While Vasco would’ve preferred to send a letter through a magic circle, there was no time for that anymore. He just hoped that the conversation would seem too vague for anyone who would try to investigate, although that would be pointless given what is about to happen.

Regardless, his words seemed to reignite that faint spark of hope within the blonde. So as Igor waited and waited, he finally caught the violent fluctuations of energy coming from the east.

Without even waiting for Vasco’s input…

Tswii!

…he vanished.

“...”

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|DxD|

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Kuoh, Japan, Half-an-hour earlier…

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In the town of Kuoh, it was still in the wee early hours of the morning. Shuri and Akeno were comfortably asleep in their homes while Baraquiel was still training far away on an island. Inside the forest, around twelve figures in black hooded robes were making their way towards the house, their intentions anything but kind.

One of the men leading from the front spotted the house and pointed towards it with an excited expression.

“I see it.”

Peeling back his hood, he was revealed to be a man with spiky short black hair and black eyes. On usual days, he would be handsome. But the cocky grin etched onto his face said otherwise.

The man looked at the house with literal drool escaping through his mouth.

“I’ve finally found Shuri nee-chan. Now I can finally break that spell controlling her and we will finally be together~.”

His name was Himejima Masaru, a muscular man in his early twenties. From a young age, he had sincerely admired Shuri when she still resided in the Himejima clan. Her kindness had made him fall madly in love with her to the point of craziness.

Another of the men, the true leader of this expedition peeled back his hood to reveal a very pretty and somewhat effeminate face. It didn’t aid things that he had long black hair tied into a ponytail and pretty black eyes.

But there was a reason he was the leader.

“We will proceed in accordance with the plan, Masaru. Am I understood?”

Masaru lifted up his hands in mock surrender, yet his smile did not fade.

“Sorry, Kazuhiko-‘sama’. I was just too happy to see my fiance after all this time. You’ll forgive me, right?”

Himejima Kazuhiko was the third-born son of the patriarch of the Himejima clan. Nearing thirty years in age, he was the most talented son with an expertise in swordsmanship that far surpassed his brothers.

Kazuhiko narrowed his gaze at Masaru, his mind seemingly deciding something. Masaru also stared back at Kazuhiko, his widening smile silently goading Kazuhiko into trying something. Both these two men had sort of a rivalry going on between them. From the sides, Takumi, the third leader of this expedition was watching with a weary gaze at the both of them.

Himejima Takumi was the fourth son of the patriarch and the younger brother of Kazuhiko. Different from his elder brother who specialised in the sword, he had a particular talent for wards and other sorts of barrier magic. His expertise in the field of wards made him a key figure in this operation due to the fact that he was the one who had the highest capability of breaking through any wards they may encounter.

Unlike his two co-leaders who had somewhat fiery personalities, especially Masaru, he was reserved and often appeared standoffish. Yet unlike his brother Kazuhiko who radiated the coldness of a swordsman, he seemed more like a sunny teenager who still believed dog-licking would get him a girl.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

It was also partly because of his personality that he was made a vice leader. He would be able to function as an intermediary that would dispel Kazuhiko and Masaru who were like fire and water.

Giving off a nervous chuckle, Takami rubbed the back of his head before pushing them apart.”

“Come on guys. Can we not do this now?”

The two men were about to ignore Takami, but when he opened his eyes, there was a subtle darkness behind them.

“We can’t afford to fail this mission after all.”

““…””

Masaru was the first to withdraw his gaze first with a laugh.

“Alright, alright.”

His mocking laughter continued on, causing Kazuhiko to reflexively put his arm on his blade. But Takumi stopped him by placing his hand on Kazuhiko’s.

He looked meaningfully at Kazuhiko.

“Stop, brother. At the end of the day, we all share the same surname. We don’t murder our own in cold blood.”

Kazuhiko looked at Masaru who continued to drool at the sight of Baraquiel’s house. The man was so amped up with desire that he either didn’t notice or care for the looks he got from Kazuhiko, Takumi, or the rest of the team.

Instead, he always seemed to be muttering Shuri’s name over and over again, his eyes as dark as a black hole.

