The moment she had dreaded had finally arrived.
The woman gave up on everything.
Years ago, she had been revered as a holy maiden in a certain church, only to be abruptly cast out. Fleeing, she was captured by Devils. She learned it was all a Devil's scheme only after her capture, when the truth was smugly revealed by the Devil himself, who reveled in her despairing expression.
What followed were days of violation. Defiled, robbed, tormented, humiliated, battered, broken, and violated again. An endless cycle.
She feigned obedience to the Devil, complying with his desires. It hurt less that way. It was humiliating. It was agonizing. It was pathetic. But above all, it was hateful. Why did the God she had prayed to so fervently not save her?
To make matters worse, she was neither the first nor the last. Countless other holy maidens and female holy knights were captured and violated by Devils, just like her. She could do nothing for them. All she could offer was to share a fraction of their pain, to hold them gently, if only slightly. Stripped of even the freedom to pray to God, all she could do was shed tears. Yet, she didn't want to die. She wanted to live—even if she could never reach God's side.
Those days came to an end. In the worst way possible.
The Devil, their "master," had found the target he had been searching for: a girl who had been treated as a healing holy maiden in a church but was expelled due to a Devil's scheme. Her whereabouts had been unknown since being taken in by Fallen Angels. It was heartbreaking to know the number of victims would grow, but there was nothing she could do. Her heart and body, paralyzed by fear of this Devil, allowed no resistance.
Accompanying the Devil, she located the target girl—but by her side was a woman in a red military uniform.
It wasn't a trap, per se. Rather than the girl being with the woman, it seemed the girl was being dragged along by her.
At the edge of town, when the two were alone, they made contact. Upon spotting the Devil, the woman in the military uniform shouted:
"Sterilization!"
The Devil was already in tatters. Without the light swords or guns used by church warriors, she had driven a High-Class Devil to this state with mere hand strikes and a pistol—an astonishing feat. Surely, she was a renowned warrior.
The Devil, crawling on the ground, denied the reality.
"No… No way! There's no way a mere human could do this to me! A human who's not even an exorcist can't possibly match me! I'm Diodora Astaroth of the House of Astaroth!"
"Is that so? For future prevention, I'll remember that name. Disinfection!"
A gunshot rang out. The Devil who had violated them was finally dead. But for the former holy maiden, a victim of the Devil, this was no salvation. As proof, the woman in the military uniform turned her gun on her. With a voice devoid of mercy and an attitude allowing no compromise, she declared:
"You are a disease."
Given how she called the Devil a pathogen, she was likely an exorcist. Her intense hatred for Devils made that clear. Perhaps a rogue exorcist, but the outcome was the same. As a Devil, she would be killed and that would be the end. At least it was fortunate the opponent wasn't a man.
But the woman in the military uniform said something entirely unexpected.
"We will now begin treatment. However, this place is unsanitary. There's a hospital nearby, so we'll perform the procedure in its operating room."
"…What?"
Stunned, she stared as the woman kept her gun trained on her. No sign of firing yet, but no sign of lowering it either.
"Did you not hear me? We will now extract the foreign object, the 'Evil Piece,' from your body. Submit to treatment quietly. Resistance from the patient hinders the procedure."
"Uh, um…?"
"Please, listen to the doctor."
The girl beside the woman in military uniform spoke.
Though she had seen her in a photo, the impression was starkly different. She had heard the girl was a sheltered holy maiden cherished by the church, but she exuded a mad strength of spirit that didn't match. Undoubtedly the influence of the woman in the military uniform.
"With the cooperation of certain individuals, we have established a method to eliminate pathogens spread by vermin like that one and cure diseases like you. There's no issue. Rehabilitation will be necessary, but this treatment leaves no side effects."
She tried to deny it. The "Evil Piece" shouldn't be something removable from the body. She had never heard of such a thing. Except in rare cases, the piece should vanish upon death. The idea of reverting to human was too convenient. She tried to shake off the woman's words.
"You are a disease."
The woman in the military uniform repeated flatly.
"Humans are diurnal creatures. Feeling better at night is unnatural. Praying causing headaches is unthinkable. Humans lack such physiological traits. I repeat, you are a disease. You may not realize it, but the root of this disease is the chess-piece-shaped foreign object in your body. The means to extract it have already been established. If a disease can be cured, it must be treated."
The woman declared that the "Evil Piece" was a terrifying pathogen.
"The vermin we exterminated earlier boasted of a miracle that resurrects the dead… I acknowledge it as a life-prolonging act, even if forced. But if it causes illness in exchange, it's not treatment. Worse, forcing excessive labor on the sick. It's nothing but a disease that desecrates the bodies of the dead."
Her words carried no compromise, no mercy, but a powerful conviction. A conviction to save people, stronger than the woman's own as a holy maiden.
"This disease must be treated swiftly."
If, as the woman claimed, the "Evil Piece" could be extracted—if reincarnated Devils could return to being human—there were others she wanted saved first.
"I… I don't care about myself…"
She prayed, as she once did. Even with the headaches, she prayed. Not to God, but to the woman before her. Clasping her hands, prayer was all she could do.
"S-So, please, if you can save anyone, save those girls! They're not at fault! Please! Save them!"
To the sobbing former holy maiden, the woman in the military uniform responded calmly.
"What I despise are incurable diseases and patients who refuse to be cured. If you have the will to be healed, we doctors will never abandon a patient. It's unacceptable to lie about your desire to be cured. We will treat you, so speak your true feelings."
She looked into the woman's eyes. Their gazes met. There was no deceit, no weakness. Eyes blazing with radiant will pierced through her. Yet, a sliver of unease remained. Would she be betrayed again, deceived?
"Will you… save us?"
"Rest assured. I will save you."
