Chapter 540 - 10-11

Chapter 10

Rias was staring at the large barrier that has been put in place.

How did she not become aware of this?

It was obvious. She knew there were fallen angels that were active in her territory. Yet she ignored it in the hopes that it would go away.

Now she was forced to sit on her hands as...well...something happened inside that barrier.

Something that she was not privy to.

She sighed as she wiped her forehead with her hand, the lack of information of what exactly was going on was beginning to stress her out. She then looked at her Peerage to check if they were doing their assigned jobs.

Akeno was focused on checking if there was an opening for them to get into the barrier and Koneko scouted around to find any structural weakness to the thing. Kiba was just sitting down and waiting for further orders.

The only reason any of them had any idea about what was happening in Kuoh Town, was due to sheer chance.

As Rias was in class earlier today, she noticed something peculiar about the actions of the resident 'hero' of Kuoh. Specifically, she noticed Nonaka Yuki leave the school grounds while class was still in session at high speeds.

This by itself was strange due to Nonaka Yuki's tendency to take her role as class representative very seriously, doubly so if you wonder why she was leaving in such a hurry. So this behavior already raised many questions in her head, but she ignored them for the moment and wrote it off as a coincidence.

What she couldn't write off was the fact that both Hyoudou Issei and Uzumaki Naruto were not in Kuoh Academy anymore.

Naruto not being in Kuoh was quite common by this point, but all of them being absent at the same time when Nonaka happened to leave her duties behind in a rush?

That set off alarm bells in her head, and she sent her familiar to follow the 'hero'.

The familiar managed to follow her to a point.

The 'hero' managed to get inside the barrier before it was created, but her familiar was too slow and could only report that there were large amounts of fallen angels sighted inside the barrier.

Beautiful. Just...beautiful.

With the way this event was shaping up...she could make an educated guess that Naruto and Issei was in there too.

For what reason? She had no idea.

But more importantly...the fallen with four pairs of wings was there too.

So the question was, what should she do?

She could try to break in, in order to better survey the situation...but she could risk the battle spilling over to Kuoh Town. So that option was out.

Besides that...

She could wait and see.

Normally Rias wouldn't choose this option in a million years, not when her territory was concerned. But recently her talks with Naruto made her reconsider it.

She was sure that the troublemaking blond was in there, but could she really leave her responsibilities to a person who she has only recently met?

'Please believe in me for a little bit longer so that I can prove to be worthy of your trust Rias-san! So that I can prove to be worthy of everyone's trust!'

Ah...

Rias grimaced as his words reverberated in her head. Those words...

She looked up to the sky with a small but noticeable grin. It looked like Naruto got her more than she was willing to admit.

Fine. She would place her faith in Naruto...he wanted a chance to prove himself? To prove that they could all trust him? Well this was a perfect chance.

"Go get 'em...Naruto." Rias said quietly.

"Buchou?"

Rias turned to see that her internal dilemma have not gone unnoticed by her Peerage. Everyone was looking at her with concern, even little Koneko-chan who has returned from her scouting.

"Everyone...I've decided that we should pull back for now. Naruto is in there and I'm sure that he won't let things escalate further...he is our friend after all." the red head said with a small smile. A smile which was returned by the rest of her Peerage.

"Well, Naruto-san certainly seems capable. I'm sure that whatever is going on inside the barrier...that he can handle it just fine." Kiba said with a reassuring smile.

Koneko nodded at Kiba's statement and added "...Naruto-senpai is strong. We don't have to worry Buchou."

Rias smiled at their responses, then she turned to Akeno who was hiding a smile behind her hand.

Akeno noticed that her King was waiting for her answer.

"Ara ara Buchou. I think you already know my answer when it comes to Foxy-kun." Akeno giggled.

The red-head just shook her head at her friend's antics and turned to regard the barrier.

She didn't know much about Issei yet...

She didn't trust Nonaka...not by a long shot.

But she did tell Naruto did she would place her faith in him.

That she would trust him, despite all of her misgivings. Despite all the logic against it. Despite the numerous different reasons that she shouldn't trust him.

Yet she did. Deep inside...she did trust him.

She could only hope that her trust wasn't misplaced.

Yuki was staring at the group in front of her as she held her weapon ready.

To be honest, she was dealing with an interesting dilemma. One that she didn't think that she would have to deal with in a long time.

She has sworn to protect humans from supernatural as a hero...

But what does she do when those humans align themselves with the supernatural?

Many consider this question to be very controversial among the heroes.

Her included.

But she didn't have time to muse about her moral dilemma. She had to focus...otherwise she would get hurt unnecessarily.

So for now...her policy was...

"What the hell are you bitches waiting for!? Get the realbitch!"

Break a couple of bones if necessary.

To the eyes of the fallen-aligned priests, the girl was standing in front of the entrance for one moment...

Then she disappeared before any of them noticed that she even moved.

Just like with the blond before her...they were completely overwhelmed and outmatched.

Her speed allowed for her to disappear in front of their eyes in one second and then reappear on the other side of the room. Her strength allowed for her to easily shrug off their light swords with her own blade. Finally, her reflexes allowed for her to dodge their light guns even though sometimes it was practically at point-blank range.

Yuki for her part, was almost casually dealing with the fallen 'men of the cloth'. She quickly knocked one unconscious by sending in a crushing blow to the stomach and knocking others out with a blow to the back of the head with the butt of her blade.

She would consistently, parry blows into other priests and dodge attacks that would cause friendly fire and confusion among the ranks. Large groups such as these with little discipline tend to self-destruct when facing very few but very well-trained individuals.

So she watched as many of the fallen servants were taken down by their own men and knocked out by her own machinations.

Those men got out easy though.

Some men only saw a blur pass them before they received large gashed on their person which caused them to shout out in pain.

Others would hear the sick crack of bones breaking and then feel the joints on their arms or legs crack.

The scene was just as painful for the young hero as well however.

She simply wasn't used to hurting humans since her prerogative was always to fight supernatural beings. So the thought of harming fellow human beings was almost foreign to her.

Especially ones that were as weak as these.

But she also knew that these were not good men by any stretch of the imagination. They would have sacrificed a young girl's life...just to please their masters.

She didn't like it...but it simply had to be done.

The insane priest looked on in seething impotence as his group of fallen priests were thoroughly defeated one-by-one.

If they were going to lose...then he might as well make a break for it!

"Well...this was fun bitch-chan! But unfortunately my mother is calling me home for dinner and I can't be late! I'll see you devil lovers later!" the insane priest spoke with a maniacal grin as he quickly threw a flash bang to the ground.

Yuki just finished wiping out the last of the priests as she watched the last priest get away.

She didn't follow.

The screams and moans from the humans she had already badly hurt was already too much for her stomach. There would be no more human screams by her hand today.

Besides, her mission was accomplished. All that was left to do was to follow Hyoudou Issei and to wait for Naruto.

She tilted her head for a moment in thought, he should've dealt with the fallen by now right?

What was taking so long?

Naruto was currently staring at the floating five-winged fallen in the sky.

He had absolutely no idea what she was capable of now.

He knew that six pairs of wings were the absolute height of power for any of the angelic factions. He has already met Azazel and quickly determined that Sage Mode would be necessary against him. So the question was...how much of the gap between her former power and Azazel's current power was bridged?

He wasn't sure. But he did know one thing...

He wasn't gonna sit around and find out the hard way!

Naruto bent his knees, then with a mighty kick that made the ground around him split from the sheer pressure...

He jumped straight towards the fallen leader with as much strength as he could.

To Vretiel in the sky, the human had jumped straight towards her with speeds that still surpass her own...

But gravity was quickly and efficiently slowing him down for her. As he got closer, he was now simply her equal in speed.

Perfect.

She formed two light spears with three rings encircling them and threw them at the incoming blond.

Naruto in response to this, simply made his familiar cross-shaped handsign.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

One clone appeared one his right and just as quickly grabbed the original and threw him out of the trajectory of the incoming spears. The spears impaled the clone milliseconds later.

Vretiel's eyes hardened at this development. He was using his corporeal clones in order to fight her in her territory huh...?

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

The female fallen watched as the blond created four more clones, three of them used another as a platform in order to jump at her again.

As this was happening, she made sure to fly even higher so that the annoying human wouldn't reach her so easily. Hoping gravity would aid her again in her fight with the 'downer'.

