P.S. This story starts a few years before the start of our favorite DXD verse!
AND I DON'T OWN ANY DXD MATERIAL, ALL CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL WRITERS!
"Talking out aloud"
'Thinking with ones mind'
"Spirits inside the sacred gears talking"
Without further delay, lets start the chapter!
Client house, Kuoh
Before anyone else could respond to Kenta, a magic circle appeared in the middle of the house's living room, which spawned three Fallen Angels and, much to the annoyance of the Devils present, Zill himself.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here!" Zill replied with a good amount of bloodlust in his voice as he couldn't stop himself from licking his lips in anticipation, which was sure to be a great fight.
Fallen Angels, on the other hand, were caught off guard by the presence of the entire Gremory peerage and Devils belonging to some other Devil in the house of Gremory they weren't informed about. However, they soon regained their confidence in themselves after remembering Zill's encounters with the Devils of Kuoh. If a cat like Zill could almost one-shot the Devils of Kuoh, surely the Fallen, the superior species here, could also kill the Devils. Right???
"Zill!!" Kenta spoke angrily as he regarded Zill, "So you have decided to unite yourself with these Fallen Angels. What happened to fight against the entire supernatural world on your own to show your worth, huh? Is your will so weak that you allied yourself with a weaker faction to save your hide?" Kenta spoke angrily as he glared daggers at Zill.
Zill was barely affected by Kenta calling him out; the Fallen Angels, on the other hand, were less than pleased as being dubbed as the 'weaker faction' by someone who they thought was a weakling, "Who do you think you are calling a weaker faction you domesticated house cat. Even with the Gremory bitch and her servants at your side we will kill you all without breaking a sweat!" most petite Fallen angel of the group retorted back angrily.
"You said the same thing the last time we met and looked at what happened to you then," Kenta snapped angrily. It was a sentiment shared by all the Devil's presents.
"Here, I thought you would take a few more days to recover from the beating we gave you, Dohnaseek," Yumi taunted the lone male Fallen of the group.
Dohnaseek, who didn't take Yumi's taunt lightly, summoned light spears in each of his hands before speaking angrily, "You got lucky that night, you Devil bitch! If you all hadn't blindsided me, I would have killed all of you." Fallen's words made Kiba narrow his eyes. He wanted to rush the male Fallen and teach him a lesson for using such foul language against his adoptive sister, but his discipline held for the moment. His priority was to protect his master right now. His revenge on Dohnaseek could wait.
"If there is anyone that's going to kill these Devils, it m…" A pissed-off Freed, who was about to make it out of the rubble for the third time, spoke angrily before he was interrupted by a fireball sent his way by Kenta. Fireball that knocked out Freed and took him out of the battle for good.
"Looks like we have a fight on our hands." Zill laughed in delight before charging the Devils with the Fallen behind him. None acknowledged how easily Kenta had dispatched one of their best exorcists.
"Kiba, take the front lines. Akeno, be ready," Rias commanded her peerage members. She knew who Marid's peerage members would be fighting.
"Hai," Kiba obediently spoke before rushing the shortest Fallen Angel.
"What the?!?!" The shortest fallen angel yelped as she didn't expect the Devil Knight to be fast enough to get in her guard that quickly.
Kiba, who was already warmed up from his duel with Freed, didn't waste any time and slashed the Fallen using his demonic sword, drawing the first blood of the battle.
"Millet!!" Fallen Angel shouted in concern for her fellow Grigori. However, before she could do something to help Millet, she was facing not only the thunder priestess but also the ruined princess.
"Begone from our city," Akeno shouted as she unleashed thunder spells at the Fallen Angels.
"No, you don't!" Dohnaseek snarled angrily, wings exploding from his back as he manifested a pair of new light spears. "I am going to rip you to shreds."
Dual-wielding his light spears, he charged the thunder priestess, not realizing how badly outmatched he was. The battle maniac of the Grigori spanned his spears like a shield as he advanced toward the queen of the Gremory group. In his battle haze, he didn't realize he had forgotten about the other Devils present.
"Take this," a monotone voice caught Dohnaseek off-guard. He whirled around only to find the petite Devil charging towards him with her fist cocked back.
"Fly," Koneko spoke in a monotone voice as the punch cleanly landed on the Fallen's face, breaking his nose and sending him flying toward a healed pawn and a terrified nun.
"Payback time!" Issie screamed as he resummoned his sacred gear and, with all his might, punched Dohnaseek in his back. The Fallen couldn't do anything but groan in pain of the strikes that had just landed on him.
"If you think this is all it is going to take to put me down, then you are dead wrong!" Dohnaseek snarled as he stabilized himself before launching towards Issie, who was caught off guard.
"What the…" Issie, who clearly was enjoying his victory over the Fallen, no matter how short-lived it was, wasn't expecting the Fallen to retaliate this quickly. Luckily for him, his fellow peerage members came to help him out.
Koneko threw one of the living room couches towards the light arrows clearly meant for Issie. The couch collided and exploded after coming in contact with the Fallen's spear, saving Issie's life.
'What is going on here?' Asia thought in horror as she saw the house turn into a miniature battleground between the Fallen and the Devils. "They are all fighting!! What if the Devils are bad like our Lord says? What if they mistreat me like how the Fallen treat me and take me to the unholy missions like the Fallen?" Asia thought in horror as she saw the battlefield unfold itself.
"You will be fighting me, Fallen," Koneko spoke in her usual monotone voice, slight anger bleeding through her voice.
"You won't be fighting these Fallen alone, Koneko-chan," Issie growled as they got into a battle stance alongside Koneko.
"Issie-senpai, You aren't good enough to fight against these Fallen," Koneko replied bluntly after hearing Issie wanting to fight alongside her. However, she couldn't help but raise her opinion of the most perverted student of Kuoh Academy. To be able to stand alongside a comrade against an enemy who clearly outclassed him, still having the will to fight against, was something she could respect.
Issie couldn't help but flinch at Koneko's words. He knew she was right, but that didn't mean he couldn't help out, "You might be right, Koneko-san, but I can't stand back and let these guys do whatever they want to do," Issie spoke with such resolve that it resulted in Koneko raising her eyebrow at that, impressed at what she was hearing. Maybe Issie was all alright.
