The creature was the ugliest, most disgusting thing Issei had ever laid eyes upon. It resembled a portrait of a centaur drawn by a painter in an acid trip with more daddy issues than a suicide bomber, after the centaur had lived in Chernobyl for years. Its limbs were crooked pieces of meat decorated by small, non-functional tentacles, a weird duplicate of the main tentacles the creature had instead of arms. Its torso was equally cancerous, dribbled with puss, filled with open wounds, the blood mixed with discharge shining neon. Its flesh looked rotten, with occasional rusty patches, complete with flies, complete with a smell, which would probably be enough to kill him before his transformation.

The worst was its face, Issei noted absentmindedly. He knew that he wouldn't be that repulsed if it was just animal or monster head, or even a bug, which he normally found unbelievably disgusting. However, while it was disgusting, ugly, and shapeless, it was unmistakably human. Even worse, Issei could see that these disgusting lines were noticeably female, but he would die before referring that monstrosity anything other than a thing. Accepting it as a female was treason for everything Issei stood for. Issei vowed himself that he would get stronger, come back, and erase it completely. Such a thing didn't deserve to be alive.

Then the creature opened its mouth, surprising Issei with its ability to speak. It was a voice resembling of rusty nails being rubbed together, but nevertheless a sign of sapience. "Lucky me," the creature said, followed with a creepy laugh. "A prey decided to visit me, saving me from the bother of going out to hunt. How very kind of you, you little devil. I wonder how you're going to taste, crunchy probably."

Issei noticed the creature called him a devil, though the importance of the realization paled when compared to the situation he found himself in, under looming threat from yet another creature that shouldn't exist. Still, he noticed that the creature wasn't in a hurry, acting like it was in absolute control. He decided to ask it a few questions in hopes of distracting it enough to reach a piece of rebar, dislodged by its assault. He didn't know if it would work, but it was better than waiting for death helplessly. He would have turned and run, but he didn't know just how fast were those tentacles, and he was afraid to get caught as he retreated. "Why did you call me a devil?" Issei asked, doing his best to sound curious, even as he started sliding to the side, a motion that managed to slip under the creature's notice.

The creature opened its mouth, and another sound Issei was barely able to categorize as laughter reverberated in the room. "You mean you don't know you are resurrected as a devil. Oh, that's rich." The creature stopped, his gaze firmly on him.

"Resurrected?" Issei murmured even as he slid a bit more. The word had made a weird enough sense, as Issei remembered the excruciating pain he felt under the attack of her fake-girlfriend, followed by encroaching darkness. There was nothing to disprove the fact that he actually died, and being resurrected was no less believable than the situation he found himself in. But once again, he sent his thoughts to the back of his mind. That was a mystery that was best solved after he managed to survive the current mess he had found himself in.

Then, the creature's gaze fell on him. For a moment, Issei was afraid that it realized his objective, but then realized that it was looking at his gauntlet. "So, your king didn't even bother to stick around and inform you about your transformation. Not a surprise," the creature continued with a cruel laugh, or so Issei assumed. Though with the horrible sound it had, every laugh would sound cruel. "Your king probably deserted you when he realized the sacred gear you have is a measly twice-critical, making the acquisition worthless. So he probably hoping you would die by your own, freeing him to pick someone more useful. Pathetic, coward enough to not to deliver the blow himself, but that's the new generation for you. All weaklings, softened by the useless peace."

Busy with his aim of acquiring a weapon, only half-listening the creatures amused tirade, Issei was unprepared for a sudden surge of rage to bloom in his heart when it called his gauntlet useless. The anger filled his veins, causing him to freeze for the moment as he struggled against his instincts, trying to prevent himself to jump against the creature weaponless. The fury he felt was foreign, yet familiar, its intensity surprising, but Issei decided to solve it in a more convenient time, such as when he wasn't facing a deadly monstrosity intent on eating him.

As the creature continued to rumble, Issei managed to reach his target without alerting it. He wrapped his fingers around the rebar, waiting for an opportunity to attack. One such opportunity showed its head a moment later as the creature continued its nonsensical commentary, which Issei recognized as politics of somewhere called underworld. He didn't know whether it was referring to actual hell or just an illegal meeting place. But he was afraid that the first one was the case. After all, he was facing a demon while followed by an angel, why he shouldn't assume that the hell was real as well.

However, the creature's political inclinations also gave him the opportunity to strike. The creature started laughing, impressed by his own joke as it tried to insult a magical girl for some reason. While laughing, its head rose, consequently putting Issei out of its field of view. Issei struck immediately, lacking even the slightest hesitation as he lunged forward, pushing the rusty piece of metal deep into the creature's chest. He would have preferred to target its head, but it was too risky since the creature was far taller than he could reliably reach.

