Sacred Gear hosts often exhibited exceptional traits—strength, intellect, or unique talents.

This was Grigori’s conclusion after millennia of observation.

But after three days tailing Issei, Raynare found nothing remarkable.

She’d covertly checked his report card—mediocre, far from brilliant.

His appearance? Unimpressive, especially to Raynare, who’d seen countless striking figures.

Issei was, frankly, plain.

Strength?

A high school boy obsessed with perverse fantasies had none.

Raynare doubted he’d last a few years before wasting away.

Character? Hopeless.

To his parents, Issei was a lost cause, doomed to a life alone or behind bars.

Since arriving in Kuoh Town, Raynare had monitored Issei relentlessly.

Three days only flaws, no merits.

More than once, she’d fantasized about skewering him with a spear of light to spare her eyes.

Only her superior’s orders stayed her hand.

‘Just wait until this mission’s over,’ she thought, barely containing her murderous urge.

“No qualities of a Sacred Gear host?” Mittelt asked.

“That’s impossible.”

Could Grigori’s detection be wrong?

“It’s not unheard of,” Dohnaseek said gravely.

“There was a case where we flagged a Longinus-class Sacred Gear host.”

“It alarmed our higher-ups, only to be a false positive—an embarrassing blunder.”

“That happened?”

“You’d know if you studied Sacred Gears more. It’s no secret among us,” Dohnaseek sighed.

“Forget it. Securing Twilight Healing is already a major win. If we sway that saint, we can report to our superiors.”

“With luck, we might even get summoned by Lord Azazel,” Raynare pondered slightly.

“The surveillance mission’s just a time-killer.”

Raynare had decided: if Issei’s Sacred Gear proved worthless, she’d arrange a fitting “accident” to send him to hell.

***

“So, Asia’s arrival was orchestrated by fallen angels,” Roy murmured, listening their conversation.

Along with the cameras, he also planted microphones.

Roy knew Asia sought refuge with Freed after her church expulsion.

He hadn’t anticipated the fallen angels’ intricate role.

“Killing these fallen angels outright might be tricky now,” Roy said, speeding toward the abandoned church on a motorcycle left by the villa’s previous owner.

His original plan was to eliminate the fallen angels after acquiring Sacred Gear extraction technique.

But their talk changed things.

Killing them could derail Asia’s path to Kuoh Town, letting Diodora Astaroth, exploit the chaos.

Asia’s Dimensional Points—and Asia herself—were too valuable to risk losing.

“Time to tweak the strategy,” Roy decided.

With Hell Fire, he could pass for a Ghost Rider cameo.

He needed Raynare’s extraction technique urgently but couldn’t wait for the story’s timeline to snatch Issei’s Boosted Gear.

The sooner, the better—delays invited complications.

To preserve the fallen angels’ plan for Asia, he’d minimize conflict.

If push came to shove, though, he’d eliminate them.

With limited resources, tracking Asia independently was near impossible, and luring her to Kuoh Town would be tougher.

For now, he’d piggyback on the fallen angels’ scheme.

Parking at the mountain’s base, Roy lit the path with his phone’s flashlight and hiked toward the church, ready to confront the four fallen angels.

***

“If we pull off this mission, our standing among the fallen angels will skyrocket,” Mittelt daydreamed of returning to the underworld, earning praise, and soaring to the peak of her fallen angel career.

“Don’t get complacent. Keep tabs on Freed’s progress and avoid surprises,” Raynare sighed.

“I’ll contact Freed daily for updates,” Dohnaseek assured.

“Someone’s coming,” Raynare said suddenly, her eyes narrowing as she peered into the woods beyond the church gate.

A glaring light flickered through the dark trees, approaching steadily.

“Who’d come here at night?” Mittelt asked, turning to the light source.

The church, long abandoned, rarely saw visitors even by day.

“Don’t look at me—I didn’t call anyone,” Kalawarner quickly caught Mittelt and Dohnaseek’s glances.

“Hide your wings and see who it is,” Raynare ordered calmly.

The intruder was already outside, too close to flee unnoticed.

Raynare knew Kuoh Town was Gremory’s territory, but as long as they avoided clashing with Rias’s group, they’d be fine.

Even if conflict arose, they weren’t afraid.

Still, this was a delicate time.

They couldn’t afford complications.

A lone human was trivial compared to their mission, but exposure could ruin everything.

In modern society, a missing or dead human would draw unwanted attention.

Adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble, Raynare held back from killing the approaching figure outright.

“What’s this human doing?” Mittelt snapped, looking annoyed.

Roy, now in the clearing outside the church, didn’t enter.

Instead, he aimed his flashlight directly at the group.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep