Chapter 3: Feathers and Tears

Azazel was worried out of his mind when he found his daughter, Vali, and his godson, Issei, lying on the ground that wasn't too far from Baraqiel's and Shuri's shrine.

"ISSEI! VALI!" Azazel went to their sides as he knelt next to Vali and started emergency healing on her first, since she was the more wounded one compared to Issei.

"AKENO!" Baraqiel rushed over to his daughter as he started to heal her.

Shuri had managed to learn a small bit of magic from Reiko so she was able to heal Issei, who had suffered minor damaging effects.

Azazel had wasted no time in calling Shemhazai and other Fallen Angels to them.

After appearing almost instantly, several Fallen Angels took everyone to Grigori's Institute to give medical care.

Vali had suffered a large puncture wound near her heart but thankfully, Grigori was able to heal all damage after extended hours of magic and medicine. The same went for Akeno, who was a bit less injured due to her moving more quickly out of harm's way.

Issei's stamina was completely drained. His body had undergone severe stress due to the unexpected transformation into Balance Breaker. While he had no fatal injuries, he would be bedridden for a while and a phenomenon was going on inside of his mind.

"Ddraig?!" Azazel had run into Issei's room after being reassured that Akeno and Vali would heal.

The Fallen Angel knew that Ddraig was a separate entity within the boy and knew he would obtain answers from him.

"What happened out there?" Azazel looked at Issei's left arm.

A familiar green circle of light appeared of his hand appeared and the voice of the Welsh Dragon echoed.

"The three children were merely playing until, somehow, a Stray Devil appeared out of nowhere and attacked them. He had 6 wings. I don't know what his intentions were. He ran after Issei managed to blow off his left arm after going into Balance Breaker." Ddraig ominously recounted events, causing Azazel to become shocked.

"Six wings?! Baraqiel and I should've been able to sense him then! And now Issei's unlocked Balance Breaker!?" Azazel could only imagine the gigantic amount of stress that Issei had been forced under in an attempt to protect Vali and Akeno.

"That's not all. That Stray Devil was obviously unsatisfied with the Peace Treaty of the Factions, as well as the fact that Vali, Akeno, and Issei were getting along. It might've been someone from the Old Satan Faction." Ddraig didn't like it, but there was no clue, whatsoever as to who was causing such events.

A Rogue Devil appearing out of nowhere without anyone noticing was a massive problem, especially since he had six wings.

"Damn it! I was so careless!" Azazel felt so frustrated with himself that he punched a wall.

A loud crunch echoed and it was unknown if it was Azazel's hand or if it was the wall tiles.

Azazel had realized that he had almost failed to keep his promise to Ryuken and Reiko. Ashamed that if he had been a second too late, Akeno, Issei, and Vali would've been dead.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Azazel turned around and saw one of his best friends. Baraqiel, giving him a comforting look.

"It's not your fault, Azazel. If what Ddraig said is true, then somebody on our level or at least higher, must have been behind all of this. That would explain why we didn't sense anything because we were eluded by someone. Fortunately, we saw Issei-kun's aura from a distance away. Let's just be thankful that we got there in time." Baraqiel and Shuri had just returned from checking on Akeno, who was in stable condition. The wound in her chest would heal slowly but in a few weeks' time, she would be able to return home.

"You're right. At least the children are safe. You two must be tired. I'll have someone bring some food to your room. I should take care of the regular protocol around your home." Azazel walked away without another word.

"Ever since he adopted Vali, he's changed a lot." Shuri noted.

"Probably the responsibilities of being a parent. He'll be okay. We'll be okay." Baraqiel gently rubbed her shoulder.


As promised, a month had gone by and Akeno was in proper condition again. Not wanting to keep her in an unfamiliar place, Baraqiel and Shuri took her home to their shrine, though they took some medicine with them that would help Akeno recover her stamina.

Unfortunately, Vali was still confined to her bed since she had suffered the worst injuries. It would take some time for her to heal because, strangely, small fragments of holy light had been imbued into the attack that hit her, causing some pieces of poison to course through her.

Azazel didn't understand how a Devil was supposed to be able to wield light. It was the antithesis to Devils. Either the attacker wasn't truly a Devil or somebody had tampered with his physiology. Still, that was the least of Azazel's worries: Issei had fallen into a coma.

"I don't understand what's going on either. Issei should only be suffering from a drainage of stamina and magic. He should've been in a better state than the other girls. I've been trying to get into his mind but there's something stopping me. It's like something is blocking me from him. I think…the past possessors of the Boost Gear are tampering with him, somehow." Ddraig's voice was ominous and quite fearful. He was afraid for the boy's life.

