Third Person POV

The sky was a deep orange color as the sun was slowly setting over the horizon, all appeared to be nice and quiet but that all changed when a blue portal appeared close by the school, Kuoh Academy. School had ended around 2-3 hours ago, so all the students left the building and went their separate ways to head home. But there were still some students residing within the school, the Occult Research Club, and the Student Council.

There were no humans nearby, signaling that they were in their homes and doing their own things such as reading a book, playing games, doing homework, or hanging out with their friends.

From the portal, Issei Hyoudou and Scathach walked out still wearing the warm clothes that the brown-haired boy gave her and his two friends. The moment they exited the portal, Issei let out a small sigh.

Issei: "Finally, we're back"

Scathach: "Yes, that was certainly an experience that I shall not forget"

Issei nodded in agreement, he took out his phone to check the time. When he did, his eyes widen as he saw that it was only five o'clock in the afternoon, only two hours had passed since they were sucked into the portal. It looks like what the system told him was true, a single day in the Red Gate was only an hour out in the real world, he didn't want to know what it would be like if he stayed in that gate for an entire month.

Issei: "Damn..."

Scathach: "What? What is it, Issei?"

Issei: "Only two hours passed out here"

The purple-haired woman was taken aback by this, she didn't expect them to be gone for that short amount of time. She fully expected them to be gone for much longer, looks like she was wrong in the end. That didn't mean that she wants to go back to a place like that and she gets the feeling that Issei doesn't want to either, can't say that she blame him.

After all, Issei did just lose his two friends, the only ones who truly understood him. They weren't meant to get involved with what occurred, they were simply casualties who died a death they did not deserve.

Scathach didn't like perverts, seeing them as simple scumbags who only desired a woman's body and did not see them for who they were. At first, she thought that Motohama and Matsuda were the same. But, after seeing them die before her eyes, the students who she was meant to protect and teach become something greater.

She can't help but feel that she was to blame for all of this, if only she did more... if only she protected them better, maybe then they would still be alive and standing next to her and Issei.

Scathach: "Hey, Issei..."

Issei: "Hm?"

Scathach: "I just wanna say...I'm so-"

???: "Wow, you two look like you've gone through hell itself"

Both Issei and Scathach perked as they turned in the direction of the voice, to his surprise he saw that the owner of the voice was none other than the woman he said hello to when he came back to school.

He can't remember what the woman's name was, but if the rumors said were true then the brown-haired woman before Issei was the school's nurse. The boy finds this strange because he has been to the infirmary numerous times before he obtained the System, not once has he seen her there and that was setting off red flags.

Looking at her now, she was a very beautiful woman but he could feel some sort of aura coming from her. He felt familiar with something that he has felt before in the past, not like years ago but somewhat recent. He wasn't sure if she was a threat or not, she didn't appear to be but looks can be deceiving.

Issei certainly found that out the hard way, if he knew any better then he wouldn't have nearly died at the park.

Scathach: "Chisato..."

The woman named Chisato smiled at Scathach.

Chisato: "It's good to see you, Scathach. I didn't expect you to reveal yourself this soon"

Issei: "You knew who she was?"

Chisato nodded her head.

Chisato: "Yes, I always knew who she was. Anyone could put the pieces together, especially since she didn't change her name"

Scathach: "It had been years since anyone last heard my name, I figured that they had forgotten all about me"

Chisato: "Some have, but I will not"

Issei stared at the brown-haired woman, narrowing his eyes as they started to glow purple slightly.

Issei: "Well then, who exactly are you...?"

This woman was definitely not a human, she had to be a part of the supernatural world. But that just left the most important question, just what was she?

Devil?

Angel?

Fallen Angel?

Dragon?

Or...

Was she a God/goddess?

The woman could be any of those, each so different and yet still a threat to him and every one the boy loved. He may have leveled up since the last time he faced a Supernatural being, but that did not give him the right to be cocky like a certain blonde-haired chicken.

He could still be harmed, he has nearly died numerous times, and he had lost one of his arms. There was still a long strip of road in front of him before he reached level 100, he needed to become even stronger than he currently was.

Chisato: "what do you mean?"

