Devil x Darklight

by Seiker Hikaru

Noe had figured his life would always be quite easy. Certainly not NORMAL by any stretch of the imagination, but easy enough. But all it takes sometimes is a single twist of fate, and suddenly your life will go from normal to a special kind of mess. Though perhaps that kind of mess is what he needed to find, if he ever wanted to find answers to the nature of his abnormal life.

9. V1: Life 9

Life 9: Flash in the Night

It wasn't that long after the attack at the fountain park that Noé arrived at the Back Alley, taking the rare route of going to the building proper within downtown Kuoh. He'd used the time walking there to gather some of his thoughts and form something of a plan after sending out messages. One to Tsuno, who he knew absolutely wouldn't pass up on a chance to go buck wild like this, and another to Rias on the off chance she felt like making do on the potential offer to help deal with this situation if it had escalated.

To say there were few questions asked by Van when Noé arrived at the Back Alley with his clothes in tatters and stained in blood was an understatement. Van only patiently waited as Noé charged through the office door back into their home, coming back a minute later in his combat gear and then planting his rear on one of the other desks in the office. Only then did Van decide it was a good time to speak.

"So… what is it you're planning?" It didn't take much for Van to guess the situation, despite not having gotten a message himself. Or rather, simply because he hadn't needed one, since as per usual, he had one of his familiars tailing Noé to be sure of things. So, he knew everything that had happened earlier in the day.

"Easy, going' scorched earth," Noé said, cracking his knuckles. "No dirty tricks, no games. I'm getting everyone who'll come along and breaking down their front door and then some. Might demolish that damned church while I'm at it."

"I heard I could bust some heads!" The office door promptly slammed open as Noé was flexing his wrists, an all too excited Tsuno zooming over, using a desk as a break as an all too excited smirk showed his fangs. "So, we're bustin' up some Fallen Angels, right? Sure, this isn't going to cause a mess with Gremory? Or she staying out of this?"

"Depends on if I get a response from her or not," Noé said, checking his phone, "No reply on the phone, so…"

"I mean if they show up so what?" Tsuno muttered, picking at his teeth. "The two of us are way more than enough to roll over a place if we go in guns blazing, aren't we? Why the extra help?"

"Because as one of this area's overseers, Rias at least has a right to decide how to handle a threat," Van remarked, standing and going to the wall he did his portal spells at, starting to mess with the runes in place on it.

"Wait, you seriously gonna open a door for us old man?" Tsuno asked, Van nodding.

"Might as well, Noé definitely isn't changing his mind about this," Van glanced back at his son, the teen nodding in response. "You told Asia you'd help her… meaning you're going to stick to that promise to the end, even if you're going to charge in like a moron right to enemy territory."

"Don't have to call me a moron about it," Noé griped, tugging at his hair.

"And yet 'moron' would perhaps be the best word to describe you at this moment," Noé couldn't help but groan as Rias strolled in with her Peerage in tow, all of them looking quite ready to head into a fight… though once more Noé felt the need to question why they thought school uniforms were the best outfits to use. Do they not have anything else? Was his thought, but figured it was worth dismissing. Perhaps Rias just wanted to keep an image going. "Though I would say with what happened today, a moronic act is perhaps in due order."

"I'm surprised you actually showed up," Noé bit.

"Well, I can't simply allow an offense like this to pass, can't I?" Rias countered, "You are a ward of House Gremory. An attack on you, in broad daylight no less, is thus an attack on me. I was willing to let those Fallens have the church so long as they kept to themselves, but it seems their insistence on attacking you has brought us to this."

"… you've been waiting for an excuse to blast them the entire time, haven't you?" came Noé's flat summation. Rias's face flushed just a tad, Akeno and Yuuto stifling snickers at their King's expense, while Koneko's brow showed the slightest twitch to reflect her own amusement at the blunt call out.

"Mayhaps…" Rias said, coughing into her hand.

"Not like I'm arguing… but we're not just nuking the place from orbit," Noé said, Rias and company raising a brow. "This is a smash and grab. I… may or may not have, in the past couple of days, not-kidnapped a nun I met… and now I have to save her again because she decided to go back with those Fallens than see me keep fighting them after they got one up on me."

