Shin Megami Tensei

Devil Survivor: Redacted Record

Prologue: Sunday's Melancholy, Part 1

"I don't know what's worse: to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you've always wanted to be, and feel alone."

The Tokyo Lockdown: An event in recent Japanese history that is looked upon with sorrow, shame and confusion. For one week, the entirety of the greater Tokyo area, or the entire Yamanote train line, was shut down and locked away by the government, leaving hundreds of thousands of people trapped inside. It was said that terrorists had let loose a hallucinogenic gas and ruptured the main gas lines in the city and thus everything was locked down to prevent it from spreading.

The truth of what happened, according to the survivors, was far different and considered a side-effect of the gas. They spoke of demons coming out of COMP's, otherwise known as Communication Players which were a popular gaming system and social media tool at the time due to it being able to connect to the internet far faster than any other portable device. How people controlled said demons, mythological figures from various religions to even angels themselves.

They said it was God, who had challenged them to erase all the demons from Tokyo within a week or suffer the second coming of His wrath, not seen since the Tower of Babel fell centuries before. There were things that could not be explained away so easily. Entire areas could be seen that were flash frozen in heavy duty ice. Claw marks that could not have belonged to any normal house pet were seen dragged along bodies, walls and cars. There were also victims that spontaneously combusted or had all the blood drained out of their bodies, leaving them little more than dried husks.

Whatever the truth was, it was lost when all traces of 'demons' completely vanished on the seventh and final day. The lockdown was lifted and people were able to leave as if nothing had happened at all.

In time, people began to believe the government's lies. That everything was one bad dream brought about by gases that made them see and hear things differently. Within several months, it was all but forgotten once all the funerals were held and rebuilding efforts went underway. Half a year later, it was entirely forgotten, old news compared to the newest technologies that were being created. Despite suffering an immense economical setback since Tokyo was one of the biggest sources for money in Japan, they bounced back seemingly far too easily, but bounce back they did.

While it wasn't the perfect way for things to end, it was what one teenager and his band of companions fought, bled and suffered for to obtain. They would take what they could get.

Two years after the 'Tokyo Lockdown'

Shibuya

A lanky, blue haired teenage male crossed the pedestrian walkways around the 901. This place, one of the bigger shopping areas of Tokyo, was a city he visited at least once a year at a certain time. Schools were ending and summer was starting. Birds chirped and the murmurs of the sea of people that frequented the areas washed over him as he looked down at his feet.

Two years ago, he had met his best friends at this very spot. Given the now defunct Communication Players via his cousin, their lives had changed forever. For Kazuya Minegishi, there was no forgetting what happened during those seven days. All of his companions had moved on with their lives, but he was not allowed to do the same.

For inside of him, he could feel that same ball of power resting inside of him. The power of Bel, several demons and in his case, one special human all sharing the same special three letters in their name. All of which fought for the title to become 'King of Bel', the ruler of all demonkind. It was a great power, not meant for mortal hands but it was something he had to participate in regardless of his personal wishes.

As he had been told by several different people, human and otherwise, he was the current reincarnation of Abel. The son whom God loved and the first human to be murdered by another humans hand. His 'cousin', Naoya…or rather, Cain, had told him about this endless cycle they faced. He would be raised and beloved by many while Cain languished and suffered, forgotten in the background until he killed him once more.

He could have used the power of Bel to become an Overlord…to rebel against God and take humanity away from him so they could lead their own lives for good or ill without divine retribution getting in the way. It would finally break the cycle of death and rebirth Abel would suffer at Cain's hands by the brothers joining hands once more. Alternatively, he could have become the next Messiah, bringing forth God's word into the world and leading it to a supposed eternal peace under His rule once more. No crime, no suffering…just leading people like the shepherd his original self had done with his sheep. Even making Cain finally accept his sins and attempt to repent for them was within that possibility.

Instead, he rejected both ideals and stuck to a promise. To bring everything to the way it once was. Their daily, peaceful lives that had been interrupted by demons and angels brought back by banishing them both from the human realm. One could say it was the most selfish route; to give up all that power for nothing in return, but Kazuya reasoned that it was the only one that would allow everyone to move on with their lives and not regret the decisions they made once they looked back.

In a way, they had succeeded. Uploading a special song made by a singer forced by the Shomonkai to harmonize at a special tone onto the server in which all COMP's had been linked to in order to summon demons using a special algorithm designed by Naoya was far easier said than done. If they could upload that song, it would interrupt the connection between the COMP's and the summoning program, forcing all demons back into their realm. The remaining demons, along with Babel, the guardian who oversaw the battle for the King of Bel stood in their way. Even after the song with the vocals sung by their other companion rendered them without the aid of their demons, Kazuya and his friends eventually triumphed, striking down Babel with coordinated teamwork done by humans, for humans. From there he ordered all demons to never come back to the human realm with his authority as King of Bel. The demons vanished and the angels no longer had a reason to stay and interfere with their lives.

Though that did not mean that everything would go back to normal. They all knew that even without demons, Kazuya held the power of demons inside of him. At any point in time, he could create small, localized disasters with a mere thought and wave of his hand. After all, a maragidyne spell was essentially several tons worth of TNT localized into a large swath of fire. Though the temptation was great and the flames of it fanned by the Bel's he had killed to take their power whispering into his ear, he did not use it for two years.

He had been warned, after all, by the head angel himself. Metatron had sent him a message, stating that the moment he used the power of Bel for his personal use, angels would once again descend onto mankind and test them even further, for he would have failed humanity as their representative.

His friends had all done their best to support him initially, but as time went by they all started to live their own lives and drifted away from him. Even his two best friends, Atsuro Kihara and Yuzu Tanikawa had left him. On Atsuro's end, it was understandable. The teenage programmer was a genius and he had hacked the devil summoning server made by Naoya, a savant in the world of programming. Several high profile companies and government agencies across the world were scouting him for his talents. Their weekly meetings turned into monthly meetings...now it had been a full year since he had last heard from him.

