Chapter 7 - Vision of the Birds

( Fly to High - Younha )

Nearly a month has passed since the supernatural world was revealed to Mori. Since that day, the boy's regular schedule has had some changes. After school, he would go and hang out with the Occult Research Club in the Old School Building for an hour or two, before heading off to the park to train in staff combat with Gunseng, which would last nearly five hours. The new schedule took some getting used to at first as they affected his ten hours of sleep, but at least Gunseng finally approved his staff spinning.

During the three and half weeks of being around the Devils, Mori got to know each of them rather well, and the boy had already considered them friends. Overtime the azure-haired boy was eventually considered an unofficial member of the Club.

Issei was someone who he already knew well, although it seems like his perversion had depleted by a small fraction ever since meeting Asia.

Speaking of Asia, the day she started classes as a second year at Kuoh Academy, she was sorted into Mori and Issei's class, the boy didn't find anything weird then as it only made sense for her to be sorted into theirs, thanks to some supernatural humanoids pulling the strings from the shadows. What really shocked him was that he could finally understand what Asia was saying, the blue-haired teen couldn't believe his ears when she introduced herself to the class that day. It hadn't even been three days since he had last heard her voice and she suddenly had better Japanese speaking skills than himself. He later found out from Issei that Devils have a trait that can let them communicate in every language. It was something that Rias forgot to tell him.

Mori could still recall the conversation he had with Issei the day he found out.

"WHAAAT?! THAT'S TOTALLY UNFAIR!" Mori cried at the top of his lungs as he and Issei walked back to their respective homes.

"That's just how it is my blue-haired friend," said Issei in a jocking tone.

"I'M CALLING BULLSHIT ON ALL YOUR LANGUAGE TEST MARKS FROM NOW ON!" Mori yelled.

"WHAT?!" Issei yelled back, "HOW? WHY!? YOU'RE TALKING FAIRNESS, HOW'S THAT FAIR ON ME? IT'S MY DEVIL GENETICS NOW! I CAN'T CONTROL IT!"

"YEAH BUT YOU WERE HUMAN LIKE A WEEK AGO!" Mori replied pointing his finger aggressively at Issei, "THE LANGUAGE TEST IS IN TEN DAYS! YOU DON'T EVEN NEED TO STUDY ANYMORE! WHILE I'M HERE CRAMMING MY BRAIN!"

Issei mimicked Mori's gesture, "THEN THAT'S JUST BAD LUCK FOR YOU! I LONGED TO SEE THE DAY WHERE YOU GET KNOCKED OFF THE TOP OF THE 2ND YEARS LIST!"

"HAH! MY ENGLISH MARKS MIGHT BE AVERAGE! BUT EVERY OTHER SUBJECT ARE ALL ABOVE AVERAGE! SO THAT NUMBER ONE SPOT IS STILL MINE!"

That went on back and forth for a while. In the end, Mori did indeed keep his spot in the 'Kuoh Second Year Top 5'. The boy wasted no time rubbing it to Issei's face for an entire day to prove him wrong, much to the Pawn's dismay.

Another member of the Research Club he reasonably got along with, was the Academy's Student Proclaimed Mascot; the Rook, Koneko. The two of them mutually respected the other but for some reason, every time they saw each other, Mori's nose would slightly twitch. He didn't know why, perhaps it was the lingering scent of snacks. Koneko and Mori wouldn't usually talk to each other, only exchanging waves...and competing over who could finish a pack of Banana Kick* first. Mori was winning that season with a leading ratio of 5:3. Koneko also gave Mori a warmer welcome than her fellow peerage member, Issei. There were two reasons, the first was because-.

"...He's not a loser pervert,"

And the second was-.

"...He chooses the best snacks,"

Mori had been recognized as the official snack-bringer by Koneko. A plus for the boy too, as he had just gained another loyal customer for his Errand Business. However, he kept his opinions of Koneko's intense sugar intake to himself, as there was a 'Privacy Act' section in his self-written and signed contract when his Errand Business first started... He wanted to be professional when starting the Business.

The next member was the Knight, Yuuto, or Kiba, as most of the club called him. Mori preferred to call him Yuuto as they had moved to a first-name basis within half a minute of their first official conversation with each other. Surprisingly, among Kuoh's Devils aside from Issei, the Knight was the one who got along with Mori the most. Issei would even overhear them regularly talking about the differences between fighting with a staff and a sword. The two had become fast friends when they properly introduced themselves, and every time they stood close to one another Issei would realize each time that Mori actually had the looks of a top-tier idol. Having been around Mori for most of the last month and a half, Issei had grown used to his face, and he had completely missed the signs that his blue-haired friend was one of the most visually appealing males in all of Kuoh.

First, there was the Fanclub Wars being waged at school. The Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Sona, and the newly formed Asia fan clubs were relatively tame compared to the raging, warmongering factions known as the 'Beautiful, Handsome, Prince Kiba' Fanclub and its eternal rival, the 'The Fashionable Idol Mori from across the Sea' Fanclub. Initially, the Kiba Fanclub had all the power, but when the student populous first witnessed Mori hanging out with the Occult Research Club along with the locally viral video of Mori's Elbow Strike, the boy's popularity soared even higher, and after tying with Yuuto at third place in the Academy's unwritten ranking, Mori's Fanclub began to grow in numbers.

Secondly, Issei had almost lost count of how many girls, both from Kuoh Academy and other high schools had tried to ask him out only to be kindly rejected. Mori would always say that he is "Busy," which he was, however, the jealous filled Issei wouldn't believe it one bit. Then there was that one time he was scouted on the streets by not one, but two big K-pop companies, simultaneously.

