Have You Thought About How You Want to Die?

"----!"

Yukino Yukinoshita stopped abruptly, a sudden, inexplicable tremor running through her heart.

It was a primal instinct, a latent sense of alarm triggered only when a living being encountered danger.

"Tap... tap... tap..."

As Yukino Yukinoshita felt that groundless trepidation, the overly deliberate sound of footsteps drew closer, until their owner appeared fully before her.

He was a man dressed in a highly peculiar fashion.

The man appeared to be around thirty, wearing antiquated clothing and draped in a black robe. He looked like an ancient person who had suddenly arrived in the modern era, appearing completely out of place with his surroundings.

His features were unremarkable, but his eyes were excessively fierce. The gaze he leveled at Yukino Yukinoshita held no appreciation for a beautiful woman; instead, it was like someone appraising an object about to be discarded.

The look was incredibly rude. Under normal circumstances, it would have surely made Yukino Yukinoshita frown and show her displeasure.

But under the influence of that inexplicable tremor in her heart, Yukino Yukinoshita felt no annoyance. Instead, she felt... fear.

"Who, who are you?"

Yukino Yukinoshita stepped back involuntarily, her voice demanding an answer.

The question sounded strong and calm on the surface, but the underlying unease was impossible to mask.

The man was naturally not intimidated; instead, he narrowed his eyes and sneered.

"Have you already vaguely sensed the danger? As expected of someone harboring that wretched thing that makes one want to spit in disgust. Even if you look like nothing more than an ordinary little girl, your essence still possesses something different from the rest."

The man did not seem to be conversing with Yukino Yukinoshita so much as talking to himself.

His attitude made it clear: he did not believe Yukino Yukinoshita was worthy of a conversation with him.

Sensing genuine danger from the man's demeanor, Yukino Yukinoshita instinctively looked around.

It was only then that she realized there was not a single person left in the vicinity; the area had become completely deserted.

Even though this was near the train station, where foot traffic remained high even at night, there was not a soul to be seen. This was, without a doubt, an abnormal situation.

"What? Looking for help?"

The man addressed Yukino Yukinoshita this time, but his expression clearly showed he was savoring the girl's fear.

"Give it up. No one is coming to save you." The man began to walk toward Yukino Yukinoshita step by step, laughing with malice as he approached. "A barrier to repel people has already been set up. Even the church personnel stationed in this city for years would take some time to notice the anomaly, let alone ordinary people. They won't even come near this place."

Hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita could not help but retreat as the man closed the distance, forcing herself to speak despite the terror gripping her.

"Who exactly are you? What do you want with me?"

Facing the girl's questioning, the man merely sneered.

"Ignorance is bliss, as they say. Knowing too much will do you no good." The man bared his fangs in a grimace and said, "You have no right to question me. A mere human, a mere inferior creature—all you need to do is accept your fate and obediently await your judgment."

As his voice fell, the scene that appeared before Yukino Yukinoshita in the next moment completely overturned everything she had ever known.

"Snap!"

With a flapping sound, a pair of pitch-black wings emerged from the man's back.

They were not like the bat-like wings of Leo, but rather black angel wings, layered with feathers.

"You... are you a devil...?!"

Yukino Yukinoshita widened her eyes, blurting out the words without a second thought.

Who would have guessed that this sentence would enrage the man.

"A devil? You dare call me such a filthy, lowly creature?" The man grew visibly furious. "Damn human! I—Vaden—am a noble fallen angel! A prestigious race that dares to spit upon and betray even the gods!"

"You dare call me a devil? Unforgivable!"

Vaden extended his hand, and a mass of light condensed in his palm.

The light was dim and filled with a sense of filth, yet it coalesced into a light spear, which Vaden gripped in his hand.

"Insulting me is your first sin."

"Being favored by the creations of the gods we despise, and harboring a dangerous sacred gear within your body, is your second sin."

"For these two sins combined, you must die today."

Yukino Yukinoshita did not hear the end of Vaden's declaration, which sounded as if it had come from the depths of hell.

Sensing that a lethal danger was about to befall her, Yukino Yukinoshita finally thought to flee, turning and running without a second word.

However, just as she took two steps, a vibration rippled through the air.

"Squelch!"

A sound like something being torn apart echoed out.

Yukino Yukinoshita's steps faltered, and she could move no further.

Her pupils trembled, her face turned pale, and she stared blankly down at her own abdomen.

There, the light spear that had been in Vaden's hand only moments ago had pierced through her flesh, protruding from her body as scorching blood spilled from Yukino Yukinoshita.

