Step—step—step.

Faint footsteps echoed off the dilapidated walls. A beautiful girl with violet eyes was treading across a large underground chamber.

She stopped at a seemingly arbitrary spot near the center of the room. Crouching down, she meticulously reached out toward the cold, rough concrete ground.

A pink light shimmered from the tip of her finger and flowed into the ground. Slowly tracing her index finger, she drew out multiple intricate symbols. They were all laid out within the shape of a large rectangle, spanning four meters in length.

‘Low-Class Hidden Barrier — Level 3. This should stay active for at least two hours.’

As Raynare stood back up, the pink symbols gradually dimmed and faded. It appeared as if the gray concrete floor was never tampered with.

For the past several hours, Raynare had been continuously assembling and sustaining an abundance of Holy Formations.

‘This is the best I can do,’ she squinted her eyes in scrutiny, ‘but it’s still not enough to guarantee a positive outcome.’

Raynare indeed possessed a substantial amount of strength, but this didn’t mean that she was safe from all accidents. As an insurance, she had intended to keep her main soul far away from the church.

Out of all the possible accidents, the most frightening one was Koneko. Under this petite, white-haired girl’s innocent demeanor, she had a ferocious trump card — her rare Nekoshou bloodline.

Being part of the Nekoshou species, Koneko had the ability to transform into a Shirone form by gathering the natural Ki around her. This wasn’t just a trivial detail; Raynare knew that Koneko’s Shirone Mode was way beyond her current limits.

She estimated that even if she had multiple clones of herself, she wouldn’t stand a chance against Koneko’s Shirone Mode.

However, there was a major caveat to Koneko's unparalleled strength. Due to past trauma, Koneko was very reluctant to use her Shirone Mode, and would only do so if she was gradually pushed to her limits.

'I need to sprint along the edge of this white-haired gorilla's pit without getting thrown in. The less time I need to run, the safer my chances are.'

All of a sudden, Raynare curiously lifted her head up as if she had sensed something unfamiliar.

Black particles could be seen flowing inward from the corners of her eyes. They passed through her sclera and accumulated into her violet iris.

. . . . .

Boom!

The loud roar of an explosion blasted throughout the entire church. It could be heard echoing throughout multiple underground chambers.

Cough, cough, cough!

Above ground, a young man with blond hair lowered his head and fiercely coughed. His face was surrounded by a thick white dust, and he was excessively hacking and wheezing.

“Koneko!” He exasperatedly exclaimed with a furrowed brow and a downturned mouth. “You didn’t have to bust a hole in the wall!”

“…Whatever.” She replied with a blank stare.

Koneko gracefully hopped over the rubble and strolled around the church’s empty nave.

“…Are you coming or what?” Koneko looked back at Kiba.

“Of course, I am.” The blonde-haired young man jumped over the rubble and took the lead. “We need to move quickly if we want to save the girl.”

At the very back of the nave, there was a large opening leading to a straight-run staircase. Kiba made a beeline toward it, carefully descending the stairs.

“Be on guard.” Kiba glanced at Koneko behind him, warning her with a solemn voice, “Remember that Holy Power is extremely poisonous to us Devils.”

“…En.” Koneko nodded.

As they reached the base of the staircase, they were immediately struck by the heavy, musty smell that filled the air. The basement enclosure was dimly lit, with only a few flickering torches providing light.

Looking around, Kiba noticed that the chamber was large and spacious, with a high ceiling that seemed to disappear into the darkness above. The walls and floor were rough and unfinished, made of cold, hard stone.

Kiba shut his eyes and lightly shook his head, trying to calm himself from the feeling that he was being watched.

“Stay behind me,” Kiba said in a hushed voice, “I won’t let you get hurt.”

Koneko still held an expressionless gaze. “…You don’t need to worry about me.”

Kiba ignored her and began to tread forward with a focused gaze. Moving further into the chamber, he noticed that the floor was slick and wet in certain areas.

Drip, drip, drip.

The eerie sound of water dripping could be heard. Rain had been seeping underground and leaking from the ceiling.

“…This place is disgusting.” Koneko’s irritated voice sounded from behind him.

“…What type of cheap facility doesn’t have a—”

Hock!

