Hello everyone, I'm back with another chapter as promised. And this chapter is probably the most event-packed and fast-paced so far... but before we get to it I have some usual announcements.

First, as usual I would like to thank everyone for they continued support. It helps to keep me motivated. I'm also glad that my omake idea was received better than anticipated.

To Shawn Raven: yes, Haqua's appearance was unexplained, but we will get to that. Not necessarily in this chapter though...

And some less-than-great news: I still haven't done Flag 15, so we have only four chapters left before I run out of things to post... so I'm forced to decrease the frequency of updates. The next chapter will be posted on Tuesday.

Alright, onto the chapter!

(* * *)

"Look out!" one of the devils shouted, but Haqua was already too close and slashed at the Ugly Face. The enemy had composed herself though and blocked the attack with a long blade retrieved from god knows where, then spun quickly in place and stabbed the violet-haired devil girl right on her chest.

Before Keima could even think about opening his mouth to scream, wounded Haqua swelled and then... snapped like a popped balloon.

A celestial robe doll.

The real Haqua was already past the Ugly Face, moving through the air despite not having a hagoromo and heading straight for Lentrant.

"Milady!" Ugly Face left Keima and rushed after Haqua.

Lentrant was surprised or at least that's what it looked like, because when Haqua was already close, the Satyr leader dodged expertly and smiled, obviously planning to launch a counterattack... but then her eyes widened when she realized what Haqua was really after – for the violet-haired girl didn't stop at all when Lentrant dodged and swung her scythe with all her power.

It started with a chink. A crack. Then the crack widened and the entire cylindrical block shattered, releasing Tsukiyo from her prison. And the very same instant the girl's hair immediately turned crimson.

Lentrant reacted quickly – she turned around in mid-air and started to raise her hand, no doubt preparing some nasty spell. However, she wasn't even half through her motion, when Vulcan's eyes opened, the hard gaze of the red-eyed goddess met the equally red and determined irises of a devil.

And the moment Vulcan's eyelids went up everything in the room that wasn't firmly attached to the floor raised with them.

All the sharps fragments left from prison of the goddess included.

Moments later chaos ensued during which all the remaining devils launched into the air, trying to help their master. Keima followed them with his eyes, his experience with playing multiple dating sims at once the only reason he knew what was going on.

"You little bitch!" Lentrant practically hissed and fired some green ball in Vulcan's direction, but it exploded when it collided with the debris flying around. The debris also stroke some of the remaining floating prisons, breaking another two containers. Three pairs of wings could now be seen, the new goddesses moving to intercept the other devils.

"Kill them!" Lentrant yelled, her features changing beyond regular anger and her entire being started to emit some dark mist. "Kill them all!" she then pointed her hand to aim at one of the still intact cylindrical blocks.

The one holding Chihiro.

Keima was sure the time slowed down. He was still on his knees and he watched another green blob form in Lentrant's hand. Suddenly he saw some movement in the corner of his eye.

Lentrant saw that too, her quick reaction was the only reason the person attacking her from the side failed to grab what she wanted – the shinning cube Lentrant was still holding in her other hand.

This new person turned out to be no-one other than Rimyuel though Keima had no idea where she came from. Was she the one who let Haqua escape? It seemed logical, but... why didn't they attack together from the beginning?

Meanwhile, Lentrant flown back a little and looked at Rimyuel. Lentrant must have recognized her, because her eyes narrowed, her anger almost visible now, as if Lentrant herself was some character from a manga.

"Kill the human!" she yelled.

The human. Keima has just realized Lentrant meant him when he heard the sound of footsteps and turned his head to the side.

In front of him stood the human girls from before, two meters between them, the rifle in her hands ready and aimed at his head. Keima couldn't react on time. He was still on his knees. His brain didn't stop, quite the opposite – it was spewing thought after thought, but none of them were going to work. He could only watch the barrel of the gun trained on him. He was kneeling, while the girl was standing and for the first time he could see her eyes and her lips, curved into a satisfied smile.

Keima had always been composed, always managing correct flags, acting to steer the route to the good ending. But this time there were no more flags. The route reached its end. And this time Keima could really feel fear. He was afraid. Afraid and tired. In such conditions even a mind as brilliant as his could start to hallucinate.

And Keima started to hallucinate. It had to be a hallucination, because there was no other explanation for what he thought he saw.

He thought he saw the girl wink.