Issei: "Don't play dumb with me, no regular human could figure out Scathach's identity even if she had the same name"

Chisato: "Well, when you put it like that. You do have a point there"

Issei: "So, I'll ask you again..."

Just then, Chisato watched as something began moving within the brown-haired boy's shadow. An armored hand reached out and placed itself on the ground, both she and Scathach watched as Igris rose out of his liege's shadow.

Issei: "Who are you..."

The dark knight turned its head to Chisato who swore she could physically feel the shadow glaring at her, which for one shouldn't be possible along with the fact that a regular human just summoned a shadow monster from their own shadow.

Igris stood up and he drew his massive sword, causing Chisato to sweat slightly as she knew that she can't pick a fight with Issei. It wasn't because she was weak or anything, in fact, she could confidentiality say that she was up there in the top 10 strongest beings in the universe.

But there was just something about Issei that was throwing her off, making her feel a sense of dread that she has not felt for a very long time.

Chisato: "I-I..."

Issei: "You might wanna hurry up, my friend here doesn't like it when I wait"

Chisato gulped as she decided that there was no reason to hide who she was from Issei and Scathach, they both were a part of the supernatural world and there would have been a time that she had to reveal herself eventually.

She sighed in defeat and adjusted her glasses.

Chisato: "While in the human world, I go by Chisato. However, you want to know my actual name...do you?"

Issei nodded his head.

Chisato: "Very well, my actual name is Afureia. I was once a former high-ranking god amongst a group called the Ten Gods who resided in a place we liked to call the Divine Realm.."

Issei's eyes widen, looks like he was right about what Chisato really was. Well, he was sort of correct since he didn't actually have an idea of what she was. He just knew that she had to be one of the most obvious species in the supernatural world, he would have been more surprised if she was actually something like a vampire or maybe a Yokai.

Issei: "You're a god..."

Chisato nodded her head.

Issei: "If you're a God, why are you here then? What's your reason for coming to the human world?"

Chisato let out a small sigh as she stared at the orange sky above them, it had been a very long time since she told anyone the reason for her coming to live among the humans. In fact, she can't remember the last person she told about her choice. If she were to take a pick then it would probably be Michael, leader of the Angels.

Both he and she were very close friends, not to the point of a relationship and they both were alright with that since they sort of had a friendly rivalry with each other. Chisato can't forget the number of times she pranked Michael by painting his wings black, he would freak out for hours before finally realizing that it was only painted.

He tries getting her back, but she was too smart for that holy chicken to try and prank. When Azazel heard the word of what the two do to each other, he would laugh non-stop to the point that both Chisato and Michael feel like they could die.

A small smile grew on Chisato's face, those were some fun memories and she will never forget about them.

Chisato: "Why I came to the human world....that's simple, silly"

She looked at Issei, smiling at him which surprised the boy because just moments ago she looked like she didn't want to say anything unless he threatened her.

Why the sudden change of mood?

Chisato: "I came here because I like it here"

Issei: "You...like the human world?"

Chisato nodded her head.

Chisato: "It's so much different than the Divine Realm, so many beautiful places to visit and new things to discover"

Issei was not sure if she was actually saying the truth or telling a lie, he wouldn't be able to tell either way since he doesn't possess the ability to direct lies. He figures that she was saying the truth because the System had not popped up with an urgent quest yet, so she didn't have any murderous intentions toward him.

Even if she did, Chisato didn't look like the type to just up and murder someone. No, she gave him the feeling of someone who would manipulate their victim's actions and motivations for her own personal gain.

But what would she even manipulate him for?

Power? That can't be it because she was a goddess, she already had all the power she could ever want.

Status? She said that she gave that up and came to the human world, who would do all that and still want status?

Money? Once again, she was a goddess. Why the hell would she desire something like money when she could just make it out of thin air?

All this just further approves the point, Chisato is telling the truth. She really did come to live amongst the humans, guess even a goddess gets tired of being all-powerful.

The brown-haired boy stared at Chisato before he sighed and snapped his fingers, Igris bowed to his liege and slowly disappear back into the boy's shadow.

Issei: "Alright then, I believe you"

Chisato: "Thank you, Issei"

Issei: "Don't mention it, I won't tell anyone your secret"

He then looked at Scathach.

