Chapter 22: It's Elementary my Dear

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD but I will stick with it till the end. I own the OCs. Some of Ichiei's plot decisions I don't agree with but it's still good.

Speech - "Hey, I'm Pierce."

Thoughts - 'I'm dead.'

Spells - "Jumon"

Top of Olympus

Athena, the Goddess of War and Wisdom has been called many things over the years. Valiant, beautiful, grandiose, holy and more times than she could count (or find redundant), wise. Many stories on Athena are about the warriors that fought in her name and how the tides of mortal wars were mainly decided on her whims. A Goddess associated with battle, Athena was particularly powerful even amongst the other Gods and her mindset made it so that she never allowed herself to become rusty. She was an important Goddess of Olympus and she had a standard sense of dignity that she has never lost, even after all this time.

Meaning the larger than life Goddess did not pout.

"…So why are you pouting?" Aphrodite asked as she sat on the ledge. She, Athena, and Artemis were lounging in an observatory. While many places on the top of Olympus had great views of the world below, the observatory was made by Hephaestus for a different experience. He created a room that showed you a particular place in the Greek heaven like you were there even when it was on the side of the world. Artemis was currently messing with the mechanisms to find something and Athena was crossed legged on the side.

"I'm not." Athena frowned as she looked out into the distance.

"No you're pouting." Aphrodite said matter of fact.

"…I don't pout."

"Uh huh." Aphrodite moved her gaze from Athena, falling into thought before giving a quick "ah!" and turning to Artemis. "Hey Artemis help me out."

"What?" The Goddess of Hunting was still trying to find her target.

"Sorry but I keep forgetting. What's it called when you push your bottom lip forward? You know, when you're upset." Aphrodite innocently asked. Artemis looked at the Goddess of Beauty with an amused smile and Athena gave a bored look.

"…A pout?"

"Yes! That's what it's called, thank you." Aphrodite smiled gratefully and looked around, before landing her gaze back on Athena. "Hey look, you're doing it!" Aphrodite pointed at her with a toothy grin.

"You're not funny." Athena deadpanned.

"And you suck at lying." Aphrodite shrugged. "Now do you want to tell me why you're upset?"

"…He should have told me…" Athena mumbled but the Goddess of Beauty heard it.

"I'm going to go ahead and assume the "he" is Pierce. What should he have told you?"

"…He defeated the current Red Dragon Emperor." Athena sighed and explained what Pierce did in the Arena. The silence was deafening.

"Oh…" That was all Aphrodite had. She stared at Athena in wonder before asking. "And you found out from someone other than him?"

"One of Hermes's brokers told me how he fought in a match against the Red Dragon Emperor to help one of his friends." Athena said in a bitter tone.

"…Is this friend a girl?"

"Yes she is. Why does that matter?" Athena narrowed her eyes at Aphrodite's tone.

"No reason."

"…Okay then." While Athena didn't believe the Goddess of Beauty, she let it go. "The problem is the White Dragon Emperor."

Being a literal Goddess of Wisdom (and a bit of a bookworm), Athena knew the ins and outs of the majority of the factions in the world. The Dragons were the one of the most powerful races around and the Heavenly Dragons in their prime were above the strength of many Gods, her included. She had wanted Hermes's men to be on the lookout for the Divine Dividing user but most of them were on standby to watch the generals when they returned. So Athena thought on the next best thing, she would up Pierce's training and show him some of her own personal magic to stand a better chance when the White Dragon came after him. There was just one problem.

"But he never came and told me!" Athena vented with an angry face. "I'm his teacher! He should have told me himself, not send Adrian to tell me! I mean, shouldn't friends tell each other when they may have to fight a really dangerous opponent!? Another thing-" Athena abruptly stopped and stared at the 2 Goddesses. They were looking at her in mirth and exhaustion.

"You want to tell her?" Artemis said, looking at Aphrodite.

"Why should I tell her?"

"…Isn't it in your job description?"

"…Fair enough." Aphrodite shrugged and faced the now confused Athena. "Now Athena, I know this is a new experience for you and you may be confused but just know that it's perfectly normal. Now…when a girl and boy meet they may find each other…"interesting" and try new and exciting things with each oth-"

"That's not what this is!" Athena yelled with angry blush. "I'm being serious! He's in real danger and then he goes to the Underworld just like that! That's incredibly irresp-"

"Pierce is a grown man Athena." Aphrodite stopped Athena with a pointed look. "He can do whatever he wants and he can take care of himself. He did kill the Red Dragon Emperor; the current White Dragon Emperor probably won't be any harder."

"It's that kind of attitude that will get him killed." Athena said with a scowl.

"So you make sure it doesn't get to his head." The Goddess of Beauty advised as she stood up. "Help him get stronger not only to face the White Emperor but any future threats that come his way."Athena thought heavily on Aphrodite's advice before sighing.

"How is it that I keep getting advice rather than giving it?"

"Humph! I don't know why you're so surprised; I'm more than just a pretty face!" Aphrodite puffed out her chest in pride and Athena shook her head in amusement. Aphrodite walked over to Artemis and looked at her working. "What are you doing anyway?"

"You'll see." Artemis smirked and finally seemed to find what she was looking for as she hit a button. The surrounding room changed and they ended up in a beautiful garden. There were a variety of flowers that did not belong in the sunny climate and a tired Demeter sat in a rose bed as she drank some morning wine (yes, wine can be a morning drink). Aphrodite looked in confusion at Artemis, wondering why they were watching Demeter. Artemis just said the same thing.

