It was dusk

Although he could not clearly see her face, he somehow knew
that she was smiling at him, with her back against the sun

He stood there, partly blinded by the light that managed to permeate through
strands of her long silky black hair that was floating in the breeze

And the brilliant beauty that seemed to be radiating from her as
her heavenly figure drank in the vividly flickering horizon

He felt at peace with her presence

But as he tried to get closer to her, she suddenly said something

"This is farewell, Issei."

After those fateful words, his world went black

-xXx-

[1]

~SIMULATION~

In the end, it all came down to this.
With a stake of light through the heart of your beloved.
Or so you thought.

-xXx-

It's white.

When my dream ended, it was nothing but darkness.

And now it's completely white.

It takes me quite a few seconds before I could register the whiteness in front of me was actually the ceiling of my room.

It was also then that I start to realize that my breath is slightly off for a person who has just waken up, that sweats are pouring down my skin, and that there is another nice sensation on my right arm.

Namely a pair of wonderful female body parts that belong to none other than a certain someone who is sleeping peacefully right beside me.

"Mn… hm…"

The sound of her moan in her sleep, combining with how her breath is tickling my skin, her naked body, and the close proximity between us (which is almost non-existing at all) surely arouse me a whole lot.

And I love every single second of it.

Rias Gremory.

That was the name of this astounding, beautiful, and gorgeous girl who, in some strange ways that both of us had never ever expected, became my girlfriend not too long ago.

By the way, did I mention that she was a Devil?

Before I went into that, however, let me tell you the kind of world we are living in.

…

Ever since the dawn of the first civilization itself, mythological beings had always been residing together with humanity.

There were the Angels, created and led by the God of the Bible himself, who used to live in a realm called «Heaven».

And then, there were the Devils, led by the Devil Kings consists of four titles: Lucifer, Beelzebub, Leviathan, and Asmodeus; who occupy a dark realm called «Underworld».

The rest were pantheon of gods from various cultures that does not affiliate themselves with any of the above factions. They instead remained neutral from all affairs of Earthlings, thus leaving the power balance in the hands of Angels and Devils.

Despite their huge differences, there was one fact that all supernatural beings silently agreed with each other: Never to expose the truth of their presences to the majority of people who have neither knowledge or practicing of magic.

However, two catastrophic events had occurred which lead to the revelation of their existences.

First is the Great War, or the Armageddon, as some would call it. An all-out battle that took place on Earth between the Angels and Devils 2000 years ago which almost destroyed all those participated in it and millions of innocence lives were perished in the struggle. It took both sides to their very best to rebuild everything including the kingdoms of humanity.

They were barely able to contain their secrets from the eyes of the remaining human survivors and formed a temporary truce, in spite of how fragile it might seem to be.

And everyone thought that was the end of it.

But that was only the beginning, as the second one shook the world to its whole foundation and changed the faces of all mythology systems.

It was forever known as the Great Quake, or the Apocalypse, as many people believed it to be.

There was no sign, no forewarning at all. On that day fifty years ago, the world simply plunged into chaos, with the «Heaven» crashed down to the Earth, rifts of bottomless abysses opened on the surface, and multiple dimensions overlapped onto each other, breaking the boundaries between all factions and mythologies.

Needless to say, neither any deity nor supernatural being could prevent what inevitably followed such event.

Their existences.

And for the first time in history, the entire mankind knew the reality of the world around them.

With time passed, both magical entities and people were able to rebuild what was lost. Houses were raised again, roads were connected again, and more than half of the big cities in the world returned to their former glories.

But many things new were added to what used to be normal life of people, and the changes were drastically significant.

For once, it was co-existence of both human and supernatural beings.

A lot of agreements were signed between the leaders of many species, which gave rise to the integration of what we would usually call monsters and spirits into many people's life, alongside some Angels and Devils as a part of cultural exchange program. Some of them even live together under the same roof with us.

As such, lots of schools began to create new curriculums for magic studying and accept all kind of students enrolling, regardless of their species. Some of the cities even adapt magical tools into their own architecture, producing some of the most magnificent buildings which used to be impossible before.

The second change, however, was even more extreme, especially for those of Christian belief.

With the permanent collapse of «Heaven», the Angels had lost their former place to live, and as a result, they had taken Vatican – the home of Catholic Church – as their new headquarters. This event also united all branches of Christian Churches under one single banner: God of the Bible. Numerous new angels were born from the old exorcists' force of the Church, together with the disappearance of the Pope's seat as there is no need for such position when God himself is on the throne.

…

Well, that was the gist of things.

As I have told you, Rias Gremory – my girlfriend – is a Devil from the «Underworld» who came to Earth to study our cultures along with making acquaintances here in our school, Kuoh Academy. She originates from a distinguished Devil family, the Gremory – one of 72 Pillars in the «Underworld» - and as a result, she stands out from the common crowd with her sophisticated looks, noble-like manner, a refined air of authority, and the radiant red hair as a trademark of her family's bloodline. It also went without saying that she became the most popular as well as the most sought after girl in our school.

Normally, an average and typical human who couldn't even make a small spark of fire like me would never stand a chance of walking beside her, much less than sleeping in the same bed as her. Not to mention that we are both naked.

