Author's Note: I do not own High School DxD or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Well, this chapter turned about to be a lot longer than I anticipated. Almost three thousand words longer. I really got into this chapter once I was at the final scene, and it kind of ran away from me. Still, I don't necessarily consider an extra-long chapter a bad thing, and I doubt many of you will either. So, enjoy this latest chapter of Infinite Legacy and replies to the reviews!

Nightmaster000, Wacko12, War historian, Logan96, RedBurningDragon, JAKEkenstein, Drow79, Michael289, LastEncore, Cinder, King0fP0wers, Ginoemr and Alex: I took all of your suggestions for the peerage, researched each one, and included them in my final decision process. Thank you for your help.

PikaMew1288: While I haven't planned that far ahead, I know the word 'shocked' will likely be understatement when that time comes.

ARSLOTHES: *Read review, stops, and then goes to bang head against wall* Why. In. The. Name. Of. Anime. Did. I. Not. Think. Of. That. Before?! Seriously, and entire video game/fanart/famine franchise and I did not consider one character. I am ashamed of myself. Know well, good sir, that your suggestion has indeed affected mine decisions.

Gundam 09: While it is intriguing, I already had his Queen decided beforehand, and she will not be appearing for a while yet.

The ultimate demon lord: Right you are.

Piemaster981: Yeah, I noticed that he had never actually been used as a peerage member in any of the other DxD fics I've read, and I liked his character, so I decided to put him here.

Stormgreywolf, Lazyguy90, Javik, Cf96 and Filiol: Thank you for your kind words.

GodX: While I have added your suggestion for Mittelt to be in the harem to the voting along with other votes you made, I did consider the rest of your passage. What I have come up with for Deiru's magic may not be along the same lines as you suggested, but it is just as, if not more, versatile in its applications.

Squadpunk 2.0 and NijaGogeta: Yeah, she is his aunt, which is one of the reasons why I am personally unsure about that pairing. However, I did say that I would at least give it a try, so that's what I'll do.

Leo Saruca: Don't worry, I have added your vote from both last time and this time.

FinsWorldAndStuff and lazyguy90: Well, ask for a next chapter and ye shall receive it. Here you go.

Samdman001: If mean to have one of them as part of the peerage, then I was not planning that. However, including one of them in the future plot in some way is intriguing.

Hakimcoombs: I am almost done with the latest chapter for 'A Shift In Tides'. It's just been hard to find the time do so when navigating both my job and college work.

And Fire Dragon King: No, I did not plan on giving Deiru the Power of Destruction. All his other powers make him so strong already that giving him that would, in my opinion, make him too over-powered.

And now, let us begin!

Chapter 4: Casual Observation

Well, Deiru had to admit that this was certainly ironic. He had been, unfortunately, correct in that Rias would get to reincarnate Issei and have him as part of her peerage, which meant that all of the surveillance he had his own servants put into watching him had all been for naught. What was more, the Fallen Angel that had killed him, Raynare, was apparently taking refuge inside the abandoned church in town. That meant that he couldn't enter and seek an audience without revealing that he was a devil. Just great. The aspect that made all of this ironic was that he still found a silver lining in all of it.

And that silver was lining was… Issei could be pretty damn funny when he was freaking out.

From the looks of things, Raynare had removed any and all memories or traces of herself from anyone in town after having 'killed' Issei. Now the guy was running around like a headless chicken in search of someone else who may have remembered her. Maybe it was just because he knew the truth himself, but Deiru found the sight of it strangely amusing for some reason.

"Oh! Hey, Deiru-san!"

Ah, speak of the devil. Pun very much intended.

Looking up from his copy of Frankenstein, Deiru raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Did you say something, Hyoudou-san?" he asked.

Issei leaned forward and slammed his hands down on either side of the desk, a fairly desperate gleam in his eye. "Hey, man, let me ask you something. You know that girl that I was going out with? Yuuma Amano? Do you know anything about her?" he asked.

Deiru frowned in thought. On one hand, he could tell Issei the truth and that he did remember, which would be a great balm on the boy's frantic mind. In the process, he'd also risk exposing himself to Rias, Sona and their respective peerages based on the fact that a Fallen Angel's Memory Alteration had no effect on him. That in turn could lead to some questions that he did not want to answer, and perhaps even blow his cover.

Or he could play dumb, let the boy suffer, and not only keep his cover perfectly intact but also continue to watch Issei make a fool of himself. He'd win on both counts. So, he bluntly asked "Since when did someone as perverted as you have a girlfriend?"

Issei looked positively thunderstruck from his words, and slumped forward. "No way. It really does look like no one remembers her…" he muttered.

Rather eager to get back to his book, Deiru said "Yes, well, I do apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused. Now, would you please be so kind as to remove yourself from being on top of my desk?"

Issei numbly nodded and carried himself back over to his own seat in the room (they shared a Public Speaking class) and slumped forward in sorrow. Ignoring him in favor of starting the next chapter on his book, Deiru settled himself into his seat as class belong rolling along.

Later, as he was walking towards the apartment complex where the gateway to the mansion was located, he spotted Issei again. Based on the muttering his advanced hearing was able to pick up, this time, the guy not was running around because of his supposedly nonexistent girlfriend. Instead, it was because he could suddenly see when there was no light and in crystalline detail, as well as hear sounds that should have been beyond the range of human hearing.

'Hmm. So his devil senses are kicking in and he has no idea what they are. This should be interesting,' Deiru thought, adjusting his course so that he was following Issei. The pervert kept running around until he, either by some whim of fate or just plain coincidence, reached the same park where Raynare had tried to kill him last night. Deciding to stay on the sidelines, Deiru kept himself positioned behind a set of shrubbery not too far from the edge of the park.

