1-4 Intersection

Beyond Kuoh's outer limits, where large fields were set aside for future expansion projects, was a massive coniferous forest. A sea of trees as far as the eyes could see, with gentle ripples here and there that came about from the valleys and hills beneath them.

"This… Is… Boring! How did you do this for twenty years, Charles?"

In the south, hidden beneath the undergrowth with assistance from the slotted skills Forest Camouflage and Invisible Nature was the Milletian in their shared body. After having settled into their ideal appearances, their shared body took on a look that was derived from the three. In their unified form, the Milletian borrowed from Charles' tall and lithe frame, Daichi's musculature, and Lysanna's exotically tanned skin, cropped white hair, and blue eyes. In Charles' words, "We are discount EMIYA."

They lied prone on the forest floor, Simo—the Panoptes Sniper Rifle—was held at the ready, the sensor matrix already linked up to their senses. The matrix created a spherical field of view, centered around the Milletian, whose distance was proportional to the amount of mana invested. With only small animals around, the field was kept small, about one hundred meters in radius.

The trio were guided to the spot they were at via a series of illusory quest markers that only they could see. It was a strange sight to see for the first time—phoning in that their life was even more of a game that it was before—but like with all things, the Milletian got over it quickly. At least now they would have to try to get lost.

"I had to. If I didn't, more people would have died. Besides, this was your idea! We could've left half an hour before they arrived, instead of three hours."

"Well… Uh, I got distracted by the proposition of testing out a new weapon. I mean, can you blame me? You two have been designing this thing for years back on Erinn!"

"Yes we can, and we forgive you all the same. By the way, Charles, couldn't we have just left once we realized we were way too early?"

"Nope. Once you find a spot you gotta commit."

"Right…Whatever you say. Gaia, mind telling us the ETA?"

What am I?
A clock?

"No? You're the one who gave us this quest, shouldn't you inherently know how the players involved in this quest are moving? Surely based on that you can give us an ETA."

Pretty much yeah.
Just felt like complaining a little bit.
Teehee.

Another window appeared with a timer on display. The illusory pane was colored orange, for no reason other than to look different and somewhat more important.

ETA
00:57:51 (HH:MM:SS)

"An hour huh… Well what's another hour after another three? Mm… The sun will have completely set by then. I guess this means that the Strays are going to try to enter Kuoh while it's dark?"

"Do you think that it's stereotypical of Devils to invade during the night? Because they're 'creatures of darkness' and all that?"

"Maybe. I think it might make more sense for them to make a camp just outside of Kuoh."

"Why is that?"

"Oh… Isn't it strange that these Stray Devils are physically making their way here? If Charles' memories have a positive correlation with this reality, then the Devil race should have access to teleportation spells. At any point in time they could have used them to directly place themselves inside of Kuoh, and if not that, then outside of it."

"…But the fact that they haven't means that either there's something in the way or the Devils have a system that tracks spell usage. I get it. When you consider that, and the fact that we've learned about the Stray group hours ago, it's suspicious that they haven't already arrived. So, I suppose they're trying to avoid detection while making their way here. Mm, I wonder if they'll be tired by the time they arrive?"

"That's what I'm thinking. We'll have to see when they're actually here."

A pause.

"So Daichi…"

"Yeah?"

"When are we going to meet Reya?"

"Why do you have to make that sound like you're my mother who wants to meet my girlfriend? And why ask that now, of all times?"

"We have over fifty minutes of waiting time left to go. I'm bored. And I want to know now."

"Of course you do. But to answer, whenever you guys want. Honestly, with all the power testing were doing plus reconstruction efforts that were going into turning my parents' home into a base put meeting Reya—and all the other Devils—in the back of my mind. Thinking about it now, I'm a little hesitant to go through with meeting them. Reya especially."

"Explain."

"Oh how do I even start… For the longest time, Reya has been my rock, you guys know this. I became attracted to her when my life was going to shit, but I was too afraid to push forward and make something of my feelings. Then I died and ended up joining you two as part of something more. And I don't regret that one bit. What I did regret was never confessing, I suppose. But still, I kept Reya in my heart, even when—at the time—I knew I was never going to see her again. And then one day, we die and we're back in my world.

"It was so sudden. And as we spent more time here it dawned on me that Reya was more than a fond memory now. She's real now. And that has me equally excited and dreadful. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see Reya again. Now that I've grown and experienced two lifetimes of ordeals, I want to meet with her and actually strike up a conversation with her. I want to get to know her, get in a relationship with her, y'know? I want these feelings that I've preserved for decades to be something more. But… What if she doesn't understand us?"

