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.


Heeeeere's Johnny! And by Johnny, I mean me. Good to see you guys again, and I thank you for waiting this long. My muse is a fickle bitch often times, and this time around she was being even more fickle than usual. But nonetheless, I finally was able to write down this chapter, and I hope you enjoy it. But first, replies!

Gundam 09: Well, ye net not wait any longer.

Hellspam: Ddraig does not yet know that Deiru is part-dragon, as he has been keep those powers sealed. But when he stops doing so, yes, he will able to identify him. Ad for Vali, you're not wrong.

Ushiromiya: The idea of proxies did come to at one point in time, but since this is Deiru's first mission for the Khaos Brigade, I figured it would be better if he actually tried it himself. Though I do like your idea about trying to recruit actual Gods to the Khaos Brigade. I might do something like that in the future.

Pedro52, HelpfulNudge, Cf96, Darth56 and : Thank you for your kind words.

Davycrockett100: Nice guess, but no, it's not Reinforce.

GodX: While Sona will not being the harem for this DxD story, I hope the singular pairing with Sona in my other one doe satisfy you.

RangerElk76: Really? An entire hour? Damn, I must have made it harder than I thought. Either way, thank you for trying.

1C: I was thinking the same thing. Writing five working relationships with the level of depth I want to give them will be hard enough; adding more girls would just propagate that.

Deathslayer1996: I will probably do something like that in future.

Neonwolf423: We already discussed your guess via PM. But don't stop trying; you were doing good.

Neonlyphe: No, it's not Tiamat. Nor did I plan on having her be his familiar, though I am considering the idea now.

Blazeb79: I really just felt like giving Issei a harem since he already had one in canon and, although my version of his harem is different from the canon version, I didn't see any reason for him to not have one.

Kuroyasha Shinozaki: Well, that is your opinion, and your choice whether to read to not. I'm not going to force you.

JumpingToaster: Hmm, you do make a good point. And I am keeping a list of the number of people who voted for a Rias/Deiru pairing to happen versus those who voted for it to not happen. If the 'not happen' section ends up becoming greater, I will probably change the pairing.

And to all those who asked whether or Deiru's Queen is a character from Yu-Gi-Oh, I will say this: No, she is not from Yu-Gi-Oh.

And now, let us begin!


Chapter 8: A New Assignment

When Deiru returned to the main room of the Occult Research Club, the first thing he became aware of was a blur of red shooting towards him. On reflex, he began to draw on his powers, but stopped when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him and someone try to bury their head into his chest.

"Thank you… Thank you!"

Deiru blinked and looked down. The blur was none other than Rias, who was currently hugging him as if her life depended on it. Behind her, the rest of her peerage was smiling, happy to see Rias finally get what she had wanted for so long. Even if Issei was simultaneously crying about the Ouroboros heir being the one to get hugged.

He had to fight to keep himself from grinning as well. The Rating Game had turned out to be more fun than he had thought, even if he had let himself get carried away during the fight. In truth, he hadn't planned on releasing any more of his power than Level 3. The higher the level of his power he released, the less often he needed to do so, and thus the less practice he had in controlling himself at those upper levels.

Well, at least Riser hadn't pushed him to going to Level 5 or above. Rating Game or not, Deiru knew himself well enough to believe that he would have killed Riser if he had. But, that neither here nor there.

Refocusing on the present, Deiru hugged Rias back and slowly ran one hand through her hair, an act he had been told comforted people. After a few moments, it seemed to work, as Rias's cries died down and were replaced by ragged breathing. At that point, he asked "Better now?"

Rias nodded and pulled back, smiling up at him brightly. "You did what I was afraid I couldn't. You defeated Riser and got me out of that marriage contract. I can't thank you enough," she said, even going so far as to formally bow to him.

Deiru chuckled. "There's no need to bow to me, Rias. After all, I'm still a member of the ORC. We have to look after each other, right?" he pointed out.

Rias stared at him in surprise for a moment, and then her smile grew even wider. She began to nod when she noticed that Deiru's peerage was behind him. Blinking, she said "Oh, I don't think your peerage and mine have had a proper introduction."

Looking behind him, Deiru nodded. "Indeed we haven't. In that case, I'll go first," he said. Moving to stand beside his servants, he waved his hand.

"Allow to first introduce my two Bishops, Kikyo and Patchouli Knowledge." The two women stepped closer, though Patchouli was moving gingerly due to her still-healing burns, and Kikyo was carrying Izuna in her arms. "Patchouli is a witch who is skilled in several forms of elemental magic, while Kikyo is a former Shinto priestess with skills is archery, healing and purification, amongst other things."

