Ok, normally I would be waiting for a while longer before posting the next chapter, but letting things fester as they are is not an option. I saw a lot of Reviews that are showing dissatisfaction with the levels and Issei's loss of power, even if I explained the latter before, I will explain things yet again. First, the levels. Guys, you see, I think you noticed the ranks, yes? No way you didn't. You see, levels are not everything in this fic. Sure, they work to give you a rough estimate of someone's stats, but not on their overall level of power when it comes to their skills, which is what Ranks are for. You see, a Level 99 C Rank is about as strong as a level 25 A rank Skill-wise, with more than a 70 levels gap to go, the ranks are the real killer here. There is also not a clear way to explain how one gains a higher rank, but it usually relates to their Skills. A report between the number and level of their skills will result in their rank, but also their mastery levels. Now, Kuroka and Akeno have the same Rank, they are both B ranked, indicating high skill-proficiency, but they are both high in level as well. Rias is A rank only due to her race, which will be explained more later.

Now, when you take both factors into account, that gives you a different perspective on things, but then come ME into play here. You see guys, this version of Kuroka I have going on here is not the same as in canon, meaning that her power is more defined, meaning with a clearer estimate. Just wait. The decade of peace did get her a bit rusty, but that is easy to fix. Now, I am not saying Kuroka is weak, as she could still defeat Rias, but not her entire peerage together. Be real guys, even in cannon that was never 100% likely if you keep the mist out of the equation. She developed a perfect poisonous mist that could counter pure-blooded devils. Also, the level cap in this is high, around 999. So expect some individuals to have crazy high levels. That being said, there is a chance she CAN lose against them all, as long as the mist is not counted.

Then come the nerf, which some of you stated issues with. Let me explain some things, ok? Ok. It is a TRADE. Issei lost 10 years of training, yes, but in exchange, he gained the Void System, which will make him even more OP than before in less than a few months. It was a fair trade when you stay to think about it in the longer term, as Issei, and be sure to keep this in mind, DOES NOT HAVE PLOT ARMOR IN THIS! This means that if the stuff with Vali that happened in Se 1 was to repeat again, with no plot armor, Issei would have been killed before you could even blink. I don't mean to bash him, but this is the truth when removing plot armor and MC privileges.

Also, as I said before, my experience with Gamer-type fics is not that great, and if anyone who does have experience wishes to help me and teach me some stuff, then I welcome them with open arms. Just PM me, I will give ya my Discord, and we can talk there. I will even modify some of the earlier chapters for consistency purposes and the likes.

That being said, I have listened to the reviews, and I have decided to further edit stuff in Chapters 5-6 to do some justice. I will lower the levels of the ORC, but the Ranks will remain mostly the same. Also, I should mention that Rias, Sona, Sirzechs, and everyone with a Peerage have a way more efficient EXP gathering system, in the form of the Peerage System, the details of which will be explained later.

Thank you, everyone, for the reviews, for they do help me improve in my Gamer-type fic writing skills, which will have long-term benefits to the quality of the story.


So, it has been a week since Issei and Kuroka avoided a close encounter with Rias Gremory herself, an event that had them decide to lay low and plan the following course of action. Quite obviously, Kuroka could no longer go out with him during the day without first using some illusion magic on herself to alter her look. Not to mention that despite trying to lay low, they did go out into town, but that was mostly for Issei to level up his [Aura Suppression] Skill ASAP. the best course of action? The Mall.

They simply spend time around that place! They were not going to be buying anything, mainly just walking around and maybe grabbing some food from time to time. But that proved to be a good choice. His Skill leveled up smoothly there, and by the end of day one it was level 7 already, followed by 8 and 9. He also decided to level up his [Night Vision] by simply turning off all lights in the house. It was very convenient that some skills could be ground like this, without the need to be in a combat-like situation.

[Night Vision] got to level 7 by the end of the week, which did bring growth to it. Now, instead of only ten meters of distance, he could see up to 20 meters in the dark perfectly and the cost of it was lowered to 15 Stamina to activate and 7 to maintain. Good progress, but also needed progress.

