And Hell rose to claim it

27/3/20XX, Wednesday

[Kuoh Town, Akira's House]

"What are you doing here?" Akira exclaimed at the crimson haired devil in front of him.

"Oh, you must be Akira-kun. Ise, come here and greet your senpai! My you are quite a handsome one aren't you Akira." Mrs Hyoudou gushed at Akira.

"Ah, I've see you have met our future daughter-in-law. I never would have imagined that I would ever get to say this. Even our Ise manage to find himself a girlfriend!" Mr Hyoudou said as tears of joy began to run down his face.

"Well, don't just stand there Akira. Go set the table and bring out the food! Come Gorou, Yukino, Issei and Rias; let's head to the dining room." Akira's mother said.

Grumbling under his breath, Akira returned to the kitchen and brought out the cutleries for the meal to the dining room. Before he could reenter the kitchen, Gremory rose from her seat and cheerfully said, "I'm going to help Kurusu-kun bring out the food!"

Upon entering the kitchen, Gremory paused in front of Morgana. Squatting down to bring herself closer to Morgana, she reached out her hand to scratch Morgana's chin. "Gah! Stop that you she-devil!" Morgana purred despite his words.

Giggling at Morgana, Gremory turned to Akira and asked, "Hey Kurusu-kun, is this cat yours?"

Nodding his head in reply, Akira lifted up the pot of curry and brought it into the dining room, where the rice cooker already sat. Upon lifting up the lid, the sweet aroma of curry filled the entire room. "That smells good Akira-kun. Did you manage to cook this by yourself?" Mrs Hyoudou asked.

Once again, Akira simply nodded his head as a reply. "Well then, shall we begin the meal?" Akira's mother asked.

"Thanks for the meal!" A chorus of voices shouted.

That had to be the most awkward meal of Akira's entire life. Unfortunately for him, he was sitting on the opposite side of Hyoudou Issei, who for some reason refused to make eye contact with him. Furthermore, there was a Rias Gremory sitting beside Issei that kept trying to catch his eye. His mother and Issei's parents were clearly hitting it off. The three of them were laughing at each other's stories and his mother had even made him bring out the sake to drink.

Raising his hand to loosen the damned ribbon on his uniform, Akira continued to watch the adults at the table. They were clearly having too much to drink. Akira could tell from the look on his mother's face that she was getting drunk. Then, just as Akira was about to escape from the table using the excuse of bringing out dessert, Mrs Hyoudou directed a question at him, "Akira-kun, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask him that as well Yukino! I never did have a good chance to ask him about his love life when he came from Tokyo!" Akira's mother chuckled before she took another gulp of sake.

After that question from Mrs Hyoudou, all eyes at the table turned to look at him. Even Issei who had refused to make eye contact before was now studying him intently. Sighing, Akira said, "Yes, I do have a girlfriend. I'm going to take out the dessert now. Please excuse me."

With that, Akira quickly rose to his feet and rushed off towards the kitchen. The adults continued their conversation as though satisfied with Akira's answer and Issei and Gremory exchanged suspicious glances.


27/3/20XX, Wednesday

[Kuoh Town, Main Street]

"I am glad that you have managed to arrive safely." Aigis said.

"It's nothing. Inaba is quite close to Kuoh. Still, I am quite surprised that Kirijo-san would submit this request to me. I was under the impression that the Kirijo Corporations would rather investigate matters on their own."

"Then I will be counting on you for help on this case, Naoto Shirogane."


27/3/20XX, Wednesday

[Kuoh Town, Akira's House]

"Thanks for having us! Rias, how would you be returning home?" Mrs Hyoudou said as the Hyoudou family were about to leave Akira's home.

"I will be heading in the other direction back home Mum. Thanks for having me today Mrs Kurusu and Kurusu-kun." Gremory said with a bow before leaving the house as well.

Once the Hyoudou family and Gremory had left the house, Akira's mother immediately pulled him back into the living room before pushing him into the sofa. After taking a deep breath, his mother shouted, "Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?!"

Completely unfazed by his mother, Akira simply replied, "Well, you did not ask before so I assumed you did not wish to know."

