High School DxD Star Shooter Chapter 1: Act I: Future Portents, a high school dxd/ハイスクールd×d fanfic

The world was on fire. All around him, a sea of flames devoured anything it touched. Fiery tongues licked the walls of homes greedily devouring years of memories, as the death cries of the victims pierced through the raging inferno's roar. Some, crying out in the hope of salvation, others screaming and wailing to the point that his ears began to hurt, others screaming names of loved ones they would never see again, they all had one thing in common though soon silence would fall.

Death was nothing new to him, after all Leo had seen his father kill people by the dozen, and even ordered more to their deaths. However this was different it was primal slaughter, the victims having no hope of ever fighting back. The word massacre didn't even do it justice. Everything that the people had ever loved, every dream snuffed like a candle in the wind. It was complete and utter annihilation, as chaos reigned.

He could imagine them reaching their hands skyward attempting to grab hold of something that only those on the brink of death could see, beseeching their Gods to show them mercy. Those closest to him, he saw were reaching out not towards the heavens but towards the womanly figure that stood steadfast in the heat of this hellish blaze. Clad in immaculate white, her very aura pulsing silver, more beautiful than words can do justice, raven hair billowing in the gusts of flame, like a cape surrounding her noble form.

To them she must have seemed an angel, sent by their deity to heal them, a reward for their lives at this point. He could feel his lips curling at the thought. If they had honestly believed that god would show them mercy for the way they acted then they either must not have read their own scriptures or were deluded enough to believe themselves worthy of salvation. Humans were worthless, a mistake, of that he was sure, and the God that created them must've been thinking the same thing at this very moment. This angelic figure was no divine messenger though, for if one looked closely you could hear her cackling madly, arms spread wide, moving as though she were dancing. Under her feet were not wooden boards but the fragile bones of those consumed by the flames she wrought. She turned agilely dodging those outstretched hands, before stepping in crushing them at the wrist, never losing sync with the song of carnage. The pounding of heavy metal on the cobblestone road served as a staccato punctuating her every flourish, growing louder and louder, as her movement grew frenzied, as if she could sense the end was near.

Knights clad in silver plate burst through the wall of flames, leveling their swords at her. Magic words spiraled around their blades, as power was focused towards her. Chains thick as a man appeared, wrapping themselves so tightly that they threatened to crush her lungs. She fell to the floor, as the knights swung their blades downwards. Massive eyebolts burst into existence connecting themselves to the chains; they struck the ground anchoring themselves deep within the earth. She was not able to wiggle even a finger the way that she was bound, yet they still did not approach her. Raising their blades they called forth a shower of heavenly spears that transfixed her to the ground, and only after the final spear had fallen did they cautiously advance. They were steps away when they saw it, the pulsing silver aura threatening to overwhelm their combined powers. Spears fizzled out of existence as power rushed throughout her body instantaneously healing her wounds. The knights, realizing their peril charged forth burying their blades into her chest, and hacking her apart. The chains that had previously bound her no longer existed, as power was concentrated into destroying her. The swords that had pierced her chest she ripped out, with severed arms that had reattached themselves. Those blades that came to take her head she caught bare handed, bending the metal before snapping them in half. Her hands were her weapons, her nails like talons as she plunged them into the eye slits of one of the knights. She proceeded to lift him via his eye sockets before hurling him over her head and into the raging inferno. Then she began to laugh. A cackling sound that chilled you to the bone and from which nightmares were spawned.

She clawed through the knight's armor each swipe scratching the plate as if she were swinging a sword. She tore the head off one knight that could not escape her grasp quickly enough, another she kicked in the helm putting a massive depression into the metal and killing the man instantly. Those who were left turned and fled but she chased the last one down her hand open like a spear that she thrust forth into his lower back. Catching him by the spine she plunged her other hand in and lifting her victim into the air tore him in half. Her dress once as white as freshly fallen snow, was stained crimson, as she bathed in the blood of her victims.

