Chapter 11: Clash of Three

Raynare was infuriated, yet she couldn't do anything about it. A statement that was quickly turning out to be the staple of her new life.

She watched helplessly as the Soul Scope turned on and slowly, agonizingly drained away the life force of Asia Argento, a girl she was quickly coming to relate to. They had similar experiences. They had been dealt similarly bad hands by fate, leading to a life filled with unanswered questions and poor luck. Raynare was spared from that due to her tenure with Azazel, but poor Asia was that way for her entire life. She was so easily tossed out after the first sign of deviance from her end.

Yet, her words kept singing in her heart.

"If I could give Twilight Healing to anyone, it would be you… I just hope it would help heal you too if I could somehow give it to you."

Asia wasn't one to care for power or anything of that sort. All she cared about were the ones that she wanted to heal. She saw the world at its best, even though she was exposed to the worst parts of it.

Raynare was jealous of her mindset.

What she would give to just simply let go and forgive, not even she knew. She couldn't, however. Her brother's blood still called for her vengeance, and she couldn't let the call go unanswered. She had tied her life to Azazel when she'd first met him, but that connection was harshly severed due to the actions of the Rebel Fallen Faction.

"Dohnaseek," Kalawarner spoke up nearby. "Mittelt is requesting backup. The Devils are flying in."

"I see," he murmured, not taking his gaze away from Asia's dying form. "Support her. Don't allow them to interrupt this operation. Raynare will go with you too."

Kalawarner looked at Raynare, a small sneer forming on her expression. "Yes, she'll be good as fodder. Come with me."

She was unable to respond. One to have shown her kindness lately was dying without her to mourn. She couldn't forgive it, and yet, she couldn't contest against it. She had no choice but to relent. Raynare looked low as she walked to Kalawarner's side.

Together, the two of them ran out of the basement and exited the dingy church. "Keep up," Kalawarner muttered as she took to flight.

Raynare took flight as well but paused midair. Kalawarner was gone already, it seemed that she had no intention of watching over her.

'Is this right?' she asked herself. 'Can I simply let her die for an enemy? Can I bear to see Dohnaseek of all people wearing that Gear?'

Tears began to emerge from her eyes the moment she pictured it. That blessing that Asia had, being forcefully taken by someone who had no right to it.

'Then… what can I do? I'm weak. I can't defeat Dohnaseek. How do I do this?'

"If I could give Twilight Healing to anyone, it would be you."

And so, Raynare formed her plan in an instant. She quit her ascent, falling to the ground once more. Ignoring the questioning looks from the many exorcists in her way, she returned to the basement within the church. As she entered, she made absolutely sure to keep quiet and not allow Dohnaseek to notice her entry.

Dohnaseek was wholly focused on the emergence of the Sacred Gear. The emerald light emitted from the girl was arriving at its climax. Dohnaseek watched with rising glee as the rings finally parted from Asia's body, leaving her wholly powerless.

Watching the rings of Twilight Healing drift ahead, Dohnaseek approached the tool to his side's glory. That would be the tool to cause the re-emergence of the war for Kokabiel, he vowed to see to it. He would accept his destiny with honour.

And so, Dohnaseek approached the rings and reached for them. In a flash, two feminine arms overtook his own and reached for the rings instead. Being taken aback by the sudden intervention, Dohnaseek made to fly away but was stopped by a glimmer of light from the two hands.

A light spear emerged from them, spearing itself through Dohnaseek's chest. He gasped at the shocking pain of the killing strike but found that the dealer had refused to move. Twisting his head back, he snarled upon seeing who it was that did so.

"Raynare…! Is this some last-ditch effort to save yourself?! You couldn't even do it properly?!"

For certain, she hadn't. The spear that skewered through Dohnaseek's chest was also moving through Raynare's own. She had pulled off a self-sacrificing move to defeat him.

"No…" Raynare choked out, blood emerging from her throat. "This time… I did my job well."

The green light alerted him to her hands once more. The rings had already combined with her, sending their healing energy into her self-inflicted wound. The light spear quickly disappeared as the wound closed up.

"You fucking bitc-"

Dohnaseek wasn't allowed to finish his statement, for a second light spear emerged through his throat. Behind him, Raynare was cackling at her victory, gleefully allowing her own chest wound to fully close, freeing her from her suicide.

"Asia… I have carried out your will. Please, rest in peace and escape this cruel world."

Finally allowing the spear to wane, Dohnaseek's corpse fell to the ground. Raynare cast one last look at Dohnaseek, before feeling the surge of power from within her.

"Oh, wow…" Raynare delighted in the additional power that the Sacred Gear gave to her soul. Looking down at the weapons – no, the blessings granted to her, Raynare let out a smile. "Thank you for this, Asia Argento. I will never forget you."

Her new power alerted her of a nearby presence. Looking to the entrance once more, she found him. The other person she wanted to kill.

"Red Dragon. You're here," she spoke. "I won't lose to you, this time. With Asia's blessing, I will finally accomplish my goals. I will avenge my brother."

"You… You call it a blessing?!" Issei Hyoudou retorted, pointing at the rings with growing tears in his eyes. "You took those from her!"

"She gifted them to me. It was her will," Raynare confessed. "And I will see that it is fulfilled."

"Beetles!"

He unleashed a wave of insects at her, but to his surprise, she moved out of the way immediately.

"That is what they look like, then?" she said. "They truly are insects? Fitting for an ability named Beetles."

