"There's only three of you?"
"We were warned your abilities exceeded that of a normal human, and ordered to attack you all together." The fedora wearing man stated, stepping forward.
"I find it pretty hard to believe that a puny human could be a threat, though." The short blonde girl added. "The name's Mittelt by the way. It's a bit of a shame since you're kinda cute. But oh well. Maybe I'll get to hear you scream before you die?"
"How crass you are." The blue haired woman sighed at Mittelt. "I am the fallen angel Kalawarner."
"Nonetheless, an order is an order. It's time for you to die." The man said, and in a bright flash of light, a spear like construct appeared in his right hand as he adjusted his hat with his left.
"My name is Dohnaseek. I will be the fallen angel that kills you."
"That kills me?" Suk-chin's eyebrows went up as he smiled. "What a bold claim that is. If you start right off with the threat of death..."
Suk-chin lunged forward at a speed that surprised the fallen angels.
Dohnaseek took aim with his spear, and launched it in Suk-chin's direction.
Twisting his body, Suk-chin avoided the spear as it sailed past him. He lowered himself and put his hands on the ground.
Pushing up, he slammed both of his feet into Dohnaseek's jaw, sending him rocketing back.
Quickly getting back on his feet, Suk-chin had to lean back to avoid Kalawarner rushing at him from the right. She was also now wielding a spear.
As she failed to halt her momentum, Suk-chin grabbed a hold of her arm with his left hand, and her collar with his right.
Kalawarner felt her legs get swept out from under her. The next thing she knew, she was slammed into the ground.
Suk-chin sighed as Mittelt charged at him now.
"You guys are upsetting." He said, easily knocking the small fallen angel away.
"It wouldn't have really mattered, but you could have at least tried attacking me all together. Instead of throwing yourselfs at me one at a time."
He started walking away. "Now where the hell did that rat bitch go with Issei? Fuck. Am I gonna have to run around this whole place?"
He stopped as he heard some movement behind him.
Shakily, all three of the fallen angels got back to their feet.
"Oh?" Suk-chin tilted his head.
"Arrogant brat..." Ironically, it was the childlike Mittelt who said that.
Rubbing his jaw, Dohnaseek narrowed his eyes at Suk-chin.
All three fallen nodded to each other. They flapped their wings, and quickly took up new positions.
Now, all of them had surrounded Suk-chin in a triangular fashion.
"We underestimated you just now. It was our mistake." Dohnaseek stated. "One that we will quickly rectify."
"Are you guys... actually going to fight me all at once?" Suk-chin laughed a little. "Okay. But remember what I just said."
"It won't matter if you attack alone or together."
...
"Well, now that we've taken care of that little problem," 'Yuuma' crushed the phone she had stolen to use while disguised in her hands. "I suppose it's time I finally put you out of your misery."
Issei paled. This was literally the worst possible scenario. Not only had things actually gone wrong - and in a very dangerous way, but his only possible life line in this situation wasn't going to come.
What could he possibly do in this kind of situation? How could he live?
His body still wouldn't move.
It was like 'Yuuma' had some sort of terror inducing aura around her. Instead of the woman before him, he only saw a monster.
"...W-why?" He croaked out. "Why are you doing this to me?"
Her face scrunched up when he spoke. God, she hated the sound of his stupid voice.
"Why?" 'Yuuma' repeated, pushing herself off of her seat and standing up. "Why? You really want to know why?"
Scoffing, she answered. "Because, unlikely for you, you little shitstain, you were born with a sacred gear."
"...What?"
"Because of that thing, you've been deemed as a potential threat." She said, looking down at him. "So my orders are to kill you."
"But you know how annoying it was to get to this point?"
Snarling, 'Yuuma' began to recount her frustrations. "Because of all those fucking devils crawling around this damn town, I had to be 'secretive' about this. You know, if it were up to me, I would have just broken into your house and gutted you like a fish."
Issei felt his stomach sink at the thought of someone so carelessly speaking of ending his life.
"But no! I had to make sure nobody would interfere! So I needed plan to to lure you into an isolated area and kill you. So I thought, if I have to work so hard, might as well have a little fun too, right?"
