When the God of the Angels, Yahweh, first found the slumbering Trihexa, He knew then and there that the beast would be the end of all creation. This was, of course, a time before Christ and as such my father was a very different man. He delved into forbidden magics to find a way to seal the Beast, performing untold horrors in an attempt to keep the Trihexa from ever awakening. He would, of course, eventually succeed in His endeavors, creating three layers of seals which would keep the beast slumbering for as long as they remained in place. But not without cost.

A great chunk of His power had been drained in the effort, leaving Him greatly weakened. Of course, Yahweh's greatest power was His clever mind. He devised systems and great magics to make up the bulk of His lost power, using them to maintain His miracles even with His strength sapped. And, for a time, that was enough for Him.

It would be several centuries later, after His time as Christ, that He would revisit the seals. By this point, Father's time as a mortal man had changed Him in ways no god could ever hope to understand. His already boundless wisdom sharpened as He realized that sealing the Beast was not enough, as the world had enough fools and enough time that one day, a strong enough fool may unseal the True Apocalypse. And so, He added a new precaution.

Four new seals were created using His power and slivers of the Trihexa's flesh, but not the kind to keep the Beast in check. They were instead four beings made so that should the True Apocalypse awaken, the world of humans would have guardians to defend them against it. These would be the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and they were unlike any other being. Not gods nor angels, but forces of primordial nature.

Pestilence, the White Horseman, had been formed from one of the Beast's venomous fangs. Plague and instability were its domain, wielding a great bow which could devastate all who saw its sickly arrows.

War, the Red Horseman, had been formed from one of the Beast's claws. Chaos and conflict were its domain, wielding a sword which could cleave mountains and raise armies.

Famine, the Black Horseman, had been formed from the lining of the Beast's stomach. Scarcity and weakness were its domain, wielding a set of scales which could plunge entire nations into poverty.

And, finally, Death, the Pale Horseman. Death had been formed from the dead skin of the Beast, Mortality and finality its domain. It wielded a scythe, not as a weapon but a tool to reap the futures of those who found themselves its enemy.

The Horsemen spent their days in the Seventh Heaven alongside Yahweh Himself, their sole duty to remain on guard for the end of days. Of course, life has a way of ruining well-set plans. The Great War between the Three Factions of Christianity began, forcing the once pacifistic Horsemen into battle. They were a devastating foe to face, as I would know. War in particular was a tricky one, not as powerful as Death but more than clever. Nor was War as versatile or devastating as Famine or Pestilence, but the Red Horseman was present more than any other. In truth, the reason War is so remembered amongst the older generations is solely because it was always on the front lines, giving morale and support to the angels it fought with. The other Horsemen would act more cautiously, maintaining an air of mystery around them which would provoke fear from their unknown power. The fear War invoked was not of the unknown, but of the fact that warriors that fought with the Horseman would fight harder than any other soldier.

It only made sense, eventually, that War would fall first.

I wasn't there myself, but my correspondence who were remember the final battle of the Great War vividly. No one knew it would be the final battle, of course. It was supposed to be another of thousands. Neither side of the remaining factions, the devils and angels, knew that the other had planned an ambush of their strongest fighters. The battle took place on Earth, in a mostly desolate place that would later become known as Salem.

The angels had arrived first, believing themselves to be preparing a trap when the devils sprang their own. The Four Great Satans had ambushed the angels, slaughtering most of them by the time word got back to Heaven that something was amiss. Naturally, War was the first to respond. The Red Horseman joined the fray of battle, distracting the Satans long enough for the remaining angels to flee and live another day. Of course, no matter the strength War wielded, it was not enough to do battle with all four of the Great Satans. Lucifer himself would land the killing blow, stabbing the Horseman right in its core and leaving it for dead.

The other Horseman would come too late, their passionate yet foolish comrade slain before their eyes. It enraged them, as did it enrage Yahweh. Father took to the battlefield Himself, and together they eradicated the devil forces at the cost of the other Horsemen. Some say that the only reason the angels were able to claim victory in that battle was because of the sacrifice of War, who had managed to wipe out a quarter of the 72 Pillar nobles that had been a part of the ambush. Whether or not that's true, who knows. But fact remains that the total eradication of the Horsemen and the Satans had been enough for both sides to realize that the war would grant them nothing but pain. So, in a way, War had been the one to grant the peace some claimed it did.

And that, kid, brings us to you.

… … …

Alfred sat on a rooftop alongside Azazel, the leader of the Grigori stuffing some woman's number into his pocket. "How does that wrap around to me, exactly?"

Azazel sighed as he stared down at the city, just as the rising moon did. "What remained of War's core had been sealed within its sword, a blade which acted as an armory and a weapon all in one. It had been sealed away, hidden deep within the Earth so that no one faction could lay claim to it. Of course, some idiot ended up finding it anyway. The blade was melted down, and the core extracted from within it. That core was then used in a series of highly unethical experiments, using the bodies of children on death's door to try and resurrect War. Most of them failed, but one didn't. One of them survived and was then brainwashed, destined to be groomed into a slave for their bidding."

He smirked, giving Alfred a knowing look as he continued. "Or he would have been, had one of the conspirators not grown a conscious and informed me of what had happened. I shut down the project and sent the boy home back to his family, removing the memories of the trauma and hoping with both fingers crossed that nothing went wrong."

