The deep, dark corridor of the abandoned church had now turned into a tunnel of life-or-death speed. The cold air was torn by ragged breaths and frantic footsteps, while the substantial pressure of the Fallen Angel—filled with rage and killing intent—clung to them like a maggot on bone, relentlessly pursuing them.
"Faster! A little faster!"
Rias, enduring the intense pain and weakness caused by the darkness corrosion on her shoulder, took the lead. Her crimson hair fluttered as she sped forward like a guiding flame. Her perception was fully extended, wary of any possible ambushes or traps ahead.
Kiba Yuuto carried the unconscious Shin, who was faint from exhaustion. He gritted his teeth. Every step aggravated his internal injuries, causing bloody foam to constantly spill from his lips. Yet the hand grasping his sword remained steady, and his eyes were resolute. The faint glow of the Holy Sword flickered around him, dispelling the lingering dark aura trying to cling to him.
Akeno Himejima and Koneko Toujou supported the extremely weak Asia Argento, who was barely able to move on her own. Akeno's face was pale; maintaining the Lightning Shackles and casting the Lightning Web had consumed a large amount of her Magic Power. But she continued to push herself, occasionally glancing back to watch for pursuers.
Koneko's lips still bore traces of blood. Her small body bore most of Asia's weight, and cold light flashed in her amber eyes as she swiftly maneuvered through the complex terrain with Nekomata agility.
Great fear and confusion still lingered in Asia's azure eyes. The necklace around her neck, though dimmer, remained present like a cold viper, reminding her of the nightmare she had just escaped. The soreness from being restrained and the residual corrosion of Darkness Power left her incredibly weak, forcing her to rely on the two girls for difficult movement.
RUMBLE—!!!
A deafening explosion and Raynare's furious shriek came from the direction of the secret chamber behind them. Clearly, the Lightning Web Akeno had hastily set up failed to trap her for long. The enraged Fallen Angel Cadre was breaking through the obstacles with overwhelming force and was in pursuit.
The terrifying dark energy fluctuation swept through the corridor like a tsunami, causing everyone's hearts to sink. She was too fast. At this rate, they would be caught before they could escape the church. Being caught by an enraged Fallen Angel Cadre in a narrow corridor would have unimaginable consequences.
"No! We can't escape like this!"
Rias suddenly stopped, turned to face the direction they came from, and a flash of resolute red light crossed her emerald eyes. "Someone must hold her off!"
"President!" Kiba exclaimed anxiously. "Your injuries…"
"There's no time!" Rias interrupted him, her tone decisive. "Yuuto, Akeno, keep pushing toward the exit with them! I'll cover the retreat!"
"Absolutely not! It's too dangerous!" Akeno immediately objected. "We should stick together…"
"This is an order!" Rias's voice carried undeniable authority, and the aura of the Gremory Family's next head erupted. "Her target is all of us now, especially Asia and Shin! Someone has to buy time! Go now!"
Kiba and Akeno's expressions changed drastically. They knew that Rias's decision was correct, but leaving the Club President to face the enraged Raynare alone was tantamount to suicide.
Just at this critical moment, Shin—who was being carried by Kiba—struggled to lift his heavy eyelids. The extreme sense of weakness surged through his consciousness like a tide. His dantian was empty, his meridians were throbbing, and he barely had the strength left to lift a finger.
But his blurred vision caught Rias's resolute back, and he heard her decision to use herself as a shield. He couldn't… he absolutely couldn't let her bear this alone. An urgent will forcefully suppressed his physical weakness.
He squeezed out the last bit of his mental energy, rasping in a voice so faint it was barely audible: "P-President… Talisman… use the Talisman…"
His fingers trembled as he struggled to reach toward his pocket, which should have been empty. There should still be a few spare Evil-Warding Talismans there—the ones with the best drawing effect.
Rias heard his faint voice, spun around, saw Shin's struggling movements and the anxious look in his eyes, and instantly understood what he meant. That's right! Talismans! Shin's unique Eastern Talismans, which had a miraculous effect against dark energy.
Although she didn't know how effective they would be, even if they only distracted Raynare for a second, it would buy her precious time to cast her Destruction Magic and ensure a better chance of hitting the target.
"Yuuto! The Talismans!" Rias immediately shouted.
Kiba understood instantly. He stabilized Shin with one hand and quickly reached into the pocket Shin indicated. Sure enough, he felt three yellow talismans of slightly different texture. The talisman script drawn on the paper with cinnabar seemed more complex and condensed than the previous ones, faintly flowing with a weak spiritual light.
"President!" Kiba handed the talismans over.
Rias snatched the talismans, instantly feeling the pure Positive Energy contained within—an energy entirely different from her Magic Power. Without time to think, she took a deep breath, tucked two of them into a pocket of her battle suit for emergencies, and gripped the last Evil-Warding Talisman between her fingers.
