《On The Bench》


 To You, A World Away

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 First Step

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 Indulgence

    "Eren! We''re back!" Rias cheerfully greeted her friend as she sat on the uncomfortable bench.

    "Rias," Eren nodded at her but tilted his head in question in his usual expressionless manner. Sometimes, he reminded her so much of Koneko that Rias decided that waiting for her Rook to enter high school was entirely too long before introducing the two. "Who else is with you?"

    "I am here as well," Sona said as she approached at a much more sedate pace. She slightly adjusted her glasses, making them glint ominously as she glared at her rival. Rias stuck her tongue out at the student council president. Sona chose to be the bigger woman... metaphorically.

    Either she''d hit her growth spurt and gain her sister''s... assets, or she wouldn''t and would grow up to be a beauty like her aunt.

    Either way, Sona didn''t need to compete on such a base level.

    Or so she told herself.

    "I trust your summer was enjoyable. What progress have you made with the lesson discs I left for you?"

    Rather than let Eren answer the boring question, Rias started speaking again.

    "I also brought Akeno." "Hello." "She asked me to introduce you."

    "Good afternoon," Eren nodded in the direction Akeno had spoken from and tried to greet her in Japanese. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

    The pronunciation was correct, but the accent was off. Still, it was enough to get Sona to congratulate him.

    "I see you have been practicing," she nodded with evident approval. "Now that you have the syllabary order down and some basic vocabulary, we will work on sentence structure and conjugation while increasing your word pool. By the end of the year, I want to be able to practice with some simple test conversations."

    "But you don''t have to worry about it right now," Rias hurried to add, sending a light glare of her own at Sona. "Akeno is fluent in English like us."

    "Thank you," Eren nodded at them both.

    Or at least tried to.

    Instead of nodding at Rias and Sona, he faced Akeno and a nearby tree.

    "Have you been out here all day," Rias asked, a note of worry in her voice as she looked around the wooded park, just now realizing how hot the August afternoon really was. For a devil, it wasn''t a significant concern. But for Eren? "Should we head into the shade? I brought a picnic."

    Kuoh didn''t get as hot as some parts of Japan, but leaving someone to sit in the sun for hours on end was in no way safe. The tree leaves blocked a lot of the direct glare, but Eren was already sickly. Rias was worried about heat stroke.

    "I am fine," Eren shook his head in denial. "Heat doesn''t bother me."

    "You''re burning up," Rias insisted as she hurried to grab his hand not holding his cane. "Come on, my club is near here. You can cool off inside."

    "Don''t worry," he said as he lightly shook off her hand. "I run a few degrees hotter than most."

    "It''s true," Sona agreed. "He felt warm even months ago, and it was spring." Rias gave her rival another glare as Akeno looked at the Sitri in delight. "Ah, I just mean when I touched him, it was warm. Just his hands." Sona lightly flushed and fidgeted under the Gremory''s glower and Akeno''s widening smile. "But I do think the park furniture could do with an update. I will discuss it at the school''s next budget meeting." It was a transparent ploy to change the subject, and everyone knew it. "We should be able to replace all the benches with more mod-"

    "No."

    Eren''s one word stopped Sona''s voice in her tracks.

    "Excuse me?" Sona said with a frown. She wasn''t one to tolerate people being rude.

    Just because this was the first time Eren had done so didn''t mean she would allow it to slide. The boy wasn''t what she would consider polite, nor was he outright rude.

    He was just... rough around the edges, unaware of the social niceties due to his upbringing.

    Sona willfully ignored the fact that even if Eren knew how to be polite, he would still choose not to be unless it was someone he respected.

    "Not this bench," Eren insisted, not cowed in any way by Sona''s harsh tone. "If you want to change the others, go right ahead. Not this one."

    "Why?" Rias asked instead of Sona. "It''s really uncomfortable, the spot isn''t good, and you''re exposed to the elements. I''ve seen you sit out here in the rain. You can''t keep doing that in your condition, even with an umbrella. Winter is coming, too. We even get snow here in Kuoh. We can replace the bench with a full sitting booth. There''d be more room, and you''d be safer."

    "Not this bench," Eren repeated, stressing every word. He would not be budged on the subject. "It''s comfortable to me, and the elements don''t bother me as much as other people. I''ve dealt with worse."

    "Why is this bench special?" Sona asked, trying to get why he was being so obstinate about a bench, of all things.

    "It is important to me," Eren said, and none of the young women there were happy with that answer. But then he continued. "I met you here on it, didn''t I?"

    "Oh," Rias said softly, her face flushing softly as she twiddled with a strand of her hair.

    "I suppose," Sona coughed and cleared her throat as she looked everywhere but at Eren, pretending as if her own cheeks were not pinking. "If we simply installed a retractable covering and maybe a heater for winter, it would accomplish the same goals. It is not as if Kuoh is hurting for funds."

    This sentimentality from Eren was utterly new, but it was... nice.

    Akeno watched it all in undisguised glee.

    So cute.

    But the best was yet to come if Eren remembered the plan she had proposed before the break.

    Thankfully, he did.

    "Since you are both here, I was hoping I could ask you a favour," Eren said in silence after Sona''s words.

    His voice was as without inflection as it usually was, but this was the first time he had asked for anything, so both young women paid close attention.

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    "If it is within our power," Sona hedged gently, knowing not to make any promises before hearing all the details.

    "We''ll do it." Rias, of course, didn''t have such worries with her friends. "And Akeno will help."

    "If I can," the queen said gently, hiding her smile behind her hand as her eyes lit up with mischief.

    "I am looking for two girls. They should live in the area and are a few years younger than me."

    "What are their names?" Sona frowned.

    If they lived here, there was a good chance they were Kuoh students, in which case she would know them. But it wasn''t guaranteed. Their school had stringent admission requirements, so they might have gone to a different school in the area.

    "I don''t know their names," Eren admitted with a shrug, his voice still plain and without inflection. As if talking about the weather. "I met them when they were younger. I was only ten, and they never gave me their names. I only recently found out they lived in Kuoh."

    "So, they moved here?" Rias asked, and Eren nodded. That would narrow it down considerably. "Can you give us any hint or description we can work with? And why are you looking for them?"

    "You shouldn''t have trouble finding them," Eren shrugged. His voice was bland, almost deadpan. "They were cute when I met them. I imagine they are only more beautiful now." Both Rias and Sona frowned but let him talk. "One of them had bright blue eyes and crimson hair, so she should stand out in a crowd." Rias froze. "The other had black hair, so it will be slightly harder. But her eyes were the most beautiful amethyst you will ever see, and she wore glasses." Sona froze. "I promised to marry them when we got older, but I doubt they remember me. Still, I have to try."

    Silence.

    Absolute silence filled the little park path after Eren''s declaration.

    Then Akeno broke.

    "Ahahahahaha," she laughed uproariously, doubling over to hold her stomach in an entirely unladylike fashion. If any students had been around to see her mad burst of laughter, her reputation as a Yamato Nadeshiko would have disappeared overnight. "Your faces! Ahahahaha! Oh, Satans! Your faces!"

    " .NO!" Rias bit out through clenched teeth. Her face was so red it almost eclipsed her hair. Part of it was anger, but a larger part was absolute mortification.

    "Rias." Sona, by contrast, was cold in her anger. "Deal with her. Ten thousand spankings. Don''t hold back."

    "Ufufufufu," Akeno lewdly giggled. "Don''t threaten me with a good time."

    Rias lunged at her queen, who danced out of the way with more giggles.

    As the pair ran through the park, laughing and growling in turn, Sona took Rias'' vacant seat on the bench. Her face was still flushed, which Eren thankfully could not see, and her heart was racing.

    "That was quite cruel," Sona said harshly as she calmed herself down.

    "It was Akeno''s idea," Eren explained plainly, utterly unperturbed by either her tone or the joke. "She visited before you left for the summer and asked for my help with a prank. I am guessing the two women she talked about were you two?"

    "We can be described as such, yes," Sona coughed gently into her fist, cheeks flushing again at the memory. "In case you were curious, Rias is the one with red hair. I am the one... the other."

    Dammit Akeno!

    Sona cursed inwardly. Talking to Eren had never been awkward before, but even now, she couldn''t help the slight stutter in her voice.

    "Do not be too hard on her," Eren sighed softly as if reading her thoughts.

    "I shall be," Sona denied simply. "This is far from the first time she has pulled something like this. Rias lets her get away with too much. And do not think I have forgotten your part in this little joke. If you have such free time to go along with frivolities that toy with a young maiden''s heart, then you have time for twice the homework. I shall revise our lesson plans."

    "If you wish," her first student nodded, unbothered by her threat.

    Something about the way he was handling this unnerved the young heiress.

    "Why did you go along with her?" Sona asked, genuinely curious why the usually serious boy decided to go along with something so whimsical.

    "I thought it was a good idea." Eren couldn''t see it, but Sona frowned at him. She did not understand how playing with her feelings was a good idea.

    "I fail to see how it is so. The joke was in poor taste."

    Eren paused for a moment, then he seemed to slump slightly, and his following words came out not in his usual monotone but in a nostalgic, almost regretful tone.

    "A word of caution," he said gently. "A dream is a beautiful thing. Pursuing yours is admirable. But do not forget to live. Do not forget to laugh with your friends. Or cry. Or rage. Someday, you might not be able to anymore. All you will have remaining are the memories of those times together. It will be all that pushes you forward."

    Sona fought back the shiver she felt at the sheer blankness of his voice, even knowing he wouldn''t see it.

    She knew she was incredibly lucky.

    Wealth, power, family, friends, a Peerage supporting her and a dream she pursued.

    Hell, Sona had recently gotten out of her arranged marriage while Rias still had hers hanging over her head.

    Looking at the man beside her, who had only a few years left to live, no family, and had given up all his wealth, Sona knew she had no right to complain about a prank between friends.

    It also drew something to her attention she hadn''t noticed before.

    Eren looked worse than she remembered.

    His clothes hung from a frame that looked skinnier than before. Despite sitting in the sun for hours, his skin was a shade lighter than she remembered.

    And he had spent the last month alone.

    Every day, sitting on an uncomfortable bench, with no one for company but their hidden familiars.

    An unfamiliar and unwelcome emotion rose in Sona''s chest as she looked at her student and friend.

    Rather than give voice to it or continue criticizing the boy for the prank, she turned to another subject.

    "Your hair is getting too long," she chided gently, grabbing a long strand of dark hair that fell to below his chest and pushing it out of his face. "You should get it cut as soon as possible. A tidy appearance helps maintain a tidy mindset."

    Eren didn''t say anything, just giving her a weary nod.

    A sound had Sona pulling her hand away as if she had been scalded by the brown locks.

    "Ufufufu," Akeno giggled at the sight, her uniform and hair dishevelled from the chase but unharmed otherwise. "How cute."

    "You''re in my seat," Rias said with a pout and a glare at her rival as she crossed her arms in displeasure. She was also dishevelled and had a twig in her red hair but seemed more concerned with Sona''s placement than anything else.

    "Hem," Sona coughed softly in her hand, acting as if nothing had happened. She did not get up. "Since Eren asked, I will not be harsh with your punishment, Akeno." The reincarnated devil looked at the young man in surprise as Sona continued. "You will join the student council every night for two weeks to aid us. There is a lot of work to be done after the summer. This will be on top of your usual duties. I trust this is agreeable, Rias?"

    "You took my seat," Rias repeated, still pouting, but nodded. "Fine. She can lose some free time."

    "Ah," Akeno gasped dramatically, raising a hand to her forehead to feign a faint. "What a cruel mistress I have! Sold off to slave away for another. You will save me, won''t you, Eren?"

    Perfectly timed and without any tonal inflection, Eren answered.

    "No."

    "Ha!"

    "Pfft."

    Even as Rias crowed in triumph, pointing a finger at her queen, Sona desperately covered her mouth to try and cover up the sound of her snort escaping from between clenched lips.

    Everyone turned to the Sitri, though Eren''s facing was slightly off.

    There was a beat of silence as everyone digested what had just happened.

    "Ufufufufufu," Akeno''s giggles gained further fervour as she watched the normally stoic young woman turn red for the second time today. "How cute."

    "Rias!" Sona snapped at her rival, who was staring at her like she was seeing a ghost. "Didn''t you say you brought a picnic? Let''s eat."

    It took another five minutes for Rias to bring out the picnic basket she had brought, and Sona had to give up her seat to do it, but the four teens eventually settled into a light meal. Eren and Rias sat on the bench while Sona and Akeno contented themselves to rest on the blanket in the grass.

    In the afternoon sun of a small park, the three childhood friends ate and talked about their summer and plans for the coming semester. They laughed, teased, and enjoyed a moment of freedom.

    Freedom from their responsibilities, their pasts, and the worries of their futures.

    The young boy sat on the bench through it all, eating lightly and listening to them. He rarely joined in their talk, though they tried to include him when they could.

    He was content to simply be there on that bench.

    Eren''s mind wandered to memories. To memories far away and long ago.

    Eren Yeager never smiled.

    Even surrounded by laughter, that didn''t change.

    Even if all three girls there would swear, his expression eased more than they had ever seen.

    But if, while listening and remembering, Eren dozed into one of his habitual naps, none of the young women with him tried to wake him.

    And if, while sleeping, he saw three children running to a tree on a hill...

    Eren Yeager never smiled.

    But the boy in the dream?

    Well, the young boy in the dream was smiling enough for both of them.

    All three girls quieted, content to let him rest as they spoke and laughed in hushed tones as Eren napped on the bench.

 From One Day to Another

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 The Hard Path

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 Guilty Shade

    Kiba Yuuto did not understand.

    He watched his King read the manga to the blind boy, describing the pages in great detail. She spoke in English most of the time but would say the lines in Japanese. If the blind boy did not understand the meaning, she would also provide a translation.

    It was extremely slow going. A volume of manga Kiba had seen Rias devour in less than an hour ended up stretched for days.

    And through it all, Rias practiced with her magic.

    Hidden below the bench, behind a tree, or at a distance from the seated pair, small clumps of destructive magic wove their way through the air. Sometimes, they would clump together to form small stick figures of black and red energy bobbing up and down in a crude approximation of Rias'' narrated scenes.

    It was a display of control that the Gremory King wouldn''t have been able to achieve even a few months ago, and a part of Yuuto watched it with pride.

    He just didn''t understand why it had happened in the first place.

    He did not understand why Eren Yeager was such a point of focus for the two Kings of the school, Akeno and even Koneko, in recent months.

    Intellectually, he knew that he was their friend. Sona took him under her wing and was teaching the blind boy Japanese. Rias had decided to befriend him thanks to her kindness, and the other two met the dying young man through her.

    Intellectually, Yuuto understood that Eren Yeager had been through a lot, as had everyone in the Gremory Peerage, and it gave them a common ground to stand on that was missing with a lot of their human peers. Even if Eren didn''t know their history, he had a maturity and bearing that was sorely lacking in the average teenager.

    Intellectually, the Knight understood that all the effort the Gremory Peerage was putting in now, the long hours of supplemental training, would only help them achieve their dreams later.

    All this Kiba Yuuto understood intellectually, but it was like something was just out of his grasp.

    It wasn''t love. At least Yuuto didn''t think so.

    As far as he knew, none of the women he was closest to had expressed romantic interest in the sickly boy. Nor had Eren ever hinted at any feelings of such a nature either.

    Sona might have a crush on him, but her sense of decency, his impending death, or some other factor kept her from acting on such thoughts.

    It probably helped that the blind boy couldn''t see the beauty of the women around him, which usually drove other boys his age to folly in their efforts to impress them.

    But if it wasn''t love, and they had only known Eren for a little under a year, Yuuto could not understand how the older boy had wormed his way into their heart to such a degree.

    Kiba Yuuto did not understand Eren Yeager.

    But today, he''d try and change that.

    Rias nodded at her Knight as she left Eren with a farewell.

    Strictly speaking, she was only entrusting him to watch over the blind boy, something he could do with his familiar.

    It was a protection detail they kept up when they could ever since they had learned of his prodigious potential with Ki. While Rias and Sona were the only officially known supernatural factions in Kuoh, barring the destroyed church, it wasn''t impossible that some malicious Yokai or Stray would wander into their territory.

    Eren would be a delicious and inviting meal for such beings if they discovered his powerful life force. Eating him would give a number of man-eating races numerous benefits. It was always better to have a pair of eyes on him.

    The park was warded against such creatures, as was his small house, but Eren came and went from the bench at odd hours, so at least one familiar was entrusted to follow him at those times for his safety.

    There were blind spots, of course. The devils still had school and duties and needed to sleep. Unless there was an active threat, there was no reason to constantly watch him. Still, it was another factor to indicate how important the boy was becoming to Yuuto''s friends, and he wanted to know why.

    Rias had repeatedly insisted that Eren could never know, as he valued his independence fiercely. The sickly boy was unaware of the true danger he was in, and telling him about it would only stress him out and ruin what time he had left.

    Yuuto had agreed readily enough, initially not really interested in meeting the boy who had captured the attention of his friends. He had enough on his plate, between school, contracts, avoiding his growing fan club, the occasional Stray devil, and the increased dedication to training the Gremory peerage was putting themselves through.

    It was a whim, more than anything, that led to deciding today was the day he''d try and understand the blind boy.

    But how to go about it?

    In the end, the decision was made for him.

    "Are you going to stand there all night?" Eren called out to the park.

    He wasn''t facing Yuuto, but the Knight could see no one else there. But Eren couldn''t be talking to him, could he?

    While he wasn''t super far from the bench the boy sat on, Yuuto had been standing there without making a sound for over ten minutes now, resting against the bark of a tree. Eren couldn''t have seen him, could he?

    "I know you''re there," Eren continued, turning his head. He wasn''t facing the Knight directly. In fact, it was a few feet in front of him, but it was close enough that Yuuto knew it was him being addressed. "I can hear you breathing."

    "Sorry," he said as he stepped closer. How had Eren heard him? He hadn''t been doing his best to remain stealthy, but he also hadn''t been breathing loudly. "I didn''t think I was being that loud."

    "You weren''t. I hear a lot more than I used to."

    Yuuto winced in sympathy.

    It was easy to forget with the confidence he held himself with, but Eren had only been blind for slightly over a year, according to the file. He had gone through most of his life with the use of his eyes. It made sense that his hearing was still developing to compensate for the difference.

    Probably helped along by his stupendous amount of Ki, unconsciously channelled to his body as it tried to keep him alive.

    "Sorry," the Knight repeated. "Can I take a seat?"

    "Go ahead," Eren said with an uncaring shrug. "It''s a public bench. Though I seem to be one of the only ones to use this park."

    "It is in a remote area," Kiba chuckled lightly as he took a seat, knowing the wards kept most people out. Wards Eren walked through entirely unconsciously. "Not many people go from the high school to the university."

    "You must be Kiba Yuuto, then."

    "You know me?" Yuuto asked in surprise. Seriously, was this boy really blind?

    "Only Souna and Rias'' club members come through here, and you sound different from how Rias described Gasper. She brags about you guys a lot."

    "Ahaha," he chuckled awkwardly with a light blush. When Eren put it that way, it seemed obvious. "She talks about you too, you know."

    "I''m sure," Eren said plainly. That was one thing Yuuto had understood about Eren without ever meeting him. The older boy never smiled, and on the rare occasions he showed emotion, it was usually in a negative way. "Rias is a nice girl, but she has too much energy."

    "She''s only a few years younger than you," Yuuto pointed out at the almost diminutive way the older boy spoke about his King.

    "I know. But she is still naive about the world."

    Yuuto bit back his instinctual desire to defend his King. Eren didn''t know about anything they had been through. He had no clue of the true nature of the world or the efforts Rias was going through to give the blind boy a chance to live.

    Instead of saying any of that, he settled with a vague statement.

    "She could still surprise you."

    "I''m surprised every day," Eren said, his voice lightening slightly. "Souna, Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and now you. Every time I meet someone on this bench, I am surprised."

    Yuuto didn''t understand the exact nature of that surprise but judged it to be good by Eren''s tone of voice.

    The conversation was silent for a minute before Eren broke it again.

    "Ask it."

    "Pardon?"

    "You wouldn''t be here if you didn''t want something," Eren grunted. "I''m not good for anything physical in my state, so you must have a question. Go ahead and ask it."

    Akeno had told them how sharp and perceptive the boy on the bench could sometimes be, but Yuuto still found himself surprised.

    Since he had brought it up.

    "Who are you?"

    "What?"

    "I don''t mean your name, but who is Eren Yeager. You came out of nowhere, and all my friends are suddenly all over you."

    "Are you in love with one of them," Eren asked with a sympathetic tilt to his mouth. "You don''t need to be jealous. Trust me. I''ll be gone soon."

    "No, no, no," Yuuto hurried to clarify. Thinking about his word choice, it was easy to see how it could be misunderstood. But he really wasn''t interested in romance or sex. Not until he had his revenge. "I don''t mean stop meeting them. I''m not in love with anyone. You are a friend of my friends, so I found myself curious, that is all."

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    "More than curiosity," Eren said plainly. "You are wary. So was Akeno. Good."

    "It is a bit rude, so I apologize," the Knight said gently. "I just wish to understand who you are. What makes you special?"

    "Cut that shit out. You''re better than Akeno," Eren sighed. "But you don''t need to speak so formally. And don''t bother apologizing to a man like me because there is no secret. I am no one special."

    "If you will pardon-" Yuuto started to say, but as Eren''s hand tightened on his cane and his frown deepened, he shifted to a less formal tone. "I don''t know everything you''ve been through, but what I''ve picked up tells me your life has been anything but normal."

    "That''s just it," Eren said as he relaxed against the bench. "My life hasn''t been normal by most standards. I recognize that. Circumstances and other people''s decisions thrust me into the spotlight. And I used to think that made me special. That I was some sort of hero. I wasn''t. Nobody is. There are no heroes. There are no villains. There are just people. I am just a man. A terrible man, but just a man."

    "There might not be heroes, but there are villains. Evil people in the world that need to die."

    Eren paused, and Yuuto realized he had unconsciously let his vitriol leak into his voice. The blind boy let the silence hang momentarily as if deciding whether to respond.

    "There is evil in the world. Animals in the shape of men," Eren eventually nodded. "As well as good. But people... People are a result of their environment. Societal pressures that dig into young minds. Religious indoctrination. Nationalistic rhetoric. Even dreams, birthed by a child''s mind, can lead to destruction. But these ideals are foisted on people. By books. By parents. Friends. Teachers. Leaders. Governments. We all do it to each other."

    "So what," Yuuto bit back. "We should forgive people for what they do because it is not their fault? Are they just products of their environment? No. That isn''t how that works. They don''t get to do what they do and not pay for it using some tragic backstory as an excuse."

    "I never said that," Eren sighed. "We are products of our environments, it is true, but what we make of them is our own. Our freedom is our own. Our birthright. We can''t choose our birthplace, our society, or our family. But the things we can choose define us. That choice is what separates man from animals. And, when others try and take that choice from us, we can choose to fight back or die."

    Yuuto took a deep breath, calming his racing heart. He hadn''t meant to get so caught up there. He honestly felt like punching when Eren sounded like the church''s preaching.

    "Sorry," he apologized to the older boy.

    "There is nothing to apologize for," Eren said. "You want to hurt those who hurt you. I get it. More than you will ever know, I get it."

    "You''re not going to tell me to forgive them?" The Knight asked wryly. "To understand where they are coming from?"

    "Forgive? No," Eren said. "Even when I understood where they were coming from, that they had been manipulated by forces so much greater than what I could expect anyone to reject, I never forgave them. I just recognized that I was the same as them."

    "To kill someone who kills others for fun is not the same as killing an innocent person."

    "It is." Eren''s voice was dead, completely absent any tonal inflection. "Nobody thinks they''re in the wrong. Everyone believes themselves to be on the side of justice. But the fist, the blade, and the bullet. Those are the only things that prove justice. It doesn''t matter who is actually right. Whoever is left is justice. They will tell whatever story they want. Worst of all? They will believe it. They will believe their own lies, their own justice."

    "So all lives are equal to you?" Yuuto was struggling to wrap his head around Eren''s viewpoint. It was like he kept vacillating between a saint and a Satan. "That nobody should ever kill anyone?"

    "All people are fundamentally the same. But we assign values to different things. I just recognize that some people''s values are completely different from mine. I will never kill in the name of religion. I think it is a stupid belief system that turns people into livestock. But millions die in its name. I gave value to a few people and a few beliefs. And they weigh heavier on my scale than the entire world. So I killed people. I am no better than anyone else."

    "So when I say I want to kill someone for revenge for killing others?"

    "You are weighing their life against your revenge. Just as they weighed the lives of whoever you are avenging to their own goals. We kill for revenge, justice, survival, and ideals, but ultimately, we are putting things we value on a scale and determining the results."

    The pair lapsed into silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

    Then the Knight realized, in his engagement with Eren, he had let slip stuff a regular student would never think about.

    "Sorry," he apologized once again. "I said I wanted to learn about you, but we ended up discussing hypotheticals like this."

    "Hypotheticals?"

    "Right," Yuuto laughed awkwardly. He''d always been a terrible liar. "I''m not going to go around killing people. I promise."

    "I didn''t think you would," Eren gave another minute shrug. "And I know you guys aren''t normal, so the subject didn''t surprise me."

    Yuuto''s heart clenched. What did he know? Had Eren found out about the supernatural? That they were devils?

    Had he known all along?

    "What do you mean?" His hands tensed, ready to call his Sacred Gear in a moment.

    "After all this time, it''s pretty obvious." Even as the blind boy spoke, a sword''s outline started forming in the Knight''s hand. "Rias and Souna are rich. Independent. They started helping me with no questions of return. And both Akeno and Koneko stayed with her during the summer? And now you? I''d be an idiot to not understand what was going on."

    "What do you mean?" Yuuto repeated, his voice a lot less wary as the sword dissolved from his hand.

    "You are all orphans. Lost your family somehow, and Rias took you in. None of you come from a normal background. That is the answer to your first question. That is why they get along with me. We aren''t special people. Nobody is. But we all were put in special situations. You included."

    "You are right," Yuuto gave a light chuckle. "None of us are normal. And yes, Rias took us in when she didn''t have to. She got in trouble over it for a bit, but she is kind. Too kind sometimes."

    "I know," Eren nodded simply.

    "You know she''d love to help you, too, right? To take you in?" Rias had complained about Eren''s stubbornness multiple times. It wasn''t really an offer for Peerage ship, but it was as close as possible without tipping their hand about the supernatural. It would also make keeping a watch on him easier. "You wouldn''t have to worry about anything. Her family is very well off, so it wouldn''t inconvenience them in the slightest, and Rias would feel better if you didn''t live alone."

    "No." Eren''s rejection was firm, giving no room for negotiation. "I don''t doubt her kindness, but I am better alone. I have this bench, people to meet, and some time left. I am better off than I have been in a long time."

    "If you say so."

    By now, Yuuto was coming to understand why spending time with Eren appealed so much to the others.

    The blind, sickly boy on the bench possessed an odd charisma in his blank expressions and world-weary words.

    Like you could talk to him about anything and everything, and he would understand. He still had opinions. He still cast judgements. But it was like no part of you needed to be hidden. Like he had seen it all and done it all.

    It was... freeing, in a way.

    To be able to vent these dark emotions to someone who had actually seen the worst of humanity. Not from a position of power and observation like the devil therapists the Gremory had provided. But from the mud and the blood and the dirt.

    The absolute lowest rung of society had somehow managed to achieve his goals, survive, and be there for them to talk to.

    Yuuto could honestly say he had enjoyed their short talk and wouldn''t mind doing so again.

    But there was one question he had to ask that had been bugging him for a while.

    "The people who hurt you, the ones you never forgave, did you get revenge?"

    "I did," Eren nodded once.

    "Was it worth it?"

    Yuuto would have his revenge. Nothing in the world would stop him. But he would be lying if he said he didn''t fear that it wouldn''t be as satisfying as he always hoped it would be.

    That revenge wouldn''t fill the void, the gaping maw in his soul.

    "Worth it? In a way, it was." Despite the words, Eren did not look happy in any way. "I accomplished everything I set out to do. Fulfilled a promise I made when I was a child. Multiple promises. I returned the pain inflicted on me a millionfold. Most of the people I cared about even survived. The world became as I willed it to be. In some twisted, horrible way, it was a happy ending."

    "But it wasn''t enough?"

    "It was. I felt justified, even happy, in some twisted way. Guilty. Incredibly guilty. But we don''t feel one emotion. With that guilt was satisfaction. It''s just..." Eren paused before sagging in on himself. "In the end, my revenge became a tangential thing. Something I accomplished while building the world I wanted. A duty that weighed more heavily on my scale than lashing out. I do believe that, even without that other goal, I would have still inflicted all that pain and death. I am not a good man. I would have still lashed out. But in the end, it hadn''t only been about revenge."

    "What was that other goal," Kiba asked hesitantly. "What was more important than revenge? If you don''t mind me asking, that is."

    "It''s no great secret," Eren sighed. "I''m no saint. It wasn''t to make the world a better place. It was a mixture of revenge, idealism, and a strategic plan. But the main reason was straightforward. I just wanted the people I cared most about to live long, happy lives. Even if I wasn''t with them. A selfish wish. I''ve killed more people than anyone else in the world for my freedom, my revenge, and that simple, selfish wish."

    If Yuuto had held any doubt Eren Yeager might know about the supernatural, it disappeared with that simple statement.

    Some humans might have killed thousands directly or even hundreds of thousands in the case of bombs. Some humans were responsible for millions of deaths indirectly, such as Stalin, Truman, Mao, Hirohito, Hitler, Alexander, Ghengis Khan, and any number of infamous historical leaders leading great nations and empires.

    But those numbers were paltry compared to the races who lived thousands of years of bloody history.

    Zekram Bael, the first Bael, was well known to have killed hundreds of thousands during the Great War.

    Personally.

    His legions killed millions more. During the civil war, that number grew.

    Other pantheons, other members of the three factions, and some great monsters could also count the deaths at their hands in the millions. That was what happened when you lived for so long, constantly in conflict with other factions.

    As far as the Sitri had found out, Eren hadn''t been responsible for any genocides or indiscriminate massacres during his time in active duty. He had been well known to be violent but effective. His kill count had maybe crossed the thousand mark but was nowhere near ten thousand.

    It would be a staggering number to a teenage boy, unaware of the wider world. Enough to traumatize him.

    To the supernatural races?

    It wasn''t even a statistic. Life simply has less value when you live for millennia. When the fall of empires was but another day for you.

    Yuuto honestly couldn''t think about how many people Eren would need to kill to back up his claim.

    A hundred million? Five hundred million? A billion? A number so preposterous for a teenage human that it was almost funny.

    Still, preposterous claim or not, it told the Knight something about Eren.

    For all his talk, Eren''s revenge hadn''t been clean. It hadn''t been without collateral damage.

    The Sitri had missed something.

    "Would you do it again?" Eren froze at the question. "If you could go back in time, knowing what your future held if you went after your revenge, would you do it again?"

    "Yes." The word was firm as Eren spoke with the most conviction Yuuto had yet heard from him. "If I had to live through it a thousand more times, I would still do it all again. It wasn''t a perfect answer, but it had been my answer. All the death, destruction, and hatred. Their lives, my freedom, my revenge. All of it together was worth that to me and more. If there is a hell, I will burn in it forever. But I would do it again."

    "And if your friends, the people you were doing it for, had tried to get in the way of your revenge?"

    What would Yuuto do if Rias, Akeno, Koneko, or Gasper stood in the way of his revenge? It was a distinct possibility. Destroying the Excaliburs would be tantamount to trying to start a war.

    Was he willing to go Stray for it if it came to that?

    "That is their choice. I wouldn''t take it from them, no matter how much a selfish part wished they would side with me. I made my choices. They made theirs. I never blamed them for it. They are happier this way. In a way, I am, too."

    That was why the boy was here alone, wasn''t it?

    The people he had cared about had turned from him, leaving him to live out his remaining years alone in a foreign country.

    He would die alone.

    That was why none of his former mercenary team had reached out to him even once in the year since he had appeared in Kuoh.

    "There is no right answer," Eren intoned gravely. "No solution that solves everything. Just weights on the scale. If you ever find who you are looking for, you must decide what weighs more to you. Your revenge and everything that comes with it? Or the price you have to pay for it."

    Kiba Yuuto did not know what weighed more on his scale.

    The burning rage, the void within himself yearning to be filled with the blood and souls of those responsible?

    Or the friends and family that had taken a broken, lonely boy in after bringing him back from the dead.

    Kiba Yuuto didn''t think he would know the answer until he was forced to choose.

    "Thank you," the Knight said instead. "For talking to me. You''ve given me a lot to think about."

    "You came to me," Eren shrugged. "You are the one who listened to a broken man ramble. All of you kids seem to like hearing me talk for some reason."

    "You''re only a few years older than me," Yuuto chuckled lightly. "And I think it''s because having someone with your perspective and experience is nice. You don''t shy away from hard topics. You simply speak of the world as you understand it."

    "If that is enough," Eren said plainly with a tiny shrug.

    "It is. So, Senpai, I hope you don''t mind if I visit you sometime? To talk?"

    Eren pursed his lips at the title but didn''t say anything. He just nodded.

    Yuuto hadn''t called him his senior out of familiarity or obligation. He called him Senpai, not because the boy was older, but because Eren Yeager was farther down the path than Kiba Yuuto.

    The Knight didn''t know if his path would lead to the same destination as the blind boy, but knowing he had someone to whom he could talk about it was reassuring.

    That was the role of senior, wasn''t it? To guide their juniors?

    It was comforting to know that whenever Yuuto wanted to vent or needed advice, he could find his Senpai on the bench.

 Young Devils

    "How are you progressing?" Sona asked her rival as she put Rias'' king in check.

    "Well," Rias nodded, placing her rook in the way. Sona accepted the sacrifice with her bishop, replacing the king in check. The bishop was then taken by the black knight. That was fine. "My total output has almost doubled."

    Sona frowned. Rias had always been the more powerful of the pair, and it was slightly disheartening to hear that the gap had grown wider. It was for a good cause, but Sona sometimes wished she was as blessed as the redhead.

    ... In multiple departments.

    The Sitri carefully ignored Akeno''s bust as the queen refilled the King''s tea cups.

    She just had yet to hit her growth spurt.

    "After only a few months? That is impressive."

    Even as they played and talked about the situation and town, Rias hadn''t stopped training. A small ball of Destruction was hovering over the chessboard as Rias kept trying to pour more and more power into it without increasing its size.

    "Thanks." Rather than be buoyed by Sona''s compliment and brag about it and her Peerage, Rias just pursed her lips in a frown.

    "What is wrong?" Sona asked as she removed a black pawn with one of her own from the board. "You don''t seem satisfied."

    "It''s just not enough." Rias shook her head in frustration. Her distraction cost her her knight. "Koneko felt his Ki again while she was napping with him yesterday. He''s getting worse."

    "How much worse?" Sona asked the white-haired girl sitting on the nearby sofa.

    "... Ten percent?" It was half asked, as putting numbers on this sort of thing was always finicky. Still, for it to be that noticeable...

    "Tomorrow is the year anniversary since I met him," Sona sighed. "Even with all his exercise, Ki, and the healing, he''s noticeably skinnier."

    A year. A short yet long time.

    What had started as taking a student as practice for her dream and curiosity had turned into trying to keep her friend alive.

    Some days, Sona resented that she couldn''t do more. She didn''t regret reincarnating her Peerage, but she did wish she had enough pieces that it would be her, not Rias, who had the best chances to bring Eren back.

    As it was, all she could do was provide limited healing and keep the territory under control to give Rias as much time as possible.

    "There''s only so much I can do with only holding his hand," Rias pouted. "I need more skin contact. Maybe I should visit him in bed sometimes?"

    "That''s a surefire way to destroy any trust he has with you," Sona said wryly, well aware of how little shame Rias had about nudity taboos. It wouldn''t be so bad if the entire Gremory family didn''t share that same trait.

    There were reasons Sona never went to any more sleepovers at Rias'' place.

    "I know," Rias pouted, crossing her hands under her bust. "I am just trying to find a way to get more time. I am wasting so much already. And my family has been pushing things again now that I am going to be a senior. I had to spend all of Saturday arguing with my father. An entire day gone! Just to remind him, I want to decide my own partner."

    "Any luck on that front?" Just because the redhead had been focusing on growing her power didn''t mean Rias had forgotten the marriage that loomed over her head.

    "Maybe," Rias sighed. "There are a few promising candidates among the students. But they are unawakened, so I can''t know who can help and who can''t. I can''t waste my Pieces. I can''t."

    "The longer you wait, the less time you will have to train them," Sona cautioned.

    It was a dilemma all High-class devils faced when they gained their Evil Pieces.

    Do you invest early, giving time to train at the cost of weaker pieces or fewer total numbers due to needing multiple for one person? Or do you wait till you are stronger and thus can reincarnate stronger people with less cost?

    Every devil only got fifteen Pieces, except for rare trades; they were stuck with their choices for life.

    Rias had played it fast and loose when she was younger. It had worked out for her so far, but the current situation made the dilemma even more difficult for the redhead due to the Sword of Damocles above her head and Eren''s.

    Sona didn''t have that problem. She had a process for her selection of Peerage members. Potential was one thing she looked for, but so were group cohesion, complementary personality traits, and willingness to support her dream.

    She never invited anyone to join without deep thought, investigation, and an interview if possible.

    "I know," Rias sighed, and Sona took her king in a checkmate. The Gremory groaned, and Sona smiled slightly. "Enough about that. What''s been going on with you?"

    "Getting the situation for the new school year." It was Sona''s turn to sigh. "I don''t know what is worse, the Fallen requesting permission to stay for a few months or the dozen complaints about the perverted trio coming back. At least we can kill the former if they violate the cease-fire. I am seriously considering not letting those three come to Kuoh for their junior year."

    "I think they''re funny," Rias said with a smile. "It''s refreshing to see humans so open about their desires."

    "Some of us value our privacy, you exhibitionist," Sona said with a glare. "Between them, paperwork, admissions, complaints, and budgets, I am half tempted to drown the student council room in water."

    "Ara? Naughty words like ''exhibitionist.'' Threatening destruction of school property. Should the Student Council President be saying all that? You are setting a bad example for us, Kaichou."

    Sona sent Akeno a death glare as the Queen giggled. Then her eyes turned back to Rias as the redhead also laughed.

    "It''s your own fault," Rias laughed unapologetically. "You are the one who volunteered for the extra work."

    "I need to learn to do it all for my dream," Sona defended herself. "This will be my last year in high school, and I will be too busy during college to learn these administrative tasks."

    "Uhuh," Rias nodded, still chuckling. "And it has nothing to do with your pride."

    "Better prideful than a lazy nudist."

    "Better a lazy nudist than a control freak."

    "Better a control freak than a ginger cow."

    "Better a ginger cow than a pancake."

    Both teenage girls glared at each other as they devolved into familiar arguments, teasing, and needling.

    Koneko watched them, munching on some sugar cookies she shared with Yuuto, while Akeno giggled like the chaos gremlin she was.

    ********

    """""Surprise!"""""

    Instantly, Eren shot up, hand pulling on the handle of his cane as he drew a sword and swung.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "Woah!" Yuuto muttered as he dodged out of the way in surprise. Thankfully, Eren was human, so even surprised the Knight managed to avoid the blade with his speed.

    ""Eren!"" Rias and Sona shouted in surprise, and the blind boy froze, blade pulled back for another swing.

    "Souna? Rias?" Eren asked as he collapsed back to the bench. He kept his hand on his drawn sword. "What are you doing? What is going on?"

    "A surprise party," Akeno chuckled a bit nervously. "Though I think we were the surprised ones."

    "What are you doing with a sword on school property?" Sona asked severely, sending him a glare he couldn''t see.

    "Japan doesn''t allow guns," Eren said plainly as if it explained everything before moving on to the more important part. "A surprise party? What for?"

    "It''s been a year since you came to Kuoh," Rias said cheerfully, entirely moving on from almost getting her head cut off. "Since you never told us your birthday, we decided to celebrate today."

    Koneko blew a flat note on her little party kazoo to punctuate Rias'' words.

    The file didn''t have his date of birth, just the day he had been left on the church''s stoop. Celebrating that would probably be in bad taste.

    "What?" Eren asked, completely baffled.

    For the ordinarily unflappable man to be so out of it was a sight that had everyone present smiling.

    "We brought cakes," Koneko said, eyeing the deserts hungrily.

    There had been a candle on one of them, but that had been sliced by Eren''s swing, so Akeno tossed it away.

    "What?" Eren sounded like a broken record now, and a few of them chuckled this time at how flat-footed he was acting. Even Sona, who was still glaring at the sword, smiled slightly.

    "It is also to celebrate Koneko''s first day of high school this week," Rias continued with a note of pride. "Just a little get-together of friends before the new school year."

    Koneko pumped a fist slightly as Rias ruffled her hair as she blew another note.

    Her growth spurt was coming. She could feel it.

    "I... see," Eren said hesitantly, finally lowering his sword. "Congratulations Koneko."

    "It''s cool," she said simply. "We have vanilla strawberry and chocolate fudge. Which do you want?"

    "Uh... vanilla?" Eren half asked, still clearly out of it after suddenly rousing from his nap and the surprise party.

    "Can I see your sword," Yuuto asked as Rias took utensils and plates from the basket as she sat on the bench.

    "Don''t think I will forget that you brought it onto school grounds," Sona cautioned as Eren slid it into the cane and held it out. "You could hurt yourself and those around you with that thing."

    "The only ones near me are you guys, and you usually don''t pull stuff like this."

    There were a few nervous chuckles.

    Maybe suddenly waking up the ex-child soldier with shouting hadn''t been such a good idea.

    "It''s a good blade," Yuuto said as he examined the sword. It was a style that tingled his senses, but he couldn''t place it.

    It was straight to fit in the cane and flat for slashing, not stabbing. Only two fingers wide, it wasn''t a weapon designed to clash with others, it would break too quickly, but it was deadly sharp. A weapon for sudden surprise attacks and cutting flesh.

    The only ornamentation on the otherwise plain and flat sword was the two stylized wings, one white and the other blue, carved into the handle.

    "Thank you," Eren said as the Knight handed it back. "It was a gift."

    "Here," Koneko said, placing a saucer with cake in his hand and putting a fork in the other. Then she returned to her own, much larger pieces.

    "It''s good," he said simply as he took a careful bite. Clearly, he was still processing what was happening as he made slow, almost awkward movements.

    "Fufufu, I made it myself," Akeno said with pride, and Eren gave her an acknowledging nod.

    "When is your birthday?" Rias asked. "We''ll throw a proper party then."

    "March 30th," Eren said with a shrug. "But you don-"

    "What!" Rias stood in a flurry.

    "Are you being serious?" Sona asked with a frown.

    "What''s wrong?" Eren asked, setting down his cake after only taking a few bites.

    "...Are you aware of what day it is today?" Akeno asked.

    "Sunday."

    "Sunday, March 30th." Akeno corrected.

    "Oh," Eren said plainly. Then he picked up his saucer and started eating his cake again.

    "''Oh?'' That''s all you have to say? ''Oh.''" Rias was gesticulating wildly. "It''s your birthday! I should have gotten you a gift. Or we could have gone to a park. Or had a proper party at the clubhouse! You only turn nineteen once!"

    "Eighteen," Eren corrected her simply.

    "You told me you were seventeen on the day we met," Sona accused. "You never said anything about your birthday!"

    "It''s not important." Eren shrugged again. "It''s just another day."

    "It is important," Akeno chastised him. "If not for you, then for others who know you. A celebration of the day a loved one came into the world. If you do not wish to have a large party, that is fine." Rias looked like she would protest, but the Queen shot her a look. "But you should spend a birthday with people you love."

    "I... suppose," Eren said reluctantly.

    "Do you have something against birthdays? Or were they not celebrated in your culture?" Yuuto asked, munching on his own slice of vanilla cake.

    "It wasn''t unheard of," Eren shrugged. "But either I was too young to remember, food was tight, I was in training, or on a mission of some sort. With everything that happened, we never really took the time to celebrate that kind of thing. Our parties were for victories, for survival, and even then, they were bittersweet. Memorials. Too many dead."

    "So you never had a real party? Just have fun and be happy?" Rias asked with a frown. Her and Sona''s birthdays were usually extravagant festivals put on by their families. Their Peerage, while not to the same degree, was still doted on, so they were large affairs hosted in the underworld. "One where you can just be happy, play some games, sing and laugh?"

    Eren froze, cake halfway to his mouth.

    It was like all sound ceased at that moment. Like the very world was holding its breath.

    "Eren?" Sona asked as the mood in the clearing shifted.

    "There was... one," Eren said, his voice thick with so much entangled emotion that even Koneko paused her eating to look at him. "It wasn''t a birthday thing, though. Wasn''t even planned."

    The group of young devils shared a look. Clearly, they had stumbled, inadvertently, on heavy ground.

    Did they let it pass and hope the awkwardness faded, or did they press to learn more about their enigmatic friend?

    "Tell us about it," Sona gently coaxed.

    For a long moment, there was silence, as if Eren would hold this secret tightly to his chest as he did so many others.

    As if he couldn''t trust them yet with such a memory.

    Then he spoke, words tinged with a deep longing, filled with love, affection, and nostalgia.

    And guilt.

    There was so much guilt it clogged his throat tight.

    "I had rescued a young boy from a beating," he narrated, voice distant as the words came out in halting steps. "Ramzi. A nomad travelling with his family. A thief. He took me back to their camp. My comrades joined me. We laughed. We sang. We drank. We ate. It was so different from everything we had ever known. We were so happy. For a fleeting moment, I thought..." He trailed off as if the next words were too painful to speak.

    But someone there had experience with this kind of thing. Who cared enough not to let Eren Yeager wallow in his painful memories alone.

    "What did you think, Eren," Rias asked, resting a caring hand on the dying boy''s arm.

    "That I could run away," he admitted as if confessing a great sin. "Leave it all behind. Far from war. Far from death. Leave all my responsibilities behind. Live out the few years I had left in peace and happiness, even if I knew doing so would doom my friends without me. Four years. That was all I wanted. Four years. I didn''t want to die. I didn''t want to kill people. That night, all I wanted was four years with the woman I loved."

    There was a collective intake of breath.

    Eren had never spoken of love before.

    Never even hinted at romance or experience in such. To know he once had someone like that and never spoke of it...

    Eren was prepared to die alone on a bench on the other side of the world from everything and everyone he had ever known.

    It didn''t take a genius to know this story didn''t have a happy ending.

    "What happened?" Sona asked just as gently as her rival, though her hand fell on the boy''s shoulder.

    "Three words," Eren rasped. "That''s all I needed to hear from her. Three words, and I would have left everything behind. All my plans, my revenge, my rage, my freedom, all of it. Three words, and I''d dedicate my last four years to making her as happy as possible in the time I had left. Three words, and I would have hope. She told me three words, but they were not the ones I wanted to, needed to, hear. I was trapped by my own hand and knew I would... We could never..."

    Nobody said a word as Eren took a deep breath that could have been mistaken for a sob.

    "I left the next day," he continued. His voice was dead. Completely flat once more as if all the emotion of the last few minutes had been an illusion. "Nothing could stop me then. My plan went off without a hitch. Everything was exactly as I wanted. I fought my friends to do it. Sasha died."

    Sona gasped lowly, but her hand remained tightly on his shoulder.

    "So did Hange. And others. So many others. Captain Levy was handicapped. So many of my other comrades died in the infighting. And I don''t even know if most survived after... After. But they weren''t the only victims. So many more innocent, guiltless lives were lost. Ramzi. His friend Halil. His grandfather. Everyone who was with us that night. Who had taken us in, laughed and sang with us. Many more whom I never knew. So many. All dead. All at my hand. Trampled under my feet like bugs into the mud. I... I killed them all."

    Eren could say no more.

    The Sitri report had nothing on this, this attack or plan or whatever it was. Which meant only one thing.

    There had been no survivors.

    Nobody else said anything, either. They just kept their hands on the blind boy, reassuring him that they were there.

    They were good kids. Despite being devils, they were not murderers or soldiers. They wanted to go to school with their friends. They wanted to live their lives, grow up, fall in love and fulfill their dreams.

    They had been hurt by the world, and were not normal by any stretch, but they were good kids.

    Eren Yeager was a monster.

    If what he had just confessed was true, then he was a murderer who had killed not just his enemies but also his allies and an unknown number of innocent lives. A killer who sacrificed countless lives for his goals.

    A Devil worse than actual devils.

    But feelings don''t care about morality.

    They stayed. They, with their silent presence, continued to reassure Eren.

    That he wasn''t alone.

    That he, too, despite the terrible deeds done, was cared for.

    There is no complete evil. There is no absolute good.

    There are only people.

    Even the Devil can be loved.

    The cakes sat forgotten as white bandages dampened with tears.

    A year was such a short yet long time for the boy on the bench.

 Rulings and Ramifications

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

 What Should I Be Now?

    "Buchou means well," Kiba told Issei as they walked through the small forest behind the Occult Research Club. "She''s not trying to limit your freedom or anything, but going near a church like that is risky. Devils, angels, and fallen angels have been at war for thousands of years. Even now, during a cease-fire, it isn''t rare for each side to kill the other with the appropriate pretense."

    "I was just helping Asia," Issei defended himself with a frown at the blond boy.

    The Damn Handsome!

    "Who is the enemy," Kiba pointed out, but not unkindly. "If you had actually stepped foot on church soil, then any priests would have an excuse to kill you, and there would be nothing Rias could do to get justice for you without restarting the war or putting all of us at risk. It''s the perfect place to lure a new devil to kill them before they grow in power."

    "I don''t understand all this!" Issei rubbed his hair with frustration. "It wasn''t some sort of trap! Asia wouldn''t hurt a fly. She was super kind. She healed this kid in the park and didn''t even complain when his mother was rude."

    "Healed?" Kiba paused in his tracks. He stared at the other boy with an intensity that Issei didn''t like.

    Issei wasn''t like that. He liked boobs!

    "It was just a scrape," Issei shuffled uncomfortably under the blond''s gaze. "Said it was a blessing from god- ow! Gah, I''m still getting used to that. Anyway, it''s a Sacred Gear, right? Like mine?"

    "Probably," Kiba said absentmindedly, seeming lost in thought with a deep frown. "But healing Sacred Gears are rare. As in ''only a few every generation'' rare. For the church to bring one to Kuoh, and with the Fallen in town..." Kiba trailed off in thought, and this time, Issei''s shuffling was for an entirely different reason.

    Would you die for me?

    A phantom pain lanced through his chest even though the wound had healed days ago.

    "Anyway," Kiba shook himself out of his thoughts. "I''ll tell Rias about this later. For now, you need to be aware that just because someone from the church seems nice doesn''t mean they are. You only spent a bit of time with her. Asia could have been faking it, trying to get you to lower your guard."

    "But... aren''t nuns supposed to be nice?" Issei tried to dredge up what little he knew of Christianity.

    Most of his exposure to nuns came from porn.

    While Issei wasn''t the brightest, even he knew porn was not reality, so he delved back to his childhood. His friend had been Christian, but most of the lessons and lectures had flown over his head in favour of playing games. He remembered some lessons about the bible and stuff, but it had never seemed important.

    When would you need to use biblical knowledge in daily life if you didn''t believe it?

    "It is not as simple as that," Kiba explained patiently. "Not all devils are bad. There are some bad apples, and you must be careful when dealing with most pure-blood devils, but some, like Buchou, are kind. The church are not the good guys either." Something in the Knight''s voice caused Issei to flinch. "They''ve done terrible things. Everyone knows about the crusades and witch hunts, but they''ve gotten away with much worse in the supernatural world that''s never taught in school."

    Issei was sure Asia wasn''t like that. Something about the girl, a vulnerable nativity, convinced Issei that the blonde nun wouldn''t hurt anyone.

    But Kiba had never met her, and Issei didn''t know enough about the subject to argue the point.

    On top of that, Kiba was trying to help Issei, to teach him about this world he had been thrown into as he had been doing all week.

    It had been Kiba who met him the day after his reincarnation. Issei had been searching desperately for proof that Yuuma had been real, and Kiba brought him to Buchou, who explained things.

    Now Issei Hyoudou, one of the perverted trio, was part of the famous Occult Research Club and working on the basics of being a devil to become a High-class devil and gain a peerage.

    Issei now had a viable path to becoming a Harem King!

    And the other boy in the club had been the most helpful of his new companions so far. Kiba spent time guiding his fellow second year, answering his questions, and helping him try to practice with his Sacred Gear.

    It had been Kiba who helped the pervert teleport to his first contract and waited outside while Issei tried, unsuccessfully, to make his first deal.

    When Issei had asked why the boy was doing all this, Kiba had given that damn handsome smile, shrugged his shoulders, and said something about ''getting to know a new comrade'' and a few light mumbles under his breath.

    Issei appreciated the sentiment, even if he didn''t know what ''weights'' had to do with anything.

    Issei would have also preferred it if Himejima-sempai or Buchou guided him. They had magnificent oppai. But they seemed super busy, so he didn''t hold it against them.

    Koneko-chan was super cute too, but she didn''t seem to do much. And she was brutal in calling him out.

    Despite being a Damn Handsome, Issei could grudgingly say he was coming to like Kiba.

    So he followed the blond when he asked Issei if he had any free time.

    Since he didn''t know how to argue about Asia, Issei instead asked the question that had been bugging him for a while.

    "Where are we going?"

    "I''m going to introduce you to Senpai," Kiba said, restarting his walk.

    "Senpai?"

    "Eren Yeager. He isn''t actually a student. I just call him that. It''s a bit complicated," the blond gave an awkward smile. "Think of him as our club''s advisor and friend. We go to him for advice, talk, or spend a relaxing afternoon."

    "A devil therapist?" Issei asked, surprised such a thing existed.

    "No, Eren is human. There are devil therapists, but he isn''t one. He doesn''t even know about the supernatural, so don''t bring it up," Kiba gave Issei a look that had the pervert nodding quickly.

    "If he''s normal... what advice can he give?" Issei struggled to slot this new piece of information into the puzzle that was his new life.

    So much was happening so fast over the last few days.

    His first girlfriend was a fallen angel who killed him on their first date.

    Devils were real, and he was now one.

    He had power now, some sort of secret power-up like in Dragon Ball.

    The church and all its members, including the cute girl he helped, might try to kill him.

    And now he found out devils went to regular humans for advice?

    "You''d be surprised," Kiba''s smile tightened slightly. "Eren''s been through a lot. Even if you don''t follow what he says, he gives us a unique perspective to understanding our problems."

    "I don''t know," Issei hesitated. "Most of my questions are about being a devil. I don''t think he can help."

    "You don''t have to ask him anything," Kiba said with a pat on Issei''s shoulder. "Koneko doesn''t. Most of the time they''re together, they''re just napping and not talking. As I said, he''s a friend. I just figured I''d introduce you now. Better this way than if you stumble on him by accident. The last time we surprised him... well, better he knows you just in case."

    "So he goes to Kuoh University?" Issei asked, starting to get curious as they neared the halfway point between the two institutions.

    And jealous.

    Napping with Koneko-chan! The lucky bastard!

    Issei bet he was another Damn Handsome. All the people he had met these days were either beautiful or handsome.

    Issei was sure being related to the supernatural made someone at least an eight on the hotness scale.

    "He''s old enough but isn''t currently in school," Kiba hedged. "He is still learning Japanese and isn''t... traditionally educated. As I said, he''s had an interesting life. If you want, I''ll tell you more later, but here we are."

    As they turned a corner on the path through the wooded park, Issei saw where Kiba had been leading him. It was a small clearing in the dense foliage of the trees, allowing the spring sky to shine down on a bench and its occupant.

    The bench was plain and boring, consisting of wooden planks held together by iron bands. The luxurious extra amenities around it highlighted the commonness of the bench.

    A canopy with a flat, retractable solar panelled roof had been set up to provide shade and give power to what looked like a small heater below the bench and a... mini-fridge? Behind the setup, a few hammocks had been strung between the trees.

    It looked less like a bench in a park and more like some sort of long-term camping area set up by rich people.

    But the occupant on the seat held Issei''s focus more than the amenities around it.

    It was an older boy, sleeping with his back reclined against the bench, a cane lying across his lap.

    His facial features were obscured by thick bandages wrapping around the top half of his head. Long, dark brown hair fell to his shoulder. He wasn''t wearing the Kuoh uniform but regular clothes that hung lightly on a skinny frame to be healthy.

    He didn''t look like a Damn Handsome like Issei had feared, but like a nursing patient who escaped the institution.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    "Senpai!" Kiba called to the sleeping boy as they approached. He wasn''t shouting, but his voice carried, and the blind boy woke with a start, hands tightening on his cane.

    "Yuuto?" Eren asked, relaxing slightly and facing their general direction. "Who''s with you? I don''t recognize those footsteps."

    "This is Hyoudou Issei," Kiba introduced as he gestured to Eren. "Issei, this is Yeager Eren."

    "Please to meet you, senpai," Issei said with a formal bow. Then he froze and stood up straight again, feeling very foolish.

    "I''m not your senpai," Eren said simply, his Japanese halting and accented but understandable. Issei noted that his voice had no particular inflection, as if he had no emotions. "Call me Eren."

    "Yes, sen- Eren," Issei nodded, not used to the habit of using first names right away, but Asia had been like that too, so it wasn''t entirely new.

    "Issei is the newest member of our club," Kiba explained lightly as he took a seat on the bench. There wasn''t a lot of room left, so Issei just stood there awkwardly rather than crowd the pair, wondering what to do with himself. "I''m sure Rias'' told you all about him."

