Stain is worth all 8 [Pawn] pieces, and is basically a bootleg Alucard if it brings back its whole mass together.

With the news about Stain and the danger that the creature posed, everyone chose to bunker down in Diodora's apartment. But, not content with that, his bedroom turned into some sort of spot for a pajama party to take place. As Genshirou slept on a futon alongside his siblings. Right by the end of Diodora's bed.

"..."

His sister slept on the couch to the left, uncomfortably enough that Diodora could see it in her sleep. While the catgirl sisters slept by Diodora's feet in their cat form as two furballs comfortably lying against one another. He'd have taken a picture if owned a phone, and if he didn't find the whole situation a bit unnerving.

Miyuzuin slept to his right. She stayed so stiff that Diodora actually had to wonder if she hadn't died, because he couldn't even hear her breathing even with his devil ears. It hadn't been uncomfortable at night, but waking up and seeing that she hadn't moved even slightly through the whole night did make him feel strange. And so he couldn't help looking at the Belial girl and wondering.

Did she always sleep that way? Did she ever relax?

"Yes?" Miyuzuin spoke up after a bit, still with her eyes closed but clearly awake.

"You scared me." Diodora shivered "Do you ever relax?"

"Given the circumstances, no."

"Ah, that's fair." Diodora sat up, looking at the room and feeling grogginess creep up from the back of his eyes into his forehead.

What an unpleasant feeling.

"It's still early, you should sleep a bit more." Miyuzuin stated, opening her eyes to look at Diodora while he shuffled to the edge of the bed.

"That'd be lovely, but I know I won't fall asleep again." He made a face in spite of giving Miyuzuin his back, and silently walked out of the room "I'll take care of breakfast."

She didn't answer immediately, but ended up nodding and closing her eyes again.

Diodora made his way to the living room and the kitchen attached to it, separated by the counter and chairs around it. He helped himself along by placing a hand on the walls for stability. After All is Mine finished its effects, Diodora felt a lot stronger. Both physically and in power, but he still needed some support to move along. Maybe he could get a cane now, instead of using the crutch. For fighting, reinforcing his body would be enough, but he was advised against doing that for his daily life. Given how channeling Ophis' power through his body was the catalyst to his current body problems. Perhaps, with Kuroka's help, senjutsu would get rid of that problem. But that was a solution for later. For now… Well, he should stop thinking about useless things and get to work.

Truth be told, he didn't want to cook for so many people. He knew he could delegate the cleaning afterward, and that it'd be a simple enough affair if he didn't try anything complicated, but the process still bugged him a bit. So he got distracted, thought about things that didn't matter in the here and now… Maybe Stain's clear betrayal got to him more than he thought.

Or wanted to admit.

He sighed. He didn't have enough things to feed everyone, anyway. He'd need to go out and buy some things. But he also didn't want to go alone. It felt… Uncomfortable now.

He couldn't leave with Miyuzuin or Kuroka, he'd feel like he was taking one of the good fighters out of the equation. So he supposed it was as good a moment as any to call for Sin Devourer. Even if it was a bit early, he did say Diodora could call him for anything. And so, he left the apartment and went to the main entrance of the building.

He couldn't tell before, but this place had some magic circles hidden somewhere. Probably some security system plus whatever magic for privacy would be necessary. People would probably be prevented from outright teleporting within. Or so were the ideas that Ajuka's power gave him, even without scanning or trying to 'read' the power that he detected. It felt… Strange, but cozy. Safe. He could just reach out in his mind, and the flow of power would give him glimpses of what was and could be. Like an AI phone support right in his mind.

It would probably be dumb to try to summon Sin Devourer within, so he chose to get out beforehand. Just to avoid trouble.

"Ah, Diodora-san. What a surprise." Yuuto's voice made Diodora stop in his tracks and look behind. The blond had a casual outfit, but he had clearly just woken up as well.

Did he sleep with outside clothes all the time?

"Yuuto, good morning." Diodora placed a hand on his chest, expression neutral as the blond approached "Fancy seeing you out and about so early."

"I could say the same." Yuuto chuckled "You disappeared on us again, and we were joking it'd take another year before you came back."

Diodora shook his head, letting himself smile at the dark humor behind Yuuto's words.

"What can I say? It's been a while since I saw my peerage, and Genshirou deserved something after finishing school. It's just that I had something come up out of the blue, so I dragged everyone with me again." In reality, Diodora didn't want to explain his sudden absence after coming back from the beach. So he kept it brief, talking with a hint of the topic being private. So Yuuto wouldn't ask any more.

"The beach, right? It's been a while since we had some time to go swim." Yuuto smiled wishfully "But, well, Diodora-san is always full of surprises."

The fake devil tilted his head, not too sure what the blond meant by that.