She needed to make all of her attacks count while in this new stage of power.

So when the blond attempted to reach her again, gravity was still doing her dirty work in slowing him down to make the fight more even in terms of speed.

Two of the copies went behind the original and then flung him towards the her with a familiar orb of power. But before the original reached her, the other clone threw it's final brother towards her with all of it's strength before dispersing itself.

Trying to use the clone as a distraction huh? Like hell she would fall for it!

She quickly dodged out of the way of the projectile clone and then refocused her efforts on the incoming original.

Naruto grit his teeth as he quickly charged the fallen angel with the small orb. He hoped his little trick would work!

Vretiel formed another spear of light with three rings encircling it and charged the incoming blond with her spear raised.

One rasengan met the might of the spear of light in a clash of light which temporarily blinded both opponents.

The female fallen had a dark grin on her face as she saw her spear begin to push back against the little sphere...hard. Just a little more and...

Her eyes widened in horror as the blond brought his other arm that was hidden behind him...it held another of those damnable spheres!

"Rasenrengan!" (Rasengan Barrage!)

The other attack was swiftly pushed onto the shaft of the spear with it's grinding force and she watched as the twin pressure of both spheres was beginning to crack her weapon of light. She didn't want to put more power into her attack since it would very likely become explosive, that kind of damage would very much cripple her!

So she held firm as she put more strength into her lunge, hoping that her spear would destroy the blue ball before it itself succumbed to the twin onslaught.

She was once more let down.

The spear shattered again to the power of the rasenganwhich left her wide open to their double assault!

Naruto took the chance to push the rasengans to her torso...!

Vretiel expanded her wings and flew outside of his range.

The shinobi gnashed his teeth in frustration. His lack of flying skills was becoming a serious liability in this fight!

The female fallen smirked as she dodged the blond's attacks and flew upward again. As long as he couldn't fly, she should be able to-

She spit out blood as she felt something smash into her back with tremendous force!

She looked behind her as she lost control of her flight and widened her eyes at what she saw.

The clone.

The clone wasn't the distraction...

The blond used himself as a distraction!

Naruto grinned as he saw his clone smash into the back of the fallen. At least that plan worked. He was kinda hoping to smash her into the clone rather than let him do all of the work.

But this worked too!

He simply raised his arms as he saw that the clone smashed Vretiel towards...

"Let's try this again...Rasenrengan!"

Him.

Vretiel let out a soundless scream as she felt the two spheres grind into her stomach again. She felt flesh begin to give way as the attack did it's best to make it's way through her defenses.

Then the explosion happened.

She felt the explosion send her flying towards the ground in a heap as gravity...which was once working so well with her...so suddenly turn against her.

Naruto frowned as he saw the fallen woman sail towards the ground, he didn't take any pleasure in doing this. But the fact was that he couldn't hold back too many punches.

He also knew for a fact that Vretiel wasn't done yet. The rasengans didn't really do any severe damage, so far mostly pretty big wounds but nothing to really put her down.

So time to upgrade. Best do it while she's down too.

So he made another clone and had him form another rasengan.

But this one was...quite a bit bigger. The Ōdama Rasengan.

Naruto was holding the larger sphere in front of him so that it could hit the ground first...or whatever it touches.

Since he was heading straight towards the downed fallen, his target was obvious.

But before the sphere could connect, the fallen spread her wings and used them to push off the ground. The momentum from this action allowed for her to move safely out of the way.

Much to Naruto's annoyance.

When the orb smashed into the ground, it immediately went through the ground, all the way to the blond's shoulders without any effort. Immediately after, the jutsu detonated and completely destroyed the ground around Naruto.

All that was left of the patch of forest was a large crater and a deep hole.

The second he was free from the crater again, he had to dodge a light spear which was aiming to impale him while he was prone.

Vretiel began flying back towards the sky while continually throwing light spears at the human, hoping to buy time as she made her way to her 'territory'.

But Naruto made his familiar handsign again and made two clones as he continued dodging the spears. Those clones immediately spread out and grabbed kunai from their own pouches as the original kept the fallen leader's attention.

Before Vretiel was too far away from the treeline, they threw four kunai with each hand towards the fallen. In response, Vretiel casually dodged all of the metal knives and continued on her ascent.

Before she found it much more difficult to move.

She looked down in surprise to find several small wires wrapped around her person. She growled as she had been tricked once more by the wily human boy on the forest floor.

The clones held firm to the wires they had placed around the woman and since she has been contained, the real Naruto was finally freed from the consistent bombardment. Naruto walked up to the clones and addressed Vretiel.

"Look lady, I ain't looking forward to beating you up to make you stop. So why don't you just quit it while you still aren't knocked unconscious?" Naruto said tiredly, hoping that the woman would stop. The fight was annoying him due to his glaring weakness in air combat, if she continued and managed to get back to the sky...

Then the battle would take quite a bit longer at this rate. He would still win...it would just take longer to dislodge her from the sky again.

Vretiel for her part, just bared her teeth at the request as she internally tried to figure a way out of her predicament.

She didn't understand the young human in front of her at all.

All of the supernatural beings she have met and fought throughout her long life-span were typically categorized among different ways of fighting.

Speed, power, and technique were the standard for all factions among the supernatural.

There were those who fought smart and those who were sneaky during battle. It happened quite a bit during the Great War, where many supernaturals would try to overpower their foes by using their weaknesses against them.

But this boy fit into none of those categories.

The boy used the most unorthodox and strange ways of fighting she has ever seen throughout her entire life! There were no individuals among the supernatural that would throw corporeal copies of themselves as projectiles. There were no supernatural beings that used the same attack to even greater effect multiple times. There were no people among the supernatural that would have small wires in their weapons to capture their enemies without them noticing!

It simply wasn't done!

It was either; use greater power, use greater speed, or have better technique. That was how many would defeat one another.

So what can she do against this...thing?

...

No.

It didn't matter.

The objective here wasn't to win...the objective was to stall for time so that Raynare could complete the ritual inside the abandoned church. Once she was done with it and achieved the girl's sacred gear...

Then her ambitions could be realized.

Not even this...thing could stand a chance against their combined strength.

He would be the first true test of their new might! Of HERnew might!

"...gloat all you want downer...for once my daughter completes her ritual and acquires her new power...you won't stand a chance between our new power! I will not fall here! You will be the one who falls in the end!" Vretiel gloated triumphantly.

Naruto didn't look impressed.

"If you're talking about the nun in the abandoned church that was about to be sacrificed for something...then I've already got it covered." Naruto said blandly, not really feeling up to bandying words.

The fallen leader froze.

"...What do you mean?"

The shinobi blinked at the new somber tone that the woman had, but decided to ignore it and answer her question.

"Before our fight even started, there was a friend of the nun that wanted to save her. When I was running away from you guys, I was actually making way for that friend to save his friend without your interference." Naruto shrugged, no point in hiding it much longer. She was all tied up and it could show her that fighting anymore would be pointless.

He hoped that it would deter her from fighting further.

He was wrong.

The fallen leader said nothing for a moment.

Then the light energy within her exploded.

The power of it was enough to catch Naruto flat-footed and push him back along with his clones, which dispersed once they crashed into trees.

Vretiel felt something snap once she heard the blond's words.

Her power...

Her future...

Her ambition...

Gone.

All gone.

Because of him.

She didn't care. She didn't care that her fellow fallen angels were littered across the forest!

She didn't care that her daughter was probably still alive in the church!

She didn't care that she would probably die from her next move!

As long as she killed the boy!

She immediately flew up into the sky the second she was free from the wretched clones that held her down and threw down several light spears to cover her escape to the clouds. Only once she was there did she begin her final attack.

This would probably kill her, her new state was already draining to her reserves of light energy since she wasn't used to it yet. But what she was about to do in order to assuredly kill the blond human would drain everything from her.

Which left nothing except her body to protect herself with from the explosions.

She was planning for a lot of explosions.

She watched as the blond human...glare up at her with annoyance as she managed to get away from his grasp.

Well he wouldn't have to worry much longer.

She spread all of her wings and concentrated on her light energy to form spears...

Lots of spears.

Immediately, several spears with rings encircling them began to form around her. More and more came as she concentrated on every ounce of light still within her to prepare for the finishing attack.

More...

More...

More...

Naruto stared up to the sky in rising apprehension as it was dotted with light spears. It so thoroughly enveloped the sky...that the slowly darkening skies now seemed to have transitioned to day time!

