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Y'all knew this was happening.

[Ddraig talking]

[Ddraig thinking]

{Albion talking}

{Albion thinking}

|Tiamat talking|

|Tiamat thinking|

(Mastema talking)

(Mastema thinking)

Mental Communication

"Regular Dialogue"

Attacks/Spells

Unknown Location, March 15, 2020, 6:35 AM; Current Time: 3 Minutes and 6 Seconds Til Midnight

Issei sighed as he flipped a piece of spam. It had been two hours since they had found Jennifer dead. Torn to pieces by a pack of… whatever was running around at the edge of this town. Lily sat next to his foot on the floor as Issei cooked, playing with a small snowbird.

Snowbird. Lily had apparently been manifesting and practicing her powers behind his back. Not that he minded. He assumed that Grayfia had been the one teaching her over the course of the games considering that they had similar forms of magic. He was proud. She'll be powerful one day.

"Nii," Lily tugged on his pants. He looked down and smiled. He flipped the spam and before levitating it and giving it to her. He gently lowered it in front of her.

"Careful, it's hot," Issei said. She nodded and blew a light gust of icy wind to cool it. She snatched it from his mental grip and began to nibble on it.

"You her brother?"

Issei turned around to see Lance walking over to him. He smiled and levitated a spam over to him which he accepted gratefully.

"Yeah. We adopted her. It was the best choice my family ever made," Issei said.

"So is she your only?" Lance asked.

"No. I have two other sisters. My parents have complications with bearing children so me and my twin are the only biological children in our family. I have two adopted sisters. Her and another one who's a few months younger than me," he said.

"Must be tough having three sisters," Lance said.

"It is… they're annoying. Clingy. Sometimes, we don't get along," Issei said. Lily pouted and slapped his leg, causing him to chuckle. He smiled at her.

"But it's fun. I wouldn't trade them for the world," Issei said, petting her head.

Lily continued to pout and took a big bite out of her spam.

"So, what's the deal with this? You seem to know more about this than you let on," Lance said.

Issei looked at the scot and inwardly cringed underneath his analytical stare. This man was smart. Extremely so and that's what made Issei wary of him. But since they were currently all fighting to get out, he decided to give this man the benefit of the doubt and tell him anyway.

"In this world, Gods, Monsters, Heroes, Devils, and Angels exist. Magic exists. However, humans don't know about it since the Gods and the other supernatural beings decided to retreat out of human view, following an event known as the Great War. A war between Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels," Issei said.

Issei paused for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should let this next part spill. He often wondered what would happen if the rest of the world found out that the Biblical God was dead. He imagined the chaos it would bring as the largest religion in the world collapsed alongside its counterparts.

"So you were telling me that there was a war?" Lance said, snapping Issei out of his reverie.

"Oh right. Sorry about that. A couple of centuries back, there was a war that Heaven, Hell, and a group of angels that were cast from Heaven fought in. The war threatened to rip everything apart and destroy the world but it stopped, thankfully before it ended," Issei said. "Because of this war, a lot of lives were lost on all three sides. The Fallen Angels were the first to pull out since they lost a staggering amount of life. In the end, Heaven and Hell discussed terms to end the war and that's it. A lot of things happened after. To replenish their populations and due to their low fertility rates, the Devils created a device called Evil Pieces to repopulate their race while the Angels, with the help of the Devils, created something called Brave Saints to create new Angels from other species."

"So they enslave other races?" Lance asked.

"Most don't. Most know the precarious situation that their races are but some are crazy enough to take the risk," Issei said.

"I see," Lance said, swallowing his spam. "Must suck."

"Not all the time. I met some of the most amazing people since I entered and I guess that I don't regret being dragged into a world where there's a bunch of people single-handedly destroying an entire country," Issei said.

"Really?" Lance said.

"What about you?" Issei asked.

"I… was born and raised in Scotland. I have a younger sister who has severe hemophilia so she's constantly on medication on the time. Our dad walked out on us when my sister turned eight which left me and my mother to raise my sister," Lance said.

"Oh shit. I'm sorry about-," Issei started but was interrupted.

"No, no, it's fine. I… can do without him. He never wanted us anyway," Lance said.

"Jesus, do you want to keep going?" Issei asked.

"It's alright. I can keep going. Just before I was taken I think, my sister suffered a hemorrhage and she was sent to ICU. I want to get out of here so I can go check on her," Lance said.

"I see. Don't worry, Lance. I'll do whatever it takes to help you get out of here. To help us all get out of here," Issei said.

"I'll be counting on it," Lance said.

Beelzebub sat in the air, watching over his little subjects eat. He needed to get this game moving along. By the end of this day, he would have his victor. He would have the one he needed in order to move forward with his plan. The one he wanted to win the most. The one with the most potential.

"So, how is your little culling going?"

Beelzebub turned around to see his older sister standing behind him. Her poisonous yellow eyes sent shivers of fear crawling down his spine but he kept his composure as she sat next to him. There was a time when those eyes made him feel safe and loved but now, with the way she is currently. He could taste the hate. He could taste the bitterness and revulsion she had for this world and what it had done to her. What it did to their family. He suspected it had all began at the end of the Great War with the news of their mother's death.

