Co-writer: Shi the Sin of Sloth

Phew! Spent the whole day typing away at this chapter! It was terribly complicating, especially the fights! To inform you guys, school is starting next week, and I'm doing everything I can to finish this before that happens because I likely won't have that much time to write anymore once school starts. Anyway, filling up from last chapter, Sona and Issei have suffered the first stage of the consequences of their actions, starting with an intense confrontation between father and daughter which ended in Issei nearly dying. And then, a Yandere Rias shows up immediately afterwards... great, just what the world needs at the moment. Before we head on to the chapter, let's go through some quick reviews which sadly, only a few managed to give last chapter... :(

Neo Infinity: Yep, you're right on that...

Yoga pratama: Yeah, I watched Dominion live... I cried when Kenny won... was also happy that Bucks won the tag titles and Hiromu winning the Jr. title. IT'S TOO SWEET!

djohagan: Yep, it is...

CrimsonComplex: Thanks for your support! I appreciate it!

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

Flashbacks

[Ddraig Talking]

{Albion Talking}

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DXD... this story originally belongs to bustercall, as I am just translating his Spanish version. Check it out as well if you want to, but if you don't want spoilers, best you tune in here!

In his current situation, it was clear that Issei wasn't able to know what was happening at the other rooms of his house, much less on the outskirts of the place. To be permanently injured and with his powers reduced by Rias' negative influence, it was obvious that he couldn't escape from there on his own; he would have to wait maybe, for his King to come back to her senses, to overcome the power of the curse. But the picture was different, each day she was increasingly vitiated by the transformation, his other friends they were not oblivious to this, but they were in a state similar to that of a robot.

Ddraig had not delayed in explaining, that perhaps the excessive hatred had leaked to them by the evil piece system, leaving them in a state of absolute unconsciousness but with their entire skills equivalent to robots programmed for battle.

The situation was impossible, which is why he, after listening to the noise outside the room, thought that things had finally exploded in the worst way, forcing him to make a last, almost-suicidal attempt to get up and break his bonds and see what was going on, that was until the door of the room that held him captive opened, showing him the figure of a teenager, one that he knew in critical terms, for the reason why he didn't understand what was happening.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, seeing him in his current state, with his blood-stained clothes tied arms and his back notably weakened, the look of terror she gave him was enough to confirm that he really was in very bad condition.

Noticing that made him fall flat on his face, feeling the throbbing pain to such a level that he was not able to move properly.

"Hyoudou, resist it!"

The intruder exclaimed, throwing herself into his arms, examining the horrible wounds more closely, and a sour gesture showed that according to her, they were worse than she thought. Issei didn't understand that she was right there blinking several times, ignoring the blood that ran down his forehead and ears.

"What are you doing here?"

She took out from her pocket a small black bottle and started to pour its contents onto his chest which didn't take long to repair his skin. At first, it caused him to let out a little shriek, but little by little, his chest began to recover, as life finally returned to him. She smiled proudly, having completed her goal in this insane and almost suicidal mission.

Upon recovering, Issei stood up uncomfortably; the magic chains still bothered him, which did not miss the eyes of his rescuer, breaking them instantly, allowing him to move.

"Can you fight?" she asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye, somewhat uncomfortable at being close to him. Issei examined himself, as if he had not had the ability to do so because of what happened for the past days.

"I can… but my power is sealed by Buchou, so I can't really do much…" he replied, noticing the sounds of different fights outside his room.

"Well… that will be enough…" she admitted, clenching her fist and hitting it against her defiant palm. "I know you don't like how this sounds to you, but we must incapacitate your friends, Rias Gremory is being manipulated by something and I fear that the only way to be able to solve this, is that way…"

Issei clenched his teeth, despite wishing otherwise strongly, he had to fight against his companions, at least to weaken them and save them afterwards.

Even so, the presence of the person in front of him, as well as his diverse companions on all floors was something he did not quite understand.

"Is something wrong?" she asked calmly but concentrated. "We're wasting time here, the longer we delay, will result in more damage caused."

"I'm sorry, but… what are you doing here?"

With that question, the blue-haired girl went from her annoyed state to stand up arrogantly, as she proudly pointed to herself with her fist in a sign of victory.

"Isn't it obvious, idiot? We are the rescue team with the aim of saving you."

Issei was astonished; he couldn't believe that he was hearing those words come out of Tsubasa Yura's mouth, Sona's Rook.

Days before…

After the decline of Sona Sitri, Tsubaki had been forced to take all the responsibilities of the position that her master had left behind. The school papers were all a mess, the complaints box was full of criticism and now not only to Issei, but also to her leader and in a large part to them, which was uncomfortable and quite motivating. However, she had only to attend to each one of these and look for possible solutions.

The morale of the school and possibly its public image at the moment was on the ground and without Sona for the place, the student council as well.

Entering the room of the place, it seemed much wider than usual, and the lights allowed by the window illuminated the place in its entirety with a golden glow.

It was a nice day, cruelly a beautiful day that set the first day of Tsubaki trying to take control of all things. Without thinking much more about it, she took the seat that belonged to Sona without regard, taking the papers, budgets, proposals and others, all the things that she left in her own handwriting in draft annotations to orchestrate clean later with her fellow student council members.

She reluctantly began to look at them. Could this help her to occupy her mind beyond the issue that had spent two days sulking since her discussion with her King and subsequent appearance at the extraordinary meeting? A meeting's final verdict that she didn't know, and not meeting Sona until now meant that it would be bad.

Tsubaki sighed, depressed. It would be a long day today.

The school ended and without her leader's presence, Tsubaki felt the need to give moral support to her peers that they didn't because of Sona not appearing in any way. So after closing all topics with the school, she asked all of them to meet in the central park of the city to discuss how they would be organized from now on until the Sitri heiress will come to her senses and stop fleeing.

It was an order of easy compliance, the protocol of the castes was that in case of not having the presence of the king, the queen would have to take charge of taking command until further orders are given. For that reason, she looked pleased as her closest friends as they were sitting on benches or standing against the wall chatting each other with a bottle of soda in their hands, but it could be said that despite that the mood was too dull, it was calmer and peaceful.

"Tsubaki-san," Momo greeted her senior after seeing the Queen arrive, which caught the attention of everyone cutting all the conversations happening at the moment. "Hello…"

"Hello guys, I regret having called you to this place so suddenly…" she began with a fraternal but strict tone. "As you know, Kaichou has been absent for just over two days, and I think it is convenient that we discuss how we will organize with our labors until a new order comes from her…"

"You're right," Reya nodded with a serious note. "To be honest, without knowing about Kaicho during these days I thought things would go out of control if we didn't think about something soon…"

"Even so, I can't believe everything that's happening…" Ruruko added sadly, breaking her commonly jovial face. "What about Kaichou? Why is she not communicating with us? Has she abandoned us?!"

"Ruruko, don't say that…" said Saji, looking a bit busy at such a statement. "I understand how you feel, but I guess she just needs time to organize things…" after he had interrupted his junior, a look of sadness took over him. "I think it's more than obvious that this was too much for everyone, even for them…"

The atmosphere was unfortunate, everyone felt that they had part of the blame in everything that had happened, and for a few seconds, only the reflection was present in the environment in absolute silence.

"Everyone... I know it's difficult, but we have to get up on our feet until things are fixed, until then we have the obligation to fulfil our duties, not only with demonic contracts, but with the school itself…" Tsubaki resumed, being the voice of reason among all of them. "We… we have a big enough debt to pay as the student council…"

Everyone agreed, they have made a monumental mistake and couldn't have their leader by their side, but they had the conviction of wanting to do their best to fix their mistakes and move on from that sad chapter. For that very reason, Tsubaki quickly began delegating tasks to her fellow pieces, which without hesitation, accepted or proposed alternatives more congruent to the situation.

It was a pleasant talk in a certain way, now that they thought about it, they had not chatted in that way since the curious shock training that their leader had made them take at the time. The atmosphere was nice, however, there was someone for whom this was alien to and the direction of the talk made it impossible to keep it aside.

Tsubaki understood how Yura felt, although everyone had abused their authority against Issei in a certain way, she had exceeded herself and that was something that weighed her after knowing that it had been all a lie. It seemed that she was still bad enough so that regret and discouragement would invade her even in that meeting.

"Yura, I need you to take Mr. Kishimoto's contract tonight, is there any problem with that?" In response, Tsubaki got the silent shake from her, returning to look forward to nothing. Her attitude was extremely disturbing.

"Yura… would you like to come with us tonight to some karaoke?" asked Meguri, somewhat reserved, but with the noble intention of encouraging her friend.

The Rook raised her gaze to see her, half-hearted and partly annoyed.

"Let me be in peace for now…" she replied in an off tone.

"I know it's been difficult for you…" Tsubaki added, trying to become an elder sister. "But I think it would be a good idea to clear up a bit, a karaoke night doesn't seem like a bad idea."

Everyone expected the approval of the blue-haired girl, but instead, she smiled bitterly looking sadly at her companions.

"Do you really believe that after all that happened, we can just do what we want as if nothing happened and return to our daily lives waiting for things to resolve themselves?" Her words gave off a lot of sorrow and contained anger. "It's not so easy, I know you have a more understandable heart, but I just can't forgive myself, nor Sona for what she did to us!"

That outburst drew a moan from everyone while Yura returned to her depressed state.

"Tsubaki, Meguri, thank you, but I need to be alone for a while… and I thank you for worrying about me, seriously…"

Without more to say, with a certain bad taste in the mouth, everyone took their different directions. The situation was complicated and deep. Yura's words were true, certain things couldn't be missed, and there was no moral or shame to do it.