"Ah… That, yeah. That could happen. But it could also not happen. You gotta be more positive Daichi!"

"I suppose… Though, that's more your shtick than mine."

The unique circumstances of the Milletian trio made love and commitment tricky. A person couldn't pursue a relationship with just a part of the trio. If one of them fell in love with someone, then the other two soul-siblings would follow soon after. It was a quirk of their solidarity. A person had to accept all of the Milletian. To reject one of them, was the same thing as rejecting all of them. Which often made relationships back on Erinn fall apart as soon as they started the moment the nature of the Milletian's existence came to light.

"If I may?"

"Go ahead Charles."

"Fucking calm down and we'll handle this together as we always have. Okay?"

"I—Okay. I'm just worried, y'know? It's like those decades growing up as the Milletian don't matter anymore when I think about her."

"…Hey Daichi?"

"Yeah, Lysanna?"

"Sorry. About this topic."

"It's fine. Let's just get back to the task on hand and deal with this later, alright?"

"I'm down with that, how much time did we waste talking anyway?"

ETA
00:49:52 (HH:MM:SS)

"Oh come on! That felt more like half an hour! The hell do we do now?"

"We wait."

They waited.

[-]

Evening.

The Strays were projected to arrive somewhere around Kuoh anytime now. Reya, with assistance from Rias' Peerage, was still hard at work tracking down said Strays. In the meantime, Sona's Peerage was getting ready for the upcoming battle. There always would be a battle when it came to Strays, negotiation almost never worked—especially when dealing with Strays who were far too gone. Which was fine with Sona, they would be made use of. To elevate her latest recruits' combat ability ever closer to her high, but attainable, standards. It would also be their first time dealing with opponents that would kill them if they had the chance.

Ruruko Nimura and Genshirou Saj—the Pawns—were understandably nervous, even now. They had been turned into Devils one after the other just before the start of the school year. A lot of effort when into getting them used to their new lifestyle. This went double for Ruruko who had to learn how to walk again after regaining the use of her legs through the reincarnation ritual. Genshirou, or simply Gen, had an easier time adjusting. He was, after all, doing it for his beloved Student President—his crush openly obvious to everyone. Still, the power of love—or lust depending on how you look at it—was not enough to keep the jitters out of his system. As they waited for the inevitable they sat aside with Tsubaki, listening to the gentle assurances proffered by the motherly Vice President.

Tsubasa Yura—Sona's blue haired Rook—was off to another side of the Student Council room going through stretches one after the other. Her thoughts were not of the fight, but about Koneko instead. The two were fellow rooks and despite Koneko's reticent personality clashing with Tsubasa's sporting, outgoing one they were good friends. They also had at least one common point in beating the shit out of things up front and personal, with their fists. Honestly, Tsubasa thought, they had to hang out more often. Even as she stretched, Tsubasa was planning out a play date with Koneko at the center. Maybe they could hit the arcades, or drop by a gym to hit some bags. It would be fun, she decided.

Tomoe Meguri—the hyperactive and endlessly cheerful Knight—was chatting a mile a minute with Momo Hanakai, Sona's second Bishop. Tomoe never really prepared for fights beforehand, she was always ready to fight in a moment's notice. A sharpened katana waiting to be drawn in the blink of an eye. On the other side of Tomoe's endless chattering was Momo, who hardly seemed to be paying attention at all. Which was fine with Tomoe, she was just wasting time anyway and they both knew that. Besides, Momo had an important job to do. Said job made use of the Bishop's talent in barrier magic, and it was to prepare a Wide Area Barrier that would prevent the Strays from escaping the moment she casted it.

Sona watched over her Peerage with a sense of satisfaction. It was hers from the beginning, built from the ground up without any trickery of any sort. She was confident that she could trust her life in the hands of her older Pieces, and hopefully would soon think the same of Ruruko and Gen.

"…Kaichou." The communicator that Sona wore on her left ear turned on. It was Koneko on the other side.

"Koneko-san, do you have something to report?"

"…Found the Strays, moving to intercept." It was time. The atmosphere in the room instantly shifted. Everyone that was talking quieted down, waiting for the next step in the operation.

"Understood, we'll teleport in as soon as both you and Reya-san stop moving."

