A/N: Welcome to the next chapter. This one will be diving into the start of the Kokabiel Arc, which I know might seem rushed but I'll be putting a timeline as well as some non-canon information that is part of this story at the end of this chapter as well as some other information I feel needs to be put out there.

With that let's get onto the story.

The night after the Riser incident, Issei was seen sitting outside the church as a calm warm wind blew through the area. He couldn't help but sigh as he thought back on the recent issue with the Devil faction and hoped that his actions wouldn't come back to bite him and his wish for peace between the factions. His actions not only jeopardized the détente that was in force right now but also the safety and security of Rias and her peerage's situation.

And as he had told the Seraphim, he was almost certain that Sirzechs knew who he was. Right after he thought about Sirzechs he felt a new presence arrive at the church that felt all too familiar to him. 'Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.' Issei thought smirking to himself as he wondered what the Maou wanted this time around.

As Sirzechs teleported back to the church to see if he could talk privately to Issei, he couldn't help but think back to what had occurred the night before.

He'd spent the day making sure everything was ok on the devil's side and wasn't going to cause any issues and it seemed like that would be the case. And he had also been thinking back on the power he'd felt coming off the Angel that had protected his sister, who he recognized even though she had been changed into an Angel which made his assumptions even more true in his mind who Issei really was, so with that in mind he was glad to see Issei outside when he teleported back to Kuoh and didn't have to possibly make a scene again.

"I know what you are, and what you did, but… I'm not mad at you, just mad at myself for letting it get this far. And thank you for saving her."

While Issei was happy to hear that, he hoped he didn't screw this up anymore as while he may have [The Mind] ability from his Sacred Gear, that didn't stop the fact he had never been good at conversing with other people.

All things considered, he was still just a teenager, but with a ton of knowledge he gained from being the Biblical God's Successor. Right now he needed those skills but as they were lacking he did his best and hoped that Sirzechs would understand. "I'm thankful for that Sirzechs. I just wish I had handled the 'Phenex Fiasco' better than I did, and I want to apologize for that." He said turning around to look at Sirzechs finally.

"While I understand that, there will be Devils out there that will not appreciate what you have done and will do everything they can to turn this in their favor. I'm knowledgeable enough to know you had no choice but both of us can't let this get out about what you are."

"I get that Sirzechs, I really do. I've been hoping that I would be able to help bring peace between the three factions and help our people get along but it's not been going as smoothly as I had hoped. We've got a Fallen that has stolen three of the Excalibur fragments. We have Old Satan Faction Devils are trying to cause havoc and mayhem anywhere they can and are gaining momentum. I'm doing what I can to run Heaven's systems but it's like I had to take over a 50-year-old ship and I'm having to start from scratch on updating it to today's standards to get it ready to make a sail across the Pacific, but I'll give full credit to the Seraph as they did their best to keep it running since my predecessor died. I want to do my best to help people where I can, but I had to go and possibly screw it up by killing an, admittedly jerkish, Devil from a High-Class clan." He said getting a chuckle from Sirzechs.

"Calling Riser a jerkish Devil… that's more kind than most would say but you will also find people that agree with you. The general opinion of the aptly named 'Phenex Fiasco' is that he deserved a much slower death than you gave him after everyone that was there before we teleported realized that he had kidnapped an Angel and the news spread to the general public. My parents are beyond shocked that they almost married Rias to that bastard and that their blindness to it made their daughter commit 'suicide' instead of having to deal with it. And then on top of that, her peerage 'killed' themselves as they weren't able to handle the stress of losing their King and they now pretty much belonged to Riser now, though I wouldn't be surprised if they joined you here."

"I'm sorry for the trouble I caused. I just wish-"

"No no don't apologize as while it was stupid of you to run in and almost give yourself away, Riser was such a massive jerk to most people that if he hadn't rubbed most the wrong way a lot of Devils would be asking for your head right now. As it stands though, most agree that he was going too far since everyone that saw the incident thought that he had nabbed an Angel, and raping an Angel is far beyond any acceptable action in any Devils eyes."

After everything major got talked about, the two started talking about other things going on in the world before slowly opening up more and talking about both Heaven and Hell. For Issei, it was an interesting look into Rias's past and he learned more about how the politics for the Devil side worked. For Sirzechs it gave him the chance to see how Heaven was doing at the moment as well as getting a look into the man that would be helping Rias for the foreseeable future.

"So Sariel acts like that? I never would have guessed." Sirzechs chuckled, hearing funny news about one of the Seraph. "She acts so tough and serious whenever we've had any meetings. I find it hilarious that she acts so childish in Heaven when she's always trying to keep meetings going and wondering why we have to invite Serafall to the meetings." He finished laughing as he thought more about it and knew he'd have to nag at her at the next meeting.

