A white hatchback vehicle came to a stop in front of an old warehouse. The broken-down parking lot was clearly unmaintained, as there wasn’t a single other car in sight.

Suddenly, the vehicle’s front doors swung open, and two figures of a man and woman stepped out.

The man rubbed the back of his neck and asked, “Are you sure this is the right place?”.

The woman gave him a coy smile and flirtatiously said, “Yes, I’m sure. No one will see us here.”

She fluttered her eyelashes as she slowly moved closer to him. Then, the woman gently wrapped her arms around the man’s neck. She whispered in his ear, “Tonight, we can do anything we want.”

“Anything we want?” The man’s face turned red, and he swiftly glanced away for a second. When he looked at the woman again, he lightly coughed and nervously replied, “Right. Let’s go in.”

The woman lightly giggled as she took his hand and ran into the warehouse. However, while the man was following closely behind, he had failed to notice that the woman’s lips had curled into an evil grin.

Ta-tap, ta-tap.

Pairs of footsteps echoed off the steel walls as they both strolled through the atrium.

As they reached the center, the moonlight shone on the woman’s face, illuminating her shoulder-length blonde hair and red eyes. She let go of the man’s hand and turned around, facing him with a seductive smile.

Before the man could speak, the blonde-haired woman placed her index finger on his lips. She said in a hushed tone, “Just sit back and relax. We’ll have some ‘real fun’ tonight.”

The man displayed a broad grin as he reached out toward the woman’s hips. However, at this very moment, his movements abruptly froze, and his pupils dilated into tiny black dots.

This scene in front of him had felt as if it came out of a nightmare. The blonde woman suddenly let out a high frequency screech as six giant spider-like legs grew out of her sides. A horn started to emerge out of her forehead, and her teeth were doubling in size.

In the span of a few seconds, this once attractive woman had grotesquely transformed into a giant, spider-like creature.

The man froze in shock with his eyes wide open. Beads of sweat trickled down his face as he made darting glances. But before he could make a move, a giant, hairy hand had plummeted down and pinned his body to the floor.

The man shrieked and screamed, making incoherent noises as a mixture of tears and mucus came running out of his face.

“Hehe. Now, shall we start with your feeble limbs?” The spider-like creature manically cackled as she ripped off one of the man’s arms.

“EEEYYAAAAHHH!”

Rigid cords could be seen on the man’s neck as he started screaming and thrashing with even more intensity. Even so, this only incited this female sadist to keep tormenting him.

As the spider-like creature reached for the man’s remaining arm, she suddenly froze in place. She tilted her head up and then raised her large, pointy ears.

‘Someone’s coming,’ The spider-like creature thought as she bared her teeth. Her evil, sadistic grin had slowly started to fade into a frown.

Using her front limbs, she quickly snapped the man’s body in half as if it were a twig. A giant mouth opened from in-between her legs, devouring the man’s corpse whole.

Without a second of hesitation, the spider-like creature darted to the side of the atrium and climbed up on the wall.

‘I should be safe from behind these boxes.’

After a few seconds of dead silence, the warehouse’s front doors swung open with a loud thud. The figure of a young lady with feathered wings could be seen by the entrance.

The spider-like creature started grinding her teeth as she noticed the figure at the entrance. ‘What the hell is a Fallen Angel doing here! You damn bitch! I’ll rip you to pieces!’

The young lady slowly trod through the atrium with steady footsteps. As she approached the center of the hallway, she suddenly halted her movements.

‘When you turn your back to me, I’ll end you with a surprise attack. Hehe, I’ll make you regret ever coming here.’

Swiveling her head to the side, the young lady suddenly peered at an ordinary wall of boxes. Her intimidating violet eyes seemed to pierce through the darkness, locking onto a certain female Devil with ease.

The spider-like creature immediately winced. Panic started to settle in her mind. ‘What! Does she see me? That’s impossible!’

The young lady held her arm out as a spear started to quickly materialize out of Holy Power.

‘No way… This has to be a bluff. A low-class Fallen Angel should never be able to detect my exact location so easily.’

