The Knight and Asia were walking together, back from the hunt for a stray devil, the two teenagers enjoying some idle talk. Asia was still very much impressed by it's ability, calling it a miracle, not that the Knight cared. However, as they were walking, a certain female angel was watching them from a distance. Mittelt gulped as she looked at Asia and the individual walking next to her. She knew she promised to deliver a message, but the absolute dread she felt when she looked at the boy made it difficult for her. However, between the boy and Azazel, she knew whose wrath she would rather incur. She walked up to the duo, the two teenagers looking at her.

"Good Afternoon…," Mittelt greeted.

"Um… good afternoon?" Asia greeted.

"Here, this is for you," Mittelt said and handed over the letter to the Knight.

"… For me?" The Knight asked, while the girl nodded. "… Why?"

"I know that something happened, that Raynare and others are dead and judging by the fact that Asia is with you, I was ordered to give you this," She replied. "That's all there is to it."

"Why are you telling us this?" Asia asked.

"Because my superior would like to meet with you," She replied, her attention to the Knight. "Now, with all due respect, I hope we will never meet again, I would hate to get on your bad side."

With that, the fallen angel nodded, before she quickly turned around and left, leaving the two teenagers alone in the middle of the street. The Knight looked at the letter, ripped it open and began reading it's contents. There wasn't much to be honest, only a message with a phone number asking for a contact, signed by a man named Azazel.

"So… what are you going to do with that?" Asia asked.

"… Should I do something about it?" It asked.

"Well… maybe contact them? You… killed the fallen angels, didn't you?" She pointed, while the Knight nodded.

"… I did, but, I am going alone," It replied.

"But…," She began.

"… Too dangerous, the man in the letter. I can handle it," It replied.

"Okay, I will trust you on it," She said and the two resumed their journey. A few moments later, the duo said their goodbyes, while the Knight snipped out a phone, before putting in the number.

The phone rang for a moment, before a voice answered it. "Ah, hello there, I suppose you got the message I sent you?"

"… Azazel, I presume?" It asked.

"Indeed, that would be me. How about you, fellow? What's your name?" Azazel asked.

"… Knight," It replied.

"A man of a few words? I can work with that. Say, I am currently sitting in a cafe in Kuoh, think the two of us could meet for a talk?" He asked.

"… Not a trap?" The Knight asked, only to hear laughter.

"Please, after what Raynare and others did, the last thing I need is more trouble in Kuoh," He replied. "So, what do you say?"

"… Why should I come?" It asked.

"Don't suppose women, money or power are good motivators are they?" The man asked.

"… They aren't," The Knight replied.

"Damn, you're a tough customer, aren't you? Well, is there anything you can think of that would make you interested?" Azazel asked.

That was a good question. Was there anything the Knight cared about? Money wasn't an issue, same with other things. Although… There was a group that it wanted to know more about. Of course, it could ask Sona and Rias about that, but there was a reason, it didn't want to do that. Rias would be annoying, probably ask a favour or something, while Sona? Well, it didn't want to get them involved, not when it wasn't sure what it was dealing with. For all it knew, Chaos Brigade could be as dangerous as Radiance and it didn't want to risk it. Of course, trusting an unknown party wasn't ideal either, but having more contacts and beings to talk to could be beneficial in the long run, as it was evidenced by the Hallownest. Hornet, Grimm, Elder Bug, Cornifier and such were proof of that.

"… Depends, if you know anything about a certain group," It said.

"Then you have come to the right man! I know most about what is going in the world," The man boasted. "So, think we can talk more details in person?"

"… What is the name of the location?" It asked.

"Just a little cafe, fifteen minutes away from Kuoh, 'Saturday', do you know the location?" Azazel asked.

"…Yes, I will come to the location, can you wait there?" The Knight asked.

"Sure, sure, I have got an eternity to spare," The man joked. "See you soon, Knight."

With that the man hung, the Knight looking at the phone. Good thing it scouted Kuoh and drew a detailed map of it, something that helped it tremendously back in the Hallownest. It used to make its way to the cafe, where it spotted a man sitting drinking coffee, a waitress blushing as the man did his best to swoon her, which seemed to be working. However, as soon as he spotted the Knight, he smiled and let the girl go, before waving his hand towards it.

"So, you're Knight, aren't you?" Azazel asked.

"…I am," It replied and stood in front of the man.

"Well, what are you standing around like that? Have a seat," He said and gestured to a vacant chair next to him. The Knight nodded in return and took it. "Now that you're here, Knight. We can talk business. You want information about a certain group, correct?"

"… I do," It confirmed.