"Yeah, it's funny to me as well. She loves to be tucked in at night and I oblige her when I'm around." Issei said laughing at it too as they kept talking about random stuff until a new presence made its way to the church.

"There you are Sirzechs! I had been wondering where-" Grayfia said having teleported to where she felt her husband's energy as he had left without any warning again and didn't know what to think about it after the recent incident, only to find him talking to one of the Angels that had been at the center of the issue, as well as the one that Sirzechs thought was the newest Biblical God, something that only a select few knew his thoughts about at the moment. But only he knew his thoughts on who 'Arisa' really was.

Grayfia for her part wasn't too sure what to think of the news that her husband had given her and the other Maou's as to who the boy was that had saved the girl and killed Riser, her mind went on to imagine what might happen if things went worse than they already were as who knew how strong the boy might be but it seemed like her fears may be unfounded.

"OH! I'm sorry I didn't realize where you had gone." She said bowing to Issei who just waved it off with a smile, not minding the interruption. He knew he had overdone it back then and so was not against keeping things calm as long as someone else didn't try to escalate it once more.

"Oh don't worry about it, we're all friends here after everyone had a chance to calm down. I've just been talking to Isaac here about the fiasco and its aftermath. If only she had been engaged to someone like him instead of that jerk Riser. He's such a great kid. If only it had been different, it wouldn't have ended in such a tragedy." Sirzechs said causing Issei to blush as he had never been too good with women until Raynare came into his life and helped him out on that.

Though he did also have Irina to thank for helping him out some when they were little, but he hadn't seen her in years, since she and her family moved away. 'Now that I think about it I wonder if I can't find anything out about her and possibly meet her again since I'm now a part of the church.'

With that, Sirzechs stood up to head back to the underworld. "Well, I think I spent enough time talking here but it was good to talk to you. You really are a nice kid. Give Arisa my regards!" He said, but Issei realized he had one more question before he left.

"Wait! I got one more question." He said getting Sirzechs and Grayfia to turn and look at him. "If Kokabiel does end up coming to Kuoh with the stolen Excaliburs, can we work up something now or soon to where there won't be any issue if the Sitri Heiress and us team up together." He requested, getting a thoughtful look from the two. "If we get the idea out there now it could help keep casualties down if he does show up."

Thinking on the matter, Sirzechs couldn't disagree with the proposal. "I'll see what I can do. It's definitely worth looking into." He said as the two of them left, leaving Issei with a smile and a thoughtful mood.

Scene Skip

Once he had gone to bed, Issei decided to make a trip to his mindscape and talk once again to his predecessor. Having sensed his presence, she turned around and gave him a gentle smile.

"Welcome back Issei, though I'm surprised to see you back so soon. Though if you had said a couple of months ago that the sister of the current Lucifer would become an Angel I would have laughed at you. Who would have guessed it would have turned out like it did." She said giving off a gentle laugh at what had occurred. She also knew that he might feel worried about what she thought about what he had done with the Riser incident. "And even if you weren't going to ask, I fully support how you handled the situation as I don't think it would have ended any other way.

Issei just had to laugh at the absurdity of it too. "I had the same thoughts, especially how she didn't mind the idea and that her peerage would agree to join us as well so fast. And thank you for that. That helps me relieve some of my worries." He said as he moved over to her and hugged her. "But enough of that, it's great to see you again."

"I feel the same. I'm proud of all the progress you have made so far, even if it has been tough going sometimes and I hope you keep doing like you have to help the world for the better." She said before turning serious. "I never was very good at using my light for anything other than destruction at first and was even labeled as a War God for it." She said surprising him.

"You were a War God? I never would have guessed." He said honestly, though considering he hadn't known too much about the Christian faith before he learned he had become the Biblical God's successor, it was something that he didn't worry about too much.

"Yes. My full name was Elohim Yahweh and I once ruled over a Council of Gods that was known as El, and also its main fighter." She replied, getting another stunned look.

"My siblings and I, they are El Eloyon and El Elaha, also known as Allah, made up the council and also helped create the world. Us as well as the Ouroboros, Great Red, and many others created the universe. You already know the story about Great Red and the Ouroboros, and will learn the story of the others over time but one of them that helped us, Quetzalcoatl was consumed by darkness and became the one known as Trihexa and it took the full might of El to take it out and is one of the many things that led to the ending of my life." She said with a serious look on her face as he processed everything.

"Your siblings?"

"Allah died helping me seal Trihexa. El Eloyon… died right before I faced Lucifer. If it wasn't for his soul and a final gift to help me, I wouldn't have been able to win against Lucifer when he finally reached Seventh Heaven. It shattered my heart when I had to stab my son in the heart to finish the battle." She finished with a solemn look.

