Disclaimer - I don't own any of the characters appearing in High School DXD or the Anime or the manga whatsoever.
Kyoto, Japan
–Magdaran Bael–
He looked from the corner of his eye, his body facing the lake, as the man made his way towards him, as if he had sensed his presence. As expected, the man was garbed in clothes that practically screamed that I am a man of the cloth. The man was likely going to be nothing more than an exorcist if he joined the Church though.
They might get over their racism for all the other races and Pagan Gods if it meant they could bolster their own forces, but he was all but certain that they would never allow a halfling to reach any position of power. He would likely be placed under the command of some bishop, and things would remain that way right up until he outlived his usefulness or was killed in line of duty, after which, some perfunctory words would be said about his service, and then the Church at large would forget about his existence.
Man, he really had quite an opinion about the Church, and the thing was that he couldn’t even blame all of it on the propaganda that was freely peddled in the Underworld. He knew that the Church was like that. Maybe not all of it, but the part that was gaining power? The part that was increasingly becoming more vocal and gaining more say over the Church’s events was only doing so because they were amassing power amorally, resulting in a cycle wherein they used the amassed power to gain more influence over the Church, and then, using that influence, they targeted people to gain even more power.
How did Big G expect to rein in the most basic nature of humans when given power? He would never know. Or did the freak of power foresee this and let things happen, all for some overarching goal? If so, he was a cold bastard through and through, knowing what little happened during the Great War, to all three factions.
No faction was spared from War Crimes. Even the Angels, for all their holy nature, had committed quite the massacre, but without the intent in mind, which is why they still had their white wings. He wondered just how many of them would fall if they knew, truly knew of what their previous Church was doing right under their noses.
It was probably why they didn’t look too closely at the Church’s dealing. Dismissing the many failings of the Church, he looked at the man with a calm look on his face. He kept his eyes on the river in front of him, making sure that he could just vaporise the entire lake if the man tried to pull anything, but surprisingly, he didn’t do anything except sit on the same bench as him, despite there being multiple benches in the path he took.
Amusingly, the number of Youkai hiding just behind him, on the other side of the running track, had doubled. They were almost buzzing like bees in anxiety, probably worried about the outcome of this meeting.
Still, he was not here to cause a diplomatic incident, so he kept quiet and just continued looking at the lake, admiring the calm. He then noticed that his hands were empty, so he summoned a magical circle in front of him. The very action sent the Youkai behind him buzzing even more, but he was more curious about the reaction of the man behind him.
Interestingly, he didn't even flinch, nor could he sense any disturbance in the energy coursing through him. His hand sank into the magic circle as he pulled out two bags of Fried Chicken.
He offered one to the man, who took it with a smile on his face and a whispered “thank you,” before both of them resumed doing the previous activity. Looking straight at the lake while enjoying hot snacks. Too bad he was out of dips. He’d gotten greedy with the earlier pack and had finished all the dips without caring about the next lot of Friend Chicken.
Amateur move.
By this point, he had relaxed considerably as well. He was of the mind that the man was trolling the Youkai behind them, which would be hilarious if true.
He was halfway through his chicken when the man spoke.
“Are you here to reincarnate me into your peerage?” The question was spoken calmly, as the man shoved a piece of chicken in his mouth the next moment, as if the question was not important at all.
Unfortunately, he was in the middle of eating a very large piece, so he quickly swallowed the whole thing before replying with a question of his own, “Do you want to be reincarnated?”
The man paused mid bite as he replied, “A devil who asks for consent? How rare.” There was genuine surprise in the man’s voice. No sign of sarcasm or condescension, which immediately upped his opinion of the Holy Man.
“Oh? You’ve met my kind before?” He asked, genuinely curious. After all, the man shouldn’t be more than 30 years old, even with the Youkai genes likely slowing down his aging. For him to have a bad experience with a Devil in his short lifespan was a truly damning thing for Devils, and just how recklessness had taken hold in the mindset of the younger Devils. After all, their entire lives, they had known stability, all because they had two big smoking guns on their side.
“No, but I have heard stories about them, from multiple people of multiple factions.”
