News of the murder had already spread. The police arrived at the house not long after Izuku and Ibara left. There was no one else remaining at the house save for the corpse. It was chopped up so badly that it would be very difficult to identify. Then there was the message written in blood. To them, it appeared to be another religious fanatic. It also seemed that the murderer managed to flee before anything else happened. He was still out there.

Izuku had already contacted his mom, telling her that he may be late coming home. He promised her that he was safe and unharmed and that he had just met up with Rias and that he would be staying with her until the heat died down. He was in the clubroom sitting on one of the couches, busy cleaning out the blood from the soles of his sneakers with bleach. Ibara was in the shower room, washing the sweat and blood from her body as best as she could. Izuku didn't blame her for what she had gone through.

"It was very foolish of you to bring her here," Rias said, handing Izuku a bucket of water.

"Why? Just because she's with the church?" Izuku asked, taking the bucket and using it to wash the bleach from his sneakers. "You said that those who are on the side of God are dangerous to us. Is that why you're being resistant?"

"It's more complicated than that," Rias sighed. "That girl… is a heretic. That means she's in league with the fallen angels."

"She's a heretic?" Izuku repeated, confused.

"There are several reasons for why those who were once faithful turn rogue. As they have nowhere else to turn, they usually ally with the fallen angels for protection," Rias explained, sitting next to him, "There is probably some reason for why that girl is with the fallen angels."

"Oh…" Izuku sighed, looking down.

"Look, I sympathize with you. I do," Rias said sternly. "But we can't get involved with the affairs of fallen angels. If we do it will cause an unwanted incident. The best I can do is give her a place to rest for the night. After that, she's on her own."

"…I understand," Izuku and Rias turned and saw Ibara stepping out of the shower room, a towel wrapped around her vines and wearing the spare clothes Rias had provided her. Next to her was a tray table, her torn clothing folded neatly on it. "Thank you for allowing me to use the shower," Ibara bowed. "It was gracious of you."

"Shiozaki-san, I need to know," Izuku began, "Why were you with that psycho?"

"Father Selzen?" Ibara questioned.

"Yeah, that's what I want to know. You don't seem like the type to hang around bloodthirsty psychopaths," Izuku replied.

"…I didn't have any other choice," Ibara admitted, looking sad. "Three weeks ago I was excommunicated from my original church after I healed a devil out of my own free will. I don't have anywhere else to turn to."

"You healed a devil without question?" Rias blinked, looking rather surprised, "Why?"

"He was injured very badly, and I couldn't just turn away someone in need," Ibara answered. "As I was healing him, I was caught by the local priest. After that, I was deemed a witch and casted out."

"But there's more to it, isn't there?" Izuku asked. "Your healing abilities are a Sacred Gear, right?"

"Why yes," Ibara nodded, sitting down on the sofa across from Izuku, "It's called Twilight Healing. See, I used to live in a small village near Yokohama. My parents ran a flower shop, and we'd go to church all the time. I even had dreams of being a hero one day. But when I was eight, I found an injured puppy near the church. I prayed as hard as I could for it to get better. That was when I discovered my healing abilities when the puppy recovered instantly. Soon after, the church regarded me as a Saint and I was given the title of Holy Maiden. Ever since I used my powers to heal the sick and the elderly. Many people lived longer lives thanks to my healing and I'm grateful to the Lord for giving me this power."

Her face suddenly took on a somber look. "But because of my status and Sacred Gear, I was guarded heavily and treated well, and was seen as a higher being. No children would play with me, my parents were hardly allowed to see me, and I became lonely. After healing that devil, my Holy Maiden title was revoked and I was called a witch by those who once worshiped me. My parents… did everything they could so I could leave that place…"

"So you came to Musutafu to start over," Izuku said, frowning sadly. He couldn't help but feel very sorry for the girl.

"I see," Rias nodded slowly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

The door opened and Yuuto and Koneko stepped in, "I managed to finish the search as soon as the police arrived. It seems that the fallen angels have retreated for now," Yuuto announced.

