~ I have added this Fanfic to my Patreon. If you'd like to read advanced chapters, feel free to check it out!
~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +18 this weekend!
~ I've edited some of the previous chapters to remove anything you might consider "cringe" or "unnecessary." I'll continue reviewing them from time to time!
~ Very soon, we'll return to releasing two chapters daily, including bonus privileges for Power Stone contributions!
<><><>
There was an indifference to them, a certain impassiveness that could easily mislead the casual observer. But she was a devil, and her kind had always been able to glimpse further into humanity's conscience than others. And after gazing into his eyes, what she found was power, pure and unadulterated, veiled behind the passive pupils, hidden not by choice but by design.
He broke the connection as suddenly as he had initiated it, averting his gaze and choosing again to stare at the fallen form of Raynare. A flicker of pain passed across his face, so quick, that Rias was not sure she had seen it.
She swallowed.
"Did you save Issei?" she asked.
He nodded.
"And Asia?"
He nodded again.
"And them?" she gestured to the Fallen littered amongst the ruins, "Were you the one to defeat them?"
He hesitated, as though if considering what to say.
"Not alone," he finally settled on.
She narrowed her eyes. There was truth within those words, but she suspected that he was also omitting something, leaving it out on purpose. She wanted to pry, but knew that now was not the time or the place.
"I should thank you then," Rias began slowly, "Issei should not have run in there by himself. I will make sure he understands how foolish he acted today."
The boy nodded in understanding.
"It is because of my gratitude that I am willing to listen to your suggestion regarding these… angels. But if I find them attacking my friends again, I will not hesitate to destroy them."
His gaze flickered towards the unmoving forms that stood out among the rubble.
"They won't."
It was not the words that convinced her, but the firm finality that was in his tone.
"So be it," Rias watched the boy with interest, gauging his reaction for what she was about to say next, "No doubt you have questions regarding what you saw today and what they," she flung a contemptuous hand towards the Fallen, "are, what we are. I would like to answer them, if you have the time. Tomorrow after school, perhaps? The Student Council Room?"
He seemed to at least contemplate her proposal.
"I will consider it."
It had been a better reply than she expected. At least he was willing to consider meeting face to face instead of avoiding her like he always did. But even if he had chosen the latter route, it wouldn't have mattered. After today's events, she wouldn't let him go without answers, even if it meant tailing him every day.
"Good. I will have Akeno prepare tea for us."
She smiled at his sudden discomfort. He could not back down now without appearing impolite. Her smile grew as he nodded for the final time.
Checkmate.
He was angry with himself.
He had not expected the combat to move that fast. Months with no towers to ascend, no Dark Hour to infiltrate, no Shadows to fight had dulled his senses to a less than acceptable state. Without the threat of Nyx hanging over his head, he had been lax in his training. There was no reason to anymore, and his combat abilities suffered as a result. It was something he would have to amend now that new enemies just as supernatural as the Shadows revealed themselves. New allies, as well, as he thought of Rias Gremory and the offer she had extended to him.
As he took the meandering road back to his apartment, he wondered what his fellow members of SEES would say. Mitsuru would probably admonish him for putting the mission at stake, as well as the lives of his teammates. Yukari would do the same thing, but would be more worried about him than the team. The only one who would defend him would be Junpei, and he could almost imagine the slacker's voice telling the others to give him a break.
A thin smile spread across his face. Good, old Junpei.
And then the gravity of the situation struck him, and once more he grew angry, the recollection further adding to the pain.
They had caught him unaware, the ones termed as Fallen Angels, and had he been himself when climbing the Tower, the wounds that he was dealt would have proved fatal. But he had surpassed the Tower, beaten whatever challenges that awaited him on its darkened floors, and had climbed to the top where Nyx herself had awaited him. Wounds that would have been lethal if left untreated then, did little but bother him now. It was a testament to how far he had come, beginning when Orpheus had first leant him its aid to when he faced the Shadow of Death on that broken pillar, with gods at his side to do battle instead of just a single master of strings.
Still, while the soul was strong, the flesh had proved weak, and he had felt pain, real pain, when the spear of light sheared through his heart. But pain did not mean death, not when Death itself existed in him in the form of Thanatos. As long as He was inside him, he could not truly be killed. And even without the Guardian of the Underworld to protect him, there were others who would have risen to the task.
His Personas were many and myriad when he fought Nyx, and they had all found him eventually when he was transplanted to this new world. Angels and demons he could command. Divine beasts and mythical monsters prowled beneath his psyche. Heroes of old, legends that were sung of in flowing tales, their deeds as fabled as their names, willingly bent knee to him. And while they were inside him, they shared a fraction of their power with him. It was the gift of the Wild Card and it was a gift he had used well.
From Kohyru, Sacred Dragon of the Celestial Zodiac, he had learned to summon fiery conflagrations in the form of powerful Maragidynes. From Siegfried, slayer of Fafnir, the knowledge to wield swords better than any mortal could teach. From Odin, the element of lightning, the ability to wield it and to protect himself from it. The list grew on and on.
<><><>
~ If you like the story, please leave a review!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power
Stones]
~ (Soon +18) Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/Anshufanfic
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)