Ride 14: Re:Action

14th of April, 2019 AD

"... I see." Turel then wiped a bead of sweat off of his brow with his hand as he received a call from an encrypted line.

"Silver lining, at least we can coordinate our plans around this deadline," a filtered voice replied from the other side of the burner phone. "... But then again, what else did you expect from an Evil Dragon User? Give her flowers?"

"In my defense sir, I strayed my eyes for a moment before I noticed her disappearing from the monitor," Turel defended himself. "... I expected the worst, but how are our plans supposed to advance when her eyes are no longer there, sir?"

"I am more than aware that her Charm requires functional eye contact in order for it to work," the anonymous voice replied. "Worst case scenario, we can always adjust your proposed modifications to... accommodate for her disabilities."

"I understand sir," Turel apologetically said. "... Forgive me for ever doubting you."

"No need," the anonymous voice reassured. "... It has been a while since we had a real counteroffensive, so I suppose that you're still nervous of our plans going through. But fear not. We will prevail, our lives be damned."

Turel then bowed his head. "... In the name of our fallen."

"They shall be avenged."

The call disconnects, prompting the burner phone to malfunction, and for Turel to toss it aside.

"We've returned." Lailah and Mittelt then walk through the door, the latter having her dress ragged and torn in several places, but her demeanor becoming more hardened and prepared.

"How was the training?" asked Turel.

"I'm... I think I'm getting a better grasp of what my innate powers can do thanks to Lady Lailah's guidance," the lesser Fallen Angel answered as she balled the hand she was looking at into a fist. "... My heart feels like iron. And my flames have cooled, but still burn brightly enough to not compromise my judgment."

The Fallen Angel with two pairs of blackened wings looked at his compatriot. "... I've begun to notice something, Lailah, but you seem to have a way with our younger numbers," he commented. "... Not that I'm saying anything negative about it, but I find such talent... underappreciated."

The Fallen Angel with three-pairs of wings chuckles bemusedly before sitting down on one of the sofas. "What else can I say?" she remarked in a blase manner. "I can't help myself."

Mittelt then heads towards the door leading further inside before stopping. "... May I be so bold to ask, Lord Turel," she began, "but has Raynare returned to us yet? I must be honest, but I cannot help but worry."

Turel scoffs before sitting down before his console of computers and monitors powered by magic. "... Forget her," he rebuffed. "As far as I'm concerned, she's compromised."

The lesser Fallen Angel looks towards Lailah for reassurance, but even her superior couldn't help but doubt her survival. "... I'm sorry."

15th of April, 2019 AD

Takeshi himself was currently in a state of heightened bad mood as he stumbled around on his crutch and brace (both faked) as the school's club recruitment drives went into full swing.

"Sheesh, the Track and Field Club could've just said no..." he grumbled as his "predisposition" began leaking out, causing the other students to clear the way for him as he mucked about. "Not only them, but everyone else too?! Even my previous membership in the Chess Club was revoked due to my 'bad behavior'... what a load of crap."

He then stops before a vending machine before fishing out a can of Pocari Sweat from the hatch.

"Bad day?" Takeshi then turned around to see Yuuto standing next to him. "... You're not exactly subtle, you know."

"Ha ha, Mr. Pretty Boy," Takeshi deadpanned before cracking open his drink. "... So, find anything?"

"Too many," the blond boy replied. "... I swear, either every male-dominated club wants my head on a pike, or every-female dominated club wants me as their 'manager' just so that they can have their way with me when no one is looking."

Takeshi wasn't amused in the slightest at his so-called "problem". "... I am a man dying of thirst watching another man drown," he deadpanned as he rolled his eyes. "... Seriously, if I don't join an extracurricular activity soon, it's going to reflect badly on my records."

Yuuto then leans his back against the side of the machine. "... Come to think of it, how did you join the Chess Club during your First Year?"

"My reputation as 'Kuoh's Boogeyman' wasn't established during that time, so I had a good thing going before I was outed during last year's Culture Festival," he explained. "... I mean, I have you guys as my connection now, but even still, I want to put my best foot forward so that I don't get lazy with my real life."

Yuuto nods in agreement. "Admirable perspective, indeed."

The two boys then hung out next to each other as the other students passed by them in the hallway.

"... Have to ask, but what clubs are the other members in our circle frequent in?" asked Takeshi.

"... Well, for starters, Koneko didn't join any clubs, but more along the lines of helping out in Judo, Aikido, and Wrestling Clubs as their extra sparring partner," Yuuto pointed out. "As for legitimate memberships, the President is a nominal member of the Plastic Model Builders Club, helping them out with their current project for this year's Cultural Festival Display, and Himejima-senpai is in the Classic Literature Club. ... Come to think of it, why don't you join those clubs if you're worried about being rejected?"

Takeshi then gives Yuuto a flat look. "... You honestly think I haven't tried?" he pointed out. "... Even after I flaunted my connections, they were adamant on their decision. Guess they still fear me more than they admire the two 'Queens of Kuoh'."

As they rightfully should, Nidhogg approved.

I'm more pissed that you didn't have the good sense to beat in their faces when they rejected you, Grendel commented.

Hey, I have to keep up the act of being injured, Takeshi pointed out, hoping that the day where he can stop faking his injury could come to pass.

Then suddenly, Kiri-sensei walked across the hallway, followed up by the members of the Student Disciplinary Committee, the other students parting a way for them like the Red Sea before stopping before Takeshi and Yuuto.

"You do realize that there are better places to hang out, right?" the teacher commented as he adjusted his glasses.

"Nevermind that, what are you doing with them, Kiri-sensei?" asked Takeshi as he and Yuuto moved out of where they were hanging out.

"He's our advisor," the lead girl answered. "... Normally, the Student Disciplinary Committee is a self-regulating organization within the school body, but after being made aware of the circumstances that were beneath our notice, we requested the School Board for his presence to better our duties of upholding morals within these halls."

"In layman's terms, I'm implementing a 'no double-standards'-policy for their work as their advisor," Kiri-sensei explained. "... Just keep yourselves out of trouble and don't increase my workload with any of your bullshit, understood?"

The two boys nod in acknowledgment as everyone else lets them pass.

"... I think I'll now take my chances with the Kendo Club," Yuuto commented before sighing in partial relief. "At least this time around, I won't have to worry about getting ogled like a piece of meat anymore."

"Speaking of being around..." Takeshi then looked around the hallways buzzing with student foot traffic. "... Where's the President?"

"It's her turn to watch our guest today," Yuuto replied.

At ORC's Guest Room...

Three knocks within a second-long interval were heard.

"Enter."

The door creaks open, revealing Rias with a bento box and bottled water inside a plastic bag.

"Hello, Pandora," the King greeted. "Today's my turn to take care of you."

The blind guest scoffs. "... Shouldn't you let your peons handle this mundane task on your behalf?" she questioned with a hint of snark. "... How unbefitting for this Peerage's leader."

"I respect everyone else's personal boundaries and their normal lives," Rias replied without hesitation. "Also, they're no mere peons."

"Yes, they're clearly a cabal of psychopaths who'd willingly let in someone who pops a little girl's eyes like bubbles," deadpanned Pandora as she got up from her bed with increased proficiency. "... You're out of your mind if you think you can keep that Evil Dragon User bound to your will. It's only a matter of time when he turns his fangs unto you and your kin."

"I choose to believe and strive towards otherwise," Rias retorted as she took a seat across where Pandora was at. "... After all, Takeshi did synchronize with one of the Evil Dragons."

The blind girl gasps in genuine shock. "... Impossible!" she protested. "... You're lying!"

Rias smiles. "Believe in what you will, but even us Devils aren't completely foreign to the concept of 'faith'," she pointed out with absolute confidence. "... I also received a message from Re:Live. They said that your replacement eyes are almost done synthesizing."

Pandora huffs as she pivots her head to the side. "... How frivolous-"

*gurgle*

Suddenly, her stomach rumbles, causing her to blush underneath her bandages.

"... You've been holding it in for a while, haven't you?" Rias asked awkwardly.

"Sh-SHUT UP!" Pandora barked before she was led to the restroom.

16th of April, 2019 AD

"Senpai, your form is sagging."

"Oh crap, my B!"

Takeshi then lets out a small grunt as he in his [Cataclysm Zone]'s armor buckled under the steadily-increasing amount of holy energy surrounding him, with Akeno controlling the output while Koneko watched as she helped herself on a whole bag of senbei rice crackers.

The idea of training to increase his holy energy resistance was to build up general tolerance. Mainly, Takeshi had to maintain a horse stance-squat while being bombarded by holy energy from all sides. It was like being forced to take a dip in a pool of pure, concentrated pain.

At least acid eventually bestowed the mercy of melting off one's nerves before killing them. Here there was no such grace.

"Ah, this feels relaxing..." Grendel commented as he was enjoying this training as if he were taking a casual dip in a Jacuzzi tub. "Nothing like a good dose of pain and agony to get the blood pumping... Have to say, your Devil physiology is quite the unique experience, brat! Never thought I'd say this out loud, but you know how to keep good company around if they know how to do this!"

"... Well I'm glad that someone's enjoying it," growled Nidhogg, his voice clearly strained from the stings of pain that he and his host were feeling, as if he were being gnawed all over by ants. "... This better work, stelpa. Otherwise, someone's going to die as recompense!"

"Please shut up...!" Takeshi grunted as he tried not to buckle under the increasing pressure. "... Am I doing this right?! IS MY RESISTANCE INCREASING?!"

"It is," Akeno cooly reassured as she increased the holy energy output coming from the abandoned temple. "After all, Takeshi-chan is looking more firm and steady than he was two days ago~!"

Koneko raised an eyebrow after biting into her snack with an audible crunch. "... No indecent thoughts allowed."

"... A little too late for that," Nidhogg commented as his host was doing his utmost best to bear the increased intensity of his pain, evident by his knees squatting down slightly deeper. "... This is what you get when you have two sadomasochists in the same vicinity."

Much to Koneko's exasperation, the Evil Dragon of Envy's words proved to be true as she saw both Grendel and Akeno getting off of Takeshi's pain.