    "She did spend a few hours bragging about him, yes," Eren somehow made his voice even more deadpan, but Issei couldn''t help but puff his chest out in pride.

    "Really?" He asked, eager to know what Buchou had told the older boy about him. He hadn''t gotten a lot of time to spend with his King, even if he would love to. She was seriously hot. "What did she say?"

    "That you are honest, cheerful, and have a lot of potential," Eren answered with a shrug. Issei stood taller, pride filling his chest. "Also, you are a massive pervert, want a harem, and have much to learn."

    Issei wilted slightly. He wasn''t embarrassed about being a pervert or his dream, but to hear it put so bluntly was kind of insulting.

    Though he did agree, he had a lot to learn.

    "That about sums him up," Kiba nodded with a chuckle that had Issei shooting him a glare.

    He took back all the good things he had thought about the blond earlier. Raijuus should explode!

    "Rias also said you got hurt recently," Eren continued.

    "Ah," Issei looked to Kiba for advice on what to say, not knowing what Buchou told the young man. The blond gave a shrug. "Yes. But Buchou helped me."

    "Rias said as much," Eren nodded but with a frown. "I prefer to verify things than trust one side of a story. Even if it comes from friends." Kiba''s polite smile widened at Eren''s words, though Issei didn''t know why. "But you are alright now? Happy with your situation?"

    Again, his words were halting and slow, but Issei got the gist.

    Would you die for me?

    "Yes!" Issei declared passionately. "I am super happy. Buchou is great and so is Himejima-sempai. Koneko-chan might have small oppai and be a little mean, but she''s the school mascot and super cute. Kiba''s alright, I guess, for being a Damn Handsome."

    There was a pause as Eren tilted his head.

    "I only understood part of that," the blind boy admitted, speaking in English to Kiba. "What does ''oppai'' mean? And ''kuso?''"

    "Oppai means breasts," Kiba answered without a hint of shame. "''Kuso'' is a swear, though not a serious one. The best translation is ''damn.'' I am not surprised you didn''t learn them, given your teacher. Feel free to speak English. Issei will understand you."

    "Sorry," Issei said with another bow of apology. Then he was embarrassed again since Eren couldn''t see it. "I answered without thinking."

    It was still hard to control Language. With Asia, it was easy since she only spoke Italian to him and one or two words of Japanese. Still, Eren had been trying to talk in Issei''s native tongue with some limited success, so he had responded instinctively.

    "It''s fine," Eren said with a sigh. "I need the practice. But I understood enough. At least you aren''t being forced into anything."

    "It was a surprise to be invited," Issei admitted hesitantly, wondering what was okay to say and what wasn''t. "And I am still getting used to everything. It''s new, confusing, and scary. But I am happy Buchou rescued me."

    "Rescued?" Eren said with a tilt of his head, and Issei winced at the slip.

    "Rias found him pretty hurt," Kiba hurried to explain. "He could have died if she didn''t get there in time. Thankfully, she got him to a hospital in time."

    "From what she told me, she felt like it was her fault," Eren pointed out. "Did she hit you with her car? That happens a lot in Japanese schools, as I understand it."

    Kiba chuckled, but Issei looked confused at the pair.

    Buchou had apologized that she hadn''t been paying more attention to the Fallen, but Issei didn''t really understand how it had been her fault. It was Yuu-... Would you die for me?... Raynare''s fault.

    "Buchou helps him learn Japanese by reading Light Novels and Manga to him," Kiba explained to Issei before returning to Eren. "Despite what she tells you, a real school in Japan has very little in common with those."

    Issei didn''t know about that.

    He was now part of a school club filled with devils after becoming one after his first girlfriend killed him. That sounded like a light novel to him.

    He hoped it was an ecchi harem novel or a hentai rather than in the horror genre.

    "I didn''t know Buchou read manga," Issei said. "What does she like?"

    "A bit of everything," Kiba shrugged.

    "Rias is a massive japanophile. Has been since she was a child."

    It was not Eren who spoke but a feminine voice coming from behind Issei that made him jump in surprise.

    Whirling around, he noticed that Souna Shitori, the student council president, had somehow managed to sneak up on him. The other two boys didn''t seem surprised.

    "Kaichou," Kiba greeted as he stood from the bench. Issei echoed him a moment later.

    "Souna," Eren nodded at her. "You''re later than usual."

    "I have a new member in the council," she apologized without actually apologizing. "He needed guidance with his tasks. Yuuto, I see you are introducing Hyoudou to Eren. Good initiative. Will you two be joining the lesson?"

    "I am afraid I have more to help Issei with. I just wanted to let them meet, so I will leave you two alone," Kiba said. "Come on, Issei, let''s head back to the club. I''ll talk to you later, Eren."

    "Very well," the girl nodded. "Let Rias know we will do formal introductions between our new members at a later point once they are both settled in."

    Kiba gave a polite bow and headed back to the club room.

    Issei, still surprised by the sudden and unexplained appearance of the older girl, gave a hurried goodbye to Eren and a bow to Souna before hurrying to follow Kiba.

    "She goes by Souna Shitori in Japan, but her real name is Sona Sitri," Kiba said once they were far away. "She''s the other devil King in Kuoh, and the Student Council is her peerage. She and Buchou are childhood friends and rivals. She rules the school by day and Buchou by night."

    "Are there any more devils in Kuoh?" Issei couldn''t help but ask, worried now.

    "A few, but none that you need to worry about," Kiba patted him on the back. "Both of them are here to gain some independence and fill out their Peerage, so the territory is pretty much theirs until they finish their studies."

    "What was she doing with Eren?"

    "Teaching," Kiba said with a smile. "She was the one who first met Senpai and started tutoring him in Japanese. Don''t say anything about it to her, but we are all pretty sure she has a crush on him."

    "That lucky bastard!" Issei shook his fist at the sky. "A beauty like that! Gah! I am so jealous."

    "Don''t ever say that again," Kiba cautioned, and Issei froze at the gravity in his voice. "You shouldn''t be blindly jealous of people without knowing what they went through. And definitely don''t say anything like that about Eren around the others."

    "Sorry," Issei said softly, chastised.

    "It''s fine. You didn''t know," the blond sighed. "It''s no secret, but Eren is sick and getting worse. He only has about a year to live."

    "What?" Issei asked, shocked. "Can''t Buchou heal him like she did me?"

    "It''s not that simple," Kiba sighed regretfully. "The short answer is that neither Sona nor Rias can make him a Peerage member at the moment. Apart from Evil Pieces, we devils have very few healing abilities. We''ve been looking for a cure or way to heal him for over a year now, but no luck."

    "Damn, that sucks," Issei cursed. He was jealous, sure, but he didn''t want people to actually die. "Do you think Asia could heal him?"

    "Maybe," Kiba hedged. "I actually wanted to stay longer and let you get to know each other, but I need to talk to Buchou about that, and she''ll want to hear from your perspective. As I said, healing gears are very rare. And the church is extremely protective of them. A nun healing someone on behalf of a devil? That is extremely unlikely."

    "She''d do it," Issei said instantly. "She''s nice like that."

    Kiba didn''t say anything but didn''t look convinced by Issei''s words.

    Still, the quick introduction and departure only gave the new Rook more questions about the boy on the bench.

 The New Path

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

 Wounds

    Akeno watched the rest of the Peerage leave the little clearing with a frown as she set about cleaning up.

    Rias was consoling her new Bishop quietly as they left. Asia was particularly distraught over her failure to heal Eren despite only meeting him today.

    Akeno was sad but unsurprised that even Twilight Healing, one of the best healing Gears out there, couldn''t help. There had been hope, but not a lot of it.

    Seeing Eren trying to interact with the naive and kind Asia had been funny, though.

    The Queen got the feeling that Eren was not used to dealing with people who were genuinely that kind, as opposed to faking it as Akeno, and to a lesser extent, Yuuto did.

    "What''s wrong with her," Eren asked bluntly as Akeno gathered the plates and silverware they had used for their lunch. It had only been a few hours, during which they had Asia subtly try and heal the blind boy.

    "Asia is a dear," Akeno lightly chastised with a chuckle. "She really was trying to help."

    "I know none of you believe in that ''miracle healing'' shit. I am not just going to be healed suddenly because of a religious prayer. That''s not how reality works."

    Well, as ''subtle'' as they could be.

    The official excuse was that Asia, a new student at the school and club member, had been a nun and ''faith healer'' before moving here. Rias claimed it was ''worth a shot,'' and despite his doubts, Eren had gone along after they all urged him to. Nothing they said was technically a lie, so even Eren, with his almost supernatural bullshit radar, hadn''t caught on.

    Nothing had happened.

    Koneko reported no change to his life force as it continued to dwindle. Nor had his eyes healed, his strength returned, or any indication of the healing having taken place.

    Akeno was seriously starting to suspect Eren wasn''t simply sick but under some divine-level curse.

    Only the complete absence of any magic or power around him prevented that notion. They had been around him long enough that they would have noticed even the faintest trace if it was there.

    If it had worked, or at least healed the side effects, like his eyes, it would have been a perfect time to introduce him to the world of devils, magic, and so on.

    Rias had a whole speech planned and everything despite considering it to be a long shot. Akeno had seen her practicing it in front of a mirror.

    It mostly boiled down to, ''I am a super powerful devil heiress trying to heal you. Please don''t die. And if you do die, please let me bring you back. Yadda yadda, power of friendship, yadda yadda, anime protagonist, yadda yadda, JoJo.''

    It had been quite cute, even if Rias had referenced the manga, she read to Eren a bit too much, in Akeno''s opinion.

    Shame she didn''t get to use it.

    "Is it so hard to believe she simply wanted to help you?" Akeno reprimanded him again as she continued her work. "Asia is a very kind girl. She sincerely believed she should have been able to help you."

    "I believe she believes," Eren answered. "But belief does not save people. Belief does not fill hungry stomachs. Belief will not kill your enemies. People do. I have seen people of faith before, and I can''t stand them. ''Flock'' is but another word for livestock."

    Akeno didn''t bother to hide a smile, knowing the blind boy couldn''t see it.

    Eren was sometimes more devil-like than any of them.

    "If medicine doesn''t work, other options should be considered. Who knows what''s out there? A miracle could happen."

    "I know what''s out there," Eren answered plainly. "And no miracle will stop my death."

    Akeno''s smile faded back to a frown. Eren didn''t know about magic or the supernatural, so he would understandably hold that view. But the Queen was tired of his cavalier attitude towards his impending demise.

    The conversation lapsed as Akeno fished up, storing the blanket. She put the leftovers in containers for Eren to take home later.

    "What''s bothering you?"

    "What do you mean?" Akeno asked a sudden question.

    "You''re quiet. You''ve been quiet the last few days, and so has Rias. You didn''t even tease Asia and Issei today."

    Akeno snorted a small, unladylike laugh.

    Eren was blind and only met the nun for a few hours today, but even he could tell the girl''s crush on the perverted boy.

    Then again, Asia could do a lot worse.

    Despite his perversion, Issei was the Red Dragon Emperor of the generation. Even if he was the weakest holder of Ddraig ever, that would still put him firmly in the Ultimate Class once he grew a bit.

    On top of that, the boy was unbelievably sweet to the girl.

    As in, his friends and the school would literally not believe their eyes if they saw it.

    Not only had Issei largely kept Asia out of his perverted antics, but he had stood up for her and defended her against the fallen when they came to reclaim her.

    Asia had tried to sacrifice herself to get them to leave him alone, but Issei had managed to awaken his Gear in time to fend them off, combined with his Rook strength and durability. He had held them off long enough for Rias and Akeno to arrive and help finish them.

    Their aid and desire to stay with Issei had been enough for Asia to approach Rias about her open offer to join the Peerage.

    It was an adorable story, like one of Rias'' anime.

    A not-so-small part of the Queen also liked the idea of the fallen being some two-bit mook in the story. Characters killed off in the first season to establish a romantic interest.

    Akeno would be genuinely happy for the pair if they ended up together.

    At least some people deserve to find love.

    "Are you going to answer my question or sit there and sigh all day," Eren asked, tapping his cane on the ground impatiently.

    "It''s not my secret to tell," Akeno eventually said.

    "Rias'' then," Eren nodded. Akeno smiled wryly as she once more reaffirmed how sharp the boy could be. "Something to do with her family? She''s been complaining about them a lot more than usual."

    "It does," Akeno acknowledged but didn''t provide any details.

    If Rias didn''t share, she wouldn''t either.

    "And since she hasn''t told me, she doesn''t think I can help with whatever it is," Eren sighed.

    "It is something none of us can help with," Akeno said lightly.

    No. That wasn''t true.

    They all could help. They could and would fight Riser in a Rating Game.

    That was where this was leading, after all. It was a transparent ploy Akeno, and her King could see coming a mile away.

    Rias'' family was pushing the engagement forward, despite their promises to wait till she graduated, because they feared her new Peerage members.

    The Red Dragon and its hosts had killed numerous members of the Phenex clan in the past, and giving Issei time to grow was a surefire way to ensure Rias was strong enough to get out of the deal by the time the original deadline arrived.

    They had been content to let Rias finish her schooling, confident that the rebelliousness of youth would wear out as she grew and came to accept their decision. There had been no binding agreement for that promise, so nothing stopped them from deciding to change the date on a whim except their genuine care for their daughter and desire to have her see things their way.

    The Boosted Gear changed everything.

    A King with a fully realized Red Dragon Emperor in their peerage could dictate whatever they wanted in devil politics.

    Someone disagrees with them, like, say about their marriage? Challenge them to a Rating Game.

    That was how central the games had become to devil life.

    It would be like a Satan suddenly being allowed to participate in Rating Games. Entire political careers had been built on the Rating Games.

    Once Issei had a few years of experience under his belt, the Gremory would have no control over Rias. She could go centuries without marriage if she wanted, and nothing they could do would stop her. She''d just challenge her own parents to a game. It wouldn''t be the first time factionalism formed within a Pillar house.

    And that would ruin the Gremory.

    For devils, with their abysmal birthrates, starting young wasn''t just recommended. It was almost a requirement.

    Just looking at Rias'' parents proved it. Despite being a very loving couple over a thousand years old, they only had two children born centuries apart.

    It was one of the reasons arranged marriages were so common, to ensure devils had at least one child before they inevitably did something that got them killed. When you are one of three parties in the greatest war ever fought, you need to keep up the numbers.

    Especially if you are a devil with a bloodline.

    For Rias, who had the Power of Destruction, one of the most coveted bloodlines in the underworld, the idea that she wouldn''t have a child for centuries or millennia was terrifying for the remaining Pillar families. Already, they were being outnumbered by reincarnated devils ten thousand to one.

    Rias''s parents cared for her and loved her. They really did. They were kind to her, spoiled her, and took her Peerage in as family.

    But they also had a duty to see that the remaining 31 Pillar houses did not shrink further. They still loved each other and had been in an arranged marriage when they were young. They did not understand her reluctance, but they were out of time to try and convince her.

    So they pushed and pushed and pushed.

    And now, pushing was no longer enough.

    Instead of nagging, they were being more overt. Forget letting Rias graduate college. They wouldn''t even let her graduate high school.

    That was how terrifying a Boosted Gear holder was.

    There was only one thing Rias could do now. The one recourse all High-class devils had.

    A Rating Game.

    Everyone knew it. The question was how long Rias could delay it. To give the Peerage more time. There were other more desperate ploys, but that was the only one that was sure to stop the marriage and not lead her into disgrace.

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Right now, the entire Peerage was strong. Rias'' added practice in order to grow strong enough to reincarnate Eren had spurred on the growth of the rest.

    Akeno had no doubt that even without Issei or Asia, the four of them would absolutely decimate Riser''s little ''harem.''

    But Riser himself?

    And his sister?

    None of them were strong enough to ensure they''d be able to beat him enough to force him to retire. Especially not if they had to deal with his Peerage as well. Even if Rias could beat him a dozen times, it didn''t matter if he healed two dozen times.

    The extra power and training gave them a chance, but it was increadibly small.

    If only...

    "You''re lying."

    "Hm?" Akeno asked, having fallen into deep thought once more.

    "You''re lying," Eren repeated, fully frowning. "I know your bullshit when I hear it. There''s something we, or at least you, can help her with, isn''t there?"

    "Yes," Akeno admitted with a cavalier shrug of her own. What was the harm in admitting that? Eren already knew she was a rotten, terrible woman. "There is something I could do to help my best friend. But I won''t."

    Safe in the knowledge that Eren couldn''t see them, Akeno let her wings free.

    One of them was bat-like, leathery and angular. The wings of a Devil.

    The other was larger. Black as night, with soft feathers that glittered in the sun like polished obsidian.

    The wings of a fallen angel.

    As with every time she saw that... thing, accursed proof of what she was, Akeno could not stop her hands.

    Blood flowed across her fingers as she tore fistfuls of feathers from her flesh.

    The pain was an old friend.

    "Why not?" Eren asked in that empty voice of his. There was no judgement in his voice but no curiosity either. Akeno didn''t know what he was feeling.

    All she was feeling was the familiar sting of self-disgust.

    "Because I am a terrible person," Akeno said airily like she was talking about the weather, as she tore another handful of soft feathers from her wing. She was not gentle. They floated to the ground, slick with blood. "I would rather let my best friend, my sister in all but blood, be consigned to a terrible fate because I cannot stand the idea of using anything from that man. Because I am the worst woman to ever live."

    "No. You are not."

    "I am," Akeno laughed hollowly��another fistful. The wing was gaining bald spots now. From experience, Akeno knew she wouldn''t stop until it was completely bare flesh with no feather in sight. Until there was no proof of what she was. "I am a terrible woman. The worst, vilest creature to exist. I am my father''s daughter."

    "The parents'' crimes should never be passed onto their children," Eren sighed, unseeing the self-mutilation happening on the bench beside him. "I cannot claim to not hate people due to their ancestors or where they were born, but children are guiltless. Simply casualties in the wars and sins of grown-ups. Whatever your father did is not your fault, no matter what people have told you."

    "I hate him," Akeno bit out, glaring at the boy. "I hate him. He wasn''t there. My mom died because he wasn''t there to protect her."

    "I don''t know the circumstance, so I can''t say if it was or wasn''t his fault," Eren shrugged.

    Sometimes, Akeno absolutely despised how blase he could be. As if every story he was told was one he had heard before.

    "He should have been there!" Akeno insisted, voice rising despite Eren''s serenity.

    "All I will say is that a husband not knowing his wife is in danger doesn''t make her death his fault. Even if he could have stopped it if he were there. He didn''t kill her."

    There was something there.

    Under the cavalier attitude and blank voice, there was something Eren was hiding. It was only because she knew him so well that Akeno could notice.

    It was what prompted the next words.

    "He didn''t," Akeno laughed bitterly, tears of anger, loathing, and resentment filled her eyes. "I did."

    Eren froze.

    "What?"

    "I killed her," Akeno repeated, the words falling out of her. Years of built-up guilt and disgust burst out of her. "They came for her because of me. Because she married my father and had me. They killed her because she wouldn''t give me up."

    At her core, Akeno was a rotten woman who hated herself more than she hated the fallen or Baraqiel.

    It was her fault her mother was murdered.

    Her existence had pushed the clans to send their assassins after the family while her father was away. If her parents had simply been wed and never had a child, Shuri Himejima would still have been an outcast, but she would have lived. The taint on their legacy, the mixing of ''sacred'' blood with that of the fallen, had caused her death.

    And now?

    Now, Akeno could help Rias if she was willing to use her unique heritage.

    Holy Lightning.

    Baraqiel''s signature ability.

    It would counter Phenex''s regeneration and practically guarantee their victory and Rias'' freedom, turning a ten percent chance at victory into a ninety percent.

    Yet every time Akeno tried to pull up that part of herself, tried to will even the tiniest of sacred energy into her electricity, all she could think of was her mother''s murder, of her dying face, and the guilt would sap everything from her.

    Akeno could still hear the blades entering flesh, the scream of pain, the urging of her dying mother.

    Begging her to run.

    To live.

    In her nightmares, she was still on the streets of Japan. Barely surviving as her mother''s last words rang out over and over and over in her mind.

    Those were the better ones.

    Others were just a repeat of the event. No changes. No embellishments.

    Shuri Himejima never blamed Akeno, not even in her dreams.

    The worst of the dreams was when Akeno saw what could have been. The ''what if'' of her parent''s lives if she had never been born.

    They were happy. A loving couple living out a quiet life of seclusion.

    A happy life without her.

    Akeno would never use Holy Lightning. She could never use it.

    Rias never forced her to or even asked her to, even after all this time. Even if it would solve her problem.

    Akeno loved Rias as much as she hated herself.

    Hated how her continued existence ruined the lives of those around her.

    Truly, "Akeno Himejima should never have been born."

    ...

    The punch came out of nowhere, so lost was the hybrid in her self-hatred and guilt.

    Akeno flew off the bench, tumbling to the ground below, wings splayed in the dirt.

    "Don''t say that!" Eren shouted at her. "Don''t you dare say that!"

    He was standing, Akeno thought in a daze of shock.

    He was off the bench.

    For some reason, that fact shocked her more than the punch.

    "Don''t you ever say that again!"

    Eren''s face, the part not covered in bandages, was twisted in a snarl of fury. The greatest show of emotion Akeno had ever seen on his face.

    "Just when I think you can''t piss me off anymore, you go and spew this crap," Eren snarled.

    His cane tapped hard on her leg to find her, and he bent down, grabbing the stunned girl by her shirt. The cane fell to the ground as he used both hands to hold her in place, a few inches from his face.

    "Listen here, you pathetic woman," he growled, practically spitting on her in his intensity. "I don''t care about any guilt you feel, how much you hate yourself, or whatever pathetic excuse you have for those words. That crap only matters to you. We''re all guilty. But never, and I mean never, say you shouldn''t have been born!"

    Eren punched her in the face again.

    Akeno could have dodged it.

    She didn''t.

    Akeno fell again as Eren continued to yell.

    "No matter who you are, what you are, what you do, who you kill or don''t. None of that crap matters. It didn''t matter to your mom. It might not matter to your dad. It doesn''t matter to Rias. I certainly don''t give a shit. But no matter what, there is one thing that does."

    Ah.

    That face. That rage. Had that always been there?

    Hiding under a man beaten by the world?

    Had Eren always been... this?

    "We all deserve to be born," Eren snarled, smashing a fist to his heart in emphasis. "We all deserve to be free to live. That is the only thing owed to everyone in this shitty world. We all deserve that just for being born into this world. Our sole birthright. Even you, the rotten woman that you are."

    The shouting, the rage, seemed to leave him then as Eren sagged, almost collapsing back to the bench.

    For a long second, Akeno lay on the ground, utterly shocked.

    Her hand rose to her cheek where she had been punched. Twice.

    It didn''t hurt.

    Eren was human and sickly on top of that. As well as being born half-fallen, Akeno was a Queen of a devil Peerage. Queen''s didn''t get the total bonus to toughness as Rooks, but they got a part.

    It had been momentum more than force or pain that had caused her falls.

    "I don''t know if your mom died because of you or not," Eren admitted, panting for breath after the exertion. "You didn''t kill her. Others did. So get that stupid idea out of your head. If you can''t or don''t want to use whatever has to do with your father to help Rias, fine. If she needs you to, she''ll ask herself. But if I ever hear that Akeno Himejima shouldn''t have been born, I will punch you again. And I don''t think I''ll stop."

    He was serious, Akeno realized. He really would try to beat her up if she said that again.

    Akeno couldn''t help it.

    She laughed.

    She laughed and laughed and laughed and cried.

    Akeno cried in the dirt, wings splayed wide for the world to see as tears streamed down her face.

    No hug. Not a single kind word.

    This wasn''t some romantic gesture of acceptance. This wasn''t Eren acknowledging Akeno for being Akeno, comforting her with the knowledge that he saw her as her instead of her race or heritage.

    Eren didn''t know about fallen angels, about Baraqiel and the sacred clans of Japan. He had no idea that Akeno could fry him before he could even throw a punch.

    And Akeno was sure that even if he did, he''d still punch her.

    It was so... Eren that she couldn''t help but laugh.

    "Ufufufufu," Akeno chortled, getting to her feet and wiping herself down. She also put her wings away, glad the older boy hadn''t noticed. She wiped her tears as she took a seat on the bench. "What a brute. To hurt a delicate lady such as myself." Eren snorted. "Still, if I remember correctly, I did promise you a reward if you could punch me. What do you say? Want to help me explore my M side?"

    Eren sighed, but Akeno was happy to notice it was a familiar one of fond exasperation instead of anger or disgust.

    "I wasn''t lying, you know," Akeno admitted softly as she pulled a twig from her hair. "It really was because of me that my mother was killed. That isn''t hyperbole but fact. I couldn''t have stopped it, but she would still be alive today if I had never been born."

    "That doesn''t change that nobody''s birth is a sin," Eren answered just as softly. "No matter what you are or what you become. We all have the right to be born. To live free."

    "What do I do then?" Akeno asked helplessly as she collapsed onto the bench beside him. "With the guilt? With these memories?"

    "The only thing you can," Eren shrugged. "You live with them. How you live is up to you, but that doesn''t change what happened. So you carry it as you move forward."

    "You make it sound easy." Akeno could admit her voice sounded petulant even to her.

    "It isn''t."

    Eren paused as if giving his following words careful thought.

    Then he sighed and tilted his face to the sky.

    "I killed my parents."

    "What?" Akeno asked, the statement coming out of left field. "I thought you were an orphan."

    "I am," Eren acknowledged. "That doesn''t change that I killed them. I don''t mean that they died protecting me or anything like that. I mean, I, myself, killed them. Nobody else."

    "Did you... hate them?" Akeno asked, wondering if it had been revenge for leaving him on that church''s stoop.

    "No," Eren shook his head. "I loved them. Dearly. And they loved me. Wanted the best for me. Worried about me and cared about me. And yet I still killed them."

    "Why?"

    Akeno could see it in her mind. Eren, maybe a young teen, tracking down his parents to demand the truth. Finding them and finding out they had some reason to leave him at that church. A reunion filled with emotions, maybe even a hint of that rage she saw. But then love. Acceptance. Perhaps Eren had been happy.

    For a time.

    "With my father, it was an accident. Completely unintentional. He knew it would happen and chose to let me do it anyway. That''s how much he loved me. But my mom..."

    Akeno noticed the slight dampness of the bandages over Eren''s eyes but didn''t comment. Nor about the thickness in his voice or his clenched fists.

    "I killed my mom. Directly. On purpose. Knowing who she was, what I was doing, and what it would lead to. No matter how much I loved her."

    Eren paused, teeth gritt tight enough that Akeno could hear them as his hands tightened on his cane.

    "Her last words to me were, ''Don''t go.'' I don''t know if she didn''t want to die alone, wanted someone to save her, or wished to see her son one last time. I will never know. I still remember her face as I killed her. The fear. The pain. I will never forget that sight."

    That... Shuri''s last words had been the complete opposite.

    Run, Akeno. Run and live. Please live.

    "When I say you will carry the guilt for the rest of your life, I speak from experience," Eren''s voice was as heavy as it had ever been. This was a confession to a friend. For all that he claimed that Akeno angered him, Eren would not be confiding in her this terrible secret if he didn''t want to reassure her in some small way. To tell her she wasn''t alone in her guilt. "Not a moment goes by where I do not feel guilty for all I''ve done."

    "Then why did you do it?" Akeno couldn''t help but ask. "Why did you kill her?"

    "Because it was necessary," Eren answered immediately with a gasp that choked a sob. "Because it saved the life of a child that I hated. Because I chose a few friends, the future I wanted, over the mother I loved. Because Carla Yeager''s death was the start of it all, and it needed to happen if I was to move forward."

    "That''s it," Akeno said as she held a hand in front of her face. It was slick with bloody dirt, and a half-torn feather was caught in her nails. "Just move forward, no matter how much it hurts? That''s terrible advice."

    "It''s the only advice I have," Eren shrugged, the emotions of the moment bleeding out of him into that familiar weariness. "I can''t see your future. Or Rias''. I have no idea what problems you will face or are facing right now. I''ll die soon, but I hope you won''t. I hope you all lead long, happy lives. To do that, you need to walk forward. Guilt. Fear. Regret. You will carry them with you all your life, but you must continue on. One step at a time. No matter what."

    For some reason, her own anger flared at his words. An emotion joining the guilt, the pain, and the self-disgust.

    "You don''t get to die," Akeno shook her head as she stared at the dirty blood in her hand. "Souna, Rias, Koneko, Yuuto, and I won''t let you. Even Issei and Asia won''t once you get to know them better. After everything you just told me, you don''t get to go off and die. If I have to live with the guilt, so do you."

    "I told you," Eren sighed. "I will die alone."

    He said it with the certainty of a prophecy, a fact that would come true no matter what.

    "No, you won''t," Akeno denied fervently. She clenched her fists. "You said you couldn''t see the future. I''ll let you know I come from a long line of Miko, so I will make a prediction right now. Eren Yeager will live a long, happy life. Just you wait."

    Eren clearly didn''t believe her, but Akeno didn''t care. As he had told her earlier, that was his problem, not hers.

    If Akeno Himejima deserved to live, then so did Eren Yeager. If he was going to be selfish, so was she.

    Even if he was a mass murderer who killed his parents, a terrible person, that didn''t change who she was. Akeno was a rotten woman to her core.

    Akeno wasn''t going to let anyone else be taken from her.

    Even if it meant dirtying herself further.

    The blood and feather disintegrated in a quiet crackle of divine lightning. The tiniest of sparks darkened her flesh and stung with pain.

    Rias was trusting her. Yuuto and Koneko were trusting her. Even Issei and Asia trusted her, looked up, and went to her for guidance. She could hate herself, but she could not let them down. She needed to be there when they needed her.

    Akeno couldn''t be Baraqiel.

    The trauma was still there. The self-loathing, hatred, guilt, and disgust still filled her. It wouldn''t disappear with one conversation or affirmation of conviction.

    If Akeno wanted the strength to keep hold of her family, she would need to face those emotions every day. Over and over again, for months, years, potentially for the rest of her life. It was a war of attrition against her own emotions.

    She''d always carry that guilt. A part would always hate herself.

    But Akeno took that first tiny step forward.

    And that was enough, she realized. For now, that tiny, shuffling step was enough.

    The worst woman in the world sat with the worst man, companions in culpability, in self-hatred, and in pain.

    Guilty? Innocent? It didn''t matter in that moment.

    They were alive.

    They shared the same birthright as they sat together on the bench.

 Delusions of Kindness

    Two figures appeared from a clump of mist in a ruined church''s basement.

    "Exact coordinates as always," the shorter figure in glasses said with pleasure.

    "Let''s get this over with," the taller, much more muscular man grumbled. "I hate his assignments. No excitement."

    "I like them," the shorter figure argued lightly, stepping over a ritual circle and looking at the large metal crucifix in the center. "Perfectly laid out step-by-step guides. Like a walkthrough. Can you imagine how hard it would be to find a Sacred Gear extractor outside Grigori control on our own? Even this one would have rotted in the basement of this no-name town whose only special feature is the devil heiresses playing house."

    "Can I at least go fight them," the large man asked, hoisting the metal construct on his shoulder. "They''re the Satans'' sisters. They should give a good fight."

    "Hm," the glasses-wearing boy hummed as he flipped through a book, reading its instructions. "No, Herc, you can''t."

    "Did he at least tell me why this time?"

    "He doesn''t. But I can guess. There is no other supernatural force in this town currently. They are all out. That''s why we only came now. Apparently, the entire plan falls apart if we are discovered in Kuoh."

    "Fine," Herc sighed. "Vali should be visiting soon anyway. He''s always good for brawl."

    "I would prefer if you didn''t start fights you can''t win."

    "Nobody''s asking you, Georg."

    "Maybe I should leave you somewhere on the way back? What was that strip joint called again? ''Wangs Wonderful Wangs?''" Georg said to himself. "I heard you had fun last time. Maybe you''ll actually get lucky and find someone ''man enough'' for you."

    "You wouldn''t dare," Herc said confidently. "You won''t do anything against the plan."

    "I might," Georg said casually. "He''d know I''d do it. That would be part of the plan in the first place, wouldn''t it?"

    That seemed to stump the muscular man.

    "I wish the boss was back," Herc grumbled. "At least I knew I could try and sock him one when one of his plans screwed me over."

    "And achieve nothing," Georg said lightly. "But yes, I do agree. Most of us miss him. But what can you do? Wherever he is, we won''t find him until he wants us to."

    "That better be soon," Herc continued to grumble as they were swallowed by the mists, Gear extractor and all. "That damn cat is getting on my nerves."

    ********

    "Surrender, Rias!"

    "AAAGGGHHH."

    Rias closed her eyes, biting her lip hard enough to bleed.

    Anything to tune out Issei''s screams.

    It had been going so well.

    Better than her wildest dreams.

    Her Peerage had made quick work of their enemies, Koneko and Yuuto, retiring due to surprise attacks but only after clearing most of the way. Asia had fallen while healing Issei, and Riser took the field himself.

    Despite that, the Gremory faction was winning.

    Easily.

    Their additional power, coordination, and Rias'' help as a long-range Wizard-Type had wiped the floor with Riser''s Peerage. The Phenex had obviously chosen them all for their looks rather than skill, power, or synergy.

    The only risk they faced had been the Bomb Queen, the one who took out Koneko.

    Akeno had toyed with the rival Queen. Played with and tortured her. Taunting and mocking her into frothing rage. Even the Phenex trump card, their tears, hadn''t helped as Akeno had been glad to ''have a fresh toy.''

    Issei had been stellar. Above and beyond what could have been expected of a new devil.

    Responsible for half the total retirements on the other side, his durability and strength as a Rook boosted to absurd degrees thanks to Boosted Gear, which made him an absolute unit on the battlefield. A wrecking ball on the field.

    Spells, blades, and fists had bounced right off him. His most significant contribution had been getting Ravel Phenex to give up after she took out Yuuto.

    Somehow.

    Rias still didn''t know how Issei had done it.

    The four of them, Akeno, Asia, Issei, and her, had faced Riser together. With his immortality, it would still be a long shot, but Rias had seen hope.

    Losing Asia early to the Phenex had been a blow, but it had galvanized Issei to new heights, and he discovered he could transfer his power to another person. Taking the healer out had given Akeno a straight shot at Riser.

    "I can do this forever!" Riser crowed with malicious glee. He was taking pleasure in the pain he was inflicting. Revenge for the reversal of his fortunes and the pain he had already suffered. "Surrender!"

    "GRRRGK." Even though her eyes were closed, Rias could hear Issei try to grit his teeth against the pain.

    "Rias?" Akeno asked softly.

    Opening her eyes, the heiress looked at her Queen, her best friend, her sister in all but blood.

    Akeno looked back, their eyes meeting in silent communication.

    Words could not express how thankful she was to every one of her Peerage fighting for her freedom. Everyone, especially Issei, had gone above and beyond what could be expected of them.

    Yet Akeno was the one Rias was most grateful for.

    Not only had her Queen been with her every step of the way for years, every minute of training, blood, sweat, and tears, but Akeno had done the one thing Rias could never ask her to do.

    Holy Lightning crackled around the ''Priestess of Thunder.''

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    It was raw, uncontrolled, blackening Akeno''s skin in places where it touched her body. She hadn''t practiced much with it, but that she was using it at all spoke of her commitment.

    It proved that Akeno was part fallen angel to everyone watching, or would watch, this unofficial ratting game.

    Akeno had borne her deepest wounds, her greatest shame, to the Underworld.

    For Rias.

    Rias Gremory was so Satan-damn lucky to have such a wonderful family.

    "AAAAAHHHHHH!"

    Which made her failings as King all the more apparent.

    With Akeno''s Holy Lightning, boosted by every ounce of power Issei could give, they had trounced Riser. The divine spell weakened his healing, leaving him vulnerable to all three of them.

    Riser was an older devil on the cusp of reaching Ultimate Class.

    Yet a teenager and her Peerage had beaten him into the ground.

    And Rias showed her immaturity. Her weakness.

    Her failure.

    She had been too kind.

    All it would take to clinch the victory was to get his surrender. Despite being beaten badly, he was still a Phenex. A devil house famous for their stamina and recovery, even outside of their immortality.

    She had underestimated his pride and the wounds inflicted on it. She had overestimated her own control of the situation.

    Intoxicated with victory and the promise of freedom, Rias failed in her duty to her family.

    Rather than let Akeno torture the man into unconsciousness, as she should have done, she had told her Queen to stop. His cries of pain had been getting to her.

    Rias hated Riser. Despised him with every fibre of her being.

    But it had never been about Riser himself.

    It hadn''t been his man-whore mannerisms, his disregard for humanity or his foppish attitude that angered her so much. Riser was actually one of the better young devils out there. Harems weren''t rare in the Underworld, and he clearly cared for his family. More than that, his Peerage clearly cared for him, which was more than many devils could claim.

    It hadn''t even been about her duty to marry someone to carry on the Gremory name and lineage that angered Rias. Riser marrying into her family would have been an acceptable choice, all things considered. Even if he was not a good devil, he was not a bad one either.

    Rias had never hated Riser Phenex for who he was.

    Rias Gremory hated Riser Phenex because of what he meant to her.

    It had never been about Riser himself but about Rias. It had always been about her freedom and ability to choose her path.

    Riser was the chain she needed to shake off, the physical representation of everything she hated about being Rias Gremory instead of Rias.

    So, she wanted to give Riser a chance. The chance to surrender and spare himself the pain all devils felt when assaulted by Light. Riser hadn''t chosen this engagement either. He was as bound by this promise of their families as she was. Riser lusted after Rias and desired her; that was clear, but maybe he loved someone else or didn''t want to marry at all.

    Maybe he, a third son of a prominent family, didn''t want to be married off to the Gremorys.

    Riser could have withdrawn in grace, clearly outmatched, and having held on longer than expected when exposed to Holy Lightning powered by a Longinus.

    A grace. A hand extended.

    A kindness.

    And now?

    Issei was paying the price for her failure.

    A devil''s pride was a terrible thing indeed.

    "Gaw!" Issei gasped in pain, writhing and twitching in Riser''s hands as more fire burned away at his skin.

    Riser''s face, twisted in a pained grimace yet still smirking, differed from his usual pretty boy demeanour.

    He had been beaten but had never given up. He''d seized his one chance, the Gremory''s famous soft spot for their Peerage. And he was relishing the impending victory.

    The pride of the Phenex had been trampled, but he had not let it down.

    The older devil held the Rook between him and Akeno. Rias was behind the Phenex, making an effort to flank him and free her Rook.

    Riser didn''t care.

    All he cared about was keeping Holy Lightning away. Rias'' attacks? They could hurt him, but he''d still regenerate. Any attack Akeno tried to throw would hurt Issei just as bad.

    Rias was stuck, victory at her fingertips, yet unable to clench her hands around it.

    If Sona was here? She was sure her rival would have some cunning ploy, tactic, or trap to get Issei out of Riser''s grip. She could imagine Sona watching the match right now, adjusting her glasses as she did when nervous while complaining about Rias'' mistakes and still hoping for the best.

    If Eren was here? Well... Rias was sure he wouldn''t have given Riser a chance to speak, let alone escape and capture a hostage. Eren would have been entirely merciless.

    Rias was glad he wasn''t watching.

    She didn''t want Eren to see her like this.

    This weak.

    This pathetic.

    "Choose!" Riser insisted with another pillar of fire. The longer this continued, the higher the likelihood that Issei would pass out and retire.

    "AHH," Issei screamed.

    Rias wished Issei was a Pawn. He would have retired by now. But he was a Rook, and none of the damage he had taken was fatal.

    Should she use Casteling? Switching places with Issei would save him but would be the same as surrendering. Riser would have her in his grasp, and he''d eliminate her.

    Rias had a choice.

    Victory or defeat.

    No matter what she chose here, Rias would lose something.

    Rias knew what she would have chosen a year ago. She would have surrendered and gone on to get married to this odious man in exchange for the safety of her Peerage. Her life in the human world would have been over.

    Her freedom would have been gone.

    From a certain standpoint, it made no sense not to chase victory. Issei wouldn''t die from this. It was just pain, not debilitating or anything. Even the Holy aspect, which severely affected devils and skirted around the rules of Rating Games, could be cured by Asia later.

    But could Rias be the one to inflict that pain on Issei? The boy she had already wronged? The boy who had trained, fought, and was being tortured for her freedom?

    Could she give an order which might mean he lost what little trust he had in her?

    Issei, like all her Peerage, had scars.

    If she hadn''t been paying careful attention, she would have missed it in their frenetic training, too caught up in her own drama.

    But spending so much time training had forced her to be much more observant with her Peerage in what little time she did have with them.

    Rias saw it.

    She saw it when he flinched from female touch, even as he craved it.

    Saw it when Asia practically threw herself at him, and he stood befuddled.

    As if the idea of being loved was alien to him.

    Issei was an honest boy. Honest about his feelings, his dreams, and his perversion.

    That honesty, that baring of himself, had been betrayed by someone he had poured his heart out to.

    Could Rias Gremory scar her Rook again? For a selfish desire for freedom?

    "Do, grrrh, IT!" Issei shouted in a moment when the fire lessened.

    Riser lit him up again, and coherence left the boy who had been a regular human only a month ago. An ordinary boy thrust into exceptional circumstances through no fault of his own.

    "See," the Phenex said with a smile as he looked over his shoulder at Rias. "Even the Red Dragon Emperor wants you to surrender. Cease your struggles. Become my bride. And I will stop hurting the boy."

    That hadn''t been what Issei meant at all.

    Rias closed her eyes again as the tears fell.

    She didn''t deserve such a wonderful Peerage.

    ''A person who cannot sacrifice everything cannot change anything.''

    ''Choose what you cannot sacrifice. Hold on to it. No matter what else you lose.''

    She couldn''t give up on the happiness she had found in her freedom.

    Watching anime with Gasper. Training with Akeno. Cooking snacks for Koneko and napping on the couch. Reading with Yuuto. Teasing Issei. Helping Asia explore the world.

    Rias could not give up the hope she held to eventually be strong enough to reincarnate Eren, to show him a life far from the pain of war and loss.

    At that moment, Rias Gremeory wanted nothing more than to be on that uncomfortable bench.

    She wanted her greatest worry to be whether or not she could accurately explain the wacky hijinks of the latest Jojo chapter in a way Eren could understand.

    At that moment, Rias Gremory was not in a ruined facsimile of her school, facing a man who threatened to be her husband. She wasn''t fighting for her freedom under the eyes of her family and the Underworld.

    She wasn''t deciding whether or not to torture one of her newest family members.

    At that moment, Rias Gremory didn''t exist.

    ''Rias'' was on a bench, talking and laughing with her friends as a blind, sickly boy listened in quiet contentment.

    That was what she could not sacrifice.

    She would do anything to return to that bench and what it meant for her.

    "Akeno," Rias said, opening her eyes.

    She needed to see this out to the end.

    To see what her kindness and failure had cost.

    "Rias?" Akeno asked again, waiting for the order.

    Rias stared not at her Queen or the blond man who had haunted her nightmares for years.

    She stared at the scorched body of her Rook. Issei weakly met her eyes over his shoulders, barely able to lift his head.

    Rias stared into those brown eyes as she gave the order.

    "Do it."

    The crackle and thunder of Holy Lightning.

    The shout of surprise and pain of a man whose plan had failed.

    The weak cries of a boy already on the brink.

    The sounds of the death of a love that could have been, should have been, but now never would be.

    It all drowned out another sound.

    [Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker]

 In the Depths of Freedom

    "I did it again," Rias admitted, her voice laden with guilt and self-disgust.

    "Did what?" Eren asked.

    "I hurt Issei."

    Issei said she did the right thing. He said he was all healed, thanks to Asia.

    He said getting hurt was better than her marrying the Yakitori. She shouldn''t feel bad. He had asked her to do it.

    He meant it, too. Issei couldn''t lie worth a damn.

    But Rias saw.

    Rias saw the way he''d flinch away when their eyes met.

    Rias saw him shudder in quiet moments when he thought no one was looking.

    Rias saw him stare at hers and Akeno''s bodies in his usual, perverted manner. Then the memory would return, and he wouldn''t look at them for hours.

    Akeno had stopped teasing him.

    Even her sadistic Queen understood that there were some wounds inflicted on the soul, not the body, that should never be touched.

    Asia hadn''t left his side once. The former nun confided in Rias that he had nightmares.

    Asia had wanted advice as to how to help him.

    Rias didn''t have an answer for her.

    "Accidentally?" Eren asked.

    "Not this time," Rias muttered, staring vacantly at the page of the manga she had been narrating to Eren when her confession had slipped out. "I didn''t want to hurt him. I really didn''t. But I had a choice, and I did anyway. And now... I don''t know if things will ever be the same."

    That youthful nativity of Issei''s that she found so endearing, that boundless desire and hope, was now tempered by pain.

    Issei still proudly proclaimed his dream to be Harem King, still determinedly focused on gaining his own Peerage, training, and strength.

    But it was not with certainty that he spoke anymore. His dream was something Issei worked for but was unsure he could achieve.

    "Things are never the same," Eren responded in that complicated tone of voice he got when he reminisced on his own past. "Time passes, and things change. Whether we do anything or nothing, that is how the world is. The only thing we can do is try and change it in a way favourable to us. So, you hurt Issei? Was it worth it?"

    "It was."

    It was a terrible, sad thing to say, but Issei''s pain had made the world a better place for her.

    Rias was free.

    Free of her family''s machinations, free to choose her own path and her own future. Free to live in the human world as Rias, to establish herself as her own woman before taking up the mantle of ''Gremory.''

    Free to try and save her friend''s life.

    In some twisted way, it was also worth it for Issei.

    He had always possessed potential as the Red Dragon Emperor of this generation. His future would have been boundless if he could live long enough to realize his growth.

    But Issei''s starting point had been so behind the curve that he was practically handicapped.

    Issei had been the weakest holder of Boosted Gear.

    Ever.

    His magical potential, an essential factor for all supernatural races, had been less than that of a baby devil.

    His body had been lacklustre. When he became a Rook, his physical abilities were the absolute minimum of the type. Even Koneko had been stronger when she had been reincarnated, and she had been a little girl, starved and without training when she was reincarnated.

    Issei had no special talent. No skill with weapons or genius intellect. Nothing to make up for his lack of magic.

    Issei had been weak enough that a devil, one not fully grown, had been able to reincarnate him with one piece, even though he possessed one of the Twelve Longinus. Something that had never happened before in the history of the world.

    Now?

    Now, Issei Hyoudou was the Red Dragon Emperor who achieved Balance Breaker in the shortest time ever recorded.

    Words could not express how much a Sacred Gear''s Balance Breaker changed things. The name gave it away.

    It broke the balance of the world.

    It was something against the system of the Creator. An aberration was never meant to exist. Even a low rarity and low power Sacred Gear could become a threat to Ultimate Class beings when it achieved Balance Breaker.

    Issei had done it with a Longinus in less than six weeks.

    Issei might not grasp what that meant, but everyone else did.

    Kiba, who had used his gear for half a decade, hadn''t achieved Balance Breaker.

    Asia, who had used hers daily for most of her life, hasn''t attained Balance Breaker.

    Rias knew reincarnated devils, centuries old, who had never achieved Balance Breaker. Most Sacred Gear holders died without ever reaching that level of power.

    Issei had gone from the weakest Red Dragon Emperor ever to the one with the single greatest potential ever.

    And people, devils especially, noticed.

    Issei, if he wished, didn''t need to become a High-Class devil to start his harem. All he had to do at this point was go to the underworld, and women would be throwing themselves at his feet, begging to join his harem.

    Devils craved power. Admired it. Lusted for it.

    In wealth, fame, influence and, especially, direct power.

    Issei had that in spades now.

    Rias wouldn''t allow some magic-digger floozies to exploit Issei''s nativity. She owed him that much, at least.

    But it didn''t change the fact that Issei was better off after the Rating Game than he ever was before.

    Except...

    Sacred Gears respond to emotions. They grow, change, and adapt as the user''s emotions do the same.

    Issei standing up to and defeating Raynare had been enough emotional upheaval to awaken the Boosted Gear.

    What must he have felt, only a few weeks later, that propelled him all the way to Balance Breaker?

    Rias shuddered to think.

    Because if she did, she might cry at the thought of what she had done to her darling Rook.

    "If it was worth it, you just have to do it again." Eren shrugged, taking Rias from her thoughts.

    "What do you mean," she asked, knowing Eren wouldn''t suggest hurting Issei again.

    "You changed the situation," the blind boy explained. "It will never go back to the way it was. That is the simple truth. But if it was worth it, if the outcome was worth the cost, then your new situation is still acceptable. You should not seek to undo what was done. You should seek to change the situation again. To make it better in some way. We might never be able to return, but we can always move forward. You just have to work for it."

    "How do I do that?" Rias asked, well aware of Eren''s limit to his advice.

    Eren never gave an exact, step-by-step plan. He always left things open-ended. Over the last year, Rias realized it was because he wanted them to think for themselves.

    "You know Issei better than me," Eren shrugged. "You know how you hurt him. I don''t. All I can tell you is that hurting your friends sucks, but it is sometimes necessary. So long as they are happier in the long run. Your actions were worth it to you. Make it worth it to him."

    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    Because of Eren''s lack of knowledge about exact situations, thanks to the supernatural, his advice was always vague. But it gave her a good place to start.

    What had changed? Not for her but for Issei.

    The easy answer was that he had been hurt again. But where was that pain coming from? What could Rias change to try to make things better for him?

    Again, there was an easy answer. Issei was not a complicated boy, despite his hidden depths. But throwing women wouldn''t help him.

    ... Or would it?

    Rias and Akeno had hurt him. That was a fact. But it didn''t have to be them, did it? Koneko was more likely to noogie her fellow Rook than she was to hug him, but there was a much more willing participant in any plan nearby, wasn''t there?

    Rias was all for supporting her Peerage''s dreams, wasn''t she?

    Rias might be unable to heal Issei''s wounded heart, but Asia had been asking for advice, hadn''t she?

    Maybe it was time to be more proactive in her Peerage''s love life.

    Issei was kind of dumb on top of being traumatized, but even a dull nail will eventually bind wood if you hit it often enough.

    But how to go about it?

    Again, there was an obvious answer.

    "I have an idea," Rias said, but then paused as she realized what she would ask her friend. "Have you talked to Issei before?"

    "A few times," Eren nodded. "It''s mostly just him venting. He is... lively."

    "But you talked to him alone?" Eren nodded again. "And, uh, if he asked you for advice, you wouldn''t mind giving it to him."

    "It seems that is all I''m good for these days," Eren said in his usual, plain tone, but Rias could detect a hint of wryness in it.

    "Even about love?" Rias asked softly, taking Eren''s hand in hers as she asked. The blind boy froze for a moment but eventually relaxed.

    "I don''t think I am the best to talk to about that."

    "I wouldn''t ask you this if I had anyone else I could turn to," Rias admitted. "None of us, or his usual friends, have any experience with love or romance."

    "No experience is better than bad experience," Eren pointed out gravely. "She... we didn''t part on the best of terms."

    There was the slightest tremor in his hands, Rias noticed.

    It had been years since he had seen this woman, whoever she was. Yet talking about her was troubling this normally unflappable boy so much. It made what Rias was asking all the more challenging.

    "That," Rias winced as she cut off her sentence. She chose her following words carefully. "It''s not my secret to tell, but Issei''s first relationship didn''t go well. She tried to kill him."

    Eren tensed once more at her words. He was silent again, once more giving the situation careful thought.

    Sometimes, he seemed so brash, so violent, like a force of nature. In others, he was cautious with his words, like he was afraid a single sentence would destroy the world.

    Rias wondered which was the ''real'' him and which had been forced upon him by circumstance.

    "Ah," he sighed. "If he asks, I''ll talk to him. It wouldn''t be the first time I gave love advice to a young boy. Just so you know, the last time I did so, the results were mixed at best, and I never found out how it ended."

    "Thanks," Rias smiled and gave his hand a thankful squeeze. "That means a lot. I think he needs a male role model."

    "You really don''t want me to be his role model," Eren shook his head.

    "I believe you are wrong," Sona''s voice chimed in, and Rias looked over.

    Eren, too, looked in her direction, facing her exactly. He was much better without his eyes now than when they first met.

    Sona was walking towards them, a portable chess board under one arm.

    "If you can instill some sense of propriety into that boy, the entire school might cheer your name," Sona said with a smirk, and Rias chuckled.

    Just because she knew Issei''s issues didn''t mean that others did as well. There might be a parade if the Issei stopped being a perv in school.

    "Then again," Sona''s eyes narrowed as she looked down at where Rias'' and Eren''s hands were joined. Her glasses flashed ominously. "I am afraid some of his... eccentricities might rub off on you."

    A part of Rias wanted to flinch her hand away, to separate from Eren as if she had been caught doing something to be guilty about.

    A much more significant part of Rias felt a surge of competitive antagonism at her old rival and refused to do such a thing. Instead, Rias leaned further into Eren''s arm, pressing her breasts against him.

    "Hey, Souna," Eren raised his free hand in greeting, unaware of the silent conversation between the young women. "I didn''t think we had a lesson today."

    "We do not," Sona responded, adjusting her glasses once more as she glared at the redhead. "But I wished to spend some time with you outside of lessons. I would like to also teach you to play chess."

    "Chess?" Eren asked with a tilt of his head. "Why?"

    "It''s Souna''s favourite hobby," Rias chimed in before Sona could answer. "I enjoy it as well. If you learn it, we can play sometime."

    "I already know the basics," Eren answered, gesturing to the bandages over his eyes. "Can''t play like this, though."

    "You can," Sona said, holding up the packaged board. "I purchased a set with large pieces distinct in shape between black and white. You should be able to feel the difference with just a touch. Rias, please move so I can put it down and set it up."

    "Why don''t I hold it in my lap? I can help describe things to Eren until he knows which pieces are which."

    "That will not be necessary. I am fully capable of describing the situation to him without aid."

    "But you might cheat. I''m a neutral party he can trust."

    "I would never cheat, and neither would Eren. I intend to win honestly and fairly, using my own abilities."

    "Your abilities as his teacher? He can trust me more. I''m his friend."

    "I believe we are both his friends. I have known him longer, and thus Eren can trust me more."

    "Are you two going to do this for a while?" Eren asked, his tone annoyed. "It''s just chess."

    "Just chess?" Sona asked, almost offended.

    "Chess is very important to our culture," Rias hurried to explain, not wanting to seem petty in Eren''s mind. "We''ve both been taught it since very young. Souna got out of her arranged marriage using chess. She said she wouldn''t marry anyone who couldn''t beat her."

    "Rias!" Sona squawked in outrage at the spilling of her secrets. Then she looked at Eren, worried about his response.

    "Really?" He asked, but with a nonchalance that told the pair he didn''t give it much thought. "Weird way to determine a partner, but if it works for you."

    There was a brief moment of silence before Rias broke it.

    "That''s it?" She asked in disbelief. "You don''t have any thoughts about the arranged marriage?"

    "No?" Eren half asked as he shifted uncomfortably in the silence. "Why would I?"

    "What I believe Rias means," Sona said, clearing her throat and regaining her equilibrium. "You have expressed many times your views on freedom and the like. We simply believed you would express similar passion against such an antiquated practice of marriage for benefit, political or familial, rather than for love."

    "What does that have to do with freedom," Eren asked, audibly befuddled.

    "Isn''t it wrong to force someone to marry they don''t love," Rias asked passionately. Out of everyone, she believed Eren would have been the one to understand her.

    "I still don''t understand," Eren shook his head. "It''s wrong to force anyone to do anything against their will. But that isn''t the case here. Sona wasn''t forced to marry someone she didn''t love. She got out of it. And with chess of all things."

    "I was lucky," Sona admitted. "Not with the victory, as that was my skill, but that my family would accept my conditions. Others are not so fortunate and are forced to marry or face expulsion from their family or worse."

    "Then be expelled," Eren shrugged again. "If they don''t want to be married, don''t get married."

    "What if it''s under threat?" Rias asked, trying to parse Eren''s stance now that the initial shock had worn off. Eren was the type of man with increadibly simple beliefs he stuck to, but they were based on layers and complexity that sometimes popped up unexpectedly. "To their life or to others they care about?"

    If she had been alone, Rias might have chosen the expulsion option if it came down to it.

    But she wasn''t alone.

    She had a peerage, one that she would lose if she lost her High-Class status. At best, the rest of Gremory would take them in as their own pieces, and she wouldn''t see them again. At worst, they would become Stray Devils, hunted by all factions to follow her.

    "Then die, fight, or get married." Eren tilted his head as if the answer was obvious.

    "Now, I do not understand," Sona admitted. "Is using threats or coercion to enforce specific actions and responses not the definition of depriving someone of their freedom?"

    "I''m not explaining myself properly," Eren muttered lowly. Then, louder, he started a story. "I knew this girl, Historia. She loved another girl, but that one died. Years later, some bigwigs wanted to use Historia as a pawn. They''d use her and eventually kill her after getting a bunch of children from her." Both girls'' voices hitched the horror at the idea overtaking them. "I had a plan, one that could save her. But I needed time. I told her this. You know what she did?"

    "What?" Rias asked.

    "She did exactly as those bigwigs wanted," Eren said, and both girls frowned. "But she did it on her terms. They wanted her to produce children? She got married and got pregnant. She chose a man she didn''t love but could live with. In doing so, she had control over her future, and I had time for my plan."

    "Why did you not help her escape?" Sona asked. "You just mentioned it as an option for others, and that would have given you the time you needed."

    "I would have if that was what she wanted," Eren shrugged. "I owed her everything. I cared for her. We all did. But she was the one who suggested the plan, not me. By doing things this way, she kept peace and saved lives. If she had run or fought or killed herself, it would have been a civil war."