And speaking of progress, he finished his studying…He managed to finish the main objective of his 'Academic Beginnings' quest, finally!


Academic Beginnings!

You need to pass an Exam to get into Kuoh Academy, and luckily for you, the system has your back! Kind of.

Main Objective: Dedicate 10 hours of studying to the following subjects:

Literature (10/10)

Mathematics (10/10)

English (10/10)

Social Studies (10/10)

History (10/10)

-Complete

Additional Objective: Score 1st in the Exam!

Quest Time Limit: 3 Months

Main Objective Reward: +10 INT, Perk: Bookworm, and 3000 EXP

Additional Objective Reward: +5 Relationship with Kuroka, 5000 EXP.

Failure Penalty: -10 Relationship with Kuroka and locking away access to any future Quests related to Kuoh Academy.


Safe to say he might need to study some more in the future, just to be sure, but Issei didn't waste time and got himself the Main Reward, which included a Perk! From his knowledge, he cannot level those up or improve them in any way, but they do come with passive effects, and this one was not so bad in the long run. The [Bookworm] Perk offered him the ability to gain EXP upon consuming a Skill Book, namely around 1000 EXP per book.

It might have been more useful at the start, but the EXP curve was growing constantly, making this a pretty weak perk, but useful perk at the start. Still, anything that helps him level up faster is welcomed! Not to mention the quest came with a hit of EXP and 10 INT points for his Stat.

Now, as far as increasing his stats by doing certain actions went…He barely had anything. Sure, he could hit the gym at any time and that might improve some stats, but Issei didn't want to draw attention since the system might be making it so he had unnaturally high muscle gains. For that reason, he got 1 point in WIS for deciding not to do it.

So for now he did something different, namely improvising. He even tried to lift the couch, but things were not going smoothly on that front. One week later he only gained 1 STR and 1 DUR, which was pretty bad. He needed something more efficient, but that was going to remain a problem for another time. For now, however, they had different objectives in mind. Mainly what to do with Rias Gremory, but that was the lowest priority. Sure, his other quest required him to remain hidden, and he thought he failed it when she found them, but that was not the case. Apparently, unless Issei attracts attention as himself, meaning becoming suspicious and making them suspect HIM as the Red Dragon, he was good. He was very good, they didn't even know he existed!

But on that note, he did get the chance to [Observe] Rias back then.


[Rias Gremory.]

[Level: 50 A]
[HP: 77000/77000]

[Pure-blood Devil (House of Gremory)]


Her level was high, very much so, and roughly five times his own. No WAY was he going to be fighting her any time soon, so he needed to avoid her as much as possible.

But moving up on the priorities, he did have the two items he got from the box back in the dungeon, which they later confirmed were a map with multiple locations marked on it and a letter. The following day after escaping from Rias, they read the letter, and it contained some pretty confusing, yet interesting bits of information.


"To all locations currently in Kuoh, this is an order straight from the main command: Due to the incoming presence of Rias Gremory, younger sister of Sirzechs Lucifer and Heir of the Gremory House, along with the presence of Sona Sitri, younger sister of Serafall Leviathan and Heir to the Sitri House, as well as the information that the Shinto Pantheon has agreed to lend Kuoh to the two of them under restricted authority, the level of risk has increased past admissible limits. Since Kuoh serves as our main location in the human world, and due to its value to us, the decision was taken with difficulty, but ultimately passed."

"All hideouts, storages, and so on are to be abandoned and Contingency Plan 78-7 is to be put in effect immediately, destroying all documents of significant importance AFTER memorizing the most important bits of information. Additionally, the person of interest, code name 'Puppet Master' is to be relocated to another, more secret hideout. Travel with them to Canton, China, for further information."

"However, although the abandonment of the bases is to prevent any possible fight with the two heiresses, you are to maintain our main base in Kuoh under any possible cost while keeping its location secret! Once there, await new orders for the next course of action. Due to such changes in plans, Operation Crucifix has been canceled permanently."

"Good luck, men! And remember: Black are the scales of the white snakes after they shed! The Snake of Adam will persist!"

