A little later than usual— you can thank my wonderful job for that. Enjoy.

XXX

Once the noise settled down to a low hum, it was as if he could see clearly for the first time. There was confusion, no regret, no resistance— he simply, was. He was Hyoudou Issei.

And he was going to kill Riser.

Gently placing Koneko on the ground, the human didn't spare her a glance as he stood up, impassive face visible behind his shattered helm. His eyes locked onto Riser with a certainty that made the avian devil click his beak.

"Heh, you really don't give up, do you?" The phoenix rolled his wings lazily, his flaming beak somehow smug as his form rapidly devolved into golden flames. "Well, at least you're making this fun!"

His voice distorted near the end as his physical body was lost entirely, and a wave of golden fire rushed toward Issei.

Issei watched with dull brown eyes as the fire rose up over him, mere seconds from engulfing him like a rolling tide. Were that to happen, he would die. Namur was compromised, unable to properly keep the heat off of him. He had to dodge. With his suit, he was certainly fast enough to.

But all dodging would accomplish was dragging things out. Restarting their game of cat and mouse— only this time, Issei had no way to fight back. He'd only be delaying the inevitable.

And it wouldn't kill Riser.

So on some primal instinct he'd never felt before, guided by the utterly righteous anger that had consumed him, Issei reached out to the deep tolling of bells in his mind.

And something reached back.

XXX

Riser could feel victory approaching. The human wasn't even trying to dodge— apparently the cold determination he'd seen in those eyes had just been determination to end it all, not to fight back.

Disapointing, in a way. The human had given him more of a fight than anyone he'd ever faced before— enough to bring ancient, forgotten instincts rising back to the surface. Enough to make him truly feel like a Phoenix of old.

Figuratively and literally. It wasn't every day that he brought out his own souls' fire.

On the other hand Riser would enjoy crushing him to paste for daring to force him to try so hard against a mere human of all things.

With that thought in mind, Riser paid no mind as the human he was quickly coming up on raised one hand, palm facing the approaching flames. Just a pathetic last guesture, a futile attempt to forestall death.

And then he felt as if he'd been stabbed through the gut— something he didn't have at the moment, being completely made of fire. He only had a moments confusion to spare before something else happened.

It started to burn.

Riser immediately stopped his advance, the golden wave of flames rearing back as if stung. All the while the burning continued and started to spread like a vicious poison. It felt as if millions of needles were constantly stabbing into him, rejecting him.

The Phenex's mind raced. Thoughts of what could possibly burn him consumed him, but was quickly washed away by the overwhelming need to make it stop.

So he did the only thing he could. Forcing his flames to pull together, he cut off the burning section like a surgeon would a tumor. Almost instantly he felt a pang of relief, followed by a pulse of fear at the lingering soreness that seemed to cover him. Reshaping his fiery body to something approximating his usual form instead of the pheonix he had instinctively went for in his rage, Riser glared at the patch of flames he'd left behind.

Then he stopped, his gaze refocusing on the thin, glowing white spear laying in the flames.

He recognized it instantly. Any devil would. It was their antithesis, the very opposite of the lingering darkness that made them— Light.

His mind raced to think of a reason why any of the holy horde would be here, in the underworld. The Phenex territories were far inside of the devil controlled regions of the underworld, the chances of any fallen making it this far without notice was near zero. Was it just to assassinate him? Did they really see him as that big a threat to them?

The Phenex went on the alert immediately, swinging his head back and forth for any sign of their mortal enemy. To his surprise, there was now sign of any angels, fallen or otherwise.

The realization didn't exactly calm him. If he couldn't see them, that meant they were hiding, lying in wait.

Glass shattering drew Riser's attention back to the Light spear, only to see it already dissipating into the air. He watched as the particles of pure Light swirled about in the air before disappearing entirely.

Someone had dispelled it. But who?

"Dohnaseek..."

Riser's attention immediately snapped to the voice, flames rolling off him in droves as he prepared to send a fireball that way— only to realize it had been the human that had spoken. The devil had forgotten he was there, too concerned by the arrival of unknown angels.

The human continued, looking at his hand as if it were something new entirely.

"Looks like you're helping me even now..." the brown haired boy in armor mused blandly before turning his attention back to Riser. His brown eyes were burning with something the Phenex heir recognized easily— fury. "I'll make good use of you."

As he finished speaking his nonsense, the human put his hand out much the same way as he had when Riser had been charging toward him. The devil rolled his eyes at the pointless gesture— without those floating plates, the human had no way to hurt him in this form and he knew it.

Then a line of burning white spears materialized before his hand, each of them dripping with Light.

Riser's mind stopped, unable to comprehend the sight before him. He'd been fighting a human. He knew that. He could sense it. What he was seeing was impossible. It wasn't real. It had to be some sort of trick, an illusion of some sort, even if the way his ephemeral body wanted to shy away from those spears said otherwise.

This isn't happening…

He had no more time to deny what he was seeing, as at that moment the spears shot out like bullets. All aimed right at him.

Cursing, Riser let his body flow apart into flames, vacating the area he had once stood a fraction of a second before it was completely riddled. The flames formed up next to the pile of Holy spears stuck in the ground, eyes locked onto the impossible feat before him, his mind reeling at what his instincts were telling him.

It's real…

There was nothing else in the world that could make a devil, a Phenex especially, feel so uneasy. What he was seeing were real, bonafide, spears of Light. Slowly, his gaze turned back to the human in cracked, black armor. He couldn't help gulping nervously.

"What… What are you?"

A frown tugged at the impassive face revealed beneath the black visor.

"Angry."

As if in response to his words, another row of spears flashed into existence. Then another. And another.

In mere seconds, almost a hundred spears formed a wall between Riser and the human, all of them pointed straight at him. Sweat crawled down the Phenex's neck, a sign of him realizing the odds might not be on his side anymore.

Then, without any more time to question what the fuck was going on, the legion of spears shot forward.

Riser was moving before they did, willing flames to shoot from the front of his body and propelling him back like a rocket. He did this instead of scattering into flames due to the simple fact that it would be almost impossible to coordinate that many separate instances of himself to dodge the horde of spears. Far easier to get himself out in one piece.

