Issei was frozen solid.

This time, the feeling was internal rather than external, as he had walked into the Frozen Prison alongside Cocytus and Entoma, the latter of whom had seemingly thawed after a vigorous shudder that shook off the rime crystals that had grown all over her chitin from the long time the trio spent in the Fifth Floor's blizzard.

Indeed, Issei had walked into the creepy mansion, and had walked in as headstrong way as he could muster as he was well aware that showing 'fear' and 'weakness' would end up with him running for his life, like how things had gone in the Eighth Floor- Even if acting in such a manner required all of Issei's concentration, and his mind was starting to slip from the absolute terror and stress that he was experiencing.

'Ah, Asia's breasts were so nice and perky, and when Akeno moved her breasts swayed in such a seductive way…' Issei's thoughts huddled in his 'happy place' in a vain attempt to keep his spirit from breaking utterly, like a freezing man huddling his body around flickering embers to keep them from going out in a blizzard.

Yet…

Issei had entered a room at the end of the hallway that had been behind the mansion's main doors, and had frozen still as he looked at the sight at the center of the hall-like room.

He faintly realized that Cocytus and Entoma were behind him somewhere, and that Cocytus was reaching for something.

However, what drew Issei's attention was the contents of the room.

There were mountains of broken baby-like dolls all over the room, piled into high mounds at the edges of the room as if they were tossed aside.

And at the center of the room there was a simple crib and a woman in a simple grayish-black dress who was pushing the crib gently back and forth while the baby within was crying quietly… And the woman was creepy.

She had long, matte black hair that looked like it belonged to a corpse, and as Issei glanced at the face that was partially hidden behind the hair, he realized that the woman didn't have any skin on her face.

Her eyes were gentle and her teeth immaculate, somehow making the sight of the skinless-faced woman even creeper… Before she reached into her crib for the baby that had stopped crying.

The woman lifted the baby from the crib… And the baby's head let a sickening crack as it turned to an unnatural direction seemingly on its own.

Issei was frozen solid on the spot and his skeletal jaw opened wide in terror.

"Ah… Ah?! AAAAAH?!" The woman's cry of despair echoed around the room… Before the baby slipped from her hands and impacted the floor, revealing that the lively and life-like baby had been, in fact, just a eyeless porcelain doll of a baby. "My baby?! MY BABY?! YOU… YOUU TOOK MY BABY!"

The woman lurched to look directly at Issei and brought out a pair of huge scissors while Issei tried to lift his hands to stall the woman in panic, his calm having completely broken from the sight before him. "Wait, wait! There's been a misunderstanding! Cocytus-san! Please tell her!"

"Lord. Issei. she. cannot. hear. you… hm." Cocytus's voice came from behind Issei and it was as if he was thinking. "Hm. this. could. be. a. good. primer. my. lord. would. you. like. if. I. began. your. Warrior-training. now?"

"Wha- Training?! Now?!"

"Very. well. my. lord. Please. concentrate. on. dodging." Cocytus seemingly misunderstood Issei's panicked question for an order, and Issei realized that the situation had gone to a hell in a handbasket as the black-haired woman charged. "Her. attacks. deal. slashing. and. puncture. damage. so. it. will. be. fairly. ineffective. again. you. Please. focus. on. dodging. Being. able. to. dodge. is. a. important. skill. for. a. warrior."

"Whee-ow!" Issei tried to jump aside as the woman charged, only for the scissors to catch his leg and try to snap it in two.

However, the scissors slipped, and instead of cutting the bone in two the scissors merely pushed it away before snipping closed.

"The. second. phase. adds. additional. attacks. that. deal. damage. to. Undead. so. it. is. better. if. Lord. Issei. doesn't. counter-attack." Cocytus advised while Issei glanced quickly to the side to see that Cocytus was standing just behind the door leading to the hall-like room, and had a odd wrapped item cradled in his hands, while Entoma was holding her cockroach-like claws against her cheeks as if she was panicking even though her face didn't change expressions. "Please. focus. on. the. opponent. Situational. awareness. is. important. but. it. shouldn't. detract. from. your. focus. on. the. opponent."

Issei realized that while he had glanced at Cocytus the crazed woman's scissors had landed on his neck, or rather where his throat would have been if he still had flesh, and tried to snip his head from his shoulders.

The few basic lessons from Rias and Yuuto regarding combat-movement and fighting against bladed weapons kicked in and Issei tossed himself back before the scissors managed to saw through his bones, and the woman wailed in disappointment as the chance to decapitate Issei was lost- For the moment, as she charged again instantly.

