The first thing Aigis noticed when she entered the classroom was that Issei Hyoudou, whose desk was located in front of hers, seemed to be in a very good mood. One could even see glitters and sparkles around him as a goofy smile was displayed on that mug of his. Some other details that the battle android could see were that his fellow perverts, Motohama and Matsuda, whose eyes were seething with jealousy, glared at the brown-haired pervert who looked like he was on cloud nine.

Curious, Aigis blinked several times before she approached the boy. "Good morning, Hyoudou-san," she greeted the perverted boy in a polite tone.

Still having that goofy grin on his face, Issei turned to look at battle maiden. "Good morning, Kirijo-san!" One could feel excitement and jubilation in his voice as he returned the greeting.

"You seem to be in a great mood," Aigis observed.

"You bet'cha!" Issei replied excitedly. "Kirijo-san, listen to this! I finally got myself a girlfriend!"

Aigis blinked. There was one proper response to this new piece of information. "Congratulations."

Then, she noticed the hissing sounds from somewhere before she looked aside, seeing the source of the sounds coming from the other members of the Perverted Trio. From their expressions alone, the mechanical maiden could tell that they were, as most people would say, pissed off.

"Traitor…"

"Damn you, Issei!"

And the accused one, Issei, ignored the accusations from his fellow perverts as he continued basking in his delight over the fact that he finally got himself a girlfriend.

"Hehe, you see, when I was walking home yesterday after talking to you, there was this cute girl who suddenly showed up and asked me to go out with her," Issei explained to his neighbor about his girlfriend. "She's from a different school, and she's got a nice body!" He looked quite enthusiastic while mentioning about that part. "I also got to squeeze her boobs! A real girl's breasts, in flesh! Man, real-life breasts are so awesome! Viva la Oppai!" He made a groping motion as he recalled the feeling of softness and squishiness of the girl's breasts he somehow accidentally grabbed and groped.

Not too far from them, Matsuda and Motohama were pressing their hands on the sides of their heads in frustration.

"Y-you bastard! We're supposed to be friends, Issei!"

"Gah! I can't believe it! I totally can't believe it! There is no God in this world! God is dead! God is dead, I tell you!"

Meanwhile, other girls were looking at Issei in disgust.

"Urgh, what a pervert…"

"Disgusting…"

"Shouldn't that count as sexual harassment?"

Ignoring what some of the girls said, Issei's expression turned sheepish. "That last part was accidental, though," Issei said, scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "I was so wrapped up in my thought about having a harem and becoming a Harem King, I didn't realize she was in front of me and my hands ended up grabbing her breasts." Then, the sheepishness turned into anxiousness as he looked at Aigis. "Umm… Kirijo-san, if you don't mind, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Aigis asked.

Averting his eyes while scratching the back of his head, Issei spoke. "W-well, you see… it was actually my first time having a girl asking me out. Honestly, I'm kinda nervous," he admitted, worry leaking in his tone. "We're going to go out for a date this weekend, so… do you have, well… some tips to share or something?"

"Tips?" Aigis blinked her eyes a few times.

"Y-yeah…" Issei nodded. "This is important for me, see? This is our first date, so I don't wanna mess it up." Aigis could see fear in Issei's eyes. "I wanna make this date to be the best day ever for both of us, and I don't want to disappoint Yuuma-chan." When Aigis gave him a questioning look, Issei noticed that he hadn't told her the name of the girl who asked him out. "Ah, forgot to mention this earlier, but her name is Yuuma Amano. She's such a cutie, you know?" The grin returned on his face before it immediately faltered. "S-so… you got some tips, Kirijo-san? Since you're a girl, I thought you probably know what a girl likes, right?"

Aigis thought about it for a moment. All these years, she had grown up considerably in terms of maturity and understanding on how to be a human, so it could be said that she had learned a few things that could not only be used for herself, but also to help others. Unfortunately, giving advices and tips about romance was not one of them. Still, the anxious look on the brown-haired boy's face compelled her to help him, so it would be a good thing for her to give him what he wanted. Due to the lack of knowledge about this particular subject, however, she decided to use what she had learned back then instead, when she fell in love with a certain blue-haired boy and started going out with him, at least from the short time they had before facing Nyx.

