Bang.
A muffled, low-pitched bang rang through the room.
"Ho…"
Freed's eyes narrowed in pure glee, his wide grin threatening to split his face. The space Issei had just been standing was empty.
A few feet inside the living room, Issei materialized from the void. He had narrowly escaped the shot, violently shoving Asia out of the way barely a moment before teleporting.
Freed quickly leveled the barrel once more towards Issei's head.
"You saw that right, Asia-tan?!" he said excitedly. The nun sat in a crumpled heap where Issei had pushed her, her eyes wide with fear and shock.
Issei didn't have the mental capacity to meet her eyes. All he knew was that he was in some next-level shit. He had just exposed his secret ability: warp.
More importantly, what the fuck was this situation?!
A psychotic priest ranting about 'devils' with a crucified corpse nailed right in front of him? Was Sister Asia part of some insane cult from the Middle Ages?!
Issei didn't dare look toward the body. The smell of blood was already permeating his senses to a nauseating degree.
He cursed under his breath and tensed, preparing to warp at a moment's notice.
Seeing the shift in his posture, Freed's eyes glinted with curiosity.
"Show me."
The inside of the barrel flared bright.
Bang.
There wasn't even time to blink. Before the muffled gunshot reached Issei's ears, his instincts flared in alarm.
The moment that dangerous finger on the trigger twitched, the world vanished, plunging him into the suffocating pressure of the void.
Barely a moment later, the space opened to Freed's side, just out of the weapon's line of sight. Issei swung hard, aiming to disarm the priest before he could react.
Freed simply twisted his wrist, pivoting the gun out of reach in a swift, smooth motion. A cruel, knowing amusement sparked in his eyes as if he had expected exactly this—
Shink!
His free hand whipped a blade from beneath his white robe, slashing directly at Issei's outstretched arm. Issei yanked his arm back just in time, the silver edge barely missing his sleeve.
Before he could recover, Freed whipped the blade back around. Issei desperately threw his weight backward, scrambling away as the tip sliced through the empty air where his throat had just been.
Issei stumbled back, his heels catching as he nearly lost his balance. He frantically reset his stance, bracing for a follow-up, but Freed didn't pursue.
Instead, the priest lowered his weapon, his grin widening as a sharp hum vibrated through the air.
GLOW.
"!?"
Issei's mouth fell open. Freed's sword had suddenly ignited, the entire length of the blade glowing like a concentrated beam of pure light.
… A damn lightsaber?!
"Is this your first time seeing this?~"
Freed tilted his head. Slowly, he dragged his tongue along the flat of the glowing blade, his eyes locked onto Issei as if savoring his reaction.
"I never go anywhere without this darling~ I've lost count of how many heretic necks I've purified with it..."
He chuckled darkly at the memory. The sound quickly built into a loud, frantic laugh as he casually spun both the blade and his gun, slashing bright arcs through the air.
Without warning, Freed lunged forward.
Issei immediately sprang backward, pushing for more distance while keeping his eyes locked onto both the glowing blade and the barrel of the gun.
But the strike wasn't aimed at him.
Freed tore into the room instead, unleashing a series of wild, blinding slashes. The glowing blade sliced effortlessly through the furniture, splitting sofas, tables, and chairs into clean, severed pieces. Freed kicked the debris aside with manic energy, systematically erasing every piece of possible cover.
Watching the furniture turn to pieces, Issei felt his options shrinking rapidly. A gun was one thing, but getting into melee range against that blade meant… he might end up nailed to the wall next.
Freed skidded to a halt, clearing the final obstacle. His chest heaved slightly from the sudden, mad outburst, but his grin never faded. The gun was held loosely, pointed in Issei's general direction with a finger resting heavily on the trigger.
"Oops, looks like you missed your chance," Freed chuckled between breaths. "I thought you for sure were going to attack me while I was busy cleaning up."
Freed lowered his stance slightly, his eyes narrowing with a sick twist of admiration. "You are sharper than I thought—"
RUSH.
Issei exploded forward.
