Hello amigos and welcome to another chapter of Journal of a Phoenix Book I: Burning Cold. And before you start asking no, I wasn't dead or anything. It's just that the laptop where I write the chapters was going all crazy and I had to get it repair. During all this time (I believe it's been 1 month an a half since the last chapter was published) I discovered two things: 1) I tried to edit or write a chapter on the mobile version of the site and guess what... is awfully difficult!... and 2) I actually made quite advances developing this story. I mean, I already have plans to at least season 4, or Book IV if you want.
But enough of that for now. Read and review if you want... but mostly and I mean it... enjoy it :)
"I believe it's time I reveal you all once and for all who I'm working for. As crazy as this may sound I swore when I began writing this journals that I will tell you all the truth, after all, what's the point in filling a book with lies?. But even so, I'll understand if you don't believe me, hell, even I didn't believe it when they contacted me. Anyway, my bosses... how do I put this without sounding like a madman?... Well, I think there is no easy way than just telling so here I go.
I'm working for two entities that have been there from the very beginning. Two beings that literally manage the existence of EVERYTHING that lives in the universe. Their names? Well, they are refereed by my colleagues as "The woman of the strings" and "The man of the afterlife".
...
I'll leave to your imagination their true names. In the meantime I can tell you they are, in my humble opinion, interesting people. It goes without saying that they are much more old than me, and the fact that they cannot say anything about when I'll be leaving this world for good or what the future has on store for me doesn't affect the fact that I enjoy our occasional conversations.
Having cleared that out and in order to continue my story, I'll tell you about the time when I had the honor of meeting one of the four Satans and brother of Rias Gremory, Sirzech Lucifer. Unfortunately, that was the same day that I had the misfortune of meeting an exorcist. Don't get me wrong, most of these holy men are good people. However, Freed Sellzen was far from being good..."
-Morning Star Hotel, Morning Time-
The Gremory group was busy that morning, because apparently they being devils wasn't enough reason to stop attending their classes. While they, or rather Issei was bored at school, certain phoenix was in his hotel's restaurant preparing himself to what he called "a perfect breakfast". His order would still take a while to arrive so dedicated himself to reading the local newspaper and a note caught his eye.
Abandoned building caught fire last night'
The article gave details about a warehouse on the other side of the city that had been abandoned due to personnel cuts of the company that owned it and how a gas leak was the cause of the fire. Fortunately, according to the note's author, the fire didn't spread fast enough therefore the firefighters were able to control it. Velkan sighed in relief. 'Gas leak uh?' I guess I should make sure that the next build I burn ACTUALLY have a few gas lines around'.
While he was waiting for his breakfast, someone saw the phoenix and smiled about it. It was a boy about the same height as Velkan, with black hair slightly longer than the phoenix and blue eyes; he was wearing a light blue shirt which had a drawing of a white skull and a black hooded sweater on top of that, dark blue jeans and white tennis shoes. He also was wearing a silver necklage with a black gem in its center. The boy went towards the redhead's table and sat down in front of him. Velkan lowered the newspaper just enough to see his unexpected visitor, sighed a little annoyed when he recognized him and went back to his reading.
"Will you mind telling me what is so important that you must interrupt my breakfast?"
"Come on man, aren't you glad to see me?" the boy asked. "How long has it been since the last time we met face to face?"
"Not enough time, I assure you" Velkan said recovering his good mood once the boy chuckled after that comment. "But yeah, it's nice to see you. And now back to business, isn't that why you came here Nick?"
"Unfortunately yes" Nick said in a serious tone. "I heard you handled that stray devil along with the servants of the Gremory girl"
"That's how it went. In fact, I was just reading the way her father covered the thing up" the phoenix said as he gave him the newspaper, which was on the page of the article of the abandoned warehouse.
"Lord Gremory didn't waste any time uh?" Nick said when he finished reading it. "You think he already knows about you?"
"I highly doubt it, but won't take him that long before noting someone like me wandering around his city" Velkan answered. "Perhaps that will be one of the topics of today's meeting"
"Will you meet with them?"
"Yes. Although I believe that most of it will be them throwing me a bunch of questions" the phoenix replied and looked at his friend to the eyes. "Actually... I was thinking that maybe you should come with me to this meeting and explain them-" he said before being cut off by Nick having a light laugh.
