Before we begin…

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

"Flashback quotes. Text. Voices from intercom and phones."

{Sacred Gear announcement.}

{Ddraig talking to Issei telepathically.}

{Ddraig talking from Boosted Gear or in Issei's Dreamworld.}

"Issei's Inner Hollow. Hollows talking."

"Issei's Inner Hollow talking to him telepathically."

When we last left off, Issei has come up with a plan to help Rukia and the Exorcists find the stolen Holy Swords, hoping to destroy them so he can get Yuuto to come back to Rias. Koneko got wind of this and decided to tag along with him and Genshirou so she can make sure that Issei's inner Hollow doesn't take over if he gets backed into a corner and has no strength left. Will Issei's plan go well? Find out now.

~CHAPTER 17: OPERATION: SHATTERED SWORD~

In the town of Kuoh, a nerve-wracking Genshirou is begrudgingly walking beside Koneko and Issei for the latter's "Operation: Shattered Sword" plan. He had made attempts to break off from the group a few minutes ago, but a glare from the white-haired loli would always force him to remain by their side.

"huuuuuuuuuuh," Saji moans with closed eyes. "Do I really have to be here? I think you two are strong enough together without me."

"The stronger we are in numbers, the better," Issei says in response before looking back forward in the search for Rukia and the Exorcists. "Anyway, it'll be pretty tough for us to find them. I mean, where would one find girls wearing cloaks on a damn street?"

"Bring many blessings on the wandering sheep."

"We are pitiful compared to you, O Lord. Please have mercy upon our souls."

Issei's question was immediately answered when he, Saji, and Koneko turn to see Irina and Xenovia speaking Christian-related words to other people while the former exorcist was holding an opened brown box. Upon further inspection, the three Devils deadpanned when they saw the two next to a handmade sign that says "Help the hand of love."

"Are… they begging for money?" Genshirou questions, noticing that some of the people were giving them weird looks. "Because that's what it looks like to me."

"Well… if those two are here, then where's…"

Issei pauses when he sees Rukia with a pale face keeping a good distance from the Exorcists. Whenever any humans pass by them and then her, Rukia would quietly tell them "I don't know them."

Issei saw what Rukia was doing and sweat drops.

'Can't say I blame her.' After sighing, Rukia caught sight of Issei and quickly zipped towards him, catching the three Devils off guard. 'Whoa! Fast!'

"Issei…" Rukia whispers with contracted irises and pupils aimed right at him. "Help me…"

"Eh?" Issei tilted his head. "Help you with wha-"

"Hear me out. Irina spent all of her and Xenovia's money on a picture, now they're begging for more money, even though I secretly have my own money on me."

"Called it," Genshirou says in the background.

Koneko's face remained stoic while she kept an eye on the blond Pawn, making sure he doesn't sneak away.

"That's it?" Issei questions after listening to his childhood friend's explanation. "If you have money, why don't you-"

"If I told them I'd buy them something, Irina will get all whiny at me for lying about not having any money. And I lied because I didn't want her using it for any other Holy trinkets that, let's be honest, she doesn't need!"

Issei sweat drops again when she saw the comedic, desperate expression on Rukia's face.

"Ise-chan? What are you doing here?"

Issei and Rukia go "Eep!" and snap their heads towards Irina when they heard her speak to them with Xenovia following behind her with a cocked brow at Issei.

Snapping out from her shock, Rukia puts on a fake toothy smile and wraps an arm around Issei's neck.

"O-O-Oh! W-Well, you see, I was talking with my good pal, Issei here when he walked here by coincidence, and after telling him our problem, he was kind enough to offer us some grub."

Rukia shifts her eyes towards Issei while still grinning and winks at him twice, making him raise his brows at her.

"Wait, wha-"

Rukia gets closer to him, having a pleading expression on her face.

"Please, Issei. I'll pay you back in secret."

Issei blinks twice at Rukia before sighing.

"Y-Yeah," he addresses the Exorcists. "After Rukia-san told me everything, I thought I could help out."

"Really?" Xenovia chimes in with suspicion in her eyes. "In case you've forgotten, Rukia-sama, that boy is a Dev-"

The blue-haired Exorcist was interrupted when Rukia sped to her with white eyes and shark teeth that formed a frown.

"Xenovia… Just because he's a Devil, it does not mean that his persona has changed into that of a mindless, selfish demon. Now don't start complaining, and let's get our bellies full, dammit!"

While Xenovia shuttered at the rage in her voice, Irina shrugged.

"Well, I don't see why not. Ise-chan was sincere when he said he was sorry for that stunt he pulled off yesterday. Plus, if Rukia-sama trusts him despite him being a Devil, I'll trust him, too, for now."

Xenovia blinks at Irina in surprise.

"But… Irina-" after receiving another death glare from Rukia, Xenovia sighed in defeat. "Very well, Issei Hyoudou… We shall… accept your hospitality… just this once."

While Genshirou shivered at how menacing Rukia was, Koneko looked at her with an impressed stare.

"This woman is something else."

Issei chuckled with his kouhai while scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah… She was always like that when she gets agitated."

After that was settled, Issei has taken the gang to a nearby Chick-Fil-A restaurant and ordered them their food of choice.

Once their food arrived at the booth the gang were sitting at, the Devils and Rukia, who sat next to Issei with the Devils, watch the Exorcists chow down their meals like a pack of wolves, with Rukia chuckling at the sight.

"Amazing! Irina, the chicken in this restaurant is out of this world~!"

"Indeed~!" Irina agrees in between bites. "This can work as my soul food!"

"Wow… Look at them go…" Genshirou says with a sweatdrop.

"I guess that's the result of not having anything to eat for a very long time," Issei adds.

Rukia giggles with Issei and props her cheeks on her hands.

"Man, going to Chick-Fil-A with you brings back memories, Issei."

"Hmm?"

Everyone minus Xenovia looks at Rukia when they heard her.

"Oh?" Irina pauses her eating. "You two went here together before, Rukia-sama?"

"Yup. It was after we got through a day of Kendo classes. One time, my older brother, Byakuya, had invited Issei and his parents with us to have a bite at the restaurant after class, which was Issei's first ever experience with this kind of chicken."

Issei's face slowly starts to turn red in embarrassment as Rukia was telling them one of their childhood stories.

"Really?" Genshirou asks in curiosity. "how did he react?"

"Ufufufu~ It was a great reaction. As soon as Issei took a bite of a chicken nugget, he grabbed the nugget box and chugged them all as if he was actually drinking from the box. Ha ha ha ha! After he did that, he asked for more, and Byakuya-nii-sama got him two boxes of twelve-count nuggets to test his stomach. And believe it or not, he did the same thing to those two boxes like he did his first box of nuggets! The way he devoured them all was hilarious, and epic at the same time~! He loved those nuggets that much~!"

While Rukia continued to laugh, Koneko, Genshirou, and Irina look to see Issei's face beaming red while staring down at his box of twelve-count nuggets.

"Gosh, Ise-chan. For you to love the chicken this much…"

"It's good chicken, Irina-chan!" Issei pouts. "And what about you? You and your friend here are eating just as aggressive as I had when I was younger!"

Rukia laughs again before wrapping an arm around his torso and propping her head onto his left shoulder.

"Hey, relax, Issei. It's a good memory."

Issei calms down despite his cheeks still being red from her head on his shoulder. Irina and Koneko saw what she did, and had different reactions. Irina was surprised that she was still being friendly with him despite him being a Devil, while Koneko narrowed her eyes at Rukia while taking another bite of her chicken sandwich.

Genshirou didn't pay attention to them. He was busy being in shock at how much chicken the Exorcists have eaten when they finished.

'Holy hell… their stomachs must be huge! Either that, or they haven't eaten anything for a very long time.'

"Even if it's to build faith," Xenovia utters after burping. "The world must be ending to be saved by a Devil…"

"Oh no! We've sold our souls to a Devil!" Irina adds with her hands in prayer.

"Really?" Issei asks with beady eyes. "That's the thanks I get for paying for your food?"

Issei then felt something on his lap and looked to see Rukia handing him money that was the exact amount he paid. The two nodded to each other while Issei pocketed the money before mouthing "Thank you." to her.

"O Lord," Irina began to pray. "Please have mercy on these kind Devils for giving us this bountiful food."

Issei and Rukia snap their heads right when they hear Genshirou and Koneko moan in pain while clutching their heads.

"We don't need God's blessings, woman!" Saji says through gritted teeth.

"Oops, sorry," Irina apologizes with a hand in front of her mouth. "I just did it out of habit."

After tilting his head at his fellow Devils, Issei noticed Rukia giving him a confused look and looked at her.

"What?"

"You're a Devil too, aren't you?" Rukia whispers in his ear. "So why didn't you get a headache?"

Issei's eyes widen a little.

"Was it supposed to affect me? I thought it would only happen if a Devil tried to pray?" Rukia shakes her head, confusing Issei further. "Really?"

"Let's keep it to ourselves for now." After Issei nodded, Rukia went in thought. 'Weird… Why didn't Issei get a headache? It's established that the Holy sword's cut can still wound him despite him being able to wield them with no problems, but…'

"So," Rukia's thoughts were interrupted when she heard Xenovia speak. "While you were taking us here, Issei, you said you wanted to talk about something. I believe this is a good time for you to say it."

The other two Devils and Rukia understood, as they too heard Issei tell the Exorcists that he wanted a word with them about something.

"Alright, I'll be frank with you, Xenovia," Issei said to her with a serious stare and tone. "We want to help you destroy Excalibur."

Rukia and Irina look at Issei with shocked expressions.

"What?" While Xenovia's face remained stern, she was still surprised by what he said.

After talking about Yuuto's grudge with the swords, Xenovia looks down in thought.

"I understand the situation," she says. "I don't mind you guys taking care of one sword."

"Huh?!" Irina looks at Xenovia in bewilderment. "Wait a minute, Xenovia!"

While Issei's eyes gleamed with hope, Saji cringed at Xenovia's response.

"Dammit!" he whispers. "And here I thought you'd decline in a heartbeat!"

Xenovia looks back at Irina.

"Irina, the other side even has the leader of the Fallen Angels, Kokabiel, with them. Honestly, it'd be difficult for us to recover all three swords on our own, even with Rukia-sama's help."

"I get what you're saying, but…"

"Our chances of going home unharmed are about thirty percent," Xenovia counters.

"We came knowing that even that was a generous estimate," Irina argues before Xenovia's eyes sharpened on her.

"I know. We were sent by the higher-ups fully prepared to sacrifice ourselves from the beginning." Xenovia then looks back at Issei. "Okay, you've piqued my interest. What now?"

While the two continued to talk about his plan, Rukia looks at Issei with eyes of worry.