"…Alright." The line went dead. Sona felt out her connection to her other Bishop and sensed the Piece to still be moving. Somewhere in the forests south of Kuoh, far enough away from any civilians. With any luck, memory adjustments wouldn't be needed tonight. Sona had strong feelings about such things, but understood the necessity. The entire world would be turned on its head if the supernatural were exposed.

The Peerage wordlessly gathered around Sona. Tsubaki and Momo stood at Sona's sides, a naginata in Tsubaki's hand, the primed barrier spell in Momo's. The other four were in front of them, arrayed in a half circle with Tomoe and Tsubasa as the vanguards. As they waited, their King prepared the mass teleport spell. Reya's piece was steadily slowing down, they'd teleport soon.

"Kaichou," the communicator activated again. This time it was Reya, "We've been spotted by the Strays and they're making their way towards us. Twelve in total."

"We'll teleport immediately. Stay on the defensive." Sona raised her voice, "Momo-san, as soon as finish transitioning, I want that barrier deployed immediately."

"Yes, Kaichou!" Sona nodded and then turned her focus on the spell circle beneath them. It was the mass teleport spell and with a brief thought it activated, bathing the entire group in a blue light. The transition from Kuoh Academy to the town's southern forests was seamless. The group, united with Koneko and Reya, were greeted with a picturesque scene of nature—only that it was marred by the creatures in front of them.

Sona frowned at the sight. 90-percent of Strays tended to be reincarnated humans who were consumed by their Cardinal Sin. Devils, having descended from Demons, were one of several races that were cursed by the Cardinal Sins, the seven Aspects of willful Evil. Power was offered to those who reveled in the Sin that they were aligned to. Of course, such power came at the cost of a warped mind and body. And that was what Sona saw before her. Devils that regressed back into Demons, their bodies warped into chimeric forms that best represented the Sins that they were consumed by.

"Ahh…" The Stray in the front spoke up, unsurprised by the use of a teleportation spell, its voice akin to gravel in a tumbler. Its appearance was just as jarring. A rotund mass of flesh that stood on four stocky legs. The thing was presumably blind, at least until it opened its great maw to reveal a massive tongue lined with eyes and mucus. The Stray was gross, plain and simple. "More Devils to join us. We will feed well tonight, my friends… Oh? I smell a noble amongst them! Tell me my friends, do we know of any nobles around here?"

"The Gremory and Sitri Heiresses!" Exclaimed a Stray covered in chitin armor, its chelicerae chittered excitedly.

"Ahh… This one is not the Gremory, but the Sitri. A little less meat to share, but a noble all the same. This will be a feast!" The Strays giggled madly at the proclamation. They salivated freely at the thought of fresh meat in their stomachs. They would feed tonight; the Leviathan be damned!

Sona barely managed to suppress a shudder. The Strays were not very strong at all, but the atmosphere they had about them exuded wrongness. It was uncomfortable to say the least and it had her Peerage—plus Koneko—on edge. Not for very long, however, as the mad giggling was soon replaced with shocking silence.

Before the Sitri Heiress could give the elimination order, a plethora of white beams came from the left. These streamers of deadly light bent at impossible angles to avoid the copious conifer trees in order decimate their targets: The Stray Devils. As soon as the light-speed attack registered, the Strays tried to run away only to be vaporized by a second volley of erratic beams. And that was it. There were no death throes or pleadings for mercy. Just a third entity smiting an entire squad of Strays with clinical precision at and a distance.

Sona was the first to get her wits about her, "Form up around me! I want eyes everywhere! Momo, another barrier to protect us as soon as possible. Koneko, Reya, get me an ID on whoever is behind those lights ASAP, they should still be within the barrier."

The group got to work immediately, most of them putting their efforts into their orders. Gen was having a little bit of trouble not being captivated over bending lasers. Ruruko on the other hand was a little cowed by everything and felt just a bit better when Tsubaki gave her a reassuring nod.

"…No scent. Can't track." Koneko shook her head. Sona turned to Reya, surprised to see the rictus of pain on her Bishop, "I… Feel three minds? One mind? It's all broken and jumbled together, I'm trying to make sense of the structure, but it's there. 211 meters out, close to the ground…"

"Thank you, Reya-san. Keep on working on the identity behind whoever this is." Sona didn't like seeing her Pieces in pain, but the order had to be given. Sona briefly considered retreating only to abandon that idea. The attack from the third party was instantaneous, a wrong move and they would be vaporized before they could even escape.

