Life 7-5

As Noé lifted the gun and the priest got ready to lunge again, both stopped at the sudden new voice. Noé's eyes widened as he turned, spotting that the new arrival had been the same nun he'd met several days ago, looking from the priest to him with a worried expression about the fighting. [The girl?!] Noé thought. [What was her name… Asia, right? The hell is she doing around an exorcist like this?]

"Ohhh, if it isn't Asia, my assistant! Did you finish doing what I told you and put up that barrier?" The priest angled his head like he was asking for a mundane thing. As if there wasn't a mangled corpse crucified on the wall at the other end of the ruined room. One Asia soon set eyes on.

"N-Nooooo!" Asia's face shifted to terror as the sight sunk in for her. The priest seemed downright delighted to hear her scream.

"Ahhh! Thank you for that adorable scream! Oh, right, this is your first time seeing a corpse like that, isn't it Asia? Then look carefully because this is what we do to humans entranced by Devils!"

"You mean because you're a sick fuck!" Noé snapped back, keeping the stolen gun trained on the mad priest as he laughed.

Asia looked back to Noé. A part of him hoped that the girl wouldn't recognize him, what with not using his glamour to hide his natural hair and eye colors like before. But Asia seemed to indeed notice, her hands raising to her chest as that realization too dawned on her.

"Father Freed…" the girl stammered out. "Th-That person…"

"Ehhhh?" The priest, Freed, cawed. "No no no! That shitty example of existence standing right there is a Devil! Hahahaa! What the heck are you thinking? Devils aren't people!"

"A-Are you… Noé?" Asia asked so almost as if wishing he would say no, even if it was a lie. With a tense look, Noé let out a breath. Perhaps this would at least be the way to make sure the girl decided not to get involved with him. So, with a thought, Noé's hair and eyes shifted to the muted browns he used for his glamour. Asia lifted her hands to her mouth as a shocked gasp left her, Noé's glamour fading in that same moment. "N-No way… that's… it is?"

"Haaa? What a minute, do you two know each other?" Freed looked downright appalled at the idea, sticking his tongue out in disgust "This is a surprise! Oh, is it forbidden love between a Devil and a maiden of the Church? Gagh, how disgusting could that be?! Are you serious?!" and in a move that made Noé tighten his hold on the firearm he had, Freed lifted his light sword to Asia, the girl backing into the wall, looking at Noé with a sadistic smirk, "Hahahaa! Don't you two know? Humans and Devils could never coexist! Especially those who are from the Church when Devils are our biggest enemies! Also, we're a group of heretics deserted by God! Asia and I can't survive without the support of the Fallen Angels we serve!"

"Fallens?" Noé repeated. [Is he talking about the same group that attacked me? And… so that's why Asia is here… but, wait…] "The hell do you mean heretics? You I can understand. But Asia doesn't seem the sort."

"Ohhh? The shitty Devil doesn't know? Kahahahaha! Then how about I tell you?!" Freed moved the sword closer, Asia flinching as the blade hummed in her face. "This little girl here has an oh-so precious Sacred Gear! You might know about them, you might not, I don't care either way! Normally, the Church highly values those with them, never letting them out of their sight. On oh, was little Asia gifted with a most wondrous ability! The power to heal all wounds with but a touch! But one day, her poor bleeding heart came across someone… that someone being a Devil! Learning this, the Church cast Asia out for heresy, because how could a power from God be used to heal some of our mortal enemies? It's a grave sin that this little one here committed."

"I… I only did what I thought was…" Asia stammered, tears welling at her eyes. Freed cackled in mad delight.

"What? What you thought was right? Puh-lease! You're a sinner just like me! Face it! So now if you'd excuse me, I have Devil trash to kill! The proper way we-GYAGHOOO!"

Freed didn't get to finish the sentence before the stolen gun fired, the bullet just grazing the top of his left shoulder. Freed howled as he stumbled back, using his sword to cut down the rest of the shots Noé fired, not stopping until the gun's cylinder was emptied. As Noé strode forward, his eyes burning in fury as his right gauntlet glowed with a surge of Darklight, Freed ready to receive the blow, Noé was stopped when Asia lunged forward and grabbed him from behind. Not that it did much, as she hardly had the strength to actually make Noé stop.

"Noé, please, you don't have to keep fighting!" Asia pleaded, "Father Freed, please forgive this man and let him leave!"

"HAAAAA?!" Freed let out a shocked sound in response to that, though his face went stern too. "Are you kidding me?! You're asking me to forgive some Devil shitstain?! Do you know what you're saying?!"

"Yes, I do! I beg you Father Freed, please forgive him!" Asia let go and stepped in front of Noé, spreading her arms out. "He doesn't deserve to die! So, what if he's a Devil? I… I can't stand it anymore! Why do we have to kill people? You can't kill people just because they contract with Devils, and you can't kill Devils for no reason! It's just wrong!"

[Why the hell is she standing up for me?] Thought Noé. We barely even know each other. I can't be worth that much trouble to her.

"Haaaaaaah?! Don't talk shit, stupid bitch! You would've learned that Devils are trash at the Church! Seriously, is there something wrong with your brain?"

"There are good people, even among Devils! No group is purely evil!"

"Bzzzz! Wrong! They're Devils, they're all bad!"

"T-That's what I thought until recently," Even with the mad priest staring her down, Asia stood firmly in place. "But… Noé is a good person! Just because he's a Devil, doesn't mean he can't be kind! Killing someone is unforgivable! That kind of act, God would never allow it to exist Himself!"