Thirdly, there were the yaoi rumors. Apparently, they were created by a small group of female students from both fan clubs who united due to their addiction to the Boy's Love genre. This small rogue fan club fantasized about Mori and Yuuto being a secret couple and started to spread their fantasies across the school. If they couldn't have the two pretty boys for themselves, then they would ship them together. Members of this fan club are kept secret due to regularly being hunted down by the main clubs for betrayal. Kiryuu Aika was suspected of being a member, but then again, many people didn't find this surprising as it's known that she's a member of both Kiba and Mori's main fan clubs

Then there was the Queen, Akeno. She was someone who Mori found quite easy to get along with. He quickly found out that her tea brewing skills were beyond average, Mori didn't drink much of the hot leaf juice before because it was always too bitter, but Akeno's tea was different, in taste, texture, and scent, but Mori couldn't tell what it was as he wasn't exactly a beverage connoisseur. He just knew that so far, it would be the only kind of tea he would drink willingly. Akeno had another specialty that interested him that sparked several conversations, it was her natural affinity over lightning. Sometimes Mori would be a little too invested in Akeno's lightning, which was deducted by Issei after he walked in on the duo one afternoon in the clubroom. He was almost jealous of Mori being alone in a dim room with one of the most beautiful girls in Kuoh, but that jealousy quickly extinguished when he saw that his blue-haired friend was conducting a science experiment on meteorology and plasma. Akeno stood by Mori's side the entire time providing him with electricity with different levels of voltage each time so that Mori could get more accurate results.

Needless to say, it was one of the more weirder and unpredictable things Issei had seen his friend do. Then again, this was something only Mori would do, as any normal male who would do anything for a chance to be alone with the Himejima Akeno, would do something much more intimate.

Finally, there was the leader of the group herself, Rias Gremory. The two of them started off rather distant, as at first, Mori only visited the Clubroom to hangout with Issei, Asia, and Yuuto. But Mori quickly found out that the heiress would almost always buy her groceries at the same supermarket as Mori, and it was there where they would engage in small talk that would evolve into larger hour-long conversations. After a month, the remaining members of the club perceived their relationship to be almost sibling-like, with Rias regularly scolding Mori to not impulsively charge into things, like the one time Mori decided to test how durable his body is by jumping off the Academy's tallest building, and then there was also the healthy amount of doting in between all the lectures. There was another incident where one day, out of the blue Koneko called them the "Berry Duo" due to their hair color, Rias being the strawberry and Mori being the blueberry. The two did indeed try their best to convince the others to shed the nickname from their minds but unfortunately for the both of them, it stuck. At least the other members of the group had a good laugh.

During the peaceful month, aside from the ongoing fan wars, Mori's quick rise to the top of the popularity ranking did bring another problem...several other problems. He was idolized, the male populous highly respected him due to him knocking down Keita, Kuoh's strongest delinquent in one hit, thus putting an end to his tyrannical reign over the teenagers of the entire town. Whenever someone would bring it up, Mori would deny it and say that it was just luck, but many people thought he was being humble and this, in turn, attracted even more people to his fanclub. The female populous had even more reasons to follow and adore him. Aside from his above-average looks and strength, there was also his fashion sense. With a simple Kuoh Uniform, Mori was able to come up with multiple combinations such as; the blazer over a hoodie or a slightly oversized, white, long-sleeved shirt, barely tucked into a pair of sports trousers giving the top a somewhat baggy look. However the students did expect Mori's fashion sense to be better than most due to a stereotypical reason, it was because he's the exchange student from Korea. Or at least that's what the teacher told them. Seoul Fashion Week happening a week earlier didn't help to quench the stereotype either, instead, it only boosted the effect.

Being idolized also resulted in a good number of people wanting to mimic him. Some of the students had begun dying their hair shades of blue, while others started to style their uniforms the same way as Mori, or at least attempted to. These actions would drive the teachers up the walls as they tried to stop the trend only for it to gain more attention instead because of all the uproar surrounding it. This caused half of the Academy's faculty to deem Mori as the next delinquent, however, they were usually contradicted by the boy as he never got into trouble during school hours and kept his grades to a higher than average level.

But the real problem was that several people had started to form delivery businesses of their own throughout the school. However, unlike Mori, those students had the money to expand their businesses to reach beyond the school and into the small city itself. Despite his popularity, this sudden growth in the competition had unexpectedly cut Mori's clients in half as the other delivery services were more similar to miniature companies than the blue-haired teen's solo casual work. Thankfully, Rias had noticed and offered him a job of delivering flyers for the Club. Initially, Mori refused and wanted to recover his top spot on his own but eventually gladly accepted the offer when the crimson-haired heiress told him that for each flyer delivered, he would receive fifteen dollars in American currency. Mori was normally given fifty flyers, if he successfully handed out every single one that would equal to seven hundred and fifty dollars, which converted to-

'78050 Yen~' Mori internally squealed as he ran down the sidewalk with a bag strapped across his body, inside was is first set of pamphlets.

At present, Mori was sitting straight with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He was seated on a smooth flat rock in the middle of the training meadow and a pale-gold wooden staff rested horizontally on his thighs. The colors of the sunrise washed over the grass, dying it a soft orange color. Gunseng stood several paces away, his hands behind his back as he looked up at the sky.

"Time's up," the monk suddenly announced. Mori opened one eye to look at his instructor.

"Really?" the boy yawned and grabbed his wooden staff, slowly standing up, vertebrae by vertebrae, "Finally,"

"Do not look down on the meditative portion of training Mori," said Gunseng as he turned to face his pupil, "The cultivation of the mind is just as important as the cultivation of the body,"

"But all we've been doing is staff spinning and meditating for the last month," Mori complained, "When are you going to teach me all the cool stuff, the useful stuff?"

"In time," Gunseng explained, "These two things are the most basic of basics of wielding the staff, it allows you to connect with the weapon both physically and mentally. If your compatibility with the weapon is beyond 95%, then you can even include spiritually,"

"Right...and what's my compatibility with this?" Mori asked, raising his wooden training staff.

