One-Punch DxD: NEO

Chapter 6:

Inside his hotel suite, Diodora Astaroth sat on his lavish chair, holding a glass of wine in hand while watching the sunset illuminating the town below his balcony.

He had a serene smile, his usual 'mask' he always wore, but his mind anticipated what was to come. If everything went as planned, Diodora would wave this filthy place called human world goodbye, and have Asia Argento in his bed-chamber for him to 'baptize' into another one of his conquests.

For years he had observed and waited.

Ever since he caught the wind of a newly appointed holy maiden named Asia Argento, she captured his heart upon first sight. He watched her grow like a well-nurtured fruit tree until she became ripe enough to pick. Once Asia had reached a certain age, Diodora had deliberately infiltrated the Vatican in order to start what could be his most glorious conquest.

Too bad one of the Church's sentries spotted him and nearly killed him, but the result did end with her excommunication, thus throwing her into despair - his favorite element in nurturing and seasoning his meal, making the setbacks worth the trouble.

Still, because of his blunder during his infiltration, Diodora lost track of Asia due to laying low in order to prevent his brother and the older nobilities from discovering that he nearly caused another Great War. By the time he got a hold of her whereabouts, Asia Argento was already under Grigori's protection.

Then again, it did not take long until Diodora learned that the Grigori transferred the girl into a small town in Japan with some fallen angel and stray exorcist entourages, which was a window of opportunity.

Since the town was under Gremory and Sitri clan's management, Diodora had initially planned to raid the fallen angel base with his entire peerage under the premise of 'getting rid of unwanted intruders in Gremory's and Sitri's favor,' and ultimately brought Asia home as his spoils of war.

However, soon Diodora abandoned that plan as he learned that not only the Gremory and the Sitri had made contact with Asia Argento, the girl had moved in to live with a mere human. It irked him, but it was merely a minor setback that would stop him from claiming what was rightfully his.

It was also an opportunity for him to 'spice' Asia with more despair, seeing how close and trusting she had come to, in the regards of the boy and the family she lived with. He had assigned some of his household servants to kidnap Asia, but they have never returned, which frustrated him.

Later he assigned two of his Knights and one of his Bishops to ambush the boy who had become Asia's emotional support, only to find that not only his servants failed, his Bishop had been compromised and fell into Gremory and Sitri's custody, much to his further frustration, which he vented on the Knight he had placed in charge of the assassination.

So far, he learned that his Bishop had fallen unconscious in the wake of the battle, which provided some time to formulate another plan. Not to mention, not only his Bishop would never betray him, but he also possesses an alibi to claim innocence should the Gremory and Sitri turn against him.

He then learned about the existence of one Freed Sellzen, a rogue exorcist that had recently started a killing spree on Devil contractors. From him, Diodora received a plan, one which he believed could remove suspicion from him and earn Asia's loyalty while ridding him of the pesky human once and for all.

He grinned as he took a sip of his wine, licking the lingering taste in his lips as he imagined the future he had in store for Asia. He was snapped out of his reverie when he heard his Queen addressed him.

"M'lord."

Diodora glanced at his right-hand woman, "...Anything?"

"...He got her."

Diodora's grin widened at his Queen - his very first conquest's reply. The time has finally come for him to stand in the spotlight.

oXo

"Haa!"

Issei roared as he drove his gauntlet-clad fist into the frog monster's side, but his limb seemingly 'squished' into the monster's fat flesh.

"What the-!?" Issei was baffled at the sight. He never fought something that squished before.

At least his failed attack diverted the monster's attention away from the girls towards him instead. Issei immediately retreated back while throwing a quick look at the girls. "Get out of here! Now!"

Issei had to return his attention to the frog monster that was now on him. It screeched at Issei as it opened its mouth and flicked its elongated tongue at him.

"Whoa!" Issei dodge-rolled aside as the tongue hit the concrete.

Issei narrowed his eyes as he straightened his left hand, bending his fingers as if they were a claw. "Alright. Time for the messy approach."

[Oh. Are you really going to do that?]

Ddraig asked, knowing what Issei was going to do.

"It's either wasting time with the punching bag or I end it here. Like how dad did with that one monster." Issei replied before taking deep breath.

[Boost!]

Upon feeling the buff, the boy closed his eyes to focus himself, remembering his past training on tapping his inner energy. He was not a magic user in the conventional sense, but Issei should have been able to use magic since he could access something as mystical as Boosted Gear.

Issei let out a breath as he finally managed to concentrate whatever energy he could tap to his left arm, which would be amplified even further by the Boosted Gear with Ddraig's help. He clenched his fist as the monster made his way towards him.

However, Issei did not expect for the girls he tried to save, suddenly clung on him - restricting his movements in the process. "Hey, what the hell!?"

Issei cursed as they held him in place. They were actually doing something only a true dick would, and that was to only happen in games. Moreover, the girls' grip on him was ridiculously strong.

"Are you seriously doing this to me?! What the fuck?!" Issei clicked his tongue as he turned back to the frog, seeing its fang-rowed mouth open wide as it leaped.

The girls did not answer, and Issei would not waste his time killing this abomination.

Mustering whatever strength he had, Issei twisted his body around, making sure to move his body from head to toe to generate enough force to throw the girls off him.

When the girls were actually thrown off, the frog just landed with its mouth open right on top of Issei.

However, Issei threw his uppercut just when it was about to clamp on him. The moment he did, he released the energy within as his fist made contact, firing an explosive pulse of magical power from the Sacred Gear at the frog and decimated it.

Flesh, bones, teeth, brain, everything was seen as it exploded, popping like a gory balloon as blood and viscera rained down upon them.

Among the falling remains of the monster, Issei stood, breathing in relief and slight exhaustion before he turned to glare at the girls before him. However, when he turned to check on Asia, who was no longer standing on the spot where he left her.

"Asia?" Fear began to crawl on him as Issei began to look around for any sign of his charge. "Asia!"

He started to realize what just happened as he pieced the events together along with the two girls this morning. He turned to the girls and saw them getting up, both looking at him in slight shock as he was caked in blood and strips of meat.

Without warning, both girls were suddenly slammed into a tree, finding themselves gripped by the throat.

"Where is she!?"

Issei practically roared as his expression was contorted into an utter fury. The girls gagged due to Issei's hold against their necks, and they tried to pry his fingers off them by their enhanced strength as Diodora Astaroth's Rooks.

[Boost!]

Unfortunately for those girls, Issei remained steadfast as he barely budged from their resistance before he pressed their frames against the tree bark a tad harder.

"Where. Is. She?" Issei gritted out the question again. "Where is your master? What are you planning with her?!"

Teresa choked slightly as Issei's hold pressed against her windpipe, but she managed to wheeze out, "Do you really think we'd tell you?"

"We are the Rooks of Diodora Astaroth!" Amanda also croaked out.

"You" Issei said with a disbelief tone. "You two almost died. I'm pretty sure that ugly fucker really wanted to eat you two alive. You telling me that even that was an act?! Or are you that suicidal?!"

"Our lives do not matter. As long as we meet our objective by keeping you here!" Teresa said.

"Why lay your lives for a prick like him?!" Issei growled out in return.

"Don't you speak ill of our master!" Amanda growled back with a burst of strength out of anger, but she still could not free herself from Issei's grasp in the end.

Issei narrowed his eyes at the girls he was holding for a second before he began again, "...I heard both of you were holy maidens before. What did a guy like Diodora do to you that made you throw your old life behind?"

For a second, the girls' expressions seemed to falter, but Teresa simply gritted out, "That's none of your business!"

"It is the moment you threw your lives away just to kill me." Issei rebuked. "Did he even care about you?"

"Yes! He cared. And loved us!" Amanda spoke next.

"Oh?" Issei responded with a mock surprise. "That was before. Then what about now? Name one good reason that he still does." He asked, not letting go of their use of past tense.

The girls wanted to say something, but the words died on their throats. None of them could come up with an answer. Seeing the girls' expressions faltered even more, Issei's eyes softened slightly.

"I don't know what's going on with Diodora or any of you girls, but I know enough that your master is not what you think he is and you two know that more than I do. What point is there supporting that guy now?"

"You don't!" Amanda forced herself to retort, but she felt her eyes burning.

Issei let out a silent breath as his voice went a little softer. "...I know he's a dick. The question is, are you really supporting him? Or is he forcing you to? Because your eyes. They don't look like they're from someone in love." Issei had a good idea of their state if he knew the rumors behind Diodora.

Their faces were just as fake as Diodora's annoying smile. They were wearing masks just like him.

The girls' expressions were stoic, but one of them was trembling, her features crumbling. Amanda looked as if she was trying to argue back against Issei, but every time she opened her mouth, the words failed to come out of her mouth until tears started to come out of her eyes.

"I." Amanda uttered as she started to cry. "I!"

"...How bad was it?" Issei asked, as he slightly loosened his grip on the girls.

Amanda looked away as she closed her eyes, her tears starting to flow in rivulets. Memories flooded into her mind, the mundane and peaceful life where she was still serving the Church and her faith. Along the hardships of sustaining the Church, Diodora Astaroth, the charming man, always consoled her when the Church, her home, was suffering a decline in followers and donations until she lost everything - her home, her faith, the priest and older nuns, all that was her family were gone.

Then Diodora came again with a promise of a new home.

In that moment of weakness, she surrendered herself under the devil's mercy, and when she recovered her senses, she was no longer human, bound to the man behind her misfortune in eternal servitude.

"...I lost everything because of him." Amanda finally sobbed with her tears flowing freely.

"Amanda!" the other girl shouted, but against her wishes, her tears flowed out as well.

"I." Amanda choked, ignoring Teresa's call. "...Your ward, Asia Argento I envy her"

"...What does Diodora want with Asia?" Issei asked, knowing that the girls had lost their will to fight.

Amanda looked down as Issei released her, along with Teresa, letting them fall to their feet.

"...Diodora he wants to turn her into a Devil. Then he plans to turn her into us." Amanda confessed, tears continuing to drip.

It did not take long for Issei to understand the implication. "Do you know where she might be?"

"...Diodora made a deal with a stray exorcist to kidnap her. His role is to play the villain for Diodora's stage to sway her."

Issei blinked and his eyebrows furrowed. "Wait What? So you're saying he paid someone to kidnap her so he could convince Asia that he's a good guy?"

"We don't know much of his plan But they're probably at the old abandoned church at the outskirts of the town. You might be able to make it if you go now." Amanda said with a slightly calmer tone.

Issei regarded her for a second before he nodded. "...Thanks."

When Issei turned on his heels, Amanda called one last time. "Just Please, end this."

Issei did not say anything as he simply dashed towards the direction of the said destination.

Asia groaned as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Fue" She looked around, finding herself supine on the floor. She slowly got up as she rubbed her head, trying to remember what happened to her.

Her eyes widened and she frantically looked around as soon as she remembered about the park. "Mr. Ise...?"

She was in the middle of the old abandoned church, which she recognized during her times with the fallen angels. How did she get here?

"Well, well, well, look who's awake"

Asia snapped her head towards the direction where the voice came from, and inside the dimly lit room of the old church, she saw a visage of a young man in clerical clothing striding towards her with a twisted grin on his face.

"E-Eh?!" Asia stuttered as she saw the stray exorcist.

"Hi~" Freed Sellzen waved as he practically bounced on his steps. "The name's Freed, nice to meet 'cha. I bet you're wonderin' why you're here."

Asia stood up in fright, but her legs were shaking. She did not know the man before her, but she remembered his face among the ranks of the stray exorcists under the fallen angels. After all, she had heard the rumours about his disturbing tendencies.

"Well, you see, I was paid by this guy- Oops, fuck, I'm not supposed to say that." Freed slapped his mouth shut and giggled. "Though it is the first time I'm doing this, so play along nice and quietly, or things will get ugly for you... Well, for me, to be exact."

Asia swallowed a lump as Freed brandished a pommel. The object spewed forth a blade of light, a standard sword of light of the Church Exorcists.

Asia began to retreat as Freed approached her while swinging his sword for a couple of times. She then began to run when Freed had gotten too close for comfort.

"Well, usually I would reserve this for Devils and Satanists, but there are exemptions for everything. Don't worry, it won't hurt a bit, hehehe..." Freed giggled maniacally as he swung at her.

Asia shrieked as she barely dodged the swing, but the blade of light was able to nick her shoulder uniform, revealing the skin beneath.

"Hold still or I might hit somewhere important!" Freed smiled as he kept swinging at her with lazy swipes.

Stepping back, Asia kept avoiding Freed's sword as best as she could with adrenaline pumping through her veins, but Freed's onslaught kept seemingly tearing up her clothes here and there, leaving her half-naked by the time she tripped out of exhaustion.

Asia was tearing up as she scrambled back on the ground, doing her best to cover her modesty while her eyes kept looking at the stray exorcist looming before her.

"Now for the bullshit finale. Fair warning though." Freed leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Don't take the Devil's bait when he arrives." He whispered as his hand began to trail up Asia's ruined skirt.

Asia blinked at the choice of words, but at the same time, she was also frightened at the advance Freed was making on her.

"Yeah, I don't like this either. Either I play along or the Devil screws me over, and I fuckin' hate Devils. If you see a handsome guy that smiles a lot, run away." Freed whispered. "But for now. Just let me enjoy this while it lasts, yeah?" Freed grinned lecherously as Asia's face paled.

"N-No!" She waved her arms around to keep Freed at bay, but he easily overpowered her as he kept her arms by wrist with his one hand and used his sword hand to trace along Asia's thighs.

However, before things could have escalated any further, Freed suddenly paused and clicked his tongue, before he quickly leapt away from Asia, avoiding the two energy bolts that scorched the ground he was on.

"...I think that is far enough."

Asia turned to see Diodora Astaroth had entered the room, he soon arrived by her side and used his robe to cover her half-naked body, which she pulled around herself in reflex. The stray exorcist recovered and spat at the interference. "...Heh, now you're here."

Asia looked at Diodora confused. "Um, w-why are you here?" Asia asked, confused as to why Diodora arrived in the nick of time to save her she turned to look at Freed, seeing his face twitch at the sight of Diodora.

"I'm here for you, of course." Diodora flashed her his signature smile, before he turned to Freed with a scowl on his face. "Fear no more, Asia. I shall protect you from this cretin."

"U-Uh?" Asia had a lot of questions running through her head. How did Diodora find her so fast? She didn't even know how she even got here.

"Oh, nooo, if it isn't the Devil that smiles a lot. Whatever should I do?" Freed mockingly dramatized his response as he twirled his gun around his thumb by the trigger.

However, Diodora beat Freed to it as the former had fired several bolts of demonic power at the latter. The stray exorcist slung to the left as he fired his gun at Diodora, smiling maniacally as the Devil conjured a magic circle with his family crest on it to block the light projectiles.

The long-ranged battle lasted for a minute until Freed decided enough was enough and jumped out to a nearby window.

"Y'know what, I'm fucking done! Buh-bye Devil Smiles-alot!" Freed shouted with emphasis on his nickname for Diodora.

Asia could not help but blink at the seemingly abrupt end of the fight, but she did not have any time to ponder as Diodora was already kneeling before her.

"Are you badly injured?" He asked with a gentle smile on his face.

"N-No Thank you for saving me, Mr. Diodora." Asia was still mistrustful of the devil, but she knew better than being ungrateful.

She looked at the broken window where Freed escaped, wondering what he was doing until now. She tilted her head a little.

"Beware" She blinked a little as she slowly connected the dots in her head. Smiles a lot smiles run away? Asia turned to Diodora, seeing his gentle smile the smile he always wore around her Asia slowly widened her eyes when she pieced Freed's warning with Diodora's face.

Freed was warning her about Diodora all this time.

"U-um, can I go home? I'm afraid Mrs. Hyd and Mr. Ise are looking for me" Nervousness wracked her composure as she felt her heart drumming in her chest, sweat perspiring as she gulped the lump in her throat.

"Shh" Diodora gently held Asia from standing back up, "Relax. There is no more danger around us, so take your time."

Asia bit her lip, but could not bring herself to resist or argue out of fear, knowing of the Devil's true intentions.

"Calm yourself, Asia" Diodora whispered again. He slowly opened his eyes as his pupils glowed in the dark room. "Why would you return to a man who was not here for you when you needed him?"

"Huh?" Asia found herself unable to tear her eyes away from Diodora's.

"You saw for yourself; the man you trusted had chosen to leave you behind in favor of saving others, unknowing of your plight when you had to suffer from the stray exorcist earlier"

Doubt began to fill Asia as she listened to Diodora's words like a worm violently burrowing into her head. She felt strange, something unnatural happening to her. In reaction, a part of her resisted, struggling to hold onto her memories of current events to fight off the invasion of false emotions.

"It was the right thing to do Those girls needed help" Asia struggled to hold onto reason as Diodora persisted.

"But it wasn't right to just leave you behind without ensuring your safety He should have done better in keeping you safe."

"I" Asia struggled, her eyes quivering as she struggled to block out the unnatural emotions. "I trust Mr. Ise."

She slowly tried to close her eyes. She did not want this. She did not want to have everything she built around Issei to disappear.

"No, you can't trust him, my dear" Diodora pushed on. "He's just a mere human with a meager life, he cannot make you happy. I, on the other hand, will grant you everything one can possibly desire."

"N-No" Asia closed her eyes as she looked away, breaking herself off from Diodora's eyes. "I-I am happy!" From the maelstrom of fear and doubt, Asia mustered the courage to speak her mind to Diodora.

"I am happy here! I get to make new friends with Issei, Ms. Tsubasa, Ms. Rias, and everyone else! I made a new friend with Mr. Ise's dog! I like to eat Mrs. Hyd's food! I-I don't want to lose everyone again like before!" She shouted with conviction at a volume that made Diodora flinch.

"Quit fooling yourself, girl." Her resistance cost Diodora's voice a fraction of its gentleness. "You don't belong here, you don't belong with them. You are a witch, remember?" He said as he slightly opened his eyes more as he pumped more power into his hypnosis.

"I-I" Asia looked away, refusing to look into Diodora's eyes. Diodora gritted his teeth as he grabbed Asia's cheeks and pulled her chin until she was facing him, his eyes half open, twitching with stress and barely-restrained lust.

Asia ended up taking the brunt of Diodora's suggestions as their eyes met. "You belong to me. Only I can give worth to your current insignificant life, or else you will only bring misfortune to people around you. Come with me, Asia Argento."

"H-hel p" Asia tearfully whispered as she felt herself slipping away.

Diodora smirked, seeing that his words finally began to sink into Asia's mind. After all the trials and hindrances, he finally managed to get his hands on Asia Argento, even though it was on inconvenient terms. No matter, as soon as she joined his Peerage, she would be his forever.

For the final measure, Diodora maintained his hold on Asia's chin as he slowly closed the distance between his lips and hers.

"DIODORAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

However, before Diodora could steal Asia's first kiss, the entrance to the church shattered, each of the two doors whooshing towards Diodora as he turned to the source.

"What?!" Diodora grabbed Asia as he summoned a defensive magic barrier, conjuring a circle in front of him just when the doors smashed to splinters on the barrier.

"Youuuu..!" The newcomer hissed.

Diodora opened his eyes completely as he saw the form of the same human that brought distress to him all this week, glaring at him with a rage that befitted a barbarian. Clicking his tongue, Diodora proceeded to prepare a teleportation glyph and the ground around him and Asia began to glow.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Issei Hyd roared as he burst towards him like lightning, trailing dust kicked up just as quick as Diodora suddenly saw the cretin's face so close to his, rage glaring into his eyes with a fist clenched.

"What the-!?" Diodora did not expect to see the boy managing to get inside the teleportation range, just as the teleportation circle activated.

A flash of light later, they vanished, leaving no more presences inside the abandoned church.

As the environment shifted from the town to the comfortable realm of his estate, where an annual social gathering was held - filled with servants, relatives, and guests - the human smashed Diodora's face with his fist as hard as he could, sending him flying into the walls as the maids and servants gasped upon hearing the crash.

"AGGHH!? How dare you, you filthy human?!" Diodora scowled as he held his face, his flawless face caved in with his teeth falling out.

Issei did not respond as he caught Asia, flying from the impact, before she fell on the floor. Looking at Asia, Issei could see her eyes were blank, something amiss with her current state. The sight of it made him grit his teeth as anger pumped through his veins.

"Oh? What is this?" A man with dark blue eyes and blonde spiky hair, clad in a burgundy suit; swirling a glass of wine in his hand, looked at the scene with interest.

"Is that a human?" A young blonde girl in a pink dress, shorter yet sharing similar traits with the man earlier, asked as she stood next to him, eyeing the scene with curiosity. The Devil guards snapped out of their stupor with a shake of their head as they ran to the Heir of the Astaroth Household.

"Young Master Astaroth! What has happened?!" One shouted as he helped Diodora up, but Diodora slapped his hand aside as he picked himself up.

The other Devil Guards surrounded Issei, each aiming a halberd at him while Diodora crawled to his feet, still holding his face.

"Kill him! He has assaulted me during my recruitment! Kill this filthy human!" Diodora ordered the guards to attack Issei.

"Oh, so that's how you want to play this!?" Issei could feel his rage boiling in his gut, now unable to stand the sight of Diodora as he gently placed Asia down, burning a hole in Diodora with his glare.

The Noble Devils in the halls chartered as they stared at the human, confusion spreading amongst them with curiosity mixed in. More Devil guards entered the room and joined their comrades surrounding the human.

"Ah, don't hurt the girl! If I see as much as a scratch, I will have your heads!" Diodora shouted as the guards charged at Issei, shouting as they threw their weapons at the intruding human.

Issei released a long breath - It was the first time he was this furious, and the anger helped him release all restraints as he slowly tightened his fists as his skin tightened over his knuckles.

"...What is happening here?"

However, before Issei could respond with violence, the guards stopped their tracks as another individual entered the room.

"My Lord Beelzebub!" One of the guards shouted.

"""Hail!"""

The rest of the Devils straightened up as the guards shouted and they knelt before the Devil entered the room. The Devil was a young man appearing in his early twenties with light blue eyes and his green hair slicked back. He had a bewitchingly attractive face as his eyes scoured the room before landing his sights on Diodora.

"B-brother Ajuka! Good thing you're here! This barbarian attacked me when I was simply recruiting a human for my peerage!" Diodora shouted, his ugly face twisting an ugly smile.

The Lord of Flies stared between his apparent brother and the 'barbarian' in question, before he came up with a comment.

"...How unsightly," He said facing Diodora.

"...Eh?" Diodora blinked, confused as to why the Satan was looking down on him, as Beelzebub, Ajuka, turned to the human.

"...Tell me, boy. Would you care to introduce yourself? It is not every day we have an unexpected guest, a human especially in our humble domicile."

His polite question surprised the Noble Devils, especially since he was lending a human his ear. Issei was also equally surprised as he relaxed his muscles at the invitation for conversation.

"...I am Issei Hyd. As for how I got here, well Do you want the long version or short?" Issei asked, not caring for the social status or how everyone referred to the Devil in front of him. If he must fight everyone here to save Asia, then so be it.

The Devils gasped at Issei's brazen attitude towards their Satan.

"Is he mad?" A young woman with almond eyes and blonde hair with blue tips, asked the woman in a pink dress with a harsh whisper as she approached her.

"He seems rude." The shorter and younger woman shook her head, her golden drill hair swaying alongside her motion.

"I have a feeling this party will become more entertaining." The man from earlier commented from his position.

"...Hyd?" Ajuka asked back. "Your last name is Hyd?" Unbeknownst to everyone else, there was a glint of recognition in his blue eyes

"Yeah? What about it?" Issei asked.

Ajuka merely shook his head while his lips stretched into an imperceptible smile. "Nothing, nothing. As for your story, a brief synopsis will suffice for me. Please, explain."

Issei quirked a brow at the Devil. This Devil was more amicable than he gave him credit for considering he was from the same family as Astaroth - judging from the fact Diodora addressed him as 'brother', if he knew where he was.

"Well..." Issei paused for a moment, pointing at Diodora. "I was saving my ward from the guy over there. He was trying to kidnap her into his peerage against her will."

The Noble Devils turned their attention to Diodora, who was bleeding with a few teeth missing in his mouth.

"My, he looks far more unsightly than I remember." One Noble Devil commented as mutters started to spark.

The words caused Diodora to grit his teeth as he ungracefully shouted.

"Lies! Don't listen to him!"

At that moment, Asia groaned as she held her head, slowly awakening from Diodora's spell.

"Fueee...?" Asia slowly rubbed her eyes as she came to, getting up from the floor.

"Ah, yes. Perhaps it is better that we hear from her side of the story." The Satan suggested, gesturing to the girl.

"Huh?" Asia blinked as she looked around. "Eh?! W-Where am I?!"

The Satan blinked as he looked at Diodora with suspicion.

"Asia! Are you alright?!" Relief filled Issei as he knelt a knee, his eyes gazing into hers as she looked confused.

"I I am. Um, where are we?" She asked, looking around.

"Don't worry. Diodora brought us here, but I'm getting us home soon." Issei smiled as he caressed Asia's head.

"Oh! M-Mmm, I understand!" Asia nodded, smiling at Issei.

"Care to explain yourself, Diodora Astaroth?" After watching the interaction between the two humans, Ajuka asked the current heir to the Astaroth family, sounding as if he had seen enough to reach a conclusion.

"D-Don't be fooled! H-He... That's right! He brainwashed her!" Diodora accused, still attempting to defend himself.

That blatant accusation triggered Issei as he shot a two-fold glare at Diodora. "Are you serious right now?!" Issei shouted in disbelief.

"Eh?! N-No! I-I'm fine! I'm not being brainwashed!" Asia frantically joined in, as she pressed herself even closer to Issei.

The Noble Devils muttered amongst themselves as they eyed the situation with their curiosity at their peak.

"I find that remarkably difficult to believe, Diodora." The Satan shook his head. "But I'm a Satan before your brother, so I must remain impartial, despite the evidence stacked against you. Thus, I suggest that we settle this incident with a wager instead."

"Eh?" Issei uttered in confusion, which apparently was shared with the devils in the room.

"A wager?"

"A wager with a human?"

"Isn't it a waste to give such a privilege to a human?"

Muttered questions gathered amongst the Devils of the Astaroth Family as confusion spread amongst all parties, the human included. The concept of a wager was usually between Devils alone, yet the current Beelzebub offered that privilege to a mere human?

"A-Are you playing jokes with us, brother? He is just a human! Let's just kill him and-"

"And yet, you have managed to invite an incident which has never occurred to any Household in Devil history. We might be siblings, but it is also a Devil's duty to prove their standing in times of opposition. Or is it that you are not up to rise on such an occasion?" Ajuka asked.

Diodora's face contorted as if he was about to chew his lip off. He looked at the rest of the Devils of his household, seeing many eyes questioning his worth.

"What? Afraid to lose against a human?" Issei taunted.

That line snapped the last string of Diodora's hesitation, as he glared at Issei with his opened eyes, the ugly yellow eyes behind the mask he usually wore. "...So be it. I will indulge myself in this wager. But to spice things up, how about this?" Diodora maniacally grinned as he aimed a finger at Issei. "If I lose, I, Diodora Astaroth, will revoke ownership of my entire peerage to the human! If I win, Asia Argento will belong to me!"

Gasps filled the air, his daring wager surprised many of the Noble Devils and servants.

"What?" Issei blinked. The guy was willing to give him everyone he had in his Rating Game just for Asia? Just how desperate he is for her?

"Don't tell me you're backing out against me, human?!" Diodora dared back.

Issei looked down at Asia. If he looked at it closely, this entire wager was treating Asia as nothing more than a trophy to be passed down, not a human being. The mere thought of this made Issei grimace, even more so considering how much Diodora wanted Asia.

"...I-It's okay." Asia said.

Issei looked at Asia. "Are you sure?" He asked. "I mean you're being treated like an object here. Doesn't this piss you off?"

Asia shook her head, nary a speck of negative emotions corrupting her pure features.

"No. Because I believe in you. I believe you can win." Asia spoke with faith in her heart, her words touched Issei as he felt his heart skip a beat a little.

"Whoa Um" Issei scratched his cheek a little, slightly embarrassed. It was the first time someone placed so much faith in him, and it felt very nice. "...Yeah. I can do that." Issei had confidence that he could live up to Asia's expectations. He looked at Diodora and his broken face, glaring at the Devil that brought them all into this mess.

"Alright, you jackass, I'm game. How are we gonna settle this?"

"Ohhh, the human has the gall."

"Interesting. Is he a Sacred Gear wielder, perhaps?"

"That would spice the wager, indeed."

Issei's agreement had garnered every devil's attention inside the room, as everyone began to chat and speculate about the future turn of events.

"You have two choices, humans. Now tell me. Which one will you choose?" Ajuka offered, now explaining the two choices Issei had in store.

oXo

A few hours after, Issei stood in a faux arena with Diodora on the other side. It was a circular land, tiled floors of flat white stone, all within a dome of stone as Noble Devils sat around the stadium with interest. Ajuka overlooked the two combatants from a rectangular television screen.

[Allow me to repeat the rules. This is following the standard Ranking Game rules, one on one combat between two individuals. I believe I don't need to state the details on what one shouldn't do when in combat, but other than that, you are allowed to use whatever is at your disposal on your person, Familiars included. Do you have any questions, Issei Hyd?]

Ajuka asked, his voice booming over the stadium.

"Can I go all out without some bullshit?"

His brisk, abrasive words, once again, fazed the Noble Devils on the seats.

"Seriously, this human is too brazen. This is why humans are so" the female devil in a pink dress muttered disdainfully.

"I agree. But" the taller woman with blonde hair - Latia Astaroth looked at Diodora, her uncle starting to smirk with eerie confidence. "It is unusual to see Diodora make that face. I have a feeling this fight might shed some light to Diodora's side."

[Ahahahahahaha!]

Ajuka laughed, much to all devils' surprise.

[Such abrasiveness my, it had been too long since I had someone speaking to me on equal grounds, it is refreshing. But to answer your question, you can fight however you wish as long as illegal substances are not used during this match.]

"Hah, there's a no drugs rule? Alright, I'm cool with that." Issei grinned as he rolled his shoulders, hopping light steps as he raised his arms at Diodora, warming up for the big fight.

"Ready, Ddraig? This time we're gonna go all out." Issei asked.

[Hah! Finally! I can't wait to see the dirt beaten out of this brat!]

The Welsh Dragon exclaimed with growing excitement.

"Cool your jets, though. We have too many people watching. So we'll have to improvise. Can we do that trick uncle Genos suggested?"

[...Sure, but remember, you can only Boost and nothing else, okay?]

"Got it."

"Ahahahahaha! Fool! You dare not reveal your trinket?! Do you really think you can beat me?! I am the Heir of the esteemed Astaroth! I am your superior!" Diodora laughed disgracefully at the lack of the draconic gauntlet on Issei's left arm.

"Yeah, yeah. By the way, how'd you heal your face? I thought I caved it in pretty bad. Don't tell me it is all plastic surgery?" Issei replied, waving off the mockery.

The Devils remained silent at that response in disbelief of what the human just said. Diodora on the other hand, grit his teeth as his face trembled with anger.

[You two may begin.]

Ajuka commenced the match just when Diodora reached the tipping point.

"Die!" Diodora threw his hands at Issei, arrays of magic circles appearing around Diodora in bulk to overwhelm the human with his magic power. Diodora broke a frenzied smile, confident of his assured victory since he boosted himself with various 'substances' during the interim. He refused to hand Asia Argento, his prize, to anyone! She will be his!

This human will die knowing that-

"Eh?"

A dust cloud kicked up where the human stood while the human himself appeared so close to him, zipping at a speed that no human should have.

'He's fa-!' Diodora's thought ended the moment he felt the human's fist smashing into his face again. Diodora was confused. Why did the human's fist hurt much more than before?! Even when he did not augment himself?!

"Agghh!?" Diodora squealed as Issei launched him into the wall at the other end with explosive force. "Shit! My face! Damn you human! Damn you!"

Diodora was a bleeding mess at this point, his teeth falling out again even though he recovered them via use of Phoenix Tears.

"What? You actually thought I was going all out before?" Issei scoffed. "If you want to know why I held back, I don't know how to control my strength that well without killing someone. Don't have much strong opponents to practice on, you know? You're gonna make a nice punching bag for a while."

Diodora could not believe what he was hearing. No, he refused to believe it! He absolutely will not let this human look down on him!

As a matter of fact, Issei had been using Boosted Bear to enhance himself since the beginning of the fight. It was during his past training that he received an idea where he could utilize his Sacred Gear's ability without manifesting it.

A Sacred Gear is a part of its wielder's very soul, one could say it was an extension of oneself. Is there ever a rule where you must manifest the gear whenever you want to use its power?

A few months of brainstorming and training later, Issei arrived at a conclusion that he could use his Boosted Gear without manifesting the gauntlet, although it came with a restriction - Issei had to fully manifest his Boosted Gear if he wanted to utilise its other features like Explosion etc.

Nonetheless, Issei's idea came to a fruition and it was a good tactic to catch his opponent off-guard if needed; or in this case, rattle his opponent's mind.

"You insignificant cattle!" Diodora reared his ugly face, none of his gentle mien from before remaining. He pulled out all of the magic he had in his reserves. He would show this human the true might of a Noble Devil!

"Behold the might of the Astaroth Clan, worm!" His magic circles fired beams of demonic energy at the human, each line curving and twisting, almost serpentine in their trajectory.

Issei glared at Diodora as he shouted.

"Ddraig!"

[Boost!]

Upon empowerment, Issei charged at the barrage of spells heading his way.

"What?!" Latia and the other devils were baffled upon seeing the human dive into the attack with reckless abandon.

Issei released a heavy breath as he tried to recall what his mentor taught him - release himself and flow.

Seeing the human rush towards his spells head on, Diodora smiled fanatically from ear to ear, but his smile fell upon seeing the human perform another impossible feat - the human was deflecting his spells that headed his charging form with his bare hands, weaving his limbs as if they were his shields as his spells bounced off and struck the stone floor. He did not hit all of the spells, just the ones that flew towards him.

"What-Aaahhhh?!" Diodora shouted as the human's fist already crashed into his face again, burying his head into the stone wall of the bleachers as webs of cracks spread across the walls.

"...This is for Asia." Issei warned as he pulled both of his arms back and started delivering a fusillade of fists at Diodora, punching Diodora's upper-half body deeper and deeper into the stone as he cried out in pain and misery.

[Ahahahahaha! Oh, how I missed this sensation!]

Ddraig shouted ecstatically as his host finished his brutal combo with three finishing blows.

[Boost!]

Issei threw his fist, twisting his wrist as he punched into Diodora's ribcage. Issei threw his second punch into his gut as hard as he could, so hard others could see his fist protruding from Diodora's spine. Issei's final attack was a reverse roundhouse kick to Diodora's chin which sent him flying, spinning, parallel to the wall as he bounced across the floor like a skipping stone across a pond.

After Diodora stopped bouncing like a ragdoll, he was a wheezing mess as blood spilled from his nose and lips, half of his teeth knocked out, and anger twisted his face so unsightly, none of the spectators could recognize the smiling youth anymore, just an uglified parody.

"Wow" The young female devil uttered with awe at Issei's performance.

"He is beating uncle." Latia was at the edge of her seat as she and the other Devils viewed Issei with interest.

Diodora hissed as he got to his feet, forming more magic circles, this time each circle was stacked atop the other with the tip of the growing tower aimed at Issei.

"I am Diodora of the House of Astaroth! I will not lose!" Diodora shouted as he fired a magnified beam of magic power at the human.

Issei ducked under Diodora's beam, running parallel to the ray above as he closed the distance towards Diodora, hiding under Diodora's own attack.

"Impossi-bifoh?!" Diodora widened his eyes when he saw the human slid out from under his attack and rose, upper-cutting his chin with a right hook as the human sent him flying towards the center of the arena, knocking a few more of his teeth along the way as he crashed the ground unceremoniously.

"Gotta admit, you're tougher than I thought." Issei whistled upon seeing the wheezing wreck desperately trying to drag himself up, feeling refreshed after unleashing all of his pent-up rage on the source of his ire. "Thought for sure that'll knock you out. Surprised you can still stay up even after I exploded your ribcage and punched your face in so many times."

Diodora could not believe this. He was losing. How could he lose even after he doped himself? He was supposed to be three times stronger than he was before and yet the human still overwhelmed him! This wasn't supposed to happen! He was supposed to win!

"Damn!" Diodora wheezed, but grit through the pain of asphyxiation. "Youuu!"

The Astaroth wheezed and gasped large intakes of air, coughing in failed attempts as he collapsed to his knees. Diodora right now was unsightly, his cheeks swelling unhealthy colors and his eyes bruised black and blue. Blood trickled from his lips and nose in rivulets, defiling his once attractive features.

"You still want to dance? I can fight all day, you know?" Issei taunted as he smirked.

Diodora of the Astaroth Clan will not lose!

"RAAAAGH!" Diodora refused to lose everything he had built, his destiny, just because of a random human!

"My servants!" Raising his hand in the air, Diodora roared as a dark magic circle appeared over his palm.

"Wait, isn't that forbidden?!" Ravel shouted, recognizing the spell.

"Come to my side and destroy this human!" Diodora raged, madness spilling from his eyes as his insanity stretched his smile wider, all born from pride.

The Noble Devils shouted in uproar at this spell. It was a spell forbidden in ranking games since it allowed the King to rob the free will of their peerage, allowing the King to perform even the most extreme acts against them against their will. Ever since it was discovered, the current Lucifer forbade its usage ever since. It was a very well-known spell amongst the educated nobles.

Magic circles appeared on the arena floor, a servant of Diodora's peerage appearing in each of them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Isn't this cheating or something?!" Issei shouted as he looked at the girls. Issei noticed that each of them had empty eyes, which were even emptier than usual for some reason.

"Ahahahahahahaha! So be it! If I can't have Asia, no one can! I, Diodora Astaroth, renounce my Devil-hood!" Diodora laughed maniacally, his face now as twisted and warped as that of Freed's, no, even more twisted, as he pulled out something from his pocket.

It was a sphere of meat? It was of rotten polychromatic colors, veins pulsating the ball of flesh as if it was alive.

[Partner! You better stop him! There's something vile about that thing he is holding and it is dangerous!]

Ddraig shouted as Diodora opened his mouth, about to swallow the thing.

"Got it!" Issei immediately materialized the red gauntlet on his arm.

[Explosion!]

The Noble Devils eyed the gauntlet on Issei's hand with shock.

"Isn't that the Boosted Gear?!" one of the devils shouted, pointing at the human, or to be precise, at the red gauntlet on his left arm.

"The Gauntlet of the Red Dragon Emperor?! That human has it?!" Latia cupped her mouth in surprise as various other demons gasped at the sight of the Longinus.

With a burst of energy, just when the girls were raising their hands to cast their spells and reaching for their swords, Issei dashed, his form a blur, as he weaved through the girls with eruptive speed, zigzagging past girl by girl as he reached Diodora, his eyes glowing red with ire just when Diodora placed it in his mouth.

Closing the remaining distance between him and Diodora, Issei threw his palm forward, smashing it into Diodora's abdomen and sending a shockwave through Diodora's frame until obliterating the floor and the wall behind.

"Ack!?" Diodora coughed, his body bent forward at an acute angle by the stomach, the whites of his eyes showing. The force blasted the meatball out of Diodora's stomach as it fell and rolled around the floor, covered in drool.

Issei tensed his legs as his right uppercut smashed into Diodora's chin.

"Ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Issei roared as he jumped as his fist touched Diodora, and punched Diodora's face so hard again, the Devil flew in a violent spiral towards and crashed into the ceiling, splatting like a bug crashing into a windshield.

As Issei landed on the ground, he watched gravity peeling Diodora off the surface and ungracefully pulled him down back to the earth - until Diodora fell with a painful sounding splat.

Diodora's Peerage regained their senses, their eyes losing the magical glow binding them to the controller as they held their heads from the headache that followed.

The audience stared at the human with disbelief, unable to hide their surprise as Issei defeated the Heir of the Astaroth family single-handedly with inhuman might. The Satan shared their surprise upon, though the sight of the ball of flesh seized his attention.

[Guards. Examine Diodora's blood and his possessions for illegal contraband.]

Ajuka ordered, which his vassals obeyed without a word, as the Devil guards entered the arena via teleportation circle and immediately ran to Diodora's body and carried it away from the stage.

Then, Ajuka's voice echoed again across the room.

[The match has ended with the human's, Issei Hyd's, victory]

The announcement marked the end of the events that day.

As soon as Issei returned to the guest room, a blur suddenly slammed into him. He looked down to see Asia - clad in a simple white dress wrapping her arms around him while burying her face into his chest.

"...Welcome back, Mr. Ise."

Issei smiled softly at Asia's greeting, through the dampness on his clothes he could tell that the girl was crying. He wrapped one of his arms around her frame while his other hand gently caressed her head. "I'm back, Asia. Sorry for the wait."

"It's okay." Asia looked up at him with a radiant expression. "Because I believe in Mr. Ise. Always have and always will."

Issei could not help but blush at Asia's gesture of faith, a faint tinge adorning his cheek. Nevertheless, Issei returned her smile as he pulled her into another hug, which she gladly reciprocated.

Their moment alone lasted for a few minutes until someone knocked on the door of their room. Breaking off the hug, Issei and Asia watched the door open and saw Ajuka Beelzebub entering.

Now that the tension had passed, Issei found himself feeling awkward about how to address the man before him. He had, in fact, been a great help when Issei and Asia were surrounded by the guards earlier, but the boy still did not know anything about him, aside from him being an important figure.

"Um Hi." He stiffly greeted back with a wave of a hand. Asia herself only looked nervous as she subconsciously hid behind Issei.

Ajuka only gave a disarming smile at the awkward gesture. "Both of you can relax, I actually plan to take you back to your home."

Issei and Asia blinked. "Is that so?" The former asked.

"...I believe I have much to apologize for. Rest assured, while we share the same blood, we do not share the same mindset." Ajuka bowed before Issei apologetically. "We will need some time to investigate and process everything on Diodora's side before we can conclude the dilemma, although I believe with everything that had transpired with dozens of witnesses present, a day will suffice. By then, may we meet again and discuss matters thereafter?"

Issei and Asia shared a glance before Issei returned to Ajuka. "...Is he gonna back off this time?"

Knowing well who Issei was talking about, Ajuka nodded. "I give you my word that Diodora will no longer pose problems to any of you. He has doomed himself the moment he used an illegal spell in an official duel sanctioned personally by me. Pride-induced madness is a sadly common occurrence in our society."

"...Okay. How are we going to stay in touch, though?" Issei replied.

"The town where you lived is managed by the Gremory and Sitri clan, correct? I shall ask them to serve as mediators for our next conversation."

Issei and Asia shared a nod this time. "Alright then, I guess we'll be seeing you soon. Actually, I wanted to ask one more thing, before we leave." The former asked.

Ajuka raised his eyebrows a little, but he nodded in permission.

"...Are we actually in hell right now?" Issei asked without missing a beat.

In response, Ajuka snorted with amusement. It took the human a fight for the life of his cherished one and excess adrenaline from combat against a High-Class Devil for him to be aware of his surroundings?

"In a manner of speaking, yes, you are. To be precise, you two are inside one of the manors belonging to the Astaroth Dukedom in the Underworld." Ajuka replied with a small smile.

Issei and Asia blinked; the latter, in particular, never imagined herself to be at the place where the souls of sinners were condemned for eternity.

"Err. Okay." Issei bobbed his head up and down. "...Can you get us back now?"

Ajuka simply smiled knowingly and snapped his fingers, forming a magic circle under the two humans. A second later, Issei and Asia had already vanished from the room in a flash of green light.

"Hyd very interesting turn of coincidence." Ajuka muttered in his musing.

oXo

The environment shifted, the room they were in replaced with a more familiar setting. Issei looked around, finding themselves in

"Hello, there."

Issei and Asia turned around, seeing a smiling Sona sitting on her student council desk with Tsubaki standing dutifully by her side. Rias was also present sitting on the table in the middle of the room, sipping the tea prepared by Akeno, who was also standing behind her.

"How was your day, Mr. Hyd? Ms. Argento?" Sona asked, her voice holding a dreadful calm as a dark air surged behind the student council president.

Standing beside her, Tsubaki pushed her glasses up as she closed her eyes.

"Uh shopping?" Issei replies with a weak smile and shrug.

"Oh, really?" Rias asked with a mock surprise, before she turned to her Queen. "Akeno?"

Akeno silently waved her hand as a screen popped up above everyone, showing a replay of Issei beating the tar out of Diodora.

"...Care to explain to us how you managed to get yourself in the eyes of every noble devil in the Underworld Community? And end up in a fight with a High-Class Devil? Hmm?" Sona asked as Issei noticed various bulging veins popping under her skin.

"...And would you explain why Lord Beelzebub himself suddenly called us a few minutes ago, requesting us to be a mediator for an upcoming dialogue between you and the House of Astaroth?" Rias also asked with a deceptive friendly tone.

Issei looked away, sweating profusely as Asia awkwardly smiled at Issei.

"Uhhh I did Diodora's face in because Well, he kidnapped Asia?"

"...And?" Rias asked, slowly opening her eyes, revealing her cold, criticizing stare.

"...Okay, I guess I did take it too far by beating the shit out of him." Issei shrugged. "For the record, I regretted nothing. He had it coming a long way."

"Of course you do." Rias sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, although Akeno was discreetly giggling in amusement. "If you didn't involve yourself in such complicated matters, I would've praised you for your efforts and for saving Asia," Rias admitted.

"We were very impressed by your performance, however." Akeno chimed in. "You should have seen Rias' expression when she saw you appear before Diodora more than once with an unbelievable speed. If we didn't know you, we would've thought you inhuman. Also, she now wants you in her peerage more than ever now." Akeno whispered the last part loudly much to Rias' embarrassment.

"Sorry, Rias-senpai, but I'm afraid the answer is still no." Issei gave a lopsided smile, much to Rias' chagrin.

"In any case, what's done is done." Sona chimed in. "Diodora Astaroth will most likely receive a house arrest with his ownership of his peerage revoked, and he will probably be disinherited from his own house. And that's putting it lightly. For now, I believe you and Ms. Argento should go home and prepare your next meeting with Lord Beelzebub. We will inform you as soon as we receive the time and place."

"So are we all good?" Issei asked with hopeful eyes.

"Don't think this is over." Rias pouted. "Just because you managed to defeat a High-Class Devil in his own game which is still very impressive, by the way; doesn't mean that you won't get to see the last of us."

"I'll keep it in mind." Issei nodded and wrapped his arm around Asia's shoulder to bring her along as he left towards the door. "See you around."

Once Issei and Asia were out of the Student Council room, the former found his cell-phone ringing; he opened the screen and saw his mother texting him for the tenth time.

"...Oh, shit." Issei muttered with panic eyes as he looked through his logs, his mother had been trying to contact him for the past few hours.

Issei quickly made a call to his mother, and after waiting for her to answer his call, which only took a few seconds, Issei was greeted with a screeching cry.

[ISE!]

The boy had to wince at the sheer volume of his mother's voice as he pulled the phone away from his eardrums.

"...Hi, mom." Issei smiled awkwardly.

[WHERE ON EARTH HAVE YOU BEEN?! I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TALK TO YOU FOR HOURS AND YOU HAVEN'T ANSWERED?!]

Issei closed his eyes for a moment as he took in his mother's wrath. Asia smiled at him warmly in consolation as he slowly placed the phone back to his ear.

"Uhhh I've been taking care of things."

