"Who is this human!?" Mittelt shrieked, her voice jumping half an octave higher than usual.
Kalawarner clenched her teeth, her eyes narrowing with sharp vigilance. "Impossible… our entire squad was wiped out in seconds. And he did it with nothing but his bare hands!"
Dohnaseek didn't shout, but his jaw tightened. "Don't tell me… you're with the Gremory faction?"
The question made me freeze for a fraction of a second.
'What does he mean I'm part of Rias' group?'
'Hah? Where did that wild theory come from?'
I let out a short breath.
Ridiculous. Just because I'm a little strong, why am I suddenly associated with that big red devil family?
"I'm not from Gremory," I muttered, though I didn't really need to clarify anything for enemies I was about to knock unconscious or kill.
The ground beneath my feet cracked as I lowered myself, bringing down my center of gravity. One breath. One pulse of inner power. One subtle tap from the murim core inside my body.
Then—I kicked the earth.
BOOM.
The impact created a small crater and a burst of dust, my body shooting into the air as if launched from a cannon. The thirty meters between us vanished in an instant.
The silhouettes of the three fallen angels widened in my vision, their expressions shifting from alert… to shocked… then to pure fear.
They didn't see a human jump.
'Alright… let's finish this.'
My right hand lifted, palm open.
My body reached the center of their formation before their screams even finished forming.
The air cracked from the pressure of the Qi bursting out of me, mixing with the holy light forming in the fallen angels' hands.
Mittelt moved first.
The small girl with the purple ribbon created a sphere of light the size of a human head and tossed it like a kid throwing a snowball.
"Holy Bomb!"
I tilted my body slightly.
In that instant, the holy bomb shot past me—exploding several meters behind with a loud blast.
I spread my left hand and tapped the air.
"Heavenly Demon — Silk Step."
My body vanished, moving like a sheet of silk caught in the wind.
I appeared beside Mittelt.
Her face drained of color.
"Eh—"
My palm landed gently on her shoulder.
Crack.
Mittelt flew like a discarded doll, her body smashing into a church pillar until the wood snapped and collapsed.
One down.
Kalawarner slammed her light staff into the church floor, forming a large magic circle.
"Divine Chains!"
Dozens of holy chains burst from the ground, lunging to bind me. Fast, scorching, and capable of burning supernatural beings.
Unfortunately… I wasn't a supernatural being.
I lowered myself slightly.
'Light energy… more annoying than painful.'
My hands formed a seal known only to the inner disciples of the Heavenly Demon.
Black-red Qi flared like embers.
"Crushing Abyss Palm."
I swept my palm downward, not touching the chains—pulverizing the spiritual pressure forming them. Kalawarner's magic shattered like glass hitting marble.
She froze for a moment.
I was already in front of her.
"Sorry," I murmured.
Not empathy—more a professional notice before execution.
My right elbow struck her solar plexus.
BOOM.
The blue-haired woman shot upward, drifting back five meters before crashing and rolling, her wings slapping the ground in disarray.
Dohnaseek remained.
He was the calmest—perhaps the most dangerous.
He formed a spear of light, this time not the usual kind, but one compressed to a deadly density—a technique that nearly killed me six months ago.
"Not bad for a human," he said as he adjusted his light spear. "But you still can't defeat holy power."
I smiled faintly.
Not mocking—just… amused.
"You're right," I replied. "Your holy power can't be beaten by an ordinary human."
I leaned forward, Qi surging like a rushing current.
"But I," I continued,
"…stopped being an ordinary human the day you stabbed me the first time."
Dohnaseek reacted fast—the spear shot forward, slicing the air with a sharp flash.
I raised my hand.
The motion was simple.
Just a downward slicing gesture.
"Heavenly Demon — Void Severing Slash."
Of course, I didn't have a sword.
The light spear split in half, disappearing in a burst of particles.
Dohnaseek barely had time to be shocked before I was already right in front of him.
"This… impossible—"
I punched his abdomen.
Condensed murim Qi erupted inside the fallen angel's body, his black wings twisting awkwardly, his breath stolen, and his body flung like a sack tossed off a stage.
He crashed into the church wall hard.
Crriisshh— BOOM.
The wall collapsed.
Dohnaseek fell, unmoving.
I drew a breath.
Dust drifted down like snow.
'Alright… three fallen angels down.'
...
The ritual inside the old church was close to reaching its climax.
A green ring—Twilight Healing—began lifting from Asia's chest, forming a slowly rotating circle of light. Cracked holy runes shimmered faintly as they worked to extract the Sacred Gear from the girl's body. Raynare stood directly in front of her, black wings spread wide, a vicious smile on her face, and her hand ready to seize the Sacred Gear the moment the process finished.
But the ritual never reached its end.
A burst of light exploded from outside, followed by the sound of a wall being blown apart. Raynare turned with a snarl. And from behind the dust, a man stepped in—Murim garments of gold and crimson, a motif of two crossed diamonds on his back, his face hidden behind a plain white mask with glowing red eyes that pierced the darkness.
A figure who had no business existing in this story at all.
Raynare growled.
"How dare a mere human enter this place!!"
The man didn't respond with a long explanation, just a single flat sentence that struck her ears.
"Shh… I don't accept complaints from washed-up angels."
He moved without warning. His silhouette severed the distance in the blink of an eye. His palm struck Raynare square in the chest—hard, precise, and full of inner power.
BOOM.
Raynare was thrown back, crashing into the church wall until old wood cracked and dust scattered. The ritual stopped instantly; Twilight Healing fell to the floor, its green glow dimming from the brutal interruption.
In one fluid motion, the masked man leapt onto the altar and began undoing Asia's restraints. The holy rune ropes shattered at his touch, as if terrified of the Qi flowing from his body.
Raynare staggered to her feet, her body trembling. Her expression was a mixture of anger, confusion, and fear—something rarely seen in a mid-class fallen angel.
"This… can't be. This is impossible!" she shouted, staring at the absurd intruder.
The man looked at her from behind the mask. A smile could almost be felt, even if hidden.
"Hehehe… hearing a former resident of heaven despair is delightful. Anyway…"
He leaned forward slightly.
"…enough of your nonsense."
"What—"
Raynare never finished her sentence.
A thin, invisible line sliced through the air.
Her head separated cleanly from her body, floating for a moment before falling and rolling across the stone floor. Her body followed, collapsing silently.
Silence.
The church, once filled with ritual chanting and threats, fell quiet like a tomb. Only Asia's soft breathing could be heard as she slowly regained consciousness on the altar.
Her eyelids fluttered. Her vision was still hazy. But the first figure that came into clear view was the masked man—his red eyes no longer glowing fiercely, but calm and alert.
"You're awake?" His voice was flat, but not harsh.
Asia swallowed. "Y-Yes… I…"
But her words were cut off by a shout from the church entrance.
"ASIA!!"
Issei Hyoudou appeared in the doorway, panting, eyes widening as he took in the scene inside the church: Raynare decapitated, three fallen angels lying lifeless outside, and Asia—the girl he came to save—sitting at the altar beside a mysterious man whose aura of danger and secrecy hung around him like thick fog.
Issei clenched his teeth, protective instinct overtaking his expression.
"Who… who is he…?"
Asia only stared at the masked man, full of confusion and curiosity—like a girl pulled back from the edge of death by someone who shouldn't exist.
Meanwhile, the masked man tilted his head slightly, assessing Issei's presence.
And in his heart, he muttered:
'Ah… the protagonist finally arrives.'