"Wrong! Fucking wrong!" She said, suddenly standing in front of Issei.
"Do you know how fucking boring you are!?"
"I was looking forward to seeing your look of despair as you found out all of this was a sham to end your life. But by the end of the day, I was just thankful it was all over!"
Issei was being pummeled by insult after insult.
But... while she was busy ranting, she hadn't made any moves to actually kill him.
So at least he was stalling for time?
...
Suk-chin raised his arms as Dohnaseek threw a punch at him.
Looking out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a the tip of a spear rapidly approaching him.
He leaned his head back, avoiding it.
But there was already another spear hurdling towards him.
Suk-chin dropped underneath it. And yet, there was still another spear being launched at him.
He tilted his head, barely avoiding it. As soon as he did, he was swarmed by all three fallen angels.
Suk-chin had a surprised expression on his face.
All at once, all three of Dohnaseek, Kalawarner and Mittelt felt a heavy impact strike them in the face, knocking them away.
As they sowly struggling to their feet, Suk-chin stared at them.
They're pretty weak...
But their timing is on point.
Suk-chin shot forward, and kicked Dohnaseek in the head. As he was sent rocketing back, the two other fallen angels sprung forward.
Kalawarner was the first to enter his reach. He dodged her spear, grabbing her by the face and slamming her into the ground. Mittelt was next as Suk-chin extended his leg, kicking her in the gut before she could even get to him.
She dropped to her knees, gasping for air.
And yet, just like cockroaches, Dohnaseek and Kalawarner were already up and flying towards him.
Again?
This went on several more times.
He would dodge their attacks, knock them away, and they would get right back up and keep swarming him. Their angles kept changing, and they would time their attacks so that as soon as he was dodging one, the other was already in his path.
They definitely had a lot of experience fighting together.
It probably would have been a problem if they were stronger.
But, it was still troublesome. Because this was starting to take too much time, and he didn't really have any to spare.
Dohnaseek charged at him, and Suk-chin kicked him in the chest. The fallen angel staggered, before flying right back at him.
Suk-chin sighed. When Dohnaseek reached him, he grabbed the man by the collar.
The human raised his hand in the air, and Dohnaseek felt a rush of fear.
But then he looked to the side and smirked.
Suk-chin followed his gaze.
Kalawarner and Mittelt stood further away, both holding spears in their hands. But these ones were different. They were larger, and glowed brightly.
"What the-"
The two large spears were flung at him. They quickly combined into one as they closed the distance in an instant.
As soon as they made contact, they knocked Suk-chin away from Dohnaseek, and exploded in a brilliant flash of light.
...
"But seriously! Why am I the one stuck on this fucking mission, huh? It could have been literally anyone else! This is such a waste of my talents! So what if there are devils here? They could have literally sent a child here to kill you! So why me!?"
At this point, Issei's fear had completely dissipated. Halfway through her rant, she had moved on from insulting him to just complaining about her life in general.
Seriously. What had he ever done to possibly deserve this?
At the end of it all, 'Yuuma' was out of breath, panting for air.
There was a few seconds where neither of them spoke a word. The only noise was the water fountain behind them and and her heavy breathing.
"I've been... waiting to get all of that out of my system for a while now."
Regaining her breath, she finally summoned a spear within her hands. "And to the perfect person, too. One who's about to die."
Ah. There was the fear.
Raising the spear above her head, the fallen angel tossed the spear at the prone Issei without another care in the world.
"Glad this is finally over with."
Issei felt his life slowly flash before his eyes.
There were a lot of tits.
I...
I'm about to die.
Everything around him seemed to slow down.
I'm really about to die.
Is this really how I go?
Without... even getting to touch a single boob?
The spear got closer.
I don't want to die!
The spear rocketed through, but right at the last moment, Issei was pulled up and out of the way.
"Wow, you're actually still alive." Issei turned his head to see Suk-chin standing there, holding him by the back of his shirt. "Well, you almost weren't."
Dropping the boy, Suk-chin looked over at the fallen angel. "I won't lie to you Issei, I was fully expecting you to be gutted by the time I got here."
