AN: I'm back! (and here to stay, hopefully)

I've got a longer note down at the end of the chapter, so feel read there if you want some more information about what's been going on (and what's to come). Normally, this would be the part where I'd answer reviews, but it's been so long I can't tell which ones I've already answered, so we'll save that for later.

True to form, the light running through my system is keeping me on edge. It's not so bad to the point where it's painful, it's more like a dull buzzing I can always feel but can't do anything about. The best way to describe it is like a mosquito I can't catch, it's always buzzing around, biting me and slowly picking away at me; I can't stop it, but it's not exactly unbearable; just irritating.

After laying in bed for about an hour, I sit up and head into the bathroom.

"Something on your mind?" Ddraig asks.

" I was just thinking." I reply mentally, not wanting to wake up the girls sleeping in my bed.

"What about?"

"We're going to die, aren't we?"

"Everyone dies, partner."

"But we're going to die soon."

"What makes you think that?"

"Ddraig, be real. I'm missing an arm that you can't grow back for who knows why, and I'm not even at full combat output anymore because of the poison, I can feel it sapping my magic away."

"And you think because of that you're going to die?"

"As much as I like to believe in Rias and the others, they don't stand a chance against Kokabiel. He can wipe the floor with them without even raising a finger! And yet here I am, completely unable to do anything to help them!"

"Kid, I want you to pay attention, because I'm only going to say this once: You are quite possibly one of the most capable hosts that I've ever had. I have been present for the rise and fall of empires, I've aided my past hosts in razing entire civilizations to the ground, I've granted my power to men who stood unparalleled on the field of battle. And yet do you know why I see you as superior?"

"Because you think lying is going to make me feel better?"

"No, you fool! It is because no matter how mighty my past hosts may have been, they were all unable to adapt the way you can. They had no sense of rationality or cunning about them. They may have had superior strength, but that's all they had. You may not be the strongest in terms of physical power, but I have no doubt that you are able to best any mortal who has ever hosted me through your wit and sheer tenacity."

"What are you talking about?"

"I have been with you for twenty years; and all that time I noticed that you always think first. You wait to move; you analyze your situation and surroundings before you act. You always organize the setting to be optimal for you. Most of my previous hosts were nothing but brash warriors who left the thinking to others. Now, do you honestly believe that something as minor as this will be your downfall?"

"Minor? I'm a devil, you idiot! Light might not be much of anything to dragons; but to me, it's fatal!"

"But you are also a dragon. Remember, partner, that the two of us are one entity. Although we have different minds, out bodies are as one. You may not have the full protection of dragon skin, but you are also not so weak as a mere devil."

"But, for some reason, this light – which shouldn't be a big deal, if you're right – is keeping me from regenerating; not to mention that it's slowly killing me!"

"The reason you can't regenerate is because I'm holding the poison's advance at bay. If you can halt its progression, I would be able to slowly expel it from your system and then regrow your arm."

"Either way, it still won't regrow, right?"

"Not for a short while. But if you find a way to stop the poison, you will not have to worry about losing any more of your power. It may be a slow process, but you will eventually be able to be whole again."

"And how long do you think this'll take?"

"Once you find something to permanently halt the spreading, your arm should be fully regrown in about a year's time."

"A year?!"

"Be thankful. Even as slowed down as it is, the poison still advanced incredibly quickly. I'm not well equipped to detoxify, so I will not be able to perform this task as well as I would others."

"And how do you suggest we go about stopping the spread, and what I'll do when I'm down an arm?"

"Use your head. With training, your bishop might be able to cure you, or you could find a superior healing source."

"But Asia only knows the basics, there's no way that'd she'd be able to get rid of light poisoning without training."

"I suppose you're right. However, I think you should head back to hell for the time being. The Greek should be able to work something out with your arm."

"But you know how she gets."

"Kid, you can't afford to be picky in times like this. Either go ask her for help or learn to live without an arm."