He sprinted straight at the priest, without teleportation, using raw physical speed to close the distance.
Bang!
Freed fired reflexively, aiming for the center of Issei's incoming mass. But the bullet struck nothing but empty air.
The target had already disappeared.
Before Freed could recover from the recoil of his shot, Issei materialized right at his blind spot.
Freed tried to twist his wrist away again, but he was a fraction of a second too slow.
WHAM!
The Glock tore from Freed's grip, ricocheting violently against the wall before vanishing into the rubble.
"YOU—"
Freed's grin finally cracked. His expression twisted into pure fury, but his reflexes didn't fail him. Instead of panicking over the lost gun, he instantly whipped his glowing sword around in a violent arc.
Issei threw his body sideways, desperate to clear the blade's path. Disarming the priest had been a massive gamble, but Freed's counterattack was still terrifyingly fast. Even with warp already triggering in his mind, he couldn't outrun the swing.
The blade reached him first.
SPLURT.
The light-blade dug deep.
Issei materialized a few feet away, stumbling before crashing hard onto his back. Blood gushed from a large, ragged wound in his leg, dyeing the floor crimson.
"AAHHHH!!" Issei screamed, gripping his thigh as the agonizing pain paralyzed him.
Freed stood over him, looking down with absolute disgust. He clicked his tongue, the glowing blade in his left hand humming aggressively.
"… A sacred gear, huh?" Freed spat, his voice dropping into a venomous hiss. "You gifted bastard. You got yourself quite the annoying one."
But just as quickly as the raw anger surfaced, it vanished. That twisted, arrogant grin slithered right back onto Freed's face, burying his brief loss of composure.
"… Anyway! Time for interrogation!" His voice suddenly erupted with manic excitement. "Hm?"
He, however, noticed that Issei had gone completely quiet.
Issei lay motionless on the floor, his breathing faint.
"Hm? Hm? What happened to him? Oh my, did you lose too much blood? ~Hey, are you still there?~"
Freed squatted down, leaning closer to get a better look at Issei's complexion—
WHOOSH.
He immediately reeled back, grinning, avoiding a lightning-fast hook that shot out from Issei.
"Whoa~ Whoa~ How scary!"
Freed's voice was taunting as his eyes gleamed with crazed amusement. Issei clicked his tongue in frustration.
Freed's grin slowly faded into a flat, unreadable expression.
"Look at you," his voice grew colder. "You aren't a normal guy, are you?"
STAB
The sword pierced Issei's wound once more.
"ARRRGGGHHHH!!"
Issei clenched his teeth hard, desperately fighting to stay conscious. The pain was beyond anything his body had experienced over the past few days. Unbidden, memories of his battle with the Fallen Angel resurfaced in his mind.
"Are you from the Magician's Council?"
Stab.
"Urk!!"
"Answer me. Why aren't you using that fancy teleportation right now? Reached your limit?"
Stab.
"Arghh!!"
"What was your business with this guy? Hm? Maybe you are also in bed with those devil bitches? Hm? Hm?~"
Stab. Stab. Stab.
"AGGHHHHHH!!!"
"Stop screaming over me!" Freed hissed, twisting the blade buried deep in the wound. "I should just slit your throat so I can hear myself think…"
His expression shifted as he considered the possibility.
"… Oh, wait. You wouldn't be able to answer me then. Hm~ Hmm~"
As Freed seriously weighed his options, he sensed movement beside him.
"Hm? Oh, it's Asia-tan! You're just in time."
He turned toward her with a delighted smile.
"Heal him up quick so we can do a round two! The first wound was a bit too deep, as you can see. Look at all this—"
Freed casually rambled on as Asia Argento stood frozen beside him, her face drained of color. Her entire body trembled. Her wide, tear-filled eyes were fixed on the growing pool of blood beneath Issei.
"Ah… Ah…"
Her voice finally broke.
"AHHHH!!!!"
A desperate scream tore from her lips as she collapsed beside Issei on the blood-soaked floor. Without a second thought, she pressed her trembling hands over his wounded leg.
