A Light Among Darkness

by theLawbringer

Isaac Blackburn is the Vatican's top swordsmen and is sent to japan on a routine Exorcism to silence a group of fallen angels, little does he know that the seemingly normal task will turn out to be the biggest event in his life (Powerful OC, small harem) (strong/less perverted Issei)

12. the Hunt Begins: final Part 1

"United we stand

Divided we fall"

- Patrick Henry

-XxXxXxX-

Ever think up a plan so thoroughly you believe it to be insurmountable to fate... or bad luck?

Of course you have

Be it a day plan or a simple task, we all plan for a curtain goal for us to complete

From the simple task of making a bowl of cereal in the morning to a life plan for our future, we always plan for something, it's what makes us - well us - can't go through a day without plans right? Well that's not completely true since quite frankly, we've all experienced a drag day, a day that seems to last forever

But underneath the mundane plans and goals there's always a period where we plan It out to ourselves or maybe to others

We plan against any problems we may encounter, obstacles, setbacks anything that could jeopardise the plan we've forged and try our very hardest to make sure that our plan goes as smoothly as possible

And that's what I did

I wasn't planning on making cereal, or a future plan for myself... but rather a path of negotiation so ridden with safe guards and fail safes I was absolutely curtain nothing would throw all of us over the kayak and into shit creek without a paddle

And by this point you're probably waiting for the line that reveals my plans failure and our sudden dive into confrontation with the Gremory and the Sitri house, it's what usually follows a long ass explanation like that

Sorry to disappoint you but that's not what's happening

The reason I explained that long explanation on 'plans and goals' was to simply lead up to a simple point

Not all plans work out as the way we planned them... sometimes

Let's face true facts here

I had multiple parties to negotiate with, and with that came the multiple personalities that followed, I could have a group of anti-priests, or perhaps fanatical devils, rogues or worse, the very devils I've hunted before... not to mention I had already loosened my chances of winning the hearts of the devils by that Snickers stunt I pulled yesterday

Devil pride is hard to work around and damaging it wasn't a good step in pulling an 'I'm on your side' line only a day later

So to put it simply, I had full belief my plans would have had a few 'bumps'

And I know I know, 'you promised Irina everything would be fine' but it doesn't matter about that

I wasn't fully aware of my mistakes until the fifth cup of coffee last night and that was when my doubts surfaced so you could say the night from then on was probably the most stressful...

Ok, so now we've seen the bad side... now let's take a gander at the positives

From their side, three - no four, powerful exorcists showed up at their door step, claiming their alliance to them with ZERO grunts or complaints on their side

Take a minute to let that sink in

Christian's. Willingly. Allying. With devils... I'm sure you can get the drift

So not only is their shock at an all time high but there fear was as well, even if I didn't mention their involvement on a demons hit list the idea of four extremely powerful exorcists in one area would have hinted to them that shit was GOING to hit the fan... then you can mention their true involvement and watch their eyes grow even wider

So basically... my plan had literally unfolded. Perfectly

The main goal was to keep them in shock throughout the whole negotiation, it helped in keeping a person's mind open to details, I had told Xenovia and Irina to keep the knowledge of Malthus out of the equation but I had dropped that by my sixth cup of coffee and I never really got the chance to tell them that... oops

The reason is however simple, if I had neglected in giving them that information then they wouldn't really be at all ready for the true problem, yada-yada-yada, I've explained this before

Prepared and scared is better than unprepared and oblivious...

The rest is easy to understand, divulging crucial Intel gives an impression that you trust them with it and a devils pride demands them to up hold that... reverse physiology here, you see?

The final act of revealing Dulio was basically a final representation of their true situation, my face wasn't well know... as much, but Dulio's was and the Vatican had no qualms in keeping his accomplishments out in the open, mostly to act as a deterrent and mostly to keep aggressive acts to our side minimal

And by that point the revelations had been enough to guarantee our alliance, now all we needed to do was negotiate roles and rules

But before we even get to that they'd need to pick up their slack jaws first...

For a moment I sat back in the - rather comfy - love seat, the blonde to my left in my peripheral vision was shocked but he was more into glaring at Xenovia's sword then to actually look the part

Yuuto Kiba was obviously his name, I've already delved into his back story with Claire in the Nexus and my opinion on it other than the horrible flashbacks I get from that operation is... unbalanced, I can understand his anger, hell even I have a level of anger towards the subject, however his killing intent isn't targeting Xenovia but rather her sword (like I stated before)

I could tell Xenovia was feeling the intent since she did shift in her seat now and then but a soft nudge from my shoulder was enough to warn her to not engage or acknowledge and thankfully she obliged with zero retorts or grunts

"Are we in understanding with each other Miss Gremory, Miss Sitri?" I asked suddenly, calm yet reserved expression taking hold of my features; this forced Sona Sitri to look up at me first

"As hard as it is to believe, we are" she said sounding strangely calm, a small flick to the bridge of her glasses and she looked as serious as before

Now came Rias Gremory whom had been a little bit more considerate in gathering a variety of opinions

"Akeno?" questioned the red head whom locked eyes with the Gremory queen

All the aforementioned girl did was smile and nod before answering "it would be interesting to see how our two parties would work with theirs... as sudden and unorthodox as it is" she said with a keen look of curiosity

As Rias Gremory skimmed over her peerage, getting a load of nods in the process her final target was Yuuto Kiba... and my nervousness rose. Rias Gremory's concerned and worrying eyes were locked with Kiba's narrowed eyes for a good moment, I didn't know either of their full pasts nor did I know the bond they shared but after the next course of action, I got an idea of its status

"I suppose the situation demands it" he said begrudgingly, his eyes were narrowed but that was only his exterior, I could tell he cracked internally

The Gremory heiress sighed before looking back at him thankfully

"Thank you Kiba" she said gratefully

"Are you going to tell them what we know now?" he quickly added forcing Rias Gremory's eyes open, obviously aware of some information we didn't have... I looked on in interested as did Dulio, in a lazier manner I might add

The red head didn't look angry just shocked at something and had two emotions cross her face... relief... hope... strangely those were the two emotions mainly dominate on her features aside from her dignifying ones

She steeled herself shortly after before she spoke "Yes... I was uncertain how we'd react to it but now I see we truly do have a common enemy, one that far exceeds all of our skills and power" she started before looking at me and the others "You say your hunting a demon, named Malthus correct?"

I didn't answer, Irina did

"That's correct" she said seriously

She nodded, that look of hope rising up again "And how experienced are you all in facing a demon? I know it's a stupid question but you all must've gotten some kind of training for this" she asked calmly

As the others answered, that being Xenovia and Irina, me and Dulio remained silent for a second as the Gremory peerage and Sitri peerage almost cringe when my two juniors mentioned their lack thereof in demon hunting, then eyes landed on the two of us expectantly

I rubbed my chin softly before I answered with a dismissive tone "I have been trained in demonology for most of my time in the Vatican, started at the age of six and graduated the class at 9, though I never actually faced a demon until recently" the eyes rose slightly at the claim "As did I... though I didn't graduate that quickly" added my fellow senior with a kind chuckle

A slew of nods followed and I could hear a few sighs in relief

Now it was my turn to question my new allies skills, leaning forward I locked my eyes onto the two female leaders seriously almost enough to crack their own serious ones "how much do you know of demons?"

At that, they paled

They didn't know.

I sighed calmly "Forget I asked... I remember reading up that the old demons who survived the great war as well as the civil war destroyed all evidence of the rouge demons who perished, they're legacies were lost long before all of us were born, so I don't hold your lack of knowledge against you" I said politely

There was a silence between us for a small awkward second, the devils remained silent while I, as well as the others, awaited this information Kiba Yuuto mentioned and whatever it was seemed only exclusive to the Gremory's since even the Sitri team looked like they were patiently waiting, the index finger on Sona Sitri's right hand tapped impatiently against her folded arm before the women faked a small cough, which signaled the red head to awaken from her thoughts

However I indulged my curiosity

"May I ask why you want to know that?" I questioned patiently forcing the young devil heiress to somewhat spring from her gaze to Sona

For a small second I sensed excitement as well as hope again within Rias Gremory who suddenly sat back and pressed on "It would seem fair to all of us that we share information then to simply listen to yours alone" she started all the while releasing a nervous sigh "a few days ago my peerage alone responded to a stray devil reported in a local shopping district, his code name was 'wraith'..."

As the red head explained her 'report story' I along with the others listened intently, I more so then most, anyways, things got strange when she mentioned a form of 'infection' exclusive only to humans if possible devils, you can so that was the tipping point

From then on I knew full well where she was going, she explained the infections behavior with professional skill and my skin crawled at the familiar sounding characteristics these 'ghouls' carried. Mindless, hungry and violent, probably the only characteristic similar to fictitious 'zombies' humans created for entertainment, but these were different... they were corrupted by a demonic plague

I rested my elbows on my knees and cupped my chin with my right hand

"We thought it is just a simple stray devil hunt until he proved that wrong easily" when she finished I was expecting a form of fear to rise up from her tone at remembering the more then curtain traumatic event, however all I got was venom in its place

"Malthus was here already" I stated... she didn't need to go on; we all knew who it was

"Then if he was here already... how are you two still alive?" questioned Xenovia, the shock of the events was visible but she was hiding it throw a narrowed view

Rias simply shook her head while Sona stared at her friend in shock "We don't know... all we know is that he's here, in our territory"

Her words forced a cold air to fill the room causing most of the occupants to involuntarily shiver at the meaning, mean while I turned to Dulio whom had his eyes narrowed to the ground in contemplation

"Got anything you want to add?" I asked only to cause him to shake his head

"I have a thought but you won't like it" he replied seriously

"Try me?"

