It was already night when the clubroom door suddenly burst open. "Buchou!" Issei rushed into the room, breathing heavily as though he had run the entire way. His expression was filled with panic, and before he could properly catch his breath, he hurriedly spoke."Asia was—"
"Issei." Rias interrupted him before he could finish. Her calm voice halting his words. "I already told you, didn't I?"
She looked directly into his eyes. "That you shouldn't get close to anyone from the Church."
Issei looked away his fists slowly tightened at his sides, but his expression heavy.
Rias let out a quiet sigh. "You're my pawn," she continued, her voice softening noticeably. "I don't want you getting hurt."
She wasn't scolding him simply because he had disobeyed her orders. She was worried.
Even so, Issei bit his lip before speaking again. "Even still... I want—"
Slap!
Before he could finish, Rias's hand struck his cheek.
Issei's eyes widened in shock. He slowly raised a hand to the side of his face.
Rias's hand remained suspended in the air for a brief moment before she slowly lowered it. "How many times do I have to tell you no?"
After several seconds of silence, Issei finally spoke. "Buchou..." His voice was much quieter now.
"I'm glad you brought me back to life and gave me a new one..." He lowered his head before continuing. "But I can't just let all this happen." His fists clenched tightly. "If that's how it's going to be..."He slowly raised his head again. "...then release me from your household."
He looked directly at Rias. "That way I can go alon—"
"There's no way I can do that." Rias cut him off before he could finish.
Issei frowned. "I'm just a pawn, right?" he argued. "So you can do it without one foot sol—"
"Be quiet." Rias's sharp voice stopped him mid-sentence once again.
A few moments later, her expression softened. "Issei," she began calmly, "do you think a pawn is the weakest piece on the chessboard?"
The sudden question caught him off guard. He remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
Rias slowly began explaining. She told him how the Evil Pieces were modeled after the pieces used in chess and how each one possessed its own unique role.
Then she explained the pawn. "In chess, a pawn isn't simply a disposable piece." She smiled faintly. "If it advances all the way to the deepest part of the enemy's territory, it can be promoted." She paused briefly before continuing. "It can become any piece other than the king."
Her crimson eyes met Issei's once more.
"The same applies to Evil Pieces."
"As your king, if I acknowledge a place as enemy territory..." she continued, "...then you can undergo promotion there." She used the Church as an example, explaining how the system worked.
By the time she finished, Issei had fallen completely silent. His expression had changed slightly.
He still looked conflicted, but at least now he understood why Rias had chosen him as her pawn. "While I'm at it..." Rias continued. "Let's talk about your Sacred Gear."
Issei nodded before answering. "It doubles my power, right? Yuuma told—"The words stopped in his throat, his cheerful expression disappearing instantly. "...the Fallen Angel told me." He quietly corrected himself before closing his eyes.
Rias gave a small nod."Feel." She said before continuing. "A Sacred Gear responds strongly to its owner's emotions. The stronger those emotions become, the stronger your Sacred Gear will respond."
Issei instinctively looked down at his own hand. He opened and closed it several times as though trying to feel the Sacred Gear hidden within.
Then the sound of a phone interrupted his focus. Rias sigh before taking her phone out.
Without thinking much of it, she answered. "What did you call me for before, Gremory?" Meguna's lazy voice came through the speaker clearly enough for rias to hear.
Not wanting to drag Meguna into what was about to happen, Rias answered calmly.
"Ah, Fushi-san. It's nothing. It was just a small thing."
"Huh?" There was a brief pause on the other end. "Then you know you shouldn't have bothered calling me in the first place." His tone remained as casual "Don't keep forgetting our contract, Gremory."
Rias gave a helpless smile. "I hope yo—" Before she could apologize Meguna interrupted her again."But..." His voice slowed slightly. "Our contract doesn't say that I can't take part if I want to."
"So..." His tone carried the a hint of amusement."You have a chance, Gremory."
He paused once more before speaking again. "So, pique my interest"
Rias took a brief moment before answering. "It was about investigating the church. I have a feeling they're planning to do something involving the nun's Sacred Gear."
On the other end of the call, Meguna remained silent for a few seconds as he considered her words. 'The nun... so it really is Asia, the girl Issei keeps talking about' he thought. 'That does sound a little interesting. I wonder what the Fallen Angels are actually after. They can't be making all this fuss for no reason. Besides... I still haven't seen what her Sacred Gear can actually do.'
A faint grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Hmm... investigating the church, huh?" he muttered before calling out, "Gremory."
The sudden shift in his tone made Rias unconsciously straighten her posture. Meguna continued in his usual relaxed voice. "Maybe I'll join you later if I feel like it. Until then, you can go back to whatever you were doing." Without waiting for a reply, he ended the call.
