Chapter 4
DxD Universe-1 - Kuoh
It was now seven days since Issei Hyoudou had returned. These few days they had also spend in (by their standards) more or less quite normal and peaceful ways.
The last day however was a bit less `normal´.
A group of unknown Supernatural Beings had appeared at Kuoh´s border. As it turned out, they were a small group of Stray Devils, seeking asylum.
And it was being granted. Like several times before. Things had changed drastically in the last two years. The so called Stray Devils were not longer indiscrimately signed for execution and hunted down.
Instead the ones who were still on the run were mostly ignored, unless they were actively causing trouble. The ones who were caught had a choice, either they were put on a trial before an independant court, watched over by all three Factions or they were requesting asylum by the Guardians.
Many were also coming to as for asylum on their own. That meant in effect of course they were coming here, to Issei´s team.
xxx
The members of their team who greeted them at the borders of the town were Issei, Asia, Irina, Xenovia, Murayama and Raynare. Rias and her Peerage or even Raiser were for obvious reasons not with them.
The Strays were three - one man, two women. Until a short time ago this would have been quite unusual. Stray Devils didn´t use to travel in groups. That was of course mostly because they used to be hunted down with deadly force.
The man had a tall muscular statue, reddisch colored skin and pointed ears.
"I am Ehron," he introduced himself.
One of the females looked very young - a teenage girl maybe 16 or 17 in human terms. Blonde with very pale skin. Of course they had no way how long ago their transformation into Devils had been. So they all could actually be centuries old.
As they looked at her hands, they saw that her fingers were unnaturally long and ended in large very sharp looking talons.
Both she and the man showed light but very clear signs of stray mutation. This deformation of course might actually increase and become worse, when they actually unleashed their energies and fully powered up. Just like they probably could hide them and tempory return to completely human if they completely suppressed them, like many Strays they had seen before.
The second woman looked older, maybe around 30 with brown hair. Issei had the suspicion that she and the younger girl could be related. Kuroka and Koneko came to his mind.
The older woman looked completely normal, even if she had released part of her power. That either meant that she had enormous control of her energy, like for example Kuroka and so managed to avoid the mutations entirely, or at least enough control to use a certain level of power and stay in fully humanoid form.
"I am Maya," she introduced herself. She looked at the younger girl. "And this is Rey."
"You are looking for asylum," Asia said.
"Yes," the man named Ehron confirmed.
But could they simply bring them along or were they dangerous and should be restraint? That was the question. The side-effects of the uncontrolled Evil Pieces led often not only to physical mutations, but also to mental defects and psychosis.
And what if they were true criminals? Who had harmed others not because of Evil Piece induced madness, but because they wanted to. It was not always easy, but Darien and Spectre had showed him how to identify magical influences on someones mind.
They didn´t look like it (in fact the two females were really cute, he thought for a short moment. Self control, he told himself) but he had learned the hard way not to trust the first glance.
Issei took a short telepathic look into their minds. This was necessary.
And he saw. Interesting, there had been times when the Stray insanity had actually appeared for all of them. But each time they had been actually holding each other back from actually doing anything harmfull. Each time one of them had nearly lost control, the other two had helped him. Good.
"It is alright," Issei said to them. "You are not longer in danger."
They teleported themselves and the three Stray refugees into their base/mansion.
There of course it could not be avoided that they would meet Rias and the others. The three were looking at her, Akeno and Kiba with a mixture of anger and fear. Mostly anger with the man, a quite even mix with the older and mostly fear with the younger woman.
"Rias and the others will not harm you," Raynare told them. "As long as they are here they are part of our group and not the Devil Faction and will follow our rules."
"This is true," Rias stated in an quiet tone. "Things are different not. We are no threat to you."
"Just keep your distance from us," the woman named Maya said.
xxx
The situation was not made better, as a short time later two more Devils appeared in the mansion.
The first was Sairaorg Bael - Rias cousin, current Head of the Bael House and currently leader of the E.P.S-(Evil Piece System)special-force, that was now overseeing both the use of the Evil Pieces by the High Class Devils and their treatment of reincarnated Devils... and the dealings regarding Strays.
This group answered to the leaders of all Three Factions equally.
