Chapter 9: Vol. 1 Prologue

Prologue

Part 1

3rd Person POV

 On the outskirts of the city of Tokyo, two people could be observed to be running into a mountain path that led to a large forest.

The weather was pretty bad, heavy rain kept falling continuously, hiding the only light source that could be found in the zone, moonlight, making it hard for the running duo.

At some distance away from them, a group of people chasing after them could be recognized. This group carried different types of illumination pieces of equipment, some were carrying flashlights, others carried lanterns, there was not a particular method they used to light their way.

The running duo consisted of male and female pairs, both looking to be in their twenties and having somewhat disheveled appearances.

The male had long black hair and eyes, with a rather tall height of 177cm. He was wearing clerical clothing, suggesting an affiliation with the church. Covered in a cold sweat, he had several cuts all over his body. Indicating he had a hard time fighting his aggressor or aggressors. In his hand, he held a sword that seemed to shine.

On the other hand, the female did not have that many wounds but she was pale and it seemed that running was taking all the effort she could muster, one of her hands was covering a particularly nasty wound in her stomach. She had long grey hair tied in a side braid, with gray eyes. She was wearing a white tunic shirt and black pants. And her height was lesser than her male companion at 172cm.

The group of people behind them all had similar outfits as the black-haired man, but compared to the state of the two in front, they did not seem to be as injured. Except for a man who had a long slash wound on his left arm, he had light brown hair and violet eyes, and even like that, the man kept moving at the front of the group.

As both parties kept running farther from civilization, the distance between them kept decreasing.

It was then when the female, or rather, the young woman slipped due to the wet ground or perhaps her body reaching its limits, making her companion stop to aid her.

Because of that slip, the group behind caught up to them. The young man stood up between the other group and the young woman to hide her behind him.

Gripping the handle of the sword he carried tighter due to the tension, he pointed the tip of his weapon at the group of people, in particular to the brown-haired man at the front.

While the rest of the people who came were not easy to deal with, that man was on another level compared to the others.

The young man was familiar with the abilities of the brown-haired man since they used to have a boss and subordinate relationship.

As the young man kept looking left and right for any possible attacks, the brown-haired man spoke.

"Masaomi, please stop this already. The person who saved you before is gone. The result won't change anymore even if you keep running. You are just making this harder for both of us". The brown-haired man said in a fatigued voice.

Whether he was fatigued due to the persecution of his subordinate or his injuries depleted his vigor is not clear, but the brown-haired man still held on.

"I am sorry, but I can't just accept that decision. I love this woman with all my heart so I cannot allow any of you to kill her for that ridiculous reason. Protecting her is something I will do until my last breath". The young man, Masaomi, exclaimed. 

He could still stand pretty much by relying on his force of will. The injuries he sustained in earlier fights were affecting him more than he would like to admit.

Even his lover, Cleria was not in better shape. Devils had a severe weakness to holy weapons and anything related to God. As such, while she does not have many wounds, the ones she sustained had been slowly draining her strength. Masaomi doesn't know how long the two of them will be able to hold if they don't receive treatment, but the situation won't allow it.

They were being surrounded little by little and a fight could break out at any moment. Unfortunately, he does not believe that a miracle will happen twice.

The last time, the two were almost killed but were saved by a black-haired woman. He admits that he was somewhat stunned by her appearance, although she was particularly attractive, what stunned him was that she was a pretty strong youkai, which he was told later by her. Aiding them in their escape was more than he could've asked but she even treated their injuries. Before she left, the woman even gave them a vial of Phoenix Tears to help them; he really couldn't thank her enough for all she did for them.

Regardless of that lucky encounter, the situation reached this point again. The church invested a lot of manpower to take care of him and Cleria.

Upon hearing the words of his ex-subordinate, a pained look appeared on the face of the brown-haired man.

"Why do insist on doing this? Why didn't you heed my warnings? Getting close to a devil will lead you towards your doom. I told you that many times". The brown-haired man muttered in an anguished tone.

Hearing the words of the brown-haired man, no, Touji, Masaomi did not know how to reply. It was as his former superior was saying, many times he was told what the consequences would be if he continued his relationship with Cleria, but he did not listen. He did not want to. 

Masaomi believed that he was not doing anything wrong.

Countless times during his training in the church they were taught how devils are the root of all evil, and how they should be eliminated, but that was not true. He has confirmed with his owns eyes how kind Cleria is, and how far off she was from the description given by the church. While he can't outright deny that there might be evil devils, there are good devils as well. It was the same with human beings, after all, even inside their church, there were people like that.

"Enough of this, Even if I explain it to you again, and again, it won't change anything. You will still try to get rid of us". Masaomi exclaimed a moment later.

He was bidding his time to catch his breath the best he could before they attacked. However, Cleria's and his condition were not good enough to allow them to wait for too long. Cleria was not able to join the fight as she was given how serious her state was.

Taking a look behind him to ensure how she is doing, he saw her smiling bitterly. She couldn't speak but he could understand that she tried to speak due to the movement of her lips. She seemed to be saying 'I am sorry for dragging you into this. You should escape alone if you leave me here. You can make it'. Grief could be seen in her expression when she tried to convey that.

Her appearance as she said that pained his heart, but he could not allow that. Abandoning her was not an option since the start.

Those words strengthened his resolve to fight until his last breath for her, all for letting her escape.

"I understand. The higher-ups decided that your relationship can become a problem. That is why... I will have to kill you. I am sorry, Masaomi ". The brown-haired man, no, Touji, said.

Drawing his weapon and pointing it at the two in front, Touji planned to take it upon him to kill both of them.

It is not something that makes him proud, but the orders are orders. All for maintaining the peace, the least he can do is to do the deed himself, the weight of killing a comrade has to be carried only by him.

"Touji-san, we should take care of this now. Although we have not found any clues of that woman being here, that does not mean she cannot arrive any minute that we spent talking". One of the priests who came with Touji anxiously urged.

As Touji himself, they were priests that did exorcist jobs.

Nodding in acknowledgment, he accepted the words of one of the new subordinates that he got for this mission. 

He gave a signal for the rest to cover any escape route.

Last time the duo got away at the last minute after a woman interfered, and although she did not kill anyone from his side, many were injured badly. None of them could join for today's operation.

"The same as last time, I will take of them. I don't want any of you interfering". Touji exclaimed as he steeled himself for what is to come.

However, as both parties were about to confront each other, something happened.

"Ahhhhh"

"Urghhh"

"My shoulder! It's caught in my shoulder!!!"

"My leg!"

“We are under attack! Everyone, take cover".

Screams and shrieks of pain were heard.

Touji changed his focus to what was occurring.

A glance to the location of the screams, he could see a number of his subordinates with arrows piercing their arms, legs, and chest.

An absurd situation was unfolding. They did not detect anyone nearby that could be the attacker. No sound of the attack was heard either. The rain did not seem to be only unfavorable for the duo now.

Raising his sword in a hurry, he was lucky to party an arrow flying his way when he was distracted.

"Everyone! Take cover using the trees around us! Locate the shooter and prepare to intercept him". Touji yelled hastily after getting his bearings again. The panic must be avoided at all costs when an ambush occurs.

He also moved to take cover. Analyzing what happened so far, he thought of who could be trying to attack them.

Just by the number of arrows, you can tell that there is only one shooter, two at most. None of the arrows seemed to be lodged in any vital points since his subordinates have not informed him of any casualty. They seemed to aim to incapacitate them.

Briefly, he recalled what happened before, an archer started shooting from far away and that's when that woman appeared to save Masaomi and the devil Cleria.

However, this seemed somewhat different.

The arrows are not being shot as fast as he recalls. The last time, more than half of his subordinates had been incapacitated before they discovered the attack.

If this is the woman from before, they would have to retreat.

