I never expected that a Stray Exorcist will visit this client’s house.”
Buchou, who is apologising to me, narrows her eyes after seeing my wounds. “……Ise. Did you get wounded?”
“Ah, sorry…… I was shot……”
I try to deceive her by laughing. Ah, looks like she will yell at me afterwards. Sorry for being weak, Buchou. But Buchou didn’t say anything to me and gives a cold expression to the priest. “Looks like you have been looking after my cute servant?”
Her voice is low and sounds scary. Wow, Buchou is pissed. Am I the reason? “Yes, yes. I have been playing around with it. I was planning to cut his body all over but I was interrupted and it finished as a dream.”
BON! A section of the furniture behind the priest is blown away. It’s Buchou. Buchou shot out a ball of demonic-power. “I make sure I never forgive those who harm my servants. I especially can’t forgive a lowlife like you damaging my personal possessions.”
Her intensity causes the atmosphere to feel frozen. Her killing intent lurks around the room. There is a thing that looks like waves of demonic-power surrounding Buchou. “! Buchou, there seems to be few Fallen Angels heading to this house. At this rate we will be at a disadvantage.”
Seems like Akeno-san detected something and informs us. The Fallen Angels are approaching? Those guys with black wings? Buchou gives another stare at the priest. “……Akeno, we will return to our headquarters once we retrieve Ise. Prepare for teleportation.”
“Yes.”
Akeno-san starts to cast a spell as soon as Buchou urges her to. Teleport? Are we running away? I then look at Asia. “Buchou! We have to take her as well!”
I say it to Buchou. “It’s impossible. Only Devils can use the magic-circle to transport. Also, this magic-circle can only teleport me and my servants.”
N-No…… My eyes and Asia's eyes met. She just smiles at me. “Asia!”
“Ise-san, let’s meet again.”
That was the last words we exchanged at this place. Next moment, Akeno-san finishes casting the spell, and the magic-circle on the floor starts to glow blue again. “Like I will let you escape!”
The priest came slashing at us, but Koneko-chan threw the sofa against him. By the time the priest smacks away the sofa with his sword, we were already teleported to the club room. I don’t have the time to think about the impression of my first teleportation through the magic-circle, and I only remember the smile Asia gave me last. “There are two types of Exorcists.”
I’m listening to Buchou’s explanation while having my legs heal. “The first are the Exorcists who receive the blessing from God to perform exorcism in the name of justice. This group of Exorcist borrows its power from God and Angels to eliminate Devils. And there is another one. — “Stray Exorcists”.”
“Stray?”
Buchou nods at my question. Again with that “Stray”. “Exorcism is a holy ceremony that is performed in the name of God. But sometimes, there are Exorcists who starts to enjoy the act of killing Devils. They are beings who have found killing Devils as joy and as their purpose of life. So they get kicked out from the Church without exception. Or they get erased for being found guilty.”
“Erased……so they get killed.”
“But there are those who survive. What do you think happens to those Exorcists? It’s simple. They go to the Fallen Angels.”
“Fallen Angels are the ones with black wings, right?”
“Yes. Even though Fallen Angels are beings that were kicked out from the heaven, they still have the power of light, — the power to eliminate Devils. The Fallen Angels also lost a lot of their comrades and their men in the previous war. That’s why they started to collect servants, just like us.”
I understood the situation as soon as she told me that much. “So the Fallen Angels who finds the Devils a nuisance and the Exorcists who wants to kill Devils have the same objective, right?”
“Yes. That’s why they are called “Stray Exorcists”. So the dangerous Exorcists who became addicted to Devil-hunts started to attack Devils and the humans with connections to Devils by borrowing powers from the Fallen Angels. The boy priest from earlier is exactly that. He’s a “Stray Exorcist” who belongs to an organisation with the support of the Fallen Angels. They are not proper Exorcists, but they are still dangerous like the proper ones. No, since they have no restrictions on them, they are much harder to deal with than the actual Exorcists. It’s not smart to deal with them. So, the Church you went to before does not belong to God but to the Fallen Angels.”
……I knew they were a threat. I realised how dangerous they are when I was fighting that shitty priest. He is really evil. He only thought about fighting and has joy in killing Devils. Getting involved with the group where more shits like that exist is dangerous. I know that. I really do. But. But! So I have to say it to Buchou. “Buchou, I need to save that girl, Asia!”
“It’s impossible. How will you fight them? You are a Devil. And she is a servant of Fallen Angels. It’s the two kinds that cannot coexist. Saving her means making the Fallen Angels your enemies. ……If that happened, we would also have to fight.”
“…………”
I couldn’t say anything back to her. I will cause trouble to Buchou and others due to my selfishness. I compared Asia with Buchou and others. But I can’t find the answer. Which one is more important? That……that will be……
I realised what a small man I am, because I can’t find the right answer. I can’t save even a single girl. I am too weak. “Haa……”
Noon. I've skipped school today, and I’m currently sitting on a bench in a children’s park while making a sigh. The wounds I received from the priest on my leg yesterday haven’t completely healed. According to Buchou, “The Fallen Angel who gave its power to that priest must have a dense power of light”, so it seems like they will be troublesome for us Devils since light is poisonous to us. With this leg, I can’t do the Devils’ job for a while, so I was told to take a break by Buchou. Buchou probably has already talked to the teacher so it should be fine. That’s because Buchou controls the school from the shadows. GUU~
My stomach rumbles. Now that I think about it, I haven’t eaten since morning. I have been thinking about Asia and my career as a Devil the whole time. How can I save Asia? Before that, does Asia even like her current situation? That, I don’t know. But I have made my own assumption that she won’t enjoy working in the same place as a psycho priest who will hit her. Umm. If I do things on my own, it will cause a lot of trouble to Buchou and the others. ……I want to get stronger. That’s the only thing in my mind right now. There are many things that are possible to do only if you are strong. In my short life as a Devil, that is the only thing I’m sure of. It seems like I have to be stronger in order to achieve my dream. Since then, I've learned how to make my Sacred Gear appear whenever I feel like. But since I don’t know how to use it, it’s a waste.