Asia laid on the cold stone altar, her wrists and ankles bound with ropes. The bindings weren't necessary - she had co here willingly, after all - but Raynare had insisted on them as part of the ritual.
Around the altar, the five figures surrounded her. Raynare stood at the head of the altar, her black wings spread wide as she traced glowing symbols in the air above Asia's prone form. The dark energy radiating from her hands made Asia's Sacred Gear resonate painfully in her chest.
For a brief mont, Raynare's hands hesitated as she looked down at Asia's peaceful expression. The girl had been nothing but kind to her, grateful for the smallest gestures of care. She had never asked for anything, never complained, never shown anything but trust and affection.
But then the mory of her humiliation flashed before her eyes. Raynare's jaw tightened as she pushed the guilt aside. She needed to prove herself useful to Azazel, to show that she was still worthy of her position among the Grigori. Twilight Healing would be her redemption, her ticket back to relevance in the supernatural world.
"Can we hurry this up?" Freed complained. "I've got other places to be tonight. Places with more action and less ritual mumbling."
"Patience," Raynare said without looking away from her work.
"Twilight Healing is one of the rarest Sacred Gears in existence. The extraction must be done precisely, or we risk damaging it."
Asia closed her eyes and tried to block out their voices. Instead, she focused on the warm presence in her chest - the gentle, healing light that had been with her for as long as she could rember. Soon, it would belong to soone else. Soone who would use it for purposes far different from healing the innocent.
I'm sorry, she thought, directing the apology both to her Sacred Gear and to the mory of all the people she had helped over the years. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you.
"The preliminary bindings are complete, now we begin the actual extraction."
Raynare announced.
She raised her hands higher, and the dark energy around her fingers intensified. Asia gasped as she felt sothing tugging at the very core of her being like soone was trying to pull out a piece of her soul.
It hurt.
It really hurts.
The tugging sensation beca a burning, tearing feeling that made Asia arch her back against the stone altar. This ti, she couldn't hold back a small whimper of pain.
"Oh, does it hurt?" Freed asked mockingly. "Good. good."
Dohnaseek shot him a warning look. "Focus, Freed. We need to remain alert for any interference."
"From who? That pathetic wimp? Even if he shows up, what's he going to do?
Freed laughed cruelly. "Besides, you said yourself he's under Leon Mishima's protection. He's probably too scared to even leave his house."
Asia's heart clenched at the ntion of Issei. She hoped he was safe, far away from this place. The last thing she wanted was for him to get hurt trying to save her.
"Phase two complete," Raynare announced, her voice slightly strained. Each phase made her feel sicker about what she was doing to Asia, but she couldn't stop now. Not when she was so close to reclaiming her pride. "Beginning the final extraction."
The burning in Asia's chest intensified to an almost unbearable level. She could feel Twilight Healing being torn away from her, like having her heart ripped out while she was still alive. Tears stread down her face as the connection that had defined her entire existence began to finally snap.
Issei-san, she thought through the pain. Please... please stay safe. Please don't co looking for .
=====
Issei's heart pounded as he crept through the shadows outside the old church. The building stood like a nightmare and an evil feeling that made his skin crawl.
Through one broken window, he saw candlelight flickering inside. Voices ca from what sounded like a basent. He couldn't make out the words, but they sounded urgent. His stomach twisted with fear.
'Asia-chan is down there. They're hurting her.'
Issei felt that sa burning sensation from the park earlier, a sensation of sothing stirring in his left arm. But unlike before, nothing appeared. Just a strange tingling that didn't seem to do anything.
'Co on, ' he thought desperately. 'Please, I need it now.'
But nothing happened. He was just a normal human with no idea how to use whatever power had awakened inside him.
'I don't care. I can't just leave Asia-chan alone.'
Issei took a deep breath and walked to the church's main entrance. The heavy wooden doors sat slightly open as every instinct told him to run, to find Leon, to get help. But there might not be ti.
He pushed the doors open and stepped inside.
