Issei Hyoudou, smiled as he escorted Chiori Sudou inside the beautiful hotel. Hidden behind his smile and his warm eyes is an experienced look as he analyzes every point of entry he can. 

'You should be more relaxed, Issei,' the voice of his Soul Ally echoed in his mind as he and Chiori walked across the room. 

'I know, but we are essentially in enemy territory,' 

"Mr. Hyoudou," A blonde-haired man greeted with a smile. Unlike his younger siblings that he met a few days ago, Issei noted his more polite and kind demeanor. "It's a pleasure to meet you here," 

"The pleasure is mine, Ruval Phenex. I hope your new suit matches your expectations," 

"It does," Ruval said with a smile, showing off the suit he wore. It was a beautiful three-piece suit that matched well with his build, hair, and eyes. "Oh, and who is this lovely lady with you?" 

"Ruval, this is Chiori Sudou," 

"Not bad, the overall design is good," Chiori bluntly said. "I am Chiori, Chiori Sudo, nice to meet you," 

"You must be Lady Kayo's daughter. It is an honor to meet you," 

"And you must be the one my mother used to weave fireproof clothes for. I figured you would be taller," 

"My wife certainly wished I would be taller when we first met," Ruval said with a small smile. 

"Brother," Turning his attention to the side, Issei saw the drill-haired blonde at the meeting with Rias a few days ago. "Excuse me—you!"

"Yes?" Issei asked with a teasing smirk, enjoying how shorter she was compared to him. 

"Ah, Ravel. I believe you two haven't met before. This is Issei Hyoudou, one of my tailors and someone I highly recommend, and with him is Chiori Sudou, one of our parents' tailors." 

"We met before," Ravel said with a blush, remembering how her older brother's attack did nothing to the man in front of her. "It's a pleasure to meet the both of you," 

"The pleasure is mine," Issei replied while inside, he wanted to take out his spirit looms as he sensed a familiar presence. It was dark and repulsive... domination... corruption. 'Did you feel that?' 

'Yeah, I felt it. Someone's keeping an eye on you and he does not look friendly... on the inside,' 

'good,' escorting Chiori to their table, 'make sure to keep an eye on him,' 

'Got it!' 

Throughout the night, Issei and Chiori mingled with the other guests while Aegis kept an eye on the presence Issei felt. 

"Good job with not snapping inside," Issei said with a smile, holding a pair of wine glasses with a bottle of wine in one hand. 

"It was close, I want your help with making several clothes," 

"Why?" 

"Someone wanted to keep an eye on you all night," 

"You felt that?" 

"Yes, you are not the only one aware of the supernatural, Soul Weaver," 

"Huh, that's a surprise," Handing her a glass, the young man expertly filled her glass with wine before doing the same with his. 

"This isn't your first time," 

"High society? Nope. I escorted my friend several times to some parties. Way too much of a headache," 

"True," Chiori said with a shrug before looking up at him after seeing the suit jacket she wove around her shoulders. 

"Don't mention it," Issei said with a smile, his eyes looking at the people dancing inside. "So, what's your story?" 

"A new dress," 

"Really? Fine." 

"Father is an Onmyoji," Chiori revealed. "My mother is a powerful Magician," 

"I noticed," Hearing this, Chiori looked at Issei with a raised brow. "Her voice, she uses verbal spells a lot, possibly a song? Not only that, her footsteps are too silent and her movements are too graceful. A future sight user," 

"Not bad. What's your secret, perv?" Chiori asked with a blank tone that hid a certain teasing intention from those who knew her. 

"Well, let's say I got Alice in Wonderland and somehow got exposed to orbs of extremely condensed elements and I got to use magic thanks to them," 

"Soul Weaver." 

"My best friend and someone I see as a brother taught me how to weave with souls," Issei revealed with a smile. A young man with white hair and a goatee appeared in his mind. "I can teach you if you want," 

"What's the catch? You're gonna sniff my panties?" 

"If it's your bra, then I'll keep it as a trophy," Issei said with a shrug. 

"Breast lover," 

"Boobs are the hopes and dreams of all men," 

"How shameless..." Gently, Chiori held his arm and took a sip from his glass, leaving the red mark of her lipstick on it. "An indirect kiss is all I will offer," 

"Pfft, and risk boss ma'am and boss sir killing me? I'm dumb but not suicidal," Issei said with a scoff before patting her head. "I'll teach you if you join my faction," 

"Wuss," She whispered with a sigh, hiding the smile on her face by sipping her wine. "I'll consider it after you take me to that new cafe downtown," 

"Deal," 

'Issei, the man teleported away,' Aegis said through their shared bond. 'Call me if you need help, I'm always by your side,' 

'Thank you, Aegis.'

Dragonlord faction headquarters

Location: Somewhere in the void between dimensions

Elysia Shariac smiled as she looked at the newest castle that she commissioned, an improved version of Issei's former Dragonlord keep gifted to him by the King of Greenguard after the final battle between Sepulchure's Shadowscythe empire and the forces of lore. With her mastery of magic and the help of Ophis and Great Red, their neighbor and occasional visitor, she managed to pull together and set up a portal back to Lore with the help of the Creatioux. While it is not the Lore they know exactly, it was similar enough. 

"Oh my, please stop teasing Ophis, Red." 

"HAHAHA! But my little sister needs to get out of her shell!" 

"I do not need to get out of my shell Baka-red. I am not your little sister." 

"Midget." 

"Now, calm down you two." Smiling at the Dragon gods, Elysia gently lowered a plate of cookies on the table used by the Dragon god of Infinity in the form of a little girl while the DxD took the form of a teenage boy with red hair. Seeing the smile, the Dragon of Dreams and the Dragon of Infinity sat straight and stopped arguing with each other after Elysia showed them a slipper with metallic studs. "Good, enjoy your snacks," 

"Elysia, mail." Holding her hand out, Elysia took the letter from a dove. 

It was addressed to her lord.

"Archangel Michael wants to meet Issei? I wonder why?" 

"Elysia, sorry for barging in, but where's Issei?" Bianka Ataegina, dressed in a military uniform, asked while panting lightly. 

-=--=-=-=-

Issei looked at Ruval inside the privacy of his study, holding a glass of wine. 

"Be honest with me, Issei. Do you think my brother will win the unofficial rating game tomorrow?" Ruval asked, looking out the window. 

"Depends. Rias and the others have potential. If they all fought Riser then there's a chance Rias will win," Issei said while looking at the wine in his hand. "A week is not enough to fully train them against an immortal. They have potential but they are... lazy," 

"How about you, how will you fare against my brother?" 

"I'm just a weaver, mister Phenex," Issei said with a smile. 

"No ordinary weaver, mage or not, will be able to catch the attention of Lady Leviathan," Ruval said with a smile. 

"Who knows,"

"This is it for us," Issei said as he looked at a text from Chiori. Taking a stand from his seat, Issei offered his hand to Ruval. The party, while a bit boring, was a lot more fun than he thought it would be. Ruval's personality was also quite pleasant compared to his younger brother and Chiori got along well with Ruval's little sister. "Although, Chiori might drag your sister to the shop sometime from now..." 

"She is... strong-willed..." The devil and the hero laughed nervously as a pair of women, Chiori and an unknown yet beautiful woman entered the door with Ravel. 

"You too?" They asked each other. "Mood kindred..." 

"MOOD KINDRED!"