"Cough...!"

Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't even feel the pain as she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Her body was losing its strength.

Her body heat was gradually fading away.

Yukino Yukinoshita felt dazed and lost. By the time she regained her senses, she was already lying on the ground, her cheeks and skin stained red by the slowly expanding pool of blood.

Vaden, who had appeared behind Yukino Yukinoshita at some point, pulled out the light spear that had pierced through her body. He looked down at her from above, arrogant and malicious.

"With this, the mission is complete."

"The higher-ups said to investigate for a while and not to act rashly, but... who would want to stay in this place occupied by the church any longer than necessary?"

"Regardless of what kind of sacred gear is residing within your body, as long as it's gone, it won't matter anymore."

The smile on Vaden's face was full of baseness.

"I don't have that much time to waste on a lowly human."

Yukino Yukinoshita could no longer hear these words.

Her field of vision was narrowing, her hearing was fading, her pupils were beginning to dilate, and even her consciousness was about to sink into an eternal abyss.

In this moment, only the voice of a man remained in her mind.

"Do you believe in the existence of devils?"

"At a time like this, when you haven't yet seen the truth of this world and still firmly believe in the concepts cultivated by the education you've received over the past seventeen years, continuing this conversation is merely a futile effort."

"When you encounter something that truly shatters everything you've believed in until now, then come back and talk about today's topic."

The words the man had once spoken surfaced in her mind like fragments.

So... this is the truth of the world...

Carrying such regret and unwillingness, the girl slowly closed her eyes.

By this time, Vaden had already turned around, flapping his wings to fly into the air, preparing to leave.

This area was, after all, church territory. For a fallen angel like him who had betrayed God to enter the territory of a church that worshipped God was like a piece of meat entering a wolf's den; once even the slightest scent of meat was released, it would immediately attract the other party's hunt.

That was why he didn't want to stay here too long, lest he be targeted.

However, Vaden was destined not to leave today.

Because, just as Yukino Yukinoshita closed her eyes, the bright red magic circle on the parchment she had been clutching in her hand lit up.

A magic circle flew out from the paper, expanding continuously as a figure emerged from within.

"Bang!"

Before Vaden, who was flying mid-air, could even realize what was happening, a magic bullet tore through the air and slammed into him, exploding upon impact.

"What?"

Vaden fell from the sky in shock, landing in a disheveled heap on one knee.

Only then did he see it.

He saw the figure stepping out from the slowly fading magic circle.

"I only heard about you mongrel birds from Sona Sitri at noon, and by evening, you've already jumped out. Are you really that impatient?"

A low voice resonated, and as Leo's figure came fully into Vaden's view, his face twisted in disgust.

"A devil?" Vaden spat out, his voice filled with both hatred and loathing. "Why would a devil appear in the territory of the church?"

Although Leo had not yet revealed his wings, the magic bullet from moments ago and the aura of a devil radiating from him told Vaden everything he needed to know: this was a devil—a species Vaden despised and looked down upon more than any other.

Devils and fallen angels were not only mortal enemies but also rivals competing for territory.

In the place humans called the underworld, devils and fallen angels both resided, dividing the realm in two. Each occupied half, and they had been locked in constant warfare since the ancient era to claim dominance over the underworld.

The two sides could not stand the sight of one another. Among the fallen angels, some held extreme contempt for devils—a trait cultivated back when they were still angels, before their fall.

Angels had always been hostile toward devils, viewing them as evil and hideous beings. Most importantly, their very existence represented sin; they were sinners who defied God. As former angels, even after their fall, they still regarded devils as filthy things. Coupled with the long-standing strife in the underworld, this hostility and disgust had become deeply ingrained.

However, Leo ignored Vaden, who was glaring at him with undisguised malice, and turned his gaze toward Yukino Yukinoshita, who lay in a pool of blood nearby.

He could sense that Yukino Yukinoshita's aura had become extremely faint; she could die at any moment.

With that, Leo turned back to Vaden, his expression devoid of emotion.

"You dared to lay a hand on someone I've taken an interest in. Have you decided how you're going to die?"

Leo's words were met only with Vaden's fury.

"The one who should die is you! You lowly—"

Vaden could not finish his sentence.

"BOOM!!!"

A magic mass, resembling black flames, suddenly crashed down upon him, swallowing him whole.

"Ahhhhhhhh...!"

Vaden's scream echoed through the surroundings, only to vanish just as quickly.

The flame-like magic mass vaporized him on the spot, leaving not even a single bone behind.