No medicine or magic was able to awaken Issei, causing nothing but frustration for Azazel.


Deep within Issei's mind…was utter chaos.

Issei could see nothing but darkness. Walls of red and black shadows flew around him and it made his spirit weak and afraid.

"Where is this?! What am I doing here?" Issei looked around and saw nothing but glowing spheres of red and green circling around him.

Voices echoed from the floating orbs. They sounded like men and women, old and young.

"Hatred."

"You failed."

"Those girls died."

"Domination."

"You couldn't save your parents."

"You couldn't save those friends."

The voices continued to echo and spoke words of poison to him, twisting knives into his heart in an attempt to break him.

Issei knew he was stronger than this but something was making him weak. Was it fear? Doubt? Anger? Issei didn't understand anything that was happening. His mind was so disoriented that he couldn't think straight.

Images of the most recent events appeared in his mind, particularly painful moments of his past.

"NO! I- I tried my best! I tried to protect them! Akeno?! Vali?! Uncle Azazel?! Aunt Shuri?! Uncle Baraqiel?!" Issei yelled out the names of the people he knew in an attempt to call for help.

He was scared out of his mind, unsure of what to do. The words and voices closing in around him seemed to be weakening his mind by the minute, terrorizing the 9-year-old boy senseless.

However, despite his attempts to stay calm in order to rationalize, Issei felt something dark in him. He felt despair and fear. He was scared that he had indeed failed to protect Akeno and Vali and it caused agony to erupt in him. He recalled the lifeless bodies of Akeno and Vali as soon as the thought entered his mind.

"That's right. Because of your weakness, those girls that you cared for so much. Are. Dead." A dark and unknown voice echoed into Issei's ear. This voice sounded different from the rest. It wasn't angry. It was calm and sinister, yet gentle.

Issei's eyes widened as he fell into despair.

"That's…right…Akeno and Vali weren't moving. They lost so much blood…I failed to protect them." Issei's speech started to become slower, weaker.

"If you don't want this to happen again, then use Juggernaut Drive." This sentence stood out to Issei.

"Juggernaut Drive? That sounds strong." Issei seemed to fall into a trance, having easily lost the battle of wills in his confused and vulnerable state.

"That's right. You know the words. You are the Red Dragon Emperor, the Dragon of Domination. Go on. Chant."

The gentle voice egged Issei on as the boy rose up and began to speak.


At that moment, Ddraig sensed what was happening within Issei's consciousness, having finally gotten through to him. While he could not interfere and stop the voices of the past Red Dragon Emperors, Ddraig could still warn Azazel.

"Azazel! Evacuate everyone from this place! The Juggernaut Drive is coming! I can't stop it!" Ddraig yelled, causing Azazel to jump.

While he had questions to ask, Azazel knew of the Juggernaut Drive and so, wasted no time in evacuating the Grigori Institute.

"Everyone! This is Azazel! Evacuate the structure immediately! Do not ask questions or stop for anything! Just run and escape!" Azazel immediately pulled out the [Downfall Dragon Spear] and stood on guard. He wasn't going to abandon Issei, even if he had to knock some sense into him. Fortunately, Azazel would be strong enough to hold off Issei for a while but he would need help to avoid harming him.

Shemhazai wasn't anywhere near the Institute, while Kokabiel was on his own mission elsewhere. There was only one other person that he trusted enough to help him.

Creating a magic circle in his hand, he contacted Baraqiel.

In the Human World, Akeno was completely healed, given the good graces of fate, she was able to move about but she wasn't in able condition to leave the house.

Right in the morning, at 7:00 am, Baraqiel was startled by the sudden appearance of Azazel's visage through a magic circle.

"Azazel!" Baraqiel exclaimed. Azazel never contacted him so early unless something serious was going on.

"Baraqiel! There's no time to explain! Something's going wrong with Issei! I need you to come to the Institute and help me! It's Issei!" Azazel's urgency and tense voice was enough to prove to the Fallen Angel of Holy Lightning that this was no ruse. Only a parent could convey that much fear.

"Understood." Baraqiel did not hesitate to rush to his friend's aid.

Before he left, though, he was caught by Shuri.

"Is something wrong?" Shuri's instincts kicked in and she knew that something terrible was imminent. She could just feel from her heart that a tragedy was going to happen.

"Yeah. It's about Issei. Something's gone wrong. I have to go." Baraqiel spoke urgently.

Moving as quick as possible, Shuri ran forward and dove into her husband's arms.

"Please help Issei and make sure to be careful and come home safely." Shuri spoke softly as she kissed her husband on the lips.