But Fate has an odd way of playing with people's lives. Our circumstances that lead to us meeting each other were… kind of unique, to say the least.

Before I could reminisce about the past though, Rias has already wide awaked and is currently staring straight into my eyes.

For goodness' sake, every time she does that thing, it would always render me speechless because of how powerful and earnest her gaze is.

In the end, it's her who speaks up first.

"Good morning, Issei."

"Morning to you too, Rias."

She slowly raises herself up and stretches her arms out for a bit. But when she sees my morning wood, Rias smirked mischievously as she climbs onto my body and straddles my thighs, all the while teasing me.

"So, what do you say about one more round before going to school?"

I could only groan in resignation as she begins to slide down onto my hips.

I swear, despite considering myself to be quite a big perverted and horny teenager boy, Rias has a way higher libido than mine. Perhaps it's a trait of her race as a Devil or something.

Nonetheless, a new day has started pleasantly for us.

-xXx-

My parents have already sat down at their own seats by the time we finished getting dressed and coming down the stairs.

Our family isn't anything special, just your average businessman and a domestic housewife; that is if you do not counting the fact that they are quite eccentric whenever it comes to my love life as well as their amazing adaptability to even the most bizarre situations.

You see, I'm a member of the infamous perverted Trio at our school, to the point that almost every single one student of the female population despises us for enrolling there. This notoriety soon reached my parents and they are rather distressed by it, which in turn also made them constantly worrying about both my future and their grandchildren's one, if I could ever have a wife.

So, when Rias made her appearance at my house as my girlfriend, they created such a huge scene of dramatic relief that it embarrassed the hell out of me. Even now they still continue this kind of thing once in a while.

I wish that they would just give it a rest already.

With that being said, we sit down at the dining table and start eating our breakfast when I ultimately realize something strange ever since I woke up.

"Wait, what on earth happen to our house?"

Holy crap, the house I remember wasn't this big! And we don't have that kind of luxurious huge TV, or that extravagant set of wooden chairs and tables, or those giant spotless expensive-looking windows, or that the ceiling is at least three meters above us, with a grand chandelier in the middle to boost!

Rias merely chuckles at my bewilderment.

"Oh, so you finally notice. Since I felt that your house was quite small for someone who is my dearest, I took the liberty of buying the surrounding area and remodeling it to my taste in under one night." She then turns to my parents. "So, does it really to your liking, Otou-san, Oka-san?"

My father laughs lightly as he picks up his bowl.

"Ha ha. It really surprised me that our house suddenly got nine stories above and five stories below ground. There is a huge bath area enough for twenty people at once, a whole story living room with full entertainment media, and even a basement sport stadium. Lord Gremory truly went all out for this one."

My mother smiles as she adds.

"And the kitchen as well! There are just so much appliances and utensils that I'm confident my cooking skills will improve!"

"Don't be so modest. Oka-san's cooking is always the best!"

"Oh, you stop it please!" My mother wriggles while playfully smacks away my father's hand. "Everyone is at the table right now!"

And there goes the shameless flirting between my idiotic parents right in front of us in addition to their impressive adaptability. They don't seem to be bothered at all by the fact that their house was reconstructed without their permission in only one night while they were asleep and how ridiculous it changed from the original design. Could you two please stop being so unabashed from everything that is clearly not natural?

The red-haired girl beside me smiles fondly at the scene of my parents who are still off in their own little world, and at me who is making an exasperated face-palm.

"Issei, your family never stops amusing me with their silly antics."

I give out a long sigh before speaking.

"I sometimes wish that they would just act like adults their age already."

Despite saying that, the house always get livelier with them around. After all, if not for them, I would never have been born into this extraordinary world, living such a wonderful life; and most of all, meeting Rias Gremory.

Anyway, it seems like another rowdy morning has passed for the Hyoudou household, with my parents acting stupidly again, and Rias and me having great time enjoying a warm meal together.

-xXx-

"Murayama's boobs are so delicious!"

"She's 82-70-81."

"Katase has such creamy thighs!"

"She's 78.5-65-79."

That was the conversation exchanged between my buddies, Matsuda – a former jock star and self-proclaimed lolicon – and Motohama – another pervert with glasses who can determine a girl's body measurements by staring at them. Together with me, we form the Perverted Trio whose fame is known throughout the school; although I'm not entirely proud about it as some girls have already making threats of murdering us if we were ever found of peeking at them, which the two of them is doing right now.

Apparently, Matsuda discovered a hole in the girls' PE changing room which allows them to peek through it. It's all nice and good to have such fantastic gift right in front of our noses, but the problem is…

"Hey! Let me have some too! Don't just keep all the good stuffs to yourself!"

Damn these guys! Whenever they get the chance to see some juicy actions, they would always leave me out and enjoying themselves first. What about me, guys? Aren't we supposed to be comrades in our eternal quest for the best figure of female body?

Matsuda suddenly turns back and glares at me with vicious eyes.

"Shut up, traitor! Don't you already have Rias-senpai, the most desirable female student in the school? I bet that she even let you touch her boobs with bare hands."

