Broken stone and shattered stained glass continued raining through the ruined roof as dust rolled across the sanctuary. The devil Ethan had hurled through the wall slowly climbed back to his feet outside, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, while the one whose demonic blasts had been crushed beneath Hellfire took several uneasy steps backward. The remaining two landed beside him, and all four stared at the burning figure standing between them and the civilians.
None of them had expected their ambush to turn into this.
Behind Ethan, Asia had already pulled the praying woman behind one of the remaining pews, shielding her as the last fragments of debris crashed onto the floor. The woman clutched her hands together, unable to tear her eyes away from the blazing skeleton protecting them.
Only moments ago, he had been sweeping the church floor.
Now he stood before them as something none of them could identify.
Ethan's burning gaze slowly swept across the four devils before settling on the one standing at the front.
"Who sent you?"
Silence answered him.
The devils exchanged uneasy glances before their leader tightened his grip on his sword.
"Kill him!"
All four moved at once. One charged straight toward Ethan while the other three spread out, attempting to surround him from different directions.
A faint metallic sound echoed through the church as the slim steel chain wrapped around Ethan's waist slipped into his hand. By itself, it was nothing more than an ordinary decorative chain.
Then Hellfire surged across every link.
Orange flames engulfed the steel, transforming the simple chain into a weapon of supernatural judgment.
The charging devil had already raised his sword when the chain shot forward. It wrapped tightly around his torso before he could react. Instinctively, he grabbed the burning links, trying to tear them away, but the moment his hands touched the enchanted steel, a scream tore from his throat as the Hellfire ignored his flesh and burned directly into his soul.
Ethan gave the chain a sharp pull.
The devil was ripped off his feet and dragged violently across the shattered church floor until he crashed directly in front of him.
Without saying a word, Ethan's burning hand closed around the devil's face.
The screams lasted only a few seconds.
When Ethan finally let go, the devil's body collapsed onto the stone floor without another movement.
The remaining three instinctively froze.
One let out an enraged roar and lunged from Ethan's blind side, hoping to strike before he could react.
The Hellfire chain snapped backward, wrapping around the devil's ankle before Ethan swung his arm. The devil slammed into the stone floor with enough force to shatter it, cracks racing across the stone beneath him.
Before he could even cry out, Hellfire surged through the enchanted chain and into his body.
His struggles lasted only a moment before they ceased completely.
The second body lay motionless beside the first.
Only two remained.
The confidence they had arrived with had vanished completely.
Instead of attacking again, both instinctively spread their wings and shot toward the hole in the roof.
They never reached it.
The burning chain split into two lengths, each wrapping around one fleeing devil before violently dragging them back toward the ground.
One struck a stone pillar headfirst.
A sickening crack echoed through the sanctuary as his neck snapped, and his lifeless body collapsed onto the floor.
The last devil crashed across the broken stone, coughing violently as he desperately tried to crawl away.
Ethan walked toward him at an unhurried pace, the burning chain scraping across the stone floor behind him.
He stopped directly in front of the trembling devil.
"You," Ethan said, his voice echoing unnaturally through the ruined church, "are going to explain why you attacked my church."
The devil's entire body trembled as he looked up at the burning skull. His lips quivered before a single word escaped as he desperately tried to crawl away.
"M-Monster..."
"Calling a handsome man a monster... now that's just rude."
He reached down, grabbed the devil by the face, and forced his head upward. The devil immediately squeezed his eyes shut, as though refusing to look would somehow spare him from what was about to happen. Ethan simply gripped his jaw with his other hand and forced his eyelids open.
"Look at me."
The moment their eyes met, Hellfire flared between them.
Ethan ignored the countless fragments of the devil's life trying to surface and focused only on the information he needed. Images flashed through his mind in rapid succession: a black uniform bearing the crest of the Phoenix family, years spent serving as one of its retainers, and finally a young man giving a single order.
"Remove him."
The visions vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
Ethan released his grip, allowing the devil's lifeless body to collapse onto the broken stone floor. He remained silent for a few moments, piecing together the fragments he had seen before quietly shaking his head.
"...So that's what this is about."
The Hellfire surrounding his body gradually receded as he turned back toward Asia. She was already kneeling beside the unconscious woman, gently checking her condition.
"Is she alright?" Ethan asked.
Asia nodded as a soft green light spread from her hands, healing the few cuts and bruises the woman had suffered from the falling debris.
"Nothing serious," she replied. "She fainted from the shock more than anything else."
Ethan let out a quiet breath of relief before looking around the ruined church. The shattered roof exposed the morning sky above, broken pews lay scattered throughout the sanctuary, and four bodies were strewn across the stone floor.
"...Looks like we won't be staying here tonight."
Asia followed his gaze and gave a small nod.
"I don't think we can..."
Ethan looked at the unconscious woman before crouching beside her.
"I'll drop her off at a hotel first."
Asia looked toward the ruined church.
"And this place?"
Ethan glanced at the four bodies scattered across the sanctuary.
"It's not going anywhere."
He carefully lifted the unconscious woman into his arms before looking back at Asia.
"You can get some beauty sleep while I come back and take care of my business."
Authors note:
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