The Fallen Angels must have noticed the intrusion by now.

  It wasn't as if he hadn't thought of this before, but Zaydas still had his selfish reasons and pns for waiting until now to attack these Fallen Angels and the heretics who allied with them.

  If he waited for the inal plot tress and then interfered, it could yield more AP. His goal had always been—and always would be—to earn more AP.

  And if he didn't act this erhaps meeting Asia wouldn't be so simple.

  Of course, there was a case simir to Ai Hoshino, where he had ged things before the inal plot unfolded, but in this situation, he preferred t more AP to avoid an undesirable sario.

  "Zaydas-san, what are you..." Asia's voice was tearful; she couldn't even plete her jecture as she spoke.

  "Asia-, I'm a Devil." He turo them. "But even so, I won't y eyes when I see something like this happening iy under my jurisdi. Don't you uahe Fallen Angels didn't take you in—they want what you possess. And the moment they get it, you'll die."

  He told the truth. It wasn't a lie when he said all this. Uhe inal plot, perhaps they already had the ritual ready—Zaydas could se from there.

  He had interfered, rendering Issei pletely useless in such a sario. Perhaps that's why ret events led him to walk that day, and perhaps that's why Asia stopped in front of him.

  It wasn't something he had phough he didn't deny his i in turning her into a Devil as part of his Peerage.

  Asia took a while to respond, wrestling with an internal flict: "But wouldn't it be better this way? Someone like me doesn't deserve your prote."

  When Zaydas heard this, his expression ged.

  "Why do you undervalue yourself so much? Even for the life of that fake priest who uses God as an excuse to kill and rape, you cried for him," Zaydas said. "And you, Asia-, who's going to cry for you?"

  "Who's going to cry for me?" She looked fused.

  It seemed she had hought about it, nor even sidered the possibility of it happening.

  "I don't know you that well, but from what I've observed, I know you're a shy and very kind girl. However, Asia-, even angels be selfish when it es to proteg their own safety." Zaydas cast a goward the church. "Right now, you should be asking me for help to avoid being a human sacrifi a vile ritual where they'd steal your Sacred Gear. Not thinking that you're not worth saving or that maybe it's better this way."

  "I..." It was undeniable. She was like an open book, showing her surprise at his ability to guess what she was thinking.

  She had always believed. Even after being judged as a heretic, even when no one reached out to help her, Asia maintained her faith. She believed that if she could overe this trial, God might someday make her dream e true. That was what she g to.

  Making friends, pnting flowers with them, buying books, strolling at night... Simple things, but ones she had always dreamed of experieng, as she had never had the ce to have a single friend.

  But if she were truly used in a ritual and died, would that really be part of the pn God had for her?

  "What luck..."

  A girl with Fallen Angel wings desded from the sky.

  Fpping her wings, she looked at them and briefly introduced herself: "Well, my fans know me as Mittelt."

  Mittelt was a girl with blonde hair tied in pigtails and blue eyes. She wore a Gothic Lolita outfit.

  She stru elegant pose after introdug herself.

  "I am Zaydas."

  "Ah, that doesn't matter. Now hand over the girl," she said with a smile on her face, though her as tradicted her carefree appearahen she added coldly: "She is the key piece for the ceremony that is about to begin. Don't interfere."

  "Piece..." Asia turned pale. "Ceremony... So it's true. They lured me here to..."

  "Hahaha, you still don't get it?" The Fallen Angel Mittelt ughed, cruelty g her voice. "But it doesn't matter whether you know now or not, little flower. Raynare-sama wants your Sacred Gear, and now that you're here, there's no more reason to hide it."

  She tilted her head, her smile being even crueler. "Yes, you're nothing but a simple disposable piece whose only value lies in that Sacred Gear inside you. Got it?"

  With a theatrical gesture, she pced her index finger against her own head, spinning it mogly.

  Zaydas looked surprised at the Fallen Angel Mittelt: 'Did she e here to help me?'

  "I'm a disposable piece...?" Asia murmured, her voice trembling.

  "No, you're not," Zaydas responded firmly, his voice filled with vi. "Don't listen to her, Asia-. You know what you o do now, don't you?"