Issei faltered at that remark. "You… can see them?"

"It seems that I can. White Stars on their backs? What an unnatural feature…"

Issei's breath quickened even more. Up until then, he'd survived only because his Stand was invisible. However, Raynare could somehow see them. Did she become a Stand User? In any case, Issei lost his advantage of surprise if she could see them.

… It didn't matter. Issei first had to check in on Asia. He prayed to whichever God was out there that she would be okay.

"BOOST!"That was his second one. Feeling the surge of power running through his body, Issei leapt ahead, aiming to strike down Raynare with a Beetle-combined Boosted Gear. Raynare quickly unfurled her wings and took to the air, dodging his blow. She crafted another light spear and shot it at him, resulting in his dodge.

However, there was something unusual about the light spear she just threw. It was so much bigger than her normal ones. Upon watching the ground nearly vaporise after its strike, Issei understood that it had somehow powered up. Looking up at Raynare, he found exactly why that was the case.

Raynare had grown a second pair of wings. She had four wings.

"This power… it's wonderful," she said, observing her new set of wings. "Is this the power a single Sacred Gear can grant us?"

Despite watching his enemy grow stronger, Issei disregarded her discovery and turned back. Sending out a group of Beetles, he chopped through the binds holding Asia onto the cross-like structure. He dove ahead as she fell, catching her body.

"Asia! Please say something!" he called out, rapidly tapping her face. "Please tell me you're okay!"

"Is… Issei…"

Issei gasped in relief. She was responsive!

"Asia, please don't worry. I'll get you your Sacred Gear back, okay? I promise!"

"Is… sei… please… don't kill her…"

"You should let her go, you know?" Raynare spoke up, looking down at Issei holding Asia. "She's dying. It just takes time for a body to disharmonise with an ill-fitting soul. No need to let her suffer. End her right now."

"What… What are you saying?!" Issei yelled back at her. "We can still save her! You return her Sacred Gear back to her, and she will be safe!"

"She wanted this, you idiot! She willingly gave up her life. Did you know that when we first contacted her, we actually told her the truth that we'd kill her? She still accepted! Don't you dare get in the way of her will!"

Issei pursed his lip at her. "… I know. I know that she surrendered herself to you. I kept asking her if she wanted to stay with me, or if I could find her some other place to stay, and she refused. She kept saying that she would return tonight. I was stupid for not noticing it sooner."

Issei finally set Asia down on the ground and turned to look up at Raynare, setting himself between the two of them. "But that's not how people deal with matters like that!" Issei retorted. "We don't just accept a person's self-harm. No, we step on those goals and make them change. We show those people the wonders that life holds and prove to them that things can get better! Just like I will do for Asia! I don't care if I'm denying her will or whatever. I won't let her die, no matter what! Just like how my brother has me holding him up, I will become a pillar for Asia as well!"

"Your… brother?" she asked. "You speak of your brother when you killed mine?!"

"I did not do that! I don't know why the Dragon did that to your brother, but I'm not him! Right now, you're doing the same thing. Your taking Asia's life for your own self!"

"Shut up! She offered her life to me!"

"No! I will protect her! I will definitely stop you!"

"Is that what you wish for, boy?"

Issei faltered at the deep voice that resonated across the room. Looking for the source, he found that the Boosted Gear was glowing whenever it spoke.

"Do you truly wish to save this girl?" Y Ddraig Goch spoke to him. "Is that your objective?"

"Yes… Yes, it is."

To Raynare's growing frustration, the voice continued to speak. "… So be it. Do not let me regret this choice."

Suddenly, Issei Sacred Gear began to glow brightly. He and Raynare both had to shield their faces from the gear.

"BOOST!"

Once again, Issei felt the searing pain of the overwhelming power of the Boosted Gear. Once again, the back of his Stand turned their White Stars into Red Stars. Once again, that voice spoke to him.

"We are… and we…"

"DRAGON BOOSTER SECOND GENERATION!"

The glow of the Boosted Gear finally ceased. It had grown, as it was going past Issei's elbow and reaching the middle of his bicep. There was also a second green orb displayed along the body of the gear.

"You still use that monster's power?!" Raynare commented. "You will pay for that!"

"TRANSFER!"

As soon as those words were released, Issei felt half of his increased strength leave him. He found that his power was leaking out of his body in a yellowish aura and was drifting back. Looking back, he found that it was entering Asia's form?

"Is… Issei? Are you there?" Asia said, looking up at him in confusion. "I thought… wait, I can speak now?"

"Asia? You're awake?" Issei wondered out loud. He thought that she was so weak from the loss of a portion of her soul that she couldn't stay awake.

"I've applied a portion of your Boost onto her soul," Ddraig explained to him. "I will only help you with keeping the girl alive. I will not help you fight this woman. However, the Boost is only a temporary fix, remember that."

"Issei! Please, listen to me!" Asia yelled out behind him. "Don't hurt Raynare! Please, neither of you need to fight!"

"Asia! Don't stop me!" Raynare yelled out to her. "I will kill him! I told you, didn't I?! That Dragon was the one that killed my brother! I will absolutely destroy him for that!"

"I… I can't listen to that either, Asia," Issei replied. "Raynare took your Sacred Gear from you, and you need that to live. You heard the Dragon, didn't you? The Boost is only a temporary fix. I'm not going to let you die, Asia, and that means defeating her."

