I feel bad for almost being a copycat in the last parts of this chapter. It isn't the same, but I still feel bad about it. Sorry for taking so long.
"Ah man…" I woke up cold and starving. I don't feel anyone around me… not Rias or Asia. Maybe it was because I was in the floor, for some reason.
I stood up, and saw that I had fallen from the bed again, somehow. It was happening quite regularly these last days. It was strange, because Asia and Buchou normally surround me and if I fell, then at least one of them should fell too! Stupid somnambulism.
I decide to not wake up the girls, and went downstairs… and find something to eat. After all, what time was it? It was still dark… maybe not. However, the bad weather did not help to wake up. Still, My muscles felt sore… but the hunger was stronger.
Ring! Ring!
The sound of the telephone scared me, I guess that can wake me up. Going full speed towards it, I almost tripped and fell to the ground.
I instantly put the telephone in my ear. "Who is it?" I am sleepy and I forgot my manners. Don't judge me with that!
"Ah! Are you a friend of Issei?" His mom said.
"… You can't even recognize your son's voice? What kind of parents are you?!" I almost yelled.
"Oh… You always have that beautiful voice when you talk through the phone!" She was right. Apparently, my voice changes every time I speak through something. My parents said it was because when I was little, if I talked through a phone, I always impersonated a grave voice. Guess I started to do it subconsciously with the years.
"Whatever… How are your vacations?"
"Rome is beautiful! You should have come with us, but I guess you have more important things." When I won the duel against Riser, Buchou gave my parents some tickets to Italy. Kind of ironic really. I guess it was made specifically for them, and not for me. Probably every exorcist in town would try to kill me. I cannot complain though, now I'm alone without them… Nose, don't bleed.
"Yeah… I still have school, you know." I replied, while checking that nobody was around me.
"Sure. School." Hey! Don't judge me! It's not my fault that-
"Shut up… next time, check the time schedule. It's like… too early." I looked at my left arm, and saw that it was still very good. It has been like… two days since the last time it became part dragon. I don't know if that's good or bad.
"Don't be like that! It's 10 p.m. here! And we decided to call our only son! We are good parents!" You don't even recognize my voice.
"Bye." I hung up. It's very strange to say everything I do. Why am I even doing this?
Looks like Buchou and Asia are still asleep. Together. In a bed for one person. Probably naked. But I'm hungry! Perverted side, wait for a moment!
After a… strange morning. We went to school. I'm still wondering why we even bother to go there, but I guess I need even the minimum level of education. I can't have like… I don't know, demonic high school? At least there I would have Ddraig to help me. Although he isn't a devil.
It's a shame that I can't happily walk around town, because the people that are there shopping, having a date or passing the time with their friends are… humans. I mean, sure! I have human friends. But I can't tell them about the awesome adventures I'm having, and they probably will die without knowing. How long will I live now anyways? Now I can only friends that are devils… It's not bad, but… It isn't the same. Why can't they know about all this? It's not like they could kill us all.
Whatever, I should probably pay attention to the class.
"…nd remember that in two days we will have an exam. I hope that you all have started to study already." Oh shit…
I looked around the class, and saw everyone with straight faces. I guess I'm not the only one that hasn't started to study. I guess devil or human, we are all still the same in the insides.
My head started to hurt. It was also becoming normal to me. Since I cheated my way through the balance breaker, I had not only sacrificed my arm, but I guess one of the secondary effects was to have headaches. I already told this to Buchou, and Ddraig said the same. It will disappear with time. Knowing that the dragon is over 6000 years old, I'm scared of his concept of time.
I sighed relieved when the class ended. Now I just want to sleep. It's one of the ways to get rid of my stupid headache. The other way is… well, there isn't any other way. It just disappears with time, but if I sleep, it disappears more quickly! Taking a nap is the best… Whoever invented it, you are my new hero!
"Ise-san, are you ready?" I heard Asia behind me, and I quickly nodded. I grabbed my things and saw every boy in the class looking at me with jealousy.
Hahaha… They will try to kill me some day.
"Yes, let's go!" I felt everyone's glares in my back, but my headache is stronger than the feeling of being killed by eyes. Now I'll just sit back and rel-
"Does your head hurt again?" A concerned Asia asked me. Damn, she looks too cute when she is concerned! Don't look at me like that!
"Ah, yes. Don't worry, it's not that bad. I just forgot that we had an exam." She quickly nodded in response.
"I will fail!" Don't say it that proudly!
"Well… isn't math universal? Didn't you learn when…. Nevermind." Poor girl! She is more lost than me! "At least try to study today. I'll help you, if you want."
"If you help me… I may do worse… But don't take it seriously! I'm sure we can help each other!" I want to cry so bad right now.
"S-Sure." At least I'll spend some time with her.
After a few minutes of small talk, we reached the old school house. I always wondered why it is still intact, but I have theory. Magic.
That or just they actually clean it. The first one makes more sense.
I opened the door to the clubroom and directly dropped to one of the couches. Why is this one so stiff?!
I looked over to the other couch, and saw Koneko gently sleeping. Now I get why she sleeps there! It must be the best place to sleep… How does she come here so quickly? Now I want to sit there!
I heard the door open and saw Kiba entering with his usual smile. He always looks so perfect, and here I am half dead with a headache. He must be using some devil magic I don't know about. It's impossible to be like that every day!
Ignoring everything around me, I decided to fall in the arms of Morpheus.
Rias was having a nice cup of tea while reading some reports of her territory. Everything seemed to be normal. No fallen angels. No stray devils. No exorcists. It seemed that since the last attempt of the fallen angels, everything had cooled down. The humans were still doing their crimes, but that was not her responsibility.
"Uh?" She was passing through all the petty crime, that couldn't really be stopped, but there was something that caught her attention.
It seemed like all kinds of crimes had went down... In favor to a new type of material? It looked more like a new medicine. Meds and drugs are technically the same, except for the dose.
The people describe it as fire and a good healing effect. That sounded awfully like the phoenix tears. But that was impossible, maybe it was just a coincidence? After all, phoenix tears are difficult to create, and even the water annuls their effect. Not to mention the low probabilities to replicate them.
"Akeno, did you know anything about this?" She handed over the paper to her. Everyone was already there, but this wasn't important enough to bother them. After all, Koneko and Issei were sleeping.
"It should be a coincidence… Do you want me to investigate a bit more, just in case?" Akeno offered.
"Yes… It's been a while since something strange happens. " Rias leaned back in her chair and watched the pile of informs in front of her. She needed to relax…
"Buchou, can I go home? I feel sleepy today…"Issei stood up and looked at her with a tired face. Maybe he should sleep alone…? Well, one day is one day.
"Fine... do you want to go to a coffee shop? Maybe you'll get better if you drink some coffee…" Issei's eyes instantly shined.
