Chapter Thirty-Eight – Eye of the Storm

"You're back."

Akeno's piercing glare shot a hole right through Vin's head. Vin felt a bead of sweat forming on his brow.

Of course, he hadn't expected Akeno to have let go of things over the last few days. But maybe he was wishing that she'd have at least cooled down while he was away at the Gremory Estate.

Vin knew now that he was a fool for hoping.

Akeno crossed her arms and leaned up against the side of the doorframe. Never once did her venomous glare stray from Vin's own.

"Aren't you going to say something?"

That finally shook Vin from his near-catatonic state, allowing the poor boy to keep himself grounded.

A million different replies rushed through his brain.

"No, not right now." Vin shocked his head, before peeking into the cabin.

"Where's Barakiel?"

"Out at the Grigori." Akeno rolled her eyes. "Better for it, too. He's been nothing but a waste of my time."

Vin raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

Akeno recentered her gaze back to Vin.

"Alright, I get it." Vin conceded.

This was going nowhere. With Barakiel gone, there was no hope of any proper mediation; and by now, the perpetual wet and cold had seeped into Vin's frame, and he was just… tired. Oh, so tired.

"Look, are you going to let me in?"

"Why should I?"

"We are not fucking doing this, Akeno." Vin sighed. "I'm wet, I'm cold, and I'm tired, so-"

Akeno's eyes narrowed.

"Fuck. Fine, I'm sorry, okay?" Vin exclaimed. "What I did was shitty, throwing your mother back in your face like that."

"And?"

"And what?" Vin tilted his head. "I'm not apologizing for anything else that I said; so take what you got and let's both move on with our lives, okay?"

"How do you live with yourself when you're such a jackass?" Akeno spat.

"I don't know, Akeno." Vin shrugged, sarcasm dripping from each syllable. "Probably the same way you can live being a racist."

"I'm not racist."

"Oh, I'm sorry, you're right. You just happen to hate everyone who's a fallen angel unconditionally, my mistake."

Akeno stepped towards him. "Don't mock me like you know anything about what I've had to go through."

"I get it, you have trauma." Vin sassed. "Well news flash! YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE!"

Akeno flinched back, the words she would've dying in her throat. Something resembling a guilty grimace stretched across her features.

Not wasting the opportunity, Vin shoved past her. Finally, he relished in the warm refuge from the downpour. Pulling off his wet boots, Vin moved to walk towards the stairwell.

But he stopped. In truth, Vin had no idea why he felt the need to: he was all too content to just stomp off to his room and throw himself into bed, but the viscous hooks of something raked inside of the pits of his stomach.

Guilt? Yes, guilt. The same type he could distinctly recall feeling anytime he left his sister crying after some childish that, despite all of his best interests, Vin knew would keep him awake all night.

Damn him and his bleeding heart.

"I'm sorry… Just…" Vin blanked while the words sat on his tongue.

"I can't." Vin admitted, "I just can't do… this right now. I need some sleep."

Vin trudged along, up the stairs, leaving a silent Akeno in his wake.

The thought of calling Xenovia bubbled up within Vin, but he banished the thought as soon as the exhaustion set in.

"Tomorrow." Vin grumbled to himself as he tossed his phone onto the nightstand before flopping onto the bed.

The teen's eyes slowly drifted closed as the pitter-patter of the rain continued to increase in their tempo. The satisfaction of finally taking refuge from a now-worsening storm lulling him to slumber.

They only had one chance.

A pair of eyes peered out from beneath the black mask fashioned crudely into the likeness of a beast, shielding the individual's vision from the downpour.

The wet clung to them, the chill etching itself into their bones, yet they never shivered. They simply observed the cabin from a distance, silent, invisible amidst the shroud of the storm.

Barakiel had left for the Grigori fourteen hours ago. Meaning if they were smart about it, they could be in and out in a matter of minutes.

Quick. Painless. Efficient.

Then the nightmare would be over.

There was just one issue. Just below the scent of soaking earth and mud, they could smell the subtle tang of magic surrounding the cabin. Wards: simple but effective. The second that they tried to get into the cabin, all hell would break loose. Alerting Barakiel was probably only the first thing that they did.

So that meant taking a more direct approach.

Instantly, their hand fell to the massive sword slung around their back. They chewed the inside of their lip. Running some invisible calculations in their head, before slowly standing up and drawing the behemoth of a blade from its sheath.

