13 DAZE: A Bloodstained Cross

by Heath Oslo

Fallen in the clutches of the devils, will the young dragon ever be set free from his chains? Through tragedy and suffering-this is the story of Issei Hyoudou and his War of Change. A more philosophical take on the events of DxD with some existential themes.

10. Act10

Act.10 Wine &Whiskey

20th August, Kuoh Academy roof, 13:45 pm

"Yo,want some juice, man?" Motohama asked him with a courteous tone of tranquility. As usual the trio were hiding on the roof where they would indulge in their lunch time with heartfelt conversations about the meaning of life,human suffering and nature, emotions and finally but not least boobs.

"I'm okay. Thanks anyway for the offer", Issei politely turned down his offer as he wasn't thirsty at all. It was a beautiful day outside for some perverted antics to utilize but strangely he didn't feel like it at all. "That girl was useless... But it's possible that she was just an unwilling participant in this case but the question is what were they doing back then in my house? I'll have to find some evidence on that day,I'll ask X maybe he could know. But it is possible it was him?"

"Are you spacing out again? It's the forth time this day. Something's definitely shaken you up so just breathe, you're safe here with us. " Matsuda tried to make him feel a bit better about everything and it kinda worked.

Motohama stood up and touched his glasses while being in a weird pose and declared to the world what he had thought, "What do you guys think of the two new transfer students? Hm", his gaze was sharpened by the intention of his question. It was like he was another person when it came to the word of debauchery.

"Pretty fine I'd say", Matsuda scratched his head in uncertainty over his words," they don't seem to hate us yet. " he was reminded by past experience that after a week, they'd get beaten by every girl again so it wasn't anything to worry about.

"For now... " Motohama sighed and sat down again. "But let's be honest, the people who don't hate us could be counted on 1 hand", he started counting down, " our parents and Issei. And that's that."

"Well, there's no way I'd hate you guys. Despite knowing how i am with people, you still give a damn about it. Of course I'd care." Issei protested and confirmed his thoughts with this declaration. He had something like friends now,it didn't matter if he was hated anymore. But friends were the best material for traitors so he knew he had to enjoy the time he had while it was still there.

Both boys were visibly pleased with what they heard. Motohama as the more emotional of the two shed a single tear that escaped from his eye and streaked down his cheek. The spark for perversion hadn't been extinguished from that time at the disco,it would never leave their hearts until the end of times.

"So what are you doing after school? "

Issei placed his hand on his chin in a pensive way and took a second to think of something. He wouldn't have minded staying with them other for the fact that he had to visit Sona at her house to deliver her pills and prepared blood for her condition. Plus he had to make a delivery...

"Sadly i won't be able to join you, guys. It seems i have some work to do for this afternoon. Ahh." he gasped a bit in discouragement. He would have wanted to spend more time with them but he was required to act as mediator in a conflict at Boston. And he clearly disliked leaving the girls alone with these Executors living by next door. It sure was a handful.

"I understand. It can't be helped, right? " they both answered in unison.

"I'm really happy that we had that night together, it was like i felt i was alive for once and not being seen as some disgusting freak. If it was to be correct, it was because of the alcohol that those girls came to dance with us. If it wasn't that,then it would have been a different story... " wistful in his words,Motohama watched at the skies with some mixed emotion behind his words as if it was the exact truth. For he knew it was - no girl would've ever liked either one of them if she were in her right mind.

"Still it was fun even if it was fake,right? " Matsuda raised his shoulders in encouragement only to stop for a moment and slump into solemn silence.

"We don't need any fake things because where's the point in it? Being with somebody just for the money and such... That's disgusting! I may be immoral and so but to do something like that,I'd rather not." Motohama answered his question by a small argument to back up his point of view and make the conversation flow better.

Issei didn't remain silent in this short exchange between opinions. It was natural for him to speak up whenever he believed it to be so, and thus started slowly with the question, " But what is real and what is fake in life? Sometimes we think of something to be the real deal only for it to turn out nothing but a idealized bootleg copy. So where is the real deal in all of these fakes?"

"Maybe there is something,somewhere. But i wouldn't pin my hopes too high..." Motohama drank a bit of his juice with a stern face as that of ice, " after all we can't just magically escape the bottom line and turn out to be the cool can't change to something that isn't ourselves just to please the masses. We're like the shadows; hidden in plain sight but we are there. No body likes to be in the shadows. We were never born with that grace..."

Matsuda confirmed this dictum of his with a simple nod of his head. He was the quieter one of the two for a reason - he tended to listen first then talk. He was the mediator, the glue that kept them together and balanced things out. And gladly helped whenever he could.

"Everyone carries a shadow and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is." the words of the doctor resounded in Issei's mind once again like it was the answer itself. There was much more to it than he gave it credit for.

"But the shadow is necessary for there to be light. If you'd think about it,people like us", Issei crossed his legs and arms," are needed for society to function. People would band together against loners and work more efficiently with someone to ostracize. Therefore loners are required for the prosperity of society to maintain it's order. " he was really good at pointing out the obvious.

"It's better to be different and truthful to yourself, isn't it? Because you can't be anyone but yourself. The rest is just a fancy, ornate mask that you'd place to stay in the safety of the pack, but we aren't carnivores or herbivores - we're nothing but lone wolves in a den of lions..." Matsuda spoke up.

"I'd wonder,why did someone say humans are social animals when they are better on their own? Take a look at us and you'd see we're doing fine. It's of no matter whether we would curse our fate and cry over it, whether we would be happy and enjoying life- the world wouldn't even care as everything will end with a flash. And you'd be nothing but a deadman in a coffin at the end of your life.."

"Human nature is truly strange. We'd desire impossible things, set the bar so high that we'd just get disappointed with ourselves for not having reached our bigger the goal you set, the greater the pain you'd get." Motohama sighed heavily, he was feeling somewhat tired but they still had time to eat.

A screeching noise came out from the other side of the roof like the door was left open. Usually it was the hiding spot for the Pervert Trinity to spend their big lunch break and talk about various things on the go,people knew they went there so they avoided contact with that place on every conceivable occasion possible. Fellow classmates of theirs would throw trash and carve out swear words onto their desks while they were upstairs, it was a common school body practice to shun the trio akin to a plague, some didn't even know them.

"It seems peaceful. Let's go in" a female's voice echoed through the entrance. Sweet and a bit quirky it was nonetheless quite pleasant to the ears.

"Fine fine. It's not like anyone would be here." another girl spoke up with some ire in her tone.

"Guys,hide. If someone comes around I'll deal with them somehow."

" Got it. We'll go around there,follow us."

"I'll be right behind you. Let's go."

The boys utilized their pervert telepathy with weird gestures and mimics, some blinking and eye movement and slowly moved away to the other side of the room where a small building was perching up from the cemented slid behind it and waited, if they were caught they'd get beaten again..

Ravel Phenex passed through the distance between the entrance and the fence with Xuelan right behind her and headed towards the spot the boys had occupied a moment ago. They sat down with some food and drinks, intending to spend their time in peace. On Monday when they first came to school as it's students, they were met with courtesy and joy- they were girls after all so they became the object of desire. It was 3 girls in a month - it had never happened before.

"Honestly, these people are so annoying. The way those girls looked at me like I'm an enemy was quite the predatory glare they had." Xuelan took out her drink and busted the cap.

"I see. Humans tend to cater to the pretty ones in order to acquire status and protection. Like some helpless animals." Ravel fiddled with her hair and sagely expressed her own opinion. In her class,Koneko's class, she was barraged with questions and some fools trying to gain her benevolence in being popular. She didn't like the people so she called Xuelan to go to the roof for some peace.

"I agree. People are just like that." Motohama's voice came out subconsciously, he had forgotten they were hiding and due to his inability to resist with the urge for this theme,he dived in uninhibited.

"You genius! Now we'll get more slack or get kicked off the roof!"

Xuelan rotated her head in every direction but didn't see anyone. She was on her guard and stood in front of Ravel just in case; to her Ravel was more important than everyone else. Raising her fists, she took a stance and stretched her left leg a bit and adjusted her standing point. "Show yourself! I won't hurt you "

"As you wish but don't hate me for my appearance and identity. " Motohama fixed his glasses with one hand and stepped out while telling the others to wait,if it was a angry mob. He was fine with just himself being the victim so he pushed them back.

"Who are you? " Ravel felt slightly confused with this sudden eyes twitched with eyes twitched a bit as the sheer thought of someone being there puzzled her. She had heard of the Trinity but didn't exactly know how they looked like, other than Issei being a part of this lust driven,perverse version of the Trinity.

"Just your average guy who spends his time on the roof. " calmly retorting back he turned to the defensive, he was sure they knew about them and expected Hell to break loose.

Issei and Matsuda slowly revealed themselves, they wouldn't let Motohama take the brunt of the situation. Camaraderie. That was how they functioned.

"Issei?" Xuelan squeezed in surprise by his sudden appearance. She knew well about his reputation but didn't take it for something to judge him on. Her father had taught her well but she couldn't hide her surprise anymore as she dropped her juice and spilled it on the cemented floor.

5 minutes later...

"Would you like some juice, miss Xuelan? " Motohama had a spare one and offered it as a gentleman would to replace the one she spilled in her surprise. He carefully asked the black haired Rook while trying to not look at her bountiful chest in a tight uniform, he didn't hope for her to see them as human at all,it didn't go through his mind once. In fact he expected the worst.

"Thank you... " surprisingly Xuelan took the bottle of apple juice without flinching or being disgusted. Her eyes weren't filled with hate and scorn for them; she viewed them as normal people with a high sexual drive and nothing else. And she didn't expect them to be well mannered and polite to her,she even noticed how they kept their distance and eyes away from her.

"I haven't introduced myself for which i am pleased to be excused for my bad manners," Ravel stood up and common courtesy pulled the hems of her skirt and made a simple bow, it felt somewhat weird as her regal disposition and mellow persona were quite contrasting with each other,"My name is Ravel Phenex and nice to meet you ",and sat back on the cement next to Issei.

"We have heard about you, miss Phenex and miss Chen. You're quite the sensation among the school body so of course we would know when it is so obvious. " Matsuda spoke quietly, his voice was somewhat lax and his tone reluctant but carried on.
Both boys responded accordingly to her greetings and continued to eat their food while offering the two girls some biscuits. And Ravel loved human food,especially chocolate with hazelnut and raisins.

"Aren't you disgusted by being near us? And how are you acquainted with our fellow Issei? " Motohama made the infamous Gendo Ikari pose with his glasses shining by the rays of the sun,his gaze was like that of a mother lioness, protecting it's cubs from stood behind him like a guard,it was comical yet terrifying to look at.

Xuelan stopped Ravel from speaking and took up the task herself. She didn't intend to tell the truth about them being Devils , she used the typical word combination she used to answer questions of the like," Well, my father had to go overseas and we moved here to Japan as it was better suited for his work. I'm staying at a cousin's house nearby. " she gave a short answer with the general information that would be asked of her.

Ravel interjected, "Why should we be disgusted by your presence? You're people too,Issei had told us about you so feel relaxed. We're not so shallow to pick you on the fact that you have a desire for females. Nothing wrong with that if you don't go overboard. " she slammed her arms onto her thighs gently and gave them a serious look, not one of pity and repulsion but a normal, friendly reaction.