"Yes! I mean, if it's okay with you… I know this one place… Lapis Lazuli!" It would be good to pass some time with him, not to mention that she needed some relaxing.
This damn headache is killing me. Not literally, but you get the similitude. At least, after being with Buchou and now that I am in my bed, I will sleep in no-
Ding dong!
-time… Oh my god… Satan… Whatever. Now who is it? It better be important!
Somehow, I didn't break my head going down the stairs, and I reached the front door in no time. I just want to sleep! I don't think it's that hard to not bother me for some hours!
I opened the door to see a tall, muscular young man with black hair and dark brown eyes. He wears a cream-colored jacket over a dark purple T-shirt and grey jeans.
"Hello, my name is Kisaragi Shizuma. Are you Hyoudou Issei?" The man had a subtle voice. He looked like the typical man that gets killed in a horror game… It's the first thing I thought.
"Uh… Yes? What do you want?" He isn't going to kill me, right?
"Don't worry, I'm from the Metropolitan Police Department. Are your parents at home?" He said, showing his police badge. Now that you look at him, he does look like an investigator.
"No, they are on a vacation. Did I do something wrong?" Is it because I stole some pencils from that store? It was only… like seven of them!
"I hope not. I just want to ask you some questions, if you can." I have really nothing to hide. I mean, I haven't broken the law… Well, I do have to hide that I'm a devil. But he isn't going to ask that.
"It's fine." Now that I remember, the police cannot interrogate me if my parents aren't around. I'm still underage in some things… so actually I don't know.
"Have you ever seen this girl?" He handed me over a low quality photo of a boy and a girl walking down a park. I could tell the boy looked like me, but the girl was…
"It's strange, all the other video cameras around show nothing in this point. However, this older model took this frame before breaking. Our database said that the boy was you, but it didn't found anything about the girl." I don't think she is even a girl. Raynare was… A nightmare for me.
"I did meet her once, but I've never seen her since. Why ask about this? It's very suspicious, if you ask me." Where is Buchou when I need her? I don't really know what to say to this guy.
"I can't tell you, but let's just say we need to find some leads. And we found the footage around the park corrupted. I'm just here to confirm if that frame it's just a bug, or if it really happened." Oh… I think I screw this up. I could have just lied to him!
"Well… Is that all?" The man put away the picture in a small notebook, before looking at me again.
"There is something else. Have you seen somebody suspicious around this area?" The man's glare turned more serious.
"No. If you ask me, you're the first suspicious person I've seen around here." That's actually true.
"That's good. If you ever see something out of place, I'll be very grateful if you call me." He gave me a small paper with his number on. It looked all fancy with the colors and all.
"Have a nice day!" The man waved at me and I closed the door.
That was weird. I think I should tell Buchou about this. After all, it concerns us… I hope she doesn't get mad. But I'll do that after I sleep in my bed…
Walking through the streets, there was a young man. He had recently bought a long black coat, and hid his head with a hood, accordingly with the cold weather that had strike Japan. It was strange, as summer was going to appear in a month or so. Mother nature is sure crazy these days.
The man was heading down the central Boulevard. There were many alleys around here, perfect to make a quick getaway, or to meet with someone. He hoped that the first option wouldn't happen this time.
He was currently following another man. An officer, Shizuma, if he remembered correctly. And by the looks of it, he had noticed that he was after him. That was good, after all, he wasn't following him with no reason.
The officer turned towards an alleyway, probably expecting him.
The moment the man turned the same alley, the officer grabbed him and pinned him down in the ground. Even though the officer was more muscular than him, it didn't matter to him.
"Who are you? Why are you following me?!" Shizuma said to him. The young man's eyes weren't visible as his hood was still on. The only thing he saw was his mouth, which had a calmed smile.
"Calm down… Is this how you treat a messenger?" Shizuma released him, but didn't let his guard down.
"Answer me. Who are you?" The young man stood up. The wind waved his long coat, surrounding him with a strange aura.
"You don't know? I'm hurt, Shizuma-san. After all, aren't you investigating me?" Akasaka almost immediately pulled out his pistol, and aimed at him.
"Maou?! Why make such a bold move?!" He started to sweat. This man was like a snake, escaping everytime they found him. He had also gained his reputation by sheer force. And that in such a short amount of time… This man was not someone you wanted to mess with. That was if he was a person. The people described him as a devil. His name suited him perfectly.
"I'm sure you have noticed the lack of footage, right? I'm not here to fight, I just want an alliance. To fight something that requires the whole humanity." The policeman looked at him skeptically. This man was truly insane, but he controlled everything perfectly.
"Tell me, do you believe in any kind of religion? Doesn't matter. Do you believe in paranormal stuff? You know, aliens, dragons… angels."
"…Yes. What's your point?!" He decided to play along, to see what this man wanted.
"They exist. The lack of footage? You could say it was magic. That girl was a… paranormal being. You are not stupid, so I see that you understand what I'm trying to say." What was the point of all this? Maou was a paranormal fanatic? It could explain his name…
"Humans haven't been able to fight these beings without the help of a greater being… But that will change. Tell this to your superiors. At least tell him about our meeting. Tell them I want a… private exchange of information." Maou wasn't expecting him to believe him. But he would. They all would. Humanity wouldn't be a farm for devils, fallen angels or angels. Not anymore.
"Where do you think you're going!" Maou didn't stop, he wasn't threatened by a pistol.
"Go ahead, shoot me. It won't make a difference." He didn't even look back. But the policeman knew better. That criminal needed to be sent to justice, and his death, even thought satisfying, it was just a temporary satisfaction.
He left the alley and made his way towards the abandoned district of the town .He needed to prepare some games for Rias Gremory… they had taken the bait. However, he needed to train, before his headache returned.
He reached a small warehouse. Even though it was rather small, it had a very wide basement.
Here he could summon his sacred gear and train all the time he wanted. It didn't matter if he reached his full power, the building wouldn't even feel it. One of the benefits of being in an anti-seismic building.
An old man entered his domain. He was a messenger, he didn't know what he carried, and was just told simple tasks. Whoever captured him would only know the localization of his temporary hideout.
"There is a report for you." The man bowed, and gave him the letter. As soon as Maou grabbed it, the messenger left with a dazing speed.
"Kokabiel, uh? He is doing too much noise… Seems like I need to teach some respect, I always wanted a crow as a pet." Maou smirked. He had trained for almost two weeks. He needed some challenge to test himself. He threw the papers to the ground and went over to some .
He had just thought of a very fun game…
"Where are my fluffy pillows…?"
Uh? I didn't fall out of the bed. Yesterday was sure tiring. I had a good nap, but then I studied with Asia. I realized I don't have a chance to succeed, but at least I'll die like a man! The best-case scenario is to have four out of ten.
