"So, it would seem that Malachi failed." Mittelt said as she looked at the corpse of the Stray, within the sewers. She and Kalawarmer were waiting on his signal, and they could see the signs of battle from afar too, but when things went quiet and they received no signs for around 10 minutes, they decided to check things themselves. Safe to say they were quite shocked to see the state the Stray was in, but also heavily displeased.

"A small army of Stray Devils and the dragon still lives." Kalawarner scoffed. "He is stubborn to live, that much I give him."

"But not invincible, look." Mittelt pointed to blood stains on the ground, going deeper into the sewers. "Looks like Malachi did uphold his original duty of weakening them. They are likely wounded, and hiding until they can recover or help arrives."

"Speaking of…" Kalawarner trailed off, checking a surveillance spell she placed on the outside of the barrier, seeing the Gremory peerage along with the Sitri attempting to break through their barrier. They didn't make a weak barrier, true, but even then, so much punishment was bound to break it sooner than later, and when it did, everything that happened within will revert to normal as if nothing happened.

"Don't worry, Kala. As long as we hurry, we will finish this quickly. Come on now, I dislike this place as much as you do, but Lord Kokabiel was clear about what will happen if we fail again." Mittelt said, which was enough to get her partner to follow her deeper into the sewers.

"Fuck…"

Skill Level-up! Your [First Heal] Skill is now level 7!

Abusing his healing skill as much as he could, Issei eventually came to a stop within the sewers. Once the adrenaline wore off, he felt in full the extent of the damage Malachi did to him. Not to mention he had some Status Effects such as [Bleed] on him, which made sense when he considered the number of wounds he had that were bleeding.

Currently, his HP was back to, he'd say, 73% of its maximum amount, which was pretty good, but still left him with some annoying wounds. He was trying to find a good hiding spot, and currently, he was hiding in one of the tunnels, having knocked out the lights to make sure he still had full use of his shadow magic in case he needed it.

"That is enough healing, Ise." Solomon said, letting Issei know to stop. "You need to conserve your mana. Try to access the shop and buy some Mana Potions from there to recover, as well as maybe another HP potion too."

Listening to his mentor, Issei did just that, access the shop. Within it, he bought 3 Intermediate Mana Potions, drinking one at once and putting the others away for later. That cost him 4500 Y, but that was worth it right now. The Intermediate tier of potions recovered 20% of one's Mana, Stamina, or HP, based on the potion.

"How far did we walk?" Issei asked.

"Fair enough." Ddraig said. "I don't think we will be easily found here, and if we are, we can use the shadow magic to hide more."

"Good. I could use the rest." Issei said, running a hand over his face. Knowing he was being hunted by the Fallen didn't help him either, as so far, from what Malachi said, things were going according to their plan. He didn't know where Rias, Kuroka, or even Ingvild were to maybe try and help him, since he is certain they have at least picked up on his absence by now. Overall, all he could do was try and survive until help arrived, escape the barrier somehow, or defeat the Fallen Angels coming after him.

He doesn't like his options, not one bit.

All he wanted right now was simply to rest and recover…Too bad he won't get that chance. His [Aura Sense] spiked, sensing two enemies coming near him. They were approaching, and fast, so without much hesitation, he hid inside the shadows using his [Shadow Shelter] skill, and just in time.

"Fuck, it's dark around here!" Mittelt whined, walking with Kalawarner next to her. The two Fallen Angels were right next to the entrance of the tunnel where Issei rested, looking around for him.

"Sense anything?" Kalawarner asked, Mittelt simply trying to pick up on the Red Dragon's presence, but to little success as to her, the signal didn't make sense. There was a mild presence there, but when she looked at the source, all she saw was empty space. For Issei, however, this was a chance to check out their stats.

[Mittelt]
[Level 32 B]
[HP: 21000/21000 (1 HP/Min)
[Fallen Angel]

[Kalawarner]
[Level 31 B]
[HP: 24000/24000 (1 HP/Min)]
[Fallen Angel]

They were stronger than Raynare for sure, but still, it was nothing he hadn't faced before. His resources were low, however, so he couldn't risk it. But perhaps, he could ambush them. Deal some damage to them to allow him to then escape or maybe even take those two down. It was a clear possibility.

"Nothing concrete…" Mittelt trailed off, keeping her gaze upon the shadows in the room. "Tell me, Kalawarner."

"Yes?"

"Didn't Dohaseek die from some shadowy magic per Freed's words?"

Crud.

Realizing he didn't have the luxury of thinking, Issei chose to act, sending out multiple tendrils at them. That, however, was easily countered as they summoned spears of light, illuminating the tunnel and both revealing his hiding spot and dispelling the tendrils. "Shit!" Issei cursed as he locked eyes with the Fallen.

"There you are!" Kalawarner shouted, shooting her spear at him, which Issei was able to dodge, albeit narrowly. The tunnel was not that big, not leaving much room to maneuver, but that also helped him in a way. After dodging, he used his [Power Jump] to put some distance between himself and them, then he threw a [Dragon Grenade] at their feet.

The grenade exploded, shaking the tunnel all over and almost causing it to collapse, but Issei narrowed his eyes in frustration as he noticed that those two were unharmed. It was no trick like with Malachi, but rather, the small one, Mittelt, managed to deploy a defensive barrier in time to protect themselves.

"What a dangerous attack." She said, her tone alone mocking him. "Too bad you are on the wrong side. Kala!"

"Right!" The two Fallen charged at Issei from two sides, trying to catch him in a pincer attack. However, Issei summoned forth two magical circles and used his [Fireball] spell, forcing them both to dodge, which is what he wanted, as dodging allowed Issei to ready another [Dragon Grenade], which he threw in the water this time around.

"Huh?" Mittelt watched the explosive land in the dirty water with confusion, but then it went off, causing the filth to be blown everywhere. "Gross!" Mittelt summoned a barrier around her and Kalawarner, mostly to avoid the literal shitstorm that was coming to them, but while they were distracted, they failed to notice that Issei used his [Shadow Walk] to escape.