"I see," Rias nodded. "I guess that eases our troubles for the moment."

Nothing more was said that night.

The next day was a Sunday and so there was no school. Izuku took the time to show Ibara around the city as he contemplated what to do next. Ibara looked around the city with awe and wonder, almost like a child. It was then that Izuku realized that Ibara likely never stepped out of her hometown in a long time.

"This is so great!" Ibara smiled. She looked around the street and noticed a colorful building. "Hey, what's that?"

"Just an arcade that recently opened," Izuku answered. "Wanna have a look?"

"Yeah!"

Izuku took Ibara to the arcade, entering through the sliding doors. Passing by the vending machines and going through a small hall, the two were greeted with the sight of a multitude of kids their age playing just as many games all over the place, including 1v1 fighting consoles, dance-off platforms, and shooting stations. There was even an area for air hockey and foosball and the like for those who prefer a more interactive experience. All in all, it appeared to be a fairly high-standard arcade.

"Oh, wow!" The two played several games, including a dance game where Izuku lost. They soon came upon an aisle that housed a multitude of crane games. "Look at all the plushies they have!" Ibara exclaimed, gesturing wildly at the multitude of plush-filled machines.

"Do you want one?" Izuku asked.

"Uh, yes," she said before a curious expression made its way onto her face. "But I heard that it's impossible to win at these games."

"I believe you can win these sorts of games. All it takes is practice, a bit of skill, and luck. Which one do you want?" Izuku asked.

"I'm not sure. All of these animals are so cute, especially the green sheep with freckles and those adorable red booties on its feet. It kinda reminds me of you for some reason," Ibara confessed while pointing at said plush, which Izuku had to admit that it bore a striking resemblance to him.

Izuku looked at the way the sheep was placed. 'Hmm… I think I can manage this… it's sticking up a little, so it shouldn't be an issue to get it.' With a confident smile, the young man put a coin in the crane game and proceeded to grab the stuffed animal in question. As he predicted, it wasn't really difficult thanks to it sticking out, and after successfully managing to obtain the prize in question, he proceeded to give it to Ibara, who let out an excited gasp as soon as it was in her arms.

"Oh my God! Midoriya-san, thank you! You didn't have to do this!" The vine-haired girl exclaimed, hugging the precious sheep tightly.

"I know, but I wanted to," said Izuku, doing his best to ignore his slight headache.

Later, the two made their way to the park where they first meet. The two were having a conversation, mainly Ibara asking exactly why Izuku became a devil. Izuku answered that he was killed by a fallen angel named Raynare. The mention of Raynare made Ibara flinch, but Izuku didn't notice. For when they were about to leave…

"Come on Kyoka, this is for your own good!"

"Get off me, Momo!"

Looking to the left, they looked with curiosity as they saw a girl with strange earlobes doing push-ups…with another girl sitting on her. Izuku recognized them right away. "Yaoyorozu-san? Jiro-san?"

"Hm? Oh, hello Midoriya-san!" Momo greeted with a smile and wave.

"What are you doing?" Izuku asked.

"Just helping Kyoka get a little extra training in for the day. We finished our training at the beach earlier, but Kyoka wanted to train a little more."

"I was doing fine until you sat on me!"

Momo only giggled at her friend's protest. She then noticed Ibara standing behind Izuku. "Who's this?"

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Shiozaki Ibara," she said with a polite bow.

Momo smiled. "I'm Yaoyorozu Momo, and this is Jiro Kyoka," she said as she stood up.

"Oh, thank God," Kyoka said as a literal weight was lifted off her. She then noticed Ibara next to Izuku and blinked. "Oh? What's this?" Kyoka gave a small smirk that resembled a cat's smile, her eyes ogling Ibara as she stood up, "So you've already got a girlfriend?"

"I-i-it's n-not like t-that!" Izuku quickly denied, blushing brightly. "I'm j-j-just s-showing her a-around t-town."

"Sure, sure. We'll go with that," Kyoka laughed.

