[Somewhere inside it's still obscured.]

How did this happen? How is it possible? E-Everybody just vanished. It was all looking so good… Then… All of them just disappeared. All I remember is… That light. That cursed yellow light. A spear of blinding light, so much brighter than the one I survived twice. How? Just how was something like this possible? Such power… I thought it was impossible to have so much power. He didn't overestimate his power when he said we couldn't stop him if we attacked him all at once. The bloody traitor! I swear vengeance!

[Darkness reflects stronger than fear.]

What vengeance am I talking about? I couldn't stop him with the help of everybody in our club, how can I stop him all alone, weak and pathetic as I am? I thought we had him cornered, that we can't lose. I mean, when your team is comprised of Rias Gremory, Akeno Himejima, Asia Argento, Irina Shidou, Koneko Toujou, Yuuto Kiba, Gasper Vladi, Xenovia, Rossweisse, Ravel Phoenix, Sona Sitri, Tsubaki and Saji, you basically can't lose. I was wrong. He was just too strong. It was impossible! The moment he released that spear of light I knew we are done for. But the spear went through everybody but me. How come? It definitely wasn't because of my dragon side, because Saji had a dragon side as well. Also it couldn't be due to my power, because I am probably the weakest of the group. My human side also couldn't help much, since Akeno, Irina, Xenovia, Asia and Yuuto were also humans. Why?!

[I seize control to inhale this final day.]

Everybody disintegrated from the touch of the spear. Even Rias, rumoured to be one of the strongest Devils alive, only a handful of them stronger than her. But I survived. And then the bastard took me and put me into some kind of a prison cell. It's been a few days now. But I still vividly remember everything. The blood that spilled all over the room as everybody vanished. Their short lived screams as the light consumed them. Such short screams, yet I could remember them as if it was still happening. Blood sprayed all over my clothes and my exposed body parts. I looked around me. Nothing but blood. Not even Sona's glasses or Koneko's brooch. I fell down to my knees as I realised they are all gone. Forever. I started to cry at the thought of it. I just couldn't accept it! My Boosted Gear still glowed faintly, but I couldn't conjure any power to strike back at the venomous bastard that backstabbed us like trash. He was looking at me the whole time, smugly laughing to himself. I couldn't stand the smile on that face. Not anymore.

[I shut my mind but I'm falling anyway.]

''Tell me why! Why was I the only one who survived! I demand it from you!''

I scream bloody murder! I want the bastard to tell me why all of this happened! And I want it now!

''You really want to know, huh? I guess you won't stop if I don't tell you my intentions. Well, I'll tell you why you survived. Because I wanted you to survive.''

''What do you mean by that, you traitor! Of what use can I, the weakest of the whole group you evaporated, be to you? Are you stupid?''

''I'll overhear these insults for now. You have great potential and that's why I didn't kill you.''

''Well, whatever your plans with me are, I just won't do it. I'd rather let you kill me than do any experiments for you, gutless bastard!''

''Definitely a foul and brave mouth. But that might not be of much help to you.''

''What do you mean by that?''

''Not much of what I'm planning to do to you involves any efort from your side. To be honest, you must be incapacitated for most of it.''

''What the hell do you plan to do with me, you sick bastard!''

''You'll find out soon enough.''

[No. No. No. No. And I think that I'm all alone, I can feel the rain pull me down again.]

The bastard's voice disappears after that, no matter how much I scream at him, demanding more explanation. Then I realise it's futile, so I fall on my knees again, crying again as I remember what I have lived through with everybody.

Rias. Love of my life, sister of the great Maou-sama. Beautiful woman, my girlfriend and master. I haven't even had sex with her before she died!

Akeno. The amazing looking woman, incarnation of Yamato Nadeshiko, a perfect woman, born of a Fallen Angel and a human woman. She flirted with me almost constantly and I liked her.

Asia. The girl I couldn't protect even though I swore I would. She was in love with me and put all her trust into me. And I let her down again. At least it was for the last time.

Koneko. The cute little half-Nekomata, half-human who would beat me everytime I was having lewd thoughts. But I learned to like her as well. She liked me too, though not as much as Asia or Rias.

Xenovia. The ex-holy sword wielder who wanted to have sex with me so she could have a powerful child. But she was also nice, if a bit weird at times. She somehow still didn't get hang of the real world, away from the Church.

Rossweisse. A beautiful young Valkyrie who just recently got a job as a teacher at our school. She was so pure and caring, she sent most of her salary home to her sick grandmother.

Kiba. The Holy Demonic Sword wielder, survivor of the Excalibur project that almost killed him, the dream of all the girls of our school, your average pretty boy and my rival because of it.

Gasper. The cute crossdressing hikikomori, a vampire rejected from his clan for being only half-vampire. Because of it he was always scared of everybody. But he was just getting to become braver and able to defend himself.

Sona. Our Student Council president. Sister of Leviathan-sama, one of the four main Devils. Very strict but still stunningly beautiful. She was also very good at strategy, but it just wasn't possible to create a strategy in such a short time.