Rias lowered the phone and stared at the dark screen for a brief moment. ' fushi-san's planning to come? That's... unexpected." A small smile almost formed on her face before she suppressed it. 'Even if he only comes because it caught his interest, having him around certainly wouldn't hurt.'
Before she could think about it any further, Akeno quietly stepped closer. "Buchou," she called softly.
Rias turned toward her and Akeno leaned in slightly and informed her of the latest development in a voice only the two of them could hear.
As she listened, the relaxed look on Rias's face gradually disappeared, replaced by a more serious expression. "I see..." she murmured.
She looked toward the rest of her peerage before speaking. "Something has come up, Akeno. I'll be stepping out for a while."
Just before activating her teleportation magic, Rias glanced back at Issei. "Issei," she said firmly, making sure she had his full attention. "Under no circumstances are you to bother Fushi-san."
Issei gave an obedient nod. "Understood, Buchou."
"Very well then, Akeno." With those words, Rias activated her teleportation circle and disappeared from the clubroom.
Issei took a step toward the door. Just as he reached it, Kiba's calm voice stopped him. "Are you going?"
Without turning around, Issei gave a short nod. "Yeah. There's no point trying to stop me now."
"You'll die," Kiba replied. His gentle smile never left his face, yet there wasn't a trace of humor in his voice.
Issei clenched his fists "Maybe I will," he admitted. "But I'll make sure Asia escapes... even if I end up dead."
Kiba let out a quiet sigh before smiling a little wider. "I like your resolve...or at least, I'd like to say that. But this is completely reckless."
"Shut up, pretty boy. I'll—" Issei cut himself off as he noticed Kiba calmly adjusting the sword at his waist.
Kiba stepped forward until he was standing beside him. "That's why," he said with the same composed smile, "I'm coming too. Also Buchou has acknowledged that the church is an enemy territory"
Before he could say anything else, Koneko quietly stepped forward from the side. "I'm coming as well," she said in her usual flat tone.
"Koneko-chan?" Issei blinked.
She met his gaze without changing her expression. "You won't accomplish anything by going alone. If we're going, our chances are better together."
Issei looked at both of them for a moment before letting out a helpless laugh. "You guys..."
Koneko folded her arms. "Don't misunderstand. I'm simply doing my job as a member of the peerage."
"Whatever the reason," Issei replied with a grateful grin, "thanks." the three then hurried out of the clubroom together
----
Not far from the church, a teleportation circle spread across the ground before Rias and Akeno emerged from it.
Suddenly, a figure leaped down from the trees and landed several meters in front of them.
She looked at the two devils with a confident smile before introducing herself. "My name is Mittelt, a Fallen Angel."
"Ara, ara... how very polite," Akeno replied with a gentle smile, bringing a hand near her lips.
Rias crossed her arms as she looked directly at the Fallen Angel. "My servant sensed your presence. It seems you're afraid we'll interfere with whatever you're planning."
Mittelt shrugged without denying it. "Uh-huh. We can't exactly let anyone interrupt our important ritual." A smug grin spread across her face as she stared back at Rias.
----
Meanwhile, Meguna sat comfortably at the dining table, eating dinner as though nothing unusual without a hint of concern. 'Hmm... they're probably already at the church by now' he thought while taking another bite.
Across from him, his mother looked at him with a curious smile. "So, how's school going? Have you made lots of friends yet? Or maybe..." she teased, "you already have a girlfriend?"
Meguna didn't even look up from his plate.
"Well... I guess I've got around six people I know. One of them's very useful, two might be useful depending on how things turn out, and the other two... who knows."
His mother stared at him for a second before letting out a helpless laugh. "So you're still friends with people who aren't useful to you."
Meguna paused slightly. "I'm glad," she continued warmly. "It means you're not choosing people based only on whether they're useful. For a while, I honestly thought you'd stay shut off from everyone your whole life."
Meguna silently continued eating. 'Huh... why did Mom think that?' he wondered.
' I guess it's because I never got along with the other kids when I was little. Then again, I simply wasn't interested in making friends back then. Even now... most of it's just for convenience.'
Once he finished eating, he carried his plate to the sink before heading upstairs to his room.
After changing into more comfortable clothes, he quietly opened the window. With a light jump, he landed outside without making much noise.
Meguna casually started walking, making his way to the church.
"Now..." he muttered as marks began appearing on his body along with an extra pair of eyes and a wide Sukuna-like grin slowly spreading across his face, "Let's begin the massacre" (gif)
----
[A/N: i think Meguna being interested in checking out what the church is going to do to asia is pretty likely. I mean he doesn't know what the Fallen angels want with her gear or even know what does her gear does. Do give your thoughts on it]