'Issei… do you have any idea what you and your friends are risking right now?'

After getting things with the Exorcists, they and Rukia follow the Devils to speak with Yuuto at the water fountain at the park.

"I see," Yuuto says after hearing what Issei had to say. "But to be honest, it's regrettable that an Excalibur user would approve of their destruction."

"You're one to talk," Xenovia states to the blond Knight. "Didn't you leave the House of Gremory?" Yuuto's eyes slit at her, with Xenovia doing the same with her eyes. "If you want, we can consider you a Stray and execute you right here."

Yuuto sees the hilt of Xenovia's sword poking out from her cloak.

"There's that way of thinking, too."

"Hold on!" Issei interjects while getting in between them with his eyes locked onto Yuuto. "Don't fight before we come up with a cooperative strategy!"

Xenovia calmed down and hid her weapon's hilt before looking back at Yuuto.

"I can understand why you would resent the Holy Sword Project." Yuuto rose a brow at Xenovia. "That incident is viewed with great repugnance even among us. That's why the person responsible for it was branded as a Heretic and excommunicated."

Irina nods in agreement.

"His name is Valper Galilei, the man called the Archbishop of Annihilation."

"Valper…" Yuuto repeats with venom. "That man… was responsible for…"

"I told you that among his tools was a stray priest, right?" Xenovia quizzes.

"Freed?" Issei asks her, earning a nod from Xenovia.

"It's not uncommon for there to be collusion among those banned from the Church. There's a high possibility that Valper is also involved in the events this time."

After taking the information in, Yuuto closes his eyes.

"After hearing that, there's no reason for me not to cooperate with you."

Irina smiles at the response.

"Then it's been decided, right?"

Xenovia nods before setting her eyes on Issei, getting his attention.

"We'll return the favor for the food someday, Issei Hyoudou; current Red Dragon Emperor."

As Rukia and the Exorcists take their leave, Irina winks at Issei with a wave before catching up to them.

After they left, Issei sighs in relief before patting Genshirou on the shoulder.

"Look's like everything's going well, huh, Genshirou?"

"Like hell it is!" Genshirou snaps, forcing Issei to step back from him. "Not only could we have been killed, but we could've started a war with the Church, Hyoudou!"

"Issei."

Everyone then looks towards Yuuto, who was addressing Issei.

"You've saved us so many times, Kiba," Issei tells him with a small smile.

"I want you three to stay away from this matter."

Issei's smile immediately dropped to a frown while Saji's lips formed into a smile.

"This is my personal revenge," Yuuto continues. "I can't involve you guys-"

"But we're family, Kiba!" Issei argues. "I'd even call us friends! Am I wrong?!"

Yuuto's expression remains stoic while he shifts his eyes downwards

"You're not wrong, but…"

Yuuto was interrupted when he felt a pair of hands clasp on his shoulders. Looking up, his eyes broaden a little to see the steely expression of Issei.

"But nothing! I refuse to allow one of my comrades to turn into a Stray! It's not just me, but Buchou and the others will be sad, too! Are you really okay with that?!"

Yuuto's expression remains shocked for a moment before he looked down in thought.

"Rias-Buchou… That's right. I met her because of the Holy Sword Project. Day after day, we were involved with experiments. Our freedom was stripped away, and we weren't even treated as people. Even so, everyone believed that they were chosen by God, and bore it desperately with the hope that one day, they could become special."

Before continuing, Yuuto's lip quivered and his hands clenched into fists as he remembered the torture he and his old friends gone through.

"However, not one of us was able to wield a Holy sword. The experiment was a failure. We were disposed of soon after that in order to conceal what had happened. Even vomiting blood and writhing on the floor, we looked to God for help."

Yuuto then remembers how some of his friends sacrificed themselves to allow him to escape, making a tear shed from his eye.

"I thank Buchou from my heart for taking me in as part of her house. However, I was able to run away because of my comrades. That's why I have to destroy Excalibur with a Devil sword filled with their feelings. That is my atonement and duty as the only survivor."

While Koneko and Saji teared up from Yuuto's backstory, Issei looked down towards the ground with eyes fueled with a rage that he never felt in his life.

'I knew that the experiment was inhumane after Buchou told me about it… But… After learning how the victims were still looking up to God…'

Unbeknownst to the Devils, Issei's left eye's iris turned gold-yellow and a few black tendrils crept across his sclera and connected to the iris in reaction to his high level of anger. After getting a proper story of his past, he was now more motivated than ever to help Yuuto destroy Excalibur.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, everyone turned towards Saji when they heard her bawling anime-tears. When Issei looked, his left eye returned to normal.

"Oh, Kiba! I had no idea you had such a tragic past!" With his fists clenched and his anime-tears still rolling down his cheeks, Genshirou puts his game face on. "In that case, I don't care how brutal Kaichou's punishment will be!" Issei was caught off guard when he grabs onto Issei's hands with his own and starts shaking them. "Hyoudou! I'll help you out with all of my strength!"

"I… I see…" Issei mumbles. "Glad to see you're motivated now…"

Yuuto looks at Saji with a raised brow because of how he was behaving. He then felt the sleeve of his shirt being tugged and looked down to see Koneko looking at him with emotion in her eyes.

"Don't forget, I'm helping as well," Koneko informs Yuuto.

"K… Koneko-chan…"

"I'll be sad if you aren't here, Kiba-senpai…"

Yuuto blinks at Koneko before sighing and smiling.

"I guess I've lost. Even if you say so… There's no way I can do anything rash on my own, can I?"

Issei heard what Yuuto said and freed himself from Saji's grasp.

"So… Does that mean..?"

Yuuto nods with closed eyes and a wider smile.

"Besides, we know who the real enemy is…" He looks over to Issei. "Let me accept your help."

With a chuckle, Issei grinned and shook his head at him.

"Fool, even if you declined, we'd still help you." Yuuto released a kind laugh, making Issei's grin wider and Koneko smile. "Now there's the Kiba we all know in love."

"Yuuto."

"Eh?"

With his smile intact, Yuuto addresses to the three Devils.

"I want you all to call me Yuuto; my first name."

Issei and Koneko nod in affirmative, but Saji looked at him with a confused stare.

"Wait, what? I thought Kiba was your first name."

Yuuto chuckles sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah… some people tend to get that mixed up… Even Buchou, before she corrected herself on it."

Issei's eyes widen when Yuuto said that.

'Wait…' Issei thought before his eyes shift between Saji and Yuuto repeatedly. 'That's exactly…'

Meanwhile, Rias and Sona were in the latter's secret sauna fully nude, discussing what happened yesterday.

"Really?" Sona questions her friend. "Kiba-kun left?"

Rias nods while looking at her legs with a frown.

"Did I… Make a mistake?"

Sona tilts her head at her.

"He is part of your Peerage, isn't he?"

"Of course," Rias replies. "No matter what he says, there's no way I'd let Yuuto go." her eyes soften. 'Not even Ise would… Even if he meant well when he asked if he could work with the Exorcists… I just couldn't…'

There was a reason Rias denied his request yesterday, and it wasn't because of any suspicion of treason, or anything related to that. It was because of what happened to him during the spar on that day; how his inner Hollow was able to take control of him for a brief moment without the Hollow mask forming. Even if she did allow it, she had no doubt that during the mission, there was a chance that it could happen again. Only this time, the mask will be on his face again, changing his persona into that of a psychopath's.

Rias then heard Sona giggle kindly and looked at her. A small smile crept from Sona's lips.

"The House of Gremory is famous for the strong bond between its family members, isn't it?"

Rias blinks at her.

"Yes, of course."

"It's true that his feelings may have gotten the best of him for now. However, he is also a member of the House of Gremory, Rias." Rias gasps lightly at her friend's words while Sona's smile remains. "Kiba-kun will return. He definitely will."

Rias' eyes remain glued onto Sona, flabbergasted at how much faith her friend has in her Knight. She then smiles with closed eyes.

"Thank you, Sona."

After nodding at her friend, the two then saw white magic communication circles appear in front of them. After two seconds pass, a hologram of Akeno appears on Rias' circle, and Tsubaki appears on Sona's.

"Pardon us," Akeno says with a serious expression.

Rias smiles at her Queen, understanding why she called via a communication circle.

"Thanks for your hard work, you two," Rias says to both Akeno and Tsubaki.

"It's getting pretty late, isn't it, Tsubaki?" Sona asks. "What did you learn?"

Tsubaki adjusts her glasses before speaking.

"The situation is grave, Kaichou."

Rias and Sona narrow their eyes at the answer before allowing their Queens to continue from there.

Later that night, Issei came home and entered his room to a sight he was not expecting to see.

"A… Asia?!"

In his room, Asia was wearing what appeared to him was a white short-skirt blouse that had a red heart and some Xs and Os decorating it. The dress also exposed her cleavage to him.

"S-So… What do you think, Ise-san?" Asia asks while swaying side to side shyly.

Issei's cheeks turned dark red from looking at her cleavage before quickly looking back at her face.

"W-W-Well… It looks… good… but… why are you wearing it?"

"Well… I thought you'd be depressed after what happened in your battle, so… I asked Aika-san for advice during school a few hours ago."

"ACK!" Issei nearly fell out of his chair when he heard that name. 'Of course, it's her.' "What did she tell you?"

"Well…" Asia began to remember what Aika said to her.

~Flashback~

"Look, I'm gonna be frank with you, Asia-chan. I like Issei-kun, and so does Murayama-chan." Asia gasps at her confession after Aika brought her to an area where Murayama won't hear them.

"Y-You do? As does Murayama-san?"

"Yup. But hey, instead of fighting for him, why don't we share him instead?"

"Share him?" Asia repeats with a tilted head and a brighter blush, unsure about what she was saying.

Aika nods.

"Tell me, Asia, do you know the concept of a harem?"

"I… Think so?"

Aika then began to tell Asia about the concept and how Issei felt about multiple girls liking him. She then told her how to make Issei feel better after hearing that he's down in the dumps.

"And so, I borrowed these clothes from Aika-san," Asia finishes without telling him about the "harem" thing and Aika and Murayama's feelings for him as she promised her during their talk. "She told me that wearing this has a restoring effect on men."

Issei rolled his eyes at what Aika told her while a tick mark was on his forehead.

'That perverted woman…'

"So…" Issei looks back at Asia and saw that she had a hopeful expression. "Did it make you feel a little better?"

Issei blinks twice before giving her a smile.

"Thank you, Asia," Asia blushes when she sees his gentle brown eyes soften in her direction. "You don't have to worry about me. It'd be rude to Yuuto to let something like that get me down."

Asia blinks.

"Kiba-san? Is he doing well?"

"He'll be alright," Issei assures her. "After all, we should believe in our friends."