"People always tend to go for the appearance and money while disregarding the notion of personality, the first impression... " Issei decided to mingle in this conversation, " but let's not talk about school matters, that's just small talk."

"So what would you like to talk about?" Ravel was curious, her lips curled in a teasing yet halfhearted smile as she cocked a weird brow and her eyes locked down on Issei.

"What about relationships?" Matsuda proposed with innocence.

"What is there to a relationship? You get close to people, they stabb you in the back. Having no bonds with anyone grants you peace anf quiet, no excessive drama and pain." Issei swung his shoulders in disinterest and leaned backwards on the wall.

"I'd like to think relationships are a important thing for people to have. Because you can't live your life all alone, that's not how we were designed to be." Ravel fiddled with her uniform in a nonchalant manner while she pushed her legs forward with a pleased look on her face.

"I would object to that; you're born alone in this world and you'll die alone in the end. Despite being "social" animals, people are destined to be alone because relationships aren't forever. One day you think you're friends with someone, you're happy and the next - you'd be a rotting carcass in a dumpster. " Issei felt the need to express himself, even if it was with some difficulty. He was stabbed too much in the back to believe anything else than that.

"Happiness... Huh.." Xuelan dropped her gaze to the ground with a pensive look on her face as it reminded her of what she had lost - happiness and comfort. She grew to believe that it didn't really exist for she had felt she was deluding herself to keep going only to realize it was pointless.

"It doesn't matter if you'd laugh or cry,this world doesn't give a damn about it. We're so small and insignificant compared to the universe that it would make us feel like there is nothing worth it. So why should we care about what others think of us,what the universe thinks when it certainly does not. After all, we're just a bunch of people who were born and will die one day. So let's make it worth it",Motohama tried to make it positive and keep the conversation going but he felt a tingling pain in his chest, " not for the world but for ourselves. "

They were surprised to see that the Pervert Duo was quite the philosophical and well argumentative bunch who weren't just thinking of sex and girls all the time. No one would have expected them to be more so than they appeared... They weren't stupid or the like as others thought of had revealed their true nature - hurt men who were looking for a place in this hostile world of lies and deceit.

"I expected you to jump on us and molest us but appearances do lie. You're not bad as they say you are," Ravel praised them not with false conviction but with a surprising respect for their beliefs, " but you shouldn't peek at girls so much. Just kidding, a man is only a man when he knows what he wants! "

"We may be perverts but we have our own moral code. We won't attack a girl to conduct our desire, that is disgusting. You may be thinking that we'd peek on girls because of wanting to molest them but it wouldn't be something real,would it. I just fancy female beauty and grace, they're not objects to be taken a possession of so that's why i ogle girls but wouldn't touch them. After all would there be a girl who'd let us near them, a girl who'd love us no matter what. But there isn't. " Matsuda took the words out of Issei's mouth, he said them before even Issei could react and answer.

Devils weren't raised in the conservative ways of the older generations, they were beings who fed on the lust and avarice of humanity but still had common sense and morals when it came to this. Desire,freedom and capability were their modus operandi. And as there is a mass practice, there is an exception for everything - for example the Sitri and Belial families were akin to the matriarchal order of a human household while the Phenex and Gremory were mostly the same,only that the males were usually figureheads of the family, while the ladies bossed around. Madam Sitri was a fine example of this practice.

"Are people here so shallow to act all friendly and try to get on your good side just because you're a girl and possibly popular? " Xuelan had never been treated this way, she used to be a normal girl 4 years ago before she was taken in by Lord Phenex. She hated being in the spotlight and being an object of people's interest. It felt like she couldn't get any privacy at all.

"More or less. Let's take for example Prince Charming Kiba; girls swoon over him just because he's handsome and cool, looks and smile. But I'm sure such a perfect guy is sure to be a fake,a mask. He's just hiding behind that smile,repressing his desires and self to please someone else. And if he does something bad it's overlooked with a light hand because he's good looking and tall."

"What about Rias Gremory? " Ravel was curious on their opinion of the redheaded girl who crushed her brother's heart. But she wouldn't deny it was forced and she felt grateful that he could finally move on and get out of his obsession with her.

Something in Issei snapped, by the mention of Gremory his chest tightened in discomfort - he was still on a leash by these stupid Evil Pieces, Asia was as well. It was common sense to say that both used each other for their own reasons, otherwise what would it be than that? Issei had thought of running away and becoming a Stray but that would leave Asia alone with her and she was needed in the bigger game for some reason, otherwise he wouldn't have saved her if he didn't know. He was still looking for a way to safely remove the 8 pieces that were in his heart so he had to be patient - find a way and escape without anything hindering his goal, get intel and a harem.

"She's a spoiled bitch... " Issei voiced out his thoughts to them, his arm was shaking in a tight grip with the thought of running away lingering, " i went through undeserved humiliation at the gates not so long ago,just because she's hot and all doesn't mean she could just get everything she wants. I'd rather we didn't speak about her." his face showed visible petulance at her recent actions. He was nothing more than a toy for her,even if she had good intentions it was just her greedy need to control.

"Figures." a short reply came out of Ravel's lips. She wasn't a fan of Rias in the first place but had to act well mannered due to their families long standing friendship, heck her mother's cousin was the daughter of a Gremory that wed in the Phenex family.

"Plus these two gentlemen next to you kicked my ass for having been close to her." not sparing his bluntness, he jokingly mentioned the kick he received from one of them- it hurt like hell and he received a lividity from the sheer strength of the kick.

"No head starts, we would be together in it. Plus it wasn't fair... Sorry for that Issei... " the one who kicked him apologized," you can kick me in return to be fair."

"What would've happened if i ever told them about that time on the beach or that Saturday. Ugh, i don't want to remember it or it will stir me up. I tried my best,i used damn logic and reason but she still went on with it but atleast i somehow prevent it. It was an act of pity,guilt. Nothing else than that."

He shook his head sideways to get a grip or he would start thinking about what happened - her smooth skin and generous bust, the embarrassed and seductive expression of hers would fuck him up and drag him down in his thoughts. He didn't want that at all,he was done with anything of this variety. If "Raynare" hadn't appeared to him back then,it could've gone worse but now he had a really good reason to stay away aside from the main one- she was like the rest...

Issei raised his fist and flicked his mate's forehead enough to hurt him a bit, " No need. I would've done the same thing as you did." he tried to make a smile but it felt lacking and painful so she stopped midway and left it as it is.

"I didn't expect these two to get along so fine with the girls. It was the right thing to do,maybe it would give them some happiness a bit. But who am i kidding, we know that it's not possible after all. One thing is better for them..."

"Isn't it time to go? Lunch break is over so we should go to our respective classes, shouldn't we?" The blonde girl pointed out the time,rose up and stretched her arms to Matsuda and Motohama to help them stand up. No disgust,no contempt. Just being Ravel- her opinion on them changed somewhat and she felt comfortable around Issei's compatriots of perversion. And let's be honest, Issei was a comfortable hugging pillow to sleep with aside from his lower body temperature but nothing like a blanket or two couldn't fix the problem.

Xuelan tilted her head in approval and continued on,she grabbed her juice bottle and turned backwards to see the young dragon. She gave him a reassuring sign to follow up as he was falling behind them and they'd be late. She appeared to have enjoyed these 30 minutes with them and wouldn't have minded for it to be a common practice for she couldn't stand the people in her class.

"I'll be right behind you. I just need to fix my shoe lace." Issei crouched down to simulate tying his shoe lace, waiting for them to close the door and standing up still,he turned to the other side. Where the fence on the roof remained perched into the cement.

Raynare was leaning back against the metal chain fence with her right leg pulled ahead,comfortably in a bored position with her face distorted with a subtle thin smile on it. She looked at him with a mix of bewilderment and boredom in her ghastly sharp eyes straight to his. Issei felt cornered and ready to run away from her clutches only for her to bring up her glove clad arm and lick her fingers with desire. She stopped doing that, her fingers cracked with a crunching sound and she gave him another subtle smile as moved them to her face with a Shhh gesture...

XXX

20th August, Kuoh Academy Occult Research Club room,14:37 pm, Wednesday

3 days had passed since the appearance of the Church's elite Strike Force had intruded into the Devil's territory, namely Rias Gremory's domain of Kuoh as per the verdict of territorial establishment. And the ensuing chaos that was to burst like a bubble was a given.

Rias clattered her shoes on the hard surface of the floor with her arms crossed in annoyance. Yuuto hadn't shown up for more than 3 days despite how hard she searched for him, he had hidden himself well enough to prevent her from using the homing beacon function of his Piece to track him down and beat some sense to his stubborn head. She was sitting on her chair with a distant look, not paying attention to what was being talked to her at all.

"Hello? I'm right here you know", Akeno waved her hand before her King's face in reluctance. She was a witness to the events of Saturday, she felt bad for Kiba and just a little bit for Issei... But she had to do something to fix up her solemn King's mood on the go.

Her eyes moved up a bit and locked on Akeno's attempts to cheer her up. Sadly she wasn't feeling well,but atleast she brightened up a little if not more. She slouched on her spinning chair and rolled over to the opposite side of the room to hide her frustration with her powerlessness.

" I want Yuuto to be happy but how could i even help him with that because of me? I want to kill those Exorcists and grant him peace but it would only lead to a third war between the factions. The balance is shaky,one small transgression and it's over. If i could only think of a way to avoid that and give him closure but i can't think of anything..."

"You're thinking about Yuuto,aren't you? I'm worried about him as well. " Akeno's eyes flickered with an expression of sympathy for the mental state of her King,she didn't tell her why Issei hadn't even once showed up to the club room. Or why it would cause more harm than any good - but Akeno wouldn't feel so bad as Rias used him to break off the engagement but she knew she used him as a pillar and a object of her sudden desire, the one who read through her like a book and gave her some hope even with his choice of words.

Rias gave her pained expression of sadness and shrugged down in was rather reserved with her words and emotions in a futile attempt to look strong and respectable. "I am. You know how much i want to kill those Exorcists and grant him some peace of mind but i can't. Forget about it being moral and so, this treaty prevents me from acting on it or a war would break out. I feel so powerless, i want to break from this endless cycle of hate and save his mangled soul. So what could i do to help him?"

Akeno stopped and stared at her with sympathy for her intentions, Rias was ready to go past the line just for one of her own people but she thought it was strange that she hadn't placed so much attempt to do so for Issei. Well her attempts were mostly fruitless anyway so she understood Rias well on that.

" I can't say anything because I'm not the right person. I feel bad for Asia as well... "

[ 16th August, Hyoudou Residence, Saturday night ]

"Asia, what are you doing here? These people are Devils! Run! " Xenovia didn't try to suppress her voice at all,it was more like a scream than a polite request to the blonde former nun.

"I can't... I can't come back and face our father like this...I'm sorry... "Asia's complexion visibly changed as her brows scrunched together in resignation. She tried to look calm and collected but her mask of sweetness was cracking at the edges with regret and pain. She was a Devil and she could never return to how she was before... "* I won't go back to be a tool for these old fools. To be a tool of a God who never cared for me,one who never loved me or gave me anything good. I won't come back so I'll take you and papa with me somewhere away from the world..."