"Hey, I thought I recognized that curly hair!" a familiar female voice cut in. Izuku, Momo, Kyoka, and Ibara looked behind them to see Uraraka Ochako running up to them.

"Oh, Uraraka-san!" said Izuku.

"You know her?" Ibara asked.

Ochako then noticed the three girls with Izuku. "Who are they?"

"I'm Yaoyorozu Momo, a pleasure to meet you."

"Jiro Kyoka," she then gestured to Ibara. "That is Midoriya's girlfriend."

"G-girlfriend…?" Ochako stared blankly at Izuku and Ibara, both of whom were blushing.

"I-it's n-n-not li-like that!" Izuku stuttered. "We're just friends! I'm just showing her around town is all!"

"Girlfriend…?"

"You already said that…" Izuku muttered.

"I'm Shiozaki Ibara," the vine-haired girl introduced. "I recently arrived in this city, and Midoriya-san was kind enough to show me around."

"…Oh…" 'Why did I feel so jealous?' Ochako asked herself. "It's nice to meet you. All of you. I'm Uraraka Ochako."

A little while later, the girls were happily chatting among themselves, Izuku watching from a bench with a smile. 'They sure are getting along well,' he thought to himself in relief. Ochako acting like a broken record for a minute really startled him. 'I wonder why she acted like that?'

Looking around, Izuku noticed someone standing on the edge of the building some feet behind them, their long sand-colored trench coat fluttering in the wind. It was hard to tell due to the distance, but it looked like the man had wavy short dark brown hair. He is quite tall and had a slim physique. Under the trench coat is a black vest over a striped dress shirt that is light blue in hue. He also had beige pants, dark brown shoes, and what looked like bandages wrapped around his arms.

"Huh? Who's that?"

"Hm?" The girls turned their eyes to where Izuku was looking.

"What's that guy doing?" Kyoka asked.

All of their eyes widened in horror as a realization came to them.

"Oh no!"

"Don't tell me…!"

The man, with a calm and content face, leaped off the building.

"He JUMPED!" Ibara cried in shock.

Without thinking, Momo and Izuku ran to where the man was going to land. Taking off most of her clothes, Momo produced a large foam bed from her body. "Midoriya-san!"

"Right!" Izuku grabbed hold of one end of the bed while Momo took hole the other. "Shiozaki-san!"

Without hesitating, Ibara used her vines to raise the two up. The man landed on the bed as they planned, but he soon bounced off it and fell to the ground.

"Oh no!" Ibara exclaimed, running to where the man landed, Kyoka and Ochako close behind. Izuku and Momo, once she put her shirt back on, leaped down to the man.

"Is he okay!?" Kyoka asked.

"He looks fine," said Izuku, about to check for a pulse… When the man's eyes shot open. "Wha!"

Slowly, the man sat up.

"Uh, sir, are you okay?" Ochako asked.

"I made it…" he muttered. "Damnit!"

"Huh?!" the five teens all exclaimed.

"Tell me, are you the ones who interrupted my free fall?" he asked as he got up.

"'Interrupted'?!" Kyoka asked. "Then, were you really…?"

"You don't get it? I was trying to kill myself."

"Suicide?!"

"Of course!" he said in a manner far too cheerful for someone who just attempted suicide. "And everything was going so great, but then you five showed up and ruined everything."

Izuku could only stare at the man in confusion. 'Is he scolding us for saving him?'

"But it's not entirely your fault," the man continued. "My goal is to commit a perfectly clean suicide without being a burden to anyone. And I did trouble you, as such the fault lies with me. Is there any way for me to make it up to you?"

*Growl!*

Momo and Kyoka blushed, now realizing how hungry they were. "Sorry…" The other teens could only chuckle.

"Are you hungry?" the man asked, a blank look on his face.

Momo smiled sheepishly. "Well, after training all day, along with using my Quirk like that, I could use a meal."

"I think we all could use one," said Kyoka.

*GROWL!*

As if to prove her point, the second, much louder stomach growl came from the man. "How odd… I'm also hungry," he said with the same blank look. "But I'm afraid I lost my wallet during the fall."

