Scarlet 31

Scarlet 31

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Commissioned by Sivantic

Wordcount: 2500

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Kuoh felt far less safe than I liked with the recent news I received, and without Rias, Sona, Akeno, and Asia around, it was difficult to stay still.

Is it finally time to get angry and kill an Archangel?

I paused at Ddraig’s voice, before telling him to tell everything he knew about the possible culprit.

It’s a Fallen Archangel. Those can be counted on one hand. I don’t recall all their names, but I think one’s called chocolate or something… and he sounds like the type to do it. Fallen are either fond of sex or violence. The one I’m thinking of is the latter.

My teeth grit and I almost asked Ddraig why he hadn’t said anything, before I recalled my earlier state.

Yeah, it’s hard to get you listen, let alone think, when there are beautiful women around. Ddraig huffed in the back of my head. I could faintly feel his amusement through my thoughts, as I walked towards my home in Kuoh’s neighborhood streets. The bright streetlights, the setting sun, and all the calm pedestrians walking to-and-fro all felt out of place as I processed the information. The threat was far larger than I anticipated. Correct. Fallen or not, an Archangel is still an Archangel, especially for a whelp like you. If you were me, then this would barely be a problem… but you’re not.

Normally, I would be tempted to punish Ddraig for the sass by reading some literature that he didn’t like (NTR isn’t LITERATURE! How do you even like that now that you have girlfriends!?), but I let it pass.

Oh, and just to answer his question: because I don’t insert myself as the loser of a fight.

Sometimes, I forget that you used to be a supervillain, but when you talk like that it makes sense.

I kept walking forward and soon enough Ddraig spoke more about the threat ahead of us.

If I recall correctly, before I was trapped, the Fallen were losing along with Heaven. Hell was on everyone’s heels. Ddraig recalled with palpable disinterest. He was always happier They used their ability to corrupt and seduce to bring many Sacred Gear users to their side, while Heaven could only order them to live virtuously and offer them paradise… which the Devils could, in their own ways.

The Devils were creatures of temptation and pleasure, while the Fallen were ultimately selfish creatures that sought their own happiness over everything else, and Heaven offered paradise after death. From a mortal standpoint, it was easy to see which offer was more enticing. The Devils offered mortals the chance to be Devils themselves, and if they weren’t willing they offered contracts based off of convenience, pleasure, and all sorts of other things. With even basic Devil magic, a person could get immense wealth, acquire the love of their life, and generally raise themselves up in human society.

Humans who didn’t want to give up freedoms and live according to the code couldn’t go to the Church, while those who weren’t desirable weren’t chosen by the Fallen, thus leaving Devils the winner of a new arms race by default.

If I were God, I’d have kept the Sacred Gear system amongst my followers in the Church.

Even if that would’ve created power imbalances amongst you mortals?

I’ll solve that problem after I’ve solved the current problem. Sometimes, thinking too far into the future will result in problems in the present.

Well, after hearing that, I’m sure that humanity is lucky you’re not God.

I snorted at Ddraig’s words, briefly recalling my last few hours of life in my past existence, when I had all the power in the world. The thought of having all of that again, even without the costs being Khepri entailed, made a feeling of disgust rise up from my stomach to my throat. It took effort not to retch.

Yeah, if I had any choice in the matter, I’d never want that much ever again.

That power wasn’t yours. That path wasn’t yours either. Nothing about that is being a Dragon. All along, in your previous life, you were used and moved by others. This time is different. You’re a Dragon, Taylor, and you should never forget that.

Ddraig spoke and a low, rumbling snarl crept into his voice. I was a bit touched by his words, but I knew better than to mention that. He felt it already and that was more than enough to validate things for him.

Listen, Taylor, you’re going to face your strongest opponent yet. If you aren’t careful, you’ll die and you’ll never be able to take this life and live it the way you’re meant to. I have seen your past and what you’ve done. You’re what God meant Sacred Gears for: a great human being who will shape history, protect your own, and defeat your enemies.

I’d heard a few of these words before, but the warning that came before it all gave them a different message. This was the first time Ddraig was warning me about losing my life, about losing my second change to live well despite my prior life, and he wanted me to know that and fight desperately against it. I didn’t agree with his wish for me to be some great conqueror of the world, but… I didn’t want to lose the life I had now.

I had a two parents who cared for me, friends, and people who were interested in me, as well as a future brighter than I could ever imagine back on Bet.

I couldn’t afford to risk it all.

I couldn’t afford to pretend that nothing was wrong and leave it to the Devils, when I could be doing something myself.

Fallen love luxury and to lord over those they believe lesser. Whoever attacked your mate, with all his power and might, will never stoop low and hide. Ddraig advised me as I entered my home and greeted my parents with a smile. Rias and Asia were both here, and Sona will make sure to have my house under surveillance. However, none of them knew of the basement tunnel that connected to the sewers beneath the house. Not even my parents knew about it, so it was secure and was the perfect way for me to leave the house later. Force him out of his nest into the open. He lords over nothing. All he’s truly doing is hiding and hoping that battles come to him. If he were truly strong, then he would be doing all this in the open. He deserves not a single shred of mercy or honor!

I nodded at Ddraig’s words.

Whoever was doing this was looking to incite a war between Hell and Heaven. They were strong, but not strong enough to overcome their current enemies. As high and mighty as this Fallen Archangel believed they were, their plans would go astray the moment their existence was known. True, we could wait and hunt them down slowly, but it was better to smoke this creature out and force them to confront the full weight of their misdeeds.

