Chapter 2:

Chapter 2:

The beast's body drove him down to the ground, its teeth gnashing at his head. He pushed it back frantically, his arms his left one was equipped in a red spiked gauntlet, grabbed on the beast's jaws to keep it at bay as it snapped and snarled above him.

Ruby-red eyes bore into his brown ones, the eerie promise of a creature that was an amalgamation of the force of nature. The boy grunted as it bit down - taking his right arm in its powerful jaws and began to jerk him wildly left and right.

With a cry he was let loose, sliding across the ground to appear as a defeated heap, but the boy soon got back on his feet and was still ready for another bout. The look on his face the grin that spread across his face, screamed that he was about to launch his own counter-attack.

The beast's black body bulked as it seemingly grew even bigger. It approached with a growl, as steam could be seen coming out from its fang-filled maws as it breathed. The boy's eyes kept watching it pad towards him the beast opened its jaws wide, revealing a palate without a tongue which began to glow, as if something powerful was about to come out from its throat.

Alas, whatever development was about to unfold, was abruptly stopped by the sudden blaring noise, followed with a woman's voice.

"Alright, boys! Time for dinner!"

Three Humans - a Japanese High-School student, a Japanese housewife, and an Italian nun; and a couple of Fallen Angels - a young woman and a middle-aged man, were sitting together in the living room with a black grotesque-looking puppy munching on a remains of a T-bone steak at the corner.

Dohnaseek, one of the Fallen Angels, took a sip from the coffee served to him. He honestly preferred the more conventional blend, but refusing to drink would be rude. He had to admit, the instant coffee that Haruka served him did not taste bad. Next to him, Raynare visibly scowled after she took a sip of her own coffee, but chose to withhold her tongue.

"First of all, I'd like to deliver the reason why Lord Azazel could not make contact with you." Dohnaseek began as he put his mug back on the table. "There has been a small accident occurring during one of his research yesterday, which made his normal means to communicate with you unviable. Hence, we are sent here to deliver his message."

Issei wanted to call out the convenient excuse, but then again, this was Azazel they were talking about here, so he could imagine for the accident to actually occur.

"Okay I guess it can't be helped. So what does he want from us?" Still, he could not help but feel a bit distrustful of his guests, since one of them had tried to kill him the other night.

"Before we go there, allow me to introduce you." Dohnaseek then gestured towards the nun. "This is Asia Argento, a sister who served the Vatican until a month ago."

Issei and Haruka turned to see the aforementioned girl standing up from her seat.

"A-a pleasure to be your acquaintance, Mr. and Mrs. Hyd. My name is Asia Argento." Mother and son blinked at the girl. They knew the current standing between the Vatican and the Grigori, so they more or less could guess what had happened to Asia. Seeing the way the girl spoke and behaved so far, however, begged them a question - how come a girl like her got excommunicated?

"Hello, Asia. Good to meet you." Haruka smiled gently at the girl. "My name is Haruka, and while you have met him, this is my son, Ise."

The boy in question also smiled and waved friendly.

"Hi." Issei then pointed at the corner. "... And you also have met him earlier, but that's Rover. He is a lot nicer than he looks."

The aforementioned dog paused on his treat before he returned to finally crush the bone's head with his jaw.

Asia became more relaxed as she sat back down, before Dohnaseek turned to his colleague.

"Raynare, can you go fetch some snacks from any convenience store nearby? Perhaps we can grab a quick breakfast, after all." The woman nodded and stood up from her seat.

"You know, if you're that hungry, I can whip out something quick for you." Haruka offered.

Dohnaseek held up a hand while smiling briefly.

"Please, we have been imposing on you enough. At least allow us to carry our own weight." He then turned to Asia. "Ms. Argento, I know that you are still tired from the journey here, but can you accompany Raynare? I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience."

"It's no problem at all!" Asia was still acting flustered when Dohnaseek addressed her in a polite manner.

Perhaps she was not used to the sort-of VIP treatment?

"Let's go, Asia." Raynare beckoned in a less friendly tone, but still not considered hostile.

Perhaps she was more than happy to leave the house.

Issei could not help but wonder about Dohnaseek's sudden request to Raynare and Asia. A look from Dohnaseek was enough for Issei to tell that the next topic was not really for Asia's ear to hear, thus the diversion. He held onto his mother's hand to grab her attention and nod to her, which stopped Haruka to question the arrangement.

"...Then I guess I will go with you. You girls can definitely use a guide." She smiled at the girls as she stood up, and she sent a nod to Issei. He then turned to his pet dog. "Rover."

The said dog perked up from his near-finished treat and dutifully made his way to his master before sitting down, ready to receive orders. Issei then patted and playfully caressed the dog's head for a few seconds before speaking.

"I need you to look after mom and the other ladies while they're out. Can you do that for me, buddy?" Rover barked with a straight posture, before he proceeded to walk to Asia's side and nudged his head to her leg, showing his sense of duty/respect to her, before returning to Haruka's side. However, Raynare could not bring herself not to scoff.

"Gee, I feel so safe with him around." At Raynare's sarcastic remark, Rover turned his attention to her with his glowing red eyes.

