Answers to reviewers statements or questions

To Everyone: Pierce won't make it Canon in this story! I might make another story where he is in Canon but I don't want to make any promises I can't keep. I don't really know how to include Pierce into Canon, so until I finish A Minor Tale and get inspiration, Canon will have to wait. By the way, Pierce will get longevity (what kind? You're going to need to read to find out) and that's pretty obvious all things considered. A world where an entire race can live 10,000 years but the main character doesn't? I like taking a realistic approach to fictional stories but not that much.

HiragaSaito16: Nope, mine definitely isn't the best but I'm happy for your high praise. The harem will include Melissa, Maven, Athena (obviously) and another 2 that I will say when it becomes obvious...well that was the plan but Grayfia wasn't one of them and now I'm on the fence. I agree, too many and the story becomes cluttered and that's why I was going to stop at 5 women. I'm never going to make a chapter solely on dates or spending time with them, but too many will still feel uncomfortable. I don't really care for Milicas (I'm not emotionally invested in the character) so having Grayfia in the harem is based on how I'm feeling honestly. If you want her then said so in the reviews if not then I'll decide another day.

Flamingp0tat0: He doesn't. Sirzechs just calls them his kids because they are his choir. Like how a teacher will call his students his "kids".

Hashirama1710: He's 16 physically. Mentally he's 38 (you know, because he has his memory of his past life as a 22 year old). You'll need to read to see if he stays human.


Chapter 23: The Good, the Bad, and the Gray

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD but I wonder if Ichiei made a will and decided who DxD will go to when he dies. I own the OCs. Maybe I should write a will and have A Minor Tale given to my kids.

Speech - "Hey, I'm Pierce."

Thoughts - 'I'm dead.'

Spells - "Jumon"


Belhor, Major's House

Advice is a funny thing. You could ask for it or you can give it out to others. The only requirement is that the one giving advice needs to have experience in the topic at hand. Of course you can give advice on a topic you have no real experience with, say for example relationships, and most of the time common sense is the way to go. So naturally, when you ask someone on how you should react when meeting an anime character there's no real answer.

Why? Because no one has ever had the pleasure of meeting a fictional character so they have no advice to give (if they have then that's a whole different conversation). Since there has been no precursor, you could only assume your reaction once meeting a long loved anime character. Maybe you would react like someone meeting a famous person on TV, maybe you would act cool about it or you would completely fan girl over them with heart shaped hearts. Moral of the story, there are a lot of ways you could react when meeting a fictional character and some aren't the ways you want to make a good first impression.

Calling Grayfia out on her being an obvious copy of the time controlling, knife wielding maid may not have been the best choice.

'...It was still worth it.' I sat on a chair; rubbing the cheek that was hit by the silver haired Devil (she didn't hit me that hard, it was just surprising. I was expecting a "what?" at best). Grayfia was bowing in front of me and Jack was standing in the corner, observing the odd situation.

"I am very sorry for my actions. I…honestly have no idea why I did that." Grayfia apologized for her "sudden impulse" and I narrowed my eyes.

"So you don't know who Sakuya is?" Grayfia shook her head at my question.

"No, I have never heard of that name before." Grayfia was equally confused by her reaction and I could see that on her face. Choosing not to poke the universal anime laws any further, I let it go and asked her if she was the reinforcement. "Yes, Lord Belial sent me to help you track down the rest of the Exorcists."

"…But why? Don't you know Lord Belial is backing out of your faction?" I don't know what possessed me to ask that and Grayfia's nod only made me more confused. "Then why would you help him? Don't get me wrong, your help is welcome, but it doesn't make sense." My decision to question beings that are stronger than me will probably get me in trouble one day but today must not be that day as Grayfia smiled.

"Because Lord Belial and his clan are still Devils. My clan may serve the Lucifer's and their descendants but all Devils could be considered his children. So it is my role to protect the ones who can't protect themselves and allow all Devils to thrive in the Underworld." She said this all with such heartfelt words that I had no witty comeback and Jack was shocked.

'…Huh, I guess she was already like this before marrying Sirzechs.' I tilted my head in question. "And how do your masters feel about that sentiment?"

"They're…less than amused."

"Really? And they don't try to forcefully change your mind?"

"I would like to see them try." Grayfia smirked and I snorted.

'Right, strongest being from the Old Satan Faction besides Rizevim and that spoiled brat that probably makes someone wipe his ass for him.' I stood up, patting off the nonexistent dust on my shirt and held out my hand. "Welcome aboard." Grayfia firmly shook my hand. "Oh yeah, this is Jake." Introducing my temporary partner in crime, we got to work planning the Exorcist's next steps. They obviously wouldn't remain in the cove (if they did then I would feel very stupid for not checking) and try to attack some other officials in another town. The question was which one and if they choose to ignore some for others. I already asked which town was closest to here and it was some placed called Filihel.

"So they're moving on foot?" Grayfia asked for confirmation, to which I nodded. "Then we can catch up with my Pale Horse." Jack was visibly shocked at that.

"Y-You have a Pale Horse as a Familiar?!"

"What's that?" I asked and Jack said they came from Cocytus, the deepest part of the Underworld. They have incredible speed, being able to jump through ports in space and are quite difficult to capture. "Cool, let's get going then."

"I'll wait in front of the building, Silver doesn't like cramped spaces." Grayfia walked to the door and gave her an odd look.

"Silver? Really? Isn't that kind of unorigi-" I stopped once I remembered the name I gave my Familiar. My green, rabbit Familiar. "…Nevermind."

"…You suck at names too don't you?" Jack deadpanned.

"No one was talking to you!" Jack chuckled at my outburst and Grayfia smiled before leaving.

