AN: A somewhat important Author's Note at the end, but for now, get ready for some action!

Rias Gremory was impressed with Adam Suzuki and his mental fortitude. For the last three weeks, she had done everything she could to get him to join her Occult Research Club (her peerage), and the boy had yet to even waver. She tried everything! She tempted him with money, fame, power, and more, and the boy was still unfazed. It was like his mind was made of steel! Of course, there was always the option of actually letting him sleep with her, but that was a bit much, even for her. As much as she would like to admit that she would do anything to get the boy to join her, offering her body was definitely crossing a line. Of course, she and Akeno teased him relentlessly, but that was it, just teasing.

She was still a woman after all.

Then she discovered that Adam learned about magic through Akeno's imps. More specifically, they detailed his constant failures, how he tried countless different elements and he still wasn't able to cast a single spell, and how he went night after night, alone, for hours on end just to discover his element.

All of this lead Rias to a very interesting conclusion: Adam Suzuki was a Sacred Gear user.

It excited her.

Of course, Sona had warned her of Adam and how much trouble he could become, but Rias was stubborn to a fault. She would get him to join her, so killing him was out of the question. She had told Sona as much, and while her best friend obviously didn't like the idea, she thankfully backed off. Now, all Rias had to do was convince Adam to join her, and another powerful person would be apart of her family…

"This is getting tiresome…" It was another night at the abandoned factory, and he failed once more. He tried Wood, Plants, Cloth, Light, and even Dark, but none of them were related to his power. As he sat there, dirty and tired, Adam wondered if he had any talent at all. It had been three whole weeks since he started going to Kuoh Academy, two and five days since he discovered magic, and he wasn't any stronger than he was the day he discovered the new Human Magic System. He had a few ideas, but until there was any more progress, he would be-

"Well well well, looks like this place isn't as empty as I thought!"

Adam immediately jumped to his feet and whirled towards the noise and found himself… "A stray devil?"

The girl nodded, a bright smile on her face. "You got it in one honey!" She was of average height, fair skin, short orange hair, and had matching eyes. She would've been considered beautiful and normal if her mouth didn't have pincers coming out of it, or if she didn't have two sets of insect wings coming out of her back.

Or if she wasn't naked.

Adam sighed. "I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone would discover this place." He gave a small bow and said, "It was a pleasure meeting you, but I must go." He wasn't stupid. Even the weakest stray could beat him as he was, weaponless and without any offensive magic.

He turned around and began to walk towards another exit when the girl exclaimed, "But there's no way you can leave now!" He froze. "After all, a budding magician is the best type of meal!" He turned his head to look back at her and saw her sport a chilling grin. "They're filled with mana, and they don't know how to use it! It's like catching and eating a super fresh cow, or eating a cookie with extra chocolate chips! It's just tastier than the rest, you know?"

He fully turned around, his face made of stone. "I see. So there is no way to talk you out of this?"

She placed a finger to her chin, as if she was actually thinking, before she shook her head. "Nope!"

Like it was the bell at the start of the match, as soon as she said that single word, she lunged at him. Instinctively, Adam dived out of the way and hit the ground. As he picked himself up, he heard the sound of buzzing and looked up, only to see the girl flying with her disgusting wings. He watched as her arm turned black, gained a sheen, and became a pair of black mandibles. Her smile grew as she dived onto the grounded author, but the boy rolled out of the way, barely avoiding a punctured fate.

*Bam!

He quickly picked himself up and saw the bug girl stuck, her arm in the concrete, trying to pull it out. Wasting no time, he turned and ran deeper into the factory. He passed an old rusted conveyor belt, a few different machines, and finally found a small door labeled 'Offices.'

Without hesitation he threw it open and ran inside, then immediately slammed it shut.

"Think Suzuki, think!" He muttered, examining his surroundings. "There must be an emergency weapon or tool, right?" He quickly began to examine the room, and found nothing of use. Rows and rows of desks, old and rotting, with the occasional over turned chair or pile of papers were all that he could see, not a weapon in sight.

*CRASH!

"Little human, where are you~?" From the sound of it, bug girl had freed herself and was rampaging in the main area of the factory. "If you come out now, I promise I'll kill you quickly!"

