NOVEL WEB Eve (2) (Happy New Year)
After Touma mentioned it, everyone’s attention focused on him.
“What do you mean by that?” Rias questioned, causing Touma to smirk.
“Remember the fallen angels that were in the church a few days ago?”
“Yes, but they suddenly disappeared in one night.” Rias paused and thought briefly. “And according to our investigations, there were signs of battle and traces of holy energy.”
Touma nodded.
“The reason for them staying in Kuoh was to observe Sacred Gear users and wait for an excommunicated nun to arrive and extract her Sacred Gear.”
“I see. Wait, how do you know all of that?” Rias asked in surprise.
“Because I’m the one who wiped them out.” Touma said as he leaned backwards against the sofa.
“You did!? All by yourself?” Rias and the rest of the group were shocked at the reveal.
“Yeah, but it’s their fault for attacking me first though.” Touma remarked while shrugging his shoulders. “Anyway, this isn't the time to talk about what I did. By now, the ex-nun should have already arrived at the old church, not only that, her age is closer to ours and her Sacred Gear allows her to heal people. sounds like an opportunity for you to try to recruit her, don't you think?”
“I…” Rias paused, thinking for a second.
‘Touma wouldn’t have asked us to do it if it was an impossible task or life threatening to us and I also don’t want to disappoint him after all the help he’s given us!’
Rias gathered her resolve and looked at him.
“I–We will do it!”
Touma smiled and got up from his seat.
“Good, now you should go. The earlier the better it is for you.”
“Yes!”
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Casually strolling in the streets of Kuoh, Touma led the ORC members to the excommunicated nun. Such a group was bound to attract attention from the surroundings, receiving a few curious gazes from the people passing by, before returning to their routine.
Touma didn’t mind the stares and kept walking, while occasionally briefly touching the trees in the sidewalk. Each time Touma touched them, a portion of their time would be stolen and stored in him. A few decades taken from trees weren’t a meaningful difference and Touma had already accumulated a few hundred years worth of time.
Touma doesn’t know why Julius didn't do as he did, maybe he simply didn’t know, or maybe he never thought about it.
However, Touma felt strange, as though something was amiss. His gut feeling was telling him something was wrong every time he used Time Magic, but Touma couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
He didn’t allow his discomfort to show on his face though.
Unaware of his thoughts, Rias approached him from behind, her eyes filled with curiosity.
At first Rias ignored it, as she thought it was just a mere coincidence, but as they walked, she saw Touma put his hand on every tree they passed. It was a strange sight, and after a few minutes she was unable to contain herself and finally asked.
“What are you doing?” Her tone didn’t contain mockery, only inquisitiveness.
Her question caused everyone to perk up as they also were wondering what Touma was doing.
Touma pondered on how to answer as he retracted his hand from the tree. He had already befriended the peerage and considered them as close friends, some even more than that, so there was no harm in telling the truth.
“I am taking time to get more time.”
Rias blinked and tilted her head in confusion.
“...What?” She asked, but she could tell from the smile on his face that Touma was just messing with her.
“It is exactly as I said.” Touma stated, then he stopped abruptly. “Here, we’ve arrived, are you ready?”
“Of course!” Rias said with a smile. ‘I will show him that I can do it!’
“Good luck.” Touma said while waving his hand as Rias and everyone else walked towards the old church.
In Touma’s mind, he was aiding Rias as a ‘friend’ by showing a way to increase her peerage powerness, but the process would be done by herself and also an opportunity to gain experience.
‘Yeah, she should be fine.’
After all of them entered the church, Touma smiled and disappeared without making any sound.
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*Ding* *Dong*
“Yeah, yeah, coming!”
The door opened and revealed Azazel with messy hair, half naked and…
“...I would appreciate it if you covered yourself and took a shower first, you stink of booze.” Touma complained as his face morphed with disgustness. There was another smell but he wouldn’t point it out.
“Oh, it’s you brat.” Azazel said and turned around. “Come in, make yourself at home.”
Two magic circles appeared under his feet. The windows were opened and the wind blew all the smell away from the house while Azazel cleaned himself.
“I never thought that I had to see you so soon.” He said as he poured whiskey on a glass cup. “Up for a drink?”
“No thanks.”
“Shame.” Azazel sighed and drank it all, “Just to inform you, we still haven’t located this Cao Cao yet, but coincidentally bases of different factions were under attack by monsters that appeared and disappeared in an instant, even some of our bases were attacked too.”
“That’s definitely the work of the Annihilation Maker.” Touma said and Azazel nodded in agreement.
“That’s what we suspect as well. This confirmed the authenticity of your information and maybe found some leads to your request.”
“Of course it’s true, who do you think I am!?” Touma remarked, Azazel only shrugged in response.
“So, what are you here for? I don’t think you came here just for this.” The fallen angel asked as he made himself comfortable on the sofa.
“You are right, I want to ask you if there is a way for humans to use holy power.” Touma asked.
Azazel rubbed his goatee with his fingers as he thought about it.
“It isn’t impossible for humans to use holy power, however it mostly depends on their circumstances. For once, the easiest way is to get a hold of Sacred Gear with holy nature. And the other is a little complicated as there will be a few requirements, first the person needs to at least be a natural-born holy sword wielder and undergo a special training while maintaining his heart and faith in my Big Daddy. Though normal people can use a Light Container if they can’t use holy swords.”
”Then is it possible to draw holy power from holy weapons?”
“There were attempts, but they mostly failed in the end.” Azazel said and paused briefly. “Even if an exorcist held an Excalibur fragment for example, they wouldn’t be able to draw from the weapon itself and use the holy power for their spells/techniques. We suspect it is because there is no direct connection between the wielder and the weapon.”
‘So it’s a matter of connection between the wielder and the weapon, and if what he said is true, then…’ Touma thought and got up from his seat. “I see, thank you for the information, is there a way for me to repay you?”
“There is no need for that, now get out I am a busy man.” Azazel said as he drank whiskey again. Touma nodded and disappeared in an instant, which made Azazel raise an eyebrow.
“Teleportation? No, if it was there would be a delay. Then it must be a time related ability.” Azazel said before sighing and looked at the window. “I feel the world is changing soon and that brat will be one of the causes of it. It might not be a bad idea to create a connection between us.”
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And like this, days passed.
Rias had successfully recruited Asia into her peerage and explained her situation to the ex-nun, who was content to help someone in need. So they started training together.
Touma didn’t neglect his own training either, and even achieved some breakthroughs.
Then the day of the Rating Game finally came.
The respective groups were already inside the artificial space that was identical to Kuoh Academy and were inside their areas, waiting for the announcement for the beginning of the match.
Suddenly, a projection appeared in the fake sky, showcasing Grayfia’s face to everyone there.
“Good evening, everyone. I am Grayfia Lucifuge, the Queen of Satan Lucifer. I will be the judge for today's match between Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex.” Then Grayfia started listing the rules as her obligation as the judge. “...Then without any delays, let the match begin!”