[300 PS = 1 Chapter Bonus]
*
[Third-person POV]
While Akihiro Nishihara was helping the Occult Research Club hunt a stray devil, Raynare was walking down a dimly lit hallway in Kuoh City.
When Raynare reached the end of the corridor, she found a large stone chamber. In the center stood a black stone throne with strange contours that resembled a basalt formation.
This throne served as a seat for the imposing Kokabiel, who was sitting with his head resting on his hand.
Kokabiel's long fingers drummed lightly against the armrest, an expression of boredom clear in his movements.
The moment Raynare stood under the pale moonlight streaming through a large window in the ceiling, Kokabiel smirked slightly.
Raynare was dressed completely differently from when she had met Akihiro Nishihara. The outfit she was wearing now was very sensual, similar to a catsuit, but it showed much more of her pale skin.
In addition, her pair of black wings, originating from her origins as a Fallen Angel, enveloped her like a shadow.
She stopped a few feet from the throne, lowering her head slightly — not in reverence, but in deference. Here, he was the alpha and the omega. To challenge him would be suicide.
"Raynare... I hope you have something of value to justify your presence."
She raised her eyes, but not enough to look at him directly. It was a delicate balance she was learning to master.
"Significant progress, my lord. I have been following the rumors about individuals who may be useful to our purpose. There are a few who stand out, but I need more time to confirm their abilities. Humans, in particular, have been an interesting source—untapped potential in abundance, if I may say so."
Despite what she had said, Raynare had not been able to find any clues about individuals with Sacred Gears because she had been preoccupied over the last few days with Nishihara.
"What about the details?" Kokabiel suddenly asked, leaning forward.
His eyes glowed a crimson hue that made him look more devilish than most of the devils Raynare had ever met.
"I want names. I want motives. No vague answers, Raynare."
She felt herself freeze for a moment but took a deep breath and continued. "One of them is a young man who resides in Kuoh. He is... unusual. I haven't been able to figure out what he really is yet, but he's not a normal human. Nor does he seem to be aligned with any of the known factions. I don't have any concrete proof yet, but... he may be something worth investing in."
The weight of Kokabiel's gaze was suffocating, but Raynare remained steadfast.
"Continue your search," he said after an impatient sigh, leaning back again. "But know that you are running out of time. Remember that I warned you that praise for you from Azazel will only come when you show concrete results."
"Yes, my lord. I will not disappoint you."
"I hope so."
Raynare took a step back, ready to leave, when another figure emerged from the shadows.
Valper Galilei entered Raynare's field of vision, his lips curling into a twisted smile.
He carried a stack of papers, which he laid at the foot of the throne with an exaggerated flourish.
"Kokabiel-sama, I have something much more concrete to present. The project with the Excalibur Fragments is progressing. The fusion of the pieces—"
"Wait." Kokabiel raised a hand, cutting Valper off mid-sentence. His eyes shifted briefly to Raynare. "You are dismissed, Raynare. You may leave."
Raynare felt a twinge of irritation at being treated so lightly. She knew that her relationship with Kokabiel was not personal, but being interrupted and dismissed so quickly while Valper, a mere human worm, was allowed to speak and come so close felt like an insult.
Still, she bowed her head in agreement and turned away, leaving the hall. Moments later, she was already flying with her black wings above the vast region of Kuoh.
"Ah, what a thankless job! 'Look for Sacred Gears'... He made it sound as if they were mushrooms growing in the forest. It's always one human in a million who has something special. This task is quite... frustrating." Raynare vented, now that no one could hear her.
It had been days since she had found any concrete clues about Sacred Gears in the city, and it made her anxious.
Raynare knew that Kokabiel expected quick results, and failure was not an option. However, as she thought about her work, a specific image came to mind.
"I had found someone who seemed promising, but..." She muttered, pausing as the face of Akihiro Nishihara popped into her mind. "I went after that idiot... Speaking of which..."
Still flying, she reached between her breasts and pulled out a small pink cell phone. It was one of those classic flip phones.
When Raynare looked at the phone's contact list, there was a number she had recently added, and it was first in alphabetical order: Akihiro Nishihara.
She stared at the name on the screen, her fingers hovering over the call button.
"Should I call him? I waited all day at that café, and he didn't show up... But calling him now would be... weird. Why would I do that? It's not like I'm interested in him or anything."
She shook her head and sighed deeply.
"It would be pointless," she concluded, closing the flip screen and putting the phone away again.
Despite what she said at that moment, minutes later she was flying over the building where Nishihara lived.
"I didn't look up his address because I was interested in him or anything. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't lying about who he is... It's for the mission's sake. Yes, that's why I used my contact at city hall to get his address."
Raynare made faces as she argued with herself.
Reluctantly, but also somewhat excited, she went to the window sill of Nishihara's apartment. Thanks to the open curtains, she could see clearly inside.
Inside, there was a living room combined with a dining room and a kitchen. It wasn't a large apartment, but it seemed sufficient for a single man. Most importantly, the place was completely dark and silent.
She crossed her arms. "He's not home? Hm. Maybe he's out... But why does that bother me so much? It's not like I care what he does. He's just another toy to me."
At some point, Raynare convinced herself that Nishihara had probably just gone to a convenience store nearby to pick up dinner and would be back soon. So she went down to the building's front door and waited.
When fifteen minutes had passed and Raynare was thinking about leaving, she heard his voice.
"Yuuma?" Nishihara said.
Raynare looked up with an eager smile and focused on Nishihara's face, who was standing there with a confused expression.
However, the smile on her face immediately faded when she saw that there was a girl standing next to him. This girl had long red hair, blue eyes like the sea, and a distinctive aura.
Raynare, of course, didn't take long to recognize that the girl next to Nishihara was Rias Gremory—the famous young heiress of the Gremory Clan and sister of Maou Sirzechs Lucifer.
'She shouldn't be here,' Raynare thought as a cold shiver ran down her spine. 'If the Gremory are involved with him, then he was using me all this time? He wasn't the toy, I was?'
Raynare's world lost its footing, but she still needed to maintain her composure because Rias Gremory didn't know her.
*
*
*
Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers!
P-atreon.com/palmer1998
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)
Discord: https://discord.gg/2pn9Twxrng