"Ahhh~! Seeing you struggle for the greater good is making me hot..." Akeno drooled before wiping it off. "... You can do it, Takeshi-chan!"

"CRANK UP THE INTENSITY!" demanded Grendel. "NO PAIN, NO GAIN, BABY!"

"No, I think that's enough."

Akeno then suddenly shuts off the holy energy release, causing Takeshi to collapse onto his knees as he wheezes like a locomotive.

"Hey, what gives?!" the Evil Dragon of Wrath remarked. "... And what's with the sudden about-face?!"

"If you're enjoying it to the point where you're asking for more, then that's when I stop," the Queen pointed out bluntly. "It's my own self-imposed safeword system to make sure that I don't kill my kouhai by accident. I like pain and all, but I like having my partners around for more, which requires them to be alive and well tomorrow."

Grendel then lets out a dissatisfied growl before retreating back into his prison, allowing Takeshi to undo his transformation.

"Takeshi-senpai!" Koneko then catches him in her arms before he falls flat onto his face. "... Are you okay?"

"O-Oh Hell yeah...!" he weakly remarked as he raised a thumbs-up. "... I'm feeling great-!"

He then suddenly faints from the inflicted pain burdening his body, going limp over Koneko and Akeno's arms.

"... Okay, I might've gone a bit too far," Akeno nervously remarked before casting her own healing magic onto Takeshi right after Koneko sets him down behind the shrine's offering box. "... Although in my defense, he did give me his consent prior!"

Koneko sighs as she stroked her lover's head affectionately. "I really hope that Kiba-senpai is doing better than us..."

Back at ORC's Guest Room...

"Enter."

After the three knocks, Yuuto comes inside, carrying her takeout dinner inside a plastic bag with him.

"You seem accustomed to being here, Pandora-san," the Devil pointed out at her relaxed temperament.

"Like I have a choice," she huffed. "... Were I able to see, I would've hung myself with these sheets that you gave me."

Yuuto sighs before sitting down across from her. "... No one in ORC wishes for your death, Pandora-san."

"Like I haven't heard of that before..." she grumbles before turning away. "... Everyone says that before they discover who I really am."

"We all have our sordid pasts," Yuuto pointed out. "... I'm no exception."

Pandora smirks bitterly. "... At least you avoided sounding like a hypocrite-"

*grumble*

The two sit in the room awkwardly.

"... Would you like me to feed you?" Yuuto asked.

Pandora blushes through her bandages. "... Yes please."

Yuuto then spent the next hour feeding her a beef bowl from Yoshinoya, gently picking up piece by piece while keeping her properly hydrated throughout the process.

"... Why do you all care for me?" she asked.

"Should there be a reason?" replied Yuuto.

"You're Devils. You should be reveling in the suffering of the innocent and damning weaklings like me," Pandora pointed out.

Yuuto chuckles as he puts away the trash. "... You know, a lot of people say that, but personally, I like to think that notion is grossly outdated," he remarked. "But with that said, aren't humans just as capable of malice as us denizens of the Underworld?"

"Touché," Pandora huffed bemusedly. "Those Stray Exorcists must've given you all a rough time."

"It's par for the course," Yuuto replied as he walked out of the door. "... You want dessert?"

Pandora sits in silence for a few seconds before replying the following:

"... I want pudding."

17th of April, 2019 AD

"... And that's it?" Takeshi remarked as he walked through the nighttime forest.

Yuuto nods. "... I think she's getting used to being around us," he elaborated. "... It's slow-going, but I think we're making good progress."

Takeshi himself couldn't help but feel a bit resentful of Yuuto making more progress with her than he did, even though he was the one who made her eyes explode and rendered her blind.

"Don't feel so bad, whelp," Nidhogg reassured in a caustic tone. "She barely gave you a chance to begin with."

"And besides, I take full responsibility for what I have done to that bitch, nor do I regret even a second of it!" Grendel boasted.

"Yes, yes, you're both super-evil, so can you cut it out and get back on the commission?!"

Walking ahead of Takeshi and Yuuto were Genshirou and Ruruko of the Sitri Peerage.

"... Remind me, what are we doing here again?" asked Takeshi. "The whole week was packed to the brim with me being chased out of every club recruitment drives and holy energy resistance training with Himejima-senpai that my brain's been on a fritz."

Genshirou tried not to lose his shit before taking a deep breath and calming down. "... As you may or may not know, the Kantō Faction itself had requested both of our Peerages personally to investigate the disappearances happening around Mt. Tsukuba," he began. "After Hisaya and the Yomi Faction decimated a good chunk of their defenders, a recruitment drive has been issued throughout the region, but the initiates haven't arrived at the designated time of arrival, so we're sent out as the search party."

"Well, no matter the case, we'll find them soon!" Ruruko optimistically pointed out. "Them and those hikers that went missing last weekend!"

Takeshi sighs at the girl's positivity, almost hesitant to see it shatter before his very eyes, knowing what kind of shit entails during their line of work, especially when it came from another faction.

"In any event, we're here to watch over you both during your first commission," Yuuto pointed out. "Just be sure to remain on guard, understood?"

"You know it, Kiba-senpai!" the pigtailed Pawn remarked with a thumbs-up.

"I already did a few commissions beforehand, so I'll be fine," Genshirou pointed out. "And don't forget, I have a Sacred Gear of my own, so don't underestimate me."

"No, I think we're properly estimating your prowess," deadpanned Nidhogg. "... Untested braggarts like you are the first to perish."

Genshirou gnashes his teeth. "I'll show you untested!"

He then runs ahead of everyone else.

"... Strange," Takeshi remarked, "but why does he remind me of a certain Oni we met last month?"

"Don't bring it up here..." begged Yuuto. "Come on, we should get going-"

A faint scream was heard coming up from ahead, prompting the rest of the Devils to start booking it towards that direction.

Coming upon a hidden clearing, they spot Genshirou being strung up by a spindle of thick spiderwebs by a massive Jorogumo the size of a whole construction vehicle, her Arachne-like form encompassing the entire dilapidated temple as she toyed with her recent prey.

"Oh? Well look what we have here?" the spider-lady Yōkai remarked bemusedly. "More flies onto my web."

Takeshi sighs as he sees the new Pawn flailing about in the air. "... Alright, try not to get yourselves killed," he remarked dryly as he then manifested his [Cataclysm Zone] around his waist. "Nimura-san, stick close to Kiba-kun."

"Wait, what-?!"

"DAI DAI HENSHIN!"

"[Malice Rise]!" announced the Sacred Gear. "[Abyss Rage Awakening]!"

Enveloping himself whole in dark flames, Takeshi unleashes his [Dead Shore Advent] Balance Breaker form as Yuuto summons [Fire Brand] and [Frost Bite] swords with his [Sword Birth].

"I-IT'S YOU!" exclaimed the Jorogumo, causing her to flail Genshirou around from his bound ankles as she pointed her finger towards the transformed Takeshi. "Y-YOU'RE THE EVIL DRAGON USER!"

"Sheesh, what do you want? An autograph?" deadpanned Takeshi as he then summons his [Mayhem Striker] before cradling the dane axe over his shoulder and crouching down into a wind-up stance. "But enough talk... We'll eliminate you without fail!"

The Jorogumo then unleashes a whole net of her thick spiderwebs, prompting Yuuto to freeze the strands first with his ice sword before destroying them with his fire sword, allowing Takeshi and Nimura to follow up in their advance.

"Good thing those Tsuchigumo from last month gave me enough practice!" The Knight then taps into his Knight piece's powers to better deal with the oncoming webs. "I'll hold back the webs! You two get Saji-san out of her grasp!"

"Got it!" Ruruko then began to glow with a blue aura. "[Promotion: Knight]!"

The pigtailed Devil then speeds up into a blur, performing various hit-and-run attacks around the massive spider-lady as Takeshi then performed his own [Promotion: Knight] to deal with her legs, cutting them off one limb at a time.

"It must really suck to be this sluggish!" taunted Ruruko as she then performed a swift kick across the Yōkai's face.

"DON'T GET COCKY!" The Jorogumo then swings the caught Genshirou like a flail towards his fellow Pawn, but Takeshi manages to cut off enough of her legs to kilter off-balance, causing the swing's trajectory to miss by a certain angle, causing Genshirou to get scraped across the temple's moss-covered rooftop.

"Word of advice: only resort to taunting when you have the enemy on the ropes," instructed Takeshi as he then blocked the Jorogumo's net of webbing by forming a bubble of shredding ashes around himself before letting it explode like a frag grenade, causing the Yōkai to flail around in pain as she was pricked all over by the unleashed shrapnel.

"R-Right. Sorry Ryuugamine-senpai!" apologized Ruruko before she regained her bearings.

As the three Devils continued fighting the titanic Jorogumo, Genshirou, currently held hostage by the spider-lady, grew discontent as he was forced to play the "damsel in distress" while the Gremory Peerage were upstaging the Sitri Peerage.

"... Dammit! I can't sit by and do nothing!" he cursed as he then extended his left wrist outwards. "Come! [Absorption Line]!"

A bright purple glow was then emitted from his limb, manifesting a wristband resembling a black lizard with ruby eyes around it. Its mouth then opens, shooting out a line of energy akin to a chameleon's tongue that stuck onto the Jorogumo's back before it wrapped around her waist as it began siphoning her vitality to his own.

"My Sacred Gear allows me to absorb the power of anything that it wraps its tongue around!" he boasted as his prior injuries began healing on their own. "Sooner or later, you'll be the one who will fall by my powers!"

Takeshi then suddenly stops what he was doing upon hearing what Genshirou's Sacred Gear does... by none other than Genshirou himself.

"SAJI YOU FUCKING IDIOT-!"

"Absorb anything, you said?" The Jorogumo then smirks. "... How about some of this, then?!"

Recognizing this feeling on an instinctual level, Yuuto then immediately grabs Ruruko by her clothes before pulling her away from the Jorogumo as Takeshi tries to cut the line connecting Genshirou and the Jorogumo.

His [Mayhem Striker]'s blade phases through the line as if it didn't exist, allowing the Yōkai to then pump the reckless Pawn full of kegare.

