143Chapter 3
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"Loneliness is a hard thing to handle. I feel it, sometimes. When I do, I want it to end. Sometimes, when you're near someone, when you touch them on some level that is deeper than the uselessly structured formality of casual civilized interaction, there's a sense of satisfaction in it. Or at least, there is for me. It doesn't have to be someone particularly nice. You don't have to like them. You don't even have to want to work with them. You might even want to punch them in the nose. Sometimes just making that connection is its own experience, its own reward."
Jim Butcher
Abandoned church, Kuoh town
Two days later
Karasuba watched in annoyance at the scene unfolding before her. It had taken her a while to track down the Fallen Angels who kidnapped the nun without being sensed, but she had managed it. She was now looking over the unfolding scene, waiting for the right moment to make her move, while reminiscing about the past.
Karasuba was special, having been amongst the first born of the second generation Fallen Angels. Basically, she was a Fallen Angel having been born from two Fallen Angels and not having been created by God as an Angel before Falling. Her father had been a high-ranking ten-winged Fallen Angel of the Grigori while her mother had been an especially attractive two-winged Fallen Angel. Due to her father's position, it had been expected she be born especially powerful, much like Azazel's own Fallen Angel daughter, and the first of the second generation, Miya.
However, instead of the almost unmatched power Miya had been born to, along with twelve wings, Karasuba had been born with a little above average amount of power, and only two wings.
Needless to say, she had been considered quite a disappointment by her birth father and the only thing he ever gave her was her love of battle and nothing else. Her mother had died at childbirth so Karasuba was basically left to fend for herself during the height of the Great War.
At the time, she had been determined to gain her father's affection and so threw herself into training day in and day out. She used Miya as her measuring stick and constantly trained and challenged her to better herself.
Miya. How Karasuba hated her. Perfect Miya who was born with power exceeding her own and never failed to rub in her superiority over her. She even had the gall to be disgusted by her love of battle, as if she was any different! As if she was better than her!
Yet Karasuba grew stronger little by little, training every day till she couldn't move. Until eventually, she grew strong enough to hold her ground against even Seraphs despite having only six wings. While she lacked the raw power higher-winged angels had, she made up for it in her unmatched swordsmanship and skill. Most angels were like blunt instruments, having no technique beyond slinging their light spears at the enemy and maybe some flight skills. Even the higher-winged angels were the same and only a few such as Michael had any real technique.
Despite this, she was always in Miya's shadow and could never get her father's approval. This caused resentment towards Miya to grow, which only became worse when the bitch abandoned the Grigori due to falling in love with some human. Heck, Miya even went so far as to hang up her blade and become a pacifist of all things. Acting like she's nothing more than a kind widow and owner of an inn who was nice enough to let people stay for free. As if she hadn't been the ruthless leader of the Grigori's Discipline Squad who killed thousands of Angels and Devils during the Great War.
Yet despite Miya's departure, Karasuba was still overlooked by her father. She was still constantly compared to the departed Miya and seen to have fallen short despite being amongst the most powerful in Grigori. She was even despised by her own side due to the fearsome reputation she had made for herself. It became even worse when Yume came into the picture.
Much like Karasuba, Yume was amongst the first of the second generation. However, unlike Karasuba, Yume was a pure Angel and was therefore on the side of Heaven. Karasuba and Yume clashed many times during the war and every time, it was either a draw or Karasuba was forced to retreat. Much like Miya, Yume never trained much or at all, having simply been born with her incredible power. Hell, her parents were carefully selected, almost like a breeding program run by God, in order to make sure Yume was born as powerful as possible.
Karasuba never won a single battle against the girl during all the times they fought. Dozens of times they clashed, scarring the landscape with every battle, yet every time Karasuba was forced to retreat, barely alive. This only caused her father to look down on her further due to his inherent belief that Fallen Angels were the superior species. He believed that if she, a Fallen Angel, couldn't defeat Yume then the fault lay with her and not with the fact that Yume was simply stronger.
For this reason, Karasuba made it her life's mission during the War to defeat and kill Yume. The fact that the latter constantly preached about love and how it could redeem her only made Karasuba hate her more, thinking Yume was looking down on her like so many others did. Acting as if she was something to be pitied and looked down and that she, in her perfect grace, was willing to forgive Karasuba her sins. Karasuba's hate for Yume almost eclipsed her hate for Miya, yet in a strange way Yume was a sort of friend/rival. Even if it was slightly condescending, Yume was the first to actually speak with her in any kind way and believed she had some worth. If it wasn't for her infuriating personality that made Karasuba want to kill her, they could have even become friends in different circumstances.
Yet in the end, even her goal was taken from her when Yume gave her life to protect two Angel children when the Devils attacked the base she was at. By dying in that way, Yume had the last laugh and took away Karasuba's purpose and drive.
All this turned Karasuba into a very hateful and angry person. The War had ended not two weeks after Yume's death, which meant that even the thrill of battle was taken from her. She had only been good at battle and with the war over, she had nothing to do except brood on her life, causing her to slowly slip closer to the insanity her father had fallen into centuries ago.