"He had his sights on these two well before we were even here, why he would spare them only leaves one idea, and it involves the new arrivals – that being us – as well as a third party"

My eyes as well as the others rose slightly at his meaning "Kokabiel" stated Xenovia matter of factly, expression growing sour

Now Dulio stopped staring at the ground and looked to me, eyes uncharacteristically sharp "Think about it; all three fractions are in on this, you have us, the angel reps, you have Kokabiel who is a fallen angel and you have these two ladies whom are the devils" with a small jab of his fingers and he gestured to the two devil kings before he crossed his arms again "seems to me the stage is set and the ingredients to start a war are on the table" finished the wielder of Zenith tempest

I sat down and chewed on that for a moment while the rest of them, being the devils conversed amongst each other

He was spot on, multiple problems surfaced at his theory

Here was our situation; Malthus knows for some reason the vulnerability of the two Satan's, Sirzechs and Serafall and simply killing their sister would be good enough to send them into a violent rage, so much so war wasn't far off, now add his insurance. If somehow his plan were to fail and his cover were to be somewhat blown then he'd kill me and my team in order to use our mere presents as a framing to the angel side, and considering the two Maou's would be seeing more red then reason you could be sure that either heaven or the Vatican would be targeted in retaliation... a bad and destructive domino effect, considering the Vatican was vulnerable right now

Ever hear of the phrase "between a rock and a hard place"? Or better yet... FUBAR?

You can amount this situation by combining those two multiple times

While I was drowning in my own negative thoughts I didn't notice the small argument happening until I surfaced from them on my own. Most of their argument was quiet and harshly whispered but you know, me being me it wasn't hard to hear, with a small pulling of a sub-dermal trigger in my mind and all sound vacated leaving only the argument present, I listened in

"-why didn't you tell me of the situation Rias?" questioned a narrowed eyed Sona Sitri

"I-I didn't have a choice in the matter" replied a meek Rias Gremory, the way she spoke was clear to me that she was hiding something from her allied devil, I guess the other didn't like that very much and Rias was feeling guilty about it... cat fight

"What do you mean you had no choice? You always had a choice... that stray hunt was two days ago, you mean to tell me you had zero opportunities to tell me this?" The agitation in Sona's tone was rising considerably; I was barely using sound alteration to hear their small argument

"How could I have been curtain he wasn't watching my every move? That demon warned me that if I were to involve the higher ups then he'd commence his plan, so if I informed you of this then you would've most certainly informed the higher ups" now it was Rias' turn to remark something

"And that would have been the best option, had Sirzechs and Onee-sama been informed of this then this problem wouldn't be this dire" this time both of them were narrowing their eyesat each other's conflicting views

I can see friendship between them but with that came a rivalry

"That won't be necessary" I said, officially barging in on their argument forcing them both to snap their eyes onto me

"What?" they questioned... in unison

I sighed at the obvious rise in devil testosterone. Great

Whelp seeing as how I had only a fraction of decision to act before they grew even more unreasonable I dropped my response "your both wrong" to bad I hadn't thought of one before hand...

I really should have put more words into my comment, I thought telling them they were both on the same foot note that they'd stop their argument but I, of course, was wrong

Rias sat back with a slightly narrowed view, eyes were focused solely on mine with a form of tranquil anger while Sona didn't seem to care for that small 'butt' to appear on her forehead with full force and felt content with expressing her negative emotions outwardly

"Did we ask for your opinion Isaac-san?" she asked calmly but she was far from the actual term

Now I do remember my long ass explanation on plans, and how my plan had gone off unhitched but now I see my arrogance was playing its part as well

And since I hadn't told myself beforehand that personal opinions should be kept until a true peace could be found, I had ignored my full reasoning, my words weren't so much as an opinion as they were more of a brash and rude shot to both of the devils prides and me barging into their conversation or argument was the metaphorical cherry on top

The hitch to my plans was arriving at blinding speed

And it was all because of my big. Arrogant. Mouth

Before I felt a sudden rise in multiple killing intents I instead felt panic among the many silent voices, before the devil kings could say anything a hand landed on Rias' shoulder stopping both Sona and Rias from doing anything

Issei hyoudou stood behind the couch with his hand on his master's shoulder, a dead serious expression on his face as he... glared? Down to his master, wait that doesn't seem right...

[Rias Gremory, Sona Sitri] came a deep rumbling voice, my eyes immediately locked onto Issei's left hand where a green light shown

"What is it Ddraig?" asked Rias in confusion, Sona didn't say anything but instead listened intently

[You're petty argument has caused you two to become unreasonable. Calm down] the deep voice of... Ddraig, I believe it was forced a deep expression of shock onto both Sona and Rias whom both acted in their own right. One looked shock for a fraction of a second before sheathing it behind a scowl and the other grew a shade of red, similar to her hair color

[As you were, exorcist, I think it would be better if you explained your words carefully] it didn't take me long to figure the voice was addressing me

"Thank you... Ddraig? Was it?" I asked only receiving a deep grunt in return to my question before the essence the voice had vanished

"Well, as I was saying before... your both wrong in your decisions, now before you ask let me explain first" I started, the two females eyes narrowed but they said nothing "I do agree with Sona Sitri on a degree with calling the higher ups" Sona glanced to Rias with a look "by all rights are you all outclassed on this matter, both in power and experience, however" I then paused to release a deep sigh for what I was going to say "from what I could gather Miss Gremory, your encounter with Malthus was more up close then I realize, so much so you had a little 'conversation' with him, is this correct?" I asked, adding in a set of steeled eyes

Her eyes shifted before she nodded "yes... he warned me to not call my brother or I'd lose them all if I didn't heed his warning" at her words I nodded

"It was wise to not do so, yet foolish to not at least try, but I commend caution over recklessness any day" I paused when I heard a snort behind me "shut it" I snapped to the smirking male priest behind me

"Had you informed your brother of his presents and status of being alive, then one of two things would've happened" I sprung up my index finger "One, and most plausible, Malthus would grow extremely angry a 'low born devil' didn't listen to him, thus sending him into a vengeful demon that would place all of your family at risk." After I finished Rias seemed to quite literally swallow that information deeply

Here's a small history lesson on that, demons are older than devils by hundreds if not thousands of years and demons were known to inherit negative mindset's by their fall to hell, and any soul that was sent to hell was corrupted and dragged into a state of madness thus making up a regular demon, however devils are more of the opposite and show less negative emotions and are even more susceptible to kind emotions, you can guess the relationship the devils had with demons was a very, very negative one

End of history lesson.

Breathing in deeply I continued "Two, everything he said was to actually trick you into doing exactly what he wanted, you may be a prime target and killing you would be enough to spark a war but what if Sirzechs was the real target? Calling him would then lure him out and into the open, prime for assassination" while I explained things the others drank down my theory while naturally conducting theories of their own

But the raven haired Sitri heiress however narrowed her eyes at me in question "How can you be convinced Satan Lucifer would fall so easily? He isn't a Satan for nothing" she questioned

I grimaced slightly at her show of pride and ignorance but I kept from saying anything condescending and answered professionally "Many things come to mind Miss Sitri, in a one on one fight I'm sure the both of them would level whatever playground they may be located in but that sounds counterproductive to Malthus' goals to ignite a war, if all attention falls on him then his plans are ruined, even if Sirzechs would fall in a battle against him every supernatural being from here to oblivion would know about it, thus his plans fail" I explained earnestly "Malthus doesn't plan to fight the dramatic fight, but destroy the very peace his forefathers who betrayed him created from the shadows"

This time Dulio piped in "remember, he has three Excalibur fragments which are all capable of killing not only a devil but a demon as well, catching and killing Sirzechs or Serafall while they are emotionally compromised would be easy, and even easier with the fragments" he added seriously

"He'd play that dirty" muttered Rias with a dark look in her eye

"You were expecting honor from a demon?" questioned Xenovia calmly, I could tell there was some form of condensation in her tone but most of it sounded sarcastic but the Gremory narrowed her eyes at her tone anyway

Now Sona piped up "So to summarize the many theories here, me and Rias are prime targets of assassination which would ultimately result in retaliation and war, calling either of our older siblings would cause them to rush to our side without thinking, thus resulting in the death of a maou or two by a stolen holy sword and the reigniting of a war, or they use the Excalibur blueprint to destroy a large portion if not all of kouh city, resulting in a destabilization of trust between fractions and ultimately start a war" when she finished her summarization I could see her sigh deeply before silence reined

I could see looks of fear on the eyes of the lower ranking peerage members and even more on the ones in the Gremory peerage, it was by all means terrifying, these theories were not finalized but they were the most plausible ones to figure out, this did not mean we fully knew of his plans but roughly had an idea of what he might be planning... the list however kept growing

Malthus wasn't hard to predict but I'd be ignorant of me if I said that was all to it, it was easy to predict the many plans that Malthus could come up with but what he lacks in secrecy and mystery he makes up for in variability, it's hard to find the needle in a bowl of needles after all

After a small while a whistle escaped issei Hyoudou's lips and it kinda sounded like, in a metaphorical stance, our chances of success dropping pathetically

"That's a problem if I've ever heard of one" he muttered with a sarcastic tone

"That's putting it lightly" replied the small white haired girl to his right

Rias as well as Sona sat by quietly for a moment. Processing the very level of danger we all currently faced

Sona started up first "I guess calling for help is truly out of the question" she said with a deep stressful sigh

"At that we agree" added Rias with an equal sigh before she looked at me, a begrudging expression on her face "what do you wish for us to do Isaac-san?" I shrugged at her question

