The forest on the outskirts of Kuoh Town breathed with a quietness that felt almost sacred.
The pines stretched toward the overcast sky, their branches swaying in the gentle breeze like old friends sharing secrets. Dappled sunlight filtered through the canopy, painting the moss-covered ground in shifting patterns of gold and shadow. The air carried the earthy scent of decomposing leaves and damp bark, mixed with the faint sweetness of wildflowers that dotted the undergrowth in small, defiant clusters.
Yuuto stood in a small clearing, his posture relaxed despite the tension coiled beneath his calm exterior. Asia hovered a few steps behind him, fingers twisted together, green eyes fixed on his back with that same curious, uncertain expression she'd worn since they'd left his apartment.
He extended his right arm toward the sky, palm open, fingers spread.
Asia tilted her head. "Yuuto-san? What are you doing?"
A smile tugged at his lips. He didn't answer immediately, just kept his arm raised, eyes scanning the canopy above.
A flutter of black wings broke through the branches.
The crow descended in a smooth arc, landing on Yuuto's extended forearm with practiced ease. Its talons gripped gently, black eyes gleaming with intelligence as it cocked its head to regard him.
"Oh!" Asia's eyes went wide, starry with delight. She took a tentative step forward, hands clasped to her chest. "Is he your pet, Yuuto-san?"
"Something like that," Yuuto said, watching as Asia's caution melted into wonder.
She reached out slowly, fingers trembling slightly as she brushed them over the crow's sleek feathers. The bird allowed the touch, even leaning into it slightly, and Asia's face lit up with pure joy.
"He's so soft," she whispered, stroking the crow's head with gentle reverence.
Yuuto reached into his jacket with his free hand and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He held it up to the crow's beak, and the bird took it without hesitation, the white paper stark against its black feathers.
With a sharp cry, the crow launched itself from Yuuto's arm. It circled once overhead, then shot off through the trees like a dark arrow, disappearing into the distance.
Asia watched it go, confusion replacing her earlier delight.
"Before you ask what I just did," Yuuto said, turning to face her fully, his expression shifting into something more serious, "I need to ask you something very important. Something that will decide the rest of your life."
The weight in his voice made Asia's breath catch. She straightened, hands falling to her sides. "What is it, Yuuto-san?"
He held her gaze, steady and unwavering. "Would you be willing to turn into a devil?"
Asia's eyes went wide "A... devil?"
Yuuto nodded. "After I deal with the Fallen Angels, you'll have nowhere to go. And as a devil, my master might not allow me to be around you, even if you're banished from the church." He paused, letting that sink in. "But if you turn into a devil, you might be able to find a safe place to live. Friends who would protect you. A real home."
Asia's face crumpled, torn between hope and despair. Her hands twisted together again, knuckles white.
"But," Yuuto continued gently, "as much as I want to help you, I can't force this choice upon you. This has to be your decision, Asia. Yours alone." He offered her a small, reassuring smile. "And you don't have to worry that I won't save you from the Fallen Angels if you say no. As your friend, I'll protect you regardless."
Asia stared at him, throat working as she tried to form words. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
He's really willing to protect me, she thought, memories flooding back. Even after what he did to Father Freed. Even knowing what I am—a heretic, someone the church threw away. He still accepts me as his friend.
She remembered the previous night. The way he'd moved through that mansion like death itself, precise and terrifying and beautiful all at once. The way he'd looked at her afterward, not with disgust or pity, but with simple kindness. The dinner he'd made, the way he'd listened to her story without judgment. The warmth of his apartment, the safety she'd felt for the first time in months.
But can I really become a devil? The question burned in her chest. Can I abandon the path of God? The faith I've held onto even when the church abandoned me?
Yuuto moved to lean against a thick oak tree, arms crossed, expression patient. He wasn't pushing. Wasn't demanding. Just... waiting.
Giving her the time and space to decide for herself.
Asia opened her mouth to speak—
The sky turned blue.
Not the natural blue of a clear day, but an artificial, oppressive azure that spread across the heavens like spilled paint. The barrier snapped into place with an audible crack, and suddenly the forest felt smaller, caged.
Three figures descended from above, wings of shadow and light carrying them down with languid grace.
Dohnaseek landed first. He was a tall man, gaunt and angular, with slicked-back dark hair and a thin mustache that gave him a perpetually smug expression. His dark coat billowed around him as his black wings folded against his back. Cold eyes swept over Yuuto and Asia with the kind of detached assessment usually reserved for insects.