A second barrier flared to life around them, this one designed to shunt energy attacks away from the origin. The effect tied to the barrier was more energy intensive than the first barrier that Momo erected, but she kept up both without question.

"What should we do now, Kaichou?" Tsubasa asked.

"We wait and give enough time for Reya-san to ascertain if the unknown is a threat to us or not." Sona replied.

"That sucks." Sona didn't agree with the word choice, but did with the sentiment. Situations like these sucked one way or another.

"Unknown is moving towards us…" Reya bit out, alerting the others, "All three? One? Appears to be apologetic about something…"

"…New scent. Male, strong. Coming closer." Koneko pointed in the direction that the unknown was approaching from.

The circle around Reya and Sona became tighter. All of them faced towards where Koneko pointed. Weapons were raised defensively for those who had them—including Gen's Sacred Gear, Absorption Line. For those that didn't, fists were raised instead. Every second felt like a minute as they waited for the stranger to emerge from the forest's shadow. They first heard its footsteps, and then finally, the man himself appeared.

He's handsome, came the errant thought before Sona's professionalism quashed it into the depths of her mind. This time around, she properly appraised the stranger before her group. A lot of his skin was covered in a white, armored bodysuit that left none of his musculature to the imagination. His limbs were the only parts that were actually armored. Matte black interlacing plates that moved along with the body without sound. The man's face was sharp and noble. Skin an exotic tan, with hair an equally exotic white. Blue eyes stared back at them, eerily glowing in the night, but held no antagonism in them. At least as far as Sona could tell.

The rifle that was strapped to his back was of particular interest to Sona. The heavy magical signature that clung to the weapon strongly indicated that it was the object used to kill the Strays. It also indicated that this man was either an Artificer or in favor of one. Artificers tended to turn modern human weapons into powerful magical foci, and the rifle Sona saw certainly was one.

The man stopped some distance in front of Momo's barrier, waiting.

"Reya-san, does he have any intentions of attacking?"

"No… Wishes to talk." Sona nodded and made a mental note to lighten Reya's workload in the coming week. "Getting… Closer to an identity. Need more time…"

"Momo-san, drop the barrier, I'll talk with the stranger."

"Kaichou!" Came several worried shouts.

"Kaichou, are you sure?"

"I'm sure Momo-san. We can't proceed without dialogue, drop the barrier."

"Understood, Kaichou." The barrier around them immediately dispersed into motes of magical energy before fading into the atmosphere. Sona walked forward, channeling her lessons in nobility from childhood with every step. She stopped halfway between the man and her group.

"I am Sona Sitri, Heiress of the Sitri Clan. I ask of you, identify yourself."

[-]

ETA
00:00:00 (HH:MM:SS)

After an eternity—according to Lysanna's faulty metric—the clock final reached zero. The first thing to enter their field of view from hundreds of meters away was surprisingly: Koneko Toujou and Reya Kusaka. Then the group of Stray Devils, and finally, Sona Sitri and the rest of her Peerage. There was also that barrier that also kept the trio in, but they weren't really worried about that.

"Bullshit. I call bullshit!"

"I call shenanigans, I bet Gaia is behind this."

*Gasp*
How could you accuse me of such a thing!?
I mean, you're right!
But how dare you accuse me!

"Oh don't act like you're not in the wrong, I bet you're totally amused."

"Ugh. We were set up."

Yes, I am, and yes I did!
Don't be so dramatic, this is all for your own good!

"Can we just kill the Strays and leave? I just bled my heart out about Reya not even an hour ago, and here she is an hour later. This sort of timing is going to give me a heart attack."

"You don't have a heart right now, man."

"Shush. Don't bring your girl-logic here, I'm trying to not panic."

Nah!
You're not allowed to leave because I said so.
If you really need a reason:
Something, something…
Gameplay and Story Segregation plus But Thou Must!

"Did you seriously just use TV Tropes to explain your reasoning?"

Pulled them from your memories!
Seemed pretty fitting to me.
Just treat this whole thing like a cut-scene!

"Okay."

"Okay"?
That's it?
No proclamations of unfairness or unjustness?

"Nah!"

Ahaha!
You're catching on!
But you still have to go through with everything here.

"Damn. Well, we tried."

"Aye, 'twas a good attempt."

"What's going on with the others? I can hear some cackling going on."

