RSE CH 41 (Patreon)

“I found him!”

While Leo was busy spending time with Maria and Mimi, someone else had been hunting high and low for him.

“Oh? That machine must be incredible!”

“Of course it’s incredible. It was created by Azrael!”

The machine had been sent yesterday by Abaddon through a portal. It could detect the karmic lines between a killer and their victim. By using Barlowe’s blood, they could use the machine to find the one who’d killed him, as long as Barlowe’s killer wasn’t outside the machine’s range.

Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for them to find their target.

“Whoever he is, he can’t be more than twenty-one! Barlowe was killed by a baby.” Regina had expected to face some old monster, not a young man.

‘Not like it matters.’

Regina licked her lips in anticipation. She couldn't wait to end that guy and rise in the ranks of Grimori. When he came out of that restaurant, it would be time to hunt him down and give him hell for messing up their schemes. This opportunity was a chance at getting Azrael’s attention that she refused to lose.

The boy in front of her was, without a doubt, the culprit they’d frantically sought the previous day. Not only had he killed Barlowe, but he’d kidnapped that naive little Asa right from under their noses. The young woman was essential to her plan of obtaining a sacred gear—specifically hers.

At first, Regina had worried that someone powerful—the equivalent to a peak level devil—had interfered with their portal. But they’d found no evidence of such a powerful devil at the site. After a thorough investigation, they believed the portal’s failure was due to a malfunction of the runes on their side.

That meant that the man she’d watched enter Tiffany’s Diner was just a normal exorcist. He might be more powerful than expected for his age, but even that wouldn’t be much of a challenge. Moreover, he was a traitor to boot, since she could see him casually conversing with two devils through the window.

The presence of those two devils was the primary reason why she waited for him to walk out before attacking and disposing of him. Regina did not recognize their identities, but from the energy they emanated, she deduced that they weren’t powerful enough to hinder their attack.

“Regina, shouldn’t we put a bit more thought and preparation into this operation?” Kelli worriedly asked their team lead.

She felt the whole situation was more dangerous than Regina assumed—Barlowe had been the real deal, after all. What they were involved in was way above their level. Ideally, they should report everything to Azrael and let him deal with Abaddon while they fled far away to avoid any repercussions.

Hearing Kelli’s suggestion, Regina scoffed and directed a venomous glare at the Nephilim. “Do you really think that a noble Fallen angel like me fears an inconsequential mortal?”

Kelli opened her mouth, shut it, then opened it again. She wanted to remind Regina that they couldn't afford to underestimate mortals. Some of them were super strong—much stronger than what she and Duane or the others could ever hope to be.

Mortals like Nico Caputo could crush them easily with just a wave of his hand. It wouldn’t take much more effort than squashing pesky mosquitoes. At the same time, she understood that comparing the young man in the Diner to one of the strongest humans ever was an exaggeration. But still, she couldn't help but feel that things were going in a dangerous direction—her instincts were buzzing alarm bells in her mind.

In the end, she shut up and decided to run at the first hint of things going sideways. She would come clean to Azrael and pray he didn’t give her a punishment too cruel to bear.

She could see that Keli wasn’t the only Nephilim scared of confronting Barlowe’s killer. Duane and Jonas also seemed to be hanging back. They were much less enthusiastic than she’d thought they would be.

Regina sneered derisively at her frightened team. How could they not understand that this was their golden chance to rise in the Grigori?

‘Once this operation is done, I will cut them off,’ she decided.

Clearly, these three weren’t made out of the stuff she’d thought they were when she’d recruited them. Only daring and ambitious individuals were worthy to follow her.

“Since you are so scared, Jonas and Kelli, go retrieve Asa. We know where he took her.”

Kelli shrugged and followed Jonas without another word. The two Nephilim spread massive lacquer wings behind them and flew away. Duane turned his ballcap around backwards on his head and prepared for the fight that was to come.

“I hope this young man won’t disappoint,” Regina all but purred to herself.

***

In the Diner, the discussion between Leo and the two girls continued. The mood maker, of course, was Maria. But Leo and Mimi managed to lower the air of awkwardness between them as they sat there and got to know one another.

“By the way, I heard from Kira that you are going to fight Rayne and her circle?”

Mimi flinched at the unexpected question that Maria casually tossed into the conversation. It wasn’t something she was aware of.

“I am surprised you heard about it so soon,” Leo replied. “We only discussed it late Friday night.”

“Hehe!” Maria laughed. “Don’t underestimate how weak-willed Kira is when tempted with her favorite snacks. I made her spill everything in a jiffy.”

Leo rolled his eyes at Maria’s smug grin. He knew Kira had quite the appetite. He wondered where she put it all. He was always amazed when he saw the petite girl snacking constantly without putting on any weight. He pitied the owners of any all you can eat buffet that made the mistake of letting her in.

While they joked about how much food Kira could put away, he noted the Heavenly aura of several individuals outside the Diner.