The figure looked down at the cabin from the clifftop above. Then, with a final exhale, they steeled themselves and raised their blade.

A natural consequence of losing one's physical form is forgetting how certain sensations felt. Yet, as Bheithir sensed the phantom smells of some sort of magical pressure congealing in the atmosphere, she recalled a feeling all too well.

Fear. Something was wrong.

[VIN!]

Using her chance, Bheithir seized control of the boy's motor functions, causing the teen to suddenly shoot up in bed.

Even as his consciousness suddenly returned to him, his wits were still barely about him. With all the crude control that Bheithir could possibly exert in her state, she threw Vin's body from the bed and roughly splayed it across the floor.

"WHAT TH-"

*BZZZZHSHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGGGGG*

Vin watched in horror as the cabin was split down the middle; annihilated in a single stroke. Soon, the structural integrity of the cabin buckled, and collapsed in on itself, leaving rainwater to pour into the ruined building and douse him back to his senses.

"Bheithir, what the fuck is-"

[RUN!]

Never once did Vin hear Bheithir this unnerved. All at once, Vin was at his feet. Spreading his wings with a powerful beat, he rocketed into the air.

*BLAM!*

Ripping out from the darkness, a bullet drove itself right into the center of Vin's right wing, causing the boy to instantly plummet out of the air towards the ground. He grit his teeth, preparing for a rough landing.

Thankfully that landing never came, because Akeno glided along the ground with her wings, catching Vin's falling body at the last second, causing the two of them to collapse into a rolling heap on the ground. Scuffed, but ultimately uninjured.

"Thanks."

"Not the time." Akeno brushed off.

A sudden hum filled the air. Several large, glowing magical circles filled the air, all aimed directly at the figure standing upon the cliff. For a horrifying moment, the magical circles lit up the sky just enough for Vin and Akeno to get a glance at their attacker.

What they saw was not a man, but an apparition.

Long hair billowed out from behind the blood-red eyes of the beast's muzzle. The figure stood there, impossible in both horror and awe.

The magical circle's glow glinting off the dull steel of the armor-plates dashed around their body – Gleaming across bandoliers of ammunition and armaments alike.

Some horrific facsimile of a sword was clenched in their hands; an abhorrent mixture of machine and sword, metal plating and tubes giving little allowance for a glinting gold edge to peek up from the amalgam of a weapon.

Vin stood there; his body pounding with the most visceral fear he'd ever felt before in his life. The rain pelted down upon his frame, mingling with the frigid chill of terror that racked his mind, causing his body to freeze in place like ice.

In that solitary moment – as the rain poured down upon the three of them – Vin's mind could only form one conclusion.

Death had come. It had come for him at last.

The three remained motionless, as if time had frozen. The pitter-patter of the rain was the only sound hanging in the air.

Then all hell rained down upon them.

The magical circles crackled for a moment before each unleashing a devastating bolt of lightning directly at the intruder. The light exploded around them, causing Vin and Akeno to shield their eyes from the sudden blast.

"W-what was that?" Vin whispered.

"The wards that were planted around the cabin." Akeno explained. "I never thought they'd be useful until now."

"Well, good thing we-"

The light suddenly was ripped away with a single, savage swipe as the attacker's bizarre weapon tore through the magic threatening to engulf them.

The attacker tilted his head, and as they locked eyes with Vin, the teen felt his hackles raise while his blood turned to ice.

A cyan glow sparked to life on the palm of the attacker's left hand, their fingers twitching and flexing…

The next second, they were already standing over Vin, hand poised to claw at the downed teen.

Wasting no time, Vin slammed his hand onto the ground, sending a torrent of crystals bursting towards the attacker.

Swinging the colossal blade as they leapt back, the attacker cleaved through the crystals. The attacker didn't get more than a second to collect themselves before breaking into a sprint to dodge a blast of electricity.

Akeno yanked her head to the side as the tip of the blade passed by her head. The figure drove the sword straight into the ground before twisting their entire body around their blade like a fulcrum, nailing Akeno in the back with the full weight of their armored-shin.

Akeno shot off like a rocket, skidding across the rubble and landing into a tangled mess.

"Shit!" Vin cursed.

He clambered to his feet, a light spear manifesting into his hand. Without a second thought, he charged the assailant.

The sparks of concentrated light meeting heavy metal crackled through the rain, sending puffs of steam up into the frigid air as the two combatants stared each other down.