"Huh? How does that work?" Uraraka asked.

"THERE YOU ARE YOU SUICIDAL MANIAC!"

Everyone turned to the top of the building, seeing a tall and slim young man with dirty blonde hair that ended in a long ponytail and wearing glasses. His attire consists of a beige vest over a black long-sleeved dress shirt, a red ribbon tied into a bow around the collar, beige pants, and plain brown shoes. In his hand was a green notebook.

"Oh hey!" The guy the teens saved spoke up. "You found me! Nice work, Kunikida-kun!"

The other man, now identified as Kunikida, yelled back. "'Nice work'?! Who caused all this work, you suicidal maniac?! I HAD IT WITH YOU CONSTANTLY DISRUPTING MY SCHEDULES WITH YOUR SHENANIGANS!"

"Hey, I have an idea," the man said in his cheery voice, ignoring Kunikida's rant. "Kunikida-kun's a colleague of mine from work, so how about we have him treat you to a meal?"

"HEY, ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!"

"So, what are your names?"

The five teens all introduced themselves, which seems to be happening a lot lately.

"Very good. What do you want to eat?" The man asked them.

"Uh, well, I know this noodle cart nearby," said Ochako. "It's both cheap and really good."

"All right, then let's have Kunikida-kun treat you to thirty large bowls!"

"DON'T BE SO GENEROUS WITH MY MONEY, DAZAI!"

"Dazai?" Ibara parroted.

"Yep, that's my name," the man, now ID'ed as Dazai said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my new friends. I'm Dazai Osamu."

"You are such an idiot, Dazai!" Kunikida hissed a vein on his head. He was looking through his notebook, which the teens now saw had the word 'Ideal' on it. They were all sitting at a picnic table, enjoying several bowls of ramen. "What kind of person goes 'Wow, what a beautiful park!' and jumps off the tallest building he could find in the middle of a job?! Now we're late! I'll have to revise our whole schedule…"

Dazai, as he finished slurping up his ramen, said, "You're obsessed with your schedules and that notebook, Kunikida-kun."

"This is not some day planner!" Kunikida yelled, slamming his notebook onto the table. "This is an ideal! A guide to my life! And nowhere in this notebook does it say 'my partner should be a suicidal maniac'!"

"You mean Dazai-san has tried to kill himself before?" Ibara asked.

"Be quiet! And nowhere in my projected expenses does it say 'treat some snot-nosed kids to a million bowls of ramen'!"

"Eh, sorry…" said Momo, who has finished her fifth bowl. "Thank you for the food."

"At least you're showing gratitude after eating on my dime."

"Uh… If you don't mind me asking, what's this job you're doing?" Izuku asked.

"We're detectives," Dazai answered.

"Detectives?"

"Yeah," Kunikida confirmed. "But we handle more than missing pets or cheating spouses. We're from the Armed Detective Agency."

Izuku's eyes immediately shot up. He had heard of the ADA from the hero forums online. While they weren't pro-heroes and based in Yokohama, the ADA was composed of highly capable fighters with scarily powerful Quirks and was famous for helping take down incredibly dangerous villains by locating their hideouts and learning their identities. He had heard that the director had a Quirk that allowed anyone under his care to have control over their Quirk without harm. While not combative, it has huge advantages. Based on the looks of the other teens, they too had heard of the ADA and some of its accomplishments. Kyoka, however, looked somewhat skeptical. It soon became clear why.

"Incredible…" Dazai suddenly stood up, his eyes shining as he looked at the tree branches above them. "Those branches look sturdy enough to hold a person's weight!"

"Don't even think about hanging yourself in this park, Dazai," Kunikida said without batting an eye.

"I'm not. I'm thinking of tree yoga."

"Tree what now?"

"You haven't heard? It's a type of yoga done in trees. It's perfect for releasing stress and relieving muscle cramps."

"Whoa, that would be perfect for me!"

"It would! Quick, write it down." And Kunikida did so. But after about two-seconds, with a sly smile, Dazai said, "I'm messing with you."