Well, their relationship was a little complicated, with her being a robot and all. Not that he really minded, though.

"Let's see…"Aigis started. "If you're going out with her, don't try to impress her. Just act naturally. Listen to her words and look at her, preferably in her eyes when she talks to you." She remembered the time when that certain blue-haired boy listened to what she said calmly and without interrupting her as he looked at her. "Complimenting her looks is advised, but don't overdo it." She was often caught off guard when the blue-haired boy complimented her, citing that her blue eyes were pretty. He didn't do that often, so whenever he did do that, she couldn't help but blush.

Again, was it necessary to make her cheeks red to show that her system was heating up?

"I-is that so?" Issei listened to Aigis intently before he frantically dug into his pockets. "Hang on, I'm gonna write them down!" He fished out a card from his pocket. Aigis couldn't help but notice a symbol drawn on the card which resembled a pentagram. Issei took out his pen and wrote on the blank side of the card. "Okay, here we go. Anything else?" Issei looked at Aigis. It looked like he had written the tips that Aigis had told him on the card.

Aigis then continued telling him more tips, and Issei diligently wrote them down.

"Make sure to make her happy…" Aigis said, smiling as she reminded herself of how happy she was when her Papillon Heart was touched directly by him. She still could remember the warmth of his touch as his genetic code was permanently burned into her database, effectively giving him the highest priority above all else. "Make her feel like she's the happiest girl ever alive in the world. If you do that, then I'm sure your date will be going smoothly."

"Make her happy…" Issei wrote the tips before he smiled at Aigis. "Yes, I'm gonna remember that. Thanks, Kirijo-san! I really owe you for this one!" He seemed to be genuinely happy about being given the tips.

"You are welcome, Hyoudou-san," Aigis responded.

"Man, I can't wait for this weekend! It's gonna be a blast!" Issei said giddily, pumping his fists in excitement. "This is my first true step on my path on becoming the Harem King, hehehe…" He laughed as he imagined something, probably lewd things, as expected from a pervert like him. "Yuuma-chan's boobs, hehehe…" He was starting to drool as he imagined the softness and pertness of his girlfriend's ample bust.

Of course, the perverted look on his face didn't go unnoticed by the other students, and they reacted accordingly to it.

"Gross…"

"He's the worst…"

"Pervert…"

"Someone seriously needs to call 110. His entire existence is a sexual harassment in and of itself."

Issei deliberately ignored all those harsh words as he indulged himself in his little fantasy world. Aigis blinked a few times.

'Let's hope he won't say those perverted things to his girlfriend,' Aigis thought to herself. 'Even so, he looks so happy. Yes, Athena is right. There's more than just one side of a person. Issei Hyoudou is more than just a pervert. It's unfair to label him with that one label alone because he can be much more besides being a pervert.' Aigis nodded to herself.

Though, she could feel a strange sensation inside her. She could feel something akin to a tug within her, and she could tell it wasn't part of the machination of her body as a battle android. It came from something much deeper within her, something that came from the sea of her soul.

The Magician.

She placed her hand on her chest, feeling the presence of this… new thing inside her. What was this feeling she was currently experiencing? As she thought about it, she recalled what Igor had told her days ago about her power as a Wild Card.

'It is a power that grows over time through nurturing your understanding of the world and those around you. Only by nurturing your bonds with others will the power of the Wild Card be brought to its fullest potential.'

The Wild Cards grew their powers by understanding the bonds they made with others, and by nurturing those bonds, their powers would grow stronger. That was what Aigis understood about the nature of her power, the power of the Wild Card. As she allowed her consciousness to dive into the vast sea of her soul, she could 'see' the thing she was feeling, the manifestation of her understanding in a person named Issei Hyoudou.

She could see her Personas, all three of them, surrounding this new presence which took the form of a glowing blue, empty card. Pallas Athena was looking at this new object with academic curiosity, fitting for her title as the goddess of wisdom. Palladion, being the statue she actually was, just threw an empty stare at this new object with her milky white eyes. As for Orpheus, due to some reasons that somehow escaped the battle android, he was playing his lyre, playing a rather jubilant tune.