The sensor field centered on Simo expanded to three hundred meters in radius. All that could be seen within the field filtered into the minds of the trio. The two groups were having a bit of a standoff. The twelve Strays were off to the trio's left, each one uglier than the last. To the right was Sona's group, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

"Might as well make the shot now Charles."

"Yeah, we haven't actually tested the accuracy on this thing… Best we don't take any chances with that."

Charles agreed. He focused on the intent-based targeting system. A second later and all twelve Strays were lit up with red reticles visible only to the trio.

"Firing in three, two, one—."

A finger depressed Simo's trigger. At the end of the barrel three concentric magic circles appeared and an instant later, soundless beams of light scythed forwards through the forest. The white lights avoided the trees entirely and found purchase in their intended targets. Unfortunately, the payload wasn't enough to eliminate some of the sturdier targets. Charles, with decades of practice with similar types of weapons, quickly ejected the spent mana crystal, loaded another one, and fired a second shot. This time, all targets were vaporized.

"Test successful, works like a charm."

"That is one sexy gun!"

"Needs to be loaded with higher quality mana crystals… Then again, maybe it'd be better to stick with lower quality crystals? To give enemies a chance at fighting back?"

"Eh, we can talk about it later. We still have the next bit to take care of."

"Oh. Right."

Quest Complete — These Strays Ain't Goin' Home
Wow. Overkill much?

Reward: +1000 EXP, A Reunion

The trio ignored the windows that appeared, the one that told them their first quest was complete and the other that informed them that the gained two levels. They instead focused on the remaining group. They watched as Sona reorganized them, forming a defensive centered around herself and Reya. Just before they were surrounded by another barrier, the trio received another system message in their view.

Warning! Mental Probe detected!
You ain't allowed to do anything about it though, Gaia says so.

"Of course she does."

"So one of them is a mind reader or something? That's not in your memory Charles."

"Discrepancies between real life and fiction as usual. Though they do have access to memory wiping and minor hypnosis, so I suppose getting our mind read is not that much of a stretch."

"Let's figure out which one of them is it!"

One of the trio slotted in the skill Observation, which was then followed by a bevy of information windows regarding all of them. A little too much information, if you had to ask the trio.

"These things include their fetishes! Why would we need to know that? It's not like we're going to be using that kind of information."

"Whoa. He seriously wants to impregnate Sona? What kind of dream is that? Kind of messed up if you ask me."

"Focus you two, we're trying to identify the mind reader, not air out their dirty laundry. Ah… Found the mind reader. It's… Should've expected that, really."

"Who is it? Reya!?"

"Seriously? I wonder if she can hear what we're saying right now… Hello! I'm Lysanna! Your new Queen!"

"Guh, not in our mindscape, please. Well, shall we approach them you two?"

"Not like we have a choice."

"Of course not, I was just asking so as to not be rude."

Charles forced their body up, while strapping Simo to their back, cancelling the boons from Forest Camouflage and Invisible Nature. As soon as those two skills were cancelled, eyes were immediately focused in their general direction. Ignoring that, Charles walked towards them at a calm pace. It took him a little over half a minute to come close to the barrier that enclosed them. He stopped a distance away, so as to not alert them.

"Reya… She looks like she's in pain."

"Probably from trying to tap into our mind. I wonder if she's in pain due to some kind of natural resistance we have."

"That sucks, we should give her a gift after this all blows over."

"Agreed."

After what seemed to be a several seconds of deliberation between the members of the group, the barrier dissolved into pretty motes of light that gradually faded away. Sona walked forward, her eyes on their eyes. She stopped half way between the trio and the rest of her group, exuding the aura of a noblewoman. Or someone who was totally in control of the situation and knew it. The trio kind of sucked at reading auras.

"I am Sona Sitri, Heiress of the Sitri Clan. I ask of you, identify yourself." Said the raven-haired Devil. Glasses somehow glinting in the shade of the forest for extra authoritative effect.

"How do we go about this?"

"Let's go with this…"

"I go by the name Chadali, a pleasure to meet you, Sona Sitri." Charles replied with a bit of flourish and a half bow.

"Chadali? Where'd that come from?"

"The first letters in our names put together in alphabetical order. Kind of sounds right if you ask me."

"It does, doesn't it? Alright! From now on Chadali shall be our name when we use our combined appearance!"