Ugh, in truth, she let me go further than that; but it's better if I don't spill it out as I'm sure that it would only incur their wrath more than it already is.

To persuade these guys to let me join them, I strike a pose and speak in a tone that sounds like a veteran of war.

"Fools! Heathens! A true perverted gentleman shall never ever let himself be limited by only one pair of boobs. Those heavenly parts of a girl are all over the world: gigantic ones, huge ones, medium ones, flat ones, modest ones, they are all to be treasured and preserved! And it is our mission to discover each and every single one of them and memorize their beauty!"

That was perhaps one of the most idiotic lines I might have ever spouted. Nevertheless, I hope that it would be able to persuade them for me to use the peek hole, although the chances are quite slim…

"Marvelous! Truly marvelous!" Matsuda cries out with tears of joy. "To think that you hold up such a noble ideal all this time, I'm sorry for doubting you, my brother!"

Huh? Don't tell me they actually bought that?

"It seems like I have misjudged you, Issei." Motohama adjusts his glasses as he places an arm over my shoulder. "Well then, together we shall witness the magnificence that is female body."

But before we could continue with our voyage into the wonderland, someone speaks behind us.

"So, it's you three again?"

Oh crap! We were so loud that the female students have noticed our presence and they are now gathering around us. If I recall correctly, they are members of the Kendo Club.

"RUN! Run for your life!"

I shout as my legs began to carry me away from the incoming onslaught of bamboo swords with the other two follow right on my tail. My only regret wasn't that I tried to peek, but rather the fact that I wasn't able to sneak a peek!

-xXx-

"Kiba Yuuto-kun, would you happen to know where the Perverted Trio might have gone to?" A member of the Kendo Club asks politely as she hides the sword behind her back and tries to make the best smile in front of the school prince as possible.

"I saw them going that way." Reply the said person.

As if on cue, several other members immediately chase after pointed direction with the girl who asked Kiba saying thanks to him before leaving as well.

When the threat has finally disappeared from sight, I release a breath I didn't know I was holding in and step out of a nearby locker. Somewhere along the way, I have lost traces of both Matsuda and Motohama.

"You should know that if it wasn't for Rias ojou-sama, I wouldn't have helped you."

The person who just said that to my face is none other than Kiba Yuuto, the so-called school prince who is popular because of his handsome face, intelligence, and his good-natured heart, which made him the idol of more than half of the girls and enemy of all boys, me included as well, or at least that's what it used to be in the past before I met Rias. He is also a member of her peerage.

Explanation time!

The Devils, in order to reincarnate more people into their ranks, has devised the «Evil Pieces» system which use 16 objects similar to chess pieces to revive any potential being as one of their own, regardless of whether they are humans or monsters. A high-class Devil will normally be granted the «King» piece which allow him or her to use the rest 15 pieces – «Queen», «Knight», «Bishop», «Rook», and «Pawn» – on others and command them with absoluteness, creating a small army of their own that is called a peerage.

Kiba's rank in Rias' peerage is «Knight».

I have a nagging feeling that he doesn't like me at all from the way he keeps a judging look on me and how he seems to be doing his best not to emit an obvious hostile attitude toward me. It's amazing how he could hold it all in and giving a friendly smile instead as he adds.

"To be frank with you, even now I still can't fathom why Ojou-sama chose someone like you to be her partner."

Well, I guess that's one more cat out of the bag, and a really blunt one too.

Honestly speaking, I have no idea, either. Thinking back on how we first met each other, I am somehow well aware that it could have been any person that discovered her private hobbies, and she would have no choice but to keep them by her side so that they wouldn't spill her secrets, and any such person in such circumstances could have easily become her first crush. In other words, it didn't have to be me. All of which makes me wonder one thing though…

Just how much does Rias truly love me as a person?

As I'm lost in pondering that question, Kiba Yuuto simply walks away, but not before he leaves one last warning.

"Whatever is it that you are going to do, just don't make ojou-sama sad. And I don't think I need to remind you, but would you kindly stay away as far as possible from my sister?"

Kiba Yumi? The gorgeous blond-haired girl who is his twin sister and also Rias' other «Knight»?

That's an understandable statement considering my reputation as a pervert, although he is obviously overthinking things. Without a doubt, Yumi-chan is a stunning girl, but ever since I had Rias as my girlfriend, I hardly think of any other girl as special, save for another one, despite the fact that I would jump at any opportunity to peek a naked girl if given the chance to.

The red-haired Devil girl is simply that exceptional to me.

Suddenly, an odd feeling of sentimentality flooded my senses and renders me speechless.

I turn around and look at the blue sky outside the windows; my mind's filled with the scene of only one destination that I know I have to go after classes are over.

-xXx-

If I have to make one complain, it's that theses stairs are way too long!

Currently, I'm climbing up a greenly hill through a sole stairway leading up to its top, which houses the place I want to visit at the moment.

Every once in a while, I would get these strange déjà vu instances which compel me to go forward to this weird place. I don't know how, I don't know why. I just simply have an irresistible urge to do so. What's more surprising is that despite not having the slightest idea about this place beforehand, I managed to find it the first time I get this itch.