With a smooth but quick motion the girl turned around, her gun drawing a perfect arc in the air, until it stopped, the barrel aimed at the middle of Lentrant's slightly surprised face. And then there was gunshot.

Either the bullet sidetracked or Lentrant managed to shift, because the attack only grazed her.

"How dare you attack me you traitor!" the devil yelled and shot a projectile on her own. The girl attempted to dodge and the attack impacted on the floor some distance from her and Keima, but still the resulting explosion tossed the girl backwards as if she was nothing more than a rag doll while Keima found himself on his back, eyes pointed upwards, so he could still see everything that was happening.

The attack didn't abate Lentrant's anger one bit, but it gave Vulcan enough time to send a multitude of shrapnels, equipment and even a chair right at her from all directions. The devil somehow avoided it and immediately after that she spun around allowing Haqua's scythe to slice through the air where Lentrant had been a second ago. But the spinning brought the enemy devil face-to-face with Rimyuel.

And the small devil scientist actually looked angry when she fired a spell.

Lentrant, by some incomprehensible fluke of fate, avoided being hit by a surge of light, but Rimyuel achieved now what she hadn't been able to do before – the cube full of memories was hurled into the air.

Keima froze in the middle of trying to stand up. If he had thought that the time slowed before, then now it seemed to completely stop. Everyone, goddesses and devils alike, forgot their battles for a moment and all the eyes in the room focused on the flying object. The cube soon reached the highest point of its flight. For a briefest of moments it stood still and then started to fall, flashing once as in panic before hitting the ground and shattering to pieces.

Keima had been expecting an explosion, but the opposite happened – the released blue mass of memories imploded into itself, vanishing from existence.

"Noooo!" Lentrant yelled, which brought a smile to Keima's lips. At least the Satyr wouldn't get their hands on the memories. If this were a game that would be the ending.

But this wasn't a game and thus all Hell broke loose.

Spells started to fly in all directions and Keima hit the deck, feeling similar to when Diana had been fighting the devil in his house. Once or twice a spell should hit him, but it bounced back, as if being deflected by some magical field. Was it Minerva?

He looked up.

All of the goddesses were free now and so was Nora and nobody looked confused, engaging into battle instead. Keima could see six goddesses and three New Devils now, but the enemy was barely outnumbered, despite the fact the at least two bodies of the Old Devils were lying on the ground. Enemy reinforcements must have arrived. The situation didn't look good for the Satyr though, the only reason they managed to fight back was because they were aiming for the hostages, while the goddesses were trying to protect them. Minerva's barriers were appearing all over the place and the entire house was shaking with every explosion. Most of the spells were detonated prematurely, absorbed by a barrier or landed on the floor, but some of them reached the walls and ceiling, slowly filling them with holes.

But the most damage was done by Lentrant herself.

Keima didn't really know much about devils. The New Devils looked like humans. All the Vintage and Satyr members he had met so far were like that too. He has never seen a devil that looked like a devil. Until now, that is.

The thrashing being that was currently fighting Haqua, Rimyuel and Diana looked nothing like the composed noblewoman from before. Lentrant's skin had turned red, two quite large twisted horns were at each side of her head, her hands were now sporting claws. Around her entire being there was some cloak made of black and red tendrils that were writhing constantly like a mass of snakes, surrounding the devil on all sides except for her shoulders, where many tendrils combined together to form something vaguely resembling wings.

"You'll pay for that!" Lentrant screamed. Even her voice was different, shrill and thunderous at the same time. "We have defeated you before goddesses! You'll fall as you did before!"

"Were not like we were before" Diana countered, sending an impressive beam of white light her way, but Lentrant simply smacked it away. "The six goddesses separated is one thing. But when together we get stronger with the bond we share!" Diana said, her hands raised above her head. This time three beams were launched at Lentrant, who was forced to dodge, before clashing with Haqua and Rimyuel. "And now there's all six of us here! Know the power of the Jupiter Sisters!"

Lentrant flew upwards, her turn to raise her hands, an orb of ominous energy gathering between them and expanding.

"Know the might of Roudret Ruhm Lentrant!" the orb stopped getting larger, it was now bigger than Lentrant herself. "This is for Satyr and-"

Keima never learned what she wanted to say next. Before Lentrant could launch her attack Haqua appeared in front of her, her scythe raised above her head. With the sounds of the battle it wasn't easy to make out what everyone was saying, but despite all the commotion Keima heard Haqua's next words clearly.

