Co-written by XXAlter and edited by ekaterina016

Chapter 5: When Angels Fall

In the end, he fused some demons he had taken an interest in: Gremory and Sitri.

The former was one of the dukes of hell. 'He' was a presumably strong duke, taking the appearance of a beautiful woman with a duchess's coronet tied to his midriff while riding on a great camel. "I am known as Gremory of the Fallen; it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Sitri, on the other hand, was the great prince of hell. He had a humanoid figure with a leopard's head and the wings of a griffin, but he said he could take the form of a handsome man if the conjurer requested him. "Sitri of the Fallen pleased to meet you, sonny!"

After fusing the demons he wanted, he left the leyline crossing since he still had a meeting with Rias Gremory.

'Wait 'till she saw what I had fused,' he thought, chuckling to himself. Back in his tenure in Da'at, he had never seen a demon named Gremory and Sitri. This was interesting since he only heard passing remarks about them from Eligor and Bael. Now, he had whom he assumed was her ancestor.

He wanted to fuse some more new demons, but he didn't have disposable income to spend – he had used most of his money on basic needs already. He wanted to fuse the dragon demon named 'Ddraig' if he had more money, but alas, it was not time to gloat.

Leaving leyline crossing, he quickly made his way back to Kuoh Academy. It seems like time didn't pass at all since there were still students on the school grounds doing either club activities or sports.

Walking over to the old school building, he climbed the stairs leading to the ORC club room. Nao was nervous, to say the least. He didn't know what to expect from them; he talked to Rias that day, yet he didn't ask her the important questions. He was worried about Issei, too, since he might have insecurities about being a human; he hoped Issei wouldn't fall into their trap if they were indeed scheming.

Now standing in front of the ORC club room, he finally took the time to notice how the building was old and crusted up; it looked like an abandoned building. 'No, it is an abandoned building, just not by the supernaturals.' Nao knew better; inside the club room in front of him, instead of looking like a school's ordinary club room, a guest room straight out of an old, lavish mansion was here instead.

He knocked on the front door and entered. They were already there, and he was late, but it didn't matter since they hadn't started without him. Taking a seat beside Issei, Nao was ready to tell them everything they wanted to know.

"So, now we're here, it's time to address the elephant in the room. A few weeks ago, you told us you were a Nahobino, right?" Rias asked. Nao didn't answer and only nodded, confirming Rias's statement. He didn't tell her the whole story back then, only bits and pieces. "You told us you can summon Devils, but the one you summoned was different. Why didn't you tell us you could summon Beelzebub? One of the Great Satans?" Rias asked again, not satisfied with their conversation back then.

"He was not Beelzebub; he was Baal Haddad. The Lord of Thunder and Harvest of the Canaanite people, and the one who held the throne of El," Nao replied. If Baal were to hear that, he'd throw a fit when his name was considered 'demonic' by humans; the betrayal YHWH had done to him was tragic. Hearing his name was now associated with demons was not what Nao wanted. "'Baal Haddad'? We've never heard of him… Are you sure it's not Beelzebub you're talking about?"

"No, he was something greater than a mere Satan," he replied with a deadpanned face. Sadly, some forbidden knowledge was lost in history - rewritten by the victors and was never found again.

Rias took great offense at that; he implied the beast he summoned could outclass Devils – which was true, but the demon-kind held a high view of had been on top of the food chain for too long they had a skewed perception of their kind. "Moving on. How many Devils do you have on your peerage?" Rias asked again.

"Many," to which he replied.

"That's vague; you're always like this, Kiyoyama-kun. It's not fun at all, you know…" Rias said, disappointed.

Akeno chuckled, decided it was time to interrupt them, and said, "Ara, please forgive our Buchou here… She's always been a little spoiled – mainly by her brother – and thus she doesn't know how to respond to a simple 'no'."

"A-Akeno! You can't tell him that!" Rias cried. It was embarrassing for Rias; she didn't expect what her Queen – and best friend – had said.

"I thought you wanted to get closer to Kiyoyama-kun? The best way to start is by having no secrets between you two, no?" Akeno teased.