Ah, so the news had multiple sources, which probably made it more authentic.
“I see. And no, I am not here to reincarnate you. I am just here as a tourist, if that helps.” He added, munching on his food.
“I believe you.” The sentence was uttered with such conviction that he was forced to turn and look at the man with a bewildered look on his face, the question practically painted on his face.
“Let’s just say that I can tell when someone is lying.”
He shrugged and replied, “Neat.”
“You should leave the city soon.”
“Uh-huh.” He replied. It was probably good advice, and he had seen most of the city, except the shrines and the areas near the center, where the whole Holy congregation was probably staying, since he did not want to start anything, just in case the Church members were as trigger happy as they were in most parts of the world.
“You seem unconcerned.” The man said with genuine surprise on his face, and he had just realised that he didn’t know the man’s name. He didn't ask for it, and the Holy Man never volunteered. Worked fine for him since he was not here to throw his name around. He had his personal strength for that.
He shrugged at the unasked question, “Eh, I am not one to start something, but let’s just say that I am not entirely defenceless here.”
“I see.” Was all he heard the man say before a hand was thrust in his direction. Eyeing the hand warily, he gingerly shook it.
“I am Akihiko.”
“I am Magdaran.” House name omitted on purpose. The man was likely not as connected to the supernatural scene, so he probably didn’t know the name of the new Bael heir or the last Bael heir, come to think of it. Since he wasn’t officially a part of either of the two factions vying for him, then he most probably did not have access to the database that most supernatural factions must have on all the major figures in the Underworld.
Just as he was about to actually get up and leave, since all of this was making him push against his own risk boundaries, he felt it. A moment later, Akihiko felt it as well, as both of them stood up and looked towards the sky, on the other side of the lake.
A few moments later, the Youkai behind him must have felt it as well, since they abandoned all pretense of stealth and all but teleported in front of him, though their intentions with him and Akihiko were starkly different.
Alas, from what he could sense. The Fallen coming towards them was far beyond anything the Youkai could deal with on their own, and likely beyond Akihiko as well, or maybe not. It all depends on what his Sacred Gear was.
Sighing internally, he realised he might have to step in here. It would be a really bad look if the Youkai and the Church higher ups present here came to look for their prize and found him dead with the traces of Demonic Energy in the background, and the absence of a High Class devil who was last seen in the same place as Akihiko.
They were currently out of the main ward network of Kyoto since this lake was technically out of the city, but there were some wards present around the periphery of the city as well, which was likely what alerted the Youkai who were here to protect Akihiko and make sure he remained in his place.
Soon enough, the shining form of the Fallen was visible to them, and along with a giant Spear of Light as well, which was promptly chucked in their direction at very high speeds.
He tensed, his hand raising as he called forth a Barrier spell. No need to expose his Bloodline power here, but before he could cast any spell, Akihiko moved on his own.
The Holy Energy within him surged before—
Ohhh.
His eyes widened in realisation. So that’s why the Church was hell bent on taking him in.
A bright Halo manifested on top of his head, akin to an angel. The light fell on him, and half the Youkai looked at him menacingly, as if trying to dissuade him from the notion of attacking them.
He felt the light but took no damage from it, courtesy of the Machosistic training methods from the Pits. He patted himself on the back for that brilliant yet painful idea.
Then, another Halo appeared in his hands, which was just a ring of light anyway, before Akihiko threw it towards the spear. The ring made contact and just absorbed the light.
The Fallen, not one to be deterred, summoned yet another Spear of Light, only for the ring light to go flying towards the Fallen. He felt the energy signature in the air dim, his eyes widening as he saw the Halo on top of Akihiko’s head brighten in response.
So, he could absorb Holy light? That was a good Sacred Gear, especially if he could control the Rings from a distance.
And what do you know? He could control the rings, as was made evident when the Fallen Angel, with six wings, was brought towards them, a ring of light constricted around his arms. The Fallen was knocked out as well.
“Nicely done,” he heard the voice before he felt it.
He tensed a bit, turning around, to see freaking Yasaka, the Nine Tails, standing behind them, her hands behind her back, talking to Akihiko but looking straight at him.
Uh-oh.