Compared to Raynare and Mittelt, she had a far more voluptuous figure. Her black-and-red bodysuit clung tightly to every curve, accentuating her full, shapely silhouette. Even her words seemed to make Mount Fuji quiver with every breath.
Everyone gathered here was a fellow fallen angel from Kalawarna's faction. As for the rogue exorcists they'd recruited, they were stationed outside. Unless summoned, they weren't even qualified to meet these fallen angels face-to-face.
"Huh? Seriously? That's beyond stupid."
Mittelt scoffed without restraint.
"Cut the sarcasm. Stuff like that doesn't happen all the time. If it did, human society would've collapsed already."
Raynare, increasingly irritated by the bad news, waved a hand to end the conversation.
"If this fails, I'm heading back immediately! If the higher-ups in Grigori find out we've snuck off into devil territory stirring up trouble, we'll face serious punishment! And don't think for a second I won't throw you both under the bus to save myself~~~"
Mittelt slouched in her chair, thoroughly unimpressed.
"Same here. The higher-ups have been clamping down on unauthorized operations in enemy territory. If we're caught, we're looking at twenty years minimum in a cell. I've got better things to do with my life."
Kalawarna, too, was beginning to lose patience after days of waiting.
"Raynare, let's be clear. We agreed to help, but we're not staking our entire futures on this little venture."
Raynare felt her temper flare at their pushback. But just as she was about to snap back, she paused, took a deep breath, and steadied herself.
"Relax. This won't fail. Once I get my hands on the Saint's Sacred Gear, my status in Grigori will skyrocket. The higher-ups have always been obsessed with researching Sacred Gears. That girl's Sacred Gear is incredibly rare. If I bring it back, even if we technically broke the rules, the benefits will outweigh the offense."
"And once I'm in the upper echelons, I'll make sure you both rise with me. We'll show all those stuck-up fallen angels that there's nothing we can't achieve!"
"Mittelt, Kalawarna, right now we're just lowly double-winged fallen angels. If you want respect, follow my lead."
"And once we've climbed the ranks, we'll make those who once looked down on us remember, 'Thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west bank.'"
"Don't bully a poor fallen angel girl!"
With that, Raynare launched into a motivational monologue, painting a grand vision of their glorious future.
Say what you will about her abilities and plans, but when it came to spinning pipe dreams, Raynare was a master.
To minimize risk, she'd recruited three fellow fallen angels and a sizeable force of rogue exorcists, offering each of them promises of rewards to quickly assemble a team.
Mittelt and Kalawarna had been swayed by that vision.
Both had long languished at the bottom rungs of Grigori's hierarchy, constantly looked down on by their peers. So when Raynare approached them, they jumped at the chance.
"So relax," Raynare said.
"As soon as we get the Sacred Gear, we're out of here."
Before arriving in Kuoh Town, Raynare had embedded agents in the city for reconnaissance. She'd quickly confirmed it was devil territory. Yet after several days, no devils had reacted or interfered. Seeing an opportunity, she'd moved into the town's abandoned church and reconstructed the barrier beneath it.
"By the way, where's Dohnaseek?"
Raynare suddenly frowned.
Dohnaseek was her third companion, though he'd been conspicuously absent since arriving in the human world. With his strange personality, Raynare would've preferred not to rely on him, but options were limited.
Mittelt and Kalawarna simply shook their heads in unison.
Like hell two cute girls were going to hang around that creepy basement-dwelling guy.
"Keep scouting," Raynare sighed. "Until the Saint arrives, don't stir the pot."
As the trio prepared to split up, a sound from above caught their attention.
Fallen angels were many times stronger than normal humans, hearing included. Even the slightest disturbance could be detected with ease.
Mittelt and Kalawarna exchanged glances. "What was that outside?"
"No clue. Could it be the devils finally showing up?"
Raynare's heart skipped a beat.
Still, she decided to investigate.
They ascended the staircase and returned to the surface.
Sunlight filtered through the ruined church roof, warm and calming, almost enough to lull one into letting their guard down.
But instead of a tranquil scene, what awaited them was a massacre.
Bodies of rogue exorcists lay strewn across the church entrance, twisted, collapsed, each one with a bullet hole squarely in the forehead. Dead on the spot.
Among the fallen, they saw a familiar face.
A young man in dark robes, pale-faced and motionless.
His black fallen angel wings hung limply against the floor, lifeless.
"W-What the hell happened here?!"
The three fallen angels stood frozen, staring in disbelief.
"Was it the devils?" Mittelt's voice trembled.
"No," Raynare said grimly. "Devils don't use guns."
But before she could say more, a figure stepped through the church's shattered entrance.
A man, gun still smoking faintly in his hand.
One look at the scene and the culprit was obvious.
"Who are you?!"
Relieved it wasn't a local devil, Raynare instantly shifted into combat mode.
Her tight leather battle suit snapped into place like a bondage harness, hugging every curve and igniting imaginations best left buried.
Watching the transformation, Rod couldn't help but mentally comment.
So this is what fallen angels wear into battle?
Battle gear? Looks more like fetishwear.
"Surrender now," Rod said casually, holstering his gun. "If you behave, I might even spare your life."
He wasn't worried about these supernatural women. At this level, bullets were pointless.
As for Raynare, Rod remembered her quite well. When he first watched the anime, he'd actually thought she was the female lead.
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