Nescience

"Eren," Georg said with a scowl as he poked his head in through the door. "He's here."

Eren didn't answer, continuing to look out the window at the training going on below. The only movement he made was to sip from his Grail.

That was fine, Georg wasn't expecting an answer, so he simply withdrew.

He didn't bother to hide the distaste on his face as he passed the devil on the stairs, and when he reached the ground level of the temporary building, he saw that the others had similar looks on their faces.

Rizevim Livan Lucifer's smirk grew at the looks he received.

He always so enjoyed visiting the 'Hero Faction.' They almost entirely relied on Sacred Gears and knew they could do nothing to him due to his power.

It was funny how scared the other factions were of the 'True Longinus' and the 'Titan' yet had no idea they were entirely helpless in the face of the world's first Super Devil.

Their anger and helplessness gave him the warm and fuzzies whenever they failed to hold their disgust back. He might have killed a few of them if he didn't find them so amusing.

"Hellloooo~" Rizevim said as he passed through the doorway to Eren's 'office' without bothering to knock. Not that it was much of one, almost entirely barren as it was. How boring. "Long time no see~ How's my favourite abomination doing?"

"Rizevim." Eren 'greeted,' not turning in his chair.

"Is that all you have to say for your partner in crime? It's been years~," The son of Lucifer taunted playfully. Eren didn't respond. "I see our time apart hasn't made you any more fun to be around. Or are you in a bad mood because your pet ran away?"

Rizevim's smirk widened slightly at how the brat's hands tightened around the Grail.

Ah, love, such a pitiful thing, yet so ripe for entertainment.

"Really, Eren," Rizevim chided playfully. "You should have listened to me. Cats are no good. You never know when they'll wander off... or find new masters. You really should have seen this coming."

"I did," Eren said simply, but the Super Devil delighted in the subdued anger contained in his voice. "Kuroka served her purpose. I don't need her anymore."

"Yet you didn't kill her," Rizevim pointed out, his humour fading in place of cynicism. "You should have."

"Her betrayal is part of the plan. She's moving the Underworld how I want it."

"Ah, well, I'll take your word," Rizevim regained his humour and held up his hands as if in surrender. "You're the one who can see the future after all. I do have a question. Where is Ophis?"

Eren didn't answer, taking another sip.

"See," Rizevim continued conversationally. "When I heard you were back, I was overcome with joy. Finally, our long-awaited dream would come true. So imagine my surprise when one of my little bats tells me that Ophis has disappeared."

"She does what she wants. I don't control anyone."

"See, it's just that it's not the only one that disappeared," Rizevim prodded. "I can't help but notice all your allies seem to be betraying you. How... sad."

"Your point?"

"Well~" Rizevim singsonged as he approached Eren's seat by the window. He sneered at the humans practicing below. "It's an interesting coincidence, is all. First, your lover stabs you in the back. Now, your friends," he snorted at the word. "Take off to join her, taking our little snake with them. It makes one wonder... What were you doing while you disappeared?"

"I was getting the last part of the plan," Eren answered simply, resting the empty Grail on the table beside him. "The Red Dragon Emperor."

"Is that why dear little Vali left," Rizevim gasped in faux shock. "He got jealous? His dear Titan not paying enough attention to him? How pitiful."

"They left because they learned of the rest of my plan. Vali likes to fight, but he doesn't want to destroy the Underworld," Eren said simply, not rising to the bait. "Couldn't stomach it."

He never did, but that didn't mean needling him wasn't fun. And Eren was helpless to do anything in response, which just made it funnier.

"My grandson always was a disappointment," Rizevim agreed amiably. "Even with Divine Dividing, he's weak, just like his father. Shame I won't be the one to kill him. I have a streak going with my descendants. And it has been a while since I killed one of the Heavenly Duo."

"He'll try and stop me," Eren simply said. "Him and the entire Underworld. They'll die trying to stop me."

"And our little snake? The rank and file will get... testy without their power source for the battle," Rizevim sniffed haughtily. "I ended up killing a few when they came begging."

He really didn't see the need for minions. More often than not, they were more of a hassle than they were worth. Case in point, all those 'new recruits' that had flooded in after the death of that pitiful excuse for a god.