"miss Asia..." Irina tried to reach her consciousness in order to get them to go home together. "I couldn't find my father but atleast I'll bring you home to your family. Your father misses you so much, I'll make it right. Atleast one of us should smile."

"I can't allow that ", Rias's voice echoed through the street like thunder. Her commanding presence elevated the atmosphere with tension of demonic particles as she stepped out of her teleportation circle with Koneko and Akeno in tow. She rushed to Kiba with immeasurable speed and slapped him on the cheek only to hig him tightly.

"Don't you leave me like that otherwise I'd be lost without you. I don't want you to leave me,please. " tears of honesty dropped from her eyes onto the black suit Kiba wore. She tightened her grip on him, like if she let him out of her embrace he would fade into oblivion.

"Let me go, President. " Kiba mumbled under his breath as he slowly removed her arms off his back and stood up ashamed with himself. He didn't say anything to her and ran away in the darkness.

"Koneko! Please don't leave him alone. Go after him!" Rias pleaded the small Rook to chase after him with everything she had, she would have sent Akeno but she needed her "strongest" Piece with her for moral support.

The young girl quickly chased after him and was out of plain sight, far away from their senses to register her presence.

"You?! Why did you attack my Knight all of a sudden and now you want Asia? " the crimson haired girl was infuriated, "Talk about cheeky to barge into someone's home and beat their family on a whim just because they were Devils!"

"We were left with no other choice but to defend ourselves as he was the one who attacked us in the first place", Xenovia gave her a broody gaze as she gripped the pommel of her sword in advance, " and just so you know, we dealt with some of the Strays from outside the barrier. We sent a message concerning our wish to be granted entry but no answer was given. So don't blame us for doing your job,miss Gremory. " with a sarcastic tone she told her what she had to say while never taking off her eyes from Asia.

"So what business would you have with our dear Asia?" Akeno raised ghe question with a unsightly grin.

Irina stepped up to answer in place of Xenovia for she was unnerved and would trash the place if she wasn't given her sister back."Asia Argento is a nun of the Vatican so we have come to get her home where she belongs. "

"Wasn't she excommunicated? Then what going home do you speak of? She's home right here with us." Rias stood up to her with a condescending look, befitting that of her regal birth. She wasn't going to give up her Bishop without a fight, not after she was hurt so much by the ones that used to be something like a family.

"Is that true? " Xenovia's eyes widened in dejection, she couldn't believe what she heard, she didn't want to believe it at all." So you chose to be a Devil?! How could you, you were the most kindred Saint that everyone loved! The Twilight Maiden to turn into a Witch ...You're not my sister anymore..."

The dignified mask she wore fell apart when her face twisted with pain by the sheer magnitude of this realization. She felt betrayed by the one whom she would have never expected, even once in their live only to see it lips contorted with rejection, pain and her eyes turned away from the blonde knew she was the one to blame for not having reached her that day,she desperately wanted to change the outcome only to fall into despair. The Durandal wielding girl turned away and told them," We would like to deal with the theft of the holy fragments in this city so I'll ask you kindly not to involve yourself... " and she left with a saddened Irina to her house next door...

Asia burst into bitter tears from the rejection of her own sister, she was a monster in her eyes now. Her legs lost strength and she fell on her knees with swollen eyes from matter how much she tried to hold in the pain,she couldn't help but cry for herself and her father. How was she to face him when she was like that? In her shock she bit her lips and her lips were dyed red with the color of her blood.

Issei sighed in bitterness over the watching the hurt girl he lived with. He wasn't good with comforting people so he kept his distance and gave a sign to Ravel to bring her in the house. Ravel supported the feeble girl and entered the house, leaving Issei and Xuelan outside with Rias and Akeno.

Issei placed the hood over his head again and made a sign to Xuelan to leave him be and head back to the house and have someone comfort Asia while he would do something else while the situation was tense.

"What are you planning to do?" Rias shook her head in uneasiness. She was putting up a front before these Executors, and after they went away she took a deep breath and relaxed a little.

"Nothing that would concern your attention. Just a light walk around the city and visiting my clients, nothing more. Are you a stalker as well?" annoyed he turned away and dropped his wounded arm, the sliced bit of his arm was regenerating a bit slowly and in that moment she realized what he could mean by a light stroll around the block.

"Wait, are you going to leave the poor girl all alone?"

[Issei looked up at the King's eyes and saw concern and sympathy, " She's not alone anymore..."]

Rias spun in her chair like a kid and turned her back to Akeno, she was thinking of Issei's words and actions. He threw himself in front of Kiba judging by the wound he had on his arm, he saved him and she didn't thank him. Mostly because she wanted to be the one to help Kiba with this but she was powerless while he was not. She was envious of Issei...

"She's not alone, huh? If only things were like that between us... This time for sure,I'll be the one to make a difference and swallow my pride. No more empty promises, no more expectations."

"Akeno,i think i know where Yuuto will be today. There's only one place that we've missed from the map - the other side of the city, the old theatre. That's the place if taking in account the information the ArchDuke gathered. We'll have to gear up and put an end to this tonight. For Yuuto!" she felt energy course through her body, her spirit was elevated by her new conviction and this time she would do it right. She turned around and she cupped her hands on her lap.

Akeno smiled, "We'll have to bring everyone together in order to do this. And by everyone i mean Issei as well." her voice mellowed down a bit when she thought of him for a second - she vividly remembered his look and consideration for her,true she may have been affected that time. Even so she would do it again and this time she was intent on going to the end with him even if he didn't want to,he was at fault for having changed her life and mindset so she would have been glad to pay him back for this in her own way. Plus he had an irresistible hip line as a matter of fact,that she knew perfectly.

Satisfied with what she wanted to hear,Rias stood up and announced with pride." Tonight, we're going on a hunt. 21:00 pm i want everyone at the school entrance and no playing hooky."

"As you wish, my King Rias. " the black haired lady bowed down with respect and grabbed a cup of tea to satisfy her thirst.

" That's the spirit! I won't allow anyone take more from me. Not today,not tomorrow! It's time for this girl to show what she's got."

XXX

20th August, Hyoudou Residence, 19:35 pm

Ravel was sitting on Issei's chair in his room with the door locked shut,Asia had one more class left while Xuelan was fixing herself something to eat in the kitchen. The blonde younger girl had an agreement with the moody dragon to check out the new stuff on his computer while he went to Sona's house for some reason he didn't disclose.

"I've informed my family about this culling. Safety measures and security have tightened and martial law has been ensued in atleast 2 's going as planned." she was typing on the keyboard meticulously as her attention was fixed on the messages that she found in a secret folder.

And she received a new message from their mysterious benefactor X – "I see that you have joined the fray,little miss Phenex for which i praise you. You have mettle but enough about that...The head of the Vatican,Pope Theodorus III was a victim of a unsuccessful assassination by a Devil in the ploy to cause a new war between the factions and to hasten the Apocalypse. Watch out for the hooded figure,it will be sure to strike again. The Astaroth... They're involved in this...I'm sure you have warned your family about it and be careful. There are dark forces that lurk in the shadows, be on your guard and trust no one for the enemy is always watching. Go to road 491 in the United States on 31th October and you will find some answers. Tonight - at the old church of , go there with Issei. That's the only way you'll survive. "

Ravel was worried deeply by this ominous message, her first reaction was to stare with a empty gaze at the monitor and when she regained her bearings she moved backwards to decided to write back to this enigmatic entity with the following :

- "Who are you and why are you helping us? What is your intention in all of this? Who is the enemy? "

- "Just a friend. I don't have much time left so it doesn't matter. The enemy is one of the 72... I can't speak much as we're being watched, trust no one. Things aren't the way they seem to be. Ars Goetia... "

- "How could i trust you? I don't know you but so far you've helped us to avert more deaths from occurring. So would you ever show us your face? Can we meet? "

- "You can't... Sadly not yet...But I'll help you... The twin tailed Executor had her memories erased so I'd like you to retrieve something of importance- The Church of Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois in France, you'll need to retrieve a weapon from there. She knows what happened that night but she doesn't remember it..."

- "How is this related to me?"

- " In more ways than you think. I'll tell you a secret- God isn't dead,it was the god the church believed it to be,The Demiurge...The third World War is starting. And the Harlot is here to cause havoc..."

- "Who is she?"

- I don't know yet. Not yet...Good luck...

"Dear Satan! I have to tell Issei about this."

XXX

20th August, Astaroth warehouse, 19:30 pm

"Phew,that was fun!" the young man sighed in exhaustion and dropped a adolescent brunette to the side of his bed," Who's next? " turning around to give a look at some of the girls he had kidnapped from a church on the way back.

They were tied up and lied down helplessly on the gigantic bed of his,they squirmed like maggots on a tea spoon and struggled to escape,all means of escape being cut off. And only pleading was left for them to do only for the collector to give them a silent hush, "Now,now no sound, only dreams now." and he gave them a dissatisfied look.

"Who would've expected it to be more interesting than trying to kidnap a girl and then nothing. A purpose is what is required to define a man,isn't that right?" giving off a sly look to the girl he had copulated moments ago,he tried to make her answer him. She only nodded in fear.

"You know, I'm in quite the good mood for some talk,wouldn't you like to hear it?" he leaned back on the bed and yawned in delight.

" I used to be the third wheel between my mother and brother, it was like i wasn't worth shit compared to the splendor my brother had. But still, i loved my mother with everything i had - she was still nice and gentle to me but it was probably all an act.." he placed his hands behind his head on the pillow and looked at the roof.

"* I-I'm sorry, mommy...i won't ask for anything.. I won't, stop hurting me...i promise i won't... Stop hitting me,mommy. *"

"* Why can't you be like your brother? Stop playing around and do something with your damn life for moment. You're a disgrace, you're nothing but a meaningless worm to leech off me.. Stop crying and man up,you piece of shit! *

"Yeah,it was quite the life i had. But it was bearable at least." he sighed heavily as he stretched his arms up.

"* You're nothing but a fuckin loser,your brother's a Satan while you are nothing but a disgusting slob of meat. You're good for nothing, useless and stupid. Go die in some hole, you freak!*"

"*Look at that idiot- playing with dolls. You're a Devil, not some lame ass sissy! I'm sure your brother would be so proud of you, Diodora. To have such a useless brother as you, he must feel grateful that he left the house to become a Satan. I wouldn't doubt he's embarrassed by a mistake like you. You're worthless!*"

"If they treat you as a monster,why not give them the one they deserve? Well I'm just showing you what you really are- nothing but deluded jerkass bitches that tried to suppress their desires to try to be better than the rest. But you're just a bunch of hypocrites- to believe in something that never even heard your prayers, never answered your pleas for help. That's so dramatic." Diodora opened his eyes and he looked with distraught. He was pondering on something.

The kidnapped nuns didn't dare make a sound or they would suffer more than they had in store for them- he already had some fun with one of them anyway. He was quite unpredictable as to say,no one knew what was going that skull of his; at any given time he could just kill them despite their begging for mercy.