By that point, it wasn't too hard to see where the fallen leader was going with this. "But things did."

"Yeah, they did. Poor kid had no idea how to use War's power, which led to some nasty stuff. I was hesitant to intervene, not sure if doing so would seal the kid's fate and force him into a world he wasn't ready for. So, I waited till I felt I couldn't any longer. And then, I sent that kid a letter."

When Alfred had first gotten his letter, he imagined a thousand questions to ask his mysterious benefactor. Why had the man done it? Why him of all people? What did the man get out of it? that sort of stuff. But now that the moment had come, he really only had one question. "Why here?"

"Here? Well, I had a budding interest in the place. Had a feeling in my gut that it was going to be important somehow, and so I figured you'd find some kind of purpose here."

Well, the fallen figured right. "Whatever happened to the sword?"

"You're wearing it. Even when melted down to sludge, the blade followed War wherever the Horseman went."

Threat wriggled around him in a comforting manner, almost as if reassuring him that it would never leave his side. The sentiment was touching, and perhaps had he been alone, he would have told it the same. As things were, he simply gave it a pat and silent thanks. "What now then?"

Standing up from the ledge of the building, Azazel flashed him a grin. "Now, I show you why I dragged you all the way over here. Keep up kid!"

The Grigori leader stepped off the roof, wings expanding outward as it flew towards the suburban area of the city. Alfred followed suit, swinging behind the fallen in his casual clothes before realizing that he was going to have a hard time swinging in the suburban district. Using one last swing to generate as much momentum as possible, he used the force to soar over the bridge while forming a fiery magic circle. The circle began to spin as a small gout of flame burned underneath it, slowing down his descent and giving him a very unstable glide as they moved close to the forest's edge.

"Is that-"

He cut himself off as they approached what looked to be a large mansion reminiscent of the colonial ones he had seen once or twice back in the states, complete with Greek style pillars, a massive driveway and fountain, and an American flag standing tall in the front yard. It was a bit much, especially the flag. Patriotism wasn't much his thing.

"Pretty sweet, eh?"

Alfred landed next to Azazel, wincing once he realized how out of place it was compared to all the normal looking Japanese homes next to it. "It's a bit excessive. I mean, do the gates really need to have bald eagles on them?"

"You're really not going to like the Constitution doormat then."

The two of them walked through the front gates, following the short path to the front door. Alfred went to open it but was stopped as Azazel held his arm out. "Ring the doorbell."

Breathing out through his nose, he did as the fallen asked and listened as a guitar wailed out the Star-Spangled Banner. "Jimi Hendrix?"

"Naturally."

Of all the overly American things Azazel had put into the place, that much Alfred could approve of.

The two then went inside, and an actually very cozy interior greeted him. A welcome departure from the overly flamboyant exterior. It was a dark oak color on the inside, with plush velvet furniture as a central stairwell led to the second floor. It was a beautiful home, even with the 'Murica bits, and it made him wary. "Why all this?"

Azazel shrugged, tilting a bust of a woman's bust in his hand before placing it down on a shelf. "Call it an investment. And a favor."

"A favor?"

He could sense the other boot beginning to drop as the fallen smiled, an innocent expression which his instincts told him was anything but. "You see, I have some rather troublesome fallen that made a rather costly mistake and, by all rights, should be executed. However, I'd rather not waste useful lives like that when they could be put to use elsewhere. So, it'd sure be great if some bleeding heart would take them off my hands and maybe, I dunno, rehabilitate them?"

Ah, he should've known. Nothing good came for free. "You want me to take in the three fallen Rias and her group captured, and… make them good? Like some sort of halfway house?"

"Well, if you're offering."

He noticed his mistake right when it was too late, unable to interrupt Azazel as he clapped his hands, summoning three fallen from behind a doorway to the main hall. "Here they are, all dolled up and pretty too."

In his mind, he knew he had to deny the gift. Really, he did. But the moment he saw the three girls, his heart faltered. It wasn't the maid outfits that got him, nor their beauty, but the fear in their eyes and the marks on their flesh. The short blond one was the least scarred, anxious but still with a measure of hope in her eyes even as she grasped at the many lashes lining her arms. The tall blue-haired one was a bit more reserved, a calculating gaze measuring him up as she pressed her thumb where the tip of it was missing. And the black-haired one…

"…Damn it."

The black-haired one was the worst of the bunch, expression empty as both of her arms ended at her embows. Her right eye had a lash mark over it, and her neck had the mark of burns that hadn't healed properly. Where the others had emotion, she was an empty husk of a woman who stared into nothing.

They were bad people. Alfred was aware of this. They had aided and abetted the killing of an innocent girl, and probably many others. Some may say they deserved the torture they had gone through, and others would argue that it hadn't been enough. But he wasn't in either of those camps. All he saw were broken people in need of a helping hand, and no amount of rationalizing was able to stop his empathy from twisting his gut at the idea of letting them be sentenced to their deaths.

"That's a lot of trust to put in some teenager."

Azazel seemed to have predicted that response, as he shot back without a second wasted to think. "Maybe, but then, you were able to bond with the core for a reason. And I'd like to think that reason was because it saw a potential for mercy in you that no one else had."