The pen Kunikida was using snapped. He slams his notebook into the table again before strangling Dazai, shaking him silly. "First my ungrateful partner leaps off a building! But does it end there? Nooo! Then I have to pay the bill for a bunch of kids who stuffed themselves! My schedule for today was perfect! But now I'll have to start over from square one!"

The teens all sweat-dropped as Kunikida continued his rant while shaking Dazai, who seemed unfazed. "Are these weirdoes really from the Armed Detective Agency?" Kyoka asked.

Izuku then spoke up. "Uh, so about this job…"

"WHAT?!" Kunikida screamed.

"S-sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I shouldn't have asked! Of course, your jobs are classified!"

"Relax kid," Kunikida let Dazai go and sat back down. "Today's job doesn't involve any secrecy. We're investigating the religious murders that have been happening lately."

Both Ibara and Izuku's eyes widened upon hearing this.

"Oh yeah! I've heard about them," said Ochako. "Wasn't there a murder last night?"

"We already investigated that crime scene," Kunikida opened his notebook, turning to the page about the previous night's murder. "The body was pinned to the wall upside down and skinned. There was no sign of forced entry, but there were signs of a struggle after the victim was killed, with footprints left behind by multiple people, which suggests one or more people stumbled upon the murder before the police arrived. Other than that there isn't much evidence."

Kyoka looked to be on the verge of throwing up. "Thanks… for that image."

"Ibara-chan? Izuku-kun? Is something wrong? You two are awfully quiet…" said Dazai.

The two teens were brought back to reality by Dazai's question. "Uh, y-yeah! W-we're f-fine!" Izuku stuttered.

"We're just… a bit shocked that a priest would do such a thing is all," said Ibara.

"…We never mentioned a priest being involved," said Dazai, a small smirk on his face.

Ibara mentally slapped herself.

"Uh, we need to be going now!" said Izuku and he and Ibara got up. "Goodbye…"

"Not so fast." Before they could leave Kunikida grabbed Izuku by the collar of his shirt and Ibara by her vines, which caused the girl to whimper as her face erupted into a blush. "You two know something, don't you?"

"I like your sneakers, Izuku-kun!" said Dazai. "They're blood red! And the soles look an awful lot like some of the footprints at the crime scene!"

Izuku began to sweat buckets.

Ochako, Momo, and Kyoka could only watch in shock as their two friends were being questioned.

Finally, Izuku spoke. "Kinda…" he said. "We'll talk if you let us go."

Kunikida dropped his grip on the two. "All right then, tell us what you two know."

Izuku explained everything they needed to know. About how he was supposed to deliver something for the murder victim, only to find him dead, and his fight with Freed Sellzen. He also explained how Ibara wasn't aware of Freed's true nature until she saw the corpse herself. He left out anything involving Rias, devils, fallen angels, and the like.

"A rogue priest with a fetish for dismembering people?" said Dazai. "You don't hear that every day."

"But back to you, Ibara. You said you used to work for him?"

"Yes," said Ibara. "I didn't have any other choice. I was excommunicated from my church a few weeks ago and I had nowhere to go, so I came here. He and the others told me these were simple exorcisms. I had no idea they would kill people!"

"How long has this group been in the city?" Dazai asked.

"Uh, I'm not sure. I only just came to Musutafu a couple of days ago. But I think I overheard one of them mention they've been here for about a month."

"That lines up," Kunikida was looking in his notebook. "The first reported murder was on August 18th, a little over a month ago."

Momo then asked, "Shiozaki-san, what do you plan to do now?"

"I'm not sure…" said Ibara. "I want to leave them, but I'm afraid they'll come after me."

"Then let's make a deal!" Ibara and the other teens looked to Dazai. "If you agree to work with us, we'll arrange witness protection for you. How does that sound?"

Before Ibara could answer, a black feather fell to the ground. Kunikida noticed the feather and picked it up to examine it. "That's strange," he remarked. "I thought crows weren't native to this area…" Suddenly, a large blast of light erupted behind Kunikida and exploded. He screamed out before he crashed into a tree and was knocked out cold.