However, this time Issei was ready… And instead of snipping for Issei's throat, he managed to dodge down- And the sharp ends of the scissors landed in his eye-holes.

"Ghyaaah!" Issei jumped back in fright once again, slipped on a doll, and landed on his back.

"Combat. rolling. is. a. advanced. technique. I. advise. not. training. for. it. yet. before. basics. have. been. mastered." Cocytus's clicking voice came from the distance. "However. I. am. impressed. that. Lord. Issei. is. aware. of. the. advanced. Warrior. technique. for. avoiding. unblockable. blows. As. expected. of. the. Supreme. Being."

'Whawhawah-' Issei rolled to the side and actually managed to dodge the strike that would have punctured his ribs, or at least attempted to do so, as the crazed black-dressed woman had jumped into the air and had tried to drive the now-closed scissors down like a spear to pin Issei to the ground. The attack nonetheless caught his robe and pinned him in place until the woman drew the scissors out of the floor, and Issei could run away.

"Very. good. that. is. one. dodge. Now. let's. go. for. five. consecutive. dodges."

"Heeeeelp!"

"Helping. would. not. be. conducive. to. efficient. training, Lord. Issei. Like. birds. teaching. their. young. to. fly, a. certain. harshness. is. required. for. most. effective. results."

'That's only because young birds know instinctively how to fly! That doesn't apply to not getting killed by a crazy woman with scissors!' Issei wanted to screech that to the air, but he was distracted by trying to dodge the maddened charges that followed him with each attempt to dodge or avoid the sharp-looking scissors.

After what to Issei felt like hours, however, he had a feeling that he had gotten a basic idea on how to avoid the blows- Even though Issei swore that his bones would crack under the slightest hint of additional damage as he had nicks and cuts on the bones.

"Excellent! One. more. dodge!"

"Hyaah!" Issei jumped to the side while pulling his head down, avoiding a vertical 'snip' of the scissors that tried to cut Issei's jaw in two in the middle.

"Very. good. Your. learning. rate. is. astounding. As. expected. of. Lord. Issei!" Cocytus sounded a bit proud somehow.

'It's because I had some basis in me already, from Yuuto-kun, although the stuff he showed me was nowhere near as intense or terrifying!' Issei wanted to respond but he was distracted by feinting to dodge swiftly to one side, and then changing the dodge to another to fool the crazed woman into snipping empty air instead of his arm.

"Indeed. this. has. been. excellent. training. session. Ahem. Nigredo-san. Your. baby. is. here." Cocytus stepped into the room, causing the now-named Nigredo to snap her attention to the insect warrior in an instant, as she had been completely ignoring him until now.

The woman let a terrifying wail as she charged Cocytus while he unwrapped the pouch he had been carrying… And revealed a somewhat creepy-looking porcelain baby-doll inside it.

"Ah… Ahh… My baby…" Nigredo's insane wailing died down and was replaced by equally insane babble as she took the baby from Cocytus's arms and into hers. "Shhh… Shhh… Mommy is here… Don't cry…"

The woman hobbled back to the crib that was still in the center of the room, and placed the doll inside it.

And then she turned around with calm elegance, as if nothing had happened.

"Lord Issei. Cocytus-sama. Entoma-san. How can this humble Area Guardian help- eh?" Nigredo seemed to remember the past hour a few seconds after starting her speech, and she froze still.

She glanced at Issei, and Issei could feel the woman's eyes starting to rove over the nicks and cuts in Issei's bones, the ragged state of his robes, and the signs of combat all around the room.

The woman's skinless face froze utterly still for a moment.

The woman slammed herself down into prostration with such speed that Issei tried to instinctively dodge it as an attack. "Lord Issei! This wretch apologizes with all her feeble might for the absolute failure of her weak mind and inability to instantly recognize my lord without the crutch of a pacification item-!"

"No, no, it's alright…" Issei wanted to speak his mind and tell that it was most definitely not alright, but once the adrenaline surge of the moment passed, so to speak as he didn't exactly have adrenaline glands anymore, he realized that the situation had been entirely in Cocytus's control as the sensei could have stepped in to stop the fight at any moment, and he had in fact asked at the start if Issei wanted to start the 'warrior training' that he himself had proposed to the insect-warrior.

Therefore, while Issei wanted to growl more than a bit at Nigredo, he realized that it'd be hypocritical to do so, and so he simply waved her concerns off. "The situation was under control, don't worry. Cocytus-senpai used it to train me, so there was nothing wrong and I actually learned a lot. Er… I'll just ask Solution-san to buff out these scratches later today, so don't worry about those either."

