Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve.
I will try to replicate the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability, but I can't promise that the characters will behave exactly like they do in the source material as I plan on tweaking some minor side characters a tad.
There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story.
To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit.
I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely.
Regroup and Retrace.
The Devils head down towards the ORC Club House to discuss the battle prior. Profound grief still plagued their wounded hearts, but was put under lock and key for the time being thanks to the emotional help from what remained of their close friends and allies. Even then, their moods remain warped by its unavoidable presence. They prepare to plan their next move, bringing to the table new hopes, new discoveries, and new suspicions.
Kuoh Academy ORC Club House, 8:40 AM
Gathered around in the very same room the Devils had first met Ai and Daisuke as a group, members from both Rias's Peerage and Sona's Peerage encircled a setup of two plush couches flanking two sides of a rectangular table. Sona took to one of the couches with her Peerage surrounding it in an orderly fashion. Rias and her Peerage did the same with the other couch, only this time her underlings stood in a more disorganized fashion around the couch. Standing right in front of the polished table between the couches was Grayfia. Off to the side, closer to Gasper than he was anyone else and watching like a cold-eyed hawk, was Ryuusuke crouching against a decorated wall.
Everyone settled in. All except a handful were battered and cut up or smelled like rot. Rias's Peerage seemed much more distraught in the emotional sense than the entirety of Sona's Peerage, most of whom periodically and subtly glared at Ryuusuke with skeptical eyes. Grayfia, who managed to combat the Captain without getting so much as a scratch, cleared her throat as if about to speak. Absolute attention fell on her.
"As you all probably know, our operation failed astronomically. As it turned out, they were holding onto a trump card of their own much as we did. Their 'Captain,' as they called it, managed to hold me at bay long enough for them to do their business before vanishing. I have gathered you here to do two things; discuss the battle and to inform you all of the upcoming Summit. We shall begin with the Summit if that is fine with everyone," Grayfia spoke candidly and with enthusiasm, the latter of which was peculiarly odd considering the tragic nature of their situation.
She looked around and, upon seeing no one stepping up to put the Summit's news second to the battle, continued on. "Saving discussion for last, I see. Very well," Grayfia remarked before clasping her hands together down by her waist. "I was just recently informed by the Satans that the Summit has been scheduled six days from now."
Many of the young Devils groaned in exhaustion. The acute stress of all that occurred in the past few hectic days already paid a major toll on them, now they had to prepare for a critical meeting to decide the state of affairs in the supernatural world with hardly any downtime to get over their loss. It seemed like they just couldn't catch a break.
"I had a feeling you all wouldn't be too happy hearing the news, which is why I will propose a plan. During the Summit, I will bring up the issue with the leaders and see if we can get the aid of the Fallen and the Angels alongside our own forces to search for the humans," Grayfia spoke with joyful words.
"How can you be certain they will even care enough to help out?" Sona spoke sourly with a scowl on her shrewd face. Her arms were crossed tightly around her, squeezing her own torso.
"The humans were in close relation with you and Rias. I'm not too sure about how Serafall will react, but I know for certain Sirzechs will not let such a transgression against his sister sit lightly at all. He will likely push for a search party to scour the earth and otherworlds. As for the Angels: I'm certain they won't let the abductions of humans by supernatural mercenaries slide without some form of retaliation. The Fallen are a bit of a toss-up. That said, I believe they will chip in anyway to stay on our and the Angels' good sides," Grayfia answered with great certainty.
This idea helped to lighten the despondent moods of many of the Devils not previously in the know. Though some gave off relieved sighs, the worry of what may happen between the somber now and the joyous day the family was found still plagued their weary minds. Everything had been taking a slow, intensifying tumble downhill even before they had properly met the Kasais. Anything that could possibly come next just seemed more and more daunting.
Sona's bespectacled eyes darted towards Ryuusuke, whose empty eyes gave off a desolate feeling of absentmindedness even when his hunched posture signaled an intense focus on Grayfia. Avenging fury welled in her hurt heart the more she looked at the suspected betrayer.
"I know, if you are what I presume you are, you'll try to relay all this information to the Lich eventually. When you do, you're done for," she thought. With one hand cunningly concealed between her body and arm, she summoned forth a magic circle and, undetected by even Grayfia, sent a grain-sized blue orb towards Ryuusuke. It melded into his disheveled head seamlessly.
Ryuusuke scratched his head where the orb infiltrated and his vacant eyes darted towards Sona, but not before Sona could pry her own away from the pale man and back to Grayfia. She masked the disdain in her steadfast gaze with a look of stern diligence.
"Well, it's good to see that you find this information alleviating," Grayfia said with a soft smile. "As for the battle: I feel it would be worthwhile to talk about who we fought, what they were capable of, what their vulnerabilities are, and all other relevant information that can be given."
There was a brief silence among the group. Grayfia looked around at the young Devils, waiting for at least one of them to step up.
"While you all talk about this, I'll go around and heal everyone. I'm sorry you all had to bear with your injuries just because I was knocked out," Asia offered with a saddened, yet caring tone. She immediately started working on Yuuto's dreadful wounds as he seemed the most injured. A silver ring materialized on each of her hands and began glowing a vibrant green as Asia hovered her hands before Yuuto's mangled body.
"There's no need to apologize. Your well-being must come first, otherwise no one is getting healed," Yuuto spoke with a gentle smile as the gashes all over his body began fading away in the radiant presence of Twilight Healing's light.
Once Yuuto had been healed fully, Asia went on to aid the remaining injured.
"I suppose I'll start," Xenovia announced in a stern tone on behalf of the division that faced Ripper. "The Okuri-Inu was capable of utilizing some sort of red-eyed bird as both an extension of its combat prowess and a surveillance system. Not only that, but it seems it is capable of using magic to some degree."
Koneko's round eyes narrowed significantly, capturing the attention of Xenovia.
"Is there an issue, Toujou?" Xenovia asked, trying not to sound hostile in spite of a rolling growl present in her already forceful voice at the moment. The gouges and minor scratches made by the shadowy birds began fading away as Asia's gentle hands glowed once again with an emerald light before Rias's second Knight. Her blue hair, however, remained an absolute mess, and her school-issued clothing still bore tears and peck marks, revealing her black, skin-tight combat suit underneath.
"Okuri-Suzume," Koneko answered with a flat tone.
"Okuri what?" Xenovia asked with a raised brow.
Koneko was silent for a brief moment as if regretting speaking out loud. "Forget about it," she dismissed.
"Forgetting about it is not an option we have available, Dear Koneko. We need to know everything there is to possibly know about the enemy if they are to be slaughtered in the most efficient and timely manner," Ryuusuke goaded from across the overcrowded room, earning glares charged with distrust hidden behind false indifference from Sona and her Peerage as he spoke.
Gasper kept his eyes away from him out of fear but managed to muster enough courage in him to at least keep Ryuusuke within his peripherals.
The dull sound of his passionless voice grated Sona's nerves specifically, her fingers digging into her torso from her arms-crossed posture as she tried to hold in her ire.
Koneko glared at the pale man with her cold and gold eyes. His brutal words expressed undeniable truth and urged Koneko enough to continue. Her attention focused back on the conversation she had wished to shy away from. "Okuri-Suzume is a Youjutsu exclusive to Okuri-Inus."
"A what-tsu?" Issei asked.
"Youjutsu, idiot. It's magic used by Youkai," Koneko briefly explained, verbally lashing out against the brown-haired Devil.
