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So Fallen Angels… Devils… exorcists… and now finally Angels…

In Akira's opinion, it was kind of strange that Angels were the fourth supernatural part of the three factions he was meeting with. Honestly, he at least thought that they would be the third one to see.

But that didn't matter now as the great archangel Michael was now sitting across from him while sipping from a cup of coffee that Sojiro provided. It was a sight that Akira never thought that he would even utter to himself nor did he ever think of seeing. It was… unsurprisingly a lot less exciting that mentioned.

Well, at least this Michael was better looking than the Persona version. The centurion-like look was an interesting touch, but was incredibly odd when one threw on orange-tan skin as well as slicked back black-blue hair kind of ruined the look… At least in his opinion anyways. This blonde haired, gold armor appearance had a much better ring to it as well as an appropriate look for an Angel.

Now that Akira thought about it… "How exactly did you know that we live here?" He had to ask the Angel while tilting his head. "I don't recall Xenovia-san or Irina-san saying anything of where they were staying. Just that the heiress to both the Gremory and Sitri clans were granting them shelter."

Michael finished taking a small sip before putting the cup down on the small saucer. "You're correct. When told that two wielders of the Excalibur fragments did not return, such words caused a small outrage amongst the Church. We in Heaven however had a feeling as to why they chose not to return." His head dipped down a bit when speaking.

The black-haired boy folded his arms. "Okay…" He nodded his head slightly. "But that still doesn't answer my question." Akira pointed out. "How did you find this place as well as know that the Phantom Thieves were specifically there?"

"To make a long story short," Michael raised a hand to point a single finger up. "Azazel told me."

Blinking, Akira had to take a bit of time to process the statement that had been given forward. "…Azazel-san…" Akira parroted back, allowing Michael to nod back in response. "…Azazel-san… as in one of the leaders of the Fallen Angel faction?" Another nod came his way. That caused Akira's eyes to widen a bit with surprise. "I mean, I sort of get that leaders of different factions don't fight with the possible risk of way, but he's a Fallen Angel. What would he have to talk to you about? The only worthwhile thing I can think of discussing is the issue of Kokabiel, and that has been taken care of."

"Yes, the issue has been dealt with." Michael confirmed for the boy. "But that is not the reason as for why Azazel spoke with me. Nor is that why I came here to talk to you." Looking around, he noticed that the table and area around them was rather empty. "Are your comrades not coming for this discussion?"

"I thought it better that this be a one on one deal." The Phantom Thief answered while leaning back in his chair. "Everyone else has exams to worry about and are keeping each other in check." He rested his arms against his stomach. "So, what exactly did you come here for?"

Michael brought his hand up to grab his cup once more. The sip that came after felt as if it were a large gulp. Akira though kept his gaze straight and pointed towards the Angel. Putting his cup down, Michael got back to the conversation. "We are holding a peace conference soon at Kuoh Academy… and I would like the Phantom Thieves to be present with you at the table with us."

"…What?!"

Akira's surprise did not shock Michael. Akira wasn't surprised at his own reaction either. His reaction caused him to stand up, almost knocking the chair that he was seated on down. Opening his mouth, he struggled to find the words. Closing his lips, Akira's held a finger up to indicate that he was about to speak. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath and exhaled.

"…Okay," He breathed before sitting back down. "Let's start from the beginning." Holding both arms around, it was almost as if he were meditating to calm himself down. Putting the limbs back down, Akira looked directly at Michael. "You mentioned that Azazel-san told you where we live. Is this when this peace conference idea came up?"

"That is very much correct." Michael nodded his head, giving time for Akira to wrap his head around the subject. He did understand that suddenly saying that there was going to be a peace conference for factions at each others' throats for centuries would be surprising for anyone. Let alone being invited to participate as well as sit with their heads. "Kokabiel's sudden actions were shocking. But when told it was all just to start a war so he could enjoy a fight, it was a small indication that none of us could be fine with how things were after that stunt. Azazel had that in mind when he proposed such an idea in the first place."

All Akira could do now was nod his head. "Yeah, understandable." He had to agree. But that nod stopped soon after. "But what exactly do you mean by peace conference? I mean… aren't you all technically living under some sort of treaty between the three factions?"

