"Impressive, truly impressive! So you're the exorcist who made off with the Holy Maiden?!" The white-haired priest's face twisted into a look of pure excitement.
"We were planning to invite you, but I didn't expect you to just kill them all right away! It seems you're more of a Stray Exorcist than any of us!"
"What a shame, we actually had a chance to be colleagues... but I'm getting more and more interested in you. A man as strong as you is worth killing! So, please, let's get to know each other. Don't let the fact that I'm with these trash exorcists fool you—I'm actually quite strong!"
A terrifying killing intent erupted from him. Rhode felt the man looked somewhat familiar, so he didn't strike immediately.
Seeing Rhode "dazed," the white-haired priest suddenly reached under his trench coat and fired a shot without warning. A standard exorcist's pistol fired projectiles similar to laser weapons in sci-fi movies. However, unlike sci-fi weapons powered by batteries, an exorcist's gun was powered by the Holy Light of Angels or Fallen Angels. Of course, while it was light-based, the "bullets" behaved much like normal firearms.
Rhode's physical condition was already far beyond human. Even at close range, he could dodge effortlessly.
However, after Rhode dodged a few shots, a black object suddenly detonated at the white-haired priest's feet. Thick smoke billowed out instantly, obscuring everyone's vision. From within the smoke came the priest's voice, growing more distant.
"This is my true escape route! Don't forget to brush your teeth!"
The white-haired priest moved like a startled rabbit. In less than three seconds, he had used the smoke cover to flee the abandoned factory. Once he plunged into the woods, he breathed a sigh of relief, muttering under his breath, "Who the hell wants to fight a monster like that?! I only joined this group because they let me kill whoever I want! There aren't even any benefits; why would I put my life on the line...?"
Shink—!
Before he could finish, a cold, sharp glint sliced through the air, cutting his escape speech short. The priest didn't even have time to register what had happened before he noticed his vision was suddenly spinning vertically.
In his tumbling line of sight, he saw a headless body with a neck spraying like a fountain. It wasn't until his head thudded onto the ground that he realized: Oh, that's my body. His consciousness faded into black, and he permanently ceased to think.
Rhode stowed his Nichirin Sword expressionlessly and shook his head. "Did you really think you were a perfect being or something?"
Asia had watched everything from the roof. Seeing Rhode take the priest's head, she covered her mouth in terror. Although Rhode had told her these priests were psychopathic exiles who had committed atrocities, she still wished the world could be more peaceful.
Rhode returned to her side silently. Seeing Asia kneeling and praying with her hands clasped, he asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Ending with "Amen," Asia stood up and looked at Rhode. "I am praying for those lost souls, hoping they can find repentance in the cycle of reincarnation."
"Why can't they just be good people?" she asked. "Will God forgive them?"
Facing Asia's question, Rhode answered without hesitation: "God will surely forgive them. My job is simply to send them to meet Him."
It took Asia several seconds to process that statement. Her expression became complicated as she said, "Mr. Rhode, wouldn't it be wonderful if people could just understand one another?"
"God must be working hard for that to happen as well."
As a transmigrator, Rhode felt nothing for the gods. He felt neither reverence nor disdain. However, the "God of the Bible" in the DxD world actually fit the ideal image in Asia's heart.
Unlike other works where the Biblical faction often appears as villains or conspirators, the God of the DxD world died because he personally sealed the Beast of the Apocalypse—Trihexa. Trihexa was an ancient calamity born from the Bible; when God discovered it, He realized its existence threatened the fate of the entire world. Humanity, being the most numerous, would have been the first to suffer.
In the Bible, Trihexa's number is "666," symbolizing human imperfection in contrast to God's perfect number, "7." If Trihexa had awakened, it would have run rampant across the mortal realm. To prevent that, God exhausted His life-force to seal it. Realizing His time was short, He launched the Great War against the Devils and Fallen Angels, taking down the four original Great Satans and numerous Fallen Angel cadres. Along the way, he even dismantled the Two Heavenly Dragons to create the Longinus before finally passing away.
For the sake of humanity, the God of this world truly did sacrifice everything."I suppose so."
Rhode didn't harbor any particular resentment toward a God who had performed such a sacrifice. After all, as the old saying goes: Those who carry firewood for others should not be left to freeze to death in the snow.
Even as a transmigrator, Rhode lived, to some degree, under the lingering shade of that protection.
Soon after, Rhode led Asia out of the abandoned factory and headed straight for the airport, intending to fly to Kuoh Town to complete his system mission. Before boarding, however, he received a call from Griselda.
"How are things on your end?"
"Getting ready to take the kid out of Italy. By the way, I killed a few Stray Exorcists in an abandoned factory. You might want to send someone to collect the bodies. Even if they don't scare any passersby, it's not good to frighten the local flora."
"..."
Griselda fell silent on the other end of the line. She quickly deduced the situation likely involved Asia.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice tinged with regret. "I can't offer you any official support in this matter."
"It's fine. You paid for the job, didn't you?" Rhode's tone was casual. "If you really feel bad, just give me more Main Story missions in the future. Don't bother me with the small-time skirmishes anymore."
"Uh..."
This was the part Griselda understood least. She had expressed her apologies; shouldn't he be asking for a bonus or a reward? Why was he so enthusiastic about more work? Most people spent their lives wishing for a seven-day weekend, yet this guy was practically begging to clock in.
She let out a soft sigh after hanging up. He could have asked for anything else. Then, a thought struck her.
"Wait... I forgot to ask where he's going."
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My : https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
High School DxD : Reincarnated into the Multiverse, but it's High School DxD (63 Chapters – Ongoing)
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