Shin slumped onto the ground, gasping for breath. His dantian was depleted of True Qi, and an exhausting soreness radiated from his limbs and bones.
Forcibly activating the Earth Flow Wall had almost drained all his strength, but the effect was remarkable—he had successfully survived the killing blow from the Fallen Angel executive and bought a moment of respite for the collapsing battle situation.
However, this brief standoff did not last long.
Raynare quickly recovered from her initial astonishment and shock. The look of greed and cruelty intensified on her beautiful yet twisted face. Shin's unexpected method of controlling the power of the earth for defense did not make her retreat. Instead, it completely aroused her interest and possessiveness.
"Interesting! Too interesting!" She licked her lips, her purple eyes locked onto Shin as if admiring a rare treasure. "This never-before-seen power system… Kid, you truly are a huge surprise! I must have you, and I will dig out all your secrets!"
But she did not immediately attack Shin again. Her gaze slyly shifted, falling upon Asia Argento, who was still painfully curled up on the metal bed behind Shin. A more malicious thought—one that could effectively control the situation—arose in her mind.
"However, before I can properly 'study' you, I must first teach you how to be obedient~" Raynare sneered, her tone filled with mockery and cruelty. "It seems you care a lot about my disobedient little toy, don't you?"
Her right hand lifted again, but this time the purplish-black Light Spear condensing on her fingertip was not aimed at Shin. It suddenly changed direction, pointing straight at the defenseless Asia on the bed. The destructive energy contained within the Light Spear had not diminished in the slightest. It was clearly a genuine killing blow.
"Since you want to protect her so much, I'll turn her into a beautiful corpse right in front of you first~" Raynare's voice was like a poisonous snake flicking its tongue. "Let you witness firsthand the consequence of defying me!"
"No!!!" Rias cried out in shock. Suppressing her pain, she tried to rush forward, but she was tightly blocked by the dark Shadow Tentacles wrapped around her body.
"Stop!" Akeno desperately released lightning power, but she couldn't break through the blockade instantly. Kiba and Koneko's eyes were splitting with rage as they struggled to get up, but their severe injuries made movement impossible.
Everyone's heart leaped into their throats at that moment. No one expected Raynare to be so despicable as to turn and attack the defenseless hostage. If that strike landed, Asia would surely die.
Shin's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of a needle tip. A cold chill shot instantly from his spine to the top of his head, far surpassing the fear he felt when facing death himself moments ago.
He absolutely could not stand by and watch that kind girl perish right before his eyes. He absolutely could not allow his resistance to lead to such a cruel end for her. If Asia died because of this, it would not only create a Heart Demon within him from now on, but it would also have unpredictable consequences for his future cultivation and cause a rift in his Dao Heart.
What was even more dangerous was that if he encountered a Heart Demon Tribulation while attempting a breakthrough into a new realm, this incident could potentially cause him to fail the tribulation and perish entirely. Even if it weren't for these reasons, he absolutely could not accept the death of such a kind Asia.
Kind people should not suffer this way!
Save her! Must save her! Immediately! Right now!
But… what could he do? His True Qi was depleted, his body was utterly weak, Earth-element spells could not be cast consecutively, and the distance was so great… What could he use to block it? What could he use to save her?
In this critical moment, where his thoughts had nearly stalled, Shin's gaze suddenly swept across the corner of the secret room. There, due to the vibrations from the previous battle, an old, rusty water supply pipe had cracked, "hissing" fine streams of water outward and accumulating a small puddle on the ground.
Water!
A maxim from the Fundamentals of the Five Elements flashed through his mind like lightning: "Nothing in the world is more soft and weak than water, yet for attacking the hard and strong, nothing surpasses it, for there is nothing that can take its place. The weak overcomes the strong, the soft overcomes the hard…"
If he didn't have the power of Earth, he still had Water. Water has no constant form, yet it can also be a bind.