Yuzu…just thinking her name put a bitter smile on Kazuya's lips. The girl was not made for what the Tokyo Lockdown threw at them. He didn't once blame her since she was only human. The hardships wore her down and brought out both the best and worst in the teenage girl who used to have a crush on him a mile wide. After the lockdown, they had tried dating and for a while it seemed like things were going smoothly. They were happy and considered the 'golden couple' of their high school. Everybody took strength from their relationship to try and better themselves due to their 'survivor' status.

Then Metatron's message came and she never looked at him the same way again. There was a small undercurrent of fear that came to her eyes each time he ran into her. Dates were missed, calls weren't answered…until she had just come out and said that she couldn't do it anymore. The fear inside of her heart grew and festered until she could no longer hold it in and uttered that one line that nearly broke him on the inside.

"How can I know that you're even you anymore if you have the power of all those horrible demons inside of you? It only took one to nearly destroy Amane and you have dozens after Belberith! How can you promise me that you're still you?!" She had asked, the question worse than any slap to the face. What made it even worse was when he found out that she had cheated on him not to long after they had gotten the message. Cheating born by desperation would only lead to disaster and it wasn't long until the 'golden couple' was destroyed.

Their friendship was hanging by a thread, but it was still there nonetheless, if only because he had sacrificed so much to keep her safe during the Lockdown. She owed him that much at the very least.

In Yuzu's place, Amane Kuzuryu quickly delved into the picture. Once a priestess for a religious cult called the Shomonkai who believed that the internet brought everyone in the world together in the blink of an eye not unlike the Tower of Babel did, she was one of the reasons why the devil summoning program came to exist. Yet she was just as much a victim of circumstance as the rest of them. She was also the one who could relate the most to his own circumstances.

Her soul was torn in three between Amane herself, the demon known as Jezebel and the angel Remiel. Jezebel was using her to influence her father to create the Shomonkai and eventually brought demons into Tokyo alongside Belberith. Remiel was there to stop Jezebel from permanently corrupting Amane's soul. Kazuya had, with Remiel's help, wrenched Jezebel out of Amane and took the demons power for himself. With her soul slowly being brought back to balance, Remiel had left as well.

The final battle would see her father killed by his own twisted machinations and leave her an orphan. She had finally gained the freedom that she had long sought but at a cost many considered too high. She had kept in close contact with Kazuya after the Lockdown, having gained a not so secret crush on him for his kindness and selflessness but did not get between him and Yuzu. It was only after their breakup that she came and comforted him.

Their relationship was much more physical than his previous one. Amane had her emotions suppressed for years due to a combination of her father's 'training' of her to be a maiden of his cult and Jezebel's continued existence inside of her. Thanks to Remiel protecting the part of her soul where all of her locked away emotions were, once Jezebel and her father were both gone and Remiel himself no longer needed, all of those emotions came bursting out of her. Love and lust were but two interchangeable words for her and the now 'normal' girl had, for half a year, found herself in his bed more often than not. Kazuya had not minded in the slightest, still hurt and upset over what had happened to Yuzu.

All good things had to come to an end though and their relationship, or skinship, had ended as well when they realized what they were really doing in running away from their problems. Unlike Yuzu, however, it ended mutually and on a positive note between them. In the end, both just knew that they had taken things too far, too soon. They still talked daily over text messages and met up frequently to just chat and take comfort in each other's presence.

Taking his cell phone out of his pocket, Kazuya opened up the picture gallery and looked at a picture of all of his comrades. They were the ones who had survived the Tokyo Lockdown with him and he smiled at how well many of them were currently doing. Despite the good and the bad, they had found the inner strength to keep going.

Looking at the top right of the picture, he saw a black haired man in a fancy vest leaning next to an orange haired woman in tactical armor, both of them sharing a cigarette and laughing. Eiji Kamiya, aka 'Gin', the simple bar owner and Misaki Izuna of the Japanese Special Defense Force. The two couldn't have been any different from one another at a first glance but on the final day of the Lockdown they worked together to help bring peace back to the world. Afterwards, they began to hang out when Izuna wasn't on duty and Gin took a shine to her as they found more and more common ground between them. Almost a year and a half later, he had received an invitation to their wedding, surprising everyone. Even more so when he was asked to personally be the best man.

Flicking his eyes to the left, he saw Naoya standing next to an angry looking teen with dyed red hair and a dark haired woman in a doctor's coat. Naoya had vanished off of the face of the earth after the Lockdown. He had stated several times he had no wish to be a part of a world where God continued to rule over humans. Kazuya and Atsuro had tried their best to track him down digitally, but when he did not want to be found, Naoya just would not be found until he wanted to be seen again.

The two in the picture next to him were Tadashi Nikaido, aka 'Kaido' and Mari Mochizuki. Kaido was the leader of a gang known as the Shibuya Daemons, ironic considering that he would summon real demons later on in the Lockdown. At first, he seemed like a good person with a calm head. As lawlessness began to descend and demons started to take over, however, he became almost possessed by a sense of bloodlust, wanting nothing more than power to crush anything that stood in his way. Kazuya had later learned it was due to his older brother being the first victim of the 'bloodless murders' that were happening in Tokyo which was due to a demon vampire named Kudlak running loose.

Mari Mochizuki was the only person capable of calming Kaido down. Originally a tutor for Atsuro, she gained her college degree and was an elementary school nurse. She was also Kaido's crush, but for a long time she was dating Kaido's elder brother who was the original leader of the Daemons gang. When the elder brother died, Mari made a deal with the demonic vampire hunter Kresnik. In exchange for possessing her body, he would help her kill Kudlak. Though it was only due to Kazuya and Kaido's help that Mari and Kresnik were able to strike that final blow as one of Kudlak's underhanded schemes had made Mari and Kresnik lose their only weapon that was able to kill the vampire. Kazuya had found the weapon, disguised as her handbag, while Kaido defended her against the worst of Kudlak's attacks.