"I have to say; today's been a real eye opener."

"What do you mean?"

"Just…this and how you act even though we're from different species." Jack explained with a smile. "It's nice to meet a human who doesn't care about our past and willingly helps us, thank you."

'…Damn, now I feel like a greedy asshole.' I scratched the back of my head as I thought of my reasons for doing this. Granted I told Jack about the reward, his high evaluation made me uncomfortable. I was not that noble.

"And Miss Grayfia was not what I was expecting. I've heard of her but it seems like most of the stories were…exaggerated."

"…You sure are blunt aren't you?"

"Sorry, Mephisto likes to talk in circles a lot." Jack apologized and I waved away his worries. We walked outside and saw Grayfia petting a large, silver (of course) horse. It's mane was made of white flames and its hide shinned like crystals. If I didn't feel the deathly aura it was emitting, I would have assumed the horse was of a holy origin. Grayfia told us to hop on and so we did, the silver haired Devil patting the Pale Horse.

Giving a large huff, the Familiar started running in the direction of the next town, slowly getting faster and faster. The surroundings quickly became a blur as Belhor got farther away and the next moment a portal appeared right in front of us. The horse then jumped in it.


The Dimensional Gap

All that I could see was a cornucopia of colors in every direction, like looking through a kaleidoscope (I've never actually looked through one but it was the best I could compare it too). There was nothing in the sea of colors that would catch my interest but I was speechless nonetheless and Jack shared my awe. A barrier protected us from the "nothingness" of the Gap as the Pale Horse trotted along without a road to run on.

"What the fuck!?" I made my first point clear. Grayfia must have found my reaction funny since she chuckled.

"Pale Horse's can open portals and navigate through the Dimensional Gap to reach other places without obstruction. If the rumors are to be believed, the Holy Sword Caliburn was created with the Pale Horse's innate ability in mind." Grayfia calmly explained her Familiar's ability and its connection with the legendary Sword in the Stone.

"So what's the difference between having a Pale Horse and Caliburn?"

"The Pale Horse can only go into the Dimensional Gap once a day since it takes up so much energy. They typically reside in Cocytus and it's a barren land with nothing but ice, so they use this ability to go somewhere habitable to eat. A person using Caliburn can go into the Dimensional Gap multiple times and the creators made it so few barriers can stop the Holy Sword's space powers."

"Ah…" I nodded at Grayfia's explanation and it made sense for the most part. The majority of human made artifacts or spells were created by mimicking supernatural beings. Caliburn was an improvement on the Pale Horse's teleportation ability along with the power to emit an immense amount of Holy aura and incredible sharpness. We kept moving along and I looked around in all directions, remembering something really important.

"What are you looking for?" Jack noticed my actions and asked.

'A blacked haired loli in a goth outfit or a big ass red lizard who acts like a delinquent.' Not saying this out loud (and remembering how stupid a world I was in), I stopped looking around since I didn't find either. "Nothing, just seeing if anything actually lives here." Grayfia shook her head at my comment.

"Only beings protected by magic could go into the Dimensional Gap and that's just going in. There are no true creatures that originate from here beside the Ouroboros Dragon."

"…And she's where exactly?" I subtly (not really) asked where Ophis was.

"She?" Grayfia frowned at the label. "Who told you the Dragon God was a woman?"

"Is she not?"

"The Dragon God is an old man." She corrected and I blinked.

'Oh right, shape shifter.' I guess Ophis hasn't changed from an old man to the little girl form yet. 'I wonder why she did that though. Was that the form of an old friend? Or did she change without really thinking about it?' Those questions swirled in my head and they had to be answered another day because a portal appeared in front of us. We went through it and ended up in an open field, there was a road in front of us that lead to a large town. Grayfia's Pale Horse looked visibly taxed and she gave it something to eat.

"We're here, that's Filihel." Grayfia petted her familiar before sending it back from where it came from.

"…That took like 2 minutes…"

"You sound disappointed." Grayfia raised a brow at my tone and I sighed.

"It's not that, it's just…that was my first time in the Dimensional Gap and it was so…"

"Boring?" Jack said.

"…Well yeah!" I exclaimed while waving my hands. Don't get me wrong it was really cool and I would definitely take another trip through it but that was uneventful as hell! 'I mean I wasn't expecting some grand battle in a realm of infinite nothingness or anything like that but seriously, that was a pleasant stroll at best!' "Let's just go." Sighing, I walked ahead with the two confused Devils and approached the town.

The walk over was quiet enough with only Jack asking what they would do if the Exorcists didn't head here. I just said we would wait until an incident happened and follow the trail from there, if there was a trail to be picked up. While it wasn't the most elaborate plan it was the best I could come up with the limited information at hand. Though I had the feeling we were in the right place. Why?

"Halt! State your business!" Because a bunch of soldiers called us out when we approached the town gate and they did not look friendly. They quickly surrounded us and a guard with fancier looking armor came forward to face us. He looked us over for a second before narrowing his eyes at me.

'Oh I smell a misunderstanding.' I idly thought as the head guard unsheathed his sword and pointed at me.

"He's human." The man said that with so much anger that I didn't need to read his aura to know how pissed off he was and the other guards were of the same mind. They slowly closed in on us and I held up my hands in surrender.

"Now hold on, let's just take a breather here." I spoke in the gentlest tone I could muster and the guards stopped. "Great, now can someone explain the reason for the hostility?" I already had an idea on why though.

"A group of Exorcists attacked this town and they caused a lot of damage before escaping. You wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?" The Head Guard asked sarcastically and I deadpanned.

"Do you not see the 2 Devils right next to me?" I pointed to Grayfia and Jack to make my point but the guard was not appeased.