The next day Tsubaki, as she would do from now on, came to the council room to attend to her daily duties taking the seat of the presidency, just see the pile of pile of papers was enough to tear a tired moan and force her to look at the window, like her King. As she did so, she watched as the students arrived, all of them occupied with their own affairs, even so, a talk from a distance did not escape her attention..

"It's strange don't you think?"

"Yeah, one would understand that things are upside down, but isn't it strange that nobody from the Occult Research Club has come to school during these three days?"

That was a revelation for Tsubaki; she was so focused on the themes of the peerage she has taken charge over that she had not noticed that detail at the moment, and now that she thought about it, she had not seen Kiba for a while.

"How strange…" she murmured to herself, but that revelation vanished as soon as she looked between her personal papers, a letter with the seal of the Sitri clan in front. "What's this?"

When she opened it and read it, her skin paled immediately, stunned by the forcefulness of the message, one that was legitimate thanks to the signature of the current patriarch of the Sitri family.

It is official, as of this moment, all the activities of Sona Sitri by royalty, are stopped until further notice.

"What does this mean?" Tsubaki asked herself without being able to handle the news even if that kind of message came from the great leader of her group, because it only meant one thing.

Something really bad had happened with Sona Sitri.

Present time…

Issei, alongside Yura, ran through the corridors of the basement in the direction of the elevator. He had just recovered so the situation was confusing for him, especially when listening to the explosions on the upper floors, legitimate proof of a large-scale combat, from what he had understood from the Rook. She was there to rescue him, but with the current state of her companions that only meant that the battle that was taking place, was an all-out fight between the Gremory and the Sitri group.

"What's the plan?" Issei asked, turning around a corner, looking at his next target.

"The plan is to save your unfortunate ass and run before the thing gets really ugly…" she responded, showing that her anger against him was still there, but somehow had waned enough in comparison to his days of punishment.

"What will happen with Buchou and the others?!" he asked, worried about his friends.

"We don't know what is controlling Rias Gremory, and without that information, we can't do more than run now that we have you!" After a pause, Yura was taking into account where Issei tried to get. "Do you know what's happening to them?!"

"I know!" he exclaimed, next to the elevator seeing him about ten meters away. "I know what's happening!"

"Perfect, then we can comply with what you —"

TRRROOOOOMMMMMMMMPPPPP

The huge rumble in front of them had sent them back almost to the point of flying, looking, and on the elevator, now crushed against the basement of the house was Tomoe Meguri embedded against the walls after a powerful roar.

"MEGURI!" Yura exclaimed, prepared to enter into action as she felt a murderous instinct that was plummeting towards her companion.

"Ascalon!"

As soon as he felt the incoming threat, Issei materialized Ascalon, arriving at the impact zone, reaching to see that the one who came in was Xenovia with Durandal in her grasp, aiming to chop the head of Sona's Knight. Diverting the monstrous thrust with the edge of his sword, he positioned himself between both girls, as the former exorcist took a few steps back to regain distance while putting herself in an offensive position again.

"Xenovia! What do you think you're doing?!" shouted Issei in an angry tone.

"It's no use talking to them… it's as if they had nothing else in their heads than the order to fight…" Yura said, pulling Issei's arm in the direction of the stairs. "For now, our duty is to inform everyone about what is happening to your team!"

"Are you crazy?" exclaimed Issei, terrified at the idea of running away and leave the injured girl in front of a Xenovia whose green eyes in their entire radiance with only pure murderous instinct. "We can't let them kill each other, Meguri-san is wounded!"

"Don't be stupid, Hyoudou!" Yura exclaimed, angry. "If we stop every situation that we find, we can't save your friends, so stop whining and let's go!"

After saying that, Meguri was already up and rushing towards Xenovia as if she were a snake tracing an ascending arc that was stopped by a huge swing, before she blocked a kick from the exorcist. Creating some distance, she took a pure kendo position in front of her enemy.

"Meguri-san!" shouted Issei to the brunette who just turned her neck slightly.

"We won't hurt your friends, Hyoudou, do what Yura is telling you and leave this to us… I will hear about what's happening to you through the connection we have…"

Without saying much more, both girls returned to collide with their swords at a speed that was impossible to follow with the view; annoyed but having caught the message, Issei ran to the stairs. "Come on! We'll look for a safe place where I can tell you what is happening!"

"I like that plan…" the blue-haired girl responded, leaving the basement only for the combat between knights, where Meguri clashed her demonic Katana against Xenovia, it was obvious when she would lose, if the Durandal only grazed her the serious damage would be incalculable.

"I've been waiting for this rematch for too long…" she whispered, remembering what happened during the rating game between the two clans; she had been responsible for training until exhaustion and more to reach the level of a master swordswoman, and Xenovia would be the first step that she would have to overcome if she wanted to reach that goal.

After the battle demonstration at the basement, Issei realized how drastic the situation was to which his friends were subjected; there had to be something he could do to help them, and the assistance of the Sitri group was what could be considered in its entirety as a miracle.

"Tsubaki, it's Yura, I already have Hyoudou…" the girl began, posing her index finger over her ear, showing that they were using magical intercoms.

"Good work…" responded the long-haired vice president, exalted by her fight, loud enough for Issei to hear everything. "Now, all we need to do is escape from here…"

Upon hearing that last statement, Issei approached the blue-haired Rook with the intention of speaking through the communicator with the particular subtlety that characterized him.

"Tsubaki-san, wait!" he shouted towards Yura's ear.

"Hyoudou?" asked the girl on the other side of the line. "I don't know what you're doing but we don't have time, now that we have you safe, we have to —"

"Buchou and the others are possessed by the curse of my Sacred Gear!" he announced, gaining the attention not only of the vice president, but also all the other people connected who were in their respective fights. Without losing time, Issei began to summarize everything that was happening as best as he could, including how, when, and why this phenomena happened.

After a few seconds, everything had been said. Some of those that listened were speechless, because the situation was critical at a level they did not expect.

"We have to find a way to free Buchou and the others!" exclaimed Issei, wrathful, about to win a fist in his face for screaming in Yura's ear.

After a few seconds of silence, Tsubaki's panting was heard again, showing that she was already partially injured.

"If what you say is that there is energy leaking to her, it occurs to me that Saji can use his absorption line to drain the energy that is contaminating her, if we are lucky that will work… Saji! Where are you?!"

After a slight pause, the blonde Vritra carrier's voice was heard.

"I'm here fighting against Gasper-kun… I've heard everything. I need someone to relieve me up here so I can go to the top floor where Rias Gremory is then…" After a long pause, broad explosions dominated the channel. "Fuck, Gasper! Can't you even let me breathe?!"

With those words, the line of communication closed.

"Well, heard them…" Yura stated. "We have to reach the third floor to help Saji… he's the only one who can free Rias Gremory."

"I understand…" Issei answered with his forehead bleeding from the affectionate response of Yura because of the constant cries in her ear.

"Well, you know what —"

"KYYYAAAAAA!"

In the corridor, the strong presence of Koneko was present, and she was backing jumping back to evade a successful kick by Ruruko Nimura.

"Koneko-chan…" Issei whispered, looking at his cute junior in nekomata mode. However, it seemed that her current state made her lack the consciousness to fight with the full extent of her power, and it looked like the brown-haired Pawn had promoted to being a Knight throwing fast kicks in all angles so that she had the advantage. But there was something in her legs caught Issei's attention. "What is that?"

In effect, Ruruko's legs were lined with a strange brown armor which exuded great power.

"That's the Procellarum Phantom, an artificial Sacred Gear, but we don't have time to chat, Hyoudou…" Confused, Issei nodded; leaving in that place, both kouhais fighting with blows of powerful sound impacts like explosions.

"I know you are superior to me in every way, Koneko-san…" she announced, pointing to her enemy. "But if Hyoudou-senpai could defeat a Rook while being a Pawn, I can also do it…" With those words, she resumed the fight moving to a speed superior to that of the white-haired nekomata, courtesy of her promotion.

'Saji-senpai, look how far I've gotten…'

After receiving that memorandum, the confusion seized not only Tsubaki, but also the entire Sitri group in general. They had been left adrift of their obligations as well as everything they had been fighting for in the world over natural. For this same reason, she remembered they were already looking for answers by going to Sona's apartment, and the panorama that received them was not what they expected.

"What happened here?!"

The debris had already been collected, but no doubt the huge hole in the wall and part of the roof stood out, too much as evidence of what would normally have been compared to a huge explosion inside the house.

A magic circle appeared on the floor in front of the house, this was of the Sitri Clan, but with the added crest that was the mark of Leviathan, and as expected, it was the Sona's, dressed in a formal dark green jacket with a pink bowtie, a long skirt of pink color and brown braided boots. Serafall also looked at the state of her sister, narrowing her eyes.

"Father…" he muttered monotonously, completely ignoring the presence of her sister's servants behind her.

"Serafall-sama!" A cry from Saji was enough to bring her back to reality.

"What are you doing in this place?" she asked, genuinely confused, approaching the teenagers.

"We are investigating…" Tsubaki answered, taking the floor. "Kaichou has been missing for three days and we received a notice from Lord Sitri saying that our group has been disabled for now, we don't know what is happening, but at the risk, did something happen to Kaichou?"

The devil king rested her gaze to the side, annoyed.

"Otou-sama learned about what happened at school and came to take Sona-chan…" she explained, looking up to observe with some discomfort, the hole in the wall of the house. "She told me everything, and that Issei-kun was also at home with her, but when he tried to stop him, Otou-sama attacked him at point-blank range… and since neither I nor Sirzechs-chan could communicate with Rias-chan or anyone in her group, we fear the worst…"

Tsubaki then remembered that no one from the Gremory group had attended school within those three days.

"This is pretty serious…" Saji muttered; apparently the problem was much bigger than they thought.