Just in time too. Not a moment later he could sense a barrier springing up around the park, and the sky turned to swirling shades of purple and black as a result. Also, he could sense someone at the park's entrance.

Issei spun around, having felt it as well. What greeted him was a middle-aged man with short black hair and dark blue eyes. He was wearing a dark gray trench coat with a white dress shirt and ascot, black pants, shoes and gloves and a black fedora. What was more, Deiru could sense the corrupted holy energy coming from him, signifying that he was a Fallen Angel.

The Angel walked forward. "Well, this is highly unfortunate. You running into me, of all the people you could have crossed…" he said as if it he hadn't just set-up a barrier in preparation for this event. When he took another step forward, Issei tried to take a step back. Instead, he vaulted backwards with such force that he went over the fountain and landed on the other side of it, to his own surprise.

The Fallen Angel smirked. "Looking for a way out?" he asked, his voice now having a very malicious edge to it. Issei wisely decided to turn and run away, not having a clue what was going on in any way, shape or form.

Only for his path to blocked by the man once again, who had now released his black feathered wings and was glaring at Issei. "Such cowardice. Lower beings like you make me sick," he said, before taking a look around. "So let's see. Your King and fellow servants don't seem to be anywhere around. Nor are you using any kind of magic circle or other method of teleportation. So, I will safely assume that you're merely a Stray. Am I right?" he asked, and conjured a blue spear of light. "If so, killing you will be no problem!" he yelled, and charged.

Seeing that, Issei turned the other way and started running again. He didn't get very far when he was impaled through the stomach again, this time from behind.

Seeing that. Deiru winced. Ryuk was right, that did look like it hurt.

However, before the Fallen Angel could finish him off, a wave of black-red energy—the Power of Destruction—came from the other side of the park and blasted his light spear out of his hand. The Fallen Angel's eyes widened for a moment, before he glared at Issei. "What did you just do, you little shit?" he growled.

He got his answer in the form of magic circle that appeared from where the blast of energy had come. And standing in the middle of that circle was none other than Rias. "Keep your hands off of him," she stated forcibly. Deiru raised an eyebrow. So Rias had come to save Issei after all. Was she perhaps one of those devils that actually cared about her servants? That just raised her one notch in his estimation.

As it was, the Fallen Angel conjured another spear. "I'll teach you not to interfere!" he yelled, and threw it straight at her. However, before it could hit, a young girl dropped down from above and knocked it away. This girl had white hair and golden eyes, as well as a cat-shaped clip in her hair. Seeing that along with her level of strength and monotonous expression confirmed her identity. Koneko Toujou, first-year student and Rias's Rook.

Now pissed off at being interrupted twice, the Fallen Angel conjured another spear and rushed straight for them. "I'm done with this!" he roared. Only for a third interruption to occur in the form of a bolt of lightning which struck the ground in front of him. The impact not only created a small crater in the ground but also sent the man flying back from the force of it. Akeno walked in front of them a moment later, sparks still traveling between her fingers.

'So, she has Kuroka's sister as a Rook, but she doesn't seem to be using any chakra or senjutsu. Odd; I figured that would have been her main weapon. And Akeno is a user of lightning magic, I see. Actually, now that I think about it, isn't she supposed to be called the Thunder Priestess or something similar to that?' Deiru thought, analyzing the displays of power being shown.

Picking up his hat from where it had fallen, the man finally took a good look at Rias and his eyes widened. "That red hair… You're from the House of Gremory, aren't you?" he asked. When Rias merely smiled and nodded, he chuckled. "Well, imagine that. The heiress to the Gremory House is currently in charge of this town. And I'm guessing that he's a part of that house as well?" he said, gesturing at the now-unconscious form of Issei.

Still keeping that smile, Rias said "If you lay so much as a finger on him, you can expect to receive no mercy from me."

The Fallen Angel chuckled and put his hat back on. "In that case, I apologize for the misunderstanding. A word of advice, however: If you continue to let your servants run amuck like this, then they might right into someone with less manners than myself come the next time," he warned.

Before Rias could reply, he spread his wings and took off into the sky. "My name is Dohnaseek. I hope that you and I never cross paths again," he called, before vanishing along with dispersing the barrier.

Now that the action was over, Deiru chose that moment to quietly retreat out of the park. He had gotten enough information from this spectacle. Not only were there at least two Fallen Angels in the area, which in turn meant that there may be even more, but Issei had not activated his Sacred Gear even after being reincarnated and. Additionally, Rias was a more benevolent King than he had first assumed. All in all, a very illuminating experience.

Now, if he hurried back, he could make it in time for some of Hannah's cooking.

Hannah's cooking would have to wait, it seemed.

The moment Deiru passed through the door/portal to the manor, he heard a loud cry of "Deiru-kun!" and immediately found himself being pulled forward. He instinctually began focusing his energy for a counterattack when, suddenly, he found his face buried a valley between two rather considerable globes of flesh. And he heard a voice say "I was wondering when you'd get home, nya!"

Releasing his gathered energy with a sigh—though the sound was somewhat muffled due to his location—he said "Kuroka, would you please let go of me so that I don't have my face between your breasts?"

Said Nekoshou pouted and, rather than do that, she hugged him even tighter. "But why would I do that? Do you not like my breasts, nya?" she asked. She punctuated that with with her cat ears flattening against her head and tail dropping, shaking her lower lip and even creating a few tears.

With all of that put together, any normal man or maybe even woman would have crumbled beneath that look like a poorly built house of cards. Deiru, however, had been given that same look from Kuroka on more than one occasion, and thus had developed at least somewhat of a resistance to it.