Aigis did not understand the significance of the last part, thus in the real world, she scrunched up her brow as if in deep thought as she tried to figure out the meaning of it. A few students, as well as the homeroom teacher who was taking attendance, had noticed the strange look she made, but they didn't make any comment about it. They probably thought that she was having that time of the month.

Heart of a Butterfly

Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover

Chapter 05: Sacred Gear

The ringing of the bell signified the end of school sessions. Some students went to club activities while the others went straight home. There were also a few of them doing activities not related to the clubs, such as chatting with friends and some other things.

Having nothing better to do, Aigis decided to walk around the school area, observing the facilities and the students. Being quite a prestigious learning institute, Kuoh Academy was almost comparable with her previous school, Gekkoukan High School. As the mechanical maiden walked down the school yard, she saw the members of Track Club doing their laps around the school area. She also saw a few female students, probably from Volleyball Club walking around in their PE uniforms, which consisted of plain white shirts and maroon sport bloomers.

She couldn't help but notice their rather well-endowed breasts bouncing up and down as they moved. Her thought about the breast conspiracy returned to her mind. Was there something that had been polluting the water source around the area which caused the mutation within the female population that resulted in the enlargement of breasts among adolescent girls? Or was this the effect of a new drug being secretly developed by Japanese government, with the drug being mixed into the foods that these girls ate? Or was her theory about some kind of malevolent entities trying to destroy the world by drowning its entire population in the sea of breasts right all along?

The battle maiden shook her head as she continued walking. She had been thinking about breasts lately, due to some odd reasons. Katase and Murayama had been giving her weird looks when she mentioned this to them. Fortunately, they had discussed among themselves that it was still too early to decide that the Perverted Trio of Kuoh Academy had turned into the Perverted Quartet. After all, 'Ai Kirijo' didn't seem to be the kind of person who would act like the members of the trio.

"Ah." Aigis stopped as she noticed the structure right in front of her. It was an old schoolhouse, the clubhouse of sort for the Occult Research Club, with Rias Gremory being the President of the club. And Aigis had been well-informed by Rias Gremory herself that the members of the club consisted of Devils, the creatures of darkness and the ones mentioned in the Bible itself. Even so, Aigis accepted the fact of their existence quite easily due to her past experiences with Shadows and some antagonistic deities like Nyx and Hi-no-Kagutsuchi. Those things existed, so why not the Devils?

Aigis blinked a few times. She somehow ended up being in front of this place. Then, she remembered Mitsuru's order that she had given to her after the accomplishment of her mission a few days ago.

"Observe Rias Gremory and her group," Aigis muttered. Mitsuru had issued this order to the mechanical maiden upon learning their involvement and assistance in Aigis' mission. The revelation of the existence of these creatures had brought a few implications, and being an ever cautious person, Mitsuru had ordered Aigis to see whether these Devils posed a threat to the world or not.

Even so, there was no reason for her to stalk them, so Aigis decided to walk away before she noticed a presence. She turned around and saw a male student with blond hair, carrying a few books in his hands. The male student, whom she recognized as Yuuto Kiba, was a member of the Occult Research Club, and like Rias Gremory, he was also a Devil. He seemed to possess some kind of power and from the battle the other day, Aigis noticed that he was quite skillful in swordsmanship. He even cut both of Gremda's hands, which allowed the mechanical maiden to decisively defeat the stray Devil before finally obliterating her with her flame.

"Ah, it's you, Kirijo-san," the boy, Kiba spoke to Aigis. He smiled at her as he continued speaking. "Good afternoon to you. Hmm… should I call you Aigis-san instead?"

Looking at the blond boy, Aigis returned the greeting. "Good afternoon to you too, Kiba-san. I do not mind if you call me Kirijo or Aigis, but Aigis is my real name."

Kiba nodded. "Aigis-san, then…" He glanced at the clubhouse of the Occult Research Club. "Is there anything you need from us? You're here, so I thought that might be the case."

