So first I like to say thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I am glad so many enjoy this and hope you like this chapter too. Be sure to review!
(Afternoon, Occult Research Club, Old School Building)
"Rias, normally I would disagree with contacting them. But if the energy signature is as strong as we believe it is, then contacting my sister and your brother would be the best course of action."
Within the old school building, which served as the Occult Research Club's headquarters, two groups were discussing about a certain person. Sitting across from one another at a table, was Rias Gremory and another girl. Said girl was Sona Sitri, heiress of to the Sitri Clan, Student Council President of Kuoh Academy, third most popular girl and a childhood friend/rival of Rias. Behind her was her Queen, Tsubaki Shinra, the fourth most popular girl of Kuoh Academy and another member of the Student Council. Behind Rias was her Queen, Akeno.
After the events at the old church and the mysterious being whom deposited Asia to her, Rias had begun in an attempt to locate the person. However she had no luck doing so and that was either because the person was hiding his presence or he was no longer in the city. And on another note, Sona had eventually begun to sense the strong aura and knew that Rias had come in contact with the person. Thus why the two heiresses were meeting now.
"I rather not bring Oni-sama involve when we do not even fully understand the situation ourselves." Rias replied, her arms crossed underneath her bountiful breast. "For all we know this person might not even be a threat. According to Asia this, Tristan person, was apparently very kind to her, having saved Asia from bullies as well as from the Fallen Angels. In that case I believe it is possible to settle this peacefully." Rias said confidently.
Sona raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "You're not just saying this so you can try and get this person into your peerage, are you?" She asked, knowing full well that Rias was trying to get powerful people in her peerage to deal with an upcoming problem of hers involving another pure-blood.
To her surprise Rias shook her head no. "Not in the slightest. Besides I doubt I could even do so in the first place. I could have a thousand pawns but I doubt I would be able to reincarnate this person into a Devil. I doubt even Onii-sama would be a match for this Mr. Prophet. I merely want to settle this without risking any damage to the city and the humans here."
The Sitri heir nodded in understanding. "True. Knowing my sister and your brother, things would escalate quickly." She adjusted her glasses as she continued. "But the question is then, how do we find this person? For all we know he might have left the city boundaries."
Rias let out a sigh. That was indeed a problem and one she had no answer to. "I honestly have no idea. I believe he is using some sort of ability to cloak his presence as well as his physical form too."
"Didn't you mention that you, Akeno and Koneko-chan felt his energy signature a few days ago?" Sona asked.
"Yes but I think that was only because he had passed right by us." Rias explained. "It felt like being hit by a gust of wind. One moment it was there, brushing against us, and then it was gone the next. Whatever his ability is, it cloaked his entire being perfectly, right down to silencing any noise he might make. It was as if he doesn't exist." The Gremory heiress paused for a moment, a thought appearing in her mind. "However I think there might be one way." She said, catching the interest. "Akeno do you remember when we first felt his power, Koneko seemed to have been in bit of a daze longer then us?" Rias asked her Queen.
"Vaguely yes. Why?" Akeno asked.
"This is just a theory, but it might be that Tristan's ability might not let him conceal his ki, something that Yokai like Koneko can sense due to her impassive tapping into senjutsu." Rias explained.
Only a few people knew of Koneko's status of being a Nekoshou, a rare breed of the yokai Nekomata. "So you think Koneko can track this person down by sensing his ki?" Sona asked, already figuring out what Rias's plan was. "But is that wise? You know how much she dislikes using senjutsu."
"I do not plan on forcing her to do it but we need to confirm whether or not this force is a threat." Rias stated. "Until another solution of tracking comes up I'll ask Koneko if she is willing to try it."
"Fair enough" Sona said as she stood up. "You'll send me whatever news you require?"
"Of course" Rias said as she watched Sona and her queen walk out of the clubroom. The redhead then turned towards her Queen. "Akeno, please go gather the others here right away."
