Before the chapter, I want to give thanks to a couple of people that have been a great help to this story. HolyKnightX and altajir95 have given me a lot of advice and feedback in planning. I'm eternally grateful for your assistance. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

It was currently lunch break and Luke was sitting by himself at his desk. Most of the girls didn't want to be anywhere near him because of the nickname he got over the past couple of weeks, Bokkiko. One particular rumor that really upset him was that he could get a girl pregnant just by looking at them… Although Seth would love it if that were true.

"L-L-Luke-san? D-d-do you m-muh-mind i-if I j-j-juh-j-join you for-for lunch?"

Fumiko approached Luke with a paper bag in her hands.

"I… I just thought you might be lonely…" Fumiko said.

"Thanks, Fumiko, but I'm fine…" Luke sighed. "I'm used to this…"

"You've… never had lunch with anyone?"

"No, never."

Luke then heard the other students gossiping.

"What's Fumiko-chan doing around Bokkiko?"

"Isn't she worried about getting knocked up?"

"Fumiko-chan is so cute!"

"Aren't you worried about the rumors?" Luke asked Fumiko.

"I know they're not true." Fumiko sat at the table next to him.

The two just sat in silence, with Fumiko wanting to say something but hesitating and Luke not wanting to talk at all.

"H-hey, Luke?" Fumiko finally broke the silence. "Why do you always seem so lonely and sad?"

Luke didn't answer and just looked down at his desk.

"I-I'm sorry!" Fumiko apologized in a bit of a panic. "I-it's just… that's what I feel from you when we're not in the club."

"I… I don't want to talk about it…" Luke said.

"Oh… okay… Excuse me…"

Fumiko stood up and walked out of the classroom.

"Don't take it personally."

Fumiko looked up and Seth was right in front of her.

"Oh, Seth-s-senpai!"

"Luke's just… been distant from other people over the last two years." Seth stated.

"Th-that's around the same time we first met."

"You and Luke met before?"

"O-once, but it wasn't long, and w-we were both q-quiet the whole time."

"He only talks when it's necessary, but he still has that stutter if he's hesitant talking about something or unsure. That's probably why you're wondering why he's being so quiet compared to the last couple of weeks."

"Do you know why he's so distant?"

"Well, he was never really talkative when he was little, but he didn't have a problem interacting with other people. After his father and our mother died, he just emotionally shut down."

"O-Oh! I-I'm sorry, I didn't know!"

"But I think there's more to his current behavior."

"Huh?"

"It must have taken a few years, but thanks to Anna, Melody and another girl he met, Luke finally seemed like he was back to normal. But something happened two years ago that made him become so distant and I doubt it was puberty."

Fumiko blushed at the word 'puberty'.

"He hardly ever talks to me, or Anna, or Alastair about anything. As soon as he comes home, he holes himself up in his room playing games, watching anime, or reading manga."

"Games? Anime? Manga?" Fumiko tilted her head in confusion.

"How do you not know what those are?!" Seth questioned in exasperation. "Anyway, I think it's best for you and the other club members to hold back on personal questions for now. If he keeps working with you all, eventually he'll open up to you. He's a really sweet boy once he does."

"R-right." She nodded.

Nighttime had come and the Occult Research Club was about to begin their work for the night. Fumiko had already told the other members the information Seth told him earlier.

"So, you met a real ninja?" Rias asked.

"Y-yeah." Luke nodded his head.

Rias got up close to Luke with her eyes shining like diamonds.

"You have to take me with you the next time she calls you!" Rias excitedly requested. "I haven't seen a single ninja since I came to Japan."

"Uh… Uhh…" Luke just stared at her blankly.

"Well, even if they were plentiful, they wouldn't be walking around in the open in their traditional garbs." Yuuto stated.

"R-right." Luke agreed with a nervous laugh. "Ninjas are masters of stealth, after all."

"Buchou has a fascination with Japanese culture." Akeno whispered to Luke.