"Mother," Leo croaked, reaching out towards her. Begging her to come back, refusing to believe in what his eyes saw. Then she turned to him, flinging away the two halves of the once noble knight, her hand raised high above her head. All around her the flames died out, the energy flying toward her outstretched palm. Not even embers remained before the fire burst back to life looking like a pillar of flames. She dropped her arm in a chopping motion and the pillar fell with it, like a massive sword it cleaved through the city. When she had it parallel to the ground she began to sweep her arm, the fiery blade burning away any hope of resistance. Just when he thought that the horror would never end it did, as the hell spawned blade fizzled away into oblivion.

"Mother," he pleaded desperately. Another woman appeared in opposition to the demon that was ravaging the city. The two looked exactly the same, twins, there only difference being the clothing they wore. Where the demon was clad in a white dress stained crimson in the blood of her enemies and bore a seductive if insane smile, the newcomer wore a form fitting black dress trimmed in gold and was not smiling.

"Sister." The newcomer glared over her pince-nez. "You can't even understand me anymore can you?"

In response the white and crimson woman, cackled and began throwing fireballs.

The newcomer sighed. "Huhhh. What a troublesome brat you are." Snapping her fingers space itself was distorted as the oncoming fireballs were sucked into portals that led to the void.

The bloodstained woman, stared at the lack of damage dumbly. "I see." Leo's mother said. "Merging yourself with Surtr has destroyed any intelligence you previously had. How sad to see the once proud Flame Empress reduced to this."

The Flame Empress let loose another bestial roar, charging his mother, her fists engulfed in flames.

"You were once my greatest rival. Your flames capable of burning through even a dragon's scales, but now killing you would be almost trivial." With a wave of her hand the charging Flame Empress was stopped dead in her tracks. "However you're still family, and unlike you I hold the rule of family first in the highest esteem."

"Begone Sister. A few years in insolation will hopefully be enough time for you to regain your mind from Surtr's hold."

Her voice must've pierced the shell of her insanity, and for an instant he saw the aunt that had cared for him, nurtured him, taught him how to cast his first spell, and snuck him treats when he was in trouble. "Sis…ter." The bloodstained beauty managed to say.

It was fleeting though as inhuman lunacy returned to her, fixing him with her deathly gaze.

Gesturing towards him, he felt his limbs become weightless as he was lifted off the ground. With a thrust of her hand he flew, crashing into anything and everything in his path. Bones shattered from the blows, the breath whooshing out of him with every impact, as he struggled to draw the next breath as his lungs were pierced by broken ribs. Finally he crashed against something that refused to budge, and slid down the wall like a bug on a pane of glass.

"Leo!" His mother cried out teleporting to his side in an instant.

In the distance he could see his aunt break free of her bonds, slowly stalking towards them like a predator moving in for the kill. He was powerless to do anything, his body unable to move, limbs broken, his consciousness fading in and out of the darkness. His vision narrowed to pinholes until all he could see was her.

"Mother." He gasped, the desperation and fear was nearly palpable. He gestured with his eyes towards where his insane aunt was. She caught the slight movement and without any hesitation wrapped her arms around his damaged frame and teleported them away, just in time. A massive holocaust sprung up where they had been second later consuming the area.

His aunt licked her lips, a sadistic look plastered on her face as her body shook in ecstasy.

"You bitch." His mother growled, releasing a pulsing purple aura that began to warp reality itself. "First you kill my husband, and now you try to kill my son!" The dam broke and for once he saw the face that had caused even Gods to turn tail and run. Her visage was like an angel, that didn't change, but the sheer malice and power that she was exuding was enough to choke the breath out of him. Terrified didn't even begin to describe what he was feeling. How he wished he was able to forget that horrifying and demonic image. On some subconscious level he knew that this was still his mother but seeing her like this it was hard to equate the two.

