Issei walked toward the old school building with unwavering composure. To his right, Asia followed closely behind, holding his arm with a mixture of shyness and relief. But it was the figure walking two steps behind them that made the air vibrate with an unnatural tension.
Raynare, the proud fallen angel who had tried to kill him days before, walked with her head down, in absolute submission, her gaze fixed on the ground. Every time she tried to stray too far, the mark on her chest pulsed with a crimson glow, reminding her who owned her.
As the doors to the Occult Research Club opened, silence fell immediately. Kiba half-drew his sword, Koneko assumed a fighting stance, and Akeno dropped a tea tray that shattered on the floor. Rias leaped to her feet, her aura of destruction manifesting instinctively.
"Issei! Back off!" Rias shouted, her eyes fixed on the fallen angel. "How dare you bring that woman here? Get away from her right now!"
Issei didn't back down. On the contrary, he stood in the center of the room and raised a hand, indicating calm.
"Relax, Rias. There's no danger," Issei said in a voice so gentle it disarmed the aggression in the air. "She's no longer our enemy."
"What are you talking about? She's a fallen angel! She's the same one who tried to kill you!" Rias exclaimed, her voice filled with a mixture of confusion and fury.
Issei glanced sideways at Raynare and, in a firm but calm tone, gave her an order:
—Introduce yourself to the heir of the Gremory Clan.
Raynare stepped forward, clenching her fists in visible humiliation, and knelt deeply before Rias, touching the ground with her forehead.
"I am Raynare..." she murmured, her voice trembling. "Servant and shield of Master Hyoudou Issei. I have sworn absolute loyalty to his soul. My past actions have been erased by my new contract. I beg for mercy from the owner of this territory... by order of my lord."
The shock in the room was absolute. Akeno covered her mouth with her hand, and Rias felt her legs give way, forcing her to lean against her desk. It wasn't a demon contract or an ordinary magical alliance; she could feel the pressure of Issei's aura enveloping the very existence of the fallen.
"Issei... what have you done?" Rias whispered, looking at him as if she were a complete stranger. "Subduing a fallen angel of that rank... forcing her to swear loyalty like that... Not even high-class devils can do something like that without using chess pieces."
"I devised a different method, Rias," Issei replied, approaching her with a gentle look to calm her agitation. "Asia needed protection, and I needed information. Raynare will be useful to both of us. She's not a piece on your board, but she'll work for us."
Rias glanced at Asia, who was smiling innocently, and then at Issei, who radiated an almost godlike confidence. She realized that the Issei before her not only didn't need her protection, but was playing in a league she was only just beginning to understand.
"You've changed the rules of the game, Issei," Rias said, catching her breath but keeping her eyes fixed on him. "What do you intend to do now that you have a Fallen under your complete control?"
Issei made a decision that would shatter the entire supernatural hierarchy in Kuoh. With a serene smile, he looked at Rias, who was still processing the image of him falling to his knees.
"Asia can't go back to that church, Rias. It's not safe, and she deserves a real home," she explained firmly. "She'll be moving in with me. My parents have plenty of space and will be delighted to have someone as kind as her."
"And her?" Akeno asked, pointing at Raynare with a raised eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're planning to put a Fallen under the same roof as your human parents."
"Raynare will come as well," Issei declared. He looked at his new servant with cold eyes. "She will act as Asia's personal bodyguard around the clock. If a single hair on Asia's or my parents' heads is damaged, the seal will instantly consume their souls. In addition, she will serve as an assistant in the house to atone for her sins."
The scene was surreal: the Sekiryuutei, an excommunicated nun with a legendary Sacred Gear, and a disgraced fallen angel, all living under an ordinary suburban roof. Upon arriving at the Hyoudou residence, the situation was curiously comical. Issei's parents, with their usual boundless hospitality, greeted Asia with tears of joy, adopting her almost instantly as the daughter they never had.