"W-Well… y-yes, b-but…" Rias tried to argue, though she couldn't find any rebuttal at all.

"Then there's nothing to worry about; please continue, Buchou. Our Kiyoyama-kun here looks bored to death already."

"Moving on… a few weeks ago, you told us you tried to make a world without Devils, and you were surprised you saw a Fallen Angel. What do you mean by 'creating a new world'?"

"That woman in red yesterday – Nuwa – was the progenitor goddess of humans. She and another man named Shohei Yakumo wanted to create a world for humanity alone. I actually agreed with her, mostly; I've seen first-hand what demons could do. So, I joined her cause to create a world for humanity alone. When I first met them, they were not happy another one of the demon-kinds had barged into the Tokyo Diet building. They then realized I was a Nahobino, so Yakumo decided to spare me. There was also another Archangel; her name was Abdiel, the leader of Bethel. Sadly, she became disillusioned with the 'One True God' philosophy she had; she was a devout Archangel. When Gabriel, Raphel, and Uriel abandoned their God… she stayed and tried to run heaven by herself, but with the death of God, she didn't really succeed in doing that. I was forced to kill her with my own hands – not one of my proudest moments. Until this day, I still faced immense guilt for killing them." Nao didn't want to tell the Occult Club Room occupants about exactly what he had done to his friends. Issei knew this, but he didn't try to bring up the topic at hand. 'It must've been hard; I can't even imagine the burden he's carrying right now,' Issei thought to himself.

"Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel defected from their position as Archangels? But how? And what happened to Michael?" Sona asked. She couldn't believe someone who had such high rankings – namely, the four great seraphs – had abandoned their God. The great war might have brought a lot of casualties, but the four great seraphs were still a part of Heaven; they hadn't decided to run away from their posts and serve another God, right?

"We called Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel to us, but we found out they have served another God – Baal Hadad. And Michael's fate was unknown; I think he died protecting the throne with God. So in heaven, there was only Abdiel left. She didn't know how to maintain heaven. So most of the Angels left, including Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel."

"Wow… that's quite a story, Kiyoyama-kun; I would've never thought you'd be familiar to us Devils and Angels alike," Rias said.

"My journey was about to end after the empyrean, but then I met Lucifer, the 'Prince of Darkness' himself," Nao said. His fight with Lucifer had been brutal – a lot of his demons had died – it was a moment which he couldn't forget, and to this day, had traumatized him. Lucifer wasn't even holding back, and Nao knew he knew because the demon had thrown what seemed like a miniature sun.

"Y-You met with Lucifer himself?! I thought he was killed when he foolishly tried to fight the God of the Bible? How could he be alive? Was that the reason you tried to attack my brother?" Rias asked. 'No, it can't be, right? He was dead – foolishly fighting God's army to make a new world for demons and demons only.' The current demons abandoned this ideology; a few remained and called themselves the 'Old Satan Faction.'

"I was emotional – didn't see a way out – and I felt like I was trapped, and I blamed him. I had thought your brother was him; sorry about that," Nao apologized.

"Apology accepte,d Kiyoyama-kun. Then, what exactly happened? How did you even end up here?" She asked again.

"Curious, are we now, eh? To answer your question, there was called the 'Mandala System' – it held the three principles.

"Creation…

"Life…

"Destruction…

"It meant a Nahobino would create a world, then human life would settle down, then came destruction. The cycle of Mandala was a gruesome chain which kills billions in the process."

"Wow… that's a lot to take in. How do you know all of this? Did the Lucifer tell you?" she asked. She was intrigued, to say the least; not only that, she wanted to know who this 'Lucifer' was.

"Lucifer had a noble goal in mind…"

Sona was surprised; she was not expecting this. 'Lucifer? He had a noble goal in mind?' She thought. The Original Great Satan leader did not have some sort of noble goal he wanted to be achieved – he was as brutal as a demon can be, killing everyone in his path, including fellow demons. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she asked, "What is this noble goal in mind? He was a murderer! He almost made Devil-kind extinct! His ideology led to the civil war, doing a number to our population, and he was the one responsible for all of this! Let me ask you again: What is this 'noble goal' he had?"

