chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own HighSchool DxD.

Chapter XVIII – A New Power Emerges

In another part of the Underworld was the base of operations for the Fallen Angels. You see, once, the Underworld was primarily controlled by the devils and one certain Death God.

But when Angels started falling from God's grace and abandoned his teachings, they needed a place to stay. For a while, they wandered the world as they were still few in numbers, but soon their numbers grew and grew until they had to find a new place to call home.

How it was managed was a mystery but the Fallen Angels now held a considerable part of the Underworld.

Even though it was one of the three major powers, the Fallen Angels, or the Grigori Organization, was the smallest out of the three.

When the Great War broke out, they were the first to retreat because they suffered the most casualties in relation to their population and the leaders decided to leave the war all together or risk being wiped out.

A wise decision if you're the weakest in a three-way war.

Currently, the Fallen Angels were mostly neutral now. Their Governor General, Azazel, did not want another war to ignite and that sentiment was shared by most of his subordinates.

Most, but not all.

As much as he tried, he and the other leaders could not stop the small skirmishes between the Three Factions. It was to be expected since some wounds have yet to be healed.

Now, though, Azazel was focused on the Sacred Gears. He was fascinated with them and had a little bit of an unhealthy obsession because of them.

Unhealthy obsession it may be, it was far better than warmongering and it keeps everyone busy.

And right now, the status quo was left undisturbed...until now.

In one of the many intelligence centers of their headquarters, a lone Fallen Angel had received a new message from one of their informants in Devil Territory and it was labelled as Code Black.

The Fallen Angel narrowed his eyes at what he has received. Code Black meant that whatever was in this message was deemed extremely urgent and contained very important information.

Curiosity getting the better of him and as is his job to verify it, the Fallen Angel opened the message to see what it was. The moment he saw its contents, his eyes grew as wide as saucer plates in shock.

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, thinking that his senses were tricking him or he was finally losing his mind. 'Okay, let's look at it again. It has to be a mistake, a joke.' He said to himself with a chuckle. 'I mean, it can't be real. No fucking way.'

With his confidence reassured that this was just a joke, he viewed it again. His reassurance was shattered when he saw the same thing again and again.

His hands trembled as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. "Impossible...I have to get this to the Governor General!"

With that, he grabbed the information and bolted for HQ. He didn't care if his coworkers were looking at him oddly and shouting for him to come back, this was extremely important and the top brass needed to see this.

"So, what's there to report this week, boys?" A tall man in his mid to late twenties with an average build, black hair with golden bangs, and a black goatee asked. This was Governor General Azazel, leader of the Fallen Angels.

After the last war, Azazel made it very clear that he didn't want another large scale conflict to erupt lest his entire brethren be annihilated for good this time.

That's why he decided that the Fallen Angels needed to take the back seat to lick their grievous wounds. It was the only choice he had because the Fallen Angels were the least numbered among the Three Factions and they were almost wiped out.

The only one that suffered more casualties than them were the devils because, as much as Fallen Angels and Angels were at odds, they still viewed devils as a common enemy and often ganged up on the devils before fighting each other..

But that was in the past and together with Shemhazai and Baraqiel, times were...peaceful for the most part.

And right now, the Governor General was just asking if there was anything more to add to the weekly report meeting before finishing up.

"I think that's about it on my end." Shemhazai, the Vice Governor General of the Grigori Organization and one of Azazel's closest associates. "Nothing left to report."

"Good to know." The Governor General nodded with a small nonchalant smile before turning to his other associate. "Have you anything else to add, Baraqiel?"

A middle aged, gruff looking man with black hair and a matching beard who apparently had seldom opened his eyes shook his head in the negative. "Nothing else to report, Governor General Azazel."

"Geez, Baraqiel. Learn to lighten up." Azazel chuckled. The only response he got was a grunt from the Cadre and a glare from Shemhazai.

"You should really know when to shut up, Azazel." The Vice General reprimanded with a growl but his boss just waved him off causing him to lecture and bonk Azazel over the head while Baraqiel was left to his own thoughts in brooding.

You see, Baraqiel was not the happiest man alive under the circumstances. He was once a family man with a beautiful wife and two wonderful daughters.