(Later that night)
Hidden in one of less occupied parts of the city, Tristan slept soundly within an abandon warehouse. Laid out across an old mattress on the floor, hidden by several large crates, Tristan dreamt of a memory from long ago. It was a memory that brought him joy and at the same time sadness.
A young handsome man, with shoulder-length black hair that flowed freely as the wind blew it gently. The man had fair skin and appeared to be in his early to mid-twenties. His attire consisted of light medieval armor with a cape attached while a sword was strapped to his waist. He stood underneath the moon, surrounded by a green field of grass, with a beautiful lake before him, illuminated by the moon. The man had a calm and relaxed look on his face, feeling at peace right now.
"I figured I find you here." A gentle and feminine voice said from behind.
Turning his head, the man looked at something that brought a small smile to his face. Standing before him was a beautiful young woman around the same age as him. She had a voluptuous figure that would be the envy of many. Her blonde hair went down to her waist, unrestrained and flowing freely. It went well with her perfect skin and dark blue eyes. She wore a simple white dress, though it was mostly hidden by a brown cloak. But despite that she looked like a goddess to the man.
"You know I could never figure out why you always seem to come out here." The woman commented as she walked forward until she was standing side by side with the man. Once they were next to each other, you could tell that her head only reached the man's chin. "Does looking at the lake calm you? Or do you come here to think?"
"To think really." The man replied as he and the woman both stared the lake, glowing from the moonlight. "Where I come from there were little bodies of water and most of it was landmass. So seeing so many bodies of water is new to me. However when I look into the lake and see my reflection, I can't help but think of my past and reflect on my actions. Sometimes I wonder if what I did in the past was right or wrong and what I could have done differently."
His musings were cut when a soft hand place itself on the man's right cheek. He found his red eyes looking into the woman's clear blue eyes. Eyes filled with affection for the man. "We can never tell what would have been my dear Ban." The woman said softly. "But I am glad that our paths allowed me to meet you, though I wished yours did not cause you to suffer pain and grief."
Ban smiled at those words, and the sincerity in them. Taking the woman's tender and slim hands into his own, he said, "Whenever I see your face or hear your voice, I feel those pains wash away into nothingness. I forever grateful to my path, as it led me to you, Elaine. I regret nothing…"
Back in the present, Tristan was awoken from his dream when his senses picked up several Devil signatures. Soon voices could be heard as the group entered the warehouse. With a sigh, Tristan got up and decided to greet the arrivals.
"Are you sure he is in here Koneko?" Rias asked as she watched the petite white haired girl look around. It had been a while since her meeting with Sona, the first thirty minutes Rias explained to her peerage the situation and how they would locate Tristan. When the redhead told Koneko of their theory of how to find him, the Nekoshou was a bit reluctant to do it. While she had always been able to tap into senjutsu impassively, she had never done it willingly. The memories of her older sister still burned deeply in Koneko's memories. Rias knew this and assured her Rook that if she didn't have to if she didn't want to tap into senjutsu. However, after some minutes of thinking, Koneko eventually decided to give it a try.
That had been a surprise to Rias and the rest of the peerage, including Issei and Asia since they had been filled in on Koneko's condition. Rias had thought that Koneko would have been more hesitant on using senjutsu, but the first year agreed to it a lot quicker then Rias would have thought. The Gremory heiress could only assume that it had to do with Koneko's desire to find Tristan. Rias could still recall on how the first time they felt the man's power, Koneko had murmured the word "Alpha". And on the night when Tristan had met them at the church, Koneko was the only one who vocally asked of the man's identity. It made Rias wonder if Tristan was a powerful Yokai? It would explain Koneko's action since her bestial side would be attracted towards Yokai of a high stature as animals who held influence and power amongst others were seen as Alphas. It just made Rias more curious of who or what Tristan was.
Anyway after Koneko agreed, the Gremory group began searching for the mysterious man. Since the normal methods of locating Tristan's energy signature would not work, they decided to try and think of where he would be. It did not take the young Devils that long to narrow down possible places. If Tristan constantly cloaked his presence to the point where he could not be seen physically, then he clearly would stay in areas that were the least populated. And that is what brought them to this warehouse at night.