After drinking 2 more cups of her favorite wine, Demeter stretched and put her hands behind her head. A strand of hair went on her face and she scowled when she saw it was still purple. 'I'm so getting her back for this.' While thinking this a leaf landed on her face and she grabbed it to take it off, getting a glimpse of her pretty hand. In spite of being a Goddess of Agriculture, Demeter went to great lengths to keep her hands manicured and spotless. And there was nothing about her hand that caught her attention. It was as perfect and purple as eve-

'Purple?' The Goddess took another look and saw, indeed, her hand was purple. Then her gaze traveled down and saw that her whole arm was purple, along with her legs. Quickly waved her hands, a mirror appeared in front of Demeter and she saw that just like her hair, her skin was purple from head to toe. Demeter stood like this for a minute or 2 before she did what any millennium old narcissistic Goddess would do.

She screeched so loud that Great Red probably heard it in the Dimensional Gap.

"Hahahahahaha!" Artemis was laughing her ass off as she had a front row view of the break down. Aphrodite had an amused face and Athena lightly chuckled at the Goddess's over reaction (in her opinion).

"What is it with you and the color purple lately?"

"It's the only thing those Dwarves will sell me and they really overcharged me for that potion but it was totally worth it!" The other 2 Goddesses stopped at Artemis' words.

"…You got that potion from the Dwarves?" Athena stared at Artemis in shock. 'Okay, maybe it isn't an overreaction.'

"She is going to be pissed." Aphrodite gave a look of pity to the purple Goddess.

"Hey! I tried to make peace but she wasn't having any! By the way Athena, do you still have that supernatural laxative Sun gave you?"

"…Maybe." Athena said in monotone and the Goddess of Beauty did a double take.

"You still have that? Hasn't it been a couple of centuries?" Athena's silence was all Aphrodite needed. "…There's a lot more questions I want to ask."

"Oh who cares, let's go get it!" Artemis grabbed Athena and pulled her towards her room, plotting for Demeter's eventual retaliation.

"…" Aphrodite stood there watching the duo leave and looked to Demeter murmuring low on how to get back at a certain Hunting Goddess. She had only one thing to say. "…Maybe Zeth's on to something." Then the Goddess of Beauty shrugged before walking back to her room. Demeter never moved from her murmuring form until much later.

Underworld, One of Belial's Territories

Jack and I stood in front of a large theater in the middle of a more modern looking town. Why a lower official used to reside in a nicer looking place than Lord Belial was beyond me. "Used to" being the key words as the official was killed by the group of Stray Exorcists and from what the records show, it was from out of nowhere. The official was attending a play with his wife before the Exorcists came and quickly killed him. They entered and left completely undetected with no one being able to figure out how. But fear not, for detective Pierce was on the case and he always gets his-

"What are you doing?" Jack asked with an odd look.

"…I'm monologuing." I innocently answered.

"Okay…then what's with the outfit?" He pointed at my attire in question. I was wearing a black suit with a brown overcoat and a cloth hat. While Lord Belial had no problem lending me his tailor, sadly the Devil servant could not compare to the tailor of Olympus. The overcoat only reached my knees and the cloth hat didn't fit properly on my head. Regardless, I made it work and rolled with it.

"I just told you, Detective Pierce is here and the villains who did this heinous scheme shall be brought to justice!" I said with vigor and pose. Jack wasn't impressed. "Oh yeah, that reminds me here!" I rubbed my space ring and a checkered overcoat appeared in my hand.

"…I am not wearing that." Jack deadpanned and I sighed.

"Come on man work with me here, at least wear the top hat." I watched as Jack stared at the hat before sighing and putting it on. Smiling in satisfaction, we walked into the theater and we were guided by the owner of the theater. He brought us to the place where the Exorcists attacked the official and it wasn't what I was expecting.

"…No one thought to clean that up?" I asked as I pointed at a pile of ashes and blood lying in a corner. "That can't be sanitary."

"We left the scene alone so we don't contaminate it and mess up your tracking ability." The theater owner reasoned and I nodded.

"Thank you for that." The Devil left so Jack and I looked around. I activated Chi Vision to find any Chi Signatures but there were a lot of them and all of them belonged to Devils. I didn't bother to check things out with my Spiritual Energy since any magic spell that was used left no trace (at least from what Lord Belial's men said). All things considered, whatever happened here was not a fight from the lack of destruction and the way no one found out about the fight until much later.

"So what do you think?" Jack said as he stood over the pile of ashes. I humped at the question.

"Isn;t it obvious what happened here?"

"…No?" He didn't get it.

"The Exorcists must have a powerful holy relic; either a Holy Sword or a Holy attributed Sacred Gear. They should also have a person with stealth abilities that can not only hide their own life forces, but the life force of others."

"How do you know all that?"

"Why it's elementary my dear Jackson." I smiled as I continued, ignoring his mumbled "my name's just Jack". "The official was blitzed. Even though the records show that he was a High Class Devil, it seemed like he barely put up a fight. So that means the Exorcist must have a weapon that contains a large amount of Holy energy, you know the thing that you Devils are very weak to. Also, the fact that they got so close means they have someone that can not only bypass magical protection but encase the target in an isolated space so the official couldn't get any help."