“Hehehehehe…nee-chaaannn~.”

Masaru was crouching down, his hands glued to the side of his cheeks. He was so out of it that his drool flowed down his cloak like a river. His eyes quite literally had hearts on them, his desire that had been bottled up for years finally manifesting itself in the most…weirdest of ways.

If roles were reversed and Masaru was a girl, this situation may have been somewhat erotic. But he was a bulking mass of muscle with spiked hair and sharp cheekbones. This only served to unnerve his fellow clan members, causing even a few of them to even retch at the sight.

As for the rest, they could only watch in silence while their brain cells slowly died.

“““…”””

Kazuhiko only watched on for a moment longer before he turned his face away in annoyance. He never understood how a brainless idiot like Masaru was allowed to even join their squad.

“Tch.”

Unfortunately, it was too late to make any objections. The great elder had put together this squad and his orders were absolute. Even if he was the son of the patriarch, he couldn’t raise objections. He could only swallow the bitter arrangement whole. Yet taking a glance again at Masaru, he felt he might vomit more than just the ‘arrangement’. So wanting to take his mind off the muscled mess muttering “nee-chan” over and over again, he decided to get this mission underway.

Folding his arms, he faced everyone and began to relay orders.

“Sons of Himejima. Today we are here to eradicate the scourge and the abomination that was created from the blood of our sister and the cursed blood of the Fallen Cadre, Baraquiel. We have waited over nine years for this opportunity men. We have received news of Baraquiel having been spotted near the Cuban coast. We have no knowledge of when he will be back, so we must be quick and efficient. Team 1, you will once again be responsible for disabling any wards we may come across. I will leave that to you, Takumi. Team 2 will follow me and annihilate the abomination. We must be swift. Team 3. You will be responsible for capturing our sister in order to return her to the clan. Are there any questions?”

All the men stayed silent, aside from Masaru who was grinning widely in anticipation. As the leader of team 3, he was responsible for restraining Shuri. He could already imagine himself holding her in his arms.

It was such an excitable thought that he began hugging himself while repeatedly muttering Shuri’s name.

“Shuri-nee. Shuri-nee. Shuri-nee. Shuri-nee. Shuri-nee. Shuri-neeeeeee-chaaaannnn~. Your Masaru-chan is comiinnnggggg. Hehehehehehe~.”

Kazuhiko clicked his tongue at Masaru’s unprofessional display, his gaze filled with disgust.

“What was the great elder thinking placing him on our squad?”

Takumi chuckled at the sight of Masaru.

“Well…he is the strongest out of all of us. He’s the only one here that can handle Baraquiel should he come.”

“...”

Kazuhiko was silent at that declaration. It annoyed him that someone younger and less privileged than him was stronger, and not by a small margin either. Masaru was the strongest youth in the Himejima clan and possibly bordered towards the realm of being the strongest in the entire clan. Being a brute fighter who only used his fists, those muscles on him definitely weren’t for decoration. It was only fortunate that with the growth of those muscles, his brain grew smaller and smoother.

Just thinking of Masaru’s recent brainless mistake made him smile lightly.

“Wasn’t he the one that got us detected by those exorcists.”

Takami simply shrugged.

“Yes. But he killed them, didn’t he? Most of us would’ve died without him.”

“...”

Kazuhiko clicked his tongue at the memory.

“That holy sword wielder was indeed an annoyance.”

“That ‘holy sword wielder’ was Masaomi Yaegaki. Since he’s dead, it’s safe to say that this place will be swarming with more exorcists from the church soon. So…”

Getting annoyed by Takumi’s condescending smile, Kazuhiko let go of his blade and clapped his hand to gather the attention of the rest.

“Alright, let’s move out. There is no room for mistake.”

He then clasped his hands together and lowered his head.

“May Lady Amaterasu guide us.”

“““May Lady Amaterasu guide us!”””

Turning around to face the house, a cold killing intent emanated from Kazuhiko.

“So shall it be. Let’s move out.”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! x4

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AN

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And that’s that. There are some times when I can’t upload, but I do prioritise members of my p@tre0n when it comes to uploading.

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