Asia blinks one more time before smiling with closed eyes.

"You got it!"

Issei chuckles happily before addressing something else.

"By the way, Asia… Don't you think it's about time you changed?"

"Huh?" Asia forms a confused expression. "But you haven't been restored yet."

"N-No, really! I'm restored enough!" Issei assures after seeing Asia lean towards him, which made her breasts bounce due to the motion.

BZZZ! BZZZ!

"Hmm?"

Issei checked his phone and saw that he got a text from someone. After reading the message and seeing who it was from, his eyes turn serious and stood up from his chair.

"Uh… Ise-san?"

"I got a call from my second regular," Issei tells her before grabbing his sheathed Scale Blade and approached the door to his room and opening it.

"Ise-san… Are you sure you have to work so late?" Asia asks with concern in her voice.

"Sorry, it's an emergency summons," Issei replies. "When Buchou gets home, tell her what I said."

Asia nods with a small smile.

"Of course. I'm glad you got a second regular."

Issei blinks before chuckling while scratching the back of his head.

"Y-Yeah… I'll be back soon."

After Issei left the house, Yoruichi in her cat form narrowed her eyes at the door, knowing the real reason why he left.

'Be careful out there, Issei.'

After Issei regrouped with his friends and the Exorcists in the abandoned church, they waited for him to finish his call with his third pact to tell him that he won't be able to come in tonight.

"Hello? It's Issei Hyoudou. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to make it to tonight's summoning."

"Oh, that's okay, if it's an emergency," Azazel says to Issei on the phone while fishing at a river over a bridge. "No problem, don't worry about it. I'll call you again some other time. Alright, take care." After hanging up his phone, Azazel sighs to himself with a smile. "A last-minute cancellation from a Devil, huh?" He then turns his head right as he detected a presence. "Yo." After getting a better look, he saw a smirking silver-haired man with hazel eyes who wore a black leather jacket with matching-colored burgundy jeans. "Have you come to keep lonely old me company?"

The silver-haired man chuckles at Azazel with a wider smirk.

"I didn't take you for someone that gets lonely that easily."

Azazel smirks back at him while shaking his head before casting his line into a river to try and catch another fish.

"Jeez, for a Devil to put on a priest's clothes," Saji mumbles while everyone except for Rukia got their disguises on with some fake Holy crosses to match.

"There was some resistance," Irina tells him.

"I'll do anything to achieve my goal," Yuuto says with resolve. "Even if it means to wear such a disguise.

"It's not efficient to move as a group," Xenovia spoke. "Let's split up into two groups."

Issei nods in agreement.

"We'll take the east part of town."

Xenovia nods back.

"And we'll look around the west part of town. If you see anything, call Rukia-sama or Irina's phone."

"Got it."

Remembering something, Rukia walks towards Issei and places a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh yeah, Issei."

"Yeah, Rukia-san?"

"There's something I forgot to tell you during my travels. Consider this a thank you for getting us food." Issei rose a brow but lets her finish. "The White Dragon Emperor has awakened."

Issei's eyes widen despite his brows being furrowed, remembering what Ddraig has told him earlier.

'I kinda knew that… But to get confirmation…'

Issei shrugged it off for now. He wasn't going to let the Vanishing Dragon's existence distract him from his current mission. He promised himself he'd bring back Yuuto, and he wasn't going to stop now.

After they split up into groups, Issei's group, which consisted of himself, Koneko, Saji, and Yuuto, were walking around the east area of town in search of some leads. As they were walking, Koneko noticed the slightly distressed expression on Issei's face and walked closer to him.

"Is something the matter?"

Issei's trance snaps when he heard his kouhai call to him and turned his head to the group.

"Oh! I… I'm just wondering where we should go next, you know."

"We should go somewhere with no people," Yuuto suggests, making everyone turn to him.

"Do you have someplace in mind?" Issei asks.

Yuuto nods.

"I think so."

After letting Yuuto take lead to the area he was talking about, Issei looks at the place with eyes of remembrance.

"This place…"

"Hmm?" Saji tilted his head at Issei. "What's up, Hyoudou?"

"Isn't… this the place where Rias showed me the battle between her and that Stray Devil?"

"Stray Devil?" Saji repeats with raised brows while Yuuto and Koneko walked closer to the building.

"Yeah," Issei confirms. "We faced her here before. It was hard to tell if she was a woman or a Devil. She had the appearance of a monster."

Yuuto and Koneko stop walking when they sense a disturbance.

"Yuuto-senpai."

"Yeah."

Issei and Saji sensed it too.

"What's this bad feeling I got?" Saji asks himself.

"Whatever it is, be on your guard, Genshirou."

Koneko's eyes widen when she felt a presence and looks up at the source.

"Above!"

Everyone looks where she's looking to see someone with the same clothes as them standing on top of the building with a wild grin. He jumps off it and falls towards them with his sword above his head.

"YAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Yuuto summons his Holy Eraser to block the crazed man's vertical slash before he landed on the ground in front of him. the Exorcist then jumps away from him with a backflip and lands on a nearby building.

"Thanks for earlier~!"

The Devils minus Saji's eyes narrow when they heard his familiar psychotic voice.

"It's Freed!" Yuuto announces.

"The stray Exorcist you guys told me about?" Saji asks, earning a nod from the three in response.

Issei growls at Freed.

"You bastard!"

Freed grins maniacally at the Devils.

"Oh yeah!" he says in mocking remembrance. "It's those kids and the midg-" Freed feels a chill when Koneko's glare tightened on him and backs away with a scared expression. "I-I mean small-framed young lady." His insane expression returned. "Man, I thought I could have some fun Priest hunting tonight, too, but it turned out to be bunch of shitty Devils doing cosplay~!"

Yuuto gets himself ready to fight while watching Freed lick his Excalibur blade.

"Please be careful," Koneko tells him. "That sword…"

"Yeah," Issei agrees. "It feels the same as the ones Irina and Xenovia have; an Excalibur!"

{Boost!}

Issei activates his Boosted Gear after throwing off his disguise. Everyone else removed their disguises as well and got ready for Freed's next move.

Freed snickered at the Devils.

"My goodness~, a four on one battle? It's hard being so popular~!"

"Don't misunderstand," Yuuto says. "I'm your only opponent."

"Oh?"

Yuuto began to run towards Freed to cut him down.

"Oi! Yuuto!" Issei shouts at his friend, but he continued to charge forward.

Freed watched him get on the building with him and smirked while shaking his head.

"No matter how many shitty Devils come, it won't be enough for this cute little Excalibur of mine." Freed dodges Yuuto's strike, forcing the blond Devil to break and turn around to see him above. "I've got this!" Freed clashes blades with Yuuto. As they did, Yuuto closed one eye when a series of lights started flashing around Freed's blade. "This is the Holy sword of Heavenly Flashes! It's called Excalibur Rapidly by others! But I like to call it the 'Super Fast Sword'!"

Yuuto gasps when Freed suddenly vanishes in a speed similar to how his Knight trait works. He turns around and uses his speed to catch up to Freed, and the two start clashing blades in high speed.

"Wow," Saji says in surprise. "He's become as fast as Yuuto."

Issei nods with stern eyes.

"With a Holy sword like that, it's only natural that it can keep up with the speed of a Knight."

"This is pretty bad," Koneko adds while she got her phone out to call Rukia and the Exorcists.

"Now be patient, y'all!" Freed yells towards the Devils. "I'll be sure to take care of all you onlookers, too!"

Issei's glare tightens on him.

"Does he not know when to shut up?"

{Boost!}

"Damn!" Issei curses. "If I could stop Freed somehow, I could transfer power to Yuuto!"

"You want that lunatic to be stopped?" Saji asks with a smile before extending his left arm forward. "Absorption Line!"

Issei looks at Saji to see his Sacred Gear appear on his left hand.

"G-Genshirou… You have…"

"Yup-yup!" Saji confirms with a toothy smirk before aiming the lizard-like object towards Freed. "Now! Go, line!"

The mouth of Genshirou's Sacred Gear opens and shoots a glowing light blue line towards Freed, who was weighing Yuuto down with his fast sword strikes. Before He could jump towards Yuuto again, the line caught Freed by the leg and forced him down on the ground, catching Freed off guard.

"This is my Sacred Gear, Hyoudou! It's called Absorption Line!"

Issei looked at Saji with an impressed face and a smile.

"Genshirou! That metal lizard on your hand that time with the Hollows is your Sacred Gear?!"

"That's right, Hyoudou!" he confirms as he kept his line tight around Freed's ankle. "Now to keep him in place!"

Freed growls at the line while sitting and attempts to sever the line off of him, but it didn't cut. This pissed him off and he tried to cut it again. Once again, it didn't break.

"Grrrr!" Freed then starts striking the line with his Holy sword again and again. "Get. Off. My. Leg!" He slashed at it one more time before snarling at the line. "Fuck! And it's a Dragon-type Sacred Gear, too!"

Issei heard what Freed said and looked at Saji with a shocked expression.

"Genshirou… Did I hear that psychopath correctly?"

{Boost!}

"You did, bud. My Absorption line is indeed a Dragon-type Sacred Gear."

Issei widens his smile at his confirmation. He then felt his hips being grabbed before he was lifted up by Koneko.

"I'm going to throw you, Issei-senpai," Koneko informs him.

"W-Wait, Koneko-chan! At least let me get ready to- WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

{Boost!}

Without waiting, Koneko threw Issei at Yuuto, forcing Issei to ready himself in the air and aim his Boosted Gear embedded palm for him. Yuuto saw Issei falling towards him and got himself ready for him, understanding why Koneko threw him.

"Issei!"

"Yuuto!"

Once Issei got close enough, Issei slapped him on the shoulder and landed next to him with a roll.

"Boosted Gear: Gift!"

{Transfer!}

"Alright, Yuuto! You should feel the power I gave you course through you right now!"

Yuuto felt the Boosted Gear's power within him like Issei said and smiled kindly.

"I can't help what I've already received. I'll use this gifted power gratefully!"

"What?!" Freed sees Yuuto aim his sword towards the building he was standing on and started cutting at the line holding him down. "Get this fucking tongue off already!"

"Sword Birth!"

Yuuto stabs his sword on the rooftop, resulting in a series of Demonic swords spiking up all over where Freed is standing, making the stray Exorcist freak out. When the blades start spiking at him, he destroys them with his Holy sword so they won't pierce him, resulting in more swords trying to stab him. The more swords he destroys, the more that try to attack him.

Yuuto smirks at Freed's struggles and began to think that this would be his win.

"So, this is the power of Sword Birth."

Yuuto heard a middle-aged man's voice speak and looked around with his eyes.

"Who's there?!"

