Rias Gremory's POV

Unlike other students who dreaded the beginning of the school year, she was one of the few who enjoyed the first day of school. It meant meeting up with old friends and befriending new ones. To the heiress of the Gremory clan, Kuoh Academy wasn't just an educational institution. It was also a sanctuary for her, a place to hide away from the byzantine of Underworld politics and pressure from her dilemma.

Brushing away loose strands of her crimson hair, she straightened her slacking posture when the homeroom teacher entered. The teacher adjusted her glasses as she shuffled the papers on the lectern.

"Good morning, Class 2-A. Before we begin our lecture, we have a new student. Please give him a warm welcome!"

The sliding door clattered on its rails and the new student entered the room. With unkempt black hair and glazed black eyes, the newcomer seemed unimpressive. Bowing his head, he introduced himself as Junichiro Marchosias, who transferred from another school.

"Your seat will be next to Rias Gremory. She will help you get up to speed," the teacher said. A chorus of surprised voices rose as Junichiro walked past them and took his seat next to her. She could feel an aura of wariness emanating from him. The Devil wondered why he was so distrustful about others, but it was better to ask that question at a later time. Extending her hand, she warmly greeted him with her signature smile.

"Welcome to Kuoh, Marchosias-san."

He slowly took her hand and shook it lightly. "Nice to meet you, Gremory-san." The brief spark of friendship between the two of them died quickly when the teacher began her lecture. A few hours later, the bell rang for lunch period and the students rushed to the cafeteria to get their meal. During the thirty-seven-minute duration, she would have normally met her Peerage at the abandoned school building behind the main school building. Instead, she headed for the student council room. A quick rap on the door and the following yell of 'Enter!' granted her entry into the room. Sitting around a circular coffee table was the school council president, Sona Sitri, and her group, who were having a coffee break. The president rose to greet her friend and pointed at a nearby seat. Sona's Queen, Tsubaki Shinra, placed a cup of coffee for Rias and returned to her seat.

"Rias, you look flustered. Is something wrong?" the president asked, concern tinged in her voice. It was unusual to see the calm and level-headed Gremory so agitated. As far as the Sitri heiress knew, the only pressing issue was the upcoming marriage between the Phenex and Gremory families. The announcement had been revealed a week ago and left the Underworld in a state of shock and surprise. To the high-class devils, the union between the two families was met with a mixed reception. Some reveled in the marriage and wished them happiness and luck. Others saw it as a danger to their families. The low-class devils' reaction was extremely positive. The Phenex-Gremory marriage was the closest thing to a royal marriage in the human world.

Setting her cup down, she took a moment to compose herself and spoke, "A few hours ago, I met a new student whose last name is Marchosias. I tried to get some information, but he's quite wary of people."

Sona raised her hand and spoke, "If you're asking whether he is a possible survivor, I think the possibility is quite low," Her cold, logical response crushed Gremory's hope like a deflated balloon. "The Marchosias family has been extinct for centuries. It's just not possible."

"Well, if he was confirmed to be a survivor, what would happen?" Rias countered.

"It depends on several factors, the most important one being how useful he would be to Devil society. Even if you're powerful, you would be next to useless if you have no noteworthy tools and etc.," Sona remarked.

"Besides, most of the information on the Marchosias clan is redacted." Sona's bishop, Momo Hanakai, pointed out. The crimson-haired Rias turned toward the white-haired Momo, shock painted on her face.

"Wait, how did you know about this?" Rias asked. Momo pointed at her King, who answered Rias's question.

"I happen to have a tome containing everything about the Devil clans, both alive and extinct," Sona said matter-of-factly. Walking to her desk, she unlocked a hidden drawer and retrieved the tome. The book had a simple leather cover, a golden title written in Latin: Familia Diaboli. The book was organized alphabetically and it took Rias less than a minute to locate the entry for the Marchosias clan. True to Momo's words, the entry was redacted with thick black lines and warning from the Four Great Satans. Even the family tree was not spared.

