Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Hear a knock on the door
"...You know, the other girls are going to get jealous if you stay here for much longer." Yubelluna groaned out after flopping on her side, completely spent. "Not that I'd mind your company. But I think I'll go take a shower, change the sheets and then crawl back into my bed for the night, and let the others have their time in the sun."
"Need help with it?" Momonga asked from beside her. The benefits of more or less unlimited stamina on the account that his physical traits seemed to spill partially over from his skeletal 'self' to the 'flesh' were quite helpful for recovering after the physical activity the two of them had been embroiled in for the past...
Momonga glanced at the clock in the room. "...Huh, we went at it for two hours?"
"Yep." Yubelluna pronounced the 'p' with a small pop. "Hah, if this is what I can look forward to, I think I won't be having many complaints about being in your Peerage. Oh, and while I would like if you joined me in the shower, I somehow get a feeling we wouldn't be doing much showering if we went together. Plus, while I'm going to be hobbling tomorrow, if we went at it for much longer I doubt I could even walk for a few days… So, perhaps we could do that the next time~?"
"Umu, I'd like that… anyway, what now?" Momonga pushed the thought aside. "I'm guessing the entire house must have heard us…"
"I activated a privacy ward when you entered." Yubelluna rolled her eyes. "It's not like I'm oblivious to the amount of decibels I put out when I'm in the mood."
"Why didn't you put it up last night? When there were four, er, five of us?"
"Well, I wished to let everyone know that I and you, and the others, were a thing. I'm not the type to slink and hide my relationships, as I imagine you could tell." Yubelluna reached to poke Momonga's fleshy body's nose. "Besides, I don't think Asia-chan would last for another night without sleep. Speaking of which, I think you should probably check up on Ravel-sama."
"Ravel-san?" Momonga asked. "Ah, true, she was part of Riser's Peerage and his little sister. Do you think she's… taking Riser's loss hard but hiding it? She seemed quite upbeat during our shopping trip."
"...And that means, in all likelihood, that she's trying to either kill you or arrange a scenario where you die." Yubelluna turned over on the bed so she lied on her stomach and kicked her legs in the air while looking at 'Momon'. "She's… well, I think the word is 'brocon'. And with Riser dead…"
"Oh."
"Yeah, unless she somehow starts to think of you as Riser, which would be quite dangerous for the reasons you told me during your attempt to crack my motivations open, she's going to need serious placating. Even if 'Momon' didn't kill Riser, 'Issei' did and I imagine she won't care much for the distinction."
"Why tell me this now?" Momonga asked, curious.
"Well, I tried to console her and prod her mood when you and the gang went to see your, um, Issei's parents." Yubelluna noted. "I figured that Ravel needed some time to cool off, but I have a feeling that if nothing is done about her mental state, she's just going to come up with some harebrained idea and put it to motion before thinking about the consequences. She's… well, a teenager."
"That is, temperamental and easily provoked, right?" Momonga sighed. 'Grand. So my 'sister' is trying to kill me… just what I needed.'
"Quite so, but I imagine you'll be dealing with a blonde tornado of anger if you tell her that." Yubelluna seemed amused. "And, I have no doubt that as long as you'll know it's coming, her attempts to harm you probably won't result in much more than being a nuisance. Her plans are ambitious, but… sometimes lacking a few important steps in execution. Just be extra wary when she's acting the prim and proper little lady, that's a definite sign that she's up to something."
"Right, thanks. Do you think she'll lunge at me if I go talk to her right now?" Momonga asked, and felt a bit foolish as Yubelluna giggled to her pillow. "I mean, after I get myself cleaned up, and I don't mean 'lunge' as in, you know…"
"Ahah… I couldn't even imagine what sort of face Ravel-sama would make if you went to knock on her door now… Covered in our 'love', naked and smelling so much of sex that I doubt you can get the scent off for days unless you peel your skin off." Yubelluna pat the stained bedsheets in amusement while hiding her face in the pillow. "Or if you asked Ravel-sama if she wanted to have a private talk when you were like that! Ahaha!"
"Pfft, fine, I'm going to do it." Momonga threatened in jest and got up from the bed, causing Yubelluna to lunge and take his hand to stop him. 'Ha, a point for me…'
"Hold that thought until my legs start working again, and let's go together. Or perhaps you'd like to carry me around?" Yubelluna whispered to his ear. "You can parade my current condition~ to the rest of your lovers and family and I'll be sure to tell everyone how incredible a lover you are when you're in the mood…"
"Ngh!" Momonga felt his blush creep to his hairline. 'Ugh, I need to stop trying to tease her… She's way beyond my league. I might have to train with Akeno before I can take on the tease-boss...' "Y-you know what, maybe I'll go take a shower. Yes, a long shower. Then see about things. Yes, some things."
