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Alex wiped the sweat from his forehead as he landed on the ground of the training room renovated into the basement of his house. He looked up to his opponent, who was hovering several feet in the air. Vali, clad in his Scale Mail, crossed his arms as he stared down at the son of Barakiel. Alex smirked at his clapped his hands together. As he pulled his hands apart, electricity crackled between. At the center, the electricity gathered into a ball, and with a push from its master, the collective charge shot towards the hovering White Dragon in the form of a bolt of lightning.

Caught with his guard down, Vali took most of the bolt full to his chest, which sent him flying right into the ceiling. He quickly recovered, allowing himself to land as he returned his attention to his best friend, who was smirking.

"Behowlest the slaying of one thousand mortals," Alex smirked as his eyes glowed a deep crimson. "Besingest the slaying of ten thousand goblins." As the tell-tale sign of the Balance Breaker, black mist extruding from Alexander's body, began to show itself, the teen shot towards his friend, his hands alight with Holy Lightning. "Mine name, immersed in deep darkness…" He threw punch after punch at Vali, who blacked or dodged them all. "Tis the Imitation God traversing the Polar Night." The black haze, as per usual, coated his entire body as he ruthlessly attacked his sparring partner. "Oh ye, perishest by mine own black blade!" His voice took on a deep, demonic echo as the haze started to shift his body, becoming more hound-like. "Fools ye art, of deformed Creator Gods!" He howled, the haze exploding and revealing the Werewolf form of Alexander.

[Balance Breaker!] Lycaon howled from within Alex's soul.

Vali used his mecha-like wings to protect himself from the slash the Alexander-Wolf had delivered. He'd succeeded in blocking the attack, but not with grunting pain. Before he could return the attack, the Slash Dog sunk into the ground as a shadow, slithering in a snake-like manner into the shadow of a pillar that held up the room.

"Where did you go…?" Vali mumbled under his breath as he looked around the room, spending no more than an instant facing one direction. Immediately, he sense Alex's attack coming and turned full 180 degrees… Only to find nothing there. "Wha-" he was cut off when Alex emerged from the roof, like a shadow, and delivered a hit the back of his head, sending him to the ground. Within a second, he'd jumped back up to his feet and turned to face his opponent, only to find nothing once again.

"Can't touch what you can't see~" Alex's voice, mixed with Lycaon's, echoed through the room with a cackle. If Vali was one for television, he probably would have compared his current situation to that of an Action/Horror movie. But he wasn't, so he didn't. Alex was, and he did. With glee, at that.

As Alexander-Wolf emerged from the shadow behind his friend, he lunged. Vali quickly reacted as his senses alerted him to the incoming sneak attack. He blocked the incoming strike, thinking it was a slash, or a punch. It turned out to be a bite. The Devil hybrid howled in pain, which was ironic given the situation, as Alex-Wolf's fangs tore through his armor and into his flesh. The fangs of a Werewolf were not to be taken lightly. Some legends say that some Werewolves were descended from Fenrir, the God-Devouring Wolf, instead of Lycaon, the King of Wolves.

Of course, that was just a legend. It wouldn't be easy to prove. And it's not an implausible situation either. Werewolf fangs are nigh indestructible. It'd take biting into an actual Dragon's scales to break them, or something of similar strength. And even then it'd have to be a rather strong Dragon, to begin with. Vali's Scale Mail, which was essentially armor formed from Albion's aura to replicate his own scales, didn't even come close to Albion's scales in his prime. They didn't stand a chance against a Werewolf as strong as Alexander with Night Celestial Slash Dogs. Not yet anyway.

The only saving grace was that Albion could repair the damage relatively quickly after he punched the Werewolf away and shot up to hover in the air, where he always had an advantage with Balance Breaker active. Alex-Wolf quickly corrected himself as his opponent's punch sent him flying. The force sent him into the wall, but he broke the crash by sinking his claws into the wall, from both his hands and feet, with his head facing down in a Spiderman-like pose. Snarling, he made to pounce towards his friend, when he was suddenly stopped by a loud call.

"Whoa, boys! Time out!" Azazel called out to the two of them as he walked into the training room, escorted by Raynare. Alex and Vali shared a look before they both came down from their respective elevated positions. In small explosions of black and white, respectively, the two teens dismissed their Balance Breakers, now clad in nothing but their training pants, so as to not get their clothes dirty, torn, or sweat-stained. Raynare stiffened at the sight of her Master's bare torso.