"…yes, he is very close." Koneko replied, her hidden ears twitching every few seconds, taking in the smallest of sound.
"A senjutsu practitioner" A voice said. It startled the group of young Devils. "I guess my aura cannot hide my ki as I thought it could."
Walking out from behind some crates was Tristan. He was wearing his cloak but with the hood down, revealing his fair, slightly pale face, and his shoulder-length black, hair, the red edges seemingly glowing in the darkness. It made him appear more attractive if the small blushes on the girls and the jealous glare from Issei were any indication. But Tristan paid it little attention as he looked at the former nun. "Hello, Asia. You seem to be doing well." Tristan said.
"Yes, thanks to you Tristan-san?" Asia said with a small bow. Tristan nodded before turning his gaze towards the rest of the group. He took notice of the aura that Akeno was giving off. 'So this girl was originally a human-Fallen Angel hybrid? And judging from the affinity of electricity she has, Baraqiel must be her father.' He confirmed this after reading her mind before looking at the two only males of the group. Tristan took note of Sword Birth that the blonde possessed, and was slightly surprised to see Boosted Gear being wielded by the brunette. 'I guess Ddraig drew a bad straw, getting a pervert as a wielder. Though that will probably make Albion's current wielder interesting too.' Tristan concluded before looking at the redhead that stood in front of the Nekoshou, said Yokai still staring at Tristan with curious eyes.
With the elegance one would expect of someone raised amongst nobility, Rias stood tall and confident in front of Tristan. "Greetings Tristan was it? My name is-"
"Rias Gremory, member and current heiress of the Gremory Family and wielder of the Bael's Power of Destruction, inherited from your mother. Also the younger sister of Sirzechs Lucifer." Tristan said the last word with great disgust, something the young Devils caught. "So what do you want with me little miss Japanophile? And if it is to join your peerage then the answer is no, for reasons we're both aware of." Tristan ended.
Blinking out of her stupor, Rias managed to regain her thoughts, even though she was a bit weary of how this person knew so much about her. Or why he seem to hold the name Lucifer in such distain, or how he even knew she was a Japanophile! "I am well aware that it is impossible for me to recruit you into my peerage. I am merely here to confirm whether or not you are a threat. Furthermore what your purpose for being here is?"
Tristan stared down at the redhead for a few seconds, being a little bit impress by her courage despite the intimidating aura he was emitting. Eventually he answered her. "I am no threat to you so long as you do not give me a reason. As for why I am here, I am in fact merely passing by. If my presence troubles you, then I can be gone by tomorrow morning." Tristan answered honestly. He had no intention of going on the radar of the supernatural any time soon.
Rias was a bit surprised by his intentions, and could find no lie in them. In all honesty, she had learned that people with his kind of power would normally have some kind of large goal in kind, usually filled with evil intentions. She was about to ask something else when what sounded like a cross between a hiss and a laugh caught her attention. As well as everyone else too.
"Oh what a treat! What a treat! It seems like I came upon some delicious morsels!" A distorted male voice cried out in glee.
Tristan turned his head around slowly as he looked towards the source of the voice. Rias and her peerage quickly got into fighting stances, minus Asia who was hiding behind Issei.
Coming down from the ceiling appeared to be a cross between a man and a spider. The body was completely pale gray, but eight spider legs were sticking out from the back and were of a darker shade of grey. The fingers consisted of two sharp claws plus the thumbs while the lower part of the body was cover in grey fur. The creature's head had two pairs of red eyes, one pair smaller then the other. And finally two pairs of spider mandrills were sticking out of the mouth.
In short, it was not the prettiest sight.
Rias cursed to herself as she recognized the creature before them. The Stray Devil Tyco, a High Class Level Devil, someone her peerage was not yet ready to face. The Gremory Heiress cursed herself again for not detecting the stray's presence. She had been so focused on finding Tristan that she did not keep aware of her surroundings. Rias couldn't help but notice that Tristan did not seem scared in the slightest. In fact, he seemed kind of bored.