"He is gone." Kalawarner noted, getting her partner's attention to the fact Issei was nowhere to be seen.

"He couldn't have gotten far, the barrier prevents him from escaping." Mittelt said, urging Kalawarner to follow her afterward to continue their search.

"That was close…" Issei said as he appeared back on the surface, within one of the buildings, some kind of clothing shop from the looks of things. His stats were still somehow low. He had to get back some Mana and Stamina, so he opened the shop again. He found some Advanced Stamina and Mana potions, the costs being 3000 Y each, but he bought them both, drinking the bottles with greed to recover.

He would need all his strength, who knows what those angels have? His Shadow Magic was already a bust, meaning he was left without his most versatile and deadly magic, and Mittelt looked quite skilled in magic as well. Shit, it may have been her who deployed this barrier, so maybe taking her down will have it collapse? Possible outcome, but unlikely that they made such an obvious mistake by linking the barrier to a living being.

"Nya! This is incredibly frustrating!" Kuroka whined as she was attempting to break the barrier from outside, both devil peerage there to aid too, but with little success. Even she, who is renowned for her spatial magic and teleportation, couldn't do anything about this barrier. "It is not a barrier that was set in one day, I can tell that much. It most likely has some kind of generator that gathers magical power over time before being deployed."

"So, I take it you cannot get through?" Sona asked.

"Nya! Nup! This has taken some time to deploy, and I am afraid I cannot bypass it easily. But I can do something better." Kuroka said with a sly smile on her face. "I can track the source! The generator is likely outside the barrier, so once we locate it and destroy it, the entire barrier will fall apart!"

"I doubt they left something that important unguarded or at least well hidden." Kiba said. "We should expect resistance."

"Kuroka, try to track the generator, and once you do, I will go with my peerage to destroy it." Rias stated, earning a nod from the Nekoshou, which got to work immediately. "I cannot afford to lose Issei now, especially to the Fallen. He is my only hope."

"Ok…" Issei sighed, feeling his strength returning to him. His clothing was pretty much thrashed, so he threw his shirt away. He will replace it later with a new one. He deployed his Sacred Gear again, then applied one single [Boost]. He had to face those Fallen and see if he could win, if able.

As long as that barrier was up, he cannot escape this place, meaning it was do or die. With that in mind, he decided to make use of as much as he can, namely taking out the new sword the boss created for him and equipping it. Upon gripping the handle, he felt the power of the blade asking for blood to fuel itself, likely how Malachi did it. There was still some power stored within, but until he can learn more about how to use it, he won't risk doing something stupid and bleeding himself dry. Still, his other sword was also running low on energy.

It really was a do-or-die situation.

Still, he was going to have to fight them smartly. He knows next to nothing about them, seeing as the intel from Raynare was not concrete.

"It is now or never." Issei muttered, holding both blades as he activated [Aura Flare], knowing full well it was bound to attract them, and sure enough, he saw two figures erupt from the street, flying in the air and looking down at him from above. He held his two swords, not yet deploying his Balance Breaker since the Stamina drain might be too much for him, again, so instead he started by swinging both blades, sending the two long-ranged slashes at them, which the fallen easily dodged.

"Ha! Is that all you got?" Mittelt mocked, summoning forth a magical circle and firing several volleys of her own version of [Fireball] at him, Issei noticed them coming and used his [Water Jet] to counter them, creating steam as the two attacks met, but since his attack was a constant stream, it continued onwards, almost getting Mittelt, but he found himself dodging a spear that was thrown by Kalawarner.

"Mittelt! Do not toy with him, or do you want to end up like Dohaseek?" The more mature-bodied fallen said, making her teammate click her tongue, but overall, she didn't seem to mind much as she put her hands up, summoning two magical circles.

"You are such a spoilsport, Kala."

Volley after volley of magic and light spears came towards him, Issei dodging fire, lightning, light, ice, and even earth on a few occasions from Mittelt alone. Clearly, she was their magical powerhouse, but Kalawarner was not far behind either. Her skill with those light spears was impressive, able to create multiple and launch them with the impressive speed at him. Issei, for his part, had mainly used his blades as much as he could and dodged from the ground, trying to come up with a plan.

Eventually, however, as he advanced towards a car to take cover, Mittelt noticed this and shot the vehicle, making it go up in flames and explode, sending Issei back while taking heavy damage. Seeing this, Issei deployed his Balance Breaker and took to the skies, using his newly acquired [Parallel Mind] again to deploy several magical circles before sending down a rain of [Fire Arrow], the two Fallen being taken aback by the faster projectiles. Issei was able to also see how one arrow managed to pierce Kalawarner's wing. "Shit!" She swore, descending to the ground to tend to her wounded wing. Mittelt likely knew healing magic too, so letting them get back together was not an option.

They were not bosses, luckily for him, but that didn't mean he should let his guard down around those two. Instead, he capitalized on the opportunity and attempted to send a [Dragon Shot] at Kalawarner whilst she was down, but found his attack stopped by a barrier right before touching her, resulting only in damage to the surrounding area.

"Not on my watch!" Mittelt put her hands up, summoning a magical circle right ABOVE Issei, which roared as a bolt of lightning rained down on him, striking him full-on and delivering heavy damage to his equipment. The effects lingered for a bit, and he was forced to land, but that is not where the bad news ended. [Partial Paralysis], a Status Effect, was in effect over him, making him unable to sense his left arm. It had a timer, counting down from 3 minutes until he regained the use of that arm, but this only meant he had to watch out for lightning-based attacks.

Luckily, he didn't need his arm to summon his magical circles, and putting only one forth, he came up with a small idea and overlaid his circles, trying to choose fitting spells for what he was about to do next.

"What is he-"

"Go!"

Shooting out from two overlaid circles, a long tendril of water erupted, heading to Mittelt. However, the Fallen merely grinned as she launched her spells at it again, only for multiple tendrils of shadows to come from within the water and intercept them. "WHAT?!"