"About 23%,"

"Seriously? That low?" Mori groaned.

"It'll increase the more you train with it," the warrior monk affirmed, "Now, don't you have school today?"

Mori's mind went blank as he tried to recall what day it was...he had to wake up at three-thirty in the morning for training so his brain wasn't fully ready to operate yet.

"Oh right, it's Monday," he realized as he lightly smacked his fist and palm together. He then gently shook the staff and the weapon instantly shrunk, transforming into a regular pen which the boy slipped into his pocket. After saying his goodbyes, Mori grabbed his smaller dark gray backpack and darted out of the training grounds towards Kuoh Academy.

On the way to school, Mori bumped into Issei and Asia and joined them as they were heading to the same destination. As they walked, the azure-haired boy quickly noticed the dark circles around Issei's eyes and Asia's worried look beside him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Asia asked as she gazed at him with concern.

"Yeah, you look like you didn't get any sleep," added Mori.

"...That's because I didn't" Issei admitted, his posture hunched as he trudged through the school gates with his friends.

"You know that's-" Mori began.

"Bad for my mental health, yes, I know," Issei sighed.

Less than ten hours ago, while Issei was just about to go to sleep, Rias had suddenly appeared and almost immediately started to strip. She then pushed Issei onto his bed and asked him to take her virginity. Just when Issei started to panic, another female devil appeared and took the heiress away. The Pawn couldn't get the image of a topless Rias out of his lecherous mind, and as a result, engaged in other things for the rest of the night. The brown-haired teen didn't know how he could explain this reasoning of insomnia to his friends…. Or if he should?

Issei's brain still had the memory welded to the forefront of his thoughts, and his cheeks started to turn red as the trio were now walking down the corridor, towards their classroom. His legs taking a step every second.

Mori had decided to go ahead first to get some unfinished homework done, and as the boy entered his classroom, in his peripheral vision he saw the other two members of the Perverted Trio beating up Issei and putting him in various types of locks. All the while shouting things like-

"ISSEI! HOW COULD YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

"WHY THE FUCK WERE THEY WEARING GOTHIC LOLITA CLOTHES?!"

"THE FUCK IS A MIL-TAN!?"

Mori shrugged and headed to his desk, it wasn't his business anyway. Issei would be able to take those hits seeing as he is a devil now, and also because he has a walking health potion living with him. Despite the staring of a couple of fangirls behind him, Mori started to finish his homework as quickly as he could.

The day went on as normal and Mori jumped over the school's brick border by the soccer field, technically he was allowed to leave early as the last class of the day was physical education and he didn't need to go to that anymore. He adjusted the straps of his backpack after he landed and headed down the path to the closest convenience store. With roughly an hour before joining his friends in the Clubroom so, he decided to get something to eat while waiting, and maybe hand out some more pamphlets while he's at it.

After grabbing and paying for a box of Banana Pocky, Mori checked the time on his phone and saw that he still had forty-five minutes.

'Might as well wander for a bit' he thought as he slowly nibbled on the golden biscuit-stick.

The blue-haired teen allowed his feet to go into autopilot as he randomly strolled around Kuoh. After turning several corners he entered one of the more busier areas of Kuoh, an entire street nearly a mile long, filled with a myriad of trendy restaurants and cafes on each side. The sheer variety contained in the long strip of shops made it one of the most popular date sites for couples of all ages, the street also attracted many photographers from different companies. Mori would occasionally walk through the entirety of the street to marvel at the shining real food displays in front of most stores, he never bought anything because everything was just too expensive for his thrifty mind.

His curiosity peaked when he saw a large crowd ahead of him and instinctively headed straight towards it. As he approached he noticed that the crowd was predominantly made up of females of all ages and a handful of extra flamboyant males. Mori then stuffed his box of Pocky into his pocket and tried to find an opening to see what was happening, luckily there was a street lamp nearby and the boy simply clambered halfway up, hanging onto the metal pole with one hand as he peered over the crowd.

The source of all the commotion was a handsome young man looking to be in his early twenties, with platinum-blonde, almost white hair, and lavender highlights, wearing a barista's uniform. Beside the male was a tall, rectangular, black metal box with a small punching bag attached to it.

"He looks familiar," Mori murmured.

The blonde then spoke up, "Ladies and Gentlemen! Whoever gets the highest score on this kicking machine will receive a free VIP membership at our famous rooftop cafe! Do not miss this opportunity as it ends at 6 PM tonight!"

"I swear I've seen him somewhere," Mori scratched his temple as he scoured his brain for answers.

From his spot on the streetlamp, he watched as people lined up to kick the round sandbag dangling from the machine, most of them flailed their legs and hit the bag softly, others missed the mark completely, but there were one or two who scored rather high. With nothing better to do, Mori hopped down from his hanging position and joined the back of the line.

The wait wasn't long and Mori soon stood in front of the kick machine.

"If it isn't the Peach Boy himself, Dan Mori," the white-haired male beside the mechanism smiled.

Mori furrowed his brows, "...I do know you don't I?"

"It's been a month, I don't expect you to remember," the older male replied.

"Dang it," Mori clicked his tongue, "Now I feel bad for forgetting,"

"If you win maybe I'll tell you," he laughed

The azure-haired boy looked back at the dangling sandbag, as he had recently begun training kicks with Gunseng alongside the staff he had more confidence than most of the crowd. From what he saw, most of the people who had come up to strike the bag with their feet had used either the snap kick or the roundhouse kick.

Mori pivoted his foot and twisted his waist, his right leg shot out and struck the bag with a spinning hook kick. The chain holding the sandbag instantly snapped and the round object itself rocketed to the side and would've scored a headshot on an audience member if the platinum-blonde barista didn't intercept. The young man simply reached out, catching the flying sandbag with one hand before it could deal any damage, and all the while, he had an amused smile on his face.

"It seems we have a winner," he chuckled, lightly tossing the punching ball to a nearby co-worker.