"I can't truly predict Malthus' plans, however I'd like to take steps in keeping the present possibilities safe from happening, that being you two" I answered calmly all the while pointing a casual finger to the both of them "think of it as a simple failsafe or contingency but from here on out I'd highly recommend staying within the company of your strongest peerage members and never travel alone"

The two nodded curtly, eyes begrudging but otherwise resigned

"And what are your rolls?" asked Yuuto Kiba with narrowed eyes

I ignored his harsh tone with an easy answer "out of all of us my team holds the best chance of harming Malthus on a physical plain but we are also prime targets for him as well, we'll be doing the same thing as you except we'll be actively searching for Malthus"

"Seems to me you don't want us helping, huh?" replied the blonde

My eyes narrowed in confrontation "I don't believe we will make any progress with infighting, knight of Gremory and I'm fully aware of your anger towards my kind but I'm looking past it only because this situation is beyond the both of us" I replied with a natural expression "keep your personal problems at bay until we negate this possible war"

"Tsk..." the expression on Kiba's face grew more feral with my reply, he undoubtedly understood my words and agreed but his personal rage was keeping reason from his mind

Seeing as how her knight was on the ropes Rias pitched in with an eased tone "Kiba, that's enough... you are knight in service with me, do not dull yourself with your anger" Rias words rang quickly, forcing the blonde to glance back at her before back at me, a glare meeting my neutral one

The teen looked ready to say something but instead growled before turning and leaving the room, a deep scowl lay present on his distancing features

My team awkwardly sat by watching as the young blonde left, leaving a saddened Rias Gremory behind, the Gremory queen stood forward and bowed

"I'm sorry you had to see that" she said apologetically

"There's no need to" replied Dulio calmly

While that all settled I stared at the doors where Kiba Yuuto had left

His past was dark, dreadfully so, so much so that I myself understood his rage to an extent, our presents as well as the presents of the holy swords must've opened his past wounds greatly, reminding him of a past Rias Gremory was trying to help him leave behind, judging by her sadness I may have been right in that field

My somber thoughts were dropped when a hand placed a piece of paper on the table in front of me, looking up I spotted Rias looking down at me seriously

"This is where we battled him... I hope you can find something" she said seriously

Picking it up, I nodded up to her

"We'll be in touch" I muttered while placing a white card onto the table before looking to issei, a very small nod from me and in return I got the same gesture

A token of thanks for his compliance

-XxXxXxX-

-Shopping district, east side of kouh city – listed location of previous confrontation with Malthus /2:03pm/ with Isaac and com.

"So you're saying the negotiations worked out just fine with the two devil houses?" questioned the voice of Griselda as my team and myself walked through the busy shopping district

Brushing by a pedestrian I replied "Yes, all mistrust between us is cleared... though there was a close call..." I paused when a sharp elbow impacted my ribs courtesy of Irina "everything worked out in the end"

"I see" there was a small pause after Griselda muttered her reply before she shot back with a new question "what are your plans now?"

"Right now we are going to ground zero –"

"Ground Zero?" came a sharp interruption "What do you mean ground zero?"

I took a small intake of air as did the others who were all connected to the call via headset, "Malthus got here before we did" I replied bluntly "right now we're heading to the location the Gremory peerage encountered him"

"You're kidding..." Griselda questioned with a lack of energy

"Wish I was to be perfectly honest, however more problems are surfacing the closer we come to finding Malthus so the quicker we find him the better we are in avoiding a war... any options?"

"I may have an idea" piped Claire inquisitively

My left brow raised up "Shoot"

"Alright, we all know what the devils do after a stray devil hunt correct?" first the confirmation question... a little test of intelligence I guess

Irina nodded "They erase all evidence on both the supernatural plain as well as the normal physical plain"

"You're correct Miss Shidou; the devils use multi-layered eradication spells to disperse high density energy signatures down to a molecular level, it's almost impossible to pick up however we so happen to have a device to find said dispersed particles – I just need you're exact location"

"You mean activate our transponders?" asked Dulio calmly

"Precisely - when you get there of course, this isn't going to be a constant scan for energy but more of a 'snapshot' of the area the encounter took place in – the rest is all supernatural science"

"Claire, activating there transponders will place them on the grid for all three sides, I don't really want to do that with them in the middle of devil territory, especially one that houses the little sister's of the Satan Lucifer and leviathan" replied Griselda over comm's

"I'll only need one of them activated, preferably one of the holy sword wielders... there energy levels are separate to the bond they have to the holy swords, and the transponder only recognises their personal divinity levels... normal humans only carry the supernatural equivalent of a light bulb so..." Claire left her tone drag on as Irina and Xenovia's eyes shifted into their own personal expressions of either a down casted pout or a steeled glare

Nothing was replied for a small period of time as the four of us walked through the shopping district before the one we were heading towards came into view

The scary thing was... nobody was in that district, not a soul

Here's a little information on why I considered a dead shopping district scary... whenever there is a high concentration of demonic energy in one area every living creature feels a direct instinct to avoid it – explains the lack of people here as well - it's almost like the previous presents of Malthus had attracted every negative aspect in nature... including ghosts

Yup... I see dead people; it's a thing for us angels

There were a lot of dead people spanning from every age and sex along the district, standing and waiting

The thing about death is... it's a trip – kinda – whenever you die you enter a kind of 'loading screen' while the Reaper's finds your soul and delivers you – automatically – to which ever afterlife that effected you in your life time and depending on your actions you either go up, or down, it's systematic

It's a simple knowledge we angels all learn so to keep death from appearing evil and more essential in all life, human or supernatural, its common to see spirits but it's also rare to see so many in one place, usually reapers from all sorts of religious backgrounds would've taken them by now, even angels do it

However these souls were still here and tainted, corrupted

How can I tell? Well a pure soul usually glows a brilliant blue and forms the body it previously inhabited down to the very clothes he/she wore before dying while a corrupted soul doesn't glow and instead appears as the ghoul it once was

"Isaac!" barked Irina who forced me to jump in surprise "Come on!" she yelled again before running after the other two

I hadn't noticed the other's cross the street until now, with a shuddering breath I dropped my gaze from a zoned out ghost and followed towards the others

-XxXxXxX-

"So I take it this is the best spot?" asked Dulio, we were currently standing directly in the center of the shopping district and it was of course devoid of all 'life'

"You guys there?" Claire's voice rang over our comm's

"Yes, were here" replied Xenovia seriously

"Good, activate your transponder—but only for a second" Xenovia nodded before she unbuttoned her cloak to reveal her leotard and with that her silver crucifix was revealed as well

Grasping her cross with her thumb and index finger Xenovia lightly pressed on the silver ornament before a light, blue in color, flashed from the crosses center section, another light press and the light vanished

"Alright, I have all of your positions on the screen, just give me a minute to run a scan on the district" Claire's fleeting tone echoed distantly in our comm's before she went silent completely

Irina directed a small shrug to Dulio within the corner of my eye, I stood closest to the fountain while Xenovia did up her cloak and fell in line beside me

"So how are we going to find him?" questioned the blueberry beside me

I followed Irina's example with a shrug of my own "I honestly have no idea on that Xenovia" I answered evenly, she glanced over at me, a look of complete disbelief written on her expression

I shrugged again

"Don't look so surprised Xenovia, we all know he has a good head start on us" I replied with a raised brow

"Then humor me, what would our move be if we did find him? What would we do if we encountered Kokabiel? How would we react? How would –"

"Your over thinking things Xenovia" I interrupted both verbally and physically, a hand was laying on her shoulder freezing her words completely, all she did after was turn and stare at me "calm down, its best to think of the closest thing in front of you then what's ahead" I eased dismissively, a could feel Xenovia's muscles relax slowly

I sighed "Thoughts like that cause panic, and with panic follows' failure - remember to always remain in control of your emotions and never let your negative opinions dominate your control"

Xenovia glanced down for a moment before looking back at me "Griselda taught us that... did she teach you that?"

Actually I taught her that...

"I do remember a lecture, yes" I muttered before I scratched my chin "I guess I do more then I myself realise"

Xenovia smirked genuinely at my words "if my senior was taught it, then I should consider the lesson as well" a small smirk developed on my lips before I patted her shoulder

"Alright then"

Our separate conversations were done when Claire's voice broke out over our comm's

"Alright everyone, we have visual confirmation of demonic residue in your area" reported the Vatican's strongest mind

"How far does the residue span from us?" I asked

There was a pause, mostly likely to gather a selected distance before Claire's voice sprung up again "100 meters, I'm guessing the whole district was under siege by this strays assault – must've been one hell of a fight to cover up that much distance"

Dulio let out a grunted chuckle "Well according to the local devils, Malthus had a few 'henchmen' to help with his little attack" he said sarcastically

"What kind of help? Fallen angels?" this time it was Griselda whom asked the questions

"No" Irina shook her head before giving me a weary glance "senpai classified them as ghouls descended from demonic plague, more infectious and highly volatile"

"Is there anything else these Gremory's encountered besides an ancient malevolent force?" The sarcasm in her tone was evident as the morning sun

I cocked my head and smirked "well they did battle a heavily mutated stray devil, one that was supposedly merged with a sacred gear" a deep sigh echoed through our headsets

"And how exactly did they survive? It sounds to me Malthus had pulled a lot of strings to box them in like that, for them to just up and walk outta there with only bumps, scrapes and bruises makes me question them heavily" barked Griselda, heavy skepticism present

"Well whatever the case is, we're lucky it came to that" I said with finality "now, what do you think our next move should be?"