"What the-?!"

As soon as this sensation of pure filth invaded his body, Genshirou began screaming as his body began to burn and rot from the inside out.

"Of course she of all Yōkai had to be a Yomi affiliate..." growled Yuuto. "No wonder why the Kantō Faction's initiates went missing..."

"We have to do something!" Ruruko exclaimed.

Now Playing: "Don't Lose Your Mind" by S.S.P.D. Steel Sound Police Dept. (from Kamen Rider Drive)

"LEAVE IT TO ME!" Takeshi's Balance Breaker then unfurls its wings as he then flies towards the Jorogumo, parrying the webs spiked with kegare with his [Mayhem Striker], absorbing the cursed energy bit by bit before reaching the titanic Yōkai herself. "Hello good madam. May I have some of your kegare?!"

*SPLURCH*

The Jorogumo screams in agony as her bare torso was then lodged with the dane axe's blade as it then began sucking the kegare out from her dry. Its absorption rate was so intense that it even reversed [Absorption Line]'s siphon flow, allowing Takeshi to cleanse Genshirou of his spiritual pollution from his Sacred Gear essentially serving as Nidhogg's "straw."

... Hmph, who knew that loser could be so useful? he thought as he drank his fill while Grendel basked in the Yōkai's agony of being sucked dry.

As soon as the Yōkai was left drained of her malevolent powers, Takeshi then frees Genshirou from his snare before tugging his Sacred Gear's line away from the Jorogumo, disconnecting it from her as the Sacred Gear disappears from his left wrist.

"Now what did we learn?" Takeshi asked the barely-conscious Genshirou.

"... Don't... tell our enemies... how our powers... work..." he grunted before coughing out a wad of blood, his internal wounds in need of serious treatment.

"Good boy." Takeshi then tosses him into Ruruko's arms. "Leave the rest to me, you two. Kiba-kun, please heal that idiot who nearly got himself killed."

"At least don't put it like that..." Yuuto grumbled as he then summoned his [Pain Killer] blades to patch Genshirou's kegare-inflicted wounds while Ruruko held her fellow Pawn's hand in reassurance. "Hang on, Saji-san. We'll get you all healed up!"

Takeshi then slowly walks up towards the Jorogumo, the latter short of breath after having her empowering essences siphoned out of her.

"Now what will it be?" the Evil Dragon user asked as he dragged his [Mayhem Striker] behind him, its edge scraping against the old cobblestone ground in an unpleasant and menacing sound. "Will you give up your predatory ways? Or will I have to put you down like a rabid animal?"

The hostile Yōkai snarls defiantly. "SCREW YOU, EVIL DRAGON USER!"

She then spits out a fireball towards Takeshi from her mouth, but the latter easily parries the projectile with his axe, splitting it across its twain as the pair careened towards behind him and between the other three Devils.

*BOOM!*

"... Fine then." Takeshi then drops his dane axe before he then presses both sides of his [Cataclysm Zone]'s buckle at the same time.

"[Charge]!" announced the Sacred Gear as Takeshi then quickly picked back up his [Mayhem Striker] from the ground before running towards the defiant Jorogumo. "[Malice Overflow]!"

In her last act of defiance, the Jorogumo then unleashes a volley of fireballs and spiderwebs as Takeshi easily parries every last projectile with his axe and ashes, the latter of which being partial manifestations of Nidhogg himself.

"This sense of impending victory is intoxicating, whelp!" cackled Nidhogg, elated that his losses from last week were about to be redeemed here and now. "KILL THAT FREAK!"

As he ran, the ashes began concentrating around his two pairs of wings, causing them to turn three times their original size before Takeshi then jumped into the air.

Unlike his previous finishers with [Dead Shore Advent], this one didn't require the usage of [Helfrost] (or at least, mandatory), meaning that none of his lifeforce was siphoned upon usage.

Upon reaching the apex, the wings then enclose around him as he begins spinning like a drill, plummeting down towards the Yōkai like a meteorite.

"[Abyss Blast Execution]!"

The ashen drill then bores through the Jorogumo's gaping mouth and into the rest of her body, splitting her in two as the rest of her body messily mulches apart before Takeshi crashes through the abandoned temple and lands safely on the other side.

*KABOOM!*

Takeshi then raises his [Mayhem Striker] into the air to celebrate-

*SPLAT*

*SPLAT*

*SPLAT*

... But the monster of the week's explosion had unleashed a messy aftermath, causing thick, milky substance akin to glue to splatter all over the Devils present.

"Eww...!" Ruruko groaned as she tried to wipe off the sticky fluid from her clothes. "Why did I wear my school uniform all the way out here?!"

"... Force of habit?" Yuuto commented as he tried to clean off the pale muck. "... Then again, Takeshi's quite forward thinking to wear clothing designed for the rough and tumble."

"FTR, I am not undoing my transformation until we're out of here," Takeshi pointed out insistently as he maintained his Balance Breaker state. "... Surely, all of these aren't her organs, isn't it?"

Genshirou then wakes up covered in the same milky-white sludge like everyone else. "... What happened?" he asked as he looked around. "... And why does this whole clearing look like something out of the world's messiest bukkake-porno?"

Just before anyone could ask, Genshirou's eyes then spots something crawling within the milky-white fluids.

"... Uh, guys?" he pointed out. "... Don't panic, but I think I see something... moving inside of these... things."

Everyone's eyes then readjust to see what was inside of these white fluids, revealing smaller, spider-like grubs each inside their own bubbles, outing themselves as the Jorogumo's UNBORN SPAWNS.

Traumatized screams of despair were heard echoing throughout all of Mt. Tsukuba as the Devils lamented at the fact that not even a million showers will make them clean ever again.

The Kantō Faction's representatives then arrived at the mess, and found that both their missing initiates and the hikers' skeletons were buried underneath where the old temple once stood. It was then surmised that the Jorogumo had been on a feeding frenzy to gather enough nutrients to allow her body to properly deliver her children lest she takes her own spawns down with her, given that a Jorogumo giving birth guarantees her death (along with any poor Tsuchigumo that had mated with her, usually being the first casualty).

After all that was said and done, the four Devils had their commission fee slashed in half due to "improper handling" of the situation. None of them dared to speak of this incident again.

... Except for Nidhogg.

"I enjoyed that warm feeling of being covered in dead children."

Grendel gags at his fellow Evil Dragon's comment. "... Gross."

Back at ORC's Guest Room (again)...

*SPLASH*

A bucket of warm water was poured onto Pandora's soapy head by Koneko, the two of them inside ORC's baths, with the former's missing eyes covered with a pair of swimming goggles and bath cap as preventative measures.

"... Why are you doing this for me?" the girl asked the Devil.

"You smell like ass, that's what," Koneko bluntly replied as she poured body wash onto her shower puff. "... Can't leave you in your own sweat under those sheets. Ruins my appetite."

Pandora flinches as Koneko begins scrubbing her down, the latter slightly pouting in envy of how perfect the former's body was. "... At least you're honest," she remarked. "... Those who look at my bare body do so with... ill intent."

"Sheesh, I guess perverts are an international epidemic, then," Koneko deadpanned as she then moved onto her chest and breasts. "... Don't worry. No one's going to force themselves upon you. Even Himejima-senpai asks for consent before indulging in her fetishes."

Pandora clicks her tongue. "... Good for you."

*SPLASH*

Koneko then rinses off Pandora's body before gently taking her outside. Once drying her with a towel, she then helps her change back into more comfortable clothing/the spare tracksuit she found in Kuoh Academy's storage room. Once clothed, Koneko then reapplies her bandages over her missing eyes, her burn scars now mostly faded thanks to daily application of healing magic (which cannot restore the former).

"... This feels... weird," Pandora commented as she sat down on a stool before a mirror. "... I don't hate it."

"By the way, are your robes dry-clean only, or washer-safe?" asked Koneko as she reached for the hair dryer.

Pandora freezes in silence, unable to answer due to being unable to understand the question.

"... You don't wash your clothes at all, do you?"

"When I'm not being served hand or foot, I'm usually behind a gaol cell dressed in rags," Pandora pointed out. "... Forgive me if my sense of modernity is grossly outdated."

"Nah, it's cool," Koneko reassured as she began drying Pandora's hair. "Compared to those fogeys at Kyoto, you're in a good spot."

Pandora stifles a laugh as Koneko continues taking care of her.

"Here." Koneko then places a cold glass bottle of strawberry milk around Pandora's hands. "Nothing beats milk after a nice bath."

"... Is this... a Japanese thing?" she asked as Koneko chugged a whole bottle of coffee milk before she let out a satisfied sigh.

"Shame we can't let you soak by yourself given that... well you know," Koneko remarked with a hint of reluctance. "... Look, please don't hold it against Takeshi-senpai, okay? He really didn't mean to."

Pandora's expression sours as she clutches her bottle. "... They always say that," she bitterly remarked as her head cast down. "... No one has a choice when they are born into this world, Miss Toujou. Some of us are just cursed to live like this."

Koneko shrugs. "... You're right," she agreed. "Sometimes, there are no choices in life which we can make, but does that mean we are forever just slaves to fate?"

Pandora's brows perk up slightly.

"... Look, I've been a fool myself when before I joined President Gremory's Peerage," Koneko shared. "... I was on the cusp of accepting death before I found myself here. It's not just me. Himejima-senpai, Kiba-senpai, Takeshi-senpai, and even the President herself were once alone in this world that they were born into. I don't think loneliness is a bad thing, since if it hurts, then it means you want something more out of your life then what you have right now."

Pandora couldn't deny that claim even if she tried to. But at the same time, she didn't experience any way to experience that satiation, her soul almost resigned to a life of suffocation.

Koneko then opens the bottle of milk for Pandora. "... Just give everyone at ORC a chance, please?" she requested. "... Even to Takeshi-senpai. Even if he is cursed as you claim, at least give him credit for fighting tooth and nail against his destiny."

The blind girl sighs deeply before sipping on her sweet-tasting drink, its flavor offsetting her internal bitterness that she'd grown accustomed to. "... I'll keep that in mind."