"…"

It was hard not to be moved by such an idea. The idea that he was special in some, however small, way justified his claim to this power. He was aware that the older man was likely just saying nonsense to push him that much closer to accepting, but he also couldn't deny that it was working.

"What are your terms?"

… … …

"I'm not sure whether to strangle you or smother you."

"They both sound bad."

"You'd enjoy the latter."

Alfred was keen not to investigate Kiyome's claim any further, deciding that some things should remain unquestioned. He instead transitioned into something more relevant, giving a side eye to the three fallen standing at the other side of the living room. His living room. That was going to take some getting used to. "Look, this seems like a way to square that debt I owe. How, I have no idea, but there's got to be some potential here. Right?"

"Oh, don't worry about that."

"What do you-"

There was a loud crash outside, and somehow, he had a feeling the brunette sitting across from him had something to do with it. "What did you do?"

She took a sip of her tea, something he knew had a copious amount of her special energy refresher heaped in like it was sugar. "The Garter Tribe are just making their new home in your basement."

"I don't have a basement."

Another crash, this time followed up by several hissing voices arguing with one another. "You do now."

Well, at least that was one problem taken care of. "So, I don't owe you anything?"

"Indeed. Though good luck finding the capital to afford all the food you're going to need."

Ah, shit. Looks like he was back at square one. "So, money then. What can we do about this place to make it not a debt trap?"

Her eye twitched in a way that looked more from too much energy in her system than any semblance of annoyance, hand shaking as she put the tea back down. "With the lamiae moving in, you already have yourself some forgemasters. They may not be on the same level as, say, dwarves, but they're still quite talented. Not only that, but you also now have some combat capable fallen as well. Even if they are a bit lacking at the moment."

There was no sympathy from her as she gave the fallen a disgusted look, as if they were walking trash rather than people. "Wouldn't have been too big a shame to let at least one of them die."

It was clear that she was talking about Raynare, a particularly scathing look being shot the fallen's way. She had been the ringleader apparently, and as such seemed to be the most hated of the three. "I'd rather not kill any of them, thank you very much. She's done some bad, but that doesn't mean she hasn't the capacity to do good either."

Kiyome raised an eyebrow at him, finger tapping against the table as her foot thumped against the floor. "I know you're a nice guy and all, but this seems a bit much. They killed an innocent girl, Alfred."

They did, that much he was aware. He was aware of all they had done, but he couldn't shake the feeling that condemning them wasn't the answer. Following that logic, would he be just as bad for pushing his mother to do what she did? Would he be just as unredeemable? If he could, in any small way, forgive himself then he had to be willing to extend that same kindness to another. "And they have spent the last month being tortured for it every day, Kiyome. Condemning them will do nothing to change what happened, so why not try and rehabilitate them instead? At the very least then they could do some good."

She didn't agree with him, it was plain to see. "And if they don't change? If they remain the same monsters they are now?"

Monsters, she called them. It was hard to see a monster among the three of them now. Maybe they had been, once upon a time, but not anymore. Not from what he could see. "…Then they face the consequences of their actions."

A small part of his mind whispered that he could probably force away what made them do what they did. All he would have to do is reach in and rip it out of them. He silenced that part of him with extreme prejudice, unwilling to let that way of thinking guide him.

"…If you insist."

A small smile came to his lips as Kiyome folded, not totally convinced with his idea but at the very least willing to help him see it through. "Thank you. I know this seems stupid, but-"

She stopped him, placing a hand on his as she shook her head. "It is stupid, but then, a lot of what you do seems stupid in the moment. I trust you, Alfred, even if sometimes I wonder why in the hell I do."

Giving his hand a squeeze, she stood up and began to address the three fallen. "Alright, listen up. Because the biggest idiot this side of Japan decided to let his heart decide, you lot are getting a second chance. You waste it, and you waste your lives. Understood?"

Two of them nodded, though Raynare just stared ahead listlessly. Kiyome shot him a glance, and he decided to put his money where his mouth was. "Kalawarner, Mittelt, you two will be following Kiyome's orders as if they were mine. I don't want to hear a single complaint from her about either of you, or you'll both get the stick."

The firmness of his voice betrayed how uneasy he felt treating anyone like he was them, but sacrifices had to be made. As much as some might call him soft, even he knew that it was important to make sure they understood he wasn't going to be taking any shit from them. Even if that meant he had to be a little mean.

"As for you, Raynare…"

He approached the silent fallen, mulling over a plan of attack before landing on something that could vaguely resemble a plan. "I'll be working with you personally. Understood?"

If he squinted hard enough, he could've made out the barest hint of a nod coming from the deeply traumatized woman. It would have to do, seeing as she was unresponsive in any other way.

"You heard your master. Let's get to work."

It was a struggle not to wince at being called "master", but he suppressed it the best he could and let Kiyome take the other two away. With him and Raynare now alone, he gently led her to the couch and sat her down. "Alright, before we can do anything I'm going to take a look at your mind. Is that alright?"

Another twitch of the head, but nothing else. Seeing that he wasn't going to get anything resembling a straight response from her, Alfred decided to just get on with it. He stood behind her, placing his hands on either side of her temple before closing his eyes.