"*sigh* we don't have any special treatment for demons so I'd say stick to the basic's" Griselda paused as the sound of paper being moved around filled my ears "I have multiple potential safe zones for freaks like him, hit them and maybe we'll find a lead"

I nodded before giving Dulio as well as the others a glance, they nodded "Ok, we'll contact you if any updates or problems rise up, in the mean time... get some sleep" before there was any gruff from the other side I disconnected the comm's entirely

Griselda hated it when I did that, but she needed some shut eye

It's best she gets it now before the storm hits

-XxXxXxX-

-With Rias & Sona/ 10 minutes after meeting with the Vatican's best/ kouh academy: occult research club room-

Rias stood at a brisk attention; her eyes were narrowed as she stared out her club room's window, arms calmly folded under her bust

"Like I stated before, I'm at a lose" a dumbfounded Sona waved her arms up in the air lazily

Akeno stood to the right of the large oak desk while Tsubaki stood behind her master whom was sitting on the larger couch, Asia sat down on the couch eyes lost in thought, not at all invested into the conversation

"We don't have much of a choice in the matter Sona" started Rias, she glanced back to her long time friend "you know that"

Sona fixed her glasses, a habit for when stress got the better of her and for once in her life she could truly admit her stress, not openly, but she was aware of the impending white hair in her future

"That's what I'm getting at, not only did we have four powerful church members at our door but instead of preach on about their nobility and our heresy they up and practically water board us with allied intentions and hugs and kisses" replied Sona, her tone was dumbfounded and shocked but her expression remained almost neutral

Rias nodded, eyes going back to the view of the city "I'm fully aware of it Sona, I'm even aware of the two 'triple S' class exorcists at our door as well, however our new friends are not what keep me vigilant – rather our mutual assassin"

Sona nodded "then I suggest getting away from the window" Rias glanced back at her then back outside, she shook her head

"I'm not Turing into a hermit Sona, that's the last thing I'll ever do"

Sona crossed her arms will her eyes narrowed at her friend's response "It's a better alternative to dead Rias"

For a moment Rias stood by the window, the red head was for the most part pondering her friends level of caution to everything, never had she seen nor heard her friend sound so terrified in her life, an understandable case due to the situation they all found themselves in but to truly see even a fraction of paranoia within Sona was new

Rias sighed, for what could be the millionth time that day, Sona was a serious one and at times seemed more mature then what you'd expect at the age of 18 but she was still, in the larger picture, a child

Just so Sona would relax, Rias stepped away from the window and sat down on the couch across from her, to add to the action Rias smiled up at her friend "you happy now?" she asked with a small teasing smirk

"Humph, I wouldn't play this off as some kind of joke Rias; we are both in danger here –"

"And right now Sona I currently I have one of my own walking the streets alone and emotionally compromised, sitting back and relaxing when a highly dangerous force stalks my streets is not on my bucket list, my first order of business is to find him and bring him home" Rias' tone changed from calm to slightly more serious "until that happens and all my peerage members are accounted for then I have every right to worry"

Sona sat by and stared at her friend, her eyes traced Rias' unshaken eyes quizzically "I must ask Rias, when in Lucifer's name did you become so selfless?"

The unexpected question from Sona caused Rias to tilt her head; a commercially confused expression replacing her serious one "it's the Gremory way to treat their servants with respect and compassion, unlike most we tolerate and house our servant's like family" Rias' matter-of-fact tone only caused Sona to shake her head

"That only goes so far, a true servants duty is the preservation of their king and master, if at all possible the king has to work to make sure that doesn't happen but not all plans work out in the end... sacrifice is necessary" Sona's reasoning was equally met with a shake of Rias' head

"That is where our opinions differ from each other" replied the red head "I will not leave my allies behind when they had trained their asses off to fight a battle I had asked for"

"That battle with the Phenex third son was acceptable Rias; you did not deserve to spend the rest of your life as his bed mate, fighting the marriage was expected"

Rias looked down to her hands "even so, I was selfish in my wish Sona; I forced my peerage to battle a force far greater than them all because I refused my own responsibilities"

Sona eyed her friend with a rare smirk "I see... you feel obligated to repay them"

"They fought for my freedom Sona" Rias stared at her friend, eyes steeled with resolve "I owe them all a great debt"

Sona's smirk turned into a larger smile as did Akeno whom was listening to the conversation intently "then I guess the reason hyoudou and Koneko are absent is because they were sent to find your servant"

"I didn't send them, they went in my place... as much as I insisted I go they didn't hear me" Sona released a small chuckle at the answer Rias gave her

"And here I thought I knew the definition of loyalty..." muttered Sona

Rias smiled at her friend's response but didn't say anything, she made her point and Sona was aware of her opinion on loyalty, she couldn't have milked that moment better

Sure the feelings were slightly overdramatic, it still was genuine and Sona needed genuine opinions to open her eyes sometimes, it frustrated her sometimes to see and hear of the opinions of other devil heir's, some didn't even acknowledge their peerage members and some quiet literally considered them pawns, though Sona cared for her peerage it wasn't fully accepted by the red head

It was sickening and Rias believed those who do that don't deserve loyalty at all

Sona sat by with a mulling expression before she suddenly leaned forward "How are you tracking them?"

"I'm currently having Akeno track them, she's more in tuned with it then I am and well... she has some free time" the last part forced the raven haired girl behind them to look up and smile kindly

"What can I say, paper work is surprisingly lacking these last few days" replied Akeno, the comment was emphasized by the hand on her cheek

Sona remained stoic while Rias released a responding chuckle in return "what's their location?"

Akeno returned another smile "their currently skimming through the shopping district" Akeno paused before titling her head "who knows, maybe issei will take Koneko on a date"

The comment caused Tsubaki to develop a shade of pink while Sona deadpanned, Rias' eyes narrowed at the implication of her queens words while Asia (whom became more open to listening) titled her head at the word 'date'

"Akeno, I doubt Koneko would allow that" replied the narrowed eyed Gremory

"Ara, ara, is someone getting defensive?" teased Akeno, not at all caring of the look she was getting

Sona released a cough "I must take my leave" Sona stood to her full height before bowing to Rias

"Take care of yourself, Rias" she said professionally

Rias smiled before waving lazily "you to Sona... stay vigilant"

Before Sona left along with her queen she glanced back and smiled "I will but in the mean time, take your own advice"

When the two Sitri devils left Rias stopped her waving and dropped her hand and released yet another sigh

"Rough day buchou?" asked Asia politely

Rias pursed her lips before scratching her lower lip "not rough, surprising" she replied

Asia smiled and sat back into the couch

Rias sat there before she worded a question she had refrained from asking for a while "Asia?"

The girl in questioned turned to her and hummed in question

"Is it true that you once knew Isaac-san back when you were in the church?" questioned the curious red head

Asia sat there with a look before she nodded slowly "yes, why do you ask?"

Rias leaned forward in her seat, getting closer to Asia in the process "To me, that man is an enigma, no alias and no place of birth, no record nor is there any solid leads that detail any of his accomplishments, he's literally a ghost... so can you help me shed some light onto our mutual friend?"

"Why not ask him?"

Rias smiled but shook her head "I'm a stranger to him, an ally yes but still a stranger, if I simply ask about his past I'll be intruding on personal ground as well as professional grounds, I just want to know what kind of man he is"

When Rias stopped talking Akeno looked up to them, interested in the new conversation

"Well... I've never seen him fight if that's what you want to know, I saw him fight father Sellzen but nothing else" Rias shook her head

"Nobody gets triple S rank with minor skills" muttered Rias "I'm not that interested in his power, I just want to know what kind of man he is, his likes – dislikes, hobbies, real age, anything"

Akeno cocked an eye brow at Rias' train of questions "Ara ara, Rias I didn't know you liked forbidden love?" asked the teasing devil

Rias cocked her head to the devil, zero visible blushes on her face "I'm being serious here Akeno, and no I do not even remotely feel that for a total stranger"

Akeno nodded, her eyes still gleaming with intent to tease "Right I forgot... you like issei"

Now there was a blush on her cheeks, there was some on Asia's as well

"Oh my" Akeno paused to hide her giggle "both of you?"

Though there was a blush on her cheeks Rias simply glared at Akeno whom placed a hand on her cheek and smiled "such passionate eyes Rias..."

"Akeno..."

"Alright, alright I'll stop"

With her 'job' done Akeno turned back to the holographic screen and returned to observing her juniors

Thanks to Akeno's teasing it took a good minute to let Asia's blush to wear off, a friendly reminder on the topic and they were back on track

"So, do you have anything you might want to tell me?" questioned Rias

Asia sat and mulled over the topic, she had spent time with Isaac but 'time' was stretching it, to sum up the total time she had with him, it'd add up to about haft a week's length. During those times they were either waiting periods or car rides as he'd be the head 'security' escort, not by authority but rather power level, if any threat came along that the others couldn't handle then he'd take the stand as the last resort, but in all of their time they had only been attacked maybe twice? But every time it was so subtle and quick the problem would be over before she was aware of the danger

During those small car rides they'd socialize, he'd ask questions, she'd answer and vice versa. For a total of a year on rare occasions he'd be her escort for long trips while most of the time he'd be out on a mission

"...at times we would pass each other in the cathedral and sometimes I'd find him in the park, attending and socializing with orphans, I don't really know much of his hobbies but I'd say he's a very caring person" Asia stopped for a moment to try and remember but she simply let it be, leaving the silence as a means to end her story

Rias breathed in calmly as she sat on the couch before she leaned forward again, a thoughtful gaze in her eyes as she downloaded the information Asia had given her "thank you Asia" she said graciously

Asia smirked, an adorable giggle following "don't mention it, to put my own thought in the matter I'd say we're far safer with him here then without him"

Rias looked up at Asia's final comment and gave her an expecting expression to 'explain'