Just thinking about them brought a small sad smile to his face.

He had met his future wife, Shuri Himejima, when he was injured after another skirmish and she nursed him back to health. He tried to resist it, but Baraqiel eventually fell in love with Shuri and her with him.

Unfortunately, Shuri's family were vehemently against their relationship because Shuri was part of the Himejima Clan, one of the five great families that serve the Shinto Pantheon. And it didn't help that Shuri was a priestess.

When the two had finally come clean with their relationship, Shuri was basically disowned and told to never call herself a Himejima again for disgracing their honorable name and for whoring herself to a Fallen Angel.

She was understandably devastated and had cried for days on end at being branded a traitor and a whore by her own family. Baraqiel was always close to her, watching over her when she needed him.

Soon enough though, Shuri overcame her depression and moved on with her life together with Baraqiel as husband and wife after they were wed. And who would've known that she was one of those dominatrix types when in bed.

The Cadre still had some scars from the times she used those whips of hers on him. But he loved every second of it...being the masochist that he was.

And when he found out that Shuri was pregnant, he held no shame in admitting that he fainted. He was going to be a father, every man had his own coping mechanisms.

When it was finally time to deliver the baby...the things Shuri said and/or threatened to do to him made him sweat both in fear and anticipation...mostly anticipation.

After hours of pushing and cursing, Baraqiel and Shuri finally heard the cries of their child as she drew her first breath.

Words couldn't describe how Baraqiel felt at that moment. Holding his own flesh and blood as she was nestled in his arms...absolutely nothing.

They named their eldest Akeno Himejima because Shuri didn't give two fucks anymore and she could care less about what her ex-family would say to her at this point.

She was happy and that's all that mattered.

Speaking of which, when she had fully recovered from child birth and little Akeno was safely and comfortably tucked in, Shuri grabbed her husband by his beard and dragged his sorry ass to their bedroom for some revenge sex.

She was finally able to forgive him after a week of squealing.

A year later, they were blessed with another child, Kiyoko Himejima. The four of them lived in peace and happiness for several wonderful years...years that Baraqiel wished that never had ended.

One night, he was coming home from his duties of being a leader of the Fallen Angel when he heard the blood curdling scream of his wife from his home.

Fearing that something had happened, he raced towards the house only to find the blood stained body of his wife on the floor. Three men were standing above her with bloodied swords and Akeno crying for her mother.

Horrified and with rage filling his heart, Baraqiel lashed out and killed them. He would've made them suffer for much longer but he had to get Akeno to safety first.

After disposing of his wife's murderers, he was about to reach for Akeno before she yelled at him to stay back. Clinging to her dead mother, she blamed him for not being her to protect them.

It tore his heart apart for his eldest to say that, but thinking back now...he really was the one to blame.

Baraqiel felt his chest clenching in pain. If he had come back sooner, if he had hurried, his wife, daughters...his family would still be together.

But his worry grew when Kiyoko wasn't here and bolted to her room. The only thing he found was her headless body haphazardly lying on the floor.

It took everything he had not to break down after seeing his youngest in such a way.

Shuri and Kiyoko were dead, and Akeno cursed his very existence...the only comfort he could take in this was that his sole surviving daughter was alive and well.

It still hurts to think about them and the life he had, but Baraqiel shook it off when Shemhazai was finally done berating Azazel. He could think about what life could have been after he was alone.

"You know, a simple no would've sufficed. You didn't have to punch me in the face." Azazel mumbled, rubbing his sore cheek.

"Not if you don't tone down being an asshole."Shemhazai humphed before clearing his throat. "Well, gentlemen, it looks our business is concluded here for the weekly report is finished. Now we can discuss a new development I have uncovered."

After rubbing the sting away, Azazel nodded. "Yes, you've mentioned this before. What have you found out?" He and Baraqiel gave their full attention to this.

"Our spies in the different factions have reported very odd behaviors. Some powerful individuals have been deserting their posts going to I don't know where. And it isn't just an isolated incident, all factions appear to be having the same occurrences, us included."

Baraqiel narrowed his eyes...if it was possible to do so move. "I find that very odd as well. If it were just a few, we could dismiss it. But you said that it was happening to all factions. This is concerning."