This woman in the military uniform was the progenitor of all nurses. The one who eradicated all things toxic and harmful. The military doctor feared even by soldiers. The Iron Nurse. The Angel of Crimea. The mother of modern nursing education. It is said that soldiers on that battlefield kissed the shadow of the Lady with the Lamp.
Florence Nightingale. A woman who saved lives with an almost fanatical devotion.
"Even if it means killing you, I will save you."
Saving people isn't so simple that kindness alone suffices. What's truly needed is strength.
My—Hyoudou Issei's—daily life is full of weird stuff. It's been like that ever since I was reincarnated as a Devil.
First, there's Asia. That lost nun. I still don't know what happened with that church. Is she okay? That Lev guy seems suspicious now. Maybe he lied about being a church associate. I got scolded by President Rias for letting a potential enemy slip away. Frustrating.
Next, President Rias's fiancé. He's supposed to be a pure-blood High-Class Devil, but that womanizing fried chicken doesn't deserve someone as noble as President Rias! He's got a harem of servants—jealous… I mean, he'd definitely neglect President Rias if they married! I don't get why her parents are pushing this when she's against it. High-Class Devils have their rules, but they should consider President Rias's feelings.
There's a chance to break off the engagement with that fried chicken, though. It got delayed due to some trouble, but President Rias and the fried chicken are set to have a Rating Game. If she wins, she doesn't have to marry him. While attending school, we're all training as a peerage.
Then, my Sacred Gear. Turns out it's a Longinus-class, crazy powerful. They say it can kill even a god if mastered! It's called Boosted Gear, the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet. I can't use it well yet, but I'll master it by the game. We're outnumbered, but no way we're losing to that fried chicken!
Still, I'm the weakest in our peerage. President Rias and Akeno-san are just plain strong. I don't have Koneko-chan's power or Kiba's speed. Even if Boosted Gear is strong, I'm weak. So, the game's delay is actually a golden opportunity. I'll use this time to get stronger!
I came to the clubroom after school for training, but President Rias was in a bad mood. I asked Kiba, another peerage member, why, and he seemed tense too.
"You know about the recent church base attacks, right?"
"Yeah."
That's what caused the delay of President Rias and the fried chicken's Rating Game.
Apparently, key strongholds of the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches—big factions on the God side—were attacked. The culprits are unknown because the attackers were monsters temporarily summoned by some kind of magic. They vanished like mist when defeated.
The monsters ranged from common ones like beastmen, skeletons, and ghosts to rarer ones like wyverns and golems. There were even giant starfish and hermit crabs. Individually, they weren't much, but their numbers overwhelmed the churches. It was a big enough deal that angels were deployed.
The churches are desperate to find the culprits, assuming they're Devils or Fallen Angels—natural enemies of God. But I don't think it's Devils. If it were, President Rias's brother, Satan Sirzechs Lucifer, wouldn't let it slide. And with Devil numbers dwindling, starting a war makes no sense. That leaves Fallen Angels, but their Governor denied involvement. Still, Raynare, who killed me, was a Fallen Angel. I don't trust them. Maybe it's just my bias.
President Rias mentioned the possibility of the churches staging it themselves, but has there been any progress?
"One of the Seventy-Two Pillars' heirs was killed. Likely retaliation for those attacks."
"What! What's that mean?!"
They said the culprits were still unknown, so did they find evidence pointing to Devils?
"The culprit's still unknown. But some in the Church believe it's Devils, no doubt. The victim was Diodora Astaroth of the House of Astaroth, which produced the current Satan Ajuka Beelzebub. His entire peerage is missing."
An heir to the Seventy-Two Pillars means someone as strong as President Rias or Riser. And a Satan's relative! That's a big deal. But why's President Rias so upset? From Kiba's tone, it doesn't sound like they were close.
"The Church denies involvement, but it's likely seen as payback. Because of this, the Satan might order President Rias to return to the Underworld."
"You mean President Rias has to go back to the Underworld?"
"Yeah. The Human World's harder to guard. If that happens, we'll go with her. We might have to quit school and attend one in the Underworld."
"No way!"
I don't get the complicated stuff, but one thing's clear: someone's malice is trying to destroy our daily lives.
"Report from Orias. Florence Nightingale is producing results beyond expectations. However, she's too conspicuous. She's already eliminated a Satan's kin. This risks exposing our presence to the Biblical forces. What was the Control Tower doing? Her management was their responsibility."
"Protest from Purson. Do you know how much effort it takes to erase that woman's traces?"
"Counterargument from Leraje. Even we couldn't predict that Berserker's actions."
"Proposal from Crocell. We shouldn't rely on the power of Heroic Spirits."
"Counterargument from Gusion. We've only learned human motives; we haven't become human. Considering the possibility of unforeseen flaws in our plan, a Heroic Spirit's perspective is necessary."
"Proposal from Vassago. Then the next summoning should use a catalyst to ensure a Heroic Spirit who will cooperate fully."
"Interim report from Amon, representing the nine pillars of the Gazing Star. Based on information from the Information Center and Observatory, we've identified a phenomenon that could significantly impact our plan. We need more concrete evidence for confirmation."
"Proposal from Focalor. We should make contact with the upper echelons of the three great factions."
"Counterargument from Bifrons. It's too early. We should wait at least until the Gazing Star's conclusions are finalized."
"Decision from Goetia. The plan will advance to the next phase based on the Gazing Star's conclusions."
"Report from Vapula. Confirmed the presence of Kingu from our world in Kyoto, Japan."
"Question from Stolas. Should we interpret this as other visitors from our world besides us?"
"Answer from Ose. That's highly likely. Given the unknown cause of our revival, it's reasonable to assume so."
"Request from Baal. Considering the worst-case scenario, I can no longer endure this humiliation and fear. Command Center, grant combat authorization."