Seriously, a god dying to a human? It was just so... pathetic that Rizevim would have found it amusing if not for his disgust.

"They won't be able to complain soon," Eren ignored the problem without a blink. "We are moving out in a few days. After that, they'll fall in line out of fear. As for Ophis, she's the bait."

"This is what I like about you, Eren," Rizevim chuckled as he joined his partner in watching the rats practice for their 'final battle' or whatever. "You're more devil-like than most of my kind. Using one of the Dragon Gods as bait, then food? It's great."

"So long as you uphold our deal, I don't care if I have to be the Devil," Eren said, staring out over a field of men and women who'd be dead in a weak. "If it's to build the world that I want, I will do whatever it takes. Even if it means killing everyone in the Underworld. Or you. So don't push it."

"Good thing I'm on your side then," Rizevim chuckled. "Though, if you are going to keep these slaves around, you should have them do something with this office. It's really dull."

"It's temporary. If you don't like it, leave."

The Super Devil chuckled at the naked animosity in the human's voice.

Rizevim honestly didn't care if Eren destroyed the Underworld or not; it would die eventually based on what he had planned. He was simply using Eren to clear the path a bit.

If Eren wanted to unseal Malacoda and attract its interest, he needed to do something no one had ever done before. Something impossible.

If he succeeded, Rizevim won.

If he lost? Rizevim got to watch an amusing show, and then he'd proceed with his plan anyway.

That wasn't to say he wasn't grateful to the runt. He was. That's why Rizevim could play with him so much. The boy's power proved the existence of other worlds, so Rizevim would let him live... for a few more days at least.

Then, Lucifer's son would be in a more interesting world, and this one would be nothing more than a very dull memory.

Centuries of boredom would be ending soon and Rizevim wouldn't have a use for this world anymore, so it could be destroyed for all he cared, Malabrache or no.

It didn't matter if Eren planned on betraying him. Rizevim had never trusted him in the first place, and none of Eren's minions or pets were a threat without the Titan.

There had never been a question of who would come out on top in this little power struggle of theirs. Rizevim had been around much longer than a human boy, second life or not.

And now? Now Rizevim had the Titan's weakness.

It was a shame that Eren Yeager was so assured in his ability to see the future, or he might have been paying better attention to his guest instead of the insects training below.

If he had been paying attention, he might have noticed the malicious smile that crossed Rizevim's face as he activated his power on the Grail resting on the table.

Then again, would he have cared?

Eren Yeager was going to die anyway. What did it matter if he died a bit early?

********

"Oh, right," Issei nodded as he remembered. "You're a descendant of the original Lucifer. I forgot."

Half the room stared at the boy in disbelief.

Azazel started laughing lightly.

"What," Issei said defensively. "A lot's happened. And you never really seemed that interested in the whole rivalry thing. And you helped Asia and saved us with Loki. I kinda just... had other things on my mind."

Azazel's laughter got harder.

It was a good sound, Akeno decided, despite her remaining distaste for the fallen. Everyone was still torn about what they just heard about Eren and Aunty's world and... what they had gone through.

What Eren had done.

So, yes, any sort of humour was welcome.

Still, for the Rook to forget that his destined rival was a descendant of one of the original Satans... It sounded just like Issei and Akeno couldn't help but crack the smallest of smiles.

She was one of the only ones.

"I still want to fight you," Vali said, shrugging his shoulders and not caring about his heritage being dismissed. "I want a shot at that Wall of yours. But Eren's plan needed the Red Dragon Emperor, so I've known for years I wouldn't be the one to deal with Ddraig's host this generation and was going to wait for the next. As I see it, if you survive, we can fight later. If you don't, I've lost nothing I wasn't expecting to lose."

"Why does Eren want Issei anyway?" Rias asked, and Akeno was sure she wasn't the only one to notice the exhaustion in the redhead's voice.

They had barely moved in the last few hours, but it had been an emotional roller coaster.

Akeno could speak from experience that they needed sleep, actual rest, and time to process everything.

Right now they were just too... numb, too overwhelmed to think straight.

If they were like her, imaginary scenes, half-formed thoughts, and a confusing melange of emotions must be fighting a bloody battle in her mind.