Well… but she doesn't need to know that now. Or she probably does. She always seems to know, Beelzebub thought as he stared at his sister, her snow-white hair flowing in the gentle spring breeze.

"It's slow. The Red Dragon has united them all together for now. But that won't last. Remember our survivor?" Beelzebub said.

"Remember our deal," she said.

"Yeah, he survives. I'll make sure to pull him out before he gets killed," Beelzebub said.

"I have one more attachment," she said.

"You always do," Beelzebub said.

"Please. This is the last one!" she said indignantly. This was another quirk that surfaced from time to time. Her persistence. But it was these moments that made Beelzebub feel calm. For once, his sister didn't give off the feeling of the vilest existence on the planet.

"Fine, who?" Beelzebub sighed.

"That little redhead. Issei-chan seems to be highly attached to her. Let her live," she said.

"Is that all? I had doubts about the child winning anyway," Beelzebub said.

"Yes, that's all," she said. She brushed her pants off and got up. As she was about to leave, she heard Beelzebub speak.

"Are you ever going to tell him?" he asked.

"No. I prefer for him, not to know…," she said.

"Not even if… it ends up being him?" Beelzebub asked.

"I'll… I'll cross that bridge when I get there," she said. With that, she vanished, leaving Beelzebub to his thoughts as he focused his attention back on the games, watching as Issei flew out of the abandoned grocery store.

"Hmmm," Issei said as he hovered several dozen feet in the air. He got a good look at the town and closed his eyes.

"Mastema, can you sense anything?" Issei asked.

(Hmmm, there's a massive barrier around town outfitted with suppression sigils and spatio-temporal lock sigils. There are Divine Anti-Presence Sigils as well as Profane Anti-Presence Sigils) Mastema said.

"Hmmm, I feel a bunch of other things there as well. This town is swarming with them," Issei said as he felt several signatures moving rapidly throughout portions of the town.

Issei sighed. It looks like he needed to come up with a plan in order to get them out of town. But he needed to take down the barrier first. The barrier would no doubt alert Beelzebub however, Issei would be able to get them out by the time he noticed. With the barrier down, Issei would be able to teleport to Hell and get them and their families the safety and protection they needed.

He flew down and landed in front of the store and walked inside. Keon and Mary were sitting next to each other with Mary trying to stay awake. Lance was sitting with his back against one of the shelves. Lily was standing at the front, waiting for him patiently. The minute he landed, Lily ran over to him, causing Issei to smile. He ruffled her hair and led her back inside.

Lance got up as soon as he saw Issei and ran over. Keon, noticing Lance's sudden movement, shook Mary awake and the two got up and walked over.

"So?" Lance asked.

"There's a massive barrier around town that's keeping us locked in here. In order to get out, we need to take it down," Issei said.

"How?" Keon asked.

"Barriers that are cast like this need something to maintain it. Usually, when in combat, barriers are maintained by mages that cast it by pouring their power into the barrier. However, in a situation like this, the barrier would most likely be maintained by an anchor that's inside the barrier as to prevent the other factions from finding it," Issei said, remembering some of the lessons Akeno taught him when they were training for their first-ever Rating Game.

"So all we have to do is find the anchor and destroy the barrier is that correct?" Lance asked.

Issei nodded.

"However, we'll need to move under the cover of night. There are several signatures around town and I don't think they're friendly. They might be other people like us," Issei said.

"Wait, if they're like us, shouldn't we help them get out?" Mary asked.

"We don't know if they're friendly. What if they're taking Beelzebub's rule seriously and are out to kill us? What if they're the ones that did this to Jennifer?" Lance said.

"But-!" Mary objected.

"No, Lance is right. We don't know if they're friendly," Keon said.

"Right. So we're moving out when it's darker just to be safe," Issei said. He looked out of the grocery store. "Get some rest, you guys."

"Yeah," Lance said. He retreated out of view and into a shadier part of the grocery store, sitting down and closing his eyes.

Issei walked over to another corner of the store with Lily and sat down. The little girl sat next to him and leaned against his arm. Issei looked at her sadly. She looked so scared and tired. He wrapped his arm around her and lulled her to sleep gently before fatigue finally caught up with Issei and he fell asleep.

Kegon Falls, 10:45 AM

"This is hopeless!" Irina said, punching her desk. The other agents jumped at the sound of her fist denting the metal. Mitsuki, Ingvild, and Rikka glanced over at her.

"Look, we need to stay calm. DxD is on the lookout for him. The other branches are on the lookout for him. There's no need to stress. I know you're worried but we will find him soon," Rikka said.

"I know it's just… hours of scouring the globe and what? Nothing?" Irina said.

"Let's just hope that Tohka and Mica were able to find something or one of the factions," Ingvild said.

"They might be but then again, this place could be heavily warded. The Four Maou have sent out a declaration for all Devil Peerages to scour the entirety of the First Level Gehenna for any sign of Issei or the demons," Mitsuki said.

Ingvild's CC suddenly began to flash. She quickly answered it and a hologram of Tohka and Mica were projected in front of them, alongside Eric and Lisa.

"Eric! Lisa!" Mitsuki said.

"Hey! Irina and Mitsuki. Long time no see," Eric said.