The main hall was a ruin. Broken pews lay scattered. Religious symbols had been destroyed. The air slled of rot and burnt tal. At the far end, near where the altar should be, he saw an opening in the floor leading down into darkness.
The voices were clearer now, coming from that basent entrance. He could hear that crazy silver-haired man - Freed - laughing about sothing. The sound made Issei's blood boil.
The burning sensation in his arm flared up again, but still nothing materialized. Whatever had happened during the fight with that monster, Issei had no idea how to make it happen again.
Damn it! Why won't it work?!
Issei crept toward the basent entrance, trying to stay quiet. As he got closer, he could make out individual voices - multiple people, all sounding pleased about sothing. His heart sank. He knew what that probably ant.
Please don't be too late. Please let Asia-chan be okay.
He reached the edge of the stone steps leading down. The voices were much clearer now. What he heard made his blood run cold.
"Phase two complete," a woman's voice announced - Raynare. "Beginning the final extraction."
Extraction? What the hell are they taking from her?
Then he heard it - a soft whimper of pain that was Asia's voice. She was alive, but she was suffering.
That was all Issei needed to hear.
"ASIA-CHAN!" he yelled, charging down the stone steps. "GET YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF HER!"
The basent opened up before him. The scene looked like his worst nightmare. Asia lay bound to a stone altar, surrounded by the four fallen angels from before. Dark energy swirled around Raynare's hands as she stood over Asia.
But what stopped Issei cold was Asia's face. She looked weak and pale.
"Well, well," Freed said, spinning around with that sa crazy grin. "Look what showed up. The annoying little brat from the park."
"Let her go, you bastards!" Issei demanded, desperately trying to summon whatever power had appeared earlier. "Whatever you're doing to Asia-chan, stop it right now!"
Raynare didn't even look away from her work. "How touching. The pervert thinks he can give us orders."
"I'll kick all your asses!" Issei charged forward, running on pure adrenaline and rage.
Dohnaseek stepped into his path, light spears crackling to life in both hands. "You're just a normal human, boy. What exactly do you think you can accomplish?"
The huge fallen angel thrust forward with one spear. Issei barely dodged surprisingly as the weapon seared the air inches from his face. He tried to counter with a punch, but Dohnaseek caught his wrist and flung him across the basent like he weighed nothing.
Issei hit the stone wall hard, stars exploding across his vision. The burning sensation in his arm flared again, and for a split second, he thought he saw a flash of red light. But it vanished before anything could form.
"What was that?" Mittelt asked, tilting her head curiously. "Did anyone else see that light?"
"Probably his sacred gear," Kalawarner dismissed. "The boy's just awakened it."
Damn it! Work already! Issei thought desperately as he pushed himself off the wall. Whatever you are, Asia-chan needs ! Please!
But his arm remained frustratingly the sa. He charged again, this ti going for Freed, who looked like he might be caught off guard.
The silver-haired man just laughed and pointed one of his blessed pistols at Issei's chest. "You've got guts, scum. Too bad that's all you've got."
"Shut up!" Issei yelled.
"Bang," Freed said mockingly, and fired.
The bullet of light energy caught Issei in the shoulder, spinning him around and sending him crashing into another wall. Pain exploded through his body. He could sll his own burning flesh where the shot had burned through his shirt.
"Gah! That... that really hurts, you psycho!" Issei gasped.
"Is this really all?" Dohnaseek asked with disappointnt. "I thought you were supposed to be more resilient than this."
Issei struggled to his feet, using the wall for support. His left arm hung useless at his side. He could feel warm blood soaking through his shirt. The burning sensation was getting stronger, but whatever power was supposed to manifest just wouldn't co.
"I'm... not... giving up!" he gasped, forcing himself to take another step forward. "Not when Asia-chan's in trouble!"
Mittelt giggled. "Oh, but you are, little human. You just don't realize it yet."
She raised her hand, light energy gathering around her fingers.
"Mittelt!" Raynare said sharply, finally looking away from her ritual.
Freed lowered his pistols with obvious disappointnt. "Aw, co on boss. Can't we at least cripple him a little more? He's so annoying."
