Chapter 12

During the fifteen-minute wait, Eden learned a lot, primarily about devils and their culture. He understood the peerage system, the concept of reincarnated devils, and the three main factions: Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels. He also gathered information about Venelana, who turned out to be Rias's mother, and the maid named Grayfia, who was Venelana's daughter-in-law and the spouse of another Great Satan, a ruling elite of the Underworld.

After the fifteen minutes passed, Venelana chose to stay, and those remaining were the ones heading to capture the fallen angels. Eden took this time to send a quick text to Hisato, instructing her to leave the car and go. Now inside the Occult Research Club room were both Rias and Sona's peerages, along with Grayfia.

"Grayfia, aren't you supposed to head home with Venelana?" Eden questioned.

"No, Master Tsubakihara. I would like to stay for the Fallen Angel operation."

"That's great, the more the merrier. So, is it okay if I lead this operation?" Looking at both women, they appeared to be fine with the idea.

"Alright, since this is a basic mission, let's form a basic plan. Rias and her peerage will handle eliminating any Fallen Angels or their allies outside the church. Sona will join me and Grayfia in blitzing the church, quickly capturing the main fallen angels before they can escape. Does that make sense?" Again, both women nodded.

"Okay, you two should go first with your peerages. Get a lay of the land and position yourselves to block any fallen angels' escape. Apart from the four we discussed earlier, you have permission to eliminate any on sight."

After that, the two peerages teleported out. Now, he needed to have a conversation with Grayfia. "Grayfia, I've heard you're called the strongest queen. What are your specializations?"

"Master Tsubakihara, I am a magic generalist, proficient in Fire, Water, Air, and Earth magic. I am also a skilled martial artist and assassin."

"That's impressive. Well, I'll be going in as vanguard. I'd like you to follow my lead."

"Yes, Master Tsubakihara."

"Also, how fast are you?"

"I'm as fast as what humans call the speed of light."

"Okay, so you'll be able to keep up." After saying that, he began casting his buffs: {Mana Body Tier 4}, {Mage Armor Tier 8}, {Perfect Aegis}, {Predator Senses}, {Arcane Processor}, {Greater Regeneration}, {Divine Favor of Fate}, {Fly}, {Pain Immunity}. These were his most frequently used buffs. He usually cast more, but his allies might already be in battle. Using Time Stop to cast more buffs felt like a waste for these enemies.

During this time, Grayfia appeared to look at him with an expression of confusion. "Master Tsubakihara, were you just casting magic?"

"Yes, why?"

"Just asking."

"Oh, do devils not use speed casting?" Eden's unique Combat Casting ability allowed him to cast spells at a fraction of the time a normal spellcaster would take. A regular spellcaster might need 6 to 8 seconds, but for Eden, it only took 100 to 600 milliseconds.

"No, devil magic is quite different from human magic. It's just that I've never seen anyone cast that quickly."

"Okay, shall we go?"

"Of course, Master Tsubakihara."

{Teleportation} Teleporting a few miles away from the church, he looked around. He could teleport here because he had seen the place while examining Asia's fate. Observing the church through his Magi eye, he noted the presence of a barrier. "They have a barrier up, how quaint." Without a second thought, he summoned Fateweaver into his hand and threw it at the barrier. "Godspeed: First Steps." Eden then sprinted after the sword, just like a dog chasing a bone. The sword collided with the barrier, punching a hole through the church. With his heightened senses, he detected a scream, presumably from a fallen angel. The sword passed through them, taking out a fallen angel or two.

Recalling Fateweaver, he activated {Jump} and {Quick Time}. He executed a running jump at the church's wall, which Aegis protected him from as he broke through the wall like a wrecking ball. Inside, he found around thirteen fallen angels, none of them being his main targets. Using {Twin Magic: Eldritch Blast}, he shot ten beams of energy that quickly dispatched the bewildered fallen angels.

Eden had already used the location's knowledge from the Fated Revelations spell, considering Asia was not permitted in the underground sections. Now, using a mix of Predator Senses and future sight, he attempted to pinpoint the location of his targets. "Grayfia, this way." Predicting her arrival, he used Fateweaver to clear debris from an entrance to another corridor. He noticed fallen angels, looking confused and preparing for battle. Before he could react, a fireball from behind turned them to ashes. Eden and Grayfia moved through the catacombs like savage wolves unleashed upon a herd of deer.