After the lockdown, Kaido decided to finally become more honest to himself and asked Mari out on a date. She at first almost rejected him, but with their mutual revenge sated, she could finally move on with her life and accepted Kaido's proposal. Despite the small age gap between the two, they were still quite happy with one another. Kaido had actually texted him asking for advice on how he should go about trying to propose to her but then took it all back and threatened him to forget the message was even sent or else his face would be bashed in.

In the front row of the picture, on opposite sides, were his final two human comrades that could fight, Keisuke Takagi and Midori Komaki. Keisuke looked extremely uncomfortable, the picture showing him grimacing amongst the smiling faces and in the middle of fixing his glasses. He always looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, due to his bleak outlook on life. Atsuro had spoken well of him, saying how it was only because of Keisuke that he became the person they all knew now. The guy that would defend people from being bullied and pushing their strength around. Only to be betrayed year's later in high school by the same people that he had protected. The lies and blatant disregard for what he did for them had broken the teen for a long time, to the point where he wanted everyone and everything to be judged equally. Kazuya and Atsuro had to destroy the demon he summoned to aid him in order to finally snap him back to his senses. After the lockdown, he had apparently been scouted right out of high school by an important government organization and Kazuya hadn't heard from him since.

Midori, on the other hand, was all smiles and cheers. The young cosplayer was captured in mid leap towards him for a 'super hug'. All Midori ever wanted to do was to become a hero to honor her father, who was a stuntman in many different super hero tv series. It was what inspired her to do everything she could to help as many people survive the lockdown as possible. Even with all the hatred that was thrown at her and the misunderstandings of their actions, she smiled throughout all of it. She fought for her dream and she succeeded in it, being the hero that helped him to end the lockdown. At the moment, she was still in high school, cosplaying her free days away and continuing her journey to be a hero…by becoming an actress for the same shows her dad did his stunts for.

Off to the far side of the picture was their only non-combatant, a woman with red hair, black gloves and equally black boots, with the other prominent feature being the rose tattoo on her left shoulder. Her name was Yoshino Harusawa, but she only acknowledge being called 'Haru'. She was the second lead singer for the indie band D-Va, which was the same band that Gin's former girlfriend and the original lead singer, Aya, had sung for before she had been kidnapped by the Shomonkai. Originally, she was a depressed, almost suicidal woman, having lost a lot of her will to live over everything that had happened. Aya's disappearance, taking over D-Va, trying to finish the final song that Aya had left incomplete…it wore down on her soul.

Several times Kazuya had to defend her from demons and humans alike while, with Gin's help, making her realize that her life was still worth something. As Gin had consistently told her, Aya had left D-Va to Haru for a good reason, believing that she would surpass her quickly. Something Haru had to do when they made the demon repelling song that would be their ticket to ending the lockdown. She finally stepped out of the shadow that she had built up herself in Aya's image and finally began to cherish her life for what it was.

After the lockdown, she continued to lead D-Va and it was now an extremely popular mainstream band. Kazuya had gotten several signed pre-release CD's of her work and a few…risqué photos to go along with it that he kept locked away at home. After he had saved her the first time, Haru had somehow also gained a crush on him, starting a weird love square between her, Yuzu and Amane over him. Still, she was happier than she ever had been, so he could let it go as all fun and games.

Finally, in the background of the picture was their sole demon companion that did not need to be summoned, Black Frost. Originally just a little demon called Jack Frost, he was saved by Midori from being killed by a bunch of demon tamers drunk on power and trying to kill the poor thing. With their help, they saved the little spirit and Midori gave a speech about giving bad guys 'Magical Punishment' and how 'The Power of Love' would see things through. Jack Frost had taken the words too literally and several days later he became an extremely powerful demon in his own right. Sadly, the song that they had used to banish all demons back had affected him as well. Though his parting words were not of sorrow…but of hope. The demon learned the difference between good and bad, how to make friends and how to defend others. He promised that he would take those lessons back with him to the demon realm and continue to help others.

Eleven people, one non-combatant and one oddball demon. It was them versus the entire demon world and humans that had fallen to their base desires. Long and impossible odds, is what anybody would call it. Yet throughout everything Kazuya persevered against what was thrown at him. The death threats, the Bel's and his own personal fears of dying. To finally end it all with bringing back their old way of life and showing to both angel and demon alike that humanity can finally walk on their own two feet without their 'guidance'.

He stared at the picture a little while longer before going to his text messages and re-read the text that brought him to Shibuya 901 in the first place.

From: AT-LOW

To: Abel

Subject: Up for a meet? (1/2)

Message: "Hey buddy, how's it going? I'm sorry we haven't had the time to really talk and chat since last year. All those people hounding me…I didn't even get to be there for the meltdown between you and YooHoo. Some best friend I am huh? Well, I decided to take a break for a little bit and I wanted to meet you at the underground railway next to Shibuya.

BTDubs, I found a really weird website recently when I was scouting online forums. For some reason it's an app that only works for cellphones. It's called Nicaea and supposedly it's a site where videos are uploaded daily. Only unlike the normal vids you and I watch online, these are…something that reminds me of THAT mail from back then. If you're friends with someone that also has Nicaea, then there is a chance you'll get a special video of how that person dies. While most take it as some-

Atsuro had run out of room on the first message due to the character limit on his phone, but what he had said was damning enough. A website that predicted the deaths of people that you were close to. During the Lockdown, anybody that had a COMP would get a daily e-mail called a Laplace Mail. It would use complex algorithms to come up with an approximate estimation of events that could or would happen during that day. Though not perfect, many of its predications ended up coming true because people ignored it.

Kazuya and his friends used the Laplace Mail in a different way. Since it is only a 'supposed' list of events it meant that the contents within could possibly be changed. Other times, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. It all depended on what someone did with their own actions. Over the seven days, they had changed many of the events that were supposed to happen and saved hundreds, if not thousands of people. On the flip side, however, it also meant that they couldn't save everyone and people still died no matter how hard they tried to break everything up.

