NMHA Ch. 55 - Reasoning


A/N -

So I might be getting a new job soon. A local company decided that they like my energy and feel like I could contribute to the business.

Apparently I need to do a crapton of training before I can though, but honestly I'd say that's a good sign. With certs comes better pay (usually), and I want to make sure that I'm in a decent place financially before I settle down with any one job. The fact that I'd probably be saving like $4k a year in food and gas probably wouldn't hurt either lol. $50 a week in lunches and $40 a week in gas adds up pretty fast. I do wish I was getting paid for this extra work, but as long as the resulting offer is in the range I'm hoping for I won't raise too much of a fuss.

It also means I'll be a fair bit busier too. Even if I get to work from home for the most part, the volume of things I'd have to do would undoubtedly increase. It'd be a mixed blessing for sure, but I'm ready to actually leverage my degree dammit!

...I also need to figure out how to work this out considering I'm already working. Hm.

Less writing time it is...

On another note, holy shit we broke 800 favorites and are nearly at 1000 followers. Where's the champagne? Oh right, I don't drink, hm. Where's the lemon cake? Right, I haven't written any outright smut yet either... Strawberry?

Or maybe a completed commission more in-line with what I was hoping for Luna! Hope y'all like it, I'll definitely be using it as the cover image going forward! Big shoutout to sekaianimanga for finally getting this to me; I think it turned out fantastically.

Anyway, enough about me. On with the show!


Sona sat at her desk, staring intensely down at the message that Rias had left her before going on her second trip to the Underworld that week. If it weren't so important to one of her closest friends, Sona would have questioned Rias as to what was going on. As it stood, however, Rias had deposited a rather important issue into the other steward's own hands.

The Worldweaver was in Kuoh.

How was Sona supposed to deal with something like that?!

She planted her elbows on the desk and rubbed her temples with a groan, prompting one of her Peerage members, Tsubasa, to walk over.

"Kaichou, are you-"

Sona silenced her with a lifted palm. "Yes, Tsubasa. I just have a lot on my mind. Give me time to work through it."

The Rook nodded once and stepped back. "Let one of us know if you need anything."

Ah, loyalty. Truly could it bring a smile to her face.

Sona shook her head. No, she couldn't focus on that right now. What she needed to do was figure out why Lunarunn was in Kuoh, and how to get her out of Kuoh without causing a catastrophe.

...

No. No, she wouldn't do it. That way laid madness and sequins. No, no, no.

"Kaichou... you have a scary look on your face..." Saji mumbled, wisely ducking away when she shot him a glare.

"You would too, if you had to go through what I am right now," she replied succinctly, waving him off.

But then again...

She heaved out a sigh of long suffering as she crafted a summoning circle, the blue Sitri sigil glowing faintly in the Student Council office. One of her Bishops, Reya Kusaka, immediately recognized it, and covered the office with a privacy ward, before Sona layered another over herself for good measure.

"Sister!?" an overly excited voice bubbled from the communication array almost immediately. "Oh, it's been way way way way way too long since you called me!"

"...I called you last week," Sona drawled, already facepalming at her older sister's antics. "Besides, isn't this sort of behavior unbecoming of a Satan like you?"

"Satan is as Satan does," she could imagine Serafall giving her a stuck-out tongue back. "All those stuck-up fogies can die in an ice age for all I care about what they expect of me, ehe!"

Sona let out a long sigh, closing her eyes briefly before they reopened with a glint. "So you're in a good place to talk. Good, because I've got a serious problem on my hand."

"Oh?" Serafall's own voice lowered as she recognized that this wasn't a family call. It rarely was with Sona, but they both knew why. "What's got my little sister so concerned as to bring me into this?"

A deep breath. "Lunarunn's in Kuoh and she's made contact with some of the other supernatural parties in town."

There was silence on the other line. What was Serafall's reaction going to be? Joy that someone she liked was alive? Concern over her sister's safety? Confusion because she was supposed to be dead?"

"...Fuck."

The deadpan expletive nearly made Sona fall out of her chair.

She didn't, of course, but the fact that she nearly did skewed her glasses and ruffled up her hair, prompting her entire Peerage to look pointedly away and at their own tasks.

Good for them.

"What?"

"Okay, okay, so before you panic, I think I get what's going on. She's in Kuoh to make some sorta big reveal since it's a neutral ground of some supernatural repute, but if she hasn't gone after you or Rias yet, then it's because you two aren't part of her goals." Serafall harrumphed, voice going airy again. "Silly girl that Luna, of course you should be a goal; you're you!"

"Wait, wait, wait. You knew she was alive?"

"I went there to see the aftermath of her meltdown, both to run damage control and to see Luna herself." The twin-tailed Satan sighed softly. "It... wasn't pretty. What we did to her. What I was a part of."

"You let her go."

"Yes."

Sona was silent, processing this information.

"I let her go because she deserved better," Serafall insisted, voice low. "I wronged her before, in a way that was nearly unfixable. I didn't want to do it again."

"And what about the crimes she committed? You'd go against your own vows to... pursue your own sense of morality?

"Aside from killing the Naberius, they're all lies. It was to justify purging the FFP."

Sona grit her teeth. "Supposed 'lies' aside, you let her go despite the fact that she became a mad Heir-Killer?"

"Sona." The younger Devil's back became ramrod straight. She knew that hard tone. "Do you know why she supposedly went mad?"

That quieted Sona briefly. "...Her parents died, right? But the fact still stands that-"

"Her Sin is Ira, her parents were killed - murdered- in front of her, and she was already on the brink after years of suppressing her sense of morality to try and win a place in the Underworld's elite," the Devil on the other end interrupted. "She did snap, but she didn't go insane, not really. If she did..."