This all sounded like a military letter. Issei and Kuroka were filled with questions, and Ddraig and Solomon were not any wiser. For starters, they pretty much figured out that the 78-7 stuff meant the destruction of stuff and likely emptying the place up, which explains the severe lack of loot Issei has been seeing around! Also, this Puppet Master sounded like the guy who made the golems. They seemed very important to those guys, which is why they might have moved them. Then furthermore, who was this person they called 'The Snake of Adam'.

Both Ddraig and Solomon do not remember anyone going by that nickname, apart from Samael, and Kuroka didn't recognize it either. But as far as locations went, especially for this main base, that is where they had the answers. The other document Issei recovered was a map. It had several market locations on it too, two of which he recognised as the dungeons he had already defeated, but there were five more on it. They made sure to cross off the ones he had defeated, then they began to scout the rest. There were two in the shopping district, one in the park somewhere, one in the red district it seemed - Kuroka eyed him well when they looked over that one, sending him a sly warning - and lastly, which was possibly one of their places before it was abandoned, there were one barely 2 streets away from Kuoh Academy.

That was the HEART of Rias' and Sona's territory! There is no way in hell he'd be able to go through it before they showed up! But, alas, his hand was forced once again…


CONQUER THEM ALL!

Main Objective: Clear all the dungeons market on the map you recovered! Progress: 0/5

Quest Time Limit: N/A

Main Objective Reward: 10K EXP, ?, 2 Skill Books(?), Access to the Shop.

Failure Penalty: Death.


A new quest asking him to clear ALL of those dungeons, that risky one included! They decided to leave that one for last, for when they had a better-made plan for dealing with them. For now, however, after an entire week of laying low, the two of them were getting restless. Even Solomon agreed there was still a lot to be done if Issei wanted to level up in time for Kuoh, so that night they went out, despite the risk of running into Rias or Sona again.

But it was not a fruitful night. It was nearly midnight, meaning they had two more hours before their hunting session finished, but as they roamed around the alleys Kuroka's senses picked up something else again. "A Stray, just up ahead." Issei nodded and they walked, eventually coming across the mentioned Stray...Although he was not very impressive.

[Stray Devil]

[Level: 3 E]
[HP: 500/500]
[Reincarnated Stray (1 Pawn)]

It was just a pawn, nothing more. And by the looks of things, they were not even that strong, so what were they doing in those parts? The man before them was not even properly mutated, his hand was just like some lizard's claw or something. "Hey." Issei said, making them look up from the ground and back down immediately in fear. "Tell me, did you run or kill your master?" Issei asked, remembering the words of Danbooru.

The Stray gulped, but they were confused as to why those people were not killing it. However, it then spoke. "I-I ran…" He said, slowly and stuttering. "I just- I couldn't take it anymore! The conditions were horrible, and- and...I just couldn't stand their abusive training and voice! My master is nothing but a control freak, so I ran! Please, be merciful! I only want to live my life in peace for as long as I may have, please be lenient!"

"Hmm. I do not think he is lying." Kuroka said, looking at them. "What do you say, darling?"

"I believe them…" Issei said, letting out a small sigh. Danbooru was right, some of those Strays ran away because of bad masters, and some wanted only a peaceful life away from everything. "But now we have another problem; namely the fact they will mutate further and lose their mind." The Stray flinched, remembering that detail as well.

"If I may, Ise." Solomon said, speaking in his mind. "Based on what Kuroka had told us before about Evil Pieces, I think it is possible to extract them."

"Did you go senile, Old Man?" Ddraig asked, "Doing that would kill this poor bastard."

"Ddraig, my old friend, as always, your vision ends with the facts presented before your eyes! Humans use magic based on mathematical calculations, and any other being uses it based on their imagination, which is how things work today, but I never used magic based on math!" This had Issei perk up hearing him, making sure to pay attention. "See; Feel; Free; is a quote that I personally used to describe my own use of magic. Issei, I think it is worth it if you give this a shot."

"Are you sure? He's shit with magic."