Tyco continued surveying the group of young Devils and Tristan with unconcealed glee. "Yes, you will all make wonderful snacks. And what is left of you can join my collection!"
Before any of the young Devils could question what he meant, the sound of groans caught their attention. Walking out of the shadows behind Tyco were at least several dozen people. However the difference was that their skin was a dark grey, many were limping, and they had a lifeless look in their eyes. And they smelled of rotting flesh.
"A-are these people?" Issei asked, unnerved by the way the newcomers were moving and groaning. Still he managed to summon his Sacred Gear, Boosted Gear, despite his worries.
"No, not anymore. It looks like their very life force were sucked out of them by this stray, and turned into ghouls." Kiba said in disgust, and at the same time summoned a sword.
"Stray Devil Tyco how dare you! It is bad enough that you drain these innocent humans of their lives. But now you would desecrate the dead as your own playthings!?" Rias exclaimed in disgust and rage. Even if the stray was stronger then any other stray her peerage has face, the fact that it had condemned these people to a life as undead angered her greatly. "As heiress of the Gremory Family, I will execute you!"
However her declaration seemed to only amuse Tyco. "Ah such defiance and such beauty…it will make defiling you all the better!" He hissed as he snapped his fingers.
In an instant, nearly all of the ghouls raised an assortment of firearms, ranging from pistols, shotguns and rifles. All of them pointed their weapons at the group of Devils and Tristan. Rias was the first to react as she cried, "Move!"
She and her peerage immediately got out of the way of the coming storm of bullets. However Tristan did not even move as the bullets ripped apart his clothes a flesh. The young devils could only watch in shock and horror as the barrage continued, ripping Tristan apart to the point you could see his bones and his right arm soon fell off. Tyco watched in sadistic glee at the scene.
"TRSITAN-SAN!" Asia yelled in horror, tears falling down her face as she watched her savior being ripped to shreds. Issei had to hold her back so she didn't do something reckless. They could only watch as the last of the bullets finished going through Tristan's body before it fell backwards onto the ground. What was left of it was now a mangled corpse beyond recognizing.
Rias's Peerage could only look at it in shock while Tyco began laughing hysterically at the sight. "Hahaha! What a shame! I thought he would last a bit longer! But no matter, there are still you little Devils to satisfy me." Tyco said as he directed his eyes towards the young devils, who glared back at him. Without wasting time Tyco launched himself from the ceiling towards the young devils. Said devils managed to jump out of the way in time just as the large stray's body collided with the ground, making dust to rise.
Rias acted first. "Everyone, attack!" She ordered as she knew that they would have to move fast to defeat Tyco and his army of Ghouls. Killing the stray would remove the threat of the latter. Raising her hands she summoned a ball of destructive energy before firing it at the Stray. However it did little against the high class level stray devil, as Tyco merely smacked it to the side with one of his spider legs sticking out his back. He used another one of the legs to block a sword strike from Kiba, before smacking the Knight to the side. Tyco did flinch however a thunderbolt struck him. Looking up, the stray glared at Akeno, whose devil wings were out and had taken to the air. Electricity danced around her right arm as she prepared to fire another shot.
Tyco acted first though. Since they were still inside the warehouse, Akeno's mobility in the air was limited due to the close proximity of the walls and ceiling. Pointing all eight of his spider legs towards Akeno, Tyco fired a wave of acid at her. The Thunder Priestess was surprised by this but she was still able to dodge the attack, though some of the corrosive substance managed to burn a part of her school uniform. However she was not prepared when an empty crate was thrown at her. It hit her dead on, causing her to fall to the ground hard.
"Akeno-san!" Issei shouted as he attempted to run towards her side. But was knocked back by one of Tyco's spider legs hitting the ground near him.
"Ise! Don't worry about Akeno! Something like that won't stop her!" Rias said with confidence in her Queen, while at the same time firing another sphere of destructive energy. "Just keep protecting Asia until you've boosted enough!"
"R-right Buchou!" Issei replied just as his red gauntlet said "Boost!" That was the third boost Issei got when the fight started.