"And if I perform well, Buchou might give me a good reward. Maybe she will let me see her breast," Issie excitedly proclaimed, earning a groan from Koneko.
"You just had to ruin the mood," Koneko groaned as she rushed the male Fallen, with Issie doing his best to find openings for himself. Maybe he can throw a wooden lamp at the Fallen; that ought to hurt the Fallen… right?
On the other side of the battlefield
While Rias Gremory and her peerage started their battles against the Fallen, Yumi, and Kenta were preparing for their own opponent.
"Don't think I forgot about the little trick you pulled on me, Devil," Zill spoke with a bloodlust look directed towards Yumi.
"I wasn't counting on it, Zill. But anyhow, if I were you, I would start focusing on both of us rather than looking at me as a way to compensate for the embarrassment I caused you when I manhandled you," Yumi commented slyly, something Zill didn't appreciate.
Rather than replying to the insult, Zill transformed straight into his second Youkai form, bringing out his Youkai tails and ears, with his size growing a few inches. Zill's hulking form grew further as his eyes hardened, radiating nothing but the promise of utter annihilation toward his enemies. His muscles grew as his transformation progressed, all the while killing intent seeped out of his body.
It was indeed fortunate that both the Devils and Fallen Angels had subtly applied their own barriers to prevent the other party from fleeing and keep the supernatural world hidden from ordinary humans; otherwise, the entire city would have felt aftershocks of the ongoing battles.
Yumi, who expected a dangerous battle to unfold, focused herself while conjuring her sacred gears. Light arrows materialized one after another, forming an ethereal quiver extending from her very essence. Arrows blazed forth with each draw of her bowstring, leaving trails of brilliance in their wake.
Kenta, who was looking forward to getting his revenge against Zill, focused on himself and remembered the lessons taught to him by Yumi and Marid. His gaze lit aflame with determination as he channeled his inner Ki. He drew forth swirling flames from the core of his sacred gear, shaping them into fiery spears that danced in his hands like extensions of his will; all the while, Adara whispered encouragement and various battle tactics within his mind. He went further and started bringing his own second Youkai form out in the open. His form grew as his feline features became more permanent. He gained a dense aura around himself which was different than evil aura Zill emitted.
The battle commenced with a blur of motion, with Kenta and Zill rushing each other while Yumi used her wings to provide air support from the back. Like last time, Zill and Kenta met in the middle, with their fist cocked back, aiming for their enemy's head. Zill, who was slightly faster than the Devil lion, was able to land the strike first, sending Kenta hurtling back into a wall.
Knowing he had some space to breathe, Zill rushed to Yumi to get his revenge. He had already prepared himself to face her light arrows, which somehow could pierce through his ki shield. To his surprise, he was met by a hail of ice magic hurtling his way. Recovering quickly, Zill altered his direction to dodge the ice shards heading his way and cleverly used his surroundings to provide extra cover. He swiftly used the natural shelter offered by the house and closed the distance between himself and the annoying pest that somehow upped him in the previous battle.
Seeing how Zill was closing the distance, Yumi manipulated her ice magic and summoned an ice wall to stop Zill's advantage. To her disbelief, Zill punched through her wall and rushed to hit Yumi. Now understanding she couldn't dodge Zill's strike like she would have wanted, Yumi used a combination of her magic and sacred gear to summon an overlapping shield to negate any damage sent her way.
Fortunately for her, her shields avoided direct contact with Zill's strike, but they did little to stop her from hurtling towards the ground at the sheer power behind Zill's double axe-handled strike.
"Ughh," Yumi groaned from her impact on the ground. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't correct herself in the air and landed awkwardly on her knees.
"You are mine now, you Devil scum," Zill replied evilly as he saw his chance to get revenge. Zill summoned a potent dark ki in his hand before hurtling toward a stunned Yumi. Unlike last time, Yumi's barrier broke this time, but not before exploding outwards, neutralizing the Ki blast.
Yumi breathed a sigh of relief before muttering something under her breath. "You would have to do better than that to get me, Zill," Yumi shouted as she slowly stood back up. Even though none of Zill's attacks had landed flush on her yet, that didn't mean she didn't feel the impact.
"That mouth of yours will be the end of you! I am going to kill you bitch" Zill shouted in a fit of rage before rushing forward to deliver a devastating stomp kick on Yumi's head. In his state of anger, he didn't see a sly smirk on Yumi's face.
"Eat slugs," Yumi shouted as she moved out of the way at the very last second. In his haste, Zill didn't notice a magic circle appeared right where Yumi had been standing a moment ago. The second he made contact with the ground, it exploded outward with impressive demonic energy.
"Aaaagggghhh," Zill groaned in pain, not prepared to land on the mine trap set up by his cunning opponent.
"Now Kenta," Yumi shouted before unleashing a wave of ice magic alongside Kenta's fireballs.
"Shiittt," Zill cursed as he did his best to avoid the brunt of the attack. He increased dark Ki around his body and prepared for impact, understanding there was no hope for digging. Despite his best efforts, he got caught in the explosion, which sent him hurtling back.
"You good Kenta-san?" Yumi hurriedly asked her partner.
"Yeah, the bastard got me good, but I am ok. I will get him back next time." Kenta nodded as he wiped blood out his mouth, readying himself for round 2 against Zill.
"You both are DEAD! YOU HERE ME DEAD!!!" Zill screamed in even more fury. All sense of rationality left his rageful mind.
Without skipping a beat, Yumi summoned her red arrows, streaking through the air, their light contrasting against the encroaching darkness that Zill's Ki conjures. Each hand sought its mark, forcing Zill to use his Ki manipulation to erect more energy barriers around himself as he prepped himself to launch at his enemies. The shields produced by Zill shimmered like mirages, absorbing the impact of the arrows but gradually weakening under Yumi's relentless barrage, much to his anger.
Kenta, meanwhile, spun and weaved through the battlefield swiftly, fire spears trailing behind him. He launched the fiery projectiles at Zill from different angles, the heat of their passing searing the air. Zill dodged and deflected with brute force, his power evident in how he repelled Kenta's attacks.
