Dxd: A demon Among Devils

~ I have added this Fanfic to my Patreon. If you'd like to read advanced chapters, feel free to check it out!

~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +50 this weekend!

~ I've edited some of the previous chapters to remove anything you might consider "cringe" or "unnecessary." I'll continue reviewing them from time to time!

~ Very soon, we'll return to releasing two chapters daily, including bonus privileges for Power Stone contributions

<><><><><><><>

"If you strain yourself like that, you will be sore for a very long time."

She nodded dumbly, and the eye not covered in the metal mask glanced up at him in surprise.

He regarded the rest of them clinically and was relieved to note that the injuries they sported were far less serious. It meant a Mediarama would suffice. Some of them murmured as they felt and watched their wounds reclose.

If they were impressed by this, then Asia's Twilight Healing would leave them gaping. The girl had not managed to use her Sacred Gear to its full potential before she was taken out of the fight, but he had sensed long ago that her ability far surpassed some of his Personas when it came to healing. Even Io would be hard pressed to match it. But what Yukari's Persona lacked when compared to Asia, it more than made up for with combat ability. He had seen Io in action against the Shadows enough times to have a healthy respect for it. That was the difference between Personas and Sacred Gears, he supposed. Personas were versatile and could be adapted to any situation. Depending on which one was summoned, they could attack, heal, and defend with equal vigor. Compare that to Asia's Twilight Healing which could only heal, or Kiba's Sword Birth, which could only be used to attack, and it was clear which one was superior.

But then again, he would always be biased towards matters like these, and any judgments from him would always side with the power he was most used to.

He nodded, satisfied, when the last of them was fully healed. He spun on his feet to leave, and found his path barred by a tall, graceful figure with long purple hair. His Queen. Yubelluna, he had learned, was her name.

"Why?"

He ignored her. His work was done and there was no reason to linger. He made for the door, feeling their mistrustful gazes boring into his back. Then he remembered something, and paused. He turned to the Knight he had wounded in the Rating Game, the one that had watched him from above, and the one that had sacrificed herself to take out Asia.

"That tactic," he inclined his head to the comatose body in the background, and the only male one in the room, "did he force you to do that?"

She seemed taken aback by that question, and then, as though fully comprehending what he had just said, a sudden fierceness took over her, protective and defiant.

"No. Never. He would never make us do something like that," she glared at him, "It was our idea. If it meant giving our master a chance to win, we would gladly sacrifice ourselves for him."

He smiled at her, smiled at them.

Devils, not demons.

He turned to Yubelluna, who had been watching the whole exchange with wide eyes.

"Because you are not bad people," he said and walked out the door.

"You really did it, didn't you?"

Again she was sitting at the table, but there was no drunkenness to her this time. Her eyes were wide and alert, and they travelled up and down his frame as though that alone would be enough to give her the answer she desired. He sighed as he closed the door behind him. The trade-off between a drunk Raynare and a sober Raynare was that the drunk one did not ask nearly as many questions.

"What did you do?" the woman's tone was still impatient, but for the most part had lost its bitterness, "Summon Metatron again and have him tear off their wings?"

The sarcasm was thick, but he did not mind. Sarcasm was better than sullenness, after all. It meant they could have a cordial conversation at the very least. He set the backpack he had carried into the apartment down to the floor. It let out a dull, muted clunk when it touched the wooden surface.

Raynare's gaze flickered to it curiously.

"Belial," he corrected.

She blinked at him. The expression on her face was almost amusing. Almost.

"Belial," she repeated slowly, disbelievingly, "You are being serious aren't you?"

When he nodded, she broke into incredulous laughter. It was not an unpleasant sound, he was forced to admit.

"I never really stood a chance against you, did I?" a sad smile spread over her lips, and he noticed that one of her hands had dropped down to rub the place Metatron had planted his blade.

"You managed to place two light spears in my body," he replied, "That was sufficiently more than what they achieved."

Somehow, that seemed to placate her, for her mouth suddenly curled upwards in a wicked grin.

"I would have liked to seen that. Devils being chased by a greater devil. There's something poetically ironic about that," she smirked, "If only Issei was on the other side. Him and his little friends. But that's not going to happen, is it? Still, he must have been the first one to fall. He's that useless."

He raised an eyebrow at the glee in her voice. He supposed he should be disturbed.

"You seem to take comfort in another person's weakness."

She crossed her arms across her chest. The way she did so made it seem like a pout. Just another of her mannerisms that he was slowly getting used to.

"And why shouldn't I? They're weak because they're pathetic. And pathetic people should be made fun of. Just like that idiot, Issei."

He regarded her neutrally.

"You are a very good hypocrite."

"What?" her face was the perfect picture of confusion.

"Asia was weak. Weaker than Issei. At least he could defend himself. And yet you kept Asia by your side for not an insignificant amount of time."

<><><><><><><>

~ If you like the story, please leave a review!

~ Push the Story forward with your [Power

Stones]

~ (Soon +50) Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!

https://p-atreon.com/Anshufanfic

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)