She reached out caressing his cheek, and the dream turned into a nightmarish reality. "Be safe." Pain greater than any he had ever felt before shot through him, branding his right arm with the Family's magical crest. The physical pain hurt but he knew that he'd get over it, what hurt most was her declaration. It was as if she didn't expect to survive this fight regardless of her earlier boasting. Why? He could not answer that question as his vision began to fade. He could no longer feel any part of himself as the last image burned into his mind was his mother, stepping away from him to confront his aunt, her power shredding everything around her to dust.

"Mommy?" He cried, seeing his mother disappear only to teleport in front of his aunt, her right hand open as she gripped her sister's face. The next moment there was a sharp crack and they both disappeared.

Sadness and grief filled the void left in his heart. His entire family lay dead around him, burnt to fine ash completely indistinguishable from one another. His eyes closed as the pain he bore grew to be too much.

6 years later

"Leo." A voice called rousing his from his sleep.

Opening his eyes he blinked, wondering why the entire world was grey and black. "Leo, get up you have a customer." The voice said once more. There was a rusting as the world went from grey and black to blinding white as light poured down on his face.

"Hissss." He swore slapping a hand to his face, covering his eyes.

"Come on, you can't keep a customer waiting."

"Cornelia, unless this person can actually afford my service I'm going back to sleep."

"Is that anyway to treat a family customer, Leo? Your father would probably be rolling in his grave if he saw how you're treating his old drinking buddy." A man said.

Leo was awake in an instant, sitting up from the chair he had been lounging in. "Azazel." He smiled at his crazy pseudo-uncle.

Giving him a quick look over, he couldn't help but notice that the man's normally perfectly combed black and gold hair was disheveled to 'bed head'. He was also wearing a loose fitting kimono as he sluggishly responded. "What's up kid?"

"Late night. You?"

"Late night as well." Azazel yawned.

"You've both got a bit of lipstick on your face." Cornelia deadpanned, taking a handkerchief from her breast pocket.

"You look radiant as always Cornelia." Azazel praised. Leo couldn't help but agree as he saw his attendant and best friend standing at his side. Her dark purple hair which would normally have fallen to mid back had been loosely gathered and thrown over her shoulder. She wore a maroon tailcoat elegantly trimmed in gold and buttoned to her neck with a white cravat as well as maroon pants. Lastly she wore white gloves and boot that reached her knees. "When are you going to give up on this stickler and come work with me?"

"If I did I fear my chastity would be in danger." Cornelia said.

"Really old man?" Leo asked, raising a brow at the Leader of the Grigori.

"Hey I'm not that old." Leo and Cornelia stared at him blankly. "Okay so I may be old but I'm young and spry enough that I still score with high schoolers." Azazel boasted.

"Pedophile." "Pervert." Leo and Cornelia snarked.

"And proud of it." Azazel said. "When you're as old as I am just about everyone is a child."

"So what's going on Azazel?" Leo asked. "Finally decide you needed my help to create your Blazer Shining Aura Darkness Blade?" He smirked at the downcast expression of the Governor. "You know Gabriel passed a copy of that report to me, and I've got say that there's plenty of room for improvement."

"Shut up! Because of that bastard brother of hers I had the frickin' leaders call me Blazer Shining Aura Darkness Blade Governor for months. They kept making fun of my ultimate sacred gear."

"Maybe next time you should have a proof of concept before you compile a report." Leo said, taking a cup of tea that Cornelia had prepared for him.

She handed Azazel a small phial. "Be thankful that you're my master's friend. That vial in your hand is expensive." She glared.

Azazel waved his hand dismissively as he removed the stopped from the vial. Taking a tentative sniff he recoiled. "Ugh, what's in here?"

"It's Cornelia's family recipe. Cures a hangover in minutes." Leo said taking the phial that Cornelia handed to him. "Down the hatch."

Azazel and he swallowed the potion. "Minty." Leo said staring at the vial, inwardly laughing as his pseudo-uncle coughed and hacked as the foul liquid worked its way down his throat.