This was insane! If all of those light spears hit the ground at the same time...it wouldn't just destroy everything inside the barrier...it would probably break the barrier and destroy the surrounding area!

That meant part of Kuoh Town would be destroyed!

Those innocent people...

No. That wouldn't happen. No one here is going to die today!

Once more, he made the familiar hand seal for his favorite jutsu.

But this time, he wasn't planning on making a couple of clones.

"Tajū Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

Yuki was staring at sky, where the fallen angel; Vretiel was floating.

The battle between her friend and the fallen leader was obviously reaching a climax.

When she first began to watch the clash of power between the two combatants, she was very much surprised to see the power her friend wielded.

She knew he was strong...

But watching Naruto go toe-to-toe with a fallen angel with five-pairs of wings was way beyond what she thought he was capable of. Four-pairs was what she thought was his absolute max capacity.

Which was why at the time, she was going to go help him in the fight.

Until she saw him using those corporeal clones of his to fight the fallen angel in the air.

She witnessed how Naruto was seemingly thrashing the fallen leader without getting a single wound! But she couldn't help but notice something.

Naruto was struggling.

As powerful as he was on the ground, it was painfully obvious that aerobic battles were outside his field of experience. But he was still effective enough to knock the fallen angel back towards the ground.

But something changed.

The fallen angel had managed to get back to the air again, but it seemed that there was something intrinsically different with the supernatural being now.

Seeing what the rogue fallen was about to do help figured out what.

She lost her mind.

Light spears were being formed at an alarming pace around the fallen. Some powerful, some not. But there was no mistake that if all of those spears fell towards the ground at the same time...

Everything inside the barrier would be wiped out.

Maybe even break the barrier and destroy the area around it.

Before she could think of a way to get out of their predicament, Naruto reacted.

An absolutely huge plume of smoke appeared that seemingly covered a large part of the forest.

After it dissipated, she was shocked to see that practically the entire forest was filled to the brim with copies of her friend!

She was a little ways away from the battle but she could see the amount of clones that were now inhabiting the forest. Then they seemed to congregate together into pairs...

She saw a blue sphere begin to coalesce between the pairs.

Whatever they were up to must have been massive, as she saw blue lights begin to light up the entire forest like a holiday. Those lights began to grow and congregate together to become a more concentrated light in the middle of the forest.

Then...like someone had given a signal, both enormous sources of light began to move towards one another.

The light in the air descended like a small meteor shower.

The light on the ground ascended like a blue eruption from a volcano of power.

She moved immediately to grab something inside the church that was sturdy enough to withstand the shockwave from such a clash. She really hoped that Naruto knew what he was doing.

Naruto glared up at the large amount of spears that were poised to reach the ground with deadly consequences.

He had a large blue sphere of power in his hand.

It wasn't just him though.

Several clones around him were holding Ōdama Rasengans and were closing up ranks to prepare themselves for the onslaught.

It seemed that Vretiel didn't care too much though.

"Die..." Vretiel whispered, so low that Naruto barely heard her.

"DIIIIEEEE!" Vretiel screamed out as she pointed towards the ground, the spears following her order and sped towards the forest floor.

Well...he heard that.

"Ok everyone...as one!" Naruto shouted out to his clones, prepared for their maneuver.

"""RIGHT BOSS!"""

The large group of clones held their Ōdama Rasenganshigh above their heads.

Then...

They jumped.

The small army moved forward as one towards the rain of light that headed their direction...and as one shouted...

"Ōdama Rasen Tairengan" (Ōdama Rasengan Barrage Line)

The clash of the attacks was blinding for all involved and the shockwave that was produced obliterated any unfortunate trees that were still standing, despite how far the clash was to the ground. The clones were formed up in a veritable wall of rasengans that held the light spears at bay despite how many there were.

The explosions that resulted from some of the light spears detonating nearby to the rasengans began to start a chain reaction...

The explosions quickly triggered some of the blue spheres to detonate prematurely which in turn detonated other rasengans due to their close proximity.

Then...

*BOOOOOOM*

Very soon, the entire sky was letting off a massive explosion which lit up the sky, the gale force winds were strong enough to rip all of the trees which were left standing inside the barrier and rocked the church nearby.

Only after a few seconds afterwards did the explosion cease.

The woman who was partially responsible for the destruction just took large gulps of air as she tried not to fall over from overexertion.

Then she smiled.

It was finally over...the blond was seemingly destroyed in the large-scale destruction.

Then she saw something come flying out of the smoke towards her.

All she saw was hard azure eyes glare at her from under blond locks.

"This time...stay down."

A hard blow smashed Vretiel upside the head and once more sent her flying down to the ground. She made a large crater when she landed and spittle came flying out of her mouth from the blow.

She stared hazily up towards the sky as a blond man came flying at her with a raised fist-

That was the last thing that Vretiel of the fallen angels remembered from that day.

Issei was running down the stairway of the abandoned church to reach the underground cavern. The stairs seemed almost endless for the human teenager!

He was terrified, he had no idea whether the girl from before was right in her analysis of the fallen angels. For all he knew, he could be running headlong into a trap.

But that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was making it in time to save Asia!

Although it didn't change the fact that there were a hell of a lot of steps here! Maybe it was because that everyone who was living here in the first place were superhuman?

But after several more flights where Issei's legs felt like they were going to give out, he finally saw it.

He saw the end of the steps!

They were still a ways away but at least he saw his goal in sight.

But before he reached the underground area, he felt the ground begin to rumble above him violently. He glanced up warily, suddenly aware that if something massive happened above ground then it might cause the area he was in to cave in.

He seriously hoped that Naruto took care of any fallen angels that were capable of such a thing.

When he finally made it to the underground room safe and sound, he noticed that he wasn't alone.

Fallen angels.

At least three of them.

Issei widened his eyes as he realized that one of them was the woman that kidnapped Asia!

His fear gave way to anger as he remembered the hopeless feeling that he got when he watched the woman take Asia away, begging for her to stop hurting him.

But before he could act out on his anger, he noticed that the three fallen angels surrounded a large structure that had something on top of it.

...A cross?

There was someone on that cross too...it looked like...

"Asia!" Issei shouted out in horror, the nun was held up to the cross with only a white cloth to keep her modesty. His shout also alerted the fallen angels to his presence.

"What!? Who the hell is that!? How did you get past Vretiel-sama!" Dohnaseek shouted to the human boy that shouted out the nun's name. Before Issei could respond to the shocked query, someone else answered for him.

"Huh...you have nothing to worry about Dohnaseek. That is the human that I told all of you about. Little Asia's 'friend' that tried to help her back at Kuoh Town. He was too weak to do anything though." Kalawarner spoke up with a hint of disdain in her voice, she didn't care much for the human boy's life. Mittelt grinned at this knowledge.

"So he came here in order save his damsel in distress? Awwww! That's so cute! It's too bad she's going to die anyways!" Mittely practically chirped with a smile on her face, but the perverted boy ignored their words.

"Hey! Let Asia go! I won't let you hurt her!" Issei shouted out in anger, seeing his friend like this was terrible for the young man. Even though he was an idiot, even he knew about the story of what happened to that guy on the cross in the Bible...

He was not gonna let that happen to Asia!

"There is nothing you can do human." a feminine voice spoke up.

Issei looked to see the voice come from right next to the cross which held Asia. The young woman regarded the perverted boy without much care as she determined that he wasn't the threat the she was afraid of.

That threat was still outside.

This one wasn't worth worrying over.

"What the hell do you mean by that!? If you don't let her go right now then I will beat the shit of you!" the brown-haired boy shouted out in anger, refusing to believe that saving Asia was a hopeless cause.

Raynare finally regarded the boy with a hint of irritation before speaking again.

"I mean that unless we stop the ritual willingly then you can't save her. The ceremony takes the Sacred Gear that is inside the girl's soul, if you try to interrupt us in order to stop us...we may make a mistake and kill her. We would fail in taking the Sacred Gear...but you would fail in saving her as well." Raynare spoke with a glare, that was the entire reason for why they were in a secluded area without any distractions.

Issei stared at the fallen woman for a second before losing the strength of his legs. He sat down to compensate but his feeling of hopelessness was growing.

No...

She was right there.

She's right in front of him...!

Yet...

He couldn't do anything.