"In a sense, yes, that is correct." Michael nodded his head. "But what we are really trying to do… is band together and join forces."

"Team up so there won't be any fighting amongst yourselves…" Akira stated, but he had to say that it was a poor way to word it. "What exactly is there to fight against though? You make it sound as if there were some imminent threat. From what I can tell, just the three factions have issues with each other. Other places don't seem to have a problem or care of anything but themselves."

"I too am curious about that." Michael admitted. "But Azazel made it sound as if us joining forces is something required. As if something as big as all the factions will come out of shadows to attack." He then averted his downward gaze to the boy. "Which is one of the reasons as for why I am asking you to join us at the table."

"Yeah, about that, I still am confused as to why you came to such a decision. If you're constantly talking about the three factions as well, do Azazel-san and Sirzechs-san know about this?" Akira questioned. "Something as important as that would at least have to be consulted with them. Not only that, we're just humans with some interesting abilities. That's it."

"But you have also proven to be a capable party that has even interactions will all three factions. Gremory and Sitri for Devils, Azazel for the Fallen, and exorcists for the side of Angels." Michael listed. "Yes, Sirzechs was also present with Azazel due to the latter actually contacting the former. After our discussion we all did agree that this is something that we all wanted. But the decision still ultimately falls to you."

"…Even the Devil faction was present during your conversation." Akira had to clarify, causing Michael to nod. "Is there anything that Sirzechs-san mentioned about us then that would be of interest to you?"

"Yes, quite so." Michael sipped the last of his coffee. "I thank you for what you have done."

"…" Akira narrowed his eyes at this. "So you were aware of Yaldabaoth's existence then? After all, he was a fake god in a way."

"Yes, Yaldabaoth was indeed trouble back then." Michael agreed. "But after several tiffs before and after the Great War, he went into hiding. Probably to be able to recover himself back to full strength to pull off some sort of scheme to only make himself stronger. Which he had done yet you managed to defeat him."

"So you were aware of him still being alive." Akira frowned. "Yet you did nothing to track him down?" Better yet, were the sudden cases of mental shutdowns not considered to worrisome or supernatural enough to at least have someone investigate? I believe something as disturbing as people suddenly just dying out in the streets randomly would require attention."

Michael stared at Akira. "You're displeased with this."

"Obviously." Akira folded his arms.

The blonde sighed is shame. "The reason we didn't do anything was because we couldn't find anything." Michael admitted. "Even when we sent people to investigate, they couldn't find anything related to the mental shutdowns, let alone Yaldabaoth. We knew that something was off, but there was nothing we could do about it. Even when it came down to the Phantom Thieves, we couldn't find out anything about any of you."

Listening, Akira just continued to stare. Eventually though, he sighed. "…I guess you couldn't do anything if you couldn't find anything." He said, not exactly happy about that. Even if they had pulled off so many stunts of taking peoples hearts, the risk of them dying was still present. The Metaverse may have been the reason the Phantom Thieves came together, but it was also the Metaverse that caused Akira to almost believe he had made a wrong decision and nearly kill everyone in the process. With the supernatural world now becoming a part of his life, he questioned why they didn't do anything, and it was up to the human group to clean up Yaldabaoth's mess.

Michael noticed the small amount of bitterness Akira produced. But still, it was a bitter feeling all the same that came his way. "My apologies for what Heaven has done to you." Michael said while bowing a bit. "And know that I immensely thank you for what you have done. This debt shall never be forgotten, and that you will have our support whenever you may need it."

Akira quickly realized what was happening. "It's fine, just raise your head. There's no need to do that anyways." He shook his head quickly. "A simple apology would have been fine."

Michael only hummed with a small smile. "Maybe." He said before rising. "Tell Sojiro Sakura that I thank him for the coffee. It was very good."

"I'll take it the coffee was heavenly in your opinion?" Akira asked. Michael stared at the boy while he looked back blankly. But eventually, the two of them chuckled. "I'll walk you out."

As the two of them moved though, Michael had to say. "You still haven't answered my question." He said as they both reached the door. "Would you like to sit at the table with us and be recognized as an equal party? Or would you prefer to remain in the shadows?"

As Akira opened the wooden barrier, he thought about it for about a minute.

