Chapter 6

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Written by the most glazeworthy burger of all time, BurgerwithTomatoes

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-Story Start-

-Third Person POV-

A black cat stood at the entrance gate to John's mansion, as the moon had already made itself a welcome guest on the dark starlit skies of the night.

Its curious gaze locked onto the bloodied visage of John as he strolled nonchalantly towards his abode, the weight of his recent victory etched in the bloodstains on his clothes.

Yet, the sight of the cat had made him pause.

Surely, the sight of a common feline couldn't be categorized as a disturbance for a man of John's caliber.

Yet, it made him pause - His gaze firmly locked onto the cat's seemingly innocent, certainly inquisitive, and unusually eager figure, as if it harbored secrets.

His eyes narrowed dangerously, in such a sudden and intentional manner that it sent chills down the feline's back, and the cat's hair stood on end.

"I'm in a good mood, expecting fine whiskey..." He drawled out in annoyance.

Then, he slowly continued his approach towards the cat, who was going against its biology and starting to sweat from the pressure John exuded, "You're not as sneaky as you think you are... You've got Five seconds to scurry out of here."

The cat froze, its eyes dilated and not moving an inch as John's eyes seemed to burrow beyond its feline skin and disguise, the man reaching but a few mere feet before it.

"Or else... I'll have to prove that, indeed... Curiosity Killed The Cat." His heterochromatic eyes lessened their pressure on the poor cat's shoulders.

In turn, the countdown to the cat's mortality began:

"Five..."

It did not need any further prompting, as it turned around.

"Four..."

Beyond the speed that any nonsupernatural feline could, it ran, kicking dust and debris all in an effort to escape.

"Three..."

To escape the bloodied, annoyed, eerie figure of a 12-year-old capable of wiping out a platoon of Fallen Angels without breaking a sweat.

At the count of three, John noted that the cat had run a considerable distance away from his home, as he sighed.

The thought of, 'She was pretty fast.' Momentarily popped into his head, yet disappeared just as quickly as he dismissed it.

'Still Riff Raff, compared to deceased in China.' He degradingly compared.

Pausing his spine-chilling countdown.

"[Kya~! So cool~! ... But why'd you not kill the kitty like the others?] The System squealed like a schoolgirl, its voice tinged with genuine curiosity."

Continuing his stroll, John opened the massive door to his mansion with a creak, as he replied softly, entering his home, "Being a man that always proved others wrong, I appreciate doing so when the opportunity presents itself..."

He approached the bar, without pause inspecting a high-quality bottle of whisky, "I also appreciate proving some idioms wrong... Literally."

["Curiosity Killed The Cat," So you kept her alive on a whim?] System inquired innocently.

With a plop, the cork smoothly sprung out, as he smoothly poured the liquid into his glass.

[...Master, that is your second bottle today.]

"I have to build back my old tolerance, and this day's proved to be more troublesome than I would have liked," John stated matter-of-factly as he took a slow sip.

Gulping the liquid, with naught a change in expression in contrast to his first time just earlier today.

However, at that moment, his eyes caught yet another intruding figure at the entrance of his home.

Clicking his tongue, he mumbled, "Just great. Leftovers that haven't learned their lesson." He coldly let out, his eyes locking onto the feminine and winged figure fast approaching.

Extending his free hand slowly to point at the wall, in a direct line of where the Fallen Angel was, John didn't seem to care about causing any damage, he was annoyed enough as it was.

He materialized a matchlock arquebus...

Or so he tried.

"Huh?" He hummed, as all of a sudden, he felt overwhelmingly weak, a weakness that spread through his body.

"System!" He roared.

To naught.

[ERROR]

[ERROR]

[ERRO-R]

