The fallen angels' movements were tied to Asia.
Five days had passed since Roy started monitoring the fallen Angels.
The odds of trouble were slim but not zero. Roy checked the recordings, fast-forwarding to a conversation involving Asia.
"Mittelt, you're awfully free, lounging around the church," Raynare's voice said.
Roy noted the timestamp: one day ago.
Odd, given the fallen angels' three-day meeting cycle.
"Lady Raynare!" Mittelt replied, flustered.
"Dohnaseek's handling that stray exorcist, and I only step in when it's critical!"
"Pick a job, then," Raynare said, exasperated.
"Lady Raynare, why are you here during the day?"
Don't you need to monitor that Sacred Gear host?" Mittelt asked, looking curious.
"The surveillance on that kid, Hyoudou Issei, is done."
"I've got no pressing tasks in the human world," Raynare said casually.
"Done? Did you figure out his Sacred Gear's rank?" Mittelt asked, surprised.
Raynare's mission was to monitor a high schooler suspected of possessing a Mid-Tier Sacred Gear.
Ending the task meant she'd assessed Issei's potential.
"That brat was reincarnated into a Devil," Raynare said, her tone turning sour.
After observing Issei and finding nothing remarkable or dangerous, Raynare had eased her round-the-clock watch, checking on him sporadically.
But the night before, he'd been human; the next day, he was a reincarnated Devil.
"A Devil?" Mittelt gasped.
"Does that mean he has a good Sacred Gear?"
"Not certain," Raynare said, her voice turning smug. "But I bet the High-Class Devil who reincarnated him is regretting it now."
"What happened?" Mittelt asked, intrigued.
"He's the weakest I've ever seen," Raynare said, mocking.
"Post-reincarnation, he's barely different from before. His life force feels even frailer."
"Any Low-Class could crush him."
"That bad?" Mittelt said, stunned.
"Pathetic," Raynare confirmed.
"First time I've seen such a failure."
"That's some bad luck for the High-Class Devil who picked him," Mittelt said, gleeful.
"Who'd be that unfortunate to choose such a dud?"
"No idea. I haven't seen anyone approach Issei lately, but it's likely one of the few in Kuoh Town," Raynare said.
Her voice hinted at fear when mentioning Kuoh's Devils—figures like Rias Gremory, too powerful for low-ranking fallen angels to cross.
"Maybe they saw that kid's lack of potential and ditched him," Mittelt speculated.
"Still, wasting an Evil Piece on a loser? I'd love to see that Devil's face."
Fallen angels relished Devil misfortunes. Evil Piece technology, well-known among the Three Factions, granted High-Class Devils one set of pieces.
Minus the King piece, used by the Devil themselves, the rest reincarnated subordinates.
Each piece was precious—losing one weakened the peerage significantly.
"Go to Kuoh Academy if you're curious."
"They might welcome you, as long as you don't stir trouble," Raynare teased.
"No thanks, I'm not ready to die," Mittelt said, shuddering.
"Any progress on Asia?" Raynare asked.
Issei's reincarnation quashed Raynare's plans to kill him.
She had no desire to clash with a High-Class.
Her focus shifted to Asia.
"Same as before," Mittelt said. "You know how stubborn those frail-looking types can be, Lady Raynare."
"We're taking it slow, but progress looks decent."
"I'll stick around the human world a bit longer, then," Raynare said, unfazed.
Roy's expression grew complex.
The Evil Piece he'd used to save Issei's life had sparked wild assumptions among the fallen angels, even dragging Rias into their gossip.
Shaking his head, Roy fast-forwarded to the next recording—the fallen angels' triweekly meeting.
Asia, excommunicated and struggling, was wavering under Freed Sellzen's persuasion.
The fallen angels predicted she'd soon be lured from Europe to Japan.
No other notable intel surfaced.
Roy set the phone down, relieved.
Asia's path to Kuoh Town, as in story, remained intact.
He'd intercept her when the time came.
"Feels light," Roy said, picking up his kendo sword.
Roy had trained relentlessly, using Hell Fire to hone his demonic power.
His physique, he estimated, rivaled High-Class, perhaps touching Ultimate-Class—purely in raw strength.
"I'm getting a taste of such power," Roy said, twirling the sword in a flourish.
Boosted Gear could amplify his strength beyond his base, but training built permanent gains.
Roy swung the sword, channeling some sword style from anime, partially replicated via Kiba's talent.
His movements were initially clumsy.
With adjustments, his swings grew fluid, though still rough around the edges.
Read advance chapters at:
200 Stones = 1 chapter
400 Stones = 2 chapter