Buchou is not here… yesterday she said something, but I can't remember. It shouldn't be that important. After all, nothing much has happened since the Rating Game. Well, except my headaches.
My bed is sure big… Actually, it's pretty normal. Maybe is because there aren't any more persons here. Since when was the last time I slept alone… That sounds weird. Let me rephrase that. Since when did I sleep without any girls? That sounds weird too. Whatever.
After eating breakfast and going towards school, the clouds cleared out, and the sun started to rain hell on earth. This weather is going to kill me someday! Yesterday rains, and now the ground is melting. Can't there be a typical day in this town?!
"By the way, where is Buchou? She said something yesterday, but I can't remember." I asked Asia.
"She didn't tell me anything… We talked about how she wasn't showing up, can't you remember?" She looked at me, tilting her head.
"N-No… Well, I was tired. I probably just forgot." I'm mixing my thoughts. At least today I'm not tired.
"Umm… Maybe she called you?"
"She wouldn't call me… If it was important, she would have done that teleporting thingy." Which I can't use. That's very frustrating, if you think about it. My magic sucks, and my spells suck even harder. I need to stop thinking in sucking.
"Anyways, we still have to study today. Maybe I should ask Motohama for help… For some reason, he gets better results than me." And we both know that he isn't that smart. He must have a secret! Perhaps he actually studies more than us… which isn't believable. Do those glasses give him super powers?!
"Why don't we ask Kiba-san? He is in our same grade." Asia suggested. The day I ask him for help, the sun will be taint in red. And not the good kind of red.
"That would be as admitting defeat! I refuse to do that!" Maybe I overdid it. But she gets the point.
"Isn't the same asking Motohama-san for help?" She said with an innocent tone.
"Uh… No. Yes. We are going to be late!" I said as I started to go faster.
I dodged the bullet on that one. Not in the matrix way, but it didn't hit me.
A few classes later, the lunch break started. It was the best moment to ask him! Although it seems that Matsuda had the same idea as me, this can only help me more.
"Come on! You must be cheating or something!" I heard Matsuda yelling. I approached them, getting on the same side as him.
"I don't fall that low! I just have a good technique…" He said while cleaning his glasses. He was definitely hiding a smile.
"If you don't cheat… How do you study? There must be something." I said. His eyes started to shine, but his glasses quickly covered them.
"If you two want to know… I'll tell you my secret!" The three of us got into whisper range. Enough so nobody else would listen.
"Before I start to study, I get a good motivation! For example, if I get X grade, my parents will give me money, and then I'll be able to buy a pair of binoculars! And then with those, I'll be able to see…" I stopped listening there. Motivation…
Maybe… I'll ask Buchou that If I get a certain note, she'll need to cover parts of her body in cream… and then Akeno should start to lick the cream away… and like she'll need a bit of help, I'll come in to help her and-
My nose started to bleed at those thoughts. I don't know if I have the guts to tell her that… But I actually don't need to say it! I'll just tell her some kind of reward! Oh Issei, you are a genius! When do I have more exams?! I didn't think I would ever say that! I'm excited! In every way!
After that, I returned to my desk. I finished my meal quickly, because now I KNOW what to do! This only adds up to my list of must do! Like being the harem king! And the strongest pawn! And something I'm missing…
But first, I need to go to the club… After the classes.
A few hours before…
"What's wrong Kokabiel? Where is all that bravado you were showing before?" The fallen angel was on his knees. He had been beaten… Even worse than that. The power of that devil was overwhelming. How could he, one of the leaders of the Grigori, lost like that?
"You were trying to start another war… That isn't very fun, you know. But since I'm a kind man, I'll give you another choice." Maou was very happy with himself. He had beaten the fallen angel without the Balance Breaker. The night had surely helped in getting a plus of energy.
"You can't blackmail me! Once I get out of here you-" Maou kicked him in the head, throwing him back a few meters.
"Shh… You talk way too much. Who said that you won't get your precious war? You would just have… a new challenger. ." Kokabiel looked at him, confused at his words.
"I want you to give me everything you know about the underworld. Do this, and your war will even have a new participant." Maou was carefully thinking his choice of words. Kokabiel would surely rebel against him. But didn't matter, as he was going to be locked in… one day or so. However, he actually needed the lowest kind of confidence.
"What do you mean?" Maou smiled and offered his hand to him.
"Humanity, my friend. 7000 million humans." Kokabiel understand it… The humans had surely evolved since the last time. The war would be longer if it had a new participant, and the devils would still get new peasants… only more forcefully. But it was stupid.
"The humans? They cannot even hurt the weakest of us! Maybe if they all had a sacred gear, but everyone? They can't even unite with each other!" The fallen angel yelled, refusing his hand.
"That's true, they aren't united. But if history has made me learn something, is that when there is a great foe, even the most hated rivals unite against it. World Wars, Napoleonic War, The Reconquista, The Crusades. Humans unite against a greater enemy, and the outcome is tremendous… most of the times." Maou said while hiding sorrow. He didn't mention how much all the persons suffered, being thrown to the ground and being treated like animals.
"…Even then, they simply cannot hurt us. We are mightier beings than them." Maou's smile disappeared for a second, disgusted at those thoughts.
"When my research is done, the human army will be more than a match for every… 'greater' being, as you call them. Do I look like the kind of guy who lies?" Kokabiel obviously thought that, but right now he didn't have another choice. He would kill this guy, the moment he let his guard down!
He accepted his hand.
"That would be more enjoyable… Who are you?"
"You don't need to know… just call me Maou." He turned around and grabbed his black coat that he had taken off before starting this fight. The sun was starting to rise.
"We'll meet again in that abandoned church. Make sure to bring that crazy exorcist and whoever else you have."
The exorcists sent by the angels would be here soon. Those holy swords were a tasty bounty, but they were just another toy for him. Kokabiel's useful life and plan would end tomorrow, he couldn't afford his stupidity to oppose him.
His headache was returning. Tomorrow… more like this day, was going to be fun. Rias and her peerage would know to not underestimate him… After all, there was only motive to do all of this. Demonstration of true power.
Now it's my chance! I have left quickly, as fast as I can. And if that girl has arrived before me, I swear I will bring… I don't know, something she doesn't like.
I opened the door to our clubroom. Almost everybody was there waiting for us. Even though Asia is hardly keeping up with me, I was kind enough to slow down for her. I'm still hum- I have the lowest grade of gentleman.
"Now that we all are here…" Buchou started to say. How did everybody get here before me?! Those fancy magic circles of doom…
Ah damn it, I didn't know we had a meeting. Ah yes, I need to tell Buchou about that investigator… And about my motivation… Don't think about it now! Relax, and hear what is going on.