"I... almost was..."
"Yeah, which is crazy. What took you so long to try to kill him?" He directed the question to 'Yuuma'.
She simply stared at him, shocked.
"How... did you get here?" She asked him, before her eyes morphed into a glare. "No. Why are you here? Where are the others? What happened!?"
"Oh, those guys?" Suk-chin rubbed the back of his head.
"Well..."
...
A cloud of smoke was slowly beginning to dissipate where Suk-chin had been flung.
"We got him, right?" Mittelt asked. "Like, he's fucking dead. Right?"
"He has to be." Kalawarner said, panting. "We put everything we had into that attack."
Dohnaseek struggled to get back to his feet before walking back to the two. "That was close." He said. "Far too close. How could a single human be so strong?"
"Maybe it was his sacred gear?" Mittelt suggested.
"Whatever it is, at least it's over." Kalwarner sighed. "What an embarassment."
"Honestly. I wanna leave this place as soon as possible." Mittelt nodded. "What about you... Dohnaseek?"
They turned to Dohnaseek, who was staring at the smoke cloud with a shocked expression.
A sinking feeling filled them, as they also turned to face the almost completely dissipated smoke.
"No..."
"How is this possible?"
"He..."
Finally, the smoke fully cleared, revealing Suk-chin.
"Isn't damaged at all?"
His arms were raised in a guard, but there wasn't any visible damage on his body whatsoever.
"Okay..." Suk-chin let out a breath, before cracking his neck. "I think I've played with you goons for long enough."
"You... fucking bastard..." Dohnaseek felt like he was about to burst open with fiery rage. "You're nothing but a fucking human! How dare you act so arrogantly!"
"Just because you have a little power!? We are higher beings! You should know your place!" The fallen angel snarled.
Suk-chin rolled his eyes. "How delusional." He muttered.
"Do you guys really not understand?" He asked all three fallen.
"The reason I'm so confident..."
"The reason I'm not worried about you three at all, despite being outnumbered..."
Suk-chin smiled at them. "Is because I'm stronger than you."
The next thing Dohnaseek knew, what might as well have been a sledgehammer crashed down on his right shoulder, destroying entirely.
Suk-chin kicked Dohnaseek on his left side, causing the fallen to start dropping to the ground.
He raised his right leg and kicked him in the head, stomping Dohnaseek into the ground.
"That's the first of you..." Suk-chin tilted his head to face the two others, his foot still on Dohnaseek's head.
Kalawarner tried to manifest a spear to defend herself with, but Suk-chin was already in front of her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.
He punched her in the stomach so hard that wind pressure blow out behind her. Putting his hand on her shoulder, Suk-chin threw her onto the ground.
"And now..."
Mittelt jumped. Her wings fluttered, and she turned tail and abandoned her allies.
"The one who's trying to run away."
Unfortunately for her, Suk-chin had caught up in an instant, grabbing her by the back of the head and shoving her face first into the dirt.
This time, they didn't get back up.
Suk-chin started to walk away again.
"You guys should feel lucky." He said, before turning to face their motionless bodies.
"You were pretty funny, so I'll let you live just this once."
...
"They're... still around. Kinda." Suk-chin shrugged. "But enough about that. Let's talk you." He stared at the lone fallen angel with a grin.
Scowling, she raised her and and summoned a spear-
Suk-chin appeared in front of her, grabbing onto her wrist. "Let's not do this, okay?" He tightened his grip, nearly breaking her bones. She let out a cry, the spear falling to the ground and dissipating.
"Let's start with you really are." He said. "And then we'll get on to why you're here."
"You bastard! As if I'll-"
"I'm not asking you."
Raynare's words got stuck in her throat as Suk-chin looked down at her with an ominous expression. He yanked his arm down, forcing her to the ground.
"Let's recap the situation, shall we?" He said.
"You lured us out here. You ambushed us. You attacked us. You tried to kill us." With every sentence, he tightened his grip until finally her bones were crushed in his hand.