"What do you mean I don't wish to know? I have to make sure that your girlfriend is not some biker girl. I mean you were in Tokyo for a year with a criminal record and even spent some time in juvie! What other kind of girl would you date?" his mother ranted.

Akira burst into laughter upon hearing his mother's outburst. Makoto as a biker girl? She could not have been more spot on. Stifling his laughter, he wheezed, "Makoto was the Student Council President of Shujin Academy, one of the school's pride and joy. No Mother, she is not a biker girl but she does love motorcycles!"

Akira stood and began to head to his room, leaving his shocked mother to process everything he just said. He was still in his school uniform and that damned ribbon was slowly beginning to suffocate him. Perhaps since Kuoh Academy was so lax with their uniforms, maybe he could try going without it tomorrow?

Just as Akira left the room, a tiny oni made its way out from underneath the sofa and scurried to the kitchen. Unluckily for it, a certain black and white cat was lurking in there. Both Morgana and the oni made eye contact with each other before a magic circle flared to life beneath the oni. Eyes widening slightly, Morgana leapt from his position, attempting to grab hold of the oni but his hands only managed to catch the purple sparkles that were the oni's only remains.

"I think we have a big problem coming our way." Morgana meowed as he felt a shiver run down his spine.


28/3/20XX, Thursday

[Kuoh Town, Kuoh Academy]

Rias Gremory was normally a nice lady. However, the number one thing that would cause you to get on her bad side was messing with her peerage. Unfortunately for Akira, he had just done that.

It was currently lunch break and Rias was on the hunt for a certain Akira Kurusu (or Joker as he liked to call himself) throughout the school. She intended to bring the magician in for questioning under the pretence of introducing him to her club. Thanks to Akeno's familiar, Rias had managed to find out a little more about this Akira Kurusu. Of course, he had to be a delinquent who had done time in juvie as well.

Just as she turned into the hallway for the faculty office, she saw Akira make his way out of the staffroom. Rias immediately rushed up to Akira. "Hey Kurusu-kun, do you mind following me after school to my club? I thought that I should introduce you to my clubmates!" she chirped.

Barely batting an eye at her, Akira deadpanned, "Why should I even bother."

Scowling, Rias tiptoed to whisper into Akira's ear, "If you don't, I'm going to reveal your criminal record to the rest of the school Joker-kun."

That appeared to have gotten Akira's attention. Tucking his hands into his pockets, he said, "Fine. I shall see you after school."

Watching Akira walk away, Rias could not help but feel bad about herself. It was not in her nature to resort to blackmailing someone. However, she could not forgive someone who had hurt so many members of her peerage. Besides, she could not allow a magician to run amok in her town, could she?


28/3/20XX, Thursday

[Kuoh Town, Kuoh Academy, Old School Building]

Akira was not in a good mood. Morgana had told him the night before that something had managed to listen in on everything that had been spoken the night before. As such, he had prepared for something like this.

As he walked into the Old School Building, Akira could feel a chill run down his spine. Somehow, he felt that there was something wrong in the building. Unlike the last time when he had 'visited', he felt oddly muted this time. Moving further into the building, he knocked on the door to the main room before entering.

Inside the room, Akira found himself with the entirety of Gremory's group. Sitting behind a newly replaced desk was Rias Gremory, who was calmly sipping her drink from a teacup. Akeno stood slightly behind her with her hand wrapped in a bandage. Kiba, whose right arm was in a sling, leaned against the wall and Akira could tell that he was glaring daggers at him. Koneko was indifferently sitting on a new sofa with Issei, who was tapping his feet nervously.

Since no one said a word, Akira decided to break the silence, "Well, I've liked what you've done to the place. You devils sure know how to clean up well. Wasn't there a black marking on this paint job a few days ago…"

Placing down her teacup, Gremory stared directly into Akira's eyes. "Akira Kurusu," she began, "a rogue magician with a criminal record that has been to juvie. Yes, we are aware that you are a rogue. I had Akeno check from the town's records and though we could find your name, it was not listed that you were a magician."