Asia approached the petite girl and outstretched her hands. Before she could even activate Twilight Healing, Koneko halted her.
"I'm fine. It's just mud and dirt," Koneko spoke, dismissing the former priestess's aid.
"Is there a drawback to it?" Tsubaki asked.
"Ya mean you guys don't know its weakness?" Issei questioned with a worried quiver, concern on his expressive face while Asia mended the Pawn's puncture wounds.
Even though the deep injuries had vanished, the memory of the unbearable burn would linger in Issei's mind. He felt around his midsection, now free of holes, and let out a contented sigh before thanking the blonde healer.
Asia gave a bow to Issei, a heartwarming smile on her kind face as she did so. She moved onto Akeno to tend to her more mild injuries.
Tsubaki's attention darted off to Hyoudou for a moment. "Okuri-Inu documentations, or at least the ones we have at our personal disposal, only speak of their ferocity and speed. Our current library does not have any accounts of them using magic as a means to fight," Tsubaki answered candidly. Her heterochromic eyes turned back to Koneko and, with some slight adjustment of her glittering glasses, asked. "Is there any disadvantage of Okuri-Suzume?"
"Those who can't take a human form can't control the birds. Aside from that, not really," Koneko answered with her own candid words. Her blunt words dragged down the spirits of many of those present.
Issei turned towards Koneko. "How do ya know so much about these 'Youkai' things?" he asked with innocent curiosity.
Koneko turned towards her brown-haired ally and stared him down with a deadpan gaze. She did not answer his innocent question whatsoever, not even going in for a verbal jab at him like she is wont to do.
"Uh… nevermind," Issei conceded hastily, anticipating a violent reaction from the white-haired girl if he pushed further.
"If I may, Vice President," Tomoe interjected respectfully.
"Proceed Meguri," Tsubaki allowed before she stepped down.
"The birds seem to be made of shadows and were created from the shadow of the enemy's cloak. That doesn't seem advantageous to know at base, but it should be noted that Kiba has already created a sword that eats darkness," Tomoe explained with confidence.
"While that is helpful, chances are likely that Kiba won't be there when the enemy is found by the Factions. The only ones I see bein' able to overcome the Youjutsu would be the Fallen and the Angels," Ruruko refuted, appreciative in knowing they can now at least properly defend themselves against the Youkai's overwhelming technique if the need arises, but doubtful if the information will be viable when hunting the mercenaries down.
"A fair point and a slight oversight on my part," Tomoe conceded, that previous confidence having wavered a little.
"Well, another weakness we observed was an odd attraction to red balls," Yuuto chimed in, confident like Tomoe was despite his bizarre statement.
Everyone's faces contorted in confusion save for Tomoe and Xenovia, who were also first-hand witnesses to the absurd revelation. Even Ryuusuke's usual soulless gaze genuinely seemed a bit uncertain.
Ryuusuke's head snapped towards Yuuto. "Dear Kiba, does this look like a time for subpar jokes?" Ryuusuke prodded with a blank tone despite the palpable agitation in his word choice. He stared at the prince-like Devil intently, almost murderously.
"It's not a joke," Xenovia argued in defense of Yuuto, a steadfast and serious look on her face. "In fact, it was the only reason we were able to gain an upper hand against that monster."
"That sounds absolutely outlandish," Sona muttered. It was bewildering to believe such a cutthroat and fearsome being could be rendered defenseless by something so mundane and childish. She shifted her attention to Koneko. "Toujou, you seem an expert in this field. Can you confirm this?"
"Okuri-Inus can have uncontrollable urges to do normal dog things," Koneko answered.
"Why didn't ya tell us that from the beginning!?" Ruruko blurted, almost shouting at the girl.
"Very few of them do it," Koneko retorted sternly.
"It should also be noted that his ears are very sensitive," Tomoe added. "I scraped my katana against a lamppost and he started trembling. His birds also fell to the ground when I did it, so perhaps hurting him affects the birds as well?"
"Ok, so just throw a ball at the big creepy guy and bring a dog whistle just in case?" Issei questioned, summarizing the information in a format he could understand with a pensive look on his face.
"That would seem to be the game plan for the Okuri-Inu," Rias assured her Pawn.
"Anything else we might need to now about him?" Grayfia asked.
"That is all we gathered from our fight," Xenovia concluded.
"Alright, I guess I'll be going next," Tsubasa spoke on behalf of the group who faced Swarmer and Huntress. "To start off, it is an absolute necessity to bring either wolfsbane or silver to fight them."
"I'm assuming those items are meant to cover the Werewolf," Ryuusuke chimed in with his blank voice.
"What makes you assume they're for the Werewolf?" Sona questioned. Her vindictive eyes focused onto Ryuusuke like a falcon, believing she undoubtedly caught him slipping up.
"Everyone and their grandmothers know that silver and wolfsbane kills Werewolves, Dear Sona. I'm not sure how disconnected your society is from human society, but it is an idea widespread through many forms of media such as folktales and movies," Ryuusuke defended, unfazed by Sona's sudden accusation and by her intense gaze.
"Can confirm," Issei added with a lackadaisically raised hand, strengthening Ryuusuke's statement. "Knew about that ever since I was 14,"
"You're not helping, Hyoudou," Sona thought. Though knowing much about the societal norms of the human world, she didn't know just how much an average human knew about supernatural concepts. If she were to catch a possible crack in Ryuusuke, she would have to gauge his knowledge against an ordinary human's. She couldn't rely too heavily on her own subordinates as a control group since she already knew of their abnormal histories. She also couldn't bring herself to use Genshirou as her subject either, having felt she had done enough damage with her frenzied outburst.
Her contemplative gaze slowly turned towards Issei, who seemed a prime candidate with a human life largely untainted by the supernatural. An idea sparked in her intelligent head. "But you can be a valuable asset here," she thought, grinning on the inside.
"That aside, why are those absolutely necessary Dear Tsubasa? A 105 millimeter shell fired from an upgraded Type 74 Tank seemed to work wonders in mortally wounding the filthy mutt. Had I struck the beast's head, it would've been reduced to a headless carcass," Ryuusuke prodded.
"A what fired from a what?" Issei repeated with a nervous quake in his voice. He heard the words "shell" and "tank," but wasn't too sure if he could believe his ears on either account.
Akeno managed to find a twinge joy in these trying times through Issei's disbelief. As such, she attempted drawing out a little more astonishment from the easily excited oaf. "Yep, he rode in with him and Gasper on board a tank and blew the Werewolf's arm clean off," the buxom Devil clarified, her bruises having vanished and Asia having moved on to heal any injured members of Sona's Peerage.
Ruruko's green eyes shot wide open. "You can't be serious!" she shouted in disbelief equal to or greater than Issei's.
"How did you manage to secure an upgraded, multi-hundred million yen, military-grade combat vehicle? How were you even able to conceal it?" Sona prodded, only displaying mild disbelief as to not come off as too suspicious of the unsightly man. She carefully adjusted her glasses so that a refracted light illuminated the almost prism-like lenses and veiled her violet eyes behind a white pane once she finished.
"Hundred milli-? What?" Issei stammered, shocked that Ryuusuke was able to scrounge up the money for something so expensive. "No wonder ya went homeless; ya blew all your money on that thing."
"He was a soldier," Koneko chimed in.
"The Self-Defence Force lets soldiers keep their own tanks?" Issei asked with an amazed sparkle in his brown eyes.