From below the building he was standing on, Yuuto sees a man wearing Priest clothing and glasses walking out and looking towards the Demonic swords with a small smile.

"A Sacred Gear that can exhibit invincible power based on the user's ability." The man looks towards Freed despite his eyes appearing to be closed. "Freed, your use of Holy swords is still not adequate, huh?"

After getting a better look, Freed's eyes widen since he knows who he is.

"Oh! Old man Valper!"

Yuuto's irises and pupils contract when he heard that name.

"So… this guy must be the one Xenovia was talking about?" Issei questions when he too heard Freed call the old man Valper.

"The mastermind behind the Holy Sword Project," Koneko interjects as her eyes slit on Valper.

"Valper Galilei!"

Valper turns around to Yuuto after hearing him roar his name with rage in his voice and smiled devilishly.

"Ah. The one and only."

"That's what you say, old man," Freed says. "But this Lizard scum's tongue won't let go of my ankle!"

"Put all the elements flowing in your body into the sword's blade."

Freed lifts the blade in front of himself after hearing Valper's instruction.

"Put all the elements… into the blade, eh?" Freed did as he was told and saw that his weapon now has an orange aura coating the blade.

"Be careful!" Issei warns everyone after seeing and feeling the new power in the blade. "This is bad!"

"Oooooooooooh!" Freed gets excited as his body starts radiating the orange aura. "Now I get it~! HA HA~!"

With his Holy sword's new strength, Freed slashes downwards on the line binding his ankle while laughing, and this time, he was successful in cutting it.

"Shit!" Saji curses as he watches the line recede in his Sacred Gear while falling on his butt.

"Yes, I see," Freed says gleefully. "By using the Holy elements effectively, I can power up even more~" His eyes then shift towards Yuuto, who's eyes widen when he saw him look at him. "In that case, why don't I have you all become prey for my sword~?!"

Freed jumps and cocks his sword for Yuuto's head, who removes his sword from the rooftop and gets ready.

"DIE~!"

Yuuto raises his sword to block the attack, but due to how fast Freed was coming, he wasn't sure if he could protect himself in time.

KA-CHINK!

Yuuto's eyes broaden further when he saw a different sword block Freed's slash. Looking left, he and the other Devils saw that it was Xenovia who saved him in the nick of time.

"Xenovia!" Issei calls out, thankful that she made it.

"Yoo-hoo!"

Everyone then looks to see Irina entering the battlefield with Rukia beside her.

"Kept you waiting, huh?" Rukia asks the Devils while her hand was on the hilt of her sheathed Katana sword. The sword's guard was designed like a snowflake, and a long piece of white uncuttable fabric is hanging from the bottom of the hilt.

"Irina Shidou-san," Saji says in surprise. "Rukia Kuchiki-san."

"Hi!" Irina waves hello. "You guys contacted me, so we dashed over as fast as possible."

"I dashed over here," Rukia corrects with a deadpan. "You weren't fast enough to keep up with my speed, so I had no choice but to carry you on my back."

Irina giggles sheepishly while scratching her forehead.

"Yeah… Sorry…"

"But why did you girls come here?" Saji quizzes.

"Because that's what we've arranged," Koneko answers.

"you traitors!" Xenovia growls at Freed while pushing blades with him. "Freed Sellzen and Valper Galilei, I judge you in the name of God!"

Freed scoffs at Xenovia with an annoyed expression.

"Don't bring up that revolting name in front of me, you bitch!"

From behind her, Yuuto leaps over her and aims his sword for Freed's chest. Before he could pierce him, Freed jumped out of the way quickly and landed next to Valper, who turns his head to him.

"Freed."

"Hmm?"

"Your job was to get rid of those people from the Church who had snuck in." Valper looks at Xenovia. "But there are two here with Holy Swords. You won't be able to win against that kind of power, so let's retreat for now."

Freed was disappointed at first, but he nods in understanding.

"Roger roger!"

"I don't think so!"

Freed and Valper look over to see Issei unsheathe his Scale Blade, resulting in sparks shooting from the inside of his scabbard.

After he got it out, Rukia gasps when she sees Issei coat his sword into his aura and then cocks his blade to his right.

'That move!' Rukia thought. 'It's…'

"Getsuga…"

Freed's eyes widen at how massive the black and white aura was and quickly took out a blue ball from his pocket.

"Sorry, shitty Devil. I'd love to keep fighting, but this is goodbye for now!"

Everyone gasps at Freed's intent on retreating, while Rukia was more focused on Issei's attack.

"Tenshou!"

Issei unleashes his attack on Freed and watches it zoom towards him. But before the aura could hit Freed or Valper, the former of whom threw the ball on the ground, creating a bright light that deflected Issei's Getsuga Tenshou.

'Dammit!' Issei curses mentally. 'I wasn't fast enough!'

Yuuto and Xenovia attack together on the spot where Freed and Valper were, but they, along with everyone else, gasp to see that they were no longer here.

Rukia scowled at the sight too, but she then looked back at Issei and wore a small smile.

'Looks like he's figured out how to use your move without your guidance, Ryuujin-sama.'

"Come on, Irina!" Xenovia tells her while running off into the woods with Yuuto following. "Let's go after them!"

Irina joins the two in the chase, baffling Rukia.

"H-Hey!" Rukia starts running after them, but not before turning her head to Issei. "We'll meet again soon, Issei."

"W-W-Wait! Hold up!" Issei tried to call out to them, but they were already far gone, especially with Rukia going as fast as a Devil Knight. "Dammit!" Issei balls his Boosted Gear embedded hand into a fist. "Why did they go off so suddenly without a plan?!" his eyes then slit towards the woods while gritting his teeth. 'Y'all better make it back alive. Especially you, Yuuto.'

"Oh my, how troublesome you all are."

Issei and Saji froze in place with contracted irises when they heard a familiar voice behind them, making them and Koneko turn around towards the source of the voice.

The three Devils look on in shock to see Rias and Sona with their Queens appearing before them via teleportation circles.

"Buchou!"

"Kaichou!"

While Issei was just surprised that she's here, Saji paled at the appearance of his master and Tsubaki.

"Oh, Ise," Rias began with her arms crossed under her bust despite her and Akeno smiling. "Just what have you been up to?"

"Saji," Sona calls out with a grim voice. "I hope you have a good explanation for this."

While Issei and Koneko look downwards in defeat, Genshirou shivers at his master's icy stare. Despite stating earlier that he didn't care how brutal the punishment would be, it didn't stop him from being extremely scared of receiving it.

Right now, both the Gremory and the Sitri Devils are at an abandoned building so the masters could talk with their servants.

"Even though we said we wouldn't intervene," Rias began. "I want to at least get a grasp of the situation, so we had Akeno and Tsubaki watching the two from the Church."

"Saji!"

Genshirou squirms from Sona's harsh tone before lifting his head up to her while still bowing on his hands and knees in apology.

"Y-Yes?"

"You acted too much on your own without my knowledge. You really are troublesome."

Saji releases a cry while putting his head back down.

"I… I'm so sorry, Kaichou."

Meanwhile, Rias locks eyes with Issei.

"So then Yuuto went after that Valper person, correct?"

"Yes," Issei confirms with a nod. "He went along with Rukia-san and the Exorcists." He then sees Rias close her eyes in disappointment. "I-If anything happens, I think he'll contact us."

Rias sighs while opening her eyes.

"I wonder if he will? His head is filled with revenge. I'm not sure if he'll have the luxury of calling you."

Issei looks down at the ground. He too wondered if he really will call him back.

"And Koneko."

Issei looks at his kouhai when Rias called to her.

"Yes?"

"Why did you even get involved with this?"

Koneko's eyes soften as she looks downwards.

"I just didn't want Yuuto-senpai to go away… And…" Her eyes shift towards Issei, followed by her hands shaking slightly. "When I found out Issei-senpai intended to go get him back on his own… I just had to tag along… Because…"

Rias holds a hand up, silencing her Rook. Akeno's eyes soften, understanding what Koneko was talking about.

"It's okay. I can fill in the blanks from here." Rias eyes soften towards Issei. 'It's because of Ise's Hollow that she went with him…' She then breathes a sigh. "Well, it's no use crying over spilled milk. It's just that what you two did might also affect the Devil world. You're both aware of that, right?"

Koneko and Issei nod in sync.

"Yes."

"Of course. I'm sorry, Buchou."

SMACK!

"KYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The Gremory Devils then look to see Sona giving Genshirou a spanking with a magic circle over her hand that strengthened her slaps.

"You need more time to reflect on your actions!"

Sona spanks him again, earning another agonizing scream from Saji.

"OOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW! I'M SO SORRY KAICHOU! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

"Not yet," Sona replies coldly. "Not until your one thousand spankings are given."

Issei cringed at the sight of how powerful Sona's spankings appeared to be.

'Damn! She's using magic to spank him this hard?! I'm starting to feel sorry for having to drag him along with my plan.'

Issei then looks towards Rias, wondering if he'll receive the same punishment as his fellow Pawn's. He watches his King get up from her seat and walk towards him and Koneko with a serious face.

"Ise. Koneko."

"Uh… Yes..?"

Without hesitation, Rias brought him and Koneko into a hug, catching Issei off guard.

"You foolish kids," Rias says with a worrying voice. "All you do is make me worry."

"… What?"

While Issei remained flabbergasted, Saji looks on at the Gremory Devils with a whine.

"Aw, that side looks like it's ending on a good note!"

"They're them," Sona says before smacking his butt again. "We're us."

Rias then lets go of him and looks at him.

"Now then, Ise, stick out your bottom."

Issei's eyes broaden a little at the request, but instead of being scared like Saji, he accepted it.

"Alright," he says with a sigh before bending over in front of her. "Let's get this over with."

Rias cocks her brows at her servant's response. He wasn't acting like Saji, he was going to take it like a man. Akeno even giggled at how he responded to her friend's order.

But then again, Rias always knew Issei was a mature man, even though he still freaks out a little when she flirts with him.

"Alright then. I'll begin your punishment immediately."

"Please wait, Buchou!"

Issei and Rias look left to see that Koneko was bent over next to Issei with a guilty expression.

"Issei-senpai isn't the only one at fault," Koneko continued. "So please let me take half of the punishment."

Rias, Akeno, and Issei look at Koneko with surprised expressions.

"K-Koneko-chan?"

Rias thinks about it for moment before walking over to Koneko.

"Alright, Koneko. Get your bottom ready."

Koneko nods her head, but Issei got up from his spot.

"Hold on, Buchou! Please forgive Koneko-chan. I was the one who came up with this plan to begin with. And I should've been more persuasive to her to not come with me. So there's no reason for Koneko-chan to be punished, too." Koneko shakes her head at Issei, but he ignored her. "Please, Buchou. Punish me and let Koneko-chan off."

