The Death We Seek

Old Friends, Same Disease [Chapter 12]

The Perverted Duo were being vocal about their fantasies again. Once a part of them, forming a trio, Issei just looked on with vague disgust like everyone else did.

School had restarted, and he was not eager to have it cutting into his training time. At the very least, he wouldn't have long before Asia would be sent over for the fallen angels. A week left before the day he had died would come too. He was sure Dohnaseek and Freed had left permanently, but there were a few more signatures settling into the old church. Kokabiel's plan was still in motion, it seemed.

Standing up and leaving the classroom, he made his way back to the ORC again. He was known by everyone in his class for leaving out of nowhere, so no one turned to acknowledge his departure besides the teacher, who did not vocalise his objections.

Once again laying on the familiar sofa, Issei had time to think. Instead of something useful and productive, he couldn't help but think about what he had caused.

What he had let into his home.

When he touched Infinity, he had apparently weakened his mind to the degree that it let the Unknown Concept in, indirectly allowing it into his home. The proof of that was lying in the basement.

The problem came with what injuring Koneko had allowed. She did not have multiple souls occupying her, nor was she nearly as powerful as him mentally or physically. According to Aurora, this concept had directly aimed for her weakened mind, cursing her to never awaken again.

Of course, Issei had removed the curse, and proof of it lay in the form that had awoken when he had entered, and had joined him in his resting place. His prisoner speculated that the mechanical corpse in his basement was being used as a medium, allowing it direct entry through the barrier even though he was no longer vulnerable. Currently, there were plans to have it removed being formed but, knowing the power of a concept, anyone willing to help was not willing to do so without Issei. The boy in question was hesitant to approach it again too, but the only outstanding problem was getting to the lower floor again.

He knew he had to remove it if it was a threat, but it didn't affect the uncanny fear anyone would have felt knowing they may be face to face with a malevolent higher power.

Aurora had told him various other knowledges, mostly answering with "I don't know"or "No". The main part of information he received was not promising. Upon asking about the Unknown Concept, she had revealed that there was a designed entryway into her software. She said she had fixed it when finding herself in the basement, thinking that there was a hacker targeting her. The proposal was that the Unknown Concept was that hacker.

Regardless, Issei was at relative peace right now. He was getting visibly stronger as each day and week passed, and the results didn't go unnoticed to his cohabiters either. He had even made light progress on his adaptation to Infinity, small albeit progress nonetheless. He had hit his target ten times out of three hundred. There was little else to be done except adhere to his past actions closely enough and continue monitoring his training.

Satan knows he wasn't excited to have to see his murderer again, if his memory served him well, tomorrow. Issei had eviscerated her to his best ability last time, and would make the fireworks even brighter this round. Raynare, his first girlfriend, had lured the poor pervert into a half-assed date before piercing his chest with a spear of light. That spear refused to leave his memories, akin to a curse upon him after her death. Every now and then, he still had nightmares of his first passing.

It was unanimously decided by reincarnated humans that death was more symbolic than physical, yet still more physical than the real world. Some had claimed to awaken within flowing fields of eulalia, Chinese silver grass, lying before a tower that pierced the clouds and very sky itself. Only for moments, however, since the method of the Evil Pieces only allowed for rebirth after a short time.