(Issei)
The plan had already started.
Buchou and Akeno-san had gone ahead to deal with the Fallen Angels around the Church.
Kaichou and I waited a few minutes after Koneko-chan and Kiba entered the Church. I was somewhat worried. I know that, in Devil terms, they were my senpais, but maybe it was some of my worry for that idiot who got himself caught leaking out, causing me to worry about others who I shouldn't have to worry about.
I couldn't help but feel discomfort with my "partner" for lack of a better word.
It's not that I disliked Kaichou, but it's more that I just never really spent much time with her… She's so quiet. She's staring intently at the Church…
Hmm… Now that I think about it, she seemed awfully worried about Haruto… Hmmmm.
Before I could think to myself "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING, YOU DUMBASS?!", I spoke.
"Kaichou…"
Kaichou turned to me. "What is it, Hyoudou?"
"Well…it's just that…" Hmmm…what's the best way to say this…? Maybe I should just go ahead and say it. "What do you think of Haruto?"
In situations like these, where questions like this are asked, they say that if someone reacts with raised voices or shocked expressions, it spoke volumes about a person's true thoughts and feelings.
That's why I was unfortunately disappointed when Kaichou raised an eyebrow, bemused by my question.
"He is my Onee-sama's servant of course." Was her immediate answer.
I shook my head. "No. What I mean was…you seemed really worried about him and—"
"If you are trying to ask if I have romantic feelings for Haruto, then I will answer that I do not." Her answer was so harsh and final.
"Erm… Sorry." I bowed my head, trying to apologize for being so rude.
"But I will admit that I care for him." Kaichou added suddenly. "He is a pleasant person despite his faults and I will admit I find him amusing if I may be blunt."
She didn't say "amusing" like how most people find animals who do tricks "amusing", but rather, it sounded more like she was talking about a chess piece who has yet to show its true value and would end up doing something quite impressive.
"For Onee-sama to lose such a servant would be a great loss." Kaichou finally ended. She then turned her gaze back towards the Church. "It's been ten minutes now. It's time to move in."
Oh yeah! We had been told to wait a little while while Koneko and Kiba made them bring out all of the defenses so there wouldn't be any surprises!
It's time to move in!
I activated my Sacred Gear. Then Kaichou and I charged in, encountering no resistance until we burst through the front door of the Church.
Kiba and the Priest then start to battle head on. Both of them are glaring at each other.
"Impressive. You are quite strong."
"Ahaha! You too! A Knight, huh!? Not even a single blind spot! This is great! Yes yes, this is what I'm talking about. Lately, I haven't had an awesome battle like this! I was about to cry because of it! Hmmm! Hmmm! I'm going to kill you!"
"Then maybe I should also fight seriously for a bit then. After all, I don't think Haruto would appreciate me keeping him waiting like this."
Kiba is going to fight seriously? What is she going to do?
"Eat this."
Low pitched voice. I can't believe its Kiba's voice because it had some intensity in it.
Then, some black stuff came out of Kiba's sword. It started to cover the whole sword.
Darkness.
If I had to describe it, that would be the first major word used.
The darkness covered the sword—No, it's more like the darkness is shaping into Kiba's sword.
The darkness sword that is clashing against the Priest's blade of light starts to expand and is devouring the blade of light.
"Wha, what the hell is this!?"
The Priest seems confused.
"Holy-Eraser, a darkness sword that devours light."
"Y-You are also a Sacred Gear possessor!?"
This bishoujo has a Sacred Gear too!? I mean, the darkness-sword looked awesome! Between Haruto getting that Longinus thing and Kiba getting such a badass darkness-sword, I was starting to get kind of jealous!
"Hyoudou! I found it!" While I was busy ogling Kiba and being awed by the fight, Kaichou had found a hidden passageway nearby which also held a staircase. She gestured for me to follow her.
I ran over to the hidden passageway, shooting a concerned look at my two comrades.
Out of the corner of her eyes, Kiba noticed my look and smiled.
"It looks like Koneko-chan and I have to keep this guy busy! I'll have to leave saving Haruto to you, Issei-kun!"
Realizing Kiba had placed her trust in me, I nodded.
"Hyoudou!" Kaichou called again.
I jumped, realizing I had been stalling. I followed after Kaichou down the stairs. Kaichou, possessing more experience, led the way while I followed behind. It looked like the electricity worked even in here. How convenient.
After we reached the bottom of the stairs, we ended up in this weird hall… No.
