Interrogating a fallen angel

(A few days later)

Mike is back in Japan. But instead of going to Kuoh, he went to meet Raynare. Her predictions were mostly correct after all. Thanks to Azazel, he can contact Raynare easily with his phone. So, he asked her to find an isolated place so that they could talk. The place was a tower. When Mike reached the place, Raynare was enjoying the view from the top. Mike casually went and sat beside her.

"How many of my statements were true?" Raynare asked the moment Mike sat beside her.

"Almost all of them. I found the names of those two children in the record. I didn't find any records about a barrier-type sacred gear but the 'Sword Birth' was there. The project lead researcher was Valper. He was going to kill the children in the exact method you said. I also found the crimson-haired devil. I saved the children and killed the researchers." Mike confessed.

"Do you believe in me now?" She asked.

"Well, it's still hard to believe that I am living in a fictional world. But I can at least say that you can know the events from a possible future. So yeah, I can't consider you an ally but we can work together." Mike said his honest thoughts.

"That's fine. What do you want to know?" Raynare asked.

"Tell me about yourself. What were you in your previous world before you 'possessed' Raynare's body?" Mike replied with a question. Mike wants to know what kind of person she is. So, her past is a good way to find it.

"Simply put, I used to be a hardcore otaku and also an assassin," Raynare answered.

Mike gave her a deadpan stare. "A hardcore otaku and an assassin?" He asked again to confirm that.

"What? I used to lead a dual life. I used to get easily bored when I didn't have missions. So, I fell in love with light novels, manga, and anime during that time!" Raynare retorted.

Mike sighed. "Let's put the otaku life aside. Tell me about your assassin life."

"Well, it's not that unique. I was an orphan. The only thing I remembered about my childhood is training. I was the best assassin in the organization by the way. It's also the reason I am good at acting. Anyway, the life after training is obviously completing the missions they gave me. When I didn't have missions, I got bored and got addicted to the otaku culture. After that, I failed to complete a particular mission and died due to the consequence of that failure." Raynare talked as if her life story is a casual thing.

Raynare told the truth but she obviously twisted her words and hid a lot more information from Mike. Mike noticed this. So, he asked, "May I know why and how you failed the last mission?"

Raynare smiled at him. "I was careless. My enemies were able to trace to the organization through me and it got destroyed as a result and I died too as a consequence of this failure." She still twisted the words.

Mike sighed. He understood that Raynare doesn't want to talk about that event. "Well, I can't believe the 'best assassin' can be so careless and got her organization destroyed as a result."

"Please don't remind me of that. Haa... How can I be that careless? That's embarrassing! Can we change the topic, please?" Raynare acted like she was embarrassed by her failure. But on the inside, she was thinking, 'I was careless and opened my heart to you. And my failure was falling in love with you. I helped my enemies destroy the organization to keep you safe. So, you are the one I have to blame for everything, baka.' Raynare doesn't lie a lot even though she can. She prefers hiding the truth.

Mike sighed. "Alright. You are an assassin huh. So, I take it you killed a lot of people."

"Yep. Both good and bad. It was my job after all." Raynare agreed as if it isn't a serious matter.

"What is your goal in this world then? You won't get missions here, right?" Mike asked.

"Survival. I don't know if I will get reincarnated again. Since fallen angels have a high life span, I can resume my life as a hardcore otaku as long as I survive from the upcoming threats! So, I want you to help me survive." Raynare answered with a bright smile.

"What did you do since you came to this world?" Mike asked.

"Well, at first, I was confused. When I came into this world, it took me some time to realize that I am in a fictional world. I acted like a memory loss patient before Azazel. Then, I decided to know more about the world and gathered information. I even went to check on Issei only to find out that there is a girl in his place. Like why? Just why? Anyway, I know that I have to get stronger. So, I asked Azazel to train me and it took about five years to become a six-winged fallen angel! I don't know how much I have to train to get eight wings. Why is this world so unfair to me!!" Raynare lamented at her progress.

"You do realize that getting six wings within five years is no ordinary feat, right?" Mike is surprised by that rapid growth.

"Look here, Akeno in the novel was able to get eight wings in less than two years! Compared to her, my situation is unfair!!" Raynare complained.

'No matter how you look at it, this fictional world is the abnormal one. Becoming an eight-winged fallen angel within two years? Like wtf?' Mike internally thought.

Mike sighed. "You said that I am an abnormality to this world. Are there more abnormalities that you found out?" Mike's interrogation continued and he decided to change the topic.

"Hmm... Yeah, you and I are the obvious abnormalities. The protagonist is gender-bent to be a girl for some reason. I don't know if she is still the protagonist anymore. But the main abnormality is Euclid Asmodeus. I think he is a reincarnated person too." The moment Raynare said this, Mike turned towards her.

Mike remembered the question Euclid asked him back in the underworld. "What do you know about the term 'DxD'?" Mike asked Raynare the same question.

She immediately looked at him and her eyes opened wide. "How do you know that?" She asked in a shocked expression. She didn't expect that Euclid and Mike are already acquainted.

"Just answer me. What is 'DxD'?" Mike ignored her question.

