Before we begin…

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

"Flashback quotes. Text."

{Sacred Gear announcement.}

{Ddraig speaking from Boosted Gear and Issei's Dreamworld.}

{Ddraig speaking to Issei telepathically.}

"Issei's inner Hollow. Hollow Dialogue."

"Issei's inner Hollow speaking to him telepathically."

When we last left off, Yuuto Kiba has rediscovered his true reason for living: To destroy the Excalibur in revenge for what has happened to him in the past. Meanwhile, the two Exorcist girls are making their way towards Kuoh. What will happen from here? Find out now.


~CHAPTER 16: A HOLY REUNION~

Issei awakens from last night's slumber. His groggy eyes stay glued onto the ceiling while he thought about how he was able to sleep after his Familiar made the sleeping arrangements. He was amazed that he was able to get any sleep at all, considering that she made him strip into his underwear while she, Rias, and Asia remained naked.

'That Yoruichi… she can drive me crazy sometimes.'

With a sigh, Issei tries to get up from his bed but discovered that he was unable to since his body felt heavy as if something was preventing him from getting out of bed.

When he looked down to see what was holding him down, his eyes pop out of his sockets and his face turns red when he saw the three girls all sleeping on him in the nude. Rias was on his right cuddling onto his arm, Asia was on his left holding his other arm, and Yoruichi, in her stark-naked human form with her cat ears and tail out, was on top of him with her head resting on his chest like a cat would.

When he looked at his Familiar, his face turned even redder when he saw her perfectly round ass fully exposed to her since she was the only one who wasn't covered by his blanket. She looked like she didn't need the blanket at all to sleep well, as her head nuzzled his chest while she slightly wiggled her butt.

Issei shakes his head rapidly when he realized he was staring at her ass for a long time and shot his eyes back to the ceiling.

'Dammit all! How am I going to get out of bed with those three holding me down?!'

Before he could think of a plan, he heard Rias stir awake and looked towards her to see her smiling at him with a wink.

"Morning Ise. Did you sleep well?"

Issei nods slowly.

"Um… Yeah…"

"Good morning, Ise-san."

Issei and Rias look to see that Asia was awake as well.

"Morning to you too, Asia," Issei says while scratching the back of his head.

Asia then looks at Yoruichi, who was still snoozing on Issei.

"Oh, it looks like your Familiar hasn't woken up yet."

While Asia giggled at the Nekomata, Rias' brow twitches when she saw Yoruichi on top of him.

She still couldn't get over the fact that Yoruichi took the spot that Rias wanted to sleep on.

Asia however, didn't care which spot she was in. As long as she got to sleep with Issei, that's all that mattered to the blonde girl.

"So, Ise, you gonna wake her up?"

Issei sweated a little when he heard the hostility in her voice as she glared at his Familiar in jealousy. Not wanting this to go any further, he made an attempt to wake Yoruichi up by poking her cheek with a finger. It didn't work, so he prodded it a little harder. Again, she was still asleep, with a snooze bubble growing from her nose.

Issei took a quick glance at Rias with his eyes only and broadened them when he saw her jealous aura grow.

"Ise…"

"I know, Buchou! I know!" Issei shouts quietly while Asia giggled at the scene. 'I guess I don't have a choice, do I?' he thought as he reached for her tail with his hand now that it was free from Rias' grasp. 'Forgive me, Yoruichi… Forgive me, mother.'

After Issei got a gentle hold of her tail, he began to stroke it up and down. This resulted in Yoruichi purring while her cheeks started turning red. Seeing that it's starting to work, he sped his hand up and squeezed her tail a little tighter while doing it.

Yoruichi's purring became louder as she smiled in her sleep. She nuzzled her face into Issei's chest harder and her toes curled at the feeling of getting her tail stroked.

"Dammit! It's not working!" Issei grunts as he releases her tail and slams the back of his head onto his pillow in defeat.

"Maybe if you sooth her awake?" Asia suggested to Issei.

"Like that would work on someone who's too old for that kind of method," Issei replies with a deadpan.

Rias just sighs with a hand on her forehead.

"Well, she is your Familiar, you've got figure something out."

Issei's deadpan stare turns to Rias.

"Says the girl who looks to be jealous of her."

Rias blushes at her Pawn's retort and puts her hands up in defense.

"Wh-What?! I-I-I'm not-"

The two then hear Asia gasp in realization and turn their heads to her.

"That's right! We need to get breakfast ready!"

Rias makes the same face as Asia and gets off the bed with her.

"Ah, that's right!" After gathering her clothes and getting dressed with Asia, she looks at Issei and smiles at him. "Well, we'll see you downstairs, Ise."

"Good luck getting Yoruichi-san up," Asia says before following Rias to the kitchen.

After the door closed, Issei took a breath of relief before looking back at the ceiling.

"Alright, how am I going to get Yoruichi off of me- WHOA!"

Issei was suddenly pinned down on his bed and felt someone start to climb over him. He looked forward and saw that it was Yoruichi, now wide awake as she stares at him with a grin.

"Nyan~ For you to stroke my tail like you did, you're a naughty boy~"

Issei shivered at the sensual tone his Familiar used, and it didn't help that he unintentionally saw her boobs bounce as she inched a little closer to him while she wagged her tail like a dog.

"Wh-Wha… How did…"

"I wasn't really asleep."

Issei was bewildered at her explanation.

"R-Really?! If you were awake the whole time, then why di-AAAAAHHHHH!"

Issei couldn't finish his sentence as Yoruichi pressed her nude body against Issei's.

"Because I want to get a chance to spend some alone time with you in this form, Issei," Yoruichi answers before licking his neck, making him shiver at the touch of her tongue. "Every day, I'm always delivering fliers, and when I'm pooped, I could only sleep with you or interact with you in my cat form; never to cuddle with you in my human form."

Yoruichi continued to lick his neck before moving onto his left ear. Her tongue flicked at the lobe before giggling.

"And let's not forget how busy you are with your duty as a Devil. Whenever you're working, it gets really lonely at home."

Before Issei could respond, he gasps when she licks his nose twice before kissing it. She then kissed his forehead and both of his cheeks before licking his right cheek. After swirling her tongue around it five more times, Yoruichi looks into his eyes before smiling.

"So, Issei, You want to start practicing with me?"

Issei's cheeks turned redder at how she asked that.

"P-Practice… for what..?"

Yoruichi giggles before she rubbed her hands onto his chest.

"To make sure you treat a lady right~ Especially when you want to start dating that glasses-wearing girl soon~"

Issei's blush turned darker as she knew who she was talking about.

"Sh-Sh-Shinra-senpai?!"

Yoruichi laughs.

"Oh, come on. It's no secret to me that you're secretly crushing on the Sitri Devil." Yoruichi licks her lips again with a glint in her eyes. "And with my guidance, I'll make sure you two make it official since I see you two being a better main couple than any other girl who likes ya. No offense to Rias and Asia."

Issei's face just gets redder and redder as her face starts getting close to his again. With a scream, he shoves Yoruichi off of him and gets his school uniform on quickly before darting off, leaving Yoruichi alone in his room.

Yoruichi giggles as she sat with her legs crossed like a pretzel while her tail swung around and her cat ears twitched gleefully.

"Ufufufufu~ That Issei."


Issei was currently brushing his teeth in the bathroom while tapping his finger on the counter of the sink.

'Asia's become bolder when it comes to Rias being flirty with me.' Issei thought as he kept brushing. 'The two kept fighting over me when it came to a lot of things. First feeding me, then who got to lock arms with me as we walked to school, and now, just last night, wanting to sleep with me alone.'

Issei spits his toothpaste into the sink after he finished brushing, and started rinsing his mouth out with water.

'If Rias made a move on me, Asia would get upset. If Asia tried to one-up her, Rias gets upset and acts all high and mighty when it comes to me.' After spitting the water out, Issei breaths a frustrated sigh while staring at the mirror.

"Could Aika-san be right? Is having a harem really going to make all those girls who like me happy?"

"Are you still worrying about that?"

Issei jumped when he heard a familiar male voice and turned around to see Yoruichi in her cat from entering the bathroom with him, making him take a step back nervously.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to keep teasing you today," Yoruichi assured him in her male voice.

Issei blinks at his Familiar before releasing another sigh.

"I don't know what to tell you, Yoruichi. I feel that no matter who I choose, even if I already made my decision on who I want to date more, I'm somehow going to regret it when it comes to the others' feelings."

Yoruichi understood what he was saying. While she wanted him to

"Well, that's something you're going to have to figure out on your own, bud. I can't exactly hold your hand on how to communicate with the girls about this kind of thing."

Issei shoots her a deadpan.

"Dude… You just offered to practice a few seconds ago."

"That was for just dating a girl, Issei," Yoruichi corrects. "Talking about having a harem is a different story."

Issei chortles.

"Fair enough."

Yoruichi gives Issei a reassuring look.

"Look, just have confidence in yourself, Issei. If you can't figure out how to tell them about having a harem, then I'm sure you'll figure it out some other day."

Issei thinks about what Yoruichi has said before looking back at her.

"I'll see what I can do."

"And that's all I can hope for."

With that said, Yoruichi turns around and makes her way downstairs.

"Oh yeah, Yoruichi?"

"Hmm?"

"I've been meaning to ask, why are your making your voice sound like a man when we already know you're a girl?"

Yoruichi chuckles at his question.

"Because my male voice sounds badass, and I like to listen to myself speak like that once in a while."

Issei blinked at her as she walked out of the bathroom. He then thought about her male voice for a few seconds before snorting through his nose.

"Yeah… It does sound kinda cool."


As the school day has finally begun, Sona and Tsubaki could be seen walking towards the school building among the many students saying "good morning" to one another. During their walk, Sona was reading a historical novel, while Tsubaki was carrying her naginata in her purple shinai bag to train herself in wielding it after school.

As they were about to go through the gates, Tsubaki noticed her master stopping while closing her book.

"Kaichou?"

Tsubaki then saw that Sona was looking at something. Following her gaze, she saw three cloaked women looking in their direction. Two of the women's cloaks were white and were from the church, while the third woman's was pure black with a white shinai bag that carried whatever weapon she has on her.

But that shinai bag wasn't what the Sitri Devils were looking at. What they were looking at was something Sona narrowed her cautious eyes at.

"A Holy Sword…" Sona whispers, feeling the holy power radiating from the object that one white-cloaked woman was carrying on her back.

The three cloaked women then started to approach the Sitri Devils, leaving them wondering what they wanted from them.


Meanwhile, Issei was walking his way towards his classroom while thinking about what Yoruichi told him earlier.

'Will this really be okay?' he wonders mentally, referring to the whole harem idea from both Aika and his Familiar. 'They make it sound like it's easy, but the reaction of the girls on it is a different story.'

While he was walking, he was also feeling a faint trace of Holy power coming from around the outside of the school. He did his best to ignore, but when he comes across Rias, he plans to tell her about it as soon as he sees her.

{Yo, partner.}

Issei blinks in surprise when he started hearing Ddraig's voice speaking to him telepathically.

'Ddraig? What is it?'

{I apologize for interrupting your musing, but I need to warn you about something.}

Issei becomes intrigued with the Red Dragon's words as he sets his stare on the floor while leaning on a nearby wall on his back.

'Does this have to do with that Holy power I'm doing my best to ignore right now?'

{That's one of them, yes. I don't know what the source of that power is up to, but it's best not to engage it right now.}

'I wasn't planning on doing that to begin with.'

