The new moon had barely fallen by the time Kiba was in Rias' office, the woman in question finally there after the last few days of him trying to contact her. He wasn't going to disparage her, not when he could see the stress visibly on her face as her normally perfectly groomed hair stuck out at random points on her head. She was a mess, not that he would ever say such a thing out loud, and his news wasn't likely to make it any better.

"Rias, can we talk?"

Her head perked up at his voice, a tried smile on her face as she stopped working on the homework that she had likely forgotten about until the morning of. She gestured for him to come in, eager to hide her weariness from him. "Of course, Kiba, anytime. Please, make yourself comfortable."

Not wanting to waste her time, Kiba was quick to close the door behind him and present the letter he had swiped from Alfred's room while his friend was out of the dorm. Ordinarily, he would have never even thought to do such a thing. However, this was not an ordinary occurrence. It was odd, strange even, and something that he needed Rias to see.

"And this is?"

She took the letter from him, brow furrowing as she noticed the signature at the bottom. She then closed the letter, looking at the seal which had kept the envelope closed, brow furrowing further. "This looks like father's seal and signature but… wrong. Where did you get this forgery?"

This was the part which was the most dangerous to tread on, Kiba knew. One wrong word and Rias would see not a pawn but a queen, and quickly attempt to take them off the board. "One of my new floormates had it. They were invited from the states, but… they clearly had no idea it was a forgery. In fact, I would say that they had no idea the significance of it in any capacity."

He hoped that would be enough to keep Rias from jumping the gun, the emotionally charged redhead having a habit of acting first and thinking second. It was normally a charming character trait, and one that always guaranteed that she would look after him and the rest of the peerage with full confidence. However, sometimes that gung-ho attitude had the opposite effect.

"Are you certain of this? If we have a spy in our city-"

She cut herself off, taking a sip of her drink before she could work herself up. Kiba was quick to leap in, eager to curb her enthusiasm. "Without a shadow of a doubt, I am certain that he is not a fallen spy. If anything, I would say that they plan to use him as a disposable pawn of sorts, perhaps a distraction so that we focus our efforts on him and not their actual machinations."

There was little else he could say to get his point across, and Rias seemed to understand that well as she chuckled into her cup. "Don't tell Akeno this, but I've always found your judgment of character to be the most trustworthy. Fine, though I do want you to keep an eye on him. Just don't interrupt your training too much, understand?"

"Of course, Rias, you have my word."

He went to stand up but was stopped as Rias called for his attention once more.

"And how are things between you and Akeno?"

No words were needed, as the clenching of his jaw spoke volumes on that front. She sighed, looking out the window which overlooked the lake. A beautiful sight, but one marred forever by the atrocities Akeno continues to commit just on the other side.

"I try to be understanding of your unique outlook on life amongst us, we all do. In truth, I find it refreshing. The briefness of the human life leads to such a strange philosophy on its meaning, one that feels so quaint."

She took another sip of her drink, the bitter smell of it telling him that it was not filled with tea as it usually was, but a dark coffee. "However, there are times when that outlook clashes with the reality of what we are. Do you understand what I mean, Kiba?"

"…"

He didn't know how to answer her, or rather, he didn't know how to do so while not lying to her face. She seemed to understand this, as she put her cup down and mulled on her next words. Finding the angle she wanted to attack this from, she leaned on her elbows and tried it out. "We are creatures of sin, Kiba. At our very core is the need for what some may call evil, though to call it as such would be ignorant. What Akeno is doing may seem cruel from a human perspective, but we aren't human Kiba. We are devils, and to us, desire is the only limiter."

"Is it? Is it really?"

As much as it hurt him to do, he couldn't help but challenge his leader and friend on this. He needed to, lest he betray his own ideals.

"…No, it isn't."

The sun began to peak through the window, making the two of them wince as Rias closed the blinds and turned back to him. "I want to be better than other devils. I want to bridge the gap between the human perspective and a devil's desire. But to do that, I have to be ready to give concessions to either side, and this is one of those concessions. Do you understand what I mean?"

He did, however much he didn't want to. "I do. Thank you for the time, Rias."

Leaving in a hurry, Kiba spared no time for Rias to call him back in as he left the office and made his way out of the Occult Research Club building. Perhaps she did have a point, and perhaps he was the one being unreasonable. But even then, he refused to let the issue lie as it was. Akeno was doing something wrong, and he was going to help her see it.

That, he vowed.

… … …

There was something to be said about normalcy, and how some things just stopped being strange after a while.

"Threat… what the fuck?"

This, however, was not one of those things.

Alfred stared at a pile of black goo which stained his bedsheets, wriggling around as it tested its "limbs" and squirmed over the covers. The goo which covered his body just crossed two tendrils over one another, a third raising as it pointed to itself and then him.

