Life 9-2

As they all passed through and the portal closed behind them, the group find it was perhaps too quiet. Throwing his senses out, Noé found he couldn't detect a thing besides the numerous "blips" coming from the church. Nothing was behind them, or around them. It was starting to set in that, perhaps… their enemies were even dumber than he was.

"… this is going to be easier than I thought," Noé mumbled.

"Huh, well, if they're all clustered in one spot, that'll make it hard for Rias and I to do our thing," Akeno observed, "So how about we hang back? See if they decide to come running out so those of us better suited to fighting indoors can save Noé's little friend?"

"Hmm, perhaps that would be for the best," Rias commented, "Would hate to bring the place down as well. The last thing we need is to have this end up on the news. That kind of clean up can be… bothersome. That, and we can't be sure if reinforcements may show up. We know there's at least three Fallen Angels left. One of them could have left to get back up, having realized how dangerous you are, Noé."

"… there's a chance of that too," Noé admitted. "Alright then. So, you two are staying outside to watch for anything coming behind us. So that means me, Tsuno, Yuuto, and Koneko are charging in. Honestly was this any other situation I'd say be careful… but considering the threat… my advice is just go buck wild and rip 'em to shreds. I'll handle getting Asia, so cut me a path."

"Sounds good to me," Yuuto commented, Koneko nodding and tapping her fists together.

The four acting as the vanguard then took off while Rias and Akeno turned to begin checking their surroundings to be sure. They tread lightly as they approached the church, taking a moment to go to the side and peer in. To their surprise, there wasn't even so much as a single guard left in the main room of the church house. With a nod from Noé, the four went to the entrance, Koneko punching the doors to the chapel in.

What greeted them could have definitely been called a definition of blaspheming. Any iconography that had remained when the Church was left had been broken or ripped to shreds. Crosses broken in two or reversed, pictures torn from the walls and left in tatters, and statues were left as piles of rubble, not much more.

"Hm… you know, part of me was half expecting that priest I fought to show up," Noé said, walking down the ruined pews as he scanned the room. "Guess he actually took my advice and skipped town after I kicked his teeth in."

"Huh… I feel a bit disappointed there's no obstacle before the rest of this," Yuuto hummed. "Now then, where could they be? I don't see a passage…"

"Ah please, it's obvious!" Tsuno strolled over to the main body of the altar. And with one solid kick, he sent the heavy stone of the podium skidding backwards, revealing a descending staircase beneath it. "Hehe, classic."

"What would you have done if it didn't move?" Koneko asked, Tsuno cawing.

"Well, where else could it have been?" said the Oni, "If not some hidden basement, then it'd have been right out in the open!"

"Let's not waste time arguing over where or how they're hiding themselves. The faster we're done the better," Noé got nods as he started his way down the stairs, the other three following closely behind him.

And as they descended, the closer they got to the bottom, the more Noé felt the hairs on his neck standing up. Not a sense of danger, but a warning that something was down there a Devil ordinarily would be prime to stay well away from. But undeterred as they decided they were, they continued on.

"So, just to ask…" Noé said, glancing back at Yuuto and Koneko. "What made you two decide to come along with this? You know well enough how easy this'll be."

"Those Fallens are annoying," Koneko said, "One of them showed up to tell us not to interfere before we left."

"President promptly said that wasn't happening, and promptly blasted her to nothing but feathers," said Yuuto. "And besides, we're buddies, aren't we?"

"Debatable," Noé mumbled. "Also surprised Rias didn't mention offing one of 'em already."

"That… and I have something of a personal dislike for Fallen Angels and priests," Yuuto added, "You could say I hate them."

Huh, so the pretty boy's got more to him than he first seems, Noé observed as Yuuto's eyes narrowed, his gaze colder than his otherwise typically warm expressions would ever show. But it didn't last for long, and Noé's attention shifted as they reached another wooden door. Now the presence's he had felt before were all the closer. Their foes were just beyond that threshold.