Ddraig grunts in agreement before continuing from there.

{Also, I've begun to feel the presence of the White one.}

Issei's eyes narrow as he knew what he meant.

'You mean the Vanishing Dragon?'

{Yes. I don't know exactly where he or she is, but be on your guard. You'd never know if the host of my rival will appear before your eyes.}

Issei's brow twitches.

'Alright, I'll keep my guard up, but if he or she's friendly, we're not fighting. I'll only fight the current host of the Vanishing Dragon if he or she wishes to do harm to anyone innocent, capisce?'

Issei waited for Ddraig's answer after making his statement clear by making the tone in his thoughts as harsh as he could. But after waiting for five seconds, he didn't get a response.

'Ddraig? Did you hear me?'

"Ah! Issei! Just the man I was looking for!"

Issei shot his head forward when he heard someone speak to him. Turning his head left towards the source, he saw his new classmate walking towards him with a goofy smile and a wave.

"Shinji? What do you want?"

"My my, you speak as if I'm up to no good~" Issei cocks an eyebrow at him. "Hang on there, hear me out. I just want to know if you'd like to do something fun with me. You know, so we can get to know each other more as friends. Come on, I'll tell you what it is on our way to class. It is the same destination, after all."

Issei was wary for a moment, but he decided to nod his head and follow Shinji to class. When his blonde classmate explained what it was about, Issei's brows raise.

"Karaoke?"

"Yup-yup," Shinji confirms with a nod. "You see, I have six coupons for a free karaoke night with a discount on food and drinks, and I was wondering if you and four more of your friends would like to come." the blonde man puts his arms behind his head. "I would ask some girls if they'd like to go, but not only does it feel like a sudden request to me since I don't know a few, but they might get weirded out and get the wrong idea of me, you know?"

Issei looks at him with beady-brown eyes.

'No kidding. With a smile as weird as yours, I wouldn't blame them.'

"So, Issei, ya wanna go with me?" Shinji asks again. "Not only does this place have your usual music, insert songs, and character songs, but they also got some classical music and some 70s rock from America that you might like too."

"Hmm…"

Issei was thinking about it for a while before he and Shinji heard footsteps behind them and turned to see a beaming Asia.

"Going to karaoke? That sounds like fun! Can I come with you two?"

Issei was surprised that she heard in on the conversation, but Shinji just flashes her a friendly smile.

"Ah! Good morning, fellow classmate of mine!" he greets her graciously before placing a hand on his chin. "If I remember correctly, your name's Asia Argento?"

"Yes, that's right!" Asia answers sweetly before bowing to him. "It's nice to meet you. And you are… Shinji Hirako, right?"

Shinji makes a sound of happiness while shaking her hands gently into his.

"Yay~! You remembered my name! No one has ever bothered to do that since I just transferred yesterday. It really warms my heart that my name was remembered by a pretty angel like yourself~"

Asia blushes lightly at the compliment as he continued to shake her hands.

"Oh… I see…"

Shinji laughed joyfully a few more times before he stopped abruptly when he felt a hand clasp onto his shoulder, making him let go of Asia's hands.

"Oi… I'd be careful not to try anything with her, pal."

Shinji shivered a little at the dangerous tone in Issei's voice before laughing it off with a wave of his hand.

"Oh… I see, Asia-chan's your girlfriend." He then winks at the two. "I understand. My mistake, Issei."

Asia's cheeks turned a darker red at Shinji's assumption while Issei did a spit-take.

"What, no! We're not dating! She's just living with me and my parents for her personal reasons, and I'm making sure she's safe."

Shinji blinks at Issei before tilting his head.

"So… She's your stepsister?"

Issei face palms himself with gritted teeth.

"No."

"Huh? Then what is it, Issei? Is Asia-chan you're stepsister or your girlfriend?"

"NONE OF THE ABOVE, STUPID!" Issei roars. "She's my housemate, dammit!"

Shinji releases a laugh before slapping his knee.

"Whew~! Relax, Issei. I'm just messing with ya." Issei sighs at Shinji while glaring at him while he turned his head back to Asia. "Right, back on topic, you said you wanted to go karaoke with us, Asia-chan?"

Asia nods enthusiastically while smiling cutely and held her hands together.

"Yes, I do."

"Count us in too, Hirako-kun."

The three turn around when they heard a newcomer approaching them and widen their eyes a little when they saw Aika waving at them with a grin while dragging a shy Murayama with her.

"Aika-san?"

"Have you been listening in on us, Kiryuu-san?" Shinji adds for Issei with a cocked head.

"Indeed I have, blondie," Aika confirms while pushing her glasses up. "And this karaoke is just the perfect thing for my friend over here."

Aika points a finger at Murayama, who steps forward to greet Issei, Asia, and Shinji.

"Hello."

Shinji noticed how nervous the girl was being, especially since she kept shifting her eyes to and from Issei from time to time, and gave her a concerned look.

"You sure you want to go, Murayama-san?" Shinji asks her gently. "I don't want anyone to force you to-"

"No! I'll go!" Everyone minus Aika took a step back when Murayama shouted her answer immediately. Murayama realized what she did and blushed up a storm. "I-I mean, I'd like to go with you. A-After all, I thought I'd spend some more… time with Issei-kun and Asia-san there, so… Aika brought me here to confirm that we want to go, too…"

The three look at the fidgety Murayama while Aika whispered to her: "You're doing great, Murayama-chan~"

After thinking about it, Shinji flashes another smile for Murayama and Aika.

"Well alrighty then~!" the blonde man counts up the people before himself. "That makes five of us. I've got six of these coupons, and I'm hoping to make use out of all of them and find one more person."

"Oh! I know!" Asia interjects. "I'll see if one of our members of the Occult Research club would want to go with us as well. I'll let you know tomorrow if he or she will be able to go or not."

"Sounds like a plan, Asia-chan."

While Shinji and Asia smiled at each other, Issei slowly lifts his finger up.

"Uh… Wait, I-"

"Oh, come on, Ise-san," Asia pleads sweetly. "You need to socialize with people that aren't at the club. Pretty please?"

Issei looks at the puppy eyes Asia gave him. As a result, his eyes softened and he gave in.

"Alright, consider me invited too, Shinji."

"Sweet!" Shinji cheers with a fist pump. "Then it's settled. This Weekend, we're heading to karaoke~!"

While Asia and Murayama giggled with him and Issei gave him a deadpan stare, Aika snickers while shaking her head and smirking.

'Man, that Hirako-kun is one heck of a goofball.'


After the school day has finished, Issei and Asia walk their way towards the ORC room. Once they got into the old school building, they look around the place and saw how clean it now was.

"Wow! Look how shiny the place is!" Asia says with stars in her eyes.

"Y-Yeah…" Issei agrees as he saw how the floor was able to reflect their images. As he looked, he unintentionally got a look as Asia's panties, and immediately looked back up to keep moving to the club room.

"Huh? What's that room in the back?"

Issei looked at where Asia was pointing and saw the same chained up taped doors he saw when he first went in the old school building.

"You weren't the first one to wonder that, Asia. For some odd reason, it's called the forbidden room."

Asia tilted her head.

"I wonder why that is?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Asia."

The two then entered the club room after a few more minutes of walking and entered to see Rias and Koneko, who was eating an apple, in the building.

"Huh? Where's Kiba at?" Issei asks them after he saw that he wasn't here, earning frowns from the two minus Asia.

"It seems that Kiba-senpai is taking a day off from school," Koneko answers before taking another bite of her apple.

"He is?"

While Asia was surprised at her explanation, Issei turned serious and looks at Rias.

"Buchou, do you think this has to do with the whole Holy sword thing?" Rias shifts her eyes towards the floor with a bigger frown, prompting him to finally ask for more information. "Please, tell me what Kiba has to do with it."

With a sigh, Rias locks eyes with Issei and speaks.

"Do you remember me telling you that Yuuto was a survivor of the Holy Sword Project?" Issei nods. "Besides him, there were a number of other people who were raised to use Excalibur."

Issei and Asia gasp.

"Really?"

"Yes," Rias confirms. "And right now, there are seven Holy swords with the Excalibur name."

"Seven?" Issei repeats in confusion. "But how?"

"Pieces of the original Excalibur were scattered in a war long ago. The church gathered the pieces and used alchemy to make the seven new swords."

"So… Kiba was supposed to be able to wield these swords?"

Rias nods at Issei.

"None of those being trained were able to adapt to Excalibur." Rias' eyes turn sad as she looked back down at the ground. "And as a result, the project ended in failure, and those in charge of the project decided to dispose of Yuuto and the other test subjects."

While Asia gasped, Issei's face turned angry and balled his hands into fists.

"Buchou… By dispose of, do you mean..?"

Rias nods, her face remaining dismal.

"They were already on the verge of death." As Rias continued to speak, she began remembering her first time meeting Kiba in the snowy woods. "But that child was able to run away alone while in a near-death state and he swore to get revenge. When I brought him back, I wanted to let him use his passion in a meaningful way as a Devil."

With his face stern, Issei began nodding in understanding.

"So that was when you reincarnated Kiba, am I right?" Rias confirmed it with another nod before Issei looked down in thought. "And when he looked at the sword in the photo..."

After breathing a sigh, Rias looks back at Issei and Asia with a smile.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Issei rose a brow at the smile she gave him. Before he could question it, the Gremory Devils heard the door open and turned to see Akeno walking in while leaving the door open.

"Ara ara, looks like everyone's here."

"Akeno, you're late."

"That's because I've brought some guests," Akeno tells her before pointing her hand at two familiar newcomers.

"Please excuse us."

"The Kaichou of the Student Council, and… Shinra-senpai?"

Issei and Tsubaki take a quick look at each other before they both shift their eyes away with a tint of pink in their cheeks, both being thankful that he was careful not to address her by her first name unless they were privately talking. If he did, they both know that Akeno won't be leaving them alone about it for a while.

"They said that they had something urgent to discuss with you, Buchou," Akeno says, giving Sona the green light to speak.

"Yes. Rias, will you come with me to my house right away? No one will be able to intrude there."

Rias' expression turned serious.

"From your voice, it sounds like a very complicated situation."

"Yes," Sona agrees. "Very."


After Rias dismissed everyone except Akeno, the rest of the Gremory Devils were walking home together while talking about what happened between the two Devils.

"What do you think is going on here?" Issei asks Asia and Koneko, curious about why Sona and Tsubaki wanted to talk with Rias and Akeno. "Whatever it was, the Kaichou was acting as if it was an emergency."

"You got me," Asia answers with a shrug. "What do you think, Koneko-san?"

"I don't know either. There's nothing wrong with what Buchou's doing. However, I'm more worried about Kiba-senpai."

Issei nods in agreement.

"You're not the only one, Koneko-chan, especially after what Buchou has told me about his past. I wish there was a way we can help him somehow, not because we're of the same household, but he's our friend."

Koneko nods in agreement. She then saw the light signal for her to walk across the street.

"Well, see you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, see ya."

"Bye, Koneko-san." After they watched Koneko leave, Asia looked to see Issei looking up in thought. "Is something wrong, Ise-san?"

Issei was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Asia.

"Sorry, I was thinking about Koneko-chan and Akeno-san; how they might have reasons for becoming Devils, too," he says. "Like how Kiba has one."

"Oh."

Asia blinks at the thought of it too. While she and Issei weren't a fan of getting into one's business, they were curious about why Akeno and Koneko have become Devils.