[E̷̡̢̢͕͈̠͔̰̼̥̰̝̱̞͕̖̫͇̼͓͔̤̲͓͉̞͇͇̤̥͑͛͛̎͌͗̆̄͜͜͝ͅR̷̡̦̳̞̺͉̠̲͙̙̤̗̾͂̎̎̓̓̓́̇͆͆̏̈́̐̾̆̔̏̈́͑̄̕͜͝͝R̵̢̨̧̲̻̲̘̠̟͎̼͕̱̳͓̯͕̤̪̦̯̟̮̻͙̰̹̗̗͂̀́̈̓O̷̡̡̢̡̡̳̗̙̻̤͈̯̜̟̳͈͔̗̦̠͖͙͚͔̻̭̰͙͓̿̄̐͒̑͛̈́̈́̄͑͘͜R̸͈̲̞̱̹̊͌̆̇́̀̈́͗͝ ̶̨̧̪͓̲̠͎̮͕͈̝̟̹̟͔͕̥̦̈́̑̓̔͛͋̓̀͐̑̊̅͊̍̕͝͝ͅS̶̢̻̟̟͎͉̙͖͙̘͙̒́̒͒̊̈́̑͛̐̑͗̂̀̎̾͗͐̀͒̂̓̕̕Ỳ̵̧̧̧̦̗̮̠͚̦̥͓̝͖̮͓̤̭̯̺̻͈͉̹̱͙͖͉̀̃̈́̈̑͛̋̈̅̀̏̀̇͐͛͑̂̓͒̓́̇͂̑̈͗͗̋̚̕̕͝ͅŚ̶͎̥͓̜̥͕̝͎̖͎̣̩͔͓͇̑̅͊͜͝͝Ţ̴̧̼̖͈̘͆̽̈́̓̅Ȩ̶̛̤̲̻̟̱͇̝̈́̉̀͌̈́͛̀̒̈́̍͊̾͒̕͝M̸͕̫͍̣̜͇̉̅͂͑͊̄͊̂̋́̈̓͗̓̊̎̚͘͠͠ ̵̧̧̨̨̨̩͕̗͕̜͇͍̤͇̥̤̩͋̄̒̈̂̽͐̈́̅͛̄̚̕͜͜Ę̶̨̧̣̥̬͓̯͔̖̲̩̩͔̥̼̰̪̜̼̠̾́̂̋̚R̶̡̡̡̦͖̝̦̞̜͓̗̬͙̯̝͔͎̣͈̯̺̤͇͕͓̪̳͗̌͊͗̃͊̓̍̊̃͛̈́͗́̉̓͘͝͠ͅR̶̭̪̜̲̟͈̭̤͕̼͉͙͉͎̲̖̔̈́͋̆͒̾̋̈͊͋̓͛̈́̎̽́͌̒̍̈́̐̃͗͐͆̿͘͠O̶̧̧̨̘͙̲̺̟͍̭͍͚̺̙̝͍͂͊̃͛͝R̴̡̢̨̧̗̳͉̪͖͓͇̠͌]

[E̷̡̢̢͕͈̠͔̰̼̥̰̝̱̞͕̖̫͇̼͓͔̤̲͓͉̞͇͇̤̥͑͛͛̎͌͗̆̄͜͜͝ͅR̷̡̦̳̞̺͉̠̲͙̙̤̗̾͂̎̎̓̓̓́̇͆͆̏̈́̐̾̆̔̏̈́͑̄̕͜͝͝R̵̢̨̧̲̻̲̘̠̟͎̼͕̱̳͓̯͕̤̪̦̯̟̮̻͙̰̹̗̗͂̀́̈̓O̷̡̡̢̡̡̳̗̙̻̤͈̯̜̟̳͈͔̗̦̠͖͙͚͔̻̭̰͙͓̿̄̐͒̑͛̈́̈́̄͑͘͜R̸͈̲̞̱̹̊͌̆̇́̀̈́͗͝ ̶̨̧̪͓̲̠͎̮͕͈̝̟̹̟͔͕̥̦̈́̑̓̔͛͋̓̀͐̑̊̅͊̍̕͝͝ͅS̶̢̻̟̟͎͉̙͖͙̘͙̒́̒͒̊̈́̑͛̐̑͗̂̀̎̾͗͐̀͒̂̓̕̕Ỳ̵̧̧̧̦̗̮̠͚̦̥͓̝͖̮͓̤̭̯̺̻͈͉̹̱͙͖͉̀̃̈́̈̑͛̋̈̅̀̏̀̇͐͛͑̂̓͒̓́̇͂̑̈͗͗̋̚̕̕͝ͅŚ̶͎̥͓̜̥͕̝͎̖͎̣̩͔͓͇̑̅͊͜͝͝Ţ̴̧̼̖͈̘͆̽̈́̓̅Ȩ̶̛̤̲̻̟̱͇̝̈́̉̀͌̈́͛̀̒̈́̍͊̾͒̕͝M̸͕̫͍̣̜͇̉̅͂͑͊̄͊̂̋́̈̓͗̓̊̎̚͘͠͠ ̵̧̧̨̨̨̩͕̗͕̜͇͍̤͇̥̤̩͋̄̒̈̂̽͐̈́̅͛̄̚̕͜͜Ę̶̨̧̣̥̬͓̯͔̖̲̩̩͔̥̼̰̪̜̼̠̾́̂̋̚R̶̡̡̡̦͖̝̦̞̜͓̗̬͙̯̝͔͎̣͈̯̺̤͇͕͓̪̳͗̌͊͗̃͊̓̍̊̃͛̈́͗́̉̓͘͝͠ͅR̶̭̪̜̲̟͈̭̤͕̼͉͙͉͎̲̖̔̈́͋̆͒̾̋̈͊͋̓͛̈́̎̽́͌̒̍̈́̐̃͗͐͆̿͘͠O̶̧̧̨̘͙̲̺̟͍̭͍͚̺̙̝͍͂͊̃͛͝R̴̡̢̨̧̗̳͉̪͖͓͇̠͌