The young blonde smiled again "he's the kind of man that despises the idea of innocents being involved with dangerous matters, whenever I was under his protection nothing ever happened and he'd make sure of it"

"You're saying we're safe then? With him here" Asia nodded at her

"I bet even if the higher ups requested him to leave you all behind, he'd be the first to say 'no' and ignore orders" upon wording that comment Asia place a finger on her cheek and looked off to the side "I remember he told off his superior before escorting me, I don't remember what he said but he wouldn't leave me alone when his job was to protect me"

Rias blinked as did Akeno, the words she had said could be blind commemoration to a past idol but they couldn't mistaken the genuine words Asia had for the enigma that was 'the Paladin of the Vatican'... they didn't know Isaac but they did know that Asia never had a true genuine opinion on someone unless they truly earned it to which Isaac must've at some point in their limited past

Asia sat there, the rehashing of the positive side of her past left her in a perpetual state of bliss and happiness while Rias and Akeno glance to each other

Rias was placing the pieces together, when they first met him he lacked any form of arrogance or narcissism towards any of her peerage members, though he did appear cocky at first with his little 'advice' to her about proper protection skills, she knew full well it was in the right taste, as pride damaging as it was

Then came the second encounter they had, priests and especially exorcists do not get along very well with devils, though blood is never shed it was only a hairs breath away from happening and at times it has happened but when he met them, nothing of the sort happened, just a care free exorcists with his own agenda sorted out

Nothing malicious, no danger... unless her knight snapped

But aside from the possible pouter keg she had for a knight, Isaac never showed any hostile intent; he didn't even show his weapon to them, not even once!

She had no idea what weapon he used until issei explained to her his weapon of choice was a modified katana

So for every time they had spoken with him, he had been purposely unarmed and uncaring to difference in faction

From the very beginning, he was never their enemy

'Then I have nothing to fear from him' mused Rias internally

She had resigned to believe the words of her new bishop, how could she not? Asia was the most honest girl she knew by far, if she said he was a kind hearted person uncaring to faction differences then he was

She didn't trust Isaac, Rias only trusted her friend's judgment

After her thoughts concluded Rias eyed the card on the coffee table before her, it wasn't a heavily designed card only designed with a bright white color dominating the majority with a large golden cross directly in the middle, if she looked at the card in the right angle to a light source she could make out contact information in gold text – that only being a call-sign, which was 'Paladin' and a phone number

The platinum haired exorcist had placed that there before they took their leave, saying it was a way to contact him specifically if the need for him arrived. Rias didn't really find herself hesitant in the idea of calling for his help, during the 'crimson week', many of the things she had used to train her peerage and herself was from many human military training services and sources throughout the internet, some lies, some quiet possibly true but it was the lessons she learnt from other sources and forums that opened her eyes to many things she had not considered... namely?

Pride on the battle field gets people killed

Simple a phrase as any, she subconsciously felt displeased in calling for help but it was more smart to call for help then to stomp her feet and whine about it, this situation they were in was not to free her from a horrible future but rather to make sure she had one and she'd use all sources to make sure that would happen

Rias sighed again before she picked up the card and got up from her spot on the couch, she eyed the card for a second, eyes dancing over the fancy golden words on the card before she huffed lightly and stuffed the card into her breast pocket

"When the need Rise's"

-XxXxXxX-
-With Isaac and shopping district: north side of kouh city/ 3:30pm Monday-

Our luck in finding any possible hide outs for our 'friendly' neighborhood demon was fruitless, out of all of the locations listed to us by our handler and tech expert led us only to five possible 'hotspots' and 4 out of the five lead us to empty warehouses and buildings, the last led us to a small drug deal between two low life junkies... one that was vehemently disrupted by a pissed off Irina and Xenovia

But aside from seeing two young women chase two extremely high adults out of the city nothing truly productive happened, neither me nor Dulio picked up traces of demonic presents or stray ghouls

Rias Gremory had informed us of a possible ghoul resistance in the city but I doubted it, ghouls from any faction demon or not hate sunlight and we had been to the five most dark and dank locations this city could offer, if they weren't there then their BBQ somewhere on the streets

It was late spring in Japan... it was 'warm', way to warm for a decaying corpse

So no ghouls, I'd inform her that now but -

*GRUMBLE*

- my junior's stomachs had told me they needed food and when that happened I think Dulio wanted to vanish but wisely didn't, instead he worded their lack of food and whisked off in the lead towards the nearest shopping district preferably the more fancy ones

"Wait..." halted Dulio who turned to me "have any suggestions?" he asked

I reeled back a second at his rather quick tone before I looked over his shoulder "Is there a park anywhere close to here, 'bout the sizes of dog park – large fountain, lots of trees" when I finished my description Irina lit up

"It should be a couple blocks from here, Sakura Park I believe it was called" she said with a wide smile, Xenovia commercially leaned away from her in case she'd catch the joy bug

"Then it's pretty close, come on" when I finished and started to walk towards where I think it was while Dulio fell in line beside me

"Diner or cafe'?" he asked, when it came to food and Dulio, excitement wasn't far off

I raised a brow at him before I scratched my chin "I think it was a cafe' but I remember seeing a dinner menu as well" Dulio looked ready to fist pump at my answer enticing me to smile

Yeah he really loved food

While we walked towards the diner/cafe' I took in the sights to make out a landmark, remember, back then I simply dropped in to fill the empty stomach. I didn't actively look for the cafe' in taste but rather got lucky... better then stepping into a lingerie store

Aside from random questions about food cosine and random memory splurges from both Dulio and Irina I felt more akin to walking along side the quiet Xenovia while the other two talked amongst themselves

"Do you have any stories to share with the class Xenovia?" I asked commercially, eyes deadpanned at the two in front of us

She let out a small knowing laugh but remained quiet none the less

I left it silent for a moment before I sprouted another question "how's it going with Durandal?" I asked suddenly

Xenovia didn't budge at the sudden question and instead sighed "Tough... I can't hold it for more than a haft hour before my hand starts to go numb"

"You expect a fight to last that long?" I asked calmly enticing her to look up to me

"To what I use it against, yes"

I smirked evenly "you don't have to Xenovia, the more you use it the better you'll get with it"

She nodded "I'm sure that's true but what do expect I do with this?" she asked before jabbing a finger to the large cloth behind her "give it back to the church?"

The corner of my lips rose at her answer or better yet 'excuses' "you can take my advice if you want Xenovia but aren't you training in dual wielding two large swords? You have natural holy sword talent as well as the... blessing, to help amplify your physical power, why not try that?"

Xenovia pondered that for a moment before she nodded calmly "I'll try it but I haven't perfected it"

"That's good enough for me..." I replied with an essence of finality, Xenovia was a perfect holy sword wielder, one of the only few present in the church currently and if there was one thing me and Griselda wished for her was her mastery of that weapon, she was perfectly aware of its status as being on par with the original Excalibur – as small a difference as it was – stood a chance to make her one of the greatest swordswomen to ever live

I may sound a little over-the-top but it's possible... she just needed to try

"Where here" I stated as I patted Xenovia on the head before I called out to Irina and Dulio – who had walked past the diner – to follow me

There are times I find myself as the sort of 'parent' in ops like these, I have at times teamed up with other members of my division both either older or younger then myself but 90% of the time their usually young in a sense to my real age, sometimes on a childish level

Never ceases to amaze me just as much as it annoyed me

After this op I felt like Dulio and Irina were considered BFF's by how much they hit off so well (don't ask me how I knew what that acronym meant), while me and Xenovia sat opposite of the childish duo in our window seat we couldn't really keep our deadpanned expressions to ourselves

This was countered by Dulio and Irina grinning at us in retaliation, something that sort of entertained our waitress whom chuckled/giggled at our expression war

"I see you brought some friends with you this time" voiced the blonde maid

My eyes trailed to the rather familiar waitress and when it hit me I smiled, it was the same maid from the first time I 'visited' kouh city, blonde hair, and kind energetic eyes and... For the more 'curious' humans, she was rather well 'built' in the physical department

The blonde noticed my stares and replied by smiling, adding in a wave for emphasis

"Nice to see you again" she said kindly

"Y-yeah, nice to see you again" I replied with a stutter 'what are the chances?' I asked internally

The blonde girl hummed cutely before she looked to the three others "Now what can I get the four of you? Drinks? Or straight to the punch?"

As the others gave their orders I was studying the women closely, there was no way this was one of those 'million in one chances' I was experiencing way to many of those lately, not to mention the women felt extremely familiar

Way to familiar, back when I was here my mind was, for lack of a better term, preoccupied with my own job but since I was soloing that op it was expected of me to be more 'involved' then now, but now I wasn't at all involved as I was before and had a better chance in noticing the blonde maids interest in me

When she took our orders she smiled and left to do her job while the others stopped and looked to me expecting an explanation. First it was Yasaka and her infinite flirting and now it was the 'hot blond' maid with a coy act

I sighed deeply before I dropped my head "what do you want to know?" I asked without looking at them

"How do you know her?" asked a narrowed eyed Irina

"She took my order the last time I was here, about a week ago"

"Why does she seem so interested in you?" asked the ever observant Xenovia

I humored her by leaning back in my chair and eyeing the two ladies with a confident smile "I'm a young man in his prime with a moderate or above average physic - to put it simply, my training has made me a desirable young man for the opposite sex, and I can admit I do look kinda good at times" with my quick witted and blunt reply Irina and Xenovia grew blushes, no doubt aware of the truth in my words

If anyone asked Griselda about my time as her partner and what bothered her most she'd probably answer with my lack of thought in engaging targets, then she'd talk about my many secret 'admirer's' I'd get almost any time we had a informant or contract of the opposite sex, and there were times I had even males see me in lecherous ways

Good and awkward times it was

"Now if you'd excuse me, I need to wash my hands" I muttered before I got up and walked to the bathroom leaving Dulio to giggle at the two's blushing faces

Pushing the door open I sighed "when can I ever get a break?" I asked while I took my white gloves off and began to wash my hands "first it was Yasaka and now a maid, what's next, a shy teacher?" I grumbled while cleaning my hands

When I was done I glanced up into the mirror in front of me and squinted my eyes in confusion, the mirror in front of me was fogged up from condensation for whatever reason so I couldn't see my own reflection, with a swipe of my hands and my face could be seen in the mirror

I dropped my shoulders at the tired face that greeted me and sighed, due to the past couple days my fatigue has been at an all time high and it showed in my physical appearance, my hair was not stylized as It was before and it remained down and messy, not at all up and spiked like usual... never had the time to fix it but it didn't really bother me, maybe a shower could help?