"Those ghouls have made no moves whatsoever. Clearly this stray is underestimating us!" Rias said. She was angered that her peerage was being looked down on, but mostly relieved as Tyco's arrogance allowed her group to focus solely on him. "Kiba, Koneko! Go in and fight it at close combat, I will support you from afar."
"Yes Buchou!" "…Roger" Kiba and Koneko replied together. The Knight and Rook charged together while Rias continued firing from behind them. Kiba's speed allowed him to get ahead of Koneko, so he engaged Tyco first. Wielding two swords this time, Kiba aimed for the stray's feet. Only for Tyco to intercept him with his claws. Kiba managed to defend himself with his swords.
While Tyco was focused on Kiba, Koneko took this opportunity to attack the stray. Jumping into the air, the first-year prepared to land a strong punch to the top of Tyco's head. However she had forgotten about the spider legs, a fact that would cost her dearly. Faster then she could react, one of the legs thrust forward towards Koneko. The result was the leg piercing the left of the white haired girl's chest, tearing away the parts near her shoulder, with the left arm being completely torn off her body, followed by blood. All Koneko could do was let out a small gasp of surprise before she flew backwards.
The rest of the peerage, including Akeno who had recovered from her crash, could only watch in aghast and horror as Koneko landed on the ground with a thud, near Rias's feet. Said girl cried, "KONEKO!" Before kneeling beside her Rook. Koneko's chest was breathing heavily and the life in her eyes was starting to fade.
Tyco used this moment of distraction to flung Kiba away from him. At the same time the stray sent a silent message to his ghouls. Said creature began moving towards the young devils who were still recovering from their shock. "HA! Now let the feasting begin!" Tyco declared with a mad laugh, preparing to devour the young devils of their life force.
But any action was cut off when a dark chuckle began to resonate around them. Everyone turned their eyes towards the location and saw with shock that it was Tristan who was chuckling. At that moment the supposed dead person's body began to shift, turning into shadows as black smoke began to circle around it. As the smoke rose up so did Tristan, his now shadowy body shifting as his wounds healed and his severed right arm regrew. All the scattered bits of his body dispersed into smoke and disappeared. Tristan lifted his head towards Tyco, making the stray devil move back in fright as he saw a pair of red eyes with cat-like pupils glaring at him, along with a wide smile that was filled with malicious intent.
"You know" Tristan's distorted voice said as the smoke began to die down. "I was thinking that it might have been time for a wardrobe change." He said as he changed from his shadow form to his normal appearance, though with new attire this time. Tristan still wore his black leather pants and knee-length black leather boots, it was more of his upper attire that had changed. He now sported a plain, black, short-sleeve shirt with a long black leather coat over it. Along with that Tristan had black gloves and finally a black fedora on his head. His back hair was tied into a loose ponytail going down the back of his head. Through his shades, Tristan's red eyes were still glaring at Tyco while his smile revealed fanged teeth. Whips of shadowy smoke still remained, circling around his legs and the air around him.
After a moment of silence it was Tyco who asked the shared question running through everyone's head. "What are you?"
Tristan did not reply. Instead he raised his right arm, and a black pistol appeared in his hand before pointing it towards the ghouls. Then in the blink of an eye, said ghouls were consumed in an explosion that incinerated those directly near the source of explosion, while the others were blown apart into pieces. He paused before staring at the Stray with menacing red eyes. "I am the beast" Tristan replied before firing several bolts of darkness at the other ghouls from his pistol.
Rias and her peerage could only watch in amazement as Tristan mowed down the small army of ghouls one by one. Each bolt of darkness fired ripped through the bodies of the ghouls. And even as some ghouls fired back under the order of a desperate Tyco, their bullets merely went through Tristan, who made his body intangible this time. Tristan just kept firing from his gun, which did not seem to ever run out of ammo. And the sadistic smile never left his face either.
In a short time all the ghouls were dead, their bodies completely torn apart as their remains laid lying on the floor. Tristan then tipped the front of his hat up as he looked towards a now scared Tyco. "Looks like you're the only one left."
