Sona raised an eyebrow at her petite Queen. She stomped her foot lightly with some force before looking at Itachi. She was genuinely surprised.
"Although you're way too handsome, Isn't this girl's reaction a bit exaggerated?"
She wondered, but then shook her head.
"I think you've paid enough attention to what I said," Sona closed the book before licking her lips, "It's most likely that you crossed a wormhole and arrived on this planet, As for Orochimaru, I believe I understand how dangerous he is, Let's do something..." Sona smiled, cleared her throat, and continued.
"We can stop Orochimaru, In fact, it's our responsibility, so we will stop him if anything bad happens, anyway. But everything you describe about your world is..." Sona's eyes opened wide, a powerful feeling rising within her heart, "Unique!!!"
"If you could teach someone else to control that... chakra, then we could give you a special position among the devils, of course, there's no need for you to become one, hehehe," she finally said.
Itachi smiled in return.
"If regular beings could control chakra, then yes..." Itachi sighed, glanced around, and then looked over at Tsubaki in a corner, the girl stared back with eyes sparkling like a scolded puppy.
"But, even though I've tried, I don't think it's possible."
There was a brief silence after Itachi's words, Sona finally grimaced before nodding her head.
"Alright, Itachi, but if something bad happens at the academy, you'll have to help, that's my price for warning my superiors about Orochimaru..."
Sona said, tapping the book lightly before smiling.
"Also, if you don't mind, How about not rejecting Tsubaki anymore?" she grinned widely, showing her white teeth.
"She…"
"President!!…"
Sona started arguing with Tsubaki, and Itachi left the room a few moments later,"That went better than I thought," Itachi murmured, at first, he thought he'd have to show something like a Fireball Jutsu or sign some kind of contract, however, Sona Sitri had simply asked him to help in case of trouble.
"Maybe it's not that simple," Itachi said before returning to his classroom.
A few hours later...
Issei Hyoudou was trembling, the temperature outside Kuoh-Academy in the late afternoon had suddenly dropped, he had no coat, and no one seemed to care.
Issei stood with the other members of Rias Gremory's peerage, they were investigating a rogue devil sighted near a warehouse, as they walked, a strange electric sensation ran through his body.
"Let's go! We can't waste more time," Akeno raised her voice, releasing a small lightning spell that ran through Issei's entire body.
"Gaaghhh!!" Issei groaned in pain, slightly kneeling. Although his body hurt, his mind was—strangely—overwhelmed with many thoughts.
"Why? Why has Akeno's attitude toward me changed from when we were in school?" Issei wondered, genuinely curious, raising his head slightly to look with teary eyes at the tall, black-haired girl.
But she merely sighed with some disappointment.
"Are you really the Red Dragon Emperor?" she wondered to herself, though she still faked a smile, "Issei, if you pass tonight's trial, I'll give you a reward..."
Those words motivated Issei. He set aside the questions about Akeno's behavior and stood up quickly, put on a serious face, and started walking with determination.
"Puppet, huh?" Akeno muttered, her mind filled with self-satisfaction as she watched Issei obey her orders. Kiba observed the scene with furrowed brows, while Koneko simply watched with no expression.
"…"
As they continued toward the warehouse—due to a new protocol from Rias Gremory—Kiba approached and lifted a hand to pat Issei's shoulder.
The poor boy opened his eyes for a moment. The soft touch of a hand made him feel way too good, and he slightly turned his head, in his mind, he thought maybe it was little Koneko coming to encourage him, instead, he saw a disgustingly handsome face.
"K-Kiba, it's you..." Issei muttered, squinting his eyes, visibly dissatisfied.
"Yes, it's a me... Issei..." Kiba replied, he noticed Issei's subtle aversion and just shrugged, he was about to continue when Issei took several steps away from him.
The poor boy's face showed a mix of disgust, resentment, and some repressed anger, Kiba noticed that look and truly didn't understand why. Why was Issei, who had barely spoken to him, acting like this?
"Issei, are you okay?" Kiba asked, genuine curiosity growing in his heart. The poor boy nodded several times while grimacing, "Yes, I'm fine, Kiba."
Kiba felt that Issei was being a bit too childish, Why get mad at him so suddenly? Why avoid him? In fact, Kiba somewhat understood—many boys hated him simply for being popular with girls at school.
But none of them had ever shown such real rejection and resentment as Issei had just now.
"I see…" Kiba nodded, "Issei," he paused, watching the poor boy, smiled, and let out a sigh—almost of pity, "…" yet he couldn't find the words to continue.
He wanted to ask aloud, Is a girl you don't even know really that important to you?He knew Issei envied him for being born good-looking, but he had seen much uglier guys than Issei land beautiful girlfriends, so, Why should he be blamed and carry Issei's hate?
"Take this," Kiba said, thinking for a moment, he couldn't find any way to express his thoughts or feelings, so, he took off the coat Rias Gremory had gifted him a few days ago and tossed it toward Issei.
For his part, the poor boy caught the coat—it felt like clouds to the touch—and stared at it for a moment. He disliked the smell, the person it came from, even the way it looked, but he faked a smile.
"Thanks," Issei said, he voiced a "thank you" so fake that even a baby would know he was lying, then he put on the coat to shield himself from the cold.
The group soon reached the warehouse, Akeno, who was in charge, quickly began whispering orders.
"Kiba, strike first and then pull back. Koneko, in front of me, I'll provide support from a distance, and Issei, I want you to observe, If anything goes wrong, use the Boosted Gear."
"Yes, Commander," everyone replied at once—except Issei.
With Kiba scouting the area and moving ahead, the group quickly entered through a small opening in the warehouse, they passed through a narrow hallway until they reached a large empty room.
There were some things stacked against the walls. Human heads were scattered on the sticky floor. Moonlight barely entered through some windows, while strange noises came from a corner of the warehouse.
"Eh? New friends? Hahahaha! Let's have some fun!!!" As soon as Kiba spotted the whole scene, a high-pitched male voice echoed from the noisy corner.
A strange coldness spread throughout the room, Kiba felt his blood freeze slightly as a tingle ran through his body, warning him of incoming danger.
Koneko and Akeno felt the same and quickly took combat positions, while Issei opened his eyes in surprise, his body froze, his mind trembled, his breathing nearly stopped—completely overwhelmed by absolute terror.
"To battle!!!" the demon in the corner shouted, charging forward with ferocity, revealing his body: a strange, deformed head with no visible trace of a face, a bulky torso stuffed as if with rags, and two large legs, all covered in green skin.
Kiba's eyes widened in surprise, he clenched his teeth and summoned two swords—one for each hand.
"It's fast!!" Kiba yelled, koneko and Akeno dodged, moving to either side as Kiba rushed forward.