Considering various situations…

TakeABreak

It was only a couple of days later that the meeting of the factions began.

Thankfully, it was after school but at a late time to the sun was beginning to set. But it was almost strange. Due to the nature of this meeting, precautions had to be taken. Now, in the old school building where Rias' Peerage would hang around, the Phantom Thieves could only see the sky with a purple hue to it all thanks to a magical barrier. Most likely to prevent anyone or thing to just barge in unannounced.

What really took the cake however was what occupied the sky. There were so many specks to create clouds. But those specks were really masses of Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels. So many littered the sky, it was almost as if they could block out the sun if they gathered together.

"Shit… this really is important." Ryuji muttered to himself, staring out of the window and eyeing the colored setting outside. "Something that big… wonder if it's as strong then."

"It has to be, obviously." Ravel folded her arms, peeking out of the window as well. "As you said, this meeting is important. There is no way the factions would allow any kind of risk to take place whatsoever."

"Yeah, I know, I know." Ryuji reassured the smaller blonde of how he thought of the situation. Bending forward, he scratched the top back of his head. "It's just… something like this is really happening, you know? From what I understand, Devils, Fallen Angels, and Angels couldn't really be in the same room without being at each others' throats. But now for all of that to end with this… Must be some pretty serious stuff that needs to be talked about."

"And we're sure that Azazel-san did not tell any of you anything before hand?" Ravel raised an eyebrow, earning a shake of the head from Ryuji. That caused her to sigh. "What in the world is going on through that leader's mind?"

"We haven't really been in contact with him since the Rating Game ended, so who knows?" Ryuji shrugged his shoulders." He then turned around. "Hey, barrier's up." The blonde boy notified all the humans and Devils in the room. "Should we get moving?"

"Yes, it's time to go." Rias nodded her head. But then she turned her head towards a box. "Now Gasper, I'm sorry, but it's best that you stay in your room until negotiations are over. We don't want your Sacred Gear to accidentally go off and slow things down."

"It's okay, I understand." Gasper nodded his head, keeping his gaze averted

"Wait, Gasper-chan," Futaba jogged up to the boy. "Not like that." She tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, like you wrote down. If you do, you'll get your reward…" The ginger sang out in a tempting song.

Everyone else in the room seemed to be confused at what Futaba was talking about. But then Gasper slowly turned his head around the stared directly at them. "It's okay, I understand why." He said, doing his best not to avert his gaze. "Good luck with everything." Still, his eyes did not go away.

"…That was perfect, Gasper-chan!" Futaba cheered for the boy as she pulled out a small book and scribbled in it. "Here, take these. They may not seem like it, but they're incredibly tasty!" She commented while trying to fish out of her bag. Successfully, she brought out a variety of snacks. "Go ahead, enjoy!"

"Whoa!" Gasper gasped in awe, turning his head down to the table. "I don't even know where to begin!"

"Well, you got a lot of time to choose! Take care!" Futaba grinned at the face Gasper was making. Getting off the couch, she jogged right after the others that were exiting the room.

"Futaba-san, if I may ask," Kiba spoke out. "What was that all about?"

"A secret that I will take to my grave." Futaba easily put mischievously.

Walking towards the main building and entering, all of them made their way through the halls until they saw the conference room where everything would be taking place. Rias raised her hand and knocked. "Pardon us." She pushed the door open and walked in with everyone else behind her.

When they entered the room, they saw that everyone else had already gathered. Around a giant table, Azazel was seated on the right side. Next to him was Vali, leaning against the wall with his arms folded and staring at the newcomers, slightly nodding back when he made eye contact with Haru. Across at the far end from them was Michael with Irina standing right behind him. To the left were both Sirzechs and Serafall, Sona and Tsubaki both standing behind them with Grayfia next to them as well.

Although it was almost unneeded, Sirzechs gestured his hand towards Rias and her Peerage.
My younger sister, her Peerage, and Ravel Phenex." He introduced. "They found themselves involved with the recent attack by Kokabiel."

"Sorry for the trouble Kokabiel caused." Azazel apologized, but didn't really look sorry.

"Please, be seated." Sirzechs offered, allowing the rest of the Devils to move to the side and sit down on chairs that were provided.