He rocketed backwards across the roof, the closest spear missing him by mile. A smug grin started to stretch across his features— and was quickly wiped away with a curse upon seeing an entirely new volley of spears coming for him.

How many fucking spears can he make?!

Shifting the rocketing flames from his front to his side, Riser smoothly turned sideways on a dime. Again his previous position was struck with dozens of Light spears— except that these ones all struck down in a perfectly straight line that would have been impossible for him to outrun had he not dodged.

And of course he can change how they fire— why not? Riser thought bitterly as he began to fly in random figure eights to avoid another volley. His anger rose as a spear still managed to nick his arm, sending a horrible burning up his entire left side.

"Alright! Fuck this!" The Phenex bit out before taking into the air— and just barely avoiding the wall of Light sprang up on the roof in front of him.

Riser tried to ignore the fact his random decision made out of frustration had just saved his life. It wasn't the time to feel his own admittedly flexible mortality.

Thankfully it was much easier to avoid the incoming volleys with in the air, thanks to his ability to move in three dimensions. Swiftly veering away from another wall of spears, Riser decided to use the leeway he'd gained to try to figure out what the fuck was going on.

So. The human can use Light. Doesn't make sense, but whatever. And apparently he can use a lot of Light— more than any fallen I've seen before.

The thought made him want to bash his head against a wall— or more appropriately, a certain human's. it'd make him feel better at the very least. But enough of that— so the human was half angel even if that didn't make any sense. It was just something he was going to have to deal with. He was a Phenex, after all. There wasn't a clan in all of devildom more suited to fighting their mortal enemies, what with the ability to shrug off the mortal blows Light so often inflicted. Reviving left them sore and tired, but it was still possible.

But that wasn't taking into account the grueling grudge match Riser had taken part in already— one in which he'd been forced to revive more times than he could count. He was on his last legs, a few more deaths would do him in. and if even one of those were caused by Light?

He shook his head of the thought, pushing away the shock of panic and fear that shamefully rose up in his chest. Instead, he embraced the anger that a human, half-human, whatever, had forced him to this extent.

He spared a glance toward the human, almost a football field away and in the center of the roof. With his devil vision he could see the human calmly calling forth more spears in seemingly random patterns, his hand moving with the speed and assuredness of a skilled conductor.

As a test, Riser shot a few fireballs at him in between dodging the almost impenetrable wave of spears aimed at him. As he suspected, they were cut down long before they had gotten even a quarter of the distance. With amount of spears he was capable of summoning, the human clearly had the advantage at long range. There wasn't anything Riser could do that would get past that amount of projectiles.

Which meant he had to get in close. And he had just the way to do it.

When the next volley of spears came his way, instead of shooting off to the side, Riser did something different.

He split apart. Fire scattered across the air, small patches slowly falling to the ground in a show not unlike fireworks. The spears, having been sent for a single, tangible target, missed entirely.

The volley that came not even an instant after them didn't.

Spears of Light shot through every tuft of flame, no matter how small. It was enough to kill Riser a dozen times over, even had he been at full power.

If it had hit Riser at all, anyway.

Fire was a funny thing. Phoenix fire even more so. Unlike almost every other natural element— things like water, earth, etc,— fire didn't exist apropos of nothing. It needed fuel to burn. And if it had that, it would continue to burn, even if it was completely separated from it's original source. Phoenix fire was even more efficient, able to burn steel with the smallest amount of fuel available.

And there was no more plentiful fuel than Air itself.

So the impaled tufts of flames scattered through the air? Just remnants, flames left behind by the true source of it all. And when a spear was an instant away from from that source?

Riser scattered again. And again. And again.

Soon enough, the entire sky was filled with flames slowly descending to the crimson rooftop below. Hundreds of decoys, hundreds of distractions from Riser's true goal. And the human faithfully continued to pierce every single one of them, generating countless spear after countless spear.

All the while, the distance between them was closed ever so slowly without the human ever having any clue.

The plan was ingenious— even his sister would have to agree with that. By scattering himself every time he was almost hit with a spear, he was able to create more decoy flames while at the same time gradually shooting himself closer to the human. It was the equivalent of throwing down a smoke bomb and slipping inside with a knife and a gas mask. Bold and subtle all at once.

Ravel was going to be so impressed when he bragged about it later on.

Finally, once he was only ten yards away and directly behind the still furiously conducting human, Riser sprung the attack.

His physical body formed in an instant, flames shooting from his back rocketing him forward like a comet. The only sound produced was a low hissing, like gas from an oven. Too quiet for a human to pick up. Riser reared back, one hand burning white as he readied himself to pierce right through the human's chest, armor or no armor.

Then the human swept his hand down in a quick, jerking motion. Riser noticed it only because it was so different than every other movement so far. Suddenly his instincts screamed at him move— so he did, veering off to the side.

That was the only reason he survived.

Pain exploded through his right shoulder as a Light spear from above pinned him to the floor. Riser gasped in shock, instinctively trying to dematerialize— and failing. The Light, so poisonous and deadly to devils, was keeping him in his physical form. All he could do was struggle helplessly against the red roof, and glare balefully at the stoic human looking down on him.

"How..." Riser ground out through gritted teeth. "How did you know?"

The human stared at him for a moment, brown eyes dark and impenetrable. Just as Riser thought he wasn't going to respond, he shrugged.

"Whenever one particular ball of fire was about to be hit, it separated. Wasn't hard to figure out it was you."

It took a moment for the meaning of the words to hit Riser. Once it did, The Phenex realized just how hopeless the situation was.

The human had known the whole time. All of his positioning, the amount of energy it took to constantly split apart— useless. The human had let it all happen, waiting until Riser got close enough so that he could land the final blow. Because while Riser hadn't been able to end their fight from a distance, neither had the human. And instead of devising his own tactic to reel the Phenex heir in, he'd let Riser do it on his own.

Anger threatened to course through the devil— but it was entirely eclipsed by the raw shame of having fell so neatly into a human's trap. Throughout the entire battle— his entire life, even— Riser had thought himself the hunter, but in reality he had been the prey all along.

Movement from above tore the devil out of his shamed realization. Glancing up, Riser saw dozens of Light spears materialize above his pinned down form. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the human raise one black gauntleted hand.

"Goodbye."

The hand swiped down like a guillotine.