Vin winced at the sheer force his opponent was exerting onto him, that was, until said enemy released a hand from their blade, and in one deft move, drew a pistol from their hip, aiming it right down to Vin's right thigh.

"!"

Vin nearly flipped as he brought his leg upward in time with the crack of the gun's hammer. The bullet thankfully bounced off the unbreakable hide of Crystal Weaver's form.

Wasting no time, Vin planted his foot back to the ground and lunged at the attacker, spinning his light spear around to swing and stab at them with practiced accuracy and speed. Yet, every single time, the attacking managed to shift their pistol or a piece of their hulking blade into the way.

Vin kept up the offensive, hoping to leave no ground for his opponent. Vin sent his spear in a big left swing, leaning into it to create the most force he could to break his opponent's guard.

With a grunt, the enemy threw their gun to the side, bringing both hands to their blade to block the attack…

The attack that never came.

At the last moment, Vin dissipated his spear and from his leaving position, formed a crystal blade on his right arm. Leaping back upward, Vin delivered a savage uppercut with his blade to the vulnerable side of his opponent's guard.

Vin relished in the feeling of his attack finally finding purchase; the tip of the blade drawing a cut up the side of the attacker's cheek, leaving a sizable scar that, if the enemy hadn't leaned at the last moment, may have been fatal.

*BLAM!*

All at once, the feeling fled Vin as he crumbed to the ground, clutching his left thigh. Standing tall, the attacker holstered another pistol on their person. Slowly, the attacker strode towards Vin, the apparatus attached to their left hand glowing blue once more.

Scanning around, Vin looked for something, anything that could help him. But nothing stood out.

Akeno was unconscious and face-down in the mud, the gun the attacker tossed was too far to reach, all that was left were… The scattered crystals he left behind.

Vin's brain kicked into overtime, and with all of his fading strength, he conjured one last light spear and tossed it at a crystal to his right.

*PING!*

It bounced off, right into another crystal.

*PING!*

*PING!**PING!*PING!*PING!*

The light spear refracted off each crystal spire, over and over, picking up speed and intensity. The attacker took a step back, scanning and following the impossible speeds of the spear, until the searing javelin finally was refracted right towards their back.

"..!"

Vin's eyes went wide as saucers as the attacker spun themselves around with the weight of their blade, bringing the weapon up at the last second, causing the javelin to go spinning out into the air.

An involuntary shiver raced through Vin as the attacker slowly turned around to face him once more. The fingers of their left hand twitching and flexing as small crackles of blue energy emitted from their device.

Vin could only watch in horror as his final hope spun around and around, further and further into the storm, until…

*KKKKKRRRRRRRAAAACCCCOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!*

"-GUH!"

The same light spear rocketed down towards the earth, drilling itself right through half of the attacker's left bicep. With little more than a grunt, the attacker stumbled back, leaning on their sword with their right arm to keep balanced. Their left arm hung uselessly at their side, expunging blood upon the rain-soaked rocks.

Both Vin and the attacker looked to the sky, watching as the storm clouds worsened. Daunting streaks of lightning dancing between each nimbus as to herald his arrival.

There he was. On ashen wings, with an unreadable expression etched upon his face; Barakiel descended upon them.

"Lay down your arms and surrender." Barakiel bellowed from his position in the air as he gritted his teeth. "There will be no further warnings."

The attacker glared at Barakiel, until they clicked their tongue in frustration. In an instant, a glowing magic circle sprung to life under their feet.

Barakiel shot off, resembling more of a bolt of electricity than a man as he raced towards the retreating attacker. Barakiel skidded to a halt on the rocky crag, as the attacker slipped right through his fingers. Gone as suddenly as they had arrived, dissipating into cyan wisps of energy that carried away with the storm's wind.

"Damn it all…" Barakiel bit, before standing tall and addressing the situation. Eyes widening as he took in the condition of his pupils.

"Akeno!"

Barakiel sprinted over to the crumbled form of his daughter, gingerly scooping her up into his arms and bringing his ear to her chest. Vin watched the Cadre's erratic heaving shoulders slow down as he lifted his head upward.

"Oh, thank goodness…" Barakiel got up, his injured but thankfully alive daughter lying in his arms.

"S-She got roughed up badly…" Vin hissed as he clutched at his injured wing. "But I don't think she has anything more than a concussion."