"I see…" Luke muttered before speaking up. "H-hey? I… w-wanted to tell you something that k-kunoichi told me." He pulled out from his pocket the amulet Kayoko gave him, the item glowing brightly from being in his hand. "She gave me this, saying that it's the key to unlock the seal on something called the Aegis. And that seal is hidden somewhere in town."

"The Aegis? As in the Shield of Zeus?" Rias asked.

Luke nodded in confirmation. "It was hidden here by Hephaestus because no one would think to look for it here."

"Why is it glowing?" Fumiko inquired.

"The kunoichi said 'it deemed me worthy'." Luke replied. "It was the reason she gave it to me."

"I can't say for sure what Hephaestus was thinking when sealing away the Aegis, but if he intended for it to be unsealed by someone 'worthy', he must have a reason." Rias stated. "He is a god, after all."

Luke looked down at the amulet in deep thought until a ringtone suddenly went off and Rias pulled out her phone.

"Melody? … What's wrong?" Rias asked the person on the other end. "Yes, I have a healer… What?!" She shot up from her seat. "All right, come straight here." She hung up and turned to everyone in the room. "Nobody is going out tonight!"

"Is something wrong, President?" Luke inquired.

"Melody's Pawn encountered an exorcist when meeting with a client." Rias answered. "Thankfully she and the rest of her peerage managed to get him out of there, but he did take a few bullets of light and requires immediate healing. Fumiko, I need you to get ready!"

"Y-yes, Buchou!" Fumiko stood straight up.

"Is this exorcist the reason we can't leave?" Luke asked.

"A stray exorcist is bad enough, but there were also a few Fallen Angels heading to their location before they escaped. Even though this town is my territory, I don't want to put my servants' lives in danger."

A few minutes later, they heard a voice from the other side of the clubroom door.

"Rias, we're outside." It was Melody.

The door opened up and Melody walked in, carrying Issei over her shoulders. There were smoking bullet holes in his legs, and he could barely stand up.

"Thank you, Rias." Melody said as she sat Issei down in an empty chair.

As Fumiko was examining Issei's injured legs, she was holding the giant syringe Luke saw her using the night before in their battle against a Stray Devil.

"You're not going to stab me with that thing, are you?!" Issei panicked at the sight of the large syringe.

"It doesn't look too bad." Fumiko said. "Injection won't be required."

Fumiko aimed the syringe at Issei, and a green beam shot out of the needle and struck him.

"Uh… Can someone explain to me what that cartoonishly large syringe is?" Luke pointed at the bizarre item.

"That's the same thing as your sword." Rias replied. "It's Fumiko's Sacred Gear, Supreme Aid. She can use that to heal wounds, cure diseases and enhance her target's abilities. Those effects become more potent if she injects them into the bloodstream."

Luke looked back at Issei and noticed his wounds were closing until they appeared to be completely healed.

That sounds amazing… Luke thought. I don't even know what my Sacred Gear does…

"Can you tell us what happened?" Rias asked Issei.

"Go ahead and tell her everything." Melody assured her servant.

"I was heading to the client's place, but he didn't answer the door, so I went in." Issei started to explain. "He was killed by a shitty priest, and he nearly cut me up… If it weren't for Asia… Nothing would be left of me…"

"Who's Asia?" Luke asked.

"She's a nun he met the other day." Melody clarified.

Luke then recalled something Rias had told him the day before.

(I heard her new servant escorted a nun to a church.)

… Don't tell me this is the dumbass she was talking about! Luke thought in disbelief.

"I have to save Asia…" Issei muttered under his breath.

"Don't even think about doing that." Melody told him. "You're a Devil. She's a servant of the Fallen Angels. Rescuing her means making them your enemies. And the rest of us would be caught up in it."

Luke noticed that Issei's fist was clenched and trembling, mostly likely from frustration.

