"There you are."
The voice cut through the air like a knife, and every hair on my body stood on end.
Raynare.
Her presence was unmistakable—honeyed tones dripping with venom, sweet and sinister. My body tensed immediately, a reaction not entirely my own. The muscles in my legs coiled, ready to spring—an echo of the trauma this body had endured the last time we met.
She wasn't in her usual combat attire. No, this time she wore casual clothes, soft colors and fabric fluttering gently in the evening breeze. But the air around her twisted subtly, warped as if reality itself strained beneath her presence.
Asia turned at the voice, blinking in surprise. She wasn't afraid. That fact alone disturbed me more than Raynare's sudden appearance.
"Asia," Raynare cooed sweetly, her lips curved into a motherly smile. But her eyes... Her eyes betrayed everything. Cold. Calculating. Cruel.
"It's time to come home."
And in that single moment, I understood something fundamental had changed.
The rules of the game were different now.
My legs trembled—not from fear, but from the instinctive revulsion this body remembered. Cold sweat slicked my back, but I wasn't the kind to run. No... I was the kind who hit back. And if I had to let them take Asia, I could at least knock out a few of her teeth before pretending to pass out.
A tense silence stretched between the two girls, heavy and unnatural. Asia stepped forward with her usual innocence, a smile still lingering on her lips.
"Raynare-san… How did you find me?" she asked, voice full of naïve curiosity.
I said nothing. Just watched. This wasn't the same woman who had tried to kill me back then. Her aura felt different now. Heavier. More dangerous. Like someone who'd walked through fire and emerged darker on the other side.
Raynare tilted her head, her smile still gentle, disarmingly maternal.
"I simply followed your pure little heart, Asia. You always shine so brightly… it makes finding you so easy."
Asia exhaled, relief softening her features.
I clenched my fists.
She had no idea what awaited her. And yet she smiled with such peace. It made my blood boil.
Then Raynare's voice shifted.
"Well, well… if it isn't Hyoudou Issei," she said, not even sparing me a glance. "Funny how we keep running into each other."
I stepped forward, keeping my tone as flat as possible.
"Last time we met, you broke my heart."
The humor in my voice was forced—my eyes were already burning with restrained fury.
Raynare laughed. A soft, mocking sound, like recalling an amusing childhood story.
"Oh, that? Don't be so sensitive. Besides… you barely have a functioning heart anymore."
"I don't usually forgive people who murder me on a first date," I retorted, a crooked smirk forming.
That got her attention.
She narrowed her eyes and finally looked directly at me.
"And yet, here you are again. Persistent little pest."
"Right back at you."
Raynare crossed her arms with feigned boredom, while Asia looked between us in confusion. She clearly realized we knew each other—but it only raised more questions in her innocent mind.
I took a deep breath, locking eyes with the fallen angel.
"I won't let you take her."
That wiped the smirk off her face.
"Oh?" she quirked an eyebrow. "And who exactly do you think you are? Her knight in shining armor? Her little pet demon?"
"Call me what you want," I growled, "but I'm not moving."
The air between us thickened with tension.
Raynare sighed dramatically, then, without warning, raised her right hand.
A bolt of light screamed through the air.
I dove to the side on pure instinct. The blast struck the fountain behind me, shattering it into wet stone shrapnel. Asia cried out in fright.
"Are you insane?!" I shouted, bracing myself.
"You annoy me," she replied simply.
But her aura now… it was something else entirely.
This wasn't the same mid-level threat I remembered. The power she was leaking now felt closer to a high-class demon—or worse.
Raynare didn't hesitate.
Her wings unfurled in an explosion of darkness, and in the blink of an eye, she vanished.
"Shit—!" I cursed, activating the Twice Critical. Power surged into my arm like a jolt of lightning.
I turned just in time to block a blade of light aimed at my head. The Gear, dragon-based as it was, gave me just enough resistance to not lose my skull. Sparks flew from the impact, and my bones groaned under the force.
"Asia, run!" I roared, slamming the gear forward with a loud boom.
The double barrels of my conjured shotgun emerged from the gem, firing a blast of raw mana that Raynare narrowly evaded, her figure blurring through the smoke.