"They don't," Tsubasa thought, her once optimistic view of Ryuusuke gradually growing more apprehensive. If he didn't get his tank through military service, just how did he obtain it?
"It was already odd enough he carried around a pair of handguns freely and possessed a high-powered rifle, despite this country's strict firearm laws. Now he shows he has a tank? There's no way an average human got these armaments without outside help," Sona thought, keeping a mental note of this shady information to use against Ryuusuke in the future.
"I kept it out somewhere in the denser part of the woods behind my masters' house. The methods of which I attained it are things I'd rather not discuss," Ryuusuke confirmed. He directed his attention back towards Tsubasa. "We've already wasted enough time on this subject, let's get back to business. Why can't we just blow up the Werewolf with a grenade or something along those lines?"
"That is because the Werewolf we're dealing with is a Sanguispilus Werewolf. Their regenerative powers are strong enough to reconstruct them from just mush," Tsubasa explained, hiding her growing suspicion of the eerie man behind a superficial indifference.
"So I'm assuming silver and wolfsbane are needed to prevent regeneration," Ryuusuke spoke, piecing things together rather quickly. Maybe a little too quickly.
"Not only that, but Sanguispilus Werewolves have a drastically heightened allergic reaction to the two. Just the faintest scent of either is enough to shut down their sense of smell for days. That being said, those items won't hold off their regenerative abilities forever," Rias added.
"Alright. Understood," Ryuusuke spoke blankly with a nod.
"What about the boxer dude?" Issei asked, propping himself up on the cushioned arm of the comfortable couch Rias sat on and throwing his arms behind his head.
"Taunting him works well according to what Yura told me," Akeno answered.
"Yeah, and avoid his punches at all costs when his fists start glowing. Strike Stockpile seems to only amplify strikes with his hands," Tsubasa added. She grunted and rubbed her bruised cheek, her split teeth ringing with an agonizing sensation.
Asia squirmed uncomfortably, seeing the blue-haired tomboy in pain. She promptly approached Tsubasa and, accompanied by the green glow of Twilight Healing, started repairing her damaged teeth and bruised face.
"Is that all, Yura?" Sona asked with tightly crossed arms and stern eyes. Despite her mellow tone of voice, her body language suggested considerable hostility.
"Sona, are you doing well?" Rias asked softly with a worried look in her vivid blue eyes, finally taking note of her friend's abnormally heightened guard.
Much to Sona's dismay, collective attention shifted to the Sitri heiress. She tried loosening up her rigid posture as to not seem as defensive, but all that did was solidify that something was weighing on her emotions.
"If you need to talk about something, we're here to listen," Rias caringly offered.
"How she's feeling is inconsequential. We need to focus on the matter at hand. As I've said already, we've wasted enough time talking about a tank. You can comfort each other after this meeting, but for now we need to talk about important matters," Ryuusuke commanded with bone-chilling words, tearing the spotlight off of Sona and onto himself.
A number of odious glares fell solely upon Ryuusuke for him speaking so cold-heartedly. Gasper, having trouble keeping a focused eye on the man, found himself looking down and away from Ryuusuke out of unease. Even Koneko, who never really held any hard feelings towards him, couldn't help but stare with a little anger in her golden eyes.
"Dude, that's cold even for you," Issei spoke with a disapproving tone, arms crossed in hostility and bitterness in his eyes.
"But he is correct, Hyoudou. We're all shaken up after having lost the Kasais, me being no exception. Nonetheless, we have to put that behind us for the moment," Sona spoke with a solemn facade, having to resist repulsing at the act of agreeing with the man she adamantly believed to be responsible for all of this.
The judgmental stares towards Ryuusuke died down significantly. The biting coldness of the man's harsh words left many of the Devils a little less than pleased with him. This feeling was fleeting, much like the fierce glares but unlike the growing skepticism of Sona's following. Their eyes still turned to him with hidden distrust.
"I know you're hurt by this too, but please don't be so cruel. The last thing we need to do now is fight among each other," Asia remarked gently as she healed Tomoe's bird-induced injuries, trying to be empathetic with the unfortunate soul who had just lost what little he had care left in his heart for despite his currently antagonistic behavior.
Having finished healing everyone who needed it, Asia walked over to the pale man and took a seat on the cleaned, wooden floor by him. "I have a feeling you're not a religious man, but you can join me in prayer for their safety if it brings you comfort," she offered with a kind smile and gentle voice.
Ryuusuke didn't respond to Asia's offer, focusing intently on Grayfia instead as if waiting for her to speak.
Despite the man's cold behavior, Asia didn't feel disheartened in even the slightest. "Just keep that in mind. Everyone needs something to turn to when things get rough."
"Okay then… anyone else got information on the enemy," Grayfia asked, looking around the room from where she stood.
"Our division got hands on some useful information regarding the Doppelgänger pair," Genshirou spoke up on behalf of Sona and Ruruko, who helped him fend off against Lux and Umbra.
"Last time I checked, there isn't much documentation on Doppelgängers. This should be most interesting," Tsubaki thought, pulling out a pen and a notebook with a scholar's enthusiasm. She flipped through pages upon pages of miscellaneous notes and scrawlings until she found an empty one.
"I've noticed an odd trend concerning the two. Despite the ridiculous possibilities that come with each of them being in possession of a Faceless Mask, they only seem to use them to fabricate rather standard Sacred Gear. This led me to two conclusions: their preference of average Gear is an act of arrogance or the broken appearance of their Longinus indeed tie into their individual effectiveness. I'm beginning to think it is the latter as they had two prime opportunities to produce Longinus-Class Sacred Gear—when they fought us here at the club house and when they fought yesterday—but took neither in spite of the serious context of the situation on both our end and theirs," Genshirou spoke clearly and with confidence.
"It should be impossible for two of the same Longinus to be present at any point in time. Maybe they are fabricated Longinus? It would explain the flawed behavior and appearance of their Gear," Yuuto proposed with a hand clasping his chin inquisitively.
"The problem with that theory is Faceless Mask is, in itself, an enigma among Sacred Gear that hasn't been seen in centuries. The last documented possessor of it was Dante Alighieri from the 13th century and was buried with him as his death mask. When his grave was first discovered, Faceless Mask was already gone. I doubt anyone with the power to replicate Gears, much less a Longinus, could even begin to recreate Faceless Mask with so little to go on regarding its functionality," Sona refuted.
"Maybe they were glitches in The System? They do behave as if they have a telepathic connection from what I've noticed," Ruruko suggested.
"That would seem to be the most logical explanation," Rias spoke in agreeance with Ruruko's theory.
Sona cleared her throat, pulling collective attention towards her and giving her the floor. "My hypothesis is that something happened to them in the womb. They did refer to each other as sisters when we battled and, as far as we know, hardly ever separate from each other."
"So you're suggestin' one of them was supposed to get the Longinus until some sorta defect happened?" Issei asked.
"No, I'm suggesting they were meant to be one Doppelgänger," Sona corrected with conviction.
This piqued the intrigue of all excluding Ryuusuke, who seemed more invested in getting back his masters than speculating the origins of a shapeshifter. Such an extraordinary claim seemed easily disprovable, but as more thought went into it, it all seemed to come together: they finished each others' sentences like clockwork as if sharing the same mind; their temperaments were complementary opposites of each other as if they were originally meant to be two sides of the same person; even their malformed eyes hinted at this being true as they were present in whichever form they took and reflected a dualistic dynamic between the two.