Meanwhile, in Sona's residence, Rias and Akeno walk inside of a secret sauna with nothing but a towel wrapped around their naked bodies. The sauna is decorated with blue walls and has many large crystals sitting on open spaces.

"Wow, I haven't bathed in this place in a while," Rias says gleefully as she removes her towel off of her body, with Akeno doing the same while she laughed with her.

"Oh? Did you use to come here often, Rias?"

"In the past, Rias and I often came here together to tell each other secrets."

Rias and Akeno turn their bodies around, which made their breasts bounce around when they heard Sona explaining the secret bath while removing her own towel. She then handed it to Tsubaki, who was already in the nude and allowed her to take care of Rias and Akeno's towels.

After they finished washing, the four Devils sat with each other with their bodies still wet.

"This sauna was installed for my own personal use," Sona spoke to Akeno.

"This space is directly connected to Sona's stronghold," Tsubaki adds. "So if the space is closed, no one can enter."

Akeno was amazed by the information.

"Well, that explains how they're able to tell each other secrets here."

Rias giggled with the girls.

"I usually complained about being scolded by my mom, and other silly stuff like that." The redhead then flashes a grin at Sona. "And I believe you've talked about your older sister a lot, didn't you?"

"Ara ara, even the two of you were like that once."

"That's all in the past now," Sona says in minor annoyance with closed eyes.

Crossing her legs, Rias remembers what her fellow King told her back at the old school building.

"Well? We didn't come here to talk about our childhood, didn't we?"

Sona nods before opening her eyes.

"This morning, two people from the Church, who are being escorted by a woman who isn't from the Church, contacted me."

"What was it about?" Akeno asked with a hand on her cheek in wonder.

"It's been a while since they came to this town," Rias adds with a puzzled face of her own. "What did they want?"

"They came to speak with you, Rias," Sona answers, earning a perplexed face from her friend.

"People from the Church want to talk to a Devil? Is this some kind of joke? If you'd ask me, it sounds like it's definitely going to be a nuisance. So, what did you tell them, Sona?"

Sona removes her glasses to clean the lenses before speaking.

"I accepted their request. After school tomorrow, they will be visiting the club room."

"What?" Rias was once again baffled at her friend's answer while Sona puts her glasses back on after she finished cleaning the lenses.

"There's something else you should know," Tsubaki interjects. "What bothered us the most was that the two women from the Church were carrying Holy swords."

Rias and Akeno share surprised, but serious expressions.

"A Holy sword?"

"People from the Church who are carrying Holy swords…" Rias places her hand on her chin in thought. "And for them to come to this town… People from this town who were involved with the church..?" Rias pondered and pondered on that thought before remembering the photo Issei showed her, making her eyes widen in shock. "No! It can't be!"


As Issei and Asia were reaching their home, the two halt their walking when they suddenly felt chills just from getting close to the house.

"What the..? This feeling…"

"I felt it too, Asia," Issei tells her. "In fact, I've had this feeling before once."

Asia turned to him with intrigue written on her face.

"You have?"

"Yes. When I first met you, I felt that exact same feeling when we were near the Church you were looking for." Asia started to worry when she saw Issei's face warp into dread. "And also… Tch!"

Issei then has flashbacks of blood and a certain psychopathic Exorcist that was at a house that was destroyed and made the conclusion that got him worried.

"Oh no! Mom!"


Back at Sona's sauna, Rias quickly got up from her seat, followed by Akeno.

"Sorry, Sona, I have to get back soon." the redhead's eyes narrow as she and her Queen started walking out. "Ise and Asia are in danger."

After watching the two exit the sauna, the corner of Sona's eyes caught Tsubaki looking down at her feet with a worried expression of her own. The Sitri Devil cocks an eyebrow in interest when she heard her whisper Issei's first name instead of his last name, like when they would speak to each other in public.


After getting the door unlocked, Issei threw the door open and ran inside his house with Asia following behind in worry.

"Mom! Where are you?!"

Issei was in full alert mode right now. If Freed was back and he came for his family, he was ready to take him on as soon as he found his mother and take care of the bastard that wishes to harm her.

But instead of hearing screams of fear, he heard joyful laughter from the living room, where the lights were still on. And his mother was the source of that laughter.

"Yes, that's right," he heard Yuki say to whoever she was talking to, prompting him and Asia to quietly sneak towards the entrance of the living room. "And here's Issei at the beach beating up some bullies who were taunting a kid his age."

Issei and Asia slowly peek out of the corner of the living room entrance to see what exactly was going on.

"Uh… Mom?"

Yuki turns her head around when she heard her son's voice and smiles at him and Asia, who was hiding behind him while peeking.

"Oh, Issei, welcome home." She then notices the worried expression on her son's face. "What's wrong? Did something happen to make you have that face?"

"N-N-No, it's nothing," Issei brushes off before setting his eyes on the three women in cloaks with their hoodies down behind them.

There was the blue-haired girl with a serious face, a light brown-haired girl with a happy smile, and then there's a short and petite girl who's cloak was pure black instead of the former two's white color with church-like decorations on them.

The black-cloaked girl has purple-blue eyes and short black hair with strands hanging in between her eyes.

'It appears that two of the three women were the source of our chills,' Issei thought before landing his eyes on the large clothed object that's shaped like a large sword. 'Especially with that thing over there.' He then looks at the black-haired girl who offered him a small smile, something that Issei didn't bother to notice because of the situation. 'As for her… I can't seem to get a read on her… not even her Reiatsu signature.'

Issei also saw the white shinai bag that was resting next to the right arm of the couch that she was sitting in. He couldn't get a read on the weapon inside of it either, but it at least told that it wasn't a Holy sword.

"It's been quite a while, hasn't it, Ise-chan?" Issei's attention was brought from the black-haired girl to the girl with the twintails and raises a brow at her. Irina saw it and giggled while pointing at herself. "What? You don't remember? It's me~"

Issei looks over her for a while, mostly looking at her face to piece together what she's talking about. It finally clicked and he pointed at her with an awed expression.

"Wait… are you… Irina-chan?!"

Irina jumps in the air with a fist pump in victory.

"You got it, Ise-chan! How have you been, buddy?"

Issei chuckles sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.

"Meh. Hanging in there, I guess."

"Ah, this takes me back," Yuki says while turning the page to Issei and Irina's childhood photo and showing it to them. "She used to look like a boy back then, and now she's become so ladylike that I almost couldn't tell who she was at first."

"Yeah," Issei agrees, slowly feeling the tension fade away. "I almost didn't recognize her because of her change in hairstyle."

Irina laughs with Issei while scratching the back of her head.

"Yeah, well, I thought with that hairstyle back then, I kinda looked like a boy. Heck, I even acted boyish back then, too."

Issei sweat drops at his childhood friend.

"Dude… even girls can style their hair into a spiky ponytail like you use to have."

"Well, it looked boyish to me, so I ditched it and went with my hair's current look." After laughing that off, Irina looks at Issei sincerely. "Anyway, it seems that a lot has happened to both of us in the time we've spent apart." She then giggles with closed eyes. "You never really know what will happen when you're reunited!"

"Um… Yeah…" Issei says slowly after noticing the mean stare from the blue-haired girl. After following her eyes, he saw that they landed on Asia, who was still a little nervous about what's going on right now. He didn't know why, but he didn't like how that girl was staring at Asia, and not just because she's a Devil.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Issei's attention was now on the black-haired girl, who stood up from her spot on the couch after she spoke what she spoke. He watched the girl walk towards him and flash him a smile, making him raise an eyebrow at her. "Hey there, Issei. It's been a while."

While Irina gasped and the blue-haired girl rose a brow, a question mark popped from both Issei and Asia's head. The former of whom tilted his head at her.

"Uh… Who are you?"

Even though she was still smiling, the black-haired girl now has a tick mark on her forehead while her eyebrows twitched.

"Really? You don't remember who I am? It should be easy since I personally don't think my appearance has changed one bit back when we were younger, other than that I've gotten taller and had a haircut."

Issei looks her up and down with his eyes before drawing another blank.

"Nope. can't remember."

The girl's tick mark grew larger. But before she could say anything else, Yuki intervened by tapping Issei on the shoulder, making him look at her.

"Issei, this girl here is Rukia Kuchiki. She was your sparring partner back at the Kendo Dojo when you two were eleven."

"Eh?"

With his eyes broadened a bit, he turns his head back to Rukia and takes a closer look at her facial structure. After five more seconds of looking, it rang in his head as he landed his fist into the open palm of his hand.

"Oh! You're that Rukia-san!"

'Now he remembers,' Rukia thought with an eye roll as she hoped he would recognize her in an instant instead of taking some time into remembering.

Issei then leaned over her to take a look at the back of her head.

"Sorry I didn't notice earlier. The back of your hair was usually a little longer, stopping at your shoulders."

Rukia gives Issei a deadpan stare.

"Do you only remember people by their exact hairstyle or something?"

Issei puts his hands up in defense.

"O-Of course not! I'm not doing that on purpose!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Issei and Rukia turn their heads when they heard Irina exclaim in bewilderment while staring at the latter with a pout. "Rukia-sama, you never told me you knew Ise-chan too!"

"And I told you not to address me with that suffix in public, Irina," Rukia grunts with an agitated expression.

"She's not lying, Irina," Yuki adds as she found the photo she was looking for in the album and presented it to the three.

When Issei and Rukia got a look at it, they share a dark blush of embarrassment while their hair overshadowed their eyes.

In the photograph, a younger Issei and Rukia could be seen in their Kendo gear with both of their practice swords bonked on each other's head, leading them to both have swirly eyes.

"In the photo, you can see the two squaring off in a sparring match."

Rukia sighs while pinching the bridge of her nose.

"And as you can tell… our match ended in a draw…"

Issei shares an embarrassed face with Rukia.

'Dammit, mom. Of all the photos of us you show them, it's that one?'


After the reunions were settled and the girls left, Issei and Asia saw Rias bursting in his room with a worried face and ran over to them. The two Devils were then caught off guard when she trapped them in a bear hug after closing the door behind her, with Issei's head propped in between her breasts.

"Oh, thank goodness you two are safe," Rias says in sweet relief. "I'm so sorry, I should have been paying more attention. I was prepared for the worst when I came back. I'm really glad you two are okay. I'm going to take better care of you from now on."

"Uh… Buchou?"

"Yes, Ise?"

Issei's eyes shift away while he tried to get his head out of her cleavage.

"Your… Your breasts are…"

Rias blinks at Issei and giggles before letting him go.

"Alright, I understand," she says as she proceeds to unbutton her shirt. "Oh Ise, you really are a spoiled child~"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" Issei shouts while forming an X with his arms while Asia shakes her blushing head in agreement, stopping her from removing her shirt.

After calming down, Issei explained to Rias everything that's happened while she was gone, earning a raised brow from his master after he finished.

"They were just talking to your mother?"

"Yes," Issei confirms with a nod. "I even made an excuse for Asia to return to her room. And judging from the girl with blue hair's looks towards me, and especially Asia, she might've known we're Devils as they were leaving."

After taking in what he said, Rias nods.

"That's fine. I don't know what they're planning, but we'll find out when we see them tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Issei asks with raised brows.

"Apparently, they will be coming to our club room tomorrow after school."


Two hours later, Issei was called by the same man he formed his third contract with to grant another wish. And that wish was to go fishing with him, which was an activity that really hit home with the brown-haired boy.