Adam scoffed. "Like that'll ever work." Undeterred, the teen continued his search. He ran through room after room, hoping to find some kind of weapon, but the more he searched the more he realized that all the useful things were already taken, either when the factory shut down or when other people raided the place after it's abandonment. In short, he was weaponless. He put his hand in his pocket and muttered, "Unless I use my pen, that is…" But he wasn't nearly confident enough in his strength to tussle with a Stray Devil with only a writing utensil.

*BOOM!

That one was considerably closer. Without further hesitation, Adam moved on. He went past the offices and found an elevator shaft and stairwell. Giving the sign next to them a quick scan, Adam considered his choices. "Either I go higher and search for a weapon through more offices, or I go underground and find something in one of the storage rooms…"

His instincts were screaming at him to run away from the factory completely, but Adam managed to reign them under control with rationality. Even if he did escape, there was a likely chance his pursuer would simply find him again before he could find any help. She was a bug after all, and who knew what kind of tracking she had? Plus, she had-

*SMASH!

"Found you, my little snack~!"

Shit.

Bug girl had crashed through a wall and was right behind him, her left arm transformed into a pair of mandibles, ready to snap him into two. On instinct alone, Adam leapt towards the stairwell and tumbled down the first set, barely avoiding the cutters. He quickly picked himself up and blitzed down flight after flight of stairs, hearing bug girl right behind him the entire way.

"Kyahaha! Oh I love it when they run! It gets me going~!"

Adam scoffed. If he wasn't fearing for his life, he would've lamented how cheesy her lines were. Reaching the bottom off the stairwell, Adam raced ahead, deeper into the storage room. He blitzed past countless shelves, and being smarter than the average man, began to pull down each shelf he passed.

*Crash!

Adam turned around and saw that one of the shelves he toppled had caught the bug girl on her wings. "Ow! Get back here you little shit! My wings are sensitive!"

Ignoring her fading voice, he continued his run into storage. Room after room he ran, delving deeper into the maze that was the underground. Twisting and turning, he believed he had made some decent progress from her when he had come to face another problem.

He was getting tired.

No, scratch that, he was getting exhausted. He was a human after all, and he didn't even exercise, so it was a given that his stamina was incredibly low. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, taking in deep gulps of air. "Huff… Huff… Need to… keep moving..."

*BOOM!

"Oh, I don't think so~!" Eyes wide open, Adam could hardly believe the fact that the Stray Devil had crashed through a nearby wall again. However, his surprise was quickly replaced with dread when the girl grabbed him by the hem of his shirt and cried, "Let's take this back to ground level!"

*CRASH!

And launched him through the concrete floor. Immediately, he could feel almost every single bone in his body break. His back and chest felt like he was getting stabbed by a million syringes. His legs and arms were suddenly screaming in agony. He couldn't feel his fingers. His throat felt like it was glued shut.

It was only then he realized he was lying on the ground.

It took him a moment, but he realized bug girl was standing over him, a victorious smile on her face. "It was a fun chase, but sadly all good things must end." The mandibles on her face clicked once. "Any last words, my delicious prey?" She asked, an innocent smile on her disgusting face.

Even delirious, Adam managed to come up with a plan. "...I...h..."

Bug girl raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Got some last words to say?"

"I… ven't… yet." He muttered, eyes focused on her.

She sighed and got real close, ear to his mouth. "What'd you say boy? You need to speak up!"

"...I haven't given up yet," he finally forced out. Bug girl's eyes widened, but by then it was too late. Mustering every single ounce of strength left in his body, Adam pulled his pen out of his pocket with one hand and grabbed her face with the other. With zero hesitation, he plunged it into her eye and gave a twist.

Blood gushed out of her eye, and she immediately shrieked in pain as she pushed him back, causing him to fall to the ground. Her voice was ear piercing, and Adam felt his headache grow even worse, but the boy didn't stop there. As the girl continued to wail in agony, slowly trying to pull the pen out of her eye, Adam began to push himself up.

Every breath hurt, and every inch he moved felt like a marathon, but slowly, ever so slowly, he stood up and grabbed a decently sized rock from the rubble surrounding the hole he and bug girl made. Then, right as she pulled the pen out of her eye, he shambled over towards the bug girl and raised the rock high above her. She froze and looked up, but it was too late.

*BAM!

