The sound of small explosions and rolling debris echoed through the cold night. Strangely, no one seemed to notice, as if that space were cut off from the rest of the world.
Donasek readied his spear, charging it with a surge of holy energy, taking advantage of the distraction caused by Kalawarner's barrage of feather shots. Last time, he hadn't taken the boy in front of him seriously; this time, he wasn't going to play.
The strange pup kept tumbling across the ground, leaping every so often in an attempt to reach him, while the owl harassed Kalawarner with gusts of wind and lunges that forced her to dodge. Donasek ignored them and built momentum—he wanted to finish quickly. If the Gremory found out, all would be for nothing.
Daniel never took his eyes off him as he placed the three remaining cards onto his duel disk. Issei, meanwhile, was growing frustrated. He felt like nothing more than dead weight, someone who needed protecting. As he struggled to think of what to do, Daniel spoke:
"Issei, try to run and call for reinforcements. I'll try to—"
Before he could finish, he saw Donasek spread his wings and hurl himself forward.
Unable to rely on his own wings to defend himself, Daniel clutched his bleeding shoulder and summoned little Cruffssant to his side.
Donasek reached him within seconds, his spear of light just inches from Daniel's chest. But then, a strange tornado intercepted the attack, freezing the spear in place for a moment.
It was the trap card Negate Attack (Negates the attack and ends the battle phase).
Cruffssant seized the chance and lunged at Donasek, sinking his teeth deep into the man's outstretched arm. Donasek wasn't careless: the strange owl restraining Kalawarner didn't seem weak, and the pup probably wasn't either. With effort, he channeled as much holy energy as he could into his arm to reinforce it.
CRACK.
Even so, the sharp sound echoed to everyone's shock. No one had expected the tiny jaws of a pup to have such force. Before Cruffssant could bite again, a rain of feathers fell upon him. Kalawarner, freed for a moment from Hootcake, took the chance to finish off the pup. She then condensed a spear of light and charged straight at Daniel.
It didn't look like Hootcake would reach her in time, so Daniel thought of dodging. Donasek, noticing, unleashed a storm of feathers toward Issei while clutching his limp arm, glaring at him with pure hatred.
Daniel hesitated. If he dodged, Issei would be skewered. If he didn't, Kalawarner would stab him with the light spear.
He cursed under his breath, turned, and spread his wings to block the feathers.
---
Issei felt useless, watching the battle unfold before his eyes without being able to do anything.
Why was Daniel able to fight against two fallen angels, when both of them had been reincarnated on the same day? Issei began to hate himself—he hated that weak version of himself hiding behind a younger boy.
Seeing Daniel endure the relentless feather barrage despite being wounded stirred something unexpected in him: respect.
As senpai, it should have been Issei protecting his kouhai.
A strange power answered his resolve, and a crimson gauntlet appeared on his arm.
With newfound courage, he threw himself at Kalawarner, who was pressing her spear against Daniel's back. She didn't take him seriously; she neither blocked nor dodged, and his punch landed squarely. The impact sent her flying, while a green light shredded her clothes.
Daniel's owl wasted no time: it rammed into Kalawarner midair and slammed her to the ground, kicking up a small explosion of dust and rubble.
---
Daniel watched with a measure of relief. Harsh as it sounded, Issei had been dead weight until now. Seeing him prove he could at least defend himself lifted a burden from his shoulders.
He called Hootcake back while checking his wound. His shoulder still bled, and the earlier strike had pierced his back. He was grateful it hadn't reached a lung.
Donasek glanced at Kalawarner, who was slowly rising, her body covered in scrapes and cuts.
"The brat has a Sacred Gear. We need to report to Raynare," she said, turning away.
Donasek listened, but his mind raced with ways to stop her. He wanted to end everything tonight. If she left, he doubted he could defeat these devils quickly—if at all.
Daniel used the momentary lull to bandage himself with a strip of his torn clothes. He had no intention of bleeding out again.
Issei, more confident now, stood by his side and struck a fighting pose.
"Let's take care of them, Kalawarner. Raynare will be pleased," Donasek said, seeing her hesitate. "Besides, we can claim the Sacred Gear. We're two against two; they're already weak, and the brat with the gauntlet is just a novice."
Kalawarner hesitated. It didn't sound impossible. Though Donasek's arm was useless, she was still in decent shape. The boy with wings had likely lost a lot of blood from that surprise strike. And she trusted she could dodge the boy with the gauntlet—he had landed that punch only because she hadn't paid attention.
Before she could respond, a magic circle flared nearby, casting the night in crimson light.
Rias, Akeno, and Koneko stepped out of it.
Upon seeing the red hair, Kalawarner snarled in anger:
"Donasek, you bastard, you tricked me! They're Gremory!"
The fallen angel only clicked his tongue.
Rias glanced at the state of Issei and Daniel, her expression turning cold.
"Akeno."
No further words were needed. Akeno stepped forward, and a storm of lightning rained down upon the fallen angels.
Seeing the battle turn against them, they were already preparing to flee.
"Watch your back, boy," Donasek called out to Daniel before escaping.
Kalawarner spared one last look at Issei before following him.
As they vanished, Daniel and Issei let out a weary sigh. Though they had managed to defend themselves and even wound the enemy, the fight had been brutal—a trial they certainly didn't wish to repeat.
Surviving together allowed them to trust each other a little more, but both were convinced the encounter with the fallen angels was the other's fault.
Issei believed they had come for Daniel's revenge, while Daniel thought they were after Issei's Sacred Gear and his link to that woman, Raynare. So when their eyes met, they both thought the same thing:
"I am never walking with this guy again."