Chapter 28
Around midnight, entrance to Zeus nightclub.
"Hey cutie, how about when we come in I buy you a drink? Huh?" A guy approached a group of girls with a big smile.
The girls didn't even deign to answer him, as they were looking in another direction.
Just ahead, dressed in a formal employee suit, is Kiba Yuuto. He and Akeno were side by side taking care of the reception.
"Tsk. Who let the nursery work here?" said to himself that same guy, upset.
Unfortunately, just as Kiba won over a lot of fans, Akeno attracted a lot of perverted looks and most people turned a blind eye and didn't question their ages.
This is the power of attractiveness that bends the rules.
Inside the party the music is loud, the lighting effects are diverse and the drinks are served for free by staff. The guests also could also buy drinks at the countertops of a mini bar that were more expensive and exclusive.
The less fortunate had to make do with free drinks and the more affluent flaunted themselves with expensive drinks.
People gather in small groups to dance close to each other. Duo, trio or even a group of four.
"Let's go Motohamaaaaa. Dance with me," said a redhead with a tearful voice as she pulled me by the arm.
"Ummm, you look like you're enjoying yourself Rias-senpai," I say as I feel her breath on my neck and dance to the beat of the music in front of her.
"Shhhh!! We have to keep our voices down so he doesn't hear us, ummmm, hahaha," Rias laughed as if she was remembering a joke internally.
"How many drinks have you had??" I say in a 'worried' voice and the redhead just chuckled at my question.
"Two? Three? Haha, I don't know," she said in my ear over the volume of the music. "What would those old councilmen say now? Huh? I'm not Gremoryyyy anymore. I AM RIAS. Just Rias."
'Index' I called out in my mind.
[Detox]
I ran my hand over her waist for the intended effect, the detox I was doing was very slow and unobtrusive so as not to leave any suspicions.
The redhead had underestimated the power of drinks. She'd had it before, but it was just a light wine a long time ago, just trying it out. Little did she know that the alcohol level was so different from what she was used to.
Living like a princess in a castle didn't prepare her for this
"Oni-sama doesn't know we're here," Rias chuckled excitedly before her mood shifted and muttered, "Ugh. I thought you'd be taking advantage of me. Am I really that ugly? No gropes?"
Of course I wouldn't take advantage of someone in this state. Not to mention the headache that would come later.
"I'm a pervert Rias-senpai, but a pervert with principles," I said next to her ear.
Ten minutes later the alcohol level in her body was within manageable. She was still drunk, but now a little more sober. I decided to leave it at that to avoid any suspicions.
"Akeno and Kiba are checking the names on the doors. When the name of the 'little hare' is delivered they will let us know. Stay tuned," said Rias trying to regain control of the situation, even though still drunk she was embarrassed by the previous boldness .
Our dance was close, far beyond the intimacy we usually had. But everyone in the nightclub danced with equal proximity to their partners and that helped the redhead keep the role.
The redhead wore a purple dress, worked on the sides with braided openings and ironically... On her head was a lit diadem with the horns of a 'devil'.
"I'm aware."
A silence fell between us just waiting for the signal and following the music.
"Shall we sit on the benches upstairs?" The redhead offered as she wanted to sit down for a while to catch her breath.
Upstairs the music was a little lower and the wall seats had very comfortable black upholstery.
Rias wondered how things could have gone so wrong, here we were... Sitting on the black upholstery and around us in the room were several other couples making out.
How did I end up in this situation?
Very simple. Let me give you a little replay.
Someone had to stay at the hotel in case they needed to lose Sona or others of our whereabouts.
Koneko was the choice and Rias thought it best not to take the younger girl to a nightclub. Not to mention that she trusted the girl more to accomplish this task.
Where did I get into all of this? Rias thought I deserved it for solving the mystery and invited me to go with them, assuring me that I would be safe and they would protect me.
Lastly, it was just Rias and me left to be inside the party and observe the suspect.
A small wire was in our ears that would alert us to the arrival of the 'little hare'. It's listening equipment and microphone.
"Drinks?" offered an employee as he passed us and offered drinks from his tray.
Rias has a horrified face and vehemently denies it.
It looked like she had learned her lesson.
I watch the girl next to me and to be honest...
She didn't look anything like Rias Gremory that I had seen in the anime, I mean, in terms of appearance they are the same... But the personalities are different.
She just looked like an ordinary teenager who does stupid things.