"Oh…" Jack was honestly impressed and I puffed out my chest in pride.

Of course, I pulled all that out my ass.

While no Chi Signatures here were human, I could feel a large amount of holy aura emitting from the ashes. But it wasn't small; it was actually very large and the only reason I could recognize it as a Holy Sword was because I remember the aura of Liam's Holy Sword Dyrnwyn and The Sword of Damocles. Yet the lack of human signatures showed someone on their side could not only hide whatever magic they used but also their Chi. 'So they either have a Chi user on their side, probably a Yokai, or a magic user known for stealth and infiltration.'

"So what should we do first?" I rubbed my space ring at Jack's question and held three documents, placing them on a side table. Opening them, each document showed a file on a separate official and all of them were killed.

"Do you see a pattern here?" I smirked at Jack and he looked at the documents before nodding.

"Each of these officials ran a town and these towns are the ones closest to each other."

"Exactly. Belial's men also figured this out but like he said they were killed when catching the Exorcists and they escaped." I walked to the door and exited, looking at the theater Devil waiting in the hallway. "Excuse me but what's the closest town from here?"

"That would Belhor."

"Thank you." I walked by and Jack came up behind.

"So you think their heading for Belhor?"

"Most likely." I shrugged. "The first assassination happened yesterday at noon with the second happening in the evening. That's roughly a 5 hour difference, give or take an hour. So either they are taking their sweet time attacking the officials or…"

"…They are walking to each town?" Jack finished for me in wonder.

"That's what I think. Whatever power they have to hide their movements, it seems to end at teleporting. They can't directly teleport to their target's town easily or they would have had a much larger body count." I gave my diagnoses as we reached the outside and got inside the carriage. It made sense too, if it was that easy to teleport to the many cities and towns in the Underworld then the Angels would have done so in the Great War. The Stray Exorcists must be moving on foot and their next target will most likely be whatever official runs Belhor. "Belhor." I spoke to the rider and he immediately started moving.

"The men Lord Belial left at Belhor will not be enough." Jack said with a grim tone. After we left, the Head called back the many men he sent out to find the Exorcist and he could only leave a certain amount in the closer territories. Belhor was one of those territories.

"If things go the way they should, then they won't need to get involved. All we need is the official." I relaxed as the carriage moved. Jack looked at me in wonder.

"What for? He may be a High Class Devil but he's not particularly strong."

"We don't need him for his fighting ability."

"Then why do we need him?" I slyly smiled at Jack's question.

"Do you fish Jack?" I chuckled at the weird expression that appeared on his face. "Well do you?"

"…Once. With my father." Jack conceded and finally said.

"Then you should know that to catch a big fish…you need some appetizing bait." I closed my eyes at that and laid my head back.

"…"

"…"

"…What?" Never gets old.

Belhor, Mayor's House

"So I just…stay here?" The official and major of Belhor, Dagmar, questioned.

"Pretty much. I have reason to believe you will be the Exorcist's next target and so it will be easier if you just stay put." I said this all with a smile like I didn't just tell a man to be bait for a group of fanatical killers.

"…Okay." Dagmar took this all with stride though as he nodded.

"Great! Now lets-"

"Hold on!" Jack chose to be the voice of reason this time and interjected. "You're okay with that?! I mean you have no problem going along with this and being bait!?" Dagmar sighed at the completely sound question.

"These Exorcists have already taken down a couple of my colleagues with no one being able to stop them. I owe it to them to at least try my best." I nodded at Dagmar's words.

"That's real noble…now you want to tell the other reason?" I dropped that offer and got a raised brow from the official. His aura did say he was telling the truth but I could also sense quite a bit of resentment coming from him (I couldn't tell if it was directed at me or not). We stayed staring for a minute before Dagmar sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"My son,…he was one of the victims of the attacks."

"…Oh." Okay, now I feel like a dick. I gave my sympathies and told him that we will try our best to catch the Exorcists. "We already have the remaining soldiers in town positioned around the perimeter. We'll be close by as well." That only got a small nod from the somber Dagmar and I walked out the room with Jack. I ignored how Dagmar took out a bottle of wine and a cup as the door closed.

"…Do you think he hopes they come for him?" Jack wasn't going to though and asked.

"Maybe, can't say for sure." I answered honestly as we walked outside to the stake out spot. "At least he'll be ready." Jack nodded at my words and we eventually reached a small building that was settled on a hill that conveniently showed a clear view of Dagmar's house (it was also within the range of my Chi Vision). Sitting down on the front porch, I got comfortable and Jack took out a chair, setting it next to me.

"No offence but I was surprised by your decision." Jack said as he sat down and I quirked a brow.

"What do you mean?"

"About telling Dagmar that you wanted him to be bait. I figured you were going to lie to get him to stay, telling someone they are going to be bait isn't something that usually goes that well you know that right?." I snorted at that

"Well, if he had refused then I could have just ordered him to stay by using Lord Belial's authority but thankfully that wasn't necessary" I shrugged as I observed the surroundings of the Belial territory. "Besides, that's not how I roll. I have nothing against him and I'm not about to purposely put him in danger when he hasn't done anything."

"Heh…a human with morals? Now I've seen it all." Jack said with a smirk and I gave an amused smile.

"You do realize your race has the word evil in it right?"

