The Second Coming of the Messiah

Makoto sat impatiently within the "Club Room" as Rias dubbed the building located on the outskirts of Kuoh Academy. He was requested to follow Rias to allow the Gremory to explain herself further.

The resting body of Issei was strewn across her couch, having been placed there by the Gremory herself after the three had returned to the academy grounds by foot. A few passersby had tried to ask if his "friend" was alright, but quick applications of illusions by Rias had caused the trip to go by without incident.

"Where would you like me to begin, Death-Dono?" Rias finally questioned, causing the eyes of her peerage members to widen exponentially.

Death-Dono?

"I am not 'Death', I am Makoto." He tried to explain, but the flat look he received in turn showed that he could not convince the Devil otherwise. The way her shoulders squared and her head tilted back, like she knew who he was better than he himself knew.

It grated on his nerves, and it must have shown because she quickly amended her posture.

"Makoto-Dono, then."

"No, stop. Makoto. Just Makoto."

She stared at him as if it were the first time she had ever seen him before she nodded her head.

"Makoto… where would you like me to begin?" Rias eventually questioned while typing a message to her brother with her phone under the table. Makoto showed no sign of knowing, or caring of that fact.

"Why did you decide to appear in the park and pick up the dying body of Hyoudou -san?" Makoto questioned while his head tilted to the left. The look in his eyes told Rias that she had better tread carefully with how she answered him.

"He… he summoned me through a contract that was in his coat pocket. His last thoughts were of me, to be held in my arms while he died. I was going to bring him back as a Devil in my Peerage."

Makoto believed her. His final moments were very much the same.

"And what is a Peerage?"

She looked conflicted before answering. "Using an Evil Piece, we can resurrect the living or the deceased as Devils. The Evil Pieces are like chess pieces, and can increase the strength, speed or magic reserves of whomever is resurrected. The holder of these pieces fall under the command of the holder of the King piece."

He continued to regard the girl before him as he crossed his left leg over his right and leaned back further in the rather comfortable chair he sat in. A tea cup was placed before him, causing him to turn to regard the black haired Devil known as Akeno. She raised the expensive looking tea pot in her hands and he nodded in response.

He rather enjoyed the smell and taste of western teas.

He brought the steaming cup of tea to his lips and he sipped at it gently, his eyes turning downwards into the reflective pool of liquid.

He saw circular, silver eyes staring back at him in his reflection.

Those eyes, that face… they reminded him so much of Pharos, of Ryoji that it hurt.

"When Hyoudou-san wakes, and he shall soon, you may propose your offer to him. Should he be unwilling, that will be that." The threat hung in the air, unrevealed but present.

If Issei, or any Human, were to cast aside what made them Human willingly… he would not begrudge them their decision. There is more to Humanity than being Human, as one of the Devils sitting in the same room as he had shown him with a simple offer of sweets.

Humanity was the will to be kind, courteous, the will to protect the Bonds that are forged either in Fire or Love. Humanity was so much more than simply being Human.

Rias did not seem bothered by the fact, as she already had a back up plan to get the boy to join her that could not, would not fail. It involved mentioning a few key words he would love to hear. Legal, and Harem.

The groaning that came from the once dying teenager almost caused Makoto to drop his face into his palms.

Of course the pervert would be having a wet dream, now of all times.

The flat look shared between Koneko and himself let Makoto know that she was of much the same thought process.

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Deep within the Underworld, two separate meetings were being held, and both were for the same reason.

In the city of Lilith, Capitol of the Devil Faction, four figures were seated around a round table with troubled looks on each of their faces.

In the North facing chair sat Sirzechs Lucifer, elder brother of Rias Gremory and leader of the Four Great Satans, the current leaders of the Devil Faction. He was the one who had called for the meeting after receiving a rather ominous message from his sister via text message. The only reason he was standing around and not rushing to her aid was because she assured him that she was not in danger.

Death was sitting in her club room, and she was not in danger. He didn't want to believe her, but she insisted. Someone that shouldn't, couldn't be back, was. Sirzechs remembered the day he was sealed and had regretted it since.

His childhood rival and one of his best friends, Ajuka Beelzebub, sat to his right. The green haired man was tinkering with a chess piece in his hand while idly listening to Sirzechs read out Rias' text message to the three others present at the meeting.