The second Devil was a well known face.
"Sairaorg, Gaspar," Rias greeted both her cousin and the small Half-Vampire Devil.
"Rias," Sairaorg returned the greeting.
"Buchou," Gaspar replied.
Two years ago he had finally started to come out into the outside world, after being sealed away for years because of his lack of control and fear of the outside.
As Rias had however decided to join Issei´s Guardian team and Akeno and Kiba had decided to follow her, he decided for himself that travels to other universes were simply too much for him. Instead he had rather chosen to join the E.P.S-Force as he heard of this group.
He was of course still a member of Rias peerage. But over the time he had started to get along with his new colleagues quite well.
"How have you been?" Kiba asked him..
"Good," Gaspar answered. "I actually like my work."
"Sairaorg," Issei greeted him. "What can we do for you?"
"We have heard that another group have Strays have come here. I wanted to ask if they are okay or if there is a case for us with them?"
"It is okay. They are peaceful," Issei replied.
"But it is hard to believe that this is the only reason you came here in person," Rias commented. "A call would have been enough."
"True," Sairaorg admitted. "Actually Gaspar had just wanted to visit you all for a while. And I decided this was a good idea and came as well. There is not much going on at the moment anyway," he admitted.
"So this Strays are good you say?" he asked, looking at Issei.
"They are," he said.
It was not the first time something like this had happened, by far not.
During the last two years, the Guardians had used their rising influence in this world to press the Devils and the other Factions to cease the practically systematical killing of Stray Devils.
And especially to stop the quasy blanco death sentences the Devil Faction did put on them.
Many Devils didn´t like this change. But given that nobody wanted to lose their new ally from another Dimension - especially with Grigori and Heaven still on good terms with them and actually backing up their agenda - most accepted it.
Their alliance with the Guardians would give them, at least they hoped so, access to new worlds and also protection from all the potential threats out there. And these threats were a lot, going by the regular reports from Rias Gremory.
Not to mention the horror stories they had heard from the refugees from Universe-05 and what happened to their world.
None of them wanted to loose this. And especially they didn´t want the Angels and Fallen to have it, while they did not.
This entire development finally came down to a confrontation in front of a gathering of the Heads of Houses and the Satans themselves. On the one side them, on the other representatives of the Guardians and the other Factions.
xxxxxxx
Flashback - 18 months earlier - the Underworld
The one who was speaking in front of the Assembled Devil Lords first was Gaeriel - or better said, in truth it was Darien.
His words. His voice. They had earlier, since Darien could not appear in this world because of the stand off with the Dark Order, to form a telepathic connection, that allowed him to speak through her.
The speach they delivered together was devastating. The hunting of the Stray Devils was not an attempt to protect the world, humanity or even the interests of the Devil Faction. It was a closed system of slavery, abuse, oppression and mass murder.
The Devils, so the accusation, had with the Stray Devils deliberately created a menace that they now used as an excuse for systematical killings of beings without a fair trial or in some cases even an investigation.
Responsible for the violent and insane behavior of many Stray Devils was a flaw in the Evil Piece System that caused the demonic energies to go out of control if a Servant broke away from his Master - if it even was a flaw and not, like Gaeriel (Darien) nearly openly implied, a deliberate trap installed to keep their slaves under control.
In short, High Class Devils were intentionally forcing other beings into servitude - things like having the permission of the reincarnated Devil even knowing what happened to them were never required for the use of the Evil Pieces - and then they acted innocent when their Servants rebelled against them.
The cases of Kuroka and the late Diodora Asteroth were brought up as examples for the abuse of the Evil Piece System. Many Devils looked visible emberassed about the second example, because it both involved Ajuka Beelzebub´s - a Satan´s - brother and his manipulations to steal away over a dozen Nuns from the Church to turn them into his sex-slaves. Something that could have alone caused a war.
And still, attempts to reform the System had never been made.
In the end the Evil Piece System in the current form was labeled as a crime against humanity, the other Supernatural Factions and the world as a whole. Then Azazel and Michael stepped Forward, next to Gaeriel on the Podium.