Kalawarner touched down beside him, all lethal curves and predatory elegance. Long blue hair cascaded down her back, contrasting sharply with her revealing purple outfit. Her wings were darker than Dohnaseek's, almost violet in the strange light of the barrier. She moved with the confidence of someone who knew exactly how dangerous she was.
Mittelt was the last to land, and the smallest. She looked young—too young, really, with her short blonde hair styled in pigtails and a gothic lolita dress that might have been cute if not for the malice in her crimson eyes. Her wings were the palest of the three, almost translucent. She landed with a bounce, grinning like this was all some grand game.
"Well, well," Dohnaseek drawled, his voice carrying that particular brand of aristocratic contempt. "A devil. And not just any devil—the one who had the audacity to kill one of our subordinates and then insult us by sending us his location." His lip curled. "The arrogance."
Kalawarner's eyes locked onto Asia, who took an involuntary step backward. "Look at him, playing hero with our little nun."
"So you do care about that crazy Exorcist and superiority complex Fallen?" Yuuto said, his voice light, almost amused. "Since you all showed up here to get revenge for them."
Kalawarner's expression twisted with disgust. "Freed and Raynare are none of our concern." She pointed a long, sharp nail at Asia. "Return her, and we'll make your death less painful."
"Aw, don't be like that, Kala. I was going to answer him !!!" Mittelt chimed in, her voice sickly sweet and playful. "Ahem, I hated Raynare—she was such a bitch—but I can't just let a low-life like you kill one of us and walk away." She examined her nails with exaggerated disinterest. "As for that Exorcist? He was just another piece of shit. It's actually wonderful that he died by another piece of shit." Her eyes snapped to Asia, and her smile turned vicious. "But she has her worth. After we get what we want from her, we'll just throw her away like the trash she is."
This bitch.
Yuuto's expression didn't change, but something cold settled behind his eyes. He'd make her regret those words. Every single one.
He turned to Asia, whose face had gone pale, terror written across her delicate features.
She was imagining it. Him dying. These Fallen Angels tearing him apart while she watched, helpless. It would be her fault. All her fault. If she'd just refused his help last night, if she'd gone back to the abandoned church like she was supposed to, he wouldn't be here. Wouldn't be standing between her and these monsters who would kill him without a second thought.
He's going to die. My only friend. The only person who accepted me, despite being a devil. And it's all because of me.
Yuuto looked at the Fallen trio, his expression shifting into something almost pitying. "Do you really think you can kill me? Take her away from me?" He let out a helpless sigh. "How stupid can someone be who considers others low-life?"
All three Fallen Angels glared, light beginning to coalesce in their hands.
"Why would I send you my location," Yuuto continued, his voice dropping into something colder, sharper, "if I wasn't confident I could take all three of you at once?"
A grin spread across his face, sharp and predatory.
"You pieces of trash are just low-ranked Fallen Angels" Yuuto sighed as he received the notification from the system in front of him "With just wings and a spear of light, you think you can kill me? How amusing"
*[DING!]*
*[Quest: Eliminate the Fallen Trio]*
*[Status: COMPLETED]*
*[Reward: 1 Character Card]*
Dohnaseek's face contorted with rage. "You dare—"
They moved as one.
Light spears materialized in their hands, blazing with holy energy as they shot forward. Dohnaseek from the left, Kalawarner from the right, Mittelt diving from above. A coordinated assault designed to overwhelm and obliterate.
Ice formed in Yuuto's hand, crystallizing into a blade of frozen perfection.
He took a breath.
"*Mist Breathing.*"
The words came out calm, measured, almost gentle.
"*Fifth Form: Sea of Clouds and Haze.*"
He moved.
The world blurred. Yuuto became a streak of motion, zig-zagging through the clearing at speeds that made him nearly invisible. His blade sang through the air, carving patterns too fast to follow.
Slash.
Dohnaseek's coat split open, blood spraying as the blade caught him across the chest.
Slash.
Kalawarner screamed, her wing tearing as ice cut through feathers and flesh.
Slash slash slash.
Mittelt tried to dodge, but Yuuto was everywhere and nowhere, his blade finding every gap in her defense. Her dress split. Blood bloomed across her pale skin. Her wings shredded like paper.
The entire assault lasted less than three seconds.
Yuuto came to a stop back where he'd started, blade held loosely at his side.
Behind him, the three Fallen Angels crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs and blood.
"What—what was that?" Kalawarner gasped, clutching her ruined wing.
"That?" Yuuto glanced back at them, his expression one of mild disappointment. "That was me going easy on you." He shook his head. "I was right. You really are weak and pathetic. One attack, and you're already in such a sorry state."
The clearing fell silent except for their labored breathing and the soft drip of blood onto moss.
