Chapter 30: Attacked in Kuoh

"My my, Mr Raymond. I thought we could resolve this peacefully but unfortunately we have to be enemies. Thankfully we already did some research on you to make our job easier." The man with a spear said while pointing his spear at the side where Cheshire is being held as hostage.

"I wanted to recruit you as a proper member but you refused. So, surrender yourself or we will kill your daughter." Cao Cao smirks victoriously knowing that he had a grasp on Ray's weakness.

Cao Cao looked at Ray that is gritting his teeth before slowly raising both his hands to the air. Ray didn't have a choice because he was ambushed, outmanned and outsmarted by the Hero faction.

The Hero faction waited until Ray left his home with Cheshire to have a walk when they trapped him using Dimension Lost belonging to Georg. Ray quickly summons operators to fight but the Hero faction already anticipated this and quickly dispatch them and somehow manage to capture Cheshire from Ray.

Ray has Kokabiel ready to summon but he is waiting for an opportunity. Just when the Hero faction think they got Ray totally cornered, Ray summons Kokabiel and elite to do a distraction at Cao Cao and Ray activates Reload On Fire to free Cheshire from the one that looks like a twin of clone Siegfried.

Unbeknownst to everyone in the separate dimensions, Michael, Griselda and Xenovia happen to arrive in the town and happen to see Ray and Cheshire being engulfed by Dimension Lost. Besides, the two heiresses can feel the usage of a large amount of magic in Kuoh. Dimensions Lost create dimension by applying barriers that overlap the land which mean it can be breached from outside.

Help was immediately arrived because the Grigori and Devils are on edge after Kokabiel's attack on Kuoh. Both sides have their hidden experts ready to deploy at a moment's notice.

The backup is Cadre Baraqiel, Azazel's adopted daughter Valina, Serafall and Grayfia. They quickly arrive and join forces with Michael at the scene to brute force their way into the separate dimension. Valina's participation greatly eases their effort as she uses Divine Dividing to weaken the dimension before everyone uses their magic to punch a path into the dimension's barrier.

Meanwhile, in the separate dimension.

Ray already freed Cheshire and still has 3 seconds from Reload On Fire. He felt a tug from the recent weapon he obtained after defeating Kokabiel. The double rifle is made from the body and soul of two Impermanence deities, a deity of Nether Realm responsible for managing souls.

Ray responded to the spiritual tug before the black and white rifles appeared in his hand, exuding the cold aura of death. He aimed the rifles on the weakest member of the Hero faction, Jeanne. The one proclaimed to carry the spirit of Joan of Arc.

When Ray pulled the trigger, he felt a searing pain from his soul but he pressed on and ignored it. The rifles roared to life, the white one released a red bloodthirsty aura while the black one released a sickly green aura of death on the barrels. The loud deafening explosion from the bullet firing caused Ray to burst his eardrums while shooting.

The result however is satisfying. The bullet ripped through the armor Jeanne wore like wet tissue. Absolutely no resistance at all and Ray quickly shifts his aim to Heracles, who has the annoying ability to cause explosions but Reload On Fire expires before he could do so.

"Gah Ahhhhh!!!" Jeanne howled in pain but none reacted surprised. Instead Cao Cao ignored Kokabiel and quickly rushed to me with an angry expression.

I was still aiming for Heracles and couldn't protect myself in time. I bet my hope on the barrier and activate Die Another Day immediately to lessen the damage from the spear that glowed in blue light.

I dismissed the rifles that disappeared into a burst of hologram before shielding Cheshire that hugged my waist with my body.

"You ungrateful bastard! Do you not understand that we are striving for the glory of humanity." Cao Cao shouted which I didn't care at all when his spear impacted my armor.

A layer of barrier appeared and tried to repel the spear. Thankfully due to the addition of Die Another Day skill, the damage was reduced by 90%. The spear attack only reduced a fifth of my barrier durability which made me sigh in relief that my barrier held its ground.

"Tch, True Longinus!" Cao Cao chanted his sacred gear's name before the aura increased fivefold and looked like a blazing fire before the blue aura condensed and shot a beam at me.

As much as I want to purposely die to gain resistance toward the damage, I cannot leave Cheshire alone for while I am reviving from my death. Kokabiel himself is doing a good job distracting the rest of the Hero faction although his fighting strength is lowered because he is currently being controlled by the AI via the implant to force him to fight.

If only there is reinforcement…

"Celsius Cross Trigger!"

"Lightning Maelstrom!"

Suddenly Ray heard two shouts from his left and a loud rumbling of thunder was heard. The terrain also completely turned into frozen land like the frozen hell of Cocytus.

"Tch, you are lucky this time Raymond however we will definitely not easily let you go." Cao Cao then disengaged and retreated to his group.

"Georg! Retreat for now."

"How about Jeanne? We can-"

"Retreat. Now!" Cao Cao pressed on Georg who immediately used his sacred gear to escape with the surviving member.

When the battle concluded. The double rifles appeared without Ray calling for it and the black one transformed.