"Issei-san! ISSEI-SAN!"
A warm, green light radiated from her hands, flowing into his wounds. The agonizing pain faded into a dull ache, and Issei's breath finally steadied.
However, he still couldn't help but stare at Asia in disbelief.
Her gaze remained fixed on his leg until the wound vanished completely. The light faded, and Asia sagged forward, panting heavily from the sudden exhaustion.
A moment of silence passed.
"'Issei', huh?"
Freed mused aloud, drawing himself up to his full height.
"Ah… Ah…!"
Asia glanced back and forth between him and Issei, fresh tears spilling from her eyes. Trembling, she raised her arms and leaned forward, trying to shield Issei from the priest.
"F-father Freed, please… this person is innocent! He helped me previously…"
"Hm? ~ What is this? What is this? What is this atmosphere?"
Freed leaned toward them.
"Oi, oi… don't tell me…"
He reached down and roughly seized Asia by the chin, forcing her to look at him.
"You two a thing?"
His lips twitched. Then he burst into hysterical laughter.
"THIS IS JUST PERFECT!"
"Kyaah!"
He grabbed Asia by her blonde hair and violently shoved her against the wall.
"So, what's it going to be?~"
His fingers traced the tears running down her face while the hilt of his light sword slowly drifted downward.
"A hot father r*ping a nun in front of her lover?"
His grin widened.
"Or 'A boy found brutally murdered along with a young nun who was—"
"Shut the fuck up."
Issei shakily pushed himself off the floor.
"Oh, oh, careful there!" Freed cooed. "Your leg is still freshly healed!"
True to the exorcist's words, Issei felt his balance waver. His vision blurred for a brief moment, the pain from the injury still fresh in his mind, but his eyes snapped back into sharp focus the moment the priest's taunts reached his ears.
Issei lunged straight at him.
SLASH!
The blade in Freed's hand immediately carved toward his neck, as though the priest had been waiting for exactly this.
WARP.
Issei vanished.
Freed instantly twisted his body, preventing his blind spot from being targeted a second time—
WHAM!
Issei's kick smashed straight through his guard, burying his foot into the priest's solar plexus.
"Ack! COUGH!"
Freed sprayed saliva through the air as the force of the blow sent him crashing into the wall.
Issei had anticipated Freed's defensive reaction. He deliberately chose to reappear in the exact same position, catching the overconfident exorcist completely off guard.
"Get up."
"Hehe… Kekeke!"
Freed exploded off the ground with terrifying momentum. He brought his sword up in a vicious upward slash, forcing Issei to leap backward.
Freed immediately followed with a series of wild, erratic swings that lacked the faintest trace of any disciplined swordsmanship.
Yet somehow, every strike felt inexplicably precise.
Issei kept moving, ducking and twisting to evade the glowing blade as best he could.
Despite his shoulder and abdomen being nicked by Freed's wild swings, Issei deliberately avoided using Warp. He needed to plan his next move carefully.
After all, the initial surprise was gone.
If he warped blindly now, the crazy exorcist only had to anticipate where he would reappear and drive that glowing blade straight through him before he could react.
Perhaps this was a weakness of his Warp that he hadn't anticipated. He could have used it to escape the mansion, avoiding this conflict entirely. But leaving Asia alone was out of the question.
Still, despite the limited combat capabilities of his ability, things were better for the moment.
The gun was out of play.
But facing that flailing light sword completely unarmed was still basically asking to die.
Issei desperately needed a weapon.
His treasured legal Swiss army knife, the ultimate multipurpose tool, had broken during his fight with that crazy fallen angel. And after finally getting an ability like this, he had been stupid enough to grow complacent and never buy a replacement.
But there has to be something here!
Something he could—
Step.
Squelch.
…use?
His heel sank into something wet.
Issei didn't need to look down to know what it was.
Glow.
His eyes flared blue.
He sprang backward, launching himself off his rear leg, then violently snapped his foot forward.
"?!"
His lead leg kicked through the pool of blood from the nailed-up corpse, sending it spraying toward Freed.
