A crimson magic circle lit up not far away. From it emerged an anxious Rias, accompanied by Koneko.
Rias was frightened. Because of Daniel's situation, she had contacted her family in search of information, hoping to find a similar case. The records she received mentioned nothing alike; the closest reference was mutated Evil Pieces. Even so, she had been so absorbed in the data that she ignored her familiar, whom she had tasked with watching Issei, only to realize too late that he was in danger.
Without hesitation, she grabbed Koneko, who had been at the club, and rushed through a teleportation spell.
Upon arrival, she was stunned by the scene: Issei lay bleeding on the ground; Daniel, with a light spear lodged in his abdomen, was gasping on his knees; and a fallen angel coughed blood while struggling to stand.
Wasn't it supposed to be just Issei? Where had Daniel come from?
Confused, she stepped closer. Koneko was already by her side, running to Daniel's aid.
The fallen angel, Dohnaseek, staggered upright, cautiously eyeing the new arrivals. When he noticed the crimson-haired young woman before him, he understood.
"So it's no coincidence things turned out this way, huh? Gremory?"
Rias looked at him in bewilderment. She had no idea what the fallen angel was talking about. How could he possibly know what had happened here when she had just arrived? Unsure of what to say, she asked:
"Was it you who hurt my precious servants?"
"Heh… I mistook them for strays devils, but it seems I've already paid the price, don't you think?" Dohnaseek replied, spitting another mouthful of blood.
"I don't wish to start a war between devils and the fallen. So I'll be leaving, Gremory. Remember my name: Dohnaseek."
With that, he spread his wings and flew off, leaving a trail of blood behind.
Rias watched him for a moment before turning her attention back to Issei and Daniel.
Issei remained on the ground, bleeding heavily. Daniel had also lost consciousness, and Koneko was carefully carrying him.
The stark difference in treatment made Rias's lips tighten.
"Buchou is hurt. We need to heal him quickly," Koneko exclaimed while holding Daniel in her arms.
"Um… Koneko, Daniel isn't the only one injured here, you know," Rias reminded her.
Koneko tilted her head in mild confusion before glancing at Issei lying on the ground.
"Oh, he looks like he's going to die. We should heal him too."
Suppressing a grimace, Rias chose to attribute Koneko's apparent indifference to her usual cold demeanor.
"All right, how should we heal them?" she muttered, noting the severity of their wounds. She would need to bathe them in magic all night. But who should she start with? After a brief pause, an idea crossed her mind, and she smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll heal you both thoroughly, because you're my precious servants."
Soon, the glow of demonic magic filled the circle, and the square was left silent and empty.
---
Issei opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. It was different from the one he remembered, and, confused, he wondered why his alarm hadn't gone off yet.
Lately, he had been having strange dreams: a girlfriend named Yuuma-chan stabbing him, then another weirdo doing the same. Could it be a sign? Should he start stuffing manga magazines under his clothes for protection?
Puzzled, he turned his body—and froze. Something warm was touching his back. Curious, he reached out to feel it. It was hot, large, and… hard? Alarmed, he turned his head and saw a young man lying next to him. What he had been touching was the man's arm.
Terrified, he jumped out of bed and hit the floor. The cold air on his skin revealed the shocking truth: he was naked.
Even more panicked, he covered himself with his hands and crawled to the wall.
"This is a dream, right? A nightmare? Why on earth would I be sleeping naked with a guy?"
Shaking, Issei kept muttering while banging his forehead against the wall.
The noise stirred Rias, who was dozing while cuddling Daniel on the other side of the bed.
She slowly sat up and let out a sweet yawn. Then she stretched her arms, revealing her voluptuous curves. Like Issei and Daniel, she was completely naked.
At another time, Issei would have enjoyed the sight. But now, in the middle of an existential crisis, he barely noticed.
Rias regarded him curiously.
"Good morning, Issei-kun. You're awfully lively this early, huh?"
Hearing the female voice, Issei froze and turned toward the bed. There, a stunning red-haired beauty greeted him.
"Rias-senpai? Is this a dream? Yeah, it must be."
He seemed convinced that everything before him was an illusion.
"This isn't a dream. Nothing you've experienced these past few days was. I'm Rias Gremory, a devil and also your master," she replied with a smile. Then, hugging the unconscious Daniel, she continued, "And this is Daniel, also a devil. We're at his house, by the way… may I call you Ise?"
Still dazed, Issei nodded. His foggy mind barely managed another question:
"Why am I here?"
"I needed to heal you both, and Daniel had the biggest bed," Rias answered with another smile.
"Heal us? How?" Issei asked, inspecting his abdomen.
"I infused magic into your bodies. For it to work properly, we need direct skin-to-skin contact."
At this, Issei began fantasizing, a string of drool slipping from his mouth.
Rias continued:
"It was faster to treat both of you at the same time, so here we are, all naked~"
The lovely images in Issei's mind instantly shattered, replaced with scenes of horror. Instinctively, he clenched his rear and shielded his body as he trembled.
"Um… Rias-senpai, my clothes?"
Rias paused, trying to remember.
"Oh, they're on the floor near the door. I thought of placing them on a table or something, but as you can see, Daniel's room only has the bed."
Issei nodded and hurried to get dressed.
Rias added:
"If you see Koneko outside, tell her I'm not done with Daniel yet and it'll take longer. She should inform Sona about the delay."
Issei nodded again and rushed out.
---
Rias watched him leave with a smile. But once the door closed, her expression hardened.
With a frown, she pulled back the blanket and inspected Daniel's wound. Even after a whole night of channeling magic into him, it hadn't fully healed.
Her concern grew. The strange gray energy seemed to increase the amount of magic required to restore him.
With a sigh, she cast a sleeping spell on Daniel and lay back down, wrapping her arms around him. Whatever it was, Daniel was her servant now, and she cherished all of them. Besides, this young man's potential was remarkable. Her familiar had witnessed the fight and confirmed it: injuring a fallen angel as a newly reincarnated devil was no small feat, not to mention that he had already defeated two stray devils even before becoming one.
Rias felt increasingly satisfied with him.
"Luckily, we found him in time. Losing him would've been a terrible waste of talent," she murmured.
With Daniel reinforcing her household, she felt more confident in achieving her goal.
And then there was Issei, who seemed… resilient? At the very least, he recovered quickly.
Rias closed her eyes and continued the treatment.