I sigh, conceding the argument to him. He is right, though: I could probably go see Andromeda about my arm. The one thing I'm worried about is that she and I have sort of a history.

The two of us met a little over two years ago, right after I left working for the Gremories. I was considering some leads that lead me to Greece, and decided to spend the night in Athens. The problem with Greece, by the way, is the gods. Well, one god: Hades. See, Hades isn't a big fan of other mythological groups, so he tends to take drastic measures against pretty much everybody. In Greece, especially, I had to be on my toes all the time, there was no telling when one of his goons would try to take me out. As I was looking around for a cheap place to stay, I noticed some smoke rising near to where I was. Being the kind of guy I am, I went over to investigate the source.

One of the smaller buildings was on fire, but the fire itself seemed a little odd. Instead of the standard flame colors and patterns, this fire was an ashen gray, and seemed to spread rather slowly for an unplanned burn. Instead of rapidly consuming the building, it would branch out very slowly – only about a half a foot a second – and then retract back immediately. Obviously, it was something supernatural. The question was: What?

Looking around for anybody in the streets, I heard some screaming from inside the building. The fire had reached a fourth floor window and was beginning to burn even brighter. Shadows gathered at the base of the building and began to climb up the walls.

"Ddraig, those are shades!" I exclaimed, "What the hell are Hades' forces doing burning down a building?"

"I don't know, but it can't be good. I suggest you find out what's going on." He replied.

I crouched down low and leaped to the sill of a third floor window, intercepting the shades' ascent.

As I landed, I scattered a fire across the wall, preventing the ghouls from moving any further. While they hissed angrily, I leaped up into the burning part of the building.

"Hello?" I called out, "Is anybody in here?"

Looking around, I saw the gray fire spreading towards one of the rooms in the back of the apartment. Coming from the same direction was the sounds of frantic screaming and panicking.

"HELP!" One of the voices called out, distinctly female, and sounding rather young.

"I'm on my way!" I call, "Just stand away from the door and cover your mouths!"

I walk towards the closed door, the fire feeling slightly warm as I walk through it; another sign that it's supernatural, I wouldn't have felt a thing if the flame was natural.

Standing in front of the door, I leaned back and delivered a powerful kick right above the handle, causing the door to fly open and slam into the wall.

There were four people in the room, which was apparently some sort of large closet, the older two of the group were obviously dead; a man with severe burns all over his body, and a woman who appeared to have succumbed to the smoke. The other two, both girls, were in rough shape. The older of the two is holding the other close to her.

"Please, help us!" She shouts.

I nod, picking the two of them up over my shoulder and walking over to the wall.

"Wait! The older one shouted, "My parents, you have to save my parents!"

I kicked down the wall, exposing the alleyway behind the building.

"Kid, there's nothing left to save. I'm sorry, but we have to get you two out of here!"

Before she could say anything, I jumped out the window, expanding my wings and flying into the foothills surrounding the city.

As I few away, the older of the two pounded on my back.

"Turn around right now!" She screamed, "We have to go back and save them!"

The other one was laying limp over my shoulder, which was rather concerning. I stopped flying and hovered in the air.

"Kid," I shouted, "you've got a choice: Go back for your dead parents and we all die, or just let it be and we just might be able to save your sister!"

"What do you mean?! What's wrong with Helena?!" She stopped hitting me, thankfully, I was about to drop her.

"Look at her, kid. She breathed too much of that shit in, it's doing a real number on her lungs right now. If you want her to live, we've got to get to a hospital, and fast!"

"Fine, just save her! Please!"

"Now that's more like it." I grumbled to myself, resuming flight towards the outskirts of the city.

"Where are you going? There's a hospital right beneath us!"

"Judging by your not freaking out about my flying, you're not new to magic, right?"

"That doesn't answer my question!"

"I'll take that as a yes. That fire wasn't natural; anything wrong with her can't be treated at a human hospital. Our only option is to go to hell."

