Kalawarner's POV
Issei Hyoudou wasn't a threat at all.
I could have used my Holy energy or Holy Spear to kill him, but unfortunately, I hadn't been able to deploy them at the same time.
If I could, I would have already killed him during our exchange.
Yeah.
He was a small fry.
Especially since I had already taken his Sacred Gear away.
The problem was the little Tyson.
What in the name of Holy Father did she eat to be able to punch that hard with such a little body!?
It doesn't make any sense.
Oh, yeah. I forgot.
I'm a Fallen Angel.
Common sense is already under the bus.
Was this the right time to retreat?
Looking at my swollen right wrist, which I had used to block her punch, continuing in melee combat wasn't a good idea.
It was also limiting how effectively I could use my Holy Spear.
The little Tyson was also good at sensing my externally deployed energy. Any surprise Holy attack in close combat would probably be noticed quickly.
Dohnaseek...
I heard the explosion.
It was better to assume Dohnaseek was either dead or had survived well enough to retreat on his own, rather than assume he had somehow beaten that troublesome, sadistic woman... according to Raynare.
And the pretty boy?
Yeah, he's another threat.
I couldn't see him now, but I didn't sense him anywhere in the nearby forest.
Meaning he probably wouldn't ambush me.
Perhaps he's resting?
The problem was when he would regroup with the others.
Mittelt would probably retreat too.
I doubted she would fight Gremory one-on-one.
She would probably just mock her and fly away.
Which meant...
I was probably the only one left here.
But we didn't buy enough time.
Based on my calculations, I needed at least another five minutes, maybe more, to hold them off.
If Rias Gremory chased Mittelt, and the others chased me when I retreated...
Then that was the outcome we wanted.
But knowing them, and knowing Rias Gremory's last order, they would continue toward the base.
Which meant that even if I retreated now, it would serve no purpose for our objective.
It would only ensure my own survival.
Sorry, Raynare.
You may need to cut my meals in half again.
“Issei Hyoudou!” I called, gaining his attention. “Why do you stand in our way?”
“Huh?”
“Wait... you didn't know?” I laughed. “You didn't know that the abandoned church you're heading toward is the Fallen Angel base?”
I laughed as I took a glance at little Tyson, implying that Gremory had hidden that information from Hyoudou.
But that was fake.
My real concern was keeping my eyes on little Tyson. I needed to be ready for her while I kept talking to Hyoudou.
If she attacked, I could simply dodge while continuing the conversation.
I wasn't as good as Raynare at this kind of thing, especially if Kazuki Sakuragi was the opponent.
But Hyoudou...
He wasn't him.
“No, I don't...” Issei said in a low tone. “What I know is that the abandoned church is the enemy base. The President didn't say what the enemy was...”
“Don't listen...” Koneko said.
She rushed forward, gritting her teeth as she endured the pain in her fist. Then she jumped and sent a kick toward me.
I simply jumped over her and remained airborne for a moment.
Her kick struck a tree instead, sending it flying far into the forest.
Yeah.
That would have been my head if she had kicked me.
I didn't know why she wasn't using her wings despite being a Devil.
Maybe she needed to concentrate her explosive power into her punches and kicks to maximize their strength.
“They didn't trust you, Hyoudou,” I said. “Just like I manipulated you with our date and killed you. But what did they do?”
I smiled, twisting my expression.
“It was far more subtle... My intentions became clear when I broke my mask. But were they even using a mask?”
I paused.
“Or is that their true nature?”
Issei's eyes were shadowed by his hair, but I could see him gritting his teeth, his fists tightening.
Good.
He was beginning to doubt them.
“Wait...” he said. “What about Asia?”
“Asia...?” I tilted my head.
“Oh, we killed her.”
At that moment, time seemed to stop.
The wind passed by, carrying leaves past Issei Hyoudou.
Then, the wind began to swirl slowly around him, leaves twisting through the air.
“What did you say?”
“We killed her,” I stated. “That was our objective from the beginning.”
.................................
3rd Person POV
A sudden green light erupted from Issei, creating a raging wind that shook the trees around them.
Even Koneko was pushed back slightly, raising an arm to shield her eyes.
“Issei-senpai?”
"What was that?" Kalawarner said. "No, that's impossible."
Then Kalawarner realized how stupid she'd been.
If Issei Hyoudou no longer had his Sacred Gear, then why would Gremory have bothered to reincarnate him?
“I took away your Twice Critical...” she said in disbelief. “Then how could you...?”
Now Kalawarner understood Raynare's impatient reaction when she failed to find anything inside Kazuki.
The Twice Critical she had taken from Issei was real.
Yet...
A crimson gauntlet manifested around Issei's arm, a green jewel embedded in its center and two golden spikes protruding from its surface.
But its appearance was different from what Kalawarner had witnessed when Raynare manifested Twice Critical.
It was wilder.
Spikier.
Bulkier.
“That's...” she said. “That wasn't Twice Critical.”
[Boost]
The announcement of [Boost] kept repeating over and over again, causing the wind to grow wilder. Even Koneko began to worry about Issei.
Then, for a moment, the wind calmed down, and the [Boost] announcement stopped.
[Explosion]
Kalawarner blinked in surprise.
Issei was already in front of her, as if he had just blitzed forward with unimaginable speed.
No sound.
No warning.
Her instincts hadn't even registered him as a threat.
She was thinking too much, which caused her guard to drop too low.
A fist crashed into her face. The sound of a bone breaking rang out as the impact sent her flying through the forest.
She crashed into several trees before finally crashing into the ground, creating a crater as dust and smoke filled the air.