  With tears streaming down her face, she turo him, hesitation and fear reflected in her every move. "Z-Zaydas-san... you help me?" Her voice broke as she closed her eyes and csped her hands, fearing the answer.

  "It would be my pleasure," he replied with a reassuring smile.

  "Ugh! How disgusting~!" Mittelt mocked, pg her finger ihroat in an exaggerated gesture, pretending to vomit. "And you, Devil-san, do you really think yoing to—"

  Before she could finish her sentence, Zaydas acted. A woodcutting axe materialized in his hand, and he advanced with impressive speed. The air around him seemed to have no time to react; the movement was sile devastating.

  Whoosh!

  Mittelt had the sensation of being struck by lightning. In a single blow, the axe bde came down from above, splitting her from head to waist, cutting her body into two halves.

  The two parts fell apart, but for a brief moment, she still seemed scious, as if her mind was struggling to accept the reality of what had just happehen, life left her, and her body disied into dust. Bck feathers fell from her wings, scattering around like a silent, funereal rain.

  [+19 AP]

  Asia, who had opened her eyes, saw it but couldn't properly react.

  She thought he was strong before, but it seemed she hadn't evehe tip of the iceberg.

  From the sky, two other Fallen Angels arrived.

  "Zaydas-san."

  "It's alright," he assured her.

  "I 't believe Mittelt was killed."

  The first to speak was a middle-aged man with short bck hair and dark blue eyes, wearing a bck hat that gave him a stern appearance. Beside him stood a tall, stout woman with brown eyes and long navy-blue hair c her right eye.

  Shouting in rage, the woman excimed, "Don't think you'll get away with this, Devil! Prepare to die!"

  "Where are you looking?"

  "Damn it..."

  "Vomit!"

  "Dohnaseek!" The woman turned abruptly, almost as if by instinct. What she saw left her in shock: Dohnaseek was standing, but with a grotesque, deep cut across his back. The blow had been so brutal that his spinal cord had been torn out, dangling grotesquely.

  "I..." The look of pain on Dohnaseek's face sted only a few seds before the life left his eyes, and he colpsed to the ground.

  [+11 AP]

  "Don't bother saying anything," Zaydas spoke calmly, his demeanor unshaken. "You should have already noticed the differeween us, shouldn't you?"

  Grindieeth, the woman turned desperately, taking flight to escape into the sky.

  For a moment, she believed she had escaped. However, something ued appeared in her path, leaving her fused. Then she saw something that was both beautiful and terrifying: a luminous streak, like the trail of a shooting star, cutting through the sky toward her.

  It was too te when she realized it was the effect of a bde advang at high speed.

  "Ahhhh!" She screamed in despair as she was sliced in half. Her body quickly disied into dark ashes that scattered into the air, vanishing pletely.

  [+26 AP]

  "Twilight Healing will soon be mine!" Raynare excimed loudly, her expressioatic as she looked at the nearly pleted ritual.

  However, her expression ged when she felt the presence of her subordinates disappearing one by one.

  'How is this possible?' Her heart began to race.

  She might have had the ce to orchestrate something like this, but she feared death.

  A pair of bck wings spread from her back. "I'll go iigate—tihe ritual!"

  "Yes!"

  Outside, she arrived just in time to witness Kawarna being sliced in half by an axe.

  It was as if she were a simple piece of firewood waiting to be split in two. It was horrifying!

  "Who is he?" She didn't reize him at first, but that hair ade her think of a certain Devil family.

  'It 't be, right?' she thought. 'If it really is a Gremory, I...'

  Without thinking twice, she fled into the sky. 'I'll remember this!!'

  She didn't bother warning the heretics; in fact, she hoped they would serve as a shield to ensure her safe escape.

  People began to approach, and Zaydas sehe presence of a Fallen Angel—Raynare.

  However, he had to make a choice: leave Asia behind to chase after Raynare, or stay and elimihe heretics.

  In the end, he chose to stay.

  Read up to 15 chapters ahead on Patreon. At least two chapters will be updated daily, with one free chapter every day.Patreon./ZaydasDon't miss the ce to activate a 15% dist on Patreon, valid from 02/04/2025 to 02/16/2025! - Code: 53D82