[WHAT THINGS?!]

"Uh personal things."

[...Explain personal.]

Issei thought he had managed to placate his mother, judging from her subdued tone. "I Asia and I got caught up in some business and Well, things nearly got out of hand, but everything's fine now. We're on our way home."

Haruka was silent from the other end for a few seconds, causing Issei to worry again in another sense.

[...Did you two go on a date? Wait, don't tell me, you actually Oh my god Please tell me you wore protection!]

"Protection?" Issei blinked when he heard that. He turned to Asia, seeing her as confused as he was.

Apparently, Issei's tone came out as something Haruka took so very wrongly.

[Oh, dear me, Ise, baby. Please just get Asia home ASAP so she can take some of my contraceptive pills. As much as I want you to find yourself a nice girl to marry with, I'm not prepared to be a grandmother yet!]

That moment, Issei palmed his flustered face as he finally understood what his mother had been insinuating. "Mom, we didn't do anything like that! You misunderstood!" Issei glanced at Asia whose face was seemingly boiling beneath her skin. "Look, can you just wait for us to come back home? We'll explain what happened, okay?"

The conversation ended with Haruka finally calming down and agreeing with her son, and Issei let out a long sigh as he closed his phone. "Let's go home, Asia." Issei tiredly beckoned her, and she nodded while her face was still blushing like mad.

When the two got out from the campus ground, they found Tsubasa was waiting for them. The blunette was sporting a knowing smile. "...Rough night?"

Issei only gave her a tired smile. "Like you won't believe." The two childhood friends then shared a fist-bump.

"I - no, all of us actually saw the footage of your fight earlier." Tsubasa's grin got wider.

"I see. So what do you think?" Issei asked with a wry smile.

"You totally kicked his ass. Well done." Tsubasa held up her hand and Issei responded with a quick high-five.

"So, how are things from now on? Do we have to deal with Diodora again?" Tsubasa asked with a serious tone.

"Nope." Issei grinned this time. "The problem isn't entirely solved yet, but at least we don't have to worry about him anymore."

"...That's good." Tsubasa nodded and her smile returned. "Want some junk food to celebrate? My treat."

Issei blinked at the offer, and he glanced at Asia, whose expression said that she did not know what she should do. A few seconds of contemplating later, Issei shrugged. "...Sure thing, but we might want to buy a take-away, though. My mom is waiting back home."

"No problem, buddy." Tsubasa nodded and tapped Issei's shoulder, as the three proceeded on their way. She did not mention Issei's hand and Asia's had been intertwined during the entire time.

"Diodora"

Ajuka stood before a cell, watching over the defeated form of the former heir of the Astaroth family, the disgrace of their family name.

"What have you done?"

Diodora was a mess, sitting in the dark corner of his cell wallowing in his defeat. Swells covered his face, his eyes beating blue on both sides. No Phoenix Tears were given to the disgraced Astaroth, for he had lost the privilege of his social class.

"...I have nothing to say to you." Diodora replied, his voice muffled by the swelling. He probably bit his cheek trying to talk.

"After your stunt earlier, you owe us too much to remain silent. First, where did you get this from?" Ajuka demanded as his eyes glowed radiant green. His aura flared for a brief moment, displaying a rare emotion of rage at his younger brother.

"...What do you mean?" Diodora looked up, seeing his older brother eye to eye.

Ajuka took out something from his pocket, revealing the rotten ball of polychromatic meat. Diodora did not answer as he merely looked away.

"You have a lot of gall if you think you can hide anymore from me. I won't repeat myself. Where. Did. You. Get. This?" Ajuka gritted out as he shook the ball of flesh in his hand.

"...Do you even know what that is?" Diodora asked, knowing the answer. His older brother was a prodigy, a genius even amongst the Astaroth Clan. But even Diodora doubted that Ajuka could truly comprehend the object in his hand.

"Are you telling me you don't know what it is you tried to eat?" Ajuka asked as his facial features quivered with growing anger. It was not common to see the Beelzebub this angry.

"Heh all they told me when I conspired with them was that it was supposed to give me strength. Though there is a catch" Diodora flashed Ajuka a mocking smile.

"I do understand that this is a potent mutagen from a creature whose genetic structure is too impossible to exist. I don't know how or who could design such a substance, but I do know that it isn't something I should take lightly. So answer my question now. Further avoidance will only result in greater penance." Ajuka warned, his aura flaring.

"So you already have an idea what it does. How typical of you, brother. This is why I take great pride in the Astaroth family... Well, used to." Astaroth snickered, but coughed and wheezed due to his wounds still not healing. "Ugh all you're getting from me is that I got it from a certain forgotten faction. I don't know who made it or how they did it. Not even the experts under my own personal pay could understand a fraction of it."

Ajuka narrowed his eyes at his wayward brother, who met his gaze without even flinching. The stare down lasted for nearly a minute until the older devil sighed.

"...That's unfortunate, then." Ajuka said solemnly as he turned his heels around. "Your punishment shall be decided soon. Consider yourself fortunate if indefinite isolation is all you receive."

As he watched his brother preparing to leave, Diodora stood up with what remained of his strength and approached the bars of his cell.

"As I thought. You are a fool!" Diodora yelled as he gripped the metal bars. "Even with all the power you have, you wasted them by cooping yourself in your laboratory for irrelevant endeavors! Forget about being a fool, even with all that power, you are weak! You don't understand what it means to have power and authority above others!"

Even with his younger brother's ranting, Ajuka simply sighed for a second time as he left the prison room, leaving Diodora alone in his delusion.

"There's no point in domination for personal worth. What about that do you not understand?" Ajuka shook his head as he muttered.

While Ajuka did admit he failed to take his family's sin into account and allowed such a scandal to happen, Diodora was far worse thinking that his own power was taken for granted. Otherwise, he would not end up in the cell, rotting with disgrace.

Onto more important matters, however, Ajuka glanced at the glob of flesh in his hand which was subtly pulsed like a beating heart as if it was alive.

He narrowed his eyes at the object - he could keep its existence to himself, but that would come at the cost of trust. Sirzechs, considering their long-term friendship, Serafall, and Falbium should learn about this. However, Ajuka had to admit that the flesh in his hand was beyond his understanding, outside even the others' as well.

The only other individual that shared Ajuka's mindset was the Scapegoat, but until relationships are remade for the better, Ajuka would rather not open another can of worms.

Ajuka sighed after a minute of contemplating. For the time being, he had some affairs to settle with a human - the current Red Dragon Emperor.

Asia Argento walked through some random empty road outside of Rome with a lost expression on her face.

"Fueee" She sighed as she carried the suitcase containing her meager belongings. It had been over a week since she was exiled from the place she could call home. Currently, she had to travel to a destination where every person like her was assigned to One could call it some sort of pilgrimage, a chance for her to redeem herself, however unlikely it was.

She never expected herself to find herself exiled. What should she do? For once in her life, she felt lost. No, she was actually lost. She did not know where to go, even though she had a map in her hands.

She looked around and found herself entering a small village outside the capital. It was afternoon, but the clouds in the sky were blocking the sunray, making the place look rather gloomy for her liking. In any case, she had no other option but to walk forward.

There were some people milling on the streets minding their own business. Right now Asia was looking for a place where she could fill her stomach. She checked her pouch and found she still had some money provided by those disheartened with her exile, a token of gratitude and good luck for her past service. She could probably eat a few more times regularly before she had to go fasting, but she would have to go along with what she could get.

It did not take long for her to find a tavern which was opened for people who were looking for refreshments after a day of hard work. Men and women were sitting and chatting with drinks and food on their table. Obviously, Asia garnered some look of interest and curiosity from the locals, but they did not pay her too much mind when she arrived at the counter and ordered a small batch of cookies and water.

She purchased her lunch for a take-away so she could eat outside, not truly comfortable around the strangers in a foreign place. When she walked out of the building, Asia stumbled upon someone who was sitting alone on the ground, not far from the tavern.