He can't be certain as he did not fight her, but that woman seemed too strong. They had refused to retreat before and she just kept shooting arrows at them. However, there were no casualties among them. She was just playing around with them. It was not until they started to escape that he caught a glimpse of her. Soundlessly appearing near Masaomi and Cleria and taking the two away. An enemy that was way above their league was the feeling she gave of. What this attack her doing?

As Touji struggled to decide the next course of action, a new development happened.

"Hiding is no use, the arrows pierced through the trees!"

"Argh, what's wrong with these arrows?"

"Help! Help! I got shot on both legs, I need help!"

New screams were heard. The arrows were not stopped by the trees, which strengthened his belief that the woman was behind this.

Touji had to consider the safety of his people for now, although no casualties came due to the arrows, there was a small possibility that taking too long would leave long-lasting effects.

"Everyone, retreat! Contact the other teams and have them come to aid us with the injured". Touji shouted.

On the other side, Masaomi and Cleria were not harmed by the arrows.

Masaomi and Cleria had the same doubts as Touji, and although they could not see the full scene due to the low visibility caused by the heavy rain. It was a familiar situation for them.

They could see nearby exorcists attempting to take cover from the arrows using the trees, but failing to do so since the arrows when through the trees. They also heard the shrieks of pain from the distance.

Taking this as an opportunity, Masaomi picked up Cleria in his arms and ran as far as he could in the opposite direction from his former comrades.

Not being sure if it was that woman helping them again, he just ran.

His priority right now was to take his lover to a safe place, and right now the city is not an option due to the number of exorcists sent to deal with them.

...

...

...

After who knows how much time running, he had to come to a stop. In front of him, an individual was holding a bow. However, it was not the woman from before.

The figure was much smaller, it had a child-sized body, and was wearing a black hakama and a white haori. With short black hair, his height was around 120cm, and he was holding a bow that seemed to be too big for him.

He could see those cat-like green eyes that seemed to shine in the dark staring at him.

The presence he felt from that child was very odd. Judging by his presence, he did not look stronger than Low-class, but his aura felt similar to even more powerful individuals. Middle-class perhaps? It did not make sense.

As he kept staring at the figure in front, studying him, he could tell that he was being stared back. The figure of the child walked closer and took something out of his sleeve. After looking at Masaomi and what he brought out a couple of times... the child sighed. 

When Masaomi thought of moving away from the child-

"Over here, stranger. Follow me. You won't get far on your own”. The child muttered as he tilted his head.

Then Masaomi saw him turning around to walk deeper into the mountain. While glancing back a few times his way to see whether or not he was following him.

Biting his lips, he wondered if he should go along with the child's proposal, to follow after him. But looking at the woman in his arms, he knew that they needed to rest somewhere and try to deal with their injuries somehow. Not to mention that this weather did not help their current state. The cold was affecting him already so he can imagine that Cleria must be having it much worse.

Hugging her strongly for a moment, he decided to follow the child.

There was no malice coming from him, and although he could not read that many emotions in their short encounter, he would like to believe that this will be a good choice.

Thinking back, that child had a bow. It made him wonder if he was the one who helped them, but since he did not mention anything Masaomi did not speak about it either.

With those thoughts and many others, Masaomi carrying Cleria in his arms followed after that child.

It was not until much later that he learned that this child and the woman who aided them before were mother and son, both whom he came to be greatly indebted to.

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??? POV

Watching from the beginning to the end how the spectacle unfolded by using magic and flying at a high altitude, a man with bat-like wings held a transmitter in his hands and was talking to someone.

"They got away a second time, at the last minute they received help again". The man reported.

From the transmitter he carried, soon there was a response.

"...Was it the same person from before the one who helped them?" A male voice inquired.

"No, this time it was a child, although he also similarly used a bow to that woman. He is planning on lending those two a hand. If it continues like that, I won't be able to retrieve their bodies". The man with bat-like wings explained.

"I don't need you to tell me that. Getting our hands on the body of a Belial is something hard to come by since the war finished long ago. For now, continue to observe them, try to find out what you can from that child. That woman was a good specimen; if they have some kind of relationship then we could use the kid to attract her". The male voice from the transmitter ordered before cutting the communication.

"So it will have to be that way... Naberius-sama". The man muttered while he looking in the direction his three targets went.

Part 2

MC’s POV

Arriving at an abandoned sawmill located deep in the mountain at the outskirts of Tokyo. I was leading the injured couple to the makeshift base I made inside. There wasn't much I could offer them in terms of hospitality, but the place was properly cleaned by me, at least part of it, where I have been sleeping.

It's been a few days since I left Urakyoto, getting out of there was too easy so much that I almost thought that it was some kind of trap.

Hiding my ears and tails, I moved absentmindedly through the streets of Kyoto, not minding the weird stare I got from time to time. I found this somewhat embarrassing, but a couple of times, police officers would get close to me and ask me if I was lost, not forgetting to question me about the bow I carried. A lost child, I recall that I saw some children getting far away from their parents, but to think it would happen to me here.

I will keep this memory to myself.

Well, after those things happened, I finally hid my bow and quiver with Youjutsu. I had learned several spells, but nothing high-leveled since my focus during training was not in that. It was a low-level concealment spell that made me difficult to see for normal people and it also included objects I carried on me.

To be honest, it is just messing with others people's perceptions, since there are other more distracting things to hear and see, you can move quietly and no one would notice. It is not like it makes you invisible or makes you vanish out of the air though. Maintaining the spell continuously is a piece of cake for the current me with newly raised Ki reserves, although it isn’t like they become limitless, I can sort of going through the situation I got involved in the Underworld and I would last until the end with running of Ki. Yes, a piece of cake.

Hmmm... cake.

*Cough*

Putting that aside, I couldn't just ask for a ride so I sneaked inside the first vehicle I found coming to Tokyo. This time, my cat form shone like never before, a compact form. Yeah, it would've been nice if the bow and quivers wouldn't have been left in front of the transformed me, although the transformation spell covered my clothes, it seemed to have its limits, or maybe I lacked in my training at that spell. 

After changing back, I attached the bow and quiver on top of the car, hiding them from other people also had to be done. It was tougher than I thought.

Maybe I should've used the... No, no. I still couldn't get used to the idea of riding trains again.

...

...

...

Just as I was nearing Tokyo, I got down from the car I used.

Changing my shape back, I took out the token and confirmed that Kaa-san's signal was in the direction I was going, but sneaking in the city proved to be too hard from the place I came from. Sensing something weird, I spread my Ki in my surroundings to detect whatever could be around, and then I found what seemed to be hidden magic circles. I had seen some people in Urakyoto using it so I couldn’t mistake it.

I couldn't tell their use though; I haven't learned magic at all so far. Just trying to feel the magic power is what Kaa-san allowed me to do while she found a suitable teacher.

I recalled that Yasaka-san mentioned how the church had some business in Tokyo, and how they did not allow others to interfere. Going with that logic, these magic circles must be either trap to catch trespassing individuals or some kind of alarm.

If they did not allow Yasaka-san's subordinates for an official business, I doubt they would let me in either, which left me with no other choice than to look for a gasp I could exploit.

...

...

...

It was not until a couple of days later that I noticed that part of the magic circles were destroyed somehow. I could constantly check the location of the tracking token but I could not access the city easily. That is why as soon as I found a gap; I went to take a look.

However, after following the signal from the tracker, I found a group of exorcists following a pair of a male and a woman.

They were all quite easy to spot by the way. They carried some sort of lighting equipment, magical or not, making them easier to locate as they stood out in the terrible weather we had that night.

I had a good night vision but I was not sure why considering that cats could not see in the dark. Maybe supernatural beings had those sorts of abilities?

