22 Just One After Another

Tenshi was staring at the grounds that were covered in blood; this was his second slaughter, and he was struggling to understand how he should feel about it.

Tenshi, who was consumed by feelings of guilt, investigated the pasts of everyone else and found that they were all responsible. Their need for flesh began as a result of hunger, and today they are willing to murder innocent adventurers and even their own children in order to sell them to devils for a little food and water.

"Is this the effect it has on people?" Tenshi was perplexed as he peered into a room filled with dead infants who had been partially consumed

"Will it do the same to me?" Tenshi questioned himself once again, this time with the hope that he would not transform into a monster as they had.

"I shall give you the honor and respect you deserve." Tenshi conjured out a raging inferno that consumed all of the deceased children and reduced them to ash.

He did not bother to collect any of the energy from the individuals he had slain since he believed that it was repugnant to take anything from creatures who gave birth to children just for the purpose of eating them or then selling them later.

As he made his way to the manor home, he saw that all of the streets were littered with dead corpses and that a foul odor permeated the area.

As soon as he arrived at the estate, he stepped inside and began scouring the area. Regrettably, all that he came upon was a [Skill Book] and a few Soul Coins.

Tenshi remarked, "Here," as he tossed a coin into Liya's mouth and then added, "Here."

"Numm Nummm," The expression on Liya's face was priceless as she delighted in the strange coins engraved with runic lettering.

A little power entered his body. Despite this, it is not even close to what power Liya gained.

Tenshi said, "I still don't understand how you can devour souls and acquire strength," as he presented her with another Soul Coin, each of which contained a different soul of unknown origin.

Liya didn't bother responding since she was too busy eating her favorite sweets.

Tenshi heaved a sigh and decided to check the new magic spell that he had been given.

『Vampiric Touch』: Heal yourself by draining the life essence of others. How much life force you have access to is proportional to your mana and creatures' level.

Tenshi glanced at his shadow, and he commanded, "Come out."

Soon after, a young Shadow goblin crawled out on its knees.

'[Vampire Touch]' After going through the steps of the formula, Tenshi saw that his palm was becoming black, and a haze of dark smoke was beginning to ooze from it.

Tenshi then touched the Shadow, and almost immediately, the exhaustion began to lessen and he started to feel more energetic. The pain that he had been experiencing in his feet began to subside as his Shadow vanished.

When he looked through his shadow, he had the impression that it wasn't there. While his eyes closed, he made an attempt to locate the Shadow goblin, but he was ultimately unsuccessful.

'So to speak, I drained my Shadow, therefore putting an end to it for good.' Tenshi pondered the possibility to himself.

Tenshi lowered his head as he came to the conclusion that it was pretty valuable and might be utilized to heal in an emergency situation.

"Kargoth!" Tenshi's call brought Kargoth to his knees from his shadows.

Tenshi was taken aback when he saw that Kargoth had a trace of emotion in his eyes as he glanced at the home that was on fire behind Tenshi.

Tenshi made a mental point to remind himself in the future to search for whatever information he could discover on Kargoth or Gar'goth, the former names he used to go by.

The quick acceleration of his heartbeat and the abrupt blackening of his eyesight prompted Kargoth to rush forward to grab Tenshi as he fell.

'Lilac… same as her.'

The young lady with the fiery hair yelled, "IT WORKED!" as she charged Tenshi and pulled him into a warm hug.

The sensation of being able to hold a beautiful young woman in his arms, her smooth, soft skin and her hair that was like silk, caused his brain to reboot and hold on to her a little more tightly.

"Rias?" Tenshi was surprised to see the mischievous girl with crimson red hair in his hug.

She raised her chin and fixed a sly grin on her juicy lips. Tenshi's only desire was to trace his fingers across her full, moist lips gently and do many profound things to them.

Then, he saw out of the corner of his eye a maid with silver hair who was lying unconscious on the ground.

Rias exclaimed as he gazed at Tenshi, who seemed both older and more strikingly handsome, "Woah... you really changed."

Tenshi added, "It's been a long since Rias," which caused Rias to embrace him tightly while shrieking with excitement.

Tenshi wraps his arms around her neck and draws her closer to him in this embrace. He leaned in closer to her ear and whispered, "If you keep holding me, you might really love what I would do to you."

As soon as she realized what that meant, she retreated while becoming a bright scarlet.

Tenshi took a look around and saw that he was in a room that was all pink and filled with stuffed animals.

"You have a... beautiful girlie room, Rias," Tenshi said, causing Rias to realize she had neglected to conceal her "friends."

Tenshi, then recognizing he is in his spirit form, stated, "So fill me how you were to call my spirit here."

"I-I asked my maid's help… This is Grafiya, my maid…. OH GRAYFIA" Rias shouted out in surprise when she saw Grayfia lying unconscious on the ground.

"I won't worry about it. She was only unconscious since all of her demonic mana was drained away!" Rias's concern was eased by Tenshi's words.

Rias carefully positioned Grayfia so that she was resting against the wall, and then she joyfully peered across at Tenshi.

Knowing Tenshi's new identity, Rias questioned, "So... what do you want me to call you?"

"You can call me… Tenshi. So how long do I have in this… form?" Tenshi asked.

