3rd Person POV
Night had settled over Kuoh Town, casting the streets beneath a quiet veil of darkness. Most shops had already closed for the day, while occasional street lamps illuminated the otherwise peaceful roads.
For most of its residents, it was simply another ordinary night.
But beneath that peaceful surface, something far more sinister was taking place.
At the outskirts of Kuoh stood an abandoned church, its weathered walls barely visible beneath the pale moonlight.
Within one of the old rooms, Asia was already fast asleep, curled beneath a thin blanket on a worn mattress.
Deep beneath the abandoned church was a hidden basement. Several candles illuminated the stone walls, casting long shadows across the room.
A young woman leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. She wore a nun's habit similar to Asia's, though her confident demeanor made it difficult to mistake her for an ordinary member of the Church.
She was the woman Asia had mentioned earlier.
Sister Ray-Ray.
Her violet eyes remained fixed on the center of the basement, her expression calm but serious.
Nearby stood Sister Kalla, silently watching her.
"Raynare..." Sister Kalla began, causing Sister Ray-Ray—no, Raynare— to glance at her. "The preparation for transferring the Sacred Gear is almost ready."
"Oh..." Raynare smiled with amusement. "Is it really the Sacred Gear from that Issei Hyoudou? Are you sure he's dead, Kalawarner?"
"Positive," Kalawarner replied. "But something was strange when I performed the Sacred Gear extraction on him."
"How so?"
"The process was too smooth," she explained. "It was too easy and too fast. I can't explain it well, but I didn't encounter any resistance when I deployed the sigil."
"I see..." Raynare said, her expression becoming more serious. "You're the one with the research skills and knowledge about this, since you studied under that old man Azazel. If you have doubts, then something must have gone wrong."
Raynare paused for a moment.
"However..." Her violet eyes narrowed slightly. "You still extracted the Sacred Gear, right?"
"Yeah..."
Kalawarner reached into her habit and pulled out a green gemstone roughly the size of a tennis ball.
"This is Twice Critical."
"Hmm..." Raynare studied the gemstone for a moment. "And I thought he had a Mid-Tier Sacred Gear."
She frowned slightly.
"Looks like we were wrong. It's only a Low-Tier, common Sacred Gear."
Raynare reached out and took the gemstone from Kalawarner.
"Well..." she said casually. "A tool is a tool. We'll use anything we can get if it gives us an advantage."
Kalawarner didn't respond.
Instead, she flicked her fingers.
A faint magical barrier spread throughout the basement, sealing the room in complete silence.
At the same time, the sigil carved into the floor began to glow.
Raynare stepped into its center.
Then she crushed the green gemstone in her palm.
"Urgh..."
Raynare gritted her teeth as a sharp pain suddenly surged through her hand.
The sensation traveled from her palm to her wrist, then up her arm and into her shoulder.
Green light began spilling between her fingers.
Kalawarner's expression changed.
"Raynare!"
Raynare raised her free hand, stopping her.
"Don't..." Her voice trembled slightly from the pain. "...underestimate me, Kalawarner."
She gritted her teeth harder.
"This is nothing..."
The green light intensified.
For several seconds, the entire basement was illuminated by the strange glow.
Then...
The light suddenly vanished.
Raynare's left arm was no longer human.
A slim crimson metallic gauntlet covered her arm, extending from her fingertips to her shoulder. A green jewel was embedded into the back of her hand, surrounded by several golden spikes.
Raynare breathed heavily.
She slowly raised her arm and flexed her fingers. The gauntlet moved naturally with her hand.
She examined it for a moment before closing her fist. Then, almost as quickly as it had appeared, the gauntlet vanished.
Her arm returned to normal.
"Now..." Raynare looked at her hand with a satisfied smile. "Twice Critical belongs to me."
Kalawarner sighed in relief before taking a seat on a nearby chair. Raynare followed, sitting across from her.