"Hm, true." Jack lightly chuckled at that and he leaned back in his chair. I gave him a curious look over.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"Why are you here?" That was something I was wondering for a while. "I mean, Lord Belial got the letter so shouldn't you be on your way back to Mephisto? Not that I want you to leave or anything, I'm just curious."

"…You're right, I should be heading back." Jack made no motion to move though. "But I have unfinished business with those Exorcists, I'm not leaving till I get my dues."

'Revenge huh.' Well, there were worse reasons to track crazy Exorcists and I wasn't about to give him a lecture on why revenge is never the answer. I'm not that pure. "Still it's kind of odd."

"What is?"

"That Lord Belial chose to give us this mission." I wasn't going to ask the Head directly since I wanted that reward but it did weigh on me. "Don't you guys have a department to enforce rules and laws? As much as this seems like the Belial's problem, I would assume the higher ups wouldn't like it for stray Exorcists to be running around."

"You would be right; we do have a force to take care of that kind of stuff." Jack nodded at my question.

"Then where are they?"

"On the Anti-War side." Jack explained the situation and I finally got it. The Agares and Glasya-Labolas are the law enforcers of the Underworld but with the current tensions bordering on civil war, they can't easily do their job. Both clans are part of the Anti War party and if Lord Belial asked for their help they would need to heavily consider it. The Belial Clan is the vanguard of the Pro-War side and even if Lord Belial chose to defect, the clans can't just take his word for it. The Buné Clan was still being monitored by the other clans after defecting and time would be needed for them to be trusted, it would be the same for the Belial's. It may take days or even weeks before they would be brought into the fold.

'That's time they may not have.' I thought with a grim face. The Exorcists came to the Underworld a little under 2 days ago and they already killed three officials unhindered. The amount of damage they can cause in a week would not be pretty.

"I really pity the Belial's though." Jack said with a sigh and I frowned. He saw my frown and continued. "The old descendants are not the understanding type Mr. Pierce. From what sources say, they nearly attacked the Buné Clan for their defection. The only reason they didn't was because of the Buné Clan's influence and personal strength. Maou knows what they'll do to the Belial's once they learn of their defection."

I thought on what Jack said and another wave of guilt hit me once more. The Belial's are this position because of my existence and with their low status; the odds of the old descendants attacking them are pretty high. But that does raise the question, who is Lord Belial going to answer to? Will it be one of the old descendants or one of their subordinates? '…Oh it'll probably be alright, the Civil War hasn't started yet so any straight up fighting should be avoided.' With that last thought I leaned back and waited for the Exorcists.

Lord Belial's Castle

The castle was currently in a frenzy. Maids walked around with hurry and soldiers did minute rounds around the castle, on guard for any disturbances. After Lord Belial's announcement that they would defect from the Pro-War faction, many tried to keep a calm head and prepare. The fickleness and arrogance of the old descendants was widely known across the Underworld (they wanted to reignite a millennium long war no matter the losses just to bring hollow glory to their houses, enough said). Of course as the Belial's were typically kind rulers, their people immediately rallied and waited for the old descendant's retaliation. As the subjects of house Belial went about their business, the Lord of the House was currently in his office attending to a "guest".

'…Oh fuck me backwards…' Okay, attending may be a strong word.

Lord Belial was trying his hardest to keep calm and not give away his nervousness (though by the way the guest was looking at him, he wasn't doing a good job). Though the noises that constantly came from the outside brought a small smile to Lord Belial's face, the fact that his people would back up his decision without hesitation filled the Head with a certain level of pride.

It was that bit of pride that helped keep back the wave of anxiety his guest was giving him.

'Why…Why did they have to send her?' Seated in front of Lord Belial's desk was a woman. The woman was tall, at least 5'8 with a gold and red shirt along with a black skirt. She was a very beautiful woman with a well endowed figure and a gorgeous face. She had 2 very defining features. Her ruby like red eyes and her long, silver hair that were done in 2 braids.

She was a Pure-Blooded Devil from the Extra Demon house that served the Lucifer Clan and the strongest female Devil the Pro-War Faction has ever produced, Grayfia Lucifuge.

Yeah, this is not turning out to be Lord Belial's day.

The silence was deafening as they sat there watching each other. Lord Belial just stared at her cold and professional face, trying to get anything from it. He was drawing a blank. 'What the hell is she thinking about!?' He was close to snapping from the pressure. I mean, he gets that they can't compare to the Buné Clan in terms of status or power but to send Grayfia!? Really!?

'…This is pointless.' Grayfia thought with an internal sigh. She knew what her presence was doing to the Head but she made no move to alleviate his worries. 'Well…more like I shouldn't.' With 2 different vanguards now backing out from the faction, the old descendants were less than pleased and the head of House Lucifer specially ordered Grayfia teach Lord Belial a lesson.

A lesson she really didn't feel like doing. Grayfia, like the majority of her generation, didn't want war and she herself thought it was a waste of time. Even though she grew up around that sentiment, Grayfia didn't care about domination and doing evil things just for the hell of it. Especially after being assigned to monitor Sirzechs Gremory. He constantly spoke of how family and love was the true source of power; coming from a monster like him it seemed more than just talk. He was still an idiot though.