"Hell?!"

"Hell. Where I'm from. Trust me: if anyone can help your sister, my people can."

We landed in a cave, and I set the two girls down on the ground. Helena, the younger one, didn't move in the slightest, which was rather unsettling.

"Kid, stand next to your sister, and watch the entrance, I don't want any of Hades' goons barging in here while I work on the teleport."

"Hades?! What do you mean?!"

"Not important, just watch the entrance!"

I began to draw the teleportation circle, and right as I finished, the shouted, "Something's here!"

"You're too late!" I shouted at the ghouls in the mouth of the cave, "Tell your boss that Issei Hyoudou says 'hi'."

There was a flash of light and we teleported to hell.

Andromeda Myron has been working for me ever since. Helena, her sister, is still a hospital in my territory, and the doctors believe that she's under some sort of curse. Since we met, we've been on rather uncertain terms, partially because of her sister, and because I think she blames me for the death of her parents (I don't get it, I showed up after they died); but regardless, Ddraig was right when he said she could help me out.

Shaking my head clear, I walk back into my bedroom, well, it's more of a stumble. Rias is still lying in the bed, but she's wide awake and staring at the door.

"Issei, are you okay?" She whispers, "You were in there for a while."

"I've been thinking." I reply, carefully climbing back into the bed, it'd be bad if I woke any of the others up.

"About what?"

"Kokabiel."

"Issei, you need to calm down. Azazel-sama will come, and even if he doesn't, Onii-sama will."

"Rias, that's wishful thinking. If they don't come, then we're all on our own, and I'm pretty much useless without my arm."

"Then we'll take him on alone."

"You all don't stand a chance."

"Excuse me?"

"Rias, you know as much as I do that a bunch of teenagers won't be able to take down a ten-wing, no matter how hard you all believe in yourself, no matter how hard you try, he just overpowers you."

"Then what do you suggest we do about it? If nobody shows up? Do we just lie down and accept it? Just die?!"

"No. You stall to the best of your ability."

"Stall? What do you mean?"

"I've got a plan, but it requires me being gone for a little while; not long, only about two days. All you need to do is keep him at bay until I get back."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go home."

"Home?"

"I'm going to see Andromeda about the situation with my arm, and try to raise as much of an army as I can."

"I understand, I guess. You know that my Onii-sama will come to help if you ask, right?"

"Of course, he's going to be one of my first stops."

I get back off the bed, still moving carefully so as not to wake the others. I walk over to my closet and throw on a jacket, the sleeve covering my missing arm.

"Now, time is of the essence, so I need to leave." I say, preparing a teleportation circle. "Stay safe. I want you to keep something in mind, when I said stall, I don't mean pick a fight. If Kokabiel even looks at you, you're as good as dead. Our intel says that he's got priests and exorcists all over the place, do whatever you need to do to take them down, try and peck at his forces so he can't launch a full assault. Whatever you do, don't get yourself killed."

"Issei, before you go, I… I-" Before I can hear what she says, I teleport away.

One flash of light later, I'm standing in front of a rather large complex of buildings; the center of the Andromalius family's business operations. I walk through the door, looking at the receptionist.

"My lord!" he exclaims, jumping up and bowing, "What may I do for you today?"

"I'll be in my office; would you please tell Andromeda Myron to meet me there as fast as she can?"

"Of course, my lord! It would be my pleasure."

"Thank you."

I walk towards the elevators, as I do; I stumble slightly, causing my jacket to slide off my shoulder, revealing my stub of an arm.

"Lord Hyoudou!" The receptionist shouts, "You're hurt!"

"Not a word about this to anyone," I say, pulling my jacket back over my shoulder, "Understood?"

He pales and nods.

"Good. Make sure Andromeda shows up soon."

