Issei even had the impression that his demonic energy was getting stronger day by day.
This impression had even grown stronger after following Gorou's advice.
'Strange... I feel like I've been watched for a while now. And it's giving me chills.'
Instinctively, Issei felt a mysterious atmosphere in front of him.
His body trembled slightly, as if warning him about something.
The trembling slowly intensified.
Finally, he noticed it.
A man.
He wore a suspicious suit and was staring him down.
His gaze was clearly not friendly.
'Isn't this what people call killing intent?'
Issei had never experienced this phenomenon before, but he was sure of it for some unknown reason.
The man in front of him was clearly hostile.
No, it was something more dangerous. This was clearly killing intent!
The man approached, silently and slowly.
He was walking toward him!
Issei deduced that he was being pursued.
'Is he a pervert? Or just a dangerous person? Am I in trouble?'
Issei mentally cursed his bad luck that night, but he tried to stay calm.
"This is rare. Meeting someone like you in a place like this."
".....?"
'What's he saying?'
Issei was confused.
He didn't grasp the subtleties of the unknown man's words, but one thing was certain to him.
He had to run away quickly!!
'Oh shit! What do I do if he pulls out a knife?! Or worse, if he's a stray devil!!'
Issei didn't know any martial arts for self-defense and had never fought before.
His father had mentioned training, but he hadn't considered it very urgent.
Now... he regretted it.
'I know! I can always use my enhanced demonic energy at this hour of the night to escape!!'
Walking backward slowly, Issei put distance between himself and the individual.
"You trying to run away? Who's your master? It must be someone of very low rank or with strange hobbies to have chosen this place as territory. So, who's your master?"
The man's words confirmed Issei's fears.
'This guy's connected to the supernatural world!!'
"I don't even know what you're talking about!"
Issei suddenly turned around and sprinted at full speed toward where he had come from initially.
Fortunately, he came to his senses on the way.
He remembered that going back would condemn his friend to certain death.
So, he chose another destination and sent an urgent message to it.
[Da... I..I'm... being... ch..chased... b..by... a... madman...]
The message wasn't written correctly, as all of Issei's strength and concentration were focused on running.
'...I..I'm really... fast.'
Despite his critical situation, Issei mentally promised himself to join the track club if he got out of this alive.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time sprinting through Kuou town... he spotted the roof of his father's warehouse.
'I..if... it's him... th..then...'
Pierced.
Issei couldn't reach the building before getting impaled by a familiar and nightmarish object.
Shiver.
Vomit.
The spear composed of Holy Power had pierced through Issei's stomach. The wound was such that he immediately coughed up blood.
'I...I can feel... there's a presence behind me!!'
Issei slowly turned around, despite his fear and the trauma evoked by the thing in his stomach.
A black feather fell right in front of him.
'Is that a crow feather? No, it's not... It's like...'
He would have preferred to avoid making the connection, but Issei Hyoudou wasn't as ignorant in this timeline.
The dangerous man, who had caught up to him despite his crazy speed, had a connection to Yuuma!!
"You thought I'd let you escape? That's why inferior beings are annoying to deal with," declared the mysterious man, but his eyes were fixed on his black wings growing from his back.
Their color and shape overlapped with those of the woman who had not only broken his heart but also his life.
'...A fallen angel?! No no, why only me!!! Don't they have any other Sacred Gear user to kill?'
Issei was afraid, but his rage at his powerlessness and bad luck greatly diminished this emotion.
"Tell me your master's name. It's annoying being bothered by your kind. For that, we're gonna... Wait, are you a 'stray'? If you don't have a master, that explains the worry on your face."
The suspect was muttering to himself without really starting a discussion with Issei, as he didn't even wait for an answer before giving himself one.
A conversation of the deaf.
"Hmph. I don't sense any presence of your master or your comrades. I see nothing trying to conceal its presence. And no magic circle appears here. Given the current situation, you're a 'Stray'. So, it won't be a problem if I kill you."
The man declared his own idea and assumption as factual, before summoning another Holy Power spear.
'I..I'm really gonna get killed!'
Bam.
A light similar to the spear held by the man hit him in the shoulder, making him fall against the asphalt.
A man appeared.
He had no pants and a wrinkled shirt, but Issei's attention wasn't on this superfluous detail at the current time.
He recognized the exoskeleton and the bolt on the man's hand, despite the unknown mask.
"D... shh" Gorou put a finger to where his lips would normally be.
The act sent a clear message to his son.
'shut up.'
Issei nodded, but didn't hesitate to grimace in pain because of the Holy Power spear still in his stomach.
"You're on my territory."
Gorou didn't hide his killing intent toward the fallen angel. He even pointed his bolt at him as he got up holding his damaged shoulder.
"S..sorry, I was just hunting a stray devil and..." The man, whom Gorou identified as Donaseek, hurried to respond.
(Image)
However, Gorou didn't wait for the end.
He just immediately shot toward his leg.
Donaseek immediately reacted by dodging, but found himself face to face with a fist.
The bolt's gunshot was just a distraction, as Gorou immediately rushed toward him.
Smash.
The fallen angel's face was smashed into the asphalt, but that didn't mark the end.
Gorou began hitting him everywhere on non-vital areas.
The act resembled a savage scene from a Marvel extract, concerning an unleashed green giant.
'Dad... sniff' The spear in Issei's stomach dissolved, as Donaseek had lost consciousness for a while now.
Issei felt moved by his father, who despite his visually restricted equipment (exoskeleton) and clearly overheating due to the maximum speed used previously.
His father didn't deign to deal with that, but focused on beating the man who had attacked him.
Unfortunately for Issei, the real reason for Gorou's rage was something else entirely.
If Issei had carefully observed his father's lower half, he would have noticed a semi-hard spear.
'Damn it, I was almost at climax with Miki!!!!' Gorou mentally screamed, with rage and tears of blood.
"Ara, it's that man who hurt Kiba ~"