Seeing the opening, Yumi and Kenta's teamwork came into play. Yumi unleashed another dazzling flurry of arrows while Kenta sent torrents of blazing fireballs to distract and overwhelm Zill. The combined assault forced Zill onto the defensive, his shields straining against the onslaught. Zill's confidence wavered as the battle raged on, his brawny frame faltering beneath the coordinated assault of Yumi and Kenta.
In a final gambit, Kenta infused his fire spears with a surge of Ki, transforming them into blazing torrents of inferno. Yumi's arrows converged into a single luminous arrowhead, its brilliance piercing through the dissipating barriers. Together, their combined might strike actual, overwhelming Zill's defenses.
The shockwave of impact rocked the entire neighborhood. Zill staggered as he grabbed his right shoulder, which was bled profusely. Despite being able to dodge most of the attack at the last moment, quite a few light arrows still pierced through his shoulders, completely destroying it in the process. His once formidable aura faltered and faded slightly before returning to its almighty glory. Zill started to laugh at the exchange he had just had with the Devils, his blood lust returning as he willed himself to destroy the Devils before him, no matter what it took. Zill's eyes blazed with an intense mix of defiance and excitement as he readied himself for the next clash with the Devil duo, which had been the most troublesome. His hands were ablaze with Ki as he transformed his hulking body further, as the Dark Ki around him enveloped his whole body. Claws appeared on his hands as fur started to cover his body.
Yumi glanced toward Kenta, wanting to know more about the transformation. She looked at him thoughtfully, mouthing only one question, 'Is that his berserker form?'. Kenta only declined her with the subtlest head nod, making Yumi believe that this form must be one of Zills's sub-forms for his berserker form.
Zill's body radiated more and more power as his teeth started to grow out, becoming the fangs of a vicious beast rather than the canines of a human. His red eyes glowed viciously, indicating his intentions towards the Devil duo to everyone watching them.
However, before he could rush Kenta and Yumi, his intention was diverted by a loud explosion from his side, which blasted the wall into him. What followed was a heavily beaten down Millet, followed by Kiba and Rias. Their eyes left the defeated Fallen and eventually landed on the transforming black lion.
While this situation would have wavered the confidence of most people, it did little to intimidate Zill. After all, Zill wasn't like other people. Moments later, the situation repeated when a heavily electrocuted Kalawaner flew out, landing in front of the berserker Lion. Zill's gaze, this time, turned towards the Gremory queen, whom he had defeated before. He couldn't help but have a shiver up his spine after watching pure sadistic ecstasy on the Gremory queen's face.
"You think you can intimidate me after beating these weak crows, huh?!?" Zill retorted while looking at the Devils surrounding him.
Before Rias could respond, someone beat her to the punch, "To be honest… Yes. With your allies gone, there is literally nothing you can do against us. You can struggle all you want, but the result will be the same, you joining your allies on the floor" a Masculine voice came out from the other side of the lounge everyone was standing in. Turning around, everyone found the owner of the masculine voice to be none other than Marid, who was carrying the Fallen Dohnaseek by his throat, who himself was heavily beaten up. Behind him was Koneko supporting a limping Issie with at least two more wounds courtesy of the light spear.
Rias couldn't help but gasp at the state of her newest pawn, but she couldn't just leave to check up on her pawn while they still had Zill to deal with. Fortunately for her, Yumi saw her concern for Issie and soon cautiously left her confrontation with Zill to go heal Issie.
'She truly is the greatest supporter of the group. ' Rias gave Yumi a thankful nod; all the while, she cursed out her nephew with jealousy for being able to recruit such an invaluable asset in his peerage.
But that thought was something she think on later right now she had a rouge black Lion to kill, or at the very least arrest.
"Even with you here, there is nothing you can do to stop me, Devil. Have you all forgotten that I am the 'Black Lion of Kuroshishi! All I have to do is go into my berserker form, and then I will easily walk all over you all," Zill screamed in outrage at being treated like a kid. Zill powered up to his full power as he begin transforming into his berserker form. The effect of that form was immense as his killing intent increased tenfold. His beastly aura made everyone, including Marid, start to sweat slightly. Issie, who had never felt something so evil and beastly, collapsed unconscious as he couldn't handle the beastly aura while the others tried their best to escape the fear-stricken phase they were all put in. During his transformation, Zill's teeth sharpened further as his fur turned black; all the while, his Ki turned dark and evil.
"Letting you turn in that form will be a headache, I don't want to deal with! I am finishing you right now!" Marid spoke seriously as he sped towards the transforming lion. Much to his shock and those around him, the transforming lion suddenly vanished in thin air. His surprise grew as he looked around the room when he realized that all the Fallen Angels and Exorcists had also somehow disappeared along with the rogue Kuroshishi.
"He can't have just vanished in thin air! Everyone who isn't injured spread out and search for them." Marid ordered his peers to look where they had gone. He had abandoned his work on the concoction to come here to sort out the mess with Zill and the Fallen, only to find out they had vanished. Hopefully, Rias will have more answers for him.
Later
"How can he just vanish in thin air?!?" Marid asked his Bishop, who had returned with Kenta and others after searching for Zill and his Fallen associates.
"I don't know where they are. While I sensed a very subtle influx of magic in the room, I didn't see a teleportation circle being created that could have teleported Zill and Fallen out of the house that quickly," Yumi sighed. She, too, felt frustrated with tonight's events. Every time the Devils came close to ending Zill's threat, something would happen which would led to Zill escaping with his soul intact with his body.
"No, Yumi, there was a magic circle underneath Zill that caused them to teleport out," Kiba blurted out. As soon as he uttered those words, all the eyes in the room snapped in his direction.
"What do you mean by that Kiba? I didn't see any magic circle appear underneath, neither Zill nor the rest of the Fallen." Rias asked her knight, a little confused.
"I must agree with Rias on this one, Kiba. Are you sure you saw a magic circle underneath Zill?" Marid threw a questioning look toward Kiba.
"There is no doubt about it! While the magic circle underneath Zill appeared for the briefest moment and was most likely encrypted, there is no denying that I indeed saw a magic circle underneath Zill," Kiba confirmed resolutely.
