Shade walked through the dark streets of Kuoh, holding a phone in his hands as he spoke with his boss.
"So, to sum it up. You're saying I have to deal with some subordinates who've been acting on their own without your authorization?" Shade asked.
"Yes," replied the voice on the other end of the line.
"If possible, I want you to leave them alive for interrogation," Shade's boss said.
"Understood," Shade said, arriving in front of a house where he sensed a presence with a strong bloodlust.
"Looks like I found a lead. I'll call you back, boss." With that, Shade ended the call.
Entering the interior, Shade walked down a short hallway until he reached the living room, and what he saw made him feel somewhat disgusted. On the wall was a macabre display.
A human crucified upside down, his arms and hands held by nails that were still dripping blood. His chest was open, revealing his internal organs. On the wall was written:
"Everyone who sins is a slave to sin."
Shade looked at the man's face, which was full of agony.
"Well, well! What do we have here! I can smell an evil odor," said a man's voice that clearly sounded amused.
Shade looked toward the voice, seeing a young man in his twenties with gray hair and gray eyes, wearing priest's clothing with a cross around his neck.
The priest entered dancing and singing a song about death to demons in the most bizarre way Shade had ever heard.
When he finished singing, he stopped, a smile adorning his face as he looked at Shade.
"I am Father Freed Sellzen," he introduced himself.
"I am the..."
Before he could say anything, Shade kicked the crazy priest, sending him completely through the wall.
"I don't care who you are, you damn lunatic," he said without looking at the large hole in the wall.
Shade turned around.
Why do I sense Asia's presence? He thought, looking around, feeling that Asia was in another part of the house, hidden by some kind of protection.
"Hey! Hey! That wasn't nice. Who kicks someone out of nowhere?" Freed asked.
Shade rolled his eyes.
"Well, me, who else? Don't make me lower my IQ to the level of a slug."
"A slug, huh?" The crazy priest pulled out two objects. The first was a gun with an engraved cross, and the second was a cylindrical tube that lit up, revealing a kind of laser sword.
"I was thinking of giving you a quick death, but I'll give you a slow, painful one instead," he said, launching an attack with the energy sword, which Shade didn't even bother to block.
The blade of light, upon touching his body, simply stopped, unable to even scratch him.
Freed's eyes opened in surprise.
"What?! My wonderful sword! Why didn't it cut you in half?"
"Maybe because it ran out of battery?" Shade asked, amused.
Freed looked at his sword, walked over to a table, and made a motion, cutting the table in half, leaving only a trail of reddish wood from the cut.
"No, this is fine," he murmured. Then he aimed his gun and fired several bullets at Shade.
The bullets simply impacted Shade without penetrating his skin.
"What the hell are you made of?"
"About 70% water," Shade replied.
"Haha. Do you think you're a comedian?"
"Yes, and a much better one than you."
A vein appeared on Freed's face as he lunged, brandishing his sword, but a figure intervened, making him stop abruptly. The sword only grazed the figure.
"Hey, that was dangerous! I almost cut you in two. Did you finish setting the trap, Asia?" Freed asked.
"Asia?" Shade asked, blinking in confusion, wondering why Asia was here when he had left her at the church earlier.
Is she connected to the fallen angels? He thought to himself.
Shade snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Asia.
"Please stop! Why do you have to do this to Shade?" she asked.
"...Huh? You know each other?"
Freed smiled mischievously.
"Hey, that's fun! Is it forbidden romance between a demon and a nun?"
"Shade is a demon?"
"Hey, Asia, I'm not a demon. I'm human," Shade said, feeling left out.
"Are you sure you're human? With that face, it's hard not to be a demon."
"Are you saying that because I'm handsome?" Shade asked, looking at Freed.
"No, you're hideous. Anyway, just die already," he said, raising his gun and aiming at Shade, but Asia stepped in front of him.
"Hey... move aside. Do you know what you're doing right now?"
"I understand, Father Freed. Please, let this person go!"
"I don't like this... Shade is a good person. He's not evil..." Asia said, making Freed angry.
"Aaaahhh! What the hell are you saying, you damn nun?! Don't you realize that thing smells like a demon? Even if he isn't a demon, he gets involved with them. Those who mingle with demons must die."
"All demons and those who associate with them are trash! Didn't you learn that in the church?! Are you suffering from brain damage?!" Freed shouted furiously.
"There are good people among demons!" Asia said.
"There are none, you idiot!"
"I-I used to think that way, but Shade, even if he associates with demons, is a good person."
Freed became enraged, raising his gun to strike Asia, but Shade stopped Freed.
Grabbing Freed's head, Shade smashed it against the wooden floor, leaving a considerable hole.
"I have to admit, you have a hard skull for just a human," Shade said with a smile, looking at Freed, who coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Damn... demon," he said, barely conscious.
Shade looked into the darkness of the house and touched it, materializing a sword as black as the abyss. Grabbing the sword by the hilt, he prepared to end Freed's life. However, Asia stopped him.
"Don't do it, Shade," Asia pleaded.
"Asia," Shade said, looking at the nun girl.
"This guy is a bad person. Look at the wall. Do you think someone who enjoys doing that can be redeemed?" he asked.
Asia fell silent and then spoke.
"It's not our duty to take the life of another living being."
"Even when that means letting him continue killing more people in the world and causing pain?" he asked.
Asia didn't know how to respond.
"I..."
"Asia, you're a pure soul for this world. But there are times when being good is never enough. Sometimes you have to do bad things so that you can do more good things."
"If I leave Freed alive, he'll come back and keep killing more people. Do you think that would be fair?"
Shade watched as Asia began to shed tears. Her world was being shaken by this sudden turn of events.
Finally, Asia understood and turned away.
Shade looked at Freed, who was still conscious, trying to free himself.
"Alright, I'll make it quick." And with that, he plunged the sword into Freed's heart, who exhaled his last breath of life before dying.
Using the darkness, he swallowed the body and approached Asia.
"Did you really do it?"
"Yes. Freed was a bad person, Asia. Sometimes you have to do bad things. Here, use this to cover yourself," he said, taking off his coat, leaving himself in just a gray t-shirt.
Asia put on the coat.
"Shade, are we friends?"
"Yes, we're friends, Asia. Come, let me take you to my home so you can stay and rest."
Asia nodded, grabbing Shade's hand, who disappeared into the darkness. Moments later, a magic circle glowed, from which several figures emerged, looking with bewilderment at the chaos that had been left behind.