"Is it so wrong to be different? To be yourself and not some shadow of your siblings? Tell me,what is it to be loved? How does it feel to be loved despite those disgusting masks you wear over your faces?" his eyes went over to the naked brunette that was lying on the velvet cover of the bed, he stared at her with a interested look on his face desiring an answer to his riddle.

He pulled over the white cloth he used to shut her up and let her speak freely, expecting every reaction he had been given before. "So how does it feel?" his inquiry was indifferent and still he desired to quench his curious.

"It's wonderful. It's not a mask,it's the truth. There is nothing wrong in being different - God doesn't divide between people. Please let us go,we haven't done anything wrong..." she was trembling and begging him to let them go home, she pleaded that they innocent only for him to give an tired,broody blink at her.

"You're right! You're not wrong about it,you haven't done anything wrong... But you're still a fuckin liar! God clearly doesn't even care for what his creations are going through - he's dead! The damn fucker is dead! " he smiled and then went back to bored," Maybe if it wasn't so unfair for me, I'd turn out just like the rest of them- damn liars with their fake smiles and condescending looks at people like me, thinking of being civilized while killing each other for fortune and glory. That's just stupid, this world is fucked up. And about love- there is none in this world! It's just what you're being brainwashed with, tell me isn't there enough inequality and prejudice already? "

"It's clear you don't understand what it's like to be treated as a unneeded, useless and stupid piece of meat..." retorted the young man as he swirled his fingers on the hair of one of them.
" Aren't you the ideal nuns - beautiful, benevolent, obedient as sheep. But that is all a mask. Give a man a mask and he'll become his true self." and he removed the cloth, drapped around the mouth of a blonde nun.

"You just wanted to be loved,don't you? Because it's clear- you've never experienced love or being loved, you can't make the difference between fake and real love and you try to substitute it with kidnapping unwilling girls to please your ego." the blonde nun growled with spite, " So you just want to be acknowledged, to be loved even if you do bad or good. You're just a lost lamb searching for a purpose in this world. "

"You're right... Maybe i am. But still... Where's the fun in that?" he grabbed this nun by the neck and pulled her closer."Let's have some fun!" his eyes glowed with a disgusting glimmer and he shoved the unfortunate nun to himself.

The nun waved her hands in a struggle to get away from him only to aggravate the Astaroth heir even more as he pressed her face harder, he felt the need to teach her a lesson all of a sudden to make an example not to fuck with his feelings.

"Oh, this bitch sucks at sucking. So far for a nun to be a horny dog! I'll make you feel so good you'd never want to go back to being a nun. I do need some new materials for my collection. " he hit her on the leg and clasped her head with both hands and pressed her face closer.

She was gagging, trying to breathe, her body was squirming with pleasure but she was resisting it. She was leading a battle against her own nature in her head; to sacrifice her chastity and submit to the human, carnal pleasures she had abstained from or to die a martyr in the name of her faith. She bit him hard and he let her go,tumbling back on the bed as she broke free and fell to the ground. She grabbed her cross from the nearby chair with clothes and slammed it to his face.

Diodora Astaroth snickered wittily with a grin at her and removed her arm off his face. The wound inflicted by the silver cross burned brightly and for some reason he didn't flinch or feel pain."Don't do that." as a pained growl escaped from within his throat, "Another rejection, oh well! " with a mischievous smirk he grabbed her by the throat and burst her head with a destructive orb of energy that swelled up from within her neck. He dropped the corpse and relaxed a bit.

"That was quite refreshing" he gasped in pleasure. "Let's see what work awaits for tonight but first...", he looked at the other girls," the night is young! Let's have the party 's going to be fun..."

XXX

20th August, Sitri Family House, 19:30 pm

Sona Sitri had skipped school for 2 days straight which was an unusual act for the stern, professional StuCo President as she was notorious for her straight record and lack of absences, excluding the time she spent locked at home after the massacre took place. The Madam of the Sitri Household was quite against the prospect of her leaving unaccompanied, her sister Serafall was adamant on being her watchdog if not for the workload of being a Satan pinning her to the management of political affairs and business. Sona didn't mind either way, she knew it was for her own good but her consciousness wouldn't let her endanger someone as the matriarch of the family neither the Satan,known as Serafall Leviathan.

"I brought you the daily dosage and the new undershirt you required. " Issei passed through the door with a hesitant step, his face was serene with no worries showing up. But he was just hiding it- it was painful to visit her now as it was a reminder of what had happened with this magnificent girl he knew.

Sona was sitting by the window with a ever so lost in thought visage,looking through the window as if she was searching for something beyond this world but couldn't find. "Oh,thank you for stopping by." she said with a cold tonality to her otherwise pleasant voice. She was garbed with the black undershirt he wore and some baggy pants to his surprise. She had not once removed this sealing mechanism until her very own had been crafted by the Timeless Swordsman himself with his understanding of the force of magic.

She didn't look at him, she was scared and embarrassed of what transpired a few days ago. She had locked herself up even more so than before, the weight of her regret and burden were taking a toll on her psyche. It was due to her sterile, Ice Queen personality that she could function somewhat in capability or so it appeared.

"I'll leave these here on the table. Sorry to disturb you while you're not feeling well. " it was a robotic inquiry of a pre recorded plethora of words he used not so ever often, sarcasm and bluntness were more to his liking.

"I need someone to talk to. Would you stay with me for a moment? " she turned around to face the oddball teenage boy and shot out a mellow plea to his goodness, if there was any left. She knew that well,there was some left inside of him but with every passing day she was drifting away from that thought whenever she saw him.

"Fine by me. " he closed in to her calmly with his iconic walk, sadly she backed away from him and anxiously offered him some tea she had her butler make. Issei kept his distance out of consideration for current fragile state of her mind and took a seat at the small tea table and handed her the pills he was tasked to bring her.

Sona took them and crushed two of them with her teeth and gulped down with a audible sound from the back of her neck. She exhaled a gust of air and feebly said,"Thanks... "
It wasn't loud enough yet he heard it and gave her a sympathetic look to try to soothe her apprehension.

It was odd,the way they sat and the way the room seemed to be in his eyes with a sterile, purged of warmth living space of a room with it's lack of life and vitality through the walls. He remained quiet and patiently waited for one of them to try to start a conversation for they were moody as hell and it didn't feel right.

"Issei, I want you to help me with understanding the changes that have occurred with my being. " embarrassed, she stated this two folded question through her teeth, stammering and assuming the worst. Her face looked pale and lifeless like the face of the human like mannequins the German used for various reasons. God knew what he did with them.

" A part of me is saying it's a open invitation but it's not. She needs more blood, it must be awful to rely on a reckless jerk as me. If it didn't happen, if only it didn't happen she could've lived a bit better with it..." he knew exactly what he had to do,he read through her intention like a book and pushed away his chair a bit to make some space.

Issei transformed his index finger into a scaly claw and ran it through the wrist of his left arm to draw out blood before it had evaporated on contact with the oxygen in the air. He had to control his regeneration to halt the closing of his self inflicted wound and had a small container to collect it in and prevent it from dissipating. He handed the glass canister to the stressed bespectacled miss and waited for her to finish with it and continue from where they left.

"I don't like it; the way you do that. It hurts, doesn't it?" she removed her glasses to wipe them off and unconsciously looked at him the way she used to gaze at Tsubaki Shinra,her late Queen and best friend. Tsubaki was the first human she acquainted with on a summer night a few years ago at the end of a bridge. The rest was just memories...

He stopped for a second in precipitance by the familiar way of swiveling he had noticed on a few occasions. Her lax but tense positioning, the small changes in her movement couldn't have been unseen by his perception. Quickly tracing her whole body, he found a weird side effect that was noticeable to his own comprehension - despite the black garment she wore being two sizes bigger than her body frame, his lustful eyes for the beauty of women notified a solid change in her bust size; from the previous B:77 in a few days she had switched to a more hefty size of B:90 and the reason being her transition from a nornal Devil to a Dragonette. The more advanced Dragon species were highly endowed to compete with one another in the course of evolution for the attention of stronger males and thus had evolved to enhance their charm and desirability range to ensure the birth of strong children.

And her hair appeared to have extended in length, her bob cut hairstyle was now more similar to her sister's silky smooth hair with her fringe being longer and the bangs going down to her neck. She was probably thinking of what to ask him knowing him,he surely had noticed the visible changes in her physique and to be honest she was actually quite glad despite all of the other denouement, Rias had subtly insulted her on the lacking development of her chest once but she didn't care. She perceived physical beauty as transient and nothing more than a shell for the persona,and now she had more of a chance to stand up to her.

Sona responded sullenly to his rubbernecking." I know what you're thinking, i look somewhat different and i can't explain it. Even though i try to be calm,I'm scared of this change. I feel like I'm losing more and more of myself the more i change into this feral beast, I'm scared."her hand shook in anxiety.

"It's alright to be scared of it... To change is to surrender yourself to this crapsack world in order to fit in. But it's still not going to happen... " Issei raised his brows instinctively,
" Everyone is afraid of something, it's natural to feel fear as that is what keeps us alive. The fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of abandonment... If we didn't feel those how could we even survive? "

"Well in a world as fucked up like this you have to ask yourself if it's worth continuing to live while sacrificing every thing you live scared of the things you might lose..." Issei's arms shuddered, "If you do, you might just be alive on the outside but in the inside tho... But then you need to keep living until you find another reason to live, until you have sacrifice it 's how life is- a cycle of gain and loss with no meaning in either... "

Sona wanted to say something,anything only to recall the feelings deep within her mind… She knew that,she believed that it was natural and yet irrational to be afraid as it stood aside from the logic of her very own being. The sewn shut eyes of her late friends was a nightmare she woke up to every night, so what was it for Issei to see it even awake?

"I'm scared too. With all of these souls inside me,I'd wonder if it's really me or one of them is thinking to be me. I can't help but be afraid of not being me at all; the Welsh Dragon is fighting back from the inside, i feel like I'm slipping away from sanity the more i use it. These past possessors are devouring me piece by piece and i can't fight it; it's compelling, demanding blood and murder to satiate this never ending spiral of delirium... " dark thoughts he couldn't dismiss or cast away...

"I want to find out the truth but i fear it would even worse than what i know. What if all of my memories were erased and not just a portion of them? Yet i want to know the truth, no matter how ugly it would be as she is a cruel mistress and the lie is just a nice girl. " he had not just once thought of the possibilities within the answer to his ever growing questions of a mountain. He wanted the harsh truth, no sweet talk and dismissal. Nothing more than that...

Sona's eyes flashed in uneasiness, her business like face was now upset with how things were going. Dissatisfaction, Anger,Confusion. It was hard to define which one was it. "But i know you and who you are. It doesn't matter who you are underneath, but what you do is what defines you." no insult or sarcastic remarks, she said what she felt really and wiped her eye off with her sleeve.

"It doesn't matter what i do. It won't change anything neither would it bring back the dead..."

"It won't. But let's do it for the ones that are still among the living. It means sometimes it's the only choice you've keep living while suffering the is nothing that can take the pain away. But eventually, you will find a way to live with it. There will be nightmares. And everyday when you wake up, it will be the first thing you think about. Until one day, it's the second. " she found the words she wanted to say to make him feel better. She was capable of emotion, repressing them and thinking clearly was more like her...and yet they felt warm despite being the brutal truth.