A warm feeling welled in her chest. An unknown feeling that she couldn't fully grasp, yet had a feeling that it was always within her this whole time. But this time around, she could no longer deny its presence.

18th of April, 2019 AD

"... President."

"Yes?" Rias then turned her head back.

He grumbles as he scratches the back of his head as he is followed by Koneko, Yuuto, Akeno, and Pandora, along with the entirety of the Sitri Peerage as they walk through the thick forest throughout the night (again).

"... Why did Re:Live call us all the way out in the middle of nowhere, this freaking late?!" Takeshi pointed out. "... My parents are already on my case ever since my fake injury has been cleared and I'm running out of cover stories of why I'm out so late."

"You know that you can just alter their memories, right?" Genshirou pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm afraid that if I do that constantly, their brains would melt from the constant editing," Takeshi pointed out. "I remember the first lesson of magic: 'To use magic is to fundamentally change the world'. I do not want to push my luck more than I have to."

"I understand your concern, Ryuugamine," Sona addressed. "... My constant nightmares are that one day, my cover stories would fail simply because one of the members of the School Board might develop a partial immunity to my memory edits."

"It happened a few times in passing," Akeno pointed out. "... It usually ends with them being... unpersoned."

Takeshi shudders if that were to happen. "... Let's get this over with as quickly as possible so that we don't test that theory, okay?"

Everyone unanimously agrees, even Pandora, who was mostly ambivalent to this whole situation she found herself in.

As soon as they reach their given location, they all spot Re:Live waiting for them next to an abandoned shipping container. "Good. You're all here."

"At least call us at a better time," Tsubaki grimaced. "I know we're Devils and all, but asking us to drop everything just to get to you? You can be a bit of an inconsiderate ass at times, you know?"

"I sort of remember them throwing an injured Oni through ORC's window just to elude us last month," Tsubasa pointed out, to which the rest of the Peerage nodded in agreement.

"Something came up during the synthesis, but my contacts were able to address it before tonight." The armored superhero then pulls out a briefcase before opening it, revealing a pair of floating eyeballs with ocean-blue pupils swimming inside a jar of green preservatives. "The girl comes inside. One of you will come with her as a witness."

"I'll go." Akeno raised her hand. "... I still don't completely trust you."

"Good. You're wiser than the most," Re:Live complimented, much to everyone's surprise. "Trust alone is for fools. It shifts and crumbles like sands in the wind."

Rias narrows her eyes at their statement. "... What are you implying?"

"It means you've earned my trust through your prior cooperation," they answered. "So in turn, I shall give you something in return. The eye transplants are free of charge. It's what's coming up after that you should all be looking forward to."

Pandora tugs Akeno by her hand. "... Let's go," she remarked. "Get it over with."

Akeno sighs before leading her into the storage container, where inside was a rigged operation room right out of a hospital, the lights and equipment all powered by a magical generator (100% zero emission) connected to the inside. Upon the doors shutting, everyone else waits outside, right before Re:Live's hand sticks out of the door before posting a sign reading "In Operation" outside before closing it.

"... That guy's kind of a weirdo," Ruruko commented.

"Nevertheless, capable," Reya pointed out. "... I still remember them absorbing all of Kagutsuchi's flames like if they were nothing."

"And not even burnt too..." Momo added. "... To think they're the one looking out for Ryuugamine-san in particular."

Genshirou's eyes widened upon hearing that revelation before turning towards Sona for confirmation.

"... It's true," the Student Council President confirms. "I heard it from them. I don't know what it exactly means, but at the very least, Ryuugamine's presence has secured a consistent ally, a rarity around this side of the world."

Genshirou now looked towards Takeshi with slight envy, compounded by the fact that he was the one who showed everyone up during yesterday's joint commission.

As for Takeshi himself, he was in a discussion with the rest of ORC waiting outside.

"So the name 'Lailah' didn't even show up on any of the Three Biblical Factions' registries?!" Takeshi bemoaned.

"Not even even my older brother, the current Lucifer, nor even Sona's older sister, the current Leviathan, could find even a single trace of that name," Rias confirmed. "... It's almost as if her name has been erased from the official records entirely."

A horrible realization then sparked within Yuuto's mind after hearing that little detail. "... Just what the Hell did she do to deserve that?"

"And Kokabiel-sama implied that she was a former Second Sphere," Koneko addressed. "She may not exactly be one of the Four Great Seraphim, but she must've been a pretty big deal to get both excommunicated and effectively deleted from everyone's memory."

The four of them then come to a consensus.

"... Have Re:Live deal with her," Rias ordered. "Realistically speaking, the fact that we can't gauge her powers accurately is enough of an issue. However, Re:Live can be the same for our potential enemies. I suggest we let the unknowns deal with each other until we get a better read of her powers."

Everyone agrees before breaking off, prompting Genshirou to walk up towards Takeshi.

"... Did I hear that my President is the current Leviathan's younger sister?" he asked.

Takeshi looked away awkwardly. "... I... thought you knew already."

"Do you know how much of a big deal that is?!" Genshirou exclaimed. "And you're talking to her on a conversational basis?!"

Takeshi narrowed his eyes in consternation. "... Dude, even if I wanted to be respectful to her, my guests in my Sacred Gear won't give her the time of day," he pointed out as he pointed towards his [Cataclysm Zone]. "... At best, all I can do is damage control."

"She's not even worthy of our respect," Nidhogg growled. "At best, we tolerate all of you enough to not kill any of you during your sleep."

"Her weak-as-piss water magic isn't enough to douse my flames!" boasted Grendel. "Not even an entire ocean is enough to stop me from reaching my desired bloodbath!"

Genshirou looked down at Takeshi's Sacred Gear before looking back at the owner, who was adopting a flat look of partial recognition.

"Welcome to my life, where the concept of 'respect' is meant to be earned, charitably at best."

The doors of the shipping container then open, with Re:Live taking off the sign as Akeno wheels Pandora out on a wheelchair, and the latter's bandages over her eyes now being partially bloodstained.

"Her eyes should be able to fully recover by tomorrow," Re:Live confirmed. "... Take off the bandages the day after, just to be safe."

"Why the wheelchair, though?" asked Genshirou.

"It's not just her eyes," Akeno pointed out. "... We had to... rewire her nervous system to actually connect the eyes before reconnecting the circulatory system, meaning that her sense of equilibrium is temporarily compromised."

"... I'm okay," grunted Pandora, her voice sounding like someone who's really trying not to hurl. "... Really."

Re:Live sighs as they then place their hands onto the door of the shipping container. "... Now to fulfill my own end of the bargain."

A magic circle was summoned onto the door's surface before fading away. Once that was finished, Re:Live then opened the shipping container once again, but this time, in place of the operation room was something utterly unexpected.

The room was littered with bloodied torture tools, sex toys, and a small small stack of car batteries with one of them connected with a pair of jumper cables, and situated at the end of the room was a bound Fallen Angel ball-gagged and blindfolded while her hands and feet were chained to the ceiling and floor respectively. Sitting before where the door was at was a bikuni nun wearing a tengai hat over her face, occupying her hands with a Nintendo Switch.

"Like, finally!" the nun exasperatedly remarked before pausing her game. "Took you long enough!"

"Sorry about that," Re:Live apologized before walking in. "The operation took longer than I thought."

"Ugh, whatever." The bikuni then walks out of the shipping container and past the Devils. "... Gonna go shopping to stretch my legs and stuff. Be back in a few."

"Take care." The nun then disappears into the forest's depths, much to everyone else's befuddlement.

"... Who was she?" asked Takeshi.

"That was one of my associates," they answered. "Her name is Chiha."

The Devils stare off into silence before remembering the other elephant in the room.

"Okay, so how did you get your hands on a Fallen Angel?!" asked Akeno.

"And what's with the BDSM-getup?" Koneko pointed out. "... That your fetish or something?"

Re:Live pauses for a brief moment before answering.

"... She came like this."

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Alright, possible kinks aside, what's her story?" asked Takeshi.

"I found her attacking one of the students at Kuoh before I interrupted her," explained the superhero, deliberately leaving out a few details. "After capturing her, I decided to interrogate her to see what had brought her out here given that she was technically intruding upon Gremory Territory."

"Technically it's a joint ownership," Rias pointed out as she advocated for Sona.

"In any event, I tried everything to make her squeal." Re:Live then picks up a bloodied pear of anguish-tool. "Literally. But even after a few days in captivity, she wouldn't even budge."

"Can't you just read her mind or something?" Genshirou pointed out.

"No, her self-destruct formula is connected to her brain should I even attempt to intrude," the superhero replied. "... I need her alive to have her tell me her side of the story... and that's where the boy comes in."

Takeshi then points to himself. "... Me?!"

"Now that Grendel has been unlocked, you now have the capability to undo magic itself through the Evil Dragon's practiced methods. It's just that you don't know yet," Re:Live pointed out. "If we can't break her body nor mind... break her soul."

All of ORC's (and Sona's) eyes widen like pie tins upon realizing what Re:Live was implying.

"No, NO!" Rias protested. "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"We're running out of time, and options," Re:Live pointed out.

"I THOUGHT YOU NEED HER ALIVE!" Sona countered. "HIS SINGING WILL KILL HER!"

Genshirou then looked doubtful of this sudden drama. "... Come on, it can't be that bad-"

Yuuto and Koneko both shut his mouth with their hands at the same time.

"You have no idea the kind of horror he brings," Yuuto warned.

"Go inside with him if you think you're such a big man, Saji," snarled Koneko.

"Guys, I'm standing right here," Takeshi pointed out, feeling a little hurt. "... Look, I won't use my work-in-progress [Death Phoneme] spell on her. Sounds okay enough?"

Akeno sighs. "Good enough."

"Proceed."

Takeshi then walks into the shipping container with Genshirou before Re:Live closes the door as soon as they enter.

"... By the way, the metal box is... soundproofed, right?" Tsubaki asked nervously.

"Trust me, if it were anything less, that Fallen Angel would have escaped in short order."

Once the night's lull settled in, Koneko then took out a deck of cards from her pocket.

"Who wants to play UNO?"

4 Minutes Later...

"3 blue."

"1 blue."

"1 yellow."

"7 yellow."