"Well, I can provide that, for a price that is," Azazel said.

"… What is the price?" The Knight asked.

"Information for information. I would like to know what you did to Mittelt? I felt a faint residue of energy I did not recognize and I would like to know what it was," He explained. "In return? I will provide you with intel about the group you're curious about, seems fair?"

"… What exactly do you wish to know about this 'energy'?" The Knight asked.

"Quite a bit, it's origin, it's uses, how do you obtain more of it, things like that," He replied.

"… Why do you wish to know about it?" The Knight inquired.

"Simple, I am a researcher, I love new things, discoveries, etc," He replied.

"… Are you not interested about the fate of Raynare and others?" It asked.

"They are dead, aren't they? And I doubt you are going to explain how you did that, are you? Although, thanks for sparring Mittelt at least, I appreciate that," The man said, while the Knight nodded. "That's what I thought. So, what do you say?"

"… Alright, in return, I wish to know about a group called 'Chaos Brigade'," It replied.

"Chaos Brigade? Hmm… I can't say I have heard of them, but do not fret, I will look for them. Now, do we have a deal, partner?" Azazel asked and stood up, a hand extended towards the Knight.

"… We do," The Knight replied and returned the handshake, the fallen angel grinning in response.

"Glad to hear it, now then, there is another thing I wanted to ask you," The man began, while the Knight raised it's eyebrow. "Would you be interested in joining or working with my faction? The Grigori?"

"… Why would I do that?" It asked.

"You would be rewarded of course, be it knowledge, money, women, fame, etc," The man explained. "So, what do you say?"

"… Not interested in most of those, at least for now, but I will keep it in mind," It replied.

"That's all I am asking for," Azazel replied. "Now then, it was a pleasure meeting you today, Knight, but I am afraid I am a busy man, so I will be taking my leave."

"… I don't mind that, have a safe trip," The Knight said, while the man grinned.

"Thanks, not that I am worried, but I appreciate the effort," He replied, took a few steps back and disappeared, leaving the Knight alone.

"… Odd man," The Knight muttered to itself before it began making it's way back home.

The Knight and Koneko were sitting at their usual spot, both of the beings munching on sweets the Knight provided. However, Koneko seemed a bit off, as she kept glancing towards the Knight, opening her mouth and then closing it. It took her a good five minutes, before she gulped, turned towards the Knight and asked it a question.

"… Can you really read memories?" She asked, while the Knight nodded.

"… I can," It replied, it's attention on the girl. "… Why do you ask?"

"… I want to know something… A memory that… hurts, that I… don't want to see ever again," She began."… but… I want to know, I want to know what happened then…"

"… Why?" It asked, while Koneko looked right in it's eyes.

"… Because of my sister, Kuroka. A memory when my sister… killed a devil." She replied. "… I want to know for certain."

"… Why not ask Rias then?" It asked.

"… Devils can alter memories, but not read them easily. It's easy to make a memory disappear, but seeing it again? It is not," She explained.

"… I see," It replied and got lost in thought. "… Do you really want that?"

"… I do," She confirmed.

"… Do you trust me? That I will not hurt you?" It asked, while Koneko bit her lip.

"… Will you hurt me?" She asked, while the Knight shook it's head.

"… No, you're a friend," It replied, while Koneko blinked, before she flushed red.

"… I see, so yes, I trust you," She said.

"… Okay, but can you keep it a secret?" It asked, while the girl nodded. "… Then, let us begin."

The Knight then snipped out the Dream Nail and gently touched the girl in the forehead, it's body turning into particles, as the young nekomata fell unconscious, her body laying on the roof. The Knight found itself back in the dream real, similar to the fallen angel it used it on not so long ago. So, knowing what to look for, it slowly made its way to a very particular memory, one that was wrapped in chains as if it was meant to keep something locked behind.

It was the only memory like that and the one it didn't check, so with the power of the Dream Nail, it cut through the chains and found itself watching a scene from the perspective of Koneko. In front of her was a devil that was grinning at her, magic surging in his hand, an Evil Piece in his hand. The Knight noticed that the girl was scared, backed into a corner. The devil took controlled steps forward, slowly closing the distance between them.

"Now, don't worry, it won't hurt much and you will become so much more powerful thanks to the procedure," He said, but before he could do anything, a feminine figure appeared behind him.

She was a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure, long black hair with split bangs and hazel-gold eyes with cat-like pupils. She was wearing what looked like a kimono, a yellow belt and ornate headband. She also had a pair of cat ears on top of her head and two tails.

"Lea…!" She began, only for a cloud of mist to block it and the scene shifted, to that of a devil being dead on the floor, laying in the pool of his own blood, the girl nowhere to be seen.