The exorcist reflexively threw his forearm up to shield his eyes.
And—
WHACK!
The light sword was knocked clean out of his hand, flying into the rubble.
But the supposed distance between Issei and him…
"THAT DAMN SACRED GEAR!!"
Freed leaped backward, his hand diving beneath his bloodied white robe and emerging with a small knife. His manic grin crept back the moment he was armed again.
Issei cursed under his breath and drove himself forward once again, closing the distance.
"Now you are playing!" Freed shrieked gleefully.
He swung for Issei's throat. Issei intercepted his arm mid-swing, locking the priest's wrist in a tight grip.
Stretch.
Freed's grin widened.
Instead of pulling away, the priest stepped closer, eliminating the space Issei needed to escape. The knife slipped from his trapped fingers. His free hand caught the weapon in mid-air…
Slash!
The blade carved across Issei's chest and arm in one fluid motion.
The walls were painted once again with a fresh spray of crimson.
Issei gritted his teeth through the searing pain but didn't let go of Freed's arm.
On the contrary, he violently yanked the knife-wielding maniac toward him while simultaneously driving his knee upward between them.
The sudden, awkward momentum threw both men off balance.
"?!"
Issei vanished.
Freed stumbled forward, struggling to recover his footing—
Whish.
The instant the exorcist managed to plant his feet, Issei materialized…
Freed's eyes widened. His face twisted into pure, unbridled fury.
The distance, the angle, the position of Issei's raised knee…
At this range, Freed was completely defenseless. Issei's knee uncoiled—
"YOU FUCK—"
WHACK!
Issei's leg lashed out like a whip, connecting squarely with the side of Freed's head.
The impact sent the priest stumbling violently through the air before he crashed headfirst into the wall with a heavy thud. He dropped into a slump on the floor, completely unmoving.
Silence ensued.
…
Issei collapsed to his knees, cursing under his breath. With his uninjured arm, he gripped the hilt of the knife embedded in his thigh and ripped it out messily.
"F*ck… even at the last second…"
That had been dangerously close.
Despite being caught completely off guard by Issei's kick, the bastard had still managed to drive the blade deep into his leg right before taking that direct strike to the head.
Issei's eyes drifted toward Asia, who was trembling in the corner, her face completely pale. Seeing him bleed from his fresh injuries seemed to snap her out of her stupor. She half-walked, half-crawled toward him.
Once again, his wounds were graced by the warm glow of her Sacred Gear.
The flesh began to knit back together almost instantly. But this time, the healing process felt agonizingly slow. Asia's hands were shaking violently. Droplets of sweat mixed with her tears, dripping onto the floor as the green light desperately struggled to remain steady.
It wasn't difficult to guess the reason for her strain.
She was reaching her absolute limit.
"… It's enough. Thank you."
Issei gently caught her wrist, stopping the flow.
She looked up, her eyes glazed over as if trapped in a nightmare. Slowly, her shaky gaze made its way toward the gruesome spectacle nailed to the wall.
"… It's too late for that person."
It was obvious at a glance, but seeing Asia's expression, Issei knew he had to say it aloud. There was no saving a corpse, unless her Sacred Gear possessed the power to bring a person back from the dead.
Hearing Issei's words, a sob finally escaped Asia's lips. She collapsed completely, weeping bitterly, but caught herself midway to look over her shoulder at Freed Sellzen, who lay slumped in a heap against the base of the wall.
Then she looked back at Issei, her eyes silently asking, What about him?
"He… is not dead. However, he shouldn't be waking up anytime soon."
Silence settled over the room once more.
Asia sat curled up on the floor, staring blankly at the blood-stained floor. Her mind seemed to be struggling to process the madness surrounding her.
"Sorry for not telling you," Issei blurted out, without even intending to. He felt a pang of guilt for keeping his supernatural abilities a secret from her.
A look of confusion broke through Asia's tear-soaked face.
"I… I should be the one apologizing, Issei-san," she whispered, her voice ridden with guilt. "You only stumbled into this mess because you came to meet me. Now… because of me… what are you… what am I…"
"…"
Issei didn't answer.