'I wonder if he's still teaching his choir the song…' Grayfia idly thought, forgetting she was in a stare off with a very antsy Lord. 'I have a bad feeling about that…' She frowned at the Gremory Prince's plan to have his kids sing the song of peace at the Underworld's capital in a couple of days. Something her brother said yesterday to her when she came home unsettled her but she didn't know wh-

"Umm…" Lord Belial finally spoke up and Grayfia came back from her musings. "C-Can I help you Miss Grayfia?"

"…" She just stared at the man and he started sweating again before she ultimately sighed. "You know why I'm here Lord Belial. The old descendants aren't happy and wish to know why you are defecting." Granted, wish actually meant demanded but whatever. Lord Belial took a deep breath before explaining the circumstances on the original Belial's wishes and how he had to honor them.

"I'm sorry Miss Grayfia but I won't change my decision." Lord Belial said with finality and a resolute look appeared in his eyes. Grayfia stood silent for a minute (a very excoriating minute in Lord Belial's perspective) before responding.

"Okay I understand."

"…"

"…"

"…Really?" That threw Lord Belial for a loop and he watched in caution as Grayfia stood up. She said that she wanted to stay in the castle for a couple of days and hoped he could accommodate her. Like he was going to say no. He knew why Grayfia chose to stay and it was to make sure he sticks to his word. While the descendants couldn't force the Belial's to stay in their camp, it didn't mean they will let the Belial's join the Anti-War faction. Lord Belial had no plans to do that though, as the letter made it clear that the Belial's should just stay out the fight. Calling a maid to take Grayfia to one of the nicer rooms in the castle, Lord Belial thought to send out his soldiers to resume searching for the Stray Exorcists but decided against doing so. Just because Grayfia was amicable, it did not mean the descendants will agree with letting them go quietly.

"Oh yes, that reminds me." Grayfia spoke when she was at the door and turned back to look at Lord Belial. "I heard that you had an "infestation" problem. Do you need help with that?" Grayfia wasn't one to loiter around and would gladly wipe out the Exorcist problem the Belial's had. Unlike the surrounding Lords who would deal with it the moment it becomes their problem, Grayfia believed in solving a problem before it can become an issue. Lord Belial narrowed his eyes at the silver haired Devil's offer for a second before nodding.

"I would appreciate the help. I sent out someone to handle it and I'm waiting for his results."

"Who is it?"

"You wouldn't know him, he's a human." Grayfia quirked a brow at that. It wasn't that she had something against humans but for a Lord to request help from a human was very rare.

'What kind of person willingly goes to the Underworld and helps a Devil Lord?' That was all that went through her mind as she was led to her room by a random maid.

3 Hours Later, Belhor

"Hm?" I looked out into the distance and gained a thoughtful look.

"What happened?" Jack asked as he shuffled the cards. We were still sitting on the porch of the house but there was now a table and we sat on opposite ends. I took out some playing cards and taught him how to play Bullshit. The game's title perfectly illustrated how I felt right now playing against the Devil (probably should have seen that coming). I didn't react as I closed my eyes before speaking.

"I felt…a disturbance in the Force." I had a dramatic look in my eyes and solemnly said.

"…Pierce that's the third time you said that. I don't know what that means but if you want to stop playing we can." Jack deadpanned and I glared at him.

"You're cheating, I know you are and I will find out how you do it! Mark my words!"

"Hey man, you're the one that wanted to play." Jack shrugged before dealing out the cards. Grumbling, I picked them up and looked them over before taking out two cards.

"2 Quee-"

"Bullshit." Jack said without skipping a beat and I blankly stared.

"…You know what, screw you and screw card games." I tossed my hand on the table and Jack chuckled at my bitter tone. Ignoring him, I looked at the town and saw nothing out of place. It seemed like I was wrong and the Exorcist weren't headed here. I've been activating Chi Vision every couple of minutes since we got here but there hasn't been any changes. Everything was in order; the bored soldiers stationed around the perimeter, the regular citizens going about their day, and the mayor's aura still in his hous-

"…Wait." I furrowed my brows and focused once more on Dagmar's office. He wasn't in there.

"What is it?" Jack saw my serious face and looked at the house as well.

"Did you ever see Dagmar leave?" I narrowed my eyes at Jack's "no" and sensed all over the house. Now if it was only Dagmar's aura that disappeared then it wouldn't have been a problem, it was the fact that I couldn't feel anyone's aura inside. It was a big house and I saw more than one servant but now I can't feel anything. I couldn't find any Devils or plants that were inside; it was like something was shielding the build-

"Crap!" I cursed out loud and immediately turned on Touki, sprinting towards the house. Jack scrambled after me but I didn't slow down as I made it in front of the building and smashed the door to pieces. I narrowly dodged the black claw that tried to claw my face off and punched it in the stomach, breaking it to pieces. Two more black creatures came out and I saw they were humanoid shadow monsters. 'Where have I seen these?' I felt an odd sense of nostalgia but I didn't dwell on it as I moved and ripped the 2 creatures to pieces. The commotion alerted the soldiers and they came to the scene with Jack finally making it.

"Are they here?!" Jack asked and I said a quick "yes!" before looking up at the building into the window of Dagmar's office and saw how it seemed to be covered in a black frame. I immediately jumped high in the air and smashed through the window, being met with a spongy shadow barrier. Taking out my sword, I coated it with Chi and cut the shield in half, landing in the room. Looking around, I saw a bunch of cloaked figures (though the crosses and Bibles gave them away) and they were surrounding the still form of the major. One of the Exorcists moved forward and held a cross out at me.