"You know I cannot do it man" the boy said. "The bosses don't allow any of us interfere with the present course of things". There was a little pause and Velkan sighed in defeat. "However..." Nick spoke again getting the phoenix's attention. "... I believe you can talk about 'certain details' if that help you with your current assignment"
"Just a few details... hmm... I guess that'll have to suffice for the time being" Velkan said as a waitress headed towards their table.
"Enjoy your breakfast" she said as she leave a black plastic tray with a wrapping of white paper.
"Thank you miss" Velkan replied. The waitress cheerfully nodded and leave them be. Nick looked at him cautiously as the phoenix unwrapped the envelop, revealing his breakfast.
"How can you eat that?!" he asked in surprise. Velkan looked at him confused and smiled.
"How can you NOT eat this?!" he said as he gave the first bite to his food, consisting by a double-meat cheeseburger with at least four bacon strips. "Trust me my friend, this is the best thing you can get for breakfast". Nick couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Dude... all that fat..." he said with disgust. Velkan couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "I mean, I don't have anything against burgers but... Anyway, I'll leave you with... that thing you call food. Just try to not tell too much to the Gremory when you see them, got it?"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say" was the phoenix's answer, who was more focused on enjoying the taste of his burger than on listening his friend's warning. Nick shook his head and stood up from his seat.
"I'm serious Velkan" Nick said as he went towards the exit of the restaurant.
"I know you do" the phoenix said almost as a whisper once his friend left. After he finished his breakfast he dedicated himself to enjoy his time inside the hotel as they had agreed to meet up at night.
-ORC Clubroom, Nighttime-
Velkan arrived at Kuoh Academy at sunset and by the time he came to the clubroom he noticed that every ORC member was already there; Rias and Akeno were on the futon that was facing the window, Kiba and Koneko were seated on the one at the right leaving Issei alone on the one at the left.
"I hope not to be late" the phoenix apologized as he sat next to the newest member of the group. He pulled out his pocket watch and saw the time. "I believe this is running a little late" he said as he began to try to calibrate it correctly.
"Don't worry, we were just finishing" Rias answered. "Issei, just remember our deal and bring me that contract, can you?" she asked. Issei grinned widely and stood up immediately.
"Of course president!" the boy said as he headed to the door, making Rias smile. "I'll do my best to touch those boobs!". The statement made Velkan stop and raise his view looking at Rias, part confused, part shocked. Akeno couldn't help a small laugh when she saw his expression and Kiba smiled a bit.
"As you can see, he very gets excited when it comes to women" the knight said trying to justify his friend.
"He's a perv" Koneko said dryly. Velkan looked at the blond and then to the little girl. "... Right" the phoenix said, directing his attention back to his watch and trying to process what just happened.
"Anyways, that will be all for today, see you tomorrow. Akeno, I'll need you to stay for a while longer" Rias said to the rest of the ORC with a smile. The knight and the rook stood up and Kiba extended his hand towards Velkan.
"See you later" he said.
"Sure men" the redheaded boy said as he shaked hands with Kiba. The phoenix was about to do the same with Koneko but she just walked past him without saying anything. "I'll see you too then". Hearing Velkan saying that, Koneko flinched when she was by the door but never lookecd back. Velkan was confused.
"Was something I said?" the phoenix asked curiously. Rias and Akeno looked at each other for a moment and were about to say something when suddenly something materialized on the floor of the room. It was a portal with a red seal carved in its center that the phoenix recognized instantly.
The portal faded away and in its place was a men that appeared to be in his twenties; he had long red hair and blue eyes; his attire consisted in a bussines black suit, with a white shirt, a dark green necktie and dark brown shoes. The best way to describe him was, in Velkan's opinion, as the male version of Rias.
"Ah, brother. Glad you're here" Rias said, who apparently was expecting his arrival. 'So they ARE related after all. This is getting interesting' the phoenix thought.
"It's a placer to have you back my Lord" Akeno said while bowing. She left after that to make some more tea. Although Velkan didn't knew who this guy was he bowed as well. 'Manners first after all, right?' he thought. The men of the suit smiled at the girls.
"Hello Rias, Akeno. It's good to be back". His face darkened and grow serious when he saw the other redhead in the room. "I assume you're the one that burn that warehouse last night"
"Guilty as charged" the phoenix admitted with a grin as he raised his hands defensively. "And who I have the honor of meeting?" he asked.