An unprecedented realization and determination surged within him. He squeezed out the last trace of True Qi remaining in his meridians—so faint it was almost non-existent—and even burned a tiny bit of power derived from his life origin (Essence Blood). He formed a complex spell seal representing "Water" and "Bind" with his hands at a speed beyond his own limits.
The seal was not aimed at Raynare, but violently pointed at the inconspicuous puddle and the small stream spraying from the broken pipe.
A hoarse, almost ripping growl escaped his throat: "Profound Water as the Guide, Gathered Currents as the Bind! Bind!!!"
Buzz—!!!
A strange yet gentle blue halo suddenly flowed from Shin's fingertips, instantly sinking into the puddle and the fine streams.
The next moment, a sudden change occurred. The formerly stagnant puddle seemed to be instantly imbued with life. It violently boiled up, transforming into several crystal-clear Water Chains made entirely of water, which shot up from the ground like spiritual Water Snakes at astonishing speed. The water spraying from the broken pipe also seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, merging into them and enhancing the scale and power of the Water Chains.
These Water Chains appeared weak and powerless, even somewhat transparent and illusory, but they flowed with a unique, flexible, and enduring rhythm of Dao Spell—completely different from the crude and direct magical or light power of this world.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!!!
The speed of the Water Chains was beyond imagination, arriving later but striking first. Just a split second before Raynare's deadly Light Spear was about to shoot out, they wrapped themselves with incredible precision around her raised arm, wrist, and even the Light Spear that was about to fully form.
There was no violent explosion, no clash of opposing energies. The moment the several Water Chains wrapped around her, Raynare felt her arm suddenly sink. An extremely strange feeling of stagnation, as if plunging into viscous glue, instantly struck her. She felt as if her power was striking empty space. The violent Fallen Angel light power seemed to be wrapped, buffered, and dispersed by endless layers of incredibly resilient Water Waves.
Her poised movement was actually stiffly obstructed and delayed for that single instant by these seemingly weak Water Chains. The Light Spear did not immediately dissipate, but its launch process was forcibly interrupted and delayed.
It was this crucial instant!
"Now!!!" Shin shouted hoarsely with his last ounce of strength, then his vision went black. Completely exhausted, he slumped down as his consciousness began to blur.
This sudden, completely unexpected interference caused Raynare an extremely brief moment of shock and pause. And that single instant of pause was enough for the elites of the Occult Research Club.
"Akeno!!!" Although Rias was equally shocked by the marvelous spell Shin had cast again, her combat instinct made her seize this fleeting opportunity immediately.
Almost at the exact moment Shin shouted, Akeno Himejima—who had already raised her demonic power to its peak—made her move. She had been waiting for an instant when Raynare was distracted or showed a flaw.
"Lightning Bind!" Akeno thrust both hands forward. Instead of releasing an offensive lightning strike, she transformed her highly condensed lightning power into several blue-purple magical chains shining with brilliant electric light, shooting toward Raynare like actual lightning. The goal of these chains was not attack, but entanglement and containment.
Crack!!!
The Lightning Bind precisely seized the moment Raynare's movements were sluggish due to the Water Chains, tightly wrapping around her arms, waist, and legs. The powerful electric demonic power instantly erupted, not only bringing intense numbness but also generating substantial physical containment force. Coupled with the damage and paralyzing effects of the lightning itself, Raynare was struck rigid.
Raynare groaned. Her body was firmly bound by the Lightning Bind and further paralyzed by the electric effects. Her movements were completely locked down.
The Light Spear that was about to launch flickered violently a few times because its magical operation was forcibly interrupted, finally dissipating unwillingly into the air.
"We succeeded!" Sweat beaded on Akeno's forehead. Maintaining the Lightning Bind required immense demonic power, but she held on tightly.
"Koneko! Yuuto!" Rias suppressed her pain and gave the order again.
Koneko Toujou sprang up from the ground like a wounded leopard, ignoring her injuries, and unleashed her last reserves of strength. She instantly rushed to the metal bed, grabbed the metal handcuffs that bound Asia and shimmered with dark light, gave a low shout, and unleashed her terrifying monstrous strength.