Once it was confirmed that it was safe to go outside, everyone went home. Luke came home and he saw Seth fast asleep on a recliner. Just as he was about to gently wake him up, he noticed a series of photographs in his brother's hand. Those photos were of Seth with a girl Luke didn't recognize.

"Seth? Seth? I'm home." Luke gently poked Seth in the shoulder.

"Ngh…" Seth groaned as he woke up. "Oh, you're home…"

Seth then realized he was holding the photos and Luke could clearly see them.

"… Have you been dating someone behind my back?" Luke leered at Seth.

"No, not at all." Seth answered as he sat up. "She's just a flighty girl I met the other day. I just accompany her around town, so she doesn't get herself hurt." I want Luke to have the satisfaction of getting a girlfriend and getting married before I do. "Her name is Hana Sakuya, a local shrine maiden."

"Isn't that dangerous for us?"

"As long as I don't go near the shrine, it should be fine. I'll be accompanying her again tomorrow after school."

"That definitely sounds like a date to me. How come you're so popular with the girls while I've only had my heart broken?!"

Seth stood up and confronted Luke. "We are not dating! We are just friends!"

Luke looked Seth in the eyes, and he could tell he was telling the truth.

"I'm sorry. I think I'm just a little tired… I'm off to bed. Good night." Luke headed to his bedroom.

Seth sighed and slumped back in the recliner. "I can't blame him for getting frustrated about that… His first girlfriend did murder him…"

The next day after school, Seth was waiting to meet Hana not far from the shrine's entrance. He checked his watch, and it was currently 4:45pm.

"She's a half-hour late…" Seth said to himself. "Maybe she had some duties to attend to…"

Seth made his way to the entrance and saw something on the ground which left him shocked. It was Hana's bag, and its owner was nowhere to be seen. There was only a single, black feather.

"Hana…" Seth whispered under his breath as he stared at the bag and feather.

Luke and Rias were in the clubroom after the former asked to speak with her.

"What is it you wanted to speak to me about?" Rias asked.

Luke summoned forth the sapphire-scaled sword that was his Sacred Gear and held it in his hand.

"I wanted to ask if you knew what my Sacred Gear does." Luke said. "The Fallen Angels wanted me dead because they considered it dangerous, but I have no idea what exactly it does to make them think that."

"Hmm…" Rias took a look at Luke's Sacred Gear for a minute. "I'll be honest. I've never seen a Sacred Gear like this."

Luke sighed. "So even you don't know…"

"Don't worry about it so much. I'm sure your Sacred Gear's true nature will show itself eventually."

"I hope so… I feel like I'm just a handicap to the team not knowing…"

Luke felt a vibration coming from his pocket and answered his phone.

"Seth?" Luke said into his phone. "What happened to your d-I-I mean, uh, appointment?"

"Luke… Something happened to Hana." Seth's voice came from the other end. "I think it might have been a Fallen Angel."

"What?! How do you know for sure it was a Fallen Angel?!"

Rias immediately took notice of their phone call.

"I'm not going to be home tonight." Seth continued. "Annabelle and Alastair are coming with me. Listen… If I don't make it back home by tomorrow morning… Stay with Rias. I know she'll take care of you."

"Don't say shit like that!" Luke shouted into his phone with glazed eyes. "Don't talk like you're going to die!"

"I don't plan on dying… I'm just preparing for the worst. Luke… I love you."

The call disconnects. Luke's hand shook for a couple of seconds before he held his phone to his side. Rias just watched as Luke was seemingly breaking down.

"President? My brother has always been there for me… He practically raised me by himself… I owe him… so much… Please? Is there anything… anything we can do to help him?"

Luke noticed to the side that the other club members had arrived.

"Excuse me, Buchou." Akeno walked up to Rias and whispered something into her ear with a serious expression.

Luke couldn't make out what they were saying, but he figured it wasn't related to their current discussion. All he noticed was that Rias's face darkened as she listened to Akeno.