Which was why he was able to pull away and cross his arms. "It is not because I dislike your breasts. In fact, they are just as attractive as the rest of you, which is very attractive. But in any case, what is it that you are doing here?" he asked. Then he paused, and added "And I know you didn't use a portal, so how did you get past the barrier around the estate in the first place?"

It was then that he heard a third person speak up, saying "She got in because I let her in."

Deiru looked past Kuroka to the new speaker, who was also a girl. This girl was a few years younger than Deiru in appearance, though, and much more apathetic in demeanor. This girl had purple eyes with pale skin and long purple hair that contained several blue and red ribbons. She was wearing a pink pajama dress with long frilled sleeves and a pink nightcap that had a crescent moon on it. Lastly, she was carrying a large and old-looking book at her side.

Deiru released another sigh upon hearing her. "Patchouli, why in all of creation did you do that?" he asked.

The girl, named Patchouli Knowledge, replied "She was standing just outside of the barrier and kept yelling for someone to let her in, as well as making a scene of trying to break the barrier despite knowing that such is not possible. However, her attempts to do so were successful in interrupting my studies, so I let her in to keep her quiet."

Kuroka nodded, obviously very pleased with herself. "Yep! I knew that I was loud enough for long enough that someone would let me in, nya!" she declared.

Not even caring, Patchouli said "If that is all, I'll be going back to the library."

Refraining from pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation, Deiru nodded and watched his Bishop leave. Once she was gone, Deiru turned back to Kuroka. "Okay, that explains how you're here. Now tell me why you're here," he ordered.

Still wearing that damnable smirk, Kuroka said "Well, I was given a mission by Ophis-sama to keep an eye on you and make sure that you're doing alright. Which brings me to my own question, nya. How are things with the two heiresses and Shirone?"

Deiru paused. While on one hand he could understand his mother wanting someone to keep an eye on him and report his progress, the simple fact that she sent Kuroka of all people was bound to give him more than a few headaches. Couldn't she have sent someone that got on his nerves less, like Jeanne or Le Fay? Still, there was nothing he could do about it now.

"I've managed to become well-acquainted with both of them and maintain a civil relationship. Beyond that, however, I have not been able to get much done. Both of them are doing well to keep from mentioning any hint of devilhood to me, and the only new developments that have occurred are that Rias has a new Pawn. As for your sister, she's doing just fine," he said.

Kuroka hummed for a moment in though, before nodding and walking away. "Mmm… Okay. Then I'll just stay here until something big enough happens that I should report it. In the meantime, what food have you got?" she asked.

'And now she wants to mooch off of me for food. Why am I not surprised at all?' Deiru thought, before taking her to the dining room. As he did, he thought back to the whole issue with Issei and the Fallen Angels. Exactly how long would it take for all of that to develop any further?

Not very long, he hoped. It was actually getting interesting.

The next day…

It seemed that Issei would continue being funny for him to watch. Just this morning he had been following Rias through the gates of the school, and whispers and gossip started flying around immediately. The biggest pervert in the entire school showing up next to that same school's most popular idol? Now that was some juicy news for these human teenagers.

And so Deiru was forced to put in large amounts of effort into keeping his usual cool demeanor and not burst out laughing at how predictable yet amusing the other students were. Or more it was their predictability itself that he found amusing? Either way, he was having fun with this whole event and had no intention of stopping it.

However, he did need to do one thing before Rias had someone inevitably escort Issei to her. With that in mind, he walked out of the classroom and began making his way towards the Old Schoolhouse. Once he got there, he walked to where he knew the main room was and knocked sharply.

Time to start with the next step to getting closer to the heiresses. Or at least one, in this case.

The door opened and he was greeted to the serenely smiling face of Akeno, who had her eyes closed. "Ah, Kiba-kun, it's good to see that you made it with Issei-sa-" she began, before pausing as she opened her eyes and saw Deiru. Deciding to not chuckle at her surprised look and simply bow, he said "Good afternoon, Akeno-san. I was wondering if Rias is available to speak with. Is she here?"

Akeno looked behind her, obviously flummoxed by Deiru's appearance and having to fight to maintain her composure. "Well… I suppose that it would be alright. Don't be too long, though, we're expecting others to arrive shortly," she eventually said.

"Of course. This should only take a moment," he assured her, even going so far as to bow once more.

Akeno nodded. "Just a moment, then," she said, and shut the door. Deiru could hear the sounds of muted conversation on the other side of the door, and waited to be called in.

After another few minutes, he heard Rias call "You can come in, Deiru," and opened the door. On the other side was Rias, who was sitting at her desk and was drying her hair off with a towel, making him assume that she had just gotten out of the shower. Seeing him, she smiled and handed the towel to Akeno before leaning forward, hands clasped on her desk.

"Well, Deiru, I'll admit that I wasn't expecting you to show up, especially considering that our next match isn't until tomorrow. What brings you here?" she asked kindly.

Pulling up a chair across her desk, Deiru sat and smiled back just as kindly. "Well, Rias, if it isn't too much of a bother, I would like you to consider a request of mine," he began. When Rias gave him a raised eyebrow in reply, he paused to take a breath. Then, leaving no room for misinterpretation, he spoke.

"I would like to join the Occult Research Club."

Rias's eyes widened, as did Akeno's. A beat passed before either of them were able to respond, and then Rias said "You want to what?"

Mentally, Deiru both frowned and smirked. Frowning at the need for him to repeat himself, and smirking at having so thoroughly caught her off-guard. He repeated "I would like to join the Occult Research Club. Would that be acceptable?"

Still trying to shake off her shock, Rias refocused on him. "Perhaps. But why would you want to join this particular club?" she asked. Could it be that he knew about her peerage?