"What's up?" Alex asked nonchalantly, crossing his arms.

"This better be good." Vali huffed. He didn't like it when his spars were interrupted.

"It is," Azazel responded, uncharacteristically serious as he put his hands in his coat pocket. "Kokabiel's gone full rogue. He's attacking Kuoh Academy as we speak, waiting on the Gremory Peerage." He told the boys, who stiffened. Alex's eyes showed a rage that he rarely ever allowed on the surface of his being. "Both the Gremory Heiress and the Sitri Heiress have called on their elder siblings, but it'll be around an hour before either one of them arrives, for a multitude of reasons." He shook his head. "I need the two of you bring him back." He said simply.

Alex and Vali shared a look.

Rias Gremory had had a tiring past few days. In fact, make it a tiring past few weeks. First, her Pawn Holy Magic to save her from her betrothal, and though she was infinitely grateful for his actions, the backlash did cause a number of small problems for her that she had to deal with. Having a servant publically use power given to him by an anonymous Fallen Angel to save her was not something the public was happy about. At least that had eventually calmed down and allowed her to finally move in with her cute servant and shower him with affection, even if it took a few weeks.

Mere days later though, two Exorcists arrive in her territory, with enough gall to suggest she might be working with a Rogue Fallen Angel, and insult her precious Bishop. Though she was not happy about such a thing, she wasn't hoping for what happened next. Her Knight appeared and challenged the two Exorcists. The resulting fight ending up with both her Pawn and her Knight thoroughly trashed by two Holy Sword wielders. Not a good evening. Especially since her Knight Strayed in all but name afterward.

Things got worse when her lovable idiot of a Pawn got her Rook and Sona's Pawn involved in a little plot to destroy the Excaliburs in the hopes of allowing Kiba to come back to her and her group. When she'd discovered said plot, she immediately transported over to where her Pawn was, only to neither hair nor hide of her Knight, or the two Exorcists. On the bright side, she thoroughly enjoyed punishing Issei for disobeying her like that. She could see why Akeno is so fascinated by S&M now.

Afterward, she'd gotten word from her familiar, whom she's sent out to look for Kiba. The small bat had found the incapacitated form of Irina, one of the aforementioned Exorcists, and Issei's childhood friend. She'd been beaten half to death and left there for dead, Kiba and Xenovia nowhere to be seen. She must have gotten separated from them. After getting Irina out of there, Rias, Sona, and their Peerages suddenly found themselves face to face with Kokabiel himself, who openly declared that he would be killing her, Sona, their servants, and destroying the whole town in the hopes of rekindling the war. And he'd be starting with their school.

Which brings her to her current situation; a battle against a Leader-class Fallen Angel.

Things started out well enough. Kokabiel summoned three Cerberus from the gates of Hades, something which was illegal, but they were dispatched easily enough when Kiba and Xenovia joined the fray. It also didn't hurt when she and Akeno got a large boost in power, courtesy of Issei's Boosted Gear Gift ability. The Cerberus didn't last long. The same could not be said of Kokabiel though. He deflected their Boosted attacks like a fly with a swatter. It was a massive bruise to her ego.

Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, the Arch Bishop of Genocide, the one who caused her Knight so much pain, revealed that he'd completed the fusion of four Excaliburs into one. Not only that, but a spell was put into play that would destroy the entire town within 20 minutes, which wouldn't be enough time for her brother and his forces to arrive. Fate was not being kind to her thus far. Even less so when Kokabiel gave that fused Excalibur to Freed Sellzen, the maniacal Priest who almost raped Asia a while back. He was a force to be reckoned with before, but now he was downright terrifying with four Holy Swords fused into one.

The battle got really emotional when Valper Galilei revealed the true reason why he'd slaughtered the children in the Holy Sword project. He removed the Holy Light gene that the children had and combined it into a crystallized form in the correct quantity, allowing him to use the crystals to create artificial Holy Sword wielders. She was horrified to find out that the Church used the same method. Despite the massive hypocrisy, at least they didn't kill the people who's gene they removed. Everyone present shed tears when Kiba's emotions brought out the souls of the children inside the crystal.