"...I'm so sorry," Mori apologized and began to panic. He started to try to fix the chain on the machine while his mind began calculating the costs of repair or replacement.

"It's fine, the thing was getting old and dusty and we needed to get it out of the storage closet," the older male told him, unconcerned about the state of the expensive-looking and broken machine, "Anyway, would you please follow me? You have a prize to redeem,"

Mori took one look back at the machine, then turned back and nodded, following the blonde through a glass door and up several flights of stairs, as the elevators were going through the required monthly maintenance. The co-worker stayed behind to calm the crowd. As the duo headed up the build Mori stared at the back of the older male's head.

"Didn't you say you'd tell me who you are if I win?" he asked as they reached the top floor.

The golden-eyed man turned his head to look back at him, "How right you are Mori,"

As he opened the door he said, "Peach season has been over for a while, does that ring any bells?"

"...Wait…," Mori repeatedly drummed his head with his fingers as he searched through his memories for that familiar line, "I know it, I know it, I know it, Don't tell me…, Ah!"

"It's me, Reiz/Isn't your name Reiz?" they both stated simultaneously.

"The guy who likes to eat eels!" Mori exclaimed as he pointed at his blonde, "Don't you work at a supermarket? What are you doing at...wait where are we?"

"Why don't you look for yourself?" said Reiz as he opened the door to the roof allowing Mori to peek out.

The clouds were dyed a dusty yellow and warm colors overtook the light blue sky. With the moon slightly visible, the sun began to sink below the distant mountain range as its countless cousins started to gleam in the distance. A chilly high altitude breeze instantly brushed against Mori's face and ruffled his hair.

Chatter drifted around him, people of different ages and walks of life gathered around birchwood tables, sitting on cushioned birchwood chairs that were placed upon fake lime-green grass. While drinking out of tall glass cups and consuming small foods as the people gossiped about the world. In the middle of the rooftop was a circular bar table with a tall cylindrical drink stand in the center.

"What is this place?" Mori asked as he stepped out of the door.

"The only rooftop cafe in Kuoh," Reiz informed leaning against the doorframe, "Brand new, and another place where I work,"

"You work two jobs?" the azure-haired boy cocked his head to the side, "Why would you want that extra stress?"

"University isn't cheap you know," said Reiz, "Also aren't you the one running around, handing out pamphlets to everyone you see?"

"Ah...You know?" Mori bashfully scratched his cheek.

"It's hard to miss," Reiz chuckled, "But I get it, money is the most important thing for young people like us,"

"Right,"

"Now come on, let's go get you the VIP card that you won,"

"Buchou's problem?"

After returning to the Academy, Mori met up with Issei, Asia, and Yuuto, and the group was now headed towards the Old School Building. Along the way, Issei brought up the topic of Rias acting strangely and looking depressed as of late, which Asia and Mori also noticed. Seeing as the Knight had been a member of her group for several years now, the trio thought that he would have an answer, but it seems that he was also clueless.

"Maybe it has something to do with the House of Gremory?" the swordsman suggested.

"Like familial drama?" Mori asked.

"Something like that," Kiba nodded, "It happens to every noble devil family a couple of times each year, but it's usually small stuff,"

"You think Akeno-san would know?" Issei asked.

Yuuto nodded, "Most likely, she is Buchou's Queen, along with being the first and most trusted member of the peerage after all,"

"I hope it's nothing serious," said Asia, "I'd hate to see Buchou so sad,"

"Right," Issei murmured in agreement, staring at the ground as the group continued down the path.

Mori glanced at his brown-haired friend, 'He looks a little uneasy...Did something happen between him and Rias?'

As they enter the building and approach the door to the clubroom, Yuuto's expression suddenly sharpened, catching Issei and Asia guard.

"...So that's what it is,".

"What is what?" Issei echoed as he looked around. Mori narrowed his eyes towards the door.

"Someones here," he murmured.

The brown-haired pawn raised an eyebrow at his two male friends' abrupt expression change and nonchalantly pushed the door open.

"Buchou! We're here, hope we're not late," Issei exclaimed with a wave.

The Pawn was about to continue but stopped when the eerie silence from the tense atmosphere of the room became apparent. Mori, Yuuto, and Asia quietly step into the room after him.

Koneko was seated on a stool in the corner, and surprisingly not nibbling on something. It seemed the Rook wanted to be further away from the source of the tension. Akeno stood by Rias, she was gently smiling like usual except it wasn't exuding the warmth it normally had, as there was now a coldness hidden behind it. Rias sat at her desk with her hands in front of her mouth, fingers entwined, and an unpleasant expression rooted on her face. There was also an unfamiliar person standing by the window. The newcomer had long silver hair tied in twin braids and a piercing gaze, eyes the same color as her hair. She wore a dark-blue maid outfit that didn't succeed in hiding her large chest.

Yuuto released a frustrated exhale through his nose, Asia tightly gripped onto Issei's sleeve and the Pawn reassured her by patting her head. Mori quietly gulped down some saliva. The three new members of the club had never experienced the normally lively clubroom being so silent before, and it was starting to slowly get to them.

Rias' gaze traveled over each person in the room before she huffed, and stood up from her desk. The obvious anger and sorrow on her face never wavered once.

"Looks like everyone is here. Before we start the regular activities, there's something I need to tell you,"

The silver-haired maid approached the heiress and spoke up, "Rias-sama, would you like me to explain the situation,"

"It's fine Grayfia," Rias waved her hand to reject the maid's offer, Grayfia nodded and moved back to her spot near the window, "The truth is-,"

A bright orange magic circle formed in the middle of the clubroom cutting Rias off. The crimson-haired devil's gaze instantly hardened at the sight of it.

"...Phenex," Yuuto quietly hissed.