With a shrug I rubbed my face; I could feel a 5 o'clock shadow creeping up on my cheeks and chin as I yawned, I was running low on fumes, though I had a good night's sleep the day before I still only got a good 4-3 hour sleep last night which wasn't good for a guy currently recuperating from a consecutive five day work week

"I think I should follow Dulio's example and take some shut eye when I can" I muttered calmly, the fatigue returning with the vengeance, a good slap of water to the face and I was wide awake again

Cleaning the liquid off my face I glanced back into the mirror, instead of grumbling at the sad face that greeted me my eyes widened at who I saw instead

The person who stood behind me was quiet tall as she stood to the height of 5' 11" almost breaching six feet; gold/white armor decorated her form which covered her legs like thigh highs and her arms like sleeves which ended in fingerless gloves, her torso armor didn't warrant protection and instead it focused on manoeuvrability, leaving a good portion of her mid section exposed while her ribs and chest were protected, to finish a large white cape cascaded down from underneath the small pauldrons on her shoulders, which was rimmed by golden fur, any exposed skin was covered by a black under armor that was form fitted

"Now I know why that maid was so familiar, it was you all along wasn't it Gab—gah!" I started while turning around, well I tried to speak, while I was trying to play it cool the women couldn't and within nanoseconds my ribs were being crushed in a powerful hug

"~It's so nice to see you Isaciel~" gushed the women who was none other than Gabriel, the second archangel and seraph of heaven

"Gahk!" the only thing I could really release was a pained – whatever that was, due to the massive strength within Gabriel's arms as she practically bear hugged me

I had no choice but to erect a barrier around the restroom while the women unloaded her greetings into me "~It's been way to long~" she said, kind energy flowing into the room like a title wave

After grasping my bearings I stood there, barely keeping myself from being pressed against the sink behind me before I dropped my arms around the archangel and returned the hug with less force then herself

"It's nice to see you to Gabriel" I said, in small congested pain "It's been what? 40 years?"

The women giggled sweetly before she let go of the grip and held me within a regular hug, though it was a weaker grip I was still not able to gain any distance from her and remained within a comfortable grasp

The women didn't say anything and continued to eye me with her bright green eyes filled with curiosity "My, you have grown" she stated with her normal tone "you've even toned up since last time..." she add before she poked my chest "indeed you have..."

As if commercially, the powerful angel continued to list off my physical status changes to herself while poking and prodding me in any noticeable muscular area, I on the other hand stood there and watched her, eyes dancing with old emotions

The thing about Gabriel was, she had a knack for noticing even the slightest change in emotions, sure angels had that normally, she just – knew. With a soft hum Gabriel embraced me again but without the fervor before and held me gently "You've missed me too, haven't you?" she asked, her voice more mature and caring...180 degree personality swap

All I could really do was nod in her grasp, my head resting against the crook of her neck

"~heheh, I knew it~" gushed the curly blonde "You always were a momma's boy"

While I was silently enjoying the cushy reunion my eyes grew commercially dull at her tone "You always know how to ruin the mood Gabriel..." I muttered into her neck

She kept her smile and cocked her head to the side "Oh? Who said I ruined it? If I think about it I may have just kept you from crying –"

"Ok that's enough" I laughed lightly while leaving the close embrace "you can stop the teasing anytime now Gabriel" I added with a fake gloomy expression an expression that caused Gabriel to laugh suddenly

Upon hearing her laugh my smile replaced my fake gloom, believe me, if you heard her laugh you'd understand the saying 'voice of an angel' and it was quiet literal here, her laugh was beautiful

"It's been too long" she stated after laughing

I followed her words with a nod "It has been... how are you holding up?" I asked with a gentle smile

"I'm doing just fine Isac, I'm glad to see you're as personable as I remember" she replied with a flamboyant yet mature smile

I bowed lightly "I aim to please" I gestured politely

Gabriel's beaming expression widened slightly before she placed her hands on my shoulder "now, what brings you to my little cafe' here in Japan?" I glanced up at her with slight confusion while she titled her head in counter confusion "this is your cafe'?"

She lightly hummed in disagreement "no, but I've taken a liking to it, it's nice and tranquil of sorts" the women paused to hold a small laugh back "and besides, I've managed to run into you two times already"

The corner of my lips rose slightly before I jabbed my thumb behind me "you can thank Dulio Gesualdo for that, he's the food nut" I joked which caused Gabriel to smile/laugh lightly

"I'll be sure to thank him sometime then" she said, resigning to do so later but then she looked up to me inquisitively "by the way, if I may ask, what are you doing back at kouh city?" she asked

Her sudden question brought back the current events me and my squad were currently facing, I had been so involved with speaking to my old sword master that I had lost my train of thought completely; it was hard not to think about my reunion with the women before me.

I coughed lightly in my hand "me and my unit are currently hunting a stray demon, his names Malthus – you know of him?" I questioned bluntly and it was answered with a somber expression on my master's face, of course she knew

"Yes" she started with a nod "yes, I'm aware of the demons freedom"

I nodded and stepped forward slightly, almost physically showing my pressing question "what's the state of heaven Gabriel? Who freed Malthus?"

When I asked about the status of heaven Gabriel's kind exterior was replaced with a more seldom one and her eyes dimmed just a tad bit

"Not good... I can safely say things are more hectic then they have been in centuries" like a sad puppy Gabriel dropped her gaze to stare at the dripping tap behind me

"What caused the demon to walk free?" I pressed seriously, Gabriel sighed before she turned and walked to the other side of the restroom her golden high heeled boots clicking against the polished floor.

"The Ouroboros dragon..." she said simply while her gaze was facing away from me

I could feel my hands almost crush the sink counter with the following knowledge Gabriel had given me, the Ouroboros dragon was one the most dangerous dragon to our knowledge, she basically represents infinite. To know she was the one to free the mad demon Malthus caused my blood to both boil and freeze

Why would a being who couldn't carless about anything other than itself free a demon? Better yet, why?

My hands clenched, no doubt cracking the counter behind me "why would that thing free a demon, for what purpose does it have to involve itself with our business?" I asked, trying to contain my rise in negative emotions

"Isac... please calm yourself" scolded Gabriel with a slightly sad eyes "rage is unbecoming of you Isac; I've taught you that much haven't I?" I could feel a small semblance of guilt enrapture me at my lack of control

"Yes, forgive me Gabriel" Gabriel shook her head calmly before I eased my grip on the counter behind me "I've just been, tired as of lately... and my mind is - clouded"

Then her mood changed suddenly, her glooming expression morphed, what remained of her previous expression stood a more contempt expression "staying up and working for five days does that to you, you should probably sleep more, you may even look more presentable next time" she teased while skimming over my pathetic appearance, I did look pretty sloppy right now

"Yeah and I was suppose to predict the sudden meeting of my former swords master right? Last time I checked you never really taught me to look that far ahead" I replied with a neutral expression

"~aw, Former swords master? ~ You wound me with your words Isaciel, and here I thought you always had something to learn from me..." gushed the heart broken archangel who closed the distance rather quickly, and before I knew it I was being hugged again

"Gah!" I wheezed before my face was slammed directly into my master's chest

"~But don't you worry Isac, I have a whole new set of skills just waiting for you to learn!~" squealed the childish seraphim as she remained unaware of my faces current location and I could thoroughly say the mood was lightened up thanks to her childish behaviour

For the first time in a really long time I felt my face heat up in embarrassment due to the place my face was located – and I meant full on cherry blush not the regular embarrassed ones – while my sword master remained uncaring to my invasion to her bubble space, but I remembered a lesson I learnt awhile ago when I was younger and more 'naive' and that was to never fight a hug given to you by a seraphim, though any normal human man would retort with heavy amounts of anger at the idea of 'fighting' a hug from a women like her I was still heavily agreeing with the lesson, her grip was powerful

I guess I just counted my chickens and paid the piper – with a shite eating grin on my face and a contempt thought that went like this: thank god angels don't need actual oxygen or I've had suffocated by now.