Serafall trailed off, and for perhaps the first time in a while Sona heard an undercurrent of legitimate fear in her older, far more powerful sister's voice. A moment later, it was gone. "The Underworld ditched her as soon as she became an inconvenience. She's not like you or I; she didn't have the same protections we do as the daughters of a Pillar."

"Then... how do you know she won't come after Rias and I?" Then it hit her. "You've been in contact with her the whole time, haven't you?"

"Sharp as ever!"

"Wha-? Why?"

Serafall made a small, smug 'hmph'. "Why, she's worth it of course! Not as worth it as my adorable little Sona-tan because nothing is but still super-duper close!"

"Worth...?" Sona lifted a hand to her head and rubbed it. The path of unpacking that singular word laid madness. "Interacting with a known criminal, not revealing that she survived to the Underworld, and jeopardizing both your position and our whole family is worth it to you!?"

"And the circumstances surrounding her criminality don't matter?"

It was only due to her discipline that Sona didn't immediately snap out an answer, and instead thought it through.

"...Whether or not her crimes were justifiable, it still stands that they are crimes and should be punished as such," she said slowly, picking out her words carefully. "It doesn't matter who was involved, or the circumstances behind it. Justice should be rendered equally to all parties."

"I agree."

"Then... why do you go against your vows as a Satan to not just have let her go, but maintain a... friendship with the Dark Moon?"

"It could have been me."

Sona tilted her head.

"If it were Mother and Father... if it was you that was murdered before my eyes? I wouldn't have just stopped with that warehouse." Serafall's voice was soft, sweet, sibilant, and laden with danger. "I'd have turned the entire country into a frozen wasteland, then I would have done the same with the Underworld and I'd have slaughtered anyone who came to stop my rampage."

On one hand, it was sweet to think her sister cared that much for her, but on the other it was... worrying? Serafall never shared her Sin, but she's hinted that it was Ira more than once...

'Just like Lunarunn,' something whispered in the back of her mind.

"That's the thing though; she's just... you're a Satan, you're way stronger compared to her."

"...Not anymore, I'm not. Not if she's grown as much as I think she has."

Serafall's open admittance sent a chill down Sona's spine.

"Then... then what should I do if she does come after us?!"

"She won't," the Leviathan Satan reaffirmed. "After all, Luna forgave me." Then the twintailed Devil sighed. "I don't think I could have done the same."

"She could have lied."

Sona's sister harrumphed, a mixture of exasperation, fondness, frustration, and acceptance all interwoven into the noise. "If she had, then we'd already know. After all, she knows full well how much you mean to me."

"Enough that you'd trust my safety to her?"

"Silly Sona-tan, don't you get it?" Serafall giggled briefly. "I already have."


Ruval's invitation to Rias was supported by a formal one; a scroll that Zeoticus Gremory stared down at even now, eyes narrowed as he read through the itinerary.

"A luncheon, a walk through the Phenex Gardens, then a visit to one of the 'claimed' villages for an open exploration into the Phoenix Initiative's mission followed by a period of constructive feedback for the village's progress and the Lord Phenex himself?" The redhead set the scroll down, rubbing his temples with two fingers each. "He really thinks to extend such a thing in the face of his actions?"

Venelana hummed softly. "The Gremory and Phenex houses are allies, do not forget. We maintain a strong relationship to the Assembly, even if his has frayed. Perhaps he is attempting to smooth ruffled feathers, so to speak?"

"That would be more fitting if we were speaking of the Phenexes themselves," Rias added with a polite smile. "But personally, I'm curious to see this tour he speaks of."

Zeoticus shook his head. "Do so, and we play into his hands. He is dangerous, and I believe this is only an attempt to buy himself more time to gather troops."

"Father, please be more reasonable." The second redheaded male at the table said, tapping a finger on the table. "If this is an open exploration of Hevna Village would give us greater insights into the Phoenix Initiative, it gives us an opportunity to do a more thorough investigation to deliver to the Assembly."

"Within a curated environment," Zeoticus shot back. "Where everything we find would be carefully placed."

"Hevna Village is a recent addition to the Phenex sphere," Rias pointed out. "It is arguably the best location to see the difference his Phoenix Initiative appears to make."

"Then why not demand to see a village aside from Hevna?" Sirzechs offered. "If we spring that on him, we will be able to see a more realistic depiction of the Phoenix Initiative rather than the 'great leap forward' he seems keen on showing off."

"And you think that he wouldn't have thought of that?"

"Lord Phenex doesn't have the free resources to cover every base," Venelana interjected. "If he insists on a guided tour in face of a demand to see another village, that would be telling, and a denial would be a rather poor sign as well. Doing so would give us the best possible chance to find the cracks within the Phoenix Initiative and deliver them to the Assemly. If it's truly alarming, then I have no doubt we could take our findings to my birth house."

Sirzechs smiled knowingly, stopping his tapping. "He's had problems with raiders for a while now. Why not ask him which locations have been hit the hardest, and then ask to visit there?"

"That would set off warning signs about our suspicions, wouldn't it?" Rias asked.

"If he is serious about allaying the Gremory House's concerns, then he would comply. To do otherwise would be dishonest, and he's held himself to a standard of honesty that we can take advantage of." Venelana smiled at Sirzechs. "That is a wonderful idea, son."

He bowed his head, smile widening briefly. "It is my pleasure. I will be unable to accompany you three due to my duties as a Satan, but I can lend you my Rook if that would provide some additional security."

"You mean Tannin?" Rias asked, tilting her head. "He's available at this time?"

"He recently returned from visiting his territory," Sirzechs replied. "His next Rating Game isn't for a few weeks as well, so I am sure he'd be happy to tag along. Worse comes to worst, he has a way to contact me in case of an emergency, and I will drop everything to come to your aid."

That, if nothing else, appeared to mollify the Lord Gremory. "Fine. But if he so much as catches a whiff that something is off, then Tannin will contact you that second."

