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Chapter 9: The Stray Exorcist
🕑 Added 2024-08-12 02:15:14 +0000 UTC10+ Advance Chapters: patreon.com/Accel14
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Night had long since fallen, and the sun would soon make its appearance. But Takauji was still hard at work, studying in his backyard instead of his room this time.
And also barefoot, for some reason.
I see, when you channel Mana into your foot you're not performing a continuous action in order to increase your speed. But rather you're doing bursts in order to cover distances in a short amount of time. It sounds simple on paper, but in practice it's a rather tricky technique to learn.
He had decided to take a small break from practicing Darkness Magic, and opted to spend a little time working on some seemingly useful non-affinity spells. Or simply put, spells that any Magician could learn regardless of affinity.
The one he was working on now was known as "Mana Step", a movement technique that required one to learn how to use a spell that exuded Mana internally rather than externally.
The reason he didn't have any footwear on at the moment, is that the spell was easier to learn when you could actually feel the ground you were moving on with the bottom of your feet.
According to the book, it made it easier to get a sense for how much Mana you were supposed to inject into your feet muscles.
"Alright, let's give this a try."
Mana started to travel from his core into the tendons of his feet, spreading itself evenly as he felt the temperature of his muscles drop ever so slightly.
This seems about right.
He closed his eyes, continuing to optimize the channeling of Mana until he felt satisfied with it.
It's now or never.
Takauji took a step forwards and,
(Crash!)
Ended up falling head first into the pile of bushes in his garden. Swallowing a handful of dirt in the progress which he spat out instantly, sticking out his tongue as he tried to spit the taste out.
That… hurts like hell. My head would've probably exploded like a watermelon if it hit the fence.
There was a reason having a teacher was important, and he had just experienced it first hand.
Clearly I used too much Mana, let's try toning things down a bit this time.
One issue that came with his abnormally high amount of Mana, was the fact that keeping it under control at times could be problematic. Resulting in him overdoing spells like Shamak, or making his illusions appear not as he had intended.
With a groan, he hauled himself to his feet out from the foliage of his garden. Dusting himself off and picking the bits of grass that now clung to his shirt.
This time he tried reducing the amount of Mana he poured into his feet, taking a deep breath and preparing himself for his second attempt.
Eh?
But this time, he hadn't moved at all. Quickly coming to the realization that the amount of Mana he had used was too little to even move the weight of his body.
Ok, now I've toned it down too much. I need to find a balance between these two extremes.
Luckily Darkness Magic required him to develop a solid level of control over his Mana input and output, so it didn't take long for him to attain what he believed to be the right amount of Mana in his feet.
Third time's the charm.
Success!
The corners of his mouth stretched as he managed to cover the entire distance of his garden without eating soil, causing him to praise himself internally as he basked in his accomplishment momentarily.
But this is just a basic application, after this I need to figure out how to move in other directions than just a straight line. And I should also probably look for a way to imbue my affinity into Mana Step.
With Darkness Magic's exceptional ability to hide and disguise things, he could only imagine what it could do in conjunction with such a handy movement technique.
If only I had that Familiar, I'd probably be able to just figure it out right this instant. No matter, all will come in due time.
He picked up the book on attunement-less spells from the ground, carrying it back to his bedroom as he decided to make use of what little time he had left to get some shut-eye.
He would be playing bodyguard for Issei once school ended after all, and it was also possible that he would have his first ever confrontation against a supernatural being.
How exciting.
How truly exciting.
━━━━━
Everyone had gathered around the clubroom, Takauji stood the furthest from the group as Issei was smack dab in the middle. Currently receiving a fairly stern talking to by his master for something that had gone down yesterday.
"Issei-kun, you approaching a church like that so brazenly was basically attempted suicide! Devils and Exorcists are like oil and water, you have no idea how lucky you are that you weren't killed on the spot."
She took a deep breath as her Pawn's shoulders slumped, waiting a bit before she continued to vent her frustration.
"I can't revive you twice, if you had died there then I would have lost you for good. Do you have any idea just how worried I was?" Her voice was soft, but it did nothing to diminish the honesty in her words.
