A Dragon's Tale

by Blackshadow999

All have heard the story of the Great War between the Biblical Factions. However, what you all have been told is wrong, there was far more to it what happened. This is the truth from a side that is often dismissed.

1. A Fresh Start

A/n

This story was inspired by two different DxD stories I read recently and the general premise is one I liked. So, I wrote a different spin on a "Different Character" from canon coming into the picture. I have gone through and revised this thus far to give it more definition which I hope you like. I don't own DxD characters, just mine, so I hope you readers like it.

Chapter 1: A Fresh Start

It was a weekday morning in Kuoh Town, and many teenagers could be seen heading towards Kuoh Academy as they were students of the school. Among them was an individual that was a male of moderate-sized and the air about him gave the impression of a gentleman. He had fair skin and messy sand-colored hair that fell to be just beyond the same level as his eyes. His hair didn't completely obscure them from sight but drew attention away from them. His eyes were a harvest gold shade that was rare to see which oddly fit his facial features.

The young man's clothing consisted of what was the standard style of the Kuoh academy male student uniform. His shirt was a mid-sleeved white foreign western-style dress shirt under the student black blazer. The young man's pants were slacks with what appeared to be semi-casual dress shoes. He did have two pieces of "jewelry", one being a dark silver ring on his right hand's middle finger and the other a small earring that clung to the side of his left ear. The earring had the signet of a dragon which was silver and had small black gems in it for the eyes and center of the dragon shape. The ring had a small dragon head on it with gems for the eyes of the dragon.

The young man's name was Christopher Maxwell and he wasn't currently in a nice mood with walking to school. Since he appeared in his teenage years though he wasn't in that age range and hadn't been for some time, he was required to attend "school" or deal with crap from others. So, as he didn't want to draw attention to himself or have unnecessary trouble come his way, he would attend school for the time being. School to Chris was a waste and he'd done the idea a few times before now during his lifetime. He found it boring rather quickly after the first run-through, mostly since the material was much the same over time. With that in mind, a sigh escaped him at the thoughts of what was ahead as he was walking. "Great, I get to be completely bored because of a piece of info Simon happened to get his hands on," Chris grumbled. The other students ignored him as they all headed towards the school which he preferred.

Simon Glades was a friend of Chris's and one of the best at acquiring information that he had ever met. If Chris wanted to know something, then he could ask Simon and he would get good info and usually some that the public didn't have a clue about. Yet, with what Chris had asked Simon the last time he'd seen him, the answer hadn't been what Chris had been hoping for. Chris was looking for someone and Simon had indicated they were around this town in Japan. It wasn't the town that Chris was not pleased about, it was a nice enough small town. Chris liked less populated areas, tended to have fewer problems and annoyances for him and his friends and family. No, it was the point that the person was in school meaning that Chris would have to go there which brought him back to the original issue. "I could and would rather be at home spending quality time with family like I have been. I want to be doing activities that have good lasting merit that family time gives me." Chris paused then exhaled in frustration, "But no, I get to waste my time by sitting at a desk listening to a bunch of information I know already instead."

Chris shook his head in frustration not liking his current situation at all for a number of reasons. He may have chosen to come here, but he didn't want to do "school" once again. Memories of earlier days with his parents came to his mind as they had understood not wanting to deal with the mundane things of the world if they didn't need to and he could fully sympathize. Those like them who lived longer than most didn't see a reason to interact with short-lived beings like humans unless there was some value in it. "It's stuff like this which has me understand to an extent why my mom craves what she does and why dad would get involved with his work so much shutting most else out."

Chris looked ahead towards Kouh Academy not looking forward to the day's events or the doldrums that would come with it. And it wasn't that he was anti-social or anything, he just wanted to choose his company more than the school environment usually allowed. "I certainly hope Simon's information is good and true, I would hate to put in time with the dumb school environment once again for absolutely no viable reason." Chris paused knowing that the info Simon told him that had him going to Kouh Academy was like the vast majority of what came from him. "Nonetheless, Simon always checks his facts before he gives me an answer and so, he's rarely wrong because of that. With that in mind, I have no real reason to doubt him this time."

Chris continued forward to the school with the rest of the teens heading in that direction silently grumbling and cursing. The moment he walked through the front gate of the school, Chris could sense the presence of devils. The reason he took note of this was there had been the faint scent of devils when he had come around the city. Plus, in his experience, devils could and normally did complicate things in several ways most of which weren't needed. Chris wanted to avoid complications and issues the best possible as he disliked messes. His past was a type of testament of others crossing paths with him and making trouble in some form and then having to deal with it. Because of that, Chris didn't have the best rep to put it mildly nicely and he had made efforts to change that picture of himself. He really didn't want all that work to go to waste and get the issues back he had gotten to go away.

Among the steps he took to not attract notice to himself as he used to not letting out his power and aura. That point had done wonders for Chris and attracted trouble since his kind stuck out horrendously. It was why he had the ring and earring on, they were to mask his power and prevent it from affecting others in the area. Chris had gained the mentality of the less attention he got the better things would go in the majority of situations and circumstances which had proven true thus far. And in this instance, the quicker he could do what he was here for, the sooner he could get out of this place and not return.

The common issue Chris had found devils created was they rarely stayed out of others' business even when it would be better for them to do so. There were countless historical examples of this before the personal ones that Chris had himself. Not all devils were like that, but most, unfortunately, fit that mold and it was annoying in Chris's view. They were greedy and selfish fools that were blinded to the fact that there were those that could wipe them out and have no issue with it. Devils deluded themselves that they were strong and could endure anything that came their way. And so, Chris hoped he wouldn't be noticed and looked over by the devils around here so he didn't have to deal with them.

However, as it happened, his presence was noticed by those he sensed upon coming onto the grounds. Specifically, two ladies in the school noticed the newcomer to the academy and they were doing some digging into him. One of them was the heiress of the Gremory Clan by the name of Rias Gremory and the other was Souna Shitori who in truth was the heiress of the Sitri Clan. For one to transfer in the middle of a school year was somewhat unusual and there were oddities with the incoming student. The oddities with the transfer student kept coming up that didn't seem significant, but it wouldn't leave their minds either. Yet, no matter how much they looked at the info they had, nothing could be located that was off with the incoming student. Nonetheless, both Rias and Sona shared similar thoughts in wanting to know more about this newcomer. The circumstances that they came with just didn't seem natural even if nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

Meanwhile, after Chris had entered the main school building, he heard the gossip coming from the other students. He expected it to come as it wasn't new to him, he attracted attention both good and bad from those he passed. Yet, as he did these days, he ignored the whispers that went on around him and kept moving forward. Chris didn't look at anyone directly as he kept going toward the classroom he was assigned for this go around in the school system. The art of interacting with others or in this case avoiding the idea was a skill that Chris had developed over the years. Yet, with the physical senses that he had, Chris still heard much of what was being said about him as he went. And while he knew he would get looks and comments, he was annoyed and even tired at what came.

"Hey is that a new student," asked a girl.

"Kya, he's so handsome," exclaimed another.

"He's dressed so smartly, like someone from high society," said yet another.

"It just adds to his attraction," a different girl was saying to her friend.

"Do you think he's single," was the reply.

"A cutie like him? No way!" There was a pause, "But if he is…"

Those were the common lines from the female population which Chris didn't much like. And it wasn't that he didn't expect the attraction, it was instinct. Females of any species were drawn to males that had power and strength and Chris had that in ridiculous amounts. Then it didn't help that Chris got the good looks from his father and they were hard to deny. It was a blessing and curse, the power he had and the looks to go with it. However, because of the point, he had become used to it as he received it often enough during his lifetime and travels. So, like normal, Chris ignored the comments from the girls and he would be polite to them when they address him. And then, there was the opposite side with the guys which were more the polar opposite from the girls.

"Oh come on darn it, another prince," one snapped.

"We already have Kiba to go against and now this guy appears," snarled another.

"Go die you dirty thief," shouted a boy.

The majority of the responses were common for Chris to get, all the women went between liking to loving him while the boys just didn't like him or hated him. The "threats" the boys were making were hollow as Chris knew full-well they couldn't come close to doing anything to him. It was more tiresome for Chris to hear the crap as it was more an annoyance to one like him. Honestly, Chris had just learned to not listen to such anymore as it wasn't worth correcting most. In fact, he found it somewhat amusing how they went about their blissfully ignorant lives, they didn't know how lucky they were. Nor did they know Chris had a private life outside of school and that was his business, no one else's. He would be polite to those who approached him but that was as far as he would go with the students did. It was thanks to his father he had the collection of manners that he did.

Chris merely continued searching for his homeroom so that he could find a chair and get this day over with. As he went, his senses quickly picked up that he was being followed by a devil at a slight distance. He expected the point, the devils unlikely leave things as they were as was in their best interests. So, after a moment, Chris stopped glancing around to identify the one following him for the devils. However, as he was doing so, someone bumped into him and fell to the ground before him. His eyes came to land on a girl that was quite small and petite with short white hair and golden eyes. She was in the standard girl's style uniform for the school and from her height, Chris guessed she was a first-year. What was a tad surprising to Chris was not only that the girl was a devil, but also had youkai heritage in her, a cat were he to guess by the faint scent.

He assumed that she was the one following him and was scouting for one group of devils that were here. With the number of devils that Chris was sensing, he assumed there were two groups of them here. And even though he expected it from devils, that didn't mean he appreciated their habits like this one. But then, he didn't agree or condone what devils did most of the time if at all really. However, Chris also knew that not all devils did what they did because they wanted to, it was because their "master" ordered them to. So, with that in mind, Chris plastered a smile on his face, "My apologies Miss," he greeted offering a hand, "Please allow me to help you up from the floor."

Koneko Toujou who was a first-year student at Kuoh Academy titled a mascot by some, mostly the boys. She now stared up at the male she'd bumped into who fit the bill of what her king had told her about the one she was to follow and observe. As a former Nekoshou now a reincarnated devil, she could usually tell many things by being around an individual. Contact was one of the best ways to get something on another, so she looked at the hand he was extending. Koneko then glanced up at his face kind of taken aback by the manners the guy had and was showing. Most of the boys at the school would ogle the girls, but this guy wasn't doing that at all.

She took the offered hand after a moment and was rather shocked when she felt absolutely nothing. It made her pause for a moment as it was like he was a powerless human, but even from any of them, she would feel something faint as it could be. Yet, she could tell nothing about him and it unsettled her as it was the first time it had happened. It made her wonder if something could be blocking any kind of power or any identifying points about this young man. She couldn't put her finger on exactly what was off about the guy other than feeling nothing from him, but something was tickling the back of her mind.

Chris let go of Koneko's hand and resumed his journey pretending to have trouble finding his class but observing the girl who had bumped into him scurrying away after helping her. He guessed she was on her way to report to her master, not that he was that worried right now, she had nothing on him. But to be sure, he had one of his "shadow puppets" follow the girl unnoticed to any around just to keep an eye. Chris's shadow puppets could show things to him, he could see and hear what they did. Who knows, it might show him something interesting that would break the boredom he was going to be in. Once that was done, Chris headed towards the room that was to be his homeroom.

It was a valuable lesson Chris had learned about devils overall in general long ago and one he had never forgotten. You kept an eye on devils when they were around for to not do that was unwise and would normally cause issues given time to develop. Most of the devils he'd come across before now hadn't been fun to deal with at all and tended to be irritating more often than not. And as for them and truth, Chris saw them prove the line, "you can know when one lies because their lips are moving". If lying benefited them in their view, then they would do such without a moment's hesitation. He hadn't met many devils who weren't selfish and had their own agenda which involved using those around them for their own benefit somehow. Honestly, the original devils were better than their descendants were from what Chris and seen and that was quite sad.

Chris quickly came to be in front of the door to his homeroom which was for one of the second-year classes. He took a deep breath not happy about this but knew he wouldn't get out of this, so he knocked on the door. A few seconds later the teacher appeared looking at Chris who smiled and he fetched the documents for his transfer into the school from his bag. The teacher took the papers and looked them over then let him in. Chris followed the woman and got his first view of his 'classmates' he would be around, and it only confirmed to him that he would be keeping to himself. There were more girls than boys in the class, not that it mattered to Chris on gender. The teacher pointed at Chris, "Everyone, please pay attention up here as we have a new student in our class." The teacher then turned to Chris, "Could you please introduce yourself to the others," she requested.

Automatically all eyes were on him with different expressions showing on the students. Chris took a bit of a bow with an arm going across his front, "Hello everyone, it is nice to meet you all. My name is Christopher Maxwell, though I prefer that you call me Chris."