Nigredo seemed quite uncertain as she slowly lifted her face off the ground, and Issei thanked his skeletal body for once for not being able to show his horrified expression as even though Nigredo wasn't actively trying to kill him now, the skinless face looked quite terrifying. Specifically after Issei had seen it contorted it into an insane mask of rage for the past hour, and it now having a surprised and somewhat gentle expression (At least as far as Issei could tell) was giving him quite a bit of whiplash.

"So… I originally came here to see Albedo-san. Is she here?" Issei felt like moving the conversation forward would serve better than trying his luck by prolonging the conversation in case it triggered something in the woman again.

"Albedo is in cell thirty-one, on the second floor. Here is a key to her cell." Nigredo seemed to sense the change in mood and brought out a crude-looking cast iron key that she handed towards Issei with both hands as if it was an offering to one's god. "Please be careful. She is not nearly as calm as she may seem, and I fear that her humors have not yet stabilized enough to be let free."

"I see… Thanks for the warning." Issei took the key. "Are there any more surprises on the way there?"

"None, my lord. Everything within these halls is known to us. The stairs behind me lead to the cells. Ah, Demiurge-sama and Eclair-san are at cell sixty-one, in the basement. Should I inform Demiurge-sama that you are here?" Nigredo curtsied deeply at Issei, who felt cold sweat drip down his head from the whiplash of the woman's kind and gentle demeanor after the furious if one-sided battle that had been going on just minutes earlier. Or rather, he felt ghost-sweat as he couldn't sweat anymore.

"It's alright, don't worry. Now then, I'll be off."

"I. shall. guard. Lord. Issei. and. Albedo. sama. with. my. life. my. lord." Cocytus's clicking sounds intensified while the warrior-insect was clearly tensing up. "Rest. assured. my. lord. not. even. a. fly. shall. disturb. you. This. I. swear. upon. my. life. and. honor!"

Entoma was clearly confused and pointed her cockroach-like claw-hand at herself.

"Entoma-san. is. of. course. permitted." Cocytus seemed to walk back his statement a bit.

"Right… Entoma-san, you can stay with Cocytus- no, nevermind. I'd like it if you accompanied me." Issei changed his mind as he realized that if he didn't ask Entoma to accompany him, then he'd face a similar situation as what had happened in Eighth Floor. 'I need a guide everywhere or I'll get lost, or end up wandering into a trap-minefield… I should probably have someone accompany me even into the bathroom. I swear this place is so creepy that I bet even bathrooms are booby-trapped… Even boobs are booby-trapped, if Solution is anything to go by… Haa… Albedo-oneesama, I want to bury my face in your magnificent breasts and forget the worries of this world… Her breasts weren't booby-trapped the last time around… Although, I should check them for traps just in case.'

Issei blinked as he realized that he hadn't thought of Rias's boobs instantly when he thought about magnificent breasts to calm himself down, and realized that the stress of the situation must be causing his standards to drop- Ie, instead of dreaming about Rias's boobs, he had dreamed about Albedo's boobs as while one was somewhere in the realm of the living and thus unobtainable for Issei anymore, Albedo was still a 'valid target', ergo him fantasizing about Albedo's breasts was marginally less sad for Issei's self-confidence.

'...Haa, and now I feel depressed.' Issei sighed as he realized how sad his train of thoughts had become, and continued to walk where Nigredo had pointed in order to shake the mounting feeling of depression and loneliness.

He had taken a few steps out of the hall-like room before he realized that Entoma had reached to pat Issei's back as he had sighed.

"Please cheer up, Issei-sama!" Entoma waved her hands a bit as Issei turned to look at her. "Issei-sama is sighing sadly, so please cheer up! Here, I'll give you one of my snacks!"

'Er…' Issei looked at the fist-sized cockroach that Entoma had pulled from somewhere, and realized that the maid had likely been the one who cooked the cockroach-cake back on the Ninth Floor. "Ahem, thanks, but I'm not hungry. If you want to eat it then feel free to… yes, something like that."

Issei hadn't managed to reach the end of the sentence before Entoma had brought the insect under her chin and lifted it up, and crunching sounds came from the direction while the cockroach went rigid and still. 'Er, she doesn't use her mouth to eat? Does she have another mouth under her jaw? No, focus on the task, Issei! I'm this close… I won't be distracted from freeing Albedo-oneesama!'