Time distorted. All at once the spears started to rain down, and Riser couldn't bring himself to move. He could only stare as the shining lights grew ever closer, at once blazing fast yet strangely slow.

Riser thought of moving. Of trying to dodge the fatal attack. He didn't entertain the thought long— what would be the point? Even if he could tear himself away from the spear that pinned him to the roof, even if he could move fast enough to get away, it would only be delaying the inevitable. No doubt the human had another batch of spears ready in case he dodged. He had managed to see through everything else Riser had done— why should this be any different?

It was over. All the anger, the shame, the sheer embarrassment at having been bested by a human— it was all dust in the wind. Instead a cold acceptance filled his body.

Riser Phenex was going to die. There was no changing that fate, not at this point. So instead of moving, of scratching pathetically at some slim chance of survival, the devil merely closed his eyes and waited for his fate.

And in that blackness, tinted white by the glowing Light descending on him, he saw his sister, her mouth pursed shut while her clear blue eyes stared at him pleadingly.

That's right— the human was going to kill Ravel.

Like hell I'd let that happen!

His eyes snapped opened just as the spears were mere inches away from piercing him. To dodge he would have to first pull the spear out of his shoulder that pinned him to the roof— impossible. There was no time. What little chance he'd had to dodge earlier had been wasted. The situation was still just as hopeless, only now he could feel the Light burning at his skin from how close the spears were.

But he was Riser Phenex. Despite not being the firstborn of his family, he had overcome his elder brothers in sheer power to become the heir. He had a peerage dedicated solely to ensuring he checked off every box when it came to having a harem— including but not limited to twin loli's wielding chainsaws!

A hard find, but it was just another reason why he was the best. And if he couldn't move out the way of some fucking pathetic Holy spear, then he'd do the next best thing.

The newfound resurgence of anger coursing through him swept away the coldness that had taken root inside him, and in turn sparked a fire that roared from his very core. Riser wasted no time in forcing the flames to erupt above him in an explosion of gold flame that knocked away the first wave of spears, giving him a few seconds to act.

And act he did.

Channeling that same flame, he forced it below him and held it within him until it was threatening to bubble out through his skin— and then he released it.

If he couldn't move, then he'd force the roof to.

The red tiled roof exploded inward, sending Riser plummeting inside the mansion. The force of the explosion was enough to knock the spear free of his shoulder, the pain of which made Riser scream in pain even as he fell.

All part of the plan. Definitely.

Riser continued his free fall, choosing to save his energy instead of immediately flying down. That he wasn't sure he could even manage to bring out his wings was immaterial.

Less immaterial was the room he was currently falling into. He had hoped it would be one of the many random rooms strewn about the mansion for his peerage. Anywhere that he'd be able to lay some sort of ambush for the human— preferably with a lot of corners and blind spots.

The wedding auditorium filled with people and sporting a distressingly open design fit none of those requirements.

Cursing to himself as he fell, Riser quickly started to form a new plan.

He was as weak as he'd ever been. Never before had he felt so helpless— so a direct confrontation was out. His body just couldn't keep up anymore, even with his vaunted Phenex physiology. And since there wasn't much chance of him managing to lay an ambush in a room that was the size of a football field with as many walls, that only left one option.

He needed to wake up his parents.

It hurt his pride something fierce, but if it meant Ravel would live, he'd deal with the blow. Maybe find and kill a dragon hiding out somewhere in the underworld— that should be enough to wash the bitterness from his mouth.

Mid-fall, Riser's eyes quickly went to VIP section he knew his parents to be in. Flashes of how Ravel had woken him came to mind. The next instant three fireballs were sent off at high speed, their lack of mass making them faster than ever.

That situation settled, the Phenex turned his attention to rapidly approaching altar where he'd stood just under half an hour ago, ready to enter into a marriage where his wife hated him and would no doubt be as passive aggressive as only a woman could be.

Good times.

Riser grit his teeth as he forced his wings to sprout from his back, feeling like he was forcing broken bones into place. Nonetheless they immediately slowed his fall, allowing him to touch down in the very center of the room with only a slight cracking of the tiles below him.

His legs didn't feel quite right, but he could stand on them. That'd have to be enough. After all, he only had to last until his parents were up— while they didn't have the sheer firepower that he had, their experience allowed them far more skill and inventive strategies.

To this day he hadn't managed to defeat either one of them— with their help, beating some fucked up angel/human hybrid was no problem, he just had to stall—

A sound reached him that caused him to freeze, his eyes staring wildly at the tiled floor belo him in shock. It wasn't a particularly ominous sound, yet it managed to fill him with dread and fear in equal amounts. To completely obliterate all his plans.

All thanks to three sharp hisses, like candled getting snuffed out with water.

Slowly, reluctantly, Riser raised his head.

His fireballs were nowhere to be found. His parents still slept. It was almost as if he dreamt up himself firing at them, but for the three spears of Light standing like grave markers on the floor between him and his parent's booth.

… He… he saw this far ahead?

Movement from above caught his attention as he saw the human standing atop a platform made of spears slowly lowering himself from the massive hole in the roof. The sun shone down from the whole, cloaking the human's features in shadow.

In that moment, looking up at a slowly descending silhouette with countless pinpricks of Light following him, Riser truly gave up.

It's over…

Every step of the way the devil had been defeated. By some hu— no. as Riser stared as the figure touched down, his impassive face now visible, he realized he wasn't facing a human. He never had been. Nor was his opponent a devil, an angel, or even a fallen.

The being in cracked and shattered armor looked at him coldly, a brow slightly raised.

"Did you really think I'd let you get reinforcements?"

Riser dropped to his knees, his face numb as he stared slack jawed at the being before him in realization. The Phenex heir had been so caught up in the fact that his opponent was human that he hadn't realized the true identity of his foe.

A Monster.

The monster walked forward, spears fanning out behind him, all pointed straight at Riser. Stopping a few yards away, the monster cracked his neck and raised a palm toward the Phenex.

"Let's try this again."

XXX

Static hung at the edge of his vision, the sound roaring in the far reaches of his mind as he prepared to land the death blow on Riser for what had to be the dozenth time this evening.