Then, much to the guests' surprise, the black puppy suddenly grew in size until he was as big as a grey wolf; but what really caught their surprise was the extra two pairs of eyes looking at her. Dohnaseek blinked his wide eyes at the dog's sudden growth while Raynare's face was akin to a fish out of water. Asia, on the other hand, had her hands over her mouth in shock and awe as Rover stood up on its four legs and growled at Raynare in a challenging manner. Then, Haruka simply ran her hand over Rover's hide while giving a soft shushing noise, and much to everyone's surprise again, the dog stopped growling and calmed down under the woman's treatment.

Asia's shock and awe slowly morphed into interest and curiosity, as she carefully approached and extended her hand towards the pup-turned-hound. Rover noticed the approach and turned to stare at Asia, who flinched when three pairs of ruby-red eyes honing at her. However, Asia looked up to see Haruka nodded encouragingly at her; the older woman's hand was still running through the black dog's hide. Slowly but surely, Asia's hand arrived right in front of Rover's snout. The dog then pressed its snout at the open palm, before it then rubbed its face across the pale soft skin, just like when they first encountered each other earlier. Asia found herself relaxing at the friendly gesture.

"See? He's not that bad once you know him." Haruka said as she watched the small bonding session between her dog and Asia.

Soon, Asia pulled her hand back and Haruka rubbed the dog's head.

"Rover." She called out, and the dog glanced up at her. "...Eyes."

The woman told her dog with a pointed look while tapping on the spot beneath her own eyes. The dog blinked once before he shook his head and his extra four eyes closed - or more like, they were concealed with whatever trick the dog had learned previously. His size also shrunk back to his puppy form earlier.

"Atta' boy." Haruka nodded approvingly before she fished out a dog-treat from her apron, letting the dog happily snatch the said treat from her open palm.

Raynare, with her mouth still gaping, turned to Issei and managed to utter three words while pointing at the said dog.

"...What the fuck?" In return, Issei merely shrugged while shooting a smug smirk at the woman.

"Well, shall we go? See you soon, Ise." Haruka said as she took her apron off. Rover barked and Asia nodded; the two followed the woman out of the living room.

It took Raynare a few seconds pouting at Issei's smug smile before she silently followed suit. Once Issei had confirmed that everyone had gone out of the door, he returned to Dohnaseek, whose eyes were still wide.

"So, where were we?" Issei asked.

Dohnaseek blinked at Issei's question, seemingly returning from his earlier stupor. Then, he asked while pointing at the direction outside of the house.

"Mr. Hyd, that was an interesting pet - no, familiar you have."

"What's a Familiar?" Issei asked. "Rover's a dog."

Dohnaseek did not know how to react to that remark.

"I am pretty sure that is a Familiar. A Familiar is well, how to put it? A supernatural creature Devils usually make pacts with. Did your family summon a Devil?"

"Oh. Well, I can see where you're coming from, but he's a dog. Rover's always been around as long as I remember. I heard my dad found him." Issei replied as he leaned back on his seat. "By the way, I have to ask; what did Azazel tell you about me; before he sent you guys here?"

"Lord Azazel only told us that your household are individuals of interest for Grigori, and we are under strict orders not to harm you. It's alright, I intend to follow his orders to the letter. You have nothing to fear from us." Dohnaseek replied with a placating tone.

Issei stared at Dohnaseek for a few seconds before nodding.

"Alright, then. Let's hear it."

"I'm truly sorry for intruding on your morning like this, Mrs. Hyd. Mr. Ise has school and everything, after all" Asia apologized as she walked next to Haruka and Raynare, while Rover took the point ahead of them.

"Don't worry, it's fine. Chances are, if we're to delay whatever business Mr. Azazel has for us, it'd end up making things more complicated sooner or later. Besides, there are still a couple of hours before the school starts, and it doesn't take over twenty minutes to walk there. He'll be fine." Haruka replied.

Meanwhile, Raynare simply walked a little behind, simply listening without really paying attention to them. Truth to be told, she just wanted Dohnaseek to finish whatever deal they had to do so they could go home. It was more than simply awkward to see her 'ex-boyfriend' who nearly killed her two days ago, although she did try to kill him.

They then arrived at the park, where Raynare actually attempted to kill Haruka's very son.

"Come on, we can use the park as a shortcut." Haruka pointed out. Raynare rolled her eyes; it was as if the world kept reminding her how much she had messed up.

Nonetheless, she spoke not a word as she followed them towards the park. After a minute of their stroll through, Rover was the first to notice - when the girls spotted a little boy sitting on the ground.

"Rover, stay." Haruka was the first to act and go to the boy after she gave Rover the order.

The dog might have reverted back to its puppy size, but its whole appearance could be still off-putting. Asia was only a second behind Haruka, while Raynare was following at a more sedated pace, choosing to hang back behind them.

"Are you okay?" Haruka asked as she closed in at the prone boy, whose face she recognised; a neighbour's son. "You're Momo-kun, aren't you? Are you alright? What's wrong?"

The boy - Momo only blinked at Haruka's face with tears escaping his eyelids. It appeared the boy had been trying to stay strong and weather the pain. Haruka turned to examine the wound on the boy's knee - it was a scratch with little blood oozing from the wound.

"I see. That doesn't look so bad. You've done well to stay strong." Haruka smiled gently as she gently patted the boy's head - who nodded as he calmed down a bit. "Come on, let's go find your mother, okay? She can treat that wound for you."

However, Asia - who was kneeling next to them, extended her hand forward.

"Actually Would you allow me?" Haruka and Momo only blinked as Asia's hand emitted a green glow over the boy's wounds.

