The occult club room was bathed in golden afternoon light. Sunbeams filtered through the antique windows and gently reflected off furniture marked by time and history. The air was filled with the quiet rustle of pages as Rias silently flipped through a book full of old, forgotten symbols. At first glance, one might feel the room was peaceful, yet an invisible aura of tension hung around those present.
Akeno sat nearby, her figure elegantly curved, legs gracefully crossed. Her eyes were lost in distant thoughts, yet the faint smile on her lips suggested she didn't mind. Meanwhile, Kiba patiently led Issei around the room, showing him various artifacts as if he were a guide in a museum, his words carrying the clarity of someone who understood the deep secrets of the world they were in.
Issei, still confused yet filled with excitement, tried to take it all in."So... you're seriously telling me you're... devils? Like, real devils?" His words were still full of disbelief, but there was a spark of excitement in his voice.
Rias didn't even lift her head from the book, but her voice was steady and calm. "Yes," she answered confidently. "But not the kind you imagine from fairy tales."
That was when Koneko finally spoke, having been silently sitting on the couch. Her voice, usually quiet, now rang out clearly and firmly: "We don't eat souls or fry people in hell."
Issei, clearly trying to ease the tension, let out a nervous chuckle. "Disappointing," he joked, a smile masking his nerves.
Kiba smiled at him. "On the contrary," he said confidently. "We're like a family. Each of us has a role. And each has a reason for being here."
Issei, still trying to grasp the situation, searched for his place in this strange world. "And me? I'm what—some newbie with special potential? The chosen one?" he asked, half-jokingly.
"That remains to be seen," Akeno replied in a honeyed, mysterious tone that sent a chill down the spine.
"But why me?" Issei asked, now looking directly at Rias. "Why did you save me? Why did you turn me?"
Rias closed the book, calmly placed it on the table, and stood up. Her step was silent, yet carried an inner power that immediately drew the attention of everyone present. As she rose, Issei noticed a faint hint of wings on her back. Dark silhouettes outlined against the golden light, like something far older than he could comprehend.
She approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Because you were supposed to die," she said softly but firmly. "But something in you... burned. Like a flame that refused to go out. So I brought you back. As my servant, but also as a member of our circle."
Issei blushed, trying to keep his composure. He tried to say something, but at that moment the door opened with a soft click.
Mephisto entered the room.
The air instantly changed. Akeno tensed immediately, her body taut like a string. Koneko, who had been sitting on the couch, stood up without hesitation, and Rias, though trying to remain calm, stepped back as if sensing something that did not belong. When Mephisto stepped in, his wings briefly appeared in full form, cloaking his figure, yet radiating something alien to this place.
Mephisto moved calmly, but his presence was like a cold storm. His eyes paused briefly on each person present, finally settling on Rias.
"So this is where the devils gather...," he said softly, but with a tone sharp enough to chill molten metal. "Interesting."
Issei blinked and stepped toward him, still in shock. "Wait... you're also—"
"No," Mephisto interrupted with a faint, knowing smile. "I've known. For a long time. And I don't want to be part of your noble house, Rias."
Rias tried to ease the tension in the air. She stepped forward and raised her hands in a calming gesture, as she was used to doing. "Mephisto, listen to me. I wanted to tell you earlier, but—"
"You didn't need to," he replied calmly, cutting her off with unshakable poise. "Your aura is noticeable from dozens of meters away. Devils, fallen angels, lost souls... This isn't a school. It's a battlefield disguised as everyday life."
The room fell completely silent.
Kiba raised an eyebrow. "You... you know all of it?" he asked, momentarily lost in thought.
"I know the difference between a human and something else. And I know what it means to be
dragged into a world that isn't yours," Mephisto replied, emotionlessly, as if describing something routine.
Rias straightened up, her eyes narrowing slightly. "So who are you, Mephisto? What are you really?"
He smiled, but this time it wasn't his usual smile. This one was sharper, older. "I'm just... nobody."