Issei for his part openly wept into her shoulder as she held him in a tight but comforting hug as he thought about all he had learned and what she had been through. He knew loss from losing his parents but it paled in comparison to what she had to go through. Elohim just let him cry into her shoulder as she sang a soothing song in a language that was both familiar yet distant, which after a moment he realized it was the song of creation. It was able to soothe his soul and ease his worries.

"I'm sorry for putting my sadness of that onto you, but I only wished to sate your curiosity." She said once he had calmed down, before laughing softly. "And to help you early on that you aren't invincible, no matter how powerful you are. Just remember there is always a way to take out an enemy. If you can find that way, then you might be unbeatable at some point." She said getting a smile from him as she gave one herself, her face full of pride at who had become her successor.

"I know you have the strength to lead the world to a better place. Those of us that helped create the world… we failed but you shall no doubt succeed in my mind. Fly on those wings I've given you and control your fate. Guide the world towards the horizon and control its destiny." She said as he seemed to be disappearing. "Remember: control is key!" She said right as he disappeared completely.

Scene Skip

As he woke up he still was feeling the shock from what he had heard from Elohim but was glad that she had been able to continue with her life. As he woke up completely he looked over at his clock and seen it was already 6 am so he went ahead and got up to get ready for the day.

He had just a simple room at the church, nothing too fancy or big and which also didn't have many personal items in the room aside from a grandfather clock in the corner. He still had a chuckle every time he thought back to how everyone tried to give him a bigger room due to his status in the Angel faction but he finally talked them into letting him have a normal room as he didn't want to stand out too much.

As he got ready for the day, he wondered if the church would have any visitors this day as it was a Sunday but figured there was only a slim to none chance of anyone showing up. Religion never had been too big in Japan and anyone who likely did believe in Christianity he was sure probly went to another town nearby, no surprise since the church here was just reopened, and as he figured, no one showed up.

As lunchtime rolled around, he decided to head into town and get some lunch while also passing out flyers letting people know the church had been reopened. When he mentioned his plans, Asia said she wouldn't mind joining him as she had no plans and so the two of them made their way into town. When he asked her what she wanted to eat for lunch, she suggested getting a burger as she hadn't ever eaten one and had always wanted too, which was a good suggestion as any to Issei.

He couldn't help but laugh though when after Asia got her first bite, her eyes widened into saucers and she dug right into it and even ordered a second one while also eating a large fries and a milkshake, and to think that she was only partially full at the end. Once she realized what she had done, she blushed crimson and started trying to apologize to him for the unsightly behavior she just did, but he waved it off and said he didn't mind it at all and was glad she liked it.

Once they finished eating lunch they went on out and while passing out flyers, they came across a street painter who took interest in Asia and painted a great painting he labeled as "The Saintly Nun." In exchange for having her sit still for that long, he promised to help them out by handing out pamphlets to passerby.

Not long after that and as Issei was planning on heading back to the church, he felt a sensation enter the town that he wasn't happy to feel, and after looking over at Asia, he noticed that it looked like she felt something was off too, and it was the presence of a holy sword. And from the fragmented feeling of it, he knew it had to be the Excalibur which brought up more problems than just the swords being in this territory.

This was bad news, especially since he knew that three of the Excalibur fragments had been stolen by the Fallen Angel Kokabiel, and with him feeling the presence of two of them here, it meant that it was either Fallen coming to try and stir up trouble, or it was the exorcists he had been told about that were out trying to find more information were in this town, and both options were bad since it confirmed his thoughts that the Fallen would head here.

Though he had to think that it would make sense with a Devil Heiress and the sister of a Satan, as well as his own group of High-Tier Angels it would be a perfect place to restart the war. Though, it was also risky since he had to know that the Heiress was well protected and powerful and he was sure to know how strong the Angels were as well.

Though, Issei had to wonder how much Kokabiel knew about how information had been flowing freely from the Fallen Angel Governor-General Azazel about what had been going on so it would be harder for him to start the war again. This most likely meant whoever it was that had just shown up was strong and came to kill if needed.

Signaling for Asia to stay behind him, he moved towards where he could currently feel the two presences and decided to play it safe and at least get a glance at them and go from there. But as he got closer one of the two turned just right showing some of her orange hair and face, and he realized to his shock he knew one of the two.

Throwing caution to the wind, and not caring that he was making a scene he ran up to the two and surprised them as well as Asia. "RIIN!" He yelled out, causing the girl in question to turn around. "Is that you?!"

Right before:

Irina and her partner Xenovia had just gotten into town for their latest job and were on their way to the church in town to meet their final team member, her stride quick and well-paced and soon found herself in step with her partner walking beside her. Xenovia Quarta was an incredible swordswoman and also the current wielder of Durandal. As they moved, she couldn't stop herself from wondering who the last team member that they were to meet was, as well as surprised that the church here in her old hometown had been remodeled.