"We have to take care of a… stray devil. We don't know much about him or her. Just that the name is Maou." Oh, another beautiful devil that-
"M-M-MAOU?! Don't tell me he is super powerful and he will kill us all?!" I ! I want to pass an exam and get my reward before I die!
"It's just a nickname, Ise. That devil isn't anywhere that level." Buchou laughed a bit at his concern.
"Are you sure he is a stray devil? You don't say with much confidence." Kiba asked, looking carefully at Buchou.
"That's the thing, we don't know what this devil is. He or she appeared out of nowhere, which is even more troublesome. So if there isn't any complains, I want to investigate the town." I'm not the smartest guy in town… but there must be something else, right? Maybe there is something else…
"Um… Why are we doing this? Did he do something bad?" Asia asked, hiding a bit her face.
"Maybe. Something very shadowy is around this guy, but I want to make sure. Perhaps I'm wrong…" She said trailing off.
"Seems fine to me! But… Uh… Asia and I have to study later. It's not that important really…" Helping Buchou is priority number one! However, priority number two has some nice rewards… if it works.
"It won't take that long, just a quick research. So, everyone agrees?"
After voting the groups, three teams were decided. It was going to be, Rias and Akeno, Koneko and Asia, and last but not least, Issei and Kiba. A strange coincidence that the two boys available were in the same group.
"Remember, try to find something suspicious, like this symbols. Apparently this is his trade mark." She showed a photo with a small X in a circle. For me it looked just like any other graffiti in town.
"…That is quite common." Kiba said, looking at the picture.
"It's all we have. This devil is quite meticulous. It's all we have been able to find." Buchou said. My head started to feel light… Come on, not again!
"Good luck!" Before I realized, we were already alone.
"Let's go downtown. I'm sure there are going to be plenty graffiti to check out." Kiba said while pointing with his hand at the end of the street. Since when is he the leader of the group?
"Whatever… There should be a lot of people there. Do you think it's a good idea?" I tell the pretty boy. He looked at me and smiled.
"Stick close to me, and we won't get lost." It's very creepy if you say that while smiling like a mad man. Not to mention I want you at least two meters from me.
"…Let's go before I lose my head." I said, leaving behind prince charming.
This headache isn't like the others. I feel with much more energy, and I can think straight with it. Maybe is because the amount of people here just makes me forget of it, but it's good to see some advance in my… condition. I don't know how to describe it.
However, that sensation was short lived. I looked around to see that Kiba wasn't with me. My headache started to consume me again, but I stayed strong and tried to find the Knight. He can't be that far away.
Kiba was just thinking the same. Issei was there for a moment, and disappeared in the next. He started to look around him, but with all the people, it was difficult to find him. He could be just beside him and not notice. After some long five minutes, he gave up and grabbed his phone. He didn't have Issei's number, but he could ask the others about it.
As soon as he grabbed the phone, someone started to call him. It was Rias.
"Kiba? We need to meet up. Go to the abandoned church, something has happened there." Her voice showed concern. It was definitely something important.
"Roger that. Could you call Issei? We got separated, and I haven't been able to find him." The Knight asked. There was a pause in the conversation, but Rias replied.
"Yes, just come here as fast as you can." Kiba nodded to himself, and stopped his search for Issei.
He noticed that it would take several minutes to reach there, if he didn't use his great speed. Though he couldn't use his powers in front of so many people, he could move fairly quickly without raising suspicion.
After some minutes running, he noticed that he was already able to see the church in the distance. It was strange to simply go there, so there should be something very important. What could exactly be?
Rias stared down at the amount of black feathers in the ground. A fallen angel had most likely died here or at least greatly damaged, that was for sure. The benches were all moved from their original position, something had pushed them back.
"There is blood here." Akeno said, looking at the ground. "…It's warm." She pointed out, touching it with her fingers.
"It should be… what we felt was demonic power. Whoever did this, it's still around here." Rias said, looking around the church.
There was something wrong. What was a fallen angel doing here? Who killed him or her? If it was Maou, then this suddenly gets worse. This could be a reason for starting another great war...
There should be some clues in here. Nothing is perfect, especially crimes like these.
Rias carefully looked the feathers in the ground. The only sign of blood was scattered all around the feathers. Something had attacked him in an instant, probably exploding one of his limbs. It was rather sick.
The body was nowhere to be found, which meant that either he had moved it, which was not very probable as there were no signs, or something else happened. Perhaps it was removed with a teleporting spell.
There are no signs of blood in two locations, but judging by the splash radius, there should be blood. It probably meant that two people did the job, or whoever died had an ally that didn't prevent it. However, she could always be wrong.
"There is a note here." She heard Akeno saying. There was a message written with a strange blue.
"Street X Number Y… This was left for us." Rias said. If Maou did this, he wasn't joking around. It was like… a game for him.
"Rias-sama, what happened here?" She heard a male voice calling her. She turned around to see Kiba, Koneko and Asia standing in the entrance of the church.
"A murder, probably. We have a new location for… Issei hasn't arrived?" She pointed out. For a moment, she thought of Issei being the murderer, but it couldn't be. After all, Issei couldn't even kill a fly… Unless that fly had killed somebody who he cared for, but it obviously didn't.
"I thought you called him." Kiba said, watching the remainders of the fallen angel.
"I did call him, he didn't answer." A buzzing stopped her ranting. It was her phone. She watched the unknown number before answering.
"Buchou? Sorry! I didn't hear the phone!" A strange voice confused her by a second, before realizing who it was.
"…Ah! Ise, I didn't recognize you." She said, a bit embarrassed at her own misunderstanding.
"I get that a lot… What happened? I lost Kiba ten minutes ago… Is that why?" She moved her hand, pointing out to the entrance.
"Yes and no. We need to regroup in this location…"
Where the hell is that street? I think it's around here… but I've never been here before. It looks like everything has been shut down around this area. This looks just like those movies where the killer hides here, and then fights off the detective who is out to hunt him. But that only happens in movies. Fortunately, my headache doesn't hurt that much, so I don't have to worry about that.
Speaking of detectives, I need to-
"Ise? You got here fairly quickly." Everyone was already waiting for me in front of a small warehouse.
"Yup! So, why are we here? This looks deserted so far." I haven't seen anybody since I entered this street, and sounds of the cars can only be heard in the distance.
"There must be something in here. I don't know if it's dangerous, but better be cautious." Buchou said. I looked at the worn out warehouse. All the windows were sealed, boarded up with wooden planks. A gate was the only thing that separated us from the creepy building.
"Kiba, Akeno, scout the surroundings. Search for traps or escape ways." She commanded. They both entered the enclosed area, one by foot and the other by air. Isn't she afraid of someone catching her?
"Koneko, guard the gate. If somebody comes, warn us as soon as you can." Koneko nodded, and we left the gate behind, only to stop before the big iron door. Asia stood behind me, as I can't really see her, I don't know if she is scared.
