…surveillance footage from one of the street CCTV cameras shows the aftermath of the gas explosion in a café earlier today in downtown ikebukuro…

Naoki had blood on his hands. According to the news report, fourteen people were injured in the attack a few hours ago. Eight were killed. Majority of which were inside the bus right outside the café which was crushed by one of the demons that ambushed them. In the time-frame where Naoki was busy being impaled and daydreaming eight lives were snuffed out. Not to mention the fact they were the reason those demons attacked in the first place.

But the worst part was himself. 'I lost myself back there in a bloody rage.'

He was inside a conference room of the Gremory Large building, Rook and Bishop's leader were kind enough to take Naoki and Hikawa in until things calmed down. The entire time Naoki was looking at news reports about the incident in the conference room's television.

"Eight people…" He repeated, his teeth gnashing. "Shit."

"Kashima-san?" Bishop was a seat away beside him. She volunteered to keep him company while Hikawa talked to Bishop's leader. She was silently observing him. Considering when they arrived after the battle Naoki had two holes in his chest, it was a natural reaction.

"It's nothing." He closed his eyes.

"You were thinking about those people, weren't you?" The girl was perceptive, or was he just that obvious?

"I was too busy daydreaming when we got attacked. Thanks to that, those people suffered." Naoki let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"You couldn't have known-"

"I didn't need to." His voice rose. "I was powerful enough to make sure no one would be harmed, even if there were twice as many demons in the way."

Bishop kept silent.

Naoki sighed hard; he must have scared the poor girl. "Sorry, that was-"

"No!" Bishop recoiled in her seat, waving her hands. "I understand how you feel, Kashima-san."

That got his attention.

"You feel responsible for those eight people who lost their lives." She began. "I should have been in the battlefield making sure they were alright. Some of them might still be-"

He looked at Bishop; she was in tears.

"Alive?" Naoki finished.

The devil nodded, wiping her tears. "I'm completely hopeless at fighting. I'm only capable of healing people. And even then, I can't do my job properly!"

"You lack spine…" Naoki looked up, muttering. "Stuff like that is something you can learn overtime."

Bishop was silent.

"In the end, though, we didn't do enough." He continued. "The reason doesn't matter, they still died because of us."

Naoki heard a faint 'I'm pathetic' from Bishop. That got a dry laugh out of him, his arms fell on the conference table and clutched his head.

"We're pathetic." Naoki sighed again.

He heard a faint yet firm 'yes' from her. Bishop was frustrated, yes, but that was hardly a voice of someone who had given up. Something boiled inside of the Fiend as he heard the devil's frustration.

"But we can get back at them, Bishop." He swiveled the conference room chair and looked at the view outside the building. The last time Naoki saw a view like this was when he was with his teacher on the rooftop of Shinjuku Memorial.

"Those things that attacked us, they have masters. Leaders." He could feel Bishop's gaze at him. "And with what they just did. I don't think they give a damn about innocents getting in their way."

Naoki swiveled back and met her gaze. "I don't have a stake in this. But I don't plan on letting those lives die for nothing."

He didn't recreate a world only for infestations like them to trample all over his efforts. They might have already existed when Naoki was still clueless. But if the Conception had parted anything to Naoki, it's that everything begins with whether or not one decides to do something.

And he didn't get anywhere doing otherwise.

"What about you?" He could already see the girl's answer from her eyes.

"Let me join you." The girl stood up.

"Welcome to my party, then, Bishop." Naoki extended his arms.

"Asia Argento," She clasped his hand with both of hers. "I'll be in your care."

"Oh? Are we interrupting something?" Both of them snapped their heads towards the door.

A girl about Naoki's age was holding the conference room door open. Though, looking at her now, she was dangerously close to be called a woman. Even after all that's happened, spending all that time with Isamu before the conception hasn't dulled Naoki at all. He noticed she was extremely well-endowed for her age, especially considering the other two devils he had encountered were Rook and Bishop, no- Asia. To top it all off, she had scarlet hair and a very mesmerizing set of azure eyes.

Naoki, however, was forced to become adept at dealing with attractive women back in the conception. Between the bar owner Nyx and the Lady of the Fount where Naoki would pay them occasional visit, there were different kinds of demons who would try and tempt the Fiend along with any unfortunate weak-willed party members he had with him, Incubus would always come to mind. He could distinctly remember the scorching heat of the desert keeping him from ogling at the first angel he encountered.

That being said, from the tone of the girl's voice. She must have misunderstood the situation.

"P-president!" Asia stammered, letting of Naoki. "We were just talking about earlier-"

"That's right, I suggested what the two of us should do together and she agreed to be with me."

"What!?" A young man's voice echoed in the hallway. "First was that bastard Riser, now this? Why is every guy we come across want to get in with my potential harem!"