"If Kiba is so confident, then I will also support his judgment." Yumi backed her adopted baby brother. Kiba couldn't help but blush slightly and throw a smile right back at her.
While Yumi and Kiba shared a comforting and heart-warming moment, both Marid and Rias couldn't help but feel dread overcoming their hearts. If there was a magic circle, it would mean Zill has most likely joined a group with a phenomenal magician under their wing.
With that, the Kings shared a quick look of understanding before heading to the last place they had seen the Zill and the Fallen. Both the Kings, Yumi, and Akeno started to focus their demonic energies in the same spot they had seen the Fallen and Zill the last time.
"What are they doing?" Issie couldn't help but ask Kenta from his seat in the far corner of the room. He was still groggy after gaining consciousness, and it had been a very long day for him. Including the skirmishes he had with the Fallen and Freed. He was ready to take a long nap.
"I don't know. This is the first time I have seen this kind of technique." Kenta shook his head as he observed others using a unique technique.
"They are scanning for a teleportation circle." Kiba helpfully answered their questions.
"Devils can do that with Magic Circle?" Kenta asked, shocked. He did not realize this was the kind of power the Devils had.
"We are Devils, Kenta," Marid replied with slight exasperation. "As long as you put your mind to it and have enough desire and demonic power, you can do pretty much anything," Marid explained to the two newest Devils.
"Interesting," Kenta couldn't help but mutter it out aloud. He was impressed with how demonic power could be used in such a way.
"I found it," Rias exclaimed as she sensed the faintest bit of magic in the ground where the petite Fallen had collapsed.
"Good job, Rias. Now let's see if we can open the magic circle to go where these idiots went," Marid congratulated Rias.
Soon, Rias was able to reconstruct the teleportation circle, making it usable for herself, Marid, and their respective peerage members.
"What the hell?!?" Rias exclaimed as the magic circle collapsed on itself.
"What happened?" Kenta asked as he saw the magic circle collapse on itself.
"The teleportation collapsed on itself. This is very strange," Marid commented as a thoughtful look came onto his face.
"Does that mean we won't be able to track down Zill and the remaining Fallen?" Issie asked innocently. His innocent reply was met by Marid and Rias's sharp looks, resulting in him getting shivers all over his body. Akeno couldn't help but giggle at their reactions.
"It means, Issie, that whoever cast that magic circle had cloaked the magic circle masterfully," Marid spoke coldly.
"But shouldn't the four of you be able to unlock the teleportation circle? Right?" Kenta asked the group of Devils, still looking at the magic circle.
The group did just that; they pooled their demonic energies into the ground and tried to reconstruct and reapply the teleportation circle. Much to their frustration, the teleportation circle again fluttered before fizzing out of existence.
"Damn, this teleportation circle must be heavily cloaked. For it is not able to open up with the demonic energies of all four of our combined effort is ridiculous," Rias spoke in frustration as she saw their efforts go down the drain.
"No Rias! It's not that the teleportation circle is heavily suppressed," Marid spoke seriously, getting Ria's attention. "Something is preventing the teleportation circle from opening on the other side," Marid theorized another reason they couldn't open the magic circle.
"Something preventing the teleportation circle from opening from the other side?" Rias repeated. "Do you mean… like protection wards? Like the ones we have around the school and the Gremory Manor?"
"That is exactly what I mean, Rias." Marid nodded.
"They must be powerful wards on the other side if they can reject our magic circle," Yumi commented thoughtfully.
"Or a multi-layered one," Akeno added. "Or maybe even both."
"Indeed," Marid agreed with the ladies.
"So what should we do no…" Before Issie could complete his sentence, he lost consciousness. He would have landed on the floor if not for the quick feet of Kiba, who caught his fellow Devil.
"Issie?!" Rias exclaimed worriedly as she ran towards her injured pawn.
"Looks like the injuries caught up to him," Yumi theorized as she saw the pawn's state.
"He was fine until now. What do you think happened to him?" Kenta asked curiously as he knelt beside Yumi and Akeno to heal Issie.
"It looks like light poisoning," Akeno muttered as she saw the signs of poison courtesy of light magic.
"That is to be expected; he went above and beyond to fight tonight. Perhaps he was trying to get some closure to how he was attacked by the Fallen, which resulted in his reincarnation as a Devil," Marid commented off-handedly as he looked at Issie.
"Yeah, he was fighting quite hard to protect Asia…. Wait, where is she?" Kenta exclaimed as he looked around the house for his first friend.
"I didn't see no nun when I first got here." Marid looked a little confused as to why there would be a nun in the house filled with Fallen, a rogue exorcist. The better question in his head was how Kenta knew a nun.
"No, Marid, there was indeed a nun. I saw her too when I first got here. She helped Yumi heal Issie for the first time," Rias added while she kept her focus on Issie, who was being healed for the second time tonight.
"Interesting… But before we talk about anything else. Kenta, since you are the only one awake out of you and Issie, I want you to tell me exactly what happened tonight," Marid asked his Rook seriously. Rias also nodded in agreement; many questions came into her mind, and hopefully, whatever Kenta told them would put some of those questions to rest.
Unfortunately, when Kenta was done retelling the tale of what the two Devils had gone through, Rias found herself with more questions than answers.
"So you are telling me that a nun is working with that crazy exorcist who was the one who killed this human couple. After you both confronted the exorcist, you all fought here, where you found out about the nun, and she was here, but in reality, she should have been in Rome since she was in a church in Rome, the last time you saw her. And now you don't know why she is here right now and working with the Fallen. Is this about the size of it?" Marid sighed as he asked Kenta and Issie, now awake (but still groggy). The duo nodded at the summary Marid had just given them.
"This is quite troublesome. We must report this event and the events preceding today to the Satans." Rias sighed at more paperwork.
"Is this so significant that we must report this to the Satans?" Kenta couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, it is, Kenta. It would have been fine if this was just an isolated incident with Zill or some Fallen. But now, with this nun and Fallen and Kuroshishi working together, it would mean that someone assembled this team to bring this chaos into my city." Rias sighed at the paperwork that was sure to follow. Not to mention the excessive dotting and worry from Sirzech that was sure to come their way.