But Akira and the rest of the humans (with a cat) didn't move. Instead, Akira stepped forward. "Akira Kurusu, leader of the Phantom Thieves." He decided to introduce himself as well, getting several nods of acknowledgement from those at the table. "You guys can be against the wall if you want." The statement was meant for his friends, as they took their own spots.

The three other factions watched as Akira made his way to the table… and sat down.

"So," Azazel smirked at the sight. "How's it feel to sit down with the big shots?"

"I have to admit, slightly awkward." Akira answered honestly. "I mean… with the leader of the Grigori, an Archangel, and two of the Great Maou with me being just human." He placed both hands on his chest. "Can you really blame me?"

"It's okay, Akira-chan," Serafall gave a thumbs up in his direction. "We're here just to talk. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"…Speaking of talking…"

With those words, Akira brought the slightly light mood down to a neutral atmosphere. What came after was a fold of conversations with various matters in mind. At first, it was talking about how God was dead. There were incredible concerns that because of that, the amount of Angels there were was low. Akira proposed an idea which caused them to think. But at the same time, his suggestion came with a possible flaw.

After that though… came matters about Kokabiel.

Rias, Sona, Ravel, and Makoto all gave their own reports of how they witnessed the incident. The way they explained things may have been different, but each of them confirmed their reports with one another in the end. But after each report, most of the table turned to a single person.

Azazel leaned back. "Look, the recent incident was caused by the independent actions by Kokabiel himself. But there's no need to worry about him since he's down in the frozen depths of Cocytus. He won't be coming back. I believe everything I just mentioned is on the handout you all received. There's nothing more to say."

"…There's a handout?" Akira asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but you came a little late and didn't receive one." Azazel waved his hand. "Your loss. That's what you get for not coming on time for this meeting."

"Right… meeting." Akira nodded his head. "Speaking of which, you said that there was one main purpose of this, correct? There is something big about this, isn't there?" He tapped his finger on the table. "Why else would you allow me to be a part of this table. As a separate faction that is needed to be a part of the conversation?" He leaned forward a bit. "How does this involve the Phantom Thieves?"

The question ask caused utter silence among them all. This led to Sirzechs, Serafall, and Michael to all look towards Azazel. "Well… now that I think about it…" Sirzechs frowned. "We all agreed that it would be a good idea just because of how things have been turning out. But now that you mention everything…"

Azazel raised his hands. "Aw, come on, four on one hardly seems fair at the moment." He jested for a moment, but then cleared his head. "But, yeah, somethings up that does kind of concern you… At least, you've interacted with."

"This isn't about Yaldaboth, is it?" Akira asked. "After all, we did already take care of him."

"No, nothing of the sorts. Though thanks for that, guy was an even bigger prick than God." Azazel shook his head. "No, what this is really about is the Khaos Brigade."

Now that caused the Phantom Thieves to shut up for a moment. "Khaos Brigade…" Yusuke whispered. "It's been a while since I last heard that name."

Sirzechs heard Yusuke's musing and turned his head. "You are familiar with this group?"

"They tried to recruit us at one point while preparing Rias for her Rating Game." Akira stated. "So that means that you've found out more about them, Azazel-san?"

"Yup, and it's not really looking well." Azazel sighed while rubbing his head. "For everyone who isn't aware, a group of humans from this Khaos Brigade group tried to recruit the Phantom Thieves into their ranks. But what's weird is that they are trying to do what it best for humanity and human-kind. With that kind of goal, you think that they wouldn't bother being a part of other supernatural groups. But the Khaos Brigade really is a large combination of Devils, Fallen, humans, and a few Angels. It makes you wonder what kind of things that group would have in mind."

"So this meeting was mainly to have us all also team up and prepare for this massive group that is mobilizing." Michael summarized. He put a hand to his chin. "Hmm, this is troubling. If members of all factions are already banding together behind out backs… and assuming all those humans are Sacred Gear users, this spells nothing but trouble."