Deiru lowered his head. "Well, to be honest, I have always had a fascination with the paranormal. Perhaps it is due to having read so many fantasy novels, but I wish to investigate the world around me, to see that which exists beyond the natural order established by humans. It has been a point of interest for me for a long time, and, therefore, I wish to be a part of the club that does just that," he said, spinning a rather convincing tale.

In truth, he knew that the entire club itself was just a cover that Rias used for her peerage. Granted, Rias did do some digging into the various Youkai in the area in order to maintain the club, but there was no real research done beyond that. Why do that when you were part of the supernatural to begin with? Yet, should Rias accept, then this would be the perfect chance for him to get that next step closer to recruiting her for the Khaos Brigade. And if she refused, he could always see about joining the Student Council.

While Deiru was thinking about this, Rias considered the pros and cons of accepting. One on hand, having someone who was outside her peerage in the club could complicate things if she ever needed to gather her peerage together for something, since she would need to make sure that Deiru was kept unaware. Also, there was a much greater chance of having said peerage exposed with Deiru so close. Yet, if that truth were to get out, then she could try using one of her remaining Knight or Rook pieces to bring him into the fold.

Not only that, but if she were to have Deiru become a member of her peerage, the sharp intellect that he commonly displayed could work to her advantage, especially when planning battle strategies for real battles or Rating Games. Granted, she had sensed no special energy coming from him, so he had no Sacred Gear like Issei or special traits like Koneko, but that didn't mean that he couldn't become stronger with some training.

And, lastly, there was the fact that the time when her marriage with Riser would need to occur was coming closer. If she wanted any chance of stopping it, she knew that she would need all the help that she can get.

Coming back out of her thoughts, she saw that Deiru was still there and waiting patiently. Her mind made up, Rias said "Very well. I see no problem with you joining our club; you start tomorrow."

Smiling widely, Deiru stood and bowed lower than usual, projecting an image of gratefulness. "Then you have my sincere thanks and gratitude, Rias. I shall see you tomorrow, then," he replied, and walked out. The same moment that he left the building was when Koneko, followed by Issei and Kiba, were walking in. Issei looked at him for a moment in curiosity, but by then they were already inside and the door was shut.

Now in the open, Deiru let his victorious grin spread across his face. Yes, that had gone perfectly. Now he just needed to wait until Rias either revealed her devil status to him, or he came up with a viable excuse as to how he could have 'figured it out' on his own. Things were swiftly going his way.

Those were the thoughts running through his head were he suddenly felt the presence of Ryuk behind him, and stopped. "If you're seeking me out in the middle of the day, I will assume it's for something important," he whispered.

The invisible Shikigami nodded. "Yeah. I was doing a bit more poking around, and I found out something about the red-headed chick. She's engaged to be married," he revealed.

Deiru raised both eyebrows. "I'm listening…" he said, and began walking as Ryuk told him about the engagement. The more he listened, the wider the grin as his face grew. This… this presented opportunity.

"Come on, try harder," Deiru instructed.

Currently, he was standing in the middle of an open field located directly behind the manor, wearing a simple set of black sweatpants and a white T-shirt. On the other side of the field was both Patchouli and the Triplets, all of whom were in the middle of training. The training at the moment was to test how well his Pieces were working together in combat, which involved the four of them sparring against him.

The Triplets glared at Deiru before rushing forward. While Canterbury and Timber split off to either side of him, Thompson jumped into the air. All three of them were holding spears that glowed slightly with unholy energy, and they were looking to force him into moving back.

Deciding to do so, Deiru leaped backwards only to see several golden magic circles bearing the Ouroboros crest surrounding him. He looked past the Triplets to where Patchouli was standing, and saw her with her arms raised to the sky and her spell book floating in front of her. Not a moment later, blasts of blue lightning fired from each of the circles and converged upon him, leaving no room for escape.

Nodding in approval, Deiru clapped his hands together and conjured a translucent yellow barrier around him, which took the hits from the lightning bolts and still held fast. However, the attack did create a large smokescreen, which cleared to show that the triplets standing around him in a triangle formation while Patchouli was hovering a large spike of ice over his head.

"Well, your teamwork has certainly improved. But don't think for a moment that this tactic will work on me," he said. He crossed his arms over his chest and called "Power Restriction Release: Level 3." At that, a tattoo of a dragon biting its own tail in a circle appeared on the palm of his left hand. The tattoo glowed before fading away, and an aura of golden energy began to surround Deiru's body. The others grimaced as they realized that meant.

Deiru focused and the energy glowed brighter around his legs before he shot forward, moving at such speeds that his movements were a blur. The first one to see him was Timber, who he appeared in front of and hit with a hard uppercut, sending him skyward.

Thompson tried charging at him only for Deiru to grab the spear and yank it away from him, before smacking him on the forehead with it. Then, while Thompson was dazed, he spun in a circle and threw the spear at Canterbury. The Pawn barely had any time to deflect it before Deiru was on him, grabbing him by the collar and throwing him into Thompson. They collapsed onto the ground just as Timber landed on them, which kicked up cloud of dust from the impact.

With the three of them momentarily occupied, Patchouli channeled more of her energy and created four circles on the ground around herself. As Deiru rushed towards her, she called "Earth Sign: Emerald City." The four circles glowed green before causing four walls of green crystal to burst from the ground, forming a shield on all sides.

Deiru's fist impacted against the front wall and sent out a small shockwave… but the wall itself suffered only a small crack. He smirked. "Well, it looks like your spells are improving in power as well. Are you perhaps feeling better this time?" he asked.

On the other side of the wall, Patchouli gave him a very small smile and nodded. "Yes, the transfusions of your blood that I have been getting have been immensely helpful," she said.