"Ise, start gathering boosts. Just in case." She is just like a master tactician giving orders!
"Alright! Boosted Gear!" It has been a while! I don't remember it reaching past my elbow. Maybe it did, but I just did not notice. Anyways, perhaps the appearance doesn't equal power. I do think that number of jewels represents my power, but the red armor is just for protection.
Boost!
"So, you have to study? I can be your tutor, if you want." Buchou said while grabbing my right arm. That's actually the best idea I've ever heard this day, just a bit better than my motivation plan! Speaking of which…
"B-But Ise promised that he would study with me!" Asia grabbed my left arm, pulling me with her. Intervene! Intervene before something bad happens! I like my arms where they are!
Boost!
"C-Come on, we can do both things at the same time!"Hey, It would be like a threesome!… in studies. Why does this never work?! Now they are going to pull apart my arms and then throw me down the rancor pit!
"We haven't found anything. No traps and no escape ways."Kiba appeared out of nowhere. This is the first time I'm glad of seeing him!
Boost!
"Good. Ise, do the honors." Buchou and Asia released me, and I headed towards the metal door. With three boosts gathered, I easily broke down the door, which made an audible sound. A strange smell invaded my nose for a second, but as soon as it entered, it left.
The insides would be pitch black if we didn't have the ability of seeing in the dark. It was probably around 15 meters wide. There was glass scattered around the floor, with many broken planks. Just in the middle, there was a small box. Probably the thing we were looking for.
Boost!
The voice of Ddraig resounded all around us. I entered the warehouse, but something stopped me for advancing more.
"Akeno? What's wrong?" I looked back to see Akeno grabbing a small piece of wood.
"Think before you act. Maybe there was a trap…" Seeing her serious was strange. And that scared me. A lot.
She threw the fragment of wood forwards, hitting the small box in the middle. Nothing happened.
Boost!
"You're starting to scare me…" I told Ddraig, while looking at my left hand.
I looked back at Akeno again who smiled in response. Kiba was going towards the left, close to the wall, and the Queen towards the right, doing the same thing. Wouldn't make more sense to send Koneko in this?
I started to walk, not before watching where I was stepping. The sound of crystal shattering below me was a constant sound, even unnerving.
Boost!
Ddraig was just messing with me right now… I stared at the box in front of me, it looked like a small treasure chest, but without any lock on it. I opened it, not realizing it would be a big mistake if this thing exploded or something.
"Buchou! There is a note in here!" I yelled. It was only a wrapped paper, but there was something strange in it. The box also looked smaller in the inside, so it should have a hidden room…
"What does it say?" I heard her voice replying. Carefully unwrapping it, I saw only three words.
Boost!
"Oh the humanity?" What the hell does this mean? It sounds like an opera. I heard Buchou yelping over something.
"Get out! RUN!" Her distressed voice made me immediately nervous. Not knowing what was going on, I turned around and started to run. Akeno and Kiba reached the entrance at the same time as me, but then I turned around. I forgot the box!
"Ise! What are you doing?!" Buchou tried to stop me, but I was already running towards it. I grabbed the box but it didn't move. It was stuck in the ground!
Putting a bit more of strength, I broke down the floor below the box. The smell I had felt earlier returned. It smells like… gasoline?!
Boost!
"Oh shit!" With all my speed, I left the warehouse in less than a second. For some reason, the warehouse exploded behind me, leaving me with a few burns.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" I yelled, watching the fire consuming the remaining of the warehouse.
"…The note was a reference. 'Oh the humanity' is what a reporter said in the Hindenburg incident."Kiba explained. That was the dirigible that exploded, right? If I remember, it was because hydrogen is highly inflammable, and the electricity made it into a mess.
"Um… Why did it explode?" Asia said, while healing the small burns I had.
"I think there was gasoline in there… the moment the door broke down, a counter started. I don't have any other explanation." Akeno briefly explained. Everybody nodded in response. Everybody except Buchou.
"Why did you go back?! You could have died there!" Rias was a bit upset… with 'a bit' I mean a lot.
"There was something else in that box!" I opened it, showing the smaller interior. "It's smaller! So there must be something else…" Now I feel bad for running in like a jackass.
"I don't see a difference." Koneko said, looking inside of it.
"It looks the same to me…" Asia also told her point of view.
"…The perspective! I'm sure there must be something…" Buchou was looking at me sharply, like I had broken her favorite toy. I used my sacred gear to make a dent in the wooden box, revealing a cubbyhole.
There was a letter, quite fancy if I say so myself. The paper was soft, and it had even a seal on it. It looked foreign to me. However, what really surprised me was the name in the front.
"It's for you." I gave it to Buchou, who changed her expression into a more determinate one. Was she expecting this?
She opened it with her own finger, and pulled out the message. It was not hand writing, it was written in some computer program, at least that's what I see. After a few seconds, her eyes widened for a bit.
"I'll read it out loud… Hello, my lovely King. I hope you or your peerage doesn't have any burns. Please, read this to your group. I am currently preparing some good varieties of games for your so called family. It would be very boring if only you and me played, right? The fact that you are reading this means that you passed the easy test of history. That would also mean that you know of me, Maou."
"That's the guy we are after! Why is he doing this?" I snapped for some reason. Everyone looked at me. "Sorry… Continue."
"Ehem… You must be wondering the reason of all this. It's quite simple. I'm the finger and you are the trigger, I just need to pull you… and everything will change. Your Rook, Queen, one of your Bishops, Yuuto Kiba, Asia Argento and Hyoudou Issei are just in the middle, so don't expect them to go out flawlessly. Before I leave, I must tell you that the fallen angels have just lost a rebellious leader. I wonder who did it. There is also more addresses written here..."
We kept silent for a second, trying to absorb whatever this was. For some reason, it made me feel very uncomfortable when he referred to me as my name…
"This is disturbing… Why refer to some of us with our names, but the others with the pieces?" Kiba said, acquiring a famous detective expression.
"He obviously did it for something… But the last two sentences... The feathers we found earlier, did he do it? If so, Maou is very dangerous." Akeno said, also with a serious face.
"Whatever it is, we need to capture him. He has no right to do this in my territory, much less to kill a fallen angel." Buchou said with a weird expression."There are four more directions."
"We can't do it in groups... Then two of us will go back." Kiba said as he looked at us.
"Ise, Asia, you two can leave." Buchou's message disturbed me. But I want to help...
"Well... I'm not really good with mysteries. I feel like I will get in the way. I guess it's for the better." I said honestly. I'm not a criminal mastermind, and I don't read books about murderers. As far as I know, the culprit could be in front of my face and not notice.
"I feel the same way… I want to help, but I don't know what to do…" Asia said beside me. Buchou sighed, and looked at the raging flames near us.