I step into the elevator and rocket up to the top floor office. Of course, in the underworld, elevators are completely and totally unnecessary seeing as how everyone can teleport, but I just like the feel of an elevator in a business setting. It just feels right. The elevator gives a resounding ding as it arrives on the top floor of the building, my office.

As the door opens, a woman is standing next to my desk, her arms crossed. Her dark black hair is gathered in a loose bundle that hands down her back. She's about five foot seven, and a far cry from the seventeen year-old I saved back in Greece two years ago.

"Andromeda," I say, stepping out of the elevator, "it's great to see you again."

"Cut the crap, Issei. Sean told me about your arm. What did you do?"

"He got ran through with an Excalibur fragment." Ddraig says aloud.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" She shouts, running over to me and ripping off my jacket.

She looks at my bandaged stump, sighing to herself.

"Do I even want to know how you pulled this off?" She asks.

"I picked a fight with some exorcists; actually, I think you know them. The pair from Amsterdam."

"Those two? Small world, huh."

"That's what I'm saying! It was so weird to run into them again! Oh, you wanna hear something funny?"

"What?"

"They actually thought that I was an angel! Can you believe it? An angel!"

"Well, that certainly is funny. So, grit your teeth, this is going to hurt."

"I know rig- Wait what?!" I ask as she rips the bandage off of my arm.

"SON OF A BITCH!" I shout, "WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE GOING TO DO THAT SOONER?!"

Let me just say, ripping a bandage off is not fun on its own. It's even less fun when that bandage has been bound to your skin by your dried blood.

"Well," She says, grinning sarcastically, "I just couldn't bring myself to interrupt your fascinating story."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. But seriously, why did you do that?"

"I assume you want me to make you a prosthetic, I need to look at the wound so I can know what I'm working with."

"And you couldn't just say, 'Hey, Issei, I need to look at your arm, would you mind my taking off your bandage in a way that won't rip out chunks of your skin'?"

"Oh, don't be such a wimp. You can take more than that and you know it." She says, walking around and measuring my arm.

"How long do you think it'll take?"

"I should have it done by tonight. Why, you got a date or something?"

"A war meeting, actually."

"War? Lift your other arm."

I do as she says.

"So, I'm curious, what exactly did you do to get yourself stabbed?"

"I mind scourged the exorcists, and they started freaking out; one of them took this weird little shoelace thing off her arm, and them blamo: it's a sword, she threw it at a friend of mine, so I jumped in the way. I didn't really think it was any special Excalibur fragment, otherwise I would've let the bastard take the hit."

"Hold up," she says, "two questions: You saw a 'shoelace' turn into a sword, and you just thought it'd be a good idea to jump in front of it?! Just, 'Oh, it can shapeshift, but it can't be any special kind of sword, I guess I'll just get stabbed in the arm! It's a great day to show off anyway', really?! I swear, you can be such a moron sometimes."

"In my defense, it was kind of an instinct thing, more spur of the moment action than planned strategy."

"Fair enough. Second: Mind Scourge? What does that even mean?! And what the here made you thing that it was a good name?"

"Oh, come on! It's Mind Scourge! That spell I finished researching a few months ago!"

"The one where you make them hallucinate based on images pulled from their subconcious?"

"Yeah!"

"Cool. Mind scourge is a sucky name."

"So is Andromeda, but you don't hear me complaining." I quip back, feeling quite clever with myself. This feeling, however, is quite short lived, as she apparently thinks that a fitting retaliation would be stabbing her finger into my arm-stub. It hurts, a lot.

"Sorry, sorry. Consider the topic dropped."

"Good, there's more where that came from. So, what did you mean when you said you had a war meeting?"

"Have you ever heard of Kokabiel?" she nods, "Well, he's gone rogue. I'm meeting with Sirzechs-sama soon to see about getting a strike force together."

"What about your arm?"

"If you can get the prosthetic done in time, all I must worry about is a little poisoning, but I don't know any way to get rid of it right now."

She backs away from me.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the Phenexes owe you a favor?"