They didn't know why, but they felt extra passionate that day. Remembering this, Baraqiel left with a smile.

"I'll definitely come home." Baraqiel disappeared in a flash of a magic circle.

Seconds later, Akeno had risen from sleep, having heard her parents moving and talking from the open door of her room.

"Mom? Where's Dad?" Akeno rubbed her eyes as Shuri walked over to her daughter.

Scooping her up into her arms, she guided her to bed. Akeno wasn't sure why, but her mother seemed extra worried, a rare occurrence.

Arriving at Grigori and rushing to where Azazel was, Baraqiel's hair stood up as he got closer to Issei's room. He hadn't felt a sensation like this since the Great War.

"Baraqiel, you and I are gonna have a long day. Issei's somehow fallen into a trance and is about to go into Juggernaut Drive. I don't know if my call for help is going to get here in time, but I really hope that nothing worse happens." Azazel prayed to his deceased father and hoped that whatever good existed in the world, would save his godson.

Issei, who was standing on his bed, was being overshadowed by a dark red aura, with nothing being visible about him, save for his eyes, which were shining green.

Ominously, green orbs of light began to materialize and float in the air. The voices of the deceased Red Dragon Emperor, who had been consumed by the Juggernaut Drive began to speak in tandem with Issei's, as if they had become a chorus to his malicious chant.

(SiM – The Rumbling ~ Instrumental. Play Song.)

"I, who is about to awaken."

"It started." "It looks like it will start."

Issei's form changed to that of his Scale Mail, though it seemed more spiked in appearance.

"Am the dragon who has stolen the principles of domination from God."

"It was always like that, no matter what."

"That's not right, it was like that every time."

The head of the Red Dragon Emperor then protruded forth and his neck became that of a dragon's. His helmet grew jaws and fangs, with a deep growl escaping him.

"I laugh at the Infinite and grieve at the Dream."

"The one the world seeks."

"The one the world rejects."

The arms and legs of the armor extended and became clawed. The top portions of the Boosted Gear's gauntlets stretched up and grew spikes as the chest area of the scale male had become a cluster of enclosed armor.

"I shall become the Red Dragon of Domination."

"It was always power."

"It was always love."

Wings that were without leather but were embedded with jewels, sprouted from the back of the armor, enlarging with each second.

"You all choose destruction no matter how many times!" Ddraig's voice boomed, infuriated by the futile cycle the past hosts always encouraged.

"And I shall sink you to the depths of Crimson Purgatory."

A long tail shot out from around Issei's lower back, giving him the last part of the transformation that would turn him into a dragon.

"Juggernaut Drive!" The voice of Issei joined with that of all who had spoken to him in his mind, causing a gigantic rush of energy to burst from and around him. The entire room was destroyed, leaving craters and holes everywhere.

Forced back by the immense pressure, Azazel and Baraqiel took a few seconds to regain their composure but as soon as they regained their footing, the Red Dragon Emperor turned its attention to them.

Opening its mouth, a beam of red energy was fired. The beam was colossal and would've consumed the two if they hadn't moved out of the way.

The two Fallen Angels noticed that the beam wasn't as strong as it should have been, perhaps due to Issei's young age.

They didn't want to attack, but only guard until Azazel's supposed help had arrived, but they didn't know how long that would take.

"Issei! Wake up! Remember your father's lessons! Don't ever give in to your rage!" What Azazel didn't know was that Issei was enraged, he was in despair. Utter and breaking despair. He couldn't hear anyone now.

Flying off of the ground, Issei disappeared from sight with blinding speed and reappeared behind Baraqiel, who had sensed the malicious presence of the dragon.

Spinning around, Baraqiel instinctively coated his arm in lightning and backhanded the Red Dragon Emperor in the face, sending him flying back a few feet, but it did little to keep him down.

"Baraqiel! We shouldn't be attacking!" Azazel wanted to avoid provoking the dragon from using even more of Issei's life force, which would screw his godson over.

"I know! But if we don't fight back, we'll die!" Baraqiel didn't want to hurt Issei, but he remembered his promise to Shuri and that was something that he refused to break.

With a pained expression, Azazel sprouted his wings and flew into the air. He didn't want anyone getting caught up in the battle so he had to take matters into the air.

Suddenly, the Juggernaut stepped forward and the armor on its chest opened up. A large emerald orb was revealed to be embedded within the chest area and it looked as if it was about to be fired.

"BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!" The Boosted Gear echoed as massive power gathered inside the large green orb in the chest cavity of the dragon.

Azazel and Baraqiel felt dire fear at the mere ominous glow of the orb.