He had an appearance that immediately distinguished him from her and other locals. If Asia was still considered as an Italian, this person obviously was from another country. He possessed spiky white hair that kind of looked like a pair of horns jutting in a V shape, toned muscular frame that was clad in a rugged cloak covering a set of T-Shirt and white loose trousers, while he was eating a dried strip of meat in his hand, chewing nonchalantly. On his back was a large backpack carrying his own belongings.

Asia stared at the peculiar looking man - his expression was calm, yet Asia could see a hint of exhaustion on his face. However, the man immediately flicked his eyes towards Asia, his gaze meeting hers.

"You need something?" The man asked the girl. His tone was rough, but without hostility.

Asia was about to leave in fright when she heard a growling sound. She paused on her track, slowly looking behind to see the man had finished his dried meat. However, it appeared the treat was not truly enough to fill his stomach.

"...Sorry." The man apologized with a small scoff as he looked into his backpack, hoping to find something else that could fill his still-hungry stomach.

Asia blinked with curiosity but she wasn't sure if she should talk with him However, she soon made up her mind when she saw the man sighed after coming up with nothing from his pack. Asia slowly approached him.

"...What? You lost or something?" The man asked her.

"W-well, um, no, but I don't really know about the place either, so I guess I am?" Asia nervously replied with a sheepish smile.

"If you're looking for a guide, well" The man sighed as he slowly rose up. Asia blinked as she saw him towering over her. She got a good look at his bodily build and found its shape to be well-defined. "Well, not like I have anything else to do. I can show you the place since I've been here for a few days, though not for free. You okay with paying me for a meal?"

"Uuhhh" Asia blinked. She perked up when she remembered something. She dug into her pockets and found out that she still had some cookies in them. She handed it out to the man with a small smile. "W-Would this do?"

The man stared at her for a moment. He looked perturbed, but his expression softened a little as he sighed, taking the cookies.

"Alright where do you want to start?" He asked as he pocketed his 'pay.'

Asia pondered for a few seconds. Then, she took out the map she carried with her and showed it to the man. "Um I was wondering how far it is to the next town. I am travelling to this destination." She pointed at several points of interest.

"...A week by foot." The man immediately answered after taking a glance at the map, which caused Asia's eyes to widen with worry. "Funny thing, I am traveling your opposite direction. You might need to get a cab or something to get there in a few hours, but I don't think you came here by car, did you?"

"I No." Asia replied with a dejected tone. "I came from the Vatican in Rome, I'm currently on a pilgrimage."

"Oh? I'm actually heading in that direction next." The man muttered. "Hmmm, are you traveling alone?" The man asked.

"Um y-yes." Asia nodded.

The man lopsided his brows at her answer. "What? Why?" He asked, looking disturbed.

"I I'm a nun. Well a former nun and"

"...You got kicked out?" The man asked.

Asia did not answer, but sulked as she lowered her head.

"...Nevermind, don't answer. Hah..." The man sighed as he scratched his head. "I have time, so I can help you get to your destination. I don't think I can sleep at night if I leave a girl like you all alone."

Asis perked her head at the stranger. "Eh? R-Really?"

Was the Lord above granting her a boon on her journey?

"Yeah. You never know what you might encounter on these roads, trust me." The man nodded.

Asia smiled. "T-Thank you, kind sir."

However, the man narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue at the way Asia addressed him, as if he was offended by the remark. Nevertheless, the man pointed in a direction. "...Let's go. I know a guy that can give us a lift to the next town. I helped him with something so he will give us a ride for free."

It did not take long for the pair to reach the border and got themselves a ride with several other people. Asia currently found herself sitting next to the man she met with some other people inside a horse carriage trudging through the rocky roads outside the settlement.

"Hey, I never thought you would come back. I thought you were heading west." The driver talked.

"...Something came up." The man replied as he stared at the horses intensely.

Asia could hear the man's stomach growling as his stare intensified. Asia could practically feel the stranger's hunger radiating like a furnace, the growl from his stomach starting to sound more like a predator. The horses started neighing, whinnying as they flailed their heads before the driver called out.

"Whoa whoa! Easy there! Easy!" The driver shouted as he pulled their reins. "Calm yourselves, girls."

Asia smiled a little upon seeing the driver trying to tame his horses. The man, on the other hand, simply sighed softly and shifted his posture on his seat.

The other passengers were either sleeping through the trip or chatting with hushed whispers. As far as Asia knew, everyone except for the man she met was a stranger to her. Seeing some of them talking made her want to strike a conversation with her acquaintance.

"Um. Mister?" Asia meekly turned to her companion, who had closed his eyes trying to take a quick nap. She immediately felt bad for disturbing him and decided to keep to herself.

A few seconds later, however, the man grunted. "...What?"

"H-Huh?" Asia blinked as she was caught off guard by the sudden reply.

"You called earlier. What do you want?" The man said with his eyes still closed.

"Um so uh, h-how are you today?" Asia asked. Now that she thought about it, it was her first time striking a conversation with someone outside the Church like this.

"...You trying to strike small talk or something?" The man asked, opening one eye to peer at Asia.

In return, Asia only looked away, blushing in embarrassment.

"...You said you were a nun, right? So? What kind of nun are you?" The man asked her, deciding to entertain her whim for social activities.

Asia was not sure how to word her previous station. She was not sure if the man would believe her since Saints were rare.

"Um I was a Saint." Asia summarized, deciding to confess it straight away.

The man opened both his eyes as he curled a brow. "...Really?" He sounded skeptical.

"Y-Yes is that hard to believe?" Asia asked, her cheeks growing redder with shame.

"...No, not really." The man denied. "You look the part now that I think about it."

Asia turned to the man surprised by his open-mindedness.

"How'd a saint like you get kicked out anyways?" He asked.

Asia sadly smiled when she recalled. "...I committed a taboo." Asia replied as she recalled that Devil that appeared right outside her chambers.

"What could you do to piss off a Church enough to kick you out? You killed or hurt someone important?" The man brusquely asked.

Asia shook her head.

"No I helped someone I shouldn't have." Asia replied. He seemed like a normal person, so she should not burden him with the knowledge of the supernatural.

The man did not say a word for a few seconds, his eyes kept looking at her as if they were searching something, until he asked, "...Did you regret it?".

Asia shook her head and a small smile crept up on her lips. Even if this was her consequence, she had no regrets following her beliefs.

"No."

"...Huh." The man scoffed at the sheer sincerity on the girl's face, "Then I guess you really are a saint." He said with respect in his tone, or at least she thought he praised her.

"Thank you...?" Asia tilted her head, could not help but feel confused.

"...So where are you heading?" He asked, moving on the subject. "You got relatives to look after you?"

"No" Asia sadly denied. "I'm going to a place where people can help me." She vaguely answered.

"Do you even know what place it is? Are you sure to go there alone?" He asked.

"I trust The Lord to show me the way." Asia replied.

"Hmm" The man hummed before he looked away and suddenly called out. "Hey, you. Where do you think you're putting that hand into?" He asked without turning his head back.

"Eh?" Asia blinked.

"Eh?" Another voice uttered beside Asia.

Asia turned around, seeing a fellow passenger slipping his hand into her package.

"Hands off the girl's belongings or else you'll be kissing the road." The man warned with a threateningly convincing tone.

"Uh" The scrawny-looking man slowly retreated his hand away from Asia's belongings. There were other passengers who noticed the small commotion and glared at the pick-pocket, who raised his hands in surrender, silently conveyed that he would behave.

Asia blinked at the would-be thief before looking back at her acquaintance. "Um thank you." She said, amazed that he noticed the theft without looking.

"You should keep a better eye on your stuff. Pickpockets like to flock to these parts." The man advised.

Asia simply nodded as she hugged her belongings tighter. The rest of the trip went on without much incident until they arrived at the next town. By the time Asia arrived at the small church under Grigori's management, she had never seen or heard from the man again.

Did he simply leave after knowing that she had arrived at her destination? Or were they separated on the way? She had not even gotten his name yet.

Soon Asia decided to move on and think for another day, after she gave a quick prayer for the man's good luck, as well as the hope to see him again.

Special thanks to i4md347h for the last segment! Guess who else tagged along with Saitama and co.? XD

THIS CHAPTER UPLOAD FIRST AT NOVELBIN.COM