Chapter 3: Devil & Nun

'So I'm back here again… but it's different.'

Black and crimson flames surrounded the area of ash and blades. Yet the flames did not melt the ash into glass nor melt the metal into liquid. She turned to the usual spot where the claymore usually stood only to widen her eyes at what took its place.

It was some sort of insectoid demonic entity with clawed hands, a scaly hide, a pair of downward facing ram horns, chiropteran wings with beetle-like wings underneath, hooves for feet, and reptilian spines protruding from his back. Parts of his body appeared to be made of grey scales with accents of red and purple. He also had gold veins on his hands and arms, chest, shoulders and back, a red diamond eye shaped gem in the center of his forehead, and skull-shaped gold knees and elbow guards with small horns. His most notable feature were his slit-like eyes, which glowed red and did not have pupils. Strapped to his back was a large crimson curved blade nearly the same size as him. She noticed that the blade looked organic in nature with a gleaming ruby at the centre of the blade, making it resemble like an eye.

Any normal person would have start running away from this frightening being however when she looked into its eyes all she saw were sympathy, pity, and sadness for her. She didn't know why.

{It's a shame that we had to meet this late} He said. {If only I could have talked to you sooner, all those years ago}

She felt something nasty welled up in her chest after hearing that.

"Why didn't you?"

Before he could answer he was interrupted by a loud thud to the ground. Right next to him was a large crimson western dragon with piercing orange eyes.

(So this is my new host)

He eyed her up and down and she got the feeling that she should cover her important bits, especially when a weird goofy grin formed on his face.

(Gotta admit, she's quite a looker)

She felt creeped out and the demon gave the dragon an annoyed look.

Suddenly the entire world was starting to fade.

{Seems you're waking up. We'll talk again soon}

Everything fade to black.

Seras sat up from bed suddenly taking deep breaths.

'What was that? And who were those two they?'

Then the memories of what happened before she passed out came back.

'Raynare!'

She got off her bed but then realized something.

'When did I get back in my house?'

She then noticed another important detail.

'Why am I naked?'

(I don't know, but you don't hear me complaining)

She was a bit surprised hearing the dragon's voice but it quickly change to irritation as she could feel the dragon's lust.

She heard a loud smack.

(OW! Dammit Sparda!)

{It's your fault for eyeing my descendant like that Ddraig}

'Sparda and Ddraig. So that's their names.'

Though what Sparda called her caught her attention.

'So you're my ancestor.'

Though he didn't verbally answer she could somehow feel him nod.

Seras than hears some soft moaning coming from her bed.

She turned around and noticed a strange shape underneath her blankets. Despite the numerous warning bells blaring inside her head she removed the covers to see what lay underneath. All she could was stare at the sleeping nude figure of Rias Gremory the Great Lady of Kuoh.

'Why is she sleeping on my bed in the nude?'

(Maybe you 2 did the deed)

Ddraig giggled perversely before Sparda smacked him upside the head.

She ignored their arguing as Rias slowly opened her eyes before sitting up and stretching causing her bountiful breasts to bounce a bit.

"Morning." She said cheerfully.

"Morning." She responded dully.

The two stared at each other for a minute before Seras decided to ask.

"Ok how did you get in my house? What did you do while I was unconscious? And how come we were sleeping together naked?"

"Well I could answer all your questions now but I think it might best that we talk about after we get to school, besides I actually have some questions to ask you yourself."

'Did she really have to walk with me to school?'

When they got to the academy gates she could feel a whole bunch of eyes on them. Though the reactions seemed to vary from rage, despair, to… lust? Best not question the last part.

"I'm leaving for class now Seras. Thanks for walking me here."

"No problem." She deadpanned as she didn't actually have a choice in the matter.

"I'll send someone to pick you up. I'll see you later."

She walked away leaving Seras to her thoughts.

{Just what do you plan to do Seras?}

Sparda could feel her intentions and it worried him.

'Find out why there are demons in this school.'

It was only 2 minutes of class and she felt already felt like murdering the Perverted Duo due to their incessant complaints about how either it was unfair she got to be so close to Rias Gremory or how they were going to end up losing their only female friend to popularity forever. Just as she was about to let them have it they heard someone entering their class.

"Excuse me, is Seras Alighieri here?"

She turned around along with rest of the class. Standing at the front door of the class was the 'School Princess' herself Yumi Kiba. She was quite the busty girl; not at the same level of Rias, Akeno, or Seras but it was definitely above average; had long flowing blonde hair, grey eyes and a small cute mole under her left eye. She had a sort of 'pure maiden charm' that only a princess could have, hence her school title.