Wasting no time in trying to move out of the dragon's trajectory, Azazel knew that if this attack hit, he'd regret it.

(SiM – The Rumbling ~ Instrumental. End Song.)

Suddenly, a voice called out.

"DIVIDE! DIVIDE! DIVIDE! DIVIDE!" The voice of Albion echoed.

The orb's light disappeared slowly as its attack weakened. A stream of green energy blasted into the sky and ignited the immediate vicinity with light, a mere testament to the size and strength of this attack.

Azazel looked at where the sound had come from and saw Vali, floating in the air.

"Vali! What are you doing?! Get out of here!" Azazel was now panicking. Not only was his godson dying, his daughter was now in death's path.

"Vali! You don't have Balance Breaker! You'll only get hurt if you stay here!" Baraqiel dashed in front of her to shield her from a blast of energy that had been fired her way.

"Issei! Don't you recognize me?!" Vali called out to him.

For a mere moment, the Dragon form of the boy twitched at Vali's words, but resumed his roaring.

"Vali! Issei doesn't recognize us at all, right now!" Azazel warned her, causing Vali to feel pain in her heart. What was she to do?

"Albion, what's going on?" Vali asked her dragon companion.

"He's in Juggernaut Drive. I remember telling you all about it but I guess this is the first time that you've seen it in the flesh." Albion grimly replied.

Vali's eyes widened in shock and horror.

"Then…that means that Issei is going to die if he stays like this?" Vali's voice shook. She didn't like thinking that idea. She didn't want to lose one of the few people who had given her life meaning.

"Yes. You need to hurry, Vali. If we're going to help save him, we have to do it quickly." Albion felt that the time was right for what they were about to do and was now urging his host to act.

(Gundam 00 OST – 00 Raiser. Play Song.)

"You're right, Albion. I need to be stronger. I won't let anyone die!" Vali bolstered the emotion in her heart and declared her desire to the world.

"A fine conviction! It's time to show the world just how much you mean it!" Albion spoke as a massive blue aura erupted from Vali.

"Balance Break! Divine Dividing! Scale Mail!" Vali proclaimed as white dragon armor materialized around her.

"Vanishing Dragon! Balance Breaker!" Albion's voice rang out through the landscape, attracting the Juggernaut Red Dragon Emperor's attention, as well as Azazel's and Baraqiel's.

Closing the distance between them in an instant, Vali landed a powerful punch that transferred her powerful emotion to Issei, knocking a small bit of sense into him.

Staggering backwards, Issei's Juggernaut Drive was proven to be incomplete and it was performing far under what it could actually do.

"DIVIDE!DIVIDE!DIVIDE!DIVIDE!DIVIDE!DIVIDE!DIVIDE!" With each word, large portions of Issei's strength was taken and transferred to Vali, who quickly ventilated whatever strength she couldn't handle safely.

"Come back to your senses, Issei!" Vali poured all of her energy into one massive orb of magic that blasted Issei and sent him flying several kilometers.

Breathing and panting with exhaustion, Vali felt light-headed and her muscles seemed as if they had been lit on fire.

Her armor cracked and parts of it shattered and dispersed. This being her first time using Balance Breaker, she could only use it for so long.

Slowly making their way to Issei, Vali stopped and saw his dragon body wrestling with itself in frustration, as if it were fighting itself.

(Gundam 00 OST – 00 Raiser. End Song.)

Then, out of nowhere, a bright and magnificent light shined from the sky as a magic circle appeared.

Materializing from it, were four beings.

They each had 12 white feathered wings with one of them sporting a set of golden wings

"We got off lucky." Azazel hoped they would act quickly before things got to the point of no return.

"The Four Seraphs?" Baraqiel was stunned when it was revealed that the help that Azazel had called for was in fact, the help of the Angels.

"Now, Gabriel!" The Angel with 12 golden wings exclaimed with utmost desperation.

One of the Seraphs descended in front of Issei at that command. She had long golden blonde hair and green eyes. She had a breath-takingly beautiful body and wore a white dress with golden arm and leg bands.

Closing her eyes, Gabriel began to sing.

Her voice was gentle and soft. Warmth even radiated throughout the land as the lyrics to her song reached Issei's ears, calming him as his subconscious reacted to the sound of the Seraph's voice.


Within Issei's mind, he had been covered in the whispers and darkness of the past Red Dragon Emperors.

For what seemed like days in his head, Issei's mind fell deeper and deeper into despair, prolonging his stay in Juggernaut Drive.

Crying and whimpering to himself as he grieved over the false lies of the deaths of his friends, Issei's spirit had become so bonded with the darkness that it had come to the point that he would almost be consumed by it.