Noé was surprised to feel it himself, but he found himself impressed by the strength of will Asia was displaying. From the initial panic of seeing the mutilated corpse, now to putting herself between the mad Freed and himself… the young Devil honestly felt at least a hint of admiration for the previously scared girl in picking herself up in such a way. Geez… guess I'm letting that "better nature" get the better of me… Noé tapped Asia on the shoulder as he stepped forward, Freed starting to raise his sword as his face twisted in rage.

"Good one, Asia… at least let me knock this bastard flat!" Noé's right hand shot upwards, catching the light blade as it descended. The coating of Darklight around his gauntlet reacted immediately, the dark tendrils drawing in the light blade itself until the blade broke apart. As Freed was staring at the now empty hilt in confusion, next he knew, Noé's fist went flying, slamming into his sternum as Noé carried the punch into a charge, slamming Freed into the wall hard enough to leave an indent in the drywall. Freed hacked up blood as the full blow rumbled through him.

"Fucking… shit…" Free coughed as he fell to a knee, and as he looked back up, he came face-to-point with the now extended energy blade of Noé's gauntlet.

"Let me make this clear. I'm not gonna kill you, despite having plenty reason to," Noé said, "Instead, if you wanna live, I've got conditions. First: You run back to your Fallen Angel masters and tell 'em to buzz off. Tell that Raynare idiot that Edelweiss said hi… if she comes running, I'll deal with her myself. Second: You let Asia go. Actually, no let's be more precise. She goes with me after you scurry off."

"I don't seem to get anything out of this. What the hell kind of deal with the Devil is this?!"

"You get to live," Noé adjusted the blade to just under Freed's chin. It seemed convincing enough to the Stray Priest.

"Good point. I mean that Fallen Angel might be pissed at me for just letting some shit Devil take Asia though. She's worked really hard to get her here."

"Do you actually care what she does?"

"You make an excellent point there as well! Because I do not!" Freed cackled as he stood up, edging to one of the windows and throwing it open, Noé keeping the energy blade trained on him the entire time. "Just know, it's not my fault if anything happens after! See ya' later, Devil! I'll come back to kill you later!"

"Yeah, don't expect to be able to do that."

Freed cackled as he threw down a pellet, a flash of light illuminating the room to a blinding degree. When it faded, there was no sign of the priest except for the carnage in the room and his discarded weapons. With a huff, Noé dismissed his gear and turned to Asia. Whatever strength the girl had mustered to act seemed to fade, as she collapsed to her knees in a shuddering mess not moments after realizing Freed was truly gone.

"So… now you know," Noé muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. "To be fair… I'm only half-Devil, actually. But… not it's not a thing.

There was another thing that set in for Noé as he looked to the side. [I didn't think this through at all!] His internal self looked less slightly despondent and more on the verge of panic. [I was talking all that crap in the spur of the moment! What the hell am I even going to do with her?! Hell, how the fuck do I explain this to Dad?!]

"I… I don't mind," Asia speaking up got Noé to cease his mental panicking. "Even if you're a Devil… it doesn't change the fact you helped me then. And you even helped me now so… ah!"

"Right… that," Noé rubbed the back of his head as Asia looked away from the corpse. "It's not like I can do anything. Only thing we can do is leave it to the authorities to find… messy as this is."

"Should… shouldn't we at least bury him?"

"Not our place," Noé stated, holding a hand to Asia. She took it and offered the help up. Before they left, Noé scooped up the discarded weapons and dropped them into a magic circle. One thing he'd been told was to never let "mundanes" find anything relating to the supernatural, even if it amounted to tampering with a crime scene.

Once they were out, as Noé kicked up the stand on his bike, he realized he only had the one helmet on him at all. Shaking his head, he tossed the item to Asia. Her hair would probably fill out the difference despite it being sized for him.

"Uhm… I…" Asia stammered.

"Put it on. You're a normal human, so you'd actually get hurt if this thing crashed."

"R-Right."

As Noé threw his leg over the set and revved the engine, Asia fumbled a bit to get the helmet on right. Noé stifled a chuckle at how much the object clashed with her habit. Cautiously, Asia took a seat behind Noé.

"So, uh… w-what should I do? It doesn't look like there's a belt."

"It's a motorcycle, so of course it doesn't have one. Just… hold on tight. I won't go that fast."

"Also, uhm… where are you going to take me?"

"My house," Noé said, Asia blinking under the helmet's visor. "It's not like I have many other options. Rias would frickin' kill me if I took a nun back to her place… and to be honest my house is probably the safest place in Kuoh Town to hide out in. Wait… why are you so calm anyway?! You're basically my hostage more than anything! Isn't basically being kidnapped by a Devil concerning?!"

"Yes but… that Devil was you, Noé. You're a good person, so I can trust you. It doesn't matter that you're a Devil."

[Dammit this girl is too pure.] Noé shaded his eyes as he let out a groan. Further complicating his feelings right now was the end result of Asia finally taking a hold. He realized in a moment how suspiciously thin her habit turned out to be as a soft sensation came to his back through his jacket. [Clean thoughts, clean thoughts… not the kind of thing to suddenly think about when on a motorcycle…]

Clearing his throat, and mind, Noé revved the engine and pulled away, hoping to at least put part of this night behind him as he sped away with Asia.