Aigis thought about it for a moment. She couldn't exactly tell the boy that she had been ordered by her superior to observe them. "I was just walking around. I am new here, so I would like to learn more about this school. Even though I am not a human, I am interested in interacting with others, as well as learning more things. Do you see any problem with that, Kiba-san?" She asked.

"I see, and no, I don't see any problem with that," Kiba replied.

Aigis nodded. "Well then, I shall be on my way. I apologize if I ended up getting in your way, Kiba-san."

"Nah, no worries." After a pause, he spoke, "Say, if you don't mind, would you like to join me for some tea?" He asked, smiling. "Buchou and the rest are busy, so it'll be just me in the club for today. Unless if you have something important to do, that is."

Aigis pondered about it for a moment. She looked at the boy before her. Perhaps she could learn more about Rias Gremory and her group by talking to this boy. "Very well. It's not like I have anything better to do. I shall join you for some tea, Kiba-san." She wasn't designed with the function to eat or drink, but she thought that this was her chance to learn more about these Devils.

Kiba nodded before he went to open the door. "Please, Aigis-san. Right this way." Opening the door, he asked the battle maiden to enter the old schoolhouse first. Aigis nodded and stepped into the schoolhouse before the boy followed after her. They went to the meeting room. "Please have a seat, Aigis-san."

Aigis took a seat. "Please excuse me," she said. Kiba went to make the tea, leaving Aigis alone for a while. Then, Aigis noticed some sort of marking on the floor. The marking seemed strange, but apart from that, there was nothing extraordinary about that marking. The mechanical maiden decided to ignore the marking for the time being.

After Kiba was done preparing the tea, he brought a teapot and two teacups and saucers. He poured the tea into the teacups and placed one of the teacups in front of Aigis. "Here you go."

"Thank you," Aigis said.

As Kiba took a seat opposite to her, Aigis looked into the tea that was served to her. She had this inability to consume drinks due to her design, and she didn't want to risk causing system malfunction by sloshing her internal, robotic parts with hot tea. Mitsuru had been telling her lately that her group of scientists had been developing something which allowed the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons like Aigis and Labrys to consume foods without harming themselves, but it would be long before it could even be completed.

Kiba raised an eyebrow when Aigis didn't touch her teacup.

"Are you not going to drink?" Kiba asked, placing the teacup on a saucer after taking a sip of the tea.

"As an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, I am not equipped with the ability to eat or drink. My purpose in life is to eliminate Shadows and any threats that may endanger the world, so the act of consuming foods is irrelevant to us," Aigis explained honestly. "Doing so may end up damaging my insides, which will affect my performance greatly."

Kiba gave the battle maiden a curious look. "So, why did you accept my offer, then?" He asked.

Aigis nodded to herself before she answered, "Because doing otherwise would be rude. And even without having the need to drink, I still can talk to you." She smiled. "And the aromatic scent of this tea is pleasing to my senses, to say the least. I suppose having the scent lingering in the air makes it easier for both of us to converse."

"I see…" Kiba mused. "That was rather… thoughtful of you, Aigis-san." Then, he smiled. "Since you seem to enjoy the scent of tea more than its taste, I suppose you don't want me to take the teacup away, do you?"

"I also enjoy seeing my reflection on the surface of the tea, so please do not take it away," Aigis said.

Kiba chuckled. "You're an interesting person, Aigis-san, I'll tell you that."

"Does my preference in savoring the scent of the tea over the taste of the tea itself seem that interesting to you, Kiba-san?" Aigis asked, blinking a few times.

"Well, it's not just that." Kiba shrugged before he leaned forward, placing his hand on his chin as he studied the mechanical maiden's features. "Speaking of interesting, that day…" he began. "When you fought Gremda and her monsters, you used some kind of power that I never saw before? Is it a Sacred Gear that you used at that time, perhaps?" Normally, only humans were granted with Sacred Gears, so he might be wrong in this. Still, it made him curious.