The Governor General nodded. Though he acted like a laid back asshole all the time, he knew when to become serious. And this was very serious business. "Shem, I want you to dig up more info. This could be nothing or something else entirely, but I want to know what's going on."

"I've already given the order. I'm confident we'll have more to work with in the future. But in another note, one of our Cadre's have been acting strangely these past weeks."

Baraqiel and Azazel could hazard guesses but they only need one. "Kokabiel, you mean. What about that warmongering maniac?" Azazel held no love for that bloodthirsty psychopath. Why couldn't he just move on from the war?

"He's been making deals behind our backs, I'm sure of it." Shemhazai said. "He's covered his tracks well, but he's gone sloppy. We've managed to intercept one of his dealings to one Valper Galilei."

Azazel's frown deepened. "The mastermind behind the church's Holy Sword Project." Don't get him wrong, what the church had in mind was very sound.

Holy Swords are extremely dangerous to devils but the drawback was that there are so few that could wield them. So the church started that project to produce artificial Holy Sword users.

It was an admirable thing to pursue but the only problem was how they did it was...barbaric. So much so that Michael sent in a covert strike team to destroy the project the first time he got wind of it.

"But I thought Michael ordered the project destroyed. How is Valper alive?" Baraqiel asked.

Shemhazai shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. It could be a whole plethora of reasons, but he is one crafty rat. And we all know rats are very hard to kill."

"Right you are, my friend." Azazel mumbled in agreement. "Kokabiel has been a pain in the ass for a long time, but I don't think this is enough for us to order his execution."

As frustrating as it sounds, the other two begrudgingly agreed. Even though Shemhazai had intercepted the message of the correspondence, they needed more evidence because they couldn't just execute a Cadre of the Grigori because of this.

"What do you think they're up to?" Baraqiel asked, but he and the others already knew the answer to that.

Shemhazai was the one to answer. "The only logical answer is that they're after the holy swords. Valper wants them and Kokabiel itches for a renewed conflict, then frame the devils somehow. If they do that, then the war will resume."

And that was something all three of them didn't want. The wounds of the Great War were still healing, another large scale conflict would undoubtedly mark the end of their race.

But how could they avert this when their hands were tied? They could warn the Devils and the Angels, but there was no guarantee that they would believe them. Fallen Angels weren't exactly trustworthy to begin with.

What to do?

Just then, the three were broken from their reverie when the doors burst open and came in a lone Fallen Angel breathing heavily over his exertion.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Baraqiel roared just as two more of their subordinates came in and grabbed the other one by the arms.

"My apologies, sirs. He bolted right past us before we could stop him."

"Then see to it that this doesn't happen again, am I clear?." The Cadre growled and the two guards nodded but the Fallen Angel spoke.

"Wait!" He pleaded and looked at Azazel. "Governor General Azazel, I have received an urgent package from one of our informants in the Underworld. It's a Code Black!" He held up a dossier for them to see.

The three were now interested of what this was. A Code Black was a very important piece of intel.

Azazel motioned for the guards to let him go and told them to get out. When they were out, he then turned to the Fallen Angel. "You're from one of our intelligence divisions, right? A rookie?"

"Yes, sir. My name is Abelot."

"All right then, Abelot. What's so important that you had to interrupt our meeting?" Azazel raised a brow, wanting to know what was his reason for barging in like that.

"Because of this."

Abelot played the footage that would haunt him for the rest of his life to his superiors. Azazel, Shemhazai, and Baraqiel were eyeing the footage for anything in particular.

"It looks like the Devil King is having a gathering of some sorts." Shemhazai observed.

"It looks that way, yes." Azazel nodded before his eyes landed on a very menacing looking man was standing before the Devil King. Curiosity was present in his eyes but he kept his tongue for now.

Then, a few seconds later...it happened.

The man had disappeared from the spot he was standing, reappeared right in front of Sirzechs and literally punched him out of view.

Shemhazai's jaw dropped from shock, Baraqiel's eyes were wide open, and Azazel was rubbing his eyes in disbelief. They couldn't believe what they had just watched...this had to be some sick joke!

"D-Did...Did that just...No, this has to be a fake." The Vice Governor General stuttered. "Someone must have intercepted this and falsified it. Have you verified this before coming here?"