Even Naoya wasn't immune to it and was at one point fated to be 'killed' towards the end of the Lockdown. That must've been a serious blow to his pride, even if he somehow magically knew that Kazuya and everyone else would rush to save him. Naoya almost always knew, about everything! It was seriously frustrating at times.

Sighing slightly, Kazuya re-read the second half of the message.

From: AT-LOW

To: Abel

Subject: Up for a meet? (2/2)

Attachment: Web Link (Click To Open)

Message: -Sort of sick joke we both know better than that. I'll include a link to the website, just in case you want to take things into your own hands. If you decide not to though, I understand. You have the equivalent of Damocles' Sword hanging over your head. I don't want to be the reason as to why it comes down swinging for your neck. Still, let's meet up where everything started. At least there I can show you Nicaea over my own phone and maybe we can come up with a better conclusion.

I also heard about Amane. You lucky dog you! Even if you guys broke up, there's still contestant numbers 3 and 4 in Haru and Midori! Then again…Midori did hint that she was trying to wear down Keisuke even with his cushy Gov job he's keeping to himself. Ah well, either way you attract ladies like bees to honey. So, I'll see you at around…13:00 or so at the Hanzoumon Line Platform in a week?

-Atsuro"

Just line what the text had said, there was a link attached to the second half that would lead to Nicaea. Despite having this text and link for a week, he never clicked on it. It was the equivalent of Pandora's Box and the fear that he might do something he would regret down the line is the only thing that kept him from pressing the button. He didn't want to have another incident like with what happened with the COMP's. Though it was better to say that he didn't want to be forced into a situation where he would have to use the power of Bel.

Even now, with only an hour to meet Atsuro, he found his thumb hovering on the link, waiting to press down. It was ironic, considering that he never once hesitated when the Lockdown was happening. Now he was scared of just a single button. Naoya and Kaido would be laughing at him, while some of the others would have either sympathized with him or shook their heads in pity. He knew he was being paranoid about the whole thing but he had a valid concern as to why he was. He didn't have his demons to bail him out and he didn't know if flexing his magical muscles would cause Metatron to come down and smite everyone if he was wrong.

'Well…no guts, no glory,' He thought to himself. Clenching his eyes shut, he finally pressed down on the link and only opened them back up when he saw that no demons were around and nothing was devolving into chaos. Taking a few looks around, everything was just…peaceful. Just the way he preferred it as he looked at the website. It looked a little fancy, with the way the site presented itself as the 'Dead Face Delivery Site'. Pressing a few more buttons on his phone and he was brought to the 'join' part of the website.

Kazuya was grateful that it only asked for his first and last name. While names did indeed carry great weight and power, it was also less intrusive of his regular life as well. After also inputting his regular e-mail address, he hit enter and was brought to a new screen. He was surprised to see two sprites walking to the center of his screen from either side of it. To the left was a gentlemanly looking man in a purple and white butler uniform that reminded him FAR too much of Amane's father for comfort. To the right was a sprightly looking young woman in a bunny outfit, complete with ears and no tail. Though in exchange she did have odd markings on her arms that seemed like gloves but weren't at the same time.

The site asked him to choose his 'navigators' gender. As the male was uncomfortable to look at for even just a brief period of time, he picked on the woman and hit yes when it asked if he was sure. The male sprite bowed and walked off of his screen, while the chosen 'navigator' twirled and struck a silly pose that reminded him somewhat of an older Midori. It was only after she opened her mouth that he found himself questioning if it was too late to switch back to the selection screen and pick the male one, familiar appearance be damned.

"Hi~! Welcome to Nicaea, your one stop shop for scenes of death! Oooh~ scary! I'm Tico-Tico, your adorable guide! You can just call me Tico though!" She crooned to him from the screen.

Kazuya really felt like she would be the insufferable type of woman that would prattle on and on if you didn't stop her first. Sadly, he had no way of doing that and she kept going.

"On this website, you'll get videos of the friends you're tied to by fate. So not just random shmoes you meet, but people you get to know like, rilly, rilly well. We'll show you ahead of time when they end up dead and stuff, bummer!" Tico continued, as if she was just speaking about the weather rather than a grim subject of showing exactly how his friends would die.

'Tied to by fate, huh? I wonder if that 'tied by fate' counts for Atsuro and all the others or if they all need to have Nicaea installed onto their phones first. Still, this is starting to sound very much like the Laplace Mail and that…can't be good.' Kazuya thought to himself before paying attention once more to Tico's explanation.

"You get to see exactly how they croak from the movies we upload to the site. I'll keep you in the loop when new videos are uploaded, so be sure to check 'em out! Ok then! Have a nice wheeeee~!" Tico concluded with an all too pleased smile on her face, before the avatar suddenly stopped and blinked before looking up at him. Kazuya himself had to stop and double check that his eyes weren't deceiving him. Sure enough, the bunny girl was staring directly into his eyes.

"Oh wow! You're a different kind of guy than we usually get on here!" Tico said and Kazuya found himself sucking in some air as he instinctively knew that this wasn't part of the 'normal' behavior for a 'navigator'.

"I can see you've already fought against fate! Like 'POW!' then 'BAM!' followed by a 'KA-BOOM!'" The bunny girl gestured by throwing out some air punches before bringing her hands together and stretching them as far away from her as she could to show how big the imaginary explosion could be.

"My Master wants to speak to you. You should feel rilly honored! So just wait a second!" Tico suggested with a small wink before the app shut itself down.

As he was processing what was happening, Kazuya felt IT. IT gave off the exact same feeling the Bels did during the Lockdown. The stench of power that did not belong to anything on Earth. IT was something beyond human comprehension. Everything…everyone around him was frozen, unmoving like statues due to IT's power. Even time itself was stopped due to IT. IT was also right behind him, forcing the teen to turn around and see what IT was. What he saw was not what he expected to say the least.

IT passed for a human with the form it was currently taking of a teenaged male. IT looked no older than he did, with curly white hair and wearing a red and black striped shirt with a ruffled undershirt, black pants and shoes that matched the shirt. IT was also quite pale, with a touch of make up on IT's eyes that also made them look pale. IT was also squinting at him, observing him like a child would with a brand new toy that they didn't know what to do with it yet.