His previous arrogance gone now, Tyco could tell from the way Tristan destroyed his army, and the power he was radiating, that he had no chance of defeating this oddity before him. And he doubted that Tristan would let him run. With only one idea in mind, the stray made a lunge for Rias, hoping to use the devil as a bargaining chip for his escape. But before the Stray could even reach her, Tyco found himself trapped in a black sphere with a crimson outline.
Not even giving the stray a chance, Tristan made a crushing movement with his hand. The gravity field that held Tyco quickly shrunk down and crushed Tyco, who screamed under the weight. Eventually the sphere imploded and annihilated the stray in an instant. Once that was done, the remaining ghouls collapsed and turned into dust, since they no longer had a master to sustain them.
While the display of power Tristan showed was incredible, Rias and her peerage were focus on another matter. Already they had gathered around the wounded Koneko, with a tearful Asia trying desperately to heal her. But it was already a lost cause, Twilight Healing did not have the power to regenerate missing limbs such as Koneko's left arm. Plus the Rook was missing bits of the upper left part of her chest. It was only thanks to her devil and neko physiology that she was still breathing.
As the young Devils were focused on Koneko, they did not noticed the look in Tristan's eyes as he stared at the dying girl. For some reason the Apocalyptic Beast felt like he should do something, something to save the young Nekoshou's life. He had no idea why, barely knew her and he had no obligation to help Koneko. And yet as Tristan gazed at the tear stricken faces of the young devils, he could not help but remember the same emotions he felt when Elaine died. With that in mind Tristan began walking towards the gathered group of young Devils.
Said devils did not even seem to notice his approach until he gently pushed them aside to reach Koneko. It was once Tristan was kneeling beside Koneko did the other five devils acknowledge him. However Tristan only kept his eyes on Koneko, who weakly averted her eyes at him, Tristan's red eyes looking at her golden ones.
Never breaking his gaze Tristan gently took Koneko's right hand into his own. "Live" He murmured as he placed his left hand on top of Koneko's hand. The second those words left his lips, black tendrils began swirling down Tristan's arms towards Koneko.
Rias and her peerage could only watch with amazement as the black tendrils began spreading across Koneko's body. As they did they focused primarily on her left side, taking up the space where her left shoulder and arm use to be. In just a minute the tendrils finished healing Koneko and soon her left arm, shoulder and chest had returned, with no signs that it had been even torn off in the first place. Rias was the first to snap out of her trance and checked Koneko's neck. The Gremory Heiress let out a long sigh of relief when she felt Koneko's pulse, along with steady breathing from the Nekoshou. The rest of her peerage followed suite, happy to know their friend would live. Right now Koneko was asleep, clearly exhausted from whatever Tristan did.
Speaking of which, said person had already stood up from his position. His head was down and did not notice how the young Devils were looking at him with a mix of gratitude and wariness. Tristan just stared at Koneko for a while longer before looking at Rias, who was still kneeling on the other side of her Rook.
"We will speak more of this tomorrow Rias Gremory. I will answer your questions then." Tristan said before disappearing in a wisp of shadow and smoke, leaving behind a group of exhausted young Devils.
After what felt like an eternity Rias spoke. "Akeno, please take Koneko-chan to the club room and place her in one of the beds there please. And make sure to give her a final check." The redhead asked. Her Queen nodded as she gently picked up the sleeping first year old. The two then disappeared within a glowing red magic circle that appeared under Akeno's feet.
"As for the rest of you" Rias began as she turned towards her three remaining servants. "Go home and rest. I believe we all have had a very tiring night, and we will have an even more tiring morning." She finished, knowing not only that they would have to figure out what Tristan had done to Koneko as well as her own problem concerning a certain engagement.
And there is chapter 3! Hope you all enjoy this. Next chapter Tristan will reveal to the Occult Club of the changes in Koneko and will also introduce Riser as well as another major OC too. Be sure to review and I hope this story will inspire others to make their own Trihexa stories!
Wacko12