Rias shook her head while walking closer.

"Stand aside, Ise."

Issei made a noise with his tongue at the response.

"Buchou!"

Rias ignored him and got behind Koneko.

"Here I go, Koneko."

"Yes, Buchou. I'm ready."

Koneko nods and shuts her eyes while facing forward. Issei looks on in defeat, feeling more regret than ever that she's being punished for something that was all his idea.

With a nod, Rias raises her hand up and gets ready to spank her while Issei looked away, not wanting to watch.

Rias guides her hand towards Koneko's butt and gives it a slap.

But… Koneko found something off about it. The spank wasn't enhanced by magic, nor was it even a hard slap. The touch was gentle. In fact, one would hardly call it a spank at all, but rather, a gentle tap.

Koneko looked behind her towards Rias with the same confusion Issei has when he found out that the slap wasn't hard, only to see Rias smiling at her.

"Okay, you're done." Issei and Koneko were taken back, with Koneko being the most surprised. "Koneko, it's commendable for you to reflect on your actions. This is your punishment in response to that."

Koneko looked down with softened eyes and light red cheeks.

"Okay… Thank you, Buchou."

Issei smiled for his kouhai in relief. He was grateful that her punishment wasn't as severe as he thought it would. After all, he truly believed that it was all on him, and he deserved to have a more harsh punishment.

"Okay, Ise," Rias began while facing him. "It's your turn next."

Issei nods in affirmative and got back on his hands and knees. Rias walks closer to him from behind and raises her hand above his butt.

SMACK! SMACK!

Issei grunts twice when he felt Rias slap both of his ass cheeks once. After that, Issei develops a confused face, as that was all he was given; two very hard slaps on each cheek of his butt that are still stinging right now.

"There you go."

Issei's head turns to her slowly like a robot, revealing to the Gremory Devils a beady-eyed stare.

"…Huh?"

"Like Koneko, this amount of spanks is in response to how you've reflected on your actions," Rias explains. "Plus, you've asked before to cooperate with the Church to search for the swords, to which I declined, but you ended up doing it anyway."

Three question marks popped out of the beady-eyed Issei's head.

"But… What's that have to do with this… surprisingly less harsh spanking than what the Kaichou's giving to Genshirou?"

Rias stuck her tongue out and winked.

"Well, if you did what you did without asking me, your spanking might've been more brutal~"

Issei's beady-eyed deadpan remained on his face.

"Buchou… with all due respect, that sounds friggin stupid."

Rias played it off with a giggle, but deep down, Akeno knew the real reason why her spanking wasn't as harsh as Sona's.

And while she was still spanking Saji, Sona understood why, too.

'If Rias did spank him like I'm doing to Saji, Hyoudou-san's Hollow would've taken advantage of the state he would be in, and would surely go rampant on the spot.'

Sona should know how bad of a state the punished get after receiving a thousand spankings. After all, this wasn't Saji's first time getting spanked like this.

On their way home after Akeno, Koneko, and the Sitri Devils went their own way, Issei hissed before grabbing a hold of his butt with one hand.

"Damn! I can still feel the sting from your slaps, Buchou."

Rias releases a giggle from her lips.

"And you said that my punishment wasn't too harsh~"

Issei looks at Rias with narrowed eyes.

"Very funny."

When the two finally made it home, Issei and Rias entered the house to see something neither of them didn't expect to see.

"Ise-san! Buchou! Welcome home!"

Issei and Rias look at Asia in surprise when they saw that she was wearing nothing but a white apron, resulting in the former gaining a dark red blush. They could tell she had nothing on because when she turned to her left, they could see her sideboob and her left ass cheek.

"You must be tired after working so late," Asia addresses to Issei. "I'll start getting dinner ready right away."

Issei and Rias' expressions remain bewildered, with Issei's being the most shocked.

"A-Asia..? Why are you wearing that?"

Asia places a hand on her cheek in thought.

"Well, Aika-san said that the best way to refresh tired gentlemen is to wear something like this."

Asia gasped when she sees Issei face fault on the ground hard.

"Say no more," Issei's voice was muffled due to his face being on the ground. 'Damn her… what else has she been telling her?'

"I see. There was that method too, huh?" Issei lifts his head up at Rias and saw that she looked excited. "Asia, you're going to become a wicked and sexy female Devil one day."

Issei gave Rias a WTF expression while Asia blushed in embarrassment.

"B-But… I don't want to be a sexy Devil."

Issei got up from the floor and looked straight at Asia.

"I-I-In that case, you should hurry up and change!" he instructs. "If Mom sees you like this, then-"

"Oh my~, I love these clothes~" Issei snapped his head left when he saw his mother waving over to the Devils.

"H-H-H-Hold on, mom! It's not what it-"

"I'm the one who helped her, you know, Issei?"

Issei blinks with beady eyes.

"… Say what now?"

Rias listened to what Yuki said and cleared her throat.

"In that case, please allow me to wear a naked apron, too!"

"WHAT?!"

While Issei looked at her with bulged eyes, Yuki laughed kindly at the request.

"Go on ahead dear."

"ACK!"

With a wider smile, Rias removed her shoes by the door and walked over to Asia.

"Asia?"

"Y-Yes?"

Rias leans over to her ear and looks at her with serious eyes despite her smile still being there.

"Good job getting the first move on me."

Asia blinked at what Rias whispered before she blushed with a hand on her cheek while watching Rias follow Yuki to find another apron.

"You're too kind, Buchou."

Issei sighs in annoyance while removing his shoes at the door.

"Just what is this atmosphere?"

"Ise-san?"

"Hmm?"

Issei looks over to Asia who now has a worried expression.

"Um… Are my clothes problematic for you?"

Issei shakes his head while waving his hands animatically.

"N-No! I-It's fine! I just didn't expect you to only wear that!" Issei takes a breath to calm himself down before continuing. "Also, even if those two from the Church come back, I'll keep you safe." Asia blushes at his resolve. "I'll drive away anything you find scary."

Asia's blush turns redder as her eyes begin to soften.

"Ise-san… I don't regret becoming a Devil."

Issei rose his brows at her.

"I can't forget my faith," Asia continued. "But now, I have something even more important than my feelings towards God. The Buchou, the club members, friends from school, your parents…" Asia's smile widens as she looks back at Issei. "And most importantly… You. All of you people are precious to me. I want to be with everyone forever and ever. I don't want to be alone again."

Issei was moved by what she said. Before he could respond, Asia hugged him with tears developing in her eyes. When his eyes shifted downwards, he blushed a dark shade of red as he got a good look at her small butt.

'Oh crap… my heart's beating faster than normal right now!' Issei thought as his eyes constantly shifted from Asia's head to her ass repeatedly.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to hug back, because if he did, he would be touching her bare skin, and he doesn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, no matter how much she might say that it's okay.

"Ise! I'm back!"

Issei and Asia turn their heads towards the source of Rias' voice. Once they did, Issei's face turned as red as her hair when he saw her wearing nothing but a purple apron with a red heart sewn on where her breasts are.

When Rias bowed to Issei with a wink, her boobs start jiggling due to the motion and how much of her cleavage is shown.

"Well? What do you think?"

Steam shot from Issei's ears as he stared at Rias' cleavage, earning a gasp from Asia as she wondered if he'll be okay because of the large amount of steam.

"What's all the hoopla about?" Issei snapped from his shock when he and the girls heard Yoruichi's male voice speak to them. When she looked at what the girls were wearing in her cat form, she looks at Issei with mischievous eyes and a smirk. "Well well well, are you finally becoming a big boy, Issei~?"

Issei cringed while covering his ears.

"Come on, man! Don't say it like that with your male voice! It's creepy!"

Rias' eyes turned beady with a sweatdrop.

'I couldn't agree more.'

Yoruichi giggled at Issei and walked closer to him. She then rubbed her body on his leg and started speaking in her true voice.

"Hey, I know, want me to turn into my human form real quick and wear a naked apron too~?"

The Devils blushed at the sultry tone in her real voice with Issei's blush being the darkest.

"HELL NO!"

After calming down, Issei was sat on a chair with Yoruichi on his lap while they watched Rias and Asia begin to cook dinner. As the two were getting things ready, Issei's cheeks were pink since their naked butts are in full display for him.

"Issei, I'm feeling something push against my abdomen~," Yoruichi whispers with a seductive voice to avoid being noticed by Yuki, who was also there with them. "Perhaps you're secretly into naked aprons~?"

"Shut. The fuck. Up," Issei grumbles through his teeth only for Yoruichi to snicker in response.

"It's gotten pretty late," Rias tells Asia. "so let's just make something simple."

"Sounds good to me, Buchou."

Yuki watches the girls from where Issei is and smiles at the sight.

"Looks like there's two wife candidates now," she says gleefully before going into another room.

Issei looks back at the girls and rolls his eyes.

'When Dad gets home, he'll definitely faint when he sees this.'

"Hey, Issei." Issei looks down to see Yoruichi addressing him, this time, her expression was serious. "Just so you know, I knew about your plan to get your friend back."

Issei's eyes widen a bit at her blunt words.

"Y-You have?"

"Yes. And I have to say, it was very reckless of you."

Issei breathes through his nose.

"Tell me something I don't know, Yoruichi. I was aware of how dangerous it-"

"I'm not talking about you getting yourself killed," she cuts him off with a harsher tone. "I'm talking about him."

Issei gasps slightly at her clarification before looking down with narrowed eyes.

"Well… I don't know what to say about it, other than that he didn't take over during the skirmish."

"Even so, try to be more careful the next time you do battle," Yoruichi advises. "If you are in any way, shape, or form fatigue, or are injured to the point where you can't move, that's when he'll seize control."

Issei nods slowly before looking back at Rias and Asia, who are still cooking the meal for the family.

"Way ahead of you, Yoruichi…"

Yoruichi looks up at Issei and softens her eyes when she sees that his expression was now frustrated as he was now thinking about his inner Hollow.

'Don't worry, Issei. Once the Masked Exorcists arrive, you won't have to worry about it anymore.'

Meanwhile, in the woods, Irina was attacked and fell on the ground with bruises on her cheeks.

"Found ya~!" Irina flipped on her back and saw Freed speed towards her with a sadistic smile. "My oh my, did you get split up from your friends, cutie~?"

Irina removes her Excalibur mimic from her arm and kept it in the form of a white band. She then extends her weapon for Freed, but he dodges it by moving his head right and speeds towards her.

With said speed, Freed cuts Irina's left shoulder with his blade, making Irina cry out in pain while Freed went next to her.

"Excalibur Mimic," Freed says with a smirk. "I wanted that one too!"