"It's been a while. Sorry if we missed your games but we were busy on our end," Lisa said.

"Busy? What for?" Ingvild asked.

"Nevermind that for now," Irina said, interrupting Lisa before she could answer. "Did you find Issei and Lily?"

"That's actually part of why we were busy," Eric said.

"Huh?" the four of them looked at Eric intensely.

"Ever since Gremory was found to be alive, something that's impossible by the way, we've been keeping an eye on the kids. Every detail about the attacks and we've managed to acquire enough information to determine this. Beelzebub is not working alone and he certainly doesn't just have Gremory," Eric said.

"We know. We ran into two of them. Naamah and a demon named Apollyon," Irina said.

"Apollyon… any relationship to the Abaddon Clan?" Lisa asked.

"No. She's a Gremory," Rikka said. "She has the Power of Sight."

"There's no indication of any rogue Gremories. All Gremories have been accounted for even members of the branch families," Eric said.

"We'll figure that out later, for now, we need to tell you why we called," Tohka said.

"Right now, I've just sent you a map of the United States. Check your AS," Mica said.

They nodded and projected a hardlight map of the Continental US.

"Right so what are we looking for?" Irina asked.

"We're getting to that. Now, these red x's are all the locations of all the known 'Phages' as Azazel has taken to calling them. We're sticking to calling them Special Children but anyway, that's what the red is for," Tohka said.

"I don't see it. Is there supposed to be a pattern?" Mitsuki asked.

"There is," Ingvild said. "These x's are all the locations where there have been sightings of demonic activity up until 2013."

"Yes and all the demonic activity were, wait for it! Deals," Lisa said.

"Deals?" Irina asked.

"Devils, as you know, work in a sort of tit for tat manner. I do this and get this in exchange. While it doesn't look that way now, the contracts benefit both sides more equally than it did in the past," Eric said.

"How did Devils do deals in the past?" Mitsuki asked.

"In the past, Devils were able to perform great feats that can be described as miracles all through the power of the human soul. You can see where I'm going with this?" Eric said.

"Humans willingly offered their souls in exchange for money, wealth, power, fame, etc.," Mitsuki said. "But that can't be right. The Original Lucifer ended the soul practice."

"On paper she did. But…," Lisa said.

"But?" Irina pressed.

"During the Great War, Lucifer was desperate. Her children were dying so she needed a new source of manpower. Human souls," Lisa said. "So she created a division of demons that have been done away with by the current Maou. The Faustian Division. They would go to the human world and grant wishes in exchange for the user's soul. After ten years, the wisher would be killed by the devil that granted the wish and their soul would be sent to Be'er Shacath to be transformed into a different type of demon known as Spectra. Anyway, I'm getting off track. Point is, these mothers all sold their souls in exchange for something, however, some of the children are over twenty years of age which doesn't add up. The deal must have offered something else and these children are the key to that. Now, we have no way of tracking teleportation that's nigh-instantaneous as it leaves a very brief signal, unlike Transportation Circles. So we resorted to satellite imagery to track them and this is what we found."

Rikka and Ingvild's eyes widened when they saw it. Five dots were marked on the map, each the location of a church or abandoned church.

"I don't get it," Irina said.

"I'm going to draw the lines so you can see what we mean," Lisa said. Irina's eyes slowly grew wide when she saw it. A Pentagram. Not just any normal pentagram. If anyone were to do this, it would be for one thing. They were creating a large Profane Sigil. More specifically…

"A Solomon's Key," Irina whispered.

"A Solomon's Key yes. The railways were used to connect the churches in such a manner. But we don't even know its purpose of why it was built," Eric said.

"It's fine. Anything else?" Rikka asked.

"Right, we also found this. About 100 miles north of that. This town started giving us interference," Tohka said.

"Interference?" Mitsuki asked.

"We can't look into it. Something's distorting the quality of the image or blacking out our screens," Eric said.

"He's there," Irina said.

"Huh?" they all looked at her.

"That's where Issei is," Irina said.

"But that looks so blatantly obvious!" Mitsuki said.

"I know… it's why it was chosen. No one would ever suspect," Rikka said.

"Right. Let's go notify Rias's peerage. We'll be going out with them there," Irina said.

"Irina, wait," Lisa said.

"?" Irina turned around.

"Before you go, we need you to drop off a message at the Maou's office, preferably Maou Lucifer. My father and the other members of the Ten believe that it's time we contacted your pantheon," Lisa said.

"The Old Man finally decided to reveal himself?" Rikka asked.

Lisa nodded.

"Right. I'll go," Irina said.

"We'll meet you back at the house with the others," Rikka said. Irina nodded and ran out of the Data Room and towards the Hangar Bay.

Issei woke up suddenly. He no longer felt Lily's weight on his side and looked down. She was gone. He got up and began to look around.

"LILY!" Issei yelled. No response. When he got to the front, he noticed that none of the others were there too. Lance wasn't in his spot. Mary and Keon weren't there either.

"Come on guys! This isn't funny!" Issei said.

Issei walked around the store, trying to find them. Horrible scenarios popped up in his head as worry began to overtake his heart.

"Come on, where could they have gone?" Issei asked.

"Where indeed?"

