…
…
The room was dark
CREAK
The wood on the walls are completely rotten. There is black mould everywhere. The floor had huge holes due to the wood breaking off
CREAK
The only bit of light coming through the room is from the window. The view of the moon from here was quite breathtaking. All of its craters and dark spots were clearly visible. The soothing moonlight which entered the room was the only reason we could see two beings which were present.
CREAK
"N-N-NO! PLEASE! L-L-LET ME GO! I-I-I WILE GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU DESIRE! MONEY? POWER? FAME? WOMEN? ANYTHING!"
.
.
.
"…hm?.."
A man was seen pleading. He was battered and bruised. His cloths were torn and he had many wounds on his arms. Tears were flowing like rivers from his eyes and he had his hands in a praying manner.
He seemed to be pleading to a figure in the shadows. No features of the figure was visible, only a silhouette.
SHWOON SHWOON SHWOON
The figure had a massive sword on his right hand. The tip of the sword was being dragged on the wooden floor.
The sword left a distinct cut mark on the wood. The cut mark that was created due to the sword emitted a nasty aura.
"…"
"…"
"…p̴̡̉̌͂̾̽̇̄̒͐ę̷̦̜͔͔͉̫̠̅͌̽̓̃̉̽́̄̕͠o̴̮̔̈́͌̃͝p̷̢͔͈̺͙̝̳͈̞̰̑͛̇͒́̾͐l̴̖̀͛́̋̈́͝͠͝ȅ̷̯̙͚̬͈͕̽͘̚ ̴̻̬̻̱͋̌̒̂͆͒̀̇̓͘ḽ̵̗̀͌̾͋̋ḭ̶̲̲̫͝͝͠ḵ̵̢̢̙̦͇͉̾̓̽̉̒̎̀͑̎e̷̡̱̭͊͊̀̔̐ ̷̢̮̩͈̰͎̫́͑̏͗̆̉̈́͠͠y̶̙̩̱͙͓͔̜̒̑o̴̢̡̺̻̠̭͇̳̿͛̄̅͌̇̈́͛͛́̊ͅu̵̢̲̮̅ ̴͎̖̪́̑ḍ̷͎̈́̽̏̿̕͠ơ̵̡̨̬͕̻̦͎̏̎͌͆̓̓͐͝ ̴̡̖̯͓̪̟̝͈̪̍͌̿͆̒̚͜ͅn̵̛̰̝̬͚̺̤̗̼̣͚̪͆̊̌͒̇͐͛͐ȍ̴̠̪͎̣̞͖̙͔̦̮͔̔̐́̈t̸̖͓͇͚̱̝̘͛̆̄́̂̓̾̈́̓͂ ̴̯̙̝̮͈̝̪̟̣̯̬͌̆̿̌̀͐̋̈̈́͊͠d̵̘̣̣̟̤̰̣̳̣͈́ĕ̴̛̳͇̪̥͔̩͔̝̟̤̅̉̈ͅs̵͚̃ĕ̵̻͙̗̮̤͍̖̦̯r̸̛̳͇͔̻̻̲̽̃͊͂͒̄̓̚v̷̱͕͇̈́̀̿e̵͇̲̯̲̳̞̤͇͈̎ͅ ̸̬̙͎̳̿͜ţ̶̡̡̰̘̥͉̻̤̮̾͐̋ơ̷̮̻̺͖̹̯̙̭͓̒͋̑͆̆̾͌ͅ ̵̡̛̠̖̐̄̓̃͛̊̒̀̂͝ḻ̸̢̝̇̓͌͐͊̊͛̀͝i̷̡̜͈̙͎͍͕͍̭͉͂̀v̵̤̹̤͉̪͎͔̠͕̽̏̔͋͊͛͗̽̒̃͜͝e̴̩̝̹̤̜͋̓́͐…"
SHING
SQUELCH
The Gremory Group was currently on an off day. Kiba and Rossweisse were discussing finances. Rias and Akeno were strengthening their swordswomen skills. Xenovia, Irina, Asia and Ruruko were on the couch in the living room. Ruruko was listening to the stories which were told by the church trio. Gasper and Koneko were practicing magic. Ravel was busy cooking food and Rugal was working out.
Suddenly, a communication circle opened next to the members of the peerage. The circle was grey and had the markings of "Lucifer".