The Knight frowned, that's not what was supposed to happen. It tried again, reliving the memory, only for the fog to appear once again. It seemed like the trauma for the event made her block out what happened later. This wouldn't do, but for the true power of the Dream Nail, it should be more than enough. After all, it was able to pierce even the strongest minds, a memory like that would be no different. Charging it's power, the Knight slashed at the fog, which then dispersed.

"Leave her alone you sick bastard!" Kuroka yelled as she brutally murdered the devil. "… Shirone, it's me, Kuroka, your sister, we have to leave."

"… No, no, no!" Shirone cried as she closed her eyes blinding the Knight.

"We must go! He was going to torture you!" She yelled, only for alien voices to join the fray. "Shirone, please!"

However, the girl slapped away the hand and backed further into a corner, a group of devils appearing in the room. This in turn forced Kuroka to run away, as magic was unleashed, superior numbers forcing her to retreat, her last glance towards her sister. However, this wasn't the end, as the scene skipped quite some time forward only for the Knight to find itself watching a scene that made its eyes spread wide open.

They were located in some kind of court, where Koneko was locked in chains, devils looking at her with disdain and disgust. In front of her was a devil with a massive sword ready to cut her head off, the girl resigned to her fate. A devil began speaking, the court turning towards him.

"Shirone, for your crimes against devil kind, you were sentenced to death, if you have got any last wishes, you are free to speak them now," He said.

"… I don't," Koneko said.

"I see… executioner, if you may," The devil said, while the sword was raised. Then suddenly a door swung open, a crimson haired man, oddly similar to Rias entered the court, everyone's eyes spread wide open.

"I am afraid I have to stop the execution," Sirzechs Lucifer said.

"Lord Lucifer, what brings you here today and what do you mean by that?" The devil asked.

"I think that the girl doesn't deserve to be killed for what her sister did, instead, it's best we give her a second chance, as a devil, under the jurisdiction of a high class devil, don't you think?" The man asked.

"… If this is what you order, Lord Lucifer, we will obey," The devil replied.

"Excellent, well, bring the girl to Gremory's house, I will take care of the rest," The man said, the memory ending.

The Knight could only clench it's fist, as it found itself frustrated at what just happened. Not only was the girl falsely accused, she was sentenced to death because her sister tried to protect her from being harmed by the devil. She was also turned into a devil, because Sirzechs Lucifer came and saved her life, not from the goodness of his heart, oh no, the Knight doubted that was the reason.

If anything, judging by the circumstances, he basically painted himself as a saviour and by proxy Rias, which probably influenced the girl and earned a sense of gratitude, one that neither Rias, nor Sirzechs deserved. The Knight wasn't stupid, it learned how complicated emotions could get and using them to basically gift a new peerage member to a younger sister was something it wouldn't put past devils.

If there was any shred of sympathy it had for pure-blooded devils it was erased, replaced by crimson flames, akin to that of Grimm. The flame burst for a moment, before it turned into the size of a candle, the vessel overriding burst of emotions like that. It wasn't gone, nor it doubted it would be, but it was under it's control, just as the Void was. It also remembered that Sona was not a bad devil, so it couldn't label all the devils the same way. However, if the devils wanted to act like that? Reincarnate others against their will? Trick them into servitude? Well, they better be ready, because the Shade Lord had come…

However, for now, it had something else to take care of and quickly left the dream realm, before it appeared next to Koneko. The girl stirred from the slumber, as she grasped her head, before her eyes spread wide open. She remembered… she remembered it all… Her sister didn't go crazy… she was trying to protect… her? Tears appeared in the corner of her eyes, before she began weeping. The Knight watched and took a cue once again from human interactions and it's own instincts, it embraced the girl, who looked at it in shock.

"… Your sister wasn't a monster… she tried to protect you, you didn't deserve it, Shirone," It said, trying it's best to comfort the girl.

In response, the girl wept even more, as she returned the embrace, staining it's clothing wet with tears, not that it minded, the two locked in an embrace, the Knight holding the girl close to it. It made it's choice, it wouldn't be neutral anymore. It would face the world, just as it faced the entirety of the Hallownest and the Radiance itself. For the Void was given Focus.

You know? I always hated, how Rias is presented as 'good' devil. Bullshit. Seriously. All her peerage member were basically given to her on a silver platter. She 'saved' their lives, sure, but am I the only one who doesn't see how bad it is portrayed? Oh look, you are on your deathbed, let me give you an offer, you can't refuse. There is a reacon, why I despise Rias as a character, stupid, spoiled brat.