"Come with me inside," Serafall invited, breaking the doorknob with a spark of her power, behind her the entire Sitri group followed. Beyond Tsubaki, everyone present entered into account that this was the first time they were at their leader's house, and it was more comfortable than they thought, only if wasn't like what it looked like now.

The place showed the perfect and pristine public image of their King, except for the places that was destroyed by the attack. They were accustomed to see the remnants that used to leave demonic attacks and others, but, the wake of ice that was still felt in the environment after three days, it gave them the thought that if Issei had survived that, it was a miracle, then.

After exploring the house for a while, they didn't notice anything that gave them important information, and in fact, an important question arose at that moment.

"Serafall-sama…" asked Momo a bit thoughtfully. "If you are already aware of everything that happened here, why did you come to investigate in this place?"

With that question, Serafall sighed deeply, closing her eyes.

"I can't teleport to any place in this city just like that. Since Sona-chan's first year, I put a stamp of arrival in this place in case of serious situations. My plan was to go from here to Rias-chan's home and look for clues about them and Issei-kun…"

Everyone agreed, this place was more of a starting point.

"What to look for?" That question caught the attention of all those present who turned to look at Yura, who was sitting on the sofa with the same expression of bitterness and regret that she had had for a while now. "It's obvious what happened to our dearest leader… her father punished her as the irresponsible and mad woman that took her to who-knows-where…"

Everyone was astonished and nervous at the blue-haired girl when talking about Sona in front of her older sister who had a disturbingly serious face, similar to that of Yura's. "And the bastard Hyoudou and the others, it shouldn't be our business… our King is out of function, we too, nothing we do would change anything, anyway…"

The atmosphere was heavy, and suddenly all were witnessing a cross between the Leviathan and the Rook. Although Yura tried to stand firm, now that she had said all that, she couldn't help feeling fear because she just ranted about a person whose older sister could blow her to pieces only by blinking.

To everyone's horror, Serafall approached the blue-haired Rook without changing her serious gesture. Yura was prepared for the worst, however, the hand that rested on her shoulder, did not carry any hostility.

"I understand how you feel…" Serafall began, speaking fraternally. "My sister has undoubtedly made many mistakes and I can't justify them, however…" After a brief pause, the devil king meditated in silence, as if she were debating internally about a decision, and after a few more seconds of silence, she finally sighed. "I'm going to show you something that I shouldn't show you, but, I hope this gives you a new perspective so that you can make your judgment about Sona."

The confused teenagers looked at each other, before following Serafall to another part of the house; the most private of all, was the room of the Sitri heiress herself, and upon entering, no one believed what they were seeing.

"T-T-This is…" Saji muttered, open-mouthed.

"I can't believe it…" Tsubaki breathed out, her mouth wide open in shock.

Nothing was out of place regarding the things that could have a girl as their leader; a large bed, fine furniture, elegant decorations among many things. However, the showcase was anime figurines, a poster of a robot mecha on the wall next to her desk and a little modest space in the bookshelf for all her anime tapes.

Not to mention the blue magical girl's staff that had a golden star on the tip that was kept in its original untouched box in the corner of her room.

No one could believe that their leader, known for her repudiation in this kind of hobby, had in her hands, a distant collection of anime series and other anime-related merchandise in general.

While everyone went into the room, looking at itself in detail; stunned in her own way, Ruruko watched as the devil king stared shakily at the corner where the magical staff was.

"Serafall-sama, are you okay?" asked the nervous brunette before the strange way of acting of one of the most powerful devils.

"KYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

She was screaming like a fangirl for a few seconds, alerting the whole Sitri group in the same way that a bomb could have done it.

"Serafall-sama?!"

"KYAAAA! It's the scepter of power, Zaphiro! It's a Mahou Shoujo Milky Spiral Seven Limited Edition Staff!" she shouted, excitedly crying with joy. "I can't believe it! My little sister has such a treasure and she wouldn't have mentioned it to me as she did to her boyfriend! It's just unbelievable, it's unforgivable!" Her tone lied between ecstatic and annoyed. "But hey, it's also adorable!" She then groaned afterwards. "Although it annoys me to hide these things! Why did you have to hide it, So-tan!"

The comment could have been contemplated simply by the structure; however, no one escaped the small detail that the Leviathan had revealed.

"Serafall-sama, did you know about Kaichou's secret?" asked Ruruko, somewhat intrigued, and that question was enough for the serious temper of the black-haired devil to emerge again.

"Yes, I do…" she answered in a relaxed way. "A few months ago, I discovered them and since then in exchange for keeping everything secret from everyone, including Rias-chan, I told Sona-chan that she had to chat with me at least one hour a day, not that it's the most formal or the healthiest method to be in contact with the family, but Sona-chan and I talk like we used to back then…"

To everyone's shock, Serafall activated her sister's computer, making all the teenagers behind her be accommodated so that they would see what the devil king was going to do.

"Can I ask why are we reviewing Kaichou's personal computer?" Saji asked, a little uncomfortable to invade the privacy of his King.

"Sona has always been very direct and concise when it comes to talking about sensitive issues. However, when it comes to very personal topics regarding her, it can become somewhat clumsy and nervous. So I think that the most appropriate thing to do, even if this violates her privacy, is that you all know the things she told me for yourselves…"

After reviewing for a while, the different folders that had files on reports and others, there was one which had what Serafall was looking for, one kept on the reports that her sister sent her, summarizing the day's affairs.

When she opened them, several of the girls backed away with their gaze directed somewhere else.

"I don't think it's right to look at this…" Meguri started, looking out the window. "It's something that's private between you and Kaichou, Serafall-sama…"

"I know," replied Serafall. "But if you want to understand my sister better, it doesn't bother me that all of you know what we are talking about… after all, there's not much that is more compromising than what you already know…"

With that, and after a few seconds where everyone looked at each other's faces looking for something that would reduce the feeling of guilt they would feel, they finally approached to read the conversations and reports while Serafall showed them what her and Sona talked about.

The first files didn't say much, as they were directly reports on the topics of care in the school, the requests that Sona made to Serafall to fix their situation with Jericho Barbatos, as well as protocols followed during Kokabiel's invasion among others.

Today I have fought with Issei, he has a bad vision of me, it's a pity, but he can't understand what it is…

"These are…" said Saji, only to be immediately silenced by his companions who continued to read attentively.

Today, Issei has lost control of himself again… I don't want to accept it, but that worries me, Onee-sama… it's something that I shouldn't ask you because you are so busy, but please, help me…

"Yes, what you are reading are the bulk of the intimate things that she told me about the two of them…" answered the elderly Sitri, placing her hand on her forehead. "This remains a secret among us, and it's simply repugnant to show something so intimate of my sister, whatever the reason is, got it?"

Everyone nodded, reading through conversations, reports, and short phrases that she noted as drafts, all those things that were the beginning and the development of her relationship with the Sekiryuutei. How those feelings were born, her doubts, her concerns, as between both, they sought help and criticized themselves at the same time. As they began to trust each other, the fears they had, and how little by little, they began to see themselves dragged into that secret that had cost them so much to date.

Lately, it seemed like I just wanted to be with him… I didn't even care if I would lose my reputation, my name, my status as the heiress of the clan, and others… it seemed like I only cared about being with him…

Tsubaki closed her eyes thoughtfully, before looking to the side.

I feel that the time I'm going to spend together with Issei is getting shorter, I don't know if you'll ever know how I feel, Onee-sama, but…

Saji sighed softly; some memories and old emotions returned to him after reading such words from everything that made his King and his friend suffer.

Listen to this, I hated that boy for being such an idiot and a pervert… but he was the one who supported me and sided with me even when everything seemed to be against me... he taught me how to live like a normal girl should, not like the strict and cold president I used to be…

Reya blinked several times without knowing where to look, for the shame that she felt with herself was too much after reading something as personal as this.

Our situation is too serious, and I can't ask for help with words… I need to show you with actions that I am willing to accept any consequence that we face… I know it is my fault for what is happening to Issei, but I will not let it be the downfall of my relationship with him…

Momo read everything with a lump in her throat; her leader was fighting for a love that had arguably the whole world as her enemy.

I know it's not my place to ask this, but… Onee-sama, have you ever felt this way?

Meguri was quite speechless, an expression very contrary to her typical jovial attitude dominated her look.

I'm so happy… and I'm so afraid of losing it… this is the first time I've felt such happiness since forever… because of Issei, I was able to smile again… I wasn't the same heartless witch that left him to die back then… even though that event left him scarred, he still found the courage to forgive me… more so, even love me… he's always there to support and encourage me when I'm feeling down, and I could never repay him enough for that…

Ruruko, being as sensitive as she was, didn't take long to start crying. What she was seeing was the perfect definition of 'romantic drama'.

I realized that we can't grow as people being alone because we are weak… losing each other would be the same as dying, that's why we should continue… I won't lose Issei to simple affairs like that of the school or clan-related problems like finding a husband… I will stand by him until the end of time… let the school hate us for being a scandalous couple, I don't care…

Yura was static with her face expressionless. It was difficult to read what she was thinking at that moment, however, the one who was pressing her chin so much and her face was a bit pale gave a hint of how she felt.

You see Onee-sama, there are many things that I have hated in this world… but now, I say to myself… I'm very lucky to have been born here… I am lucky to have met Issei, as he was the one who changed my life… the sole reason why I was able to enjoy being a girl like those of my age… I would like my servants to feel something like this at some point in their lives… they deserve to find love as well… I would like to support them as much as I could, since they are my first friends before Issei. But sadly, I will always have to stay in my position for them…

Finally, Serafall closed all the files while everyone remained expressionless and self-absorbed. Nobody said anything for a few seconds, prompting the older devil to start up.