That was when she met Harry.
At the time, Harry had been working for... someone else, due to a deal he'd made. Karasuba had challenged him, wanting to fight and kill the infamous Nephalem in order to make more of a name for herself and finally come out from under Miya and Yume's shadow.
Yet when she fought him... she had lost. It wasn't because Harry had used his powers to defeat her but in terms of pure swordsmanship. He had been more than a match for her in terms of pure skill with a blade, and that, combined with his physical abilities, had ensured her defeat.
Yet instead of gloating about it or killing her, Harry had praised her skills, saying that she was one of the few he'd met who could actually match him in a fight of pure swordsmanship. He had let her go, saying he wanted her to live so they could fight again. He didn't want to kill such a worthy rival.
She didn't know it then, but his actions of respecting her skill and calling her a worthy rival had cemented a place for him in her heart. He had been the first to actually praise her ability instead of deride her lack of pure power. The fact that him, a powerful Nephalem, called her a worthy rival only made her feel better about herself. However, at the time she only felt insulted at his supposed pity and promised to defeat him one day.
The two clashed many times over the following century and a half, even after he left her employ. With a worthy rival and a reachable goal, Karasuba's skill improved even further and she found herself... happy for the first time in her life. She started to look forward to their little fights and the fights at some point turned from battles to spars between friends.
Eventually, after one such spar their relationship became intimate. One moment they had been trading lightning fast blows and the next Karasuba had jumped him, kissing him passionately while trying to rip off each other's clothes. Since then, they had developed a strange relationship where each insisted they were just fuck buddies and rivals, yet met and sparred at least once a month, followed by an ardent lovemaking session. Whether Karasuba wanted to admit it or not, she had fallen in love with the man.
So she had been heartbroken when Irisviel entered the picture. At first, Karasuba hated the bitch. Her innocence reminded her so much of Yume that she swore she was her reincarnation. The fact that Irisviel was actually extremely powerful and beat her in a spar only reinforced that belief. So when Harry revealed they were getting married, she might have... overreacted. Just a bit. The humans passed it off as a freak storm, so it wasn't as if there was much loss there, and that mountain had been in the way anyway. It blocked a perfect sunrise from the east and a sunset from the west. A little memory modification, and adjustment of the world map, and everything was right as rain.
Yet afterwards, Karasuba had been surprised when Irisviel had actually encouraged her and Harry to stay together and even welcomed her as a 'sister'. At first, Karasuba had thought it was to mock her by showing that she was the wife while Karasuba had been regulated to being just the lover. Yet Irisviel never derided her and genuinely welcomed her as a sister of sorts and slowly, Karasuba began to like the scatterbrained Homunculus.
Now here she was, years later, a pseudo-wife of Harry's and supporting his goals. If his plans reached fruition then not only would Karasuba be part of a powerful Fourth Faction where she'd actually be respected, but she would also get a massive power boost which might finally allow her to surpass Miya. The fact that she'd get revenge on her father for murdering her mother was just a bonus.
It had turned out that her mother had not died at childbirth like she'd been told. The truth was that her father had killed her, blaming her for Karasuba's supposed weakness. When Karasuba learned that, all the desire for her father's approval had turned into blistering hate for the man that ruined her life. Karasuba didn't know if her life would have been different if her mother had lived but the fact that she didn't even get a chance to find out angered her to no end.
That was one of the reasons she had sided with Harry. Azazel would never allow her to get her revenge out of some misguided attempt to save as many of their kind as they could. For that reason, she'd make sure Harry's goals were met, so that by the time her siding with Harry was discovered, they would be too strong for the other Factions to do anything about it.
Unfortunately, it seemed that she had arrived a bit too late and that idiotic whore bitch Raynare had managed to steal Twilight Healing from the nun. Karasuba had never liked the sniveling bitch. She always complained about her lack of power but never did anything to try and improve. Simply expecting power to simply drop into her lap without her working for it, something Karasuba despised to no end.
Karasuba liked Raynare less now that she had caused her to fail her mission. There had been a chance, however remote, that the nun was skilled enough in wielding her Twilight Healing to be able to cure sicknesses. If possible, they could have taken her in and discreetly studied her to find a way to enhance it and perhaps heal Irisviel.
But that was gone now. While she could steal Twilight Healing from the bitch easily enough, it wouldn't work as well as if it had been in its true poessesor's hands. It would never reach its full potential in anyone but the true owner's hands so any chance to get what she wanted was lost. Karasuba was seconds away from killing the bitch and everyone there for that alone when the devils arrived and a plan started to form in Karasuba's mind.
Karasuba watched with amusement as the devils cut through the Stray Exorcists like they were nothing. The brown-haired one was pathetic to tell the truth but at least he had determination. That alone wouldn't have been enough though. Raynare may be a sniveling bitch but she could easily handle most Low-class Devils so the boy would have eventually lost.
That is, if he hadn't revealed to be the wielder of Boosted Gear.