"You're kidding me. What did Marchosias's ancestor do that deserve a coverup?" Rias moaned aloud. The few sentences that weren't blacked out gave little information about the family. They were one of the few families who specialized in soul-bounding magic, which was a tricky and dangerous technique to master. By binding the target's soul into an object, it preserved the target's consciousness as long as the object didn't break. But soul-binding magic wasn't their famous trait. It was their golem army that the Marchosias family was most famous for. Standing at eight feet tall, the golems were garbed in impenetrable armor and armed with fearsome weaponry, the Legion of Revenge was a terrifying sight to behold on the battlefield. However, due to the exorbitant costs of building and repairing the golems, the legion only had a thousand soldiers.

Her eyebrows shot up when she found mention of the Marchosias's ancestor and they drooped when she read the vague sentence about him.

"Severus Marchosias, the second head of the Marchosias clan, was given command of a brigade and sent to capture a remote outpost on the outskirts of the Underworld during the Great War. On his way, he was ambushed by an army of angels in an unnamed granite canyon. Despite being outnumbered, he led his men to victory and later captured the outpost. It has been recorded that [REDACTED BY ORDER OF THE FOUR SATANS]."

Rias frowned at the entry. It seemed innocuous enough that it didn't warrant the need for a near-complete censure. "I don't understand why my brother and the other Satans would go so far," she mumbled.

"I think that question will be answered for another day, Rias,"

The sound of the school bell shook Rias out of her thoughts and quickly made her way to the door. Behind her, she heard Sona call after her, "Don't forget our meeting after-school, Rias!"

"I know that!' she yelled back and shut the door. Sliding into her seat, Rias nudged a snoring Jun awake. With a gasp, he rubbed his eyes and groaned.

"Was I snoring?" he asked. Rias smirked at him and he sighed loudly. The rest of the day went smoothly for both Rias and Jun. The moment class was dismissed for the day, she headed back to the student council room. The room was crowded with people sitting around the coffee table. Flagging her down, Akeno Himejima dragged Rias to a seat next to her.

"Sorry for the late arrival, guys!" said Yuuto Kiba, who sheepishly scratched the back of his head. A blonde teenager with short blonde hair and striking blue eyes, he was Rias's Knight in her Peerage and slid over to sit next to Akeno.

"What happened?" asked Akeno.

"Just a minor mishap. One of the new students was surrounded by girls who wanted his phone number," Yuuto chuckled, "Apparently, we look alike that the girls mistook him for me." Before Akeno could ask who the new student was, Sona's stern voice silenced them.

"Now that we're all here, we will start the meeting." With a snap of her fingers, the room darkened. Tapping the table, a magical circle flashed and a red holographic map of Kuoh Town hovered in the air.

"In the last two weeks, there has been an increase of attacks by monsters and spirits. Thanks to our containment efforts, they have been eliminated and non-critical injuries have been treated. We don't know what caused them to go berserk, but Momo and Tsubaki are researching it."

Pinpoints of blue lights popped all over the map in various intensities of light. "Unfortunately, the number of attacks by stray devils is also increasing. So far, the injuries are non-critical, but people are starting to notice."

The last part of Sona's statement was a silent threat for everyone in the room. If the humans found out about the existence of the stary devil, then everything in the supernatural world was in danger. No one would be able to live incognito among the humans anymore.

"My peerage will cover the northern and western part of town. Rias's will cover the remaining parts." A brief nod from the Gremory heiress was all Sona needed and she moved to the last topic of the meeting.

"Our final topic for today will be something that occurred two days. Around 1 pm, the mana radar detected a surge of demonic energy from the edge of town. Minutes later, the energy disappeared. I sent Saji and two other people to investigate the site and gather information."

Pictures of the grisly site appeared around the map and a sense of disgust and shock filled the room. After a few seconds, Sona pushed the pictures away and sighed. No one dared to speak until Rias dared to break the silence.

"The bodies -," she started before stopping to compose herself, "Were they human?"

"No," Sona said. Relief fell over the room as the young Devils expelled their breaths. Had Sona said otherwise, things would have been very different. The tension within Rias's body left and she slumped forward, gasping for air.

"So, what are we going to do?" Saji asked.

"For now, we will be on the lookout for any unusual cases. The moment you hear or feel something, go to the site immediately." Sona's statement caused many eyebrows to rise in surprise.