Entering the mindscape of another person was a little different from entering his own. It was a lot harder, for one, since people tended to be rather guarded about others getting in their heads. The other challenge was solely because of the soul-based nature of senjutsu. Rather than it being a direct connection between his mind and hers, he had to bridge their souls in order to get to her head. It required a lot more concentration on his part, having to take care not to just slam his soul into hers and instead let them simply brush against one another.

It was with that in mind that he opened his eyes to the sight of a cold cell.

Her mind had been easy to get into, her willpower having been thoroughly shattered already. Even now, as he knelt beside her mental projection, he could see no life in her eyes. If anything, she looked even worse than she did in the physical world. Her skin was tight against her bones, eyes sunken in as they stared at nothing. The stumps at her elbows were an angry red as blood still leaked from them, spiked bone poking out from within the flesh. She was bound in chains, two shackles tied directly to the bones of her stumps as she hung there limply.

"…What did they do to you?"

Yet another reminder that his allies were mostly devils, as the mind of Raynare had been overridden by whatever excruciating torture they had put her through. Even if there was room to argue that she got what she deserved, Alfred found it hard not to feel some semblance of horror in her treatment.

"I'm going to have to interfere more than I thought I'd have to."

His plan had been as bare as can be, simply to go into her mind and ease her trauma. But now that he was in there, the process was looking to be a little different than he had imagined.

Pressing his hand against the massive steel door, he focused on his own mindscape before forcing the door open to the beach he so enjoyed resting in. Giving some thought to her chains, he undid their connection to the wall but left them on her. Mindscapes tended to literalize abstract concepts, and he'd rather not mess around too much with something that seemed so symbolically important. "You want to stretch your legs a bit? Get some fresh air?"

A cool ocean breeze came in through the doorway, brushing against her face as it made her eyes twitch. Her bone thin neck slowly moved so that she could look through the door and at the beach, legs trembling as she tried to crawl to it.

"I've got you."

He helped her along, not so much grabbing her as letting her use him as support to hobble her way out. It felt important that she was the one to make the decision, and not him making it for her.

"…"

Her foot touched the warm sand, blinking as the sunlight hit her eyes. The sudden change in scenery almost made her fall over, but he was there to quickly catch her. "Easy there, it's alright. This place, it isn't real. Nothing here can hurt you."

"…"

A slight fullness came to her cheeks as she lowered herself to lay down on the sand. She didn't really move or do anything there, she just laid down and felt the texture of the sand on her slowly thickening flesh.

His hesitance to mess with her mental projection left him standing there as she absorbed the sensations around her, half worried that he had influenced her too quickly and half hopeful that he was making good progress. It was enough to leave him content with doing nothing, a permanent sunset in the sky as time left them alone. The mind was a place where a thought could be as long or as short as one wanted, where entire dream worlds can exist within the span of a few minutes before waking up. He could spend years here before awakening to the outside world with barely a second passing in real time.

Time was not a concern here.

"…!"

Hours in dream time passed before Raynare's condition changed in any way, her head turning to face the ocean. He watched, curious to see her healthier appearance and hoping that she would do something else, but nothing more happened for another few hours. It was boring, yeah, but it was his mindscape. He simply busied himself with 2D magic cores and coming up with different combinations and ideas for how to use them.

"…W…Worth…less."

Raynare continued to stare at the ocean, tears brimming in her eyes as she moved her bleeding stumps around. Her shoulder twisted as she moved a stump towards the ocean, desperately trying to touch the water with a hand that just wasn't there.

"I-I was supposed to be worth something. I was supposed to be strong."

She tried more desperately to grab the water, openly crying as she berated herself. "I was going to make them see me! They would've been forced to respect me, to finally see what I was worth! And now… and now…"

A deep scream erupted from her throat as she pressed her face against the sand, elbow thumping against the ground as every bit of emotion that'd been tortured into silence came bubbling out all at once. "I-I'm worthless now. A cripple beaten and humiliated, forced into servitude for some human by Lord Azazel of all people. The way he looked at me, as if I were some problem to be brushed aside! I thought he was different! I thought he would understand me!"

Alfred chose then to sit down beside her, a stick forming in his hand as he drew circles in the sand. "What didn't he understand?"

Her head lifted up somewhat, staring at waves of the ocean as bits of sand stuck to her face. "…I just wanted to be useful, to be strong like him. I wanted him to respect me, so that the others would too. I wanted… I-I just wanted his approval."

"And do you think he would have approved of you killing an innocent girl?"

Her face dropped again as she scoffed, voice not muffled at all by the sand as his intent to hear her voice transcended any logic. "She was weak, fragile. Only the strong are worth anything."

"And what does that make you now?"

"…"

They both knew the answer, she had said it quite openly before. The wind whistled to fill the silence as she closed herself off once more, but this time Alfred was ready to probe further. "Why did you need to be strong?"

A snort came from the sand, her head popping up as reddened eyes stared at him like he was some kind of idiot. "Because if you're not, you get pushed around. That's how the world works. You either push back or give in and let the world have its way with you."

What a cynical worldview, but perhaps it was just the way the supernatural world worked. Some would argue that was how the mundane worked too, but the concept of power seemed a little more literal in this case. Supernatural or not, it seemed quite sad. "What's your plan now?"

