Chapter 8

It was then that he heard Igor's roar, the culmination of all his power and proof, that he put everything into this one attack.

"GALICK GUN!!!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM

A purple blast wave was released from Igor's hand, causing intense vibrations to occur due to the force of its ejection. The blast shot towards the ground in a wide cylindrical torrent of destruction. Even when the blast reached the ground, Igor didn't cut off the supply of ki. He continued to fuel the blast, putting his all into this one shot. 

SHUUUuuuu…BOOOOOOOOOOM

The condensed ki contained within the galick gun finally exploded, resulting in a massive thruster-like explosion of purple ki. The explosion expanded towards the sky, hiding the morning sun behind a flame-like shroud of purple.

This phenomenon lasted for only a dozen seconds. Without anything to contain the ki, it rapidly dissipated into nothingness. 

Whuuuuuuuuu

With the skies clearing and the sun once again being allowed to fill the skies with its brightness, its rays shined upon Igor who remained floating in the sky. His body was hunched over with only his right hand outstretched. His hair flopped over his face like a wet mop, casting a dark shadow that hid his eyes.

Slowly, Igor began to descend. 

[Everything…hurts.]

He had lost all feeling in his arm. The heavy discharge of ki had caused the muscles to tense up. His breaths were heavy, almost as if something was blocking the passage of air. This was causing his eyes to become hazed.

He would've lost consciousness in the next few seconds, were it not for the sudden sound of crackling lightning.

"?!"

He lifted his head, and what he saw made his eyes narrow in shock.

[H-how…]

Standing in front of him in the flesh, was Baraquiel. Crackles of golden lightning occasionally flashed across his body. Killing intent was oozing out of his body, causing Igor to grit his teeth in fear and defiance.

A golden scythe materialised in Baraquiel's hand, causing Igor's eyes to droop towards it. Although every single fibre within his being was screaming for him to flee, Igor knew better. There's zero chance of escaping. His only other choice was to fight. The thought of begging for mercy did not even cross his mind.

So despite his injuries, Igor got into a stance.

[Even if I die, I will atleast take an arm!]

Killing intent oozed out of him, cold ferocity replacing uncertainty. He was like a cornered animal that was ready to fight until the end. But despite his will, his body could not bring itself to engage in another bout.

Igor could already feel his vision getting cloudy. The lack of oxygen to his brain was making him muddleheaded. 

[No…I-I can't…lose-]

"That's enough young warrior. The strength of your conviction convinces me."

Before Igor could process the words, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, causing him to lose consciousness.

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|DxD|

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Baraquiel watched with an impassive gaze as the boy in front of him struggled to stay conscious. Although the killing intent he was releasing was only comparable to that of a soldier who's experienced decades of war…

[This intent is not something a child can resist, no matter how talented.]

In truth, Igor had long since surpassed his expectations. The entire time when Baraquiel had absolutely obliterated him, not once did the lad run. Very few understand the guts required to continue fighting an opponent that bests you at every turn. Hatred and anger can only carry one so far in battle before it turns into despair and hopelessness. 

And yet, despite being sent flying to the ground from hundreds of metres in the sky at high speeds, he still got up. Despite suffering broken ribs and internal injuries, he still mounted one final offensive. This wasn't something a child should be able to do. There was no motivation that would force him to fight so valiantly. No family of his was exterminated. No honour was sullied. But the fact that Igor still gave it his all, made Baraquiel come to acknowledge the boy.

That is why…

Fuuuush

…he increased the potency of his killing intent. It was not out of viewing the boy as a threat, but due to the fact that he had come to a decision.

[I will teach him. He has too much potential for me to let go.]

The amount of killing intent he released would be enough to knock out the boy. Knocking him out via killing intent would satisfy two conditions.

One. It would serve to bolster his image as a teacher and make Igor respect him once he begins teaching him. Baraquiel had come across many geniuses that refused to heed the advice of their teachers. Their arrogance that stemmed from the praises of others eventually led to their end. 

Two. It would bestow an image of power which would further lead to a notion of reliability. 'Hearsay' and 'witnessing' are very different things. Baraquiel would rather Igor see and feel a glimpse of his power than rely on his reputation as the 'Lightning General'.