"You both can go home. Ise, protect Asia. Right now, we must be more cautious… And we should move out before somebody comes." She is going to call the fire department, right? Anyway, we should move.
"See you all tomorrow! If you need us, ask right away!" For some reason I don't feel troubled at all. I feel kinda happy, which is strange. A man has just threatened my friends and me but I feel… passive. Maybe is because I haven't studied yet…
For some reason, I felt how Kiba watched me leave with Asia. Maybe I did act a bit weird.
After separating, Asia and I headed home. This should be a perfect opportunity for some good old motivation plan! Just breathe calmly…
"Uh… As we have little to no chance of passing this exam… Well… How about if I get a high note, you must be my personal maid for a day?!"
Yeah! She should call me Issei-sama, and do whatever I want! From 'Good morning' to 'Good night'! And seeing that tomorrow it's Wednesday, the probability of having the exam corrected by Friday is quite high! Which means a whole Saturday with Asia as a maid! I should also buy a costume, but a smaller size! I should probably return to Earth.
"That's very strange." Indeed it is! I mean, no!
"I-It is? Well… You can get the same reward! Or whatever you want!" I just need her to say the magical word!
"I can have Ise-san as my maid?!" She was strangely happy about that. Oh… I should have specified that one. I hope she doesn't have the same motivation and then she passes… I would get wrecked.
"Y-Yes… whatever you want!" Please, let it work. She is actually thinking of it, this must be good!
"It will be fun! I accept!" YES! I dropped the box in happiness, and a piece of wood flew away.
"Uh? What is that?" Asia pointed at a small plastic bag that popped out of the box. It had some kind of green plant inside of it.
Great, now I have drugs.
"I hope this isn't what I think…" I caught the box and the small plastic bag. I opened it to see if my fears were correct.
The smell was like a musky kind of minty-ness. It wasn't unpleasant, like it was mixed with lemon balm, grass and mint. It definitely has something magical in it, as it feels... like getting a boost. It's a strange sensation to explain... What the hell was this? Hell-pot?
"It seems… like a strange tea. Better hide it until tomorrow." I explained while closing the bag. I hid it in my pocket, and kept the box just in case. Asia nodded, but was still confused.
So, today I have gained some strange herbs, Buchou got mad at me and some person could harm me or my friends in any time. Not to mention that I have to study a lot! And I haven't even told Buchou about that investigator… Oh well. Life as a devil isn't that fun in this moment.
"Maou isn't stupid. He obviously mentioned their names for some reason." Rias was walking along her fellow Queen. They were discussing the contents of the famous message by Maou.
"Kiba, Asia and Issei… It can't be because you brought them back from the dead, because Gasper would have been also mentioned…" Akeno pointed out. They weren't exactly expert investigators, but they knew the basics of research.
"They have sacred gears… then again it would end in the same conclusion. The only thing that's left is… that they were full blooded humans." They both waited at the crossroad, when she noticed another paper in the letter.
After scanning its contents, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. The penmanship itself gave Rias an eerie, unsettled feeling. The writer had used a straightedge to trace his strokes, presumably to camouflage his true handwriting. Some letters had even been cut from magazines and newspapers.
"I'll be back. Stay here…" Akeno didn't even have time to answer before she disappeared.
Rias dashed out into the busy streets. She parted the crowds like a boulder splitting through a fierce current. Without letting the deluge of people slow her pace, she marched forward through Central Boulevard.
As she moved, she thought about the strange letter.
She couldn't believe that Maou would contact her so quickly... Was he stalking them?
"If no one else can find you, then I'll smoke you out of hiding myself..."
Rias already knew where to go.
She didn't waste a single minute.
The coffee shop, Lapis Lazuli. The same place that Issei took her yesterday. She pushed open the door and walked in. She immediately surveyed the premises. If her reasoning was correct, Maou should have come by here, or at least left a clue here.
However, she could not find anyone like him among the customers. Just then, a man who appeared to be an employee called out to her.
"Welcome. A table for one?" Rias thought for a second before answering confidently.
"My name is Rias Gremory. Excuse me, but did someone leave a message for me?" The host seemed relieved upon her words.
"So you're Gremory-san. Yes, someone did indeed leave a message." As he said this, he disappeared behind the counter. After a while, he returned with a small bag.
"Someone told me that when I see a strange girl with long hair, I should give this to her."
"Who left this in your hands?" She asked as she took the bag from him.
"A young girl, but she said someone else asked her to do this."
Odds were he was using several intermediaries to get in contact with her. It'd be difficult to trace any of these agents back to 'Maou'.
"Hey, didn't you come here with your boyfriend last night?" The host asked.
"Boyfriend?" She awkwardly replied.
"He wasn't your boyfriend?"
"Well…Uh, I'll leave now." Why was she so embarrased? It was only a simple question…
As she walked out, Rias opened the bag. She found only a thin cell phone inside.
She examined the cell phone from top to bottom. It was an old model of disposable cell phone. Here on Central Boulevard, you can find a lot of unemployed foreigners selling these phones. Even if the police were to investigate this matter, they wouldn't be able to find the phone's original purchaser. It would appear that Maou knows how to cover his tracks.
She turned on the phone. There was only one number listed.
The number was listed as... Maou.
Her heart raced. She dialed the number with sweaty hands. At that moment, the din of the city no longer reached her ears.
After precisely ten rings―
A weak vibration came from the left side of his chest. Maou grinned.
Trying to suppress his excitement, he took out the phone. He waited for his caller to speak first as he imagined her beautiful voice.
"Maou, right?" He was taken aback by the abrupt voice.
Maou quietly opened his mouth.
"Did you enjoy my reading my letters?" There was a brief pause, as if she were gathering her nerves.
"What do you want?" Rias spoke in a low voice.
"All I want is to play with you, in a lot of ways." Maou's voice was being distorted, so she couldn't make out the real voie.
"To play such a childish game?"
"You mean the warehouse?" Indeed, that was a bit too simple.
"That part was easy to decipher."
"Who knew that a Japanophile like yourself would know some other country's history? Did Baraqiel's daughter helped you?" He intentionally chose biting words, as if playing the part of a typical, twisted villain. But this did not deter Rias in the slightest.
"That really was a simple puzzle. I'd be quite disappointed if I couldn't even solve it." Maou had indeed do some research.
"That's my line. I would have put another puzzle... Oh, well, shall we continue playing?" Maou was feeling satisfied. She was daring, indeed.
Even as she listened intently to the phone, Rias continued searching for the location of Maou. Ignoring the devil's scathing words, she instead focused on the background noise. After a while, she discovered some clues.
"I understand now," Rias said.
"What do you understand?"
"I now know where you are. Someone is giving a speech near your location."