"They're the only reason we haven't attacked you yet."

"Look we were hired by Lord Belial to hunt down those Exorcists; if you could let us in and show us where they attacked we can follow their trail…probably." I gave my offer and the guard thought heavily about it. A minute passed as he stayed in deep thought before speaking.

"Do you have a letter of authenticity from Lord Belial himself?" I nodded at his question and was about to rub my space ring to take out Lord Belial's Edict but the guard stopped me. "Give me your storage ring, I'll check myself."

"Come on man, reall- Alright, alright!" I stopped my complaint when the guards pointed their spears closer and I tossed the ring over to the head guard. If what their auras were telling me was correct, I alone was strong enough to beat these men not to mention the powerhouse that was Grayfia next to me. But I didn't want to do that, they were just attacked and had to be extra careful around strangers, especially human ones (besides using your strength to manhandle those weaker than you is a dick move).

The Head Guard rubbed the space ring and his consciousness was sent inside to see through my stuff (that's how a space ring works). We sat there in silence as the Devil tried to find Lord Belial's Edict and after a minute he did indeed take something out. But it wasn't their Lord's edict.

It was a Light Sword I took from one of the Exorcists.

'…Bitch.' I internally cursed as the guard's glared in my direction after seeing the very recognizable weapon. "Um…that's not mine?"

"Is that so?" The Head Guard rhetorically said and dropped the Light Sword.

"Actually I stole that from a priest after beating him up so it's technically not mine…I'm not helping my case am I?" The guard's slowly closed in on us. "You don't want to do this." They didn't stop. "The Edict really is in there just chec-"

A guard lunged at me so I dodged the attack, maneuvering around him and placing him a choke hold. Ignoring his effort to struggle, I looked around and gave the other guards a grave look. "Last chance." They also lunged forward and I tossed the guard I was holding towards them, knocking them down like dominos. I punched a guard back that tried to attack me from the side and ducked under the sweep of another, punching him in the gut. I Chi Burst to the side when a Devil guard came from above and caught the blade of the Head Guard with two Chi coated hands. Kneeing him in the stomach, I grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and tossed him through the gate. Leaning back, I dodged two guard's attacks and grabbed them both by their heads, smashing them together. I tossed the two unconscious guards to the side and saw the rest of the guards were taken care of by my companions. The Head Guard wobbly stood up from the destroyed gate and glared at us.

"Look man, let's just talk about th-" I caught a spear that the guard threw at me and frowned. "Hey! I've been nice and haven't killed any of your men so can we jus-" I was interrupted once again as dozens of Devils flew from the city and some landed, helping the beaten Head Guard up.

"Sir what are your orders?" One Devil spoke and the Head Guard pointed over to us with his bloodied hand (oh come on! I didn't even hit him that hard!). The message was clear.

"…So what now?" Jack asked as even more Devil's from the city came to fight. I sighed.

"Try not to kill anyone." I activated Touki and stepped forward to face the Devils. I only said try since some things were unavoidable. They did start this after all. "And for the record, I did try to avoid this cliché! But no, you had to be allergic to talking this through and went guns first! I like a good fight as much as the next guy but this all could have been avoided! I'm trying to get paid out here and you're getting in the way so fuck you; you generic, unimportant, trigger happy side character!" With my rant finished, I breathed heavily and everyone looked at me like I was crazy.

"…What is wrong with you?" The Head Guard said what was on everyone's mind.

"…I know how long you guys live and it won't be enough time to go through the whole list." I deadpanned but no one reacted. "Oh let's just fight already."

Then they charged at us.


Olympus, Training Grounds

"Ha!" Melissa gave out a yell as she clashed blades with Vargas. The spirit inheritor easily pushed her back but she was quickly on him, slashing at him multiple times. Vargas parried the majority of the attacks but he was surprised when shadow arms popped out from Melissa's back. Holding their own shadow daggers, Vargas had to kick his game up as he attacked with six limbs. Moving with grace that really didn't match his frame, Vargas cut off two of Melissa's shadow arms before he was kicked in the face with a Chi coated foot. Even for a defense type combatant like Vargas that kick hurt, his nose bled and he reached out with his hand.

"Leucaspidem sanctus est sanguis!" A white shield with a bloody cross on it appeared and blocked Melissa's shadow daggers. She jumped back in surprise as the shield emitted a dense holy aura and obliterated her shadows.

"Hey! You said you wouldn't use your Odes!" Melissa huffed in anger and Vargas sweat dropped.

'So you can use your powers but I can't use mine?' Vargas thought in mirth before Adrian's voice rang out.

"Vargas was to incapacitate you in the least costly way possible. Using his stronger Odes like his Templars or Avatar is a bit much but that shield is fine." Adrian sat on the side observing the two parties members spar.

"What's the point in doing that though? Shouldn't we just go all out at the beginning to quickly defeat our enemy? That's what my clan members taught me."

"But what happens when you use up too much energy and have to fight another, possibly stronger, enemy?" Adrian took Melissa's silence as his point getting across. "You should only use the necessary amount of strength to take out an enemy and leave yourself in good condition for more surprises. Overkill if you must but only do it when you're sure there are no more enemies around."

"Besides this teaches you something." Vargas added on the side.

"And what's that?"

"That being physically or magically stronger than your opponent doesn't guarantee victory." In hindsight, while Vargas had greater strength and durability then Melissa, she was faster. Not to mention her shadow manipulation gave her the versatility to be a very annoying opponent. It was Vargas' careful use of his strength and his battle experience that allowed him to trump over the Yokai. "Unless the disparity is very wide, the one who can fight better is the one who will win. Even if they are weaker." Melissa thought on their words as Adrian stood up.