'Man… I haven't gone fishing since my dad took me and my mom to fish when I was nine,' Issei thought with a small smile before it turned back into a frown when he then thought about the three girls from the Church visiting the club room tomorrow. 'But… for my childhood friends to be followers of the church… why is my mind telling me that it's not going to go well..?'

"Something on your mind, Devil boy?"

"Hmm?"

Issei turns towards his third pact, who he doesn't know is named Azazel, and blinks at him twice before sighing.

"Oh! Sorry, sir, I was just thinking about tomorrow and how… something might happen." He looks back towards the pond. "At this point, I'm pretty thankful that your request is to go fishing with you."

"Because it's getting your mind off of things?"

Issei nods slowly.

"You can say that."

Azazel chuckles kindly before smiling towards Issei.

"Well, a Devil shouldn't look so down in the dumps. Things in this world usually turn out okay, so there's no point in worrying about the future."

Issei looks down at his knees.

"I'll try to keep that in mind."

Azazel's smile widens at Issei, believing that he'll pull through in the future. He then looks to see Issei's bobber bouncing.

"Oi, Devil boy, you've got a bite."

Issei looks towards his fishing bobber and saw that it was still bouncing, giving him a chance to pull his rod up and reel in whatever type of fish he caught. After he got it, Azazel looks with an impressed face.

"A Japanese koi. That's a very impressive catch, Devil boy."

Issei laughs a little while looking at the fish he caught.

"Thanks."


On the next day after school, Rias is sitting with the three women from the Church in the club room in front of her, with her Devil servants standing behind the couch their master is sitting on.

While standing in silence, Issei noticed that Yuuto was once again nowhere to be found, making him wonder if he will ever be able to get over his past.

"Thank you for agreeing to speak with us, Rias Gremory," Rukia says with polite sincerity. "My name is Rukia Kuchiki. While I am not from the Church, I have been hired by them to escort and watch over these two Exorcists sitting next to me."

Issei was slightly taken back by her intro. He always thought that Rukia was a part of the Church when he first saw her with the other two girls, but now, he knows that that's not the case.

After Rukia introduced herself, she gave the two Exorcists the green light to introduce themselves next, starting with the blue-haired girl.

"I am Xenovia Quarta."

"And I'm Irina Shidou."

While Xenovia's intro was stern, Irina's was more peaceful.

"Now then," Rias began. "I wonder why two followers of God would want to meet with a Devil?"

Irina went ahead to answer.

"You see, of the six swords with known whereabouts, the Church still has three of them, but those three were stolen by Fallen Angels."

"Stolen?" Rias repeats while her servants share the same surprised expression as her.

"The Holy swords we carry are from the ones that are left," Xenovia explains while presenting her clothed blade to Rias. "The one I wield is called Excalibur Destruction."

Irina goes next by showing the Devils a white band on her left arm.

"And the one I have here is Excalibur Mimic."

"I don't use a Holy Sword," Rukia expresses while lifting her white shinai bag slightly before putting it back down. "Instead, I have my own special sword to use when I fight."

Rias nods in understanding and then cuts to the chase.

"Alright then, with that out of the way, what is it you three wish to talk about?"

"The problem at hand is between us and the Fallen Angels," Xenovia says sternly with narrowed eyes. "We don't need the Devils to in this town to intervene."

Rias matches the Exorcist's serious stare.

"You speak as if you're accusing us of something. Are you saying that we'll side with the Fallen Angels and do something about the Holy swords?"

Xenovia smirks dangerously as her brows furrowed further.

"For a Devil, a Holy sword is a detestable object. Perhaps your interests match up with the Fallen Angels'?"

As soon as she asked that, Issei felt a spike of Reiatsu and Demonic power from Rias, with his other friends feeling it too.

'Uh oh! She's done pissed her off, now.'

"If that's true, then we will completely annihilate you," Xenovia continues, now standing from her seat. "Even if you are the little sister of a Maou."

"Xenovia! Don't provoke her with such assumptions!" Rukia scolds with a glare. "And don't even think about pulling off what you've just said unless you want to face the wrath of Sirzechs if he finds out his sister was slain by your hands."

While she flinched a little at her harsh tone, Xenovia shot a glare back.

"What? Are you siding with the Devils now, Rukia-sama?"

Rukia's glare tightens on the blue-haired exorcist, making her take a step back in slight dread.

"Of course not, idiot. I'm just making sure you don't get yourself killed."

Issei kept his stare onto Rukia and saw how her words and her glare alone were enough to silence her and make her sit back down.

'Yup… She hasn't changed in that department.'

Rias then clears her throat, getting Xenovia's attention.

"If you know me that well already, then let me tell you this, Xenovia: There is no way I'd ever ally myself with the Fallen Angels. To do such a thing would besmirch the name of the House of Gremory or the Maou."

Xenovia makes a clicking noise with her tongue.

"It's enough just to hear that. I was just relaying the thoughts of those at the headquarters."

With a smirk, Xenovia picks up her clothed sword and props it on her lap.

"Then you understand that I will not aid your side either?" Rias questions.

"Of course," Xenovia answers. "I'm fine if you promise not to intervene with anything that happens in this town."

With a sigh, Rias smiles in relief.

"Understood." With that, settled, the three girls stood up from the couch opposite of Rias "I apologize for taking up your time. Since you're here, would any of you three like some tea?"

While Rukia and Irina shake their heads politely, Xenovia scoffs.

"No thanks. I'm not here to make friends with Devils." As the three girls were about to leave, Xenovia stops and shifts her head towards Asia, who flinched a little at her glare. "I thought it was possible when we visited Issei Hyoudou's house…"

"Huh?" Irina tilts her head in confusion.

"What are you talking about, Xenovia?" Rukia questions.

Ignoring her escort, Xenovia kept her stare on Asia and furrowed her brows.

"Tell me, are you Asia Argento?"

"Um… yes," Asia replies slowly, stunned at how she knew her name.

Xenovia's glare tightens on the blonde girl.

"Hmph! I didn't think I would meet a witch in a place like this."

Asia gasps at what she's called her, but Issei quickly glares at Xenovia without hesitation.

"Oh? you're the former saint who became a witch?" Irina questions in surprise, making Asia feel more uncomfortable. "I heard you'd been banished because your power was also able to heal Devils and Fallen Angels. Who would've thought you'd become a Devil?"

Issei saw that Asia was getting more fearful by the second as she started remembering her dark times.

"I… I…"

"Irina, don't make her uncomfortable!" Rukia scolds. "Her past is none of your business!"

"Even so, Rukia-sama, for someone who had been a saint to be a Devil," Xenovia interjects. "There's no saving a rotten egg."

Asia began shuttering like a child afraid of a monster in their closet.

"That's enough!" Issei shouts at Xenovia, beating Rukia, who was about to scold them again. "Stop acting like jerks to Asia!"

Issei knew that it's a bad idea to pick a fight with the exorcists, but that didn't stop him from speaking like he did.

"Tell me, Asia," Xenovia continued to address to Asia. "I'm curious. Do you still believe in God?"

Issei's eyes widen at her question before shifting them towards Asia, whose bangs were now blocking her eyes from his view.

"But Xenovia, she's become a Devil," Irina argues gently.

"And?" Xenovia counters with Rukia getting pissed at the two in the background. "There are those who remain pious even in the midst of their betrayal. She seems like one of them."

Now curious herself, Irina spoke up to a hyperventilating Asia.

"Hey, Asia-san, do you still believe in God? Even after becoming a Devil?"

With her bangs still covering her eyes, Asia spoke up.

"I… I just can't give it up. Because I had always believed in God." A tear sheds from her eye, making Issei more furious at Xenovia, who approached her with her Holy sword in hand.

"In that case, you should let yourself be executed by us right now."

Asia gasps in fear, making Issei's eyes turn livid.

"Xenovia!" Rukia shouts in anger. "She is a servant of Rias Gremory! Do you think she'll just let you kill her?!"

"Rukia-sama, even if she is sinful, our God will reach out his hand in forgiveness," Xenovia calmly argues while getting closer to Asia. "Asia, let yourself be convicted by my hand, in the name of our Lord."

"I'd stop right there if I were you," Rias growls as she stood up from her spot. "If you're going to keep looking down at my servant like that, you'll regret it." Her eyes narrow. "I'd suggest you heed your escort's warning."

Xenovia smirks at Rias.

"I assure you, Devil, I am not looking down on her. As a believer, it's perfectly natural to feel pity."

Xenovia was about to say more but was stopped when Issei suddenly appeared in front of her with his Shunpo with his hair overshadowing his eyes, making everyone stare at him in shock.

"Ise, no!" Rias shouts.

"Don't do it!" Akeno adds in worry.

"Ise-san…"

Asia watches Issei from behind and sees his hands balled into fists.

But despite that, everyone's eyes broaden when they hear Issei release a hollow chuckle from his lips.

"What's so funny, Devil?" Xenovia questions, making Issei lift his head up, revealing his rage-fueled eyes.

"Your idiocy in your religion. That's what's funny."

Xenovia was offended.

"And what's so idiotic about it?"

Issei answers her question with another question.

"Tell me, Xenovia Quartet, where exactly did you get your religious teachings? From the Holy Bible itself?" His eyes widen further. "Or some old political fart who twisted the Bible's words for their own personal gain?!"

Everyone was taken back by this, especially Asia, Irina, and Xenovia.

"E… Excuse you?"

With a grunt, Issei continued.

"What I'm asking is: would God really look at you in kindness if you murdered Asia in his name?"

Xenovia paused for a moment before smiling while sweating.

"O… Of course he would. Asia is someone who would be considered a Witch; something that God doesn't love at all."

"Ha! Sorry to break it to you, but despite myself being a Devil, you're wrong." Everyone gasped at his counter. "Because when I first met Asia, she's a girl who had absolutely zero intention of ever sinning. In fact, she never sinned at all! All she ever wanted was to have as many friends as possible! But because of one mistake… that one mistake she had no intention of making… she was all alone; Isolated from you bastards because she had no idea that the person she healed was a Devil!"

"Ise-san…"

Asia watched on with more tears leaking from her eyes. The other Devils, plus Rukia and Irina, remained silent when they heard those words of compassion.

"A saint can live with the love of God alone," Xenovia grunts. "If she really wanted love and friendship, then she didn't have what it takes to be a saint, anyway."

With a growl, Issei took a step closer towards the Exorcist. His knuckles were turning white as he clenched his fists tighter with his black and white aura leaking from them, something that the Gremory Devils and Rukia noticed. And Rukia paid close attention not only to his words but his aura as well.

"Listen here, pal, I've been in many church sessions with Irina-chan when I was younger to tell you again that you're wrong! Did the Popes of the Catholic Church have a family?! Did they not have friends?! The prophets from the bible, as well as the saints, while they received God's love, they also had worldly support from their friends and family! Sure, most prophets were ridiculed and ignored by a majority of non-believers at the time, but they had at least one person who believed in them and supported them!"

Xenovia gasped and took a step back from Issei. She couldn't respond nor counter anything he's said to her so far, and neither could Irina.

Asia's tears continued to fall from her eyes while she tried her best to not let out a cry.

Rukia, on the other hand, just kept watching Issei while her smile kept growing.

"And you have the guts to call Asia sinful?" Issei continues with a snarl. "Let's go back in time. When Jesus Christ, a man born of human flesh and the spirit of God, was crucified and killed, did he want death to those that wanted him dead? No! His principle teaching was that kindness, and no sacrifices of any kind were what God wanted from Humans! And here you are, wanting to kill Asia, an orphan abandoned as a baby, 'in the name of God' because she had no sign that told her that the person she healed was a Devil!

