Chapter 3: Freed

Chapter 3: 

"___" - Speech

(___) - Thoughts

{___} - Internal Voice(s)

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"Even with the power of [Promotion] —a single [Pawn] isn't nearly enough to take on those Fallen Angels. You should know this by now." The crimson-haired princess turned her back on the scowling chestnut-haired [Pawn] behind him as she walked with her [Queen] at her behest. 

His fists clenched as the constant warnings of his [King] had chipped away at his confidence towards saving his newfound friend. 

(You don't need to tell me, but even so, I can't leave Asia-chan alone like that.) 

"Myself and Akeno are going out on an errand, make sure you behave." 

"Wait Buchou we aren't done tal—" 

Before he could even get his sentence out, the two of them had been whisked away via a teleportation spell. 

His nails dug into his skin as he slowly walked over towards the clubroom entrance. 

"Are you going?" Stood behind him was a blond-haired youth who hardly seemed bothered that Issei was about to directly disobey his [King's] wishes. 

"Yeah, don't bother trying to stop me." 

Both the [Knight] and snow-haired [Rook] stepped forward but still showed little interest in keeping him stationary. "You could get killed you know that? She can't revive you twice." 

"I'm aware, but I'm not going to put my well-being above Asia's after all she's done for me." His immediate response brought a chuckle to the [Knight's] lips. 

"As much as I'd like to commend you for your bravery, what you're doing is simply too reckless. It'll just end up in there being two corpses tonight instead of one." 

"Like I ca—" The sound of iron clinking caught Issei off guard as Kiba now had his sword at the ready beside his waist. 

"That's why I'll go with you. You heard her, a single [Pawn] can't achieve anything." 

"You…" 

"She mentioned that even with the help of [Promotion] you wouldn't be able to win, which means she's acknowledged the church as enemy lines." 

(Then does that mean she wanted us to go? I knew it! You aren't a cold-hearted Oni after all!) 

Koneko walked up to Kiba's side as she nodded affirmatively. 

"You two going alone doesn't sit well with me." 

Issei's frown quickly turned itself upside down as his confidence had been rekindled. 

However, although on the surface Kiba appeared to be fairly composed, deep down he had a lingering sense of unease regarding the entire predicament with the Fallen Angels.

("Expect company." President, I saw the look on your face when you said that. What are you hiding?) 

------------

And thus, the trio ended up lurking in the foliage surrounding the front gate of the church. Cautiously scouting the area to ensure that they weren't walking into a full-on ambush. 

Kiba nodded to the others as they walked up to the entrance, and in her usual fashion, Koneko simply kicked open the front doors uncaring of whether it attracted attention or not. 

(I guess that's one way to do it.) 

As he set foot, the cathedral's lack of lighting and grim atmosphere sent chills down Issei's spine, but if he wanted to succeed he'd have to cast aside his fears and push onwards regardless. 

Clap! Clap! Clap! 

"Looks like the three musketeers are all gathered, I'm honored to be your reception for the night."

"Freed!" Issei yelled. 

"Yo, it's rather rare that I meet the same Devil twice. But don't worry, today I'll be sure to get rid of that irregularity." 

"Bastard, where the fuck is Asia!?" 

He wasted no time activating his [Boosted Gear] and prepared himself to pummel the wretched exorcist into the ground. 

"Her? She's right beneath this altar of course, but naturally, if you want to save her you'll have to—" 

All of a sudden Freed voluntarily had brought his monologue to an abrupt halt, his eyes squinted as his attention became laser focused not on the Devils in front of him, but what was behind them.

"Oi, can you not interrupt me whilst working for you?" 

Naturally, the trio wanted to see what all the commotion was about. 

(Who the hell is he?) 

Kiba's animosity heightened as he realized what the person standing behind him was. 

"Working for me? I don't recall such a thing." 

—A Fallen Angel. 

He wore nothing but a simple white shirt, accompanied by gray pants and blue slippers. Combat certainly didn't seem like the most important thing on his agenda. 

"Who are you?" 

Kiba pointed his sword towards the man, causing him to playfully raise his arms as if he meant no harm. 

"Eh? I thought your leader already told you to expect company?" Despite his supposed allegiance, the Fallen Angel didn't appear to be all that interested in the Devils in front of him. 

(Tsk, this probably would've gone easier if I kept my uniform on. Oh well, I still have this.) 

"Catch." 

Kiba caught what looked to be some sort of laminated card in his hands, but upon closer inspection, the notion that he was indeed the "company" his [King] had referred to had become much more feasible. 

(He goes to our school? Why didn't she inform any of us?) 