Changing my focus to them again, I watched the large group of people chasing after those two, and all that was observed from a long distance, using my Clairvoyance's Farsight. I learned to reduce the burden it has on my body by using Senjutsu to enhance my vision, although I can't use it for long periods yet, I was successful in prolonging the earlier limit.

Originally, I did not plan to involve myself with those people but seeing the pair that were injured, and seeing how desperately they ran even in the rain, I could not help but want to meddle, besides, the tracker token pointed their way.

Taking a moment to rest my eyes, I took action.

Getting as close as possible without making my presence known, using concealment spells helped a bit, not to mention the heavy rain.

I raised my bow and aimed as I used my ability again, it was a really useful skill to be able to see unhindered by any obstacles.

The rest was pretty easy.

I was not aiming to kill since I still don't know the full story, I also feared getting completely on their bad side, because if the church came full force after me, I don't think I could run from them forever. It could also implicate the youkais, particularly Yasaka-san if they track my movements back.

While I tried to shoot areas where the injury wouldn't be lethal, or just hoping to incapacitate them, I did not always hit where I wanted. Having few years of practice is not enough for such a feat; it was even a miracle that I did not miss that many shots.

There was a moment when they tried to use the trees to take cover, but to be honest, it was useless. After I imbued Ki in the arrows, they can pretty much pierce through things like trees easily.

It was something I did since I first took my bow so I was pretty good at controlling the amount I poured into them. Adding too much and they could break down or explode, and too little would make them get stuck somewhere before arriving at the target.

Hmmm... Aren't I kind of awesome?

*Cough* *cough*

I kept doing that in hopes that it would give time for those two to leave but they did not use the opportunity. Only when the others retreated was that they began to move.

Even when I was a little surprised why the exorcists left that easily, I decided to worry about that later. There was a more important matter for me to deal with.

Waiting for the two to get close enough, I met them face to face.

Confirming once again with the token, I could only sigh in disappointment when the signal came from them.

It seemed that Kaa-san found out my petty trick.

Looking at the injured duo, I thought of asking but they did not seem to be in shape to answer any questions so I just decided to treat them.

Feeling pity for them was one reason, but learning why they had Kaa-san's token is a more important reason. Using a phrase from I game I once played, I told the guy to follow me. My face was probably a little strange at that time but I acted like there was nothing wrong.

The woman in his arms did not look good so I did not expect an answer from her, but the man did not say anything either when I spoke.

Somehow, these two gave me the feeling of familiarity, two people being chased by the church... Eh? No way.

Part 3

MC’s POV

As soon as I finished guiding the two to a small room that probably used to be the sawmill workers' changing room, I helped the man to lay down the woman on the makeshift bed I made.

There was not much I could do about the wet clothes, other than getting some wood laying around the place and starting a small fire to help them to dry their attire.

...

...

…

Before starting to ask questions, I needed to treat these two, in particular the woman who looked pretty bad.

The damage was not as 'simple' as a stab wound, because the injury seems to be affecting her much more than it would usually do for something of that level.

"Hey! What are you doing?" The young-looking man exclaimed in an angry tone after he saw me starting to touch the woman's injury.

He kept silent all the way here so this is the first time I heard him say a word.

"I am trying to check how bad her injury is". I replied but I did not stop.

*Groan*

I am only lightly touching the wound but she was already groaning in pain, it was not even that deep.

"Leave her alone, you are hurting her. I will do it". The guy exclaimed again before grabbing my shoulder and lightly pushing me aside.

He began to do pretty much the same as me with no different reaction.

*Sigh*

I have seen this plenty of times when Kaa-san treated people occasionally. The family or friends would meddle before Kaa-san gave a proper diagnostic.

I know he does not trust me, but it irritates me to see this.

"That woman, she is not a human right?" I asked him to confirm a doubt I had. She gave me a familiar feeling, which is not possible since I have never met her before. However, maybe it is not her aura what I found familiar but something else. If I were to say, she is like... Hmmm... Ah, I know, she is a devil. Grayfia-san, Rias-chan, and Sona-chan give a similar feeling.

At my words, the man visibly flinched and turned his head my way. Wariness could be seen written all over his face.

"Did I ask something I shouldn't have? I have nothing against non-humans so you don't have to worry". I told him while raising my arms in a sign of surrender. The grip his hand has on his sword pretty much told me that he would strike if I spoke the wrong words. I still need to ask them some stuff so I don't want a fight to break out.

Looking at me suspiciously he did not lower his guard.

"Hey, I saved you back there, and I am offering you some refuge from the rain. I mean no harm. I wanted to treat both of your injuries". I tried to explain my point to him. If he still insists on fighting then I won't have another choice than to do it. I practiced a lot my hand-to-hand combat skills and combined with my other abilities I should be able to deal with this guy as he is now if things go south, although I should not lower my guard even if he is injured somewhat. Injured animals can be deadly, no matter how small.

Narrowing his eyes at me, he just kept glaring at me.

"You saved us? You are saying that you shot all those arrows? Why did you do it?" He asked.

Hmmm, I guess that he doubts I saved them out of goodwill. Can't say I 100% did it out of the kindness of my heart but-

"Ok, you might have your right to doubt me. However, I truly did it. You got to believe me for now. I also can heal her somehow. You can't treat her on your own, right? Give me a chance first, we can talk later. She needs help so let's focus on that". I tried to explain one last time if this doesn't work. I will follow the phrase 'strike first, ask later'. Sometimes a simple method is easier than using too many words.

Perhaps understanding that I could be saying the truth, he eased his grip on his sword. Moving away from the woman, he gave me some space. Although he still kept his hand close to the handle of his sword. No doubt that he will strike if I try anything funny.

*Sigh*

A sigh of relief left my lips unconsciously.

Helping them because I found their situation pitiful aside. You have a higher chance of obtaining information from someone willing to talk than someone unwilling.

Taking my earlier position again, I start the process to heal her. She is looking pretty weak so I should hurry.

Covering my hands with Ki, I press them on the injured part. Ki is life force, so boosting vitality is one of the basic things you can do. Close contact is still the most effective method I can use. So I began to try to mend the wound but I had some trouble, the tissue is not responding as fast as it should.

Exorcists and devils, huh. If you connect the dots, you can guess what kind of wound this is. Devils are extremely weak to holy weapons and artifacts, and a lower version of those, light weapons. They inflict pretty nasty wounds on devils. 

After my little adventure at the Underworld, I took my time studying what I could about them. Their weakness was the same I recalled from the novel, and now in my hands, there is a clear example of what they have to suffer. Nevertheless, she wouldn't be in this state just from one wound from some light weapon. Was this made with something stronger than that? How nasty.

In my pouch, I still have two vials of Phoenix Tears. Should I use them? No, for now, I will continue using simply the healing techniques I was taught by Kaa-san.

Using the common method of spreading Ki in a large area is not working. So I changed my approach. I began to mend the wound little by little using very thin strings of Ki. Skin can be said to be made of multiple layers so I had to work with one at a time. I am trying to connect the tissue, similar to sewing or weaving cloth, just that in this case, it is skin and tissue.

It is a process that takes too much time and focuses so it is not available anytime. This is how Kaa-san reattaches limbs. I think it is slight 'overkill' to use this technique here, but I only was taught the basics in every area so I have no much choice. I have never had treated something like this before, so I would prefer to use the hard-to-use-but-effective-method than the easier one that I am not sure if it'll work.

Little by little, the wound began to close, and with that my reserves were running low again. It has a terrible consumption, not to mention that I still wasted a great deal of Ki during the process. I need more training.

I decided to stop when I almost closed the wound. I can't let my Ki reserves run dry just like that, and besides, she is doing much better already and doesn't look to be in danger for the time being.