But to his absolute genuine astonishment, his killing intent only served to make the boy angrier. Oh, Baraquiel saw the fear at first. He saw the fear in his eyes, especially when he materialised the scythe in his hand.

But that fear quickly melted away when the boy took a stance.

[Will he? Surely not…]

But surely, he did. Igor took a stance. But it wasn't like his nameless stance before. Instead, he stood with his legs slightly apart in a loose horse stance. His left arm was stretched out and his right arm was tucked close to his body. 

It wasn't a particular stance but Baraquiel could derive that its main use relied on evasion and deflection. 

[He adopted a new fighting style to combat my aggressive style of fighting.]

The fact that his mind was still foggy only served to further enhance Baraquiel's respect for the boy. But despite his will to defend himself, Baraquiel could see that his body was giving out. Any more and irreversible damage would occur.

So, retracting his killing intent, he spoke.

"That's enough young warrior. The strength of your conviction convinces me."

But knowing that the boy wouldn't drop his guard, he appeared behind the blonde and knocked him out with a chop to the back of his neck. He quickly grabbed his falling body with one arm and swung the boy over his shoulders. He took care not to tear Igor's face apart with his wings while he surveyed the damage below.

Starting with where Igor's galick gun hit, anything northwards for a distance of roughly 200-metres was destroyed. Where there were lush trees and shrubbery, now lay a concave vivisection of the land. Then, multitudes of trees all over the forest were either uprooted, or missing branches. Some of the thinner, smaller ones had their trunks hacked clean off.

This caused the Fallen to release a resigned sigh.

"Shuri will be mad after this."

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|DxD|

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Shuri Himejima was standing outside the house and looked at the giant thruster-like explosion piercing the skies. Although her face and expression appeared gentle and serene, if one looked closer, they could see just the barest of twitches behind her smile.

Draped in a white shirt and orange skirt, Shuri 'calmly' watched what she assumed to be the conclusion of whatever Baraquiel was up to with the boy Akeno told her about.

Make no mistake. She truly loves Baraquiel. She loves him with all of her heart. But after witnessing the extensive damage that the forest suffered, a little 'tough love' tonight may convince her big oaf of a husband to fight elsewhere next time.

The only reason she wasn't worried however, is because of the massive bounded field surrounding the forest. It was made by Baraquiel to keep them hidden from the Himejima clan and any other enemies that might want to exploit his weakness…the weakness being her and their daughter. While initially, the bounded field only covered the house and the area around, Baraquiel eventually expanded it to cover the entire forest since his daughter loved to play there.

The bounded field, while serving to alert Baraquiel to any intruders, also served as an illusion to hide supernatural occurrences as well as ward off the mundane from approaching. That way, people or cameras of any sort would not catch their daughter flying…or mystical purple flames covering the sky.

Shuri could see the field ripple lightly due to the explosion of the attack hitting it. But with her powerful husband having made it, she knew it would hold.

And…speak of the Fallen and he shall appear.

"Ufufufu~"

When the small figure of Baraquiel appeared in the sky, the man seemed to pause for a bit before having a 'Nope' moment and flying in the opposite direction.

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|DxD|

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"Ara? So the forest is…destroyed~?"

"W-wait dear! I already have some people who will handle it!"

"Really~?"

"Yes! I even called Azazel to speed up the process." 

 Baraquiel stood like a convict facing a judge. He was sweating heavily, fear gnawing at him from every direction. It didn't help that Shuri was smiling with her eyes closed. Whenever she did that, a sort of cold aura would seem to envelop him.

But luckily, Shuri decided to stop torturing him.

"Good then! Now, I believe this child requires some care?" 

Gesturing to the human sack of potatoes 'comfortably' resting on her husband's shoulders, Shuri smiled warmly. That smile somewhat appeared menacing in the eyes of Baraquiel. Fortunately, he quickly caught Shuri's meaning and carried Igor in a 'manly' princess carry. 

Shuri smiled before turning around and walked into their home with Baraquiel following behind. She led him into a room where she quickly peeled open the blankets for him to place the blonde on the bed. 

It was then that Shuri noticed the wounds and bruises on Igor's body. She particularly took notice of his chest having slightly caved in and a rib on his right side visibly stretching his skin. 

Without a word, she turned him to his left side before standing up straight.

"Dear~"

Baraquiel's face paled. The sound of ropes and whips filled in his mind.

Gulp