Karasuba watched intently as the boy 'boosted', as he called it, until his raw power matched a High-class Devil. Karasuba couldn't help but sneer and glare at the gauntlet for its ability. It was almost the very embodiment of what she despised; power without the sacrifices to gain it. This boy had done nothing to earn the power yet just because he had the Boosted Gear, he could match someone much stronger than himself.
Still, once she studied it more closely, she summarily dismissed it as a threat. While the ability to double one's power every 10 seconds was impressive, it had several flaws and depended on several factors. The most important being time and one's own base stats.
In the hands of someone like Harry, the Boosted Gear would truly be a horrifying ability. Harry himself was stronger than any single chieftain god. That combined with the ability to double his power every ten seconds... within a minute he could possibly match even Ophis.
Okay, that may be an exaggeration since she didn't know exactly how powerful Ophis was but it was certainly possible. The important thing was that, at this moment, the boy's base stats meant he wasn't much, if any, threat to someone on her level even if powered up as much as possible. His stamina simply didn't allow him to do much of anything with the ability. At the moment he could only boost enough to match a High-class Devil. With time, he could become even stronger but only if he raised his base stats even higher.
Karasuba decided to withhold judgement on the boy until later. If he did nothing and depended on the Boosted Gear to do everything for him without training, then she would cut the idiot down for being an insult to everything she believed in. However, if he actually trained himself and raised his base stats then Karasuba would let him live. It may seem callous but Karasuba always hated those who gained power simply due to their birth and did nothing with it. She didn't blame them for something they couldn't control but if they always fell back on it, not training a single day to become even stronger and simply depending on their natural-born abilities while looking down on those who bled and sweated for their power...
An image of Miya looking down on her crossed her mind and Karasuba snarled.
She'd cut them down. She'd show them that all their natural-born abilities were no match for someone who actually bled for their skill.
Karasuba shook herself from her dark thoughts when she saw the Boosted Gear boy punch Raynare across the room, causing her to fall into a heap on the floor. Karasuba knew when she felt the Gremory girl arrive outside that it was time to interfere. The other Fallen Angels were dead so Raynare was the only one she could capture to turn in to Azazel for Harry's distraction plan.
But first...
Raynare appeared behind the other spectator with her sword at his throat, causing him to stiffen in fear. "Look who's here," purred Karasuba with a cruel smirk. "I do so wonder why you're standing around here just watching instead of helping your fellow devils. Then again, considering your hand in this, it isn't so surprising."
The devil stiffened at her revelation of her knowledge of his involvement in this, which caused her to smile cruelly. "Oh yes. I know about your part in this. As well as your little fetish with nuns. I wonder how Heaven and, more importantly, your brother would react to your extracurricular activities. Somehow, I don't think your being his brother would save you from the executioner's axe."
The devil stayed silent for a moment before speaking fearfully. "What do you want?"
"Oh nothing much, devil-kun," purred Karasuba, getting a shiver of fear from the devil she was threatening. She loved the smell of fear in her prey. It always made the hunt all the more enjoyable. "You just make sure not to mention my presence here to anyone in your little Brigade and I won't mention yours. Understand?"
The devil hesitantly nodded in agreement and Karasuba let him go. Karasuba watched in amusement as the devil hastily disappeared in a transportation circle before turning back to the scene below. Seeing that the Gremory girl was now talking, she knew she had to move quickly or risk Raynare being killed.
With that thought in mind, Karasuba appeared kneeling on the floor between Raynare and the devils in a flurry of black feathers, startling the devils badly as they hadn't sensed her presence till now. Standing up with her usual queenly smile, Karasuba looked around with a relaxed air, seemingly unconcerned with how the devils were getting ready for another fight.
"My, my, isn't this a mess you're in, Raynare?" asked Karasuba lightly as she looked in the Fallen Angel's direction.
If Raynare had been scared before, she was downright terrified now. If she turned anymore pale, she'd resemble a corpse more than a living being. "K-K-Karasuba-sama! W-What are you doing here?"
"Why," said Karasuba with a seemingly kind smile that wouldn't have looked out of place on a certain Thunder Priestess during full-on S&M mode. "I've come for you, of course. Azazel-sama was so worried when you and the others disappeared without even alerting him beforehand. It almost seemed... suspicious. I just had to investigate to make sure you poor little lambs didn't get hurt. After all, I just knew you wouldn't do something as stupid as breaking one of Azazel-sama's laws."
At this, Raynare had curled in on herself and was looking at Karasuba as if she was the Grim Reaper herself. She was shaking in terror as Karasuba approached, standing over her with her smile still in place.
Karasuba shuddered in ecstasy at the look of utter terror that crossed not only Raynare's but the other devils faces at the revelation of her name. She always enjoyed the effect her reputation had on her enemies. They tended to be so terrified that half the battle was won already, their fear ruining their ability to properly defend themselves and making her job all the much easier. Right now, the terror of her reputation would keep those devils from doing something stupid like attacking her. She only promised not to hurt the red-head and the half-breed, she didn't promise not to hurt any of the others.