The rock slammed into her skull, and she crumpled like a puppet without strings. In an instant, she hit the ground with a thud. As blood pooled from her eye onto the cold hard concrete, Adam realized that she wasn't going to stand back up. He had won.

But he wasn't done.

*BAM!

He slammed the rock against her skull once more. He heard something crack, and Adam knew that the girl's skull was broken. More and more blood began to pour out of her eye, as well as what looked like to be pieces of her skull as well. However...

She was still breathing. So, he raised his rock once more. For a split second, he hesitated.

*BAM!

He slammed the rock onto her head once mode, and it exploded. Blood, bone, and brain went everywhere, coating the surrounding concrete and Adam in all of it. He let go of the rock, letting it rest where her head used to be.

For a while, he simply stared at the corpse, the only noise in the factory being his labored breathing. Finally, coming to turns that he killed someone, he turned around and walked away. Well, 'walked' wasn't quite right. It was more of a 'stumble forwards while trying not to collapse.'

"I need… to get… home..." He muttered, slowly trudging towards the exit. After what felt like forever, but was probably only a few minutes, Adam finally got to the front doors of the factory and opened it. With a sigh, Adam knew that this was just the beginning. Soon enough, he would be-

"Bark!"

Focusing in front of him, a wolf stood in the entrance. A magical one, if the runes on it's back and it's third eye were any indication. Confused but still standing, he tried taking a step forward, but the wolf growled at him. The two stared at each other for a moment before he sighed. If the wolf wanted the entrance to the factory so bad, it could have it. Adam knew a couple exits, and one was on the other side of the factory line-

"Hii!"

And there was another creature that somehow got behind him. This time, it was a tiny yellow light in the shape of a human, stick in hand and wings beating.

Adam, mind churning to find out what was happening, turned to his right, only to see another magical beast, this time being some sort of bat. Big, furry, and red, the thing was flapping it's wings as it...stared? At the teen. Turning around once more, there was another character, this time it was just a ball of snakes? Except, deep within said ball of snakes there were two piercing yellow eyes, glaring at the author. He heard flapping and looked up, and sure enough, another creature. This one was some kind of humanoid. It had bird wings, had hair shaped into a wizard's hat, and was covered pink feathers. In one of it's talons was a staff of some kind. Adam turned back to the three-eyed wolf in front of him, and saw it backed by a raven with a goatee and a cat with a green gem in it's chest.

He did one last scan of his surroundings and confirmed that the seven magical beings surrounding him were the only ones nearby. He narrowed his gaze at the three eyed wolf, the apparent leader, and asked, "What… do you… want?"

The wolf growled once more, it's teeth laid bare for the world to see.

A warning of some sort? Adam took a quick glance around him and saw that the creatures surrounding him had tensed up, each one looking a bit more battle ready. Realization clicked, and Adam turned back to the wolf. He glared at the dog. It wasn't planning on letting Adam go, was it?

"WOOF!"

In an instant, all seven creatures charged at Adam. Adrenaline coursed through Adam, waking him up and dulling his pain. Without hesitation, he did a full 180 and lunged for the fairy-looking creature, but it quickly flew into the air. Satisfied, Adam sped past it, intent on exploiting the sudden gap the fairy left in the animal-circle. Once more planning on running into the factory, he tried to sprint into a nearby door but was cut off by a bolt of something that hit the back of his head, causing him to fall.

He turned around and saw all seven creatures rushing him, with the wolf in the lead. Taking a quick glance around, a half-baked plan formed in Adam's mind. Summoning strength he didn't know he had, Adam managed to pick himself up and limp towards the corpse of bug girl, who was nearby. He saw his pen under the rock where her head used to be, grabbed it, and whirled around. However, he was too late, as the wolf was already right in front of him, and before he could even try to swing his pen, the wolf opened it's jaws and began to dig into Adam's side.

Pain flooded his senses, but he didn't hesitate and grabbed the wolf by the neck and aimed at the dogs eye. After aiming it up, he tried to slam the pen in but was stopped when a bolt of lightning shot the pen out of his hand, and a bolt of blue covered said hand in a chunk of ice.

Undeterred, Adam swung his new ice-weapon over the wolf's head.

*Bang!