But no matter how many times I go, I still couldn't get used to climbing this many steps upward the hill!

After quite some time, I finally arrive at the top, and the scene of my destination immediately appears in my sight.

An old and abandoned Shinto shrine which had seen its better share of the past decade.

By all accounts, I'm not a very religious person. Sure, we now know that deities and monsters are real, that Angels and Devils do exist, and that all mythologies are true in one way or another. However, for me who do not worship anything but the beauty of a female body, it isn't that big of an issue whether I would pray to my country's deities or not.

Thus making it even more unusual that I would have come to such a remote and forsaken location of religious belief.

Unconsciously, as if my brain was programmed to do so, I start trekking on the once sacred ground, until I reach the door to the main shrine building.

I open it.

The smell of old timbered materials, of mosses that cover some of the paper walls, and of unknown dried liquid on the floor hit my nose. I can also see the thin layers of undisturbed dust that was gathered floating idly in the air, indicating that just as the same as last time, nobody has entered here except for me currently.

Like an inevitable reaction, I lift my feet onto the floor of the building and walk inside, not even once concerned about my own intrusion upon this place. I carefully maneuver through many unmoved objects, the wooden panels below me creak noisily, a sign that they are showing their ages, all the while hoping that whoever decides to come back here wouldn't be displeased with my unannounced presence.

Rooms and rooms I look through, hallways and alleyways I walk pass, with each time making sure that the thing I am searching for is not there, even though I have no idea what it is. I keep searching like a mad man, simply believing in the truth that when I finally found it, I will remember whatever it is I need to.

At the end of my search, I reach the backyard.

It's a rather empty space, with nothing but a field of grass situated on a cliff's edge that overlook a part of Kuoh town. A nice place to get away from city life on weekends.

I close my eyes and breathe in the fresh air blowing through rows of overgrowth trees, the kind that you rarely get when you are living inside a crowded, busy metropolitan area, and at the same time listen to the sounds of some birds chirping, with the grasses at my feet waving slightly together with the motion of the wind.

Then, in the middle of this serene moment, my mind is gradually filled with images of an unknown time.

Strands of silky black hair fluttering in the breeze of midsummer breeze,
steadily getting colder as it signaled the end of two intertwined fates.

A smile that contains both sadness and lingering attachments under rays of golden light,
as if desperately holding onto a thread that was meant to be cut.

Dark wings flapping gently around, attempting to reach for something so far that even flying could not help,
yet still looking for the hands that will hold them forever,
although at the same time denying those hands that were about to touch them.

Apathy

Resentment

Affection

Regret

With each time I visit this place, those emotions, those alien emotions which do not belong to me, slowly grow stronger, until it became a void. It keeps gnarling at me, eating me from deep down inside, as if there was a lost chapter in my book of life that I carelessly destroyed, a memory that I have somehow forgotten yet still trying to hang onto it.

I open my eyes again and shake off these visions. They are so powerful to the point that I have to do my best not to be overwhelmed by them, which is quite a feat considering that I'm not a soppy or a dramatic type of person. Although I really am dying to know what the purpose of these visions is, and why they are dwelling there in the deepest part of my soul, it's annoying how I have no recollection about them at all in any other time apart from these.

Now that I think about it, wasn't the dream this morning somehow similar to these visions? They both depicted the same woman (I assume that was a woman, judging from the silhouette), the same place, and the same time of the day. I don't think that was just a coincidence.

The most irritated aspect is that even after countless times of seeing the woman, I still can't have a full grasp of her face.

I must be going insane if those visions even start invading in my sleep.

I sigh and twirl on my heel as I begin to leave this place. It seems that today is another unsuccessful day in searching for something here.

.
.

Toujou Kuroka and Toujou Shirone were perplexed.

The duo was a pair of previously youkai sisters with the former one being a third year student at the Kuoh Academy while the latter was in her first year. Both of them are ranked «Rook» in Rias Gremory's peerage and both have ridiculously high popularity among other students at their school beside their master. The older sister was well known for her curvaceous figure as well as possessing a sensual and flirty personality. The younger one was adored by boys and girls alike because of her petite physique and enticing loli mascot looks.

Since they belong to Rias's peerage, they had taken it upon themselves them to follow Hyoudou Issei as observers for his behavior and protectors in case of an emergency where danger might arise.

At the moment, they were standing on branches of a tree not far away from Issei.

They were perplexed due to the boy being sentimental, unlike his usual self which he would act lecherously and fantasize about girls only. They always thought that he was just a typical teenage boy in the middle of his puberty, and the fact that he landed a strike on Rias' heart was nothing than an extremely amazing stroke of luck.

Although right now, they were not so sure about that.

They had observed him for quite a while now, and each time he was at this location, he would lose himself in his thoughts and seemed to be drifting in a faraway land in his mind. He looked calmer, more mature, and somehow contained an underlying sadness in his expression every time he woke up from his tranquil musings, as if he had lost someone dear to him that he would never get the chance to see them again.

Nodding quietly at each other as Issei was leaving; they jumped after him and followed him again, their minds still trying to ascertain the boy's true personality.