Tsubaki. Student Council vice president, a very beautiful girl that a lot of guys of our school were dreaming about. It was a three way tie between her, Akeno and Rias.

Saji. Member of the Student Council, my rival, handler of Vritra. He had a great crush on Sona. He was just getting to come closer to her and it was abruptly ended.

Ravel. The sister of Raiser Phoenix whose clan is almost immortal because of Phoenix Tears they are producing, yet she just vanished into thin air from the light. She was also my very capable manager.

Everybody was gone. I was the only one still standing. Heh, standing. I'm not even standing. I'm barely even able to move from the sadness.

[No. No. No. No. And I know that I have no home, I can feel the pain taking hold again.]

As I'm thinking of everybody, I try to recall how we even got into that situation. We were walking to a meeting with some of the higher-ups. Then Rias felt a strange aura from an old building close to us. We investigated the house but found nothing. Just as we were planning to go out and towards the meeting… He showed up. He was laughing like a maniac. We didn't know what possessed him.

''You have walked straight into my trap.''

''What are you talking about?''

''This house is unbreakable. I put a spell on it. You can't escape.''

''Your talk is scary. Why would we escape from here? We'll just walk out as we were planning to.''

''No, you won't. Not if I don't let you out.''

''Why wouldn't you? We are on our way to a very important meeting! You know it as well, Azazel!''

[Tied to the ground in mountain shade.]

He started laughing again.

''Of course I know, Rias, Gremory. But I have decided to cancel the meeting due to unforeseen sickness of one of you.''

''Why would you do that?''

Rias became angry, she started glowing crimson. Everybody else was standing in disbelief before that. Then we all prepared for an attack. What the fuck possessed Azazel? He's saying some extremely stupid things!

''Oh, how brave of you, seeing how all of you together are still weaker than me. Go ahead, attack me.''

''I'm not joking, Azazel!''

''Neither am I. Come on. Attack. All of you. Together.''

For a few seconds we were watching him and we were in shock. Is this Azazel we know?

[My soul is bound and so it fades.]

''Scared?''

As he said that, we all attacked with our strongest attacks. I was even in Balance Breaker mode and unleashed the Triaina Rook. But he just playfully deflected all of our attacks at the same time, all the while smirking like crazy.

''So weak. You aren't even a challenge.''

I tried to test his claim that the house is actually unbreakable, so I punched the window that was right next to me. I punched with all my might and it didn't even leave a small crack. Seeing that, my eyes widened in disbelief. He wasn't lying. What does he plan to do?

''Rias. I only have one wish. If you fulfill it, I'll let all of you go.''

''And that… Wish… Is?''

''Issei. Give him to me.''

''Never! He is my Issei! You'll have to go through me to get him!''

[No. No. No. No. And I think that I'm all alone, I can feel the rain pull me down again.]

After Rias stood up for me, everybody else also said something similar and put themselves in a defensive position. Azazel was apparently humoured at their defensive stance,he was still laughing like a maniac.

''I have just shown you I can stop all of you simultaneously. You really have bravery, Rias Gremory.''

''If it's for my Ise, I will do anything I can to protect him!''

Rias… Thank you for those kind words! You are the best! Others repeated after her again. This is where Azazel started to build up his spear of light.

''Very well. You have chosen the wrong choice.''

[No. No. No. No. And I know that I have no home, I can feel the pain take a hold again.]

Th-Those spears… I remember them to well. But they are so much brighter than Yuuma-chan's! Just how much more powerful is he!

''Prepare… For doom. It was a pleasure meeting you and your peerage, Rias. But as you have chosen poorly, goodbye forever.''

After saying that, a blinding light filled the room. Not a fraction of second later I heard Rias' short scream, followed by everybody else! Then I felt something spray on my face. As I wanted to wipe my face with my hands, I smelled blood. What just happened? Why were there so many short, abrupt screams? Why is there blood on my hands? And why isn't the fucking light weakening? I can't see anything! There is more blood spraying on me, I can feel it, smell it and taste it. The light finally starts losing it's power. But why is everybody gone? There are just puddles of blood which is sprayed everywhere in the room. It's just me and Azazel. It takes me a few seconds to realise he just killed all of them with one attack. As I realise that, I fall down crying and swearing vengeance. The bastard will pay! I don't know how, but he will!

[Tied to the ground in mountain shade. My soul is bound and so it fades.]

Suddenly, I feel something binding me as I'm lying on the floor, looking at the blood puddles in disbelief. I try to fight it away, but it just grabs hold tighter and tighter until I can't move. The next thing I remember is the cell in which he threw me as if I was some kind of an animal.

''Finally you are here.''

''Please, tell me what do you want from me?''

''You'll find out soon enough.''

And he disappeared. This brings me to the beginning of the story. I don't know what will happen. I just know that it won't be pleasant for me. And I hatch an idea. But first I must see what he is trying to do with me.

[And I know that I won't escape, my remaining faith is draped.]

Killing intention is flowing through my veins as I wait for Azazel to come for me to conduct whatever experiments he's planning to do. I don't have to wait for too long though.

''Ready for an experiment, Issei?''

I act like I have given up.

''Whatever you say, Azazel.''