"No, just a peerage member. And I don't think a tear would do what I need anyway."

"Well, there's no harm in trying it out."

"I guess, it can't really get much worse than this; then would you do me a favor and call ahead and notify the Phenex household I would like to have meeting with them?"

"I'll get right on that."

"Thanks, I'll be going. Oh, before I leave: how's your sister doing?"

The smile she's held for the past few minutes disappears from her face.

"She… She's still down. She hasn't gotten any worse, but she's not getting any better. I'm worried. It's been two years and she still hasn't changed! The doctors say she's stable, and it's all up to her now, but what if she doesn't wake up?! What am I going to do without her?!" She starts to cry.

"Andromeda, look at me." I say, pulling her into a one-armed hug, "everything's going to be fine. The doctors working with her are some of the best in the underworld, she's not going anywhere on you; I promise."

I try to stroke her hair with my bad arm, but the nub doesn't allow me to. Thankfully, my awkwardness is enough to make her laugh, which is a good thing; I haven't seen her do it in a while.

"Look, I'm going to leave; but let me know the moment anything changes. Okay?"

She nods.

"I'll be back tonight, make sure that arm's ready!"

She nods, wiping away some of her tears.

"It'd be awfully bad if you come up shorthanded!" I say, stepping into the elevator.

"That was horrible. Just leave." She says in contempt.

The Phenex Mansion is just as opulent as it was a few years ago, perhaps even more so today. When I arrive at the front gate, an entourage is waiting to escort me through the grounds to the main house. They offer to take my jacket for me, and it's rather difficult to come up with a reason why they can't.

"I'm feeling a little under the weather at the moment," I say, "I'd rather keep it on for now, the warmth helps me feel better."

The staff goes along with it, but it's plain as day that they don't believe me.

As I walk through the grounds, the glares of contempt are easy to notice. I'm not complaining or anything, because I completely understand why; but it's still a little unsettling.

Raiser's younger sister, Ravel, I think it was, and the Lord of the house are waiting for me at the front of the main house.

"Lord Phenex," I say, bowing, "Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice."

When I bow, I hear the girl let out a small gasp; looking down, though, I see my jacket hasn't fallen off, so I don't really know what her deal is.

"It is a pleasure, Lord Hyoudou," Lord Phenex replies, "though I was surprised to hear you had such urgent business. Please, do come inside so we may discuss this further."

I bow once again, and proceed to enter the mansion. Lord Phenex and his daughter lead me to a small room just off the entrance hall of the main house, inside the room is a small desk as well as a few chairs arranged around the room.

"Please, leave us." Lord Phenex says to the servants who followed us, "I'm sure that Lord Hyoudou would like this meeting to be conducted in private."

The two servants bow and depart, and the three of us take seats in the room.

"So, Lord Hyoudou, what may I do for you today?" The man asks.

"Straight to business, I see. I need to purchase a Phoenix tear, but in a way that nobody else can find out about."

"Well, Lord Hyoudou, that's quite the tall order. Might I ask what you need it for?"

"I'm afraid I'd rather not go into the details." I state evasively, "But I will say that if you can help me, I would be immensely grateful."

"Well, Lord Hyoudou, I believe that can be arranged; but if you don't wish to talk, I find it rather concerning. Are you sure you don't wish to talk about it? "

"I believe I might have the answer to that." Ravel, the girl, says. "I was contacted by one of Lord Hyoudou's subordinates upon his arrival."

I'm getting a sinking feeling that Andromeda might've spilled the beans.

"Apparently, Lord Hyoudou has been injured with a holy sword, and is hoping that we may be of assistance in curing the remaining light poisoning."

"Light poisoning?" Lord Phenex exclaims, "Lord Hyoudou, why did you not come sooner?! And how are you still alive?!"

"Lord Phenex, I'm afraid that I'm not at liberty to tell you that. But Young Miss Ravel is correct: I am currently suffering from light poisoning, and the Phenex house was the only option I could think of in terms of a possible solution; hence why I came to you."

