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There was no fierce struggle; the fight was, one could say, an understatement.
A few seconds later, Hanakain Reiji tossed the silver-haired murderous priest's head onto the ground.
Freed Sellzen.
He had passed the combat test and became an Exorcist at the age of thirteen. After joining the Vatican Order, he rapidly displayed astonishing combat talent, repeatedly slaying Devils and magical beasts that even seasoned Exorcists struggled against. By the age of seventeen, he was officially promoted to the Vatican Papal Authority, becoming the youngest ace Exorcist in the Order's history.
Undoubtedly, such a brilliant resume proved that Freed was a genius among geniuses in combat.
But he possessed one fatal flaw: a fundamental lack of faith and an extreme thirst for battle.
In order to successfully assassinate a target Great Devil, he was capable of ruthlessly striking down companions who were injured or unwell during the mission and might hold him back, all without any psychological burden. After completing the mission alone, he would report the results back to the Order, shift all the blame, and attribute his companions' deaths to having tragically perished in battle with the Great Devil.
Of course, there is no such thing as a perfect secret in this world.
As the number of times Freed "miraculously survived alone" increased, suspicion gradually arose within the Order.
Thus, after a series of investigations, Freed's crime of wantonly murdering his comrades was finally exposed.
However, he managed to escape the Order's pursuit relying purely on his own strength, fleeing all the way from the Vatican to Japan, becoming a Lost Priest.
The scene switches back to the present.
When the flickering candlelight illuminated Freed's face again, an unconcealed terror was frozen there like a photograph, his wide-open mouth letting out a silent scream.
"Hoo~ That should do it."
Hanakain Reiji let out a light sigh of relief after arranging the light sword, the handgun, and the head, which he had recovered from the former's corpse, neatly on the dining table.
While he couldn't hold much expectation for the administrative capacity of the Japanese police, these items should be enough to guide them to realize the deceased's identity was connected to the Vatican Order. After the officials step in to contact and verify the identity, the rest of the matter would be simple to handle.
As for the unfortunate homeowner who was killed, one could only express regret. The deceased has passed on, and all he could do was silently offer a prayer: Amitabha.
Having prepared all the cleanup work and confirmed that nothing was missed, Hanakain Reiji finally turned around to face the doorway again.
The sky outside had mostly darkened now, and as the last rays of sunset were swallowed by the horizon, deep night finally descended once more upon the land of Tokyo.
Asia was still standing at the doorway. The wide nun's headscarf covered her head, making the girl's already somewhat unclear expression even more ambiguous.
Hanakain Reiji took out his phone and sent a text message to the cat-eared girl still waiting at home, informing her that he would be slightly late. Then he looked up and shrugged.
"Let's talk somewhere else, Asia."
"..."
The blonde girl's lips trembled as she mumbled, not making a sound.
"S-Sor..."
Before the word "sorry" could even leave her mouth, Asia decisively spun around. She fiercely wiped away her tears with the wide sleeve of her habit, then ran off, as if fleeing, sprinting into the pitch-black twilight in the distance.
Ugh...
The young man was immediately frozen in an awkward state at this sight, his raised hand left hanging in the air like a certain anonymous character.
Honestly, it was completely normal for him to suggest moving the location. He had just subjected the girl to such an explosive scene of murder and then proceeded to kill the bloodthirsty Lost Priest right in front of her.
After going through those two things, could he really put his arm around her shoulder and say in a relaxed tone, "Come on, let's go get some BBQ"?
That would be too strange! Of course, they had to move somewhere else to properly talk and clear things up.
Tsk, this is really...
Hanakain Reiji lightly rubbed his forehead, somewhat speechless.
Forget it. To avoid any unnecessary accidents, I'll follow her first and see what happens. Anyway, with the nun's stamina, she probably wouldn't get far before getting exhausted. I'll find a quiet place then and talk slowly after she calms down.
Just as the young man was thinking this and preparing to follow, a sound ripped through the air above his head, and a pure black feather drifted down from the sky, catching his eye.
A rather seductive female voice followed immediately.
"Oh my, running off is not allowed, Miss Nun~"
Hmm?
Asia's body suddenly trembled upon hearing the voice, and she halted her steps.
Hanakain Reiji looked up following the sound.
A dark, graceful silhouette swooped down from the air like a hawk hunting prey, cutting through the night in an even deeper color. It landed precisely next to Asia, a slender arm blocking the girl's path.
It was a young woman with a beautiful appearance and a curvaceous, well-defined figure. Her long black hair cascaded behind her like a waterfall. The seductive clothing, which only covered the necessary points, made one immediately think of the word lingerie.
If one ignored the wide, pitch-black wings on her back, this would certainly count as a small, unexpected encounter.
"A Fallen Angel?"
Hanakain Reiji suddenly understood.
It wasn't hard to figure out. After all, both Rias and that murderous priest named Freed had mentioned the "Fallen Angels." Coupled with this appearance, even the most slow-witted person would realize the truth.
"Raynare... sama..."
Seemingly terrified of the Fallen Angel woman before her, Asia, blocked from moving, could only shiver constantly like a small quail.
However, the Fallen Angel woman named Raynare merely smiled slightly.
"I didn't expect Freed to be taken out, but it doesn't matter. We will still protect you properly, Asia. Just come back to the church with us obediently, okay? We still have a ritual to perform~"
Saying this, she turned and dismissively swept her gaze over Hanakain Reiji. She grabbed the immobilized Asia, flapped her wings, and ascended into the air, flying away.
A single, cool tear drifted down with the evening wind, followed by the blonde girl's almost inaudible sobbing.
"S-Save... save me..."
Hanakain Reiji did not immediately pursue. He watched the Fallen Angel ascend into the night sky, brazenly flying toward the direction of the church, then pulled out his phone and called Rias.
"Hello? Rias, it's me. I found the Fallen Angel."
At the same time, in the old school building of Kuoh Academy, the red-haired girl resting on the lounge sofa sat up instantly upon receiving the call.
"Huh? You found the Fallen Angel? Where?"
"She's probably in the church near Kuoh Academy. I'm heading there now."
The wind could be heard mixed with Hanakain Reiji's voice on the phone, clearly indicating he was indeed on the move.
However, although the order to track the Fallen Angel's whereabouts had come from Rias herself, the girl hesitated when she learned that the target had been found.
Because... the church. That was the Church's territory, a place strictly forbidden for Devils to approach.
As a Holy Land shrouded by a barrier of God's power, a weaker Devil would be directly scorched by the barrier just by being nearby.
Rias, as a pure-blood Devil, could naturally ignore this, but if she were to take any action that involved entering the Church's territory, it would immediately be considered a one-sided declaration of war by the Underworld against Heaven.
This was absolutely not allowed during this period when all three factions were urgently trying to recuperate.
Damn Fallen Angels, taking advantage of the fact that they aren't repelled by the Holy Light Barrier...
"Don't worry, leave the barrier to me."
Understanding Rias's concern, the young man finished his last sentence and hung up the phone. He reignited his golden Spiritual Power, and his entire person transformed into a dazzling flare of light that shot straight up into the night sky.
From a great distance, he flicked his finger toward the direction of the church.
The next moment, the Holy Light Barrier enveloping the church shattered with a boom.
"Still want to escape?"
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