"Draw 4!"

Rias grimaced as she was forced to draw four cards from the deck. "... Dammit Akeno!" she cursed. "Again?!"

Pandora couldn't help but slightly giggle at the normally-unflappable King of the Gremory Peerage losing her cool over a card game.

To those who weren't playing UNO, they were playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Re:Live's provided Nintendo Switch.

"Goddamn Blue Shell!" cursed Tsubasa as someone else took the lead.

"Ha ha," Koneko taunted as she took the lead.

Meanwhile, Re:Live was waiting outside of the shipping container before one of the doors opened next to them, revealing Genshirou stumbling out the door, his eyes, nose, and ears bleeding before he collapsed onto the dirt.

"OH CRAP! SENPAI!" Ruruko then rushes towards him as the rest of the Peerage follows her, retrieving their Pawn as soon as Takeshi comes back out. "... What the Hell did you do?!"

"... Singing?" Takeshi replied. "Also, you do not wanna be inside right now. I think she soiled herself during the process."

Ruruko's eyes widened as she turned towards the rest of ORC and her own President, all of them looking utterly dead inside.

"... We really didn't need to know that," Sona deadpanned. "... So, is she willing to talk?"

"See for yourself." Re:Live then opens the other half of the door, causing the smell of piss and shit to waft out towards the two Peerages, causing them to gag, and for the superhero to groan. "... You're all a bunch of babies, you know that?"

Against great pain and nausea, Takeshi, Rias, and Sona walk into the shipping container while everyone else either tries to get fresh air or vomit elsewhere, with Genshirou himself in need of serious medical treatment.

"Nidhogg, are you okay in there?" asked Takeshi.

"... Don't... talk to me..." he shuddered. "... Until my head... stops ringing."

"You're such a baby, you know that?!" Grendel remarked. "I myself have enjoyed it. It was... relaxing, in a way. Like a lullaby soothing my soul like never before. And I hate being relaxed, so the fact that I didn't hate this calmness set over me is... unique, to say the least."

Rias and Sona's faces pale upon hearing that the Evil Dragon of Wrath unironically enjoyed Takeshi's singing, neither of them being unable to come up with the words to describe such madness.

"Also, don't worry about her pretty little head exploding," the Evil Dragon pointed out. "Let's just say that I don't let anyone take the easy way out."

"... I don't know how to feel about that, but I'm not gonna look at the gift horse in the mouth!" Takeshi nervously chuckled as Re:Live then removed the twitching and writhing Fallen Angel's gag and blindfold, allowing him to recognize who she is. "... AMENO-SAN?!"

"You mean... Hyoudou-kun's so-called girlfriend?!" Rias pointed out.

"What's going on here?!" Sona asked.

"It is as you suspect," confirmed the superhero. "Hyoudou Issei's girlfriend was none other than the Fallen Angel, Raynare."

Takeshi's eyes then widened as he and the others connected the dots. "Then that news from last week...!"

"Pure bunk," answered Re:Live. "I had to cover the tracks so he doesn't poke his head where it doesn't belong. Even had to bribe both the police and the local press to make sure that the case can easily be swept under the rug."

Raynare tried to out them for their bullshit, but was then shot a glare by the superhero, prompting her to shut up.

"Alright, so here's how it's going to proceed," Re:Live spoke to the Fallen Angel held captive. "You are going to tell us everything you know about the Cluster of Stray Fallen Angels and Exorcists that were responsible for destroying Urayama Dam earlier this month."

In a last attempt of a token resistance she could muster, Raynare chuckles, her angelic facade from Issei's picture shared with Takeshi slowly fracturing, the once serene smile twisting into a malicious sneer. "... Or what?"

Nearly losing their patience, Re:Live then grabs her by her face before pulling her in closer to their visored visage.

"Do it, or I'll make Ryuugamine here sing the entire discography of Nickelback."

Everyone, including Raynare, chokes up upon hearing the last word of that sentence.

"OKAY! THAT IS GOING TOO FAR!" Rias cried out in protest.

"And people have the audacity to call us Devils evil..." shuddered Sona. "... I swear, at this point, we're one wrong move away from committing an actual war crime."

"OI! I'M STANDING! RIGHT! HERE!" protested Takeshi. "Also, I don't even listen to Nickelback, let alone, know anything about them..."

"Face it, whelp, this may as well be your only positive asset beside us," Nidhogg deadpanned, causing his host to groan in consternation.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I'LL TALK!" Raynare screamed desperately as she finally caves in upon hearing that ultimatum. "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS TO ME ANYMORE!"

Raynare then proceeds to piss herself (again; she's out of things to empty her bowels with at this point) at the mere thought of such torture as she bawled for mercy that will never come.

"Start. Talking."

And like that, the Fallen Angel held captive sang like a bird, divulging everything that she knew about her operation and the details that were only privy to the higher-ups. While this was happening, Rias, Sona, and even Takeshi were starting to feel genuinely bad for the abused Fallen Angel that the latter had brought to such a state.

The Evil Dragons meanwhile (after Nidhogg had recovered his bearings from his host's godawful-no, ELDRITCH singing), feasted on Raynare's anguish, savoring it down to the last bite as she was forced to confess everything against her will, forcing herself to sell out her allies so that she doesn't suffer a fate worse than death.

"... Okay, so Lord Kokabiel is the true leader of the war hawk faction within the Grigori," Rias deadpanned as Sona sighed in exasperation. "... Guess we can mostly confirm that everything he said earlier this week is complete bullshit."

"And we can suspect that Zephon is his accomplice, meaning that he's also compromised," Takeshi grumbled. "... But now, we run into another problem."

"The legally-binding agreement we put ourselves in with our prime suspect..." groaned the Student Council President. "... We still have to return Pandora by tomorrow at 8 PM, and if we don't show up, then those war hawks will use that as a pretense for war."

"So we're in a Catch-22. Wonderful," Takeshi grumbled in frustration. "... What do we do? Build a legal case against Kokabiel as those bloodthirsty maniacs continue building up their war chest while we wait for the higher-ups to do something about it?"

"No." Re:Live then pulls out their phone before texting to someone. "... We play along with their ruse."

"... You do realize that we have less than 24 hours to build a case against Lord Kokabiel of all people, correct?!" Sona pointed out.

The superhero scoffs dismissively as they put their phone away. "... 24 hours is more than enough."

19th of April, 2019 AD

*knock*

*knock*

*knock*

Pandora's back shudders upon hearing those knocks, knowing that it was his turn.

"... Enter."

The door then creaks open, with Takeshi coming inside the guest room.

"Hey," Takeshi greeted as he brought a bag full of snacks and drinks. "... It's your last day here with us, legally speaking."

"I am aware," she answered curtly. "... What? Don't tell me that you plan to keep me to yourself."

Takeshi sighs as he sits down across from her. "... Can I be honest with you, Pandora-san?" he pointed out. "... I don't want you to go with them."

Her brows perk up in surprise. "... But my Charm didn't work on you."

"No, it's because the whelp is overly sentimental," deadpanned Nidhogg. "... Trust me, I know."

Takeshi grumbles before refocusing back to Pandora. "... All this time, you were made to suffer alone and I made it worse."

"Of which I have no regrets," boasted Grendel.

"... But," Takeshi continued with a bitter smile, "I'm relieved... that you were mad at me back then."

Pandora, even without her eyes, looked befuddled. "... And why is that?"

Takeshi smiles. "... Because your anger shows you that despite everything, you want to live," he pointed out. "... Your detachment to your own life isn't a complete surrender. You still breathe because you want to hope that your life can get better... you didn't give up, Pandora-san. I'm glad."

Pandora scoffs. "... I wish I had given up," she bitterly remarked. "... Hope. What drivel."

The two sit across from each other in silence as the sun shone through the window between them.

"... Curious, but I'm wondering about your name," Takeshi broke the silence. "... Pandora, are you perhaps named after that same woman from Greek Mythology?"

"... Interested?" she remarked. "... If you must know, I'm not merely named after her. I am her direct descendent."

"... Oh." Takeshi's eyes widened. "... And because... why?"

"It's a common practice for this side of the world to directly name children who inherited the powers from their renowned bloodlines after their founders," she explained. "For example, Cao Cao's descendent will be named 'Cao Cao,' and the most exceptional of Alexander the Great's descendents will be named 'Alexander'. Their names hold great power, and thus it's a legacy that they must uphold... and I am no exception."

"... I want to snark at the unoriginality, but given how sensitive this topic is, I'm gonna renege on that bit," Takeshi reaffirmed. "... Can I hear the rest of the story? If only to hear you out."

"How considerate," Pandora deadpanned. "... As you may or may not know, in retribution for Prometheus stealing fire from Mt. Olympus, Zeus commissioned Hephaestus to create the first Pandora and presented her as a gift to the Titan Epimetheus, along with a curious pithos jar containing samples of all the evils of the world."

"Clearly that's a lie, given that they missed us," Nidhogg pointed out.

"Why wasn't I in there?!" raged Grendel. "The carnage that would've happened inside that free-for-all would've been legendary!"

Takeshi blinked at Grendel's rather quixotic reference that he picked up from Kengan Ashura. "... Are you partially aware of the kodoku ritual?"

"The Asura Realm is my regular vacation spot, brat," the Evil Dragon of Wrath pointed out. "... 'Kodoku' was the name of the annual martial arts tournament held there."

"Enough said." Takeshi then turned his attention back to Pandora. "... Sorry about the delay. Please continue."

"Expected." Pandora then resumed sharing her background. "... As you may already know, Pandora, as a direct creation of the Greek Pantheon, was blessed with many gifts, with her Charm being able to affect both mortals and spirits alike. Using that gift, she brought peace and prosperity to the people, almost on the verge of ushering the second Golden Age. However, as she was blessed with the power to open up other peoples' hearts, it's that very same inclination that brought all that she worked for crashing down."

"... So instead of curiosity," Takeshi pointed out, "the original Pandora opened the container that houses every known evil across the world... as an attempt to tame it like she did to other people and spirits?!"

Pandora bitterly smirks at Takeshi's accurate proclamation. "... What was my ancestor thinking?" she commented. "Even the creation of the gods themselves weren't immune to hubris."

