A/N: I do not own anything except my OCs, some backstory and other creations.

WARNING-Contains very long history passage here, but important to know of the Noroi Era.

Chapter One: The Devil Resides In Singapore

"Singapore?"

Hyoudou Issei looked up curiously, but his head fell back down to the comfort of Rias Gremory's lap as she continued stroking his hair.

Kiba Yuuto, blonde and handsome, nodded seriously. "Yes. You'll be posted there with Buchou and Akeno-San. (A/N: In this case I'm unsure of how Kiba addresses Akeno so I'll just say she is addressed as 'Akeno-San') Koneko will be with you as well."

The crimson-haired girl was seemingly-displeased that she would be away from some of her other servants on such a short notice from Azazel. "What about Asia-chan?"

"Do not worry; she is on a separate mission with Xenovia and I," Kiba spoke calmly, his smile still in place.

Vice-president Akeno Himejima entered the room at this juncture, pushing a trolley of afternoon tea and snacks. "What mission will it be?"

Kiba flinched a little, as if she had just thrown him a very weird question, but remained composed as he replied, "I was told not to disclose this information."

Everyone nodded with understanding, Akeno pouring the tea when the heavy body of the teapot crashed to the floor, broken and scattered as its pretty painted surface dispersed everywhere. The red tea leaked out, staining the white tablecloth sheets with red.

"Oh dear, I must remember to buy a new one. It would seem that the tea was still terribly hot..." Mumbled Akeno, cleaning up the mess while Issei lifted his head once more, surveying the stained tablecloth that reminded him of a bloody mess...

"Useless child!"

The weakened figure was sent crashing against the wall, sliding down as blood and chips of the walls and paint surrounded her. She looked up, dead, inactive pupils staring blankly into furious ones. The blows kept on coming; she would collapse any moment. Yet she never did.

"I sent you to school to learn! Not to fail, not to make nonsense friends or talk back to your teachers! Useless child!"

Torrents of abuse-physical and mental-rained on her, the young one taking in everything the parent flung at her; words and verbal lashings.

She would get it all back.

Very soon.

The breezy, evening sky greeted them through the glass windows as they arrived at world-class, Changi Airport Terminal [1], where it was situated in bustling city, Singapore.

Issei had never been to Singapore. He had only seen books and tour magazines on them, and occasionally on the news when his parents were listening to the daily channels. He was pleased to find out that there were an abundance of appetizing-looking eateries and cafes, including Japanese restaurants.

They stopped at a sushi restaurant, where Rias began to brief Issei about their duties.

"Issei, have you ever heard of the 'Noroi Era'?" She asked before chewing on a piece of fresh sashimi.

The brunette shook his head, helping himself to another chutoro [2] coming his way on the conveyor belt.

"The 'Noroi Era'. That was the most terrifying times in ancient years. Our devil ancestors bled and cried, and many died in course of battle and war. However, what people feared," The Gremory devil took a dramatic pause for herself to pick up an Ikura (salmon roe) before continuing. "Was the leaders that overtook their lives and claimed a new way of living."

Koneko was gnawing away at a Tamago (sweet egg). Rias sighed. "They have a myth that the Noroi leaders are cursed, and thus the name of that specific era. But most of them are plain assumptions. The facts are much more terrifying than the twisted version people come up with these days." She leaned back and continued to slurp at her ramen with such finesse and class even with such simple food items.

Taking Rias' cue, Akeno smiled while sipping a cup of green tea. "Issei-kun, have you heard of the Grimm Reaper and the Lightning God, Zeus?"

"Of course I have," Issei replied. "But what does that have to do with the leaders?"

"They say that two of the leaders are the best and only descendants of the Reaper and Zeus. Two very different elements-death and lightning-but still powerful beyond imagination. The Reaper's descendant, was a sadistic young man with a crazed mother he drove to insanity, and had been tortured with poison as a young child in a chamber. But this he endured, and the result was immunity from any poison known to the world. He was known to be immortal, escaping death wherever he went."

"The child of Zeus, as they had called her, was fast. Very fast. She was able to generate electricity and power out of pure nothing. But it wasn't her powers that stung; it was the scars that she maintained from young. A child in war, electric torture and shocks were applied to her every hour. Similar to Death's descendant, she was immune to shocks and anything that would affect one's nerves. Unfortunately, she lost all feeling of everything. Yes," Akeno stopped and smiled at Issei. "Even her feelings. She would never feel pain, neither happiness."

Issei groaned. "I'll bet they were the best out of their lot."

"No way," Koneko shook her head and dug into her mocha ice-cream. "They were the weakest."

The brunette nearly spat out a spoonful of curried rice. "You're kidding, right? Escaping death and not feeling pain isn't enough?"

"That's why people said they were cursed," Koneko replied again. "I remember the crazy guy was called 'Gift Schnitter' [3] and the girl 'Leidan Shen' [4]."