Her emotions turned to shock and awe when her Knight used the power of the crystal to not only hit Balance Breaker but to also defy the laws of nature and fuse two opposing elements together; Holy and Demonic powers, into his sword. Even for the Supernatural world, that was downright unnatural, and shouldn't be able to happen, but it did. Then the Exorcist Xenovia joined the fray and whipped out a legendary Holy Sword, Durandal. Together, she and Kiba were able to destroy Excalibur. Despite everything, Rias found the time to be happy for her Knight, who finally achieved he'd been dreaming of for so long.

After killing Valper, just as he was about to reveal something that sounded important, Kokabiel joined the battle officially and told Issei to build up as much power as he could, and transfer it to someone. Namely, Rias. Despite being minorly pissed off at being looked down on, she and Issei ultimately did so. The resulting Transfer sent her power through the roof, almost as great as her brother, the Satan Lucifer. Though the attack ultimately did nothing, to the chagrin of her ego, she did have Akeno standing by for a sneak attack. Kokabiel, in response, decided to be a dick and reveal Akeno's heritage to everyone present. Then he went so far as to insult her Peerage as a whole.

Then he dropped a bomb no one was ready for.

The death of the biblical God.

No one could have predicted something like that being revealed. Devils have feared the Wrath of God for generations, the Exorcists have followed His word just as long, and the Fallen have dreaded his vengeance for a long time. Suddenly it's revealed that he doesn't exist anymore? Unthinkable. Asia actually fainted when she heard this news. Not to mention the fact that His death is the only reason why something like the Holy-Demon sword could come into existence.

Issei, bless his heart, didn't let any of this deter him in his determination to defeat the Cadre. Rias' pride turned right to exasperation when the boy openly declared his intent to become a Harem King. He was almost swayed to Kokabiel's side when the Cadre offered him the opportunity to achieve his goal. Rias had to offer her own body to keep the boy focussed. She was usually quite comfortable with her body and sexuality, and with her growing feelings towards her cute Pawn, she was willing to do a little more around him. But the fact that she had to offer any sexual favor he asked for to keep him focussed… Yeah, that was more than a little annoying.

"The Red Dragon gets stronger when offered sexual favors from his Master!" Kokabiel let out a loud laugh as Issei managed to land a hard punch on his face. "I find this fascinating boy, very interesting!" He put on a bloodthirsty grin. Issei was about to go for another attack when something strange happened. Everybody heard a laugh.

"Him? Interesting? Seriously?" A new voice, which seemed to come from all around them, laughed in amusement.

"That... voice…" Asia mumbled as she slowly came to. Suddenly, the barrier that was protecting the school from the view of the public shattered, making everyone present gasp in shock. Sona and her entire Peerage were keeping the barrier up, and they were all blasted back by the shockwave caused by the newcomer. As the barrier faded into nothing, everyone looked up at the night sky and saw a bright orb of crimson light flying down towards them. As the orb exploded into nothingness, it revealed a single form hovering in its place.

A young-looking Fallen Angel wearing a black trench coat with a hood over his head. What was more worrying was that he had the same number of wings as Kokabiel; 10.

"It's him!" Asia gasped, not thinking.

"Him? Him who?" Rias demanded of her Bishop, who squeaked. She wasn't supposed to reveal that she knew the teen.

"What is Barakiel's brat doing here?" Kokabiel growled, making everyone present freeze.

"Barakiel's…" Xenovia gasped.

"Brat…" Rias turned her attention to her Queen, who was frozen in place, paler than Rias has ever seen her before.

"Surely he's not here to rescue his treacherous twin sister?!" Kokabiel spat as Alexander made his move. With speed beyond anyone's perception, Alexander disappeared and then reappeared behind Kokabiel, ripping out two of the Cadre's wings. Kokabiel howled in pain as he felt the tearing of his wing's muscles.

"What the hell's going on?" Issei exclaimed, utterly bewildered.

"I don't know, he's moving too fast." Kiba's eyes were wide.

"Your wings are like a filthy vulture's," Alex spoke again, his tone dark. "My father's wings are much deeper… like the starless night sky." He commented.

"Bastard." Kokabiel spat out through his pain. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He demanded.

"Someone who's fallen lower than the ground doesn't really need wings, does he?" Alexander asked calmly as he landed on the ground. With a snap of his fingers, his shadow extended and split into three. "Are still bored? Or will this entertain you?" The smirk on the teen's lips was audible as Jin, Shade, and Kadmus emerged from the ground.