Snap! Crack!
The sturdy handcuffs, strong enough to withstand magical impact, were forcibly bent and torn apart by Koneko's pure, savage physical strength.
Kiba Yuuto also struggled to stand up, leaning on his sword. Although unable to participate in high-intensity combat, he suppressed the sharp pain in his meridians, condensing the last trace of Holy Sword Power onto his fingertip. He transformed it into a miniature Holy Light Dagger, which he aimed precisely at the most malicious necklace wrapped around Asia's neck.
"Purge Blade!" The Holy Light fiercely clashed with the dark energy on the necklace, emitting a "hissing" corrosive sound. Although it failed to sever it immediately, the dark binding power was clearly weakened significantly, and Asia's painful expression immediately eased, letting out a faint sigh of relief.
"You… you damned ants!!!" Raynare was completely enraged. She had been obstructed repeatedly by these mere 'minions' in her eyes, and even temporarily contained. This was a monumental humiliation for her.
"Break!!!" She let out a sharp roar, and monstrous dark light power erupted from her body. The Lightning Bind wrapped around her body trembled violently, emitting a humming sound of being overwhelmed.
Akeno's face turned pale, and a trickle of blood spilled from her lips. Clearly, maintaining the bind was extremely difficult. And the few Water Chains Shin had condensed with his last strength were the first to cry out under such terrifying dark energy impact, instantly evaporating, scattering, and vanishing into nothing.
But they had already fulfilled their mission—securing that decisive, fleeting moment necessary to save Asia. It was this brief delay that allowed Koneko to successfully destroy the physical handcuffs, and Kiba to weaken the necklace's constraint. Asia was temporarily free from the threat of immediate death.
"Retreat!!!" Rias made a decisive choice without any hesitation. The primary goal of saving the person had been achieved, and Raynare was clearly rampaging now. This was absolutely not the time for a head-on clash.
Akeno abruptly retracted the Lightning Bind. Together with Koneko, she helped the severely weakened Asia up. Kiba, bracing himself, rushed toward the semi-conscious Shin and hoisted him onto his back.
"Trying to run?! Not so easy!" Raynare broke free from her restraints. In her fury, she condensed an even more terrifying dark energy ball in her hands, ready to indiscriminately bombard them regardless of the consequences.
Just then—
"President! Catch!" After handing Asia to Rias, Akeno quickly threw a small magical tool, flashing with unstable lightning power, toward Raynare. The magical tool instantly exploded in the air, transforming into a massive Lightning Web that covered the entire entrance of the secret room—Lightning Web! This was a powerful magical item for both containment and interference.
Raynare's attack slammed violently into the Lightning Web, causing a fierce explosion. The resulting energy turbulence temporarily blocked her pursuit path.
"Go!!!" Rias, without hesitation, took Asia and rushed toward the damaged doorway of the secret room first. The others followed closely, carrying the injured, and fled at top speed into the dark corridors of the church, desperately escaping toward the outside.
Behind them came Raynare's extremely furious shrieks and the sound of terrifying energy explosions.
The first step of the rescue succeeded at the most perilous moment, relying on the fleeting chance Shin bought with his life.
But the path of escape had only just begun…
...
📢 Author's Note
The full completed version of High School DxD: The Quiet Immortal Who Guides Devils (Part 1) is now available on Patreon!
🔗 patreon.com/Shadow_demon_007
✅ Part 1 Complete — 116 Chapters
🔥 I also have additional **18+ fanfics** available for readers who enjoy exclusive mature stories. 😉
1. Dragon Ball: Oolong's Sex Adventure
2. Elements of Lust – ATLA & Korra Mixed Smut
3. Doraemon: Filtering with Nobi Tamako
4. The Naive Me Who Became Someone's Everyday Secret
5. High School DxD: Rias Gremory, the Phenex Bride
6. Versatile Mage: Awakening the Succubus System
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Thank you all for your continued support and happy reading! 💙