A ghostly man in black ancient Chinese robe and an almost cone shaped long hat that had written Chinese letters appeared with a long obsidian sword and chain that glowing red with fire from the fiery pit of hell. The Black Impermanence is the deity that hands out judgement to evildoers. A deity that sentenced those who committed acts that grant no salvation to the sinner but Ray doubted the Black Impermanence appeared because Jeanne had committed a sin that merited such punishment.

The weapon is no longer the deity but only a spirit that remained in the gun to execute those deities' abilities.

The Black Impermanence threw his chain to the air before the chain moved as if alive and anchored on Jeanne that was heavily injured but not yet died. Jeanne is only unconscious after Ray leaves him in a half dead state. Then the Black Impermanence pulled the chain like a fisherman pulling his net. A phantom of Jeanne pulled out in shock before she screamed in confusion.

One will definitely do if seeing yourself leaving a physical body and being pulled by a 4 meter tall ghostly person.

Jeanne then slashed using the obsidian sword before her phantom body absorbed into the Black Impermanence that immediately reverted to its gun form. Jeanne screamed like an exorcised ghost for a few moments before her soul fully absorbed.

I can weirdly feel my lifespan increased and the previous pain I felt from using the double rifles vanished instantly. There is also another strange thing that I can feel absorbed into my body but I couldn't figure out what it is.

The dimensions didn't last long as Georg no longer maintained it. The dimensions shattered and we returned to the real world, the purple mist also started to disappear. I quickly unequipped my armor to my normal wear before any normal human saw me.

…

"What was that! What is your relationship with the Chinese mythology to have two Grim Reaper deities like the Black and White Impermanence to serve as your personal weapon? Are you a bastard of a Chinese god? Child of the Chinese Hell's kings?"

Again another round of interrogation but less serious than before when Sirzech is involved. Serafall only joked around with the dark room with only one light bulb and a table with two chairs. Serafall likes to be dramatic and set the mood for everything that isn't serious. The whole 'interrogation' set up is made by Serafall using her demonic power.

"I don't know… the weapon just suddenly appeared when I was recovering in the hospital on Gremory territory. The guns just poof and appeared to me out of nowhere after congratulating me for defending Kokabiel… I swear someone is having fun playing me around although I am grateful for the weapon."

"You are saying that someone interacted with you and gave you this weapon as a reward?" Serafall looked grim when she asked the question. Ray nodded since it is technically the truth but not the exact truth.

"That's impossible… There are 3 Satans and Azazel within the hospital. It's impossible for anyone to do this under our noses unless… No, that's impossible."

"Unless what?" Ray was also curious what thought Serafall formed in her mind.

"Unless it involves Great Red. The True Dragon god that wanders the Dimensional Gap. There is a possibility that Great Red communicates with you through dream and illusion to give you the weapon but… why?" Serafall tried to create a theory to explain but gave up not long after and says this is Ajuka's job, not hers.

"Anyway, let's conclude this for now. Issei-kun and your cute daughter are waiting for you." Serafall waved her magic wand and the room and its contents vanished into magic particles before both of them appeared in ORC again with Rias peerage, Cheshire and additionally the representative from Heaven.

Ray sighed that he manage to escape the interrogation but he also further messed up the misunderstanding of him. He hope that linking him to Great Red didn't have adverse effects to his life.

Cheshire then runned to him and jumped to his cradle. Ray rubbed her head and assured her everything was alright. She blamed herself for Ray being captured and helpless to fight the Hero faction but Ray kept telling her this isn't her fault.

Michael and the others that were about to ask him a few questions immediately stopped and let Ray comfort Cheshire for now. Even the kitten on her shoulder licked her cheek as if comforting her too.

…

"Michael of Heaven… you are here regarding the Excalibur fragments I assume?" Ray asked Michael that is waiting for Ray while enjoying tea that Akeno made for everyone.

"Indeed, I understand that you are unwilling to part with the Excalibur fragments but I still need to confirm it will be in good hands or perhaps exchange with something else for them." Michael nodded while Sister Griselda and Xenovia paid attention to the conversation without interfering.

"Since I retrieved the Fragments first, I will keep it to myself but if you can exchange the fragments with other holy swords then I am willing." Ray expresses his willingness to exchange the fragments for other holy swords since these fragments honestly aren't very useful to him.

If only Ray realized that when he absorbed Jeanne's soul, he also absorbed the Blade Blacksmith of Jeanne that could create a holy sword. Ray would definitely ask for something else other than a holy sword.

"Ray-kun, why would you need a holy sword anyway?" Serafall asked while Rias and Akeno were also interested in his answer.

Ray didn't explicitly stated he want to use it again Sirzech and Grayfia for his little revenge but he told them he wants it since devil and fallen is weak again holy attribute. They frowned when listening to his answer but they understand that Ray only wants to protect himself and seeking power itself isn't something wrong.

Serafall however, as someone experienced able to sense Ray did hold a grudge on the devil. Not the devil as a whole but just certain devils. She wondered which devil offended him so much that he needed a holy sword to protect himself since Ray himself was able to defeat even Kokabiel without needing a holy sword. He only used the Rapidly ability, not the sword itself.

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