"Eren's always kept his full plan close to his chest," Arthur's lips were a thin line as he spoke. "He mostly just tells people what they need to do. Still, besides Kuroka, we've known him the longest, and we've picked up a few things here and there. He trusted us to care for Ophis when he and Kuroka were gone."

Said Dragon God had climbed into the Black Cat's lap and forcefully placed one of the former Stray's hands on her head. Kuroka barely paid any attention to what was happening as she rubbed the 'little girl's head, her face still deathly pale and eyes vacantly staring at nothing.

Eren was responsible for a truly mind-boggling amount of death and destruction. Even if she lived till she was ten thousand years old, Akeno didn't think she'd even meet a billion and a half people.

"That being said, we aren't completely useless," Bikou hurried to add. "Kuroka probably told you most things, but we know some stuff she doesn't, just because we've been around since Eren came back."

Yet... Eren had his reasons. Not only was he scared and traumatized by his world, and most of the people he killed were part of nations calling for a genocide of their own.

But eighty percent!

"Why don't you go over his plan anyway," Serafall said, crossing her arms and smiling at Vali's Team. "Just so we can compare notes. We'd hate to have gotten it wrong, after all. And I totally remember, yessiree!"

'And we don't trust you, so your stories better match.' That part went unsaid.

But the Rumbling had worked. Mikasa had been characteristically blunt about Eren's plan working. Eldia had survived till her death, Titans had been wiped from the planet, and all his remaining friends had lived long and happy lives. Armin, instead of dying at twenty-eight, had outlived Mikasa.

Eren's plan worked!

Still... one and a half billion dead! The vast majority of which had never directly hurt Eren.

"Fine," Vali said simply. "You already know that Kuroka was the first he recruited after they saved each other in the Underworld. We were the second. He approached us, looking to build a team."

"I had been curious where you disappeared to every few days," Azazel teased. "Tobio told me, but I figured you were out getting into fights... or practicing one of those lines from your little notebooks. What were they again? Book of Skill. Book of Technique. And... Book of Heart! That's what it was."

"I don't want to hear that from you, Mr. Blazer Shining!" Vali snapped back at his adopted father figure.

But hadn't Eren already been punished for it? Trapped in an endless hell of his own making. Akeno couldn't imagine being forced to see from her mother's killer's perspective once, let alone living it every second of every day. That was a level of suffering she couldn't even imagine.

But it was genocide. Wanton murder, plain and simple.

Even if she could ignore the death of every person who had grown up to hate Eldians, could Akeno ignore the death of those who never grew up at all?

He must have killed countless newborns, innumerable children, and others who had never even learned about the history of the world, let alone how to hate someone for their race.

There could be no excuses for something like that, right? Someone like that shouldn't be allowed to be happy, right?

"Anyway," Arthur continued where Vali left off before an argument could start. "We lived with him for a few years, trained with him, then helped him recruit the Hero Faction. They were already a group, mostly Anti-inhuman in mindset. Eren just took them over. With a sizeable faction of Longinus wielders already under his control, he approached Rizevim."

"I should never have told Eren about the bastard," Vali snorted, crossing his arms. "But, Eren needed someone who could get access to the Malebranche. Anyway, Eren exchanged the location of the Malebranche for aid in setting up the Brigade. All he needed was the Lucifer name to call in a few factions to the table, and from there, he took full control, using Ophis as a central figure."

But it was Eren. Her friend. And he had clearly regretted it.

Akeno remembered how he had been when she and Rias had first peeked at him so long ago. A husk of a man waiting to die.

Before meeting them, he had lived his entire second life haunted by what he had done. And even when he finally smiled, it hadn't been because he forgot.

But he was still going to do something similar with Chaos Brigade, wasn't he? Why would he do something so horrible again if he was so regretful? Would he really unleash the equivalent of The Rumbling on a world that hadn't hurt him anywhere close to the degree he had been hurt before?

"I, scared them straight," Ophis pumped a tiny fist in the air from Kuroka's lap. "My first cookie."