"Seems your guess him keeping a secret was more spot on than we thought," Akeno chuckled, Rias's brow twitching as any attempt at airs fell away.

"You really are a moron!" Rias said, her tone telling of sheer exasperation. Noé growled while his face in turn took on a red shade.

"Shut up."

"Hagh… no wonder this took such a turn. But… if it was just one nun then… she has a Sacred Gear, doesn't she?" Rias let out a deep sigh when Noé nodded. "Well then that suddenly explains everything. But this doesn't change the situation. At the end of the day, you, Noé, are my responsibility. So even if I'm cleaning up your mess, it's my job to lend you my aid however I can."

"Man, you bounce back quick," Noé chuckled, Rias subtly glaring at him. "But I appreciate the help. They got me a bit last time 'cause they were smart enough to bring a bunch of other Exorcists in the wings to shoot from the back. I imagine we're going to be walking right into an entire mess of them once we show up."

"So?" Tsuno chirped, turning a nail in his teeth. "It's, what, a couple of Fallen Angel scouts and a bunch of quack Stray Exorcists who probably ain't even that well trained! And there's gonna be six of us! I'm pretty sure any one of this lot could stomp the leader of the bunch flat with a flick of their wrist anyway."

"Not incorrect," Yuuto noted, "Honestly this is going to be easier than a Stray hunt. Noé, didn't you say the first time you fought them, they didn't even scratch you?"

"And wouldn't have last time if not for the whole getting shot thing," Noé griped, "Not that it didn't stop me from smashing that Raynare's face in either. This isn't gonna be hard. Just keep in mind I'm also saving someone in the process. So… let's just be fast with it."

"If you're all settled then…" Van spoke up, running his hands along the runed wall, "I'll open the gate as close to the church as possible. Far enough to give you room to advance, but close enough you should be behind a perimeter if there is one."

"Then let's go and actually make this quick," Noé stood and took the front as Van threw the portal open, the ring opening out into a wooded clearing with a gust of air.

As they all passed through and the portal closed behind them, the group find it was perhaps too quiet. Throwing his senses out, Noé found he couldn't detect a thing besides the numerous "blips" coming from the church. Nothing was behind them, or around them. It was starting to set in that, perhaps… their enemies were even dumber than he was.

"… this is going to be easier than I thought," Noé mumbled.

"Huh, well, if they're all clustered in one spot, that'll make it hard for Rias and I to do our thing," Akeno observed, "So how about we hang back? See if they decide to come running out so those of us better suited to fighting indoors can save Noé's little friend?"

"Hmm, perhaps that would be for the best," Rias commented, "Would hate to bring the place down as well. The last thing we need is to have this end up on the news. That kind of clean up can be… bothersome. That, and we can't be sure if reinforcements may show up. We know there's at least three Fallen Angels left. One of them could have left to get back up, having realized how dangerous you are, Noé."

"… there's a chance of that too," Noé admitted. "Alright then. So, you two are staying outside to watch for anything coming behind us. So that means me, Tsuno, Yuuto, and Koneko are charging in. Honestly was this any other situation I'd say be careful… but considering the threat… my advice is just go buck wild and rip 'em to shreds. I'll handle getting Asia, so cut me a path."

"Sounds good to me," Yuuto commented, Koneko nodding and tapping her fists together.

The four acting as the vanguard then took off while Rias and Akeno turned to begin checking their surroundings to be sure. They tread lightly as they approached the church, taking a moment to go to the side and peer in. To their surprise, there wasn't even so much as a single guard left in the main room of the church house. With a nod from Noé, the four went to the entrance, Koneko punching the doors to the chapel in.

What greeted them could have definitely been called a definition of blaspheming. Any iconography that had remained when the Church was left had been broken or ripped to shreds. Crosses broken in two or reversed, pictures torn from the walls and left in tatters, and statues were left as piles of rubble, not much more.

"Hm… you know, part of me was half expecting that priest I fought to show up," Noé said, walking down the ruined pews as he scanned the room. "Guess he actually took my advice and skipped town after I kicked his teeth in."

"Huh… I feel a bit disappointed there's no obstacle before the rest of this," Yuuto hummed. "Now then, where could they be? I don't see a passage…"

"Ah please, it's obvious!" Tsuno strolled over to the main body of the altar. And with one solid kick, he sent the heavy stone of the podium skidding backwards, revealing a descending staircase beneath it. "Hehe, classic."