Both Faction Leaders confirmed their agreement to Gaeriel´s analyses… and then announced that they already agreed to a closer alliance and a defense pact under similar conditions. Experiments on human beings, like for the creation of stronger Exorcists or the intentional targeting of Sacred Gear users as potential threats or power-sources would be forever outlawed.
Should the Devils not accept these terms, they ended, they would be the only Faction left out.
"So for the Devils to be accepted as part of the alliance, we have the following conditions," Gaeriel announced.
"Like Heaven and Grigori have already agreed to cease their own moralically questionable activities, the Devils will first only recruit other beings through the Evil Piece System who had willingly and in full control of themselves accepted the process.
Further - Servants are not to be physically or mentally harmed, forced into activities outside of the duties they had agreed to perform for their Masters or needlessly endangered. High Class Devils who are caught breaking this rules will be put before an independant court, judged and punished.
Second - the cases of all Stray Devils currently free will be readdressed and investigated by the same court. A new strike-force will be established that will enforce these rules and answers directly to the Mao and the other Faction Leaders.
Third - the Maou Ajuka Beelzebub, since he was the one who had created the flawed Evil Piece System in the first place will take the responsibility for the atrocities connected to it and willingly step down from his position," she ended.
As expected, many of the assembled Devil Nobles were furious. A few even more than the others. Not just because of this Fallen Angel trying to tell them what they should do with their Servants. But especially because being cornered like this.
The sheer audacity of this filthy Fallen to actually dare to give them an ultimatum like this. At this blatant provokation. To threaten to treat them like common criminals and that right here in their own hall.
And to demand from a Maou to step down. It was unbelievable. It was unacceptble. This Fallen needed to die. It was not as if she was even anything special. They could sense that she had barely six wings.
But for now they were holding back. For the moment.
The reactions of other Househeads were more reasonable. They knew their could not be left out of this alliance. Like the Maou, they had also been informed about what was waiting out there, the dangers beyond their world.
Some simply refused to believe it. They claimed this stories about cosmic threats that could destroy their world were nothing but lies to scare them into submission, to trick them into giving up their power.
That the Satans, Rias Gremory and even the Phenex Clan confirmed all these reports was a fact they ignored.
But others here did not ignore reality.
xxx
"Wow - Gaeriel is really puting on a show," Rias said from the ranks of spectators where she was watching. She and her peerage had just returned from their last visit to Issei a few days ago.
Both she and Murayama had been on a date with Issei the day before, when they had visited him. But it had not gone any further between them... yet.
Sitting next to her were Sona and Tsubaki on one side and Akeno, Kiba, Koneko and Gaspar on the other.
Raynare, Irina and Xenovia were also present. They had come as part of the envoys of the Grigory and Heaven - officially at least.
"Does that surprise you?" Akeno asked. "It is all part of the plan after all."
xxx
Yes - the plan. Indeed, the truth was that everything what happened so far was part of an intentional and at the first look nearly unbelievable plot between the Guardians and the Faction leaders.
In truth the Satans and most of their trusted confidents had in secret already accepted the terms of the reforms that the Guardians had demanded.
The only problem was getting the Heads of Houses to accept. In a way it was maybe the most unlikely and bizarre conspiricy the Three Factions had ever seen.
Because they never intended or wanted some of the Lords to accept the terms in the first place. It was a plot of the Maou themselves and an outside force like the Guardians and the other two Faction Leaders, against high ranked members of their own Faction.
It had all started with the information from the Universe-05 refugees - about a possible future. Part of it about a civil-war that Lord Bael and certain other Houses had started in the future in league with the force known as the Dark Order, that had brought their race another step closer to extinction.
This information also mentioned at least one assassination attempt on Rias and the actual assassinations of Ajuka Beelzebub and Zekram Bael.
As the agents of the Guardians had then confronted the Maou about their demands regarding the Evil Piece System and the Stray Devils. They were shocked at first about what was demanded of them. This would be a complete disrooting of deeply integrated parts of their society and their practices.
But mabe, they realized - thinking about the information from Universe-05 - this was not such a bad idea after all.
The Maou were even more shocked when they heard that the leaders of Heaven and the Grigori had already agreed to the terms. That meant realistically they had barely any real choice left.