Greed and empathy at the same time, it's almost like she's a two-faced spirit. What an interesting contractor I have.
"I'm… sorry," Issei replied with his head down.
"As you should be," Rias pulled him into a hug. Pushing his face into her bosom. "Promise me you'll never go near the church again, or that nun girl either."
Issei felt the words getting caught in his throat, trying to leave his mouth but failing.
"But Asia is…"
"Promise me," she repeated sternly.
He found himself falling silent, but he could tell that his King wouldn't release him until she got a satisfactory answer.
I would say she's manipulating him, but this seems a bit too genuine, and excessive as well. Don't tell me, is she unintentionally manipulative?
If that's so, I might need to reconsider my approach.
"I promise," he finally found the strength to tell her. But whether he would keep that promise or not was uncertain from Takauji's perspective.
"Good," she heaved a sigh of relief. "Now, it's time for you to get back to working on your contracts. And while it's all well and good that you're receiving positive feedback from your clients. Do try to actually get their signature this time."
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Ahaha… will do."
Believe it or not, he wasn't inspiring a whole lot of confidence at the moment.
"Also, Takauji will be going with you as you make your rounds. So make sure you work together in case any trouble comes your way."
"Takauji-senpai will? But won't clients find it weird if a human is following along," he turned to him. "No offense by the way."
"None taken," he smiled warmly. "I promise not to get in the way, honestly I'm fine with just waiting outside while you do your runs if need be."
"No, you don't have to go that far. As long as you don't try to sabotage me or anything I think all should be well," Issei said.
"In that case, shall we get going?"
━━━━━
"I think this is the place," Issei and Takauji had arrived at what looked to be a fairly ordinary looking house. "Guess I'll just ring the doorbell."
Right as Issei was about to press the button, Takauji grabbed him by the shoulder and pointed to the front entrance.
"Takauji-senpai?"
"It's unlocked," he stated with a grim expression. Feeling an eerie chill crawl down his spine as he unsheathed his Katana.
"You're right…" Issei said, just as nervous. "Do you think something happened to the client?"
"Clearly. But there's only one way to find out for certain." He narrowed his eyes, walking in front of his underclassmen as he carefully inspected every nook and cranny of the house as they went inside.
All the lights had been turned off, save for a single room at the end of the first floor.
"I don't sense any humans inside," Issei stated.
"Me neither," he affirmed. "Keep on your toes, something might be about to go down." Takauji's gut churned as the foreboding sense in his abdomen strengthened.
Once they were only inches away from the doorway of the room, Issei decided to call out. "Uh… I'm a Devil with the Gremory household… are you here client-san?"
There was no response. Only an eerie silence remained.
And then they stepped into the room.
(CHILLS)
"Now that isn't quite what I expected," both Takauji's and Issei's eyes were glued to the wall.
A corpse.
There was a corpse on the wall.
It had been nailed into the concrete, hung upside down with an array of vicious wounds all over its skin and torn limbs.
Issei vomited. Puking up everything he had eaten that day as he tried to avoid the stench by covering his nose.
Screws had been used to fixate the cadaver to the wall, arranged to make the shape of an upside down cross. And what looked to be a giblet coming out from its wounds.
"... Why would someone… do something like this… ?" Issei felt the need to ask, coughing a little after he regurgitated.
"If I had to guess, it's probably to send a message of some kind," he didn't seem to pick up on the rhetoric. "A bit sloppy though if you ask me."
"Oya oya, do I hear a filthy Devil collaborator insulting my masterpiece?" Footsteps started to come down the stairs. "Good grief, what level of arrogance must you have to think yourself worthy of passing judgment on me?"
A bishounen with silver hair and vermillion colored pupils approached them, wearing an outfit that made him look like some sort of battle priest out of an anime.
"Oh? And you also brought a Devil with you. I'll call you Devil-kun! Nice to meet you Devil-kun!" His voice was hoarse and raspy, as if he hadn't had a drop of water in the last month.
"... Are you the one who did… that?" Issei asked the man in a threatening tone.