"Did you love him back? Saji... He clearly liked you..." Issei showed some concern like never before, he wanted to hear it from her personally; they were like her family after all.

"I knew he had those feelings for me. I knew it and i still acted like i never noticed for the sake of his two admirers. I never had a chance to respond to his feelings and now he's dead..." her features were morose, swelling with regret and anger," If i only had a chance to tell him the way i felt... I'll make the one who did this pay,the real culprit that is." she bit her lips in torment not to show any weakness and go soft; she had to be tough.

"What do you want to know? " his eyes bore into the violet pair of shades. His voice sounded more like an offer she couldn't resist than an explanation of the sort. His face was blank with no emotion behind it other than being like a preprogrammed machine for trivial tasks.
He had nearly forgotten about his tea and he didn't pick it up for he was preparing himself for the worst to come.

"The Brand you and i share now. I want to know everything about it, no skipping over the details and also... I've wondered " she touched her cheek and leaned on the armrest ," You've unlocked your Balance Breaker so why do you have this Brand when you clearly have wings in the Scale Mail? " it was a question that had piqued her interest since long and it was just appropriate to ask now.

He leaned on the side of the chair and elaborated on what he had found and studied about this phenomenon, " The Brand of the Y Ddraig Goch is the testament of me having devoured and replaced the Dragon in this reality. If an Original Being, who was born before the existence of mankind in the events of Genesis, is destroyed or devoured by another being... The being in question has to take the place of the Original with all of it's powers and responsibilities - for example if you were to devour the physical manifestation of an Aspect ,you would have to replace it as it is necessary for the continued existence of Reality. "

Sona was intently listening to this info dump as she was quite engrossed into learning. If her comprehension grew enough she might have been able to control it and not worry him with her own problems.

"This brand of scales is the Euler's Identity, the absolute truth that there is only one being known as Boosted Gear was an intermediate, a limiter and this is the i was just a simple vessel for this being to exist in reality but after having devoured Ddraig it appeared on my back as instead of a vessel to hold it,i became the living incarnation of a being from before the Conception and this is what keeps me anchored. It's from where we derive our power and authority for it is a driving force behind nature - thus it enables you to transgress through metaphysical laws and between planes of existence." he paused to take a breath and continue with his lecture.

"It's just an abstract concept aligning with that of the first Sephirah,Keter as it is with no definite shape or contents and can manifest in a form by the desire you place into it,bringing it to existence but requires the other Sephirah like Malkuth to function otherwise it's not usable. " he touched on the matter of being an Apostle with Keter as his correspondence from the tree of Sephirot and things were starting to get clearer by the minute.

"And concerning your question, " he took a deep breath and relaxed, " I only use it when it's necessary, it's nothing more than a remaining product of the Boosted Gear in order to access it's powers further if you were a normal user; i could fight without it just by bringing out my draconian features but in so i risk to be devoured by the past possessors of the Boosted Gear as they and the Dragon are still inside, no matter if they are being suppressed. And as a side effect i am stuck in a semi-Juggernaut Drive but it is manifested by the principle of Imaginary numbers and by the emergence of a past user through the Brand in a myriad of shapes." he was starting to grow tired.

"I've been having problems with using the Scail Mail as of recently, it's just to acclimate and transition fully to being a Dragon as i haven't fully lost my human form and identity. And to survive the Void between dimensions. The undershirt and pills are to supress the dead from emerging, albeit to a certain degree. And the normal wings aren't so fast, the Brand can manifest into different forms depending on the purpose. "

He removed his uniform and released the seals a bit and asked for a knife to present a demonstration. Sona gave him a butterfly knife she received from one of her relatives and stood

back as he lowered his hand to his back and it his back protruded a large amount of black blades with red eyes in the form of a mystic code, arranged in the form of two tentacles with spiked then made them fade away and took out the knife and returned it to Sona.

Sona gasped in awe by the principles that laid in his demonstration. She comprehended every last bit of his extensive explanation and also came to the realization - it was a double edged sword. It could only manipulate the space around him,teleportation wasn't included in it. It could not prevent death and only worked with the use of logic and imagination, not being able to create life or things that couldn't exist even as concepts therefore he could die. His heightened senses also lead her to believe that he could suffer if he didn't consciously maintain an exact state and sound could hurt him and he could accidentally cease to exist in this state and return to nothingness.

"I'm curious about something, "he continued unperturbed with a bit of wonder, " Is it possible for someone on the scale of Primordial to be revived and anchored back with a set of eight normal Pieces? "

"It's not normal. Old man Tannin required a Queen Piece with the power of atleast an Ultimate Class Devil to be reincarnated and there was still a chance for it not to work. It means that it should equal atleast the power of a Satan to make it happen, even two if possible. " she mused with a more serious expression. It was impossible to revive such a being with just a normal set of Evil Pieces unless..." You died as a human due to the curse of Ddraig, right? "

"Yes." he stated with some pain in his voice. It wasn't something he wanted to remember for it brought out Raynare in his head and she still didn't let go of him. And the worse was the final fluctuation that the Dragon of Wales had beforehand mentioned - he could cease to exist was the most harmless one; the rest were thinngs worse than death.

"Then it's possible to be revived with a normal one as you were a normal human when your draconian nature shut down, you were reset to the mundane human being and after being revived it is logical to assume they have turned into 5 Mutation Pieces and 3 are still to turn. " it was logical but still it felt unreal.

"But it's still not normal... " his mind was troubled with dark thoughts he had kept in. He never trusted the Gremory girl for a second and neither Sona's resolution of her being normal would make him believe so.

"Do you believe that anonymous associate, X? It's clear the information we have received was quite helpful and for a reason i feel like it's something we've been overlooking. How does he know everything that happens," she brought her fingers to her chin and tugged her legs together, " or what if he is the one that is causing them? Trust no one, even him/her/it as instructed."

"I've went through the cogitation of them being the one who is pulling the strings all around the place as we speak. He could be the real mastermind behind everything and by giving us this warning of our death sentence to trust him/her," persuasively he began to hypothesize the goal of this friend. It was beyond suspicious why someone would help them without a reason; everyone wanted something and help wasn't free for sure," it would be easier to send to some location and have us killed. "

"It is quite possible. We have went through this deduction multiple times and accounting the information concerned, " she pushed her glasses back to the ridge of her nose," it is beyond a doubt that he/she could know everything about us which leads to your guess. And on the prospect of knowing both Angel and Devil affairs equals to someone who is with both or a organization of said people. It could be a lie to say it's just one person because of the writing style.

" I acquiesce. Touji Shidou and his daughter; isn't it possible that X and Shidou are the same? His daughter showed signs of having her memories of that day erased aside from having taken the picture. And the other man... We don't even know anything about him. " his brown eyes squinted, giving them the aura of a dead fish on the land. His arms crossed in a bored manner and his visage was full of contemplation.

"What about the involvement of the Church's strike force in here? I don't believe it's just for the retrieval of some fragments and miss Argento's return to the Vatican. It must be connected somehow with everything but i forgot about it."

"There is no need to be concerned with them. I plan on finding out myself soon; i had a accomplice of mine fake a Demon ArchDuke's private message to Gremory with a fake location, that would keep her busy for a while. " he had planned this all along. He knew the other girl knew things and he could use that to scope out the situation at the other side of the scale.

"You don't like her at all, do you? I wouldn't forgive her so easily like that if it were me so i would assume you couldn't bring yourself to do it; she would want the things i had when we were little and vice versa. And after she found out we knew each other - she wanted you more than ever. " what she said was backed by her childhood with the younger Gremory of the two siblings, she knew her well and so did she in return.

"Of course not. I'm just going through this for my goals; once a way to remove these shackles of the Evil Pieces is possible, I'd take the chance without anything stopping me. I could right now but it wouldn't give me any information neither peace, I'd be bothered with being a wild game for their other hunters around the globe. I could spend some time in between the void if i could control that..." unmoving, unrestrained and possibly unchanged his opinion of this predicament was.

"Atleast you have a place among someone... " she closed her eyes in a languorous manner with a small sigh for air.

"I don't think there could be any welcoming place in the world. A wandering soul has no need for a place to belong. And yet nobody could understand the feelings of being in a liminality between two breeds, belonging neither to the human one nor the supernatural. It's like I'm the protagonist of Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa or the Crossbreed from the works of Kafka." his visage locked in a austere mien of negligence, they say the eyes were the window to the soul so what would someone see in his? Carnage,Serenity and something unexplainable in the dull, fish like gaze he had.

"I could never imagine the weight you have carried for two years... My suffering has been of recently so i shouldn't complain when there is someone else who's been having it far longer than i have." she didn't give him sympathy nor pity, he hated those the most so she tried to keep her pokerface as much as possible. " And you're not the only one in between two worlds now; we are to be in this together even if it's just my self gratification and wish to live. "

Issei had nearly forgotten for what he came for - he handed her the new undershirt matching her size; it was a black top that would cover the upper body from above the midriff to the neck and it had no sleeves akin to a crop top, covering the minimum and being unnoticeable.

"I want my shirt back." monotonously responding, he was intent on receiving back his trusty black garb because he liked the black color. It was some time to change the conversation into something less serendipitous, or maybe he wanted to relax and pick up his thoughts.

"Fair enough. You saved me back then so it's the least i could around, i require the need of privacy to change. " she waved lightly and rose from her seat with the new undershirt in hand and went behind the curtains to change.

"I must resist this temptation or i shall be damned forever. She's beautiful but she's way beyond the scope of a freak like me. I knew that our bond was through suffering so it was nothing more than that. A relationship of mutual benefit for the sake of survival..."

"Feel free to turn around now" she said in her calm tone. It sounded like a tease with some mix of emotion behind it's meaning. She looked calm and collected despite being dressed in nothing but pants and a short undershirt top, she really didn't care about it anymore. The seals manifested from the back and she turned around for Issei to tune them and boot up the locking mechanism.

Though a bit unexpected, he eyed her again only to make sure his eyes weren't lying him- she was quite the looker now,he would rate her with a best girl status if possible. Her semblance to Serafall was more pronounced than before, only that she looked quite mature and didn't wear magical girl costumes in comparison to her sister.

Issei complied with her request - he manipulated the system of restrictions, rearranged the Latin sigils to the maximum level and added a little twist to the scripture. He had to learn some Latin in these two years to use magic despite his not so abundant mana resources; he couldn't do magic past 3rd tier with his natural reserves unless he used magic strengthening drugs to push the limit with an overdose equaling death but it wasn't required due to his draconian nature boosting his capabilities. And yet he had some drugs in store if the curse cut off his power and was rendered powerless. And he learned English to communicate with his fellow club members.

She was above charming in his opinion ; a pretty girl with a sharp mind like a razor with the aura of a librarian or a businesswoman. But he never saw her in any other light than the two of them surviving, the rest was beyond his thoughts as he didn't have time to think about anything else. Now if he could say it with certainty - she looked hot with longer hair.

" Remember how we first met?" she turned around to look at his face.