Much to their surprise, the wound gradually closed until the unblemished skin was left. The boy stood up, and found that he was not in pain anymore. Soon, Momo's mother came calling in her son, and Haruka took it upon herself to do the talking of what happened after sending Asia an odd look.

"Thank you, big sis!" The boy happily waved goodbye as Asia returned the gesture in kind along with Haruka.

Once the neighbours were out of sight, Haruka then regarded Asia with curious eyes.

"Okay Would you mind telling me what was that about?" Haruka tried to ask without sounding too imposing.

"People call this [Twilight Healing] It's a healing power I have received from The Lord." However, Haruka noticed that Asia's smile gained a melancholic hint.

Haruka hummed before she glanced at Raynare, who merely raised her eyebrows at her, which said that the fallen was also aware all along.

"I see That's a wonderful ability to have."

Asia's smile brightened slightly at Haruka's praise. "...Yes, it is."

The group then resumed their trek, and Haruka decided to keep the conversation going to avoid an awkward silence. "Tell me, Asia. What's your life like before coming here? Anything you want to tell me about your family and friends?"

Then, with that one question, Asia's smile went even more bitter than before.

"Well, the truth is I don't."

"...Excuse me?"

"I don't know my parents, nor have any friends." Asia replied to Haruka's question. "... My whole life has been about serving The Lord and the Church as a Holy Maiden."

"I am not sure I follow." Haruka was confused - before her, was a girl with a power that reflected and matched her personality in every way and lived a life without friends or family?

"She is a Sacred Gear user. All humans with Sacred Gears in the Vatican live sheltered lives, especially the Holy Maidens. Her social life is not a concern to the Church if you're wondering." Raynare finally joined the conversation - perhaps she could not bear to be a third, or perhaps a fourth, wheel any further. "Asia Argento's birth parents, for example, abandoned her on the Church's doorstep. The priestsprists and nuns raised her until she hit fourteen, awakened her [Twilight Healing]. The Vatican soon caught sight of her treasure and scouted her to serve as their Holy Maiden. Nothing more than think of her as a symbolic trophy for comparison."

"That's cruel." Haruka commented. "Surely she could have asked some favours from her superiors for some companion, at least?"

"Men and women of faith treat their needs as secondary. There is nothing above serving the Lord, Mrs. Hyd. It is their very way of life even friendship is objective, a bond of obligation if you're wondering. I take it you've encountered them before?" Raynare asked.

Haruka then frowned a little.

"I have. And I can't say it was in the best circumstances." Raynare and Asia knew better than to pry for details. Haruka then asked, "Still, if you are with Ms. Raynare and Mr. Dohnaseek earlier, then?"

Asia closed her eyes in bitter reminiscence.

"...One day, I ran upon an injured Devil near the Church's complex, and I chose to heal him. A priest who was patrolling the grounds that day witnessed what I did, and the next day, I was branded as a witch, since my power is capable of healing people outside the church."

Haruka blinked.

"...What was a Devil doing there? Aren't Devils I don't know, allergic to Churches and holy places?"

"That's an interesting way of describing the Devils' flaw. You seem to know a lot about these." Raynare commented.

"Well... You know, I talked with one every night to keep me company." Haruka placed a hand on her cheek when she remembered Tsubasa.

"Right" Raynare nodded. "... May I ask you a question? Where'd you get that thing?" Raynare asked, pointing at the black puppy behind them. "Are you sure that thing is not a Chimera?"

"Oh, you mean Rover? He originally belonged to my husband. He's been with us ever since we're dating."

Raynare had a million questions to ask about that.

"Is he a... some kind of Magewizard?" Raynare could only picture a magician finding this creature from parts unknown.

"Oh, no, no. He's a Hero." Haruka smiled.

That actually caused Asia to regard the woman with eyes of interest.

"A Hero? Um, so your husband saves people?"

"Hm. something like that." Haruka nodded after humming. "But we're getting side-tracked from the main topic here." She then looked at Asia again. "...Are you really okay with the Church not giving you friends? After everything you've done for them?"

Asia looked down as her smile dimmed.

"The truth is, I am not. But I cannot do anything to change their minds. This is perhaps a test from the Lord Himself by sending me out here." Asia walked ahead and turned around. "Besides, perhaps with my time out here, I may have an opportunity to have my wish granted."

Haruka stared at the ever-present smile on Asia's face.

"...What is that wish?"

"To have friends." Asia's answer caused Haruka's eyes to water. "I want to have friends who I can share my thoughts with - we talk, laugh, maybe even quarrel, but we will spend time doing many things together; having lunches, shopping for books and flowers together Those kinds of friends. It would be nice if I have at least one..."

Asia was interrupted when she was pulled into a warm embrace. Haruka was wrapping her arms around her tightly while tucking her head under her chin.

"It's okay, Asia It's okay." She gently whispered, tears were welling up in her eyelids. "It is a wonderful wish to have friends, you have done nothing wrong." She pulled away slightly so she could meet her eyes with hers. "If you end up staying in this town, please visit my house as much as you'd like. My doors will always open for you. Even my dumb son will be more than happy to be your friend. I am your friend now."

Asia only stared at Haruka before her own eyes watered.

"...Really? Is it really okay to be your and Mr. Ise's friend?"

"Yes, it's okay. Nobody will hurt you ever again." Haruka nodded. Asia also felt Rover brushed itself against her leg in a showcase of support.