"It's them…" Akeno whispered. She remembered those dogs… The puppies that had killed the men that killed her mother. They were still with Alex. A Sacred Gear of some kind? A simple gesture from Alex and the three hounds pounce towards Kokabiel. The Fallen Angel Leader tried to jump away, but the three hounds held him down by sinking their fangs into his flesh. Jin bit into his ankle and pulled, Shade pounced and held him by shoulder and Kadmus sank his fangs into his wrist.

"I was told that you were getting a little out of control." Alex went on calmly, pointing one finger straight up towards the sky. "Azazel asked me to bring you back to HQ. Said to use whatever means necessary," he smirked as lightning sparked around his hand. Those present noticed that, unlike Akeno's yellow lightning, Alex's was both yellow and blue, crackling together.

The clouds above them began to gather together, circling in a spiral-like manner, towards a single focal point. Thunder and lightning began to spew out from the edges of the little collection of vapor, and small sparks of blue and yellow electricity could be seen at the tip of Alexander's finger. Nobody said anything as the teen stared at the elder Fallen Angel. The build-up of power could be felt by everyone present. Those who knew Akeno were certain they knew what was about to happen.

"Resound, Thunder." The son of Barakiel let out in a whisper. As soon as the words left his mouth, a giant magic circle appeared in the clouds and an ear-splitting clap of thunder resounded through the air as a ridiculously powerful bolt of lightning struck Kokabiel.

"AZAZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!" The Cadre howled in rage and pain as the charge surged through his entire body, draining him all strength. The force from the strike sent several powerful shockwaves throughout the area. Most of the now-spectators actually fell over. Xenovia had to use Durandal to hold herself in place, Issei caught Asia before she was sent flying, and Rias had to support her Queen, who was clearly going weak at the knees. The only effect the attack had on Alexander himself was pushing his hood back, showing off that he was essentially a male version of Akeno.

As the dust cleared, the remnants of the area where the attack had hit proved to be nothing more than a large crater, where Kokabiel, barely alive, lay unconscious in the center. The three hounds that had been holding him down were standing at the circumference of the crater, looking down at their prey. Just as someone was about to say something, the Magic Square, charged with energy from the now-broken Excalibur, started to light up, signifying the imminent explosion.

"Oh no… the magic square!" Rias screeched in horror. "Everybody, we have to get out of here, now!" She commanded all who were present. Even Xenovia nodded. As they all ran towards the school exit, Rias noticed that the only one left behind was Akeno, who was frozen in place. "Akeno, we have to go, now!" The Gremory heiress screamed.

"Alex…" The Queen whispered under her breath, her eyes well up. It'd been so long since she saw her beloved twin brother. Despite the circumstances, seeing him again after all these years brought up a lot of emotion from deep within.

"You just gonna hover there, or are you going to stop the spell?" Alex suddenly asked of the air. Before anyone could respond, a bright blue light shot down and landed on the ground, in the center of the magic square. Issei immediately stopped in the midst of his retreat and turned to face the one who'd landed. The blue light faded, revealing a young man, around 18, with silver hair and blue eyes. The thing drew his attention in the most, however, was the set of white mecha-like wings protruding from the newcomer's back.

"I'm shaking…" Issei whispered to himself as he noticed said shake. The newcomer raised his hand and focussed his power, making the blue crystalline membranes of his wings glow.

[Divide!]

Everyone stopped as they heard the majestic voice yell. The power in the magic square going down was also equally shocking.

[Divide!]

Again, the magic square's power was reduced. The imminent explosion didn't seem so imminent anymore.

[Divide!]

And with one more use of the White Dragon's power, the magic square was reduced to nothing. Without enough power to sustain it, the magic faded away. The danger had passed.

"Cutting it a little close there, don't you think?" Alex raised his eyebrow as he approached his best friend.

"If I'd used Balance Breaker, I could have taken down Kokabiel and the magic square in seconds." Vali shot back in annoyance.

"As could I, but you lost the coin toss," Alex smirked in response, making Vali roll his eyes. Alex turned his attention to his dogs, who'd pulled Kokabiel out of the crater. "Shade, take him in." He ordered the Dire Wolf, who gave a nod. Shade grabbed the barely conscious form of Kokabiel by the ankle and pulled backward, towards his master. As the wolf pulled, he sank into Alex's shadow, pulling Kokabiel in with him.

"I have a few questions for the Stray Priest as well," Vali told the Slash/Dog, who nodded.

