[Word Count: 2729]
...
Issei had felt like the past few days were like a blur.
Becoming a Devil was something most people wouldn't ever dream about, but he had become one.
He had been required to take up contracts, fulfilling people's wishes. For most Devils, they simply used a Magic Circle etched onto the leaflets to teleport to the summoner's location. However, Issei's magical reserves were so low that he couldn't even activate them.
"Ugh, why are all of my clients a bunch of perverts!" He didn't get any big-busted babes but was forced to watch anime with a muscular Magical Girl reject and roleplay with a manga nerd.
He had thought that, with how Devil contracts were displayed in anime, he would be doing devious things! Then again, those were Succubus and he was a dude.
Still, Issei persevered because Rias believed in him!
While in his thoughts, Issei heard a sudden cry and the sound of something dropping on the floor. He saw that it was a blonde-haired girl wearing a nun's habit, sprawled out against the ground in a rather awkward position.
"Are you okay?"
Issei helped the clumsy nun up and stared at her face. He had to admit that she was beautiful, and her green eyes were absorbing his focus. This girl was totally his type, just a blonde version!
"Ummm… is something wrong?"
He quickly snapped out of his stupor and asked what she was in town for. He hadn't recalled seeing a nun before, since the church was abandoned.
The two talked for a bit as the blonde-haired girl introduced herself as Asia Argento, a nun who had been reassigned to the church in Kuoh Town due to issues back home. Thankfully, becoming a Devil had allowed Issei to become multilingual, since Asia didn't know a lick of Japanese —only some phrases.
While Issei was directing her to the church, a young boy was crying. Beside him, the boy's mother was sighing. Issei didn't think much of it since the boy's mother was beside him.
However, Asia had moved towards the boy, leaning down. She gently patted the boy's head before a green light radiated from her hands.
Issei was left shocked as a term popped into his head, 'She has a Sacred Gear!'
The boy thanked Asia before his mother took him away. The blonde nun smiled and softly waved before turning her attention to Issei.
"Sister Asia, that power…"
"Yes. It's a wonderful power granted to me by God. The power to heal."
Issei ignored the slight pang of pain that erupted in his head. He remembered Rias mentioning that Devils couldn't say the name of the Big Man Upstairs. Supposedly, his name was affixed with Holy Power, along with holy water, churches, crosses, etc.
"Yes, yes, it's quite the gift. The miracle of the Sacred Gear System created by God evens out the playing field for us humans."
Issei heard a familiar voice as he turned to his side to see Phainon sitting on a bench, legs crossed and arms resting atop. He had been sitting there since the start of their encounter.
Phainon noted that he seemingly didn't get any Emotion Points from Asia, who had experienced a brief bout of sadness. It meant that he could only harvest Emotion Points gained from his direct or indirect actions.
Well, he got Emotion Points from shocking Issei with his sudden appearance, but not much.
[Emotion Point from Issei Hyoudou: 12 - 4(x3) Shock]
"Ah, it's you!" Issei shouted, "Why do you like sneaking up on people so much?"
"Haha, it's funny to see people's reaction," Phainon chuckled before standing up. It was only now that Issei realized that the man was a head taller than both him and Asia.
'Height and looks?! Tch!'
"What are you doing here? Aren't you chasing that Flame Reaver dude or what his name is?" Issei remembered Phainon's whole deal with how dangerous this guy was and that he needed to enlist even Rias's brother's help to capture him.
He wasn't certain of Rias's brother's strength or status, but since he was his Master's old brother, he should be strong!
"Well, I've located certain clues about him. One that leads to the girl beside you."
"Eh?" Issei turned to Asia, noting how innocent and naive she looked. How could she be related to the Flame Reaver? Could it be...!
"No, Issei, she's not the Flame Reaver," Phainon sighed, joking to himself internally, 'That's me.'
"You are the Holy Maiden exiled by the Church for healing a Devil, right?" At this mention, Asia could only sadly nod her head. The expression of sadness and pain made Issei's heart break.
"Yes, that's me…"
"Ah, I'm sorry for making you remember those bad memories," Phainon sheepishly apologized, "You were recently sent here and told to go to the abandoned church?"
Asia nodded.
After being kicked out of the church, she was scouted by the Fallen Angels of Grigori. Her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, known for its ability to heal all beings equally, had attracted their attention.
She was then assigned to help Raynare and her group; thus, she was sent here. Although she hadn't met any of them yet, only Father Freed, who was quite the… enigmatic person.
"You do know that this is the territory of Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri? Devil Territory to which you and your Fallen Angel companions are intruding upon."
"And the person standing right next to you is a Devil under the servitude of Gremory?"
