Kumiko 3rd POV
Just some hours after that Shirone left, Kumiko felt the energy. She knew what kind of energy it was, there was no doubt about it. Even if she doesn't know where he is, nor if there's someone ready to help her to take him down, she had to bring the blackstone down. But, when she was about to get up, it disappeared. That… was good, he could have gone somewhere where she couldn't sense him anymore. She was thinking of a way of finding him when her cell phone began to ring.
"Yes" she replied.
"It's Deven Senpai!" said the hushed voice of Shirone "We need your help!"
"Where are you?" asked Kumiko.
"In the Underworld" answered Shirone.
"What happened to him?" asked Kumiko.
"It seems like he's sleeping" answered Shirone.
"Can you bring him to my apartment?" asked Kumiko "Just teleport in front of the door, otherwise, if you try to teleport in directly, you will find yourself lost in the time-space continuum"
"Okay…" mumbled Shirone before hanging up.
Kumiko could just sigh at this. She had to prepare herself to see how the blackstone is doing.
Rias 3rd POV
At first, Rias refused the idea that the person who kidnapped Koneko was the one that will help them, but if she could help Deven, then she would accept her help, even if it would mean to go in a trap. After all, Deven is one of her strongest pieces, and he could surely manage to deal with whatever she had for them once he's completely healed. When Rias and the rest of her peerage arrived in front of the door, Koneko knocked and the girl opened the door, her emotionless face made her feel uncomfortable.
"Get him on the couch" was the first thing she said.
Rias looked at Kiba and Issei, who were lifting Deven by his shoulders, and nodded to them. The two boys entered and were stunned by how big was the place, they then placed the wielder of Apollyon's Will on the couch as they were told. The girl walked toward him and looked at him before taking a pen and decided to draw on his face; on his left cheek was a cartoonish Black Prior yelling 'True Darhneth!', a cartoonish Warden yelling 'I'm a stupid knight' on the right cheek, and a cartoonish Lawbringer riding his polearm like it's a poney on his forehead.
"Is this necessary?" asked Rias with a sweatdrop.
"No" replied the girl "But it's fun"
'Another sadist' thought everyone except Akeno.
"So?" asked Rias with worries.
"He's trying to fight the curse" replied the girl "He will wake up, but it wouldn't be him"
"What do you mean?" asked Koneko.
"There's a chance that it would be the gear itself" answered the girl, making everyone gasp at that.
"Is there a way to avoid that?" asked Rias.
The girl looked at Rias before going to a room and brought a flask filled with a yellow liquid with her, she opened it and blew a green mist from her mouth in it before closing the flask and shook it, she then opened Deven's mouth before and forced him to drink the beverage.
"What was that?" asked Rias with some curiosity.
"A cleansing potion" replied the girl before sitting on a chair.
"You seem to know a lot about this" stated Kiba.
"I do possess one of the three factions" replied the girl, gaining a confused look from the others "The knights, the samurais and the Vikings"
"Are those related to your gears?" asked Rias.
The girl had given her a flat look before asking "Are you stupid or what? Didn't you hear what I said?" after a sigh she said "He has the knights while I have the samurais"
"You know, you could have said it without being mean" said Rias with an annoyed tone.
"But I wouldn't have fun saying it" replied the girl.
'There's no doubt now, she's a sadist!' thought the others except Akeno, who was smiling.
Rias cleared her throat before asking "Can you tell us more about that gear?"
"It can call members of the blackstone legion and use their strength and their attire" answered the girl "Just like mine can call upon the samurais of the Myre. Of course, both possess their risks, as you saw"
"Can you tell us more about some of the previous wielders?" asked Koneko "Maybe we can find a way to help senpai if we know more about the others"
"This is what you want?" asked the girl, getting some nods "I see… well, this is going to be long, so take a seat" they all sit down and she then began "First, you need to understand what that gear is, or to be exact, who is trapped in there. Long before the great war that opposed the angels to the fallen angels and the devils, there was a part of land in which a group of warriors were in; the knights of Ashfield, the samurais of the Myre and the Vikings of Valkenheim. When the great war began, the angels took the knights, then the Youkai took the samurais and finally the Norse gods took the Vikings. When the war ended the three faction were completely finished, the angels, youkai and Norse gods tried to recreate them, but they failed. So, they went to Zeus and asked him to let them see the sisters of fate, they went back in time and took three souls; Gudmunder the leader of the Wolf clan, the General Tozen of the Imperial house, and Apollyon the Warlord of the Blackstone legion"
"Sounds like a lame fairy tale" commented Issei, earning the stare of many.