Dohnaseek pushed himself up onto one elbow, face twisted with humiliation and rage. "You... you bastard..."
"You'll pay for this!" Mittelt shrieked, struggling to her feet despite the cuts covering her body. "You'll—"
Yuuto raised his hand.
"Stand Proud, you're about to witness my original technique that I created just a few days ago"
The temperature dropped.
Moisture condensed from the air, from the trees, from the very ground itself. Gray mist rolled out from nowhere, thickening with unnatural speed until visibility dropped to almost nothing. The Fallen Angels vanished into the fog, their panicked breathing the only indication they were still there.
Then the mist began to change.
Sections of it crystallized into ice—thin, razor-sharp sheets suspended in the air like floating death. Other sections stayed as concealing fog. Some heated into scalding steam that burned exposed skin. The whole mass churned and shifted, never settling, always moving, a living maze of frozen blades and scalding vapor.
"What is this?!" Dohnaseek's voice echoed from somewhere in the white void. "I can't see—"
Slash.
He screamed.
Kalawarner tried to fly, to escape upward, but the mist followed. Ice formed around her wings, dragging her back down. She hit the ground hard, then felt the frozen blades slice across her back.
"No—please—" Her voice cracked. "I don't want to die—"
Slash slash.
Mittelt ran. Just ran blindly, arms outstretched, trying to find something, anything that might save her. But everywhere she turned, there was only mist and ice and pain.
"Help us!" she screamed into the void. "Someone—anyone—"
Slash.
The mist was everywhere. In her lungs, on her skin, cutting and burning and freezing all at once. She couldn't tell which direction was up. Couldn't tell where the attacks were coming from. Just pain, endless pain, as invisible blades carved through flesh.
"We're sorry!" Dohnaseek's voice had dissolved into sobs. "Please—we didn't mean—we'll leave—we'll never come back—"
Slash slash slash.
Kalawarner was on her knees now, hands pressed to the ground, blood pooling beneath her. "Mercy," she whispered. "Please... mercy..."
The mist surged outward with violent intensity. Where it passed, everything froze for a split second before the temperature shift cracked it apart. Blood crystallized in mid-air, then shattered. Skin split. Bones fractured under the rapid heating and cooling.
Then, silence.
The mist began to clear, revealing the carnage.
Dohnaseek lay sprawled on his back, eyes staring sightlessly at the blue barrier above. His body was a patchwork of cuts, some shallow, some deep enough to show bone. Blood had stopped flowing from most of them.
Kalawarner was face-down in the moss, her beautiful blue hair matted with red. Her wings were shredded beyond recognition, barely attached to her back.
Mittelt...
Mittelt lay crumpled near the base of a tree, covered in blood, perfectly still.
Yuuto stood in the center of the clearing, ice blade dissipating into vapor. He took a slow breath, letting the excess moisture in the air settle back into normalcy.
"You" he called out, his voice carrying easily in the post-battle quiet.
No response.
He raised his hand. Ice formed, shaping itself into a long, sharp icicle aimed directly at her prone form.
"I know you're alive. There's no point in fooling me."
One of Mittelt's eyes cracked open.
The icicle shot forward like a bullet.
"NO!" Mittelt shrieked, throwing her arms up instinctively. "It's going to kill me—"
The icicle hit her—
—and exploded into water.
A massive bubble of liquid engulfed her, washing away the blood, the dirt, the evidence of battle. When it burst, Mittelt was left sputtering and soaked, but completely clean. Not a single wound on her body.
She stared down at herself in shock.
"Now you're less filthy," Yuuto said, walking toward her.
He crouched down beside her, and Mittelt scrambled backward, pressing herself against the tree trunk.
"Do you know why you're still alive?"
Mittelt gulped. Her eyes darted to his hands, where ice was forming again—not blades this time, but long, sharp nails extending from each finger. They grew longer, longer, until the tips touched her throat.
A thin line of blood trickled down her neck.
"Please!" The word burst from her. "Don't kill me! I'll do anything—I'll become your slave for the rest of my life—I'll serve you—just please, please don't kill me!"
Yuuto stared at her. His expression was perfectly neutral, unreadable, which somehow made it worse.
Mittelt's breathing came in short, panicked gasps. Each second of silence felt like an eternity.
Finally, he spoke. "Who sent you to this town?"
"Lord Azazel!" The answer tumbled out instantly, without hesitation. "It was Lord Azazel's orders!"
"Why?"