But this time was different. Whereas before Riser had looked at him with a sense of anger, frustration, fear, and then finally acceptance, what he was seeing now was different.

Realization. The loss of hope as the Phenex realized that Issei was something he could not compare to. There would be no last minute escapes. No desperate ploys. Riser was dead in spirit and in mind— all that was left was for Issei to finish off his body.

The finality of the moment hit the boy like a sledgehammer to the gut.

The clarity that had allowed him to reach deep inside, to truly connect with Dohnaseek's Light was beginning to fade. Instead it was being replaced with the all too familiar blood lust, the instinct he had spent so much of his life denying.

Issei's thoughts ceased to have meaning beyond a flurry of colors and impulses, of sensation. His entire world consisted of himself, Riser, and the spears that would kill the devil once and for all.

His outstretched hand shook with the thought. That he would be destroying everything his parents had ever wanted for himself, what he had wanted. With this one move, he'd be leaving everything behind and becoming something else.

His heart beat faster at the thought, and he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders for the first time in his life. A breathless smile split his lips. A small chuckle escaped him even as he was bewildered by his own reaction to the thought of leaving behind who he was.

He was excited. The idea of becoming someone else, someone who could live freely was thrilling. He wanted to know what it was like not to have to constantly control his urges, to live as he wanted.

And the only thing standing in his way was the defeated devil before him. That in mind, the trigger in his mind started to squeeze down, his spears almost shaking in anticipation—

"Please… don't..."

Issei blinked as a small, blonde girl limped in front of Riser, her bright blue eyes pleading with him even as she hugged a badly burned arm to her side. For a moment his mind blanked as he Issei desperately tried to remember why she was so familiar.

While his mind raced to connect the dots in his scattered and frayed consciousness, the girl continued. "Y-You wanted me, right? My brother just… got in the way."

Wanted her? Did he? Why? And she was Riser's… sister?

Something snapped into place. That was right— he hadn't come here for Riser, had he? Rias had wanted him to kill the Phenex heir, but that hadn't been why Issei had come. It had all been to kill his sister, R-… Ra-…

Ravel.

All at once his memories started to flow freely. Of her burning his house down, cutting off his arm, killing Dohnaseek.

"Please… just," Ravel gasped out between pained breaths, her eyes wet with tears as she started to sob. "Kill me! Leave my brother alone and just kill me!"

Issei stared at the crying girl numbly as she begged him to kill her, mind racing as it tried to connect the image of her standing over him as she watched him die with the crying girl in front of him, begging for her brothers' life.

It didn't. Whether it was due to the fractured state of his mind or simply the fact that he didn't want to believe that Ravel loved someone, that she cared about people, Issei didn't know. The two images just did not connect.

To make matters worse, Riser had stood up behind Ravel, light in his once so dark eyes. He glared at Issei with such conviction that it made him want to look away.

"No. Kill me." His voice didn't waver. There was no arrogance, no superiority— just a quiet, humble plea.

Ravel jumped at his voice, and turned to look back at him with wide eyes. She shook her head slightly, sniffing. "B-but, this is all my fault! If I had just listened to you, then—"

"It doesn't matter." Riser said, his gaze shifting to Ravel and softening. "An older brother protects his sister. That's just how it works."

The words hung in the air a moment as Ravel absorbed them. Then she started to cry once more before stepping closer to the Phenex heir, burying her head into his chest while Riser closed his arms comfortingly around her shaking shoulders.

His eyes returned to Issei, who could only stare numbly at the scene before him.

"I'll take responsibility for what my sister did. You can do whatever you like to me. Just leave Ravel alone."

It was a command, not a plea. At any other time, Issei would have laughed— Riser was in no place to be issuing orders. He was on his last legs. The Phenex posed no threat to him whatsoever.

But Issei could only stare numbly at the alien scene before him, at proof that the person who had taken so much from him had people more than willing to die for her, just like he had been willing to die to save Dohnaseek.

It was too much.

Grunting as his head ached horribly, Issei grit his teeth as he brought a hand to his head. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his spears start to dim and disappear as the righteous fury that had brought them forth started to diminish, replaced with confusion. He could feel the Light struggling to maintain physical form in the few spears he had left, the trigger in his mind starting to lose recede.

He was running out of time. He tried to bring back the fury, but all that would surface was bitterness at seeing that Ravel, the person who had reduced him to this shell of human only barely held together, was still more human than him.

The bitterness wasn't enough to hold the Light in place— but it was more than enough to make Issei act while he could still use it.

The shaking in his hand ceased. The boy sneered as he looked at the two embracing before him.

"Die together." The trigger squeezed shut.

His four remaining spears shot forward. Just as they did the trigger disappeared entirely, the bells in his mind fading away. He could no longer use Light.

That was fine. The spears he had shot out still held, and would for a few seconds— all the time they needed to skewer his prey, to kill them both in their weakened state.

His only warning was the distant, familiar sound of space cracking. One moment he was watching as the first of the spears was about to completely impale both Ravel and Riser, the next a white blur had appeared in front of them, his spear shattering into a million pieces.

Small. That was the word that came to mind when he looked at this new figure. A petite frame with white hair, cat ears, and two white tails. Clothing that looked like it might have been a school uniform before it had been mostly burnt away, with black and red burns showed where skin should have.

But more than any of that were her eyes, a burning gold that looked at him with such care and determination that it made him forget completely about the bitterness that had taken hold of him.

She was familiar, like Ravel had been. Meaning he knew her. But instead of the thrill of anger Ravel had sparked in him, only a sinking sensation in his gut came at the sight of her coupled with a his heart beating rapidly.

It was only when the second spear shattered with a swipe of her other arm that he remembered who she was.

"Koneko..."

Just as the whisper escaped his lips the last two spears sunk deep into her torso.

The world stood still as Issei stared blankly at the scene before him. Koneko looked down at the spears jutting from her chest and stomach, then looked back up at him with a small, pained smile.

"I-Issei..."

Then the spears shattered into nonexistence, leaving two gaping holes. A grunt of pain escaped the rook before she toppled forward, body smacking limply against the marble floor.

Issei stared as blood started to seep out from under her, forming a small pool around her.

The next moment he was on his knees in the blood, flipping the girl over in a panic as he hastily inspected her wounds.