Deiru nodded. After doing some research he had found that dragons, and indeed most other supernatural beings, did not actually possess what humans called a 'blood type'. And so, devils were actually able to freely offer transfusions of their blood to other devils if they were so inclined, though it was uncommon due to the fear that the one receiving the blood would also gain the donor's genetic abilities. Even if that didn't happen, it was confirmed that, if a being of high enough power gave their blood to a lower level being, that lower being's power could possibly be enhanced because of it.

For this reason, Deiru had been giving Patchouli regular transfusions of his own blood, which had revitalized her body enough for her to be able to fight with being hindered by her anemia or Vitamin A deficiency. Her asthma was still providing her some problems, but that will likely change over time.

Patchouli proved as much when she spread her arms out to her sides and a magic circle appeared over each hand. "Fire and Earth Sign: Lava Cromlech," she called, and lowered the emerald walls.

Cursing, Deiru moved back as a storm of flaming rocks erupted from the circles, sending pieces of burning debris in all directions. He was forced to channel further energy to his legs in order to run faster. 'If only I hadn't limited myself to Level 3. Oh, well,' he thought, before sidestepping a literal wave of magma that tried to swallow him.

By now the Triplets had gotten back on their feet, and were also dodging the chaotic shots while taking their spears and combining them into one massive weapon. Then, together, they threw the larger spear at Deiru with their combined strength. He grimaced. At the speed it was going and the power level he was at, he wouldn't be able to catch it while still dodging Patchouli's attacks. And if he tried to avoid the spear, then he was putting himself in the path of those same projectiles.

Therefore, with no other option available, he raised his hand and willed a magic circle of his own to appear. From it, he fired several spears of his own energy, all of them aimed at the spear coming at him. Several of them were caught by flaming rocks that came by, but a few hit the spear and knocked it off course, landing point-first in the ground several meters away.

But Patchouli still didn't let up, and continued to unleash flaming mayhem all over the training field. Deiru frowned. Alright, that had to stop. Now. He sprinted forward and Patchouli saw him. She aimed both hands at him and focused all of the debris to fire in that direction, but then the glow around his legs dimmed while the one around his arms grew.

"Enough of this!" he called, and smashed right through the rocks that came at him. The Triplets couldn't stop him due to having to dodge any stray shots on the way to their fallen spear, and soon enough he punched right through one of the circles and stood right in front of Patchouli.

Seeing that, the witch sighed and stopped the spell, knowing for a fact that close combat was her weak point. "You win," she declared.

Deiru nodded, before looking around at the field. Much of the grass that had been on it was completely incinerated, and it was peppered with pieces of still-burning rocks all over. He sighed; maybe he could get his other Rook to fix this. Looking at Patchouli and the Triplets, he said "We'll end our spar here for today. You've all improved greatly, as have the rest of this peerage. When the time comes that we will make ourselves know to the rest of the world, we shall be ready. Now, go and rest up."

Patchouli nodded and used the magic circle one more time to warp directly to the library, while the Triplets all bowed before walking back to the manor. After a moment, he did the same.

Two days later…

Observing the chaos before him, Deiru had to admit that Rias was nothing if not resourceful. By officially scolding Issei and telling him to not interfere with the Fallen Angels and the nun girl they had at their side, she removed any legal blame on her part for any conflict between the him and that group. Yet if Issei and her other pieces were to act on their own free will and start a fight, then so long as she punished them afterwards then she could remove the Fallen Angels' presence from Kuoh without creating an inter-factional incident. Her reputation might take a hit, but not to same degree as if she had just let Issei act without saying a thing.

Furthermore, if she played her cards right, the redhead could in fact end up with a new servant if the Fallen Angels succeeded in killing the nun. Yes, Rias was cunning, he could see that now.

He stood still by a hole in the roof of the abandoned church and was enshrouded in a small spell that rendered him perfectly invisible so long as he didn't move. Through the hole, he could see Issei had managed to get the girl—Asia, he believed that was her name—away from Raynare and her small army of exorcists in the basement. However, he had not been able to do so before her Sacred Gear was extracted, leading to her slowly but surely dying.

"Asia, just hang on. Once we get out of here, you'll be free," he urged her. Asia tried raising her hand and Issei caught it, holding tight.

But then she weakly said "I know it wasn't for very long, but I feel blessed to have made a friend like you."

Issei shook his head. "Stop; it's not over, alright? We're going to be friend for a lot longer than this. We'll go sing karaoke, or I'll teach you bowling. You can't give up, dammit!" he said, his tears beginning to fall near the end.

Deiru would have sighed if it wouldn't have given him away. The boy's agony was real, but so was the truth. Extraction of a Sacred Gear—something that was tied to person's very life force—from a human was one-hundred percent fatal. No exceptions.

Knowing that as well, Asia said "I wish it could have been different. It would have been great to live here, to go to your school and have met you sooner."

"You still can. And school will be a lot more fun with you there," he started, but stopped when Asia moved her hand to try and wipe away his tears.

"Of all things… I never wanted to be the one that made you cry. Issei… I'm sorry. Goodbye," she said, smiling happily before her hand fell to her side.

Listening to Issei yell at the sky and God to give her back, Deiru thought 'And so ends the life of Asia Argento, the holy nun. Truly, it is an injustice to have someone so pure die because of another's lust for power.'

Refocusing when he saw a flash of red light from below, Deiru looked and saw that Issei was standing across from Raynare. A red gauntlet appeared on part of his left arm, accompanied by a deep voice that called "Dragon Boost!"

Deiru raised both eyebrows in surprise. So Issei did possess a Longinus after all. And it was the Booster Gear nonetheless. Impressive.