Raynare was not sure how to make things out anymore; first she had to visit her ex-boyfriend, and went to the place where she tried to kill him not long ago, now becoming a fourth wheel? She was about to make a remark when she, as well as Rover, felt a shift in the air around them - someone erected a Barrierbounded field?

Then, several Magic Circles appeared in the air above them and five men emerged from them. Each of them wore a set of armour along with helmets covering their faces, but their most distinctive traits were the Devil's wings sprouting from their backs. Each of them carried a trident of rustic metal, while one of them wore more elaborate armor while carrying a halberd. From what Raynare could pick from their presences, there were four Low-Class Devils, with one carrying the halberd being a middle-class, presumably their leader.

"Um, Mrs. Hyd?" Raynare could not help but ask. "... By any chance, are those the Devils you're contracting to?"

"No, not at all. I only made a pact with one, and she's a cute, handsome girl with blue hair. They, on the other hand" Haruka shook her head as she held Asia protectively.

"I will go straight to the point and say this once." The leader pointed his weapon at Asia, who was still in Haruka's arms. "Our master merely demands the girl with blonde hair. Hand her over and we will release the rest of you."

Haruka held Asia to her bosom in response, concern swelling her mien.

"Who are you people? Why are you going after her?" Haruka shot back as she moved in front of Asia, blocking their eyes on her.

"That is none of your concern. This is your only chance; surrender her or die." The Middle-Class Devil gave his ultimatum.

Fear had begun to creep into Asia's mind, as she intended to step forward and offered herself in exchange for Haruka and Raynare's safety. However, no matter how much she tried to move, Haruka's frame did not budge - the woman's eyes remained focused on the airborne devils.

"Captain, it's obvious they don't want to give her up. Let's just kill them and get the girl." one of the low-class devils spoke with an informal tone.

"Yeah, same here. I want the brown-haired woman. She's quite a looker for a human." the other Low-Class Devil sneered while licking his lips, and the rest began to smirk.

"Then I'll take What the hell, we have a crow here. I am always curious to get a feel on them."

The Middle-Class one grimaced beneath his helmet - clearly not appreciating his subordinates' attitude. Nevertheless, he still had a mission to fulfil, and his men had a point about the women refusing to surrender.

Raynare began to panic; bad would still be an understatement in describing their current situation. She might be able to handle one or two of them, but four of them plus a Middle-Class Devil? Raynare had no chance of winning, not to mention she had two non-combatants to worry about.

BARK!

Raynare could not help but to glare at the black puppy, its six ruby eyes openly revealed, and its lackluster performance only made themselves look stupid rather than intimidating. Seriously, can't he look a little bigger, at least?

"Haha! Aw, did you see that? That's just adorable!" One of the low-class devils mocked at the black dog.

"I've seen many weird shits in the underworld, but that's the ugliest little fucker I've ever seen."

"Focus!" The Middle-Class Devil barked his own order, prompting the other Devils to straighten themselves up. "...We still have a job to do. Do as you like as long as we have our target alive." He raised his halberd high, ready to give the attack command.

Raynare was about to swim or sink, telling Haruka and Asia to run away as fast as they could while she stalled them. However, Haruka beat her to it by sending one order to her left.

"ROVER!" Haruka threw her finger at the flying devils. "SIC 'EM, BOY!"

At her command, something in Rover's place was blocking out the sun if there wasn't light, Raynare might've mistaken the giant wall of black as a black tower or something of the end times eclipsing the sun. When she turned around, her eyes, including every other pair of eyes minus Haruka's were bulging at the size of saucers. It was a giant, roughly the size of an african elephant, overtaking most of her vision as it loomed over her and the Devils, making her crane her neck up to get a proper look.

Afterwards, the thing's presence grew to match its size or at least she thought it matched his size.

"...Eh?" Raynare dropped her jaw as she stared at the giant version of the puppy she mocked before. It was growling, it's pitch black fur was standing menacingly in undulating waves, its fangs looked quite dangerous in its new size as Raynare started to feel small. It was a feeling shared by Asia and the hostile Devils as well. Besides Raynare, Asia marveled at the giant dog.

"Hah! Take a look at her and you'll understand." Issei replied without missing a beat. "You will know once you meet her."

Some of the Student Council members - Tsubaki being a prime example, narrowed their eyes at Issei's tone, although Sona merely raised her eyebrows at mild amusement.

"I see Then we will hold you to those words. Now, back to your dog." Issei almost clicked his tongue - he had nothing against Asia and the Fallen Angels, but he was hoping he could divert the Devil's attention away from Rover by bringing up the ambush and other topics from this morning. "While both your and Ms. Tsubasa's words will be taken into account. I wish to see your dog myself so I can give a fair judgement. Would you mind showing your pet to us?"

Now that it had come to this, Issei knew that he could no longer dodge the topic. "... Sure, when do you want to meet him? I need to groom him a little first, though. Rover isn't exactly fond of strangers."

Worse, Rover might do something that Issei would regret if they screwed up somehow.

"At ease, Mr. Hyd. I was thinking about tomorrow evening, since all of us already have schedules and contracts to meet tonight. Will that be acceptable?"

Issei blinked before shrugging, "... Yeah, that will be great, actually. Thanks." Because it was - that way, Issei could prepare Rover and himself, mainly mentally speaking, for the big reveal.

"Perfect." Sona nodded and turned to Rias. "Would you like to have a look as well, Rias?"