"The hell do you mean 'we gave birth'? I did no such thing!"

It was a few days after the whole New Moon Event, and at first Alfred thought he got off it scott free. Sure, he had spent the next few days a bit colder than normal and had a bit of a headache, but that was it really. That was supposed to be it. And then, after a brief midday nap, he awoke to a splooge of black goo across his bed. And not the normal kind.

Threat tried a new approach, wiggling a tentacle like a snake before making it go stiff, a second tentacle joining in as they began to go ballistic. The issue was clear. "So, you're saying that the malice I extracted from those lamiae became… that?"

Two tendrils clapped together. Great.

"Well, what are we supposed to do with it?"

The two tendrils curled away from one another, a third popping up in the middle as it bent forward rather accusingly.

"Fine. What are we supposed to do with Malice? Such an on the nose name."

Both tendrils turned ninety degrees, forming two round sacs which looked an awful lot like boobs. "Kiyome? Well, I suppose she would be the best choice for this. But isn't she supposed to be out getting magic stuff until tomorrow?"

Weekends were always the best time to get things done, and Kiyome had decided that now was as good a time as ever to head out and use her family's vast fortune to stock up on supplies. Something about him being a headache and needing more specialized equipment. Threat, however, didn't seem to think much of that fact as it pushed for the idea anyway.

"We can't just leave it there. What if something goes wrong? Look, why don't we just leave it in here and… give it to her tomorrow, yeah?"

That seemed to appease his companion, who settled back into form without so much as a peep. Finally, now he could get some groceries in peace.

He left the dorm building in a slight hurry, aware that the store would close in a few hours. It was a weird thing with Kuoh that made sense when one considered the Veil, but everything was closed by the time night fell. Everything save the casino and some nightclubs, and neither of those sold bread at a two-for-one deal.

Despite only being in Japan for at most a week, Alfred felt a lot more in his element by this point in time then he had a week prior. He kept to himself as he walked through the street, careful not to bump into anyone as he found his way into the grocery store. He navigated the aisles with a smidgen of practiced ease as he debated between two different brands of chicken. He even helped some old lady reach the higher shelves for a glass of pickles. All in all, he felt a surprising amount at ease despite being somewhere where he was very clearly foreign.

So, it was only a matter of time before his luck would rear its ugly head.

"Ah, Evander, wassup!"

Isami waved at him with way too much energy, making it impossible for him to pretend he just didn't hear anything and get his groceries back home. He forced a smile, waiting for the energetic girl to catch up to him alongside some poor blonde nun who she all but dragged by the arm.

"Hyoudou, how are you?"

He felt bad for wanting the interaction to be over so quickly, but he had milk in one of his bags and he really didn't want it to be out any longer than need be. That and eggs.

"Pretty well. Oh, this is Asia by the way!"

The shy looking blonde bowed her head as she gave him curious once over, nervous with his appearance but still willing to be friendly. "H-Hello there."

Asia fiddled with the cross over her habit, making him feel even more bad for being so brusque before. "Hi, is Asia your given name or family name?"

It wasn't the first question he'd typically ask, but she didn't look Japanese so he wanted to be sure.

"A-Ah, given."

Huh, alright then. "Okay. Then you can just call me Alfred. I'm still getting used to the whole family name first business and wouldn't mind it much if you used my first name. I'm more used to it anyway."

"O-Oh. Okay then, Alfred!"

She smiled rather nicely, and in that moment, he decided that she was a friend to be protected at all costs. Perhaps it was the air of innocence around her, but she had a way of disarming his growing paranoia rather effectively.

"Oi, can I call you Alfred?"

"No."

"Damn."

Somehow, Alfred found himself walking alongside Asia and Isami as the latter led the former on a grand tour of the city. All the while holding a bag of groceries over his shoulder, deciding that this was more interesting in the moment than going home.

"And this is the arcade where I have a high score on Tetris."

"Woah, you're that skilled?"

"Mhm. Ooh, this is the game store where I get all my eroge!"

"Eroge?"

"I'll show you later. Ah, and this is my favorite food spot! It's an authentic American burger joint!"

"Is it really?"

two sets of eyes landed on him, and he suddenly had to participate in the conversation. He cleared his throat, glancing at the generic looking store with a shrug. "Never been."

Asia nodded a bit sadly, likely hoping he would give a different answer. Isami, meanwhile, just seemed to take it as a challenge as she grabbed both of their arms and began to pull them along. "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out."

The three of them entered the store, no one batting an eye as they sat down in a booth and Isami got up to order them some burgers. Alfred tapped his foot in the booth, somewhat cramped in the small seat as he glanced through his bag and made sure the eggs were still intact.

"S-So, Mr. Alfred, have you accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and savior?"