"What would you have done if it didn't move?" Koneko asked, Tsuno cawing.

"Well, where else could it have been?" said the Oni, "If not some hidden basement, then it'd have been right out in the open!"

"Let's not waste time arguing over where or how they're hiding themselves. The faster we're done the better," Noé got nods as he started his way down the stairs, the other three following closely behind him.

And as they descended, the closer they got to the bottom, the more Noé felt the hairs on his neck standing up. Not a sense of danger, but a warning that something was down there a Devil ordinarily would be prime to stay well away from. But undeterred as they decided they were, they continued on.

"So, just to ask…" Noé said, glancing back at Yuuto and Koneko. "What made you two decide to come along with this? You know well enough how easy this'll be."

"Those Fallens are annoying," Koneko said, "One of them showed up to tell us not to interfere before we left."

"President promptly said that wasn't happening, and promptly blasted her to nothing but feathers," said Yuuto. "And besides, we're buddies, aren't we?"

"Debatable," Noé mumbled. "Also surprised Rias didn't mention offing one of 'em already."

"That… and I have something of a personal dislike for Fallen Angels and priests," Yuuto added, "You could say I hate them."

Huh, so the pretty boy's got more to him than he first seems, Noé observed as Yuuto's eyes narrowed, his gaze colder than his otherwise typically warm expressions would ever show. But it didn't last for long, and Noé's attention shifted as they reached another wooden door. Now the presence's he had felt before were all the closer. Their foes were just beyond that threshold.

"So, everyone ready to kick in some Exorcist heads?" Noé asked. When the others drew their weapons and fell into stances, Noé nodded in turn. Drawing out the Boosted Gear, as its call range, Noé threw a fist forward, the doors blowing in with a burst of red energy.

The doors flew off their hinges and into the chamber beyond, crashing across the ground in splintered heaps. The first thing they saw was a group of at least twelve exorcists in concealing coats turning to face them. Up a set of stairs to follow, he spotted Raynare, who looked down at him with a smirk. And next to her was Asia, chained to a large, black and green device in the shape of a cross.

"Well well, seems you brought some friends with you!" Raynare chuckled, "What, get scared little Devil?"

"Nah, just figured they wanted in on the fun!" Noé slammed his fists together as he smirked, then looking to Asia as the girls eyes fluttered open, then going wide in shock as she spotted Noé. "Yo!"

"Noé?! What are you doing here?!" Asia gasped, Noé putting his hands to his hips.

"Saving your ass, the hell does it look like?!" Noé lifted his right hand, aiming a finger to Asia, "I said I'd help you, didn't I? And I'm the type who sticks to his word!"

"Oh my, how touching!" Raynare cackled, "But, you should have been a tad faster! So, just stand back for a moment, will you?!"

Raynare produced a spear of light and threw it, Noé promptly stamping a foot down and punching right through the spear, shattering it in a single blow.

"You want faster? Fine then… you three, deal with the Exorcists, I'm rushing ahead!"

"Hah, do you really think you can…" before Raynare's mocking could finish, Noé vanished from sight as his aura became visible. The air itself seemed to move aside as the Fallen Angel's lackeys were blown away, Noé suddenly appearing in Raynare's vision, his left fist ramming into her face a split second later.

Raynare screamed as she was sent flying into the wall. And as the priests began to charge, the wild laughter of Tsuno broke through the air, the Oni immediately descending on one with his sword at full rev, blood splashing across the floor as it tore through the unfortunate man.

"You get the girl down and out of here!" Tsuno yelled, dodging as a priest tried to stab at him, Yuuto shooting forward and running the priest through himself.

"We can handle something this easy!" Yuuto shouted, nodding to Tsuno when the Oni blocked some bullets for him, "Don't let that device finish working! I realized what their plan is!"

"Don't know what the plan is, don't care!" Noé turned and grabbed onto the chains binding Asia as the "fight" below continued, pulling part of it to the side as the cross began to glow.

"Noé, what are you planning?" Asia asked, her answer coming when that energy blade appeared from Noé's gauntlet.