When I tried to move away from her I noticed that I was covered in sweat. This is still beyond me, I guess. Thankfully the injury was not that big. It was probably made with a knife or a thin sword... maybe the tip of a lance? I am not interested in knowing for now.

"She is now in a much better state, but keep an eye on her for now just in case". I said this to the man who wanted to ask about her, just before he said a word.

The process left me slightly exhausted, mostly mentally since I still kept a portion of my Ki so I wanted to recover for a bit.

...

...

…

After taking a moment to rest, I began to recover my Ki through meditation. You can do it on your own without any actual meditation but the rate at which it recovers is slower. In my case, I have gotten used to gathering the Ki in my surroundings to refill mine, making the recovery faster than at the beginning, although I keep wondering if there are ways to improve this method. Stopping in the middle of a fight to meditate is asking to get killed so it is not possible. There was also the natural recovery where my reserves would recover without any external help, but it is a method that usually works overnight.

There were still the injuries of the man I had to take care of along with finishing with the woman. However, that will be taken care of when I get my answers.

"I think we can get to the part where we talk already, don't you think?". I said to the man who spent all the time I was resting staring at me or taking care of the woman.

"Are you really a kid?" The man asked in a doubtful tone.

Not sure if that's what you should be asking.

"Don't you think that we should discuss something different?" I replied a little dumbfounded by his first question.

"Sorry, you are right. We should go with this in order. Thank you for your help. I am not sure why you did it, but there is no doubt that you have lent us a hand when we needed it". The man spoke in a sincere tone, bowing his head a little, only to grimace in pain. His wounds are still not treated. Hang in there for a little more.

His thanks felt a little itchy considering that I was not doing this 100% out of goodwill.

“Don't mention it. I do have some questions I want to ask you. Do you happen to have something like this?" I said while showing him my token.

Taking a moment to look at it he then answered.

"We do have one. We were told that following the way it pointed after arriving at Kyoto would lead us to a safe place if we somehow delivered this to a woman named Yasaka, but you are not Yasaka from what I can see". The man muttered while frowning.

I knew that she would find out sooner or later but it is still depressing to hear the confirmation.

Wait, she left it in their care?

"I am indeed not called Yasaka, but never mind that. Do you know where the person who gave you that is?" I asked as I stored the token into my sleeve again during the question.

Closing his eyes for a long time which made me doubt whether he fell unconscious or not, the man just remained silent.

"I am looking for her. I need to find her. It is very important, please. If you know anything..." I pleaded the best I could.

Being at loss is very difficult. My only clue was this thing. My previous world was big enough but this world is even bigger so finding her won't be easy, although I already knew that.

Seeing as the man remained silent until now, he is either reluctant to tell me something he knows or does not know anything at all.

I could only bit my lips at that if he knows something-

"Why are you looking for her?" He suddenly asked.

Why? There is no need to think about an answer.

"To bring that idiot back home before she does something stupid". I said with vigor in my voice. Yes, I just want to bring her back safe, and stop her from doing whatever she is trying to do.

That silly woman is probably doing something that she thinks is the best. But I am sure that there were other ways, one that does not include going alone furtively and sneakily.

When I find her I will scold her for her foolish actions, but first I will give her a tight hug. That silly woman left me alone. 

Perhaps my words seemed to convince the man since he replied.

"To be honest, she also told us that there was a possibility that someone will come looking for her. Whoever comes, will use something similar to what she lent us to find us. She also said that the person entrusted with it will be trustworthy". The man explained.

Not sure what is the point of all this. She already knew that someone will come for her before giving the token to them so Kaa-san probably wanted to help these two.

"Well, don't put that face. I will get to the point. It is as you might've guessed already. She told us to ask for help from you, and that woman called Yasaka. However, the important thing is that we tell her a message". The man spoke.

Tell something to Yasaka-san? Did Kaa-san leave some sort of clue about her location?

"Tell me about it". I immediately inquired.

"I am sorry if you are expecting something grand but it is a simple message where she says to go to a location. I wasn't told what you would find there, but she was very specific. I can only tell that woman. That is what I know". The man explained.

What a bothersome thing. He does not look like he is going to tell me anything more.

"Very well, if that is what she wanted, I have nothing to say then". I said as I stood up and went near the woman again to finish taking care of her wound.

During my meditation, there was something that bugged me about the time I was healing the woman, something about finding healing her too 'easy'. Although the process was complicated, I did not find any traces of what caused the damage, the holy 'aura' that made the injury much worse. I suspected that it was her effort to get rid of it that made it 'easier' for me. To push away foreign energies is very tricky so she had already finished part of the process to recover. I can't get ahead of myself thinking I can deal with any case I find, this time, it was thanks to her that all went smoothly.

Quickly taking care of the woman since I almost finished the procedure before, I moved to deal with the man.

No matter what, if Kaa-san left a message for Yasaka-san with them, then I will hear about it when I take these two to her, I have nothing to do here anymore after all, although I am not sure if I will survive her rage when she catches me later.

"Thanks for your help again. I am Masaomi by the way... Hmmm, Did I say something strange?" The man, no, Masaomi-san asked bewildered.

You could say it is because of the face I am making. With my left eyebrow twitching along with my lips, I had stopped applying my Ki. As expected, these two were whom I thought.

"No, I just remembered something". I just kept using a simple method to heal his injuries.

I won't retort. My presence here was already bringing changes anyways.

"I see...? Well, my lover Cleria is resting over there. I... We..." Masaomi-san wanted to say something but he was at loss for words.

"I know that she is not human. I don't mind it. In case you ask, I won't inquire about your situation either. It is up to you to decide whether you want to tell me or not". I said.

I have two cute devil friends as well so I don't mind it. To begin with, I am not a human either. I also didn't care about their circumstances. Everyone has their problems to deal with.

"I see..." Masaomi-san quietly muttered.

No more words were shared.

...

...

My objective changed somehow from coming to find Kaa-san to taking these two to meet Yasaka-san to learn what she said to them.

*Sigh*

I won't deny that I thought of taking a more violent route to find out what they knew. However, I can't guarantee that what they tell me is what she truly said, not to mention that I am not like those guys in the movies where they can 'extract' information from people like they were experts. Besides, if Kaa-san saved them, I would like to respect her choice. Even I found their story in the novel really sad. I was not sure if it was the same here, but I would like to do something about it.

So, for now, I will lend them a hand until I learn what I need.

...

…

...

It's been a few hours since I brought the pair of lovers into 'my' base. The rain is still pretty intense, making everything feel peaceful. However, I believe that the people of the church will come knocking into 'my' door as soon as it calms down.

A group of priests doing this in my previous world would've been seen only in a movie, but here it is different.

Confirming the state of these two, Cleria-san was still unconscious, and Masaomi-san was trying to fight against his fatigue. Even though I tried to share some of my Ki to relieve his fatigue, it was for naught since his mind was exhausted as well. While I can calm the mind, Kaa-san always warned me to never mess with the mind of others, Ki might be made of positive energy, but not everything in our bodies can be compensated or fixed by using it, sometimes using it could cause serious damage if we use to push past certain limits. In particular, if we use on people who are not used to handling the energy.

Hopefully, these two will recover somewhat before tomorrow. I don't think I will be able to do much against such a large number of exorcists like the ones from before on my own.

I moved closer to Masaomi-san and used my Ki to relax his mind enough so he could sleep. He was in such a bad state that he did not even react to my movements.

He must’ve been pushing himself past his limits for quite some time if his body fell this easily.

It made me think that he tried hard for his lover.

...

...

…

Morning came but the weather was still cloudy.

I was confirming the weather outside the makeshift base. It was not a sunny day, but we will have to move anyways.

"Are you guys sure you can move like that?" I asked the couple that walked closer to me.