The ice around his hand shattered on impact, and the wolf flinched, but it didn't let go. Undeterred, Adam began to land blow after blow onto the wolf's face, pain and rising fury fueling every punch.

*Crack!

Adam heard it's nose break and it finally let go with a whine, and Adam kicked it in the gut. Looking up, the other six were already trying to surround him once more, so Adam wasted no time and managed to pick himself up once once more. As he ran, he heard countless rays and shots of lightning, ice, and more crash against the machinery and shelves around him, but he kept running. In his mind though, he knew it was only a matter of time before he was caught. He was running on fumes when he finished his fight with the stray. Now running from a new threat, he didn't know if had the strength to run home, let alone fight seven more magical creatures.

"Caw!"

He looked up and saw the bearded crow in front of him, it's mouth wide open. Before he could react, a ball of flame was launched from it's mouth directly into his chest, launching him off his feet and onto the rough concrete.

He tried to get up again, but his body finally failed him. The teen collapsed to the ground, and once more, the creatures caught up to him. All seven surrounded him once more, each one with an eager look on their face. No matter how much he demanded his body to move, it didn't listen. This was it.

All seven began their attack. He was fried, shocked, chilled, bitten, poisoned, blinded, and cut all at once. He could do nothing but scream in agony. The injuries he had gained through everything proved to be too much, and before he knew it, everything started going numb.

His vision was fading.

His consciousness was slipping.

It was over. He lost.

He didn't have any other plan or scheme to get out of this predicament. He truly was bested, and by a bunch of animals too. They were oddly coordinated, he thought. And they showed up right after he killed that Stray…

Huh… Odd…

…

…

…

… Wait a minute.

"That bitch."

The boy figured it out. Kaze, the three-eyed wolf, and familiar to Sona Sitri, froze when he realized. Then, he grinned. Alright, so the kid was smart enough to connect the dots, that his master told them to lure a Stray Devil here. What did it matter? The little shit was still one heartbeat away from dying, so what did it matter if he decided to toy with his prey a little?

Sure, his master always told him to never prolong a fight, but it had been so long since he let his old hunter instincts run wild, and he didn't want the chase to end!

"I...am going…to kill her..."

Kaze turned his attention back to the boy who was currently bleeding out, and felt himself laugh. He was determined, the wolf would give him that, but that was it. His master specifically targeted the boy now because he was still weak, and it seemed like she made the right call. Despite his raging spirit, the boy's body simply couldn't give anymore. Still, his determination was something else!

However, the wolf almost sighed. Already, the hunt was over and he would soon go back to the Familiar Forest and wait for God knows how long before his master called upon him and his group once more. Ah, if only the boy-

*BAM!

Kaze froze when Pix was suddenly launched from her spot and into the nearby concrete wall. He turned to look at her, but she was already knocked out. What the hell-?

*BAM!

The same noise, and this time Aka, the red bat, was slammed into the ground. He didn't get up.

Kaze sharpened his sense, as did the remaining five of his squad. What just happened?

"But first..."

The wolf turned his attention back to the boy. He was still on the ground, on his back, bleeding out. He was still completely immobile. He was still defeated.

So why did Kaze feel like something was wrong?

"I'm going… to kill… all of… you…!"

A small golden orb formed right above the boy's head and begun to float around the boy's head, and Kaze realized that the kid had just discovered what element he could wield. Except, even Kaze knew that novice magicians needed a Focus of some kind, as well as plenty of preparation time to convert life into mana. As Kaze watched the gold orb start to spin in a circle, picking up speed and momentum, the wolf had to wonder: how was the boy in front of him already so adept at wielding gold?

*BAM!

The orb shot out like a bullet and crashed into Sneks, knocking out another one of Kaze's comrades. Turning his attention back to the boy, Kaze saw something that made his smile grow.

His eyes. While he was still laying on the ground, likely unable to move a single finger, the wolf saw the boy's-no, Adam Suzuki's-eyes, glowing a vibrant cyan in defiance. Even now, when he was on the verge of death, Adam Suzuki was still hanging on, trying to win! His spirit still refused defeat! Kaze's respect for the teen grew dramatically. How the boy was able to wield gold so proficiently didn't matter! Right now, the boy was fighting for survival, and it would be an insult to not do the same! Yes, this was what he was craving! A fight that made his heart pump, a fight that put everything on the line!