Sub-Skill Created!

This was a new skill, indeed. It has been a bit since he created a new skill for himself, especially one like this. [Abyssal Water Whip]. By covering the [Shadow Tendril] with the water which worked to deflect most light away, Issei could essentially now utilize his shadow magic again using this spell.

The tendril of water coiled and went to Mittelt, spawning others from itself as leaving her with little room to escape anymore. Sure, this was very much heavy on Issei's mana since this skill shared the stats of [Shadow Tendril], but it was worth it when they caught Mittelt by her ankle. "Ugh!"

"Get down!" Issei shouted as his tendril brought Mittelt down, crashing her into the pavement. However, that is when his [Danger Sense] screamed at him, just in time to dodge a spear of light as Kalawarner came up to him to fight face to face, swinging her spears like swords. Quickly bringing out his own sword, Issei struggled to defend himself from her strikes, mostly due to his currently out-of-order arm still being unusable.

But then it happened…The searing pain that shot through his right shoulder was impossible to mistake, as looking back at it he saw a spear of light going through his shoulder, Mittelt holding onto the other side, her head bleeding and showing a stream of blood trickling down. "This is revenge…" She twisted the spear, then Kalawarner swung hers down, going for a finishing strike.

"[Ki Pulse]!" Issei shouted in a panic, sending out a powerful pulse of ki that pushed the two of them back, even managing to stun Kalawarner, which Issei noticed and took the chance to rush her and deliver a [Power Kick] to her abdomen, sending her further back. [First Heal] then came into play to tend to his shoulder, managing to somewhat heal the wound after 4 uses of the skill to the point he could use his arm again.

Mittelt got up slowly, looking at him with shaky eyes. "Ki…How the fuck is he able to use Youkai magic as well?!" She asked herself, looking at Issei as he healed himself, grinding her teeth. "Every single time we think we have him figured out, he pulls something out of his ass that leaves us in the dust - I am sick of it!" Summoning forth a magical circle below herself, Mittelt focused and summoned an identical one below Issei, confusing him. 'Take this! 10 times earth's gravity!"

Issei collapsed, finding himself face-first into the ground as gravity seemingly increased drastically around him, making him unable to move. "What the fuck is this?!"

"Gravity magic!" Solomon answered. "My word, to think this Fallen is able to wield such complex and rare power!"

Issei activated his [Boost] again, pushing it to the limit to be able to withstand this level of gravity. He began to slowly get up.

"What, you want more?! Very well! 50 times Earth's gravity!" Once again, Issei found himself kissing the ground, but this time, his body dug INSIDE the concrete, causing additional pain and discomfort to the boy.

"Fuck…Damn, it…" Issei swore as he felt unable to move, trying to think of a solution to this.

"Hold him pinned down!" Kalawarner said, preparing multiple spears of light floating all around her. "To think you had Mittelt bring out her strongest magic…Such a scary enemy." She let her spears rain down on Issei, the Red Dragon coming to a desperate decision. He used [Transfer] on Mittelt's magical circle, empowering the spell further until he was pushed through the pavement back underground into the sewers.

"Crafty bastard!" Mittelt shouted, dust rising even as the spears of light went through it, raining down on the spot the Red Dragon once was. Her spell broke the moment the ground shattered apart, and now, they couldn't see him anymore. However, they did see something.

Blood. A lot of blood.

Then a cough was heard, looking to the side to see them coming out of a shadow, but with a hole in the side of their lower abdomen. One spear got them, it seems. The two Fallen Angels smiled as they saw the Red Dragon seemingly down for the count, having been both caught off-guard by her Gravity Magic and wounded by Kalawarner's spears of light. While not a devil, they knew he was something worse. A human. A mere human, with barely any special power to be able to withstand the damage done by a spear of light, and the fact his Scale Mail was cracking was proof enough of the amounts of damage he took.

For Issei, things were bad. Had he not used his skill in time, he would have been done for, but even like this he was not doing too well. But, that being said, this also works for him.

"Use the blood and draw this symbol."

Solomon spoke in Issei's ear as he listened, taking blood from his wound and drawing a symbol of some kind on the ground before him, all the while the two Fallen slowly walked closer, spears of light in hand to finish him off.

"Focus on the flow of power within your veins, my student. The same power is within the rune you just drew. When it is ready, focus on it and call out its purpose."

"Goodbye, Red Dragon."

The Fallen launched their spears of light at him, but before they connected, Issei shouted.

"[Crimson Barrier]!"

A couple of new skills were acquired with that, but this skill was Issei's first true defense skill, summoning forth a red-colored barrier before him that stopped the attacks in their tracks. The two Fallen Angels were shocked at the new spell, but more so was Mittelt, who knew Malachi used this exact same kind of magic. She had her suspicions about his power, but now she knew he must have a way to get the power of those he kills in some way or another.

"Blood Magic…" She muttered, clenching her fists tightly. His power was growing, and she didn't have enough magical power to bring out another round of gravity on him, but looking at the Red Dragon, the wounds inflicted on him were bound to be fatal if left untreated for too long. She and Kalawarner had one another's backs, leaving him no room to fight them back, meaning that if they stall him long enough, they might be able to win by simply letting his wounds kill him.

Too bad they didn't get the time.

"I, who am about to awaken-"

Hearing those words had the blood inside their bodies run cold, seeing the Red Dragon covered in crimson aura, his wings stretching out.

"Am the Heavenly Dragon who has stolen the principles of domination from God-"

"M-Mittelt, he is not seriously going to-"

"Do not take the chance, kill him now!" Mittelt shouted, using as much of her remaining magic to begin an assault on Issei's barrier along with Kalawarner, trying to break it before he finished the chant.

"I laugh at the 'infinite', and I grieve at the 'dream'-"

Finally, the barrier was down, and Kalawarner was the first who charged him, swinging her spear of light down. "Die!"