"Kunikida-san!" Ibara gasped.

Quickly, more black feathers rained around them. It was becoming clear that they were not from birds. "My, how ominous…" said Dazai, smiling with a small smile.

"What's going on?!" Ochako asked as she and the other girls huddled near Izuku.

"Oh… it's you. Not only are you still alive, but you're also a devil now. How awful… Still, you've done well looking after Ibara up till now," a new voice spoke up. Izuku felt a chill down his spine as he recognized the voice. From the way Ibara reacted, so did she. The group turned around as Raynare gracefully descended from the sky.

"Raynare… sama," Ibara whispered.

"Not her…!" Momo gasped.

"What a lovely young lady," said Dazai.

The fallen angel glared at Momo for a moment before her gaze turned to Ibara. "Ibara, I'm afraid your vacation is over," Raynare said, her smile sickeningly sweet, "It's time to come back. You know it's useless to run. Don't even try it."

"…Begone," Ibara frowned, "I want no part in the evil you and the other angels are up to. You're killing people, all because they made pacts with devils. I know for a fact that God would not allow that to happen! I can't trust you!"

"Don't give me trouble. You know as well as I do that your Sacred Gear is very important to us. Don't you know how long it took for me to find you? Please make this easy on yourself."

"She already said she doesn't want to be with you!" Izuku growled, standing in front of Ibara and the other girls protectively.

"Aww! Trying to be a hero now?" Raynare cooed, her face flushed. "I still remember our date that day! That sure was fun, huh? Especially the part where I killed you! But looks like I didn't do a good enough job…" with a malicious smile, Raynare conjured a spear of light in her hand. "Shall I kill you again?"

"Now now, no need to flirt," said Dazai. "Just tell us what you want."

"It has nothing to do with some lowlife human like you," Raynare hissed. "All I want is Ibara and her Twilight Healing."

"Not gonna happen!" Izuku summoned his Sacred Gear, to the shock of Ochako, Momo, Kyoka, and especially Raynare.

"Whoa! Midoriya, what is that?" Kyoka asked.

"I'll explain later."

Raynare, after recovering from her shock, began to laugh. "That's your Sacred Gear? Haha! When I heard you had a powerful Sacred Gear, I killed you because I thought you posed a threat! Looks like they made a mistake. That's a garden-variety Sacred Gear called Twice Critical. It doubles its wielder's power for a set amount of time, but… Even with that thing, you're no real threat. Truly fitting for such a shitty low-class devil."

Izuku looked at the bracer on his hand. 'Is that what it does? Then what was that Dragon Shot- NO! This is NOT the time to overthink!'

"You kids should run," said Dazai. "I'll handle her."

"Wait, are you sur-"

*SHINK!*

Izuku gagged, a yellow spear of light piercing through his torso.

"Midoriya!" the four girls all gasped.

"How weak. That didn't even constitute as stress relief." Looking up, the group saw a tall and buxom woman with long, navy blue hair and brown eyes. Her outfit consisted of a violet, trench coat-like top with a wide collar, a matching miniskirt, and black-heeled shoes. The trench coat top was open at her breasts, giving all a good view of her cleavage. Around her neck was a golden necklace. Just like Raynare, she too was being supported by a pair of black wings, marking her as a fallen angel.

"You couldn't even repeal a spear of light that weak? Like I thought, a low-class devil… No, lower than that," said Raynare.

"Hang on, Midoriya-san!" Ibara began to heal Izuku's wound, with both Dazai and Raynare taking an interest.

"How interesting."

'Twilight Healing… I would love to get my hands on that Sacred Gear.' "Oh, Ibara~!" Raynare called. "If you don't come with me, then we'll have no choice but to kill your friends~!"

"Hey! Don't we get a say in this!?" Kyoka yelled. A yellow light spear stabbing the ground next to her was her answer.

"Be quiet."

"Thank you, Kalawarner," Raynare returned her attention to Ibara. "Well?"