"Yet what do I find," continued Karasuba, completely ignoring Raynare's whimpering and instead seeming to revel in it. "But you breaking Azazel-sama's command to steer clear of Devil territory so as to not provoke a war? Worse yet, you killed two Sacred Gear holders and only got Twilight Healing in recompense."
"B-But I-I-"
"Shhh," said Karasuba in false kindness as she kneeled down till she was at the same level as the terrified Fallen. "Tell me, Raynare. What are the laws regarding both Sacred Gear wielders and Devil territory?"
Seeing Raynare too terrified to answer, Karasuba continued. "In regards to Devil territory, we are to steer clear of all known Devil territories in order to maintain the current cease-fire. You, my dear Raynare, walked into a well-known Devil territory. And not only any Devil territory but the territory of the Gremory Clan, which is in possession of the Gremory heir and the Lucifer's little sister, but is also the territory of the Sitri heir and the Leviathans little sister as well. Were you perhaps trying to start a war, Raynare?"
Raynare was almost crying at this point, seemingly trying to melt into the wall of the church and Karasuba was amused to see her sending pleading looks at the devils, as if asking for their help. Karasuba knew they wouldn't do a thing, no matter what their opinion on the matter. Her reputation was so fearsome that the very idea of such green devils challenging her was laughable. Truly, no matter how powerful they are, her sheer experience would make it so they would never rank as a threat until after their first two centuries of life. Due to the lack of war, it would take that long before they could manage to get enough experience to maybe pose a threat.
And worse thing was... they knew it.
"And to top it all off," here Karasuba lost the pleasant tone and posture and almost growled at the poor Fallen in front of her. "You attacked and killed two Sacred Gear holders. Azazel-sama doesn't usually give orders but his orders on Sacred Gear holders were very clear to NOT harm them in any way. And not only did you kill two, you left them both whole enough for one to be resurrected as a devil, giving the devils access to that very same Sacred Gear."
"I-It's just a Twice Critical!" said Raynare, trying to defend herself.
Karasuba grabbed Rayanre's hair and brutally slammed her face against the church wall, causing a crater to form where Raynare's head hit. The only reason her brains weren't splattered across the wall was because Karasuba was channeling her power into her head to keep it from happening. She then twisted Raynare so she was looking in the direction of the devils, specifically Issei.
"Look at that gauntlet, girlie. You see it?" Raynare nodded fearfully. "Does it look like a Twice Critical?!" Raynare hesitantly shook her head, too terrified to say anything. "No. Of course not. That's because that's not a Twice Critical, idiot. That is the Boosted Gear, one of the thirteen Longinus with the power to kill a god." Here Karasuba tightened her grip, drawing a pained cry from the younger-looking Fallen. "Which you basically handed it over to the devils!"
Raynare looked near tears as she tried to defend herself. "I-I-I didn't t-think-"
"That's right," interrupted Karasuba cruelly. "You didn't think. That's because you're a stupid, incompetent, little, brat!"
Karasuba harshly threw Raynare to the floor, where the Fallen started to cry. Karasuba watched with a sneer as the realization that she had basically made the devils, their sworn enemy, even stronger by handing them such a powerful weapon sunk into her mind. To tell the truth, Karasuba knew that everything else she did could have been overlooked if it wasn't for that simple fact. After all, she had ripped Twilight Healing from the nun within an abandoned church, which was technically Fallen Angel territory so she could defend herself taking the Twilight Healing.
However, Standard Operating Procedure ever since the revelation of the Evil Piece system in regards to killing Sacred Gear wielders was to destroy their body afterwards until there was no trace. That way, they couldn't be reincarnated into a devil. This wasn't just to deny the devils the Sacred Gear but because once they become a devil, the reincarnated devil's Sacred Gear is taken out of the system until that devil dies. Basically, as long as that devil lives, the Sacred Gear won't reappear in another human, cutting into Azazel's ability to study them.
He couldn't exactly study the Sacred Gear if it was held a devil, could he?
Yet knowing this, she had left Issei's mostly whole body behind within known Devil territory where he could easily have been reincarnated. Heck, as long as they got to his body within 24 hours they could have reincarnated him, so once the body was found and taken to the morgue, the devils could reincarnate him and erase any memory of finding his body.
In short, Raynare had screwed up big time. The fact that the Sacred Gear the pervert held was such a powerful Longinus was just the cherry on top to seal her fate. Karasuba almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
Unfortunately, Karasuba couldn't kill her like she wanted if she wanted to complete the plan."Luckily for you," Raynare opened her eyes, confused since she no doubt expected to be killed already. "All of your compatriots are either dead or fled and I don't have the patience to track them down. And since I need at least one live prisoner, that means you're coming with me back to headquarters."
Raynare gave a sigh of relief at that, no doubt glad to know she'd live to see another day. Karasuba knew that it was doubtful that Azazel would kill her once Raynare told him where she got her orders. She'd still be punished heavily but not as much as she would have if she had done it on her own. It was times like that that Karasuba thought Azazel was too soft to be the leader of the Grigori and should just retire.