It was bad. Two deep, goring holes, one in her stomach, the other right next to her heart. About the only consolation was that the spears hadn't fully penetrated the girl, likely due to her rook nature.

Not that it mattered much, considering how poisonous Light was to devils. He needed something to heal her with.

He needed Asia.

But she was still in the human world. Issei knew it would be too dangerous for her to come, so he'd left her behind.

The boy started having difficulties breathing as he stared at the still body of Koneko. He had killed her. Killed someone he had loved, no matter how false it may have been. He felt sick to his stomach, none of the freedom or excitement he had felt earlier.

Suddenly the white haired girl started to cough. Blood shot out, splattering against his face, but Issei was too concerned with the girl before him to care. She looked at him hazily, a lost look on her face.

"Issei..."

"… Koneko, why did you…?" the words came out of his mouth unbidden. She had stopped him from killing Riser and Ravel— why?

She coughed again, blood dribbling down her chin as she closed her eyes. "I… I like you how y-you are— I don't want you to change..."

Issei swallowed. His eyes burned. "But, I— Koneko, I don't have much time left before I can't— before I can't stop myself. it's too late."

That was the truth of the matter. The way his instincts had been raging the past few days with no way for him to reel himself back in, it was only a matter of time before he did something horrible. Knowing that, Issei thought the best thing to do was to use his instinct to do one final thing— revenge for Dohnaseek. That it would get Koneko out of being a sex slave only made it better.

"I," The Nekoshou coughed before opening her eyes to meeth his own. "I believe in you."

Then she closed her eyes, her breathing slowing down as she finally started to die.

Such a simple statement. One that didn't make any sense at all. Believe in him? A mad scientist who had tried to kill her once? Impossible. Stupid, even. The last words of a dying girl too out of it to know what was going on.

No…

His hands clenched as determination filled him, his teeth gritting as he refused to accept a reality where Toujou Koneko died. Refused to allow such a thing to exist.

Fuck this!

He would save her. There was no time for failure, no time to second guess himself. He looked up from Koneko and glared at the Phenex's before him, both of them staring at the scene before them in a state of shock.

"Phoenix tears..." Issei ground out from gritted teeth. "Get me phoenix tears and I won't kill anyone."

The two of them froze at the command. The boy's teeth started to hurt from how hard his jaw was clenched.

"Now!"

Then they were off, scurrying away toward where there parents were, no doubt. The thought occurred to Issei that they would try to wake them up and kill him. He accepted such an event. If they did so, he would definitely have enough fury to summon up his Light again, and then he'd just force some tears out of them.

More importantly, he needed to buy Koneko some time.

Ripping away what little clothing she had left, Issei scanned her body with a clinical eyes. While the burns were horrible to look at and no doubt left Koneko in considerable pain, they weren't life threatening. No, it was his doing that had left her in this state.

Time to get to work.

Allowing Namur to shed it's armor form and return back to his prosthetic, Issei started to run said hand over the wounds, shedding large bits of Namur to seal said wounds like an epoxy. While Namur tended to absorb whatever biological matter it came into contact with, that would only be the case if he left it there for too long.

And if that happened, he'd be too late anyway.

After doing that, Issei shed his suit jacket and starting ripping it into pieces. He set the pieces into the wounds and started applying pressure to stop the bleeding. Lastly, he placed his head on her bare chest, listening to her breath and her small, faint heartbeat.

Without proper supplies, this was the extent of what could be done for her. Stopgap measures at best. If he still had a lab, maybe he could pull something off. Then again, maybe not— despite Asia's insistence on being a nurse, Issei hadn't trained to help people. Just to cut them apart. He could reverse engineer quite a bit from that, but there were limits to his skills in that area.

If he managed to get out of here with Koneko alive, he'd be sure to remedy his lack of knowledge.

Still, all he could do now was wait, and hope the siblings got the tears.

AT that moment, the small, faint beating he had so desperately been listening to disappeared— replaced with violent, erratic seizing.

"Shit." He muttered, pulling away and placing both hands on her chest atop each other. With deep, rhythmic thrusts he started applying CPR, stopping every ten seconds to listen to the beat of her heart, hoping against hope it would normalize.

Contrary to common myths, hearts didn't just 'stop'. There was no slowing down, no gradual loss of that beat of life. Instead, when the heart stopped being able to beat on it's own, it would start to seize rapidly, desperately trying to force blood through itself. And if it didn't, it would just stop.

Forever. Someone being revived from a flat line was a myth that only existed in television.

But as long as it was still seizing, there was chance. It was just a matter of 'resetting' the rhythm of her heart— that was why there was a beat cpr was supposed to be done to, an artificial beat for the heart to hopefully pick up on.

He put his head down to her chest once more. It was still beating so fast and out of rhythm it sounded only moments away from exploding.

"Dammit, come on!" The teen swore, sweeping his head around to check what the Phenex's were doing. He caught them limping toward him, still in the guest seating area. "Hurry the fuck up!"

At his cajoling they started to move faster, leaning on each other more heavily. In the back of his mind, Issei realized that it wasn't feasible to expect them to be able to fly after the damage they'd each gone through— he'd been quite thorough in hurting them.

The thought didn't make him any less frustrated, however. Koneko was on death's door.

A defibrillator, Issei thought to himself with a grimace. I need a defibrillator.

If chest compressions were trying to convince a heart to follow a certain beat, the defib was resetting it all together. The shock would stop the heart entirely while it was done, then start beating again— hopefully in a steady rhythm.

The problem was he didn't exactly bring advanced medical equipment with him. All he could do was keep pushing down on her chest steadily, hand over hand—

Issei blinked, then cursed his idiocy. Even if it hadn't been made with that intention, he had a defibrillator.

Lifting his prosthetic, he quickly went about manipulating the skin surrounding it into a flat shape, creating a black flat surface where his hand would be. With a thought, the air around his arm was buzzing with electricity.

Then he paused, suddenly unsure of himself.

Defibbing someone wasn't as easy as it was made out to be in movies. It wasn't just a matter of shocking someone randomly. Just like the chest compressions, it was another matter of timing— a completely different timing. He'd need to restart cpr immediately afterwards, and without a heart monitor his chance of success was minuscule at best.