Mori internally scratched his head, 'The Fire-type Bird? What's that got to do with-'

The azure-haired boy's thoughts were interrupted as the magic circle burst into a violent pillar of searing hot flames. The devils minus Grayfia flinched from the sudden intense heat emitting from the fire that flooded the room, which subsequently illuminated the entire area. Mori simply scratched his cheek, unlike his devil peers, the flame's heat didn't affect him at all which he found strange. If he was being honest, he found the heat to be rather comfortable, he could sleep soundly to this warmth.

Within the pillar of fire, stood a male silhouette and the mysterious figure's hand reached out of the blaze. With a horizontal swing of his arm, the flames dispersed revealing a tall smirking man with dark-blonde hair and navy eyes. He wore a fancy- looking burgundy suit with matching trousers and black dress shoes. Underneath the suit, he had on a white dress shirt with the top buttons undone.

Almost immediately his eyes lock onto the Gremory princess who had her arms crossed.

"My lovely Rias, I've come to see you,"

Rias glared at the newcomer and greeted him through gritted teeth, "Riser,"

"Now then, my dear, let us go back to the Underworld and take a look at the hall. The date of the ceremony has been decided so we must check it out before then," Riser told her as he grabbed her arm.

"Let. Go. Riser," Rias commands, her voice almost sounding akin to an animal's snarl.

Riser smirks and kept his grip tight around Rias's wrist as the heiress relentlessly tried to shake him off.

As they watched, Mori heard a rumble resonating from his brown-haired friend's throat. He quickly leaned in and whispered in Issei's ear.

"We don't know the situation here, don't say anything to possibly make it worse," Mori warned, but unsurprisingly it went through his ear and out the opposite end.

"HEY!" Issei yelled, "QUIT BEING SO RUDE TO BUCHOU!"

Riser's gaze adverted from the crimson-haired devil and towards Issei who was marching forward, Mori was tagging behind just to make sure his friend doesn't do anything that would cause even further trouble.

He raised an eyebrow and sneered, "...Who are you?"

Issei stomped and rooted his feet by the couch, he aggressively points his thumb to his own chest and roared, "I am the Pawn of Rias Gremory! Hyoudou Issei!"

…

…

"...Ah...Okay," Riser replied in a bored tone and turned his attention back to Rias.

This action only pissed Issei off even more.

"Who the fuck do you think you are!? Coming in here and assaulting Buchou like that!" Issei exclaimed.

The question had caused Riser's movements to freeze temporarily before he turned to literally look down on the Pawn.

"Oh? Did my dear Rias not mention someone as important as me?" Riser said arrogantly while glancing at the heiress.

"There was no need to," Rias retorted, glaring at the blonde and folding her arms again.

"Oh my, harsh like always, hahaha," Riser placed his hand over his heart, gasping melodramatically. After a couple of seconds, he began to heartily laugh.

Issei was about to stomp forward to retort and Mori was about to hold him back, but Grayfia stopped both their actions by stepping towards them.

"Hyoudou Issei, Dan Mori," said Grayfia, Mori grew a slightly surprised expression on his face as he wondered how the maid knew his name, "This man is Riser Phenex. A pure-blood, high-class Devil, and the third son of the House of Phenex,"

"Yeah and?" said Issei impatiently.

"And he is the husband of the heiress of the House of Gremory,"

"Wait, so you mean…," this time Mori spoke up, in the back of his mind he was sure he already knew what was happening, but he just needed the confirmation.

"Rias-sama is engaged to Riser-sama,"

"WHAAAT!?" Issei screamed.

"Seriously?!" Mori yelled. The boy had seen this situation in many TV Dramas before, but he never thought he'd witness or be in the mix of one.

As several minutes passed by and the two boys got over their shock, the devils in the clubroom relocated positions. Rias and Riser sat on the couch together and the blonde's arm was draped around her shoulder. Akeno and Grayfia stood to their side, and the remaining member of the club stood in a line by the window.

"The tea made by Rias' Queen is truly superb,"

"Thank you very much," Akeno replied with an obvious fake smile and venom hidden in her tone.

With one hand Riser started to play with Rias' crimson hair. With his other hand, he was touching her hands, shoulder, and thigh. On the opposite side of the room, Mori could hear Issei grinding his teeth together.

His dark eyes flickered over to his friend and saw him clenching his fist along with his body shaking slightly.

"That piece of…" Issei growled quietly.

Mori adverted his eyes back to the scene in front of him and silently clicked his tongue. He would be lying if he said that this didn't bother him, after all, Rias had become one of his closest friends during the past month. Like Issei, he also wanted to go up and kick Riser in the head, however, one of Gunseng's teachings echoed through his mind that helped him in maintaining his self-control.

"Your impulsiveness is your charm but is also a weakness Mori. Remember, combat isn't always necessary as the first choice of action. Before everything, you must observe and analyze the surroundings and find out the truth of the situation. Many wars in history in both the mortal and supernatural realms have been initiated due to Kings and Emperors not thinking thoroughly. Only fight when the need calls for it, this rule...this tenet, applies especially to people like us. We. Are. Martial Artists...not Brawlers...not Fighters for Entertainment. And as Martial Artists, our duty is to keep the tranquility of all the realms. That is what separates us from the regular combat enthusiasts, even if they look down on us and call us weak, and cowardly. We smile, wave, nod our heads, and head off on our way. But when those inevitable eras of war arrive… We are the ones to head off into the hurricane of battle, and return as if it was nothing but a spring breeze. Our heads held high, knowing that we have done good."

With a slow deep inhale through his nose, and a silent long exhale through slightly parted lips, Mori emptied his mind of thoughts of engaging in a scuffle with Riser together with Issei. Speaking of the Pawn, when the azure-haired boy glanced back at his friend he saw Asia whipping drool off Issei's chin.

'Did I miss something?' Mori wondered.

"That's enough Riser!" Rias's exasperated voice echoed throughout the room as she stood up. Riser's arrogant smirk didn't falter.