"Since childhood, Sona has been under much pressure; as my younger sister, the demonic society has had a lot of expectation about her and that's why she has struggled so that her merits make her stand out and that she doesn't end up being known as 'the little sister of Leviathan'… without realizing it, that turned her from the hyperactive girl into someone strict and rigid, too serious to be healthy for someone so young…"

The voice of the devil king Leviathan was full of a certain nostalgia and melancholy that made the environment is more complicated.

"It won't be a secret to you that she was getting very bitter and was beginning to become a lonely person… that's why her relationship with Issei-kun was something that I appreciated. Because as you saw, he gave her something that nobody ever gave to her before, and that is someone to trust on, someone that can make her feel happy, someone with whom not to feel drowned and with whom to vent with. Issei-kun gave her the opportunity to behave like a girl…"

Those words, if they were not enough to re-examine about their opinion towards their leader, Serafall's next action was something that no one expected. The most dignified and one of the strongest devils known would rise from the chair to confront her sister's servants, and make an apology.

"I understand your anger, but please understand, this was very difficult for her… I'm really thankful that Issei-kun stood and fought with her during all this time, because I assure you, someone who did not really love her wouldn't have endured so much pain and pressure, so please. Don't be hard on her…"

None of them could say anything. They never thought they would see someone like Serafall Leviathan bowing to them as they never thought they saw their leader in such a position. Exposed in such a way, and somehow, everything was very confusing, but at the same time, it helped them to have a new point of view on Sona Sitri; one with which they felt a strong feeling of empathy and understanding. However, Yura still remained static, apparently containing something that really needed to come out.

As Issei and Yura advanced in their goal of reaching the top floor, more intense battles were occurring to the point that the fact the house was still standing until now was a miracle.

"Watch out!"

TRROOOOOOMMMMMMPPPPPP

At Momo's command, both Yura and Issei turned on themselves to avoid the deadly lightning that fell from the top of the roof, already with several openings where from one of these, Akeno launched a powerful rain of lightning.

"He is ours, he belongs to us…"

She said in a ghostly tone, very alien to her typical way of speaking, although her mental state made her more fickle when attacking. The strength gained by using her power both fallen and devil without moral considerations due to the lack of consciousness it turned Akeno into a quite powerful and volatile weapon; one that between Momo and Reya, they tried to contain, since their enemy had shown to be superior to both even if it was a two against one.

"Will they be fine?"

The panorama therefore was not the best, those corridors and spacious rooms where he and his friends used to spend their day to day in tranquillity, were now marked by the burns and holes made by the magical powers that clashed with each other with all violence.

"I can't say that if…" Momo murmured, watching as a white and yellow ray of lightning that was going to hit the four, forcing her to put both hands on the ground. "Applause Wall!"

Before the lightning hit, a barrier placed diagonally to the four, diverting a part of the beam to the wall sending another part of it flying, the destructive power of the lightning priestess was such that if it was not right, it was enough for just by deflecting it, the barrier breaks before the impact.

"Even so, if we can stop it for enough time and survive, it will be our victory…" Reya murmured, charging magical energy in the palm of her hands. "I can't believe that I am content to tie, I am going with everything, but against her it's totally impossible…" Without more, the brunette launched a series of magical projectiles that ended violently rejected by the static wave that ran through Akeno's body.

However, at least while the bursts of energy didn't serve to harm the black-haired Queen, they were enough of a distraction for both Yura and Issei to run away from her gaze, leaving in place the two girls whose work was divided between protecting and distract. The situation didn't look very good no matter how much they ran between corridors and rooms as if it were an obstacle course.

The atmosphere on the next floor was even more devastating, in fact.

"Kiba, stop!"

Issei's scream was lost among the screams of the rooms next door where Saji was still in a confrontation against Gasper. Even so, the environment for him and Yura was terribly heavy, since between all the destruction and cuts that were everywhere, embedded between the walls, holding the broken stick of her Naginata was Tsubaki, with a series of deep cuts in her body which burned volatilely, having been made with the demonic sacral sword of the blonde knight in front of her, holding one of his swords with both hands up, ready to give the final blow. Tsubaki only looked at him with her good eye, the other was totally bathed in blood and that kept her useless.

"TSUBAKI-SAN!" shouted both devils of the second degree, the blue-haired Rook preparing to enter with a dynamic kick and Issei, who was prepared as well, gave a medium-sized cut towards Kiba's left arm, as he couldn't allow him to kill a girl.

"Don't get involved in this!"

To the surprise of both, that had been the cry of the black-haired Queen who, despite being in a position to nothing of a coup de grace, seemed to still have the determination to fight.

"Tsu… Tsubaki… Tsubaki-san…"

They were the murmurs that came out of Kiba who was ready to kill, but there was something inside him that prevented him from lowering the sword to give the final blow. To make the scene more shocking, if his expression was still neutral, his hands trembled almost to such a point of forcing him to drop the sword.

"Kiba…" Issei murmured, seeing what seemed to be an internal debate of his friend against the order to kill, one wide enough for the long-haired woman to come out of the rubble at a clumsy pace, coughing up some blood, but with a huge glare in her eyes.

"I appreciate the intention, Hyoudou, Yura, but…" Still stumbling, Tsubaki wiped the blood from her mouth and nose with the back of her hand, standing defiantly while throwing what was left of her trusty weapon, clenching her fists in position of combat. "This is something that we have to solve… go ahead, you know what you have to do…"

Somewhat annoyed at what would be the crushing defeat of the Queen against the Knight of the Sacred Demonic Sword, both Yura and Issei continued on their way to locate Saji and go to Rias's room to drain the energy that was cursing her, leaving Tsubaki alone against the blonde-haired knight who lowered his sword, taking a new position but not his hostility.

"I'm glad to know, even with what's happening, you're still Kiba…" she said while apparently throwing herself with what was her bare fists against the Knight. "Being so, I'll do everything possible save you…"

Just when she was at a distance to collide her bare fist against the edge of a sword, a light shine in both of her hands.

A whole memory went through the minds of all the Sitri in their different battles throughout the building, one made the following after the Evening of the Sunset which each day afterwards was reinforced more and more after the new intension of training of training by Sona herself.

"As you know, some were shown after our Rating Game against Rias…" began the Sitri heiress with her arms crossed, imposing her authority while talking to her servants. "The first thing is that in terms of strategy we were superior in every way. We can read each of the movements of Rias and her servants and that allowed us to reach the end… however, this is ridiculously overshadowed for two reasons… Momo, don't say that you have done it, but, why do you think we failed? Why do you think we lost?"

"I… this…" Obviously, the white-haired bishop began to tremble for a specific reason, after a few seconds stuttering in her place, it was Sona who took up the word.

"The first reason is my personal failure…"

That was a shocking revelation for all, what did she mean by that?

"The strategy we formulated was indeed quite effective against each member of the Gremory group, however, any strategy that is based on the sacrifice of pieces to eliminate others, is a movement that works but at the same time is counterproductive…" She looked at her two bishops. "When we met Rias in our final confrontation, I didn't hesitate to sacrifice Reya and use your Reverse to get Asia Argento and Issei Hyoudou through his corrupted Sacred Gear. At this point, I think it was a serious mistake on my part to have used both of you like that, so it's my fault and I apologize again…"

The two girls didn't know where to put themselves in front of such apology, nevertheless this was but a simple matter since Sona rose again with conviction and anger in her eyes.

"The second is that I am more than proven that just as we are good at thinking three or four steps beyond the enemy, we are also just as bad when conditions change suddenly, we don't know how to react to an unexpected problem…"

They all nodded in silence, largely knowing that this was true.

"The only one who has the ability to improvise according to the march has been Saji, and that was demonstrated in our game against Rias, but in the final phase of the fight, it was obvious that when Issei read our thoughts with his 'Billingual', we were totally exposed and defenseless and they eliminated us without mercy…"

After a few seconds of silence where the anger of the Sitri only seemed to increase, everyone was preparing for an explosive scolding or something that resembled disaster.

"Besides what happened with Tsubaki, Reya and Yura was the most Deus ex machina I've seen in my entire life!" Everyone's jaws fell to the ground at listening to their leader speaking with such caricatural terms. "Yuuto was alone and wounded, Xenovia was about to leave the game, but I can't believe that she has defeated us at that moment with an improvised 'Durandal Birth'! I still don't understand how it appeared, it's as if the one who manipulated the threads of destiny wanted his magisterial combat girls to end in defeat, I can bet my ovaries that it was like this!"

Ruruko fainted when she heard her leader talk like that. Definitely, her anger was on another level but her words couldn't justify how out of character she was talking at the moment.

"For that reason, our current training will take care of our adaptability so that we can adapt to any situation, it's time to take the board and send it to hell! We will take control of the situation with our own hands henceforth!"

Everyone looked at each other confused, the words of their King were somewhat out of her typical serious nature, the conviction in her words, what would she have planned for them?

Apparently, it would be interesting.

SLASH

For Kiba, even in his strange mental confusion, it was a dangerous alert that shot into his being to feel a thrust in his right shoulder as his sword was repelled with violence; his balance broken before such an attack and was the victim of a series of quick attacks which in the place that they were fighting in at the moment, made it hard for him to dodge.

After a quick flurry of attacks from Tsubaki, the blonde had on his shoulders, a series of deep cuts that prevented him from moving his arms more strongly. The fatigue and lack of blood had left him panting sitting against the wall, looking at Sona's Queen with the object with which he had defeated her with earlier.

"What… what is that?" he asked, feeling a part of his consciousness come back, looking at the black-haired girl in front of him with a sword in hand. Tsubaki stood in a challenging position, although she was not in the same better state, a smile showed up on her face as she remembered how it came to this.

"Tsubaki, as Queen, you have an increase in all your abilities so you are a multiple-combat type, however, it's not a bad idea to specialize in a specific branch to fix your combat style…"

Sona walked with her queen going deep into the small forest of the city to meet a contract of the Sitri heiress.