Raynare grinned at him despite Asia's crestfallen expression. "In that case, we have a fight to carry out, Red Dragon!"


Rias and Akeno were washed out by the time they had reached their foes. The two incredibly differing Fallen Angels were busy with something else.

"Dohnaseek! Come in!" Mittelt yelled into her earpiece. "Raynare, that bitch! What the hell did she do?!" In her frustration, she yanked the earpiece out of her ear and tossed it onto the ground.

"It's no matter. Raynare certainly wouldn't be able to defeat a four-winged," Kalawarner said, trying to sate the girl. "We need to finish our own job, Mittelt."

Grumbling, Mittelt finally shook her head, quickly wearing a sneer as she looked at Rias's and Akeno's worn forms.

"Hah! How'd you like my traps?!" Mittelt yelled at them.

Surely enough, there were traps set in mid-air. It seemed that Mittelt was familiar with human magic for some reason, which was why she was able to set magic circles at random points in the air with different destructive effects. Rias and Akeno had to fight off walls of flame, sacks of heavy tar, volleys of spears and poisonous gas all to get to the two of them. They were quite exhausted by then. Akeno had shifted to her Miko dress, which was singed at the edges and stained with drops of tar. Rias fared no better, having her school uniform entirely ruined.

"Don't worry about your two little partners," Mittelt continued, pointing to the forest below. "I heard two of the bear traps trigger down there. They're both caught in, without question! Those traps were poisoned too, so they've certainly gone bye-bye!"

"Buchou, this is bad," Akeno said. "If what she's saying is true…"

"Not to worry, Akeno," Rias immediately shut her Queen down. "I have utmost faith in them. They are my dear Knight and Rook. They won't lose so easily. Right now, we need to focus on these two."

Mittelt grinned at them while feeling the remote connected to her hip. Even if everything failed, she knew that she could still land a blow on them by blowing up the church.


"Fucking die, Devil scum!"

Kiba had to avoid another volley of light bullets, deflecting a couple of them with his sword Holy Eraser, another craft by Sword Birth. Koneko was jumping all over the field as well, punching everything in sight.

"Hyoudou-san went into that basement!" Kiba called out to her. "We need to make sure he doesn't do anything rash!"

"Kha, I ain't letting ya!"

The one to intercept him was none other than the disgraced exorcist Freed Sellzen. The other exorcists were easy to kill, but he was having the most trouble with that one.

"Koneko! Move in!"

"Cha!"

With a yell, Freed aimed his two guns at Koneko, who was doing her best to avoid them. Looking to the side, Freed tossed the gun in his left hand back and brought out his light sword to defend against an incoming Yuuto Kiba, wielding one of his swords. Locking the swords together, Freed still kept shooting at Koneko.

"You're a good multitasker, but you haven't accounted for one thing," Yuuto remarked. To Freed's surprise, the holy light from his sword was being absorbed by Kiba's. "This is Holy Eraser's ability, after all."

Bringing his sword back, Yuuto aimed another blow at him. Grimacing at his weakening blade, Freed went back with every blow, finding himself getting overpowered. However, he still didn't relent in his shots against Koneko, who was quickly gaining on him if it weren't for his gun.

With a final yell, Yuuto knocked the sword hilt out of Freed's hands, making him recoil in shock. He recovered from it quickly, however, because he aimed his gun at him soon after. Yuuto brought his blade back and sheared through the metal of the gun, eviscerating its barrel, much to Freed's frustration.

Grinning at his victory, Yuuto leaned in to deal the final blow. However, Freed Sellzen grinned once more.

The sword hilt that was knocked out of his hand had moved to Koneko's vicinity. Just as it approached her, the light sword suddenly re-emerged from it, shearing through Koneko's pelvis. She yanked herself out of the way, but fell to the ground soon after, finding the burn of holy light far too much for her to handle.

"Remote Sword Activation," Freed commented to a stunned Kiba. "Pretty neat trick, really."

"You'll pay for – "

"Second trick! Foot trigger!"

A light gun banged out of the blue, one that Kiba hadn't noticed. Looking down, he finally saw the gun that Freed threw away at first resting under his foot, aiming its smoking barrel at him. He was somehow able to pull the gun's trigger with his foot. Looking at himself, Kiba found a hole formed in his stomach from the unexpected bullet.

"HAHAHA!" Freed Sellzen cried out as Yuuto fell to his knees from the agony. "This is the best! This is the greatest high of all time!"


Issei kept on dodging the incoming light spears with all the power his Boosted strength could grant him. He was quickly growing tired along with Raynare. Her spears were incredibly strong after her ascension to four wings, with blisters forming in her hands that were quickly being healed by Twilight Healing. Issei kept using his brother's training and Ddraig's Boosts to keep up with her, but they were both showing signs of wear. Raynare's spears were becoming wobblier, while Issei was finding it more and more difficult to stand up from the constant running. Issei occasionally sent out bursts of Beetles as well, but neither of them were able to catch her as she'd move out of the way immediately. If they happened to shear through her skin, she'd just regenerate them instantly.

"Please stop!" Asia begged them. "You don't need to keep fighting! You're both good people, so please, just stop!"

"That thing is good?!" Raynare retorted, wiping the spittle and sweat from her lip. "That thing that killed my brother is good?!"

"I… I did not kill him!" Issei feebly replied, finding it harder to focus.

"Raynare… please…" Asia kept on begging as the Fallen Angel kept peppering Issei with light spears. "You… You said that you've always felt like a half, right? Then you're just like me!"