He leisurely inched closer towards Freed, no longer focused on whether he had the Devil's trust or not. 

"You have the Holy Swords right? Hand 'em over." 

The [Knight's] pupils contracted at the mere mention of their name. 

"Do I? Maybe I do, maybe I don't, how about you come and find out?" 

He pointed the gun in his hand directly toward Jin's head, to which the latter showed little to no reaction.

"So what if you're a little arrogant, surely you don't think that's even remotely enough to intimidate me!" 

A bullet made entirely out of light shot forth from its barrel, aimed perfectly to put a hole right through Jin's skull. 

Flutter!

As the pellet approached his cranium, a dark feathery wing sprouted from his back, covering his face and deflecting the bullet with ease. 

"Holy Power? Against a Fallen Angel? I expected better from you." 

A chrome-colored fingerless gauntlet appeared on Jin's hand as he pivoted his knees closer to the floor. His body started to gleam with a silver intensity as his power doubled out of nowhere. 

"The hell?"

Freed's instincts warned him of what was to come, he held his sword up in front of his torso, clenching his teeth as he prepared to face the impact head-on. 

Like an arrow, Jin shot forth as his hand clashed against Freed's saber with all his might. The ground beneath them trembled as the Stray could feel himself slowly being pushed back. 

"A Sacred Gear? Impossible!" He bellowed. 

He was offered no response as the feathers on one of Jin's wings suddenly sharpened, just like a boxer's fists they struck Freed's eye in an instant causing him to tumble back as he scurried to regain his balance. 

(These things are useful, I oughta to start working on them more once this is all over.) 

"Shit, I wasn't prepared for this, catching me off guard like that is cheating you know? Oh well, I'll just have to recoup before our next encounter."

From within his sleeve, a small steel ball rolled out into Freed's hand as he raised his arm above his head. 

"Bye bye, Crow."

As the ball collided against the floorboard Jin quickly covered his eyes with his wings as a white flash threatened to burn the retinas of everyone in the room. 

(He didn't have the Holy Swords anyway so I guess it doesn't matter. But if not him then who else? I don't remember them having anyone on their side who could wield them other than that Stray Exorcist.) 

"Who sent you?" Kiba approached Jin with his sword still in hand, disdain evident on his face. 

"I already told you, but instead of focusing on me don't you have something more important to tend to?" 

He kicked over the altar revealing an underground passage from within. 

Issei quickly snapped out of his trance and rushed through it before anyone else had the chance to react. 

"What do you plan on doing?" 

"Me? I guess I'll just wait here, don't worry I won't ruin any of the fun for you." 

Jin sat down on one of the benches with a leg crossed over the other and meekly pulled out a cigarette as he leaned back and relaxed. "Well don't just stand there, or are you going to let him deal with all those people down there on his own?" 

As much as Kiba wanted to continue questioning the Fallen Angel, he set his grievances aside momentarily and rushed after Issei, Koneko soon following suit. 

(I should start taking more classes, my boxing has gotten sloppy. But that wasn't too awful for my first confrontation I guess, seeing as I'm still alive and all.) 

A while after the three of them had trekked into what laid down below, two more figures had found their way into the confines of the church. 

"Did you find him?" A voice echoed. 

"I found him, but not the swords." 

"Then—" 

"Worst case scenario, they've given them off to someone else. Best case, they still have them in stock but haven't given them to that guy for some unknown reason." 

"Perhaps they have someone else among their ranks who can control the swords?" 

"It's possible, but not definite. Whatever it is, I better figure it out soon or it's my ass on the line." 

He blew out a puff of smoke as he gripped his head in frustration. He had hoped to get this ordeal dealt with as soon as possible, but reality wasn't keen on being his aide. 

"And what about that? When were you planning on telling me about it?" 

"I haven't the faintest clue as to what you're referring to." A blatant lie. 

"Really? So you just happened to have a Sacred Gear on you?" 

(If there was a competition for making my life harder than it needs to be, you'd be the ten-time world champion Ojou-chan.) 

"It's not a Longinus or anything, there's no need for you to worry about it." 

"Even so, I don't appreciate the secrecy." 

Jin clicked his tongue as he threw his bud onto the floor and stamped it out. 

"I don't wish to kindle any hostility between the two of us, but there are boundaries." 

His wings extended as far as they could as he prepared to make his departure. 

"Nor do I have any qualms with respecting your rule over Kuoh, but just like you I've got my responsibilities. So don't make things more complicated than necessary alright?" 

Just like the wind, he vanished leaving behind only the sound of fluttering in the distance.