"Well, Lord Hyoudou, I am not sure what help our tears will be to your current solution," Lord Phenex says, "But we will do what we can to help you."

"Thank you, Sir. When do you believe that you'll have the tear ready? I have urgent matters to discuss with Sirzechs-sama and must be going soon."

"I understand. Luckily, there is a small stockpile of tears we have in the mansion for situations such as these, I do not have any qualms about using one of them to help you."

"Thank you, Lord Phenex. The Andromalius clan is in your debt."

"Think nothing of it; consider this repaying you for teaching my son a much-needed lesson. Now, is that all you needed?"

"Yes, sir. I'll be on my way now."

"Actually, Lord Hyoudou," Ravel says as I stand up, "I was wondering if I may have a word with you before you depart."

"I don't see why you couldn't," I say. It's actually rather bizarre, I would've thought that she wouldn't want to have anything to do with me, seeing as how she's a member of her brother's peerage.

"Thank you." She says, bowing. "Father, may Lord Hyoudou and I please have this conversation alone?"

"I suppose that would only be fitting, seeing as what you two are likely to discuss."

Apparently, I'm the only one who doesn't know what's going on, which is more than a little irritating. Lord Phenex leaves the room, so now it's just Ravel and I.

"I get the feeling that your father knows more about what you're going to say than I do." I say, sitting back down and removing my jacket.

Seconds go by and the girl says nothing, I assume she's staring at the stub where my arm once was.

"Is there a problem, Miss Phenex?" I ask, locking eyes with her and reaching for my jacket, "because I'm very busy, and if you're just going to dawdle and waste my time, then I'd much rather be going".

"Wait, I'm sorry!" She said, rushing over to keep me from donning my jacket, "Your injury simply came as a shock, I didn't mean anything by it!"

This kind of irritates me, she didn't do anything wrong, of course, but I'm getting unreasonably touchy for some reason, it happened earlier today, too. I'm not sure what's behind these weird mood swings, but if I'm to try and conduct business, I need to get them under control.

"What's the matter, partner? Is it your time of the month?" Ddraig teases me.

"Cute." I snap back "Can I get a basic analysis on hormonal biochemistry? Or are you too busy cracking bad jokes?"

"If you want to know what's wrong with your attitude, it's the light poisoning. You're on edge, tense: add that to your already dazzling personality and it's not too hard to see why you're a tad… sensitive."

"Sensitive?! What makes you say I'm sensitive?!"

"My point exactly. Now, I suggest you snap back to reality, because the girl seems to be rather confused."

He's right, she's just staring at me. I don't know exactly how long the conversation took, time seems to flow a little differently when you're arguing with the voices in your head, but I don't think it could've been more than a few seconds.

"Lord Hyoudou," Ravel begins questioningly, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it's just the light. Everything's getting thrown out of balance, I just need a minute to get used to it."

"About that, you're the first devil to ever survive an encounter with an Excalibur fragment, the light poisoning you've got is likely much more potent than an average injury, I do not believe that a Phoenix tear will be able to help you."

"I understand that, but I don't have any other options at this point, and I don't really think that things can get much worse for me."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"I'm down an arm, I've lost most of my magic, the dragon is too busy trying to keep me alive to do anything else, and I've got light spreading through my system – apparently at a higher potency than normal, if you're to be believed. There is literally nowhere to go but up."

"I suppose you have a point."

"Then you're agreeing to help supply me with tears?"

"I cannot give you an unlimited number of tears for free, I'm afraid that you will have to buy tears beyond the first, so as to allow the family name to not be tarnished."

"I understand that completely, I'm just thankful that you're willing to help me in the first place. Now, on the topic of helping, you said there was something you wanted to talk about?"

"Oh, well, yes…" She begins to blush furiously, "It's about the wager you made with Onii-sama, where he transfers a member of his peerage to you."