‘…. I guess they found me.’

He sensed two presences spying on him with killing intent.

‘But it looks like I don’t have too much to worry about.’

Clearly, whoever was tailing him were amateurs. There was no way such people could be a real danger.

‘I guess I better finish up with Maria and Mimi before whoever it is gets impatient and attacks.’

The supernatural world had a firm rule about not revealing their existence to the wider world. Of course, there were always a few criminals who did not respect that rule—or used despicable means to maneuver around it.

There was always a way to bend the rules in their favor.

For example, if they pulled the entire restaurant into a closed space, the perpetrators could kill everyone there and chalk it up to some mysterious accident like a gas line break or something.

Leo didn’t know how far the ones tailing him were willing to go, but he didn’t want to gamble. He’d never forgive himself if innocent people died because he was careless.

“I am sorry to cut our conversation short,” Leo offered as he stood, “but I need to get going.”

Maria choked on her next words. She had been digging for more information on the mysterious young man, but it seemed she wouldn’t get anything more out of him.

“Seriously?”

“Yes, I’m afraid I have to go.” Not waiting for them, he dropped enough cash on the table to cover the bill and walked away. “See you in class, Maria. See you later, Mimi.”

Watching him leave, Mimi’s eyes narrowed into thin slits.

“That’s… suspicious.”

Maria nodded before frowning. “It is… but it isn’t our problem. We shouldn’t make ourselves a nuisance.”

Despite her appearance and how she often acted, Maria respected others’ boundaries. It was clear, to her at least, that Leo didn’t want them following him. She was friendly to everyone but, in reality, only a few people could call themselves her friend.

Leo Karteros was many things for her. She found him interesting, a powerful, warrior, and considered him a prospective companion. But, they weren’t friends—yet. Until they crossed that line, he was not someone she was willing to stick her neck out for.

“We should go home,” Maria said.

Instead of agreeing, Mimi watched Leo cross the street. “Let’s follow him.”

“… Mimi!” Maria was flustered by the unexpected demand coming from her shy friend. Usually she was the one dragging Mimi into crazy situations. When had their roles reversed?

Mimi grinned mischievously at the flabbergasted Maria. What could she say? She was curious. She wanted to see why Leo was in such a hurry to get away.

In the end, Maria sighed in defeat as she made a decision. Activating her localization app, she rolled her eyes and said, “Let’s go.”

***

When Leo exited the Diner, he walked nonchalantly towards a park he figured would be empty on a Sunday morning. Even though the park was quite beautiful, few people hung out there since it was off the beaten path.

It was the ideal place to confront those who’d trailed him to the Diner.

When he finally reached the park, with its small pond surrounded by a bunch of trees, Leo took a deep breath. He stretched his arms over his head as his body tensed in preparation for the coming fight.

As good as he was at it, Leo did not like to fight. He preferred his normal, everyday life. Hells, he’d be happy if no one disturbed it and everyone let him be.

Unfortunately…

“Kill them before they kill you,” he muttered one of the mantras his mother lived by, he prepared himself mentally to put an end to this farce.

“Oh? Big words from such a little man.”

The words came from the sky in a haughty voice as a woman with ebony black wings appeared, floating in the air.

Rather than paying attention to her appearance, which left very little to the imagination, Leo noted the wings on her back.

“Only one pair of wings? I have to say, I’m disappointed.”

Regina grew sullen at the obvious provocation from the filthy human. Angels and Fallen angels were ranked by the number of wings they had. Determining the power level of an angel or fallen angel was fairly easy.

With only one pair of wings, she was clearly a low-rank Fallen Angel. During the great war, people at her level had been considered cannon fodder.

Even so…

“I may only have one pair of wings, but that will be more than enough to deal with a lowly human like you!”

Even as she spoke, the sky began to distort and the previously blue sky vanished to be replaced by one with a purple ambiance.

“I isolated the space. No other humans will disturb us.”

Leo threw a look at the tall man wearing a ballcap turned around backwards who appeared next to the first fallen. Even though the number of his enemies had doubled, Leo showed no change of expression.

The calm look on his face irked Regina so much that she couldn’t help but mock him. “You are the one who saved Asa, right? Hahaha! I wonder how you will feel once you know we sent people to rescue her.” She laughed in glee but was once again disappointed not to see horror and fear in his expression.

In fact, the look in his eyes irked her even more now. If before he’d simply given her a blank look, now she could see a hint of pity in his gaze. He shook his head as if he was looking at a complete moron.

“If the ones you sent to ‘rescue’ Asa are at the same level as you, then I guess this will be their last day. Then again, it isn’t like you will outlive them.” He scowled at the two idiots in front of him.

“First of all, I hate the way you are looking down at me. So… get down here!”

<<gravity fold="" hundred="" increase="" magic:="">> </gravity>

The air around Leo slowly changed as he released his aura and began to suppress theirs. It was time to end this shit.