"You fell for it." Issei said, looking up as Kalawarner came at him and raised his hand, another symbol on it. "[Fireball]!" And a sphere of fire manifested from it, striking Kalawarner straight in the face, burning her eyes.

"AHHHH!" She screamed in agony as she collapsed, thrashing around. "My eyes! It burns! I cannot see!"

"Kalawarner!" Mittelt shouted, seeing her comrade down for the count, but just as she was about to rush in to provide aid, she noticed something around her…The surrounding area was fixing itself. "Impossible! Things should be fixing themselves ONLY when the barrier is about to come down! I didn't initiate that, meaning that…No…"

As everything was fixed and the barrier came down fully, all damage done to the area fixed, Mittelt looked behind her and noticed the devils already flying to her. More so, it looked like the Red Dragon was healing again, a hand over his wound. He was going closer to Kalawarner, and Mittelt knew the battle was lost.

"Mittelt…Help me…" Her comrade begged, but Mittelt was not going to risk her own life now. No, instead she ran, using some of the little magical power she had left to teleport away. "Mittelt?"

"Your comrade left you, Fallen." Issei said, looking down at her. "She fled, leaving you to die."

"That…That bitch!" Kalawarner snarled, even though she was blind. But then she heard other voices, that of the devils coming.

"I will make this quick." Issei said, taking a step back and summoning forth his magic yet again, preparing a [Fire Arrow] for her. But strangely, she began to laugh, confusing him.

"I might be dying here, but enjoy your victory for as long as it lasts, Red Dragon. Lord Kokabiel has plans, and even if you took us out, his plans won't stop here. You will die, PERISH by the hands of the Cadre!" She shouted, facing him. "Mark my words: I will see you in the afterlife one day."

"That day is not any time soon." Issei let his spell loose, striking Kalawarner through the chest. Despite it hurting him to remove such a pair of tits from the world, she was an enemy, and he had to take her down, no matter what. Her lifeless body fell to the ground, and Issei finally allowed himself to truly relax, stumbling over her corpse and going to his incoming friends.

Kalwarner was worth 200K EXP, which after going through his bonuses, turned into 255800 EXP.

Congratulations! You are now level 30!

As a result of reaching this level, the quest START HAULING ASS is no longer available, and you have been hereby awarded with 200K EXP.

Congratulations on surviving the event! As a reward, the system is hereby awarding you with 1 free level-up and 500K EXP!

Congratulations! You are now level 31!

Perk Acquired! [Novice Sharpshooter]

That was certainly nice, gaining so many levels in a single day. But fair be fair…He was hurting all over and he could really use a nap.

"Ise!" Kuroka shouted his name, rushing to him and managing to catch him as his Balance Breaker came apart. "Ise! Are you ok?! What happened inside that barrier?!"

"A lot…" He replied slowly, the others arriving as well and trying to make sure he was alright. Once Asia got there, however.

"You are hurt!" She shouted, noticing the wound on the side of his abdomen, which was still somewhat fresh. She began to use her Twilight Healing immediately on his wounds, wherever he could see them. Since he was shirtless, that exposed quite a bit of mark all over his body. "Who did this to you?! How many were there?"

"Aside from the leaders? At least a hundred Strays…" He replied, then he realized that he could have switched out his titles for more EXP during that fight. Stray Hunter did give an EXP bonus when killing Strays, after all. Something to regret later, however. "I think I don't want to do that again any time soon, or at all."

"I see you managed to take care of the Fallen." Rias said, approaching him as her peerage looked around with Sona's, trying to find and get rid of as many corpses of Strays as possible. Or at least pile them up for her to get rid of. Ingvild was not beside Issei, currently, but rather, she was helping Rias' peerage. "We identified this one as Kalawarner."

"Yeah, I know. I managed to take her out as I bluffed going into the Juggernaut-"

"YOU WHAT?! AGAIN?!" Kuroka shrieked at him, and Issei realized too late what he did. "Issei, you promised me you'd never do that again!"

"Sorry, but I had no other ideas! I was in a real pinch there!" Issei argued back, trying to defend himself.

"I swear…Fine, I will forgive you this time given the situation, but please don't do it again."

"Seeing what happened, sorry to say, but I can make no such promises anymore." Issei replied with honesty, making Kuroka look somewhat irritated.

"Well, you certainly ain't getting any tail for a while then."

"Oh come on, Kuroka, that is-"

"Partner, best let it go. Better use the manual method for a while." Ddraig said, seemingly siding with Kuroka. Asia was blushing quite a bit at the more intimate kind of talk, but the others in the hearing range didn't seem too affected.

"What about the other? There was another Fallen, a short, blonde girl." Rias asked, looking at him.

"She ran." He told her plainly and simply. "When I managed to strike Kalawarner with a fire spell that took her sight, the barrier came down and I think she panicked, so she ran away using her magic."

"I see, so she is still at large for the most part." Rias summarized, bringing a hand to her chin to think. "Well, I cannot say this whole incident doesn't have a positive outcome. The population of Strays in Kuoh has pretty much become extinct, which frees up a lot of time for my peerage to use for training until the Rating Game against Riser. Additionally, and correct me if I am wrong, but you did become stronger, didn't you?"

Issei looked at her with a confused gaze, wondering how she might know, but then he recalled something. The symbol he drew. "O-oh…You saw that?"

"It is close to Kalawarner's corpse." Rias stated. "Blood Magic. Honestly, I didn't picture you as a dark magician."

"Nya! Forbidden magic?!"

"Issei, where did you learn that?!" Asia gasped. "Such magic is strictly forbidden by the church since it is vastly dangerous!"

"I-"

"I taught him." Ddraig said, deciding to take the blame in front of Rias and tell the girls the full truth later. "One of the enemy Strays was using Blood Magic against us, so I decided to combat fire with fire, so I gave Issei the necessary pointers to use it. He's a natural with magic, so he quickly figured out how to use it, luckily for us."

"I didn't realize you knew such dangerous magic, Red Dragon." Rias said, talking with Ddraig.

