Chapter 140: A Saintess Reborn, A Demon's Invitation
Bai Yue's motivations, as always, were both disarmingly candid and frustratingly opaque.
He told Aisha that he was helping her simply to repay a favor. That was all.
And then, just as she was digesting that statement, he added, quite plainly, that he also wanted her to "belong to him."
Aisha's heart thundered. For a fleeting moment, she misunderstood—her mind echoing the sentimental tropes of old romances. Was this a confession? Her cheeks flushed, heart racing, words stuck behind the blush blooming across her face.
Only for Bai Yue to clarify.
It wasn't love.
He was interested in her healing ability. That miraculous power—the one that could save demons just as effortlessly as humans—was a useful tool. He didn't hide that he might exploit it.
Her enthusiasm deflated like a punctured balloon.
Still, she held no resentment. She had no right to be angry. Bai Yue, in his infuriating pragmatism, had taught her a vital lesson:
Not everyone deserves salvation. Mercy must be measured. Good intentions, unchecked, could lead to ruin.
How to discern worthiness? Bai Yue offered a method: look the subject in the eye. If their gaze sparked even the faintest discomfort—revulsion, malice, a chill—then do not heal. No matter their injuries. No matter their pleading.
Aisha found that advice deeply troubling. She couldn't judge people by their eyes alone.
"Here," Bai Yue said one morning, handing her a sleek envelope.
"Huh?"
Inside was a newly forged identity: student credentials for Kuoh Private Academy.
She would be entering as a transfer student to the very high school in the town they were about to reach.
A safety net.
If Lost Demon Purge turned out to be truly corrupt—and Bai Yue had strong reasons to suspect so—then Aisha would need a legal identity. With student status, the government would offer basic protection. At the very least, she wouldn't end up wandering the streets homeless.
The paperwork was fake, of course.
All arranged by Bai Yue, through methods neither moral nor legal.
Aisha opened her mouth, but couldn't muster a word.
No—there was one question she couldn't contain.
"Mr. Bai Yue… Are you a transfer student too?"
He chuckled. "No. I'm a teacher."
Being a student required too much effort—classes, attendance, homework. Teachers had the same expectations, sure, but Bai Yue had registered himself as a PE instructor. Easier. Low risk.
His assigned post wasn't random. Kuoh Academy had recently lost a physical education teacher. Bai Yue simply assumed the vacancy.
Anonymity cloaked in legitimacy.
This was the fourth day since they arrived in the country. All preliminary arrangements were complete.
They were now ready to move to the small town in question.
And while Bai Yue plotted his course, mentally mapping the factions of this realm—he was working against a shifting clock. The flow of time between his origin and this world was not synchronized.
He had to learn fast.
Master the rules, stake his influence, and root himself before the sixth phase arrived. If he failed, it would all collapse.
He told Aisha their destination was a quiet town. Unremarkable.
She believed him.
He knew better.
A place like this—too inconspicuous to spark curiosity—was the perfect site for power players to mask their movements. Bai Yue's objective was contact. The local overlords.
He admitted to Aisha: his knowledge came from an anime series. His memory of plot details was patchy. He didn't know if this world aligned with the source material or a distorted novelization.
Kuoh Private Academy.
Within its walls: the Occult Research Club.
A room designed to echo supernatural mystery. Intricate décor. Dark fabrics. Relics of unclear origin.
"President," one girl said, passing over a dossier.
She was graceful, with the quiet elegance of a shrine maiden. Her name was Akeno.
The club president—Rias Gremory—flipped open the folder. Crimson hair framed her noble features.
Two new entrants?
Troubling.
One was confirmed to be a former Saintess of the Catholic Church.
"A Saintess who can heal demons?" Rias arched a brow.
"That's unheard of," chimed in Koneko, a petite silver-haired girl, mid-chew of her sweet snack.
Normally, a nun's power was antithetical to demonic essence—painful, even fatal.
"President, it's possible she carries a Sacred Gear," Akeno suggested.
Sacred Gears—mystic artifacts embedded in chosen humans. Relics beyond conventional magic.
This girl's gift? A healing aura that embraced all life.
If true, her gear was incredibly rare.
"And the Church abandoned her?" Rias scoffed. "Short-sighted fools. Bound to outdated scripture."
She saw opportunity. The girl could become one of her "servants"—a replacement for a monk-type piece in her Devil Chess army.
Devil Chess. A system forged after the Great War decimated infernal ranks. Devils could implant symbolic chess pieces into compatible humans, reincarnating them into devils and restoring battle strength.
The pieces weren't just decorative.
They granted power. Influence. Status.
Rias could feel herself strategizing already.
But what about the man traveling with her?
The dossier offered nothing but basic, forged credentials. No history. No affiliations. Too clean.
"Too clean means it's deliberate," Akeno said. "No one is this untraceable."
"Maybe he's tied to that recent incident at the church?"
"A church agent?" Koneko asked.
"Or someone the Church wants to capture," Akeno corrected.
A Sacred Relic had malfunctioned days ago. Rumor said a holy artifact had gone missing near a sacred city—one associated with Solomon, the King adored by gods and demons alike.
In Solomon's reign, harmony had flourished.
His ring—bearing the Seals of 72 Pillar Demons—was a symbol of balance.
The artifact could only be used while Solomon lived.
Yet now, there were whispers it had awakened.
This stranger—this "teacher"—might be entangled in that crisis.
Rias folded the dossier. "If he behaves, we let him be."
But the truth was: she planned to watch him.
Because that same week, something strange had happened to her family.
A summoning pulse had nearly pulled every Gremory into another realm.
Someone had been summoned. Though no one spoke of it, her father had nearly let it slip before her mother cut him off.
Her brother—the Demon King himself—also refused to explain.
Everyone had returned, but someone had been gagged from speaking.
What was so dangerous about the summoning spell?
And who could create a circle strong enough to reach into the Gremory bloodline?
—
Chapter 141: The Fall of a Fallen Angel
Golden dusk bathed the streets.
A young nun, Aisha, no older than fifteen, walked behind Bai Yue, dragging a suitcase nearly the size of her torso. Another smaller case was strapped atop it.
Passersby shot Bai Yue judgmental glances.
A girl hauling that much, and he with empty hands?
But the truth was simpler. Aisha had insisted. The larger case was hers, the smaller was his. She wanted to be helpful in any way possible.
Even if it was just luggage.
"At that park up ahead—we'll take a break."
"Okay!" she said, smiling brightly despite her sweat.
As they neared the tree-lined park, Bai Yue suddenly stopped walking.
"What is it?"
He glanced to the sky.
"Nothing," he said calmly. "Just surprised it turned out to be today."
—