"The view of a city at night is truly splendid, don't you agree?" Dressed in a casual attire consisting of a blue V-neck T-shirt under a white coat along with a pair of black jeans was a boy in his teens with golden-blonde hair having azure highlights in the end, tied into a ponytail that lay on his right shoulder. He had deep maroon-red eyes and a white wristband rested on his left arm. "How about showing yourself now, stray?"
He currently stood on the rooftop of a high-rise building, which towered over the entire city. It was one of the many tall buildings in the said city. The teen glanced behind him, his gaze fixated on the big water tanker.
"You made a mistake coming alone. Do you really think you can take me on all by yourself?" Revealing himself from behind the water tank, was a tan-skinned man with auburn hair and light forest green eyes. A notable feature about him was his pointy ears. "Did the forces of Angels really deplete that much that they need to send a child to fend me off? Go home kid."
"I would advise not underestimating your opponent in battle. Doing that might backfire on you." Right after saying that, the teen closed the distance between the two of them in one leap and elbowed his target right in the ribs, knocking the air out of him. Without wasting a second, he delivered an uppercut on his jaw, to send him crashing on the floor.
Wincing in pain, the man spat before glaring at his foe. The teen was making full use of the supernatural abilities he was born with and there was no sign of hesitation in his movements. Judging from his movements, the stray devil realized that the boy is well-versed in various forms of martial arts, like every other hunting dog of the Church.
Getting up on his feet, he charged his magic power and shot several wind blasts toward his opponent. The latter flawlessly dodged the incoming attacks, hoping and jumping before quickly closing the distance between him and his target once again. Materializing a pair of Black Keys in his palms, the teen threw them at a fast speed aiming straight for the devil's vital joints, with pinpoint accuracy.
The first pair of pointed blades struck his knees, making him fall face-first on the rooftop. Rolling away to avoid getting stomped by the boy, the devil tried to pull out the blades, only to experience a stinging sensation of pain course through his hands.
"The black keys are baptized Holy Weapons. It is obvious they are lethal towards your kind." The boy spoke in a condescending tone.
Black Keys are long, slender rapier-like swords with extremely short hilts, but when talked about their effectiveness, they pack quite the punch against the natural enemies of the Church, the Devils and the Vampires. The principle behind the Black Keys is purification of evil spirits which was why they are weapons of great effectiveness against Devils.
Though in the current day and age, the users of pre-dated weapons like Black Keys can be counted in fingers. Its usage has diminished over the period of time and they are mostly treated as antiques or relics of the past.
"Damn it!" The stray devil cursed, making a futile attempt to move away by revealing his wings, only to have another pair of keys stab his shoulders before he could even move. "AARGH!!"
"There's no running away for you, lowly devil." The teen slowly walked up to the injured devil. He had already struck his vital joints so any chances of him attempting a surprise counter are slim. Even if he were to use magic, the teen is confident that he will be able to handle it.
"Don't you dare look down on me!" The devil roared, forcefully pushing out the black keys using his wind magic power, enduring the stinging pain from the holy weapons. He quickly took flight in order to gain an aerial advantage before charging up and firing several wind blasts towards his foe. "Eat this!"
The wristband on the teen's hand began glowing while he stood still. The band extended, taking the form of a white whip before deflecting the incoming magic attacks without any trouble. The boy then thrust his left arm at the direction of the airborne devil, the whip following the direction and wrapped around the devil's leg before he could increase the distance between them. Using it, he pulled down the escaping devil back to the rooftop floor.
"Wh-what is that thing?!" The devil asked, fear evident in his voice. No matter how much strength he applied, he couldn't even budge the whip away from his feet. By now he was aware of the difference in strength between them and knew his defeat was inevitable.
"Not something the likes of you should bother knowing." The boy replied, in a cold and callous manner. The whip extended even more, completely binding the devil, despite him trying his best to set himself free. A single Black Key extended from the boy's right hand, him slowly making his way towards his immobile target. "Amen!"
With one swift swing of his blade, the boy severed the head of the devil, letting his lifeless body fall on the ground while the head rolled down on the cold floor. The whip retracted itself, morphing back into its previous form. Satisfied with the job the boy turned around to walk away when he heard the sounds of wings flapping.
Glancing upwards, he took note of a boy, appearing to be the same age as him with long, maroon hair tied in a braid and had a pair of teal eyes. The most notable features about him were a pair of white feathered wings emerging from his back and a halo right above his head.
"Cress." The blonde-haired boy muttered, waiting for the new arrival to descend. "Done with your mission?"
"I am and I also brought your newest assignment." Cress replied before taking a deep breath. "And knowing you Lucian, you are not going to like the basic condition of it. By the way, the one who vouched for you for this mission was none other than Lord Camael."