"Alright, if you're finished Melissa, I would like to spar against Vargas." Adrian said this is all with a smile as he took out his God made sword, it shone brightly with his sun powers. Hephaestus made the sword to smoothly channel large amounts of sunlight and the compatibility would only grow stronger with every usage.

"Sure. I've been meaning to break in my new weapon." Vargas also gave a feral smile as he took out the Sword of Damocles. He barely felt its weight as he twirled the large holy sword in his hand.

'…Men…' Melissa rolled her eyes at both team members' bloodlust. While both had pretty pragmatic attitudes and calm personalities, they were both warriors at heart. They reveled in a good fight and would grow excited overtime. The Shadow Yokai didn't understand the appeal (not to mention her already sore body), so she left the training grounds and didn't react when a loud noise rang out behind her. A shockwave went outwards and she could feel the heat between the two warrior's light based attacks clashing. Ignoring the sounds of the battle, Melissa made her way down the halls of Mount Olympus and reached Maven's room. With her hope rewarded and the time given to them until the Generals come back, the mage went back to locating where her mother was. She trapped herself in her room since this morning and Melissa chose this moment to check up on her. Knocking on the door, Melissa waited for a minute before gently pushing the door open. "Hello? Maven? You in here?" She peeked inside the room to see Maven surrounded by a mountain of obscure magic books and scrolls. '…Where does she get them all?'

"…" Maven didn't seem to notice Melissa's entry and focused on the scroll in her hand. Walking next to a small pile that was separated from the rest, Melissa picked up the book lying on top and read the cover (Pierce gave her the Magical Languages for Dummies so she can read basic magical words).

Eldritch Vision from the Abyss

Blinking, Melissa saw that the cover of the book seemed to be made of glossy skin from some unknown creature. The small pile contained similar magic texts like The Wrong One's Speech or The Crying Truth. One book even had tentacles wrapped around i- '…Are they twitching?' Yes, the tentacles were indeed twitching.

"Those are Eldritch Spells." Maven answered the Yokai's unasked question and caused her to jump in surprise. "They are from a clan of weird monsters that use illusion magic to make regular humans go completely mad." Melissa placed the book down after that and slowly backed away from the pile.

"So why do you have them?"

"They are also known for making prophecies and divinations."

"Ah…" Seeing why the mage had them, Melissa looked at the rest of the books and they were all on divinations or tracking. Whatever Maven was holding was some level of magic that Melissa's basic knowledge couldn't understand but it looked important. The Yokai sat down next to the mage and picked up a book to read, joining Maven in her search. Silence reigned in the room as both women sat there reading and both waited for the other to speak.

"…"

"…"

"…Melissa?" Maven finally broke and spoke.

"Hm?"

"Can you even understand any of that?" Maven watched as Melissa looked at her (advanced) scroll and rolled it over multiple times before speaking.

"Not a word." She said that with such honesty that Maven couldn't be mad (she wouldn't get mad anyway). "But it's the thought that counts!"

The mage chuckled at the Yokai's answer and felt a warm feeling in her chest. She knew Melissa wanted to help find her parents and that meant a lot since the majority of the people at her school just told her to accept their deaths. If she had, then she would have never tried to find the Mirror of Isis, which Simon knew about and found. Then she would have gone her whole life accepting her parents were gone. She may have chosen to do something else with her life than join Adrian's party and then she would have never met…

"What do you think Pierce is doing right now?" Maven asked, remembering the main reason she now had help in finding her parents.

"Probably something stupid." Melissa said this without skipping a beat and Maven chuckled at the mean, but spot on assumption. "Or he's doing something that's confusing someone and enjoying it."

"…That's specific."

"Am I wrong?"

"…" Maven had no retort.

"Why are you so interested in Pierce all of sudden huh?" Melissa smirked at how red Maven's face got.

"I-I was just wondering if he e-enjoyed my lunchbox." Maven gave a lackluster excuse but Melissa just smiled.

"He did, that guy will eat anything you give him." Melissa selectively ignored how she was the same way. "He'll be back soon enough."

"You're not worried about him?"

"Of course I am but sitting around, thinking about what could happen isn't productive." Maven was impressed by Melissa's attitude. "Besides, if he dies, he'll just end up in the Underworld anyway, so I'll know where to find him!" There it is. Melissa saw Maven's deadpanned face and laughed, saying she was joking.

"You still shouldn't joke about that…" Maven shook her head.

"Oh it'll be fine; he's strong enough to do what he needs and get back without harm, it won't be long before he returns."

"I hope you're right…"

"Of course I'm right, now come on! Sitting in here won't help you find your parents!" Melissa grabbed Maven and pulled her towards the door.

"Where are we going?"

"Adrian gave me the contact information of his broker and we're going to meet him. Maybe he'll have something we can work with." Melissa explained as she led the mage out in the direction of the meeting spot. Maven could only shake her head in amusement. Being dragged along by the Yokai, she chose to stop thinking about the dangers Pierce may find in the Underworld. He's been in the Underworld for a couple of hours at best. He can't possibly get in too much trouble in such a short time period.

Right?


Underworld, Filihel

Burnt houses littered the city as Devils dragged the wounded and dead from the debris. Blood was everywhere as not a single inhabitant was spared from the attack and soldiers with bandages kept a lookout for further attacks. Grayfia, Jack, and I walked along the street to see the damages the Exorcists caused to this small town. The Head Guard followed along (after being bandaged) and was apologizing profusely.