"Kadmus, if you would?" He gestured the coyote to the unconscious Priest. Nodding, Kadmus grabbed Freed and did the same as Shade, dragging him into Alexander's shadow. Jin, on the other hand, just trodded up to his master sat, looking up at him with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging. Shaking his head in amusement, Alex pet the dog, who thoroughly enjoyed the contact.

[Are you just going to ignore me, White One? Lycaon?] The voice of Ddraig sounded from Issei's gauntlet.

"The Dragon hand is speaking…" Rias whispered in shock.

[Hello Ddraig.] Lycaon's voice came from the dog, who sat beside his master.

"So is the dog…" Xenovia mumbled with wide eyes.

[So you were awake, Red One.] Albion responded from Vali's wings.

[I've been awaiting our meeting since the Slash/Dog delivered the Power of Light.] Ddraig mentioned calmly.

"Wait, what?" Akeno, Rias, and Issei gasped in unison.

[As have I. Our impending battle is approaching.] Albion agreed, ignoring the three Devils.

[But, I do not sense the same hostility from you as before.] Ddraig pointed out.

[Nor do I. It seems we both have other things that interest us.] Albion said thoughtfully. [It changes nothing though.] He added.

[No it does not. We are still fated to fight.] Ddraig agreed.

[It is inevitable.] Albion went on ominously.

"About as much as Thanos," Alex mumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes.

[If you two lizards have quite finished, we do have a job to finish.] Lycaon reminded his host.

"He's right you know." Alex reminded his best friend.

"Wait just a minute!" Issei suddenly stomped forward. "Who the hell are you two?!" He demanded, pointing.

"I think that's been made pretty obvious by now, wouldn't you agree?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Fuck that!" Issei snapped before Vali could respond. "You two just ruined everything. Now I won't be able to suck on Buchou's oppai!" He cried in outrage, tears welling up in his eyes.

"This hurts to watch." Alex pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Before you can understand, you will need more power," Vali told his arch-rival, a hand on his hip. "Become stronger my rival, our battle draws nearer every day." He said. Without another word, he extended his mecha-like wings and shot into the sky.

"Drama queen." Alex rolled his eyes. "Let's go Jin." He said to the Inugami, who nodded and sank into his master's shadow as said master extended his ten wings.

"Wait!" Akeno suddenly cried out, the word escaping before she knew what was happening. Alex turned his attention to her, staring into his twin sister's eyes for the first time in almost a decade. No words were spoken. Akeno wanted to say something, but she had no idea what. Here, before her, was the twin brother she'd not seen since she was 9. What was she supposed to say? She had no words.

Eventually, Alex spoke for her.

"You look like Mom." He said simply, his expression blank. The words struck her to her very core. She didn't even know why. She knew they were true. Maybe it was because he said it so plainly? With no emotion on his face whatsoever? Without another word, he extended his wings and took off, leaving Akeno silently reaching out for her brother that was no longer there.

Whistling a cheerful tune, Alexander strolled through the fields of the netherworld. His tune did not match the dreary, dead, barren wasteland he walked through. There were trees everywhere, dead, leafless. Small animal skeletons were scattered everywhere, and as he got closer and closer to his destination, Alex felt a cold chill in the air getting stronger. He stopped when he found himself at the edge of a river.

It was not a typical river. The edges had strange blue flames across the edges, and some over the water. The water itself was strange as well. It had cold steam spewing from it, and instead of large rocks in the water, there were large chunks of ice. The strangest part was the bright, icy blue color of the water. It almost had a glow to it. Smiling sadistically, Alex snapped his fingers, and a figure was tossed out of his shadow.

"Gah!" Kokabiel grunted as he hit the ground. He was still shivering from the shock of the electricity coursing through his body.

"Hello, Kokabiel." The defeated Cadre heard a familiar voice. Through blurry eyes, he looked up and saw his defeater, smirking down on him.

"Alexander…" Kokabiel growled. He tried to get up, but his muscles ached too much.

"You done fucked up," Alex said simply. "You should have know that Azazel wouldn't allow for another war." He crossed his arms.

"Bastard…" Kokabiel grunted through his pain. His back was particularly painful. He tried to stretch his wings, but he found he couldn't. There was only blood.

"Oh yeah, I had Shade, Jin, and Kadmus tear off your remaining wings when you were in my shadow." Alexander shrugged, as if he hadn't just mutilated someone. "That wasn't ordered by Azazel, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him." He smirked darkly, grabbing the Cadre by his hair. "Just remember, you were taken down by an 18-year-old Half-Breed who was stronger than you." He reminded him. "See ya around Kokabiel… Or not." He laughed, tossing the Cadre into the river.