"Hey!" Issei protested at the jab given by Ddraig. "Tell me what I have to do, Solomon!"

"That's the spirit! Now, listen to me, Ise."

Issei took a step back from the Stray, then he put his hand forth, summoning his Boosted Gear. The Stray was scared by the presence of the Sacred Gear, but then he looked below himself, seeing a strange magical circle being formed beneath him. It was not like any other he had seen before either! The magical circle he found himself in was black and red, with the black parts making up most of it as a circle was drawn with a hexagram inside and various dots between the star's tips. However, the red parts consisted of a second circle surrounding this one with various letters written in old Arabic in-between and a symbol resembling the head of a dragon in the center.

This was Issei's magical circle, his very own symbol. However, the boy was feeling the strain of using such magic, and even with Solomon's directions, it was no easy task. But the magic circle was completed. "Very good, Ise! Now, listen to me! You need to SEE what you want your magic to do! Visualization is the very key here! Then, you must FEEL the magic - the Mana in the surrounding area and within yourself! The Mana in your body has to leak out and give commands to the one outside, and those commands are what you visualize! Now, lastly, you need to let go, to FREE the magic and let it do the rest!"

Issei did as instructed, and slowly, ever so slowly, he imagined the chess piece coming out of the Stray devil before him, floating gently towards him while keeping the poor man ALIVE. However, he felt something akin to a block, causing him a headache. He...He was not strong enough, his magic was not powerful enough! This is going to be risky, but Issei used his Sacred Gear, using [Boost] on himself. He felt the block give way, then slowly, he did another [Boost], followed by one last one after the cooldown was over and he felt no block being left.

"This is...Amazing." Kuroka commented next to him, but Issei had his eyes closed, unable to see what was happening so he could focus. Finally, he felt everything was in place, and so, he freed the magic, and opened his eyes, seeing the Stray glowing with a crimson glow. Issei watched with his mouth slightly agape as the Evil Piece, a mere Pawn, flew out of the man's chest and towards Issei, the boy picking it up.

The magic circle then vanished, leaving the man behind, but they noticed how their hand went back to normal. "I am…" He muttered, getting up and looking behind himself. "No wings...I am human again...I AM HUMAN AGAIN!" He shouted, then he turned to Issei. 'Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He said, bowing down on the ground.

Issei, however, had better days. He was wobbly on his feet and Kuroka had to hold him. "No problem. Now go, be free to live your life." He said, and the Stray nodded at him with tears of gratitude in their eyes before rushing off. With them gone, Issei collapsed in peace in Kuroka's arms. "I feel like I just ran a freaking marathon…"

"No wonder. Check your Mana!"


Mana: 1770/2770 (1 Mana/Min)


That alone took 1000 Mana?! "That was expensive…" The math was not on point because he likely recover one mana point, but the cost of that spell must be 1000 or something-

And on cue, he heard the notification dings.

Skill Acquired! Thanks to Solomon teaching you a new way to cast magic and putting it into practice, you have earned the following skill.

[Evil Piece Extraction Spell] (Level 1| 98/400): Thanks to this skill/spell, you can now extract the Evil Pieces from Reincarnated Devils without killing them! The process returns the ones affected back to their original race, as well as undoing any side-effects from Stray Mutations. To cast, you must have the Stray remain within your magical circle and cast this spell, but it is not an instant process! The entire spell takes 10 full seconds to complete, and the spell CAN be interrupted. This Spell needs a MGI of over 50 and 1000 Mana per piece to use.

That...That explains why he needed to boost. Issei looked at the new spell closely before closing the screen, looking back at Kurok, who was looking at him a bit strange. "So, it worked…" She said slowly, and Issei caught on to what she was thinking.

"You...want me to use it on you as well?" Issei asked, and Kuroka helped him sit down on some nearby stairs to sit down. "Kuroka, I could use this to remove your Evil Pieces."

"I know…" She sighed. "Honestely, this whole System thing is already fucking up with the order of the world! If Ajuka Beelzebub or Azazel get wind of such a thing - a successful extraction without any side-effects - I fear to imagine what they might do to get their hands on such power."

