"------!"
Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly stopped, an inexplicable tremor in her heart.
It was a primal tremor, a latent alertness triggered in living beings when they encountered danger.
"Thump... thump... thump..."
As Yukinoshita Yukino felt that inexplicable tremor, the overly deliberate footsteps grew closer and closer, until their owner fully appeared before her.
It was a man dressed in a very peculiar way.
The man was around thirty years old, wearing old-fashioned clothing and a black robe, looking very much like an ancient person who had suddenly arrived in modern times from the Middle Ages, appearing particularly out of place with his surroundings.
His appearance wasn't very striking, but his eyes were overly fierce. The gaze he directed at Yukinoshita Yukino wasn't admiration for a beautiful woman, but rather a scrutinizing look, like one would give a tool about to be discarded.
That look was extremely rude. If it were any other time, it would have surely made Yukinoshita Yukino frown and show displeasure.
But under the influence of the inexplicable tremor in her heart, Yukinoshita Yukino didn't feel displeasure; instead, she felt... fear.
"Who—who are you?"
Yukinoshita Yukino unconsciously took a step back, asking the question.
The question, seemingly assertive and calm, actually contained an undeniable undercurrent of unease.
The man was naturally not startled; instead, he narrowed his eyes and sneered.
"Already vaguely sensing danger? As expected of someone who has that kind of despicable thing residing within him. Even if he looks like an ordinary girl, he still has some extraordinary qualities at his core."
The man didn't seem to be talking to Yukinoshita Yukino; it was more like he was talking to himself.
His attitude clearly conveyed that he believed Yukinoshita Yukino was not qualified to speak with him.
Sensing the true danger from the man's attitude, Yukinoshita Yukino subconsciously looked around.
Only then did Yukinoshita Yukino realize that, at some point, there was no one around; it had become extremely deserted.
This was near a train station, where even at night, the flow of people wasn't low, yet now there wasn't a single person. This was undoubtedly an abnormal situation.
"What? Looking for help?"
This time, the man did speak to Yukinoshita Yukino, but his expression clearly showed he was enjoying the girl's fear.
"Give up; no one will come to save you." The man began to walk towards Yukinoshita Yukino step by step, smiling maliciously as he walked: "A barrier to repel people has already been set up around here. Even the Church personnel who are stationed in this city year-round would need some time to detect the anomaly, let alone ordinary people, who won't even come close."
Hearing this, Yukinoshita Yukino involuntarily retreated as the man approached, speaking through her fear.
"Who exactly are you? What do you want to do to me?"
Facing the girl's question, the man merely sneered.
"As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. Knowing too much will do you no good." The man bared his fangs, as it were, and said: "You have no right to question me. A mere human, a lowly creature, just accept your fate and meekly welcome your punishment; that's enough."
As his voice fell, the scene that appeared before Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes in the next moment completely overturned everything she had ever known.
"Clap!"
With a flapping sound, a pair of dark wings appeared behind the man.
They were not bat-like wings like Leo's, but black angel wings with feathers hanging from them.
"You—you're a demon...?"
Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes widened, and she blurted out that sentence without thinking.
Who would have thought that this sentence would infuriate the man?
"A demon? You dare call me that filthy, lowly creature?" The man visibly grew angry, saying: "Damn human! I—Varden is a noble Fallen Angel! A noble race that even dares to scorn and betray God!"
"You dare call me a demon? Unforgivable!"
Varden extended his hand, and a ball of light condensed in his palm.
The light was dim and filled with a sense of defilement, yet it formed a spear of light, which Varden held in his hand.
"Insulting me, that is the first sin."
"Being favored by God's creation, which we disdain, and having a dangerous Sacred Gear residing within you, that is the second sin."
"For both sins, you must die today."
Yukinoshita Yukino didn't hear the end of Varden's low declaration, which sounded as if it came from hell.
Sensing that fatal danger was about to befall her, Yukinoshita Yukino finally remembered to flee, turning and running without a word.
However, just as she took two steps, a tremor echoed in the air.
"Pfft!"
A sound as if something was being torn apart appeared.
Yukinoshita Yukino's steps faltered, unable to move further.
Her pupils trembled, her face pale, and she stared blankly down at her abdomen.
There, the spear of light that Varden had held in his hand moments ago had pierced through her flesh, emerging from the other side, causing hot blood to spill from Yukinoshita Yukino's body.
"Cough...!"