The two of them backed away, and the next two came forward. "These are my Knights. Hannah Annafellows is my personal maid and, as you saw during the match, the current sheathe for Lævateinn. Walter Dornez is the oldest of my servants, and has been in my service for the second-longest time out of all of them. He's also a vampire."

Issei jumped. "Whoa, a real vampire. As in, blood-sucking, garlic-fearing, stab-with-piece of wood vampire?" he blurted out.

Rias stiffened, aware that vampires could have a great deal of pride, and that what her Pawn just said could be considered extremely rude. She looked towards Walter to see if he had been offended.

However, if the amused smile he had was anything to go by, he wasn't offended at all. "While the garlic and the wooden stake would work on lesser vampires, young man, they don't have much effect on someone like me. Though you are right about the blood sucking," he said, before grinning in such a way as to show off his sharpened teeth.

Issei paled at the obvious implication and hid behind Asia. Or tried to, really, as Asia was currently trying to hide behind him.

Deiru fought keep his laughter inside, and began to introduce the next two. Before he could even start, however, Alex stepped forward and, again, ripped his top of just by flexing his nucles. "And a warm welcome to you all, peerage members of Rias Gremory. My name is Major Alex Louis Armstrong, of the illustrious Armstrong line! I serve as Master Deiru's Rook and military advisor!" he said, striking a pose.

Koneko stared at the huge man. 'I haven't seen that many muscles since Mil-tan,' she thought. Suddenly, her mind conjured an image of the two men together, Mil-tan providing the magical girl outfitd while Alex provided the real-life sparkles. She shuddered.

The other Rook gave them a lazy wave. "And I'm Ryuk, and a Shinigami, but you already knew that. By the way, now that the fight's over, I'm leaving to go get some apples," he said. And he did just that, by abruptly turning invisible and then flying out the open window.

Deiru sweatdropped. 'I swear, sometimes my Rooks are the strangest people out of my peerage at times,' he thought. "And lastly are my Pawns. We have the triplets, Canterbury, Thompson and Timber..." Said triplets all nodded. "Rize Kamishiro, a ghoul…" Rize smiled at them while wiping something that looked suspiciously like blood from the corner of her mouth. "The one Kikyo is carrying is Izuna Hatsuse, a Werebeast. Then there's Lucy, a member of a mutant species called the Diclonius…" Lucy merely stared at them.

Deiru was just about to introduce the next one when Rias's peerage took note of just who it was. "Mittelt!" Rias called, quickly calling forth her Powers of Destruction. Before any of the others could move, a red orb of energy was already being fired at the Fallen Angel.

Mittelt's eyes widened, and she froze in fear. As if time had slowed down, she could see as the orb approached her, an orb of the same damnable Power that had spelled her end the first time around. 'Oh dear God, am I going to die again just like-' she thought, before a golden barrier suddenly sprung into existence in front of her.

The orb hit the barrier and exploded, releasing a shockwave of energy that nearly knocked her over. Deiru had his arm outstretched, and all of his previous cheer was gone. "Rias, it would wise if you didn't do that again. Mittelt is now my servant, and I take exception to having my servants attacked," he warned.

Rias looked at him. "But that Fallen, she-"

"Settled whatever feud she had with you with her death. It was my choice to give her a second life, and you have no say in that," he said, cutting her off.

Rias gritted her teeth. There was a tense moment of silence as the two Kings stared at one another, neither giving any ground. Eventually, however, Akeno broke it, asking "But how did you manage to revive her in first place? Rias's Power of Destruction made sure that there was nothing of her or the others left. Only feathers."

Deiru glanced over at her. "That is correct. However, you're assuming that there exists no power that can reverse that kind of devastation. My magic is one such power," he said. At seeing Akeno about to retort, he added "And no, I did not revive any of the other Fallen Angels. Just Mittelt."

At that, Rias sighed and slowly nodded. Deiru nodded in reply, and dismissed the barrier. "Now, with that taken care of, meet the last member of my peerage."

The last member was a young girl, who looked to be about Asia's age, with pale skin, long light purple hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a short light brown checkered skirt, a white sweatshirt with dark blue sleeves, dark and light purple stockings and white shoes. Around her left leg was a belt, and she was currently sucking on what appeared to be a lollipop. "This is Mizore Shirayuki, a Yuki-Onna and my last Pawn."

Mizore inclined her head, saying "It's very nice to meet you all."

Rias nodded. "Likewise. And now, it's my turn. This Akeno Himejima, my Queen and the Priestess of Thunder. Kiba Yuuto, my Knight and the holder of the Sword Birth Sacred Gear. Asia Argento, a former nun of the Christian Church, my Bishop and the holder of Twilight Healing. And Issei Hyoudou, my sole Pawn and wielder of the Longinus Boosted Gear," she said, indicating each member in turn.