After given it some thought however, they agreed.
But they had a secret demand of their own.
They wanted to get rid of this certain group of House Lords and their influence. This might be a parallel universe, but going by the events that had been described and the Maou´s personal experience, they knew these people were not any different here than they had been in Universe-05.
Their alternate selves had collobarated with the Dark Order, assassinated a Maou and broke off a civil-war that nearly destroyed their race.
And they were, under the right circumstances, capable of exactly the same things here, they knew. These particular Lords made no secret of the fact that they always disagreed with the more `liberal´ policies the New Satans had made. They were staunch traditionalists and autocrats who thought they world circled only around themselves and their interests.
Sirzechs and the other Maou admitted they themselves were far from perfect. But these Lords were vultures, only waiting for their chance.
But so far they had not done any of these things and they were powerful and influencial members of the Devil Society. So they could not simply get rid of them for crimes they had only commited in an alternate universe, no matter how much they wanted to.
The Guardians accepted. But in return they made the demand for Ajuka to step down. After a short while to decide the Maou gave their agreement.
Ajuka on his part remembered the fate of his alternate self and that made this choice for him quite a lot easier.
So a secret pact had been made between the Maou and the other groups.
xxx
Gaeriel had ended her speach and left the podium.
Actually she was acting overly confident and even cocky as she walked slowly out of the hall.
Just as intended. Another provocation.
But nobody did something as long as she was inside the hall - not before everyone´s eyes.
Then however she was walking through the corridors of the building, by herself (or at least it seemed so) and reached the rooms assigned to the Fallen Angel delegation. That were currently unoccupied.
They had been following her for a few minutes now. Another group came from the other direction. Six at all.
It didn´t take long. As soon as she had entered the room, a transport circe lighted up on the floor and the first three assassins appeared before her.
And the trap closed.
The other three came running into the room one moment later. This six Devils were underlings of the Houses Bael and Vassago.
Very good. They weren´t sure if this would work. But as it seemed, if there was one thing they could count on, it was the mindless pride of this Househeads.
One of the assassins tried to strike at her with an magically enhanced weapon. But she just used Phasing and the blade passed through her body like through thin air.
In the same moment another group teleported into the room. It was a special strike team of the Guardians. Gaeriel did not know all of these soldiers in person. She had met this group a few times before this mission, but had only worked with them passingly.
Not all members of the Guardians were immortal or even Supernatural Beings. Beside the Core Group - that consisted of ancient immortal beings like Darien or Alucard and the remains of the X-Men, the Avengers and the Justice League, there were also several other sub-groups and organizations,
... standing armies of volunteers on several versions of Earth and other planets, a few spy agencies, agents in dozens of universes, even a few entire space faring civilizations... and of course special force groups like this one.
They were human, had however any latent magical potential activated, being trained in ki manipulation and turned immortal.
Gaeriel might not knew the soldiers personally, but she did know the person leading them for this mission - Alucard´s Vampire creation Seras Victoria.
They finished off the assassins in seconds. The left however one alive to be questioned.
Seras alone would have been more than enough to deal with them. The soldiers were more here there as insurance. She was a powerhouse for sure, just not powerful enough to break their stand off agreement with the Dark Order to keep their strongest members out of this universes.
xxx
A few minutes later Lord Bael had retreated into his own private quarters as well.
But just a few minutes later he was faced with a surprise of his own... as the Maou Sirzechs Lucifer suddenly stepped into the room, flanked by Grayfia at one side and Raynare and Irina at the other.
"Lord Lucifer - what can I do for you?" he asked.
"Do you really think what you did just now would not be noticed?" Sirzechs said to him. "They expected all along what you would try. something like this. Your assassins have all been discovered and stopped before they could do anything."
"What no..." Lord Bael wanted to cry out. But then he changed his tune very quickly, realizing that there was no point to deny.
"And if I did? This Fallen had been insulting the Houses and the Devil Faction as a whole. She attacked our right to choose our Servants like we see fit and tried to dictate us how to treat them. She should have been killed for her insolence. I was only trying to defend our position."
"Really? You tried to kill an ambassador of a powerful outside Faction that we want to work with," Sirzechs responded.