Issei was the one to pause at that confession, only to immediately jump out of the way from a spear. What did she mean by that?

"All my life, all I'd known was what the church told me. I kept healing people as a miracle child as they called me. I… I had a few wishes, but I was happy there. And then… then I healed a Devil."

Raynare grimaced at Asia's confession. Issei had paused once more, wearing an expression of shock.

"Once the Church found out, they cast me out. They said that I was cursed for being able to heal Devils… but… I didn't feel that way. I healed him and he looked just like every other person that was healed by me. Did… Did it really matter that he was a Devil? He may have been a sinner, but was it worth it to leave him to die because of it?"

"Shut up, Asia Argento!" Raynare yelled at her. "None of us are like you! If… If I could become you for even a short moment, I would do so in a heartbeat. I am jealous of how you see the world. How… just how can you see beauty in a world as ugly as this one?!"

Issei, however, took his time to consider her words. While Asia's story was shocking, it really wasn't what bothered him. It was what Raynare said about her that affected him so.

"How can you see beauty in a world as ugly as this one?!"

What… just what did that take? Seeing the beauty in things regardless of whatever it was? What was the beauty in his experiences in the previous days?

… He was getting closer to the two groups he was associated with. While he was on and off with the Devils, he was slowly gaining the trust of Class 2-E.

What about… What about everything that Stands did to the class?

Class 2-E had gotten closer to each other because of their experiences. They may have lost a couple people, but they forged unbreakable bonds on the way. They became a family, just like the Devils.

Finally… what was beautiful about Raynare? The girl that stepped on his heart?

… She was able to care. She certainly did care for Asia, although it was in her own twisted way. She felt gratitude for Asia's Sacred Gear and wished to follow her will. Moreover, she overcame her adversary, that other four-winged Fallen Angel, Dohnaseek. Issei had seen her being mistreated by him, and it seemed that she earned her vengeance for it.

In that case, just who was Raynare? Was she an enemy of his, or was she a good person?

He had no idea. Was that struggle he was going through even worth it in the first place? They both wanted to keep Asia safe. So, why were they fighting?

"Raynare… I know you've suffered as well," Asia continued. "You've told me about the people you've lost and -"

"Don't compare them to yourself!" Raynare screeched back in reply. "You haven't suffered from a loss as I have! My brother died next to me in the fucking crib! I was tricked out of Azazel-sama's grace by these bastards that trapped you! I've lost all my other halves, and now… I'm incomplete! You have no idea how that feels! You're just happy with everything!"

Issei finally understood.

Raynare was someone who was trying to find meaning in life. It was due to her tragedies that she ended up pinned against them. However, she was still searching for something to complete her. That sense of loss was certainly something that someone who hadn't experienced it could never know.

However, Issei could understand that.

Issei was an orphan. He was lucky to have his Aniki with him, but he'd always grown to be self-sufficient. Aniki had his job to return to, and he'd taken a very long break to raise him. For some reason, the company didn't mind his absence and readily accepted him back, but that meant that past the age of 10, Issei had to live alone most of the time. Something about that loneliness formed a void within a person. That was how Raynare was similar to him. Raynare was a lonely soul, just like him.

Somehow, he felt all his previous ill will dissipate. Something within him stopped caring that she had betrayed his relationship because that was what she thought she had to do. To keep away her loneliness, she would have done anything. It was just like why Issei stuck with Matsuda and Motohama. They accepted him for who he was, despite giving him nothing but headaches. However, every person that Raynare tried to connect with ended up separating from her in some way.

"The ill-seeking church traps the ill-sought nun, Among the Crows lie one other ill-sought," Issei recited out loud, making the two of them look at him in confusion. "That prophecy I received said this first. There were two ill-sought mentioned in this verse. Listen to the hearts of all to come through. Now, I intend to do that.

"Raynare," he announced, bringing their attention to him once more. At that moment, his gear let out one other audible Boost!, which would be his two-and-a-halfth one due to the Transfer.

"We are Bee… and we Co…"

"I refuse to fight you," he declared, yet again missing how his Stand's Star changed colours. "Just like how you're the same as Asia, we are the same as well."

"… What?" Raynare retorted. "I am no child killer like you!"

In her fury, she armed herself with another light spear and threw it at Issei, much to Asia's terror.

That time, however, Issei didn't move. Instead, he listened. The same words that were being spoken to him came to him once more, but he finally listened to what it was saying.

"We are Beetles, and we-"

"Come Together."

The Beetles in the air returned before Issei in a flash. Grotesquely, the pincers of the Beetles pierced through their fellow, forming a chain-like structure. When they combined together, they solidified into one transparent floating plate before him, polka-dotted with red stars. The light spear hit the surface of the plaque that Beetles formed, only to dissipate nearly instantly.

"This is Beetles," he realised. "This is its ability."

Recombination. Not only was he able to morph his Beetles into any shape he desired, but he was also able to change their fundamental statistics as well. For instance, he knew that the shield before him could easily tank one of Daichi Bushida's punches, despite it coming from another Stand and how weak Beetles once was. Beetles was a Stand that was capable of turning into anything, all because it could Come Together.

"What… What is that shield?!" Raynare remarked upon seeing the black and red barrier before him, albeit being transparent enough to see his face through it. "What is that?!"

"It's an application of my Stand. I've already made my decision, Raynare. Just like Asia wanted, I will not kill you."