Irina was forced to shield her face with her arms while Freed continued to slash at her, tearing away her clothes bit by it while making small nicks on her skin. He kept slashing and slashing until there was barely any clothing to cover her breasts.

Having enough, Freed stopped swinging his sword and grabs Irina by the neck. He then sped towards a tree and slams her body on it, making her cough up vile.

With a his, Irina glares down at Freed, who looks her up and down while licking his lips.

"U… Unhand me, you traitor!"

Freed snickers while moving his face closer to Irina's, making her look away.

"That's enough, Freed."

"Hmm?"

Freed looks up when he heard a young male voice call to him from above, revealing a black-robed Fallen Angel with five pairs of black wings. He has long black hair, red eyes, and, unlike most Fallen Angels, has pointy ears and teeth.

"Capture her," the Fallen Angel instructs with a monstrous grin. "Even if she's small fry, we can still use her."

The ten-winged Fallen Angel begins to chuckle to himself as he looked forward to seeing his plan bloom into chaos.

On the next day in school, Issei has his head down on his desk facing the window while in thought.

'In the end, there was nothing from Yuuto last night, huh?' Issei breathes through his nose as his eyes soften. 'Yuuto… Wherever you are, I hope you're okay.'

"You seem to be pretty serious lately, Issei."

Issei shoots his head up from his desk when he heard someone talk to him. Turning left, he saw his blond classmate looking at him with a raised brow.

"Oh, hey, Shinji," Issei greets before sighing. "Sorry, I'm still thinking about things that are too personal to talk about."

Shinji tilts his head.

"You're still thinking about them? Man, whatever it is, it must be very hard on you, too."

Issei shakes his head.

"It's not that bad."

"Even so, it's unhealthy to be depressed." Shinji then gives Issei a toothy smile. "All the more reason for ya to go to Karaoke with us. I'll bet you'll feel better after singing and listening to some good music."

Issei sighs in irritation.

"I'm not much of a singer."

"Oh come on, you should try singing, I'll bet the ladies that are going with us will adore you when they hear the potential in your voice."

Issei's brows furrow with red cheeks.

"Can we not talk about girls, today?"

"Why? Not a fan of girls."

"No! I don't dislike girls, idiot!" Issei takes a deep breath after seeing Shinji taken aback. "Don't get me wrong, I want to date a girl one day, but I'm not in that of a rush to have a significant other, you know?"

Shinji nods with a hand on his chin.

"Hmm… Is that right? I mean, I did notice you talking with that heterochromatic black-haired girl on the roof while I was outside eating lunch a few times on the previous days of school. From what I've seen, you two looked like you were comfortable with each other and had a good time."

Issei froze in his seat. His cheeks turned redder with an appalled expression when he found out that Shinji saw him with Tsubaki earlier on when the blondie transferred to the school.

"What? Did I say something bad?"

Issei slowly shook his head, but his expression remained the same.

"Hey… You… Didn't tell anyone about us hanging out together, right?"

"What? No," Shinji answers with a raised brow and a furrowed brow. "I'm not that crazy to spread gossip, dude. Gossip's not my thing."

Issei breathed in relief while thinking 'Thank the Gods.'

"That's weird, though," Shinji continued. "Why do you want to keep your time with the heterochromatic girl a secret?" Shinji was puzzling about it before his lips formed into a sly grin and pointed at him. "Oh! I get it, she's your secret-"

BONK!

Issei smashes his fist onto his head, giving him a big knot.

"Not. Another. Word."

"Heh heh heh heh… Sorry, bud… Didn't mean to get carried away."

The boys then hear the bell ring, prompting Shinji to take his seat next to him. As he was seated, the blond man was thinking to himself.

'Alrighty, once the weekend arrives for our Karaoke… I'll find a moment to ask him for a quick… "man-to-man" talk.'

Shinji grins to himself while taking out a pencil to get ready for their teacher.

When the lunch period began, Tsubaki was waiting for Issei to arrive at the rooftop so she could spend some more time with him after she finished eating. As she was waiting, she was thinking about how to ask him out on a date. The thought of it made her heart race, as she had never been able to ask such a request to him as they continued hanging out together.

'Can I… really do it this time?'

"Tsubaki-senpai."

Tsubaki jumps when she heard Issei's voice and turned around to see him walking towards her with a small smile.

"H-Hey, Issei-kun," she greets him while adjusting her glasses nervously. "How are you doing?"

"Hmm. I'm hanging in there. Well, except for the whole… plan I had last night involving the Holy swords not going so well."

Tsubaki watches him go to the railing and fold his arms on top of it while staring off at the clouds. She follows him there and stands next to him.

"That was still reckless of you, you know? Risking the truce between the three factions over the weapons."

"Believe me, Tsubaki-senpai, you're not the only one who told me that," Issei says before sighing a breath.

Tsubaki notices his frown and narrowed eyes and scooted a little closer to him with a softened expression.

"You're still worried about Kiba-kun?"

Issei nods while he still faced the clouds.

"Naturally. I mean, he just started acting like his old self again after I assured him that we could help, but after he saw the man solely responsible for the Holy Sword Project… he immediately went after him as soon as he disappeared." Tsubaki sees his expression worsen. "Dammit, Yuuto… You better come back alive."

Tsubaki's eyes soften towards Issei. She knew that the situation with Yuuto was dire from listening into his talk with Rias about it last night, but for him to still worry about him to the point of doing what he did yesterday…

That's another thing she liked about Issei. Despite all of the odds stacked up, and that this was a matter that a Devil shouldn't be involved in, he still worries for his friend and is willing to go this far to make sure he's safe.

And she didn't forget how serious he is about it. Whenever she saw Issei in his serious state, she would always smile, holding a great liking for his seriousness that's greater than hers.

Tsubaki scoots more closer to Issei. When he turned his head to her after noticing how closer she's got, his eyes broaden when he saw her hopeful expression.

"I think he'll come back, Issei-kun. If you told him what you told him, then I'm sure that he'll return."

Issei raises his brows at Tsubaki.

"And what makes you think that?"

With her smile slowly growing, Tsubaki stepped even closer to Issei and, with all of her courage, places her hand onto Issei's, slightly catching him off guard.

"I think that because I know you, Issei-kun." Issei was confused, but she continued. "I remember every word you said after you've won the Rating Game against Riser Phenex; how you've talked about losing not being a bad thing to you, and your words were passionate. And given how you are, I know that there is that passion when you talked to Kiba-kun."

Issei's cheeks turn red as he shyly looks away while scratching the back of his hand with his free hand.

"Well… I just stated my opinion, I don't think there was some magic in there… Unless you're talking about Talk no Jutsu. If you are, then there's no way I'd have that."

Tsubaki releases a small giggle.

"Maybe not, but I know that he'll come back because of you."

Issei lets a soft chuckle escape from his lips.

"I sure hope he does."

Tsubaki continues to watch Issei stare at the clouds as he continued to think about what's going to happen in the future. While he was, she was slowly preparing herself for asking him the one question she's wanted to ask him for a long time now.

With two quiet, deep breaths and a light blush, Tsubaki clears her throat and lightly squeezes Issei's hand.

"Hey… Issei-kun..?"

"Yeah, Tsubaki-senpai?"

As soon as she got his attention, Tsubaki started to get jittery again as her cheeks heated up some more, but she wasn't going to let those butterflies in her stomach screw it up. She got her chance to ask, and now, she's going to take it.

"So… I've been thinking… whenever we're both free on the weekend, do you think we can… spend some more time together?"

"Eh? Spend time?" Issei was dazed by his senpai's question. As he realized what she's trying to ask, his cheeks turn the same shade of red as hers. "Like a…"

"Yes, I'm asking to go on a date with you."

After saying that fast and bluntly, Tsubaki started to hear her heart pounding in her ears. She then places a hand on her heart with a coy face. After having finally asking him, it felt like a huge weight was being lifted off of her chest halfway, as she now needs to hear her crush's answer.

Issei blinks at Tsubaki with his cheeks still read as he processed her date request.

He blinks a second time.

And then a third time.

And finally, after a quick thought about it, with memories of him and Tsubaki's previous times together, Issei snaps his head towards her.

"Yeah! That sounds great!" After realizing he shouted that, which made Tsubaki take a step back in shock, he scratches his cheek in embarrassment. "A-At least, I don't see why not."

Tsubaki was still in a state of shock at Issei's answer. Not because that he exclaimed it, but that he actually said yes.

"R… Really?" Tsubaki questions as her glasses slowly tilted downwards, threatening to fall before she pushes them back up with an unsteady hand. "Y-Y-You actually want to date me?"

"Definitely," Issei says with a smile nod, confirming to Tsubaki that she did hear him right. His eyes then broaden a little when she saw her breath a deep sigh with a hand on her glasses. "You okay, Tsubaki-senpai?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine, Issei-kun," she confirms while brushing some strands of her hair out of her face. "It's just that… I didn't expect your answer earlier to be so… enthusiastic."

Issei chuckles while scratching the back of his head.

"Well, truth be told, I was actually wanting to ask you out myself."

"What?!" Tsubaki gasped at Issei's confession. "Y-Y-You have?"

Issei confirms it with a nod before giving her a gentle smile.

But before he or Tsubaki could say anything else, the two were caught off guard when they heard the school bell ring, signaling the lunch period to be over.

"Well, we better get a move on," Issei says before he began to make his exit. After placing his hand on the doorknob, he turns back to Tsubaki and smiles at her again. "I don't know what day both of us will be free, but I hope it comes sooner or later."

With that said, Issei exits the rooftop, leaving a stunned Tsubaki to herself.

She stood still with the same shocked face for a few more moments before her lips started to quiver. As they did, they slowly formed the widest smile she's ever formed, followed by a series of giggles and joyful quiet laughter.

With another breath, Tsubaki adjusts her glasses with her smile still intact.

"I did it."

After the school day was over, Issei and Asia were immediately called by Rias over the club room to discuss something.

"Is that so?" Asia asks after she and Issei heard Rias out.

"But has Yuuto contacted any of you?" Issei asks both Rias and Akeno.

"Not even once," Akeno answers with a frown matching Rias'.

"Well, the three he's with are pretty skilled," Rias says. "So I thought they could take on a Stray Exorcist if the Priest is by himself, but…"

Issei looks down at the floor with furrowed brows and guilty eyes.

"So… Did I make things worse?"

"We couldn't just wait for him to contact us," Rias tells her Pawn. "So we sent our Familiars to search around town. And when we did, my Familiar found someone…"

The Gremory Devils teleported to where Rias' Familiar found the person. When they got there, they saw a familiar light brown-haired girl's injured naked body resting on Rias' Familiar's lap in her human form.