"Let me see your wing." Barakiel kneeled down beside Vin. "You're losing a lot of blood. One moment."

Barakiel gently set his daughter down, before tearing off his suit's blazer. Deftly, he tore a sleeve from the jacket and pressed it up against the injury.

"Press down on the wound." Barakiel instructed, before tightly wrapping the fabric around the wing, tying it off in a tight knot. "That should hold until we return to the Gremory Estate. Do you think that you can withstand teleportation?"

"...Yeah, I-" Vin hissed in pain, interrupting himself in order to take a deep breath. "I can take it. I-I'm just… I'm so tired, man…"

"Hold on, just a little longer." Barakiel snapped his fingers, as a golden magical circle sparked to life at their heels.

"W-Wait!" Vin stammered.

"What is it?"

Vin pointed to the ground. "We injured him. We should get a blood sample before it washes-"

"Relax, Vin. That's not important right now." Barakiel impressed. "Everyone was notified about the attack once the wards went off here. I'm sure Azazel already has people on their way here to collect evidence."

Vin slumped a bit as the adrenaline began to seep from his body. "Right… Right… Of course…L-Let's just go, then…"

"Very well. Brace yourself for a moment." Barakiel warned.

With another snap of his fingers, the trio disappeared from the soaking ruins in a flash of light.

"Uuuugggghhh…" Vin's head pounded as it struggled with the influx of stimuli. The bright lights of the Gremory Estate's foyer contrasted the utter darkness of the mountain so much that the sheer whiplash threatened to give him a migraine that'd last a month.

"Stay with me a little longer." Barakiel grounded Vin with a pat on the shoulder. "I need a medic, right now!"

A mere beat passed, before a veritable legion of butlers and maids emerged from the woodwork, congregating into the lobby in confusion.

That was, until the tell-tale clacking of heels upon marble tiles heralded the arrival of one grey-haired Lucefuge.

Grayfia strode into the foyer with unmatched poise, not a single wasted movement in her step as her ice-cold eyes scanned the three.

"How's their condition?"

"I have one shot and one with a possible concussion." Barakiel replied back.

Grayfia nodded, before looking over her shoulder. "Amalia; you and Anastasia head to the medical clinic, fetch a set of stretchers for the two, as well as a roll of fresh bandages. Alert Dr. Greymond to prepare two beds as well as fresh clothing."

"Right away, Ma'am!" Two devil girls replied, before speeding away themselves.

"Tobias; go to the janitorial chambers and bring a mop, along with the bleach." Grayfia continued as she eyed the liquid slowly pooling at Vin's feet. "We'll want to get Mr. Corsetti's blood out of the carpet before it stains."

"...Sorry about that." Vin awkwardly grunted, before hissing as a fresh shot of pain ran through his system.

Grayfia's gaze softened. "Nonsense, you haven't caused us any undue trouble. You should focus on rest and recuperation; we'll handle the rest."

Vin gave a small, pained smile. "...R-Right…"

Everything around him was swimming. His ears picking up sounds as if he was underwater, his vision perforated by a fuzzy darkness that was slowly creeping in.

"..."

"...V…"

A hand clamped onto his uninjured shoulder once more, causing Vin to look up at Barakiel's face.

"Huh?"

"I asked if you could hear me alright?" Barakiel replied. "The stretchers just arrived, do you think you can get yourself onto it fine?"

Vin's eyes slowly refocused, the wheeled bed stood only a few feet from him. The thumping of a migraine continued like a drum in his head. "Y-Yeah, I'm good…"

Slowly, Vin got to his feet. Each step was wobbly and shaky, but they were steps nonetheless.

But right as he grabbed hold of the stretchers railing, a particular pulse pounded through Vin's head. All at once, Vin felt the world fall out from beneath his feet as he stumbled forward; the blackness surrounding his vision leapt forth, causing him to pass out.

Xenovia hated how this was becoming a pattern.

Here she sat, once more, looking down at Vin's unconscious form. A myriad of machinery hooked up to his body.

After receiving the call that they're training camp had been compromised, all of them were rushed back to the Gremory Estate, right in time to be told that two of their friends had been sent to the Estate's in-house hospital ward. So here they were, what a time to meet back up…

Asia, the wonderful girl that she was, had done everything she could to repair Vin and Akeno's injuries, and was now nursing a bottle of cold water in between labored breaths. Kiba sat by her side as well, watching the scene with controlled eyes that flickered from one bed to the other. Koneko was very much the same, watching the entire room with that unreadable mask she called a face.