"You… YOU! AARGH!"

Raynare dived to Issei, trying to navigate around the shield to get to him. "Beetles! Come Together!" Issei called out, willing his Stand to separate from the shield before him and rush to the incoming Raynare. Raynare rolled out of the way of the incoming insects, however, they weren't trying to bite into her like before. From an outsider's perspective, the Beetles were moving to hover above Raynare, combing into one large mass above her. Suddenly, the mass dropped onto her.

Raynare gasped as a heavy load suddenly appeared on her back, weighing her down to crash on the floor. As the dust settled, Issei watched as Raynare tried to get up, but couldn't do so due to the ball of Beetles weighing her body down.

"You! YOU!" Raynare yelled at him, frothy spittle emerging from her mouth. "You can't keep getting away with this! You bastard! I'm not gonna let you do whatever you like! Let me go, damn it!"

"Not until you calm down, Raynare," Issei said. "I don't want to kill you. Not anymore. So please, just return Asia's Sacred Gear to her, and we can go our own ways."

"Our own ways?! What ways?! Because of you, I have nothing left! I've been labelled a traitor, and I can't return to the Grigori anymore! Why the hell should I return this power to the girl?"

"Because I don't want to abandon her."

Raynare gritted her teeth further. "Her… Is that all you care about?! No one else?!"

"I can put in a word with the Devils for you if you want. We're not on the best of terms, but I can work something out with them to get you your old position back. However, I no longer want to see you defeated. That is Asia's will, after all. All I ask is that you return her Gear to her."

"Stop, Issei!"

Issei faltered at that remark. I had come from Asia, after all.

"It's okay… I'm ready to die," she confessed. "My entire life was held according to God's will, so maybe I'd done something horrible to earn this. It's okay. This is what I deserve, after all."

"… Fuck that," Issei retorted, making Asia gasp. "Just because you faced a little struggle, you think your life is forfeit?! What the hell are you saying, Asia?!"

"I-I…"

Issei started to walk towards Asia, who was standing next to the Soul Scope. "I don't care about whatever God thinks. What I care about are the ones that I can see. That includes you, Asia. So, you healed a Devil. So what?! All that tells me is that you're too good for those people that held you in the church!"

Asia stared at Issei in awe upon hearing that comment. "T-That's not true! He's a Devil! He could have caused harm to other people, and… and…"

"Maybe, but that doesn't matter, Asia. You're such a good person that you won't care if someone is an ally or an enemy, you would help them regardless. My brother would probably hate you for that, but I don't see that as a bad thing. All that tells me is that you're so much better than any of us deserve.

"You do not deserve to die for what you did, Asia. Let me show you everything that you missed. You still haven't seen enough of the world, you know? Have you been to an amusement park before?"

"A… Amusement Park?"

"Yeah! You'll love it for sure. There are these huge games and so many food stalls. You can try a bunch of different stuff. And that's not all! There are so many other events that you have yet to see, Asia. As your first friend, I promise to take you to see them all."

Asia was taken aback by Issei's proclamation. Tears were forming in her eyes and she was about to speak, but suddenly, a sound filled the room.

"BOOM!"


Mittelt groaned as she lay on the dirt. Looking to the side, she saw Kalawarner's headless body sitting there.

They had put up a very good front. The trap wards that Mittelt set up on both of them have proved to be useful to all of the regular attacks, but when that red-haired bitch's Power of Destruction came into the equation, everything changed. In a flash, the two Fallen Angels were overwhelmed due to the raw red power eating away at their trap work. In that path, Kalawarner had lost her head to that power.

"K-Kala… damn it!" Mittelt groaned out, still feeling jittery from the electric shock she'd received from the other Devil. "Damn it! I have no choice!"

Looking up at the two Devils towering over her weakened form, she grinned.

"So… you fucking won, huh, bitches?" Mittelt said. "Are you gonna finish it?"

Rias didn't grace her with an answer as she formed another ball of red energy in her palm.

"Hey, hey, wait up! I've got something to tell you!" Mittelt cried out, earning her a pause from the Gremory. "Good. Shit, well, good riddance. After all, you're definitely not gonna see anyone in that church ever again."

Using all the power she had left, Mittelt pried out the detonator from her holster.

"Wait, drop that!" Akeno cried out, primed to blast her once more.

However, it was too late. Mittelt pressed the button with glee, and the two Devils heard the boom from the church.


The ceiling crumbled atop the three of them. Issei watched the fall and immediately pulled Asia into his arms, casting Beetles into another shield above him to defend against the debris.

However, he could still feel something within another set of Beetles.Issei immediately checked, then used the weight behind Raynare's back to pull her back to him. He may have found it unsafe to keep her so close to him, but he had no choice then.

He stood up, having released Raynare from his Stand's hold and keeping a shield above both Raynare and Asia. Raynare finally came to after the weight on her shoulders was released, only to see the one she was trying to kill currently protecting her from falling debris for some reason, while Asia hung nearby to be protected as well.

Issei, meanwhile, was focusing past the transparency of the shield. Letting out a Beetle from his eye, he took a closer look at the falling debris and found what he was afraid of. There were still a couple bombs that were to be triggered falling into the basement. If they were caught in that follow-up destruction, they would absolutely be toast.

"BOOST!" "Beetles! Come Together!"