"I see." Kenta nodded as he understood the political implications of it. If there was indeed a team, this would mean that this mission could have been potentially sanctioned by one of the higher-ups of one of the Biblical factions.
"I can let Sona know what happened over here once I am done cleaning this mess up," Marid spoke to Rias seriously as he looked around the heavily damaged house, which was once a safe haven for the human couple who had enlisted the help of the Devils.
"I understand," Rias solemnly nodded before continuing, "However, before we all leave, I have an express command for all the Devils in Kuoh," Rias spoke with a commanding voice, grabbing the attention of all the Devils present.
"As of now, all of you are under the express order of the Governor of Kuoh! From here onwards, no one will be allowed to get in contact with anyone associated with the attack on us. If you ever locate anyone who was part of today's attack, you will immediately report it back to me and leave the area. You are not to confront them for any reason until we are given proper approval by the Maos," Rias ordered everyone sternly. Many, including Marid, were stunned by Rias authoritative speech, however considering how many events had transpired recently that could have resulted in fatal results for not just humans involved but also Devils, no one could blame Rias for her orders.
"Hai," the group spoke in unison before dispersing. Kiba and Koneko went back to their apartments while Akeno left with her King to inform the Mao's of the current situation in Kuoh. They needed to know if this was a sanctioned team by one of the other factions.
"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Kenta asked Marid.
"What do you think we are going to do, Kenta? We are on clean-up duty," Marid snorted a reply, much to Kenta's horror. He now regretted using his more explosive spells against Freed and Zill.
'At this rate, we will never be able to sleep tonight,' Kenta thought in comical horror as Adara did her best to comfort her host.
Somewhere else
It was now late at night. The Fallen were sent back to their Church to lick their wounds while the operation's leader summoned Zill and Freed back to his hiding spot in Kuoh. The warehouse was covered in multiple highly intricate and overlapping warding systems that would have even raised Ajuka Beelzebub's eyebrows. That's not including the entire battalion of low-tiered Fallen Angels acting as a precautionary backup.
"Why did you pull us back? I could have killed a few of them right there and then," Zill bellowed, his anger directed at his benefactor sitting on a throne inside the abandoned warehouses.
"Relax, Zill, we will have our fill of violence in time," the benefactor replied dismissively.
"Here, I thought you would be more interested in causing chaos and war. You truly are unworthy of your title as the warmonger," Zill huffed, much to the shock of those listening. In his arrogance, he didn't realize who he had just pissed off.
Before the moment was over, the hooded figure backhanded Zill with such force that it destroyed Zill's cheekbone on the spot and drew the first blood. Even before someone could react, the hooded figure disappeared only to reappear in front of Zill's flying body, only to grab him by his face with his substantial pale hands and shove him into the ground, forming a sizeable crater. The whole sequence barely took a second to complete.
"Don't pretend you are a necessary part of my plan, Zill! The next time you even think about disrespecting me, I will eradicate your soul from existence," the hooded figure growled as he let his killing intent fill the air, causing genuine fear to seep into Zill's heart. Zill could only nod in shock as he was too stunned to see the warmonger side of his benefactor, the side that his master was known for during the Biblical Great War.
"Good boy! As for you, Freed." The hooded figure reigned his killing intent and continued the conversation like nothing had happened. Unfortunately, for some low-tiered Fallen Angel, his control lasted far longer than some would like, considering half of his Fallen Angel army had lost consciousness.
"While I am hugely disappointed in you losing the fabled Holy Priestess, I have another assignment for you. Hopefully, you will be more successful in this assignment than the last one," the hooded figure spoke calmly to the deranged priest who was shaking in excitement. The killing intent his master had released had given him new vigor and goal. The goal was to avenge his beatdown the very next chance provided to him by his master.
"You got it, Boss. I will not fail you this time!" Freed smiled evilly as he slowly stood up from the ground. His injuries taking a toll on his body.
"Good. We shall have our War one day, people, but that day isn't today. Freed, you will be going to my ally inside the Church, who will help us get a few little trinkets for our upcoming war," the hooded figure spoke with slight huskiness. Only his blood-red eyes were visible through his garb.
"Not that I care, but what about the nun bitch? Are we going to let her run back to the Devils? From what it looked like, two of the Devils knew that bitch" Freed couldn't help but ask about the nun who had given those two Devils enough time to get their bearings straight before turning the tide of the battle.
"Raynare and her crew can take care of her for now as a means to owning up for their mistake tonight," the hooded figure replied dismissively before creating a magic circle for his entire group.
"Do you think those Fallen can locate and bring that nun back into the fold now with those bats on high alert?" Zill couldn't help but ask after he recovered from his shock at how easily he was manhandled by his new Boss.
"Whether they can do it or not, it does not matter to our plans. If they do, their actions will be considered redeemed, but if not, they will die… Whether by my hand or with the hands of those filthy Devils," the hooded figure laughed evilly before teleporting himself and his team out of the abandoned warehouse, leaving it empty as if there was no one there.
Next morning
It was still early in the morning for Marid. He had constantly been working on the concoction for the Olympian Gods, which was very close to completion, and now, with the mess with the Fallen and then the cleanup of the house, he was exhausted. He walked into the Old school building since he was part of another early morning meeting with the two governors of Kuoh. They had to devise a plan to see what could be done about these Fallen and Zill. After all, it was confirmed in their minds that someone had sanctioned a team of Fallen Angels into the Devil territory. This meant that Satan's was getting involved, despite the annoyance of the two Governors of Kuoh.
"We are having too many of these early morning meetings recently," Marid groaned as he walked into the clubroom. He was the last one to arrive for the meeting, as Rias and Sona were already in the room with their queens.
"That we are having. Hopefully, after we get rid of our rude guest, we can return to the peaceful life we have become accustomed to living here in Kuoh." Rias couldn't help but agree with Marid's comment about them having to have too many early morning meetings.
"We should get back to the issue on hand! Zill and the Fallen being in our territory. Perhaps it would be best if we created a timeline to make sense of the recent events," Sona suggested to the Gremory duo, who nodded in agreement.