"Irina-chan!" Issei rushes over to her to see if she's alright, and saw that she had a lot of nicks and bruises all over her body. "Asia! Your Twilight Healing! Please!"

Asia nods in affirmative and runs over to the unconscious Irina and started to heal her with her Sacred Gear.

"Who would've done this?" Asia wonders while Issei notices Irina starting to wake up.

"Irina-chan, what happened?! Where are Xenovia, Yuuto, and Rukia-san?!"

Irina did her best to keep awake as she sets her eyes on Issei.

"Th… The other three got away… And I was the only one… who was too slow…"

"That's enough talking!" Asia says seriously, but Irina didn't listen.

"He… He's very strong…"

Issei's anger started rising as his childhood friend mentioned a he.

"He who? Who is he?!"

"Be… care… ful…"

Irina tried to say more, but she fell unconscious again, making Issei clench his hands into fists.

Before anyone could say anything else, the Gremory Devils notice a blue transportation circle appear on the ground to their left. After a few seconds pass, it revealed three Sitri Devils.

"Kaichou… Genshirou… Shinra-senpai…"

"Thank you for coming, Sona," Rias says to her, who nodded.

"After receiving a message like that, of course I came." Sona walks over to Irina and knelt down while looking at Asia. "The damage is pretty bad, isn't it?"

Asia nods her head.

"Y-Yes. Twilight Healing can't recovered consumed stamina."

Sona nods to Rias' Bishop and shifts her eyes towards Irina.

"There's equipment to treat her where I live. Tsubaki."

"Right away."

Tsubaki walks over to Irina and picks her up bridal style, prompting Rias' Familiar to change back into a bat.

"I'm leaving her to you," Rias says to Sona.

"Of course."

Issei walks over to Tsubaki, getting her attention.

"Thank you; both of you."

"Don't thank me yet," Tsubaki replies. "We still need to get your friend to safety."

Issei nods, allowing Tsubaki to walk away with Irina in her arms. But while she was getting a teleportation circle below her feet, Tsubaki shifts her heterochromatic eyes down at Irina, acknowledging her as his childhood friend.

After Tsubaki teleported away, Issei looks towards the rest of his fellow Devils while getting up.

"Well, it looks like Yuuto, Xenovia, and Rukia-san are okay for now." Issei then notices Saji and flinches a little. "O-Oh! Hey, Genshirou. Sorry about… you know…"

"Nah, don't worry about it," Genshirou says while waving his hand. "Besides, it's not important right now. Just what's going on here?"

"We just got here, too, so I don't know either yet." Issei's eyes narrow towards the ground. 'But whatever it is, it doesn't sound good.'

And right on the money, Issei and everyone else felt a chill go down their spine.

"Wha… What is this bad feeling?" Saji questions while holding a hand to his chest.

Issei turned around towards the source and furrows his brows, finding the signature to be familiar.

"You!"

"Well lookie here~" The Devils see Freed walking towards them with multiple Holy swords in his coat. "You took the bait and are all gathered now, eh? So, how are you shitty Devils doing today?"

Issei's eyes widen with fury.

"Freed!"

"I thought it was him," Saji adds with the same stern eyes as Issei's.

Freed then sets his eyes on Asia, who takes a step back nervously.

"And look who we have here~ Little Asia-chan who changed sides and turned into a shitty Devil herself. You must be happy to live such a shitty life, aren't ya, Asia-chan~?"

"Bastard!" Issei growls. "You're not laying a finger on Asia again!"

Issei activates his Boosted Gear to teach him a lesson. But before he could do anything, Rias and Sona got in front of him and aim their magic circles at Freed.

"Hey, whoa whoa whoa! Hold up, ya eager beavers~," Freed says with a hand in front of himself "My boss man wishes to have a word with the redheaded gal over there."

Rias and Sona cock a brow at Freed while disabling their magic circles.

"Someone?" Rias quizzes.

"Yup-yup," Freed confirms while looking up in the sky. "And here he is now~!"

Everyone follows where Freed was looking and gasp at the sight of a ten-winged being looking down at them with a wide grin.

"A Fallen Angel," Koneko says with narrowed eyes.

"And he has ten wings," Sona adds with a small drop of sweat running down her forehead. "He's of the leader class."

The Fallen Angel chuckles at the Devils.

"A pleasure to meet you, I suppose, daughter of the House of Gremory. My name is Kokabiel."

Issei's body shakes while his stare remained on the Fallen Angel.

'His magic and Reiatsu are off the charts! That's just as strong as Riser's!'

"Good afternoon, leader of the Angels who fell," Rias greets with a smirk and narrowed eyes. "I am Rias Gremory. Glad to meet your acquaintance."

"Yes, your crimson hair is as beautiful as they say it is," Kokabiel commends her mockingly. "You look just like your brother, the Scarlet-haired Maou, Sirzechs Lucifer. It's so infuriating, I want to vomit."

"And?" Rias' expression turns wary. "Why did you contact me? It's rare to be able to see a leader up close."

Kokabiel releases a chortle.

"I was just thinking of starting with your stronghold, Kuoh Academy, and running wild in this town."

"Our school?!" Rias asks with a bewildered face, earning a nod from Kokabiel.

"If I do that, Sirzechs will come out even if he doesn't want to. Right?"

Rias clicks her tongue while glaring at the Fallen Angel.

"If you do that, the war between God, the Fallen Angels, and the Devils will break out again!"

Kokabiel laughs in excitement.

"I thought that if I stole the Excaliburs, Michael would come after me, but all I got were some small fry Exorcists, two Holy sword users, and a rare-to-be-seen Spiritual Knight."

Issei's eyes widen slightly at the last two words Kokabiel said.

'Spiritual… Knight? Where have I heard those words said together before?'

Issei continued to think about the term 'Spiritual Knight', digging deep into the memories of when he was younger to figure out where he heard that phrase.

"Disappointing," Kokabiel continued. "Extremely disappointing, indeed. The only one who's put up a swell fight so far was the Spiritual Knight."

Rias crosses her arms under her bust after putting the pieces together.

"Then, your goal from the start… was to start a war?"

"That's right," Kokabiel confirms as his face twisted into a sadistic expression. "That's exactly right! After the three-way war ended, I was so damn bored. Azazel and Shemhazai were being passive about the next war, too."

Issei was snapped from his thoughts when he heard two familiar names.

"Azazel? Shemhazai?"

"Azazel is the governor-general of all Fallen Angels," Rias explains.

'So he's the head of the Fallen Angels,' Issei thought while looking at his Boosted Gear.

Kokabiel grumbles at the mention of Azazel.

"That Azazel… not only is he being passive about war, but he's also started researching and collecting these weird things called Sacred Gears, and is completely immersed in his study of these artifacts."

Issei didn't like what he was saying, so he stepped forwards and looked at him straight in the eye.

"So you guys not only want Holy swords, but you also want Sacred Gears, too?!"

Kokabiel goes "Hmm…" as he looks at Issei's left hand, which was embedded with his Boosted Gear.

"Your Boosted Gear could be a useful weapon, but unfortunately, I'm not interested. However, Azazel might want it. He's quite the extreme collector."

"As if I'll let it become part of his collection!" Issei retorts with clenched fists.

Kokabiel snickers before continuing to speak.

"Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels… They're only just barely in a state of equilibrium." Rias and Sona gasp at his words. "If that's the case, then I can just start a war with my own hands."

"You're a complete war maniac!" Sona shouts, earning another chuckle from Kokabiel.

"That's why I'm using you Devils this time! Lucifer's little sister, Rias Gremory, and Leviathan's little sister, Sona Sitri. There must be a lot of power hanging over the school you lot attend. I'll be able to enjoy the chaos there. Yes, it'll be a great war zone!"

"Insanity…" Saji utters while sweating.

"For this much blood lust to be within him…" Issei adds with the same nervous expression as his fellow Pawn's.

The Devils then hear Freed laugh like a madman with his tongue stuck out.

"Isn't my boss just the best~?! His words are so motivating, that I'm getting caught up in it, too~!" Freed then opens his coat to reveal his other two Holy swords in their pockets. "I'm even getting all these cool toys as rewards~!"

"He has two more Excalibur," Koneko warns everyone.

After looking at the swords, Issei makes an expression of realization.

"Could it be that all the swords he has… are the ones that Xenovia said were stolen?"

"That's what it looks like," Akeno says with a serious stare.

Freed starts to giggle like a deranged serial killer.

"Of course, they're all in hyper state, ready to be used~" He then grabs onto the white thread that's tied to the left sleeve of his coat and pulls it off. "I even got this Holy sword of Mimicry from the girl with the in pigtails."

"Tch!"

Upon that reveal, Issei's irises contract in rage. His anger was high to the point that his left iris flashed gold-yellow twice without him noticing or feeling it.

Kokabiel's smile widens, showing off his demonic-looking teeth.

"Now, let's have a war, sister of the Maou Sirzechs Lucifer, Rias Gremory!"

With an evil laugh, Kokabiel activates a magic circle in front of him and started firing golden spears of light with it.

"Everyone, get back!" Rias warns as she, Akeno, and Sona put up magic circles to block the spears from piercing them.

The spears that weren't blocked by the three Devils exploded as soon as they impaled the ground. Once the smoke cleared, Saji looked around and noticed that Kokabiel was gone.

"What the hell?! Where did he go?!"

"He went that way," Koneko replies while pointing towards the buildings of Kuoh town. "He's heading for Kuoh Academy."

Issei's hands tremble in fury.

"Those bastards… Are they really going to destroy our school?!"

"Well, they said they were going to start at the academy," Sona says. "But it probably won't end there."

Issei gasps.

"Then does that mean..?"

Sona doesn't nod nor shake her head. She just looked forward at the town with the most serious face she's ever made.

"It would be easy for a Fallen Angel of that class to destroy this whole town."

Issei's eyes broaden.

"The whole town?!"

Everyone turns to see Issei's face twist in rage while his knuckles were turning white. They then gasp when they see his left eye's iris turn gold-yellow as his brows furrowed and his eyes remain broadened.

"That motherfucker… Don't even think about it, you fucking son of a bitch!" The Devils' eyes widen further when his black and white aura began to flare up, with his white aura slowly growing thicker. "I refuse to sit here and let you do as you please! I'll kill you before you try anything!"

Suddenly, Issei was hugged by Koneko, ceasing his aura from fuming out of his body and snapping him out of his rage.

"Please calm down, Issei-senpai!"

Issei looks down to see Koneko looking at him with a worried expression.

After a brief moment, the Devils see Issei's left iris turn back to brown, making Rias, Sona, Akeno, and Asia take a quiet breath of relief, with Saji confused on what just happened.