Standing up from her sit, Gremory began to move closer towards Akira. "You know Kurusu, I thought you were a pretty decent guy when you first entered the class. But now, after you've hurt my peerage, I don't think I can forgive that."

"You know, I believe that your peerage was the one that attacked me first, Gremory-san." Akira drawled as he narrowed his eyes.

"We have also received a few worrying reports of your powers. Supposedly, you had managed to summon the evil dragon, Yamata-no-orochi, into a street here in Kuoh. Akira Kurusu, I do not know why you are here but you better explain yourself now. I will not tolerate such a powerful rogue magician leaving in my city much less after hurting my peerage!" Gremory growled as she stopped directly in front of Akira.

"Ara ara, our Buchou has grown up so well! To think that she would be so forward with men." Akeno commented as she licked her lips.

Akeno's words caused Gremory's face to turn a bright shade of red, one that was almost as red as her face. "A… Akeno! I was trying to be serious and scary there!" she whined.

Staring incredulously at what had just occurred before him, Akira could not help but chuckle. To think that the girl who had been threatening him a few seconds ago could become so flustered in a moment. Turning towards Issei, Akira gestured towards him and questioned, "Oh yes. May I know why Hyoudou Issei is still alive and kicking? I'm pretty sure that I saw him get shot in the chest by a light spear."

This time, it was every other person's turn to look at Akira in disbelief. "What are you talking about? Surely you know that the Evil Piece system of us devils can reincarnate those with mortal wounds?" Gremory asked.

"I see." Akira replied simply.

"Anyway, we are getting off topic here. The main reason why I called you here was that us devils wanted to make a deal with you. If you agree to stay out of our way, we promise that we will leave you completely in course, you will need to be placed under constant surveillance by one of us. Do you agree to that, Kurusu-kun?" Gremory said.

"Why do I have to listen to you, Gremory-san. What's stopping me from summoning something and busting out of here?"

"I'm glad you asked," Gremory said with a smirk, "but unfortunately for you, I have placed a magic circle over the Old School Building that prevents the art of summoning. As such, you are trapped in here with us devils. Also, even if you manage to escape, we will release the information of your criminal record. I know how much that can ruin someone's life in school."

Silently, Akira accessed his current situation. His end goal was to get back to Tokyo safely at the end of the year to go to college there. To do that, he would have to ensure that he would not get into any trouble as well as to study hard. Maybe it was a fair enough deal. After all, he would be generally left in peace if he were to agree. Besides, he could also try to worm more information out of them.

"Fine, I agree to your terms. Also, may I know who will be observing me? It would be a little awkward for anyone from your peerage to do so." Akira said as he tucked his hands into his pockets.

"Well, lucky for you, the devil to observe you is no one from my peerage. Instead, she would be the one to do so." Gremory chuckled.

Almost as soon as those words left her mouth, the door to the room was slammed open. Into the room walked a certain blue haired Student Council President of Kuoh Academy. "I will be the your observer Kurusu. I hope that you are ready to join the Student's Council." Kaichou informed as her glasses gleamed in the lights of the room.


28/3/20XX, Thursday

[Kuoh Town, Kuoh Main Street]

Sighing, Akira stretched his hands over his head as he made his way through the mostly empty streets of Kuoh. He should have expected that there would be more to the deal than meets the eye. Not only was he placed under observation, but he also had to join the Student's Council. The meetings would take place on Fridays and Kaichou said that she had already sorted it out with Yui.

Tomorrow would be the first day of his time in the Student's Council. Speaking of Student's Council, it has been a while since he had last had a private chat with Makoto. Although the Phantom Thieves messaging group is always buzzing with messages daily, it did not feel as personal as having a private one with his queen. Not saying that he did not enjoy the company of the others but he felt as though it has been a long time since they last talked privately.

Whipping out his phone, Akira sent her a quick message before continuing on his way home.


[My Queen]

Akira: Hey there my dearest Queen, how are you doing?

Makoto: Ever the flatterer aren't you Akira? Always calling me that.

Akira: But of course my Queen. After all, I am but a nameless Joker in your court, isn't it right for me to flatter you?