"After that, it was mostly just growing support, recruiting, that kind of thing," Bikou gave the loli a wry smile as he spoke. "Specifically, Eren, despite his power and practical immortality, wasn't strong enough to face everyone in the world he wanted to get rid of, and he didn't trust most of the Brigade. That's why he needs the strongest Malebranche, Malacoda." Serafall's and Azazel's eyes narrowed dangerously. "And with Rizevim's help, he devised a way to get it, unseal it, and use it. In exchange, Rizevim gets the other eleven."

"Anyone who manages to unlock Malacoda and use it to its full power wouldn't care about the other eleven," Serafall agreed seriously. "It's that dangerous. The world could handle the other eleven, even all at once. 'Only Malacoda must never be awakened.' That's one of the only things we have from the Original Satans on the subject. Falbium has been searching for the lab ever since we learned of it, and we've already begun discrete evacuations of Agares, just in case. That's how deadly it is."

Akeno knew why.

Because he was Eren. 

He was always advancing. Always moving forward. Always attacking.

Eren wouldn't be able to help himself from lashing out at those he saw as wrong if he had the power to fight it.

"He needed a few tools to even qualify to work with it," Le Fay said quietly. "He... we created a plan to fit the power requirement and entice it. It's a gradual evolution. Step-by-step growth that would turn Eren into the fourth strongest being in the world. Then, he'd have enough power to kill anyone he wanted..."

"His main target has always been devil society as a whole," Arthur picked up the story when his sister trailed off. "Because of how strong it has grown recently, but after he's done with that, he plans to use the various factions of Brigade against their own Pantheons, using his newfound power to ensure they wipe each other out."

"A blank slate," Rias muttered despondently. "He's wiping off the chessboard. He told me that's what devils needed."

"So far, all you've said has matched up with what Kuroka told us," Mikasa nodded toward the Black Cat, who didn't even stir at her name. "But you said you knew more than her."

He hadn't lied to her about killing his parents. If he genuinely hadn't cared about them or had just been manipulating them, then Eren would never have needed to share something so personal with her.

Which meant Eren did care.

Which meant that it hadn't been a lie.

Which made everything so much more complicated.

"The bastard was the one who told him how to entice Malacoda," Vali scowled at the idea of his grandfather. "All Eren has to do is ensure that the current era is chaotic and violent enough that the Malabranche would want to get involved, even worse than the Civil War, and that Eren, specifically, was at the center of it. Eren will accomplish that by attacking the Underworld with the Hero Faction while the other Factions simultaneously launch their own strikes against the other Pantheons."

"I... It was my theories that created the plan," Le Fay said, her eyes not meeting anyone else. "Rizevim told him how to unseal them and use them, but Eren still needed something else. Eren... He doesn't have any magic or Demonic Power. I devised a way for him to fake it long enough to gain a Malabranche, who would then produce it themselves. There was a problem, though. My plan would put a lot of stress on his body. He was already reinforced with Senjutsu, so it can handle strain pretty well, but with his... condition deteriorating, we needed to find a way to prevent him from dying. I figured that a regular healing Gear wouldn't work. We needed the Sephiroth Grail."

"The Grail can move his soul to a new body," Rossweiss interrupted. "Now that they have it, why won't they just do that?"

"Eren is the only person in the world who can transform into a Titan," Mikasa answered immediately, not even needing to think about it. "I can't. If they heal him, he still can't use magic, loses the physical advantages of being a Titan, and all he'll have left is Senjutsu. They might plan on changing things... later, but for now, Eren has to live with Ymir's Curse if he wants to continue his plan."

"My idea was a... ritual of sorts," Le Fay continued after the brief interruption. "Eren absorbs Ophis' power, which will act as a replacement for Demonic Power. Have you noticed how devils, humans, or any being can use them? Her snakes are... universal donors in magical terms." "I, rock." "But it's temporary. We'd use the Grail to prepare his body to handle the power needed to entice a Malabranche, a more permanent solution."

"And Issei?" Azazel asked. "Where does the Boosted Gear fit into this?"

"It's..." Le Fay looked up for a bit to shoot Issei an apologetic look. "It's a way for Eren to maintain more of Ophis' power for longer and his key to using Malacoda later. We couldn't be sure Ddraig would work with Eren, so we only counted on having the basic Boosted Gear abilities, not the Balance Breaker. Eren uses Ophis' power to Boost every ten seconds, extending how long he can fight. Even then, it will be a narrow window."