"I have some urgent business." Rias stood up from her seat. "Akeno and I will be gone for a while."

"B-but President-"

Rias raised her finger to Luke's lips. "Luke, there's something important you should know. First, you think the Pawn is the weakest piece, correct?"

Luke nodded to her question.

"Well, that's not true." Rias stated. "Pawns have a unique ability all their own: Promotion."

Promotion?

"Just like in actual chess, a Pawn can change into any other class once it advances far enough into enemy territory. Luke, once you've reached what I determine to be enemy lines, you will be able to change into any other class. The only exception being the King."

That means I can be a Knight like Kiba, a Rook like Koneko, a Bishop like Fumiko or a Queen like Akeno. Luke thought. I'm like a jack-of-all-trades.

"You've only been a Devil for a short time, so there are limits to your Promotion." Rias added. "With enough training, you'll eventually be able to promote to Queen, but as of right now you can promote to the other three classes if you wish strongly for it."

If I can figure out what my Sacred Gear does and combine it with my Promotion, I might be able to more than hold my own in a fight.

"Another thing, Luke. It's about your Sacred Gear. Keep this in mind when using it."

Rias stroked Luke's cheek with her fingers, making him blush.

"Desire. Sacred Gears are driven by desires. It also determines its overall power. You may be a Devil now, but you haven't lost your will to desire. The stronger your desire, the stronger the Sacred Gear will respond to you."

Luke looked down at his Sacred Gear for a bit.

"There's one more thing you should never forget, Luke. Just like in chess, even a Pawn can take down a King. The same applies to Evil Pieces. You're much stronger than you think."

After saying those words, Rias and Akeno used a magic circle to teleport away. The only ones left in the room were Luke, Yuuto, Koneko and Fumiko.

"Luke, will you be going after your brother?" Yuuto asked.

Luke remained quiet for several seconds. "… President might get mad if I do, but Seth might die if I don't help him."

Luke stood up from his seat, firm with resolve.

"Even with your Sacred Gear and Promotion, you won't be able to fight all those Fallen Angels and exorcists alone." Yuuto continued.

"… He-he won't be alone!"

Luke and Yuuto looked at Fumiko and saw her standing up, with no hint of her usually timid demeanor.

"If Luke-san is going, then I'm going with him!" Fumiko proclaimed without hesitation. "Seth-san… told me about your parents… I… I don't want to see you in that much pain…"

"… Fumiko…" Luke mumbled.

"I'm going with you two." Yuuto spoke up.

"R-really?" Luke was surprised at Yuuto's announcement.

"I don't know too much about Seth, but you're our comrade. And personally speaking, I despise Fallen Angels and exorcists." Yuuto said with some hatred in his voice.

Koneko approached Luke. "… Me too. The three of you won't be enough."

Luke looked at all three of them. … They've only known me for a small amount of time, and we don't talk much… But they're willing to go this far for me… A small smile appeared on his face. "… Th… thank you…"

"If our enemies are Fallen Angels and Stray Exorcists, there's only one place here in town they could make their base." Fumiko surmised.

Luke, Fumiko, Yuuto and Koneko were making their way to the abandoned church, but they had to wait for nightfall to make their move. As they waited close by, Luke saw a familiar face coming toward them.

"Is that Hyoudou?" Luke wondered aloud.

Issei noticed them and approached. He was accompanied by a small girl and a young man who wore the Kuoh uniforms. The girl was about Koneko's size, and her black hair was tied into pigtails. The young man looked to be about the same age as Yuuto and Issei, with somewhat spiky, violet hair. Unlike Melody's hair which was naturally violet, his hair looked like it was dyed that same color.

"Sigmund-kun, don't try to stop us." Issei said.

"Why would I try to stop you when I don't even know what you're doing?" Luke questioned.

"I-is t-this ab-b-bout that nu-nun?" Fumiko asked.