Meanwhile, in the old school building where the Occult Research Club had their clubroom, there was a gathering occurring. At the desk in the room was a beautiful young woman with a height of one-hundred-seventy-two centimeters, white skin, blue eyes, and a buxom figure which measured ninety-nine, fifty-eight, and ninety. Her most distinctive feature was her long, beautiful crimson hair which was a family trait. Her hair reached down to her thighs and was styled to be straight except for a single hair strand sticking out from the top and the loose bangs covering her forehead and side bangs framing her face. She was wearing the girl's style uniform for the school which consisted of a white long-sleeved, button-down shirt. That was combined with a black ribbon on her shirt collar worn under a black shoulder cape and a matching button-down corset. The other half of the outfit was a magenta skirt with white accents and brown dress shoes over white crew-length socks. The name of the young woman was Rias Gremory.

Facing Rias was a woman the same age as herself by the name of Souna Shitori whose real name is Sona Sitri who was her friend. Sona stood at one-hundred-sixty-six wore glasses that fit her slim figure including her black hair styled in a short bob cut and violet eyes. Her body measurements were seventy-seven, fifty-seven, and eight-three and she was also dressed in the girl's uniform.

"Christopher Maxwell is it," Rias said as she finished reading the paper that was a part of the boy's official file the school had.

Both Rias and Sona were meeting in the Occult Research Club's room as a way to confer information without interruption. With the two heiresses were their respective queens, Tsubaki Shinra and Akeno Himejima. The four girls were known throughout the school by most as they were popular with different groups. Tsubaki wore glasses much like Sona did and she was slightly taller than Sona too. Tsubaki however, had much longer hair than her king which did extend all the way to her knees. Her bangs split in the middle which brought attention to her heterochronic eyes with a violet left eye and a light brown right eye.

Next to Rias was Akeno who was a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure, very long black hair, and violet eyes. Akeno's measurements were one-hundred-two, sixty, and eighty-nine with her height of one-hundred-sixty-eight. Her hair was tied in the usual long ponytail reaching all the way down to her legs with two strands sticking out from the top and sloping backward with an orange ribbon keeping it in place. Akeno like the other young women in the room was wearing the girl's style academy uniform with black calf-length socks.

Currently, the two devil kings were discussing the information they had available on the new transfer student while waiting for Koneko to come and report her findings. They were going over the information they had from the school records which didn't reveal all that much. It all pointed to him seeming quite ordinary and made him appear human who came to Kouh. There were some points on the record the school which was blank and that was a tad unusual. On the record, there was mention that Maxwell had traveled a fair portion of the world before coming here. However, even with that info, it still felt like something was missing, the information felt a little too ordinary to Rias and Sona. For Rias, she was more curious than suspicious like Sona was about this new arrival since she saw more mystery than anything else. Sona on the other hand, saw the missing information as potential issues waiting to reveal themselves even when Rias waved that off as nonsense.

There came a knock at the door a moment later, Rias and Sona looked towards it, "Come in," Rias said.

Koneko entered the Occult Research Club's room, still trying to sort out what she could say about Maxwell. Feeling nothing from him was still bugging her, and it was concerning since it was so rare to happen. And Koneko knew that Rias would be expecting her to report something of value on Maxwell. "Buchou, I'm here to give a report," she greeted.

Rias gestured for Koneko to go ahead, looking forward to what her rook could tell them about the new student. Koneko had always been good at getting general facts on an individual, her Youki abilities were rather good at that. The girl had been an excellent addition to her peerage and Rias had been grateful for it. "Well Buchou, with my encounter with Christopher Maxwell, I felt nothing from him. I would say he is human if not for that, no power of any sort comes from him," Koneko paused for a moment, "It is like he was empty or something like that."

Sona was worried about Koneko's report, for if true there were a few possibilities that could explain what was said. Every living being had energy which certain methodology could read which Koneko's Senjutsu was one of those. So, it was likely Maxwell's energy was being blocked or masked. That led to the question of how and more importantly why the boy would do that. Most in the non-human world didn't mask or block their power, instead of flaunting it for others to see. As far as Sona knew and had read, those that did hide their power did so for a reason and tended to be extremely powerful. So, either they were dealing with a potential sacred gear user or an extremely powerful individual.

Rias was all the more curious about Maxwell with what Koneko said about him not having power. Clearly, the boy was hiding something, and she wanted to know what it was that he wasn't showing. There was a good chance that he used sacred gear to hide his power and there weren't many that Rias had heard of which could do that so well. She may have just gotten Issei recently and she suspected the boy had sacred gear, Rias certainly wouldn't say no to another sacred gear user, especially if it was a powerful one. "Thanks for your report Koneko," Rias said waving her off, "Head back to class, I'll see you this afternoon."

Koneko left the room leaving the four ladies there to contemplate what to do about Maxwell. The lack of information the record had was problematic to both girls in different ways since it left more questions than it answered. "While it is troubling that we are lacking in information on Mr. Maxwell," Sona remarked. "It also makes it risky to make a move on him with so many variables to deal with."

"And with what things Koneko-chan said about the boy in question, that it is like any identifying points about him were being blocked or masked. That isn't a natural occurrence, that type of thing has to be set up to happen," Akeno commented.

"I would agree with Akeno," Tsubaki said, "Either Christopher Maxwell is a normal human being, and we are just being paranoid which is possible with the things happening as of late. Or there are measures in place to hide facts about him that we are unable to get past currently."

Both Sona and Rias were doing serious thinking about this transfer student. Maxwell could be a threat or nothing to worry about, there was no real way currently to determine which for sure. And yet, both were also considering potential ways to perhaps recruit Maxwell for their respective peerages should it turn out that he was a unique individual. Rias was the first to speak out of the two, "Be that as it may, it is clear to me that he is unlikely a normal human with what I see. He could even have a sacred gear which is masking things about him for all we know, and it is likely."

Sona could see what Rias was thinking and she didn't like it, "Rias, you have already recruited Issei Hyoudou, isn't he enough for the moment," she posed. "With so little information, we could just as easily be prodding someone very dangerous as any other possibility. Don't make such a mistake Rias, it's rarely something that goes smoothly I assure you, it tends to come with bad consequences."

Rias wasn't interested in listening to Sona's warning as she saw it as needless worrying over little to nothing. The odds of a powerful individual coming around her territory without drawing any attention to themselves were slim to none. Kouh was a small town with little to nothing to draw an individual that had any power of note. And it was even more unlikely with Sona being here as their siblings were among the most powerful devils currently. Rias saw nothing to be concerned with, certainly not what Sona was seeing whatever it was. So, Rias waved a hand in dismissal, "Stop worrying Sona, things will work out as they always do. The likelihood of a powerful being coming around here without us knowing anything is extremely slim, so your concern is needless," Rias remarked and paused. "You're sounding like my brother or Lord Beelzebub you know."

Were others to compare Sona to two of the current Satans like Rias had, she would have taken it as a compliment. However, with how Rias was putting it, such wasn't complimentary at all not that Sona took offense to it. She was more worried that her friend potentially setting herself up to get herself into a really bad situation. True, Maxwell may just be a sacred gear holder, but even that came with potential issues. If he did have sacred gear and it was powerful, then he could just as likely turn out to be an enemy as a possible ally. Yet, if on the "slim" chance Maxwell was not a gear holder and a powerful being, that could be disastrous. The powerful beings that history spoke of tended to want to be left alone and prodding them was deadly.

Yet, from what Sona could tell, Rias wouldn't listen to reason and wisdom in this. She was too focused on gathering strength to get out of a circumstance she was in currently with her arranged marriage. Sona couldn't blame Rias for wanting out of the arrangement, to get away from the other in it if anything else for Sona could sympathize. But Sona still feared that her friend was treading in a path that could come with serious consequences. However, Sona merely sighed in slight defeat, "For your sake Rias, I certainly hope you aren't approaching a dangerous individual blindly. History has shown that those who recklessly bother such don't always live to regret their choices, instead, they tend to pay a very high price."

Rias felt that Sona was being a worrywart like she sometimes could be, and it was borderline paranoia from time to time. Besides, Rias's upcoming engagement was getting harder to wave off and she needed more pieces to work with against Riser. If that required her taking some risks, then Rias was willing to take chances. So, Rias pouted in response to Sona's needless worry while Akeno merely giggled, "Fine, but don't blame me if I managed to snag him first," Rias shot back. "Anyway, I'll have Kiba bring him to the old school building after school and I can meet with him to size him up more thoroughly." Rias turned to Akeno, "And Akeno, tell Koneko to keep watch over Issei, please. I have a feeling those Fallen Angels might go after him again."

"Of course Buchou," Akeno said as she walked out the room followed shortly by Tsubaki.

At the same time, Chris refocused on his surroundings in the classroom from what he had been receiving from the shadow he had sent after the devil. His shadow puppet hadn't been noticed by any of the devils by what Chris could tell, not even the white-haired girl it had followed. That the devils hadn't noticed his puppet said a bit and most of it wasn't nice for them. They were over-confident and blindly ignorant which was a bad combination from his experience. The conversation itself he'd heard was not all that surprising in its subject matter but was still annoying. They were interested in him and at least the redhead was likely thinking of ways to "recruit" him to her devil peerage. The whispers from the puppet he sent of the foolishness and stupidity of the devils were humorous though, more so as it had been a devil at one time.

The other fact that the conversation Chris got was the two were as selfish as he assumed, and he would be avoiding them as best possible. If the two devils were smart, then they would leave him alone and stay out of his business. Granted, the redhead's comments suggested that she would be dumb and prod him, but he could deal with that for a time. Chris preferred to not have to "scare" them away as that came with other issues. He'd been having peace in his life for the last few decades, he didn't want attention called to himself spoiling that.

Nonetheless, the name that was mentioned, Issei Hyoudou had been interesting to Chris. The mentioning potentially points to the one referred to by his friend Simon's info as to being the possible host to the Welsh Dragon. Chris wanted to find the Heavenly Dragon as he did owe him a serious favor for the action of him and his last host and Chris wasn't one to have debts unsettled among other things. And the sooner the debt was paid, the sooner he and the rest of his family could leave this place and go somewhere they wouldn't be bothered by those from the biblical factions especially. He had other things to do than waste time in school being bored and tolerating devils being greedy and arrogant fools.

In the past, Chris wouldn't have given them the time for their whims any more than one might view a tiny bug buzzing around themselves. And sometimes, Chris would've just silenced them by killing them outright to be done with the crap they produced. It had saved time and hassle a portion of the time from what Chris had seen even if it tended to cause messes to a degree. However, events over the last few centuries had changed his mind a great deal from what it had been. So, Chris would tolerate things to an extent as long as particular lines were not crossed. It did prevent messes that he would then have to have cleaned up in some way that that was irritating. If the devils did cross the lines, then all bets were off, and they would face his wrath for whatever they had done.

The remaining hours of school felt slow dragging on with Chris having to listen to information he already knew. He was bored and reacted little when asked a question, simply answering it and returning to his own thoughts. But when the last class finished, Chris couldn't stop the sigh of relief that the boredom of the day was coming to a close. However, it hadn't been all bad during the day, there had been some interesting points that had happened admittedly. The girls in the class had been trying several things to get to know him and some had been a tad entertaining. It once again showed Chris living among humans was worth it as they could be amusing enough that the world didn't become horrendously dull. Some of the girls had even asked if he was single and available, to which he had told them that their interest was nice, but he was already seeing someone. The girls seemed down when he said he was in a relationship, but it also seemed to make him even more desirable to some of the girls around the school. It surprised Chris once again how quickly gossip spread, it was something else and that was saying something for him. It didn't change the point that he had the love of his life, and he wasn't going to leave her alone and see other women just because some were close to throwing themselves at him.

Still, with the name he had learned from his puppet, Chris did inquire about the guy and found that many students knew about Issei Hyoudou. The main fact that came to light by what was mentioned was the boy was a pervert and one of the school's top ones at that. Not only that, but the kid also didn't even hide his interests, more like he took pride in his actions. Chris was made to wonder if he should laugh at this or feel sorry for Ddraig if this boy was his host this time around. Ddraig himself wasn't a pervert and if the kid was his host would be groaning and shaking his head in shame at the actions Hyoudou was committing.

Chris actually spotted the guy after lunch and had sensed that he had demonic energy, which would mean he was probably reincarnated as a devil. And the kid didn't look to have any idea of him being a devil. That also implied the boy hadn't the faintest idea what world he had been thrust into, which was another non-nice mark against one of the devils, the redhead was Chris to guess. Issei being a devil would complicate things somewhat, but it wasn't a complete deal-breaker for returning the favor to Ddraig if the kid was his host. Honestly, Chris felt a bit sorry for Hyoudou not knowing what he was a part of, merely living a blissfully ignorant life. That said life would soon come to an end in the form of a rude awakening.