His gaze drifted back across the room, toward the destruction left behind by his battle with Freed.
This was nothing short of a horror show.
A psychotic priest had literally crucified a man in his own living room for the crime of interacting with Devils, an actual modern-day witch hunt. Worse, Freed seemed to belong to an entire organization that still carried out these kinds of dark cult activities to this day.
Which begged the question…
"Were you unaware of all this…" Issei asked quietly.
More precisely, why was she part of this cult in the first place?
"No!" Asia flinched, violently shaking her head. "I have, I have never seen something like…"
She took another glance at the corpse and immediately winced.
Following her line of sight, Issei also took a close look at the dead man's face. It looked like someone had captured a photograph of a person's most terrifying moment in life. Despite the body hanging upside down, Issei could clearly discern the raw fear and helplessness frozen into his expression.
A wave of clarity suddenly washed over Issei.
His eyes locked onto Freed, who lay motionless beneath the wall.
Steeling his resolve, he picked up the light sword lying nearby. Having left Freed's grasp, it had gone completely dormant, reduced to nothing more than a cold weapon capable of…
Asia seemed to realize where this was going and firmly shut her eyes.
Freed had to be put down.
Not just because the guy was a total psycho, but because there was no telling what he would do to Asia.
Or to him.
"He… Hehehe!!"
Issei froze.
The manic laughter once again cut through the room.
From the floor, a pair of red eyes gleamed through a matted curtain of blood-soaked white hair.
It shouldn't be possible.
It had barely been two minutes since that perfect, direct impact to the skull. Issei had never seen anyone recover this fast after receiving a full-force kick to the head from him.
Issei immediately leveled the sword at him, preparing to drive it straight through his chest before the maniac could start a round two.
"You… you are that Red Filth's brother, aren't you?"
"…?!"
Issei felt his heart stop for a moment.
The sudden, hyper-specific question caught him completely off guard. He failed to keep his expression from falling noticeably.
"Ha… HAHAHAHA!!!!!!! ~ So, I was right… I knew I'd heard the name 'Issei' somewhere…"
Briefly pausing to spit, he continued.
"'The Red Dragon Emperor has a brother who isn't part of the supernatural world, the reason being his dead Sacred Gear.' Yeah, dead sacred, my ass…"
He laughed like a madman.
The point of the sword trembled.
Issei felt completely stripped bare, his darkest secret being laid out in front of the world.
"Now, this is quite the unwelcome surprise," Freed said, though his gleeful expression conveyed the exact opposite sentiment. "I did plan to have an eventual encounter with you. Your profile seemed so interesting, after all. I could have taken my time with playing around with you, but alas… Wait…!"
The mild disappointment vanished from Freed's face, replaced by a sudden, striking realization.
"DON'T TELL ME… YOU'RE THE ONE WHO ACTUALLY KILLED THAT FALLEN BITCH?!!"
He pointed a shaky, blood-coated finger at Issei in utter disbelief. Yet his crazed smile looked as though he were desperately praying for it to be true.
Issei narrowed his eyes.
That single line from Freed instantly silenced his racing thoughts. He shifted his weight, tightening his grip on the sword hilt.
The fact that Freed could draw that conclusion so quickly meant a terrifying truth: there were probably others who could draw the exact same conclusion if word about his powers became known.
Which was why…
Any lingering guilt he felt about killing a human completely evaporated.
Even if the murder ended up looking as gruesome as the one nailed to the wall beside them, he was going to do it.
Freed, despite his vulnerable position on the floor, only smiled wider, as if daring Issei to try.
Just as Issei lunged forward to deliver the lethal blow, the ceiling violently exploded.
BOOM!
A shockwave ripped through the room, violently blasting Asia backward into the wall, where she instantly went limp. Wood and concrete shattered into a storm of debris.
Issei and Freed both shielded themselves from the sudden assault, crossing their arms against the falling debris.
A massive figure clad in shining, red armor dropped through the hole in the ceiling.
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Chapter 12: The Wicked II — END
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