"Sorry for disturbing, but this is of utmost importance. Meet me at the main office" It was none other than Grayfia.
The peerage was not together, so they couldn't exchange their surprised reactions. The peerage, along with Irina, teleported to the main office.
"What do you think happened?" Ravel asked her [King]
"I'm pretty sure it's something about the Stray Devil" Rias said while rubbing her chin.
WHONG
"Always good at deducing eh?" Grayfia's hologram appeared in the middle of the room.
"So, looks like I was correct?" Asked Rias.
"Indeed. It seems like 'Bloodhunter' has attacked again. Sirzechs is busy right now so he sent me to notify you. In fact, I am also busy right now, so I don't have much time. I'll send you the last known co-ordinates."
WHONG
The hologram disappeared.
TRING
The peerage had been sent a notification on their phones.
"…this is!" Asia's eyes went wide as they saw the location.
"…Diodora's old base…" Said Rias with a frown.
Asia began to tremble at the thought of going to the base of the man that nearly killed her. She remembered how he wanted to abuse her and use her as bait for her peerage. But that wasn't even the worst part for her…She remembered how Issei lost his mind when he thought that she was dead. She could see the after effects of Issei's rage session on his body. It broke her heart to see Issei in such a terrible condition. Asia's body started shaking lightly and tears were seen forming at the corner of her eyes. Xenovia and Irina saw this.
They both placed their hands on Asia's shoulder.
"Don't worry Asia, even if something were to happen to you, we will always be there to protect you" Irina smiled at Asia.
Xenovia shuddered. "I don't want to remember that time when we almost lost you…" She said in a broken voice.
Asia smiled at those two. She embraced them.
"….thank you…" she said in a soft and muffled voice.
"….well…this is it"
Rias and her peerage were standing behind a large gate.
Nature had taken control of the entire palace. There were cracks everywhere. All the iron had rusted to a certain degree and there was next to no polish on the exterior of the palace. The was mold everywhere and many of the windows were shattered.
The palace was last used around 7 years ago, when Diodora Astaroth was still alive. But ever since his brutal death, the residents of the palace had migrated to a different area and this palace was left to rot.
.
.
.
.
However, there was one unusual sighting
"….Look! That room is illuminated!" Ruruko pointed out.
Indeed, there was light coming out of one of the windows, although very dim.
"So, someone is home after all?" Xenovia was blunt. She had summoned her Ex-Durandal and was ready to pierce anyone's heart, given the chance. The other's had a similar mindset to Xenovia. They had their weapons or magic at the ready and would strike the moment they sense hostility.
Rias, being their [King], took the lead and opened the door to the mansion. As the group entered, they winced as they felt the malicious aura that filled the mansion. Any low class being would find it nearly impossible to breathe, even though they were not even close to where the aura was originating from. As the Gremory Group was insanely powerful they could deal with the aura with relative ease, although it was still forcing them to be at the top of their guard. As they went deeper inside the mansion, they could feel that the malicious aura surrounding them has subsided. Maybe the aura's origin point has changed? Or maybe the person or object from which the aura was radiating from has left? In any case, they continued to go further.
The walls of the mansion have lost its magnificent shine and are now completely dull. The wood has become hollow and creaky and quite moldy at some places. The corridors remain barren and are devoid of any pictures, paintings or statues depicting the Astaroth clan. The windows are foggy and one has to really work hard to look through those windows. Whatever furniture that was left in the mansion are now rotting. This place is really the kind of place that you think of when someone says 'Haunted House'.
"…find anything?" Kiba asked. Everyone replied in the negative, which was expected by him.
"That weird aura that was there in the beginning continues to creep me out, even though it's not present anymore" Ruruko commented.
While walking deeper into the mansion, Rugal sensed something.
"…I smell blood" He said, alarming the others. "That way…" he pointed towards the north-west wing of the mansion. Without wasting another second, they all dashed towards from where the smell was coming from.
As they were climbing up the stairs, they too could now smell the blood. After a few minutes of sprinting, they were finally behind the door of the room from which the smell was coming from. This also happened to be the room from which the light was coming from.
"…here goes nothing" Ravel came forward and proceeded to open the door.
.
.
.
.
.
"…!"
They all gasped in union.