Masaomi-san was still looking tired but he was in a much better state than before, he should be able to move with no trouble. Cleria-san on the other hand seemed to have trouble walking, so I doubt she would be able to run if the situation required it. If a fight broke out, what will we do about her?

Noticing me looking at her, Cleria-san who was still somewhat pale, spoke.

"Don't worry about me. I might not look like it, but I am pretty strong, this is not- Urgh". Cleria-san tried to act tough only to grimace in pain for moving too quickly.

I felt somewhat guilty after seeing that, it was proof that I am still lacking in my skills.

"Cleria-san..." Masaomi-san muttered in worry while he tried to offer his help to his lover.

I recall that she was a High-class devil so I won't doubt her 'strength', but she was injured badly just yesterday so I don't think she should try to act tough.

"Please don't play around. I treated Cleria-san, and know that you are still too weak to do any forced movement or activity. I would prefer that you stayed lying in bed until you made a complete recovery. However, the situation won't allow it. Take these". I made an effort to scold the devil woman.

 Cleria-san was quite reckless from what I heard from Masaomi-san. Taking a hit aimed at him, even though it was from a holy sword, that's some severe death wish coming from a devil.

Handing them those accursed pills to fill their stomachs since we won't have any other source of food out there (or rather we don't have time to look for one), I took mine in one gulp to avoid tasting it.

"These are nutritional pills. They work as a single meal so we don't have to worry about an empty stomach as we move". I explained.

Maybe because they saw me swallow one before and they judged that they were not dangerous, or they simply trusted my words so they swallowed them, but they treated them like some candy. It was a terrible choice.

"*Cough* *cough* what is this thing, poison?" Cleria-san managed to say as she kept coughing and spitting.

I know what you mean.

"Is this something made for people's consumption?" Masaomi-san, who kept a stoic face to avoid doing the same as his lover, asked.

Seriously, I wonder about that.

"They taste awful, but they work. I seriously would offer you something better, but this is all I got". I said apologetically.

"You could've warned us though". Cleria-san, who finally stopped coughing and spitting, complained.

Masaomi-san did not say anything but his gaze seemed to agree with what his lover said.

Of course, I-

"Now then, since that's out of the way. Shall we move out? We need to cover a lot of ground while we can". I walked away.

-ignored that.

I lead the way, planning to use Senjutsu to sense any presence in my surroundings, along with my Clairvoyance. I continued walking without looking back. I mean, even without glancing back I could tell that those two were looking at me begrudgingly.

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

???’s POV

You are reading story Highschool DxD: A new opportunity at novel35.com

"It looks like those two were treated during the night. The Belial woman still doesn't look completely recovered but the man appears to be fine". The devil man, who was spying the trio from distance using magic, reported.

In his hand, he held a transmitter.

"I am not interested in the man, but he could prove to be troublesome to handle. Soon the exorcists will probably interfere again, so you won't have the opportunity to step into the fray to take the woman and the child. I will leave the decision of who to take to you. That Belial is important, but if we can use the child to lure that other woman it would be worthy too. Just make sure that you can capture the target". The voice from the transmitter uttered.

The man who was tasked with the mission considered his choices but ultimately decided to go with waiting for the best opportunity. It did not matter who he chooses, as long as he doesn't fail then everything will be fine.

Noticing how the trio was moving further away, he began to follow them. If he is too far, then no matter how favorable the situation becomes for him. He won't be able to use it.

Part 4

MC’s POV

Walking for about an hour, I could finally see some movement at the distance from those exorcists. It tired my eyes somewhat to use my ability too often, but it helped me to find them from a longer distance than from what my Ki can sense. It won't be long before they find us if they spread to search the zone. Even if we are far from them now, there is a limit to how much we can move before they discover us.

"It seems your 'friends' have started to look for you again". I said to the duo that walked behind me.

Masaomi-san did not get what I mean at once, but his lover was quicker on the uptake.

"Are you talking about the people from the church?" Cleria-san asked in a serious tone.

"Yes, they will probably catch us soon. Do you want to try to cover as much distance as we can before they find us or do you want to wait and prepare an ambush for them? Either way, they will catch up to us". I replied while listing my ideas as well.

I would prefer the second one. My quiver still has plenty of arrows so I could snipe from them a long distance to restrain their movements, although I didn't have yesterday's advantage, the weather. Without the bad weather, their visibility should go up so they will be able to respond better to my attack and I might end up wasting my advantage.

That said, I am still a novice in what concerns battles. Not to mention, Masaomi-san worked for the church before so he must be more familiar with them.

The more information I have before I choose what to do, the better.

Gazing at each other for a moment, Masaomi-san and Cleria-san seemed to come to a silent agreement.

"Let's move as far as we can". Masaomi-san declared.

Furrowing my eyebrows at his answer, I questioned him.

"Isn't it better to lay in wait?" I doubtfully asked.

This time with a somewhat bitter smile, Cleria-san answered me.

"We tried that before, but they have too many people. After the first wave finds us, the others start to gather. They have their base in the city, as long as we remain around the outskirts, they will easily swarm us". Cleria-san explained.

That sounds troublesome, if this was an RPG, having enemies comes in such a large number would be perfect to raise our level. However, this was real life and the situation was more like a nightmare.

"Alright, I will do as you said then. I will try to avoid them the best I can. Masaomi-san will have to carry Cleria-san so we can move at jogging speed". I suggested to the couple.

"Wait, I have been meaning to ask you. Are you able to tell where they are?" Masaomi-san inquired.

Oh, I never explained before.

"I can somewhat sense their presence, but never mind that. They will catch us if we start chatting". I hurried the man.

Not going to explain every single thing I can do to them. It would take time, and we weren’t that close to each other.

Looking at Cleria-san who just shrugged her shoulders, Masaomi-san smiled wryly and went to carry her on his back.

Confirming that he was prepared to run, I used a bit of Senjutsu to raise my physical somewhat and began running, taking into account not to lose those two as we moved.

I was tempted to jokingly say ‘Can you follow my lead?’, but I think it was not the time. 

...

...

We kept moving forward, backward, and forward again. Sometimes going left, other times going right then left again. In short, we moved from one way to another to avoid the exorcists, although it seemed that the closer they get to us, the easier they were having it to find us. So far, our pursuers have narrowed the distance considerably, but there was still a long way before we reach Kyoto.

We might have to fight soon.

...

...

…

"Wait, a small group will be coming from our left in a minute, we won't be able to avoid them. There are three of them". I said to the duo as I stopped running.

"Are you sure that there are only three?" Masaomi-san who came to stop as well inquired.

For someone who is not at his peak, he was still able to keep running all this while carrying his lover. He is strong.

"I won't get that wrong. Let us quickly take care of them. It will be better than having them chase us from behind". I proposed my idea.

A small group should be easy to take care of.

"We don't have a choice, stay behind with Cleria, I will cover you while you shoot". Masaomi-san declared while letting Cleria-san down and pulling out his sword.

I could fight with something other than my bow, however, if there will be more fights ahead, I should be careful of using too many spells.

Taking a position besides Cleria-san, who remained silent with clenched fists, I aimed my bow to the location where the group will be coming from.

"They will be here in 3, 2, 1!" I warned.

Two of them appeared first each wielding light swords, they had a medium build and had foreigner appearances.

As soon as he saw them, Masaomi-san dashed to take care of the one on the left. In order words, I had to deal with the one on the right.

I shot him on the leg to stop his movements so I could focus on the last one of the three, who did not come out yet.

"Ahhh!" He screamed in pain.

The other one was probably using the trees as a cover.

Swiftly using my ability to see through the trees, I found him holding a gun.

Before he could take a shot at us, I put another arrow on the bow and I reinforced it with Ki before shooting through the tree.

"Urgh, It's that Archer from before! Call for reinforcements!" The gun-wielding exorcist yelled.