Issei sighed and clenched his fist with a firm resolve. "Yeah, I have to rescue her."

"My brother's also coming to rescue someone." Luke said.

"It seems our goals overlap." The young man spoke up. "You're from the Gremory peerage, right? I think it would be best for us to team up. We don't know how many Fallen Angels and exorcists the enemy has, but the more of us there are, the better our chances." He then looked at Luke. "You must be Luke Sigmund-kun. Melody-sama talks about you a lot. I'm one of her Knights, Spiral Hirano (Age 16). It's a pleasure to meet you."

What kind of name is that?

Spiral placed his hand on the small girl's head. "This is my little sister, Azusa Hirano (Age 15)."

"I am Melody-senpai's Rook." The girl said with a calm expression. "We couldn't let Hyoudou-senpai go by himself."

"Don't forget about me." A more energetic, female voice spoke.

The Gremory servants looked around to see where the new voice came from.

"Where… did that voice come from?" Yuuto asked.

"I'm not actually there right now." The voice clarified. "I'm talking to you all straight to your heads."

"… You hear this, too… right?" Luke asked his comrades.

"She's ours." Issei said.

"I'm Melody-senpai's Bishop, Hikaru Ueda (Age 15). You're probably wondering how I'm able to talk directly into your minds. That is one of the powers of my Sacred Gear, Omniscient Oracle. It's also unmatched in terms of reconnaissance, so I can keep track of your locations and the enemies, but I'll explain that another time."

"Wow! That's super helpful!" Luke exclaimed. "But, uh, where is Ueda?"

"I'm in my secret base."

"Don't lie, you're in your room." Spiral said.

This girl sounds weird, but her Sacred Gear sounds incredibly useful. Luke thought and then realized something. Wait, can she read my mind?

"In case you're all wondering, no, I can't read your minds. That's probably for the best anyway, I feel like I'd lose my innocence if I looked into Hyoudou-senpai's head."

Once the streetlights turned on, the seven of them got close enough to the abandoned church so it was within sight. No one was entering or leaving the church.

"I can feel the presence of a Fallen Angel inside." Yuuto said quietly.

"Correct." Hikaru communicated to them. "I've got the layout of the church right here. Downloading it to your brains now."

"'Download'?" Issei mumbled aloud.

All seven of them suddenly saw a map of the church in their heads.

"Wow, guess I didn't need this." Yuuto smiled as he pulled out a rolled-up map of the church he had on his person. "In addition to the sanctuary, there's also a dormitory. The sanctuary seems suspicious."

"The dormitory can be ignored."

"Most likely." Yuuto agreed. "Most Stray Exorcists will make alterations to the sanctuary and usually perform arcane rituals in an underground chamber."

"Why's that?" Luke inquired.

"They were once devoted followers, only to feel abandoned by God." Spiral answered. "To express their hatred, they deliberately perform these rituals to defile the holy grounds they once respected."

"That's messed up." Issei said.

"The sanctuary is right behind the entrance. You can go straight in. But before you can look for the door to the basement, you need to deal with the assassin waiting for you."

"You can sense enemies and their numbers, too?" Luke asked. "Ueda, is there anyone else in the area?"

"I can sense three Fallen Angels not far from here, but they seem to be approaching a group I can't identify."

"That must be Seth, Annabelle and Alastair." Luke guessed. "I'm going there now."

"I don't think you have to worry about them. I can tell from here that your brother is crazy strong."

"But-" Luke was about to say.

"Luke, your brother is here to rescue his friend, right?" Issei asked him.

"Y… yeah…" Luke replied.

"If he's willing to go this far to rescue them, then he's not going to stop until their safe. I don't know who your brother is, but I can tell that much."

Luke took in a deep breath. "… All right."

"Then everyone's ready." Spiral said. "Let's move."

Seth was walking through the forest by the abandoned church with Annabelle and Alastair following behind him.

