"Yes, which is why we have to keep it hidden until you are strong enough to defend yourself against those who want it" Rias explained, being unusually serious. "Besides, I have already informed my older brother so that he is aware of it and can tell me if he discovers any conspiracy."
"Your older brother?" Issei asked.
"Sirzechs Lucifer, one of the four Maou, the four most powerful devils who rule the Underworld"
"Incredible! What level are they? High Level? Supreme Level?"
"Hehe, Issei, the Maou are so powerful that they are a level of their own. Above Supreme Level is Maou Level" Akeno replied.
"That's crazy! With someone like that in charge, there's no way they'll discover that I have the Boosted Gear, right?"
"..."
"Well..."
"What is it?" Issei asked upon noticing their expressions.
"Do you remember the faction we encountered the first time we went hunting?"
"Yes, what about them?"
"Perhaps you don't know because you weren't paying attention, but they claimed to have found something.
During all their previous appearances, this mysterious new faction had absolute confidence, saying that as soon as they found something, they would defeat everyone.
However, that night they said they had found them in our group"
"It could be..." Issei realized.
"Yes, although we are not completely sure yet, their confidence suggests that whatever they were looking for is very powerful, besides the fact that they found it in us on the same night you awakened your Sacred Gear for the first time is very suspicious.
They appeared out of nowhere and use strange methods, so having discovered your Sacred Gear beforehand is not so impossible"
"Then what do I do? Should I hide?"
"No, simply don't be alone until you're stronger" Rias refused. "They aren't that powerful."
"...Fine" Issei nodded, although having to always be with someone protecting him hurt his pride a little, always being with a girl did not sound so bad.
While they were talking, the doors to the clubroom suddenly opened.
"Who?" Rias wanted to complain about the lack of respect when she saw who was entering.
Sona Sitri, her childhood friend, along with Tsubaki Shinra, her queen.
But what mattered was who was behind them, a fallen angel.
The mere fact that he dared to come here despite being an enemy already indicated that he was high-ranking, but the eight black wings behind him confirmed it.
He was tall and pale, with long, straight black hair falling down his back, long and pointed ears, red eyes, pointed teeth, a long black cloak with golden shoulder pads, and a terribly arrogant smile.
If Rias did not know his true identity, she could mistake him for Dracula himself.
But no, Rias knew his true identity.
"Rias, Kokabiel, an eight-winged fallen angel and one of the leaders of Grigori, the organization that represents fallen angels in their entirety, has requested a meeting with me, Sona Sitri, heir of the Sitri House and younger sister of Serafall Leviathan, one of the four Maou of the Underworld, and with you, Rias Gremory, heir of the Gremory House and younger sister of Sirzechs Lucifer, another of the four Maou of the Underworld"
Seeing Sona's very formal introduction, Rias knew that this was a serious matter and adopted the appropriate attitude.
"I agree. May my peerage participate?" she replied formally.
Sona looked at Kokabiel.
"Tch, they can, they can. As long as they don't bother us while we talk, I don't care" Kokabiel said disdainfully.
"Then, let us begin the meeting" Sona replied. "Mr. Kokabiel, would you like to sit down?"
"It's fine, it won't take long" Kokabiel said.
"Yesterday, direct subordinates under my command were attacked by enemies of an unknown faction in Kuoh"
"Under your command? May I know what fallen angels were doing in Kuoh in the first place?"
"They went to receive an excommunicated saint from the Church who recently joined our side" Kokabiel replied naturally.
"I don't remember any request for that" Sona said, frowning.
"There is no need to be so rigid, Sitri. The rules were made to prevent major problems, not to create complications over small matters. They were simply going to pick her up here because they happened to be passing through, nothing more. There is no need to make trouble over something like that"
"...Fine" Sona said after thinking about it for a moment, although she was not entirely convinced. "Please continue"
"Well then, all my subordinates were attacked, leaving only two survivors and kidnapping Asia Argento, the ex-saint who joined my faction"
"Asia?!" Issei reacted to the name.
"Oh? You know her?"
"I-I met her yesterday morning" Issei said, realizing he had slipped up.