    Seriously, Rias thought. Right when she thought Eren''s life couldn''t sound more like an anime, he went and said something like this.

    "It wasn''t an ideal outcome. Nothing ever is. But it was one she chose. That''s what I mean when I say an arranged marriage doesn''t necessarily take away freedom. Because you always have other choices. Only when you refuse to choose, to fight, do you lose what makes you free."

    "By that logic, everyone is free," Sona contemplated with a frown.

    "Everyone is," Eren shrugged. "They are born free. The only ones who aren''t are those who choose not to be. Those who choose to be cattle in a cage. Freedom is not doing whatever you want. It''s having the ability to choose. There might only be terrible choices, which all cost something, but that doesn''t make you any less free."

    "I don''t like it," Rias said with a glare. "I don''t like the idea that someone will force others to marry just for some benefit. I don''t like the idea that death or flight are the only options."

    "Bad options are still options," Eren shrugged. "To Historia, the prospect of marriage and motherhood were better than death and war. I would choose the opposite in her circumstances. Some others, men or women, might make the same choice as her. Maybe the marriage is worth the benefits. People will do crazy things for money or power."

    "What if someone is just trying to kill you," Sona asked Eren, focusing less on the marriage aspect and more on the ''freedom'' idea. "Are they free to do that?"

    "They are," Eren nodded gravely. "But they are also trying to take away your freedom to live. Anyone trying to take your freedom should have theirs taken. The freest man in the world is the one without any surviving enemies. But seeing enemies that aren''t there, fighting to attain a freedom you already have, is not being free."

    It clicked for Rias then, where the disconnect was between her and Eren.

    To Rias, freedom was just that. It was the ability to live how you wanted, without anyone influencing you��freedom from negative consequences.

    To Eren?

    Freedom was life itself. To be deprived of freedom was the same as dying, if not worse. So long as you were alive, you pursued freedom in your own way. If you weren''t chasing your freedom, you were just waiting to die.

    And if anything stood in his way?

    He destroyed it.

    No matter the cost.

    "If you need to fight for your freedom? Fight," Eren intoned lowly. "If you need to kill? Kill. But never, ever forget why freedom is important. If you do, you will be chasing an empty word. You are not free. You have simply chosen a different set of chains. Always chase freedom. Never become a slave to it."

    The mood remained sombre even once the girls set up the chess board and started playing against each other and occasionally against Eren.

    Their thoughts revolved around freedom, its pursuit, what price they''d pay for it and what it had already cost them.

    Dreams, regrets and memories weighed heavily on their backs as they spent another day together on the bench.

 A Warm Light in the Midst of Pain

    There was silence on the bench.

    Both young men were lost in their own thoughts. One of them stared sightlessly at a sky he couldn''t see through thick bandages.

    The other stared at his left hand, held up in front of his face with a complicated expression.

    Not a word had been exchanged in over five minutes.

    Issei, usually the one to talk when he visited the sickly boy, hadn''t even felt the time pass.

    To be fair to the pervert, he had a voice in his head he could talk to��a real one.

    [Partner. The boy is trying to talk to you.]

    "Sorry," Issei said, snapping out of his funk to look at Eren, who, in an uncharacteristic move, had been the one to break the silence. "I didn''t hear that Yaeger-senpai."

    "Don''t call me that," the blind boy said for the dozenth time, but there was no heat to it anymore.

    That was something Issei still didn''t understand.

    Eren allowed Kiba to call him senpai without comment but tried to stop everyone from doing the same. The Red Dragon Emperor didn''t know why. Even after reading his file and talking to the others, much about the dying boy was still a mystery to the high school student.

    They had talked a few times in the last couple of weeks, primarily Issei trying to get to know his Peerage''s friend.

    It mostly devolved into the pervert talking about women and harems and providing in-depth descriptions of various girls'' breasts since Eren couldn''t see them.

    (It should be noted that once she found out, Sona bribed Issei to lie about her cup size to the older boy.

    Issei steadfastly refused.

    To lie about Oppai was blasphemous of the highest order. He might be a devil now, but he wasn''t evil.

    Turning down the student council president''s offer of all previously confiscated contraband was one of the hardest things the Rook had ever done in his life. Issei really missed his limited edition copy of Milky Paradise 3: Olympus Mons. He never collected all the scenes.

    But doing God- ow- Satan''s work was often unrewarding, even if it was the right thing to do.)

    Today, the younger boy had picked up where he left off last time, comparing the merits of size, firmness, perkiness, and bounce versus body types. As Issei rambled, Eren had listened, even though he was not very engaged.

    Sometimes, Issei thought Eren just liked the company. But once Issei had finished proselytizing about the merits of the ''Oppai Loli,'' the Rook didn''t continue.

    Instead, he started to talk to Ddraig in his mind.

    "I asked if you were all right."

    "Ah," Issei awkwardly rubbed the back of his hair, trying to devise an excuse. "Sorry. I, uh, got lost in thought. I''m fine."

    Eren didn''t say anything, but his lips did press slightly in a frown.

    "Really!" Issei said with cheer. "I''m great!"

    [Partner.]

    Issei ignored Ddraig''s sigh in favour of keeping a focus on the older boy, who looked even more displeased than before. But rather than calling Issei out on whatever he wasn''t happy about or continuing to press him about his silence, Eren shifted the conversation.

    "You talk about girls a lot."

    Even Issei knew that was an understatement of the century, but he stared at the other boy in confusion, wondering where he was going with this.

    Eren was speaking slower than usual, even if it was in his regular, plain voice. Was he... embarrassed?

    "Have you, um, been with a girl? Do you have a lover, I mean?"

    The questions were so out of character that Issei stared, mouth slightly agape in surprise. Only when Eren smacked his leg with his cane did the student stutter out an answer.

    "Uh, no. No, I don''t."

    "Why not?" Eren frowned. "You want one, don''t you? Or do you not have a girl you like?"

    "I like all girls! Big girls and small girls. Milfs and Lolis. There are no girls I don''t like! No Oppai is wrong!" Issei declared passionately before deflating. "But... it''s complicated."

    Would you die for me?

    Akeno. Do it.

    Phantom pain pulsed through Issei''s chest. Only part of it was physical.

    Nobody achieved Balance Breaker without strong emotions.

    "Why is it complicated?"

    "Well, um, I, ah," Issei stuttered, trying to think of what to say. Direct questions like this were not really common among Japanese social norms, where feelings and circumstances were usually kept quiet. Throw in the secrecy of magic, and Issei was seriously panicking. "I''m not very well-liked, you see."

    "And?"

    "And girls don''t want to date a pervert."

    It somewhat hurt to admit it out loud, but Issei knew what people thought of him and his friends. But he didn''t regret it. He might be a pervert and an idiot, but he was true to himself. He refused to hide who he was.

    It just made finding a date difficult.

    "But you want to make a harem?" Eren asked doubtfully.

    "Of course! I am going to be a Harem King!"

    [Partner.]

    This time, Ddraig''s sigh was less of sympathy and more of exasperated exhaustion.

    Eren surprised Issei then. Unlike everyone else who had heard his dream, he didn''t mock Issei or laugh at him. Instead, the older boy asked a simple question.

    "What are you doing to become a ''Harem King?''"

    "Uh," Issei stuttered once again, unsure how to handle the frank question. Too used to derision, the student was caught flat-footed. Even his fellow Peerage members, who didn''t deride his dream, still didn''t seem to get it and often joked about it to him. Koneko was especially brutal. "What do you mean?"

    "How are you advancing toward your goal," Eren asked. "Having a dream is good, but you must work at it. Souna wants to be a teacher and is practicing with me. Yuuto is walking his path. Even Rias and Akeno have their own goals and ambitions they work towards, though I don''t know what they are. So, I will ask you again. What are you doing to become a ''Harem King?''"

    Issei floundered once more.

    He did, in fact, have an answer. It just wasn''t one he could tell Eren.

    High-class devils received their own Evil Pieces, and it was common for those not interested in climbing the ranks of the Rating Games to fill them with lovers and make their Peerage into their own personal harem.

    More than that, both Ddraig and Buchou had told him multiple times that dragons and their Sacred Gear holders tended to attract members of the opposite sex because of their power and presence.

    The short answer to Eren''s question was Issei was training to get stronger.

    Every day, Issei worked with Kiba, Koneko, Akeno, and Rias to take advantage of his Rook traits. With Asia on hand, they didn''t need to worry about permanent damage, so they could go all out.

    Every day, Issei grew stronger and tougher and could last just a little longer in his Balance Breaker Armour.

    So he''d never be that weak, that helpless, again.

    And Issei wasn''t the only one to feel the hunger after the fight with the Phenex peerage. Everyone was training harder than ever.

    They bled, they fought, and they grew.

    But with the older boy''s ignorance of the supernatural, Issei couldn''t say ''training'' and have it make sense.

    Instead, to buy time, Issei asked a question of his own.

    "Why are you asking?" Issei''s eyes lit up as an idea came to him. "Have you decided you want a harem as well?"

    "No," Eren said plainly, and the Red Dragon Emperor deflated. "I''ll be dead soon. It''s no secret. I won''t start a relationship with a girl for it to end in tragedy. Even if I had the chance."

    "Oh," Issei wilted further. "Right. Sorry."

    There had been something in Eren''s voice, a regret maybe, but Issei didn''t know the older boy well enough to say for sure.

    "I am asking because you have been off all night," Eren said, not bothered by Issei''s lack of tact. "And don''t give me that ''I''m fine'' bullshit. I''ve used that one enough to know when someone is faking it." Issei closed his mouth. Sometimes, he wondered if Eren really was blind. "You are not a complicated boy, Issei. That is not a bad thing. If you have a problem, it''s most likely about girls."

    Issei wanted to say that wasn''t true but paused as he gave it some serious thought.

    Yuum- Would you die for me? - Raynare had been the one to kill him, leading to his reincarnation.

    Asia had been the one he had been defending when they tried to take her back.

    And the Yakitori fight was because of Buchou''s -Akeno. Do it.- forced engagement.

    Come to think of it, baring Kiba, all the supernatural beings he knew of were female.

    [Attracting attention, especially from the opposite sex, is typical for dragons.] Ddraig rumbled within his soul. [That isn''t always a good thing.]

    "Will you tell me what is wrong?" Eren asked.

    Issei knew then that, whether he answered or not, Eren would accept his decision. So long as he acknowledged something was wrong, Eren wouldn''t ask any further questions if Issei didn''t want him to.

    There was just one issue.

    "I don''t know," Issei said helplessly, looking at the older boy. Eren couldn''t see the confusion, hesitancy, or fear in the brown eyes. "I don''t know what the problem is. I don''t know if there is a problem. I''ve been having... nightmares."

    The young devil said the words slowly as if admitting it was a weakness, a sin he shouldn''t speak of.

    "I don''t remember most of them, but they''re bad. Really bad. I woke the whole house a few times. Asia has started sleeping with me so she can wake me up when I start... screaming."

    Eren looked ready to say something, but he closed his mouth, gave his words more thought and eventually asked a simple question in his usual monotone.

    "What do you remember?"

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    A spear of light pierced his chest. Red blood. Red hair.

    Lightning. Fire. Pain. Red hair and green eyes filled with tears.

    "Girls," Issei eventually said. "Familiar ones."

    "Rias? She said she hurt you again."

    "And others," Issei said lowly.

    "Do you hate them?"

    "NO!" Issei shouted in surprise at the question, looking at Eren in horror. "Buchou saved me. And she didn''t want to hurt me. She didn''t have a choice! I can''t hate her for... what she did." He had almost let the circumstances slip but caught himself at the last second.

    "And the other women?"

    Issei couldn''t answer.

    He honestly didn''t know.

    It should have been easy.

    Raynare had lied to him. Betrayed him. Killed him. Tried to kill him again. She hurt his friends and hurt Asia. Issei knew she had been a monster, and the world was probably better with her death.

    It should have been easy to hate her.

    Yet, Issei couldn''t find it in himself to hate Yuuma Amano.

    No matter what the circumstances, she had been the first positive experience with the opposite sex he had ever had outside his mother. For a few hours, while the fallen''s mask had been on, Issei had thought about giving up his dream of a harem if it meant making this girl happy.

    It was naive. It was stupid. But, for those few hours, Issei could understand why his father had given up on the same dream in order to be with his mother. Issei wouldn''t do it after one date, but he could understand his father''s choice for the first time.

    To the fallen angel, it had been a fun game. Make pretend. A higher being toying with a hapless mortal.

    To Issei?

    It had been real.

    "There''s your problem," Eren sighed. "It is easy to hate. So easy. To rage and fight and kill. People say killing is hard. It isn''t. Not when you hate your enemy. But when you don''t? When you understand them, know about them, care about them, or love them? When you know why they are that way and why they do the things they do? Hatred is easy. To care is so much harder."

    They were both quiet for a long moment.

    Then Issei broke the silence in the most ''Issei Hyoudou'' way possible.

    "I want a harem."

    "You''ve mentioned," Eren said dryly.

    "It''s been my dream for most of my life. I used to think it was going to be easy," Issei said softly, staring at his left arm again. "A previously all-girl school? It was like an anime or eroge. Even if most girls hated me, one or two would like me, right? I''d give it my best, and everything else would fall into place. In some way, I thought it was inevitable."

    Becoming a devil had only made that feeling grow. A society with a system tailor-made for harems, accepted his perversion, saw him as valuable, and provided him a path to walk to his dream?

    Issei had almost considered his inevitable harem as set in stone. He had entertained fantasies about who would be in it. Rias. Akeno. Koneko. Maybe even Asia, once she was more worldly. Maybe some classmates or other supernatural races.

    Issei had imagined it. Fantasised about it.

    Dreamed about it.

    For a while, Issei Hyoudou had lived in a world where he was the protagonist.

    Then it collapsed in a flash of light, a clap of thunder, and the searing of flesh.

    Issei had spoken the truth when he said he didn''t blame Rias. In some way, he didn''t even blame Raynare.

    Issei Hyoudou blamed himself.

    He blamed himself for being a naive, perverted, too-honest, and too-trusting boy. Someone more intelligent, wiser, or better than him would not have fallen for Raynare''s facade.

    They wouldn''t have gotten captured by a defeated enemy and used as a hostage against his friends. Someone else would not be this week and pathetic.

    Buchou claimed that the Rating Game had shown the world Issei was one of the most promising Red Dragon Emperors to ever live.

    Issei disagreed.

    All it showed was a young, dumb, weak pervert in over his head.

    "Now, I am not sure I will ever have a girlfriend again, let alone a harem."

    "You might not," Eren nodded.

    Issei stared at the boy.

    That... was not encouraging. Far from comfort or advice, as the Rook had expected, the sickly boy had responded instantly and brutally.

    And Issei couldn''t deny the truth of the statement.

    "But that will be for you to decide," Eren continued. "You have to decide what you want and what you fight for."

    "I''m not that bright," Issei said hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head. "But I don''t think that''s how love works. I think I don''t get to decide whether girls like me."

    Eren frowned, opened his mouth, leaned back, and looked at the sky. Issei wondered if he had put his foot in his mouth again and accidentally said something wrong when the sickly boy spoke.

    His voice was heavy, slow, and deliberate, as if every word was worth its weight in gold.

    "I knew a couple, once. Younger than you are now," Eren started. "Trained with them for years. They danced around each other''s feelings forever. When they got together, they were inseparable. We always joked about their inevitable marriage. Teased them. If two people were made for each other, it was them." Eren grit his teeth as he spat the following words. "He died the first day on the job. We found Hannah cradling what was left of Franz, refusing to face reality. Refusing to acknowledge that he was dead."

    Issei froze. It was one thing to read about Eren''s history as a mercenary; it was another to hear stories directly from him.

    There was a weight to them. Like Issei was being entrusted with something precious. But they were also far from what a boy who, only a few months ago, was a regular teen had any frame of reference for.

    For all the conflict and trauma Issei had dealt with since becoming a devil, he had never lost anyone he cared about. He didn''t know what to say.

    Thankfully, Eren didn''t expect him to say anything just yet.

    "My experience with romance isn''t great either," Eren''s voice deadened as if all emotions had drained from his body, yet his words were as impactful as ever. "I never really thought about love. Too busy chasing my goals. Too busy running ahead. I never noticed her feelings. In my defence, I had always considered her an overprotective sister and never considered her a romantic partner. Still," Eren paused as if lost in thought.

    Even if Issei didn''t know Eren as well as the others, he still could hear the regret thick in his voice.

    "I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had understood her better. If I had known what she always felt for me. If I had known what I could feel for her. If we had more time together, would we have been happy? Or would it have been a greater tragedy?"

    This time, when Eren paused, he did not continue to talk. He was lost in his memories, staring at a sky he couldn''t see.

    Issei had a lot of questions, but one floated up, interrupting the older boy''s reverie.

    "Who was she?"

    "She was," Eren paused again, voice thick with emotion. Longing. Regret. Love. "She was quiet. Private. Protective. She would do anything for those she cared about. She was the strongest person I ever met. In body and in heart. But she never wanted to use that strength. She would have much preferred a quiet life than one of battle. But she chose to follow me. To protect me. She saved my life. So many times. Too many times."

    Eren choked back something. Maybe a grunt. Maybe a sob.

    "She was my sister. My family took her in after hers were killed by slavers. She was one of my best friends��someone I could always trust to have my back. I had always loved her. Not in that way. Not initially. She had been in love with me for years, but I was too dense to notice. To caught up in my own pain and rage. I didn''t fall in love with her till later. Till it was too late."

    "What happened?" Issei asked, fear making his voice tremble.

    "She didn''t die, if that''s what you are asking," Eren said as he shook his head. "It was a close thing, though. That was how I fell in love with her, believe it or not. I had done something stupid and got myself captured. Again. People died to get me back. Too many people. And one of them was really dear to us, almost an uncle. We watched as he was torn apart. We almost died, too. We were about to. We were sure it was going to happen."

    Eren raised his own left hand over his head as if to stare at it, unknowingly echoing Issei''s previous position.

    "All I could do was scream. Scream at myself for being helpless. For failing. For everything. It was all my fault. More than I realized at the time, it was all my fault. And yet..."

    For the first time, Issei saw something else on Eren Yeager''s face.

    It was only a shadow, a hint of expression lost in his words, but Issei would swear up and down that Eren almost smiled.

    "She smiled. She didn''t care about my guilt, uselessness, or anything else. We were about to die, and she smiled as she thanked me. For being with her. For rescuing her from those slavers. For teaching her how to live. For wrapping that scarf around her neck. We were about to die, and all I could think about was how beautiful she was when she smiled."

    Enraptured by the story and the emotions that so mirrored his circumstances, Issei couldn''t help repeating his question.

    "What happened next?"

    "We survived," Eren nodded. "But things changed. My feelings had changed. Maybe she sensed it, but she no longer was as overprotective. And I no longer resented her concern, seeing it in a new light. It took me a while to sort out my feelings. I am not good with that sort of thing. But I realized what they were pretty quickly. But we had a final mission to do. After that, I would talk to her if we survived."

    "Did she? Survive, I mean?" Issei asked eagerly before realizing how insensitive that question would be if she hadn''t.

    "We did," Eren thankfully nodded, but his face was set in a heavy frown. "Two hundred scouts died that day. Nine survived. The mission was a success, but my thoughts were... occupied. I put off confessing till we had a plan on what to do from there. But then I had one. A plan that would get me almost everything I ever wanted."

    Despite his words, Eren did not sound happy. If anything, he sounded furious.

    "I wanted it. I wanted that future so bad." Eren bit out, teeth clenching. "But it would cost me so much. The lives of my friends. And I would never be with her. Even if we loved each other, we''d never be together. I searched desperately for an alternative. A way to avoid that plan. To save lives. The lives of strangers and of my friends. To save the life I wanted to live with her. Even when I resigned myself, I was prepared to throw it all away if it meant spending those few years with her."

    The fury that filled the blind boy fizzled out as he slumped against the bench in defeat.

    "But that never happened," Eren sighed sadly. "Instead, I went ahead with the plan. We never so much as kissed. She probably moved on. I hope she moved on. I hope she is happy, even if it is not with me. I don''t know what happened after I... left."

    A creaking sound tore Issei''s gaze from the older boy''s bandaged face, and for the first time, the Rook noticed Eren''s hands.

    He had gripped his cane tightly, so tightly it had creaked under his white-knuckled grasp.

    Unused to the overt display of emotion from the boy, Issei scrambled for a way to change the subject to something more positive, something that might bring back the hint of a smile he saw.

    "What was the scarf you mentioned?" Issei asked hurriedly. "The one she thanked you for?"

    It thankfully worked, and Eren''s frown fell from his face for a softer expression as his fists unclenched. He took a deep breath as if to compose himself before he answered.

    "I rescued her from slavers, and she saved me right after. But it was the middle of the night in the mountains. It was cold out." Eren idly raised a hand to his neck as if to adjust a scarf that wasn''t there.

    "I wrapped my scarf around her. It was a simple thing to me. She seemed cold, almost in rags, and I still had my clothes. She kept the scarf. For years, she never went anywhere without it. I didn''t realize what it meant to her till that day. It meant much more to her than it did to me. I promised I would always wrap it around her."

    Eren softly lowered his hand back to his cane as he whispered the last words, almost to himself.

    "I hope she got rid of it."

    "Do you regret it?" Issei couldn''t help but ask, morbidly curious, as he remembered a small scrunchie.

    A small gift purchased to commemorate his first-ever date.

    "Since you can''t be together, do you regret giving her the scarf?"

    It was the wrong thing to ask.

    "Listen to me, Issei Hyoudou," Eren said, voice quiet but intense as he suddenly leaned forward, turning to face Issei as if to look him in the eye.

    All the Rook saw were bandages and a mouth set into a determined line.

    "I am a monster. The Devil in every sense of the word. I have killed. I have murdered. I have more blood on my hands than anyone ever before or since. Throughout all my life, everything I have done has ended in tragedy. I have many regrets, far too many."

    Eren stabbed at Issei with a finger, right in the heart, and the Rook flinched in surprise.

    "There is one thing I have never regretted. It is the only purely good thing I have ever done. The only time I was ever a hero. No matter what happens, I will never, ever regret wrapping that scarf around her. Do you understand?"

    Startled by the intensity of the blank gaze and the fervour in his voice, Issei hurried to answer as he nodded frantically.

    "I do. I do. I understand."

    Eren maintained his position for a few heartbeats after Issei''s frantic answer as if daring him to take back his words. When Issei said nothing else, he relaxed back into his chair with a grunt.

    "I got off topic," Eren said as he resettled. "I wasn''t telling that story for memory''s sake. There was a point. Did you get it?"

    "Uh," Issei stuttered. He had honestly been too absorbed to think about the more profound implications or possible morals. "No. Sorry."

    "The point was that there is no such thing as a fated love," Erin grunted. "If life were like Rias'' manga, I would have ended up with her. I am not unaware that my past can be considered fantastic enough to qualify for entertainment. But this is real life, not fiction."

    Issei remembered a few weeks ago when he thought that his life had become a light novel.

    Had he always assumed he was the protagonist? Or had it just been the exceptional circumstances getting to him?

    "There is no such thing as destined love or soulmates," Eren bit out. "If there was, I would have settled down and married my childhood friend whom I loved and who loved me. My friends would not have died as soon as they got together. Another of my friends would not have had to find love in a marriage she never wanted. We would have lived happily ever after." Eren grunted in derision. "But that didn''t happen. Because nobody is certain to end up with anyone else."

    "I get it," Issei said morosely. Eren had a point, but it still hurt to have his naive dreams thrown in his face like that.

    "I don''t think you do," Eren said. "Because if you did, you would not sound so sad."

    Issei blinked, unsure why he shouldn''t be sad.

    "Didn''t you just say I am not fated to be with anyone?"

    Eren smacked the boy on the back of his head.

    "You aren''t destined to be with anyone," Eren said roughly. "But that applies to others as well. They are not fated for anyone else, either. That is the freedom of it. I know nothing about your love life, about harems, or romance. All I know is that no romantic or otherwise relationship happens if you don''t work for it."

    Issei almost bit out something sarcastic about Sona but held it in.

    Maybe Eren did know about the devil''s crush and chose not to say anything because he did not want to start something doomed to a tragic end.

    "Do you have a problem with someone? Fight! Do you like someone? Ask them out! Do you want a harem? Work for it! You will stumble, fall, and get hurt as you move forward. I can''t promise you will achieve your dream or even have one girl, let alone many. All I will promise is that you will have none if you stay still."

    Issei took a deep breath and looked at the older boy. Sickly, dying, and regretful.

    Yet still living, still fighting in his own way.

    "You''re right," Issei said, smacking himself in the cheeks with both hands as he stood from the uncomfortable bench. "Your right! I''ve been too lazy. If I want to be a Harem King, I need to be better. I have to pursue more girls. I''ve been rejected a thousand times. I can handle a million rejections if I achieve my dreams. Even if it hurts, I can''t just sit still!"

    "Before you run off to get yourself hurt again," Eren said dryly. "I have some advice I wish I had received myself. It might help you get started with your... harem."

    "What is it?" Issei asked eagerly, still fired up.

    "Look to the ones beside you," Eren said gravely. "Instead of running ahead, slow down. You will reach the same destination, but you will have fewer regrets. Those who want to travel your path with you will thank you."

    Issei left the clearing with the bench, pondering the older boy''s parting words.

    He left Eren Yeager alone on the bench with his memories of a love that never was.

    Issei would continue to have nightmares, but they lessened over the coming months.

    It might have been thanks to Eren''s words, or it might be because, a week after that talk on the bench and turning the words over, Issei puzzled out what the dying boy meant.

    A few days after that, when he gathered his courage and after a hefty amount of pep talk from Ddraig, Issei Hyoudou asked Asia Argento out on a date.

    Asia''s smile, as she agreed, was angelic.

    Maybe Issei would get his harem, or perhaps he wouldn''t. He''d been hurt. He would be hurt again, Issei was sure.

    He had a long road to become the Harem King of his dreams. He didn''t know the future.

    All Issei knew was that for that smile, for that light in his life, he''d name his first child after the boy on the bench.

 Churchs Soldiers

    The familiar voice cut through the red haze of rage and pain.

    "What is going on here?"

    Everyone froze, Excalibur Destruction inches from Kiba''s neck.

    ""EREN!"" From his place on the ground, the Knight heard Akeno and Rias shout in surprise. It was the King who continued. "Sona! Get him out of here!"

    "A human?" Kiba heard the executor with the sword at his neck mutter in confusion.

    "Have you tried talking him out of something," the student council president asked rhetorically with more than a little bit of anger. "We heard a commotion, and he insisted on checking it out."

    "I recognize a fight when I hear one. Especially one with metal blades." Kiba heard Eren say dryly.

    Only the Knight''s long experience with the dying boy let him understand that much of his tone.

    Eren was speaking in that dead way of his, like nothing in the world mattered. From his position, the Knight couldn''t see the boy''s face to know his expression.

    "Now, will someone explain what is going or will I have to start hitting things with my cane?"

    "What have you done, Sitri?" Xenovia snarled, finally pulling the hateful blade from Kiba''s neck and pointing it at Sona. "A hostage? What have you done to him? Torture? Is there no low your kind will not sink to?"

    "Sitri? And Rias called you Sona?" Eren asked, and Kiba could finally look at the boy and notice him tilting his head in question.

    The blind boy was off the bench, standing with the Sitri heiress on the far side of the clearing they had their fight in. Sona had kept him clear of the fallen trees and holes they had torn through the dirt.

    Of all the exorcist said, only the names had given the former mercenary pause.

    "I told you my family is foreign, right," Sona hurried to explain, a note of panic in her voice. "When I moved to Japan, I went by a Japanese version of my name. Souna Shitori, rather than Sona Sitri."

    "Huh," Eren grunted. "That explains a lot. You should have told me. I''d have called you Sona."

    "I''d like that," Sona said, relief in her voice at Eren''s easy acceptance of her words, but she still glared at the exorcist. "And no. He is not a hostage. He was simply resting on a nearby bench when we heard your fight. If you are done, we will leave."

    "Ah, Lord." All the devils winced in pain as the other exorcist, Irina, recited a prayer. "Please save this lost lamb from the devil''s clutches and return him to the flock."

    Eren''s face was still set in his placid expression as if all emotion had drained from him. Still in a daze, Kiba noted that his friends hurriedly looked at each other, trying to communicate silently.

    This was bad. They needed to get the boy out of there. If things devolved even further, they wouldn''t be able to keep Eren safe if the exorcists attacked.

    "If nobody will explain what is happening, I will have to get involved." Eren started to draw his blade, but Kiba''s ragged and rough voice stopped him.

    "Senpai," he croaked. "These are my juniors. They have my goal. It is right here."

    All eyes looked at the fallen Knight.

    "Yuuto!" Rias resumed her rush to his side, paused by the arrival of the unexpected guests, and began worrying over him and checking for injuries.

    Even a little nick from an Excalibur was fatal to most devils.

    "I see," Eren said, returning his blade to his cane with a click. He poked around a bit with his cane till he found an exposed stump and then, unmindful of the dirt, sat down. "Are you going to kill them?"

    The casual way he asked the question, the complete disregard for human life, sent a shudder through the spine of the newer members'' backs.

    Both exorcists focused more intently on the older boy, reevaluating him.

    "Who are you?" Xenovia asked bluntly. "Are you also a survivor of the project?"

    "I have no idea what project you are talking about," Eren denied. As he spoke, Kiba was glad to see Akeno, Koneko, and Sona circle around the boy, ready to protect him in case things went bad.

    "The Holy Sword Project," Kiba spat out as Rias lifted him over her shoulder. "It took in orphans. Ran experiments on us. And when they were done with us? They killed us. Guns. Gas. They killed us all. Except for me."

    Kiba was laughing bitterly, even as tears fell from his eyes.

    He felt weak.

    Impotent.

    His vengeance was right here!

    And not a single blade of his survived a clash.

    Rias tightened her hold on her Knight even as Asia gasped and Issei''s gauntleted fist clenched. The others already knew about it, but they all still looked angry. Even the executors looked uncomfortable.

    "They''re from the church," Kiba rambled. "All the pain we went through? They got the reward for that. This is my chance for vengeance."

    Eren snorted.

    "There''s no such thing as a holy sword," he denied, unable to see the blades glowing power. "All swords exist to kill. It is as simple as that. But the church doing something like that, I can believe. Religion is for the mad, the desperate, and the cattle."

    "Who are you?" Xenovia asked again, anger filling her voice. "Who are you to question God and his followers?"

    "The Devil," Eren deadpanned as the actual devils winced in pain again from the exorcist''s use of the word. "And I''ve never seen proof of god or that he cares about his followers. I have seen a few churches, though. I saw one collapse, killing all the ''followers'' inside like bugs. No god saved them. I''ve destroyed a few myself. So who are you, followers of a god that isn''t there?"

    Sona and Rias hurried to share a few looks, and the redhead sent a few subtle directions at her Peerage.

    The devils were tense, ready to act at the first sign of actual conflict, but they were also quiet. More than anyone else, they understood that Eren had a way with words.

    For good and bad.

    So long as everyone kept talking, killing time wouldn''t be too bad.

    More than that, it gave Asia time to heal the fighters and for them to recover. Every second that passed, the devil''s side was in a better position if it did come to a fight.

    Irina Shidou didn''t seem to care.

    "Shidou Irina," she introduced herself cheerfully, waving her whip-sword around. "Nice to meet you, Heretic-kun."

    "Xenovia Quarta," Xenovia said with displeasure, much less exuberant than her companion. "I should not be surprised by your blasphemy, given your company. Swine lays with swine."

    The devils bristled, but Eren simply hummed in thought. He still didn''t express any emotion. Like he was going through the motions rather than feeling anything.

    It was incredibly off-putting.

    The last time he had been like this for so long was almost a year ago.

    "Quarta? And with the church?" He tilted his head, idly tapping his cane. "Any relation to Griselda Quarta?"

    Everyone stared at the blind boy in shock.

    Except for Issei, who whispered into Koneko''s ear.

    "Who''s that?"

    "Exorcist," Koneko whispered back. Low enough that Eren couldn''t hear, but Kiba was still a devil. "Top five."

    "How do you know her?" Xenovia bit out, hands tightening around her sword handle. Irina looked from the blind boy to her companion in confusion.

    "We''ve met. At a church, believe or not," Eren deadpanned. "How''s her leg?"

    Kiba was the fastest person there.

    He had been on guard ever since the exorcists had appeared. His eyes tracked the Excalibur''s like a hawk watching a mouse.

    He was still almost too late.

    CLANG!

    Eren didn''t flinch as Excalibur Destruction was deflected less than a foot from his face.

    The devils lept into action, surrounding the boy even as Xenovia retreated from her failed blow.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    "Xenovia!" Irina cried in surprise as the blue-haired girl snarled.

    "That''s him!" The exorcist spat. "Eren Yeager! The Child of Evil!"

    Irina''s eyes widened, and Excalibur Mimic returned to its sword form.

    Kiba didn''t see any of it. He was too busy staring in shock at the black sword in his hands.

    He had summoned it on instinct.

    It hadn''t shattered.

    "Griselda should have survived," Eren said blandly, still not emoting. "If she got help quick enough, she should have even been able to save the leg. If she died, it was not my fault."

    "She''s still alive," Xenovia spat. "No thanks to you. You left her for dead."

    "She shouldn''t have gotten in my way."

    "She was protecting people!"

    "The people she was protecting were mercenaries and sex traffickers."

    "They had surrendered! They were asking for sanctuary! From you!"

    "I''m sure that matters to their victims."

    "You blew up a church!"

    "It should have been better protected if it didn''t want to get destroyed."

    Was he dreaming?

    Was this real?

    It was too surreal that Kiba wondered if he had actually died under Destruction''s blade.

    On one side was the shouting girl, waving a sword larger than herself and shouting accusations.

    On the other was the blind boy sitting on a stump, answering blandly without any emotions.

    It was like a twisted parody of Kiba''s recent outburst of hysteric rage.

    And the subject matter was even more unbelievable.

    Eren, young, sickly and blind, knew Griselda Quarta? Had fought her? Beaten and injured her?

    It was like Kiba was in a world where up was down, left was right, and his swords could suddenly stand up to an Excalibur.

    Nothing made sense anymore.

    But his body moved all the same.

    CLANG!

    Excaliber Destruction bounced. Kiba did it again.

    His sword deflected Excalibur.

    This time, the attack didn''t go without response.

    "ENOUGH!" Rias shouted, glowing with power as Issei placed himself in front of Kiba and Eren. "You got what you wanted. Leave. Now! Another attack like that, and we will respond with lethal force."

    Xenovia looked like she was ready to argue or even put up a fight, but she wasn''t the first to respond.

    "Why don''t you?" Eren asked Rias. He was still speaking in that cold, plain monotone. "They''re here. You outnumber them. I can help with the bodies. So why don''t you kill them? They''re Kiba''s enemies, aren''t they? Targets of vengeance who hurt him? So kill them."

    Everyone looked at the boy, some in horror and others with consternation.

    "Just as I would expect from the Child of Evil," Xenovia spat as she lept back towards her partner, facing the group side by side. "Bring it on. We are not scared of any of you."

    "We are not killing anyone," Rias insisted as she glared at her friend. "If they were the ones who hurt Yuuto, I would. But they aren''t. They''re no older than us. So long as they leave us alone, I promised not to interfere and will not break my word."

    Eren didn''t know anything about the politics involved, Kiba could understand. He couldn''t even see who he was threatening to kill.

    As far as the blind boy was aware, there was a fight. He approached and found out it was the target of the Knight''s vengeance. Everything Kiba knew about Eren Yeager told him that Eren would not hesitate.

    But...

    "I..." Kiba said, voice low with realization. "I didn''t want to kill them. I just wanted to destroy their swords. Those cursed things. They''re the reason all my friends died."

    Both exorcists looked at the Knight in surprise, and Rias'' eyes glowed with pride.

    "Mmmh," Eren nodded. Then he pulled out his sword again. A sense of familiarity once again struck Kiba, like he had seen the flat blade somewhere before.

    Eren held the thin sword before him, parallel to the ground.

    Then he brought his elbow down on it.

    It snapped.

    The thin sword could not hold up to even the sickly boy''s strength.

    Bending down, the blind boy pawed around momentarily before finding the broken blade and picking it up. Without a handle, the razor-thin sword cut into his fingers and palm.

    "Eren!" Sona shouted in shock, reaching down to get the boy to drop the blade even as his fingers bled. By the time she held his wrist, Eren had already thrown the sword at Kiba.

    It missed. By a wide margin.

    Eren was still blind, after all.

    But it sank into the ground in the middle of the clearing, feet away from the Knight.

    "If you are going to be stupid enough to believe that, use that sword. It will do you just as well as anything you might have," Eren said as the others fretted over him. He ignored them, pulling a roll of bandages from his pocket to wrap his hand.

    Asia was already healing it, but he could not see the green glow.

    "If that one breaks, I have dozens of the things," he said. "They''re sharp. Made to cut through flesh. They''ll cut you just as easily as any other blade."

    "That will shatter in a second in a real fight," Xenovia said derisively.

    "A sword is not meant to break swords," Eren replied. "A sword is made to kill. Ask Griselda. That blade is sharp enough to kill your actual target."

    Then, the blind boy faced Kiba again, who was staring from his white blade to the razor in the ground.

    "Hating inanimate objects is stupid. I know. I hated those walls for years. I still do. But your vengeance should never be against the walls but against the people who built them. It doesn''t matter if you tear a thousand walls down if they are rebuilt."

    Kiba started laughing.

    He laughed and laughed and laughed.

    Of course.

    Of course, Eren was right.

    So Kiba laughed and cried.

    Excalibur had been broken before. That''s why there were multiple swords now. Made from its fragments.

    Kiba could break them and break them and break them, and there would still be fools who would torture children to reforge them.

    Killing their wielders wouldn''t even accomplish anything, either. There were always more slaves to the church to pick up the pieces.

    It was all so pointless.

    "Senpai," Kiba choked out through a sob. "What am I supposed to do?"

    "That is your choice," Eren said simply. "I can''t see your Path. I don''t know what you will do or how it will end. All I see is my own. I had my vengeance. And I ended up alone for it. I would do it again, but I have regrets. Will you?"

    Kiba looked at the exorcists. These girls had everything he had been promised. He looked at their swords. Those blades he and his friends had died for.

    Then he looked at Rias, the girl who took him in even though he might not have anything to offer.

    Akeno, who took care of him, taught him and cared for him like a sister.

    Koneko, who looked up to him and held his hand on the first day of school because she had been scared.

    Issei, the clumsy junior he took under his wing. Yuuto hadn''t been called a Damn Handsome in weeks.

    Asia, also betrayed by the church, yet so devoted to caring for others still.

    And then he looked at the sickly boy on the stump.

    At his Senpai.

    At a twisted mirror of what he could become.

    The black sword dissolved into motes of light.

    "Now that this... disturbance has ended," Sona said with a sigh as she adjusted her glasses. "You can take your leave. We will not interfere with your search."

    "Ah," Irina gasped and bowed in farewell as she spoke cheerfully. "It was nice to see you again, Issei-kun. Take care of yourselves, you filthy heathens."

    Xenovia looked like she had swallowed a lemon, but she understood that further conflict would not help her mission. Still, she had a question she needed answering.

    "How did you do it?" She asked, looking at Eren. Since he didn''t respond, probably because he didn''t know she was talking to him, the exorcist continued. "How''d you beat her? She never said."

    "Beat her?" Eren asked. "Griselda? I didn''t. I was nine. Nobody expects a child to stab them. I tricked her. It''s why I went for her leg, to stop her from being able to fight in the first place. You can fight with one arm but not one leg. She was in the way of my mission, and I got rid of her threat. As simple as that."

    "Why didn''t you kill her?"

    "Why would I? She hadn''t wronged me. She wasn''t even my enemy. I might have if she had a gun, but all she had was that stupidly oversized sword. She wasn''t worth the loss of time it would take to kill her when my prey could run at any second."

    Despite himself, Kiba couldn''t help the snort of amusement that left his lips, mirrored by Akeno.

    The idea that Griselda Quarta, famed exorcist and terror to devils everywhere, had been tricked by a human child and left to die because she ''wasn''t worth killing'' was too damn funny.

    Xenovia''s fingers twitched, but she swallowed her words and turned on a dime to stomp her way out of the forest. Irina hurried to follow with one last cheerful wave towards Issei.

    There was a beat of silence as everyone waited for them to gain some distance.

    "Dramatic." Koneko deadpanned.

    "I only understood half of what just happened," Issei said, raising his hand as if in question.

    "That''s more than I expected."

    "Hey!" Issei cried in self-defence as he whirled. Then he froze as he realized who had spoken. "Did you... Did you just make a joke?"

    "Help me back to the bench," Eren said in his monotone, utterly unaware of the looks of disbelief he was receiving. "You haven''t told me how the date went yet."

    "Ah," Issei gasped and hurried to pull the boy up, slinging an arm over his shoulder. His face, as well as Asia''s, was flushed completely red. "Hehehe." He laughed nervously as he led the boy back the way he came. Asia hurried to follow.

    Those who remained watched them leave with a mixture of emotions.

    "That boy," Akeno muttered, placing her hand on her cheek as she shook her head in silent laughter. "I can''t tell if he''s a good influence or not."

    "Should I bake a cake?" Rias asked out of nowhere. When they looked at her, she explained. "For Eren''s first joke with us. He''s opening up. We should celebrate."

    "He just told us to kill a couple of girls he had never met before," Kiba snorted, but he was smiling.

    "I think it was sweet," Akeno giggled. "He was defending his Kohai."

    "What do you think, Sona," Rias asked her rival, who continued staring after the departed boy. "Chocolate, vanilla, or ice cream?"

    "I am not interested in cake flavours, Rias," Sona said as she removed her glasses to rub her eyes tiredly. "What I am interested in is how a nine-year-old human boy was able to injure one of the most dangerous women in the world enough that she couldn''t fight anymore?"

    "Anybody can be defeated if they are taken by surprise," Akeno shrugged. "I wouldn''t expect a kid to stab me in the leg, either."

    "...Sneaky," Koneko said with a thumbs up.

    "Maybe," Sona said lowly, looking thoughtful.

    "What is it?" Rias asked.

    "Don''t you think Eren is being too... blase about all this?" Sona asked, looking around. "He hears a sword fight and goes toward it instead of away. In that entire conversation, only my name gave him pause. I think..." She trailed off, worrying her lower lip.

    "Eren''s life hasn''t been normal by any stretch," Akeno pointed out wryly.

    "But that''s just it," Sona pursed her lips as she adjusted her glasses. "Everything about him is slightly off. Names that don''t fit. Events we can''t trace. A timeline that doesn''t line up."

    "Lying?" Koneko asked with a frown.

    "No way," Rias denied instantly. "There is no way I will believe what he... That what he told us is a lie. There was too much emotion, too many details, and over too long a period of time. Maybe your family''s agents missed some stuff, that''s all."

    "It''s possible, but everything on that file was verified. We are missing something. Some key fact. Some clue that will make everything make sense. And..." She paused, giving the matter another moment of thought. "And I think he knows something is going on."

    "What do you mean?" Yuuto asked.

    "I don''t think he knows about the supernatural, or at least not fully, but he didn''t even flinch when Asia started healing him."

    "If he fought Griselda Quarta, he probably ran into other supernatural beings while he was active," Akeno nodded in agreement with Sona''s words. "He probably saw things he couldn''t explain but never got a full explanation of how the world really works."

    "Should we tell him," Rias asked eagerly.

    "Eren... probably already knows something is up with us," Sona continued, worrying her lip. "He''s sharp enough and known us long enough that I can''t imagine he doesn''t know we aren''t regular students. Today would just be proof. But he hasn''t brought it up. It might be best to leave it for now. Until he asks, at least."

    "Fine," Rias pouted. "But I get to be the one to tell him. I already have a speech and everything."

    "Fufufufu," Akeno giggled behind her hand, eyes twinkling in mischief.

    "There is another thing, though," Sona said, her smile muted as she shook her head at her rival''s antics. "We might need to be more careful from now on. Eren has enemies. And now, they know he is here. Or at least the church does. We need to get those exorcists out of our territory immediately. I will have my Peerage send out their familiars to search for the Excaliburs."

    "Trouble," Koneko nodded as she punched her fist into her palm.

    "Hm," Rias gave the matter some more thought. "I know we said we would leave those exorcists alone, but we can do that and keep an eye on them. Maybe subtly point them in the right direction if we find the swords first." She looked at Koneko, who nodded, and then to Yuuto. "Can you do this?" She asked softly. "I don''t want to leave Koneko alone when Excaliburs are involved. Can I trust you to keep calm and back her up?"

    "You can," the Knight said as he saluted with one of his swords. The black blade glinted in the light.

    "Hopefully, we all get out of this intact," Sona muttered as she eyed the blade curiously.

    The next day, Kokabiel, cloaked from surveillance and scouting the local leylines under Kuoh Academy, found a blind boy sitting on a bench.

 The Remaining Soldiers

    Kokiabel felt a shiver of excitement down his back.

    Was this it?

    Was he going to die here?

    Now?

    Could his millennia of life of warfare, victory, and defeat come to an end today?

    Would all his planning, his careful orchestration of events to his benefit, fail fruitlessly here, right before the finish line?

    Kokabiel was one of the very few beings aware of how useless plans were before this foe.

    With a mad grin, the Angel of the Stars stepped towards the bench and the young man sitting on it.

    ... When he wasn''t immediately attacked, Kokiabel''s excitement and nervousness started to fade, and wary caution replaced it.

    Step after step, the fallen Cardinal approached. He made no move to quiet his steps, knowing it was pointless.

    Yet no attack came. No ambush or trap.

    It was just him and the boy.

    Which meant...

    "What do you need?" Kokabiel asked, sitting beside the sickly boy on the bench.

    It was better to work with him. Trying to defy him would be pointless.

    Kokabiel thought his plan was foolproof, but if there was one thing he had learned in his life of war, nothing was without flaws.

    "From you?" Eren Yeager asked, not looking at the Fallen but facing the sky.

    As if he was really blind.

    "Nothing."

    Kokabiel scowled but didn''t lash out at the human.

    "Then why are you here?" He asked instead.

    If Yaeger was not here for him, then he had another goal in mind.

    He knew the depths of the power within the human. Even if Kokabiel was not the reason he was in Kuoh, somehow, their meeting was part of his plan.

    Whatever it was.

    "I''m retired," Yaeger answered simply. "Just waiting to die."

    Kokabiel couldn''t help the bark of laughter that escaped his lips.

    "Aren''t we all," he chortled to himself. "And you chose here? In the town with the sisters of the current Satans? You are up to something."

    The boy shrugged as if unbothered by the Cardinal''s disbelief.

    Kokabiel was no fool.

    If Eren Yeager was here, it meant Kokabiel''s fate was in his hands already.

    This conversation was enough for the fallen angel to understand he had fallen into a trap.

    Still, the old war veteran couldn''t help but ask the question. The same question that had teased his mind ever since he set out on this course of action. This final plan.

    "Do I win?"

    For a long minute, Eren Yaeger remained silent. Then he gave his answer.

    "Does it matter?"

    Did it?

    Kokabiel would restart the Great War and fight his long-time enemies until he died in glorious battle. It wouldn''t be long, but it would be glorious.

    Sirzechs Lucifer or Serafall Leviathan would stop at nothing to tear him to shreds.

    Or he would die in the attempt, and Azazel would have the grounds for the peace he had always wanted.

    Peace. Something Kokabiel couldn''t stomach but was necessary for his race''s survival.

    No matter what happens, Kokabiel, Angel of the Stars and Fourth Watcher, would face his end.

    "No," Kokabiel spoke, turning from the bandaged boy and staring at the sky. "It doesn''t."

    For a minute, both were silent, facing the sky yet not seeing it.

    One was thousands of years old and responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of sapient beings.

    The other wasn''t even nineteen.

    Both were terrible people by every metric imaginable.

    Both had done everything they could for their people.

    It was a silent moment of acknowledgment between two old soldiers, two men about to die.

    That camaraderie, that resignation to an approaching doom, was why the words slipped out.

    "I hate them."

    The words were spat out with vitriol. Rage, despair, loathing, pain, and grief mixed in three words that failed to encapsulate all the emotions contained within.

    "I hate them all," Kokabiel repeated, his fists clenching. The teenager made no sound. "They killed so many of us. My brothers and sisters. My comrades. My friends. Slaughtered. Tortured. Despoiled. I hate devils and their ilk. I hate the hypocrites that cast us out for doing our duty. I hate them all. Every one of them. I''ll kill them all."

    "Hate."

    The boy tasted the familiar word, sampling it like one would a wine they knew intimately.

    Then he shook his head.

    "Old wars should be settled by old men."

    The words of an old man in a young body.

    Kokabiel knew that Yeager''s abilities must be why he was like this. Why this mortal of only eighteen could speak on such subjects with such certainty.

    Still...

    "I know that," Kokabiel snapped, unwilling to be lectured by a boy in his teens. Even if it was Eren Yeager. "These kids," he spat the word. "They know nothing of war. Nothing of battles and death and destruction. They play their games. They fight for position and power. They only know peace."

    "The goal of every war is peace." Yaeger was speaking, yet his words were light as if he didn''t mean them, yet believed them to be true.

    "THEN WHY CAN''T I BE AT PEACE?!" Kokabiel roared, standing from the bench and glaring at the boy. He didn''t even flinch. "WHY CAN I NEVER HAVE THAT?! WHY DO I WANT TO FIGHT AND FIGHT AND FIGHT UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT BUT AN OCEAN OF BLOOD?! WHY IS EVERYONE ELSE ABLE TO FORGET WHEN I CAN''T?"

    "They don''t forget," Yeager spoke softly. "Nobody forgets war."

    "Azazel is content to play with his toys," Kokabiel snapped, pacing in front of the bench as his wings flexed in agitation. "Penume drowns is sex. Baraqiel tried to play house." As if all the corpses at his feet were nothing more than waste. As if entire nations hadn''t disappeared in a flash of Holy Lightning. "None of them care for the dead. Their grudges. Their wishes. What about their peace?"

    Even as the fallen Watcher raged and paced, the boy sat still, unbothered by the being so beyond his league that fighting wasn''t even a consideration.

    They both knew who had the power here.

    "We all move forward." Yaeger''s voice was dry. Resigned. Words spoken a thousand times to a thousand people. "We all dream. But some dream of the sea. And some dream of what''s beyond the sea. You and I? We dream of victory. They? They dream of a life after victory."

    Kokabiel stop pacing.

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    "How?" He asked.

    Not a plea.

    A snarl.

    Kokabiel would ever be the monster.

    The fallen Cadre who tried to restart the Great War.

    Whether he succeeded or failed, no one would ever celebrate his name. He''d be vilified by his own people, by his enemies, and the world.

    A martyr nobody would celebrate.

    But even monsters want to dream.

    "I don''t know."

    Kokabiel barked a mad laugh.

    He laughed and laughed and laughed.

    His laughter was crazed, at once joyous as it was despairing.

    It was the laugh of a dead man.

    "If even Erin Yaeger doesn''t know, what hope do I have of finding an answer," Kokabiel crowed in jubilation, arms spread up and wide to the sky as if to embrace the heavens. "If I shall never have peace. I shall have war!"

    Then he rounded on the boy, marching with quick steps until he loomed over the tiny, sickly human. His shadow blotted out the fading light.

    Yaeger did not so much as twitch.

    Kokabiel longed to impale the boy on his spears, to force him to do... something. Anything.

    Kokabiel wanted violence. He wanted rage and pain and death.

    He didn''t want this pitiful wreck of a man.

    He wanted worthy foes.

    Yet Eren Yeager was not one. Too weak. Too strong.

    So Kokabiel sat down on the bench, his rage spent without an outlet to vent it on.

    It left him... empty. Hollow.

    What was he if not the rage?

    "War is simple," Kokabiel spoke to the sky. "You kill your enemies, or they kill you. It brought out the best in us. The comradery, the passion, the bravery, the valour. It showed us who we were. We knew who were craven, duplicitous, and weak. It shaped us and forged us in the Holy Light and Demonic Dark. It was glorious."

    He spoke the last word with a rapturous fascination. He would give anything to have those days back.

    "We fought for something. A better future. And we were cast out. But we fought on. From one bloody battlefield to another. For centuries. And when He died? The victory was ours to claim. Our war was won. One final push, one last mountain of bodies."

    That road to the top, paved with countless corpses, called to Kokabiel.

    "But we didn''t," the fallen spat. "We fled. Maybe if we had won, I would be able to close my eyes and not see them. Maybe I would not see their eyes accusing me. Why did they die if we would flee from victory? Why did we fight if we do not claim our prize?"

    "Some soldiers die too young," Yaeger sighed, and, for the first time, his head turned from the dark sky to face the Fallen Angel. "Some soldiers live too long."

    They sat there in silence for long minutes. The darkness of the park was contrasted by the city''s light in the distance. Neither said a word. All that needed to be said had been said.

    Then, when the time had come, Kokabiel stood.

    "This seat is too uncomfortable to be my throne." Ten black wings flexed, and his almost vampiric features twisted in annoyance. "Irregular, too small yet too large. Old wood and steel. It makes me nostalgic for better times. It fits you, Child of Evil."

    "This will be your last choice," Eren Yaeger said solemnly.

    "I know not what your plan is, Yaeger," Kokabiel responded just as solemnly to the sickly boy. "Why you are here, nor what talking to me accomplished. I don''t care. If you impede my plans, I will fight."

    "I won''t," Yaeger nodded.

    "Then, no matter the outcome, I go to my last war."

    It had been a good fight.

    Two severed wings, a blackened stump of a hand, and dozens of wounds that bled freely.

    Kokabiel laughed in glee.

    More than he had ever wished, it had been a good fight.

    The church executors had been barely noticeable, though a wielder of Durandal was a pleasant surprise.

    No, it had been Gremory and her peerage that had been the real prize.

    The Rook and Bishop weren''t worth his interest, but the others?

    They had gone above and beyond his expectations.

    The Knight, a product of the Holy Sword Project, had achieved a mutated Balance Breaker before his eyes.

    Holy and Demonic swords in a reincarnated devil.

    The Old Man would be rolling in his grave.

    Baraquiel''s daughter was a gem and a half. It was crude, lacking the millennia of practice his comrade held with his element, but for a few moments, it was as if Kokabiel stood before the Lightning of God for one final time.

    The Gremory herself was responsible for almost all the damage he had sustained. She didn''t have the inborn instincts or power for the signature power of the Bael family as her brother did. She wasn''t the monster Sirzechs was.

    But she could be.

    Kokabiel recognized it when he saw it. The hunger. The passion. The fear.

    Rias Gremory wasn''t born a monster. But she would shed blood until she became one.

    The idea that the devils could gain a second Crimson Devil was so absurd that Kokabiel would have started a war just to stop it from happening.

    But the greatest surprise was, hands down, the Red Dragon Emperor.

    When the Cadre first heard that Ddraig''s new host had been reincarnated as Devil, he immediately dismissed him as a threat.

    Any Red Dragon Emperor that was reincarnated by someone not on par with a Satan, was automatically the weakest in history.

    Vali would tear him apart in a heartbeat.

    Then Kokabiel heard that he had achieved Balance Breaker in less than two months, and his hopes had risen.

    Issei Hyoudou had surpassed even his wildest expectations.

    The boy had not landed a single blow on the Fallen. In fact, Kokabiel''s thoughts about him being the weakest Red Dragon Emperor ever were probably true if you just looked at his offensive capabilities.

    But the Rook had not even tried to throw a punch once.

    Instead, he had stood between Kokabiel and everyone else. All his Boosts went towards his durability or were passed to his comrades.

    No matter the size of the attack, the potency of his Light, or how Kokabiel positioned himself, the boy was there��an impenetrable wall of red scale.

    It was like seeing the true Red Dragon again.

    So massive and powerful that even his greatest blow did naught but singe its scales.

    Issei Hyoudou wasn''t there yet.

    He was too slow, and he couldn''t leverage his body to counter properly yet, but with time to grow, he could be the greatest Red Dragon Emperor of all time.

    Alone, they were impressive for their age.

    Together?

    Kokabiel had lost his wings when Hyoudou gained a hold, and the Gremory princess wrapped hoopes of Destruction around them. Reeling, he had blocked the Holy/Demon sword and Durandal with one hand and taken Holy Lightning with the other.

    It had been his underestimating of them that had allowed them to hurt him, certainly.

    But that they could hurt him at all was monumental.

    Kokabiel hadn''t been hurt at all in almost a century, and even that had been from the greatest exorcist the church had ever produced since the Great War.

    Not even yesterday, he had cursed these children as not knowing war, of being addicted to peace.

    He was right.

    They didn''t know the horrors of the Great War.

    But they had it.

    The killer instinct, the comradery, and the drive to push themselves till their bodies, minds, and souls cried out in pain.

    Then they pushed some more.

    Had they been born but a millennia earlier, Kokabiel would have been proud to give them a fitting death.

    Instead, he would just make it quick.

    He would despoil their bodies after they died, as had been done to his comrades during the Great War, to incite Sirzechs and Serafall further, but the children needn''t be alive for that.

    The fight had gone on long enough to know that neither Satan were coming.

    Not even the revelation of God''s death had drawn Heaven down or Hell up.

    Were they so committed to peace that they would let these promising seeds die rather than take up arms again?

    A shame.

    With an idle thought, more spears of light gathered in the air. Unlike his earlier attacks, Kokabiel focused on them, carefully controlling their formation and angle of attack.

    The children weathered the first volley well enough.