"Wait, you are worried I might attract their attention because of this?" Issei asked.

"Of course! So far, you have shown things that are nothing short of miracles, nya!" She finished

"She has a point there." Solomon added, rubbing his beard in the Mindscape as he talked. "The system's power is great, and if others find out about it they might try to take it. As impossible as that is."

"I agree with Solomon. Despite Sacred Gears being extractable, the same cannot be said about this System. It seems locked tightly in place around you, partner." Ddraig said.

"So I take it this means we need to keep it a secret?" Issei asked.

"Nya, correct!" Kuroka said.

"One we must be tight-lipped about! No one can know, apart from those whom we can trust!" The Wise King said. Issei agreed with everyone about the subject, but Kuroka added that this should mark the end of their trip. Although early, Issei wasted too much Mana way too quickly, which clearly affected him. As a result, she teleported them home for the rest of the evening to go shower and prepare for bed.


However, Rias and her Peerage soon arrived at the area where the spell was used. Issei's spell was more akin to some beacon of magical energy, and the peerage members rushed to the location of the presence, Rias having a feeling it was them again. Once they arrived, she didn't waste time. "Koneko?"

"I sense a similar energy to that of the Red Dragon, and I am picking up a bit of Kuroka's smell. They were here, but we were late. '' Koneko said, being their detector.

"I swear, they are like slippery eels." Kiba said, being equally frustrated.

"Eels that hiss and then swim away." Akeno remarked. "What could they have been doing here even? This is a random alley, and no crimes have been reported lately either!"

"When we found them in that underground hideout we might have spooked them." Rias said, thinking things through. "They didn't attack us, which leads me to believe the Red Dragon is not searching for a conflict. But the amount of energy used here was nothing short of a shout for us to come here, knowing we might be looking for them…I cannot help but think they might be mocking us." A crimson aura began to grow around her.

"Please, remain calm Rias." Kiba said, trying to keep his president from going overboard. "Whoever this generation's red dragon is, we will catch them eventually.'' But we need to remain calm for that to happen."

The aura around Rias seemed to calm down following his words. "You are right, Kiba. Apologies."

Kiba then turned to Koneko, noticing her looking at a certain spot on the ground, namely where Issei's magical circle was when he cured the Stray. "Something the matter, Koneko?"

"Another presence." She said, tracing a hand over the ground. "Old, very old. Powerful." She focused a bit, trying to sense more, but somehow, it made her skin crawl, almost like an instinct. A devil instinct. "Something is not right."

"A possible third culprit?" Akeno guessed.

"If there is another person with the Red Dragon Emperor, then this is going to be more difficult. And too difficult for only us." Rias commented, narrowing her eyes. "I will have a talk with Sona tomorrow, about employing the aid of her peerage as well in our search."

"With their numbers we should have no issue covering a wider area." Kiba said. "If that is the case, then our chances of locating them and defeating them have gone up."

"Fufufu. Quite so. I cannot wait to meet them again, since they have caused us so much trouble already." Akeno said with a small laugh.

"In that case it is decided. We will unite forces with Sona's peerage tomorrow and begin a wider search for the Red Dragon and Kuroka!" Rias declared, then shortly after, the Gremory peerage went away, unaware of the person listening in one of them. Koneko was so focused on the presence of her sister in the area that even she missed them! A small miracle.

"They are looking for the kid who cured me?" The Stray Issei helped earlier said, beginning to sweat. "I-I have to repay him! I need to warn him about the increased numbers of the devils!" He said to himself, then he began to think on how to locate him, because if there was a chance, a slight one, he was going to help others like him, then he had to do it. Not just for himself, but for all other Strays who ran away seeking a better life.


It actually took the Ex-Stray two days to find Issei, bumping into him at the store! The man was frantic and Issei was worried he didn't reach them in time, but the worries were dispelled swiftly. He took the man back to his home where Kuroka prepared him a tea to calm his nerves so he could talk a bit slower so Issei could understand him. "So, say it again; what was it that you wanted to warn me about?"