"As we all know, Zill first arrived in Kuoh alongside his two lackeys for reasons unknown. During their stay here, they tried to recruit Kenta into their group. After getting rejected by Kenta, they tried to kill him. This is where Marid and I first came across them." Rias started to create a timeline.
"After we killed Zill's lackeys, Zill escaped while I reincarnated Kenta as one of my own, and others started their recovery," Marid added with a nod before snatching that lovely tea right out of Akeno's hand. He needed some caffeine to get him going for the remainder of the day.
"After this incident, we don't see Zill until he comes to save the Fallen Angel Dohnaseek. Claiming his new master wants the Fallen alive," Sona spoke seriously as she rubbed her chin in deep thought, an action that Marid found super adorable.
"So if the timeline is right, then it would mean that Zills's new master recruited him sometime between our confrontation with him in the mine and later in the park," Sona concluded thoughtfully.
"More like right after we defeated him in that mine. The desire to get revenge against us must have made Zill swallow his pride to accept someone as a master," Marid thought seriously.
"That would make sense, but how would a nun fit in all this?" Rias wondered aloud.
"She is no ordinary nun, Rias. The Nun's name is Asia Argento, and she was a former high priestess who worked directly for the Vatican. She also has a sacred gear named twilight healing," Marid informed the remaining Devils in the room. Needless to say, they were shocked after learning of the rank the Nun had.
"How do you know that much about the nun?" Rias asked in shock. She didn't have any reason to doubt Marid's word, but she still wanted to be on the safe side. After all, a former high priestess complicates the matters even more.
"Kenta told me about her. Apparently, Kenta had met her while he used to live in Europe," Marid elaborated further.
"Wait, how did he meet a Nun of her rank? After all, he was Kuroshishi, who by his word is not a popular group among any supernatural circle," Rias questioned her nephew.
Marid couldn't help but sigh at that. He knew the time was coming when others would ask about Kenta's past. While Kenta had told him about his past in Europe and his connections with the Nun, when he asked about it after last night, Marid still didn't feel comfortable enough to share his Rooks dark past with his two childhood friends. Even if Kenta himself had given him permission to tell them about it.
It wasn't that Marid didn't trust his two childhood friends; instead, he didn't want the others to treat his Rook differently. He knew the looks of pity and sadness he was due to receive from the two heiresses and their respective queens might harm Kenta's progress to be more open and trusting towards others. However, this situation with the Fallen and Zill was forcing his hand.
So, after further deliberation within his mind, with a sigh, Marid made Rias, Sona, and their respective queens sweat oaths of secrecy before telling them about his Rooks past.
Needless to say, the four female Devils in the room were suitably shocked and then saddened by the fate Kenta had gone through all alone for almost twenty years. It was pretty humbling for most of them, especially Rias and Sona, who had lived a relatively sheltered life. It really opened their eyes to the reality of people existing in this world who do such wickedness for their personal entertainment and how much their elder siblings have protected them from this.
"Kenta met Asia on one of the nights he was forced to fight. He had been severely injured, and Asia was brought in as a guest. After watching Kenta fight, Asia couldn't hold herself back and went along to heal the poor lion, who was lying in his own blood at the time." Marid somberly started to recount the same tale he was told during the early hours of this morning.
"As you all will understand, after living a life under the rule of such… barbarians, Kenta was shocked, cautious, and confused as to why a high-ranking nun would associate herself with someone like him!" Marid had gripped his teacup tightly, almost to the point it broke in his grip. After hearing about Marid's past last night, he contacted his friends and European contractors. Son of Lucifer or not, he would pay the people who made his Rooks life a living hell a visit soon enough. And when he does make the visit, the fate he will bestow on them would make Old Satan Factions leaders look saint in comparison.
Marid took a deep breath before continuing, "They eventually started talking and became friends. Each finding their first friend among each other." At this point, Marid decided to look around the room to see how others were reacting to his Rooks story. As expected, all he saw was looks of horror and pity on their faces. He hoped this wouldn't change their opinion and attitude towards his Rook.
"Their friendship lasted until Kenta's grandfather finally found him and decided to break him out of that hell hole he had been living in. They would have escaped without harm until they were blindsided by an attack. An attack which heavily damaged Kenta and killed his grandfather, who at the time was heavily injured," Kenta told the group. He heard a few gasps at the end and was pretty sure he heard someone sobbing. Looking towards the group, he saw none other than Akeno tearing up after hearing how Kenta had lost the only silver of hope he had received after living in hell for so many years.
Marid, who had been told about Akeno's past, could completely understand why she was so troubled and upset after hearing about Kenta's past.
"Who attacked them?" Sona couldn't help but ask.
"Kenta doesn't know. All he knew was he saw two men; one was big and hulky, and the other was muscular yet slender. That's all he remembers before… something happened," Marid replied hesitantly. Sona and Rias wanted to ask what had happened after Kenta was blindsided by an attack, but a single look told them that Marid wouldn't be answering any more questions regarding his Rook's past.
"Perhaps we should get back to the topic at hand?" Tsubaki suggested after she reeled in her emotions.
"It's better for all of us if we do that," Marid agreed with Sona's queen.
"Where is this Nun right now?" Rias asked the group. Since last night, all the Devils in Kuoh had deployed their familiars to locate anyone involved in yesterday's events. It was the only chance they had for locating anyone from last nights attacks.
Marid and Sona shook their heads as their and their peerage's familiars didn't receive any new information.
"How did the Satan's take the news regarding the Fallen and Zill and their recent excursions in your territory?" Marid asked curiously.
Rias mood soured considerably at that, "Oni-sama and Serafall-sama were very angry when I told him about the events that were happening in Kuoh recently. He was furious at being kept out of the loop and has promised to have strong words with you as well, Marid," Rias informed both Sona and Marid, much to their horror. Both cringed at the scolding that was supposed to come their way. While Serafall and Sirzech loved them, that didn't mean they were merciful to them, especially if they did something that put them in harm's way.
"You might have just ruined my mood with that one, Rias," Marid groaned as he held his head in his hands.
"Needless to say, Serafall-sama is reaching out to the Fallen Angel leaders and Lady Yasaka from Kyoto to find out any information regarding the events that have been transpiring here in our city," Rias informed her two childhood friends.