Without warning, a bright pink spear whipped through the air at a high speed, accurately piercing toward the spider-like creature’s neck. A high-pitched cry sounded as she scrambled to move out of the way.

Crash!

The spider-like creature had managed to leap off the wall in time, but she was forced to collide into the ground with a rough landing. But before she could re-orient herself, the mysterious Fallen Angel had reeled back a second spear. It pierced through the air again, this time impaling and ripping off two of her right limbs.

A high-pitched scream reverberated throughout the atrium. The spider-like creature stumbled face-first into the ground.

Weapons made from Holy Power were extremely poisonous against Devils. It wasn’t a surprise that this female Devil had suffered great damage after getting impaled once.

‘Damn it! A Fallen Angel shows up and attacks me out of nowhere! I wasn’t even given an explanation!’

The spider-like creature managed to lift her head off the ground. She uttered a panicked scream, “Who are you, and what do you want with me!”

The black-haired young lady didn’t respond. She held an indifferent expression, calmly walking forward with a bright pink spear in her hand.

‘Just a little bit closer… I can still win if she moves a little bit closer.’

All of a sudden, the spider-like creature sneered, “You’re finished!”

In a flash, the spider-like creature’s detached arm came to life. It launched itself into the air, hurling toward the young lady.

Strangely, the young lady didn’t even attempt to get out of the way. She didn’t even bother to glance at the detached arm. Seeing this, the spider-like creature inwardly smiled. She snickered in her heart, ‘Go to hell, Fallen Angel!’

However, the young lady’s next maneuver had left the spider-like creature in disbelief. With a single gesture, she had sent out a powerful, black shockwave. This shockwave easily ripped through the detached arm, blowing it into chunks and wedges.

The spider-like creature laid on the ground, eyes wide open and her mouth agape. It was at this moment that she noticed other footsteps that were coming from her left.

Propping herself up with her left limbs, she managed to spot a young man with caramel brown eyes.

‘A human? I don’t sense any magic from him. He can’t even be a low-class Magician. What’s a regular human doing here?’

Astonishingly, the young man’s next move had severely placed a dent in her pride. He had walked right past her as if she didn’t exist, casually starting a conversation with the Fallen Angel.

“How disappointing. This stray was much weaker than we initially thought.”

Being scorned like this, by an ordinary human of all beings, was both immensely humiliating and infuriating for her. The spider-like creature bared her teeth and retorted with a scowl.

“Lowly, insolent human! You dare look down upon— AAAHHH!”

Before she could finish her sentence, a bright pink spear penetrated and disabled her remaining left limbs.

As her sharp wails eventually died down, a soft voice resonated throughout the warehouse. “There. It should be impossible for this stray to move now.”

“As I was saying, today’s harvest was quite disappointing. Even so, this fresh meat will provide me with the energy to make up for my lost sleep.”

By now, the female Devil’s vision had just begun to blur. Every passing second, her body was being increasingly obscured by unfamiliar black waves. Unsurprisingly, a peculiar dark sphere had already encompassed the upper half of her giant body. But even so, she was still able to perceive the young man’s voice.

“By tomorrow night, I’ll need you to get the experimental mediums ready for the contamination project.”

As the spider-like creature was indignantly lying on the ground, she was suddenly inflicted with an acutely distressing, searing pain. It was far more agonizing than anything she had experienced before. She felt as if something was gnawing on the very fiber of her existence.

During this arduous process, she could neither see, hear, move, nor notice her own breath. Perhaps, it was due to the immense pain that she had lost connection to the outside world.

This sempiternal torment continued until she could feel no more. But by this time, she had been internally shattered. More precisely, all her senses had long been severed by a terrifying darkness that one would call death.

. . . . .

The fragrant aroma of parsley and ginger herbs wafted throughout the kitchen air.

Sizzle!

Chekhov drizzled oil on the sides of several fish filets. Then, he started sprinkling very precise proportions of herbs and spices, including salt, pepper, chives, and dill.

'Hopefully, I can finish this filet before I have to leave.’