"Am I interrupting something?" Yuuto asked suddenly, changing expression "It is kind of early, so maybe Diodora-san should be somewhere else?"

"Everyone slept at my place, I wanted to go out and buy something that can feed like seven mouths at once."

"Ah… Can I make you company in the meanwhile?"

Diodora frowned.

"Is it a bother?"

"Not at all." Diodora turned halfway and motioned to the door "After you."

"Hehe, thanks." Yuuto walked out and waited for Diodora. He offered him a hand to walk, but the fake devil turned him down. He wanted to stretch his limbs, enjoy moving under his own power without aid. Even if later he had to go back to the crutch. It'd been a while since he was strong enough, after all.

"So what's the occasion?" Diodora asked while they slowly made their way around the town. Yuuto didn't complain about his slowness, so Diodora took the time to wake up. He left home in his pajamas, barely doubling as sports clothes because of the fabric, but he'd made a point of dressing comfortably instead of stylishly. His sister would reprimanded him later, but Diodora wanted to get better before that happened "I don't think it's so easy for us to cross paths at this time, even if we do live in the same building."

"I was out doing exercise, it's not that strange." Yuuto shrugged "But I did have an eye out in case you came out. I… Well, some of us have meant to talk to you. But you always disappear out of nowhere, so only Rias has really had any time to talk."

Diodora shook his head.

"I don't just 'disappear', Yuuto. I left with my peerage. We had a nice day out, and were dragged elsewhere. One was planned, the other was something outside of my control."

"I know that, I really do." Yuuto chuckled, but it sounded more sad than anything "It's just that, it feels like you're making distance from us. It's… Weird."

Diodora stopped, making Yuuto do the same and look at Diodora's eyes.

"I haven't even been back at Kuoh for a whole week, Yuuto." Diodora licked his lips, feeling weirdly put off by the guy's opinion "I was imprisoned for a month, I came here and you guys were celebrating. I was here for Rias' outing, I left for the beach with my peerage. It's not like I've been avoiding you guys, but I also don't see why you'd think I should favor spending time with you instead of my peerage."

"Is it because you like girls with a bad attitude?"

The accusation stunned Diodora out of his thoughts, bringing him back to the time Koneko inquired about why he took Kuroka with him.

Was this going to be a reoccurring thing?

"What do you mean?" Diodora honestly felt puzzled, like cold water had been poured onto his face. Had he known his character would be challenged in the same way that the original Diodora was, he'd have stayed at home.

"I mean, Kuroka has this air of being a troublemaker… Charges against her aside, I believe Koneko-chan's judgment in her family's character." Yuuto looked troubled, but spoke like he had thought about this for quite a while "And Yuni… Well, Yuni-san is very cold and abrasive at once. It's hard to not see a pattern there."

Diodora blinked a couple of times, still stunned.

"Star Seeker almost killed me." He reminded the blond.

"Well, yes. I'd think there's an exception to every rule." Yuuto nodded, looking very sure about his personal theory "Gen-kun did implied that the way you met Yuni-san wasn't very friendly either, and Kuroka is… Well, she came from the Khaos Brigade, right?"

Diodora scoffed, feeling defensive but not answering immediately.

"I don't… That's not what I meant." Diodora backpedaled once he realized this line of thought would lead nowhere "I meant what do you mean 'it's because'? What is 'because of' this… Imagined preferences you think I have?"

"Everyone has preferences, Diodora-san." Yuuto smiled.

"Answer the question, Knight."

"I… Well, it sounds dumb said out loud." The blond scratched the back of his head.

"Well, it clearly bothers you enough to mention it."

"I…" Yuuto cringed to himself "Let me ask you something different: Did you order Yuni-san to give me the Blade Blacksmith?"

Diodora thought about it for a moment, trying to deduce how that had anything to do with Yuuto's pushiness about his time.

"So what if I did?"

"See, that's what I don't get." Yuuto frowned "You were nice to us, maybe a bit distant. But when things got tough, you stepped forward and protected us. Helped us along in the most dire time."

Yuuto stretched his hand, doing a motion like he wanted to grab onto a sword.

"Akeno-san felt really empty after everything was said and done, I couldn't have snapped out of my… My anger… If it weren't for your directions. You sacrificed your body, and very nearly your life, just so we would all live."

"It was the best option." Diodora argued immediately. Yuuto simply smiled.

"That's not nearly as true as you think. You could've escaped, you could've left us to our destiny. Hell, I'm pretty sure that no one would've faulted you if you asked for Sirzechs-sama's help instead of sending Rias-san… It'd make sense. Even if we wind up being powerless to stop Shiki-san…" Yuuto shook his head "But you didn't. You stayed. You said and did things that changed everything, showed us a side of you that not a lot of people even have… And then, you completely ignore us when you come back. It hurts, Diodora-san. Like it or not… It made us feel special."