"You shall receive judgment now Devil! In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Hol-" He never got to finish as I punched him hard in the face.

"How about you fuck off!" I dropped another 2 priests that tried to help their friend. They swarmed me with all manner of weapons (swords, spears, daggers, etc.) but I beat them all down. Catching the blade of one priest, I felt a small burning sensation on my hand and they looked at me in shock.

"Y-You're human!?" I smacked the priest to the side, definitely hearing a faint snap, and observed the sword they were using. I frowned when the handle started burning through my Touki like the Sword of Damocles did. Sweeping under the leg of another, I caught the spear they dropped and was shocked to find the same thing happened. 'These can't all be Holy Weapons can they?' I threw the holy spear and speared a priest, the spear cleanly poking out his back. I cut off the head of another priest and slashed off the legs of the remaining 3. I looked around the scene of carnage and walked over to the prone Dagmar. Surprisingly, the Devil was still alive, injured but alive. I picked him up and tossed him outside towards the soldiers.

"Catch!" I warned and the soldiers caught the injured major, quickly tending to his wounds. Ducking, a shadow monster flew over me and landed on the ground. Slicing it in half, more started to swarm me and I got to work clearing them out. Lifting my foot, I crushed a monster that came out of my shadow and created a Chi Spear that pierced multiple shadow monsters. 'Where are you?' I knew someone had to be controlling these monsters yet with their ability to hide life forces, I was stuck. Deciding the first thing to do when getting back to Olympus is to improve my sensing ability, I caught a shadow monster by the neck and idly observed it.

It wasn't a solid form, it constantly shifted and morphed into something else yet it kept a humanoid frame. It wasn't like the shadow creatures from Melissa's Shadow Realm as I could easily crush them to pieces. Squeezing, the monster dispersed yet more kept jumping out at me. Slicing it straight down the middle, I jumped back when the pieces became two smaller monsters. I quickly cut them to pieces as well and sidestepped a bunch of shadow tendrils that tried to stop entrap me. Making my Touki denser, I rammed into the wall and ended up in the hallway where the corpse of a maid laid. 'Damn it.' Giving a small sorry to the needless loss of life, I sent Chi Swords at every shadow monster that came my way and eventually reached the first floor. I saw a black haired man with a priest and he was surrounded by dozens of large four armed shadow monsters. "Hey-"

"Ingentia ad Visionem et in Verborum Dei." The man spoke softly as his shadow shot all over the room, effectively trapping me in there with him. While I had no problem with that, I quickly learned of one issue. I couldn't see or hear a thing and the shadows monsters (that had no life force) perfectly blended with the black surroundings.

"…Sure. Gryttr Ham. Auka Atrið." Quickly using my magic, I crossed my arms and waited for the attack. I didn't wait long as something punched me in the right rib but it was a mosquito bite at best. Dozens of fists started hitting me all over and I held on for a minute before smiling, catching one of the monster's arm. I couldn't see or hear but my sense of smell still existed, I just needed a minute to get the monster's scent. I had one question though.

"Why do shadows smell like Swiss cheese?" Not hearing my own voice (except in my head), I flung the shadow monster around and hit the other's with it. I stared wildly cutting with my sword and I could "smell" the figures being cut. Punching through the chest of one monster, I ripped it apart and smelled another come from behind me. I jumped over it and landed on its shoulder, crushing its head. This was honestly the weirdest fight I had to date and more than once did I Chi Burst around when I smelled some projectile flying through the air at me. Oddly enough they smelled like strawberries. Not thinking on it, I sent Chi Swords in every direction but nothing happened as the attacks kept coming. A couple of minutes passed and my patience finally ran out.

"I'm done with this." Frowning, I used Sword Fury and sliced the black screen clean in half. My hearing returned as a massive boom was heard and the structure came crumbling down. I jumped out into the street and waited for the dust cloud to clear. I observed the rubble, hoping for the man I was fighting to appear but nothing happened and Devil citizens started gathering to see what was happening.

"…Subtlety isn't your strong suit is it?" I turned around and saw Jack holding one of the few priests I kept alive. I walked over to the rubble while shrugging.

"It's overrated." I rummaged through the brick and wood before finding one of the holy weapons. Picking it up, I noticed that while it burned it was nowhere as painful as the Sword of Damocles was. I swung the sword around and found the rate at which it emitted holy energy increased but I also noticed how the sword was slowly becoming hotter.

"Do you mind?" Jack shifted uncomfortably from his spot a couple of meters from me.

"Sorry." I gave an apologetic smile and put the holy weapon in the space ring. Finding a spear and another sword I put them away and walked back to Jack. He tied up the priest and nodded at me. "Let's go." After making sure Dagmar was going to be okay, we walked back to the house and placed the priest on the ground. "You want to take a shot with this one?"

"It would be my pleasure." Jack gave a bloodthirsty smile and grabbed the priest by the neck, shaking him awake. The priest quickly came to but before he could say anything Jack held out his hand. "Verum ut Liberem te." A magic circle appeared over the priest's head before disappearing. "Where's the rest of your group?" The priest scuffed at Jake's question.

"You won't get anything from me, Devil. I will never tell you that they are staying at the nearby cove by the east river." The priest smiled victoriously before hearing what he just said. I would have enjoyed the look of shock on the priest's face if I wasn't confused too.