"Minty?" Azazel exclaimed. "That thing tasted like pickled fish mixed with the training room after Vali puts everyone through their paces."

"That's because your last check bounced." Cornelia smirked.

"Impossible."

"No what's impossible is Cornelia and I taking a vacation because neither of us were staring at a 12 digit addition to our bank account." Leo said gruffly, leaning back onto his chair. "The only reason that you haven't had a foot of steel shoved through you is that your family, and we know you're good for it."

"Though I have to wonder, did you send Mittelt, knowing that the check wouldn't clear? I mean she's cute and all, perfect for some people to have their way with, but she's like my little sister. If it were any of the others Cornelia would've probably sent them back to you in pieces, or traumatized."

"Just to remind you you're currently in debt by 100 million." Cornelia said pulling a small notebook out of her pocket.

"Yen?" Azazel asked hopefully.

"Dollars." Cornelia grinned. "Your last invoice was for 5 low grade magic amplifiers, 3 paragon class 100 carat stones to be delivered to someone named Kandy."

"That's Kandy with a K." Leo smiled, noticing how uncomfortable the Fallen Governor was becoming. "New lady friend?"

"And lastly a pair of healing rings that while sub-par to Phoenix Tears are reusable. I hope that you have some sort of compensation on you right now." Cornelia finished, casting a critical eye over the Governor, more specifically noticing the lack of a briefcase or any sort of bag capable of holding the amount required to settle his debts.

"Well you see." He chuckled nervously; slowly inching towards Leo knowing that Cornelia wouldn't fire at him while he was in the blast zone. "I actually came here to ask my nephew for a favor."

"You should know Azazel that we're mercenaries, enchanters, alchemists and a myriad of other things. However the one thing we aren't is cheap." Cornelia said sternly.

"Look I'll pay." Azazel reassured, holding up his hands. "If not in money then in favors or artifacts. Just call off your attack dog."

"10 favors, non-negotiable." Leo said.

"Fine, fine." Azazel said. "But for what I came today for I'll pay in advance." Saying that Azazel waved his hand, and pulled out a small glowing orb.

"Is that what I think it is?" Leo said jumping to his feet to get a closer look at the orb.

"Yeah it's a sacred gear. One of my Agents found the user dying after running into a Stray Devil. The man was too far gone for any treatment besides phoenix tears, but we managed to extract this before it could move on."

"Which one is it?" Cornelia asked.

"It's one of the Sterling Series." Azazel smirked.

"You're joking." Leo cried.

"Swear it on my mother's life."

"You don't have a mother." Cornelia said.

"Thank you dear." Azazel said sarcastically. "Thank you for bringing up the painful memories that the lack of a mother burdened me with."

"Focus." Leo commanded. "God, it's like I'm dealing with children." He ignored the cries of protest from the two of them, and looked at the orb once more. "Do you know which of the Sterling series it is?"

"Our tests show that it's Sterling Red."

"That means I just need Green to complete the set." Leo grinned. With a single thought a pistol materialized in each hand. Both were identical, being a cross between a long barreled Desert Eagle and a 1911. The barrel was about 10 inches in length but instead of the barrel just being extended as seen in normal models the entire slide and frame had been stretched forward ending in a six slotted muzzle break. From the 1911 it had a pistol grip safety. Of course the most distinguishing feature was that while it was capable of firing standard bullets its main ammunition was a rotating beam of holy light.

"Sterling Blue." Azazel said. "I still can't believe that you got a subspecies version. Normally it takes the form of a bow."

"I have no experience with a bow." Leo explained for the umpteenth time. "The only thing I know are pistols, and I guess it sensed my familiarity with them and adapted itself to suit my needs."

"Subspecies are rare and powerful. Such that even common sacred gears like the Sterling series are able to stand against a Longinus."

"Don't I know it." Leo sighed. "Every time I visit the Grigori research center Vali manages to rope me into a spar. Fighting one of the Heavenly Dragons is not something that I recommend."