"Make sure you have plenty of 'drinks' prepared for later. Remember that you share your bed with that red-headed blush factory, and after she's done growling at the two unconscious additions to your Peerage, then I imagine she's going to need some 'stress relief'..." Momonga felt that Yubelluna's description of Rias was fairly accurate. "...I'll let you two go at it in peace, but if you'd like I can cast a silencing ward on your room."
"You're fine with me committing adultery?" Momonga asked, a bit wary. "I mean, I figured that our relationship-agreement would hold if we were together…"
"Oho, and you doing it with me without your wife, her girlfriend, or Xuelan-chan isn't 'adultery'?" Yubelluna pointed out and flicked his nose with her manicured finger. "Hypocrite. You're not a gallant knight in white armor, so stop pretending to be one, mister villain. No go, claim the land you've conquered!"
"Pppfft." Momonga choked on his spit. 'Ghuh… Yeah, time to go…' "...Heh, in that case, I'll be going."
"Just let us know if, no, when you add more lovers to your harem, my villainous, cunning and perverted King, ha!" Yubelluna's playful description caused Momonga to evacuate into the small shower and bathroom attached to each bedroom in his new mansion.
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"...Hm?" Vali Lucifer knelt down to touch the anomaly below him
He had picked up a trace and followed it, figuring that the power he had felt momentarily could only belong to his prey.
'...Interesting… ' Vali had set a long-distance magical observation ward on Kuoh, not so powerful that it would be picked up by any of the Devils in it, but enough that it would alert him to anything going over a fairly high energy limit. It sensed spikes in energy use, be it devil energy, holy energy or any other type of energy, but had drawbacks.
It wouldn't give him pinpoint location nor further information about the spells or powers used, so it wasn't a sure-fire way of finding his target, but he figured that the number of beings in town who could reach the level of power required to trip the ward were very limited, meaning that each alert should be responded to. In addition, the wards were only usable in the human world due to its low saturation of energy, should he put one down in the Underworld or Heaven, the ward would be constantly singing as the whole realm would be saturated with energy, meaning that individual bursts were hard to identify unless they were ridiculously powerful like Maou going all-out or somesuch..
The wards were but one of his ways of finding Kokabiel, whose capture was his main mission in Kuoh, and the secondary, more personal one, was finding if the Red Dragon Emperor's old wielder still had the Longinus Gear containing the dragon. He didn't think so, but the recent pings on his ward left him doubtful. '...If the data from the locator agent is correct, this estate belongs to Momon Phenix who until recently was Issei Hyoudou, and Issei is part of Rias Gremory's Peerage and held [Boosted Gear[...'
Vali placed his hand on a still-warm patch of glassed pavement under and in front of an otherwise pristine gate to the estate. 'So the spike of magic came from here. Perhaps he faked losing the [Boosted Gear]? Or perhaps the magic was cast by Rias Gremory? And what were those spikes that followed? Was there a battle here? I counted… four bursts of energy, two in rapid succession, three high and one medium-high… Or perhaps Kokabiel attacked? Killing Rias Gremory would more or less unravel the Truce, so there's a high chance he was here...'
"You won't find the answer by creating theories out of assumptions. Every truth you create from that is beset by doubt and lack of verifiable information. Observe and find out." Albion's voice intruded Vali's thoughts, offering his insight. Which, true to the dragon's nature, was fairly blunt and also helpful.
"So, should I introduce myself, or…" Vali wondered aloud as he placed his hand against the gate, which started to open slowly from the touch. 'Hm? The gate wasn't locked? And the lack of resistance… was it made recently or just somehow abnormally well-fitting?'
A closer observation revealed that the gate was looking almost pristine and had absolutely no weld marks, making Vali believe that it was likely created or forged with magic of some sort, and recently at that. 'Interesting, so whatever happened her glassed the ground and likely destroyed this gate, but also someone came later and fixed the gate, but didn't fix the ground… were they interrupted, or did they just not think of restoring the pavement?'
He shook his head as he snuck in before Albion could interrupt his musings.
Vali decided to do some reconnaissance before going for a more direct approach towards 'Issei', just in case Kokabiel was prowling around, or if the Red Dragon Emperor was indeed with 'Issei' and was in a fighty mood…
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"Hm…" Momonga was a bit lost. In truth, the mansion was a bit bigger than he had thought, and he hadn't even visited most of the rooms in it during his time owning it. 'I wonder where Ravel is? Perhaps she's already retired for the night? It's getting a bit late… but when I knocked on her door I didn't get an answer, perhaps she was asleep already, or maybe she's sleeping in someone else's room?'
