LUSTFUL PARADISE: Shinmai cross DxD

After directing Asia towards the church, Basara left with his mind riddled in complex thoughts.

 

The chances of Asia being an exorcist were extremely high.

 

He had been pretty popular back then so even if he wasn't active now, it was possible for the exorcists to still know of him.

 

He didn't know how he would act on the off chance that he had to come face to face with them, however.

 

The time he left the Vatican hadn't been exactly pleasant. In fact, if not because of Dulio and his teacher, Vasco Strada he wasn’t sure if he would’ve been able to leave the clan intact without any significant repercussions.

 

"*Sigh* I wonder what teacher is doing right now, knowing him, he should still be up and fighting."

 

Vasco Strada was a legend among humans. A true monster.

 

For normal humans, reaching the equivalent of a mid-level devil was a dream, and becoming high-level a near impossibility.

 

The reason Dulio had surpassed the ultimate level despite being a human was simply because he was in the possession of the second strongest Sacred Gear in the world.

 

As for his father, from what he knew his father had managed to get the blood of a powerful dragon in the Dimensional Gap.

 

There were also people like Suzaku and the other leaders of the five families who reached the Ultimate level thanks to their Sacred Beasts.

 

Be it one way or the other, all of them had managed to surpass the inherent limit placed on them due to their humanity by relying on a power outside of humanity. It was akin to forsaking their humanity for power.

 

But Vasco Strada was different.

 

With just the strength of a man and holding a holy weapon, also created by men, Vasco Strada did the impossible and reached the Ultimate level and even faintly surpassed its limits.

 

He was so powerful, that during the second world war, he fought and won against Kokabiel, one of the cadres of the Grigori— The faction of the Fallen Angels.

 

Sadly, even though he was that powerful, Vasco was only a human after all and humans grew old. And with age, even the strongest beings decayed, slowly losing the powers they held at their peak.

 

'Currently, I guess she inherited Durandal?'

 

The corners of his lips stretched, forming a soft smile on his handsome visage, as he thought about the few friends he had left in the Vatican.

 

The few that had managed to—

 

"——————"

 

His mind grew faint and his ears rang with a throbbing sound.

 

"Ugh!"

 

He felt his stomach flip as it threatened to spill everything he had taken for breakfast. He gagged and retched before finally calming down, yet his breathing was still erratic and heavy.

 

*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*

 

"Ha….haha."

 

A bleak laugh escaped his still quivering lips as he stayed crouched down like a fetus, rocking his body in a constant motion, trying to forget the hateful memory that ostensibly haunted him forever.

 

He hated how weak his mind was. He hated how he could not even properly remember the events of that day without feeling like shit.

 

"Basara?"

 

A voice finally passed through the haze that had encroached his mind and he looked up, with dilated eyes, only to notice that he was being stared down by a pair of beautiful and shining green eyes, eyes that had once mesmerized and intrigued him before.

 

It didn't take long for him to remember to whom those eyes belonged.

 

"Hasegawa-sensei?"

 

Yes, he remembered the sassy nurse from his first day in school. Since that day, he had no reason to visit the infirmary, so he never saw her again.

 

But, what was she doing here? He was still somewhat far from school. Did she live in the surroundings?

 

"Are you alright? What am I even saying? Of course, you aren't. Come sit down on a bench. You look as pale as a ghost. Did you see one by chance?"

 

Hasegawa showed a concerned face as she pushed him towards the bench and forced him to sit down. Then she rushed toward a distributor and took a bottle of water before coming back just as fast.

 

“Here, drink a little. It should help you clear your head.”

 

Basara hesitated a little before deciding that it would be rude to not accept her kindness. Gulping down the water heavily, he finally released a sigh of relief and covered his face with both of his hands.

 

It seemed that meeting a supposed exorcist with a sacred gear had made his dark memories resurface. 

 

“Thanks, Hasegawa-Sensei, I am feeling good now. Sorry for worrying you.”

 

Hasegawa looked at him with a doubtful expression but did not insist any further.

 

“It’s my duty to take care of you. You don’t need to thank me.”

 

“...Your duty?”

 

Basara was a little bewildered by her misleading words. 

 

“As a nurse! *Ahem* it’s my duty as a nurse to help you and take care of your health.”

 

“Oh…”

 

It seemed that she took her job very seriously. A little too seriously even.

 

Standing up, her face slightly red as she was flustered, Hasegawa walked away before turning around slightly her gaze directed towards him. 

 

"Come visit me at the infirmary at lunchtime. If you don't, I will come to find you."

 

Looking at her departing back, Basara only had one thought. 

 

‘What a weird nurse.’

----

 

Thankfully or perhaps not? He didn't have time to think too much as he walked hurriedly and reach the school’s surroundings.

 

The moment he stepped through the door, he could hear the clamor of girls, as if they were witnessing the arrival of a star.

 

‘What the…?’

 

He took a slight glance and found that the cause was none other than a young handsome man. From the energy he was emanating, it was clear that he was a devil.

 

'Not my problem.'

 

He didn't care to know whether that devil was part of Rias or Sona's peerage or whatever other type of devil he may be.

 

All he wished was to reach his classes and rest his head on his bench. Sadly, it seemed the devil had other plans in mind,

 

“Hello, Toujou-Kun? I am Yuuto Kiba. I hope I am not disturbing you. I come bearing of a message. Rias-Buchou wishes to meet you at lunch if possible.”

 

‘So he is a devil working under Rias.’

 

Yuuto Kiba was a handsome young man with short blond hair, blue eyes, and a mole underneath his left eye— the perfect spot for a beauty mark that emphasized his already apparent charm. In a school where more than 90% of the students were girls, he could understand how the man was so popular.

 

But this wasn’t what caught his attention. Even though he could feel no threat from Kiba, the way the young man walked showed that while he lacked power, he had all the basics down.

 

Out of all the devils he had met, aside from Koneko and Maria, he was the third one who seemed to have received a proper training. 

 

Now, he was thinking about how he should answer. He wished to have nothing to do with the devils, but the information Lucia gave him yesterday about stray devils and the apparition of what he thought was an exorcist made him a little wary.

 

‘Man, I am really too much of a busybody.’

 

He felt like he was contradicting himself too much. But, no matter how much he wished for peace, he couldn’t simply ignore such a problem. He wasn’t a hero by any means, but he was worried about Akeno and Tsubaki.

 

“Tell her that I have a prior arrangement for lunch. But, I should be free after school.”

 

Since Kiba had been polite with him, he had no reasons to not return in kind. He also wished to discuss with Rias herself. After all, the last time they had ended with, if he could believe Akeno, what was a misunderstanding.

 

He wanted to find for himself what kind of person Rias was and if she was a good person for Akeno. 

 

‘I hope she won’t disappoint me.’

 

After all, he didn’t wish to become an enemy with the Maous.