And that wasn't even getting into how anathema it was for him to be saving someone. It was the opposite of everything he'd learned to do, of what his instincts demanded of him.

Could he really do this?

Fuck it.

Bringing down his left arm, he pressed the flat surface against Koneko's bare chest. The white haired girl convulsed, her back arching up as her chest heaved. After removing the defib Issei quickly started compressions again.

One, two, one, two, one, two…

setting his ear against her chest, Issei bit his cheek at hearing the same, violent heaving— was it him or was it somehow weaker?

Charging up his prosthetic, he reset her again.

And again.

He soon settled into a mindless cycle. Shock, compressions, check heart, repeat. A presence at the edge of his focus informed him of the Phenex's arrival, but he paid them no mind. The tears would be useless if he didn't get her heartbeat leveled out.

So he kept on. Despite that, Koneko's heart didn't change, only growing weaker and weaker. She was dying.

Issei tried not to think about that. Tried not to think about how he had once wanted this, for Koneko to be dead, on a slab, ready for him to cut her open.

Instead he tried to focus on better things. The way she looked at him sometimes, her dry sarcasm, the light feeling she inspired in his chest. He didn't care if had all been fake, just his energy reacting to hers. Attraction was just hormones anyway— Senjutsu just added a few more magical ones. It didn't change the way she made him feel.

But it was all for naught.

Soon he found himself on his knees besides the still form of Koneko, staring at her with tears running down his face, an empty look in his eyes. It was no good— her heart had just gotten weaker, thrashing so horribly softly. He could feel the two Phenex's staring at him from the side. Once again he paid them no mind. He just couldn't bring himself to care about them at the moment.

He just stared at the still body before him with a lost look on his face.

"The tears..."

The words came to him on their own, his voice monotone. A small vial was quickly placed in front of him.

Mechanically, the scientist went about removing the dressing from her wounds, followed by calling back Namur. Once done, he poured an equal amount of tears on both holes— from what he had read, phoenix tears didn't need to be applied directly to the wound as they would heal the entire body regardless of where placed, but better safe then sorry. Her body shone a bright gold before fading away to reveal perfect, unblemished skin where before had been a black and red burnt mess. So too were the wounds he had inflicted gone.

But still she gasped for air, her chest spasming. Even if her body was completely healthy, she was still dying. Her heart was still beating irregularly.

Issei raised his prosthetic, charging it until the air was buzzing with unseen energy.

It didn't matter if it hadn't worked before. She wasn't dead yet, and that meant he couldn't stop. As long as she kept fighting, so would he.

No matter what.

That in mind, he pressed the prosthetic against her chest, once again praying to anybody that would listen.

This time when he took the defib away she started to cough, her eyes fluttering open.

"Uuuh," She let out a tired groan her eyes unfocused but full of precious life. "Five more minutes..."

Issei let out a breath he hadn't known him to be holding and back so that he was staring up at the ceiling. He held a hand to his chest, feeling his own heart slowly come down from it's rapid beating.

He had done it. He saved her.

The boy broke out into laughter, the sound light and clear compared to his earlier maniacal efforts.

From there things were a blur to Issei. Snatches of conversation, of getting Riser to call off the wedding— something he almost happily agreed to, as he looked as tired as Issei felt—but beyond that, the scientist wasn't sure exactly how things went. One moment he was talking to the Phenex siblings, the next he was carrying an almost entirely naked Koneko toward the kitchens in a bridal carry.

While Riser had assured him that Phoenix Tears didn't take anything out of the person in exchange for their restorative powers, Issei felt the need to make sure the girl got something to eat before left.

Just to be safe.

Said girl hadn't yet regained conscious enough to really talk to him, but she had woken up enough to hold her arms across her chest while she sluggishly tried to form words— the most discernible of which had 'pervert'. All in all, he had a pretty good feeling about her recovery.

Issei was also glad to note that her arms were failing to hide much of anything. Not that Koneko had much in the first place, but all the same the scientist found her captivating.

"… Perverted Issei..." The nekoshou breathed out sleepily as if having read his mind.

Letting out a lighthearted chuckle, Issei adjusted her in his arms and very much cursing the fact that his left arm wasn't able to feel Koneko's bare thighs.. "I can't really deny that."

She mumbled nonsense at him before leaning into his chest more, nuzzling her cheek against him much like a cat would.

The brown haired teen let out a heavy breath of air, dragging his eyes away from the sight.

"Can't deny that at all."

Soon enough they came upon the kitchen. In decor it matched the rest of the mansion— gaudy and reeking with wealth, with appliances that belonged in a five star restaurant. Riser knew how to flaunt what he had at the very least.

Stepping over one of the cooking staff's unconscious body, Issei made his way over to a relatively clear corner of the room. There was only a single maid collapsed on the ground, platter strewn across the floor. Still carrying Koneko, the boy gracefully nudged/kicked her into the corner and placed his charge on the wooden chair where she had presumably been sitting to take a break.

He knelt down in front of her, hands on her shoulders as he settled her against the back of the chair. She started to mewl irritably, upset that she had been deprived of his warmth. It was cute enough that Issei had to fight to stop from pulling her into a hug.

Unfortunately, there was still business to attend to.

"Koneko," The scientist started, shaking the petite girl by her shoulders. "Koneko, you need to wake up."

Maybe it was the serious tone in his voice, because when she opened her eyes, there was a sense of focus that hadn't been there before. For a moment her golden gaze lingered on his face, staring deep into his eyes. Then she shook her head and looked at him again, alert.

"Issei?" Her voice was still weak, but it was borne from exhaustion more than anything else. Issei let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, it's me."

She nodded weakly. Her eyes started to scan the room. "Where are we?"

This time when she spoke it was with her usual aloofness, and for some reason Issei found himself put off by it. He decided not to delve further into that feeling and answered her.

"The kitchen. We need to get you some food after the shit you pulled."

She blinked at the sudden harshness of tone— and she wasn't alone in that. Issei himself was surprised at how… upset he sounded. It wasn't like him, not the casual, apathetic scientist.

But it felt right, so fuck it.

"So," Issei drawled, leaning in so that their eyes were only inches apart. "You want to explain why jumped in front of my attack like that? Why you almost got yourself killed for no reason?"

