This is part eight to chapter 4. Please leave Power Stones if you liked reading, and I hope you enjoy.
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Up there. Behind a shallow cloud in the sky was a person. They were a large distance away - further than the system had ever detected someone before - yet he could see the red outline framing their body. The bright crimson stood in stark contrast with the dark backdrop of the sky, easily visible through the gray fog masking their presence.
It was the moment his eyes made contact with the figure that set them off. They descended through the cloud at an alarming rate, warping the gas across the sky and appearing before them in a moment's notice. The trees shivered from their essence, the wind pushing the leaves and bending the branches of the forest.
The person - now revealed to be a man - stilled their flight above them, looking down on Issei as if he were an insignificant bug. His eyes were creased and his lips twitched into an agitated frown. "How unfortunate. I didn't want to be found, yet I was found anyway. And by a cretin, no less."
Issei glared at the man, steeling himself as he stood protectively in front of Asia. "Who are you and what the hell do you want?!"
"No, that's not how we'll be doing this," The man denied him simply, as if he were in charge. A manufactured grin manifested on his face, his nasty yellowish-red gaze staring holes into the system user. "With all the commotion around, I was just going to leave..." It was as if the man were talking to himself rather than them. His calming tone then shifted into one of disgust. "But now that I've been found out, I've changed my mind. I'll be taking what's mine now. Write a formal apology and hand over a few servants and their shouldn't be any consequences." Assured by his own conceited words, his hostile intent grew exponentially.
Alarm bells ringing in both his head and his system, Issei held up his left hand defensively. Through the corner of his eye, he could see Asia tremble and back away fearfully. Anger immediately replaced the fear he had as he sneered up at the flying man.
Observe.
Name: Diodora Astaroth
Race: Pure-Blooded Devil
Gender: Male
Level: 50
Specialty: Magic
Relationship: Horrible
That's why his system had warned him earlier than the rest. The man named Diodora was way more powerful than anyone else he'd come across. He was even stronger than both Sona and Rias.
Boost!
The sound of the Sacred Gear going off caused Diodora to sneer viciously, dropping all pretenses. "A nobody bearing the mark of a filthy dragon thinks he can defy me?! Low-class commoners have no right to object their betters!" Screaming out heinously, the man's maniacal face quickly morphed into an innocent facade as he smiled towards the golden haired girl. "Please, step away my sweet. I wish to do you no harm. It won't do to have you getting caught in the crossfire."
"My sweet? The hell does that mean?!" Issei snapped at the devil. It only took a single glance at Asia to know he was full of shit. She was terrified and utterly clueless as to who he was. He had no right to address her that way after his freakish display.
"None of your business, worm. Step away from Asia so that I may crush you." Diodora refused to elaborate, dark magic crackling across his fingers in urgent desire to strike.
Doubt seeped into Issei as he felt the power leaking off the man. In his current state, he couldn't defeat the man. Why the hell was a guy like him even here? Why hadn't the Game warned him about this? He was supposed to save Asia, not fight some overpowered devil.
...Devil?
Trying to find a diplomatic solution, Issei asked, "Aren't you a devil? I have connections to the devils in charge of this town! If there's an issue, you take it up with them!"
A soft gasp rang out behind him and a sinking feeling crawled up his stomach. Of course Asia would be shocked to hear something like that. She was a nun linked to God and the church. Though her ties were incredibly strange given her circumstances situated around fallen angels within an abandoned church, she still held heavy belief in her faith. He'd even seen her reading the bible after barging into the basement. She probably felt betrayed after hearing the truth.
Diodora scoffed, his dark cloak swaying in the air. "You truly believe humans hold any weight amongst us devils? Your connections and contracts are of little consequence to me." Opening his arms up, the high-class devil declared pompously, "Any transgressions can be forgiven with mere gifts and apologies! Don't you see?! In the face of their devil superiors, humans have nothing!" His laughter was sickening. Filled with cruelty and avarice, his taunts incensed Issei to no end. And once more, Diodora's face shifted into a disarming smile as he addressed the girl. "Don't worry, Asia. Once you reincarnate into a devil, you won't have to suffer from those confinements anymore."
"N-no!" The girl's voice slipped out unconsciously. Tears threatened to spill down her face as she shook her head in refusal. "I don't wish to be reincarnated into a devil! A-and I do not wish to go with you!"
"Nonsense, dear. Once I've opened your eyes, you'll see. Your days as a human will feel like a simple dream."