"Of course she wants to fight you." Azazel said. "You're the only person to have knocked her out twice."

"The first time was when we were kids, and she didn't have a handle on Divine Dividing. The second time, which was after a dozen or so draws and a few losses only happened because I surprised her with my secret weapon, and broke my wrist after firing it."

"Anyone would break there wrist after firing that behemoth one handed." Azazel pointed out. "Still though this job is going to put you in contact with the local devil population."

"Hisss." Leo and Cornelia snarled. There was no love lost between them and the devils especially since their greed wouldn't allow two powerful magicians like them to roam around without a contract. They had several fights against devils who became too pushy, and a dozen or so encounters with the Phoenix family who tried to stop them from selling their healing items and were driving down their business.

Both of them had managed to escape before doing any lasting damage, though the Phoenix family had learned to leave them alone after being bound in the blessed chains.

"Which devils?" Cornelia asked.

"Sitri and Gremory."

"Can't even kill them considering their ties with the Maous." Leo grumbled, before casting a longing gaze towards Sterling Red. "It's up to you Lia, do you want to take the job or we can continue lounging around."

"I noticed you guys seem to be enjoying yourselves." Azazel smiled, looking at the deserted beach and the single villa. "I hope that you kids aren't getting up to anything that I wouldn't do."

"So anything short of starting a war is pretty much okay." Leo asked. "And no, you can't use this place to bring whoever you manage to seduce for the night. This is mine and Cornelia's retreat and we enjoy our privacy."

"Stick with the love hotels, pervert governor." Cornelia said. "We'll take the job, but I expect you to settle your debts by the time it's over. And I'll be needing compensation for myself."

"I figured as much." Azazel groaned, pulling an envelope out of his kimono, and handing it to her. Opening the envelope she began counting the green bills that spilled forth. She did this twice, before shooting a look at the Fallen Governor. "Half now, half at the completion of the mission."

"Acceptable. Now what's the mission?"

"An observation team was assigned to Kuoh to watch a certain Sacred Gear possessor, Issei Hyoudou. The last communication went off without a hitch and they reported that they were continuing their observations and that the Devils were beginning to take an interest in him."

"So what's the problem?" Leo asked.

"They've missed their last few check-ins, so I can't really tell you what's happening. Get into the city, find out what happened to the team and report back to me. If the team has been compromised continue observation of the target while I put together a new team to relieve you."

"And if they've gone rogue?"

"I highly doubt it considering that Raynare's the one leading it."

"Your stalker?" Leo asked.

"She's not a stalker. She's just really enthusiastic about pleasing me and Shemhazai."

"Sure, and I was just imagining the small shrine she has of you." Cornelia remarked. Both men turned to her, shooting her a quizzical look. "Girl's night."

""Ah."" Azazel and Leo said at the same time.

"Why don't we have guys night?"

"I already take you out for drinks and to pick up women. What more do you want from me?" Azazel demanded.

"How about not cockblocking me when you're trying to act as my wingman, take the grenade once in a while, and not randomly show up on our doorstep sloshed."

"That's your own damn fault, you're out of practice with all the sex you and Cornelia have, and if you really didn't want me you'd have changed the locks on the door or at least thrown up a few wards."

Leo shook his head, jotting a mental note to do exactly that. "Since we've hammered out the specifics, can I have my payment? I want to see how it reacts to another sacred gear."

"This should be interesting." Azazel said handing over the orb. "The guys in the lab have a pool going on. Most are saying that nothing happens and it remains a separate gear, then they're saying that it causes some sort of instability and both gears explode catastrophically, and lastly the minority says that the two will combine."

"Which one do believe will happen?" Leo asked.

"Sacred gears respond to their owner's feelings, and your desires are strong. I think that they're going to combine." Azazel said.

"I hope you have money down on that, because that's exactly what's going to happen." Leo said confidently. "Lia please place a barrier down just in case some stray energy is released."