Issei roared and charged at Raynare with a wide swing which she easily flew over. When he tried it again, she dodged and conjured a pair of light spears that pierced him in each leg. But despite that, he grabbed them both and pulled them out without flinching.

Raynare lowered back down to the ground. "Hmph. A Low-Class Devil making it this far? That power of yours is something to be reckoned with," she said, unknowingly causing Deiru to nod in agreement.

However, even he was shocked when Issei, after making a prayer to Satan for help, was actually able to stand. Each step he made forward caused Raynare to take one back. When asked how he was able to do move, he said "Don't get me wrong, it doesn't tickle. Even now, I feel like I'm going to pass out. But I'll fight through it if it means I can take you down!"

At that, the Boosted Gear glowed again and enveloped the rest of his hand and arm in gleaming red armor as well, and the glow from its crystal intensified. "Explosion!" called the same voice, which Deiru guessed was that of the Red Heavenly Dragon.

Starting to panic, Raynare threw another light spear but it shattered harmlessly against the gauntlet. She turned to flee but Issei, whose speed had increased as well, managed to grab her arm. "This one for ASIA!" he yelled, and slammed his armored fist into her stomach hard enough to send her flying towards and through the stained glass window above the front door.

Then, Deiru watched as she was dragged back inside by Koneko and used her guise as 'Yuuma' to make one last plea for her life to be spared. Only for Issei to walk away and let Rias use her Power of Destruction to blast Raynare to dust.

'And then, by Issei's plea and Rias's hand, so begins the life of Asia Argento, the devil. Well done, Rias,' he said, mentally congratulating his fellow devil in getting a new Bishop. He then released the invisibility spell and used his devil wings to fly away. Once he was high enough in the air, he changed course and began flying towards the forest. If he was to just let this whole incident pass by unhindered, then it was only fair that he got something out of it too.

Landing in the middle of a clearing in the forest, Deiru took a look around. In the center of the clearing was a large pile of black feathers that looked as if they had been swept together, and a few of them still dotted the grass here and there. Also, next to the pile was a sign that read "The forest was molting." At that, he couldn't help but sweat drop. 'Really, Akeno?' he thought.

Putting the thought to the side, he clapped his hands together and a circle bearing the Ouroboros crest appeared, glowing brightly. In a flash, the Triplets appeared from that circle and looked around, surprised at being summoned.

"What the-? Where the heck are we now?" Thompson asked.

"Looks like… a forest," Canterbury stated.

Timber gave him a flat look. "No shit, dumbass. But why are we here?" he said.

Deiru answered that, saying "I summoned you three." They looked at him, and he waved a hand at the field around them and at the feather pile. "These feathers all came from Fallen Angels. I want you three to take all of these feathers and separate into three piles based on the size of the feathers. And please be swift about it; the less time this takes, the less likely we are of being detected by someone," he instructed.

Although surprised and somewhat confused by the order, the three Pawns obeyed and set to work. In a matter of minutes, they gathered the feathers according to his specifications. With that out of the way, Deiru considered which Fallen Angel he'd rather deal with based on the information he had gotten.

The woman, Kalawarner, was said to be very loyal to Azazel and thus unlikely to even listen to what he had to say. Odds are, she'd turn and flee the moment she was given the chance. The man, Dohnaseek, had shown himself to be more reasonable, but was also highly arrogant and, according to the report, somewhat of a battle maniac. He already had one of those in his peerage, thank you very much.

But the girl, Mittelt, there had not been much on her. Aside from being a rather cynical and cruel Fallen Angel, there had been nothing else on her battle prowess, level of loyalty, anything. By the same token, however, that also meant that she was the most likely out of three that would be equal parts likely to listen and someone he wanted to actually speak with. His mind made up, he held out his hand and another circle appeared around the pile of smallest feathers.

What he was about to do was actually an ability that came from a style of magic that he had designed himself and based off of his devil and dragon abilities, aptly called 'Infinity Magic'. The entire style rested on three foundational pillars: infinity, continuity and possibility. By using the second branch, continuity, he could actually affect the continued state of any person, place or thing, provided he had the magic reserves to do so and it was within his line of sight.

By affecting the continuity of something, he could leave it as it was, cause its natural progression to accelerate (such as forcing a person to rapidly age), freeze it in its current state (like causing an object in mid-motion to stop moving) or even reverse its continuity.

By taking that reversing concept and applying it to attacks, Deiru could reverse the effect of any move. Lightning strikes that electrified a target would hit it with electricity of the opposite charge, healing powers would instead worsen injuries, explosions would become implosions, and so on. In this case, Deiru would be reversing the Power of Destruction used on what was now a pile of feathers… in order to create.

With a wave of his hand, the magic circle began spinning clockwise while the feathers began vibrating. Slowly, they rose about three feet into the air and began glowing white and green, the two colors opposite that of the black and red contained in the Power of Destruction. The glow began to increase further and further until, with a bright flash, they turned into a mass of light that then coalesced into the form of Mittelt.

Said Fallen Angel gasped and fell unto her hands and knees, looking around in a panic. "What's going on? What happened?! The last thing I remember was getting hit by that Gremory's magic and-" she began, before freezing when she saw the other two piles of feathers. Visibly trembling, she whispered "…Kalawarner? Dohnaseek?" When all she got a small breeze, she began to hyperventilate as she realized that her allies were now indeed dead.

That was when Deiru stepped forward, saying "You should be grateful. Had I not done what I just did, you would be sharing their fate."

Mittelt looked over to him at that, he jumped to her feet. Quickly, she summoned a pink spear of light and glared at him, yelling "And who the hell are you?!"