Diodora fell silent, taking in every single word coming out of Yuuto's mouth. It made the swordsman get a bit heated, but Diodora allowed him to say his part. To express himself.

"And now, I have the same two Sacred Gears as Shinon-san. I… I don't know what to believe anymore. Do you care for us? Do you see us as tools? I can't… I won't leave Rias-san's peerage, this is not enough. And if you didn't intend to convey this message, then I'm sorry but I can't understand what your intentions are if you refuse to even look at us."

Diodora nodded along, listening.

"My peerage is the people that stayed, Yuuto." Diodora spoke gravely, with little intonation "They had every reason to leave, to go their own ways… But they didn't. They held the fort, they kept the plans I had going. They soldiered on in my absence with little to no incentive, for no reason that their belief that I was right."

He chuckled, and he felt a bit weak. Not in the usual way, but something that had more to do with his heart and mind.

"It makes me happy to know that you guys think so highly of me, but you didn't infiltrate the Khaos Brigade. You didn't stave off Stain's hunger or kept my involvement with those damned terrorists under wraps… It was Genshirou, Kuroka, Miyu–." Diodora closed his mouth in a frown. He saw that Yuuto wanted to protest but just lifted his arm to stop him "Circumstances made it so, I'm aware. But they mean the world to me, Yuuto. I'm alive because of them. They alone deserve the world, and I can't bear to treat everyone else like they mean the same to me."

Diodora placed a hand on Yuuto's shoulder, shaking him a bit.

"And I mean, it's been a couple of days, man. All I did was try to show them my appreciation, I wanted to dedicate my all to showing them how much it means to me. I didn't ignore you guys just to spite you. I didn't invite you nor say anything because these things were meant to be special." He smiled awkwardly "I can totally meet you guys halfway, see you. I don't hate you, if that's what you're afraid of. You did your best too, the scars I bear in your stead have changed nothing but me gaining a lot of respect for you guys. I just… I need time. Let me express my love to my people first. They've earned it."

"That's… I guess you're right, Diodora-san." Yuuto looked at the ground, chuckling awkwardly "I guess I've just thought about this for far too long, and expect things to be different right off the bat."

"Please remember that, to me, Star Seeker trapped us and next thing I knew was that I was under trial." Diodora spoke slowly, softly.

"Yeah, to you it probably sounds strange to think that almost 3 years have gone by…"

Diodora nodded, feeling like Yuuto was getting to the right conclusion.

"Thank you for telling me this, Yuuto. I… I don't want to repeat the same mistakes as I made with…" Diodora trailed off, looking into the distance.

"I… Yes." Yuuto didn't know what else to say. It didn't matter, Diodora did.

"Would you like to take breakfast with us? I could use some help." He smiled the Rias' Knight.

Yuuto looked a bit lightheaded.

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

Waffles made Genshirou's little siblings very happy. And the rest of the team helped to order things and clean. By the time they were all done, Yuuto seemed to have calmed down. And he even talked a bit with Miyuzuin about fights and swords in general.

Diodora hadn't liked his attitude, it felt really out of the blue. But he didn't hate it. Perhaps, if his reaction had been the opposite, Diodora would've been pissed off. He did endanger his life to protect them, thinking that it'd mean something after everyone found out his allegiances. But it turned out to be a moot point.

Still, and maybe this was Diodora coping and seething, it meant that he still had some standing with the right people. Even if his connection to Ajuka and Sin Devourer turned out more beneficial… Indeed, the more Diodora thought about it, the more it looked like staying in Kuoh would be pointless. Genshirou already finished high school, and Kuroka had already lived in a way that had her hang out with her sister only from time to time. If Diodora wanted, they could pack up and leave for a better strategic position. Hell, without Rias' group around the only thing that this team missed was the holy-demonic weapon creator and that'd be it.

Yuuto's comment about peerages did arouse a bit of curiosity in Diodora, namely if he'd want to switch sides with enough prompting. But he'd have to cut his plotting short.

Yuuto got a call, and that basically spoiled the mood when everyone just stopped talking when Yuuto proclaimed that Fate Weaver had come back to town. It was midday by that point, but the merry feeling hanging around the apartment completely drained after those sentences escaped Yuuto's mouth.

Diodora immediately sent his sister out of town with Genshirou's siblings.

"Are you sure? We could confirm right now if…"

"Pointless." Diodora interrupted her with his Autosuggestion full in effect "If he's as idiotic as he's shown himself, a fight could start. I don't want him getting any funny ideas here."

"You really don't have any confidence in Hyoudou-kun's goodness, huh." Yuuto commented, a bit weirded out by Diodora's sudden mood change and how differently he treated this so-called 'Valerie'.