There were small spaces protected by metal bars coated with what I expected to be light energy.
This…This was a dungeon.
I couldn't help but feel like we were coming close to the "Boss's Lair" like in a video game.
Kaichou and I walked by the cells on either side of us. I felt chills go down my spine. Some of them had skeletons and suspicious stains that looked like blood.
I mentally hoped that none of those cells belonged to Haruto.
It was right next to the doorway. There was something that caught my eye.
"Kaichou!"
Kaichou stopped in her tracks, turning confused to me as I ran inside one of the open cells.
What caught my eye was a small toy…Well, not so much a toy, but rather a doll. Kind of a stuffed plushie. A small one like you'd keep either hanging like on a bracelet or on a keychain.
It was red and had horns and bat-like wings and the goofiest smile on its face.
It was a Devil. "Devi-kun" as Haruto used to call it when we were little. He told me it was something his mother gave him before she died. He told me it came in a set of three. There were two other dolls similar to it that his mother made from what he told me. One of them was missing from what his mother told him, but Haruto gave the third one to someone else important to him.
These three dolls were the last treasures Haruto had from his mother.
I picked it up and stared at it sadly. Then I tightened my grasp around it.
Stupid idiot, dropping this… I was so going to chuck it at his stupid head after we rescued him…
I ran out of the cell and past Kaichou, running as fast as my legs could carry me.
Haruto was here! That meant he wasn't too far away!
"Hyoudou!"
Kaichou ran after me, but I was far ahead of her. I kept on running until I reached another door at the end of the hall.
I felt my Devil instincts go off the chart, reacting to some imminent danger.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The sudden scream of pain send chills down on my spine and put me on high-alert.
Without further thinking about the consequences of my actions, I burst through the door, not giving a damn about stealth by that point.
The room was full of priests. They all had sword handles that could make the light swords.
Restrained on a cross at the end of the room was Haruto.
"Hahahaha…" He laughed hollowly. "...is that the best you got, shitty crow…?"
There was a loud howl of frustration.
BANG!
"What the fuck is wrong with this scrap heap!?" screamed another familiar voice. "WHY—" BANG "ISN'T" BANG "IT" BANG "WORKING!?"
I saw Raynare… my chest hurt in more ways than one.
For some odd reason, she was kicking the cross Haruto was attached to, apparently frustrated about something.
"RUN IT AGAIN!" Raynare ordered before turning to me.
Then the cross started to glow with a supernatural light.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" Haruto screamed upward out as intense pain seemed to wrack his body.
"Harutooo!" Then, my fear, my worry, it turned into rage. I glared at the Fallen Angel. "Raynare! Let him go!"
After the power of the abnormal cross faded, Haruto hung limply once more.
Raynare sighed. "Well, if it isn't Shitty Devil #1 coming for Shitty Devil #2?" She sounded tired, angry, and as if she was fed up with some kind of bullshit.
I noticed Kaichou walking to a space right next to me. I couldn't help but notice that her serious expression became much more hostile than it was before.
She held out her hands and summoned a magic circle similar to the one Buchou uses when using her powers.
Instead of some kind of black demonic power, water came out. They came out in the form of…
Birds?
Birds made entirely of water flew through the air far over the heads of the Stray Exorcists below. They flew at the cross, and for a brief, horrifying second, I thought they were going to hit Haruto. But no. Instead they completely flew around him, damaging not him, but the cross itself, angling themselves in order to cut the cross into pieces, destroying it.
Haruto fell limply to the ground.
"Hyoudou! Take Haruto to safety! Those are your orders now!"
I looked from Kaichou to the Stray Exorcists and Fallen Angel in the room.
"Don't worry, Issei-kun! We'll stay here to cover your escape!"
I jumped, looking behind me to see Koneko-chan and Kiba coming from the passageway Kaichou and I just came from. Apparently they had dealt with that shitty priest, Freed, already.
"...Get Haruto-senpai to safety."
I looked at the two. Not wanting to waste their feelings, I nodded.
I charged ahead as the others cleared a path for me.
Thank you Kaichou! Koneko-chan! Kiba! You are all amazing people!
I rushed past some of these guys and took this chance to Promote to Rook.
Buchou had taught me about Promotion, the ability of the Pawns, shortly before we began. Like in Chess, I was able to Promote to any piece except King.
I needed defense power for my possibly suicidal charge and the Rook provides the best defense there is! One priest got through one of Kaichou's Magic attacks, but I blocked him with my Sacred Gear and pushed on. With the help of my comrades, I made it to the end of the room where Haruto was.