Upon reaching the main chamber, where he suspected his targets were located, both were covered in fallen angel blood. Their noble airs had vanished entirely, replaced by the absolute ferocity unleashed upon the fallen. Eden kicked debris away to reveal a new room, where he spotted at least one of his targets. Using {Chronostasis}, he acted before the man, who he recognized as Dohnaseek, could speak. Walking past him, Eden directed his attention to Kalawarna, a nearly 6-foot tall, voluptuous blue-haired woman, who was attempting to summon a holy weapon. Grayfia emerged behind him, pushing Kalawarna against the wall.

Eden used {Eldritch Binds}, releasing beams of green energy that wrapped around Kalawarna like a hog-tie. Her considerable assets made the capture slightly more provocative than his previous capture of Asia. "Could you kindly inform me of the whereabouts of the other misbegotten kin?" Kalawarna responded by attempting to spit in his face, but Aegis intercepted the spittle. "Well, that was a bad idea." Using {Maximize Magic: Mental Probe}, he cast the spell, causing Kalawarna to scream in agony as he sought information in the most painful way possible. After a few seconds and the information he needed, Eden hit her head over and over on head and knocked her unconscious before casting {Chronostasis}. "Raynare appears to have fled towards Rias's peerage, and Mittelt is headed in Sona's direction. Let's return to Rias to ensure Raynare's capture. Since we have these two, capturing Mittelt would just be a bonus."

"Yes, Master Tsubakihara."

{Teleport}

He teleported them to the location where Rias's peerage was meant to arrive. Utilizing his Predator Senses, he followed the battle's traces into a nearby forest close to the church. Here, he discovered a fierce skirmish in progress. Rias's peerage appeared to be at a disadvantage, primarily because Rias was focusing her Power of Destruction solely on the regular fallen angels, ignoring Raynare herself.

Raynare and her presumed bodyguard were entangled in an aerial confrontation with Issei and Akeno. Meanwhile, the remainder of Raynare's peerage were engaged in combat against the fallen angels nearer to the ground. Issei was on the brink of sustaining a blow from Raynare, but he abruptly sensed a distinct "Boost" emanating from the teen's Sacred Gear on his right hand. Reacting swiftly, he evaded the attack and retaliated with a counterstrike that appeared lethal—an outcome Eden couldn't permit.

{Time Stop}

As he cast the spell, time froze, and the area became completely motionless. Ordinarily, most individuals would need to act swiftly after employing this spell, as it required a continuous flow of mana to sustain. However, Eden's Mana Reserves were of a magnitude that would put a Dragon God to shame, and his Energy Recovery ability regenerated mana faster than it could be expended. The primary limitation to the spell's duration was the toll it took on his mental faculties. With his regenerative powers in full effect, Eden estimated he could maintain the spell for perhaps a year or two,

He moved around the battlefield using a spell that let him fly, heading toward where a battle was happening in the sky. He saw that Akeno had a small cut on her cheek while she was fighting. He used a spell called {Heal} to fix the cut before going over to where Issei and the fallen angel Raynare were fighting. Issei seemed really mad, and Eden didn't understand why Issei had such a problem with Raynare.

Looking at Raynare, who was a beautiful fallen angel, he felt sorry that she was going to be killed. He briefly thought about trying to get her punishment reduced to just being a servant, but he wasn't too serious about it. If it was Raynare's destiny to die, he wasn't going to do much to change it. The idea of having her as a servant was just a passing thought.

He stepped in and moved Raynare away from Issei, preventing Issei from hitting her. He thought it was time to end the fight, but he didn't know the right spell to use off the top of his head. So he went through his collection of spells and took out a book about Animacy, which is about life and death magic. He found a spell he hadn't used before called {Mass Hold Species: Fallen Angel}. After he cast it, he felt a sort of magical connection to all the fallen angels and surprisingly, even Akeno.

Not wanting Akeno to get caught in the spell's effect, he let her go and decided to talk to her about it later.