Makoto: Is everything going well for you Akira?

Akira: Yep.

Akira: In fact, I just joined the Student Council.

Makoto: You? The Student Council? Now that's something I did not expect would happen. Were you forced to join it?

Akira: Actually, your deduction is spot on Makoto.

Makoto: Oh, I'm sorry Akira. I only meant it as a joke.

Akira: Oh yes, I also kind of told my mother about you? She seems to be really eager to meet you.

Makoto: She is? Guess I have to see her when we come visit you during summer break.

Makoto: Oh, I have to go Akira. I'll talk to you another time, I'm going to visit the church with Sis.

Akira: Never knew you were the type to go to church Makoto. Is something wrong?


28/3/20XX, Thursday

[Kuoh Town, Akira's House]

After typing that message, Akira placed his phone down as he turned to Morgana. He had been simultaneously informing Morgana of the day's events as well as messaging Makoto. "This is definitely a problem. I think it is safe to assume that I am not just a simple house cat. This means it won't be easy for me to spy on them either." Morgana said as he stretched out on Akira's bed.

"Yeah. It is going to be a problem. Looks like I will have to learn more about these devils through my interactions with them instead." Akira sighed as he picked up his school bag. He still had to do a little studying to ensure that he stayed ahead of the Kuoh Academy's already painfully slow teaching pace. He guessed that in terms of school, Shujin Academy was obviously the tougher one academically.

Throughout the time he spent studying, Akira could not get one thought out of his head. Since when did Makoto go to church? He was a hundred percent certain that he never saw her there once when he went to visit Hifumi and he was certain that she did not have a religion. He made a mental note to ask the other Phantom Thieves in Tokyo about it.


29/3/20XX, Friday

[Kuoh Town, Kuoh Academy]

Akira could not believe this. His time in the Student Council had begun with a club check up. Supposedly, all the clubs in Kuoh Academy had a mandatory random check up when the Student Council would go around to ensure that none of them were committing any 'illegal acts' as phrased by Kaichou. He did not remember the Student Council in Shujin having that much power...

He was paired up with a girl called Momo Hanakai and was dispatched to check on the clubs. Akira expected it to be an easy job. After all, shouldn't the clubs be smart enough to stay out of trouble? By the third club, Akira was feeling that he might have jinxed himself. The swimming club was caught wearing skimpy swimsuits rather than the school issued ones, the Manga drawing club was caught drawing Hentai and the Light Music Club was found drinking tea rather than practicing music.

When he and Momo finally returned to the Student Council room, Akira was deadbeat and could not wait to go home. He now had a feeling that this was Gremory's revenge, sending him to be a dog for another devil. Plopping himself down on the sofa in the room, he sighed as he stared up at the ceiling. The entire experience was rather boring as Momo did not even say much during their patrol. Akira did try to start a conversation with her but to no avail.

"How is Council work Kurusu? Aren't you enjoying yourself?" Kaichou chuckled as she entered the room.

"I like it about as much as that Light Music Club someone approved. Are Kuoh Academy students that desperate to find a way to slack off. They might as well have called it the 'Tea Drinking Club'." Akira grumbled.

Brushing of Akira's complaints, Kaichou turned her attention to the still silent Momo. "Hanakai, you may go and join the rest of the council at the tennis courts, from what I understand there is some issues with one of the club members. Kurusu will stay here and help me with some paperwork." Kaichou commanded.

Nodding her head at Kaichou, Momo did not spare Akira a second glance and left the Student Council room. Sitting down on the armchair opposite Akira, Kaichou folded her arms and started, "Kurusu, I have a job for you."

"What do you mean by that Kaichou? Don't tell me I actually have to tell the Light Music club that they have to shut down." Akira jokes.

"I am referring to something else. As you are aware, Rias is the owner of the entirety of Kuoh Town. Normally, I am certain that Rias would do a good job of keeping the peace in this town. However, as of late, there have been reports of an increase in Fallen Angel activity, especially around the school." Kaichou stated seriously.