"Considering what he will do to protect his family, I would expect nothing less when he's acting as my Rook," Sirzechs agreed with a nod.


Normally a butler for such an invitation would have been perhaps rude, but considering that this was also Ruval's Queen, that mollified the family somewhat.

"I apologize that Lord Ruval couldn't visit himself," Pierre said as if on cue, stepping past a trio of servant girls who briefly stopped their hushed gossip to let the Gremory ladies and Crimson Meteor Dragon through. "He's been in meetings with various villages for hours now, addressing some of their concerns."

"It is good that he keeps such a close pulse on his peoples' issues," Venelana demurred. "Though I will admit to some curiosity; what sorts of issues are they having?"

"The issues of the various villages run the gamut. Lack of supplies, food shortages, poor infrastructure, lack of educational facilities." Pierre gave a brief nod. "He has been quite busy resolving those incidents with the priority they are due."

"How much is this costing him, exactly?" the Gremory matriarch asked, raising a brow.

"Nothing that the Phenexes cannot afford to spare," the gray-haired Reincarnated Devil replied evenly.

"No hard numbers?" Venelana half-teased.

"For that, you would need to discuss with him." They came across an entryway, and with a knock the butler Queen opened the large, ornate door into the guest room. Ruval was already there, a tea set just placed by the maid briefly walking by the three visitors. "Lord Phenex, I have arrived with your honored guests."

"Ah, thank you for receiving them, Pierre. Ladies Gremory, it is my pleasure to invite you into my home, and you have my apologies for not being able to receive you myself. An acquisition claim from one of the villages went on a bit longer than I anticipated it would. Tannin, it is excellent to see you in good health as well." He smiled winningly. "Would any of you like some tea?"

"Please," the two women agreed.

"I will pass," the Rook of Sirzechs raised a hand to emphasize his point.

The blond nodded once. "Luncheon will arrive shortly. Before we eat, however, I would like to briefly discuss the meaning behind this invitation."

He picked up the pot of tea and poured two cups, offering them to Venelana and Rias respectively before pouring himself the last one for the immediate future. Ruval Phenex lifted the lightly steaming liquid to his lips and sipped, before setting the teacup down. The other two followed suit.

"Thank you." Venelana nodded once. "Then I assume this is your form of a peace offering to the Gremory family?"

"It is more that I want to show all of you that there is no reason to distrust House Phenex's intentions." Ruval gestured to the tea set. "As I have already said, House Gremory is a dear friend to the Phenexes, and I wish to maintain that friendship, particularly now that I have realized it may be strained."

"I apologize that my husband was unable to visit as well," The brunette smiled. "Though he has mentioned that he is willing to hear my report and take it into account going forward."

Ruval turned his eyes on the redhead. "This is also so you have more information on the ground level that you might impart onto your Rook once you two are reunited."

"I very much appreciate your forethought, Lord Phenex."

His lips quirked upward, looking at Rias, then Venelana. "We are among friends, are we not? I believe a slightly more relaxed atmosphere would be prudent for a fulfilling experience."

"Would Father be here, he would not take kindly to the idea," Rias replied tartly, closing one eye as she lifted the teacup to her lips and took a long sip.

"Ah, but Lord Zeoticus is not here," Ruval replied, gesturing briefly to the empty seat where said Gremory would have sat. "And as far as I am aware, any concerns either of you have with me are merely that; concerns, rather than outright mistrust. Concerns I would be more than happy to allay."

"Hence your invitation," Tannin rumbled, crossing his arms.

Ruval just smiled and lifted his teacup in a brief toast.

"Then is this your attempt to seduce the Gremory household's finer half, as the patriarch is wary and the previous heir cannot directly intervene on the grounds of maintaining professionalism?" Venelana gave a coy little smile. "My, how tasteless of you."

He closed his eyes and let out a huff of suppressed laughter. "Would that my Sin be Luxuria or Avaritia, you would tempt me with those words, Lady Venelana. You and your daughter are highlights in an already colorful Underworld, and your husband is a lucky man to be privy to both."

"Then why not share the other reason you invited us to visit? If stealing us away is not your purpose, then clearly you must be up to something far more sinister."

"Sinister indeed, that I would desire the chance to speak with friends."

"Such a diabolical plot. Say no more, demon, lest I begin to fear the honey of thy words."

"Truly, you would make slavering beasts of us all, were my modest machinations to truly be demonic as you claim."

Rias just watched, a faint frown adorning her features as Ruval and Venelana exchanged jabs. She looked up at Tannin, who just watched, his eyes lidded in introspection.

"Uncle Tannin?" she asked, drawing the dragon's gaze away from the two Devils.

"Personally, he comes off as pleasant as always," he replied, turning to face Ruval again, though he continued to speak quietly to Rias. "But I'm curious about the villages myself. I have always preferred seeing the fruits of labor rather than concealed pillow-talk."

"You mean-"

"That their flirtations are genuine? Of course not." Tannin huffed, as though faintly amused. "Neither is so foolish as to be swept up in the others' pretty words." He glanced down at Rias. "Though I would recommend caution going forward. That he is keeping up with Venelana is rather telling in its own right. The new Lord Phenex is a formidable wordsmith and perceptive noble, thus I would recommend even more caution in your own dealings with him."

That left the redhead in deep thought, even as a small troupe of servants stepped inside to serve a sizable amount of delicatessen. That did not, however, stop her from picking up a cream puff and biting into it, letting out a satisfied hum.

"My compliments to the chef," she finally said aloud, prompting a nod from the blond.

"I will ensure that your appreciation is sent along to them," he replied amicably. "Following this, however, I see no reason to not make haste to our next destination.'

"Actually, we had another idea," Venelana jumped in. "You have mentioned that you are dealing with raiders, are you not? Would it not be more prudent to show us where the problems with your project are most poignant?"