Back to the standing issue, the devils here were suspicious of him and he expected that but with the two custom seals, they would find nothing. He would be shocked if the devils weren't inspecting the students here for potential servants. Chris would be a tad odd with what "records" he had submitted to the school, so he couldn't prevent such scrutiny fully. He knew that for some devils, they inspected oddities more closely in search of sacred gear users. He didn't like that they did the idea or more what it was followed by for it irritated him more. Some of the devils would after identifying a gear holder would then either trick or lead the said individual into working for them which Chris found wrong. He'd seen far more examples of that point, and the stories of it irritated Chris and also had him feeling pity for the unknowing victims.

That didn't change the purpose of him being here, it just meant that the devils would at some point have to be told to leave him alone in some fashion. Whether that was to be done nicely or not would be up to them in the end and Chris was fine with that. If Chris were to make his expectation of the Devil's actions based on the redhead, things wouldn't go smoothly, and it would only be a matter of time when issues came up. It was one of the reasons that Chris cursed dealing with young devils, they were so ignorant and dumb it was such a pain to be around them.

For both of the groups of devils, Chris figured that it wouldn't be long before one of the she-devils sent one of their minions to "fetch" him. That would be followed by the she-devil trying to convince him to join their peerage or "family" as some called it. The reference to family was more along the lines of an insult to him for devils made it a mockery of the very idea. The term family to devils was a word to comfort themselves and their victims to what they did with drawing people into the non-human world.

Of course, Chris had no interest in joining either of the devils' teams, and he had absolutely no reason to even consider the point for a moment. He was more powerful than both of them and their peerages combined, and it was by a ridiculous amount that was beyond hilarious. Then his pride wouldn't let it happen either, that was a part of his heritage and not normally a bad part either Chris admitted. Plus, Chris had far better and more important things to do than having to listen to the whims and/or orders of a foolish devil. Nor had he ever seen a reason to listen or let them tell him what to do, many had been killed for attempting that stupid kind of crap.

Chris was brought out of his indignant thoughts when the cellphone he had in his pocket vibrated. He took the phone out and looked at the screen and saw he had a message, "When will you be home daddy? We miss you, please hurry back so we can play!" Chris felt a smile come to him at reading the message as it reminded him of those that were waiting for him.

The students here didn't know nor had any asked him about the matter of family which he had. Chris did have one for himself even if it had changed over his life since most that were family to him were short-lived. The current members of his immediate family brought him such joy and extreme happiness so that he treasured them. His "girlfriend" he'd mentioned to those that had expressed interest in a relationship was in truth his wife, and Chris couldn't be more content with her and the children they'd had together. That was one of the major issues he had with school, it cut down on the time he used to get with his kids which he so enjoyed. So, the message from one of his younger kids really brightened Chris's mood as he missed them as well. Plus, he had promised them he would play with them after school and fully intended to go straight home for that activity.

Chris started his reply message with happy thoughts filling his mind to the point that he had a small smile on his face. It was the first genuine smile Chris had today since leaving home, the smiles he'd shown had been artfully displayed for being forced. However, as Chris was typing out his reply, the sound of the classroom door sliding open came and was followed by girls starting to squeal the word "Prince" and "Kiba-kun". At first, Chris attempted to ignore the noise and concentrated on writing his reply to his kids. But after a moment, he couldn't keep pretending there was nothing happening in the room.

He glanced up and noticed that there was a newcomer in the room, and they were surrounded by the girls. He was a young man with what would be called a "pretty boy-like" face from what Chris saw. The guy's blonde hair and a mole under his eye just added to the attractiveness the girls were drawn by and their reactions were grating in Chris's view. Additionally, Chris instantly sensed the boy was putting off a demonic aura, thus meaning he was one of the minions shackled and bound to one of the girls he had seen through his shadow puppet. It proved Chris's expectation of the young she-devils in their approach. He didn't like being right about this as it was nothing more than an annoyance he would be forced to handle. It was a tad sooner than he figured, but the answer would not be different from the firm refusal he gave them.

Chris shook his head at the reaction of the students even if the behavior of humans was amusing at times. He instead went back to typing his reply message to his kids giving little attention to the blonde kid. It was one of his normal responses to most of those from the Biblical factions, ignoring them and their agendas. The behavior was the more successful method he'd used as around half would leave Chris alone after a bit taking the unsaid hint. It got the message to leave him alone fairly well to a good portion without a mess being made. And Chris knew less mess drew less attention to him and those he cared about, which was why Chris did such by habit now. Sure, there were some that didn't take the clear hint and Chris dealt with them on a case-by-case basis. Yet, it had been decades since the last group that had been stupid enough to press and demand attention from Chris. And it was also because of that group of devils that had Chris not want anything to do with them even after decades had gone by.

He was sending his reply to his kids when the demonic power approached his desk meaning the boy was doing what he was probably here to do. One of the she-devils here would be stupidly insistent with their greedy selfishness and Chris would have to "educate" them. With that in mind, Chris put a blank expression on his face before looking up at the guy who he found smiling slightly. "Hello, I'm Yuuto Kiba. You must be Christopher Maxwell," the blonde said in a polite tone.

At one time, Chris could and normally would terrify those that needlessly bother him because he had the ability to. The things he'd done to scare others ranged from out-right mean to close to evil. Chris could break others physically, mentally, and emotionally with relative ease and send them crying in terror from him. However, that was again part of what had given him the reputation he had worked so hard to play down. Being the one seen as the scariest dragon had some perks, but overall, the fear of others had more problems than good points.

But that was why Chris was so grateful to his life-mate for her curtailing the urge and habit to terrify others over the time of their relationship. She had done wonders for him and helped overall in the long run even if times like this made it hard to not resort to old habits. So, as Chris shouldn't outright scare the pants off this guy among other things, he forced a fake smile to be polite. "Indeed, that's my name though I prefer Chris instead of my full first name. So then, did you need something from me," he asked nicely as he could. Yet internally, Chris was growing beyond bored with school today and wanted to leave. He was thinking of an excuse for whatever this guy was going to ask so that he would leave as he waited for a reply. The quicker that this devil left, the sooner that Chris could leave and go home to spend time with his family.

And yet, Chris took note that the entire class seemed to have gone silent at the two of them talking and were watching them. "Actually, my president, Rias Gremory of the Occult Research Club was wondering if you could come over to the clubhouse. She is very interested in meeting and getting to know you," Kiba said half expecting him to accept right away. The expectation wasn't unheard of, after all, there were many of the students who would be eager to meet Rias Gremory. She was one of the most popular girls in the school as well, so this was an easy task for Kiba.

However, Chris wasn't pleased to have been right about the redhead, though his skills of observation were right most of the time which came from lots of experience. And the shadow puppet that he had sent said that the girl would be stupid and mess with him and how right they had been. Then, if that wasn't annoying enough, the girl hadn't even had the courtesy to approach him herself and ask for a meeting and that was insulting. It sent the message whether intentional or not that he wasn't important enough for the message sender to take the time to talk directly. And while Chris knew devils thought themselves above the other around them, he didn't like such a show of disrespect. "Is that so? Well, I'm sorry to say that I cannot this afternoon as I have plans already which I see no reason to change. That said, please do give my apologies to your president for refusing her invitation this afternoon." Chris paused then finished this so he could slip away from this place and get onto more valuable things. "If she still wants to chat, then we can do so tomorrow morning should that work with her. That is my offer, take it or leave it as you like." After saying that, Chris didn't wait for a reply just finished packing up his bag and stood up to leave the school and go home. The room had gone silent at Chris's reply as he had declined/refused a request from Rias Gremory. The idea was pretty much unheard of around the school as the Occult Research Club was the club one everyone wanted to be in.

Chris paused when there were gasps and when he glanced around, he saw shocked looks on the other students' faces. The reaction suggested that the devils in which this Gremory girl was likely the redhead had a lot of influence on the students. That didn't change his answer, his kids were waiting for him, and he wanted to spend time with them anyways. Family always came first for Chris, no exception nor debate, he would enforce the point when needed and others foolishly pushed him. But Chris hadn't expected the devils to have this much influence in the school. However, when Chris's gaze came back to Kiba's he saw that the blonde still stood firm, clearly not accepting his response. That stood as a testament that the devils here were the same as most others he had encountered, they were greedy and selfish idiots that were irritating. Yet, Chris had to admit the guy had serious balls for standing in his way, or else was blissfully ignorant of how dangerous doing that happened to be. "I'm sorry, but Buchou is quite eager to meet you as soon as possible, so I insist you meet her now," Kiba added putting the emphasis in there that Rias would not take no as an answer.

Once again, Chris was reminded of why he wasn't the fondest of those from the three biblical factions. There were different reasons for each of the factions and for devils, it was their general mentality of being superior that irked him the most. There were only a select few exceptions to the mentality, which two if not three of the current faction's leaders were among those few. Most devils believed others shouldn't refuse them in their "requests" or you could call them demands in truth. Sadder still, if Chris wasn't mistaken with his suspicions, the redhead was likely related to Sirzechs. Chris actually liked the current Lucifer as he was a friend since he and his wife had helped Chris and Aria out a time or two in the past. Their meeting was a story for a different time as it had happened decades ago. The fact of the matter was, if this Rias Gremory was related to him, then Chris would be sending Zechs a message to get to the redhead to leave him be.

In response to what Kiba said, Chris's smile morphed into an expressionless face that went beyond deadpanned. Chris's hair seemed to part and reveal his gold eyes and Kiba was made to pause. When Kiba looked into Chris's eyes he felt a very clear icy chill go through himself and Kiba couldn't explain why. The eyes looked empty and felt like those one would find belonged to a merciless monster eying you to decide whether to end your life or not. "Allow me to make some things clear to you so that you can make sure your president understands as well," Chris started. "Being a member of a particular club or organization does not automatically mean you have the authority to order others around." Chris's voice had gained a cold tone to it.

Chris then paused and lost a bit of the cold feel he was putting off, "Surprising as it may be, I have a life outside of this school even if other students don't. And what that involves is more important to me than meeting with someone who sees requesting to chat as insignificant enough that they have someone else deliver their invitation rather than doing it themselves face-to-face as proper manners would dictate. My offer of meeting her tomorrow stands, either you take that, or your president will have to approach me themselves and discuss a time with me personally. If that should be a problem, then I see no reason to meet with her as she apparently has other worries on her mind to deal with first."

Kiba swallowed and felt cold terror gazing into the eyes of Maxwell which kind of fear he hadn't experienced in years. There was something about them that sent chills through him, and he couldn't explain why. Perhaps it was the cold emptiness that held Kiba, or that it was like a true monster was gazing at him, he couldn't be sure which. Chris continued, "Now then Mr. Kiba, school has ended for the day, and I have things to do this afternoon, you are blocking my path. So please move, a gentleman I may be, but block me and that will change very quickly, and it won't be a nice situation for you."

Kiba moved without further thought, which Chris then walked forward paying no heed to the murmurings around him as he left the room. That left a flabbergasted Kiba behind who knew that he would get an earful from Rias. Yet, something within his heart told him that would be better than what he could have received if he hadn't done what Mr. Maxwell had told him to do. The terror he had felt was the fear for one's life and it was a type of fear that is distinct and unmistakable. Why he had felt the fear with Maxwell, Kiba didn't know but that wasn't the main question in his mind.

Chris didn't waste time in leaving the school grounds, calming down, and letting go of the irritation he was feeling as he went. The thoughts of the time he would get with his kids helped that process along which helped his mood. However, Chris's mood climb stopped when his senses told him he was being followed. The scent was that of the young devil and youkai from earlier which irked Chris as this said that the redhead Gremory was insisting on being nosy. And while it wasn't surprising, it was certainly still annoying to deal with. With the girl likely following him to find out where he lived, he wanted to handle her before proceeding. Chris didn't want devils showing up around his home, especially not around his family.

The last time that happened hadn't ended well for those that had gone around his family. To be honest, Chris had massacred the devils that had tried to in truth to use his family as a means to have sway over him. If those devils had been all there had been back then, things would have been fine, but other devils had come after the idiots that started the issue had been killed adding to the death count. In the end, it had been Zechs that had stepped in and gotten things to stop. Chris had thanked him for the assistance as the blood being spilled had been getting annoying to clean up. So, to deal with his current stalker and send a message to back off, Chris used magic to vanish and reappear in a nearby tree and waited for the girl to reveal herself.

It wasn't long before Koneko came out from behind the tree she had been watching Maxwell from. He had been there a moment ago and then just vanished completely from not just sight, but from all senses as well. That took real effort as even his scent disappeared like it had not been there at all. Koneko had just been doing as Rias had asked her after Kiba came back with the refusal of Mr. Maxwell. The things Kiba had said hadn't made sense to her, it had more sounded like something had scared him and he didn't scare easily. Plus, Koneko was kind of curious about this guy as she could tell nothing about him and that didn't happen often. However, she still was wary of him as there were things about the boy which were unsettling.