Issei whirled around and saw Beelzebub standing behind him with a smirk on his face. Issei glared at him with all the hatred he could muster and threw a punch at Beelzebub. His eyes widened when his fist fazed through Beelzebub as if he was never there. Issei stumbled through his form and turned around to see the demon's infuriating smirk.

"Wow, what a scary look… This is a dream, kid. It's why you can't hit me. I'm not here. I'm just projecting my image in your head. Come, we need to talk," Beelzebub said, gesturing for Issei to follow him.

The two exited the grocery store and walked down the street where Issei kept staring daggers at the back of Beelzebub's head.

"You seem awfully quiet. I hope it's not my breath. I just had some shrimp and I forgot to brush my teeth on my way over to your dream," Beelzebub said.

Issei remained quiet, opting to glare at Beelzebub even harder.

"What a scary face… I hope you keep that fire in your belly fanned Issei. I'm going to need it," Beelzebub said.

"I'm going to kill you. I'm going to rip you apart and strangle you with your own entrails," Issei growled.

"Well, when you wake up, be sure to give it your best shot," Beelzebub said.

Issei huffed and looked away.

"Where are we anyway?" Issei asked.

"Hmm, I'd worry less about where I am and more about how you'll survive," the demon answered.

"It's because of your little culling right?" Issei asked.

"Correct," Beelzebub said.

"Why? Why are you making people like me kill each other?" Issei asked.

"Because I need forces. Troops if you will. There's a storm coming, Issei. A storm that will upheave the order of everything you know," Beelzebub said.

"Wait, you said forces. If you want forces, why are you making us kill each other or trying to?" Issei asked.

Beelzebub smirked.

"It's because I don't need soldiers. I already have an army. An army that's ready to move out and strike without the other pantheons knowing. And all it's missing is a leader," Beelzebub said.

"A leader?" Issei asked.

"My general. The one who will lead my armies against the gods," Beelzebub said. "And I have to say, I have a lot of faith in your batch."

"My batch? Wait… what happened to the survivor of the other batches?" Issei asked.

"What survivors?" Beelzebub asked.

Issei's eyes widened.

"You sick bastard! They were all just kids!" Issei yelled.

"They weren't all kids. Some were adults," Beelzebub said.

"You just watched a bunch of kids and adults kill each other and for what? Your perfect general?" Issei said.

"Now now. You need to relax. Forget about them. They were weak. It's why they died. But you? You're smart, strong, well-trained thanks to your time as a devil," Beelzebub said. "You'd be perfect for this role."

"What about the others? Do you really expect me to kill them?" Issei growled.

"Oh, I do. If you want to guarantee the survival of little Lily, you'll have to," Beelzebub said.

Issei went silent. He looked at Beelzebub and a question popped into his head. How did Beelzebub know that Issei or any of the others had these powers? Everything about this just seemed off. If he knew, why did he wait so long to get them?

"Why?" Issei asked.

"It's always a why with you. What is it this time?" Beelzebub asked.

"Why do I have these powers? Why does Lily have these powers?" Issei asked.

"You really want to know?" Beelzebub said, tilting his head slightly.

Issei nodded.

"Well, I guess I'll show you but you have to remain quiet about this. I like you so I'll get you the inside scoop on the origin story of you special children. You specifically," Beelzebub said.

Issei stiffened as Beelzebub snapped his fingers. The world around Issei warped and distorted as he found himself standing in his bedroom. Well to be more specific, it was the bedroom that his parents used as a nursery for him and his twin sister. He recognized it from the various baby pictures of him and his twin.

"Nostalgic isn't it. Have you forgotten the sight of your old house?" Beelzebub asked.

"We're not friends," Issei said, taking in the scene of his old house. His gaze traveled down to two cribs that each held a baby. He walked over to the cribs and smiled, seeing the sleeping form of his infantile self and the infant version of his twin sister. Back when they were babies, they were nearly impossible to tell apart but his parents could always tell who was who.

"And look. Our guest of honor has arrived," Beelzebub said. Issei turned around and saw his mother walking into the room. Only, her eyes were different. A cold smile appeared on his mother's face as she hovered over his crib. Baby Issei and baby Mitsuki started to cry hysterically as a fear-inducing aura began to leak from his mother's body. Her yellow eyes looked maliciously down on him. She pulled out a vial of blood from her sleeve and uncorked it. She gently opened baby Issei's mouth and slowly poured the entire vial into his mouth.

Issei felt like he was going to throw up. His own mother was feeding him blood. And for what?

"More nutritious than mother's milk," Beelzebub said.

"W- What the hell is my mom doing to me?" Issei asked.

"Well… that might look like your mommy but for now, she's being occupied by yours truly as their personal Gundam," Beelzebub said. "See I chose that night because… your parents' exorcist friends might have sensed me entering their house. I needed to take every precaution possible and that night was the night your girlfriend's parents were on a date night."

"Is that how…?" Issei asked.

"Yup," Beelzebub replied.

"So I have… demon blood running through me? What even am I?" Issei asked.

"You're still what you are after your pieces were removed. A humanoid dragon but now… you have the same energy as well… me and the other demons," Beelzebub said. "But I never expected that you would be the one to awaken the Shevirat Ha-Kelim. I honestly expected someone else."

