"W... what am I doing here?"
Freed spoke in a confused tone as he glanced around at his surroundings.
Rias and her peerage were equally confused by the situation, but two people remained calm.
Gorou and Rei.
One knew the power of the Memory Gun and the other simply trusted his creator.
"Are you okay?" he asked, leaning toward Rei to inspect the wound.
"Sorry, I was... a novice," he replied in an apologetic tone.
Gorou smiled at the scarlet-haired devil. Unfortunately, this couldn't be observed because of the mask.
If Rei could see that, he would be very satisfied with his performance.
But this wasn't the time for post-war conversation, as they weren't out of danger.
"M... Mr. Hunter, why are you here?"
Issei almost called Gorou in his usual way, but quickly corrected himself.
"My new recruit sensed the stink of a fallen angel's light here, so I'm here," he said honestly.
Rogue exorcist weapons aren't totally identical to their Church counterparts.
One is recharged with Holy Power by an angel, and the other by a fallen one.
That's why Gorou is appreciated on the black market.
He gives independence to black priests, who were dependent on fallen angels.
An evil?
Very possible.
However, Gorou prefers to have these people on his side.
They're mostly people who hate the supernatural for personal reasons (a vendetta), and that's okay with Gorou.
Except in the current case, in this house:
A rogue exorcist, who kills a civilian.
If he had sold his soul, then okay.
However, Freed didn't have enough evidence.
Collateral damage? It's inevitable in the job, and Gorou has surely caused some himself, unintentionally.
But killing directly by assumption?
That kind of human deserves death or a reset.
Thus, Gorou hid the basic reason for his visit from Issei.
He just exposed the first current reason.
Issei wanted to speak more, but Akeno started pressing him and Rias.
"The fallen angels are getting closer... we need to leave."
A large amount of mana by Gorou's current standards had concentrated toward her.
'A teleportation spell' — the only logical conclusion he managed to reach.
The peerage was going to flee and leave him the fallen angels to handle.
"But Asia?!" Issei forgot about Gorou, but thought first of the young girl beside him.
'I hope he just trusts my strength and not his second brain.'
Gorou hoped for the first assumption, for the sake of his mental health.
After all, despite their little disagreement, he still believes in Issei Hyoudou, or his potential.
He's a pervert, that's certain.
But he remains a longinus user.
"There's no time, and my spell only works for devils who are members of the Gremory clan."
Gorou frowned at this magical restriction, but found it plausible in certain aspects.
Like for example the flyer that Issei distributes.
Gorou had studied it.
It does indeed allow summoning a member of the Gremory clan, but specifically under certain fixed conditions.
Otherwise, things become a bit random and depend on luck.
It's a kind of way to make a power as chaotic as imagination or demonic power, stable.
Setting restrictions or establishing logic.
"You see that, Rei? That's the magical crest of the Gremory clan and their magic..."
Gorou didn't hide his little magical lesson from his student, while Akeno prepared the spell.
His behavior annoyed Rias, but Gorou wasn't interested in her mood.
He just shared the theory behind the teleportation magic used by members of Rias's peerage and its restrictions.
After all, he plans to send Rei to the Bael clan sooner or later.
He must have some notion of classic demonic magic.
Finally, the teleportation spell was cast despite Issei's initial protests.
The latter changed his mind after being reprimanded by his mistress about dragging his entire peerage into a total fight against an unknown quantity of enemies.
"Don't worry Ise, I'll take good care of Asia~," he said toward his son.
The light of the teleportation magic engulfed him, but he raised a thumb toward Gorou.
'Yes, I'll take good care of her...'
No one could have predicted that Gorou held a small grudge from his argument with Miki.
"I told you kid, the supernatural isn't a game..."
Words not only for Issei, but meant for himself.
Bam
With a nonchalant gesture, he knocked out Freed.
The man was still lost by the "chaotic" and "random" situation from his point of view.
'I hope I didn't cause a cerebral hemorrhage with my bolt.'
He checked the former psychopath's head and breathed a small sigh of relief, as he was fine.
"You're Asia, right?"
At Gorou's sudden words, the beautiful young girl with long blonde hair seemed slightly confused.
Fortunately, it was only temporary.
"...y...yes, that's me," she said in a small voice.
"Can you get him back on his feet? And I'd also need you to..."
Gorou explained his plan to her regarding the imminent arrival of the fallen angels.
A simple plan, but one that guaranteed Asia's survival and freedom, sooner than expected.
"Master, I'm in condition to do it."
After being healed by the former Church sister, Rei firmly protested against the plan.
According to him, there weren't just four fallen ones arriving, but also a group of humans.
Rogue exorcists.
Of course, Freed was an anomaly in terms of power in the rank of rogue exorcists.
But Rei was unaware of this detail.
"Haha, you're an idiot... I should have worked on your IQ more."
The joke didn't hit its target.
Rei remained firm in his position.
"Sigh... listen to me," said Gorou, staring into the young devil's golden eyes.
"I appreciate your concern, but I've been through much worse, and that, well before you were even born."
It was a lie, but Rei didn't need to know that.
Gorou placed a hand on his firm shoulder.
"And don't forget this: trust is the ultimate form of loyalty."
After a brief hesitation, Rei grabbed Asia in his arms like a princess and fled with her.
'I have to get her to safety... and come back to help him.'
Rei didn't care about Asia's cries, caused by the crazy speed he was using to flee as quickly as possible.
For him, the essential thing was to quickly return to his master's rescue.
'I've only known this guy for a few days... and yet, he treats me better than the people from my two lives...'
Gorou smiled as he pulled out a cigarette.
No, he wasn't addicted to this thing.
At least, not in this life.
However, he always kept a pack within reach.
He removed his mask, took a puff, then carelessly threw the rest to start a fire.
Smoke.
"Thanks for your support, my boy... I really needed assistance."
A Bolter in one hand, a chainsword in the other, and a bag levitating thanks to magnetic technology attached to his back...
Gorou was ready.
"Prepare the countdown. Set it to three minutes," he ordered by voice command.
An initiative designed to allow him to use his tools without having to intervene directly.
On his backpack, a timer began to count down.
That night, Miki Hyoudou felt an unexplained worry.
A woman's instinct, a mother's instinct, can sometimes defy reason.