"First, I thank the Heavens that I found you!" The ex-Stray said, then he took a sip of his tea.

"What are you even doing here? I extracted your Pawn piece, shouldn't you be doing something else? Finding a job? A place to live?" Issei asked, but then the Stray replied.

"Yes! But I had to find you, I have been searching for you since that night! Look, kid- Issei, stuff is bad, ok? The Devils are looking for you!" The ex-Stray said.

"We know." Kuroka said, "The Gremory."

"Y-yeah! But after you two left I heard them talk about getting the Sitri involved as well!" The Ex-Stray said, which really got the two off-guard as they realized what it meant. "I came to warn you! I have yet to see any trace of the Sitri myself and believe me, I had my close shaves before, but I couldn't leave you to be found by them, especially after what you did for me!" He continued, then he went to Issei, pleasing him. "Please, PLEASE, you need to be careful not to get caught! The Devils do not mess around, if they catch you, you'll be in deep shit!"

"That is indeed a reason to worry." Solomon remarked.

"No shit, we are not even done with the leveling and we are already in the hard stages. Just our luck…" Ddraig complained.

"Thank you for the warning." Issei said, looking at them. "We will see what we can do, but for now we ask that you go."

"O-ok. Oh! I almost forgot. You see, while I was looking for you I also met up with some old pals; Strays, just like I was, who are barely holding on to their sanity anymore! I was wondering if you could do to them what you did to me back then." The man asked, making Issei think about it. This could result in him completing the quest where he has to spare some Strays, assuming this counts. However, the cost to use that particular spell was nowhere near modest, and Issei was pretty certain he won't be able to really help them before he is tapped out.

"How many?" Issei asked. "The spell is draining, and I can barely do it once. Tell me, how many are there?"

"F-four!" The ex-Stray replied, making Issei cheer. This looked like the system was laying the opportunity before him, but he was not one to argue with such an easy quest finish. It was likely to take him a number of days. The spell takes 1000 Mana to use, and he had only 2770. He could help two of them, but as for the rest…He needs to do some thinking about it.

"Very well, I accept." Issei said, thinking it a bit too quickly for everyone else's taste. "Bring your pals to the junkyard west of Kuoh, during the evening, we will do it there."

"Thank you! Thank you! We will forever be in your debt!" The ex-Stray said as he then left the house, Issei giving a tired sigh.

"What was that about, nya?! You do not have enough Mana for that spell to do it four times!" Kuroka said in protest.

"I agree with Kuroka, Issei, this is reckless! From the words of that Stray, we can assume that the spell alone is like a beacon that draws the devils towards us, so we cannot just use it and then wait!" Solomon commented.

"Nya, that's right! Shirone will pick up on it immediately, even if I use a barrier!" Kuroka continued.

"Can you all calm down? I am sure Issei has a perfectly reasonable plan to pull this through and-"

"Actually…"

"ARE YOU STUPID OR SOMETHING?!" Ddraig shouted in his head.

"Look, I couldn't say no, ok? That guy is so much happier now since I cured him, and if I can help more of them then I might as well try, right?" Issei replied, but that didn't seem to make Ddraig or Solomon feel any better. However, Solomon eventually let out a sigh.

"There might be something that can help among my treasures." The wise king said, feeling a headache coming to him. "I remember having a special necklace that could store Mana, akin to an external battery, for the mage to use later for their spells. If you use that to store some Mana in order to have a bigger pool to cure them, then I think you can pull this through."

"Really? Thank you, Solomon!" Issei replied, however, he then looked at Kuroka, who was giving him an angry glare. "Ummm. I will cook your favorite salmon dish when we get back?" Kuroka sighed.

"Fine. But you better make it a good dish!"

"Here it goes again…"


Rias Gremory was currently in her office, drinking some tea. Nothing unusual, except this was her fifth cup today, having even sent her Knight, Kiba, to buy more in order to help her calm her nerves. She didn't like asking Sona for help, the heiress being too proud of that, but right now the situation demanded it and she could not ignore it. The situation was also getting increasingly difficult to keep from her brother or the Shinto Pantheon. So, she had no choice but to ask Sona for help. She was currently waiting for her, and despite it being the early summer season, she still had some work with the Student Council she ran here at Kuoh Academy.