Abelot nodded, a little pale himself. "I checked it ten times. I also checked the connections if any of them were compromised, none of them were...this is the real deal..."

Shem and Baraqiel was still reeling from what they had just saw but Azazel instantly grabbed the dossier from the table and read its contents like a man possessed.

The man's name was Kyuren. He is about in his late teen which further surprised Azazel because someone so young had managed that. He was a human which would make it a possibility that this Kyuren possessed a very powerful Sacred Gear.

'It has to be. There's no other reason.' The Governor General told himself but the dossier had revealed none of the sort.

And when he got to the part that explained what had happened to Sirzechs, it almost made him cringe at the horrendous damage. It was a miracle that he was still breathing.

Shemhazai seemed to have shaken off some of the shock and asked Azazel for the dossier. He did just that and passed the dossier to his vice governor and sat back further in his chair in heavy thought.

This...this was a very unexpected turn of events. Azazel was a very informed man, he usually knew things before anyone else. But this totally caught him off guard.

A human had injured Sirzechs Lucifer, arguably the most powerful devil alive with just one swift attack. This would take a few minutes to fully settle in.

Minutes later, the three had finally finished reading the dossier and they were stunned to silence. Taking this as his cue to leave, Abelot excused himself before gong out of the door.

Probably go get drunk and forget this ever happened to him.

"Shem, new order of business." Azazel said, looking directly at his second in command. "I want you to find out who this guy is. A new powerful player has just made himself known and I want to know everything we can about him."

"While I agree with that, we can't spare any more units for that." Shemhazai responded with a disappointed sigh. He too wanted to know who this Kyuren was but he had already deployed his agents to focus on Kokabiel and Valper.

"But we cannot just ignore this as well." Baraqiel argued. He had seen the footage and read the file, and it unnerved him. For someone to do that to one of the most powerful beings in existence, he should not be taken lightly.

"You both make valid points, but Shem's right. We can't spare another set of eyes but we also can't leave this alone either." The governor mumbled but he then gained a smirk which did not go unnoticed.

"Do you have something in mind?"

Azazel's smirk turned into a devious grin. "Well, there is someone we could send in to keep an eye on the human."

"Who? You don't mean Vali, do you?" Shemhazai asked incredulously. "He is the White Dragon Emperor and obsessed with fighting a strong opponent. Chances are he'll want to challenge him outright."

"I'm not talking about Vali nor Tobio. No, I have someone else in mind."

Baraqiel scowled. "You mean Raynare." He stated more than asked. "You can't be serious about this. While I admit that she accomplished something impressive, she almost caused a war with her stunt."

"We don't have a choice here, Baraqiel. Like it or not, Raynare and her team are the only ones available at the moment. And like Shem said, Vali would most likely break cover and challenge him to a fight. Tobio is also unavailable at the moment."

The Cadre didn't like it but grunted his consent.

Azazel smiled. "This is not something we shouldn't overlook, boys. This Kyuren almost killed Sirzechs and in one attack. I don't know about you, but I want to know what I'm dealing with before I make a move."

Shemhazai and Baraqiel nodded, though hesitantly. After concluding their meeting, Azazel told his fellow leaders that this should be kept under wraps...and that Abelot's memory of this be erased.

They agreed because would cause chaos in their ranks and there was no telling what could happen.

The Governor General was making his way towards where Raynare was. Though he may not show it, he was still in shock. It wasn't everyday this happened...

Numerous questions ran through his head, but he hoped that Raynare had the answers and that's why he was personally getting her. It was a too great a risk to do otherwise.

When she and her team came back and with them was Twilight Healing, Azazel couldn't help but be impressed. That was, until he heard how they got it.

To say that he was mad was an understatement and he made sure that Raynare and her team were properly punished for disobeying his direct orders and for almost reigniting the war.

But still...what they accomplished was nothing short impressive. They managed to get Twilight Healing, a very valuable Sacred Gear, from right under the Devil's noses...and they were still rookies.

Though they needed some polishing, the Governor General had no doubt that they would be valuable assets in the near future.