"Damn yooooou!" Kokabiel howled as he flew through the air and into the literally icy water. Alexander dusted his hands off with a satisfied smirk.

"Shoulda done that years ago." He let out a hum. Suddenly, the image of his sister's shocked face flashed through his head, which he shook. Seeing his sister in person again after so long had an effect on him. It brought out emotions that he was repressing for the past decade. The longing, the anger, the grief, resentment… It all exploded within him like a volcano erupting, and it was taking a lot of effort on his part to not break down.

Rias Gremory sat in her desk chair in the ORC. It was the middle of the night, and whilst Sona and her Peerage were outside, repairing the school, she sat at her desk, with her Queen on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest, her face buried in her arms. Rias wasn't certain how to approach the situation. In all the years she and Akeno had known each other, Akeno had never mentioned a brother. He looked to be older than her, but Kokabiel had referred to Akeno as 'his treacherous twin sister,' so that cleared a few things up.

Akeno had a twin brother, and she never mentioned him to Rias.

A part of her was hurt. That was a very big detail to just leave out of one's childhood when you're bonding at the age of 12. There was very little in her life that Rias kept from her best friend, and none of it was as big as an estranged twin brother. Another part of her could understand it to an extent. Akeno hated her father and his entire race. 'Alexander' on the other hand seemed to have fully embraced his Fallen heritage, training himself to the point where he had 10 wings. Not to mention those strange hounds he had with him. RIas theorized it was some kind of Sacred Gear. She even had a thought of which one it could be, but that needed some confirmation.

"Akeno?" Rias finally called out to her Queen, who didn't respond. "Are you… OK?" She asked softly. Still, the Fallen hybrid didn't answer. With a soft sigh, Rias got up from her desk chair and sat beside her best friend, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Akeno, I want to help you, but I can't if you don't open up to me." She said soothingly. Akeno didn't respond. With a soft sigh, the Gremory Heiress stood up and made to walk away.

"We were inseparable." Akeno's voice was barely audible, but it was enough to make Rias stop. She saw her Queen was no longer burying her face in her knees and was now resting her chin on them, the depression in her eyes tangible. Rias immediately sat beside her Queen again. "We did everything together. We played together, we ate together, slept together, bathed together…" She sighed. "I'd start crying if I was away from him for longer than an hour." She chuckled humorlessly. "When the men came and killed Mom, all I remember was him screaming and three small puppies appearing out of nowhere." She sniffled. "They killed the men that attacked us."

"Puppies…" Rias mused thoughtfully in her head.

"After that, when Barakiel arrived, and I screamed at him, I ran off and didn't look back for hours." Akeno gave a sob. "When I finally realized that I'd left him there, I went back. All I found was the house, empty and covered in blood. He and Alex were nowhere to be seen, Mom's body was gone, and so were the bodies of the men who attacked." Tears were falling from her eyes. "The last thing our Mother ever said to us was to stay strong and stay together." Rias hugged her friend close as she began sobbing uncontrollably.

Rias didn't say anything and held her best friend close as the girl sobbed into her chest. She could see now, somewhat, why Akeno kept this a secret. Though it was never good to keep things in for so long, and so deep, it did weigh heavy on her. This can't be something that's easy for her to talk about. From the beginning, Akeno had made it clear she didn't want to talk about her previous life with her parents and now revealed to exist twin brother. Rias respected her wishes, but in hindsight, she should have been a little more insistent.

She should have helped Akeno sooner.

Let me just make this clear; in no way is this a Rias-bashing fic. Rias just noticed a mistake she made and is planning to correct it, I'm not hating on her. This was just a bit of development on her part.

Now, a lot of you were whining about Alex not revealing himself to Akeno in the previous chapters. This is why. From the beginning, I planned on having Alexander defeat Kokabiel in place of Vali. If Alex had shown up at the engagement party, or the Rating Game, it would have made this chapter rather anti-climactic. I'm really happy with how Alex showed up in front of Akeno, and I hope you all are as well.

Another thing people are whining about is the length of my chapters. Look, I'm sorry I'm not one of those authors that spend a year writing 22 000 words for one chapter. I am what I am, the chapters are what they are. Whining about it ain't gonna change anything.

That'll be all from me. C'ya next time!