"Why did I bring Jesus in? Because when Asia was killed by a Fallen Angel, who was greedy for her healing powers when she discovered that it could heal all beings, she didn't want any will harm to her! None whatsoever!" Issei pauses when tears started filling in his eyes. "She smiled… She smiled despite the fact that she was dying! She wanted no ill will towards the Fallen Angel while she was dying! SHE WANTED NO ILL WILL TO THOSE WHO LABELED HER A WITCH WHILE SHE WAS DYING!"

Xenovia and Irina started shivering when more of his words started to hit them harder. And in his rage, more black and white aura started fuming from his body.

'Issei's Spiritual Power…' Rukia muses with amazed eyes. 'It's growing off the charts!'

"So, if you'd ask me, Asia, even as a Devil, is a way more faithful Christian than you will ever be, Xenovia!" Issei points a finger at her. "So don't you dare decide what's right and wrong and cloak it to be in the name of your almighty God!"

Unable to hold it in anymore, Asia began to sob in her hands after hearing the man she loves defend her with his words. Koneko immediately hugged her and patted her back while telling her "It's okay." As she was, she looked towards Issei with eyes of approval, but that didn't stop her from worrying about him because of how much of his aura was leaking, especially with some pieces of the white aura breaking itself off of the black aura.

Even Rias and Akeno teared up from Issei's speech.

After seeing Xenovia defeated as she looked down with her eyes covered by her bangs, Issei then sets his glare onto Irina, who froze at the sight of his rage-fueled eyes and his aura.

"And as for you, Irina," he didn't bother to add the suffix. "What the hell is wrong with you? How could you believe that Asia is no longer a believer after becoming a Devil? I've been with her my entire life as a Devil, and not only does she still believe, she also prays to God. Sure, she'll suffer a migraine if she does, but that doesn't stop her from praying for the safety of other innocent people. You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Irina's irises contract in shock at his words, only for her eyes to lower in shame afterward, as she admits mentally that despite the fact that he's now a Devil, he was right.

The Gremory Devils, minus Asia, who was still crying on Koneko's shoulder, look towards Rukia, who gives them a shrug.

"I've got nothing to say. Issei's spot on here." Then, with a cough, she gets the two Exorcists' attention, snapping them from their guilt-ridden expressions. "Let's go, girls. Rias made it clear that she won't interfere in your mission."

Irina nodded right away while Xenovia looks down one more time before uttering "Yeah."

Rukia bows her head to Rias before picking up her shinai bag, with the two Exorcists standing up from the couch.

Issei took a deep breath to calm himself down, resulting in his aura to evaporate. As he did, he felt Asia hug him from behind while burying her face into his back.

"Ise-san…" she whispers with two hiccups. "Thank you…"

Issei smiles with eyes of sympathy before patting her on the head. He then turned around to hug her back, allowing her to lay her head on his chest.

"Not so fast."

Everyone turns their heads when they hear the door open, revealing a frowning Kiba who gave the two Exorcists a harsh glare. The Gremory Devils look at him in surprise.

"Oh? And who might you be?" Rukia questions the blonde man curiously, while mentally acknowledging that he's a Devil.

Setting his glare onto her, Yuuto points a finger at the Exorcists, earning raised brows from the two.

"I'm their senpai," he answers with malice. "Although, unfortunately, I was considered a failure."

"Yuuto…"

Rias understood where this was going quickly as she followed Yuuto's glare. He wasn't glaring entirely at the exorcists, but rather, what Xenovia was now carrying on her back.

"Kiba," Issei interjects. "What do you think you're doing here."

Yuuto releases a dark chuckle, something that didn't sit well with the Gremory Devils.

"Isn't it obvious, Issei? I finally have my chance…"

Yuuto then slowly approaches the Exorcists, who looked at him with caution.

"Whoa! Hold on!" Rukia intervenes. "Have you come here to kill these Exorcists. If so, I'll have to stop you!"

"Of course not…" Yuuto answers blankly. "I'm here for what they carry…"


Issei didn't know how it came to this, but it did. Right now, he, Yuuto, Irina, and Xenovia were in the middle of the field from behind the old school building ready to have a spar with each other after Yuuto challenged them.

The rest of the Gremory Devils plus Rukia were watching on the sidelines, with Asia worried about what's going to happen.

'Dammit Yuuto,' Issei cursed mentally while gripping onto the hilt of his sheathed Scale Blade. 'Is your mind that clouded in destroying those swords?'

"Now then, shall we begin?" Xenovia asks before she and Irina reach for their cloaks before removing them from their bodies.

Upon tossing them aside, the Exorcists were revealed to be wearing black combat attire. Though, what made Issei deadpan about it was how… revealing it was. Not skin wise, but rather, the combat suits were skintight and showed off their curves.

'What the hell… I know it's to make their movements in combat easier, but still…'

"Is this really okay," Akeno asks Rias. "Fighting with people from the Church without permission?"

"This is just an informal bout," Rias says with Rukia nodding.

"Plus, I gave the okay for them to fight," Rukia adds. "If it gets bad, we'll stop it right away."

"Agreed."

While Rias nodded with Rukia, she didn't know about the black-cloaked girl's true intention on allowing the spar.

"If the higher-ups had found out we were having this spar, we'd all be in trouble," Irina says while grabbing the white band from her arm. As she took it off, the band expanded and twirled around like a whip before taking on the form of a Japanese katana.

"Let's have a good fight," Xenovia says while removing her cloth, revealing a two-handed sword with a very long grip and a cross in the pommel. It also contains an axe-like guard and a second grip with a chain-like form connecting the guard with the blade, the blade itself being huge and long that ends with three points. "Without killing each other, of course."

Issei was about to unsheathe his Scale Blade, but before he could, he paused when he, Irina and Xenovia heard Yuuto chuckling while gripping the hilt of his Holy Eraser.

"There you go, laughing again," Xenovia says in agitation. "Care to share the joke, Devil?"

Yuuto lifts his head up to look at Xenovia. Despite his smile, his glare was still on the Exorcist's weapon.

"It's because the thing I wanted to destroy more than anything appeared before my eyes."

With a wider grin, a shower of swords impaled the ground all around him, making the blue-haired Exorcist watch with an impressed stare.

"Sword Birth?" She thought about it for a while before it came to her. "Yes, I remember now. There was a test subject in the Holy Sword Project who escaped disposal." Her eyes narrow. "And you must be him."

"Oh, Ise-chan!" Irina exclaims with her hands in prayer and stars in her eyes, the latter of which weirded Issei out a little. "While you spoke truth back there, I still can't believe that I would see you as a Devil in our reunion! This must be a cruel test of my faith!"

"… Wha..?"

Irina positions herself in prayer with her sword in hand.

"I thought I would learn to use a Holy sword, move far away, and become helpful." She gets into a T-shape position with a moan of frustration. "Oh~, this is also a trial from God~" She then rubs her shoulder. "But if I can overcome this, I will be another step closer to true faith!"

Issei looks at the flamboyant Irina with beady eyes while unsheathing his Scale Blade.

Meanwhile, in the sidelines, the Gremory Devils saw Rukia face-palming herself after they heard her release an annoyed breath.

"My God, she's a freaking weirdo when it comes to her beliefs," she grunts, with Koneko nodding at her in agreement.

After composing herself, Irina gets into a fighting position, as does Issei.

"Now, Ise-chan, I shall judge your sin for becoming a Devil with my Excalibur! Prepare to repent! Amen~!"

Issei positions his weapon to block her incoming strike.

"Boosted Gear!"

{Boost!}

Issei stands his ground to wait for Irina to strike, only for her to jump above him with her blade lifted above her head.

"Ise-san, look out!"

With a grunt, Issei decides to dodge out of the way instead of blocking. While he managed to dodge without getting cut, his shirt wasn't left unscathed as it got a cut on both sides of where the buttons and holes are.

'Shit! Thank the Gods I had it unbuttoned.'

{Boost!}

"Oi! Irina! Wasn't this supposed to be a friendly match. That attack felt serious!"

Issei paused his talking when he saw her wiggling her body around with a hand on her cheek, weirding him out again.

"Oh, to have to kill my childhood friend in my hometown! What a cruel fate this is!"

"Are you even listening to me?!" Issei questions with white eyes and shark teeth.

"Ise! Avoid direct attacks!"

"I know, Buchou! I know!"

{Boost!}

"The Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet," Xenovia says after getting a quick glance at the Boosted Gear wielder before looking back at Yuuto. "With Asia Argento's Twilight Healing and your Sword Birth, Yuuto Kiba, you've got a lot of the pagan Sacred Treasures."

"My power comes from the resentment of my fallen comrades," Yuuto tells her before grabbing a sword and aiming it at her. "The ones killed, who died with regrets!"

Yuuto charges Xenovia with a horizontal slash, only for her to block it with her Excalibur Destruction. Yuuto continued to slash at Xenovia, and because of his anger, his attacks were more that of a berserker's than a skilled swordsman.

"With this power, I will destroy the Excaliburs and their wielders!"

'Not with your mind clouded in this much anger,' Rukia disputes in her mind while the Gremory Devils watch in worry. As they were watching Yuuto, Rukia sets her stare back onto Issei, who continued to defend himself from Irina's fast attacks, and focuses only on him.

"Just being touched by a Holy sword can cause a lot of damage to a Devil," Akeno says. "They're at a big disadvantage. They can both manage their speed, but if Issei were to be pushed to a corner…"

Rias understood where her Queen was going with this.

"That situation might happen again like back in the Rating Game."

After crossing her arms under her bust, Rias noticed Rukia watching Issei and Irina's battle intently from the corner of her eye. Upon further inspection, she saw that the black-cloaked girl was only watching him. Not Irina, not both of them, but only Issei.

This raised questions in the Gremory Devil's head, but she decided to keep it to herself and continue to watch the two fight.

During their battle, Issei was able to block Irina's next strike and got her Excalibur caught in between two scale-shaped blades.

Irina gasped when she saw this, but Issei grinned and swung his sword to his left, intending to break her sword in half.

But instead, he made Irina spin around and stagger while the blades released her sword, making Issei make a face of confusion.

'What?! It didn't break!'

"The Scale blade may be able to claw apart other weapons and pieces of stone and other hard debris," Rukia states, getting the Gremory Devils to look at her. "But even a Trick Weapon has their limits when it comes to their blades' strength, especially when one is up against a Holy sword like an Excalibur."

The Gremory Devils look at Rukia with surprised expressions.

"Ara ara, you know of the Trick Weapons, Rukia-san?"

"I do," she answers with a nod before showing the Devils her shinai bag. "In fact, I'm in possession of a Trick Weapon myself."

Gasps went around from Devil to Devil. First, Issei obtained one, and now, they found another user.

Rukia then looks at Rias with a deadpan.

"And before you ask, no, I ain't joining your peerage because I have a Trick Weapon. Don't bother asking."

Rias sweat drops while chuckling and scratching the back of her head.

"R-Right…"

Back with Issei and Irina, the latter took this chance to take down Issei while he looked at his Scale Blade, still puzzled that it didn't destroy Excalibur Mimic.

"Your back's turned, Ise-chan!"

"Shit!"

