22 A Nun in Raven's Nest pt4

Upon reaching the bottom, the team of rescuers spotted a peculiar cross that towered on a pedestal.

Two women with black wings and a young girl, also with wings, were standing around it.

Crowds of exorcists gathered around the cross, while a woman who wore a revealing leather outfit ordered the exorcists and the two other winged figures to attack the team of rescuers.

The girl was shackled to the cross by chains, and her face was twisted in pain.

"Asia!" Issei shouted, recognizing the young girl.

"The guests have finally arrived, but you're late, and the ritual is almost complete. Kill them!" the woman ordered, and the exorcists and the other two winged figures rushed into battle.

"You'll owe me, brother" Alduin said to Issei, raising his axe and charging at the exorcists. Though he knew he wasn't skilled with weapons, he compensated for it with his strength and the sharpness of his axe, which shattered human skulls with ease.

"Nirn for Dovah!!!" Alduin roared, plunging into the crowd of exorcists. "ZU'U ALDUIN! ZOK SAHROT DO NAAN KO LEIN!" (Transl. "I am Alduin! The strongest in the world!")

As it turned out, the shout still had it's power in the world, and everyone in the hall froze, overcome by ancient fear that seemed to have been dormant in every particle of their soul and awakened at that very moment.

Issei was the first to regain his composure, summoning his sacred gear and charging into the crowd of exorcists, where his brother was already wielding his weapon.

Then, Kiba, Koneko, Akeno, and Rias also snapped out of their trance, with Akeno and Rias taking care of the fallen while Koneko and Kiba aided the brothers in combat.

Meanwhile, the cross lit up with green light, and the chained nun hanging from it screamed in agony. After a few seconds, a green sphere flew out of her chest, carrying two silver rings inside.

The fallen nun caught the sphere and leaped away from the cross.

"Asia!" Issei yelled, rushing to the cross and catching Asia's lifeless body.

"Twilight Healing! It's finally mine!" the fallen nun exclaimed triumphantly, laughing like a classic villain.

The other fallen were distracted by their leader, giving Rias and Akeno the chance to dispose of them.

Issei, on the other hand, held Asia's body close, weeping.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was late" he sobbed.

"She's yours now. You can do whatever you want with her" the fallen nun said.

"Give back her sacred gear!" Issei demanded.

"Oh, no. This will help me rise in rank among the fallen angels. You got a sexy blonde body. Have fun with it" the fallen nun replied.

"A-ha-ha! Blood! Brains! Nya! Death!" Alduin laughed as he shattered another skull.

"You!" Issei growled.

After finishing off the last of the exorcists, Alduin glanced over at his brother and froze in surprise for a moment. In Issei's eyes blazed such a strong hatred that he had only ever seen in the eyes of mortals who had lost everything and were about to lose their lives.

"Such hatred and all because of some nun?" Alduin wondered.

"You were my first girlfriend.." Issei spoke up.

"Right. It was so much fun pretending to be an innocent little girl. It was amusing to tease an inexperienced guy like you."

"I cherished our relationship!"

"As soon as I put on a cute face, you jumped through hoops to please me. And it was so funny to watch all your efforts" the fallen one laughed.

"Aha-ha! Oh, yes! Almost the perfect date. And because of that, it was unbearably boring."

"Yuma-chan..."

"I was going to kill you at sunset, that's why I came up with that name for myself. It's cool, isn't it? But you survived and started dating that blonde. How could you, Issei?!" the fallen one playfully attempted to slap Issay, but it was the last straw. His red glove glowed with crimson fire and expanded in size, becoming a full-fledged Daedric glove with an emerald in the middle, while primitive rage burned in his eyes.

"You monster!" Issei spat, hitting the fallen, who flew through the room and crashed into the wall. Issei's cultists took this as a signal to attack, and Rias approached Issei.

"That's... a Boosted Gear! One of the thirteen Longinus weapons" Rias whispered, examining the glove. Her touch managed to calm Issei down, and Alduin stared in amazement at the aura of the glove on his brother's left hand. More specifically, it looked somewhat like a dragon's aura.

"Ha! You can't beat me! With Twilight Healing, I'm as strong as Azazel himself! You're no match for me!" the fallen shouted, her wounds healing almost instantly.

"Issei, would you mind if I kill her? You took me off the raid, and the Hangov is going to ruin my PM with curses. I need to blow off some steam" Alduin asked.

"Are you kidding? I want to kill her myself! But as long as she has this sacred mechanism, she's immortal" Issei replied.

"Well, we'll see about that" Alduin chuckled, and, waiting for the moment when the fallen angel was lower, he jumped close to her and took a deep breath.

"Is a mortal ready to die?" the fallen one asked with mockery, holding a beam of light over him.

"Tatsumi!" Issei yelled, seeing his brother in danger.

"No, bitch. I'm going to pass my judgement on you. Krii Lun Aus (Thu'um Death Sentence)!" Alduin yelled and struck the fallen angel's chest with his axe.

As soon as the blade touched the fallen angel's body, a wave of violet energy rippled over her.

The light spear in the hands of the fallen shattered into particles of light, which dissolved into the air as the fallen collapsed on the ground.

Her body was still, and a green sphere with two silver rings flew out of her pierced chest and began hovering over the fallen body. Taking the sphere in his hands, Alduin approached his brother.

"Forgive me, Issei. This is all I can do for the memory of Asia" he said.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Issei sobbed as he held Asia's body close to himself.

"We can bring her back" Rias suddenly said.

"Rias-senpai?" Issei asked in surprise, but when he saw the brightly red figurine of a chess bishop in Rias's hands, he was even more amazed. "Are you sure?"

"You risked your life for her, and I believe you deserve to be rewarded for your efforts."

"Hyodo-kun, can I?" Rias asked, extending her hand towards the green sphere in Alduin's hands.

He looked at Issei and, after receiving a nod, handed the sphere to Rias.

She placed the sphere inside Asia's chest and put the chess piece on her chest.

"She will become my bishop."

The bishop chess piece glowed with red light and slowly sank into Asia's body. After what felt like an eternity to Issei, Asia opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Issei-san?"

"Asia!" Issei breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her tighter.

"Issei-san!" Asia hugged him back.

"I demand an explanation" Alduin said, gently running his hand over the edge of his axe and imbuing it with his terrifying aura. The demons flinched but understood the hint.

In an ordinary Japanese house not far from the Kuoh Academy, a voice shouted through the headset, making the girl wince.

"Where's Devi?!" the voice demanded.

"I don't know. He said he was 'afk for family reasons.' But we can wait. They won't be able to farm without us anyway. By the way, I noticed that your kin have targeted Hyodo older brother?" the girl replied.

"Yes" answered the other girl's calm voice. "We might have to step up our efforts too."

"Muruyama, maybe we should try a different approach?" the other girl suggested.

"Are you going to teach ME how to seduce mortals, Katase?" Muruyama replied.

"Well, well" Katase chuckled, crunching on a cookie. "Looks like you're losing your touch."

"And this is coming from someone who got kicked in the butt by Dad for aggressive trolling?" Muruyama teased.