This morning, Chekhov had received a call from Miwa, out of the blue. She had informed him that if he wanted to help host the Cooking Club’s “Opening Extravaganza”, he would need to attend the Saturday get-together.

“Ah, Chekhov. You’re up early on a Saturday!”

An old but lively voice came from behind Chekhov. He turned around with a smile, facing an elderly man with powder-white hair.

Seeing Chekhov’s zestful smile, the elderly man laughed. “Youngsters these days, you guys just have all the energy in the world.”

“Father, you’re really exaggerating. I have to sleep too, just like everyone else, you know.”

“It’s just that I was super thrilled,” Chekhov’s eyes began to tinge with eagerness, “in practicing my new recipe this morning!”

The elderly man raised his curved eyebrows. “I was wondering where that appetizing aroma was coming from.” He waggishly continued, “Say, you don’t mind if your old man tries a bite now?”

“Stop messing around, Father,” Chekhov said with a straight face, “I told you yesterday that it would be a surprise for dinner. Besides, I’m not done cooking it yet.”

“Alright, Chekhov,” the elderly man said with a chuckle, “You win this one.”

At this time, a soft two-chime bell sounded throughout the kitchen. The elderly man patted Chekhov’s shoulder and said, “I’ll get the door. You don’t need to worry; you can keep cooking.”

The elderly man slowly turned and walked out of the kitchen with his hands behind his back.

‘That should be Miwa. Looks like she’s here early.’

A few moments later, a conversation had erupted by the door. Through the meticulous usage of his dark energy, Chekhov could hear everything clearly.

“Hi -um-, I’m Miwa. I’m here looking for Chekhov. It’s for the Cooking Club.”

“Oh? Chekhov didn’t tell me anything about any ‘Cooking Club’. Are you his girlfriend?”

A frenzied voice replied, “Huuhh?!? No, no, no, no… uhm, I’m just an acquaintance.”

This commotion ensued for a few more minutes before gradually quieting down. By this time, Chekhov had already finished his cooking. He was packing away his simmered fish filet.

Today, Chekhov had just been arranging an ordinary meal. Normally, he would be looking to contaminate it with a soul fragment. However, as his situation currently stood, this procedure was just too expensive.

Chekhov sighed in his heart. ‘That Stray Devil didn’t replenish as much of my soul as I hoped for.’

‘Well, even if it did, my circumstances would be the same. I’d still need to preserve as many soul fragments as I can for the mass contamination.’

Chekhov mounted his backpack and walked to the door. A brown-haired girl wearing a pink ribbon was eagerly waiting on the front porch. As Chekhov opened the door, he smiled and gave her a polite greeting. “Hey, Miwa! It was very nice of you to wait for me.”

Miwa’s ears flushed with a slightly red tint. She rubbed the back of her head as she replied, “Sorry, it was my fault. I arrived here ten minutes too early.”

“No big deal,” Chekhov said as he walked out ahead of Miwa, “I was practicing my new filet recipe.”

“That’s awesome, Chekhov,” Miwa said as she followed him with an adoring gaze. “Can you tell me more about it?”

For the next 15 minutes, Chekhov and Miwa casually chatted as they both strolled through the neighborhood. Eventually, they came to a stop in front of a white, rectangular-shaped house.

“Miwa, this is a very nice house. Is this really where you live?”

Miwa replied with a proud smile. “Yes. We, the Cooking Club members, meet here monthly on the weekends!”

“That sounds delightful,” Chekhov commented as they both entered the house.

Miwa led Chekhov into a living room with three students seated around a rectangular table.

Chekhov glanced at the group, quickly trying to discern their faces. He noticed that there were two female students and one male. Still, he couldn’t recognize any of them as a part of the High School DxD cast.

A young lady with long, green hair stood up and smiled. “Hello, I’m Hana, club president. Welcome to our meeting.”

The male student, who was sitting at the end of the table, lightly pushed up his glasses with a smug grin. He then stood up and performed a silly dance, motioning toward the empty chairs.

“Welcome, Chekhov. We’re still waiting for one more member to get here, but otherwise, you can take a seat,” the male student said.