"As you command." She responded, snapping her fingers to erect a barrier around him.

"Now it's just you and me." Leo grinned. "Sterling Blue, it's time to meet your counterpart." Placing the barrel against the orb, he willed the two to join together. A purple wave, a mix of Red and Blue, burst forth as the two sacred gears tried to assert their dominance over one another and him. Sterling Red was rejecting him, telling him that it didn't belong to him, but the combined efforts of him and Sterling Blue slowly began to overpower the reluctant gear. A minute passed before Sterling Red finally succumbed to him, its power dispersing and joining with his.

Turning to Cornelia and Azazel, he waved his hand signaling that it was safe. The barrier dissipated in a shower of golden sparks. "Well that was kind of anti-climactic." Azazel commented. "On the bright side with my winning's I could definitely pay off a good chuck of the money I owe you guys."

"Are there any changes?"

"Physically no." Leo answered. "Weight, balance, shape, everything is the same as it was previously."

"Maybe you should fire a burst." Azazel said, rubbing his chin in thought. "The Sterling series are identical weapons with the only separating feature being the color of the attack."

Shrugging his shoulders he took aim towards the ocean, just in case the attack was more potent than he remembered. "Wait." Azazel stopped, pulling out a gun from his kimono.

"Where the hell were you keeping that?" Cornelia asked.

"Hammerspace." With another wave of his hand he materialized what looked like a chronograph. "This way we get an accurate reading on the power."

Banishing his sacred gear, he grabbed the standard exorcist pistol designed to fire bullets blessed by priests and embedded with Holy Light. "Ready?"

"Go for it." Firing through the chronograph, he waited for the number to display before he returned the weapon to Azazel. "167. Guaranteed to pierce a low class to mid-class devil and wound them. Death by Light poisoning within an hour if left untreated."

"Try one of the new pistols that you sent to Gabriel for testing." Cornelia said.

Azazel shot him a look. "You sent a new weapon to the Angel side?"

He waved off the Fallen Governor's concerns. "Like Cornelia told you earlier we're mercenaries. Gabriel came to me with a request and I did my best to fulfill it."

"I didn't realize that you were branching into the arms business."

"We're just getting started." Leo said. "Gabriel, the Exorcist Quartermaster, and the Finance Department drew up a contract for us to supply them with 200 new pistols over the next year. And no, I can't sell it to you. They paid extra for the weapons to remain exclusive."

He saw the downcast expression on the Governor. "But because you're family I'll let you shoot one." Azazel's face turned to glee as he eagerly grabbed the new pistol that looked the exact same as the standard one. "We decided to keep the design the same and all other physical features as close to the original as possible, that way there would be no learning curve for those with experience using them."

Cackling, Azazel took aim and fired through the chronograph. "I don't understand." He sounded disappointed, when the number barely increased to 200. "Granted it's much more potent but you'll still need multiple hits to kill a high-class devil."

Leo couldn't help but roll his eyes. "The power output increase is just the tip of the iceberg; however I can't tell you anything else as it's all proprietary and protected by a contract." Taking the pistol away he tossed it over to Cornelia who had set up a small table to display the various weapons.

"Now for the piece de resistance." Leo grinned, exaggeratedly drawing a single pistol from within his coat. "Sterling Purple."

"Purple? Really?" Azazel and Cornelia shot him deadpanned looks, once again reminded why he was not allowed to name anything. And this was coming from a person who wanted to name his weapon Blazer Shining Aura Darkness Blade.

"Et tu, Cornelia ?" Leo shot back. "It's a mix of Blue and Red, hence purple."

Muttering about perverted governors and his crazy knight, he took aim, and fired through the meter. True to the name a purple beam was discharged from the barrel. The beam continued to travel, like a continuous laser, and after 5 seconds Leo released the trigger causing it to dissipate. "4000 and climbing the longer I held the trigger." He grinned. "Enough to pierce the defenses of an Ultimate Class Devil in a single strike."