Suddenly, light poured in from the dome of shadows that had covered Issei. The holy rays peeked through, catching Issei's attention. Raising a hand to shield himself, Issei looked and saw a hand.

It looked so warm and inviting that Issei felt like reaching forward and taking it.

"Don't!"

"Do not take that hand! Hope is not the way of the Red Dragon Emperor!"

"Destruction is our path! Your path!"

"Stay away from the light. It will make you weak!"

Issei seemed to start losing focus on the words of the ghosts covering him and zeroed in on the radiance coming to him.

"Take my hand. I promise, everything is alright. You'll be okay." A feminine and blissful voice called out.

Issei felt so inclined to take it as he saw a small vision or perhaps, a hallucination.

It seemed as if Issei felt two hands push him forward towards the light.

Looking behind him, Issei saw the ghosts of his parents, smiling at him and ushering him to move forward.

As the ghosts of the dead Boosted Gear possessors moved to try and trap the current host of Ddraig, they were blocked by waves of light that emanated from the spirits of Reiko and Ryuken.

"You will not have our son!" Ryuken turned into his dragon form and stomped the ground, with his wife on his back. A large shockwave of light blew away the darkness of the past as Issei took hold of the hand that had come for him.

He was pulled higher and higher from the white space that was his consciousness until he felt his vision become white.

In the real, solid world, the berserk Red Dragon Emperor's armor slowly morphed back into the normal state of the Red Dragon Emperor's Balance Breaker, eventually purging itself, leaving an unconscious Issei to fall but he was caught by Gabriel, who carried him to Azazel.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Azazel cried as he felt that Issei was still alive.

After much effort to break out of the darkness that had swallowed him, Ddraig was finally able to speak again.

"Thank goodness that worked. I believe the worst is over. Thanks to his incomplete transformation and the power behind the song that saved him, Issei should be fine now." Ddraig exhaled as he spoke. If he still had a body, he'd have been covered in sweat.

"How did this even happen?" Azazel still didn't understand how the Juggernaut Drive came about.

"The most likely cause of this incident is the fact that the memories of the past possessors had preyed on Issei's mind when he believed Akeno and Vali to be dead. He had lost consciousness after seeing their bodies. He must have forgotten that they were still alive when he blacked out. Anyways, at least Issei didn't lose any years off his life." Ddraig still held on to hope as he tried to pass it onto Azazel.

Azazel then turned to the Seraphs who had come to his aid and bowed his head in utter gratitude.

"I don't know how to repay you. I owe you, Gabriel and Michael." Azazel wasn't sure how he would repay his former enemies/siblings.

Michael took a good look at Issei with a degree of worry and interest. Putting a hand on Issei's forehead, Michael could feel a sense of foreboding as he thought about the day's events.

Looking at Azazel for a moment, Michael deduced that he wasn't taking care of Issei for…hidden and obscene purposes. Azazel looked more like a worried parent, rather than a mad scientist. Smiling, Michael merely nodded at Azazel.

"Do not worry, Azazel. There's no need to repay your debt right now." While Michael had wanted to do this act for free, he was confident that he would need Azazel's help in the future, so he would have to be able to cash in his favor in time.

"Goodbye, Azazel." Gabriel smiled sweetly as she left with her Heavenly brethren.

It would have been unwise for Angels to stay too long in the Underworld, given the delicate truce between them and the Devils and Fallen Angels.

Watching as they left, Azazel silently thanked them again before turning around.

Azazel breathed a sigh of relief as he looked over the ruined Grigori Institute. While the foundation was gone, nobody else was hurt.

He looked at Baraqiel and noticed the several bruises and gashes that he was lucky to escape with, but otherwise, the master of holy lightning was fine.

He looked at Vali and noticed that she had no apparent injuries but she was out cold.

Moments later, Shemhaza had returned and was astounded by the devastation caused to the location. After filling him in, the Vice-Governor General was worried out of his mind about future risks of Juggernaut Drive but Azazel put down the worries for the time being.

Quickly repairing their base, Issei and Vali were put back under medical care. After several tests, it was concluded that the two were going to be bedridden for a long time again. Issei's body had been forced under a lot of stress recently and Vali had just finished recovering from her previous wound.

Fortunately for them, that was the end of transformations for a while.

Baraqiel, who had managed to recover rather quickly, had decided to leave for home after being reassured that the two would be fine.

Azazel turned to Baraqiel and thanked him.

"Thanks, Baraqiel. You protected Vali multiple times. I owe you." Azazel made a gracious smile and ensured his friend that he would find a way to repay him.

