Sorry for the long wait, but now we are finally going to kick off my original arc, which will be playing parallel to the young devil gathering and the first set of rating games. So, as to not spoil the surprise here, there will be a short note at the end of the chapter, clearing a few things up about the new villains introduced for this arc. They will be recurring characters though, so keep that in mind, love them or hate them, they are here to stay, at least for a bit and will be important later on.

Well, on with the story for now. Enjoy!
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.

Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the High School DxD anime/manga/light novel. All I own are my original characters and plot twists.

'Talking'

"Thinking"

'Ddraig talking and Sacred Gear sounds'

"Ddraig thinking"

*expression*

Flashback

Chapter 27 – Conduits

Issei stumbled a little, as he returned to his home in Kuoh. Ophis had once again, sliced through dimensions and deposited both herself and Issei back in his bedroom. Taking her original childlike form once again, Ophis stood next to Issei calmly.

'That still feels weird.' Said Issei, feeling a chill wash over his form, only to jump slightly, as his door was slammed open.

'There you are!' Exclaimed Irina.

'What's going on?' Asked Issei, slightly startled by Irina's tone.

'What? I should be the one asking that, where did you go?' Asked Irina.

'Er, Ophis kind of took me when I woke up.' Said Issei, gesturing to the girl next to him.

'Issei, who is Ophis?' Asked Irina, looking at the apathetic girl in curiosity.

'Well, Ophis, like I said before, is the friend I made after you left and also the Dragon God of Infinity, who replaced my eye, after Kokabiel destroyed it.' Said Issei, gesturing to the diminutive girl to his side.

Irina looked at Ophis carefully for a minute, before smiling.

'In that case, it's nice to meet you Ophis, I'm Irina Shidou, Issei's childhood friend and soon to be wife.' Said Irina.

Issei gaped at Irina's words, even as she walked over to the shapeshifter and stuck her hand out. Ophis looked at the hand for a moment, before looking at Irina's smiling face, before looking back to the hand.

'What are you doing?' Asked Ophis curiously.

'Um, I'm extending my hand for a handshake.' Said Irina, her smile shrinking slightly, as she quirked her eyebrow in confusion.

'What is a handshake?' Asked Ophis.

Irina blinked a few times at this.

'Er, a handshake is a way of acknowledging someone on friendly terms.' Said Irina, after a moment.

'I see.' Said Ophis, slowly glancing at her own hand, before putting it out towards Irina.

Irina beamed and took the hand, giving it a quick shake, before letting go. Ophis kept her hand out for a few more seconds, slowly bringing it back to her face and looking at it strangely, before letting it drop to her side.

'Come on then, let's go downstairs, the others are going to head off to the Underworld soon. Let's go see them off.' Said Irina cheerfully.

'Okay.' Said Issei, following after Irina, not realising Ophis was tagging along.

There gathered in the lounge room, were all the members of the Occult Research Club, along with Issei's recently turned dragons, Raynare, Karlamine and Xuelan, along with the infamous stray cat, Kuroka.

'Issei, where did you go?' Asked Rias curiously.

'Nowhere.' Said Issei.

In his defence, he didn't actually go anywhere, Ophis and Irina had both abducted him, for lack of a better word.

'You can tell them Issei. Issei and I spent the night in a magical room, blessed by the Angels and Lord Michael himself and became one for the first time.' Said Irina happily, swaying her hips from side to side and covering her face with her hands, a bright blush across her face.

There was dead silence for about ten seconds, before everyone seemed to react at once.

'What the hell? I've been trying to seduce you for weeks now!' Exclaimed Raynare, outraged that an Angel had succeeded, where she, as a former Fallen Angel, had not.

'I see, that's good then. I no longer need to worry about the others swaying you.' Said Xenovia, with a nod.

'Now I really regret my movie choice.' Added Akeno, with her usual demure smile.

'Aw, I always thought I'd get your first time like I got your first kiss, nya.' Whined Kuroka, with a pout.