"Of course." Rias smiled. "Considering the explosive phenomena we heard from this morning, my curiosity has sparked. I am excited to see your Hellhound with my own eyes, Ise." She winked at the boy, as if she did not just antagonize him and his charge earlier.

"Very well, then. Mr. Hyd, if you have nothing else to say, you're dismissed. Please be more mindful about your next course of action in future."

With that one last advice, Issei then excused himself out the door. As the door closed, Issei let out a huge, defeated sigh.

It was later at night when Issei prepared himself to take Rover out for a walk as usual. Considering the dog's appearance, the family had agreed to walk Rover either every late at night or early in the morning where there was nobody outside.

"You ready to go, Rover?" Issei asked his long-time companion while he was putting his shoes on; the boy was clad in a jersey suit. On the other hand, Rover barked happily as it bounced next to him.

"Ise." Having finished tying his shoe-laces, Issei stood up and turned at his mother's voice. "Here, don't forget what you need to pick up Rover's poo." She handed her son a disposable plastic bag and a small shovel.

Asia, who was clad in her sleepwear, watched in mild curiosity. "So Mr. Ise always takes Mr. Rover out at this hour? Is it okay when he has school tomorrow?"

"It's alright, Asia. We've been doing this for years. And if it's Ise or I, Rover behaves well enough that he doesn't require a leash." Haruka replied casually.

"Okay, let's see" Issei bent down to examine his dog's face - two eyes only. "Alright, you're good to go!" Issei patted Rover's head and they headed towards the door. "We're off!"

"Have fun, but stay out of trouble!" Haruka called out and the door closed.

Haruka waved at where Issei and Rover had gone off as Asia approached behind her. "Mrs. Hyd?"

"Please, Asia. Didn't I tell you to call me mother?" Haruka replied with a knowing smile.

"U-um, mother" Asia addressed awkwardly, although in a good way. "Has anyone in the neighborhood ever suspected Mr. Rover's um?"

"Miraculously, no." Haruka was amused at her own answer. "While some of the neighbours were off-put by Rover's appearance despite the disguise, they haven't complained since Rover rarely goes out during the day. He is also trained enough not to make any fuss at night as well." She then tapped Asia's shoulder. "Come on, let's get you to bed. Those two will be fine."

oXo

Every time Issei took Rover for a walk, he would make sure that the route he took would not have any police patrol. Rover might have assumed his docile form, but his overall appearance might still attract a wrong kind of attention. Tonight, their walk led them towards an old factory complex.

When they jogged past the metal gate, Rover suddenly stopped and turned its head at the buildings beyond the fence.

"Rover?" Issei paused to see his dog stopping behind him. "What's wrong, bud?"

In response, Rover only growled at the factory complex before them. Rover rarely growls at empty buildings, unless there was something there. In response, Issei narrowed his eyes at the complex suspiciously, heeding Rover's behavior as a bad omen. "Did you sense something there, boy?"

[Partner.]

Ddraig called out, prompting Issei to glance at his now-glowing hand. As usual, when Ddraig came out, Rover turned to the gauntlet and barked at Ddraig.

[Ha, this mutt. Anyways, I picked up a demonic presence from that building. That mongrel must have picked it up as well or the blood inside.]

Issei narrowed his eyes. "Blood? You don't mean?"

[Yes, we might be looking at a Stray Devil's nest, or its feeding ground.]

Issei hummed, his eyes scanning his surroundings. The complex was not too far from the suburbs, as well as railways and train stations. The old factory was perhaps the best spot for the stray to lure its prey or roost after a hunt. In any case, this was not something Issei could not leave alone.

"Let's go, Rover." Issei beckoned the dog and easily wrenched the padlock, chains and everything off the gate, allowing him to walk into the front yard. Once Issei was in front of the main door, he kneeled down to meet Rover's eyes with his. "Okay, buddy. I need you to take care of the guard duty here. Make sure nobody gets in, and don't let anything other than humans get out of this place. Can you do that for me?"

In response, Rover opened its remaining four eyes and barked, before it ran off and circled the entire yard. Nodding at the sight, Issei walked towards the front door. "Ready, Ddraig?"

[I've been craving for some action.]

oXo

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Rias asked her peerage after she had received a message from the Archduke Agares to hunt down a Stray Devil who had been sighted around the town.

[Yes, President.]

Her servants, Akeno, Yto and Koneko, chorused in unison, receiving a nod of approval from their master.

"Good. Let's go." Rias then conjured a Magic Circle of her family crest beneath her and her peerage, and a second later, they appeared from the clubroom to their destination.

Arriving in a flash of crimson light, they stood in front of an old factory complex. The factory was decrepit; with rust and moss growing on the pillars supporting the entire building as weeds and wild plantations washed over the yard - a classic scene for monsters who craved for human flesh.

"Alright, here we are. Let's finish this nice and easy." Rias was about to lead her Peerage into the building, when Koneko suddenly paused.

The petite girl widened her eyes as she tugged on Rias' sleeve. "...Prez." Koneko called with a stoic tone.

"Hm?" Rias and the others followed her line of sight and turned around.

When they did, they saw something standing behind them. Or rather, sitting behind them, its presence unnoticeable. It was a black puppy with three pairs of ruby red eyes glowing in the dark.

"Grrrrrrrr" The puppy growled at them.

It didn't sound like a puppy, though, more like a combination between a dog and some vicious, unknown beast. Soon, the puppy-like creature began to bark at them, as if warning them to go away.