"As you know, Akeno Himejima specialized in the explosive use of her magic by the blood that runs in her veins, is the most common in the case of the last defense of the King. However, when it comes to you, I think you should opt by a different path…"

That caught Tsubaki's attention.

"What do you mean, Kaichou?"

"If you are an excellent magician and your Sacred Gear is complemented by the same attribute, I have realized that you have considerable potential as a melee combatant for your Naginata handling; I can safely say that it's the element with which you can feel more at ease, so I would like you to focus on improving your combat with weapons… but, your Naginata in terms of close combat, is specialized in long-range and difficult to maneuver in tight spaces, that's why…"

From the undergrowth of the forest, a quartet of goblins approached both girls, carrying on their shoulders a box that was finely ornamented with a symbol on the lid.

"What is that?" asked Tsubaki with genuine interest and surprise.

"A gift from me…" replied Sona. "These are made with reformed blessed steel, damask steel more precisely; it has properties similar to those of holy swords, however these are forged in a way that the blade alone has this property, so you can take them safely," Sona gave a confident look to her queen who, somewhat reserved and partly incredulous, opened the box, looking at the weapon inside, dumbfounded. "Train hard with your weapons from now on…"

Posing defiantly, pointing the edge of the sword about 60cm long in her right hand and left with one that didn't exceed 30cm in length, Tsubaki wielded the two blades, pointing towards Kiba.

"This is the representation of Kaichou's determination!" she bellowed imposingly. "Even if they shatter me, I will rise from my ashes, we have faithfully protected the determination for victory and the ideals of our clan! Two swords are the physical representation of my conviction to advance in learning from my mistakes! Bakuzan!"

After that one word, the blonde was totally unconscious by the impact of the special cuts made by both short and thin swords. Tsubaki then left the place after letting Kiba lie down on the floor to rest; she had a task to fulfil even though her crush was in a dangerous condition.

In the basement, the situation was similar to that of the upper floors. All the surroundings, tables and others were cut and destroyed, scattered everywhere while the sparks resulting from the clash of swords tenuously lit the place; with a powerful movement of Xenovia, crashing her Durandal against Meguri's katana, before throwing her to the other side of the room, crashing violently against the wall, barely giving her time to cover the impact and quickly resume her defensive position. For the Sitri knight, it was incredible that the blue-haired exorcist could handle that monstrous sword with such speed.

Meguri was at a tremendous disadvantage; although the speed and sword handling of both wer similar, the weight and explosive sacral power of the Durandal gave Xenovia an overwhelming advantage. The mere touch of the swords was enough to say who would win in terms of pure strength and the speed advantage was another negative factor for the red-haired knight.

If she didn't do something, the result would be obvious. The sacred explosions were burning a part of her skin and her clothes, and the edge of her modified katana was already breaking. However, even with all that she suffered, she was smiling.

Xenovia, even in her current state, looked a bit surprised at that reaction. Meguri's smile was like as if she felt that everything was controlled despite her injuries.

Throwing herself against her enemy once more, both girls were confronting each other face to face, crossing their swords in a struggle that as always, sparks were coming out while their eyes also clashed defiantly.

"We know the truth, knight of Gremory…" she began smiling. "You are stronger and faster than me, you also have a slutty hairstyle and a pretty chick fight suit…" Now she was pushing forward, making Xenovia slightly recline. "But, I can't lose at this point, I'm sorry…"

With those words, Meguri, in an agile movement, released her sword with one hand and after which, she stuck a kind of chewing gum on the side of Durandal that was facing Xenovia, jumping as fast as she could out of there, taking out of her pocket a small device, with a switch.

Seeing that she was at a distance, she winked at Xenovia who was looking strangely at what had been stuck to her sword. It was a kind of putty with a few electronic devices attached to it.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM

One afternoon, Sona Sitri was visiting the dojo where her knight resided. After her defeat at the hands of Kiba and Xenovia, she had been responsible for increasing the time and intensity of her training, which is why for the violet-eyed girl, she didn't find it a surprise to find her knight, panting and annoyed with herself, a little hurt by the level of brutality that she was imposing on her own self.

"Kaichou?!" she exclaimed, surprised. The response she got was to see her leader passing her a towel to clean herself with.

"I like that you are training hard," Sona commented in a serene way, posing her hand on the shoulder of the red-haired knight whose mood was quite subdued. "But it's not good to overexert yourself…"

"Kaichou, I… I'm sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize, in fact, I would like you to accompany me for a moment…"

The somewhat confused knight nodded, beginning to walk the exterior of the dojo with her leader. Meguri looked at Sona, trying to decipher what she was thinking at the moment.

"Remember what I said last time about special training?" Sona asked, a bit amused.

"If, in part, I still don't know what Kaichou wants to do with that…" the redhead responded, a little surprised. At that moment, the Sitri heiress stopped walking, looking seriously at her knight.

"As a knight, it is normal that your handling with the sword and their respective skills improves with time and your current practice, you don't have to punish yourself trying to force that growth… I know you're a person who sees us before yourself, but, you won't advance much if you don't think with a cold head…"

Meguri lowered his eyes a little to the ground, somewhat annoyed by what was said by her leader.

"What do you suggest in my case then?"

After a few seconds, Sona invoked, with her magic, a small folder which did not take long to pass to her servant, and it was strange to see the content inside.

"What is this?"

"Your level as a knight is according to your progress, but this isn't enough if you want to face a superior enemy. I suppose it will be in your honor as a knight just to fight with your skills in kendo, but, in case things go get out of control, then it's better to have a separate backup, so I investigated a bit and I am pleasantly surprised to learn that you have a second-line relative who served in the JSDF and has made joint operations with the SWAT in collaboration with the US in the countries of Latin America. Here what you see, is the report and combat strategies that him and his comrades registered in their blogs…"

Meguri looked at everything that was stated in the file, from the equipment used until each step of the battle tactics they used.

"It's awesome that my uncle did all this…" she murmured. "But what does it have to do with us?"

"From what I read, your uncle specializes in operations in stealth, he often only uses his combat knife and traps that he tends to. Maybe something in this folder may be useful; add military tactics to your style of fighting and it can help you eventually if the situation turns into a matter of life or death…"

Meguri looked a little pensive that, just by watching, she noticed how skilled her uncle was to create traps and to maneuver around before eliminating enemies with a few movements of his knife. However, she had a knight's honor, which something that Sona did not take any delay in noticing.

"This is only for when the situation exceeds you…" the black-haired girl began, calling the attention of her servant. "We won't always find ourselves in honorable fights with people who know about decency and pride. Many times, they will go against us with the intent to kill us like what happened with Kokabiel, so this is a tool that I suggest you use for when your life is in danger and to protect those you want, okay?"

The redhead thought about those words for a moment, and after a few seconds, she gave a confident look to her leader.

"Kaichou, just one more question, though…"

"Of course, what is it?"

"Where the hell did you get the C4?"

"Good point…" Sona replied, trying to suppress her laughter.

The explosion was strong enough to make Xenovia release her Durandal before she crashed against the wall, being quite affected and dazed by the massive impact on her face, which is why she couldn't move very well that she can't stand anymore, while Meguri continued walking towards her with a contemptuous gesture.

"Just, I can't believe I had to use that to win this…" she said, scratching her head, scolding herself. "I thought that soon, I would be a better knight, but hey, I suppose some explosives compensate in a certain way to win my battles…"

Seeing that Xenovia was still stunned to continue fighting, Meguri drew through a magic circle, grasping a metallic cylinder tube which fit in her hand, one that she didn't hesitate to throw at her enemy's feet.

FIIIIIUUUUSSSSSSSHHHHHHH

A nuclear white glow engulfed the entire room in a blink of an eye; the shock wave of the flash bomb was enough to finish the blue-haired rook off, leaving her unconscious. Meguri had covered her eyes with her arm, feeling nothing but the deafening beep that the explosion of the bomb left. She then stood up, and seeing that her work was done, she turned around.

"Someday, I will win you as a knight that we are, but for now, Kaichou and Hyoudou-kun are more important than my pride…"

Trying to take a few steps away, the red-haired girl then felt her wounds burned volatilely as she hissed in pain; plus, she had not been totally oblivious to the various explosions created by both her and Xenovia, as she fell face-first to the floor.

"I hope oji-san doesn't find out I made a surprise visit to his armory…"

She mumbled before falling unconscious.

Another fight that was already closing was the one of Ruruko against Koneko; both girls were at their limit, the white-haired rook was overloaded with wrath and fatigue since her Nekomata form heightens her senses and feelings, on the other hand, the brown-haired pawn was exhausted, her artificial Sacred Gear would not delay in yielding because it was unstable.

Meanwhile, both bishops were already in their last efforts of strength, Akeno Himejima's power was simply on a different level, what for them was an effort to distract and defend, for her it was a walk in the park, she wasn't tired in the least and it seemed that the only thing that kept her from mercilessly beating them, was the adjacent presence of her sadistic personality trail which forced her to have fun just by playing with her prey as she was doing at that moment.

Even so, the two friends smiled in an amused way. The operation was about to end, since their main objectives were complete.

First was the rescue of Issei Hyoudou, it had been successful and the boy was safe.

The second had just been fulfilled.

"Saji here. I'm with Hyoudou, Yura and Fuku-Kaichou…"

In effect, what was being a peer-to-peer fight between the two members with the most versatile abilities, the battle was in Saji's favor with Issei's appearance and the subsequent arrival of Tsubaki. Apparently, they managed to bring the young vampire down with the implementation of garlic in their attacks, which show that Rias and the other ORC members still retained some of their original characteristics despite the change in their state of mind.

"Understood, we are still busy here, you take care of Rias Gremory!"

