Author's Note: Thanks for a lot of 'interesting' comments. For the comments regarding Rito's situation being similar to Issei, it was interesting to write Rito's reaction to the same events Issei went through. Remember, Issei is far more confident than Rito. Also, the person who spotted Rito is not a fallen angel. Guess who it is below.

I'm also trying to cut down the scale of this fanfic. I have been adding too many elements per chapter since I was still iffy on how the story will proceed. With this chapter published, I have a solid plan on how this fanfic will proceed for the next 6 Chapters. I still need to figure out the climax of this story but that can wait for now.

Stay tuned in Chapter 10 when Rito gets a new roommate.

Published 5/9/2015

Chapter 9:

A Surprise Attack

"Ku Ku Ku, I smell a devil! What a treat!"

Rito quickly turns around and finds a strange shadow talking to him from the bushes.

"Huh? Who's there and what do mean 'I smell a devil'?" Rito speaks out to the shadow.

"So, there's a stray devil that has no sense of his identity. What a great treat. It looks like his master simply left him behind."

Rito becomes more puzzled by the shadow's message. "What do you mean by a 'stray devil'? I'm just an ordinary human and I thought devils only resided in hell. Do you see something that I don't see? Maybe you must be an alien who likes to wander at night."

The shadow laughs even more. "That's even more excellent. A stray devil who even classifies me as an alien? This is it; this is the best target any devil could find. I'll just use this clueless stray as my target practice. Boy, I've been dying to continue my practice."

Rito is still confused. "What? What do you mean 'target practice'? Why are you calling me a devil?"

"Ku Ku Ku, your scent gives it away. Since there's no other devil here besides you, you must be a stray. It's the perfect treat. I've been dying to practice my abilities. My former master was awful; he never let me use my abilities once and always came up with excuses. What is there to worry about? Maybe he's just afraid that it will overpower him. Or, he takes pleasure in torturing his servants. Then, on that very day, I decided to try out abilities against my master's orders. There was never a better sensation than that feeling you get when you first use your abilities. My master eventually found out so I killed him to prevent him from spreading the word. Ever since that day, I have been using my abilities on everyone I can find. Mmm… So satisfying."

"So, you want to test your abilities on me?"

"Yes you. You're the only devil I could find here. No one will notice if anything wrong happens to you, even if you die. Noble devil clans and Satans don't like stray devils and will eliminate them at first sight. I'm am 100% positive that those leaders have a 'search and destroy' order on you so if you happen to die from my target practice, less work for them." The shadow then digresses. "Grr… What's up those leaders when they made the peerage system? That system is like a form of discrimination. Rich noble devils with lots of wealth and heritage get to own servants. They can do whatever they want with them; even torture them to their delight. I hope one day I can show to those Satans how much better the underworld can be without this silly peerage system. By helping them eliminate strays, I hope I can gain their trust. "

"Calm down, Mr. shadow. You don't have me to tell me so much detail about this. I don't any of this."

"Ku Ku Ku… I can't hold it back anymore. Must… Use… Power!"

The shadow quickly lurches out at Rito. Once in broad view, Rito sees his true form. His form appears to be a large flying tick. Instead of 6 legs, he has 12 metal legs. He also has a long tube as his mouth. Rito is disgusted by the green mucus dripping from his mouth as tries to get away. In response, the large tick equips two cannons on his back. He fires large green bubbles at Rito. As Rito runs, he looks back and finds mud everywhere. The green bubbles rip apart anything, turning them into mud.

"Shit! This must be another alien from that evil organization. They probably found out that I survived so they're now coming after me. It's also probably why they're calling me a devil. I must be the devil of their organization."

"What's the escape for? Aren't you going to realize how great my abilities are?" As the large tick continues to chase after Rito, Rito realizes something strange.

"Wait! It feels like I am running faster than before. No one else notices me as I zip by this city. Even the dogs don't bark. Am I going so fast that no one notices me?"