When the last of them were introduced, Deiru bowed in greeting. "Despite having gone to same school, it's nice to actually talk with all of you, with both sides knowing we're Devils," he commented.

The other chuckled in response to that, but then Issei raised his hand. "Um, I have a question. You said to Riser that you had a full peerage, but I don't see your Queen anywhere. Why's that?" he asked.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Behind Deiru, the members of his peerage had various reactions. Kikyo and Walter frowned, their lips drawn back into thin lines. Patchouli, Hannah, Alex and Rize all shivered if they had been hit with a cold breeze. The triplets huddled together and began whispering amongst themselves—unintentionally trapping Mittelt between them—and Mizore nearly swallowed her lollipop. The only ones to not react were Izuna, due to being unconscious, and Lucy, who didn't seem bothered at all.

Deiru stiffened and his eyes widened. "My Queen?" he asked. When Issei hesitantly nodded, the half-dragon replied "My Queen has some… issues… interacting with others, and can be prone to fits of violence. Not only that, but she has enough raw power to defeat anyone in my peerage besides myself, which was why I made her my Queen in the first place. So, I tend to keep her away from social gatherings or Rating Games, since killing is supposed to be avoided there."

That statement alone had Rias reeling. She had just seen firsthand how strong Deiru and his peerage could be, and he was saying that, out of all of them, he was the only one that could beat this unknown woman? The thought alone terrified her.

"But we're getting off topic. Now that introductions have been made, I plan on returning home to rest up. I'll see you at school tomorrow, Rias," Deiru said.

Rias nodded mutely, waving as he created a large magic circle and transported himself and his peerage away. Once they were gone, she couldn't help but mutter "Something tells me things are about to get a lot crazier."


Deiru sat in a circle with the other members of the ORC. Apparently, the Old Schoolhouse was having its annual 'Spring Cleaning' today, so Rias had decided that they would be using Issei's house as the place to meet up instead. Since the meeting was really to discuss the progress of Rias's peerage—and now that Rias knew that he was aware of that—he had been invited to attend as well.

Sitting on the edge of Issei's bed and holding her tea in her lap, Rias looked at them. "Now, then, let's get this meeting underway. This month's contract numbers are in. Akeno made a total of eleven contracts, Koneko made ten, Kiba made eight, Asia made three…" she said, causing Deiru to raise an eyebrow. A Devil for little more than a month and she was already making multiple contracts? Impressive.

"And Issei…" The brown-haired pervert looked at her. Rias sipped her tea. "…You made zero."

Issei rubbed the back of his head. "Man, this is embarrassing," he muttered.

"You know, unless you start making contracts, you'll never have the chance to become a High-Class Devil. And if that never happens, you'll never get that harem you've always wanted," Rias reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said, before clenching his fist. "That's why, next month, I'll do everything I need to reach first place!"

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and it opened to show Issei's mother. "Hey there, kids. I made you all some snacks for your little club!" she said, holding up a platter full of said snacks.

Akeno stood up and accepted them, saying "That's very kind of you, Hyoudou-san. Thank you."

The woman smiled. "Oh, you're such a polite young woman. In fact, I brought something that might help give your club some inspiration!" she said, holding up what looked like photo albums. Ones that specifically said 'Issei's Baby Pictures'.

Issei blanched. "Mom! Don't show them those!" he protested, reaching for the albums. But his mother was faster, and quickly began showing them to the female club members.

"See, this one is from when Issei was seven years old. Ever since then, he's always spent his time chasing after girls and their bottoms," she said.

"Oh, this one is so cute!" Asia squeaked, pointing to one of a naked toddler Issei running around the house. "The bare-naked truth about Issei's tiny past," Koneko added.

Deiru refrained from looking and contented himself with watching Issei. With each picture that was shown, a little more color drained from his face, until he looked as pale as a sheet. "My balls are getting busted by my own mother. Someone please kill me…" he heard him mutter, and Deiru chuckled.

"She seems like a nice woman to me," he said.

Issei glared at him. "Like you'd know, ass-hat!" he yelled.

Before Deiru to reply, they both heard Kiba say "Yeah, must be nice to have a family."

Both boys looked at him. "Wait. You mean… you don't have a family?" Issei asked.

Rather than respond, Kiba turned the page in one of the photo albums, and his smile immediately faded. "Hey, Issei. This picture…" he said, pointing

"Oh, that one? That kid used to live down the street from me, so we played together a lot. But then one of his parents got a job overseas, so they had to move. I can't quite remember his name though…" Issei said, thinking hard.

Curious, Deiru looked over Kiba's shoulder, and nearly had a heart-attack. In the picture was a child Issei—one that was fully clothed, thankfully—playing with another kind with light brown hair and purple eyes. But that wasn't what caught his attention. What did catch his attention was that, mounted on the wall behind them, was a Holy Sword.

