward Rias simultaneously.
The weapons flew straight toward her, but before they could reach their target, Rias's destructive power surged forward and deflected both of them. The spears were knocked aside and disappeared into the surroundings.
Kalawarner and Mittelt stared at her in surprise. "What?!"
The destructive energy swept toward them and consumed their figures in an instant. When the attack subsided, the two fallen angels were gone, leaving only several white feathers drifting through the air.
Rias lowered her hand and the indignation that had been visible in her eyes moments earlier had disappeared. She quietly looked at the feathers scattered across the ground.
"How cruel, Rias?" The familiar voice made Rias turned her head toward the side of the barrier. She saw Meguna standing there with his relaxed posture. He had apparently been watching the entire exchange from outside.
"Don't you have a human heart?" he asked, his tone carrying obvious sarcasm.
Rias catching on the teasing remark behind his words. "A human heart?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Why would a devil like me need one?"
Meguna shrugged. "I don't know. I just watched you erase two people without leaving much behind, so I figured I'd ask."
Rias folded her arms and gave him a small smile. "They were fallen angels who were interfering with my affairs and had harmed one of my servants. I don't think I have much reason to feel guilty about it."
"So you're saying that's enough to justify it?" Meguna questioned with smile still playing on his lips.
"Of course," Rias replied. "If someone deliberately harms those under my protection, I'm not going to simply forgive them."
Meguna gave a quiet chuckle. "That's a pretty convenient way of looking at things."
Rias tilted her head slightly. "And what exactly would you have done?"
Meguna's grin widened. "Probably something similar."
Rias letting out a small laugh. "Then you're hardly in a position to criticize me."
"I'm not criticizing you. I was just making an observation since you look pretty ruthless back there" meguna
Rias smiled faintly. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Meguna shook his head. "You really will interpret things however you want."
"So, that nun..." he said, changing the subject. "I think she's fine. I didn't find her Sacred Gear to be that interesting, so I just left." He slipped both hands into his pockets.
"Anyway, go do your thing. I'm done here." With that, Meguna turned around and began walking away.
"Wait!" Meguna stopped and glanced back. Rias reached out, grabbing his hand before he could continue walking.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" she asked. "You could at least stay for a little while, you know. Maybe I can give you some kind of reward?" Her tone carried a playful hint, clearly intended to persuade him.
Before he could answer, Akeno spoke from behind them. "Ara, ara, Buchou. Are you going to leave me and have all the fun for yourself?" Akeno placed a hand against her cheek and smiled teasingly.
Meguna looked between the two before calmly shaking off Rias's grip. "A great reward for me at the moment would be a good night sleep or maybe some chocolate and vanilla ice cream."
Akeno covered her mouth as she laughed softly. "Ara, ara, seems like buchou's reward wasn't tempting enough."
Meguna not interested in continuing the banter turned away from them and continued along the forest path. Neither Rias nor Akeno stopped him this time. Leaving the two behind, Meguna headed home.
-----
[A/N: do give your thoughts on it]