"I know this is strange, but I have a feeling we will encounter one soon. So, be aware of your surroundings. If anyone has questions, ask them now. Otherwise, this meeting is adjourned"

Jun's POV

The first day of being in high school went well. Only a few people asked me questions about where I came from and my previous school. All I had to do was keep my head down and not stand out in the crowd. While this method worked perfectly for me, it was useless for Eugeo. I could hear the gaggle of girls crowding around him as they asked their questions incessantly. The effect of being chased by girls resulted in a very flustered and scared Eugeo, who tried to placate them as much as possible.

By the time I finished my schoolwork, it was sunset and the sky was light orange. Salarymen were returning home for dinner and school students were leaving the karaoke bars to go home. Whereas sunset meant the day was almost coming to an end for most people, it meant something different for us. Sunset was our time to go hunting.

Inside the basement, the others were waiting for me and stood at the edge of the summoning circle. Vesemir grunted when he saw me approach the circle. "So, what're we hunting tonight?"

"Stray devils," I grinned at him. There was no need to explain what a stray devil was to them as they had gained the information during the summoning process. Masterless devils who rampaged across Earth, they were the common cause behind sudden attacks on humans. Being on Earth without permission was a crime and harming innocents was a grave crime warranting the death penalty.

"Hmm" was the witcher's response and he sheathed his steel sword. The circle glowed as we stepped inside and I pulled up a map of Kuoh Town. Numerous blue dots covered the map, indicating where I could teleport. Stabbing my finger at one, the circle hummed with power and thunder rumbled as we materialized at our location. Looking around, I was surprised to see a portion of the road scorched from the heat of the teleportation circle. Hopefully, no one would question it.

A growl from the Witcher's amulet made Vesemir sigh loudly. It hadn't been a minute and the monsters had spotted them.

"At least, we won't have to look for them," Eugeo said nervously as dark silhouettes surrounded us. Our weapons drawn, we charged at the howling beasts. Before we knew it, four hours had passed by in a flash. We had run ourselves ragged slaying any monsters or spirits that attacked us. Our clothes were stained with dirt, monster blood, and sweat. Our throats burned like an uncontrollable wildfire, causing us to wheeze. Our work paid off when we all leveled up after killing the last monster. Luckily, there was a vending machine nearby.

Artakha placed his palm against the side of the vending machine and channeled some electricity into it. Water bottles and wrapped onigiri dropped into the take-out receptacle and he grabbed them half-heartedly. Passing them to his colleagues, he ripped the cap off and chugged the water bottle.

"I thought you didn't need to eat food," Vesemir remarked. The blacksmith frowned at the monster slayer as he pulled the wrapping off his onigiri.

"That is incorrect, Vesemir. I am a biomechanical organism, which means I only need food and water at certain times." Artakha wolfed down the riceball in two big bites.

"Did you hear that?" Eugeo said suddenly. The three of us paused and strained our ears. There was nothing except for the sound of crickets and the wind.

"There's nothing, kid. You're overreacting," Vesemir said. I screwed the cap back onto my water bottle and strained my ears. As expected, I couldn't hear anything in the air, but what about the ground? Leaning my ears to the paved road, I waited and listened for any vibrations. Sure enough, there were vibrations that were nearby. The more I listened, the more it reminded me of a horse galloping across an open field.

"We have company," I drew my sword out. The sound of galloping hooves on the road grew louder in the distance. It wouldn't be long until the monster turned past the corner. I cast Yrden at the ground ahead of me and the purple symbol glowed briefly before disappearing. Both Vesemir and Eugeo followed my lead while Artaka prepared to cage the beast in a stone and earth wall.

Rounding past the corner was a terrified teenage girl, panic flaring behind her black eyes. The tattered hem of her black dress was frayed while her white shirt was stained with sweat and dirt. Artakha dashed beside her and scooped her up bridal style. Running past us, he deposited the girl beside a nearby ditch and summoned a dome of stone and earth to protect her. A second later, the stray devil arrived.

Using Godsight on the devil, a menu hovered above the beast's head

Viser, Lvl. 25

Stray Devil

The devil appeared to be a centaur-like being. The upper portion of her body resembled a human female, while her lower body was beastly and had four legs. The snake-like tail hissed at us, venom dripping from its fangs. Summoning two lances out of thin air, she charged toward us. Her body went rigid as the Yrden spell took effect and rooted her in place. The wall erupted and surrounded her, preventing her escape. The devil snarled as thick green vines latched around her wrists, legs, and tail.