Hmmmm... Governor General Karasuba. It had a nice ring to it. But those thoughts were for later.
"Now give it," Raynare looked confused at Karasuba who had her hand outstretched in her direction. "The Sacred Gear. Give it!" A wicked smile crossed Karasuba's face as she laid a hand on her sheathed sword. "Unless you want me to cut off your fingers and take it."
Karasuba's threat worked and Raynare quickly complied, not wanting to test whether she'd go through with her threat. Karasuba quickly swiped the two rings that represented Twilight Healing from her hand and turned to the devil group.
Said group had cautious looks on their faces as she turned to them, no doubt hoping she didn't turn her anger towards them. From their tense and wary stance, they no doubt knew that if she did, they wouldn't stand a prayer of a chance. They had gotten nervous when Karasuba had mentioned her anger at the devils having Boosted Gear on their side but when Karasuba did nothing, they relaxed a bit. Personally, Karasuba thought them foolish for letting down their guard since even when kneeling she could have killed them all before they had a chance to blink, but whatever.
"I believe this belongs to the girl over there, correct?" asked Karasuba in a slightly mocking tone as she showed them the Twilight Healing rings.
The Gremory cunt seemed to steel her courage and stepped forward, warily eying the woman before her. "Indeed. Will you be taking it?"
Karasuba just smirked at her question, amused at the slightly nervous yet angry tone barely hidden underneath. It seemed she had wanted the Sacred Gear for her own peerage and was annoyed at the idea of Karasuba taking it. Curious.
"Healing isn't my thing, girlie," said Karasuba lightly, amused at the slight twitch from being called girlie. She decided to act on a theory she'd devised from what she knew happened and some facts she knew of her peerage's past. "The nun can take it and once you reincarnate her, you'll have access to her Sacred Gear for your little peerage." Karasuba barely open eyes opened slightly wider as she smirked at the suddenly nervous King. "That was your plan, wasn't it? Let the nun die and then swoop in like the savior and resurrect her as part of your peerage. You let the boy attack to make sure my compatriots didn't run off with the Sacred Gear, while killing off any witnesses, and you get both the boy's gratitude and loyalty as well as a new and versatile member for your peerage. Pretty sneaky. Just what I'd expect from a devil princess."
Karasuba felt the dark part of her laugh as the Gremory girl winced at having her plan so easily seen through and said out loud. Karasuba noticed the Boosted Gear boy look at his King with a bit of hurt in his eyes while the others looked uncertain. Truthfully, Karasuba had simply guessed that the Gremory girl had planned for Asia's death in order to benefit from it. That way she'd get a new peerage member without having to go through the whole trying-to-convince-them-to-join thing. By resurrecting them, she'd get them in her peerage without fuss and they'd be so grateful for being resurrected that they wouldn't question it so much.
It was a devious and manipulative yet effective way of getting strong peerage members for little fuss. Truthfully, Karasuba's only complaint about it was the way she hid it. Harry never did that. He was always truthful and straight with her. Always telling her exactly what he had planned and why he needed her to act in a certain way. Even when he told her his plans and asked her to join him, he had been completely truthful... even if he had threatened to kill her where she stood if she ever betrayed him regardless of his feelings for her.
It may seem cruel but Karasuba valued the blunt honest. It was better than being lied to even if those lies were with the best of intentions. Better a cruel truth than a pretty lie.
Karasuba internally smirked as she saw the effect her words had on the other devils. Truth be told, Karasuba had just said it out loud in order to cause some friction and discomfort in the group. She may be more sympathetic and kind since she met Harry but she was still a sadist at heart. She loved to make others uncomfortable. Perhaps she should allude to the Gremory girl possibly letting Issei die in order to make him a peerage member?
Karasuba doubted the girl had been blind to the Fallen Angel presence or Raynare's pathetic acting to seduce and kill Issei. She probably knew all along and simply let it play out in order to get what she wanted.
Hmmm... no. Better to let the boy figure it out himself. It would be all the more heart-breaking and believable if he figured it out himself. The seed of mistrust was planted and unless Rias confessed then it would grow when he figured it out himself.
This was also a test for the girl. While Harry may be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, Karasuba was not so willing. She would test the girl to see whether she would continue to try and cement the lie or admit to the cruel truth, both about herself and her actions. That was another thing Karasuba admired about Harry. He was honest both to others and himself. He knew some of his actions were cruel, manipulative, and downright evil, but he never made excuses for them. It was actually an admirable trait about him.
The Gremory girl quickly took Twilight Healing and stepped back to her group, who quickly surrounded their King in case Karasuba tried anything. It seemed despite the friction her words had caused, they still cared enough about their King to protect her. "We thank you for this and you may take Raynare and go now."
Karasuba twitched at the almost-order in the little red-haired cunt's tone but suppressed her instinctive response to behead the bitch. Harry had a soft spot for her and he would probably be angry if she killed her.