"I understand reaching out to the Fallen, but I don't get why would Serafall-sama be reaching to Lady Yasaka in Kyoto? She doesn't have anything to do with this," Akeno asked curiously.
"Lady Yasaka is the Youkai leader of the west Youkai faction in Kyoto. And since Kuoh comes to her region, she needs to be informed about the current happenings in the city. Furthermore, she is the only Youkai faction with good relations with the Satans, so she could also provide us with some extra information on Kuroshishi. Something that could help us put Zill down for good," Rias explained to her queen.
"I see… Before I forget, my Bishop was able to prepare this for you!" Marid exclaimed as he put what looked like a small grenade. It was a cylindrical shaped grenade dyed in dark colors, perfectly hiding the runes imprinted on it from the human eye. Even pure-blood Devils like Sona and Rias had to squint their eyes to observe the ruins. Much to their surprise, they couldn't make out anything by the rune despite having been trained to a respectable degree on working runes.
"Is that"
"A radar to locate Ki and magical signature?"
Rias and Sona unknowingly completed each other's sentences.
Marid, amused by their fascination, chuckles, "No, they are more like devices that can help us cover up small areas. This little beauty could completely detect any magical signatures within a particular radius. Unfortunately, this is an experimental piece, so its range isn't very far," Marid admitted.
"What is its current range?" Sona asked Marid, slightly impressed at what Marid's Bishop was able to accomplish.
"About the size of this building," Marid replied with a shrug as he pointed to the building, they were sitting in.
"That's not very far," Rias couldn't help but comment.
"Hey, you should be grateful that my Bishop was able to make this for you under the time crunch. Plus, you are awfully judgmental of the product my Bishop made, which completely catches every magical signature in the area it covers," Marid snapped back at Rias.
"That is quite the claim, Marid." Sona raised her eyebrows at Marid's proclamation of the product his Bishop had made.
"Don't believe me," Marid snorted before activating the magical canister in the middle of the room. Marid proceeded to take an enchanted screen out of his dimensional space. Much to the curiosity and shock, the screen that Marid had just taken out from his dimensional space could indicate how many people were in the building but also their species.
Much to Akeno's annoyance, Marid's device indicated her as a 'Fallen Angel/Devil.' That was something that genuinely irked her. Rias saw her queen's facial expressions change after reading her species on Marid's device. She promised herself to talk to her queen after the meeting was over.
"Impressive, but can it still locate us if we try and hide our magical signature?" Sona asked Marid curiously.
Marid, who took this as a challenge, gained a strange gleam in his eyes, "You know what… If any of you could hide your magical signature from this device for even a second, I would give you a million Lillium," Marid issued an open challenge to everyone in the room.
After recognizing the money on the line, all the Devils in the room seriously tried to hide their magical signatures. All of them had the same competitive gleam in their eyes to win.
Unfortunately for them, after twenty minutes, they were ultimately unsuccessful. Even when all four Devils used all their might to hide the magical signature of one of them, even that tactic failed under this equipment's might.
"Satisfied everyone?" Marid asked the group, thoroughly amused by attempts he had seen coming from others.
"Damn this thing!" Rias asked in frustration. Once again, she was unsuccessful in hiding her magical signature from the device.
"It's not just you, Rias; even Kenta and Yumi, who have excellent suspensory skills, couldn't hide their magical signature from the device. So take some solace in the fact that you are not in this alone." Marid laughed at that, much to Rias growing anger.
"What about you? Were you able to hide your magical signature?" Sona asked, equally as frustrated as Rias.
"I did," Marid replied with a prideful smile. As if to prove a point, Marid closed his eyes and lowered his magical signature as low as he could get before a static barrier appeared around him, something only Sona and Rias could pick up on. To their shock, Marid's signature vanished from the device.
"How did you do that?" Rias asked in shock. She was incredibly impressed at what her nephew was able to accomplish.
"Master Illusionist, remember?" Marid smugly replied. The answer made sense to everyone in the room who had listened to Marid's tale of deceiving the underworld's greatest knight.
"Moving on… How many of these devices do you have, Marid?" Sona brought the conversation back on track.
"I have five of these devices made. Hopefully, I can reconfigure these devices, making their range much further than just one building. But for now, all you have is five," Marid replied to the bespectacled Devil.
"Five, then we would have to use them strategically" Sona replied seriously. Thinking of the best ways to manage five of these devices.
"Realistically, you can use one of the apartment buildings where all the Devils in Kuoh seem to reside. This way, we can easily cover the houses of all our peerage members," Marid suggested. Both Rias and Sona nodded in agreement with Marid's suggestion.
"We can use one for the Old school building and three more to cover the school grounds. This way, we can ensure the safety of the students during school days." Rias threw in her suggestion, which was met with others' agreement.
"That leaves us with one more radar, which you can realistically either plant in the commercial district of Kuoh, or we can just place it in a residential area that hosts most of our clients," Sona spoke seriously.
"With the help of our familiars, we know the Fallen are hiding in the abandoned church. There is a very high chance that Zill is with them as we speak. I believe it would be better if he just placed this radar in an area that hosts the greatest number of our clients," Rias said seriously.
"If you think that is better, then here you go." Marid nodded as he handed over the remaining devices to Sona, who would begin installing the devices around the school as soon as the meeting was done.
"With that out of the way, we just need to wait for a reply from the Satans and make sure our newer Devils don't make any mistakes," Rias spoke seriously as she gave Marid a pointed look, which he seemed to understand.
"If you are talking about Kenta misbehaving, then you can rest easy since he is currently meditating to reduce his evil Ki naturally. He told me that how the current situation had been playing, he would need to meditate for a long time to ensure he doesn't snap on someone or is borderline pushed into going into his beast mode. You on the other need to look out for someone who is just as more likely to do something stupid" Marid replied back, sending back a just as pointed look at Rias.
"I believe in Issie. He is currently out on a walk doing the same thing. He told me he always found the cool air in the morning refreshing, which he needs right now. However, I can see how things may change, so I have my familiar following him to ensure he stays safe and doesn't do anything stupid." Rias sighed but in the back of their mind, she knew her pawn was most likely doing something stupid.