Koneko’s eyes opened wide, and she suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood. She dropped on all fours, greedily heaving and panting for air while clutching her stomach in searing pain.

“Are you alright?” Kiba halted his movements and frantically turned around.

His eyes darted around the giant chamber from side to side. Even with a Devil’s enhanced night vision, he couldn’t find any trace of an attacker.

“What’s going on?!”

At this moment, a low hum sounded from underneath the ground. A pink, circular formation started to encircle the two of them, its edges rapidly brightening every instant.

Rumble, rumble.

“F*ck!” Kiba cursed in a low voice as he realized what was about to happen.

Fortunately, his Knight Piece bestowed him with a punctual reaction time. He hastily shoved Koneko out of the circle while simultaneously jumping backward.

BANG!

A large layer of the concrete floor exploded, scattering a giant cloud of debris and dust into the air. Sharp wedges of flint flew in all directions, but they were unable to break through Kiba’s external barrier that was formed with Demonic Power.

As the dust started to settle, Kiba noticed a large 4-foot crater in the ground.

All of a sudden, his pupils momentarily dilated in utter shock.

On the other side of the crater was a small, white-haired girl lying motionless. She was unconscious in a pool of dark red liquid.

“Koneko!” he screamed her name at the top of his lungs. Seeing her tragic stage, Kiba’s voice was ambivalent with vexation and torment.

Koneko’s body was covered by multiple jagged, pink spears. The spears had perforated her from all directions, impaling deep into her shoulders, chest, and back. This almost made her appear like a porcupine.

Puchi! Puchi!

Another two spears pierced through Koneko, this time through the sides of her legs.

By retracing the origin of these spears, it was possible to discern a faint outline of a female figure. There was a short girl with two black, feathered wings in the shadows behind Koneko. The most notable feature was the menacing eminence of her abyss-like irises.

“You!” Kiba stared at the attacker, his eyes bloodshot with hatred and anger. A white light shimmered as a jade black sword materialized in his hand.

“You must be Raynare!” Kiba furiously ground his teeth.

He brandished his sword and continued, “I won’t let you get away with—”

Without warning, Raynare hurled a flurry of pink spears in Kiba’s direction.

“Ack!” Kiba didn’t have much time to speak. A short yelp escaped his lips as he was taken in full surprise. He didn’t think that this girl would immediately attack him without first retorting back.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

‘What the hell is this! These light spears are half imbued with an unknown substance. My Holy Eraser would otherwise be able to easily absorb and slice through them.’

With a nimble reaction time, Kiba was narrowly able to deflect the spears headed his way. However, a few of them ended up harshly grazing along the edges of his Kuoh Academy uniform. Long, trailing gashes with bleeding cuts could be discerned on his chest and neck.

Before Kiba could stabilize himself, the girl’s figure had already reached in front of him.

‘Damn it! How can a peak low-class Fallen Angel reach this much speed!?’

She sent out a vicious punch, shattering his external barrier and directly fracturing his ribs.

Crash!

His body flew over 20 meters and slammed hard into a grimy, concrete wall. Opening his eyes, his vision was momentarily blurry.

‘Koneko…’ His eyes started to moisten with tears.

Within a split second, the girl’s figure flashed in front of him. The last thing he noticed was a hard, black boot that was headed directly toward his face.

‘I’m sorry, Koneko, that I failed to protect you.’

This was his last thought before his vision faded into complete darkness.

. . . . .

Raynare calmly tread across the chamber with Kiba’s unconscious body in her hands. Her pitch-black eyes shimmered, gradually reverting to their usual, vibrant shade of violet.

Plop.

She unsympathetically dumped his body into the shallow blood pool next to Koneko. With a gesture of her finger, the pink spears that were impaling Koneko’s body disintegrated into thin air.

‘The white-haired gorilla has a terrifying vitality. It can still survive with just a single working lung and heart…’

Reaching downward, Raynare placed her palm flat on a dry patch of concrete. A substantial amount of her Holy Power flowed out into the ground, activating an array of hidden runes that had been carved out prior.

This large formation encircled Raynare and the two unconscious Devils.

‘Nature is truly magnanimous during these times of hardship, bestowing me with a feast for the ages.’ Raynare indifferently stared at the two chunks of flesh and bones that were soaked in a shallow pool of blood.