"Actually," said Karasuba calmly. "I have something to ask the nun. So go ahead and resurrect her. I promise not to attack or anything. I just have a question for the nun"
The Gremory girl grimaced but realized she'd have to do as Karasuba said. She knew that she couldn't exactly force her away and if she tried to take Asia's body and run, Karasuba would run them down like dogs. Not kill them, but you'd be surprised what you could live through.
With no other choice, Rias quickly put Twilight Healing back inside the nun before resurrecting her as her Bishop. Asia slowly opened her eyes once the ritual was done. Issei smiled in joy and the two reunited happily, much to Karasuba's annoyance. She had a schedule to keep, after all.
Karasuba grabbed their attention by clearing her throat, reminding them of her presence and returning tension to the atmosphere. "Sorry to cut this reunion short but I need to ask the nun something, remember? Your name is Asia Argento, correct?"
Asia seemed confused at the sight of the woman before her, who had a leg on the fallen Raynare's back to prevent her escape, but otherwise looked as if nothing was wrong. "Y-Yes. I'm Asia."
"Good," said Karasuba, glad to have confirmed that this was the Twilight Healing user they had been keeping an eye on. It would have been embarrassing if she had come all this way just for it to have been someone else. "I just wanted to ask you something in regards to Twilight Healing's abilities. Twilight Healing... it can heal any wound?"
Asia blinked at that, probably not having expected that. "Um... yes. At least... I've never had any trouble healing wounds."
"And how about sicknesses?" asked Karasuba a bit more sharply, getting to the reason she had waited for the girl to be resurrected. "Can it heal sicknesses like cancer and similar genetic defects?"
Asia seemed to wilt at the question but shook her head. "N-No. I'm sorry but no. I tried once but it didn't work. It only seems to work on physical wounds."
"Shame." And it really was. If this girl could have healed Irisviel then Karasuba would have killed everyone else and dragged her back home, damn the consequences. Looks like Harry will have to continue researching alternative means of healing her. "Azazel-sama was curious so I'll be sure to inform him." It was true, after all. Azazel had been curious to know if it was possible a while back. It was a good cover as to the reason behind her question.
"Well, I'll be going now," said Karasuba lightly. Almost negligently, Karasuba brutally punched Raynare across the face, knocking her unconscious immediately. Lifting the unconscious Fallen and throwing her over her shoulder, Karasuba mock bowed in the devil group's direction, not being able to resist one last parting shot. "I hope to see you all again..." Karasuba then looked at Akeno, making sure she knew she was speaking to her specifically. "...cousin."
Karasuba then disappeared in a rain of black feathers just as a lightning bolt pierced through where she had been standing, the sound of her laughter echoing behind her.
Occult Research Club clubhouse
One hour later
The mood was tense as the group returned to the clubhouse after the battle at the abandoned church, which was followed by the meeting with one of boogeymen of devils everywhere.
The name Karasuba never failed to inspire fear in any devil who even browsed over the history of the Great War, much less fought in it. Her deeds were legendary and terrifying, more so due to her only having six wings. Normally, an angelic being with six wings was only about as strong as a High-class Devil at most. Yet Karasuba had consistently fought even with both Seraphs and Satans during the Great War, cutting through anyone below their level of strength like a hot knife through warm butter.
Her acts during the War were the stuff of nightmares. Everything from destroying an entire army of devils on her own to maiming the original Leviathan, Karasuba had earned her epithet of the 'Black Angel of Death'.
And her peerage had run into her and survived. Not because they managed to fend her off but simply due to Karasuba's whim. If she had absently decided to kill them, no one would ave known they were dead until they went searching for them. Rias doubted there would be enough of them left to fill a single coffin.
Rias knew she had a lot of growing to do. Her entire peerage did. Yet she had never felt so badly outclassed before. Not even Riser, despite being stronger than her, made her feel this small and insignificant. While she mentally knew her brother was stronger than her, at the moment it didn't feel like it. The sheer killing intent she had given off even when she had no intention of harming them had terrified her to no end. Every second Rias had spent in her presence had made her more and more convinced Karasuba wasn't a Fallen Angel but rather the incarnation of the Death God himself.
Rias shivered for a second before forcibly putting herself back together.
She was the heir of the Gremory Clan and the King of this peerage. She had to hold herself together for her peerage and for the pride of her family. Even if Karasuba made her feel like less than a bug on a windshield and could beat her with both arms tied behind her back, she would not cower before the phantom of her. She would stand tall and proud even in the face of certain death.
"Buchou?" Rias looked up to see it was Kiba speaking, looking slightly uncertain yet resolute. "Who was that back there at the church? It seemed like you and Akeno-senpai knew her..."
Rias gathered her thoughts before answering. "I don't her personally but anyone who's read about the Great War has heard of her before though I'm not surprised you don't, Kiba. She hasn't exactly been very active recently..."
Shaking her head in order to gather her thoughts, Rias sat up straight before speaking to the entire group, who were all leaning forward eagerly. Even Koneko had a slight look of curiosity on her normally blank face.