Was it because we were before canon? As I recall Rias in canon acted more restrained, liked to act mysteriously and I could feel an air of melancholy in her. Only in future seasons does she open up more and act more uninhibited.
After all, what is the difference between the two?
If my hypothesis is correct, as the canon period approaches and she discovers that the inevitable surrounds her... The Rias I know now would die.
People are not static and are always changing and that goes for devils too.
I wouldn't doubt that in the midst of melancholy, she wouldn't even have the mood for her animes anymore.
It was while Rias seemed out of place in the environment we were in that the voice caught our attention, "The little hare came in. Butterfly mask, white shirt, slightly overweight and black hair."
"Thanks kiba," Rias said excitedly and got up with me and we walked to the second floor banister. From there we could see the view of the dance floor that was on the ground floor and the entrance to the nightclub.
There was our target, looking around with a smile, totally unaware that he was being watched in the midst of so many people.
I used magic through index to detect his mana level and to my surprise...
He was weak, very weak.
Stronger than a human for sure, but barely qualifying in the low-class devil category.
Rias also seems to relax more as she does her own investigations and finds that the target was manageable.
She wouldn't risk her peerage's lives uselessly and even now, both she and her servants were wearing rings, a very interesting device I've copied that was created by ajuka.
This device helped disguise their devil aura, making them appear more human.
If the target was beyond our strength, the plan was to just watch and retreat. She wouldn't try to go after a more powerful enemy.
"What do we do now?"
"Now we keep an eye on him and wait for him to leave the party," she replied.
"Want to dance a little?" she asked to my great surprise.
"I~"
"Or maybe," she interrupts me saying, "Would you like to sit down again?"
The redhead had a little red on her cheeks as she looked at the kissing couples on the benches we'd just left.
What was going through her head? Maybe I hadn't gotten enough alcohol out of her system?
Little did I know that when we were seated earlier and that she was uncomfortable in silence.
The redhead was inwardly beating herself up over her shameful drunken attitudes, but a spark also grew inside her.
It was normal for all women.
Especially for women as beautiful and coveted as her.
Remembering acting so boldly and I still not taking advantage of her stirred a little doubt in her. Was it because I didn't find her attractive? Or for other reasons?
It was a beautiful woman's pride being hurt.
Rias shot me a brief, assessing look and couldn't help but say internally.
He wasn't handsome. Certainly not.
But it kind of... Did he look cute with glasses? By satan, I must be very drunk, she realized.
My appearance was still camouflaged by Mirror of Adonis and would be like the original Motohama.
I decided to play it safe and just said I had to go to the bathroom.
Sigh. That was close.
After fifteen minutes of sitting in the bathroom, I heard it on the wire.
"Quickly!! The little hare is leaving! He looks suspicious," said Rias into the microphone. "Umm, you stay here Sato-kun. It's safer at the party."
Since we split up, the best solution would be for me to stay inside the club. A safer place than me trying to reach them.
Something was making me wonder strange about this situation.
Still in the nightclub bathroom.
'Index," I said internally and the command prompt opened.
I opened the 3d map on my back and made small markings.
"Lya, Sharp sexy feather and others from the second division. I want you to cover this region. I will force teleport you."
I waited for your replies in confirmation and sent them. I put on my clothes and mask of my 'teacher' identity and go on the hunt.
Jumping from building to building I follow from a distance of 2km.
Blue magic circles light up above my feet with every leap I make.
Danger.
I jumped back suddenly as I felt something coming towards me.
*Bang* A flash of light exploded.
A hole the size of a car opened up from the terrace that I was just resting on.
Flying a few meters away.
"Hahaha," chuckled a fallen angel loudly. "That's how Cassiel-sama warned us. It looks like the intruder would go after the little mouse. Hey --- did you kill them? Huh? Did you kill Jeliel and the others?"
The fallen angel of has six wings, as strong as a high-class devil. (Almost the same level as Riser).
But I didn't even deign to look in his direction because I was concentrating on something else.
It felt like we had entered another dimension. This looked like Tokyo but was actually a copy of the real thing.
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Warning: Index detected fallen angel level energy from 10 wings within a 10 km radius.
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What was a fallen angel of the cadre class doing here? And his direction is...
Rias and her peerage. Was it kokabiel?
"Heyyy. Can you hear me?" shouted the six-winged Angel with a scowl, before clicking his tongue and making his attack.
His speed was unimaginable... Far beyond any enemy I've fought.