Azazel could hear the faint sounds of fighting coming from one of the training fields and soon enough, there she was. Having a spar with another Fallen Angel.

After coming back, Raynare had been training like a woman possessed as well as her team...at her behest. Numerous times she had to be brought into the infirmary to treat her injuries and exhaustion.

Though she may not be as strong as Vali, she had proven that she could stand toe to toe with him.

Hell, at one time, she was able to score a win because she used his cockiness to her advantage. It was extremely funny seeing the look on Vali's face when Raynare beat him.

She has grown stronger and it was a major improvement for her.

An adopted father couldn't be any prouder.

"Raynare!" Azazel called out just before Raynare could end it.

The girl stopped her sword thrust just inches away from her opponent's eyes and scowled in annoyance. "All right, who's the prick?" She growled, turning around before she spotted the Governor General smirking at her.

"A prick, am I?"

Raynare blushed in embarrassment and went towards her superior followed by her sparing partner before bowing low "I'm sorry, sir. If had I known..."

"Nah, don't worry about it." He turned to the other angel. "Would you mind giving us some privacy?"

"Of course, sir." He nodded to his superior and left the two.

Azazel looked at the still bowing Raynre and was amused at how embarrassed she was. Well, she did just call him, the leader of the Fallen Angels, a prick...to be honest, he was a giant prick.

Raynare felt like hitting her head on the wall then kill herself. 'Great, you've done it now, stupid.' She grumbled to herself, readying for her inevitable punishment

"You know you can stand up now, right?" She heard him chuckled.

Hesitantly, Raynare stood up straighter but was still unable to meet his eyes. "So, uh...is there anything you want?"

"Actually, there is. Come with me, I have something to show you." With that, the two made their way to Azazel's office.

The two entered his office and Raynare decided to ask her question. "What is it you want to show me?"

"That depends. Do you know the name Kyuren?" And just like he had hoped, Raynare looked at him in surprise that made him smirk.

He had personally gotten a verbal report from Raynare and she did mention that a human beating her before she could kill the current host of the Red Dragon Emperor and this just confirmed that the two were one in the same.

Raynare was lookng at Azazel, surprise clearly evident in her eyes. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." She stuttered, desperately trying to deny it.

Azazel just smirked. "You can drop the act, Raynare. I know you know him because of your obvious reaction."

At the, the young man cursed under her breath. Could anyone blame her, she didn't expect that to happen! She hadn't talked to anyone about Kyuren so why did her boss know about him?

Giving out a sigh, Raynare nodded. "Fine...but why?"

"You might want to sit down for this."

"Jævla djevler. Hvordan våger de kidnappe meg for sin egen underholdning! ("Fucking devils. How dare they kidnap me for their own entertainment!) Kyuren raged, raining down haymakers and kicks to his punching bag.

In was about four o'clock in the morning and right now, the raven haired teen was using this time to vent his frustration and anger out on the poor old punching bag.

How dare they think he would just bow to their wishes and not expect any consequences. Haven't they ever heard of common courtesy?!

Kyuren did not and will never regret at what he did there. The way he sees it, those two deserved what happened to them and he wouldn't give two shits otherwise.

If they want to go after him, then let them come. He would tear them apart limb from fucking limb and send their mangled corpses back at their doorstep!

With one last powerful strike, the punching bag was forced from its chains and flew towards the wall before slamming into it and falling into a heap right on top of four more ruined bags.

Breathing heavily, the raven haired teen cursed that another one was destroyed and he still wasn't satisfied. Moving to the side, he grabbed another punching bag and hung it up before he continued assaulting that as well.

With that incident, Kyuren's views on the Supernatural world were that of displeasure. Sure it was a bit early for that kind of judgement, but if this had happened to anyone else then it would leave a very bad taste in their mouths.

He just wanted to be left alone, if they did that, then he'll leave them alone to their own business. Instead they just had to drag him down there.

It just shows him that devils were extremely arrogant. Thinking that just because he was a human, they could order him around? Just because he was supposed to be weak, he'll just bow to their wishes?

Well, guess what, he wasn't weak and he wasn't going to allow being bossed around like some dog. If they had a problem with that, then they can come tell it to his face...if they had the balls.