"As you know, the Great War ended around two hundred and fifty years ago," explained Rias calmly, remembering her own lessons on the Great War. "However, before it ended, the War had lasted for millennia. In fact, no one really knows when it actually started or the exact cause, only that few remembered that far back."
"As you imagine, there were many famous people on both sides of the war. The Maou, obviously, Michael the Archangel, Azazel of the Grigori as well as God himself. However, there were also other, just as important, members of the Three Factions that made a major impact on the course of the war."
"One of these was Karasuba a.k.a. The Black Angel of Death," stated Rias calmly. "Karasuba is part of the first generation of second generation Fallen Angels, meaning she wasn't an Angel who Fell but rather was born from two Fallen Angels. Despite being the daughter of a high-ranking member of the Grigori, she was born with only one set of wings, making people believe she would be no threat."
"However," here Rias' tone became grim, "Karasuba defied all expectations and quickly became a threat on par with any of the Seraph. Despite only ever getting to three sets of wings, Karasuba made up for it with her unparalled swordsmanship and speed that was said to completely unsurpassed by any other supernatural creature. Up until then, most devils has given Angels and Fallen Angels a threat level according to the number of wings they had. Karasuba changed all that."
"For the first time, pure power was not the deciding factor of battle but rather skill. Karasuba was well-known to match Seraphs and even Maou in combat using nothing but swordsmanship, speed and near unnatural combat ability. The only ones who ever managed to outright defeat her in combat were Michael, God, Lucifer, Miya of the Totsuka and Yume of the Light. Even then, Karasuba always survived those encounters, something few could ever boast of."
Rias was grim as she remembered the real reason she was so feared by devils even today. "However, all that wasn't why she was feared. The reason she's so feared is due to her incredible ruthlessness and cruelty during the War. Until then, there had been some unspoken rules of battle that made the War more or less civil in some respects. Karasuba went against all that. She attacked devils while they were making contracts, attacked devil and angelic cities that held nothing but civilians and always left nothing but corpses behind her."
Her peerage looked suitably horrified at her description of the Fallen Angel they just met and they finally realized just how lucky they were to escape alive.
"Furthermore," continued Rias with a fearful tone. "She never took any prisoners or showed any mercy, killing without even a second of warning. She was known to sometimes attack even other Fallen Angels if they got in her way. Sadistic and cruel, Karasuba quickly became a sort of boogeyman for devils everywhere. Not even Miya, Azazel's daughter, who was much stronger, was so feared. Nowadays, she's known as Azazel's Ace and unofficial Punisher for those who break his rules. The fact Karasuba shows no compunction about killing her own kind only gives further credence as to the rumors of her sadism and cruelty."
The rest of the peerage, with the exception of Akeno who already knew all this, finally realized how lucky they had been tonight. If Karasuba had been feeling differently or truly wanted them dead, they would be dead. It was only her apparent disinterest in hurting them and her focus on bringing Raynare back alive that kept them alive.
Issei was frowning in thought before he spoke slowly. "So she was lying? When she said you planned for Asia to die just to make her a part of your peerage? She was lying right?"
And now Rias was in a conundrum. Given what she'd explained about Karasuba's bloodthirsty and cruel nature, she could easily lie and said Karasuba had been the one lying and they would believe her. After all, if she could callously kill even her own kind, lying wasn't that big of a stretch. Rias would be free and clear and her peerage would once again trust her completely.
On the other hand... she would be lying to people she considered family. She had never directly lied to them before. She may have deflected or spoken in half-truths, but never really truly lied to them. It was partially because she herself hated being lied to and partially because she knew that lying just made things worse. Being caught in a lie would destroy any trust they may have in her even if the lie was for the best of intentions.
It would also give her a chance to explain why she did what she did instead of them coming to the wrong conclusions.
In the end the question was, what would she prefer in their shoes? The brutal and slightly hurtful truth or the appeasing lie?
With this in mind, Rias made her decision. "No, she wasn't lying. I purposefully planned things to go the way they did since it was the best course of action at the time."
Issei looked shocked and hurt at the admittance as did Asia. Kiba and Koneko looked just as shocked though less so than the former two while Akeno just looked accepting, probably already deducing why Rias did what she did.
"Let me explain," said Rias when she saw Issei getting angry. "You know that the Three Factions are currently in a form of cease-fire, correct?" At Issei's nod, she continued. "What do you think would have happened if we had attacked the Fallen Angels with no reason to? Regardless of whether we would have rescued Asia or not, war would have resulted unless the Fallen Angels were appeased. That probably meant that both you and Asia would have executed in order to stop war from breaking out. Your family, Issei," here Rias' tone was genuine and earnest yet firm, "but your life means much less than the Maou's desire to maintain the peace. You would have accomplished nothing but caused Asia to be killed later instead of earlier."
"But if you just threw me out of your peerage-" started Issei angrily.