"What about Asia's Twilight Healing?" Kalawarner began. "Should we begin the extraction?"
"Not yet."
Raynare crossed her arms and rested one leg over the other.
"We still have another threat."
She looked toward Kalawarner.
"You do realize that, right?"
"You mean..." Kalawarner paused as she remembered someone. "The young man Asia brought here today?"
"Yeah..." Raynare nodded slightly. "Him."
Her expression became more serious.
"Kazuki Sakuragi."
Raynare leaned back in her chair.
"I've been monitoring him from outside Kuoh Academy. Unfortunately, I can't infiltrate the school itself. Not with the Gremory and Sitri keeping watch over the area."
Kalawarner nodded.
She remembered the first time she had met Kazuki face-to-face.
There had been something strange about him.
Something she couldn't quite explain.
It was similar to the sensation she had experienced when she first encountered Issei Hyoudou.
"Do you think he's a potential Sacred Gear user?"
"Maybe..." Raynare replied. "Maybe not."
She tapped her fingers against her arm.
"But we can't use the same trick we used on Issei Hyoudou."
"Why?" Kalawarner asked.
"Kazuki Sakuragi is too observant."
Raynare's eyes narrowed.
"He's cautious, too. He watches people carefully and doesn't trust strangers easily. If we approach him carelessly, he'll notice something is wrong."
"I see..." Kalawarner thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. Issei was much easier to approach."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"I simply told him I fell in love with him at first sight, and he immediately started letting me into his personal space."
She chuckled.
"Made him very easy to manipulate."
Raynare remained silent for a moment before her expression became thoughtful.
"That's why Kazuki is going to require a different approach."
The plan they had used against Issei had been simple.
Kalawarner had disguised herself as a high school girl and approached Issei directly. She gained his trust, manipulated his feelings, and eventually betrayed him when he was at his most emotionally vulnerable.
The result had been exactly what they wanted.
Issei's Sacred Gear manifested.
Kalawarner immediately deployed the extraction sigil and removed what she believed to be his Sacred Gear.
But the extraction had placed an enormous strain on Issei's body.
By the time Rias Gremory arrived, Issei Hyoudou was already beyond saving.
"Hey, Raynare," Kalawarner suddenly said, causing Raynare to glance at her.
"When Kazuki Sakuragi came here earlier, he actually wanted to meet you." She paused. "No... he wanted to meet Sister Ray."
"Huh?" Raynare raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I haven't told you about that yet." Kalawarner scratched her cheek awkwardly. "Asia told him about us."
Raynare's expression immediately became serious.
"About what?"
"About the time we gained her trust during our infiltration of the Church. She apparently told Kazuki Sakuragi about her time with us."
Raynare stared at her. "...And?"
"Well..." Kalawarner continued. "I checked Asia's background again and found his name in the records from the orphanage where Asia lived before she was taken in by the Cathedral."
She paused.
"Apparently, they're childhood friends."
Raynare's eyes widened slightly.
"Childhood friends?"
"Yeah." Kalawarner nodded. "Asia told him about her current situation, and apparently Kazuki wanted to meet you because he wanted to thank you for taking care of her."
Raynare immediately facepalmed.
"Kalawarner..."
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you tell me this the moment I returned?"
Raynare sighed heavily.
"I've been trying to figure out how we're supposed to approach Kazuki without raising his suspicions. I didn't need to think that hard if you had already given me this much information."
"Hehehe..." Kalawarner laughed awkwardly. "Sorry. I kind of forgot."
She glanced around the basement.
"You know how it is. Me, Mittelt, and Donahseek have been busy cleaning this church."
Kalawarner let out an exhausted sigh.
"If we're going to use this place as our base of operations for now, we should at least make it clean and livable."
Raynare stared at her for a few seconds before slowly lowering her hand from her face.
"Alright," Raynare said with a chuckle. "I'll cut off your dinners because you forgot such important information."
"Noooo!" Kalawarner screamed. "Not my meals!"