"He wanted humans to be free from the clutches of demons, breaking the Mandala system, making chaos rule, a sign of progress and change. He didn't realize something: Demons can't create, they only destroy and corrupt. That's why he failed his first try, the conception still happened, and finished its cycle," Nao calmly replied, with little intention to answer Sona's question properly.

It was Issei's turn to ask. "Kiyoyama-senpai, what's a 'conception'? I-I kinda don't get all these big words…" he asked while rubbing the back of his head.

"Conception – an apocalyptic event which throws the world it affects into a temporary state of ruin, where it may be reborn in many different ways. The events were motioned by a man named Hikawa; with the drums of Mandala, he set it into motion – killing everyone in the process. Only a few survived, and one of them was Lucifer's champion, the Demi-fiend."

"Demi-fiend?!" All of them gasped. Rias and the other Devils didn't know a human could be a half-Devil; Beelzebub needs to research this. Issei, meanwhile, was just asking for the sake of asking; he didn't really know what they talked about, but enjoyed it nonetheless. "Yes, the Demi-fiend –half-demon, half-human. When I met him, he was already a full demon; that guy could throw a punch. Demi-fiend was not enough to set his plan in motion; the God of The Bible swiftly defeated him. The defeat had been hard on all of them, so Lucifer went into hiding – planning his next move.

"An opportunity arrived when he finally killed God Himself. He then returned to hiding and made Arioch the Demon King. Turns out, he wasn't really hiding – he went to a plane of existence beyond Gods, achieving enlightenment. That's when I killed him and destroyed the cycle of Mandala. And here I am, stuck in this world I barely even know." Nao reminisced and chuckled. The Demi-fiend was a formidable opponent, more brutal than even Shiva himself, and Lucifer was something else entirely; he was thankful he had another chance to live after that encounter.

"I-I… have no words. Again, Kiyoyama-kun and all of his stories…" Rias said as she massaged her temple, showing signs of migraine as she tried to process it.

"Let's take a break and move to another topic, shall we?" Sona then asked the others – she, too, wasn't too keen on continuing the topic.

"Alright," Nao said while nodding. He knew it was a difficult topic to tackle, and he's relieved he got it out of his system.

"A question for you then, Issei-kun. Have you ever encountered any supernatural before the Fallen Angel? They wanted a 'Sacred Gear' from you. Alas, we do not know which Sacred Gear you have. Would you mind showing us?" Rias asked.

Issei, clueless as he is, asked the red-haired club president, "How do you get it out? For all my life, I really know nothing about Sacred Gear, even the one I had." His life before that faithful day was normal; like every high-schooler's life, it was mundane, repetitive, and boring - his antics with the Perverted Trio brought some fun here and there.

"Well, please stand up, Issei!" told Rias. When he did so, she ordered, "Close your eyes, Issei, then imagine the strongest thing which comes to your mind." Issei then closed his eyes and thought of his upperclassman Nao in his Nahobino form. "Then, imagine that strength being yours." Issei then followed that by posing… eerily similar to Nao's Vitarka Mudra.

Nao looked amused, since he would have never thought his underclassman exalted him.

The second-year boy did as he was told, then something unexpected happened: A red gauntlet appeared on his arm, and it looked like a dragon's claw. "Wow, I never thought I had it in me. Was that a reason Yuuma-chan wanted to kill me?" Issei asked.

Rias nodded and answered, "Yes, Issei-kun. That's precisely why she wanted to kill you. That's why I've tried to recruit you to my peerage. So, Issei-kun, do you accept?"

Issei, on the other hand, was feeling a bit lost. He wanted to join the demons, but his upperclassman's worry was present. The Devils' cunning and cold-hearted nature meant Rias and Sona might have well plotted something for him. "Well, Rias-senpai, we never really know each other, but I think I will stay with Kiyoyama-senpai for now."

Rias couldn't believe it; she had tried every way she could to get him to join her! Even after all of her attempts, Issei would choose to remain human. 'But… why? Why wouldn't he become a demon? Wouldn't he be easy to persuade? Just throw a promise of a harem and breasts…' she thought. "Issei-kun? Why would you want to stay human?"

