Many were not aware of this fact, but the foreign red-haired beauty that was Rias Gremory was not human.
In fact, none of the members of her club, the Occult Research Club, were humans either. They were all Devils.
If you believed the bible, they were inhuman beasts who tempted humans to sin. They were partially right—they did tempt humans to sin, but they rarely asked for souls. They offered Faustian contracts to people, in exchange for monetary wealth or items. They were hardly the demons that many, especially the Vatican church, made them out to be. If anything, a good majority of Devilkind were very pleasant. Especially those of the Pillar of Gremory. Among the 72 clans, they were widely known for their loving and caring nature—especially for their servants.
Rias was no exception. She loved and cared for her Servants. In fact, she enrolled them in Kuoh Academy in the hopes of living out something akin to as close to a normal life as they could get. They deserved it, after all the hardships they went through.
However… being kind-hearted does not make her soft. When required, Rias would be as fierce and as demonic as was expected of a Devil. Alongside Sona Shitori, otherwise known as Sona Sitri, heir to the Pillar of Sitri, they controlled the majority of Kuoh City. The entire rural countryside was their territory, and they were expected to manage.
Some odd weeks ago, they received reports of Fallen Angels taking up residence in the old abandoned church on the outskirts of town. Since they were in the midst of a ceasefire, hostilities were meant to be taken as seriously as possible while also treading very carefully. A small misstep could lead to a war. No one wanted that, especially not her or her family. As such, she and Sona had their servants keep a close eye on the group, trying to discern their intentions.
Imagine her surprise, merely a few days ago, when she learned from Koneko that one of the Fallen in her territory had approached someone that Sona had been curious about for quite a while now:
Haru Hyoudou.
Upon hearing this, she became curious herself. Why had the Fallen approached Hyoudou as they did? She didn't detect anything unordinary about him. He didn't even seem to have a Sacred Gear. So why?
Just in case, she had Koneko keep a close eye on the pair. Regardless of how or why, Haru Hyoudou was being targeted by the Fallen. Failure to protect him meant that she was unfit to protect her own territory. She would not allow that to happen. Besides, she found the boy to be something of an amusement.
It was hardly normal to encounter someone who was so engrossed in their lust, especially so openly.
"Kiba." Rias called from her seat, moving the Rook piece adjacent to her Pawn. It blocked the advance the opposing King, though close by was the Knight, ready to open a hole. "Is Koneko following them?"
The blonde teen nodded. "Hai, buchou." he reported. "So far, the date is going rather normally."
Rias nodded, thanking him for the report. Even so, she was still troubled. She still had no idea why the Fallen were targeting someone so… normal. Well, as normal as one could be.
"Why target Hyoudou-kun?" Rias hummed to herself, a finger drumming against the chessboard. "What's the reason...?"
The date had ended rather well on a high-note, all things considered. He managed to put together a plan at the last moment. He took her out to lunch, then shopping, then a movie. She looked like she enjoyed it… at least, he thought he did. She pretty much had a smile on her face throughout the whole thing. Right now, they were standing in front of the fountain over at the park.
It was a pretty romantic scene one would see in visual novels, especially with the sun setting over the horizon.
"I had a lot of fun today," Yuuma said, her back facing him. "It's been so long since I've felt like this."
"R-Really? That's awesome. I'm really glad..." He breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god for that!
"Say... Haru-kun?" Slowly, the girl turned around to face him. Her face was bashful, pink dusted on her cheeks. "There's something that I really, really want… do you think you can give it to me?"
The redhead swallowed the lump in his throat. Was this it? Was this really happening?! Were… were they really going to...? If that were the case, why… why did he feel suddenly so alarmed? His headache was growing worse by the second. His heart was starting to thump against his chest, beating on his ribcage like a drum. "U-uh, sure!" he nodded, trying to ignore the feeling. "Whatever it is, you name it!"
"Really?" Yuuma's eyes lit up with excitement. Somehow, it felt off. "Then..." She stepped forward. Their bodies felt like they were about to touch, though she had stopped just in front of him and leaned forward, whispering something into his ear. Something that made his blood run cold. "... will you die for me ?"
Now, he understood why. How his body reacted so badly. Yuuma's voice… it had changed. No longer was it that sweet and beautiful tone that made it sound like music to his ears. It was cold, mature… malicious. A tone that sent shivers down his back.
"I-I'm sorry," he said, backing away as far as he could. "I don't I-I heard you correctly… w-what did you say you wanted, Yuuma-chan?"
The girl gave him a sickly sweet smile. "I said," she spoke, her voice chilling and mature with an alluring, dangerous tone. "Will you die for me?"
His body burned up. Something about her words lit something aflame in his chest. His head pulsated with agonizing pain. Through this pain came a foreign feeling, swelling and bubbling up to the surface. He wasn't sure why, but he threw himself to the ground. He was glad he had, for no sooner had he moved did a spear of light pierce into the ground he was standing on. His eyes went wide, heart thumping, and looked at Yuuma.
He gasped. Behind her back were wings. Feathery, black wings. Almost like the wings of a crow.
"Oh?" She raised a brow. "You were fast enough to dodge that one. How unexpected." She frowned condescendingly.
He stared back in horror. He had no idea what was happening. He couldn't even feel the way his hand was burning. "W-what the hell's going on?" he whispered. "Yuuma-chan, wha-what the fuck ARE you?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" She questioned as she materialized another spear in her hand. "I am the one who kills you."
"You know… I have to say, the date was a bit of fun." Yuuma remarked off-handedly, speaking of the event as if it were little more than just a bit of fun she had on the side. "It was a lot like pretend. You did keep me amused. Still, even now I don't get what's so special about you." Her eyes narrowed as she twirled her spear around in her hand, looking down on him with disdain. "You don't have any magic power from what I can tell. And you don't even have a Sacred Gear. Why does a filthy human like you interest Azazel-sama so much?"
The redhead couldn't find anything to say. He was too shocked, too overwhelmed. His heart was racing. His body was growing hotter. The pain in his head was growing worse. As he tried to stand, he felt his head rattle. Biting his lip, he fell to his knee, a hand at his temple. His skull was throbbing. It felt like it was going to split open.
"Humans like you are so disgusting." the winged woman said, voice laced heavily with disgust. "You think you're better than everyone else. You're nothing but lowly vermin, better off groveling on the ground we walk upon." She stopped twirling the spear in her hand around, grasping it tightly in her hand. "Now then… let's finish this farce, shall we?"
S-somebody... Haru thought in despair, looking on in horror. His eyes locked onto the spear as Yuuma reared her arm back, readying to throw it. A-anybody… please...!
Yuumna's face curled into a sickening, cold smile. "Now then… die for me, Haru-kun!"
She threw the spear, hurling it straight at his heart.
HELP ME!
Then his mind went blank.