"How narrow?" Mikasa asked.

"By my calculations, Eren will only have a few days max before Ophis' power dissipates. That is with the Boosted Gear extending it. Without it, he has hours at best. More than most, thanks to Senjutsu, but nowhere near enough. In that time, he needs to accomplish his goals in the Underworld, gain Malacoda, unseal it, and Transfer Ophis' power to it. Once that happens, he'll be strong enough to do whatever he wants... Assuming Malacoda goes along with it, of course."

Issei just smiled awkwardly as if telling her he didn't blame her. It didn't reach his eyes.

Ddraig probably had his own opinions about being torn out of his host and reduced to a rechargeable battery pack.

"Or Ddraig becomes a Wall," Ophis said from Kuroka's lap, crossing her arms and nodding. "Gives power to Eren. Eren beats up Baka Red."

"You give out your power all the time," Azazel said. "Too much, actually. It's pretty annoying. Why don't you want Eren to have it?"

"Hurts."

"The plan requires a lot of power," Bikou smiled awkwardly. "Like, 'Top Ten' levels. Ophis will go along with it if it gets her the Gap back, but she doesn't want to be... limited."

"Hurts," Ophis repeated stubbornly.

Akeno could almost imagine a young Eren discovering the supernatural world and its injustices, dragging his tired soul forward, fighting against what he thought was wrong with the world.

He didn't care about race, but he couldn't abide a society built on slavery as he would see it? So he built himself an army of those he didn't care if they lived or died.

All to destroy a society he would hate as soon as he discovered it.

"As we built the Brigade, we kept an eye out for the Red Dragon Emperor and the holder of the Sephiroth Grail," Arthur took over. "We discovered Valerie a few years ago, but we would need a Sacred Gear Extractor and the Red Dragon Emperor anyway, so we waited on taking her. Didn't want her to die or escape once we captured her."

"All the Extractors I made are either destroyed or kept very safe," Azazel said with narrowed eyes. "Since you took her, it means you have one. How?"

"One of the ones that were 'destroyed,'" Bikou chuckled. "Wasn't. Kokabiel wouldn't work with the Brigade and couldn't stand other races, but he would trade information for information, and he wanted to know where the Excaliburs were kept. Which we had. He faked the Extractor's destruction and sent it out into the world."

"Ended up here in Kuoh, believe it or not," Arthur gave a tired smile of amusement. "Some low-level mooks or something were going to use it to get Twilight Healing from Asia before giving it to us, but they got taken out, so the Hero Brigade just took it."

Akeno... couldn't even say Eren was wholly wrong after seeing Diodora Asteroth and the other members of the Old Satan faction. Would they still be alive and exploiting others if Eren did not use them as minions? He had let them live but had set them up to fail. Hadn't Kuroka said Eren wanted the Old Satan faction to die?

Eren was using what he saw as a cancer on the world to deal with the other cancers. No matter who died, Eren would win.

Akeno had always known about the dark side of the world. Had seen her mother killed by the 'good guys' of the Sacred Clans just because she married someone of a different race and had a 'tainted child.' She wasn't the only one to have suffered at the hands of the 'light side.'

The entire Gremory Peerage was filled with victims of a terrible world filled with monsters. Humans. Devils. Vampires. Fallen angels. Angels.

It was like... the race didn't matter. As soon as someone gained power, they became monsters.

"They were here!" Serafall hissed, arms wrapping protectively around Sona. The younger girl didn't struggle. She didn't even blink. "If I had known I wouldda-" Instead of finishing her sentence, the Satan made vague waving motions with her pink wand.

"After they had the Extractor, and Issei was well known by that point, we grabbed Valerie," Vali shrugged. "Everything was in place. We just needed Eren. But he had been missing for over a year."

"Why did he show up in Kuoh?" Sona asked out of nowhere, not even reacting to the fact her head was squished in between the most famous breasts in the Underworld. "That's something I don't get. He just... appeared one day and never left. All his paperwork checked out. His background. His funds. Everything. But he didn't know Issei was the Red Dragon Emperor and didn't approach us. We approached him. So why was he here?"