"I wanted to be like Nao-senpai! Even though he didn't even know me, he went out of his way to save a weakling like me. And because of that, I'm forever in his debt. I'm sorry, Gremory-san, but I think I'll have to decline your offer of a peerage."

"Hyoudou-kun, you're aware if you decline my offer, then you're susceptible to even more Fallen Angels and Stray Demons! They'll attack you and your family, your loved ones! Join my peerage, and you'll be given protection from the Gremory Clan. My family holds the rank of Duke; there aren't many in the supernaturals who would challenge us outright in our territory!" Rias desperately pleaded. She was selfish; she knew that. But due to her family problem, she was in need of someone in her peerage, mainly [Pawns], since she only had four other members in her peerage.

"I will be fine, Gremory-senpai. I'm glad you cared so much about me, but as I said before, I've got to pay my debt with Kiyoyama-senpai first. Please understand, Senpai," Issei reassured. He was not worried about the supernatural at all. Nao talked him out in becoming a Devil, so he'd just have to utilize his human nature to the fullest.

"Issei-kun…"

Her potential [Pawn] had chosen to remain human. The 'Red Dragon Emperor' had escaped from her grasp; there was no other way around it. Even though he had declined her offer, she would still offer protection for him; she felt guilty because it was her own incompetence which had nearly killed him. And now, Nao-kun was the one who saved him; it was only natural Issei would be more inclined to follow Nao. She had lost her only way to get out of her arranged marriage.

After the human duo left, a gleaming look can be seen in Rias's eyes, seemingly planning something. Sona took notice of it, being observant as always, but chose not to comment on it. She recalled all her attempts to dissuade her friends from drastic actions in the past, so this time, the bespectacled girl decided to let her friend learn from the eventual failure herself.

The meeting was swiftly adjourned since there was nothing more to talk about.

Nao and Issei walked home from Kuoh Academy in relative silence, until Issei broke it and quietly said, "Kiyoyama-senpai, I'm glad you saved me back then…"

"Hmmm? What is it?"

"I said, 'Thank you for saving me back then,''" Issei said louder.

"No problem; the Fallen Angels tried to kill you for a Sacred Gear, and I'm not one to stand there and do nothing when if it's not beyond me," Nao answered.

Issei tried to argue, but he didn't have any rebuttal. "Kiyoyama-senpai, in the morning, you told me about your friends… how they died in front of you. Why did they die?"

It was a personal question for Nao… and one he didn't really want to answer. No one but Nuwa – she saw what he did firsthand – other than her, he hadn't told anything to anyone yet. "They died chasing a world they want to create. They died because they wanted to make a world in their image. A world where the law of God is upheld, a world where chaos runs amok, or a world where the Throne of God is destroyed. A friend of mine – his name was Atsuta Yuzuru – made a pact with an Amatsukami – Tsukuyomi, to be exact. He made Aogami – a proto fiend."

"Kiyoyama-senpai, did you mean the real Tsukuyomi?!" Issei cut.

"Yes, the Amatsukami Tsukuyomi. He was born out of Izanagi – his right eye, to be exact. Aogami was a proto-fiend – meaning, other gods created him by infusing the power of a god and using another god as a template. . Aogami was a mass-produced proto-fiend; he was made as a way for the Japanese Bethel branch to show they still have the power to fight against the demon king."

"'Bethel'?"

"It's a story for another day, I suppose. C'mon, it's getting late, let's go home," Nao motioned with his hand – letting Issei know he's leaving.

"W-Wait for me, Kiyoyama-senpai!" Issei said, not wanting to be left behind by him.

"I haven't told you about Abdiel much, didn't I?" Nao then asked his underclassman.

"Kiyoyama-senpai, not to be mean, but… you have only told us the bare minimum about yourself," Issei replied. It's true Nao wasn't telling the whole truth, but Issei respected that boundary. He had hoped his upperclassman could open up to others; until then, he'd just have to be there for Nao.

"A story for another time, then."

After they split up, Nao didn't want to go back home – not yet anyways. His mind was still out there. So he decided to go to his favorite spot: Kuoh park. The place where they had split up wasn't too far from the park – it was around a five-minute walk. He decided that it was best to go there to ease his mind a bit.