He stopped mid-egg check as he took a moment to register the nun's words. Closing the carton of eggs back up within the bag, he did his best to not fumble his way through this one. "Well, I uh, my family was never really religious, from what I remember. And uh, it wasn't much of a thing for me. Secular neighborhood and all that."

That seemed to sadden her greatly, though she nodded in understanding. "I see. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be born into the faith. I-I know this may be sudden, but I'm staying at a local church and perhaps you would be interested in joining for a sermon tomorrow?"

Oh boy. His normal tactic of just walking away wasn't going to work here, and he really didn't want to make her feel disappointed with his choice. On the other hand, he'd rather not go to church. Especially considering he was well aware of the existence of several other pantheons of gods. "M-Maybe, though I still have quite a bit of classwork to get done this weekend and-"

"It's okay, you don't have to."

The nun placated him, polite to a fault even now. "I know when someone is making excuses, and it's okay. You don't need to come, it was just a thought."

…Now he felt even worse about it. But before he could try and make amends, Isami all but threw herself into the booth alongside Asia with a tray full of burgers, fries, and sodas. "Wooh! Be ready to have your minds blown!"

A soggy looking burger was thrust into his face, which he took with as much grace as one could while holding a two-pound wrapper filled with greasy meat and melted cheese. He unwrapped it, grabbing the burger while doing his best not to get any on Threat as he bit down into it and chewed slowly. He tried to enjoy it in peace, but the fixed stare the two girls were giving him was enough to make that an unattainable goal. He swallowed the bite, exhaling through his nose as he gave his verdict. "It's good."

"That's it!? Just good!?"

He raised an eyebrow at Isami's explosive frustration at his apparently lackluster response. Not sure what else she could want from him, he attempted to describe the burger in the hopes that it would satisfy her need for validation. "The bun was well toasted, though a bit soggy. The meat could've been rarer but it had flavor, and the cheese was a bit messy but still cheese. The lettuce and tomatoes were… vegetable-like and uh, the ketchup was there too."

Better, though clearly it lacked the pizazz that she had wanted. Asia didn't seem to mind, as she took a small bite of her own and hummed pleasantly. "It is quite good. The chef must have found his God-given purpose."

"Obviously!"

Satisfied with Asia's answer, Isami tore into her burger with such ferocity that he could've mistaken her for a demon were the lights a bit dimmer. Grease and cheese flew from side to side, a smear of ketchup across her cheeks while a single bit of melted cheese rested on the top of her nose. It was impressive in a gross sort of way, but not something he wanted to be looking at while he was eating.

"Here."

He handed her a napkin, which she accepted and wiped her cheeks free of grease and ketchup. He tapped his nose, and she quickly got rid of the cheese that was oozing down the side of her nostril. "Thanks."

"No problem."

He finished his burger and polished off his fries, occasionally piping in with a bit of small talk even as Isami dominated the conversation. That was just fine by him anyway, as he was just as comfortable listening to her talk as he was talking himself. That being said, he did have places to be and with some measure of reluctance, he got up from the table.

"I've got to get these groceries home. It was nice seeing you, Isami. And a pleasure meeting you, Asia."

"Likewise, Alfred."

"Later, Evander!"

Dropping down some cash for his portion of the meal, he waved later to the duo and began the short trek back home, thinking that perhaps his fears that his luck would rear its ugly head were little more than bouts of paranoia.

He should've known better.

… … …

Isami walked along back to her home, having said bye to Asia not too long ago. She hummed an upbeat tune as she made her way down the street, happy to have made a friend today. As much as she hated to admit it, she was kind of short on friends. Aika was the closest thing she had, and even then, the other girl only barely tolerated her. Their interests were too different outside of their general perversion. So yeah, it was nice to have a friend.

If only Alfred didn't hate her.

Hate seems to be a strong word for that one, Isami.

It was true though! No matter how much he seemed to be enjoying himself, there was always this air of disdain around him. As if he just had a constant aura that just screamed "I HATE YOU" at all times. Normally she wouldn't mind it, but she had thought things were different between them. Sure, they had a rough first meeting, but he had talked to her and stuff! Not only that, he had even helped protect her against the kendo girls! They were going to be friends, best friends even!

But then they weren't.

Perhaps you placed your expectations too high.

She ignored Ddraig's advice, kicking a can on the side of the road as she let out a sigh. "I'm just tired of feeling alone, you know?"

Hmm.

"You don't have to be."

Isami jumped back as a coated stranger wearing a fedora spoke up from across the street from her. She turned her head to the left and then to the right, nerves growing as she realized it was just the two of them in the immediate area.

That man is not what he seems.

No duh. Swallowing her fear, she held her arm out and tried to bluff the stranger across from her. "I don't want none of what you're selling, you hear me? Beat it!"