"Aww. Look at how cute it is~" Akeno found herself amused at the creature's trying to scare them away. "President, can I keep it?" She jokingly asked her King.

"No, we can't, Akeno. Although, what is that?" Rias asked after rebuking her Queen. She wasn't sure if this thing could be trained.

"Looks like a guard dog, at least something similar." Kiba gave his own two-cents.

"Akeno, by any chance, this... dog cannot be our target, right?" Rias asked.

"No, I don't think so, President." Akeno replied while still smiling at the dog. "The Stray Devil in question is a woman. Perhaps, the stray picked up this creature along the way as her Familiar?"

It was the most plausible prospect.

"Hm It's possible, but if I were the stray, I would've picked something at least more intimidating." Rias deduced. "Anyway, that creature isn't our target, but we can't really have it around. Let's quickly deal with it."

She gathered her demonic power on her palm - a signature that she inherited from the blood of the Bael clan flowing in her veins - the Power of Destruction that could disintegrate almost any matter it touched.

Rias then fired a ball of Power of Destruction at the black pup, or more accurately, at the ground around. Rias simply planned to scare the creature away from the scene with a show of demonic power, hoping the blast would frighten it. However, the black pup demonstrated a surprising display of agility by leaping aside a significant distance away from Rias' attack which ate a chunk of the concrete it stood on prior.

Once the black pup landed on its legs, it then growled with greater intensity as it crouched its body on its hind legs as if it finally recognized the group as its enemy.

Rias, on the other hand, sighed dejectedly. "Welp, it seems my scare tactic has failed Koneko, would you mind?" Rias then turned to address her Rook. "Just make sure to keep it down or keep it away, no need to kill Koneko?"

She paused when she saw Koneko's golden eyes grew wide.

"Rias" Rias turned to hear her Queen addressing her with a serious tone - Akeno's playful expression from earlier was replaced by dread, her eyes staring at the creature behind Rias.

The Knight beside her had also assumed his combat stance and conjured a sword from thin air with extreme caution in his grip.

"...Huh?"

Something was wrong.

When she turned to the likely source of her Peerage's change of attitude, her eyes widened and everyone began to slowly crane their necks up.

The puppy was no longer there. In its place was a giant they did not know, but it looked fierce as hell with its significantly larger size, its fur stood up like armored spikes, its red eyes gleamed dangerously crimson, and its maws were emitting steam as if its belly was on fire.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrr!"

"...Oh." Rias uttered. Now they understood why this thing was her Familiar

Although they didn't know there was something like this in the Underworld. Then, the beast's maws opened, and the devils soon learned what kind of hell they had unleashed upon themselves when a radiant sphere of raw, unadulterated power gathered in its jaws.

Rias immediately called her Peerage to action before it was too late. "Akeno! Yto!" She shouted as the beast roared as their vision was dominated by white.

Rias and Akeno held up their hands, conjured two layers of the largest Magic Circle they could produce, and poured as much power as they could into their makeshift shield while Kiba erupted a fence of numerous blades from the ground around the entire group.

Their defence clashed with the sphere, and the latter was already breaking through their absolute defense. Its power was unlike anything the Peerage had ever encountered.

Rias, Yto, and Akeno felt as if they were trying to push away a meteor from the sky, only one of pure energy and the force to punch a clean hole in the earth from crust to mantle. They all poured every reserve of Magic Power within them to stave off the attack, but in the end, their defenses cracked and the swords melted into slag faster than Yto could make them.

To their relief, the energy sphere finally dissipated soon enough, but not without exhausting all of their power as Rias and Akeno fell on their knees, running on fumes despite their demonic nature already working to replenish the lost power. The ground around them, which was not within their defensive measure had been reduced to a mere crater, spreading cracks and hot stone burning to the touch. Sweat caked their skin and uniforms, their muscles and joints screamed in agony, and, much to their horror, the monster's maws began to glow again.

"President/Akeno-senpai!" Kiba and Koneko quickly came to their rescue, the Knight reaching the King while the Rook the Queen before they quickly took to the sky, allowing the energy sphere to run over the ground they were on, all the way towards the factory building, causing a massive explosion that destroyed the majority of the complex.

Their faces paled when they saw the destruction, the flaming trail of destruction this thing left behind showed that it was not affiliated with a Low-Class Devil at all.

The beast roared at them as it fired even a couple more of its energy projectiles without charging, spitting them out like nothing. Just how many times can this thing pull that off?!

Kiba and Koneko's eyes widened at the incoming attack and they manoeuvred as best as they could with their masters in tow, to avoid the spheres. Alas, one of the spheres curved its flight towards Kiba and Rias, gliding so close to them for comfort before it exploded, lighting up the night sky with faux daylight as the resulting shockwave knocked both Kiba and Rias down to the unforgiving ground.

They fell in a violent descent and crashed into the sliding landing, lightly bouncing across the floor like skipping stones across a lake.

"Aagh!" Kiba groaned as he rubbed his head. He looked at the dog, seeing it ready to fire another shot. He looked at Rias, seeing blood spilling from the head and her eyes closed.

"President!" Kiba shouted as he tried to muster enough strength to summon another sword, but the beast's one attack knocked out his stamina.

However, lightning struck the beast's snout, pulling its attention away to Akeno in the sky who was the haggard in breath with sweat drenching her beautiful features. Kiba knew that Akeno was pulling out every drop of energy from her being to stave off the beast.