"So they're theoretically unable to use the full power of their Longinus due to being glitched into being twins at birth? Though it's likely not representative of their species, this is still worthwhile information," Tsubaki thought, pen dancing on paper as she took notes.
"Is there anything else you have to say, Sona?" Grayfia asked, genuinely interested in what other information she had gathered or whatever theory was brewing in her head.
"Yes, I believe I've found a weakness of Doppelgängers," Sona answered in triumph.
Tsubaki halted her note writing, not wanting to miss anything Sona was about to say. Everyone else seemed equally invested.
"When looking at them through mirrors or mirror-like substances, you can catch a glimpse at their true forms. Viewing their reflection also causes them to halt whatever they're doing and writhe in distress and pain. It even seems to cancel any powers they have in effect. I'm assuming this is a special case for the pair, but viewing either of the Doppelgängers' reflections renders both completely defenseless," Sona explained.
Tsubaki continued her note-taking, repeating the information to herself in her head as to not forget.
"How did they look?" Issei asked. Even in this serious atmosphere, the brown-haired Devil couldn't prevent his mind from nosediving directly into salacious territories. He visualized the silhouette of a voluptuous woman.
"Hideous," Sona answered coldly. "The one I saw was emaciated and skeletal, had sickeningly green and translucent skin, and had no facial features save for frog-like eyes."
The revolting image of what Sona described formed in Issei's mind, corrupting wholly the lust-borne image of the sultry woman he had anticipated. The Devil shuddered in great disgust. "If I looked like that, I'd probably wanna be a shapeshifter too," he thought.
Tsubaki raised her pen from the notebook and turned to Sona. "Is that all the information you have, President?" she asked in a respectful tone.
"Yes," Sona answered.
"Alright then," Tsubaki spoke. She took in a deep breath as if she was about to continue speaking.
"I guess I'll be goin' next," Issei interrupted, stepping forth on behalf of Rias and Asia to speak about Archmage, Hybrid, Titan, and Harvest. "The reason the German douche can read minds is because of one of his maces. Take it from him and he can't read your mind anymore, but good luck using it. I know this cause I took the thing from him and started hearin' voices from everyone else around me. It also has some sort of voice that tells you how and when to dodge attacks."
"Which mace are you referring to?" Sona asked.
"The evil-lookin' one with all the faces," Issei answered.
"Anything on the other weapon?" Genshirou asked in reference to Titan's golden mace.
"It burned like Hell when it hit me. Other than that, nope," Issei answered. He rubbed his midsection, where the spikes of the shimmering mace had once punctured him. Remembering the intense burning sensation made him cringe.
"That sounds like a holy weapon to me," Yuuto spoke. He crossed his arms and his face turned stern. "When they confronted us in the club house, I couldn't shake a familiar feeling coming from his weapons. Their auras felt holy in nature, but they didn't feel like any Holy Sword we've encountered. They felt… holier than a Holy Sword, if that makes any sense."
"So a Super Holy Weapon?" Issei asked.
"Let us not coin them as something that juvenile, Hyoudou," Sona retorted with an exasperated rumble in her voice.
"Dear Issei, is there a way to counter the faced mace?" Ryuusuke asked, blankly staring
the brown-haired Devil in his eyes.
"Just… don't think, I guess. It worked for me when I did it," Issei answered with a shrug and wavering certainty.
"Sounds stupid," Koneko remarked sourly.
"He speaks the truth," Ddraig's thundering voice erupted from within Issei.
Ryuusuke sprung up from where he crouched without even uttering a word. With no access to his guns, Ryuusuke abruptly grabbed a nearby portrait. With blinding speed, he smashed the ornately framed portrait against the wall closest to him, shattering the shining glass. He snatched up a large, sharp shard from the glistening wreckage.
The sudden shattering of glass jolted everyone with a healthy dosage of adrenaline. Attention immediately fell upon Ryuusuke.
"Who's there? Identify yourself," Ryuusuke ordered, trying to get a read on where the mighty voice came from. He haphazardly gripped the glass with enough force to slice into his snow-white flesh, as evidenced by the crimson blood leaking from his hand and down onto the floor. He, however, didn't seem to care at all as he waved the shard around.
Woah, woah, woah! Chill dude! It's just Ddraig!" Issei exclaimed, almost falling back on the couch Rias sat on as he recoiled.
"Friend or foe?" Ryuusuke questioned blankly in spite of his hostile stance, still clutching the shining glass shard while scanning the crowded room with palpable vigilance.
"Friend!" Issei answered in a fearful hurry, wanting the pale vagrant to cease his dangerous behavior around Asia as soon as possible.
Ryuusuke dropped his slender arm along with the bloodied shard. A small pool of crimson gathered below his ghostly-white and now grizzly-red hand as deep-red droplets fell from his fingers like a drizzle. He calmly surveyed the decorated room, his empty gaze slowly sweeping from left to right and back. "Is he invisible?"
"No. I am held within Hyoudou's being," Ddraig's mighty voice thundered.
"Alright then," Ryuusuke retorted, losing interest in the Red Dragon just as quickly as he gained it. "Dear Issei, were there any other enemies on your end?"
"T-That's all?" Ddraig asked with a confused tone tainting his otherwise dominating voice.
"What do you mean?" Ryuusuke responded with a blank tone.
"I'm just used to people being more… enthused when I reveal myself," Ddraig answered. The Dragon, as overwhelmingly powerful as he is prominent, couldn't help but feel dumbfounded by the man's pure disinterest and irreverence.
"I hardly know anything about where you and your host come from. I also care more about getting this meeting done than learning about your world. That can be saved for later," Ryuusuke spoke with cold indifference.
"I'll let this insolence slide since you remain ignorant of what I'm capable of. Watch your tongue in the future, human," Ddraig spoke indignantly, his fierce pride preventing him from enduring such a disparaging treatment lying down.
Rias couldn't help but lightly chuckle with an air of sophistication. "If only he knew who he was talking to," she thought.
Sona's amethystine eyes trained onto Ryuusuke. On the outside, her noble gaze seemed stern and nothing else. Inside, however, she stared at the man with mounting skepticism. "No being with a desire to live nor knowledge of the supernatural world would have the gall to talk that way to one of the Heavenly Dragons. Either he truly is an oblivious human, or he came in here fully willing to die for their cause. If it's the latter, that could very well mean he is more than ready to do something drastic if cornered," she thought with prudence.
Asia stood up from her sitting position beside Ryuusuke. A few stray shards of twinkling glass lingered on her clothes, but not a one managed to cut her. She held her silver-ringed hands out to Ryuusuke's bleeding one, an emerald glow emanating from Asia's Twilight Healing shortly after.
While this was happening, Rias took the time and effort to repair the frame through her demonic power. The twinkling glass plucked itself from Asia's modest attire and rose from the ground, creating a spectacular display of shimmering specks swirling like wind. In little time at all, the picture frame was restored and placed back on the wall.
As Ryuusuke's wound mended, his attention turned towards the blonde Devil healing him. His near towering height naturally forced him to look down upon her. "Much appreciated, Dear Asia."
Asia gave a silent nod with a gentle smile.
Ryuusuke's blank gaze turned back towards Issei. "I'll ask again: Were than any other enemies fighting you, Dear Issei?"
"Yeah, the Grim Reaper girl, the third shapeshifter, and the Lich," Issei answered.