The man did not, in fact, beat it. If anything, he simply took another step closer. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Miss. You see, you have a special little toy inside you that my boss is rather interested in."

Run!

Isami wasted no time following Ddraig's instruction, booking it down the street as a red gauntlet appeared on her left arm.

[BOOST!]

Her running speed doubled as she sprinted away from the stranger, heart beating as ran through the city making twists and turns at random. All she knew was that she couldn't let that asshole find out where she lived, and so she ran in the complete opposite direction from the bridges leading to the suburban area.

It was a good effort, but as she looked to her right, she realized it was worth almost nothing.

"Hello there."

The stranger flew beside her on raven wings, matching her speed with a complete lack of effort. She screamed, pumping her legs faster as the green gem on her gauntlet glowed once more.

[BOOST!]

Her speed doubled again, but the stranger kept up without even a second of delay. Sweat began to pour down her face as the strain of her sacred gear wreaked havoc on her stamina. She ran a little further, legs burning as desperation fueled her to go that extra mile.

[BURST!]

The power of her gear vanished in an instant, her feet tripping her up as she tumbled across the rough sidewalk. Her hand twitched before her fingers clenched into a fist, blood leaking from the scrapes all across her body as she saw the shoes of the stranger standing little more than a hand away from her face.

"A pathetic showing. But then, I expected as much."

The stranger's foot kicked her onto her back, her pale face reflecting off his glasses as she saw herself about to die. A spear of light formed above her, hanging in place as the stranger gave one last quip. "I'll allow you the luxury of some last words, so don't waste them."

"A-A-Ah!"

"A pity."

Before the spear could fall, a red blur tackled the stranger into a nearby alley. The suddenness of it shocked her out of the stiffness of fear, her body rolling to the side as she got out of the way of the spear. Getting to her feet, she couldn't help but shakily make her way to the mouth of the alleyway, curiosity getting the better of her as she watched what unfurled from the sidelines.

It was hard to see what exactly was going on, only the occasional flashes of red and white cluing her into the fact that there was a fight going down at all. She waited, breath caught by anticipation. Cursing echoed from the alleyway, joined by the occasional sound of trash being thrown around. It wasn't long before her instincts were pushing her to the side, hugging the wall just in time to see the stranger being thrown out of the alley and land in the street. Blood leaked from several long gashes covering its body, several dark spots covering his coat in such a way that she couldn't help but think of burn marks.

"To think, this is where that thing would end up."

Wings burst from the strangers back, flapping as he flew away from her and off into the distance. A breath she hadn't realized she was holding escaped her as she sagged against the wall, head resting to her left just in time to see a clawed hand grab the edge of the wall.

"Oh fuck!"

Backpedaling away from the alley, she held her arm in front of her as a monster emerged from the darkness. It was tall, more than a foot taller than her, and clearly muscled if the way its size was of any indication. Blood dripped from its claws as a grin stretched across its face, bits of a black flesh substance stretching over a red interior. Its gold eyes narrowed, the jagged curl giving them a cruel squint as it regarded her curiously.

"S-Stay back! I'm warning you, I've got superpowers!"

Great, I've been relegated to mere "superpowers".

The monster stood where it was, claws shrinking as a growl escaped the back of its throat before it spoke to her in a surprisingly familiar voice. "I don't plan on hurting you, you know?"

"Evander?"

The "monster's" face peeled back in a swarm of tentacles, revealing a very familiar resting bitch face and set of red hair. "Yeah. We should get somewhere safer to talk, before that other guy comes back with friends."

What was apparently a mask crawled back up his face, leaving her with so many questions as he offered a hand to her. Not willing to risk her chances with more of those guys, she took his hand and yelped as he grabbed her by the waist and threw her over his shoulder. "What are you-"

"Try not to puke, it'll suck for both of us."

Before she could question what any of that meant, Isami felt her body get yanked forward as her hair whipped around her face. She screamed as a falling sensation overcame her, before another yank came and made her stomach lurch a bit.

"I was serious about the puking thing!"

She attempted to yell back at him, but the sight of the city rushing below her triggered a hereunto unknown fear of heights which made her grab at Evander's back as tightly as she could.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?"

"The premiere way to travel! Now hang on!"

Her body pushed to the right as he swung left around something, her ribs pressing against his forearm as a burning sensation began to crawl up her throat. She tried to clench her teeth together, forming a lock to keep the bile from escaping, but another lurch in the opposite direction sent the cheeseburger from earlier flying all the way down onto some poor stranger's window.

"That better not have gotten on my back!"

It took far too long to get to where he was trying to go, her hair and mind frazzled by the journey as he carried her through a window into a dorm room. Dropping to the floor, she all but kissed the ground as she vowed to never leave it behind again.

Sometimes, I wish Yahweh had simply killed me. At least then, I would be spared this humiliation.