However, no one answered him. Masaomi-san had already taken care of the sword-wielding exorcists. The one he went to deal with and the one I immobilized, and with swift movements, he took care of the last one. Judging from the lack of screams, he either killed him in one slash or knocked him out in one hit.

Either way, Masaomi-san was coming back with what seems to be the gun of that exorcist, which he handed to Cleria-san who readily took it.

Hmmm, these two seem used to this kind of stuff.

Leaving the two, I went to retrieve my arrows; I was not sure when I could restock these after all.

...

...

…

Perhaps we were lucky since we only had a couple of battles in the next hour we spent on the run. They were easily taken care of with the cooperation of Masaomi-san, the now armed Cleria-san, and I.

However, even if we finished the fights fast enough, it was just a matter of time before other exorcists find traces of our movements and start assembling their forces in an orderly manner to catch us.

Using Clairvoyance to check our surroundings often is wearing me down somehow, but I couldn't deny the usefulness of it. Keeping track of their movements was very handy so I could not stop using it.

...

...

…

Unfortunately, we ran out of luck. A rather big group was surrounding us, there should be around twenty of them.

This will be tricky.

"They have finally caught us, twenty of them". I informed the other two.

I think that I won't be able to hold back this me. However, I didn't want to use Kasha or Youjutsu. You can fool a lot of people by using Ki alone to boost your physical abilities, but Youjutsu and Kasha are a giveaway about my Youkai identity.

"What are you going to do? Wait? Attack them first?" I nocked an arrow into my bow as the words left my mouth.

I glanced their way and saw that they were staring each other in the eye before they both nodded having come to a decision.

What heck is wrong with their way to decide? Can they read each other's minds?

"A preventive strike, we should reduce their numbers as much as we can". Masaomi-san replied as he drew out his sword.

"Can you tell us their locations and how they are distributed? And, how much do we have until they find us?" Cleria-san inquired.

They made up their mind fast.

"There is a big group that is the furthest coming from our front, it has ten people. There is another to our left who has two, they are pretty far too. From our right, we got a group of three, and behind us a five-man party, both are at the same distance". I explained the best I could.

As soon as we begin fighting, the others will swarm us like flies.

"I will quickly go to deal with those three at the right then. It should give me enough time to come back to deal with the other five just when they arrive". Masaomi-san spoke before running to our right.

Perhaps we only fought weak people, but we have been taking them down quite easily. How much longer will that luck last? Masaomi-san has taken on the burden of being the vanguard so he should be getting tired, but he does not stop fighting in the front line.

"I will shoot at the five-man party. Before they arrive, I will reduce their numbers. Do you agree?" I asked Cleria-san, but I was already shooting my Ki-reinforced arrows.

Going through trees they quickly hit their mark.

"You are already doing it though... *Sigh* you two are just doing what you want. Not like it matters though, they would arrive here sooner or later anyway". Cleria-san complained before pointing her gun at the same place as mine.

While she can't use it to pierce through trees, she was just getting ready to shoot as soon as she can see a target.

Focusing on my things, I continued to shoot. Unfortunately, I only hit one of them. The others dodged.

*Tsk*

I clicked my tongue in annoyance at that sight, I had wasted two arrows per person, but only two hits and it was the same guy. The only good thing was that he would not be chasing after us.

My skills are not deteriorating so it can only mean that these guys are much skilled than the ones we dealt with so far. I was lucky yesterday to have shot so many of them.

"Sorry, I only managed to hit one of them, the others dodged. They are quick on their feet". I warned Cleria-san who was also using a long-range weapon as well.

I did not shoot any more arrows. I was going to save my arrows to use them when they are closer.

"Don't worry. You have done more than enough for us. It is time I start doing something more useful". Cleria-san comforted me.

I wonder if it is her pride as a High-class devil or her pride as an adult. But she looks ready to take care of them all by herself. It was not like I planned to let her do it alone though.

"They will be on sight in 3, 2, and 1! Now!" I warned.

The exorcists appeared in a spread manner.

"They are her- urgh!"

"The devil is alone"

"No, there is a child here"

"Capture him to-argh"

As we moved away from each other to have our own space to fight, Cleria-san shot the first guy who showed up before he could finish his words. The others did not immediately take cover but yelled something first.

Using the opportunity when they were distracted, I shot an exorcist carrying a crossbow on his arm, making him drop his weapon.

Changing targets, I had to dodge to one side before I could nock an arrow. One of the exorcists was wielding a whip and he had used it to attack me.

Making sure that I avoided his attacks in a manner where I would not entangle myself with Cleria-san, I waited for a chance to attack.

Focusing too much on attacking me continuously, the exorcist failed to notice a sneak attack.

"Just quietly drop that bow kid, I don't want to hurt y-Argh"

When the exorcist was trying to convince me to surrender, Masaomi-san had appeared and knocked him out from behind.

"You ok?" Masaomi-san voiced his concern.

Before answering him I turned my head to confirm the state of Cleria-san, and she was perfectly fine. Her opponents were already on the ground.

*Sigh*

"I am fine. How did things go on your end?" I asked back.

If he is here, then he should've done his part.

"They were taken care of. I came back as soon as I finished". The black-haired man replied.

Seriously, how did these two end up in such a bad shape? Just this guy took care of those exorcists easily.

Ok, with five here and three that Masaomi-san ambushed makes eight, so twelve to go.

"What about the rest of them?" Cleria-san, who was now carrying the whip from the exorcist on her hands in addition to the gun, asked.

Gazing in their direction with my ability-

Damn it. I almost cursed out loud.

"They all formed a bigger group, and will be coming after us like that". I explained.

"Is there anything else you can tell us about them? Anything we should be careful about?" Masaomi-san inquired in a serious tone.

Anything?

"Hmmm, I can see one man who seems different from the others. He has light brown hair and he looks like the leader. There is also a red-haired woman who walks behind the group, she has a short bow and has two other exorcists guarding her. Other than that, the rest look more cautious of their surroundings than the ones we have met so far". I replied with all the information I could gather.

They don't look easy to deal with; perhaps my arrows won't be of much use here.

"Light brown hair? Is that Touji-san? The woman, I don't think I have met her before so I don’t know if she has a special ability to be wary of". Masaomi-san muttered to himself, although I was still able to hear him.

Touji-san? Since these two are here, then... Is it him, the father of the self-propelled angel? He used to wield a holy sword if I am not wrong.

Turning my sight to Cleria-san, she had a complicated expression while gazing at Masaomi-san who was muttering on his own.

"Most of the people you saw probably belong to a different branch from the church; I am only familiar with one of them. The man you mentioned is most likely my former comrade and superior. Fighting him is not possible for you or Cleria, so I will take care of him. The problem comes from the rest of those guys. They won't be the same as the ones we have been fighting until now". Masaomi-san spoke in a very serious tone.

"But if you fight him..." Cleria-san weakly muttered in concern.

Trying to reassure her, he smiled at her.

"It will ok, I won't fall that easily". Masaomi-san assured her.

That sounds like the line of someone who will surely get killed.

"I have an idea, although I am not sure how effective this might be". I interrupted the two.

It is a trick that has a high chance to fail, but it will be better than going with no plan at all.

My skill set is very simple, but at this point, every little thing counts.

...

...

…

After a minute of explaining and preparing, we decided to wait for the exorcists at some distance away from the four lying on the floor.

From what Masaomi-san and Cleria-san told me, running away from them would be too hard as we were now. It would be a different matter if Cleria-san could use her wings to fly, but she had not recovered enough for that.

I seriously need to learn a flying spell, whether it is magic or Youjutsu.

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

???’s POV

Observing from a safe distance, the devil man just kept waiting for an opportunity.

