ABANDONED HOUSE – KUOH
"Please… don't kill me…"
Selene's voice came out failing while blood still flowed from the wound across her back opened by Excalibur's strike. Her body trembled on its knees on the floor, clearly close to the limit after the blood loss.
Gasper kept his gaze on her without changing his expression.
"Why not?"
Selene breathed heavily before answering too quickly, clearly desperate to stay alive.
"I can tell you everything." She slightly raised her face. "The plan… the hideouts… give me a chance."
Gasper remained silent for a few seconds while analyzing her more carefully.
'I can take her to Rias.'
His gaze slowly lowered to the blood spread across the floor.
'But what's really bothering me… is the smell of her blood.'
His enhanced perception had already noticed that from the instant he entered the house.
'This doesn't smell like normal human blood.'
Selene watched him in absolute nervousness while trying to understand what was going through his head at that moment.
Then Gasper finally answered.
"Fine." His tone remained cold. "I'll save you."
Her eyes widened slightly at the same instant.
"Really…?"
"But in exchange…" Gasper kept his gaze fixed on her. "You're going to tell me everything you know."
Selene nodded quickly without hesitation.
"We have a deal."
'Thank goodness…' She lowered her head slightly, trying to control her own breathing. 'I really thought I was going to die here.'
Gasper watched that in silence for a moment before the thought came automatically.
'What an idiot woman…'
He partially shifted his gaze while organizing the situation in his head.
'We didn't even make a demonic contract… and she's already relaxing.'
Even wounded, Selene seemed far more relieved now that she had realized she could still survive.
Gasper then turned his full attention back to her.
"By the way…" He tilted his head slightly. "What exactly are you?"
Selene slightly frowned.
"What?"
"You don't seem like someone from the Church." His gaze remained on her. "So what are you?"
Selene hesitated for a moment before answering.
"I'm a mage."
She brought a hand to her own wound, trying to stop the blood.
"Now please… heal me already."
Gasper didn't waste time answering. First, he raised one of his hands, and the shadows beneath the floor began to move again.
Selene froze immediately.
Fear returned at the same instant when she saw the darkness advancing toward her.
But the shadows passed straight by.
SHHHHH.
The black tentacles crossed the floor until they reached Kael, unconscious on the other side of the house. His body was immediately grabbed by the shadows while Gasper kept his gaze cold.
"I just need to finish something first."
Selene watched that in silence, clearly not understanding what he intended to do with Kael.
Then Gasper activated another magic circle.
SHUUUN.
Red runes began spinning beneath Selene while demonic energy slowly filled the destroyed environment of the abandoned house. The magic slowly wrapped around her body, and the sensation came immediately.
Heat.
Her back burned for a few seconds before the pain began to slowly lessen.
Selene's eyes widened slightly while she felt part of the destroyed flesh starting to reconstruct.
"This…"
She took a deep breath for the first time since the blow.
"The pain lessened…"
The demonic energy continued circulating through her back for a few more seconds before the magic circle began to slowly disappear.
SHHH.
Gasper lowered his hand right after.
"This will leave a huge scar." His tone remained completely calm. "But it's the most I can do right now."
Selene slowly brought her hand to her back, immediately feeling the partially reconstructed skin through the magic. It still hurt, and the scar would clearly remain there forever, but she knew perfectly well that she couldn't blame anyone but herself for lowering her guard in front of Darius.
And in the end…
Darius had died in a much worse way.
Her eyes discreetly shifted toward Gasper again while blood still partially flowed across the floor of the abandoned house.
'He looks young…'
His size, his young face, and his calm appearance matched absolutely nothing with the brutality she had witnessed minutes earlier.
'But it's better to stop thinking about that and fulfill my part of the deal.'
Before she could say anything, another magic circle appeared inside the house.
SHUUUN.
Red demonic energy spread light through the destroyed environment before Rias appeared in the place again.
"Gasper-kun." She walked a few steps toward him while quickly observing the situation around them. "I left the humans with Sona and Akeno."
Her gaze quickly passed over Selene before returning to Gasper.
"And I came to see how you were."
"I'm fine." Gasper answered without difficulty. "Actually, I was already about to return to your mansion."
Rias lightly nodded before finally looking properly at the state of the house.
Darius's pierced corpse was still spread across the floor.
Kael remained unconscious.
And blood covered much of the place.
"We need to clean this up first." Demonic energy slowly began appearing around her hand. "I'll handle the bodies."
The power of destruction appeared almost immediately.
CRRSH.
The red energy struck Darius's mutilated body first, completely erasing the corpse along with the blood spread across the floor as if everything were being disintegrated from existence. Seconds later, Rias repeated the process with Kael while the environment slowly became clean again.
Selene watched that in absolute silence.
Even already knowing who Rias was…
Seeing destruction magic working from so close was still terrifying.
"So…" Rias finally turned her attention to her. "Who exactly are you?"
Selene immediately organized her posture before answering respectfully.
"My name is Selene." She slightly lowered her head. "I am a mage, Miss Rias Gremory."
Rias kept her cold gaze on her.
"And she agreed to tell everything she knows about the Fallen Angels' plans." Gasper explained without changing his tone.
Irritation immediately returned to Rias's face.
"Then let's start already." Demonic power still remained slightly leaking around her. "What exactly are the Fallen Angels planning in my territory?"
Her gaze hardened even further.
"And who made them this confident?"
'She's really irritated…' Gasper watched her reaction in silence for a moment.
Selene quickly opened her mouth to answer, but Gasper interrupted before she could start.
"Later."
His eyes quickly shifted across the destroyed environment of the house.
"This place is already known by the Fallen Angels." His tone remained firm. "There's no point staying here."
Rias remained silent for a second before nodding.
"Fine."
Selene released part of the tension from her body upon hearing that, but the relief lasted less than two seconds.
Because in the next instant—
SHHH.
Gasper disappeared from in front of her.
Selene's eyes widened immediately.
And before she could react—
THUD.
A precise blow struck the back of her neck from behind.
Her consciousness went out instantly.
Her body fell unconscious to the floor before her mind could process what had happened.
Rias slightly raised an eyebrow as she watched the scene, but didn't question anything.
Selene was still an enemy.
And if Gasper decided to knock her out before taking her to the mansion… then he probably had a reason.
Rias simply activated another magic circle right after.
SHUUUN.
Demonic energy surrounded the three while the abandoned house was illuminated once more by the red light of teleportation.
Seconds later…
The place was empty again.
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