''Good. Such a change of heart. You have finally realised I don't mean no harm.''

Bullshit! But I have a cunning plan that just might work. He doesn't even give me the binds because I have ''changed my attitude''. He is so confident.

''Azazel.''

''Yes, Issei?''

''I have one question. Why me?''

He smirks at the question.

''I knew you'd ask this. To put it bluntly: You and Vali are destined to fight one day. But I don't want you to fight. Ever since I started collectoin information on Sacred Gears, there were two that tickled my fancy more than any other. One of them is Vali's Divine Dividing. The other is your Boosted Gear. You see where I'm going with this one, right? Even you aren't that stupid.''

''But why did you have to kill everybody? You could have just asked me and I'd give you all the information you need.''

''It's not that simple. You see, Vali is very powerful Sacred Gear user. However, he is very easily persuaded into giving me enough information. Or should I say, he was easily persuaded into doing it.''

[Like my hurt and my fleeting grace in this numbing empty space.]

''What do you mean, was?''

''Look behind these doors.''

I reluctantly opened those doors. There were two coffins. I read the inscription on both of them. One was labelled Vali Lucifer. It was closed. The other one had my name! It was still opened! Does that mean… No! This can't be true!

''Vali is sealed away in that coffin. After giving me all the information, he was useless to me, so I killed him. That's why I had to kill everybody. Because they couldn't be easily persuaded into relinquishing the care for you. Arthur, Bikou, Kuroka and Le Fay were smart enough to let Vali go. I knew it wouldn't be so easy with you. You were their sweet Ise, after all.''

What the fuck is this guy's intention? Why would he have to kill me after getting the information about my Sacred Gear?

''Now that sightseeing tour is done, follow me to the room where you'll tell me everything about it.''

I can't do anything about it. I can just follow him. The plan might still work.

''One more question. What are your plans with the information about my and Vali's Sacred Gear?''

''I'm glad you asked, actually. I will combine both gauntlets with myself and become the unbeatable force of the Universe! Then I will be able to destroy everybody who would dare to oppose me!

[No. No. No. No. And I think that I'm all alone, I can feel the rain pull me down again.]

So he is a power hungry Fallen Angel! Fuck! So all Fallen Angels are like that after all. Poor Akeno was right all the time about her father. And we made her believe he was a good person. I have never felt so bad about anything before. It's all or nothing now. I have to make use of my plan.

We soon arrive at a room that is almost empty. The only things in there are a desk and two chairs. Azazel makes me sit in one of them while he sits down on the one closer to the desk and starts to write something.

''Finally I can achieve my life long goal of becoming unbeatable! Just a few more answers and I'm all set! Muahahahaha!''

He is a maniac! A total maniac! He's not even suspecting I might do something… Radical. I have to do it soon before he gets any information. I start composing myself to deal the final blow to the matter. I activate my Boosted Gear and pull out Ascalon. Azazel is so deep within his notes that he doesn't even see what's happening.

[No. No. No. No. And I know that I have no home, I can feel the pain take a hold again.]

He is still writing vigorously as I am still preparing myself for the final step. I grab Ascalon with both hands and lean on it for a while. It takes a lot of courage for something like this. I can't just jump into it like some sort of a madman. I'm not a madman. At least not as mad as this guy in front of me. I can feel I will be ready soon. Azazel is still writing as I grab the sword hilt in reverse, the tip pointing at my stomach.

It's now or never! Rias, Akeno, Asia, Koneko, Irina, Xenovia, Rossweisse, Sona, Tsubaki, Ravel, Gasper, Kiba, Saji, I'm coming for you! We will be reunited soon!

[No. No. No. No. And I think that I'm all alone, I can feel the rain pull me down again.]

I raise the sword high above my head. Azazel is still writing vigorously. He has written about twenty pages since we got here! That guy is really crazy! No time to lose anymore. I swing downwards with all my might. Friends! I'm coming back to you right now!

''Blargh.''

''What are you saying, Issei? I just have to finish… Noooooooooooooooo! You idiot! I can't combine your Boosted Gear if I don't know everything about it!''

I still have some strength left in me. Ddraig, I'm sorry it had to end like this. But I must try to destroy you. I grab the sword with my right hand and swing at my Boosted Gear with all my might! The jewel on top of it cracks and it burns me!

''Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!''

''What the hell are you doing? You're ruining years and years of research! You stupid ignorant fool!''

''Azazel… This is what you get… For killing… My friends.''

I flipped him the bird after saying that and I could just faintly see some red shape rising from the broken jewel of my Boosted Gear before everything went black. I'm coming to you, friends!

[No. No. No. No. And I know that I have no home, I can feel the pain take a hold again.]

Ok. This is written as some kind of a thank you gift for giving my first story, White Neko, 5000 views! Thanks, everybody! I know it's very dark and depressing, but this idea popped into my head a few days ago as I was listening to the song that became the song title and whose lyrics you can read in brackets. I also tried to write something different to White Neko, something darker.

Thanks for 5000 views again and I hope you enjoyed this story too. Review it if you feel like it and I will post a new White Neko chapter on Sunday, as always.