"My plan? What plan!? My fate is that I'm going to be some human's slave for the rest of my days! I won't even be able to do anything important, not as some cripple. Maybe if I'm lucky, rape will be the worst of it."

Hm. She didn't seem to recognize him, not here anyway. Had she been that stuck in her own head that she hadn't even bothered to memorize his face? Insulting as it was, he could use that to his advantage here. "And what if he isn't that kind of person? What if he treats you kindly?"

A laugh this time, though there was little humor about the pain in its sound. "Then he'd be a fool of the highest degree. What use is there to being kind when you could just take what you want?"

"Humor me."

Unable to see her face, he was stuck watching the back of her head shift in the sand as she put some thought into it. "Then… Then I'd be grateful. Heh, grateful. How far have I fallen for me to be at the whims of some human?"

He elected not to make a pun, erasing the circles he made on the ground and instead making a small house. "Hm. Would you like a chair?"

"…Fuck it, why not."

Stabbing his stick into the ground, he conjured two lounge chairs and helped Raynare into one of them before sitting in the other. "Beautiful view, isn't it?"

"…Where are we?"

He had expected that question ages ago, summoning a drink to his hand as he relaxed in his chair. "My mindscape. It was a bit nicer than yours, no offense."

She visibly wilted at the memory of her own mind, the chains still attached to her growing a bit thicker as she thought of it. "…Who are you?"

"Does it matter right now? Why not enjoy the moment."

Following his own advice, he let her stew in her own thoughts as he watched the eternal sunset. Or maybe it was a sunrise? Who was to say, really. Maybe it was just subjective.

"You're the human, aren't you? The one I've been enslaved to."

The thought seemed to make her livid, face twisting in anger before that collapsed in on itself and hopelessness took its place. "To think, I ranted all that to you of all people."

"You're not a slave, you know."

She moved a stump, making one of the chains rattle against her chair. "These would beg to differ."

"Those are yours and yours alone. I had no part in them."

He took a sip of his drink, the liquid not being anything in particular but giving him the sensation of refreshment. The hours of waiting had made it easier to move at her own pace, to let her come to her own conclusions and work from there rather than drag her along to them.

"Why are you here? Why are you talking to me?"

Standard questions, but the sheer confusion in her voice made him wonder if there was any other meaning to them. Did she truly not even consider the possibility of anything other than him being eager to just… violate her? Was that just a consequence of fallen culture, or was the entire supernatural world like that? "Because you and your comrades weren't put into my care as slaves, Raynare. You're with me, because you deserve a chance to make up for the things you've done."

"What?"

Her bafflement almost made him laugh, the sheer absurdity to her tone throwing him off guard. "What do you mean?"

She went to gesture to herself, wincing as bone poked her chest. "I mean, why bother? What do you gain from this, what do you want from me?"

Gain? Want? Once more he was reminded of his naivete to the supernatural world, his views conflicting with the reality he was being presented with. "Because I believe it's the right thing to do. Simple really."

Raynare burst out laughing, this time from pure amusement as she cackled at his response. His brow lowered as he grumbled into his drink, making her stop as she realized he was serious. "Morality? Really? Of all the reasons to bother, it's for morality?"

"Is that so strange? You're a fallen angel. Even if you were born as one, surely you understand that there are those in the world that would act for such reasons."

Her lips pressed thinly into a line, mulling something over in her mind as she spoke. "I was an angel, once. But I was just a desk jockey, bound to listen to human prayers and send them up the chain. Even when the war started, I was still just a messenger for other people's orders. Never trusted to do anything important, just a receptacle for the opinions of others."

There was a deep bitterness to her voice, a centuries old anger that still had yet to be put out. It was an insight into her character that helped some pieces fit together, though the full picture remained outside of his grasp. "Is that why you fell? Envy?"

"…Yes. I grew tired of never being respected, but who wouldn't be!? To live your life solely to speak other people's words, it was sickening and had no end in sight! Anyone would've fallen in that position, and others did!"

He was reminded of her allies, none of them particularly strong. Had that been why they had all fallen? Hatred of their lot in life and envy over the position of others? "Did things get better after you fell?"

A growl tore through her lips as she made the motion of attempting to grab the armrest of her chair. "No. It was worse. At least in Heaven, I wasn't regarded with a sneer or open lust. With the Grigori, no one there had the need to mask their intent. They mocked me, treated me like dirt. It was awful, but… but Lord Azazel was there."

"Oh?"

The worship in her voice wasn't entirely new to him, as a vivid memory of the worship the lamiae gave him came to mind. "Yes. He was different than most of the others, he appreciated us. appreciated me. Even though we weren't strong like so many of the others, he still took the time to listen to us. I-I thought he cared about us. I thought… I thought maybe he…"

Her praise of him left itself on a bitter note as she looked down at her lap. "…Maybe he could respect me, even if not as much as I did him."

A motive emerged to Alfred. "And so, you decided to target Asia in the hope that by getting her power you'd make him respect you more."

Raynare sneered at him, not disagreeing but certainly not appreciative of his input. "You're a human, you wouldn't understand. Without her power I would've been nothing more to him than just some secretary with big tits, and there are hundreds of those. At least with Twilight Healing, I could have been an asset to him. To all of the Grigori. So what if a human died? Their lives are barely a blink anyway, and they'd simply breed more."