"Any weaknesses or exploitable tendencies?" Ryuusuke questioned further, sparing little to no time between responses.
"Not really. I fought the German guy more than I did the others because he ordered them to stay back about midway through the fight. I wanna say the Grim Reaper can't take many hits before retreatin', but I don't know for sure. She still fights like she's playin' a game. The shapeshifter is capable of sproutin' metal wings, spittin' white fire, and makin' its limbs bigger. Maybe the mirror thing could work?" Issei explained.
"And the Lich?" Ryuusuke prodded.
Issei let out a defeated sigh. "He's pretty much unkillable unless you are a Grim Reaper or a death god."
"One of you said Grim Reapers use scythes that cut lives. Is that correct?" Ryuusuke spoke.
"Yeah, what abou-" Issei began, making a connection almost instantly. He pulled himself up from the couch; his earthy-brown eyes lit up with zest. "Oooooohh, use the Grim Reaper's weapon to kill the Lich. Ryuu ya damn genius!"
"It's just some recollection and a simple deduction. Nothing to go crazy over," Ryuusuke refuted.
A single brow on Sona's face raised unbeknownst to anyone else in the room. "He's suggesting a valid way to defeat a member?" she thought as her suspicion, for the first time since manifesting, wavered. "Or he could be trying to cover his tracks by adding to the topic. If that's so, he'll most likely try to dissuade us from actually attempting his suggestion. A clever tactic, but not one I haven't seen already," she thought once more, returning to her careful monitoring of the hobo.
"Ya can't take a compliment, can ya?" Issei asked in exasperation.
"Nonetheless, the issue lies with actually apprehending the weapon. If I recall correctly, you spoke of Grim Reapers being quick. Speed piled onto a weapon that lethal makes getting close a disaster waiting to happen," Ryuusuke said, promptly disregarding Issei's question.
An inward, arrogant smirk stirred in Sona. "There's the dissuasion attempt, just like clockwork," she thought, certainty in her suspicions returning even stronger than before.
"That's not as much of a problem as you think it is. The Grim Reaper they have has a tendency to throw it around as a ranged attack. She has also deliberately thrown it to us," Rias informed.
"Similar to a pass of sorts?" Ryuusuke questioned.
Rias nodded, her crimson hair gently swaying back and forth as she did so.
"It's utterly foolish to hand off one's weapon at all in the middle of combat, even more so considering how lethal hers is. She's asking to die," Ryuusuke spoke with words reeking of malice and disappointment.
"Is that all, Hyoudou?" Genshirou asked.
"I guess so," Issei answered. Though sure of the information he provided, he continued to think of anything else he could input.
"Alright, let's recap up to this point; the Okuri-Inu can be bested with a red ball and sharp noises: the three Doppelgängers can be handled with mirrors and other reflective surfaces: the boxer can be handled with evasion tactics: the Werewolf must be handled with silver or wolfsbane: fight the German with a clear mind: keep the Grim Reaper's weapon away from her: lastly, use said weapon to kill the Lich permanently," Genshirou spoke loudly so everyone could properly hear, snatching breaths periodically as he did so.
"I shall relay this information to the other factions when the time comes," Grayfia said with a brief, sophisticated bow.
"We're forgetting about the Wani," Ryuusuke reminded.
"Ah, that we are. You've got quite a sharp mind," Grayfia said. Her ruby-red eyes swept the room before landing on Tsubaki. "If I recall correctly, we haven't heard from your division yet, Miss Shinra."
"Affirmative," Tsubaki responded. She adjusted her scholarly glasses and cleared her throat. "Oddly enough, we didn't fight the Wani. We, more or less, conversed with it."
Sona's violet eyes darted towards Ryuusuke. Knowing the rather confidential information Typhoon had told Tsubaki's group, Sona paid close attention to the pale man. "Let us see how you handle what we found out," she thought, her heart racing with excitement. It was here, she believed, that would decide whether Ryuusuke could be trusted.
"So instead of taking the opportunity to gut it, you decided it would be better to talk with it?" Ryuusuke asked, his gaze trained intensely on Tsubaki. A figment of something that closest resembled disdain or distrust could be faintly seen in his soulless, borderline-black irised eyes.
"If we fought it, we would've died. The Wani approached us in front of a lake, so we were in no position to initiate a fight," Tsubaki defended with stern words and a narrowed glare. She, too, was distrustful of the man and looked forward to how he would react to what the Wani spilled.
"Continue," Ryuusuke goaded.
"To start off, the Wani told us some things that don't quite make sense," Tsubaki continued, silently yet eagerly waiting for someone to egg her on.
"What kind of nonsense?" Ryuusuke asked.
"She said something about her group never being hired by a Devil, instead speaking of outside forces pushing them to do what they did," Tsubaki answered, smug on the inside yet cynical on the outside. She paid close attention to Ryuusuke, waiting for a damning break in his guise.
A single brow on Ryuusuke's face raised, looking more disappointed than worried. "Is that the big revelation?"
That arrogance in Tsubaki withered before Ryuusuke's stolid response. "I was certain that would get him," she thought, trying to keep her own shock internal.
Sona's anticipation was promptly traded in with a seething frustration of which she also kept internal. "Of course he had hardly any reaction. They wouldn't send a spy that could be broken that easily to watch us," she thought with grit teeth hidden behind closed lips. Though the evidence that once stacked against the vagrant now seemed moot in the face of his seemingly unbreakable calm, she adamantly believed that he had a hand in all that had happened.
Oddly enough, Grayfia seemed to have shown a more shocked response than the supposed traitor. Her eyes were widened with what seemed to be concern. "Outside forces? What did she mean by that?" she asked, not even a single break or quiver in her voice despite her obviously shaken expression.
"The Wani didn't elaborate what she meant, but she did claim that everything would make sense at the Summit," Reya spoke, the gravity of her vexatious words thundering through the room unhindered by her naturally faint voice.
The liveliness of the air fell still, and all present fell silent. Time itself seemed to slow its unending march with the passing of the delicate Devil's equally fragile voice.
Genshirou's ash-eyes shot wide open, horror constricting the pupils. "How do they know about the Summit?" he asked with terror strangling his words. Due to not being with the Student Council when they discussed among themselves, he was completely ignorant of the discoveries they had made.
"That's what concerned us the most," Tsubaki remarked with crossed arms and a sharp look in her eyes. "The fact that they know such classified information shows they have ties with people in high places."
A sigh that could only be described as disappointed sounded from Ryuusuke, causing the dour Devil to cut her heterochromic eyes towards him.
"Classified knowledge or not, why are we putting trust in the words of the enemy? What qualifies it to be anything other than bullshit meant to lead us astray?" Ryuusuke dissented proactively, pinning a target on his back for the dubious eyes of the Student Council.
"Quick to dismissing complicating information? Come on man, you're making this too obvious," Tsubasa thought as the vagrant began to look more and more like an enemy in her deep-blue eyes. The invested respect she had for the man made thinking of him in such a way hurt, but her strong will helped bind that bitter feeling within.
"Yeah, he's kinda got a point," Issei agreed, once again serving as a safety net for Ryuusuke against Sona and her underlings.
"We've already discussed this issue among ourselves. We wouldn't be presenting this discovery had we not been certain of its truthfulness. False information, no matter how groundbreaking it may seem, only serves to distract and breed doubt," Sona defended with a frustrated timbre in her voice, annoyed with the simpleton Devil's unknowing interference.