She bitterly chuckles before continuing with her tale.

"Seeing the horror that she'd unleashed, the original Pandora was helpless as both mankind and spirits went mad with evil, tearing each other apart limb from limb, burning monuments and crops alike into a sea of flames, and even the Titan Epimetheus was overwhelmed with malice, slaughtering his own worshippers, Pandora included," she explained, slowly becoming short of breath upon finishing reciting her tale. "... And once all that said was done, the gods intervened and wiped everyone out, save for Pandora, whom they cursed her for her recklessness, and shunned from the all paths to the afterlife for eternity, doomed to reincarnate every century to bring calamity upon the current generation, their memories of these tragedies shared with each passing incarnation... myself included."

Takeshi then looks down at his manifested [Cataclysm Zone]. "... Well that sounds awfully familiar."

"Whelp, don't compare that stelpa to the likes of us," Nidhogg pointed out.

"At least we enjoy our work!" Grendel added. "And what gives?! What's with me missing all of those killer bloodbaths that I never heard about?!"

"Maybe because you weren't born back then," commented the Evil Dragon of Envy.

"Please you two, quit it," groaned Takeshi. "... You already know what my situation is, correct? Given that you identified me as the 'fiftieth Evil Dragon User' or something to that effect."

"I'm honestly surprised that you're still sane after a month," Pandora replied with a humorless chuckle. "... Deus Trinity's greatest folly. You know that you're doomed to damnation should you resist, no?"

"Have a feeling that I'll be damned either way, so might as well fight raging against the dying light," Takeshi replied with a smirk. "... So, uh, don't mind if I become a little inquisitive, but how was your life before, well, to put it bluntly, everything went to Hell?"

"You do realize that the first Pandora's tale cautions against curiosity, correct?" Pandora warned. "There's no benefit to learning about my worthless past."

"Not the first one I heard, nor will it be my last," Takeshi replied chipperly before toning back down to seriousness. "... Please. We're not in a dick-measuring contest on whose past is more miserable. We have enough in this world to not perpetuate any more unneeded victim complexes."

Pandora sighs, ultimately relenting to his request, seeing that she can't find any fallacies that she can pick up from his words to argue against, even if those locks were nonsensical and stupid as his defiance against his fate.

"... If you must know, I don't know who my original parents were," she explained. "... I was only a mere babe when I was separated from them, and various accounts differ who was responsible for my abduction. The Atlas Cult I was raised in cited that the Greek demigods were responsible for killing my parents, while the Greek demigods who later abducted me cited the cultists as the perpetrators. Honestly, their accounts were so unreliable that I stopped paying attention to them altogether, and just hypothesized that both were culpable for making a mess out of my life. The Atlas Cult wanted a weapon, while the Greek demigods wanted to eliminate a potential threat. Who fired the first shot, I don't care anymore."

"Well shit, I knew that this side of the world was dangerous, but those guys made being total dicks an art form," commented Takeshi.

"Power is the only certainty in this world, whelp," Nidhogg pointed out. "Those with power must exploit before they are exploited."

"And those without power better run as fast as they can!" Grendel rapturously cackled.

"It didn't matter where I was," Pandora continued. "Whether it was the Titan Cultists raising me as one of their own, teaching me how to use my powers and their wet nurses raising me with what little humanity there was in my life, or the Greek demigods holding me prisoner for whatever perceived crimes they blamed me for, it never changed the fact that I was a prisoner. It's just that I only have the luxury of having more varied options of which cells am I confined into. And that was my life, with the cultists and demigods slaughtering each other like cattle and passing ownership of my life over to different factions from each opposing side like an unwanted child."

"... So your whole life was basically Shawshank Redemption before you had your first period," Takeshi pointed out. "... How the Hell did you escape and end up here?"

Pandora bitterly smiles as she recalls the harrowing memories of her escape.

"... Whether it was either because of my Charm working or my captors feeling pity for me, during my one-and-half-year-long confinement within the demigod territory, someone deliberately left the gaol keys barely within my reach on one night," she explained. "... I took the chance, unlocked my shackles and cell doors, and ran for my fucking life. I kept running as I ordered the ambient fire spirits within their torches to set the whole area ablaze. I kept running even as both the demigods and the cultists tried to claim me, murdering each other in reckless abandon. I kept running even as innocents died in my wake. I kept running... until I reached Missolonghi, and waiting there was an embassy building owned by the Grigori."

"And that's how you ended up with them," Takeshi remarked. "... Until you were abducted by the Stray Fallen Angels within their own ranks for their cockamamy plans."

Pandora chuckled. "... Even went as far as to install a self-destruct formula in my body should I be 'compromised'," she pointed out. "... I guess no matter what, I am doomed to live the remainder of my life behind whatever gaol cell I am thrown into."

"More like repetitive and exhausting, stelpa," Nidhogg pointed out.

"You had the power, so why the fuck didn't you fight back?!" Grendel criticized. "Even if you died, you'd show them the true meaning of fear! If they hate you for simply existing, then it's your right to fucking murder them in cold blood, consequences be damned!"

Pandora bitterly chuckles as her lips begin to tremble. "... Perhaps I still think of myself as a human being when I know that I'm a monster," she answered as she began weeping through her bandages. "It's utterly shameless for me to deny the truth. But I can't help myself."

"... I don't follow," Takeshi commented. "... How is living considered 'shameless' in your eyes?"

"Because if I had any semblance of shame... then I would've killed myself ages ago," she answered. "... I have so much blood on my hands, inherited from my ancestors and previous incarnations. First Greece, and now the rest of this world must suffer because of me. Why should one girl, damned to this perpetual torment, suffer to live at the expense of other innocents being snuffed out like mere candlelights? Why didn't I stay with those who've brought me to life during that fateful day? At least that way, everyone, myself included, would've been better off."

"Because all of the world's problems doesn't solely come from a single person, especially you, Pandora."

Takeshi then seizes Pandora by her wrist before pulling her out of the guest room.

"Wha-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" she shrieked in panic.

"Taking you out for dinner!" Takeshi answered before he then dragged her into the ORC's main office and activated the magic circle before teleporting elsewhere.

At Kuoh's Restaurant Row...

The two then teleport into the bustling evening streets of Kuoh Town, the roads lined with various restaurants before dragging her inside a traditional-looking, high-end soba restaurant.

"Hey boss!" barked Takeshi as he dragged Pandora inside, the latter too flummoxed to even resist. "I want two trays of seiro-style soba with all the tempura fixings! Keep the change!"

The two then find themselves sitting next to each other on one of the low tables as their orders arrived, stacked high with lacquered boxes of glistening soba noodles inside, a cup full of the deep-dark dipping sauce with two globs of wasabi and shredded daikon radish, and next to it were a whole assortment of in-season tempura, consisting of shrimp, yam, carrot, burdock, and shiso-leaf.

"... You do know that my eyes don't work, right?" Pandora pointed out.

"Shut up and let me feed you," Takeshi rebuffed as he then shoveled a clump of noodles dipped into the sauce into her mouth. "... Well, what do you think? Better than that convenience store crap you've been eating all week, huh?"

The bandaged girl slurps the noodles. "... It's... different, to say least."

"Nagano's specialty, Pandora," boasted Takeshi before he slurped on his own share.

"What's the point of this?" asked Pandora before she was shoveled another portion of her share. "... Please stop force-feeding me. People will get the wrong idea."

"Fuck 'em," Takeshi rebuffed. "This is the 21st Century, Pandora-san. Be as selfish as you want to be!"

"... Huh?" Pandora remarked in a befuddled manner.

"They call you selfish for wanting to live however you like? Well then you're doing something good with your life!" Takeshi pointed out as he stuffed himself in-between feeding Pandora. "... That desire, that need to resist, that instinct to keep living, that's the universal right for all humans."

Pandora stifled a sob. "... But I'm not-!"

"Bullshit that you aren't, Pandora," Takeshi protests before shutting her up with a piece of tempura shoveled into her mouth. "Gods, Devils, Angels, and everyone else be damned. Your life was yours from the beginning. Don't let anyone else take it away from you. Not even to yourself."

Pandora chews on her deep-fried morsel before consuming it. "... That is just a pipe dream," she rebuked. "This is reality, Takeshi. Those stories of where the hero saves the princess from her fate are nothing but lies! ... Just leave me to die. There's no escaping from who we fundamentally are."

"That's because I haven't tried yet," boasted Takeshi as he moved onto his next tray of soba noodles. "Pandora, I will be your hero. I will be your hope. But you're the one who holds the keys to your jail cell. Even if you reject me, even if fate does its best to pulverize my mind, body, and soul, I will never give up on trying to reach out my hand towards you."

Pandora looked away as she picked up a shrimp tempura with her bare hands before biting into it. "... Just how do you have that kind of resolve?"

"Because I know what my life needs and I do whatever it takes to fulfill it," answered Takeshi. "Right now, I know what I want, and that is for you to make your choice wholeheartedly. A choice that you won't regret and be proud of."

Pandora looked down at her plate, color slowly coming back from her transplanted eyes behind her bandages.

"... Do what I want?" she echoed. "... Do I have such a right?"

"Dumbest question you've ever asked," Takeshi answered as he continued stuffing his face. "No one can take that right from you, Pandora. Not the gods and their children, not the cultists, and certainly not that bullshit you define as 'fate'."

Pandora began to sob behind her bandages, now feeling both fulfilled and hurt at the same time upon hearing those words.

"... Please don't make me feel like this," she whimpered.

"Let it out, Pandora." Takeshi then dipped another bundle of soba noodles into the sauce. "... One of the cures for a hurt heart is good food."

Pandora then takes a bite from her own chopsticks held by Takeshi before savoring the flavor.

"... You're too kind," she remarked with a faint smile. "... Perhaps this is how my life could've been."

"Nope! This is how your life is now!" Takeshi beamed before looking at his clock. "... It's almost time. Well, worst-case-scenario, I'll beat the crap out of anyone who dares to make you suffer, laws and treaties be damned."

Pandora freezes in place. "... You'd really do that for me?"