"Cutting you down!" With a quick pull, the chains came undone, Asia dropping to the floor from the sudden release, tendrils of black, green tinged light coming from her back as she fell away from the device. "There we go. Sorry I took so long."

"Why did you come for me?!" Asia shouted, Noé not averting his gaze as the girl stood and grabbed him, tears in her eyes, "You didn't… you should have just left me… getting involved with me was…"

"It wasn't a mistake," Noé countered. "Look, I don't believe in stuff like fate, destiny, or things being ordained by God. But me meeting you wasn't a mistake. So quit putting yourself down… and let me save you. Let me help you find a better life than the crap hand you were given."

As Asia began to reach for Noé's outstretched hand, the boy quickly reacted as the air keened, batting aside another light spear as Raynare attempted to charge Asia. Grabbing the Fallen Angel, Noé slammed her into the floor face first with a quick throw, being met by Raynare's furious glare as he kept her pinned.

"Son of a bitch…!" Raynare growled. "The plan was… perfect! Her power would have been mind if you hadn't interfered!"

"Like I said, I don't really care what the hell your plan was," Noé bit, "But… I'm not about to leave business unfinished with you. You started it… so I'm ending it. I'm leaving Asia with you three!"

"Wait, what?!" Tsuno shouted, just as he, Yuuto, and Koneko got finished with the last of the Exorcists, "I thought the… ah whatever! Fine then, kick that bitch's ass!"

"What are you…" Raynare was cut off when Noé suddenly leaped, the Fallen Angel screaming as she was pulled through the very ceiling as Noé blew a hole through it with a blast from his gauntlet, dragging Raynare through the hole and back to the chapel above. With an almost careless toss, Raynare was sent sprawling across the ground, the Fallen Angel rising as she formed two light swords in her hands. "Are you fucking with me?!"

"Short answer? Yeah," Noé nodded, cracking his knuckles through his gauntlets. "No more tricks, no more fucking about… I'm showing you just what kind of fight you picked. You wanna talk big? Back it up."

"Fuck you!"

Raynare shot up, her swords coming down in a wild swing as she snarled at Noé. With a quick motion, Noé knocked the swords aside, following up with a right jab to Raynare's sternum, sending the Fallen Angel flying back as his fist sparked with Darklight. Raynare roared as she charged in again, Noé knocking her wild swings aside as he stepped around her charges, jumping over pews and over Raynare as she continued the series of wild attacks. As Noé was falling from a jump, Raynare threw one of the swords. A sneer turned into a shocked frown as Noé spun in the air and caught the spear, landing as tendrils of Darklight began drawing the light construct in before he smashed it to pieces.

"The fuck… it's not fair… it's not fair!" Raynare screamed, her aura rising as she produced a spear and threw it, Noé catching it and dodging past the follow up charge. Ddraig, remind me how many charges I'm at, thought the half-Devil.

"You're at eight so far. Want to release it?"

Not yet.

"Why the hell is this where I end up?!" Raynare screamed, Noé catching her sword to keep her in place. "All you had to fucking do was die and this would have been easy! That Sacred Gear could have been mine, and then… then I would have shown all of them! Those bastards at Grigori, always mocking and laughing at me for being a scout!"

"… so that's what this is about?" Noé's eyes shaded over, the light sword snapping in his hand before he delivered another fierce punch to Raynare's face, sending the Fallen Angel sprawling. "You seriously think stealing a Sacred Gear is going to somehow make your allies look at you as more than some disposable mook? Stop kidding around…"

"What the fuck do you know?!" Raynare screamed, tossing light spears wildly, Noé batting aside the ones that came close as others left holes in the chapel. "Look at you, strutting around all high and mighty with some Sacred Gear of your own plus the powers of a Devil! You're luckier than anyone else to be born that way! How the hell do you think you could understand anyone else who has to start from the bottom, huh?! You fucking can't!"

"Oh… I know a thing or two about that," Noé rocketed forward, slamming Raynare into the wall with a punch right to her gut. "You think I started with power like this? Don't insult me like that. When I was a kid, I could barely even make a measly fireball without having it blow up in my face, much less actually cast a spell right. And when I first got this Gear, I didn't know a damn thing about what it did or how it worked… but yeah, I'm definitely lucky. Lucky to be born with these powers to refine, and with people around me to help me do that. But at least I've worked to get where I am right now."