"Please don't rub your face on the ground. I haven't vacuumed yet and it's probably got food crumbs or something on it."

Evander's voice suddenly reminded her of why she was here, causing her to leap to her feet as she jabbed an accusatory finger towards the American. "You were a superhero all this time!?"

He blinked, baffled by her question before quickly shaking off his befuddlement to answer it. "I mean, I don't think so? I dunno what the dictionary definition is, but probably not. I just got a bad vibe and decided to trust my gut on it."

Besides the fact that was the least cool way he could have described it, she refused to move past the whole superpower thing. "That is so not the point. You have superpowers too! Did you always have them, or did you awaken them when we touched? What are they? Is it that weird hentai tentacle thing you're wearing? Is that even a power or is it just an accessory? Do your powers give you super muscles too? Cause they are super firm by the way. Or are those natural?"

"Uh…"

It took him a few minutes to get his words together, eventually choosing to tackle her questions in order. "I've always had them, no I didn't, it's complicated, kind of, a bit of both, I don't think so, thanks, I work out. Also, try and go one at a time. I can barely catch up."

Ask him what he knows of the Horsemen.

Not sure what Ddraig's question really meant, she decided to roll with it. "The dragon inside my arm wants to know what you know of the Horsemen."

"The what?"

Hm, I see.

Ignoring her overdramatic partner, she loaded up yet another question when a pretty chime came in from the window. It was kind of like the kind of chime that came from several small bells ringing at the same time, only somehow not annoying. If anything, it was actually kind of soothing. She wondered where it was coming from, walking towards the window to see if she could find the source of it but finding zilch instead.

"Shit, of all days."

Evander seemed to recognize it, a frown marring his face as he began to climb out of the window. He paused, glancing back at her with a look in his eyes that she wasn't sure she liked. "What are you-"

"You want to save some lives?"

With the benefit of hindsight, she would've screamed at him to get lost and not listen to a single thing he said afterwards. Unfortunately, she didn't have hindsight, so her only response was to lean in closer. "How so?"

The grin he shot her sealed her fate.

… … …

As far as plans went, his was rudimentary at best. All Alfred had to do was distract Himejima while Isami got the people out of there. If his guess was right (50/50) then that place had some significance and getting them out would keep them from dropping dead. If not, well at least they were out of the way and less likely to be collateral. Either way, it was a plus for him.

Of course, there were always unexpected variables.

"I can't believe you let Malice tag along."

Threat argued with him in a wave of tentacles, the small black splotch of its offspring hugging his chest underneath Threat's mass. Apparently, the creature needed his magic, as it was still growing, but to take it into an active combat situation was stupid at best. Threat continued to disagree with him however, and at this point there was little he could do about it.

"If it gets hurt that's your fault."

Getting an agreement from his partner, Alfred turned his attention to the ritual site. People were beginning to gather, and Himejima was standing in the center of them all with an expectant look on her face. She was waiting for him, it seemed. Best not to disappoint.

Adjusting his position where he perched upon a tree branch, he carefully waited until her head was turned the other way before shooting two tendrils at her. The stuck onto her garb, interrupting her ringing as he yanked on the tendrils to pull her out of the site.

"There you are!"

A yelp almost escaped his lips as he leapt off the tree, a bolt of yellow lightning striking where he had just been as the devil hovered in the air. He landed on another tree, sticking to the side as he did his best to taunt her. "Couldn't help it! Your ringing was just so off tune that I had to make it stop."

He needed her attention on him, unwilling to put Isami or any of the civilians in danger. Thankfully, the devil seemed eager to give it to him as she twirled her bell-thing rather cockily. "Well, you've certainly gotten mouthier. You'd think a man about to die would be more sullen, but it's nice you can find humor in the situation."

"Hard not to when looking at that mess you call a face."

Her brow twitched as she stopped spinning her bell, nose upturned as she placed it in the space between her breasts. "Stupid and blind, what a terrible combination."

"Having seen you, I think I'd be happier if I were blind."

Bingo. A full-blown sneer came across her lips as lightning arced around her body. Her wings flexed in the air as she let out one final quip. "If that's what you want, then I'd be happy to oblige!"

And this was the part where he ran like hell.

Leaves and branches rushed past him as lightning followed behind not a second later, wood exploding into jagged shards of bark so quickly that it had no time to catch fire. Had the battlefield been any less crowded, she would have toasted him in seconds. And that was the major problem with fighting her head on, he couldn't. Oh sure, he may have had the upper hand when it came to physical prowess, but that meant nothing if he couldn't get close enough to her to make that advantage count. He sorely lacked ranged options, and he wasn't confident enough in his own lightning to make up the difference.