With a metallic cling, a pink light encased Raynare and the two unconscious Devils. In the next moment, the pink light faded, and they were all gone.

Five seconds passed by in complete silence.

…

Ten seconds passed by, and the ground seemed to lightly quiver and tremble.

…

Twenty seconds passed by.

BANG!

A tremendous detonation erupted beneath the ground where Raynare had been standing earlier. It uplifted a substantial portion of the chamber, immediately disabling the remaining Holy Formations and jumbling up the scene.

When the debris settled, all that was left was an indistinguishable pile of rubble.

. . . . .

Hiss!

A bolt of white lightning shot through the air, heading straight for a young woman with dark purple hair. As it neared her, she lifted her arm, and a transparent, pale blue barrier instantly materialized.

Crash!

The lightning struck the barrier and was immediately absorbed, producing a burst of sparks and crackles before disappearing entirely.

“Pathetic,” Mittelt snickered. “That’s going to get old real fast.”

Three Fallen Angels had encircled Akeno in the air.

“Hmph!” Dohnaseek snorted with a slight smirk, “Exactly how long do you intend to hide behind your shield? That’s got to be draining.”

Akeno stood relaxed with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

“Ara ara, you shouldn’t be worried about me,” she smiled while raising her arm to the sky. “Worry about your own predicament first.”

As she pointed upwards, a brilliant burst of blue light escaped from the tip of her finger. It traveled 20 meters upward, and quickly coalesced into a large, rectangular plane that hovered overhead. At the top of the plane, a swirling vortex slowly spun, forming multiple blue seals along the edges of an invisible box that enveloped the battlefield.

Akeno’s cheeks began to blush red. She placed a finger on the tip of her lips and loudly moaned.

“Oopsies⁓” she seductively crossed her legs and fondled one of her breasts that had been drenched by the rain.

“I accidentally trapped us all in this tight enclosure. I hope you’re all into BDSM.”

“Totally sickening,” Mittelt curled her lip in disgust. “It’s not everyday that I meet a girl who’s viler and more abominable than Raynare.”

Mittelt turned and pointed a finger to her side. She released a burst of white lightning towards one of the enclosure seals. Unexpectedly, the attack rebounded toward her, like a reflection off a mirror.

“Ah!” She let out a yelp while narrowly avoiding her own strike.

“Everyone, calm down,” Dohnaseek furrowed his brow. There was now a slight trace of worry in his expression.

“Remember, we have the advantage in numbers.”

“Hmph!” Kalawarna snorted, “She can’t hold this invisible cage and her defensive barrier for long. Let’s just overwhelm her upfront.”

“En.” Dohnaseek agreeably nodded with an intent gaze.

The three Fallen Angels hovered at opposite corners of the enclosure and held their arms out with a serious expression.

It wasn’t long before three different-colored streams of lightning simultaneously ripped through the air at full force.

Akeno swayed her hips to the side and snapped her finger, wearing a relaxed smile. At that instant, a transparent blue shield appeared around her again.

Clash!

Yet again, all the incoming energy was absorbed at once.

“Firstly, I’m thinking of playing with — and BREAKING — my new blonde-haired toy.” Akeno licked her lips.

“Your body is literally a doll,” she lewdly leered at Mittelt, “I wonder how sturdy your insides will be?”

At this very instant, Kalawarna's wings made a mighty, thunderous flap from behind. Swooping down at full speed, her jagged, yellow spear was pointed toward the back of Akeno’s neck.

Kalawarna’s expression revealed a vicious grin with a tinge of madness. “Die, you wh*re!”

Just as the jagged spear was about to rip through Akeno’s neck, a fiery red beam of energy flew out of seemingly nowhere. It slammed into Kalawarna's rib cage, and a massive shockwave erupted. She was launched to the side, smashing into a sturdy tree with a resounding crash.

Cough!

Kalawarna hoarsely choked out blood with her eyes wide open.

She briskly glanced around and clutched her abdomen, wincing in pain. Evidently, her previous injuries were starting to resurface.

“The damned Devils called backup?” she muttered in a croaky voice.

From the direction of the attack, an elegant young lady with crimson red hair could be seen. She held an umbrella in one hand, gracefully protecting her from the rain as she leisurely promenaded forward.