"I'm very, very sorry for my actions! I should have been calmer and listened to you! I'm ver-"

"I told you it's fine, so stop apologizing already. You were just doing your job." This was the third time I told him it was fine but he kept saying sorry. After beating down all the soldiers, I found my space ring and took out the Edict to show them we were legit. Their embarrassed faces when they realized their mistake honestly made me a little less angry about the whole thing. Then we were invited inside the city and any lasting anger over being unreasonably attacked vanished. The town was a mess and the countless wounded made the guard's paranoia very reasonable. I stopped when we were passing a building that looked like an inn and saw an injured kid. His leg cut off and he was being cradled by his mother while a soldier healed the injury that had a holy aura. I could feel my rage increase from seeing that and I clenched my fist so hard, they became a little pale. 'Those pieces of absolute fuckin-'

"Pierce." Jack called out and grabbed my shoulder. "You okay?" I silently stared at the scene before turning around.

"No, I'm not." Enforcers of God's mercy my ass. I'm many things but disabling a kid like that just because he's a Devil is not okay. Promising to bring as much pain as possible to the Stray Exorcists when I find them, we were brought to a large mansion that was partly totaled.

"This is where they escaped." The Head Guard explained how the Exorcists attacked the middle of town and attacked everything in sight before reaching here. They didn't kill the official (who was currently somewhere else in hiding), so they were swallowed by the shadows and escaped the city heading somewhere east. "That was all our sensors could get before they got too far away. We couldn't follow them because…well you know." He motioned towards the destroyed town and I nodded.

"Thank you for the help, we'll try to catch up to them before they can cause anymore damage."

"Please." The Head Guard only said this as he turned around to help the reconstruction. I walked up to the scene and found human Chi Signatures everywhere, leading east into the mountains just like the Devil said.

"What?" Grayfia walked up next to me and asked when she saw my frown.

"I found a trail."

"…And that's a bad thing?"

"They have a shadow user who can completely hide any form of energy, including magic and life force. The fact that I could find a trail meant he either forgot to conceal them or…

…It was purposely done." Grayfia's face became serious and I nodded. The Exorcist didn't seem like the arrogant type as he immediately retreated the moment he saw that his shadow monsters couldn't beat me. To leave his Chi Signature like that was very suspicious.

'…Oh well.' I shrugged and chose to follow the trail anyway. "Let's go." The 2 Devils nodded and unfurled their wings, Jack holding me by my shoulders. Taking off in flight, we quickly reached over the mountain and followed the trail left behind.

"Is there anything we should look out for?" Jack asked over the roaring wind.

"Not really, the attack was pretty recent so they couldn't have covered that much ground yet."

"And when we find them?" I looked up at Jack with a quirked brow.

"…Well I think we should sit down, have a nice conversation on the weather and supernatural world peace of course!"

"…The sarcasm was not needed." Jack deadpanned and I shrugged (well I tried to but being carried by your shoulders makes that difficult).

"We beat them, make them take us to their leader, and then kill them all. In that order."

"But aren't you afraid this could be a trap? You said it yourself; there was no way they left their trail by accident."

"They are holy men in the actual Underworld; I highly doubt they have the information and time to spring a strong trap. Besides we have big guns in the form of…" I silently nodded towards Grayfia.

"?" Jack didn't get it and I discreetly pointed at the other flying Devil. He looked at her before tilting his head in wonder. Annoyed, I motioned wildly with my hands towards Grayfia. "…What?" Oh for fuc-

"She's strong as hell, okay?! Strongest female Devil from the War Faction remember!? Those Exorcists should be a piece of cake with her help." Jack finally saw the light and he immediately agreed with my assessment. Feeling smug, I crossed my arms and enjoyed the wind hitting my face. None of those Exorcists, not even that strong blonde guy, stood a chance against Grayfia. She was stronger than me by a large margin and I could face their (possibly) strongest fighter to a standstill (granted I barely injured him and the cut in my shoulder was still fresh, but it wasn't that big a gap).

"Don't expect it to go as you think." Grayfia's words shattered the beautiful image I had and she didn't stop. "While I may be an Ultimate Class Devil, it doesn't change the fact that there have been plenty before me that have fallen to human Exorcists. The church trains their forces to face beings far stronger than them and they are equipped to weaken our powers. That's how they have survived for so long even with our great armies; their crosses, Bibles, scriptures, or anything else they have helped level the playing field. That's why Lord Belial was confident in sending you to face them, their holy objects aren't effective against you and you're decently strong too." I blinked at the new information and had only one question.

"So what you're saying is…I still have to work for a living?"

"…Yes, you do." Even Grayfia's constantly professional face changed to a deadpan.

"…God damn it." I sighed and apologized when both Devil's winced. "Man, I was really hoping to kick back and watch you go all Devil on their asses." Grayfia gave a lopsided smile at that.

"You're quite honest aren't you?" She asked and Jack nodded in agreement. "Where's your manly pride?"

"Ha! You're barking up the wrong tree here Grafi." I snorted as Grayfia mouthed 'Grafi?' in wonder. "I don't believe in pride or anything of that masculinity crap." Kicking below the belt? Allowed. Sand in the eye? If there's sand around then I'm flinging it. A group on one? Anytime. Having someone else do your work, even if it's a woman? Give me a lawn chair and pass me a beer. I personally never understood why protagonists treated villains and even psychopaths with respect and honor. Now I would understand if it's to the people close to you and allies but doing that with your enemy, who's not going to do the same for you, sounds incredibly stupid (not to mention the fact that people don't work that way, I sure as hell don't). Both Devils looked at me like what I said was incredibly strange and they are kind of right but I really don't care.

"A large majority of the Devil race would disagree with you." She added with a side smirk.

"Then they can come and say that to my face. I'll live my life the way I want, what others think is the least of my concerns." Grayfia got oddly quiet at my words. She seemed to stew in her thoughts and after a couple of minutes, I looked up at Jack. "Was it something I said?" The Devil just shrugged.