Then IT smiled and greeted him, as if satisfied with something. "Greetings, Son of Adam. Do you prefer to go by your current given name as 'Kazuya Minegishi'? Or should I call you by your true name of 'Abel'? I can also refer to your by your title, 'King of Bel'."

Kazuya felt his blood run cold at the second name that this…this thing gave him. That same blood went and turned to ice on the third name. If there was ever a time to tap into that power, now would be the time. It was the fact that there so many people around them that forced the teen to stay his hand. Instead, he focused a glare at the inhuman entity in front of him. "I am NOT the King of anything. I am also not any reincarnation of a dead man. I am just me and nothing else. It's also rude to ask for a name and not introduce yourself first." He shot back.

IT gave a slightly surprised look at his audacity before chuckling slightly. "Indeed, I have been remiss in that. I apologize. You may call me…no, no. Titles don't mean anything to one that defied Yahweh so. So just refer to me as 'Al Saiduq' for now. That will suffice."

A temporary name for a being that would no doubt be jumping in and out of the human realm from wherever it came from over the next few months no doubt. "Alright…Al. If you must refer to me as something, then just Kazuya will do. I will admit my online name is 'Abel' but I didn't realize what it really meant to choose that name until…that day happened." Kazuya told him in response.

Al Saiduq nodded before taking on a pensive look. "Indeed, Yahweh was sloppy and ineffective with that trial he gave you. It was definitely…what do you humans call it…a 'shock factor' as it were. Yet, it was too small, too contained to really push the message across." He reasoned.

An unsettling feeling fell into Kazuya's gut as Saiduq told him about how the Lockdown was too 'small'. "Is this 'Yahweh' you're talking about…God?" he asked, though he was surprised that when he tried to say the name everything that came out was garbled gibberish. "I also thought that the message was well-received. Humanity had to learn to once more temper their own wants and desires, right? We did that! We sent the demons back to their own realm and forced the angels to go back to theirs! For two years we've been trying to go back to our normal lives. You're saying that wasn't enough?"

Al Saiduq nodded, looking at him with what Kazuya recognized as pity and sorrow. "Indeed, you can say that they are one and the same. Also, the reason that the name came out like that when you spoke it is due to the fact that you are currently still a human and 'Yahweh' is a name coated in the language of the greater beings. So it's completely beyond anything your vocal cords can produce to say that name."

As he explained this, Saiduq sat down at a nearby bench and Kazuya had no choice but to join him. He wanted answers and for right now, this being was providing at least something that was useful to him.

"For the second thing you mentioned. Yahweh…he and I have a similar way of thinking, you could say, but we don't agree on the methods to go about it. We both believe in the potential that mankind has and unlike me Yahweh feels that if they become too arrogant, he can take away their free will and make them into what he wants them to be. What he keeps forgetting is that his very being is intricately tied to humans themselves. Without them, he cannot exist and if everyone are mindless sheep under the control of his 'angels', then he will lose what makes him so omnipotent." Saiduq grimaced at that.

Kazuya shook his head in his hands at the revelation that he was receiving. For two years, he justified that he made the right choice, not supporting the demons or the angels. That it wasn't worth giving up freedom, but at the same time completely destroying law and order to impose himself as some grand Demon Overlord wasn't the right way either. The balance was already laid down and continually evolving by humans themselves. They had done just fine not being told what to do for every aspect of their lives. Now he had someone telling him that indeed, his choice was the right one to make. Not directly, but the implication of what he was being told was more than enough.

"So…what makes you so different from him? In fact…are you stronger than he is?" Kazuya dared to ask.

At that question, Saiduq gave a small smile. "If it comes down to it, I would not…'bet against me' I believe is the idiom you humans like to use. In the grand order of the universe, Yahweh is not even close to the strongest or most powerful of beings. There are those that are even stronger than me, meant to impose balance to the forces that make up everything in the entire universe. As for how I'm different, I believe that mankind has the potential to stand up to anything, anyone and at any time as long as they are united. There is no reason to try and force order on them when they are perfectly capable of leading themselves. I love humans, to be honest. Each of you is so different from the last and I want to see everyone's potential shine and soar above everything, even the powers that be themselves." He then raised up his hand to silence Kazuya when he attempted to speak up again.

"I know what you wish to say next. 'Why am I telling you this'? It is to give you a warning. As I said, Yahweh's test was too small. Humanity is becoming too complacent with their powers. So he's been…taken care of and a new test will be given. I wanted to speak to the one that Yahweh was so intrigued with. I can see why he was so fond of you. I feel that same tug as well. So much potential locked away in one person. You could very well be a 'Shining One'. One who has enough potential that it cannot be stopped, contained nor changed by any power known or unknown. I would hazard to say that Philemon would have dearly loved to meet you as well, if he wasn't in another dimension so similar yet far away from our own." With his talk done, Saiduq stood up.

"Although short, this was a rather fruitful conversation for you at the very least. We will be seeing each other again, Kazuya Minegishi. I want to see just where your potential, the one that surpassed Yahweh, will take you." After saying his rather long-winded goodbye, Saiduq snapped his fingers. Kazuya had to close his eyes from the sheer brightness that emanated from Saiduq's person. When it finally died down and he could open his eyes again, Saiduq was gone. While Kazuya was left with far more questions than answers.

After all, it wasn't every day that you were told that God, the omnipotent creator being of the universe…was just small fry compared to the bigger and badder things lying right behind it. Not only that, but Saiduq had clearly said that God had been overthrown and disposed of! It was also only the tip of the iceberg since humanity was going to be tested AGAIN! The first time had nearly killed everyone in the Yamanote train line. From what…whatever Saiduq was had said, this test was going to be much, MUCH bigger than the last and this time, he didn't have his COMP to save him.

Not to mention that even if God was overthrown, he had no idea if Metatron's warning now held true. About using the Power of Bel. Certainly, in self-defense of humanity it would be justifiable to consider using. Though right now, nobody was in danger. Saiduq could have very well been lying to him and he would get killed if he was wrong.