"No need, Azazel. I'm just happy to get to go home to my wife and daughter now." Baraqiel smiled happily at the thought of being welcomed home by his beautiful wife and adorable daughter.

"Alright. Tell Shuri and Akeno that I said hello." Azazel saw him off, satisfied that his friend was able to go safely.


When Baraqiel returned home, he had hoped to see his wife and daughter like usual. Somehow, Shuri had the ability to detect when he was coming home. She was always waiting for him whenever he arrived back at the shrine, with a radiant smile on her face

As the light faded from his view, Baraqiel expected his beautiful family and their warm home, however, what he saw was far from it.

The doors were all torn down and broken. The shrine looked as if it had been savaged. Hearing screams and the cries of his daughter, Barakiel rushed where he knew they would be and saw numerous men that he recognized as his enemies.

(Doctor Who OST – The Rueful Fate of Donna Noble. Play Song.)

However, they weren't what he focused on. Laying on the floor, broken and lifeless, was the body of his beloved wife, Shuri. His daughter was crying her heart out and cradling her deceased mother, calling for her.

"Mother! Mother!" Akeno sobbed as she clung to the bloodied corpse.

Silent hatred and fury exploded in Baraqiel's heart. His face remained stern and his voice was silent but his actions were frenzied and his actions were brutal.

Creating a sword of light, he lunged forward and slaughtered the enemy that had taken the lives of his wife. While he slew each person, Baraqiel felt no satisfaction nor comfort to his heart. If anything, the agonizing pain in his heart only grew. He knew none of this would return Shuri to him but he was too hateful to spare anyone.

Screams and cries for mercy came from one of the assailants, who had been backed to a wall.

"Please! Please! Mercy!" one of the men cried as Baraqiel walked up to him.

Each of his footsteps sounded like thunder. Electricity crackled as Baraqiel felt himself come to a boiling point.

Pointing his sword forward, Baraqiel fired lightning at the last assailant, incinerating him into nothing. Not even ash remained of him.

Covered in blood and breathing heavily from the frenzy that he had fallen into, Baraqiel was snapped out of his trance by the sobs of his daughter.

Looking back at where she was, Baraqiel's heart ached and his entire body shook as he moved toward her. He tried to touch his wife but his daughter lashed out at him.

"Don't touch her!" Akeno yelled, her voice laced with venom.

He turned to her and was met by her eyes.

Cringing back, Baraqiel had never seen such hate in her eyes before.

"Why?! Where did you go?! Why did you leave?! Because you weren't here, mother died! We always wait for you but you never come home on time?! This time you came home too late!" Akeno launched herself between her father and her mother's dead body, clinging to it.

"Because of you and your stupid black wings, people came after us! They said because of you, I had to die! They said you all had to die! All because of these black wings! I hate my wings! I hate your wings! I hate them! I hate the Himejima! Why don't all of you go away?!" Akeno's cries of hatred and pain echoed throughout the area, proving how strongly she felt about her words.

Baraqiel wanted to stay but he heard clamors and recognized Akeno's relatives. They probably knew of what had happened and as Baraqiel suspected, one of the Himejima clan members that he recognized were among the group.

"So the others didn't kill you and your brat. No matter, we will finish their work. I saw the red flashes of light near this shrine. I came to investigate and who else did I find…a Fallen Angel, our brainwashed relative, and their filthy child. Naturally, I notified your enemies, you evil bastard. Now die!" The Himejima clan members mistook the blood covering Baraqiel to be his own but that was a fatal error.

Dispersing his light sword, Baraqiel wreathed himself in holy lightning and obliterated all of the Clan members that were foolish enough to come here.

Leaving no remains of the enemy within an instant, silence filled the shrine, save for Akeno's cries.

'If I stay…my daughter will only hate me more. Because of me…my wife is dead. Perhaps…it's better if I leave.' Baraqiel began to slip into despair and considered taking Akeno somewhere safe, regardless of her protests but the Fallen Angel leader spotted relatives of Akeno, who were neutral. Baraqiel then prepared a magic circle to leave in.

Suddenly, Baraqiel felt the hairs on his back stand up as he shot around and almost immediately, a pillar of light blasted from the ground, destroying the shrine home that Akeno was still inside of.

His face contorting into that of a horrified look, the Fallen Angel Leader tried to move towards it but it was too late. The shrine was no more, with nothing remaining, save for ash.

Before he could go to his destroyed home, Baraqiel was engulfed in the light of teleportation.

Reappearing at Grigori, Azazel was stunned by the return of Baraqiel.

Alarmed at the blood that he was covered in Azazel ran over to him.

"Baraqiel! What happened?!" Azazel led his friend over to a seat.

