Omniscient POV
Two children could be seen playing tag in a playground.
"Hee hee! If you don't run faster, I'll catch you soon, Miguel!" said a young boy, laughing gleefully.
"Hey! You can't catch me, Pedro. I'm faster than you!" replied the other boy, speeding up even more.
As they ran around the playground with boundless energy, Miguel suddenly tripped over a piece of pebble and fell, scraping his knee. Blood began to trickle, and the boy immediately burst into tears, crying out for his mom.
"Waah..."
"Mama!"
The mothers, who had been sitting nearby chatting, heard the cry and rushed over to the children.
"How many times have I told you to be careful? Wait till your father hears about this," the mother scolded gently as she picked him up.
She poured water from the bottle in her hand to clean the bruised area, which was bleeding quite a bit.
Miguel cried harder as the water touched the wound, letting out a painful scream. It seemed he had cut himself on the sharp edge of a broken pebble lying nearby.
Just then, Asia, who happened to be passing by, noticed the commotion and rushed over to help the child.
The worried mother alternated between consoling and scolding Miguel for his carelessness. "You need to be more careful, Miguel! Look at what happened," she said, her voice a mix of concern and frustration.
Seeing the severity of the cut, she knew she needed to take him to a doctor immediately. She needed to quickly stop the bleeding, but she didn't have anything on hand to do so, growing more anxious by the second.
Asia, who had rushed over, knelt beside them. "Let me help," she said softly, her gentle demeanor calming the distressed child. "I can heal him."
The mother looked at Asia with a mix of surprise and relief. "You can? I need to stop his bleeding. Please, if you can help, I'd be so grateful."
Asia nodded and placed her hands gently over Miguel's wound. A soft, green glow emanated from her palms, and within moments, the bleeding stopped, and the cut began to close. Miguel's tears subsided as the pain faded, replaced by a look of wonder.
"Thank you so much," the mother said, her voice filled with gratitude and awe. "I don't know how to repay you."
She had just witnessed a miracle. Nothing else in life could ever surprise her more than this. She hadn't believed the rumors about a blonde girl from the church performing miracles were true.
But now, she could easily guess Asia's identity. In her eyes, Asia was truly a saint. A deep sense of gratitude blossomed in her heart, along with renewed devotion to the Father God.
Asia smiled warmly. "There's no need for repayment. I'm just glad he's okay."
Asia refused any kind of repayment that the mother tried to offer. After a bit of back-and-forth, the mother promised to come find her later at the church.
She decided to go back home, wanting her child to rest even though he outwardly seemed fine. But a mother's worrywart heart is never fully at ease.
With Miguel now healed, the mother picked him up again, this time with a lighter heart. "Let's get you home, Miguel. And no more running carelessly, okay?"
Miguel nodded, still sniffling but no longer in pain.
"Goodbye, sister! See you soon!" yelled Miguel, turning back to wave at Asia as he walked hand-in-hand with his mother.
Asia waved back, her smile warm and gentle. As they disappeared into the distance, she stood there for a moment, her heart filled with gratitude for being able to help. The simple joy of seeing a child healed and a mother relieved was more than enough for her.
With a soft sigh, Asia continued on her way, her steps light and her spirit uplifted by the small but meaningful act of kindness she had been able to offer.
"You really are careless, aren't you? You go around healing anyone you see. Most supernatural factions try to keep the supernatural side hidden from the world," Ddraig remarked inside her head.
"But the child was hurt, Ddraig-san," Asia replied, her voice soft but firm.
Ddraig couldn't argue with her on that. He knew it would be futile. This child was too kind for her own good. What a troublesome wielder he had this time. But at least she was far better than any pervert or arrogant fool.
If not for the secret guards from Akatsuki taking care of this careless girl's blunders, the human world would have been in an uproar by now.
This was why, even though such miracles were being performed, most people outside didn't know or didn't believe them at face value.
Still, they couldn't fully contain the information from the supernatural side. As a result, Asia has become increasingly popular on the supernatural side of the world and the DeviNet.
"Still, you should be more careful. Most humans would freak out, and not everyone is as kind as you think," Ddraig said, trying to make her at least a bit more wary of people.
He didn't fear her getting hurt, as she herself was quite strong, and she also had her dragon familiars. She could always call on even the High Class Dragons (equivalent to Ultimate Class Devils).
There was also a small Sprite Dragon with blue diamond-like scales, recently born in the Familiar Forest, that she had tamed and named Kousen during her last visit there with Bova. The small Sprite Dragon could emit blue lightning.
[A/N: Yeah, it's Rassei we're talking about. His name changed to Kousen, taking from Kouske's name, just as his name was taken from Issei's name in canon.]