The three girls answered on the other side of the line, furiously occupied in their respective fights.

"Say what?!" Tsubaki asked, genuinely worried while Yura finished treating her wounds using gauze and bandages in the most improvised way.

"Better stop Rias Gremory fast, Fuku-Kaichou! We'll be fine, so don't waste time!"

Without saying more, the four agreed. It was true, if they managed to stop Rias, the situation would change in favour and this whole fiasco would be over. So without delaying their passage, they finally found themselves in front of the entrance to Issei's room.

"I mean it, Buchou is still Buchou despite her current state, I don't want her to get hurt…" Issei warned with a touch of hostility to his three companions.

"It will depend on how much she collaborates in letting herself be helped, because, her power of destruction will certainly not give us a second chance…" Tsubaki responded, making the Sekiryuutei narrow his gaze at her.

"Relax Hyoudou, I'll take charge of draining her power, the rest will depend on you, I suppose…" Saji added, trying to relax the atmosphere.

"We depend on you then, Saji…" Issei finished, opening the door suddenly, finding Asia beside Rias, who was waiting for him with her legs crossed and her arms crossed under her ample bust; her appearance alone for Sona's three servants was a strong impression.

"Well, it seems that you still don't want to come to join me, Issei…" Rias murmured wildly, her circles had become more prominent and the color of her eyes were now green in its entirety.

"Buchou…" whispered Issei, upset and hurt.

After reading Sona's private messages to her sister, the whole Sitri group were absorbed in their thoughts as they left the house of their leader. Serafall was in a similar state; however, hers was already a subject in retrospect, she was looking for something that would give her to understand why her father's reaction, the moment she had spoken to him, he had answered sharply. It was not a secret to her that he really had a personal reason for having taken her sister in that way and apparently having attacked Issei with the genuine intention of killing him.

After a few seconds, even a matter as serious as that was overshadowed by being in front of the Hyoudou residence; on the outside it seemed to remain the same, but the inside of it was another story.

"Something's wrong…" alerted Tsubaki, being the first to speak.

"Do you also feel it?" Serafall asked, posing her hand on her pensive chin. "The air around the house is flawed… it feels strange…"

"Wait…" Saji continued. "I've felt this before, more precisely when Hyoudou enters into a fight and loses control…"

That single statement frightened all those present who, after the panorama, could only think of the worst scenario, one in which Issei was dominated by his hatred had swept with his companions.

For that reason, the youthful demons hurried their way to the front door while Serafall, on the other hand, was thoughtful as she kept track of them. If that had been the case, there were some details behind it, but it was not like that.

As soon as he was in front of the entrance door, Saji knocked anxiously waiting for someone to answer, as Momo came from behind him to see what was happening. It was a relief for them to see Asia opening the door apparently quiet, despite the aggressiveness with which they were calling 'home'.

"Asia-chan!" exclaimed Momo, glad to see her well. Apparently, the worst scenario had only been a cruel assumption.

"Asia-chan, are you feeling well?" Saji asked, feeling relief wash over him.

"Yes, we are very well…" the blonde nun answered with a smile. However, the strange tone with which she had said it generated a certain chill on everyone's back. Somehow her tone had sounded too cryptic.

"What a relief…" Tsubaki answered, ignoring that strange feeling that the Gremory bishop had produced. "Sorry that we came here so suddenly, but certain things have happened and the fact that you have been missing classes made us think that something bad had happened to all of you…"

"Don't worry…" she assured with her pleasant smile. "We're fine…"

"We understand," the one who was approaching this time, was Serafall, who stopped to talk face-to-face with the nun, however, she continued with her pleasant smile, without showing any kind of reaction to see the devil king Leviathan in front of her, and this didn't escape anyone's eyes. "Sorry to bother, Asia-chan, but may we ask how is Issei-kun doing?"

For the first time, a slight reaction escaped from the nun's face.

"He's fine, he's with us…"

Her tone had distorted in a way, and that alerted all of Sona's servants, because the toxic energy that was surrounding the house felt even stronger coming from her after having spoken of Issei.

"Asia-chan…" Serafall took a step in front of the younger devils in case of anything. "Tell me, what happened to Issei-kun?"

For the first time in her life, Asia Argento's face showed extreme anger, twisting her facial features in a way no one ever thought they saw before.

"I ALREADY SAID HE IS OK, HE IS WITH US!" The toxic air swirled around her more strongly as she turned to close the door, but not before giving a hostile look to the invaders. "HE BELONGS TO US!"

And afterwards, the blonde-haired girl closed the door on them, evidently returned to play with the desire to be opened, but no one attended the door on that occasion, leaving a feeling of discomfort among all of them. Things were very bad right now. Somehow, something had happened to the Gremory group and if they could tell it, interpreting Asia's words, Issei was in genuine danger and apparently, themselves as well.

He had previously confronted enemies who were the physical representation of destruction, hatred, arrogance and in many cases, these enemies were abysmally superior to him. Even though he faced enemies so superior that they never felt the pressure of defeat or death on them there were many times they ended up practically dead in each battle he fought in.

But what was happening right now, it was way worse.

"Buchou, please snap out of it!"

Issei exclaimed, stepping forward, leaving Saji who was preparing to attack with his absorption line while Yura and Tsubaki covered the rear of their companion from any ambush. On the other side, a motionless Asia whose hands remained in her lap was company to the Gremory heiress, who at the time was the dignified and trustworthy girl at the height of her role. At this time though, no one would believe that the person sitting on the bed in an arrogant manner was Rias Gremory herself.

"Snap out of it?" she asked in a funny way by tilting her head to one side, raising her shoulders. "Issei, don't you realize? You're the one who has to snap out of it…"

"Please, look at what happened to my home! Look at what happened to you and to the others!"

"I am in my best mood my cute servant, on the other hand…" pausing in her speech, Rias gave a hostile look to the three people behind Issei. "I see that you have chosen to disobey me in the end…"

Afterwards, the crimson-haired girl rose from the bed, raising her left hand, preparing a considerable amount of her power of destruction that put the four on alert.

"Last chance, Issei…" Rias announced with her hand raised. "Come with me at my side, forget everything that has to do with Sona Sitri and take me for your girlfriend, wife and lover and I'll spare all of that witch's servants or give up and die with them…"

All of them narrowed their eyes at her statement.

"I warn you Issei, no matter how much I loved you, I don't have any kind of affection or appreciation for a dog that bites the hand of his master…"

Without more time to say anything, Rias threw the first blast of her power against Yura, being the most helpless of the three Sitri in magical terms. She was ready to react until she saw Ascalon's sharp edge breaking the wave of black power in two crashing against the walls that easily destroyed them.

The look of the Gremory heiress became totally empty and torn.

Issei swallowed heavily with his sword, which was held high with his claw, while the other held his chest tightly.

"I will not follow that order, because Buchou has not given it to me… whoever you are, you are not the Rias Gremory I admire with all my heart and soul…"

Even with all the grief in the world, Issei knew that those words would only lead to one thing.

FIIIUUUUUSSSSSHHHHHH

To a fight with the person he admired the most.

It was more than obvious that anything that touched the black orb energy, would be disintegrated except for a few. Ascalon was one of them and the tool with which Issei diverted the black fire was fired in violent gusts that unravelled everything at his side. Tsubaki and Yura ran around the room, looking to back up Issei at any time while Yura was positioned near Asia Argento to be able to use her strength at any time, depending on the case.

[Partner, remember… don't count on your power while you're still restricted under Rias Gremory, I recommend that you retire from the battle before something bad happens to you.]

It was true, his powers as such and much of his strength and endurance were depleted by Rias' direct control over him, with the only chance of winning that he had was with Ascalon that still responded to him despite his weakness.

'I know, but I won't abandon Buchou to her fate in this state…'

Even so, he didn't have many options. His only line of defense was his sword and somehow he had to stop her without hurting her, but how would he do it? He hadn't thought about that, and he wouldn't be able to point his fist against her in any way.

His sword deflected every burst of black energy which was fired cruelly against him as a flurry of snakes fell towards him from the top, some of which were also against Tsubaki, Yura, and Saji, but were less numerous than against the Sekiryuutei.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…"

Rias, on the other hand, exploded in a maniacal laughter after seeing the scene in front of her.

"Come on, Issei, is that all?! If this is your limit, you won't be able to save that bitch you call girlfriend!"

After that sentence, Issei's movements became more violent and more explosive, his teeth gritted and his gaze gained more hostility, fatigue and frustration.

However, that was alien to everyone else present because of the situation they were in. Tsubaki, upon finding an opening in Rias' defense, quickly invoked a magic sphere which was perceived in time by the redhead to incinerate it, but also a furtive attack by Saji's whip forced her to move to another position. She knew that if she was caught by Vritra's power, she would be finished. When she turned to look at her side, she saw something she couldn't believe that she would see in her life.

Issei raised his sword violently against her, about to descend into a powerful cut that could easily split her in half. No one realized at that moment, he had placed himself in such a position and what they were seeing he was ready to take her life in a single movement.

While Saji and Tsubaki distracted and attacked Rias, Issei's movements became slower, as if his mind was working slowly compared to what he always did. This was something that could have been understood by someone who was watching, but since everyone was focused on their battle, they didn't notice it.

Issei's anger from his curse rose at the mention of his master mocking his girlfriend.

It was obvious that this was not the Rias that he looked up to and admired; that she needed help, however, only a slight opening in his mental defense by that toxic poison called hate was enough for him to be in a single blink on his mistress with Ascalon high in his grasp, ready to kill her.

[PARTNER, DON'T DO IT!]

Ddraig's scream, one as strong as he had never heard before, and the direct look into Rias' green eyes with a genuine expression of terror at seeing the blade of the sword on her neck made the murderous intent and hatred of the chestnut shrink quickly, forcing him to retreat scared.