'Well, you actually didn't even get that, since I stole it from Issei when he was sleeping.' Said Irina, giggling at Kuroka, while leaning into Issei's left side.

'That's even worse then… by the way, what is Ophis doing here, Issei?' Said Kuroka unhappily, before turning curious at the end.

'I helped Issei with his heat.' Said Ophis calmly, ignoring the looks the others were giving her, upon finding out exactly who the diminutive girl was.

'Really? I even got beat by a dragon, nya. I must be losing my touch.' Complained Kuroka.

'What, wait a minute? Issei, have you already been unfaithful to me? How could you?' Cried Irina, with a pout, leaning away from Issei for the time being.

'Well… I didn't really have much choice, since you feel asleep after… well you know… and I wasn't done yet.' Said Issei, somewhat embarrassed.

'So you went straight for Ophis right after I fell asleep. How cruel!' Whined Irina.

'Wait, are you telling me you… did the deed with Ophis… she isn't even female.' Said Rias.

'I am now.' Said Ophis, surprising the others.

'I'm more surprised that Issei would be interested in Ophis at all. Her chest is rather small after all.' Commented Akeno.

Ophis' eyes narrowed ever so slightly at this, before her chest started to grow, surprising the others, before eclipsing Akeno's own. The group looked at Ophis in shock for a moment, before the Dragon God fell over on her face, shrinking herself back to her petite form, Ophis looked to Issei.

'I will work on getting the balance right for Issei. I must go now.' Said Ophis, before swiping her hand down and stepping through the tear in dimensions she had created, before it closed up.

'So when do I get my turn?' Asked Raynare expectantly.

'Never! I might have to share Issei with Ophis, but the rest of you won't get anywhere while I'm around.' Said Irina harshly, glaring at the group, as she quickly grabbed Issei's arm and held it against her chest.

"Er, Ddraig, do you feel something weird coming off Irina right now?" Asked Issei internally.

'I'm afraid your dream of a harem, may remain just that at this point.' Said Ddraig, confusing Issei.

"What? Why? I thought your power drew potential mates to your hosts, like moths to a flame?" Questioned Issei in confusion.

'Yes, but your main girl has taken a turn that may end with a messy consequence if you try it.' Explained Ddraig.

"Wait… you mean… Irina is… Irina is a…" Thought Issei, unable to finish his thoughts.

'Yes. Your childhood friend has stepped into Yandere territory. Good luck. The few times my host had Yandere harems… they ended up dead, by their own mates.' Confirmed Ddraig.

'Irina, didn't we talk about this?' Asked Issei nervously, getting a sharp glare from Irina.

'We did… but I don't have to like it. Especially not right in front of me. As long as I am here. You. Are. Mine.' Said Irina, getting very close to Issei's face, before giving him a light peck.

'Darling.' Finished Irina, giving Issei her usual smile.

"Well… at least she isn't on the full spectrum of the Yandere scale. It probably helps that she is naturally so kind and happy." Thought Issei in relief.

'That being said, if it gets worse… run. Your only hope is to try and appeal to her Angel mentality, that of loving everyone, or things will get messy for you in the future, something to keep in mind.' Advised Ddraig, getting a mental nod from Issei.

'In any case, we will be heading off now. We are going to train in the Underworld for the upcoming Rating Games that will occur between the Devil youths.' Informed Rias.

Kuroka quickly snuck up on Issei and licked his cheek, causing Irina to glare at her.

'Hmm, you do taste like a man. Congratulations. You too, getting to be the first one to tame the dragon.' Said Kuroka thoughtfully, congratulating Issei, before turning to Irina.

'That's right! Wait, what do you mean the first one?' Asked Irina.

'Issei has already promised me a dozen kittens and he can't get out of it. That was my price for being his spy for so long. So I'll get my turn eventually, nya.' Purred Kuroka.

Irina puffed out her cheeks at this.

'Fine. I suppose repopulating an almost extinct race is a reasonable goal… but I'm watching you.' Said Irina, before turning to the others.

'All of you. Don't think this means you can all steal my darling from me.' Said Irina, hugging Issei closer.

