Summary of the last 10 chapters:
In Kuoh Academy, there was an unspoken rule: you do not ask out the most beautiful third-year student.
Hyoudou Issei, of course, had other ideas.
The cost of that impulsive decision, the dangers that would accompany dating Rias Gremory, had barely begun to reveal themselves when he was dragged into a situation beyond his wildest dreams.
After a Fallen Angel named Raynare revealed her true form and nearly killed him, a new world opened before him. A world of devils, dragons, and gods. Even his younger brother Izo, long regarded as one of the strongest students in Kuoh Academy, was part of it. And Ophis, the mysterious dragon who saved his life, gave him a power of his own to aid him in this world.
But Issei wasn't content to simply rely on borrowed power. He began rediscovering the thrill of the extraordinary talents he had spent years suppressing, while an entirely different problem was brewing at Kuoh Academy.
Hiro Satoru.
The heir to the powerful Hiro family, a boxing prodigy, and the student who effectively ruled Kuoh Academy. During a confrontation with Hiro, shortly after receiving his powers, Issei lost control and beat up his entire crew.
Enraged by the humiliating defeat, the boxing prodigy went rabid in his schemes and tactics, determined to provoke Issei into doing something foolish. The pressure to act kept mounting until the straw finally broke the camel's back.
With the help of a mysterious informant, Hyoudou Issei destroyed Hiro's pieces one by one until only Hiro and his main crew remained. The conflict had escalated far beyond a simple schoolyard fight.
Their final confrontation pushed both boys further than either had expected. Hiro awakened his Intent, while Issei was forced into the first truly challenging fight he'd experienced in years.
Issei won.
But the victory left him hungry for more.
If ordinary humans had become this interesting…
Just what awaited him in the supernatural world?
*********
*********
The birds were chirping melodically.
Another peaceful morning in Kuoh town. Workers and students filled the streets on their usual commute, while elderly residents exercised in the park.
A familiar sight. After all, today was a normal working day.
BEEP. BEEP.
Well…
BEEP. BEEP—
Click.
Not for everyone.
I woke up with a groan, burying my face deeper into the pillow. My outstretched hand, lingering near the alarm, tried to gather the strength to push my sore body up, but—
"Ack—fuck..."
It had been two days since my fight with Hiro Satoru and his gang of cronies. And thanks to a few… miscalculations, somehow my body was in an even worse state than it had been after the fight.
Shoving the blanket off my body, I carefully untangled the loose bandages that had snagged on the fabric overnight. Then I twisted and turned until I flopped softly onto the bedroom floor. The sunlight finally greeted my face.
"Morning, morning…"
I yawned and sat in a heap on the floor. My hands went to work mechanically, pulling the loose gauze taut and rewrapping it around my ribs and knuckles.
As my vision slowly adjusted after ten hours of sleep, my gaze swept across the room… taking in my magnificent gaming PC. My magnificent gaming desk. My magnificent gaming chair. And my ruined, cratered wall—
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I opened them and tried again. … My magnificent wardrobe. My… uh, nice ceiling fan. My beautiful, pristine walls- nope.
I closed my eyes again with a heavy sigh.
That massive, delaminated patch of missing plaster on the wall glared back at me.
Wiping my face with my palm, I forced myself up, unable to look at it any longer.
*****
I made my way downstairs with unsteady steps. Breakfast was set for me, covered with a mesh food tent.
A bowl of cold rice, instant miso soup, and a leftover piece of salted salmon.
Not my favorite breakfast, but hey, I am not complaining. It's a miracle they haven't disowned me after the mess I caused two days ago.
According to Motohama, there had been a bit of an uproar at the emergency parent-teacher meeting after the fight in the cafeteria, but ultimately, nothing major came of it. And almost as if mirroring that sentiment, nothing major happened here at home either.
There were small arguments here and there, along with a serious threat to move me to another school in another town, but it felt more like a scare tactic than anything. Still, I undoubtedly felt a certain sense of 'wariness' from my family. Maybe they think I'm going to kill someone or that I've gone insane.
Beep.
I turned on the T.V, crashed into the chair, and pulled the cover off my breakfast.
The screen flickered to a news channel broadcasting the morning weather segment.
"— issued a routine lightning and heavy rain advisory for the parts of the Greater Tokyo Area. Please pack a folding umbrella today, as we expect sudden thunderstorms to develop during late afternoon or early evening—"
I started flipping rapidly through the channels, looking for something worth watching while I ate.
*****
Having done the dishes, I trudged back upstairs.
As I approached my bedroom door, I didn't reach for the handle. I just kept walking forward, right toward the solid wood, as if it weren't there. Just when I was about to hit the door—
Warp.