"Let's face it, the exchange is bullshit and I think your retrievers are going to try and kill me and my friends," Takeshi bluntly pointed out. "At best, we're going to play along so we don't accidentally start a war... but all I'm saying, hold onto that hope, okay?"

Pandora sighs. "... I'll try."

Takeshi smiles as he helps Pandora finish her meal before her scheduled departure.

At Hitsujiyama Park...

"Sorry if I'm late!" Takeshi cried out as he carried Pandora on his back as the pair reached the restored flower fields. "Had to feed her proper food before she left and stuff."

Koneko sighs as she looks at her phone's clock, currently reading 7:59 PM. "... At least you're here."

Akeno was waiting with her arms crossed, her expression looking as if she's in an extremely foul mood.

"... You okay, senpai?" asked Takeshi as he gently let Pandora down.

"I'm still wary," Akeno remarked. "... Sure, Zephon is well-trusted among the ranks of the Grigori, even answering to none other than Azazel himself... but I still can't help but worry."

Takeshi silently nods as he holds onto Pandora's hand as a sign of reassurance. "... Whatever happens, you'll be okay."

Pandora nods as a reply.

"I just texted to the President that we're all in position," Koneko announced as she put away her phone. "... He's here."

From above the night sky came down a Fallen Angel with two pairs of blackened wings, the quills molted fluttering down from the heavens to herald his presence. As he drew closer, he revealed himself as a young man with flowing steely-lilac hair that reached down to his neck, dressed in a Greek-style toga and purple sash, making him look like divinity, but there was a sense of unease that was ushered by his mere presence.

He smells like a fucking charlatan, Nidhogg accused, to which Takeshi couldn't help but agree.

"Greetings, Devils of Gremory," the Fallen Angel spoke with a cordial, if haughty tone, being recognizable from last week's ZOOM call. "I am Zephon, faithful servant of the Grigori and Lord Kokabiel's personal right hand."

"A pleasure," Akeno replied coldly, to which the Fallen Angel ignored in favor of Pandora.

"Ah, it's good to see you again, my dear Pandora," Zephon said. "I'm sure that you've gone through a harrowing experience, but it's all in the past now. Rest assured, you're in good hands now."

Oh my Satan, he's spouting such bullshit with a straight face that I can't help but cringe, Takeshi internally remarked as he tried to keep a straight face, much to his difficulty. ... Is that line he recited beforehand or something? Like an NPC?

"Hm, I see that she's quite grown attached to you, Evil Dragon User," the Fallen Angel commented at how their hands were linked.

"I have a name, you know," he deadpanned. "It's Ryuugamine Takeshi."

"Oh ho ho ho! Do forgive me," Zephon apologized in such a faux manner that even Koneko couldn't help but roll her eyes (as she was the only one not having eye contact with him). "... It's just that people like you tend to live very fleeting lives, so I don't bother with the formalities of soon-to-be-dead men."

"... Subtle as a brick," deadpanned Koneko as she drank from her can of Pepsi before letting out a loud burp, causing Zephon's eyebrow to twitch incredulously.

"... In any event, I'm grateful that you Devils have proven yourselves as prudent as your King claims," the Fallen Angel said, trying to speed up the dialogue. "I trust that her eyes are fully recovered?"

"Take off the bandages tomorrow," Takeshi advised. "Her new eyes still need to readjust to utilizing light."

"Understood," Zephon replied before he extended his hand towards Pandora. "Come now, Pandora. The others at Grigori miss you greatly."

Pandora's heart wavered upon hearing his command.

Normally, she would have taken his hand without hesitation, not out of any sense of loyalty, but out of a sense of resignation that she'd used as her sole guide throughout her life.

But something felt different.

Something... felt wrong.

It should be easy. It should be routine at this point. Of how much she repeated her motions of being taken in by various factions as a tool, accepting her destiny as is.

... But now, it no longer felt appealing-no.

It wasn't appealing. It was stale. It was static.

Dirt had more flavor than what kind of life she'd led up to this point.

"... Why are you hesitating?" asked Zephon.

She began to feel... dissatisfied with her life. She felt nothing but discontent with her usual choice.

So against all logic, she utters the following:

"... No."

Zephon quietly chokes on his own throat as everyone else but Takeshi were surprised by her sudden about-face.

"... I'm sorry, my dear, I must've misheard," the Fallen Angel remarked with a lopsided expression. "... Care to repeat that-?"

"I said, 'no'," Pandora snarled, her heartbeat now thumping so fast that it began to hurt, but at the same time, it felt so good. "... I'm done letting someone else choose how I live my life. This is my answer, Zephon. Tell Lord Kokabiel and Azazel that I fucking quit. I'm done being passed around like an unwanted child."

Zephon tried to keep a straight face, hiding the fact that he was both utterly flabbergasted and furious at the same time. In desperation, he tried to remotely activate Pandora's self-destruct formula, but nothing was happening.

He tried again, but failed. He kept trying, but nothing was working to see her head light up like a firework.

... What in God's name is happening?!

Suddenly, [Cataclysm Zone] appeared around Takeshi's waist as a booming and wicked laughter reverberated from the belt's verdant gem.

"Sorry, you feathered fuck," Grendel mocked. "But you wanna know how I made her eyes explode in the first place?"

Zephon's eyes widened at the Evil Dragon's proclamation. "... The self-destruct formula!" he exclaimed as he took a step back. "You hijacked it?!"

"As long as I'm around, I'm the one doing all the killing," boasted Grendel. "No one is allowed to take the easy way out as long as I'm here."

"And recorded..." Koneko smirked as she took record of Zephon's confession, outing him as one of the members of the pro-war faction within the Grigori. "... Senpai's right. Playing dirty feels fun."

"Either run back to your master with your tail between your legs, or we can break the latter," threatened Akeno as her hands crackled with lightning. "Either way, Kokabiel's mad ambitions to restart the war are now on borrowed time. We'll see how the rest of the Three Biblical Factions take this once we present our case!"

Gnashing his teeth, Zephon then belts out a scream so feral and maddened that it causes the flowers near him to scatter their petals before wilting, leaving behind an imprint of decay in his radius. But after he let out his enraged roar, he then lifts his head back up with a serene expression as he brushes his hair up across his scalp with his hand.

"... There, I let it all out and now I can proceed as calmly as I could be," the Fallen Angel remarked in a lackadaisical tone. "... Time for Plan B."

"Plan B?"

*clunk*

The three Devils' eyes then see a canister hit the brick-laden road before they recognized what it was.

"FLASHBANG-!"

*BANG!*

The three Devils were blinded by the stun grenade imbued with holy energy, causing Takeshi to let go of Pandora momentarily.

"Takeshi?! Everyone?! What is going on-?!"

*TWUCK*

A sharp twinge of pain causes Pandora to keel over forwards, with Zephon having punched her in the gut before applying a cloth of chloroform over her mouth and nose.

"So sorry, my dear!" Zephon then held his arms tightly around the struggling Pandora before she was knocked out cold. "... But you brought this upon yourself."

Wasting no time at all, Zephon, with Pandora in hand, takes off to the night sky and towards the air, meeting up with Mittelt behind the moonlight.

"Lord Zephon," greeted the goth-loli Fallen Angel.

"Please leave them a parting gift," he ordered as he flew off elsewhere, prompting the subordinate to then pull out several bundle charges between her fingers before pulling all of the pins at once with her teeth.

"Boom voyage, motherfuckers."

Takeshi was the first to recover his bearings.

*clang*

*clang*

*clang*

... And the first thing he saw were several stick grenades hitting the floor.

"HENSHIN!"

"[Malice Rise]-!"

*KABOOM*

Back at the Fallen Angel's Base...

"We're here!" announced Zephon as he descended with Pandora in hand and Mittelt as her wingman.

"Lord Zephon, I mean no offense, but you look slightly disheveled," Turel pointed out as he approached his superior before securing Pandora with handcuffs connected to a wheelchair.

"The Devils caught wise of our plans, but we still have reclaimed our Calamity Witch in spite of their efforts," the Fallen Angel answered as he dusted off his toga. "... Although with that said, I'm afraid we can't afford to leave them be for any longer now that they have my confession on tape. We'll have to deal with them here and now."

"And they shall be dealt with, milord." Lailah then appeared before bowing. "... This way."

The four Fallen Angels then head into the basement of the abandoned water treatment plant, where they happen upon a massive curtain hiding something behind its facade.

"Thanks to the stolen Grigori technology pioneered by that fool Lord Azazel and our collected combat data, we've synthesized the ultimate war machine with the blueprints penned and modified by our esteemed Lord Kokabiel, guaranteed to bring death upon our enemies!" declared Turel. "With our [Spiritron Engine] perfected to efficiently use both holy energy and ambient elemental powers, the union of both the divine and natural will be installed into our magnum opus!"

With elation, Lailah then rips the facade down with her bare hands to reveal their fruit of hard labor.

"I present you...!" announced Turel. "... Grigori's ultimate weapon! The [Tarshish]!"

Silence. There was nothing but silence.

"... Turel," said Zephon. "Unless this weapon of ours has an invisibility spell installed into its arsenal, then I'm afraid to ask... where the fuck is our weapon?"

The subordinate Fallen Angels then all turn around to see that their trump card for the upcoming war has all but disappeared.

"... What the fuck?" Turel dryly remarked.

"Uh, milord?" Mittelt spoke out as she pointed to something lying on the floor. "... I see something on the floor."

Lailah then goes to retrieve what was on the floor before handing it to her superior as the latter began reading the following:

LOL

GET REKT

:P

Zephon's face then turns blood-red as he then tore the calling card apart before shoving the pieces into his mouth in a fit of unholy anger.

"WHO THE FUCK DID THIS?!"

At Tokyo...

If one were to work at McDonalds' night and graveyard shifts, then the job was either tediously boring due to a lack of customers, or interesting for what kind of customers would even come during the fucking witching hour.

Not one member of the night shift team expected a bikuni nun to come in, order several Big Macs, fries, and a large cola while taking pictures of her new action figure that looked like a red colored mechanical dragon-like model.

To outsiders looking in, it merely looked like a secular Buddhist nun playing with some model and taking pictures of it to show it off to her friends online.