Once Ibara finished healing Izuku, she stood up. "…All right. I'll go with you."

"Huh?!"

"Midoriya-kun," Ibara smiled. "I had fun today. Thank you… for being my friend."

"Wait, Shiozaki-san!" Izuku called out as Ibara walked toward Raynare.

"Good girl," Raynare said with a sweet smile. "After tonight's ritual, all your worries will be over for good."

'Ritual…? What's she planning…?' "Shiozaki, wait!"

Two red and silver magic circles appeared underneath the fallen angels as they both vanished inside. "Goodbye…" Ibara smiled sadly as she vanished into the portal.

"STOP!" Izuku yelled as he ran to the vanishing portal. But it was too late. The portals vanished before he could reach them, leaving behind the sheep Izuku had won for Ibara earlier. Izuku began to cry. "How can I be a hero… if I can't protect my friends?"

A hand gently patted his shoulder. It was Dazai. "You need to stay calm," he said as Izuku's Sacred Gear disappeared. "They could still be in the city. We'll find them."

Izuku nodded. "We'll need help."

Izuku ran back to the ORC room as fast as he could. The clock was against him and he didn't know what plans those fallen angels had for Ibara, and it was anything but good. He needed help. The police and heroes probably won't believe him, which only meant…

"How many times do I have to repeat myself? No means no. I told you we can't help that girl any more than we already have."

Not the answer he was hoping for, but he had a feeling that she was going to say that. But at this point, he didn't really have much of a choice. Something had to be done. But it seemed asking for help was much more difficult than he had anticipated.

"Rias-san, please. Raynare also mentioned something about a ritual," Izuku pressed on. "What could she have meant by that?"

"Ritual? Hmm… It may be a ritual to take Shiozaki's Twilight Healing. If that were to happen, then Shiozaki won't survive," Rias said. Izuku's eyes widened, realizing that Ibara's life was at stake for sure. "Still, I can't permit you to go after them. If you're killed by a fallen angel or even a priest for that matter, it means the end of your existence. There is no way you can come back from that. Game over."

"But… can we just leave her like that?"

A small magic circle then appeared next to Rias' ear before she could answer, making some kind of sound. From the way her eyes slowly rose, it appeared to be urgent. As soon as the circle disappeared, she reached around her chair to grab her waistcoat. "Sorry, but something just came up. I need to head out for a little bit."

"But we haven't finished!" Izuku said. Rias quickly silenced him by pressing her finger on his lips.

"There's one other thing I need to tell you," she said, her voice moving into lecture mode, "High-class devils such as myself have a finite amount of servants to allow into their peerage. We refer to them as Evil Pieces."

"Evil Pieces… like in… chess?" Izuku asked, his words mumbling against her finger.

Rias smiled at his intuitiveness, "Exactly," she said, removing her finger. "As the leader, my rank is King. Yuuto is my Knight, and Koneko, my Rook. You, Izuku, are my Pawn."

"Wait… so I'm just cannon fodder?" Izuku frowned.

"All chess pieces have a unique skill and the pawn is no different," Rias countered, slipping on her coat, "You have an ability all other pieces do not: Promotion."

"What does that mean?" Izuku asked, unfamiliar with the chess term.

"It means that if you enter an area that the King considers to be enemy territory, such as a church, you can promote yourself to a stronger piece other than King, giving you a temporary power boost," she explained, putting an extra emphasis on the word 'church', which Izuku caught on to, "Promoting to Rook will grant you a stronger defense and monstrous strength, Knight gives you greater speed, Bishop enhances magical powers, and Queen combines all three attributes. However, Queen is a double-edged sword that takes a huge toll on those who haven't increased their stamina. You get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Izuku nodded. He blinked as remembered what she said. "But wait… you only mentioned Knight, Rook, and Pawn. You don't have any other pieces in your group?"

Rias flinched, almost looking guilty, "I have one other piece, but that… is a story for another time. Just remember that a devil's greatest strength depends on their desire." She stepped onto the room's magic circle, causing it to lit up in red light, "Yuuto, you're in charge while I'm out."