"Fuck you!" Raynare raised a hand right to Noé's face, blasting him point blank with pure light from her hand. But Noé didn't so much as budge, barely even a scorch mark on his face as he dragged Raynare across the wall and threw her to the other end of the room. "What do I give a shit about some Devil and how he got strong?! Your entire existence is a fucking paradox, a mistake! And what do you even want huh?! To stay in some backwater town in the middle of nowhere! I want more than this! To aim even higher than I am now, to reach heights your shitheel mind couldn't think of!"

"… then why the hell are you looking for a shortcut?" Noé's words were like a sudden blew as he began to slowly walk forward, another call coming from his Gear. "You want respect? You want power? Then earn it! You think a Sacred Gear is all you need to go up the ladder? It takes more than that and ambition alone! Effort, drive, the desire to improve for its own sake because you know you can keep going! If you want people to respect you, then you have to show them you deserve it, not cheat your way there!"

"Get fucked!" Raynare shot up and charged, forming a massive spear of light between her hands as she charged. Noé merely stopped his stride and fell into his stance, swirls of red and black along his right arm as he pulled it back.

"Now!" he shouted.

[EXPLOSION!]

Noé's aura surged like a flame as his fist flew forward. He blew right past the massive light spear and beyond, the punch colliding with Raynare's body dead on. As he slammed her right into the wall again, the impact crater blew outwards, around it the same sigil as within the Gear's crystal being slammed into the wall. And with another burst of power, Raynare was sent through the crumbling wall, covered in bloody cuts as she went tumbling across the grass. She tried to rise once more, but her body refused to, leaving her on the ground with arms shuddering trying to lift a broken body.

"That's what you can do when you actually try," Noé said, stepping through the rubble as the wall collapsed further. "And the thing is, I'm not close to what I can call a peak. This is just the gap between you and me. One a stolen Sacred Gear wouldn't bridge even if you did get it."

"Fuck… you…"

"Oh, he is certainly correct though, Raynare."

As a voice Noé didn't recognize carried through the air, Noé froze. Every sense in his body was suddenly screaming, everything in him sent to high alert, that inner voice warning of danger saying one thing as it felt as if the air itself grew heaving. Run, because the thing that arrived can't be beaten.

The feeling came from who descended next. Bearing ten wings that were dark as night, the arrival was a man with silver hair and purple eyes, dressed in attire of dark purples and greys. And his mere presence made Noé shudder from instinctual fear. He himself didn't feel that fear, but instead, it was his instincts as a Devil screaming to turn and run before that man's sights turned to him… yet even then he felt like he was frozen in place as the man looked from the battered Raynare and then to him.

"L-Lord Shemhazai?!" Raynare gasped, the man looking back to her. "W-What… what is…"

"What am I doing here?" asked Shemhazai, "I'm here to take back what you wrongfully took. I have to thank… who was it, ah yes, Dohnaseek. He came back to us saying the mission we had sent you on was compromised, and that you had acted against your given orders, along with stealing a device meant for disposal. Considering who ordered this mission, it's only right for me to clean up after him… again."

"Dohnaseek?! Why that…" As Raynare was about to curse, a curt glare from Shemhazai silenced her. "I… I was only just… if I had that Gear from the girl, I could have…"

"Do I need to remind me what your precise orders were?" Shemhazai said, striding over to the beaten girl, "You were to observe. To analyze the subject and return to us once you had confirmed the information you were provided as substantial. You were not in any way to engage with him, or the Devils who oversaw this region. Much less steal a prototype Sacred Gear Extractor labeled for disposal and try to use it to take the Gear of a Stray Priestess."

"I just… I wanted to…"

"Whatever excuses you have, save it for the court martial waiting for you back at the Grigori," Shemhazai then turned to Noé, the teenager flinching. "Considering that, I may as well tell you why you lost. It was not merely the fact your foe is far stronger and more skilled than you… it is also because the Sacred Gear he has is one of the thirteen Longinus Class. The Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, Boosted Gear… though clearly in an altered form."

"What?!" Raynare gasped.

"Well, not like information of that level was something you would be told," Shemhazai said, now his full attention being on Noé, "I suppose an apology is in order, Red Dragon Emperor. It seems that because one of our subordinates acted above her place, she's caused you and your fellows some trouble. Considering her actions and behavior, I will not act against you for fighting her, as from what Dohnaseek informed us of, it appears you have merely been acting in self-defense."