"It's from the name of the novel that this fictional world is based on. The novel's name is 'Highschool DxD' and before you ask, DxD is supposed to represent breasts. After that, the definition was extended to terms like 'Dragon of dragons', 'Diabolos dragon', 'Draconic Deus'. But it ultimately represents boobs." Mike gave Raynare a deadpan stare at the explanation.

"Raynare, could you please tell me what genre this thing is?" Mike asked.

"Main genres are Action, Comedy, Ecchi, and Harem" Raynare replied.

"Were you a girl or a guy in the previous world?" Of course, this would be his next question.

"Oi, do you think girls shouldn't read Harem novels? That's gender discrimination! And also, DxD is a lot more than just a wish-fulfillment story for boys, mind you! Apologize to all female-otakus right now!" As a hardcore otaku... I mean, as a woman of culture, Raynare was offended. And also, she didn't like it that the one who asked that question is her previous lover.

"Well, I am sorry then. People have different interests, I agree with that. I am not fond of the word harem, by the way." Mike apologized. Mike remembered all the people wanting him to have a harem.

Raynare sighed. 'Well, you were not a fan of harem novels back in the previous world too. You never read DxD because of that. You only know about DxD because of me.' She internally thought.

Raynare sighed again and changed the topic. "Anyway, the fact that you asked me this when I said about Euclid means that he told you something about DxD or he asked if you know about it."

Mike stayed silent. "I take that as a yes. Please do me a favor and don't let him find out about me. Can you promise me that, please?" Raynare begged.

Mike smiled. "Don't worry. I don't trust Euclid too. He won't find out about you unless you do something to mess our relationship."

"Deal!! Anyway, this confirms my hypothesis that Euclid is reincarnated. Hmm... What is his goal? Ah, I get it. Maybe, he wants to make a harem!" Raynare predicted.

"Maous can't have a harem." Mike rejected that prediction.

"That rule exists in this world too?" Raynare asked to which Mike nodded. Raynare started talking again. "Hmm... Instead of Falbium, Euclid willingly became a Maou. That means he must know about this rule. Now that I think about it, according to my info, the only female around him is his sister and his maid, Grayfia Lucifuge. This doesn't make any sense!! How can a guy reincarnated in DxD not want a harem? And the worst thing is that the guy already stole Grayfia from Sirzechs!! This simply goes against the rules!!" Raynare shouted.

"What do you mean Grayfia is stolen from Sirzechs?" Mike is beginning to think that the fictional world that Raynare knows about is a lot weirder.

"Well, actually, Euclid is supposed to be a diehard Lucifer fanatic. So, he will disappear after the Old Satan Faction lost the war to appear as an antagonist later in the series. Grayfia will fight for the Old Satan Faction till the end. And once the war is concluded with the defeat of the Old Satan Faction, Grayfia will become Sirzech's maid and his wife because she already was in forbidden love with Sirzechs at that time. They would have a boy named Millicas after centuries. But in this world, Euclid and Grayfia came to the Anti-Satan Faction side willingly and utterly defeated the Old Satan Faction. By pulling some political strings and also because Falbium and Grayfia, the only two contenders were unwilling to become a Maou, Euclid managed to become Maou in this world." Mike is getting a headache from all the info that Raynare is giving him.

"Wait, it looks like the lore of your fictional world is a lot big. Let's put that aside. What is the immediate event where people might get hurt?" Mike asked because he doesn't like to waste time.

"The event after the Holy Sword Project huh..." Raynare started remembering the story again and realized something. "Wait, now that I think about it? The Holy Sword Project isn't supposed to happen this fast, right? Akeno's event happens when she was about 9 or 10. It happened correctly as I predicted. The next event is supposed to be Koneko's event. After these two events, this project is supposed to happen." Raynare's bright mood turned into a worried expression.

"What do you mean? It's been a few months since we met. So, this Koneko event might have happened in these months, right?" Mike was starting to have a bad feeling about this.

"No. After Akeno's event, there is at least a year and a half gap before she met Rias and became her queen. After that, Koneko's event takes place and she becomes Rias's rook. Only after that, the Holy Sword Project takes place. No matter how you look at it, this happened at least a year and a half faster! Does that mean due to some effect, events can occur faster than they should?!" Raynare started to become even more worried.

Mike didn't even care when he heard the name Rias. Now, his main priority is decided. "Raynare, what's the upcoming event?"

"Let's see. There is Gasper's event and there is also the event of Asia getting excommunicated."

The moment Raynare said it, Mike's heart started beating out loud. "What's this event about Asia?"

"Asia Argento. She will be the wielder of the sacred gear 'Twilight healing'. I think she becomes a holy maiden when she was 8 after she awakens her sacred gear which means sometime around now and the event happens years after that. So, we should still have time before her event." Raynare explained.

"Asia already awakened her sacred gear and she has been a holy maiden for years, Raynare!!" Mike started to panic.

"What?" Raynare's eyes opened wide when Mike said that. Just at that moment, Mike's phone began to ring. He found out that Vasco was calling him. Mike took the call. (( Mike, where are you?! You need to come back to Italy fast! The girl, Asia Argento, was excommunicated! )) Vasco shouted from the other side.