Rias again concentrated on the background noise. Part of the speech included the name of the town's mayor.
"So you noticed." His tone implied it would be stranger if she hadn't.
"I can find out where the speech is being held by going to City Hall."
"That won't be necessary."
"What?" She was taken aback by his words.
"Excellent. You have great observational skills." Rias finally understood the true reason behind Maou's challenge.
He wants to test her.
She was in a terrible situation. She didn't expect her opponent to find her base. Even though Rias still doesn't know his identity, Maou already knows hers.
"I'm at Central Business right now."
"Should you be telling me this?"
"Well, of course! Do you even know where that is, Buchou?" She hissed when she called her like that.
"You certainly know a lot about us."
"I know everything about your fellow family. The failed Holy Sword wielder, the former Nekomata, the fallen angel hybrid, the holy priestess… and that half vampire of yours!" She saw how he didn't mention Issei. Was this a flaw by his part, or a new hint?
"When people tell someone they know everything, it's usually to cover up their insecurity at the fact that there may be something they don't know." Maou scoffed at that.
"You have a sharp tongue as well." He certainly sounded happy, but his words seemed a little artificial. As a result, she still couldn't figure him out. And unfortunately for her, he was always guiding their conversations.
"Indeed, I wish to know more about you. Otherwise, why would I actively seek you out? I'm not your fanboy, if that's your answer." He said in a mocking tone.
"There's a big park near Central Business."
"So?" Rias stopped, turning around towards the direction of the park.
"Can you come to the bulletin board there?"
"Will you blow it up too, Maou? I'm getting tired distorted voice." Rias looked at the sunset. It was getting late.
"My, you're so impatient." Maou said with a mocking tone.
"In order to better understand each other, shouldn't we meet face to face?"
"A very enticing proposal. Unfortunately, I must decline." It seems Maou does not intend to show his face.
"Come capture me, Rias Gremory." This is a challenge.
"If you are indeed worthy, then I shall be your opponent." And with that, he hung up the phone. Rias sprang into action.
The park was nearby, somehow escaping the shadow of the surrounding buildings. It was quite a beautiful scene. The park was surrounded by an assortment of bustling businesses, making its presence even more pronounced.
The bulletin board was at the center of the park. Under normal circumstances, it would display the general guidelines and park rules. Today, though, it's covered in red graffiti. At first glance, it appears to be the work of local delinquents. Close examination, however, reveals that the markings are actually a rather detailed passage.
It was clear that this graffiti was the work of Maou.
From here, the King must choose one of three paths.
One path leads to Earth. One path leads to Hell. One path leads to Heaven.
Truth is written on the path to Earth.
Lies are written on the path to Hell.
Truths, lies, and half-truths are written on the path to Heaven.
Rias immediately began to search around the park. As was indicated, there should be a message located near the path. She soon found that message near the park's northern entrance. There was a steep staircase leading to the business district. The handrail of the stone staircase bore a short note... in the same glaring red paint and long, slender lettering as the message in the park.
'The exit of subway station 10 leads to Heaven.' She could just barely make it out.
Station 10 just so happens to be Central Boulevard's main station. Rias could see several red-haired youngsters loitering near the exit. She carefully examined her surroundings until she finally saw another message on the handrail.
'Warehouse number 3 along the docks of the Abandoned District leads to Hell.' The same warehouse that had been burnt some hours ago.
It was too far to reach by foot. However, if she doesn't go to that warehouse, she won't be able to solve the puzzle.'Tag' indeed. Do you plan to have me run around the entire city, Maou?
She moved towards an alleyway, and used her magic to transport herself towards the same warehouse.
There were still some firefighters in the area, cooling down the rests of the building.
She searched for a message from 'Maou'. She found a suspicious slip of paper around the wet floor.
'This is not the path to Heaven.' After reading this final clue, Rias pinched her forehead.
Now she finally has all the pieces. Which of the three paths should she take? He referred himself as Maou, so she should take the path to Hell… but that was too easy. She remembered all the letters. 'Oh the humanity' in the first one, the names of all the former humans of her peerage in the second one… It all refers to humanity, and the path that she needs to take is the path to Earth.
Truth is written on the path to Earth.
Lies are written on the path to Hell.
Truths, lies, and half-truths are written on the path to Heaven.
In addition, on the handrail of the stairway near the park was the note: The exit of subway station 10 leads to Heaven.
Beside the exit of subway station 10 was the note: Warehouse number 3 along the docks of the Abandoned District leads to Hell.
At the third warehouse in the Abandoned district was the note: This is not the path to Heaven.
After sorting everything, she began to analyze the information. Suppose #1 is "the path to Earth." In that case, the message found there about subway station 10, that it is 'the path to Heaven', would have to be true.
"So then, the answer is..." To find the answer, you only need to do some calculations.
Just as she was in the middle of thinking, her cell phone rang.
"Are you near the third warehouse yet?" Maou must've calculated the time she needed to reach here, and timed his call accordingly.
"I just got here."
"Did you receive the message, then...? 'This is not the path to Heaven?'"
"Yes. I just found it."
"You really did spend a lot of time preparing for this. I can't help but laugh when I imagine Maou running around the city writing these hints."
"I didn't have to do it personally, but I guess I'm honored that my work has made you so happy."
"In other words, you have people working for you, right?"
"There are always people attracted to evil. But that's not important right now. Did you gather all the information?"
"Yes..." Rias left the remains of the warehouse, so the firefighters didn't hear her.
"Think about it carefully. I will be waiting for you. See you later King…"
Just as he was about to hang up...
"The third warehouse."
"…"
"If you think about it, there are only six possible scenarios. Within these six scenarios, you can disregard any scenario that involves 'the path to Earth' and 'lies'. You can also disregard any with 'the path to Hell' and 'truth'. When you do that, the answer just pops right out." Maou listened to Rias attentively.
Indeed, anyone with a good sense of logic could quickly figure out the answer. If you discard all the unnecessary information, it really is just a simple equation. As Rias implied, one can just lay out the six possible scenarios and cross out all the ones that cannot be true.
That said, Rias figured it all out in an instant. Plus, she didn't need to use pen and paper. She solved it all mentally.
"It wasn't all that impressive, maybe which path needed to be taken was more complex than this."
Maou did not respond.
Even though he wasn't the best at making puzzles... A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
"Rias Gremory…"
Maou finally saw the whole situation. Since the moment he had written that letter, he knew that he would be between the rock and a hard place. Rias had everything, power, connections, wealth and keen mind seemingly unbelievable for a teenage girl. That was, if that was really her age.
His defeat may now lay in a place he had always expected.
Rias would quickly break through the other games he had prepared…
It was obvious, even to him, that he was fucked.