He had no real way to process all this implications that had been received whatsoever and he doubted that even Atsuro-

'Oh crap it's almost 13:00!' he thought to himself as he looked down at his phone, which said that it was indeed time for the train to come. Standing up and gulping at the dire news that he would have to deliver to his best friend, he started a long and slow march to the Hanzoumon Line Platform.

Shibuya: Hanzoumon Line Platform

13:00

Walking down the steps to the subway, Kazuya felt a strange sense of foreboding with each foot that went forward. Like he was about to step into something…life-changing, just like before. The same feelings were there too. The hairs on the back of his neck were raised, the urge to look in every direction was nagging at him and he wanted to just run back up the stairs and never look back.

Even with all of that, he continued forward because Atsuro was waiting for him. Despite their being 'incommunicado' with one another for about a year, they were still the best of friends and Kazuya would rather jump into a running subway than see Atsuro suffer that same fate and vice-versa. He noted that the platform itself was fairly empty. The only ones there with him were a businesswoman, a person in a subway work uniform and three high school students that were all talking to one another.

Rather; the one with the yellow scarf was trying to get his friend in a white hoodie to make him look good for their female companion who had a bust that would make many go green with envy. Seeing those three together made him remember when he, Yuzu and Atsuro were just like that as well in better times. His musings were interrupted by four simultaneous beeps of cell phones going off. Grabbing his own, he flipped it open and saw that he had a notification from Nicaea.

'Oh…shit!' he thought to himself as he watched the video. The train that Atsuro was on did not stop. Instead, an earthquake it went faster and faster before de-railing itself at the platform while, in front of all the terrified bystanders, including himself. The video ended with him looking at the dead body of Atsuro hanging over him, gutted by broken glass while the bottom half of his body had been crushed by the train and he died from the trauma.

"Wow…this videos are pretty hi-def. I thought the quality would be terrible." The yellow-scarf wearing student commented idly.

Kazuya had to do something. He had to save them!

"You three! Get off the way. If that video happens then we're all-"he began to shout before his feet started to shuffle underneath him. It was a low rumbling at first, but then it increased in volume and sheer intensity, knocking everybody that was on the platform off of their feet. The girl with the big breasts screamed about an earthquake happening and the hoodie wearing teen tried to calm her down when they all heard it. The terrible screeching sound of metal grinding against metal. Then they saw the lights of the train coming forward until one of the shocks knocked the tires clear off the rail, forcing the massive metal behemoth on its side where gravity and inertia finished the job and it knocked itself over and around with the conductors car smashing itself first into the nearby wall after destroying several support pillars.

Everybody tried to protect themselves as best as they could from the debris and the raining glass that had gotten broken when the train was knocked against the wall and platform. In doing so, they sealed their fate. Mere moments later, all anybody could do was watch as the de-railed train cars fell right on top of them. Kazuya could have used his Bel powers. It was as simple as breathing to just bring it up. Though in that split-second, he chose not to do so. If he was going to die, then he would choose death as a human, rather than as a Bel at the end of someone else's hand.

?

"…p. He…..up. Ka…..wake up." Kazuya could hear a voce whispering in his ear. Blearily he opened his eyes and found himself looking at Atsuro. The moment that realization kicked in, he jumped and shook him by the shoulders. "Atsuro, you're ok! Were you on the train! I saw that video and…and…." He couldn't even finish his sentence, so relieved that he was. He didn't even see the odd look Atsuro was giving him.

"Train accident? Jeez, I know marriage can be considered one, but I didn't think you'd have a nightmare of it literally." Atsuro joked while Kazuya looked at him in confusion.

"Marriage? Who's getting married?" He asked, only to have the confused expression mirrored onto Atsuro's face.

"Uh…you are? Come on dude, I know that you're tired from the rehearsal but don't zone out on my just yet." His friend explained and that was when a few other things were clicking in. One was that he was wearing a tuxedo and he didn't have his usual headphones on. The other was that Atsuro was also wearing a tuxedo and he didn't have his hat on, both things they were extremely reluctant to part with under any circumstance.

"Oh…oh jeez! Man I can't believe I really did forget something like that!" he laughed, playing into what Atsuro was saying while panicking on the inside. Something was wrong; something was very, very wrong with what was happening. He was just at the subway when…when…he couldn't remember. He was at a subway and then…he was on the way to his wedding? He woke up late because his bride-to-be decided to prank him and turn off his alarm clock?

His sleepiness must have really gotten to him if he was having nightmares and still falling asleep now. Atsuro gave him a friendly pat on the back. "Come on dude, in a few hours you'll be saying, 'Mr. Kazuya and Mrs. Yuzu Minegishi!'" he said in good cheer. This brought a smile onto his face as he could now remember proposing to Yuzu right after graduation and her accepting. They just knew they were the one for each other and wanted to tie the knot before college.

As they walked across the various hallways, Kazuya wondered just how sleep deprived he must have been. The corridor seemed to change from closed cream hallway to the wide open subway space. What was once bright light fixtures seemed to flicker into barely hanging on bulbs that were ready to drop from the ceiling. There was also a horrible smell that he couldn't get out of his nose no matter what he tried to think of in exchange.

The smell of blood and rotting flesh.

Everything seemed to blur together into a beautiful and hellish landscape at the same time, confusing the teen. As they reached the chapel, the door opened and he saw all of his friends and family there. His parents, Naoya-

'Wait…Naoya went missing. Why would he be here now?' he thought to himself as they passed by. They went by the next row where Kaido, someone that looked like an older version of Kaido and Ms. Mari were all giving him thumbs up of encouragement.

'Kaido…Kaido's brother is dead. Killed by…his blood being drained.' The fact versus the reality in front of him was becoming very disjointed and bizarre. Each step felt like he was being pulled into the beautiful wedding, but at the same time he was remembering things that just didn't match up, no matter how many times he ran it through his head.