Ruval let out a brief chuckle. "That would be Hevna Village. I had a feeling that you would wish to see the struggles that the Phoenix Initiative has brought onto those affected by it. I also included multiple locations we might travel to afterward if there is still time that shows the bright side of my... little social experiment."

Rias blinked. Ruval had prepared himself for this, hadn't he?

"This is hardly 'little'," Venelana replied smoothly, lifting a thin brow. "I overheard that you are investing concerningly high amounts of resources into this project."

"Nothing that the Phenexes cannot afford to spend," he replied easily.

"How much are we speaking of, in terms of liquidity?" Rias asked, curiosity overwhelming her.

So Ruval replied. Rias nearly dropped her second cream puff in shock, and even Venelana was taken aback.

"Even with such strong shares in the medical and pharmaceutical industries of both the overworld and the Underworld, the Phenex family should not be able to support such massive expenditures, especially not for long," the Gremory matriarch commented, trying and failing to conceal her surprise.

"The Phenex family has elicited the support of various sponsors who do not wish to be named," Ruval smiled, lifting his teacup to his lips and taking another sip. "But I have personally vetted each one, and have found them to be of strong moral and legal standing. They are valid supporters of my vision."

"And how has the Initiative been, in blunt terms?" the brunette inquired.

Ruval tilted his head, briefly thinking over the question before he responded. "Slower than I see as ideal, but far faster than the Underworld has shifted since the Civil War. The raiders certainly do not help, but ultimately they're just a particularly persistent thorn in my side rather than a genuine threat."

"Then why go so far as to ask me to lend Koneko to you?" Rias asked.

"Because while they may be a menace now, I do not wish for them to extend any farther beyond that." Ruval picked up an apple, a Bael Apple specifically, and bit into it. He chewed, then swallowed. "Simply put, I am nipping a problem in the bud long before it becomes something far worse."

He smiled thinly. "I would imagine the Bael family has a good bit of experience with that, being the leaders of our world order ever since we rebelled against the True Satan Faction."

Venelana leaned back, folding her hands across her lap, before smiling coquettishly back. "Perhaps my father's family does. However, I am no longer a Bael, and as such are not privy to their actions."

"No, but I can't help but imagine that you may have ideas on what they may be doing."

"Perhaps I do, but there is no reason to share idle musings, are there?"

"Perhaps not. I am, however, curious to know your thoughts."

"Then perhaps you would want to speak with a Dantalion Mentalist," Venelana smiled, trailing the rim of her teacup with a finger. "Though, I hear that you and the Dantalions have something of an embargo on each other?"

He sighed. "Unfortunately so. We have... irreconcilable differences in ideology. That the commoners on their borders seem interested in moving into Phenex territory likely does not help matters."

"The Phenexes are that popular a family?" the younger Gremory asked, blinking multiple times. "I knew that the Phenexes were well-liked, but enough to promote immigration?"

"Among the commoners, at least." He leaned in, as though sharing a secret. "They seem quite excited to receive the same level of education and opportunity as low-end nobles. Not quite the same as the Pillars, of course, as tutors of the skill required to train us are far and few between, but a massive step up from standard fare all the same."

"That cannot be cheap either," Rias said.

"It isn't. But education is an investment for the future. A Devil can be just as important a resource as a piece of land, after all, and many have not had the chance to receive that sort of investment."

"Teach a Devil to hunt, and they would never go hungry in their life. Teach a Devil to believe, and they would follow you to the grave," Venelana mused. "You appear to have set yourself up a rather potent propaganda machine."

"I merely show them what they stand to gain from joining me in this Initiative, and what they stand to miss out on." He clasped his hands together on his lap. "The answer, at least for those within the Phenex territories, is fairly obvious."

Venelana continued eating in polite silence. Rias briefly glanced at her mother's eyes, and noted that the brunette was clearly deep in thought. Processing this additional information, most likely.

What she didn't notice, however, was how Tannin appeared to be doing the same.


When Rias thought of outland villages, she expected to see something along the lines of huts and campfires, of people who rejected the society the Underworld offered to form tribes of their own.

While there were campfires in Obaral Village, the next-hardest hit after Hevna due to the raiders, the oldest houses looked like log cabins, not a whiff of magic indicating an interior expansion spell.

They were small, she mused as she walked past one such cabin. If she hadn't spent time in the human world like she had, Rias acknowledged that she wouldn't understand how people - Devils, in this case - lived in such small buildings.

She still wondered that sometimes.

Those were the smallest houses though. It had only been roughly a year since Obaral joined the Phoenix Initiative, but the village was alive with workers, bringing in stone and metal, creating modern buildings alongside the smaller, local homes. She noted how even now, she could hear the laughter of workers joking with each other up on an in-progress floor of what appeared to be some sort of office building.

For all that Ruval had spoken of there being trouble, to Rias it appeared as though Obaral Village was doing just fine.

'Speaking of him...'

There was a brief hint of disappointment that Ruval had gone with Venelana while she went with Tannin, still in his bipedal form, to explore Obaral, but she understood the reasoning for it. They were Lord and Lady of their respective houses, respectively, and regardless of it being her that Ruval extended the invitation to, Ruval leaving the Gremory matriarch to explore on her own would be a major faux pas.

Thus, the splitting up, to ensure that whatever Rias came across was as genuine as could be

Tannin's hand came down on her shoulder, and she paused in place, looking up at the Crimson Meteor Dragon.

"What's the matter?"

"I wished to speak with one of the locals," he replied, gesturing toward one such worker, sitting on the front porch of one such log cabin, water pouring from his waterskin to his mouth, though he quickly capped the skin and wiped his mouth with one arm as he noted a dragon and a redheaded Devil approaching.

"May I help you?" he inquired, lifting a brow.