"Ok, I see where this is going. Frankly, I'm not that surprised."

"I'm sorry?"

"He chose you, right? Honestly, it makes sense knowing him. Why give up one of the knockouts and concubines when the little sister is right there; it's completely in character for him. Unless it was you who asked to switch." I add the last part on as a little tease, if she's going to be forced to join up, why not have a little fun, right?

"W-w-what?!" She shouts, turning beet red, "Why would I ask to join you?! I-it's not like I wanted to or anything!"

"Sure, sure;" I say, "but that's irrelevant at this point. If your brother paid attention, he'd know that you don't join me until I say, and I'm not ready for you yet, so you're going to have to be a free piece for a short while, until I can get this current matter sorted. I hope that's not too much of an inconvenience."

"O-Of course it isn't!" she says, turning all the redder "I didn't want to join your peerage yet, anyway!"

"Good, thank you for your… understanding." I don't think that understanding is the right word, but I'll just go with it anyway. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a very important meeting with Lord Sirzechs."

AN:

Let's start this with an apology. It's literally been almost a year since I updated this last, I don't have any excuses, only a sincere and heartfelt apology. I wish I could say that I could promise regular updates, but I can't, my schedule has gone batshit crazy for the next couple months. That said, I am going to try and make up the absence to you guys by going on a blitz, so expect a few more chapters coming soon (as long as nothing happens to me or my computer).

With that out of the way, I guess we should move on.

Chapter 19! WOOOOOOOO!

I want to give a big thanks to all you people who've stuck with me through all the past 18 chapters, and the people who've just come in recently (surprisingly enough, I still get notified when people follow and favorite, so a big shout out to the people who've been doing that). Honestly, It's the reviews that kept me going; see, about a year ago I reread the entire story up to here, and I honestly wasn't sure it was that good, so I kinda decided I'd hold off a little and see how the general response was. Unfortunately, (by nobody's fault but my own) a little turned into a while, but it was the recent surge of people asking for a continuation that made me realize that you guys enjoy reading this. I'm really thankful for all the support you've all given me while I was away, and I (once again) apologize for ditching you all for a year.

This chapter, there was the first introduction of an OC who is going to recur throughout the series, Andromeda. Andromeda is one of my own designs, and I'll touch more on her later. I'm going to try and keep OCs down as much as I can, but I did kind of run into a bit of a problem with peerage building. I've got a lot of open slots left now that Rias doesn't have Issei or Asia, and Issei having his own peerage. Thankfully, I've managed to fill every slot on team Issei, but there are still a lot of open slots on team Rias (A bishop and all eight pawns). If you have any character ideas about what I can do to fill the slot (I'd rather avoid any more OCs for now, so try to stick to canon characters), I'd be happy to hear them.

Now it's time to talk about the meeting with the Phenex family. The first thing I want to say is that Lord Phenex accepting Raiser's beat down wasn't my idea: that's canonically what happens, I know it seems a little weird that Lord Phenex would just take it like that (I think so too), but I've already deviated so much from canon that I didn't want to push it further on something small such as this. Another issue I ran into was Ravel, specifically how to make her talk. (on a little bit of a sidetrack) One of my absolute favorite authors is Ernest Hemingway, and I've attempted to model my dialogue after his style, meaning that each character has unique speech patterns and characteristics that define themselves from the other speakers; but that's hard to do with Ravel. I can't find a solid pattern to her speech that's comparable to English (it's easier in Japanese, but it doesn't translate that easily), all the translations I've found of the light novel tend to differ based on chapter (she talks differently in the rating game versus the initial meeting versus the young devil gathering), so I can't nail down how any definite pattern in her speech would be developed, all I can work off of is how her personality is and how that'd influence speech (and I guess it's as good a start as any).

As I've always said, thanks for reading this, and if you have anything you want to say feel free to let me know in a review or a PM.