The rest of the flight was done in silence as we flew past multiple mountains and a very large river, reaching the outer regions of the Belial Territory (at least from what Jack knew). None of us had an idea on where the Exorcists were going but we didn't get to reach the end as the Chi Trail branched off in another direction. It was obvious they split up but I couldn't think of any reason why because the second group didn't get far. How did I know this? Because when I activated Chi Vision I could see a large group of human and Devil auras in one direction.

And the Devil auras were vanishing at a very fast rate.

"Over there!" I quickly informed the other 2 of the situation and we flew in the direction, getting an aerial view of a small village. Many buildings were on fire with corpses lying in the rubble and large patches of blood were on the ground. I could see a group of clothed figures attacking the few Devils that survived and they were putting up a decent fight. Jack's face became distorted at the carnage and Grayfia's visage became ice cold. Just as they looked ready to dive bomb the group, I noticed something in the corner of my eye.

A young Devil that looked like he was in his teenage years was running away from 3 cloaked priests. His clothes were torn with burn marks on his arms and he was crying. It wasn't the clean crying either, he had snot all over his face and he looked to be biting down hard on his lips. Even from this height I could faintly hear his scream of pain as one of the priests tossed a dagger and it pierced the Devil's thigh. I watched as he hit the ground and tried to crawl away.

They were closing in on him.

"…Drop me." I said sternly and Jack looked at me like I was crazy.

"W-What do you mean dro-" He quickly saw the scene under them and he hesitated. "Let me get lower." Jack tried to descend but the Exorcists were already closing in on the Devil. We weren't going to make it time that way.

"Jack." I looked up at the Devil and he stared before steeling his features.

Then he let go.


20 Minutes Earlier, Town of Dignitas

Near the town of Dignitas sat a lake and a teenage Devil was frowning as he picked up stones that littered the side. The young Devil was average height with brown hair, a strong build and a face many women would consider "cute". This Devil was called Dean and he just finished leaving his uncle's house after an argument.

"He doesn't get it…" Dean grumbled as he tossed a rock across the water and it skipped dozens of times before sinking to the bottom of the lake. Today marked the anniversary of his father's death and the young Devil spent it with his last living relative, his uncle Shaun. Both his father and Shaun were part of Lord Belial's armies in the Great War with his father making great military accomplishments. While it didn't boost the overall poor performance of the Belial Clan, it was still a source of pride for Dean and he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. Being personally taught to fight and read by his father at a young age, he eventually died of a fatal disease.

Shaun buried his brother of blood and arms and took his son under his wing. He never undermined the young Devil's passion for adventure and glory but he didn't make an effort to show his support. He personally experienced war and didn't want that for his nephew, who wanted to join the Devil army, so he always gave him advice on other life choices. Being the hot blooded and hard headed young man that he was, Dean was set in his course and wanted to honor his father's name.

"Then honor your father's name by living a full life." Then his uncle sent that his way, leaving Dean speechless and forcing him to retreat in a huff. Shaun used that same line three years in a row and Dean still couldn't think of what to say back. His uncle always said how his father rejected a high ranking position that Lord Belial offered him and chose to raise Dean in the home village of his deceased mother. Dean understood that his father would have been proud of whatever he did but the young Devil wanted to do what his father did.

Even if it wasn't necessary.

"…Why can't there be some big war so I can have a reason to fight." Sighing, Dean had no idea how soon his wish would be granted and tossed another rock. He did this for a long time and it would always calm him down because it was one of the things he used to do with his father. Just talk and toss stones, a pointless but surprisingly soothing pass time. Getting it all out his system, Dean laid down on the grass and enjoyed the soft wind passing through. He could never really stay angry at his uncle and Shaun knew so too, he was just being dramatic. Choosing it was about to time to head back, Dean stood up and patted himself down before walking back. 'I wonder if he still left my soup on the table, I doubt it though. Man I really should have finished it before walking away.' Dean shook his head at his stupidity and quickly frowned when he noticed a problem. He smelled burning and a large amount of smoke was coming from the direction of his village.

Then he heard the screaming.

"!" Dean quickly went into a sprint and covered the distance between him and the screams. He saw many of the buildings in his village burning and people in robes attacking its residents. A mother and daughter pair were being chased by one of the attackers and Dean summoned his spear. As the attacker slashed down on the pair with a Light Sword, Dean jumped in front of them and blocked the sword. The Exorcists didn't expect that but didn't pause as he slashed multiple times at the young Devil but Dean parried them all.

"Hah!" Giving a shout, Dean tripped the Exorcist and as he tried to get up, he sliced his head clean off. Dean commanded the pair to get to the town center and after being thanked, he made his way to other parts of the village. He tried to help any Devils he found along his path and mowed down many Exorcists that came at him. Though this wasn't without cost. "Argh!" Dean grunted in pain as he cut an Exorcist right down the middle but not before the holy soldier nicked him on the side with their Light Sword. The wound sizzled and Dean's demonic energy tried it's best to expel the dense, holy energy. Other Exorcists who saw the Devil's blight immediately started belting him with Angel spells and some started chanting holy mantras.

"Fulgur Surge!" Lightning crackled across the surface of Dean's spear and he pointed it at the Exorcists, sending bursts of deadly lightning. Many Exorcists were quickly fried and the ones who were able to put up barriers in time were dealt with by Dean's lightning-like movements. Looking back at the scene of his slaughter, Dean turned around and limped towards the direction of his house, grimacing the whole way. On a normal day, casting the lightning spells his father taught him (which was his signature) would have been easy but the holy energy in his system and the mantras put a large hinder on his manipulation of demonic energy. Thankfully Dean didn't face anymore Exorcists and made it back to his house, opening the door. "Shaun! Shaun, Where are you!? There are Exorcists in town, we need to-" Then he stopped.