"Sirzech Lucifer" the men said. "One of the Four Great Satans. And who are you?" he asked trying to impress his sister's guest.
"Velkan Santino. Last phoenix" the boy said, causing that Sirzech's eyes widened by hearing that. "I'm afraid I do not possess any title as Your Highness"
"A phoenix uh?. It's been decades since the last time any devil has seen or talked to one" Sirzech replied, suspicion in his voice.
"Yeah well, if it make you feel better it also been a while since the last time I talked to another of my kind as well" Velkan said with a slight nostalgia. Akeno return to the living room with a silver tray and put it on the tea table. The current Lucifer took his cup and drank his tea.
"Delicious as always. Thank you very much Akeno" he said smiling. "You should try this Velkan". The phoenix nodded and drank from the other cup in the tray, knowing that this will keep the conversation flowing.
"Mmh... I must say, I have tasted a hundreds of teas and this one it's among the best ones in my opinion" Velkan said, making Akeno blush a bit. "Although I highly doubt that Your Highness came here just to share a cup of tea, am I right?" he asked. Sirzech nodded.
"That's right. I've come here to warn you, Rias" he said as he turned to see his sister.
"Me?" she asked in surprise. "About what?"
"About this guy" Sirzech answered while pointing Velkan, who was taking a sip of his tea calmly. "The phoenix are not to be trusted"
"What are you talking brother?. He helped us in taking down Vizer last night" Rias said.
"And do you know how he obtained the info that leaded to that stray?" Sirzech asked. Rias stopped, not knowing what to say back. She herself had been wondering that and turned to look Velkan for answers. After a moment of silence, the phoenix spoke.
"Well, I believe it's time I say something in my defense. Yes, I got that information by means of questionable legality and-"
"You stole it" Sirzech said coldly, making the phoenix flinch at the comment.
"Yeah... you know, "stole" is a strong word. I prefer the term "Extracting valuable information". It make it sound more professional" Velkan said confidently. Akeno looked surprised.
"So you admit you stole those papers?" she asked, who until this point had remained silent. Velkan smirked at this.
"If it makes you feel better my dear, I didn't take anything. I just read it and put it back in its place" was the phoenix's answer, making Akeno sigh in relief.
"That doesn't change the fact that you lied to us" Rias replied a little upset.
"Again, I didn't lie to anyone. I just omitted certain key facts" Velkan said with a serious voice.
"This is what I meant Rias. Long time ago, the phoenix were known for deceive and make deals to get what they wanted. They certainly weren't the most powerful beings but it was clear they were the most clever" Sirzech explained. "I don't know what intentions you have but you better leave this city by this time tomorrow" he warned the phoenix. 'This isn't working. I think I'll use my wildcard after all' .Velkan thought. A few minutes passed before the phoenix could find something that didn't comprimised his bosses and help appease the doubts that the Gremory had about him.
"No need to worry about me. I only have the best intentions towards Rias and her peerage. In fact, I was sent here to ensure your sister's safety" Velkan replied, surprising all the presents in the room.
"Protect us?!" Rias asked, annoyed by the thought that she needed some kind of bodyguard.
"From who?" Akeno asked a little more serious than usual, after all it was her duty as Rias' Queen being informed about possible threats against the group. Sirzech looked carefuly at Velkan and then he spoke.
"More important is... Who sent you?" he asked. "Who thinks my sister is in such danger that send a phoenix to protect her?". A mischievous smirk formed on Velkan's face but quickly dropped.
"For security reasons my duty is to maintain the specific identity of my employers in secret, you'll understand" the phoenix said. "However, I can revela certain details in exchage for a price, of course. And taking into account that I consider Rias as a friend and that you're her brother, the price would be minimun to you". The expression on Sirzech's face darkened a bit again, while Akeno chuckled and Rias smiled at Velkan's comment.
"I knew you try and get something out of this" the current Lucifer sighed. "IF I were willing to accept your offer, what would be the price?" he asked carefuly.
