Beforeword: Thank you very much for the reviews about the battle chapter, I'm glad to see you enjoyed it. I'll try to make even better ones in the future chapters, look forward to it.

After what happened, we all went back to the club room

No one said a word on the way back, and even now we are completely silent

We are too ashamed, too surprised, too angry

Xenovia, Kiba, Gasper and Rossweisse are in another room, they received the worst injuries, so Asia is taking care of them.

Buchou, Akeno-san and I had some major injuries, but now we are mostly fine thanks to Asia's sacred gear

I didn't realize until the fight was over, but not only I had external injuries, it also seems like those hits were able to cause internal and spiritual damage as well, that must be the reason why I feel so exhausted even when I was one who did less actual fighting. That creature was abnormally strong...

No, it's wrong to think about him as a creature, what we faced today was human...

It hurts just to think about it

Koneko-chan confirmed, it was definitely a human

We were completely overwhelmed and defeated by a single human

"So, Rias, are you going to explain what happened?"

Sona-kaichou speaks. When we arrived at school, the Sitri peerage was waiting for us with the results of their investigations around the school. Seeing our state, they helped to carry the others to the club room, now Sona, Saji and Shinra-fukukaichou are with us while the others are helping Asia to take care of the wounded

In the middle of the urgency there was no time to explain anything, but now that things have calmed down, we can finally talk

"I wish I could give you a better explanation Sona, all we know is that when we got there, someone had already taken care of our job, a figure clad in a black robe with a plague doctor's mask had killed the strays and then he also attacked us"

"Wait, a single person did that to you?!"

Saji interrupts

Buchou nods with a bitter expression on her face

Sona sighs and puts a hand on her forehead

"What was it?"

"A human, with no sacred gear..."

It's true, after waking up, Gasper confirmed what we feared the most: He wasn't a sacred gear user

'I'm sorry Rias-senpai, but the glasses Azazel sensei gave me didn't detect any form of sacred gear on him'

That's what Gasper-kun said, leaving us with no clue of what was used against us

Sona's expression gets more concerned

"A mage then?"

Rias shakes her head

"We have no idea, it's power and how it managed to do the things it did beats me"

Sona's expression turns from concern to one of absolute nervousness

"I-I see... so it happened with you too..."

Hearing her words, Saji and Shinra look at the ground with sad expressions

"What do you mean?"

Rias asks

Sona reaches her hand to Shinra-fukukaichou

"The reports, please"

Shinra hands her several papers and she gives them to Buchou

Buchou gives a sarcastic smile putting her hand against her forehead

"Heh, inconclusive"

"So there was no evidence left in the school?"

Akeno-san asks

Sona adjusts her glasses

"We didn't found traces of magic, demonic energy or anything of the sort, however..."

Sona says pulling out a single paper from the pile

"Thanks to the reinforcements we received from the underworld, we were able to detect one thing: Aura disruption"

"Uh? Aura disruption?"

I ask

"It's a form of aura detection much like Koneko's Senjutsu, however, this one is used to detect irregularities in the normal flow of a certain areas's ki"

"Ki? Our school has a ki?"

It's the first time I've heard about it

Buchou nods

"Our school was founded on demonic power and this territory has received the blessing of the three powers. If there was any interference of a known entity, he would either be prevented from entering or we would have been alerted eventually, that unknown force might not leave presence, but you have seen his aura, no? A different aura and power of that kind in here will affect the flow of ki for sure. Obviously, demons like us would not be able to notice, but thanks to the technology of the three factions, it was possible to detect that difference"

I'm still confused, but then Rias gives a triumphant smile and says something I actually understand.

"So, in other words, the think that makes him different is exactly what made him get caught!"

I slam my fist against my palm

"I see! You are saying that even if he hides his presence, the moments that he uses his power will eventually lead to an unbalance in the school's ki because he is different, right?"

"That's exactly it"

Sona says while giving a smile

I got it now, if it was a know enemy, we would be alerted, but if he is unknown and strong, the ki reading technology will show that he is here! Damn, the three powers really made our town into a fort, it's kinda scary if you think about it.

Buchou spreads the sheets on the table and we look into it

There are several bars and graphics with dates on it, but one of them is really low

"H-hey Buchou, why is this one so low?"