"A little too conspicuous don't you think?" Azazel asked. "I mean I love lasers as much as the next scifi freak, but I can imagine that it would draw staggering amounts of power to maintain it. Can you fire light bullets like you did when you just had Sterling Blue?"

"Of course." Leo smirked. "I'm insulted that you would doubt me."

In rapid succession he fired several shots from his gear, each one causing the reader to display 600+- 20. "I could also fire a single charged shot." The reader displayed 1500. "And just a few weeks ago I managed to manipulate the light to form an orb that can be fired towards the ceiling. It will then begin to rain down light beams in a devastatingly random pattern."

"You've really advanced such a simple gear, one that was looked down on by most for being two one sided and situational. Though it's all thanks to your subspecies. I highly doubt that another user of the Sterling Series will be able to accomplish what you've done."

"Quite a compliment coming from the head of the Grigori, and a confirmed Sacred Gear Fanatic." Leo smiled.

"Your parents would be proud of you kid." Azazel said placing a hand on his shoulder. Waving his hand once more he pulled out two folders. "Here's the information for the job, as well as the paper work needed to set yourselves up as students. While you're there you can crash at my place."

"I'll take that." Cornelia said plucking the folders out of his grip. "Why don't you go check on our guest inside, while I finalize all the details."

"Are you sure?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, entertain our guest. This won't take long."

Turning he cast a final look at Azazel who simply shrugged, before he headed to the manor.

When he finally disappeared, Cornelia turned and shot the Fallen Governor a piercing look. "What are you trying to pull?"

"I don't know what you mean?" Azazel said holing up his hands, his face the very picture of innocence.

"This is grunt work." Cornelia said. "You could easily send another team to find out the status of the missing group." He was about to respond, when Cornelia's aura burst forth, a saber materializing in her hand pointed at his throat. "So I say again, what are you planning?"

"Fine, fine." Azazel said, pushing the saber away. "How long have you known Leo?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" She asked, keeping a firm grip on her weapon, ready to strike in an instant.

"Just answer the question."

"We're both 18 so almost 11 years now." She answered.

"And in that 10 years, can you tell me how many friends he's made."

"Well there's me, then you, Gabriel, Mephisto–"

"Exactly!" Azazel said. "Out of all his friends the only one that's close to him in age is you. The rest of us grew up thousands of years ago. He's got no friends his age, and growing up he didn't have much of a childhood. Instead he began to imitate those of us around him."

"Well that's not exactly a bad thing." Cornelia said, allowing her saber to fade away before she crossed her arms underneath her bust. "As loath as I am to admit it, both you and Mephisto aren't that bad of role models."

He turned to stare at her incredulously. "Are you serious? Mephisto is a lazy bastard who prefers to take a hands off approach to running his organization. The only reason that we have so many stray magicians running around is because they got fed up of him and his lackadaisical attitude. Me, well I'm the first to admit that I'm not a good parental figure."

"Well then it's good that Leo doesn't think of you as a father." Cornelia pointed out. "He thinks you're more like an older brother or the crazy uncle that smuggles him contraband, takes him out to strip clubs, and bails him out of jail."

"All things that I've done." Azazel said proudly. "But the point is that he has no friends his age besides you, and I'm hesitant to say, Vali. I made a promise to his parents to watch out for him should they pass, so this is my way of helping. He needs more friends, he needs to learn how to socialize with people in a friendly setting, and most of all he needs to develop meaningful relations that won't result in another notch on his bedpost."

"Nice," Cornelia snarked. "So you're trying to make him open up to people while disguising it as a mission?" Seeing the Governor nod, she sighed. "You know this is probably the most expensive attempt to get someone to open up that I've ever seen. In fact for the amount of money that you're spending to hire us you could've probably funded one of your projects, or hired enough hookers for some bacchanalian orgy."

"Don't make me regret not spending the money differently." Azazel replied, wiping a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth, as thoughts of drunken revelry played in his mind.