Close to the table where a lamp was dimly glowing lied a dead body. The clothes were torn and stained with blood. The legs and torso seemed to be bruised and there were cuts everywhere. As for the head, well, it was on the floor…detached from the body.
Asia covered her mouth with her hands as to not scream at the sight. She was also heard silently sobbing. Xenovia and Kiba drew their swords and were on guard. Koneko, Gasper and Rossweisse started investigating the room with their magic. Ruruko and Ravel stood there in disbelief while Rugal had his arms crossed and closed his eyes with a calm expression. Rias and Akeno were shocked but managed to return to their senses. They both went to inspect the body. Irina was shocked at first as well, but was now rather curious as she felt something off putting…
"…a swift cut. No imperfections..." Said Akeno with a gulp.
"…hey…isn't this Abel Vassago?" Said Rias.
Abel Vassago is a prominent face in the Underworld. He is the owner of 'Vassago Crop' which is a huge Import-Export company which makes billions.
"…w-w-wha-" Ravel wasn't able to finish her sentence. She is still in shock from what she has just witnessed.
"W-w-we have to report this to Sirzechs-sama" Xenovia was stuttering. Although she was not scared of such scenes, Vassago was not just any devil. He is one of the strongest Devils out there. He is comparable to the likes of the Gremory group if not stronger! The fact that someone had the guts to face him, chopped his head off cleanly, and left without anyone noticing…didn't sit right with her, to say the least.
"Already on it" Said Rias. Rias formed a communication circle and informed Sirzechs of their findings. Sirzechs was…not pleased, to say the least.
"WHAT!? ABEL! I WILL FIND THAT DAMNED STRAY AND I WILL MAKE HIM PAYYYYY!" Sirzechs could be heard screaming through the communication circle. Rias was wincing at her brother's loudness.
"Onii-sama, we don't know if it was the Bloodhunter or not. The person who killed him seemed to have left right under our noses" Said Rias.
"THEN FIND WHOEVER DID THIS!" Rias winced once more as the communication circle disappeared.
"…what…happened?" Akeno asked.
"…Haaahhh…Abel and Sirzechs were good friends. Abel helped Sirzechs a lot during and after the war. So, naturally, he would be furious at whoever killed his friend." Sighed Rias.
"…umm…wouldn't have contacting Grayfia been better?" Asked Kiba.
"On the flip side, Grayfia doesn't seem to like Abel very much. Everytime his name was mentioned she would scowl. I don't know why exactly she loathes him, but I think he hit on her when he was drunk or something? So yeah, she would probably cut the link as soon as I would've mentioned his name" Said Rias.
A few minutes later, an investigation team arrived. The team comprised of Devils and Fallen as Angels were caught up at the moment. As the head of the investigation team started giving orders to the team, Rias and the others decided to leave the rest for the specialists and teleported back to their base.
Back at their mansion, everyone was unusually quiet. Asia looked like she was in a daze and Xenovia and Ravel were there comforting her. Rias and Akeno just sat there awkwardly. Koneko was slightly more stoic that usual. Rossweisse and Gasper were the only ones talking and that too they were discussing about the events that just took place. Kiba went upstairs along with Ruruko and Rugal, probably to spar. Irina was sitting on the couch, reading something. Rias saw Irina reading and was confused as she saw that Irina was frowning and was completely into the book.
"Irina? What are you reading?" Rias asked. This caused everyone present there to look at Irina. Irina had a soft blush on her face as she saw everyone looking at her, but managed to compose herself after a few seconds.
"…I sensed a weird energy signature in the room. I can't pinpoint what it was, but I'm sure it was something Holy" Irina said, much to everyone's shock.
"Holy energy?" Asia, who seemed to be snapped out of her daze, spoke softly.
"Indeed. So I'm trying to find out what it could've been. I'm trying to find it in this book but…" Irina sighed, "…I found nothing"
"…should we inform this to Srizechs-sama?" Ravel asked.
"I don't think so. He is probably still furious about the fact that one of his friends has been murdered." Rias nodded her head.
"By the way, Rias, did you ever get the chance to meet him? Er…I mean when he was alive, of course…" Akeno asked.