    Baraquiel''s daughter and the Ruin Princess dealt with many at range, and the rest of the group handled those that passed them well, deflecting and dodging those they couldn''t destroy with sword or fist. The Red Dragon Emperor was solid, as ever, and the rest of the group slowly started to converge around him and the beacon of safety he provided.

    That was their mistake.

    It was easy to see the flaw in the Gremory peerage. They fought well, were more powerful than almost anyone their age, and were decently coordinated.

    They had managed to injure him, after all.

    But Kokabiel had not been entirely wrong about their lack of actual experience.

    Tactically, they absolutely failed.

    Even now, as they fended off an assault from hundreds of light spears, they failed to realize they were being corralled.

    The Hyoudou boy was undoubtedly solid, but he was almost immobile because he focused on defending the rest. They, in turn, exacerbated the problem by giving more targets to defend.

    The King and Queen of the peerage were powerful, but they lacked any sort of creativity with their magic. They were so focused on their attack magic that they failed to account for supplementary spells that would help the group remain mobile, hidden, or provide support.

    Without the others to provide them opportunities, the sword wielders and Rook were unable to affect the battle in a significant way.

    They had lost as soon as Kokabiel decided to take them seriously.

    If he hadn''t needed to keep their bodies intact, he would have simply blasted them and this town to pieces.

    With all his enemies in a close grouping, another rain of spears fell from their hidden position in the clouds directly above the defenders.

    With their death, Kokabiel would have his war.

    [Divide!]

    [Divide!]

    [Divide!]

    [Divide!]

    [Divide!]

    Kokabiel''s war died with his spears of light as power flowed out of him and into a man in white armour.

    It happened quickly.

    Blink, and you''d miss it.

    Kokabiel felt his remaining wings being severed. White armoured fists pounded into his body with stollen strength.

    Kokabiel felt weak. Weaker than ever before.

    In any other situation, he would have appreciated the irony.

    Ddraig would rise to meet his foe.

    Albion lowered his foe to his level.

    As his plan came undone, Kokabiel felt rage well up within himself. He embraced the familiar fire as consciousness added.

    Was this why nobody had answered his call to war?

    Was Vali the reason why Michael did not descend from his throne?

    Was the White Dragon Emperor, surely here at Azazel''s behest, why the Satans were so sure of their sibling''s survival?

    Kokabiel could see it now. Could see the plan that had been woven around him. He had suspected but hoped to be wrong.

    Kokabiel hadn''t meant to restart the Great War. He had been a tool, a patsy, for his leader to have the justification to bring the other leaders to the negotiation table.

    Even the Gremory peerage hadn''t been in danger with the White Dragon Emperor nearby.

    Kokabiel had been used to give them the experience he had just lamented they lacked, and as soon as it would cost them, Vali had descended.

    The brat probably thought it was an excellent idea to toughen up Ddraig''s wielder for their inevitable fight.

    Kokabiel had been a puppet on a string dangling from the Scapegoat''s hands.

    A fitting name.

    A scapegoat is what Azazael had made him. Like so many of his fallen comrades.

    Scapegoats for peace.

    Kokabiel had known that his failure would lead to peace, had expected it even, but still, he raged.

    Raged at the vengeance he was denied.

    Raged at the end of his war.

    Then the rage, too, left him as he was carted back to the Grigori.

    All that was left was amusement, wry and sadistic.

    Kokabiel remembered the boy on the bench.

    The boy who had known what was going to happen and known the foolishness of the fallen who visited him yet still offered an ear to an old soldier.

    Kokabiel, Fallen Archangel of the Stars, was imprisoned in the ice of Cocytus, and, with his defeat, the great peace conference of Kuoh was called.

    There, for the first time, a peace treaty between all three biblical factions was signed, marking the death of the Great War that had raged, on and off, since time immemorial.

    One would expect that the fallen Cadre would lament or continue to rage in the wake of his failure.

    Instead, the face below the ice of the Cocytus'' frozen waters was light with laughter and mad joy.

    Kokabiel''s war died with him.

    Eren Yeager''s war had only just begun.

    Kokabiel, as the ice consumed him, laughed madly, remembering the boy on the bench.

 A Dream We Once Had

    "I had my revenge," Yuuto said somberly, staring at the sword in his hand.

    It was a familiar shape, flat and straight.

    Designed to cut through flesh like a razor rather than the larger, more jagged swords he usually summoned. Those had been created to break other blades. It wasn''t European or Japanese, his usual preferences.

    This was the length of one of his usual blades, but its colouring proved it wasn''t a standard sword.

    One side of the flat sword pulsated with a black so dark it seemed to suck in all light.

    The other side was radiant with white light, warm and bright as if to eclipse the sun.

    Yuuto''s Balance Breaker.

    Something he had strived to attain for years yet had always been beyond his reach.

    He hadn''t attained it when he achieved his long-sought revenge.

    "And?" Eren asked.

    "And what?" the Knight asked, unsure what his Senpai was asking about.

    Eren paused as if hesitating on the exact words to use. When he finally spoke, it was in a surprisingly gentle tone.

    "What did it cost?"

    Ah. Right.

    Eren''s vengeance had cost him everything, hadn''t it?

    It left him without friends and family, to live out his final years of life alone in a foreign country.

    It had cost him the guilt of the innocent blood on his hands, the regret of the future that could have been, and the love of his life.

    It made sense he would want to know what it had cost Yuuto.

    Which made the words the Knight spoke all the more brutal.

    Yet it had to be said.

    "Nothing." There was disbelief in his tone as if even Yuuto couldn''t believe them even as he spoke. "It was risky and dangerous, and things could have gone wrong in a dozen different ways." The blond laughed lightly as if the idea of him surviving was funny in and of itself. "But I did it. We did it. We all made it out, and it cost me nothing."

    If Yuuto had expected Eren to be jealous or disgruntled at the younger boy''s fortune, he would have been disappointed.

    "Good," Eren grunted with a nod.

    It seemed like the blind boy was prepared to accept that is the final word and end the subject.

    Yuuto, though, was not ready to end it. He wanted to talk about it. Needed to talk about it.

    Needed to be understood.

    Even if he had to be vague about the details, Yuuto wanted to explain, to justify himself to the only person in the world he felt could understand him. He wanted his Senpai to know.

    "I almost failed," he confessed, and the words came tumbling out from there. "My target was right before my eyes. Not those girls, but the actual man who had hurt me. Who killed all my friends and left me for dead. Valper Galilei." The name was spat with vile venom. Even now, the name tasted foul on his lips. "He was right there. But Koneko was injured." Before Eren could ask, the Knight hurried to answer. "She''s fine now. But she was in danger. So were Issei and Asia. But Valper was getting away."

    "What did you choose?" Eren asked somberly, understanding what Yuuto was trying to convey without needing it explicitly spelled out.

    "I chased Valper," the Knight said, his voice flat. "Despite my promise to Rias, I chased him."

    He paused and stared at the sword in his hand. Black energy pooled and swirled.

    "But?" Eren prompted.

    "But the weights on my scale were all wrong," Yuuto confessed. "I barely made it ten feet. My feet wouldn''t move. He was right there, and I couldn''t move. My feet. My back. My heart. It all weighed too much."

    That had been when he attained his original Balance Breaker.

    [Inferno]

    A demonic sword subspecies. A blade of evil. A twisted, cruel sword meant to wreak vengeance on his enemies.

    It had been HIS Balance Breaker.

    For the short time he had it.

    His first and only act with that evil sword was to save his friends.

    "You made your choice," Eren nodded, and something in his voice tore the Knight''s attention from his sword to look at the older boy.

    Sympathy. Pride. Maybe... approval?

    "Was it like that with you, Senpai?"

    "No." Eren shook his head, and all emotion drained from his voice again. "I kept running. Not just once or twice. Over and over, I chose to keep running. I continued to run forward for my revenge even as people, corpses, were left in my wake."

    "What changed?" The Knight couldn''t help but ask, remembering their first conversation. "When did you stop running just for vengeance?"

    It spoke of their friendship that Eren only paused for a heartbeat before answering.

    "When I fell in love and saw what it would cost," Eren said gravely. "I never stopped running. I just saw a face I didn''t want to leave behind. I just saw the people I would trample to get it. You know the rest. I discovered a way to have my vengeance and ensure they''d live long, happy lives after I was gone. A way to end it all. That made it worth it to me, despite the cost."

    "Better than a half-assed reason like mine," the Knight laughed in derision at himself. "I just couldn''t live with myself if I kept running."

    "It was the right decision," Eren chastised lightly. "It is very rare and precious to be able to look back at a choice and say with certainty that you made the right one. We are always asking ourselves, ''What if.'' You made a choice. You had your vengeance, which cost you nothing you couldn''t pay. Take solace in that."

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    He was right, Yuuto knew, even if Eren didn''t understand just how lucky they had all been to survive Kokabiel.

    Not just survive, the Knight corrected himself. Benefit from.

    And none more so than Kiba Yuuto.

    Not only had he managed to kill the man responsible for all his pain and loss, but he had also managed to destroy a reforged Excalibur.

    Most importantly, Yuuto had met his friends one final time in that remnant of souls harvested from their bodies.

    He had seen their spirits, their Light, and knew they forgave him. For continuing to live, for surviving when they all died.

    That Light was here. In Yuuto''s blade. It always would be with him. It reassured him. Comforted him.

    Absorbing that Light had led to a mutation in his Balance Breaker.

    The dark, jagged and cruel blade of [Inferno] had given way to the flat sword in his hand.

    [Purgatorio]

    A sword for cutting and killing, but only what needed to be cut.

    No longer HIS blade, it was now THEIR Balance Breaker.

    A disposable blade perfect for someone who could forever remake it.

    Perfect for children tossed away, yet coming back over and over until they had their vengeance.

    Perfect for a man whose only salvation could come from the hands extended to him by others.

    Staring at the sword in his hand, the Knight smiled wryly. His Balance Breaker imitated blades he had only seen three times in his life. He finally had a sword like the people he admired most.

    Souji-sensei would be disappointed it was not a katana.

    But Eren was right.

    Yuuto dissipated the sword into motes of black and white light.

    "You were right, in the end," the Holy Demonic sword wielder said. "My vengeance became a tangential thing. Something I wanted, but it wasn''t all I wanted."

    "Good," Senpai nodded. "Getting revenge is satisfying. Anybody who says it isn''t is lying. But it is not all that the world has to offer. Men like us, sometimes find a new target when we have our revenge. A new grudge. That is where the danger is. Even if we claim our new target, it will never feel the same as the first. And like an addiction, you will always be chasing that feeling down. You need to find the beauty of life away from vengeance."

    Yuuto could understand that. He still didn''t like the church and the way they had turned a blind eye to the tragedies that benefited them.

    It wasn''t impossible that in another life, or if he had made another choice, he would have pursued vengeance against everyone involved or who had benefited from his pain.

    But...

    The Knight remembered a broken blade in the dirt, the blood of his Senpai still staining its razor edge.

    Rias had taken that blade to have people examine Eren''s blood, hoping for a cure, but Yuuto could still see that crimson-stained sword in his mind.

    The Kiba Yuuto who pursued the path of vengeance to the end would have picked up that blade and sliced his new comrades'' throats. He''d have gone Stray for his vengeance.

    That Kiba Yuuto would not look at the lost, betrayed, and hurt Xenovia Quarta, his fellow Knight, and remember Eren''s words.

    Yuuto understood her in that moment of terrible realization.

    God was dead.

    Her entire life had been a lie. She was lost. Alone. Unsure what to trust and who to blame.

    There was evil in the world. Kiba Yuuto still firmly believed that, and his blade was there to cut them down.

    But people? People were just people.

    So Kiba Yuuto extended his hand to the woman he had tried to kill.

    Issei, Asia, and now Xenovia.

    When had he become someone to look to for guidance?

    The idea made the Knight laugh lightly.

    Still, it was the role of Seniors, wasn''t it?

    To guide their Juniors.

    "What''s funny?" Eren asked, and Yuuto realized he had been silent for a while.

    Yuuto decided to skirt the truth a bit.

    "Xenovia, the girl we almost killed, whose guardian you almost laimed?" Eren nodded to show he remembered her. "She''s going to school here now. She''s part of the club. She might even visit you."

    "I... see," Eren said slowly, clearly confused. "She here of her own free will, right? To join the club of the people she fought only a few days ago? She didn''t seem to like you very much."

    "She did," the Knight reassured the older boy. "She recently had a disturbing revelation about people she used to trust. Rias offered to take her in, and she accepted. I was laughing because I realized I had some really interesting Juniors. I wouldn''t have believed it if you told me who they were a year ago."

    "Ah," Eren nodded gravely. "Enemies can become allies if the cause is right and interest aligns. They can even become lovers. I think that is what happened to my best friend, though I can''t say for sure. Just know it will take time if you want to pursue something like that."

    "No, no," Yuuto laughed lightly, waiving off the idea. "I am still not certain I want anything to do with romance, to be honest. At least not now. And if I did, Xenovia isn''t really my type."

    The former exorcist wasn''t unattractive by any standards. Issei had put it best, if crudely, while they were looking for the Exorcists the other day, before the whole mess with Kokabiel.

    ''Have you seen a pair of glorious Oppai hidden by an ugly cloak?''

    "You don''t have to fall in love," Eren allowed. "And romance isn''t for everyone."

    "I am not opposed to it," the Knight hedged, wondering how to put it into words without sounding like... well, like Issei. "It''s just that girls my age seem so... immature. I don''t think they''re stupid," he hurried to clarify. "Just... There''s a gap, a divide between how people my age should feel and how I usually feel. Am I making sense?"

    "In a way," Eren tilted his head. "You know my situation as well as anybody. I might give advice when asked, but my experience with love is... bad. Or at least not normal. I can understand your feelings, though. For the longest time, I couldn''t understand why everyone else didn''t feel the same rage and passion as I did. It seemed so simple to me, so obvious, that anybody who disagreed with me wasn''t just wrong. They were cowards. It took a long time for me to realize I was the odd one, not them."

    "I know I am the weird one," the Knight said wryly. "The need for revenge always burned hotter with me than it did with the others. I couldn''t help it though."

    "I don''t think that''s wrong," Eren said plainly. "Especially now that you have accomplished your goal. All I will say is that you must find something that ignites that spark again, even if it is not as bright. Rias asked me to give Issei love advice, and it seemed to help, but that is for him. All he thinks about is girls. You can find anything you want that keeps you moving forward. Romance is but one option. There are others."

    "I am not against falling in love," Yuuto said slowly, putting his thoughts together.

    It was for reasons like this that talking to Eren was so enjoyable despite the dour topics they covered. Before sitting on the bench, the Knight hadn''t given any deep thought to where he wanted to go from there.

    "I even had a crush, once upon a time. I was younger. Barely a boy. And she is older, much older, so I never gave it serious thought."

    Age differences weren''t a big deal for devils, but Yuuto knew the woman was also a reincarnated devil and considered him a child. It had been the emotions of a troubled and unaware boy.

    He hadn''t seen her in years, so the feelings had long faded. He did remember the gentle curve of her lips when she gave one of her rare smiles. That had stuck with him every time he thought about his ''ideal'' type.

    "Love has always been something for others, not for me. A lot of things were like that."

    "Now they are not," Eren said soberly. "Now you have an unknown future ahead of you. That is scary. But you are free to decide what you want to do. But what do you want? What future do you want to build?"

    "I want to be a better cook."

    Both boys had a moment of surprised silence as the words slipped from the blond''s mouth.

    "What?" Eren''s voice wasn''t filled with disbelief so much as bafflement.

    Yuuto was just as surprised but started to explain himself as the thoughts came to him.

    "I like cooking," he said as much to himself as to his Senpai. "Always have. But Akeno is better. I never thought about it before, but now I think I want to be better than her. Especially at baking."

    "Ok," Eren nodded slowly, still clearly thrown by the unexpected admission but willing to go along with it. "It is not a bad goal. I... can''t really help much with it. I am a terrible cook. Though I am very good at cleaning."

    "You can taste test," Yuuto said absentmindedly. Now that the idea had come, inspiration flashed through his mind. "A bakery. That''s what I want. One day, I''ll open Isaiah''s bakery. That''s the goal I''ll pursue for now. It might be a small one, and I might change my mind later, but it is something I can work towards."

    "There is no dream too small," Eren said, and there was no mistaking the approval in his voice. "Only too big. A bakery is a fine dream. Why ''Isaiah''?"

    "That was my birth name," Yuuto explained. "Before Rias took me in and gave me my current one. I still want to be ''Kiba Yuuto.'' I am not Isaiah anymore, but I don''t want to forget."

    Isaiah had died with his friends, and Kiba Yuuto had been born from that child''s body.

    But just like he now carried his friends with him in his sword, he would carry Isaiah and his dream.

    For hours, a Senpai and a Kohai conceived of the greatest bakery the underworld would ever know under the darkening light as they sat on the bench.

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 The Dawn of Hope

    Eventually, the questions needed to be asked.

    "You weren''t reborn in this world," Eren asked with a frown.

    "No," Mikasa denied, leaning against his side. "Serafall told me my coffin appeared in front of her one day with a note to reincarnate me."

    "...And she just did it," Eren asked in disbelief, arm tightening around her at the mention of her death.

    "Serafall is... impulsive sometimes. She did have Adjuka examine me first."

    "Beelzebub?"

    Eren''s face took on an odd expression as if he didn''t know what to think about her casual acquaintance with some of the most powerful beings in this new world.

    "Yes," Mikasa nodded casually.

    She understood the surprise, but really, all four Satans were very different from what their reputation portrayed them as.

    After Adjuka examined her and discovered her genetic makeup was different from that of humans in this world, he was just as excited as Serafall about her reincarnation. The only question was if she would even be able to come back, as she had been dead for over a day, according to his examination.

    Usually, that was out of the time limit the Evil Pieces had to bring people back after they died.

    Mikasa remembered those first few hours as a hazy mess. A confusing jumble of questions, arguments, threats, and explanations.

    Adjuka had theorized that she was from beyond the Dimensional Gap, thanks to her different genetics, the complete absence of magic, and the lack of any unified history they could agree on.

    Devils had been around for tens of thousands of years and had no record of Eldia or Titans.

    Mikasa hadn''t wanted to believe everything she heard and demanded to be brought to the closest thing she recognized to home.

    Paradis Island, or Madagascar on their upside-down map, had seemed like the best place to start looking.

    "That''s..." Eren sighed. "I wasn''t like that. I was fully reborn as a baby. I ended up in an orphanage in a small town in Africa. Everything was hazy, and my memories were fuzzy till I turned six. Fragmented, like half-remembered dreams. One day, they weren''t. That''s when I fully remembered and... when I regained my power."

    It was Mikasa''s turn to tighten her grip on the boy, reminded of their limited time together.

    "I should have looked harder," Mikasa said lowly, shame and anger at herself filling her.

    "You had no way of knowing I was alive," Eren denied. "Or that I was a child. I might not have recognized you those first years anyway, and I hadn''t transformed yet, so I didn''t have any marks for you to recognize either."

    Mikasa knew Eren was making sense, but that didn''t stop her from feeling like she had failed. Maybe she could have saved him if she had found Eren before he turned into a Titan for the first time.

    "After that, I became a solder," Eren continued. "A mercenary."

    "What?" Mikasa asked, agahst.

    Even now, in this new world, Eren still hadn''t been able to live a peaceful life?

    "You don''t need to worry about me," Eren sighed. Despite herself, Mikasa felt her lips quirk at the familiar argument. "There weren''t a lot of options for kids in that part of the world at the time. And I was fighting other humans. Mostly with guns. With my healing, I wasn''t in any danger unless they got extremely lucky and hit my nape."

    Once more, Mikasa was reminded about just how bullshit the Shifters had been. Slit throats, amputated limbs, even heads cut in half. None of it was fatal unless the spine at the nape of the neck was severed.

    If that didn''t happen, they''d just heal from everything eventually.

    One of the greatest terrors of Titans was the sheer difficulty of killing them. Even dumb ones were pretty much immortal for most humans until they discovered their weaknesses and gained the technology to fight them.

    "... Eventually, I made enough money to retire," Eren continued after a moment of thought. "Travelled the world a bit and ended up here in Kuoh a year ago."

    "Did you..." Mikasa hesitated, unsure how to word the question or if she wanted it answered. "Did you tell Sona to keep you hidden?"

    "No?" Eren tilted his head in confusion. "You asked about it earlier. Why would I?"

    "... No reason," Mikasa said lowly.

    Oh, Satans, Sona really had been hiding Eren from her and Serafall because she liked him, hadn''t she?

    And it was apparent Eren wasn''t healthy by how thin he was, so that must have been what she was talking about when she mentioned he would die soon.

    Sona liked Eren, maybe even loved him.

    How would she take Mikasa''s presence?

    That she and Eren had... kissed?

    Mikasa wanted to die of embarrassment when she realized she had been giving romantic advice to her honorary niece, using her past situation with Eren as an example.

    They had been talking about the same boy without ever realizing it.

    Eren could never know.

    It hit Mikasa, then.

    Sona.

    What was Sona thinking now, after Mikasa had interrogated her like that and disappeared? Was she thinking her fears had come true and Mikasa would attack Eren?

    Then another thought hit her, and Mikasa paled.

    Serafall.

    She had been there with her sister. She knew where Eren was. She might not know ''who'' he was to Sona, but her curiosity would not stop until it was sated.

    And then Eren would die, Titan powers or not.

    Mikasa needed to get back to the Underworld as soon as possible.

    "I didn''t know who Sona was at first," Eren said as Mikasa had a silent panic attack. "She used a fake name."

    "She wanted to stand on her own two feet," Mikasa nodded absently, mind going a mile a minute on how to save Eren from turning into a frozen corpse. "Didn''t want to rely on her sister''s reputation for her dream."

    "She''s going to be a fine teacher. She''s already been teaching me Japanese," Eren nodded slowly. "Her and Rias. It''s made my life a bit easier since I moved here."

    Mikasa''s mind ground to a halt.

    "...Rias? Rias Gremory?"

    Mikasa might be able to save Eren from Serafall since they were best friends but from Sirzechs Lucifer?

    Eren was doomed.

    Unless... Maybe she could get Grayfia to control her husband if she took that job at the Ministry of Internal Affairs?

    "Yeah," Eren sighed. "I recognized her name right away. But she is... nothing like I''d imagined the sister of Lucifer to be like. Neither of them are."

    "We will be free," Rias declared to the world, eyes firm with purpose. "And we will destroy all who try to take that freedom from us."

    "What..." Mikasa''s throat was suddenly dry. "What are you planning with them?"

    Was this to be another Falco and Gaby situation?

    In an attempt to understand Eren better, Armin had tried to piece together all his actions near the end. He had started at the end and worked his way back.

    Obviously, Eren needed Falco to become the Jaw Titan for them to be able to stop him, and Falco''s ability to fly was only possible thanks to drinking Zeke''s tainted spinal fluid and gaining traces of the Beast Titan.

    At the same time, Eren needed Gaby to shoot him so everyone could discover the source of the Titans, as it erupted from his neck when he could finally connect to the Paths.

    It had been little consolation that Sasha''s death had gained Eren the pieces he needed to achieve his final goal of wiping out all Titans from the earth, though it had explained his reaction to the news.

    And it had all started when a disguised Eren had started to meet a young boy on a bench much like this one.

    Was that tragedy going to repeat itself here?

    "Planing?" Eren asked in turn, looking at her in confusion. "With them? Nothing. I had no plans on meeting them or getting involved with devil society."

    Mikasa let out a quiet sigh of relief. She didn''t think Eren was lying to her.

    "Then why did Rias say that?"

    "Say what?"

    "There''s this... ceremony in the Underworld. Young noble devils state their dreams to the world. Rias stated her dream was to be free."

    "Huh," Eren leaned back, looking at the sky as he stared upwards, obviously nonplussed at the news. "It''s a good dream."

    "She reminded me of you," Mikasa admitted.

    "Those kids reminded me of us," Eren agreed slowly. "All of us. Not the same, but it was close enough that I couldn''t stop myself from getting involved. I didn''t tell her to say that, though."

    "What have you been talking about?"

    "Anything? Everything?" Eren shrugged, but there was a helplessness to it. "This world... It might not be a hell like ours, but people are the same. Devils are worse because they have more power and live longer, but humans are no different. I saw it all when I was a mercenary. Murder. Rape. Theft. Terror. Oppression. All of it committed by humans on humans. Ideals. Race. Religion. Power. Greed. The same reasons as in our world. Magic, gods, and devils have not changed humanity in the least. And I..."

    Eren trailed off, and Mikasa heard wood creak. Looking down, she realized Eren was holding a cane.

    A cane engraved with the blue and white Wings of Freedom.

    "For some reason, those kids like listening to me ramble," Eren said as he ran his fingers over the handle. "I just thought... ''I don''t want these kids making the same mistakes we did. That I did.''"

    "Do you regret it?"

    For a long moment, there was silence on the bench after Mikasa''s question.

    "...I have so many regrets," Eren admitted. "But I''d do it again. Because I really don''t know of any other way. Maybe Armin could have figured something out, but I... I was just an idiot drunk on power and blood, no different from anyone else."

    "He couldn''t," Mikasa said, and Eren looked at her. "He couldn''t find another way. He tried to think of one for years, but he couldn''t."

    "Huh."

    "The problem was Ymir," Mikasa explained, dredging up old memories of long nights of Armin''s ramblings on theories and speculations. She didn''t remember even half, but a few key points stood out. "When she became the first titan, the Paths were created. Nothing before that could be changed, only the future. But, without other titans, there was nothing to destroy that worm, even if she cut her own head off. The only way to destroy the Paths, to be free, was to spread her bloodline. So she went back to Fritz, knowing what would happen."

    "She loved him," Eren denied. "I don''t know why, but Ymir loved Fritz. After everything he had done and would do, she still loved him. I know that for certain."

    "...Love is irrational. It doesn''t care about pain. It doesn''t care about what is right. All it cares about is what you feel."

    The pair remained silent momentarily before Mikasa continued with Armin''s theory.

    Stolen story; please report.

    "She could have loved him because she saw their future together if her powers worked like yours. Or maybe she fell in love because of the children they''d have, and she wanted them."

    "Loving someone because you saw your future together? It''s possible."

    "It doesn''t matter," Mikasa pressed on, not liking Eren''s tone of voice. "The problem was that, after Ymir died and Eldians started to spread, nobody among the Nine wanted to eliminate Titans. They were the source of their power and empire. For two thousand years, Ymir waited for someone who would free her from the Paths."

    "Me."

    "The Attack Titan is unique," Mikasa nodded grimly. "Because it sends memories back, rather than forward like all the others, the last Attack Titan will be the one to decide the future."

    "Was the Attack Titan always moving forward, chasing freedom? Or was I doing that, and it was just my tool, and all my predecessors thought my will was the titan''s?" Eren asked himself in realization. Shaking his head in wonder, he murmured, "That''s just like Armin. I never thought of it that way."

    "When Ymir created the Nine, she set the Attack Titan loose to guarantee an end," Mikasa continued to explain Armin''s theory with a smile, glad to be able to share something about their best friend. "The other seven, apart from the Founder, were the tools needed for that end."

    "And she needed you because the Founder couldn''t alter your memories," Eren nodded, adding his own part to the theory.

    "... Probably," Mikasa said, uncomfortable talking about her own role in the end of the titans. About what she had to do to free both Ymir and Eren. "She needed both of us, in that specific circumstance, for her to have her revenge, be free, and ensure her descendants would continue to live on after she was gone."

    "It''s a good theory," Eren nodded. "It might even be true. I can''t say for sure since my mind was such a mess at the time. But in the end, it doesn''t matter."

    "Of course it matters," Mikasa argued. "Don''t you get it? Ymir was the cause of everything. From the first titan to the Rumbling. Everything."

    "No."

    Eren''s voice was so firm, so unbending, that Mikasa flinched.

    "I understand," Eren continued more softly. "It would be easy to blame Ymir. To make theories or excuses. Nobody wants to be guilty. I don''t. But I am."

    "If you are, we all are," Mikasa argued just as softly. "We all put so much on you��our hope, our dreams, our sins. We were the ones to benefit from the Rumbling, not you. You died, Eren. You died. And we lived."

    "I am glad for it," Eren hugged her tightly. She wanted to cry again, but she was all out of tears. She just felt wrung out. "Armin might be right. Ymir might have set things up so that someone who hated titans would be the last Attack Titan. She might have known that a suicidal blockhead like me would rather die than continue living in a world with them. She might have known about the Rumbling from the first second she emerged from that tree. It doesn''t matter. Ymir might have created the situation, but my choice was mine."

    "You were trapped," Mikasa tried to argue. "You couldn''t change the future."

    "I trapped myself."

    Silence.

    "I tried to change the future because I didn''t want to die," Eren confessed softly. "Because I didn''t want to have to kill all those people. Because I hoped the Rumbling wasn''t the only solution. I looked. For years, I looked. But it was the choice I''d make. Not just because of Ymir or because I wanted to wipe out the titans but because I wanted that future. I wanted it so bad. I wanted a world without titans, where my friends got to live, where my home wasn''t under threat, and where I had my revenge. I wanted a blank slate."

    Eren''s eyes stared blankly out over the park, at the trees and the city beyond.

    "I chose that future. That''s why it trapped me."

    It was like he was staring at a world trampled flat once more.

    "I just didn''t want to die and kill so many people for that future. I couldn''t change the future because I didn''t want to change it. Deep down, I am that monster, that Devil. I chose death and all those sins rather than miss out on a future that I wanted."

    All excuses, theories, or reasonings were irrelevant. Only actions counted.

    Whether it was because Ymir had set things up that way, because of a thirst for vengeance, or to ensure his friends a long and happy life, it didn''t matter.

    Eren Yeager had made his choices.

    He had died with them, and now he must live with them.

    So must Mikasa.

    They sat together in silence for minutes, lost in memories of a faraway world.

    Mikasa eventually tore herself out of her funk and realized with some surprise that they hadn''t been interrupted by an angry Serafall.

    She had wholly forgotten after they had started talking about their past.

    Honestly, Mikasa didn''t want to leave, even if only to calm down her King and her honorary niece.

    What if Eren disappeared again?

    It did bring up a question, though.

    "How do you know about devils and Peerages?"

    "...I got offered one, once."

    "Really?" Mikasa asked with some surprise. "Who? Sona or Rias?"

    "Some King from one of the lesser-known pillars," Eren shrugged casually. "In one of my jobs, I ended up fighting Griselda Quarta."

    Mikasa''s eyes widened, and her arms tightened around Eren. Even she had heard of that woman.

    "I took her by surprise, injuring her pretty badly. The devil had been following my career for a few years and decided to offer me a place in his Peerage. Explained everything to try and convince me. He wouldn''t take no for an answer. It was the first time I transformed in this world."

    Obviously, Eren had won the fight, but he had been lucky. Some devil bloodlines would have made minced meat out of him, titan or not. The only reason Mikasa was even a credible threat to anyone of significance was because she was fast and precise.

    In a straight fight, one where she didn''t have an element of surprise, she had no confidence against even the most basic of Ultimate class beings.

    "I ran into a few other supernatural factions after that," Eren explained grimly. "I didn''t like them, and they didn''t like me. Most don''t think highly of humans, so I ended up avoiding those I didn''t want to have to fight and kill."

    "I''ve noticed that as well," Mikasa sighed. "The perspective is different. So few supernatural races can die of old age. Many of their leaders have been around for thousands. They have powers humans don''t, live so long, and know much more. If it weren''t for Sacred Gears, nobody would see humans as anything more than playthings and tools, except for a few magicians or skilled people."

    "I understand that," Eren acknowledged with a grim line in his mouth. "I know there is a reason. I can''t imagine living for longer than titans existed and seeing regular people the same way. But just because there''s a reason doesn''t mean that reason matters. I know humanity isn''t better or that the supernatural races are worse. I know it varies from person to person. But the system is imbalanced. Even Sacred Gears can''t make up the difference in time and power. Especially since devils could enslave humanity''s best with the Evil Pieces."

    Mikasa didn''t like the parallels Eren was drawing.

    "They can do some good," she pointed out. "If not for Serafall, we wouldn''t be here. Together."

    Eren didn''t have anything to say to that.

    They lapsed into silence again, but this time, Eren broke it.

    "Tell me about it," he suddenly said. "About what happened after I died."

    Where to even begin?

    "It was a mess," she eventually started. "The titans were gone, and the Rumbling was stopped, but we had to convince the survivors of that. And so many people had died. Everyone had lost someone. Most had lost everything. Just getting enough food for everyone was a challenge during those first few years. And the Yeagerists didn''t make things easy. They used to drive Historia mad, complaining that they should finish the job you started."

    "Sorry," Eren said, his voice laden with guilt. "I needed help, and the military was pushing for Historia to turn and get the Founder back in Royal hands. They wouldn''t help me if I asked."

    "...I know," Mikasa''s voice was sombre, memories of fighting and killing old comrades filling her mind. People she had known since her cadet days. "Eldia wasn''t without injuries either. All the titans had to pass by somewhere, and many of ours died, too. Our government was also a mess, between the loss of most military and political leaders. Those first few years were spent trying to gather information and clean up. Only after people were certain there were no more titans did the remaining nations and the Yaegerists start to make trouble."

    "I see." There was pain in Eren''s voice.

    Pain and shame, but no surprise.

    Even from a young age, he had known that not even a common enemy could unite people. His hope that the Rumbling and his death would change things had been naive.

    "You left them so much work," Mikasa admitted. "Not that I was much help. I retired right away. They never blamed me, but I sometimes wish I had been strong enough to help with the peace and rebuilding efforts."

    "Sorry."

    "In the end, they managed it though. Historia and Armin mostly, but the others helped them. While fights and resentment never really went away, by the end, there hadn''t been a war since the Rumbling."

    "That''s something, at least," Eren sighed in relief. "I am sorry to have left so much for you all to do. I just... there was no perfect solution. No timeline where everything ended happily for everyone. I looked, but I couldn''t find one. I had to make a choice."

    "We know," Mikasa agreed tiredly.

    Despite everything, all the terrible things he had done and all the confusion leading up to it, none of them had ever doubted Eren''s motivations in the end.

    Maybe it would have been easier to get over him if he had just been the monster he had tried to convince her he was.

    Maybe then she could look back at the lie he told her in their last meeting and believe those terrible words.

    "Despite all the work and trouble, we were happy. By the time I died, we had rebuilt a large part of the world. Eldia was thriving, and thanks to everyone''s efforts, so was the rest of the world. We were protecting our future."

    "I suppose that''s all I can ask for," Eren''s relief was more than palpable. Then he shifted in his seat awkwardly, and Mikasa recognized that he was embarrassed about something. "What about... What about everyone? Specifics, I mean."

    ...Right.

    Mikasa understood what he was asking about but didn''t know how to start.

    "Armin and Annie ended up getting married," she said, delaying a bit. "They had two kids, Erwin and Hange. Erwin actually ended up marrying Ymir, Historia''s daughter. They were still ruling Eldia when I passed but were considering retiring."

    "That''s great," Eren said, genuine happiness for his best friend in his voice. "I was worried about him, but Annie and he must have balanced each other. I wish I could have seen it. And... Historia? She was happy?"

    Mikasa took a deep breath.

    Even to this day, she didn''t know for sure, but she had always had her suspicions about Ymir''s actual father. Historia''s pregnancy and Ymir''s birth had just been too perfectly timed.

    But there had never been any proof, one way or the other, as the baby had inherited almost all her traits from her mother, not her father, whoever it was.

    In the end, Mikasa decided it was for the best that she didn''t know, so she never asked.

    If she was wrong, she would just hurt others, and if she was right, she would just hurt herself.

    Besides, Eren hadn''t used the Founder''s power until coming into contact with Zeke. That had to mean something.

    "She was," Mikasa nodded. "I think they came to love each other. And she loved Ymir. Kept complaining about you, though, since you left her so much work."

    "Did Reiner''s crush ever go away?" Eren asked with some schanderfreude.

    "No," Mikasa sighed with fond exasperation. "He was never married, but he did have a few lovers here and there. I don''t think he had it in him, not after everything. Falco and Gabi did end up together, though. Four kids."

    "I see," Eren nodded in understanding. "I''m happy for him. How''d Connie do? Captain Levi?"

    "Connie was... Connie. He didn''t get married either, but he was happy. While Historia was dealing with the problems at home and Armin was acting as a diplomat, Connie led the survey teams to find survivors and resources after the Rumbling. The midget was too angry to let his injuries stop him, even if he couldn''t go into the field. After most of the rebuilding was done, he led the training of new cadets."

    "What about Armin''s other child, Hange? How''d they turn out?"

    Mikasa realized they were both dancing around the issue.

    The words going unsaid.

    Eren did want to know everything about his former colleagues, but there was a question that burned more than any other that he didn''t know how to ask.

    Or if he wanted it answered at all.

    But Mikasa knew what silences like this could cost.

    Eren deserved to know.

    "She," Mikasa said, unsure how to continue but knowing she needed to. "She became a doctor with her husband... Childhood friends who had the same dream and ended up together. They were happy together, too, her and Grisha."

    "Gri-," Eren swallowed thickly at the name. "Grisha?"

    "My son," Mikasa said softly.

    "I..." Eren took a deep breath, his voice thick. "I see. Grisha. It''s a good name. And you ended up being in-laws with Armin? I should have guessed as much."

    Mikasa didn''t say anything as Eren''s ramble trailed off into silence.

    "...Who?" He eventually asked, his voice thick.

    They both knew who. It had been the one Eren hadn''t asked about.

    Mikasa answered anyway.

    "Jean."

    "Horseface?" Eren barked in disbelief, but his hands were tight around his cane. "You could have done so much better."

    "...We were happy together."

    "You better have been! If that bastard didn''t do everything to make you happy, I''ll go back and beat him up again!"

    Eren''s words were strong, but his figure remained hunched, and his knuckles white around his cane.

    "Eren?"

    "I''m glad you were happy," Eren bit out, not looking at her. "I am. I wanted you to be happy. I wanted you to forget about me. I wanted you to burn that scarf."

    "Eren?"

    "I have no right to be jealous. Not after so long. Not after wanting you to move on. Not after I did the same."

    ''Did the same?''

    There was someone Eren... loved?

    Was Sona''s crush not unrequited after all? Or was it someone else?

    It had been nineteen years. And Eren had no idea Mikasa was in this world.

    It wasn''t surprising he might have... been with someone. Might have developed feelings.

    Mikasa had no right to feel jealous.

    So why...

    "So why do I feel like this?" Eren gasped, shoulders shaking. "You deserve to be happy. After everything I put you through, you deserve someone that will make you happy. So why am I still such a pathetic hypocrite?"

    Mikasa didn''t have an answer to that either, for she felt something similar.

    Eren deserved to find someone he could love, too. Someone who wasn''t as emotionally stunted as her. Someone who could tell him her feelings without holding back.

    So why did Mikasa want to find this woman and rip her to shreds?

    She knew why.

    She, unlike Eren, had eighty years to grow and learn about herself and her feelings.

    Love didn''t care about hypocrisy.

    Love just cared about what you felt.

    That didn''t make it easier to deal with.

    "I waited ten years," Mikasa eventually said. Were her words for Eren or herself? "I grieved for you for ten years. And I never really moved on. I couldn''t. Just because I got married doesn''t mean I could forget."

    Eren froze.

    "...What did Armin tell you?"

    It took Mikasa a moment to understand what the question meant.

    "About your talk in the Paths, right?" Eren''s whole body shivered at her question. "Everything."

    "... I''m gonna kill him. I''m going to find him and kill him."

    "He was drunk," Mikasa defended their friend, but there was a slight smile on her face. "It was Grisha and Hange''s wedding. He told me he was glad he kept your talk a secret since things turned out so well. I got the full story out of him the next day with Annie''s help."

    "...Annie found out?" Eren asked in horrified disbelief, looking up and meeting her gaze with red-rimmed eyes.

    They were distracting themselves, they knew, but they needed the distraction. Neither was sure how to continue, not after their words and their kiss.

    Feelings were still there, still as confusing as ever. Love, joy, jealousy, it all roiled in their guts, just as it always had.

    Both were still not the greatest when it came to expressing emotions. So, they continued to distract themselves.

    "They all did by the end," Mikasa nodded, feeling some vindication and a hint of embarrassment. "She told the others at the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Heaven and Earth... That''s what it ended up being called, our fight with you. We were trading stories, and it just came out."

    "... I need to go back and finish the job. Letting you all live was a mistake."

    Mikasa realized something as Eren clenched his fists in anger, staring into nothing as if he could see their old comrades laughing and joking at his expense.

    Eren was free.

    Free of all the expectations and hopes they had heaved on him.

    Free of a future he couldn''t change and a past he was forced to watch repeat.

    There were no walls here.

    And that freedom allowed hints of the boy he had once been to return.

    And that gave Mikasa an idea.

    They had so little time together. But even if they didn''t get the long, happy life they wanted, Mikasa wanted Eren to be happy in what time they did have.

    He deserved it.

    "Eren."

    "...Yeah?" Eren asked with trepidation at the firmness of her voice and the directness of her stare.

    "Hold on."

    "Wha-"

    Eren almost lost his cane as Mikasa grabbed him under his arms, pulling him to his feet.

    With speeds that the average human couldn''t follow, she activated the minor illusion and hypnosis device Adjuka had given her when she needed to go to the human world.

    Then Mikasa spread her wings and took off.

    Eren''s eyes were wide, mouth open as he gazed at the clouds around them.

    Mikasa held Eren firm in her arms, carrying him through the azure skies over Kuoh.

    Neither said a word as a devil''s wings carried them like a song through the air.

    Eren eventually relaxed, letting her carry him.

    He spread his arms wide as if they were his own wings.

    They flew, free of the burdens below.

    The city, the mountains, and the bench disappeared as they flew together like birds in the sky.

    By the end, almost an hour later, they both returned to the cold reality of the ground.

    Yet on both their faces were the tiniest hints of smiles. Smiles of joy. Of contentment. Of beauty. Of freedom. Of reunion.

    Both returned with their shoulders and hearts a little lighter.

    Love didn''t care about reality or logic.

    It didn''t care that you tried to move on or that decades had passed.

    All it cared about was the feelings held fast in the chests of those two found souls as they regained their breath on the bench.

 The Infirmary

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 Happy To See

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 Indefinite

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 Humility

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

 Rook

    What a great day!

    Issei Hyoudou couldn''t stop grinning.

    Not when he woke up after getting little sleep.

    Not when he had to sit through the school day bombarded by questions by his classmates about his derpy expression.

    Not when his two friends accurately guessed the reason for his great mood and started trying to beat him up.

    Issei didn''t even notice their attacks, thanks to his Rook durability, too lost in the memory of the night before.

    The stupid smile did not even leave Issei''s face as school finished, and Buchou gave the club a day off to rest after the battle yesterday.

    Sure, Issei was alone at the moment, most of the girls dragging a red-faced Asia away and Kiba aiding Gasper with his powers, but he didn''t let that get to him.

    Issei simply decided to go for a walk, enjoying what a great day it was with a broad, stupid smile on his face.

    "What happened?"

    "Senp- Eren!" Issei jumped in surprise at the interruption of his idyllic thoughts.

    He hadn''t realized that his wanderings had taken him down the well-trod path toward the bench and its occupants. Ackerman-sensei sat up from where she had been leaning against Eren on the bench, looking over the boy.

    As always, understanding what the Pawn was thinking was difficult, but the older boy was an almost open book with his emotions.

    Eren''s lips had thinned at the title Issei had almost called him, but he didn''t comment.

    Issei appreciated it.

    Unlike the others who had gotten used to international standards of names, he had lived his entire life until only a few months ago in the Japanese nomenclature system. (A word Issei had heard Kachou use!)

    While the others used suffixes to blend in, and Language translated it for him when they didn''t, Issei still found it difficult to unlearn the habits he had grown used to.

    "Did something good happen?" Eren asked again.

    Issei didn''t answer, reminded of last night''s events, and his expression returned to that derpy grin.

    "Yeah," he sighed in wonder, drawing a deep breath to appreciate what a wonderful day it was. "It was... great."

    Eren''s brows furrowed, and he looked at Mikasa. The woman was just as in the dark as him, though, and gave a minute shrug.

    "That''s... good," Eren said doubtfully. "Mikasa was telling me about your Rating Game and what happened. It''s good to see you... happy, even after all that."

    Issei flinched, reminded of the disaster that was their battle against Diodora Asteroth.

    Sure, the devil scion had been getting on his nerves for the last few weeks with his incessant confessions to Asia and request for a trade. Still, Issei had not expected that the man would be in league with the Chaos Brigade until he used those weird snakes of theirs to fight the Gremory on equal footing.

    And his Peerage...

    Issei felt his good mood vanish as he was reminded of those women.

    "Um, Ackerman-sensei?" He hesitantly asked, rubbing his cheek awkwardly, unsure how to do this.

    "Yes?" Mikasa asked, face still inscrutable.

    "Uh, what''s, um, going to happen to them? The Peerage, I mean."

    Mikasa''s eyes softened, and Issei finally got something he could identify from her. Sadness.

    "They''re going to be alright," she said softly. "We, Serafall and the others, they have experience with these kinds of problems. There are programs in place to help people like them recover. They''ll be safe. They''ll heal."

    Issei bit his lip, looking away.

    Hearing that Diodora''s victims had a chance at recovery was a weight off his back, but Issei did not miss the implication.

    Devils had systems in place because this had happened before.

    He had never really given it much thought about how lucky he was to have Rias as his King.

    ''Akeno. Do it.''

    Sure, not everything was perfect, but Buchou did her best to take care of him. To take care of all of them.

    It was one thing to hear about how other devil Kings could treat their Peerages and another thing entirely to see it in action.

    Riser Phenex, the Yakitori, might have been a pompous ass, but his Peerage had genuinely cared for him. It was one of the reasons Issei had been jealous; Riser''s harem had been, in a way, what Issei had always dreamed of.

    What Diodora Asteroth had done, the lying and manipulation of naive women, separating them from all they had ever known and... breaking them...

    It was like a punch to the gut.

    A direct blow to every ideal Issei ever held.

    A cruel mockery of Issei''s dream.

    A rage Issei had never known had burned in his chest. Never before had he felt such pure anger, such hatred for another being.

    Then, even that anger was eclipsed when he believed Asia to have died because of Diodora''s spiteful vengeance.

    For the first time in his life, Issei understood why people feared the Red Dragon Emperor.

    And now, he did too.

    [Partner] Ddraig said softly. Consolingly. [Juggernaut Drive is not something you should ever use again. Not under any circumstances. I don''t want to lose my favourite wielder.]

    Issei wanted to smile. That was the first time Ddraig had ever called him that.

    But he was lost in the memories of the rage.

    "You told me hating someone is easy," Issei said, leaning against a tree and looking at the sky.

    "It is," Eren said sombrely. "Rage is the easiest emotion to feel. Hatred is just rage with a target. We can create any number of reasons to hate."

    Issei had lost himself in that rage, willing to burn the world and himself down if it meant satisfying his bloodthirst.

    And if he had, if none of his friends had been there to stop him...

    If Kiba hadn''t fought him tooth and nail.

    If Akeno-senpai''s holy lightning had been less effective.

    If Rias had let her grief consume her like he had and not defended her Peerage from his rampage.

    If Koneko had not been there to take his blows.

    If Xenovia hadn''t hugged him...

    Issei would have died.

    Issei would have burned up his life force to fuel a rampage against a dead man.

    If he didn''t kill anyone else, that is.

    And he would have never seen Asia again.

    It was only dumb luck that Vali''s team had been passing through the Dimensional Gap at the exact right time to rescue Asia before she died.

    Without that dumb luck, Asia would have died, and so would Issei.

    "You were right," Issei said, fists clenching. "I killed him. Killing him was easy because I hated him. I still hate him. I... I killed him, and I don''t feel bad. I should feel bad, right? I killed someone. But I don''t. Is it because I''m a devil? Because I am a bad person?"

    "Being a devil has nothing to do with it," Ackerman-sensei said, and Issei looked around, realizing she was standing beside him while Eren remained on the bench. Watching him. "All it does is change race. The physical body. The resurrection does not change who we are. Who you are."

    "Then I''m-"

    "No." Mikasa cut Issei off. "You are not a bad person either. You are a boy. Hating someone who hurt you is normal."

    Not just hated.

    Killed.

    Diodora Asteroth had been the first person Issei had ever killed.

    He had defeated plenty of people before. Whether it was the occasional Stray Devil or Yuu-Raynare and her group, Issei had fought plenty of enemies who ended up dead.

    But he had never killed anyone.

    Was that why Buchou tried to finish all the Strays herself? To spare her Peerage the responsibility?

    Was that why Akeno-senpai and Kiba were the ones to kill the fallen angels and stray exorcists?

    Had Issei been protected all this time and not realized it?

    This Peerage, these friends, this family, he was so lucky to have it.

    And that made Diodora''s actions so incomprehensible to him.

    "I... I..." Issei stuttered, wiping his eyes furiously to look into the older woman''s eyes. "I don''t understand. Why? Why do something like that? If it''s not because of being devils, why are people like this?"

    "Race doesn''t matter," Eren joined in, staring intently at Issei from the bench. "Devil. Human. Dragon. It doesn''t matter. There are animals in every race. Monsters that look like people. But most? Most people who hate, kill, fight, and die? They are like everyone else. They have things they care about. Things they want to protect. Things they will kill for. And they are not bad people. Just people."

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    "I-" Issei cut himself off, unsure what to say.

    It had been easy to ignore these feelings before, to live life pretending that everything was great, that nothing bad had truly happened, and that nothing would.

    Last night had been wonderful. Everything he had ever dreamed of.

    It was easy to drown worries in joy.

    Asia was alive, after all.

    Issei had been stopped before he hurt anyone he cared about.

    A happy ending, right?

    But even losing his virginity could not erase the fear in Issei''s heart.

    Fear of the future. Of what he might do. Of who he''d become.

    "I hated him," Issei eventually said. "I still hate him. I don''t feel bad that he''s dead. That I killed him. But.."

    "But," Eren nodded as if understanding Issei''s words before he ever spoke them.

    "But I feel bad that I don''t feel bad. I don''t want to do it again," Issei admitted. "I like my power. I like Ddraig and being a devil and fighting in Rating Games. But I don''t like hating people. I don''t like killing people. I don''t want to live like that."

    "You will need to," Eren said softly. "The world is not so kind to give us what we want."

    "I know that," Issei said sombrely. "I know I''ll have to kill other people. Some I don''t hate."

    Already, Chaos Brigade was becoming more active. Issei knew that he''d end up fighting them more and more. He''d end up killing some of them. People whom he didn''t know and didn''t hate.

    Would you die for me?

    There would come a day when Issei Hyoudou would kill others to defend his way of life.

    And he didn''t want to become that type of person.

    "It gets easier," Mikasa said sadly. "It''s not a consolation. The more you kill, the more you fight, the more you lose, the easier each battle and death comes. You become numb. But nobody is the better for it. You become stronger, but strength is not happiness."

    There was a long moment of silence in the clearing with the bench. Issei was lost in thought, Mikasa giving him time to think, and Eren...

    Eren was biting his teeth in a grimace, fists clenched around the handle of his cane.

    He didn''t look angry, Issei idly realized. He looked determined. Resolute.

    It was like Eren was going to do something he didn''t want to do and was gathering his courage to step forward.

    But step forward he eventually did.

    "I told you how we met," Eren eventually said, nodding at Mikasa but eyes never leaving Issei''s. "Do you remember?"

    "Yes," Issei nodded, wondering where the older boy was going with this. Mikasa seemed to know. She was touching the red scarf around her neck and looking down. Not in shame, Issei didn''t think, but in memory. "You rescued her from slavers, then she rescued you, and you gave her that scarf, right?"

    "Right," Eren sighed, leaning forward and resting his chin on his cane as he looked at Issei.

    But he wasn''t looking at Issei. He was looking beyond the Red Dragon Emperor to another world and another time.

    That fierceness never left him, though.

    "I was six. There were three of them. To rescue her, I killed two of them with a knife. Do you know what I felt?"

    "What?" Issei asked part horrified at the idea of a boy that young killing someone, part admiration for Eren''s willingness to save a girl he didn''t know, and part fascination at another piece of the puzzle that was ''Eren Yeager.''

    "Nothing," Eren said simply. "They were animals. Nothing but beasts that looked and talked like humans. I was angry at what they did, but I felt nothing for killing them."

    "I killed the third one," Mikasa said, voice just as plain as Eren''s as she retook her seat beside him on the bench. "Stabbed him in the back with the same knife. They killed my mother. My father. They wanted to sell me into slavery. And I... I didn''t hate them. I was too numb to feel anything at the time. But I killed him anyway. Because I needed to fight. To live, we must fight."

    "Those bandits weren''t unique, either," Eren continued, squeezing Mikasa''s hands and gazing into the distance. "I''ve killed so many. Some, I took pleasure in their deaths. I hated them. Others, I was putting down animals. Even more, they were just enemies. No hatred or love. Just a path of corpses toward my goal."

    Eren took a deep breath, his gaze returning to Issei even though his eyes had never left him.

    "Most... most of the people I''ve killed didn''t deserve it. They weren''t enemies, animals, or people I hated. Innocent bystanders. Friends. Loved ones. I''ve killed them all. Those... Those I feel every day. So no, you are not a monster because you killed someone or will kill again. You are just a boy who gained power. The same as me. There is no one way we are supposed to feel, no ''right'' way to live. But we must live."

    "Why..." Issei asked, voice cracking. "Why are you telling me this?"

    "So you can understand," Eren said, voice grim. "So you don''t make the same mistakes I did."

    "The mistakes we did," Ackerman-sensei corrected. "I''ve done the same. I''ve killed comrades. I''ve killed bystanders. I''ve... killed loved ones. I shook. I cried. I grieved. But I did it anyway."

    "You need to understand," Eren repeated, eyes boring into Issei. "Killing is something that happens when two sides clash. Ideals. Benefits. Hatreds. It doesn''t matter. Even if we think the reasons are stupid, even when it seems so pointless, it is something that happens for a reason."

    "I don''t want that!"

    "Nobody wants that!" Eren growled, physically shaking in rage. At Issei, himself, or the world, the Rook didn''t know. "I didn''t want that. She didn''t want that. Nobody wants to kill others for no reason. Only animals want to live like that. But that is life."

    Issei almost stumbled back as Eren rose to his feet, cane in hand and taking a step toward the Red Dragon Emperor.

    "As your power grows, your ability to kill will too. It will grow and grow and grow until your every step crushes dozens of lives. And you''ll do it. Because you have those you love, those you hate and those you want to protect. All heaven and earth will tremble with your every step. So you need to understand the cost of that step forward!"

    "Eren." Mikasa barked, not unkindly but firmly, as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

    Eren blinked in surprise, the spell broken, as he looked at Mikasa''s hand. Then, to her face, worry and concern shone through a warning expression.

    Then at Issei, caught in a back step, Boosted Gear on his arm and raised defensively.

    Instinct was a powerful thing.

    "Sorry," Eren said softly, eyes not leaving the red gauntlet as he sagged backward back onto the bench. "I got... Sorry."

    Mikasa looked at Eren, a question and concern in her gaze, and he just nodded and sighed. Her lips pressed together, but she did not comment.

    She retook her position on the bench, sitting even closer to the boy as if her presence could heal him.

    It struck Issei then how old the two people on the bench were. Not in age��he didn''t know their exact ages��but in experience.

    In life.

    Issei wasn''t a soldier or a war-weary victim. He was a perverted teenage boy who just happened to be born with the soul of a red dragon in him.

    Half a year ago, his greatest worries had been getting a date, a harem and whether his grades were good enough to stay at Kuoh Academy.

    So much had happened in such a short time that he wondered if his past self would even recognize the ''Issei'' of now.

    What would he look like after living a life like this?

    Would he look like Eren and Mikasa, haunted by their past and their deeds?

    Why... didn''t that seem so bad?

    It wasn''t his dream or even his goal. It wasn''t what he was working toward. But...

    There was something beautiful about those two people on the bench, together and happy for that simple pleasure.

    Even if he came to regret the choices he made today, Issei didn''t want to be alone if he ever became the boy on the bench.

    [He isn''t wrong, Partner.] Ddraig said, the green gem in the Boosted Gear flashing with his every word. Both Eren and Mikasa looked on, not having heard the Red Dragon Emperor''s voice before now. [My hosts are always powerful. And the actions of the powerful have consequences. Some will challenge you just because of what you are. You will either need to fight and kill or die.]

    "I know that!" Issei snapped, helplessness colouring his voice as he sank to the ground, resting his back against the tree. "I know that. I just... I don''t want that. I don''t want to live like that."

    "You''re an honest boy, Issei Hyoudou," Mikasa said softly, almost motherly, as she looked at him. "Honest and kind. But you have power. We can help you. We can prepare you. But only you can decide how to use that power. What do you want, Issei Hyoudou?"

    "I want a harem," Issei answered instantly.

    Mikasa Ackerman blinked in surprise, but Eren didn''t even twitch.

    [Partner.] Ddraig said, letting out a long-suffering sigh.

    It had been almost instinct, an automatic response for him.

    Issei wanted a harem. As simple as that.

    But it wasn''t simple, was it?

    Not too long ago, at the Peace Conference, Azazel-sensei had asked Issei for his opinion as the Red Dragon Emperor.

    Did he support peace?

    Issei had said yes, but only after being told that he wouldn''t be able to enjoy time with his girlfriend if they were at war.

    Issei was just as a schoolboy thrown into the deep end of wars, hatreds, and goals thousands of years old. He hadn''t felt he knew enough to make a decision. Even with all this power and all this ''potential'' that people said he had, he simply didn''t have the knowledge or experience to understand what ''war'' was. What it meant.