'You know you're special Irina. None of them have known me as long as you and you saw how far I'd go for you.' Whispered Issei, resting his forehead against Irina's.

'Of course, you're right darling. I'm worrying over nothing.' Said Irina, loosening her grip, but still holding on to Issei.

'Well done. I can feel the Yandere energy coming off her receding. It is still there, but just barely. Seems you've averted disaster… the Yandere harems I've seen… never ended well…' Praised Ddraig, trailing off towards the end.

'In any case, we will be off for now.' Said Rias.

'Good luck.' Said Issei.

'You don't need to worry about that, the peerage of Rias Gremory can't be beat!' Exclaimed Rias proudly.

"I'm assuming she forgot about her loss to Riser… even if he forced her to surrender." Thought Issei in amusement.

'I shall leave as well. Mother has expressed interest in having a conversation with me, to hear about how I have been enjoying my time here.' Said Ravel.

'I will too, there is something I need to get permission for, from the church.' Said Xenovia.

'Oh, I need to take care of something too. Lord Michael wanted to discuss something with me as well. How exciting! I have great news to tell him as well!' Exclaimed Irina.

'Uh *cough* what exactly are you going to tell him?' Asked Issei nervously.

'About our union of course.' Said Irina brightly, causing a little part of Issei to die.

"She is going to tell the leader of Heaven that… that I had sex with his Ace… I'm going to be smited, aren't I?" Thought Issei sardonically.

'At least you can take comfort in the fact that you won't die a virgin.' Commented Ddraig.

"True." Thought Issei optimistically.

'Never formed a harem though.' Snickered Ddraig.

"Really? Mocking me? Now, of all times? If I die, you go with me, remember?" Retorted Issei.

'We may be partners now, but I'll come back.' Pointed out Ddraig.

"Why are you being such a pain right now Ddraig?" Questioned Issei.

'You mated with Ophis! That is so awkward for me on so many levels. The hand which holds my soul was used for lewd activities on the Infinite Dragon God! I can never forget that!' Roared Ddraig.

"… Just wait 'till you see what I do moving forward with this knowledge. So much groping and fondling shall embrace this left hand of mine." Thought Issei viciously, causing Ddraig to mumble obscenities.

'Issei, why are you smirking?' Asked Irina curiously.

'Oh, no reason.' Said Issei, before giving Irina's left breast a quick squeeze, with his left hand.

'Screw you perverted man child!' Shouted Ddraig.

"Retribution Ddraig, it is coming." Thought Issei mockingly.

Snapping back to his senses, Issei noticed everyone staring at him.

'What?' Asked Issei.

'Pervert.' Commented Koneko, in her usual monotone.

Issei huffed at this, not really denying it, since all of them knew it by now.

'Whatever, weren't you all going now.' Said Issei sourly.

'Of course. Let's go everyone.' Said Rias, before leaving with her peerage, for the Occult Research Club.

'I'll be off as well.' Said Ravel, a magic circle appearing under her, before she vanished.

'We'll leave as well, darling. I'll be back as soon as I can.' Said Irina, before giving Issei a quick peck on his cheek.

Xenovia merely nodded, before leaving with Irina.

'Well, now that she's gone, what do you say to starting on that promise.' Purred Kuroka, sliding up to Issei's side.

'I can still hear you!' Shouted Irina, from outside the Hyoudou household.

'Oh well, maybe later.' Said Kuroka, before slipping away, leaving Issei with his three recently turned dragons.

'What now, master?' Asked Xuelan.

'Well, we could have a spar, just to see how the three of you were changed by the transformation.' Suggested Issei.

Raynare smirked at this, giving Issei a chilling gaze.

"I really hope Raynare getting Ascalon isn't going to bite me in the butt." Thought Issei, not enjoying how the Fallen Angel was eying him.

-line break-

After a rather destructive sparing session, the four dragons headed back up to the living room, taking a well-deserved break.

'Man, the three of you have gotten a lot stronger, I was almost worried for a bit back there.' Chortled Issei, enjoying Raynare's glare.