"Apologies for interrupting your break," Tannin started, bowing his head briefly. "Were you informed of Lord Phenex coming to visit Obaral?"

"Obaral gets many visitors," he replied simply. "Devils who come to build our lands. Diplomats to speak with our elders. Immigrants. Workers. Some stay. Many don't."

He nodded once to each of them again. "Dragon, heiress. I take it you two are tourists?"

"That is... one way to describe us, at the moment," Rias replied, hands at her lap. "We were curious, both what it was like before you were admitted into the Phoenix Initiative, and what it has been like after."

The Devil lifted a brow. "The sister of Lucifer and his Rook? Pardon me if I find that suspicious."

"Lord Phenex extended us the offer to visit himself," Tannin rumbled, crossing his arms and glaring slightly at the worker. "I understand that we are his guests, but I would hope for some more courtesy from a commoner."

Most Low-class Devils would have been cowed even by that minor show of aggression from someone so powerful.

Not this one.

That piqued Rias's curiosity.

"Even Devils like you can be brought down with clever tactics." A thin smile. "I was part of a mercenary troupe once. We were hired to kidnap a High-Class Devil. Only one of us had magical potential, yet that was dwarfed by the foe we faced. We still succeeded."

"Wait, you were part of that?" Rias asked. "The kidnapping of the Dark Moon?"

"Oh? The Naberius family was finally caught?" A derisive snort. "About time."

"You don't sound particularly fond of them," Tannin noted.

"They backed out of an agreement," he spat. "Their brat died, so the payment they owed us was moot. According to them. Despite that mission being completed for all intents and purposes. There were only two survivors."

Rias felt a chill run down her spine. "You were one of them."

"The other was from another family. But yes." He took another swig of water. Though... Rias suddenly wasn't sure that it was just water. Especially if he lived through the Dark Moon. "We were left to rot by the old nobility. The only reason Obaral survived was because of Lord Phenex."

"What do you mean, exactly?" Tannin inquired.

"I mean just that. I came back with nothing. No money for food. No hands but my own to sell off old equipment. Nothing. Obaral does not have much arable soil." He stomped the ground twice to prove his point. "What animals live in the wild are dangerous and poisonous, or too difficult to properly hunt. The minerals available here are also limited. Oberal was dependent on our success. We were successful. We completed our end of the bargain. Then they cheated us."

"But that's... not right," Rias shook her head. "A deal's a deal. They should have given you your dues."

"If only there were more like you, Heiress Gremory. Then the Phoenix Initiative wouldn't be so alluring." Another drink. "I returned with nothing. Thus, Oberal had nothing. We would have starved, were it not for Lord Phenex."

"He sold you food?"

"What could we give that he did not already have? We had nothing. He had no reason in the eyes of you lot to interact with us. Except to wipe out the remnants of the group that kidnapped his fiancee." The Devil grinned, but his eyes were cold like ice. "We were the first he reached out to. Yet until Hevna, we were the last to join. Yet still he offered us food, and connection, for little more than our participation in his project. When we would not comply, he still gave us what we needed to survive until we could determine him worthy of trust."

Rias and Tannin exchanged looks, allowing the former mercenary to continue.

"We had nothing. He gave us everything. We do not trust easily. Not nobles. Not after Naberius. But for Ruval? The one who uplifted Obaral, he did so when others would let us starve. For that, we return the favor."

He gestured to one of the slowly growing construction sites. One of the Devils there flailed his arms and made to extend his wings, nearly falling off the scaffolding before another, a woman, pulled him back and started making wild gestures as though dressing the other Devil down.

A pair of children ran by, laughing, before they stopped and gawked a long moment at the two visitors. A moment later, and they were gone, whispering and giggling.

"Other villages have had their crises too. That is the danger of the outlands. We live and die by the winds of fate."

"It sounds like you would trust Lord Phenex enough to fight for him," Tannin summarized.

The Devil took another drink.

"If the need arises."

"And do you think that it will?" Rias asked, curiously.

"Ruval Phenex is currently a leader going against the status quo. The nail that sticks out gets hammered." The waterskin lowered. "It happened with Lunarunn Bael. It will happen to Obaral's savior. The only question is 'when'."

"She's not a Bael," The dragon corrected the mercenary. "Not anymore."

The former mercenary's cold grin returned.

"Exactly."


Luna stared Issei down, before glancing over to Asia.

"Why don't we find someplace to make ourselves comfortable, it seems like this might take a bit more than a minute."

"No." Issei crossed his arms. "You said you wanted to talk, so talk."

She grimaced, turning her gaze back on the male.

"Well, where should I begin? You know I'm a fugitive of the Underworld, and that I'm not exactly the most 'stable' person. I've got issues with my temper, but somehow I get the impression that's not the main concern here."

"You're the Dark Moon."

She sighed, holding back the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Of course I am. I'd have figured that would be an easy enough correlation to make, what with you knowing I'm a Devil and that my real name's Lunarunn."

Issei grit his teeth. The brunette tilted her head.

"You wanna know why I'm called that?"

Issei glanced away, but Asia stepped forward and nodded, shivering slightly but still resolute. "Y-yes, Luna-san. You don't really seem like a bad person, but... it's concerning that you'd admit to being a, well, criminal so easily. We heard you, well, killed a whole warehouse's worth of people, so..."

"Devils," Luna interrupted, scowling. "They were Devil mercenaries, set out to kidnap me. You were there when I first said that, Issei. I escaped, and took it on myself to make sure they didn't do anything like that again."

Issei glanced back at Asia, before facing the brunette once more. "As if that changes anything."

"Devils are Devils are Devils," the Worldweaver lips quirked upward, though there was little humor to it. "Prone to selfish behavior and flights of whimsy, they often represent the basest of humanity's desires. I'm not much different, though I like to think that I'm trying to be better than the Id that I possess."