"You have no allies, and you have no power. You are helpless in this situation. No matter what you do or how hard you try, you will never be able to escape."
When she shot him a glare, and opened her mouth as if to fight back, he smacked her head into the ground with his other hand.
The back of her skull bounced against the ground painfully, and she could feel blood starting to flow.
"So now, you're going to tell me everything. From beginning to end." Suk-chin let go of her wrist, but kept a hand on her head.
Shaking, she slowly looked up at him with cold eyes. "Hah. Fuck you." She spat blood at him.
It was hard to believe this was the same woman playing the shy cute girl act.
Suk-chin closed his eyes, and seemed to come to a decision internally.
"If you insist." He said. He let go of her head, and raised both of his hands in the air with the intent of bringing them down on her.
"I spared your friends before, but that doesn't mean you're guaranteed the same courtesy."
"Wait!" Issei called out, making Suk-chin stop.
He turned his head and stared at Issei blankly.
The brown haired boy suddenly felt himself stumble over his words. "A-are you really going to kill her?"
Suk-chin raised an eyebrow. "Do you feel bad for her?" He asked the boy. "Do you think she cared about you at all? Everything she did was done with the sole intention of killing you."
He was definitely aware of that.
"It's not that..." Issei mumbled his denial, looking down.
"But I..." He had a conflicted expression on his face.
Suk-chin stared at him for a few seconds. "It isn't that you care about her, but..."
"You're hesitant to let anyone die in front of you, right?"
When Issei didn't respond, Suk-chin sighed.
It made sense. Most people, even if they said otherwise, would hesitate when it came to the death of a person. Especially if they've never had to deal with it themselves.
He thought about it for the longest time.
Suk-chin finally looked back at... well, it wasn't Yuuma, but he didn't have a clue on what to call her.
"Well. Just like your friends, it's your lucky day." He told her. "You get to survive." He fake cheered as if she had won a grand prize.
"You're weak." She spat at him.
"If I'm being honest, you seem kind of stupid. Not the type to learn their lesson and/or place." Suk-chin said, sliding his hands into his pockets.
"So..." He lifted his right foot.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"
And brought it down on her left arm.
"There we go." He smiled. "That outta nip this problem in the bud."
"I'll fucking kill you for this!" The fallen angel snarled viciously. "Do you understand me! I'll fucking kill you! Both of you! I'll hunt you down! I won't stop until the two of you are AAAAAAAAH FUUUUUUUUUCK!"
Suk-chin stomped on one of her legs, shattering it. "Sorry, I don't think I understood you. Could you speak up?"
When she glared violently at him, he placed his foot on her remaning leg. "I will break this one too. Don't think I'll stop at limbs."
She continued to glare at him, before cowing. Her wings fluttered, lifting her body into the air.
Which was kind of a funny sight, in a gruesome way. What with three completely limp limbs.
"I'm probably gonna regret that." Suk-chin sighed.
He turned to Issei. "You good?"
Issei nodded, shakily getting to his feet. "Yeah, yeah. Still alive."
"How did that happen anyways?"
Issei cringed. "I really don't want to talk about it."
Suk-chin stared at him weirdly, before shrugging.
They stood in silence for a minute.
"Oh yeah, I dropped your phone elsewhere in the park."
"What!?"
"Yeah. Completely forgot where. So... have fun with that I guess. Because I'm not helping."
...
The next day at school was a strange one.
For one, Suk-chin didn't mind the borderline to straight up harassment he had to suffer at the hands of his classmates.
It had slowly started to die down after his first week, and he also had gotten better at tuning them out.
Although there was one problem...
"Don't even get close to me."
Suk-chin didn't bother looking in the direction of Aika Kiryuu, who was sauntering over to him.
"Oh come on, I-"
"No."
"Can I-"
"No."
"If you just-"
"No."
Aika sighed, but ultimately shrugged. "I'll wear you down eventually."
Suk-chin grimaced.
He felt someone put their hands on his desk to get his attention.
Oh for fuck-
"Oh. It's just you."
Issei scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know exactly what that means."
"You motherfu- no, forget that." Issei shook his head. "You're the only proof I have that I haven't gone crazy."