Chekhov politely returned their greetings and then sat on the chair closest to him. Miwa quickly followed, occupying the empty seat directly beside him.

“Chekhov, while we’re waiting, you could introduce yourself,” Miwa suddenly spoke out with sparkling eyes. “And you can also tell all of us about your filet recipe!”

“That’s a great idea.” Chekhov smiled and took out a clear, plastic container. As he opened it, the delectable scent of parsley and ginger spread around the table.

However, just as Chekhov was about to continue with his introduction, a very peculiar monotonous voice sounded throughout the living room.

“Me. Food. Mind if I try a bite?”

As Chekhov turned to glance at the mystery guest, his pupils momentarily dilated.

Standing by the doorway was a short young lady with golden eyes and white hair. She had several loose bangs hanging over her forehead. But Chekhov could easily discern her by the two black, cat-shaped hair clips tied just above her ears.

‘There’s no doubt about this, it’s her. Rias’ Rook. The White Cat.’

‘Also better known as… the peak low-class Devil, Koneko Toujou.’

. . . . .

Crack! Crack! Crack!

A sharp flurry of whiplashes and blood-curdling screams echoed throughout an underground chamber. This area was quite ill-maintained, containing a rusty, black iron jail cell and battered brick walls. The only sources of light were flaming torches that were hung by two old-fashioned sconces.

“Hehe, the both of you are two tough eggs to break,” a female voice viciously teased.

A man clothed in a torn, dark green soutane desperately kowtowed on his knees. He clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut, tearfully replying, “Please let me go! I really didn’t do anything!”

His body was littered with numerous whiplash markings and bloody wounds. To make matters worse, he was drenched in a lifetime’s worth of sweat and tears. As the salt water seeped into his cuts, it further agonized his excruciating pain.

Another man, in a similar shape, swallowed nervously and profusely explained his side of the story. “Me, neither! I didn’t attempt to leak any information. There must be some sort of mistake!”

The figure in front of them stepped forward and revealed a cruel smile. She wore a Gothic Lolita attire, coupled with thigh-high white socks and black leather shoes.

She playfully twirled her blonde hair and asked, “Are you trying to imply that Raynare is a liar? That she framed you both with a false verdict?”

Her cyan-blue eyes narrowed as she continued, “Or, are you both trying to besmirch our leader’s reputation?”

Both men went into a hysterical panic. They started vigorously shaking their heads while pleading.

“No! I would never do such a thing!”

“Please let us go! We were never trying to discredit Raynare’s reputation!”

The blonde Lolita girl placed the tip of her index finger on her chin, pretending to think for a moment. However, the next second, her innocent expression quickly morphed into an evil grin. She immediately started lashing out ferociously with her spiked whip.

For the next ten minutes, hellish screams echoed off the chamber walls. The whipping only paused when the wooden chamber door opened with a creak.

A beautiful young lady with violet eyes stepped into the room. Glaring at the blonde-haired girl, she announced with a solemn warning. “That’s enough, Mittelt. I have never given you the permission to be here.”

“Come on, Raynare.” The blonde-haired girl put on her puppy dog eyes and said, “You know, I was only trying to have a little fun.”

Raynare didn’t budge, and instead she quietly motioned toward the door. “Out, now.”

The blonde-haired girl pouted, crabbily marching out of the chamber with a frown. When she was gone, Raynare shut the door and turned toward the injured men.

One of the men bowed in gratitude, while hoarsely uttering, “Thank you for sparing us, Miss Raynare.”

The black-haired young lady didn’t respond. Instead, her intimidating violet eyes gave off an icy stare that etched deep into their souls. It seemed as if she was scrutinizing an inanimate object, instead of caring for two living, breathing creatures.

The two men suddenly shuddered as they felt an ominous premonition. They felt as if their fates would somehow end up even worse in Raynare’s hands.

‘These two lumps of flesh are too bruised and badly injured. As secondary experimental mediums, they are way beyond repair.’

‘But at the very least, their souls are intact. That’s mostly all that matters.’