Apparently, that was what caught Kiba's attention too, as he asked, "This sword, do you remember it?"

"Not really. I was five," he replied.

"I see. Well, thanks. Great pictures," he said, closing the book and plastering a smile on his face. However, even Issei seemed to suspect that the smile was fake.

Deiru sat back. So Kiba had recognized the sword in the picture as a Holy Sword as well. That alone shouldn't have been surprising, considering his familiarity with swords, but the blonde's reaction to it was unusual. It was brief, hardly there long enough to be noticed, but he had caught a flicker of hate in Kiba's eyes. As if he had come face to face with his worst enemy.

'Exactly why would that be? Does Kiba have some history with Holy Swords?' he wondered. This was worth investigating.


One week later…

Deiru rose out of bed with a groan, feeling refreshed and ready to start the day. Things had been progressing rather nicely. Rias had become much more affectionate towards him after he had helped her, which meant that the odds of her joining the Khaos Brigade were now higher.

Furthermore, ever since the Rating Game had taken place, he was getting positively flooded by reporters from the Underworld. The brand-new Devil from an unknown house thrashing a member of the 72 Pillars was a great headline, and one that he was glad to supplement. Every media article made about him only served to boost his status in Devil society, which had been the entire point. Now, it was only a matter of time before he was officially recognized as a High-Class Devil, and he could truly start manipulating events in favor of the cause.

It was also much more gratifying to not have to hide his Devil heritage anymore, even if he still had to keep his status as being half-dragon under wraps. For now, at least.

After stepping out of the shower and seeing his uniform laid out on his bed by Hannah, he made sure to get ready. Even though he would like to be going out and doing other things to make a name for himself, he still had appearances to keep. And that meant going to school.

However, once he stepped out of his room, he saw Walter standing there in wait.

"Master, forgive the interruption, but you have a guest," he said, bowing.

Deiru raised an eyebrow. "A guest? What, is Kuroka here to try and seduce me again?" he asked.

The aged vampire shook his head. "On the contrary, the guest is none other than your mother. She's waiting for you in the dining room."

What? Only a week had passed, and Ophis was already here? What could this possibly be about? Still, he didn't let his surprise show on his face, and nodded. "Very well. I'll see her at once," he said, and began walking towards the dining room.

His mother was there, sitting at table and nibbling on what appeared to be a large cookie while in her Lolita form. If it wasn't for the fact that she was his mother, as well as a Dragon God eons old and had more power than even the Biblical God, he might have considered the image cute.

As it was, he dropped to one knee once she noticed his arrival, and bowed his head. "Mother, it is good to see you again," he said.

Ophis set down her cookie and stood up. Once she was in front of him, she crossed her arms. For a moment, there was silence, and then she said, "Word has reached me about your victory against the Phenex."

Deiru nodded, but said nothing. She continued "I had no reason to believe that you would be unable to defeat this Devil, and you have proven me right. What was more, your maid has told me that you didn't even unleash half of your maximum power in order to do so. Is this true?"

"Yes, Mother, it was. Riser's immortality made injuring him difficult, but he depended on it far too much and did not possess enough power to do me any real harm," he said.

Ophis nodded as well. "I thought as much. And with your victory, you have launched yourself in the Devils' spotlight, increasing your prominence amongst them, just as you predicted," she said, before looking down at him. "When you first gave you this mission, your orders were to recruit Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri while keeping your Devil status a secret. Or, if you were unable to do so, to reveal you Devil blood and obtain a high-ranking position in the Underworld."

"Given what you have done, I would consider the second objective as having been fulfilled. Thus, your first mission as part of the Khaos Bridge is now complete," she declared.

Deiru looked up at his mother in surprise. Upon seeing that, yes, she was serious, he allowed himself to smile. This is what he had always wanted. From the moment he had been born, Ophis had never tried to hide the fact that she had bred him for one purpose: to defeat Great Red and exile him from the Dimensional Gap.

The Khaos Brigade had been built for the very same reason, and thus he considered the success of the Brigade to be synonymous with his own purpose in life. Thus, hearing that he had succeeded, and brought his mother's dream one step closer to fruition… that gave him the ultimate joy.

Lowering himself to be on both knees, Deiru pressed his head to the ground. "You have no idea how much this mean to me, Mother. Thank you," he said.

On her part, Ophis made a small smile. Her relationship with her son was not the same as what she had seen between other mothers and their children, likely due to her own lack of skill at emotions and communication. But seeing her son express such happiness because of her… it felt nice.

"Your welcome, my son. But now I bid that you rise. There is no rest for the weary, and unsuspecting events had caused a new assignment to be available to you," she told him.