Falbium Asmodeus, the leader of the Devils Military and fellow Satan was unusually alert for the meeting. It was to be expected, however, considering who the meeting was about. A being that, in his prime, made Hades, one of the current top ten existences and his "Grim Reapers" look like insects. They could remember the day he was supposedly sealed away by the God of the Bible. It was just days before Trihexa had been sealed away at the End of the World that Death, too, disappeared from the world and it was the Angels who had proclaimed him defeated.

They were very clearly mistaken in that proclamation.

Serafall Leviathan was practically frothing at the mouth in worry of her little sister, and it was only the fact that Sirzechs was remaining calm that kept her from making her own daring rescue of her beloved sister from Kuoh. That did not mean she had to be okay with the fact that Death was once more walking amongst mortal beings.

Sirzechs began to read the text aloud again, this time seemingly to himself as he tried to comprehend what his little sister was trying to tell him.

Sirzechs, Death is in my clubroom right now. Has not proven to be hostile to Devils currently. Pretends to be a Human named Yuuki Makoto. Blue hair, grey eyes. Average height. Has a Fallen Angel as a hostage. Protected Sacred Gear wielder I have been watching. Brought him back to life. Will text more later.

Attached to the text were three different images of who she claimed was Death, and Sirzechs knew without a doubt that she was correct. He was missing the metal jaw bone-like headpiece that he wore during the Great War, as well as his large blue trench coat, but the current Lucifer would know that being and those coffins anywhere.

He had faced off against him and barely survived to complain about it. The phantom pains he felt where his scars lingered more than attested to that.

It was the fact that he was posing as a Human, and protecting a Sacred Gear user from, he assumed, the Fallen Angel that he held hostage that confused him. The fact that he brought someone back from the dead, considering granting Life was not something that Death should be capable of doing, also worried him greatly. Returning souls from the Land of the Dead, maybe, but not bringing someone literally back to life.

"Looks like I am going to be taking a trip to Kuoh soon. Real soon."

Serafalls' eyes lit up before Sirzechs held up his hand to stop her.

"This will be business only. No pleasure." The serious tone in which he spoke instead of his carefree manner was what tipped Serafall off, as well as the other Satans, that this "Business Trip" might turn into a "Violence Trip' and quickly.

"How do you think he got out of the Seal?" Falbium questioned, his brows furrowed, "And why now?"

Sirzechs did not answer. He couldn't, for he did not know. Speculating would get them nowhere. Tomorrow, he would find out. His heart began to pound a bit, knowing that it could go south if he didn't play his cards right. He remembered his temper almost too damn well. How long has it been, now?

He sent a text back to Rias to let this "Makoto" character know that Lucifer wants to speak with him.

She responded back a few minutes later with a very short, very simple message.

He laughed.

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Hades felt the stirrings in the Land of the Dead before he felt the pulse of extremely familiar energy that began to suffuse through the air. Over the past week, he had felt faint tremors in his domain that reminded him of an old nemesis, but when that pitch blackness once again began to pour from the Seal in the middle of his Throne Room, he knew it had happened.

The event he had been assured would never happen.

Death, the Original Death, had returned to the world. Hades had given the God of the Bible the seals needed to put the mad dog down for good in his own pocket dimension, but it seems that even the Leader of Heaven was incapable of truly sealing away one of the beings that had been around since the Dawn of Time permanently. He was around long before Hades, who had spent his days as a fresh Deity hearing stories of the wroth of the being and his vicious ways.

The best laid plans of Mice and Men often go awry, as he had learned from experience.

That was why he was going to correct his mistake, personally. He would die before he gave this throne back to its rightful King.

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"Are you certain that is what you saw?"

"Yes, Azazel-Sama. Positive. Raynare is now a hostage to Death."

A deep frown appeared on the face of the Governor of the Grigori as he laced his fingers before his face. He leaned forward and pressed his elbows against the wooden desk before him.

"You are dismissed, Mittelt, Kalawarner. Welcome Home."

As soon as the door clicked shut, Azazel pulled open the bottom-most drawer and pulled out a bottle of his secret stash of moonshine. Instead of a shot glass, he reached straight for a glass and filled it to the brim before rapidly chugging the clear liquid.

"Back again… eh, Old Friend?"