When Aigis battled Gremda and the monsters called Shadows, Kiba recalled seeing something showing up to aid the battle maiden in battle after some sort of invocation done by her. The first one was that woman in a flowing white dress with golden trims, armed with a large shield and a barbed spear. Her presence radiated power and authority, and her regal appearance seemed to illuminate the area affected by the miniaturized Dark Hour with her presence alone. The second one was a… person? Construct? Kiba couldn't really tell. Its presence was different compared to the first one. It appeared to be humanoid, but it seemed to be lacking something that made any human-like creatures, well, humans. It also wielded some kind of strange-looking weapon, which resembled a musical instrument. It was also the one that set Gremda aflame, burning her down to her skeleton before turning her into fine, blackened dust.

"Sacred Gear?" Aigis blinked. "What is this Sacred Gear?"

Kiba raised his eyebrow. "So it wasn't a Sacred Gear you used?"

Aigis shook her head. "I do not know what this Sacred Gear refers to, but my power is called Persona. It allows me to summon the manifestations of my thought that take the form of many shapes. It is also something that allows me to battle the Shadows in the first place."

Kiba seemed curious. "So, is it a power exclusive to you as a rob- I mean, an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon?" He asked.

"No. If anything, I am one of the special cases. This power is specifically granted for human beings to use. This power allows humans to conjure the manifestations of their thoughts, or in some cases, the idealized version of themselves to use in battle," Aigis explained. Then, Kiba could hear a humming sound from Aigis before the battle android was surrounded by azure light. "And it is called a Persona." The sound of breaking glass resonated within the clubroom. A figure started to materialize itself, and the figure took the shape of a woman in a turquoise dress trimmed with golden. She wore a Greek war helmet with a crimson plume and a white mask. The protector of Troy hovered in the air for a few seconds before she descended slowly, landing beside Aigis, and sitting on the couch where the battle maiden was sitting on.

Kiba could barely contain his surprise when he saw the woman. Her expressionless white mask turned to look at Kiba, and the boy could feel a chill from seeing the woman's empty, white-eyed gaze.

"Allow me to introduce one of my Personas, Palladion…" Aigis gestured at the Persona seated beside her. "She is the statue of Pallas Athena that protected the city of Troy." After a pause, she added, "And please excuse her blank look. She is, after all, just a mere statue of a goddess."

Kiba stared at the woman before she dissipated into motes of blue particles as she returned to the sea of souls from where she was born.

"That's… the manifestation of your thoughts?" Kiba asked, eyes widened.

"The correct term should be the 'manifestation of what your soul actually represents', but manifestation of thoughts is much easier to understand," Aigis clarified. "You do know what differentiates the human race from other creatures, right?" Then, she added, "Ah, rather than other creatures, let's just say 'animals', since you Devils seem to be more advanced than humans in terms of most subjects. If you compare a human to a monkey or a dog, you may say that the difference between humans and animals is their intelligence. But, the real difference here is their capability to imagine. The Personas take their shapes based on the imagination of human beings. And also their beliefs, but mostly their imaginations." Then, she remembered Koromaru, one of her trusted comrades, was also a Persona-user, despite being a dog. Then again, just like her, Koromaru was also a special case.

The power stemmed from one's thoughts and imagination? If that was truly the case, it would make such a terrifying power, even rivaling the power of Longinus, the high-leveled Sacred Gears that could even kill gods and bodhisattvas.

Even before Kiba could ask Aigis any further regarding her power, the battle maiden decided to ask him a question. "Back to my question. What is a Sacred Gear?"

"Well, I'm not really the right person to say this since Buchou and Akeno-san are more knowledgeable in this kind of thing than me, but I'll try my best to explain," Kiba began. "The Sacred Gears are some kind of items or artifacts bestowed upon humans by God." Aigis noticed the slight twitch on the edge of the boy's lips as he spoke. "And when I say God, I mean the God in the Bible. He created these Sacred Gears as parts of His system to enact miracles on Earth. All these Sacred Gears have a variety of effects, like instantaneously healing severe wounds or creating weapons or constructs out of empty air to aid the user in combat." He put his hand on his chin. "Due to some reasons, only humans are granted the Sacred Gears, so Devils, Fallen Angels and Angels don't have them. But reincarnated Devils who are reincarnated from humans can use the power of their Sacred Gears even after becoming Devils."

Aigis nodded, digesting the new information. So it was some kind of power granted by a high-leveled entity in order to enact the acts of miracle. "One question, Kiba-san. Do you have a Sacred Gear?"