Humming in surprise, Deiru stood up. "Oh? And what might my new assignment be?"

Now having to look up at her son, she said "You are familiar with the sword Excalibur, correct?

Deiru nodded. "I believe so. If my memory serves true, Excalibur is a powerful Holy Sword being held by the Church. However, it was broken into several pieces and scattered across the world," he said, before frowning. "Actually, don't we already have one of those pieces in our possession?"

"Correct. Currently, we possess the fragment called Excalibur Ruler, and it is being used by a descendant of its original wielder, King Arthur. The other six fragments were being kept under lock and key by Eastern Orthodox Church, the Protestant Church, and the Catholic Church in Vatican City. Until recently."

At her son's questioning look, Ophis continued "Recently, multiple pieces of Excalibur were stolen by an unknown group or individual, depriving the Church of one of its most prized possessions. They are doing their best to keep this fact from getting out, but our agents were able to uncover it and relay the information to us."

Starting to get an idea, Deiru said "And you want me to try and find these fragments before the Church does?"

Ophis nodded. "Correct. Just one piece of Excalibur can be powerful in the right hands; having all seven together would provide a huge boon to our forces. Therefore, I want you and your peerage to investigate as to the possible location of the missing fragments and, if possible, obtain them. This is your assignment."

Deiru bowed once more. "Then consider it done, Mother. I will find the pieces of the Holy Sword and bring them into our possession," he said.

"Good. Now, I will need to leave, as I have other matters to attend to. Farewell, Son," his mother said, before casually creating a rip in space-time and walking through it.

Once she was gone, Deiru grinned. Oh, he could tell that this was going to be fun.


Mittelt sighed as she languished in the ruins of the old church. Deiru had given her free rein to do whatever she wanted during her spare time, as long as it didn't cause problems for Rias or Sona. So she ended spending a lot of that time here. Not for sentimental reasons, like how this was the last place where Raynare and the others had lived, but because she just felt more at home in the church.

Fallen though she may be, she was still an angel.

However, her relaxation was interrupted by two energy signatures, ones that appeared to be moving towards her. Both of them were releasing large amounts of holy energy, the kind only possible by angels or exorcists.

Quickly, Mittelt flew up and hid in the rafters of the building, waiting to see who it was. Whoever they were, she was certain they weren't supposed to be here.

The two intruders entered the church through the front door, bold as brass. Although they were wearing white cloaks that hid their faces, their forms showed that they were women, and young women at that. Not only that, but one of them had a huge sword strapped to her back, which was one of the energy signatures she had sensed.

Looking around at the dilapidated state of the building, the one with the huge sword said "'Utter ruin' would be the best phrase to describe this level of destruction. It's sad to see a House of God fall this far."

The other woman said "Rumor has it that there was a disturbance here recently, between a group of Devils and Fallen Angels."

"I see," the first one said, before removing her hood. She was indeed a young woman, one with yellow eyes and blue hair, though part of her hair was dyed green. "Are you sure that this is place? We're supposed to meet our contact here?" she asked.

The other one also removed her hood, showing off her light brown hair held up in twin-tails and purple eyes. "Come on, give me a little credit. Not only am I sure, but I used to live in this town as a kid!" she said, holding up a picture.

Mittelt gasped. The photo showed her and that pervert Pawn who was serving under Rias Gremory. So, these two were exorcists were here to meet someone, and one them knew Rias's servant. Deiru would want to hear about this.

Unfortunately, her gasp alerted the two exorcists to her presence, and they both whirled to look in her direction. "Who's there? Show yourself!" the blue-haired one demanded.

Mittelt cursed and tried to think of a way out of this. This wasn't like the exorcists that had been under Raynare's command, who she could just boss around. Nor did she think she could overpower them, not with that giant sword Holy Sword. Maybe she could just fly away?

The decision was made for her when the woman pulled the sword from her back and unwrapped it. The sword had a grip long enough for several hands with a cross in the pommel. The guard was shaped like an axe and connected to the blade by a chain, while the blade itself ended in three points. The moment it was unveiled, it began glowing with an aura of holy power, causing Mittelt to freeze.

'Oh, shit. That's not just a Holy Sword. That's a piece of fucking Excalibur!' she thought. No way in hell was she going to go against something like that, especially since she was now part-Devil. Just one cut with that thing and she could dead. Again.

But before she could flee, the woman leaped towards her position with surprising strength, rising over ten feet in the air. "Feel the wrath of God!" she called, and swung. Even though the sword touched nothing, the air in front of it exploded in a blast strong enough to shake the whole building, as well as force Mittelt out from her hiding place.

Quickly, she spread her wings to avoid falling, and hovered the air. The twin-tailed one girl gasped. "So, it's true! There were Fallen Angels here! And one of them stuck around!" she said.