Gaining yet another Boost, Issei felt the power exceed the capabilities of his body, albeit much worse than it was before. Yet, Issei fought past the agony and forced the Beetles around him to form a barrier.

Raynare watched as blood began to seep from his pores after his latest boost, yet he remained focused on the barrier. Seeing an opportunity, she lifted an arm and attempted to form a light spear. After all, if the Red Dragon was so busy with something like that, then he was vulnerable to attack.

It was Asia's hand on hers that stopped her.

Looking at the blonde girl, she shook her head. "You don't need to keep fighting, Raynare. Please look at what he's doing."

Raynare wanted to tell her off. The killer of her brother was right before her, ripe for the picking, and she was telling her to stop? What was she talking about?

However, it was upon looking past her that she understood something. The cross of the Soul Scope was a lot closer than she had expected. She was in the middle of the room, but she then remembered how she was suddenly pulled to that location and kept under the Red Dragon. All so that she could be protected by his ability.

'Did… Did he go out of his way to secure my safety too?' she wondered. 'Why? How can… but he killed my brother! Why is he trying to save me?!'

Issei was not aware of Raynare's mental conflict, for he was busy holding up the barrier around him. The bombs that fell began to go off. They were a lot stronger than he'd expected, so he had to use all of the power his Boosts gave him through his Stand. The power from the Boosts stung through his skin, but he couldn't give up just then. If he did, he'd lose his life along with Raynare and Asia, after all. So, he fought through the pain and focused on keeping up the shield as much as possible.

However, he kept looking through the debris for anything of interest. He ignored the number of exorcist bodies, certainly left behind by the Devils. While he did not enjoy how they were ruthlessly killed, he could not spare any power to preserve corpses. He still peered through the transparency of the barrier he formed, trying to find anyone else who was alive.

Then, past another horde of falling debris, he noticed a mop of blonde hair, followed by white.

'Beetles!'


Yuuto Kiba and Koneko Toujou did whatever they could to keep each other safe. When Freed Sellzen suddenly disappeared after rendering the two of them immobile, they both were confused. However, that confusion was quickly unfounded after the first explosion.

That bastard exorcist had left them to die in the rubble of the church.

Yuuto could still feel the searing pain of the holy light bullet in his chest, thankfully having missed his chest. However, every step sent pangs of pain throughout his body, all emanating from that still bleeding wound. Koneko fared no better, having to fight against the pain of the stab from the light sword Freed threw at her.

Yuuto was jumping through the falling debris while flying with his wings, trying his best to rise up to catch Koneko. The white-haired girl was trying to fly away as well, but both of them were hindered due to their injuries.

He had never believed in miracles, especially since he was a Devil, but it was odd that at that moment a miracle had happened.

Koneko was smashing through several blocks of concrete with her Rook strength while midair but yelled in pain as another gush of blood fell from her wound. At that distracted moment, a large slab of concrete separated from the floor above them and started to fall to her, while she wouldn't see it. Yuuto, upon seeing this, picked up the pace as much as possible, ignoring the way his chest wound protested in turn. He created a sword and threw it at the block, only to have it fall out of his grip pathetically due to the pain he was feeling.

So, Yuuto Kiba yelled at Koneko, warning her of the threat. Koneko, upon barely hearing the threat over the din of falling rubble, looked up at the falling slab, only to be caught off-guard like a deer in headlights.

It finally smashed in… onto some kind of wall before her.

Yuuto was confused by the sight. Koneko's hands were unmoved from her wound, and yet the slab just deflected away from her. What was going on?

Moreover, Yuuto took a better look at the surroundings. To his shock, all the rubble that was forming over them was being deflected before they made contact. In fact, the two of them were standing atop some kind of invisible platform as well, hovering over the ground.

'Could this be… that same thing in the forest?'

Yuuto remembered how some invisible phenomena helped them avoid the bear traps in the forest. Could that be this as well? It made the most sense, after all.

Wanting to figure out what could do such a thing, Yuuto looked around for a possible source for that power. However, far too much rubble had fallen by then. It was nigh impossible to notice anything through the crowd of grey.


While Yuuto looked around, Issei kept on straining himself. The Boosted strength given to him was exposed in his body through the expanded veins running through his limbs, occasionally splitting through his skin, and dotting his clothes in spots of red. His nose, ears and eyes were all leaking blood profusely from the mental strain of holding up all that wreckage.

Finally, the last piece of the church fell to the ground, leaving Issei, Raynare and Asia under a dome of concrete litter. Finding himself out of power, Issei finally collapsed, allowing his Stand to dissipate. Raynare noticed the fading of his ability and immediately released a light spear to slash through the rubble and blast them away from them.

"RESET!"

From Issei's collapse, Asia found her strength leaving her as well. Having been given power from Issei to survive, she quickly found herself returned to her initial soul-weakened state. Her skin went pale as she fell to the floor alongside Issei.

Raynare was the only one standing between the three of them. Looking down at the two of them, she knew that that was her moment to act. If she wanted to kill Issei, she could do so. If she wanted to run, she still had her four wings she could rely on. The adrenaline pumping through her veins gave her enough power to do so, after all.

However, she looked down at Issei and wondered about how he had forced so much of his power out into simply saving someone that was trying to kill him. Looking at his bleeding face, another quickly came to her mind.

'Rulmare.'

Even though he was a baby when he died, Raynare could see the parallels between Rulmare and Issei. Their jaws were set in the same way, along with their lips and noses. Seeing Issei's face reminded her of her brother.