Kiba's eyes widened slightly upon hearing the question. After a pause, he nodded. "Yes. You saw it at that time, right? It was my Sacred Gear, Sword Birth. It allows me to create demonic swords in battle." Aigis remembered seeing the thrown sword that cut Gremda's hand at that time, saving her from being obliterated by the stray Devil's energy beam.

"So, you gained this Sacred Gear, Sword Birth, when you were a human, correct?" Aigis asked.

This time, the boy's demeanor changed. He was no longer smiling, and he looked aside to avoid looking into the battle maiden's eyes. Aigis raised one eyebrow in confusion upon seeing the change, before she realized that she might have triggered some bad memories. From what Rias had told her before, most reincarnated Devils were humans who were dying before being reincarnated.

"…Yes," Kiba answered, his tone low. It felt like seeing an entirely different person. No, it was still the same Yuuto Kiba, but like Issei, this was a different side of him.

'There is more than one side, indeed.'

"I see…" Aigis mused. Deciding to change the topic, Aigis spoke, "Thank you for explaining to me about the Sacred Gears, Kiba-san. It was rather enlightening to learn something new," she admitted.

Kiba looked at Aigis, and the dark look he wore a while ago slowly vanished as he smiled. "Anytime, Aigis-san. Feel free to ask more, and I'll try my best to answer them." The gentle smile on his face made all traces of his earlier expression fade away. "To tell you the truth, this is quite enjoyable. Our conversation, that is."

"That, I have to agree…" Aigis nodded. Then, she felt a tug deep inside her, like the one that she felt after speaking with Issei earlier that day. She closed her eyes, and she could feel another presence besides The Magician.

The Star.

She could feel it, the presences of both The Star and The Magician deep within her. Somehow, from what she had understood about a person named Yuuto Kiba had given her this new thing within her: infinite possibilities.

"I guess I shall call it a day," Aigis said, getting up from her seat. "I'm sorry about the tea, but I really enjoy the scent."

Kiba nodded and got up. "That's okay. I'm glad you like it, Aigis-san. Would you like me to accompany you to go outside?" He offered.

"Thank you, but I'll be fine. Let's talk again some other time."

"Yes. Let's."

Aigis continued thinking about the new presences within her, these things that took the shape of blue, empty cards.

"So, are these what Igor said? The culmination of bonds I made with others?" Aigis muttered to herself. Within the sea of her soul, both cards were circling around each other, waiting to be unleashed in order to take more solid, meaningful forms.

As she walked towards the direction of her apartment, suddenly there was a flash of light from beside her. She stopped and saw a rather familiar thing. It was a door, blue in color, and if it was the same thing as before, as the one who held the key to the room, she would be the only one who could see the door.

Nodding to herself, she held up one hand and opened it. An object materialized itself, hovering above her hand for a few seconds before it landed on her palm. The Velvet Key, an item that gave her access to the Velvet Room. She closed her eyes and her fist, and the key glowed.

When she reopened her eyes, she found herself seated on a chair in the Velvet Room. Inside, the residents of the room were looking at her with anticipation.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear lady," the proprietor of the Velvet Room, Igor, welcomed the mechanical maiden. "How may we serve you today?"

Wordlessly, Aigis held out her hands, and two blue, blank cards appeared on her palms. The imp-like old gentleman raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused and curious.

"Ah, it seems that you have made yourself two bonds. I can feel the strength and power these two radiate," Igor spoke. "Come. Please allow us to see them."

Aigis nodded. The cards flew toward Igor before they diverted their paths, going to both Margaret and Theodore respectively. Each of them held out one hand, and each card landed on their hands before it hovered an inch away from the palm.

"Ah… this is fascinating…" Margaret spoke. "Such a free-spirited soul, not bound by the rules of your world. Even so, I can feel some kind of warmth in which it's radiating." The woman in velvet closed her golden eyes. "Despite its desire for worldly and carnal pleasure, this warmth is clearly unmistakable. How can such a contradiction exist? How could this soul desire such impure pleasure while the pureness within remains untainted? Such a contradiction, indeed." She chuckled. "I look forward to see the reason of this contradictory existence. How wonderful." She reopened her eyes, her golden eyes flashing with curiosity which reminded the android of Elizabeth. Just from this, Aigis could tell that both Elizabeth and Margaret were truly sisters.