'Says the guy who didn't even get hit.' Growled out Raynare, before clutching her ribs in pain.

'You suck. How am I supposed to seduce you when I'm in this much pain?' Pouted Raynare.

'You need more enthusiasm than that.' Commented Karlamine, even with her left cheek being slightly swollen.

Xuelan merely sighed contently, as she was resting her head on Issei's right shoulder, completely exhausted.

A black blur suddenly came crashing into the house, landing on the floor of the living room, in a huddled heap. Issei quickly took stock of the situation and noticed the black blur was a badly hurt Kuroka. Her kimono was torn and charred in places and blood was trickling from her lips.

'Kuroka, what happened?' Asked Issei, rushing towards the Nekoshou.

Just as Issei reached the downed girl, a man appeared, in what appeared to be a burst of smoke and ash.
The man, who appeared to be in his mid-twenties, was wearing denim jeans, a denim vest and a hoodie, all in black, along with a red beanie and a red flannel shirt. The little bit of hair that stuck out under the beanie was black and his complexion was olive.

'Dragging others into our battle, I should have expected you to try something this underhanded. Doesn't matter I suppose; I'll finish you now.' Said the man, smoke and ash swirling around his fist, preparing to attack the downed Kuroka, before Issei stood in front of her protectively.

'Who are you and why are you attacking Kuroka?' Asked Issei defensively.

'Kid, just let me do what I came here for and I'll leave you alone. You don't need to get mixed up with a traitor after all.' Said the man, only for Issei to bring out the Boosted Gear.

'I won't let you hurt her. Kuroka may have made mistakes in the past, but I'm not going to let you kill her, especially now that she finally has a chance to live her life.' Said Issei.

The man stared Issei down, before letting his attack dissipate.

'Kid, that was pretty brave of you, but really stupid. Just know, that as of today, the Conduits are now your enemy. Delsin Rowe, remember the name, I'll be back.' Said the man, before disappearing in a wave of smoke and ash.

Issei stared at the spot the man had previously been standing for a moment, confirming with his senses that the man was really gone, before quickly turning his attention to Kuroka.

'Kuroka, can you hear me?' Asked Issei, resting his hand on the cat-girl's shoulder, only for her to let out a sharp hiss.

'We should probably take her upstairs and let her rest. I'll look after her, I knew at least a few rudimentary healing techniques.' Said Raynare.

'Thanks, I'll put her in my room for now, since it'll be the safest.' Said Issei, gathering the Devil into his arms, before lifting her up, causing her to elicit a groan of pain.

'Hang in there Kuroka, you still need to haven a dozen kittens, remember.' Said Issei sadly.

'*cough* Don't you forget it.' Panted Kuroka in pain.

'Of course.' Said Issei, with a smile, before taking the girl upstairs to rest.

-line break-

Kuroka stirred, scrunching up her eyes in pain, before suddenly snapping them open and frantically looking around the room.

'Easy, you're safe now.' Said Raynare, who was sitting beside Kuroka.

The Devil turned to the Fallen Angel turned Dragon.

'What happened?' Asked Kuroka nervously.

'That's what we'd like to know.' Said Issei, closing the door behind him, as he entered the room.

Kuroka looked down at her lap, a frown slowly spreading across her face.

'That was one of the members of my former peerage.' Said Kuroka.

'Wait, I thought you killed them.' Said Issei in confusion.

'No, I only killed our King. The rest of them went into hiding though. They hadn't resurfaced in all this time, so I assumed they had gone somewhere else to live their lives… but it seems they were just bidding their time.' Explained Kuroka bitterly.

'Bidding their time for what?' Asked Issei in confusion.

'Revenge. Revenge against me. I told you my former King was cruel, but he was efficient and effective at what he did. Our entire peerage grew much stronger, but not without sacrifices.' Said Kuroka angrily.

'Sacrifices?' Prompted Issei curiously.

'I told you about how he wanted to use Shirone for an experiment, which led to me killing him, right?' Asked Kuroka expectantly, to which Issei nodded.

