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"What's going on? What happened?!"
"The barrier has been destroyed!"
Like dropping a depth charge directly into a calm, mirrored lake, the magical power shockwave caused by the shattering of the Holy Light barrier instantly threw the inside of the church into chaos.
The blonde, twin-tailed loli who had been sitting steadily on the high platform at the front of the church stumbled and fell due to the sudden, violent tremor. Fortunately, she managed to deploy her wings in mid-air and stabilize herself, narrowly avoiding the fate of smashing her face directly into the stairs.
Below the platform, two figures flashed out from behind the rows of Roman columns on both sides, blocking the red carpet that led straight to the main entrance of the church. They adopted fighting stances, looking as though they were facing a formidable enemy.
Standing in the front was a tall, large man in a thick coat and a bowler hat. His appearance and attire might easily bring to mind a certain gun-and-sword priest from the Vatican in Hellsing, but the black wings unfolding behind him betrayed his identity as a Fallen Angel.
"Bastard... nonsense! How is this possible?! This is a church protected by God's Holy Light! Is the Gremory girl trying to start a Great War again?!"
"Who knows? First, let's figure out if the Gremory girl even did this. Even if she did, what reason would they have to start a war with us?"
A blue-haired, busty Onee-san (older sister) who was also a Fallen Angel from the back looked equally incredulous.
Without a doubt, they, as Fallen Angels, were here to seize territory, but... they hadn't even done anything yet?!
They had even formulated a meticulous long-term plan for this.
The first step was to rely on Freed, the extremist battle maniac priest, to eliminate all the ordinary people in the surrounding area who had been swayed into believing in the Devils of the Gremory family. Then, they would begin propagating the Fallen Angel faith, drawing power from the faith they collected.
This was only the first step of the long-term plan and had only begun to be executed this afternoon.
And yet, just as the long-term plan was kicking off, the Gremory family's army had already attacked?
Are you the kind of person who sits down for a game of chess in the park, and before the opponent even settles down or arranges the board, you splash boiling water in their face and immediately follow up with a slap?
Kalawarner couldn't help but mutter to herself internally.
At this moment, the Fallen Angel man, Dohnaseek, seemed to realize something. He violently turned his head to look at the blonde, twin-tailed loli still hovering in mid-air.
"Mittelt! Where is Raynare?!"
"Ah... I think Raynare-nee went to check on Freed's work progress."
The blonde, twin-tailed Fallen Angel loli appeared utterly clueless, pointing a finger to the corner of her mouth and pouting.
"After all, you know how Freed's mental state is. Once he 'gets to work,' it's easy for him to get completely lost in it. Plus, he took our Saintess-chan out with him this time. If we weren't careful and the Saintess-chan ran away midway, that would be no fun..."
Before her words were finished, a familiar sound came from the sky outside the church, the tone filled with immense terror and panic.
"Kalawarner, Dohnaseek! Come out and stop that guy! Mittelt, come with me, we must hold the ritual immediately!"
Eh?
The blonde, twin-tailed Fallen Angel loli curiously looked up following the sound. The next second, the church roof she was looking at was abruptly torn open with a large hole. The long, black-haired Fallen Angel woman in the lingerie-like outfit, who only had the crucial parts covered, flew in frantically with the rescued Asia tucked under her armpit, barely managing a stable landing in what was almost a crash-landing.
"R-Raynare-nee? Are you alright!?"
Mittelt finally panicked, having never expected their leader to return in such a disheveled state.
She had always had absolute confidence in Raynare's strength. In terms of combat power alone, Raynare was definitely ranked first among them. Despite being a Fallen Angel stripped of God's blessing, she could still use Light Spears, and a thrown Light Spear could critically wound even a Middle-Class Devil with a single strike, let alone easily slaughter Low-Class Devils.
It was generally accepted that Raynare was the strongest person below the Fallen Angel Cadres.
But now, Raynare was beaten into this sorry state—this was something Mittelt had never conceived of.
"I'm fine."
Raynare gasped heavily twice, angrily wiped her face, and pointed her hand toward Kalawarner and Dohnaseek behind her.
"But that guy is already pursuing us. You two, go outside and stop him. You don't need to try too hard; just stall him until my ritual is over. Then, we will eliminate him together!"
The moment she brought up the young man she encountered at the residential house entrance, Raynare couldn't stop a surge of lingering fear.
Too terrifying...
She had initially thought that with her Seraph wings, she had the advantage of flight, and once she was in the air, a human without auxiliary tools or natural wings, who could only walk on the ground, would never be able to catch her.
But Raynare never expected that the opponent would actually launch an attack against her, and with one strike, instantly shatter the Holy Light Barrier that enveloped the church.
It was fortunate that she was flying high and her flight path was unstable due to the high-altitude air currents, or else if she had been hit, she would have been severely injured even if she hadn't been killed.
Can there really be such a terrifying person among humans?
Raynare found it hard to believe, but the facts were laid out before her, forcing her to accept them.
The only thing she could do now was immediately perform the ritual and transplant the Sacred Gear from Asia's body into her own.
Although this would cause the Sacred Gear's owner to die instantly, that no longer mattered... No, it would be even better.
It would merely be the loss of one Saintess. If she could obtain that healing Sacred Gear, she would be the Saintess of the Fallen Angel Faith!
"Understood."
"Got it!"
The responses rang out almost simultaneously. Deep purple Demonic Power surged from both Fallen Angels at once, and the pure black, crow-like wings behind them fully spread open. They flapped their wings, preparing to ascend into the sky to face the enemy.
However—
"No need to look for me. I am right here."
The young man's calm voice rang out inside the church without warning, instantly freezing the two Fallen Angels, who were ready to soar into the sky, where they stood.
An invisible, immense pressure occupied the entire space, paralyzing everyone and making them afraid to move.
Cold sweat covered Raynare's forehead. She could clearly sense Hanakain Reiji's presence.
He was inside the church.
He was among them.
He was right... behind her.
Hearing the young man's voice, Asia, who was tucked under Raynare's armpit like a small pig, managed to lift her head, letting out a sound as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Hanakain-san..."
Surrounded by four Fallen Angels, Hanakain Reiji remained composed and self-assured.
The dazzling golden Spiritual Power no longer surged around him; it was as if a sharp sword had completely sheathed its edge. The moonlight streaming in through the hole in the roof draped over his shoulders like silver frost. The young man lowered his head slightly.
"Because you asked me to save you, Asia, I came to save you."
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