"Bastard!" Issei shouted furiously, his Boosted Gear filling with power.
Boost!
Fuck talking his way out. He was going to fight and obliterate this asshole. No way in hell was he taking Asia!
Channeling the most power he had with the Boosted Gear at six boosts, Issei pointed his armored palm directly at the flying man. Summoning every bit of energy into his palm, a small orb of deep glowing red matching his gauntlet's color manifested from it. The ball of power wasn't as impressive as he'd liked, but it was all he could do. Along with his strength, every bit of his burning emotions were packed inside of it.
If he could avoid it, he didn't want to kill anyone. That's what he said to himself many times.
He couldn't avoid it anymore.
"RRRAAAHHH-!" Issei roared, firing the carmine orb at the devil. It launched through the air with explosive power, the loud blast ringing out through the surroundings and shaking the ground. The condensed ball shot wide like a beam as it reached the man almost instantly.
With a flick of his magically coated hand, Diodora slapped the energy blast away and sent it flying behind him harmlessly. Flexing his hand a bit, the noble clicked his tongue in annoyance. "That was more than I expected, I'll admit. But if that's all..."
Disappearing from view, Issei had no time to react before he heard a feminine scream call out from behind. Pivoting swiftly, he watched as Diodora flew up with Asia in one of his hands, holding her by the wrist as she dangled helplessly.
"Put her down, dick face!" Flying up as fast as he could, Issei put his full body into his swing and punched with his Sacred Gear. Without any power stored up, the punch was far too slow to even remotely get close to landing. Diodora easily flapped his wings out of the trajectory and gave a cursory kick to the boy as he passed. He'd only put a modest amount of strength into it, but it held more than enough power to ground the human back into the dirt. "Urgh-!"
"Nooo!" Asia cried out, reaching her free hand out to the injured boy in horror.
"Stop struggling, Asia. This will be over soon," Diodora tried soothing the nun, lifting her up and giving her a frighteningly kind smile unsuited for the situation. Getting an idea, his grin grew. "If you come with me without resisting, I'll let him live. How does that sound, sweetheart?"
Asia looked shocked and unnerved by the offer, tears trickling down her pale face. Refusal was prevalent in her shimmering green orbs before it slowly bled out. She sobbed helplessly as her body went limp, no longer fighting back against the devil.
Growling lowly as he forced himself back onto his feet, Issei's bloodshot eyes glared up at the devil with hatred. He coughed painfully as he held his unarmored hand over his abdomen. "You're not taking her away...! I... I won't let you...!"
Seeing that Asia was now being compliant, Diodora no longer held any interest in Issei and ignored him completely. He began petting her golden locks in an attempt to soothe the nun. "Let's leave this place. The sooner, the better."
"N-nooo!" Issei screamed, activating his Flight ability again.
Reset!
Just as his feet lifted off the ground, he immediately fell back down as if he'd jumped instead. Losing his strength, he collapsed down to his knees and watched as the devil paid him no mind.
Why now? Why did the Boosted Gear have to reset now? Why the hell was he so weak?!
Damn it...! Damn it, damn it!
It didn't matter if it killed him! He had to save Asia!
She was innocent! She didn't deserve this cruel fate!
He just... wasn't strong enough.
He tried... He really did try... but try as he might, it just wasn't good enough.
He couldn't save her...
...
It's not fair.
Everything was going perfectly. Together with Koneko, they'd taken out some of the biggest threats and withered down their forces tremendously. He'd beaten a stray priest all on his own and convinced Asia to follow him easily enough. All they had to do was leave. That's all they had to do and some random devil guy not even involved shows up and ruins everything.
He'd only gotten his powers a little while ago. Why was he matched up with an opponent like this?
The moment he received the quest to save Asia, he'd spent all his time training and preparing for it. He never worked so hard before in his life. He'd really given it his all. All that time doing his best and it meant nothing.
It meant absolutely nothing.
Nothing did. Not his training. Not his alliance. Not his Boosted Gear. Not even the power of the Game.
If this is what everything had culminated too, then all of it was worthless.
It was so, so frustrating. So much power at his disposal and it couldn't achieve what he wanted. Fuck being strong. Fuck being smart. Fuck being cool. He just wanted to help her.
It's not fair.
...
'What do I even do now...?'
Help: Pause the game.
'...What?'
The message rang throughout his head and appeared in front of his vision.