"I don't want to remember that incident. So don't remind me abo- his phone rang with a loud noise,it was someone calling him on the secret, magically untraceable number."Excuse me for a moment " and he picked up to answer the call.

"I understand. I'll be on my way, wait for me at home. It's tonight. " ending the short call he had with Ravel,he fixed the colar of his uniform and dusted off his sleeves.

"Was it a emergency or a message? "

"Yes. I'll send it to you as soon as possible. I have to take care of something. " in a hurried pace he took his accompanied paraphernalia and walked fast to the door.

"Wait. I'll accompany you. "

"Not this time,StuCo President. Not this time... Not in this condition so stand rationally and you'll come to the conclusion and sorry ." he shuddered back at her.

" Wait!" she was feeling dizzy all of a sudden. She gave the tea a glance only to realize he had used the moment of her changing clothes to lace it with sedatives. And she fell asleep.

"Please keep her safe." he turned politely to her butler William Basset.

The butler nodded and gave him his word to keep her safe until he returned.

" She's gonna hate me for this. Can't help it, could i?" andsoon he left the mannor.

XXX

What is a purpose? What is that feeling that drives you through the gutter in a attempt to feel better and keep living in a dark world of shadows and fake smiles? Everything has it's worries, if they didn't have any would that mean you're just a perfect, idealized being? I would say no,just a pretty mask and smile to cover your grief and sadness.

But the mask- everyone has one to survive and protect their respective feeble self from the deleterious consequences of revealing yourself. So you'd hide behind the persona you grafted from various chunks of memories and ideals and comform to the demands of the masses. And the worst thing was - i wore a disgusting, smiling mask all the time just to make her feel better. Just for the girl who saved me to feel good... To be something of a replacement for a lost love... What about me? There's nothing much special to the man known as Yuuto Kiba.

Just a charming face with a warming smile- that's what you'd think of me on first sight. But beneath the cover lies a wicked craving for one singular reason to live. That is to die... After all, when revenge is the only thing you have left and you proceed with it; what is left?

It's bitterness... An empty shell of the man i used to be. I was sure this farce would end one day and i would surely enjoy it because there is Yuuto Kiba, that's a fake name for a faker taken out of the bloody snow. There's only Adam and the hatred for Excalibur, the rest is just some made up lie and charming words- just as what you'd expect of a fake persona with a fake identity.

Maybe I'll find it...Maybe i won't. But it's worth the try, i don't have anything left so there's nothing to lose, right? And thus i will fight and die or maybe I'll keep on living and cry? Choice. That's the last thing i have but I'll do it nevertheless. Because i owe it to those that died- and before a Devil, I'm a human and I'll never forget it because Adam lives and Yuuto Kiba will die...

XXX

20th August, Kuoh Theatre, 21:15 pm

Xenovia and Irina were heading out to the abandoned theatre after the former had followed the Cardinal's advice to check the church and only found large heaps of decaying corpses and a single letter with the directions to the theater.

They weren't suspecting what was in store for them when they arrived.

"You there! I can sense your fear pumping through your veins. Did you really think I wouldn't have noticed the way you snuck in? " before them was a being with white armor and blue wings of transparent energy wisps with it's yellowish eyes of delirium. "If you wanna die,come at me. I'll make sure to send your Vatican asses back to the hole from where you came from."

Xenovia didn't have time for words- she unsheathed her Durandal from it's case and stabbed a syringe with specially designed booster drugs to enhance her performance and leapt forward at the white armored being in a flash. She swung her sword in a pressurized air vortex when she was just behind him only to receive a brutal kick from within it, sending her flying to the ground where she stood on her knee with her sword in the ground.

In that second Irina transformed her Mimic into a pair of wakizashi and tanto and moved directly to her enemy, slashing him at the neck and chest with the metal sinking deep into the white armor pushing it away for the now risen Xenovia to hit it with the blunt edge of her sword and stomp him flat to the ground.

The White One's wings stabbed her and pushed away the sword in her hands and wrapped it's clawed gauntlet around her face to throw her at the end of the stage into the final row of seats.

Irina jumped to retaliate with inhuman strength, derived from the drugs she used and slammed her sword at it's head only for Vali to shift her faceplate into a pair of jaws,to bite the sword hard enough to dent it's before she managed to throw her around, Irina took out a few daggers from her thigh strap and with a fast maneuver inscribed a scripture of the bible on it's shoulder and after having done that she jumped away to the stage and in that same moment clasped a pair of guns and shot at it. One of the guns jammed but the other one did it's job.

An explosion broke out from the shoulder area of the Vanishing Dragon's Scale Mail,surprising and amusing Vali enough to shrugg it off and fly towards the twin tailed Executor. She didn't care to avoid it,she knew it was nothing but a light sting to the power of Albion, she was just bored with this.

Irina braced herself for the impact and casted a barrier around her to delay her attack. She had planned it all along; they were leading this battle crazy beast into a elaborate trap. Vali crashed head on with the barrier like it was a thin layer of paper - Xenovia at that time had moved away and grabbed Irina's sword unnoticed, with her tapping into the holy aura of both swords to shift to the spiritual plane and attacked by flickering between dimensions. Vali was smiling underneath the faceplate,her radiant lust for blood seeped through the whole building and she turned around quickly to retaliate.

She dodged the first strike with ease, flew away up high and concentrated her magic into a single spear of light and threw it to the ground to confuse them, it was nothing more than a simple light spell to blind them. But both Executors were relentless in their assault - they coordinated with each other and jumped off the walls with Irina providing cover fire with her working Magnum and Xenovia phasing her blade through the armor of Vali and materializing in the real world to use Retribution on her.

Vali divided the magnitude of her spell to the level of a small flame and used her wings to slice the blue haired Executor on the wrist while kicking the other in the sword was negated as she had a constantly switched Divide and Albion was resistant against Holy Swords and 8th tier magic - he was a Heavenly Dragon, an original being for a goddamn reason.

Both fell to the ground like flies, Xenovia was losing strength from using Spirit Drive- the longer she used it,the closer she was to permanently turn into a ghost and be swallowed up by the void between realities. Vali came back to the ground and shoved her razor tipped fingers into the ribs of the Mimic user and lifted her in the air with a kick,clenched her fist with a gust of air and rammed it into the chest of Irina with such strength, breaking her ribs and pinned her to the ceiling. Xenovia stood up and tried to swing her sword at her unsuccessfully with Vali breaking her left arm, drove Durandal through her legs, spun her in the air and violently slammed her at the stage lights and blasted the scenery with a focused beam of light.

The wounded Irina crawled down and with whatever strength she had, she used a summoning circle to invoke the power of an Angel,summoning Ezekiel with her blood,anchoring him to her lifespan as the barrier rejected the presence of Angels from the was a suicide tactic - she was going to make herself a bomb as the mission had failed and it was the only thing left to do..And she fell down unconscious. She was bleeding profusely, her ribs were sticking out of her chest and she was dying of oxygen deprivation and shock. The pain was so great that she couldn't scream at all even if she wanted to,not even the drugs they used could fend off the pain despite their numbing after effects.

Ezekiel raised his arms and devoured the light from all of the corners in this closed space and threw the light spears away at Vali. The oxygen in the room burned by the presence of this holy instrument, the hydrogen in the air exploded in a massive chain engulfing the host of Albion in a large heatwave with everything burning down in colorless flames of mystical energy and miasma.

Vali crashed into the Angel and grabbed it by the arm,using it as a battering ram to destroy the roof and finish it off spread his wings and burned brightly with flames encircling both, Vali felt the heat through her armor and divided it's effect in half - she twisted her head halfway and bit the Angel through the neck, tearing through it's adam's apple and subsequently jumped behind it with her arms going through it's chest like a knife to split it in two.

It twisted it's neck and exhaled tainted miasma at her face,Lightning crackled through the skies onto the White Dragon Emperor with the barrier shattering like glass and making more room for Angels to assist it. It required the energy of the Miracle of Separation - it had switched from the first anchor to Xenovia in a selfish attempt to stomp down Vali and then kill whatever was left down there. He didn't care about the poor girl who summoned him,he just wanted to spread the name of the Lord and punish this transgression of divine law.

And he summoned a horde of heavenly beings at each side and declared, "Do not mingle where you must not,White Dragon Emperor! Stand aside or perish like the Heavenly Dragons had once ceased to exist!" with an authoritative monotonous voice, Ezekiel threatened to smite her if she should continue to mingle in their affairs. She was a wanted criminal to both the Devil kind and the Heavenly Host alike, she was an existence to be eradicated in the name of keeping the balance scale intact.

"Yeah,yeah. Shut the fuck up,i have to be home by 23:00. I'm just doing it for the lols,I'll fight God one day." with arrogance she hissed at the white clad beings through her faceplate, she was thrilled and annoyed by them so she raised her hand in the space around her and divided the electrons to produce a electric whip of electron clouds," i hope you have prepared a new skirt cause that one is so ugly! "

"You filthy heathen! You shall pay dearly for the sharpness of thy tongue. God forgives but also punishes so be wary of thine wrath,dirty lizard!" he growled. Angels brandished their blades of light and sieged her from every angle , leaving no space for her to run.

"Albion, that fuckin feather brain called you dirty!"

[ They seem to have a idiotic streak in them, Vali. Let's teach them a lesson. And I've heard everything - don't you go for the boy on my watch! ]

Back at the theater...

A mysterious old man with a well groomed bear and a cane to support himself went through the desolate remains of the room - everything was charred as coal,there was only rubble and dust in each corner of the room. A few fiery tongues were seen to burn indefinitely the remains of this once prosperous theater, the smell of scorching wood and metals could be traced in any way and for some unimaginable luck the two Executors were still alive,suffering 3rd degree burns, if not on the brink of death- Irina was still unconscious and bleeding so he took her first and urged the figure that entered the room after him to heal her. He took the liberty to snatch Xenovia from the other side - she was barely among the living with her protection at the last moment saving her but she was suffering unbearably from being drained by Ezekiel.

"These two are perfect! Prepare the operation table and the altar. We'll be having victory tonight." the old man happily exclaimed through the fabric that covered his face, protecting him from the toxic gases.

"I hope you know what you are doing, Valper. It was a good idea to hire Vali - the unsuspecting Azazel must be pissed. I can't wait to look at his stunned face when the war breaks out. We can't risk to make this plan a failure. " the other figure sprouted two pairs of black feathered wings and carried the comatose Irina in his arms. His black long hair framed his face with a grim warning of death and lunacy,his reddened eyes glowed like those of a cat, it was his superior vision that alowed him to spot the girls in the darkness.

"Don't worry. My associate shall make sure that everything's going smoothly. It's time, more will come so let's do this fast. "the Genocide Bishop Galliel Valper waved off his hand like it was something unimportant, his attitude was quite haughty but at the same time contradictory.

"What about that Saint? He's chained and won't even talk. "

"Don't worry, he'll be taken care of. Otherwise why would i be so calm? " he grabbed the bent Mimic and Durandal and both disappeared in a flash.