    Now he knew.

    Now Issei had his answer, what he wanted to do with his power.

    His goal had never changed, but it was stronger now than it had ever been. More refined. Clearer.

    "I want a harem," Issei repeated, more strongly this time, as he looked into Mikasa''s eyes. "I want a bunch of women with wonderful Oppai that I love and who love me. I want to live with them, do naughty things with them, go on dates with them, and have a big family with them. I want to be the Harem King!"

    "That''s..." Ackerman-sensei clearly didn''t know how to respond to that, looking to Eren for help.

    Eren was just watching Issei intently.

    "I''m not smart enough to try and fix the world," Issei continued, standing up. "I don''t know anything about wars, killing, hatred, or anything like that. All I know is that I need to be strong to live with my harem in peace. I want to be so strong that nobody will ever be able to hurt those I love!"

    "That is just more power," Eren challenged. "Even if you are the strongest person in the world, the world will still attack you."

    "Then I''ll be tough enough to endure every attack!" Issei responded, pounding a fist against his chest. "Even if Orphis, Great Red, or everyone attacks, I will endure it all! I''m going to be the strongest Rook!"

    "Nobody can endure forever," Mikasa warned. "To live, we must fight."

    "I know, but I''ll fight like a Rook," Issei responded. "If my every step kills, I''ll make as few steps as possible. I might have to kill people again, but I will only do it when I need to. I will be so strong that getting me to move will be almost impossible. I''m going to become the strongest wall to ever exist!"

    It was like Issei''s words punched the two in the gut.

    "That is-"

    "A Wall," Eren said contemplatively as if tasting the word on his lips as he interrupted Mikasa with a squeeze of her hand. She shot him a worried look, but Eren was still looking at Issei.

    "A wall to protect everything I want to protect!" Issei reaffirmed, gauntleted fist clenching.

    "Walls are... they are a defence, but they are also a cage," Eren warned. "If you become a wall, all you protect will be confined. Trapped in your shadow."

    "Huh," Issei asked in confusion, not understanding what Eren was getting at.

    "Walls keep people safe," Mikasa said with a severe look. "But people will come to depend on you. Use you. They will cease doing things for themselves, trusting their Walls to protect them instead of learning to protect themselves."

    "Ah," Issei nodded, realizing what the pair were talking about. "I know. People will want me to do stuff like that when I get stronger. Want to use me. Buchou has been teaching me all sorts of stuff. But that''s fine."

    "That is not fine," Eren growled. "Walls create a different kind of animal. Cattle. Those who sit within their pens waiting to die. You cannot let that happen!"

    "Um," Issei scratched his cheek in awkwardness, realizing he had made a mistake in explaining himself. "That''s what my harem''s for, right? And my friends?"

    Both occupants watched Issei, clearly nonplussed at his answer.

    "I''m going to defend them," Issei explained. "I''ll be the strongest Rook, a wall that will never break. But... I''m not that smart. I know that. But my friends are. So they''ll protect me, and I''ll protect them, right? Buchou will never let people use me. I''ll make sure I don''t, um, trap them?"

    Issei tried to use the metaphor they were using but wasn''t sure he got it right.

    "Buchou wants us to be free, so I''ll let her worry about that part. I just need to get stronger so I don''t have to kill people and can defend better."

    Ackerman-sensei looked like she wanted to argue something but couldn''t decide what words to use.

    Eren just looked like he was considering the younger boy''s words.

    Eventually, Eren closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and looked back at the Rook.

    "Issei," Eren said, and something about his voice made the Red Dragon Emperor sit up straighter. "I will trust you to not become a Wall that stands in the way of freedom so long as you understand one thing."

    "What?" Issei''s croaked, throat suddenly feeling dry.

    "All Walls fall."

    Eren words had the weight of a guillotine.

    "All Walls must fall."

    Eren was trying to tell Issei something important. Issei had never heard that kind of gravity in the older boy''s words before.

    "For people to grow, to be free, they need to tear down the Walls that surround them. Do you understand what I mean?"

    Issei thought he did but couldn''t answer Eren''s question without knowing for sure. Not when this seemed so important to the boy on the bench.

    Thankfully, there was someone there who understood Eren.

    "When a wall falls, it happens because of two reasons," Mikasa said, voice just as serious as Eren''s but more warning than threat. "Either an enemy has destroyed it, and it has failed. Or, those it protected tear it down themselves, and it has succeeded."

    In a moment of clarity, Issei understood.

    There would come a day when his existence as a defender was no longer needed. When there was peace or those he protected were strong enough to fight on their own, Issei had to be ready to step down.

    No matter how strong he became, Issei couldn''t force his protection on others.

    He couldn''t become someone like Diodora, who just lived without caring how others felt. Otherwise, he''d have lost the entire reason to become the strongest Rook.

    His wall needed to fall if his friends and his family ever needed to go beyond his reach.

    Issei needed to see that moment when he was not required, not as a threat but as a victory.

    "I understand," Issei answered as seriously as he could. Giving his chest a thump with Ddraig as proof, he gave the boy on the bench the promise he needed to hear. "No matter how strong I get, I''ll never be a wall blocking those I protect."

    The two on the bench must have believed him, as Mikasa''s lips quirked upward and her eyes softened. Eren let out another deep breath and slumped back against the bench.

    "I''ll trust you," Eren said, not looking at Issei but up at the sky. "This time, I''ll trust you, Issei."

    Issei grinned, chest filling with warmth.

    "You can count on me Sen- Eren!"

    Eren didn''t look at the Red Dragon Emperor as he spoke, but there was... something in it that filled Issei''s chest with that same warmth.

    "... I suppose you''re my junior in this. You can call me Senpai if you want."

    For the rest of the day and the day after, Issei''s grin never left his face.

    The grin was less derpy, less pure than the one he wore when he left school.

    But this smile was all the more beautiful for it.

    Issei couldn''t help but be reminded how great a day it was as he left Ackerman-sensei and his Senpai on the bench.

 Leaders

    "Why am I here?" Sona asked wearily. "I have work to do."

    "Oh, relax," Rias said, tossing popcorn at her rival.

    It missed, sailing over the couch and bouncing off Tsubaki''s glasses. Rias gave the Queen an apologetic look before answering Sona''s question.

    "We''re here for some downtime," Rias said. "No training, no talk of Rating Games or work. We''re just here to have fun."

    Sona narrowed her eyes at the Gremory.

    "I would believe that if I didn''t know for a fact that you are still training your power under the couch," Sona said, adjusting her glasses so they glinted in the light. Rias looked unapologetic at the accusation. "I also know you are doing this to brag about your Rook."

    "I have no idea what you are talking about."

    Akeno''s King would have been more believable if she wasn''t positively radiating smug satisfaction.

    "Ufufufu," Akeno giggled at the glare Sona was sending Rias. "She''s not wrong, Kachou. It has been a stressful few months. Taking a night off won''t kill us."

    "Some of us have duties to attend to," Sona sniffed.

    "You''ll work yourself to death with all your duties," Rias rolled her eyes, tossing more popcorn into her mouth. "You''ve been so busy lately that I''ve barely seen you on the bench."

    Sona shot a quick glance to a corner of the room at Rias'' words.

    She wasn''t the only one whose eyes travelled in that direction every few minutes. Half the teenagers gathered were sending looks that way every other moment.

    Akeno was one of them.

    On a plush long chair, with a smug Koneko on his lap and Mikasa next to him, Eren Yeager looked distinctly uncomfortable. His eyes roamed the large, opulent room as if searching for an escape route.

    There was something about seeing the sickly boy anywhere but on the bench that seemed so... Not wrong, but it certainly was something Akeno was having trouble getting used to.

    Granted, going from a plain wooden bench, even one surrounded by luxurious amenities, to the private home theatre the Gremory had installed when remodeling Issei''s home was a significant change.

    It was another moment of surreality that seemed common these days where Eren was concerned.

    "How did you convince him to come to... this?" Sona whispered, leaning forward as if the question would attract the older boy''s attention.

    "Cuteness is justice," Rias ''explained.''

    Sona looked at Akeno for a proper explanation.

    "Koneko-chan was with Eren and Aunty," the hybrid nodded in their direction. "They were going to go home for the night, but she asked them to come. Eren doesn''t show it, but he''s really soft on Koneko. It''s cute."

    "Still," Sona whispered. "This isn''t the type of thing they would enjoy."

    Akeno doubted Sona needed to be that careful about attracting their attention. Both Gremory and Sitri Peerages, as well as Irina, were in the room, and nobody was trying to be particularly quiet.

    Really, if it weren''t for the prime drama going on right here, Akeno would have been in the thick of things, teasing and instigating all sorts of mischief.

    Oh, what great targets there were now that Issei had been... unsealed.

    Should she try to instigate the new angel to fall, convince Xenovia she and Issei needed to ''practice'' some more, or tease Asia into a blushing mess?

    Choices, choices.

    Even if she didn''t poke Issei and his little harem, Akeno was not lacking for other targets. While she''d feel bad about messing with Saji after his clear rejection by Sona, the way those other girls were pressing against him was fertile ground indeed.

    "It''s because it''s his Kohai''s big movie debut," Akeno giggled. "He''d never miss it."

    "He would," Sona deadpanned. "Neither my aunt nor Eren appreciate this kind of... childishness."

    "Maybe they''ve learned the joys of Tokusatsu," Rias sniffed in haughty dismissal. "I don''t expect you to understand its subtle intricacies and mature appeal of the genre."

    "You don''t get to say that to me," Sona retorted. "You''re not the one who had to listen to their sister break down children''s shows, genre by genre and trope by trope and explain, in great detail, why Magical Girls are mathematically superior to all others."

    "That..." Akeno hesitated with a shaky smile. "That sounds like Leviathan-sama, alright."

    Sona''s face was haunted, staring past Akeno toward some no doubt traumatic and horrifying memory.

    "Four and a half hours. She had me frozen to my chair for four and a half hours. I just visited to talk to my mother. And she had... costumes."

    Hmmm, Akeno should try to spend more time with Serafall-sama if she gets the chance. Seeing how Sona shivered in fear sent a wonderful shiver down the half-fallen''s spine.

    Rias, at least, decided to take pity on her rival.

    "You haven''t been around for a while, but something happened between Eren and Issei," Rias explained. "I think Eren said something that really inspired him. Issei''s been giving training his all, even more than usual."

    "...Your last Rating Game, perhaps?" Sona offered, and all three young devils grimaced at the reminder. "Still, I suppose it is for the best. Better his time be spent training than getting up to his usual perverted antics with his friends."

    It was a clear topic shift from Diodora Astaroth, but nobody pointed it out.

    "I don''t think Issei needs to worry about that anymore," Akeno said slyly. "He has other... outlets."

    Rias sent her Queen an aggrieved look, but Akeno returned a smug smile.

    They had both agreed that Asia was a foregone conclusion and the ''head wife,'' so she wouldn''t count in their little bet, which meant Akeno was currently in the lead since Xenovia was the only other to officially join Issei''s little harem.

    Until either Irina or Ravel Phenex, both girls Rias had chosen to push forward, the score was one to zero in Akeno''s favour.

    It wasn''t all peachy; Akeno was still searching for a second candidate that not only liked Issei but wasn''t just a power-digging slut looking to hook up with the Red Dragon Emperor.

    "Why are you so busy anyway," Rias turned from her smug Queen to ask her rival. "It''s not academic, right? You''re not even on campus."

    "No," Sona denied, slumping back in her cushion. "I am, unfortunately, suffering from success."

    Despite the words, Sona did not look happy. Just tired.

    "You''re sponsors?" Akeno guessed, and the Sitri Heiress nodded tiredly.

    "I knew what I was getting into, but I underestimated how... bitter some members of our nobility are about the peace. Just this week alone, I have had a dozen meetings with Lords and Ladies of various ranks discussing how I intend to build my school, where it will be, and what its initial focus will be on."

    "That doesn''t sound too bad," Rias offered with a shaky smile.

    Sona glared.

    "If it were just them wanting to make certain that their wealth and influence was put to good use, then no, it wouldn''t be too bad," Sona growled in a rare display of open frustration. "But it''s not just that. They not only want to ensure favourable treatment for anyone they will send in the future, but they also want to ensure other races are taught the ''truth about devil culture.'' Nepotism at its finest, and they are all but demanding I turn my school into a brainwashing center for propaganda."

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "Your words did have a certain... target," Akeno said delicately. Sona''s glare turned on her. "All I''m saying is that was your plan, right? Target the malcontents that would oppose your dream and turn them into allies. Then, by the time they realize what''s happening, it''s too late for them to stop you and you��ll have the support of their political opponents."

    "I know," Sona sighed, rubbing her eyes under her glasses. "As I said, I just underestimated... or I guess I overestimated them. I can almost understand some of the animosity. Those who lost family or friends in the Great War want to ensure that they don''t lose in this new culture war. It does not excuse their demands that other race students be treated as slaves, but I can at least understand where they are coming from. Others though... they have asked for some truly vile conditions and have been none too subtle of the threat of withdrawing support if they are not met."

    "Like what?"

    "The tamest of which would make Diodora look like a saint," Sona deadpanned. "Since I''ve started taking these meetings, I have had fifteen marriage proposals, twice as many unwanted sexual advances, and five who all but demanded I prostitute my Peerage. I''ve actually been able to give your brother some names for him to investigate. You''d be amazed how some of them talk when they think I''m just a dumb girl riding my sister''s coattails."

    "Are you going to be all right," Rias asked, worried for her childhood friend.

    "I might not be as strong as you, but I am not weak," Sona waived off the concern. "Very few of these reprobates are Ultimate Class, and Aunty is on the premises if I ever feel in danger. No, it is more likely exhaustion than violence that will kill me."

    Unsaid was that even the most foolish devil noble knew how much Serafall Leviathan dotted on her younger sister. They might try to pressure her for benefits, but nobody was dumb enough to try and physically force Sona to do something she didn''t want to do.

    That was a great way to have your entire territory suddenly enter a new ice age.

    Coincidentally.

    "Still," Rias worried her lip in concern. "I know this is for your dream, but wouldn''t it be better to put things off till you''re older and stronger."

    "The only reason I am getting this much support is the recent peace conference," Sona denied. "The outrage is fresh and that leads to impulsive decision making. It is either I lay the groundwork now using that resentment as fuel, or I wait decades for things to settle down. While that path might be safer, it doesn''t account for any incident that might happen in the meantime. Besides, I''ve already started down this road. I''ll see it through to the end."

    "Let me know if there''s anything I can do to help," Rias offered.

    "Thanks," Sona gave her friend a slight smile but didn''t look relieved. "I do not mean to vent, but I am just... disappointed. I knew there were bad actors and malcontents among the 31 Pillars, but I suppose I wanted to believe it was simply a few bad apples. But it''s not. It''s pervasive, even after the Great War and the Civil War. I guess I just hoped they had learned something. That they were better than all this."

    "You both are fortunate," Akeno couldn''t help but point out. "Your siblings and family are very modern and permitting. Just because a Pillar family sided with them during the Civil War does not mean they did it for the right reason. They maybe just wanted to preserve devil-kind, and now that population has recovered, they want to regain their lost glory."

    It was a testament to how much they had gone through recently that neither heiress protested Akeno''s words.

    Not too long ago, they would have argued against any intervention from their siblings and family.

    Now? Both Rias and Sona couldn''t help but nod grimly, well aware by now of how sheltered and privileged they had been all their lives.

    "That''s what your school is for, isn''t it," Rias told her rival, trying to bring the mood back up. "To help people learn from other''s mistakes? You just have to put up with these types for a few years, then they''ll have no choice but to bend to the times."

    "I hope so," Sona sighed again, then visibly gathered herself, looking around the theatre. "So, when will this show begin? And I thought it had been airing for a while in the underworld?"

    "We''re just waiting to receive the final product," Rias said with a smile, returning to her popcorn. "The show is still mid-season, but it''s been so popular that the studio decided to make a special movie. That''s what we''re watching tonight."

    "We will have the first showing," Akeno elaborated. "It was actually done last week, but apparently Issei found out it was going to happen through Ravel Phenex and asked for some last-minute edits. The public won''t see it for another month or so."

    "What sort of edits would take a week," the Sitri heiress asked with a furrowed brow.

    Sona would know all about the absolute marvel magic conjoined with technology had brought to film and television. Even if she didn''t want to.

    Serafall Leviathan had been the pioneer behind the incredible speed of the devil entertainment industry''s rapid project completion. It was the only way she could film her show, movies, and specials while also attending to her duties as a Satan.

    "Issei won''t tell us," Rias pouted, throwing a piece of popcorn over to her Rook.

    Even surrounded by his girlfriends, with a pleased smile on his face, Issei instinctively opened his mouth and caught the food, not taking his eyes off Xenovia''s bust the entire time.

    "He''s really shy about it," Akeno smiled mischievously. "I can''t wait."

    "Be nice," Rias chastised her Queen. "And you, try and relax."

    "Very well," Sona said, relaxing into her chair and idly swiping Rias'' popcorn bucket. The red looked affronted, but Sona paid her no mind. "I can spare a few hours.��

    Then Sona froze, popcorn halfway to her mouth and glared at her friend.

    ��My sister can never find out about this. If she heard I watched her ''rival''s'' movie instead of one of hers, I''d never hear the end of it."

    "Tell Aunty that, not me," Rias said as she stood up to grab another popcorn bucket from the machine against the back wall. As she did, she nodded toward where Mikasa and Eren were talking with Yuuto in low tones, Koneko napping against Eren''s chest.

    "... I''ll talk to her tomorrow," Sona eventually said with a conflicted look on her face.

    Akeno noted it but didn''t tease her about it.

    Eren''s situation was already difficult for all of them, but having her aunt be the woman Sona''s crush had confessed to loving and Lady Mikasa return those feelings would surely put Sona in a rough position.

    Akeno wasn''t entirely convinced Sona wasn''t just using her work as an excuse to avoid the bench and its daily occupants.

    However, she didn''t have time to ask the student council president about her theory as Rias let out a cheer behind them.

    "Got it!"

    With a quick flash of magic, the Gremory King had a case in her hand. She hurried to set up the movie and returned to her seat as the theme song began.

    ''Zoom Zoom Iyaan.''

    The room quieted as everyone sat back to watch the movie without talking.

    They may be devils, but they weren''t evil, after all.

    The premise of the show was straightforward.

    Ise Gremory was a young devil who made a pact with a legendary dragon to protect his friends when their school was attacked by evil monsters. After that, he goes on to fight other threats to devils.

    All of which was relatively common for children''s shows.

    What was uncommon was Ise''s love of breasts.

    The man who loves breasts and fights for breasts. He turns into the legendary Oppai Dragon to defeat those who do evil deeds. He powered up by talking about boobs, seeing boobs, and touching boobs.

    It lent the show an absurdist, comedic, and light-hearted tone while still appealing to more mature audiences.

    Akeno could admit, if nothing else, that the production quality was well done. Although she didn''t usually enjoy the genre, she could see why it became a monstrous show, boasting viewing rates of around 50%.

    It was helped that over half the current devil population were either reincarnated devils or the children of such, meaning a large portion was very young compared to most supernatural races.

    The movie covered the Oppai Dragon''s origins, the first time he met the legendary dragon and the deal they made, which hadn''t been shown in the show yet.

    There was, however, one moment in the movie that took everyone by surprise.

    Near the end, during the attack on the school, the legendary dragon demanded Ise Gremory demonstrate his conviction before agreeing to partner with him.

    Cue a flashback.

    Ise Gremory, a young devil sitting in a park.

    Beside him on the bench is an older boy, face cast in shadow.

    "Someday," the older boy said, taking a hand from his cane to ruffle Issei''s hair affectionately. "Someday, you''ll face a choice. You will have to choose what sort of devil you want to become. I am trusting you to make the right choice."

    "I will! I promise!" Young Ise Gremory swore, eyes wide as he held a fist out.

    The two boys knocked fists.

    The flashback ends.

    Ise Gremory stands up, covered in the red armour of the draconic scale mail.

    "I promise!" He shouted, thrusting his fist out as if fist-bumping someone who wasn''t there and destroying the monster tormenting his friends.

    The leitmotif of the theme begins.

    "I promise to become a devil that will defend all the Oppai in the world! So, trust me! I am the Oppai Dragon Emperor!"

    The fight begins and, powered by the legendary dragon and by touching his girlfriend''s boobs, Ise Gremory wins in grand fashion.

    The movie ends with a shot of the Oppai Dragon Emperor flying away into the sunset, off to defend all the Oppai of the world.

    "What." Sona demanded, popcorn fallen to the floor and forgotten. "What did I just watch?"

    "Ufufufufufufu," Akeno was laughing so hard she was having trouble breathing.

    Rias wasn''t much better, biting one of her knuckles to keep from laughing as well.

    "Well, um," Issei started to explain, face red as half the room looked at him. "Everyone else has a role, so I figured, you know, it wouldn''t be fair if Senpai didn''t as well. And, uh, the studio really liked the idea. I mean, they really, really liked it. They decided to rewrite the ending of the movie to include him."

    All eyes turned to the back of the room.

    Eren Yeager looked completely poleaxed, eyes wide and mouth open, as he stared at the credits rolling across the giant screen.

    The look of confusion, complete bafflement so at odds with his usual severe expressions, sent Akeno into an even deeper fit of giggles.

    Nor was she the only one.

    Mikasa was facing away from Eren, mouth covered and shoulders shaking in silent laughter of her own.

    "Congratulations," Yuuto said, prodding Eren on the shoulder companionably. Not one ounce of mockery could be heard in his voice. "My character is a villain in season 1 and doesn''t join till season 2. He hasn''t even shown up yet. When this airs, everyone will want to know who you are."

    Shaken from his surprise by the nudge, Eren looked at the Knight in horror.

    "They told me he will appear here and there for flashbacks," Issei said proudly, seeing he wasn''t being yelled at. "''A mysterious senior with a hidden past! Who is he? What does he want? How does he know Oppai Dragon?'' The director was very excited and said he''d sprinkle in scenes through seasons 1 and 2 to tease the audience. Still, since those are already written, you''ll be a mysterious background character until you appear in season 3. Sorry."

    "...That''s-" Eren said, still looking confused but no longer horrified. He took a deep breath, released it, and looked at Issei again, face once more composed. "That''s all right. I... appreciate the thought. Thank you."

    Issei beamed.

    The rest of the evening was spent eating, talking about the movie, chatting with friends, laughing, and discussing everyone''s own favourite shows.

    Akeno was glad to have a memory like that.

    Eren had been right.

    Memories like that were what pushed you forward when the world seemed determined to see you stop.

    Such as when, the next day, Azazel appeared with a perverted old geezer, a hapless Valkyrie, and Akeno''s father, Baraqiel.

 The Divine Spears

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 Understanding

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 A Short Dream

    Mikasa Ackerman knew Eren Yeager.

    And she had been watching.

    It was easy to watch when every day that with him passed felt like a new miracle.

    Even now, after months, it still felt like she was living a dream. Every day, she awoke expecting to see the familiar ceiling of her small cabin in the woods, only to be met with the bare furnishings of Eren''s extra room.

    These simple days of planting flowers in the park, of training young devils, of sitting on the bench by his side, talking about everything and nothing...

    They passed by so quickly, as if those four years they never had were condensed into two months.

    It was... everything to Mikasa.

    Everything to the woman who had killed the boy she loved.

    And through it all, Mikasa had been watching.

    Baring the occasional moment where she would visit Serafall or help the Peerages train, she spent her entire day by Eren''s side.

    It was a fool who discounted Mikasa Ackerman''s presence because she rarely spoke, who considered her dull because she rarely emoted, and who thought her weak because she chose to love again.

    Mikasa Ackerman was none of those things, even in this dreamlike time of happiness and reminiscence.

    Mikasa had been watching Eren.

    Nobody knew the boy on the bench as well as she did. The only possible exception had lived and died a world away.

    And Mikasa knew, Eren had changed.

    Not only from the boy she grew up with but from the man who had crushed the earth flat under his feet and wadded through an ocean of blood.

    She knew why.

    She was certain the Rumbling had an effect on Eren.

    It had affected them all, but Eren most of all. And he had never had the time to process it like she did. Eren had seen it coming but had not lived long enough to reconcile the actions he took.

    No matter what propaganda had said, he had never been an emotionless monster.

    Eren''s problem had always been that he cared too much.

    He raged. He grieved. He believed. He loved. He despaired.

    Rage and grief had led to a promise to exterminate all titans. With his final breath, he had done so.

    Belief in an ideal had led him beyond the walls, beyond the sea, and beyond time and space in search of his freedom.

    His love of his friends, of his family, and of his home had seen him slaughter a world that wished for their extermination.

    Eren''s despair over the actions he would take had led to years of fruitless search, and when that failed, death had been his only escape.

    And even then, he had used his death to fulfill his goals. He had destroyed a world so those he loved could build one of their own.

    All this because Eren cared.

    And the Rumbling had been the final result of Eren''s care.

    An ocean of blood at the feet of a boy who only dreamed of freedom.

    Armin and Mikasa had spent years, decades, trying to understand Eren. They had failed while he lived, so they had refused to fail his memory.

    Mikasa could not say she understood him perfectly, even after all this time, but she had understood one thing from watching the boy on the bench.

    Eren was trying to be understood.

    It was a simple realization. Eren had said as much to more than a few of the children who joined him on the bench.

    But it was alien to the girl who had chased Eren''s back for her whole life.

    It was only after his talk to Sona about the future that Mikasa truly realized what it meant.

    Eren was laying out a path.

    Not just running ahead, not just charging forward, forever attacking a world that cried for his blood.

    Eren was trying to lead these children to a better future.

    Even as he remained on the bench, he was still advancing, but now he had slowed down. Been forced to slow down.

    And, as he slowed, he reached out to those behind him for the first time.

    Mikasa had been wrong when she assumed Eren was trying to make Sona into another Armin.

    Eren was not making anyone into anything. All he was doing was showing the path that had been run before.

    Eren was trusting them to not make the same mistakes he had made.

    In doing so, he trusted Mikasa to be with these children, to remain by their side, and to remind them of those same lessons. To be a voice they could turn to when he was gone.

    He wanted them to live long and happy lives.

    Even if it meant the people he had come to see as friends learned of the boy who destroyed the world.

    Mikasa didn''t think these devils would hate Eren when they learned of the Rumbling, but nor did she doubt they would be able to think of him the same way again.

    It was just another way Eren was trusting these children.

    So, when, on the morning before half of Eren''s friends were set to return from their school trip, Eren suddenly asked Mikasa a question, and she was able to answer with full honesty and confidence.

    It was a vague question but one she understood.

    Mikasa had been watching, after all.

    "Could you do it again?"

    "I could."

    The answer was immediate and without hesitation. It clearly took Eren off guard, and he looked at Mikasa. As if questioning whether she truly understood the question.

    She looked back, willing him to understand her determination.

    "Even after all I did? Even after all the pain and death? Even after I hurt you, lied to you, manipulated you, and fought you?"

    "I could."

    "...Why?"

    Mikasa took a bit longer to answer this time, giving her words some thought.

    "...Because it''s worth it."

    "Is it? Time and time again, I can''t give you anything but pain and loss. I-"

    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    Eren closed his eyes, and Mikasa pretended not to have noticed the wetness in them.

    "I''m going to hurt you again. No matter what I do, I will hurt you again when I am gone. I don''t want to, but I will. Because I can''t change who I am."

    "I know," Mikasa said, resting her head on his shoulders. "It took me a long time to realize when I was a girl, but caring for you is to be hurt. Over and over again."

    "It''s not right!"

    "No," Mikasa agreed with Eren''s angry exclamation. "It''s not. But it''s what we have. The world was never about what was right or wrong. It is about fighting for the future we want. You taught me that."

    "...You hate fighting."

    "I do," Mikasa admited. "But I am good at it. I am strong. So, I will keep fighting for the future I want. One where we both live long, happy lives."

    "I wish you didn''t have to be strong," Eren said almost petulently. "I wish I could have been the strong one."

    "I need to be strong. To keep chasing you. To catch you."

    "... You''ve caught me before."

    "Every time I do, you slip through my fingers. All I can do is hold on for as long as possible, and then you are gone again."

    Mikasa pulled away from Eren.

    He looked at her, and she smiled, resting a hand on the scarf around her neck.

    "I can do it all again," Mikasa said softly. "I chose to do this. I have always been free to choose what I want to do. Beyond life and death. Across worlds. The boy who wrapped this scarf around me. I will keep chasing him. As long as it takes."

    Eren''s hands gently brushed against the red fabric, but he did not take it in his hands.

    As he did, his face contorted as if some tremendous internal struggle was taking place within his heart.

    Mikasa didn''t say anything to press him.

    Eventually, and with a voice laden with guilt, Eren spoke.

    "I will not lie to you again," Eren said gravely, staring at the scarf. "I will not push you away. I will trust you to chase your own happiness, no matter what."

    "Thank you."

    "But... There are things you need to know. Before anything else, I need to tell you about her."

    Mikasa closed her eyes as her heart seized.

    For the last few months, there had been an unspoken agreement between both of them.

    Both knew each other. Both were jealous people.,

    But both wanted the other to be happy��even if they weren''t the ones they were with.

    It was a painful dichotomy, one all too common in people.

    Both knew the other had moved on and were, in their own way, glad for it, but neither wanted to hear about the details.

    Mikasa had told Eren stories of her son, of the life she had lived and what had happened to the world he had left behind, but she had carefully avoided Jean.

    Just as Eren had carefully steered clear of his mysterious companion.

    In the few times he talked about his time in this world, there had been allusions to a woman, or at least a partner, who had accompanied him during his missions as a mercenary.

    "Why," Mikasa asked, not looking at Eren.

    "She got in touch with me again. Recently. While you were away. She knew about you. Who you are. What you mean to me."

    Eren''s voice was flat, and he spoke in clipped sentences as if he didn''t know how to explain anything but the facts.

    Mikasa didn''t ask who this woman was, how she went unnoticed, or when this happened.

    Mikasa knew Eren.

    Any woman he came to care for would have to be not only competent but outstanding in some way. Everyone had fallen over themselves for Krista, the girl with angelic kindness.

    It was only Historia, the worst girl in the world, that Eren had come to admire.

    And it wasn''t like Mikasa spent every second with Eren, as she didn''t want to smother him. That had been a mistake of her youth, unable to recognize and control the emotions she felt. So she had given him what space she could.

    So no, Mikasa did not ask about Eren''s lover. She truly did not want to know, even if Eren felt she needed to.

    Instead, Mikasa asked a more important question.

    "What do I mean to you?"

    Eren didn''t answer.

    Instead, he continued his explanation.

    "I... I was alone. I didn''t know why I was reborn. There was no Eldia. No Titans. None of our comrades. Armin wasn''t here. You weren''t here. So I... I just kept moving forward without knowing why. I fought. It''s all I''m good at."

    Even with her eyes closed, Mikasa reached out to Eren''s hand and held it in her own.

    "She was a tool. A comrade in only the sense that we fought together. We used each other. I never set out to... It was a side effect, I guess. I used her, and she used me, and somewhere along the way... it became something else."

    It hurt. It shouldn''t hurt, but it did.

    Mikasa understood it. When you love someone, you want to be the one they loved in turn. You wanted their eyes only on you. Love is the most selfish of emotions.

    That didn''t change that it hurt.

    A younger Mikasa, one who was unfamiliar with the world, her feelings, and love, would have sulked. Lashed out, maybe. Maybe she would have even hunted this woman down.

    What she would have done then, even Mikasa didn''t know. It would not have been pretty, no matter what happened.

    But this was not a young Mikasa Ackerman.

    This was a grown woman, one who had lived a full life. One who had faced the worst the world could offer and come out stronger. One who had already lost the boy she loved. One who had killed her heart once before.

    So, she asked the most critical question.

    "Were you happy?"

    "No."

    Mikasa did not feel any pleasure, any satisfaction born of jealousy, at the answer.

    All she felt was grief and sadness.

    "But," Eren paused, lost in thought. "...I think I could have been. If not for my limit. If not for my power. I think I could have lived a long and happy life with her."

    Like Mikasa had with Jean.

    It went unsaid but understood.

    In some weird way, Mikasa was happy to hear that.

    Happy that Eren, after all he had done and endured, could still find happiness in a world not plagued by titans and not dependent on Mikasa''s existence.

    Eren was going to die.

    But if there was another world beyond this one, she hoped he would find the happiness, the life he deserved.

    Eren and Mikasa were not soulmates, destined lovers, or anything of the sort. They were just two people who cared for each other.

    But that small amount of joy, even tainted by jealousy as it was, did not erase the grief and sadness that Eren was not happy now.

    There was a long minute of silence after Eren''s confession, both processing their own complex emotions.

    Nobody ever loved only one person. Humans were not built like that, and neither were devils. Emotions were messy, complex, unclear, and, more often than not, contradictory.

    Still, Eren wasn''t done.

    "I''m telling you this because... well," Eren said in embarrassment, and Mikasa opened her eyes finally to see him looking away, his cheeks flushed red. "Like I said, I talked to her recently. She... She wanted me to..."

    Mikasa furrowed her brows, not understanding the implications.

    Was this woman just as jealous as she was?

    Was Eren''s lover telling him to tell Mikasa to leave?

    That Mikasa was not needed now that Eren had moved on?

    "Are you telling me to leave?"

    They had not expressed any romantic connection except for the kiss they shared when they first reunited.

    Mikasa wouldn''t lie and say she hadn''t wanted more, but knowing Eren had someone he had come to care about, she could understand why he had been hesitant to bring up anything of the sort.

    She would have been just as confused if Jean had still been around.

    Eren was not the sort of person to cheat. Mikasa knew that. It was why she had been content to not press him and remain by his side without bringing it up.

    Besides, both of them had been relatively content in each other''s presence.

    Meeting again was already a gift that neither had ever expected.

    Still, if this woman thought she could chase Mikasa away without a fight, she was in for a surprise.

    "No!" Eren hurriedly said, face still red. "It''s... It''s not that."

    Mikasa still didn''t understand.

    "What did she say," Mikasa asked.

    "It''s... She knows how much you mean to me and..." Eren stuttered out.

    Of the man who had crushed a world, barely a shadow was left.

    Only a boy unused to expressing his feelings, or even talking about embarrassing subjects.

    Eventually, Eren took a deep breath, held it for a long moment, and exhaled.

    With his air, all his embarrassment left him, and he looked into Mikasa''s eyes.

    "She wants me to be happy. Even if..."

    Oh.

    "Even if she''s not the only one."

    OH.

    It took Mikasa an embarrassingly long time to realize what this woman had meant.

    It was her turn to blush.

    Even after spending more than a few days listening to Issei Hyoudou talk about harems and such, those thoughts were still alien to her.

    It still boggled her mind how open people were about such subjects, especially those who were part of the supernatural communities.

    Yes, they weren''t human, and even among humans, there were some cultures that practiced polygamy.

    That didn''t change the fact that Mikasa Ackerman was not the type of woman who really considered such things. She didn''t have any judgment on those who did. She just never... really considered it.

    As possessive and jealous as Mikasa knew herself to be, she didn''t even think she could have done what this woman did. If Mikasa knew Eren would definitely be happier with someone else, she could stand aside.

    Maybe.

    But Mikasa also knew Eren wanted her to be happy, and seeing him with someone else would, knowing it wouldn''t ever be her... Mikasa certainly wouldn''t be happy, just like Eren wouldn''t be if he were to see her with Jean now.

    Did that make her a worse person than his mysterious lover?

    Not really. Just a different person.

    One who was almost wholly unable to really consider the long-term implications of such a decision at this moment.

    Especially considering Eren''s current situation and limited time.

    In the end, Mikasa did what she usually did in these situations.

    "What do you want, Eren?"

    Eren leaned back on the bench, looking up at the white clouds passing through the blue autumn sky.

    He looked just as conflicted as Mikasa felt.

    Embarrassment. Jealousy. Shame. Grief. Love. Concern. It all roiled in Mikasa''s gut.

    But she endured it, waiting for him to speak.

    "I... I want an answer."

    "An answer?"

    Eren looked at Mikasa, and their eyes met.

    Mikasa understood.

    She might never be able to fully understand ''Eren Yeager,'' but she understood him there and then.

    She knew the question.

    A question Eren had gone to his death without knowing its true answer.

    It was a question he had wanted answered honestly for over nineteen years.

    She knew what she was going to say before he even asked.

    "Mikasa. What am I to you?"

    She knew what pain it would mean for her, what sorrow waited for her with her answer.

    Mikasa would still choose to do it all again.

    And Mikasa answered.

    Those three words Mikasa had whispered as her blade severed Eren''s head from his spine eighty years ago.

    The three words that haunted her nightmares.

    Hearing her answer, a weight seemed to lift from Eren. A burden he had been carrying for too long had finally fallen, and he could finally breathe.

    As if, no matter what happened now, Eren was finally free.

    Hearing Mikasa''s answer...

    "I love you."

    ...Eren smiled.

 The World that the Boy Saw

    Something was different.

    The young devils who joined Mikasa and Eren noticed the change almost immediately, but they couldn''t quite pinpoint what.

    Something had happened with Eren and Mikasa, certainly, but neither of them made any mention, and, by and large, they acted as they usually did.

    So, the teenage devils enjoyed the pleasant evening air, with food, stories, and laughter in that clearing in the park with the bench. It was a time to unwind after the school trip and tell everyone about their time in Kyoto.

    Or be interrogated about it, as the case may be.

    What else could one expect when they were friends with Rias Gremory?

    "I''m so jealous," Rias pouted, kicking her feet petulantly. "I want to go to Kyoto."

    "You can teleport there whenever you want," Sona sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Though it would be better if you took the train, otherwise you will need to alert the Yokai of your arrival, and it might become an incident."

    "It''s not the same," Rias whined. "Going to Kyoto on a school trip is a girl''s Romance! A right of passage for all protagonists!"

    "Then you must be a side character," Akeno giggled slyly as her King stuck out her tongue at the Queen.

    "It was interesting," Yuuto said with a smile as he passed around samples of his newest recipes, which everyone accepted with delight. "While Japanese-style swords are not my usual preferences, they have some rather fascinating examples of various works in one of their museums."

    "Right!" Rias nodded eagerly. "I hear they even have a Masamune blade in the magical quarter. Gah! I want to see it!"

    "...Good food," Koneko said, adding her input to the conversation between bites of a rather delectable lemon and poppyseed scone.

    "The temples were really pretty," Asia joined in with a wide-eyed smile.

    "Which ones did you visit?" Rias asked in excitement. "Kinkaku-ji? Tenryu-ji? Tell me you at least took pictures of Tou-Ji!"

    "All three," Issei nodded with a smile. Asia fused over him, brushing crumbs from his shirt. "And we had time to visit Arashiyama. We even ran into a Tanuki!"

    "Were there any issues," Sona asked with concern. "The Yokai are not fond of devils."

    "Ah, um, no. We saw a few, but, um, they didn''t try anything."

    "What our Rook isn''t saying," Akeno said, mischief dancing in her eyes. "Is that almost all of them asked for his autograph. Apparently, Oppai Dragon is being broadcast to other factions now."

    "How do you know?" Rias asked, wondering how her Queen had heard of this and she hadn''t.

    "Rossweiss told me," Akeno said guilessly. "She was chaperoning, and we''ve been texting. I''ve been giving her advice on being a devil."

    Rias narrowed her eyes at her Queen, well aware of their ongoing bet but unwilling to concede.

    Ravel was this close to officially joining Issei''s harem.

    Rias could feel it.

    "The show is way more popular than I expected," Issei said, completely missing the by-play. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I think it''s making Ddraig sad. He''s been sighing a lot lately."

    "The Divine Dragons have been a staple of the Supernatural world since before recorded memory," Sona lectured. "They are figures of fear and awe, and every faction of any significant history has dealt with them before. Their Sacred Gear holders are just as, if not more, infamous due to their tendency to do battle wherever and whenever they wish, without regard for what is around them."

    "...They destroy cities. Or countries," Koneko deadpaned. "People talk."

    "The premise of having a show based on one of them would attract international attention, even discounting its quality," Sona continued. "And, if I give her nothing else, my sister''s studio would not give anything less than their best."

    "She won''t say it, but I think Serafall likes the competition," Mikasa said, a small smile on her face. "She complained that the industry was getting boring, but she''s been more fired up than usual. She even told me they are planning a crossover episode."

    "...Cool," Koneko nodded.

    "Will the mysterious ''senpai'' show up in it," Akeno asked with a look at Eren, who shuffled uncomfortably. "Maybe Miracle Girl Levia-tan''s secret crush?"

    "No."

    "A tengu we met asked about him, you know," Yuuto said conversationally as if he didn''t notice Eren''s discomfort. "I didn''t really know what the studio has planned, so I just said he was an important character that would play a larger role later."

    "Ravel''s been keeping me updated on everything related to the show," Issei chimed in. "The devil forums are full of rumours and theories. Some think he''s Oppai Dragon''s brother or rival. Others are convinced he''s secretly the big bad. He even has fans!"

    "That is a bit excessive," Sona frowned. "A character that only appeared once for a few seconds is that popular?"

    "Twice," Akeno said, holding up two fingers. Eren looked at her in horror. "The one in the movie, and in the most recent episode, my character had a flashback of her own. A younger version receives encouragement from a boy on a bench to throw off society''s expectations."

    "Please tell me you''re kidding."

    "His words give her strength to declare her own desires like Oppai Dragon without shame," Akeno said, wrapping her arms around herself as if in a tight embrace. "She becomes a recurring supporting character who uses whips and leather. ''Mistress Night.''"

    "Akeno," Eren asked desperately, knowing that the Queen definitely influenced such a story. "Why? Just... Why?"

    "Because it''s funny," Akeno giggled.

    "It certainly helped the rumours," Rias nodded sagely. "You should never underestimate a fandom, Sona. They will pick apart even the tiniest detail and come up with the wildest theories. That is what happens when you love something so much. You are always thinking about it. Then the creator will pull the rug, and everyone will go, ''Wow! How did we miss this!'' That is the beauty of anime!"

    "Please don''t go on another rant about anime," Sona sighed in despair. "I only have tonight and the morning off. I don''t want to spend my limited free time listening to a weeb preach."

    Rias, in a demonstration of her maturity and grace, stuck her tongue out at her rival.

    "Did they have television in your world, Senpai," Issei asked Eren.

    "Not before I died," Eren denied but looked at Mikasa.

    "We had something similar," she nodded simply as she munched on a cookie. "They were still new, though."

    "If you don''t mind, Aunty," Sona said, leaning forward curiously. "I would love to hear about your world. Nothing important," Sona hurried to say at the frown almost overtaking her aunt''s face. "Just its society and technology. I imagine its development without the influence of magical races is wildly different than this one''s."

    "...Maybe later," Mikasa said, with a sideways glace at Eren.

    Sona nodded, swallowing her curiosity for the moment.

    Rias took that opportunity to ask more about the Kyoto trip, the sights the second years had seen, and how she would have done things differently.

    Rias had the layout of the famous Japanese city memorized and her ideal itinerary already planned.

    It was the one time she was more organized than Sona.

    "I''m sure I can get passes for the Yokai side," Rias said passionately. "Their leader, Yakasa, occasionally lets diplomatic envoys tour the imperial gardens and temples."

    "You are not a diplomatic envoy," Sona said after swallowing the last of her muffin. Then, before Rias could reply, she cut her off. "And no, you cannot use your family''s influence to make you one. Besides, you hate throwing your brother''s name around."

    "Kyoto is worth it!" Rias declared without shame. "And the Yokai side still has buildings dating back to before the Jomon period. You cannot say you aren''t interested."

    Sona paused as if the thought really was tempting. Then she shook her head.

    "No, it would be a gross misuse of authority."

    "... Boring."

    "I am not," Sona protested as almost everyone giggled at Koneko''s deadpan.

    No.

    Not ''almost.''

    Everyone.

    The laughter died quicker than it arrived as everyone stared at Eren in wide-eyed shock.

    "Did you just..." Rias asked, unable to even ask the question.

    "What," Eren asked, uncomfortable with the attention.

    "He did," Mikasa said with surety, her own smile radiant despite its subtlety.

    "Yes!" Koneko clenched her fists in victory. Then she held them out to Akeno. "Pay up."

    Still in shock, the Queen absently handed over a bundle of yen thicker than her wrist that appeared from nowhere.

    Koneko hopped on Eren''s lap, shuffled to get comfortable, and then started counting her winnings. Satisfied it was all there, the Rook stuffed the money in her bag.

    She''d be ordering the imported sweets tomorrow, and Rias couldn''t nag her for spending her allowance since she had lost as well.

    It was a good day to be Koneko.

    By the time the younger girl was done, the group had largely gotten over their shock and were back to talking and laughing, even happier than before.

    Seeing that everyone, especially Eren, was in such high spirits, Rias decided to try her luck.

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    "What about you, Eren?" She asked. "Was there anywhere you wanted to visit?"

    Eren''s birthday was still months away, but Rias had not forgotten about her failure this year. She wanted to do something memorable this time and was gathering information to plan it later. Nothing too large, but something Eren would enjoy.

    Especially since it might be the last they have to celebrate.

    (It should be noted that Rias'' birthday was a national holiday in Gremory territory, so her ideas tended to be a bit... grand.

    What she considered ''not too large'' was already at the stage of renting out an entire amusement park or reserving whole sections of a city so they wouldn''t be disturbed.

    Needless to say, if Eren knew what she was thinking, he would have been completely befuddled by her thought process.)

    "Not really," Eren said casually.

    "Really? Nowhere?"

    "No."

    "What about you, Aunty?" Rias asked, judging that Eren wasn''t lying.

    "Me neither," Mikasa shook her head. "We didn''t have many options. Most buildings and cities in our world were less than fifty or a hundred years old."

    "Then what about the favourite place you''ve visited," Sona suggested, catching on to what Rias was doing.

    They were both committed to making sure Eren''s birthday was as memorable and enjoyable as possible.

    (Sona, at least, had a more reasonable sense of scale when it came to such occasions.

    She was much more likely to do something small but meticulously planned down to the last minute. One could argue that expecting people to adhere to such a schedule was even more unrealistic than Rias, but Sona showed how much she cared in the details.

    And she had a lot of details planned for Eren.

    This was despite the fact that her birthday was also a holiday, one even more famous thanks to Miracle Girl Levia-tan celebrating it every year with a special episode. Naturally, the reach of Underworld''s most popular TV show should not be underestimated. Hundreds of millions of devils celebrated her birthday in big and small ways.

    Every.

    Year.)

    Mikasa and Eren looked at each other as if in silent communication.

    "The sea," Eren eventually said, and Mikasa nodded.

    "Truly," Akeno asked. "We could have gone this summer if we had known."

    "Not to swim," Mikasa denied. "The sea is... it''s special."

    "How come?" Rias asked curiously. "You''ve seen it before, right?"

    Not only had Mikasa been around for decades, but Eren had travelled the world as a mercenary. Both should have seen the sea plenty of times.

    "It''s not that," Mikasa shook her head with a small smile. "The first time we saw the ocean... It meant something."

    The group looked at the pair in silent question.

    "''Did you know?''" Eren said, looking to the sky.

    His voice was lighter than almost anyone there had ever heard him.

    It sounded like he was quoting a book.

    Or someone he knew.

    "''Most of the world is covered by a water body known as the sea. And the sea is entirely made of salt water. It''s large enough to never run out. Beyond the wall... there''s a sea. On the other side of the sea... is freedom.''"

    It finally struck those young devils.

    What had been off while they talked, joked, and laughed.

    Eren''s expression.

    For most of the afternoon, almost imperceptibly, Eren had been smiling.

    The most minor, most content of smiles.

    "Ah," Rias swallowed her suddenly dry throat and tried to speak again. "If you want, we can go to the sea. It''s not far. I can''t teleport us using my house''s sigil, since you aren''t a devil, but I can call a ride."

    Then, her eyes lit up with an idea.

    "Actually, my family has a private island off the coast with a small home. We can stay the night!"

    That seemed to shake the group out of the strange state Eren''s words and expression had put them in.

    "It isn''t a school night," Sona acknowledged with a tilt of her head. "And we do have the finals for the tournament coming up. We have been training hard, and some time to relax will do everyone some good. Very well."

    "Awesome!" Issei said, standing with excitement. "I haven''t seen the sea in years."

    "Ufufu," Akeno giggled at the younger boy''s enthusiasm. "We won''t be wearing swimsuits, though. It''s too late in the year to go swimming."

    Issei immediately wilted, and Yuuto consolingly patted his dejected friend on the back.

    Mikasa looked at Eren with a raised brow.

    Eren looked surprised, but after a moment, his expression settled, and he nodded.

    His smile was just a bit smaller, though.

    It took little effort to clean up the clearing with the bench and put the blanket, utensils, and food away in the storage container and mini fridge.

    Before she could call a ride, Mikasa whispered something in Rias''s ear.

    The redhead frowned in thought, then nodded at Sona to come over. Leviathan''s Pawn repeated the action to her honorary niece.

    "It should be possible," Sona said, also frowning in thought. "It''s common enough for magicians, but devils usually don''t usually need it except for familiars."

    "Do it," Mikasa told her. "It is important to him."

    Her words took the two Kings by surprise.

    Something so banal and mundane was important? If they had known, they would have done it a while ago.

    The sea and now this? It made them curious about what else they didn''t know about Eren, even after a year and a half by his side.

    Eren looked at the exchange curiously, but none of the three women answered his silent question.

    Instead, Sona just approached him and held out her hand, pressing it against Eren''s chest as she furrowed her brows in concentration.

    "What are you doing?" Eren asked.

    "One moment," Sona said.

    Then she started to glow with blue power as the magical circle of the Sitri house covered her arm. The blue circles flowed like water from Sona''s arm, and Eren flinched as they passed into him in a wave.

    Nothing seemed to happen, though.

    "It should work and last for a few hours," Sona said, stepping away with a frown at her aunt. "But we don''t really have the time for him to get used to it if we want to go to the sea tonight."

    "It works like ours?" Mikasa asked, and Sona nodded. "Then he already knows what to do."

    "Even new devils take a few weeks or months to get used to it," Rias pointed out, worried for Eren. "It''s even more difficult for humans. Their brains aren''t used to thinking in the way they need to move safely."

    Mikasa just shook her head at the younger devils with a small smile.

    Then, without warning and in a voice that commanded attention and obedience, Mikasa barked a few clipped sentences.

    "Incoming! East side! Twenty meters! Treetops! You have the nape!"

    While the young devils jumped in surprise at the sudden orders that didn''t make any sense, Eren had acted on instinct.

    His body had whirled to face the east, one hand tightening on his cane and pressing a trigger that didn''t exist while the other balanced himself.

    A few of the more observant noticed how his hips were perfectly pointed toward the top of a tree trunk, but that was all they had time to notice.

    Suddenly, Eren was off, flying through the sky with a cry of surprise.

    Mikasa was flying right behind him, her wings extended and a slight smile on her lips.

    "Wha," Issei asked dumbly.

    He wasn''t the only one surprised.

    "It will be quicker if we fly," Rias said with a shrug, taking off after Eren and Mikasa, still slightly worried Eren would fall or hit something.

    The rest extended their own wings, taking flight as well. At least Sona had the foresight to cast the usual disguising magic so people would see a bunch of teenagers flying through the air.

    "How did he do that?" Yuuto asked curiously, pulling up beside the Sitri King. "It took me weeks to learn to fly that quickly."

    "What spell did you use," Akeno asked curiously.

    "Nothing fancy," Sona said. "Standard flight spell used to give landlocked familiars the ability to follow their partner in the air. It mirrors devil''s flight magic, but it requires training to use."

    "... Mysterious," Koneko summarized.

    They didn''t get an answer to their question as they chased Eren''s shadow across the sky.

    Eren had no problem staying in the air, though he initially flew in starts and stops as if he were being pulled by ropes rather than carried on wings.

    Eventually, though, he gained the trick of it.

    Eren stopped in the air, hovering and looking at his hands in wonder.

    He looked above and around him, searching for something holding him aloft. He looked under his feet for a platform that wasn''t there.

    The only one with him was Mikasa, smiling slightly at him. The others were flying toward him as well.

    It hit him.

    He was flying.

    Maybe not with his own power, but with his own will, Eren was flying.

    He could contain himself no longer.

    Eren took off toward the sky.

    No longer carried, he rose by his own will.

    Up.

    Up.

    Up.

    Eren breached the clouds.

    There, in the light of the dying autumn sun, with white clouds beneath him, the blue sea in the distance, and his arms wide as if they were his own wings, a sound rang out through the air.

    There was no mistaking it this time.

    The voice was deep, weathered by time and tragedy, but there was something pure and boyish in the laugh that resounded through the air.

    Flying right behind him, Mikasa smiled.

    Behind her, a group of young devils chased Eren through the clouds with their own laughter. Seeing Eren like this, the usually so dour and taciturn man... They couldn''t help but laugh.

    They flew to the ocean, free and happy.

    The great blue sea stretched out infinitely below them as Rias led the group toward a private island the Gremory owned.

    Even flying, it took the better part of an hour to reach the white beaches.

    Nobody complained.

    Not when they could see the smile on the boy''s face.

    The way he rose and fell through the clouds, travelling at speeds most reincarnated devils did not achieve for years, made it seem like Eren Yeager was born to fly.

    Even when they arrived at the ''small home,'' a mansion in its own right, Eren continued to spend hours flying over the waves, trailing his fingers through the surf until the spell wore off.

    Sona offered to cast again, but Eren shook his head and remained with them on the beach.

    They remained by the ocean for hours, Rias calling the rest of her Peerage to teleport to the island and Sona doing the same for hers.

    The new arrivals brought more food with them, and a bonfire was lit as they sat on the beach.

    The impromptu party by the sea lasted well into the night, devils being naturally nocturnal creatures. Most didn''t have anywhere to go the next day.

    Eren?

    Well, he was the only human there.

    It didn''t stop him from staying with them till the late hours of the night.

    His smile might not have been as wide, his laughter not as loud.

    But it was there.

    Eren laughed.

    Eren smiled.

    Looking back, everyone would be able to tell something had been different about him.

    Not just his smile but his words and actions.

    For that one night, Eren lived the life of a boy his age should.

    As if all his burdens had been lifted.

    As if he was at peace.

    As if he didn''t want the night to end.

    But everything ends.

    And Eren was only human.

    As the bright moon danced on the waves, Eren told them he''d see them all later as he made his way to one of the guest rooms of the Gremory Mansion.

    Nobody commented when Mikasa followed him in without a word.

    It was everything they needed.

    Everything they both needed.

    For one night, they were truly happy together.

    It wasn''t perfect. Nothing ever was.

    But it was theirs.

    It was all they had for a moment, and for the moment, their love was all they needed.

    When morning came, and Mikasa woke alone in bed, she did not grieve for what was to come.

    For a few moments, as she lay amidst the memory of their shared warmth, Mikasa allowed herself to smile.

    To be happy for the memories she had made on the bench and off of it.

    For a few moments, Mikasa Ackerman remembered the beauty of the world.

    Then she steeled herself to face its cruelty.

    Getting up, Mikasa did not dress in the casual clothes she usually wore.

    Instead, she pulled her combat clothes from her storage tool.

    Leaving her room, she didn''t say anything to the young devils eating breakfast, even when they called out to her.

    Mikasa marched straight to the teleportation circle to return to the Occult Research Club under their confused gaze. This was a Gremory building, not Sitri, so their wards would stop her teleportation tool if she left from anywhere else.

    It was fine, though.

    Mikasa knew where to go.

    Eren wouldn''t have gone to the austere house they had shared over the last few months.

    Mikasa had been watching.

    This time, Mikasa had not lied to herself.

    Eren had changed.

    But he was still Eren Yeager.

    And she had promised him.

    Mikasa could do it all again.

    Mikasa would do it all again.

    If it meant meeting the boy who wrapped this scarf around her neck, she would do it a thousand times.

    One world or a hundred worlds.

    Two thousand or twenty thousand years.

    Mikasa would chase Eren

    Until they could have that long, happy life together.

    It was just a tragedy that this did not seem to be the world where that would happen.

    In a mirror of that day, only a few months ago, Mikasa flew toward the bench.

    This time, she didn''t rush. She even took her time.

    Mikasa braced herself for what she would find.

    She steeled her will to fight once more.

    She''d pick up that knife as many times as it took.

    No longer in a daze, in that dreamlike state that had seemed so common over the last few months, Mikasa approached the bench.

    Somehow, despite being prepared for anything, even an empty bench, Mikasa was still surprised.

    "Nyaa? You''re early," Black Cat Kuroka said with a smile as she hopped off the bench she had been lying on,

    Her seven tails swayed behind her as she sashayed her way up to Mikasa.

    Mikasa didn''t say anything at the sight of the infamous criminal.

    She just pulled two swords from her storage and got ready for a fight.

    "Nyahahaha," Kuroka laughed mischievously and held her hands in the air. "I''m not here to fight. I am here to surrender. Turn myself in. Repent my wandering ways. Become a good kitty."

    "Why should I believe you," Mikasa asked, her voice flat and dead as she stared at the cane held aloft in the Stray Devil''s hands, the two wings carved into the handle.

    "Nyaa? Didn''t that scary maid say she''d promise me my life if I surrendered?"

    "I am not Grayfia."

    "What if I said... Pretty please?"

    Faster than she had ever moved before, Mikasa pressed the blade of her sword against Kuroka''s neck.

    Kuroka grinned wickedly, completely unfazed.

    Mikasa wouldn''t kill her.

    They both knew it.

    They both knew what this was about.

    They both knew who this was about.

    "What if, as the vice leader of the Chaos Brigade, I promised to tell you everything about its leader, Eren Yeager?"