'Well, the reason I had to act, was because I wasn't the first one to have someone close to me be endangered. The rest of the peerage all lost someone. The one who chased me, who was it?' Asked Kuroka.

'He said his name was Delsin Rowe.' Recalled Issei.

'Well, our King killed his brother.' Revealed Kuroka, surprising Issei.

'Why?' Asked Issei.

'To push him. He did this numerous times. I was the only one to ever find out the truth of the matter in advance, that's why I acted fast, to save Shirone.' Said Kuroka.

'Wait, why would they be after you then? You killed the one who killed their loved ones, shouldn't they be thanking you?' Asked Issei, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes in confusion.

'Thanking me for taking away their chance at revenge? We all wanted him dead, but we stuck together, like an odd family. Despite the hardships we all faced, we had each other. Towards the end though, I placed Shirone over them and acted. They were forced to flee and leave behind everything they had come to accept, as execution or banishment would have been the likely outcome for them. A peerage needs to protect the King. As cruel as it sounds, they failed to do so, and Devils aren't exactly forgiving. The Gremory are unique, but my former King's clan was all about results. If not death or banishment, we would have been experimented on, which may even have been worse than either of the other two.' Answered Kuroka regretfully.

'So why are they coming after you now?' Asked Issei.

'I don't know. It may be because I've finally surfaced. Khaos Brigade was a secret to most people you know.' Said Kuroka pointedly.

'Yeah, I guess not everyone is on friendly terms with Ophis.' Agreed Issei.

'More like friends with benefits.' Scoffed Raynare.

'I knew him first, so I get dibs.' Said Kuroka, turning to Raynare with a glare.

'Anyway, he mentioned something about me being an enemy to the Conduits now. What, or who, are the Conduits?' Asked Issei, bringing the two back on topic.

'Our peerage was… or rather, are Conduits, even me. Conduits possess a special gene, a Conduit gene, which enables superhuman feats, such as the manipulation of energy, the ability of flight, enhanced senses or strength, or other physical or mental enhancements. The clan of our King focused on amplifying this gene and exploiting it.' Answered Kuroka.

'Aren't those all things Devils already have?' Questioned Issei.

'You don't understand. I said this gene can be amplified. I never said how much. One of the Rooks of the peerage could fight a Satan-class opponent and live. He suffered the most out of all of us, but his power was the greatest, even more than mine.' Said Kuroka.

'The Rook? Why not the Queen? Isn't it the Queen that is normally the strongest?' Asked Issei in confusion.

'Our pieces weren't chosen because of our abilities, the person who was discovered first got the Queen piece and so on downwards until ever piece was used up. The two Rooks were recruited before me, otherwise, I might have been a Rook instead.' Explained Kuroka.

'Isn't that counterproductive? Isn't the point of the Evil Pieces to enhance the abilities of the newly turned Devil?' Asked Raynare.

'Obviously, but with the Conduit gene, none of that matters, since everything can be amplified if you push hard enough.' Answered Kuroka.

'So what is the rest of the peerage like? What are their strengths and weaknesses?' Asked Issei.

'No, I don't want you getting involved in this. This is my problem, not yours.' Said Kuroka firmly.

'You say that, but if you hadn't come here, you might have died.' Pointed out Raynare.

'That's only because all of them ambushed me. I can do this myself.' Snapped Kuroka.

'So you say, but what if they ambush you again?' Retorted Raynare.

'I didn't need anyone's help to leave them and I won't need anyone's help to deal with them.' Huffed Kuroka.

'So what should I tell Koneko if you end up leaving her again?' Asked Issei, getting Kuroka to hiss.

'That was a low blow.' Growled Kuroka.

'You deserved it. Koneko is finally happy that you are back with her again and you're already thinking of leaving her.' Said Issei calmly, walking closer to Kuroka.

'I'll deal with it myself.' Said Kuroka again.

'Well too bad, I'm their enemy too now whether you like it or not. Stop being such a spoiled cat and let me help you.' Said Issei in annoyance.