The creature didn't realize the situation he found itself in a moment, freezing, then a pained, deafening cry rang in the room, loud enough to hurt his ears. Issei tried to pull his improvised weapon back, but his struggle was stopped by a tentacle swung towards him, forcing him to throw himself on the ground to avoid decapitation. But his speed proved insufficient, and the attack clipped him in the shoulder. Even the wayward touch was enough to send him flying across the room, his back painfully colliding the wall, the thud echoing in the room.

The rush of adrenaline filling his body helped him to ignore the pain, and he stood up, his legs shaky. Still, he was filled with the realization that it was a close call. Just an inch below, or a second delay, and he was dead, his head smashed. Issei glanced towards the creature, hoping to see a sign that he managed to hit a deadly organ, but unfortunately, the creature was still standing, only angrier.

Issei bolted away, knowing that his advantage coming from being not deemed a threat. He dashed towards deeper into the corridor, getting away from the creature, dodging another tentacle that sent to his way. After he cleared the corridor, then run towards the other end of the building. He hoped that the black winged angel that was stalking him wouldn't be on that side, allowing Issei to give enough time to leave the creature behind. Behind him, he could hear the lumbering steps of the creature, its cries complaining about such a pitiful creature daring to wound it.

Despite all its might, the creature was slower than Issei, not helped by its size restricting him in small corridors. So, Issei reached one of the windows on the ground floor before the creature caught up with him, and was about to jump out, when three spears of light landed just in front of the window, cutting up his escape route, the last one close enough to leave a shallow wound in his leg. Then the angel descended into his field of vision, his handsome face twisted with a cruel smile. Another spear of light appeared in his hand as he made eye contact with Issei, waving amusedly.

Issei pulled back as he tried to block the rush of pain. The wound wasn't too deep, barely deeper than a papercut, but still, it hurt more than any other wound he received. Even the previous spear of light that had been buried in his gut by his fake-girlfriend hadn't hurt as much. Still, the pain was nothing the sudden wave of hopelessness filling his heart. He knew that, if his attacker wanted to, he would have killed him, and caught flat-footed, there was nothing Issei could do to prevent. But he didn't, his attitude making perfectly clear that he saw the situation little more than a fun hunt, with Issei playing the hopeless fox.

He felt stirrings of the anger once again, against the indignity of dismissed throughly. He didn't bother to make a plan to trick the angel to come inside. It was clear that he was aware of Issei's dilemma, and more than happy to wait until Issei tried to leave the building, or perish inside. His laugh, dark and evil in all of its musical perfection, was all the confirmation Issei needed.

For a moment, he felt tears filling his eyes as the hopelessness of the situation filled his heart. Inside was the deformed centaur he just wounded, its lumbering steps getting louder, with a burning fury to take the revenge for his earlier assault. Outside was the black winged angel, waiting for him to appear in a calm leisure. He didn't know whether these creatures were enemies or allies, not that it mattered much. The angel hadn't seemed to care about anything Issei could bring, and he doubted that he could convince the creature for an alliance, not after Issei pushed a rusty piece of metal into its lungs.

So, he grabbed another piece of rebar as a weapon, despite knowing it was barely effective, and moved deeper into the building, hoping to find a convenient location to ambush the creature. With the creature dead, he would be free to wait for angel inside, in an environment that would hopefully give him a fighting chance.

A minute later, he managed to find one such location. A corner dark enough to strain even his improved vision, and plenty of rubbles to hide behind. When the creature walked in, Issei waited, huddled behind a pile of broken wood, waiting for the creature to pass by so he could take it down with a sneak attack.

Only for the tentacles to immediately zero-in to his position. His reflexes were the only thing that saved him from turning into a pile of broken bones. "Impudent weakling," the creature roared. "You think you can ambush me! I will keep you alive for days as I slowly eat you, paying back for your disrespect."

Issei did the only thing he could do. He retreated once more. However, as the minutes dwindled into nothingness, so did his hope. His body was bleeding at several places, and the subsequent attempts he put towards ambushing the creature failed, mostly by creature appearing from an unexpected direction and injuring Issei instead, proving that it knew the building much better than Issei could hope to learn in a few minutes. Next several minutes were filled with a frantic game of cat and mouse, in which Issei only managed to stay ahead due to his superior speed and smaller size. However, the creature, through destroying corridors and positioning itself, managed to push Issei towards the upper floors, where his options of escape paths starting to get increasingly limited.