"Girly, I have been around before your parents even met. I learned many things through my various hosts as time passed, same with Albion."

"Regardless, this entire ordeal took out a bunch of my reserves." Issei said, slowly moving up as Asia finished her healing. He was a bit unstable on his feet, but with Kuroka offering support, he got up and stood before Rias. "I think I will retreat to my home if that is alright with you."

"Of course, you fought the main battle here, so you deserve most of the rest."

"Thanks. Oh, by the way, the body of one of the Strays is down in the sewers." Issei told her as Kuroka teleported him, herself, and Asia home, leaving Ingvild behind to aid Rias and her lot. However, once they were gone, Rias turned to Ingvild.

"Has he ever used other kinds of forbidden magic before?" She asked, quite sternly so.

"Not as far as I know. Blood Magic is the first kind of forbidden magic I see him use." Ingvild replied, knowing full well Solomon might have been the one to actually teach Issei, not Ddraig, given his higher skill in magic. Yet, she also understood why Rias would be nervous about his use of such magic. During Rating Games, the use of overly fatal magic was strictly forbidden, and the darkest magics, like Blood Magic, counted among them. If Issei were to use it offensively, it could spell trouble for Rias.

"Hopefully, he is careful with it." Rias said, then she went on with her peerage to proceed with the clean-up, making sure to contact the Grigori again to collect their dead companion. However, things proceeded well only until they found the corpse in the sewers, Rias and Akeno found it.

"Oh my." Akeno said, looking down at the corpse, which was clearly brutally killed as if it exploded from the inside out. Not to mention the heavy mutations that were still visible. "He fought this kind of monster?"

"And won, from the looks of things." Rias noted, preparing a sphere of her [Power of Destruction] to get rid of the corpse. "Let's get rid of this eyesore before-"

"Wait, Rias, look!" Akeno grabbed her attention, pointing to one of the corpse's hands, having drawn out a word with their blood. "Game? Why draw something like this in their last moments? Were they trying to relate a message of some kind?"

"It is strange. Perhaps it was something meant for the Fallen, but seeing as they lost, they must have not gotten it-" Rias stopped herself mid-sentence as she realized something. "The Stray…This Stray must have figured out Issei's secret."

"You mean the secret behind his strange power?" Akeno asked, Rias offering a nod. "I see. But what does it mean by 'Game'? WHAT kind of game? Is it like hunting, where prey is referred to as such, or perhaps it has another meaning?"

"Whatever it is, we will think more of it later." Rias said, using her ability to erase the corpse, leaving nothing behind. "For now, maintaining a solid bond of trust with Issei remains a priority. I won't risk it just to learn more about his power. Hell, for all we know, we may be unable to even use it ourselves, so even if we are to learn his secret, that doesn't mean it may do us any good."

"True." Akeno said, then she giggled a bit. "Still, he sure did show that Stray whose boss."

"A brutal execution, yes." Rias agreed. "I will need to talk with him about holding back during the Rating Game so as to not kill any of Riser's peerage members."

In another location, Mittelt stood bowing down before none other than Kokabiel himself, the Cadre looking at her with a piercing gaze, Freed standing at the side, watching with barely restrained laughter. "So, you failed…" Kokabiel said, summarizing everything in one simple sentence. "Not only that, but now we are one more member down. Kalawarner is dead, is she not?"

"Y-yes, Lord Kokabiel."

"And yet, here you are. Alive." The cadre replied, displeasure evident in his voice. "You ran away like a coward, Mittelt. Did you even give it your all?"

"I used my Gravity Magic, pushed it as far as I could, but-"

"Ha! Please, I doubt that cheap trick can do much against one of the Dragon Emperors." Freed finally said, making himself more known within the room. "That BASTARD did me dirty, and I KNOW for a given FACT something is not normal about him! Fuck the Longinus, this is something else entirely!"

"We suspect that Malachi might have learned something, but…"

"He is also as dead as they come!" Freed finished her sentence. "In the end, all this little operation of yours achieved was another loss and thinning our forces even more. Plus, wasn't your job supposed to be finding that golem?"

"We searched everywhere, he is nowhere to be found!" Mittelt said, trying to defend herself. "Our only choice was to try taking out the Red Dragon ourselves-"

"Enough!" Kokabiel shouted, silencing them both. "Mittelt, you are a talented user of magic, I will admit to that. But your small, weaker frame makes you completely unfit for the frontlines, and despite your plan having some solid attributes to it, you failed to fully comprehend the power of your enemy, hence your defeat."

Mittelt didn't reply, keeping her head low.

"But this time, you also failed to bring me something to compensate for the loss." The cadre said, focusing a bit and bringing out a sphere of fire in his own hands. "There must be punishment. Freed! Secure her and make sure her wings are facing me."

"With pleasure!"

"What- Wait, Lord Kokabiel-"

Before Mittelt could try and run away, Freed was already upon her, pinning her to the ground with his body, stomping on the back of her head and he slashed away at her dress from behind, exposing her wings fully to Kokabiel. The priest kept her down, a sword placed next to her head.

"Perhaps this will teach you not to disappoint me again, Mittelt."

"No…No, no, no NOOOO!"

The echoes of her screams echoed far within the church as Kokabiel burned her wings, Freed watching with glee as she thrashed in pain as the cadre made sure to leave no feather left behind, turning it all to ash. The smell of burned flesh spread within the room, and slowly, painfully slow, it ended. Mittelt remained there, her back fully exposed, and her wings…charred, burned, and never to help her take to the skies again. Her eyes were full of tears, and her vision unfocused, having lost consciousness along the way.

"Hmpf. Predictable." Kokabiel gestured for the rogue priests to come and collect her, likely to dress her wounds, which they did, taking her to her room. Once she was out of the room, Kokabiel sat down again. "At least our plans are continuing somewhat unhindered."

"If by that you mean losing Twilight Healing, three-fourths of your squad, and being in the literal hot spot of everything, then yes, things are going smoothly." Freed replied with sarcasm. "Sorry to admit it, boss man, but things are shitty right now. Way too shitty."