Yukinoshita Yukino felt no pain; she simply coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Her body was losing strength.
Her body temperature was gradually fading.
Yukinoshita Yukino was bewildered, lost, and when she came to her senses, she was already lying on the ground, her cheeks and skin stained red by the slowly expanding pool of blood.
Varden, who had appeared behind Yukinoshita Yukino at some unknown point, pulled out the spear of light that had pierced her body, looking down at her with arrogance and malice.
"With this, the mission is complete."
"They said to investigate first and not act rashly, but... who wants to stay in this place occupied by the Church?"
"No matter what kind of Sacred Gear resides within you, as long as it's gone, then it's fine."
Varden's smile was filled with a sense of depravity.
"I don't have that much time to spend on a lowly human."
Yukinoshita Yukino could no longer hear these words.
Her vision was narrowing, her hearing disappearing, her pupils beginning to dilate, and even her consciousness was about to sink into oblivion forever.
In this moment, only a man's voice remained in her mind.
"Do you believe in the existence of demons?"
"While you haven't seen the truth of this world, still firmly believing in the concepts cultivated by the education you've received for these seventeen years, continuing to talk would only be futile."
"When you encounter something that can truly shatter everything you've always believed in, then let's talk about our topic today."
The man's past words turned into fragments, appearing in her mind.
"So... this is the truth of the world..."
With such regret and unwillingness, the girl slowly closed her eyes.
At this moment, Varden had already turned around, flapping his wings and flying into the air, preparing to leave.
This area was, after all, the Church's territory. A Fallen Angel like him, who had betrayed God, entering the territory of the God-worshipping Church was like a piece of meat entering a wolf's territory; once even a hint of meaty scent was released, it would immediately attract the opponent's hunt.
Therefore, he was unwilling to stay here for too long, to avoid being targeted.
However, Varden was destined not to leave today.
Because, at the same time Yukinoshita Yukino closed her eyes, the crimson Magic Circle on the parchment she had been clutching in her hand lit up.
The Magic Circle flew from the paper and continuously expanded, causing a figure to emerge from within it.
"Bang!"
Varden, who had flown into the air, had not yet had time to notice anything when a magic bullet tore through the air and slammed into him, exploding on his body.
"What?"
Varden fell from mid-air in shock, landing in a disheveled posture on one knee.
Then, he finally saw it.
He saw the figure that walked out of the slowly fading Magic Circle.
"I only learned of your scruffy birds' existence from Sona at noon, and by evening, you've already jumped out. Are you that impatient?"
A low voice sounded, and Leo's figure fully entered Varden's sight, making his face contort.
"A demon?" Varden spoke with both hatred and disgust, saying: "Why is there a demon appearing in the Church's territory?"
Although Leo hadn't revealed his wings yet, the magic bullet and the demonic aura emanating from his body were telling Varden that he was a demon—especially the kind Varden disliked and disdained the most among Fallen Angels.
Demons and Fallen Angels were not only ancient enemies but also rivals in territorial disputes.
In the hell that humans called the Underworld, both demons and Fallen Angels resided there, dividing the Underworld into two, each occupying half, and had been constantly fighting to dominate the Underworld since ancient times.
It could be said that both sides loathed each other, and a portion of Fallen Angels held demons in extreme contempt. This was a quality they had developed even before their fall, when they were still angels.
Angels inherently harbored hostility towards demons, believing them to be evil and ugly beings. Most importantly, their very existence represented sin; they were sinners who defied God. Fallen Angels, as former angels, even after their fall, still regarded demons as filthy things. Coupled with the long-standing conflicts in the Underworld, this hostility and aversion had become deeply ingrained.
But Leo ignored Varden, who was glaring at him openly, and turned his gaze to Yukinoshita Yukino, who was lying in a pool of blood.
He could feel that Yukinoshita Yukino's aura had become extremely weak, and she could die at any moment.
So, Leo turned to Varden expressionlessly.
"You dared to lay hands on someone I care about. Have you decided how you want to die?"
Leo's words only provoked Varden's anger.
"The one who should die is you! You lowly—"
Varden couldn't finish the rest of his sentence.
"Boom!!!"
A mass of magic, like dark flames, suddenly crashed down, smashing into him and engulfing his entire being.
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah...!"
Varden's screams echoed all around, then quickly vanished.
The flame-like mass of magic instantly vaporized him, leaving not a single bone behind.