The hunt continued!

Rias was livid. To think that Sona would go behind her back and try to kill the man she was actively recruiting, how could she?! The two may have been best friends, but there was only so much she could forgive! She was going to give the girl a lecture later, but at the moment, Rias and her Queen were rushing over to where Adam was last seen, the abandoned pillow factory south of Kuoh Academy.

When she received reports from Akeno's imps about the teen fighting a stray, she started rushing through the papers that were on her desk. When she heard the imps then say that not only did Adam beat the stray, but was brawling against seven magical beasts after killing said stray? Seven magical beasts that looked awfully similar to Sona and her peerages' familiars? She decided to drop formalities and flew as fast as she could, forgoing everything else. She and Akeno were the only ones available due to the nightly contracts her Peerage dealt with, but the redhead didn't care. Despite his determination, she knew Adam wouldn't survive long.

Then, they arrived at the factory. The outside looked fine enough, but once she opened the doors to the warehouse, the only word that she could use to describe the environment was... destruction. Multiple craters littered the ground and walls, a few shelves were on fire, a few old conveyor belts were frozen solid, a massive hole was in the center of the entire room-with a corpse of the headless Stray a few feet next to it-and that wasn't including the seven unconscious Familiars that littered the entire area! In the middle of all the destruction however, was the man she was looking for.

Adam Suzuki was there, laying on the ground, bleeding out. She and Akeno looked at each other, nodded, and ran over. For a moment the redhead feared the worst, but her fears were unfounded as she saw the erratic breathing of the boy. However, that was the only indication of his life. His body was littered with injuries, ranging from lights ones such as cuts and bruises all the way to probably fatal ones, such as a giant gash in his side! She turned her gaze to her Queen. "Akeno, search the building and it's surroundings. If you see anything, or anyone, get rid of them."

Her Queen nodded, "Right!" and took off.

"Rias…?"

She blinked and looked at Adam, who's eyes were unfocused, yet aware. He was still conscious?! Impressed but worried, she summoned her chess pieces. After taking a moment to decide, she grabbed a Bishop piece and was about to place it on Adam's chest when a gold orb stopped her. It took her a moment, but she realized that this must've been Adam's Sacred Gear. She didn't know which one it was specifically, but she decided she would find out later when her new Bishop wasn't dying. So, she tried to move around the orb to turn Adam into a Devil, but was even more surprised when the orb followed her and kept blocking her chances at putting the chess piece onto the author. "Adam, please make your… Sacred Gear, stop. I need to put this-"

"No." She blinked, then looked at Adam. His eyes were now wide open, and they were staring into her own. "Don't… you dare…!"

She was frowning now. Did he learn about devils when he discovered magic? "Adam, I need to use this to heal you properly. I can't guarantee your survival if I don't turn you into a devil. My magic will heal you quicker if you're one of us." She didn't like using his own life as a bargaining chip, but she was a devil at heart, and she knew this was an easy opportunity to make him loyal. After all, she had personal experience with saving lives at the cost of their humanity.

"...Then leave."

What? "What?!" She gave an incredulous stare at Adam, as if he actually told her to leave.

He closed his eyes and whispered, "Leave."

… He was serious. Oh God (she ignored the pang of pain) he was serious. He would rather die a human than live as a devil? Why?! "Adam, I need to turn you if you wish to live!" Silence was her only answer, and she realized the teen had fallen unconscious. The King glanced around and saw that his Sacred Gear disappeared too. She bit her lip. She needed to make a decision, and fast. The longer she hesitated, the more Adam bled out, and the higher chance he would actually die and not come back.

If she turned him anyways and ignored his desire to stay human, what would happen? Well, he would obviously dislike her, maybe even hate her, for who knows how long. After all, he wished to die human than live as a devil. Furthermore, if he simply read about Evil Pieces and how they force a piece into servitude, would that cause Adam to believe her race as a whole were inherently evil? Would he ever trust a word out of her mouth? And that wasn't even including how stubborn he was! They may not have known each other long, but she had a solid idea of his personality. Would she ever be forgiven?

…

She had no idea!

Alright, if she kept him human, what would that entail? Well, she would have to work extra hard to keep him alive, maybe even get Akeno to help her, but could she even save Adam?