Suddenly, the large tick approaches Rito from the front. "Don't run away, little devil. You only saw part of my abilities. I have more to show you. Why don't you taste some more of my power? The more you run, the more you incite me. Ku Ku Ku…"

Rito continues to runs in panic. Right when the large tick attempts to swoop in and grab Rito, Rito makes a leap towards a tree just off to the side. Suddenly, Rito realizes he somehow overshot the tree by a large distance, over 10 meters.

"What is going on to me? How did I jump so far? I was going for that tree and went right over it. Tonight has been so weird. This must be a bad dream I am having. There's no way anything like this could be possible." Before Rito could think more, a fallen tree hits Rito's head. Rito doesn't feel any pain. Before Rito could question about that, he looks up and finds the large flying tick just above him.

"Oh my little devil, think you can get away? You're too early for that. Let's play some more, shall we. This time, let's kick up the level of excitement."

The large tick unleashes a swarm of small flying ticks at Rito. Rito, overwhelmed by the sheer number of small ticks, finds himself swatting and stepping on the ticks.

"That's the fun I want to see, little devil." The large flying ticks laughs at Rito. "How about some more?"

Next, the large tick sprays white dust over Rito. He then uses his metal legs to create a spark. In an instant, the white dust ignites and blasts Rito to a nearby park.

"Running around is so boring. That's the method of transportation for a toddler. The real way of transportation for little devils like you is to be blasted around."

Rito tries to recover but is tied up by a spider silk. He looks up and finds the large tick shooting more silk at him. Suddenly, Rito finds himself bolted onto the sidewalk.

"I can't let you run anymore, little devil. Your running around is only going to cause more chaos. You don't want to be detected by these Satans too, do you? If they find you, you'll be killed for being a stray devil and in a more painful manner too. Why not just die here? I'll make your death as painless as possible."

"No, I don't deserve to die. I didn't do anything wrong. I don't even know why I am called a 'devil'. What do you want from me? Which organization or alien species do you belong to? What do they want from me?" Rito asks many questions at the large tick.

"I work for myself little devil. I already told you that there's no other devil you and me in this area. I belong in no stupid group. All they do is make me obey their stupid rules. Those rules do nothing but show their fears and weaknesses."

The large flying tick then aims his mouth at Rito. "You have given me all the target practice I wanted today. But, that's not enough. All that running has made me hungry. It's time to regain my energy and I shall gain it from you. Mmm… Based on all the running, I'm sure you have lots of energy inside you. What a treat. Why don't we combine our energy together? Plus, once you're gone, the Satans and those noble devil clans won't be able to find and kill you, a perfect win-win solution for us. That's why you should never be a stray, little devil."

The large tick uses his eyes and forms a bright flash at Rito. Rito is now paralyzed and unable to move. The tick then connects his mouth to Rito's head. Right before he injects his digestive juice into Rito and takes his first sip, a blaze of fire from nowhere burns his mouth.

"Ow! Ow! That's hurts. That was a dirty trick you played on me, little devil. If I get hungry, it will be your fault. I'll just directly grind into your bones and give you a slow and painful death."

"I didn't do that," Rito responds. Suddenly, red aura emanates from a distance. Both Rito and the large tick turn towards the aura. Even though both of them can't see the figure due to the bright light, they can hear who it is."

"By the orders of the Sekiryuutei, free this man at once you insect devil."

The large tick gasps, "Oh shit! I had no idea the Sekiryuutei dragon was lurking here all along. I thought I was safe hiding in this remote region." He then tries to justify his actions to the dragon, hoping to be forgiven. "I'm sorry Oppai Dragon, I was just trying take care of a stray devil who fled to this area. You know that stray devils are dangerous to the underworld and our society."

"Who can judge stray devils when they're one of them?" The dragon looks at the large tick. "You killed your master and escaped to this remote region on your own. That classifies you as a stray, Return home and apologize to the household you belong to right now."

"Negative! There's no way I'll ever go home. I refuse to live under any order. All orders are unfair and discriminatory. I want to live a lifestyle that fits me, not someone else."