"Why me?" Issei asked. "Me and my sister are more or less evenly matched and we both possessed Longinus gear so why just me?"

"Luck of the draw? Screwed over by fate? Either way, you were chosen because I ran out of blood to give. She only gave me so many vials," Beelzebub said.

"She?" Issei asked.

"Ha-Satan. The current Ha-Satan," Beelzebub said.

"There is no current Ha-Satan. The Maou and the other Prime Demons said that there's been no Ha-Satan since the end of the Great War," Issei said.

"And that's where you're wrong. You should be afraid of her… very," Beelzebub said, his eyes lingering on Issei a bit longer.

Or maybe not, after all, Grandfather forbid what she sees in you, Beelzebub added as an afterthought.

"Well, it looks like we've gone over the time," Beelzebub said.

"Wait! I still have some things I need to know!" Issei yelled.

"Sorry! But that's all for now," Beelzebub said, snapping his fingers.

Issei's entire dream world faded away as Beelzebub forcing him awake.

Issei's eyes snapped open as he jolted forward. He panted heavily and saw Lily stirring next to him. She yawned before hugging his waist and falling back asleep. Issei calmed down considerably at the sight of her and petted her head. That dream he had just now. Was it all real? Did he really talk to Beelzebub? He looked out the window and saw that the sun was past its apex in the sky. It was a few hours past noon. Three if he had to guess.

"We gotta start moving," Issei said. He shook Lily awake. Lily woke up and got to her feet, grabbing her brother's hand. Issei and Lily walked back to the front of the store where he saw Mary waiting for him.

"Where's Lance and Keon?" Issei asked.

"I don't know. I think they went to go to the bathroom or get some firewood," Mary said.

"Firewood? We're in a grocery store with things we can burn," Issei said.

"That's what I said but Lance said that he needed Keon's help with getting supplies," Mary said.

"Hey!" the three looked up and saw Lance running towards them. He slowed down and placed his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

"Woah. What happened?" Issei asked, noticing his fatigue.

"Some… survivors. Tried to attack me," Lance said. His voice began to crack as he said the next part.

"Keon… he tried to save me but," Lance trailed off.

Mary covered her mouth in horror. "Oh god," Mary said.

Issei was shocked. The other survivors killed Keon. But then he remembered something from his conversation with Beelzebub, there were no survivors from what Beelzebub implied so how did Keon get killed by another survivor let alone a group of them.

"We have to get going now. We need to find that anchor and break it," Lance said.

Issei nodded as Lance ran off. Mary began to run but stopped when Issei grabbed her arm.

"Wait… be careful of Lance. Something's not right," Issei said. Mary looked at him suspiciously and nodded hesitantly. The two followed after Lance as they walked down the street.

"So Issei. Where would the anchor be kept?" Lance asked.

"Somewhere inconspicuous and well-guarded," Issei said.

"Like?" Lance asked.

"I don't know," Issei said.

"Let's keep looking," Mary said, getting in between them.

"So we'll find Issei in the middle of nowhere?" Vali asked as they walked through the woods.

"It's a general area," Irina said.

"Where did you even get the lead from?" Rias asked.

"A friend of mine," Rikka said. "She knows scrying magic and we gave her some of Issei's hair?"

"His hair?" Akeno said.

"Uh yeah. Older forms of scrying magic require something from the target," Ingvild said.

Tohka and Mica slapped their foreheads while Mitsuki shook her head. Bova just looked confused at the entire situation.

"Come on, let's take to the air. We'll cover more ground that way," Irina said, spreading her wings. The group nodded and flew after her.

The sun hung low in the sky as the light began to fade away. Issei became warier as he glanced at Lance discreetly. He was still uncomfortable with that survivor statement earlier but then again, Beelzebub could be lying. Trying to distract himself, Issei extended his senses to try and find any odd forms of energy. As he closed his eyes, he remembered that Mastema was still with him.

"Hey Mastema, do you know the location of the anchor or where the barrier is originating from?" Issei asked.

(Well, just a general area. It's northeast of you) Mastema said.

"Northeast? Right," Issei said.

"Guys, I think I can sense something," Mary said.

"The anchor?" Lance asked.

"No, but I think it's where it is if that's where the massive amount of… things are? I don't know," Mary said.

Her powers are coming out, Issei thought.

"Which way?" Issei asked. Mary pointed in the direction Mastema had pointed him in.

"Northeast huh," Lance said.

"Come on," Lance said.

"Can you keep walking Lily?" Issei asked. She nodded, not wanting to feel useless. Issei smiled and the three followed after Lance.

Kuroka and Koneko hopped from tree to tree, following after Mitsuki. The three landed on a branch.

Koneko looked at Mitsuki's back as she stopped and placed her hand against the tree. She looked at her sister, who was staring ahead blankly. She felt the pain her sister did and the pain her friend felt. The raw agony of a sibling losing a sibling and a lover losing a lover.

"Nee-sama, are you okay?" Koneko asked.

"I'm fine. Let's just go find Issei," Kuroka said. She leaped towards another branch and took off. As Koneko went to go follow her, Mitsuki stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You need to tell her what happened," Mitsuki said.

Koneko shook underneath Mitsuki's hand.