"And? She is just a Low Class Fallen Servant of them anyway... and a disrespectful one. I am sure her Masters would not even have missed her and the next time they would have made more reasonable demands, when they saw that we are serious."
Sirzechs only smiled at him.
"Tell me - have you heard of the stories that the refugees from that other universe have been telling?" he asked.
"Of course - it is terrible. But we are much stronger here as they were. What does it have to do with this anyway?" Lord Bael questioned.
"Interesting," Sirzechs remarked. "So you had never been told which Houses it were exactly that had started a civil-war in that world?"
Lord Bael was starring at him for a few moments, before he ripped his eyes open and his jaw dropped, as he started to understand what was truly going on.
He realized that Sirzechs had formed a small Spatial Dimension around them all, so that battle-damage would not harm the surrounding area.
"No..." he stammered, "you..."
Sirzechs lifted his hand... in which he was forming an indredible powerful ball of Destruction Energy.
Lord Bael´s two guards instinctively moved their hands to their weapons.
But Grayfia started to power up as well, just like Raynare and Irina draw her Excalibur. Grayfia just shook her head as a small gesture and the guards, who were not suicidal, stepped back.
Sirzechs threw the Destruction Ball at the completely surprised Devil Lord, who had not even properly powered up (not that it had helped him), that burned him away in less than a second.
"Your other self had started a war against us, had murdered my friend Ajuka and tried to murder Rias," Sirzechs said to the empty spot where the other Devil stood a second before. "You won´t get the chance to do the same thing."
At the same time the Head of the House of Vassago and a few others whose names they had gotten from the captured assassin, got similar visits, with similar results.
The Maou even targeted a few Houses who had not been named as accomplices by the captive, but whose archaic or self-centered views.
If the Guardians didn´t like this detail... - well, they already got what they wanted. And from now on this was an internal matter of the Devil Faction.
xxxxxxx
Present time
One of the ones who was letting this entire developments and the current situation go through her head was Akeno.
She had been Rias Servant and with that part of the Devil Faction for years now. Until a short time ago, she had never given much thought about what they were doing.
Their old group had hunted down Stray Devils before, killed them.
Back then this sounded only logical. They were monsters after all. Many of them had killed people - humans in first line - some mutilated and sometimes even cannibalized them.
Only that it were the Evil Pieces the Devils put into them in the first place that caused them to become insane and mutate into abominations. And that did the Devil Faction then as an excuse to hunt and kill them… and even managed to paint it as `protecting the realms´.
When in truth it was them who had created the problem in the first place.
Nice little logic circle, she thought bitterly. And at not one point did the Devil Faction acknowledge their own role in this travesty. It had been so easy to ignore all that for so many years.
Yes - many Strays were dangerous mutated psychopaths that needed to be stopped on every price.
And it did not justify putting a death sentence on all of them without difference. Especially when it was ultimately the Devil´s fault that they were like this in the first place.
And she had helped, Akeno thought. She had blood on her hands.
And it certainly did not justify needlessly tormenting and hurting them, like she did. Her own sado-masochistic tendencies had certainly not made the situation better. Quite the opposite.
She remembered all too well how she had used her powers to torture a few Stray Devils before they had killed them, how she had enjoyed it.
Even that back then had felt so normal... so justified.
So easy. Yes - it was so easy to torture someone when you had someone lie their hand on your shoulder and telling you that it was okay - that they were the enemy, that they were traitors, that they were evil.
It was official, Akeno hated herself. She felt downright dirty. And a part of her not even disliked this. One or two times she actually found herself fantasizing how it would be if someone used lighting like that on herself, to punish her in the same way, until she could not longer stand, dig into her skin, drawing her blood and then...
Damn it - she was not even sure if it was actual guilt she felt or just her perversion turning against herself.
She was really a terrible woman.
That was also one of the reasons she had finally made a decision.
xxxxxxx
Another couple of days had passed. They were now finally ready for their expedition to the next two worlds.
Before that however, it was Akeno who had dropped a real bomb on them. She told them that she wanted to leave the team and join the special force that was dealing with the reformed Evil Piece System and the situation with the remaining Stray Devils.