Asia went completely still. The brunette who had been happily chatting with her and graciously helped was a Devil? The religious doctrines taught to her had all but spewed hatred towards Devils. The reason for her exile was a Devil, but at this moment Asia didn't feel disgust or contempt.
Since God had granted her a gift that treated all beings equally, she bore no contempt for one over the other.
"Ise is a good person…"
"Ah, perhaps you're too kind for your own good," Phainon shook his head and turned to Issei.
"Say, Issei. Would you also be kind enough to take care of a poor girl for a few days?"
"Eh? What? Doesn't she need to go to the Church?" Before Issei could even notice, Phainon appeared before him and tapped a finger against his forehead.
"Issei, did you even listen to what I was saying earlier? I mentioned Fallen Angels as companions. Now put that together with where Asia has to go."
The lightbulb in Issei's brain fired awake, and he exclaimed, "I'm sure my parents will be fine with taking care of her, but what if the Fallen Angels attack us?"
Issei wasn't going to deny a beautiful girl into his home, no less one who was in great need! However, he thought about Raynare, still feeling fear and resentment of seeing her again.
"Rias's influence will protect you."
"Now, what do you say, Asia? I know I kind of sprung the idea on you two without either of your consent, but staying with those Fallen Angels is quite dangerous."
Phainon's heroic tone and gentle complexion made him rather agreeable.
She looked at Issei and nodded, meekly saying, "Please take care of me!"
Issei rubbed the back of his head and smiled.
The scene was rather harmonious and joyful, but Phainon, or rather Aiden, who was controlling him, sadly sighed. The heart of a hero can only weep for the fair maiden whose fate is sealed in stone.
But Aiden wasn't Phainon; he was only a poser controlling his body. He gained the Deliverer's memories, inheriting his thoughts and beliefs, but in the end, he was just a pale imitation without true sustenance.
His morality was questionable, both Phainon's and Aiden's. The Deliverer was a person willing to go through millions of cycles to stop the birth of a possible threat to the universe, but he had slaughtered his friends in all of those cycles.
But in the end, that was for a greater purpose, a heroic one.
The one that Aiden had set out to accomplish now was no heroic one. It was one born from the delusions of a crazy person.
Had it been the true, first Cycle, not traumatized Phainon, he would have tried to save Asia.
After thinking about it, he had decided to let their relationship blossom more. Raynare had been eager to commit the Sacred Gear extraction quickly, but under his command, she could only patiently wait.
Once the time was perfect, the sword of Damocles would fall upon them.
…
At night, in the Occult Research Club, the members were gathered, including Asia and Phainon. They were seated on the two couches with Rias's peerage standing behind her, while the outsiders sat on the other couch.
The blonde-haired nun had her hands meekly clasped in her lap, whereas the white-haired man sat beside her with a calm expression.
"Issei!"
Rias felt exasperated, wanting to reprimand Issei for his idiotic actions, but couldn't. She knew as much as any other person that Issei was inclined to extreme perversion. But, beneath that, there was a heroicness that wanted to help people.
It was just that he was too weak to handle the problems he faced. His potential was abysmal; he couldn't even use a basic teleportation circle. However, when Rias reincarnated him using her Evil Pieces, he took 8 Pawn pieces.
There was something special about him that she needed to uncover.
"Sorry, Prez, but I couldn't stand by while an innocent girl could be tossed into potential trouble."
Rias sighed before silently observing Asia. As a Devil, she didn't have good opinions in the Church and such. The blonde-haired girl and the white-haired man beside her were both extremely suspicious.
What if Phainon had brought Asia to monitor them? Besides that, he had even stated that Asia was originally allied with the Fallen Angels, albeit unaware of their actions and plans. Her arrival in Kuoh would have been the first time she had even seen the Fallen Angels.
Before that, she had only been in contact with Freed Sellzen, a stray exorcist whom Phainon called a crazy lunatic with a murder fetish.
"Ah, worry not, Princess. I didn't want to leave Asia here in your care for any nefarious reasons," Phainon smiled.
Blue eyes were locked in a standoff before Rias sighed. Ever since this white-haired man appeared, she felt like her life had gotten more stressful. The days of lazing around were slowly becoming a daydream.
All of a sudden, a red flash of light appeared in the clubroom. A magical circle formed as a pair of people began to materialize from midair, their presence manifesting.
Rias's peerage adopted serious and respectful looks, knowing who was making their appearance. Issei, on the other hand, was a bit slow to the party, not realizing who they were. But no one could blame him; he had only become a Devil a few days ago and didn't know much about their society beyond the tidbits Rias and her peerage fed him.