"I know but I don't think I'm ready to see how she'll react to what… I was made to do," Koneko said.

"I'm sure she'll understand. She's your sister after all. Rias's parents and brother were disappointed but they didn't disown her and acknowledged that there other forces at play. You'll be fine," Mitsuki said.

"Thanks," Koneko said, feeling a bit better.

"You're welcome because trust me, I know what it's like to keep secrets from your siblings," Mitsuki said, pulling out a small sun pendant from inside her jacket. It shined brightly in the setting sun.

The four walked into a small neighborhood that was very similar to the one that he had found himself in. Issei grimaced and covered Lily's eye when he saw the skeletal remains of a small child lying on the sidewalk. Mary looked away upon seeing that the skull had been brutally caved in.

"That's… just disgusting," Mary said. "What kind of monster forces children to kill each other?"

"I don't know," Issei said.

(I think we're getting closer) Mastema said.

"Where?" Issei asked.

(That church I believe) Mastema said as she placed a translucent finger on her chin. Issei glanced at the ruined church.

"I think it's the church," Issei said.

Lance and Mary nodded and followed after Issei. He glanced down at Lily, who looked at him curiously. He leaned her down and began to whisper in her ear.

"When I say run, run," Issei said.

Lily looked at him curiously and nodded.

Issei slowly pushed the door opened to reveal an empty church. In the middle of the church was a small glowing violet orb.

"There it is," Issei said.

"So that's it huh?" Lance said as he clenched his fist. A small coating of dark energy began to manifest on Lance's hand. Issei's eye narrowed.

Mary walked up to Issei and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Let's break it and get out of here," Mary said.

"I'm sorry but," Lance said. "Only one of us can survive from now on."

Lance dashed towards Mary and prepared to cave her skull in when Issei appeared in front of him and caught his fist.

"TAKE LILY AND RUN! MARY, GRAB THE ORB AND SMASH IT!" Issei yelled as he threw Lance back. Mary nodded and grabbed a scared Lily and ran toward the orb. As she neared it, a barrier appeared in front of the sphere and knocked her back. She and Lily were sent sprawling out onto the floor.

Mary got to her feet.

"Issei! There's another barrier!" Mary said.

"Tch!" Issei kicked Lance back, sending him crashing into a pew. Issei raised his hand and fired a highly concentrated sphere of destruction at the barrier. The barrier shook underneath the force of Issei's attack.

"HAAAH!" Issei poured more power into the orb, causing it to exert more force on the barrier.

Lance got up and ran towards Issei with a small shadow dagger in his hand.

Lily, seeing the danger her older brother was in, reacted on pure instinct, and raised her hand. Her hand glowed blue as a massive wave of frost came pouring out of her hand. Lance's eyes widened as he rolled out of the way.

"BREAK!" Issei roared as the ball ground against the barrier. The barrier strained and cracked underneath the ball until eventually, the barrier shattered.

"GO!" Issei said. Mary ran towards the orb and grabbed it. Using all her strength, she smashed the orb against the floor.

Outside, the entire sky flickered a violet color as the massive barrier came down.

[ISSEI! THANK GOD!] Ddraig said.

|HATCHLING!| Tiamat said.

"God, it's so good to hear your voices!" Issei said. He raised his left arm, causing a red gauntlet to appear on it.

[|DRAGON BOOSTER|]

Issei created a CC and called his sister. He swiped the CC to Lily.

"LILY! TAKE THE CC AND RUN WITH MARY! WAIT FOR MITSUKI AND THE OTHERS OUTSIDE!" Issei yelled. The ground shook underneath him, forcing him to turn around. Lance's eyes were glowing as several demonic hounds stood next to him.

"What the hell?" Issei said.

"Get the girls," Lance said. His voice held an aura of pull and power as the hounds howled and began to run after Mary and Lily.

"Like hell!" Issei said.

[|WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!|]

[|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|] [|Boost!|]

[|DRAGON SHOT!|]

Kiba and Rossweisse surveyed their surroundings from the sky. As they flew at breakneck speeds across the night sky, a massive pulse of energy alerted them in the direction west of their location.

"What the?" Kiba said as he saw the sky flash a brilliant violet. Various complex runes rotated lazily in mid-air as they began to flicker out of existence. Kiba quickly turned to Rossweisse who kept staring in the direction of the barrier. "You think?" he began.

"Yeah, let's tell the others," Rossweisse said as she flew back in the group's direction. The two landed and saw Mitsuki running out of the woods with Irina.

The group turned and saw both duos land before them.

"What's going on?" Rias said.

"A few miles east, there's a large barrier that just went down," Kiba said.

"A barrier?" Mitsuki asked.

"Yeah, that's where we think they are," Rossweisse said. Irina unfurled her wings and beat them hard, taking off and creating a large gust of wind. Rias and Vali sighed as they flew after her.

Mitsuki sped past them and caught up to Irina as they came into the airspace of an abandoned town.

"IRINA! SLOW DOWN!" Mitsuki said.

"Not now Mii! I'm going to save Issei!" Irina said as she dove into the town.

Issei ripped another hound in half with Ascalon. He tore through the pack and appeared in front of Lance. Lance stumbled back before his eyes glowed and pushed Issei back with a telekinetic blast.