And that Koneko and Gaspar wanted to join this group as well.
So she had asked Rias for her permission. So while the three of them were both here, it was only to see them off. They both would go to the Underworld very soon, to meet up with some of their new colleagues.
Rias had seemed a bit shocked about this. She had asked for the reasons, which Akeno gave her a bit reluctantly.
She remembered Rias face as she told her how she felt about some of the things she had done. That she wanted to make up for it.
xxxx
"Are you asking for this because you want to get away from me?" she asked her.
"No," Akeno replied.
"As your Master, whatever you do, I am responsible," Rias stated.
"You never told me to torture someone. That was all on me."
"I never did anything to stop you either."
"It is not just that Rias. This world-hopping that we are doing, that was never really my thing. I only joined Issei´s team because you did and I followed you," Akeno explained.
"And yes it was fascinating, seeing all these other worlds, meeting other versions of people we know. But I have seen enough. I want to fully return to our own world and deal with the things here."
xxxx
Rias was not all too happy about her decision, but in the end she gave her permission.
`Akeno is leaving,´ Issei thought silently as well.
("It is not that you were ever that close to her,") Ddraig reminded him. (She is right, she was here because of Rias, not because she wanted to be part of your team.)
"Maybe you are right," Issei responded. "But still loosing a team-member like this."
(It is not that she is truly lost. She just wants to join another team. She is not dead or lost between the worlds, like... others.)
"No-" he replied, "she is not."
xxx
But that was not everything that was going on within their team.
They had decided to start with the world where Kuoh Academy had been destroyed and visit the other one afterwards.
Or at least they originally had.
After some discussions however they had finally decided to visit both worlds at the same time.
Quite ironically it was a discussion regarding the first reality they wanted to visit that led to this decision. Since Kuoh Academy had been destroyed in that world and it was most likely that Rias and Sona (or whoever else was in charge of Kuoh in that world), Raynare and Gaeriel had argued that it might be better to leave their Devil members out of this mission.
After a bit of thinking, Issei, Irina and even Asia actually agreed with them. If the destroyed school had actually been an attack on the Devil Faction, then there was possibly still a war going on in the other reality. Also, the attackers might have taken over Kuoh and might attack them on sight if they showed up with a group partly consisting of Devils.
Rias and especially Raiser were of course all but happy with this. Even if they agree, yes the Devils presence had probably been the reason the other Kuoh had been attacked. They were more than confident that they could deal with whoever had done it.
In the end Rias had suggested that they would simply do the scouting mission to the second world on their own.
They finally came to terms to do it like this. They would divide into two teams.
Issei, Raynare, Irina, Xenovia and Murayama would visit one world, Rias, Kuroka, Kiba, Raiser and Yubeluna the other.
Gaeriel and Asia would stay behind for this time, in case something happened back home.
xxx
They were all standing a few miles outside of the town. All of them in human form and in civilian clothes.
Issei had just opened the first portal, the one that Rias, Kiba, Kuroka, Raiser and Yubeluna would use.
"Okay - then till later," Rias said.
And she and the others walked through the portal.
Issei then closed it and right away opened another one.
xxxxxxx
As the first - Issei´s - group had arrived at their destination, everything seemed more or less normal. As normal as walking into another Dimension could be of course.
This Kuoh here seemed not much different from their own version. At least on the first look.
Except of course for the absence from any Supernatural energies of the Devils. They could already sense the difference from the distance.
But given the situation, that was hardly a surprise.
They had appeared in the same distance from the town like they had formed the portal in their own world. And they had decided to this time simply walk the distance back on their feet instead of teleporting.
Not just because they wanted to reduce the risk of being detected early. This was their first actual mission in two years. So in some way they just wanted to take their time.
As they had arrived at the town and started to walk through the very familiar streets, the feeling only increased.
They came across several humans. Who of course didn´t pay much attention to them. Just as expected.
But it had `nobody else´ reacted to their presence either.
"I guess that was long enough now, right?" Irina said. "After all Supernatural Beings had not been jumping up to kill us as soon as we arrived."
Yes - no Supernatural Creatures had made contact with them yet - positive or negative. But if they wanted to find out if Kalawarner had landed here, they would probably not have another choice but to make contact, if they were friendly or not. And for that they needed to make themselves known.