"And this is for Dokurō Skull."

And she slashed downwards with all her might.

It wasn't a killing blow, but it still ripped flesh and made the blood fly in all directions. Lentrant made a sound, a terrifying screech and was thrown back, releasing the spell she was preparing upwards. The orb reached the ceiling, creating the biggest explosion so far. Keima covered himself from the dust and debris and then he squinted his eyes when sunlight hit them.

The ceiling was no more and Keima could clearly see the cloudy November sky above them, the sound of the rushing wind joining the cacophony of battle. Lentrant flew out of the house, wailing in pain, pursued by her three enemies. The remaining devils followed, moving the battle to the outside.

Suddenly it became quiet. Keima slowly stood up, coughed and looked around. The dust was beginning to settle, revealing the magnitude of destruction. The house was a total ruin now, not a single piece of equipment intact. The sole exception were the cylindrical objects which were now lying on the ground and seemingly sustained no damage, even if the people inside them were as unmoving as before.

Keima's intention was to try to help them, even if it was pointless. After all, what could he do against a devil spells? He should just wait for the others, but he needed to do something. They could still be in danger. Mio. Kusunoki. Chihiro. He started walking towards the nearest block when he noticed something lying right next to it and flinched.

It was the human girl who made a deal with him, betrayed him and then attacked Lentrant. The girl was wounded, her clothes near her waist were stained red, but what caught Keima's attention was the fact the her hood was gone and he could see the girl's face.

Keima didn't see that face before, his brain told him, but there was something about it that seemed familiar. Where could've seen her? She couldn't be a Mai High student, she looked older than Kusunoki and Jun. And then the girl stirred. Her face slowly turned towards him, her eyes opening, but still remained half-closed. And she smiled. It was a small, disturbing and sly smile that didn't reach the girl's eyes.

And he recognized that smile.

It was the smile of Kaori Yūzaki.

"Long time no see... Keima-kun" she told him as if they were exchanging opinions over coffee.

Keima was silent for a moment. He remembered how several minutes ago the girl had tossed Rimyuel's communication device out the window. And he also remembered how 10 years ago he had done something similar to her, the irony working like a dried mud, covering his every limb, immobilizing him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked finally, his voice full of obvious surprise.

"That's it?" Kaori replied, her eyes widening, but then they narrowed a bit. "Here I spend the last ten years... preparing and all... and what I get is 'what are you doing here...?' You could at least thank me you know..."

"Ten years?" Keima mumbled out, mostly to himself. That made no sense...

He stopped thinking about that when Kaori coughed up some blood. No. It didn't matter what she was doing here, what had happened and whose side she was on. He hated development where people die. Any people.

"Yes..." she answered his question.

"Don't talk" he berated her. "We need to treat you, wait here I'll get-"

"You haven't changed" she told him, her smile looking surprisingly sad. "You still waste... your efforts on other people... And there I was... trying to beat you... who had both angels and devils on your side... How foolish of me. Or perhaps I wasn't trying hard enough... How did you put it?" she paused for a moment. "A happy end will never come to those who want to finish a difficult game with ease...?"

"I told you to stop talking!" it wasn't too late. He could do it. He just had to stop his hands from shaking. "Help! Anyone! I need help!" he shouted.

Then he heard a chuckle. He looked at Kaori and found her smiling again, but this smile was different. It wasn't a twisted and devious smirk... I mean it was a little bit creepy, but unlike her previous ones this one was more gentle, more genuine... and finally reached her eyes.

"I won" Kaori told him, as if she just checkmated him in shōgi.

"Huh?"

"I told you before... didn't I?" she started. "I wanted you... and right now I have all of your attention. Not the devils... not the goddesses" a cough. "And not those human girls... Me."

"Please, just stop talking" Keima told her.

"Second thing" Kaori said while grabbing his arm, cutting him off. "I told you I would make you beg... and you just asked me" another cough. "You just said 'please'... didn't you?"

"You're not thinking straight, let me ju-"

"And third" the smile on her face was the happiest he had ever seen on her, here eyes focusing downwards. "Looks like I finally had you kneel before me."

Keima blinked and then realized she was right – he was on his knees though he didn't remember kneeling.

A series of coughs brought his attention back to Kaori. She had her eyes closed.

"Hey, stay with me! Don't you dare close your eyes!"

"Whaaat...?" she said slowly, as if not comprehending. "Did you... say anything? Everything is... blurry."

