Omake: Maiden of Orleans
It happened so quickly that Issei couldn't actually believe it was happening right now. One moment, he was in a romantic date with his beautiful girlfriend Yuuma-chan who he just met a few days ago, and next he was facing the barrel of the gun, her girlfriend turning out to be some kind of biblical fallen angel who was out to assassinate him. He'd be honest with himself, if this was any other context and she wasn't trying to kill him, he'd actually think that this kind of scenario was actually kind of hot. Her luscious curves, her bountiful breasts constricted ever so slightly by her tight not-really-a-bra, and an amazing combination of tight latex tights and gloves creating such an image of a dangerous beauty. How such an innocent girl belied such a dangerous femme fatale underneath all of that clothing was to him, a miracle. It was something that only happened in anime, and yet, here he was, witnessing it in action.
As it stands though, there wasn't much he could do. This was it. He was going to die, here and now, assassinated by the woman he trusted just a few minutes ago. He shouted to her, wanting to know why she was doing this. But all he got was a cold glare, a face of irritation as if saying to him that everything that was happening right now was decided by her own whims. He tried and tried again, asking her if their time spent together was worth it, that there was any meaning to it all, and all that he got out of it? A laugh. She was mocking him. Nothing could have broken his bleeding heart even more, and as he watched a floating spear aim for his torso, ending the suffering now and then, he only saw the faces of those he had lost the trust of.
His parents, his few friends outside of the inner circle he had created so long ago, everyone chanting to him over and over again "What a loser!" This was coming for him so long ago already, the life of a degenerate pervert and voyeur already having the very real risk of his life coming to a wit's end by any particularly pissed woman who had learned of his presence. The life he had led up to this point built up to this, karma coming back to bite his ass in well over a few hundred kilometers per hour. As tears threaten to burst from his eye ducts, he mouthed a silent sorry over and over again to everyone he had wronged, desperation settling in his eyes, still hoping for a miracle.
Then came the big part. The spear went through his stomach cleanly and smoothly with its tip poking out of the virile young boy's upper back, and its sister weaponry cutting the rest of his body. He was crying at this point, but his voice was no longer discernible for he now lacked the ability to breathe, the only sound created being the fleshy squelching coming from his throat. Anyone and everyone he had told off despite justifiably defending themselves from Issei's calculating eyes had come to Issei's moment, every memory from the past coming to him now, even those that he had forgotten. The only emotion he could feel at that point was fear, and betrayal.
As his vision blurred, bleeding down to the cold concrete floor, one particular memory struck him as important. It was the day that a childhood friend of his had left his life for good, seemingly leaving the country forever with her family because of reasons that they never could really disclose. They made a promise that day, that they would meet again someday despite the distance between them. It was on that day that they left behind for him a gift, an old Christian bible for children lent to him as a keepsake, saying that despite the little use he would come up with, not being Christian himself, he should keep it anyway as a way to remember their time together anyway. The very same bible stained with his own blood, in his front right pocket, pages slowly ripped apart by the unnatural stretching that the boy's body had gone through.
It was at that very moment that he remembered their name. A dear friend of his... and someone he failed to keep their promise with. Someone they would never meet again, a feat that was minor compared to the rest of the things he could never do again in the future, yet hurt him a lot more because of how close to them he was. As he slowly bled out while kneeling on the floor, Issei prayed for what was likely the very first time in his entire life, yet seemingly not at all the last. He prayed to God, that he'd do whatever he could to at least give himself another chance to make things right, to his parents, and to everyone. He slowly closed his eyes, too tired to keep fighting, to see everyone he loved one last time despite the circumstances, ready to die before the girl who killed him.
It was at that moment that his mana-infused blood hit a certain spot in the park, a certain summoning circle hidden and prepared by a particularly bored—though he was hired to do it—Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg who had seen one of the many trillion copies of the High School DxD universe and decided to implement something he thought would spice things up a little bit. A magical circle that activated, the dull red of the paint used to make it now glowing. In an instant, a bright flash enveloped the entire area, blinding Raynare who was now rapidly trying to defend herself from the sudden beam of holy light.
When the light receded, Raynare saw not the boy she had just scammed to his death, but rather a holy woman of the church brandishing a sword and flag-spear hand in hand. Her eyes screamed holy vengeance, and in Raynare's brief confusion, the girl attacked her, smiting the fallen angel with one well placed thrust. Raynare died almost instantly, all traces of her being disappearing into nothingness. Her screams of true fear upon her death brought a tear to the girl's eyes, who had not been willing to kill someone she truly loved for the few moments they had together. Even knowing her new purpose in life, she still possessed a heart that was all-loving, even to those who had abandoned the lord. Finishing a prayer to the fallen angel, she sighed, then took a moment to find something of great importance to her, a book once owned by someone who was particularly important to her life.
The Bible lay plainly where she once kneeled in submission, blood still staining the fabric, but the name on it remained as legible as the day she first obtained it. An obvious sign of the love and care she had given to it. She walked over to the bench and put her palm on the cover, eyes slowly opening to see it by herself. Her gloved hands shakily moved the leaves on the holy book to one particular spot she would never forget, her best friend's favorite bible verse. John 15:12, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."
The page where the verse was written had an envelope with a photo inside. The photo entailed the girl's former form and her friend at the zoo, in one of the few times their two families collaborated together in such an activity. Signed on the bottom right were their two names, 'Issei and Shidou, best friends forever.' She dropped the book and envelope to the floor, the girl breaking apart at the seams, the stress of her previous situation catching up with her. She fell onto the floor with her arms keeping her steady and away from the dirty park floor.
She cried, and thanked God for giving her this chance to live again, that she would do her best to make up for the prodigal lifestyle she had led until that very day, one she would leave behind for good. Even if it meant losing her gender, even if it meant losing practically her entire identity, it meant the world to her that she could live once again. Any moment not spent living her life to the fullest and spreading the word was not worth potentially dying again, so all of her feelings were that of gratitude. And even if they didn't know who she was... She would send the message that the boy had loved them from the deepest portions of his heart, and ultimately, that was all that mattered.
With all the tears she needed shed were released from that point onwards, she was ready to move on. Her former life meant nothing now basically if she couldn't be identified as Hyoudou Issei anymore but instead a nigh identical clone of Joan of Arc. It was either walk the lonely road, or tell her parents everything. It would take forever to explain to them why or how their one and only son turned from a definitely Japanese high school student with a knack for women's anatomy suddenly had female plumbing and half French ancestry, but... something told her to try anyway, as if someone with even worse odds than her had told their parents about their current situation and got away with it and nary a scratch.
Her mind settled, she took the bible and envelope with her and walked an uncertain road home. Her mind wandered over certain topics, what life could be if she lived her life from this point this way forwards, if she didn't meet that disgusting wretch almost ten years ago, and so on. All that mattered now, though, was the present, and she would do her best to live life as she should've done so long ago. Smiling for once during the entire evening, she left the park with only the slightest bits of uncertainty filling her mind, as she nods off any oncoming passers by.
The entire thing was watched from a distance by a certain devil girl, who gawked at the entire thing, the scenario coming completely out of nowhere. First of all, Issei didn't really die, he just turned into a blonde bombshell of a nun, who then killed Raynare with one well executed thrust from her flag. And second of all, she just lost a potential asset because of some magical circle that she didn't even notice when looking at the park, and any advantage she could've gained from it was lost because it just up and disappeared upon its usage. Sighing in defeat, she followed the other girl home, hoping to at least goad her into allowing her to help her so that she could at least gain something out of the uneventful evening.