"What I ask of you is simple. Should a day comes when the Fallen Angels attack the school, please, protect this school with all your power. I am certain that you have no love for devils, I can see it in your eyes. I am unsure what past experiences that you had with my kind but I wish that you will ignore that for now and protect the school. Not all of Kuoh Academy students are devils and I wish to protect all of them from the supernatural world. Please, will you agree to this?" Kaichou pleaded to Akira.

Akira was stunned by Kaichou's request. He had believed that all devils were selfish beings who did not care for human life. Yet, here is a devil pleading him to protect the humans in Kuoh Academy. As the Leader of the Phantom Thieves, what kind of person would he be if he forsook those that he swore to protect. Smiling for the first time at Kaichou, Akira answered, "Of course I will protect this school."

"Thank you Kurusu. You are dismissed for the day, head back home and rest well. If anything were to threaten the school, you shall receive my message immediately." Kaichou said.

Rising from his seat, Akira took his leave from the Student Council room. He was reevaluating all the thoughts that he had on devils. He had initially believed them to beings that would do anything for their own gain. He had refused to acknowledge that there was a chance that Gremory saving Hyoudou was something she did out of goodwill. Now, now he was considering all of these options to be possible.

Instead of quickly making his way out of school, Akira took a quick detour to class 1-C of the first years. When he entered the class, it was completely empty apart from a certain blonde haired robot sitting at the teacher's desk. Pulling out his phone and opening the recording app, Akira told Aigis, "Palladion-sensei, looks like I have something to report."


[Ryuji]

Akira: Hey man.

Akira: Did Makoto ever tell you or the other Phantom Thieves anything about going to church?

Ryuji: Church? Never heard her say anything bout that

Ryuji: I mean not to be rude or anything but shouldn't you know best out of all of us? I mean you guys are dating and stuff.

Akira: She hasn't told me anything.

Ryuji: Then again, she also hasn't been turning up that often for get togethers.

Ryuji: But I think it ain't mean anything. Noir has also been complaining about how busy college gets too.

Akira: I see, thanks man.

Ryuji: Anytime bro! Can't wait to see ya in person!


3/4/20XX, Wednesday

[Kuoh Town, Kuoh Academy]

It had been a fairly uneventful week for Akira. He couldn't believe how boring it was without his friends or the Metaverse. He had practically hours in the afternoon to burn away, having already perfected his time management skills in Tokyo. Somehow, he could not adapt back to the slow pace of life in the country.

At the moment, he was currently cooling down after another track practice with Yui. The other few members of the track team still had not appeared. Upon seeing his timing for the 400m sprint, Yui got all excited that Kuoh Academy might finally be able to compete in Kyoto thanks to him. Akira couldn't bring himself to burst her bubble that he probably would not be able to leave town till next year…

"Kurusu-kun! Do you happen to have a moment?" A voice called out to him. Glancing around, Akira found the source of the voice to be Palladion-sensei. Upon seeing that a teacher was looking for him, Yui excused herself and said that she was going to wash up, leaving Akira alone with Palladion-sensei.

"Kurusu-kun, we have some new information. The Fallen Angels are currently gathered in the abandoned church on the outskirts of town. Ms Kirijo requests your particular set of skills to help to scout the church. We do not require you to enter the church itself, you are to only observe it." Palladion-sensei rattled to Akira.

"Before you think of declining it, you were the one who approached us first Kurusu-kun back when you needed help. This is also a part of our mutual agreement to find out more about these devils." Palladion-sensei continued without waiting for a reply from Akira.

"Fine, I mean it's not like you give me much of a choice anyway." Akira said as he continued his cool down. Akira knew it was a bad idea to ask them for help but Morgana had insisted that he did if he was discovered by the devils. Akira was definitely bringing that lazy feline on the scouting mission, would be better for Morgana than staying at home and growing fat.


4/4/20XX, Thursday

[Kuoh Town, Abandoned Church]

Atop one of the forested hills in Kuoh Town was a church. None of the townsfolk had any idea how it had ended up there in the first place. Although it never did appear on the town's plans, the church had stood there since Akira's grandparents were children.