Quirking a brow, Deiru replied "I am the one who brought you back to life after being killed by Rias Gremory. My name is Deiru Ouroboros." He then bowed, causing Mittelt to be surprised enough that her spear faded away.

"You mean… you saved me? But why? Why do that?" she asked.

Deciding that this could be done quicker if he just told the truth, he bluntly said "I brought you back to life so that I could ask you a few questions."

Still somewhat wary, Mittelt decided that a few questions weren't that bad, and nodded. "Okay... What is it?"

Deiru nodded as well, pleased that she actually was willing to listen. "My first question is simple: Why did Raynare kill Issei Hyoudou?" he asked.

Mittelt blinked at the question, before frowning. "Isn't it obvious? We were ordered by Azazel-sama to keep an eye on that pervert in case he was threat. If we decided that he was one, we were supposed to kill him," she told him truthfully.

Deiru nodded. "Very well. That leads to my next question: Who gave Raynare permission to extract Asia Argento's Sacred Gear?" he asked.

Now getting even more confused about why he was asking such obvious questions, she said, "That was Azazel-sama too. He's the one who authorized everything that we've been doing, both with the pervert and that nun."

Now with everything he needed, Deiru turned away. "I see. Thank you for your answers. I wish you good luck," he said, before starting to walk away.

Blinking once again, Mittelt said "Wait, you're letting me go? Just like that? And what do you mean by 'good luck'?"

Stopping to look back, Deiru said "Yes, I am. I revived you so that I could obtain information, and that was it. I have no further reason to take up your time. As for my wishing you good fortune, it is because I will imagine that you will need it when you face the rest of the Grigori and Fallen Angels."

However, seeing that she was still confused, he elaborated "What Raynare actually told you and the others was a lie. All that Azazel ordered was for Issei to be monitored, not killed. What's more, there was never any kind of permission given for Asia to be sacrificed. Raynare tricked you all into not only defying orders given by the leader of your entire faction, but then killing a human in your faction's care."

At that, Mittelt's eyes widened as the blood began to drain from her face. If what she was saying is true, then she and the others were guilty of direct insubordination and perhaps even treason against the Grigori. That kind of offense was punishable by death. Still, she couldn't just accept it at face value. "And how do you know that?" she questioned.

Already guessing that she would ask that, Deiru snapped his fingers and a small circle appeared over his hand. It faded away and a manila folder with several papers inside was left in his hand, bound by a leather cord. "These papers are copies of the mission details given to Raynare before she arrived here in Kuoh. I have… allies… who were able to get these to me," he said, before tossing the folder at Mittelt.

Quickly, she caught it and unbound the folder before reading its contents. The farther on she read, the wider her eyes grew, until they nearly popped out of her head at seeing Azazel's personal signature at the bottom of the last page. "So it's true… We're traitors… I'm a traitor. If they find me, they'll kill me," she said, falling onto her rear in horror.

Deiru nodded. "Yes, there is the chance that could happen. There is also the chance that they will be lenient with you considering that you were given false information. Though, seeing as how you didn't even question said information, I doubt it. Then there is the chance that, should you try to flee, you'll successfully avoid capture for the rest of your days and spend all of that time in hiding. Any of those three are possible. What you chose to do, however, is your choice and yours alone. Hence, I wish you good luck," he said, turning again to walk away.

Only to, again, be stopped by the blonde who was now looking at him. "Wait! You can't leave me here like this! You brought me back to life, you have to make sure I don't die!" she yelled.

Now Deiru was the one confused. Giving her life and keeping her safe? He was not her parent; why in the Underworld would doing one make him obligated to do the other? Shaking his head, he said "I don't know why you came to that assumption, but I am not required to protect you. I was not even required to revive you, but I did so anyway so that I could learn what I needed to. If that is all, then I'll be going."

When he was stopped a third time, this time by Mittelt literally running forward and standing in front of him, he resisted the urge to groan. Why couldn't he just leave before someone sensed the fact that his power was currently unsealed?

But Mittelt was nothing if not adamant, and she glared at him. "Well, I'm not going to gamble my life with the Grigori or spend the rest of my life hiding underneath a rock! You're a devil, right? Isn't there some way you can keep them off my back?" she demanded. Deiru thought about that, before realizing that, yes, there actually was a way. But was he really willing to so that up just to make sure this obnoxious little girl didn't die?

Looking down at her angry yet still fearful face, he decided that, yes, he was willing, if for no other reason than to shut her up. "Very well, I can offer you complete and total protection… by bringing you into my peerage," he said.

Silence.

Mittelt stared up at him for a second in shock, before that shock faded and was replaced by outrage. "If you do WHAT?! You want me to become your servant? Your sex slave?!" she yelled.

Now starting to get a headache from both her constant yelling and wild assumptions, he said "At what time did I mention sex in any way, shape or form? Yes, you would become my servant, but 'servant' and 'slave' are not interchangeable terms. What's more, if you were to become one of my peerage members, then you would be protected by your newly acquired status as a member of my house. The Grigori would not even be able to touch you without risking an incident that would make them look bad in front of the other factions."

At that moment, the Triplets apparently decided to chime in as well, Canterbury saying "Yeah, and Deiru's actually not that bad of a master."

"Way better than the last one we had," Timber said with a scowl.

"You mean Alois? Oh yeah, he was really bratty and cruel," Thompson said, getting both of his brothers to nod in agreement.

Looking at them, Mittelt just then realized that they were Deiru's servants, and decided to get information from the source. "So, he's an okay person to take orders from?" she asked.

As one, all three of them nodded. "Yep, he really is. Besides the usual cleaning and cooking jobs we get assigned, he really doesn't ask us to do much," Thompson said.

"He even lets us talk aloud!" Canterbury added, smiling at that.