If he called the fallen's bluff then Asia might get killed.

If he waited then Asia would get killed.

No matter what he did...Asia would most likely die.

"No! This can't be how it ends! I won't let it!"

Issei ran past the fallen angels which were focused on the ritual on the ground to reach Asia on the cross. He ignored Raynare as well as he reached towards Asia.

"Asia...? Come on...please. Wake up." Issei begged quietly, refusing to let the tears that were building up to fall. He carefully touched the nun's cheek to wake her up.

Slowly, the girl's eyes fluttered open as emerald green eyes trained themselves on the boy.

"...Issei-san?" the nun whispered.

Issei nodded with a smile. "Yeah! It's me...I came for you...don't you worry about a thing! I will definitely get you out of here!" Issei spoke in comfort, to himself as much to the girl.

Asia just gave him a sad smile.

"Issei-san...in case I don't make it...I just want to thank you. You gave me...the most fun I have ever had...in my entire life..."

Issei just shook his head.

Stop.

"...Stop talking like you are going to die here...Asia...we are gonna make it out of this! No doubt! We just need to hold out! So...stop..." Issei said quietly, not able to stop the tears that were beginning to overflow.

"Thank you...so much...Issei-san. I'm sure that...God gave me this precious time with you...I was so happy..."

Stop.

"No! You're not going to die here! I promise! I promised that we would have more fun later right!? I still have to keep my promise!...I don't...I don't want you to die Asia!" Issei cried with tears going down his face, he hugged her small frame as she was held by the cross.

Asia's eyes began to close. She was losing consciousness.

"This might...be the last...time I get to talk to you Issei-san...so..." Asia spoke softly, her eyes closing.

"...Thank you...for everything."

The nun's eyes closed as she drifted off to unconsciousness.

To Issei's fear, that may be the last time she opened her eyes.

The human boy turned around with tear-stricken eyes and grovelled in front of Raynare.

"Please...I don't care what happens to me...but don't kill Asia! Please! I beg of you!" Issei shouted out while ignoring the tears that were clouding his eyesight.

Raynare didn't respond.

She turned her face away from the two humans while they were conversing, she didn't want to look at them.

She hated watching all of this. But she said it herself right?

She would do whatever her mother desired.

...

It didn't mean that she had to like it.

"...I'm sorry." Raynare mumbled quietly.

Five more minutes until the ritual was completed.

Issei just stayed in his groveling posture.

Again...

He failed again...

He couldn't do anything to save her...

Just like last time...

He clenched his fists and smashed them repeatedly while ignoring the pain and blood it brought.

Why!?

Why was he so weak!?

Why couldn't he save anyone!?

"Please...someone...anyone...save Asia!" Issei begged pitifully, hoping for a miracle.

"Oi Issei...quit crying."

Everyone in the room widened their eyes as a new voice entered the conversation.

But Raynare's eyes widened further when she realized something.

The feeling she had about the 'threat' didn't seem so far anymore...

Also...that voice...

Where did she...?

'Damn it fallen angel-san! This is what happens when you ruin my ramen time dattebayo!'

Her eyes widened in horror as the memories came flooding in.

It was him.

A blond teenaged male finished walking down the stairs into the underground room while holding a bag over his shoulder, most people in the room couldn't help but notice that the blond's right arm was pretty badly burned up. He looked at Issei with an annoyed glare before speaking again.

"Issei! Remember this! Nothing is over until it's over! We still have a chance to save your friend!" Naruto called out towards the perverted boy. Issei stared at the blond teenager with hope in his eyes.

Maybe he can...!

"I don't know who you are human...but haven't you heard? Unless we stop willingly, there is no hope for your precious Asia to be saved!" Kalawarner shouted out with a glare aimed at Naruto.

The shinobi cupped his chin for a moment before wincing slightly, the burn he got on his arm was a wake-up call for him. He was among his clones when the explosion went off and he didn't have enough time to fully get out of the way. Props to Vretiel for being the first supernatural to hurt him in a battle.

Ignoring that for now though!

"So basically, I can't do anything to save the girl unless you stop by your own choice right?" Naruto said with a grin.

The blue-haired fallen just nodded somewhat warily, he seemed a bit too happy for her tastes.

"Alright then! How about this for a bargain?" Naruto asked while opening the bag over his shoulder and dumping the contents on the church floor.

""'Vretiel-sama!""" the three fallen angels on the floor screamed out in shock and horror.

But none more than the fallen on top of the stone structure.

"OKAA-SAMA!" Raynare screamed out in horror.

Her mother...her overwhelmingly powerful mother that was being considered a position for Grigori...

Was unconscious on the floor, looking battered and worn. To Raynare, this was a practical impossibility...and yet...there she lay.

Defeated.

"...This won't break our will! As long as Raynare-sama gets the Sacred Gear and unlocks her true potential...then we can still...!" Dohnaseek spoke out in order to rally his comrades.

Naruto revealed his trump card.

"Azazel-san knows."

All of the fallen angels in the room froze.

"Azazel-san sent me as his representative in order to stop this little rebellion that Vretiel was cooking up. I know that he won't hurt you guys at the very least but...Vretiel on the other hand..." Naruto said with an uneasy shrug of his shoulder. He really didn't know what Azazel was going to do with her, but he did know one thing.

"What I do know though...is that Azazel-san is more likely to be lenient with Vretiel if her plan fails. He isn't angry with this rebellion because it was against his authority, he was angry because it threatened the peace. If her plan fails, then it's more likely that he will be more forgiving. You can continue this plan, but I think it's better to stop...for her sake if not your own." Naruto said somberly, he didn't like the fact that he was technically holding her up for ransom...even if he kinda wasn't. More like he was just telling it like it was.

Didn't make him feel better though. But it had to be done, everyone would be better off if Vretiel's plan to steal that nun's Sacred Gear didn't succeed.

Raynare was staring at the blond human with trembling fists, she was in a very bad spot right now.

What could she do?

What should she do?

She didn't want to get her mother punished...but her mother ordered her to continue with the ritual.

No...

No...

She said she would do whatever it took to get her mother's love again right?

Well now was the time to prove it!

It was only one more minute until the girl's Sacred Gear was removed from her body and then transferred into her! When it did, she could unlock her latent powers that her mother so desperately wanted!

She could defeat the human! She could save her friends! She could get her mother's love and respect!

She wouldn't fail!

She opened her mouth to give her answer-

'Kalawarner-nee? Did okaa-sama ever love me?'

She slammed her mouth shut as memories from long ago resurfaced.

'Yes...she loved you very very much once upon a time...and I'm sure she will love you again. I'm sure of it Raynare-chan.'

Raynare clenched her fists.

...

Ah...

She forgot.

She was doing this because she wanted her mother's love and affection...

But...

'Ok! Well then I will show okaa-sama how much I love her! She will definitely love me back like that right?'

...But she loved her mother much more than she craved her affection and respect.

"...I surrender."

Chapter 11

Raynare was kneeling right next to her mother, carefully wiping away some of the grime that was on her face.

She looked pretty banged up, but from what she could tell...nothing debilitating was done to her body.

She supposed she should be thankful for small miracles.

"Hey...Raynare-san right?"

The fallen woman looked up to regard the human who has foiled her mother's plans, she expected a harsh gaze from him...

But unexpectedly he seemed to be looking at her with a quizzical expression rather than a harsh and demanding one.

"...What do you want?" Raynare asked warily, he was dangerous and she didn't feel comfortable in his presence. Naruto just nodded at her tone and continued.

"Well...do you mind if I ask you something?" Naruto asked with a curious tone.

The female fallen's confusion began to grow, what was he doing right now? Especially when considering the circumstances.

"...Sure?" Raynare responded, her confusion causing her to phrase her response as a question. But the blond seemingly ignored it and continued.

"Why did you give up? I mean not that I'm complaining that you've given up but...I saw that you were about to keep fighting on before. Then you just randomely changed your mind at the last second. So I'm a little curious." Naruto said while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

Raynare gave him a dull stare.

Just because she was beaten didn't mean that she was just gonna give out her personal information. This guy was just...

"Sorry...that's personal information. I don't feel like sharing it to the guy that just beat up my mother." the young woman spoke somewhat bitterly.

The shinobi simply nodded at her reasoning. "That's fine, you didn't have to answer. Like I said, I was just curious." Naruto said easily, before casually moving past her towards Issei.