"And just what grounds do you have to base your sureness off of?" Ryuusuke prodded once again. A semblance of his own brand of cold suspicion towards the Council could be heard in his otherwise flat voice.
"When the Wani spoke of this, she quickly became distressed," Momo answered. Before she could continue her thought, Ryuusuke interrupted.
"And?" Ryuusuke further refuted; his continued resistance raised more red flags in the Council's heads. "Who is to say the Wani isn't a manipulative creature? It could be leading you on with false slips of the tongue."
"Wani's are notoriously prideful and stubborn. This pride of theirs comes with an aversion of manipulative behaviors. They are often sought out for as sages for this reason," Sona argued.
"The one we encountered, however, seemed an odd specimen. She displayed meekness and malleability when conversed with," Tsubaki added, inadvertently drawing away some of the authority in Sona's words.
"Haven't you considered the possibility that her docile behavior is just an act? She is different from the typical member of her species, so I feel it wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility for her to adopt some manipulative tendencies," Ryuusuke suggested.
"That would've been the confounding factor. However, she willingly told us where her allies were located on an individual level, displayed sheepish and dodgy approaches to questions she felt needed to be left unanswered, and even actively healed me after defending herself. It seems to me that the Wani is a docile and friendly individual through and through. She's just in a situation where she has to be at least somewhat forceful," Tsubaki explained with only brief pauses to take a breath. She pushed her shimmering glasses up closer to her face, pride and elation rising in her having fended off the supposed traitor's continuous questioning.
"Very well then. I yield," Ryuusuke spoke, gently sliding his spindly hands into the pockets of his ragged, dark jeans.
The Council, knowing full and well that Ryuusuke stored his guns in his pockets, steeled themselves while maintaining a superficial calm. Each member, save for Genshirou due to his aforementioned absence, was primed and ready to spring into action the moment the glitter of the hobo's powerful firearms came into sight.
The soothing sound of metallic clinking similar to a cacophony of gently shaken coins was heard from Ryuusuke alongside subtle motion from his hands fiddling around in his pockets. The ghostly man twisted his body so he could set his bleak eyes on Yuuto. "Dear Kiba, you do still have my guns, correct?"
"Yes," Yuuto answered, holding up both the man's Desert Eagle and Colt Python. "Why do you ask?"
"I just wanted to let you know you forgot to take my ammunition," Ryuusuke answered.
"You can go ahead and hold onto those. It's not like you can hurt anyone with an unloaded bullet," Yuuto spoke with a gentle smile.
"Not conventionally, anyway," Ryuusuke added.
"Yes, of course. I'm sure you, of all people, would find a way to pull that off," Yuuto said sincerely with a light-hearted chuckle.
"Did the Wani say anything about their intentions for the Kasais?" Rias asked, a single hand cradling her face. An inquisitive look took hold over her watery-blue eyes.
"She attempted to change her story a few times, but she consistently stated that they weren't going to kill the family. Anything beyond that is just speculation," Tsubaki answered.
Rias held her hand up to her chin with eyes lowered to the table before her, contemplating the situation. Tsubaki's claim was surely an alleviating thought to entertain, but one thing just didn't connect for her. She raised her eyes up to meet with Sona's. "If there were no Devils involved, why were we unable to reincarnate the Kasais?"
"Don't ya have to be dead for that?" Issei asked with honest curiosity. Sadly, it came off as snarky in Sona's shrewd eyes.
"If you must know, Hyoudou, a Pure-Blooded Devil can reincarnate a living individual so long as said individual is willing to participate and so long as the Devil has sufficient Evil Pieces," Sona answered with a stern voice, trying not to be too harsh on her friend's Pawn.
"Oh," Issei sounded softly, completely disregarding Sona's displeasure through sheer obliviousness.
"That's what's making me worry. The family even said they would be fine with being reincarnated. There shouldn't be any logical reason why we can't do so," Rias postulated.
"Maybe they're rewiring my masters' minds via torment?" Ryuusuke suggested, immediately bringing up the worst case scenario.
The grim nature of his words only served to weigh down the hearts of many present, pulling the room into an uncomfortable silence.
"I think they would hardly have any need for such barbaric measures. It is more likely to be some kind of mind control spell placed upon them by the Lich," Sona refuted.
"I suppose that's a fair assumption. It would be easier to twist a person's perspective with magic than with rehabilitation techniques," Ryuusuke conceded, pulling a single, twinkling bullet cartridge from his pocket and inspecting it.
"Is that all you need me to relay to the Satans?" Grayfia inquired, hoping to bring some finality to this drawn out discussion.
"I suppose so," Rias answered.
"Affirmative," Sona answered.
Issei, however, wasn't done. He had a recollection sitting just out of reach, one he felt would be vital to know. His deep concentration was almost palpable, causing Rias to turn towards her Pawn.
"Ise, do you have something you want to add?" Rias asked with a gentle voice.
The red-haired Devil's question snapped Issei out of his contemplative spell enough for him to respond. "Yeah, I do. I just can't remember what I want to say."
"Is the information important to the discussion at hand?" Sona prodded, half-expecting Issei to bring up a moot point or something just as irrelevant. She sunk back into the pillowy couch with crossed arms.
"I think so, I would imagine names are important to know," Issei answered.
Sona jolted forwards, slamming open hands on the table before her as she pulled herself from the couch. "Names!?"
"Yeah. When I used the mind-reading mace, it said a couple of their names," Issei spoke, eyes narrowed and stern as he reached as deep as he could in his memory for what he sought.
"Ah, yes. Those," Ddraig thundered in triumph.
"Wait, ya heard the thing speak too," Issei asked.
"Indeed. It invaded my mind just as much as yours, so I was easily able to hear it speak. Granted, it was unnerving and uncomfortably intrusive having my mind infiltrated," Ddraig answered.
"Welcome to the club," Issei muttered.
"What were the names, Heavenly Dragon?" Grayfia asked.
"The two we heard from the mace were for the Grim Reaper and for the lone Doppelgänger; Exitia and X respectively," Ddraig announced with gusto.
Sona's regal violet eyes slid towards Ryuusuke, a fiery feeling of triumph welling up inside her. In the face of this discovery, she fully expected some kind of crack in the man's guise.
Ryuusuke hardly seemed shaken much to Sona's annoyance. In fact, he seemed more invigorated than he did worried.
"Oh dear," Grayfia uttered with shuttered eyes, seeming notably distraught by this news.
"Grayfia, is there a problem?" Rias asked, concerned by the fact that this news distressed someone as powerful as the Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation.
Silence came from the silver-haired maiden. Her red eyes seemed racked with thought.
This silence drew the eyes of many. The young Devils waited for Grayfia's answer with bated breath.
A subtle, yet grating scratching in the attic above broke the tense silence and captured the attention of all present.
"Sounds like a large rat," Ryuusuke stated emptily yet surely as if having been exposed to the noise long enough to accurately determine its origin. He returned the bullet cartridge to his pocket and began making his way towards the door leading out of the conference room.
"Ya sure ya don't need a grenade or something?" Issei jested, making an innocent joke of the man's excessiveness.
Ryuusuke twisted his white-shirted body towards Issei. "Not necessary. It could be something I can cook up later after snapping its neck, so blowing it up wouldn't be the best way to get the most sustenance out of it."