That confused Mittelt, so she looked at Deiru. "Talk aloud?" she asked.

Deiru minutely groaned as he was reminded of that annoying fact. "Yes. You see, despite being capable servants, they possess no kinds of filters between their mouths and brains of any kind, so they say anything that comes to mind if given the chance. Because of that, they're previous master forced them to talk in whispers so that they didn't 'hurt his ears'. When I found out about that, I told them that they were free to speak however they wished at any time. Though it can be nerve-grating at times, my word is my bond, so I've continued to let them do just that," he explained to her.

Hearing that, Mittelt knew what her decision was. If this guy was willing to let even three annoying siblings like these say whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted to say it no matter how rude or annoying it may be, then he couldn't be that bad. Right? "Alright. I've made up my mind. I accept your offer of joining your peerage," she said.

Mentally sighing in relief—both because she accepted and because he didn't have to argument with her anymore—he reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pawn piece. "Then take this, hold it against the center of your chest with both hands, and stay still," he said, handing her the piece.

She took a moment to examine it. It was so small, yet this little chess piece was the key to not living a life of hiding or fearing her death. As the image of her being decapitated by a blade of light flashed through her head, she knew that she was making, maybe not the right choice, but definitely the smartest one. At least, that's what she believed.

Deiru took several steps back and, once Mittelt had the piece where he specified, he extended both hands. A large and golden magic circle appeared on the ground around her, and he began to speak. "Upon the name of the House of Ouroboros, I, Deiru Ouroboros, hereby reincarnate the Fallen Angel known as Mittelt as a Devil and member of my peerage, to serve as such from now until death."

"And as her King, I do solemnly swear to uphold the weight of trust and responsibility placed upon me by this act, and will act in the manner befitting that of a master deserving of his servants. Should that vow ever be broken, then may all ties binding Mittelt to this house be severed as well, and her life placed back within her own hands. Henceforth, let this be set in stone, so say I."

'Wow, he's really taking this seriously,' Mittelt couldn't help but think upon seeing the grave expression on his face. So he really did mean it. She would become his servant and serve as such until he treated her in a manner lesser than that of one… or until one of them died. Then, she saw Deiru clasp his hands together and interlaced his fingers, while also releasing a pulse of energy.

Then both the circle around her and the Evil Piece in her hand began glowing gold, and the pieces hovered an inch above her hands for a moment before sinking into her chest, as if there were no barriers between it and her. Once the Pawn piece vanished from sight, she felt a rush of power and warmth as she was momentarily blinded by the light from the circle. Then, both the warmth and light faded, and she was that everything was as it was before.

Well, not everything. Without any command from her, her Fallen Angel wings appeared with a burst of feathers. Not a second later, a pair of Devil wings emerged from her back directly beneath them. Seeing her new wings, Mittelt tried flapping them, and found it that it was actually just as easy as her old ones had been. "So I really am a Devil now," she muttered.

Deiru nodded and snapped his fingers one last time, causing a transportation circle to appear around him. "Indeed you have. Now, let us be off. I'm quite surprised that no one had noticed us already, so let's not tempt fate and just be on our way," he said.

Not disagreeing in the slightest, she and the Triplets ran forward and joined him inside the circle. Then, with one last flash of light, the five of them vanished.

Well, this chapter ended up being longer than I intended. Almost two-thousand words longer, in fact. Still I don't necessarily consider that a bad thing, and I doubt many of would consider it to be one either. Regardless, I am aware that I skimmed over a large portion of the Raynare arc with this chapter, but you have to remember that Deiru's mission is to observe while remaining hidden. That means that him having directly interfered, except for that last part with Mittelt, would have been a big no-no.

On the other hand, we now got to see a bit of his power (I'm really excited to see what else my mind can think of for his Infinity Magic) and we got to see him get a new Pawn! Yay! (And no, this does not mean that Mittelt will automatically be part of Deiru's harem. You want her to be in either his or Issei's harem, you've still got to vote for it.) As such, I'll list the peerage again for those that want it, with the updated placements.

King: Deiru Ouroboros

Queen: ?

Bishop 1: Patchouli Knowledge (Touhou Project)

Bishop 2: ?

Knight 1: Hannah Annafellows (Kuroshitsuji)

Knight 2: ?

Rook 1: Ryuk (Death Note)

Rook 2: ?

Pawn 1: Canterbury (Kuroshitsuji)

Pawn 2: Thompson (Kuroshitsuji)

Pawn 3: Timber (Kuroshitsuji)

Pawn 4: Mittelt (DxD)

Pawn 5: ?

Pawn 6: ?

Pawn 7: ?

Pawn 8: ?

Also, I again sincerely thank all of you for your suggestions about the peerage members in the review box. I read all of them, looked up each character, and have now made a solid decision as to who each peerage member will be (which is why none of them are listed as 'Undecided' anymore). I know I mentioned that all of them would be characters that were dead, written off or never technically 'alive' but I will be breaking that rule for three of the peerage members, Patchouli being one of them. So look forward to seeing them!

And now, for the third member of each of the harems! For Issei, it shall be…

The Durandal Master, Xenovia Quarta!

And for Deiru, it shall be…

Okay, now we have another tie, but this time it's on Deiru's side, and between just two people. An equal number of votes have been cast for both Akeno and Rossweisse, meaning that we are now stuck. Unless this tie is broken (or a different character pulls ahead of them) then the third spot of Deiru's harem is left open. So, continue to vote and do so for one of these two OR, if you don't want either of them, vote for someone else (there were a couple other characters that were just barely behind these two!).

And now, we have come to a close on this chapter. What shall happen in the next one? We shall find out then!

Please review! If you flame me then Bruce Lee will smash you with his nunchaku. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)