What?

Naoki had never heard such an openly ridiculous and perverted sentence in his life. And the one who said it was a young man who just entered the room. He was, judging by the color scheme, wearing the same school uniforms as Asia and the one she called President. He raked his hand across his born spiky hair and locked his gaze at Naoki.

"You-" The young man gnashed his teeth with tears in his eyes.

"This is my pawn, Issei." The redhead sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "His dream is a harem and, well, I think he's threatened and touched by your blunt nature, Kashima."

What?

"I…" Naoki was stumped. "I don't know how to deal with this person."

"This person- she just said my name, you know!?"

Even Isamu of all people wasn't this… odd, and loud.

His words earned another sigh from the young woman. But a familiar voice cut in. "With the likes of Issei-senpai, you just ignore him."

"Rook."

"Koneko." She walked towards him.

"What?"

"Asia told you her name just now, didn't she?" The petite girl bowed slightly. "My name is Toujou Koneko, pleased to properly make your acquaintance."

"Kashima Naoki, likewise." A thought then popped up in his head. "Toujou, huh, thus the 'Rook' codename?"

The girl gave him a slight smile. "No, but it is a funny coincidence."

"Koneko-chan smiled!? Not you too…!"

Naoki winced at the one called Issei's comment. "I-is he always this loud?"

"Unfortunately, yes." The redhead came closer. "That aside, it looks like I haven't properly introduced myself."

"My name is Rias Gremory." She stood straight and made a curtsy. "I am the 'King' of both Koneko and Asia."

"Rook- er, Koneko did mention something about a 'peerage' back in the café. I never did ask about it." Not when Asia pestered him getting healed first, he never got the chance.

"You don't know about peerages?" Rias Gremory looked at him as if he just said something odd. Naoki really should hire Hikawa as his spokesperson or something, this constant slip of the tongue was getting annoying.

"I- well."

"It did seem like he does not know a lot of things a devil should." Koneko interjected. "Especially considering he was exceptional with combat back in the café, even if he is a little unhinged."

The last part stung.

"He reminded me of Kiba-sempai back then…" Koneko muttered.

"Kiba?"

"He is another member of my peerage, my Kight, to be exact." Rias supplied. "He is with Hikawa-san in the interrogation room with the captured, well, I wanted to say Yōkai. It did look just like a Gyūki… but…"

"Its aura didn't feel like anything like a Yōkai should." Koneko added. "Hikawa-san said he knew what it was so the President let him interrogate it. Kiba-senpai stayed for security."

"Why tell me all of this?" Naoki looked at Rias.

"It was part of my agreement with Hikawa-san." She crossed her arms. "A give-and-take relationship of information between us. And considering you helped my servants; I think I trust you enough to tell you too."

He felt the sincerity in Rias' voice, she didn't appear to be the type to do something underhanded too. She reminded Naoki of the Thor from the Mantra army.

"Alright."

"Now, before I explain to you about peerages." Rias hesitated. "How long have you been a devil?"

Naoki sighed. This was one of the few questions he wanted to avoid answering. He doesn't mind anyone knowing about what happened to him, but that doesn't mean he should just tell anyone in earshot. It was a pain. How should he even start answering?

"A few months, I think…" Naoki lost his phone in the conception and he hadn't been wearing a watch since he was in fifth grade. The conception wasn't a good basis for time, at all. The demons judge time by the Kagutsuchi's phase or how many cycles had passed. If Naoki had been paying attention to how long the cycles were in relation to a conventional second, he could have done some calculations on how long a cycle was relative to pre-conception time. But provided he was literally in the middle of a post-apocalyptic wasteland; he didn't bother doing it. If he was a little more book-smart he might have the interest in doing so.

"You think?" The President pressed on despite the odd answer. "How about your master, the one who turned you into a devil? Did you even meet them? I know a lot of cases where devils abandon their servants, but-"

"I've met him a couple of times. I even remembered how he turned me into a dem- err, devil." It wasn't something he would be forgetting anything soon. "Lately, though, I haven't seen him."

"He doesn't contact you?" Issei interjected.

"He doesn't. He just… pop up, I guess?" Naoki didn't know how to explain the Amala Labyrinth, especially that strange theatre stage the old man and the lady stayed at so he told the second most prevalent way he meets up with Naoki.

"The guy sounds like a prick." Issei huffed.

"I didn't end up dying because of him, there's that-" Naoki couldn't really dispute the young man's insult though. He was 'chosen' by the old man out of a whim, not really a good indication of the sympathetic master this Issei must have pictured in comparison from being under Rias.

"I see." Rias looked at him with concern.

"Shit, you're like me then?" Issei's voice was low. He was surprisingly earnest, Naoki noticed. Loud and perverted, but earnest. "President here rescued me too when I was lying the ground dying after a fallen angel killed me on our date."