"Master Seth, I believe we are being watched." Annabelle said.

They all stopped in their tracks and three Fallen Angels landed on the branches of the trees, one male and two female.

"Hmph, you're pretty brave to intrude on our territory." The male Fallen Angel spoke.

"I'll only give you a single warning. Let Hana go or die." Seth demanded with a hint of rage in his voice.

"You're definitely not in the same league as that kid the other day."

Seth took notice of his words. "Would your name happen to be Dohnaseek?"

"What if it is?"

"That kid you attacked… he's my little brother." Seth raised his right arm. "World Ender!"

A pitch-black jewel appeared on Seth's right shoulder and his entire arm was covered in what looked like platinum scales. His arm had an appearance like an encroaching curse.

"Anna, Alastair, you take the ladies." Seth ordered his servants. "They only have two wings, so you shouldn't have any problems."

"Understood." Annabelle and Alastair followed Seth's commands.

Annabelle began fighting the female Fallen Angel with the long, dark hair and Alastair challenged the female Fallen Angel with the short, blonde hair.

Issei burst through the large double doors and the others followed close behind. It looked like any other church with several rows of pews, except that the crucifix behind the altar had its head snapped clean off.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

A figure emerged from behind a pillar and was clapping with an exaggerated, deranged face. He looked like a teenage priest, but something was definitely off about him.

"Welcome!" The priest laughed. "Such a lovely reunion! And I see some new faces!"

"You're that shitty priest from the other day!" Issei shouted and pointed at the man.

He must be that exorcist Issei encountered. Luke thought.

"Freed Sellzen." Spiral said the priest's name, so the Gremory servants knew who he was.

"You know, I've never met the same Devil twice. You see, I'm so strong I pride myself on butchering every one of you I see! Then I kiss your lifeless corpses goodbye! That's just my style! But then you little shits just had to ruin it! You really piss me off! Just die already, filthy Deeeeeeevils!"

"This guy's totally insane." Luke said.

Freed pulled out a gun and a bladeless hilt. He activated something on the hilt, and a beam blade came from it and formed a sword of light.

"Luke, don't get hit by his attacks." Yuuto said.

"Yeah, or else I'll get vaporized." Luke nodded.

"You guys came to rescue Asia, no?" Freed asked with bloodlust in his voice. "Hyaha! How kind of you, coming for that dirty, demon-loving bitch of a sister! It would have been better to end her own life the second she fell for one of you!"

"Where is she?!" Issei demanded angrily.

"All you have to do is take the stairs beneath the altar to the basement." Freed answered as he motioned his blade to the altar. "They'll be performing the ritual down there."

"Is there another girl there, as well?" Luke inquired.

"Huh?" Freed casually stuck his pinky in his ear. "Come to think of, they did bring another girl in. But you won't be getting that far because I'll end you here and now!"

"Sacred Gear!" Issei yelled, raising his left fist into the air.

A red, scaly gauntlet with a green jewel embedded into it appeared over Issei's left hand. Luke also called forth his sapphire-scale sword. Yuuto and Spiral also pulled out swords of their own. A magic circle appeared in front of Azusa and a sword's hilt popped out. Azusa grabbed the hilt with one hand and pulled out a gigantic sword that was more than twice her size. Again, only with one hand.

Holy, that's h-Oh, right, Rook. Luke thought.

Luke then saw Koneko pick up one of the pews.

"… Get smashed." She chucked the pew at the priest.

With an elegant motion, Freed sliced the pew in two and the halves hit the floor. He then noticed something coming from above and looked up. Azusa had leapt high in the air and was bringing down her massive sword on top of the priest. He quickly sidestepped out of the way as the sword's strike shook the ground and pierced through the floor like it was butter.

"I've got your back!" Spiral said before he moved.

Spiral disappeared and reappeared as he clashed blades with the priest. While they were busy trading strikes, Yuuto tried to blindside Freed, only for him to aim his gun. The bullets of light he fired didn't even touch Yuuto and the two Knights were constantly attacking with Freed able to block their strikes.