"Why won't my powers work on you!?" Lance said.

"Huh?" Issei looked at him confused.

"It worked on Keon," Lance said.

"What the hell did you do to Keon?" Issei asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Beelzebub said that only one of us can get out so… I killed him. Besides, it's not like this is the first time," Lance said, his eyes dulling for a second.

"What?" Issei froze.

"There were others. I was… part of the first batch," Lance said. "We were all so confused. We were all scared. So when Beelzebub all told us that the only way to survive is to be the last one standing… something inside us snapped. Our leader, she tried to keep us together for the first few days but she was killed. Soon after that, we descended into chaos. It was a slaughter-fest and guess who survived."

"You sick fuck! Some of them were children!" Issei said.

"The children, admittedly, were the easiest and the hardest to kill. Don't you presume to think you know how I feel," Lance said.

Issei felt like throwing up. This man in front of him willingly killed children instead of trying to find a way out of this place.

"But still, what you did," Issei said.

"I'm going to have to kill you now," Lance said.

"Why? It's all over. We don't need to kill each other anymore," Issei said.

"You don't understand do you," Lance said.

"Understand what?" Issei asked.

"None of us can leave. Even if this barrier comes down, this entire town is guarded by those hounds. They'll only let the sole survivor of all the batches live and that means that Mary and Lily are going to get torn apart," Lance said.

Issei's eyes widened. As he turned to run off to save them, a hound hopped in front of Issei.

"Get the hell out of my way!" Issei yelled, killing the hound.

"No!" Lance said, his voice carrying a pull of power. Issei felt a compulsive pull inside his mind before instantly crushing it and flew off.

"Damnit!" Lance formed a small shadow sphere in his hand and fired it at Issei. Issei twisted out of the way and turned around.

"Sod off!" Issei said, firing an energy blast at him. Lance dodged and grabbed Issei with his telekinetic grip and slammed him into the ground. Issei shrugged it off and dashed towards him.

Mary ran for her life with Lily in her arms. Behind her were a pack of demonic hounds. Their fangs were bared and saliva was seen dripping from their mouths. Their black fur shined in the light of the sun as they nearly caught up with her. They nipped at her heels.

Mary yelped as she tripped on a rock. She fell on her back to protect Lily from getting hit by the floor. Mary glared at the hounds as they closed in on her and Lily, circling them and eyeing them like a piece of meat.

"GO AWAY!" Lily screamed as she raised her hand. A light blue light exploded from her small hand.

Mitsuki and Irina's eyes widened as a massive wave of ice erupted from the forest.

"Do you think?" Irina said. Mitsuki nodded and flew down. She saw Lily being protected by a girl with black hair from a few demonic dogs. She dove down, landing in front of the dogs.

"Get the hell away from my sister," Mitsuki said as she created energy blades in her hands. She disappeared in a burst of speed and all Mary and Lily were able to see were streaks of violet light. The hounds exploded into a shower of gore.

"Lily! Are you alright!?" Mitsuki asked, checking the little redhead all over. Mary, in her shock, let go of Lily as she dove into Mitsuki's arms.

"NEE!" Lily cried.

"Where's Aniki?" Mitsuki asked.

"He's over there. In a town, a few thousand feet east of here!" Mary said.

"Mitsuki, go! I'll keep her safe," Irina said. Mitsuki nodded and flew off.

Issei slammed his elbow into Lance's gut. Lance stumbled back and gasped for air. He ran at Issei and threw a punch. Issei easily dodged it and slapped him into the ground.

"Tch! Fuck!" Lance said, getting up.

"Give up, it's all over," Issei said.

"I have to win to get back to her," Lance said.

"Don't you get it!?" Issei said, knocking him down. "WE CAN LEAVE! YOU CAN GO HOME!"

Lance went quiet as he powered down.

"Come on," Issei said.

"No," Lance said. He swiped a dagger comprised of darkness he had hidden behind his back at Issei. Issei parried it with his left hand and punched Lance in the face, knocking him down.

Lance didn't move but was breathing lightly. Issei leaned down and placed his fingers over his neck. He felt a pulse and sighed.

"It's over," Issei said.

"ANIKI!"

Issei turned and saw Mitsuki running towards him. Issei smiled and held his arms out. Mitsuki smiled and flew into them, hugging her brother tightly.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered.

"Me too. Thanks for finding me, Mii-chan," Issei said.

"Where are the others?" Issei said.

"RIGHT HERE NYA!" Mitsuki chuckled and moved out of the way as Kuroka slammed into him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. Issei leaned into the kiss before pulling away.

"Issei!"

He craned his neck and saw Irina and Rossweisse running over to them. Irina and Rossweisse pushed Kuroka out of the way. Rossweisse grabbed his face and kissed him deeply. Issei's eyes widened when her tongue slipped into his mouth, practically cleaning his tonsils. She pulled away, leaving Issei dazed.

Irina pouted before pushing Rossweisse aside. She grabbed Issei's collar and kissed him. Unlike Rossweisse's carnal kiss or Kuroka's exciting kiss, Irina's kiss was tender and filled with passion, as much passion as Rossweisse and Kuroka. Years of their relationship pouring their feelings into a single moment. She pulled away, leaving a trail of saliva that connected them together.