[̸̨̢͕͖̝̬̠̫̟̲̠͓͖̜͚̥̺̰̲͙͖̯̱̹̺̺͍̺̝̝͑̋͒̿̑̿͊̊͗͊̒͋̄̀̑̐̒̿͆̑͆͜͝ͅȐ̵̭̮̟͙̗͖͈̺̘̤͙͍͖̹̬͎͈̭͇̒́̑̈́́͜͜ͅȄ̸̼̱̟̳̰̩̞̗͚̺̻̰̗͕̺̦̦͇̰̣̄̽̎̅̈́̌ͅB̶̨̡̡̨̙̩̥̗̻̰̘̟̙͈̳̼̟̗̤͇̗̟̣̜̺̩̒̈͌̋̔̌O̴̡̬̰͓͕̰̤̻̬̟͇̱̊̃́̉̃͛̄̽̽́̓̽̆̅̂̐͛̃̽͂̿̇̏͝Ǭ̸̛̛͈̳͉̮̮̮̪̟̟̗̯̻̗̟̳̻͎̜̖̙̠̙̘̳̹͈͚̺̺̪͔̞̃͐͒̽́̾̉̒͆͒͊͋́̀̒̓͛͘̕̕͝ͅͅṬ̵̢̭̝͍̪̠͎͚̦͈̹̠͎̞̞͇̱̟̝̩̺͖͖̱̤͇͕͙̖͂]

̴̩̒̐̿͐[5 M̸̹͉̯̘͝I̸̙̗̩͛N̴͈̥̺͆U̴̧̞̠̫̿̌T̸̨̢̛̰̅͂E̶͎̹͓̳͗S]

"Ah... Could've been worse." John cursed at the unlikely event happening once more.

Only this time, with enemies still standing.

'When the System goes haywire, I'm as weak as my physical human body.' He noted as he filtered through his options:

'I can still take on a pathetically weak Fallen Angel if she's on the same stratum of competence as the rest of her fellow bimbos and dumbasses in my current state. I've faced worse handicaps and emerged victorious.'

...

After filtering through multitudes of methods of disabling the Fallen Angel, the leading option among them is smashing her face with a bottle of whiskey, John came through the more fitting method given the risks.

"I'll have to distract her... For five minutes." He quickly readied himself.

Smashing through the wall, a snarling violet-eyed and black-haired buxom Fallen Angel appeared with a spear of light in her hand and all.

She paused for a moment, seeing the confident, unfazed John.

His figure menacingly and leisurely sat on his bar stool, sipping his fine whiskey as he scrutinized her lazily.

Whether it was due to his charming figure or confident nonchalant demeanor, the Fallen Angel's snarl lowered to a careful frown, her instincts warning her of a hidden danger.

Prompting John to comment slowly, as he downed his whiskey, "You... Don't seem to have great survival instincts, do you? Is it Insanity? Maybe Bravery? What could have possibly convinced you to head to the Dragon's Den after seeing what I did to your fellow crows?"

'Considering how she decided to dress herself... Insanity wouldn't be a far-off guess.' John cringed at the fetish-like clothing the Fallen Angel donned on herself.

Her expression hadn't changed as she decided to introduce herself, "I am Raynare of the Grigori. You, Sacred Gear Wielder. Join us or perish." She presented an ultimatum.

John's eyes widened for a moment, out of sheer bewilderment as he simply sipped his whiskey in response.

"You're very funny. What gave you the impression you can threaten m-"

She cut him off, "Don't try and fool me, the powerful, threatening presence you display had vanished almost suddenly, shortly after your excessive display. Whatever your Sacred Gear is capable of, it has rendered you a weak human once more. Join us, filthy human. Or Die."

He raised an eyebrow, "Not to rain on your hubris-filled parade. But I can hide my presence and power perfectly."

Raynare's composure, at that admission, broke slightly and her frown twitched. Sweat formed on her pretty face.

Before John could take a breath of relief, Raynare quickly gained another burst of confidence, "Do it then. Try to kill me, if you can't do it in the next five seconds or agree to join us... I will eliminate you here, and now, brat." Calling out John on his bluff.

'The balls on this bimbo...' John thought slightly impressed.

John counteroffered, "Or... We could talk this out under finer more pleasant circumstances. Sitting down and enjoying a fine beverage. What say you, mighty Fallen Angel? Whisky? Red Wine? Champagne mayb-"

Raynare smirked sadistically, "You sure switched your tone fast... That means I'm right... Five."

What John failed to notice is that he was getting an ironic karmic retribution in the form of a five-second countdown to his own alleged death.

Ironic.

John deadpanned, sighing internally, 'I have never been one for great conversation. Future Corpses aren't very interesting people to know.'

"Four." 