"I said no," Raynare snapped. "We're not dealing with that monster over one pathetic human."
Mittelt changed her light energy from lethal to stunning. "This should be enough to put him down without killing him."
They're right, Issei thought bitterly. I'm completely useless. I can't even protect one person who matters to .
"I'm sorry, Asia-chan," he whispered, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry I'm such a loser."
Asia's scream of agony echoed through the basent as sothing golden and bright was torn from her chest. The light hovered above the altar for a mont before flowing into Raynare's waiting hands.
"NO! ASIA-CHAN!" Issei lunged forward despite his injuries, but Dohnaseek casually backhanded him, sending him flying across the room again.
This ti, when he hit the wall, he didn't get back up. Whatever power was supposed to be inside him remained locked away, useless.
Asia's eyes found his across the basent. She was dying - he could see that much - but instead of fear or pain, her expression held only concern for him.
"Issei-san," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "You shouldn't have co. I'm sorry you got hurt because of ..."
"No way... this is all my fault," he whispered back, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry I'm too weak to save you, Asia-chan. I'm a complete failure."
Mittelt prepared to fire her stunning blast. "Sweet dreams, little human. When you wake up, this will all be over."
The light energy began to charge. Issei closed his eyes, waiting for unconsciousness to take him.
That's when a calm, familiar voice cut through the basent air like a blade.
"Lesson one, Issei: Courage without power is just recklessness."
The temperature in the basent seed to drop as Leon Mishima stepped out of the shadows like he'd always been there. His golden hair caught the candlelight, and those amber eyes swept across the scene with cold calculation.
"Leon!" Issei gasped, struggling to lift his head from where he lay crumpled against the wall.
The fallen angels froze. Raynare's hands, still glowing with the stolen Sacred Gear, began to tremble. Kalawarner and Mittelt took instinctive steps backward. Even Dohnaseek, the largest of them, seed to shrink under Leon's gaze.
Only Freed looked confused. "Who the hell is this pretty boy? Another human?"
"Freed, shut up," Raynare hissed, her voice tight with fear. "That's Leon Mishima."
Leon's amber eyes moved to Asia, who lay motionless on the altar, her breathing shallow and labored. Sothing dangerous flickered across his expression.
"You've made several mistakes tonight," Leon said, his voice carrying an authority that filled the basent. "But the biggest one was thinking I wouldn't find out."
Freed, still not understanding the situation, raised his pistols. "Look, pretty boy, I don't care who you are. This is fallen angel business, so why don't you just—"
He never finished the sentence.
Leon moved faster than the eye could follow. One mont he was standing near the stairs, the next he was beside Freed, his hand wrapped around both of the man's wrists. The blessed pistols clattered to the floor.
"I wasn't talking to you," Leon said calmly, then squeezed.
The sound of breaking bones echoed through the basent. Freed scread, dropping to his knees as his wrists were crushed beyond repair.
"That's for shooting my friend," Leon said, releasing him. Freed collapsed, writhing in agony.
The fallen angels watched in horror, none of them daring to move.
"Now then," Leon continued, turning back to face them. "Let's discuss your options. You can return Asia's Sacred Gear, heal her injuries, and leave Japan forever. Or..." He paused, letting the threat hang in the air.
"We can't just give back Twilight Healing!" Mittelt protested. "We need it for—"
"For what?" Leon interrupted. "To impress Azazel? To prove you're still useful after failing so spectacularly at your original mission?"
Raynare flinched at the accuracy of his words.
"And if we refuse?" Dohnaseek asked, though his voice lacked conviction.
Leon smiled, and it was terrifying. "Then I'll demonstrate why even your leader gives a wide berth."
For a mont, the only sound in the basent was Freed's continued whimpering.
"We... we can't," Raynare said finally. "The extraction process is irreversible. Once a Sacred Gear is removed, the host dies. There's no way to—"
"That's where you are wrong," Leon said simply. He reached into his jacket and withdrew what looked like a small, crystalline device.
