The night in Kuoh City was unusually quiet. Only a few scattered pedestrians wandered the streets under the shroud of darkness.
A soft breeze stirred the clouds, obscuring the moon and making the night even gloomier. Yet, in this gloom, something more sinister seemed to slither in silence.
Several figures floated high above, their very presence oozing malevolence. They descended slowly toward a secluded park, their dark wings tinted with shades of indigo.
At the head of the group was a woman with long black hair. Her gaze swept across the others as she asked coldly, "Any sign of Asia?"
"We found her, Lady Raynare!" chirped a girl with twin pigtails. "And oh, the irony! She was taken in by the very demon who killed that useless Freed."
"Is that so?" Raynare brushed a strand of hair from her face, her features beautiful yet ice-cold. "Kalawarner, think you can handle it?"
"As you command," replied a tall woman curtly.
"Lady Raynare, allow me to go too," said the only man among them, stepping forward. "Freed may have been human, but he wasn't weak."
"In that case, I'm going as well!" the pigtailed girl pouted. "It's not fair to leave me behind! That Sacred Gear in the nun's body should be my trophy. I, Mittelt, want to offer it myself!"
"That would be safer," Kalawarner added. "Besides, word has it the Governor General was quite pleased with the Sacred Gear we extracted from that other man."
Donasik nodded. "Add Asia's Sacred Gear to the tally, and Lady Raynare is sure to rise through the ranks of the Fallen Angels."
"Very well. I leave it to you." A dreamy smile played on Raynare's lips, as if she could already see her glorious future.
But her fantasy shattered at the sound of a mocking voice.
"Nice dream. Unfortunately, this is where it ends."
"Who's there?" Raynare and the others instantly snapped toward the sound.
In the dim parklight, two figures emerged: a handsome young man and a stunning girl.
"Ara-ara... So these are the infamous Fallen Angels?" Utaha Kasumigaoka looked them over with open distaste. "Why do their wings look like crow feathers?"
Demon wings, by comparison, were far more elegant.
"Though… aren't there a few too many of them?" She instinctively clutched Kai's arm.
Kai: "..."
Is this woman brave, or just a coward?
She had just been mocking them moments ago.
Still, the sensation of her pressing close wasn't unpleasant.
Kai shifted his hand slightly. "You've got an impressive figure."
Utaha froze, then her face flushed deep red. "Master-pervert! Can't you keep your dirty thoughts in check for once?"
"Relax. They're just a bunch of weaklings."
Raynare and her team, already seething, now looked positively enraged.
How dare these two treat them like air?
"Filthy demons! Know your place!" Donasik roared and shot into the air, arm raised to strike.
Fwoosh!
A radiant light flared against the night sky. A glowing spear of pure white formed in Donasik's hand.
Though they had fallen from grace, Fallen Angels still wielded the power of Light.
"That power..." Utaha frowned.
As a demon, the very essence of that light made her skin crawl.
Zzzzip!
The spear cleaved the air, leaving white vortices in its wake—it had broken the sound barrier and was hurtling straight for Kai and Utaha.
Watching the pair remain motionless, Raynare sneered. "Demons are nothing but scum. Patheti—"
She never finished the sentence.
All she saw was—
A glowing magic circle flared to life. A blinding bolt of azure lightning shattered the spear and slammed into Donasik.
CRACK!
The heavens roared.
For an instant, the park was lit up like day.
Silence fell.
Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt—and even Utaha Kasumigaoka—stood frozen in shock.
Then, a charred corpse dropped from the sky like a ragdoll.
"He... he's dead?" Utaha clutched Kai tighter, her voice trembling. "But... he was a Fallen Angel!"
A legendary Fallen Angel.
The sworn nemeses of demons, their natural predators... and he'd been obliterated in a single instant?
She had known her master was strong, sure—but this was absurd.
"I told you they were weak," Kai said casually. He glanced at the remaining three and asked, "By the way, the person you mentioned earlier—was his name Issei Hyoudou?"
"How do you know that?!" Mittelt blurted, then immediately snapped, "You bastard demon! How dare you kill Donasik?!"
Raynare and Kalawarner exchanged glances, their bodies tense.
This demon was no ordinary foe.
"So it really was your doing," Kai murmured. Raising his hand, he said lightly, "As a gesture of thanks, I'll make sure your deaths are painless."
Fwoosh!
The moment his words left his lips, a gorgeous, pale blue magic circle appeared in the air.
An immense magical force distorted the very atmosphere around them, waves of power warping the air visibly.
"Kill him!" Raynare screamed. All three surged forward, spears of light clenched tightly in hand.
They had no choice. The sheer weight of that magic chilled them to the bone.
He had to be a mage. If they could close the distance before he cast—
BOOM!
Their thoughts were cut off as a torrent of lightning surged outward, unstoppable.
Their spears disintegrated like tofu struck by a hammer.
Terror overtook them.
Raynare, Kalawarner, and Mittelt felt death's icy grip close in.
"No!" they screamed in unison, but there was nothing they could do as the lightning engulfed their bodies, dragging their consciousness into the void.
In the final moment of their lives—
They saw only those wine-red eyes, distant and pitiless.
Indeed... painless.
And then, nothing.
On the other side of the blast, Utaha Kasumigaoka could only stare, eyes wide with disbelief.
Her master... was terrifying.
So this was his true face?
Kai looked down at her. "You okay?"
"I-I'm fine!" she squeaked, instinctively letting go of his hand.
"Shame," Kai muttered, flexing his fingers.
That warmth had been quite pleasant.
No doubt about it—my master's a full-blown pervert... Utaha thought, calming herself.
She glanced at the three corpses, a peculiar glint in her eyes. "Honestly, I thought you might spare them. They were pretty, after all."
"I don't lose my head over every woman I meet."
"Really now? Someone's feeling awfully smug today."
"They were enemies. I don't make a habit of sparing enemies," Kai sighed. "And beautiful? Please. Compared to you, they're nothing."
"..."
Utaha froze, her toes curling slightly in her shoes.
Yet, despite herself, the corners of her mouth twitched upward.