Issei: "Same with you, Scathach"

Scathach: "Thank you, Issei. You're such a kind boy"

Hearing this caused Issei to chuckle as he turned and started to walk off, him a kind boy? Never in his entire life had he heard that from someone.

Issei: "Kind...never thought I would hear that from another woman"

The boy kept on walking until he was out of both Chisato and Scathach's sight, both had placed their hands on their chest when they saw Issei leave the area. Both Chisato and Scathach get the feeling that Issei will be more a part of their lives, their one meeting will not just be a one-time thing.

Issei continued walking down the streets of Kuoh, making his way back to his home as there were a lot of things on his mind right now. The main thing was the fact that both his friends, Motohama and Matsuda were now a part of his shadow army.

If he had to be honest right now, Issei did not know how to feel about what had just happened. Sad? Angry? He wasn't sure because besides the moment of rage, he had against the Ice Elf leader, he actually didn't feel anything when he saw his two best friends die in his arms.

He may have looked calm and collected talking to Scathach and Chisato since speaking with them was a completely different topic. But no matter how hard he was trying, he couldn't shed a single tear. Maybe he did back in the Red Gate, but now that it was over and done with. Issei just feels empty inside, like he knew that their deaths were gonna happen.

Maybe it was because of the System, maybe there was a perk that prevented him from suffering from negative emotions like sadness or fear. He certainly didn't feel anything when he was forced to kill those Fallen Angels that one time, but he had to remember that they were trying to kill him.

As he walked further toward his home, Issei looked at his hand and clenched it. He'll worry about that later, for now, he has something else to worry about.

Issei: 'Was it because of the difference in our strength?'

After the battle was over, Issei tried to bring the Ice Elf leader back to life and make him one of his shadows, but he failed not only once and twice, but three times and after the third he was no longer able to try. This annoyed the brown-haired boy as that bastard could have been useful, but in the end, this allowed the boy to learn what would happen if he failed three times.

It could have happened to Igris, if Issei didn't convince the former blood-red commander to serve him instead of protecting that empty throne.

Issei sighed.

Issei: "At least I got something out of it all"

The boy held out his hand as a blue light appeared, from it came a small bright silver blade with a white glow, a curved edge, and a grey handle.

[Item: Baruka's Dagger]

Level of Difficulty: A

Type: Dagger

Attack +110

Agility +10

Issei had to admit that the ice Elf certainly had an impressive taste in daggers, he had never seen one with such a powerful ability to increase someone's attack by a hundred and ten.

Issei: "I'm glad I was able to obtain this at the least"

(Time Skip Brought to you by Me losing my mind)

Issei let out a small sigh as he rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

Issei: "How did you even get in my room...?"

The boy had arrived at his home not too long ago, but his mother said that he had people waiting for him in his bedroom which confused him because the last time he checked, he locked his door.

So he went upstairs and walked to his bedroom, when he opened the door which was somehow unlocked he saw Sona, Rias, and their Peerage's waiting for him.

Rias: "ISSEI!"

The crimson-red-haired devil girl ran over and hugged the boy tightly, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

Issei: "Why are you hugging me?"

Rias: "Why didn't you show up at the clubroom!?"

Issei sighed.

Issei: "I got caught up in something..."

Sona: "Like what?"

Issei waved off Sona's concern as he gently forced Rias off him, it was getting a bit warm around his neck.

Issei: "It wasn't anything special, I just talked with my teacher"

Rias: "for 2 hours!?"

Issei chuckled nervously as he sweatdropped, nearly forgetting that an hour in the real world was a day in the Red Gate. He hopes that nothing like that ever happens again, the last thing he wants is to make those like his mother and his friends worried.

Issei: "It was a long talk, but enough about that"

He then grew a serious expression.

Issei: "Why are you all in my bedroom?"

Sona looked at Rias who blushed slightly, scratching her cheek nervously.

Sona: "You didn't tell him, did you..."

Rias shook her head, causing the student council president to sigh and shake her head in disappointment.

Sona: "Seriously, Rias. How can you be this forgetful?"

Rias: "I had a lot of work to do before they started!"

Issei raised an eyebrow.

Issei: "Do I even wanna ask?"