No longer able to repress his emotions, tears began to stream down the face of the stern Fallen Angel. Shaking and gripping his face to hide his sorrow, Baraqiel could barely stop himself from roaring in emotional agony as he explained the story of what led him to this moment.

"Shuri…Akeno…they're dead. Her clan…they…they told our enemies of where I lived and they came to attack me. They found Shuri and Akeno instead. They killed Shuri. I killed them but…but then her family came…they attacked and I killed them again. All I've done was kill enemies and now…I killed my wife and daughter! Just when I turned my back, our home was obliterated along with my daughter!" Baraqiel collapsed into sobbing shambles as Azazel felt tears fall down his face too.

Azazel wanted to fall into grief as well but he couldn't. He had to be a pillar of support for his brother. Azazel led Baraqiel into a room and listened to his brother as he cried himself into silence.

Walking out of the room when all was done, Azazel dropped to his knees.

In total shock, Azazel realized what had caused Baraqiel's tragedy.

'It's all my fault. If I hadn't called Baraqiel out to help me, he'd have been home to protect his wife. Shuri…sweet Shuri. Why?! First Ryuken and Reiko, now you too? Shuri? And poor little Akeno! She was so sweet! She didn't deserve any of this! Once again, I've failed to protect my friends!' Azazel punched into the floor in self-loathing as guilt gnawed away at him.

(Doctor Who OST – The Rueful Fate of Donna Noble. End Song.)


After much time had passed, Azazel had managed to collect himself. While he felt guilt, Azazel decided that he couldn't stay like this forever. He had to move on or the past would just drag him down. He still had to lead his people an ensure their survival. He could wallow in his emotions later.

On that note, Azazel declared that nobody would tell Issei of his involvement. While nobody blamed the boy, the dragon-human hybrid had indeed played a role in Shuri's and Akeno's deaths. Knowing Issei, if he knew about the events that had happened, he'd blame himself.

Still, Azazel lied through his teeth and told Issei and Vali of what had happened to Akeno and Shuri. He lied that the reason why Baraqiel wasn't able to protect them was because the Fallen Angel had been sent on an important mission.

Issei didn't blame anyone but he did feel anger at whoever killed his Aunt and one of his best friends. Anger boiled in his heart and despair had crawled back into him but this time, Issei had remembered his father's lesson and controlled himself.

Even though he did this, he and Vali still grieved for their deceased loved ones for days but eventually willed themselves to move on. It was getting more disturbing that they'd gotten more and more used to losing people.

Soon silence had gripped the Grigori Institute for days. Nobody spoke unnecessarily, as many had heard of Baraqiel's tragedy. Silent respects were paid to Shuri and Akeno, who were known to several Fallen Angels. Everyone hoped that this was the end. First came the loss of Issei's parents and now Baraqiel lost his family. Vali had also experienced a traumatic childhood, which only a few knew of.

A total of two years had passed since that day and Issei and Vali were now 12-years-old.

Azazel had ensured to teach as much as he could to Vali and Issei as time passed by. Vali had a much higher learning pace than Issei, but he proved to be the more persistent one.

After both had unlocked Balance Breaker, Azazel had developed the [Downfall Dragon Spear] in order to better understand dragon Sacred Gears so that he could better instruct the children under his care.

When Vali had learned everything that Azazel could teach her, she had 5 Devil Wings. Given her young age, Azazel was sure that she would have more as she grew stronger.

It was after he thought this that his daughter entered his office. She looked serious and even sad when she walked in.

"Vali? What's wrong?" Azazel knelt in front of her.

"Papa? There's something that I want to talk to you about." Vali sounded nervous, even sad.

"What's wrong?" Azazel didn't like where this was going. Enough tragedy had already happened; he didn't want to hear any more bad news.

"Papa…I'm going to leave for training. You said that you'd train me personally but I need to be stronger. Issei…he got hurt because Akeno and I weren't strong enough. I don't want that to happen again. That's why, I'm going to leave for training with other people. You're friends with Odin, right? I want to go there to learn more! Please, Papa!" Vali begged on her knees in desperation.

In all honesty, Azazel didn't want to let his daughter go to some far away place but when he saw the heart-shattering plea of his daughter, Azazel's willpower crumbled.

Taking a long and heavy sigh, Azazel nodded.

"Very well. I will contact Odin and call in a favor that he owes me. However, you won't go alone. I'm sending Penemue and a small group of Fallen Angels with you for your protection. While we don't have particular animosity with the Norse, we can't have you march into Asgard unannounced and unprotected. I'll handle setting things up. You need to go pack your bags." Azazel was already formulating plans and schedules by the time his daughter left the room.

