"Stay."
That was all the Witch said before throwing Rias and her Peerage into a large, empty room that felt more like a prison. What was especially peculiar was how their powers became completely unresponsive the moment the door closed behind them. With no other source of light, they can only rely on their senses of smell and touch.
Rias clenched and unclenched her fist, frowning. She couldn't feel the high demonic power she was so proud of. It was as if something had severed the link between her and her magic, reducing her and the rest of her Peerage to little more than slightly enhanced humans.
Issei shook his head when their eyes met. He couldn't hear Ddraig in his mind anymore either, as if the dragon had gone completely silent. This helpless situation reminded him of something dark. His body trembled slightly, until a gentle hand settled on top of his.
It was Rias. She looked at him with concern. Even in this dimly lit room, she could faintly see his appearance.
"I'm okay," he said, but his pale face and shaky voice didn't convince her. She silently interlocked her fingers with his, holding him securely. That small gesture alone helped ground him. The color didn't fully return to his face, but a bit of light had returned to his eyes.
"Sorry... this situation just reminded me of something," he muttered after taking a few deep breaths. Rias understood what he meant. After all, she was the one who rescued and reincarnated him as a devil. She hadn't realized the trauma had affected him so deeply, not just mentally, but in ways that now bled into their relationship.
But Rias was nothing if not understanding. She didn't care how long it would take for Issei to heal. She would stay by his side no matter what. Devils had long lifespan, so time was never a concern. She hadn't forgotten that if Kousuke hadn't done something in their trip to Kyoto that day, then maybe their relationship would still be in the handholding stage.
"It's okay. Rest for now and leave the rest to me," she said with a gentle smile.
Issei shook his head and stared resolutely into her eyes. "I'm alright, Rias. We should start thinking about how to escape whatever hellhole we're locked in."
Koneko sniffed the air as she walked slowly around the room. She turned to face Rias.
"...It smells like dirt. We're likely underground."
Rias wasn't surprised. She already knew her Rook wasn't just an ordinary half-devil. Koneko was also a Youkai, and that part of her had long been kept hidden through careful concealment.
It was a secret known only to Rias and her original Peerage, in short with the exception of Issei. He had only become a devil recently after all. Rias had left the decision to Koneko, to tell him herself when she felt ready, but that moment never came. At least, not until Kousuke's sudden appearance somehow helped her face her problems.
"I didn't see any paths aside from a staircase leading upward," Kiba said quietly. The ever-reliable Knight had been watching their surroundings and the Witch carefully from the start.
"This whole room seems to be enchanted," Rias added, sharing her findings. "Some kind of seal that prevents us from accessing our powers."
"I couldn't find anything," Akeno said, clearly disappointed. She had checked every inch of the room, touched every surface. But nothing had reacted. Everything looked normal, yet instinctively, they all knew something was wrong.
Kiba tried punching the wall but was met with a solid, immovable thud. He knew his own strength well. If not for whatever strange force was restraining them, there would've been a hole where his fist landed.
Issei wasn't the only one feeling helpless. Even Kiba's thoughts wandered back to a tragic memory he'd never managed to forget.
Suddenly, they all froze when they heard footsteps echoing up the stairs. Then they heard the door creaking opened.
They gathered in the center of the room, eyes fixed on the stairwell that's Illuminati by the light from the hallway. Before long, a cloaked figure emerged in front of them, fortunately it wasn't the Witch. Issei noted the lack of curves beneath the cloak and instinctively tensed.
Rias narrowed her eyes as the figure pulled back their hood, revealing a familiar young man with blond hair and a too-perfect smile.
"You... why are you here?" she asked coldly.
"What do you mean?" the man said innocently. "Of course I'm here to rescue you and your Peerage. You don't know how bad things have gotten since you disappeared, Crimson Satan went straight to confront Rizevim and the Old Satans Faction because he thinks they could be the culprit."
"Rias, who is it?" Issei asked. Something about this guy made him uneasy. That smile, too polished and forced that it felt wrong somehow.
"Nice to meet you all," the man said warmly. "I'm Diodora Astaroth, heir to the prestigious Astaroth Clan. I've come to rescue you all."
He said it like a priest welcoming parishioners into a church, his gentle aura unsettling in a different way. Asia flinched. There was something eerily familiar about him, and it didn't sit well with her.
"Let's say you're telling the truth," Rias said, voice sharp with suspicion. "How are you going to free us?"
She pointed at the thick iron bars separating them from the door of the basement. Without disabling the seal suppressing their power, or using a proper key, there was no way out.
"That's where I come in. Look," Diodora said, shaking a ring of keys in front of them. Rias's frown deepened. She waited to hear the excuse he'd prepared to explain how he got them.
"I found them on the way here. The Witch must have underestimated how much the Crimson Satan cares about you, she was nowhere to be seen."
'Liar,' Rias thought.
There was no way someone who went through all the trouble of kidnapping her and sealing her Peerage would just vanish conveniently as Diodora showed up. It reeked of manipulation. A poor act at tha, but they couldn't afford to stay in this room either.
She met her Peerage's eyes one by one. No words were exchanged, not it was needed. Their bond was strong enough for them to understand one another.
'Don't let your guard down.'
Then she turned as Diodora finished unlocking the door. Rias stepped out slowly, her Peerage close behind her. She could feel her strength returning, but slowly. It might take some time before she could muster enough magic for a teleportation spell. She shelved the idea for now.
"Come on, follow me," Diodora said, turning his back on them and heading for the stairs.
They followed, but kept their distance. Just in case. Diodora didn't seem to care about their cautions as he walks forward. But unseen to their eyes, the corner of his lips curled up when he senses them following.