After a sigh the samurai continued "They decided to implement them as sacred gears that could be used by humans. But the knight one was a little hard, since it desires war and nothing more"
"That explains a lot more about the nature of the gear" pointed Rias "How about the hosts? What can you say about them?"
"I'll talk only about some of them" stated the samurai "I'll talk about them in a historical order. Let's begin with a king who ruled over Sparta from 489 BC to 480 BC: Leonidas I. He's also the only one who could resist the gear, not only because of his iron will, but also because of his wife, Gorgo, The queen of Sparta as she was the host of the samurais at that time"
"So all what you need is to marry him, right?" asked Issei getting a glare from the samurai.
After hitting Issei over the head using a Kanabo, the samurai sat before continuing "He rejected the gear, stating that a true Spartan doesn't need magic. He died, battling the invading Persian army. The next one is Alexander The Great; born Alexander III of Macedon during the year 356 BC, the oracle saw the power that was within him. He wished to conquer the world, but the true motive was to avenge the previous wielder who died because of the Persian Empire. He fought armies and armies, getting more powerful by each victory, but it got worse when he arrived in Egypt. The priest, feeling the power within him, started to fear him, calling him son of god. It continued until he killed his childhood friend some weeks before his death, completely insulting the gear and its influence over the mind, cursing it and every possessor who would enjoy its power. The next one is Hannibal Barca, born in Carthage the year 247 BC, unlike what many would believe, his father didn't give him the hatred toward Rome, but it was the gear. Feeding the already established by the current state of his country, he marched on Rome, using the full power of his gear to boost the morale of his troops. But, the Roman general who defeated him, Scipion, had the Viking's sacred gear. After his defeat, Hannibal disappeared. The next famous wielder is the founder of the Roman Empire, Julius Caesar. Here, the gear gave him visions about a never ending empire where he could be remembered forever. But the truth is that the gear wanted a warring empire who comes out as the strongest, In the end, he will die, betrayed by his own people"
"Um… I have a question" said Asia as she lifted her hand "Why didn't they try to resist it like the one you said resisted before?"
"Simple" replied the samurai girl "Leonidas valued honor and the safety of his city, unlike the others who wanted fame"
"My head…" mumbled Deven as he woke up "Anyone get the number of the truck that hit me?…"
"Senpai!" yelled Koneko as she rushed to him, hugging him.
"You're awake" said the girl, tensing Deven a little.
"What happened? Where am I?" he asked while patting Koneko's head.
"You're awfully rude" stated the girl "I saved you and this is how you thank me? Shame on you" she then mumbled something before clearing her throat "Can I continue now?"
"Continue what?" asked Deven with confusion.
"She was telling us about your gear's previous wielders" answered Rias.
"And it was very informative" added Kiba.
"I see" said Deven before seeing Issei's state "And what happened to him?"
"Let's say that his stupidity got him that" answered Kiba.
"Sorry about that" apologized Rias "You can continue"
The girl sighed before continuing "Let's move to the next one, Lu Bu Feng Xian, he had the second strongest link to the gear. He was feared by many, he also moved from one province to another, leaving only war behind him. That was until his death by the hands of Liu Bei and Cao Cao. The next known Wielder was Philip VI of France. That time, the gear pushed him to war against Britain, he justified it by saying that his lands couldn't produce enough, so he wanted to take some of the nobles who came from Britain to live peacefully, but he also wanted to expand his territory, but he died due to the Great Plague that fell on Europe. Now, I'll talk about the person who had the strongest link to the gear…" for some reason, she was showing signs of fear "The Ottoman Emperor Selim I, also known as Selim the grim. At the age of 5 he unlocked his Balance Breaker, and two years later… His Juggernaut Drive" everyone but Deven gasped at that "When he got into power, he decided to attack the other Muslim lands, calling them weak, calling them sheep. Thankfully, he was poisoned before that he could continue"
"I think that we should stop" said Deven, getting the attention of everyone "Didn't you learned enough?"
"I think so…" mumbled Rias before turning to the samurai "Thank you for sharing all of that with us"
The girl said nothing as she yawned before getting up "I'm sleepy, so buzz off now" as they were going to exit the apartment, she called Deven "Blackstone. When you see the traitor, tell her this 'The hound is on your trail', she'll understand"
Deven simply glared at her before following the rest of his peerage members.