Delivering one last punch, Kyuren felt that he had vented enough frustration and decided to end his workout for today. The raven haired teen walked over to his stuff and proceeded to wipe the sweat from his body.

When that was done, he slung the towel over his shoulder and exited his training room to start the day...meaning school.

After watching the footage, Raynare was grateful that she was sitting down or else might have fallen on her ass.

Did...was her mind finally breaking after all these years? Was she finally going insane? Did Kyuren just one shot THE Devil King?

She slowly lowered her head, an expression of complete shock etched in her face. In the time since her return, she took the raven haired teen's word and started to better herself.

Reasoning that it was for her to become better and master her new Sacred Gear which was true. But another reason was to one day see Kyuren again and make him see how much she has improved. That and she wanted to just see him again.

But after seeing this...she just couldn't believe it.

"This...this has to be a fake...right?" Raynare mumbled in disbelief, looking at Azazel for confirmation.

"Sadly, no." He shook his head. "It has been confirmed as real, even I checked it and it hasn't been tampered in any way."

That put the final nail in the coffin and Raynare felt her mouth going dry. She just faced a guy who literally had the power to erase her from existence and lived.

"I know this is hard to take in, but I need you to go back to Kuoh." He saw her tense up at the mention of the place and sighed. "I know you don't have the best history there, but I need you to do this."

Azazel knew that Raynare had some pretty bad history with that town. So bad that it took a lot of convincing to even get her there in the first place to survey the Red Dragon Emperor.

"I...I'll do it."

She may not like going back to where her hell began, but if this was her mission, then so be it. Besides, seeing Kyuren again was a small comfort.

"Oh, there is another thing I want you to tell him about."

Sona was not in the best of situations at the moment. She had just agreed to essentially spy on Kyuren and most likely betrayed his trust for her. To make it worse, her family was totally against her doing this.

While she understands their distress that her partner was extremely dangerous, he wasn't an evil man. They didn't know him like she did and they didn't work with him like she did.

Whether they liked it or not, she was doing this. It was the only way to protect both sides. Sona just hoped that Kyuren would understand.

And right now, she wanted to talk to him. That's why she and her peerage were waiting by the entrance for him to arrive. Understandably, they were a tad bit nervous. When Kyuren left the Underworld, he reduced Riser to a pulp, placed Sirzechs in intensive care, and was in a very foul mood.

So...yeah.

"Do you think he's still pissed?" Saji asked in a concerned and nervous voice. Yeah, the raven haired teen was a friend but he couldn't help but feel intimidated by him now.

Sona looked at him but before she could answer his question, the familiar sound of a Mustang engine drew their attention and they turned to the entrance.

Lo and behold, there he was...and he didn't look happy judging from the frown he had on.

Seeing Kyuren here now, the Sitri heiress felt conflicted. It was the classic situation where she wanted to do something, but when the opportunity presented itself, there was hesitation.

Don't get her wrong, she wanted to talk to him still and apologize, but her doubts were starting to surface.

What if he didn't want to talk to her? What if he didn't trust her anymore? What if their friendship was no more? Possibilities...very unfavorable possibilities.

But still...

Sona steeled her nerves as much as she could and stood in her partner's path all the while, some of the other students were becoming curious and lingered. Curious as to why the Student Council was here.

The Sitri heiress could see that Kyuren was not his usual laid back self, he looked like he was still somewhat angry with that frown and slight scowl on his face.

It was disconcerting, but she had to do this. It was her responsibility and she had to because her conscience wouldn't be silenced otherwise.

When he was near, Sona decided to speak. "Kyuren, I-" Before she could say anymore, the raven haired teen moved past her the same way he did when he left the Underworld.

This stunned and saddened Sona because the possibilities of their friendship being gone was becoming convincingly true and she could feel a slight tightness in her chest...what was this slight pain?

The Sitri heiress let out a heavy shaky breath before closing her eyes. If one would look closely, they would see a very slight wetness at the corner of her eyes.

Saji and the rest cringed when Kyuren basically ignored and dismissed Sona like that. "...Yeah, he's still pissed."

All around, students began murmuring at how Kyuren moved past the Student Council president. Theories ranged from a heated rivalry between the two to them having relationship behind the scenes and had a very big spat.