"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Flashback"

"Attack/Name"

"Narrator"

"To put it simply, I need your help." Rias started, Issei tilting his head in a curious manner before asking, "With what?"

Before Rias continued her explanation, she stated, "Let's get walking, it's a long story."

Nodding, he watched as she took a deep breath before resuming with, "I never told you, but the Underworld is separated into 72 clans, well at least it was."

"What happened?"

"There are many names for it, but most of us call it the Great War, it was what ended the Age of Gods. As for how the war started, we're not entirely sure, though we do know it started inside the Underworld before spreading to both the Fallen and the Angels, eventually dragging other factions from the supernatural. Eventually the war dragged in the two Heavenly Dragons, Y Ddraig Goch and Albion, forcing the three biblical factions to work together and kill the dragons."

"And is that how the war ended?" Issei interrupted, focusing on the history lesson.

"No, though I'm sure many of us wish it ended like that." Rias answered, before continuing with, "The war ended with one final battle, when a being of unimaginable power was sent onto this Earth, where the final battle was taking place. In only a few swift moves, the being killed Ddraig and a vast majority of the population of the Underworld, and Heaven. It was because of this being which caused those in the supernatural to go back to their respective homes, putting an end to the Great War."

"What about the other dragon, Albion?" Issei asked, Rias once again explaining, "After the war, he attempted to dig into the Earth for unknown reasons, where he eventually died. Getting back on track though, after the war, both dragons would have their souls sealed into Sacred gears."

"Ddraig…" Issei whispered, although Rias still heard as she replied, "Yes, it's easy to sense his power within you."

As though waiting for her to say that, the familiar mechanical red gauntlet appeared on Issei's arm as Ddraig stated, "So that's what you want with the boy. Yet you still haven't explained why you need our help."

Rias looked shocked that the gauntlet appeared, remembering having seen Issei fail to activate it. Noticing this from within, Draig commented, "Surprised to see me, Gremory? If you're wondering, the boy can't draw me out, rather I have to force myself out."

"A little bit, it seems that Sekaino was able to draw you out." Rias commented with a drop of curiosity, getting back to the original topic, Rias stated, "As for why I need your help, Issei. You see, after the war there were only three clans which remained whole out of the 72. My own clan, Gremory. The other two clans being Sitri and Phenix. I need your help because one of these clans is attempting to… abduct me."

Issei paused at her last words, it was clearly a lie. Noticing his skepticism, Rias added, "It's not quite an abduction, but it's best I don't go into too much detail. All you need to know at the moment is that one of those two clans are planning to imprison me."

"Sounds like one hell of a story, so what do you need me to do? Act as your bodyguard?" Issei retorted, though in truth he wasn't far off. Sighing in defeat, Rias answered, "Yes, I suppose that's the simplest way you could put it."

"Oh, I actually was just guessing. I had no idea." Issei admitted, a flat look falling on Rias' face before she sighed. Shaking his head, Issei asked, "How would I do this if I were to agree?"

"First off you'd have to join my Peerage, and to do that I'd have to turn you into a Devil." Rias explained, Issei wincing in response. Up ahead the pair saw the school, several students popping into view heading the same direction. Both overhead their peers whispering about seeing one of the biggest perverts with the most revered girl in the school. Several comments went along the lines of, "How is he walking with her?"

"He must've blackmailed her, or brainwashed her. There's just no way!" A student said, just loud enough for both to hear, Issei thinking, 'Kinda the opposite actually.'

Rias sighed lightly before putting on a smile for those around her to see, Issei commenting, "Clearly your fans don't like me around you, so I guess we'll have to talk about this later."

"Wait, Issei!" Rias called out just as Issei started to walk off, turning to look at her as she continued, "Just meet my Peerage and I at the clubroom, bring Sekaino so we can talk about this whole thing."

"Yeah, sure thing. See ya, Rias." Issei answered before he walked off, flicking his hand off in the air to give the girl a half hearted wave.