Leaning against one of the trees closer to the clearing of the church, Akira quietly observed the church. On the surface, it looked like a regular abandoned church with the stained glass with art of various holy beings on them. However, something that was missing from the church was the cross that should normally decorate the entrance.

"Can we go back now Akira? This forest stinks and something about it is making me itch all over! Come on, there's nothing to see here." Morgana complained as he sulked by Akira's sides.

Just then, Akira saw three new figures burst out of the forest and were racing straight into the church. From his position, Akira could easily recognise them as Hyoudou, Koneko and Kiba, all members of Gremory's peerage. Not long after they entered the church, he could hear the sounds of battle coming from inside the church and the flares of light spears. "Looks like they got this covered Morgana, come on, let's go home." Akira said as he prepared to take his leave.

A sudden rush of magic coming from the church stopped Akira in his tracks. Turning back to the church, he felt as though a deadly silence fell upon it. Then, the screaming begin. It was not the voice of any of Gremory's peerage members but instead seemed to belong to that of a young girl. Another blast of magic radiated from the church and he could feel an immense pressure radiating from the church. "Change of plans. Let's get going, Mona!" Akira shouted as he too began to run to the church.


4/4/20XX, Thursday

[Kuoh Town, Abandoned Church]

Hyoudou Issei could not believe the sight that lay before him. Asia, the beautiful blonde nun that he had came here to save, was writhing in pain within some sort of magic circle. An item glowing with a green like appeared to be manifesting over her, the green sharply contrasting with the purple magic circle beneath her.

Once again, the magic circle pulsed and Asia's screams reach a new octave. Pointing at his murderous ex-girlfriend, Raynare, hovering over Asia, Issei screamed, "Let her go Raynare!"

"Now, now Issei-kun. All of you will have your chance to die. The ritual is practically complete and I will soon be impossible to defeat for any of you three. Perhaps if you did not bring injured teammates, you might have stood a better chance." Raynare snickered as she stared at the three members of the Gremory peerage.

Upon hearing her words, Kiba began to clutch his injured arm and Koneko kept holding onto her chest as though she was having trouble breathing. Issei himself had practically ran out of magic power by simply defeated three other fallen angels. At that moment, Issei knew that it would be impossible for the three of them to win. Oh, if only he had listened to Buchou!

"Oh look, my gift is practically done. Looks like all of you get to die earlier than expected!" Raynare cheered.

The previously flickering object over Asia's head had solidified and the pulsing from the magic circle beneath her was getting weaker and weaker. Just as the Gremory peerage felt there was no way out of this, the stained windows behind Raynare shattered. Glass shards began to decorate the ground as two figures rose to their feet. The smaller one shouted, "Mercurius, Mediarahan!"

A green light enveloped the entirety of the Gremory group, healing most of their wounds. The taller figure tightened the red gloves around his hands as he made his way closer to a shocked Raynare. Raising a hand to the mask atop his face, he roared, "Come, Seth!"

A roar shook the entire church as blue flames began to rise. Then, a truly terrifying sight appeared before all in the church. Leathery black wings were beating against the air as the monster rose up from the flames. Opening its maw, the huge black dragon let out a roar at Raynare.

"I am thou and thou art I.

I am the God of Evil, Seth.

As per our contract, I have arised from the sea of your soul.

Now, show your foes the true meaning of

Death and destruction!"

When Raynare turned to look at the monster's summoner again, she was shocked to find that in the face that was completely shrouded in flames, she could still see an eye. A single eye burning with hatred and anger. Pointing at Raynare, Joker intoned, "Ravage her Seth, Maragidyne!"

[A/N] Hey guys, thanks once again for reading this update! This took a lot more time to complete then I expected due to me getting busy again. However, I will continue to update at least once per month. As all of you (hopefully) remember, I gave a hint last chapter about who the dream sequence lady was. I'm just gonna say at this point that there are very close answers but none of them are correct at the moment. This time I will ask all of you a different question: Why would Makoto go to church?

Hope all of you enjoyed this chapter! See all of you guys in the next update! Sorry about the cliffhanger ending btw.