"You see, the nature of my work requires my presence in many places in short time periods. As you can imagine, find transportation is a real maddness" Velkan explained, making Rias remmember the strange petition that the phoenix made her the day before. "However, I'd hear that the devils-"
"Just say your price. I have a meeting with the other Satans and I don't have all night for this!" Sirzech cut off Velkan's rambling. 'This is it' the phoenix thought. He knew that the curiosity had taken the best of Sirzech, and the Satan was right about something: The phoenix was going to take what he had on hand to get what he wanted.
"The price is your permission to use the Gremory portals" he said calmly. Sirzech didn't saw that coming.
"What?" was all he could say at the moment. "You want our portals?"
"I think I was very clear with my words". Before Sirzech could reply, Rias spoke.
"It's okay brother. We need to know who sent him and who is trying to put us in danger" she said. Sirzech thought it for a second. Giving such power to a phoenix will make him much more dangerous that already is. On the other hand, if someone was threatening his little sister he'll do anything in his power to at least know who or what motivations had... and the person that sent Velkan may know this answers.
"Fine" he finaly said, spreading his hand in front of him and forming a small red sphere made of dark red energy. "Tell me who sent you and you get the portals" the Satan commanded. Velkan let a small chuckle escape and by the time he recovered he noticed that Sirzzech's face didn't change at all.
"I going to assume that you never did a pact with one of my kind before, right?" he said. Sirzech raised an eyebrow and lowered his arm, making the energy dissapear. "Allow me to show you how to do it properly, My Lord" the phoenix said offering a hand to seal the deal. Sirzech completed the handshake and the ashes formed around both arms. Velkan's pupils went from their usual light brown to a bright red. Rias and Akeno had never known about pacts with phoenix before, thus seeing the ashes and Velkan's eyes they couldn't help but be amazed at the sight.
"Now, we both say what we have to offer. I, Velkan Santino, Last Phoenix, offer you the information that will lead you to my employers". The phoenix nodded and Sirzech spoke.
"I, Sirzech Lucifer, Great Satan of Hell, offer you the power to use the portals of House of Gremory"
The ashes suddenly focused on Velkan's left shoulder and on Sirzech's right hand, burning strong enough to carve the circular marks on those places. The handshake was finished and the eyes of the phoenix went back to normal.
"It's done. From now on, until both of us are satisfied by the pact, we'll be bound by my mark" Velkan said. The current Lucifer looked at him confused and Velkan remembered that this was the first time Sirzech make a pact.
"Oh, right" he said and found something on his trench coat. He pulled out a note and give it to Sirzech. "Just read the answers" he whispered.
"Until then, may our souls be absolved if this pact is rightfully honored" the Satan said.
"And may our bodies be burned if this pact if wrongfully done" the phoenix said, sealing the pact. "Now that we did this the right way, it's your turn to pay your part of the deal"
"Right" Sirzech said. The sphere of red energy was formed again in the Satan's arm and aimed directly at Velkan.
"Wow, wow. Are you sure that-" the phoenix was interrupted by the pain of being involved in Sirzech power, who was known amog high-class devils as "The Prince of Destruction". This lasted for a few seconds and then stopped, leaving Velkan in pain.
"There you go, the Gremory portals are now at your disposal" he said coldly. "Now, I expect you have some information for me". But the clubroom's doors suddenly opened, taking all with their guards down. Koneko burst in, desperately looking for Rias.
"They took us by surprise! I had to leave them behind!" the girl said.
"Koneko, calm down" the redhead girl said. "Tell me what happened"
"Koneko are you hurt?" Akeno asked worried, seeing blood stains on her friend's school uniform. Koneko relaxed a bit and shock her head.
"It's not mine" she said. "It's Issei's"
-City Streets, A few moments ago-
When he got out of school grounds, Issei was much more motivated to go into the city and get some contracts. Rias had proposed a deal; if he managed to get at least one contract, she will let him do anything he wanted with her breast for ten seconds. It goes without saying that the brown haired boy accepted those terms without second thoughts. Kiba and Koneko had to run to catch up with him when they came out the clubroom.
"Issei, wait!" Kiba said whe they reached him. "Our house is that way, so let us join you for a while"
"Fine, but we need to walk fast for this one. There is so much to win this time" Issei said with a smile as he grabbed his bike. Suddenly he noticed something Kiba just said. "D-did you said "our house"!? Do you guys live togheter!? he asked in shock, debating as to either congratulate Kiba for manage to live with a girl or strangle right there because of envy. The blond chuckled a bit.