"I told you before! I. Will. Not. Marry. You!" She said while glaring daggers at Riser.

"Heard that one many times. But that isn't a good attitude you know, considering your House's situation," said Riser who also got onto his feet.

"My Family's situation is none of your business! As the heiress of the Gremory line, I will choose my husband. Everyone is just rushing everything, and they promised me that I will be free of my responsibilities as heiress until I graduate from University in the Human world!"

"That's right, you can go wherever you like and do whatever you want with your servants, but your father and brother are getting worried you know. They are afraid that the Household will become extinct soon if any action isn't taken. Surely you remember that the numbers of Pure-Bloods like us have dwindled drastically since the war. Even if the war between us, the Fallen, and the Angels has ended, many from all sides only consider it a long ceasefire, and it is not an anomaly for Pure-Blood successors to die and or mysteriously disappear, thus leading to their House's extinction. As the last remaining Pure-Blooded, High-Class Devils getting together would be more than important for our forces, and the offspring of such combinations would become integral to the future of our race,"

The room goes quiet as all eyes are on Rias, the crimson-haired devil tried to retort several times but nothing came out, somewhere inside of her mind, she knew the Phenex had a point. The blonde devil continued.

"Yes, the devils created through the reincarnation system are essential for increasing for our future too but their numbers are growing and their strength increasing. Eventually, they will overshadow us Pure Devils and we'll become nothing more than history recorded in a tome somewhere. And we can't just sit back and watch as we go extinct correct? You and I were chosen in order to prevent this. My House is safe due to our traits and my brothers. But including you, yours only has two successors, and your brother left to take responsibility elsewhere. That leaves only you to inherit the Gremory name and if you do not take a husband, the House of Gremory will inevitably go extinct in your lifetime...You're not trying to destroy it, are you? Out of the 72 Pillars, our households are within the small percentage of the surviving families,"

Rias stared at the ground and she could feel Riser's gaze burning into her skin. The surrounding devils and Mori kept quiet.

"The marriage between us has the future of our entire race on the line,"

'So that's the situation' Mori looked back and forth from Riser to Rias, 'After hearing it, that Riser guy may be an ass, but the reasoning behind the engagement makes sense and in the end is for the greater good. They're on the brink of extinction so of course their superiors would try to speed things up. Yeesh...if the guy was a bit nicer, maybe Rias wouldn't heavily object like this.'

Beside him, Issei furrowed his brows and had similar thoughts. "They're Pure-Blood Devils, and I'm just a Reincarnated Devil. Since this is so important to them, I guess that means my opinions won't be heard at all. Then I'll just have to side with whatever Buchou's decision is."

"I won't destroy my House, and I will take a husband," Rias said, crossing her arms.

Riser grinned, "Splendid Rias, now let us-,"

"But I won't marry you, Riser. I will marry the one who I acknowledge, in case you've forgotten, the Devils from the Old Noble Houses have that right," the heiress declared with a firm voice.

Hearing this, Riser clicked his tongue, and his glare on Rias sharpened, "...You know...Rias, I too carry the title of an Old Household, the immortal Phenex, and I will not let it get tarnished. I didn't even want to come to the Human World, I despise it. The fire and wind here is filthy, worse than a rotting carcass. For a Devil who rules over flames and wind like me, this is insulting,"

A blazing aura erupts around Riser, specks of fire danced around his hands and the heat began pulsating outward faster than a rapid heartbeat.

"I will take you back to the Underworld, even if that means burning everything here including your servants into nothing soot to fertilize the ground beneath," His snarl was filled to the brim with killing intent. A blood-red aura started to cloak Rias's body as she matched the power output of Riser, not wanting to be looked down on and to protect her peerage.

Every living being in the room, except for Grayfia, felt something cold running down their spine. Issei began to tremble and Asia tightly gripped his arm while she hid behind his back. Yuuto, Koneko, and Akeno shifted their feet so they could engage in combat at any time.

From Riser's back, two flaming, bird-like wings burst out. Increasing the heat further than before. The members of the Club started to sweat heavily, and some even felt their throats going dry.

Despite everything going on around him, Mori's eyes never left the two wings on the blonde's back. His pupils shook as he stared at the flaming appendages.

'...Those wings...I've seen them before…'

*B-BMP*

His heartbeat rang in his eardrums.

'...I know them from somewhere…'

*B-BMP*

A sharp pain shot through his head as if ten thousand needles pierced his skull. Immediately he stumbled backward and gripped the sides of his head. He clenched his eyes shut and grit his teeth as he tried to ease the pain by breathing. Luckily he was standing a little behind everyone else so no one saw his condition. Using this as his advantage, Mori quickly hid behind the couch furthest from the action.

'What the hell is happening?!' he mentally hissed as he sat down, leaning against the back of the green leather couch.

When the pain slightly subsided, Mori took a quick peek from behind and saw Grayfia interrupting the conflict, getting the two successors to calm down by talking to them. Before Riser shrugged and dismissed his fiery wings, Mori got one last glimpse of them.

*B-BMP*

The stinging sensation spread through his head once more and the boy ducked back behind the couch, tucking his legs close to his body. With his hands trying to squeeze his head together, Mori bit onto his knee so he wouldn't yell from pain. He deduced that something important was being said to the Devils so he couldn't risk getting their attention to be diverted onto him.

Behind him, he heard the distinguishable sound of a magic circle along with Issei's cry of jealousy.

A second later his eyes started to feel hot. At first, he thought nothing of it and dismissed it as the pain messing with his nerves. But then the heat increased and didn't stop. It felt as if there was a growing inferno trapped in his eyes, roaring to be set free.

This new pain caused the boy to bite down even harder, drawing blood from his knee, and ripping off that section of his pants. Mori desperately clawed at his head and nape, trying to rid the agony he felt, but the more he tried the worse it became. With his head throbbing he bit into his other knee, allowing him to muffle his voice.

