Chapter 4: I Saved My New Friend
The air outside Kuoh Academy was thick and humid, but for Issei, it felt like it was running out. He paced the sidewalk, his eyes darting to every blonde passerby.
"She's not coming, bro," Issei whispered, his voice cracking. "Asia... she wouldn't just leave me hanging. Something's wrong. I can feel it."
I leaned against the school gate, my arms crossed. Outwardly, I was the picture of calm. "Relax, Issei. Maybe she just got caught up with the Church stuff. Don't be so restless."
But internally, my heart was hammering against my Black Dragon Core. 'This is it,' I thought. 'The turning point. The moment the saint falls.'
"No, you don't understand!" Issei gripped his head. "She looked so... so scared yesterday. Like she was waiting for a blow to land."
"Issei, calm down," I said, my voice dropping an octave, carrying a weight that made him stop pacing. "Panic is for the weak. If she's in trouble, screaming on a sidewalk won't find her."
The Broken Saint
While we stood in the fading light, miles away in the damp, rotting basement of an abandoned church, Asia Argento was learning the true meaning of despair.
"Please..." Asia sobbed, her hands bound by cold iron chains. Her dress was torn at the shoulder, exposing pale, trembling skin. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for even existing..."
Raynare stood over her, her black wings unfurled, looking down at the girl with pure malice. Beside her, Kalawarner toyed with a spear of light, the purple glow reflecting in her sadistic eyes.
"You're a heretic, little nun," Raynare purred, grabbing Asia by her hair and forcing her to look up. "That Sacred Gear—Twilight Healing—doesn't belong to a brat like you. It belongs to us. You're just a vessel that needs to be emptied."
"I'm sorry..." Asia whispered, her eyes glazed with tears. "I'm sorry for being born."
The Choice
Back at the Occult Research Club, the atmosphere was suffocating. Rias had just dropped the bomb: Asia was a former Church asset, excommunicated, and now hunted.
"Saving her is a suicide mission, Issei," Rias said, her voice firm but her eyes softened with pity. "She is holy. To us, she is poison. If you go after her, the Fallen Angels will not show mercy. You could die—permanently."
Issei slammed his fist onto the table. "I don't care about 'permanent'! She's my friend! She's the first person who looked at me like I wasn't just some creep!"
I stepped forward, my presence suddenly filling the room. "Issei, stop being an idiot for five seconds and listen."
Issei turned on me, his eyes red. "You too, Motohama?! You're gonna tell me to let her die?!"
"I'm telling you to stop barking and start biting," I said coldly. "If you're going, I'm going. But don't do it because you're emotional. Do it because you've decided she's worth the blood."
Internally, I sighed. 'This guy is only heroic when it involves a girl in trouble.'
"Is that why?" Crom Cruach's voice mocked. "Usually, his 'heroics' are just a cover for his perversion."
'Third option, Dragon,' I replied. 'He's a pervert with a soul. A rare breed.'
"Thought so. Let's see if your soul is as loud as his."
The Church: Blood and Light
We burst through the church doors. The smell of incense and rotting wood hit us instantly. Issei charged toward the altar where Asia was tied up.
"ASIA!"
"Issei-san?! No... please go away!" Asia screamed, her voice breaking. "I'll hurt you! I'm a witch! I'm punished!"
"You're Asia!" Issei shouted, reaching for her.
Raynare appeared out of the shadows, a spear of light already in her hand. "Too late, little devils."
With a sickening squelch, the spear drove through Asia's chest.
Time slowed down. I saw the light leave Asia's eyes. She didn't scream. She just looked at Issei with a faint, tragic smile—as if she was relieved that her "punishment" was finally over.
"ASIA—!!!"
Issei's scream wasn't human. It was a roar. His left arm erupted in a blinding red light. The Booster Gear manifested, the green jewel pulsing like a frantic heart.
"GIVE HER BACK! GIVE HER BACK!!!" Issei snapped. The ground beneath him cracked as he lunged at Raynare, his movements a blur of raw, unrefined rage.
But he was sloppy. Raynare swatted him aside, her light spear grazing his neck. "Useless! A Pawn cannot kill a God!"
The Dragon Awakens
I saw Kalawarner aiming a spear at Issei's heart while he was down. My body moved before I could think.
'Dragon! Lend me your power!'
"You will break, boy," Crom Cruach warned, his voice a violent hum in my ears. "You won't last a single minute with my true weight."
'I don't need a minute! I need a second!'
"THEN FEEL IT!"
A surge of pure, black pressure exploded from my heart. I didn't grow wings. I didn't transform. But my skin hardened, and my eyes turned a lethal, glowing gold. I moved like a shadow, intercepting Kalawarner's spear with my bare hand.
Crank!
The light spear shattered against my palm.
"What?!" Kalawarner gasped.
I didn't give her a chance to breathe. I lunged, my fist coated in a dense, black aura. "GET. AWAY. FROM. HIM."
I swung. The air screamed. My fist connected with her gut, sending her flying through three stone pillars. But the recoil was instant. I felt my arm bones groan, my muscles tearing under the sheer density of the Dragon's power.
Raynare looked at me, horror crossing her face. "That pressure... you're not a Pawn! What are you?!"
Issei used the distraction to land a Boosted punch on Raynare's wing, forcing them both to retreat into the night.
The Price of the Void
As the adrenaline faded, the world began to tilt. The black aura around my hand vanished, leaving it charred and bleeding.
"Your body is a joke," Crom Cruach laughed darkly. "Unworthy. You're going to die right here on this filth-covered floor."
'I... hate... you...' I thought, my vision going black.
Medical Room: The Revelation
I woke up to the sound of a steady hum. I was in the ORC medical wing. Rias and Akeno were standing at the foot of my bed, their faces unusually grave.
Akeno was holding a scanner, her violet eyes narrowed. "No Sacred Gear base detected, Rias. But the residual energy in his cells... it's ancient. It's heavy."
Rias leaned in, her red hair brushing against my shoulder. She looked at my hand—the skin was already knitting back together at an impossible speed.
"A Dragon Core," Rias whispered, her voice a mix of awe and fear. "Inside a Pawn? How is this possible?"
"How troublesome," Akeno added, her usual playful tone gone. "He's not a normal reincarnated devil. He's something else entirely."
"You survived," Crom Cruach's voice echoed in my head, surprisingly impressed. "Interesting. You actually held a fraction of my soul without exploding."
I sat up slowly, looking at Rias, then back at the void in my mind. 'Warn me next time, you idiot.'
"Where's the fun in that?"