Akeno took a step closer, as if she sensed something strange. Her magic, tangible to everyone in the room, shimmered slightly in the air. When she looked at him, her wings spread in full, but her gaze
was serious this time.
"You're not ordinary. There's something... unknown in you. Not human. But also not devilish."
Mephisto looked at her, for the first time truly deeply. Their eyes met, and for a moment, time stood still in the room.
"Let's just say I'm not on your side," he finally said quietly. "But I'm not on theirs either. I watch. I observe. And sometimes... I intervene. I'll help when needed."
Issei, still in shock from the entire situation, scratched his head. "That's... pretty cool. And also kinda terrifying," he admitted with a nervous laugh.
Rias returned to him and stepped closer again, this time more calmly. "Do you want to stay, Mephisto? Even with everything you know?"
He looked at her, thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'll stay. But not as your servant. Not as a subordinate."
"As what, then?" Koneko asked softly, her wings still trembling slightly.
"As an observer. And... maybe someone who one day decides which side they truly stand on."
Later, as the sun slowly set and the room was cast into darkness, Akeno found Mephisto alone on the roof. The wind tousled his hair as the stars above gleamed softly like forgotten prophecies. The air was cold, yet Mephisto remained calm, seemingly unaffected by the temperature.
"You're not as ordinary as you pretended to be," Akeno said as she approached him, her wings gently fluttering but still visible.
"And you're not as innocent as you try to appear," Mephisto replied with a calm smile. But this smile wasn't the usual one. This one was deeper, as if he knew something about Akeno that even she hadn't discovered yet.
Akeno froze, her gaze dropped to the ground, as if lost in thought for a moment. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice quiet, with a nervous tremor beneath it.
Mephisto looked at her, his eyes firm and intense, as if seeing through all her masks. "You're hiding something, Akeno. Something you don't want to show. Something that lives inside you, whether you deny it or not. And it's not something you should be hiding."
His words struck a place Akeno had hidden for years. "I... I don't want to show it," she said quietly, her wings briefly spreading before instinctively folding them back. "I can't show it. No one should know."
"And why not?" Mephisto asked, his voice soft but deep.
"What you carry inside doesn't define you. But it's a part of you, Akeno. Whether you like it or not. And maybe it's exactly that part that makes you strong. Maybe that part is your strength."
Akeno tried to control her emotions. "This... this isn't something I should reveal."
"Maybe not to others," Mephisto said calmly.
"But to me. You can show me what you hide. Because it's not weakness, Akeno. It's your power. And hiding it only makes you weaker. Try to look at it differently. Don't be afraid of the part of you that you are. Don't be afraid of who you are. In what you are... there is strength. Strength that could protect you."
His words whispered gently deep inside Akeno, and as she heard them, she felt her inner walls beginning to loosen. Maybe it wasn't a weakness. Maybe it was her true strength.
Akeno looked at him, her voice shaking, but not from fear. "Do you mean it?" she asked, relief beginning to show in her tone.
"You really think it's not weakness?"
Mephisto looked at her with deep understanding. "No, Akeno. It's not weakness. It's part of you. And sometimes, the thing we hide the most is what defines us the most. You have to accept it. You have to accept yourself."
Akeno took a deep breath, her wings slowly straightening and then folding back against her body. It was like lifting a heavy weight off her shoulders—something she hadn't even realized had been weighing her down. Maybe for the first time in her life, she felt like she wasn't alone. That someone understood her inner struggle. And that someone didn't judge her—but instead helped her rethink her life.
"Thank you," she said softly, both gratitude and strength now clear in her voice. "Thank you for being here."
"You're welcome," Mephisto replied calmly. His voice was warm and yet still strong.
"I'm here because I want you to become stronger. I'm here because I know you can. And I'll stand by your side."
Akeno looked at Mephisto, and as a new bond grew between them, she felt this wasn't just friendship. It was something much stronger. Maybe it was the path she had to walk—to finally find herself.