"Wouldn't say that personally."
"Will you just listen to me!?"
Suk-chin sat up straight in his chair, looking at Issei in his eyes. "What is it."
"Matsuda and Motohama don't remember Yuuma at all, even though I introduced her to them like three days ago."
Suk-chin raised an eyebrow.
"My two friends? Dude you literally met them last week."
"Oh yeah. One of them has glasses right?"
"You- yes. One of them has glasses." Issei sighed. "But anyways. You remember, right?" Suk-chin nodded. "Then what the hell was that?" Issei asked.
"Who the hell was she? What was she? Why did she want to kill me? To kill you? And why doesn't anyone else remember her? Why are her pictures gone from my phone - which fuck you for not helping me find. And..."
"What are you?"
Suk-chin stared at Issei. "I'm a person. Like you." He said, standing up. "The bitch that wanted us dead is a fallen angel. As for the motive, and why nobody can remember her? No idea. Althought the latter I guess is just some fallen angel bullshit."
Suk-chin packed up his things. "Anyways, I'm gonna bounce. Try not to get jumped by anymore women."
"She said something about a sacred gear."
Suk-chin stopped.
Issei continued. "I don't know what that is. But when I asked... her why, that's what she said. I just wanted you to know that."
Issei stared at Suk-chin, and the expression on his face was difficult to decypher.
"...I see." He said.
The expression was gone, and Suk-chin smiled. "Thank you for telling me that."
There was a knock at the classroom door. And then all the girls squealed loudly.
Suk-chin cringed at the sound. "What's got them so loud?" He turned his head to see a blond haired boy entering the class.
It was Kiba Yuuto.
"Ah." Suk-chin said. "This may not be good."
"Why?" Issei asked. "Actually why, though. Why is this pretty boy dickhead in our class?"
The girls surrounded Kiba as soon as he took a step inside.
Kiba waved his hands. "No thank you, I'm just here to meet some people. Sorry to bother you all." He took a step past them, and his eyes landed on Suk-chin.
Fuck.
"There you are." He said before making his way towards them.
"Hello you two." Kiba addressed both Suk-chin and Issei.
Issei pointed to himself. "You're talking to me?" When Kiba nodded, Issei almost seemed repulsed.
Funnily enough, the girls seemed to share the sentiment.
"Don't get close to him, Kiba! You'll be infected with pig!"
"He's not gonna catch a disease just from standing next to me!"
"Ew no! Kiba don't talk to him! He smells like moldy cheese and dirt!"
Issei threw his hands up. "That's just a blatant lie!"
"I'm here because the president of my club would like to speak to you two." Kiba cut through them.
Issei tilted his head. "Club? Oh yeah, you're in that fancy club. What was it called again?"
"The occult research club."
"Oh yeah. But why do you want me there?"
Suk-chin leaned back a little bit, stretching his back. "You know, I could've sworn I already said no to that. And I'd like to think I was pretty convincing."
Kiba's eye twitched. "Yes. Well, things change. In regards to... recent events, she's decided it would be in everyone's best interest for you all to meet."
Both Suk-chin and Issei understood what Kiba meant by 'recent events'. "How does she know about that?" Issei asked loudly, slamming his hands on Suk-chin's desk.
"Everything will be explained if you come with me." Kiba offered. "I can promise you we don't mean any harm. You want to learn the truth about what happened, don't you?"
Issei calmed down. "Yeah, I do." He said. He eyed Suk-chin. "I guess... fine."
Both Issei and Kiba looked and Suk-chin.
Suk-chin sighed. "Fuck. Fine. I'll go. No point throwing Issei to the wolves by himself." He said. "Shit." He quickly whispered to himself.
"Excellent." Kiba said. "Now, if you don't mind following me, I'll lead the way."
"Oh my god, is Kiba really about to walk out with Suk-chin?"
"Yeah, but Issei's there too! Ruining it!"
"Shut up!" Issei fired as they all left.
...
Kiba had lead them outside, and to the old school building.
"Wait, we're here? I thought this place was just abandonned." Issei asked.