'No… no, he wasn't the one who killed him,' she finally realised. 'But… But if I help him, I'd be helping the Red Dragon, won't I? Why can't I just leave him to his fate?'

Raynare choked on her spit as the answer came to mind. 'Leaving someone to die after they spend it to save you… it would be something Azazel-sama frowns upon. Certainly, Dohnaseek would be the one to do something like that.'

Raynare knelt on the small platform of shattered concrete beneath them and directed the power of Twilight Healing at someone else for the very first time. Beneath her, Issei's body regained colour. The wound spots from his body closed up and his orifices stopped letting out more blood.

"A… Asia…?"

Raynare faltered upon hearing him call out the nun's name, once again reminding her of who that Gear had truly belonged to.

"N-No, Raynare?" Issei questioned, finally exposing his light brown eyes before her, another thing to set him apart from Rulmare. "Why…? Y-You healed me?"

"D-Don't think this is an apology or anything!" Raynare shrieked out. "You saved me… so I'm returning the favour. That is all."

"Raynare… please," Issei begged once more. "That Sacred Gear belongs to Asia. Please… return it to her."

"… Why should I return it?" Raynare said, but Issei could notice that her words weren't as assured as they once were. "You're the Red Drag – no, the Host of the Red Dragon. But even then, all of you are just monsters that care only about your rivalry with the Host of the White Dragon, just like your tenants. Why would someone so heartless want to save someone's life?! How do I know that you won't turn out to be just like them?!"

Issei stayed quiet, finding himself unable to answer. Not only was that a difficult pair of questions to answer, but he was also dead tired from the battle. He did not have the mental capacity to answer such questions anymore. However, he didn't have to.

"I believe it is time for me to speak up."

Raynare's breath hitched upon hearing that voice coming from the red gauntlet on Issei's arm.

"… Red Dragon…"

"Raynare, yes? My name is Y Ddraig Goch. You said that I had killed your brother, yes?"

"Yes, you had!" Raynare yelled back. "I swear, when you get out of that Gear, I will absolutely destroy you!"

"What was his name?"

"W-What? Where are you going with this, you monster?"

"Please. Tell me his name."

For some reason, the great Welsh Dragon saying the word 'please' earned Raynare the will to answer. "R-Rulmare."

"Rulmare. I see. I will not forget him."

"… What are you talking about?"

"Over the years, inside all my hosts, I have always heard of people wanting to kill them because of my past actions. They have all called out the names of their lost before defeating my previous hosts in some way or the other. My hosts had all either been killed or descended to madness because they inherited my sins. As such, my form of repentance is to never forget any of the people I had killed. In my years, I wish to find every casualty of my rivalry with Albion and store them all in my memory."

Raynare's eyes widened at Ddraig's confession. "W-What… but why?! You're a Dragon! You're a prideful creature, aren't you?! Why would you feel remorse for something like that?!"

"… 'Dragon', you say?"Ddraig retorted."Raynare, I haven't felt like a Dragon in millennia. As long as I am stuck in this Gear, I am fated to watch my hosts subject themselves to my old, worn-out hatred and lose themselves on the way. That is the punishment your Father gave me. How can someone feel prideful after being subjected to such a sight? That is why I never interact with my hosts. None of them meets my ideals. As such, I refuse them power if I can help it."

"Then… Then what about your current host? This boy, Issei Hyoudou? What about him?"

"I thought he would be the same as the others, seeing his hatred for you and this Stand ability of his. Yet, for the first time, he impressed me. He focused on his true objective, saving Asia Argento, and he had spared you. None of my previous hosts would have done so. I cannot guarantee if he would change beyond this, but there is a way to keep him from turning into the monsters you'd seen."

"H-How?! How can we do that?"

"Protect the ones that he loves. The only time that my previous hosts had lived well was when they had people to love. That love for another is the only thing that can ground someone as fated to go insane as Issei Hyoudou to keep to himself."

"…"

"… I am sorry for what I had done to your brother. If I could go back and stop myself, I would do so in a heartbeat. I have gotten old, holed up in here as I am. I am tired of this constant battle. I'm tired of watching my hosts throw themselves into danger for absolutely no reason whatsoever. It all reminds me of who I once was, and just goes to prove how pathetic of a Dragon I was back then."

Raynare collapsed onto her knees. Out of all the things she could have heard from Ddraig, that was not at all what she had expected. It jarred her to see the one she had strived to kill so easily apologising for his mistakes.

"… It's not fair..! Why?! Just… Just let me have this!" Raynare cried out. "Please… I need to avenge him…"

"Take it from someone who has seen numerous go down the same route, Raynare. Vengeance will do nothing to appease your heart. I am already being punished for my crimes by being in this Gear, rest assured of that. Right now, you need to properly grieve for your brother and heal from the scars in your heart."

"Heal from my scars…"

Once again, Raynare looked down at the two emerald rings on her fingers. Remembering what she had told her earlier, Raynare looked once more at Asia's emaciated form.

"You… You really meant it, didn't you?" Raynare muttered to her, tears forming in her eyes. "This Gear… it's really healing me, isn't it?"

She cast one more look at Issei. The body that she had just healed was resting peacefully by then, having the whole tension of the day finally caught up to him. Looking down at her rings, she thought once more about what Asia said.

"This… really is healing me. But… But I can't keep it. Not after everything I heard."