"This is the bar from where the presence was first detected"

"Shouldn't it it be higher than the others? I mean, since it's aura is so strong?"

I don't understand it, why is the scale smaller when he arrived?

Koneko-chan then walks up to the papers and looks at them

"...I see, so it's that strong"

"What are you talking about, Koneko-chan?"

I ask her confused

Buchou looks at Sona, that begins to explain

"It is really weird, I was astonished when I saw it the first time too. An aura interference can have many effects: Random spikes of ki, changes in the flow, but the explanation in this situation is that the presence is affecting the demonic ki because it's actually smoothering the demonic energy"

I wide my eyes at her explanation

"W-What?"

Buchou sighs and puts her hand under her chin

"This guy must be using his power to supress the demonic ki of our town, that must be the reason why so many strays have been attracted!"

Sona nods her head

"The interference has weakened our presence, hence it makes it easier for them to notice the town and come here"

What? So that guy is the reason?

Actually, wait! Hold on a minute!

"Buchou, you said the town's ki? Weren't we talking about the school?"

Rias and Sona look sad for a moment and Kaichou turns the document to the first page where it reads in demonic alphabet

'Flow of Ki from Kuoh Town'

What?!

I look at Koneko who has the same terrified expression that I must have

"The whole t-town?"

She says with her body trembling

"You didn't notice Koneko-chan?"

I ask her

"N-no"

"Koneko-chan might have noticed a difference in the school's ki, but there was no way she could tell the whole demonic energy of our town was being suppressed"

But Koneko shakes her head

"No... I should have noticed, sorry buchou, I couldn't detect him and I couldn't even slow him down... I'm so sorry"

She has tears on her eyes

I pat her head

"It's not your fault Koneko-chan, no one here blames you"

I try to comfort my kouhai, but she has been truly shaken by what we were just told

"But Kaichou, there's good news on that too right?"

Saji asks her and a small smile, perhaps of hope, appears on Sona's face

"Yes, you understand that too, right Rias? Since this presence is affecting the entire town, it might be very possible that he is not on our school like we once thought, maybe he did came here once or twice, but with that, there's a chance that he has not infiltrated our Academy"

I see, if it's like this, then it's likely that he was not on our school and the bad feeling that Kaichou and Buchou felt was actually from his interference in the town's energy

I feel happier listening to what she said, but Buchou's expression drops immeadiately and she seems to be at a loss of what to say

"Buchou? What happened?"

"Rias?"

"W-what is it? It's good news, right?"

Even Saji is worried at the face Buchou just made

She lays against her chair and says it with a hopeless look

"I'm sorry Sona, but I belief that he is inside our school, in fact, I'm almost certain of it"

The expression of despair on Buchou's face spreads to everyone in the room

"What do you mean?! H-how do you know that?"

Saji says in a burst of anger

"Calm down, Saji! I'm sure Rias has her reasons for it"

Buchou nods her head and swallows up before answering

"I do, but before I answer, Ise"

She looks at me with a serious look in her eyes

"You have to promise me you won't do anything reckless"

The heads in the room turn to me when she says that

"Eh, why me?"

"You have the tendency of taking risky actions when those you hold dear are threatened, I know it's part of who you are, but you have to promise me you'll analyse the situation with us, otherwise I would like you to leave the room before I answer Sona"

I'm taken back by Buchou's declaration, I know that what she said is true, I do tend to get reckless when its about my friends, but what could she have to say that would be so horrible?

Despite my fear, I close my fist and answer resolutely

"Alright, no matter what you say, I promise I'll try to work it out and control myself"

Buchou then nods her head and looks at Sona

"During our fight with him, he said Asia's name when we never revealed it to him"

My eyes wide at her words

Asia?

He said... Asia's name?

"How did it happen?"

Sona asked

Buchou puts her hand against her forehead

"We underestimated his abilities and he figured out we had a healer, when Xenovia told him to stay away from Asia, he immediately recognized her even though we had never said her name before, that's how we know"

That bastard, he knows who Asia is? He knows who we are?

"Ise, calm down, remember what you promised"

I clench my teeth in anger

"Ise-san, please calm down"

"Ise..."