It took some effort to stretch his own thought process to align with hers, working backwards to try and understand her perspective. Perhaps if he had lived as long as she had, he would think of humans the same way she did. After all, he never put much thought into the wellbeing of an ant or a fly. "Hm… and what about you? You're just some 'secretary with big tits', aren't you? What is your life worth?"

"…"

Her teeth ground against one another, her back arching as she sat forward in her chair. "…What does it matter anyway? Clearly Lord Azazel doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. What does questioning me solve?"

He followed her lead, leaning up from his chair so that she couldn't just push him out of her frame of view. "I just want to understand you. I am just a human after all."

"Well!? Do you!?"

There was fire to her, but it wasn't a strong one. It was the fire of someone who saw little point in anything anymore, too little to lose to care and unable to believe there was anything to gain. "A little. Would you mind trying to understand me?"

"…Whatever."

It wasn't a no, so he'd take it. "Like you said, I'm just a human. My lifetime is too small to do even half of the things you've done. In that case, I have to spend every moment of my brief life living it the best I can. So, and forgive me if this seems a bit off focus, it makes sense to try and make the world I live in a better place with what little time I have. After all, I won't have it for very long, and I don't want those who come after me to live in a place which I neglected and abused."

"Your point?"

Right, right. He had rambled a bit, hadn't he? "My point is that you held onto your envy and anger for longer than I could ever fathom. Why? Why do that?"

"…Because…"

The question stumped her for a moment, as if she had never even thought of living her life without worrying about such things. "Because… I needed their respect."

"Why?"

She began to grow agitated, barking back at him as her knees drew closer to her chest. "I just did, alright!? Is that so hard to understand!?"

Alfred bit down on his tongue and thought a little longer about what to do, feeling a dead end in this line of thought. "…Can I be blunt with you?"

"As if you weren't already."

Fair enough. "I don't know if I'm doing the right thing, helping you. I mean, I feel like I am, but I'm pretty sure anyone else would say I'm an idiot."

"And yet here you are, a fool talking to a failure."

Harsh, but accurate. "Here I am. Really, I don't think I'll ever be able to make you truly regret doing what you did. Not without stepping all over your mind anyway. But at the very least, I want to try and convince you that cruelty isn't the default state of the world. That you can be kind, even if it's in your own rude way."

"Good luck with that."

He would need it. Trying to change the mind of a centuries old being would be like convincing the ocean to float up to the sky. But he still had to give it a shot, if only to put himself at ease. "Look, I don't need you to be a paragon of virtue. Clearly that never suited you. But can I least convince you to work with me here? For your own sake, if nothing else."

Her eyes narrowed as watched the ocean wash up against the shore, her stubs moving towards her face as she shut her eyes and swore. "Damn it, fine. I've got nothing else to lose, may as well throw my dignity to the dirt while I'm at it."

Alfred closed his eyes with a sigh, pulling his soul away from Raynare's as he let go of her head and woke back up in the physical world. He blinked, shaking off the vertigo of having experienced almost a whole day within the span of a few seconds.

Raynare, however, seemed to handle it better than he did as she tentatively stood at her feet and faced him. She lacked the same energy she had in the mindscape, but he could still see some semblance of determination as she licked her dry lips and spoke in a raspy voice. "Wh-What's your plan now, Master."

There was some snark as she called him by the title, though even without it he would've been uncomfortable. "First, you stop calling me that. And second-"

Another crash came from outside, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "And second, why don't we go somewhere less loud? That noise is going to get annoying very quickly."

Raynare, for all her grumbling and sass, seemed to agree.

… … …

"I know I said I'd do anything for her, but isn't this a bit much?"

Isami grumbled as she walked through the forest to the ORC building, rubbing her eyes as she let out a tired yawn. She was supposed to be asleep by now, having spent the day training and having class in the morning. Instead, she got a call that an emergency meeting was taking place and that she needed to be there. Which sucked.

Perhaps you should have thought about that before willingly becoming that devil's servant.

Ugh, as if she needed the sass either. "Perhaps you should have thought before deciding to fight entire pantheons of gods because they interrupted your fight."

…Hindsight is a terrible thing.

That much she could agree on, as she opened the door to the building and dragged her feet up the stairs. The benefits were great (she could think about those two massive benefits all day), but sometimes it just kinda sucked. Especially cause of how weak she apparently was.

It's almost impressive how little power you have. I mean, to not even be able to fly. That takes weakness that few could ever possess.

"Jackass."

Walking into Rias' office, Isami froze as at least twenty eyes landed on her. She then immediately felt her lesbian senses tingle once she realized most of those eyes were from some total hotties, and simply walked to the back of the room while imagining the cold gaze of the gray-haired maid chick demeaning her and stepping on her face.

Becoming a devil has truly made your perversion worse than ever.

She vaguely remembered hearing something about that but hadn't paid much attention. Rias and Akeno had been showering in the other room, after all, and there was no way she wasn't going to try and snag a peek.

Standing behind her mistress's desk next to Kiba, she noted that Asia wasn't here. Had she not been invited, or was she still inconcolebale?

How did you manage to spell the word "inconsolable" incorrectly in your own head?