Barakiel, for his part, had elected to leave soon after he was reassured of his daughter's condition. Xenovia couldn't blame him for not wanting to see a loved one like this.

It tends to do the worst things to you.

"Do we have any idea who did this?" Issei loomed over Akeno's bed, his hands clenching at the wooden frame so hard that Xenovia was seriously convinced the damned thing would start to splinter.

"Currently, no." Azazel chimed in. "However, I've got people running tests on any blood samples left at the scene. But at the same time, I don't think it takes a genius to figure out who exactly orchestrated this."

"The Khaos Brigade?" Issei raised a brow.

"Got it in one." Azazel remarked back grimly.

"That's not important right now." Rias shook her head. "What is important is the fact that they're both going to be okay. You did a good job Asia, I'm proud of you."

"T-Thank you…" Asia huffed between breaths, before going back in for another gulp of water.

Xenovia tried to focus on that: they'll be okay. But it still didn't shake the dread that had seized her. Three times now, she'd been in this exact position. Three times now, Vin had narrowly escaped death.

How many more times would it take before he stopped getting so lucky?

Xenovia slipped her hand in between his limp digits.

"He'll make it through this, Xenovia." Azazel paced over to the swordswoman and set a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"When I find the person who did this…" Xenovia grumbled. Yet, it lacked any real growl, and true red-hot rage. Was she angry? Of course; she would follow through on any threats if she was put face-to-face with the bastard who did this.

But right now, she felt… nothing. Nothing but the sickly chill of dread that loomed over her like a horrible shadow.

"We're already working on that." Azazel reassured. "Like I said to Issei, I got some of my best men out there right now taking blood samples. We'll have a name and a face by the end of the night; that I promise."

Xenovia gave a half-hearted hum.

Azazel furrowed his brow, before kneeling down to get at eye level with the bluenette. "Look, kid… Actually, this goes for all of you; it's really easy to fall into these what-if scenarios, but just focus on the here and no-"

*Bzzzt!*

"Dammit. One moment…" Azazel fished his phone out his pocket, before frowning. "Sorry guys, I have to take this."

"I'll just be out in the hallway, alright?" The Fallen Angel rose to his feet. "Poke your heads out if you brats need anything."

"Yeah, it's me. What's the situation?" Azazel walked out the door, leaving the Gremory Peerage to stew amongst themselves. A heavy silence hung in the air, leaving only the steady beeps of two heart monitors to sound out the beats of an invisible metronome.

*Beep* *Beep* Beep*

Xenovia clenched her jaw, as she gripped her partner's hand tighter.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

*BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!*

All at once, every head in the room snapped to attention, landing squarely on Vin as his heart monitor began to spike erratically.

"VIN! No, no, no! Stay with me!" Xenovia's stony demeanor shattered to dust.

"What's going on!?" Rias raced to the foot of the bed, Asia and Issei hot on her heels.

"He's going into-" Asia began, before a flash of light caught the words in her throat.

"That's his Sacred Gear, right?"

"Kiba, go get Azazel!" Rias called back.

The blonde raced away in a flash.

"Gah! GUH!" Innae sputters spilled from Vin's lips as he thrashed around.

Crystal Weaver pulsed in time with the frenzied spiking of its host's heart monitor.

"Get back!" Asia raced to his side, materializing her Sacred Gear, before pouring as much energy as she could directly into the poor boy.

"Keep going! Please!" Xenovia begged.

"I..I'm… TRY… ING!" Asia grit her teeth as she forced her healing deeper and deeper into his body, past his pounding heart, deep, deep into his very being.

Where she found something. A pull.

All at once, what was a herculean effort to push her healing into his body became something it was all too eager to accept. Whatever was in there, whatever she found, it took Twilight Healing's energy like it couldn't get enough.

Asia's eyes widened. As she attempted to draw the energy back into herself, that thing refused. It felt her pulling away and grabbed at her with a fever that was unlike anything she'd felt before.

"I can't let go!" Asia stammered. "It's not letting me go!"

"What?" Issei dashed to her side.

"Make it stop!" Asia hissed, wincing in pain as she felt the yanking from the depths of her own soul.

"What's going on?!" Azazel stormed into the room.

"It's Vin!" Rias called back. "He started thrashing around, and now Asia's…"

"I can't let go!" The young girl yelled, nearly in hysterics. "I can't stop, it's hurting!"