Their final partner was an unknown to the two of them. They had heard that he was a skilled Holy Sword wielder and was able to wield the true form of Ascalon. To her, that meant he had to be powerful, at least as strong as the previous wielder, who was strong as well as famous among the exorcists in the church. Who didn't know the name of its previous wielder Ornstein the Dragon Killer while in the Church.

She would have loved to meet him but her hopes had been dashed as he had retired three years before she became an exorcist. Right as they passed a street painter that had a painting that caught her attention, she heard a commotion behind her as someone started running and a voice calling out to her.

Hearing an old nickname she hadn't gone by in ages, Irina turned around to see who had called out to her, only to see an unknown face running towards them in a church outfit. "Do I know you?" She asked, not sure what was going on while her partner just looked at the boy curiously.

"It's me, Issei! Issei Hyoudou?" He said as he ran up next to the two before getting tackled to the ground in a hug he hadn't seen coming.

"ISSEI!" She screamed as she finally recognized him and body slam-hugged him into the ground, happy to see he was alive. "How are you alive? I heard you were killed along with your parents!" She said happy to see him before he got them both up and made a zipped-lip gesture.

"I guess miracles do happen. I'm running the church up the hill over there. I'm going to assume that you two are the exorcists that I was told to expect?" He said getting a nod from the two as Asia finally caught up and asked what was going on, which ended up with the group doing a quick powwow to catch everyone up with what was going on.

"Well with that out of the way, I assume you two are also looking for housing?" He asked getting a nod. "Then come on, we've got plenty of space at the church we're staying at. No time like the present."

"Thank you, Father Issei!" Irina said, getting a small chuckle from him at her words as they moved towards the church.

A/N: and that's the end of this chapter. We've seen that Sirzechs and Issei have settled everything after what happened as well as the beginning of the Kokabiel Arc. As I said up top I'll be doing a timeline down here of what has happened when, though this story is seemingly too fast-paced, it's just how this story differs from normal as well as with it mostly being Angel side based.

Raynare meets and goes on a date with Issei. Over time, she has a change of heart and decides not to kill him.

3 months after, Raynare's colleagues take matters into their own hands and kill Issei and his parents, and kidnap Raynare to take her power as well as the Sacred Gear from Asia.

Right after Issei is killed, he gets pulled into his soul and meets the Biblical God, and learns he has become her successor through his Sacred Gear Gottheit.

Once coming back from his soul, he decides to make his way to Heaven, not sure where to start, but the Seraph Gabriel shows up before he leaves and they talk about what they should do before Issei realized that he'd forgotten about his girlfriend and after convincing Gabriel they went and saved Raynare and Asia, with Raynare being forgiven and Asia being made Gabriel's 2 of Hearts card.

After letting them know who Issei was, the group headed towards First Heaven with Gabriel announcing the new arrivals, and to keep his powers secret from the general Angel populace, told everyone there that Issei was Gabriel's Joker, and ended with Gabriel asking her Queen to get the rest of the Seraph and the Brave Saints for a meeting in Sixth Heaven.

After a failed attempt at a joke from Gabriel, Issei revealed his wings and shocked everyone not in the know and they spent some time getting any questions out of the way.

The group spent a month in Heaven getting used to their new powers and Issei taking over what parts of Heaven's systems as everyone felt he could handle with plans on handing over more at a later date.

Also during this time, Asia's excommunication was looked into and officially overturned on paper, even though it had been cleared when Gabriel took her into her deck but they were able to learn more about the incident and that a Devil had been going around and making nuns get excommunicated, possibly to add them to their peerage. The person who did the excommunication was removed from his post at the church.

After a month or so, Issei, Raynare, and Asia moved back to Kuoh to get the church back up and running as well as finish school.

Two weeks after they returned to Kuoh, Rias snapped and planned on 'killing' herself to get out of her arraigned marriage, but was killed by a Stray Devil. Right after the Stray killed her, Issei came by and was able to turn her into an Angel, which he was worried about after realizing what he had done but she was able to assuage his fears and was happy. This happened early morning.

Later that night, they went by the ORC to talk to her former peerage and they all agreed to be reincarnated as Angels.

Not long after the group made it back to the church, the incident with Riser happened.

There's everyone a timeframe from what has happened so far. After Raynare disobeyed her orders, which weren't from Azazel, Kokabiel moved up the timeframe, which is why everything is happening sooner than in canon.

One other thing I figure I should cover since it was mentioned in the original was how Akeno was able to get Gasper out of his room. In a few of the other FF stories I've read they've had many different ways that were how the room was unsealed, and in this case, the rooms seal was undone enough to where he could move around the ORC building once it had turned dark and no one was around and as it was right around midnight at the time the seal was free and allowed him out of his room.

Feel free to join my personal discord if you want: use the code zwJu3MZ to get in.

With that, next chapter we'll be getting into the exorcists meeting the rest of the Angels as well as some possible action, but you'll have to wait till then to see what happens.