Issei was busy holding on to the nun like his life depended on it. She was obviously still unconscious...but it looked like she was going to be fine at least.

Naruto just walked up beside him and crouched to check on the petite girl for injuries. As far as he could tell there was nothing but you never know...

"Thank you."

Naruto blinked for a moment before looking towards the trembling form of Issei.

"Thank you for saving Asia...thank you so much..." Issei spoke while holding back tears of relief. Naruto just patted him on the back in response, he himself knew about the feeling of pain when you lost someone close.

He definitely wanted to make sure that other people wouldn't have to feel such pain.

But before the shinobi could try and lighten the mood with something silly, he twisted his head to look at the at the stairway and narrowed his eyes.

Someone was coming.

He stood up and walked away from Issei and ignored the small group of fallen angels that were congregated around Raynare and Vretiel in order to face whoever was coming.

Though admittedly, he knew who was coming. He just wanted to make sure that the man treated the captured fallen without mistreating them too much.

He opened his mouth to greet the man that descended from the stairs...

Then slammed his mouth shut in absolute shock at what he was seeing.

All of the conscious fallen angels were gaping like fish.

While Issei just looked on in confusion, hell shouldn't Naruto be happy that his friend was so effective?

Naruto finally spoke after staying silent for a few moments.

"...Azazel-san?"

A few moments earlier...

Azazel was staring at the very much weakened barrier surrounding the abandoned church, he truthfully had no idea what was going on in there exactly.

But he could speculate.

Considering how battered and cracked the purple barrier was, it was a safe bet to believe that there was quite the battle inside. He was also willing to bet that his new 'friend' had been involved in that battle.

But he didn't want to bet. He wanted to find out what happened.

But at the same time, he didn't want to go inside the barrier when there were fallen angels still conscious in there.

So after waiting a suitable amount of time since the barrier cracked, he decided that since the barrier has not received anymore damage recently, he could enter without fear of discovery.

So he casually flicked his arm at the weakened barrier and shattered it utterly to allow the contents from within to be revealed.

What he saw honestly shocked him.

The entire forest which once stood inside the barrier was completely flattened, it looked more like someone thoroughly carpet-bombed the area than the arena of a fight!

He also couldn't help but nervously look around for the conspicuously absent fallen bodies that should have been littered across the battlefield...

Ah!

There they were.

He saw all of the fallen angels that were probably standing in the mysterious blond man's way stacked on top of one another. Really, they were just haphazardly thrown on top of each other like some weird game of jenga.

He supposed that he could hazard a guess on where everyone else were. There was only one thing standing in the entire area.

So he spread his wings and flew towards the abandoned church at a casual pace until he touched down in front of the battered structure.

He made sure to put away his wings before he spooked anyone.

Although he didn't really expect anyone to be waiting for him.

He especially didn't expect for a hero to be waiting for him, the cape was sort of a big give-away. He hasn't seen one of those in a long time...wondered how that old bastard hero was doing?

"Another fallen angel...? You are here to help your allies I presume?" the young woman asked rhetorically while holding her blade up in a defensive position.

Azazel just grinned in amusement.

"You remind me of a disrespectful brat that I had the unfortunate pleasure to meet once upon a time. Ah well...I doubt you could stop me even if you tried to hero-chan. So why not let me pass by without any trouble eh?" Azazel spoke with a sly smirk on his face.

Yuki's only response was the activation of her Sacred Gear.

That only elicited the raise of a single eyebrow from Azazel.

"True Sight? Man it's been a while since I've seen that one...but..." the fallen said with mocking smile.

"You do know about the many weaknesses of that Sacred Gear right? Because I sure as hell do. I fought against one of them during the Great War after all." the elderly man finished with a small grin.

The hero didn't respond, instead she bent her legs in preparation to fight.

Azazel just sighed.

He forgot how ridiculously hardcore heroes could be. Well he knew how to handle this.

"Alright alright...look, if I put my hands behind my head while you stay behind me and hold your sword at the back of my neck...will you let me go down there and talk to Naruto?" Azazel asked with an easy-going smile, hoping that the young hero would allow this at the very least.

Besides she was no threat to him, if she released killing intent for even a fraction of a second...he would be ready.

That and he was too lazy to fight right now. Really, the world was too cruel to pacifists.

Yuki looked at him suspiciously, but quickly decided that the compromise was acceptable. The simple fact that he knew Naruto's name at all seemed to indicate that he had some relation with her friend.

That, and she was moderately sure that she could kill him if he tried anything funny.

Suffice it to say, she had no idea who she was talking to right now.

"Very well, but no funny business fallen angel-san." Yuki said seriously, before tilting her head and allowing him to pass.

Azazel just scoffed.

She was very much like that old bastard.

Present...

"...and that's how I have been captured against my will." Azazel finished his small story dramatically.

Everyone who wasn't a fallen angel just deadpanned at him.

The fallen were still mostly wary, they were still on the proverbial chopping block for this man after all. No luxury for humor when they could be facing punishment.

Naruto just sighed.

He could be forgiven for being shocked when he saw Azazel being led to the underground cavern at sword-point by Yuki. Essentially...Yuki was manhandling the leader of the fallen angel faction.

Whoever was the leader of the Hero tribe would undoubtedly be proud despite the strange circumstances.

Yuki by this point, had moved around Azazel and to Naruto's side when she realized who she was threatening exactly. To say that she was nervous was a bit of an understatement.

This nervousness increased slightly when the fallen leader spread all six-pairs of his wings and his playful expression dropped.

He turned to the remaining fallen that were still awake and addressed them. "Well...what should I do with you lot hmm?" the fallen leader asked rhetorically, with an annoyed glare at them. This in turn just caused the traitorous fallen to gaze at the floor as if they were being reprimanded by their parent rather than their leader.

Azazel just sighed.

Then he gave Raynare a sly smile.

"Well...I think you should be thankful to your former guardians Raynare. If it wasn't for them, then I would have probably placed you under house arrest until further notice." the older man spoke with humor laced in his tone, and to the relief of most of the fallen angels.

But much to the confusion of one of them.

"What are you talking about...? Kalawarner-nee, what is he talking about? Mittelt-chan? Dohnaseek-sensei?" Raynare asked hesitantly, not sure if she really wanted to know.

The three fallen in question looked at each other hesitantly before looking at Azazel in confirmation.

Said fallen angel just shrugged his shoulders in indifference. "Shit already went down. What information leaks out later is of no concern as long as it doesn't enter the ears of anyone...unsavory." he spoke while picking his nose.

Kalawarner just sighed and looked to Dohnaseek for support.

Dohnaseek just pushed his fedora down to cover his face.

She then turned to Mittelt for back-up.

Mittelt found the ceiling really interesting at that exact moment.

"...Thanks for the support you two..." Kalawarner spoke with sarcasm, then she turned to face the inquisitive stare of her former ward.

"Raynare-sama...please understand that what we did...we did because we wanted to make sure that you were safe. We knew that if Vretiel-sama's plan was discovered...that your future would be ruined irrevocably so...we..." Kalawarner tried to explain, but her nervousness was preventing her from spilling it out.

"What did you do guys do?" Raynare asked quietly, feeling a rising dread fill her up. "What did you all do?"

The three humans that were still conscious were looking at one another uneasily, unsure of what to make of the drama occurring right in front of them.

Naruto especially, he was just expecting to wrap things up by making sure Azazel was gracious in his victory. He didn't really expect for...well...this to happen today.

Kalawarner just kept stumbling over her words until Azazel sighed dramatically and walked up to the group. "Your former guardians actively gave me information about your mother's plans as well as any other useful information." Azazel drawled out to Raynare.

The room was silent for a moment at the wake of this revelation.

Raynare just turned to Kalawarner in absolute shock and opened her mouth, only to close it due to how speechless she was. How could they do this? How could they sell out her mother? If it wasn't for them...then...

Her mother wouldn't be face down on the floor, battered and bruised as she was.

"Raynare-sama! Please! Just for one moment...hear us out. We had a just cause to do what we did!" Kalawarner cried before bowing to the younger fallen, in hopes that Raynare would give them a chance.

The fallen woman just stared at her comrades mutely, before nodding quietly. She was felling numb and wasn't at the stage where she would feel overwhelming anger at the betrayal of trust. So until then...

Kalawarner just breathed a sigh of relief, then she straightened her back in order to explain herself.