"Damn dude," Issei uttered with an unnerved shiver. The man's affinity for violence was almost iconic at this point, but some of the brutish things he says with utter apathy still sent a biting chill up the young Devil's spine. "At least you're killin' it quickly and painlessly."
"It depends on how far up the cervical vertebrae I sever the spinal cord. If done incorrectly, death by asphyxiation is the result," Ryuusuke said, turning himself back towards the finely polished door and twisting the antique knob. With slight creaking from the door as it opened and closed, Ryuusuke left the room.
The Devils waited in silence as the human's footsteps faded away further into the club house.
"I take it he's always this graphic?" Grayfia asked.
"It's kinda the norm for him," Issei answered.
"What were you so worried about earlier, Grayfia?" Rias asked, putting the spotlight back on the maid-like Lucifuge.
"Oh, yes… that," Grayfia began, bowing slightly before clasping her elegant hands together before her waist. "I thought I heard those names before. However, I feel I may have been mistaken. They merely sounded similar to some people I know," she said with a light smile.
Suddenly, a heavy thud boomed from above. The loud and sudden noise startled the Devils.
"Damn, he's goin' ham on that rat," Issei remarked.
"Don't you think we should be worried?" Yuuto asked.
"Nah," Issei dismissed.
The moment after, the splintering and breaking of wood was heard above alongside another mighty thud that seemed to come from outside as if something had busted through the attic's wall.
"Alright, maybe we need to worry," Issei conceded, abruptly rising from the couch.
Almost unanimously, the Devils made the decision to investigate the worrying ruckus. As the group got closer to the club house's exit, faint voices could be heard alongside crashes and pained yowls of some unidentifiable creature from outside. These distressing noises hastened their investigation, naturally leading to them speeding to the exit. They opened the door to the outdoors.
Just a few meters beyond the club house's doorstep stood a massive spider-like being with a body of deep black and sharp accents of bone white and crimson red weaving into a menacing skull pattern on the abdomen.
"What the Hell…" Issei uttered as he summoned forth Boosted Gear in a flash of yellow, prepared for a fight.
The creature's lanky legs, clad with ghoulish silver garrote wire-like hairs, shifted with sickening creaks and pops as meathook-sized talons dug deep into the ground with each step. From what could be made of the spindly mass were seven gangly legs, an eight having been lost as evidenced by a still bleeding wound.
The rest of the Devils followed Issei's example and prepared for yet another conflict.
Gasper, as expected, quivered and quaked at the sight of the horrendous beast. Nonetheless, he steeled himself just enough to stand firm beside his allies instead of running away.
"Wretched human," the creature growled in an angered, raspy voice. The hairs on its sickening legs twitched, prompting it to turn around and towards the Devils.
Perched above what would be the head of the arachnoid being lied the torso of a human male bearing a disheartening wall of large gnarly fangs within a maw torn well past the cheeks, beady blackened eyes duskier than coal, and long flowing hair as white as glistening spider silk.
He seemed to snarl and growl at the sight of the Devils. "Great… not only do I smell a Gremory and a Sitri, but I also smell the Annihilation Queen herself. As if my day wasn't rough enough as is," the creature lamented, his raspy voice seething with displeasure. His body undulated, emitting a chilling rattle.
"I was wrong; there were two pests up there, not just one," a familiar, blank voice spoke from the other side of the creature.
"You're still squirming, meat?" the creature retorted, raising an arm tipped with thin, razor-sharp claws. A stream of gleaming silk erupted from each fingertip towards the source of the voice. He grunted in frustration.
"Ryuu? You okay dude?" Issei asked, genuinely worried for his less than pleasant ally. He craned his neck to get a look at his condition, but was not quite prepared for what he saw.
Standing battered but somehow unbloodied was the pale vagrant himself. Gripped within one hand, being used as a shield more than a weapon at the moment, was the missing limb of the spider creature, the end most portion wrapped in the ensnaring webs the beast shot at him. In his other hand, he gripped a damaged piece of steel pipe mangled and sharpened into a blade midway through the torn steel. Blood fell from the edge of the improvised machete.
"You chopped its leg off with a pipe!?" Issei pieced together, astonishment filling his voice.
"Wait, what!?" Genshirou spoke with a raised tone, just as surprised as his fellow Pawn.
"I take it this is one of those Stray Devils you spoke about yesterday, or am I mistaken?" Ryuusuke asked, hauling the limb over his shoulder as if preparing to use it to mercilessly beat the monstrosity before him into a pulp with its own leg. The lifeless appendage hung itself over his shoulder, the hooked talons ending the limb dragging themselves along the ground.
"No, no, you're correct. That said, I'm surprised one found its way into our attic," Akeno responded, now giddy with anticipation of inflicting pain upon the Stray before them. With a lick of her lips and a wave of her hand, a magic circle appeared above the beast.
"Dear Akeno, your assistance is not needed," Ryuusuke dissented.
"Oh my, is that so? Fine, you tease. I'll let you handle this; but if things start getting bad, I'll kill the bug for you," Akeno conceded, half expecting the hobo to fail and half expecting him to pull off some strain of nonsense like he's wont to do.
"Insolent meat!" the Stray howled in fury, pulling its arm back.
The webs ensnaring the severed leg pulled it and, by extension, Ryuusuke towards the Stray Devil.
"Know your place on the food chain!" the beast gloated. Below the human facade, a tunnel-like chasm of a mouth armed with curved and crooked fangs spiraling like a hellish blender roared and churned.
As Ryuusuke flew on a direct crash course with the grizzly maw, he planted the hooked end of the spidery leg against the ground and vaulted upwards while letting go of the limb, freeing himself of the arachnoid Devil's webs. He now soared straight towards the creature's human torso like a malevolent specter.
Shock gripped the man-spider's ghastly visage. Having little time to react and with his mind in disarray, the Stray attempted to slash at the hobo with his scalpel-like claws.
Just as the beast wound up its attack, Ryuusuke threw the sharpened pipe at the Stray's arm. The shot flew true and struck its shoulder, piercing straight through.
The Devil screeched in pain as he instinctively grasped at the pipe lodged in his body.
Just as his spindly fingers wrapped around the pipe, Ryuusuke delivered a soaring punch straight into the Stray's face, disorienting him for a brief moment. Instead of following through and landing, the vagabond gripped onto the Stray's humanoid section with his other hand. Deftly pulling a glinting bullet cartridge from his pocket, he drove it point-first into the creature's eye.
The Stray further writhed in pain, desperately grasping at his eye in an attempt at removing the live ammunition nestled within.
Ryuusuke grasped one of the Devil's claws, snapping off a shard at the cost of cutting into his flesh. With blood slipping from his gashed palm, he drove the nail shard straight through the spider beast's hand, passing into his eye and, with impeccable aim, piercing the bullet's primer with enough force to combust the gunpowder in the cartridge. A boom went off; in its wake, the Stray's head blew apart into a mix of crimson mist and boney chunks. All of this was done with a stone-cold face.
With this decisive move, the Stray Devil's decapitated body fell to the ground, lifeless and limp. The ground trembled with the hideous beast's mighty collapse.
Ryuusuke stepped down from the Stray's corpse and shambled his way back towards the sides of his Devil allies, spiritlessly wiping the Stray's red remains off of his pale face.
"Color me impressed. I wasn't quite sure if you had that one for a moment," Grayfia congratulated the man with sophisticated applause.
"I was uncertain of the outcome myself. I'm experienced in killing people, not abominations," Ryuusuke remarked.