"So, everyone ready to kick in some Exorcist heads?" Noé asked. When the others drew their weapons and fell into stances, Noé nodded in turn. Drawing out the Boosted Gear, as its call range, Noé threw a fist forward, the doors blowing in with a burst of red energy.

The doors flew off their hinges and into the chamber beyond, crashing across the ground in splintered heaps. The first thing they saw was a group of at least twelve exorcists in concealing coats turning to face them. Up a set of stairs to follow, he spotted Raynare, who looked down at him with a smirk. And next to her was Asia, chained to a large, black and green device in the shape of a cross.

"Well well, seems you brought some friends with you!" Raynare chuckled, "What, get scared little Devil?"

"Nah, just figured they wanted in on the fun!" Noé slammed his fists together as he smirked, then looking to Asia as the girls eyes fluttered open, then going wide in shock as she spotted Noé. "Yo!"

"Noé?! What are you doing here?!" Asia gasped, Noé putting his hands to his hips.

"Saving your ass, the hell does it look like?!" Noé lifted his right hand, aiming a finger to Asia, "I said I'd help you, didn't I? And I'm the type who sticks to his word!"

"Oh my, how touching!" Raynare cackled, "But, you should have been a tad faster! So, just stand back for a moment, will you?!"

Raynare produced a spear of light and threw it, Noé promptly stamping a foot down and punching right through the spear, shattering it in a single blow.

"You want faster? Fine then… you three, deal with the Exorcists, I'm rushing ahead!"

"Hah, do you really think you can…" before Raynare's mocking could finish, Noé vanished from sight as his aura became visible. The air itself seemed to move aside as the Fallen Angel's lackeys were blown away, Noé suddenly appearing in Raynare's vision, his left fist ramming into her face a split second later.

Raynare screamed as she was sent flying into the wall. And as the priests began to charge, the wild laughter of Tsuno broke through the air, the Oni immediately descending on one with his sword at full rev, blood splashing across the floor as it tore through the unfortunate man.

"You get the girl down and out of here!" Tsuno yelled, dodging as a priest tried to stab at him, Yuuto shooting forward and running the priest through himself.

"We can handle something this easy!" Yuuto shouted, nodding to Tsuno when the Oni blocked some bullets for him, "Don't let that device finish working! I realized what their plan is!"

"Don't know what the plan is, don't care!" Noé turned and grabbed onto the chains binding Asia as the "fight" below continued, pulling part of it to the side as the cross began to glow.

"Noé, what are you planning?" Asia asked, her answer coming when that energy blade appeared from Noé's gauntlet.

"Cutting you down!" With a quick pull, the chains came undone, Asia dropping to the floor from the sudden release, tendrils of black, green tinged light coming from her back as she fell away from the device. "There we go. Sorry I took so long."

"Why did you come for me?!" Asia shouted, Noé not averting his gaze as the girl stood and grabbed him, tears in her eyes, "You didn't… you should have just left me… getting involved with me was…"

"It wasn't a mistake," Noé countered. "Look, I don't believe in stuff like fate, destiny, or things being ordained by God. But me meeting you wasn't a mistake. So quit putting yourself down… and let me save you. Let me help you find a better life than the crap hand you were given."

As Asia began to reach for Noé's outstretched hand, the boy quickly reacted as the air keened, batting aside another light spear as Raynare attempted to charge Asia. Grabbing the Fallen Angel, Noé slammed her into the floor face first with a quick throw, being met by Raynare's furious glare as he kept her pinned.

"Son of a bitch…!" Raynare growled. "The plan was… perfect! Her power would have been mind if you hadn't interfered!"

"Like I said, I don't really care what the hell your plan was," Noé bit, "But… I'm not about to leave business unfinished with you. You started it… so I'm ending it. I'm leaving Asia with you three!"

"Wait, what?!" Tsuno shouted, just as he, Yuuto, and Koneko got finished with the last of the Exorcists, "I thought the… ah whatever! Fine then, kick that bitch's ass!"