Sona: "Both the Occult Research Club and the Student council room are getting cleaned, so we needed a place to hold out meetings until tomorrow"

Hearing this caused Issei to deadpan, they could have chosen any place to have their meetings and yet they picked his house? This was so gonna chew into his mother's money and Issei hasn't gotten the chance to turn the coins he has collected into Money just yet, he should probably get on with that since he's gonna need tons of food for both Yoruichi and Yamato.

Speaking of his pets, they both walked over and started nuzzling their master's legs which made him chuckle.

Girls: 'KWAII!!'

Kiba: '-_- these girls are hopeless'

Saji: 'I work for these people'

Issei: "So you need to have your meetings in my room?"

Sona: "I mean, we don't have to..."

Rias: "Yeah, we can go somewhe-"

Issei stopped Rias by holding up his hand.

Issei: "No, it's fine. Just promise me something"

Rias: "um, sure. What is it?"

Issei: "Neither of you brings up anything supernatural to my mother, I don't want her to know about it just yet"

Rias and Sona fell silent as they looked at each, but then like they were somehow reading each other's mind they smiled and looked back at the brown-haired boy.

Both: "We promise"

Issei: "Good, so should you get started?"

Rias nodded her head as she turned to her Peerage members.

Rias: "Let's begin with this month's contacts"

This got the club members' attention as they looked at the red-haired devil girl.

Rias: "Akeno, Eleven"

The black-haired girl smiled.

Akeno: "That's right"

Rias: "Koneko, ten"

The white-haired girl was busy eating her chocolate bar, but she heard her master and nodded her head.

Issei stared at the girl as he was still wondering to this day how the hell does she get the money to get all those chocolate bars, how much does she spend on a daily basis?

Rias: "Kiba, eight"

Kiba smiled.

Kiba: "It's nothi-"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Everyone perked up as they turned to the door, Issei guessed it was his mother.

???: "Issei, I brought some snacks for you and your friends"

Issei: "Thanks mom, just bring them in"

The door opened to reveal Miki Hyoudou, she smiled as she walked in while holding a plate of food.

Rias and the others thanked her for the food, but she soon brought out what Issei dreaded.

The photo album.

His eyes widen in fear and honor, she wouldn't dare show those embarrassing pictures to his friends. What kind of mother would do that to her own child?

Issei: "Mom! don't you dare!"

Miki stared at her son and giggled.

Miki: "sorry, Issei. But I have too~"

Issei: "Don't!"

Issei's mother opened the photo album and showed it to everyone, revealing all the embarrassing moments in Issei's childhood.

The brown-haired boy tried his best to stop them from looking at it, but Rias had Kiba hold him back.

Issei: "Kiba let me go!"

Kiba: "Sorry, Issei. Presidents orders"

Issei: "Nooo!!!"

Like his first Halloween, where he dressed up as a dragon and did a cute roar. He was around 4-5 or maybe years old, he wanted to experience Halloween for the first time like all the other kids.

He wanted to dress up like a superhero, but changed his mind and went with a dragon costume.

It was a little big though, the hood was sometimes fall on his face and obstruct his vision.

Girls: "KAWAIIIIIII!!!"

As the girls were gushing over the adorable picture, Issei on the other hand was in the corner sulking silently. This was it, this was his end. No amount of levels or weapons from the System could fix what has just been done, his life was ruined by his own mother.

Issei: 'Someone, Kill me...'

Rias turned over to the next page of the photo album, she then raised an eyebrow.

Rias: "Hey, Issei"

Issei: "What?"

Rias: "Who's that next to you?"

Issei sighed, he might as well check out what they were looking at since he was also curious. And so, Issei stood up and walked over to the group, he looked and saw the photo that showed Issei when he was young sitting next to someone with orange hair.

He crossed his arms.

Issei: "If I remember correctly...that was Irina, she was my childhood friend"

Sona: "Wait, you had a childhood friend?"

Issei nodded.

Issei: "Yeah, but back then I was stupid and thought she was actually a boy"

It has been several years since he last saw Irina, and he wonders if she still remembers him. Probably not, she must be at some very fancy school and enjoying the time of her life there. Maybe she has some new friends, is a well-graded student, and must be very popular with everyone.