At the end of the aisle, he saw her. Yuzu, all dressed up in a white bridal outfit. She looked a little miffed about him being late, but he offered a small apology and stepped-

'Walking into her room, she had screamed at me and asked why I was there, a naked man in her bed with her because I was supposed to be out until late when my appointment was cancelled.'

-The memory in his head made him stop, confusing Yuzu as he instead took a step back.

"No…this….this isn't real, is it?" he asked, with all the 'guests' murmuring around him as each step back he took, the more things went back into place.

The 'guests' turned into corpses, blood and guts everywhere from the impact and collision between their body and whatever was in the way of it. His friends all vanished, though Naoya gave off his usual irritating chuckle as he did. The bridal Yuzu held her hand out to him. "Please…please don't do this! This is what we wanted for our whole lives wasn't it?! Didn't you promise to be with me forever?" she asked.

Kazuya's answer was to take another step back. "We made a promise to watch out for one another. We gave dating a shot and then you got scared of me. Scared of something I had full control over and didn't want in the first place. You were scared enough of me that you went and slept with an upperclassman to get revenge on me for still having the Power of Bel." He stated, remembering their argument and how heated it had gotten between them.

The bridal Yuzu sniffled and cried slightly, before nodding her head. "This…could have been your perfect life. Though I think it was your will to live that always drew me towards you. Please, find someone that makes you happy. That's all I would ever want. You've rejected the dream and now…now you have to live with the reality." She explained, her face and voice cracking as Kazuya turned his back on her.

"I wish you could have told me that sooner. Maybe then we could have salvaged our friendship a little better." He called out as a parting shot before leaving the chapel. He couldn't die yet…not before making his dreams a reality. At this point, his melancholy was finally beginning to lift and absolve him from his guilt. Though for the rest of his life, Kazuya knew he would find himself repeating what that fake wanted of him.

He really didn't know which thought was worse: That he could have been what he had always wanted to be; a white collar worker with a nice job to be able to make the love of his life happy only to realize that he was in fact, alone. Or if he gave up on trying to label himself and be happy by being himself with someone like Amane at his side.

Whatever did this to him was playing a cruel trick to test his strength of will and they knew it. He didn't know how they did it, or why, but humanity was now being tested. Al Saiduq had said as much and Kazuya wouldn't let his race suffer so badly a second time if he could help it. In the end, that was just who he was; The Protector, rather than the Instigator.

With the illusion shattered, he realized that he was still at Shibuya. Worse, he still had a train car ready to fall on top of him as his phone beeped. Tico appeared on it and gave him a beatific smile.

"Wow! Even with Master's super special will test that he made just for you, 'grats on passing with full marks! Since you're willing to give up eternal happiness to face reality, here's a little something for ya! Have fun!" She crooned before vanishing.

Shibuya

Hanzoumon Line Platform

13:15

Once Kazuya managed to clear his head and regain his vision, he saw that he had an old demon friend holding up the train car with an absurd amount of strength while wearing nothing more than a yellow cloth that had a belt around the middle, a chain of skulls around its neck and a large cleaver knife would make anyone want to take two steps back and reevaluate their chances against it. The green skin was more than enough to tell that this creature was not human in the slightest.

"Ogre..." he whispered to himself. Looking to his left, he saw that the three high school students were all alive too. They were also surrounded by what was no doubt were newly summoned demons. Ogre just looked down at him.

"King…safe." The Jaki muttered before tossing the train car back like it was a balloon in weight. "Me…go. Summon…needed." It was then that the demon retreated, vanishing into blue light. Though instead of hopping back into his COMP like they normally did, this time it went into his cellphone.

"Saiduq…" he whispered, wondering how he managed to do a successful demon summoning program and cram it into a cell phone app of all things. He could think on this later though along with why Ogre didn't wish to fight him for the right to live in the human world again. He had somehow summoned and that meant that he could probably use his other demons again. It also meant that more importantly, he could use his magic.

Willing the elements to bend to his command, a large ball of fire appeared in his hand. It was a rather weak Agi all things considered, but he could flex his muscles and test his limits later. The three students were all huddled around each other and looking at the demons that were leering over them with naked fear in their eyes.

He hurled the fireball next to the little ghost like spirit that was leering at the yellow-scarf wearing student. All six of them hopped back and saw that he was the one who threw it. "Come on, get up and fight! They'll kill you if you don't!" he shouted at them.

"F-f-fight?! How!" The female student cried out. The terror in her eyes was greater than the others, but the one with the hoodie understood perfectly. He had gotten up and knocked the small demon with suction cup like hands back with a jab to the chin.

"Io, Daichi! I can hurt them and that means you can too!" Hoodie boy instructed. Unlike a random stranger, they were his friends and much more willing to listen to him over Kazuya.

Getting up, the yellow scarf wearing student, who was now named, shoulder checked the ghost thing into a nearby pillar. "W-woah! Hibiki, you're right!" Daichi shouted, amazed that he could fight such creatures with his bare hands.

The female student also got up and looked at the Pixie that was flying to and fro before smacking her out of the air and into the ground. "How are we this strong?" Io pondered.

Kazuya held up another fireball, ready to toss it at the demons if they tried anything. "Ponder later! If you beat them, then they'll be forced to obey you!" he told them.

With adrenaline now pumping through their veins, the students pushed past their fears of the monsters in front of them and fought back. The hoodie student, Hibiki, was the first to 'beat' his summoned demon, punting it like a football into the wrecked train.

"Oooowwwww…you're strong human! I'm impressed. I'll follow ya from now on!" it shouted before vanishing into the same blue light Ogre had and going into Hibiki's phone.

Having one demon down gave Hibiki's friends courage and Io swiped at the Pixie again, slamming her into a pillar and threatening to squish it underneath her shoe as she ran towards it. "Wait, wait! I surrender! Don't crush me!" It cried out before vanishing as well and going into the girls' phone.

Daichi had a bit more trouble since his opponent could fly around as well, but in a much more coordinated manner. So he improvised and threw his scarf at it, blinding the demon ghost just long enough that he could grab one of its stubby little legs and hurl it underneath him.