"You did very well. From what I could tell by looking at it, that was a fairly powerful Stray for a mere human to overcome," Grayfia spoke, investigating the Stray's corpse with focused glances from her crimson eyes.
"Wasn't there a bounty put out for a spider-like Stray Devil about a month ago whose description matched this one's look?" Rias asked, turning towards her Sitri friend.
"Indeed. I believe it was a B+, borderline A Class, Stray by the name of Dactus. He had claimed the lives of many, both human and Devil, and eluded capture for years thanks to his nomadic lifestyle and tendency to leave no witnesses when encountered. His venom was said to be able to stop the heart of a full-grown Catoblepas with a dosage as little as 4 milliliters," Sona answered with an adjustment of her glasses.
She cut a subtle, dubious glare toward Ryuusuke; her stubborn suspicions now backed significantly by the vagrant's extraordinary triumph over what should've been an impossible battle for him to win. Not to mention the damningly suspicious fact he won with hardly any injury save for scattered bruises, slightly more mangled than usual clothes, and a gashed hand that he more or less inflicted on himself.
"A Class?" Issei repeated with awe in his voice. Though the brazen Devil could've taken Dactus with Ddraig's help, he was nonetheless dumbfounded by Ryuusuke's remarkable performance. He turned towards the vagrant. "Damn dude, what the Hell were they teachin' ya in training?"
"It was just a mixture of quick thinking and his ego getting the better of him. Had he kept himself humble, I'd probably be looking more like him right now," Ryuusuke answered, taking a look down at his white shirt and noting the patches of red speckling it.
"Like a spider demon?" Genshirou jested.
"More like headless," Ryuusuke answered, completely missing his ally's joke. He looked towards Rias. "Do you have a washing machine somewhere in the building? If not, a washboard and soap would do. It would be unwise to walk the town with blood on my shirt."
"Down the main hall, two lefts, third room on the right," Rias answered.
Ryuusuke gave the Gremory heiress a nod and began heading inside.
Asia stopped the man, gently grasping a hold of his arm. "I understand you're probably used to suffering through your wounds without help, but there's no need for you to do that anymore," she spoke with gentle words in reference to his bleeding hand.
"This is more of a light abrasion than anything to me, but I have a feeling me saying that won't stop you from hounding me," Ryuusuke conceded and presented his injured hand, its ghostly white skin painted red by his own blood.
Right away, Asia worked on once again healing the man's once again lacerated hand. Her Twilight Healing glowed its soothing emerald green hue.
"I apologize for the attic," Ryuusuke stated, looking up at the gaping hole scarring the beauty of the building. Loose wood planks hung on by mere fibers as they swayed to the drafty air while dusty debris still trickled down to the earth below.
"No worries. This isn't the first time we've had to repair the building," Rias spoke, raising her hand just above her waist as a luminous, crimson magic circle manifested in her grasp.
A wind swept across the field, picking up all sorts of debris that culminated into a cloud of wood chunks, broken insulation, roof tiles, and various other dusty compounds and shattered components. The cloud flooded towards the broken attic wall and, in a way that could only be defined as mystifying, pieced itself back together into a flawless reproduction of the wall before Dactus smashed through it.
"Convenient," Ryuusuke noted before looking down at his hand, now fully healed once again. He gave a nod to the Devil priestess.
Asia simply nodded back with a gentle smile, her verdant eyes gleaming with a friendly glee.
"You gotta teach me how to fight like that sometime," Issei prompted with enthusiasm roaring in his voice.
"I'm not sure if I have the qualifications to teach you anything," Ryuusuke dismissed blankly.
"From what I've heard, you taught Daisuke well enough to floor Saji in hand-to-hand combat," Akeno noted.
"I think it should be noted that I was holding back so I wouldn't kill him. But other than that, yeah. I think you can teach Hyoudou a few things," Genshirou refuted, kneading his hands behind his head.
Ryuusuke cut what, by his standards, could be considered a sharp glare. "So you're the one who fought with Daisuke," he spoke with a choking intensity in his dark eyes.
Like that, Genshirou's blood froze over. Fear constricted his pupils as he locked eyes with the vagrant. Once, he had felt comfort in being much more powerful than Ryuusuke. Now, in the wake of the unbridled man's merciless slaughter of Dactus, Genshirou felt much less sure of himself. "If it means anything, he almost killed me," he spoke, hoping this would settle down the human at least a little.
Akeno gave a light, sadism-charged chuckle at Genshirou's misfortune.
"I'd imagine that humiliation alone was enough of a punishment for you. I'll give you a pass on this transgression, as I'm certain Sir Daisuke would've wanted me to. Be thankful, Dear Genshirou; you're the first I've turned a blind eye to," Ryuusuke said, his vindictive glare returning to his typical apathy.
He turned back towards Issei. "I suppose I can try my hand at teaching you how I fight. I can't promise my methods will translate well since mine are geared towards humanoid targets. It will also be impossible for me to incorporate my teachings into aerial combat scenarios for obvious reasons, so that part may have to be learned on your own."
"Sick! I'm so pumped!" Issei exclaimed.
"I'm afraid that will have to wait," Sona spoke, raising her arm and creating a vibrant aqua-blue magic circle. With a closing of her hand, the circle shattered like glass. Almost immediately, water voraciously enveloped Dactus's corpse and hoisted it into a portal. "This is the first Stray that has reared its head since the Kasai debacle. My assumptions are that, with the introduction of the enemy, Strays either went into hiding or were destroyed by them. It would be wise to scout out for any stragglers as they are more than likely starved of human flesh. If we don't, it is likely there will be many unneeded deaths in the next few days."
"Sona does make a good point. We should make sure it's safe for everyone else first," Rias agreed.
"If anyone else wishes to be trained, then join me and Dear Issei for orientation at my masters' house after we're done hunting Stray Devils. I'll only be offering my regiment once. If you wish to join during it, I'll turn you down. I don't want to be playing catch up with anybody, nor do I want to be hearing any complaining once we start," Ryuusuke offered with drill-sergeant sternness.
"We're? As in you're hunting too?" Yuuto repeated with an inquisitive tone.
"Yes. I don't have anything better to do. I can provide cover fire and, if need be, gut a Stray with its own teeth," Ryuusuke answered. He looked back down at his shirt, the blood dotting it reminding him. "If you excuse me, I need to get to cleaning this."
"Ya want us to wait up for ya?" Issei asked as the vagrant headed his way inside.
"No need to wait. I'll just throw my shirt in the washing machine and let it run while we hunt," Ryuusuke spoke, closing the door behind him upon finishing his thought.
That concludes this chapter.
I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things. The previous chapter was a bit of a rough one, but I feel this one went alright. I'll have to edit prior chapters a bit, but I'll save that for after this volume.
I'm going to try to keep my uploads on a monthly basis. I feel that should be a decent benchmark that allows me to fine-tune my chapters and helps prevent personal burn out, because that became a problem when I started out posting chapters on a weekly basis.
I think I've figured out what is up with the document uploader, at least from a simpleton's standpoint (E.g. my peabrain). When I first upload my document, it will omit random bits of the chapter; but if I copy paste the original document onto the document editor the problem is largely solved according to a document difference checker. The only issue is that formats will be a bit janky, requiring me to correct them manually. For those of you who are writing your own stories on this site and have experienced this problem, this could possibly help.
Thank you all for reading and stay safe out there. The world just keeps on getting crazier and crazier.