The device began to glow with soft, white light. Leon walked over to Asia and placed it against her chest. Imdiately, the golden light of Twilight Healing began to separate from Raynare's hands, drawn back toward its original host.
"Impossible," Kalawarner breathed. "What is that device?"
Leon kept silent. The stolen Sacred Gear flowed back into Asia, and color imdiately began returning to her face. Her breathing deepened, becoming more regular.
"But how—" Mittelt started.
"I've known about your little operation for weeks," Leon said, pocketing the device as Asia stirred. "Did you really think I'd let you harm soone under my protection without preparation?"
"Now you." He walked over to where Freed was still writhing on the ground and knelt beside him. "You shot my friend. Twice."
"Please," Freed gasped. "I was just following orders. I didn't know he was your—"
Leon placed his hand on Freed's broken wrists. "I'm not going to kill you," he said quietly. "But you're never going to hold a weapon again."
Light flowed from Leon's hands, but instead of healing, it seed to be doing sothing else. Freed scread as his hands were transford at the cellular level, the bone structure and muscle mory permanently altered.
When Leon stood up, Freed's hands were healed but completely useless for combat. They would function for basic tasks, but would never again be able to properly grip a weapon or form the precise hand positions needed for light-based attacks.
"A reminder," Leon said coldly. "For both of you and anyone else who might consider harming the people I protect."
The fallen angels stared in horror. They had never seen healing magic used as punishnt before.
"You have ten minutes to leave Japanese airspace," Leon continued. "If any of you are detected in this country again, I won't be so rciful."
One by one, the fallen angels began to retreat toward the basent exit. Raynare paused at the stairs.
"Why?" she asked. "Why didn't you just kill us? "
Leon looked at her for a long mont. "Because death is final. This way, you get to live with the consequences of your choices. You get to explain to Azazel how you failed not because your enemy was stronger, but because you were stupid enough to harm my people."
She flinched and hurried after the others.
Soon, only Leon, Issei, and Asia remained in the basent. Their injuries healed thanks to the Senzu beans.
"Leon," Issei said, struggling to his feet. "I... thank you. I couldn't do anything. I was completely useless."
"No, you weren't," Leon said, turning to face him. "You ca here knowing you'd probably die. You put yourself in danger to save soone you care about. That takes courage."
"But I was too weak. I couldn't even use whatever power awakened in during that fight with the monster."
Leon nodded thoughtfully. "Sacred Gears often require emotional triggers or specific conditions to manifest properly. Yours activated under extre stress, but without understanding how to control it, you couldn't access it again."
He looked directly at Issei. "That brings us to your choice. I offered to help you get stronger before. The offer still stands. But this ti, you know exactly what you're choosing between."
"What do you an?"
"Rias Gremory will likely approach you soon again," Leon explained. "She'll offer you again to make you a devil, to give you power through her evil pieces. It's a quick solution, but it cos with strings attached. Servitude. Eternal binding to her will."
Issei nodded, already knowing the consequences of that choice.
"Her offer would give you imdiate strength, but you'd lose your humanity in the process."
"And yours?"
"Training. Equipnt. Knowledge. Strength that you earn and control yourself." Leon's amber eyes were serious. "It won't be easy. It'll be harder than anything you've ever experienced. But you'll remain human, remain yourself."
Issei looked at Asia, who woke up and was listening intently to the conversation.
"If I work for you," Issei said slowly, "would I be able to protect people like Asia-chan?"
"If you're willing to put in the work, yes."
Issei didn't hesitate. "Then I choose you. I want to get stronger, but I want to stay human. I want to stay ."
Leon smiled. "Good choice."
He turned to Asia. "As for you, you're not safe here anymore. Other factions will have heard about tonight. You'll need protection."
"I don't have anywhere else to go," Asia said quietly.
"You do now," Leon said. "I have guest rooms at my estate. You'll be safe there while we figure out your long-term situation."
Asia's eyes filled with tears of gratitude. "Thank you, Leon-san. Both of you."
=====
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