Kuroka stared at Issei unhappily. His brown eyes met her own unflinchingly. The stare off last for a good minute, until Kuroka slumped her shoulders in defeat and sighed.

'Fine.' Relented Kuroka, getting Issei to grin.

'There, was that so hard?' Teased Issei.

'Keep it up and I'll make sure you never get hard again.' Huffed Kuroka.

'Doesn't that go against the whole litter of kittens thing you want?' Asked Issei teasingly.

'I don't need you to be hard for that. I can forcibly extract your seed myself if I need to.' Said Kuroka, causing Issei to hesitantly step back.

'O-kay… let's bring it back to the problem at hand then. What are the strengths and weaknesses of these conduits?' Asked Issei slowly.

'Well, the Pawns aren't too much of a problem. I can easily defeat them myself. One uses fire based powers and can summon strange swamp-like creatures, another can use ice based powers and fly, the third can use neon based powers and augment their speed, while the last one can also summon virtual creatures based on Angels and Devils, as well as control various types of technology and manipulate them into weapons and holograms.' Said Kuroka.

'Wait, only Angels and Devils? Fallen Angels just don't get the respect they deserve, do they?' Huffed Raynare.

'You're not a Fallen Angel anymore, remember?' Pointed out Issei.

'Well I was one for a long time, I'm not going to just suddenly forget that, after all, that's why I can still make light spears.' Said Raynare, forming a pink spear in her right hand, before letting it fade.

'Ok, so what are the others like?' Asked Issei, turning back to Kuroka.

'Well, the Queen can transform into a behemoth and utilise fire as well, in addition to being able to teleport and control gravity, while you already met one of the Rooks, Delsin, who can control ash and smoke.' Said Kuroka, before pausing for a long time.

'What about the last one.' Asked Issei.

'The last one of the peerage is the second Rook and also the strongest piece among all of them. He naturally controls electricity but is also capable of forming devastating combination attacks with the others… however, his own attacks are a force to be reckoned with. He fought with the Queen once, as a test of their powers… and he almost killed him by dropping a thunderstorm on him.' Said Kuroka, giving a small shiver.

'A thunderstorm…' Muttered Issei in surprise.

'Yeah, but that's not even the worst part. His power is so concentrated and malleable that his abilities are practically unlimited, and all his offensive attacks are devastating. While I might stand a chance against the Queen if I go all out, I never tried to fight that Rook… after what happened to him, his aura became incredibly evil. The experiments done to break him were the worst among us all and there were numerous times where I thought he would kill our King himself.' Said Kuroka.

'What happened to him?' Asked Issei.

'Our King killed his best friend. He died slowly from an illness he acquired, through one of the experiments performed on him… but not only that, his wife was killed right in front of him.' Revealed Kuroka, her ears dropping slightly.

Issei was shocked at this. Such cruelty was beyond what he had seen from most Devils. Kuroka's former King was definitely worthy of the title "Devil".

-line break-

'Well, look who finally came back, took you long enough.' Commented a woman mockingly.

She had braided dreadlocks, with specific parts partly coloured dark red, tied up into a lazy bun at the back of her head. She had dark skin, and dark red eyeshadow, blending with her dark skin which possessed a subtle tinge of red to it. Her attire consisted mostly of leather, with a black half-opened vest, leather pants and leather boots. She also had several, slightly torn sleeves and wore several bands and ornaments, along with several decorative rope necklaces, and had metal finger attachments on both her hands.

'Knock it off Nix, you won't have been able to do it yourself either.' Commented another woman.

This woman wore a simple, grey sleeveless shirt, paired with jeans and shoes. Her hands were giving off cool winds and had flecks of ice dancing along them. Her eyes were an icy blue and she wore blue eyeshadow, along with very dark blue hair, reaching to the back of her neck, with two long side bangs framing her face.

'Actually, Kuo, I would have had her if she didn't run away to get help.' Said Delsin.

'Yeah, come on Lucy, you know Delsin isn't a pushover. None of us can beat him, remember.' Commented another woman.