It was all a trap- he was actually in cahoots with Cardinal Giovanni and they had a deal. It entailed the prospect of Xenovia turning into a soulless killing machine under his command while Valper would be venerated as a Saint for his works in preventing the corruption of humanity. Both hated Devils and pagans, they believed the way the church is now is corrupted and wrong but their methods weren't the best, it was all in the means to avert something and gain power

At the other side of the room was Kiba Yuuto, garbed in the black suit he had used at the Rating Games against the peerage of Riser Phenex. He had heard everything; " Do you want revenge? I can help you with that- the theater is the place you must visit tonight. The rest you'll find out yourself " he had received a call from a mysterious individual earlier that day. At first he was reluctant and doubtful knowing it's a trap for which it was but he had this one lead to the Project. He knew if Excalibur wielding Executors were in this town,there was clearly a reason for it otherwise they wouldn't have been here. He had received a message concerning the reemergence of this wicked experiment not so long ago.

" It's time. The day for revenge has come upon you, Valper." and he faded away into the background.

XXX
20th August, church of ,Basement, 21:23 pm

Valper Galiel began the ritual; on two separate crosses Irina and Xenovia were nailed with bloodied iron binds to the palms,they were barely kept alive for the procedure despite their wounds being healed. Both were hanging on the crucifixes in a perverse variation of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ,upside down and dressed in white robes to emulate the process with crowns of thistles branding their foreheads with the stigmata appearing on their heads with blood.

It was the same room where Asia was tortured and raped by the lunatic Freed Sellzen,it was the very same space where her human life ended and where she began her life of freedom as a Devil. The red carpet was stained with blood, the torches burned with a green ethereal flame like the pits of traces there were of the mountain of corpses was cleared away, still there were the traces of the massacre that took place here; the windows were still shattered and for some reason it was quite windy.

It was brimming with Exorcists and Fallen Angels who were under the command of the Bishop. Some of them were holding their weapons while a portion of the mass was guarding the perimeter to ward off the expected arrival of any rescue team that may dare come to save the unfortunate girls. But to his knowledge, an Executor or two could be replaced so it wasn't much of a loss if the Vatican would lose two fighters only if they were normal - Xenovia was the Saint Quarta,Maiden of the Durandal while Irina was a natural born summoner with the ability to summon high-ranking Angels. Devils and Angels themselves couldn't use Summoning/Invocation to call forth others so they just had a familiar or could order lesser members of their races. Unlike them, most Humans had the innate ability to summon higher beings and used them as guardians for example a Witch or a Heavenly Summoner like Paladin Shidou.

"It is almost complete " with a stern tone the old Bishop exclaimed as he hummed to himself a cheerful melody. He placed his hand over the sword fragments that made up Excalibur Rapidly, Nightmare, Transparency and Destruction which he stole from various branches of the Church.

Excalibur Destruction used to be Saint Quarta's weapon before she was given the more efficient Durandal and was locked at a vault until it was stolen. There was no way to breach in unless someone granted them access.

Valper placed Excalibur Mimic in the center of the formation, akin to a cross as the shapeshifting properties of Mimic could bind them together and keep them from falling apart. The swords flew into the air before the blue haired Executor and started draining her from her Light Affinity as they required a spirit with enough holiness to merge back with Synthesis. She was still unconscious and she was dying as her life force was being devoured by the blades.

A black curved dagger flew up to the Exorcist, aimed at her chest to kill her in one go with the intention of ending her misery before the full completion of the reformed Excalibur had concluded. The blade was stopped midair by the effects of a light barrier in front of the Bishop Gallilei and exploded into a burst of reddish flames, knocking out some of the Exorcists in the front row.

"So the errant son has returned to the father. How surprising of you, Adam.I didn't expect you to have survived" the fat Bishop's voice echoed through the dark walls to the crowd. It was a wild guess given how he managed to escape and no body was found neither in the gas chamber nor in the woods 5 years ago in Germany.

No response was heard yet. Kiba was among the crowd masked as one of the priests, having killed a guard and taken his clothes to merge with the crowd unnoticed. He raised his Presence Concealment and struck at the right moment he thought. But it was for naught; he was going to be discovered soon when the missing body was found so he went through the masses with a small khyber knife, killing some of them before they even noticed.

[ 16-20 August ]

Kiba had avoided detection by the function of the Evil Piece, he had hidden himself under a lead and concrete bunker for a few days and nights and occasionally came out of hiding to confuse Rias by appearing in multiple locations. He had strolled through various places to find evidence only to be left dejected until he received a anonymous call from someone with based evidence.

[I know who you are and what you want the most. Listen carefully to what i have to say because it may be your only chance - the reason for the deployment of Excalibur wielders is as you guessed it... The Project... He's here with the Fallen and will try to fuse the swords back in order to spark a new war. I'll give you the coordinates- Kuoh Theatre, 20th August at night. ]

[How could i trust you? It's obviously a trap and how do you know this?]

[Because I'm always watching, everywhere. I hope you'll remember about me somehow, Adam. After all I'll give you a bonus- you're not the only survivor, Tosca is alive... Goodbye and good luck Yuuto Kiba. ]

In the following days he observed the actions of the two church dogs as he would call them; he suited up and tracked them down by their specific signature to the theater as per his information, waited for the aftermath of the battle judging by the roaring noise and overhead everything the Bishop said. It was just a matter of time before he reached the church where he saw horror incarnate in the face of the Shadow. He killed a guard and hid the body in close vicinity, masquerading as a priest he went in the once a holy abode,now ruins and mixed with the crowd.]

Yuuto charged forward like lightning to strike down the old man who tortured him so much, the one who ruined his life and ravaged his soul for his twisted up the black blade he created to combat the Holy attribute of Excalibur, he swung at the throat of this abhorred existence with all of his might. His sword clashed with the radiant barrier of light, shattering through it despite the aura of the now complete Excalibur bringing him pain and spitting blood,his whole body felt like it was ablaze with his blood boiling like water.

The priest held a blade of gold accents and a impossibly white edge of mystic steel in the form of a traditional sword. Sheer magnificence rivaling that of the original weapon, it was ornate as a ceremonial sword but yet a weapon of mass destruction. A foreign language to man was etched onto the length of this masterpiece with glowing blue runes of the original creator, venerated as the Lady of the Lake.

Valper extended his hand with the reforged blade and countered his assault, deflecting it by a slim chance and went to the offensive with a kick to push him back. He didn't get away unscathed - he spat more blood when he had taken enough distance from the renegade priest but his consciousness wouldn't let him run away and throw away everything he had fought for.

The priests attacked with a fierce offense - some took weapons while others fought with forbidden curses to restrain his movement. Yuuto pushed himself harder to spawn more blades with his weapons shaped like stakes flying over their heads and twisted back to stab them in various areas, killing or subduing most of them in the process.

"My,my what a bad boy you've grown to be. Is that the way to treat your parents? " Valper mockingly taunted the blonde boy with bringing up the past; Yuuto was adopted by the wicked man with others from a orphanage in Bremen and used them as material.

The Devil didn't respond with words,he brandished his blade and took a stance relying on his superior mobility to overpower his former caregiver and end this tragedy once and for all.
His body was jerking with agony, his face was contorted into a hideous mad visage of malignance with blood dripping from his mouth.

The old man happily obliged to this animosity with sheer pride over his results. Gallilei tapped into the aura of the sword of Arthur, switching to Rapidly for the attribute of speed and swung the blade in a circular manner akin to a buzzsaw. "Come and meet your maker,boy! Become the masterpiece i made you to be!"

Both charged at each other with metal singing a chorus of clanging sounds and fiery sparks from their contact of light versus darkness. They were eye to eye now, locked in a battle of attrition and dominance. One side pushed only for the other to respond accordingly. Thanks to the enhancements of the blade,Valper was able to keep up with Yuuto and even overpower him at a moment.
Despite his age, the elderly Gallilei proved tenacious and switched to Destruction to slam him through the wall by the sheer shockwave his sword produced, stunning him for a second enough to stab him in the shoulder and toss him aside into the dust outside.

[Matt 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.]
His voice echoed with divine power as the sinful wretch raised his sword with the attribute of Nightmare morphing it's blade into a sleek black scimitar made of horrid thorny bones, imitating the thistle crown of the Son of aura exploded into black tendrils of shadow matter, stripped down of their holiness to burn with the holy wrath of God.

Yuuto flexed his muscles, the stab in the shoulder amortized his whole hand with pain and coursing through his brain. The wound was burning, he could feel his stamina and vitality dropping by the minute until it was only a matter of time before he was lying on the ground, dead and battered. He only knew he had to destroy it no matter the cost- even if it meant certain death but atleast he would enact his revenge for which he had lived these 5 years.

XXX

"Where am i?" Kiba looked around and only saw the room where he used to live with the rest. And next to him was Tosca; she was looking at him with a sympathetic expression while she stood on the chair nearby.

"Home. " she answered shortly while she leaned forward on the chair. This girl was dressed in a plain black dress with a white colar and the usual shoes they were all given." Don't be so scared Adam. You just had a bad dream. It's okay now." she addressed his worries with a smile.

"It's not real. There's no way we're here. It's all a trick. " he touched his left pectoral and traced the buttons on his shirt. Nothing had changed, it was still the same. It looked exactly as it was left- the white walls,the unmade beds and the wooden floor he couldn't forget. It was all brimming with forgotten memories of the past,his previous life and identity were there all along.

"Is it now, Addy? Just look around you", Tosca sighed with frustration, " how could you forget? That hit to your head must have caused you amnesia. "

"There's no way this is real. What time is it? " confused by everything around him,Kiba reluctantly came closer to the black haired girl and touched her wrist - it felt real,it was real to his senses but he was sure it was just a dream.

"It's 21st December, 2010. Did you forget that Christmas is in 4 days? My,you don't thinking this is real,do you Addy?" she gave him a light chuckle as she stood and went to hug him. Her heart was beating faster than usual yet her embrace felt so warm he could forget everything for a moment and rest for a while.

"You were always a sucker for maternal embrace, weren't you, Adam?" her voice changed to a masculine one, similar to the voice of an old man with it's raspy timbre and power.

He felt pain. Burning pain entrapped his whole body with flames of scorching heat, enough to make him puke blood and spasm over. Yuuto took another look with his horrified eyes only to register the Genocide Bishop having lodged his weapon deep into his abdomen, he was joyous and chiding.

"Even you can't help but fall prey to an illusion of the one you love,isn't that right? I knew about your feelings for her ever since i took you in. She's dead alright. " under his breath, the fat man muttered his own sentiment of disappointment with amusement combined as he pushed his blade further into the stomach of the blonde Devil. "You'll make great material to work with. You were my favourite for a reason, you know that?"

The duo was surrounded by a squad of servants with anti-demonic crests chanting a sealing ritual to bind his limbs with chains in unison. Kiba fell to the ground like a dead horse with his hand losing it's grip on the projected blade. His legs couldn't support him anymore under the brutish raw power of his dreadful foe's sword, hurting him even more so than he could take. He was a Devil after all.

The old man dragged away the boy by the colar, his strength was sufficient enough to support himself and the sword despite his need for air,he trotted with a heavy step towards the hole in the wall. His entourage stood behind him with their weapons raised up high, seals and barriers of light were erected from the ground in the shape of a dome to ensure a safe passage for their leader to continue from where he was interrupted.