A revelation came to Momonga and he went to knock on Yuuto's door, but hesitated before his knuckles could land on it. '...I figured that perhaps she and Yuuto got along better than I thought during the shopping trip… but if they did, and they were doing what Yubelluna and I were doing, and I knocked, it'd make things awkward for everyone…'
"Well, there's another way… [Widen Magic: Detect Life]." He cast the spell to the area around him, which would encompass the whole estate and probably a bit further as well. He had to drop [Perfect Warrior] to cast the spell, however. 'There's a chance Ravel went for a walk… If that's the case I probably shouldn't interrupt her, because if I put the two of us alone in the woods... Although, if I'm prepared for it, I'm not sure she could harm me much. It might be cathartic for her to wail and whack at me for a while… Hm, that's a thought...'
Yubelluna's warning came to Momonga and he sighed while going through the detections. The spell wouldn't be able to tell names, but he had fairly good grasp on how much health each of his Peerage members had, and since he knew there were only four people in the grounds whose exact health he didn't know, those being Ravel, Serafall, and the two agents of the Church, he could fairly accurately guess who was where. Not to mention he knew the two agents hadn't left their room or woken up, considering that Rias's 'life' was beside two relatively high life signatures.
'Hm, so the two Church agents have about the same amount of health as… Akeno, and Yuuto?' Momonga discarded the two readings after making a note. 'The other life-signatures come from around the estate, there's a life in one of the bushes outside…'
His fleshy eyes bulged as he took in the 'number' that the spell returned. '...Well, as I expected from a raid boss. Despite her looks, 'Levi-tan's seriously durable. That's about the same amount of health as a… level hundred tank-type raid boss? And if her actions and appearance are anything to go by, she's a caster or a fragile glass cannon instead of a hulking monster, which means her attack power would be much higher than her health?'
Momonga hadn't actually cast any detection spells on the two Maous back in the underworld, Lucifer and Beelzebub, out of fear of aggroing the two with he spell, but he figured that he had a decent enough of an excuse for casting the spell if Serafall decided to wonder why he had cast the spell on her. Moreover, it seemed that he had managed to have at least cordial relationship with the woman, so she probably wouldn't be hostile right off the bat if one of his non-damage dealing spells hit her.
After all, [Detect Life] counted as part of the divination class of magic, so it was technically a hostile spell by way of intelligence gathering, even if it dealt no damage. Moreover in YGGDRASIL NPC's were notoriously bad when it came to aggression over any abilities used, so Momonga had felt that his previous wariness was justified, but now he felt a bit silly for being so wary. In the end, it had proven that even Maous were people, to the point where he could fairly reliably reason and talk with them before they would start to attack him over non-damaging spells.
'Hm? There's a health sign on the front of the manor… Oh, that's right. I think Rias asked Ravel to fix the gate… Although I figured she'd be done already. I should have checked that first… Hm…. She has a surprisingly high amount of health. More than anyone in my Peerage, in fact... ' Momonga shrugged as he moved towards the health sign, exiting the manor. '...Did she jump to a bush just now? Well, if she wants me to 'follow' her to a forest… I guess letting her take a few shots shouldn't be too bad, as long as I keep my buffs up… [Silent Magic: Body of Effulgent Beryl], [Silent Magic: Body of...'
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'Interesting… There was another pulse of energy from somewhere in here. At least this settles it, 'Issei' is the source of the spikes of magic… Interesting. I didn't think he'd be powerful enough that he'd trip the wards…' Vali thought to himself as he saw the door to the manor open, and 'Issei' stepped out. Vali had made sure to research his appearance and known character traits beforehand, and what he had found hadn't made him all too concerned nor looking forward to their clash… or at least, that was before the boy had lost [Boosted Gear]. After that, he had stopped caring.
What he hadn't expected, however, was the boy beelining straight to Vali's hiding spot, after letting out a series of energy bursts that made Vali highly concerned. 'Does he know I'm here? I need to relocate before I'm found out…'
Vali fled deeper into the woods, using trees and bushes alongside his natural agility to disturb his surroundings as little as possible, making his movements appear like shadow gliding over the ground. 'Let's see if he can… no, he can still follow me. Dammit.'
The boy wasn't running after Vali, but rather moving with calm ease but with each step taking him directly closer to Vali's new hiding spot.
