"Sorry, but I can't let you kill him."
A calm voice cut through the tension.
Raynare's golden spear froze mid-throw as her eyes widened slightly.
Standing between her and Issei was a tall young man with long black hair streaked with white, pale silver eyes glowing softly beneath the moonlight.
Three arrows made of dense, dark energy floated around him, each one shimmering with tiny white streaks like stars trapped inside an endless night.
Damian stood with a small smile, his body relaxed despite the killing intent pouring off the fallen angel before him.
For a moment, even Issei forgot to breathe.
"W-What…?"
"Well, what's this?" Raynare asked, her lips curling into a grin. "Did the Church send one of their dogs into this region?"
Her black wings shifted slightly as she floated above the fountain, golden light still crackling around her fingers.
"No," Damian replied evenly. "I'm not part of the Church."
His silver eyes flicked briefly toward Issei.
"It's just that this boy is more special than you could possibly know."
"Me?" Issei asked, panic and confusion filling his voice. "W-Wait, who are you? What's happening?!"
"Don't worry," Damian said without looking back. "I'll explain everything in a moment. Just stand..."
Before he could finish, Raynare moved.
A spear of light shot toward him like a bullet.
Damian's eyes widened.
Everything happened too fast.
But before the attack could reach him, the three floating arrows around him moved on their own.
The dark constructs shifted, expanding into a large shield of abyssal energy.
Boom.
The spear of light shattered against it in an explosion of golden sparks.
Damian's heart pounded.
(Damn it… I could've died just then.)
His breathing stayed steady, but inwardly his mind raced.
(So they really can move on their own…)
The realization sent a thrill through him.
(This is perfect. If they can defend me automatically, I can focus completely on offense.)
Raynare's grin faded as she stared at the dark shield.
"What kind of magic is that?" she asked, genuine suspicion entering her voice. "Such dense darkness… tell me, what devil family are you from?"
Damian let the shield dissolve back into three arrows.
"I'm not part of any devil family."
Keeping his composure, he stepped slightly forward.
"Issei, stay behind me."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Issei replied immediately, stumbling backward several steps.
Raynare let out a mocking laugh.
"Ara, what's this? Just because you blocked one attack, you think you can fight me?"
Golden light erupted around her.
One spear became five.
Five became ten.
Then dozens.
A storm of holy spears floated around her in the sky, illuminating the entire park in gold.
The pressure alone made Issei fall to his knees.
But as Damian looked at the spears, something inside him stirred.
A hunger.
Deep.
Ancient.
Violent.
The feeling came from the Abyss itself.
(Let me eat.)
The voice echoed inside Damian's mind.
It was dark and ancient, like something that had not spoken in centuries.
Damian's eyes narrowed slightly.
(You want to eat the spears?)
The voice responded instantly.
(Yes… let me eat!!!)
The hunger intensified.
It was no longer just a feeling.
It was a demand.
For a brief moment, Damian hesitated.
Then...
(Fine. Eat.)
The instant he gave permission, black mist exploded from his body.
It seeped from his skin like smoke before surging outward in long, writhing tendrils.
The darkness moved like living tentacles.
Before Raynare could react, the tendrils pierced through the storm of light spears.
Then they devoured them.
Each spear of light vanished into the darkness, its holy energy swallowed whole.
Raynare's expression twisted in disbelief.
"W-What?! Impossible!"
The sudden loss of her attack forced her to fly higher, shock quickly turning to anger.
Below her, Damian looked up with a faint smile.
"What happened, Raynare?" he asked calmly. "I thought I couldn't compete with you."
"Shut up, you damned bastard!"
This time, she launched three condensed spears of light directly at his head.
Damian was ready.
The three abyssal arrows shot forward.
Each dark projectile collided perfectly with a spear.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Golden and black sparks exploded through the air.
But Damian's arrows didn't stop.
They pierced through the fading light and continued toward Raynare.
Two missed as she dodged.
The third struck true.
It punched clean through one of her black wings.
"GAHHH!"
Her scream echoed through the park as blood sprayed into the moonlight.
Losing control, Raynare crashed to the ground near the fountain, landing hard against the stone.
She looked up in rage, clutching her wounded wing.
Then, with a furious scream, she charged.
Her speed was shocking.
Even injured, she crossed the distance in an instant.
But the moment she entered Damian's range, the dark water of the fountain behind her erupted.
The black, star-filled liquid surged upward like a living beast.
It wrapped around her arms.
Her legs.
Her wings.
Then slammed her into the ground.
Raynare's body hit the stone with enough force to crack it.
She struggled violently, but the abyssal restraints only tightened.
The water no longer looked like water.
It looked like fragments of space itself.
A dark universe holding her in place.
"W-What are you?" Raynare asked, panic finally creeping into her voice.
Damian walked toward her slowly, his silver eyes calm.
"Me?"
The floating arrows around him shifted, merging together into the shape of a long sword.
A blade of darkness.
Tiny stars drifted within its edge.
"I'm no one," Damian said quietly. "Just someone doing his job."
The moment he raised the blade, Raynare's fear shattered into desperation.
"W-Wait! Please!" she begged. "Spare me! I'll become your servant! I swear I'll never harm a human again!"
Damian looked down at the abyssal sword in his hand.
Then back at her.
"You see, unlike everyone else…"
His expression turned cold.
"I know your true nature."
Raynare's eyes widened.
"I was never going to let you live."
As her scream tore through the night, Damian drove the sword down.
The abyssal blade pierced straight through her chest.
Her body convulsed.
The light in her eyes faded.
But it didn't end there.
The moment her life slipped away, the sword began to change.
Its edge split open.
Then widened.
Turning into a maw of endless darkness.
The restraints around her shifted as well, becoming mouths lined with shadows.
They tore into her, not just flesh and bone, but her spirit, everything.
Her body was devoured piece by piece, consumed by the Abyss until not even ash remained.
Only silence.
Only moonlight.
Only the faint ripple of the fountain.
Behind him, Issei stared in complete horror and disbelief.