The blonde gritted her teeth. "I have a name, you know. It's Mittelt, one of the most badass Fallen Angels to have ever graced your puny presences!" she yelled.

'Blue-Hair' narrowed her eyes. "Is that so? In that case, Mittelt, allow me to show you the power of Excalibur Destruction!" she called, and charged again. She swung her sword but Mittelt conjured a pair of light-spears, blocking it. However, the moment their two weapons made contact, the enemy created another explosion that sent Mittelt flying until she hit the wall. It also left her covered in several burns.

Mittelt groaned. A Holy Sword that makes explosions? Perfect. Just fucking perfect. The other exorcist frowned. "Um, Xenovia? Do you want my help killing this Fallen?" she asked.

Xenovia shook her head. "No, Irina. This spawn is far weaker than the enemies we've been trained to fight. I can handle her on my own," she said.

At that, Mittelt's temper flared, and any thoughts of leaving fled her mind. "In your dreams, bitch!" she yelled, and conjured several light-spears before throwing them. Xenovia blocked each of them and either deflected the spears off into the walls or ground, taking a chunk out of the building with each one, or sent them right back at Mittelt.

She kept the barrage going for almost half a minute, before finally stopping to catch her breath. That gave Xenovia the chance to attack again, and shot forward. She blocked the Holy Sword but was once again caught in the ensuing explosion, causing her to crash into the wall once again.

"Okay, that's getting really old, really fast!" Mittelt roared. She spread her arms out and created one massive spear, one that grew in size as she poured more power into it. Whether it was due to caution or arrogance, Xenovia let her charge up the attack. Once the spear was the size of two horses, Mittelt said "This ought to finish you!" and fired it.

The spear shot forward and break-neck speeds, ready to impale Xenovia and fry her from the inside… when she created another explosion the moment it was in range. The two attacks detonated in blasts that sent both parties flying, Mittelt more-so than the exorcists.

Once the smoke cleared, both of them were still standing while Mittelt had fallen to her knees, completely drained after that last attack. Slowly, in cast there was some sort of trick, Xenovia approached her. Once she was standing overt the Fallen Angel, she said "It is a shame to see a creation of God fall into sin. Allow me to purify you to a state of holiness."

Mittelt looked up as she raised her sword, ready to deliver the killing blow. This was it. Unlike last time, there was no one from Deiru's peerage around to save her. She was going to die, and that was it. She hadn't even gotten the chance to live a full life yet.

But that thought, if anything, gave her strength.

Acting with speed she didn't know she had, Mittelt conjured a light-spear and threw it. At such close range, Xenovia didn't a chance to block and was stabbed through the stomach, causing her stumble back. While the other girl, Irina, called "Xenovia!" and rushed towards her comrade, Mittelt took the chance to rise into the air.

"Screw both of you; I'm getting out of here!" she declared, and flew out of the hole in the church's roof.


The next day…

Deiru stood in front of the door to the ORC, arms crossed and with a very displeased expression on his face. Mittelt and Hannah were standing next to him, the former looking even more pissed off than he was. Once he was let in by Akeno, he marched right up to Rias and sat down in front of her desk. Smiling at him, the redhead said "Deiru, it's good to see you again. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Oh, nothing much. It's just that, last night, one of my servants was attacked by a pair of exorcists who appeared at the edge of the town. Exorcists wielding Holy Swords, nonetheless. Care to explain to me why that happened?" he asked, gesturing towards Mittelt and not even bothering to hide how upset he was at this.

Rias's smile faded and she looked at him, before eventually sighing. "I can explain, yes. I was planning on telling you later today, but two representatives from the Church were meant to have arrived in town last night. They've already spoken to Sona, and apparently wanted to meet with me today regarding something. But I had no idea they would attack your servants."

Deiru frowned further. On one hand, he was furious at having one of his subordinates attacked for no good reason. But on the other, if what Mittelt told him was any indication, these two had one, maybe even two pieces of Excalibur. If he could find a way to… 'confiscate' these exorcists of their weapons, he'd already be done with one third of his assignment.

"I see. In that case, since this is obviously a matter regarding both Devils and the Church, I wish to remain here when the meeting occurs," he said.

Rias nodded. "Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way."

And with that, the two of them waited until the rest of Rias's peerage arrived, while Hannah assisted Akeno with offering refreshments.

He could sense the exorcists even before they arrived, making no effort to hide the energy of either themselves or their weapons. Once they were let in, Rias took charge and said "So, these are the members of the Church that wanted to meet with me. My name is Rias of the House of Gremory. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Irina nodded. "Please, the pleasure is ours. My name is Irina Shidou, and this is my partner, Xenovia Quarta!" she said, gesturing to the blue-haired woman next to her.