The largest hotel in Kuoh was in the downtown area, and it had suites on the top floor. If Fallen were concealing themselves, the hotel staff wouldn’t know about them, and so if someone called in a possible threat and had the building evacuated… while someone broke through the foundation of the building with superhuman strength below…

Bring them down. Have their world crash around them. Let them be buried by their own pride and insolence for daring to touch what is yours. They deserve nothing less.

I had to take measures to ensure there wouldn’t be civilian casualties, but the plan was sounding better and better. After ensuring the safety of innocents, all I’d need was the presence of someone who could take on the creature that I instigated. It was the same as forcing out an enemy to be faced by someone else, or having my ants corral my enemies towards my more fearsome creatures. The only difference now was that I was using my incredible strength and durability to do the corralling instead.

But the results were going to be the same no matter what.

Whoever attacked me was going to be rudely awakened and revealed to the world as the master perpetrator.

The peace I wanted was going to return, my chance to continue living my second chance would continue, and I’ll be able to grow stronger to confront future, possible threats.

To that end, a preemptive strike was my best bet.

Still, though, going alone would be foolish and I knew the value of having someone to rely on… so as I walked back home I decided to make a call.

…

Kiba Yuuto looked at me with a raised brow, while I clambered out of the sewers.

“I thought you were kidding, but you really use the sewers to get around.”

“When you can’t fly or teleport, you find other ways to move.” I didn’t like the sewers, but they were necessary when my foes dominated the air. It gave me concealment, cover, and if they pursued me into the tunnels, they lost several advantages. They couldn’t fly, using too large attacks threatened a collapse on themselves, and they had to engage me in melee. Under those circumstances, I had a decent chance at winning. “Have you seen anything around the hotel?”

“Nothing, and that means your suspicions are correct.” I called upon Yuuto because of his reaction to Holy Sword Project. Given its size, scope, and purpose, I was able to convince him that they had backers, and those backers were present to finish the job. His drive for revenge was a useful tool to get him as an ally. His pretty boy looks hid just how driven he was towards making the people who hurt him pay. Needless to say, he was very popular with the girls at Kuoh. “The concierge and staff haven’t moved, all the guests coming in and out just leave to find other hotels, and they don’t answer any of their calls.”

“So, the warnings we gave…”

“We didn’t need to. The entire building’s been taken from the topmost floor to the bottom. And, it’s likely that they did it so they can stop plans like yours by setting up a thorough security field.” I grimaced at those words. I knew very little about magic, but enough to know that it was used to create proximity fields that warned the caster of interlopers. I’d banked my idea on the fact that my enemy would just protect the upper floors, but since they took the entire building, they’ll have those protections around every exit. “Your scheme to collapse an entire building in the middle of the city won’t work, unfortunately.”

I thought that was sarcasm for a moment, until I noticed Yuuto had a frown on his face. He actually wanted that to happen to the possible backers of the people who hurt him as a child. Huh, if he let loose with his dark past some more, he’d probably get more girls than he already does.

And, when he rejects them, you’ll be there to pick them up and care for them.

Are women just supposed to be miserable after their rejection? Shouldn’t they be allowed to be happy and regain their confidence?

You say that, but you’ve only got only lewd things in mind. They deserve better. You’re gross.

It’s not NTR if there was never a relationship.

Physically, yes. Spiritually, no. Go die in a fire, Taylor.

I noticed Yuuto looking at me after consulting Ddraig, and cleared my throat to signal to him that I was listening.

“I can craft Demonic Blades with multiple properties. I have one that can allow us to slip through the defenses by cutting through it… but just one layer and the first we encounter. It won’t destroy it, either, so if we encounter more within, then we’ll be trapped between the first and the second.” Yuuto explained and activated his Sacred Gear. Within seconds, he had a Demonic Sword in hand that he’d never shown me before. It looked fragile, and his brown crunched when he created it, leading me to believe that it was difficult to create… as if the fact we could only penetrate one layer of surveillance wasn’t enough information. “I’m willing to take the risk, but are you?”

I was ready to provide an answer, when stupidity reared its ugly head, in the form of Xenovia Quarta. My eyes widened upon seeing the blue-haired exorcist marching towards the hotel alone, and so did Yuuto’s, as she just opened the front door and walked in without so much as a thought.

Somehow, she managed to get to the same conclusion as me, but didn’t think the rest of the plan through.

Mhmm, classic warrior. Ready to fight at a moment’s notice and nothing else. It’s almost admirable. Almost.

“Yuuto, make a distraction! Hit them from above!”

“Okay!”

I came up with a half-baked plan to have the Fallen within the hotel to search another place before the entrance and shouted it over to Yuuto. He complied, created a sword, and took flight to presumably give it a good throw. Meanwhile, I used all the strength that I had to charge across the street to get to the idiot who thought it was a good idea to try and take on the entire enemy force head-on.

We were doing that too, but we had a plan to leave and not just stand still and die, so we’re fine.

Ddraig snorted, I ignored him, and grabbed the Exorcist by the waist and pulled her out of the hotel while an explosion suddenly rocked the topside of the hotel… and an immense, terrifying pressure crashed down upon me from above, and a scream of pain reached my ears as Yuuto suddenly crashed into the ground between me and my exit strategy.

I didn’t hesitate to pick him up, even as a shockwave and rubble hit me, and leap into the sewer entrance with both of them in tow.

Quarta’s mouth was ablaze with demands and curses, but I paid her no heed, while straining myself to run through the tunnels… especially as something crashed through the sewer grate behind us.

In an instant, I went from planning a preemptive strike to being chased through the sewers by a powerful Fallen with an injured ally and someone who had a brick for a brain.

In our defense, neither of us anticipated the Exorcist to be THIS stupid.

I agreed with Ddraig, but I was more focused on survival.