Chris at seeing the girl appearing teleported to be right behind her, "May I ask what you are doing Miss," he posed. Koneko jumped in genuine surprise and then spun around to find herself gazing directly into golden eyes that belonged to Christopher Maxwell. There had been nothing to say that this guy had moved either when he disappeared or when he got behind her somehow. To be able to trick or hide from Youkai's senses was extremely difficult and this was the first individual that Koneko had encountered that was able to do that. One thing was clear to Koneko from this experience, this person was dangerous, and she didn't want to cross him anymore.

Chris waited for a moment for the girl to explain herself, but she said nothing in response. He knew that he had an effect on others when he got serious even if Chris didn't mean to. Some of his friends had called it "draconic intimidation" and said it could be scarier than hell. It made some sense as dragons, in general, were powerful in their own right and had been around for much longer than pretty much any other faction. Chris repeated his question after a moment, "I asked you what do you think you're doing," he stated clearly.

Koneko couldn't say which was the worst thing about Christopher Maxwell was, his eyes, the tone he could talk in, or just the presence he put off. A sort of primal fear had risen in Koneko, and she couldn't explain where it had come from, only that it was caused by this boy. What Kiba had said back in the Occult Research Club room was making much more sense. The unknown parts about him just somehow made him seem all the more terrifying to Koneko. It almost felt like a predator was eyeing her as a potential meal, which got her to swallow before she spoke, "Following you," she replied.

Chris was well aware of what the girl was doing, that wasn't the point of the question he was asking, it was rhetorical. No, the point was to make sure the girl got the message that stalking or following him was foolish and to stop it immediately. Chris gave a smile, but it wasn't a nice one and meant to say to pay attention, his eyes still not leaving Koneko's. "Indeed, so you are," Chris acknowledged, "Now then, what are you going to do next, hmm," Chris inquired evenly as the tone in his voice was firm and held an air of a threat.

Koneko knew she was being threatened even if it was being done in a "nice way". The meaning was clear, back off if you value your life, that's what she got from this boy. And yet, his eyes held her as they had put a spell on her that she couldn't shake off. She felt she was staring at a monster that was just in a form that hid their nature better. The said girl hesitated for a moment before replying, "Go home," she asked a tad uncertainly.

Chris nodded, closing his eyes thereby releasing the girl from his gaze which could and normally did hold others in check. He kept his false smile as he continued, "That would be a wise choice," Chris said nicely.

The moment that Chris had closed his eyes, Koneko had felt her ability to move return to her. Chris walked away from Koneko while she sunk to her knees breathing hard trying to calm down and ignore the sheer terror that was coursing through her. She didn't even care that her cat ears and tail had come out, she was doing what she could to not shake with fear, but she was failing. Now Koneko understood why Kiba had said that there was something about Christopher Maxwell that wasn't natural and was just outright dangerous. Merely looking into his eyes gave a feeling that he could kill you with ease and without hesitation if you crossed him wrong. He had the eyes of one who had killed others, there was no mistaking that point and likely killed many in the past.

It was also obviously clear to Koneko that Rias was prodding an individual that she should not, and Koneko would tell her that. She was disturbing one that could bring death and destruction to those he chose. Koneko remembered enough of the stories that she had been told as a child to know you didn't bother those kinds of individuals if you wanted to live. Hopefully, with both what Kiba and she said to Rias, she would be more cautious and leave Maxwell alone. He was too much a risk and danger to actively engage with, Koneko was certain of that as things stood.

Once Chris felt the presence of the girl go away, he resumed his journey towards home like there had been no interruption. Chris came to a road that branched off the main road that led to a temple or Shrine and turned down it. However, the shrine wasn't his destination as he left the road before reaching the structure walking under the shelter of trees as he continued. After entering the forest that consisted of trees that were moderate distances apart and no houses which were on the outskirts of town, he kept going beginning to whistle as he went.

Then once five minutes passed, Chris knew he was alone, and no one would see him. He let out his wings which were those of a dragon and were black in color with gold spines, and the wings were a tad longer than Chris was tall. Spreading his wings out, Chris took to the sky and felt many of his worries fade as the freedom of the skies filled him. He headed over the forest heading for the far end of it where the house he had was. When he came into view of the house, Chris began his descent towards the ground with what appeared to be the greatest of ease.

The house itself was a two-story structure that was seven-thousand three-hundred ninety-five square feet in area total. Consisting of five bedrooms including the master suite, four of those were on the second floor while the master suite was on the ground floor. There were three bathrooms one with the master suite and the other two shared between the other four bedrooms. The house wasn't full as it could support many people, but right now there was only Chris's family which was made up of his wife, three children, and three others. Those three with them were Chris's friend and familiar whose name was Phina as well as his two friends by the names of Alternes and Ayano.

The house and property were hidden by a barrier that Chris had set up more out of habit and now he was glad that he did so. Normally the barrier was to prevent intruders from entering without permission as one could never know who or was what was around you and Chris would do whatever it took to protect his family. And with devils and if Chris's senses had told him right and they normally did, there were also fallen angels around, any defense would be helpful. Chris felt himself pass through the barrier as he came into land on the paved walkway that led to the front door. It was a moment later that the front door swung open and two small figures rushed out and zoomed at Chris, "Daddy!"

Chris was tackled to the grass that was on one side of the walkway by two small bodies, and a smile had come to him at the voices as they had identified who they were. He wrapped his arms around the two children and his wings did the same and he laughed happily as he embraced them. The two kids were twins, a boy and a girl who were around six years old. The boy was wearing a shirt and shorts while the girl wore a dress and shorts, both were matching dark green shorts, and a red shirt and dress. They also had blonde hair and had deep blue eyes, the girl's hair went to her shoulders and was curly at the ends while the boy's was straight and fell to his neck. The other feature that stood out with the two children was their tapered ears which were pointy at the ends. The boy's name was Charles while the girl's was Lilly and Chris nuzzled his two youngest children. "Hey you two, were you good for your mother and Phina while daddy was away," Chris asked as the three of them got up to their feet.

Charles and Lily chattered their replies as they started leading Chris to the house, and he chuckled as he was pulled along by his kids. He couldn't get enough time with his children, they always made him smile and feel happy forgetting about the other things thrown into his life. Once in the foyer, Charles and Lily began jumping up and down, "So what game are we going to play daddy," they were both squealing in sync, "We have been waiting all day!"

Chris's smile widened at the question, and he drew the two into a hug with them being so cute which caused them to giggle. He was going to answer but didn't have the chance as another spoke before him, "Charles, Lilly, what have I told you about running outside in your bare feet?"

A woman came into a view and approached Chris and the twins, she had dark skin and appeared to be physically in her early twenties. She had a voluptuous figure that was contained in a Kenpo GI that was white with red trim and a black and gold sash around the waist. Her hair was off-white in color while tied up into a neat ponytail that reached her mid-back. The woman's eyes were a stunning red-orange shade and she had gold markings around her eyes on both sides. The woman's stern expression changed to surprise upon seeing Chris with his kids, "Chris," she uttered before she bowed politely, "welcome home, my apologies for not seeing you there."

Chris kept smiling, "It's fine Phina, I'm later than I thought I would be due to some unexpected issues coming up," he said to his friend. Phina was a friend of Chris's and was the one that did the housework and watched over his kids when he couldn't and he trusted her completely. They had met quite some time ago and they had been journeying together since shortly after they met. The twins charged off down the front hall and turned left which would get them to the family room while Chris continued, "Where's Aura?"

Phina tilted her head in the direction the twins had run off in after Phina had seen Chris. So, he walked off down the hall and followed the path his twins had gone down towards the Family room. In there the twins were already sitting on a large maroon sofa and were munching on popcorn while they stared at a widescreen TV playing the Pokémon. Besides Charles was a third child who was a girl who appeared to be eleven years old and unlike her two siblings, she had sand-colored hair like Chris that reached her neck. She wore a violet dress with blue frills on it and she was barefoot like her siblings. Her eyes were grey just like her grandmother's, and Chris could attest to the similarity.

Aura was currently munching lazily on a cookie as she watched the show with her brother and sister. Chris moved to be right in front of Aura and knelt down so that he was eye to eye with his oldest daughter, "Hey sweetheart," Chris greeted in a gentle tone. "Have you been having a good day? Kept your siblings out of trouble and helping your mother," Chris asked before caressing his daughter's cheek with a hand.

His oldest daughter was different than her two younger siblings as she didn't talk a lot even around family members. That trend started not too long after her mother had become sick and less active. During that time Chris had been less able to be there for his eldest daughter and so she had spent time with her grandmother. By the time Chris had helped stabilize his wife's health, he had turned and had done what he could to help her. But Aura had just developed to emulate her grandmother as time had gone on as a means to cope. That didn't mean that Chris loved Aura any less, he would do anything for her and loved to see her smiles rare as the expression had become.

Aura didn't say anything to her father as normal, just nodded and leaned slightly into the affectionate gesture he was giving her. Chris leaned forward and kissed Aura's forehead and hugged her before he made his way back to where Phina was. Phina had stopped at the doorway to the Family Room and had been watching the exchange between Chris and his oldest daughter with a slight smile. It was always wonderful to watch Chris with his family as he loved them so much and wouldn't hesitate to show it to them. It was something Phina had possessed herself long ago before Chris and she was happy to have learned more about family from him. It was why Phina was so grateful to Ayano and Alternes for helping her and Chris to meet. The meeting had truly changed her life for the better looking back and Phina was happier than she had ever been.

Chris walked over to Phina and the two looking back at his three children for a moment before he faced Phina. Chris knew that Phina cared about his children as if she was their aunt and Chris saw her like family even when she was his familiar. "They are settling in Chris without too much of a seeable issue," Phina stated, "Aura does seem happy when she plays with her younger siblings. Although, I have noticed that she tends to be rather protective of both Charles and Lilly while we're outside."

Chris chuckled a bit knowing the reason that Aura acted as she did with her siblings. It came from the time she spent with his mother as she has passed on the urge to protect her family as she has developed. "She got that from her grandmother and it developed within the time she spent with her I assure you Phina," he said.

Leaving the kids in the capable care of Phina, Chris headed to the other side of the house and entered the master bedroom to check on his wife. When he came into the room, he spotted a woman of average height with an extremely well-endowed figure. Her hair was the same blonde that both Charles and Lilly had though hers was longer. Her eyes were deep blue and fit her regal face though they were closed. Although, it was her long-pointed ears that stuck out the most as it identified her as an elf which race was thought to be only myth even in the supernatural world. Her beauty was unique even in the supernatural and could easily be compared to those of regality.

And as Chris stared at his life-mate he did so in awe and wonder, unable to figure out how he could have attracted and bonded with her. With how amazing she was in Chris's eyes, he couldn't explain how they had gotten together though he was humbled and grateful that they had one another. She had brightened his life in ways he would have never thought would happen to him. Chris came out of his awe and feelings of happiness before walking over to the bed sitting down gently and brushing the hair out of the face that belonged to the love of his life. It was one of the gestures of affection that Chris did for his mate Aria to show how much he cared about her. The movement did wake the said woman up and she turned her head to look at Chris and smiled, "Chris, you're home," she said quietly.

Chris leaned down and kissed her, "I can't think of anything that will keep me away for long my love. After all, you are what beautiful is to me," Chris returned, "how are you feeling Aria?"

Aria got herself to a sitting position slowly with Chris's help, "I am doing okay Chris, though your concern is very sweet," she replied.

Chris leaned close in and touched his forehead to Aria's in a loving gesture, "Of course I would be worried about you Aria, you're the light in my life," Chris said affectionately. "I couldn't imagine it without you, and I know I am not the only one that feels so, our children love you being in their lives as well."

Aria giggled at Chris's words and couldn't help but love him all the more with the care that he showed for her. Aria had been a stranger when she appeared here in this world separate from the one she had known as home. This place had been so different from even stories she had heard of other worlds yet, then she had encountered Chris and things had changed from there in so many ways. He had been so nice and kind to her who was a complete foreign stranger to the world he knew. He had even promised her that he would help her find a way to return to the world she had come from. Chris had said that he didn't want anything for helping her, he wanted to help her because he could. Yet, one thing and led to another and they had fallen in love and Aria's desire to return to the world she had known as home had faded from her heart.

Then what Chris called "the bond" had formed and that was an experience unlike any before that Aria had known and still was even now. Even the magic she knew which this world did not fully comprehend could not produce what the bond with Chris had created between the two of them. To know one another so completely even the whole soul of the other was a wonderful experience to Aria and she couldn't help but love Chris with all her heart. Shortly after that had come their children and with them had come happiness and joy which Aria couldn't get enough of. For elves, children were rare and so were seen as treasures for those that had them. Aria had three which was close to unheard of for her race and so she was happy that they had come into her life along with Chris.