'Father vouched? Then what's the reason for me to not like it?' Lucian didn't voice his thoughts right, motioning his friend to go on.
"You will be stationed at Kuoh Town in Japan and are to act as an observer there given the rise in activities of both Devils and Fallens there." Cress went on. "Just a reminder that Kuoh also serves as a base of operations for two of the devil clans."
"Also since it is basically a long-term mission, there would be times where you would be called for other tasks so be alert." He further added. "There's also the case of a stray exorcist running amok so please take care of that too."
"Isn't Kuoh the place where the excommunicated nun of the Church Asia Argento is currently?" Lucian inquired, earning a confirmative nod from his friend. "I don't see the part which I won't like in this mission."
"You need to enroll in the local school there."
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Few Days Later...
[YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP! PUT SOME SPIRIT INTO IT!]
A hand reached out from the blankets, slapping at the alarm clock to shut it down. Removing the blankets, the sole occupant of the room, Issei Hyoudou sat up on his bed, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the lingering sleepiness. He took a quick glance at his legs. There was no sign of injuries from his previous battle. Not even a scar! Even though it had hurt like hell when he got impaled by the Fallen's spears.
'Asia's healing powers are otherworldly!'
Getting off from his bed, Issei went ahead to get ready for the day. School had yet an hour to start but the President had called her members early for some kind of meeting. He had no intention of missing the meeting which is why he had set his alarm an hour earlier than usual.
Taking a quick shower and donning his school uniform, the brown-haired teen hung his school bag over his shoulder before bolting out of his room, down the stairs. "Mom! Dad! I am off!"
"But the breakfast isn't ready yet." His mother called out, rushing out from the kitchen. Judging by the faint spots in her hands, it was clear that she was still in the process of making breakfast.
"I will have something in the cafeteria." He replied, putting on his shoes. "Bye! See ya!"
Closing the door behind him, Issei took the road leading to his school. While he had been called early for the club meeting, there was no need to rush since he would be reaching before the school hours anyway. Since his school was just walking distance from his household, he is sure that he will reach before time. It would be nice to enjoy the morning breeze on the way to school and start a new day with a fresh mind.
"Huh?" He slowed down with his steps when he took note of a boy his age, wearing the uniform of his school. By the looks of it, he seemed to have lost his way.
Knowing that he had time to spare, Issei walked up to the boy and lightly tapped his shoulder. "Hey there, do you need some help?"
"Oh?" The boy turned to look at Issei before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Well as you can see I am sort of lost so I would very much appreciate the help."
"Thought as much. So where are you headed?" Issei inquired.
"Kuoh Academy. You see I am a transfer student, having moved here a few weeks ago and today is my first day at school." The boy admitted. "And I don't even know the directions."
'I should have guessed given the uniform.' Sighing at his own stupidity, Issei spoke. "Well I am a student there so don't worry. I will guide you there."
"Really?! I am grateful for your help." His eyes gleamed with relief before he extended his right hand to Issei. "My name is Lucian Kristoff, just call me Lucian."
"Issei Hyoudou, you can call me Issei." The brown-haired boy accepted the handshake before they resumed their walk towards the Academy. "You are a foreigner but sure know how to speak Japanese."
'Damn it! He is on the same level of handsomeness as Kiba and has that prince charming vibe!! The girls will definitely swoon over him!!' Issei had to keep his thoughts and apparent jealousy contained. 'Maybe I should become buddies with him and use it to get the girls!'
"Oh that's because I have a knack for grasping languages fast. Plus my father's job often requires us to move around so I got used to the change in languages." Lucian admitted. "I am not even sure when I would need to change schools again."
"Must be hard constantly having to leave friends behind." Issei said in a low voice even though Lucian heard it clearly. He couldn't imagine himself leaving his friends every now and then. He is thankful that his father's job doesn't make him change residences.
"Well it is a lifestyle I have been accustomed to and I am not complaining." Lucian responded earnestly. "And I do keep in touch with them from time to time."
"That's good to know." Issei replied.
The two kept on walking for a good while with Issei giving details about his schools, the clubs it has, how it was an all girl's school and recently has switched to co-ed. He kept in mind to miss out the part about his 'own' club since he thought that a foreigner might not be interested in Occult Research stuff and a human in a club of devils would be off-putting for their supernatural activities.
"And here we are." The two halted at the gates of the Academy with Lucian taking a quick glance at his surroundings.
"You can roam around and explore till the classes start. I think you will be assigned to your section then." Issei said before he headed for his initial destination. "I have a club meeting to attend so I will be seeing ya later."
'So that's the current Red Dragon Emperor.' Lucian thought to himself, waving at the retreating figure of Issei before switching his glance to the Academy building. His expressions morphed into that of apparent irritation and dread. 'Schools, I really hate them.'
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