"Ooggghhh….yOu StRoNG. Me LiKe YOU." It told Daichi before it vanished as well.

With the threat gone, Kazuya released his hold on his magic and sighed. That had taken a lot out of him than he expected. Looking at his phone, he saw that the menu layout had changed and several very familiar looking apps were on it.

'Team', 'Demon Compendium', 'Fusion', 'Devil Auction'. It was indeed the Lockdown all over again. He could wait to see what he had on him though as the students approached him.

"He-hey. Thanks for…whatever it was that you did. You saved us." Daichi thanked him. "W-what happened though? All we were doing was just watching that vid on Nicaea and…" as he tried to think things through, they all looked at the wrecked train next to them.

It was a complete massacre. Everyone inside was thrown out or halfway out of it. Their bodies were twisted, mangled or in pieces. It looked like there were no survivors at all. Io covered her mouth with her hands as she tried to comprehend the sheer number of people that had died right next to her while she had fought to live. Hibiki and Daichi were the same way, with the former looking down and the latter shaking like a leaf.

Kazuya was looking at each and every person in there, but not one of them looked like Atsuro. Just to make sure, he carefully hopped onto the train and peeked inside before immediately looking back out. It was even worse, with everything looking like a human blender had been inside everything past the second passenger car. In his brief glance, however, none of them still looked like Atsuro. Letting out a small sigh of relief, he looked at the students before hopping back down to them.

"Any survivors?" Hibiki asked, sounding soft-spoken as he did. Kazuya shook his head and all three students looked away.

"This is all sorts of messed up! Nicaea, demons, the train wreck and the earthquake! What the hell happened?!" Daichi shouted out, no longer able to contain his rage and confusion.

"L-let's get out of here. We can get some help on the surface. Thank you again mister. I'm I-Io. Io Nitta." The girl suggested while introducing herself.

"Sorry about the shouting. I'm Daichi Shijima." The scarf wearing teen formally introduced himself as well.

"Hibiki Kuze. Thank you." The hoodie wearing teen told him before offering a handshake, which Kazuya accepted.

"I'm Kazuya Minegishi. I have a very bad feeling about what might be waiting for us up top, but it's better than what's down here. I'll help you three out as best as I can though. Nobody deserves to go through what just happened here." He told all three of them.

The students all nodded in agreement to his offer of help and they decided to go to the surface, carefully making their way up amidst unsteady steps ruined by the earlier earthquake. If things were this bad down here, they could only imagine how the earthquake must have affected the city above them.

What they would see…what they would experience…what the world would suffer through the next week may be forgotten by most, but even if the record became redacted, it was to surely never be forgotten.

A/N: Hey there guys! Just here with a (possible) new story based around two of my favorite 3DS games, Devil Survivor Overclocked and Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker, both part of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. They are both excellent strategy RPG's and with tons of replay value, though a lot of people wondered if 1 and 2 were both set in the same world. I played both games, saw SOME of the anime for 2 (it was terrible) and read as much of the manga that was translated online as I could. From it, I discovered that in the anime, one of the cast from Devil Survivor 1 was actually working for JP's! There was also several different references including certain dialogue with a certain demon and a VERY quick reference that would be easily missed in one of the characters routes. So I decided to merge the two together as best as I can!

Some of you that have played the game might not like what I decided to do with the characters fates post Overclocked (specifically Yuzu, Amane, Gin and Izuna) but the thing is, it's not outside of their characters to do what they did. Yuzu was always an extremely fearful and selfish person from start to finish, always wanting to run away from everything that didn't involve Haru or her own death. She had her moments, sure but it was only when push came to shove and never outside of it. It's natural that if all the demons in the world were gone, that she would be scared of Kazuya becoming a ticking time bomb. All it would take is one push and they're all dead. She couldn't handle the pressure and instead destroyed herself, so to speak.

It's the same with Amane. She spent a good chunk of her life withholding all of her emotions due to her father and Jezebel. Once she no longer had either of them to worry about, all those years of emotional suffering finally came out and she had no real way of sorting everything out, so when it came to her rescuer in Kazuya, she was more than a little amorous towards him. Unlike Yuzu, however, her training still allowed her to realize this and thus, she ended things with him on good and proper terms.

Gin and Izuna is out of left field, but I found the two to be quite possibly adorable together if they had been given more interaction with one another outside of Gin's route. They're very much rooted in their belief that things should go back to the status quo and that they were better off that way. Their methods would be different, but there is no denying that Izuna hated what she had to do but was a good soldier and did it anyways. With the lockdown lifted, she could finally put her past behind her as she talked to Gin and drank at his bar, which would definitely kick-start their relationship.

For those saying Gin and Haru, it was very obvious that he saw her as a little sister and you know it. Not once did he show any romantic interest in her. Shoji was clearly attracted to Gin, but she was also more married to her job than Izuna. The scoop was the thing that mattered most to her and unlike Izuna, I don't think she would ever put her pen down to go past a physical relationship with him.

Kazuya himself…well he'll be paired with Devil Survivor 2 characters. For those wondering if Kazuya and Hibiki will be teaming up…yes and no. You'll see why later. Devil Survivor 1 cast will be showing up as well, as referenced by what I had observed above. Plus Atsuro is missing and Kazuya wouldn't let his best friend down!

However, his title as King of Bel will haunt him in more ways than one in this fic, believe me.

For those wondering if he is going to curb-stomp everything around him, don't. He hasn't used any skills or magic in two years. It's like not exercising for two years and then doing it out of the blue. You know how to do it, your body and mind aren't prepared for it. Same with his demons. He might have a lot of stuff on his Compendium, but he's stagnated so only those that swore actual loyalty to him will stay by his side, or if he proves himself worthy (you'll see what I mean with the latter later on). So can he summon Helel/Lucifer? Yes. Can he do it from the start? No.

Also, I don't own Devil Survivor 1 and 2, save my original DS and 3DS Copies. They're owned by Atlus and everyone else that helped to make them.