"You will pay for this!" she howled at us as we dropped on top of her. Immediately, we hacked at her bound legs and she struggled to free herself. Enraged at being trapped, she transformed into her true form and burst free of the makeshift prison. A monstrous arm grabbed Eugeo's waist, pinning his arms in her steel grasp. Smashing the swordsman into the ground, a flurry of rapid punches at Eugeo's head knocked him out and she flung him aside.

ALERT!

Eugeo is knocked out and requires medical attention

Health: 36/100

Gritting my teeth, I activate my elemental combo from last time when the snake grabs my arm and flails me around like a ragdoll. Even with the Nanosuit's Armor ability, it hurts every time my body smashes into the ground. With a final flailing action, the tail tosses me into the air. Gravity pulls me down and I aim my sword at the tail's base. A swift cut slices the tail off and it wiggles on the road. Unfortunately, that causes Viser to raise her leg and kicks me in the chest. I bounce across the road like a skipping stone until I crash into a wall. Pain surges throughout my chest and ribs and subsides as the nanocells work to repair it. Combined with exhaustion, it is a powerful concoction that knocks me unconscious.

Vesemir's POV

Lady Luck was not with him this time around. He growled at the sight of an unconscious Junichiro, who was slumped against a wall. The kick had sent him flying several feet away from the beast. With the team down two members, the fight was only getting harder for them. He rolled to the side, avoiding a devastating right hook that made a crater in the road. Artakha made little progress at hammering away the bloody wounds on the legs. Sidestepping a punch, he lifted his hammer overhead and slammed it into the claws. A shriek of pain from the beast made the witcher smile a little as it limped away from the blacksmith. He wiped the sweat on his brow and quickly checked his inventory. The vials were gone and the grenades were used up. All he had left were his swords and the silver flask. He did not remember carrying it with him in his previous life, but the flask was always attached to his armor.

Pulling the flask, he unscrewed the cap and downed its content into his throat. His gag reflex kicked in, but he managed to swallow everything. It was unlike anything he had tasted before. Bitter yet sweet, salty, and bland all at once. He swore he could taste a hint of citrus, but the aftertaste of bile remained in his throat. The witcher felt the effects kick in as his hearing and vision sharpened. The roar of blood pounding in his cells filled his ears as he looked over the beast's form. Raising his arms up he flinched when he saw his skin turn ash-grey, the veins beneath it were black as coal. A nearby puddle confirmed the drastic transformation when he saw his eyes were black orbs.

Raising his hand, he muttered the incantation for the fire sign. his arm spasmed as a large fireball collided into the beast, singing her hai and body with hot flames. Pullinh his hand back, Vesenir frowned at it. There was no way he could fire a fireball that large in the first place. He chalked it up to the mysterious flask he drank earlier and leaped toward the devil's throat, Putting all his weight behind the slash, he felt the blade cut through her throat and raised his hand to protect himself from teh torrent of blood puring from the wound. Grabbing at her throat, Viser's futile attempt to staunch the wound failed and she collapsed to the ground. With a shuddering gasp, Viser watched the man with white top-knotted hair raise his blade and everything turned black.

Wiping the blade on the grass, Vesemir walked toward the dome and cast Aard at it. The dome shattered from the blow to reveal the teenage girl trembling in fear. Stabbing his sword into the grass, he knelt in front of her. She crawled away from him, horrified by his face.

"What's your name, kid?"

The girl took a deep breath and a shaky voice answered his question.

"Y-Yumma. Yuuma Amano."

AN

Well, at least it's not the cliche "Will you go with me?" scenario used in other fanfics and something different. With Amano (aka Raynare) introduced, things will get dicey for a while until the next servant is summoned, which will be soon.

Vesemir's NP (the silver flask) is finally introduced in this chapter. Despite its lackluster reveal, it's something that needed to be revealed soon. The NP is based on the Netflix series, particularly the scene where Geralt drinks the potion and his eyes turn black.

Before ending this AN, here is the servant list for Jun's peerage! It will list the series as I want readers to guess which character will be in the group.

1. Fate/Grand Order

2. Akame ga Kill!

3. Warhammer 40K

4. Resident Evil

5. Transformers

6. Mass Effect

7. Naruto

8. Bleach

As I said before if you have any ideas on who you want to join the Peerage, post them in the reviews. As always, read & review!