    If only nobody had followed Mikasa and heard those words, perhaps things would have gone differently.

    Perhaps Mikasa could have shielded those young devils from the horrors of the world.

    Perhaps they could have gone on living a happy, innocent life and not tinged with betrayal.

    Then again, the world would become just as Eren willed it to be.

    Mikasa closed her eyes in resignation at the voices of surprise, shock, outrage, and indignation coming from the young devils who had followed her.

    Mikasa heard Sona''s voice among them.

    She hadn''t changed either, it seemed.

    She still wasn''t strong enough to keep those she loved safe.

    Even when she had known something like this was coming.

    Despite being surprised by Kuroka''s presence and Eren''s cane in the nekoshou''s hand, Mikasa was unsurprised by her declaration.

    After all, more than anyone else in this world or another, Mikasa Ackerman knew Eren Yeager.

    The boy who left the bench.

 Memories of the Past

    Kuroka slunk quietly through the Dantalion estate.

    She was taking a gamble here, being in the home of one of the prominent Pillar families while the Naberius agents were hunting her, but she needed to get out of the Underworld as soon as possible. The public transit stations would be heavily monitored, and she wasn''t strong enough to teleport between realms.

    Yet, Kuroka told herself.

    She wasn''t strong enough yet.

    One day, she would be.

    She''d be strong enough to come back here, rescue Shirone, and leave.

    She''d be so strong that they''d be able to live together and wouldn''t have to worry about starving or being victims ever again.

    The thought of her sister made Kuroka''s heart ache, but she swallowed the tears.

    She could curl up and cry when she was safe. All she could do for now was hope that Shirone would make it. Kuroka had wanted to take her with her, but she hadn''t been strong enough to deal with all the Naberius devils and keep Shirone safe at the same time.

    Kuroka would have to content herself with killing her King and destroying the research on Senjutsu, even if it meant she couldn''t prove her innocence.

    A small price to pay if it meant protecting Shirone.

    Nobody should have too much interest in Shirone now. By law, her sister could not be held accountable for Kuroka''s crime.

    The new Stray Devil tried to ignore the whisper in her mind that most Pillar families ignored the law when it pleased them.

    She failed.

    Still, the failings of the devil government were a boon at this moment. Pillar families were allowed to maintain teleportation circles to the human world that were entirely private. The Dantalion house was no different, despite being on the weaker end of the remaining 32 Pillar families.

    Kuroka knew little about the family, just that their clan trait was relatively weak in a direct fight, and their territory was somewhere in Africa. It was enough to know that they weren''t a big house, by noble standards at least, and kept to themselves.

    Which meant less guards and scrutiny as she snuck through the halls, as silent as a cat in the night.

    In and out with nobody the wiser, that was the goal.

    Kuroka was exerting her full effort, whether with her Youjutsu, magic, or Senjutsu, to remain invisible and undetected as she searched the unnecessarily large manor for their teleportation room.

    Eventually, she found something by following the life signs she detected using her Senjutsu.

    Not the teleportation room.

    "-ver one human?" An apathetic voice asked.

    Kuroka snuck closer, hoping to either overhear what they were saying or discover where they would avoid the speakers. One was on the stronger end of High Class, while the other was only Mid at best, so Kuroka could take them if it came to a fight.

    ...Maybe.

    It had been a few days without food or sleep, and Kuroka wasn''t at her peak state either.

    "A human that managed to defeat Griselda Quarta," a second voice answered defensively. "I''ve been keeping track of him for a few years now. He''s talented, brutal, smart, and follows orders. He''ll make a good Pawn."

    "He is a human boy with no magic, skills, or Sacred Gear," the first man snorted derisively. "You should have captured that woman instead of missing such an opportunity. Or her Holy Sword. Both would make good trophies. Instead, you took a child. If you fill your Peerage with weaklings we will never rise in rank. Kill him and find someone else."

    "I will if he does not meet my expectations, but once Whisper takes control, I''ll reincarnate him. I do not wish to end up like Naberius. You can test him then, Father. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised."

    "Very well. It won''t be too late to take your Pawn back then. He better be worth all the effort."

    "If nothing else," the younger man said with some humour. "Someone called the ''Child of Evil'' is destined to be a devil."

    "You got your love of dramatic irony from your mother."

    "That is not how she tells it. She told me yesterday that you-"

    The two devils turned a corner, and Kuroka stopped listening.

    The Black Cat''s mind raced a mile a minute.

    That was probably Lord Dantalion and his heir. Based on their conversation, they had recently returned from the human world with a prospective new devil in tow.

    Now, Kuroka was faced with a dilemma.

    Whoever they captured might know where the teleportation circle was if they weren''t unconscious when brought to the Underworld.

    But sneaking around with someone else would be infinitely more difficult than doing it alone.

    There was also no guarantee they would help Kuroka.

    She had seen how the test subjects would do anything if they thought it would save them from being the next one under the knife. They might yell and try to turn her in if it meant going free.

    In the end, Kuroka decided it was worth the look if only to find out who had defeated the legendary Griselda Quarta.

    Curiosity led the Black Cat down halls and peeking into rooms.

    Senjutsu allowed her to feel the life force of everyone in the mansion, but even though Dantalion was small for a Pillar family, that still meant their manor was massive and filled with hundreds of servants. Kuroka had no idea who she was looking for.

    Following the rule of thumb, because most devils were cliche like that, Kuroka searched for a basement dungeon.

    And, after only a half hour, she found a passage barred with a thick door and two guards flanking it.

    It definitely looked like the type of place that led to a dungeon and maybe a teleportation room.

    Invisibly, and with her presence as suppressed as possible, Kuroka wove an illusion over the guards so they didn''t notice her paw one of their keys and slip through the door.

    Because devils were creatures of opulence, even this part of the mansion was needlessly vast and sprawling.

    It was only after descending two flights of stairs, passing through four wine cellars, and carefully avoiding a room that smelled so thickly of sex that Kuroka was sure it was a different kind of dungeon that the Stray Devil found the actual prison cells.

    Only one was occupied.

    A young boy, only about nine or ten, hung from the wall by chains wrapped around his arms and legs.

    It was clear the bonds were designed for full-grown men and women, so they painfully hung his arms over his head and pulled his legs down. He was bruised and bloody, though without any severe wounds that Kuroka could see.

    Magic swirled around him. Not his own but that of the younger Dantalion she had seen upstairs. Sounds and sigils flashed intermittently in the air as if whispering words that were just out of reach.

    Kuroka didn''t know if this was the Dantalion bloodline ability or a really advanced spell, but it was perhaps the most complete hypnosis spell she had ever witnessed. Leave someone in there long enough, especially a human without a devil''s ability to resist magic, and eventually, they''d be reduced to a mindless servant.

    All this Kuroka noted with a glance, prodigal as she was with magic.

    It was for the best because her whole focus was on the boy.

    The boy staring at her.

    Grey eyes stared right at her from under filthy brown hair matted with blood and dirt.

    Kuroka took a step back, fearful that she had been caught.

    Then she realized she must be imagining things. She was still invisible and had her Ki suppressed. Only a supremely talented mage or sage would be able to sense her.

    Then the boy spoke in a voice that was flat and empty of all emotions.

    "Black Cat Kuroka."

    This time, Kuroka did flinch.

    "I want to make a deal with you," the boy continued, still staring at her.

    Kuroka dropped her invisibility, though she kept her presence suppressed just in case anyone in the manor above had a sensing ability.

    "A deal, nyaa," she said, sashaying her way closer to the cell bars. She was disconcerted but wouldn''t allow this boy, whoever he was, to see that. She wasn''t really dressed to impress, being dirty and not having bathed in days, but he was too young to have that sort of worry. "With you? What sort of deal? And how did you know I was here?"

    If there was a flaw in her stealth, she needed to know about it right away.

    "A deal of mutual benefit. You train me in Senjutsu, follow my orders, and act as my right-hand woman."

    The way the boy spoke, so empty and emotionless, sent shivers down Kuroka''s back.

    She didn''t let it show, though. She couldn''t show weakness.

    Kuroka had learned that the hard way.

    "Ara? You want Onee-sama to be your lap-kitty? I don''t wannyaa. I killed the last man to try."

    "In return, I promise to give you the chance to reunite with Shirone."

    Claws pressed into the child''s throat, drawing a trickle of blood as feline yellow glared into impassive grey.

    "Who are you," Kuroka hissed angrily.

    She was tired. She was hungry. She was afraid.

    Kuroka was at the end of her rope and one wrong move from this boy could very well send her over the edge.

    "My name is Eren Yeager," the boy said impassively. "I know about the experiments. I know you killed your King to save your sister. I know how to clear your name. I know how to give you a chance to make up with her."

    "How do you know all this," Kuroka demanded, skin tearing further under her claws. "Are you with the Naberius? Have you been spying on me?"

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    "I know this because you tell me it," Eren answered. "I know because I can see the future."

    "No Sacred Gear can see the future," Kuroka denied. "Not even the Agares can see the future."

    "It''s not magic. It''s not a Sacred Gear. Just me. You don''t have to believe me now. You will later."

    "I''d be more likely to believe you if you didn''t end up in a lordling''s dungeon," Kuroka taunted, trying to draw the boy''s anger. Maybe he''d let the truth slip. There was no way he could see the future. "What''s wrong, boyo? Didn''t see this coming, nyaa?"

    "It was the quickest way to meet you after you killed your King," Eren answered easily. "I can escape any time I want."

    Kuroka lept backward as Eren''s open wounds crackled with small bursts of electricity.

    A silvery-white material flowed from Eren''s back and sharpened into a scythe-like blade.

    Kuroka readied herself to teleport through the bars again, but she needn''t have bothered.

    She was not the target.

    In one swift motion, the blade severed the child''s arms and legs.

    Eren fell from the wall, landing on the ground with a ''SPLORT'' of blood from his severed limbs.

    Kuroka watched it all with horrified disgust.

    What sort of mad child had she found?

    Then she noticed something.

    Steam wafted from the wounds as the white substance lifted the boy from the ground and propped him against the wall so he could look at Kuroka once more.

    His wounds... They were healing.

    Quickly.

    Incredibly quickly. Far faster than any regeneration she had ever heard of outside of gods.

    It would be only a few hours before the boy regained fully functional arms and legs.

    That was insane. Even the best healing in the world could not regenerate limbs. Healing miracles were one reason the God of the Bible gained such a following.

    Eren didn''t seem to care about what he had just done to himself.

    Like he was so used to pain that he didn''t even feel it.

    "Give me ten years," Eren said in that emotionless voice. "I will give you a chance to reunite with your sister. I can''t promise she will take you back. I never meet her, so I can''t see her. But I can promise to give you the opportunity. We will work together for ten years. We will make each other stronger than either of us can be alone. I will make sure your hunters never catch you. I will use you, and you will use me."

    "...Neat trick," Kuroka tried to make her voice teasing, but she failed. "It won''t be enough to deal with anyone after me. You cut off your limbs because you couldn''t cut the chains, right?"

    "That''s right," Eren nodded easily. "Without being able to use my Ki, I cannot fight most Ultimate Class beings. I can take them by surprise, but if I don''t, I will just be a punching bag without Senjutsu."

    "So you are useless right now," Kuroka said flatly, finally regaining some composure after the disconcerting sight. "You might be useless forever. You are not a Nekoshou. It will take years of constant training before you can even sense your Ki. Years more before you can use it. And decades to gain access to Senjutsu, if you ever can."

    "Within a year, I will be better than you," Eren said plainly. "Within three, we will take over a faction with the True Longinus as its leader. Within five, I will be equal to a Super Devil. In seven, I will be leading a force with gods in it. In ten, I will be the fourth strongest being in this world."

    "Only fourth," Kuroka laughed at the absurd claim. "Why not claim you can beat Great Red while you''re at it? Can you do that in fifteen years? Twenty?"

    "In eleven, I will be dead."

    The laughter stopped.

    Kuroka looked at the boy who calmly prophesied his own death with a wary eye.

    "... Say I believe you," Kuroka said skeptically. "Not about the future, but about your talent. That still doesn''t help me now, does it? It won''t help me escape with you now. Unless you can tell me where the teleportation room to the human world is, you are useless to me now."

    Once she knew that, Kuroka could leave this crazy boy behind and escape. She didn''t know if the Dantalion spells had driven him to this madness and that silver substance was a weird Sacred Gear of some sort, but she didn''t want to be stuck teaching a mad child Senjutsu.

    It already had a bad name because of her, and she did not want to paint an even greater target on Shirone''s back by having an actual mad sage running around.

    "We cannot leave yet," Eren said simply.

    "Why not?"

    "Because if we leave before I show you my power, you will never work with me."

    "Your power, nyaa," Kuroka asked with feigned casualness as she nodded toward the silver substance that kept him propped against the wall. Maybe he couldn''t see the future but had a mind-reading ability. That made more sense. "What can it do?"

    "Not this," Eren denied. "This is just a side ability for the moment until you teach me Senjutsu. Until you do, I must go big to compensate for my weakness."

    "''Go big,'' nyaa?" Kuroka snorted a laugh. "I guess you''re hitting puberty early."

    Eren didn''t even flinch at her teasing, and Kuroka internally pouted.

    This boy would be no fun. She could just tell.

    "Place an observation spell on me," Eren said as the silvery substance started to carve into the stone walls.

    "Why?" Kuroka asked waryly.

    "Because I am going to put you in a ball to protect you," Eren said simply as more silver approached Kuroka. It did so slowly so as not to spook her, but she watched it warily. "You won''t be able to see anything from inside if you don''t cast the spell."

    "I don''t need you to protect me," Kuroka said with narrowed eyes.

    "You will need to also reinforce yourself with Senjutsu and magic," Eren continued, ignoring her words as the silver substance started surrounding her in a sphere. "You can sense that I have no magic or similar power. I can''t stop you if you try to teleport out. This is just to keep you safe for the demonstration."

    He was right, of course. Kuroka could sense absolutely nothing from the boy except for a stronger-than-average well of Ki. Ki that wasn''t moving.

    She had no idea how he was doing this, but it wasn''t magic.

    The Stray Devil seriously considered just leaving or trying to knock this boy out, but she decided that once she learned his game plan, it wouldn''t be too late to do that later.

    So Kuroka placed the observation spell on Eren, as he had told her to, and the metallic substance encased her in a sphere.

    She also secretly placed a clone, the only one she could conjure at the moment, near the boy so she could kill him if he tried anything.

    If she could kill him.

    That regeneration was greater than anything she had heard of, and she didn''t know its limits. She risked revealing herself with any magic that had a good chance of killing him.

    It took a few minutes of Eren digging his way to the surface from the dungeon, minutes he spent reinforcing Kuroka''s sphere till it was tens of meters thick and firmly locked in place on the ground.

    The Stray Bishop kept waiting for the betrayal, for the metallic substance to try and attack her, but it never did.

    That worried Kuroka more than she cared to admit.

    Hidden in that dark sphere, those minutes gave the Nekoshou time to think. Time she hadn''t had in the days since she had killed her King and fled.

    About the strange boy who claimed to see the future.

    About her own future.

    About her past.

    About Shirone.

    Kuroka wanted to see her sister.

    She wanted it so bad.

    Was Shirone alright? Did she know why Kuroka left, or did she believe the lies the devils were telling her?

    Did Shirone hate her?

    Did she think Kuroka hated her?

    Watching Eren dig upward through her spell in that dark sphere, Kuroka suddenly felt her exhaustion catch up with her.

    She hadn''t eaten or slept in days. Always on the move, always running or hiding.

    Maybe that was why she was going along with this madness.

    Maybe she was just using it as an excuse to catch her breath.

    It didn''t matter.

    Kuroka was alone now, crazy child or not. She had to care for herself and get stronger for Shirone.

    So they could be together again.

    Eren breached the surface, and silvery metal carried him out of the hole and between two buildings on the sprawling Dantalion estate.

    He looked with blank, grey eyes at the monument of excess wealth and opulence as he spoke to Kuroka through the spell.

    "I will kill everyone here, but this will attract every devil in the area. I''ve reinforced the teleportation room, so it won''t be destroyed, but we must rush to it after I am done. You are faster so you will carry me. Just follow the trail."

    "What are you going to do," Kuroka asked, transmitting her voice the same way.

    "Before I do anything, I want to make sure you understand the deal," Eren said, ignoring her question. "We will use each other for our own purposes. Everything else is your choice. Do you understand?"

    "I use you, and you use me," Kuroka repeated suspiciously as her clone caught movement from a passing guard patrol. "Whatever you are doing, you better hurry up, or you will be caught. I will not save you."

    "One final thing," Eren said, unhurried. "I will never have children."

    "...What?" Kuroka asked blankly, wondering what this nine-year-old boy was talking about.

    "I want you to understand that I will never have children," Eren repeated. "This power will die with me. Do you understand?"

    "Do you... think I want your children," Kuroka asked with incredulity and disgust. "You obviously cannot see the future. I don''t go after kids. I want a strong man, thank you. Someone who can give me powerful kittens."

    "What''s that?" A voice called out in the night.

    "Do you understand?"

    "THE PRISONER''S ESCAPED!"

    "Yes. Fine," Kuroka snapped impatiently as Eren was discovered. "I understand. Now do whatever you were going to do before you get caught again."

    Though she said it quickly, Kuroka knew she was too late.

    Anyone employed by a Pillar was at least a Mid rank devil. A human child stood no chance, weird power or not.

    And she was right.

    The guard''s spear pierced the child''s chest straight through the heart.

    Clearly, they had orders to kill any intruders rather than capture them.

    Kuroka, still in the dark sphere of silver, closed her eyes in regret.

    Mad or not, she did not want to see a child die. But she also couldn''t go save him without getting caught herself.

    No, she needed to stay alive for Shirone.

    No matter how much she might regret it, that was the world they lived in, and Eren Yeager was just another dead kid.

    Just like all the other ones she had seen.

    Though Kuroka was so tired, she readied herself to teleport away.

    She''d use the mess of Eren''s failed escape to head to another territory and hope for better luck leaving the Underworld there.

    With any luck, nobody would ever know she was here.

    Then her spell picked up Eren''s words, and she opened her eyes.

    With a spear through the heart and blood flowing freely, Eren looked Kuroka''s invisible clone in the eyes.

    "Then we have a deal."

    Yellow lightning crackled along Eren''s open wound.

    The world exploded.

    Even through meters of solid material...

    Even underground...

    Even reinforced with Senjutsu, Kuroka still felt the shockwave.

    It threw her to the ground, and her sensitive ears were ringing from the noise.

    Her clone was gone, and...

    So were most living beings in the mansion.

    Hundreds of lives snuffed out in an instant.

    Kuroka scrambled to recast the spell that had failed in the explosion.

    What had just happened?

    It took her a moment to establish her spell and another for Kuroka to realize what she was looking at.

    It was... Hell.

    Like a nuclear weapon had gone off, the cataclysmic blast levelled the entire mansion.

    Stone and metal remained here and there, all that was left of buildings that once stood four or five stories tall.

    And everything was on fire.

    Kuroka could not feel the heat from her protective cocoon, but she saw stone and steel melt and war. Heat and steam billowed out to the sky, and what remained of the nearby forest was already covered in raging flames.

    The screams of the dying filled the night as those unfortunate to live through the initial blast burned alive.

    And in the middle of it all was... it.

    Towering hundreds of meters tall, bigger than even Great Red was supposed to be, the colossal humanoid stood in the wreckage of the Dantalion mansion.

    Its skin steamed, red muscle glowing in the night, and white bone glimmered in the light of the fires.

    Long dark hair hung over a face without skin. A row of teeth, too many to be human, stretched from one side of the head to the other without lips to cover them.

    Green eyes stared down at the destruction it wrought from hundreds of meters up.

    The titanic being took one step.

    Only one.

    The earth was pressed flat with that one step.

    The Underworld rumbled with that first step forward.

    All the screams from the survivors of the explosion, those desperate wails of pain and fear and confusion, died with that single colossal step forward that crushed the Dantalion estate flat.

    Through her Senjustu, Kuroka knew only she and the... monster outside survived.

    Kuroka feared she had gone mad.

    Actually mad.

    That the propaganda about Senjutsu had some truth to it, and her power had driven her to hallucinate.

    Sure, this destruction was nothing compared to what some Ultimate Class devils could do, but for a human child to be able to do this?

    A boy not even ten years old?

    Kuroka realized she was laughing.

    In disbelief at the situation.

    In horror at the charred and crushed bodies.

    At the absurdity of such a being disguising itself as a human child.

    It looked more like the Devil than any devil Kuroka had ever known.

    And it wanted her to train it?

    What would that colossal be like if it was as strong, fast, and durable as a regular sage?

    No, it would be even worse. Its healing was already insane.

    If she taught Eren Yeager Senjutsu, would she create an unkillable giant? One who had no problem killing hundreds in an instant, even when he was just a boy?

    Kuroka''s mad laughter cut off as, through her spell, she saw something fall from the sky.

    Suddenly, Kuroka teleported from her protective cocoon and caught Eren in her arms.

    Her devil wings kept them aloft as the giant fell to the ground with an earth-shattering rumble.

    It lay there, crushing what remained of the Dantalion estate under its enormous bulk, as Kuroka held Eren in her arms.

    Absently, Kuroka noticed that it was already starting to dissolve into steam. Whatever had conjured it wore off quickly after Eren left it.

    Eren looked back at her with those emotionless grey eyes.

    Red muscle and sinew dangled from his exposed skin. It looked like it had burned itself into his flesh.

    A row of curved markings now ringed his eyes, and his cheeks were sunken as if they were trying to imitate the teeth of that titanic... thing.

    Kuroka was suddenly struck by an impulse. A wild, reckless idea.

    She could drop this boy, this monster, and let him crash to the ground.

    It might kill him. If not, it should injure him enough that she could finish him off while he healed. She had spells that would totally vaporize his tiny body, and she doubted he could recover from that.

    She might be saving countless lives if she killed Eren Yeager right here and now before he grew any stronger.

    Eren continued to watch her impassively as if he could see her thoughts.

    ... It was just an impulse, though.

    Kuroka wouldn''t kill a kid, even if he was a monster in human form.

    That, and whether he could see the future or not, having a giant like that on her side would make her life much easier.

    "I use you, you use me, right?" Kuroka said with a mischievous smile, and Eren nodded. "Then I am glad to work with you, Partnyaa."

    In her tired state, she couldn''t resist the pun.

    There was still no way she''d want to have his children, though. He was way too young.

    Although... the idea of massive kittens jumping over mountains did have a certain appeal to her, now that she thought of it.

    Still, that was for the future.

    Kuroka would see if there was any truth to his claims about his skill with Senjutsu and his ability to predict the future later.

    Eren had just exterminated one of the last 32 Pillar houses. That was way worse than killing one noble devil.

    Whether he did it to get to her or not, it didn''t matter.

    They were in this together, whatever ''this'' was.

    They needed to leave the Underworld. Now.

    The Devil and the Stray''s first meeting resulted in a mystery that puzzled the Underworld for years and hundreds of deaths.

    Very few bodies were ever identified.

    It was just the first taste of the destruction this world would feel from the Titan''s Path.

 Judas

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 Guilt

    "I wish that the boulder had destroyed the house. I wish..." Mikasa shook her head, hands falling helplessly to the ground. "It doesn''t matter. We would eventually learn the truth one way or another. It was just the worst timing and the most personal of ways to learn about the world. To read it in Grisha''s hand, to learn what he had gone through and what the world was like from someone he loved... It was the final straw for Eren."

    "I can imagine," Yuuto muttered.

    Mikasa shook her head.

    "His entire life, he had been fighting for humanity, for freedom beyond the Walls. To discover that there was no freedom out there, that humanity was the enemy, not Titans? To find out that all the lives sacrificed for him had been for nothing, that Titans would never disappear so long as people, his people, us, were alive..."

    Mikasa looked so helpless, so lost and... small that Serafall wanted to wrap her in a blanket.

    She settled for tightening her hug.

    "It broke him," Mikasa rhasped. "There was no hope anymore. No matter what, the future was dark. And to learn that he only had a few years left to live on top of that? That Armin had thirteen years left? Eren would have chosen anything over that. And he did."

    "Wait a minute!" Kuroka hurried to interject before Mikasa could continue. "Why was Armin dying? Eren was sick, but Armin lived a full life, right?"

    For a long moment, Mikasa just looked at the nekoshou, uncomprehending. Then she looked around the room with furrowed brows, seeing the confusion on everyone''s face.

    "Eren... he should have told you why he was dying, right?"

    "He called it Ymir''s Curse," Rias said with clenched fists. "A genetic condition only Eldian''s can get. He said he had it in his last life, as did his... father... and... brother."

    Serafall could see the horrified realization dawn on the Gremory''s face and spread to the others.

    Mikasa gave a grim nod.

    "One of the things we learned in the basement was that whenever a Titan Shifter inherits one of the Nine, they only have thirteen years left to live. We call it Ymir''s Curse because the legend goes that the Founder, Ymir, died thirteen years after turning into a Titan. The legend is that nobody can be greater than her, so they die after thirteen years. So they die, and the power is passed on to a random Eldian infant."

    "That doesn''t make any sense," Le Fay said. "How does that work if your world doesn''t have magic? That kind of long-lasting curse on a bloodline is possible for a few gods, but only the strongest."

    "Really, we know nothing for sure on the subject." Mikasa gave an almost imperceptible shrug of helplessness. "That was just what we were told. Very few Shifters throughout history have actually lived the full thirteen years. Their Titan is passed on instead of dying naturally when their time gets near. Whether Ymir killed them, the power just sucked their life force as a price, or it was the burden of being able to transform at all that killed them, nobody knows. Everyone just knows they die."

    Serafall could see Mikasa was trying to remain unaffected, trying to stay detached from the story by explaining things from a broad perspective.

    ''We'' instead of ''I.''

    She told the story of ''The Scouts and Eren,'' not ''Mikasa and Eren.''

    But... any time the subject got too close to home, any time she needed to reveal some of the personal tragedies that affected them... the woman shone through the soldier''s mask.

    And Serafall knew that pain all too well.

    "All we knew was that Eren would die before he was twenty-three and Armin when he was twenty-eight... If nobody killed them first," Mikasa said despondently. "What we learned in that basement took something from us. Something pure. Something good. After the basement, there was no hope of a long and happy life for Eren or Armin."

    BANG!!

    "Dammit!" Issei swore through gritted teeth as his fist crashed against the Wall. He was crying tears of frustration and sadness. "Why, dammit!? There''s nothing good about Titans, is there? But why did Senpai have to..."

    "Ise." It was Xenovia''s turn to comfort their boyfriend with a tight hug as Irina held Asia''s hand.

    He wasn''t the only one with tears in his eyes. As the story continued, most of the captive audience had collapsed into a seat or lay on the floor.

    Kuroka was sitting in one of the chairs, the cane hugged to her chest like a teddy bear, and she had a haunted look in her eyes. Surprisingly, Koneko was sitting at the foot of the chair, her back pressed against her sister''s leg and curled into a ball.

    Akeno and Rias were sides by side on another couch, holding each other''s hands tightly, while Rias''s other hand held Gasper''s emerging from a box beside the unconscious Valeria.

    Azazel had retreated to the far side of the room and was leaning against a wall with a serious face.

    It was almost amusing how Vali''s position mirrored the fallen''s, though he was leaning more ''coolly'' next to his team. He was biting his lips, though. On the ground beside him, Bikou sat against the Wall with his staff leaning on his shoulder.

    Le Fay had wrapped her arms around the miniature version of Fenrir, her head pressed into his fur, while her brother and the shrunken Gogmagog stood over her.

    Two figures stood in the center of the room, almost seeming unaffected by the story.

    The first was Ophis, who had remained in place this entire time, not reacting to anything with her head tilted and gaze distant.

    Sona wasn''t unaffected, but she hadn''t moved. She had remained in one spot without budging, looking down at Mikasa this entire time. She shed no tears, and only the occasional change of expression belied any internal torment as she kept prodding Mikasa to continue.

    Serafall wanted to pull her sister into her arms, whispering that everything would be okay and that this world was nowhere near as cruel as the one Mikasa came from.

    She couldn''t, though. Because what Sona needed right now was to hear everything. To face it herself.

    So-tan was growing into such a fine woman, and Serafall couldn''t be prouder.

    If it only didn''t involve so much pain.

    "What, exactly, did you discover in that basement," Sona pressed.

    So Mikasa continued her tale. This time, she spoke of the outside world: the history of the Eldian Empire, its fall to civil war, the king''s flight to Paradis, and the ghettos Eldians were forced into in other nations. She also spoke of their lives of military service, indoctrination, and oppression.

    She spoke of Grisha Yeager, a boy who yearned to see the outside world only to have his kid sister torn apart by dogs when they were caught leaving their confined zone.

    She spoke of the man who grew up to lead a restoration movement, a man who married a descendant of royal blood and had a son��a son they tried to indoctrinate in their own way, foisting their hopes and dreams on.

    A son who sold them out to Marley.

    "The Grisha I knew was nothing like that," Mikasa said with a shake of her head. "He was a kind man. One who only wanted what was best for us. He had learned from his mistakes. He was the Attack Titan for years, but he never tried to do anything but save people. I think he only transformed once or twice in his entire life."

    "But when he did, when he lost his second wife, he killed a family to get the power needed to right the wrong," Azazel said with a wry smile. "I can''t blame him. I''ve done worse when some of my lovers were killed."

    "Azazel-sensei?" Issei asked, horrified.

    "I''ve had wives, Ise. I told you," the fallen said with a shrug filled with false nonchalance. "Lovers. Even a harem a time or two. But times haven''t always been as good as they are now. So, yes, I''ve destroyed families in revenge."

    Most eyes were on the teacher and student, so most missed how Mikasa''s fists tightened.

    Serafall and Sona did not.

    "What happened next?"

    Mikasa told of Grisha''s rescue by the Attack Titan of the time, Eren Kruger, but not before Dina had been turned into a Pure Titan. The Smiling Titan.

    Sona looked like she might interrupt for a moment, but she swallowed her words with a frown and let Mikasa continue.

    Finally, Mikasa reached the point where she talked about the dreams Eren started having and the Attack Titan''s actual ability.

    "Wait," Issei stopped her. "Eren can see the future?"

    "No," Mikasa denied instantly. "It''s just memories. All Shifters inherit memories from their predecessors, but the Attack Titan allows its wielders to send their own back. They can only do this in a way that ensures that the time they are living in is the future of previous Attack Titans. Eren Kruger saw memories of Grisha Yeager, and they contained a message to Eren Yeager, but Kruger had no idea who they were about or what they meant. But because he saw them, he took actions that would lead to the future we lived."

    "But... couldn''t Eren have sent memories back that would make it so the bad things didn''t happen?"

    "No," Sona answered Gasper''s question instead of Mikasa. "If events didn''t happen, Eren wouldn''t have memories of them to send back, making those timelines impossible to exist. It''s not time travel. It''s just a different way of experiencing time as a medium. Instead of 1-2-3 like we do, it is 3-2-1. The numbers are all the same, just the order is different."

    Quite a few audience members looked confused, but Azazel had a separate realization that nobody else did.

    "If that ability really works like that," the governor of the Grigori said as he rubbed his chin. "Then the final holder of the Attack Titan would be the one with the most power. They would be able to nudge all those who came before. Since he still has it, I imagine Eren Yeager was the final Attack Titan in your world? It didn''t pass on to someone else with his death?"

    "We can''t say how it worked for certain," Mikasa shook her head. "All we know is what Eren told us about it and a few notes in Grisha''s journal. The literal translation is ''Advancing Giant.'' They claimed it was called the Attack Titan because it was one of the Nine that always advanced toward freedom, never submitting to anyone, not even the Founder. Though we can''t confirm the last part."

    "So, was it like that by design? Or, as the final Attack Titan, did Eren send memories back to make it like that?" Rias asked, worrying her lip in thought.

    "We can''t say for sure," Mikasa said helplessly. "Most of these are theories Armin came up with later. Still, it would explain why it was lost with the fall of the Eldian Empire. Its host at the time did not need to follow Fritz''s command. Armin also thought it might be the Attack Titan Eldia was trying to replicate with the Ackerman genetic manipulation and might be why the Founder can''t control us, but that is just speculation. We have no way to know."

    "''Advancing toward freedom,''" Akeno let out a mirthless chuckle. "''Never submitting.'' That sounds like Eren, alright."

    "That was also the first time we heard of the Rumbling," Mikasa muttered. "The Walls, on top of trying to keep us ''safe'' and ignorant, were supposed to be a threat from King Fritz. If anyone tried to attack Paradis, he''d unleash the millions of Colossal Titans and crush the world flat."

    "So Senpai didn''t come up with it himself," Yuuto nodded as if something that bugged him had been settled.

    "It was an empty threat," Mikasa explained wearily. "Fritz had taken a vow of nonviolence and bound it to his bloodline. He would rather let the world destroy us while he lived in his private kingdom than let the Eldian Empire be rebuilt. The rest of the world didn''t know that, though, and the Rumbling was the only reason we hadn''t been completely invaded by Marley."

    "But Eren was not bound by that vow," Akeno noted.

    "He wasn''t, but he also couldn''t use the Founder without the aid of the royal bloodline. But Eren had no control, and Historia was our only royal, so we couldn''t risk her. No matter what, we weren''t just going to lay down and die like Fritz wanted, so we spent the next few years learning all we could of the world and our place in it."

    Mikasa spoke briefly about those years of wiping out the last Pure Titans on Paradis and how they had reclaimed their lost land within Maria. She spoke longingly of seeing the sea for the first time and how beautiful it was.

    And how Eren had changed.

    "We thought it was just all the information we had received, that the revelation of the time limit, what Grisha had done, and the nature of the world outside the Walls had worn him down. He had always been passionate before then. He fought with others, got mad or happy or acted up. But after the basement and the reward ceremony that followed... he was quiet, lost in his thoughts more than ever."

    Vali and Arthur shared a look that went unnoticed by most, one of familiarity. Serafall didn''t miss it, though. She supposed that made sense. They knew the ''Eren'' from after his death. Hearing him as he was when he was young was probably the weirder part for them.

    "We finally killed the Pure Titans. We finally explored beyond the Walls. We finally saw the sea, which we had been yearning for, yet... Eren couldn''t be happy. Not knowing what was out there. The sea was just another Wall to him, with enemies beyond waiting to invade and destroy his home," Mikasa drew in a deep breath, fists tightening around her scarf in anger once more.

    "And then we received a message from his brother Zeke. We hatched a plan. Using Eren and Zeke, we were going to unleash The Rumbling."

    Mikasa saw the faces of surprise around the room.

    "That''s right, we were first to suggest the Rumbling, not Eren."

    Mikasa stopped them from interrupting with an explanation.

    "Not completely, but we would use a city''s worth of the Wall as a deterrent against the other nations in the world. A threat and an example. A way to buy our nation time since we were a century behind everyone else in technology."

    "And your society would need to adapt as well," Azazel nodded along, rubbing his chin in thought. "The civilians would need to learn of the truth. The governmental structure required stabilization. Even if you had Eren and Armin as threats, they couldn''t be the sole backbone of a nation confined to the Walls for a century. Not when Marley still had the other Titans. The logistics alone, negotiations between you and other countries, would take years."

    "We needed time," Mikasa nodded. "If the other nations learned of the vow or Eren''s inability to use the Founder without royal blood, then we''d be doomed. The Warriors knew he had Founder, and they knew he had used it once. Marley would not have given us time to restructure our society. We only had the time we did because they got caught up in another of their wars of expansion. Before they could focus on us, we needed time to become a nation that could stand independently, and the Rumbling was our answer."

    Serafall pulled her friend tighter into her arms as, for the first time, her voice cracked slightly.

    "Eren hated it," Mikasa confessed. "He hated the Rumbling. He kept pushing for another way, any other solution that wouldn''t involve the Rumbling. We didn''t know it then, but he had been reaching out to us, trying to find any hope. Any solution but the Rumbling. I don''t know if there was one, but we couldn''t find it. Most didn''t even look for one. Why bother when we have Eren Yeager, the Founder and an expendable source of royal blood? We let him down. We let him down so much."

    Nobody said anything as Mikasa took a deep breath and recomposed herself.

    "And that was our final sin. We could not devise a solution that didn''t involve the Rumbling. We could give him hope for a better future. We would do the same thing as Marley, as the old Eldian Empire. We would use Titans to terrify the world into getting what we want. The higher-ups of the military even wanted to feed Eren to Historia to rejoin the Founder with the royalty. Once she had a few kids, and her term was almost up, they''d feed her to her children, and the cycle would continue."

    "''Senpai hates Titans,''" Issei quoted with clenched fists. "''More than anyone else ever born, Senpai hates Titans.'' You said that. Senpai... he wouldn''t allow someone he cared about to go through that."

    Mikasa''s following sentence was so quiet and muffled in her scarf that nobody would have heard it unless they had supernatural hearing.

    "We had become exactly the type of monsters the world accused us of being."

    "Eren wouldn''t allow that," Akeno agreed with Issei, bitter confidence in her voice.

    "No. He wouldn''t," Mikasa shook her head and met the half-fallies eyes. "When they really started to push for that option, Eren had no choice but to push forward with his own plan. Coincidentally," Everyone could hear the bitter sarcasm in Mikasa''s voice. "Historia ended up married and pregnant at this time. Eren had told her of his plan, and they conceived a way to buy time for him. She was the only one who knew his plan."

    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Serafall wondered at her Pawn''s choice of words. Had Mi-chan intended it to sound like it did, or was that just her reading too much into things?

    "What was his plan if he was so opposed to the Rumbling," Vali asked, crossing his arms.

    Mikasa told them how Eren and Zeke had been secretly trading messages and about Beast Titan''s plan to solve the ''Eldian Problem'' by sterilizing every Eldian with the Founder.

    Within a generation, there would be no more Titans because no children would be left to inherit them.

    "That is..." Rias couldn''t form the words at the thought.

    "Horrible," Serafall though, couldn''t hold it in.

    She placed herself in that situation, in a world where devil children weren''t born.

    A world where she could never have held So-tan''s small form in her arms.

    A world where she had never become Miracle Girl Levi-tan to see a small girl''s smile.

    A world where Serafall Leviathan had never held hope for the future and she remained the woman forever trapped in the memories of a war against her own people.

    Serafall would rather die than live in such a world.

    "It was," Mikasa agreed. "It might be better for the world than the Rumbling but not for Eldia. Not for us."

    Mikasa then spoke of their final attempt to find another option. They went to Marley to scout it out and see if there truly was no hope of reconciliation between Marley and Eldia.

    "It was amazing." Despite her words, Mikasa did not sound amazed. She sounded helpless. "To hear people who have never seen a titan in their lives, who had never struggled with starvation, who had never seen someone they love torn apart and eaten... To hear those people cry out that we all needed to die, to be exterminated, when they had never met us... It was too much for Eren. He started his plan. He left us, and we didn''t see him for months."

    "He went to find Zeke," So-tan said.

    "Yes. We learned about this later, but at this time, Eren disguised himself as an injured vet. It wasn''t hard. Eldians were forcefully conscripted by Marley for their wars against the other nations of the world, and plenty suffered war wounds. It gave him access to the Eldian district, Liberio, where he could meet Zeke and Falco, a young Warrior aspirant training to be the one to inherit the Armour Titan from Reiner."

    Mikasa spent some time talking about Marley, the warrior program, and Falco and Gabi, two teenage soldiers who wanted to inherit the Titans.

    "Why would they want to?" Xenovia asked doubtfully, arms crossed. "Like Ise said, nothing good comes from them."

    "Ideology and benefits," Mikasa said bitterly. "Warriors and their families got special privileges that other Eldians didn''t. And they were kids. They had been told their entire lives that becoming a Warrior was an honour, a privilege. They were taught to hate themselves as Eldians and that the only way to become a ''Good Eldian'' was to dedicate themselves to Marley and fight the ''Evil Eldians'' like us Island Devils."

    "Original Sin," Azazel said, running a tired hand through his hair. "Where your very birth is something to be ashamed of, and you need to dedicate yourself to making up for that ''sin.''"

    "It''s why they targeted children. They are easy to brainwash the young before they see proof that the world is not black and white."

    So-tan gave her a worried look, and Serafall felt a twinge of shame. She hadn''t meant to say it out loud, but it had slipped out. Mikasa''s story was pulling way too many memories up.

    Memories of four young devils who had discovered that everything their ancestors had taught them were lies and the choice they made to try and change their world for their people''s own good.

    Memories of the frozen corpses of other young devils, no older than her, staring back through the ice with accusing eyes.

    Ah. Cute thoughts. Cute thoughts.

    Pew pew! Let So-tan''s cuteness purify these un-cute thoughts!

    Thankfully, Serafall regained her center as Mikasa took the story back up.

    Eren''s disappearance had naturally made everyone panic, and they had spent months searching for him. Then, they received his letter, claiming he needed to be rescued, along with Zeke, from Marley. To do so, they followed his plan to attack Marley, ensuring peace was no longer possible.

    "He knew we''d come for him," Mikasa said vacantly. "Every other time he had been kidnapped, we had. He was our hope, our salvation, so we went to rescue him. We attacked Liberio during a festival. We fought soldiers, of course, but most who died weren''t even Marlian. They were Eldian. Civilians."

    "That must be after... that night," Akeno whispered in her King''s ears, and Rias nodded grimly, her eyes narrowed on Mikasa.

    "Armin... he transformed into the Colossal in the port, destroying their ships... and thousands of innocent lives. He had nightmares about that night, even years later. Told me he had never been happier that his Titan didn''t have ears, so he couldn''t hear the screams."

    "So I was right," Kuroka said, not sounding happy in the slightest. "He really did set off a war."

    "It was his declaration of war," Mikasa nodded but then shook her head right after. "But he didn''t just do it for that. He did it because he needed the last keys to his plan. Zeke, of course, and the Warhammer Titan''s powers, but also Falco and Gabi. Those two were key. The last pieces he needed."

    So-tan hitched her breath, and Serafall looked at her with worry, but her eyes were laser-focused on Mikasa.

    "...They got on the airship. We were celebrating our success. We had Eren back, even if we did place him under arrest for his actions. We had Zeke. We could start the Rumbling test whenever we wanted. Only a few of us had died, and we disabled a major part of the Marlian military invasion force with the explosion at the port. Despite everything... we had won. Why wouldn''t we be happy? We didn''t notice the stowaways..."

    Mikasa''s voice hitched at the end, and she stopped talking.

    "Tell me," Sona demanded. "Tell me why Sasha died."

    Mikasa''s eyes widened in shock as they rose to meet her niece''s, but Sona didn''t blink.

    "Gabi... she had a rifle. Shot Sasha in the chest..." Mikasa said softly, looking away from the young woman. "She died quickly, but not before asking for meat one last time..." Mikasa let out a little hiccup that might have been a laugh or sob. "It was just so... Sasha. We couldn''t believe it. Sasha, who had gone through everything with us, who had survived Trost, the coup, and Shinganshina? Sasha dead? Because of Eren? It didn''t seem real."

    Sona''s fists clenched, and Serafall knew her sister well enough to know that she was holding back a question to let Mikasa continue.

    "Both Gabi and Falco were caught, of course. We weren''t kind to them, but we didn''t kill them, no matter how much some of us wanted to. We told Eren. Told him what this news rescue had cost. And he laughed. Just... laughed."

    Serafall could imagine it all too easily. She had met plenty of mad men who, when confronted with the consequences of their actions on others, had just laughed. Because they didn''t care.

    But... that didn''t sound like the boy Mikasa loved.

    "We couldn''t believe it," Mikasa muttered. "Eren hadn''t just changed. He was almost unrecognizable to us. The boy who charged the Female Titan in a rage when his comrades died was laughing at Sasha''s death? That was where the idea began, I think. That Zeke had done something to him. Changed him. The ''Eren'' we knew could never do this, so it must be Zeke''s fault."

    Mikasa buried her head in her arms again.

    "We never understood Eren. We thought we did, but we didn''t."

    Mikasa spoke of the days following the attack on Marley, of imprisoning Eren since he couldn''t be trusted anymore and keeping Zeke separate from him to prevent him from using the Founder.

    She told them of their military''s decision to feed Eren to someone else, someone more compliant.

    Mikasa''s story diverged a bit as she spoke of Gabi and Falco''s escape from their confinement, their encounter with Sasha''s family and Marlian lover as they tried to escape to freedom.

    The stories converged again when Eren escaped with the Yeagerist''s insurrection. She explained the spiked wine that allowed Zeke to turn the drinkers into Pure Titans, freeing himself to try to meet up with Eren.

    She told them that Falco had ingested some when it was discovered that he and Gabi were the ones responsible for Sasha''s death.

    "Eren was doing everything he could to make us his enemies," Mikasa said, tightening her hold on her scarf again. "We were confused. Hurt. Enemies and allies were changing every few seconds. And then Marley invaded with their remaining Shifters."

    Serafall could imagine that part all too well. Half the current Pillar families had been enemies of the New Satans at one point or another. Almost every family had members on both sides of the Civil War.

    Today''s enemy was yesterday''s ally and tomorrow''s traitor.

    "It was a melee, where we tried to protect Eren and fight the invaders while Zeke and him tried to reach each other. Zeke used his ability to turn those who drank the wine into Pure Titans, Falco included. The Jaw Titan, injured in the battle, sacrificed himself to turn Falco back, but Gabi had a rifle."

    Mikasa shook her head, almost in disbelief.

    "Even if she was... better, for lack of a better word, Eren had still killed her friends. Destroyed her home. So... she shot him. Right when he and Zeke were about to touch, she shot his head off with a high-powered rifle. Severed his spine and all. In the confusion, moments away from failure, with barely any time to aim... it was a one-in-a-million shot."

    Mikasa said it vacantly like she was reliving watching Eren''s death.

    "But Zeke caught Eren''s head. Decapitation is fatal even to a Shifter, but it is not instant death even to a regular human. A little over ten seconds, that''s how long it takes someone to die after losing their head. Eren was still alive when they touched. And he activated the Founder."

    "Okay," Bikou interrupted before Mikasa could say anything more. "I can guess where this is going, but before we get there and you absolutely destroy my emotional stability for the next decade or so, I just want to give respect where it was due."

    Everyone in the room stared at him blankly.

    "Like, don''t get me wrong, Eren was always a badass. He''d kick our butts up and down the field in training. But getting your head shot off and still pulling through is some next-level stuff. I just want to take a moment to appreciate it."

    Half the room blinked at the descendent of the Monkey King in surprised stupefaction at the complete non sequitur.

    The other half knew what he was doing when they noticed his surreptitious look toward the despondent Le Fay.

    The story was nothing short of depressing and bleak. What few moments of happiness there were were few and far between, followed by more misery.

    They knew how it ended. Mikasa had already told them the result of The Rumbling, and now they were just going to listen to the specifics.

    Bikou was, in his own way, trying to bolster the spirits of the younger members by making light of the situation.

    Serafall felt a surge of appreciation for the boy. As she told the story, Serafall had let herself be swept up in Mi-chan''s pain and loss.

    "Puey," Miracle Girl Levi-tan pretended to spit to the side. "It''s not that cool. If he was really awesome, he wouldn''t have been shot at all. Used that Warhammer thingy to block the bullet. Real badasses don''t get hurt by bullets, no matter how many or how strong. It''s the law."

    "What law?" Asia, bless her pure heart, asked completely guilelessly. Her eyes were still red-rimmed, but she latched on to the distraction.

    "The Law of ''Immune to Bullets!''"

    Asia looked confused, and, finally tearing her eyes away from Mi-chan, So-tan couldn''t hold it in anymore.

    "Narrative tropes are not laws!" So-tan said in exasperation.

    "I agree with Lady Leviathan," Rias said, trying to smile. She failed, and it came out as more of a grimace, but Serafall beamed at the redhead at the attempt. Now, if only she would call her Levi-tan. "Anime is totally real. Therefore, laws of storytelling are real too."

    "Even now?" Akeno asked her King with fond exasperation. "You just can''t help yourself, can you, you weeaboo."

    "Japanese Otaku, thank you," Rias tried to say imperiously, and this time, her smile was just a bit more real.

    Serafall kept a side eye on Mikasa as the room descended into a pointless argument on which, if any, tropes should be considered natural Law.

    Initially, the Pawn had just looked confused, almost hurt, at the digression from her story.

    But Mikasa wasn''t an idiot.

    Serafall could see the moment Mikasa realized what was happening as her eyes widened slightly. Her eyes flickered from Serafall to Rias, to Akeno, to Bikou, to Kuroka, to Yuuto, to Azazel, and then to Sona. All the ones keeping the silly momentum going whenever silence lulled.

    A look of gratefulness flashed through Mikasa''s eyes before she closed them.

    Taking a steadying breath, she steadied herself, regaining her center after the last hour or so of recounting some of the most harrowing moments of her life.

    Nobody here was ungrateful to Mikasa, and even those just meeting her for the first time tonight could see how her tale affected her. As they neared the end, giving her a moment to recompose herself was the least they could do.

    Eventually, though, the story needed to go on.

    Looking more put together than in the last hour, Mikasa interrupted a heated debate between Le Fay and Serafall over whether ''Witches are/aren''t Magical Girls.''

    "He planned it, you know." The argument cut off, and all eyes returned to the former soldier. "Getting shot. Eren planned for it to happen. Needed it to happen. That was why Sasha died, so Falco could become the Jaw Titan, and Gabi could shoot his head off."

    "There''s no way he planned something like that," Xenovia shook her head in disbelief. "That''s way too specific, way too many variables. Not even Azazel could plan something like that."

    "I''ll take that as a compliment."

    "And why would he even plan to be decapitated," the former exorcist asked, ignoring the fallen. "If he was that smart, he should have been able to plan some way to meet with Zeke without having to go to such lengths."

    "Eren is no stranger to self-mutilation, and this was the best way he could think of to show us what we needed to do," Mikasa said, and then she shook her head. "I am getting ahead myself. For now, I need to tell you about Ymir and The Paths."

    Mikasa told them the story of a girl, a slave, who had freed a pig and been hunted by her tribal owners for sport. She told them how the dying girl had fallen into a cave at the roots of a great tree, and there, a parasite had bonded to her.

    Mikasa knew nothing about the creature, just that it turned Ymir into the first Titan.

    There were frowns all around the room as she told them how Ymir returned to her masters and used her powers to turn a small tribe into the basis of what would become the Eldian Empire. Nobody could stand against the Founder, and eventually, Ymir married the king and had three children.

    It was not a love story, though, and when Ymir died, the king, fearing the loss of his power, ordered her children to eat her corpse in hopes of gaining that power again.

    From those first three daughters, a bloodline that could dominate the world was born from Ymir. And so were countless generations of people forced to live in the shadow of titans.

    Ymir, though, found herself trapped by her own power in a pseudo-information-dimension. A power that connected her to everyone with her bloodline, past, present, and future. She was bound to the bloodline of the king she loved and hated.

    And so she toiled, building Titans out of sand in the Paths for two thousand years under the control of whatever royal had the Founder in a world where time had no meaning yet forever flowed.

    "We don''t know exactly what happened in the Paths when Eren and Zeke touched, but we got the general premise," Mikasa said. "If Zeke had his way, he would have ordered Ymir to sterilize every Eldian. We were afraid Eren planned to go along with that terrible idea but hoped he''d stick to our deterrence plan with the Rumbling. Zeke tried to convince Eren that his was the best plan by showing him what Grisha had done, that Eren was being manipulated by their father. It backfired."

    Mikasa''s smile was small, fond, and filled with pain.

    "Grisha... he really was the man we knew as kids. He had given up his ambitions, revenge, and everything to ensure his family lived long, happy lives. Even after Carla''s death, after confronting the royal family and learning they planned to let everyone die rather than try and stop it, he couldn''t bring himself to kill them. He was a good man. He couldn''t kill women and children just for power."

    Sona''s eyes widened. She was the only one who could piece things together before Mikasa''s explanation continued.

    "But Eren... Eren could. And he was the Attack Titan and the Founder. So he spoke to Grisha through both. He used the memories of seeing his sister torn apart, of Dina''s fate, of Carla''s fate, to stir Grisha into a frenzy. Frieda Reiss couldn''t actually win, even if she could put up some resistance. Fritz''s vow of peace still bound her. She died, along with her mother and siblings. And the future was secure. Zeke realized he couldn''t convince Eren after that. They fought. Eren won. He freed Ymir of the bonds the royal family placed on her."

    "And this all happened in the Paths," Kuroka nodded thoughtfully. "Where time passes, but doesn''t."

    "It all happened in the instant Zeke caught Eren''s head. We only learned about it later," Mikasa nodded her head. "All we saw was an enormous spine, a centipede-like creature, burst from Eren''s severed neck and reconnected it to his head. We saw the lighting of his transformation, and we felt the ground rumbling as the Walls fell. Again, some of us hoped Eren had chosen to continue with deterrence."

    "But he had his own plan," Sona said with a narrowed gaze. "He used you, Zeke, and everyone else for that plan. To unleash the complete Rumbling.

    "It wasn''t just the Walls around the city that fell," Mikasa nodded wearily. "It was all of them. Eren had unleashed the full might of the Rumbling. He used the Founder to create a new Titan, a massive creature of bone, hundreds of meters tall. He used it to lead the Wall Titans to crush the world."

    "Why did he do it," Rias asked, biting her finger again. Blood flowed, but she paid it no mind. "Why didn''t he just use the Founder to save the city, then destroy the invaders? That should have solved the problem."

    "The immediate one," Azazel shook his head. "But Eren only had a few years left. Even if he destroyed this invasion, what about the ones after he''s dead? And would anyone let him and Zeke touch again? He likely saw this as the only chance he''d have."

    "But billions of people?" Irina denied. "Couldn''t he just, I don''t know, target the military or something? There is no reason to kill that many innocent people. They hadn''t done anything to him!"

    Mikasa didn''t answer, just picking up the story again.

    "Eren used the Founder to speak to all the subjects of Ymir, all over the world," Mikasa continued. "He told us all that his only goal was to protect Paradis, but the rest of the world wanted them exterminated. He rejected that wish. So he''d trample the rest of the world flat instead to protect his home. For us. We would be the ones to benefit from that genocide."

    "So you fought him."

    "No." Eyebrows rose in surprise at Mikasa''s denial. "We couldn''t. Logistically, we had no way to reach him, let alone fight him. He was huge, and our only Titan was Armin. Falco had just turned back into a human and had no idea what was happening. Against all the Wall Titans, each a Colossal Titan themselves? We''d just be crushed, like everything else. But..."

    Mikasa paused, seeming to search for the right words.

    "Honestly, none of us even thought of stopping him at first. He was... Eren. Our friend. Our comrade. And he was doing it for us. All we had to do was sit back and let him do it, and we''d be safe. No more fear of invasion. No more alienation. Just let Eren keep walking forward, and we''d win."

    "But you couldn''t do that," Serafall said with surety. "Even if you benefited from the Rumbling, you couldn''t let it continue. Even if you had to fight Eren."

    "...The scouts were never about ''Eldia.'' We fought and died because we believed in a better future for humanity. Most died without ever knowing humanity even existed beyond the Walls. A better future would not come from the slaughter of everyone that didn''t live on Paradis."

    Mikasa looked into Serafall''s eyes before sweeping around the room.

    "We were not the good guys," she said firmly. "It was us that wanted to use the Rumbling first, even if limited. It was us who turned to the power of Titans, just like every other nation, irrespective of the suffering involved. It was us who pilled all our hopes, our dreams, and our future on Eren''s back, and we could not provide him with any plan for a better future. Eren chose to start the Rumbling, but we were not the good guys. We were just as guilty as everyone else involved, maybe more so."

    For the first time in over an hour of talking, Mikasa gently shook off Serafall''s arm to stand up. Serafall did the same, though she stepped away slightly to give Mikasa space.

    "But... we each had reasons why we couldn''t let the Rumbling continue. Duty. Revenge against Zeke. Saving family that the Rumbling would kill. Stopping Eren from doing something he''d regret. And guilt. So much guilt. We never wanted to people. We didn''t join the military to kill people. We... Even if they were enemy nations, none of us could have lived with ourselves if we didn''t try, one last time, to fight for humanity as a whole."

    Mikasa stared off into space.

    "None of us were saints. We just had things we dedicated our hearts to that we couldn''t let go of... Some of us just took longer to realize it than others."

    Mikasa spoke of the race against the clock as days passed, the Rumbling destroying more and more as they hurried to gather all the allies they could for a confrontation against Eren. Even enemies, like the Warriors or a recently freed Annie, were enlisted to help.

    It wasn''t without opposition, though. The Yeagerists were more than willing to let Eren complete the Rumbling.

    So they fought and killed their former comrades as they tried to reach the plane that could take them to Eren.

    Eventually, they left Paradis, and they prepared to stop Eren.

    But... they didn''t know how to do that. Were they just going to kill him?

    Eren?

    Ultimately, it was decided they should try and find Zeke. Killing him would halt Eren''s ability to use the Founder, stopping the Rumbling.

    But... Annie had given up any resistance with the destruction of Liberio and the presumed death of her father, and Falco was too untrained to reliably help, so they remained behind.

    Mikasa was light on the details of the final battle, just telling them that Eren had used the Warhammer Titan to recreate previous versions of Titan Shifters they had to fight against.

    They almost lost if not for the arrival of Annie and Falco, who had been able to fly thanks to the influence of the Beast Titan he received from Zeke''s tainted wine.

    Afterward, Armin connected to the Paths to discover Zeke and convince him to let Levi kill him to stop Eren.

    The Rumbling stopped with the destruction of Eren''s White Titan and the ejection of the parasite they had seen when Eren was decapitated.