"And how is that supposed to... convince us, you're not the threat we were warned about?" Issei asked.

"I'm just laying out the facts," the Devil replied evenly, holding out a hand palm-up while she closed her eyes, tilted her head, and set the other on her hip. "I know better than to use anything less in a situation like this - I'm already untrustworthy in your eyes, so anything I can't back up will be disregarded."

She opened one eye, slipping her hands into the pockets of her longcoat. "Say, Issei. Got a bit of a hypothetical for you. Say you found out someone killed your parents. That they did so to get at you. How would you react?"

He didn't even think before the words came out. "I'd kill them."

"Ise-!" Asia turned to him, eyes wide, before Luna smiled serenely and nodded.

"Yeah. That's about what I thought. You wanna know why I turned that warehouse into a graveyard?" Her posture slackened, and she looked away. "...I had to bury my mom and dad somewhere, and there was no way I was going to be able to go back to the Underworld."

"Bullshit."

Luna's gaze locked with Issei's, and immediately he could see the void seeping through the mask, dissolving it. He took a step back, the hairs on his neck shooting straight up.

"I wasn't always like this, y'know," she said softly. "Once upon a time, I was just your average human, doing your average human things. Then, I became a Devil. A branch Bael, a commoner, but one with a gift the world had never seen before. That made me and mine a target."

"You mean you were Reincarnated?" Asia queried.

Luna just smiled, turning her eyes to the blonde. She noted how the former nun seemed to shy away for a brief moment, but then steeled herself and stood firm.

"Think in a more literal sense. The blood in this body has always belonged to a Devil, but the soul's a different story."

"Again, how are we supposed to believe that?" Issei insisted. "That's..."

"As absurd as putting a chess piece in your chest, then wham-bam thank you ma'am you're suddenly a Devil?" Luna snickered faintly. "Personally, I'd say the simpler answer is more believable. I was a human, then I died, then I woke up in a different body. Ask Rias or Sona to lend out some old news articles about me, that'll prove everything I'm saying."

"Then why do you have such... cold eyes?"

"When my parents died, I looked into the abyss." The brunette lifted a hand up to her other arm and rubbed it. "Nietzsche was right, y'know. When you stare at the abyss, the abyss stares back into you. I survived being touched by the creature inside of it, but I didn't survive unscathed."

Issei took a deep breath. "Show us."

"Show you?" Luna asked, a wry smile adorning her face. "Issei, you really think you can withstand that if an angry glare nearly made you piss yourself in terror?"

"I said show us!" He snarled, the Boosted Gear forming around his arm as he lifted a fist. "Stop wasting our time and show us what exactly you're talking about!"

For a long second, Luna was silent, clearly considering the demand from the brunet. She met his eyes, then glanced to Asia again, before closing them with a slow sigh.

With a wave of her hand, the world around them turned blurry as Luna channeled her will into their surroundings and folded space around it, and Issei could tell that she cut them off from the outside world.

"What are you-!?"

"I don't want to cause a panic," she interrupted, meeting Issei's eyes once more. "Since you insist... I'll show you both. But I'm not going to get civilians involved."

So Luna closed her eyes once more, and drew on that ever-present shadow in her mind.

Fhoomp.

She extended Cataclysm Eclipse.

"Father in Heaven..." Ddraig whispered, terror unlike anything Issei had heard from the proud dragon before drenching his tone.

For Issei, the world faded away at that exact moment. Flashes of moments, of countless deaths, ran through his mind, of a beast so black and fell that the world around it died, colorless and cold, of the thing always - always - won.

It was here? It was here already!? It was too soon! It was way too soon! How was it already here!? How did it already br-!?

"I-Issei...!"

He blinked, and his awareness returned to him, a cold sweat beading his brow and his heart pounding in his ears as he stood in front of Asia in a plate of full red armor, hand raised and a Dragon Shot already charging, doubling in density with each passing moment.

"Scale Mail already...?" Luna lifted a brow. "The Sephiroth Graal really is a broken Sacred Gear." she raised her voice, tone hard. "Lower your arm Issei."

"What are you!?" Issei hissed, his whole body starting to shake as he continued pouring Boosts into the energy density of the shot he was holding, the pressure of maintaining control over such tightly-packed power already causing blood to leak freely from his nose. "Tell me right now, or I'll kill you!"

"Issei, take a few breaths-"

"Tell me!" he screamed, arm trembling.

She closed her eyes. "Please don't force me to fight back. You'll lose."

He knew that. Their training sessions had proved as such already. As did the visions that were running through his mind even now.

But if nothing else maybe he could buy enough time for Asia to run.

"Whelp- no, Issei... she created a dimensional pocket." Ddraig whispered, as though afraid he might be overheard. "The Dark Moon has domain control. There's nowhere for Asia to go."

Then he just had to break it. With that in mind, Issei let out a roar as he unleashed the Dragon Shot.

Only for it to meet one of those horrible, horrible wings and dissolve into nothing, all that power completely eradicated on contact.

Then the Dark Moon blurred, then the Red Dragon Emperor did, and Asia let out a cry of alarm.

Issei then tried to move of his own volition, but his muscles refused to answer, unable to rise from the crater in the ground that had formed around his prone form. He was sure he should have been in a lot of pain, especially since he was struggling to draw breath, but instead he felt... nothing, even as the shards of red falling around him vanished into motes of light.

That scared him far more than the fact that Luna smashed him into the ground before he could even blink, his armor completely shattered from head to toe in that single instant.

"A-Asia..." he managed to rasp out.

The blonde in question scrambled back from the form of the four-winged monster standing over Issei's prone body, having fallen backward from the sudden force that Luna had slammed the Red Dragon Emperor down with. She was trembling, eyes wide, and if the only color in the world was not in the custody of the one who trapped them, Asia's face would have looked no different.