"No promises, but I'll do my best. You make a fair point, one that I've thought about before. I won't try to force him into anything but I'll try and encourage his classmates to see beneath his frigid exterior. Because for all the smiles and warmth he showed today, as soon as he's back out in public he'll don his Ice King mask."

"He's a kuudere." Azazel smirked.

"And that's the final straw. I'm going to get in touch with Shemhazai and tell him that you've been slacking off with your paperwork to watch anime."

"You wouldn't." Azazel's demanded, eyes narrowing in disbelief.

"Try me, and I'll have Penemue force more paperwork onto you." She threatened. "He'll be fine." Cornelia reassured, seeing the slight change in the Governor's body. "I'll be there with him as always."

"Thank you." Azazel said, turning away and beginning to create a transportation circle.

"Give my mother my well wishes."

"I will." With that Azazel disappeared back to the Grigori Headquarters.

Cornelia sighed, wiping a hand down her face. "I'm getting too old for this shit."

"How did it go?" Leo asked, his hands firmly massaging her shoulders. She melted at hi touch, leaning against him as he continued to work the knots out of her.

"As well as can be expected." Cornelia said biting back a moan.

"Did you find out what our good governor really wanted?"

"Of course." Cornelia responded, tensing as his hands moved from her shoulders to grip her waist. "He wants you to open up to more people. It's what your parents would've wanted."

"I have the only person that I'll ever need right here." He whispered into her ear, his hot breath sending shivers throughout her body. "It's a shame about the house. I was quite fond of this entire area."

"Yes, it's too bad that those devils had to ruin one of our favorite destinations. Are the charges set?"

"Primed and ready." He smiled, spinning her around to gently peck at her lips.

"Then there's no need for us to stay here any longer." Cornelia said wrapping her arms around him. "Take me away from here my King."

"Gladly, my Queen." They disappeared in an instant, leaving a pristine beach in their wake.

In the majestic villa a single person remained. He was immaculately dressed, wearing a black dress shirt under a well-tailored maroon suit. An ermine cape hung around his shoulders, his blonde hair was swept back and shoulder length. His delicate and softer aristocratic features were currently grimacing in pain.

Why?

Well it was because he was a devil, specifically Rylan Phenex second son of House Phenex one of the 34 remaining Pillar families of Devil-kind, and he was wrapped in enough chain to subdue a moderately sized dragon. The worst part was that each link had been individually blessed and carved with verses of the Gospel, working to drain his powers, and causing his skin to sizzle. His captors had wrapped him in the enchanted restraints after negotiation had failed, and then threw him into a closet. Granted it was spacious, but a closet nonetheless. When he finally managed to escape from here he would never be able to live it down if any of his siblings found out about it.

However his chance of escape was quickly diminishing, as he cast his sapphire eyes towards the golden box that lay a foot away from him. It was approximately 5 feet long, 3 feet wide and 5 feet tall. The entire box was gold, with pictures of angels and saints smiting devils. On the top were two angels their wings touching as they faced one another. To devil-kind it was one of the worst weapons to encounter.

He couldn't help but feel dread every time he glanced at the box and the slowly decreasing counter. If he failed to escape he knew what would happen, after all he had heard stories from his parents about devils who encountered reproductions of the Ark of The Covenant, he had personally seen the devastation that such weapons wrought when used in the Underworld.

When the counter hit 0 the Ark would let loose a powerful wave of holy energy, strong enough to bring down a Maou. The energy wouldn't damage physical structures, instead it would merge with nature creating a sort holy land that was absolute poison to devils. It was the equivalent of a nuclear bomb, and had been used as area denial weapons to give the Angels beachheads into the Underworld. Entire areas were made uninhabitable; ironically it was the Fallen Angels who had taken over these areas when the Angels pulled back at the end of the war.

Even with his Phenex Regeneration he knew that his chances of survival were basically 0, so he struggled in his chains trying to break free.