"Raynare-sama, first you must know that we were loyal to your mother and we would never betray her so easily. We only did it because we saw no other way to make sure that she would live from repercussions of her actions when Azazel-sama inevitably found out...and to make sure that you had a future afterwards." Kalawarner began, then she raised her hand out in silence when Raynare opened her mouth. "I understand you are confused Raynare-sama so let me elaborate. Do you remember the incident at the abandoned factory a couple of days ago?"

Raynare frowned as memories of the other powerful human emerged from her memories. "Yes...but what does that have to do with this? How could Azazel-sama have known about any of this? Aren't you at fault for alerting him?" the fallen woman accused her former wards with a glare.

But Kalawarner shook her head.

"No, the explosion caused by your mother alerted him."

Raynare widened her eyes at this revelation. But how could the Governor General of the fallen angels have figured out that her mother was involved in this at all?

"You really shouldn't be surprised Raynare-sama. Vretiel-sama was a very powerful woman that was being considered a position in Grigori right? Well what happens when such a famous woman disappears for a period of time without a clue of her whereabouts? What happens when a considerable amount of fallen angels disappear without notice? Kalawarner explained quietly, ignoring how her younger friend's fists were clenching tightly.

"Well I'll tell you. The higher-ups began to place their collective ears to the ground to find them. That means following any lead that sounds even remotely of fallen angel activity in places they shouldn't be...like an incident where powerful light energy was used to destroy an abandoned human structure in devil territory." Kalawarner continued to explain somberly.

This caused Raynare's eyes to widen. Was it really like that? Was her mother accidentally laying the seeds of her own destruction? Of their own destruction?

"We quickly came to the conclusion that while the incident wouldn't be connected to Vretiel-sama immediately...it would be eventually. Even if her plan had succeeded without any problems, her next phase would involve overthrowing Grigori with your new power under her control. Even if you became several times more powerful from whatever power your mother sought, it didn't change the fact that you would need to train yourself in it's use. In short, you needed time...time that you didn't have because of Vretiel-sama's foolhardy decision." Kalawarner finished somberly, looking down at the floor in shame.

The daughter of Vretiel just stared at the floor in silence for a few seconds before speaking.

"So...you fed Azazel-sama information in the hopes that he would be more lenient in victory...is that right?" Raynare asked quietly with her fists clenched.

The worst part of all of this for the young fallen...was that she knew that Kalawarner wasn't wrong.

She knew that her mother was taking a lot of risks.

She knew that her mother was becoming more power-hungry.

She knew all of this...she was just afraid to admit it. That her actions would cause her to end up as she was now.

So she said nothing. There was nothing to say.

Naruto, who was watching everything play out, just stared at the daughter of Vretiel with sympathy. But what could he do? He couldn't save everyone...he learned that lesson, and this was one of those times where he couldn't help someone he wanted to help.

At the very least, he figured out how Azazel knew of him. No doubt that those fallen angels gave Azazel information about the powerful human and how similar their energy signals were to one another.

"Welp! This was a fun little drama! But I'm afraid that we must end it here. Now if you will all excuse me." Azazel spoke up, before walking towards the still unconscious Vretiel.

Naruto widened his eyes before getting up to sprint to the prone fallen angel in order to plead her case, even if it was slightly deserved. He still very much wanted to make sure that nothing too terrible would happen to her.

But someone beat him to it.

"Wait Azazel-sama!"

Raynare managed to get in front of the Governor General of the fallen angels and used her body to block Azazel's path to her mother.

Azazel just raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Come now Raynare. Surely you don't really think that you can actually stop me now do you?" Azazel asked with an easy-going smile, obviously completely at ease despite the situation.

"No...I want to bargain for a lessened sentence for my mother." Raynare retorted seriously.

This raised eyebrows all across the room in surprise.

"Hooo...now what can such a young fallen angel offer me in exchange for this woman's freedom? She nearly started a war you know? That would have been capital punishment if it wasn't for the fact that your guardians have asked me to be lenient. I'm only going to erase her memories and strip her of her powers now. That's fair enough right?" the Governor General asked rhetorically.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at that, but couldn't really fault the fallen leader for his decision. He really didn't like it though.

"...My mother wanted to unlock a power deep within me, she claimed that it was a power that hasn't been seen in over a millennia. Apparently this power has been undocumented and has never been researched properly. You like interesting things right Azazel-sama? Well...if I become your student and test subject willingly...can you please lessen her punishment?" Raynare asked seriously, before bowing her head towards the fallen leader.

Everyone's eyes widened at the young fallen's words.

Even Azazel widened his eyes at that. But then he placed his chin on the palm of his hand in contemplation. Her proposal actually did sound pretty attractive, as delusional as Vretiel had become over the years...he knew that she wasn't stupid. She must have based her ambitions on something concrete. While he had no idea if what Raynare had was truly powerful or not...there were still a lot of unknown things to discover in this world.

Hell, weren't they standing next to one of them right now in the form of a blond human?

Also, it wasn't like she would betray the deal or anything. To put it bluntly...he did have her mother captured after all.

Besides that, the cost of her willingness to become his test subject was...what? To lessen Vretiel's punishment?

Yeah. He can lessen her punishment for this.

"...Very well. I accept your terms Raynare. Although I have to ask...your mother was prepared to throw everything away just for her own selfish ambitions...yet here you are throwing away your future as something worthwhile in order to make her sentence less severe...why?" Azazel asked with genuine curiosity. He didn't really understand the younger woman's line of thinking, since he was actually a very selfish individual. He did things because they were good for him or his people as a whole, outside of his responsibilities...he didn't do things for other people willingly.

He abandoned Heaven for the pleasures of the flesh.

He abandoned women who loved him because they grew wrinkly and old.

He wanted peace for the sake of his curiosity in interesting things.

So he couldn't understand why this young woman would do what she was doing.

Raynare just smiled a sad smile.

"Because I love her." she said simply.

The Governor General just scratched his head in confusion and shrugged. "That's fine...but love won't help her 'affliction' that's for sure."

Raynare frowned at that. The way he said 'affliction' was...weird.

"...Azazel-sama. I apologize for asking but...do you know something about my mother?" the younger fallen asked hesitantly.

This also drew the stares of everyone else towards the fallen leader. Everyone was very much focused on the drama occurring in front of them.

Azazel just slapped his face with his hand in annoyance. He spoke too much it seemed.

"Look...I 'may' know something about what is wrong with your mother. But unfortunately...that is very much classified information." Azazel stated seriously while crossing his arms on his chest.

The female fallen bit her lips in order to stop herself from prying further. She couldn't risk it, she couldn't risk angering Azazel-sama when her own deal could be the price of his annoyance.

"Ok. I think I've had enough of being on the side lines in all of this."

Raynare flicked her eyes to regard the blond human who boldly walked up to them to enter the conversation.

Azazel just looked at him blankly for a moment.

"...You're still here?" the fallen leader asked dubiously.

Naruto ignored his question in order to face Raynare with intense blue eyes.

"You...you want to help her right? You want to help your mother right?" Naruto asked with blue eyes staring her down, much to the fallen's discomfort.

"What does it matter to you? Why the hell do you care human?" Raynare retorted with a glare, this was the human that got them in this situation to begin with after all.

Naruto just continued to stare at her, prying her for answers to his question. She held firm for a moment before acquiescing.

"...Yeah...I do want to save her. Despite everything that happened...she is still my precious mother. I can't just leave her as she is." Raynare mumbled quietly, refusing to face the human's stare.

"Alright then. All I wanted to know." Naruto said easily before turning to Azazel. "Hey Azazel-san?"

The fallen leader regarded the blond with curiosity. "What do you want Naruto?"

Naruto just grinned.

"I want to cash in my favor." he said with a shit-eating grin.

Azazel stared at the blond with wide eyes in shock.

He wasn't the only one, as fallen angel and human alike were staring at Naruto as if he just asked for something absolutely incredible.

The eldest fallen angel recovered first.

"...Wow. I was legitimately speechless there for a second kid. I'm honestly surprised that you would use up your favor for some random fallen angel. You...just what are you exactly? Azazel asked in slight amazement at the human boy.

Naruto smirked at the fallen leader with amusement, he's been getting that question a lot lately.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said with a cheesy grin plastered across his face.

Yuki shook her head at that, but couldn't stop the small smile on her face. She supposed that Naruto would always be like this, it wouldn't be Naruto if he wasn't.