Especially for Kuroka, for she was, little by little, getting obsessed over the boy. She was at that age when a Nekomata began to be in heat just by being close to the opposite sex; and the gene inside her was screaming at her to mate with Issei, to carry his child. If it was anybody else, she would have her way already, but since he was the partner of her mistress who saved both her and her sister from being executed, she was trying her best to keep her urge from taking control over her.

All the while, parts of her hoped that she would become his concubine in the future, if possible.

-xXx-

I guess it's hard to convince anyone following me that I'm not a religious person since after the Shinto shrine visit, the next place I arrive at is a Christian church.

Well, this time I'm here because I want to meet a certain someone.

"Issei-san, good evening!"

"Good evening to you too, Asia."

Everyone, please meet Asia Argento, a nun from Italia who was recently relocated to one of Kuoh town's churches. She might look like your typical beautiful blond foreigner with a petite frame, but she is actually rather innocent when it comes to lots of things in the outside world. I guess that was the result of her living her whole life with the Church.

For example, when she moved here to our town, she lost her way and had to rely on anyone she could meet first, which turned out to me. The problem didn't lie upon her being lost, but how she could easily trust every word spoken from someone she just met mere seconds ago. That worried the hell out of me, not to mention that from the perspective of anyone who only knew me through my reputation as a pervert, it would look like I was the one taking advantage of her instead.

Nonetheless, as a prime model of the (perverted) gentleman, I gallantly guided Asia-chan to the church where she was assigned to. It was then that I started getting acquainted with her.

At first, I only visited her because I was curious as well as a having bit of concern about whether she would be able to accommodate herself to the new lifestyle here – for some reasons, she brought out the parental instinct inside me. Soon enough, it turned into a habit that I couldn't seem to drop, and Asia-chan always welcomed me with a big smile on her face every time we met, which gave me even more motivation to see her again.

It's like having a cute little sister who lives some blocks away from my home.

Currently, I am standing in the garden at the back of the church, with Asia crouching on the ground feeding some of the domestic animals that live here.

It's one of another part of her personality that I love: her kindness. From the first day she was relocated here, she has begun to adopt some of the animals which have no home to go back to.

At first, the act was heavily opposed by the nuns and priests who occupied this church.

But steadily, with passion and kindness as her supports, Asia was able to convince them to let those animals live here with the promise that she will take care of them all by herself. I was present at that moment when she made the promise, and with my heart being moved by her compassion, I volunteered to help out whenever I could along with building small cages to house those stray animals.

I guess that's why Asia seems to be really attached to me.

For unknown reasons, the animals don't really like me that much despite what I have done for them, especially when they see me getting close to Asia-chan. It's ridiculous to think that animals could get jealous of man, but that's the feeling I get from them.

With that being said, I'm content to watch Asia feeding the animals instead of staying right beside her (my intuition tells me that bloodshed shall happen if I do).

While I'm watching the scene taking place, I hear footsteps approaching this way.

"It always feels so peaceful and delighted to see her doing that, doesn't it?"

Mother Margaret.

Another foreigner who seems to be in her 60s, she is the head caretaker of this church, and as such, she oversees everything here, including the garden where I am at. She was also the one who helped Asia convince the rest to let her and me look after the animals. Because of that, she became a true motherly figure to the young nun ever since.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be exaggerating to say that she is qualified to become an Angel." I respond in kind.

We both watch the scene for a few minutes before Mother Margaret continues.

"I might have never said it, but thank you for always coming to play with her in my place."

I raise my eyebrows a bit, wondering what brought this on. She seems to get my confusion as she gives me a small smile and speaks again.

"I have known Asia for quite some time back in Italia, and she wasn't able to make any friend there. When I got transferred here, I made a request of transferring her together with me, knowing that she would be lonely without anybody by her side, although it was only granted a few weeks later." Then her smile gets brighter. "But perhaps that was for the best as she got to meet and befriended with you. Among many people that I have known, you are the only one who could have made her happy and cheerful like that, something I haven't seen in a very long time."

Really? I didn't know I have such a great influence on Asia like that. I always assumed that she was lonely because of her being moved away to an entirely strange country.

All of sudden, I can see a dog limping slowly toward Asia, its leg seems to be having quite a nasty wound.

But before I could react, a faint green light emits from the girl's hands as she touches the injured dog. Soon after that, the creature jumps back up on its feet and runs around the yard again, as if it was never hurt in the first place.

Mother Margaret and I look at each other, none of us utter even one single word.

From what I can tell, Asia-chan possesses some kind of healing ability, or at least she knows a healing spell. Contrary to popular belief, any healing or regeneration ability is really hard to acquire, and whoever get them would become a high valuable asset.

And this is not the first time I have seen her using it on an injured living being.

Mother Margaret might have never spoken it out loud, but I understood for sure – upon witnessing the use of that ability for first time – that she wanted me not to reveal Asia's power. Thus a wordless agreement was formed between us about keeping her safely and away from possible prying eyes.

Well, seeing that the young blond girl is quite happy playing with her pets, I guess it's better to keep things as they are.

Although right now, there is another matter in my mind. I have no idea what is it that is constantly nagging at me, but for one unknown reason or another, I get this feeling that something bad are about to happen.