She looked away and said nothing. Not unusual for her. Over the past few days Issei had actually gotten used to how she'd just clam up if she didn't feel like answering him. Started to see it as a kind of game— how far could he annoy Koneko before she just stopped talking. It had been a charming quirk.

Not so much now.

"Listen to me right now." Issei said quietly, feeling an all too familiar need to crush her for her defiance. He pushed it down, the surge of raw draconic instinct quelled with an odd ease. "The two spears that hit you tore through your chest and stomach— an inch to the right, a second earlier, and you wouldn't have had a heart for me to force into beating again. I killed you— the least you can do is tell me why."

His voice was calm and steady. That was good— he'd been half afraid he'd deteriorate to screaming at her midway through.

Perhaps Koneko realized his sudden calmness was not a good thing. Maybe she decided he needed to know. Hell, maybe she was just tired and gave up. It had been a long day after all.

Whatever the case, the white haired nekoshou turned to face him. Meeting his eyes with determination and embarrassment, she opened her mouth—

And leaned forward, pressing her lips against his.

Issei froze. His heart hammered in his chest, rocketing up to a steady staccato as Koneko started to gently, innocently move her lips.

He eventually started to kiss her back. Softly, like he would hurt her if he went too hard— completely ridiculous given the species difference, but he couldn't help himself. She had always been prey, someone to hunt, to chase. Now that she had turned it around on him he was suddenly terrified. He didn't know why.

After a moment, Koneko pulled back with a soft moan— the indescribably sexy noise almost made Issei go on the offense, but he held himself back. This was her time, not his. She looked at him with wet, glassy eyes and bright red cheeks., clearly embarrassed at her boldness.

"I..." The small white haired girl swallowed, steeling herself. "I-I didn't want to lose you. I… I figured out what you were going to do, afterwords..."

Issei felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. She knew. Somehow, without him telling her, she knew what him killing Riser and Ravel would have meant. Was it her Senjutsu? Was it capable of more than just reading an emotional state? Or… or did she know him better than he thought?

The entire time they'd interacted, he'd assumed that he was the only one interested. That he was the only one making an effort, because of course she didn't care. He was a means to an end.

Right?

The brown haired teen swallowed, trying to focus on the here and now. Even if that wasn't the case, even if she had been interested—

"But I… it's too late..." Issei forced out.

It didn't matter anymore. Without Ddraig's sleeping mind acting as a barrier, a safe mode, it was only a matter of time before he lost control of himself entirely. And there'd be no telling when it would finally happen. Perhaps in school, in on the street in the middle of the day— not matter where, it would happen. Without a way to keep himself stable, anchored to normal morality, he was done for. And even if that wasn't the case, he only had a year left before his body shut down. What was the point?

It was for the best that he die, before he hurt anyone he cared about.

The scientist explained as much to her. Fleetingly at first, awkwardly, but eventually it just came pouring out, all the pain and regret and bitterness— it all came to the forefront.

When he was done Issei was sitting on the floor in front of Koneko, the chair's added height maker her taller than him for once. Issei didn't notice that, too busy staring blankly at the marble floor beneath him as he waited for her to realize that he was a lost cause. For her to give up on him.

He was surprised when two arms wrapped around his neck, followed by a naked nekoshou falling into his lap. Once again the scientist froze, unsure of what to do now. Then Koneko spoke, her mouth tickling his neck.

"I'll help."

That was it. Two, simple words.

Issei felt tears burning his eyes. Slowly, he wrapped his own arms around her and held her tightly, pressing his face into her silky white hair while tears started to roll down his cheeks.

XXX

"That was..." A redhead man said from his seat, casually sipping wine despite the unconscious bodies slumped over at his table. Behind stood a gray haired woman in a maid uniform, equally as unaffected as he. He pursed his lips, trying to find the right word to describe what had just happened.

"Disturbing? Unsettling?" The maid offered quietly her eyes watching the Phenex children down below hug each other fiercely.

"Interesting. Definitely interesting." The man decided with a nod before glancing at the woman standing at his side. "For pureblooded human to be able to do all that— well, it's unheard outside of those Heroes. What do you think, Grayfia?"

The newly dubbed Grayfia paused, tearing her eyes away from the admittedly heartwarming scene going on below and meeting the man's glance with a taciturn gaze. "If you're implying that he could be part of that movement, I do not believe so, Sirzechs-sama."

"Yeah, he does seem more like a villain, doesn't he?"

While her features remained stoic, Sirzechs, one of the four great Maou's, could tell that his Queen was getting annoyed by how easily he was taking this. Her next words only drove that point home.

"Sir, while it is understandable to be intrigued at a human defeating a pure blooded devil, let alone the Phenex heir who, despite his flaws, is a considerable opponent, I would think you would be more interested in how Rias came to know a person that, in your words, comes off like a villain."

Polite, honest, and extremely passive aggressive. That was his Queen alright. Still, Sirzechs really didn't feel like getting lectured at the moment, so he decided to cut in.

"Ah, but we have no proof that Rias knows him at all, do we? For all we know he could simply be an enemy of Riser's— Lord knows the boy has plenty of them, after all." The redheaded devil pointed out, ignoring the headache brought on due to referring to god in such a manner. He was a Maou, after all. A little headache couldn't stop him from saying what he wanted.

Grayfia raised a white, sculpted eyebrow. "You're saying that the boy who just negotiated for Riser to call off the wedding and save Rias's Rook doesn't know her?"

"… It's possible." Sirzechs offered meekly, suddenly finding his glass of wine very interesting.

Not that it wasn't— whatever drug cocktail the boy had put in it was enough to knock out every devil that wasn't him or someone near his level. Something that potent was hard to find in the human world.

"Hm."

The redhead sighed internally. He knew what that disapproving hum meant. But, even if it had just caused him to spend the next few nights getting an unfortunately full nights rest, it was worth it. He had to maintain the appearance that neither he or his family had anything to do with today.

For Rias's sake.

And while Grayfia certainly wasn't going to rat him out, she had a thing about staying proper when out in public, even if nobody was around— or awake in this case— to hear them. It was a rule that had saved him more than enough times from public humiliation for him find it too annoying, so he followed along with his Queen's rules.

"Regardless, I'm still struggling to believe a human was able to find a way to commandeer a sacred gear like that. And then the Light..."