Her Queen, Akeno, brought her another cup of tea, taking the one she had already finished, and not a moment too soon as Sona entered the room. While to the public she is known as Souna Shitori, Rias knew the truth like the others.

"You said this was important, Rias?" Sona remarked, being in a slight hurry in order to get back to her duties. "What is this urgent meeting about?"

"Take a seat, Sona, we have quite a bit to talk about." Rias said as politely as she could, but the frustration seeping through her voice was something Sona picked up on quite quickly. Something was worrying her quite a bit, annoying her, and she couldn't get rid of it. Sona took the seat offered, Akeno placing a cup of tea in front of her as well.

"I ask again, Rias." Sona said, picking up her cup and blowing on it before taking a sip. "Why did you summon me?"

"It's in regard to a string of murders that have been going on around Kuoh for a while now." Rias said, getting straight to the chase. "I and my peerage have made progress in identifying the culprits and, true enough, one of them was indeed Kuroka. But we also figured out who the second one is."

"Oh?" Sona replied, sounding interested. "And pray to tell Rias. Who is this mysterious killer that we found ourselves stuck with?" Sona took a sip out of her tea.

"The Red Dragon Emperor." However, the Sitri Heiress found herself choking on said tea and spitting it out on Rias' desk quite quickly due to the surprise of the news, coughing as a result.

"The Red- Rias, are you serious?" Sona asked, trying to confirm it.

"As serious as I can be, Sona." Rias replied, confirming it. "Roughly a week ago we followed your pointers with possible locations, and true enough, at the pier, we found an entire underground hideout. Kuroka was at the entrance, having not gone down and likely standing guard while the Red Dragon went down and destroyed what we identified to be golems made of various materials. For what use, we do not know. However, we strongly believe that it was not their base, and we simply happened to stumble upon them. We followed Kuroka as she ran within, regrouping with the Red Dragon, who didn't talk to us, and instead used the dragon within his gear to do so. They were in their Balance Breaker, Sona."

"This is indeed worrisome." Sona replied. "Have you reported the sighting of the Red Dragon Emperor?"

"No, I wish to keep this as much of a secret as possible. We still do not know if the Red Dragon is even affiliated with anyone, given his relation with Kuroka." Rias replied.

"Do you believe they have a more…intimate type of relationship?"

"Sona, I apologize, but I didn't call you here to debate whether or not our two culprits are fucking like rabbits, but to ask you for help." Rias said, and Sona set her gaze on her, waiting to hear more. "We wish to capture them, as silently as possible, but given their possible levels of power that is an easier said than done task."

"Hmm. Quite an interesting situation. But before anything else, how is your rook handling the return of her sister?" Sona asked.

"Koneko has shown no signs of acting strangely so far, but I have Kiba spending some time with her to make sure she doesn't do anything reckless." She explained, then she sighed. "Sona, me and my peerage are outmatched here, which is why I am asking for your help. You know how much I care about my pride and how difficult this is for me. They seem to employ some kind of mist, like a poison, which further complicates things."

"Hmm," Sona seemed to think over the issue for a bit, then, she fixed her glasses a bit. "Very well, we will lend a hand. But, I think it is only fair that we also spread out in pairs for the initial search. Whilst it may cover less of an area than individual searches, it does reduce the possibility of our peerage members being hurt and give them a better chance to call for our help before engaging in battle. But Rias, what do you intend to do with them if we do catch them? Technically speaking, their actions have helped us, not to mention the general population of Kuoh. We ourselves are no different since we also kill Strays."

"With permission to do." Rias said, giving her a point. "Their actions are against the law, true, but something like that can be overlooked given the right deal. But I cannot overlook the fact we are dealing with dangerous individuals here."