Issei just flat-out gaped at the blond, but couldn't help but admire the sheer guts he had for demanding something that was clearly stated to be 'classified' information from someone so powerful. Seriously, who couldn't help but admire that?

But the one who was most surprised was Raynare herself, she was staring at the back of Naruto's head as if trying to burn her way inside it to answer the questions swirling around her head.

"...Why? Why would you waste your favor like that? Are you an idiot? We were just enemies! You don't do that for someone you just met! That's just...completely illogical!" the fallen woman shouted at the whiskered man.

He just glanced at her with the side of his eyes with a wry smile. "Now now...when someone lends you a hand without any ulterior motives...you should probably just take the damn hand." Naruto drawled.

Raynare just continued to stare at him, completely unsatisfied with that. Naruto just rolled his eyes at her and decided to explain himself.

"Look...I'll be blunt. I thought that you were a spoiled brat that used your mother's achievements and your own talent to cruise through life. I also thought that you had a massive pole stuck up your ass." Naruto stated bluntly and without remorse.

Issei guffawed at the statement and Raynare was clearly insulted by the words but didn't say anything.

"But...it seems that you have your own problems to deal with. Problems with acknowledgement. That's...something that I can sympathize with. More so in the fact that you did what you could to prove that you were worthy of that respect that you sought. Even more so when you gave that up in order to help your mother. So what I'm trying to say is..." Naruto said while giving her a light smile.

"How can I not help ya?"

Raynare just threw her hands up in the air.

She gave up! Trying to understand the guy in front of her was impossible! He just did things whenever he felt like and did whatever he felt like doing! Consequences be damned!

She sighed and rubbed her forehead with her palm and looked at grinning teenager in front of her.

"...Thank you. Although I really don't understand why...thank you." Raynare said sincerely, honestly touched by his gesture. She turned to Azazel in order to get the information she required.

Azazel for his part was somewhat regretting the fact that he didn't really put 'conditions' for what can be asked by his favor.

"Alright alright...sheesh. Kids these days are so..." Azazel grumbled while rubbing his scalp in annoyance. "But! I need you all to promise with your lives that this information will not leave your lips! Am I understood? If you break this promise...then I get to butcher you in the most horrific ways possible." the fallen leader finished with a bloodthirsty grin.

Needless to say, everyone agreed to the terms.

The Governor General nodded at this and began his explanation.

"To be blunt, your mother is a very sick woman Raynare. There is also very little anyone can do by this point in order to heal her as well." Azazel started, he immediately raised his hand up in silence in order to forestall the younger fallen's objections to his words.

"Let me finish before you say anything, I will only say this once. Your mother...according to your guardians, she wasn't always been like this am I correct?" Azazel asked, which got a hesitant negative from the younger fallen. "She very much acts power-hungry now, as if she craves more and more despite the fact that she can't handle it...quite greedy don't you think?" the eldest fallen asked, but received blank stares in return.

The fallen leader sighed and continued.

"Your mother is a victim of one of the Seven Deadly Sins; Greed." Azazel finished and received a wide eyed stare from his audience.

"Eh!? But I thought that the 'Seven Deadly Sins' were just one of God's many impossible expectations for us! That's what we were taught while in fallen territory in the Underworld!" Raynare shouted in shock. But Azazel shook his head and continued his explanation.

"We thought so for the longest time...but it turned out that there was more to it than that. We only discovered this after the end of the Great War, where there were several fallen angels that exhibited...an abnormal amount of hatred towards our former enemies. To the point where they wouldn't even listen to my own orders...some of them even had to be terminated because of it." Azazel said somberly, before shaking the memories away.

"Anyways, we eventually learned that the symptoms were very much correlated with the 'Seven Deadly Sins'. The 'disease' would result from an overabundance of one of the emotions among the 'Deadly Sins', which would then begin to warp the personality of the individual to fit the criteria of the 'Sin'. If you feel too much 'Wrath' then eventually you will begin to feel nothing but 'Wrath'. The same applies to each and every 'Sin'." the fallen leader explained quietly.

Raynare was speechless, she never heard of such a disease that ran rampant among her people before. But suddenly...quite a few things made sense.

Like why her mother changed as much as Kalawarner-nee claimed she did.

Why there were so many fallen that would fall into many negative extremes...even when compared to their devil counterparts.

"Wait, I can kinda understand why angels don't fall into these 'diseases'...but why don't the devils?" Naruto asked with a confused facial expression. This stuff was really complicated for the blond right now.

Poor Issei was pretty much getting his brain fried right now too.

"I'm not too sure myself. Perhaps it was the fact that the original Lucifer and his followers gave up their right to the power of light energy and the protection it offers. We fallen angels have light energy without the protection of God...so maybe that's why we are susceptible to it. But that is me just speculating, the fact is that we have no idea. We also have no idea how to actually help those who are victim to the 'disease'..." Azazel responded, but looked up at the furious Raynare who stood up and was now towering over someone who can squash her like a fly.

"So that's it!? You hide the fact that there is this impossible to heal disease occurring and that it's hopeless!? Fuck no! Why don't you spread the word of this disease so that people could actually be aware of it!?" Raynare snarled at her superior in anger.

The Governor General just regarded her coldly for a moment before responding.

"Hoh? Tell me...how long do you think fallen angel society has been existing? If you don't know... quite a bit more than a millenia, while still retaining the culture of the first group of fallen angels. Our society was built on living life without any constraints or any true moral qualms...how much of a shock do you think that that society would go through if they learned that they have to restrain themselves unless they want to get this new disease? Let me answer the question for you...the answer is a very big shock. Really...I'm pretty sure that a civil war would start because many would believe that I'm lying. But rather than pointing fingers at me...I think you should be more thankful Raynare." Azazel finished with narrowed eyes at the younger fallen.

Raynare looked taken aback for a moment before looking at the older fallen warily.

"Um...why do you say that Azazel-sama?"

Azazel gave her a cryptic smile before replying.

"Because there is a correlation for many who fall to a 'Sin'...and their parents. This trend is only broken when the offspring personally see the 'sin' transform their parents into something they're not. In short, perhaps it's because you saw what 'greed' has done to your mother...that you subconsciously stayed away from it this whole time. If you weren't aware of that danger on the other hand...it's very likely that you would have turned out just like your mother." Azazel finished bluntly.

The thought genuinely scared Raynare, she could have turned out just like her mother if she didn't see the consequences of 'greed'? Her life could have been very different...

The eldest fallen finally turned to Naruto in annoyance, obviously displeased that he had to give out the information that he had.

"Happy now Naruto?" Azazel asked with a slight glare.

"Very much so. Thank you for your cooperation Azazel-san." Naruto retorted smartly, he then glanced at the currently introspective fallen angels. "But what are you going to do with them now?"

Azazel scratched his head for a moment before replying. "Well I've accepted little Raynare's proposal...so I will take her with me, her former guardians will not be harmed either. Vretiel will be placed under house arrest as well without being harmed. As for every other fallen angel involved with this...well I think I better try and find the source of their dissatisfaction. After all...there are undoubtedly more of my subordinates who think this way."

Naruto nodded at this logic, he wouldn't make a fuss about it then.

"Welp! This was fun Naruto! I've learned about a few interesting things today, so I think it's about time we take our leave...come on Raynare. You three come as well, I have use for you lot yet." Azazel spoke up while grabbing Vretiel's unconscious body.

The weaker fallen looked at each other warily before moving to their leader's side. Raynare glanced at Naruto for a moment before giving him a nod of acknowledgement and moving to Azazel's side as well.

"Hey Raynare-san."

Raynare looked at Naruto quizzically.

"...Even though I was talking to Issei at the time...I think you should know." Naruto began with a grin.

"Nothing is over...until it's over."

The young fallen just regarded the blond for a moment, then she nodded and turned away from him resolutely.

With them all gathered around him, Azazel spread his wings and enveloped them all before winking at Naruto.

"I'm expecting to hear great and interesting things from you Naruto! Don't let me down!" he called out before disappearing, with black feathers being the only proof that he was ever there to begin with.

The room was silent as the fallen angels left the scene, but the silence was broken when Naruto turned around to address who was left.

"Well, this was a very eventful day I think. So I think it's best that we leave this place so that we can all get some rest right? Especially before the civilians of Kuoh Town realize that a forest is gone." Naruto said while scratching the back of his head.