"Actually it's a two story house. She lives up stairs and the first floor is mine" he said.
"And none of your neighbors find that stange? A boy and a girl living togheter alone?" Issei asked curiously.
"We told them that we're siblings and our parents are working on Europe" Koneko said. "That way no one suspects anything". The mention of the word "parents" make the girl low her head a little, trying to contain her emotions at bay. This went unnoticed by Issei, who was more focused on the things he'll make first when the Rias' breast were available to him, but Kiba partly knew what was happening in her mind.
"Are you okay Koneko?" the knight asked. The neko girl barely smiled and nodded. That smile was all the blond was going to get and Kiba knew it.
"By the way, do you know who is that guy?" Issei asked when they approached the corner of a building. "Could he be a real phoenix?"
"I don't know. The only phoenix I heard of belong to a powerful family of devils, the House of Phenex. They have many features of the phoenix mentioned in legends, but I have no idea that those were real" Kiba said.
"How about you Koneko? Do you know anything about him?" Issei asked, but the girl remained silent. "Koneko?"
"I don't trust him" she said.
"What are you talking about? He seems a nice guy. I mean, he didn't kill me when he found me, right?" Issei said.
"Well, if Rias says he is fine then I don't have any problem with him" Kiba stated.
After walking for a while, they reached an intersection on the street and Issei got on his bike. Unfortunately for him, his body wasn't producing enough magic to be able to be transported by a portal, thus he was forced to use the old ways and use his bike.
"Alright guys, I'll see you tomorrow" Issei said to his fellow devils.
"Just be careful, Issei. And try to make that deal" Kiba said.
"Good night... perv" Koneko said. Issei nodded and went at full speed towards its target, a few houses ahead. As they watched him go, Kiba's eyes widened as he thought something.
"Oh no! I forgot to give him more invocation flyers" the knight remembered while Koneko looked at him.
"More flyers?" she asked tilting her head.
"Yeah, Rias told me to give him a share of mine so that he had more chance of completing a contract" he explained and began to walk the way Issei went.
"Fine, maybe I should give him part of mine too" she sighed and followed Kiba. "Do you know where is his client?"
"No, but it shouldn't be that hard to find" he said.
-Meanwhile, Still a few moments ago-
"Hello, I'm the devil sent by Lady Gremory" Issei warned once he was inside the client's house. He had been knocking the doorbell but having received no response decided to try his luck opening the door. It was unlocked and he opened. Inside the house was deep dark and only one of the rooms in the back seemed to have some kind of ilumination.
"Is someone home?" he asked. It looked like nobody was home right now and Issei was tempted to leave when a sense of danger through his body until a thought came to mind. 'Rias' breast are not theonly ones at stake, I get the feeling that I'll dissapoint her if I don't finish this pact. At least I need to be sure nobody is home before I get back'. He went to the iluminated room and opened the door. The light was coming from the candles placed on some small furniture but it wasn't enough to see the whole room.
'Candles? Who uses candles anymore?' he thought. He keept moving until noticing that the floor was a bit wet. "Damn! Why the floor is wet?" he said, but upon closer inspection he noticed his shoe covered with a red thick liquid. "B-blood?! Is this blood?!"
When he followed the trail he saw a dead person in a small pool of blood. Issei wasn't a genious, but it didn't take one to know that nobody could survive that kind of blood loss. "Is he dead?!"
"So you're finally here" someone said from behind the corpse. "Freed Sellzan, at your service. And you must be the shitty little devil this guy summoned". Issei looked and saw a men about his age, with white hair and dark red eyes; he was wearing white long-sleeve shirt and withe pants, a dark blue jacket with golden buttons and a pair of black shoes.
"Did you killed him? Why?" Issei asked.
"Because he summoned you. And those who make deals with devils are just as pathetic as them. And my job is exocise them" the guy said. Issei was confused.
"Exorcise them? What... are you a priest?" he asked with a bit of fear.
"Indeed. And I like a looot my job" he said as he pulled out a gun and a sword that seemed to be made of light from his jacket. "Now, I can't wait to make a big hole throught you damn face. How does that sound uh?!". With that, Freed pounced on Issei intending to use his blade to cut his arm off. Luckly, the newborn devil was fast enought to dodge the attack, but he couldn't avoid the priest shoot him on the leg.