'I'm guessing he can sense or smell me. Well, hiding won't work, let's find a suitable battlefield…' Vali fled again, hiding behind a tree that flanked a small clearing in the woods so if 'Issei' approached him directly he'd be exposed in the middle.
"Fleeing in front of a challenger is unbecoming of you. And me." Albion sounded cranky and a little annoyed over Vali's decision to perform a tactical retreat. Still, Vali knew that if Albion truly objected he'd voice his complaints at much higher volume and with more direct words, so in truth it was likely just his bruised draconic pride talking rather than his calculating mind.
"Ah… I see. You know, I know why you've led me here." Vali turned his attention back to 'Issei' who had just entered the clearing and spoke the words.
'Hm?' Vali narrowed his eyes.
"In all likelihood, you're looking for a fight. And to kill me, I presume. I won't begrudge you for it. That's one of the reasons why you came here, in the Human World, right?" 'Issei' told the tree behind which Vali hid, having stopped around fifteen to twenty feet from the tree. "After all, while it was not truly 'Momon' who did it, 'Issei' took something… no, someone precious away from you. Albeit I imagine you'd never use those words if you spoke to me about him."
'...Does he know who I am?' Vali felt a bit worried. 'Does he know about Kokabiel? Are they working together? It would explain the high-energy bursts… Did Ophis contract a snake to 'Issei' or Rias Gremory… this is starting to make a surprising amount of sense…'
"Is he talking about Ddraig?" Albion seemed intrigued so he prodded Vali mentally. "Find out more."
"I know words won't solve issues like this, so I shall place a challenge: Face me in battle, here, and if I win, you'll agree to listen to me. If I lose, I'll die and you'll have your vengeance, and can move on. Sound fair?" The boy lifted his hand towards the tree.
"...Spoken like a true wielder of Ddraig. Headstrong, confident in their power to the point of arrogance, and willing to use violence as the first solution." Albion sighed and then directed his mental words to Vali. "Well, I imagine we're out of options, my little Wielder. He's steeling himself for a fight. So, either we win and subdue him, or we lose. If those energy bursts were anything to go by, unless you take the initiative, we probably won't survive for long if we don't take him seriously. Although he won't stand a chance he doesn't have [Boosted Gear] to counter us. If we can get a few good [Divide]s out to blunt his initial strike we can turn the table on him. We can figure out the meaning of his speech later, and if he meant it for us or for someone else."
Vali sighed. '...I still feel we're missing a piece of the puzzle here. Well, we can search for it later… Well, we can find out if 'Issei' still has Ddraig this way as well. So...'
"Very well, I accept your challenge- [Divide]!" Vali Lucifer stepped out from his hiding spot, activated his [Sacred Gear] to form his wings, moved in front of 'Issei' with the speed the wings conferred, touched his outstretched hand, and used the ability of his Lognius Gear, Divine Dividing, on 'Issei'.
The ability hit the boy who had frozen still.
And everything exploded in fire.
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Momonga's eyes widened as he saw an unknown white-haired young man step from behind a tree to meet his challenge, which had been intended for Ravel Phenix. 'Wait, where's Ravel? Did… Is he another observer from the Underworld?'
"Very well, I accept your challenge- [Divide]!" The man told him before Momonga could recover from the surprise. Odd pair of wings seemed to sprout from the white-haired man's back, and he appeared in front of Momonga as if he had teleported, touching Momonga's outstretched arm.
He felt as the white-haired man's ability hit him.
Momonga's health dropped to half.
Momonga's mana dropped to half.
Emotion suppression activated.
[Time Stop] was instinctively released from [Greater Seal] which he had gone into habit of keeping after the 'battle' with Gasper.
Momonga shifted his mind from 'negotiations and mentoring' to 'high combat mode'
A new directive was added, a new observation was made, and a threat level was elevated.
The current threat level of the white-haired boy was somewhere around 'World Eater' and 'Touch Me with his World Champion armor and abilities', if he could half Momonga's health and mana with just one casual touch.
Knowing that, he needed to buy time and figure out the enemy's abilities and resistances.
The fact he hadn't resisted or outright countered his [Time Stop] was a good sign.
"[Delay Magic: Napalm], [Delay Magic: Call Greater Thunder], [Delay Magic: Grasp Heart], [Delay Magic: Astral Smit...] eh?" Momonga's casting was interrupted as [Time Stop] came to a premature end. 'Five seconds? So even the effect of my spells was halved?!'
The ground before him erupted in flame while a lightning bolt hit the young man in front of him, and he felt a sensation akin to holding something wet in his hand.