Azazel's eyes darted from Asia, to Twilight Healing, down to Vin's thrashing form and the pulses of his Sacred Gear. Without any more thought, Azazel stepped over to Asia.

"I have a plan, but it's going to hurt a bit." He warned, as he pulled a collar from the confines of his coat, and with practiced ease, latched the ring around her neck.

"GYAH!" Asia gasped out as, all at once, her magic was forcefully robbed from her. Twilight Healing vanished as her own magical circuits were forcibly halted.

"Asia!" Issei grabbed her shoulders frantically. "Asia, are you alright?!"

"I'm okay…" She breathed deeply. "Thank goodness… It's over…"

"That's an anti-magic device." Azazel supplied as he began to undo the collar. "We usually use them for prisoners, but it seems like it did the trick."

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *BEEP!*

Time froze. Vin lurched up in bed.

An eerie silence passed for a moment, as his eyes fluttered open. Hazy, unfocused, their usual emerald brilliance lost in a milky hue.

Xenovia's throat ran dry, but she still forced the words from her lips.

"...V-Vin..?"

His head slowly turned on its axis, meeting her with all the fluidity of a tin soldier. His horrible, distant gaze glaring down into the very depths of her soul.

"..."

He turned around, those eyes slowly locking onto Asia.

"...What did you do to me?" A voice rasped from his lips; both so like him, yet so horrifically different.

Azazel crossed his arms, gazing at Vin with scrutiny.

"Why did you st-"

For a moment, Vin's body seized up. Eyelids slamming shut, before he fell back down onto the hospital bed.

"Vin!" Xenovia shot up from her seat at his side.

Crystal Weaver thrummed with a soft amber glow – once, twice – then slowly faded off of the boy's legs in a shower of soft light.

"...Ugggghhh…" Vin's eyes slowly flickered open.

Xenovia never felt such relief when the shining green brilliance of his eyes met hers.

"...Vin, I'm here." Xenovia gave him a shaky smile.

"...Xenovia?" Vin rasped out as he looked around at the crowd formed by his bedside. "...Didn't realize I was this popular."

Vin slowly moved to sit up in bed, only for Xenovia to gently put a hand on his chest to push him back down.

"Asia may have been able to fix up your injuries, but you've still lost a lot of blood." She supplied. "Don't push yourself. You need rest."

Vin sighed, seemingly conceding to his fate.

"Fine, fine, I'll rest." He turned his head. "How's Akeno?"

"She's had a decent concussion and some bruises." Rias answered. "But thanks to Asia, she'll be fine."

"Good. Good." Vin muttered.

"Do you remember anything from when you were out?" Azazel suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Vin turned to face his boss. "...No? Was I talking in my sleep or something?"

Vin looked around at the various looks of concern around him.

"What's going on? You guys are scaring me here."

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Azazel waved it off as he jotted something down into a little pocket notepad.

"Apparently it's not 'nothing' if you're all reacting like that." Vin frowned.

"Crystal Weaver had a reaction to Asia's Twilight Healing." Azazel explained. "It seemed as though Asia was unable to sever her Gear's connection to yours."

"That, and…" Azazel grabbed a chair and took a seat at Vin's side. "Vin, what's going on with Bheithir?"

"Bheithir? I…" Vin gazed at his legs. "I have no idea. She doesn't talk to me all too much. Maybe once every few weeks, unless something's happening."

"I see." Azazel scratched something onto the pad. "I'm going to get going, I have to call my forensics department back. You guys get your rest, you got a big day to prepare for tomorrow."

With a chorus of goodbyes, Azazel exited the room, leaving the peerage alone once more.

"He's right, tomorrow we have to prepare for the Youth Devil's Gala." Rias announced, resting a hand on Issei and Asia's shoulders. "We should go get some rest ourselves. Akeno and Vin should have their energy back in full by the morning."

"Yes, you're right Bucho-" Issei was cut off as he let out a yawn. "Yeah, if that's not a cue to get some shut-eye, I don't know what is."

"Gasper had the right idea with heading straight to bed." Koneko stuffed her hands into the pockets of her baggy lounge pants as she turned for the door. "Night."

"Good night, Koneko." Rias smiled.

"I believe I'll retire for the night as well, Buchou." Kiba smiled. "I'll see you all in the morning."