Issei nodded to Entoma and reached to pat her head out of instinct as Entoma, for some reason, reminded Issei of Asia after Issei bought her lunch when she had arrived at Kuoh while near starvation.

'Now then… To Albedo!' Issei walked off with headstrong footsteps while Entoma let out an odd buzzing sound and her munching intensified in ferocity.

.

.

'I-Issei-sama pat my head?! Pat, pat, headpat?!' Entoma buzzed around while chomping down on the cockroach with her hidden pincer-jaws.

She was quite glad that her bug-mask was incapable of showing emotions as she had gained quite gross expression, and she was fairly sure it'd be unsightly to Lord Issei.

'I-Is this what Yuri-neesama felt when Lord Issei looked her over?! N-no, before that, he was staring at me and my insides felt like they'd burst at the seams… Yuri-neesama's body language told us that her heart went doki-doki but I don't have a heart, c-could this be something like that?' Entoma finished her cockroach and realized that she was daydreaming so she sprinted after Lord Issei who had almost gone off in the wrong direction- Or rather, towards the hallway that looked like it lead upwards, but in reality was a trap which led to a Teleportation Gate which would send anyone entering it into Kyouhukou's room on the Second Floor.

'Lord Issei asked if there were surprises, but since Nigredo-sama would know all the traps within these walls, none of them would be a surprise… Er, did Lord Issei mean to ask 'are there traps'? No, he'd have asked Nigredo-sama about them with those express words if that was the case… Or is he planning on seeing Kyouhukou-kun before Lady Albedo?' Entoma put her sleeves on her mouth while thinking hard. 'Narberal-san said that Lord Issei had tested her, and Solution-san blushed and said the same, but also turned to jelly when I asked if there's anything I should know when following Lord Issei. In other words… Is this my test, then?'

'Eeeh?! Wait, I just realized- Lord Issei doesn't have his memories, and since he asked 'are there any surprises', the traps wouldn't be a surprise for Nigredo or me, since I have been occasionally visiting Fifth Floor to get Neuronist-sama's leftovers to snack on, but the traps would be surprises for Lord Issei!' Entoma dropped the cockroach that she had brought out to eat while thinking, causing the critter to fly off in panic. 'In other words, he asked if there are traps, but formulated the question so that we'd have to see things from his perspective if we want to give the correct answer! I've cracked the case!'

"Issei-sama, ahem…" Entoma reached to tug Lord Issei's robe as he had been taking a step towards the hidden portal. "That hallway leads to a trap-portal that would teleport us into Kyouhukou's room, the Black Capsule, on the Second Floor."

"Ah- but… Oh. Thanks, Entoma-san." Lord Issei took a step backwards quickly and then reached to pat Entoma's head, causing her to buzz a bit. "Good job. Hm… I think Nigredo-san misunderstood my question… Do you know if there are traps here?"

"Yes, my lord! There are traps all over! Like that door, and then there's this odd step, and…" Entoma waved around in newfound proudness, glad that she had cracked her test in record time while Solution had apparently failed hers, and Narbarel had been really late in hers! 'Yay! And I got rewarded with headpats! I can't wait to tell Yuri-neesama about this! Her face will make all sorts of funny expressions!'

"In that case… Please lead me to Albedo's cell. I think it was cell twenty-one?"

"Thirty-one, my lord!" Entoma corrected instantly while swishing her sleeves all over in pumped-up cheer… And then put her hands on her mouth in shock as she realized that she had 'corrected' the Supreme Being of all beings. 'N-no way! The Supreme Beings don't make mistakes like that! The test wasn't over?! I got too confident! I was out of line! No, nono-way! It was going so good!'

"Ah, right. It seems that I misremembered. Good job, Entoma-chan." Lord Issei pat his palm with his hand as if he remembered something. "Lead the way, then."

However, Entoma had frozen over in shock.

"Entoma-chan?"

"...Issei-sama, did you really forget?" Entoma asked with a faint voice while her body felt as if it had turned to jelly, which was quite impressive considering her thick chitin-layer.

"Ah, yes, I forgot. Thanks for correcting me."

"Eh…" Entoma felt as if the room was spinning. 'The Supreme Being forgot something? No, that isn't good… D-doesn't that mean…'

Entoma realized that she had to act quickly!

"COCYTUSS-SAMAA! THE THIEEEF IS HEEREEE!"

"Eh?" Lord Issei's mouth fell open

And then there was a huge crash of breaking wood and a shower of splinters of ice.