"This better be worth it, Issei." Sekaino sighed as he walked through the old wooden building. Remembering the same path Kiba took him on yesterday, Issei found himself in front of the same double doors to the clubroom. Knocking on the door, Issei yelled, "Rias! We're here!"

The men heard Rias call back, "Come in you two!"

Opening the door, both walked into the dim room, seeing the same group from yesterday already present in their previous positions. The group looked over at the two, their previously polite smiles gone as they carried a resolute expression. Issei sat next to Kiba, Sekaino opting to stand opposite from where Rias was standing. Rias took a deep breath before stating, "Sekaino, I need to tell you why I need Issei's help-."

"I already know, and I don't care." Sekaino interrupted, stunning everyone in the room. Rias, trying to bargain with the man added, "B-but, Issei should've-,"

"He did, and I won't get involved with it." Sekaino stated coldly, a sharp glare on his face before he continued, "But, that doesn't mean Issei can't get involved. If he agrees I will be willing to train him for whatever fight you need him to partake in. I however can't get involved, I merely maintain the natural balance of this and every Earth. I will not get involved with something that doesn't threaten my planet."

Sekaino's expression softened, the tension in the room lowering exponentially. Rias for the first time since they met smiled a real smile, obviously thankful for his decision. Her smile remaining on her face, she asked Issei, "Then Issei, would you want to help me and my peerage?"

Issei had a determined expression, before responding, "First, I want to lay out some of my conditions before I say yes or no."

"That's fine with us, I think we're all grateful that the both of you are willing to help at all." Akeno commented, Rias nodding at her friend's answer. Issei huffed before continuing, "First of all I don't want any of my friends or family getting involved at all. Second, I want to know that this is either temporary or won't end up with me becoming a slave or some freaky shit like that."

"Done and done. You can rest easy knowing that I never had any intentions on bringing any of your friends and family into my conflicts." Rias replied with a smile, Issei wasn't finished however. Giving the girl a fierce glare, he stated, "Lastly, I don't want to become a Devil. Not yet at least…"

Rias sighed at his last condition, knowing she'll have to think of a back up plan. However she stored her discontempt away, responding with, "I can work with that. Then is it settled?"

Issei looked up, thinking of any other terms he might have. Drawing a blank Issei looked back at the girl, answering with a content face, "I guess it is. I suppose all that you need to tell me is more information."

"Yes I suppose that is true." Rias admitted, her hand resting on her chin. Looking back at Issei she began, "To put it simply, I am being forced into an arranged marriage."

Issei didn't respond vocally, but his expression was enough to tell everyone he wasn't a fan of the tradition. Rias, with a grateful smile continued, "The situation my clan is in is… delicate. So we believe it best to repopulate the Underworld. And we believe if the clans unite via marriage, we'll all be stronger as a whole. I personally believe that I shouldn't have to marry, but it's the situation I'm facing regardless of my thoughts."

"Just who is this clan?" Sekaino asked, more so out of curiosity than concern. Regardless of the reason, Rias answered, "The House of Phenex. And much like the mythical creature, they have control of flames and fire."

"And I'm assuming immortal as well." Sekaino inquired, Rias nodding as she said, "Yes, their body is composed of the very fire they use. Giving them immense regenerative properties."

Sekaino smirked, perhaps if he fought them they'd give him a decent fight. Issei, taking the lead, asked, "Then what do we need to do?"

"The man who I am supposed to marry is Riser Phenex, the third in line for the position of head of the Phenex clan. Killing him is most likely out of the question, however he isn't known for being the strongest in terms of will power. So despite his regeneration he will submit once enough pain has been inflicted." Rias explained anger leaking into her tone. Sekaino took note of this, before commenting, "It would be good practice for you Issei… Then all I'd have to do is train not only Issei but the rest of you."

"You'd really be willing to help us?" Akeno asked with a curious smile. Sekaino nodded, sighing as he answered, "Might as well, besides you shouldn't have to rely on others to solve your problems, so might as well get all of you to improve a little so you don't have to bother Issei and I.