A crunching noise echoed through the premises of the church, it was loud and disturbing like the rattle of broken bones and metal clanging. A dreadful presence of the worst vices came booming from the opposite direction with enough flair to distress the evil Exorcists by it's own malicious felt like a natural disaster coming their way but not in the mind of their leader.

He forgot for a moment about his new toy and graciously turned around to greet the person he thought had returned, either Kokabiel or Vali but it felt more like the latter.
"I see you have dealt with the problem,miss Vali. I am grateful for your kindness in having taken our proposal. " with a arrogant smile he addressed the being in the shadows.

"Not quite. Yeah, i did take care of them anyway so let's begin with you. " stepping forward from the shadows a young man with a knife revealed himself only for the Bishop to fall into despair. It was beyond his belief to process what was happening,it was something beyond this world could ever contain despite it's vastness.

" You!..."

"Yeah,me." and everything faded into darkness.

XXX

Xenovia and Irina were lying motionless on the marble crosses with their limbs nailed to them by some wretched magic, still unconscious and drained of appeared that Ezekiel's anchoring was dispelled by the White One's onslaught above the burning theater, in the process saving their lives indirectly from the horrid drain used to support the Angel inside the barrier.

It was noisy outside as the screams of the unfortunate fools who dared to get in the way were being ripped through their lungs with utmost care to ensure they suffered enough. While inside, it was just peaceful if it could be said in this situation - it was just the two girls and no one else. Well that would be a great occasion if it weren't for a single figure in a black dress with what appeared to be Devil wings leaning towards the two girls with a pensive look.

She scrutinized their bodies to determine the severity of their wounds- one couldn't walk with her damaged legs while the other one was damaged as well. They looked deathly pale as if the life was sucked out of their bodies, their heads were adorned with a bloody crown of thorns that dripped blood on the floor. It was an perverse sight to behold, they were definitely tortured to speed up the ritual process of extraction. And to it's curiosity there were stigmata on both of their foreheads and on their limbs in imitation of the wounds suffered by Him.

"You poor thing... Just look at what they did to you - used,hurt and discarded with no hope of survival. You see, this is what they did to me as well. I didn't know anything because of their lies and deceit. But not anymore. " the figure rose up and took a step back to prepare something from it's pocket but before that uttered something in a dead language no one would have understood if they were present.

Xenovia's binds loosened, the reddened nails were telekinetically removed from the palms of her hands and from the side of her legs and dropped body was rotated back into it's proper posture with her head upwards and her wounds being healed spontaneously with a green glow.

"That is better. Time to wake up now, Saint Quarta. We have work to do." the voice had an inhuman vibe to it's timbre like that of a possessed individual's Devilish tongue other than being more gentle and authoritative, swirling with power and utmost respect.

"Hm,what to do with this girl then? She's a friend of hers so should i save her? Well it wouldn't hurt but first to finish things here." before it could proceed with what was planned, an unexpected guest arrived to spoil the fun.

"So you finally have revealed yourself it seems. It has been a while since we have met,haven't we?" a tall robed figure sprouted from the darkness, knitting it's self from black flames and shadows that gathered underneath the black robe that obscured it's face from view into a vague humanoid shape.

The other one wasn't surprised at all. It was like expected to happen so no worry or fear was present, only hostility and rage flared up in a dark aura as chains of blue hellfire pierced through the space behind her. "To whom do i owe this pleasant surprise? " with a chiding tone she answered but prepared her chains to strike it down.

"I haven't come to fight; i just wanted to congratulate you on your awaited return. " it answered with respect and courtesy but the air around was thick as black miasma started to linger and ooze behind it in the form of black flames. "And no need to ask; after all we both know who we are - isn't that right",it cackled, "Asia Argento or should i say the Twilight Maiden?" in a distorted voice it tried to make her feel uncomfortable but she responded with the same courtesy as it did.

"If not to fight, then for what hat thou came here at this hour?" with a raised brow Asia looked at it's face and made a surprised look," I didn't expect it to be you, the one who burned down the one place i called some royalty you are you're quite the lazy one, aren't you Earl? There's no way I'd mistake your palid face,you grave robber!" the room was engulfed by a dark light by the power of her voice.

"So you can perceive me even though the World can't? That is quite the frightening power you have there. And don't blame me for the fire that burned down that orphanage, "the Earl calmly retorted with some flair,"That place was infested by this Devil lot, those children were possessed by that trash! You could say i saved you by appearing that day and you unlocked your power that evening in a flash,engulfing the building with flames. After all, only you two survived. Maybe i should have killed you that day so you wouldn't have awoken and get in our way. But sooner or later you will understand that you can't save anyone despite being born for that reason. "

"But you couldn't even if you wanted so. I don't know how you accomplished to pass through the veil and manifest here but it won't be for long - because you will lose just like the first time. " Asia moved a bit forward and stared at it's hidden face with a prideful gaze," You cannot beat them nor could you take his place... After all you're just a lowly being that got trapped and served a human for not so long. "

"Isn't it quite ironic; the one who was venerated as a Saint was actually nothing more than a Witch. I can't wait to see you fail miserably in what you're trying to pull off. " he giggled with his surreal voice, dualistic and admonished. The Earl swung his arm as the darkness erased any presence of his identity. " It is a good thing you stopped time for us to have this chat. But you should hurry before someone sees you. " and he faded away from existence. Only then did she lower her chains.

" That fuckin bastard! Now i won't have enough time to keep this up. Let's get on with it."

she ignored the threats and did what she had to.

Asia removed Irina's constraints and let her fall to the ground slowly and knelt before Xenovia with a Bishop Piece hovering above the palm of her hand. Yet it was emitting a different aura than the original one with some Latin scriptures among it's surface and time was running out; both the time limit of the barrier and Xenovia's life were in jeopardy. She pressed the Evil Piece into her chest and several modified seals glowed above the girl like a clockwork mechanism,ticking and rearranging back and forth with chains sinking into her body.

" First let's break you enough for this thing to work at full capacity."

Asia theorized the compatibility of her sister with the Evil Piece she snatched away from the floor that night at the lobby after the Rating Games ended. She showed signs of energy drain and she was left with almost to none Holy element in her being, it was wrung out of her almost till the last drop of it was used in the merging of the sword of King Arthur.

The piece accepted her as it's compatible host and morphed her physique, erasing the damage done to her soul and body in a flash. It was easier to do so per the modifications done to the devilish tool plus it had some hidden code within it to make it appear she was just a normal human, the species lock was removed so it was easier to hide her wings and be left in the dark.

It was what she aimed for.[Boot up Evil Piece:Bishop 03 Custom calibration: host found. Species Lock:Demi-Devil. Restart.] Xenovia regained her previous vitality as blood rushed through her body and returned her previous complexion. She regained a healthy look and barely through squinted eyes, Xenovia looked around to see Asia in front of her with glowing arms and she hushed to her "Sleep". And she complied.

"My work is done. I'll let the others handle the situation while I'll get the spoils" she levitated the body of the blue haired Executor and placed it again on the crucifix while imitating the wounds with an optical illusion. She left Irina as she was and dissappeared, letting time flow back to normal. Only a few seconds had passed in the real world while 15 minutes had passed since time froze in the church. She left for a place unknown, most likely to Rias's side not to arouse suspicion.

XXX

Exorcists were being cut down left and right in a circular manner with a burning knife of gray steel of some unknown metal. The young man dashed up close to one of the garbed priests and grabbed the colar of his cassock with a terrifying grip, raising the poor bastard in the air only to break his spine with his knee. Blood gushed like a fountain, spraying his face with the warm liquid of the now dead man. He showed no emotion whatsoever; only a unmoving face of a man who had killed too much things to say he cared about the count. And it equaled from the most wretched beings to the ugliest evil he could see,human and paranormal respectively.

Another one came to attack him with a oversized demonic scythe of green and black. It was most likely stolen from a vault of confiscated weapons by the Vatican's special section; The 12th Holy Battalion, the same squad that Saint Lucca belonged to.

This foolish girl attempted to slice his head off in a clean swing only to suffer from his comeback - blocking the scythe with his knife, the man in dark clothes spun to the other side straight to her her back, swung his left arm to her neck and crushed her throat with ease just with a simple squeeze of his elbow. She dropped the scythe in her attempt to breathe, it was so painful she felt like she was dying constantly from the monstrous choke he had used on her. He grabbed the scythe from the ground and rammed it through her chest to kill her quickly in an act of mercy. He killed fast so they wouldn't suffer much, almost painlessly.

Upon slicing through the neck of the 3rd unholy servant, he attacked by 3 others with demonic blades of miasma and shadows. They ganged up on him, swinging their weapons in three directions in what appeared to be a impossible to dodge strike. Their weapons engulfed the space around him before they had cleaved him into pieces and suddenly a holy aura unleashed hell upon them.

Two white wings of splendor ripped through his back in an attempt to get some distance; only were they just for show. They bathed the area with holy radiance as he turned around and with a brutal spin slapped their heads off their bodies with fountains of blood bursting through the dark glimmer of the moon. Though his wings suffered damage and the devilish aura of the scythe clashed with the brilliant light of his wings.

He retracted his wings back into his shoulder blades and a second pair of black demonic wings ruptured through the holes of his suit with them stretching out with blood on them. It wasn't the most pleasant process but it came with the power he had.

"Just die already!" screamed a maddened black armor clad underling who appeared to be the ringleader of the lesser priests, judging by his clothing and weapons. He unsheathed the vile blade he carried from his scabbard and took a stance,relying on mobility and swiftness to overpower this unholy mix of dark and light. He ushered an incantation and summoned a heap of Stray Devils of the worst kind with a special ring to control them. Bloodbath was about to ensue tonight.

The remaining assailants rushed towards him in one final suicide attack to slow him down enough for their comander to finish the job. They were indoctrinated zealots who believed it was for the greater good if not for their own desire for power. Seals manifested on their heads with a ticking mechanism and a closed off barrier to entrap this monster that came out of nowhere. They ran and ran- they fell to the ground one by one, struck by the bullets of a Colt 1911a1 Navy from the back side of the man. Then a couple of more fell as the other fighter swung a Benneli M4 Super 90 and ripped through the horde of bodies, riddled with bloody holes from the gun fight. And a explosion followed afterwards.

" Never bring a sword to a gun fight, my boy." from the back emerged Arthur as he fixed his hat and gave a look at the scared commander. He began loading the gun for another was all in their prediction - Azazel was acting as intel gathering while the other two men were cleaning the city of whatever ravenous monster there was. Never to be seen,never to be recognized by anyone in the World for they didn't exist - the World had removed all traces of their existence, they weren't written in as human even though they were. Even Heaven couldn't track them with their best dogs.

"At-attack... Charge!" the other side hissed at the Strays and they began their retaliation.

"You should rest a bit,young lad. You don't have enough demonic energy neither holy to use for this moment. I'll handle this,you go take a bite after i finish." tipping his hat, Arthur gave him a serious look and from within his trench coat he pulled out another gun and took a step forward, "Tend to the doctor. I'll handle this one." he gave Castor a command to part ways while he could; the old man was about to bring havoc and slip the dogs of war.

XXX