"Definitely looks abandonned." Suk-chin commented.
"The inside looks better than the outside." Kiba assured them.
They took a step inside.
"Well that was a fucking lie."
"This isn't the actual clubroom, that would be upstairs." Kiba said.
They went upstairs, and down a hall to a large pair of doors. Kiba opened one of them, and all three went inside the room.
The room was dark, being only lit by candles. There were two couches made of black leather, and a desk sitting at the end of the room made of some sort of darkwood.
"I maintain my earlier comment."
Kiba sighed.
"Alright." Suk-chin took a step forward, ignoring the decor. "Where's the boss?"
"Ah, Rias would be..."
On cue, they all heard the sound of running water.
"Your clothes will be ready when you're done, prez!" A female voice sounded from a room attached to the one they were in.
"Thank you, Akeno." Another replied.
"Wait a minute." Issei said, deathly serious. "That's Rias Gremory in there, isn't it? Did I just... hear her shower?"
"...Yes." Kiba confirmed.
"Why is there a shower here?" Suk-chin asked. "And why would she use it knowing we were coming?"
"Oh, are you two visiting?" One of the two girls from inside the bathroom stepped out into the main room.
Issei gaped. No way, that's Akeno Himejima! She's like, one of the hottest girls in school! And she's in front of me!
Suk-chin tilted his head. The girl I bumped into is her too. She really is a devil.
"We're here for answers." Suk-chin said. "Well, he's here for answers more than I am." He patted Issei on the back. "I kinda just want you guys to leave me alone after this."
"Why don't we all take a seat?" Kiba suggested, stepping forward.
"No, I'd rather stand."
Finally, Rias walked in. "Sorry about that." The red haired girl apologized. She was dressed in her school uniform, drying her air. "I didn't have an opportunity to shower earlier, and it seems I lost track of time."
"Completely understandable!" Issei nodded vigorously.
"My name is Rias Gremory." She introduced herself, sitting on her desk. "There are a few reasons I called you two here today." She told them. "The first of them being what occured last night. When you were all attacked by fallen angels."
"I..." Issei gulped, having flashbacks at the previous night. "I almost died. She tried to kill me. She said something about a sacred gear. What is it and why does she want me dead for it?"
Rias nodded. "I will answer your question. But first, I must explain the beginning. The being that tried to kill you is Raynare, a fallen angel."
"Raynare..." Issei whispered. "That's her real name..."
"A fallen angel is a creature from the christian bible. An angel from heaven that has fallen to sin, and was cast out."
Issei's eyes widened. "But I... I thought all of that was fake!" He shakes his head. "Clearly it can't be... not anymore."
Rias sighed. "Yes. All mythologies as you know them are real. That means that when it comes to christianity, angels, fallen angels and devils all exist."
"It also means everywhere in this room is a devil."
Issei took a step back in shock. "What? But how? All of you.." He looks around, and his eyes land on Suk-chin. Suk-chin put his hands up.
"That's why we still know about her, unlike your friends. We have the ability to remove ourselves from the minds of humans." Rias explained. "And, as for the reason she wanted to kill you... you, both of you, possess what is known as a sacred gear."
Issei rubbed his head. "Yeah, I've figured that much. Still don't know what that is."
Rias smiled. "Of course. You see, a sacred gear is a gift. A power given to select humans by the Lord himself. Normally, humans do not pose a threat to supernatutal beings. Not without extensive training, of course. But with a sacred gear? That could change."
"A weapon? I have one?" Issei pointed at himself. "Is this some sort of elaborate prank? I'm really not that special."
Rias shook her head, and stood up from her seat. "Quite the opposite, Issei." She said. "If what I'm sensing is correct, not only do you have a sacred gear, but you have an extremely powerful one."
Issei's eyes widened. "Seriously!?" He asked. "You're still talking about me right?"
Rias laughed. "Of course."
"Oh... so then..." Issei thought about. "Aren't I a threat to you guys too?"
Rias shook her head. "No, I don't see it that way. Rather, Issei, I'd like to make an offer to you."
"And that would be...?"