"Three."

John's muscles tensed.

"Two."

"One!" Raynare yelled and let loose a spear of light, flying towards John who had expected such an obvious trajectory.

The spear exploded onto the bar stool, destroying it, and the ground beneath it.

John rolled onto the ground, as he threw his glass towards Raynare.

With a loud crack of shattering glass, she swept it away, breaking it and appearing unfazed by the glass shards that failed to pierce her skin.

She materialized yet another spear of light as John ran towards her, opting against running away.

He was already within close quarters as she brandished her spear in a diagonal form at superhuman speeds.

John, albeit as strong and quick as a 12-year-old unpowered human, predicted this strike, as he barely maneuvered out of it, only allowing the light to burn the skin on his left tricep.

"You supernaturals are so arrogant, hundreds of years of experience, and your supposed superiority allowed you to neglect your basic skills and over-rely on your superior power."

John's fist drove into Raynare's stomach, causing her to flinch, whilst his other hand, took out the very same whiskey bottle he drank out of.

Raynare's flinched state wasn't enough for her not to react, as she weaved out of John's swung bottle, and sent a punch towards him at blinding speed.

He ducked under it narrowly, and... Grabbed onto it with his free hand, and used it as a boost, his agility and precision honed from countless battles thoroughly displayed in this one movement.

"There are advantages to my small size too." He stated as he practically flew to her eye level by launching himself with her hand.

Without hesitation, he smashed the bottle onto her face, with a loud boom.

The glass shards that would have normally had no effect, managed to pierce the weakened John's skin and draw blood.

But the pain of this degree served as no stopping point for the seasoned veteran.

Regardless of Raynare's reaction, he gripped the broken whisky bottle tightly, drawing blood, as he thrust it towards Raynare's throat.

With a loud squelch, it made contact and a spray of blood escaped Raynare's throat.

Choking on her own blood, she let loose an agonized owl, as John crashed onto the ground with a thump.

Glass shards pierced his skin lightly, but it was an acceptable injury to incur the necessary damage.

John quickly lifted his head from the ground as he gazed at Raynare coldly.

The familiar, bewildered look she held as she clawed at her own throat in suffering.

She dropped to her knees, agony and torment vivid in her mind, and conversely, John rose up easily ignoring the pain coursing through his weakened human flesh.

Her eyes were bloodshot and tears flowed freely, as the light in her eyes was leaving her with each waking moment, being asphyxiated by her own blood.

Nevertheless, her hair stood on end as the little powerless boy approached her, an eerie melody echoing from each footstep.

His heterochromatic eyes glared down coldly, sending a shiver down Raynare's spine.

Apparently, that little boy who lost his power hadn't lost his fangs. 

He mumbled, sending a pang of shame in her very psyche, "That was a pretty good handicap. It's really pathetic. Losing to an underpowered human as an ancient supernatural being such as yourself." He lifted her head, as her limbs dropped powerless at the loss of blood.

Fear, once more overtook her as the survival instincts that are usually lacking in Fallen Angels were forcibly triggered by the Monster Veiled in Human Flesh.

Regret.

Why had she decided to try and kill him, despite him turning into a powerless human?

Why?

WHY!?

'I don't want to die...'

'I don't want to die...'

'I don't want to die...'

'I don't want to die...'

'I WANT TO LIVE!'

Her mind screamed, in place of her mouth.

John's cold gaze confirmed the futility of it.

Her face turned blue as she was moments from losing consciousness and perishing, and John gave her his parting words.

"Now, die. Die a dog's death for your arrogance and foolishness." He spat on her face, as she dropped to the ground, her body lifeless and his hand no longer holding her bloodied head.

Then, silence.

Oh, how familiar it was for John.

A moment later, he sighed, "The cleanup is going to be an even more bothersome thing than killing her."

[REBOOT COMPLETE]

"Perfect timing..." He deadpanned as he slowly felt his strength, senses, and all his power returning to him.

And along with it...

[UWAAAAAAAAAAA! MASTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! YOU ALMOST DIED!!!!!!!!!!]

"It wasn't even close." He muttered in slight annoyance as the wounds on his figure began to visibly stitch together and heal.

At his waving her off, System had a change of pace, [With that said~! I've figured out why you lost your power now that it's happened a second time! Don't use Three Line Formation! That's it~!]

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I figured that much by now. Last Resort only." He confirmed with a nod.

'Now... Where's the broom?' He glared at the broken wall and then at the bloody pool the deceased Raynare lay within.

His eyes then shifted to the far-off distance, catching sight of a group of devils heading his way.

Frowning, he cracked his neck, "Well, I hope those are today's last visitors..." He stated with a hint of impatience.

[Master, for a former best assassin, you were exceptionally loud with dispatching those Fallen Angels~!]

"Don't be getting cheeky on me, System."

To Be Continued!