This was only a theory though, obviously since he hasn't been able to contact her since she and her family moved out of town. He enjoyed playing with her, they were inseparable when they played hero. Issei grew a small smile as he remembered the funny pose they both came up with, it was supposed to be in the shape of a V, but Irina said that it was more of a heart.

That was so funny, maybe one day he'll see her again and maybe she will finally learn that the pose was meant to be a V shape.

Issei: 'Irina...'

Yoruichi and Yamato walled up to their master and nuzzled him, causing the boy to pet the two on the head and smiled.

Issei: "Don't worry, I'm fine"

Kiba: "Hey, Issei..."

Issei looked at Kiba, he saw that the blonde-haired boy was staring at the picture of him and Irina. Issei can tell that it wasn't the picture of Irina, it was something else within the picture.

And Issei has a feeling he knows what it is, Kiba must be staring at the sword that was behind Issei and Irina.

Issei: "What do you need pretty boy?"

Kiba pointed at the sword in the picture.

Kiba: "Do you know about that sword?"

Issei crossed his arms as he started to think to himself, he remembers seeing the sword a bunch of times. However, that was all he knew about it since Irina's parents don't like to talk about it.

Issei: "Don't know much about it, I think Irina's parents had it or something. They always seem to avoid the question when its brought up"

Issei stared into Kiba's eyes, he saw rage within them. Rage that was aimed toward the sword, Issei guessed there was a connection between him and the sword.

Kiba: "I guess anything is possible..."

Meanwhile elsewhere.

Outside of an abandoned church, three figures with white cloaks and a hood and one of them has a wrapped sword on the back they entered the place and analyze it.

??? 1: "It would seem that this place was a battlefield"

??? 2: "Rumor has it that it had something to do with the devils"

??? 3: "Do you think that the Devils could do all this?"

??? 1: "I do not know..."

The first figure removed her hood to reveal that they were a girl with blue hair and a green stride, she then looked at one of her partners.

???: "Are you sure this is the right place, Irina?"

The one named Irina removed their hood to reveal that they were a girl with chestnut hair with twin ponytails.

Irina: "Of course, this is the right place, Xenovia. I used to live here seven years ago, give me a little credit"

She then took out a photo that showed her younger self with Issei, she looked at the photo and smiled.

Irina: "You think he remembers me?"

??? 3: "I'm sure he will, he's your childhood friend right?"

Irina nodded her head.

??? 3: "Then of course he will"

Hearing this caused Irina to smile at the third figure.

Irina: "Thank you, A-"

Xenovia: "That's enough, Irina I do not know your friend. Let's just hope he isn't involved with the devils"

Irina: "Oh, we don't have to worry. Issei doesn't believe in the supernatural"

??? 3: "Is he friendly?"

Irina: "Yep, he's as harmless as a kitten!"

(Time Skip Brought to you by me getting comments to update)

It was a new day in the town of Kuoh, the sun was high in the sky, the birds flew over the buildings, and the flowers were blooming. The day was very beautiful, which was good because today was the start of the student's weekend which meant that they didn't have to go to school for a while.

Issei was gonna use this opportunity to go back to a place he hasn't been to in a very long time, a place where he thought he defeated his first S-Rank boss.

The Demon Castle.

Issei stood in front of the massive tower, red hot flames raging all around the boy but he wasn't really bothered by them since he had more important things to worry about.

He recalls the time he defeated Cerberus, The Gate Keeper of the place he stood in. The brown-haired also remembered the System warning him that Hades, the Greek God of the Underworld was keeping an eye on him. Several days to a week or more have passed since then, yet no God or goddess has turned up at his front door.

Issei will still be cautious, but maybe he won't in the end. Anyways, during that time he faced Cerberus, Issei had just made it past level 20 but since that day he has grown in strength. This means, he hopefully won't be running into as many difficulties as he used to.

Issei held out his hand, a red key appearing.

[Item: Key to the Castle]

Level of Difficulty: A

Type: Key

[Would you like to use the key to enter the Demons' castle?]

Y/N

A small smirk grew on the boy's face, his eyes glowing purple.

Issei: "Yes..."

....

....

....

END OF CHAPTER