While the rather nostalgic moment took hold on my concept of time my mind delved into a few old memories, back when I hadn't infiltrated the Vatican I was under direct command of the seraphim Gabriel due to reasons I myself don't currently know to the fullest, but I never really did think much into it since it was a massive honor to be trained directly from an archangel whose power and skill herald from ancient times, that being even before the demons excited

Aside from their age and power the seraphim were more of a Sheppard to us lower angels - well I really wouldn't say 'lower' since there really isn't a semblance of rank in heaven other then the four great angels and in total the 9 seraphs as well whom acted as the replacement of our deceased creator, but that aside only a few in history bore the honor of training under an archangel let alone hold a relationship with one, like I currently had

My relationship with the powerful angel was to me... confusing, and I can't really state the current status of it either, I hadn't seen her in 40 years! I had fully expected her to have moved on by now but her being here and not in heaven made me rethink that, then following her previous comment I guess she really didn't move on, and before you all start wondering if things were intimate I'm gonna stop you there– Wait –... my heads currently in her bust, never mind, it is quiet intimate

"Gabriel... can you let... go?" I muffled into her chest, the constant feeling of two comfy cushions on the sides of my head were invading my mind in a perverse manner, its best to not think of that while in an embrace with an important person in my life especially one whom held a higher rank then my own

"Huh? Oh!" in childish manner Gabriel released me from her hold which allowed me to breath in some air, I know we didn't need it but it was still refreshing

While the archangel stood a few feet from me I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes, our relationship involved a lot of hugs as far as I know, some voluntary and some involuntary and the latter I usually needed to calm myself and my mind in order to focus again

As normal as it was for angels to experience those feelings for another I always kept those from the obviously attractive women in front of me to myself

And yes, angels do feel that urge

"Still as innocent as the day you left my side" muttered Gabriel, a smile dancing on her lips

It's not that I could see the smile, I just knew she had it before I even opened my eyes "ha ha, I'll have you know I'm not as innocent as the child you once knew" I stated matter of factly while Gabriel crossed her arms

"Perhaps..." she agreed with a nod "however when I look at you, I still see you as the young hot headed teen from long ago" before I said anything Gabriel halted my retort by tilting her head and eyeing me with a 'try me' expression before seeing me relent "Thought so" she added, knowing she had won that argument even before it started

I grumbled at her almost motherly actions before growling out my second retort "I'm not as hot headed as I was 40 years ago Gabriel, I have grown" I countered but I got a coy smile in return

"You have, have you?" crap, I know where this I going "well if you weren't so hot headed then perhaps that battle you had with Malthus wouldn't have ended the way it did" she stated scoldingly, making my eyes narrow

"I should have known you'd find that out" I deadpanned causing Gabriel to smirk at my words before she spoke again

"Of course I would know, I have been watching over you all these years" she added with a sheepish smile, completely believing that comment should be common sense

I smirked at her words but I returned to a serious stand point "Even so, I'm fully aware of my mistake, battling Malthus with human level power was a unwise choice, it won't happen again" I finalized, eyes full of determination, Gabriel's smiled brightly "I'm sure you will" she muttered quietly.

For a moment I looked at Gabriel and a question appeared in my head "so what's up with the maid disguise?" I asked which caused the blonde to blink before laughing it off lightly

"I needed a disguise so to keep the eyes of the devils here off of me" she replied flippantly but my eyes didn't believe that was all it was "I feel that isn't all to that little disguise of yours" I said with a knowing smirk

She smiled back with equally knowing eyes, while brushing a strand of her curly blonde hair to the side "isn't it obvious by now? I'm here doing the same thing you're doing, hunting a relic of the old war" she answered and my eyes for the love of me, widened again

"Really? So you're telling me Malthus was already here?" my shocked question was answered by a curt nod "I followed his trail from heaven while you followed his trail from st. Paul, leading the both of us here"

Feeling a small lump in my throat I swallowed my suspicions and worded them "we're the fallen that were attacking here a few weeks ago involved in this?" I asked with a growing suspicion, my shoulders fell when Gabriel nodded slowly

"They were probably under orders from Kokabiel to stir up trouble for his planned alliance with Malthus, maybe it was a recon unit? I was going to get rid of them but you helped me out with that" theorized the seraph with a small glance to me in thanks

I nodded before I picked up an air of agreement "even so, the fallen I hunted acted out of the norm – I guess now if I think about it, it was probably to disconnect their intentions from the fallen organizations, and lead any would-be attackers to think they were just thinking for themselves" then my eyes widened slightly which caused the female seraph to eye me closely "now I understand" I muttered before my eyes followed back to Gabriel's "those fallen who were led by Raynare were a unit designed to thin out the devil ranks, I guess that explains why they were always trying to kill that hyoudou boy when I was here, since he did wield a highly potent sacred gear I'm guessing Kokabiel was trying to take him out first" I explained which caused Gabriel to nod slightly

"And how would you know that?" she asked with a testing tone, she believed me but she always wanted me to fully explain myself, like any teacher would

"I would know this because I myself would have done that" I added causing Gabriel's eyes to shift slightly at the implication of my words, assassination "as bad as it sounds I can understand its effectiveness, taking out the one with the most potential but little experience can cause major disruption in ones ranks and cause minor setbacks for a group, and the hyoudou boy does wield the boosted gear, if he had died then the Gremory's would have lost a major advantage" Gabriel nodded through and through with my information but never the less looked slightly saddened

"That's a good way at looking at it Isac, from a tactical point of view I'm sure even Malthus would've used it, which makes it all the more plausible" riposted Gabriel, eyes gaining their usual light again

"Thank you Gabriel" I thanked with kind energy before I sighed softly at my mistake, Gabriel wasn't one for violence, she was more of a woman who sees to negotiating out of a fight then to fight it out, though demons don't usually get that treatment it's only exclusive to the purifiable, I guess me speaking easily about assassination tactics must've caused some pain

While the room was silent I brought up a subject changer, not as well but it focused less on the angel with a more close experience to the darker aspects of life "Not to be rude but I can't see you being Malthus' would be assailant, are you still going to hunt him?" I asked evenly

All the beautiful women did was smile with a fraction of sadness, but it was steeled behind years of combat training "if the need arises I will do what I must" she said with an Offaly tranquil air to her more than icy cold words "he has harmed and killed many innocent people, some of those have sworn loyalty to our cause through faith, Malthus' sentence is absolute"

I sighed deeply at her cold tone, sure it was hidden behind a kind smile and voice but that was only because Gabriel never had a frown to begin with, it's either loving or happy, but make her mad and its tranquil fury from point A to point B

With a small shuddering breath I asked a question I was mulling over for a while, so to make the moment less terrifying "how are you keeping your presents here quiet? A woman with your power level should be easily noticed by the four Satan's" I asked

Gabriel simply shrugged, following the change in subject with no hesitation "when the prison in heaven was attacked and Malthus was set free my brother created this..." she started before she pulled a crucifix from under her chest armor, it looked much more pristine and seemed to radiate a level of power I couldn't distinguish "...to keep the presents of a powerful angel under cover so I could hunt him down" Gabriel suddenly placed a finger on her lips and picked up a troubled expression "though it severely divides the power of the wielder, I don't believe facing Malthus with this is a desirable choice" tucking the jewel back into her armor Gabriel seemed to huff cutely at it "troublesome..." she muttered

"I didn't think so either" I said in agreement

"Speaking of which, I have something to tell you" with a small amount of effort Gabriel pushed off the restroom door and walked up to me "I have discussed matters with my brothers on the subject of you current 'state'"

I eyed her with interest while I leaned back against the wall behind me "and what did they say?"

She clicked her tongue softly "I had brought up the idea of giving you clearance for your divinity release, and I was glad to see they were in agreement, unlike us, you hold enough potential to face him and win, discreetly that is" informed the archangel while my eyes locked onto her now smiling face

"T-thanks" I worded simply a soft stutter hindering my speech, my old self would have accepted the exalted praise and dropped to a knee so hard the ground would've crack, a massive compliment like that from a seraph was a grand gesture to ones skills and growth, but I had no actual words to express my gratitude

Gabriel giggled at my human response "don't mention it Isac, you've grown much more powerful during your time away and you will grow even more... I hope to help further your skills personally" when I fully processed her words I could feel a warm feeling grow within me before I felt a soft set of lips connect with my forehead leaving me dumbstruck "I'll leave the heavy lifting in your hands, Isaciel" whispered the seraphim directly into my ear

When those words stopped echoing in my ear I could feel Gabriel's presents vanish completely along with a second source of energy the only thing that I heard was the soft flap of wings and she was gone

'Huh... always the dramatic one' I muttered internally as I looked to the roof of the restroom, my throat was more than likely hitched by the emotions I was feeling so I refrained from speaking for a moment, that women always had a way to make ya feel just above the clouds – eer, mind the horrible pun – but it was true

I can't really say this without sounding like a fanboy but Gabriel was considered the most beautiful women in heaven, in both physical appearance and personality, everything she did was done with grace – again, mind the pun – be it anything, even combat, fluidity was her defining characteristic... except hugs, she really didn't care what she looked like if there was a hug on the line

I huffed calmly to refocus on the present before I snapped my fingers which caused the barrier I erected to shatter "now I'm gonna have to explain why I've been in the washroom for over thirty minutes" I muttered lethargically, shoulders dropping slightly at the inevitable interrogation I was gonna have back at the table

That reunion wasn't at all expected, and I was sure my connection to heaven was limited to the relationship I had with the Vatican, however I suspected my approach to some subjects may still be limited with experience, but at least the reunion was in a sense 'normal', aside from Gabriel being in the men's washroom of all places, it was as normal as it got for me

Then my mind fell back onto what Gabriel had mentioned before she left, I had brought up the idea of giving you clearance for your divinity release, and I was glad to see they were in agreement

I nodded firmly at the echoing of her words, the clearance to fully unlocking my angel powers will close the gap of power between me and Malthus significantly, it'll blow my cover most definitely but I didn't really care about that, there was too much at stake for me to worry about a temporary position, since angels my level fought demons of his caliber on the battle field many times in the past, so I needed the game changer

I sighed to myself and dropped those thoughts in resignation, there'll be plenty of opportunities for me to work out my time to release. I sighed again and turned towards the washroom door and calmly walked back to the table the other three were all sitting in