The two moved into an embrace enjoying one another's presence as they always did. The feeling was only amplified by the bond between their souls which had formed when they made vows to each other. They were content with being together and neither wished for things to change in that respect. Aria's health was always on Chris's mind, but he set aside time to spend with his wife to show he loved her.

After checking on and making sure Aria was okay as well as having some time with her, Chris returned to his children and played with them as he had promised. It was always a highlight of Chris's day to spend time with his children. They were some of the joy he had in his life and that was motivation to protect them. In the past, Chris had proven just how far he was willing to go to defend his family. There was nothing he wouldn't do to protect them from those that would harm or take advantage of them.

Once evening fell, he made dinner for the kids before getting them washed up and put to bed. He stopped while heading towards his room and sought out Phina and when he found her, he gave her an assignment. "Phina, would you tell both Alternes and Ayano to strengthen the power of the defensive barrier around the house. After what I've dealt with today, I would feel better with security tighter and increase the watch of the area." Chris sighed, "It wouldn't surprise me if the devils around here try to intrude in on us and start acting like they run the place when they don't. And I would like to avoid potential messes and strained explanation that would have to follow if possible."

Phina agreed with Chris on this subject as devils rarely minded their own business and stayed out of others' when they should. It was, unfortunately, a common point with devils but had just been getting worse within the last few centuries. They were greedy and foolish pretty much from their creation which tended to be a bad combination in general, yet it had been getting steadily worse with each passing generation. The current generation especially was showing themselves to be nosy and rude along with greedy and selfish, so they were more irritating to deal with. "I will do as you request Chris," Phina replied as she bowed her head.

Phina left the room and Chris was considering what else he could do to curtail issues going forward. And as he thought, a figure came out of his shadow and took the form of a woman. Chris sensed the individual who was one of his shadow puppets taking on the form they once had. And Chris knew the specific individual as they popped up when he dealt with devils more often than not. "You have advice for me concerning a good way to proceed forward in this then," he posed turning to face the figure.

The individual had tan skin with silky-looking dark-brown hair that flowed down her back. Her figure was like a number in the supernatural above what humans have naturally, with the curves in what was seen in all the right places. Her eyes were purple, and she was in a formal dress that would be seen as old fashion by modern standards. She bowed to Chris, "Indeed I do Shadus and it comes from my time before joining the Throng," she replied.

The "Throng" was what all the shadow puppets called their collective group and what they were a part of. They shared consciousness by what Chris had understood, though many kept portions of their personalities they had before but shared much with one another. Chris had encountered the "creature" for lack of a better term that was the Throng long ago. The Throng served Chris with zeal and would do anything he asked them to without hesitation after he had saved it when they had crossed paths. It had grown and become more powerful when it absorbed another into it which had morphed into his shadow puppets. The Throng and those that now made up its consciousness saw helping Chris as the greatest honor. A few of them would talk to Chris from time to time especially when he was dealing with some from a particular faction or kinds of individuals. So, Chris gestured to the woman, "Then go ahead Leviathan," he said.

The woman smiled, "Please just call me Katrina, being addressed by the name I had when I was a devil and Satan long ago feels tedious and unbecoming. Plus, I prefer to be less formal with you master, we in the Throng are but your humble servants and followers."

Chris nodded, "If you say so Katrina," he returned, "So then, what advice do you have for me in handling these two young devils that will likely cause annoying problems for me? As you should know, my family's safety is important to me above other things and I'll not let others jeopardize it needlessly or really at all."

"And rightly so Shadus," Katrina started, "There is no doubt in my view that the two young heiresses will pursue you, master, as I said they would before when I watch them on your orders. You are more than interesting to them as you stick out in a few ways that others don't though you hide your unique qualities well. Unfortunately, devils, in general, aren't known for letting their passions and interests go even if it would be best for them to. So, instead of confronting them directly, I would suggest appealing to their pillars as devils have become so wrapped up in family name and honor. Such notions and regards are quite ridiculous looking back on it, but that is one of the lessons I have learned from the Throng. But I believe going beyond them and to their families would work to your advantage in this situation."

Chris thought about what Katrina said and agreed that she had a point with devils being very concerned with their clan's honor and prestige. He had seen evidence of the idea with the vast majority of devils though not all were like that. So, he nodded as he made his decision, "Indeed, you have a good point Katrina, thank you for the suggestion," he remarked.

Katrina bowed with a smile forming on her face, "It is an honor to be of assistance to you master, there is no greater joy or pleasure for any of us in the Throng than to be of help to you," she said before she vanished into the shadows again.

Chris figured that speaking directly to those that were in charge of devils would get the message across best to whomever it needed to get to. And in this case, Sirzechs Lucifer would be a place to start as the redhead could and likely was related to him. With his help, perhaps he could get her to back off better than Chris could without resorting to more messy methods. Although, the last time he had talked with Zechs, the man had gone into rambling about his "cute little sister". Sadder still, for all Chris knew the redhead could be that said little sister though he hoped not as that would make things more difficult overall. Yet, with how much resemblance there was between the two they were likely related and siblings were he to guess. So, Chris took out his phone and dialed the number he had for Zechs, and started the call. It was on the fifth ring that the other end picked up the call, "Hello, Gremory Household, may I ask whose calling," said a voice that was female.

"Hey Grayfia, it's me, Chris, I need to speak with Zechs about something that has come up recently that I think he may be able to assist with. Would he be available," Chris asked.

"Please give me a moment to check, I believe he should be. Please also give my well-wishes to Aria," Grayfia replied.

"I will Grayfia, thanks for the thought, it is appreciated," Chris returned and waited for the one he had called to talk to.

There were a few devils that Chris was okay with being around and speaking with on a regular basis, and Sirzechs Lucifer was one of them. The man wasn't the real serious type unless he had to be which Chris could respect the quality rare as it was. And though Zechs may be in the politics of the devils, as an individual he was fine to Chris. Plus, over the years, Zechs and he had gotten to know each other and had become friends. Chris was brought out of his thoughts when the one he was calling came on the phone, "Chris, this is an unexpected surprise to hear from you, to what do I owe the pleasure, my friend," Zechs inquired in greeting.

Chris knew that Zechs would want to avoid a messy issue as much as Chris himself wanted to. And since the said issue Chris had likely involved his relative, Chris came to Zechs to get things going better and not have a mess result. So, Chris took a deep breath before taking the plunge into the matter he was calling about. "Well Zechs, you see, I recently moved into an area that," he started but Chris was unable to finish as Zechs interrupted him. "You moved, I do hope your family is doing okay after that since your wife's health isn't the best," Zechs remarked.

A sigh escaped Chris as he knew that Zechs meant well, but it would be nice to be able to finish a thought. It was nice of him to be worried about Aria as he was one of the few that knew of her condition, but there were more pressing matters. "Aria is doing okay, thanks for the concern Zechs, but that isn't why I'm calling," Chris stated. "My reason for calling you is the town I'm around has devils present and the town is named Kouh if that rings any bells for you."

Chris heard Zechs groan when he said the town name which told him that deciding to call Zechs was the right choice. "Yes, I know the town you're talking about," Zechs said.

Chris paused for a moment, "You wouldn't happen to have a relative in the town, would you Zechs," he asked.

"Yes, I do, my sister in fact," Zechs replied then paused, "I assumed that she has approached you."

Had Zechs's sister approached Chris? That was a complicated and insulting point to question as the girl had sent one of her minions to demand he see her. Chris exhaled, "Yes and no, she sent someone else to fetch me earlier today. That's insulting to in essence demand a conversation, but I supposed commenting about the upcoming generation of devils lacking common manners is close to pointless these days as it wouldn't change much if anything." Chris stopped for a second and then got out what he wanted to, "However, Zechs, the reason that I'm calling you is to prevent an issue for you, others, and myself. You see, when I was looking in on the redhead who according to you is your sister and another devil, they were talking about me. The subject matter was something to the effect of being interested in adding me to their peerages which won't happen for a number of reasons as you know."

Zechs wasn't liking what he heard at all. Chris being around Kouh was odd but shouldn't be much of an issue as long as Rias and Sona didn't bother him. Prodding a dragon never was a smart idea for any to do, more a death wish to put it mildly depending on which dragon was being prodded. However, it sounded like the two were foolishly looking into him already which wouldn't end well. And Zechs was glad Chris had reached out to him rather than Serafall, she would have instantly gone to Kouh to "visit" Chris and reveal who he was. It was far better Rias and Sona did not know who Chris was, it would prevent so many problems.

Chris stopped for a moment as the redhead had seemed rather insistent as well as reckless about acquiring members for her peerage. Why she was so focused on the task made no difference to Chris himself so long as he and his family were kept out of it but that was questionable. With that in mind, Chris continued, "And your sister seemed rather reckless about acquiring members by what I got. It isn't my business why she is doing so Zechs, and I normally don't care what those like her do as long as it doesn't involve me or my family. So, with that in mind Zechs, I state for the record that your sister is to back off, leave me alone, and stay away from my family. That's why I have come to you, so that you may step in and explain things to her rather than me doing so since it will go better in the end as we both know."

Zechs was far more than worried at this situation that had developed, not just for Rias but those around her as well. He knew why Rias was trying to get more peerage members, it was for the engagement with Riser. But she was setting herself up for a far worse issue unknowingly and he would do what he could to prevent her getting into problems. Should Chris have to explain things to Rias and her peerage, they could be scared out of their minds and need serious help to have that undone. "I'll see what I can do to prevent that being needed," Zechs returned.

"I hope you can Zechs," Chris replied. "As you are a friend, I would prefer to not have hurt feelings between us. But should she not take the hint to stay out of my business, I will give her a warning," Chris stated. "I make no promises of there being no side-affects from said warning as that can happen. In that instance, if niceties don't work with her and I doubt they would, I will be blunt and to the point and you are well-aware of how that tends to go Zechs." Chris took a breath, "I'll promise that should your sister threaten my family she will be made to regret it. For your sake, I hope you can get the message over to her as I would like this to go smoothly. You know that I don't like messes as happened with the last bunch of devils who crossed lines with me."

Zechs sighed, knowing what Chris was referring to as it had been a disaster to put it mildly. A group of devils had tried to use Chris's family as hostages and in the end, Chris had killed them. truthfully, Chris had massacred them and Zechs and Ajuka had to do an amount of work to get the clans they had belonged to, to agree to let the issue go and be quiet about it. "Oh I remember what occurred to them, and I'll get the message over to the other pillar concerned as well. So, I ask you to be patient with my sister," Zechs replied.

Chris took a moment to gather his thoughts since he didn't want to have bad feelings between himself and Zechs. "I'll do my best Zechs, I just hope your sister doesn't push me hard enough for this to become a serious issue."

The call ended and with that plan in motion to defend his family, Chris then returned to his room and Aria before retiring for the night. Chris knew that the next day would bring changes that he wasn't looking forward to it as he would likely meet with the devils. Zechs may get to his sister before tomorrow, but then he might not, and Chris would have to deal with the redhead. He would tell her the truth straight and get her to back off whether he had to scare her good to do that or not. He would rather avoid a blood bath if at all possible as he knew that would strain things between him and Zechs.

Having to deal with devils wasn't the nicest thing to Chris and he had more experience in the idea than he liked. He tolerated them most of the time or just ignored them until they moved on to something else. But there were those that couldn't leave well enough alone and they didn't have a good ending. The last group of devils that had tried to get to him through his family, Chris had wiped them out. The bloodbath that had occurred had been harsh, but that's what fools get for messing with a dragon and what is theirs. It had been Zechs stepping in to end that issue which Chris appreciated his intervention.

To be honest, he would rather be researching to help Aria and cure her condition but finding the time to do that was difficult lately. She was losing strength each day as her life force was fading bit by bit and was horrible for Chris to watch. Chris was attempting to find a way to stop that and stabilize her so that she would be okay in the long run. But her condition was complicated, and Chris knew that, but he would find a way to help the love of his life. Her being from somewhere else was one of the main factors that Chris and friends of his were working on finding a way to counteract, but with little success.

When the next morning came, Chris did his usual morning routine: getting up, kiss and telling Aria he loved her before getting the kids up. He would help them wash their faces and brush their teeth before he and Phina made breakfast for everyone. Afterward, Chris put on his school uniform, and once he did a lengthy goodbye to the kids and Phina, telling his kids to heed their mother and listen to Phina. He wasn't interested in attending school but it was needed for the time being so, he tolerated it. Although today wasn't looking like it would be a fair one or short to Chris with the meeting with the devils looming ahead if they accepted which it was likely.

He was making his way through the forest to the shrine/temple road as Chris was putting aside his irritation. Chris turned onto the rural temple road facing towards the academy keeping his pace steady even when he knew boredom was ahead of him. Still, he was enjoying the little time he was getting devil-free as he doubted it would last long. He was proven right as shortly after making it to the road, the day began the dive Chris suspected it would be with devils being involved. "Ara, ara, if it isn't the new transfer student," a seductive female voice said.