The woman, the Devil, the monster before them let out a slow sigh, running a hand through her hair.

"Be not afraid," the unholy terror said softly, kneeling by Issei. Her voice, the same as it ever was, cut through the lifeless atmosphere like a scalpel. "You want to know who I am? Then listen well, you two. I am Lunarunn Bael, the Stray Hunter, the Worldweaver, the Maestra of Microcosms, the Abyss-Touched, the wielder of the Tainted Gear Cataclysm Eclipse, and the Monster to Devour Monsters. And you two... aren't monsters."

She rested a hand on Issei's head, and the pain returned with a vengeance, causing him to let out a brief cry from the agony that lit up his body, before even that faded away, the green light interspersed with flecks of black emanating from Luna's hand healing - no, erasing - the damage she inflicted on him.

Even as Issei lifted his head, wide-eyed and confused, Asia stammered out. "W-what are you, really?"

"I already told you two, didn't I?" Luna smiled at him, a warm contrast to the vile wings behind her. "But in short, I'm the culmination of my experiences and memories. I am me; no more, no less."

"The embodiment of a world-ending thing," Issei muttered.

"A harbinger. Not an embodiment..." she let out a sigh as she stood back up. "Though I could have been. I was touched by it, marked, but I wasn't claimed. You have Masaomi and Ruval to thank for that. Feeling better, Issei?"

Though the world was still gray, feeling had returned to the brunette's body, and he stood slowly, rubbing his hands. "...I... think so?"

His head was still spinning, partly from the non-sequitur and partly because images of that creature were still kicking his body's fight or flight instincts into overdrive - only, he knew that he could do neither, which meant he was taking a third option: submission.

If Asia wasn't there, maybe he'd keep trying, but Luna could have killed him there. Would have, even, if she had intended to.

"Good. Look, if you two don't trust me, fine. That's just the burden I have to bear. But I swear on my parents' graves that I have good intentions toward you two. It's why I helped train you in the first place, Issei."

"By smacking me down relentlessly," he muttered, but shook his head all the same. If this was how Luna was like when she wanted to stop someone, then... just how strong was she?

"How... how are you and Tou-san friends?" Asia asked, still shaking in place.

"He saw it too. Like I said, he dove down after my soul to help pry it out of that creature's grasp." Luna let out a single laugh. "Heh. Stared certain death in the face and raced after me anyway. Your dad's a truly extraordinary man, Asia, to care enough for someone like me to travel to that godless place for my sake."

She walked over and extended a hand to the blonde, though the wings of Cataclysm Eclipse hadn't vanished. "That's why I came here to ask him for his help. I need people like that."

"For...?" Issei trailed off.

"To right the wrongs of this world. To stop that thing we both seem to know about. To make the world a better place." She glanced back at him and smiled. "Would it really be that hard to believe that I want to do good?"

"After what we've seen? Can you blame me if I don't?" Issei demanded.

"Can't say I do," she admitted. "I'm a monster. Some of the things I've done are unforgivable, and I won't shy away from either fact." Luna gestured to her wings briefly. "Regardless of what happens, a beast I'll remain. But if a mad dog like me can keep the flock safe from the wolves that would engorge themselves, give them the freedom to roam without fear, then that's a life I can be proud of anyway."

Asia blinked slowly up at the brunette. She smiled back.

"I might not be a good person, certainly I am one touched by an unspeakable evil, but I refuse to believe that's all I am. It's in that refusal, that I would train a perverted brat to survive, and that I would use my mark in the pursuit of making the world even the tiniest bit better."

Her hand remained outstretched to Asia.

"I won't ask you two to join me. I know you're both sick and tired of recruitment pitches already, given Issei's Longinus. All I ask is that you understand where I stand, and why I act. I'd prefer to let my actions do the talking anyway."

"Then... what do you plan to do?" she asked, not taking Luna's offer of support as she slowly rose back up. "Why act the way you are?"

"...I'd herald the end of this era, and bring about a new one," the brunette replied softly, lowering her hand. "If I'm a harbinger, then I'll decide to be one for a brave new age. A time of prosperity that this world hasn't ever seen before."

"And what about those that'd fight to keep things as they are?"

"I'll do my damnedest to minimize the fires that start in the process," Luna met Issei's gaze. "There's always going to be pushback, especially against something as radical as what I plan, but I don't want someone else to lose their parents either. Or those parents their children. It's inevitable, that I won't deny. But if I'm going to change the world, then I mean to do so the right way, and do everything I can to keep that number as low as possible."

"...You plan on starting a war," Asia said, realization dawning on her face. To that, Luna just bowed her head.

"I do."

"I refuse," Issei responded immediately. "I refuse to kill people if I don't have to. I'm glad that you helped me get stronger quickly, but if you mean to cause a war then I'll do everything in my power to stop you."

She lifted, then tilted her head, but let out a faint sigh.

"I feel like a tool for saying this," Luna snickered faintly. "But we aren't so different, you and I."

"The warmonger and the man who would defy them?"

"The man who was given a destiny he never wanted, and the woman who has tried everything else to make the world better and was betrayed by that same world for it." She fixed him with a stare. "You said it yourself; you'd kill the bastard that murdered your parents in front of you. Only in my case, the whole Underworld abetted the murderer of mine. We both seek justice, my view is just... bigger-picture."

"So you'd punish everyone there?"

"Only those responsible."

"But you'd kill everyone in your way."

"Only if I have to."

"But you would," he insisted, to which Luna scowled.

"You suggesting I let those people walk free? Let them continue their corrupt, selfish ways and throw other people on the chopping block to save their own hides?! That's exactly how these sorts of people win, when good stands by and does nothing!" she swiped one hand to the side. "No. Enough is enough. I have the power to make a difference, so I'm going to damn well use it."