So, he stuck to the trees. The dense forest made it easy for him to weave between the trees with relative ease, his natural agility giving him the edge. He didn't need to be faster than her lightning, he just needed to be faster than her aim and let nature take the hit for him. She must have recognized that quickly though, as he soon found himself breaking through the tree line towards an open clearing.

Alfred rolled on the ground, claws digging into the dirt as his feet buried themselves in wet mud. The devil smirked at him from above, having clearly led him to a large patch of grass along the side of the lake, cutting him off from anything to block her attacks.

Home field advantage reared its ugly head.

"You are a fun one, you know that?"

A half-dozen balls of lightning formed behind her, spreading out in a circle as they trapped him within it with her. His fingers moved with an anxious energy as his mind ran a million miles an hour trying to come up with a solution to this particularly shit predicament. "How so?"

His internal panic must've been easy to read from the inflection of his voice, as her smirk turned malicious as lightning connected the hovering orbs together. "Despite how much of a thorn in my side you've become, I can't help but enjoy playing with you. Watching you teeter about trying to get the upper hand… I can't help but admit that it is rather arousing to watch."

Her tongue darted out as licked her lips as a miniature crisis of personal taste raged on in the back of his mind, his immediate focus a bit too preoccupied with living than worrying what this situation was doing to his taste in women. "I uh, I thought we were enemies here."

She laughed at him, waving away his confusion as several more orbs appeared behind her. "We most certainly are. However, you seem to be missing something."

Threat curled and shifted around him, preparing their next move just as he was. "And that is?"

Her whole body tilted to the side as she fixed him with an almost manic stare, cheeks pink as she pointed a finger at him with a crackling power. "I'm a massive sadist~"

"Ah, fuck."

Alfred threw himself to the side, dodging the first attack but leaving himself open as the orbs behind her shot forward. Several tendrils burst out of his back, taking the hit as the orbs burst into small fields of lightning. What remained of the tendrils pulled back as they sharpened, small blades of Threat's mass shooting out at the devil.

She obliterated them with a wave of her hand, disintegrating them as she formed more orbs. Not wanting to let her try again, he lunged forward as he stopped holding back entirely. The grass and trees around them wilted as the devil gasped, the brunt of his negative ki throwing her off guard enough for him to get in close.

He tackled her to the ground, the lightning around her shooting off in random directions as her control over them faltered. Even more tendrils formed along his body, pinning her to the ground as he pressed his claws against her neck. "I've got you captured, surrender."

Against every prediction he had for this situation, she purred at him with lidded eyes. "Your use of tentacles is a bit boring. I can imagine several other places they could go~"

"E-Excuse me?"

Her heavy innuendo threw him off guard, enough so that she was able to burst into electricity and throw him off her. He tried to get back up, but a sudden weight on his chest stopped that from happening.

"Men, always too quick to think with the wrong head."

He glared at her grinning face, aware of the hand by his neck ready to blow his head off should he try and do anything. He tensed his magical core, churning the energy inside his body as he did something somewhat reckless. "You give way too many mixed signals."

"Fully intentional, I assure you."

Not at all surprised, Alfred ignored the burn of electricity shooting off of his body as he took the churning ball of energy in his chest and popped it.

He, for lack of a better word, exploded. As did the devil on his chest, the force of said explosion causing her to fly into the air in a complete antithesis of the stable floating she had done earlier. That wasn't to say he got off scott free in comparison, far from it. He just had the hindsight of directing the blast in front of him rather than just letting it loose.

Still hurt like a bitch though.

"I am never doing that again."

Rolling onto his side, Alfred pushed off his elbow with a winced as the skin on his chest tingled from the blast. Already he could feel it healing, as was the massive hole it had made in Threat, but that was going to take a little time. And, as a livid lightning devil descended from the sky, he figured time wasn't exactly on his side.

"YOU!"

He couldn't help but wince at the rage in her voice, even more so at the state of her. The skirt of her garb was little more than rags stopping at her thighs, one of her sleeves having blown off completely while the front of her garb was little more than rags holding her chest in place. Burns covered her exposed skin, and while he was certain they would heal, he was also certain that it didn't matter to her.

"It was self-defense!"

"JUST SHUT UP AND DIE!"

His words meant nothing to her at this point, as she raised both arms and began to conjure enough lightning to wipe out this chunk of the forest. He balked, eyes wide once he realized that there was no way he could move out of the blast radius quickly enough. And even if he did, Isami might still be in the forest as well.

Of the choices he had, stopping her from casting the spell was the only one that made sense. He just needed to act quickly.

Alfred held a hand out, Threat's mass combined with his own negative ki combining to form a small orb. He then flattened it out along a thin line until it resembled a spear, the outside of it blackening into a solid yet still organic feeling mass. Veins of red pulsed throughout the spear, and it began to spark with his own electricity. He took aim, the mass around his arm bulging as it augmented his strength further. Holding his breath, he pumped more power into the spear until it was on the verge of bursting and threw it with all his might.