"What the hell was that?"

"A truth telling spell." Jack said simply and I gave him a weird look.

"So why didn't you just use that on the priest in the church?"

"You looked like you had it." Jack shrugged and I stared at him for a second before letting it go. I walked up to the priest and picked him up; he was going to be our guide.

"You should be ashamed of yourself." The priest gave me a look of disgust and disdain.

"Is that so?" I off handily said as I tied his hands behind his back. Boy did that set him off.

"Yes! You should! You're conspiring with Devils you damned man!" The priest spit everywhere as he continued. "Devils are evil, vile creatures that care for nothing but sin and carnage! They gladly kill legions of humans for their souls and will do that to you when you're done helping them! Do you not see your-"

"And humans are kind, innocent beings that only want the best from each other and everlasting peace?" I said with a bored look and the priest gaped at me. "Look man I don't care about the morality of how Devils work or the sacredness that is my soul. This is a job; I really don't a damn about your piddley ass war between your two factions. I just want to get paid." Leaving it at that, I kicked the priest out the door and motioned for him to walk. "After you." The priest stared before turning and walking in a random direction. I looked at Jack and saw him watching me with an odd face. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just…you're quite honest for a human."

"…Jack, what kind of people have you met?"

"Human nobles." Jack deadpanned and I blinked.

"…Nevermind." I followed after the priest with Jack chuckling behind me.

Unknown Cove

In the middle of a cave, a tall middle aged man with long blond hair stood next to a young boy. The young boy was quite short for his age with black hair that oddly had strands of gray hairs. The boy was currently praying in front of a portable altar and after sitting there for ten minutes, outstretched his hands. A bright white orb appeared in his hands and the older man watched with careful attention as a single drop of water fell out of the orb. He caught the drop with a basin and carefully brought it over to a bottle on the side, pouring the drop inside. The bottle was full of the same water and the ripple when the drop fell inside sent out bursts of light. The older man smiled before hearing the labored coughing of the boy and quickly gave him some pills.

"Here." The boy gave thanks before swallowing the pill and his complexion got better. However, more gray hairs appeared on the boy's head and his nose bled. The man frowned. "It's starting to become too much."

"It's okay, I knew the stakes." The boy smiled weakly and laid back. "It's for God's will."

"…For God's will." The older man mimicked before calling someone to take the boy somewhere to recover. He sat there for a minute before looking at a shadow in the corner. "You came back alone. So they sent someone stronger?" The black haired priest that was controlling the shadow monsters walked out covered in soot.

"Yes they did and it's not a Devil, a strong human is helping them." The blond man frowned even harder now.

"Some people just don't deserve God's mercy." The blond man shook his head at the thought of humans helping evil beings like Devils. "It's early but we have enough. Take Hayden along with a portion of the priest's and bring them to other towns. Cause some more chaos before leaving the Underworld."

"And you?"

"I'll be done then. If not…then may I die doing God's work." The blond man did a short prayer and just as he finished, a magic circle appeared in front of him. A screen was on the magic circle and it showed three men with one being a fellow priest. The others he did not recognize. One was a young man with black hair and a strange outfit.

"That's him, the human I was talking about." The black haired man frowned and pointed at the image of Pierce. "He's not someone to take on lightly. My Asura's couldn't do anything against him and he could fight well even with my subspecies." The blond man stared a bit longer at the image of the trio before standing up.

"I'll deal with them. Just get everyone out Miller." He walked to the door as he conjured a magic circle and a large claymore came out of it. "I won't be long."

Miller nodded and watched as his leader went to deal with the intruders. Taking anything that could give away their plan, Miller went to alert the rest of the priests about leaving. He went to young Hayden's room and saw him reading the Bible. He looked and saw the shadow user. "Hello Mister Miller, are we moving?"

"Yes, Lord Ethan is going to keep the intruders busy while we escape." Miller explained and Hayden gained a worried look.

"Will Mister Ethan be okay?"

"He'll be fine Hayden." Miller smiled at the young boy's concern. "The intruders are strong but they are nothing against Lord Ethan." Giving one last reassuring pat, Miller took Hayden into his shadow and they escaped the cove. Leaving the former top-class Exorcist Ethan Cristaldi to deal with the human and Devil attackers.

Back to Pierce

"…I got a bad feeling about this." I frowned as I felt us passing a magic barrier a couple of minutes ago but no one came to stop us. Jack, the priest and I walked into the cove completely unhindered. 'Where have I seen this before?' While it didn't matter, as I needed to take down all the priests, I would prefer to face something head on than what's going on now. All my thoughts on the matter stopped once I felt the aura that was calmly walking towards us.

"Hey Jack there's some-" I quickly dodged to the right and barely missed the Light Sword that flew by me…nailing the priest we captured in the heart. I watched in shock as the priest dropped to his knees and I looked at where it came from. A tall blond haired man holding a large claymore walked towards us and glanced at the pierced priest.

"Don't fear it, The Lord knows of your service and thanks you. Rest now." The man said all this calmly and I was watched as the dying priest actually smiled in gratitude.

"Thank you…" The priest gave one last thanks before dropping to the ground dead.