Issei quickly lifts his Boosted Gear embedded arm to parry the blade and counter with a kick to her stomach, making her stumble away while looking at Issei with wide eyes.

"Oh! I forgot about that," Rias says in relief while smiling at his left arm, remembering what he did back in the Rating Game.

Issei kept his stare on Irina and grinned.

'Good thing my arm is that of a Dragon's now, otherwise, it would've been game over.'

Irina pouted at how the Holy power in the sword didn't affect Issei.

"Mou! You're getting more tricky, Ise-chan!"

"Heh! I'm not the same shy boy you used to know anymore, Irina-chan," Issei declares with a laugh while balling his left hand into a fist.

BA-BUMP!

"!"

Suddenly, Issei felt a disturbance within himself. Unbeknownst to the man, his left iris flashed golden-yellow for a split second before it returned to its original brown color.

This sudden swapping of colors in his left eye didn't go unnoticed by Rukia, who was paying much more attention to his fight than the Gremory Devils were.

'What was that sudden spike of Spiritual Power just now?' Rukia questioned in her thoughts.

Understanding what was going on after feeling it slightly for a few more seconds, Issei's expression changes to a serious one with eyes of uneasiness.

"Tch! Since it's come to this, I'll have to do that move," Issei whispers to himself, Irina tilting her head in wonder what he said. "I won't lose myself if I use it."

"Eh?" A question mark popped from Irina's head when she and Rukia heard the last bit. "… Lose yourself?"

The two and the Gremory Devils then look to see Issei quietly sheathing his Scale Blade. He then did the same with the Destruction sword on his back before looking back at Irina and puts his fists up, further confusing them.

"Alright… Let's end this quickly."

{Boost!}

While Irina and Rukia were confused, Koneko immediately caught the tone Issei used in his voice. It was a tone of uneasiness, and a tone that said that he didn't want to kill her.

But what the white-haired Loli was able to see from her position was his face. That got Koneko worried for Issei because that was the exact same face he made after they took care of the Devil that was a Visored.

"Huh? Why did you throw away your swords?" Irina questions with a raised brow. "And what's with the sudden change in mood. First, you're into the battle, and now…"

Koneko wasn't entirely if this is true, but after much thought, she kind of figured out why Issei's doing it.

"Issei-senpai…"

With a grunt, Issei puts his right foot back and opens his right hand. As he did, a small black aura with a white aura outlining it appeared above his palm.

'Huh? What is that? Magic?' Irina mused while keeping an eye on him. 'Whatever it is, I better be careful. But still… What's gotten into Ise-chan? Why does he look… worried?'

Back with Yuuto and Xenovia, they clashed blades once more before Yuuto jumped back to his swords and impaled the one he was using on the ground. He then pulled two of his swords from the ground and raised them into the air, with Xenovia watching while standing her ground.

"Burn! Then Freeze!"

With his swords, flames began to coat one sword's blade, and ice coated the other. Then, while charging at Xenovia, he swung the blades relentlessly, throwing constant attacks of fire and ice, only for Xenovia to dodge them all effortlessly while getting close to the blonde Devil.

"You're being reckless and naive!"

When she got close enough, Xenovia destroyed Yuuto's weapons with one swing, making him gasp at what just happened. The blue-haired Exorcist then aimed the tip of the blade towards the ground below her and stabs it with all of her might.

Before Yuuto could blink, the area that Xenovia was standing on exploded, making everyone, including Issei and Irina, stumble and try to catch their balance due to the sudden quake that Xenovia's move caused.

While everyone was able to remain on their feet, Irina couldn't and landed on her butt.

When the smoke cleared, Everyone except Rukia widen their eyes at the sight of a massive crater Xenovia's Excalibur Destruction caused.

"Now you know that its name, Excalibur Destruction, is not for show," Xenovia informs while standing up and getting back into a fighting position.

Yuuto looked on at the crater with a drop of sweat rolling down his cheek.

"Even after being split into seven… it still has this much destructive power?" His lips turn into a smile while shifting his eyes back at Xenovia. "Then there's going to be a lot of carnage to destroy them all."

Issei heard what Yuuto said and shuddered at the tone he used in his voice.

"Kiba…"

"Mou! Xenovia!" Irina pouts while dusting her butt. "Why did you destroy the ground so suddenly?" She then looks back at Issei with her sword ready. "Now then, it's time to settle this, Ise-chan."

Irina rushes towards Issei and aims her sword for his body, making Issei get ready.

{Boost!}

'… I need to stop her with my explosive magic. If I do that, it'll now be two on one with Xenovia. If Kiba keeps fighting her, I fear it won't end well… not even for me if my fight with Irina-chan drags on any further.'

With a nod, Issei looks at Irina and coats his hands in his black and white aura, readying himself to set up the explosive magic circles on her body.

With a battle cry, Issei aims a right-handed strike towards Irina, only for her to dodge out of the way from his attack.

'He's fighting with hand-to-hand combat now,' Rukia thought as she watched Issei continue to throw palm strike after palm strike at Irina, even using his Shunpo to get behind her. 'Even with the speed he's using to attack Irina and dodge her attacks, he's still not landing a hit. And his expression…' Rukia's eyes narrow when she got a look at Issei's worried face. 'Something's not right…'

Meanwhile, the Gremory Devils were watching Issei fight Irina with just his punches and kicks.

"He's still not going to pick up one of his swords?" Asia asked with a puzzled face.

"With or without a sword, Ise-kun's movements have gotten more flexible and quick, even without using his Shunpo."

Rias nods in agreement, but she had one question in mind that she spoke out loud.

"But even so, that isn't him in full strength. Why is Ise fighting like this? And why did he ditch his swords?"

Koneko kept watching Issei fight while listening to her comrades talk about him. Unable to keep silent, she decided to spill it.

"Issei-senpai is holding back…" Everyone minus the four who are fighting looked towards Koneko when she heard her say that. "I… I think he's holding back on purpose… And it's not because he doesn't want to kill her."

Rias' eyes broaden at her Rook's explanation.

"Then what is it, Koneko-chan?"

Slowly, Koneko turned her head towards Rias and gave her a serious, but worried stare.

"Buchou… with all due respect, I think you should know exactly why."

Everyone thought about what she said for a moment before they, with the exception of Rukia who didn't understand what she was talking about, slowly widen their eyes in realization.

"You mean…" Rias began before looking back at Issei with worry all over her face. "It's because of Ise's…"

Back in the fight, Irina could be seen running from Issei to get distance after she dodged another palm strike.

"Kyaaaah! You're attacking really fast Ise-chan! But that doesn't mean I can't keep up!"

With Shunpo, Issei got back in front of her while his hands were still engulfed in his aura.

"I don't want to kill you, Irina-chan." Irina tilted her head at Issei as she saw him frowning with unreadable eyes. "Let's end this before this carries on for too long."

Rukia's brows raise. Why did Issei want this to be over quickly? Just what was bothering her childhood friend and Kendo partner right now.

With gritted teeth, Issei jumped forward and aimed his right fist for Irina's stomach. Just as it was about to reach her, Irina jumped back and aimed a slash at Issei, only for Issei to narrowly escape her blade and roll away from her.

After getting back on his feet, Issei puts his fists back up and keeps his stare on Irina, who was still standing with her sword in front of herself.

"You've grown to be very strong, Ise-chan," Irina complimented. "Even your speed is amazing… However,"

Issei saw Irina begin to smirk, and he didn't know why she was. But then, Issei suddenly felt weaker and fell to his knees.

'What..? Why..?' Issei slowly looks down when he starts feeling a surge of pain in his chest, and his eyes widened when he saw a small cut on his chest, with a small amount of blood leaking from the wound. 'She got me?! But… I didn't feel it when she cut me!'

Rukia and the Gremory Devils saw the cut and have looks of fear, with Rukia keeping her posture.

"Ise!"

"It was just a scratch…" Asia muttered as she watches a disgusting black aura flow from the wound.

"It's because it's damage from a Holy sword," Akeno explains with fear in her eyes.

"D… Dammit!" Issei growls as he tries to get back up with wobbly legs.

{Reset!}

After the Boosted gear made that announcement, Issei was forced back onto his hands and knees. His Sacred Gear then deactivates, leaving his left arm bare.

"N… No good…" Issei shutters. "This Holy power… it's still affecting me!"

"It seems the power of his Boosted Gear has been released," Rukia announces. "He's surpassed his limits."

While Irina deactivated her Excalibur, she and Issei look over to Yuuto and Xenovia to see how their allies are doing. And sure enough, to the dismay of Issei, Yuuto was still struggling against Xenovia.

"It's over, Yuuto Kiba," Xenovia says after she destroyed all of his swords. "You should give up now before things get worse for you."

Yuuto snarled at the Exorcist. He then looks over to the destruction sword Issei removed from his back and grabs it by the hilt. After unsheathing it from its scabbard, he shoots his rage-fueled glare back to Xenovia.

"Now… Let's see which destructive power is better… your Holy sword, or this Demonic sword!"

Xenovia watches Yuuto charge at her with an unimpressed face.

"Too bad."

Without any effort at all since Yuuto's speed was slower with the large sword, Xenovia struck the back of his right hand with the axe guard of her Excalibur. When the blade cut deep, Yuuto was forced to release his weapon and hold onto the wound while roaring in pain.

"Your only weapons are the different swords and your speed," Xenovia says to Yuuto, who backed away towards the large sword while his hand was still in pain because of the Holy power. "Not only do you lack the strength to use a large sword, but you're also sealing away the speed that you're so proud of. How did you not realize that?"

Yuuto panted while he bent down towards the large sword. With his good arm, he picks it up and sluggishly drags it across the ground. He couldn't lift it up fully because of its weight, so the blade itself was still resting on the ground.

"I'm… not… done… yet!"

"Kiba! Don't!" Rias exclaims, worried for her Knight's safety.

"Are you still trying to fight," Xenovia giggles while shaking her head. "You're still being foolish. But I'll make sure you understand your situation, senpai."

Issei watches Xenovia approach Yuuto with her blade ready while Yuuto kept growling at her, still willing to fight despite the wound on his hand.

'No! If he tries to keep fighting, he'll get himself killed!' With a grunt, Issei tries to get up from the ground, but because of the Holy power still affecting him, his arms and legs were still weak. No matter how strong his willpower was, he can't get his arms and legs to move. 'Come on… I need to move… and save Kiba..! Move… Move! MOVE!'

BA-BUMP!

"Need help~?"

Issei's eyes bulge when he heard a familiar voice in his head. But before he could react at all, his irises turned gold-yellow and quickly shot his face up towards Xenovia.

The Gremory Devils and Rukia widen their eyes in shock when they see Issei suddenly approach Xenovia at a speed faster than the Devil's Knight trait, catching Xenovia and Yuuto off guard.

Before either Xenovia or Yuuto could react, Issei violently slams his fist into Xenovia's gut, knocking the wind out of her and making her drop her Excalibur. Before it could fall on the ground, Issei quickly picked it up by the hilt and slashes her stomach, forcing her face downwards while she gasped in reaction to the attack.

Everyone gasps loudly at the sudden actions at Issei and what they were seeing just now.

"Wh… What?!" Rias gasps with contracted irises as her heart stopped beating for a second when she saw what Issei is still carrying in his hand.

"Ise-kun's wielding Xenovia's holy sword… and isn't being harmed by it?!" Akeno questions in unbelief, sharing the same expression as her master's.

Even Yuuto was having a hard time believing it. His wide eyes and contracted pupils were glued onto Issei as he watched Issei wield Xenovia's sword with no problems at all.