Kokabiel sighed, irritated by Freed. "At least we still have the support of the Old Satan Faction and their backing."

"Well, that is a plus." Freed stated. "They don't want the Underworld to sign that treaty with the other two factions, something you also do NOT want, mister Warmonger. Hence why we allied in the first place: You will be leading their assault on the day of the treaty, and in the meantime, when Valper arrives, we will be busy creating the holiest of swords to attack them as a surprise tactic! A perfect plan!"

"There is no such thing, Freed!" Kokabiel sternly told him, making him flinch. "Make no mistake. If I learned anything from the Great War, it's that no plan survives contact with the enemy. They are not standing still, after all, but constantly planning and scheming as well. I learned that lesson the hard way…"

The cadre held his left wrist, recalling a moment that gives him nightmares to this day. A general from the Devil's side of the Great War, one so powerful and ancient, Kokabiel could have sworn he was a Satan. But no. It was something worse. That man had completely decimated Kokabiel's army in one battle, and when the two of them fought, he barely escaped with his life. But his wrist remained scarred, a hideous burn mark on it. No healing magic could make it vanish either, which was a testament to that monster's power.

Whatever their fire-based power was, it blocked healing magics. He had to rely on his body's natural healing along with strong medication and weeks of bedrest and treatment to heal from merely a burned wrist, making him shudder to think what his entire body might have come out as from those flames.

"Oops. Sorry, I forgot about your PTSD."

"Again, Freed. You are LUCKY I need YOU."

"Did I mention how much I hate the human world at times, Dan? I think I did because this place sucks." Leon said as he and Danbooru were once again on their travels. Currently, per the words of their sexy guide, they were searching for their target within the Korean Peninsula, previously having looked in China as well. However, a few intel tips later, they learned that their target was moved deep within the territory of the most closed-off country out there.

North - fuckin' - Korea. Leon hated such places since they always felt so stiff to him. They were in the city of Sinuiju in the North Pyongan Province, North Korea, currently looking around the more shady areas to search for their target. So far, they had little success, mostly because it took a bit before they identified themselves as supernatural-aware individuals. And even then, the situation in this country was worse than many think.

North Korea had people in the government aware of the supernatural. Fearing it. Fuck nuclear weapons, they meant shit against stuff like the Power of Destruction, and they knew it, hence why they were actively hunting supernatural beings, although with little success in masking their tracks. It happened more than once that a bloodbath happened once Sirzechs or Azazel got wind of experiments happening here, but luckily, the North Koreans learned their lesson.

For the most part.

"Leon, we need to locate this person. Their skills are crucial for our plans." Danbooru reminded his comrade. They were currently heading to one other information broker, hoping they had something for them. "Focus on keeping up the illusionary magic. We do not want trouble with the locals."

"You are from Tibet, right?" Leon asked, earning a silent nod. "I am Spanish, Dan. My skin might have changed, but I was human once."

"Which makes me wonder why you'd hate your own world."

"Because it sucks! Before I was reincarnated and saw the Underworld, I never knew how limited my horizon was!" Leon replied, then the two of them slowed down, entering a small pub of some kind. Once in, however, Leon couldn't help but notice something a bit irking. "The police."

"Yes. Focus on your magic." Danbooru reminded Leon, then the two went forward, making sure to stay a fair distance from the two cops. Thanks to Leon's magic, the two of them looked like middle-aged Korean citizens, meaning there was nothing to be interested in with the two of them that'd be a bother to them. Sure enough, the bartender came up to them.

"Anything I can serve you, gentleman?" He asked, and even if Leon wanted to comment on the limited amount of booze available, not to mention the low variety, he let Danbooru do the talking. The larger man reached into his pocket, pulling out a couple of North Korean bills and sliding them across the counter.

"We wish to see the sunset." Danbooru said, letting the bartender know they were there for information, not pleasure. Taking the money, being careful not to be spotted by the two cops currently drinking, the bartender leaned in. At that moment, Leon allowed his magic to flicker, revealing to them just who they were, or rather, WHAT they were.

"You've come to a good place. The sun sets nicely on the river." The bartender replied, accepting their request. "I will get your drinks, sir. Here, have a tissue."

The bartender slid a piece of tissue to them, and Danbooru pulled out a pen, writing the information he wanted to know on it. This, of course, was hidden by Leon's magic. When the bartender returned with their drinks, which Leon didn't wish to drink, he took the tissue and opened it, looking at the question slyly. He then looked up at them again, then at the police officers, before turning the tissue and writing something back on it, sliding it back to Danbooru.

The larger man nodded his head, then he took the glass of alcohol, drank it, and then got up.

"Thank you for the drink." He said, then he and Danbooru made a B-line for the exit, coming out into the alleys. "He gave us a location."

"Fuckin' finally, some progress!" Leon said. "So, where are we going?"

"Apparently, there is an abandoned building located a few streets from here. It is used by the police forces here to conduct political kidnappings and store their captives." Danbooru said, which already had Leon cursing under his breath. "I am afraid our target is being sold to the Koreans."

"Great, just when I thought it couldn't get harder." Leon whined. "So, what is the plan? I go in using my stealth abilities to take out the guards?"

"Exactly." Danbooru confirmed.

"My pleasure."

Sometime later, the two of them were near the building, hiding on a nearby rooftop and looking down at them. Leon stood there with a hand over his hip, holding a knife in one of his hands. He didn't need more when it came to stealth, fair is fair, so this was bound to be enough. Looking down, he saw that there were no guards at the entrance outside of the building, but they couldn't fool him. There was the small glint of a sniper on the upper floor keeping guard.

"Easy." Using his magic to cloak himself, becoming invisible, he approached the building, jumping off the rooftop he was previously on and using another one of his tools, namely a nail tied with strong wire. Ok, it was a bit more complex, but it was close. It came out from the bottom of his knife, fixing itself to the side of the wall and allowing him to descend silently.