Momonga glanced at his outstretched hand to see that he held nothing, but there was a layer of blood on his palm despite lack of wounds on his hand. The flames from [Napalm] were ignored thanks to his [Body of Effulgent Ruby] as well as other buffs he placed on himself before leaving the mansion, so the spell only affected the white-haired man and also blasted the small clearing into a far bigger clearing in the forest near his mansion.
"GN-HNNG! OWAAH! [DIVIDE]!" The young man in front of Momonga let out a pained groan while falling on his knees, holding onto his chest with his hand, his face turned paper-white, his clothes burning or smouldering and his skin cracked with electrical burns.
Despite getting knocked away by the [Napalm], he lunged once more at him, appearing in front of him and grasping at Momonga's shoulder with the free hand while casting his spell.
Momonga felt as his mana and health dropped to exactly one quarter of what it had been at the start. 'I need time!'
"[Grasp Heart]! [Hold Species] [Shock]!" The spells hit the man repeatedly, causing him to turn over on the ground while holding onto his chest, squirming but still very much alive, all the while Momonga was observing the ability and going through his spells. 'A high-speed movement ability and a touch-activated vampiric drain ability? Is he some sort of vampire? Did he add my health to his own? This is bad… He's a mirroring fighter who gets stronger the stronger his enemy is...'
A twitching and sudden stillness followed each cast, making Momonga realize something. 'He's starting to resist [Grasp Heart] and is only feeling the stunning effect of the spell, and while [Hold Species] is enough to slow him, it's been weakened to the point it won't paralyze him… I need to change my tactics! If my spell potency was lowered alongside my health and mana, [Grasp Heart] would only be equivalent to tier… hm, tier two or three spell. That means my spells won't affect him much anymore, but… does the same hold true for summons? If I can't get experience when my undead kill people, then would summons be affected by the summoner's afflictions and vice versa?'
Figuring that he needed reinforcements, and since summoning Undead was out of the table due to Serafall prowling around somewhere, he pulled out a thin, fragile hourglass roughly the size of a finger from his inventory.
"[Pantheon]!"
Since he couldn't summon 10th-tier undead, mostly because he needed to keep his cover and he wanted to keep his remaining 'experience' to 'next level', and figuring that using a super-tier spell [Pandemonium] wouldn't be optimal either due to the fact YGGDRASIL's true daemons were quite different to devils of the new world, he chose to summon a group of Angels instead. Not to mention, if the white-haired boy was some sort of vampire, the holy damage inflicted by the Angels would be quite devastating.
Indeed, Super-tier spell Pantheon would summon a group of Angels, which Momonga had learned for roleplaying reasons as it would allow him to later 'corrupt' the summoned angels and thus fit his 'evil overlord' persona, but he had no other synergies with them as long as the angels remained 'pure'.
Momonga split the thin, hourglass-looking cash item in two between his fingers, causing the super-tier spell to cast instantly.
A group of six Angels, each around level 80, rose from the ground which had suddenly become saturated with magical circles, and the [Cherubim Gatekeepers] took defensive positions around Momonga.
The angels looked like huge knights adorned with gold-trimmed white armor, holding spears, halberds and shields, with heads and manes of lions. Two pairs of feathery wings protruded from the back of each Angel, and the group flung their wings wide open to create a wall between their Summoner and his enemy.
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"Uugh…" Xenovia Quarta was feeling like she had been hit by a truck, then ran over by a train, and then put to a stick and cooked over a fire. "Ow… Wha…"
She blinked her eyes open and saw an unfamiliar ceiling above her. Another blink later she realized that her clothing wasn't what she usually wore, as she wasn't a fan of pajamas, and a third blink told her that she wasn't in the Kuoh's church.
A similar groan could be heard next to her and Xenovia glanced to the side to see Irina Shidou lying next to her, clad in pajamas as well.
"Ah, you're starting to wake up. Excellent. Welcome to Momon Phenix's estate, Executors."
"...Exorcists." Xenovia narrowed her eyes at the red-headed devil in the room, whom she noticed as she heard the voice and lifted herself up to a sitting position so she could see the Gremory princess and a black-haired woman, likely her aide or Peerage member, who were sitting around a table in the bedroom.
"Ah, my apologies. I didn't quite get a good look or a complete introduction before you two attacked us." Rias Gremory's smile caused cold waves to run down on Xenovia's spine, but she soldiered on. She wouldn't be intimidated by the red-headed devil. "Oh well, what's past is past, right?"
"Huh?" Xenovia felt unstable as she had thought the Gremory princess would try to leverage the two Church agent's sudden, unprovoked attack for all it's worth. "...Yes, what's past is past?"