She glanced at the teen and decided that if she focused all of her mana into healing the worst of his wounds, there was a decent chance he would survive, but he would have a lot of trouble after. Worst possible outcome (besides him dying) would be paralysis. Most of his bones were obviously broken, so it wouldn't be surprising if his spine was injured in some way too, and unlike devils, a human's natural healing abilities don't automatically set everything back into place. Meaning, if she didn't pour enough healing magic into healing his bones, they could heal incorrectly and permanently damage him (or until he turns into a devil). However, she would earn his respect and cooperation for following his request, which would make it easier to convince him to turn at a later date.

She took another look at Adam and realized he was looking really pale, and there was a lot of blood that surrounded him. Looking at her Bishop piece, Rias reviewed the pros and cons of both sides once more. After another moment of hesitation, Rias steeled her will and made a decision.

He wasn't dead.

… Again.

When he opened his eyes, the author realized that he was laying in his bed and that it was already morning. He took a quick glance around his room, just in case, but nothing was amiss. Which was extremely suspicious. He moved to get out of bed, but when the sun hit his eyes, he felt the pang of an incoming headache.

How did he even get home? Adam began to think about what happened. He was at the warehouse when a Stray arrived, and the two 'fought.' After Adam somehow managed to kill her…

…

He… He tried to leave the warehouse. He tried to get away. Unfortunately, on his way out he was confronted by seven magical beasts. When he tried to leave, they attacked him.

His memory after that grew hazy, most likely due to a concussion or due to the amount of blood he lost. He remembered trying to escape, stubbornly fighting until he eventually fell. Then he remembered feeling a burst of power, a lock of crimson, and…

That was it.

Time to think. Those beasts were Sona's, he remembered that much. Why she decided he was a threat, he didn't know, but he was going to get some answers (or else). The burst of power and the crimson was easy to answer as well. Rias's familiar must've slipped a summoning paper into his pocket when he was unaware, and on his deathbed he summoned the girl.

"Adam, breakfast is ready!" He blinked. Right, it was a school day. He shouldn't keep his mother waiting.

"Coming, Mother!"

"Adam!"

"...Mom."

He quickly dressed himself, ignoring the aching all over his body, and went downstairs. He walked over to the dining room table and sat down right as his mother gave him some standard Japanese breakfast, a bowl of rice, miso soup, and grilled fish. As he scarfed down the food, he idly wished he could have an American breakfast everyday, but he didn't voice his complaints. His mother was a scary woman when she wanted to be. Adam didn't miss the standard cliché there, but it was one taken directly from reality. Women were scary if pissed off. Plus, he cared for his mother, and he didn't want to spit in the face of the women that raised him.

He said his goodbyes to his mother and left his home like it was a standard day, and began his trek to school, looking as he normally did. Indeed, if one were to look at Adam, not many would notice anything amiss. But taking a closer look, they would notice a few small details that betrayed his normalcy. A clenched fist, a slightly colder gaze, a straightened posture, all of it showed that...

He was furious.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. Rias was aware of what Sona had planned, and the red head decided she would force Adam into her peerage, whether he wanted to or not. It made sense, in all actuality. She didn't protect Issei when she knew about Raynare, why would Adam be any different? No, he was just another 'victim' who she 'saved' from the clutches of death, and now she was most likely expecting him to fall to his hands and knees in gratitude.

She would be wrong.

AN: Sorry it took so long, but hey, another chapter is out! A LOT of things happened these last few months, so I'm not gonna bother explaining all of it to you all. Instead, just know it was a mix between some family matters and juggling other projects.

In all honesty, I really struggled with this chapter. The combat felt weird, the pacing feels rushed, and I didn't write as much as I wanted to, but I decided it'd be better to just get this chapter out of the way. This is my fourth revision? I dunno, but I certainly rewrote a lot of things!

I've been working on something behind the scenes for a little, and I want to keep it under wraps until everything is ready, but just know these months haven't been wasted! Hopefully, by the time the next chapter comes out, everything will be up and ready to go!

Finally, I just want to thank everyone for sticking with this story for so long, even after almost four moths of silence! I read every single review, follow, and favorite, so don't be afraid if you wish to say something!

Thanks for reading, and have a good one everyone!