Chris twisted around and held in the groan when he saw the source of the voice as he was not in the mood to deal with others bothering him just yet. However, his well-developed manners thanks to his father's teaching and drilling made it so he couldn't be rude right away. It was one of the things he praised his father about at times and cursed the lessons at others. But then, Chris's mother wasn't a shining example of how to deal with social situations, she was quite the opposite in fact. His mother was horrible with socially dealing with people, and Chris suspected that it came from the other she had a serious issue with. The individual was one that she just referred to as the "noisy idiot" and no other name, so Chris didn't really know who his mother had such a problem with. But he could tell that whoever it was, there was long-standing crap his mother had with them.

Back to the present, walking up towards Chris was none other than one of the girls that he had seen yesterday through his shadow puppet who had been Katrina. Chris didn't know the girl's full name, but he had heard the girl's last name was something like Himejima if he recalled correctly since she was one of the more popular girls at school. Not that Chris really cared much about teenaged popularity, it was a drama that he wasn't interested in and found ridiculous. He had Aria after all and she was all he needed as a life-mate and none could equal her in his eyes. Still, Chris plastered a slight smile on his face out of habit, "Yes, my name is Chris Maxwell, but I can't say that I've heard your name yet Miss," he replied politely leaving the end open for her to supply her name.

The giggle she gave was not what Chris was expecting for it was genuine and not forced. Devils were well-known to put up a good face to make themselves look good, it was what they did. But it was as she walked up to him purposely trying to flaunt her body towards him that irritation flared up in Chris. He didn't appreciate another woman that he didn't really know flirting with him like this as he was bonded to Aria. With what Chris had with Aria, he cherished the bond beyond any other relationship he kept. There was absolutely nothing that would shake his loyalty to her and it irritated him when others tried testing that even if unintentionally.

Nonetheless, when Chris took in what his senses were telling him, there were signs of the girl being a Fallen Angel along with being a devil. Thus, Chris had to conclude that this girl had been originally a Fallen Angel before being reincarnated or was the offspring between one and a human before becoming a devil. What that said about the girl could point to many things, but Chris didn't go further than sensing the fallen heritage. Both devils and fallen were carnal-minded to an extent and Chris didn't agree with that the majority of the time.

Akeno, on the other hand, was intrigued by this transfer student as he was quite the mystery. The things that Kiba and Koneko had said strongly suggested there was more to this individual than met the eye. They had even been scared of Maxwell but couldn't say what had scared them so much other than "something about him" that had made them fear for their lives. Koneko had even come back last night scared as could be telling Rias to stay away from Maxwell. Then several rumors were circulating around the school since the first day, the biggest of which was Mr. Maxwell had a girlfriend, but no other details about that. Akeno thought that perhaps she could get more information employing her feminine charms for Rias. Plus, she could also have some fun in the process and she was all for that, "My name is Akeno Himejima, it is nice to meet you officially," she replied.

Chris nodded in acknowledgment but said nothing vocally instead resuming his way towards the school choosing to ignore the girl and her potential flirting she may do. However, Akeno was not going to give up, not without a better amount of effort made on her part. Despite the warnings both Kiba and Koneko had given Rias, she wanted to find out more about the mysterious transfer student. Akeno was aware that Rias's decision was due to her attempt to find powerful recruits to deal with her engagement with Riser Phenex. Combined with the redhead girl's usual stubbornness, Akeno knew that unless something really big happened, Rias would not back down.

And luckily, Christopher Maxwell seemed to live somewhere that passed by the shrine she called home. That was information that was new as the school didn't have a physical address for him. That was odd as pretty much all the students had an address on their record, but Maxwell didn't. If she could find out where he lived, then perhaps later she and others from Rias's peerage could visit. The more opportunity to get to know more the better information on Maxwell they had and that could help future planning. Back to the current time, Akeno came to walk beside Chris, her signature smile on her face. "So then, Maxwell-kun, do you live near here," she asked sweetly.

Chris glanced at her not liking her asking about things that weren't her business. He had defenses put up around his house for the protection of his family and no devil would try to worm their way past them while he was able to prevent it. Their honey-tongue words didn't work on him as he was wiser than to believe what came from devils he didn't know. The last bunch of them had to learn that the hard way messing with Chris by paying with their lives in the end. Chris adopted a blank face before replying, "Yes, but I would prefer to not go into great detail other than I do like to be further away from large populaces personally. Am I to assume that you live somewhere in the area as well," he questioned indifferently.

"Yes I do, I live a couple of blocks away in fact, at the shrine," Akeno said.

Then Akeno wrapped her arms around Chris's right arm bringing it to be in between her breasts. From her experience, boys would be much more cooperative when she let them feel her breasts touching them. However, Chris didn't like what the girl was doing as this was something that he was only inclined to let Aria or his children do with him. His face gained a hint of coldness to it, which Akeno noted but ignored the change. "Is there a reason why you're holding onto my arm like that," Chris asked flatly.

"Is there something wrong with me wanting to get to know my fellow schoolmate," Akeno inquired seductively with a giggle. She pressed her bust against his arm more to try and calm him down as he appeared to be getting worked up. The idea worked most of the time with boys and men by Akeno's experience which came from fulfilling devil contracts, so she assumed that it would be the same here.

Yet, the action only further annoyed Chris as she was forcefully flirting with him when he had a woman who he loved with all his heart. He wouldn't do anything to betray Aria's trust in him as the very idea was beyond sickening to him, so he quickly shook her off his arm. Chris's reaction caused Akeno to pout a bit as it had been a while since a male had refused her advances so quickly. "Well, first off Miss Himejima, we don't even have the same classes nor are we in the same year, so there is no reason for you to want to know me," Chris stated firmly.

Although Chris knew the reason that this girl was doing what she was since devils were well-known for their seductive nature, it didn't change the fact he didn't like what she was doing. And refusing her advances was easy as he loved Aria more than any other and that wouldn't change. Also, this girl wasn't his type anyway, more a kind he disliked and frowned down upon truthfully. "And second, if you haven't heard the school's gossip by this point, I already have a girlfriend and it's true. So, I would appreciate it if you stopped your attempts to seduce me into being improper and disloyal to her thank you. Besides the point, and do not take offense, you're not my type Miss, I don't like the company those that sell their bodies along with their integrity to get what they or others want," Chris politely returned as he sped up his pace leaving a shocked Akeno where she was.

Akeno was stunned as a man refusing her advances was just so rare and hadn't happened for a while. True, there were rumors that he had a girlfriend, but he had basically confirmed that to her now. And honestly, she had to admit a bit of respect that he was showing himself to be so fiercely loyal to whoever the girl was and refused Akeno herself. The last line was odd, but it said he had a preference for those he kept as company at least. Perhaps, Kiba and Koneko had more of a point than Rias had thought, and she may be playing a dangerous game in pursuing Christopher Maxwell. She still didn't fully understand what Kiba or Koneko were referring to when they said he was dangerous and some sort of "monster". His voice had gained a cold tone and it had been a tad unsettling, but not in the way that her fellow peerage members implied there was.

Back with Chris, things just seemed to get more tedious and annoying to equal a very unpleasant day as it moved on as things just kept piling. Events were making him look towards time with his family after school and sooner if possible. Somehow the news of him rejecting and rebuking Akeno's advances had been found out by the students and was quickly spread around the school. When he got there, Chris got mixed reactions from the students which some were annoying, and others were boring.

The male population as Chris predicted was giving him looks of hate and disbelief. From what he would guess, they couldn't decide if they should hate him or be shocked that he rejected one of the two most popular girls around the school. Teenagers hadn't changed in their overall behavior from Chris's observations from earlier days. The reactions from the female population were more diverse than the boys. While some were indeed shocked and a bit angry at the rejection, others recalled how Chris revealed that he already had a girlfriend and couldn't help but admire and be attracted to someone so loyal to their girlfriend. Either way, Chris didn't change his polite behavior, except when he had to defend himself when boys attacked him for his 'unforgivable sin' as they put it. Then he sent them on their way firmly doing his best not to scare them too much as that would result in other rumors that Chris would rather not have to go around.

The day didn't drag on as much as Chris feared it might to his relief, yet then came the meeting he went to which he'd offered yesterday. It was after the first two classes ended, and Chris was considering a place to perhaps get some privacy from the other students. Truthfully, he was debating on slipping away from school early to get away from the crap he was dealing with along with the tedium. However, as he was about to slip away, he was found by the girl from before that had been stalking him.

Koneko stood before Maxwell, still retaining her blank and stoic stare though there was a hint of hesitation in her eyes. She was still really scared of the guy, what she had seen in his eyes last night had shaken her to the core. Not being able to tell much if anything about another was unsettling, more than Koneko thought it would be. Last night had proved to her that Maxwell wasn't what he appeared and whatever kind of monster he was should be avoided. His gaze had been terrifying as it was one of a cold killer and she couldn't forget it. He was the first individual like this that Koneko had encountered, and it was enough for her to be cautious of him. Koneko suspected that Kiba had a similar experience as her as he was wary of Maxwell for the same reasons. Yet, Rias hadn't listened to either her or Kiba's warnings about prodding Maxwell being unwise. She had insisted on meeting him and talking to him directly and wouldn't accept any other answer. Plus, Maxwell took notice of her approach and he waited for her to speak meaning she couldn't get out of this assignment. So, Koneko took a deep breath, "Buchou would like to meet you Maxwell-sempai," she said in her monotone voice.

Chris took a moment to decide whether it was worth meeting with them at this time or refusing. After a moment, he figured he could make things clear, and then perhaps the devils would leave him alone. He doubted it would be that easy since devils were persistent unfortunately by Chris's experience. But how far they went would be what either doomed them or kept them alive. Along with that, it would be a chance to check on Hyoudou personally and maybe an opportunity to talk to the Welsh Dragon if he really was Ddraig's current host. In any case, it would be a chance to confirm or dismiss the point, and Chris didn't see a reason to say no. "Very well, I did offer to meet with her this morning, and I am a man of my word," Chris said to Koneko and gestured for her to lead the way. Although surprised by Maxwell agreeing to meet with Rias, Koneko made no signs of it as she led him towards the Occult Research Club building.

Meanwhile, Rias had decided to take a shower while waiting for Kiba and Koneko to bring by Issei and Christopher Maxwell. The refusal that Mr. Maxwell had made to Kiba was a tad unexpected yesterday from any at the school. But as he had made an alternative offer to Kiba it showed that he could be reasonable, and Rias could respect that since it was not as common as it could be. The more Rias found out about Maxwell the more she wanted to know about him being such a mystery. It also made her all the more interested in having him join her peerage and she needed more help.

However, she still wondered what had happened with Koneko last night as she had returned clearly scared about something. All she had said was Rias should stop pursuing Maxwell and that he wasn't what he appeared to be. Her rook had also said something about Maxwell being some sort of "monster". The things about Maxwell that had been said by Kiba and Koneko had been so odd, but it inferred that the boy was powerful in some way. The more powerful individuals she had the better chance she would have against Riser and that issue was coming closer to the time she couldn't ignore it.

As Koneko guided him, Chris didn't show the slightest bit of interest in the old school building's design which was different than was normal in Japan. He simply followed Koneko inside and down the hallways before they came to the clubroom door. She knocked on a door, "Buchou, I have brought Maxwell-sempai," Koneko said.

"Very well, let him in," Rias's voice said on the other side.

Koneko nodded and opened the door, going in followed by Chris who was thinking about other things currently. Inside was a Vatican-style room including a couch and chairs of matching red from what Chris took in. The room was fairly nice Chris would admit, but a little showy if he were to state his opinion about it. However, he knew that there were devils and individuals from other factions who could be like that. The décor of the room wasn't what brought Chris out of his own thoughts, it was more the scene of the room that he took in.

The other occupants including Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, and Issei Hyoudou which they all were so different from one another. Yet, as Chris glanced around, he saw no sign of Rias though Chris could feel her presence that Katrina had identified, so she was here. But his question was answered when he noticed Issei had a perverse look on his face. When Chris followed the boy's gaze he was certainly not pleased when he saw that Rias was taken a shower with no attempts of keeping herself hidden from other people looking at her. That irked Chris for a number of reasons as it was even worse flirting than he had dealt with earlier today with the other devil. And the point of forceful seductions was really starting to tick Chris off though he kept his irritation in check. He made a mental note to himself to have another word with Zechs about how his sister presented herself as it was poor at best.

The gape from Issei that was directed at the she-devil was disgusting to Chris as perverts were idiots to him and a waste of time and space. He had met enough perverts to know he disliked them out of a matter of principle and there were a very select few he tolerated regularly, the current leader of the fallen being a prime example. The other point of Hyoudou that Chris identified was the distinct draconic aura that came faintly off of him which said it was highly likely he was Ddraig's current host. It was sad that Ddraig was now trapped in such an idiot this go around in Chris's mind. The Welsh Dragon's previous host had been the best he'd had thus far, and Ddraig could possibly be with the worst now. And Chris had met a few of Ddraig's hosts and even Albion's hosts, so to say that Issei Hyoudou was the worst was an insult to the Welsh Dragon who Chris had befriended long ago.