Simultaneously, she clasped her hands tightly in front of her chest, and highly concentrated Destruction Magic Power, radiating an ominous red glow, began to gather furiously. The surrounding air instantly became scorching hot and distorted. The terrifying energy fluctuation even caused the corridor walls to tremble slightly and crack.
"Extinguish Star… Condense!"
Rias chanted softly. A crimson magic circle unfolded beneath her feet, and the massive Magic Power Torrent was forcibly compressed between her palms, forming a rapidly spinning, expanding dark red energy sphere. The sphere contained a terrifying power capable of returning all matter to nothingness.
Casting Destruction Magic of this magnitude required a brief charging period.
And at this very moment, Raynare's figure appeared at the end of the corridor, accompanied by a ferocious dark tide.
"You… None of you will escape!!!" Raynare's shriek was like a bone-scraping steel knife. Mad fury burned in her purple eyes. In each of her hands, a violently boiling dark energy sphere was condensing, ready to be launched.
NOW!!!
Rias's gaze sharpened. She violently swung the hand clutching the Evil-Warding Talisman forward, not throwing it at Raynare, but accurately launching it into the air a short distance in front of her. Simultaneously, the Destruction Energy Sphere at her chest swelled to its limit.
"Shin! It's now! Activate it!"
Rias urgently called out with her will. She didn't know how to actively activate this Eastern Talisman, so she could only pin her hopes on Shin's mental connection with it.
Almost the moment the Talisman left her hand, Shin gathered the last faint trace of Divine Thought he had remaining. Like lighting a match, he struggled to trigger the Talisman's preset activation mechanism.
Buzz—!!!
The seemingly flimsy yellow talisman, upon reaching its designated spot, suddenly erupted in an unprecedentedly brilliant golden-red light. The light was neither sacred white nor fiery red, but a more profound Pure Yang Evil-Warding Light, imbued with the will to destroy evil spirits and cleanse filth.
The light instantly transformed into a massive, rotating, profound Talisman Rune Phantom, illuminating the darkness with awe-inspiring righteousness, like the blazing sun overhead. The timing of this Evil-Warding Light was flawless, striking Raynare just before she could launch her attack, completely engulfing her.
"What the hell is this?!" Raynare was caught off guard, hit head-on by the sudden Evil-Warding Golden Light, which possessed a completely different nature. She felt a sharp sting in her eyes, and the surging Fallen Angel Light Power around her seemed to have met its nemesis, emitting a sizzling sound as if being scorched.
Although it couldn't inflict substantial damage, the Pure Yang Evil-Warding characteristic severely disrupted her precise control over her own power, causing momentary stiffness and discomfort. Even the dark energy spheres condensing in her hands experienced extremely subtle turbulence.
This interference was extremely brief—perhaps only a fraction of a second. But for a Devil of Rias's caliber, it was enough.
"Now! Be destroyed!!!"
Rias seized the fleeting, perfect opportunity created by Shin's Talisman. She violently hurled the dark red Energy Sphere, which contained massive Destruction Magic Power, toward the hampered Raynare, like throwing a sun.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!
The dark red Destruction Torrent roared forth, instantly engulfing the entire corridor. Everything in its path—walls, floor, ceiling—was silently annihilated and decomposed as if erased by a rubber. The destructive energy fluctuation caused the entire church to tremble violently.
Raynare's pupils suddenly constricted. She hadn't expected the opponent to unleash an attack of such power, nor had she expected that strange Talisman light to cause her a momentary vulnerability. In her haste, she could only slam the two unstable dark energy spheres in her hands together and push them forward, attempting to block the attack.
The Fallen Angel's Dark Torrent violently collided with the Gremory's Destruction Magic Power. An earth-shattering explosion suddenly roared!!!!
A terrifying shockwave spread wildly in all directions like a tsunami. Rias took the brunt of it, violently thrown backward by the massive recoil force generated by her own magic. She spat out a mouthful of blood and slammed hard against a distant wall.
The entire front half of the corridor was almost completely destroyed. Smoke and dust filled the air, debris flew everywhere, and energy turbulence raged.
Kiba, Akeno, and the others were also affected by the shockwave and thrown forward. Fortunately, they had put some distance between themselves and the blast and were not hit directly. However, their qi and blood surged, leaving them in a sorry state.
"President!" Akeno cried out, wanting to turn back and help.
"Don't worry about me! Go now!!!" Rias's weak but incredibly resolute roar came from within the smoke and dust.
No one knew Raynare's condition after that strike, but such a fierce explosion and energy conflict were sure to hold her back for a moment.
"Go!" Kiba's eyes were bloodshot. He roared, hoisted Shin onto his back again, and together with Akeno and Koneko—supporting Asia—they desperately rushed toward the direction of the exit they remembered.
Behind them were the continuously collapsing corridor, raging energy turbulence, and Raynare's twisted, painful roar faintly audible through the smoke.
Shin's Evil-Warding Talisman and Rias's Destruction Magic had executed a dangerous collaboration in this life-or-death moment, finally buying them valuable time to escape.
The escape continues. Every step is a matter of life and death!
...
📢 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! 💙