*B-BMP*

The pair of wings flashed through his mind continuously, and there was no way to make it stop. There were several times where Mori could see that the wings were attached to a silhouette of a man that wasn't Riser, as the shadowed hair was different along with the height. Riser was slightly taller than the mysterious silhouette.

The images in his head then came to an abrupt stop, and Mori fell onto his side, his eyes wide and pupils shrunk. He heard Issei shouting, "Boosted Gear!" before the world around him went dark.

…

…

…

…

…

When Mori opened his eyes, he saw nothing but dark gray clouds and quickly sat up. To his relief, the pain in his head and eyes was gone.

"Finally," he sighed, "...Wait where am I?"

He sat up and looked around, half expecting to be back on the island in his dream from a month ago. Picking himself up, Mori walked to the edge of the piece of land he was one and peered down, the boy saw nothing but an endless plane of clouds below. Looking around, he realized that there were other pieces of land of various sizes floating at different levels around him. He was indeed on an island, just a vastly different one. Instead of being surrounded by water like a traditional island, he was standing on a small piece of land somewhere in the archipelago in the sky.

Each isle had lush grass growing healthily, and trees of all kinds standing tall. Some even had hills and valleys, along with rock formations of varying smoothness which could be considered small mountains. The larger floating islands had streams of pristine water flowing through and dropping off at the edge in a neverending waterfall.

"This is definitely nowhere near Kuoh," Mori said to himself. As far as he knew, he was stranded on this floating piece of meadow.

Suddenly, thunder cracked from surrounding the gray clouds. Enormous streaks of lightning coursed through the sky. Mori whirled around to see the natural chaos ensuing all around him, to his surprise, none of the bolts hit any of the islands. It almost seemed as if the lightning was alive.

Mori quickly covered his ears as two skyscraper-sized bolts suddenly cracked together by the edge of the island. The surge of electricity burst to life and started to take the shape of two gigantic bird wings, the bright light being emitted from the wings illuminated the dark sky.

"What the heck?" Mori gasped, his eyes wide and jaw open as he watched the phenomena in front of him.

As the intensity of the crackling grew, the wings shrank smaller and smaller, and they started to curl together to form a sphere of pure electricity.

A few seconds later, the sphere started to unfurl. Two legs and two arms slowly stretched out, what seemed to be the main torso started to straighten up vertebrae by vertebrae, and lastly, the silhouette of lightning raised its faceless head to seemingly stare at Mori.

The blue-haired boy stared back, lips parted as he tried to speak but only hiccup-like sounds came out as he was too shocked. As the electrical figure floated down towards him, he wanted to step back and gain some distance but his feet were rooted to the ground.

Out of nowhere, the red-eyed, ash-furred monkey bounded onto Mori's shoulder.

The lightning phantom slowly stretched its neck in every direction, a thin, curved slit grew across the lower part of its face forming a smiling mouth.

It then spoke in a hollow voice that echoed through the sky like a far away thunderclap.

"...Hello,"

...

...

...

"...Brother,"

Mori awoke with a gasp, his hand clutched tightly over his rapidly beating heart, his sweat soaking through his shirt and dripping down his face. Immediately he whipped his head around to check his surroundings and found himself in his bedroom. He didn't stop there, Mori rushed towards the window and tore the curtains to the side, only when he saw the usual night scenery of the outside world, did he let out a sigh of relief. He was no longer in the world within his bizarre dreams.

Then realization once again hit him in the face, "Hold on, wasn't I in the clubroom? How did I get back here?"

Mori looked down at himself and saw that he was still wearing his usual getup of a red hoodie over a white shirt, and blue-grey track -pants.

"Did they teleport me back? I hope I wasn't too much of a burden,,, they even took my shoes and socks off for me,"

The boy spun around and headed for the door. After he opened it and took a step out, he quickly noticed a note taped to his fridge.

Once he peeled it off he read the contents in his head.

"Hope you're ok man. We found you lying by the door after that piece of fried chicken left. We tried waking you up but you wouldn't budge, and even Asia tried to heal you. I suggested that you were probably exhausted and passed so we teleported you home. Buchou said she'll be coming to see you in the morning, there's been...well, she'll tell you what happened in the morning so go rest up for now - Issei,"

Mori gazed down at the note for a couple more seconds before folding it and slipping it into the trash. He opened the fridge and searched for something to eat.

"I have a weird feeling that… something big has just begun," Mori murmured.

A handsome man looking to be in his early twenties, with shoulder-length red hair and aqua eyes descended down a long flight of stairs. Following from behind was another young-looking man with light-blue eyes and slicked back green hair. Two soldiers equipped with dark heavy steel-plate armor with crimson trimmings led them down the stairs. The group was currently heading to one of the lowest floors of the largest dungeons located in the Underworld's capital, Lilith. The clinking of metal and the tapping of their steps accompanied their ears as they headed down further and further.

Finally, the group reached the bottom floor. It was used to store the worst of the worst criminals and sometimes unidentifiable beings that could potentially threaten the world above them. Though due to the past couple of centuries being rather peaceful, this floor was mostly empty. The group kept walking until they reached the very end of the corridor. In front of them was a large cage door made out of thick steel engrained into the impenetrable walls around them. The door had a charm placed on it so anything within wouldn't be able to reach out and harm the guards that regularly patrolled the area. Another charm was active in the dark and damp prison room itself which negates all manners of magic.

"In here, Lucifer-sama, Beelzebub-sama," the first guard announced as he pointed towards the door.

"The unknown creature that terrorized the Sitri Territory recently," the second guard added.

Sirzehcs nodded, "We'll deal with this, you two are dismissed,"

The two guards saluted the two Maous and headed off to continue their daily duties. The two super-devils waited until they could sense the guards' aura reaching the surface before turning back towards the door.