    "That was it," Mikasa said, her voice cracking. "The Rumbling was over. And we didn''t have to kill Eren to do it... It was a delusion, more than anything. Even if he''d lived, he still would have been executed, or the Yeagerists would have continued to push for him to finish the job. But still... Eren could stop. He didn''t need to die. We could talk to him. Convince him somehow."

    Mikasa swallowed wetly, her head pressed against the wall, and she stared blankly at the ceiling as she told the end of her story.

    "Eren... didn''t stop," she rasped, voice muffled from her arm. "He might not be able to control the other Titans without the parasite, but Ymir was no longer bound. He transformed again into a Colossal Titan, marching forward to reunite with the wormlike creature and continue his genocidal plan."

    "Always walking forward," Akeno''s voice was just as hollow as Mikasa''s. "No matter how much you hate it, you must walk forward. It''s all we can do."

    "Reiner and the other Shifters tried to destroy the creature," Mikasa continued despite the interruption. "It fought back, turning all the Eldians nearby into Pure Titans, Jean and Connie included. Armin, as the Colossal Titan, was holding Eren back single-handedly. Everyone was moments away from failing, from the resumption of the Rumbling and the death of everyone we had managed to save so far. I was the only one left who could do anything. Just me. And I knew where he''d be. Just knew it."

    Mikasa stopped talking.

    Nobody said anything.

    A haunting silence filled the room.

    Then it was broken.

    "He wasn''t in the nape, or he''d have died with the White Titan. He was in his Titan''s mouth," Mikasa spoke hollowly, her voice empty as fists tightened around her scarf and an imaginary blade. "It was... Easy. A thunder spear to open a hole in. And then... swish. One cut. Eren saw me, but he didn''t fight me. Didn''t switch his consciousness location to try to save himself. He just... died."

    Mikasa drew in a shaky breath.

    "When he did, the parasite died as well. All the Pure Titans turned back to normal. The shifters couldn''t transform anymore. I had killed him. I had stopped The Rumbling. There were no more Titans. All because I killed Eren."

 Devils

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 Survivors

    ZOOM ZOOM IYAAN!

    Those were the first words Issei Hyoudou heard.

    Well...Not ''heard'' so much as ''experienced.''

    [...They have that song in the afterlife?]

    He wasn''t speaking, not really.

    To speak, you need a mouth. Air and lungs. You required the concept of sound.

    Issei felt nothing. Saw nothing.

    Was nothing.

    There wasn''t even darkness.

    There was just Issei.

    Alone.

    With his thoughts.

    His regrets.

    And that song.

    HE HAS SEEN LOTS OF OPPAI, BUT HE LIKES BIG ONES THE BEST!

    [Why?]

    The question, more of a plea, cut through the nothingness.

    [Ddraig!?]

    [Why is he singing that?]

    OPPAI-DRAGON ALSO PUSHES TODAY

    Issei wasn''t hearing things, for he had no ears. It was more like ''communication'' was being transmitted to Issei directly.

    But he''d recognize his partner anywhere.

    [Is it because he''s made of Dreams? That has to be it, right? It''s popular and kids dream, right? They''ll grow out of it, right?... Please?]

    [There, there,] Issei tried to console his friend, unsure if the dragon could hear him. [It''s not so bad. It means you''re popular. So many are looking up to you now. You''re the coolest dragon.]

    [Sob.]

    ON THE EDGE OF A CERTAIN SEA, THE OPPAI DRAGON WAS FLYING

    [Uh... I know you''re, um, sad, but... am I dead? Can you hear me?]

    There was a moment of silence, and Issei feared his words would go unheard.

    Maybe this was what death was like, a void of nothing where you heard things but were unable to affect anything?

    [...You died, partner.] Ddraig said with a sad sigh. [Samael''s poison is deadly to dragons. Extremely so. Even I, at my peak, would have died if subjected to what Ophis went through.]

    IN THE SUMMER SEAS, THE OPPAI IS FULL OF DREAMS!

    [...ah...]

    That...

    Issei didn''t know how to feel about that.

    Sad?

    Of course, he was sad! He didn''t want to die, damnit!

    Issei had just lost his virginity! He only had two girlfriends! He''d barely had time to get used to being a devil and Ddraig''s partner!

    He wouldn''t be there for the season 2 premiere! The kids would be disappointed!

    His parents would be devastated! They had tried so hard to have a kid, and then he went and died. This would destroy them.

    And his friends?

    Issei... didn''t know. They were strong. Stronger than him, but at the same time, they had dealt with a lot of stuff in their past.

    He didn''t want his recklessness to be the reason they were hurt again.

    Asia and Xenovia...

    Satans damnit! Issei didn''t know what to feel. Of course, He''d miss them and wanted them to be happy, but...

    AGH! SOMEONE ELSE WOULD GET TO TOUCH THEIR OPPAI! ARRRRGGGGGG! HE WAS SO JEALOUS!

    And mad.

    Issei found himself almost angrier than ever before.

    At Eren.

    What right did he have to kill Issei? Was it because of the Crimson World Wall? Issei remembered vividly the rage, pain, and disgust on Eren''s face when he talked about Walls.

    Had Issei''s choice of power been wrong? Or did it not matter, and Eren would have killed him anyway for Ddraig?

    Why did he get to kill someone just because he needed Boosted Gear?

    Rage, grief, regret and confusion swirled around the disembodied consciousness that was now ''Issei Hyoudou.''

    Ddraig knew the risks of leaving him like that, but some things needed to be said.

    [Your soul should have been destroyed. The only reason it wasn''t was because the Boosted Gear, the source of draconic traits, was taken out of your body before it was.]

    [...So I''m in the Gear now? Like the Senpais? Can I talk to them?]

    If this was what life, or unlife, was like for them, Issei felt bad for not being kinder to them. This was going to get boring really fast.

    This seriously sucked.

    [You are but...]

    There was a feeling of foreboding as Ddraig trailed off softly.

    [Ddraig?]

    [I''m sorry, Parnter.] Ddraig said sombrely. [The Gear extraction killed you, but your soul wouldn''t have come along. It would have been left in the body with the poison.]

    [But I''m here. You saved me?]

    [I didn''t. My former weilders... they initiated Juggernaught Drive at the last second.] Issei could hear the grief in Ddraig''s voice. [They switched places with you.]

    Ah...

    Ahhh...

    [Belzard-senpai? Elsha-senpai? Everyone?]

    [...Everyone. To make room for you. Juggernaut Drive is all or nothing. They told me to pass on a message when you woke up.]

    [...What is it?]

    [''They were Oppai Dragon''s biggest fans. They couldn''t let the wielder who made Boosted Gear a symbol of hope disappear.''] Ddraig paused for a second, then let out a defeated sigh before continuing. [And... ''ZOOM ZOOM IYAAN.'']

    Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

    Issei wished he could cry.

    Wished he could scream.

    Wished he could punch Eren in the face.

    He couldn''t.

    All he could do was wallow in the pain, rage, and grief, plunging deeper and deeper into that pit of misery and loss.

    [I''m sorry, partner.] Ddraig repeated, knowing this was the first time Issei had lost someone.

    The closest was when Asia fell into the Gap; even then, Vali saved her.

    [...Eren has the Gear now?]

    [No.] Ddraig said bluntly. [Ophis recognized what happened and took it before he could.]

    [Ophis?] Issei asked, the surprise giving him a brief respite from his loss.

    "Yes. I, saved Issei."

    [Gah!] Issei shouted in surprise at the... not the voice, but the fact that he was experiencing sound at all without a body or ears. [Ophis! What is going on?]

    "Issei is being saved."

    [She... um...] Ddraig''s hesitation in explaining what happened did not fill Issei with confidence. [She brought you to someone that could help.]

    "Look."

    Suddenly, Issei had sight again.

    Still no body, but he could perceive the world as if he were a camera floating over a scene in a movie.

    A Kaiju movie, to be specific.

    [Woah!] Issei exclaimed, for a second forgetting his grief as his awe overpowered everything else.

    Enormous red scales larger than his body. Wings bigger than his house. A maw that could have swallowed his school.

    It was freaking huge!

    And Ophis was punching it.

    This was a dragon.

    THE Dragon.

    Even Issei could guess who, and what, this was.

    [Great Red?!] Issei, completely bamboozled at the sight of the gargantuan beast flying through the void of the Dimensional Gap, couldn''t help the scream of surprise from leaving his voice.

    Ophis kept hitting the scale she was on, a mask of concentration on her face as she pounded tiny fists into a scale with a miniature frown.

    It had no effect, like a child trying to beat up a mountain, and the enormous beast kept flying, even doing a barrel roll in the sky that turned into a corkscrew dive.

    [Ophis brought you to Great Red so he could give you another body.] Ddraig explained. [Look near that spike. To the left of Ophis.]

    Issei didn''t have eyes to look, but he could direct his attention to the spot.

    It looked like a mound, vaguely human-shaped, leaning against the large spine of the dragon.

    [Is that me?] Issei asked. [Am I not dead?]

    [You are dead.] Ddraig corrected. [You just won''t be for long.]

    [Uwaaaaa!] Issei... well, bawled wouldn''t be entirely correct, but it was the disembodied equivalent. [Thank you, Ophis-sama! Thank you, Great Red-sama!]

    Wait.

    [But Ophis? Don''t you... hate Great Red?]

    "Bake Red is loud. Annoying." For emphasis Ophis smacked the dragon with her palm.

    Even in her weakened state, she was still twice as strong as Ddraig, and her blow could have destroyed the Himalayas.

    Great Red didn''t even feel it.

    "But..." Ophis paused her ''beating'' of her hated foe. Her frown deepened, and her brow furrowed. "Issei dying... hurt. Didn''t want that. Even for Silence."

    [Uwaaaaaaa! Ophis-chan! Thank you!]

    Perhaps to stop his partner from spiritually crying like a baby, Ddraig hurried to speak.

    [Great Red is a being of Dreams. Strong dreams or popular dreams are like... food or blood to him.] Ddraig said, then sighed, and the following words sounded as if they were coming through clenched teeth. [Oppai Dragon is very popular, so he''s doing you this favour just this once.]

    More than ever before, Issei felt those same dreams. Those expectations. Those hopes.

    He had failed them.

    In the worst possible way, he had failed everyone.

    Issei Hyoudou had died a failure.

    For a second time.

    There would not be a third.

    Not when this failure, this third chance, had been paid for by his Senpais souls.

    [Thank you, Great Red.]

    The enormous dragon didn''t respond to Issei''s thanks, just tucking its wings into a triple front flip that would have made Issei nauseous if he had a body.

    Issei didn''t know if that was in response to his words, but he decided to ask the question he feared answered most.

    [How long has it been?]

    [...Only a few hours. You woke up because your body''s almost done.]

    A few hours.

    Not his worst fears of days lost, but still way longer than he had hopped.

    Issei remembered Le Fay''s warning. Without Boosted Gear to prolong the time he could hold onto Ophis'' power, Eren would only have hours before it dissipated.

    Ophis, in saving Issei, had forced Eren into a very tight schedule.

    A few hours might as well have been an eternity when Issei considered what he might find when he returned.

    [How much longer?]

    [Not long. Less than an hour. Great Red can do pretty much anything. It just copied your impression of yourself and used it as a base. It probably could have done it in an hour if it was a blank template body.]

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    [I''ll be the same?] Issei asked, a bit surprised. He had been afraid he''d become some sort of dragon/human hybrid with scales, claws and a snout.

    Which would be awesome, but he was worried that Great Red wouldn''t consider the important parts.

    Like the ability to have sex.

    Wait! This was a new body. Did that mean he was a virgin again!?

    Damnit! He just lost it!!!

    [You''ll look the same, but you won''t be human. Or a devil. Your body is made from Great Red''s flesh. It will be stronger. Tougher. If nothing else, you''ll be able to Boost more without as much strain.]

    [Awesome! Can I use magic now?]

    [No. Magic is soul-based. Your reserves are still as pitiful as ever.]

    Issei felt like crying.

    He wanted to be able to teleport by himself, but it looked like the days of going to clients'' houses on a bicycle were not over just yet.

    [Partner...] Ddraig paused as if unsure how to say something. In the end, he decided to be blunt. [Your Evil Piece was left in your old body. You are no longer a member of a Peerage. And you don''t have to become one. You don''t have to become a devil again.]

    [I will be.] Issei said instantly. [I am Rias Gremory''s Rook.]

    [If it''s about your dream, you''ll be stronger than ever. Your girlfriends won''t leave you, and I''m sure you can still become a Harem King without the Peerage system. Plenty of my former hosts had harems without it.]

    [I know. It''s not about that.] Issei said seriously, resolution filling his voice. [I don''t care if I''m human, a devil, or a dragon. Gods, fallen angels, angels, Yokai... I''ve met them all. None of that crap matters to me. I''m Rias Gremory''s Rook because that''s who I want to be. I want to defend my friends and family. That''s it.]

    [And it has nothing to do with Yeager?]

    [...I am going to show Senpai that race doesn''t matter. That he was wrong thinking I broke my promise. I can be a Wall to protect everyone, not just devils. He wasn''t wrong to trust me. Even if he poisons me with Samael again, I''ll be tough enough to endure even that! The Wall he hates so much will be the hero he never could be!]

    [...So long as you are sure this is what you want, I''ll be with you to the end, Partner.]

    [Thank you, Partner.]

    The pair lapsed into silence.

    Issei tried to distract himself with everything he could so as not to think about the loss of his Senpais or what might have happened while he was gone.

    Or what could be happening at this very moment.

    Great Red was a good source of distraction, the titanic dragon seeming to have an inexhaustible source of tricks to perform in the void.

    If anything, having an audience spurred it on further, and it occasionally used its power to add special effects to flips, dives, rolls, or maneuvers Issei didn''t know the names of.

    Ophis continued to (ineffectively) try and beat up Great Red, seeming to not tire of her failed attempts.

    Eventually, something changed.

    Great Red, mid-triple-axel, paused.

    Then he took a sharp turn, flying in a seemingly random direction in the Dimensional Gap.

    [What''s going on?] Issei asked. There was no way to orient oneself in this place, so he didn''t know if they were going somewhere specific.

    [Great Red sensed something.] Ddraig said simply, unsure himself. [Said he knows where to send you back. People are calling out to you.]

    [Really!?] Issei asked, excitement and fear warring in his heart. He hadn''t been looking forward to popping up somewhere randomly on Earth or the Underworld and trying to find his way home. But if people needed saving, that meant they were in danger. [Where?]

    "Lot of people are crying out for Oppai Dragon," Ophis said, pausing in her tiny barrage to look at the mound of Issei''s still-growing body. "Issei is still growing. Needs more time."

    [How long?]

    "Mmmm. Half a cookie? Less?"

    [Eat or cook?]

    "Cook. Seventeen cookies if eating.]

    It took Issei a second to translate that into non-Ophis units of time.

    A bit over five minutes, then.

    It took a little over one minute for Great Red to reach the destination, a part of the Gap that looked the same to Issei as every other.

    The enormous dragon hovered in the air for a moment before the space in front of it seemed to ripple, and Issei could see what had attracted Great Red.

    It was chaos.

    White Titans were everywhere, attacking everyone. Issei recognized Sairaorg and his Peerage, Sona''s Peerage, and even a few devils here and there.

    They were all fighting with everything they had, trying to survive under an onslaught of the giants.

    As Issei watched, a devil in some official-looking uniform was separated from the others and impaled on a pitchfork of white bone. Another Titan lashed out with an armoured fist, splattering the screaming devil in a shower of gore.

    It wasn''t hard to find his friends amidst the chaos. Most were orbiting around an amorphous blob of blood-red eyes and shadows.

    Issei''s relief at seeing them mostly intact was overwhelmed by his worry when he saw Titans being frozen in time by the creature''s gaze.

    That was Gasper! What had happened to the shut-in dhampir to turn him into... that?!

    Rias and Akeno were simultaneously trying to dodge the random outbursts of Gasper''s Gear while still trying to stem the seemingly inexhaustible tide of white Titans.

    The others were also doing their best but were nowhere near their leaders in kill count.

    And it was showing.

    Already, dozens of Titans had scaled the city walls and entered it while the defenders fought for their lives. They rampaged, destroying buildings as they chased fleeing civilians.

    Beyond the field of devils fighting was a battle that eclipsed any Issei had ever witnessed before.

    An enormous Titan of muscle and bone battled with an equally large white armoured figure.

    Issei recognized Vali''s Balance Breaker Mail, though he had no idea how it had gotten so large. Similarly, he noticed the slightly smaller (in comparison only) Fenrir and Gogmagog doing their best to hinder Eren whenever they got the chance.

    Issei looked at this battle of giants, comparable or equal to Great Red in size, and felt...

    Helpless.

    Angry.

    So angry.

    Was Eren fighting his friends and team just so he could kill all these people?

    Every second that passed, Eren pushed Vali back further, drawing nearer to recreating the Rumbling.

    What happened to not wanting to repeat mistakes?

    Eren was going to commit genocide. Again.

    Unless he was stopped.

    [How long?] Issei asked, fury stoked in his chest.

    [Another minute.] Ddraig answered instantly. Then paused as if listening to something. [Great Red said he''ll help if you can wait till your body''s done.]

    [Really? That''d be great!] Eren had Ophis'' power, and, as angry as he was, Issei was aware that he might not be able to help more than simply erect the Crimson World Wall to help stem the tide of smaller Titans. [Is it because of the Dream thing? He doesn''t want a bunch of people who can dream to die?]

    [...No,] Ddraig said, sounding exasperated. [Great Red doesn''t really care if most people live or die. He''s killed more people on accident than those that are here. It''s just... He thinks the fight looks awesome. He doesn''t want to be left out.]

    Right. Powerful dragons just did whatever they felt like whenever they felt like.

    It was a good reminder that Great Red wasn''t his friend or ally, no matter how thankful Issei was to him.

    Once again, Issei was reminded that for every dozen devils or dragons that was reasonable there was one that was a battle maniac like Vali or as vile as Diodora.

    ... Then again, humans like Freed existed too.

    Or Eren.

    The thought was enough to sober Issei up, and he watched, helpless to do anything, as his friends struggled to stay alive under the relentless attack of his Senpai.

    Every second that passed, he saw the destruction Eren was bringing to the world.

    A world Issei wanted to protect.

    The loss of his Senpais. The sting of Eren''s betrayal. The fear of death. The helplessness. The weight of his failure.

    It piled up and up and up, swelling, growing, ready to be unleashed.

    As a new arrival in the fight, an enormous black cat with seven tails launched itself at Eren''s back, Issei received the message he had been waiting for.

    [Brace yourself.]

    The first second was increadibly disorienting as sensation, actual feeling, rushed back.

    Issei was overwhelmed by the sound of his own heartbeat, the smell of the dragon, and the pressure of Great Red''s flesh around him.

    For a second, Issei experienced seeing things from the disembodied position while simultaneously perceiving the darkness of the... sack in which his new body was formed.

    Then he was bursting free, the pouch opening to expel him into the chaotic swirl of colours of the Dimensional Gap.

    Issei didn''t even take a moment to luxuriate in the feeling of being alive again, didn''t even notice his own nudity, or that Ophis had stopped hitting Great Red again to float away.

    Issei didn''t dare hesitate for even a second longer.

    Already, he feared he was too late.

    The pressure in his heart doubled and doubled every moment that passed as he looked out at the enormous form of the Founding Titan.

    Boosted Gear appeared on his wrist.

    Scale mail-clad his form.

    And, when Issei felt a pressure, a foreign yet familiar presence, he let it seep into him.

    Great Red was... Power. So much power.

    It was easy to say he was made of Dreams and could do whatever he wanted, but feeling it seep into his soul was a humbling experience for Issei.

    Issei should have exploded from being stuffed full of the Dragon of Dragon''s might.

    He didn''t.

    Great Red simply didn''t allow him to. For all intents and purposes, Issei was a part of the enormous beast, both contained together in the shell of the Boosted Gear''s Scail Mail.

    Instead of popping like a particularly disgusting grape, like air being blown into a balloon, Great Red disappeared as Issei inflated.

    Great Red was Issei Hyoudou, the wielder of the Boosted Gear and a hero the masses cried out to for salvation.

    In that heartbeat of a moment, as his Scail Mail grew to match Vali''s in size, Issei somewhat understood Eren.

    This must be what he felt as he absorbed Ophis'' power.

    This heady feeling, this unending well of potential, could be used to shape the world however he wanted.

    And Eren used that power, power gained from Ophis'' torment and Issei''s death, to destroy and terrorize.

    Space tore.

    A red gauntlet formed a fist.

    The pressure in Issei''s heart erupted with a yell.

    [EEEEEERRRRRRREEEEEEENNNNN!]

    And Issei punched Eren in the face.

    ********

    Words... couldn''t describe it.

    Ever since Issei''s death, there had been a weight in the air. An unspoken promise of death, doom, and destruction.

    How could they stand up against Ophis'' power? When faced with the power of the Infinite, what could they do but try and survive?

    They were but tiny birds flying amidst a storm at sea, knowing they could die at any time yet still desperately searching for land. For a way to survive.

    And that was only for those who knew of Eren''s plan or Issei''s death.

    It must have seemed like a terrifying, confusing mess to everyone else.

    The Satans were gone.

    The army was gone.

    Agreas and all its defenders were destroyed.

    A giant so large as to tower over mountains stomping toward them as an army of white Titans tore through a refugee camp and its few remaining combatants.

    Even if they did not know of Ophis'' power, the devils of the Underworld could sense the despair, the fear, and the helplessness as they fled for their lives.

    What initially hope there was, from the arrival of the White Dragon Emperor and his team to delay the monster, was fleeting as the situation continued to change, evolve, and deteriorate.

    Every ray of hope seemed to appear only to die a cruel death.

    Even the arrival of a new monster, the seven-tailed cat, seemed unable to put this nightmare to rest.

    Devils were not known for being creatures of prayer, but they still hope. Wishes. Dreams.

    They, like everyone else in the world, didn''t want to die. Didn''t want their friends and family to die. They wanted to keep living.

    The single wish of all beings born, no matter race or creed, to be able to live.

    Yet, it seemed like these giants, these Titans, had been created specifically to snuff out that wish.

    It was the Underworld''s darkest hour.

    If there was ever a moment for a hero to appear, this was it.

    And, like a miracle from a god they once fought against, one appeared.

    Words could not describe what everyone felt as they saw the red armoured form deliver a clear blow to the Titan.

    To many, the Red Dragon Emperor was a figure of legend, a being of almost unsurpassed power that was as much a part of mythology as it was a real figure of terror and awe.

    Every few decades, there''d be a new story about one of the Heavenly Dragons destroying or killing something, a country, a prominent figure, or just taking control of an area. They were natural disasters more than people.

    Until the most recent wielder of the Boosted Gear changed all that.

    To the children of the Underworld, Oppai Dragon was a hero. Plain and simple. Many, seeing their hero arrive in the knick of time, cheered. Some clapped. A few started to sing the theme song they knew so well.

    To those who knew him best, Issei Hyoudou''s arrival wasn''t just a joyous occasion.

    It was a miracle.

    Issei Hyoudou was dead.

    His body rested in a protected room in the Hyoudou Residence.

    His Evil Piece sat on a nightstand in the Gremory Estate.

    He had died, betrayed, poisoned, and alone.

    To see the Boosted Gear Scale Mail. To hear his voice. To realize that he was alive...

    It was like there was happiness in the world again. Joy. Hope.

    Smiles were the least of their reactions.

    Tears of joy were also common.

    Asia Argento openly wept as her Sacred Gear underwent a fundamental shift at seeing the man she loved again.

    And, in the mind of one young woman, the pieces fell into place.

    Why Eren could smile after killing his friend.

    And how they could win.

    Without Boosted Gear, Eren''s power was on a time limit. One that would come into effect any second. If they could hold out just a bit longer, they''d beat Eren.

    ...He''d die, making them all heroes after having achieved his aim.

    A recreation of how he had gone out in the last life...

    As grief warred with pain and finally settled into resolution in Sona Sitri''s heart, she quickly set up a plan to see them through this terrible storm and into tomorrow.

    ...Sona failed to take into account one crucial aspect.

    One nobody could understand because they didn''t know how the Path ended.

    To Eren Yeager, everything that was happening now, this attack, terror, and destruction... It occurred before he ever arrived in Kuoh.

    He had seen, experienced, and lived all this the moment he accessed the power of the Founder.

    To everyone else, this was the present and the future.

    To Eren, it was the past.

    And that was where Sona''s one flaw in her understanding, through no fault of her own, prevented her and everyone else from understanding Eren Yeager.

    It was the same mistake Mikasa had made, the same error everyone who knew him was making.

    It wasn''t their fault. They simply didn''t have all the pieces. Nobody did.

    Without them, they could not realize a straightforward truth.

    The Eren Yeager who had crushed his world flat, killing eighty percent of the population...

    The Eren Yeager who awoke in another world with no explanation but a Path to follow, one so similar yet different to his first life...

    The Eren Yeager who ran away from it all, who sought out an answer as to why he''d do the terrible things he did...

    That Eren Yeager was not who they were dealing with.

    The Eren Yeager who arrived at the bench differed from the Eren Yeager who left it.

    And nobody yet knew the world he''d build.

    But they would.

    ********

    "Hahahahahaha," Rizevim Lucifer laughed and clapped as he watched the Red Dragon Emperor punch Eren Yeager in the face.

    He could see the shock in people''s faces, see how the battle seemed to pause with the sudden new arrival, and the realization set in as the Titan was sent flying, jaw wholly torn off from the strength of the blow.

    Yeager''s fall carved a canyon into the ground as he skidded to a stop.

    Rizevim hoped it hurt.

    The only way this could be better would be if he could see the disbelief on his disappointment of a grandson''s face, but he''d have to settle for the body language that shone through the white armour.

    It was easy to read.

    Everyone had completely frozen at the suddenly resurrected Red Dragon Emperor, from the disappointment of a Lucifer to Eren''s pet to the God Killer and the automaton. His enormous size helped.

    They got over it quickly, joining the attack on the Titan.

    Eren got to his feet as the Red Dragon Emperor bore down on him, every step a tremor. He raised a forearm to block a punch, his arm shimmering in a crystalline hue as the red gauntlet crashed into it with a cacophonous din and retaliated a punch of his own.

    The White Dragon Emperor got to him first, ducking low, getting in close, and unleashing a flurry of blows on Eren''s chest. Blue wings continued to vent power Vali couldn''t absorb, but the punches themselves impacted with the force of meteors. Bone snapped. Muscles tore. Eren''s rib cage dented.

    Fenrir was there, tearing a chunk as big as a building from the Titan''s thigh.

    The cat Youkai was on Eren''s feet, holding him down, with Kasha nailing his feet to the ground.

    Hyoudou, with the openings provided, couldn''t miss. Like Eren, he raised his forearm but deflected the blow to the side rather than block, letting his left hook crash into Eren''s face once more.

    The enormous skull shattered. Eyeballs pulped. Teeth rained like immense hail.

    Rizevim continued to smile and laugh as he watched his ''partner'' take the beating of a lifetime.

    He could see how it would play out in their mind now.

    The Red Dragon Emperor was not used to working with this team and only had passable fighting skills. He made up for it by being the strongest there, every second growing stronger.

    His allies made up for his weaknesses.

    Rizevim could say many negative things about his grandson, and he did, but there was no denying that Vali Lucifer was a genius on the battlefield.

    It barely took him seconds to adapt to the Red Dragon Emperor''s presence, changing his style to one that focused on exploiting weak points and openings instead of being the lead combatant. And every blow weakened Eren further.

    His team followed suit, taking their leader''s cues and shifting to a more supportive role to give the Red Dragon Emperor the openings he needed against a more experienced opponent.

    Rizevim could almost imagine the hope growing in them as they fought, growing stronger as Eren weakened.

    They weren''t just holding out anymore.

    They were winning.

    Had the holy sword user still been here, they may have already carved the Titan free of his body.

    Even without Arthur Pendragon, if this continued, then Eren would lose.

    Rizevim could see that realization in everyone in Lilith, the hope, the excitement.

    He allowed it to grow and allowed Eren to keep losing.

    Every moment, Eren was pushed further and further away from the Underworld capital by the unified might of the two Heavenly Dragons.

    For the first time in history, the Red Dragon Emperor and White Dragon Emperor fought together. And together, they undid all of Eren''s progress, pushing him even further back than when he arrived with Agreas.

    It was almost enough to bring a tear to the eye.

    If nothing else, seeing the Titan like this was cathartic in the extreme.

    And entertaining.

    It was always important to take simple pleasures in life, or the ennui would kill you before any of your enemies could.

    But, if Rizevim wanted his own goals to succeed, he couldn''t allow Yeager to die.

    Just yet, at least.

    So, like Hyoudou, he''d appear just in time to save the day.

    What was the term again?

    Diabolus Ex Machina?

    A perfect fit if Rizevim said so himself.

    ********

    There are years where nothing happens and minutes where everything happens.

    Undoubtedly, the last half hour was some of the most confusing, terrifying, and complex in the Underworld''s history.

    The situation had changed so much, so quickly, and so often that nobody was a hundred percent sure what was going on anymore. Enemies turned to allies. Success and failure vacillating every second.

    Such was the nature of war.

    It can change on a dime.

    For better or worse.

    It happened in the span of two seconds.

    Most never even realized what went wrong.

    One moment, the defenders of the Underworld were winning.

    In a moment that would go down in history, the White Dragon Emperor and the Red Dragon Emperor had teamed up to defeat the attacking Titan.

    The giant was on the ground, on his back, as most of his limbs were constrained by Kuroka, Fenrir, and Gogmagog, while Issei Hyoudou and Vali Lucifer did their best to destroy Eren''s body faster than he could heal it.

    The next moment, a devil appeared behind the pair.

    In less than a second, he had flown from Vali''s back to Issei''s.

    Perhaps, had Great Red enhanced the Boosted Gear instead of just increasing Issei''s size, nothing would have happened when Rizevim touched him.

    But, the world''s first Super Devil''s ability didn''t care about the host, only the Sacred Gear.

    Incredibly situational and even weak compared to Sirzechs'' or Adjuka''s abilities, Sacred Gear Canceller was the perfect counter for all who relied on God''s system.

    At that moment, when Rizevim touched both the White Dragon Emperor and the Red Dragon Emperor, their Sacred Gears reset.

    Gargantuan armour disappeared as the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing returned to the depths of their host''s soul.

    All the Boosts faded. All the Divides disappeared.

    Their armours retracted, leaving two young men and a hundred-meter red dragon flying above the fallen Titan.

    Rizevim Lucifer laughed as he watched hope turn to confusion, then despair, teleporting away.

    He knew, as strong as he was, he wouldn''t survive what came next if he stayed around.

    But neither would they.

    With all his power and size returned, Eren lunged for Great Red.

    And he stopped holding back.

 The Battle of Broken Worlds

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 Cry

    She wasn''t strong enough.

    That thought tore its way through Mikasa Ackerman''s mind as she carved through the spine of a Colossal Titan before it reached the Crimson Wall.

    She hadn''t been fast enough to escape the trap.

    Mikasa wove in front of another Titan as Eren''s fist impacted Great Red in the side. The shockwave sent many of the unprepared attackers stumbling in the air. Mikasa just kept up the attack without pausing.

    She hadn''t had the ability to escape Dimension Lost, spending who knew how long wandering in that deep mist.

    A copy of Purgatorio sliced hamstrings as she dove low, causing a pile-up that she used to carve through four more spines.

    And now, finally free of the Longinus, Mikasa laid eyes on Eren for the first time since falling asleep in his arms.

    And knew she could not fight him.

    Mikasa escaped the cluster of Colossal Titans, putting herself against the Crimson Wall to watch Eren fight again as she cooled off.

    Seeing him like this, fighting the strongest being in the world toe to toe... It confronted her with the truth.

    Eren was beyond her now.

    It was a bitter realization, one that should have been obvious since she learned of his past in this world.

    Unlike her, who had everything she needed and chose a peaceful life, who had decades of peace to dull her edge, Eren was fresh from the Rumbling when he arrived and had been trapped in his war the entire time.

    Eren had been struggling, fighting, and improving himself since he realized what sort of world he was in.

    He''d always been that way, always worked harder than everyone, always sought advice from anyone who could give it. Eren had always given his best effort to improve himself, even when those efforts failed him over and over again.

    Eren was never satisfied until he had the strength to accomplish his goals.

    Mikasa Ackerman was not like that.

    She might not have been born strong, but she had been the strongest ever since she took up that small blade.

    She''d dedicated herself to her friends and family, trying to use that strength to keep them safe. And she had trained, tried to improve herself, just like everyone else.

    Still, it didn''t change the fact that Mikasa Ackerman had been the first-place cadet in the 104th, beating out Titan Shifters, Warriors, and those who had put forth much greater effort than her just because she had been born an Ackerman.

    She simply lacked the hunger Eren had.

    Even at the end, when the Walls fell and Eren began the Rumbling, excepting the difficulties of reaching him, it had never been a lack of ability that stopped her from fighting Eren.

    Merely a lack of willingness.

    Now, despite having a willingness to fight Eren, to do it all again and kill her heart a second time, Mikasa Ackerman discovered, for the first time in her life, that she simply did not have the ability.

    All her training, powerful weapons, and even the rudimentary grasp of Touki she had achieved wouldn''t be able to scratch Eren as he was now.

    Trying to interfere in that fight in any way would simply get her killed, accomplishing nothing.

    It was bitter.

    It was terrifying.

    It was so... freeing.

    The acrid taste of weakness. The helpless realization that she could only watch. The fact that all Mikasa could do was kill Titans, yet never be the one to end them permanently...

    It was all overshadowed by the tide of relief she felt.

    Even as she fought with all she had to stymie an unending tide to provide just a little relief for the boy who was now the only Wall protecting her loved ones, Mikasa was forced to confront a truth about herself that she had been burying since Eren had asked her as a simple question.

    Mikasa did not want to do it all again.

    She could. She would.

    Because she had ceased living for Eren alone and now lived for so much more, Mikasa could once more kill her heart if that was what it took.

    But Mikasa didn''t want to.

    Mikasa never wanted to kill Eren.

    She never even wanted to fight him.

    All of Mikasa''s strength had only ever been meant to help those she cared about.

    Now, she could do just that.

    Every Titan she killed here directly helped those she was trying to defend. One less Colossal smashing down the Wall meant a few more seconds that Issei could hold out.

    Seeing the boy alive was another relief Mikasa couldn''t put into words.

    Not only because she didn''t want him to die and didn''t want those children to feel the loss of a loved one, but because his survival meant Eren hadn''t killed someone he called a friend. Hadn''t put himself through that once more.

    It meant Eren was trying to avoid repeating the same mistakes and heartaches of the past.

    And so was Mikasa.

    If nothing else, the proof that Lillith still existed meant he wasn''t yet willing to repeat the genocide of the Rumbling.

    Mikasa Ackerman barely understood what was happening. She had no idea of the implications, the cause and effect, or even what plans Eren had put in motion.

    She didn''t know if she''d still be required to be the one to stop Eren once the situation changed.

    All Mikasa Ackerman knew was that, for the moment, she didn''t have to fight Eren.

    She was free of the final duty the man she loved had imposed on her.

    ********

    He couldn''t hold on.

    "Is there-GAH-any-thing else ghrk-u can urgh!!!?" Issei cried desperately through the pain, his attention pulled in a thousand different directions by the Colossal Titans.

    Those were the only words he could get out before he was overwhelmed.

    Despite the Ultimate class devils doing their best, the Rumbling had reached the Crimson Wall.

    Titanic fists battered against red scales.

    Thousands of legs, each larger than most buildings, reared back in simple kicks that could destroy cities.

    An omnipresent oppressive heat boiled against Issei''s flesh which had become the only barrier between his friends and certain death.

    "Can''t. I, am weak." Ophis said simply.

    She was on top of the impossibly vast Wall, watching Eren''s fight with Great Red with unblinking eyes from beyond the atmosphere.

    Whenever Eren hurt the Dream, Ophis would throw a tiny fist forward as if she were the one hitting him instead.

    Every time Great Red hurt Eren, Ophis would pout as if the monstrous dragon was being unfair.

    The entire situation would have been cute if Issei hadn''t felt like he was dying.

    And he had quite a bit of recent experience with dying to say with absolute certainty he wasn''t exaggerating.

    Not even the sight of the Female Titans trying to attack him could draw his attention from the simple fact that he was losing.

    Ophis was already doing her best, feeding all the power she had left into him as she watched the fight.

    Asia''s Balance Breaker was also helping, healing him as best as she could.

    And it wasn''t enough.

    Issei was stronger than he''d ever been, stronger than he could ever have hoped to be when he first developed this technique.

    Yet he couldn''t hold on.

    There were just too many attackers.

    Thousands of enormous blows rained down on him every second, each powered by Touki stronger than Sairaorg''s had been and accompanied by a searing heat.

    Issei was Boosting dozens of times a second, every moment multiplying his power to a point he''d never be able to achieve on his own, yet he was forced to expend those Boosts faster than he could pile them up.

    The central premise of the Crimson World Wall was just a method to buy time to amass power to transfer it to someone who could deal with the situation, whatever it was.

    Issei sacrificed his mobility, attacking power, and initiative for the peak efficiency at growing Ddraig''s power. He released small bursts of that power, just enough to perfectly counter an attack, to save more power from trying to endure a full-power attack.

    It was a game of efficiency.

    So long as Issei accumulated more power than he spent, he could keep Boosting forever.

    Wall Fall was just the point where his body couldn''t handle any more power, and he had to transfer to someone else.

    And he was spending more than he gained.

    Issei was battered, bruised, and bleeding within his Wall. Every wound Asia healed was replaced with two more.

    Every second, he endured more blows, his body taking the damage as he mitigated them as best as possible. He healed from Asia''s gear, keeping him in the fight for longer, only to take more damage.

    Issei''s head hurt.

    His body hurt.

    A thousand enormous red gauntlets clashed with a thousand and one white fists.

    A dozen more emerged to block the accidental attacks from the devils.

    Grafiya''s glaciers were shattered before they could crash into the Wall, even as they destroyed a dozen Colossal Titans.

    Diehauser Belial used the Wall as a springboard, launching himself at a new target, and Issei had to counter the force of that jump.

    Surtr II''s flames joined the blasts of steam searing his flesh, and Issei had to pad that part of the Wall lest it be consumed by the giant''s fire.

    Their attacks were large but occasional water splashes, intermittent compared to the unending downpour of the Titans'' fury.

    Even tiny drops can carve through rock given enough time, let alone this storm of violence.

    Still, the stone could endure the rain.

    If not for the thunder and lightning.

    The intermittent splash of attacks from the devils and the steady beat of the Titans'' fists were accompanied by the swell of a tsunami, relentlessly battering Issei''s Wall with the force of Eren''s battle with Great Red.

    The shock wave of the fist on the Dream''s scales that pounded against his body.

    The jagged shard of that psychedelic material carved into Issei''s side after passing through the flesh of Titan and devil alike.

    The tornado of magic, a whirlwind of power and broken space that drove devils to flee as it butchered hundreds of Colossal Titans before stopping against Issei''s Wall, grinding into him as it raged.

    Issei could last against the Ultimate devils for days.

    Issei could endure the battering of the Rumbling for hours.

    Issei could weather the intermittent aftereffects of Eren''s fight for several minutes.

    Against any of them alone, his enhanced Boosting rate would more than compensate for losing power from defending, allowing him to reach his peak and achieve Wall Fall.

    Against all three?

    All of it, the storm, the rain, the swell battered at the rock that was Issei Hyoudou, threatening to shatter him and pull him under.

    And he was desperately fighting to stay whole.

    To endure even as he cracked and weakened.

    Issei was not a Rook anymore.

    His new body, made from Great Red''s flesh, might be much greater than a human''s and even a devil''s, but it lacked the specialization in defence he was so used to.

    The pain was only bearable because the soul-rending agony of Samael''s poison was fresh in his memory.

    Issei floated in a hazy consciousness of blood, pain, and violence.

    Ddraig''s power worked best by compounding. One Boost to someone stronger was worth a hundred Boosts to someone weak.

    So what happened when there was practically nothing left to Boost?

    If a Boost turned forty thousand into eighty thousand, it also only turned one into two.

    With all his Crimson Wall, Ophis, and Asia''s help, Issei could Boost a handful of times a second.

    And it didn''t matter when all it did was turn one into two thousand. Not when Issei received over that number in kicks in that one second.

    Not even the relief of Dawn''s Affection could stir Issei from the fugue he fell into.

    One more minute.

    One more second.

    He just needed to hold on for a little longer.

    Just a little longer.

    ...Issei Hyoudou fervently wished the battle would end. That this day, which began with him crashing through his kitchen window, would end.

    That he could drop his Wall, return home with his girlfriends, and spend the next century or two not fearing for his life.

    He wanted to rest. To sleep. To do ecchi things with women he loved.

    But he couldn''t.

    He needed to hold on.

    Issei felt the dip in power every second.

    The initial burst he had gained, the well he had dug before the Rumbling reached him, was starting to run out.

    If that happened, the Titans would breach his Wall.

    He would die.

    His friends would die.

    He''d fail.

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Again.

    A third failure could not be allowed. Not under any circumstances.

    Not when the second had cost his Senpais'' souls.

    So Issei held on.

    As best as he could, Issei held on.

    Even as his power waned, as darkness crept at the side of his eyes, he stopped being able to counterattack.

    Drop by drop, Issei''s well had run dry.

    Yet he held.

    One more second.

    One more second.

    One more.

    One more.

    One.

    More.

    Second.

    ... Issei couldn''t see anything.

    Once more, he had returned to that state of nothingness.

    Only he felt everything.

    All the pain.

    ...He wanted it to end.

    He wanted to go back to school.

    He wanted to return to those halcyon days of laughter, perversity, and ignorance.

    Where his greatest worry was if Asia would like the next date he planned or what sort of play Xenovia decided was normal to talk about in the middle of class.

    Where Senpai was just an otherworldly source of wisdom.

    Where friends could laugh on a beach surrounding a bonfire and look out to where the sea met the sky.

    Issei Hyoudou wanted to be happy.

    ...

    ...To regain that happiness, he needed to endure.

    ...To reach that beach, he could hold on.

    ...For that smile, he would live.

    And, in the darkness of pain, with only the hazy memories of smiles and laughter to push him forward, Issei Hyoudou endured the violence of a cruel world.

    The storm crashed against the Wall...

    And broke first.

    That empty well''s final few drops of power started to swell again.

    ********

    Akeno Himejima wasn''t thinking.

    She had entered a state of pure reaction, of movement without thought.

    There was just the lightning.

    Holy lighting''s thunderous crash was like music, a beat she could lose herself in.

    Black feathered wings carried her along the inside of Crimson World Wall, the golden thunder spears of her power raining down on the white Titans.

    There was no sadistic joy in the act. The Titans could not feel pain.

    It was just... just fear. And confusion.

    A disorienting blur of violence where one moment blended into another yet still was perfectly remembered.

    Like someone was taking millions of snapshots and then collating them together in a stuttering slideshow to the beat of thunder and lightning.

    A flash of lightning illuminating the sky as she and Rias annihilated a rain of arrows and spears.

    A roll of thunder shaking the ground in front of Gasper, directing the mass of eyes and darkness away from the Wall and toward a squad of Armoured Titans.

    A waft of burnt flesh rising to her nostrils as she slightly misfired her Holy Lightning in her hurry to destroy two Jaw Titans inches from carving a chunk from Issei''s fortification. Asia''s healing already at work, erasing the burn on Akeno''s arms.

    A hiss of steam as she electrified Sona''s water, sending an Attack Titan into a spasm.

    Little moments that shone with perfect clarity in her memory, yet Akeno had no idea how they happened.

    And through it all, the Colossal Titans loomed mere meters from her.

    Those within the Crimson World Wall could see out of it, see the thousands of Titans like a white wall beyond their Crimson defence.

    They could watch as enormous fists and feet battered against Issei''s defence with enough strength to destroy cities.

    This close to them, Akeno had to look practically straight up if she wished to see their heads and the battle the Ultimate class devils fighting up there.

    If she genuinely paid attention, every few seconds, the tide of Colossal Titans would have an opening.

    A window to the battle beyond, where Eren fought Great Red.

    Akeno saw none of it.

    The Colossal Titans were terrifying. This close and looming they were a stark reminder of the fear she felt when first seeing Eren and felt the sheer helplessness of a bug in the face of a human.

    Yet she noted them only as a background. A dangerous one, certainly. Something that would absolutely kill her if they could.

    It was like being in an underwater aquarium.

    You knew you were inches from enough water to drown you and whales that could kill you by accident, yet you weren''t scared because you knew the glass would not break.

    Akeno was afraid of the giants on a visceral level that she never thought she could feel.

    But she was not scared of them reaching her because Issei wouldn''t fail.

    It was a baseless, senseless, foundation-less confidence in the boy she had seen grow from a helpless teenager into a young man.

    One she had traumatized and hurt yet had never sought revenge on her.

    One who had died and miraculously returned.

    One who had all the power in the world yet dedicated it to protecting others.

    These enormous Titans scared Akeno, but she was certain Issei would hold on.

    What truly scared Akeno, what numbed her to all but the thunderous crash of lightning, was the fear of failing to protect someone again.

    One attack.

    One stab in Issei''s back.

    One failure that might as well have been a betrayal to the Red Dragon Emperor.

    That was all it would take to see this Wall fail, for Akeno to once more watch someone she cared about die before her eyes.

    More than one person.

    Everyone would die.

    Unless her Holy Lightning could help save them.

    Rias. Yuuto. Sairaorg. Team Vali. Saji.

    These were the backbone of the defence of the Crimson World Wall. Those who could kill Titans quickly and reliably when they drew close to Issei.

    A final defence for the Wall that kept them all from the Titans.

    And Akeno was one of them only because her Holy Lightning was stronger, more potent, than regular spells. The vast area coverage, the destructive power and its ability to maneuver an attack at the right angle to target the nape.

    Akeno knew she wasn''t the only one protecting Issei''s vulnerability.

    Knew that if a Ttitan managed to get through everyone, it wouldn''t be solely her fault for missing it.

    Yet the thought of being responsible for even one more death of someone she cared about was enough to drown out all other fears she held. That terror drove her to act, to fight.

    So she lost herself in the clash of Holy Lightning, in the roll of her power as it tore through Touki and flesh.

    It was the only constant in this ever-changing battlefield.

    That''s why it took her so long to notice.

    Akeno was no longer the sole musician playing to the beat of Holy Lighting anymore.

    It only struck Akeno as she fried one of the few flying Titans, a hawk-like thing that was small for a Titan but had been close to plowing into an upper part of the Crimson Wall.

    Her hands unleashed a tide of lightning, a curtain blocking off the white creature from clawing into Issei. It still tried to plow through, but the power discharge sent its body into a spasm that halted it.

    It gave her time to ascend, gaining a bit of height on the... Beast Titan? Jaw Titan? It could be either.

    But it didn''t matter because Akeno was above it, and a piercing bolt crashed into it from above, right where its skull met its neck.

    She couldn''t sever the spine, but enough firepower was enough to destroy it, even Touki reinforced as it was.

    From her momentary vantage point over the battlefield and without another enemy in the sky, Akeno had a moment of clarity that had been lacking amidst the confusion and hast of the battle on the ground.

    She could see it. The white tide of Titans on both sides of the Wall crashed into the crimson line that separated them.

    On one side, the battle was below her.

    Dozens of individual pieces moving, overlapping, shuffling and scrambling to either reach the Wall or destroy those trying to do so.

    On the other, the battle was above her.

    Hundreds, thousands of enormous beings that she had to strain to see the tops of and the... insects that flew around them, bringing the giants down.

    And Akeno could see the way the battle had been shifting.

    It was the colours that gave it away.

    The radiant crimson glow of the Wall had dimmed, even with the flicker of purple that permeated it.

    It had been washed out by the tide of white, bleached to the point where every second, that beautiful shade of red threatened to vanish under the tide.

    They... were losing.

    Issei was flickering, weakening.

    As Akeno watched, dozens of Colossal Titans were killed by the Ultimate Class devils, yet hundreds more landed blows to tear down the Wall.

    Akeno grit her teeth, her wings flexing as she dove.

    Even if they lost, it would only be after holding on as long as possible.

    That''s when she heard it.

    Thunder.

    She almost didn''t realize what it meant.

    Akeno wasn''t the only person to use that element on this battlefield, even if hers was better than most.

    Nor had Eren ceased summoning the occasional Titan within the Wall to supplement those lost. It was less often than before, as he was also supplementing the Colossal Titans outside, but it was still pretty frequent.

    So Akeno almost paid it no mind.

    Then the flash.

    White bolts of electricity with the golden glow of Light.

    Feathered wings froze in the air mid-dive as Akeno watched five Colossal Titans fall amidst bolts of Holy Lightning larger than anything she had ever conjured.

    He... couldn''t see her. They could see out of the Wall, but those outside could not see in.

    He didn''t know she was there.

    But Akeno knew Baraqiel was here.

    She could see him up there amidst the clouds, the lightning, and the Light.

    The black feathered wings. The mechanical limbs replacing those lost in the battle against Loki.

    It was him.

    He was here.

    More than the army of wounded yet still fighting fallen angels that accompanied him and Azazel.

    More than the radiance of the Heavenly Host led by Michael descending on the Colossal Titans like the hammer of a dead God.

    More than the Crimson Wall starting to glow with a red light once more.

    Baraquiel, her father, was here.

    That was how Akeno knew they''d win. They''d live.

    It was not the reinforcements that quieted Akeno''s fear.

    It was the familiar beat of the music of Holy Lighting.

    And, even if she still hadn''t forgiven herself and had a long, winding path to go, Akeno took one more small step forward.

    For the first time in her life, Akeno forgave her father.

    The battle was not done yet, so they both continued to fight.

    Yet the fear in both their hearts was lessened.

    Only one part of that small, broken family could see the other, but both were comforted by the sound of Holy Lightning resounding from the other side of the Crimson World Wall.

    ********

    In the long run, and in the chaos that came before and after, the meeting didn''t matter.

    It lasted a few moments and had no impact on the world or the battle, and Rias never mentioned it to anyone because there was no need to.

    Amidst the battle, less than a minute after the arrival of the angels, and as hope was swelling in her breast, Rias had an insignificant chance encounter.

    "Have you seen my sister?!" Riser Phenex asked, eyes scanning the battlefield in a hurry.

    Rias barely took a moment to look at the man who had been a figure of her nightmare for years.

    The destruction of Agreas and attack on Lillith had only begun less than half an hour ago, despite its twists and turns.

    It would make sense that the Underworld would send what they could to help. Sona had probably put out the call as soon as possible. They had been flowing into the battlefield in fits and starts, unable to really change the tide, but now it was becoming apparent.

    Those not strong enough to have been on Agreas or fighting the Rumbling, yet still influential figures in their own right, would be flocking to help if they had any sense.

    The initial killing field, the area Eren had first attacked where the refugees had arrived, was pincered between Lillith and Issei and still saw the bulk of the fighting on this side.

    But the Crimson World Wall stretched for a long distance, and the reinforcements spread along it as a few of the Titans tried to flank the devils.

    Rias even thought she had seen her mother and father outside the Wall, helping with the Colossal Titans, though she couldn''t be sure as the urgency of battle claimed her attention again.

    Riser Phenex was only one of the new arrivals as they steadily trickled in in fits and starts. He and his Peerage would be helpful, if only as more bodies to take up the Titans'' attention off Issei.

    Looking at the man now, Rias was amazed to realize she felt... nothing.

    Riser had never been the reason she''d been so unhappy. Just a target that was easy to understand and hate. Rias still didn''t like him, but she didn''t hate him either.

    He had just been an obstacle to her dream of living as she wished.

    In the confusion of the last few hours, the terror of Issei''s disappearance, the grief at his death, the terror of the battle, the horrified realization at what Sona had done, and sheer, rapturous joy at seeing Issei alive, on top of the confusing mix of anger, guilt, love, hatred, awe, and fear that the sight of Eren brought her...

    Riser Phenex just... didn''t matter.

    Rias Gremory had moved past him.

    Rias'' freedom, her way of life, her dream, had a different enemy.

    So she didn''t mind helping a concerned brother looking for his little sister on a chaotic battlefield like this.

    "Check near Irina," Rias nodded toward the sole angel fighting within the Wall. "I saw them together not too long ago."

    "Thanks!" Riser said, paying her no more mind as he shot off toward the angel.

    Rias'' last conscious thought of Riser that day was a bit of wry amusement at how he flinched whenever Akeno unleashed her Holy Lightning.

    Then, it was back into the fray, defending Issei from Eren''s relentless attacks, fighting to survive.

    ...And trying to ignore thoughts of what tomorrow would bring if they did survive.

    Because Rias couldn''t... the world couldn''t return to how it was after this.

    Amidst the ongoing fighting, Rias felt something change in those few minutes after she exchanged words with her ex-fiance.

    Something she couldn''t put her finger on, not directly, yet still niggled at the back of her mind as she tore through Titan after Titan, staying around her Peerage as best she could while also covering Issei''s back.

    It was Koneko who caught on as Rias swopped down to finish off the Sheep Titan the Rook had in hold.

    "...Getting brighter," the Nekoshou said as the Titan in her grasp dissolved.

    Rias took a second to process what her laconic Rook meant.

    That''s when it clicked.

    Since Eren''s battle with Great Red had destroyed the sun, they''d been fighting in the twilight of the Underworld.

    More than enough light for devils to see by, but still not anything that one would call bright.

    It also heightened the confusion on the battlefield, with the bright lights of fire, lightning, Light and other magics shining all the more for the contrast.

    But now, the entire area was as bright as a sunrise, and Rias didn''t take long to realize the cause.

    The Crimson World Wall was shining, every second glowing brighter and brighter hue of red.

    The Boosted Gear took one second to turn one into two. But turning a trillion into two trillion also only took one second.

    And, with the reprieve of two new armies killing Colossal Titans faster than Eren could spawn them, ones with more precise forms of attack on top of that, Issei found himself able to defend against the aftershocks of Eren''s battle with the power no longer spent on thousands of enormous fists.

    The Colossal Titans were still there, attacking him, but they were not the overwhelming tide they once were. Eren was not producing them as fast as they were being destroyed anymore.

    And once Issei stopped losing power every moment, he could start building a reserve.

    And that snowballed.

    The glow had been subtle at first, a ramp up from nothing, but once it reached a certain point, the exponential nature of Ddraig''s power took over, and it went from a bright glow to an incandescent light in seconds.

    Rias realized what was going to happen before she heard the words.

    [Wall Fall]

    For a brief moment, Rias wondered who Issei would give the power to. Issei''s transferred boosts didn''t put any strain on the receivers, so it could be literally anyone.

    Yuuto again? Or maybe someone like Grafia... no, they had to be inside the Wall. Sona perhaps? She''d know what was the best play. Or Sairaorg, to stack buffs on their strongest fighter?

    At that moment, Rias tried to think of who would be the best recipient. Whoever it was, they would have to do something to make up for the loss of the Wall separating the Colossal Titans from everyone else.

    Then Rias felt it.

    Power.

    More power than she could have ever dreamed.

    More power than her brother held.

    More than Ddraig had in his life.

    Rias didn''t know it, but this was the power of the Red Dragon Emperor if his body was made from the flesh of the Dream and bolstered by a fragment of the Infinite.

    Issei, with Ophis'' help, would have reached Wall Fall much sooner if his new peak wasn''t so high. What he''d lost in defensive ability from no longer being a Rook was more than made up for in capacity for growth.

    And he''d transferred all that power to Rias Gremory.

    For a moment, Rias just... hung there, in the air, unsure.

    Eyes were on her. So many eyes.

    Not the Titans''.

    The loss of the Crimson World Wall had ceased the smaller Titans'' frantic charge, and they immediately returned to attacking everyone around them.

    The Colossal Titans began to step forward, enormous feet ready to crush and burn all in their path. The heat was already starting to rise.

    And right in front of them, right where the Wall once stood, a young man with brown hair grinned up at her from his prone position on the ground while Asia''s hands glowed green and gold against his chest.

    He was already chanting.

    Rias grinned back, joy, pride, and triumph swelling into a crescendo in her soul.

    Issei Hyoudou and Asia Argento were made for each other, and Rias decided right then and there. An OTP, if there ever was one.

    Together, they had turned a one-time-use technique already strong enough to be the backbone of an entire faction into something repeatable.

    Something fantastical.

    Issei reaches his limit, passes power to whoever needs it, and passes out. Asia then heals him, and he sets up his Wall again, as the first person with power battles any attackers.

    Together, those two could make as many temporary Red Dragon Emperors as they wanted!

    Rias Gremory reafirmed that she had the best Peerage as billions of tiny black stars filled the sky with her laughter.

    She stretched the control she''d been practicing for the last year, using every ounce of it she had to turn this enormous well of power she had been gifted into those few seconds Issei needed to restore his Wall.

    Angel. Fallen. Devil.

    They all froze in place as the air was saturated with the Power of Destruction like tiny water droplets.

    Rias'' grin was wild and free as she let her power flow.

    It was a good thing she had such large targets, wasn''t it?

    She would not miss.

    Black rain fell.

    And so did the Titans.

    Every.

    Single.

    One.

    It was like... an old movie, one without colour or sound. Grainy was perhaps the best way to put it.

    Black tears in reality carving lines in the world.

    Those effervescent black dots, small bundles of Destruction, carved scars from above and below, right and left, in front and behind.

    Enormous white humanoids were suddenly filled with a flickering darkness before they just... ceased.

    That wasn''t the end of the battle, of course.

    For one, Rias only summoned her Black Rain within her eyesight for fear of hitting allies she couldn''t see. It was enough to obliterate the army of white Titans, but it was not complete.