I hope that it won't concern Asia-chan or me.

.
.

Again, the Toujou sisters didn't know what to make of Issei's behavior toward a strange nun. The naïve girl seemed to exhibit some kind of healing ability, a rare and valuable talent which would be sought after by any person who knew of its existence.

But since they had been following Issei closely for quite some time, they were sure that he wasn't in any mythological factions, nor did he possess any arcane knowledge to become a wizard – a common title for humans who practice magic – thus it was pretty meaningless for an ordinary person like him.

And there came the next piece of the puzzle.

As much of a lecherous person Issei was, he always acted gently and naturally around the blond-haired nun, treating her as if she was one of his family members. From anyone's point of view, he might look like he's two-timing both the girl and their mistress, but for Kuroka, she could feel the true tenderness in his way of speaking to the nun; and as an older sister herself, she immediately understood that Issei see her in a way that equaled to being his younger sibling, despite the two of them having the same age.

It was also because of this reason that Kuroka stopped Shirone when the latter wanted to report Issei's strange affair to Rias. After all, she somewhat believed in the man who she was being in heat for, even though the only interaction between them every day was a brief greeting from him to her when he went to meet her mistress.

Sighing inwardly, Kuroka secretly wished that Issei would treat her the same way as Rias or Asia.

Then, seeing that Issei was leaving the church, the duo nekomatas were about to leave as well until they felt an ominous presence behind them.

"What an unexpected thing to see that there are two naughty cats here, and ones from the house of Gremory, too."

Kuroka and Shirone instantly turned around.

The person who had just made his presence known was leaning on one of the trees, on his face donning a plain white mask. After his eyes met with the sisters, he casually stood up straight and lightly stretched his arms, not even once cared about their alarming and hostile expressions.

The Toujou sisters, by all means, were not weak. Descended from the line of Nekosou, the most powerful one among the nekomata species, as well as having learned how to use both senjutsu and youjutsu effectively, they were formidable foes to anyone who dare challenged them.

And yet, right at this moment, they felt like a pair of newly born kittens before this mysterious man.

One of the most useful aspects of learning senjutsu was the ability to sense a living being's aura, which could be used to tell its location, and even its specific strength, if one is skilled enough.

The man in front of them, however, possessed a tremendous aura that almost crushed their senses to pieces just by them being near him.

Kuroka knew from her instinct, without doubt, that they could not defeat this monstrous entity even if her whole peerage was here, so she reacted quickly by throwing multiple balls of strongest youkai fire she could muster up at him, then she grabbed her sister and escaped from the scene as fast as she could.

Or at least, that was what she intended to do.

Just as Kuroka was about to jump away with Shirone, rows of massive tendrils that seemed to be made of molten lava shot out from behind the man and snatched both of them by their legs. The sudden stopping force threw them off balance and they fell down to the ground, creating a loud thump as they did so.

When they gazed back at the man, a horrifying sight greeted them.

A pair of giant grotesque wings that was thrice the size of the man were wrapping around his body, forming a shield. They looked like they were made of many wings that were deformed in a hellish way and melted together to form one single wing on each side. And instead of pointing downward as for normal wings, they were reversed and pointed upward.

When the dust from earlier explosion had settled, he unwrapped them, revealing the demonic wings in all of their glory.

"Really, acting exactly like the naughty cats you are. Is that the best you can do?" He said as if those attacks didn't even worth his time to block them, all the while stepped forward with a terrifying slow pace, silently telling them that there was hell to be paid ahead. "Normally, I wouldn't have done this. But since you were certain to interfere with our plan, and you seem to be stronger than those petty birds, I can't let you two get away that easily, can I?"

After those words, screams of frightful pain could be heard from afar.

-xXx-

As my legs are carrying me back home, lots of sudden shrieks strike my ears and send shiver down my spine.

That was no normal scream at all.

Those ghastly sounds felt like terror formed from darkest nightmares, like hopelessness caused by ultimate despair, and like suffering resulted from unimaginable torments.

Most of all, it came from the direction of the church which I have just visited.

Just like a natural reaction, I instantly run back to the place where I came; and somehow, I have a very bad premonition of what could be happening.

The whole area is eerily quiet with not even one single breeze of wind blowing, and so far along the way, I have yet to encounter any other form of living beings, be it humans or animals. Not to mention that the surrounding water puddles have turned black, the air is littered with miasma-like dust, and the sky above is painted with a weird color of dark violet that seems to be warping continuously, all the more contribute to the creepy atmosphere.

When I finally reach my destination, dread begins to cripple through my mind as I see many nuns and priests lying around – the very same ones that occupied this church as their home – in pools of their own blood while their bodies are cut and impaled in a repulsive manner. The main entrance is wide opened, with fresh blood still lingers on its panels.

I immediately rush ahead to the church's garden due to the fear of what might have happened to Asia, not even having one shred of thought about my own safety. God, please don't abandon her!

When I arrive at the scene, what I witness shocks me.

Four human-like figures with a pair of black wings on each, two of them are hovering with their wings extended while the other two are standing with their wings folded, hands holding a spear made of light. One of the standing figures is impaling his spear through the guts of Mother Margaret. She was probably the last person alive before I arrived here.