As for Theodore, he looked at the card hovering above his palm with his golden eyes shining in melancholy. "Such sadness… such moroseness…" he spoke, sorrow leaking in his tone. "How can such a soul still find any semblance of happiness despite having gone through such austerity? I cannot help but wonder whether this display of joviality and exuberance is nothing but a mere façade to mask the pain in its heart or not." He touched the card with his gloved fingers, stroking it tenderly. "Will I still be able to smile if I have gone through the same trials as this soul had endured?" He closed his golden eyes and shook his head. "Such a thought terrifies me greatly. Even so, I wish to know more about what else this inquisitive soul has to offer." He reopened his eyes and looked at Aigis.

"How melancholic. Drama is truly your forte, Theo…" Margaret teased her little brother.

"W-well… I-I couldn't help myself, sister. This feeling of sadness truly touches my heart," Theodore stammered.

Igor, who was silent while his assistants were speaking earlier, raised his hands, and both cards flew from their palms. The cards then landed on the table in front of him.

"Now… let's see what shapes these manifestations of your bonds will take," Igor said, and both cards glowed brighter. Aigis was familiar with this process because she had seen Igor performing it back in 2010. But now, with the understanding she had gained by knowing these two boys, Issei Hyoudou and Yuuto Kiba, she would be able to witness the unexplored part of the Wild Card that she had gained years ago.

Aigis could see some sort of symbols starting to form below the cards before they broke into pieces. Igor grinned, and both Margaret and Theodore opened their compendiums.

One figure started to materialize itself on one unoccupied seat before taking the form of a beautiful man with shining black, long hair. In his hand was a spear not unlike the one that Pallas Athena wielded. The armor he wore was silver in color, shining majestically under the light of the Velvet Room. Then, the man focused his piercing red eyes on Aigis before he displayed a devious smirk.

Margaret was the first to speak after the appearance of this man. "Ah, how fascinating. From The Magician, the one who comes from the sea of your soul is him, the Victorious Child of Ulaidh, Conell Cernach." The Persona tipped his head upon hearing the introduction that was made on his behalf. "It seems that we have another interesting Persona to be recorded into our compendium. Though the detail about him sleeping with a severed head of his enemy under his knee sounds rather morbid."

Aigis looked at Conell Cernach. "Pleased to meet you."

Still displaying that devious smirk, Conell Cernach bowed his head in recognition of the one who gave birth to him from the sea of her soul before dissolving into blue particles.

The second figure that appeared was a man with quite a youthful appearance, clad in shining armor of a knight, with a stallion accompanying him by his side. Hanging on his waist was a sword with a hilt wrapped in leather. His entire back was covered by the crimson cape he wore which seemed to bear an emblem of sorts, with the image of a lion being prominently displayed on the emblem. His presence radiated an aura of calmness and when he saw Aigis, his lips curled up into a gentle smile.

"From The Star, the one who came forth to emerge from the sea of your soul is the God's Knight on Earth himself…" Theodore spoke as the knightly figure showed himself. "Galahad of the Round Table. Pureness personified." The golden-eyed man's eyebrow raised as he read the page of his compendium. "Fascinating though, he was conceived due to an illegitimate affair between his father, Lancelot of the Lake and Elaine of Corbenic. Quite interesting that the God's Knight was a child born out of wedlock."

Galahad, the Persona that was born from the bond between Aigis and Yuuto Kiba, bowed courteously to the battle maiden before he dissipated into motes of blue particles alongside the stallion that accompanied him.

Aigis could feel the presence of her two new Personas joining the others within the sea of her soul. She nodded to herself before she looked at Igor and his assistants.

"Thank you for your assistance, Igor," Aigis spoke before she focused to golden-eyed siblings. "Theodore, Margaret."