*Sigh*
Ddraig sighed as he called out to her. "We have company. Someone has been following you for a while now. It's probably an exorcist," Ddraig said.
This was what he had been talking about. Ddraig wasn't afraid of fights, but he didn't like being pestered by weakling nobodies. And Asia herself didn't like to fight much.
*Clap* *Clap*
Loud clapping sounds echoed as Asia turned to see a tall man wearing shady sunglasses and dressed entirely in black, similar to an exorcist's attire but darker.
"You really are kind, Argento-san. Helping the needy is one of the goals of the Church. I wouldn't expect anything less from someone chosen by God!" said the man, his expression filled with fervent ecstasy.
"You are?" Asia asked, her kind smile still in place despite the suspicious appearance of the man.
"Oh, sorry for my late introduction. I am Max Westcote, an exorcist from the Church," the man replied with exaggerated politeness.
"The Church, huh? How may I help you?" Asia asked, maintaining her gentle demeanor.
"We would like you to come to the Vatican as a Holy Maiden of the Church," Max said, his tone brimming with enthusiasm.
*Sigh*
"I'm really sorry, but I have no intention of going to the Vatican or becoming a Holy Maiden. I'm just happy being able to finish my training as a nun," Asia replied calmly.
"I don't understand why you would refuse. The Vatican is the heart of Christianity. You would be much closer to God Almighty if you chose to come with us. I really hope you'll consider this carefully," Max insisted, his tone growing more insistent.
"I'm sorry, I really can't. I'm happy with what I'm doing right now. And I'm actually affiliated with Akatsuki, so I cannot join your organization. But I really appreciate the offer," Asia explained.
She had been avoiding this topic because the Church might not have let her finish her training properly if they had found out about her affiliation earlier.
But now that her training was complete, and Heaven had been making deals with Akatsuki for a while, she felt it was safe to be honest.
The Church was a part of Heaven, after all, and she didn't think they would cause trouble now. She also wanted to put an end to the relentless attempts by the Church to recruit her.
"So, you're actually affiliated with the organization led by that Evil Dragon, huh?" Max said, his tone suddenly shifting, becoming colder and more accusatory.
"He is not evil!" Asia retorted, her voice firm.
"Asia, he's planning to attack," Ddraig warned suddenly.
Ddraig had never liked the Church's people. They were hypocrites who always justified their actions, even when they were wrong. But as most of them were weak, he wasn't worried about Asia's safety.
Max's expression darkened, and his hand moved subtly toward his side, where a weapon was likely concealed.
"If you won't come willingly, then we'll have to take you by force. The Church cannot allow someone with your power to remain aligned with that... evil. After all, it is our God who had granted you that power for his followers!"
*Sigh*
Asia's smile faded, replaced by a look of determination. "I won't let you take me. Please, don't force me to fight you."
Max smirked, clearly underestimating her. "We'll see about that. I will be taking you with me."
As Max lunged forward, Asia raised her hand, a soft green glow emanating from her palm.
But before he could reach her, a powerful kick sent him sprawling to the ground.
Asia blinked in confusion—she hadn't been the one to attack.
"Masaomi! Why are you attacking me?!" Max shouted angrily.
"No. Why are you attacking her?!" Masaomi shot back.
Max had arrived earlier than Masaomi, and for some reason, Masaomi's flight tickets had gone missing.
Forced to buy a new ticket, Masaomi had to wait for the next flight to Argentina.
He hadn't expected his 'friend' to be so desperate for the Holy Sword.
Then again, wielding one was the ultimate dream of every exorcist—to vanquish all evil.
"Do not get in my way. She claims she is bewitched by that Evil Dragon, so I must take her back to the Vatican," Max declared.
Masaomi just stared at him incredulously.
He had overheard their conversation and now understood Asia's affiliation.
Kidnapping a member of another organization so blatantly was out of the question. Not to mention, he didn't support such actions.
Heaven had business relations with Akatsuki, after all.
Even the swords and guns strapped to both their waists were crafted by Akatsuki.
If the Pope found out about this, he'd likely not condemn them for failing to persuade her—especially since even he hadn't known she was already part of another organization.
*Sigh*
"Argento-san, I sincerely apologize for his behavior. Please leave. I'll talk to him and come to apologize to you properly later," Masaomi said, gesturing for her to go.
Asia wasted no time, hurrying away from the scene. She wanted to help Masaomi but Ddraig persuaded her otherwise.
"Masaomi, now you are just trying to get in my way!" Max snapped, his anger flaring.
Masaomi sighed again. His gut feeling had been right all along—he really couldn't get along with people like this.
Now, he had no choice but to make Max understand, even if it meant using force.
Well, they had never actually fought before, despite being competitors. So, it worked out just fine.