"I'm happy that you're safe, Issei," Irina said.

"Me too," Issei said.

"Issei," Rias said as she and the others landed.

"Rias," Issei said. She was surprised when Issei hugged her.

"Thank you for coming to save me," Issei said.

"Y- You're welcome," Rias said. "You're my best friend, Issei."

"Mine too," Issei said, pulling out. He stumbled when Asia jumped on his back.

"I'm glad you're safe, Nii-san," Asia said.

Everyone crowded around Issei and celebrated his safety. While they were all talking, they never noticed Lance slowly coming to.

Lance's eyes slowly opened. He looked around and saw Issei with several people around them. He wasn't stupid. If he attacked, then he would be quickly defeated. However, he could take out Issei and then make a break for it. Lance formed a dense spear of darkness and aimed it covertly at Issei. After he was finally sure that no one noticed him, he fired the spear and time slowed down.

Mitsuki smiled as she watched her brother conversing with the others. She felt immense disgust when she heard that Beelzebub had broken into their home one night and fed her twin blood to give him his powers. However, Issei had informed them that Beelzebub did not reveal any information as to where the blood came from. He also revealed another piece of alarming information. A Ha-Satan. As she mulled over the notion, her eye noticed something shining in the corner of her eye. Her eyes widened when she saw one of the Children, Lance, fire a spear at her brother's back.

"ANIKI!" she screamed.

Everything slowed down as Mitsuki pushed Issei out of the way.

Issei's eyes widened and he felt immense pain in his chest. His stare was one of horror as he saw his twin sister with an energy spear going through her chest.

She coughed up a glob of blood as she fell to her knees. The spear vanished into a stream of violet particles of light, leaving a fist sized hole in her chest. Issei quickly ran over she fell over, supporting her head. He turned over to Lance, who stood with his hand outstretched.

"AGGHHHH!" Issei fired a massive blast of red energy at Lance.

Beelzebub, who saw the entire interaction from the church spire, smiled.

"Game, set, match," Beelzebub said, snapping his fingers.

As the blast was about to hit Lance, he felt himself being pulled away and vanished. The energy blast ripped through the town and crashed into a mountain several dozen miles from the abandoned town. A large explosion vaporized the mountain instantly, sending a massive blast wave washing over them.

"A- ni," Mitsuki gasped. Issei turned back to her and gently cupped her face. Asia was already at her side with tears streaming down her face.

"Nee-san," Asia cried as she tried to heal her. However, no matter how many times Asia used [Twilight Healing], nothing would happen. Mitsuki's heart had suffered irreparable damage from Lance's spear to the point where Asia could no longer recognize it. It was merely a ribbon of tissues with blood spilling from them.

Mitsuki weakly grabbed her hand and removed it with what little strength she had. It was taking all of her power just to move Asia's hand and speak. Irina turned Lily away from the scene while the others looked away. Vali's fist was clenched to the point where he drew blood from his hand.

"Aniki… Asia," Mitsuki said.

"Mii-chan, don't speak! Asia is healing you," Issei said, tears flowing from his face.

Mitsuki smiled softly. Her face was beginning to grow pale from blood loss and her lips were turning blue.

"S- Summer star… w- why are you so red?" Mitsuki sang softly, calming the two of them down. Her vision was rapidly fading as the darkness started to overtake her. Her mind was slipping into the peaceful depths of oblivion. She felt something wet hit her face. Was it raining? Her eyes traveled to the faces of two people. She smiled.

"Asia… Aniki, everything's going to be fine," she whispered as the light faded from her eyes and darkness overtook her senses.

"Mii-chan?" Issei said when he no longer saw her singing. Her eyes were still open and looking up at him and Asia. A peaceful smile was forever etched on her face.

"Nee-san?" Asia said, her voice cracking.

"Mitsuki, hey, hey, you're going to be fine yeah?" Issei said, softly stroking her hair. She hated it whenever he touched her hair without her permission. He was hoping that she would slap her hand.

"Because it's my job. It's my job as the big brother to protect his pain in the ass little sister right?" Issei said, egging her on, fully expecting her "You're only three minutes older than me" response.

Still, no response came from Mitsuki's increasingly cold body.

"Hey, wake up. It's not funny anymore," Issei said, shaking her.

No response.

"Mitsuki? Please, don't leave me alone," Issei said.

Asia sobbed into her adoptive sister's hand. Everyone around them cried while Mary looked at the scene with a grim expression.

Issei's bangs cast a shadow over his eyes as the tears flowed ever so harder. He had long since felt the warmth of his sister disappear. He felt their bond being severed by the hand of Death. And now, he could do nothing more for his beloved twin but cradle her lifeless body in his arms.

Reviews:

Scrumblenut: Why yes, I am changing the reasons. I'm also going to keep it vague and hidden for the entire next arc.

Andrew18: Sorry... about that hehe.

Let's be real. If you were from the original story, you knew this was coming. Mitsuki dies. Anyway, we're wrapping up the second arc of the first season in the next two chapters so be ready. Alright, I didn't explicitly reveal Lance's power but feel free to guess which Clan his power came from. Also, which Clan gave Lily gave her power. Remember to have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours~!