"I told you to stay with me!" Keima half-shouted, leaning over her.

And Kaori had been waiting for that. In a motion surprisingly swift for a dying woman she raised the upper part of her body and crashed her lips to his.

Keima's eyes widened and he immediately tried to pull back, but he felt Kaori's hand land on the back of his head and stop him in place with considerable strength. If that wasn't enough to surprise him, then her tongue slipping past his lips was. It was both similar and different compared to the French kiss he got from Hinoki a long time ago.

Kaori finally let go of him and slumped back to the ground, her expression looking painful now, but despite this she smiled gently. "I'm sorry for getting in your way before... Goodbye, Keima-kun."

And then her eyes closed.

"No!" Keima yelled. "You can't! You can't die" he needed to help her. He needed someone who knew healing techniques. "Haqua! Apollo! Please! I need your help!" he screamed.

He knew that kind of development. No matter how long or how loud he screamed no-one would come. Thus, he was surprised when not two seconds later both Haqua and Apollo landed next to him.

"Katsuragi?" Haqua asked as if surprised of his existence. Her clothes torn in several places, most of them indicated by dried out blood. "What's wrong?" then she looked next to Keima and saw what was wrong.

"You need to help her!"

He didn't need to say it twice. Apollo was already using her magic, making Kaori's body glow. Keima observed this, his gaze fixed on Kaori's face, waiting for her to open her eyes.

And then he suddenly felt the little strength he had wane, making him almost collapse.

"Katsuragi?" Haqua asked, her eyes widening in obvious concern.

"I'm fine" he replied, but he knew he wasn't fooling anyone. He felt it again and the only reason he wasn't on the ground was because Mercury appeared behind him and held him in place.

"What's happening to him?" the silver-haired goddess asked.

"I-I think those are the after-effects after his m-memories were copied!" it was Minerva, who grabbed him as well, preventing him from falling over.

"Katsuragi!" Haqua's face appeared before him, looking as if she was truly afraid. "Does it hurt anywhere? Can you hear me?"

That sentence was the last one Keima was able to comprehend. He tried to told her he was fine and she should take care of Kaori, but he couldn't hear himself speak. Actually, he couldn't see that much either, Haqua's face suddenly changing into a big blurry patch of violet.

And then the familiar sensation of losing consciousness embraced him.

(* * *)

So... this is definitely an important chapter and a lot has happened. Satyr gets its ass kicked (or does it?). Rimyuel is back and well...

And Kaori from 10 years ago is back and... not so well... I'm also curious how many of you have predicted that the human girl was Kaori... until now I tried to hide her identity as best as I could, even making her act as if she didn't know Keima or Vintage and making the title of the chapter a little opposite to how Kaori really is. Interestingly, her actions and speech were planned out months ago for the most part.

Actually, most of what had happened in the last 3 chapters were in my head for quite some time now. All the other parts (long speeches and explanations) were just to make such events plausible. And just for the record – I still have a lot of things to write about in this story, even though some of them are only sketches for now.

Oh... and if you think that the pairing is Keima x Kaori or something like that then I wouldn't be so sure about that :)

Anyway... is the Satyr (once again) defeated? Were there any more casualties? What will happen to Keima now? And where is Eri? To learn this (and more) you'll have to wait till Tuesday. See you till then!

(* * *)

Omake 2 (ideas like that, and many more, are born when me and my brother are bored):

"Keima-kun! Please listen to this!" the pink haired, and pink bodied Kanon Nakagawa said.

Then she proceeded to perform her latest song, pouring all of her soul into reaching Keima-kun with it. And reached him she had... but not the way she had originally planned, because once she finished singing she noticed that Keima was asleep.

"How dare you!" she said while removing the cap from her marker pen, although what really came out of her mouth sounded more like "Jigglypuff puff puff!"

- several minutes of scribbling later -

"Ugh..." Keima finally woke up. "What happened? Did I fall asleep? ARGH! My PFP!" he shouted, seeing his beloved console defiled with several doodles. "Well, at least there were no stun guns involved this tiiiiiime..." Keima trailed off, paralysed when Thunder Wave hit him. And then he heard something behind him.

"Jiggly, jiggly... PUFF!" Kanon exclaimed as she unleashed Thundershock upon Keima.

(well it should be Thunderbolt as Jigglypuff is unable to learn Thundershock. It can learn Thunder Wave though)