"Well, it's quite a curious situation that you met her in the morning and she disappeared at night, isn't it?" Kokabiel said with a fake smile.
"Mr. Kokabiel, are you implying that we had something to do with it?" Rias asked firmly.
"That's exactly what I'm implying" Kokabiel replied without flinching even a little. To him, a veteran of Supreme Level who had fought in the Great War, Rias and Sona were nothing more than little girls who did not even master the strength of their own level.
"Besides the 'chance encounter' that occurred that morning, there was also a pink-haired girl among the group who was part of the young Sitri's peerage, as well as Kuroka, the S-rank fugitive and older sister of another member of the Gremory peerage.
Aren't there too many coincidences?"
"This..." Sona set aside for a moment her surprise that Hitori had been there to analyze the situation. "None of that is conclusive evidence, nothing more than isolated facts and coincidences"
"Coincidences don't exist, Sitri heir. Of course, I'm not here to start a fight or anything like that. I simply expect you to let me search this high school for clues"
"Kuoh is under the control of the Sitri and Gremory families, and Kuoh Academy is the center of both their power. Letting you search it is a sign of disrespect not only toward both houses but also toward the Maou Leviathan and Lucifer. This is basically an outright display of disdain toward the entire demon race!" Rias snapped incredulously.
"I don't care about your political nonsense" Kokabiel said disdainfully. "My goal is simply to search this school, which clearly has something to do with the massacre and kidnapping of my most trusted subordinates.
If that has other implications, that's your problem, not mine"
"Even so, you can't. There is no way we will let you do something like that!" Sona insisted.
"Oh?" Kokabiel raised an eyebrow. "Then how are we going to resolve this?"
His words were clearly not a question but a threat. As soon as he spoke, he released an intense pressure over everyone there, making it difficult for them to even remain standing, although two of them were only pretending to be affected.
"O-one week" Rias replied with difficulty. "Give us one week and... kughhh... we'll hand over the culprit."
Kokabiel withdrew his pressure with an amused smile.
"Fine" he said before turning around. "But if I don't have answers in one week, I hope you are prepared for the consequences"
Leaving those words hanging in the air, the eight-winged fallen angel left. The sound of the door closing brought everyone back from their own minds filled with thoughts.
"This... is a serious problem" Sona said, frowning.
"But the things he said don't make sense, they're basically all coincidences" Rias replied indignantly.
"The truth doesn't matter, what matters is what he believes" Sona sighed helplessly. Such was the supernatural world, where the strong were right.
"So do we really have to find the culprit within a week?"
"It's impossible, most likely it doesn't even have anything to do with Kuoh Academy"
"President, can't we ask your brother for help? He's very powerful, right? And the student council president's brother too?" Issei asked.
"Impossible, Issei. We will of course inform him of the situation, but it won't do any good" Rias refused.
"W-what? Could it be that Kokabiel is just as strong, or perhaps even stronger, than a Maou?" Issei asked incredulously.
"No, in terms of strength, Kokabiel is Supreme Level, one level below a Maou. The problem is his position.
He is one of the leaders of Grigori, his position is equivalent to that of a Maou in the demon realm.
Even if my brother appeared, his opinion would remain the same. He is someone whose opinion represents that of all the fallen angels.
And if he dared to come here, it is most likely that all the others, or at least most of the other leaders of Grigori, agree with him"
"I see. So this could escalate into a complicated political situation whether we accept his request or not" Issei understood.
If they allowed him to search Kuoh Academy, it would become a situation where probably the entire demon race would be angered by the disrespect, but if any Maou intervened, it would mean two high-ranking authorities from two factions confronting each other, which was no less dangerous than the first option.
"For now, I'll inform my brother of everything" Rias said. "Let's try to find the culprit."
"But if Hitori was there, then it was Lucifer, that demon we met last time, which actually only makes the situation worse given his race.
Last time he took Hitori, saying that he wanted to make her join his side, and this time he kidnapped a saint, probably for the same reason"
______________________________________
I have a new fic about Syndrome in Marvel. Go check it out if you're interested.
Name: Marvel: Creating a World Where Everyone Is Super.
(Don't worry, this message will only be here for one month and then disappear)
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)