Also, are there any time constraints? I'd like to know if I'm gonna be training all of you." Sekaino asked, Rias shaking her head before responding, "Not that I'm aware of, though I'd like to bolster our forces as quickly as possible."

"Makes sense, though I'm not quite as sure how I would train you all. Perhaps I need to train your individual powers…" Sekaino pondered, the group perking up at his words yet remaining silent. Sighing, Sekaino asked, "Is there a place we can train in private, if we need to do this quickly, then we ought to stay somewhere where no one can see us."

Rias nodded before stating, "Yes, we have a private manor on the outskirts of Kuoh. It's isolated in the mountains, so you should be free to go all out."

Sekaino chuckled at the girl's proud smile, with his own cocky smile, he replied, "Oh no, I wouldn't go that far. But far enough for me to whip you all into shape."

"Then let's get going. It's a fair distance from here." Rias stated, her Peerage nodding in response.

"It's such.. a far walk… are.. we almost there…?" Issei asked between his labored breath, his sweaty hands clamped around the straps of his bag.

"You're almost there, quit complaining." Sekaino ordered as he walked up the dirt sodden hill. Joining Rias and Akeno at the top, Sekaino leaned against a rock face as he waited for Issei and the others to catch up.

"Just a few more meters, Issei!" Rias reassured, though Issei still kept the same tired expression.

"On your right." Kiba recalled as he passed Issei, the boy yelling, "Seriously!? Did they give you a bag of feathers or something!?"

As he yelled that, Koneko overtook Issei, a massive sack of luggage hoisted on the girl's frame, Issei gasped in shock before falling backwards, moaning, "Ugh, I hate this!"

Rias had a bewildered face plastered on, Sekaino signing behind as Akeno merely giggled at the sight. Issei, through sheer force of will, pushed himself up from the ground, his legs shaking from the exhaustion before climbing back up. Sekaino, opening his eyes, turned to face the traditional manor on the hill. The site was surrounded by a dense forest, a small lake sat towards the front with a white gazebo off on the side. Huffing in approval, Sekaino stated, "A comfortable place to stay."

"Alright you guys, let's head inside and get going on this training." Rias announced, walking towards the manor. Issei, still not used to the amount of training thrusted into his life, yelled, "But we just got here! That's evil and nowhere even close to fair…"

Rias with a cocky smirk responded, "Why thank you."

"Wait, Rias!" Sekaino stated, stopping her as she asked, "Hmm? What is it, Sekaino?"

"I should lay out some ground rules before we start." Sekaino answered, before continuing, "First, I know Issei will be the strongest during your fight, but that doesn't mean you should rely on him. He will be who I focus on the most, but each and every one of you should still pick up something."

"Of course, we're all here to improve." Rias replied, before he added, "Second, I need to know the roles each one of your members play. Normally I would strengthen each of you by an equal amount before teaching you how to fight, but seeing as we're in a time crunch… I'll have to focus on each of your strong points while patching up your weak spots."

"That's an easy one to answer. First, I am the leader of my Peerage, taking the role of king. However in terms of abilities, I would say I lean closer towards the magic side of the spectrum." Rias answered, holding out her palm showing an orb of black and red energy. Nodding, Sekaino looked over at the other three expectantly, with a smile on her face, Akeno stated, "I'd lie closest to Rias, in terms of abilities of course."

Akeno, mimicking Rias' gesture, sent a bolt of lightning across her arm before it fizzled out. Looking over at Kiba and Koneko, he asked, "And what of you two?"

"I beat people up." Koneko coldly answered, Kiba following up with, "I'm a swordsman, so quite similar to Koneko here."

"A fairly diverse lineup, all you need is a healer." Sekaino commented, Rias nodding in admission. With a smile on his face, Sekaino added, "Regardless, it looks like you'll be fun to train."

"I thank you for the compliment." Rias replied, Sekaino looking over at her before stating, "You won't be thanking me in a little bit.

All of you set your things down where you're staying, and then come back out here. I want to see where you all stand." Sekaino ordered, the group nodding their heads dutifully.