Rias put down her chopsticks and ignored Issei's confused look. "Another pair of leaders were 'Kori' and 'Kasai'. Translated it means Ice and Fire. These two were a deadly combination with amazing individual skills. 'Kasai' was a Malay-Thai boxer, who was said to have triumphed in the world of combat arts and had deadly power and strength. Very energetic, and his punches are so fast they actually catch fire, as stated in his name. He also earned the nickname 'Falco Fiamma' for his abilities linked to fire elements were destructive and fast, gained from life in deserts, dry wastelands and burning conditions."

"It's like a Captain Falcon," Grunted Issei, devouring some vegetable tempura. "And this is nuts."

"Kori, on the other hand, was cool and composed in all situations. His sight in clearly inhumane; able to see distances not even an eagle would have managed it. He became a sniper, capable of sniping anyone even without a sniper's gun while depending on his sight. Years of living in the cold, training in unbearable nights, and other inhumane conditions in winter he mastered and conquered the elements of Ice. They called him the eagle's God, 'Aquila Dio'."

Koneko chuckled. "One's a sniper and another a close-combat fighter. One's a falcon and the other's an eagle. I also heard Kori and Kasai were able to master flame and ice elements, the two which will strike each other out."

"Correct. However, what was scary about Kori and Kasai was when they fused."

"Fused?" Issei echoed weakly. "How can two people fuse?"

Rias gave a weak smile. "They're not exactly people after all."

"They had a power to fuse together as one body. Their image was a mix of both, their powers rose significantly and their abilities doubled. But to cause destruction with all these capabilities, Firenze was certainly a beast," Akeno sighed. "Although there's something much worse than the four we have mentioned."

"Oh come on," The brunette boy had enough. "Even after the Reaper, Zeus, some phony-boxer bird and another crazy eyed-guy there's more!" He slumped back in exasperation.

The white-haired junior smiled at him. "Just two. The deadliest ones of all."

"So I have to listen to more ranting?" He grunted warily.

Koneko dug something out from her bag. "Fine. Just read then."

She dropped a thick, leather-bound book on her fingers, causing Issei to yowl in pain and sit back down sheepishly while Rias and Akeno smiled, amused.

Issei flipped a few pages before a suspicious chill ran down his spine when he reached a certain page.

"The Wang Twins?"

He read on:

Akumu and Sherman Wang, or both separately known as Akumu 'Ying' Wang and Sherman 'Suho' Wang.

As dark times descended on the 'Noroi Era', the Wang Twins were the hellish dominants behind the scenes of destruction, pain and chaos. It was said they were never to have existed, but a cursed pair from Adam and Eve. Their sickly mother turned insane, while their father had flings with many other women and left his breadwinner responsibilities to an unnamed relative, who died due to what was believed to be cancer. Soon after, Akumu Wang was said to have been left in darkness, blinded for life and her sight dark and black. Sherman was blinded as well, but his blindness affected and sight bright and overbearingly white.

Someone had saved them. They weren't sure, but when they opened their eyes, their mother was dead. Her corpse, rotting and smile twisted, was buried by the twins' hands. It is believed they were saved by the Devil himself who claimed their mother as payment, and turned to be contorted beasts with strange powers. Akumu found she could take the life of anything, while Sherman could give life to anything.

Issei found that a page had been ripped from the book, so a segment was missing from the story. Irritated, he continued to the next page.

To this day, they remain as cold-blooded killers, knowing Akumu holds the key to death and darkness. Sherman Wang still holds key to all life and the swiftness and natural elements. Unsure, there is a possibility they still lurk somewhere. The 'Omen' and 'Jinx' is still out there.

He closed the book with a sigh. "Well I still don't understand their powers."

Koneko jabbed a page title with her finger. 'Noroi Vessels'.

"They used to belong to the Noroi Emperors. These vessels were their main weapons and contained many things. We believe however, a generation of the Noroi Emperors are currently lurking here."

"Here? In Singapore?" Issei gulped down the rest of his miso soup and pushed the empty bowl aside. "So we're in danger of these crazy powerful people attacking us because we are devils?"

"Possibly. But we are only to track them down. However we cannot rule out the chance they may be after your Boosted Gear. An Emperor's Vessel is very similar to a Sacred Gear after all; or even more powerful than that. A Legendary Sacred Gear." Rias was finished with her meal. "Come on. I've paid, let's go check into our hotel."

And the girls walked off, leaving Issei to still decipher whatever they had just been talking about an hour ago.

Glossary of Chapter One:

[1] Changi Airport:

The airport currently situated in Singapore, it is considered the best airport in the world among all countries. There are three terminals altogether, although the main one for boarding and flight would be Terminal One.

[2] Chutoro:

Medium-fatty tuna.

[3] Gift Schnitter:

German for Poison Reaper, Lyle's nickname.

[4] Leidan Shen:

Chinese for Lightning God, Zelia's nickname.