Ignoring Ddraig's unnecessary inputs, she stood quietly as some arrogant looking blond jerkoff smirked and laid a hand on his hip. "Are we finally done meandering? Can we get on with negotiations or are you lot going to waste more of my precious time?"

Two dual-colored catgirls snickered in the back, their tits practically hanging onto their overly short sailor top by their nipples. Had their boobs been any bigger they'd have fallen out of the damn things, but there was something to be said about the squishiness of small handfuls that-

Focus.

Begrudgingly, Isami took her partner's advice and listened in. It was difficult not getting distracted by the many mammaries on display before her eyes, but she held strong.

"Certainly. I would like to request one last year to-"

The blond asshole laughed at Rias' suggestion, interrupting the redhead as he shook his head. "More stalling, darling? I would've thought the last year I gave you would be enough to realize that fighting this marriage is futile. Don't tell me you want to flounder about for another? No, no that won't do at all."

Marriage? She looked towards Kiba, hoping to get some form of answer from him. Her fellow peerage member simply gestured with his hand to his lips, telling her to be quiet.

Focusing back on the conversation, she watched as Rias took his denial without even a flinch and shot back with a different proposal. "How silly of me. Then perhaps just one month to get my peerage ready? I've made some recent additions, and I'd hate for them to put on a poor showing for our audience."

There was something about the redhead's tone that felt particularly venomous, a certain hatred that required a deep personal score to be settled. It was the kind of hatred that wouldn't be a turn on for Isami, if that said enough.

"A month? Well, I suppose I could-"

"And perhaps one more thing."

The douchebag looked annoyed at being interrupted, but a single raised eyebrow from the gray-haired maid put a stop to any complaints the man could raise. Not that it stopped a biting response from leaving his mouth. "What is it?"

Rias grinned in such a manner that made it seem as if some sort of long laid plan had been set in motion, a gleam to her eye that spoke of mischief. "I figured it'd be educational for my peerage to see how a master of Rating Games faces against an opponent. After all, I'm afraid my little family here is woefully inexperienced compared to yourself. You wouldn't mind impressing upon them the gravity of your strength tomorrow afternoon, would you?"

Several confused glances were being thrown her way from the rest of the peerage, even managing to make the maid's brow crease slightly. The asshat thought nothing of it, however, just rolling his eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "As if I'd mind putting on a display for my future toys. Would this battle be between you and me, however? Seems a bit premature."

The stranger began to idly grope the breast of the MILF-looking chick with purple hair next to him, completely skipping over the fact he had just called Isami and the others toys. She looked to Akeno, who stood with her hands clasped in front of her and a smile on her face which did little to invoke a pleasant feeling.

If Rias was bothered at all by the comment, she hid it well. Instead, she just laughed it off and shook her head. "Nothing of the sort. I figured it'd be best to get a third-party to act as a stand-in. After all, I wouldn't want to spoil our fight so close to the big moment. In fact, I actually have just the most perfect participant in mind. Someone who'll make sure not to waste either of our time with a disappointing duel."

There was only one third-party that came to mind, and it made Isami a little excited to be honest.

"Keeping secrets, are you? Very well, I'll be sure to make a most entertaining spectacle. Just don't be too sad if your sacrifice doesn't quite measure up."

Arrogance continued to ooze from the greasy fuck, even as he pinched the purple-haired chick's nipple. The bombshell moaned, throwing a cocky glance to Akeno who simply titled her head. Another sign to leave the sadistic queen alone after this meeting. Girl seemed pissed.

"Do both parties formally agree to the terms set?"

The maid spoke up for the first time since Isami arrived, commanding the entire room's respect as both Rias and the blond dickhead nodded.

"Very well. As witness to this meeting, I claim its validity and shall inform both of your parents. Riser."

There was a warning as she said the dipshit's name, something the man didn't miss as he let go of the other lady. Getting his own peerage together, he snapped his fingers and disappeared in a burst of flame, leaving just the maid behind who turned to Rias. "You best know what you're doing, Miss Gremory."

"I do."

The maid took that at face value, disappearing into her own magic circle.

It was then that Isami could hold silent no longer. "What the fuck was any of that? Respectfully, of course."

She added that last bit in with a cough, not wanting to displease her mistress in any way. Thankfully, Rias seemed more than accepting of her outburst as the redhead gestured for everyone to take seats. "That, my dear pet, was my fiancé. A terrible affair, I'll have you know."

Taking a seat on one of the couches leaning against the wall, Isami shook her head as Koneko sat next to her. "And the part about us being his 'toys'?"

That managed to get a frown out of Rias, her hands pressing together as her fingers locked into one another. "Riser's family, the Phenex Clan, are not quite as progressive as my own. They still practice the tradition that the dominant partner in the marriage owns everything the other does, including the partner and their peerage. Power matters more than anything in devil society, something you'll see quite commonly in the supernatural world. As such, were Riser to win then he would have free reign to do whatever he so wished to you all."

Oh. Ooooh. Isami gagged as she thought about that trash pile trying to sleep with her, a sentiment everyone else in the room seemed to share. "Even-"

"Even Kiba. Sexuality being limiting is a human concept."

Kiba looked particularly ill at that, and she couldn't quite blame him. Bisexual as she was, she still much preferred women and the idea of any man having their way with her was gross as hell. She had a particular type with men, and there were few people who came to mind that could fill that type.