"AGHHH!"
"To slow, little shitty devil" he said. "And now I-"
"KYAAA!"
Issei was on pain. Being hit by a bullet infused with holy power had that effect on devils. But he thought he recognized that voice from before, and when he looked up his eyes widened.
"A-Asia?" he said. The nun was horrified because of the sight of the dead man who had summoned Issei and was surprised by seeing the brown haired boy in that room.
"Issei? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"What is going on here? Do you two know each other?" Freed asked, who was starting to loose patience.
"Asia, I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before... I'm a devil. And that's why I'm not allowed to see you again" Issei said regret in his voice. Asia was still trying to understand what was going on when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her left cheek. She looked and saw Freed, angry at her as she had never seeing before.
"So you like to make friends with little shitty devils like him uh?" the priest said. "Maybe you got it all wrong my dear. Yo see, you are supposed to figth and kill shits like him. Not to make friends with them!" he yelled at the nun, who fell to the floor in tears.
"Shut up you freak!" Issei said. It goes wothout saying the boy was infuriated at him for hitting Asia and tryied to use his Sacred Gear but the wound on his leg took precedence over fighting in Draig's mind. 'Come on partner, you can't deal with this exorcist right now'.
"Aww, the little devil is mad?" Freed said in a mocking tone as he raised his sword. "Then I'll let my sword say "I don't care" to your head!" he said as he pounced once again against Issei.
CLANK!
And just as the light blade was about to touch Issei's face, another blade blocked the attack.
"It seems that the deal didn't go well, right?" a voice Issei recognized said.
"Kiba!" he said in relief.
"Oh come on, who the hell are you?!" Freed said, not expecting another devil in the area.
"None of your concern" said Koneko from the other side of the room, and threw a tea table at the priest. Freed was fast enough to avoid it with a jump and landed at the other corner of the room.
"So you scumbags come in packs? Is that it?" he asked. "It's alright. My fallen companions are coming this way anyways, if you know what I mean he he". Kiba face darkened a bit and knew what he had to do in order to protect his two friends.
"Koneko, go back to Rias and make sure she knows what's happening here. I'll stay and fight him" the knight said. Koneko knew that he was very good fighter with a sword, but this priest had a gun as well. No matter how good you are with swords, it's almost impossible to delfect bullets from firearms. Even for Kiba.
"I can fight as well. I can-"
"Issei can't stand up and I'm the only one who can fight this priest" Kiba reasoned with her. "Just go. We'll be fine" he said with a smile. Koneko nodded and went for Issei first.
"Are you done with your little shit chat? I starting to get bored" Freed said as he yawned a bit.
"You don't need to worry about them. Right now, I'm your only enemy." Kiba said, rage storing inside him. Freed laughed at that. "Alright pretty boy, show me what you can do". And then their fight began.
"How bad is it?" Koneko asked Issei as the sound of steel against steel filled the large room.
"I'll be fine. Just hurry back to the president" the boy said. She ripped a few curtains nearby and made bandages to attach them to Issei, staining her uniform in the process.
"I'll be back as soon as I can. Just don't die just yet, I don't think Rias will be pleased by that" she said, knowing that Issei will make respond to that comment. With that the girl ran back to the school, hoping that the others were still in the clubroom... and hoping that the phoenix had already left for good.
-Present time-
"What are you talking about?! Where are the others?!" Rias asked in shock. Sirzech sighed and smiled seeing his little sister worried by the well being of her servants. He looked at Velkan and he thought he rocognized a trace of concern in the phoenix's face.
"You should go with them Velkan. After all, you're here to protect them, right?". he said.
"Thank you, Your Highness. I'll be sure to fullfill my part of our little agreement at a later date". Velkan nodded gratefuly.
"I'll make sure you do so". Then he turned to Rias. "I see you have bussines to attend sister. Just be careful, ok?" the current Lucifer said.
"Of course brother. Akeno, set the portal" Rias said. As the portal was being formed, Koneko was dissapointed since not only Velkan wasn't gone but also was going with them to help rescue Issei and Kiba, or so he said. Her breathing accelerated a bit, as result of the fear the phoenix inspired her. On the other hand, Velkan wasn't sure why, but there was something on Koneko that was familiar to him. He couldn't say that he know her, but he was sure he had seen her before. Somewhere.