"It is our pleasure in assisting you to realize your true potential, my esteemed lady," Igor said. "I look forward to see what else the power of Wild Card will deliver in the near future. Till we meet again…"

Aigis was seated on her capsule seat, closing her eyes as dozens of wires were attached to her body. Despite that, she was not in 'sleep mode' and was just merely mimicking the act of sleeping that normal humans always did.

Then, she reopened her eyes. It was the weekend, and she remembered that her neighbor at school, Issei Hyoudou, was probably on his date with his girlfriend. She could only hope that the tips that she had given to him could help him out while both he and his girlfriend were dating.

The battle maiden sighed softly before she disconnected herself from the wires and got up from the seat. Mitsuru had told her that the technician would arrive soon in order to repair the minor damages that Aigis had sustained during the battle against Gremda and her army of Shadows. Mitsuru might send her one of the scientists from the research team of the Kirijo Group.

Aigis walked to the table and opened the briefcase that was on it. The metallic object which took the shape of a gun was taken out by the android. She held the Evoker against her chest, closing her eyes. Her Plume of Dusk reacted to the gesture, causing a soft hum coming from within her.

"I will try my best, Minato-san. Please watch over me," Aigis spoke softly as she stared into the reflective surface of the device. Then, she heard the sound of the doorbell. "Ah, that is probably the technician…" she said before she placed the Evoker back into the briefcase and closed it again. She turned on the heel of her false foot before she went towards the door.

"Hello? Aigis, are you in there?"

Eyes widened as she recognized the gentle voice that came from behind the door, Aigis hastened her steps and placed her hand on the knob. She twisted it to open the door, revealing a short young woman attired in a white, long-sleeved sundress. She tilted her head when Aigis opened the door, the fringe of her teal-blue hair fell over her teal green eyes. She brushed the hair aside with her fingers and smiled at Aigis.

"Ah," Aigis reacted to the appearance of the young woman.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" The woman spoke, still smiling. Her teal-blue hair was braided to the front, making her seem more mature and more confident.

Aigis smiled as well. "It is nice to see you, Fuuka-san."

Lying on a pool of his own blood, the boy let out weakened gasps and strangled noises. There was a large hole located in the middle of his chest.

There was a girl standing over the boy's broken body, a pair of obsidian wings seen on her back. There was a sneer on the girl's face as she looked at the dying boy in contempt.

Losing blood and clearly dying, the boy coughed up blood.

'T-this can't be happening! W-why this is h-happening?! I can't understand… This is supposed to be the best day of our lives… H-how…?'

A lot of questions had started to form in the dying boy's head, despite the fact that his time among the living would be ending anytime soon. The girl seemed to have left him to die on the pool of his own blood.

Cold.

It was cold.

Was dying always this cold?

In the dying boy's hand, there was a card with something written on it. His blood seemingly blotted out almost all the words written, making them unreadable.

Almost.

Make her feel like the happiest girl alive in the world.

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: Hello, it's me again, Prince Arjuna. Thanks for reviewing the last chapter, I really appreciate all those reviews. To tell you the truth, I really like writing Issei in this fanfic. It's probably due his perverted tendency, but besides that, he's also quite a complex character. In this story, Issei will be a supporting protagonist besides Aigis, who is the primary protagonist and the main character. Like in the original story, Issei will still gain his harem, probably with a few additions as well as some new power-ups.

Also, this chapter introduces Fuuka. She'll be the one who will repair Aigis and one of the prominent characters in this fanfic. More characters from Persona series may show up soon, so please look forward for their appearance.

Just to clarify, despite the hints that may suggest otherwise, I will not pair Aigis with anyone in this story. I'll give the role of being paired with other characters. And I don't think I'll focus much on pairing and romance, but considering the source materials, there will be pairing and romance in this story. Please wait and see.

And of course, special thanks to Sorata Shioya, the beta-reader of this chapter. It is nice working with you.

So, I hope you'll like this chapter. And because this author still needs some boost in confidence, will you kindly submit reviews for him? Thank you in advance. Until then, farewell, and see you in the next chapter, Chapter 06: Fallen Angel.

What I have planned: "I, who is about to awaken..." Those who are well-versed about High School DxD will recognize this. Don't worry, it won't happen early, and will happen in the future.

Edit: Added a few things.

Prince Arjuna (2014)