When they watch Issei turn his body around and kick Xenovia across the field, that's when they saw it: Issei's emotionless stare and frown. And what stood out to them the most, including Rukia? His irises were gold-yellow.

This color change in his eyes rose red flags in the Gremory Devils' heads, especially Asia and Koneko, who both were staring at Issei in fear for him.

"Wh-Wh-What the heck?!" Irina exclaims as she brings her Excalibur Mimic back out. "H-How did you recover from your wound so-"

Issei speeds towards Irina in a blink of an eye and plunges the axe guard of Excalibur Destruction into her right shoulder. She screams in agony while blood spurted from her shoulder. Issei then snatches her Excalibur by the blade with his bare right hand and flips it over to catch it by the hilt.

With Excalibur Mimic in his right hand and his face still emotionless, Issei stabs Irina through the chest with it while dislodging Excalibur Destruction from her shoulder.

After pulling Excalibur Mimic out of her, Issei backhands Irina into Xenovia. Their heads crash into one another as they fall to the ground.

When Issei turned his body towards the downed Exorcists, Rukia looks at Issei with wide eyes of disbelief.

'No… I don't want to believe it… but… this Spiritual Power that's currently coursing through him… it… it feels like that of a Hollow's…'

The injured Exorcists slowly look up towards Issei who held both Excalibur in his hands. His glowing gold-yellow eyes were glued onto them.

"This… This Devil is able to wield a Holy sword?!" Xenovia questions with fear in her voice as she looked at his emotionless eyes. 'And those eyes…'

"Ise-chan…" Irina shivers with blood trickling from her mouth while she held onto her bleeding wound. "What… What's gotten into you..?"

Without a word, Issei coats the Holy swords into his black and white aura. The black aura covered the entire blades, while the white aura outlined them.

Rukia looked at the aura Issei conjured up and made a face of realization; noticing something that she hadn't noticed earlier.

'Those colored Spiritual Powers connected to each other… the black aura belongs to Issei… But that white aura…'

Her musing was interrupted when she and the Gremory Devils look to see the white aura slowly start to thicken. As it thickened, pieces of the white aura branched off of the black aura and fluttered away like shredded paper.

The people watching release another gasp when they see a black fluid-like color start slithering across Issei's left sclera. The tendrils of the black color connected to the iris, spilling more fear into the Gremory Devils.

Everyone looked on in horror, with the Gremory Devils thinking that his Hollow is going to take over again.

But there were two people who weren't going to allow it to happen.

""ISE-SAN/SENPAI!""

"!"

With Asia and Koneko's scream reaching him, Issei was snapped from his emotionless trance and released a heavy breath when he came to his senses. As he did, everyone saw Issei's eyes return to their original color while he started panting as if he was awakened from a long coma.

Issei was now looking towards the ground, fully understanding what has happened to him. His mind was so engrossed on what happened, that he didn't even bother to notice that he was still carrying the Holy swords without his hands being burned.

While shivering, Issei drops the Holy swords and slowly hovers his shaking hand over the left side of his face. Everyone could see that fear was evident in his face while his eyes were still on the ground.

"What's with the face? I just helped you rescue your sword fanatic from death and saved your skin from that Holy power. Give your horse some credit, will ya? Until your next battle, my King~"

Issei continued to shiver where he stood after he heard his Inner Hollow chuckle in his brain. He started hyperventilating while clutching his face tighter as he thought about what it could possibly mean for himself. Was his Hollow planning another take-over in the future? If so, when does he plan on doing so? He didn't know, and that's what's scaring Issei right now.

"Ise!"

Issei jumped and shot his head towards a worrying Rias. She noticed her Pawn's unsteady breathing and softened her eyes towards him.

"Are you okay, Ise-kun?" Akeno asks him with the same expression as Rias, Asia, Koneko and Rukia.

Issei looks back down for a brief moment before sighing with a nod and a frown.

"Asia… Please heal them quickly."

"R-Right away, Ise-san!"

Asia quickly ran over to the Exorcists and activates her Twilight Healing to take care of their wounds.

The two Exorcists wore shocked faces at the former nun's actions. Not exactly because she's healing them, but because she's doing so right away without hesitation. She didn't even question Issei if he was sure to heal them. And while she was healing them, the two girls saw that the blonde girl had a worrying face; a face that said she was hoping that they will be okay.

This made them shift their eyes down in remembrance of Issei's rant towards Xenovia. They remembered him saying that Asia never held malice towards those who labeled her as a witch, and after looking at her face again, she and Irina didn't find a single trace of a grudge in Asia's eyes as she finished healing them.

"There we go. You two should be able to move now," Asia informs them.

The two Exorcists make an attempt to get up, and as the blonde Devil stated, they got on their feet with no problem. It was like they never got injured at all.

"Um… Thank you… Asia…" Irina says slowly, only to be given a smile by the former nun.

"It's no problem," Asia replies. "I'm just thankful you two will still live."

Again, the Exorcists are shocked by Asia's kindness.

While Irina was the most shocked, Xenovia remembered something else and turned her head towards Issei.

"Hold on, Red Dragon Emperor."

While Issei did turn his head to her, his eyes were covered by his bangs.

"… I'm listening."

"Earlier, you were fighting us with the intention to kill," Her brows narrow. "What's with the sudden change in heart?"

Issei was silent for a moment before answering.

"… It… wasn't really me back there… It was never my intention to murder you two… And I'm truly sorry for it."

Xenovia rose a brow at his explanation. From the sound of his voice, he was serious and sincere, and that confused her more. But that didn't confuse her more than how Issei was able to wield both her and Irina's Holy swords and not be harmed just by touching them.

Was he a natural-born wielder? Was he blessed by God earlier before becoming a Devil? She didn't know, but that didn't stop her from being curious, especially since he's still able to hold the blades and fight with them.

After hearing his explanation too, Rias held a hand to her heart, hearing the dread in his voice after experiencing his inner Hollow's quick take-over.

She was walking over to him to comfort him, but stopped in her tracks when Rukia placed a hand on his shoulder, getting him to look at her.

"I know you had no intention of harming those girls like you did, Issei," Rukia informs him with softened eyes before gently squeezing his shoulder. "Don't worry… It'll be alright."

"R… Rukia-san…"

Issei didn't know what to say. He just stood there and watched Rukia walk over to the Exorcists while they picked up their respective swords. Xenovia wrapped it back up in her cloth, and Irina turned her blade into a white band on her arm.

In the background, Asia was healing all of Yuuto's wounds, whose eyes were blocked by his blonde bangs.

"Welp, that wraps things up here," Rukia says before looking at Rias. "We'll be taking our leave now, Rias Gremory."

"Of course," Rias acknowledges with a nod. "I'm glad things didn't go for a darker turn back there in the spar."

"As am I," Rukia agrees. She then motions the Exorcists to follow her.

"Oh, just out of curiosity," Rias calls out, stopping the three girls. "Did any of you three find out which Fallen Angel stole the Holy swords?"

Xenovia looks towards Rukia.

"You wanna tell her, or should I?"

"Go ahead," Rukia answers, allowing Xenovia to answer Rias.

"The one who stole the swords was the leader of the Grigori, Kokabiel."

"The Grigori?" Issei says with a tilted head. "That's something I haven't heard of."

"It's a group of Fallen Angels also known as the ones who watch over the children of God," Akeno explains to him before seeing the serious stare Rias is giving to the girls.

"You're taking on a leader class with only the three of you?" Rias quizzes. "Are you planning on dying?"

Xenovia grunts.

"If it's to keep the Fallen Angels from using the Holy swords, I'll gladly trade my life to annihilate them."

"We're fully aware of the danger," Irina adds. "Someone's already died during the mission. A priest came to this town to check things out ahead of time."

Hearing the conversation, Yuuto looks over to the Exorcists and chimes in.

"The one who killed him… was Freed Sellzen…"

Everyone gasps at the blonde Knight's words.

"Freed?!" Issei questions, remembering his encounters with the stray Exorcist, making him forget about his inner Hollow for now.

"You mean that stray Exorcist?" Rias questions Yuuto who slowly nods.

"I happened to be there when he died. He even had a Holy sword."

Rukia and the Exorcists take in the information and furrow their brows.

"A stray Exorcist…" Xenovia repeats. "So that's how it is." She looks over to Yuuto who flinches at the eye contact on him. "I appreciate the information you provided, but don't involve yourselves further in our affairs." She then turns around to follow Rukia back to their base. "We'll be taking our leave now."

"Hey! Wait up, you two!" Irina shouts before turning towards Issei and smiles. "Well, that's how it is, Ise-chan. If you want me to judge you, be sure to let me know, okay~?"

Irina kisses her cross before going "Amen~!" and caught up with Rukia and Xenovia. The former of whom turned her head towards Issei with a small smile.

"Hey, I'll see you later, okay?"

Issei and the other Gremory Devils didn't know why Rukia wanted to meet him again, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Sure…"

As the three girls were leaving, with Rukia in front of the Exorcists, the black-cloaked girl was now in thought of what happened to Issei during the spar.


"Wait a minute Yuuto!" After returning to the club room, everyone watched Yuuto beginning to leave the room and go somewhere on his own, and Rias wasn't allowing that. "I won't allow you to leave me. You are a Knight of the house of Gremory."

Yuuto ignored Rias and opened the door to leave.

"… I'm sorry, Buchou…"

"Wait! Yuuto!"

Yuuto already left, shutting the door behind him.

Everyone kept their eyes on the door with worried expressions. It wasn't like Yuuto to act so cold to everyone. Heck, while they were entering the old school building, Issei noticed that he was giving him the cold shoulder

'Kiba…'

Issei looks back to Rias and saw that she was still looking at the door with a sad expression.

"Yuuto… why..?"

Issei then shifts his eyes towards the ground with a stern expression.

'I need to figure out how to bring Kiba back. But how..?'

While everyone remained silent on Yuuto's departure, Issei began to think about any possible way to solve this problem.

How he'll do it, he has yet to decide.


Later that night, Rukia, Irina, and Xenovia are back in the abandoned Church and are currently bathing in the bath area of the building.

"Man, I can't even take a bath comfortably!" Irina complains before splashing some water on her naked breasts and sighing in exhaustion. "This must also be a trial from God."

"You think everything is a trial from God," Rukia remarks while crossing her legs.

Irina pouted at Rukia and was about to retort before the two heard the sound of bare feet walking towards the bath.

"I think Rukia-sama's got a point this time," Xenovia says as she steps into the bath and sits on the edge. "I mean, is this really a trial? You were the one who spent all of our money for expenses on a strange, suspicious-looking picture!"

Irina and Rukia turn their heads over to where Xenovia was pointing and saw a portrait of an image of Jesus Christ.

'Huh…' Rukia thought while scratching her foot with her other foot. 'I forgot that that was there.' She then sighs as she remembers Irina buying it with all the money Xenovia talked about. 'It's a real good thing I didn't tell the girls that I have some money of my own, because there's no way I'm lending them any, especially after learning how Irina wasted their own without hesitation.' Rukia's eyes then turn beady after realizing she just thought that. '… Why am I getting the feeling this will bite me back one day?'

Irina, on the other hand, got offended and shoots Xenovia a stare.

"Wh-what are you trying to say?! There is a Holy person in that picture! The person at the art exhibition said so too!"

Xenovia pinches the bridge of her nose while curling her toes in frustration.