"But nothing!" interrupted Rias angrily. "As a Stray you both would have been hunted and killed by both sides. You may think you would be a hero, Issei." Here Rias' tone became slightly scornful and pitying. "But you would have only accomplished both of you dying instead of just you."
"Therefore," continued Rias in a much calmer tone. "I made a plan to both save Asia and prevent a war from happening. First, if we had taken Asia from Fallen Angel custody when she was just a normal human nun, then we would have risked war. However, if she had died and we resurrected her as a devil, then they couldn't say anything could they? Therefore, yes I had to let her die. But I would have resurrected her right afterwards. As for her Sacred Gear, I have a right to defend my territory from any intruders. Those Fallen Angels did not have my permission to be in my territory and had already attacked my Pawn without provocation. Therefore, I had a right to retaliate without repercussions."
"Meaning you could have killed them without problem," finished Kiba understandably, the tension bleeding from his frame, "and if you just happened to get Asia's Sacred Gear back from it then that's just a nice side effect."
Rias smiled with a nod as she sat back while crossing one leg over the other. "Exactly. Issei, I wanted to lead you into your new life slowly, but you need to understand something. You're a devil of Gremory House now. You're now bound by devil laws just like I am. As a human, you couldn't steal or attack people without reason, correct? Well, as a devil there are similar laws in place to keep another Great War from breaking out. You may not like the fact that I manipulated you, but it was the only way I knew to save Asia without both of you being executed as a result."
Issei seemed to mull that over before speaking lowly. "If you couldn't get her Sacred Gear back... would you have still resurrected her?"
"Yes," said Rias truthfully. "Whether or not we managed to regain Twilight Healing, I still would have resurrected Asia, if only for your sake."
That seemed to cause Issei to relax and Asia smiled gratefully at her. "Okay then, Buchou. I don't understand all this complicated stuff about laws and wars, but I trust that you were honestly trying to save Asia and help me. Thank you."
Rias smiled and relaxed, glad that Issei forgave her even if he didn't completely understand her point of view or agree with her actions. Then again, he was only human a few weeks ago and still had the idea of heroes and villains in his head.
As he spent more time as a devil, he would learn that the world was a lot more grey than he thought it was. A part of Rias felt bad for the loss of innocence that would no doubt occur when he realized that. She really liked her innocent and perverted Pawn as he was, but she knew it had to happen if he planned to survive as a devil.
As the group left towards their respective homes, Rias inwardly realized she had been lucky he hadn't asked about his own resurrection. If he had asked, she would have been forced to admit she had purposefully let him die in order to assure his joining her peerage. While she had little doubt he would have joined if she had simply asked, the pressure of her upcoming engagement made it so she didn't want to take any chances. Only Akeno knew about the engagement and therefore, was the only one who knew what Rias had done and why but Rias trusted her Queen implicitly. Akeno also understood Rias' actions even though she didn't completely agree with them and that gave Rias some comfort.
Rias got up and went up to her bedroom in the second floor where she began to disrobe for bed, tired from the day's ordeals. The stress and terror of meeting the infamous Karasuba face to face had affected her more than she let on and she just knew she would be having nightmares tonight. The casual killing intent Karasuba gave off had rocked her to her core and probably did worse to her cute little peerage even if they didn't show it.
As Rias finished disrobing, her eyes fell on a note on her dresser. Remembering when she found it inside the Gundam game she had gotten from her arch-rival, Rias walked toward it and read it once more.
Dear Rias,
Hope you enjoy the game! Consider it my gift towards you in celebration of your upcoming marriage to Riser Phenex. Considering what I've heard of the man's attitude I didn't think he was your type but to each his own. I thought we had something special but I guess it will never be. (Tear).
However, if you ever change your mind, call me at this number because I've found several ways to neutralize fried turkeys if necessary.
Your friend and rival,
Harry Peverell
Below that was Harry's number, a Japanese one from the area code meaning he lived in the country at least.
However, the contents of the letter had thrown her world upside down. It proved that 'Harry' was far more than human and had contacts within the devil community at least if he knew about her engagement. It also said he must be powerful if he managed to hide his power signature from her so thoroughly and actually make her think he was human. While not a master of sensing by any means, she was no slouch. So him hiding it from her even during the few times they touched said volumes about his control. Only beings with complete and total mastery of their power could hide it so well. Not even her brother could do that.
So while a part of her felt better about losing to him now that it was revealed he wasn't a normal human, the other part of her was wary. To have that absolute control of your power took enormous skill and made him very dangerous. He could have killed her at any time due to her not having her guard up around him since she had thought he was just a normal human.
Yet he hadn't. He had made her do very embarrassing things but never tried to physically hurt her, just embarrass her. That made him, at the very least, slightly trustworthy in her book.
The fact that he basically gifted her dozens of her favorite manga and games had absolutely nothing to do with it.
So as Rias settled in to sleep, she considered whether or not taking 'Harry' up on his offer of help or not. Because as things were at the moment, she wasn't completely sure she would be able to beat Riser if it came to a Rating Game.
AN: And that's chapter 3!
As always, Read and Review!