"Excellent. Indeed, we consider the matter settled and we're equal. After all, you attacked us, we turned you into devils. All is well, and we can call off this bloodshed before it can start?" Rias shrugged at Xenovia, whose consciousness started to flutter from hearing a part of the speech.
"Excuse me, miss Gremory, did you just…"
"Ah, you two are devils now. And part of Momon Phenix… hm, or as you know him, 'Issei Hyoudou's' Peerage. Welcome, welcome." Rias's smirk widened as she looked at Xenovia and Irina, the latter of whom had woken up enough to hear what was being said.
Irina flopped back down on the bed, unconscious once again.
"I wonder if this is what Momon felt when he breaks his utterly harebrained but somehow also true news to us?" Rias mused to her aide.
"Ufufufu, don't tell me you wanted to break the news to them just to test how it feels?" The raven-haired girl chuckled to her hand. "Ara, Rias-chan is becoming like her husband."
Rias Gremory blushed.
"E-excuse me, but, myself and Irina-san are members of the Church, thus... " Xenovia felt strength draining from her body. "We are protected by God- ow!"
She grasped her head as the word caused her head to ache, and the realization set in. 'Oh… Oh. Oh. No, no, nonononono….'
"God, Ow! Please, don't… have we gone against your will? Have we sinned? Please! God, oww!" Xenovia tried to reach for a crucifix she had around her neck, only to find nothing. "NO! Where is it?! Where's…"
Rias had, during Xenovia's hasty prayer, gone and grabbed something from the night table and put it on Xenovia's hand.
"Ow!" Xenovia felt her hands stinging as she held to her necklace which had a bronze crucifix. Nonetheless she held onto it for her dear life. "...Why? Why? Why didn't you just let me die?"
"Well, there's the Truce. So technically we aren't allowed to kill you… but, well, you're alive like this too?" Rias shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time Momon recruits someone's corpse after killing them."
"..." Xenovia felt her hatred towards devils redouble again. "...So that's what you beasts are like. Killing innocents and turning them to your toys."
"Well, considering we are fellow toys, I don't think you're quite correct. Besides, if you were allowed to stay dead then the three factions could have descended into a war, or we would have been exiled and turned to Strays. So, in the end, it was a question of if we want to keep your humanity, you who attacked us, or turn you to Devils, and stay as part of the Underworld." Rias shrugged. "Well, if you don't like it then you can just tell Momon to release you and you'll turn to Strays, and afterwards you can go to the nearest church to be crucified to death or whatever you people do to your own people whenever they commit sins."
The door to the bedroom creaked open and a blonde girl crept in, trying her best to not interrupt anyone within. "Ah, Rias-san, sorry for being late… Oh?"
Xenovia's eyes locked onto the fallen Saint who was wearing a nightgown. "You"
"Amuh… hello?" Asia Argento looked more than a bit shy after being exposed to Xenovia's glare.
"Hi, Asia-chan!" The raven-haired girl greeted the fallen Saint like a comrade and Xenovia made the connection.
"So, do you take pleasure in corrupting young nuns and turning them to devils?" Xenovia growled at Rias who rolled her eyes.
"Firstly, everyone in this room is part of Momon Phenix's Peerage, myself included as I've become his Queen', and secondly while Asia was resurrected without her consent, technically… well, Asia, are you unhappy with the current set of circumstances?" Rias dropped a bomb casually, causing Xenovia to do a double-take on the red-headed girl.
"A-ah, I'm pretty happy… I have a roof over my head, food, and friends... " Asia mumbled while holding her hands behind her back and rocking slowly back-and-forth on her feet. "Issei… Issei is no longer with us, but… Momon is not too bad. Occasionally he's scary but I don't think he's too scary…"
"So you traded your humanity for a place to stay, for scraps of food from the devil's table, and friends who'd consider you as nothing more than a piece on a chess table." Xenovia frowned at the fallen saint, feeling no insignificant amount of pity for her. Truly, the church had failed her as well if she was bribed so easily, and so much wasn't provided for her. Even if she was a heretic. "...You still have a chance to repent for your crimes. You've been declared a heretic, so you'll find no refuge in the Church, but you can still reclaim your humanity. Repent, and allow me to put you out of your misery and…"
"I'm going to stop you right there." Rias interrupted Xenovia's offer of mercy. "Firstly, if you want to put down heretics then feel free to report to your church that you attacked us first and then ask them to crucify you or fall on a sword or something. Secondly, if you attack your fellow Peerage members then I'll have a word with you. Thirdly, if you actually hurt your fellow Peerage members, then I feel Momon would also like to have a word with you, and I have a feeling he wouldn't be happy."