As if agreeing with Chris's thoughts on Issei gaping like an idiotic pervert, Koneko who had sat down and was munching on some sweets for a moment. She then glared at Issei with unhidden disgust as his reputation that he'd gained while at the academy was clear and unquestioned. Issei Hyoudou and his two cohorts were degenerates and had harassed girls in the academy pretty much from their first day here. "Pervert," the petite girl said before going back to ignoring the boy.

Chris assumed that since he was escorted here and the air in the room wasn't one of terror or extreme worry, Zechs hadn't managed to contact this girl last night as hoped. Or possibly the she-devil hadn't listened to what Zechs had said to her which in the end was the same point. It would fall to Chris to give a warning to back off and for Zechs's sake, he would try to not scare the girl too badly if he could help it. However, where Chris may be a polite gentleman most of the time, he would put his foot down as he saw required without hesitation. He had a family consisting of a wife and kids, so being flirted with by force and seduced by other women was extremely unwelcome and insulting. To irritate a dragon was a dangerous thing for others to do and insulting them was worse, especially one like Chris. It was the reason that Chris had called Zechs, to hopefully avoid this type of thing, but it was apparently done a little too late.

Akeno at seeing Chris enter the room approached him, "Ara, if it isn't Maxwell-kun," she said, "You know it wasn't nice to brush a lady off like you did this morning." But to her surprise and slight annoyance, the young man merely looked at her with a deadpanned expression for a moment then turned away. Chris then ignored Akeno and just sat down in a chair that was the furthest away from the others in the room. Chris said nothing to any even when he was addressed by those in the room, he simply ignored them. Yet, after a few minutes, Chris gave Akeno a look and it sent a serious shiver through her as they weren't the same that she saw this morning. Chris's eyes had been the same as a cold monster that saw nothing wrong with doing what they did.

The other occupants in the room took Chris's reaction of ignoring them in different ways. Akeno tried a few more times to engage Chris even with what she saw, but she stopped after he glared at her and then didn't respond to her. Koneko kept her silence wanting to not anger Maxwell as she was still wary of him after her encounter last night. Kiba was much like Koneko, avoided interaction with the guy, and didn't draw attention to himself. The two hadn't forgotten what they had seen and felt and it was clear to them that Akeno had just seen the same thing they had.

Issei was staring at Christopher Maxwell not sure what to think of him now that he saw him in person. He'd heard many of the rumors about the guy, how could he not since he was one of the hot topics around the school. Not only had Maxwell refused Akeno's advances but had refused to meet Rias yesterday when Kiba had come and asked. It was a point that the majority of the guys in the academy could agree was seriously odd as any of them would have jumped at the chance. Sure, Maxwell was supposed to have a girlfriend by what he had mentioned to the girls that inquired and Issei cursed that a pretty boy like him did have one if that was true. But other than that, so little was known about Maxwell that most just couldn't help but wonder about him since he kept to himself. He was such a gentleman, and his manners attracted the ladies which Issei had noticed but he refused their advances, even if in a "nice way".

While he ignored the devils, Chris took out his phone and began texting Phina to let her know he would be slipping away from school early as the day was going abysmally. He had mentioned to her this morning that there was the possibility that he would be home early with what could be ahead of him. And as he'd figured, the devils were just making the day a horrid one and so, he wanted to be done and be with his family. They had brought much of the good things into his life, and he craved it with what he'd experienced during his existence. And during the times when his patience was tried like it was being right now, he craved time with his family and friends all the more.

Phina's reply to his message was quick in the form of an acknowledgment of what he said and that she would keep an eye on the children until he arrived. Chris was again grateful to Phina for looking after his children and Aria, they were so precious to him. And they were innocent enough they could be tricked by others even with Chris going to the lengths he did to protect them. He didn't trust these devils at all, and they were only making their case worse with their behavior, and so, he wouldn't let them around his family. Chris assumed as he did with most from the biblical factions, they would take advantage of others like his family to get what they wanted. It happened before now, and Chris had never forgotten the experiences nor the lessons he'd learned from those times. To be honest, his kids were far better company than the devils that he was being forced to be around right now.

At the same time, Rias was in the club room's shower and was going over her thoughts about the pending meeting. Issei Hyoudou would be a simple matter since it was more to inform him what he was now a part of. Maxwell, on the other hand, Rias didn't know how the chat with him would go. She was fairly certain that he was aware of the non-human world already, but she didn't know to what extent. Two of her servants had said in some form to stay away from the guy and that he was dangerous somehow. But with the issue involving Riser coming up, she needed powerful help even if they could be dangerous. So, once finished in the shower, Rias took the towel Akeno offered her and dried herself off. She dressed and came back into the main club room seeing both Issei and Chris were there. "Issei, Chris, I'm glad to see you both made it and I would like to welcome you to the Occult Research Club room," she greeted.

The greeting got Chris to momentarily stop his indifference to gaze at Rias with a bit of a frown marring his face with his eyes almost devoid of feeling. He knew he'd offered this "chat" yesterday more as a means to get the blonde to leave him alone at that time. And back then it had seemed like an easy thing and nothing to be very concerned with. But now he had been forced to wait on devils which was something he rarely did since it was a waste of time. Add to that, he was annoyed that this girl was insulting him actively whether she knew it or not. "If this is how you normally treat guests, Miss, then your manners need some serious improvement," Chris commented flatly.

This earned different reactions from the other occupants, Rias's eyebrow twitched at the veiled insult. Akeno giggled at Rias's reaction as if her president's anger amused her in some way. Kiba had an awkward smile on his face while Koneko paused for a moment in her eating before quickly resuming not wanting to draw attention to herself. The two didn't want Maxwell to show just how much a monster he could be to them. Issei just stared at Chris not quite believing he had heard or seen right. Maxwell had snapped an insult at Miss Gremory with a straight face and Issei wouldn't have believed any could do without seeing it himself. It was seen as an unspoken cardinal sin by the boys in school to do what Maxwell had. However, when Chris turned his gaze at him, "Pick up and shut that jaw of yours boy, you aren't helping yourself," he hissed. Issei held his tongue as the stare seriously unsettled him even if the hiss was something others did to Issei and his friends.

A moment later, Chris turned to look out the window with a bored expression and resumed ignoring the devils overall. He was also trying to think of an excuse to leave and have the devils bother him less. Yet, Chris was not coming up with much that would get the desired result without there being an issue. The main reason that Chris didn't "tell" these devils to butt out and back off in a way that would get them to do so was it would make them terrified and Chris had told Zechs he would try to avoid that.

Meanwhile, facing Christopher Maxwell was going differently than Rias had thought it would since he was responding non-nicely to her greeting. Of course, Rias wouldn't let things end on that note so easily, not with her future freedom at stake. Recomposing herself, Rias took a seat on a nearby chair folding her legs deliberately showing off her panties to the two boys. She knew Issei Hyoudou would do whatever she asked of him by just showing off a little. It was how most of the boys in the school were with Akeno and her, they were entranced by them. However, with Maxwell, he seemed to be immune to the entrancement the other males of the school fell to. And so, she didn't have any idea what would get him to do as she wanted to, so she was guessing what could potentially affect him. He was a guy, after all, thus flirting should have some sort of effect unless he was gay and there had been no signs of that. Sure, he was supposed to have a girlfriend according to rumor and what Akeno said, but whoever that was Rias was confident she had better looks than them. Rias's actions only earned her an annoyed sigh from Chris which wasn't what she had hoped for.

From Chris's point of view, the she-devil was flaunting herself in order to "attempt" to snag his attention. He wasn't amused or even the least bit interested in what she was doing, his annoyance of the action made sure of that. Chris had assumed that the girl from this morning who was in the room would have told the redhead flirting was not welcome, but apparently, that hadn't happened. This meeting was to set things straight and not for wasting his time or irritating him. Nevertheless, he would attempt to be nice and use words, more for Zechs's sake than the redhead's herself. "If you are a proper lady in any way, shape, or form," Chris began, "then you will stop showing yourself off this instant Miss Gremory. If however, you are some sort of harlot as your display suggests, then don't mind me completely disregarding you selling yourself. I'm not interested in the slightest of what you're offering, so cut it out or this meeting is over and I'm gone."

Chris folded his arms, going beyond annoyed by how these devils were conducting themselves. Normally, having to be around devils was tiring enough without their habits and egos adding to the problem. Gremory was worse due to the fact of her trying to tempt him to be her slave like she no doubt did with the males of this school. If not for the possibility of Ddraig being in a kid here, then Chris wouldn't be around Kouh. Having to deal with the devil's Satan Serafall was more tolerable and unfortunately agreeable than this group right now, and that was saying something coming from Chris. He didn't like the times that he had been around Serafall Leviathan much at all, she was nice but her childish attitude got on his nerves really fast. His kids loved her as she was like a big kid herself and Aria got along with her, so Chris ignored the annoyance he felt with her most of the time. "Not only are such actions immature but I find it fairly insulting for you trying to seduce someone who has a good relationship with another," Chris stated. "And I do have a girlfriend as Miss Himejima I assume informed you of already today."

Rias gulped since it was clear flirting rubbed Maxwell the wrong way and she didn't want that to happen. If he had power as she suspected, then she wanted him as an ally and more if she could get it. Riser wasn't the only issue ahead of Rias, just the more immediate problem she had to face. There would be others that would challenge her and likely her position as heir to the Gremory clan. With that in mind, she quickly repositioned herself and smoothed her skirt covering up the rest of her upper thighs. "My apologies for my immature action Maxwell-san," she stuttered before facing Issei. "Anyway Hyoudou-kun, may I call you Ise?" Issei nodded slowly in reply before Rias continued, "I would like to welcome you to the Occult Research Club," she paused, "as a devil."

To Issei's shock, everyone had bat-like wings popping out from their backs at that moment, including himself. The only one who did not have wings coming out from their back was Chris himself. In fact, he did not look the least bit faze or paying much attention to the scene still looking quite bored. Rias had figured that Maxwell wasn't ordinary from what Kiba and Koneko has said about him. She just didn't know how much he knew of the non-human world. So after folding her wings in, the redhead stared at the sandy-haired boy, "I see that you are not surprised by us being devils Maxwell-san," she commented.

The apology was reactionary, so Chris didn't see it as genuinely sincere which he didn't accept from others. He was more wondering if he were to just tell this girl to shush and leave him alone if she would or just leave right now and deal with this later. He knew that leaving would do little rather get these devils to likely redouble their efforts and bug him more. There were so many examples that Chris had of the idea and none of them were pleasant to recall. So instead of giving more information, they could use against him, he merely shrugged, "I've known about the supernatural world all my life. A bunch of devils like yourselves are pretty common from what I've seen on my travels," Chris replied indifferently.

"I see," Rias said nodding. This could work in her favor better than she had hoped for. If he was more than just aware of the supernatural world but also an active part of it, such confirmed that he had power and likely knew how to use it well. If that were true, then he was even more desirable to have in Rias's peerage. So, she continued, "In that case, I will get straight to the point that I asked you to come and meet with me. You are clearly not an ordinary human and hide the power you have, and I would guess that's being done by a sacred gear. That you hide your power would suggest that you have a great amount of it. As such, I would like to offer you an invitation to join my peerage and become a part of our family," Rias said as she stood up from her seat. She had a smile of confidence befitting one of her status of devil nobility since she was certain that Chris would agree to become a devil. Especially a devil under a Gremory like Rias, there was everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Chris expected her to offer or try to convince him to become a part of her peerage from one if not both the she-devils around the school. Little did Gremory know that reincarnation was impossible for Chris since he was one of those rightfully classified as unreincarnatable by the Evil Piece system due to a few reasons. And even if it was in some way possible and he was willing, she would be a long way down the list of those that would be begging him to be on their "team". The biggest reason Chris wouldn't do such a thing was he wouldn't demean himself to be a weaker race than he was already, that would be idiotic and he was not dumb. So truthfully, this she-devil was full of herself, a fact that he'd already figured out from what she had done thus far.

Then her mentioning of "sacred gear" was quite irritating as it brought back memories from long ago that Chris didn't like to remember. It reminded him of the attempt made to seal him away like the other Heavenly Dragons by the old fool known as 'God'. Memories from that far in the past were not appreciated as they had been a major upheaval in his life with the loss of friends. But Chris took a moment to let the memories of Ddraig and Albion being sealed fade from his mind and return to the deep recesses. Once that was done, he refocused on the she-devil in front of him and determined what to give as a response.