Arriving at the empty park, Nao noted to himself with mild intrigue as most park-goers seems to have gone home already, even though it's only seven in the evening. He then sat on the park's bench trying to clear his thoughts. Not a minute has gone by, he felt something, that something was like the feeling back then, it reeks power of a powerful demon – it can't be Nuwa can't it? She was busy trying to deal with the "Khaos Brigade". What he saw wasn't a demon, but a man. The man had a futuristic wheelchair and could move it by himself similar to the famous scientist 'Shaun Hawking' Wearing an eye-catching red business shirt, a pair of reading glasses hanging loosely on his eyes. He gave off this 'Mad Scientist' vibe that was a little bit funny to Nao. "Nahobino," the man said.

Nao was shocked. He didn't tell anyone that he was a Nahobino, how did this man know? His thoughts were racing, somehow this man in a red suit found out his identity even without him telling. Deciding not to take any chances, he hurriedly got up from the bench to change to his Nahobino form, before being promptly stopped by the man. "Hi. I am not a demon," the man said calmly showing no interest in fighting.

"Then how did you know I'm that I'm a Nahobino?" Nao growled. It was not a question, it was a demand – a demand for the man to answer.

"I am Stephen; the messenger of the Great Will,"

Excerpt from The Lost Apocrypha: Helel bin Shahar (Morning Star)

"Helel, my son… why… Why did you commit such atrocities to your grandfather? Why did you commit Such a heinous crime to Mount Zaphon – to the council of Elohim?" My father Shahar asked. To be truthful, I hated my grandfather; he holds the title of El Shaddai, while beings like me were always considered 'inferior life-forms.

"Enough! He did this in his search for power! He tried to become El Shaddai! He has no respect for this council I had built!" My Grandfather growled. Yes, he made this council by himself, and yes, he had invited YHWH to join too – he hadn't accepted it yet.

"YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY I REBELLED?! IT'S BECAUSE I AM SICK AND TIRED OF YOU! YOU'RE SITTING THERE, ACTING ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY! WHILE I AM HERE STUCK HERE SERVING YOU, AND YOU WENT OUT OF YOUR WAY TO INVITE THAT PUNY YHWH TO THIS COUNCIL?!" I screamed angrily at my grandfather.

At my rage-filled shout, my grandfather didn't even seem phased, replying calmly, "You still have much to learn. Take YHWH as an example – His kindness to humans. Haddad himself even recommended Him to me. Now you're here, wanting my throne without even doing anything of note!" How could he?! He wanted this commoner to join the council of Elohim? "Hadad, what should we do to him?" My grandfather then asked Hadad, the man I hated the most.

He had a smug look on his face, thinking of something to punish me with, probably. "Well, in a case like this, there's no harsher punishment than to send him to the world – being human for the rest of his life," Hadad said.

"But, who will take the role of the 'Morning Star', Hadad?" Grandfather asked again.

"That's simple; we will just give it to Ahtar, his brother. He seemed more competent , at least." Hadad replied, bowing his head before Grandfather responded, but all I could see was the infuriating smirk on his face as he glanced at me.

Grandfather nodded his head. "Well, by the decree of the Council of Elohim, you – Helel – will live your life as a human," NO! HE CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! "With that, I say my last goodbye. It was unfortunate to see you go, but I have no other option." With that, I had lost all of my powers; I couldn't control the morning star anymore. I'm truly a human now.

"Asherah, my wife… please open the gate of Zaphon," he said. My grandmother nodded and proceeded. It was cold outside as it was nighttime in Canaan – different from the warmness of Mount Zaphon. "It was unfortunate to see one of us go, but with a crime like this, there's no other way. Any last word, Helel?" He uttered my name as some sort of plague. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

"The council you have built will crumble! MARK MY WORDS! YOUR COUNCIL WILL BE NO MORE, AND YOU WILL HAVE NOTHING LEFT! THIS IS YOUR MISTAKE, GRANDFATHER!"

With those last words, I passed out, awakening the following day to be a human.

Finally finished this Chapter, hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing this.