"Why did I get someone like you as my partner?"

Irina saw her face and rose a brow with a tilted head.

"Wow, when you get depressed, you really get depressed, don't you?"

"Oh, shut up."

While the two kept talking to each other, Rukia is now shrouded in thought about what has happened to Issei back when he was sparring with Irina. As she kept thinking about it, she becomes frustrated and starting to worry about her childhood friend more and more.

'Issei… I don't know how you ended up having a Hollow within you… But somehow, somehow I'll find a way to help you deal with it.' She then thinks about other things that relate to Issei, her hands clenching into fists. 'Yuki-sama… Ryuujin-sama… What else have you two been hiding from me ever since we've caught up yesterday?'

Rukia was then snapped out of her thoughts when she heard both Irina and Xenovia's stomachs growl, making the two blush in embarrassment.

"Well… Before we do anything else, we should get something to eat somehow," Xenovia says to Irina. "We're in no position to retrieve Excalibur when we're on an empty stomach.

"Yes, I agree. In that case, you wanna threaten people from other religions to get some money? If it's people from other religions, God will forgive us… Probably."

Rukia gives Irina a bewildered stare.

'She… she can't be serious…'

Xenovia nods at Irina while standing up.

"Then stealing a temple's offering box or something could also work."

"Yeah!" Irina agrees. "That would be easier!"

A tick mark forms on Rukia's forehead.

'And they call themselves Christians?!'

After thinking about it again, Xenovia sits back down and shakes her head.

"Actually, no. Let's not do that."

Irina sits as well, guilt washing over her face after realizing what she's saying.

"Yeah… let's not…"

'Oh, thank god,' Rukia sighs in relief while relaxing herself more in the bath.


On the next day after school, Issei was standing outside while looking at the field in thought with Asia standing next to him.

'What I got planned sounds risky,' he thought to himself. 'Especially since Rias has forbidden me to try it after I asked if I can try to do something about the Holy swords.' Issei breathes through his nose. 'But I can't do this alone. I need someone else to accompany me… specifically because of him.'

Issei's expression turns into dread as his mind drifts to how his inner Hollow was able to control him for a short period of time before Asia and Koneko snapped him out of it. It's because of how dangerous this secret mission is that if he gets backed into a corner, the Hollow will surely strike and take the driver wheel of his body.

'But who to ask…'

"Issei! Asia-chan! Good evening~!"

Issei didn't notice the oncoming voice since he was still deep in his thoughts, but Asia did and turned to see Shinji waving hello while walking towards them, making the blonde girl smile and wave back.

"Good evening to you too, Shinji-san."

After nodding to Asia, he shifts his eyes towards Issei and notices the musing face on him and walked closer to him.

"What's up with you, Issei? You look to be down in the dumps."

Issei blinks when he heard Shinji talk to him and looks up at him with raised brows.

"Oh! I'm just… Thinking about stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Shinji quizzes with a tilted head.

Issei looks down for a second before looking back at him.

"Just… Some personal stuff… I don't know how to explain it."

Asia looks at Issei with a worried expression. Whatever he was thinking about, it must be really taxing on him.

Shinji raises his brow at Issei before giving him an understanding expression and looks toward the field with a smile.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure you'll pull through," Shinji assures him while wrapping his arms behind his head. "After all, everything turns out well in the end."

Issei gives Shinji a weird look.

"That sounds like something a wise man from a fantasy novel would say." 'And what my third pact told me two days ago.'

Shinji releases a soft laugh.

"Actually, I'm speaking from experience," Shinji claims. "My life used to be one hell of a rocky road when I was younger, but thankfully, I've been able to hang in there. And here I am now, living a good life filled with jazz music and some new friends I made along the way."

Issei blinks at Shinji. While he was curious about how his life was back then, he wasn't that nosy to get into his business, so he kept silent for now.

But that didn't stop Issei from still being curious about Shinji himself, especially with that faint Reiatsu he's got within him. It was so faint, Issei can't make out what it exactly was, other than that it may be possible for Shinji to wield magic.

"Well well, I see some familiar faces."

Issei, Shinji, and Asia turn their heads to a familiar blonde man with gray eyes.

"Oh! Hello there, Saji-san," Asia greets while smiling and waving.

"Oh, Asia," Genshirou says kindly with a wink. "We've known each other for a while now, so you can call me by my first name: Genshirou."

"Wait, what?" A question mark pops from Shinji's forehead with Asia sharing the same confused face as his. "I thought Saji was your first name."

Saji chuckles sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah… Some people tend to get that mixed up." Genshirou then gives Issei and Asia a two-fingered salute. "Well, I better get going. Duty calls for a member of the student council."

"Have a good day, Genshirou-san."

After Genshirou took his leave, Issei looked at him for a while before a light bulb appeared above his head.

'That's right… he's here too. This could work!'

Issei nods to himself as he sees his plan blooming out better than expected. Now, he won't have to drag along Asia or Koneko since he doesn't want them to be in as much trouble as he knows he'll be if he does this on his own.

'Alright. Once Genshirou's done working at the student council, the plan will begin!'

Unbeknownst to Issei, Koneko was watching Issei nod to himself in deep thought, and has become curious about what he's up to.


One hour later, Issei is at a table in an outdoor restaurant drinking ginger ale. Right now, he is waiting for Genshirou to show up after he shot him a text to meet him here as soon as he's done working at the student council.

'It should be any minute now…'

"Yo, Hyoudou."

Issei looks up and saw that it was Saji greeting him with a two-fingered salute.

"Hey there, Genshirou. Sorry for calling you out here."

"No problem, man," Genshirou assures him before taking a seat. "So, what's it about?" After Issei explained everything to him and what he was up to, Saji's expression went from humble to scared. "A… Are you serious?!"

"I know it sounds crazy," Issei says with his hands up. "But it's as I said."

"Screw that noise!" Saji exclaims while shooting up from his chair. He then saw that he's caught some attention of some human women. He apologized to them for being loud and sat back down while looking at Issei with a baffled face. "Look, even if I wanted to, I can't. Our masters will punish us for being involved with the Holy swords. But to destroy them? That would definitely get us killed. Your master, Gremory-senpai, is strict, but she's kind and reasonable with her rules. But Kaichou? She's stricter than strict!"

After shivering from the memories of Sona's punishments, Saji got back up and started to leave.

"Sorry, man, but I'm out!"

As Saji began to move, Issei noticed that he was still in one place. Saji eventually realized that too, and both looked over to see what was keeping him in place.

"Huh? Koneko-chan?" Issei says, surprised that she was here sitting at a table of her own while eating her sundae.

"You were thinking of helping them, huh?" Koneko asks Issei without looking at him. "I had a feeling you were thinking of doing something like that."


After she dragged Genshirou back to a table, who has fear written all over his face, Koneko was informed of the plan by Issei.

"Cooperate with the Church?" she questions, earning a nod from her senpai.

"Those two said they would rather destroy the swords than have the Fallen Angels use them, right?"

Koneko blinks while her expression remained stoic.

"Even if they have to destroy them, they want to recover the swords."

Issei looks at the table with furrowed brows.

"Kiba wants to get revenge by overcoming Excalibur. The Exorcists want to get Excalibur back even if it means destroying it. Even if their goals are different, the results are the same." Issei looks back at Koneko. "That's why I'll personally ask for cooperation from both groups."

Koneko blinks at Issei again.

"I don't think they'll just do what you say, though."

"I'm aware of that, Koneko-chan. But I'm gonna take that chance anyway." Issei balls his hand into a fist with eyes of determination. "Especially if it means Kiba will be able to continue doing Devil work with us. I'll do everything I can think of!"

While her face didn't show it, Koneko was happy that Issei wanted to do what he can to help his friend. Hearing him say such words even motivated her to go along with him more than ever.

With a nod, she looks at her sundae in thought.

"First, we have to look for those three girls."

"Eh?" Issei looks at Koneko with a raised brow while she got up from her seat. "We?"

Koneko nods in confirmation, slightly surprising both Issei and Saji.

"It hurts my heart to keep this a secret from Buchou and Akeno-senpai, but it's for our friend. Trust me, Issei-senpai, you're not the only one who's worried about Kiba-senpai."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Issei puts his hands up and waves them side to side. "Look, I'm flattered you want to help, but I want you to stay with the others. Genshirou and I are doing this ourselves."

"No," Koneko retorts immediately. "I'm going with you, and that's final."

"Please, no," Issei shoots back. "I'll shoulder all the responsibility and the punishment from Buchou if I get caught. I don't want you to get in trouble as well."

"And I don't want that thing to take you over again!"

Issei was caught off guard by her shout. Her face was still stoic, but her eyes and the tone of her voice she used carried emotion, something that Issei found rare for her to have.

Saji, on the other hand, was confused about what she meant by a 'thing' taking Issei over, but decided to remain quiet due to the tension between the two.

"K… Koneko-chan…"

"Don't even think about brushing this off by saying 'you won't let it happen', Issei-senpai," Koneko continued with serious eyes. "I saw how it was able to control you, so if you were to run out of energy, or get hurt badly, this plan of yours will go down the drain."

"But… That's what Genshirou's here fo-"

"No offense to Saji-senpai, but I doubt he's strong enough to rip that damn mask off your face without your Hollow going rampant," Again, Saji was confused on what she's talking about, but he did feel a little hurt from hearing her whisper that he wasn't strong enough. "When I'm with you two, I'll make sure it doesn't do anything to you."

Issei blinks at Koneko, unsure what to say to convince her to not go with her.

"Koneko-chan…"

Suddenly, Koneko hugged Issei, making him gasp at her sudden action.

"Please, Issei-senpai," Koneko looks up at him with a worried face and softened eyes. "I don't want it to happen again. I can help you stay in control. Please."

Issei's eyes widen at the emotion she was displaying. She sounded serious about wanting to tag along just to make sure that his inner Hollow is kept in check.

After much thought, Issei sighs in defeat. No matter what he tells her, she won't be taking no for an answer anytime soon.

"Alright, Koneko-chan. You're on the team."

Koneko's hug tightens around Issei's torso.

"I won't let you down, Issei-senpai." She lets him go and gives him a small smile. "Now, let's go find the Exorcists."

"Um… Am I missing something here?"

Issei and Koneko look to see a confused Saji who had his head tilted at them.

"No, nothing at all. Koneko-chan is just tagging along."

"Oh! Really?" Genshirou asks with hope glimmering in his eyes. "I-I-In that case, does that mean that I don't-"

"You're still coming with us," Koneko interjects with a deadpan. "Don't even think about sneaking away. Time to be a big boy."

Saji quivered at his kouhai as she grabbed him by the shirt collar and dragged him away from the area after finishing her sundae. Issei caught up with them and walked alongside them with narrowed eyes and a smile.

"Alright! Let Operation: Shattered Sword begin!"

To be continued in the next chapter: "Operation: Shattered Sword."


Authors note: Yup. Issei can wield Holy Swords. How he's able to will be explained as the story progresses, and just because he can wield them, it doesn't mean that he can't be harmed by them via a cut from the Holy blade.

Also, Rukia isn't a Shinigami in this fic, but is something else that will be revealed in the future, as well as what her Trick Weapon is.

Issei's current harem (in no particular order.): Tsubaki, Akeno, Yoruichi, Rukia, Rias, Asia, Koneko, Tsubasa, Ravel, Xenovia, Irina, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Aika, Kiyome, Murayama.

Until next time, Folks~!