"Buchou!" he moaned, terrified at what he was about to do. Rias on the other hand, went from her expression of terror to a more focused, almost arrogant look as she stood up again, looking at hier pawn with such intensity that was able to tear out his soul at that moment.

"It's obvious that you wouldn't do it, you don't have the balls to do it…" she announced firmly with a wicked smile.

It was obvious that he would consciously never hurt Rias under any circumstances. His fear was that if he did it while blinded by the anger that blinded them both, but that wasn't known to Rias who felt the intoxication of this phenomenon for the first time.

Issei's knees trembled weakly as the grip on Ascalon loosed, forcing him to lower it.

"You are the stupidest being I've ever known…" she announced in a jovial way. "Not even because your life is in danger you can do anything without me… just look at you, kneeling and fearful like the stupid pervert you are… even when everyone helps you, even when they came to help you, Sona and her entourage of imbeciles and losers are able to do nothing. So little man, are you going to still act like a stupid coward in a life or death situation?!" her tone was rising while her gaze was full of disdain as it penetrated deeper into the soul of the pawn.

"You thought you were so smart and brave to maintain a stupid and painful secret with Sona to such a point to play with us as the ignorant fools that we were, and now that you come to reveal yourself completely against the woman who gave you everything to just to go with her, why don't you rot in the trash where you belong?"

A thin rush of the power of destruction passed through Issei's right shoulder, causing him to scream in pain as well as letting go of his sword. Fear and weariness returned to anger despite his internal struggle, re-dominating him little by little.

"I should just kill you and get rid of this ridiculous show no… I will also kill Tsubaki and the other idiots and when they are all dead, I will show that Sitri slut their dismembered bodies before killing her too, I will destroy everything and plunge them all into the depths of crimson purgatory…"

"Don't you… dare…" Issei murmured between clenched teeth, feeling more and more anger as he drowned in his rage, wielding his sword with force. "I won't let you talk about Sona like that…"

[Partner, don't get carried away, that's not your mistress…]

FIUSSHHH

Another burning sensation was felt on Issei's leg, forcing him to kneel.

"What will you do?" Rias asked with an amused smile, bringing her hand to her chin. "Look at you right now! You're just shaking in front of me while I attack you blatantly!" she shouted every time with more emotion, almost showing excitement. "And all this is simply because you don't have the guts to betray me completely! You play the hero of the children, the good boy! But when the moment of truth arrives, you are just trash who only plays for others!" After screaming, her smile regained form, while her gaze was filled with scorn and disdain.

"Now that I think about it, you are just like Sona… you pretend to be something that you are not just to stab everyone from behind, the same kind of filthy garbage that plays with others, That makes me think how do I kill trash like you and how good it will feel to erase that miserable girl of her existence… that cheap whore…"

With that as a final trigger, Issei made the surprise jump with his attitude changing to anger and hatred, towards Rias as he vanished in an instant, changing her expression to that of genuine terror when she saw Ascalon's tip towards her side.

The three others were the same; from one moment to another, the only thing their eyes saw was the image of Issei throwing himself at Rias, pointing his sword to her chest under his arm, jumping towards her as if he were a feline on his prey.

Only someone else reacted with greater speed, but the objective was far from it.

STAB

With a quick movement, Issei had his mistress hugged with his right arm, cutting all distance between them with the objective of closing a thrust in the side. Rias, on the other hand, could feel the smell of the demon blood being burned by Ascalon's edge, however, she was not the one hurt.

"Hyoudou, you idiot!"

And this was thanks to another person interceding to the side of both, grasping the edge of the sword with her bare hand, deflecting it just so that the sword passed behind Rias avoiding her death. Yura was attentive not only to watch Asia Argento, who had also been aware of any sudden movement like that. However, a cut from Ascalon was more painful for her than having lost the arm itself.

"AAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

And with that thunderous and heart-rending cry from the rook, Issei returned to his senses, to see his leader in his arms waving between him and the sword that was cleanly cutting through the skin of the blue-haired girl whose pain was enough for him to be in shock from one moment to another.

"Yura-san!" he shouted, terrified.

"Let go of me, let me go!" shouted the Gremory, locked between Issei and Ascalon, unable to accommodate herself and in her current state, it was practically impossible to do anything in that position.

"Don't waste time!" shouted the Yura, sweating in abundance, enduring the pain. This was enough for the other two to approach quickly as well as Asia herself.

"Saji, now!"

Pointing his Absorption Line towards Rias, Saji fired a purple whip which was quickly tied over Rias's left wrist beginning to drain energy as fast as he could; the extent of the power was being displaced to his Sacred Gear which was enough to make him clench his teeth as he endured the strength of the energy.

"Let go of me!"

Rias shouted and already violently agitated, causing Issei to put all his physical strength in that work, knowing that Saji was doing his thing, he just closed the embrace totally on her, releasing Ascalon from his grasp.

"Buchou! Calm down!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, more terrified that he was about to kill his leader.

"Just shut up!" roared the red-haired girl, feeling the power begin to reduce. "You have no right to tell me anything, you lost it when you played with my feelings…"

"It wasn't my intention to hurt you!"

"But you did! You broke me!" she roared, already desperate in her position, limiting herself to biting his shoulder as hard as she could. "The only thing I wanted was for you to love me… to love me! If it wasn't that, at least you could've understood me! You told me what you thought, what you felt for me!"

The struggle was getting weaker however, Rias' frantic efforts were still there, tearing Issei's clothes with her teeth while he kept holding on to his King, while the natural glow started to return to her eyes.

"I have always thought that you are the most admirable person in the world, the strongest and the most determined, and I have always strived to keep it that way! Buchou, I still care for you no matter what happens!"

Issei's cries clashed with the remnant instinct of Rias's protection and her gradual recovery of memory as of reason.

"Nothing mattered to me if it wasn't with you!" she shrieked and just surrendering physically, the green shine of her eyes had almost completely disappeared. "Look at what I became when you were not there for me…"

[It seems like it worked, I don't feel the curse on the Gremory girl, anymore… great job, Partner.]

And as Ddraig said, the curse had finally been drained from the body of the Gremory heiress, causing her to fall before getting caught in Issei's arms, preventing his master from getting hurt any longer.

Behind them all, Asia was also prey to the sudden fatigue, falling headlong into the bed while her eyes returned to their natural emerald color.

On the lower floors, it was a relief for Momo and Reya to see how before receiving the beam that was being pointed at point-blank range by Akeno, she would have recovered life in her eyes before falling unconscious to the ground, apparently by the excessive use of her power in all her condition when she was not accustomed to fight to such extremes.

Koneko and Ruruko were also disposing of their last strength. The Nekomata, despite her altered state, had turned out to be a superior enemy for the brown-haired girl who, although she had done the job of breaking an arm and a few ribs, it was she who was encrusted against the wall with a strong bruise on her forehead. Panting tiredly, she was confused in watching as Koneko fell unconscious, a clear sign that she had survived, therefore, she had won her battle.

On the upper floors, Rias rested in Issei's arms, who, also exhausted, limited himself to supporting their combined weight with both his knees on the floor, delicately removing a few strands of hair on the tired face of his master.

"Buchou, I… I won't fail again. It's true, I love Sona with all my heart, however, I will never forget the one who saved me and who gave everything for me… I will dedicate my whole life to pay her for everything she has done for me… and I promise, no, I swear… that I won't abandon you or betray you ever again…"

He didn't know if it was the tiredness or the recent emotional explosion, but after hearing his words, Rias flashed a weak but solemn smile, as if she could finally rest.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's like that… you wouldn't be you if it weren't that way…"

She murmured before falling unconscious, a victim of fatigue, but ultimately safe. The Sitri rescue mission had been fulfilled, saving Issei Hyoudou and Rias Gremory. However, that was alien to the first one, since his hands still trembled, in a moment of anger, he was about to commit a terrible mistake, which was the worst that could ever have happened in his life.

'The look on Buchou's face…'

The memory of him leaping towards his mistress with his sword ready to pierce her heart and her face behind it, made his eyes moisten.

'Buchou's gaze was full of fear and regret…'

'Fear and repentance…'

It was a look that would torment him for the rest of his life.

"Arrrgghhhh!"

Behind him, drawing attention, Saji kept his Sacred Gear contained in his body, checking his left arm which had marks of serious burns.

"Saji, are you okay?" Issei asked, concerned for his friend.

"As much as you can be after this madness…" he answered, panting. "Fuck, I didn't think this could get out of hand in this way…"

"True, but at least, now we are all safe…" Tsubaki added, holding her arm, limping towards Issei and Rias. "For now, we must rest, this isn't over…"

Before Issei could answer or ask about what Tsubaki was talking about, Asia began to get out of bed, confused and surprised; but seeing the state in which was the room where Issei, her, and Rias rested, much more to see the current appearance of her leader and the physical state of her friend.

"Issei-san!"

A few hours had passed since the battle of Gremory vs. Sitri and the chaos of the house was evident, the rooms and corridors which showed their ostentatious glory in the past were in ruins, remaining just intact on the outside because of the protection spells placed on them. The facades for cases such as these, many of the members of the Sitri Group were seriously injured, the most notable cases being Meguri and Yura, both wounded with holy swords. It was fortunate that they could be aware of their surroundings even after taking Asia's treatment.

For their part of the Gremory group, Kiba and Akeno were those in a worse condition. The environment was heavy in the central room or what was left of it, after knowing the truth of everything that happened during the last week, Rias was quite affected as well as others.