"Alright! I'm going to tell all of you that I'm not going to hold back! I'm here to train you, not to be nice." Sekaino announced Rias, Akeno, Kiba and Koneko standing in front of him. Issei however was on the sidelines, having been told to wait as Sekaino wanted to fight him one on one.

"Let's go!" Sekaino yelled, before pulling out his blades racing towards the group, slashing down towards Rias. Both looked at the other, Sekaino saw the eyes of someone who looked as though they were about to die. Rias saw the eyes of a monster, whose only purpose was hunting the prey which sat before him. Even further behind his eyes was an anger, one which he used to channel into combat.

As though an animalistic instinct kicked in, Rias tilted her body back, only a few strands of hair remaining in the path of Sekaino's blade. A torrent of blue flames rushed past her face, her blue eyes now appearing dull compared to the light of Sekaino's flames.

His right leg now in front, with his left extended back and his swords pointed behind, Sekaino slashed upwards. Rias felt the blades even though they hadn't touched him due to the sheer power of his slash blasting air at her.

Looking at the other three, Sekaino let the Heavenly Energy flow into his now upwards extended arm. Blue lightning crackling up his right arm and pouring onto the black metal of his blades. In one fell swoop, Sekaino slashed down towards his left. As his body turned from the momentum of his slash, his swords launched the energy stored within causing a massive shockwave to burst from their metallic bodies. While the move didn't hit the Devils, the wind generated from the blast was still able to move them from their positions mid-air.

Kiba, being the fastest out of the group, jumped towards Sekaino, slashing down with his own blade. Sekaino, expecting this, used his left blade to block before stabbing up with his right blade towards Kiba's torso. With a panicked look, Kiba jumped backwards, breaking the minor sword lock.

With a resolute look, Kiba jumped towards Sekaino with his sword in front of his body. Sekaino however used his own blades to force Kiba's towards the boy's right, before spinning his dual swords in his palms and slicing at Kiba's open chest. While the wound wasn't deep, it still drew blood. Watching as Kiba winced in pain, Sekaino narrowed his eyes, 'These people aren't used to pain,'

With a bored look, Sekaino spun on his left leg, slamming his right into Kiba's unprotected side before the boy could even react. The Devils watched as Kiba's body landed against a tree, his head slumping over in his now unconscious state.

Seeing Kiba's state, Akeno and Rias both nodded at each other before conjuring their respective magical attacks. Akeno was surrounded in a bold show of lightning, before the electricity dispersed to her hands. Rias enveloped herself in a black and red swirling aura, before casting the magic down to her balled fists. Both sent their respective magicks at Sekaino, both attacks combining into a black and red beam with spiraling white lightning surrounding it.

Sekaino jumped into the air, before flying across the beam attack, his right hand skimming along the beam. Barrel rolling mid-air, Sekaino zipped towards both Rias and Akeno before clotheslining the both of them. Their bodies tumbled across the lawn as a blast of air echoed behind them, Sekaino remaining motionless with his arms still extended at his side.

Looking up, Sekaino saw as Issei and Koneko watched him with petrified expressions. Picking himself up, he stored his blades back into their leather sheaths, stating, "Looks like we're done for the day. Issei, we're going to go work out, you're free to join us Koneko."

"No thanks, I'm going to go help the others." Koneko replied in a monotone voice, Sekaino nodding before turning away.

"When they wake up, tell them to clean up and do what they need to prepare for tomorrow. As that's when your real training begins."

Overlooking the stone city, Marisbury studied the crowds of people. To his relief, he sensed no Magi nearby. Turning to face the rooftop he was on, he saw the Slayer staring back at him through his black visor. With a smile, Marisbury stated, "Look like there's no one following us. So we should be free to explore the city."

Pointing a skeptical finger at himself, Marisbury realized that the man before him wasn't going to blend in. Chuckling to himself, Marisbury admitted, "Yes I haven't thought about you, please forgive me.