"Once or twice in meetings here and there, but I didn't really know him that well. He always seemed to be in a group which included my brother. I don't know what they talked about, but they used to share laughs quite frequently…" Rias looked down at her hands with a sorrowful expression. "…I…no…we all know what it's like to lose someone so close to us… so I can feel what is going through my brother's mind and heart right now" Rias's eyes were all teary and so were the others'. They all lost someone really close to them and even after all this time, have not recovered from the loss.
"…Anyways, I think we should all go and spar with the others, we have a big game coming up in a few days. We're against Seek-chan this time." Rias tried to change the subject.
"I've seen them practice, and yeah, I can tell that this won't be an easy fight" Xenovia commented. She had personally went to Seekvaria Agares's place to train with her peerage. So she has a good idea of what's going to hit them.
The girls and Gasper went upstairs to meet with Kiba, Rugal and Ruruko.
BANG
BOOM
SHIIING
SHWONG
The whole place was wrecked. There was a giant crater in the middle of the field. The trees nearby were burnt to ashes and there were metal sword pieces everywhere. In the middle of the crater stood Rugal and Ruruko. Opposite to them stood Kiba
"Dang it! Even though it's a 2v1, we still can't defeat him!" Ruruko groaned loudly. Rugal nodded in agreement.
The former Sitri pieces were covered in scratches and bruises. They were panting hard and had blood coming out of many areas of their body.
That is not to say that Kiba wasn't injured either. He too had the same amount of bruises and scratches on his body, if not more.
The real shocking part was that Kiba was fighting against two people, and was still able to keep going.
"…You two are really strong…It's been a long time since I've been put in a situation like this…." Kiba was nearly out of breath.
SHWONG
Kiba pierced the ground with his Re-enforced steel sword and used its hilt to keep himself steady.
Ruruko was on her knees as well, not being able to go on. Rugal was barely able to keep himself steady by using his knees as support.
"Asia, heal them!" Rias's voice was heard by the three.
"On it!" Asia touched the ground the conduct her healing powers to the three.
"What were you all doing?" Akeno came close to them to further help with healing them. "Your state is terrible! Why did you all push yourselves so hard?"
"…heh…this is nothing compared to what we will have to face in the future…" Those were Kiba's last words before fainting.
"Kiba-san!" Ruruko tried to help him, but instead tripped on the leg and fell, unable to get up.
"Geez you all, stay still" Ravel was also using her 'Flame Heal' to heal the three. Rossweisse too was aiding in the healing process.
Asia was the one who was doing the most by healing the three simultaneously. While Akeno was tending to Kiba, Ravel was tending to Ruruko and Rossweisse was tending to Rugal. Koneko and Irina too joined in healing them. Gasper went to the controls of the training room to fix the scenery.
Xenovia and Rias stood a few steps back from the rest of the peerage.
"…haaahhh…what Kiba said is true. We will face tougher opponents in the future. We should really be strengthening our physical capabilities." Rias sighed loudly. Judging by the fact that neither Kiba or Ruruko were using their sacred gears, or that Rugal was in his human form, it was clear that they were only using their physical strength in this fight.
"…what is on your mind, Rias?" Xenovia asked her King. Rias was looking at the ground with a sorrowful expression.
"Even though we've come this far, we're still nothing. Sure, we are all ultimate class devils and we're regarded as one of the strongest peerages in the supernatural, but all of that means nothing if we are truly helpless in a practical situation. Like the incident with this Bloodhunter guy. He was able to kill someone important right under our noses, and that too without getting caught later." Rias had her eyes closed. She was contemplating everything that happened in the past hour or so. She felt utterly useless.
"I'm scared, Xenovia. I don't want to lose anyone again. What if this stray is targeting one of you! What if he plans to take one of you away while you are alone! What if..i-if!-" Rias was nearly in tears thinking about the horrible ways her peerage could be abducted in.
Xenovia hugged Rias before she could say anything else.
"Don't worry Rias, we aren't going anywhere. We will always be by your side. If that Bloodhunter dude shows up anywhere near us, we will show him what we're made of." She let go of Rias before looking at her with a competitive face. "And the others agree as well, right?" Xenovia glanced over at the others.
"YES!" They all replied passionately. They have been listening to Xenovia and Rias speaking, and they thoroughly agree with Xenovia.
"He won't stand a chance" Ravel scoffed.