As she walked up to Akeno's invisible cage, the air around her body seemed to ripple and bend. It was clear that she was a powerful and influential figure, having the ability to walk through the boundaries of the cage without encountering any resistance.

“I’ve seen her red hair before — it symbolizes the Power of Destruction,” Dohnaseek slowly inched back and uttered with a low growl.

“This Devil is a pure-blood from the House of Gremory.”

The entire cage was filled with dead silence. No one dared to make a sudden move as the crimson-haired young lady strolled up to Akeno.

Rias’ head was up high, and her shoulders were held back in a relaxed posture.

“This is the second time, Akeno. I had expected you to perform better,” she spoke in an aristocratic manner, but with a hint of disappointment.

“…Sorry, Miss Rias,” Akeno scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. “I got sidetracked again.”

Rias sighed and turned to look at the Fallen Angels.

“Tsk.” Mittelt intrepidly stared back at Rias. She lifted her palm to the side and commented, “These two Devils will be a tricky little pair to deal with.”

Hearing this, Rias sneered. She complacently crossed her arms over her chest and retorted.

“Don’t get too ahead of yourselves. With your meager strength, you won’t even be able to lay a finger on me. Furthermore, as we speak, two of my underlings have already infiltrated the church. It wasn’t a very smart idea to lay out your forces like this.”

“Hehehe,” Mittelt chortled, her legs rapidly swinging in the air, “if anything — you stupid Devils are the ones who have already failed!”

“Mittelt!” Kalwarna’s voice scolded her from the opposite side of the cage, “Just shut your gob and start channeling your spell right now!”

An immense amount of Holy Power was visibly starting to generate around Kalawarna and Dohnaseek.

“Is this your last resort? A collective offense?” Rias questioned with raised eyebrows.

Akeno shrugged, commenting with a cocky expression, “No matter how much force they put in, it won’t make a difference.”

Rias ignored her and squinted her eyes. She had an uneasy premonition because of the way the Fallen Angels were acting.

With further scrutiny, she noticed that intricate runes were emerging all over the ground. Clearly, a large-scale Holy Formation had been set up in advance.

“Hold your tongue, Akeno,” she replied with a solemn tone, “something’s not right.”

At this moment, Rias had entered a sudden realization. Her eyes widened and she dropped her umbrella.

“No!” she exclaimed.

In a flash, her figure turned into a red streak, heading straight toward the nearest Fallen Angel in her sight.

Within less than a second, Rias had arrived right in front of Mittelt, delivering a roundhouse kick to the side of her head.

Slam!

Mittelt screamed as she was sent flying into the side of the cage.

Upon collision, she crumpled to the ground, struggling to prop herself up. A substantial amount of blood could be seen trickling down one side of her face.

However, she was laughing like a mad woman.

“You failed, stupid pure-blood of the Gremory Household!”

CRACK!

The overhead rectangular plane ruptured and shattered into tiny blue particles, which quickly disintegrated into nothingness. At the same time, the figures of Dohnaseek and Kalawarna gleamed in a blinding white light, disappearing almost instantly.

Upon seeing this, Rias' expression darkened, and her aura started accumulating a vast amount of Demonic Power. Her body was surrounded by a red glow and her hair slightly floated in the air.

Crunch!

Rias cruelly stepped on Mittelt’s arm, shattering her bones instantly.

“You set up this Anti-Demonic Escape Sequence in advance, didn’t you?”

Ignoring Mittelt's painful cries, she continued with a cold expression, “What’s your true objective? It can’t be that useless nun.”

“Hmph!” Mittelt scowled, her expression contorting with pain. “You totally won’t be able to get information out of me. I don’t even know what our leader’s motive—”

Bam!

Mittelt’s body was sent airborne again as Rias punted her head.

Her blood seeped out onto the dirt and grass, being swiftly washed away by the rain.

“Still not going to speak, huh?”

Crack!

Rias slammed her boot into Mittelt’s face and twisted it around relentlessly, splattering her blood even further.

“Just… kill me already,” her soft voice choked.

“Akeno.” With vacant eyes, Rias turned around and grimly uttered,

“I believe you’ve been wanting a doll to toy with for a while. Although bloodied, this Fallen Angel comes with a small, cute face and a designer Lolita outfit.”