"You dated a fallen angel?"

"She was extremely hot," Issei beamed with pride. "And I didn't know she was one back then too- but that's beside the point!"

Issei Houdou stood in front of Naoki and patted his shoulders with both of his hands. "You may be a threat to my potential harem. But I won't turn a blind eye to a kindred fellow!"

That got a chuckle from Naoki, something he hadn't genuinely done since coming back in the new world. "I appreciate it."

"Good." Issei smiled.

"What's your master like, Kashima-san?" Asia pondered.

"I don't really call him master." Naoki crossed his arms. "He didn't tell me to refer to him as anything so before I knew his name, I just called him 'old man' or 'little kid'."

"Little kid?" Asia cocked her head on one side.

"Sometimes he shows up as a little blonde boy in a black tuxedo." Naoki recalled. "And sometimes as a blonde old man wearing a white tuxedo in a wheel chair holding a goat-designed walking cane."

Issei shuddered. "That sounded a little creepy. It's like you don't even know if that's what he really looks like."

"Funny you should say that…" Naoki mused.

"In any case, this master of yours neglected to tell you about the fundamentals of the peerage system and devils in general." Rias interjected. "I should give you a crash course right now before we head down and join Hikawa-san."

"Right," He might as well get acquainted with the devil's system.

Rias explained the situation between the Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils of the new world very efficiently. Naoki was silently listening to her explanation which only took a few minutes. What stood out to the Fiend was the classification. She distinctly referred to Angels as being different entities to devils. Races exist between demons and beings like seraphs and divines still refer to themselves as demons despite the fact. Was it different in this world because of semantics, like Hikawa suggested? Or were they different entities entirely?

Rias did mention they were unfamiliar to the captured demon's magatsuhi.

"Now any questions?"

"This underworld, well- it's literally hell, right?"

"Yes."

"You can just go there?"

"I suppose you haven't been there, judging from your reaction…" Issei cut in.

Naoki looked at Issei. "You've been there?"

"Of course! Well, once."

"What was it like?"

"We went inside a ballroom and, uh…" Issei scratched his chin. "To be honest, I couldn't really remember. I was too busy defending the President's virginity and fighting a phoenix-"

"Forget I asked." Naoki pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Hey-!"

"Ahem!" Rias, blushing, gained Naoki's attention. "Any more questions?"

"How long has this 'evil piece' system been in place?"

"Around the 16th century or so."

"And devils only fight each other through these 'rating games' since then?"

"There are the occasional rogue devils, strays and such. We deal with them the conventional way." Rias added. "While maintaining secrecy, of course."

"Right." No wonder these devils made quick work of the café incident. They have been at this for quite a while. But questions were nagging in Naoki's head which he was sure the people in this room wouldn't be able to answer: Was all of this the same before the conception? Was this underworld the Amala?

He needed to talk to Hikawa.

Message:

I'll say it again because there seemed to be some confusion about the direction I was going with this fic. I am not putting the Demi-Fiend into a peerage. I never had once thought of it and never planned to.I just found a review mentioning the possibility and I found it surprising I never thought of the idea before. Just because I realized it's interesting idea, doesn't mean I'm slapping it into the story all gung-ho.

Second, I don't understand the review mentioning 'As per the rules of the setting, no gods. No Buddhas.' I never set any rules like that in the setting at all. As far as I made it out in my head, the gods and buddhas of myth are somewhere in the world. If they weren't, there wouldn't be any diversity between nations, religions and culture in the recreated world, would there? The demons in the Amala are the multiversal conceptual constant of what they represent. Having the same gods/buddhas in the new world will not affect the ones portrayed in previous MegaTen entries. The Thor that launched the ICBMs in the first SMT isn't the same Thor who was a member of the Mantra in Nocturne, nor are they both the same as 'Ex-hunter Kyuzou' in IV. The Gabriel who met Aleph in II isn't the same one the Demi-fiend fought in Mifunashiro, and I won't make it that either Gabriel would be the same one in the DxD verse. Having them around wouldn't be breaking established conventions between the fics.

Next, I appreciate the enthusiasm and I understand completely why you'd remind fic writers how powerful Demi-Fiend should be; it's frustrating seeing a character being depowered for no reason. But I'm the last person you guys need to remind about the scale in power of the Megami Tensei verse, don't you worry. Hell, I played smt1 so much I fought David a few times (the violin didn't drop though).

Finally, I don't believe the act of putting the Demi-Fiend into a peerage necessarily 'will ruin the story.' It all depends on what you'll have him do once he's in that situation and the what DxD characters' growth, in response to his presence in that scenario, will be. It'll require good thought and a lot of preparation, something both need to be done to make any good story. That being said, I'm not the one who'll prove it.