'…This is why I hate fanatics.' Shaking my head at the absurdity of it all, I looked the man over and stared at the claymore in his hand. It was emitting a large amount of holy energy and it seemed more stable than the weapons the earlier priests had. Not wasting time, I took out my sword and rushed at the man, swinging down. He easily blocked it and I had to quickly lean back before my head was taken off. Feeling a small cut on my neck, I slashed at him dozens of times and he parried them all. Moving with tremendous speed, he nicked me on the side and I pierced at this chest. I felt a small ting and saw how his chest seemed to be made of metal. Jack tried to flank the man but he blocked Jack's attack and ignored the illusions he conjured. The man pushed me back and sent a volley of light spears, forcing me to Chi Burst to the side.

"Gryttr Ham. Auka Atrið." I slammed against the priest, sending him flying back yet he landed unharmed. I sliced at him with even greater speed and I was able to land a couple more cuts on the man. Impressed, the blond priest upped his game and started using multiple protection barriers in our fight. Smashing a barrier to pieces, I ducked under the claymore and tried to punch the priest in the stomach but he kicked my fist away. Jack grabbed the priest from the back and I tried to slash at him.

"Nova Lux." The priest chanted, causing light to erupt from him and push us both back. Jack screamed in pain but I couldn't help him as the man was on me again. We clashed swords multiple times and I could feel my irritation grow stronger as time passed. I was stronger than the man yet he perfectly met my attacks without missing a beat. All I needed was one clean hit but he wasn't going to give it to me. "You're quite strong; you would make a fine Exorcist." The man offhandedly said as we fought.

"Maybe in the next life!" I cut at his neck but he parried that too and elbowed me in the face. I sent Chi Swords at him and he stopped them with another barrier. I slashed at the ceiling and rocks started to fall down, forcing us to separate. I kneeled next to Jack and saw how he had multiple burns over his body. Giving him my Chi, I picked him up and hurriedly blocked the man's blade. The fight became even harder as I was now carrying Jack and I had to grit my teeth when the man gave me a deep gash on the shoulder. "Isn't this the point where you stop and talk about your master plan?!" The man stopped momentarily and looked at me oddly.

"Why would I tell vital information to an enemy for no reason?"

"…Exactly!" I never understood that troupe either but I would really appreciate it right now. "Jade!" Summoning my familiar, it appeared in front of me and sent an ice wave at the man. Dodging the attack, I had Jade make an ice wall and I booked it for the entrance. I could hear the ice wall being destroyed but I didn't stop as Light Swords were thrown in my direction. Exiting the cove, I used Sword Fury and slashed the entrance in half, covering it in rubble. Not risking it, I ran a couple of miles back in Belhor's direction before stopping, breathing heavily. I looked back to see no one chasing me and assumed the man gave up on chasing me. Giving more Chi to the knocked out Jack, I faced the direction of Belhor and ran like hell.

1 Hour Later Belhor, Major's House

"...I'm sorry." Jack apologized as he sat on a couch while I looked out a window.

"Jack, for the last time you don't need to apologize." I shook my head at the Devil's constant remorse. I didn't go all out against the blond priest because there were definitely more enemies that would attack and it would be very bad if I used up all my strength. Deciding to retreat and re plan, I informed Lord Belial of what we did and he said he'll send us someone to help us. I sat there waiting for the reinforcements to come and Jack eventually came to, apologizing since then.

"Doesn't change the fact I barely did anything." Jack grumbled under his breath and I sighed in exhaustion.

"Then do better next time, don't whine about it so much." I left Jack alone after that and took out one of the holy weapons I stored earlier. Placing it on the table, I looked it over and found out something interesting. The amount of holy energy inside the weapon was far less than earlier and the metal seemed to be smudged, like it was being burned from the inside. The rest of the weapons were also like this and when I snapped the blade in half, the holy energy came out in a wave of blinding heat. While my Touki protected me, Jack had to take cover until the light fully went away.

"What the hell was that!?" He peeked up from the behind the now burnt couch.

"I...have no idea." I stared at the two pieces in wonder but before I could experiment with the other weapons I felt a female aura move towards the room.

And it was massive.

Narrowing my eyes, I took out my sword and looked at the door in apprehension. The aura said she was a Devil but she had an aura of power that far surpassed any being I've met so far since coming to this world (aside from the Greek Gods). My mind was working on overdrive on how to escape if this being was hostile, it eventually reached the door and stood outside. Then she knocked.

"..."

"..."

"...Well?" Jack asked

"You can answer it." I let Jack be the one to do it as I took a couple steps back. Giving me an odd look, Jack walked to the door and opened it, letting the person inside. A tall beautiful woman stepped into the room. She looked like she was in her 20's with long silver hair that were done in two braids and red eye's that glowed in the ligh-

'...No way.' My eyes widened to the saucers as I recognized the woman in front of me. She looked at me before bowing.

"Hello, my name is Grayfia Lucifuge. Lord Belial sent me to help you with your Exorcist hunt, I hope to be of service." Grayfia said this all in a professional but pleasant tone and looked ready to work. The silence was deafening as I stood there gobsmacked with Jack also shocked (for another reason) and Grayfia waited patiently for a response.

'...Don't say it.' It would be so easy. 'Don't say it.' I mean she's right here. 'Don't. Say. It.'

"..."

"..."

"...Sakuya Izayoi is still the better maid." The moment that left my mouth Grayfia's fist hit me in the face and I was flung far back.

Totally worth it.