"Join me, and become a devil. My servant."
Issei's face scrunched up. "What?"
"I have the ability to turn others into devils. Reincarnate them as my servants." Rias explained. "You'll have more protection, and come to have more power."
Issei mulled it over. "Really? But, throwing everything away to be a devil... and are you really sure you'd want me anyways? I mean..." He seemed very hesitant.
Rias thought about what to say next, before an idea crossed her mind. She approached Issei. "You know, you don't always have to stay a servant forever. In fact, one day you might be able to get servants of your own."
Just like that, Issei's mind was racing. My own servants? Like, MY servants?
"Servants... I can make them do whatever I want, right?"
Rias nodded. "That's right!"
Oh master, I just have to let you touch my boobs! I don't have a choice!
Issei grinned widely, a completely perverse expression on his face.
"I ACCEPT! I ACCEPT! DEVIL ME UP BABY!"
Suk-chin facepalmed.
"And what about you?" Suk-chin looked up and saw that Rias was standing in front of him.
"What about me?"
"Would you like to become a devil as well?"
Suk-chin blinked at her.
Rias went on. "I know you had some brief issues with Kiba, but it's all water under the bridge, isn't it? I can promise you everything I promised Issei."
Suk-chin looked at Rias, then at Issei, then at everyone else in the room, and finally back at Rias.
...
"I don't want to."
Rias seemed surprised at the outright refusal.
"Is that right? I can promise you anything your heart desires."
"...Anything?"
Rias nodded. "That's right. Anythi-"
"I refuse."
Rias stopped talking. Suk-chin continued. "There are two things I want. And you don't have the power to grant me either of those things."
"Hm... are you sure? Even if it's out of my power, I can certainly help you. I'll be able to unlock your sacred gear for you." She offered.
"I already have it, though?" Suk-chin's statement surprised everyone in the room.
Rias's eyes widened. "You... already have it unlocked?"
Suk-chin nodded. "Yeah. Of course."
"So that's how you survived the fallen angels?"
Suk-chin frowned. "What? No. I haven't used my sacred gear at all."
"Then what is it?"
"That is none of your business." Suk-chin told her. He took a step back.
"Sure, becoming a devil has it's advantages, but so what? I don't really need anything from you guys, and I don't want to be a servant. So no thank you."
He turned around. "See you guys. I didn't really need answers. I only came with Issei. But he's made his choice already. Doesn't mean I'll make the same one."
With that, Suk-chin walked out of the clubroom.
It was silent for a while, until Issei coughed.
"Sorry, is this awkward?" He asked. "Uh... how exactly am I becoming a devil?"
Rias sighed. "Right, of course." She smiled. "Okay, Issei. Come here."
When the brunette approached her, Rias pulled out what looked like a glowing chess piece. "Issei, are you familiar with the game of chess?"
Issei frowned. "Chess? I mean... a little. I've played it a few times at least. I'm total ass at it though."
Rias nodded. "Well, we devils base our system of reincarnation around the game of chess. When we bring someone in as our servant, we use one of these." She outstretched her hand, revealing the chess piece more clearly. It was a pawn.
"Every piece has its own role, and its own attributes. This is the pawn, and the piece I plan to use on you." Rias explained to Issei. Issei nodded. "Sure, so is it gonna hurt or what-"
Rias shoved the pawn piece into Issei's chest without any warning. Issei's body absorbed the piece immediately.
Issei yelped. "Hey that- doesn't hurt at all." He checked himself. "It doesn't feel like anything actually. Did it work?"
Rias frowned. "I see. Hold on a moment, please."
Rias took out another pawn piece and stuck it in Issei's chest.
Nothing.
Rias took out a third piece, and did the same. Again, nothing.
A fourth piece.
A fifth piece.
A seventh piece.
Sighing in frustration, Rias pulled out her eight pawn piece. "Okay... let's hope this works."
She placed the final piece within him, and Issei finally felt his body begin to change.
"Woah." Issei looked over himself. "I already feel-" A sudden weight on his back made him stumble. "What the-" Issei gasped as he turned his head and saw a pair of black leathery wings sprouted from his back.