"Where are they Koneko?" Akeno asked, pulling the girl out of her thoughts.
"On a residence, in the south sector. It was Issei's client for tonight" Koneko answered with her usual tone. Akeno nodded and focused her magic on the portal. A few seconds after they were gone, leaving Sirzech all alone in the clubroom.
"I hope I made the right thing" he told to himself. He could wait a bit longer before get any information from that phoenix. His sister's servants may have not that long.
In a red flash the group appeared in the middle of the room where the priest and the knight were fighting. Freed didn't appeared to be scared for the sudden increasing in the number of devils. Kiba on the other hand was relieved to see some friendly faces.
"Glad to see you here guys" he said.
"Oh, this is gross" Akeno whined as the portal faded away. Rias looked around and saw Issei with a gunshot on his legs and she felt rage accumulate inside her. 'He will pay for this' she thought.
"Yeah, usually the smell of corpses causes that sensation" Velkan said.
"Oh, so the whole squad is here. How exicitng! I get to kill more devils!" Freed said exicet for the turn of events.
"My my, you truly are a piece of work aren't you?" Akeno said with a smile, amused by the words of the priest.
"And you my dear are a hot devil bitch you knew that?!" Freed replied back.
"For a piest that quite the mouth you have there. Don't you know how to properly treat a lady?" the phoenix said making Akeno blush a little and Freed to laugh maniacally.
"And you suppose that you, a devil, are going to teach me some manners?" he said. Velkan smirked at that statement. "You know how ironic is that?!"
"Oh, but I'm no devil my friend. I'm something much worse that they are" he said. 'It's a shame I can't burn down this place'
"Aww, are you mad at me? The let me show yo- ARGHH!" he was cut off by a small sphere of dark red energy that hit him in the stomach. Both Velkan and Akeno turned and saw Rias covered in a red aura.
"Nobody hurts my servants!" she said. Freed was scared for the first time since he came to the house.
"Damn, that could be a problem" he said, but then he heared a sound form outside and a twisted smirk came to his face. "Luckly for me, my backup have arrived just in time!" he said, making the others realized what was happening.
"Fallens. Around the house!" Koneko said who, being a nekomata, was the one with better hearing in the Gremory team. Rias stood there for a few seconds trying to evaluate their options and then glanced to Akeno. The queen understood and formed a portal to get everyone out of there and back to the clubroom. Well, almost everyone.
"Well, well. Despite I'd like to stay here and watch my companions slash you in tiny pieces, my boss needs me elsewhere. You're all screwed now!" he said as he run to the door, leaving Asia behind. The nun just looked in shock, not from fear but because of astonishment. She had been taught that devils were evil and twisted creatures who only cared about themselves. But what she had just seen was a group of people who cared to save his friend from Father Freed.
"Let's get out of here before the fallens come in" she ordered. Everyone in her peerage went near Akeno and Issei noted someone was missing.
"Wait, what about Asia?" he asked.
"I'm sorry Issei, but only members of my household can get through our portals" she explained. Velkan was curious about that remark.
"You mean I'm a member of House of Gremory now?" the phoenix asked. Akeno giggled a little. "I'll explain you later" she said. Rias nodded to her queen and turned to Issei again.
"Come Issei. There is nothing we can do for her" Rias said. Issei was about to say something but Asia spoke first.
"It's okay Issei. I'll see you again soon" she said with tears in her eyes. The boy couldn't resist seeing her sad and went to her, intending to bring her along with them, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Even if you bring her near us she won't make it through the portal" Koneko said, knowing the boy's intentions.
"Go Issei, please" Asia said with pleading eyes. The portal turned bright red, meaning that they won't be in that place for long. Only one thought crossed Issei's mind; the sight of Asia being punished by that Freed guy because she had befriended a devil. And he was not goin to be able to save her. As the portal grew in brightness he yelled
"I'll save you. Just hold on!"
-ORC Clubroom, Nighttime
"We need to go back! We have to get Asia out of there!" Issei said to the group. Rias sighed and tried to explain again to the boy why they couldn't do it.
"Issei, she is the enemy. She is working with the fallens just as that rogue priest. I feel sorry for her because of the way she's been treated but that's not reason enough to break into enemy territory to save her" she said. Issei was going to reply, but he knew that was her final thoughts on the matter. Akeno and Kiba were curious about Velkan's actions back there.