"Oh, Issei! She's a lovely girl!" exclaimed his mother, hugging an embarrassed Asia.
"And is she... a foreign friend too?" her father asked, looking at Raynare, who was now dressed in simple civilian clothes and trying to hide her hateful gaze behind a mask of servitude.
"She's an assistant who helps me with my studies and will protect Asia while I'm gone, Dad," Issei lied with astonishing ease.
That night, the atmosphere in the house was strange. While Asia slept peacefully in her new room, Issei stood in the hallway with Raynare, who was standing like a statue in front of the girl's door.
"Don't try anything, Raynare," Issei whispered, letting the Boosted Gear gauntlet manifest for a second, illuminating the corridor with a crimson glow. "I know deep down you hate me, but if you fulfill your duty, perhaps one day you'll find redemption."
Raynare lowered her gaze, clenching her fists. The bond of the contract compelled her not only to obey, but to feel a strange need to please her master.
—I understand... Master. The girl will be safe. No one will get in my way.
"What a family dynamic you've created, mate," Ddraig mocked. "You've got the enemy washing the dishes and the saint sleeping in the next room. Rias must be dying of curiosity."
"This is just the beginning, Ddraig," Issei thought as he retreated to his room. "Tomorrow we'll begin the real training. I need Asia to learn to defend herself and Raynare to become strong enough to face those who will come looking for her."
Raynare closed her eyes and sent the message. Within minutes, the air above the garden distorted. Two figures descended: Kalawarner and Mittelt, the petite girl with blond hair tied in pigtails.
"Raynare! You've finally shown signs of life!" exclaimed Mittelt, landing with a malicious grin. "Where's the nun? And... what's this human doing standing there like he owns the place?"
Dohnaseek appeared a second later, landing heavily.
"Don't waste time, Mittelt. Let's kill the boy and take the girl to Kokabiel."
Issei stepped forward. His gaze was not that of a student, but that of an executioner.
—Dohnaseek... in the future I lived in, you were a cowardly hindrance. I don't need someone like you on my new board.
"What are you talking about, worm?" roared Dohnaseek, throwing a spear of light at point-blank range.
Issei didn't even blink. He caught the spear with his bare hand and disintegrated it with sheer physical pressure. Before Dohnaseek could process what had happened, Issei appeared before him. His hand closed around the fallen man's neck, lifting him off the ground as if he were a feather.
"Ddraig, eliminate the noise," Issei stated with glacial coldness.
"BOOST! BOOST! PENETRATE!" boomed the dragon's voice.
A burst of concentrated crimson energy erupted from Issei's palm, piercing Dohnaseek's chest. There were no screams, only a blast of fire that consumed the fallen man's body, reducing it to ashes that scattered across the garden.
Mittelt and Kalawarner recoiled, terrified and pale-faced. They had never seen a human—or any being—wipe out a middle-class Fallen so easily.
"Now," Issei said, dusting his hands as he looked at the two remaining women, "you have a choice he didn't have."
Issei struck the ground with his foot and the Dragon's Servitude Seal activated beneath his feet, trapping them in a dome of crushing gravity.
"Wait! Don't kill us!" Mittelt shrieked, falling to his knees under the pressure. "I'll do anything you want! I'll be your pet, your servant, anything!"
Kalawarner, trembling, lowered his head.
—I give up... I can't fight that power.
Issei extended his hands, and the two seals sank into the chests of the Fallen. Their screams of submission were complete. The bond closed, anchoring their souls to Issei's will. Seconds later, the group of three Fallen (Raynare, Kalawarner, and Mittelt) were kneeling before him.
"Mittelt, your speed will be useful for aerial surveillance," Issei ordered. "Kalawarner, you and Raynare will be in charge of internal security. From today onward, this house is dragon territory. Stand up."
—Yes... Master —the three of them answered in unison.
"Short and sweet, mate," Ddraig remarked. "Dohnaseek wasn't cut out for this new world, but these three will give you a perfect spy network."