"Yto, protect Rias!" Akeno shouted as she continued firing at the beast, distracting it.

When Rias began coming to, she had no idea how long she had passed out. The first thing she registered in the midst of the spinning world, was the echoes of her Knight's voice trying to wake her up.

"President?! President Rias!" Kiba's voice gradually became clearer as her eyes finally worked properly enough to register the Knight kneeling in front of her.

Behind him, Rias could see the black beast was preoccupied by the airborne Akeno - who had not only recovered a semblance of strength but also wracked fatigue.

Demonic thunder struck the beast's hide as it growled in annoyance while scrutinizing its airborne foe. It could not fly, but it did not mean the beast had never hunted airborne prey before. It looked around and noticed there were still some solid structures left out of the ruined factory. Running towards what remained of the building, the black beast scaled the walls to gain enough speed and momentum to leap at Akeno, who was still able to fly even higher to dodge its lunge while kept firing her Magic at the beast.

None of Akeno's thunder barrage fazed the thing, it simply shrugged it off as it fired more explosive spheres which ignited the night sky brilliantly alight, as if it was popping the stars above. As the thing landed, it fell like a meteor, cratering another wound in the land with a rumbling boom. When it jumped out of the crater, it opened its mouth at the sky again, but before it fired, something impacted its hide. When it turned around, it saw another one, a small white-haired girl running around, lobbing nearby trees, rubble and stones at it. Still, her ammunition was nothing - they crumbled on impact, turning into pebbles and dust as it simply shrugged them off like rain drops.

However, the wind shifted its direction, and it suddenly stopped and sniffed at the empty air. It sniffed for a few times before its head with six red eyes slowly turned towards Koneko, who found herself shivering at the sight of the monster drooling at her.

Meanwhile, Yto slowly picked Rias up on her feet, holding her over her shoulder. "...I-I'm fine, Yto." Rias said as she stood up with unsteady legs. "What about you? You almost had it as hard as I did."

"I can still fight, but what on earth are we dealing with? What do we do?" Kiba returned his attention to the monster.

Rias herself was not sure anymore; the beast of this calibre could not possibly be a mere Stray Devil's familiar. She knew enough the stray devil they were hunting originally was previously a Low-Class Devil. No beast or familiar would serve a master unworthy of their strength.

She tried to recover as much energy as she could while helplessly watching Kiba coming to Koneko's rescue; the boy slammed his palm to the ground and numerous blades sprouted out from the ground, trying to impale the beast's lower hide.

Alas, the blades immediately shattered upon contact like glass, stopping the beast's march for only a second, while it kept its six eyes on Koneko - who was using the factory's uneven roof to elude the beast. Why is it so fixated on Koneko now?

The giant hound chased Koneko with a speed that did not match its size, much to the girl's horror - speed was never her forte in the first place. Even worse, it barreled through the chimneys of the factory, toppling it like dominoes without impediment like it was nothing. Noticing that the beast was aiming at their junior, Akeno rained even more Magic on it; ranging from thunder, fire, even ice; but the black beast did not relent.

"Keep running, Koneko!" Rias could only shout as she was still too weak to move.

Kiba had even jumped on its back and began to conjure one sword after another, to turn the monster's back into a pin-cushion. However, no matter how much of Kiba's efforts, the swords just wouldn't pierce its hide, snapping like wooden twigs against cold steel one after another.

Koneko kept running, despite her extraordinary strength and endurance, she began to tire and fear forced her to look back. The last thing she saw before everything went black, was something akin to a cavernous abyss of death that was closing its jaws on her.

Everyone could only watch in horror as the beast clamped its jaws on Koneko's frame and reared its head up to swallow her.

Tsubasa Yura knew that she had screwed up as she kept running for her life through the trees. How did things turn out this bad?

She was doing her usual night patrol; clad in sports attire with a hoodie to protect her from the cold night air, she would walk around hunting down spirits and monsters that were sowing mischief, to train the gifts she had since birth. While scouring around the edge of the town she lived, she spotted a raccoon that was in the middle of fending something off. When she took a closer look, her eyes widened at the sight of a six-eyed black dog overwhelming the raccoon. She couldn't tell if it was playing with it or trying to eat it maybe both?

Watching the black dog's ferocity, Tsubasa had several questions in her mind. What was it? It was her first time seeing a creature like this. Where did it come from? Was it intelligent? If so, then what's its purpose?

It was at the size of a large puppy, so it could endanger the locals if left unchecked.

A few seconds later, the black dog suddenly stopped, allowing the raccoon to flee in fright into the woods. Tsubasa realised the reason the dog ceased its onslaught on the poor raccoon was because it noticed her, judging from its six red orbs turning towards her.

With haste, Tsubasa assumed her combat stance. It was not her first time fighting a quartropedal monster before, so she knew more or less what to expect and how to handle them. The black dog stared at her for a moment, basically appraising Tsubasa with its eyes. It was probably trying to determine whether she was a threat or not. It tilted her head confused for a moment before it started circling around her.

"What's wrong? Scared of fighting a girl?" Tsubasa dared as she kicked a rock at the puppy.

The rock hit the dog in the snout, eliciting a growl in response to Tsubasa's provocation. She merely smirked in response, taunting it to have at her. Its six eyes honed into her form for a moment, the air pulled taut, before it lunged at her with its fang-filled jaws wide open.