Soon, he found himself on the highest floor, lacking a ceiling to prevent him from being attacked by the angel. He wasn't around, but Issei knew that he was hiding somewhere around, watching the spectacle. Additionally, Issei could hear the other creature climbing the stairs, its angry steps and arrogant cries easy to recognize.

He was surrounded by two merciless creatures, both far from human in their own ways, both aiming to kill him. Intellectually, Issei knew that he should have crawled into a ball of despair, as there was no way for him to survive the next few minutes. He should have trembled in fear, wept in anguish, holding vigil for his life that was about to end…

Instead, he felt angry.

It was similar to the anger that he felt when the creature insulted his glove, and the angel dared to play him like a prey for a hunting game. Yet, it was different in the way water flowing from the tap different from a huge flood, destroying anything before. Issei felt the rage filling every faced of his being, begging for him to accept it as a part of his being.

Issei accepted.

He felt the anger setting on his vision. Previously, he had heard other people describing it as a red mist that impairs their thoughts, but it felt different for him. It became incredibly easy to think, though he could feel that he was thinking in a primal way. His eyesight sharpened, his hearing became more sensitive, and he started to feel every muscle in his body distinctly as a wave of power invaded in his body.

Amongst all those changes, the transformation of the glove on his hand should have been a useless detail, but somehow, he knew that the new form of his gauntlet was important. He could feel the power invading his body was coming from the gauntlet. But it was different from the way it was earlier. Earlier, for all of its intensity, it was a constant enhancement, same as long the gauntlet stayed the same. With this form, he could feel all aspects of his power increasing with each passing second, slowly at first, then an unstoppable torrent. He felt that there was no limit to his potential…

The creature appeared at the doorway, its face twisted in a sadistic pleasure. It opened its mouth to say something, but it was unable to do so as Issei dashed towards him, his speed comparable to a sports car, and drove his improvised weapon through his open mouth and into its brain, robbing it off any words it could speak, its face stuck in a sadistic smile. Issei kicked the creature at the chest, and it bounced away back into the building like a ball, a sign of the physical boost Issei had received…

Once again, he heard the sound of the wings beating, this time accompanied by a slow clap. He knew that the best strategy would be going back inside the building and face him in a place that favored himself, but he had no intention of lengthening the situation. He dared to challenge Issei, and he would receive the punishment he deserved. He turned to see the angel lazily floating towards him. "Well done, you pitiful devil," he started, only for his smug expression to evaporate when his eyes fell on Issei's gauntlet, and noticing the change.

He started gaining altitude in panic, but it was already too late. Issei already managed to dash until he was at the edge of the building. He trusted his instincts and jumped, finding himself soaring towards the angel with a pair of wings of his own, similar to bats, a glance showed. The angel managed to send several spears of light at him as he tried to get away. Unfamiliar with the mechanics of flight and his wings, Issei was unable to dodge most of the spears, and some spears stabbed into his body. Others, he managed to grab with his hands and smash despite the burning sensation.

Angel panicked more as Issei came even closer, enough that the spear he was holding in his hand dissipated. "Mercy?" he managed to whisper before Issei pushed his gauntleted arm through his chest, angel's face freezing in shock. A victorious cry escaped Issei's mouth even as he dragged to the ground by the struggling body of the Angel. They collided the ground loudly, but the pain from it barely registered to Issei's senses. He pulled his arm out and stood up, albeit with trembling legs, and looked at the face of angel struggling to stay alive.

Maybe, if it wasn't for the pain and anger flowing inside him, Issei would have shown mercy. But he didn't, not after he spent the most horrible moments of his life hunted like a dog while his laughs echoed in his ears like it was a particularly funny puppet show. He brought his armored fist once more, this time pulverizing its head completely. He only felt a grim satisfaction as he looked at the bloody remains.

Then, his wounds and the exhaustion caught with him, his trembling legs failing to support him. He crouched, happy that his wounds were closing slowly, but fast enough to keep the mortal danger away, Issei hoped. He could feel the exhaustion catching up. He wondered whether he would wake up again…

But, just before he collapsed completely, an ornate circle of crimson appeared on the ground, and much to Issei's surprise, Rias Gremory, the idol of the school appeared inside the circle in a light show, dressed in her school uniform, but an overwhelming mantle of black, cracking power around her. But weird enough, despite the mantle of power strong enough to destroy him, Issei felt no threat from her. Issei wanted to say something, but his exhaustion caught up with him. The last thing he saw was the worried expression on her face…