"So, you're the one who Ria-tan here told me about?"
The new people in the room were a red-haired man who bore a close resemblance to Rias; it would not be an exaggeration to call him a male version of Rias. Beside him was a gray-haired woman in a maid's uniform, standing with a dignified, stern aura.
"Ah, Sirzechs Lucifer!" Phainon stood up from the couch, standing face to face with the crimson-haired Satan himself, "It's quite the honor to meet such a distinguished figure in Devil society!"
"And oh? You've brought along the esteemed Miss Lucifuge!" The silent maid made a bowing gesture.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Mr. Phainon of the Grove of Epiphany."
"Haha, no need to lengthen my name. Just call me Phainon or Pienon."
"Please call me Sirzechs then."
The two men shook hands, but were silently assessing each other. Both exuded a soft and gentle aura, but who knew what would happen if both got serious?
Sirzechs felt the white-haired man's confidence, a confidence that seemed born of extreme assurance in his strength. As one of the Four Great Satans under the Domestic Affairs Department, he had to deal with interpersonal relations among devils. He knew of many people like Phainon in this sense.
'An Angel emissary or a demigod?' The Crimson Satan felt a saintly, divine aura beneath the man's facade. This man, who was stated to be a human, hadn't revealed his identity yet.
"Well, since we've made acquaintance now. Let us get down to business," Sirzechs sat down beside Rias while Phainon was beside Asia.
"I've already heard from Ria-tan here that you spoke of a mysterious figure wandering around. The Flame Reaver, as you've dubbed him, is that correct?"
"Correct on all points there, Sirzechs."
"What is his goal then? You mentioned he likes to hunt down "special people." Who and what are they?" Sirzechs felt the term's vagueness warranted a grand reveal.
"These special people. They're rare Sacred Gear users, more importantly, Longinus Sacred Gear users."
Sirzechs' calm and soft smile turned serious. He had taken the matter seriously because this was his sister's territory alongside the Sitri heiress. However, he had now become more serious. He had not heard of the Flame Reaver, nor was there evidence of this person's existence, but for Longinus Sacred Gears to be involved? The matter was more serious than he initially anticipated.
"Wait, what? When you appeared before, you said that Issei was one of these special people! Does that mean he's…" Rias suddenly spoke up, remembering Phainon's words from before.
Everyone in the room looked towards the brunette, making the young man shuffle awkwardly in place. As much as he could endure a terrible reputation and glares full of hatred, Issei couldn't endure if it was a bunch of beautiful or handsome people, especially not Rias.
"You all likely don't perceive since it's that faint, but Issei has a Longinus Sacred Gear, more specifically, the Boosted Gear."
Under the gaze of everyone, Issei burst into a befuddled yet giddy expression, "Woah, does that mean I have something strong?!"
Knowing that Issei hadn't been a Devil for long and had almost zero knowledge of anything related to the supernatural, Rias explained it to him.
"Longinus Sacred Gears are the strongest Sacred Gears created by Him. They are unique compared to normal Sacred Gears, having multiple abilities and even the power to kill Gods."
"The Boosted Gear in particular is known as the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, and its wielder is known as the Red Dragon Emperor. It houses one of the two Heavenly Dragons, the Welsh Dragon, Y Ddraig Goch."
Hearing this, Issei felt like his dreams were truly coming true. First, he had become a Devil under the servitude of a beautiful master with big boobs, and now he awakens a protagonist-like cheat? Haha, life was really looking bright!
"But, why does it look like a Twice Critical?" Rias asked.
The first time that Issei manifested his Sacred Gear, it didn't have the grandiose appearance of a Longinus but a common Sacred Gear. Still, she chose to believe Phainon because it was likely the reason why Issei took 8 Pawn Pieces to reincarnate.
"Well, his talent is, a lack of a better word, shit. Worry not, once he experiences a stimulating enough event, it'll awaken itself."
The main reason for his awakening was Asia's death, something that was going to happen sooner or later. Phainon needed Issei to grow, to become stronger, so the amount of EP was greater.
"But why would the Flame Reaver want to hunt down Longinus users?" Sirzechs asked, "Does he feel threatened by them?"
It was a well-known fact that Longinus Sacred Gears could potentially destroy the world, but there wasn't much people could do about them. God's System would permanently recycle them back to humans or hybrids. Unless they killed all beings with the potential to gain Sacred Gears or destroy God's System, which held up the entirety of the Biblical Heaven, Longinus were eternal.
Most factions would just recruit Sacred Gear users because they were often versatile and strong.
What Phaion replied with filled the entire room with a chilling aura.
"Why else but to usurp the power of God, of course!"