I barely dodged an illusion, but the fallen angel's senses were quick to locate me.
'Fighter on'
I jumped with all my might off the roof of a building, smashing its windows, causing the structure to creak and I gained altitude.
'Index, flight simulation,' I said when testing my new function.
I had created a more active index part, taking advantage of its new high processing power to help me with complex spells.
Flight magic for humans was almost unfeasible as they were too complex and needed real-time adjustments. Just hard to put into practice. It was easier with the help of objects like flying brooms or other objects.
But there I was, floating high above the fake Tokyo.
I gritted my teeth and brought my hand up, taking advantage of the fallen angel's distraction and screamed...
"CRUEL SUN," A fireball at least 10 meters in diameter grew over my palm. The flames vibrated an orange and red hue, the buildings and trees of the counterfeit dimension creaked only from the high temperature emanating from the fireball.
Sweat ran down the fallen angel's cheeks from the heat.
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Warning: Index automatically activated all user passive protections against high temperatures.
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A small transparent barrier also surrounded my body, shielding me from much of the heat.
I drag my hand down, which is heavy.
The fireball falls towards the earth as if it were a meteor.
"Tsk. If you think that's enough," Fallen Angel laughs maniacally and yells, "Wall of Jericho."
The black feathers that floated around him regrouped in front of him, until they formed a complex pattern.
An equal-sized magic circle formed in front of him, leveling up in a furious struggle.
"Hahahahaha," The fallen angels chuckled loudly while still holding the magic circle in the fight against my fireball, "You underestimate me weird. I'm not like Jeliel."
From high in the heavens I look at him playfully.
"Interesting," I chuckled lightly, before asking again with both arms crossed, "But what are you going to do with the second one?"
Second?
The fallen angel's eyes widened as he realized with his natural sense that just behind the fireball, another even bigger one was coming...
A fireball 12 meters in diameter.
The burning flames roared like a raging beast, the dark skies of fake Tokyo gained light.
The fallen angel had internally cursed for trying to take the blow head-on instead of trying to dodge.
Now holding the shield he could not dodge and all that remained was to take it all.
"AAAAAARGGHHHHHH!!!!" he shouted putting all his strength into 'jericho's wall'.
The explosion was deafening.
In the end, six buildings were completely destroyed and others were severely damaged.
Amidst the rubble the blackened image of the fallen angel rises, "Cough, Cough."
Where was that bastard? He looked around before his eyes widened.
Crossing his chest from behind is a hand.
With my bloodstained suit and mask I pulled my hands from inside his chest and the fallen angel fell to the ground dead.
I wasn't paying attention to his dead body lying on the floor.
But in the direction that from far away I could feel...
The danger.
...
"Wait," shouted Rias to her companions.
"What's up, buchou? Were we almost catching up with him?" asked Kiba as he saw the vampire trying to escape from afar.
Akeno frowned as he felt a familiar and sickening sensation.
Even though it was early in the morning, the streets of 'Tokyo' were too strange.
Each time they approached the killer, the streets became more and more deserted and the redhead noticed that.
"Let's go back," said Rias with a frown.
The sky turned black and black feathers began to fall from the sky.
From above was a very handsome man, black hair, square face, looking in his early twenties. He also had 10 wings on his back and a spear, "Why the hurry to leave? Gremory hime?"
"W-Who are you?" asked Rias to stand in front of Kiba and Akeno protectively. The redhead was shaking, but she had to act bravely now.
That being made her feel like an insect. An even more humiliating feeling she'd experienced against the masked man.
Her legs trembled slightly as she felt that today the chances of everyone there dying were high, but she had to find some way to get them out of there.
"Akeno, Kiba," Rias said quietly, she bites her lip weakly in obvious fear and says, "You guys run at my signal. It was my mistake that brought you here and~"
"Never," Kiba glared at his king in anger, for even considering such a thing. "We will fight by your side, my king. We will get out of this, I still have things to do," he thought darkly as he remembered so many things he still had to do.
Akeno also looked betrayed towards Rias, as the redhead gave the idea of them abandoning her.
"Today I will begin what the coward Kokabiel failed to attempt 500 years ago. Hmph," The fallen angel raises his spear in a pose as holy power exploded from his being like an aura. "I am Cassiel, known as before the one who took care of loneliness and bitter tears. Today I will start a new war by killing the little sister of a satan. How sad will it be for him, huh? Will he shed a tear?"