"Right here."

She walked towards her.

"Good; Rias sent me to come get you. Could you please follow me?"

She nodded and bid farewell to the Perverted Duo who were crying a mix of jealousy and sadness.

The trip was fairly quiet though the people around her kept making comments to fuel their perverse imagination. When they reached their destination, which was the Occult Research Club, Yumi knocked on the door and announced their presence before coming in. The inside was Victorian style yet without the lights and all those magic circles it reminded her more of some creepy abandoned room for cults… Perhaps that last part wasn't too far off.

The only other person in the room that she could see was a short white-haired girl Koneko Toujou the unofficial 'School Mascot.'

"Hello."

"…Hey."

She could instantly tell that she wasn't much of a talker and that was fine.

She soon noticed something that was out of place in this entire room.

"Why's there a shower in the clubroom?"

"For personal reasons really."

She was startled a bit hearing a new voice coming from behind her. Turning she was met by the sight a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure around the same age as Rias with very long black hair and violet eyes. This was Akeno Himejima the second most popular girl among the student populace and the second "Greet Lady of Kuoh Academy."

"It's nice to finally meet you face-to-face Seras Alighieri. Rias talks about you quite a lot and I also heard from others how you adopted the Perverted Duo as your personal pets."

Seras rubbed her head in embarrassment. It was somewhat true.

"Akeno Himejima, a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

"Ara? Is that you Seras?"

She turned to see Rias appear out of the shower. She only had towel wrapped around her otherwise naked body. Seras couldn't help but blush, though she quickly looked away.

"Sorry about this, considering the situation we were in I believe it would have been rude if I used your shower."

With a wave of her hand, her towel was replaced with the school uniform.

"Don't worry about it."

Seras sighed a bit before continuing to talk.

"Right, my name is Seras Alighieri, a second year student of Kuoh Academy."

She then stared at Rias with an intense look surprising her a bit.

"Now could you please explain to me what exactly happened yesterday and just who you people really are."

Everyone was quite surprised at the hostile tone Seras took.

"R-right… Well to answer the latter question we are devils."

The instant she said 'devils' the entire room was suddenly covered in a thick wave of killing intent. They turned to the source and were greatly shocked that it was coming from Seras.

Currently it seemed like she was struggling to move.

{Seras enough!}

'Why are you stopping me?! They're demons!'

{They are not the same thing! They may be similar but devils are completely different from the rest of demonkind. If you were to kill this one you'd risk having the entire devil race coming after you, and I know for a fact that you do not want your wish to be granted before you can find Raynare.}

'…'

She knew Sparda had a point. She hated it, especially that it came from a demon.

She took a deep breath to calm herself and her killing intent vanished causing the others to sigh in relief.

"Sorry… I just have bad experiences with all things demonic."

"I-it's all right Seras, I understand."

Rias then proceeded to explain to her about the 3 Biblical: The angels, fallen angels, and devils; the 3-way conflict, and the basic information about each race along with how the devils have been increasing their population with something called 'Evil Pieces.' She was a bit ticked off when she learned that the entirety of Kuoh town is apparently her 'territory' though Sparda quickly calmed her down.

Seras digested all the info.

"… So you're all devils."

It wasn't a question however Rias answered nonetheless.

"Yes."

"… So tell me are you the same as demons or what?"

"No. Demons are commonly mistaken for devils but we're not the same."

She stared at her for a minute trying to find any deceit before accepting she was telling the truth after finding none.

"Good."

Rias looked curiously at Seras wondering about her apparent experiences with demonkind.

"Anyway now that I know who and what you guys are you still haven't explained to me what exactly happened yesterday."

"Right, well you were nearly assassinated by a fallen angel."

"I know that! I want to know what happened when I passed out!"

"No need to yell. You somehow acquired a summoning seal and used it to summon me."

'Summoning seal?'

She then remembered the flyer she found and tucked away.

"Yes, though the summoning was a bit… off."

"Off how?"

"Though you summoned me and I could feel your determination I couldn't feel any desire or wish coming from you."

Rather than looking surprised Seras seemed to wince a bit like someone came close to trespassing a certain personal boundary.

"Even if it wasn't a contract I couldn't just let you bleed to death, so after I found out where you lived I teleported us there to heal you."

"I see, well thanks for telling me all this."

She began leaving for the door only for Rias to stop her.

"Wait! Do you even know why the fallen angel was after you?"

She paused and looked at her.

"I admit I'm a bit curious, however I'm not curious enough as I have something more important to do."