"Exactly the point I'm trying to make." Azazel nodded. "But unfortunately, we can't assume that human part. It is confirmed that they're all Sacred Gear users. One's that've perfected themselves as well. But as for the group in general, apart from that humanity part, they're after nothing by ruin and chaos. And the leading them is-"

Before Azazel could speak anymore, a weird feeling spread through the entire room. But it didn't feel like it came from the room, but rather from outside. Purple now became the general color of everything. A familiar chill ran through the entire room only to the humans. Among all of the Devils, only Issei, Sirzechs, and Serafall were not swallowed by the colored hue. The same was for Michael, Azazel, Vali, and the Phantom Thieves.

"What was that?" Serafall frowned and looked around.

Akira slowly looked over towards the other Phantom Thieves who were giving grimaces as they knew what it was. But he decided that he should be the one to announce it. Especially since it looked to be that Issei were the only one to confirm it. "Gasper Vladi's Sacred Gear."

While a couple were confused, Issei was the main occupant that could ever react in an alarmed manner. "What?! How the hell is that possible?!" He questioned. "Isn't is based off his vision? Then how is it able to spread this far?"

Several flashes of light soon began erupting from the window. Getting off of their spots, Azazel was one of many to move over towards the transparent barrier to get a good look. "Who the heck are those?" Mogana asked, up on Ryuji's shoulder as they all saw several people seeming to rise right out from the ground thanks to several glyphs right under them.

"Terrorists judging by how this are going on here." Azazel noted leaning closer. "Namely sorcerers by the looks of it though. Shouldn't be able to get us in here though, thanks to the strong barrier we all put up. But it does seem like we're stuck here though…"

"But how the heck are they able to freeze time?" Ann asked.

Futaba's thoughts immediately went to one person that had the ability. "Gasper-chan…" She said quietly in a bit of horror. "I'm not sure if this is the case, but it could be possible that they're powering him up and forcing him to use an amped version of his Sacred Gear…"

"I think the term you're looking for is Balance Breaker." Azazel corrected for her. This caused all of the teenagers to turn at the man in confusion. "Well, put into an abridged version, it's an evolved form of Sacred Gears in which their full powers can be released. If you're talking about a time Sacred Gear, then Forbidden Balor View's Balance Breaker is freezing nearly everything in an area."

"Then we have to do something!" Futaba exclaimed. With a quick burst of flames, she turned into her Phantom Thief outfit and began looking. "Uh oh… it looks like Gasper-chan has also frozen all the others but the sorcerers that are coming!"

That just led to Azazel whistling. "Wow, that's pretty impressive." He complimented. "But, can't have them dying on us now, can we?"

"You got that right!" Ryuji nodded his head while snapping his head around. "Akira, what do we do?" But then the fire in his voice died down a bit when he noticed where his friend was. "…Akira?"

Everyone else looked over to see where the boy was. Sluggishly, Akira had made his way towards Sona. Standing in front of her frozen form, Akira couldn't help but stare at the shock on her face. Perhaps a reaction to an odd feeling before being frozen. But Akira did not move from his spot nor did he avert his gaze… A gaze that was holding an unknown feeling.

"So… these terrorists…" Akira slowly said. "…They're the ones responsible for this?"

"…Hey, dude…" Ryuji came up and tapped his shoulder. "You okay?"

"…Am I okay?" Akira asked curtly, only settling for a turn of his head. "Great. Fantastic. Just brimming with ideas." Each sentence came swift and without much emotion. "Three things that need to be done. First, making sure the ones outside are taken care of. Second, aiding Gasper-san so no one will be under the effects of his Sacred Gear. Third, find out who even started this."

"Seems simple enough." Azazel nodded his head before turning to an acquaintance. "Vali, how about you help with part one? You always complain about wanting a good fight. How about giving this place a e shot?"

Vali only folded his arms while raising an eyebrow. Eventually though, he shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, fine by me." Opening one of the windows, he was about to jump out but pointed at the Phantom Thieves. "None of you need to concern yourselves with this part. I'm more than enough for those outside."

All but Akira looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders. "Well, as long as you stay careful." Haru spoke out with a small smile of thanks.

Vali looked at her. But his eyes were on her for a lot longer than any of them had anticipated. Nodding his head, he took on a familiar form when he took Kokabiel away and began causing chaos among the grounds outside.

"That just leaves part 2 now." Akira said, still not moving from his spot.