He then approached the entrance of the building, entering the lobby under the cover of his illusion magic, but that is when he noticed something. A camera. He was currently in a dead angle, where he could not be seen, but if he took another step he'd be spotted. His illusion magic may hide him from VISUAL detection, but if that thing had motion sensors he was cooked!

Hence why he decided to be more sly, and instead launched his wire up, thinking of taking a more alternate route. He pulled himself by his wire to the next floor, spotting the sniper there and grinning. He jumped inside the room, the floor creaking and slightly alerting them, but upon seeing no one there, they returned to their duty of keeping watch. Too bad they were wrong.

Leon drove his knife into the back of their throat, holding his free hand over their mouth to prevent them from screaming and alerting anyone else. No cameras in this room, making this easier. Once the sniper was dead, Leon laid him on the ground, then hovered a hand over him. "Gluttonous Copycat." His gear manifested, a black, ink-like substance pouring from his hand over the man, then forming two cat-like figures on the sides of him, looking at him with hollow eyes before pouncing and covering the corpse fully in their ink.

After that, the ink began to climb on Leon, doing so from his arm up, the corpse vanishing completely, but now, the real magic was happening. The ink covered every single part of Leon's body, then it started to change, changing in color until he fully copied the appearance of the man, including the clothing he wore.

Leon's gear also allowed him to look at their more recent memories and those they recalled well, which he used to learn the location of their target. "Down the stairs into the basement, end of the hall reinforced door. A gag over their mouth, plus their hands being cuffed with…Magical suppressors?"

Now this detail was something quite unexpected. So, the Koreans knew this person was able to use magic and had some access to suppressing technology, huh? Well, that is something to tell the bigger factions later. For now, however, Leon made use of his disguise. As the camera fixed on him, coming down the stairs, it only saw the sniper walking through, going down the stairs.

Leon went down until he reached the basement, coming across a point where two other guards stood. "Stop! What are you doing here? You should be keeping watch upstairs!"

"I got bored." Leon replied simply before he got out his knife, slashing the knife of the first guard. The second tried to raise their gun at him, but Leon moved quickly, using his hand to push their gun down and sock them over the face, dazing them before he let some wire loose, allowing him to throw the knife in such a way that it went through their neck, then he pulled it back, letting the wire return inside the handle. "Told ya I was bored." His disguise faded, but it was of little use now. He saw no cameras anymore.

Walking through the place, he saw that most cages were empty. Most likely the place was reserved for the more special guests of the communists. Speaking of them, he eventually reached the door where his target was. He inspected the lock, finding an electronic lock with an 8-digit password. "Pff! Come on, this model is at least one decade old!" Taking out his knife, he ripped the front of the panel off, exposing the circuits within. He messed a bit with the wires, eventually seeing the green light flicker as the lock on the door came undone.

"And done." Leon said, then he went to open the door, coming face to face with their target. The man before him was currently dressed in ragged clothing, and they sported a somewhat unshaven beard, making them look older than they actually were. If their intel was right, their target was only 4 years older than their brother, making them around 26 or so.

They had short, light-brown hair, and when Leon entered the room, they fixed their blind pupils at him. Their irises were a dark shade of purple, but their pupils were fully white, which was a testament to their condition. Currently, they were gagged with duct tape, and their hands tightly chained and tied, so much they couldn't even move a finger.

"Hello there, Mister…" Leon began but then realized something. They didn't have his name. "Forgive me, I do not know your name." He removed their gag, the man before him coughing a bit.

"It's alright." They replied, then took a few breaths. They had a strong British accent of some kind, although Leon could pick up some German hints here and there. "Who are you?"

"Name's Leon, I am here to bust you out. Here, hold up your cuffs." The man did so, and Leon wasted no time slashing them off, letting them then get up while rubbing their wrists, seeming a bit wobbly at first before they stabilized themselves. "Need help navigating?"

"No, thank you for the offering." The stranger said, then they took a deep breath. "Klang."

With that word alone, a pale magenta kind of light seemed to travel all over the place, covering every bit before returning to the stranger. Leon knew magic when he saw it, but to cast with only a word and no magical circle, which was quite uncommon, to begin with, was something that spoke volumes of this person's skill.

"I re-casted the spell I use for sight." They replied, turning to Leon, seeing only a shade of some kind. He saw gray, meaning human, but also hints of red, which meant they were a reincarnated devil, and lastly, he saw hints of gold, indicating a sacred gear. At rest, everything else was black with white lines, indicating corners, and so on. "I have been truly blind for quite some time, so this is quite refreshing."

"Well, you are quite the magician." Leon remarked, going closer to them. "I know you are half-devil, though…"

"Indeed, I am." They confirmed. "However, I never had that much of a taste for the magic used by that side of my family. I prefer to utilize human magic."

"You are quite skilled."

"I was taught by the best within the Grauzauberer Organization, although I do boast of leaving some of my teachers in the dust." They said, but then they turned to Leon. "But where are my manners? Forgive my tardiness regarding my introduction. I am George Merrygold, at your service."

"You sound a bit German, but I guess that is because you grew up in Germany, correct?"

"Berlin. I took studies in human schools as well." George confirmed, but then he turned around, narrowing his eyes further down the hall. "I would enjoy chatting more, but I think we must flee. I hear several footsteps and angry Korean shouting coming."

"Ah, shit, I thought I didn't trip any alarms!"

"You didn't." George reassured him. "The guards are required to give an hourly check, and I think they missed it. This warrants a mandatory check, and I believe they found a body. I can smell the strong aroma of iron and copper in the air."

"You have fine senses." Leon said, stepping forth to meet their guests. "I don't suppose you know any teleportation magic, do you?"

"Got a location?" George asked, a magical circle displayed underneath them as he spoke, a pure white one with a simple pentagram, but with the head of a lion in the center.

"I got another buddy waiting for me a couple of blocks away, the direction is northwest." Leon said, the magician behind him nodding their head as they focused, then, in a flash of light, they vanished.