"I HAVE WINGS NOW!? DOES THIS MEAN I CAN FLY!?"
As Issei tried to touch his wings to no avail, Rias chuckled.
But, there was something still stuck on Rias' mind after Suk-chin left.
...
Suk-chin yawned as he walked home. "Man it's fucking dark out. If only I had night vision or something."
He briefly wondered if he had made the right choice in denying Rias. No, he definitely did.
Even if they could maybe help with...
Suk-chin shook his head. No. Not possible. A single devil was not capable of giving him what he wanted.
The boy stopped in his tracks.
He gently pulled out a locket, and held it in his hands for a moment. He seemed strangely hesitant to open it.
After a minute, he finally opened it. Inside the locket was a picture of a beautiful woman with long black hair.
Suk-chin stared at the picture, but as soon as his eyes locked onto the woman's face, an unbearable pain filled his head.
He dropped to his knees, clutching his head in agony.
It took what felt like ages for the pain to subside. Suk-chin shakily closed the locket.
The boy stared at the closed locket, almost as if he wanted to open it again.
Eventually, he instead punched the ground, shattering the ground beneath him.
"It's the only memory I have left..."
"So why can't I look at your face?"
He only stood there, quietly clutching the locket in his hand.
And then he heard something that made his head shift.
He looked in the direction the sound came from. Surely not... was he mistaken?
He focused, and heard the sound again. No, he was right.
He just heard a scream.
"God fucking damnit." He wanted to ignore it, but couldn't bring himself to. He chased after the sound.
He was brought off course from his way home. He dashed through an alley, jumped behind a building, and eventually made it to a small clearing where an abandoned mall stood.
"There's seriously an abandoned building here? Man this is a dump."
But, now that he was here...
He could clearly hear the screams. And they weren't regular screams. They were wails of pain and terror.
Suk-chin sighed. Whatever this was, it wasn't good.
"Okay... let's see..."
He walked inside.
"Yeah I can barely see shit in here."
He heard another wail, and realized he was close to the source. Very close.
He looked to his right, and spotted a woman lying hunched on the floor, shivering.
As soon as he spotted her, he groaned. "Fuck."
He started walking towards the woman.
"I have got to be rusty or something." He complained, standing a few feet away from her.
"Since I fell for your obvious trap."
The woman stopped shivering.
"You gonna say something? Or you just gonna sit there? Either way, there's only one way this can go."
The woman turned to him in an unnaturely stiff way. The expression on her face was completely blank.
Another wail sounded out. But the woman's face didn't move.
Suddenly, the ground underneath her began to break apart.
Something massive came out from the ground.
A colossal mass of muscle, skin and bone all mismatched together arose from beneath the floor. Twelve spinely legs supported the body, with a tail on the end where the woman hung limply.
Where the head was, was instead a massive jaw with razor sharp teeth and no other facial features.
Stray devils can be rather unsightly, after all.
And the more wild one looks...
The stronger it is.
A bony potrusion shot out from the beast's body, rocketing towards Suk-chin at incredible speeds. It rammed right into his chest, where his heart was.
There was one thing on Rias' mind as Suk-chin left.
"Fuck."
Suk-chin held a tight grasp on the bone spike, which was struggling to break past his skin.
"This just isn't my day, is it?"
If Suk-chin already has his sacred gear awakened...
"Well, there's still some good news."
"You're a stray devil, with no semblance of humanity or sanity..."
"You're strong..."
"And we're completely alone, with no possible interference."
"So..."
What was the dormant power she felt from him?
Suk-chin glared at the stray devil, a savage smile on his face. His eyes shined brightly, as an unknown power surged around him.
"I get to tear you apart as I please."
Suk-chin Kang, Sacred Gear: ???
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I mean you all know what the sacred gear is if you read the original but pretend you don't know okay shhh.
Unlike the original, Suk-chin initially refuses to join Rias' peerage. I just think it makes more sense with how I've reimagined the character. Originally, Suk-chin joins because Issei joins, but in this version he doesn't really like Issei as much or is as close, so he doesn't.