"Wait, I just thought of something." Makoto spoke out. "If Futaba can manipulate various surroundings related to magic, why doesn't she possibly try to counter Gasper-san's Sacred Gear?"

"Because through all of my manipulating, time is a constant change that I would have to fight against." Futaba frowned. "My manipulating has to do with many kinds of calculations or codes like actual hacking. I would have to input a variety of things but also make sure that they're synchronized with reality when compared to the frozen time in here. With each passing second, the calculation would have to change several numbers and such for it to work."

"In that case, as said, free Gasper-san." Akira stated. "A couple of people and Futaba go to the old school building. There you will have to fight to get Gasper-san out of there while Futaba provides you supports and a getaway."

"Uh, senpais…" Most people saw that Issei was the one to raise his hand. "If you wouldn't mind, could I be one of the ones to-"

"That's be fine." Akira cut the boy off. "In that case, Morgana, you help him out."

The cat nodded, flipping in the air and turning into his Phantom Thief version. "Got it." He nodded his head.

"Right." Futaba nodded as well. "Come on,-I-cchi!" She grabbed the brunette threw him out of the window.

Ignoring the cry of surprise from the brunette, Futaba and Morgana both jumped out the window as well. With Futaba sliding into the bottom of Necronomicon, the tentacles of the Persona grabbed both falling members before flying off.

"Well, that's two parts down." Makoto noted. Putting on her Phantom Thief outfit with everyone else, she turned to Akira. "Actually, now that I think about it, you said that you knew who the leader of the Khaos Brigade was."

Azazel knew that he was the victim of this statement. "Right. Like I was saying, their leader is the Ouroboros dragon… Ophis."

As if there were a signal, an orange glow filled the room. Everyone was immediately on guard as they turned around towards the doorway where the glow was originating from. Rising up from a glyph that was around that spot, a tall bespectacled woman with a voluptuous figure was seen. She had tan skin with long brown hair tied into a bun with a headset and she had purple eyes. What she wore for clothing was an extremely low-cut dress that had a high slit which exposed a large portion of her chest.

Despite those surrounding her, she took in the occupants of the room and smirked. "Greetying, current Lucifer, Sirzechs." She greeted. "Such a hostile welcome. Don't you recognize me? Katerea Leviathan, kin to the previous Leviathan?"

"…No, I would never be able to forget your face." Sirzechs frowned. "Does that mean that the rest of the Old Great Maou are with the Khaos Brigade?"

"How astute." Katerea put her hands on her hips. "As a symbol of power herself, she's perfectly suited to bring different powers together. With that power, this world will be destroyed and rebuilt for the betterment of the future… We will be the ones to rule over that new world."

"Destroying and then rebuilding?" Serafall questioned. "Katerea-san, why would you do this?!"

"You question me, Serafall?!" Katerea venomously asked. "You, with the title of Leviathan you stole from me, do not-?!"

A flash of blue flames shot up in the area but then died down just as fast. With that grabbing their attention, everyone looked over towards Akira. The boy was still standing in front of Sona, not even have taking a single step from his original stance. His head was turned in the direction of where all of the noise was coming from.

"…So…" Akira's face couldn't be made out properly due to the darkness of his clothing and mask. "That's means you're the one responsible for all of this."

Katerea scoffed. "Well, obviously, who else would-"

A gunshot immediately rang out in the room followed by a sudden scream of pain. Something had pierced right through Katerea's shoulder and caused her to physically recoil and take a step back while putting a hand against the wound.

Nobody could really see it, but Akira's left arm had been moved so that there was a small space between the limb and his body. Thanks to that space, it provided the perfect window for Akira to have been able to point his gun right under the arm and fire.

Gritting her teeth, she hissed as her arm started burning and the hole began to heal. "That was a cheap shot, brat." She growled.

"Good." Akira answered, with narrowed eyes. "Everyone…" Fully turning around, Akira flourished his gun and knife while Arsene appeared while extending its wings so strongly it created a powerful wind upon arrival. "She's mine."

WOOOOOOOOOO! ANOTHER CHAPTER! Not as impressive, but, WOOOOOOOOOO!

Coming up, Issei's rodeo/hoedown and something other than Akira's feelings coming to life!

No flames please.