Issei nodded.
"Let us show ourselves," he said.
They now unleashed their energy. Or at least a good part of it. Issei´s power now equalled that of a low Satan-Class Being and Raynare Ultimate Class.
It was a release of energy that every Supernatural Being inside the town and in the region around it should have noticed.
Irina, Xenovia and Murayama on the other hand staid like they were, unpowered and without showing their weapons.
They could have shown all their power, (and from all of them) but that was not only unnessecary, it was also better if potential hostiles didn´t knew all they were capable of.
"And now?" Murayama asked
"We wait," Xenovia responded.
It took a short while. They were waiting close to the field where once stood the Kuoh Academy of this world.
Irina and Murayama had actually sat down on a bench close by. While Xenovia stood aside from them with her arms folded, waiting.
Isei could not help to find it a little bit ridiculous. They were just standing here and waiting for some Supernatural Being to show up. Nearly as if they were waiting for the first school lesson to start.
Then, after more than ten minutes, someone did showe up.
It was a group of Fallen Angels.
But they were not the only ones
The group of Fallen had teleported themselves to a position about a half mile away, Now they were coming closer fast.
And now the four Fallen Angels were landing right in front of them. One of them was starring with incredible surprise as she saw Raynare.
But the same was going for Raynare herself, who was looking at the face of her mother.
xxx
The group of Fallen were not the only ones who had noticed the sudden outbreak of energy they had caused.
In some distance and a small layer of reality away, Kalawarner was watching both groups. They had found her. They had really found her, she thought. It had taken long enough.
Standing next to her was a young man who looked nearly exactly like Issei.
xxxxxxx
Another alternate Earth - Erebos Empire Capital
It was the city of Kyoto in Japan. But it was a very different Kyoto from most other worlds. In this universe Japan... (and the greatest part of the Eastern Hemisphere) had been occupied by the ancient Demon race called the Erebos Demons for centuries.
In the giant palace that had been build in the center of the town, the group called the Devil Hunters were currently reporting to their `benefactors´.
Vali Lucifer was standing in the front, with the sisters Kuroka and Koneko and the masked man calling himself Nero close behind him.
The Issei Hyoudou of DxD Universe-13, who they had recently recruited, was standing with them. But in a short distance and with a frown on his face. He had been told the Devil Hunters were free agents, but given the gathering before him, he had his doubts about that.
Standing next to him was the very nervous looking Raynare-017, who had similar thoughts going through her head. What in the world had she gotten into. But it had been either that or the threat of death.
They were standing in some kind of throne-room.
Before them were the three High Lords - from the ancient Clans Meloch, Pazuzu and Ninlil - standing in a line and the Emperor himself, who was of the Clan of Dagon, sitting on the throne.
These Demons were from an elder race that had once ruled the Underworld of the DxD-worlds, until they were replaced by the current Devils - originally a `servant race´ of hybrids of demons, demoniced humans and Lucifer´s Fallen Angels - who overthrew them in a rebellion.
The Demons had fled into another dimension. But after many thousands of years, they had returned and wanted back what they believed belonged to them - the Underworld, in every single reality where it existed... and revenge on the so called Devils
Beside them there was also a number of minor nobles and military officers present.
"I see you are here," the Emperor greeted the Devil Hunters, "and you brought your new members - good."
They didn´t kneel. They knew the Emperor did not expect them to. It would be a pointless gesture.
"Come with me," the Emperor told them.
He was standing up and walking to a door at the side of the throne-room that was leading to a neighboring chamber.
Out of everyone, only the Devil Hunters and the High-Lords were following him.
"You can leave now," he said to the rest.
Vali, Kuroka and Koneko exchanged one a bit uneasy look. They knew where the Emperor was leading them.
They had been there before, when Vali had received his new powers.
Their new `ally´ they knew, was a dangerous psychopath. And now it seemed the Emperor was offering him the same power as well?
This chapter had a few references to events from the story Gods of Darkness. As reminder, DxD-Universe-05 is the world called that the events of Gods of Darkness happened in.
The Devil Hunters will play a greater role in the next chapters.