Regardless, you wouldn't be able to join me down there. Not without attracting a vast amount of attention." Marisbury added, the Slayer nodding in agreement. Putting an inquisitive hand on his chin, Marisbury suggested, "Considering I won't stick out a huge amount, how about I go down there. And you follow me on the rooftops."

'That works…' The Slayer nodded, before Marisbury walked towards, stating, "Then I'll see you with Solomon's ring."

After a few moments he saw Marisbury walk away from the building and into the streets. Making sure that he didn't lose the man and that no one could see him, he began jumping from roof to roof. Dust rising as the buildings bellowed underneath his weight, the Slayer trailed Marisbury.

Suddenly his senses spiked, the faintest sign of pseudo-Sentinel Energy appeared. It was a Mage, similar to Marisbury down on the streets. Perhaps they wanted to kill him, or even steal the Ring before Marisbury could get to it. The man wasn't the Slayer's problem, yet he couldn't leave him to die. It wasn't necessarily guilt, but he knew the man was important based on a gut feeling. After all, Merlin had made the two meet for some reason unbeknownst to the Slayer.

The signature grew closer, before it dispersed into smaller traces. The faint scent of the pseudo-Sentinel Energy began to surround both the Slayer and Marisbury, whoever the signature belonged to was trying to kill them both. They wouldn't succeed with the Slayer, but Marisbury was another story altogether.

Peering down to the street, he saw the white haired man look back up at him. Marisbury detected the presence as well, made evident by his dutiful expression. Best case scenario is that those people will wait until night time to attack, though if the Slayer needed to act now then he wouldn't hesitate to do so. Luckily for the secrecy of whatever group the attackers were a part of and the bystanders around, the signatures didn't attack.

Jumping into an alleyway below, the Slayer saw as Marisbury approached him. Stopping only a few feet away, Marisbury stated, "Those Magi surrounding us, they most likely know why I'm here. And if I had to guess, they are going to try and stop me before I can get the ring. I suppose I can compliment them for knowing the value of Solomon's ring…

Let's find a place to hide, or at the very least let's avoid those Magi. Once night falls we'll rush towards the ring." Marisbury planned, it wasn't a terrible plan by any means. However the Slayer wasn't one to hide and wait just to maintain the sanctity of an organization's secrecy.

Shaking his head no, he quickly snagged Marisbury by the waist before jumping back onto a roof. Marisbury reeled back in surprise, though he didn't panic from the sudden movement to the Slayer's content. The Slayer bounced from roof to roof, staying as silent and as out of sight as he cared to bother being. Even so, small plumes of dust rose as the building shook from the might behind his movements, the only hint of his existence to the people.

Marisbury sighed in relief as he felt the signatures now behind them both. While they would inevitably find them both again, they wouldn't be able to catch up for a fair amount of time. Up ahead was a complex of church-like buildings with red roofs, sandstone exteriors, and ordain gold highlights. It was an obvious start to their search for the lost Ring of Solomon.

Landing on a brick rooftop, the Slayer set down his companion. Marisbury dusting himself off after flying at such high speeds for an extended period of time. After cleaning himself off, he commented, "Well that was certainly an experience, though I'd suggest doing that with much more warming next time."

The Slayer rolled his eyes before turning to face the majority of the complex, Marisbury joining him at his side. With a smile on his face, the Mage declared, "Looks like the hunt for the ring can begin."

A/N: Chapter 5, I should lay out some ground rules before we continue. Firstly, I will not be introducing Asia within this arc due to the reasons stated in Chapter 4. Another reason being that I want to focus on Sekaino and Issei's character development and interactions towards Rias and her Peerage.

Second, regarding the hunt for Solomon's Ring/the summoning of Solomon, it will not be obeying real life accuracies. Such as where the ring actually is and what not, though I will abide by Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Grand Order's rules. Hopefully I'll be able to create a subtle (probably not subtle) background arc to set up for the rest of this long story.

(Just some warning, this will go past the events of High School DxD, in more than one way!)

Word Count - 4,219