This is part four to chapter 4. Hope you enjoy reading and if you do, please leave your Power Stones.
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This was it. A fallen angel was coming to greet them and not in a friendly way. Just like he and Koneko wanted, they had come all alone. There weren't any other outlines approaching.
Issei had the cognition to move his feet backwards, standing just a little aways from the tree his partner was in. His legs were shaking, but he hadn't frozen up. Now he just had to do his part.
Pretending to look clueless, he began examining a bush like he was searching for something. A gust of wind pushed across the woods, uplifting grass and arousing insects into flight as the fallen dropped down several meters away. From the corner of his eyes, Issei could see their wings retract as they began walking towards him.
As if he'd just noticed their arrival, Issei turned towards them with forced perplexity. It was a tall man with a beard and a gray trench coat. On his head was a black fedora hat and on his face, a mean expression. Under the guise of his human biology, Issei squinted as he 'struggled' to see clearly. "Koneko, are you there?"
The man grunted lowly, "Who's Koneko?"
"I'm Koneko."
Before the man could even process it, two feet planted themselves on the back of his head. With insurmountable force unbefitting the young girl it came from, the fallen angel was driven into the dirt face first. A loud crack reverberated across the ground, splintering the earth and shaking the trees at the roots as Issei nearly fell over from the devastating impact.
"W-woah..." Issei coughed, waving away the debris that was kicked up. She never went at him that hard. That was full force.
Still standing on the back of the man's head, Koneko began lightly dusting off her skirt. No regard was given to the being under her as she finally stepped off him. "Good work."
Peering behind to look at the downed fallen angel - his hat having flown off who knows where - Issei shuttered. The man lay unmoving in the several foot crater his face was buried in. It was a horrifying sight. "He's... not gonna get back up later, is he?" He asked wearily, unsure if the fallen was dead or not.
"That would be a problem..." Koneko acknowledged with a nod. Without hesitation, the devil brought her foot up and smashed it into the fallen angel's skull. Hearing the sickening crunching sound, Issei immediately began gagging, looking away from the brutal display.
Now he was sure.
"You... didn't have to do that," Issei voiced weakly, heaving into the bush nearby.
Picking the corpse up by the back of his coat, Koneko dragged him out of the small crater to hide him. "Better safe than sorry."
"I-I know, but..." He trailed, his heavy breaths overriding his words. His humanity still shined through, tugging at his conscious. He was aware of what lengths they would have to resort to and he kept telling himself he was ready, but all the mental preparation in the world couldn't prepare him for it face to face.
Giving him a small look of empathy over her shoulder, Koneko tossed the corpse in another larger bush further away. She avoided disposing of it with magic for now, as the remaining fallen angels would likely notice it and come rushing. "Let's change locations."
Barely managing to keep himself from hurling, Issei feebly leaned back against a tree. "Why?"
"They might notice their friend." She walked by, signaling him to follow. "This spot's no good. We'll go around to the side and alert them again."
"Are they really gonna fall for it again? Won't they catch on that guy disappeared?" He hurriedly treaded behind her.
"Don't know," She said honestly. "Tough guy didn't look too bright. Doubt the others are any different."
"Others? How many more do you think there are?"
"Three."
"How do you know that?" He asked, surprise evident in his tone.
Koneko blanched. "They all carry that repulsive scent. Their smell lingered on the man, as well as a bunch of stray priest dickwads."
Stray priests had been the last thing on his mind after that confrontation. He hadn't met them, but he knew they were menacing. Guns and light swords were only cool if they were in his hands. "Do you know how many there are?"
"More than a few," She said vaguely. That probably meant there were enough of them that she couldn't pick each individual out from each other. Not good news at all. She gave him a reassured glance. "I told you they're chumps. With the strength you have now, you could punch them out of their socks."
...If he hadn't witnessed something so morbid, he would have laughed at her monotonous delivery of such a cartoonish sentence. It still helped ease his worries. "I'll keep that in mind." They walked for a few more yards.
"Let's stop here." Having made their way east of the church, Koneko launched herself up another tree, finding one with enough plant life to shield her diminutive figure. "If more than one fallen dillweeds come, we'll jump 'em. Whip out your Sacred Gear if that happens."
"Got it," Issei nodded, prepping himself for a second encounter. The first one went perfectly, despite how harrowing and inhumane it was. This was something he needed to get used to. He'd never be okay with murder, but he absolutely refused to let some innocent babe be knocked off instead. He began crossing through the intangible red line again, walking in circles. "...I don't look too stupid doing this, right?"
"I'm used to it." Her hushed voice drifted through the calming air of the night.
Ego bruised more than his wang during last year's summer break wack off challenge, Issei stepped in and out of the bounds of Enemy Territory. Soon enough - quicker than before - another fallen angel had descended upon them. This time, it was a woman around the same height as Rias. She had navy blue that fell down to her back and wore a magenta business suit. What caught his eye especially was the extremely generous amount of cleavage showing; the woman lacking a bra or any form of breast support.
Issei's face blatantly curved into a perverted grin, leering at her half-open chest. Before he could make any of his typical obscene comments, the light spear generating in her hand instantly stole his attention away. Becoming a stuttering mess, he backed away from the aggressive woman. She didn't waste time, the energy construct solidifying into a deadly mass. Her intent was clear and nothing he could say would talk her out of it.
Thankfully, he didn't need to. Just as she did with the first fallen angel, Koneko felled the second by slamming both feet down as hard as she could on the back of their head. There had been less resistance this time, the woman getting pushed deeper into the ground than the man as the ground spiderwebbed far enough to reach Issei's feet. Her lower level had given her less defense.
Knocked off balance, the boy fell down with a wimpy grunt. He stared at the light spear as it rolled off the woman's limp fingers. He watched the reddish-white beacon slowly lose its luster and shimmer before finally giving out. With a strange warping sound, the spear faded out of existence.
"Idiot," Koneko called dryly, another gruesome noise coming from under her foot as she prevented any chance of the fallen getting up. "She could've killed you."
The terrifying reality of her harsh words struck a nerve within him, sending goosebumps all throughout him. "Y-you're right. I won't freeze up like that again."
"No," She shut him down, pulling the body and carelessly throwing it into another bush. Turning on her heel, Koneko glared up at him disapprovingly. "You were staring at her tits."
He flushed awkwardly. "What can I say? Live by the tit, die by the tit." Flinching away as she threatened to smack him, he bowed several times apologetically.
"Not funny." Koneko ignored the blood trail as they walked by it, Issei doing his best to ignore it. The stench of blood made it very difficult, and he found himself fighting internally with his stomach. Glancing his way, she could see him struggling and gave him a firm, sincere look. "I know it's tough, but don't get distracted again."
Quelling his unsettled stomach, Issei nodded back. "I'll admit, I didn't expect breasticles the first time," An air of confidence grew around him. "Ain't no way tig ol' bitties tripping me up a second!"
"Quiet down, horndog," Her lackluster response cut like a knife. Not that she cared or not if they were heard - having already wiped out half the competition. His voice was just grating sometimes. At least he could still make jokes at a time like this. It meant she could still place some faith in him. That last encounter had made her worrisome and made her second guess herself even more than she already had about his ability to perform under pressure.
Troublesome, but not unexpected. That's why she had already accounted for the worst. Whether he messed up or not, things would work out. That's why she was here - to clean up any mistakes.