Akeno-san and Koneko plead, I notice that I'm letting my anger ooze out

I close my eyes and take a deep breath to try controlling myself

"I-I'm sorry, I'm just shocked"

I sit on the couch and try to calm myself and let them continue their talk, I feel that if I say something, I'll just make myself more angered

Sona has a troubled expression

"I see, so that's what happened"

"That changes everything we thought untill now..."

Shinra says it while looking through the rest of the documents on her hand

"That bastard, to think he would have gone so far as to infiltrate our school, unforgivable!"

Saji declares raising his fist, but Sona lifts her hand signing for him to stop

"Control yourself too, Saji. However Rias, do you honestly believe that this is the absolute proof that he is in this school? Aren't there any other possibilities?"

I lift my head and look at them, Buchou still has the same sad expression, but I want to hear what Sona is saying, if that guy is in our school then he is a threat to everyone that could happen at anytime, I want Buchou to be mistaken, even though I know it's wrong, I want it.

"But the other possibilities are just as bad aren't they?"

Rias answers and Sona closes her eyes after thinking for a while

"True, he's either in this school or he investigated us, that would also be very troublesome"

What? I don't want to believe in that too! Investigating us? Does that mean he knows about our personal information? That's really bad too!

Buchou then sighs

"Or worse: He could have allies that told him who we are"

I freeze in fear after hearing this, an ally? By allies she means more like him? No way, one has already caused so much trouble, if there's more... then what would we do?

"Hey, hey, why does it seem like our only options here are bad ones?"

Saji says in a scared voice

Sona reveals a bitter smile

"Truly, it seems like a bad joke where all our options are terrible ones, maybe have him infiltrated in our school truly is the best choice, at least like this we know where to look for him"

"If he doesn't find us first..."

Rias answers with a gloomy expression

All our options seem to range from bad to worst

The atmosphere in the room is completely tense

I don't know what to say, I thought I was doing well in my fight against that guy, but once my armour was off, I saw the injuries he was able to do and I don't know how the fight would have ended if he hadn't fled.

Fled...

Why did he ran away? If he wanted he could have...

"We died in there..."

We turn around to the door where the voice came from

It's Xenovia!

She is holding herself against the doorframe, she's still recovering from the beating she took and can barely stand, even if the physical damage is healed, the exhaustion, mental stress and spiritual damage will take longer to recover

"Xenovia-san! You shouldn't be out of the bed yet!"

Asia scolds Xenovia, but she simply holds Asia's hand

"Asia, I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you, even after depleting my whole power I couldn't..."

She's starting to cry

"It's okay, I'm not hurt, actually, thanks to you and Ise-san I was the only one who wasn't hurt, thank you very much!"

Asia is such a good girl, even when we are mourning our defeat she's still smiling and comforting us

And yet, that asshole said her name, he knows who she was and he tried to hurt her. I won't forgive him.

She then takes Xenovia back into her room

But Xenovia was right, we died in there, I can't shake the feeling that if that thing wanted, we would all be dead

Thing...

I still have trouble thinking about that as a human. What was with those clothes anyway? A plague doctor is so weird, was he cosplaying or something?

Akeno-san lets out a long sigh and speaks up

"What are we gonna do now Buchou?"

Buchou's hand's finnaly stop shaking, she takes a deep breath, picks up her cellphone and starts dialing

"We should talk to onii-sama about this new threat, maybe he has some idea of who is behind it, but first I'll get in contact with Azazel and ask him what he knows about it. Since yesterday it seems like he is hiding something from us."

Buchou goes out of the room, guess that is one those phonecalls where privacy would be needed

"I'll go with her too"

Sona-kaichou walks out of room after her

With both gone, the subject dies out, none of us wanted to talk about it

But then Saji sits by my side

"So, Issei, how was it?"

"Leave them alone Saji"

Shinra-fukukaichou scolds him

"C'mon Shinra-san, don't you wanna know how it was too? Rias told it was bad, but didn't said anything about the fight"

"We shouldn't bother them with it"

"Yeah, but what if we ever have to face that guy one day? Wouldn't you wanna know what we are up against?"

Hearing his words Shinra seems conflicted, well, I can't blame them, if it was Sona's peerage in our place I also would wanna know who did this and how

He then looks at me

"Was it really that bad?"