"Oh, my goodness… I can't ask enough forgiveness for what I did…" Rias announced to her servants who were also affected by the revelation. "I've done terrible things…"

"Buchou, it wasn't your fault…" Issei assured her, sitting next to Asia, who was finished in curing him. "All of this was just a series of unfortunate events…"

"That's true," Tsubaki added. "What happened was beyond your control, we are happy to know that we were able to help you…"

"Tsubaki-senpai, I'm… I'm sorry…" Kiba murmured, lying on the bed. He had a series of scars on his arms and legs that didn't allow him to move freely. The long-haired Queen simply gave him a smile that apparently was a enough response for him to understand the message that she wanted to give him.

"Guys, what happened to Sona?" Rias asked with genuine interest and concern. That question was the starting point to explain the bulk of the situation, how she had been taken by force by father and in the same moment in which she had lost control, forcing them by Serafall's orders to enter Issei's house and investigate what had happened, realizing the situation of the brunette and the others.

A sepulchral silence took over the room.

"So things are like that…" Rias murmured. "What should we do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Yura answered, rising from the sofa, with her arm completely bandaged. "Our current task is to go to that place, and bring back our leader."

All of the members of the Sitri group nodded with assurance, which confused the people of the ORC.

"How do you intend to do that? We are talking about going to the Sitri territory to confront Lord Sitri to snatch his daughter…" asked Akeno, a bit annoyed.

"No…" Issei said angrily, clenching his fists. "I will go there, with the sole purpose of making him understand that Sona's place is here with us… if he doesn't understand with words, I'll shove plain fact into his face…" he growled.

"Hahahahahaha… that's the spirit!" Calling the attention of everyone, through a magic circle, Azazel appeared with Serafall by his side. "But I can see it as difficult, do you know the kind of danger you intend to face? By the way, girls… how was the test?"

"It worked pretty well…" answered Momo.

"Thanks to it, I could face Koneko-san… if I didn't have it, I couldn't have lasted even three seconds against her…" Ruruko added.

"What are they talking about?" asked Issei a little curious, to which Azazel simply gave him a pat on the head.

"Just a small gift that I was going to make for later but due to the current conditions I was forced to deliver it as soon as possible…" he explained. "The rest is still in refinement, and I regret not being able to deliver the rest of your artificial equipment…"

Serafall took a step towards Rias, handing her a small card with a circle in the center.

"A communicator?" she asked with genuine interest. In doing so, the card started a conversation by projecting an image, with the person on the other side being her brother. "Onii-sama!"

"Rias, are you okay? I was already informed of what happened…" the devil king asked genuinely worried. "I regret not having been able to go there, the situation is complicated on this side with the recent attacks of the Khaos Brigade…"

"No, Onii-sama, all this was my fault…" Rias replied with sadness in her tone. "I can't believe that I have let this happen to me, all of my friends are injured and it's my fault…"

"Rias-chan, it's not the time to feel sorry…" interrupted Serafall. "The important thing is that they are safe. Now, the only thing left to do is get Sona back."

There was a slight pause to everything that was happening in the room. Was Serafall really thinking of going to invade the home of her own father in a hostile way? The way in which she and the student council acted made the Gremory group understand that at some point the going into their friend's territory had already been discussed by them before.

That seems, they only needed Issei or them to perform an insane action.

"I agree…" answered Issei, rising defiantly, crashing his fists together.

"Now, but before that…" interrupting, Azazel approached the brown-haired boy, ripping the clothes from his left side, revealing a horrible sight for everyone, sending chills down their spines. "This is worse than I thought…"

His left arm had been consumed entirely by the tumor that grew from the Boosted Gear expanding to his chest in traces similar to those of rotting arteries which pointed to his heart and part of his neck and face.

"Good Lord! When did Issei start to be like this?" Xenovia's question was genuine, she didn't remember that Issei had been in such a deplorable state before. In fact, the Sekiryuutei himself was speechless when he saw the state of his body. Now that he thought about it, the week of torture had not allowed him to be in a state where he could be aware of his current condition.

"At this point, the damage to your body is already irreparable…" Azazel added solemnly. "Your body won't be able to endure your Sacred Gear if it's used once again…"

The atmosphere was getting quite heavy, and it wasn't for less. It was being hinted that Issei was a foot away from the grave. However, the expression of the two adults of the place was strangely calm.

"Do you know what I asked you?" asked Azazel, turning towards Serafall.

"It was somewhat difficult, but yes, water from the well below the roots of the Yggdrasil, a fairly small portion only, but I think it will be enough. It was quite difficult to convince Odin-sama to help me take a little, when he knew it would be for profit that Issei-kun reconsiders enough…"

"Well, the best thing to do is not to waste any time…" he continued, taking the jar that was no bigger than a bottle of Phoenix tears.

"Water from Yggdrasil's well?" Rias asked with interest. That was an invaluable object, since the left eye of the God of the North rested there.

"The same thing…" the fallen said in a funny way. "Don't know how many years I spent trying to get some of this for my experiments… well, it's a pity, but the amount is enough to make a few milliliters of panacea, and I can't get to play with it…"

"Panacea?!" This time, it was Tsubaki who interrupted, fascinated with where the conversation was heading. "Do you intend to create Panacea?"

"Excuse me," said Issei, confused. "What is Panacea?"

[The panacea is a variant of an Elixir that is said to be created based on the legendary healing liquid known as the elixir of immortality. The panacea goes more to the divine side than the alchemical, and the goal of this is to heal the few ailments that the gods could have, so maybe your body can be cured with the same…]

Issei's face was filled with joy; apparently, he could survive the curse that had almost consumed him.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine…" said the enthusiastic fallen angel, pointing to Issei with his forefinger. "So Issei, I recommend that you rest for at least a week, so see ya!" Without saying much, Azazel disappeared out of the front door, leaving Issei to his cries.

"Wait! A week is a long time!" he said out of desperation. "We have to go to—"

"Issei kun, we have to wait," Serafall's tone took a serious turn, as it was also described by the look on her face. "Both Sona's servants as well as those of Rias' are seriously injured, we must first recover… and also, we have to prepare , you don't know what kind of being my father is…"

After those words, a silence took over the room; after seeing the solemn looks from most of the people inside made him think that perhaps the situation was more delicate than he thought.

"Sona's father…" he muttered, remembering how he was defeated in one attack by the black-haired man.

"Yes, some here seem to know already, but let me tell you who my father is…" After a sigh, Serafall took a pause to think. Apparently, she was trying to choose her words carefully. "After the death of the original devil kings, the most outstanding warriors of our ranks as well as those who demonstrated through their qualities and abilities that could inherit the command of our race were selected through meritocracy in each of their fields. I still remember the day where in the middle of the war, my father, will take the reins of the battlefield after the death of Leviathan-sama…"

Issei, as well as several of the younger demons felt the terror after hearing that brief introduction; a terror that was consolidated by seeing the serious and expressionless look on the face of Serafall Leviathan.

"Jiggur Sitri… the man who took the title of Leviathan at the most critical moment which I inherited from him a few centuries ago and who was known by allies and enemies alike as the 'Winter Wyvern'…"

Indeed, the man whom Issei intended to face was the one who possessed the title of the creature that the Bible had mentioned as a sea beast of great size and power, and which other texts consolidated as the Destroyer and later, the guardian of Atlantis.

Deep at night, when things had more or less stabilized enough for everyone to be able to rest before preparing for the invasion of the Sitri mansion, Issei simply took a walk around his home. It was nice to know that at least on the outside his home was still intact, it seemed as if nothing that had been happening for the last week. The front garden of his house seemed to be a good place to think about the cure to his curse.

He was definitely happy about that, it was very likely that he wouldn't die consumed by hate and power like his predecessors who had the red claw; maybe he could have a different future, he could make a difference, but all of that was dull in the worst way.

'I'm just left with… a feeling of fear and regret…'

Without hesitation, he was about to assassinate Rias Gremory with his own hands just for giving in to her hostile words. He was about to kill one of the people closest to him because of that, simply because his hatred dominated over him momentarily. What would have happened if Yura had not intervened at that moment? At that moment, it could be that everything was over for them…

That made him think, how much could that power that was consuming him take away from him? Will it be his entire self or not? After that, an even darker thought went through his mind.

In case of being completely dominated, what would happen to the people close to him at that moment?

The image of Rias and her companions lying on the slain floor invaded his mind in a horrifying way, a scene that intensified on seeing the corpses of his dead friends and peers at his feet.

Especially Sona Sitri's.

"Hyoudou."

A voice called his attention, making him look to the side.

"Yura-san?"

Yura, who had her arm bandaged, still showed the fatigue and nausea that had generated the poisoning caused by Ascalon's cut. The power of that sword was even cutting her hand and a part of her arm and it would have been enough to have killed her if she had held the sharp edge for longer. Although, for Issei, it was strange to see that the commonly hostile gesture she had against him, was not present in that moment, and instead, she was looking at him. One with certain neutrality, but it seemed to be a simple natural reaction to be calm.

"Come with me…" she announced, turning around. "We need to talk…"

Issei who was confused, blinked several times. But, seeing the blue-haired girl walk away, he decided to get up on his feet and follow her; could it be that what she had to say was something important? At this time, all information he'd hear could contribute to the suicide mission that they were about to embark on...

Woah, what a chapter! Full of fights, by the way...

As you have noticed, this is the first chapter where in Sona didn't make any appearance at all... she was only mentioned.

Those messages Sona sent to Serafall are emotional as hell... I teared a bit writing it...

Yandere Rias on a roll, apparently... good thing she was saved!

AW YEAH! TSUBAKI IS MAKING PROGRESS WITH KIBA-KUN!

How will the rescue mission to save Sona play out? Will they be successful? Better tune in!

What does Yura want with Issei? Why does she want to talk? Perhaps she wants to apologize? Or maybe to mess with him more?

How was this chapter? Please leave a good review if you like it! Follow/Fave if you'd like to stay updated as soon as possible, guys!

Next chapter: Winter

Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*

-Lance