He found Shaun. Dozens of Exorcist bodies littered the floor but his uncle was strung up by his arms, hanging there with many large and fatal holy wounds. "Shaun…" He didn't react.

"…Shaun…" Dean didn't notice how feeble his voice sounded and took a painful step towards his relative. He reached out towards him. "U-Uncl-" Then Shaun fell to the ground, splitting into multiple pieces on landing. "Urgh!" Dean covered his mouth and couldn't hold it back as he threw up. He kneeled on the ground, emptying his already empty stomach and cried.

"Another one?" Dean didn't get the chance to mourn as an Exorcists walked into the room with 2 more. He scrambled to get up and weakly pointed his spear at the Exorcists. Moving with speed that Dean should have easily handled, the Exorcists slashed his arm and Dean stumbled back in pain. He grabbed his arm in fear and even the Exorcist found his form pathetic. "Is that all you got? What a waste. Even this piece of scum put up a better fight." The Exorcists kicked a piece of Shaun and he landed right next to Dean. He didn't react.

'W-Why? Why?! Why can't I stop s-shivering!?' Dean couldn't understand why his body refused to do what he wanted. His father always taught him to control his emotions in battle; that fear was something there to tell him that he should always remain cautious and steadfast. That it wasn't something bad. Then why couldn't he move!? Why couldn't he hold his spear properly!? Why-

Then Dean saw the dead eyes of his uncle Shaun and something inside him snapped. He regained control of his body and ran out of his home, crying along the way. He felt sick. He felt useless. He should have stayed and avenged his uncle but he couldn't. It should have been easy but his wounds and grief was overwhelming.

"Arghh!" Dean felt a sharp pain on his thigh and fell to the dirt, seeing a dagger plunged in his leg. The Exorcists walked up to him and Dean tried to crawl away as the Exorcists took out their Light weapons but he wasn't going to make it. Seeing no way out, Dean gritted his teeth and stood up, legs still shivering. He watched the satisfied smiles on the Exorcists and couldn't help himself. "Are you really proud of this!? We've done nothing to any of you yet you butcher us for what!? Because of some sense of sick duty!?" Dean may have wanted to join the army but he felt no fascination with hunting down Angels or Fallen Angels. He didn't care for them and his father taught him that hatred for another faction just because it's the established order is foolish. They found this funny and laughed.

"Sorry to burst your bubble but we enjoy hunting abominations like you, that's all." The Exorcist's smile became even wider after seeing Dean's shocked face. "There's no grand reason, we do it just because." Dean stumbled and fell to his knees after finding out the reason why his uncle was taken from him. Why his life was irreversibly changed and why it would soon end.

Because a bunch of humans just felt like doing it.

"…You're all mad…" Dean said hollowly and one Exorcist lifted his Light Sword in the air, intending to cut down the young Devil. Except he would have, if it wasn't for the whistling.

'Whistling?' Then the Exorcists in front of Dean were crushed by a large block of green ice and he was flung back by the impact. His wounds were aggravated but he barely noticed as he observed the green element with wonder.

"Heads up!" A person yelled out and someone landed a couple of meters away from Dean, picking up dust. Covering his eyes, Dean looked at the new arrival and was shocked to find it was a human. The being human part wasn't what surprised Dean. It was the fact that he was glowing in a silver aura, was wearing an odd outfit, and had a green rabbit on his shoulder.

And that he saved him from a group of fellow humans.

'…What?' Dean had no idea what was going on anymore but he was on guard when the human dusted himself off and looked around. Then his eyes met Dean's.

"…"

"…"

"…What? What is it? Is there something on my face?" The human asked and turned to look at his rabbit. "Is there?" The green rabbit titled its head and observed the man's face before shaking it. "Oh well that's a relief; imagine if I broke something and I ended up looking like Aindrea. Man now that'd be a tragedy." The man shivered at his words and walked up to Dean, grabbing his shoulder.

"What are yo-" Dean tried to resist but stopped when he felt energy fill his body once again and his wounds were healing easier.

"There you go, you're all set." The young man dusted his hands and looked at the block of ice. "They didn't stand a chance did they? It dropped right on them, it must have been instant."

"…They should have suffered." Dean remembered the Exorcists and what happened to his uncle as he gritted his teeth in anger. The man shrugged.

"You're right but we're kind of on a time limit." Dean became confused at the man's words.

"We?" An explosion answered Dean as he saw a beautiful silvered haired woman barrage a group of Exorcist's with dozens of fire spells. Another Devil was maneuvering around the battlefield and using illusions to disorient priests before killing them.

"That we." The man chuckled at Dean's shocked face and cracked his neck. "Well, it was nice meeting you but I need to go and help. Try to get somewhere safe with everyone else okay?" The man walked forward and passed the still prone form of Dean.

"Wait." The young Devil quickly called out and the human looked back. "Who are you?" The man blinked for a second before giving a large smile.

"Why I'm your friendly neighborhood mercenary, Pierce Van Helsing." Then he walked away.

"…What?"


Back to Pierce

'…What the hell was that?' I sweated as I thought back at my stupid self-given title (even Jade was looking at me funny). Honestly, I needed to give myself a mercenary title one day but that may be a bit too much. '…Oh well. It's not like I'll ever meet him again.' Shaking the useless thoughts from my head, I quickly charged in the direction of the chaos and saw Grayfia ripping the priests apart. She blasted them with an endless stream of elemental attacks and Jack was also putting in work.