Akeno's hands ghosted over her cheek as the phantom sensation returned.

Knowing what she did now, she knew Eren could have killed her with that punch. She hadn't been in control or the deadliest person on the bench that day.

Eren had been.

It spoke to how emotionally exhausted and confused Akeno felt that she couldn't even muster up the arousal she'd usually feel at the idea.

"I...uh... I," Kuroka blinked slowly, gaze still vacant and distant as she spoke without her usual confidence or flirtation. "Eren told me he was going to look for the Boosted Gear. I... asked him to check on Shirone before he got started."

"It was Eren's idea to use human means as a cover for our operation," Le Fay pointed out. "Almost any group can access databases, international records, or governmental information, if only from hypnotism. When someone suspicious shows up, it's one of the first things a faction searches for because of how easy it is to do. And when nothing shows up, it's clear proof of something supernatural going on. It's one of the reasons the Brigade was able to be a secret for so long."

"But he wasn't looking for the Red Dragon Emperor," Sona pressed. "It was just dumb luck that Issei was nearby."

"As far as we can tell," Vali shrugged. "Eren always planned on leaving us. Everyone else was searching for the Boosted Gear so he could take time off. I think he just needed to get away from Brigade for a while. Satans know I would have killed them if I had to be in charge all the time. We didn't think to look in Kuoh since the sisters of the New Satans were there, and Eren never hid how much he disliked devil Kings."

Akeno was a devil and a fallen, a hybrid of the two primary races that made the Underworld their home. She was the Queen of a high-ranking Peerage. Rias and Sona were both Kings and the sisters of the current Satans. 

Their group couldn't be more established within the society he hated, yet Eren hadn't acted against them even once. He had befriended them. Talked with them. Comforted them. Counciled them... Laughed with them.

He hadn't acted like a monster hell-bent on destroying another world or even a sociopathic killer. He has simply been... Eren.

Yet he'd keep advancing all the same. No matter how much it hurt. No matter his fate. 

Until he died. 

Even after he died.

Because that was who Eren Yeager was.

"He planned on meeting someone," Sona breathed, looking worn out and tired. "But he had no idea who or when. We thought he was waiting to die, but that's not it at all, is it? He was simply waiting for news of the Red Dragon Emperor showing up... but we kept the Supernatural from him. Even if he could sense Issei had a Sacred Gear, he didn't know which one until after we returned this summer."

"Don't know about that," Vali shrugged again. "We just heard about the Boob Dragon when rumours spread about him attaining Balance Breaker during the fight with the Phenex. After that, we started looking for Eren in earnest and poked around the area during the Peace Conference. Since Issei was in the area, figured Eren might also be around. Couldn't find him, though."

"...Kept Eren away," Koneko said quietly, carefully not looking at Serafall. "Worried about him getting hurt."

Akeno buried her head in her arms.

This would be so much easier if she could hate Eren. If he truly was an uncaring monster. If he was the evil big bad looking to destroy the world for no reason or upending a society for power.

If Akeno could believe for even an instant that the last year and a half had all been a manipulative lie, she wouldn't feel this confused.

This lost.

But there were no 'good guys.'

So Akeno, like everyone else, would have to determine for herself what she'd fight for.

"Anything else?" Mikasa asked, crossing her arms. "So far, you haven't told us anything we don't know."

"Then how about this," Vali smirked. "Eren's almost done using the Grail to strengthen his body. He doesn't need it for long. After that, he will use Ophis' power, extract the Boosted Gear from Issei, and then attack the Underworld. Within the week." 

All eyes snapped back to Vali, even Akeno and Rias, who had been lost in thought.

"When?" Mikasa asked, stepping forward, her every muscle tense.

"Don't know the exact date," Vali admitted. "But Georg let slip something when he dropped off Valerie. He'll be heading to Cocyctus with Eren soon."

"Kokabiel?" Azazel asked but then shook his head. "No, he wouldn't work the Brigade. He's after another prisoner. Who?"

"Samael," Vali said seriously, gesturing to both Issei and Ophis. "The Dragon Eater. That's how he will tear the power from Ophis and kill Issei."