"Well that's no good Devil-kun. You mustn't question your betters. But because I am so kind, generous, and loving, I will do you the honor of answering that question."
He sported a maddening grin. "Yes, me, the great Freed Sellzen, am the curator of this wonderful masterpiece that you see before you." Freed bowed like he had just finished a performance.
"However, just because I introduced myself it doesn't mean you have to. Quite frankly I have no interest in hearing a single decibel come out of your mouth, for it would rot the atmosphere of this lovely abode." Issei clenched his fist as he steeled himself for confrontation.
"You see, I belong to a certain Exorcism organization. And for the humble price of nothing at all, I shall do you the service of ending your pathetic existence right this moment. It might hurt a little at first, but I promise it'll feel good later."
He brought out what looked to be a bonafide lightsaber, pretending to lick it before pointing it his way.
"To think you would ignore me, I'm wounded." Takauji spoke up, his eyes covered by the reflection of his glasses.
"Ah. Yes yes, I'll get to you in a bit. First let me chop up Devil-kun over here and then you can be sliced and diced as well. Ok? Yes? Happy? Satisfied? Content? Hey, say something, are you happy? I need to know, hey say something."
His maddened rambling proved him to not be of sound mind.
Good, that would work in his favor.
"Please don't use such strong words, it makes you look weak." He started to get on his nerves, causing the "Exorcist" to scowl and stare daggers at him.
"Oi, oi oi oi oi oi oi. That's not how this is supposed to work? Are you dumb? Are you an idiot? Are you mentally compromised? You're just useless scum, your role is to run away and cower as I chase you and inevitably cut you into pieces. Do you not know your role?"
The Magician smiled. "Issei-kun, would you mind taking a step back?"
"... Huh?" He replied, still in shock.
"I'll need some space while I'm fighting him, that's all." Takauji said calmly, shooting a kind smile his way. "Don't worry this'll all be over soon." He spoke like a parent consoling their child.
"Fight me? Have you gone mad?"
"It's a shame you don't see the irony in that," he pointed his sword towards him. "But yes, I will fight you. After all, I've been entrusted with protecting Devil-kun over here."
"Hey," Freed corked his head. "Are you perhaps, mentally handicapped? Now that I think of it, it would make sense. After all you have the smell of filth all over you."
Takauji no longer showed any intention of conversing with him. Taking the initiative to charge at him much to the madman's surprise.
"What's with that sloppy ass form? You'd need a miracle to even scratch me like that."
Of course, he didn't actually plan to come at him with just swordplay. That would be a fool's errand if anything.
Takauji took the initiative to swing, causing Freed to roll his eyes as the trajectory of the swing seemed all too predictable to him.
Gotcha.
"Huh?" Freed blurted out, blinking repeatedly as the trajectory of his attack changed the very second it was about to make contact with his blade. Now aiming directly for his neck all of a sudden.
(CLANG!)
But thanks to his significantly superior reflexes, strength, and combat experience. Freed was able to move his blade in time to counter the attempt to decapitate him. But still ended up sustaining a shallow cut on his hand.
"Ah, I was hoping to take you out in one go. How unfortunate."
"What sort of trickery is this?" Freed asked in a dark tone.
"Figure it out yourself."
Takauji swung again, and the exact same thing happened. The instant before contact was made, his blade would suddenly be aiming somewhere else.
As if it had never been going after the spot Freed had predicted to begin with.
Freed could tell that Takauji's swordsmanship was practically non-existent, but nonetheless he was managing to land these mysterious hits on him, slicing him on the shoulder this time.
I was right. Darkness Magic really does excel in close quarters combat.
"Stop that already and fight me head on! You are living, walking, breathing a pile of filth!" Takauji continued, hitting him again and again and again.
Never managing to land a decisive blow, but continuously chipping away at Freed. Which pissed him off to no end.
But he couldn't bring himself to throw out any more insults at the moment, he needed to focus his all into figuring out what exactly Takauji was doing to him.
"You're all brawns and no brains, even a preschooler could put up more of a fight. Are you even trying?" The Magician on the other hand, was more than happy to onslaught with insults.