"Show yourself, we know you're not dead yet," Sirzechs ordered in a calm voice.

An eerie hiss followed by a series of clicks came out of the darkness. The squelching steps of whatever was inside reached the Devil leaders' ears.

"...I...smellll...yooouu..."

From the inside the shadow, an exoskeletal humanoid arm extended out. It was dark-gray with dark-green vein-like patterns decorating the tough exterior. It had small hooking claws as fingernails, and its four-fingered hands were also webbed.

"...It is...a new smell...stronger than the rest,"

The creature stepped out into the dimly lit area of its confinement, however, the light was enough to show all its details. Its entire body was made of a dark gray and green-veined exoskeleton. Like the hands, the creature's feet were also sharp and webbed but the structure of the feet was similar to a bird's. It had a head that resembled a crab. There were two beady yellow-green eyes at the side of its head, in between its eyes was a mouth with no lips, allowing full view of a deadly row of yellow, thick, needle-like teeth. Just above the mouth were two narrow slits that served as the nostrils. Due to the carapace on its back, the creature was slightly hunched over, but it was still a head or two taller than the two Devil leaders.

"A crustacean caused such a high level of panic in the Sitri territory?" Sirzechs raised his brow.

"So it would seem," Ajuka took out a small notebook and quickly sketched the creature into it so he could research it later, "Interesting, judging from the quality of its exoskeleton it looks to be several centuries old. Anyway, let's finish this interrogation quickly,"

"What are you?" Sirzechs asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know...but don't worry...you will...in time," the creature hissed.

"Hate it when they say things like that," Ajuka clicked his tongue.

"Maybe it's us not sounding dangerous enough? We haven't done this type of thing since the war, I feel a bit rusty," Sirzechs admitted.

"You will all know," the creature ignored their conversation and continued to speak as it slowly approached the door.

"Everyone says that the strongest...in the realms has been...decided...but just wait...they will return..."

Sirzechs and Ajuka exchanged glances. The crustacean monster kept growling.

"They will not remain gone forever...when they come back...the world will rumble like never before…"

"Who?"

"They are both closer and further than you think, one resides in the same place...as your kin," the creature pointed a clawed finger at the red-haired Maou.

"Kuoh?" Sirzechs whispered to himself.

"That is all I have come to say...now with my message delivered...I die...so my king will have a grand audience when he returns," the creature raised its hand to its neck, "I wonder…do your soldiers have the same type of loyalty?"

In one quick movement, the creature plunged its sharp, clawed hand into its throat. As green blood oozed out, flowing down its chest and dripping to the damp ground below as it fell onto its knees.

"...The Nine… Will Rise… Again..."

With that, the crustacean dropped face-first onto the dungeon floor, its blood kept flowing out of its neck. Being exposed to the air, the blood bubbled as steam started to emit from the green liquid.

"The Nine?" Ajuka echoed.

Sirzechs rubbed his chin as he looked down at the freshly dead body of the monster, "Sounds a bit familiar,"

"It should, it's an old fairytale told throughout all the races," Ajuka told him, "I'm surprised you forgot about it,"

"Then would you please remind me?" The Crimson Leader asked.

"I was going to anyway, but first we should get this mess cleaned up," said Ajuka and his red-haired friend nodded in agreement. The two leaders strolled to the staircase, and with a whistle, three guards quickly appeared at the bottom.

Ajuka walked up to them, "There's a body in Cell 20, I need you three to clean the floors and transfer the carcass to my research facility as soon as possible,"

"Yes Beelzebub-sama," the three saluted and headed down the corridor.

As the Devil Duo headed up the stairs, Ajuka informed Sirzechs about the fairytale, and with each second, the Crimson Maou's expression grew more and more worried. If one of The Nine is truly residing in the same area as his little sister, then perhaps he'd have to pay her a visit soon.

( WIN - CIX )

Chapter 7 - Finish

*Banana Kick - A Korean Banana-flavored snack.

One month has passed and the Riser Arc has officially begun. In this time Mori has been training every day with Gunseng, and he gave him a transforming staff?. (It's not Yeoui)

Reiz (refer to Chapter 5) has suddenly appeared again.

Mori having an unexplainable reaction due to the sight of a pair of flaming wings. Eyes growing hot and having dreams/visions/(memories?) of islands in the sky along with...a person made of lightning? And he called Mori "brother?".

Unknown crustacean creature on a suicide mission threatens the Maous, telling them about the return of The Nine. (Don't worry. The fairytale Ajuka mentioned will be revealed soon).

FINAL THING: I have a poll regarding this story's harem controversy on my profile. Check it out if you're interested. It closes after the current arc finishes.

Review Segment:

Hashirama1710: The ending was a little hard for me to write as well. But it is needed to set the tone of the overall story.

gildas13579: Transcended Gods are completely different Gods. I think neither GoH nor DXD has shown them yet. I have no plans for (yet...maybe) Supreme Mubong, but I already have this story's main antagonist in mind. I doubt most people will know who it is.

The Loud Person: Well I did say in an Author's Note before somewhere that Yeoui will have a rather large role in the narrative, more than his other gear.

Nameless Godless: That's very true, we really don't. It's also possible that during his time as King he didn't care about that stuff at all and just preferred to spend his days playing and eating.

Dxhologram: I tried to write it so it was implied that Gautama told Guanyin to tell the warrior monk that it was his new task. And Gautama has a pretty big role too, that is all I'm gonna say.

Gen2324: Enlightened Mori is still something that's being considered.

Shiroyasha Rises: Two different types of Grails. Mori will have another way of regaining his power and possibly surpass it.

Pride of the Quincy: No, I won't be using that version of Yeoui. I'll just say that Yeoui has an important role to play.

Guest: Yes, no, kinda, maybe?

That's all for Chapter 7! Once again hope you enjoyed it, leave a review, and all that good stuff.

Thank You For Reading, and Goodbye!