"All we can do is hope that the Maos give us permission to go into that church and defeat these Fallen and Zill once and for all" Marid hoped that would be the case. Others nodding in agreement, hoping for the same thing.
Elsewhere
It had been sunny the next day. Some would say it would be a fine day to take a walk in the part to relax; others would simply use that opportunity to moan about their life.
"Why am I so sore?" Issie moaned aloud as he walked into the park.
It was the day after his first skirmish with the Fallen Angels, that crazy exorcist Freed, and that nut case lion Zill. After returning to the Occult Research Club, Rias told Issie everything about the recent happenings in the city. Who Zill was, how Rias and her peerage came across him, his relation to Kenta, and most importantly, his alliance with the Fallen Angels. He would be lying if he didn't say all this was too much for him, so he decided to walk in the park early in the morning to clear his head. Turns out sleeping naked next to the most gorgeous beauty in your school doesn't completely heal your body or eliminate your soreness.
"What am I going to do with my life. These Fallen have things against me or something. Others are way stronger than me. Even that wall of ice, Kenta, is leaps ahead of me in terms of power, even though he became a Devil just a day before me. I think…" Issie thought as he walked around, only to find a comfortable bench overlooking a fountain.
While the walk to the fountain might have been challenging for the newly converted Devil, there was no denying that now the trip was worth it. The cool early morning breeze, chirping of the birds, and waving of the leaves on the tree gave the stressed-out Devil a relaxing environment, which he appreciated.
"I wish I could just be here for all eternity," Issie mumbled aloud as he closed his eyes and enjoyed his presence. Suddenly, he started to hear rumblings from the nearby bushes, rumblings that brought him out of his dream-like haze.
Issie was suddenly on guard, especially with what he had gone through in the last few days; he was almost expecting a Fallen Angel coming out of the bushes in the midst of throwing a lance made out of light at him.
To his shock, it wasn't a Fallen Angel who came out of the bushes; it was a heavily exhausted Asia. Her nun outfit was dirty. She had lost her headscarf, bringing her blonde hair out in the open. To Issie, she looked immaculate. However, he was immediately brought out of his stare when he noticed Asia was looking extremely wary of everything around her. He watched her look around the park to see if she was alone. Once satisfied with what she saw, she went to the fountain and used that water to drink some water. A sight that broke Issie's heart.
'Did she escape from the house last night before the weird magic got the Fallen's out?' Issie thought to himself, a little glad Asia had escaped those Fallen.
After looking around the park for any other Fallen's coming in, Issie slowly approached Asia. Issie might not be the brightest bulb in the shed, but that didn't mean he didn't understand what was happening in front of him. All it took was one glance at Asia to tell him that Asia was thirsty and most likely starving by now if she had indeed ran away from the Fallen's last night.
"Hey, Asia!" Issie called out to Asia while giving her the friendliest wave he could muster.
"Uhh," Asia, who flinched after hearing her name, hurriedly turned to see her friend. To Issie's sadness, Asia didn't feel happy at seeing him but was somewhat freaked out by his presence.
'Did last night's event shake her this badly?' Issie thought in sadness as he understood where Asia had been coming from. After all, he had been attacked six times in just as many days.
"Asia, please don't run away. I am here on my own," Issie begged Asia as he saw her slowly move away from him.
"Issie-san, what do you want?" Asia asked with a panicked look. Her tone almost looked conflicted. On the one hand, she felt relieved that her friend had made it past the hellish night they had found themselves in. However, on the other hand, she felt uneasy in his presence, even if Issie was one of her first friends. Thought his and Kenta's company with Devils and their violent fight last night made her afraid of them.
"Asia… I just wanted to thank you for last night," Issie spoke softly. His reply caught Asia off guard, and she stopped moving away from her first friend.
"What?" Asia asked shakily.
"I wanted to thank you for last night. If you hadn't helped protect us from Freed and healed me, we would have been dead," Issie spoke softly as tears started to appear in his eyes. All that stress that came from upkeeping the strong character he had put on for the last few days came running down his face.
"Issie-san," Asia couldn't stop herself rushing to hug Issie. Seeing her friend breaking down in front of her broke her heart. Issie hugged Asia back, and the two friends hugged for the next few minutes, crying in each other's embrace. The last few days hadn't been kind to either of them.
"I am sorry for what you had to see last night, Asia. You are an innocent girl and shouldn't have been anywhere near that hell house." Issie started to gain control over his emotions.
"It's alright, Issie-san. I am sure you didn't want to be there either and see Father Freed do all those things to those poor humans… Even if they were contacting Devils for help, that didn't mean they were supposed to be given the fate they had received." Asia cried even more after remembering what Father Freed had done to those humans. A fate she wouldn't want to come on her worst enemy.
"Alright, let's dry those tears. And let's go." Issie wiped Asia's tears before softly grabbing her hands.
"Where are we going, Issie-san?" Asia asked Issie with a confused look.
"We never had our day to hang out, did we? So today, let me show you around the city," Issie replied with a smile. The thought of this day turning bad went into the back of his mind. He would be damned if he let a repeat of the last date he went on.
'No, Asia is such a sweetheart. I won't let the same thing that happened last time I went on a date. With me lying on the floor with a light spear through my body,' Issie carelessly shrugged in his mind. In his careless attitude, he had unknowingly had just tempted the wrath of the Gods of Irony; the same Gods Marid had come to fear in his time away.
Chapter End
Well there is the end to the chapter. I hope you liked it. I busted my ass out for this to complete it before I begin doing my IRL stuff which would have pushed this chapter back by a few weeks. And guess what… two 10k chapters in a row!! That has to be some record of some kind right?
Also, there have been some mistake on my end in the story's plot. That is, Marid really doesn't have a Rook other than Kenta. I have mentioned multiple times in the story that Marid has a Rook somewhere, but in reality, it was supposed to be a bishop. I just caught the mistake during my reread of the story. I will eradicate the mistake in a few days once I am free. Plus I will also be working on fixing the grammar mistakes in my story. I will update my progress on my profile page on Fanfic.
Until then stay safe and have fun!
DGZalama out!
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