"...Like using a paper gun against an armored truck"

Koneko-chan says it with a sad expression

Saji got surprised by her words and showed a sad expression as well

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way..."

I try to muster a smile

"Don't worry Saji, I would also be curious if I were in your place"

"Yeah, it's just hard to believe one guy did this to all of you and we don't even know how, I just wanted to know what he did..."

I put my hand on my forehead

"I wish I could tell you Saji, but I sincerely don't know, all I know is that he had an extreme amount of power and a technique that allowed him to control everything around him, even our attacks and even interfere in Asia's healing"

Saji's eyes widen at my explanation

"Wow, t-that's really serious, no wonder you all have that face. I have never seen you guys like this"

"Indeed, it is hard to believe in what happened, that thing must have been a real monster to take you all down by himself, I speak not only as a friend, but also as someone who has fought against you in the past"

Shinra-fukukaichou says this with an analytical gaze

"Yeah, if you guys had it that rough, I imagine what would have happened with us..."

Saji has a worried expression, I can see that he is not only concerned about our well being, but also about the school and his friends as well

"Hey, Issei, tell me... do you think that if we teamed up we would be fight against it?"

He says it with the eyes of someone who is longing for a good answer, if this was a normal situation I would probably respond with something like 'If we teamed up there's no way we would lose!'

But now, as much as I want to say something encouraging to Saji and the others, it would feel like I'm lying

"Geez, no need to say anything, your face already said it, this bad huh?"

"Yeah..."

I sigh and we all fall in silence again

This defeat was probably the most bitter one we ever faced. When we fought against Riser we had everything against us: Numbers, firepower and experience, when we fought Loki for the first time we were litteraly facing an evil god and it's monstrous creation Fenrir, but now...

Now we are 9 devils defeated by a single human, we had our formation, all of our members and we were completely ready to battle, there's no excuse, I still can't believe what happened

"Koneko-chan"

Akeno-san breaks the silence

"I trust your judgment as much as anyone else in the club, but are you absolutely sure of what you felt?"

Akeno-san is asking if Koneko is sure that what we just faced was really human, everyone seems to be asking her this, even I asked her if she was sure

Koneko lowers her gaze

"Y-yes... I know it's hard to believe, but his flow was that of a human, even if his aura and power were of something I had never seem before..."

Akeno-san covers her face with her hands

"Then it's true, even though I said I would fight with all my strength, I couldn't do anything against him..."

Akeno-san used the lightning power that she used to hate against that thing, but it seems she wasn't able to harm him. That just shows how powerful he was.

Sanji and Shinra have sad expressions, if it's hard for us to take this defeat, then as our friends and rivals, they must be feeling the same pain, maybe even worse

Buchou and Sona-kaichou then walk back in

"Azazel said he wants to talk with us tomorrow, said he was sorry he didn't warn us before but now he'll make things clear for us"

"Azazel-sensei knew about it?!"

Saji asks and Sona answers while adjusting her glasses

"I had my suspicions, he has been acting eerie in the last few days"

So sensei knew what was happening? Moreover, why do we have to wait? We want answers now!

"Why tomorrow? Isn't what just happened an emergency? I mean, we don't even know what he might try next and since he's in our school, then sensei should talk to us right away so we can deal with it, right?"

I say what is on my mind, but Buchou sighs

"I know Ise, I also told him that, but apparently, he doesn't know everything himself, he said that he will talk to a friend who, according to him, knows everything about what we just faced"

Is there someone like that? So the force we just got stomped by isn't completely unknown? That makes me kinda glad, but I'm still mad at having to wait untill tomorrow to know about it

"There is... someone like that? W-who?"

I ask in disbelieve

Buchou puts her hand on her forehead

"Azazel is making a mystery out of it. Frankly, even in this situation he's still hiding things"

"Though there's nothing we can do for now, let's hope that Azazel's friend will clear things out for us"

Sona says

"Then I guess that's it, we'll gather again tomorrow afternoon, Azazel will bring his 'friend' over and we'll hopefully understand what's going on and who's behind all this"

"Needless to say that we'll also be here" - Sona states

The injured are still in need of care, so I decide to keep Asia company while she heals them, Buchou decided to stay as well, but the others went home.

Tomorrow...

The day we'll find out for sure who is the threat to this town!