"Chadali-san, is it?" Sona said slowly, digesting the name. "While I am thankful to you for handling our Stray situation with unprecedented ease, I'd like an explanation as to why you are in Devil territory without permission."

"Fair enough," Chadali assented, "I was commissioned to test the weapon on my back. I was going to test it elsewhere, but the person who commissioned me heard through the grapevine that a group of Strays was making its way to Kuoh. It was a perfect opportunity, if you ask me."

"You think she's going to accept that reasoning?"

"It's close enough to the truth, and it hasn't set off Reya yet… What is she looking for anyway?"

"Hell if I know."

"I see. It's an excellent weapon, by the way… Does your commissioner have any plans of selling the weapon or its designs?" Well, that's a surprise, the trio thought. It was also pretty pragmatic. They approved.

"I'll have to get in touch with them to ask. They'll want to hear if the thing actually worked before considering any offers."

Sona sighed, "Right. I only ask that you put forward the Sitri name once plans are finalized."

"I can do that. If there's nothing else?" Sona shook her head, "Excellent, well, it was nice meeting you Miss Sona. I hope we can see each other again in the near future."

"I think we're in the clear."

"No we're not… Just watch."

Chadali turned away from Sona and walked into the forest. Before he could vanish from view however, a voice called out to them. Specifically, Reya's hoarse voice. "Wait! What have you done to Takahashi-san… You, you've killed him? I don't… I don't understand, it's all so confusing… What are you…?"

"Oh hell."

"Told you so."

Hahahaha.
This is great!

"Shut up Gaia! What is Reya talking about anyway? When did we kill Daichi?"

"Lethal sparring back in Erinn, remember?"

"Oh… Yeah, those are kind of hard to explain away. So how about we don't explain it?"

"Are you crazy, woman? Can you not read the atmosphere? They're ready to attack!"

Daichi was correct. As soon as Reya said those words, everyone save for her flared out their auras menacingly. Sona looked especially apoplectic.

"Now, now. Hear me out my brothers. We are an unbelievable existence and there's no way we can come up with a convincing reason as to why there's three of us in one body, and why Daichi is a part of this thing we have. So, we don't explain jack shit. They won't believe us because we're already being suspected for murdering Daichi… Which is only half true."

"Oi."

"Anyway! Reya seems to be trying to figure out what we are and is probably sifting through the entirety of our memories to do so. Why don't we have some fun while we wait for her to work it out!"

"Your notion of fun is terrible sometimes. But if you're so sure…"

"My Bishop appears to believe that you have murdered one of my students, Chadali-san… Care to explain what she means by this?" It was incredibly scary how well Sona was able to pull off calm fury.

"What's there to explain?" Chadali flippantly replied. "Got a job to kill a kid, did just that. Another paycheck in the bank."

"Wrong answer." And then there was nothing but water. Chadali was blasted into several trees with a dragon made of water, though it didn't do much to damage him. Seeing that Chadali was unharmed from the initial strike, the rest were galvanized into attacking. They had their orders, "Maim, but do not kill."

Reya on the other hand, was getting closer to figuring out the enigma behind Chadali. If she were in a better state of mind, she would have realized that blurting out what she did was one of the worst possible things to say. Then again, hindsight is always twenty-twenty.

"Well, now that we're soaking wet and surrounded by vengeful teens, how do we handle this?"

"Dodge, dodge, and dodge."

"Sounds good to me."

The fight, if it could be called that, was an exercise in futility. There was nothing available to Sona's Peerage—plus Koneko—that could harm Chadali, not even his own strength. Because he did not strike out at all, they couldn't use Tsubaki's Sacred Gear, Mirror Alice, to return twice the damage back at him. Not even Gen's Absorption Line was able to help them. The moment one of his lines connected to Chadali, Gen was instantly knocked out by a surge of excess energy.

The rest were also having a difficult time.

Tsubasa's and Koneko's strikes were blocked with ease or were sometimes pushed aside in such a way that the two girls were attacking each other. Tsubaki's and Tomoe's bladed weapons never found purchase on Chadali's body. They too had to deal with suddenly being redirected into each other's strikes, even after they all figured out that they shouldn't attack together. After Sona's first attack, magic from then on was disabled, completely shutting down both Sona and Momo. They had very little in the way of martial arts—a problem that Sona would correct in the future—and so they had to retreat from the fight with Gen and Ruruko in tow.

"Had enough yet?" Chadali casually asked after ten minutes or so of dodging and not being very injured. The others, still rightly incensed, were either too exhausted or had no options to make a move on Chadali.