"I'm glad those guys came with me." Issei said to Luke. "There's no way I'd be able to take this guy on by myself."

"Same here." Luke agreed.

"You weren't lying when you said you were strong." Spiral said.

"Impressive!" Freed grinned. "You're both Knights! Not even a single blind spot! EXCELLENT! I haven't had a fight like this in ages! Haha, I'm gonna enjoy killing you!"

"Then maybe I should start getting serious." Yuuto then said in a low-pitched voice. "Eat this."

Darkness began to cover Yuuto's sword as if it was becoming the sword and consumed the light from Freed's weapon.

"Wha-what the hell is this?!" Freed cried in confusion.

"The Holy Eraser, a sword that devours light." Yuuto stated.

"Y-you've got a Sacred Gear, too?! You're really starting to piss me off!" Freed then aimed his gun at Fumiko.

"Ngh!" Luke ran toward Fumiko as fast as he could. "Promotion: Knight!"

Luke's body felt significantly lighter, and he was able to grab Fumiko out of the way before the light bullet hit her.

"Fumiko, are you okay?" Luke asked.

"Hu-Mm-Yes!" Fumiko's face turned red.

Boost!

They saw Issei charging at Freed.

"Promotion: Rook!" Issei shouted.

"Promotion?! So, you two are Pawns!"

Issei then threw his fist at the priest's face and Freed was sent flying backwards to the end of the room.

"That was for hitting Asia…" Issei caught his breath and then chuckled. "Heh, that felt pretty good."

"He's not down just yet!" Hikaru's voice spoke in their heads.

Freed stood up and spat out blood, his cheek badly swollen from the punch Issei just gave him. His hilt was completely smashed from having to use it as a shield.

"… Guh… Not only do I get punched by a Devil, but now he's mouthing off to me…" Freed groaned before furiously shouting. "Don't fuck with me! You miserable pieces of shit! I'll fucking kill you! I'll cut you into a million pieces!"

Just as Freed was pulling out a second hilt from his robes, Luke was right in front of him and about to swing his sapphire sword, his body covered in a blue aura.

Fumiko gave me a speed buff with her Supreme Aid. Luke thought. Combining that with the Knight should put my speed on par with Kiba, at least.

Freed tried to block the strike with the hilt, but Luke's blade slashed clean through it and also cut off a part of his hand as well as his pinky and ring finger.

"Gah! Fuck!" Freed shouted as he clutched his bleeding hand.

Fumiko had gotten behind Luke as he and the others surrounded Freed.

"Tch! I refuse to be killed by Devils in a place like this!" The priest scoffed. "I really want to exorcise you all, but I also don't want to die!"

Freed took something out and threw it on the ground, releasing a light that blinded the young Devils. Luke instinctively grabbed onto Fumiko in case the exorcist tried to take her hostage. When they regained their sight, Freed was nowhere to be seen.

"Pawn Devils!" Freed's voice echoed. "I think I've fallen in love with you two! You won't get away with that punch and cutting my fingers off! I'm gonna slaughter you, ya hear?! Bye-bye!"

"He got away." Spiral stated.

"Uh-uh-uhm, L-L-L-Lu-Luke-s-s-san?" Fumiko stuttered.

Luke looked at Fumiko and saw that her face was red again… and his hand had grabbed one of her breasts.

"Ah!" Luke exclaimed and let go of her, looking away with his face red with embarrassment. "I-uh-I'm sorry!" I never really noticed until just now, but Fumiko's breasts are huge! I think they're as big as Rias's! Is she really a first year?

Outside, Alastair appeared to have covered his entire body in steel and all the spears of light thrown by the Fallen Angel Mittelt bounced right off of him.

"You're a Devil, aren't you?! Why aren't you turning to dust already?!" Mittelt growled in frustration.

