Chapter 18: The Nun Again (Patreon)

Fallen Angels, as the name implies, originate from Angels who have fallen, losing the sacred blessing originally bestowed by God, causing their white wings to be stained black.

Despite having fallen and being stripped of their angelic status, Fallen Angels are not fundamentally Devils. At the same time, being unable to revert to Angels, they can only form their own distinct faction.

According to records, a great war occurred between the Heavenly Realm and the Underworld a thousand years ago, involving three major factions.

Two of these were the Angels, led by God, and the Devils, led by the previous generation of Devil Kings.

The third faction consisted of the Fallen Angels, led by their Governor-General.

The three sides fought relentlessly for world domination, a battle to the death!

However, this great war, which everyone expected to be protracted and devastating, capable of scorching the earth and seeing them beat each other senseless, ultimately ended in an incredibly anticlimactic and messy way.

This was because the Two Heavenly Dragons – the Red Dragon Emperor and the White Dragon Emperor – accidentally stumbled onto the battlefield while preoccupied with their own fight. They proceeded to swallow the leaders of all three factions in one gulp each, only to be instantly focus-fired by the combined forces and sliced into tens of thousands of pieces like sashimi. Even their souls were sealed away.

After dealing with the meddlesome Two Heavenly Dragons, the three factions looked around and realized that not only their enemies but also their own forces were severely depleted after finally eliminating the dragons.

If they continued fighting, it wouldn't just be a struggle for supremacy anymore; it would lead to mutual annihilation.

Thus, the Angel faction was the first to withdraw, scurrying back to the Heavenly Realm with their severely wounded God to recuperate.

The previous generation of Devil Kings had died on the spot during the battle, completely beyond saving, leaving the Underworld grievously weakened.

Even the Fallen Angel faction suffered heavy losses, with the few survivors scattering to the winds, their whereabouts unknown.

Thanks to this turn of events, what should have resulted in at least one victor ended in a lose-lose-lose situation for all three sides.

The Devils suffered the greatest losses; not only did the previous Devil Kings perish, but only a handful of pure-blooded devil lineages remained.

For instance, Rias's family name, Gremory, belongs to one of the few surviving pure-blooded devil families after the Great War.

"Still, what are the Fallen Angels trying to achieve by suddenly showing up now..."

The scene shifts to Hanakain Fubuki walking home from school. Gazing at the setting sun on the horizon, his mind churned over what Rias had said back in the old school building.

Although theoretically, the Underworld suffered the most significant losses in the three-way war, it was the Fallen Angel faction that had the least remaining power.

Their faction was the smallest to begin with, and their losses during the war were substantial, leaving them with even fewer forces afterward.

Furthermore, they ended up scattering chaotically at the war's conclusion, making it questionable whether they could even regroup and rally their forces effectively.

Hmm... Truly baffling.

When something doesn't make sense, don't dwell on it – this was a good habit of Hanakain Fubuki's.

To him, it ultimately didn't matter whether they were Devils or Fallen Angels. As long as they didn't cause trouble in the human world, everything was fine.

But if they insisted on causing trouble with flashy stunts, well, they could look to the example of a certain Stray Devil.

If you're unwilling to go through the proper visa process via the Devil Special Zone to enter the human world in this life, then please try again in your next life.

Muttering to himself, Hanakain Fubuki gave a small shake of his head.

"Whatever, time to head home~ Otherwise, Kuroka will start complaining if I get back late again... Huh?"

Just as the boy was about to quicken his pace, a sudden ripple of spiritual energy in the air caught his attention.

It was like a single drop of water falling onto a calm lake surface.

The sensation was somewhat similar to what he felt when Ryomen Sukuna deployed his Domain alongside Busujima-senpai earlier, but this power was far less potent and malevolent.

In fact, it felt rather immature and familiar. And this feeling... a barrier technique?

Coming from the Hanakain Onmyoji family, Hanakain Fubuki was very familiar with the fluctuations of such techniques.

This was a simple warding barrier designed to keep people away.

But why would someone set up a warding barrier in a place like this?

Hanakain Fubuki was curious.

Typically, warding barriers were only deployed under specific circumstances: when a practitioner detected traces of a malevolent presence within a building but couldn't immediately pinpoint its exact location due to the building's size. The barrier would be set up around the perimeter to prevent unrelated individuals from wandering in while the practitioner conducted a thorough search.

Its function was roughly analogous to police tape at a crime scene.

However, this area consisted mostly of single-family detached houses. Forget large buildings; even three-story villas were rare. Most houses were only two stories high, making searches quite straightforward.

More importantly... he didn't sense any malevolent presence at all?

Driven by curiosity, Hanakain Fubuki deviated from his planned route home, weaving through the narrow paths between houses towards the source of the barrier's energy. An unexpectedly familiar figure came into view.

It was Asia, the girl he had accidentally bumped into outside his home that morning.

The blonde nun still looked as gentle and lovely as before. Softly humming a little tune, she was busy applying the final touches of spiritual energy to a warding barrier being set up in front of a residential house.

"Asia?" Hanakain Fubuki didn't bother hiding his presence, walking closer and calling out.

Hearing her name, the nun's hands paused slightly. She looked up abruptly, startled like a little rabbit, her wimple bouncing along with the movement.

However, her initial fright transformed into delight the moment she recognized the person approaching.

"Eh, it's Mr. Hanakain! Are you just heading home from school? What a coincidence... Er..." Realization seemed to dawn on her, and the nun's voice trailed off.

Asia blinked her large emerald eyes, the joyful smile on her face gradually replaced by a hint of embarrassment.

"Wait, I'm setting up a warding barrier... Since Mr. Hanakain appeared here, does that mean Asia's barrier... failed?"

"No, you succeeded. It's just that, for certain reasons, this type of barrier doesn't work on me." Reassuring the slightly crestfallen-looking nun, Hanakain Fubuki walked closer and gestured towards the house. "So, what are you doing here, Asia?"

"Oh, it's work!~" Mentioning her current task, a smile returned to Asia's somewhat timid, pretty face. "Thanks to your help this morning, Mr. Hanakain, I successfully reached the local church here. The church Father is inside performing an exorcism right now. Since I couldn't be of much help inside, he asked me to come out and set up the warding barrier."

Exorcism?

Hanakain Fubuki grew even more puzzled.

As stated before, he genuinely hadn't sensed any malevolent presence whatsoever in this residential area.

Could someone possibly understand exorcism better than him, the de facto expert of the Hanakain family?

Sensing vaguely that something wasn't right, Hanakain Fubuki walked past Asia towards the front door of the house. He pressed down on the handle and gently pushed the door open.

From within, the thick, metallic stench of blood hit him full force.