"Why haven't you attacked us?" Sona replied with another question. The anger from earlier gave way to confusion. The entire situation was weird. Just earlier today she listened to Reya's concerns about one Daichi Takahashi, then appears an apparent mercenary who is the supposed killer of said Daichi. Then said killer manages to provoke her into attack him—like it did any good—even though Sona would never make a move unless she had enough information, even if she was emotionally compromised. It was as though someone made her react the way she did, and it certainly wasn't her Bishop.

"It was their way of having fun," Answered Reya. The migraines she was suffering from were gone, as if they never happened. She was energized, as if she came across some enlightening fact and wanted to share it with everyone. "Am I right, Charles-san, Lisa-san… Daichi-san?"


A/N: Almost late on this one because I got sick. I also think I have some sort of attention deficit because it took me all of 11/19 to write this out. The last 2/3's of this chapter were planned (and I'm surprised it took me this long to remember that I could plan shit out), but the ending is not very strong I think. It does get where I (and Gaia) wanted the plot to get to. Koneko was not a part of my initial chapter plans, but she did appear due to the logical consequence of using the best sensors to track down a rogue group. Rias and the rest of her Peerage are still back in Kuoh as the second line of defense. I'm not sure if I implied that well enough in the chapter. If I haven't then I'll make that clear in the next one, where they will appear.

I also don't like the first third of this chapter (Will there ever be a time where I'm satisfied with my writing? Who knows), probably 'cause of its unplanned nature. But I'm also hoping that it adds a little more to the solidarity that revolves around the trio.

By the way, I am shite at writing combat scenes. Though I don't know if that's a fair assessment in this case. The Trio are well above Sona's group's level. I don't know how to make the disparity between combat levels interesting. We'll have to see how I handle conflict between two parties of similar/identical levels.

There's only one review I'll be replying in-depth to, and that goes to CyberIona:

I appreciate you reviewing my story, and hope you stay for the ride despite all its flaws. Allow me to address your points one by one as they appear in order!
Your bit about the abilities and the like. I completely agree with it, if you compare the new content with the old, you'll find that I no longer inundate my text with obtuse skill descriptions at all. Part of the reason why I am rewriting this story is to get rid of those skill descriptions. I realized that it was basically padding, and didn't really add to the story. It just created more crap for me to keep track of (I have a spreadsheet, ugh) and that got in the way of story writing. So I did away with it. Stats are still a work in progress, and thankfully doesn't need to be addressed for a while yet.

I honestly think you should have read the Prologue. It was written to give readers who don't know about Mabinogi (like you, actually) an idea of what it's like. It was also to establish several important things: 1) How the Milletian came into existence. 2) Summarize the life of the Milletian, and establish that the Milletian has grown and acquired power throughout their life (it also is a summary of the main storyline in Mabinogi up to a certain point, though clearly lacking details). 3) Show the end result of a final battle that is in part responsible for why the Milletian ends up in Daichi's world. 4) Show the Milletian's personality and how they treat certain things (like death for example). There might be more, I don't know. But my point is, read everything!

Your next point about DxD's tone and atmosphere. You say that I 'need' to maintain it. I say, that's your opinion and I can respect that. I'm of the opinion that you like the original's tone, but I don't. Because it obscures a lot of the shit that is wrong with that world, and I'm writing this story in part to acknowledge and expand on those elements. I won't claim to say that I'm injecting a touch of realism into DxD, but I can certainly try. And with you saying that certain things will ruin DxD's characters. I disagree. Quite frankly, a lot of DxD's characters are flat or one-dimensional (and this is probably because a lot of DxD is narrated through Issei's POV). If I don't overdo it, then I think that anything I add to them makes them more... Personable.

The point about Sona and Rias. That's uh... You're right in that I may have may their relationship a little too antagonistic in the old chapters, that's definitely going to be worked on in future chapters. Still, even if they're childhood friends, that doesn't mean they are friends now. If you'll stick around in the future, you'll get to see what I mean by saying that.

And now that last point about "Rias letting Issei get killed etc". It doesn't matter if it's fanon, this story is fanfiction! Sometimes fanon elements are better to incorporate into fanfiction because they are plainly better or match the direction that the writer is trying to take their story in. And you have to remember that not all writers will explicitly follow canon.

That's all I have to say. To everyone else, thanks for reading! And please, review!