"I have to say they are quite bold, to kill on the territory of the sister of Sirzechs Lucifer. If your brother found out, I have no doubt he'd show up at our door with his own peerage to hunt those individuals down." Sona said,"So, I guess this entire situation is mostly covered up, then?"

"Yes, it is." Rias said. "And I'd like to keep it like that."

"And what will we gain if we do offer our help? I stand to remind you, Rias, that the duties of the Student Council, especially in a University such as Kuoh, are not to be overlooked. If we end up falling behind in any way because of those activities, I expect to be compensated." Rias was afraid of this. Sona never did anything out of the goodness of her heart, especially when it came to shady stuff like this.

However, Rias was prepared and knew how to deal with it. "If you agree to aid us, The Occult Research Club shall officially lend its funds and help to the Student Council for the duration of the upcoming first semester of our first year at Kuoh Academy." Sona hummed at that proposal, seeing the potential for lessening the workload.

"Deal."


In the meantime, in a different location, the Stray Issei met a while ago, Danbooru, was resting atop one of the buildings in the upper area of Kuoh, where the more rich individuals lived. He simply stayed there, meditating with his eyes closed. "I see you are back." He said, not even turning as someone appeared behind him. The person in question was a Stray as well, yes, like Kuroka and Danbooru. They seemed to possess deeply gray skin and long silver hair accompanied by bleach irises that could lead individuals to believe he was blind.

"I have returned, as promised." They said, fixing their tie a bit. "I come with an update on the underground fighting ring, Danbooru, it was-"

"Destroyed, I know. You did a good job, Leon." The monk said before his ally could finish, and he opened his eyes, looking over the horizon. "How are you? I could sense his power going up from here."

"It was a close call, but I managed to pull through. The one leading the business turned out to be a corrupt human who made some deals with a devil in order to host those events, in spite of threatening to expose the secret of the supernatural. However, I took good care of them, and I consumed the leader with my Gear, so I am ready to begin another mission." He said, recalling the events. This Stray's real name was Leon, and he and Danbooru were working together. Leon specialized in powerful illusionary magic, however, he also bears a more unique ability thanks to his Sacred Gear, Gluttonous Copycat. His Gear could consume corpses and then allow him to mimic the individual's identity perfectly, even copying their powers. The downside was that it only worked on one identity at once, meaning he couldn't hold multiples, and he could not use his original abilities either, not to mention the person he impersonates needs to first be consumed by his gear POST-MORTEM.

Danbooru nodded. "Things are progressing nicely." He said, then he turned to Leon. "What else were you able to find out, Leon?"

"Recently, it seems the Gremory peerage have been searching for whoever did those murders, which are the Red Dragon and his spouse. However, so far they have proven to not have a lot of luck." Leon reported. "But that is likely to change if they bring in the Sitri peerage as well."

"Ah, the second sister, yes." Danbooru said, looking into the horizon. "Are you prepared, Leon? You can feel it, don't you? Their crimes, they didn't go unnoticed, and because of that, they have become afraid."

Leon's eyes narrowed at Danbooru's news. "The murders did indeed set in motion a multiple chain event, old friend, but that is why are here." He replied, then he walked next to Danbooru, the two of them overlooking a large mansion by the side of Kuoh. "To wash our hands of filthy sin, we sin more. We clean blood with blood."

"For we know that in the end, we will surrender for the reaper's scythe. But until he comes…"

The two of them jumped off the building, expanding their wings and flying towards the mansion with one goal in mind: To kill the inhabitants and get away. But why were they doing such deeds? Were they good or were they evil? Whose side were those mysterious strays really on? Were they allies or foes?

One thing, however, was certain.

As Danbooru crashed into the mansion, in the middle of what looked like an auction, he shouted. "This putrid business of selling living beings is over…" A slave auction was crashed by the duo, the two coming face to face with nobility from the devils and even humans. However, they did not plan to let anyone escape. "GREAT QUAKE!"


The next day, as the sun arose, the only thing left of that mansion was its rubble, which buried the majority of the people who were there. But the slaves? They had been rescued and taken somewhere else. Somewhere safe.

And the certain thing was that the two have their hearts in the right place.