She had dark pink hair, which partially covered her right eye, a nose ring piercing and wore a white shirt, with a pink skull wearing shades and putting a finger to its lips, in the centre of it. Over the top of this, she wore a worn green coat, with pink patterns on the back and sides, with the sleeves slightly tucked up, along with a wristband. She wore dark red shorts, over black tight leggings, which had rips in them and dark lavender pink boots.

'Well, at least none of us can, except for those two.' Commented a shy looking man, with brown hair, who wore a red hoodie, with a grey hood, glasses, light green pants and grey sneakers. Under the hoodie he wore a red shirt with two "H" symbols on it, one on top of and slightly to the right of the other.

The two the man was referring to, were a fair bit away from the group. One was sitting and the other was standing to his left. The one who was standing had a pair of deep red pupils, and several scars were visible on his body. He wore a dark red suit, with no undershirt, and was now barefoot. The man who was sitting down, however, looked rather demonic. He had a shaved head and stubble on his face. His skin was very pale, appearing to be a dark grey. He wore a dark grey and yellow jacket and black pants. Black red marks danced along the skin of his skull and black electricity, with a dark red tinge, arced off him every now and then.

'Good.' Said the pale skinned man.

'Good? What makes you say that Cole?' Asked the man standing beside him.

The man named Cole stood up and looked to the roof for a moment, before glancing to the man next to him.

'This just means the hunt isn't over yet.' Said Cole.

'I still don't see why we're doing this.' Said the man.

'John… the amount of suffering we felt due to that man was indescribable, but we persevered because we had each other. Even as our loved ones died around us, as we were experimented on and tortured, pushed towards our mental limits, we found solace among our fellow Conduits. But her… she left us behind and killed Kessler too, leaving us thrown to the wolves. If I didn't hold off those Devils long enough for you to teleport us all away from them, none of us would be here right now. Despite that, because of her actions, we are constantly hunted and can't find peace. All of us suffered… but she was the one who got to get revenge. She got revenge at the expense of plunging our lives into chaos, all so her loved one didn't have to suffer. After all we went through, she put her own needs over ours. That's why, we will hunt her down and get our revenge. We might not have been happy, but we formed our own family. She placed her own family over ours and that is unforgivable.' Said Cole.

'Oh, don't you love it when Cole starts talking about things like that.' Commented Nix.

'Cole's talking about justice, not your sick love of destruction.' Commented Kuo.

'There they go again. You'd think they'd learn to get along with each other by now, huh Eugene?' Commented the pink haired woman.

'I don't know Fetch; they are literally fire and ice after all.' Commented Eugene, the hooded, geeky looking man.

'We could just go over there now. With all of us together, she wouldn't stand a chance.' Pointed out Delsin.

'No, we'll let her recover and let her anxiety build, it will make her more likely to make a mistake.' Commented John.

'That's right John and we'll make sure she shares in our pain, before we finish her.' Said Cole, launching a blast of black electrify tinged, with red, to his right, at a picture stuck to the wall, which now showed the charred remains, of a white-haired girl's visage.

Yes, the villains are from the Infamous series. To make everything explicitly clear, this is the former peerage.

King – Kessler

Queen – John White (The Beast)

Rook – Cole MacGrath

Rook – Delsin Rowe

Bishop – Kuroka

Pawn – Lucy Kuo

Pawn – Nix

Pawn – Abigail Walker (Fetch)

Pawn – Eugene Sims

Each pawn took up two pieces as well. The mentions of death and suffering are mirroring all the canon events as well. If you are unfamiliar with the Infamous franchise, you don't need to worry about the specifics too much. I will touch on things here and there, but the people who died aren't the important aspect of their character, rather, it is that they were killed because of Kessler.
If you are familiar with the Infamous franchise you'll be able to pick up who was killed easily, i.e. Fetch's brother, or Nix's mother and know who was tortured, i.e. Lucy Kuo, John White. While Kessler wasn't the one who killed/tortured these people in canon, for the purposes of the story, it was all him.