But there was no reason to worry. After all, she just thought of him as a nuisance, a mad man that he just wanted to destroy her. But she was wrong. The true reason the games was something foreign to her, and even if she managed to find his true identity, he could eliminate her in no time.
The sun had set only moments ago. In its place came a weak summer wind, carrying a chill and dark clouds in its wake.
Pedestrians flooded the business district. At the bottom of the government office stairway, Rias awaits Maou's appearance.
She needed to bring that man to justice, before anybody tried to light the spark of war. Maou may think this is just a game, but this is a battle Rias will put all her strength into.
She waited at the bottom of the stairs. Maou would show up in any moment...
Only that he is taking too long.
She could not see anyone like Maou among the passing people.
"Did I make a mistake?" Just as she started to panic, she heard someone call her name.
Rias looked up the stairs.
"It seems humans and devils have something in common. It doesn't matter how many people are around you; how much noise you hear. You will still turn toward the person who called your name." Rias realized that she had indeed made a mistake.
She figured as long as she waited downstairs, Maou would appear there. During their prolonged game of tag, Rias had grown so focused on solving the numerous riddles he presented. So focused that she had forgotten that Maou may have set a trap within the riddles themselves. Maou now drew her attention freely, without worry, from a place where she could not see him clearly.
A man in a large black coat spoke those seductive words. However, his back was facing Rias, and one could not discern his features through the dim streetlights.
"It's you, isn't it?" Rias asked the mysterious person.
"I am indeed... Buchou."His voice was strong; it was definitely a man's voice. His voice sounded familiar, like she had heard it before.
"My name is Rias Gremory, but you already knew that." The girl straightened her posture.
"I am... Maou, the true protector of this city." His voice was imposing authority, but it was meaningless to Rias who had already experience with powerful beings.
"Protector? You are no protector at all! You have murderer a fallen angel, which can end in another Great War! And that's why I'm bringing you to justice!" It was a cliché speech, but it got the message pretty well.
"Murder? Start another war? I think you have gotten it all wrong. I have prevented another war." Even in the distance, Rias could see Maou smiling.
"…What do you mean?" He had ended his sentence like that so she had to ask him, thus leading the conversation.
"Kokabiel was gathering Excaliburs, which got the Church's attention. He had also prepared a trap for Yuuto Kiba, making all the three factions involved. All in your territory." Rias clenched her fists to suppress her apprehension.
"Excalibur? Where are those swords?!"
"They are in a safe place… By the way, I haven't murder anybody. Kokabiel just lost an arm. I sent him with the sacred gear expert. Can you see now? I've prevented another great war in… two days. The humans have sure helped me though." Maou was leaking out information on purpose.
"The humans?... " She couldn't be sure what kind of humans he meant. A magician? A sacred gear wielder?
"A fine investigator found me before you. He was kind enough to give me a meeting with some important people of the country."
"Wait… You involved normal humans?! They can't defend themselves from us!" Maou hissed at her words.
"Well, obviously. I did have to tell them that you all were aliens or something like that. Tell them something that goes against their beliefs, and they will oppose that idea… If I told them that all the religions were true it might have been an overkill. " Rias noticed how he didn't include himself as a devil, but he didn't say that he was human either.
"What are you then? You aren't a human, but you discard being a devil even if you are."
"What am I? I am the person who holds the truth of the king up high, holding the infinite hopes and unbreakable dreams and walking the path of righteousness. I am the liberator of Humanity, that will walk toe to toe with the most powerful beings of this world!" His voice was loud enough for people around the streets to realized his existence, hearing his endless rant.
Maou staggered for some reason, while holding his head. He started to scratch it as he regained his composure.
"What the…" Rias looked directly at him, wondering what it could be.
"By the way, I have called the police." Maou turned around, not before throwing her a pen drive.
She picked it up, and before she noticed, Maou had disappeared.
"That was a close call…" Maou returned to his room, not before getting rid of his uniform and making sure nobody was following him. His headache was destroying his head, he had barely reached his home before passing out. He needed to find something to slow down that process.
He heard some steps going through the hallway towards his room. He entered panic mode, and hid behind the door. Whoever it was, he would knock him out.
"Excuse me, it was sure a tiring day…" The girl stopped when she saw that there was nobody in the room.
Seeing who she was, he calmed down and tapped the girl in her shoulder.
"Kya!" She made a cute noise as she wasn't expecting that. Maou smiled honestly.
"It's…" He coughed a bit, trying to use his normal voice. "It's me, Asia."
The girl instantly calmed down, and sighed relieved. "Ise-san! You surprised me!"
"Sorry, I thought somebody had entered home and I was ready to fight him." Maou said. He looked at the girl, who was currently wearing her nightclothes and had in her hands a notebook.
"Ah… Right, I haven't been able to solve this… Do you know how?" Maou looked at the math problem. He sighed. At least the headache was slowing down… Did it have any relation with Asia?
He grabbed the notebook without exerting much strength, and Asia rewarded him with a polite smile. Maou had to admit, while this girl was a bit on the shy side, he preferred much more her personality to that of his 'master'. He could feel some kind of union between them, but just because their forced conversion to devils.
"Let's see…" He sat down at his desk, and read the formula. "Maybe it's like this?"
He started to write down an integer. He should know how to do this… He needed to do the integer to calculate the area below the arc… so then… What was next?
"Oh! I think I know how to do that!" Asia pointed out, not before touching Maou's arm. His eyes widened for a bit.
The headache… is being less aggressive with contact with her? No... it felt more like something was replacing the pain for something else. He needed to know what was that feeling.
"Asia… Can I talk with you for a moment?" He was blushing, it was hard to control that. It was out for character for Maou, and it was out of character for Issei.
Asia noticed his cheeks, and could only imagine what was happening.
"W-What is it?" Asia also started to blush when he approached her.
He knew, his emotions for Asia were more pity than love. Maybe Issei loved her in some way, but he wasn't like that. He felt saddened when he saw the poor girl, a fellow follower of christianity, excommunicated and was converted in a devil just to use her. And pitiful it is, he was one of those godless fiends who use Asia.
But in the end, Asia has no choice but to rely on us heretics. And devils can save people too, just like that night that Rias 'saved' us. There are people out there who can't wait for providence to a holy savior's hand.
Maou thought over what he was going to do… even heretics have some pride.
As he kept thinking, a light bulb appeared above his head. Maybe the feeling that was overwriting the pain was... pleasure?
You know why I haven't updated it sooner? Because of that Rias vs Maou thing. I wanted to do it my own way but it wasn't happening. So I just grabbed a handgun and had to freaking replay that part of G-Senjou. At least I got that out of the way.
So before anybody complains read that plisussu.
And I have another 2 chapters done but... That would be too easy. Having two stories really sucks.
So thanks for reading it all the way. If you choose to stop reading, I don't blame you.
Thanks again!