Riling him up as much as he could in order to make his strategy more effective.
"That face of pure confusion, I almost pity you."
His trick was pretty simple, he was casting an illusion on the trajectory of his blade. Concealing his target as he attacked Freed.
Obviously he wanted the illusion to last through the duration of the entire swing, but because of his lacking proficiency in both Magic and swordplay at the moment, coupled with Freed's superior Mana density.
The illusion would dissipate right before the hit was made, allowing Freed to respond with his immense speed before he was hit in a vital area.
Still, for someone who had been practicing Magic for only a little over a week. His performance against someone of Freed's caliber was exceptional.
"Alright alright, you don't need to glare at me like that. I'll put you out of your misery now."
I wonder, do I have it in me to take a life? Well to be fair, this guy is pretty repulsive so it's hard to feel any sort of remorse for ending him. Eh, I'll worry about it after he's dead.
"Shamak."
The word left his mouth, enshrouding them both in a cover of thick smog.
Takauji raised his sword, fully prepared to end his life.
(BANG!)
But all of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain enter his shoulder. Turning only to notice a wound having opened on his shoulder, caused by what could only be described as a bullet made entirely of light.
"Idiot, I can still decipher your position from the vibrations on the ground." One flaw the low-grade spell had, was indeed that the opponent would still be aware of the ground beneath them.
And Freed's senses were somehow on the level where could figure out where Takauji stood from footsteps alone.
"You're lucky this party trick of yours is clogging up my vision and all that, otherwise that would've gone through your heart."
"But it didn't," he calmly replied. Already starting to plot his next move.
"Please stop!" Until a voice decided to intervene, that is.
Everyone in the room turned their heads, met with the sight of a petite blonde haired girl with emerald eyes, wearing a nun's outfit.
"Asia," Issei called out to her.
"Well if it isn't my cute assistant Asia-chan. Did you finish putting up the barrier yet?" Freed asked the girl.
"F-Father Freed… you shouldn't…"
"Shouldn't what? Oh Asia-chan, surely you aren't about to suggest I shouldn't finish executing this vermin in front of me? If that's the case you'll surely need to repent once I've finished up here."
"Sorry Freed, but it looks like we've run out of time to enjoy our little dance we have going on here." Takauji lowered his blade, noticing that a teleportation circle had appeared behind him.
"Ara ara, it seems we've been met with quite the repugnant sight," Akeno glanced around the room, noticing the corpse art Freed had made on the wall.
"Oh? Oh? Oh? What's this? Devils coming to rescue a fellow Devil. Are you Devil Rangers or something? Will you cut me down with the power of friendship?"
His ramblings went ignored.
Instead, Kiba simply rushed at him exchanging blows with the priest as the sound metal echoed through the air.
"Woah-hoh. So bold~" Freed seemed to be able to keep up with his movements, slowly creating a distance between themselves and Takauji as Akeno approached him.
"You're hurt," her gaze turned icy as she watched blood drip from the wound on his shoulder.
"So it would seem," he nonchalantly adjusted his glasses. Placing his palm on the injury and staining his hand with blood. "To think I would be injured by the likes of him, how unsightly."
"Buchou!" Kiba yelled as he put some distance between himself and Freed. "There's a group of Fallen Angels approaching the house!"
"Understood," she immediately started to cast another teleportation circle. Preparing to vacate the premises at once.
"Wait! What about Asia!? Are we just going to leave her!?" Issei protested, earring a firm look from his master.
"I can only teleport my servants or those bound to me by contract. We'll have to leave her here." She said without a hint of hesitation.
"B-But we can't just leave her-"
"Issei-kun," she interrupted. "You promised me."
"I know but… she'll be in danger if we just abandon her!"
Rias started to get annoyed. "She is not one of us Issei-kun, and she never will be." She turned to her Knight. "Yuuto-kun, if you would."
He nodded, grabbing the Pawn by the collar and dragging him towards the circle as he squirmed.
"N-No! Please Buchou!" It was too late. The spell had already activated.