"S… Sorry, Koneko-chan… I imagined what would happen to everyone I cared about, and…"

"Say no more," Koneko interrupts while tightening her hug before releasing him. "But please, try to keep your anger in check. You might…"

"I know, Koneko-chan… I know…"

While Saji was still confused, the rest of the Devils understood what the two were talking about.

"Alright everyone," Rias announces. "We're heading back for the academy."

Everyone nods in agreement before Rias sets up a transportation circle for the school, allowing everyone to step in.

As they did, Rias shifts her eyes towards Issei and softens them, understanding why her Pawn felt such a fury.

'Ise…'

Meanwhile, in the outdoor gymnasium, Valper and Freed are in the middle of the running field with five magic circles placed like the five sides of a die. In those circles, each one has a Holy sword laying in them. The old man laughs to himself, feeling great about what's to happen next.

"This'll be something to watch… Finally…" With a lift of his hands, a bright yellow laser shot upwards towards the sky. "My dream is about to come true," Valper says in glee as the swords floated above their magic circles, with Freed looking on with an excited expression of his own.

From a different location in town, Xenovia gasps when she sees the bright yellow light from afar, standing on top of the building she, Yuuto, and Rukia were taking shelter in.

"This doesn't look good," Xenovia says as the hand holding her Excalibur Destruction shook. "I better notify Rukia-sama, and fast!"

As she was jumping down, she failed to notice Yuuto looking out the opened window with his arms crossed in front of his chest, looking at the same thing that got Xenovia shocked.

His eyes narrow towards the bright beam, finding its Holy signature to be very familiar.

"Oi, Kiba-kun."

Yuuto turns around to see Rukia walking towards her with a serious expression of her own. She ditched her black cloak, revealing her combat attire, which consisted of a black sleeveless shitagi, a matching-colored hakama, and a white hakama-himo. On her right hand, she wore a fingerless red glove.

"What is it?" Yuuto asks, with Rukia noting the impatient tone in his voice.

"I'm curious, Kiba-kun. After you finally get what you want, are you coming back to Rias Gremory?"

Yuuto raises a brow at her.

"You're asking me that, because?"

"I'm asking because of Issei," Yuuto's eyes open a tiny bit. "He still worries about you, you know. In fact, I'd even say that he's more worried than Rias is." Rukia chuckles lightly to herself while looking up. "I should know, because he's always been worrying about others besides himself."

Yuuto releases one chortle while looking down.

"Funny. You talk like you know him."

"That's because I do know him, pal." Yuuto gasps at the steely tone in her voice and looked back at her. "For as long as I can remember, Issei's been the greatest damn man I've ever got to grow up with in my childhood. When I first met him at Kendo classes, he started as a shy as hell kid afraid of screwing up as soon he got started. And if there's any two qualities that came from him maturing throughout our Kendo sessions that I like, it's that he doesn't take shit from no one, and he doesn't go back on his word."

Rukia steps closer towards the shocked Yuuto and points a finger against his torso before continuing.

"The second quality applies to you, Yuuto Kiba. Issei took the risk of becoming a Stray Devil himself just to make sure you come back to your master, Rias Gremory. He cares about you that much, just like how he cared about kids who got bullied when he grew thicker skin. And speaking of Rias, judging by the reputation of the Gremory Devils, they care for their servants like either their lovers or their siblings. You want your revenge on that bastard, Valper? Go right ahead, because the Exorcists want him gone almost as much as you do. But once you get what you want, what will you do afterwards? Will you go back to your master? Will you finally put your dark past behind you?"

Yuuto remained silent as he processed what Rukia has told him. Yes, he wants Valper dead for what he's done to him and his friends, and he'll stop at nothing to slay the Heretic. It was his goal in life to avenge his previous comrades, and every second he's stood with Valper still alive, it kept the flame of fury burning in his soul.

But as he thought about that, thoughts of his current friends started flooding his mind. From Rias offering her hospitality back when he was younger, to Akeno making the best tea whenever he felt down.

But if there's anyone that was stuck in his head more, it was Issei, especially with all the things he's said.

"We're family, Kiba! I'd even call us friends! Am I wrong?!"

"I refuse to allow one of my comrades to turn into a Stray! It's not just me, but Buchou and the others will be sad, too! Are you really okay with that?!"

Rukia's brows raise when she sees Yuuto frown with a deeply thoughtful expression, so she decides to leave it at that for now.

"I'm not expecting an answer right away," Rukia says while walking back to her original spot. "But I am expecting you to think about it."

Yuuto wordlessly nods with his eyes hidden by the bangs of his hair.

Suddenly, the door bursts open to reveal a panicked Xenovia with her eyes locked onto Rukia.

"Rukia-sama, we have trouble!"

Rukia and Yuuto blink at Xenovia for a moment before the former gasps with broadened eyes.

"Yeah… I can feel it too," Rukia informs Xenovia and Yuuto before squinting her eyes at the direction of the holy power she felt. "So, the son of a bitch has finally begun his ritual."

"We must make haste!" Xenovia exclaims as she tightens the grip of her Holy Sword with fury written on her face. "If those Heretics did anything sinful to Irina, I will personally send them to the lowest depths of Hell!"

Even though Rukia gave her an odd look because of how she sounded like a Holy Knight in a fantasy movie, she couldn't help but smirk at how much she cared for her friend.

'Looks like she's got some heart, despite what she originally wanted to do to Asia.'

With a nod and a stern expression, Rukia grabs onto the hilt of her Trick Weapon and walks in front of Xenovia and Yuuto, who are both as ready as she is.

"Come on, then. Let's give those bastards what's coming to them!"

Back at Kuoh Academy, the Sitri Devils, with the exception of Tsubaki since she's still at the Sitri hospital, have set up a strong barrier that surrounded the entire academy. Both the new school and the old school buildings are under its protection.

"The whole school's covered with a barrier," Sona informs the Gremory Devils. "If nothing drastic happens, it should be able to keep anything outside from getting damaged."

"Thank you, Sona," Rias says with gratitude. "That helps a lot."

"But that's only if conditions remain the same," Sona warns while she focused her magic on keeping the barrier up like her servants were.

Then, from behind the Gremory Devils, Issei notices a blue teleportation circle and saw that it was Tsubaki who arrived.

"Shinra-senpai! How's Irina-chan?!"

"Her condition's not life-threatening, thanks to Argento-san's treatment," Tsubaki informs the Gremory Devils while walking towards the barrier to aid her fellow Sitri Devils. "She just needs to rest, and then she'll be okay."

This earned smiles of relief from both Issei and Asia.

"Thank goodness," Asia says. "I'm so glad!"

Issei's expression then turns serious.

"What about Xenovia and Rukia-san? Where could those two have gone?"

"Nothing from Kiba yet, either?" Genshirou asks Issei while focusing on keeping the barrier up.

Issei shakes his head with a frown.

"Nothing. We haven't been able to contact him, either. All we can do now is hope that he's safe."

"Yeah," Koneko nods in agreement.

"My servants and I will keep the barrier up," Sona notifies to the Gremory Devils. "But I might not be able to keep the school from collapsing. As unbearable as that is…"

"We won't let that happen," Rias assures her, making Sona shift her eyes towards her with furrowed brows.

"Rias, it's not too late to contact your brother even now…"

Rias shakes her head with a chuckle.

"What about you? I don't see you contacting your big sister for assistance."

Sona cracks a small smile.

"My family is…" she whispers before looking back at her friend with just her eyes. "Your older brother loves you, doesn't he? Sirzechs-sama would definitely come to help you."

Rias shifts her eyes to the side with an unsure expression.

"I've already contacted Sirzechs-sama."

Rias gasps in surprise and turns her head to see that it was her Queen that spoke those words.

"Akeno! Why did you contact him on your own?"

Akeno's expression turns just as serious as Rias'.

"Rias, I understand that you don't want to be a bother to Sirzechs-sama. But the enemy is a leader-class Fallen Angel. He's not someone you can take on your own." Akeno then smiles to give her friend some reassurance. "So Rias, let's have the Devil King help us with this battle."

Rias blinks at her Queen before sighing a breath in defeat.

"As you wish."

This answer earned a wider smile from Akeno.

"Thank you for understanding, Buchou. Sirzechs-sama's forces will arrive in about one hour."

Rias smiles back.

"Geez, I just can't win against you, can I?"

The Gremory Devils began to make their way towards their upcoming battle, with Rias giving out her plans to her servants.

"Ise, I'll have you on support."

"Support?" Issei repeats with a cocked brow.

"I want you to use your ability to transfer your power to the others in order to raise their power."

Issei nods in understanding.

"Gotcha. Loud and clear."

Rias then looks at Akeno and Koneko.

"We need to stall until Ise can transfer his power to everyone."

"Understood, Buchou."

"Yes, Buchou."

Rias looks back at her Pawn.

"Ise?"

"Yes, Buchou?"

"We're counting on you. Also, I understand how strong you are for battle, but please understand why I chose your position to support."

Issei nods with a steely expression.

"Don't worry, I know. Besides, I'm not that crazy to take on a leader-class head on right away."

Rias smiles softly before continuing.

"We need to be on the offensive for this battle. It is imperative that we get into the school and prevent Kokabiel from releasing this power. And unlike our Rating Game with Riser, this battle is very real, and our lives will be at risk this time." Rias' eyes furrow. "But I will not allow any of us to die. My dear servants, survive so we can go to school together again!"

[Yes, ma'am!]

With Boosted Gear active, Issei promotes himself to Queen so he can be further prepared for the fight against the warmonger himself. As he felt the power of the promotion flow through him, he unsheathes his Scale Blade with a face of determination.

'Hold tight, Mom, Dad, Yoruichi, and everyone else. We won't let you all die!'

To be continued in the next chapter: "A Fallen Angel's battle for war."

Authors Note: I meant to finish this chapter earlier since it was almost done a month ago, but you know, again, life.

Also, there's this game of the year 2020 and game of the decade I've played through on that month called Doom: Eternal, so there's that too. Seriously, folks, it's such a good fps game. IT'S SO FRIGGIN FUN!

Anyway, I'm sure everyone else knows this already, but I'm happy to say on this chapter that the Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War is finally getting animated! Yes! And since the Manga is done, hopefully, we won't have to worry about filler this time, with maybe a minor exception that there will be some anime original stuff that may or may not fill in some plot holes of the Bleach manga here and there.

Anyway, that's that. Hope y'all enjoyed reading, and see ya next chapter, or on whatever Fic I work on next.

Issei's current harem (in no particular order): Tsubaki, Akeno, Yoruichi, Rukia, Rias, Asia, Koneko, Tsubasa, Ravel, Xenovia, Irina, Raynare, Kalawarner, Mittelt, Aika, Murayama, Kiyome.

Until next time, folks~!