"Hai!" Yuuto nodded as the U.A. first-year teleported out of the room. Looking to his side, he turned to see Izuku as he was walking out of the room. "You're still gonna try and find Shiozaki-chan? Even if you do, that fallen angel isn't alone. You could be walking into a trap."

"An innocent girl is going to die. I'm not the type of person to simply stand idly by when someone's in danger. Don't try and stop me, Kiba-san," Izuku said sternly, turning back to look at him.

"Who said I was?" Yuuto smiled, "I'm coming with you."

"You're what?" Izuku gasped.

"Listen, you're my nakama now. I'd be setting a bad example if I didn't lend you a hand. And Rias-san did say that you can promote yourself if you're in enemy territory. She considers a church to be just that. That's her way of saying to go on ahead." Yuuto told him, patting him on the shoulder.

"Ah…" Izuku said. "They must be at the church in the Korusanto ward. Are you really coming though?"

"We both are, right Koneko-chan?"

"…Someone has to keep you out of trouble," Koneko said before Izuku's gaze reached her.

Izuku slowly smiled, "Then we'd better head on out. Can't keep the others waiting."

"'Others'?"

Izuku led Yuuto and Koneko to the park, where Ochako, Momo, Kyoka, and the two ADA employees were waiting. Kunikida had an ice pack on his head, given to him by Momo. "Kunikida-san! How are you feeling?" Izuku asked.

"Like I was dealing with every one of Dazai's suicide attempts all at once," he groaned. "Is this the help Dazai talked about?" Kunikida looked over the two devils, clearly not impressed.

"…Toujou Koneko, Rias-senpais Rook."

Yuuto gave a polite bow. "Kiba Yuuto, Knight of Rias Gremory. A pleasure to meet you all."

"Oh, a Knight! How chivalrous!" said Dazai.

"I'll ask one more time," Izuku looked at the three girls and two adults. "Are you sure you want to come?"

"Look, kid, we were going to investigate that church eventually," Kunikida answered, getting up. "Now that we know it's the murderers' hideout, it's our job to take them down."

Izuku nodded before turning to Ochako, Momo, and Kyoka. "And what about you three?"

Kyoka and Ochako looked the most hesitant, but Momo quickly spoke up. "I'm not a big fan of the church or fallen angels," she said, a small hint of rage in her eyes. "And I can't let them hurt someone innocent. I'll go, no matter what you all say."

Kyoka sighed. "Then I guess I'm going. Have to keep you out of trouble, ya know?" she winked at Momo.

All eyes then turned to Ochako, who had yet to answer. "I'll go," she gulped. "But I'm not sure how much I can help."

"You don't have to go if you don't want to, Uraraka-san," Izuku said. "And I can think of several ways your Quirk can be useful. It lets you control gravity, right?" Izuku guessed.

Ochako blinked a couple of times, "Not exactly, I just need to touch something with all the pads on my fingers, and I can remove gravity's effect on them."

"Hmmm, there are limits, but that can be very helpful," said Dazai. From the tone, it was almost like he was experienced with gravity manipulators.

"We're wasting time," Kunikida suddenly interjected. "Whether you're coming or not, we need to hurry up and get going, before it's too late."

AN: Yep~! The Armed Detective Agency exists in this story. For those of you who don't know about them, they're from the manga and anime series Bungo Stray Dogs. All of the main characters are named after real-life authors and poets and have powers that reference their works. It's really good.

As for why I included them? Well, it's a natural consequence of the setting. Quirks have been around for at least 9 generations (around 200 years), so it would make sense for anyone with connections to the supernatural factions (such as Sacred Gear users) to not hide and form groups like this. All they had to do is pass off their abilities as a Quirk (for example, a shadow Gear user can pass it off as a shadow controlling Quirk or for a dragon to take on a human form and pass it off as a Transformation-type Quirk, like Ryukyu).

Anyway, the next chapter will be the end of this arc, so stay tuned. PLUS ULTRA!