"I see your mission went well." Danbooru said as Leon appeared together with George, the monk-like Stray already holding a set of clothing for their guest. He went to him, handing him the clothing. "Here you, and here is your quill as well."

"Ah, thank you, I really wished to be able to find it again." George said, thanking him. With Danbooru, he saw the same things he did with Leon, minus the glow from a gear. He then began to change his clothes, not seeming bothered by the audience. "Tell me, though, why save me? I do not know you, yet I can tell you have no ill will towards me in any way."

"I, along with Leon here, are Stray Devils. I am Danbooru, former Rook of the House of Dantalion."

"I am Leon, former Pawn of the House of Gamigin."

"Ah, I see. I am George Merrygold, Danbooru, Sir." The man introduced himself again, just as politely as last time. "But I am afraid you have not answered my question."

"We both require your skills as a magician, as well as overall aid. I know that the Great King Faction was responsible for your imprisonment. They have been moving you around the entire Asian continent, and it seems like they were aiming to have you vanish under the gaze of the Koreans." Danbooru explained. "But there is also the rumor of your status as a Stray Magician, kicked out for daring to steal something. Tell me, what did you touch?"

"Nothing I was not meant not to touch, my good sir." George said, getting his shirt buttoned up. "I always had a desire for knowledge, to further enhance my abilities. As you can see, I am as blind as they can get, but I learned to use magic to bypass this disability, even if via a mockery of sight. But I admit to walking inside the library without permission, namely the off-limits area. I found one of the books written by Merlin himself, testing one of my spells to allow me to read, but I felt something with my fingers. Merlin hid secret magic."

"Oh? And that kind of magic is the reason you were chased out?" Danbooru asked, George, nodding at his question.

"I am afraid the head of the organization didn't take kindly to my forbidden study, so I was removed before I could fully master it. With time, however, before I was captured by the Great King Faction, I trained with it and managed to develop a few spells of my own, along with some I learned from the book."

"Forgive me, but what kind of voodoo did you learn?" Leon asked.

"Why, Soul Magic, what else?" George said, making the two of them recoil in shock.

"That is some voodoo, alright…" Leon said, cold sweat running down his chin. "So, you can do stuff like extract one's soul and shit?"

"It takes a fair bit of focus, not to mention a suitable object to place the soul in, not to mention I cannot do it on the go, but yes, I can extract a soul from a person if given enough time to complete the spell." George replied with detail. "I am also capable of other feats, such as slightly altering sacred gears. However, their complexity has me struggling with anything above the level of Twice Criticals."

"Altering them in what way?" Danbooru asked.

"Well, I could lessen the connection it has with the soul, to a point where the extraction of one wouldn't be fatal anymore. Pure theory, however, I never tested it." George stated. "What I WAS capable of doing, however, was encourage the creation of a Sub-Species Balance Breaker by introducing foreign elements within the gear via the connection it has with the host's soul."

"I did hear there was a magician walking around with a Twice Critical able to double the size of rocks." Leon stated.

"Simple infusion with Earth Magic, nothing more." George explained.

"Well, we got this crazy magician on board!" Leon said, going over to a spot to sit down. "What next, Dan? Is there anyone else you wish to find, or are we moving on with something else? That bit of action I got back there was nice, but simply walking from country to country is getting boring and taxing on my feet."

"As far as everything goes, there is no one else we need to find." Danbooru confirmed, making Leon thank his lucky stars for that. "Instead, it is time we acted. My brothers, our enemy is not one, they are many, and they wield great influence. However, with our combined skills, I am more than certain we can attain victory, even if we do so by stealing it from right under their noses."

Slowly, Danbooru reached inside his clothing, pulling something out. George noticed it immediately, as it radiated with a crimson glow in his eyes. An Evil Piece. But the shape showed him something else. A King Piece. "Well, I did not expect that." George said, pulling out one as well, but his one was broken, snapped in half.

"I see." Danbooru said, seeing the broken piece. "No wonder they wanted your head."

"I guess I know who the enemies are…" Leon said with a grin on his face. "The Great King Faction."

"For centuries, they have been manipulating the Rating Games, putting their chosen aces at the top using those. There are only 12 in existence, and we hold 2. It may not seem like much, but this is already too much of a slip for them."

"So what is the plan?" George asked.

"In order to cover themselves, they have killed a Devil woman by the name of Cleria Belial, the previous owner of Kuoh before Gremory and Sitri. They used her romantic affair with a now-deceased exorcist as a cover-up story. But I know the full truth." Danbooru stated. "I managed to collect information, and I learned almost everything I needed."

"Almost everything? I assume this is where I come in, no?" George asked.

"George, I need you and Leon to conduct one final task before we can openly declare our war against the Great King Faction." Danbooru began, getting both of their attention. "Lord Bael is part of that faction, I know it for a fact. He is bound to have documents within his study we can use, specifically, we are looking for letters between him and other members of the Great King Faction, discussing their plans."

"A simple plan and concept." George remarked. "But I am afraid walking within their territory will cause me quite the discomfort. What is it that you need me that your expert in stealth cannot do?"

"Cause a distraction." Danbooru stated, the plan becoming clear to them. "You and I will distract them, while Leon here sneaks inside and finds the information we are looking for. I already have a contact within the Underworld which will spread whatever we find to the entire general population."

"Still, your enemy is the Great King Faction. Do not tell me you expect them to take this standing down?" George remarked.

"Of course not." Danbooru confirmed. "After our first strike, I expect them to go up in high alarm, seeking us out to eliminate us before the likes of Ajuka Beelzebub unleash their wrath on them and take care of the issues they caused."

"After we strike, I assume we will be going on our merry ways - no pun intended, Merrygold."

"No worries, Leon." George replied to the man. "True, if we split after that it would make it harder for them to locate us. I assume you have hiding spots chosen?"

"There is no need to worry about the two of us, George, we will be fine," Danbooru said. "But what about you?" In the aftermath, where will you head?"

George 'looked' down a bit, thinking. "I think I know."