To Chiha herself, she was just blatantly displaying her plunder of a weapon of war on her personal Instagram account, putting it into various action poses as if she were playing with a Gunpla.

Either way, no one could tell how she was feeling, given that her face was obscured by a tengai hat. Her animated gestures, however, were more than enough of an indicator of her emotions.

Back at the Fallen Angels' Base...

Zephon was now heaving as he released his pent-up rage around his surroundings, now calming himself down just to hopefully come up with a backup plan with a clear mind.

"... Turel. Lailah."

The Fallen Angels stiffened their backs as their names were called by their superior in this wreckage.

"... Is our [Spiritron Engine] still present?!" he snarled.

"Y-Yes, milord!" Turel replied as he checked his internal security footage throughout the base. "The signal is still within our premises!"

Zephon gnashes his teeth before kicking another debris into the wall like a soccer ball. "... Is it possible to build a new combat frame for our power supply?!"

"There are several construction vehicles near our base meant for Chichibu's repairs, milord," Turel confirmed. "I'll see if I can repurpose them to our use."

"I'll notify all of our available combatants to have them buy us some time," Lailah reassured.

"THEN GET TO IT!" barked Zephon as all of his master's plans were falling apart at its eleventh hour.

Not all was lost yet. All he had to do was to kill the Devils responsible for putting him into this mess.

Back at Hitsujiyama Park...

As soon as the smoke clears up, a shifting orb of sand could be seen emerging from the fading plumes.

Dissipating onto itself was none other than Takeshi, Koneko, and Akeno, all three of them, relatively unharmed from the Fallen Angel's "parting gift."

"... You two okay?" Takeshi asked, to which both girls nodded in confirmation. "... Good."

"Yep, this all but confirms it," Koneko remarked as she began texting Rias. "... Those Fallen Angels are confirmed to be total dicks."

"So now what?" asked Akeno. "We don't exactly know where they are right now."

"... I do," Takeshi pointed out. "... I can smell her trail of soba and tempura we had a few hours ago."

"In that case." Akeno then unfurled her wings. "We'll follow your lead-!"

"No."

Both pairs of Takeshi's wings then unfurl from his Balance Breaker form as he crouches down.

An unfathomable sense of rage boiled within Takeshi's heart. The sight of seeing Pandora's individuality being violated by those who seek to exploit her powers set his soul ablaze.

A girl who was abused and browbeaten to a state of spiritual submission, who was on the cusp of reclaiming her own independence, dashed at the last minute before she could reclaim her freedom.

Enough was enough. He now had the perfect reason to embrace his rage.

Yes...! Grendel cackled approvingly as the scattered ashes gathered around his host's wings, causing them to grow larger. Show me your anger! Unleash your rage upon those who have wronged you!

"... I'll do more than that."

*BOOM!*

In an instant, Takeshi then takes off rapidly into the night sky.

"I'M GONNA RIP THEIR FUCKING BALLS OFF!" he declared as he rocketed towards Pandora's trail of her scent like a missile of pure wrath. "TESTICLE BY TESTICLE! THEIR DEATHS WILL BE SLOW AND PAINFUL! ALL OF THEM WILL ONLY DIE SCREAMING OUT THEIR DEATH THROES TO THEIR GOD!"

All Akeno and Koneko could do was look up as Takeshi disappeared into the night sky.

"... You called the President, didn't you?" the Third Year asked.

Koneko then revealed her phone with the sent text.

"Just being as efficient as possible."

At the Burned-Out Base Camp...

"... Of course," groaned Rias as she received the text after Zephon's recording. "... In all honesty, I assumed that Takeshi would be the one to go maverick first, but the Fallen Angels have proven themselves to be especially bold this month."

"All the more reason to wage war," Yuuto pointed out as he then brandished his blade before looking towards Genshirou and Ruruko, both representing the Sitri Peerage while everyone else stood behind to defend Kuoh from possible intruders as a show of force. "... Are you two ready?"

"After hearing Ryuugamine singing up close, nothing else can be worse than that," the male Pawn remarked with a stoic expression, with one of his ears covered with a patch of medical tape over his ruptured eardrum as he manifests his [Absorption Line] around his wrist. "... So bring it the fuck on."

"This is still a commission, right?" the female Pawn asked. "I mean, what we're about to do, we're not going to get in trouble for this, right?"

"Fret not," Re:Live answered as they emerged from the withered trees. "The Three Factions won't notice."

Everyone's expression darkens at the superhero's implication.

"... We're going to have to kill everyone once we get there, aren't we?" Rias asked.

"Leave the body disposal to me," Re:Live claimed with a thumbs up before pulling out their phone. "And before we begin..."

They then DM everyone involved in this commission of the following coordinates.

"I planted a transmitter inside one of Pandora's eyes," they revealed. "Our location is the abandoned water treatment plant adjacent to Minano! Let's move!"

Re:Live then taps their finger in the air to form a spatial distortion akin to rippling water as everyone else runs towards it.

To Be Continued...

And with that, that is the reboot's "Chapter 14." Two days, +15k words. I set a new record.

I've officially recovered from my seasonal depression and I'm ready to take on the world better than ever!

And with that, let's go over the chapter's development process.

First of all, the whole school club-business for Takeshi is meant to be a setup for a future B-plot I have planned later on down the line, but otherwise, it's to show that Kuoh Academy keeps trucking on with or without ORC's involvement. That and seeing Takeshi and Yuuto hang out together is nice, them ribbing each other about their respective people-problems aside.

Second, Pandora's interaction with ORC. It's meant to be a bit of an expanded take on the original fic's concept, since rather than simply Takeshi being the one opening dialogue with her, everyone else in ORC has a day to themselves (sans Akeno, but even then, she at least accompanies Pandora for her eye surgery), both gradually building up her trust with ORC and willing to let Takeshi back in after he made her eyes explode (by accident/Grendel). This also contributes to her being more willing to stay with ORC by the virtue of them taking their time to treat her like a normal person unlike in the original (although in her defense, she was blinded in both iterations, its just here that it's for a proper reason/her eyes FUCKING EXPLODED), forcing the Fallen Angels to take drastic measures to proceed with their plans.

Third, the filler joint commission dealing with the Jorogumo at Ibaraki Prefecture. It's both filler and a "preview" of what pre-Grigori Sitri Peerage Pawns are capable of. In short, they're competent, but they are horribly outclassed by Takeshi, who actually develops a less costly version of his [Dead Shore Advent]'s Rider Kick finisher, the [Abyss Blast Execution] to show his growing mastery of his Sacred Gear (and Nidhogg's begrudging respect). Also, it's also meant to serve to knock down a few pegs from Genshirou to kickstart both his character development and rivalry with Takeshi himself.

Fourth, Raynare's interrogation. It was solely for black comedy, using Takeshi's (increasingly) awful singing as an enhanced interrogation method bordering on inhumane (for Devil standards). As for why Takeshi doesn't use it during combat is A) he doesn't want to piss off Nidhogg after they have a good thing going (relatively speaking), and B) as Sona pointed out, his singing is constituted as a literal war crime, which combined with the infamous reputation that comes with him being an Evil Dragon User, he's on thin ice to the rest of the supernatural public. Silver lining, at least Grendel unironically enjoyed his singing, much to everyone's horror. And because of her squealing (that or she is forced to listen to Takeshi sing all of Nickelback's discography up to 2019), the Fallen Angels' plans go completely pear-shaped, implying that she was one of the few in the know of Kokabiel's plans, despite her feckless attitude. Then again, the Fallen Angels were supposed to be Pandora's handlers, so it's at best that they are to be in the know in order to do their jobs properly, so they get a pass.

And finally... Chiha. The girl's a menace to steal a weapon of mass destruction from beneath the Fallen Angels' noses. How did she do it? Well, a magician never reveals her secrets. It'll be explained in due time.

Also, I couldn't find a reference for Zephon's design in the original fic, so I based his design off of Gabriel from The Devil is a Part-Timer!, albeit modified to look more Greek and haughty. Otherwise, that's all I have to say.

See you guys in the next chapter, where ORC (and two of Sitri's Pawns) along with Re:Live wage war against the rogue Grigori Cluster of Fallen Angels and Stray Exorcists as Takeshi goes on an Evil Dragon-fueled warpath to save Pandora from their wicked clutches.

Tokusatsu References:

- The joint Peerage commission between Takeshi, Yuuto, Genshirou, and Ruruko taking place at Ibaraki Prefecture have the following:

- The temple at the forest's clearing is a reference to Ibaraki Prefecture's abandoned Zenkō Temple that is used as the Hell Brothers' base from Kamen Rider Kabuto.

- When Takeshi fights the Jorogumo at Ibaraki Prefecture in Mt. Tsukuba, he paraphrases Shoma's iconic line to every "monster of the week" in Kamen Rider Gavv.

- His new finisher, [Abyss Blast Execution], is named after Mashin Chaser's [Full Break] finishers ([Execution Spider], [Execution Cobra], and [Execution Bat], also tying into Nidhogg's title of "Extrajudicial Death Dragon"), and is based off Kamen Rider Knight's Final Vent.

- Combined with Kamen Rider Knight-tribute and Takeshi specifically fighting a spider monster, the outing is a massive reference to Kamen Rider Ryuki's very first episode, "The Secret Story's Birth," with the Jorogumo herself being the [Dispider] stand-in.

- Mittelt's line as she drops her bundle charges came from Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel's final episode, "Reaching the Nexus," during Victor and Monty's escape from the Warrior Dome after rescuing the civilians from its hulls.

- Koneko quotes Sudo Masashi/Kamen Rider Scissors from Kamen Rider Ryuki when revealing that she sent the text to everyone else.

- The "abandoned water treatment plant" Re:Live mentions is a reference to one of the Toku filming locations, the Ashiyama Water Purification Plant.

OC Fancast:

- The (Pregnant) Jorogumo: Yu Shimamura (JPN), Michelle Ruff (ENG)

- Chiha: Hitomi Ueda (JPN), Hayden Daviau (ENG)

- Zephon: Shuhei Sakaguchi (JPN), Ian Sinclair (ENG)