"Well what if this certain reason can help you with your problem."

She widened her eyes a bit before narrowing them in contemplation.

"Go on."

"The reason why you were targeted was because you have within you a Sacred Armament"

"Sacred Armament…"

'I wonder if those two have anything to do about it.'

"Allow me to explain to you." Yumi stepped up. "Sacred Armaments are artifacts of power that are bestowed upon those with human blood and grant them unique abilities."

"Just about a lot of famous figures throughout history have possessed a Sacred Armament to make a name for themselves." Akeno finished Yumi's explanation.

"So I apparently have one of those."

"Yes and we want to help you unlock it."

Seras looked a bit suspicious though she nodded her head in acceptance.

"Simply concentrate on a certain of your body and think of someone that you considered the strongest."

'The strongest huh?' She instantly thought about Sparda and Ddraig since those two were the only ones that actually looked strong in her eyes.

She didn't know why, but she raised her left arm perpendicular to her chest as if she was in a sort of prayer. However her hand was clenched in a way that it resembled like she was clawing at something. Red mist suddenly covered her left arm before dissipating revealing a crimson-scaled gauntlet with dragon tipped claws, 2 orange jewels, and a gold inscribed mark of a dragon.

She clenched and unclenched her fist inspecting every detail of the gauntlet.

"Is that it?" She simply asked out of curiosity. She didn't expect to summon it so easily since she wasn't actually trying much.

She couldn't help but note how silent it was. She looked at everyone and noticed they looked quite shock at was covering her arm.

"Ara ara, who knew our cute kouhai was so special." Akeno giggled a bit into her hand.

"Seras, the power you hold is known as Boosted Gear: The Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet. It holds the spirit of the red Welsh dragon and has the ability to boost the host's power every 10 seconds."

"That's pretty cool." She was honestly amazed by Ddraig's power however she couldn't help but feel annoyed that he didn't inform her of this.

"Seras there is another reason for why I called you here."

The tone Rias used caused Seras to stare at her seriously and confusingly.

"Would you like to become my servant?"

"Servant?"

"Being a High-class devil means that I've been given special pieces that allow me to reincarnate other beings into devils themselves as servants." She gave her a smile of affection. "You wouldn't have to be alone anymore and you can have a family."

Seras instantly stiffened hearing this. A part of her wanted to rip Rias' tongue out for uttering that, yet she managed to suppress it as she knew Rias didn't mean to hurt her like that. She took a deep breath before giving out her answer.

"I'm sorry but no."

Rias didn't look surprised, in fact she sort of expected it, but she couldn't help but curious about her reason(s).

"It's all right, but would you mind telling me why?"

"Why?" She contemplated on whether to tell them her reasons until she decided why not. They weren't close to her or anything so they wouldn't care either way. "The first reason is that I do not want to lose my humanity, the last good thing I have left in my life." The others looked a bit unsettled when she said that last part. "And second, if I became your servant than my wish would become harder to obtain."

"Your wish?"

She nodded before continuing to speak. "My wish is to die alone and be completely forgotten."

…

…

…

[WHAT?!]

Seras was currently walking home and was feeling quite annoyed.

(Well you shouldn't have told them what your wish is)

'They're devils. How was I supposed to know she'd be that caring?'

{She's a Gremory; they are the most kind out of all the devil clans and even by a supernatural being's standards}

'So why didn't you warn me?'

{Because someone needs to rid you of that selfish wish}

'Selfish? How is wanting my death selfish?'

{There are those that care and even love you; it will break their hearts if you were to die}

She stopped walking and her face gained an expression of melancholy.

'Those that once cared for me, all left me in my time of need, and Raynare…" Her gaze softened. 'In the end whether she wants to or not she will abandon me like the others.'

Sparda winced feeling the pain she was feeling and even Ddraig felt sorry for her.

Thanks to her saying what her wish is Rias is now adamant on stopping it from coming true. It bothered her more than she thought yet she didn't know why.

"Hawaau!"

Hearing something, Seras looked behind her. With her arms wide open and her face on the ground was a Sister.

"Are you okay?"

She approached the Sister and gave her a hand so she can stand up.

"Auu. Why do I keep on tripping over… Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you very much~."

Judging from her voice she was quite young. Probably as old as she is or even younger.

Lifting her up a strong breeze suddenly appeared and blew away the Sister's veil. Long blonde hair, which was hidden underneath, falls down onto her shoulders, sparkling with light because of the sunshine. Her face was that of pure innocence with green eyes that could suck people in.