"Why didn't you burn that psycho priest?" Kiba asked Velkan.
"Well, unlike the abandoned warehouse this was a residential zone. I just couldn't risk to burn those houses" the phoenix said.
"Yeah, you're right. Besides, I think we'll see that priest again sooner or later" Akeno replied.
"Good job everybody. I'm glad to see everyone is fine" Rias announced getting the group's attention. "You can go home now. I'll see you tomorrow"
"Actually" Velkan said. "I won't be here tomorrow".
"Why not?" Kiba asked
"I have bussiness to attend in another place" Velkan answered quickly.
"Is that so?" Rias asked suspiciously
"Well.. umm... yeah, you could say it's bussiness" Velkan said with a smile. He noted Akeno had lowered her head a bit. "Don't worry, I'll be back in a few days. After all I have to keep you all safe, right?"
"I hold you to that" Akeno said smiling making Velkan nodd. Once they were out of the building something was off with Velkan. He couldn't get Asia out of his mind for some reason and something lead him to do his next move.
"Hey Issei" he called out. The boy turned to see the phoenix approached him.
"Oh, hey. What's up?" Issei asked. He was still upset from before but had recovered a bit. The phoenix looked around to make sure that noone could hear them.
"Don't worry, we'll save Asia when I get back" he said. Issei was surprised by the sudden change of mind but glad to see that at least someone wanted to rescue the nun.
"O-okay, but what do I do until you come back?" Issei asked.
"Train yourself. We may encounter some fallen angels and you could use some training using your Sacred Gear" Velkan explained. "Just don't tell the others. Rias may not take it very well"
"Ok, thank you. I won't say anything" Issei said, with his hopes in high.
"I know you won't" Velkan said and went on his way. "Take care Issei"
"Yeah, you too" the boy said. The phoenix was going to his hotel, but remembered that he had to do something first.
'Oh right, I need to tell him how was the meeting'
-Somewhere in the city, Midnight-
Velkan went to where he knew he could find his friend and colleague. The crossroads had a special meaning to Nick's kind, although Velkan wasn't sure why was that. The relevant thing was that he needed to be in a crossroad, he had to draw a sigil on the ground and had to say the right words to make him show up.
"Te nunc invoco, filius mortem. Te in mea potestate defixi. Nunc et in aeternum!" he said firmly and waited for a few minutes before he felt a presence behind him.
"Twice in a day! This must be importat" the voice said. Velkan turned to see his friend.
"I don't know if this is relevant to my assignment just yet, Nick. But I'll need to arrange a rescue mission" he said. Nick lifted an eyebrow.
"Rescue mission? Some of your targets was caught by the fallens?" the black haired boy asked curiously. The phoenix shock his head.
"Well, not THEM exactly. But someone that may make things easy for me in the future with the Gremory."
"Yeah, right. You never liked easy assignments. How about you start telling me the truth and I MAY help you out with this rescue mission" Nick said a little upset. After all this decades of knowing each other Velkan seemed to not entirely trust anyone buy himself. Nick didn't care the least about that, but it upset him that the phoenix thought he was fool enough to not know he was lying. Velkan sighed at that.
"Fine. This girl, Asia, it's no use for me, and it doesn't help me with the Gremory at all" he said with a nostalgic tone. "But she remembered me of someone very importat to me".
"She has been out there for years now. You have to let her go men" Nick said. He knew who the phoenix was talking about but she went off Velkan's radar since at least 7 years now. "I mean, she wanted to be more self-dependent"
"I know" Velkan said. "If you could take a look and see where is she, or at least tell me if she is safe I'll own you a favor"
"I'll do what I can. But you already own me 3" Nick said with a smile putting three fingers on his hand. The phoenix regained his humor and sighed in relief.
"That'll do. Well I'll be leaving now. See you in a few days" he said and turned to leave but stopped when he heard Nick.
"I'll locate this Asia girl and device some rescue plan by the time you come back" he said. Velkan was about to say thanks but when he turned back Nick had already vanished. The phoenix grinned and went to Morning Star Hotel to practise with his newest hability.
Well that's all for today. As you can see, there will be a lot of Supernatural references in this story. Don't forget to review and feel free to PM me if you have a question or idea about the story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, see you next time and as always... have a good day :)