"… what was that about observing me?" Noé managed to get the words out, but just barely.

"Ah, yes… well, the leader of our group took an interest in you, to put it frankly," Those words sent a sudden bolt through Noé. What on earth could he have done to somehow gain the interest of the leader of the Fallen Angels? "If you're wondering, it is nothing more than the fact you possess the Boosted Gear. The fact you were half-Devil only added to my boss's intrigue. Our intent was never to, I suppose, remove you from play… though I suppose whatever plan was there has already gone up in smoke."

"… I see."

"Ah, yes, I also need to recover that extractor. I don't care what state it's in, in fact it'd be better if you already wrecked it for us. Unless…" Noé felt that pressure on him increase as Shemhazai strolled towards him. The warnings in his mind only grew louder and louder as that man closed the distance between them. "If you and yours would happen to say, intend to take it for yourselves… then my statement of not retaliating would change very quickly."

"… take it for all I care," Noé said, taking in a deep breath, steeling his gaze as he looked right to Shemhazai. "I only came here tonight to save Asia and beat Raynare. I don't give a damn what your boss's plan was, or even what she was here for. So, take your stupid cross… but… Asia stays with me."

"And why should I let you keep someone with a Sacred Gear?"

"Because if not… you'd be interfering in Gremory clan business," Noé dismissed his right gauntlet and raised the hand, the emblem Rias had marked his hand with glowing into form on his palm. "I'm a protectorate of one of the Goetia clans, and I took Asia into my protection, and thus theirs, after one of yours threatened her life."

"I see… well then, this puts Raynare's actions into an even worse position than they already were," the man turned back to the beaten girl. Shemhazai let out a chuckle, turning back to Noé. "Alright then, the girl can remain with you, in exchange for the return of our stolen device. Consider it a gesture of good will towards the Gremorys, as an apology for one of ours attacking their ward without good reason."

"He's with the Gremory Clan?!" Raynare gasped. Shemhazai sighed as he turned back to.

"The fact you didn't even do the basic research of knowing how oversaw this region says plenty about your level of competence. If I had to guess, you acting so rashly encouraged them to act before we could… that, or something had been arranged long before we ever realized this boy existed," Shemhazai sighed again, turning back to Noé. "Once you and the others with you leave, I will return to reclaim the device. Until I do… I suggest you advise your allies to stay well away from this church."

"Trust me… we don't plan to stay."

"Hm… good. Then I will say, glad to do business with you, Red Dragon Emperor."

With a dusting of feathers through the air as Shemhazai's wings flared, the next Noé saw, the man and Raynare had vanished from his sight. And with them, that pressure atop Noé finally vanished, and he promptly collapsed to the ground, his chest heaving as he stared up at the night sky, feeling like he had just been released from a vice grip on his very heart.

"Holy fuck…" he breathed. "So… that's the kind of power a Cadre class has. If I'd said even one thing out of line… that bastard would've killed me without a second thought."

"You've got a long way to go before we can even think of matching a guy like that," Ddraig said, Noé nodding. "But… knowing you, this is just gonna be more of a motivator, isn't it?"

"Heh… knowing the kind of gap I need to overcome? Yeah… it's pretty good motivation."

"Hooo-ly SHIT I never thought that guy was gonna leave!" Being reminded that yes, there was other people around, Noé angled his head back, spotting Tsuno stepping over the rubble with Yuuto, Koneko, and Asia in tow. "Seriously, what in the ever-loving hell was a Cadre doing here?! We didn't even leave that stairwell after we felt that guy show up!"

"Apparently Raynare fucked up that hard," Noé commented, sitting upright and letting out another relieved sigh. "Ahhh fuck can't believe I almost died tonight…" Noé then looked back, noticing that Tsuno happened to have what was very obviously a rib bone stuck between his teeth. "Uh… Tsuno?"

"What?" The Oni didn't seem at all concerned as Noé looked at the thing he was nibbling like a pocky stick.

"… never mind."

"That was certainly the most unexpected thing I think could have happened tonight," Yuuto commented, "That could have gone very badly, very quickly."