It was those two things that stood out to Sirzechs, so much that they were permanently ingrained in his mind.

He had been around long enough, fought on enough battlefields, that he knew when a Sacred Gear had entered the playing field. A gut instinct. And that armor the boy had worn, that had been able to so fluidly shift it's shape and makeup? It was no doubt a Sacred Gear. Not one he had ever heard of, but there were hundreds of the things— that meant nothing.

Normally he would have noted the sacred gear and moved on. Business as usual. The problem was the boy already had a sacred gear— the Boosted Gear if the draconic essence was anything to go by.

It was unheard of for a being to possess two sacred gears. It just didn't work like that. The system god had set in place was flawless and had never made a mistake before. No, the human must have acquired it on his own, found some way to keep it from passing onto the next user.

That such a thing wasn't the most surprising part of it all really said something— the boy had Light for fucks sake. And was completely human, no trace of anything but that dragon in his arm.

Sirzechs didn't even know where to start with explaining that. So he wouldn't. Beelzebub was good at that kind of thing anyway.

But that would come later. Standing from his seat, the devil cracked his neck and flashed a grin at Grayfia.

"Well, now that it's all over, why don't we go make sure everything goes smoothly?"

The maid sighed, but nodded nonetheless. "Yes sir."

Sirzechs understood why she seemed so tired— erasing the memories of so many people especially high class devils, was going to take a long time and a lot of power. So much that it would normally be impossible.

Then again, he was a Maou. There was nothing 'Normal' about him. And as tiring as it could be to have such a weight on his shoulders, it was times like these that made him grateful for it.

Anything for his sister.

XXX

Issei stood outside a familiar run down church, the various burns and broken bones he had making themselves known now that he had run out of adrenaline. His suit was, if possible, even worse off than he was with how bloodied and torn it was— thankfully it was night, otherwise somebody would have definitely called the cops on him during the trek from the school.

Getting back to the human world had been a simple matter of using the teleportation circle Rias had set up for him in the forest near the Phenex estate, so there thankfully hadn't been any need to wait for Rias to wake up first. It was also handy in escaping Koneko after he had, and he still couldn't believe it, cried.

Him. Crying. He hadn't done that when his Dohnaseek had died, when his house had burned down— hell he hadn't done it when his goddamn parents had died! It was ridiculous.

Also extremely embarrassing. Even if their relationship had jumped from 'maybe-friends-I-guess' to 'Kissing-while-Koneko's-completely-naked', it was still too much for Issei to handle.

So with a quick goodbye and a promise to meet up later at their usual spot, Issei left.

And then, of course, his injuries started to actually hurt.

Thankfully, Asia was only moments away.

Stepping through the front doors of the husk of a building, Issei wasn't surprised to find Asia standing at the staircase to the basement, her hands clasped in worry. He had, after all, been off to fight an apparently unkillable devil, so it was only natural that she would be—

"Sir!" the blonde in a nurses outfit cut off his line of thought, her green eyes wide with panic as they darted to him. Issei thought that was a little strange— but then again he was covered in blood. That most of it was Koneko's was immaterial. "Have you seen Mittelt!?"

The scientist blinked. That… hadn't been what he was expecting. "… Mittelt? Something happen to her?"

His voice turned serious at the thought, and he inwardly cursed how unprepared he was. Still, without his lab there was no helping it, and he still had Namur. Also Dohnaseek if he could conjure up that strange wrath again.

Seeing that he was taking her seriously, Asia calmed down and bit her lips as she wrung her wrists. "W-well, I don't know, she just— she just disappeared after you left..."

"Hmm… you didn't hear anything? No sign of a struggle?"

"No, sir, she said she was going on a walk, but..."

She trailed off, a worried look on her face. That had about twelve hours ago if she had left after him.

Issei bit the inside of his cheek. It didn't make sense. He had asked to take care of Asia while he was gone, so why would she leave her alone like that. Why would she—

Suddenly it hit him like a punch to the gut. The way she acted after his rejection, her words about Asia— she thought he had picked Asia. That he no longer had any use for her.

So she had left. Just like he'd wanted.

God, he hated himself sometimes. But wasn't this what he wanted? For her to leave, to save herself. Even if Koneko was going to help him, Issei was still a ticking time bomb, and that was with the assumption that he wasn't going to die soon anyway. Maybe... Maybe it was better this way.

"... Sir?"

Issei stood there for a moment, completely still.

Then he snorted.

"Yeah, fuck that." Turning to Asia, he swept a hand over himself. "Asia, heal me up— then we'll go after Mittelt."

He was tired of that fatalist bullshit. Tired of feeling sorry for himself. He was Hyoudou Issei. He was a scientist. And a scientist didn't waste his time moping around worrying about petty things like emotions and murder— he got to work.

It was about time Issei remembered that.

"Go after—? You know where she went, Sir?!"

Issei blinked, torn out of his internal resolve by Asia's question. He opened his mouth to answer her, but then shut it with a click.

Shit.

Maybe Sona would know?

XXX

And with that, the second arc comes to a close. Finally.

Of course, from the sound of things, this isn't what most people wanted to happen. A lot wanted the Phenex's to die, and with good reason. For those people, I hope the fact that the only reason they aren't dead is due to Koneko's direct intervention helps at least a little. Issei isn't exactly a beacon of morality, and the idea of him not killing them because it's the wrong thing to do is very much not who he is at this point.

With that done, I have some bad news: Chapters are going to slow down quite a bit from here on.

The reason for that is very simple— I'm currently in the middle of writing a novel, one that I intend to start posting on Royal Road within the next few months. I've been trying to balance out writing A Good Scientist and preparing to actually write that thing, but I just don't have the time to do that when I'm also working to, you know, live.

As somebody famous (That I don't actually know the name of and am too lazy to google) once said: "Money is the root of all evil."

So there you have it. I'll just be chipping away at this in between writing that novel, so there's no real schedule for updates anymore. If you have to blame anything for the slow updates, blame my greed.

I might post an update here when I start posting the novel for anyone that's interested, but if I do I'll make sure to include an actual chapter with that update. I hate it when a story updates and it just turns out to be a long author's note.

So until next time! Read and review and all that jazz.