Exercising caution, Tsubasa twisted her upper torso to have the dog glide past her before it skidded on the ground. It quickly recovered its bearings and lunged at her again, and Tsubasa simply repeated her action with her eyes not leaving the dog's behavioral pattern.

However, when the black dog fired a ball of pure energy from its jaws, Tsubasa widened her eyes from shock as she leapt aside as it flew into the tree behind her. A large explosion cracked the air as the shockwave buffeted her before the sound of splintered wood crashed an echoing boom.

Tsubasa turned to the tree and saw the devastation, the fire conflagrating the remains of the tree. Her mind blanked a little when she saw the destruction. What the hell was she facing? She wasn't aware of any myth that had a black dog capable of shooting fiery spheres of death. One hit would be enough to incinerate her to ash if she wasn't careful.

Tsubasa turned to the dog, seeing it fire more of its explosive projectiles. Tsubasa quickly rose and ran, evading its spheres of death as it exploded behind her steps. However, when she glanced at the mutt, she saw some of the fired energy spheres were homing into her like tracking missiles, but their veering turns could not bend past forty-five degrees.

Nonetheless, it was a chore, but not difficult to run around them.

However, once Tsubasa had grasped the beast's attack pattern eventually, she could launch her own counter-attack. When the black dog stopped firing its spheres of energy and lunged at her once more, Tsubasa jumped back and raised her leg and, as soon as the dog had overreached, she landed an axe-drop kick on top of its neck.

"Hah!" The black beast was driven to the ground, but it soon got up and leapt away to make distance, seemingly unfazed.

The beast then proceeded to fire several energy spheres. Despite their homing feature, Tsubasa was nimble enough to avoid the incoming projectiles in the nick of time as it brushed past her and devastated the landscape behind her. At this rate, however, the forest would be in flames, or worse, judging by the sound of the roaring crackling fire behind her.

The dog naturally gave chase as it kept firing, and Tsubasa once again outmanoeuvred the beast and kicked the beast's lower jaw like kicking a soccer ball. The beast staggered, but did not relent.

The fight went on for another few minutes with Tsubasa holding the advantage; the beast was fast, strong, relentless, but in the end it was an animal; its attack pattern was eventually easy to read given time.

Some time later, Tsubasa realized something was off. At first, despite how hard she hit and precise her strikes were, the black dog never seemed to go down - and she simply thought the beast was that tough. However, Tsubasa noticed that the beast's hide was increasingly tougher as time went by.

And it was getting faster.

She realized too late when she began to tire. When she made distance from the beast, a moment of clarity came upon her and learned that the beast had grown in size - roughly around the size of a polar bear, its maw was big enough to bite her head and shoulders off.

"Oh, shit" Tsubasa could only mutter those words when the dog pounced, kicking a noticeable indent in the dirt.

Despite its strength and size, it possessed the speed of a cheetah, no, something much faster - so fast that it closed the distance faster than she could react. Knowing she could not dodge, Tsubasa resorted to minimizing the damage the only way she could.

When the beast swiped its paw at her, she angled herself to avoid direct contact while jumping with the direction of the attack's trajectory. However, the impact sent her flying like a ragdoll, even with her manoeuvre to cushion the damage, as she crashed into a tree that was not on fire. Surrounded by flames, Tsubasa could still feel some cracks, possibly rib fractures. She coughed out spittles of blood as she fell into the foliages.

Knowing she was outmatched, Tsubasa chose to withdraw. Pulling herself up through the banging pain, she turned and sprinted as fast as she could, her feet pounding the dirt at the beat of her haggard breaths with all the strength her body and legs could muster while holding down her throbbing side. Throwing a quick glance behind her, she saw, much to her horror, the beast giving chase, and it was closing in fast.

Tsubasa did not dare to look back as she kept focusing on running through the dark, burning forest in order to escape the beast, but due to the lack of light in her vision, she overlooked a crack and lost her footing in the process. Tumbling down the rough landslide, Tsubasa really hoped she did not break any more of her bones when she finally landed at the bottom.

Alas, while she felt nothing was further broken, the fall earlier sprained her ankle, crippling her running momentum. She only managed to limp her way for a few steps until the ground behind her shook, rumbling under a heavy weight, knocking her off her fragile balance and down to the ground. Lying on her side, she turned back to see the same black beast towering over her. Its jaws were opened, revealing a row of dagger-like fangs while dripping in drools, its red eyes glowing crimson as its black fur stood on wavy ends.

She crawled on her back away in fear until she hit a tree. At this point, she was more than aware of the futility.

She had been an utter fool.

She had kept telling herself not to fight foes beyond her abilities, yet she picked a fight with something completely out of her league just because of its appearance? She did not want to die.

She just started middle school. She had not experienced her springtime of youth yet. She still wanted to spend more time with her friends and family and further her supernatural gifts. The beast was honing right before her, and Tsubasa could only close her eyes in regretful resignation, as the beast opened its maws wide...

"SIT, BOY!"

Tsubasa's eyes snapped open at the sudden voice, a boy's voice. She did not understand what was going on due to the pain and despair running over her being, but she could only blink in disbelief when the giant black dog snapped its head towards the voice, withdrew from her and sat down obediently.

When she felt she was no longer in danger, the adrenaline had finally left her body and her vision began to blur away. The last thing she remembered before hitting the ground was a visage of a boy running towards her.