"He—he ordered Raynare to keep an eye on a human in this town. Someone who supposedly possesses a Sacred Gear." The words came faster now, desperate to give him everything he wanted. "But Raynare was too annoyed to waste her time just watching. So instead she decided to kill him and act on her own plans—"
"Plans?" Yuuto's ice nails pressed slightly harder.
"She was going to steal the nun's Sacred Gear!" Mittelt blurted. "After Raynare was gone, Dohnaseek got interested in taking it himself—not me! I swear I had no interest in that! It was all Dohnaseek's idea!"
"Are you telling the truth?" Yuuto's eyes bored into hers. "Or is this—"
"It's the truth!" Mittelt cut him off, voice rising to a near scream. "I swear on everything—it's the truth! Please, you have to believe me—I would never lie to you—I just want to live—"
Yuuto closed his eyes, processing.
So Azazel hadn't ordered Issei's death. Raynare had gone rogue, acted on her own arrogance and impatience. That... actually made sense. Azazel was many things, but needlessly cruel wasn't one of them. He studied Sacred Gears, didn't destroy their wielders without good reason.
He opened his eyes again and looked at Mittelt's desperate, terrified face.
Slowly, deliberately, he reached out and lifted her chin with one finger. The ice nails retracted slightly, no longer cutting into her throat.
Is he going to kill me?
Mittelt's mind raced. This is it. He got what he wanted. Now he's going to—
Yuuto smiled at her. "Since you acted like a good girl, I won't raise my sword at you."
As he spoke, a thin trail of vapor—so faint it was nearly invisible—slipped past his lips and into her mouth.
Mittelt didn't notice.
Her face lit up with relief so profound it was almost painful. "Thank you! Thank you so much! I—I promise I'll never step foot in this town again! You'll never see me again!"
Yuuto stood, wiping his hand on his pants as if removing something distasteful.
Mittelt struggled to her feet, wincing at the soreness in her muscles. The cuts Yuuto had given her earlier were real enough, deep enough to hurt, even if he'd healed the worst of them.
Wait until I tell Lord Azazel, she thought, limping toward the edge of the clearing. He'll send someone to deal with this arrogant piece of shit. I'll make him regret messing with us. I'll—
A chill touched her left toe.
Mittelt looked down.
Ice was spreading across her foot. Crystallizing up her leg, creeping higher with inexorable patience.
"No—"
She tried to form a light spear in her hand, but the ice was too fast. It locked her arm in place, then her chest, then her neck.
"NO!"
Her scream cut off abruptly as the ice reached her mouth, sealing it shut. Her eyes were wide, filled with shock and betrayal and terror as the ice claimed her completely.
Within seconds, she was a statue. Frozen solid, one hand outstretched toward freedom she'd never reach.
Never believe a word from the devil.
Yuuto turned away from her frozen form and walked to where Dohnaseek and Kalawarner lay. Ice spread from his footsteps, crawling up their bodies, entombing them in crystalline coffins.
Three frozen statues now stood in the clearing, monuments to arrogance and poor judgment.
*[DING!]*
*[Quest: Eliminate the Fallen Trio]*
*[Status: COMPLETED]*
*[Reward: 1 Character Card]*
*[Reward has been added to inventory]*
Yuuto dismissed the notification with a thought. He'd deal with that later.
"A-Asia?"
The blonde nun stood exactly where she'd been at the start of the fight, hands pressed to her mouth, eyes wide and glistening.
Yuuto walked toward her, his expression softening. "It's over. You're safe."
"Yuuto-san..." Her voice was barely a whisper. "You... you saved me. Again."
"Of course." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper—a summoning flyer with the Gremory seal. "Now, I need you to do something for me."
Asia blinked, confusion cutting through her shock. "What is it?"
"I need you to heal me."
"Heal you? But you're not hurt—"
Yuuto summoned a blade and, before Asia could protest, drew it across his forearm. Blood welled immediately, dripping onto the moss.
"Yuuto-san!" Asia rushed forward, horror written across her face. "Why would you—"
"Trust me." He sat down heavily, letting more blood drip. His face had gone pale—the cut was deeper than strictly necessary. It hurt. But pain sold the performance. "Please, Asia. Heal me."
"O-okay!"
Green light enveloped her hands as she knelt beside him, pressing them to his arm. The warm glow of Twilight Healing washed over the wound, and Yuuto felt the skin begin to knit back together.
With his free hand, he raised the summoning flyer and focused on Rias's image in his mind.
Come on. This better work according to plan, or I'm screwed.
The flyer burst into flame, consumed in an instant.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then a familiar red magic circle materialized in the air before them, intricate geometric patterns spinning with elegant precision.
'Its about damn time'
. . .
For advance chapters, you can check on p*treon.com/opeler
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