Now while my mind thought up a few thousand ways for me to side step the question 'what took you so long?' I hadn't considered the type of powers an archangel class angel had, and since I stated Gabriel's actual age was light years ahead of mine I had not contemplated the level of power she wielded, stuff that we'd considered extreme and unreachable were in most senses mundane to higher level beings of supreme celestial decent

Apparently Gabriel had erected a time alteration zone when I had entered the restroom without me noticing causing the concept of time outside of the zone to slow in our perspective and to speed up in the perspective of the others outside of the zone, it goes to show you how powerful an angel who was created by god himself many years ago can really do, so instead of getting odd glances and questions I was greeted with not a single one, I might as well have been gone for thirty seconds

Xenovia still sat at her chair near the window while so did Dulio and Irina on their side of the table, upon seeing me Dulio smiled and waved before he got up and walked past me, most likely to wash his hands as well before I sat back down along side Xenovia

While Irina and Xenovia chatted, surprisingly in depth about their respective swords and possible sparing drills I sat there and watched them, then from the corner of my eye I spotted the blonde maid walk up to our table with four drinks

"~here you go~" she said energetically as she placed the drinks in front of us "~your food will be ready shortly~"

"Thank you kindly" with a nod Xenovia thanked the disguised Gabriel before she dropped back into the conversation with Irina, who as well thanked the maid kindly

With a smirk I glanced to Gabriel and winked, gesturing my own thanks and words to the incognito angel discreetly who giggled cutely before she walked off, I shook my head at how ridicules the situation was and how unaware the two female exorcists were to the person whom they had just received drinks from, seeing as how the time in our op had come to a halt for the sake of hunger I took out my phone and dialed the number on the sheet Rias Gremory had given me

Three rings and a female voice sprung up "hello, Akeno Himejima speaking on be-haft of Rias Gremory, how may I help you?" I smirked at the level of professional tact the Gremory queen had

"It's me" I answered dismissively but with a cool smile

"I'll get Rias for you" she said seriously

"Hello? Is this Isaac?" now it was the voice of the Gremory heir who spoke, sounding slightly nervous

"Hi, I'm just calling you to inform you of our progress" a soft sigh echoed over the phone "what do you have to report to me?" she asked hesitantly, the awkward feeling of speaking with an exorcist casually helped refine her hesitant tone

"I'm just telling you we have encountered zero of these ghouls you mentioned, we've found zero evidence supporting their survival and are moving on with our hunt" my words hung in the air for a second as I noticed Xenovia and Irina watching me, I waved at them casually before Rias started up again

"There's none?" she asked, perplexed at my answer

"Yup, they only flourish in dark environments and we pretty much took a trip to every dark location in the city with no sign of even a rock out of place, cities clean as far as I know" again a soft sigh filled my phones speakers before everything went silent "hello?"

"hold on, I may have something" I sat patiently while Rias fumbled with what sounded like some paper, I placed my phone down for a second when our meals arrived, smiled thankfully up to the hiding archangel while Xenovia and Irina did so as well before I placed the phone back against my ear

"You there?" I asked

"Yes, now listen, I may have any idea on where these ghouls may be hiding or even better Malthus if you're lucky—"

"I don't think finding Malthus can related to anything close to lucky" I piped in jokingly

Rias dismissed my humor with a cold shoulder, guess friendly banter with them wasn't in reach just yet, "right... anyways, I've found an old subway station schematic lying around in my desk, and apparently it was abandoned twenty years ago due to unstable structuring, that could be a good spot to hide a bunch of undead"

I nodded, that was as good lead as any "any idea where we may find an access point?"

"Hmm... where are you right now?"

I stopped for a second to glance out the window, taking a sip of my beverage all the while "were in a western diner at the north shopping district, a few blocks from Sakura Park" seemed this district had more variety in culture as a few familiar western stores and fast food joints littered the district... we were in a 'Denny's'

A heavily modified Denny's that is, I don't remember seeing French maids serving at a Denny's back in the west

"There should be an open access shaft a few blocks outside of the city limits, north I believe" she paused to list off a route for me, most likely, but I stopped her before hand

"There's no need for a route miss Gremory, we can handle it from here" I said confidently, slouching in my seat as I noticed Dulio sit down with a happy smile on his face at seeing the large slew of lunch items on his plate

"You sure?"

"Yup"

"Alright then, good luck" my eyes blinked at her motivational comment before I smirked

"Thanks, we'll contact you again if we find anything" with my little update to the Gremory heiress I hung up, and picked up my fork, had I not noticed Irina's gaze I may have ignored her, but...

"Well, what's our next move senpai?" questioned Irina curiously, seeing my attention was snatched from eating I looked at her "Apparently there's an old subway station underneath the city which was abandon 20 years ago due to bag structure, Rias Gremory thought it may be a perfect spot for Malthus and his little posy to hide out without any civilian witnesses" I answered, Irina looked suddenly intimidated "it may be our ticket to finding him before he moves on with his plan

"An old subway station?" she asked looking as if she had ants in her shorts

"Scared Iri-chan?" teased Dulio with a nickname forcing Irina to glare at him "I am not!" she said in her own defense

"You kinda look scared" added Xenovia forcing her female partner to look to her in defeat

"I am not scared, you should be defending me Xenovia!" gushed the embarrassed pigtailed teen as the blueberry badass beside me simply stared at her neutrally

While the two teased Irina I took the time to eat my already cooling meal with a side helping of entertainment, I glanced lightly over to the counter where Gabriel was helping a few customers before I glanced outside to see something that caused me to deadpan hard

'you've got to be kidding me' from outside the window I noticed two people whom stood out from the crowd like sore thumbs, mostly from the fact they were familiar to me but I still noticed them like a fire in the middle of a forest

It was issei hyoudou and the Koneko girl, casually walking down the street...

Now I had a few choices here, I could let them walk by and ignore them which would possibly end in me feeling guilty if they were to suddenly wind up missing... ah, hell with it!

Reaching past Xenovia's head I knocked on the glass roughly enough to catch their attention, the other's looked confused as to my sudden actions but they suddenly realized why quickly

"Issei!" yelled Irina as she waved at the confused teen, who squinted at the window before his eyes widened

"Irina?" he asked, voice muffled by the glass. Irina gestured for him to come, I was genuinely surprised to see him nod without any hesitation, he even looked determined for whatever reason

As the brown haired dragon gear wielder approached I noticed his gaze was locked onto me, I in kind looked at him with confusion at his over hyped expression

"Nice to see you again, hyoudou" I started while he approached us, I noticed him glance to Irina for a moment and smiled at her but his expression returned back to me, I guess his goal wasn't to converse with his childhood friend, as much as I'd hoped it to be, but rather his goal was me

"We need to talk" he stated seriously and simply

The others including myself grew confused by his question "about what?" I asked mutually for all parties

"About your next course of action... We want in"

XxXxXxX

A/N: I'm BAAAAAACK! It's been a whole year since I've written anything but I'm just going to say this, this chapter was CLOSE to being on the chopping block, I noticed to late in my hiatus that there was WAAAAY to many plot holes which impacted my motivation to write immensely and considering my attention has been on other stories currently in the shop for release this story was far from my mind, until today... or yesterday, depending on this chapters actual release

I've uploaded a planning chapter for a sudden story idea (take a gander if you're interested in what it is but don't expect it to uploaded soon, planning is still in the drawing phases) and some other news I've taken steps in carrying out story option #3 but it's still on the drawing board

But anyways onto my usual after chapter rambling (basically DxD patch notes)

Ok so for this chapter you may or may not notice the shortness of this chapter, if you do then please know that this chapter was SLICED in haft, originally this chapter was part of a 33,782 word long chapter, breaching 77 pages which I cut in haft so to get back out there with a new chapter, and to show you guys I'm still alive

NOW! Onto curtain things that may rise questions

First is the biggest one which is about the angels and the added sexual actives I will be showing. For example in canon, the only way for angels to have sex is through a rigorously long ceremony which limits the deed to one room, keep in mind this Room was built by Michael so Irina could do the deed with issei (it never happens cause the writers a pussy but you get the idea) in the end its specifically built for just those two, this feels very restricting to me so I removed it entirely

Angels will not have the "fallen system" that's shown, I've found this to be a massive plot hole myself upon thinking of a scenario, is a resurrected angels sex drive totally removed? If so then the fallen system in canon is redundant as being an angel terminates the need to scaring horny angels from acting on sexually activities (I'd rather not be a dick-less altar boy) if the sex drive isn't terminated then angels are only setting humans up to fail, regardless of one's commitment to chastity humans are still humans especially us guys whom have a very large sex drive (it said in the bible that god wanted humans to live long and reproduce) basically destroy the idea that demons made humans horny little rabbits, HE made it himself

So if the saints system doesn't cancel the sex drive then the fallen angels will not have a short supply of fallen angels coming in

This leads on to many more issues regarding the falling system in heaven, so I terminated that all together, angels will not fall unless their hearts truly change from divinity, such as, sudden desire to kill innocents, sudden desire for immense sexually intercourse or if God himself removes you personally but because he's dead this role falls on Michael who can fall any angel that's put into question

However...

If that guy can go out of his busy schedule to make a room so one of his personal follower's can fuck a devil in then I highly doubt he'd care about allowing his angels to repopulate on their own accord

It's just a thing with purity that's the main thing

Anyways, the next chapter will be out very soon as this is a double upload so to speak, don't expect a massive wait until next chapter

In the mean time I'm waiting for the new Spanish operators in siege, snapping necks and cashing checks is what I do

PEACE!

P.S - what are your guys thoughts on how im handling Rias' character as a whole?