From what he could tell so far, the man who was with the woman was pretty skilled at using his light sword. Carelessly attacking could result in serious injuries. So he decided to wait for a moment when their guard is down.

The opportunity would present itself soon. A fight will start shortly, and they won't be able to tell when he approaches.

...

...

…

A moment later, the two parties finally made contact.

Surrounding the smaller party, the exorcists were being extra cautious. Perhaps because of what happened the last time they did the same thing.

Watching how they began discussing first, the devil felt a tinge of annoyance. They are taking too long to fight. This assignment was taking way too long.

...

...

…

Finally, they had started fighting.

The leader of the bigger group sent five people to deal with the Belial woman, three to deal with the child and the rest went to take care of the lover of the Belial woman.

It seemed an overkill considering the members of the small party, but they were no easy to deal with considering that they got this far.

While the devil acknowledged that they were doing well enough taking care of the exorcists they found so far, those were just weaklings who were at Low-class (Low) at most. However, this group is composed of twelve members, one High-class (Low) individual, seven at Middle-class (Mid), and four at Low-class (Mid).

No matter if that child's aura seemed to match Middle-class (Low) at times. He was that, a child. The humans had a bigger amount of experience than him.

Shaking his head in disappointment at that, he turned to his other target. The Belial woman might've been a High-class devil, but that was at her peak. He can hardly feel any demonic power from her. Without her special ability or magic, she will hardly be a match against the humans.

The lover of the woman is very skilled, he might've easily reached the High-class if he continued training for a few years more, but now he is just at Middle-class (High). The difference in classes is not definite, but he also had a numerical disadvantage, this won't be different front what happened the other day.

*Sigh*

A sigh of disappointment could not help but escape the devil's lips. If this were a more evenly match, he would be able to get more benefits at the end, possibly even taking both the woman and child. However, if this fight ends up with a crushing defeat of one side, then he will even struggle to secure one of them.

However, it was when the devil was lamenting himself that the situation took a sudden turn.

It all started with-

Part 5

MC’s POV

In front of me, three exorcists were standing cautiously evaluating me and I was doing the same. I recalled these three from before. They were the two guys along with the woman whom they were guarding.

I remembered her because she was the only one who carried a bow, yes, certainly not because she was pretty or anything like that. It had nothing to do with that.

"I won't say it twice. Put your bow down, and surrender quietly. I am not a fan of hurting children"

"You heard our boss"

"Yeah, do it while we are being nice"

While the woman seemed to say something kind, those two sounded like total thugs.

"You two, could you shut up? If someone who wanted to surrender were to hear your words, they would most likely fight back because they think we are some kind of delinquents"

No, I already thought that without you saying it.

"You won't do anything bad to me?" I asked as I tried to sound as pitiful as I could.

I was kind of disgusted at my behavior in my insides even though on the outside I managed my expression to look as harmless as possible. It is quite interesting how one can look on the outside one way while on the inside be thinking something completely different.

"Don't worry. I will make sure of that. You were surely being used by that woman as well"

She seemed to have prepared an excuse for me. Good.

Doing as she asked, I lowered my bow on the ground.

"Good, now these two will take away from this place since it is not suitable for children, alright?"

I nodded in acceptance at her kind tone.

As the two came closer, they each put a hand on my shoulders to take me away from the battle zone.

Without even glancing back, I was taken away.

...

...

…

After walking for a while and being somewhat further away, the two stopped in place.

"We will wait for the boss here"

"Remember to be grateful to her for her kindness; you would be taken to the detention unit if it was someone else"

“They are a scary bunch; they don’t hesitate to raise a hand even against children”

Urgh, if they say things like these then I will feel guilty.

However, even filled with guilt, I reinforced my body with Touki and punched the nearest guy on the guts.

"Guuughhh"

"Hey, what-Aaaaaaaaaargh"

Followed by the other guy who I hit on his... *Cough* nether regions.

Blame it all on my size.

That was not enough to beat them down until they were unconscious so I knocked them in the head a couple of times until they passed out, or so I would like to believe. However, I had no time to dabble here.

Masaomi-san and Cleria-san were still fighting and I am not sure how much they will be able to last.

Applying the spell to make it hard to notice my presence on me, I went back to join the fight.

This little distraction was so I could take care of some people on my own without raising their guard against me, although as soon as I appear again they will surely attack me.

Anyways, I have to hurry.

As I got further from those men, I apologized in my head. They were probably good people, and many of the ones fighting were good people as well. They were just following orders and acted in the way they believed was right so I couldn’t hate them. However, I couldn’t hesitate, they were my enemies.

...

...

…

Arriving at the place again, I could see Masaomi-san and Cleria-san struggling against their opponents. As soon as I came back, I was supposed to help the one who was having the hardest time, although it was obvious who it was.

Like we planned, Cleria-san held her ground, but she was being pushed back little by little. Even if she used the whip and gun to keep them at bay, she was not at her peak. It was even a miracle that she held this much without falling.

Scanning my surroundings in case there was someone who noticed me and prepared to attack me, I began moving as quietly and stealthily as possible to remain unnoticed.

Now in position, I waited for my chance to strike.

Three of her opponents carried light swords, one had a morning star and one had a hammer. It was a big one that could smash my head if it hit me so I did not take that weapon lightly.

Considering the danger level for her, they all were evenly matched so I was not sure with whom should I start. Nevertheless, I had to help her already.

Picking the closest one, I dashed as fast as my reinforced body allowed me and punched the guy on his guts, which effectively sent him flying.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh"

The other four were surprised at the sudden scream, giving Cleria-san a chance to wrap her whip around one distracted exorcist. Pulling him closer, Cleria-san shot him at close range continuously.

"Help! This b*tch! Argh! Urgh!"

No wasting time, two of the exorcist when to aid his comrade, while the other one came my way.

Swinging his morning star with all his strength, he did not even hesitate to strike me. At his action, I just jumped backward, evading his blow that landed on the ground which left a small crater. Using the timing where his weapon was stuck on the ground, I aimed to punch him on his now easily reachable head, but he moved his head away before I could hit him. Instead, he kicked me in the chest. At that distance, I could not dodge, so I only could take the kick using my arm to shield myself. The impact sent me flying for a small distance, but I managed to land on my feet.

Taking a second to breathe, I began to circulate my Ki. Using Senjutsu, the damage and the pain began to disappear.

My recovery was cut short when I had to dodge sideways. Looking at the place I was just standing, a few new holes were there on the ground. Turning to the place where the attack came, I saw the same red-haired woman from before. She was pointing the tip (?) of an arrow at me. That short bow is not normal, the same as the arrow... they look like they are made of some sort of energy.

"You should've quietly stayed out of this... I am sorry, but I will have no mercy"

She spoke before shooting more arrows at me, which I had to dodge left and right.

Noticing how the exorcist from before was getting closer, I jumped near him. The arrows finally stopped coming since I used the man as my cover. There were no more arrows but now I had to deal with him.

Moving backward to avoid another swing of his morning star, I moved my hand to my pouch before taking enough seeds to fill my hand; I also left behind the inhibitions to hide Senjutsu as well. Throwing the seeds on the ground, I let my Ki do its job. At this point, I was not sure what to call this technique, but I just focused on providing the necessary Ki to make the seeds grow as fast as possible, wrapping the exorcist's body from his feet to his head.

Kaa-san has different kinds of seeds stored for my practices so I took what I considered more useful. I am glad that I did not mistake the seeds. It wouldn’t have been funny if a flower had appeared instead of the plant that wrapped him up.

However, the plants were not the strong type so they only managed to hold him still for a moment even when I reinforced them with Senjutsu, and he began to break away. Nevertheless, it was more than enough time for me to leap at him and connect a kick at his chest, getting out all the air of his lungs. He did not fall just from that though, so I just punched him a couple of times more, before he could recover, and when I was going to land the hit which would put him out of service. I once again had to dodge as I felt the presence of the woman who changed her spot to shoot me.