"Ufufufuf…I wonder how it will feel when I take all my anger out on him" Akeno made a quite weird face and licked her lips when she said that.
"We are with you, Rias" Even Irina was wither her.
Rias wiped her tears away. "I have no idea how many times I have said it, but I will continue to say it. You guys are the best servants…no…friends, anyone could ask for. I love you all"
"We love you too, Buchou" Kiba, who was now awake, stood up and kneeled before Rias like a knight kneels before his or her king
"YES BUCHOU! WE LOVE YOU TOO!" The entire peerage screamed.
"OOHH YOU GUYS! COME HERE!" Rias couldn't help herself. She was crying tears of joy and hugged her best friends tightly.
"…this is…interesting"
The person who sighed right now is a decently tall girl at 5'10. She has short-black hair with a bob cut. She was currently sitting on a chair and was looking at a photo on her desk. She has violet eyes and wore a pair of purple spectacles which were oval-ish in shape. She has a quite seductive body. She doesn't show her body off much, though. She has little to no interest in romance. That is because this girl is none other a Sona Sitri, the current head of the house of Sitri.
"Are you sure it was the Bloodhunter?" The Sitri head asked a girl who was standing beside her.
The girl beside her was slightly taller than Sona at 6 foot. However, she had MUCH longer hair. Her long straight black hair flowed almost till her ankles. She had light brown eyes and wore cyan colored spectacles. Her body was also quite voluptuous.
"We're not sure about that, Kaichou." The girl replied in a sincere tone.
"Haaahhhh…thank you Tsubaki. I need to contact Rias now." Said Sona.
Yep, the other girl was Shinra Tsubaki. Her serious nature was still the same after all these years. Even Sona seemed to have become more relaxed than her.
Tsubaki bowed at her king and took her leave.
Sona was frantically rubbing her head. She already had so much on her mind, and now all of this? Things really couldn't get worse for her. She pressed a button on the desk which mage a weird whirring noise. After like a second, a hologram popped up. It was just a black hologram which resembled the screen of a tablet.
"Call Rias Gremory" Sona ordered.
"Calling Rias Gremory" The electronic voice from the tablet was heard.
Sona was really impatient and needed to go over with Rias about the details of the event that took place. For her, it felt like the phone was ringing for ages. After what seemed like an eternity to Sona, Rias picked up.
Rias seemed to be in her office.
"Sona? You wanted to talk?" Rias's voice was heard.
"Haaahh…you know what it's about, I hope" Sona sighed.
"I indeed do" Rias sighed
"The recent incident really made me think of what might be going on under our noses. I mean, how was someone like Abel Vassago, who is one of the most well known figures in the underworld right now, transported to some abandoned castle and killed without anyone knowing? On top of that, we didn't even find the killer!" Sona banged the table with her clenched fist and damaged the wood.
"Sona, I know this is a lot to take in right now, but you need to calm down"
"Haaahhh…you're right" Sona took a deep breath and calmed down. "Anyways, any idea of the killer's identity?"
"My brother keeps insisting that it was the Bloodhunter, although we have no solid evidence to prove that"
"I see" Sona fixed her glasses. "This Bloodhunter guy is quite a mystery, and that is what irritates me. We are not able to find any info on this guy, yet he is out there murdering people."
"I've asked Grayfia to try and trace his origins, but there have been no results till now."
"Haaahhh…" Sona gave a long sigh. "This has really been taking a toll on me and my mental health. On top of that I've been running the Sitri house…" Sona looked really depressed.
"Sona, you're my best friend. Although I'm not physically there at the moment, both of us together can do anything. So please hold on for a bit, we'll make your Rating Game School the best there is."
Sona returned a smile to Rias. "Thank you Rias. What will I do without you?"
"Oh Sona, I could say the same"
In a deserted forest somewhere on the Earth.
"[…is it time?]"
"…it sure is"
Hey Y'all! Author here. Exams are finally over YEEEEESS! But unfortunately, classes start soon. So my time was mostly spent on preparing for the new classes rather than updating the stories. Really sorry for that. I've also made this chapter less word-heavy, and I might continue to do that with the upcoming chapters as well. Also, I've decided to remove the {Scene Change} indication. It looks much cleaner without it IMO. Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter :)
As always, Suggestions and Constructive Criticism is always appreciated.