For a brief second, the world vanished from my view, replaced by suffocating darkness. Then I was inside the room, walking toward my chair as if nothing had happened.
Of course. As if I, Hyoudou Issei, couldn't master the teleportation ability in two days. Small injuries like this weren't enough to—
Wobble.
My vision tilted sideways, and I found myself on the floor before I even reached my chair.
"No, I am not gonna throw up… Not gonna throw up… Absolutely not gonna throw up…"
I swallowed hard, fighting the bile rising in my throat.
… It has been a constant cycle of this ever since I got excited and started maniacally experimenting with my teleportation powers, trying to map their limits.
The terrifying potential of the 'warp' ability became clear once I started properly experimenting with it. It wasn't a simple get-out-of-jail-free card that I could spam. This ability had actual 'mechanics' to it.
The most fascinating one being 'momentum preservation.' I could sprint in one direction, warp, and reappear facing the opposite direction without losing a fraction of speed. In fact, there was a slight acceleration boost every time I exited the 'void,' the darkness where I couldn't breathe.
That bonus perk was dubbed 'momentum boost.'
In gamer words, I could do a real-life 180 with a speed boost, and for that alone, this ability was straight-up broken.
The sensation of entering the void was still difficult to get used to, but the ability to warp anywhere within a five-to-six-meter radius was beyond overpowered. I approached the whole thing with a kind of childlike wonder.
… Maybe I should have shown some restraint instead of letting that wonder take over.
Yesterday evening, high on my discovery of the momentum mechanics, I started sprinting back and forth across the room, rapidly shifting directions with warp. I was getting faster and faster…
It was easy to guess how that would end.
Chaining teleports at that speed meant the window to breathe between jumps kept shrinking. With absolutely no oxygen inside the warp itself, it was only a matter of time before…
I looked at the patch in the wall where paint and cement had chipped away, leaving behind a miniature crater.
It glared back at me, like a reminder to show some restraint in the future.
Aside from the disturbing patch, I now had more pressing things to worry about. A new set of injuries, reopened old wounds, and motion sickness from warping… which is, in particular, an absolute insult to my gaming career.
I slumped back against my bed. It was supposed to be my training arc. I was supposed to master my teleportation skills, and now…
…
I spent the rest of the day doing some light stretching, hoping to test the waters again tomorrow morning, hopefully when my family wasn't home. Waiting was incredibly frustrating after spending so many hours recovering, but it wasn't like I had another option.
Before I knew it, the sun was already dipping into the horizon.
"Man, I wish there was a healer in real life…"
I sat up with a start, ignoring my body's protest.
The foreign nun with sacred gear. Asia Argento.
********
The sun was dipping beneath the horizon, painting the crisp spring sky in shades of purple as I finally set out for the old church.
The cold air prompted people to pull out light jackets and cardigans… So why was I getting suspicious looks? What, never seen a guy wearing a hoodie pulled up to cover his bandaged face?
As I slowly made my way through the increasing darkness, two figures caught my eye up ahead. Two individuals wearing church clothes, a priest and a nun.
Looking carefully at the nun's frame, I caught a glimpse of blonde hair under her veil.
Unsure if it was actually Sister Asia, I tailed them, hoping to get a better look. They eventually turned and disappeared into a luxurious, gated house. I waited patiently outside for them to come out.
The neighborhood was definitely an upscale one. Manicured lawns, high walls, and massive houses. One could almost smell how expensive it was to live here. Even the streets felt premium.
Despite all that… for some reason, it seemed way too quiet for this early in the evening. There were no cars passing, and no house lights turned on. Not a single soul could be seen or heard.
As I was pondering about the weird atmosphere, the nun came back out of the house, holding a small brass chalice. She dipped a metallic wand into the water and started lightly flicking it around the perimeter of the house while muttering prayers.
Even someone as religiously illiterate as me knew it was some kind of exorcism process. Must be a rich guy getting paranoid of ghosts in his nice mansion.
Since it seemed rude to disturb her while she was doing the ritual, I decided to keep waiting.
While she was spraying the water, I started building my own fanfiction in my head about why this exorcism was happening. I was right in the middle of mentally drafting Act 2 of my ghost story when Asia Argento finally spotted me.
Her face tightened with suspicion. I pulled down my hood, revealing my face.
It took her a few moments to recognize me under the new bruises and bandages.
"Issei-san!"
She rushed toward the gate with a beaming smile.
Flinch.
I still can't get used to being called by my first name…
I put on a wry expression.
"Sister Argento, it's been a while."
"Eh, what are you doing here, Issei-san? Do you know someone who lives here?"