Somewhat annoyed at her for stopping me twice from taking down the man, I decide to deal with her first.

Dodging from one side to another, I tried to get close to her, but she was able to shoot even as she moved away from me. For a moment I thought of using Youjutsu or Kasha yet, I managed to hold the impulse. We still have people to deal with. Using them as a surprise attack would be better, and I was not cornered yet.

As I wondered what to do to catch up to her an idea came to me.

Not stopping for a moment as I dodged, I accumulated a large amount of Ki in my legs. After reaching a certain point and taking a somewhat crouching position, I released everything in a burst as I leaped at full speed at that woman. With my arms as a shield in case, she was able to shoot me, I bashed into her. We both rolled on the ground for a while until we both came to a stop.

Standing up somewhat unsteadily, I walked to check the woman's state. She was not dead at least. Apologizing in my mind to one of the few kind exorcists I met, I went to help the other two in their fights.

Cleria-san had already beaten her opponents and the other man whom I had troubles with and went to support Masaomi-san.

There are only four enemies left.

They were evenly divided between Masaomi-san and Cleria-san. However... they both had taken a few hits here and there.

Before careless jumping into the fight, I observed them first. From the way they move, the strongest of the remaining exorcist is the man with light brown hair. He swings his weapon a lot faster and his movements are sharper than any other of the exorcist I have seen, he is even better than Masaomi-san.

In Cleria-san's case, her opponents are much weaker so I should help Masaomi-san for now.

"I can still hold on, urgh, help Cleria". Masaomi-san shouted even as he fought.

Following what he said, I went to deal with Cleria-san's opponents.

However, thanks to Masaomi-san's yell, everyone became aware of my presence near them. Thanks, man.

Moving my hand to my pouch again, I grabbed another handful of seeds. Hopefully, I get lucky this time around, and a more resilient plant comes out. This is all Kaa-san’s fault, the labels were misplaced.

Throwing the seeds over my new opponents, I then tried to get closer to accelerate the growth of the seeds, although they were both wary of me so they kept their distance. This gave a breather to Cleria-san who was fighting them just now.

Wielding a sword and a gun, one of the exorcists used those to maintain our gap. The other one had a spear which he used to attack me from distance.

While the effect is not as immediate as close distance, I spread my Ki over a long-range to reach the seeds that were still somewhere over them. We continue trying to deal with each other only to dodge when one of us attacked, but little by little the seeds were beginning to germinate. The moment they noticed the abnormalities over them was the moment where they let their guard down. Taking the opportunity I punched the spear-wielding exorcist on his leg, which made him bent over just enough for me to connect another punch at his chin.

The other man was still struggling to get rid of the roots from the plants that were growing all over him. While it did not happen as instantly as when I directly accelerated their growth, it was not a good idea to let them do so.

I was going to send the poor guy flying to end it but someone got him first.

Cleria-san used her whip to wrap his leg and pulled, making the guy lose his balance, dragging him close to her, only to kick the poor exorcist on his head, knocking him out.

A little out of breath from her effort, she weakly raised her hand to point at Masaomi-san and told me.

"Go...". Cleria-san muttered weakly before passing out.

I quickly went over to check her, and after I confirmed that she did not have any major injuries. I sighed in relief before looking at my surroundings once more.

Masaomi-san was engaged in a bitter fight against the light brown-robed man who I think was called 'Touji'.

The other exorcist was not in sight. Even after I scanned around, I could not find him. Expanding the search area that my Senjutsu was covering, I found him running away in a certain direction.

Finding it a bit suspicious, I used my Clairvoyance to see further and I found out another group of exorcists, and they were hastily making their way here.

There was no time to waste so no more holding anything back. Even if reinforced with Senjutsu and Touki, I won't be able to match that man's speed.

Leaving Cleria-san alone, I began making my way to the last people standing.

Maintaining my reinforced self, I began gathering my Ki and began creating the flame-covered wheels, Kashas.

Even before I got near them, I swung my arms to throw the fire wheels at the last exorcist. They were still too slow to hit him since he easily evaded them.

*Tsk*

Clicking my tongue at his skilled footwork, I continued the process of creating more and more, before I sent them his way.

My objective this time was not to hit him but separate him from his opponent.

"Use this...!" I yelled as I tossed something at Masaomi-san.

No longer paying attention to him, I continued throwing the flame-covered wheels at Touji, who could dodge with no problems.

This was going nowhere.

"Why don't we stop this? If we continue to fight in this matter, your subordinates will get caught in the crossfire". I spoke to the man in hopes that he quietly let us go.

The only response I got was of him shrinking our distance with a dash.

I could only continue to throw Kashas at him, stopping him from getting closer, but he would eventually reach me if things continued this way. I couldn’t create an unlimited number of Kashas.

For a while, dodging was the only I could do until it was finally time. I stopped my attacks. Touji seemed confused at my actions, but he still took it as an opportunity to strike me. Only to retreat before he could get close enough because Masaomi-san joined the fight again.

"You took too long..." I complained to the black-haired man.

Creating more Kashas, I prepared for the next round of the fight.

"My apologies, I waited for the complete effects to appear. I didn't know that you had Phoenix Tears on you". Masaomi-san said before taking a position on my front.

"We can talk later!" I replied to him while throwing more Kashas at Touji.

Taking my attack as a cue, Masaomi-san went to exchange blows with his former superior.

Thanks to having his attention now being directed at the front liner Masaomi, Touji had a hard time trying to dodge my Kashas, until I finally managed to hit him.

I had no time to rejoice because suddenly everything around me turned white, and the feeling of my feet touching the ground disappeared. When my vision recovered, I noticed that I was blown away. Wondering if this was the exorcists doing, I saw Touji and Masaomi-san being blown up too.

It did not look like it was an attack from the church then.

Finally landing on the ground, I groaned due to the pain, but still hastily stood up. My mind was a mess. Looking around I could not see the attacker.

Masaomi-san and Touji both stood up, clearly wary of the new foe. Touji moved closer to his fallen subordinates and Masaomi-san got closer to Cleria-san, I was going to do the same but I suddenly felt a presence behind me.

"Be careful, behind you!" Masaomi-san yelled to warn me.

Still, it was useless. After feeling some pain in my neck, I could not muster any strength anymore so my vision went dark.

???’s POV

Watching from the sidelines, the devil could not help but be surprised at how things took a turn. After dealing with the first two exorcists, the child little by little began changing the course of the battle. While some exorcists fell at petty tricks, it still was not something anyone can accomplish. His physical abilities seemed a lot higher than his appearance showed.

Everything seemed to be going well, but a new group of exorcists was getting closer. The devil had used magic to confirm it. The situation was changing faster, if he played well his cards, he could take both targets before the exorcists arrived.

...

...

At one point, the Belial woman was left alone. It seemed like a good opportunity to strike. However, he came to stop after he saw the child using certain techniques. Green flame-covered wheels. He was familiar with the technique; his master had a servant who could do the same. Unfortunately, she died in an accident.

A technique used by Nekomatas, a type of youkai so, in his head, the value of the child went up a few levels.

Already that skilled at that age, his master could use him even if the woman did not appear.

The time kept moving forward. The exorcists were getting closer as well. So he decided to act by getting much closer to the battle. He used simple Bombardment Magic, managing to blow away everyone. He planned to secure both, but they recovered quickly. The Belial woman's lover hastily went to her side so he could not effortlessly take her. So he went after his other target. Using a special drug on a syringe that was effective on non-humans creatures, he injected the unaware child, knocking him out. He had to give up on the woman as her lover was not going to let her go that easily.

*Tsk*

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he spread his wings and flew away with the unconscious child in his hands.

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