And Rias was surprised when the response she got from Chris was him beginning to clap slowly yet the lack of expression didn't leave his face. "I'll give you high marks for the confidence you are showing Gremory, misguide as it is," he started in a toneless voice. Chris took a breath and then continued, "But let's get some facts straight shall we?" He rose from the chair he was in and took a step forward, "From what you and your servants displayed to me yesterday and today, the lot of you have a great deal to learn about manners and integrity. And I'm not referring to the nice picture you put up to make others think you're the most amazing and nicest bunch. Which, I must say is one of the more pathetic acts I've seen done and even sickens me to an extent. You and her," Chris said pointing at Akeno, "Have been flirting with me in the attempt to seduce me when I've clearly stated to both of you that I have a girlfriend and am not interested in other women. I assure you, not only is that rude in most cultures around the world, but it is demeaning for both of you. I would expect such displays from harlots and the like, not from one that has had a proper upbringing which I assume you have had Gremory."

Chris didn't stop there, this girl had irked him and he would tell her exactly how foolish she had been. Perhaps that along with Zechs talking to her would get this girl to shape up and improve along with leaving him alone. "You also instead of coming and asking for a meeting yourself like is expected of a decent mannered person, you send one of your servants. That servant pretty much demand that I meet with you, not deliver an open invitation, meaning you were only thinking of your own interests and cared about none else. Then if that wasn't rude enough, after my alternative offer which you clearly didn't accept, you instead set a stalker on me and think nothing wrong with it. Your actions are those of manipulating fools that dig their own graves in the end," Chris paused to take a breath. "As for an answer to your 'invitation' to be a part of your motley crew you claim as family, my answer is no. I see no viable reason to be around those in this room more than I already am pressed to be."

The three biblical factions were always irritating and a real pain to deal with Chris had found when their paths crossed his. Each had its own set of problems that came with having to be around them. But out of the three, Chris felt the Devils, in the end, were the worst by a margin. Angels had their "more righteous than thou" attitude and fallen had the "quite scheming" both of which were seriously annoying. Yet, Devils had their egos and superiority complexes and those were nerve grating and patience trying. So, Chris ended out bowing and finished his train of thought, "Now that I've said my thoughts about this, please don't take offense to my opinion. However, I do ask you to respect my wish to be left alone and not bother me unnecessarily. With that said, I bid you a good day," he said then headed toward the door.

But before Chirs could take more than a few steps towards the door, Kiba moved and summoned his Holy Eraser. Kiba then placed it next to Maxwell's neck to make sure he didn't leave the room. Granted, there were still things about Maxwell that put off Kiba, but he would do whatever he could to help his King. Maxwell couldn't be allowed to leave if they couldn't confirm he wasn't an enemy to them. Chris wasn't fazed in the slightest, he instead followed the blade with his gaze until it settled on the blonde boy who was standing right behind him holding the sword. "I'm sorry but I'm afraid we cannot allow you to leave," Kiba said firmly.

Chris wasn't impressed by the blonde's so-called "threat" to do something to him should he not comply with the redhead's commands. First, there was not a signal devil in this town that could do physical harm to him, heck not even with them combining their powers would they be able to do any more than "tickle" him. Second, he didn't take commands from anyone period, not from angels, fallen, devils, or any other faction leaders or members. Then if the blonde kid knew how to use the sword he held to an expert level which Chris seriously doubted, it still wouldn't stop him from leaving.

However, that was all besides the present situation, it came down to "enforced authority" versus intimidation. And if the blonde devil wanted to get into the serious intimidation game and not just the simple kid kind, then Chris was up for that. There was a difference in the "kid-type" and "serious" intimidation game, that being the risk and consequences that came with them. Chris tended to go with the serious version and for those that had done the idea or knew him, they were extremely careful not to push that with Chris. He was a terrifying master of intimidating and just plain scaring the crap out of others when he felt inclined to. Yet, these devils clearly were blind to what they were "wading" into pushing him as they were. "You don't say blondie," Chris posed in an almost bored tone while leaning a little closer to Kiba and glaring at the boy. "Then are you accepting taking a trip to a hospital with your legs shattered to pieces? Or will you need other limbs and/or bodily malfunctions to be added to the list of injuries you would incur to get the point across?"

Kiba stared into Chris's eyes which appeared devoid of any emotion and swallowed hard in response. It was much like before looking into the eyes of a monster that was deciding whether to kill you or not and you had no say in the matter. The lack of caring tone and Maxwell's eyes made Kiba believe Maxwell was dead serious about the threat of breaking his legs into many pieces, and likely right here and right now. The second half of the threat with adding other injuries if the legs weren't enough said Maxwell was more than willing to make his point as necessary. The very thought of this monster in human form in essence torturing him made Kiba's hands start shaking. And the longer that Kiba was held by Maxwell's gaze the worse his sword shook.

Chris could see that he had the blonde devil shaking in fear which wasn't surprising, it came with the serious intimidation game. And Chris hadn't lost a standoff or stare-down against another in a very long time and he didn't intend that to change now. Still, to get this situation to end, Chris would have to confront Gremory directly. So, his gaze then shifted to Rias, "Are you sure you want to push this point of yours, Miss Gremory? I personally guarantee you that you won't appreciate the results if you do so, with that in mind choose carefully what you do."

Rias would not be intimidated by this young man even if he could somehow scare those in her peerage. She was a member of the household of Gremory, she would hold her own against another. And in her mind, Rias needed powerful individuals for her peerage to have a decent chance against Riser. She believed Maxwell had power and likely a good amount of it along with the potential to grow given the opportunity. "Indeed, if you will not join my peerage, then we must assume you are a threat to us unless you prove otherwise," Rias said with her arms crossed underneath her generous bust. The desire to have Maxwell was stronger now than before, his attitude could be helpful against those like Riser. However, clearly normal methods wouldn't have the desired result with him as his reactions hadn't been good.

She would have to use another means to convince him of joining her peerage, and then it came to her. Maxwell had said he had a girlfriend and he clearly cared about her whomever they were. That did make Rias somewhat curious who his girlfriend could be that he would be so loyal to. Chris had refused Akeno earlier this morning when she tried to get info from him in her own ways and most boys didn't do that. Rias would be grateful for such unwavering loyalty as she got from Kiba and Koneko. So, maybe if she offered to protect his girlfriend too, then he would accept the invitation to join her peerage. "However, I am willing to compromise since you said that you have a girlfriend that you care about," Rias began.

Chris hadn't been pleased before that the redhead was pushing her luck, and she was ignorant of how foolish that action was with him. Yet, he tolerated the behavior and he would to a point mostly to show how far he'd come from the "merciless monster" image he used to have. Then he was trying to be nice for Zechs, he was a very good friend and had done him some favors, so he was repaying that in this. Nonetheless, he was becoming ticked with this development with Rias bringing his wife into this. It was one of the serious lines that Chris didn't tolerate another crossing, using a loved one to have sway over him. No one regardless of what they were threatened Chris's family and got away with it, they were punished to his satisfaction as a matter of principle. Chris had even mentioned to Zechs that line specifically, but his sister had crossed it. That meant Chris would teach this prissy and greedy girl a lesson she wouldn't soon forget. He would apologize to Zechs later if need be and work something out as required.

So, he reached up and took hold of the 'earring' that kept his power from affecting those around him. Chris's power/aura was beyond mortal beings, and it was the reason he was ranked among the strongest beings in the world. Chris was just above Ddraig and Albion but still in the tier that held the "Heavenly Dragon" title. To interact with others and not be noticed let alone scare them with his draconic aura, Chris had the seals. If Chris didn't have his seals then he could do harm to others without trying, even kill the weak. But flexing his power a fraction would get the devils in the room to pay attention and he would then give them the facts. Rias was still going as he was removing his first seal, "If you join my peerage then I can assure her protection along with-"

Whatever else Rias was going to say was cut off when Chris took off the earring and the instant he did a strong aura and pressure-filled the room. Every person in the room was flattened to the nearest surface as if a huge weight was dropped on top of them. After a moment, everyone turned to the source of the energy and saw it was coming from Chris who had what looked like a black aura surrounding him now. The power that Rias and those with her felt was beyond anything she had ever felt before. Before anyone could muster the strength to question what was happening, they felt something touching them from below. When they looked down, all the devils gasped when the whole floor had shadows and black claws were coming out of the blackness. Each set of claws had different pairs of colored eyes with them.

But what really scared all of them were Chris's eyes when they looked at him for his eyes seemed to glow a bit. There was the feel of a predator gazing at them who was going to kill you in his eyes as well. Chris had shadow puppets holding the devils in the room even if they didn't see them as he did. He saw them for how they truly were, how they were before the Throng absorbed them as his shadow puppets. A former fallen was holding Akeno, while an angel was restraining the blonde. The other three were held by former devils, Rias having two on her one being Katrina. "I knew this one would be trouble and said as much," Katrina snarled with tones of anger.

The other puppet holding Rias scoffed, "Of course she is, just sad that this one came from the Pillar of Gremory," he said.

Katrina scoffed, "Coming from you Falgus, that is saying something for several reasons."

Falgus harrumphed, "As you said Leviathan, she is trouble, and it's a shame this one is descended from the clan I once led," he returned.

The other shadows were saying things about those they were holding, none of which were nice to those they held. Yet, Chris continued to get his point across and his voice gained a cold tone, "Since being nice and polite doesn't seem to settle the issue with you Gremory, let me just state a few things plainly before I'm on my way out," Chris said as he turned around to face the devils. Chris was completely unfazed from their terrified looks as the shadows held them in place. He was used to others looking at him with terror and horror, it was the normal response in the past. "My reasons for agreeing to come to this meeting was to state my intentions that I will not be joining either yours or the other devil's peerage. You can show all bravado you want but nothing any of you can do will even scratch me."

Chris flicked the sword at his neck down then stepped on it and pressed down cracking then shattering the weapon to show his point his weapon would do nothing. After the display, Chris kept going, "As for you Rias Gremory." Both Katrina and Falgus tightened their grips on the redhead and made sure she was looking at Chris growling as they did so. Chris heard the growling as cursing against the redhead, "My reasons for being here in 'your territory' is my business and mine alone, so keep out of it. And while I am not your enemy, I am certainly not your ally and don't see that position changing any time in the near future. But if you ever, ever, threaten or harm any of those I consider family, you will have an enemy in me and I will be the last one you ever have. I will wipe the floor with you and your peerage so thoroughly, then clean the mess so that not a single individual will question that you did something beyond stupid." Chris paused before continuing, "And while indeed you are right that I'm not normal, I'm not human either, so have no sacred gear. However, prodding me is akin to a death wish Missy."

Chris released his black dragon wings and the large wings spread out fully stretching from one side of the room to the other. The devils gasped at their appearance as there was no doubt the wings were those of a Dragon. The chances of encountering a dragon were rare in current times since most either hid away from the world or didn't interact directly. Stories told of the dragon kings and how they more observed rather than stepped into events. The evil dragons were a different story, but they brought ruin and destruction only by what tales said. But that Maxwell was a dragon said he was more than just powerful and was likely not able to be reincarnated. Plus, tales told of draconic pride being stronger than the ego of many and they were thus stubborn beyond what others were. So that brought on the question, what would a dragon do around here that would have them disguise themselves as a human?

"As it is wisely said, you don't poke or prod a dragon unless you are dumb or wish to die. I may go by the name Christopher Maxwell around humans but I am the dragon Shadus, it is one of the names others have given to me," he said as he radiated his draconic aura.

The devils shuddered at the incredible waves of power and would've fainted if not for Chris holding back enough to prevent that. Chris didn't want them dropping and being knocked out as then they wouldn't learn messing with him was a bad idea. Also, the flexing of his power would send a message to the other group of devils that he was to be left alone or else. After what felt like an eternity to the devils, Chris put the earring back and his aura disappeared and his wings folded in. The shadow puppets released the devils and disappeared into the darkness around the room letting the devils fall to the floor. Despite their restraints gone the young devils did not move from where they had fallen, still shell shocked by the revelations and the oppressive energy released by Chris. He, on the other hand, left the room having stated what he wanted to say and saw no reason to stick around the devils.

A/n

And I leave off for the first chapter there, yes it has gotten longer but has more in it. So, let me point out a couple of things about this story I've been going through again. I would iterate again my main character Chris isn't Issei replacement or copy, nor is he a complaining idiot even when it may sound like at times. In the chapters to come, Chris will prove to be different, and it is the reason I am rating this story as M, violence will come into this tale more than it did before in this revision. Second, for those of you that are fans of Rias Gremory, you will not like this story for a time if at all, I bash on her and other canon characters, deal with it. Finally, there will be characters from canon that won't be the same as they are in light novels or anime. Also, the revision will have show a somewhat darker side, I state that for the record. Anyways, some of you write reviews to tell me what you think, thanks for reading.