"Charmed," Xenovia said, before taking notice of my presence. "And who might you be?" she asked.

Deiru said "My name is Deiru Ouroboros, of the Ouroboros family. I understand you recently had a dispute with one of my servants." At that point, Mittelt stepped forward, and both girls' eyes widened.

"Wait a minute. That Fallen Angel is your servant? Since when have they started taking order from Devils?" Irina asked, confused.

Mittelt huffed and was about to issue some sort of scathing comment when Deiru stopped her, saying "Since I gave her a second life following her death at the hands of another Devil. A life your partner almost ended for no reason."

Xenovia stiffened. "I was unaware that this Fallen was your servant, Deiru Ouroboros. Please, accept my apology," she said. However, it was easy to see that she was not sincere in her apology, something that caused Deiru's eyes to narrow even further.

Before any fighting could break out, Rias said "Getting back to the purpose of this meeting, I'm curious why members of the Church would seek an audience with a Devil."

"It does seem a bit random, I'll admit. But its recently come to light that, of the six pieces of Excalibur in the Church's possession, three of them have been stolen, and it's been determined that the Fallen Angels were behind the theft," Irina told us.

Rias's peerage reacted with surprise. "Whoa, are you serious?" Issei asked.

Rias hummed. "That is a serious issue. So, what can we do to help with recovering the stolen pieces?" she asked.

That was when Xenovia's expression turned hostile, and she said "You can help us by staying completely out of it. This issue is between the Church and the Fallen. We don't need the Devils here to intervene in our business."

Deiru raised both eyebrows. "If that's your attempt at asking us to leave you alone, you're doing a very poor job of it. What, are you afraid that we'll side with the Fallen to keep you from getting them back?" he asked, while mentally adding 'Though, she's not that far off mark, in my case.'

"We know that, for you Devils, the very existence of Holy Swords is despicable. Wouldn't it make more sense for you to side with the Fallen Angels? If that is the case, we'll have no choice but to completely destroy you, sister of Lucifer or not," Xenovia countered.

Rias's fists clenched, and her eyes began glowing red. "Well, since you already think you have it all figured out, let me point something out to you. There is no chance in this life or any other that I would join sides with the Fallen Angels. Doing so would drag the name of my family, my brother and myself through the mud. And I have no intention of doing that," she said tartly.

Xenovia smirked. "That's all we needed to hear. To be honest, I didn't think the younger sister of Lucifer would be foolish enough to start a fight, so it's good that I was right," she said. With that, she and Irina stood, and began walking out.

Deiru resisted the urge to attack them right then and there. Not only was that Xenovia's arrogance grating on his nerves, but two pieces of Excalibur were less than ten feet away! It'd be so easy to unseal his power, knock them both out, and then steal their swords. But doing so would create utter bedlam for himself and the others, and it was that knowledge that stayed his hand.

But just as they were leaving, Xenovia took notice of Asia standing with the others, and paused. "I was wondering if being in this town would lead us to you. Aren't you Asia Argento?" she asked.

Asia blinked. "Um, yes? Yes, I am," she said.

Xenovia nodded. "A town under the control of Devils… It makes sense that I'd run into a witch here," she said.

Asia's eyes went huge, and the rest of the peerage gasped in shock. Even I was surprised; this level of boldness was something even Riser hadn't possessed.

Irina looked closer at Asia. "Oh my gosh, you're right, it is her. I heard that you were a saint who became a witch because you had the power to heal Fallen Angels and Devils! And that, one time, you even did just that! You must be pretty strong! Though, I didn't think you'd become a Devil yourself," she stated.

Throughout that, Asia started trembling, and it only grew worse with every sentence Irina spouted out. Grabbing one of her shoulders, Issei asked "Asia, are you okay?"

"She went from being a saint to being a Devil. That's the farthest that one can possibly fall. Of course, she's not 'okay'," Xenovia said. Issei looked ready to fight her, but Koneko held him back. "I've heard that there are members of the faith who, every after betraying us, still believe in God. Tell me, Asia Argento, are you one of those people?"

Asia grabbed the front of her skirt tight enough that her knuckles turned white. "Y-Yes… I do. No matter what, I've never been able to give up on God. I've believed in Him this whole time," she said, looking one step away from bursting into tears.

Xenovia stepped forward and pulled Excalibur Destruction from her back. "Then you should allow us to exorcise you this instant," she said. When Asia looked at her in shock, she pressed on "Even though you have committed the worst sin possible, if you give up your soul to God you may still be forgiven. Let Him work through my hand to pull you from damnation."

At that, even Deiru had enough, and he snorted. "Even if you did try to kill anyone here, it isn't as if you would succeed. With all of us together, we would wipe the floor with both of you before you even drew your swords," he stated.