"Your threats don't faze me. I am a servant of God- ow!" Xenovia paused to bite her tongue out of frustration and anger. "...How much do you plan on tormenting me? When will my humiliation end?"
"I wonder if you realize that your words not only affect you, but also all of us." Rias narrowed her eyes at Xenovia. "So, how much do you plan on tormenting me? Asia-chan at least has the good behaviour to pray in quiet so she won't hurt her fellow Peerage."
"...You still pray to God-ngh?" Xenovia was surprised as she turned her head towards Asia. "A heretic like you?"
"I… just wanted to heal everyone… I didn't know the person I healed was a devil, and I was cast out of the church for it… but even if I knew, I would have healed him nonetheless." Asia's tone was quiet but resolute. "But I don't care that I was cast out. My love is not for the church, because men are corruptible and make mistakes, even if they believe in the same God-ow. My love is for the God-ngh, and the teachings he has given us. That we should love and embrace everyone despite our differences, even our enemies, and if struck, to turn the other cheek…"
Xenovia felt ashamed for calling Asia out so crudely. "I… see. However, do you not see that you are now a devil? Would God… ouch, even open his gates for you? You're damned for eternity, even if you live a virtuous life…"
"I am not doing what I am doing because I expect a reward at the end, but because I feel that following his teachings is just." Asia replied, this time looking at Xenovia, and the blue-haired girl had to look away because the pity she had felt towards Asia was mirrored on the blonde girl's eyes.
"Ara, ara… Asia's gotten good at speeches." The raven-haired girl chuckled a bit, breaking the moment. "But I think that Blueberry-chan would try to commit self-die if this kept up. And I think no-one of us actually wants anyone else in this room to die. Speaking of which, we still don't know each other's names…"
"I am Xenovia Quarta, and my travel companion is Issei Hyoudou's childhood friend, Irina Shidou…" Xenovia introduced the two, hoping that using Irina's past would at least spare the girl of the torture she expected to suffer after the devils shed their 'decency' act.
"Ara, ara, ara? A childhood friend-plotline?" The raven-haired girl noted. "I am Akeno Himejima, hello."
"...The lost daughter of Baraqiel?" Xenovia narrowed her eyes. "This 'Momon' must be quite the deviant if he's even corrupted fallen angels into devils… And all of you are girls. Is he a pervert as well?"
Akeno's posture froze and Rias growled. "You'll note that Akeno's bloodline matters little. As does the past of anyone in Momon's Peerage. And you'll be wise to drop the issue before you make it an issue."
"..." Xenovia narrowed her eyes at Rias, and at that moment Irinia began to stir once again.
"Owowow… I swear, I saw a weird dream, Xenovia-chan…" Irina wobbled back to a sitting position. Then she saw the people within the room, and focused her eyes on Asia. "You"
"Not again…" Rias growled and stomped her feet. "Maybe I should have just called Momon here anyway. He'd break these two girls in no time."
"Ara, ara, you might want to be more careful with your descriptions, Rias-chan." Akeno chuckled to her hand while Xenovia flinched violently, as did Irina. "My, you're making your husband sound like quite the monster."
"H-hold on, Issei, who is now named Momon, is your husband?" Xenovia asked. "The city's registry showed that 'Issei' had married but… Uh?"
She grabbed hold of Irina before the girl could do anything drastic.
"YOU! RIAS GREMORY! YOU STOLE MY ISSEI! SEDUCED AND CORRUPTED HIM" Irina screeched. "REND, uh?"
The girl was grasping her arm futilely, and her eyes bulged as she realized Excalibur Mimic was no longer with her.
"Momon took your weapons, for now, since he justifiably believed you'd just attack us again if you were allowed to keep them." Rias rolled her eyes at the enraged girl. "Besides, the whole marriage situation was a bit out-of-the-blue event. The short story is that 'Issei' died during a Rating Game, Momon was born in his place, we fought against an undead invasion of the Underworld, Momon was adopted into Phenix family, I was married to him as per agreement between Gremory and Phenix, he took in my Peerage as well as his killer's remaining Peerage, his killer having masterminded the undead invasion, and Momon was given this estate as a wedding gift, and here we are."
"...What was that nonsense?"
"I would say the exact same thing if I was in your place. In truth, I feel that I am becoming more and more tilted as time goes on." Rias answered Xenovia. "You have only been around Momon for… a three minutes or so? And already your lives have been turned upside-down, mirrored, and flipped over. Imagine what we've gone through after being forced to be in his close proximity for days now."