So, she made her decision. She stood up. Gripping the two rings on her fingers, she started to tug. She could feel her skin ripping away from the surface of the Gear as well as the two extra wings on her back going up in flames, making her cry out in agony at the multifaceted wound. However, she once again thought about how Issei struggled to keep the two of them safe.

With one final yank, the two Twilight Healing rings came off from her fingers, and the wings on her back burned off entirely, leaving her with just a singular pair. Immediately, she felt her additional strength leave her as she fell to her knees once more. However, before she could let herself pass out, she crawled all the way to Asia's weakening form and picked up her hands.

"This gift… is far stronger in your hands, Asia Argento."

Singling out Asia's ring fingers, Raynare reattached the Sacred Gear to her form. As the colour returned to her body, Raynare let out something she hadn't felt ever since that mission began. Raynare had a heartfelt smile on her face.

And so, she collapsed onto the floor between the two others whom she'd clashed with.


(Updated!)

Stand User: Issei Hyoudou

Stand Name: Beetles (inspired by the band 'The Beatles'. No brainer there.)

Type: Colony Stand

Abilities: Recombination. Beetles is capable of shaping into any structure the user can imagine. Moreover, its statistical values can be modified as per the user's wishes. Note that this modification can work only from a set base as a trade. The set base is given as the current stats. For instance, if Power should be moved up to B, something else should be moved down to D, like Speed.

Destructive Power: C (Variable)

Speed: C (Variable)

Range: C (Variable)

Precision: C (Variable)

Durability: C (Variable)

Development Potential: A

Additional Abilities of User:-

Boosted Gear. Sacred Gear imprisoning the spirit of Y Ddraig Goch, the Welsh Dragon of Domination. Currently in Second Generation.

Boost: Doubles the user's power. Can raise all Stand Stats by one value, excluding Development Potential. Has a cooldown of 10 seconds, and can only provide power as much as the user's body can handle if the user doesn't want to blow themselves up. (Note: With Beetles' ability, all raised stats can move into a singular statistic as well, raising it by 5. After A, Beetles can access S, SS, and so on.)

Transfer (Second Generation): Can share half of the collected Boosts with any other object.


A/N: Have I ever mentioned that I'm a huge fan of the Talk no Jutsu concept? Well, now you know.

Now, I've said it before, and I'll say it now. This is where I talk about the tragic ending. If you haven't realised it already, this is the happy ending. Many people have guessed that Asia's death would have entailed the tragic route, but that's actually wrong.

The trigger for the tragic route is the Death of Raynare.

I have dropped several hints that Raynare is the Fallen that is hurting among the church. Out of all the Fallen, Raynare is the only one that I've evoked pity for. She's the only one that I spent time justifying actions for. Yes, the other Fallen do have their own motivations, but they weren't able to be added here for any valid reason. Raynare is the only one I spent time on because I had always meant to spare her life in this battle. If Issei or Rias happened to kill Raynare, everything that she stood for would have come to an unholy and unfair halt. Issei would have then lost trust with both Asia and even Ddraig. His riddled emotions after Raynare's betrayal would never be quelled, resulting in the same idle Issei Hyoudou as in canon. However, in this route Issei had overcome all that. He's fulfilled the prophecy listed in the earlier chapter and finally overcome his personal hurdles. That is why I found this ending much better, but it left a lot less for later arcs than the tragic route would have.

Also, I probably won't be including Raynare in the harem. I may have had Issei save her, but earning a girlfriend through saving the girl is an absolute myth. I'm most leaning towards Issei being mainly with Asia, but I may include others over time. I'm not a fan of huge harems, so I won't go crazy with it.

Now, I should talk about Ddraig. Millennia spent stuck inside a Sacred Gear can obviously do things to any being in existence. That's why it never made sense to me that Ddraig kept his pride after all those years. All his previous hosts have gone down the same path as he had, culminating all his anger and rage and held out the rivalry against the White Dragon Emperor, no matter the cost. Having an external view of all that death and destruction over and over again should definitely be enough to teach Ddraig a lesson. That is why I've depicted him as having learned it. Ddraig is no longer the prideful Dragon that cared only about himself. He's gotten old and weary, and he's seen too much negativity in the world from his previous hosts. This change of his will also be represented in another idea for the Boosted Gear that I have yet to mention, so please wait for that.

Finally, the updated Stand Card should make it clear just how OP the combination of Beetles and the Boosted Gear is. This is compensated by the fact that Issei won't become a Devil in this fic. Devils are a lot more physically capable than regular people, which is something that Issei lacks. His Stand is the substitute for it.

Onto the reviews!


NeroAlmia: So, you were wrong about the tragic ending. It's no issue, really, your vote was counted for the tragic route. You just didn't think about how much of an impact Raynare had on this arc. Also, I'm pretty sure not many people would expect me to take this route either. I agree with all the options you've discussed, however. I really had never considered them to be the trigger for the tragic ending. It was always going to be Raynare. Although, the tragic ending would have impeded in Issei's relationship with Asia, meaning that they would take a lot longer to get together.

Let me know if I forgot to address anything, btw. Thank for the review!


Firetrail: I dunno about 'court', but yeah, I'm hoping for an interesting interaction between them too. Nothing is concrete yet, but it will happen.


Daren27: Thanks for the compliments! Hope you enjoy this!


And that's it! Now, I'll be taking some months off to focus on my thesis. Once I graduate, I'll get back to writing. Wish me luck! I'll see you next chapter.