Rias gave a little shake of the head and admitted that she was completely clueless. Grayfia used her mana, and she was only able to call Tenshi briefly. This resulted in her losing her Ultimate-Class amount of mana and falling unconscious.

"You got older…" Rias responded by saying, "The last time I saw you was just a month ago," after discovering that Tenshi seemed to be roughly 18 years old.

Tenshi was previously younger than Rias, who was 17, and Tenshi, 15, but now he is a year older than Rias.

"Weird…" Tenshi said, "It seems like it's been years since the last time I saw you."

Soon the mood became awkward since nobody knew what to speak about. Unfortunately for Tenshi, he could not even touch the pancakes set on the table for him to devour.

Rias was experiencing apprehension since the last time she saw Tenshi; his eyes were kind and innocent-seeming. However, they now have an air of danger about them, and while they seem ferocious, she can't help but be drawn to them.

"Tell me about yourself, Rias," prompted Tenshi. He neither had social skills nor was patient enough to get rid of the awkward atmosphere.

Immediately, Rias began to tell a wide variety of stories. She was so giddy that she even revealed the embarrassing things she had done in her excitement, which caused her to stammer numerous times.

Tenshi, resting on the bed with Rias in his arm since he could only touch things when Rias was in his arms, "So those fallen angels... why can't you take care of them? I mean, they invaded your territory."

Rias gave a sour grin and then added, "Well... Due to the fact that we rent them from the Shinto faction, it has never been my or Sona's. Therefore, despite the fact that we "rule" the town, we are still responsible for providing an explanation in the event that anything negative occurs."

"Listen Rias…" It was ridiculous. Tenshi, who dislikes having any kind of connection with women, is now feeling comfortable with Rias. It comes as a surprise to him since he doesn't know why he felt more at ease and... pleased with Rias than he did with Liya, who he spent years with.

Rias turned around, facing Tenshi, "You are a King, therefore be proud of who you are. No one has the right to tell you what to do, but if you feel as if those who have fallen are invading your domain, then you need to deal with them."

Tenshi continued, "You should find a means to seize the area for yourself." Tenshi was rubbing her smooth cheeks at this point. "The only way to achieve success is via power and desire. You are the Devil; use your powers to manipulate and take everything you desire… But never lose your pride!"

Rias acted like a sweet girl being lectured while nodding her head endearingly. She looked so cute doing it.

Tenshi gave her a charming look by smiling and pulling her cheeks as she scowled at him, wrinkling her cute little nose and making an adorable expression.

"Now tell me about the boy's name, Issei is it?" Tenshi remarked without realizing it with a poisonous tone in his voice.

Rias fixed his gaze on Tenshi for a moment before giving him a bear hug as she found Tenshi's possessive nature cute.

"He... is a pervert," Rias remarked, "I need to offer him to join my peerage for.... Something important," while concealing the fact that she was engaged.

Tenshi had a sharp stinging in his chest... His stomach churned with envy as he heard the term "important."

After he had successfully brought his odd behavior under control, he looked at Rias and stated, "Is it so vital that you would need to spend time with a... pervert?"

Once again, Rias had the impression that Tenshi's words sounded monotonous and bitter, "No no no...!" Rias frantically flailed her arms. "It's simply that... I'm being pressured to be married to a douchebag playboy!"

The expression on Tenshi's face was unreadable, but the wrath in his eyes was clear. "You shouldn't be dependent on any other Rias; instead, you should focus on improving your own strength. Never let anyone own you!"

Rias indicated with a nod of her head that she had been putting in as much effort in her training as she could for some time. Grayfia has been of great assistance, and the two of them have become much closer.

"Have you given any consideration to the possibility of... removing the sacred gear from him?" Tenshi had a question.

As Rias reflected on what Tenshi had just said, she rested her head on Tenshi's chest. "I have no idea how... But doing so would be fatal since sacred gears have a symbiotic relationship with the souls of the hosts they inhabit."

He wasn't going to tell her to kill an innocent guy, but he knew in his heart that if somehow he were in the same circumstance, he would choose in a heartbeat.

"I understand you, Rias, but rather than spending your time monitoring the boy, you should discover any information on those who have fallen and make yourself as powerful as possible. I mean, what kind of assurance do you have that the pervert can even help you?" Tenshi stated.

Rias thought what Tenshi had to say was sensible, and she agreed with him that Issei might bring them more harm than good.

Rias was saddened by the unexpected appearance of white particles emanating from Tenshi, a sign that the time was drawing to a close.

Tenshi broke into a toothy smile as he looked at the tearing Rias and continued, "Become stronger, for the next time I want you to summon me on your own. Show me that Rias Gremory can survive without the help of others and that she is capable of standing on her own."

As he closed his eyes, he suddenly felt something warm and moist touching his face.

He opened his eyes and saw that he was once again in Hell. When he thought of the mischievous princess, he couldn't help but break into a grin and touch his cheek.

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A/N:

How was the writing?

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What do you think I should change or add to improve the story?

Give me some new ideas you might have, that would make the story more interesting.

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How would you describe MC? An edgy dark lord? An honorable hero? Or something else. I am curious if the readers can sense what kind of MC I am making/writing.

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