He quickly turned to leave the underground cavern so that he could go home.

"Not so fast Naruto."

Fuuuuuuuu...

Naruto internally cursed as Yuki grabbed his shoulder before he could leave, he was really hoping that she forgot...

"Don't forget our promise for helping you today Naruto. We will begin our tutoring sessions after school tomorrow." Yuki said seriously and with a dark glare, she wasn't joking around.

Naruto grit his teeth and turned to Issei who was now holding the nun on his back and moving towards them. He grabbed the perverted boy on both of his shoulders and gave him a heavy stare.

"...I gave up a lot to help you today you know? I had to give up my academic-free after school activities...! You better pay me back for this later Issei...!" Naruto shouted at him while trying not to cry at the injustice of it all.

Of course, Issei was just baffled at Naruto's supposed 'sacrifice'...all he saw was that the blond was getting personal lessons from a beauty.

But before he could retort, Yuki's cellphone went off, she checked out the caller id before widening her eyes in surprise. She turned to Naruto but was cut off before she could say anything.

"Hey hey...it's all good Yuki. I can handle this from here, but for what it's worth...thanks a lot. You really saved Issei's butt over here." Naruto stated humorously much to Issei's chagrin.

Yuki smiled. "That's what friends are for...right Naruto? I'll see you at school tomorrow." she said, before turning around and running up the steps to get home.

"Man, whoever was calling Yuki must be pretty damn important eh? Well, ya need help bringing your friend to your house Issei?...As long as you don't molest her anyways." Naruto said while giving the perverted boy a suspicious glance. Though Issei hotly denied the charges much to Naruto's amusement.

He then made a clone and had him carry Issei while he carried Asia. They had to move before people noticed the devastation, so no relaxing walk back home it seemed.

Well...at least for Issei anyways.

Raynare was staring up at the night sky.

It was fake of course, the Underworld didn't have a 'night' like the human world did...it was a big illusion. But nevertheless, it was very pretty.

She had a lot to think about, so much has changed in such a short time that she was still at a loss.

Her original life's goal was now essentially...unattainable. There was no cure for her mother's current state. So she could never be the mother that she internally craved since she was young.

"Disease of the Seven Deadly Sins huh..." the young fallen muttered under her breath.

'Nothing is over...until it's over.'

She couldn't help but think over the mysterious blond's words.

He originally spoke that phrase to the other human...the weak human. In regards to whether the nun would live or die that day.

It was a phrase that encouraged the boy to not lose hope.

So why did he speak that phrase to her?

What was he trying to say?

"Whatcha thinking about kid?"

Raynare turned her head to regard the Governor General of her people. He transported all of them to the main Grigori HQ in the Underworld, in order to prep them as his 'new assistants'.

But at the very least, he didn't seem to be interested in making their lives miserable...more like he was genuinely curious about her inner power.

Whatever it was.

"I'm just thinking Azazel-sama...no need to worry yourself over my concerns." Raynare said quietly. This caused Azazel to just roll his eyes at her attitude.

"Hey hey now, no need to be so formal. Let's make this a pleasant experience huh? I made sure that your former guardians will stay with you as your assistants and that your mother has proper accommodations for the foreseeable future. Hell, as I am now...I'm technically your guardian. So let's make the most of the situation ok?" Azazel said easily, while placing his hand over her head.

The young fallen blinked as she felt the elder fallen rub his hand on her head. The feeling was...nice.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"...Azazel-sama. Is there really no hope for my mother? For her to get better?" Raynare asked quietly with her bangs shadowing her face.

Azazel sighed at the question, he really didn't want to let the girl down but... "No, there is no cure for her. I'm sorry."

All was quiet for a moment.

'Nothing is over...until it's over.'

...

Then Raynare stood up and faced the night sky with a resolute stare.

"Then...that is my new goal in life. I will be the one to find the cure of the 'Seven Deadly Sins'. I will heal my mother and all who are affected by it!" Raynare shouted with determination lacing her voice.

She turned around to face the elder fallen angel.

"So please Azazel-sama...please teach me not only on how to be strong and control my power...but how to be a researcher like you!" she implored while bowing her head.

The man in question just blinked.

Then he grinned.

Interesting...very interesting!

"Very well...let's get started kid." he spoke with a grin, before turning back and heading inside HQ.

Raynare immediately made to follow, but she stopped for a moment to look at the sky.

She was sure. She was sure that this was what he meant...

She wouldn't give up on her mother. Not until there was absolutely no hope left...and even then...!

It wasn't over.

She got up from her spot under the night sky and walked towards the bright building to follow her new mentor.

She moved forward to grasp the future.

Naruto was jumping from house to house with his passengers in tow, they were about to take a break before they continued.

He didn't want Issei to lose his breakfast this time.

They stopped at a secluded fountain that was surrounded by trees so that there wouldn't be any witnesses to their landing.

He was pretty damn tired, he figured that when he got home he would get himself a nice ramen buffet for a job well done. But first he had to-

"Naruto."

The shinobi looked at Issei when he heard his name called, he couldn't help but notice that the other boy had resolute eyes trained on him.

"...Can you teach me to be strong Naruto?" Issei asked with hard eyes, though Naruto was slightly caught off guard by the question.

In retrospect, he shouldn't have been though.

"Uh...to be honest. Probably not, no." the blond replied bluntly. Though Issei remained persistent.

"Huh? Why not!? You're human right? You became very powerful right!? So surely you can train me so that..." Issei started before stopping himself abruptly and glancing at the ground.

"...So that what happened to Asia today...can't happen again." Issei finished with his eyes clenched shut.

Naruto sympathized with his situation...he really did. But the fact was not only did Issei not have any chakra for the blond to even train him in his own abilities...he also had no idea how much longer he would stay in this world. For all he knew, he could be ready to leave next month. Way too short a time for the blond to prep...what is essentially a civilian without chakra to fight supernatural beings.

He briefly wondered if Yuki could train him as a hero...but shelved that idea when he remembered that the Hero Tribe very likely wouldn't take the training of a new hero lightly. Especially one that the devils were aware of. Rias knew of him after all and that could cause another crisis altogether.

That only left...

"Then...I'd like to talk to Rias-senpai about becoming a devil!" Issei said desperately while bowing his head.

Naruto stared at the back of Issei's head as he continued to bow.

"Oi oi...you do know about the consequences of joining Rias-san's Peerage would be right? While I trust her enough to deduce that she would treat you well...it doesn't change the fact that you would become her servant. You would also lose your humanity and lose any right to deny her anything...you do know that right?" Naruto asked with a stern look.

Issei nodded while raising his head from the floor to look at the blond in the eyes.

"As long as I get Rias-sempai to agree to my condition of protecting Asia...then I'm ok with that!" he said without any doubts in his eyes.

He was serious.

Naruto nodded slowly, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised at this. He very nearly lost someone very close, if he was in Issei's shoes...he'd probably do the same as well.

He cared far more about his loved ones than he did about his identity and freedom, that's simply how he was. He suspected that Issei was similar.

The shinobi nodded towards his clone to pick up the sleeping nun and he grabbed Issei's shoulder. "Alright Issei...but first you should get some rest and let the girl rest in your home...you two went through quite a bit after all. We'll talk about this tomorrow ok?" Naruto said while preparing to jump again.

Issei nodded at this reasoning and looked over at the sleeping Asia.

She seemed to be smiling a little bit in her sleep...

He wanted to protect that smile of hers...as a human or as a devil. It didn't matter to the boy, as long as she was safe...then that was all that mattered.

Naruto slowly opened the door to his home, he really hoped that everyone was asleep right now. All of the drama and action of today had drained the teenager and he wanted to just eat a quick ramen buffet in peace before hitting the hay.

Though it seemed that fate was just shitting on him today.

The shinobi walked inside to see that the living room lights were on and that Mio and Maria were waiting for him.

They seemed quite serious too.

"Hey you two! What are you guys doing staying up so late? Hope you weren't waiting for me? I seriously had one of the most craziest nights that I have ever-"

"Naruto." Mio interjected seriously.

Naruto blinked at the girl's serious and thoroughly 'non-joking' tone. What was this all about?

Before he could actually ask, Mio placed down an item that he was sure shouldn't be outside of his room.

"Naruto...what are you?"

The blond was seriously beginning to hate that sentence.