I couldn't believe the sight in front of me. I mean, where do these guys come from? Why are they slaughtering those poor people who seemingly had nothing do with this? And how on earth is it possible for someone to sprout black wings on their back and conjure spears of light like that?

Unless… Unless they are Fallen Angels.

From what knowledge I barely have of them, they are rumored to be former Angels who fell from «Heaven» due to having done something against the principles of God, thus making their wings black instead of white. A rogue faction aside from Angels and Devils, they don't have a really nice reputation among many supernatural forces.

All the questions were thrown away though when I see someone in the corner of my eyes.

There she is, Asia, cowering in fear as the intruders finished their play with the dead Mother and change their target to her.

Oh no, don't you dare!

I run straight forward as fast as I could muster with my legs. The Fallen Angels – I assume they are – hear my footsteps and turn their back to face against me. One of them land before me and try to slash my head with his conjured spear, but I was quicker than him as I slid down between his legs and passed him by. As the momentum comes to a halt, I instantly stand up and continue to where Asia is.

Upon seeing me get close to her and shield her from those guys with my arms stretched out, Asia cries out in both a relief and panic tone.

"Issei-san, why are you still here? Please stay back, this is dangerous!"

I silently thank her from the bottom of my heart. Even though she is in danger herself, Asia still cares a lot for the people around her. A girl with such a kind heart deserves to live a better life, and I will save this girl regardless of how perilous it might be.

One of the Fallen Angels glares at me with murderous eyes as he snarls.

"What a brave kid you are. Acting like a knight in white armor to save his damsel in distress, aren't you?" He raises the spear of light over his head. "Well, too bad. You should have known better than poking your nose into things that do not concern you." Then he launches the spear at me.

I hug Asia and jump away from the spear, barely avoid it by mere millimeters. It did manage to graze my face a bit though and drew some of my blood with it. The projectile creates a loud noise as it strikes the place where we once were.

However, I didn't have time to recover my stance, as two of the Fallen Angels swiftly step in and forcefully tear us apart from each other's arms. I try to resist, but the guy holding me has such a sturdy grip on me that all of my attempts to break free become useless.

Before my eyes, Asia also tries to resist as she called out my name.

"Issei-san! Issei-san!"

"Asia! Let go of me you bastard–"

Then one of them knocked me unconscious with a chop to the nape of my neck. The world turns black as I could still hear the sounds of Asia calling for me.

-xXx-

When Issei came back to his senses again, he was being restrained by chains made of steel that were wrapped throughout his body, preventing him from making the slightest movement. Issei tried to move his hands and feet, but the chains wouldn't budge even one single inch.

"Awake, aren't you?" One of the Fallen Angels spoke as he smirked, taunting the brown-haired boy knowing that the latter had no mean of escaping. "I guess imitation of being a knight doesn't work out well for you. Now why don't you look at your damsel in distress and see what's happening to her?"

Said young boy's eyes follow such, and the scene before him was disheartening.

They were in the middle of an underground facility of some sort. The four Fallen Angels earlier were standing near a set of staircase leading to a platform with a huge Holy Cross. Asia was being crucified on it, bound by the same chains of steel as Issei do, and she seemed to be unconscious. Standing right front of her was another unfamiliar Fallen Angel – someone who wasn't present at the church – sprouted two pairs of black wings on her back. It was a woman with long dark hair, yellow eyes, and a drop dead body that any man would kill for. Her clothes included a revealing trench coat with an extremely short skirt that is something only a temptress would put on, completed with a vicious smile plastered on her face.

She was Kalawarner, a minor lieutenant among lower ranked Fallen Angels.

The woman sneered at Issei when she notices that he was awake due to her accomplice's words.

"What a brave kid you are, rushing in to save this girl despite the fact that you had no chance of winning. Normally, we would have killed the likes of you without much care, but since this girl is so special to you, I have decided that you should watch her life ended before we send you together to hell with her. Aren't we being really kind to you?"

The brown-haired boy cursed silently in his mind. Not only these Fallen Angels were so heartless to slaughter people without remorse, they were also sadistic to the point that it caused his mind nauseous at how twisted they were and made his blood boil with anger.

"What the hell are you going to do with Asia, you damned abominations? Don't you know that there shall be retribution for those crimes you committed?" Issei retaliated while still trying to pull the chains on his body to no avail.

After hearing his words, Kalawarner laughed hysterically for a while before responding with a deadly glare as if she wanted to drill a huge hole through his body using her mere eyes.

"Retribution? A word I have heard so often that I'm sick of it. Tell you what, arrogant boy, we are far from being delivered neither retribution nor salvation because God had already abandoned us long ago." She then changed her target from him to Asia. "But it doesn't matter anymore because right now, we are going to claim what should rightfully be ours, and further strengthen our status as Fallen Angels in this sickeningly peaceful world."

Issei focused his gaze back on Asia and the woman immediately as the latter muttered something in her mouth, then the Holy Cross behind Asia glowed an ominous green light, sending bolts of visible dark lightning to the nun's body. The shock abruptly woke her up. She screamed and thrashed about violently as the pain kept intensifying.