It rocketed through the air in a red light, a large boom accompanying it as it left his grasp and all but flew straight into the ball of electricity Himejima was conjuring. It struck the center of its mass, disappearing in the yellow before for just a moment. Briefly, he wondered if he had overestimated the spear's strength, but was soon proven right as the ball detonated within Himejima's hands, lighting up the sky like a firework.

"No way no one else saw that."

The urge to leave before her reinforcements arrived was palpable, but the sight of a body falling into the lake stopped him in his tracks. The devil was likely unconscious, knocked out from the blast. If he didn't go and help her, there was a decent chance she'd drown. She'd die, and probably stop sacrificing people for her ritual. All he would have to do was nothing. Just sit back and let her drown. It wouldn't even be hard, it was literally nothing. Inaction. He just had to let her die.

Alfred found himself in the water before his mind could decide.

He didn't so much as swim as use his tendrils to move him through the water, moving faster as a result. It was a necessity, as the limited visibility hindered his ability to search as thoroughly as he would have liked. Thankfully, a combination of his quick acting and the lake's relative shallowness made finding her quickly a lot easier than it otherwise would have been. Picking her up from the bottom of the lake, he used his tendrils to pull himself out of the water and drag her to shore.

Holding his hand over her nose, he swore at the lack of air coming out of it. Pulling her further up to as flat a spot he could, Alfred pressed his palms against her chest and locked his elbows, doing what little CPR he knew as he counted to thirty. The mass around his mouth pulled back as he pinched her nose and took a deep breath in, tilting her head and blowing air into her mouth to make her chest rise. He repeated that once more before she began to cough up water, the sensation being enough to make her eyes crack open.

"You…"

Her eyes looked ready to murder him, but her body could do no such thing. Shaking his head, Alfred got off his knees and felt his mask return to proper form. "Yeah, yeah. Just… returning the favor from the other day."

"H-Hate…you…"

"The feeling's mutual."

He shot a tendril to a nearby tree, ready to leave before a hand weakly grasped his ankle. He glanced down, ready to kick her face and knock her out if she tried something. "What?"

"…Thanks…stupid…"

A snort escaped him as she let go of his ankle, eyes heavy as he gave her one last response. "Call us even."

He left her there, swinging through the forest as he let out a yawn. Making her explode and then conjuring that spear back-to-back had taken a lot out of him, enough so that he could feel himself running on empty. He could scarcely remember the actual trip back, only remembering that he felt glad he left the window unlocked as he crashed into his bed and fell asleep within minutes of his head touching the pillow.

And not once throughout that whole ordeal did he ever wonder what had happened to Malice, who no longer clung to his chest.

… … …

Akeno stared outside as she found herself ordered to her room for her own safety, mind a clutter of thoughts all centered around one pain in her ass of a man.

"Damn you, Berserker."

Nevermind the fact that he had gone into the water to save her life, like the fool he was. And he was certainly a fool, perhaps the biggest fool she had ever met. After all, only a fool would save an enemy from drowning to death. She wasn't even all that surprised. That idiot was the kind of person to do that, even if it inconvenienced him. He probably fancied himself some kind of hero, some white knight who thought himself above it all. What an idiot. What a fool.

She hated him, that much she had decided. At first, it was just annoyance. How dare some random human try to interrupt her ritual when she needed it to be useful to her family. Then there was a slight, an impossibly small, bit of her that had been very very slightly impressed with his kindness. She may not have known the methodology behind it, but she had seen it with her own eyes. He had taken in the bloodlust of some random demons into himself and used that to free them from their curse. It was stupid, so very stupid, but admirable in a dumb way.

But now? She hated him with a passion.

He humiliated her, ruining her prized miko in the process. So, what if she could fix it with a little magic? It was the thought that counted, and really, the explosion to the face was enough to wound her pride. Something he did twice! First by surprise and then with her own power! And then that waste of space had the gall to save her!

"I'm going to kill that man, even if it's the last thing I do."

She ignored the heat in her cheeks, knowing that it came from anger.

Leaving the window and entering her bathroom, Akeno found her frustration growing as she stripped away the tattered remains of her miko. That bastard had even left behind some of his familiar's mass behind, something she peeled off the inside of her clothing with a sponge. It was inconsiderate of him, and another reason to hate that sorry excuse for a man.

"…Things were never this difficult with Kiba."

Even now, she could admit the obvious similarities in personality. They were both the type to try and act as morally as possible and were both kinder than the world would naturally allow. Kiba, however, was also one to be bound by duty and obligation. Her berserker, on the other hand, was much too chaotic for her liking. Much too eager to disregard the natural order of things. Devils fed on evil people. That was what they did, and what they should do. Anything else was just silliness.