I shook my head. "No, I came to meet you, actually. I saw you walking ahead a bit earlier, but you seemed preoccupied. So, what's going on here?"
"Eh?! You came to meet me, Issei-san!"
Her face bloomed with a smile. Then, it deflated just as quickly, replaced by a nervous fidget as if remembering what she was doing.
"Oh, we're actually doing a house blessing... the owner of this house hasn't been feeling well lately. He's worried about evil spirits lingering in the area—" She covered her mouth and gave me a sheepish smile. "I probably shouldn't talk about that, hehe..."
She turned her head to look back at the dark house with a tinge of worry.
"Uhm… give me one moment, Issei-san. I will go ask Father Freed if my exterior duties are over."
She turned and hurried back into the home.
For some reason, a wave of regret hit my chest. She seemed so genuinely delighted by my arrival that it felt like I was taking advantage of her kindness. Well, not enough regret to turn back now, after coming all this way.
The cloudy sky above seemed to reflect my inner turmoil. I wonder if—
"KYAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
A scream tore through the silence.
I spun around. It came from the house.
I rushed through the gate and sprinted through the front doors without a second thought. The entryway led me down a long, dimly lit hallway. At the very end of it, Sister Asia stood frozen in fear, staring into a doorway.
"What happened-"
The question died in my throat. The moment I got a glimpse over her shoulder, the reason for her scream was laid bare in front of me.
Grotesque.
If I had to describe the scene in one word, that would be it.
A human body was nailed upside down on the wall of the living room.
The corpse was mangled to a nauseating degree. The eyes were hollowed out, the torso pried open messily like the torn pages of a book. One leg was sliced off from the hip, the other severed around the knee. Blood had run down the wallpaper in thick, dark-maroon streaks.
Massive, abnormal screws were drilled into the palms and torso, keeping the body firmly pinned to the wall.
It looked like a scene ripped straight out of a medieval dark magic ritual.
Just above the corpse, words had been written on the wall in blood—
"Punishment for the wicked."
A voice rang out eerily from the slaughterhouse.
A young man lounged on the luxurious sofa, his blood-soaked arms draped over the headrest.
He was staring up at the mangled corpse like he was admiring a piece of fine art. He wore a white robe over a black clerical shirt, both utterly ruined by heavy sprays of blood. A golden cross necklace hung over his chest, sticking out oddly in the dim lamplight of the room in contrast to the carnage.
He turned to face us. His straight, shoulder-length white hair shifted, the long bangs parting just enough to reveal a pair of unnatural red eyes.
Those piercing red eyes paired perfectly with the disturbing grin plastered across his face, as if he were thoroughly enjoying the carnage.
His gaze lingered on me for a second before shifting to the petrified nun beside me.
"The evil existed within this man, Asia-tan… This sinner was entranced by the Devils. Sins graver than death can only be washed away by blood. Or rather, life itself."
He leaned his head back against the sofa, gently closing his eyes with a satisfied sigh.
"To purge the evil from our midst… that is the grand duty of an exorcist, isn't it?"
"Father Freed… This… What are you…"
Tears threatened to spill from Asia's wide eyes.
"Hm? Ah, this must be your first time seeing a corpse like this. Right, Asia-tan?"
He looked up at the corpse again, as if lost in a daydream.
"The Church has been doing this since time immemorial. Hehe, it is not something to be feared, Asia-tan; consider it an honor, a grand duty of sorts."
He raised a blood-soaked hand and slicked back his bangs. As if trained, the hair fell right back down over his face, now coated in fresh red streaks.
His face split into a psychotic grin.
"Putting that aside… who is our guest here?"
His eyes, through his bloodied bangs, locked onto me.
Asia flinched. She immediately stepped between us, her body shaking as she tried to shield me.
"He-he is just a passerby! I just met him outside! Please… let him go!"
"A 'passerby' you say…" Freed's eyes narrowed playfully as he got up from the couch. "Asia-chan, perhaps you forgot something…"
Freed pulled out a highly stylized handgun and pointed it at me. Asia backed into my chest, trying to push me further back into the hall, whimpering. I couldn't even discern my thoughts, nor the expression I was making right now. My entire being was completely rigid.
"When conducting our holy rites, we set up a bounded field to ensure we aren't disturbed by the ignorant masses," Freed said smoothly, his eyes never leaving mine. "A simple perception ward to keep the neighbors away. Now tell me… why would a normal 'passerby' be able to walk right through a holy ward without noticing?"
There was a brief silence.
Glint.
Freed's red eyes gleamed. The barrel raised slightly toward my head, right where Asia's smaller frame couldn't cover me.
Bang.
*******
Chapter 11: The Wicked - END
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Author's note: Man, sure been some time, huh... Well, there is more.