For some reason Xenovia could believe that Rias was telling the truth, as she had the look one could attribute to war veterans or survivors of a particularly traumatic series of events.
"Ara, ara… Since 'Issei' has a harem now, I guess, I don't think Irina-chan's ambition is totally lost." Akeno noted something utterly outrageous, causing Irina to flinch in Xenovia's arms. "Do we join in pairs? I and Rias-chan sort of joined together, Xuelan-chan and Yubelluna-chan joined together, are you two going to pair up too? Ufufufufu, perhaps 'Issei'-kun needs to appoint a harem manager with an office and yearly salary?"
"Akenoooooooooo…." Rias's groan turned into long-suffering wail. "Stoop… Stop. Bad."
"Ara, ara? Perhaps I shouldn't tell you that when I came across 'Issei'-kun downstairs he was looking for Yubelluna-chan, and I happen to know what Yubelluna-chan was preparing for in her own room… And I'm pretty sure that she has silencing wards in her room because otherwise we'd all be blushing to our ears by now from the 'ambient noise'..." Akeno chuckled to her hand at Xenovia's and Irina's expressions. "Ufufu, I wonder if we'll have to get a separate room for all the babies that are going to be around soon~"
"Akenoooooooooo" Rias's wail was turning desperate.
"GHRHAAAAAHHH!" Irina turned into a would-be ballistic missile that was only barely contained by Xenovia's grip on her waist. "I WILL SLAY YOU, YOU, DEBAUCHED, PERVERTED, EVIL CREATURE! IN THE NAME OF GOD- Ouch?"
"We're devils now, Irina…" Xenovia sighed at the girl. "They… turned us."
Irina came to a complete halt. "We're… devils? But God-ow! God, urgh, wouldn't allow us to be turned to devils against our will?! We're not heretics, we believe in God- ouch! Why does my head keep hurting when I… No…. no, no, no…"
Xenovia hugged Irina as the smaller girl seemed to suffer an existential crisis, mumbing to her ear. "I know, I know… we have to report this, we have to get out, get to Church, they'll know what to do…"
"You do know that if you go to Church, they'll just declare you heretics and execute you, right?" Rias rolled her eyes. "If your organization would cast out Asia for healing someone your group deemed unworthy, do you think they'd believe you if you said 'no, we weren't trying to become devils, but we are now, please help us'?"
"..." Xenovia flinched at Rias's words while Irina merely hissed.
"You don't know the power of faith, heathen! You will be cast down! God- ow, will not allow his loyal followers to be chained by your chains! Our people will come for us! Angels will burn your sins away!" Irina's spiel came in a litany of curses, and Xenovia hugged the girl closer, fully aware that she was using her anger to mask her fear, and her accusations and threats to mask her uncertainty.
Rias looked like she was about to answer something, but a loud explosion and thunder-crack came from outside the window and halted her.
"Huh?" Rias seemed surprised and walked to the window that spanned nearly the whole length of the bedroom's outside wall. "Ah… Oh. I… Huh, you… right. Aha. Akeno, Asia, we'll need to conference a bit. Xenovia-sama, Irina-sama, please stay here for a while. Please know that we have your holy weapons so don't try to escape."
The red-headed girl seemed quite shocked, but composed herself with ease that could be only born from repeated exposure to sudden, shocking or traumatizing experiences.
Akeno lifted her eyebrows, and Asia tried to ask something, but Rias shooed all of them out of the room, closing the door behind them.
Xenovia could hear an extremely frustrated scream coming from the other side, alongside something about 'Momon doing it again'.
'What was that?' Xenovia moved shell-shocked Irina to the side and climbed out of the bed, and looked out of the window…
Her mouth fell open.
She stared in shock.
She then looked at Irina, who blinked back at her from the bed, and walked beside Xenovia, and looked out.
Irina then sprouted a grin that was so wide it could only be called 'excessive' "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"
The twin-tailed, chestnut-brown haired girl jumped on the spot. "I knew God- Rgh, wouldn't let his faithful followers down! Psalm 91:11 'For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.'"
Xenovia couldn't refute Irina's chant, for there were clearly six examples of four-winged angels standing guard on a blasted, burning clearing in the forest nearby, the group clearly visible to the second floor of the building the two Exorcists were in, and the whole forest seemed illuminated by the holy light and flame surrounding the angels.
"We'll have to join them. Let the sin of our weakness not be joined by the sin of hesitation, and damn us to our guardian Angels." Xenovia nodded seriously to Irina, and she nodded back equally seriously, before the two Exorcists jumped out of the window with a shower of glass.
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As a reminder, chapter 30 will be a Q&A.
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