Kiba was also family. No matter how tense things got, she could always count on Kiba being there for her. The same went for the rest of the peerage. No matter how angry he got, he would always try to be diplomatic with them. And if he couldn't, he'd simply walk away to avoid a fight. Berserker didn't. He actively seemed to oppose her, fighting her whenever he could. Perhaps he got some sort of thrill out of challenging her, an excitement that came with pushing her buttons. Regardless, it was frustrating.

"Just come out, damn you."

Akeno scowled at the substance, having gotten it out of her clothes but now stuck with it all over her. Letting out an angry growl, she turned on the water and stepped inside, hoping to wash it off.

Hot water burned her skin, a mild pain which soothed her nerves. She closed her eyes as she washed her body, rage fading as she was left with a bundle of more complicated emotions. Akeno the Devil hated Berserker with every fiber of her being, that was true. But Akeno the Girl, well…

Akeno the Girl was a bit harder to pin down.

Embarrasssssment.

Yes, yes that was part of it. Throughout her, admittedly, short life as a devil (less than a decade), nobody in her life ever saw her as a threat. She was either the Gremory girl's queen, an older sister, the second most beautiful girl in the academy, or just some hot piece of ass walking down the street. Few thought of her as a threat, or foe. And to be honest, she kind of liked it. But it was embarrassing to admit.

Power.

Her head began to nod as she found herself agreeing. It was a powerful feeling, like she had some kind of sway over his life. The way he looked at her, like she was the most dangerous thing in the room, it was intoxicating. As much as she wanted to hate him, she wanted him to hate her as well. To be obsessed with the feeling and spend his every waking moment hunting her down just as he feared she would do to him.

Obsssssessssion?

No, no it wasn't obsession. Perhaps that had been a poor choice of words, but she could function just fine without it. It was more like… it was more like desire. The fear he felt for her power made her feel desired, however strange it may seem.

Dessssire?

Exactly that. The desi-

Akeno opened her eyes.

"What are you?"

She stared down at the black substance covering her body, suddenly aware that it was more than just some byproduct. And, as if the simple acknowledgment of it gave it life, the creature began to raise its tendrils like limbs. A part of her urged the rest of her to rip it off and blast it to death, but another part of her, one growing with curiosity, compelled her to listen.

Malice.

The name should have alerted her in one way or another, but if anything it just made her more curious. She watched as Malice crawled up her body, covering her form in its abyss as it began to sap away at her magic. "And why are you here?"

Accident. Need host.

A flash of a foreign memory appeared in her mind, the feeling of being nearly killed in an explosion and ending up clinging to whatever she could to survive filling her gut. It was a nauseating feeling, and one that empathized her to the creature. "A host?"

Another flash, this time of Berser-of Alfred. He was talking to his familiar above her, looming like a giant as she felt his disapproval wash over her newborn form. She blinked and the memory was gone, but its impact wasn't. "He was quite harsh with you, wasn't he?"

Yessss. Hate him?

The creature began to lighten in color, becoming a violet which matched her eyes as she felt a newfound strength fill her limbs. She grinned, hugging the creature closer to her as it covered her entirely, save for her head.

"Yes, yes we do."

Malice understood what she meant, shifting as she stepped out of the shower into a new form. Akeno stared at herself in the mirror, watching the changes with an electric eagerness in her soul. She could feel her hate multiply tenfold, possibly more, a singular target of it all coming to mind as a red tint came to her eyes.

"We hate Alfred, and we can't have him forget it. You understand me?"

Her Malice agreed.

… … …

I'm almost frustrated at how easy it is to make the symbiote concept work with the Goetia power. Like, it should not be this easy to accidentally chance upon a combination of powers so easy to make this happen. I almost wanted to avoid it out of pride, thinking that it would be too easy. But at the same time, it's the simplest way to build upon the Goetia lore without having to hamfist it elsewhere. And what better way to do it then to give it to an emotionally unstable teenaged girl with daddy issues, an unhealthy heaping of self-loathing, and a very complicated way of viewing relationships with others? At the very least, it'll prove entertaining.

Also, Asia is a thing as is the other Fallen stuff. Yeah, that's still going down even if Raynare never tried to kill Isami here. I've gone a fair while without mentioning them so I figured having that storyline happen alongside the stuff I've set up with Akeno should be fun. That should also start pushing Alfred to start interacting with the main Kuoh devils as a third party begins to intrude on their wacky shenanigans (ritualistic slaughter) and hijinks (depression). So yeah. If it feels like a lot of things is happening all at once, that's cause it kind of is. The stakes are raising now and it's time to see how that makes or breaks the rest of the cast. Fun.

This has been A Decent Hoonter, and I may not be able to update tomorrow, as I will likely be quite busy.