"Interesting," she mocked, hovering above with her wings spread wide. "You're not just a meat sack with good luck anymore."
I aimed. Fired.
She smiled.
And vanished again.
A brutal impact smashed into my back, sending me crashing against the pavement.
"But you're still you, Issei."
Blood. Dust. Pain.
And the fight had only just begun.
She was stronger—much stronger than she should be. I didn't know why, but I couldn't afford to underestimate her.
Unfortunately… this was a fight I wasn't meant to win.
"Damn it…"
I pushed myself up, extending my hand as a grim expression settled on my face.
[BOOST!!]
I didn't let the gear's power flood my body. Instead, I channeled it directly into my palm, compressing it into a sphere of pure mana.
"I remember what you did to me…"
I whispered, infusing the sphere with the Gear's draconic energy before launching it straight at her.
Raynare tried to dodge. The orb followed.
Faster. Faster. Homing in like a predator.
Surprised, she conjured a spear of light and threw it against the sphere.
BOOM!
The orb, unstable to begin with, exploded violently upon contact.
Raynare screamed as the blast caught her. She fell a few feet, smoke and fire licking at her frame.
But I didn't get to enjoy it.
My knees hit the ground.
I had emptied myself into that shot. Every drop of mana, gone.
I'd thrown everything I had into the fight… and it wasn't enough.
What an idiot…
…
…
…
I bolted upright on the couch, gasping.
I was back in the clubroom.
Kiba, Koneko, and Akeno were watching me with worried expressions.
"Where is she?!" I shouted, faking a burst of rage.
"We found you unconscious near the fountain," Akeno said softly. "Buchou's familiar saw you and brought you back."
I stood up. My body felt light—too light.
Outside, the window showed it was already night.
"Asia… I have to save her."
I looked them dead in the eye.
"Don't try to stop me. You won't succeed."
Without another word, I summoned my wings and shot into the night sky, heading straight for the abandoned church.
---
I dropped through the sky like a missile, slamming down at the church entrance.
No hesitation. No breath wasted.
I kicked the door open and immediately launched into a fight.
A rogue exorcist barely had time to react before a bullet of mana slammed into his throat, tearing through flesh and bone. I took his weapon of light and fed it into the Twice Critical, not even bothering to test it. The shotgun roared again and again as I swept the outer hallways clean of enemy resistance.
A blade of light nearly grazed my chest.
Freed.
He leapt at me, eyes wide and manic with bloodlust.
"You're in my way!" I snarled, blasting at him to force distance.
As he closed in, I conjured a shot in my mouth—a last-minute trick. The mana bullet caught him in the neck, puncturing deep.
Freed stumbled, clutching his bleeding throat, before vaulting away and vanishing into the shadows.
I doubted that'd kill him. Bastard was tough.
But he was gone. That was enough.
I exhaled and sprinted toward the chapel's inner sanctum.
My boots echoed through the marble hall as I reached the altar.
She was there.
Raynare.
Floating a few feet above the ground, dressed in her jet-black combat suit. Her wings stretched wide, casting long shadows across the floor. A smug grin decorated her face.
"Well, well…" she said, still facing away from me. "I figured you'd come. Right on time for the grand finale."
Then I saw Asia.
Trapped within a glowing circle, her body suspended in the air like a marionette. Her breathing was shallow, her skin pale.
But her face…
Peaceful.
Unaware.
My heart dropped.
I had let this happen. I'd planned this. I'd allowed Asia to fall into this trap, thinking I could take Raynare down first.
I was wrong.
Tears burned my eyes. My fists trembled.
This wasn't what I wanted.
"Let her go!" I shouted, weapon raised.
Raynare finally turned, her eyes glittering with power.
"Too late, darling."
A green beam descended from the ceiling and struck Asia's chest.
And I felt it.
The tug in my soul.
The loss.
The Sacred Gear—Twilight Healing—was being torn from her.
"NO!" I screamed, firing wildly.
My shots bounced off a barrier.
It was over.
Asia Argento… had just lost her Sacred Gear.
And now… the real war was about to begin.
---