I leaned back when a Stray Exorcist tried to lop my head off and I instead did that to him. I cut down any Exorcist that came my way and kicked one into the rubble of a destroyed house. I reached Jack, who put multiple opponents to sleep, and slammed down with Sword Fury. A huge crater was left where dozens of Exorcists stood and with my move still active, I swept through another legion of grunts. Blocking a barrage of light spears, Jade froze the spell casters solid and Jack crushed the ice statues to pieces.

"Help!" A Devil was being chased by another group of Exorcists and I Chi Burst to the Devil, grabbing him by his shirt. I pushed him in the direction of Jack and charged at the group, a magic circle stopping me. I smashed it to pieces with a Seismic Fist and swiftly killed the remainder of them. After cutting off the head of the last Stray Exorcist, I breathed out and looked around at the village. Jack and Grayfia were already done with the rest of the villagers standing on the side. I scanned the surroundings with both Chi Vision and Spiritual Energy but I couldn't feel any more hostiles.

"I guess they weren't with this group." I said as I put away my sword. "Is everyone alright?" I asked the Devil villagers but they all gave me looks of fear and distrust. It was eerily quiet as no one spoke and after a minute of no one talking, I did the one thing that could be done. I took a deep breath and…

"Boo!" I yelled that really loud and the villagers actually jumped in fright. They backed up and gave me weird looks as I chuckled.

"…What was that?" Jack deadpanned and I shrugged.

"Just having fun." I walked over to a ridge and could sense the trail of the second group. "Alright here's what we're going to do. One of us, not me, will need to get these people back to Filihel while the other 2 continue following the trail." I was looking at Grayfia because of her whole taking care of all Devils bit earlier but Jack surprisingly stepped forward.

"I'll take them back to town. Miss Grayfia will be of greater help against the Stray Exorcists and I can get them back safely with my magic." I stared at Jack before nodding and he moved to bring the survivors back. After making sure no one was left behind, Jack wished us luck and said that he would meet us soon.

Grayfia and I watched as all the surviving Devils unfurled their wings and followed after Jack (It's kind of bullshit if you think about it. Every Devil comes with wings so the entire race can fly). I turned to the silver haired woman and motioned with my hand.

"Shall we?" Grayfia smiled and walked behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Before I could comment on her very soft assets pressing on my back, we took off into the air and she asked which direction. "That way." I pointed east and we flew in that direction.

"…'' We both said nothing as we covered ground (air?) and I resisted the urge to ask if she had some sort of levitation spell she can use on me to avoid this position. I did not want to be on the other side of Sirzechs' Power of Destruction if he ever catches wind of this. 'Then again, Issei showered with her once so he probably wouldn't care…yeah, I really don't get DxD men either. And it's the most powerful beings that have really weird quirks, is that like a requirement or-'

"You're an odd man." Grayfia finally spoke and I blinked.

"What is it with wildly powerful women finding me weird? I know I am but you guys are brutally honest about it."

"…What?"

"Nothing, you want to give your reasons for saying that? They all do." Grayfia stared at me in silence before looking ahead.

"Why didn't you become angry at those people's treatment? You helped save them but they looked at you like you were the reason for their disaster."

"I don't really care. They're not the first ungrateful people that I've saved and they probably won't be the last."

"Probably?" Grayfia raised a brow at that.

"I saved them because I was there. If I could save a stranger then I will but if I can't, then I won't lose sleep over it."

"…That sounds very much like a hero." I snorted at her words.

"I'm not nor will I ever be a hero. I don't hate heroes but I'll never become one. Besides a hero would lose sleep over those he couldn't save."

"But you saved those people in spite of the danger."

"I had to face the Exorcists anyway; the fact that they were attacking the Devils was an unfortunate coincidence."

"…You sound like you're in denial." Even when I couldn't see her face, I could tell Grayfia was smirking.

"Maybe I am but I still don't want to be a hero. Heroes have expectations, they worry about the common man and will do everything they can to protect them."

"But you don't." She said it like a matter of fact then a question.

"Nope." I said popping the p. "My family and friends are my highest priority, everyone else gets 3rd place."

"3rd?"

"My bucket list takes 2nd." I said honestly and Grayfia stayed silent before guffawing.

"You really are ridiculousness."

"And don't you forget it." I smirked and we flew in comfortable silence, eventually reaching an incredibly long river. The river went on for miles and a gate lay in the middle, protected by a legion of Devils.

"They came through here?" I could hear the surprise in Grayfia's voice and frowned.

"What happened? What's through here?" Grayfia was quiet for a second before finally speaking.

"The territory of the Lucifer Clan and the capital of the Underworld, Lucifaad."

"…"

"…"

"…Mother." It's never easy is it?


And done. Pierce's is closing in on the remaining Exorcists and is about to enter the maw of the Morning Star. I hope you enjoyed it!

Author's note: Now let me explain something before anyone comments about it (and you know who you are). Ajuka, Azazel, and Sirzechs have long explained in canon how the Underworld is protected by a massive barrier, very much like the Greek World. And while it's never discussed in detail, I will put out my theory. I believe every territory owned by one of the 72 clans has its own personal barriers that restricts teleporting and only those with high enough clearance can teleport. For example, Lord Belial can teleport anywhere he wants in his territory and can give access to someone else. Why didn't he give clearance to Pierce then? Because Pierce doesn't know any teleportation spells yet and he's still an unaffiliated human. Same with Grayfia and Jack, except they are actually a part of a faction and it's not a good idea to give another faction your clearance codes. Especially with the Civil War close to happening. So yeah, I cleared that up so if anyone wants to comment on my writing style or decisions in general then go ahead but if anyone complains about the teleporting them I'm going to be pissed!


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