He understood that Vali wanted power for a noble reason and who was he to obstruct her from such a noble cause?

While it saddened him to watch her leave, Vali promised to return as soon as her training was complete.

However, Azazel was worried about whether or not Issei would take things well. The two of them had grown so close in the 3 years that they lived together. It was actually becoming apparent that Vali had developed feelings for her rival/friend. She blushed very often around him and would stutter whenever he complimented her looks. Azazel was actually scared of how quickly Vali matured mentally.

"I hope nothing goes sour." Azazel stared out of his window as he contacted the 'Old Geezer of the North'.

Vali was packing a suitcase and had just met up with Penemue. The purple-haired Fallen Angel had been like a caretaker and mentor to her for years. She taught her how to be an appropriate and proper lady and watched out for her when it came to boys. It was actually she who told Vali to try and grow more by learning about the world.

"Penemue, I'm all packed. I'm ready to leave at any time now." Vali smiled sweetly at her older sister-like figure, who patted her head.

"Good. Azazel is also getting things ready so we should be able to leave as soon as he says when we can." Penemue then left to oversee a few final matters.

Vali then jumped as she felt a strong tap on her back.

"Kya!" She yelped and then abruptly covered her mouth.

She whipped around and saw Issei, smiling goofily.

"Issei?! Don't do that!" Vali pouted as she hated it when he embarrassed her like that.

"Sorry. I couldn't help it." Issei rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Suddenly, Vali recalled that she had forgotten to tell her crush that she would be leaving on short notice.

"Say, Vali, how about we get something to eat? I'm starving." Issei suggested.

Vali wanted to tell him what she was doing but she decided that this may be the last time that she would be able to spend time with him in a long while, therefore deciding to go with him.

"Okay!"

Walking off to the cafeteria in Grigori, the two enjoyed a Japanese meal and conversed.

"I heard that you extended the time that you could stay in Balance Breaker, Issei. I can't believe that you can use it for a day now?!" Vali wanted to milk out whatever she could from their conversation because she knew that she would miss doing this.

"Yeah but it's not special at all. By the way, I heard that you caused an accident in the labs the other day. Haha! I heard that you blew up some test tubes in an experiment." Issei laughed jovially as he teased his friend.

Vali puffed her cheeks at this.

"Stupid Issei! Always teasing me! I don't want to talk to you anymore! Hmph!" Vali huffed and turned her head, making Issei apologize quickly.

"I'm sorry. I can't help it." Issei then caught himself before he could say anything else.

"You should treat a lady properly." Vali stilled kept her head turned away.

"Man. This kinda brings back memories. I remember when we'd prank Uncle Azazel by rearranging his schedules and then we'd switch out Uncle Baraqiel's training equipment with rubber replicas. We'd also do training together and we'd spar until we were black and blue. I remember when you made me promise to always be your friend and to stay with you." Issei's words were driving a nail into Vali's mind.

'I need to tell him. Oh, he's going to get so upset with me but…but I'm doing this for his sake!' Vali gripped her chest as she amassed her courage and spoke.

"I-Issei, there's something that I have to tell you." Vali stood up straight and looked her crush right in the eye.

Looking at her innocently, Issei's eyebrows arched up in a questioning fashion.

"Hm?"

"I-I…I'm leaving Grigori for a while. I'm going away." Vali spoke solemnly and she regretted speaking as soon as she saw his smile turn into a hurt expression.

"What?! Why?!" Issei dropped his chopsticks onto the table.

"I have to get stronger Issei. I'm not growing much anymore here. I have to travel and grow stronger so that I can protect the people that I care about. I'm so sorry, Issei, but I want to do this for everyone's sakes." Vali grew a bit afraid that Issei would lash out at her.

Issei hung his head low. Making a sigh, Issei looked at her with a pained smile but his voice was soft when he spoke.

"Ok. I understand, Vali. But promise me something."

"Yes?"

"Promise me that you'll definitely come back." Issei looked at her with pleading eyes. Vali was one of the few people left in his life.

Vali nodded and gave Issei one last smile.

"Of course, Issei. I swear to come back to you." Vali then bent over the table and kissed Issei's left cheek.

"Goodbye." Vali then left as she had caught sight of Penemue, who had signaled for her that it was time for her to leave.

Issei watched her as she left, not looking away once as he tried to burn his memories of her into his mind.

"Goodbye." Issei muttered sadly as he was now alone.

"Stay safe and get stronger." Issei then made a look of powerful determination in his eyes.

"Because from now on, I'll get stronger too."


The changes I made in Chapter 3:

Fixed grammar and changed some dialogue.