"On top of my trait as a Rook, I use my demonic power to cover my body and clothes into steel." Alastair stated as he walked toward her. "Also, you're just that weak. Just give up already. I'm missing my shows."

When Alastair finally reached Mittelt, he grabbed the Fallen Angel by the head with both hands.

CRACK!

With a swift motion, he twisted her head and snapped her neck. He reverted his body and clothes back to normal and patted his palms together.

"That was for Master Luke."

At the same time, Annabelle was in another part of the forest fighting with the Fallen Angel Kalawarner. The two swords Annabelle was using disappeared and in their place was a lance that she used to try to stab the Fallen Angel in the head. She dodged the attack and backed away.

"Your boss is the one that killed Master Luke, correct?" Annabelle inquired.

"Raynare? Yeah. He fell for her pretty easily. From what she told us, he seemed pretty desperate. I bet his heart was smashed when she killed him! What a loser!"

Upon hearing Kalawarner laugh, Annabelle tightened her grip on the lance before making it disappear and called forth a rapier.

"Do you think Little Luke's pain is funny?" Annabelle asked with a significantly less formal tone in her voice.

The rapier became cloaked in demonic power and suddenly Annabelle had pierced Kalawarner right in the heart and pinned her into a tree.

"Let me make this clear." Annabelle glared at the Fallen Angel with dark eyes. "I won't show any mercy to anyone who breaks my Little Luke's heart."

Annabelle used her left hand to keep Kalawarner's mouth shut and used her right hand to twist the rapier.

"You're wide open!"

Dohnaseek was about to pierce Seth with his spear of light, but Seth grabbed it with his platinum-scaled arm.

"Oblivion!" Seth shouted.

The spear of light vanished into nothingness.

"What?!" Dohnaseek gasped in shock.

"Meteor!"

Seth swung his right fist toward Dohnaseek, his entire arm appearing to be set ablaze like an asteroid entering the Earth's atmosphere. The fist struck the Fallen Angel's face, and his body was sent crashing through the entire forest, knocking down many, many trees. Seth rushed to where the body should have stopped and saw that his opponent's head was no longer on his body and the body itself had been beaten down from crashing through all of those trees.

"Let that be a warning to your comrades." Seth said to the corpse. "Don't ever attack my family again!"

The team inside the church was making their way down a winding staircase to the basement. Yuuto took the lead while Spiral guarded the rear in case of surprise attacks.

Luke looked down at his feet in disappointment. "… I'm sorry I wasn't of much use in that fight."

"What are you talking about?" Issei questioned him. "You cut off that shitty priest's hand. That's something."

"Don't feel bad, Luke." Yuuto gave him a reassuring smile. "You're still new to this."

"Y-yeah!" Fumiko agreed. "D-don't forget that you saved me from that light bullet!"

"… Y-yeah, you're right…" Luke mumbled to himself.

The staircase stopped at a long passageway lined with several doors.

"I smell something… through here…" Koneko pointed down the corridor.

They arrived at the end of the passageway where there was a huge door.

"Is this it?" Issei asked.

Spiral put his ear against the door and listened for anything on the other side. "… People are definitely in there. No question, this is the place."

Before they could move, the door slowly opened on its own and they could see the ritual site within view. There were priests surrounding two crosses with a figure chained to each of them. One of the figures was Hana and the other was a small, blonde foreign girl. However, Luke then saw something that left him in complete shock.

"Welcome, Devils."

A woman was standing in front of the crosses, a face that Luke could never forget.

"It's you…" Luke growled. "The Fallen Angel that killed me…"

A/N: I know this chapter raised a few questions, but they will be answered in the next chapter. Chiefly, why Hana was kidnapped by Raynare and the power of Luke's Sacred Gear. At the very least, you got to meet a few of Melody's servants and Issei's comrades, as well as a taste of Seth's Sacred Gear, World Ender. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for next time!