I kneeled before him and checked his pulse. He was breathing, so that was good. But his skin was so pale and he was sweating like crazy.
"...Issei…" He said with a shallow breath. He was laying with one side of his face flat against the ground while the other side was facing the ceiling. His one open eye rolled around to look at me. The faintest of smiles formed on his face. "...Issei… I… you came… I'm so… happy…"
"Of course," I choked back a sob. "We stick together, no matter what… that's what we promised…" That sad state my brother was starting to make my eyes sting with tears. His breaths were short and shallow and he kept on wincing with each word, as if every breath he took caused him a large amount of pain.
I resisted tears, trying to direct my sadness and pity into rage, turning towards the crow who did tis to him.
"What did you do to him!?"
Raynare sneered. "I was taking his Sacred Gear of course. Since I didn't finish the ritual, it's anyone's guess if he is going to live or die."
My heart stopped.
D-Die?!
I turned to look at my best friend who was laying injured before me.
...Haruto might die? He is going to die? He can't die! He can't leave me here yet! I'm supposed to kick his ass at life! We were supposed to compete to become the greatest harem king! We were going to have fun times with Asia and all of our friends! Haruto, you also had your promise to become stronger! Kaichou told me your dream! Becoming Ultimate-Class sounds like a badass goal! Haruto, you can't die before you accomplish it!
Raynare laughed mocking. "He was rather stubborn. I suppose he tried to cancel or stall he process by channeling his demonic power to cause interruptions because for whatever reason, his Sacred Gear just didn't want to come out. If he hadn't been such a nuisance, this all would've been over much faster."
That hurt me even more.
Haruto… he must've known we were coming for him… he must've been trying to hold out for as long as possible… he was waiting for us. He believed in us… he resisted Raynare's torture for so long…
"You really are nothing like the Yuuma-chan that I dated."
Hearing that, Raynare started to laugh out loudly.
"Fufufu, it was pretty fun. The time I dated you."
"…You were my first girlfriend."
"Yes, watching it was very cute. It's fun to play around with guys who have no experience with a woman."
She… she was playing around with me.
"…I was serious about taking care of you."
"Ufufu, yes, you did take care of me. When I was in trouble you managed to take care of it right away and made sure I didn't get hurt. But did you know that I did all of that on purpose? Because it was funny to see your face when you were in panic."
"…I made sure I planned our first date carefully. To make sure it would become a great date."
I'm nearly in tears now.
"Ahahaha! Yeah! It was an ordinary date! Thanks to that, I was very bored!"
"…Yuuma-chan."
"Ufufu, I chose that name so I can kill you at Dawn. Wonderful, isn't it? Right, Issei-kun?"
My rage past its limit. I shouted my anger at her.
"Raynareeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
"Ahahahahaha! I don't want a rotten brat like you calling my name!"
Raynare sneered. I now know that she is pure evil. She has not only killed me and my brother once, but she was hurting him once again again. He is in so much pain. His face is twisted in pain and I don't know what I can do…
If I hadn't run away… if I hadn't abandoned my brother… maybe I could've stopped this…
As I'm thinking about this, my eyes quickly dart over to see how Kaichou the others are
"Issei-kun! Our formation is at a disadvantage while we are protecting Haruto! So go upstairs at once! We'll make the path for you! Now, hurry!"
I nodded. I looked down at Haruto and grabbed one of his arms, throwing hit over my shoulder so I could support Haruto.
"Come on, buddy." I grunted. "We're almost almost there. We're finally getting out of here. Just hold on a little longer… can you move your feet a little to run…?"
Haruto was still only barely conscious, but I saw him make a weak nod. Good. That'll make this easier.
"Kiba-san! Toujou-san! We will make a path for Hyoudou-kun!"
"Yes Kaichou!"
"...Affirmative."
The three of them started taking out the priests that got in my way. Thanks to the three of them, Me and Haruto who I was carrying were able to get to the entrance.
"Kiba! Kaichou! Koneko-chan!"
"You go ahead! We will handle here!"
"Save Haruto… Hyoudou-kun quickly!"
"…Please go quickly."
But shouldn't I stay and help…
"Just go!"
"Kiba! Kaichou! Koneko-chan! When I get back, call me Issei! Definitely! We are comrades!"
That's what I said to them. It felt like the three of them smiled.
I left the place and went straight to the passage at once, Haruto being half-carried/half-dragged.