"And you'd enforce that difference through the sword if need be." Issei's nose twitched. "That's nothing more than you being a tyrant."

"Freedom is never free Issei; everything's got a cost. For the lucky few, it's sweat and endless training or by placing the yoke on others. For most, it's the blood of those who would oppress them. The sooner you come to terms with that, the sooner you'll understand." She turned around, the wings of Cataclysm Eclipse disappearing into wisps of smoke. With the vanishing of the 'Tainted Gear', the world regained color, though the weeds that sprouted up from the cracks of the sidewalk in their bubble remained dead and wilted. "Talk to Masaomi about what he sees as the price of freedom. Or what he sees as the price of peace. He's a soldier. He knows exactly what he's talking about."

"Someone you've already gotten to," Issei muttered, prompting the brunette to throw up a hand.

"Fine, then go talk to fucking Kokabiel or something. He's got it out for me anyway and he's probably on his way to Kuoh even now, but I think even he'd give you a similar answer to the realization I've come to."

With a snap of her fingers from that raised hand, the world around them snapped back into focus, though the patch of dead plant life remained.

"It's alright if you choose not to stand with me. We all have our battles to fight, and we need to choose which ones to take part in." She glanced back at them, something sad glimmering in that visible eye. "...But if you do stand against me, then at least know that you have my apologies."

Luna looked ahead, and a moment later she was gone, though whether that was through teleportation, cloaking, or sheer speed Issei didn't know.

What he did know, however, was that he and Asia were standing in the middle of-

"Wait, when did she fix the road?" Issei blinked, staring down at the repaired asphalt.

"Um... did she do that in the same way she healed you?" the blonde replied, getting back close to Issei and hugging his arm.

She trembled against him.

He wrapped his other arm around Asia, holding her close as she silently vented the fear that had arisen during Lunarunn's reveal of her true nature.

But even that confused him. When he tried to fight her, Luna put him down before he could even blink. Considering how numb he felt, he had either been paralyzed from the neck down or near death, maybe both. Yet, she healed him afterwards. Was that just to prove a point? Or was there something else to that?

Issei wet his mouth before speaking again. "Asia... what were you able to glean from her?"

"Ah... just a minute, Ise-kun...? I still need to.. re-regather myself."

He'd gladly provide that to her.

It was more like five before the tremors began to subside, and Asia pulled herself away. Issei let her go before he spoke again.

"Feeling better?"

"A bit. Thank you, Ise-kun. That was... that was scary."

Scary being an understatement. His entire body had been screaming at him to either run or fight Luna, as though she herself was danger incarnate. Even now, he felt like the warmth had been sucked out of him.

"Try being on the receiving end," he chuckled, swallowing hard before shaking his head. "I... I'm pretty sure I should be dead right now."

"...But she chose not to." Asia tilted her head. "She could have just k-killed you. She could have even left you there for me to heal. But she went and undid the damage she'd done herself."

She looked away. "I... she almost acted like an angel of death, of cruel necessity and the end of the 'current age'... were it not for those wings."

"What were those anyway?"

"Luna-san said she was... marked? And she called it a 'Tainted Gear'? Did... ah, did the thing that gave her those, was it trying to emulate God somehow?"

Considering the thing that had plagued him with visions of his demise was undoubtedly the same thing that gave Luna those wings, that was a chilling thought to Issei.

"But she said that it tried to consume her, but failed because of Masaomi-jii and that Ruval guy she mentioned before. He's probably that Devil that Raynare mentioned," Issei reasoned as he rubbed the side of his head. "Even said I reminded her of him a good bit, and that it was a compliment. So how do the two go together? Or was she lying through her teeth?"

"...Whatever the case, she really does believe she's doing the right thing." Asia stared where Luna had left them. "With that kind of power... with that kind of curse, that's terrifying."

"But do you think she can be stopped?"

"That's the thing, Ise-kun." She looked up back at him. "I'm... not sure she should be stopped."

He blinked a couple times. "What do you mean?"

"She said she was marked by that thing, right? She said that if she has to be a harbinger, then she might as well make it an omen of the best possible outcome. But even then, Luna-san claims that starting a war is the right thing to do." Asia clasped her hands together in prayer. "So... what does that mean for the worst outcome, if a war is the best one?"

Either they were missing something big, or the worst outcome was... that thing.

"...Has she gone insane?" he wondered aloud, but Asia shook her head.

"I'm not sure she has. That's what scares me the most."


"How was your trip?"

"It was... a good change of pace. I am grateful for the opportunity to see for myself what exactly is underway."

"Were you able to find what you were looking for?"

There was a long pause, before...

"Yes. I think I have."

A smile broke out on the other's face. "I'm glad."


A/N -

And here we have the reveal into some of Luna's intentions, and a brief glimpse into how much more Luna has grown since we last got a marker for her power level beyond Jaspal's analysis. Even after his power boost at the hands of the Sephiroth Graal to the point of being able to freely activate Scale Mail, Issei was completely outmatched. It was a power boost, but it isn't putting Issei right at the top of his game, just giving him a good head-start.

It should still be stated that Luna's power lies firmly in the concepts embodied by Worldweave and Cataclysm Eclipse. Against a more physical fighter in the same caliber, or a caster with more raw power, she can be overwhelmed. I've mentioned this before, but even at this tier of power Luna's true strength doesn't come from her sheer output. Rather, her ability's inherent lethality and room for creativity is her greatest asset. Being able to keep up with Ruval during her meltdown was a combination of Cataclysm Eclipse's nature (that being her wings, the ability to consume Ruval's power even when he tries regenerating, and the being that marked Luna with them, it's probably pretty obvious at this point which one I mean) and the flood of power enabled by her mind fracturing. If you're into Fate, then think of Lunarunn as a Caster/Assassin hybrid in terms of specialization.

Anyway, Tempura Wizard out.