    For another, the source of the Titans was still present.

    No sooner had Rias destroyed the Titans than the lighting beat heralded more of Eren''s army.

    Rias destroyed those, too.

    For a few seconds, it was a race as the King did her best to buy just a little more time. A few seconds for her people, her friends, to breathe and rest.

    Then Issei finished his chant.

    The Crimson World Wall rose to separate Eren from his would-be victims for the second time.

    And Rias...

    She didn''t know why she did what she did...

    No. That would be an excuse.

    Rias knew why she did what she did.

    It was the fear and stress.

    It was petty vengeance for everything Eren had put her and her family through.

    It was for the still unprocessed grief of Issei''s death.

    It was a simple high of power, of joy, and of feeling like she finally had some control over her life.

    It was because Rias Gremory still felt like Eren Yeager had stolen something precious from her.

    And she wanted to take it back.

    Rias made a choice to seize back the freedom to decide how she''d live her life.

    All of those reasons were true. There were definitely more.

    Reasons. Justifications.

    They didn''t matter in the end.

    What mattered were actions.

    What mattered was the coalesced ball of destruction, formed far beyond what Rias'' normal range would be, that launched at Eren as he fought with Great Red.

    That ball, a tiny black dot on the horizon, left her right before the Wall rose again.

    Containing as much power as Rias could pack, it flew toward its target.

    There was very little hope of hitting Eren at this range, even at the speeds it was going.

    It might hit Great Red instead. Or even pass by harmlessly.

    Rias took the attack not because she thought it would win the battle but because she needed to do it. For herself, more than anything else.

    All this time, Rias had been reacting, the passive victim, while Eren, the Chaos Brigade, and even Sona dictated her future and that of her family.

    Rias needed to seize something of her own will.

    A meaningless gesture of defiance that only served to make Rias feel better, even if it accomplished nothing of value.

    It didn''t.

    That tiny black dot flew straight and true, searing across the horizon through debris and torn space.

    The battle between dragon and Titan moved, rose and fell in the air, yet that tiny bundle of destruction continued to advance.

    Eren grasped Great Red by its neck with one hand, the other raising a thin white blade shaped like his sword.

    The world would never know whether it would have been enough to sever the Dream''s neck.

    A tiny black dot slammed into the back of Eren''s hand.

    Even with all the power Rias could give it, the attack barely damaged Eren as he was now.

    It just blew a few fingers off his hand that were quickly healed, and the dropped blade dissolved.

    It seemed to startle Eren, though.

    Almost by instinct, the Titan turned to look at the direction of the attack.

    Even from this distance, Rias saw green eyes searching, roving the battlefield for his enemy.

    But Eren couldn''t see her from beyond the Wall.

    Rias realized what she had done before it happened.

    Saw it the coiling of Great Red''s neck.

    Understood it in Eren''s moment of inattention.

    Dreaded it as the Dream twisted its draconic maw to bite into an exposed weakness.

    Great Red bit into the back of Eren''s neck, tearing the spine from his body in a bloody chunk and swallowing it with a meaty gulp.

    Eren''s body fell, and the world shook with its collapse.

    Great Red roared.

    Rias closed her eyes.

    Devils, fallen, and angels all began to cheer.

    Rias shook with grief yet did not cry.

    She had decided to live with whatever the consequences were when she chose this path.

    Rias never wanted Eren dead. Never forgot that he still owed her an answer.

    Never forgot that Eren was every part of her dream as any of her Peerage.

    Yet the path of freedom is paved in corpses.

    Determination warred with a sense of loss as devils, fallen, and angels all began to cheer.

    "DON''T!!!"

    The voice was loud but not loud enough to be heard over the cheering and across the vast battlefield.

    "THE TITANS!!!"

    A few people heard the words of the woman with the red scarf.

    "THEY''RE STILL HERE!!"

    Some even prepared to continue the battle with the white giants without her warning, not understanding the implications of their continued presence.

    "HE''S NOT DEAD!!"

    Only a few people heard her.

    But everyone saw the titanic left arm burst from Great Red''s roaring maw.

    An enormous shower of blood, bone, scales and fangs rained down on the psychedelic ground.

    Great Red''s body began to bulge and contort as if ready to explode any second.

    Those with better eyesight noticed no light in the Dream''s massive eyes.

    Just the vacant void of an empty body.

    Another white arm burst from Great Red''s shoulder, where long serpentine neck met bone, showering the area with more gore and red scales with its eruption.

    A Titan''s hand grasped the opening and rent as if to pull itself free from the corpse.

    And that was when a devil appeared with a laugh on that titanic hand.

 Ideal

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 Perfect End

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 Winners

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 Dedicate Your Life

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 Harden

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 The Boy On The Bench

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 From You, A World Away

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 Thoughts From The Bench

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 Fan Omakes

    Omake: But at what cost? by [H4]Sagely Hijinks</a>[/H4] over on Spacebattles.

    Eren Yeager died his second death with a smile on his face.

    He had accomplished what he set out to do.

    The devils had lost their ability to use Evil Pieces - and thus, their ability to recruit humans. The angels would never be able to make Brave Saints.

    The Fallen had lost Azazel, and with him, all of their research on extracting Sacred Gears.

    The system set up by the Christian God would work once again as intended; humans with extraordinary power, either through reincarnation or Sacred Gear, would be able to fight back against the supernatural.

    The other mythological factions were similarly neutered through Eren''s careful orchestration of the evil gods.

    Ophis had beat back the Great Red and returned to the dimensional gap, with no further earthly attachments left alive.

    Finally... humans were free once more.

    Well. For a time.

    A few years afterwards, well after Eren had passed and his tenuous equilibrium had been established, everything once more fell into chaos.

    Invaders from a foreign dimension, calling themselves Evie, had come to conquer the Earth - which they referred to as "Draconic Deus".

    They came holding the severed heads of the Dragons that had lived in the Gap. They arrived to a world with nobody strong enough to contest them.

    In another timeline, the gods of Evie would have been stopped by a heroic Oppai dragon.

    In this one, the world was quickly subjugated.

    Humanity once again lost control of its own fate, but in a different way. Previously, humanity had been mostly autonomous, with any of the less subtle control happening in the background. Now, humanity was well aware of the fact that it was little more than cattle living on borrowed time.

    The End.

    ********

    Semi Cannon Omake: Future''s Recipe by [H4]Netra</a>[/H4] over on Spacebattles

    "Verdict?"

    Crunch.

    "Kuroka?"

    Crunch.

    "Kuroka."

    "If you already know what I''m going to say, why even bother asking?" the Nekoshou continued munching as she stared at a boy who was barely taller than the table counter he was peeking over.

    "I need to know if the cookies are good. They''re important," his voice, flat and empty, felt wrong coming out of the mouth of a child his age.

    "You didn''t answer my question, Eren."

    "��"

    Predictably, he didn''t respond. He never did. Whenever she tried to pry further into how his future sight worked, the boy known as Eren Yeager simply ignored her. Her words would always fall on deaf ea��

    "I want to hear you say it."

    Kuroka paused mid-chew, her ears twitching at the boy''s insistence. She swallowed the bite of cookie, the crunching noise stopping as she placed the remaining half on the tray.

    "Alright, Partnyaa," she relented, her golden eyes narrowing playfully. "They''re good."

    Really good. She wasn''t even lying. The cookies tasted amazing. Crisp on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside. Just the right amount of sweetness without being overpowering.

    After seeing the boy raze an entire devil estate to the ground (not to mention transforming into a colossal monstrosity), baking quality cookies wasn''t even in the top one-hundred of things she''d thought Eren would do next. So imagine her surprise when he told her they''d be sneaking into a caf�� past its closing time.

    A caf�� that coincidentally had all the ingredients he needed readily stocked.

    The stray watched him work as he preheated the oven, mixed eggs and flour into a bowl, molded the dough into small, even circles, and meticulously placed them on the baking sheet before shoving it in. She wasn''t in any way experienced in the culinary arts, but she could tell there was barely any wasted movement in his actions.

    Eren had clearly done this before. His small hands effortlessly cracked open the eggs, he skipped using measuring cups for the flour, and he twisted the oven timer''s dial without even glancing at the numbers. His movements were precise and swift, yet carried a nonchalance that spoke of experience, as if he had performed this same routine dozens of times.

    It would''ve been even more impressive if he didn''t need to stand on a wooden stool to reach the kitchen countertop (it was adorable!).

    Eren''s expression didn''t change, but there was a brief glimmer in his eyes that hinted at satisfaction after hearing her compliment his work. He carefully picked up one of the cookies, examining it closely before taking a bite. His chewing was methodical, as if he was analyzing every aspect of the flavor and texture.

    Kuroka watched him with a mix of curiosity and amusement. "So, what''s the big deal with these cookies?" she asked, leaning on the counter.

    Eren finished his bite and swallowed before responding. "They''re for someone important. I need them to be perfect."

    Kuroka''s ears twitched again, this time in genuine curiosity. "Important, nyaa? More important than little old me?" she teased.

    Eren didn''t rise to the bait. "Yes," he said simply.

    The nekoshou''s playful expression softened slightly. Despite Eren''s cold demeanor, she had grown fond of the boy. He was mysterious and often frustratingly silent, but there was a depth to him that she couldn''t ignore.

    Not to mention, he was her only chance to reunite with Shirone. Kuroka tolerated his antics solely because he promised he would clear her name and bring her back to her beloved little sister. All she had to do was train him in Senjutsu and play as his secretary cat, even though she doubted he could become better than her in the sage arts, much less become one of the top ten.

    Though deep down, the stray hoped he would. Because if he did become one of the strongest beings in this world like his "clairvoyance" told him, that meant he was also right about Shirone.

    Kuroka pried another hot cookie off the tray.

    "Haven''t you already perfected them?"

    He didn''t respond.

    She took a bite of her cookie. "I doubt a boy your age could be that powerful and simultaneously be a cooking prodigy, so I''m assuming the reason you bake so well is because you''ve already done it in the future. Just like how you knew about Shirone because I eventually tell you about her. Did I get that right, nyaa?"

    Eren simply stared at her.

    "Here''s what I don''t understand though, if you''ve already found the exact way to bake a perfect batch of cookies, why even go through the trial and error of trying to perfect them in the first place?"

    "Our steps toward the outcome are what shape the outcome itself."

    Oooohhh ominous. But��.. it didn''t really tell her anything. At least, anything related to how his power worked.

    Eren glanced at the tray of cookies with an unreadable expression. "They''re for someone who''s going to help us. Someone crucial to our plans."

    Kuroka''s interest piqued. "And what kind of person needs cookies to be convinced nyaa?"

    "Someone with a sweet tooth and a lot of influence. Trust me, it''ll make sense when we meet her."

    Her? A woman? So they weren''t in the top ten then.

    He took another bite. "This batch isn''t even close to perfect, the ones I''ll make won''t even be comparable. That''s why I need you to teach me Senjutsu as soon as possible."

    "Hmmm? What does Senjustsu have to do wi�C"

    Pause. Just like that, her mind needed a moment to connect the dots. Eren could almost see the gears turning inside her head. "Y-You want to use Senjutsu. To bake cookies��.?"

    "Yes. I''m going to use it to grow perfect ingredients and then bake cookies with the�C"

    "WHY!?!?!? What happened to becoming the fourth strongest being on the planet? I thought you''d use it to train and get stronger, nyaa!"

    Eren met her incredulous gaze with calm determination. "I will become the fourth strongest being on the planet. But to get there, I need allies, resources, and influence. These cookies are just a part of that plan."

    Kuroka laughed. Laughed at the sheer absurdity of it all. Her laughter echoed through the empty caf��, a stark contrast to Eren''s stoic demeanor. She shook her head, her golden eyes sparkling with amusement.

    For a long moment, the pair lapsed into silence, the crunching of cookies the only sound hanging in the air between them. The tension was palpable, but neither seemed willing to break it. The room was dimly lit, casting soft shadows on the walls, and the scent of freshly baked cookies mingled with the faint aroma of coffee beans.

    After what felt like an eternity, one of them finally spoke.

    "Do you think she''ll forgive me?"

    "I already told you. I don''t know. All I can do is give you the chance. The rest is up to you."

    That''s what bothered her. He knew about her past. He knew they would take over an entire faction led by the wielder of the True Longinus. He knew he would eventually become powerful enough to rival the current Lucifers. He even knew he would rank among the top ten, fourth no less. He had a detailed ten-year roadmap of how the future would unfold. Yet, he didn''t know if her cute little Shirone would forgive her?

    In eleven I will be dead.

    The words he had spoken beneath the Dantalion manor echoed in her mind. Eren had uttered them with such certainty, and it sent a shiver down her spine every time she recalled it. But they were just the words she needed to piece the puzzle. A hypothesis began to take shape, one she planned to explore further at a later time.

    "I don''t even know if I can face her after everything I put her through," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

    Eren, as always, remained silent. His expression was unreadable, but Kuroka could sense his unwavering attention on her. She felt a bitter chuckle escape her lips again, this time devoid of any humor.

    "I failed her, you know?" Kuroka continued, her voice trembling slightly. "Shirone was just a child, and I was supposed to protect her. Instead, I dragged her into this mess, into my mess. I thought I was strong enough to shield her from the consequences, but I was wrong. I wasn''t strong enough. I couldn''t keep her safe."

    The memories flooded back, each one more painful than the last. She remembered the fear in Shirone''s eyes when their parents died, the way her sister clung to her, seeking comfort and protection. She recalled the look of hesitant joy on Shirone''s face when they both became reincarnated devils for the Naberius clan, believing they could once again have a home��a family. Only for it all to come crashing down.

    She recalled the sheer terror on Shirone''s face as she stood over the bloody corpse of their former master. An expression she never thought her cute little sister would ever level at her.

    Kuroka had promised to keep her safe, to always be there for her no matter what. But those promises had been broken, shattered by the harsh beating stick of reality.

    "I hate it. I hate how weak I am. I should have been stronger," she admitted.

    She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, the pain a welcome distraction. "I don''t even know why I''m following you, Eren. Maybe I was just desperate enough to believe your promises, to cling to any hope that came my way."

    The stray stared at the crumbs in her hands, a smile playing on her lips. She didn''t expect Eren to say anything, and he didn''t. Silence fell between them again, a silence heavy with unspoken words. She didn''t know what he thought about her confession, but she knew that he understood. In his own way, he was carrying a weight just as heavy as hers.

    She let out a hearty laugh. "Don''t get me wrong nyaa. That little display you gave me in the Naberius manor wasn''t anything to scoff at. It was more than enough to put the fear of Go-(ow!)-Satan in me. So don''t worry Partnyaa! I''ll fulfill my end of the dea�C

    "It''s enough."

    "Nyaa?"

    "Your regrets. Your sins. They''re more than enough," a boy who barely reached her chest stared at her with a maturity and depth far beyond his years.

    "If it''s what keeps you going, keeps you moving forward, then hold on to them. Hold on to them with the hopes of finding redemption. Use them as fuel to become stronger, become better."

    Kuroka blinked, taken aback by his words. Despite his age, there was something almost sage-like about him. She had never met anyone like Eren before, and though she was wary of his mysterious knowledge and cold demeanor, she couldn''t help but feel a flicker of hope.

    "Redemption, huh?" she murmured, looking down at the half-eaten cookie in her hand. "You really think she''ll take me back?"

    "Like I said, I don''t know. I never meet her, so I can''t see her. I don''t know if she''ll accept you with open arms or reject you completely. All I can do is give you the chance.

    "And if the latter happens?"

    "Then that''s on you."

    Kuroka mulled over Eren''s words, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. The idea of redemption was foreign to her; it had always seemed like a luxury she couldn''t afford. If she was in Shirone''s shoes, she wouldn''t forgive herself either. But Eren''s calm certainty, even in the face of unknowns, stirred something in her. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way for her to find peace.

    The silence stretched, filled only with the occasional clinking of the caf��''s equipment and the faint hum of the air conditioner. Kuroka finished her cookie, savoring the last crumbs, and then pushed the tray towards Eren.

    "You''re a strange one, Eren Yeager," she said, her voice softer now. "But you''ve given me a lot to think about. I''ll make sure not to mess it up when I finally arrive at the opportunity."

    Eren looked at her, his expression as impassive as ever, but there was a glint in his eyes��a hint of understanding, perhaps even empathy. "Everyone has their own path to walk Kuroka," he said quietly. "It''s up to you how you choose to walk it."

    Kuroka nodded slowly, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Yeah, I suppose you''re right. But enough of the heavy stuff." She stood up, stretching her arms above her head, her ears flicking playfully. "We''ve got work to do if you want to become the best cookie-baking future-seeing powerhouse around, Partnyaa!"

    After tidying up, a flash of light enveloped the pair, and they vanished, leaving behind only the lingering scent of freshly baked cookies and the faint echoes of their conversation in the empty caf��.

    The next day, the caf�� owner arrived to find everything just as she had left it, save for five cookies sealed inside a tupperware on the counter with a note that read:

    "Thank you for the ingredients. The cookies were delicious. We cleaned up after ourselves. - E."

    The owner blinked at the note, puzzled, but shrugged it off as she sampled one of the cookies.

    She couldn''t deny they were indeed delicious.

    ********

    Semi Cannon Omake: Of Simpler Times by [H4]Netra</a>[/H4] over on Spacebattles

    Inhale.

    Exhale.

    It was peaceful.

    So very peaceful.

    Free from the future. Free from the past. Living only in the present. He had almost forgotten the feeling. The feeling of existing in the moment on its lonesome.

    Ever since he turned six, for as long as he could remember��or rather, for as long as memory had meaning��his new life had been a swirling maelstrom of moments. Past, present, and future coiled together in an endless loop, impossible to separate, like tangled threads of a tapestry too intricate to unravel. To him, time was not a linear path but an all-encompassing ocean in which he drifted, pulled in every direction at once.

    But here, on this simple wooden bench, beneath the canopy of rustling leaves, he was free. The chaos subsided. The waves stilled. He could breathe.

    It felt alien��.and familiar. He could feel the rough grain of the wood beneath his fingers, the coolness of the late afternoon breeze on his face, and the warmth of the sun high above. These were not echoes of moments from countless different lifetimes, but singular experiences��sharp, vivid, and real.

    No future. No past. Just��.this.

    In his heart of hearts, he wished it could last forever. To have the weight of the future lifted from his shoulders, and the echoes of the past quiet to a distant hum. But he knew it wouldn''t be, that it would never be. He would keep moving forward and inevitably die with this power. This was his burden to carry. He could not escape it, no matter how desperately he might wish otherwise.

    Which was why he endeavored to enjoy this brief respite as much as possible.

    He closed his eyes and let himself sink deeper into the calm. For a fleeting moment, he was just Eren, a young man sitting on a bench, with no weight of destiny on his shoulders, no curse of knowledge. His thoughts were not a tangle of decisions and repercussions, but simple things��on the feel of the wind, the rustle of leaves, the way the�Cthe�C

    [ispoiler]" ��ZA WARUDO��  TOKI O TOMARE!  " [/ispoiler]

    ��.the way the red-haired devil girl beside him yelled at the top of her lungs.

    Eren sobered up.

    Rias Gremory. The heiress of the Gremory clan, one of the highest ranking devil families of the remaining 72 pillars of hell. One of the few inheritors of the Power of Destruction, the very power the original Lucifer had wielded to erase his enemies.

    Someone Eren had never expected to befriend.

    Someone Eren had never even expected to meet.

    Someone who did not know what he planned to do to her home and people.

    Someone who thought of him as naught but a dying blind boy to be pitied and looked after.

    Someone��who was now raising his arms laterally, facing his palms forward.

    "Remember! THIS</a> is the pose he strikes as he says it. And don''t forget, he''s floating in the air using his Stand powers the whole time," her excitement was palpable as she lifted his arms into position.

    "Now say it with me, Eren. To-ki-Wo-To-ma-re. It means ''stop time.''"

    Eren cleared his throat. He knew better than to argue whenever she got this excited.

    "Toh. Kee. Yo. Tow. Ma. Rhe," he repeated slowly, carefully enunciating each syllable.

    Rias giggled at his awkward attempt, her eyes lighting up with amusement. "Close enough," she said, still holding his arms in place. "But you''ve got to put some oomph into it! It''s like you''re commanding the universe itself to come to a halt."

    She yelled again, but this time in a deeper, more masculine voice, and he couldn''t help but be amused at the absurdity of it all.

    "You need to channel the raw charisma of a blonde man with serious daddy issues into your voice!"

    For a moment, his mind wandered to someone��an erstwhile ally, one that thought of him as a brother, someone who truly cared for him despite the circumstances that had placed them on opposing sides. Someone he had used for convenience. Someone he had betrayed in the end to further his goals. The thought vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

    Eren said it again, this time louder and deeper than before, making the respective pose all the while. He must have looked and sounded utterly ridiculous, judging by the way he could hear Rias struggling to stifle her mirth.

    Rias''s laughter finally broke through, a bright, unrestrained sound that filled the quiet noon air. Eren couldn''t help but be somewhat amused (though it didn''t show on his face), the absurdity of the situation momentarily lifting the weight that always seemed to hang over him. For a few brief seconds, it was easy to forget everything else��his mission, his burden, his fate��and just be present in the moment, sharing a laugh with someone who had become an unexpected friend.

    Rias let go of his arms (finally) and clapped her hands together. "Not bad, Eren! If we keep this up you''ll be nihongo jouzu in no time at all. Sona will be impressed."

    He could feel the aura of smugness radiating off of her at the thought of beating her long time rival at her own game.

    Eren raised an eyebrow, only catching the gist of what she said. "N-Ni�CNi"

    "Nihongo jouzu," Rias chuckled, a playful glint in her eyes. "It means you''ll be fluent in Japanese. At least, enough to get by with some anime catchphrases."

    Eren shook his head, finding her enthusiasm pleasing despite himself. "I''m not sure how useful that''ll be."

    "Maybe not," Rias admitted, "but it''s fun, isn''t it?"

    Fun. It was such a simple word, yet it carried a weight Eren had almost forgotten. In a life dictated by duty, sacrifice, and the relentless pursuit of his goals, the concept of fun had slipped through the cracks. But here, with Rias, in this fleeting moment, he allowed himself to indulge in it. It stirred memories of better days, of racing to a tree on a hill with two others��names he wouldn''t dare speak or think of, lest the pain resurface.

    "Yes. Yes I guess it is."

    "Exactly! Now let''s continue with the story," Rias said as she flipped another page of her manga.

    Their dynamic would go as follows: Rias would read in Japanese while Eren listened. Occasionally, she''d challenge him to translate passages into English, testing the knowledge he''d gained from his lessons with Sona. However, Rias often ended up translating most of it herself since Eren''s lessons with Sona had only recently advanced beyond basic Japanese.

    She had taken it upon herself to teach him the language through manga, a method that combined her love for otaku culture with his desire to learn something new��though he wasn''t sure how much of it he was retaining. She would often pause to explain certain phrases or expressions, her voice animated with excitement as she described the scenes on the page.

    [ispoiler]"ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA!��."

    "MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA!��."[/ispoiler]

    Each syllable that left her lips was punctuated by Rias playfully tapping his good arm with her fist, mimicking the ''fight'' unfolding in the story.

    "Remember Eren, ''Ora'' means ''come on!'' while ''Muda'' means ''useless''."

    He recalled that little tidbit of information as he listened.

    As Rias continued reading, her voice animated and full of enthusiasm, Eren found himself immersed in the story despite the oddity of it all. He allowed himself to be swept along by her passion, to let go of the relentless weight on his shoulders. Her excitement was infectious, and despite his initial reservations, he found himself intrigued by the strange picture she was painting.

    Despite struggling to keep up, Eren managed to get a rough understanding of the story so far. JoJo''s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders followed three men and a teenager (though Rias insisted he was the biggest ''man'' of the group despite being only seventeen years old) on a journey to save Holy Joestar, said tennager''s mother, by defeating Dio Brando, a returning antagonist from Part One.

    "He survived by decapitating Jonathan and replacing his head with his own! Can you believe that!?!? It''s f*cking insane!"

    She had pointed out that the key difference between this part and the previous two was the introduction of Stands: manifestations of a person''s soul. These Stands typically appeared as various humanoid figures, which Rias found challenging to describe to the blind boy due to their unique appearances. In essence, these Stands could interact with the physical world, but the reverse was not true. In short, Stands could interact with the physical world, but the reverse wasn''t possible. To top it off, each Stand possessed a unique ability tied to its user.

    "Think of them as superpowered ghosts."

    Bizarre indeed.

    "Why do they say it in English?"

    "Huh?"

    "These ''Stands''��they use English for the names but then switch right back to Japanese. Why?"

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Rias didn''t respond immediately. It seemed his question had caught her off guard. He could almost picture the gears turning in her head as she tried to come up with an answer.

    "W-Well��"

    Rias paused, a rare moment of hesitation crossing her usually confident demeanor. Now that she thought about it, she didn''t have a solid answer. It was something she had always accepted without question, part of the charm that made the series what it was.

    "Well," she began slowly, clearly thinking it through as she spoke, "I think it''s just part of the style, you know? It''s like�� when characters in manga or anime say something in English, it adds a certain flair or emphasis to what they''re saying. It makes it stand out more. Plus, English words can sound cool or exotic in Japanese media."

    "So they just say it to sound�� intimidating?" Eren asked.

    Rias snapped her fingers. "Bingo! Kind of like how you��.well, never mind."

    "How I what?" he pressed.

    How your dead voice sends chills down my spine, even though you''re only a human who''s a few years older than me, was what she wanted to say.

    But instead, Rias shook her head. "Forget it! We were just getting to the good part before you interrupted," she said, her voice filled with eager anticipation.

    She continued. Her story progressed where they left off before Eren interrupted. Dio drank the recently deceased Joseph''s blood and could now stop time for nine seconds. Jotaro gets angry at him. They fight. Jotaro gets a road roller dropped on him. They fight and talk some more. Until finally, Jotaro catches Dio off guard and incapacitates him long enough for the sun to set, killing him in the process. He made it sound dull, but Rias''s colorful narration painted a picture of a battle of life and death that''d have the reader at the edge of their seat.

    The sun was almost below the horizon. They''d spent the entire afternoon lost in the fantastical world of JoJo''s Bizarre Adventure, with Rias enthusiastically guiding Eren through the narrative. The warm, golden light of the setting sun cast long shadows across the ground, bathing the park in a serene glow. The air had cooled considerably, the gentle breeze carrying the scent of leaves and earth, signaling the end of a peaceful day.

    Rias closed the manga with a satisfied sigh, a wide smile still plastered on her face. "And that''s the end of Part 3! There''s an epilogue I''ll read to you next time, but that pretty much wraps it up." she said, turning to face Eren.

    "So they can just tell time to stop? Just like that?"

    "For five seconds! Though after Dio consumes Joseph''s blood, he extends it to nine, but Jotaro''s limit is still five," Rias explained, her enthusiasm lingering even after the finale. "What would you do if you had The World as a stand?"

    "I don''t know. If I had the power to stop time, I think I would just leave."

    There it was again��that weary, hollow tone that made him sound far older than his years. Eren usually kept it in check around Rias and her peerage, but when that voice did slip through, it never failed to unsettle her.

    Rias''s smile faltered slightly as Eren''s words hung in the air. She didn''t miss the shift in his tone, the sudden heaviness that seemed to weigh down the moment. It was like a shadow passing over the sun, brief but undeniable. The carefree mood they''d shared just moments ago, filled with laughter and animated storytelling, now felt distant.

    She had grown accustomed to Eren''s occasional detachment, the way he would sometimes withdraw into himself, even in the middle of a conversation. But every time it happened, it still caught her off guard. It was a reminder that beneath the calm exterior he presented, there was a deep well of sorrow and burden that he carried alone.

    "...the fighting, I mean. I would just leave the fighting."

    Rias hesitated, unsure of how to respond. The silence stretched between them, broken only by the rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of birds. She wanted to say something, anything, to bring back the lightness they had shared. But she knew that prying or pushing too hard wouldn''t do any good.

    Instead, Rias gently placed her hand on Eren''s. "That''s�� understandable," she said softly. "I think a lot of people would feel the same way if they had the power to just�� escape. To get away from all the fighting and the pain."

    Eren didn''t respond immediately. He sat there, still as a statue, absorbing the quiet comfort of her touch.

    "But it''s never really that simple is it? Sometimes you can''t help but stand your ground, even when you know you shouldn''t" he added after a moment, his voice firmer. "Sometimes all you can do is face it. Grit your teeth, dig your heels and push forward, no matter how hard it gets."

    Rias squeezed his hand gently. She knew there was more to Eren than he let on, a hidden world of struggle and determination that he rarely shared with others. His words, though simple, carried a weight that resonated with her own experiences. As a devil, she understood the burdens of responsibility, the relentless pursuit of duty, and the sacrifices that came with it.

    Not a day went by without the looming threat of her arranged marriage hanging over her like the Sword of Damocles, a constant reminder that her days of freedom were numbered.

    She smiled softly, her grip on Eren''s hand tightening just a fraction. "You''re right," she said quietly, her voice steady. "It''s not simple. But... moments like these, they make it a little easier, don''t they?"

    Eren nodded, though the gesture was small, almost imperceptible. He could feel the warmth of her hand in his, the simple connection grounding him in the present. Despite the swirling chaos of his life, despite the fate he knew awaited him, this moment was something he could hold onto.

    They sat in silence for a while, the golden light of the setting sun bathing them in a gentle glow. The world around them seemed to slow, the worries of the past and future fading into the background. For now, they were just two people sharing a quiet moment on a bench, finding solace in each other''s presence.

    The last rays of sunlight dipped below the horizon. Rias finally broke the silence. "I should head back," she said, her voice tinged with reluctance. "But... thank you, Eren. For today."

    Eren turned his head slightly toward her, giving her an expressionless nod. "I should be the one thanking you for giving me the time of day Rias."

    She laughed as she gave him a quick hug goodbye.

    It was warm.

    With that, she stood up, the spell of the moment slowly breaking as reality beckoned Eren back. But even as Rias walked away, the echoes of their conversation lingered, a quiet reminder that moments like these, fleeting as they were, could be cherished, held onto even when everything else seemed to fade away into a blur of duty.

    He closed his eyes once more, letting the peace of the evening wash over him. The past and future were still there, seared into his memory, but for now, they were distant, muted. For now, he could simply be.

    Inhale.

    Exhale.

    He was close. Just a little more, and he''d find his answer.

    And so, he sat there, letting the world fade into the background, finding a rare and precious solace in the silence.

    No future. No past. Just the chirping of crickets, the cool evening wind and the light breathing of a dying boy on the bench.

    ********

    Omake: Another branch by Anonymous over on AO3

    "Kuroka, Shirone, it''s time to wake up and come to breakfast." A firm yet monotone voice cut through the stillness of their room, accompanied by a gentle knocking on the door. "And Shirone, remember to brush your teeth before you come down." The voice added, carrying a tone of practiced patience.

    The two nekoshou siblings, nestled together in their shared bed, slowly stirred from their slumber. Their eyes fluttered open, squinting against the piercing brightness of the morning sun that streamed through the window. The comforting aroma of breakfast began to waft into their room, coaxing them from their groggy state. With a collective yawn, Kuroka, the elder sister, was the first to move, her limbs heavy with sleep as she shuffled towards the bathroom. Shirone, the younger, followed suit, her movements still sluggish but eager.

    Upon entering the kitchen, they were immediately enveloped by the irresistible scents of freshly made pancakes, crispy bacon, and warm, fragrant bread. The kitchen was a visual feast, with the breakfast table laid out with an impressive spread of their favorite morning treats. Behind this culinary display stood their caretaker, Eren Yeager. Despite his young age, he maintained an air of serene composure.

    "Good morning, Eren," Kuroka mumbled, her voice still thick with the remnants of sleep. Her greeting was accompanied by a half-hearted stretch.

    Eren Yeager looked up from where he was arranging a few last items on the table. His expression remained unchanged, revealing nothing but calm stoicism. "Good morning, Kuroka, Shirone. I trust you both slept well through the night?"

    Shirone, her eyes still heavy but brightening at the sight of the breakfast spread, managed a shy smile. "Good morning, onii-chan."

    Eren gestured towards the table with a casual wave of his hand. "I''ve prepared your favorites today. There are fluffy pancakes dripping with syrup, crispy bacon just the way you like it, and fresh, warm bread. Feel free to help yourselves, but do remember to leave some of the cookies for me." He indicated a plate stacked with tempting cookies, the aroma of which mingled with the other scents in the kitchen.

    Without further ado, Kuroka and Shirone took their seats at the table, their previous grogginess quickly dissipating in the face of such a delectable breakfast. They dug in eagerly, savoring each bite of the Senjutsu-enhanced cuisine that seemed to elevate their morning routine to an extraordinary level.

    <hr>

    As they enjoyed their meal, Eren, now sipping from a steaming cup of coffee, casually dropped a new piece of information into the conversation. "Oh, I should have mentioned this earlier, but in a few days, we''ll be welcoming another resident into the house."

    The announcement was met with a brief moment of confusion. Kuroka, with her fork halfway to her mouth, looked up with an expression of surprise and curiosity. Shirone, who was in the midst of slicing her pancakes, paused and glanced at Eren, her eyes wide with a mix of intrigue and concern.

    Eren''s face remained as impassive as ever, his gaze steady as he continued. "Yes, a new resident will be joining us shortly. I thought it prudent to inform you now so you''re not caught off guard."

    Kuroka furrowed her brow, her confusion evident. "A new guest? Who exactly are we expecting?"

    Eren''s response was succinct and direct. "Ophis."

    "Oh, she is here already. That was fast." He remarked, looking at the entrance of the kitchen.

    Kuroka''s eyes widened, her fork momentarily forgotten. "Ophis? The Dragon God of Infinity? That''s��wait, what?"

    Eren seemed unperturbed by Kuroka''s reaction. "Oh, it appears she''s already here. That was rather quick."

    <hr>

    "I, came for the cookies." At that moment, Ophis, the Dragon God of Infinity, manifested at the entrance of the kitchen. Her presence was both awe-inspiring and oddly serene, a striking contrast to her legendary status. Her gaze swept over the breakfast spread with a detached curiosity before settling on Eren.

    Eren didn''t even flinch at the appearance of the Dragon God of Infinity. Instead, he continued calmly sipping his coffee, his eyes flicking briefly to acknowledge her arrival. "Good morning, Ophis. I trust you found your way here without issue?"

    Ophis gave a small nod, her attention already diverted to the array of breakfast foods laid out before her. "Yes. I''m here for the cookies. Where are they?"

    Kuroka and Shirone exchanged bewildered glances, their earlier drowsiness now replaced by a mix of shock and apprehension. Kuroka managed to muster the courage to speak, her voice trembling slightly. "Eren, is this really...?"

    Eren placed his cup down with deliberate care and rested his hands on the table. "Yes, Ophis has joined us for breakfast. I had anticipated her arrival would be tomorrow or later, but it seems she''s arrived sooner than expected."

    Shirone''s voice quivered as she asked, "Is she... staying with us?"

    Eren''s tone remained detached as he responded, "Indefinitely. Ophis will be residing here for the foreseeable future."

    Ophis, still by the entrance, seemed unaffected by the ongoing conversation. She walked over to the table, her gaze lingering on the breakfast spread as if she were inspecting an object of mild interest.

    Kuroka, trying to wrap her mind around the sudden development, broke the silence. "Eren, why didn''t you mention this sooner? I mean, having the Dragon God of Infinity here is... quite significant."

    Eren''s gaze met Kuroka''s with the same impassive expression. "It was a recent development, and I deemed it unnecessary to alarm you until all details were confirmed. Besides, Ophis''s presence should not disrupt your daily routine."

    At that moment, Ophis, having located the cookies, began to indulge in them with remarkable enthusiasm. She picked up a plate and proceeded to devour the cookies, leaving a trail of crumbs around her and on the table. Her eyes briefly met Shirone''s, and though her expression remained neutral, there was a fleeting hint of curiosity in her gaze. A tendril, composed of a substance reminiscent of bone, Eren''s true ability, extended toward Ophis, wiping her face clean with a napkin and towel.

    Ophis, engrossed in her cookie feast, did not even notice the tendril''s efforts to tidy her up. The scene in the kitchen was nothing short of surreal��a juxtaposition of an ordinary breakfast against the backdrop of extraordinary company. Kuroka and Shirone continued to process the bizarre turn of events, their feelings a tumultuous mix of confusion and awe.

    The scene in the kitchen was surreal, a striking contrast between ordinary breakfast and extraordinary company. Kuroka and Shirone continued to process the bizarre turn of events with a mix of confusion and awe.

    Kuroka finally cleared her throat, striving to regain her composure amidst the chaos. "Eren, I still don''t understand. Why does she need to stay here indefinitely? What''s the purpose of her visit?"

    Ophis, with her mouth full of cookies, managed to answer in between bites. "Great Red, is noisy. Gap, don''t have a cookie."

    Kuroka and Shirone exchanged incredulous looks, their mouths hanging open as they tried to reconcile Ophis''s cryptic statement with the gravity of their new houseguest. The atmosphere in the kitchen was thick with tension and confusion, the weight of the unexpected visitor settling heavily upon them.

    Kuroka, always the one to seek clarity, finally spoke up. "So... Great Red is causing noise, and that''s why Ophis is here?"

    Eren''s response was simple and direct. "Yes."

    <hr>

    The conversation was abruptly interrupted as Eren, carrying the used plates and glasses to the sink, casually added, "By the way, the current White Dragon Emperor will be arriving here tomorrow as another new resident."

    Kuroka''s eyes widened in disbelief, and she stared at Eren, her mouth forming the words, "Eren, what the fu��"

    ********

    What-if Omake: Of Simpler Times by [H4]Netra</a>[/H4] over on Spacebattles

    Principal Sona Sitri sat prim in her white button-up blouse and pencil skirt, reviewing several documents neatly stacked on her desk.

    A black fountain pen with a tasteful gold tip moved smoothly and accurately between her fingers, signing documents and initialing others.

    She looked every bit the professional she was. Even if her looks were what any would call beautiful, she was very much a real woman with real responsibilities, and that included running her academy.

    "Thank you, Tsubaki," Sona nodded to her queen and vice-principal as she placed a hot cup of tea on her mahogany desk.

    She gave a short bow and stepped back, taking up position at the corner of her well furnished office.

    The Sitri heiress let out a silent sigh as she sipped at the warm drink, the steam warming her face before it was swept away by the slight breeze from the open window. She looked outside to see the newly remade artificial sun dip below the horizon, the sky lit up by beautiful shades of oranges and reds.

    Her phone buzzed as she received a message that she wasn''t in the mood to read. Instead, she took a quick glance at the time.

    Friday, June 7

    5:50 PM

    A few more minutes and she''d be off, but before that��.

    Sona allowed herself a brief moment to savor the peace. The warm tea, the gentle breeze, and the picturesque view of the artificial sunset all served as a welcome respite from the responsibilities that weighed heavily on her shoulders.

    Even now, her mind was already calculating, planning the next steps she would need to take to ensure the smooth running of Atlas Academy.

    Four Years.

    Four Years since she stood on that center podium in the massive amphitheater and finally fulfilled her lifelong dream of opening her school.

    She could still recall the thunderous applause that echoed through the amphitheater, the faces of countless beings��Angels, Devils, Fallen, Yokai, humans, and many others��looking up at her with a mixture of hope and curiosity. It had been a monumental moment, not just for her, but for all those who believed in the vision she had fought so hard to bring to life.

    A place where knowledge transcended the boundaries of race, where history was taught not through the lens of victors or the defeated but with impartiality and a commitment to truth.

    She had expected the complexities of managing such a diverse and powerful student body to be no easy task, as each race brought with it centuries of history, conflicts, and prejudices.

    But��.to her surprise, it turned out to be more manageable than she had initially feared. While the challenges were certainly there, they were often outweighed by the remarkable willingness of the students and faculty to adapt and learn from one another.

    It wasn''t that there were no conflicts��there were plenty, as could be expected when bringing together beings from realms that had often been at odds for millennia and had only recently seen peace. Yet, the environment Sona had painstakingly cultivated within the academy seemed to encourage a different approach to these old rivalries. Rather than allowing grudges and prejudices to fester, the academy''s culture promoted dialogue and mutual understanding.

    The curriculum, carefully designed to challenge preconceived notions and encourage critical thinking, had played a significant role in this.

    Courses like "Comparative Mythology" and "Inter-realm Diplomacy" required students to step outside their comfort zones and consider perspectives vastly different from their own. History classes were transformative, offering unbiased accounts of events that many students had only ever heard through the biased narratives of their own cultures.

    Sona had watched as Fallen and Devils, who once could barely sit in the same room without tension, began to engage in thoughtful discussions about the wars of their predecessors.

    What had surprised her the most was the genuine friendships that had formed across racial lines. Students who might have been sworn enemies outside the academy walls found themselves working together on projects, sharing meals, and even forming study groups. It was a testament to the power of education and the environment Sona had created��one where knowledge and understanding were valued above all else.

    Her peerage, too, had risen to the occasion, each member embracing their roles with a dedication that exceeded her expectations.

    The faculty had proven to be more adaptable and open-minded than she had anticipated. Teachers from various realms had come together, sharing their unique expertise and learning from one another. This enriched the academic environment, making it a true melting pot of knowledge and cultures.

    Sona knew that the success of Atlas Academy wasn''t solely due to her efforts. It was the result of a collective commitment��students, faculty, and staff all working towards a common goal. The vision she had nurtured for so long had resonated with others, and they had made it their own.

    Her dream, her school, was a resounding success.

    And that terrified her.

    Everything was going too well.

    Her last assassination attempt had been... two years and six��no, seven months ago. It was by a member of one of the pillar families she had consigned to the grave in Agreas. House Paimon, she remembered��the last of his line, and the last to meet his end.

    Though Sona knew it wasn''t her place to question her sister''s security detail, she still couldn''t help but feel a little uneasy.

    Call it a force of habit, but when everything seemed fine, it usually meant something was definitely not fine. Maybe they were disguised as students? Teachers? Maybe all the previous ones were just sent to test the waters, while the real assassin waits for the most opportune time to strike? Maybe��.maybe��.

    "Kaichou?" her queen cleared her throat.

    ��.maybe she needed a break. Again.

    The 25-year-old Devil sighed.

    "Please get on with it, Tsubaki."

    Said vice-principal adjusted her glasses and opened the small notebook she always carried, expression calm and composed as ever.

    "Academy operations continue to run smoothly," Tsubaki began, her voice steady and professional. "Attendance is at an all-time high, with enrollment numbers exceeding projections by 8% for the current semester. The new Cultural Anthropology of the Supernatural course is receiving positive feedback from both students and faculty. There have been no major incidents reported within the last week, and disciplinary actions are down by 12% compared to the previous month."

    Good.

    She paused briefly to let the information sink in before continuing. "Security protocols remain effective. We''ve had no breaches, and our monitoring systems show no signs of suspicious activity. Patrols have been increased in key areas, particularly around the dormitories and the central courtyard, in line with the upcoming end-of-year examinations. Additionally, the newly installed magical barriers have been tested and are functioning as expected. They are set to replace Lord Beelzebub''s earlier prototype within the week."

    Wonderful.

    Tsubaki''s gaze met Sona''s as she continued, "The faculty has requested more resources for the expanded curriculum, specifically for the Human Integration into the Supernatural World (HISW) department. There''s also a proposal from the student council to host an inter-realm debate next month, which they believe will further promote unity among the diverse student body."

    Splendid.

    She flipped to the next page of her notebook, her tone becoming slightly more somber. "On a less positive note, there have been minor tensions between certain student groups, particularly among the junior members of the Chinese and Japanese magician associations. Nothing alarming, but it may require a proactive approach to prevent escalation."

    Ugh��.she''d have to set them straight come tomorrow.

    "Finally, young Millicas is currently at the top of his batch," Tsubaki continued, her tone reflecting a hint of pride. "He''s demonstrated exceptional aptitude in his studies and is well-regarded among his peers. His scores for the midterm examinations across all subjects have not fallen below his consistent 98% average. If he maintains it, he''ll have a 4.0 GPA by the end of the semester. "

    "I''m sure Rias will be more than pleased with her nephew," Sona said, her tone softening as she thought of her best friend and rival.

    Tsubaki closed the notebook and looked at Sona, her expression softening just a bit. "Overall, everything is under control, Kaichou. But as always, we remain vigilant."

    Sona leaned back slightly in her chair, her fingers tracing the rim of her teacup as she absorbed the report.

    "Thank you, Tsubaki," Sona said, her voice measured and calm, though a trace of that underlying anxiety seeped through. "As always, your thoroughness is appreciated."

    Tsubaki inclined her head slightly in acknowledgment, the ever-efficient vice-principal already preparing to address whatever task Sona might assign next.

    The Bell rang. Sona eyed her phone.

    6:30 PM

    Night classes should be starting soon.

    Her eyes met her Queen''s with a nod as an unspoken message was communicated between them.

    "I''ll leave everything to you."

    She rose from her seat, put on her tailored blazer and approached the teleportation circle leading to her destination. The circle glowed faintly as she stepped into it, the familiar hum of magical energy resonating in the air.

    With a final glance at Tsubaki, who stood ready to oversee the academy in her absence, Sona activated the teleportation spell.

    In an instant, the world around her shifted, the office fading away as she was enveloped in a soft blue light.

    ********

    After waiting a few seconds for good measure, the vice-president gave the secret listeners the green light.

    "She''s in."

    ********

    The scent of saltwater and the sound of waves greeted her senses.

    Her work flats sank slightly into the warm white sand.

    She took a moment to steady herself, the gentle breeze tugging at the hem of her top and playing with the strands of her dark hair.

    The ground was bathed in the soft glow of twilight, the sky above her painted in hues of deep blue and orange. The sun had just set, leaving behind a trail of colors that reflected off the calm ocean that stretched endlessly before her.

    Ahead, nestled amidst the greenery and facing the pristine beach, was a ''small home''. It stood tall and elegant, its windows illuminated from within, casting a warm, inviting light that beckoned her inside.

    She walked slowly, the familiar path guiding her steps. The sand beneath her feet transitioned to the smooth stone of the pathway, and the soothing sounds of the ocean dimmed as she approached the entrance.

    The wooden door creaked open as a relieved Sona Sitri finally entered.

    "I''m home!"

    Silence.

    Was she too early?

    Aunty or Kuroka should''ve already been here by now.

    A faint smile tugged at her lips as she placed her footwear beside a nearby chair and shrugged off her blazer, draping it over the back.

    She stepped further inside, her feet thudding lightly against the polished wooden floor.

    The cozy interior was a stark contrast to the grand, imposing halls of Atlas Academy. Here, everything felt intimate, personal. With walls adorned with framed photographs that captured moments of joy and serenity.

    Her eyes swept across her home, noting the dining table elegantly set for two, with a crisp white tablecloth draped over it. She noticed the faint hum of the oven coming from the kitchen.

    Her eyebrow twitched. So they wanted to play it like this then? Which room was it this time? The bedroom? The study? bathroom? Or was it the attic? Didn''t matter. Once she''d find them she would��

    Sona yelped as arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her into an embrace.

    The suddenness of it caught her off guard, but before she could even think of resisting, she felt familiar lips press against her own.

    Her heart leaped in her chest, and the rest of the world fell away.

    Her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, pulling him close as she eagerly returned the kiss.

    When the need for air became too great, they broke apart, gasping for breath as their eyes locked on each other.

    Violet orbs gazed into green.

    Her face flushed as he smiled.

    Eren Yeager, smiled.

    "Happy Birthday Sona."

    The woman sighed as she rested her head against his shoulder.

    Her worries were a distant memory.

    "Mhhhhmm."

    "What was that?"

    "I said I missed you," she mumbled.

    Eren chuckled, his voice a low, pleasant rumble.

    It took her the good part of four years to get used to this side of the once dour and taciturn boy.

    "So how was work today?"

    "Fine," the woman murmured, breathing in his scent.

    "Just fine?"

    "Mhmmm."

    "Hmmm, that''s it?"

    "It''s fine, Eren."

    "If you say so."

    He gently rubbed her back, the sensation sending a pleasant shiver down her spine.

    They stayed like that for a while, content to simply be in each other''s presence, cuddling on the plush velvet sofa all the while. Her glasses sat forgotten on a nearby coffee table.

    "You smell good," she breathed.

    "I don''t."

    "Yes, you do."

    "No, I really don''t."

    "Yes, you do."

    "Okay maybe I kind of do."

    "You do."

    "Alright, fine."

    Sona chuckled, her fingers tracing lazy patterns across his chest. She felt the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her ear, its sound was always soothing, reassuring to her.

    There was a time when she believed that making small talk with Eren was nothing more than a distant fantasy. His circumstances had made it clear that he couldn''t, wouldn''t ever be able to smile and laugh like this.

    It took her some time to adjust to the fact that he no longer spoke in that lifeless, hollow tone he used to have before being reincarnated.

    RIIIIING

    "That''s the oven," her husband said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before sitting up and heading to the kitchen. He smiled, "You should go take a bath and get changed, everything will be ready when you''re done."

    Sona wanted to argue and help him set the table, but she just wasn''t up to it today. Besides, there was something comforting about relying on him that she didn''t want to let go of.

    After taking a quick shower and getting changed, Sona descended from the master bedroom, her hair still damp.

    In front of her was a table for two, lit by the gentle glow of the house''s dim lighting. The rich aroma of food wafted through the air, and her stomach rumbled in anticipation.

    Sona wiped her damp hair as she watched Eren work. Even after all this time, she was still stunned by how different he looked. Gone was the physique of a nursing patient. Instead, a toned body and broad shoulders greeted her. He was lean, but not overly muscular, the kind that would draw the attention of anyone who saw him.

    She felt a blush rise to her cheeks as her thoughts went back to the present. The heiress took a good look at the array of food displayed before her.

    "Pizza Margherita, Korean Fried Chicken, and French Fries?"

    "There''s a salad too."

    Sona playfully rolled her eyes before taking a seat.

    Her husband served the pizza first, placing a slice on her plate before getting his own. He then poured them each a glass of lemon iced tea, the rich, brown liquid flowing smoothly from the bottle.

    They ate in comfortable silence, the only sound being the clinking of silverware against china.

    Sona was no stranger to luxury, but even she had to admit that Eren had a way of making even the simplest meals seem special.

    The pizza was nothing short of divine. The Italian dish, though simple in nature, was elevated to a level that even the finest chefs would envy. The crust was perfectly thin and crispy, with just the right balance of chewiness. Each bite exploded in her mouth with tomatoes that were bursting with flavor, paired with the creamy melted mozzarella.

    The Fried chicken was crisp on the outside with a glaze that shimmered like liquid gold. The first bite was an explosion of flavor��crunchy, sweet, and spicy. The chicken was impossibly tender, each piece seemingly infused with the perfect balance of seasoning. The skin crackled with each bite while the meat remained succulent and juicy, practically melting in the mouth.

    Paired with the kimchi fried rice, the combination was a match made in culinary heaven. The tangy, slightly fermented flavor of the rice complimented the chicken perfectly. Crispy chicken skin crackling between her teeth, followed by the soft, piping hot rice.

    Even the fries were unexpectedly delicious. Crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and seasoned with just the right amount of salt, they tasted as if each potato had been individually coaxed into reaching its fullest potential.

    Oh, and the salad was great too.

    Sona swallowed another bite of pizza and sighed in contentment.

    Senjutsu really was wonderful.

    "Verdict?"

    She wiped her mouth with a napkin, "Delicious."

    Eren smiled, his green eyes shining with pride, and rightfully so. Three years of working as the sous chef for Kiba''s cafe/restaurant was paying back in dividends.

    Sharpening his culinary skills took a lot of trial and error in the kitchen, with Rias and Kiba helping him unlearn some of the outdated techniques from his time with the Scouts, while simultaneously introducing him to new methods.

    Knowing him, Sona wasn''t surprised to see that he''d gotten this far with a mere three years of training. Eren was a surprisingly quick learner, when he''d put his mind to it.

    Of course, his ability to grow perfect ingredients didn''t hurt either.

    As Eren began to clear the plates, Sona finished off the last few bites of her pizza, washing it down with a gulp of iced tea. This is the life... she mused contentedly as she sat back, her stomach full.

    She slumped onto the couch, lazily flicking on their 65-inch OLED TV. Any sense of satisfaction she felt vanished the moment the screen lit up.

    The TV flickered to life, and the image of a grim-faced news anchor filled the screen. His voice, steady but laced with tension, echoed through the room.

    "��radical extremist group that has been linked to a series of coordinated attacks across multiple realms, with authorities confirming at least twenty-two fatalities and over a hundred injured. The group, which claims to deify the boy of the Unified Dream, Eren Yea��"

    She switched it off.

    Sona gripped the remote tightly, her knuckles turning white. Eren, who had just finished stacking the dishes, paused mid-step, his expression hardening as he glanced at the screen.

    For a split second, Sona thought she saw a glimmer of nihilism return to his eyes.

    "Maybe I should pay them a visit one of these days."

    "Eren��."

    "I''m kidding. I know your sister and the others can handle it," he said, giving her a quick peck on the forehead before settling down beside her.

    Sona shifted closer, resting her head on his shoulder, the weight of the day finally melting away in his presence. For a moment, neither of them spoke, letting the silence between them stretch out like a comforting blanket.

    "I hate it," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "It feels like no matter how much progress we make, there''s always someone trying to drag us back."

    Eren''s arm wrapped around her, pulling her closer. "It''s how the world works, Sona. Some people just can''t help but fight."

    She sighed, knowing he was right, but it didn''t make it any easier. The academy, her dream, was meant to be a place of unity, but even now, there were forces determined to break that fragile peace.

    "Enough of the dreary stuff," her husband said, his voice lightening as he gently nudged her. "What movie do you wanna watch?"

    Sona smiled mischievously.

    There was a reason she never asked him where Mikasa and Kuroka were at this time. In this polygamous relationship of theirs, it was an unspoken understanding that Sona was considered the least assertive of the three women.

    "Well��."

    She ought to fix that.

    "Well��.what?" her husband raised an eyebrow, no doubt knowing where this was leading to.

    "....I actually had something else in mind," she couldn''t help herself from blushing despite her best efforts to appear as confident as either of the two aforementioned women.

    Sona followed his gaze as he broke eye contact and stared at a nearby clock.

    9:34 PM

    "Bit early isn''t it?"

    "If you''re not in the mood, we can always just��Eep!"

    Sona couldn''t contain her giggles as Eren lifted her off the couch and started planting kisses on her neck. She instinctively held on to his shoulders for support, her laughter bubbling up.

    Whatever she was about to say next was silenced by a kiss that continued as they ascended the stairs and entered the master bedroom.

    ********

    Back in the Underworld, within the Sitri manor, the current Leviathan bumped fists with her Bishop, the latter''s seven tails swished happily as she nursed an infant with a bottle of milk.

    The pawn, however, seemed content to simply observe the scrying spell, a satisfied expression and a visible smile on her face.

    ********

    AN by Netra:

    Thought I''d write this since I''m stuck on a really looooong plane ride so I thought ah screw it why not, and pulled out the pc and started typing since the idea just wouldn''t leave my head.

    This omake is set four years after the epilogue, where (in my headcanon) Eren has settled down with Mikasa, Kuroka, and Sona in a mansion on Rias''s private island, after the Gremory gladly gave it to them. After being reincarnated, he got a job at Isaiah''s bakery where he honed his culinary skills with the help of Rias and Kiba.

    Present day, everyone knows who Eren is: Human, Devil, Angel, Fallen, Yokai, God, etc. The human''s especially, venerate him for revealing the existence of the supernatural, which makes sense. I mean imagine it, you''re doing your thing and suddenly your consciousness gets pulled into another dimension where some guy tells you the likes of God, Satan, Zeus, Odin, and every possible pantheon of gods actually exist and aren''t just stories. Yeah I''d prolly be singing his praises too. Man leaked the entire group chat.

    So��..Eren as a husband. I am of the opinion that Eren without his burdens would be unrecognizable. He''s been defined by them for so long that without them, I could only picture him as a himbo. Eren, at his core, is an overly-emotional person. When he hates, he hates with every fiber of his being. When he cries, he cries like a baby. When he loves��.well the closest we have is the cabin scene from the show, but even there he''s just acting and playing house. So I kinda bounced a couple ideas here and there to see what''d work, and this is the conclusion I reached. Love it or hate it, it''s how I picture a retired Eren to be.

    Anyway that''s about it. See ya and thank you to ReadingDangerously for writing this wonderful story.

    ?????********

    I would like to thank every single person who took the time and effort to make these wonderful Omakes and hope any readers will as well.

    Now, what was my surprise?

    I have created my own Omake as thanks... or at least I intended to. In classic ReadingDangerously fashion, it grew to be over 10k words and still isn''t finished. I wanted to get it out today, but since I only started on Nov 1st, it won''t be ready until Friday... and I might split it into two parts.

    It''s no secret it''s been quiet around here, and it''s because I decided to take a bit of time off from writing to relax. I disconnected from almost everything on the internet and just took the time to catch up on a few hobbies I''ve let go of in the last few years since I started writing.

    Naturally, this made me want to write something.

    After my omake for On The Bench is done this weekend, I will be working full time on an original story, interspersed with Omakes for Rapturous Rhapsody and a (long) one-shot fanfiction I have planned. The original story will start to be released when the first volume is roughly done to give me some breathing room, but once that happens, I will begin releasing it weekly on Fridays.

    Essentially, after this weekend OTB will officially receive no more postings, and I will move on to my next work.

    I hope you enjoyed these wonderful omakes by some talented writers and I will see you all on Friday.

 Omake: Fanfiction Cubed

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