"I believe in him believing that I'm a nun fetishist rapist." Diodora spoke gravely, making Yuuto cringe "I promised Genshirou the safety of his siblings, I'll give it to them."

"Thanks, Diodora-san." Genshirou looked deep in thought, but his mood shifted toward that of determination "If it comes down to it… I'll kick Fate Weaver's ass."

Yuuto turned to Genshirou, even more weirded out.

When they moved to the higher floors of the apartment complex, the place where they had held Yuuto's and Genshirou's party, the whole group had come to some weird agreement. Moving as one with Diodora at the center, Miyuzuin and Yuuto at the front, Genshirou at the back, and Kuroka and Shirone to either side of him.

The bastard that used to be Diodora's elder brother waited for them surrounded by what could've been called his harem.

"Yuuto?" He frowned, face full of suspicion.

"I was invited to breakfast by Diodora-san." Yuuto closed his eyes and spoke fluently, without a hint of malice nor aggression "I merely overstayed my welcome."

Rias and the rest of her peerage stood farther back, staying close as a team and giving the girls that Fate Weaver brought some space for themselves. The so-called girlfriend clung to the brown haired Miracle Child like she would trip at any moment, partially hiding behind his shoulder and giving Diodora a suspicious look. He recognized Irina and Xenovia almost immediately, clad in their white cloaks and only partially revealing their faces.

"...!" The last face made Diodora almost trip, but Autosuggestion stood. It was a face that he didn't want to see, two emerald eyes that looked at him with no malice whatsoever. Only with regret "Mister devil…?"

"How quaint." Diodora ignored Asia completely, letting himself out of the protective circle his people made. Stretching his arms to either side "We meet again, Fate Wea—."

A wave of blonde hair rushed his way, interrupting his words. Diodora almost twisted space so she couldn't reach him, but his sharpened mind realized that whatever attack that came his way would be deflected sooner by Miyuzuin and Yuuto, rather than by his own hand. So he let this girl crash onto him, wrap her arms around him and sob.

It still made Diodora speechless, but at least he was unhurt.

"Asia?!" The blue haired exorcist stepped aside, but the rudeness of her body language made Miyuzuin take a step forward herself.

Everyone tensed, Diodora tried to pry Asia off his body when he felt her hands slither within his shirt and touch the reliefs left behind by Ophis' power.

"Hey, hands off!" Kuroka grabbed Asia and pushed her away from Diodora, almost hissing as she did.

Diodora made a face, in spite of no pain coming to his mind, just so the catgirl would look justified in her actions.

"Release me! I…!" Asia tried to move closer to Diodora, but Kuroka held her in place. Unwavering.

"Ise, please talk some sense into her." Rias quickly intervened, hurrying to put herself between Fate Weaver's group and Diodora's. Giving the Miracle Child his whole attention "This is not what we agreed to do today."

"There's a lot more story in here, captain." Loup crossed his arms, looking mostly uninterested in all of this "Let them have a moment."

"No, Rias is right." Fate Weaver frowned, balling his hands as he spoke "I also don't want Asia to be so close to him… I meant to talk one on one first."

"Whatever you may need from me, it can be said in front of everyone." Diodora made a face, eyeing Asia for a moment before turning his attention back to the Miracle Child "I agreed to meet you in this fashion. Other than that… It might require time."

"What… What happened to you…?" Asia pleaded, tears welling from her eyes "What did they do to you, Mister devil…?"

"You know what I mean." Fate Weaver's tone was dangerous, like he warned Diodora without saying anything. Like he wanted to threaten him.

Diodora wanted to smirk, but pursed his lips closer together. Even Asia's mumblings didn't shake Autosuggestion off. He had more to work with now, after all.

"I…" Diodora interrupted himself once he saw Miyuzuin tense.

He looked in the direction she was looking, right to the window that looked to the street in front of the building.

The town had disappeared, only a very thick mist remained.

His warped mental state helped him make the call at once.

"Yuni."

"Everyone, come close!" Miyuzuin ordered once Diodora gave her the reins of the group, motioning and hurrying to close the gap with Fate Weaver and Rias' peerage.

Kuroka and Genshirou reacted first, helping Diodora to not trip as Akeno motioned the her mistress' peerage to do the same. Startling Fate Weaver's girls as they found themselves surrounded by devils on all sides.

"What? You need your girl to get you out of trouble?" Fate Weaver grinned, otherwise looking very in the zone, as Diodora gave him his back.

"A King leads his country to victory in times of peace." Diodora stated simply, his wrath feeling distant due to his mental spell "A General does in times of war."

The walls were swallowed up by the mist which poured from within the brick itself, warping their surroundings until nothing could be seen except for the mist.

Bel Lucifer fell from the heavens, a toothy grin on her face and a thick cape on her hand which made enough darkness to count for Annihilation Maker to start pouring monsters out.