Xenovia looked at him. "Is that so? Are you willing to take on the entire Church? That's pretty big talk for one Devil," she said.

Deiru laughed, and stood. Walking closer to her, he said "Oh, if only you knew…" Before anyone could move, he reached forward and grabbed her shoulder, while also conjuring a barrier around himself and Xenovia. Xenovia's eyes widened and she reached to unwrap her blade, but then Deiru muttered "Power Restriction Release: Level 7."

Seals on the back and palm of both hands, his shoulders and the small of his back glowed before vanishing, and Deiru's power came bursting forth. Xenovia went frozen stiff at the sensation, feeling like she had just been enveloped in a tsunami of pure energy, the likes of which she had never felt.

She looked up at Deiru. 'What… What is this? This power… he didn't even have a fraction of this moments ago!' she mentally yelled. But when she tried to speak, it was as if her tongue was stuck in her throat. She tried, but couldn't even make a sound.

The air around them seemed to shimmer like a heat wave. When she looked up into Deiru's eyes, she saw that they were glowing their respective colors and the pupils had turned to slits. Upon seeing those eyes, her mind was bombarded with a series of gruesome images.

There was herself standing before a massive, black-scaled dragon with devilish horns. The same dragon catching and crushing her between its countless teeth, tearing flesh from bone and limb from limb. Deiru with one arm and leg covered in scales, using his claws to tear her stomach open and let her organs spilling out… It just kept coming.

The landscape around her started to lose its color, turning everything to shades of black, white and gray. Her knees felt like they would fail her at any moment, and her bladder felt one second away from giving in.

'The last time I felt power like this, I was standing in front of Michael-sama,' she thought. But unlike the Angel, whose power was filled with a sense of warmth, love and serenity, Deiru's power lacked any of that. His power was like a storm:wild, barely tamed, and ready to devour her—mind, body and soul—in an instant.

Deiru smiled down at her, showing sharpened teeth. His voice also sounded distorted, as if she was hearing him from underwater. "Tell me, foolish girl, do you really think it a wise idea to challenge me?" he asked.

Almost without her input, the muscles in her neck moved, and she shook her head.

And just like that, it vanished. Her sight returned to normal, the sensation of power disappeared, and Deiru let go of her shoulder. The barrier also dispelled, and he stepped back with a smile. "Good. It's nice to know that we understand each other. Please fare well with your investigation, Xenovia-san," he said.

Xenovia stared at him for several moments. When she saw that he was being serious, she tried to pull herself together enough to bow. "Er, yes. T-Thank you for your time, Rias-san, Deiru-san. We'll… we'll be going now," she said, and quickly walked out, pulling a confused Irina with her.

The others all watched them go with shock, before looking at Deiru. "Dude, not that I'm complaining, but what the hell did you do to her?" Issei asked.

Looking back at the Pawn, Deiru chuckled. "Oh, nothing special. Just showed her the errors of her ways… in a rather harsh manner," he said, before sitting back down. "Hannah, could you be a dear and get me some Earl Gray, please?" he asked.

The lavender-haired maid smiled and nodded. "At once, my lord," she said, and moved into the other room to begin making the tea.

Outside of the Old Schoolhouse, Irina managed to break free from Xenovia's grasp and stood her ground. "Xenovia, what the heck's going on? Why did you just up and leave like that? What happened between you and that Deiru guy just now?"

Xenovia took in a deep breath, trying to calm down her racing heart. Even now, she could still feel adrenaline coursing through her, coupled with the instinct to simply get as far away from Deiru as possible.

"Irina," she said, catching the girl's attention. "We'll continue to look for the missing pieces of Excalibur, just as planned. But no matter what happens, no matter what we do, we cannot afford to fight the Devils here. Especially not him."

Irina blinked. "Xenovia, this is totally unlike you. Why are so scared of him? When he was standing in front of you, I didn't even feel a thing coming from him," she said.

Xenovia looked at Irina in shock, before piecing it together. 'Of course. That's why he used that barrier. So that the moment he unsealed her power, the only who could feel it… would be me,' she realized. Shaking her head, she said aloud "Just trust me on this, Irina. That man, that monster, is something that should never have existed. If we fight him, we will die."

She said nothing more on the subject, and started walking back towards the church. With any luck, the Fallen Angel servant of his wouldn't still be there, and they could avoid any reason to see Deiru again.


And that's a wrap on this chapter. I would have gotten it out a week sooner, but my family ended up taking a week-long vacation to visit some more of my family down in Mississippi. But hey, at least I got to see the ocean with own eyes for the second time ever, and that was fun. So, now that I'm back, hopefully I can start uploading more regularly. In either case, stay tuned!

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