So distracted was she from trying to scrub away the horrifying mental picture Rias had conjured, that she nearly missed Kiba's question. "Why involve Alfred in this, if I may ask? That seems… random."

Rias seemed to have been waiting for that question, as she leaned back with a curve to her lips that set Isami's loins on fire. "Most of what I said was true. I want you to see Riser in action so that you can understand what we're facing and begin to plan around it. However, there is a secondary reason."

Glancing out to the lake, she expanded upon her reasoning. "I have been battling with the problem that is Riser's 'immortality', or rather his high-speed regeneration, for some time now. It's left me quite stumped, to be frank. No amount of logical thinking I can come up with counters his regeneration entirely, as he also has his entire peerage that we have to contend with. So, perhaps someone whose tendencies scream in the face of logic can come up with something."

Isami's immediate thought was that calling Alfred illogical was kinda rude, if not a little true. It took a special kind of crazy to walk into a fight knowing that he was woefully underprepared and still manage to force a draw. Kiba's first thought was to argue. "That seems like a bit of a hail mary, Rias. Alfred's tough, but Riser is a High-Class Devil. He's stronger than you are, and his regeneration makes the small gap between you two even more glaring."

Despite her faith in her friend, Isami had to agree with Kiba there. Alfred hadn't even managed to beat Akeno in their last battle, technically ending in a draw. And Rias was way stronger than Akeno.

"Fufufu."

Speak of the devil (Isami winced at the pun). Akeno seemed to know something the others didn't, confidence shining on her face as she butted in. "The only reason I was able to beat him was because I was quick to adapt to his unusual strategies. That, and I had some help."

Though not present, the thought of Malice alone was enough to bring some complicated feelings to the surface. No one had been thrilled at Akeno's insistence on keeping the damn thing, but they'd relented solely because they were just glad to have her back.

"Then, my dear queen, what is your opinion on this plan of mine?"

Everyone in the room leaned in, eager to hear her thoughts on the situation. She delivered with little hesitation. "It's an excellent idea. The frustrating existence that he is, Alfred would manage to find a chink in the malcontent's armor. He need not win, simply get a feel for his opponent and plan accordingly. Ah, he's like a rash, my loathsome Berserker. So hard to deal with and so annoying as well~"

Isami couldn't help but focus a bit too much on the oddly possessive way Akeno spoke of him, something that Koneko did as well. Though in Koneko's case, it was less focus and more flitting between absolute despair and murderous rage. Damn, dude was probably banging both of the poor girl's sister figures. Respect.

"Thank you, Akeno."

Rias took command of the room again, satisfied with the other girl's answer. "I think tomorrow will be a great learning opportunity for us. As such, you should all make sure to get some proper sleep tonight. I want you all awake and alert during tomorrow's bout. Especially you, Pet."

"M-Me?"

Nervousness rankled at Isami's palms as her mistress nodded. "Yes, you. After all, I'm going to run you ragged over the next month. Why, I may have to personally make sure that you're really giving it your all. You wouldn't want to disappoint me, would you?"

Had she had a tail, it would be wagging all the way off. "N-No, Mistress! Whatever you say!"

"Hm, good girl."

It was easy to ignore the disdain Koneko shot her with as her mistress complimented her, drool going down her cheek as she stood up and saluted. "I-I'm going to go rest up for tomorrow, Mistress! I'll make you proud!"

"You best."

Rushing out of the office, Isami felt motivated beyond her years as she stormed out of the ORC building and made her way home. Mistress had called her a good girl, after all. And she'd be damned if she disappointed after that!

I can only hope that Albion's current host is as mortifying as you.

"Slurp an entire toilet, Ddraig."

… … …

Isami is becoming one of my favorite characters to write for, if only because her absurdity makes her much too fun. Of the characters currently in the cast, she's by far the silliest of them and the most openly horny. Fitting for who she is.

Anywho, I decided to get Alfred somewhat involved in canon. He won't have anything to do with the actual rating game, but I imagine he'd be down to help them train for some quick cash (or just the kindness of his heart once he realizes what would happen if they lost). So he'll be around them but not directly involved with the actual match. I actually felt rather proud for coming up with the idea of him being a sort of test ground for Rias' peerage to get a feel for Riser, and for his unorthodox tactical mind to be used to inspire some ideas. Perfect way to get a decent fight scene in there while not making him seem like too much of a third wheel.

I also decided that the idea of him trying to redeem Raynare and Friends would be fun. It fits his character to be overly willing to help even those who probably don't deserve it, since most of his problems originated from him being a bit too nice for his own good and getting involved with things he otherwise has no reason to. It was how he met Akeno, after all. And with him growing more confident in himself and his powers, that tendency would likely only become more prevalent as he moves past his anxiety and self-confidence with his own capabilities.

Also also, lore drop. I think I remember saying that I wanted to make Alfred's powers originate from canon stuff, and I figured Horseman of War was too easy to not use. Like, it's really weird that they're not already in DxD. Trihexa is, but not the horsemen? Seems like a wasted opportunity, but it worked out for me. Something something, boo yah.

This has been A Decent Hoonter, and Azazel is both a bro and an asshole at the same time.