"U-Umm…is something wrong…?"

The Sister looks at her with a worried expression.

She realized she had been staring at her for too long.

"Sorry I just got lost in thought."

Somehow the veil ended floating right at her face.

The Sister couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"So what's a nun like you doing in a place like this?" She asked with slight amusement as she peeled the veil of her face before handing it back to her.

"I was appointed to the Church in this town… You must be a resident of this town. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She bowed her head.

"I have been in trouble since I got here. Ummm…I can't speak Japanese that well…I was lost and other people couldn't understand what I was saying…"

She widened her eyes at that.

'How was I-?"

Sparda knew the answer to that but also knew if he were to say it than Seras would mostly likely try to end her life more quickly, whether she saw Raynare again or not.

"There's only one church in this town that I know of. I can take you there if you want?"

"R-really?! T-Thank you~! This is all thanks to God!"

She smiled at her with tears flowing from her eyes.

Seras than noticed a cross hanging from the Sister's neck. It was quite large and appeared to be made of silver and the bottom seemed to be sharp. For a moment she felt a wave of recognition before it vanished.

{It can't be…}

(Is that…)

It appeared that the two spirits in her head recognized the cross but didn't say anything further.

The two walked towards the church.

"Uwaaaaaah!"

They heard the cry of a boy.

"Are you alright Yosh-kun?"

It seemed he tripped though his mother was there to comfort him. She felt bitter watching that.

"Hey."

The Sister went towards the boy who was sitting down and crying with Seras close behind.

"Are you okay? Boys shouldn't cry with a minor injury like this."

Sister pats the boy's head gently.

The boy probably didn't understand what she is saying. But the Sister has a very kind expression. The Sister put her palm where the boy has injured himself.

Next moment a green light orb appears from the Sister's palm and was flashing onto the boy's knee. Soon the boy's injury started to disappear.

Sacred Armament.

She didn't think she'd find another one so soon.

"Here, your wounds are healed. The pain should be gone now."

The Sister pats the boy's head and looks at her.

"I'm sorry. But I had to."

She laughs while sticking her tongue out.

The boy's mother, who was shocked before, shook her head then grabbed the boy's hand so they could leave quickly.

"Thank you, Onee-chan!"

Words of gratitude.

"He said, thank you Onee-chan."

She smiles happily after she translated for her.

"…That power…"

"Yes, it's the power to heal. It's a wonderful power that God gave me."

She looked a bit sad, even though she's smiling. A dark past that's for sure.

"Come on let's go." She said kindly.

The two continued onward and managed to make it without any further interruptions.

"This it?"

"Yes, this is the place! I'm so glad."

The Sister sighs in relief.

"Then I'll be on my way."

"Please wait!"

She tried to leave, only for the Sister's words to stop her.

"I would like to make you some tea as a gratitude for taking me here—"

She thinks about it, however something about the church just rubbed her the wrong way.

"I'm sorry, but I have things to do."

"…But…"

She's troubled. She probably wanted to make some tea for her to show her gratitude.

"My name is Seras Alighieri . Though just call me Seras. What's your name?"

When she gave her name, she responded with a smile.

"My name is Asia Argento! Please call me Asia!"

"Then, Sister Asia, let's meet again."

"Yes! Seras, I will definitely come and see you!"

Asia bows her head down.

She left the place after waving towards her. She watched her until she was out of her sight. Neither of the two noticed a small bat hanging on the tree watching them with intelligent red eyes…

"So this is where you were hiding."

Watching from the bat's eyes was some sort of entity that was being hidden from the shadows. Nothing was shown except for his large height and his glowing yellow eyes.

"To think you would be so weak as to deny your true self." He chuckled a bit. "But soon little one, you will join our ranks where you truly belong, in fact…"

He waved the image away only to replace it with another. This one showed Dohnaseek brutally stabbing and slashing a tied up Raynare, and all she could was scream and cry.

"That day is coming soon…"

Author's Notes

Well here's the 3rd chapter. We get to learn more about Seras and she has now met our favourite nun.

Anyway the character Seras is actually a combination of different characters from different fictional works in terms of personality, history, desires, lineage, and/or powers:

Shirou Emiya (Fate/stay night), Jack the Ripper (Fate Apocrypha), Kratos (God of War), Hitoshura (Megami Tensei), Dante (Devil May Cry), Dante Alighieri (Dante's Inferno), Rin Okumara (Blue Exorcist), Alucard (Hellsing Ultimate), and Ryner Lute (Legend of the Legendary Heroes)

Till next time!