The boy shouted at Kalawarner, both in rage and fear of what's happening to the poor nun.

"Asia! Asia! You bastards, what the fuck are you doing to her?!"

"Something that will bring glory to us. Oh, don't worry. I will definitely let you reunite with her all you want later. You don't have to rush it, my dear."

As soon as she said that, the spell on Asia also finished, and from her chest manifested a pair of silver rings contained inside an orb of brilliant emerald light. The female Fallen Angel raised her hands up to catch it as she spoke in a euphoric tone.

"At last, the Sacred Gear, «Twilight Healing», is within my grasp."

Issei didn't give a damn care about whatever she had said as his sole attention was on Asia.

The girl had lost all hints of life in her eyes as she hanged her head down, her skin went paler with each second, and her limbs became motionless as if she was just turned into a human doll.

Issei was struck speechless at the horror of what her state would implicate. However much he wished to deny it, every sign displayed on her body only led to one simple but heartbreaking conclusion:

She was... dead.

Despair seized his mind at the realization of what had transpired. Issei couldn't think of anything else beside the truth that someone dear to him was killed right before his very eyes, and he was utterly powerless to stop it.

Because of the turmoil inside him, Issei dropped his head down in sorrow, completely giving up his fate to the hands of those heartless creatures.

Kalawarner walked slowly down the stairs as she drank in the sight of the lifelessly slumped down Issei with a disgusting sense of pleasure.

"Heh, broken already? And here I thought that you would amuse me with some blasphemous insults or vile curses. Oh well, I guess I will just have to give you the reunion that I have promised." She conjured a yellow spear of light in her hands and aimed it at the brown-haired boy; a sinister grin couldn't help but form on her face. "Please do not hate me for this, and have a nice trip in Hell. Just joking."

However, as she was about to hurl the spear at Issei, someone ran past her and stopped right in front of her. Kalawarner was surprised a bit, not because of how sudden it was, but because the perpetrator was someone she knew well. She spoke to the newly arrived person as she retracted her spear.

"You… What are you doing here?"

The addressed person didn't reply, instead she gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Why? Of all people who could have been here and witness this, why does it have to be you?"

.

How?

How could this have happened?

Asia… Asia is dead, right before my very eyes, and I couldn't do even one single thing to prevent it, despite how I have made a promise to protect her from harm's way.

Worthless

The word is echoing endlessly in my mind, reminding me time and time again that I am nothing more than an useless human who only know how to talk big but possess no power to keep even one simple promise; that up until now, I am living in blissful ignorance, unaware of how I won't be able to face bigger things in life, things that can decide my fate.

…

While I'm still drowning in my own sorrowful state, suddenly, I could see a pair of Japanese sandals before me, and as I raise my head up, I recognize what I have been looking for.

That black hair…

That shrine maiden attire…

That familiar silhouette…

Those black wings…

And those violet eyes that I can only see now; such beautiful eyes…

At this moment, I completely forget about what terrible thing has occurred here and instead just gazing at the wondrous sight that has been evading me since forever.

Time seems to have come to a complete halt as I fixate my gaze on her. There are so many questions that I want answers to, so many feelings I want to pour out, such as…

Who are you?

Have we ever met each other before?

What was the relationship between us?

Why do I keep having visions of you standing there, in that abandoned shrine?

What are you even doing here, in a wretched place that is drown in blood of innocents?

And why do you look so sad as if you want to break out in sorrow?

The woman who haunted me even in my dream smiles poignantly at me – the same smile that she gave me when we part ways on that special place – as she crouches down and whispers in my ear.

"I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry for this, Issei-kun."

Before I could respond, something, something sleek and fiery, impales me. Then follow the feeling of excruciating pain centers at my heart and slowly spread throughout my body. Blood soon flowed profoundly from the hole on my chest, draining me of any strength I have left.

It hurts, it hurts a hell lot.

So this is how I'm going to end, an unremarkable human who has achieved nothing to be proud of.

Damn it all…

I still want to eat breakfast everyday with my parents and watch their silly interaction. I still want to spend days doing stupid things and laughing at it with my buddies. And I still want to get spoiled to dead and being embraced lovingly by the red-haired Devil who has become the most precious person of my life.

As fatigue came to take me away from the last thoughts of what I regret not being able to do, I fall into a deep black world once again. The last image etched on my consciousness was of her having tears sliding down her face as she turned away from me.

However, I failed to notice a blue dialogue appearing in the corner of my vision.

[SYSTEM RE-SIMULATING…]

-xXx-

To be continued

-xXx-

A/N: A brand new story. For those who are might be waiting for The Ultimate Pawn, it will be on infinite hiatus, and if this story goes the way I want it to be, then the former story shall be dropped permanently. So yeah, a thousand apologies about that. Be warned though, there will be quite a few unexpected plot twists ahead as well as some major changes to DxD universe that might mark this one as AU and heavily mature graphic scenes, so discretion is advised before reading further chapters.

Thank you for reading through my rambling, and have a nice day.

P/S: Can you guess who is the one that Kuroka and Koneko met? (Hint: His wings)