The red dragon points at the large tick. "You are far too early to do anything you wish. Without proper training, a devil will lose their ability to properly control their powers, leading to what you currently are."

"Nonsense! Only a blindly devoted devil like you would follow those silly devil laws. Real devils live on their own set of laws." The large tick then gives an example. "You see, my master was being discriminatory at me refusing to let me use my powers. Without him, look how powerful I am."

"How about to test to see whose choice is correct?" The red dragon challenges the large tick to a duel.

"Bring it on. If I destroy this Sekiryuutei dragon, I'll be instantly famous in the underworld. I will probably get instant trust from those Satans too." The large tick makes no delay and flies straight towards the dragon. He tries to shoot large spider webs at the dragon aiming to nail the dragon onto the ground like Rito. However, the dragon simply dodges them. One of them webs eventually sticks onto the red dragon, but the red dragon easily wipes it off.

"Those webs are so weak. Is that all you have?"

The large tick then tries to squirt digestive juice at the red dragon. Once again, the red dragon easily dodges them. Some of the juice lands on the red dragon, but they only create small craters on the surface of the dragon. The large tick tries to squirt more digestive juice at the dragon until he gets tired.

"Look at how much damage you caused below with your juice."

The large tick looks down and finds numerous mudslides everyone. The beautiful garden adjacent to the central park is now a huge quagmire.

"Shit! If I wasn't dealing with you, I would have never done this. Now you've made me seriously angry! I'm going to kill you now."

The large tick arms everything he has. His legs are now knives, his wings now spread paralyzing powder, and his body is now more slender, increasing his evasiveness. His tail can also shoot poison stingers. As the large tick unleashes his boatload of weapons, the red dragon has no choice but to treat. The large tick chases after him, hoping to inflict as much damage as he can to the dragon. Suddenly, the dragon begins to choke, giving the large tick the feeling that his tactic worked. As the large tick is about to celebrate, a large missile crashes into him, knocking him into the ground.

"It was silly of you to fall for that. You think a red dragon would be defeated from all that? Think again. Anyways, I'm getting bored of watching you fight. Now, it's my turn."

The red dragon charges up his dragon shot. "Boost!" While he is doing so, he sends out a large army of small white dragons at the tick. The large tick tries to use his green bubbles to melt the small dragon. Instead…

"Divide!" Each dragon weakens the powers of the green bubbles. The green bubbles become so weak that they only leave a small crater on their shields. Then, each reflects the green bubbles back at the large tick, forcing him to spend time on dodging the bubbles.

"I can't lose. I must defeat this dragon if I want to keep my freedom." The large tick continues to inflict more damage on the small dragon. Then…

"Solid Impact Booster!" The red dragon punches large tick downward. The large tick lands hard on the ground, creating a large crater. "Try to dodge that, Mr. stray bug devil."

Having received substantial damage, the large tick is unable to move. "Star Impact Booster!" The dragon changes his form and pins the large tick on the ground, preventing him from getting back up.

"I'm sure we both know the answer to my question by now. Any last requests, Mr. stray bug devil?" the red dragon asks the fallen tick.

"I'm finished. Next time, I'll have a better life."

"I understand. Now, be gone!"

"Explosion!" The red dragon fires a charged dragon shot at the tick, instantly blowing him into little pieces. After using his fire breath to clean up the toxic fluids in the city, he walks over to Rito.

"Wait, are you the dragon that Lala, Momo, and Nana are talking about?" Rito asks the dragon.

"I am not just a red dragon." The dragon folds his wings and takes off his armor. Without the armor, the dragon now looks like a regular human being. "I am Issei Hyoudou, a high class devil of the Gremory clan and wielder of the Sekiryuutei. I am also your new master. Nice to meet you, Rito Yuuki."

Rito, overwhelmed by everything that happened tonight, simply passes out before Issei could properly greet him. Issei quickly takes him back knowing that he's in poor health from the battle with the stray devil.