"Yet luckily for us, it was someone who was reasonable," Rias and Akeno descended, their wings folding behind them as they landed, "Though I'm not sure how to feel about you invoking my family name like that, Noé."

"What else could I do?" Noé grumbled, leaning on a hand. "You think a Cadre would've taken the word of some unaffiliated half-blood? Though I'll admit it was more of a gamble than anything… one I'm glad paid off."

"My, you're quite lucky," Akeno mused, Noé clicking his tongue. The girl chuckled, then turning to Asia, "And you must be the one our ward went to so much trouble to help. Asia, yes?"

"U-Uhm, yes!" Asia quickly turned to Akeno, nodding. "I uhm… you're… all Devils, like Noé?"

"'cept for me!" Tsuno said, "An Oni and proud of it."

"Also, a dumbass," Noé joked, Tsuno lightly whacking his friend on the head, Noé returning the motion in kind.

"Well, that would conclude our business here," Rias said, "Though… before we go. I do want to say something, Noé."

"If this includes an insult…"

"Just listen, will you?" Rias said, "While yes, I believe your actions tonight came about due to some rather… rash and bullheaded actions you took. But… you also did so out of good will. That's… perhaps surprising to see from someone of demonic descent. When you first gave me your terms, I took you as someone who would never act unless there was some benefit to you in doing so."

"Oh no that's absolutely true," Noé said, Rias raising a brow. "You're not in that assessment. I'm not that selfless. But like I said, I'm also someone who keeps my word…" he then turned to Asia, "And to me, keeping a promise is the same as getting something out of an arrangement. I told Asia I would help her, and I did just that. Doesn't matter if the grand scheme means there's no 'reward' in a certain sense. My reward is the satisfaction if sticking to my principles."

"You get more intriguing every time I learn something about you," Rias mused. "Perhaps I'll need to take advantage of that good nature of yours myself, at some point."

"Yeah, don't count on it."

"Ahaha, of course. Well then, we'll be seeing you back at the club at another date. For now… I believe you still have a bit more to resolve."

With that, the Gremory group left, Tsuno following after them as he waved Noé off. Leaving just Noé and Asia amid the remnants of the battle.

"Well then… let's get going too," Noé knit his brow as he took in that, for whatever purposes of whatever Raynare was trying to do, Asia wasn't exactly dressed to walk anywhere. "Know what… I'll just carry you."

"Eh?!" Asia gasped, Noé turning around and kneeling, "A-Are you sure?"

"It'll be fine. Not about to make a girl walk the whole way back without shoes. Dad's probably not gonna reopen the portal we took to play it safe after that Cadre showed up as is," Noé gave an insistent look, and after a moment of shuffling with her face getting quiet red, Asia accepted the offer, climbing onto Noé's back so he could carry her piggy-back style.

As they started down the hill, Asia wrapped her arms around Noé's neck, nestling her head in just behind one of his shoulders. Noé let out a slight sound, trying to ignore the small well of heat in his cheeks as the girl wound up pressing into him. The thinness of the small dress she was in wasn't helping him from keeping his thoughts cleared.

"Thank you, Noé," Asia said, "Before now, I thought the only path I had would have been to be a follower of God, or continue to work with the Fallen Angels, if only to keep my faith… but even if the future for me isn't certain, I'm glad I have a friend now. And I want to make more friends too, to laugh and cry with them, to have fun like we did earlier today."

"Well, depending on what you choose to do, you'll have plenty of chances," Noé replied, "And it's all up to you on what you're gonna do from here. There's a lot of options… though probably gonna have to let you stay a bit longer. Still… I can get it's kinda scary to think about. Freedom is weird like that. But… that's why it's fun."

"Freedom… to do whatever I want?" As Asia mulled on that, the elation she had been feeling gave way to another emotion. Burying her face into Noé's shoulder, cries of relief and some tinges of sadness came from the girl. Realizing there wasn't much more to say, Noé took one of his hands and placed it on Asia's head, letting the girl get out emotions she no doubt had been keeping in for a long, long time.

"I'm glad you're okay, Asia."

"Thank you… thank you…"

The rest of the walk home was rather quiet, as not longer after, the clearly exhausted Asia fell asleep as she was. Noé could only hope when the new day came, she would be ready to face it.