"Right, take care Kiba."

"We should be on our way as well." Rias smiled as Asia let out a long yawn. "You deserve some rest, Asia."

"Mhm~" The bishop gave a sleepy nod.

"Have a good one guys." Vin waved. "And Asia… Um… Sorry if I scared you."

"It's okay." Asia reassured. "I'm just glad you're feeling better. Have a good night."

The three exited the room, leaving behind only two patients and one bluenette.

"You should get some sleep, Xenovia." Vin squeezed her hand.

Xenovia looked down at the sheets, refusing to meet his gaze. Before, she shot up, grabbing Vin into a deep hug.

"Xenovia?" Vin sat up, his hands slowly wrapping around her shoulders in an attempt to peel her off his body.

"Don't." She warned. "Just… hold me…"

As she buried her face into his shoulder, Vin could faintly hear the sound of a sniffle. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his arms around her torso: tightening his grip on his partner.

"Of course." He whispered faintly, before planting a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm here."

They planted their forehead against the cool steel of their blade, relishing in the temporary comfort that came when the dull, golden thrum of the gargantuan weapon responded in kind.

They'd gotten careless, the sting in their bandaged shoulder was a testament to that. Even after whatever shitty, aftermarket Phenex Tear they were given did its job, the ache still lingered.

They thought that Barakiel would've arrived even a few moments later. But that was foolish to think. After all, when his daughter was in danger, the cadre could cross continents in seconds.

But if they had even just one more minute…

Clenching their left hand, the device affixed to it crackled with blue electricity.

But alas, they fucked it up.

But it was fine, they reminded themselves. It's just a momentary setback. They'd get their chance once more, when they were prepared, patient, when they'd be unstoppable.

"Oh? I'm not disrupting your nightly brooding session, am I?" A figure materialized in a flash.

They set their blade aside and glared daggers at the man before them.

"What do you want..?" They growled, not even trying to disguise the sheer-venom in their voice.

But the man didn't seem to care. No, if anything, they're apparent-resentment only made him smile all the more. "I thought I'd let you know that we need to make use of your… talents once more. After all, you did such a good job on our last little field trip to Romania~."

"This wasn't a part of our agreement." They narrowed their eyes. "I get you the Graal, and you provide me with my opportunity."

"Yes, that was our agreement, wasn't it?" The man giggled with his hoarse voice. "Well, I'd like to expand it."

"How about you do me a favor and kill yourself?" They shot back.

"I'm not giving you a choice." The humor fled the man's tone all at once. "You know how deep we run. I could have any of them killed right now."

"You fucking bastard…" They grit their teeth.

"That's the spirit~!" The old man's smile returned to his face. "So, we managed to broker a deal with the Hero Faction, and they've agreed to collaborate in our little scavenger hunt! But, they do want one thing in exchange – something powerful for a new promising member of theirs – which is where you come in."

"And that is…?"

The old man's smile stretched out to almost unnatural proportions.

"A Sacred Gear."

We are so fucking back.

Yeah, it's been a hot minute since I've posted a chapter. I'd like to apologize for that, by the way. I fell into a pretty deep burnout phase where I felt like nothing I was writing was acceptable quality. Combine that with the rat race that is university, and time can slip away from you before you know it, hence the one year hiatus we've had.

But all that matters is that we're back now! This chapter in particular was written in segments over the span of some nine months, so there was a lot of challenge in where to pick-up from when going back to it, and in the end, the entire chapter's direction went in a totally different direction than I originally intended it to.

At first, I wasn't even planning on putting in our mysterious menace – the very same one who made a cameo in the Excalibur Arc – but when I thought more about how I wanted the story to flow as we leave the Training Camp arc, I thought that this was the best way to have them make an re-appearance in the story.

Also, there's a lot of implications for the story at large that are hinted at in this chapter. On both sides, too. So get ready for that.

I promise that I'm going to try and be a bit more consistent with my uploads again, especially heading into the summertime, when all I have to worry about is working at my job. But I'm feeling jazzed to jump right back into writing, so there's that.

Here's to hoping we can get out of the underworld this year, eh?

Thanks so much for all the support on DxD: Alt. for so long guys, it means the world to me. As always, please leave a follow or a favorite if you enjoyed what you read, and leave me a comment letting me know what you thought about that chapter, or anything you might want me to answer at the end of the next chapter!

Until next time (which is hopefully soon)...

ROCK ON!