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That Night
Entrance to the Ratman Den
Rias Gremory wrinkled her nose as she stared at the opening in the wall that was hidden by a basic glamour. She and the rest of her Peerage were clustered around the doorway.
"Koneko-chan, can you sense anything in there?" she asked her [Rook]. The reincarnated Nekomata paused for a moment before shaking her head.
"Nothing alive." she said bluntly.
This made the Gremory Heiress frown. She had detected unusual magical emanations coming from this location earlier on today and she'd come here hoping to find a new Sacred Gear wielder or something, not a doorway that shouldn't be there.
"Kiba, take the lead." she directed her [Knight], "Akeno and I will follow, with Koneko taking the rear."
"Hai, Buchou." the blond boy nodded. He concentrated and a Demonic Sword erupted from the ground in front of him. He drew it and led the way through the doorway.
The group of Devils assembled at the bottom of the stairs and stared silently at the skeleton draped over the chest in horror.
"There are teeth-marks on the bones." Kiba said in a subdued voice, "Something…ate this man alive."
"Such a thing…" Rias shook her head with a shudder, "Be careful. Whoever or whatever did this may still be around."
As they started to explore the underground maze, it was with shock that they discovered the corpse of the first Ratman not far away from the entry area. Kiba, despite his distaste for the smell of the thing, examined the body.
"No supernatural race that I've ever seen." he said with a frown, "Someone killed this…thing…with a rather clumsy sword thrust to the chest. After cutting off its tail."
The further in they went, the more corpses they found. Kiba looked puzzled at one point, when they discovered eight ratmen slain in close proximity to one another.
"Whoever did this got verifiably better since the last lot." he said with a frown, "Before this group, the swordplay, judging by the cuts and other wounds, shows that it was an amateur who killed them. This group were killed by someone who was familiar and comfortable with the sword. Still not very skilled, but marginally more so than before."
"Who could change from unskilled to marginally skilled between groups?" Akeno wondered.
"A robot?" Koneko deadpanned.
Rias chuckled as she beckoned her group onwards. Finally, the only area they hadn't checked yet was hidden behind a set of heavy stone doors.
"Koneko-chan, if you would?" Rias directed her [Rook].
The petite girl walked forward and, quite nonchalantly, kicked the doors in, the great stone blocks crumbling down, forming a no less impassable barrier in the form of a heap. Akeno used her magic to remove the stone so they could advance into the room.
Inside, the corpse of the largest ratman the group had found yet lay in the middle of the room, the remains of half a copper sword still embedded in its leg.
"Copper? Really?" Kiba shook his head in disbelief, "Who on earth uses copper for swords anymore?"
"Is it magical?" Akeno asked.
"Nope. Just an ordinary copper sword." Kiba replied, utterly mystified, "Aside from the fact someone, probably this creature here, hit it hard enough to break it in two."
"Buchou, these mannequins…" Koneko pointed at the faux Fallen, Angels and Devils scattered around the room.
"Yes…this is…unusual." the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess nodded slowly, "Akeno, take this…ratman, I suppose we should call it…to Beelzebub-sama's local research department drop-off centre. The fact that these things were able to set up a nest in my territory without us catching so much as a hint of it is worrisome."
'Almost as worrisome as someone taking it upon themselves to massacre them in their own nest.' she added silently.
As Akeno vanished in a magic circle, taking the corpse away with her, Rias examined the mannequins with a frown. They were disgusting, filthy mockeries of the real McCoy that gave her chills up her spine for some reason.
When Akeno reappeared, Rias looked around at her beloved Peerage with a smile.
"Well, that's everything we needed to do here." she said, "Let's leave this place and seal up the entrance."
"Rias, should we keep an eye out for the magic user who did…this." Akeno asked, gesturing at the slaughtered ratmen as they walked back out of the large chamber.
"Yes…I want to have a word with them about exactly what these things are doing in my territory. And why they didn't contact me before entering my territory to deal with them." the Gremory Heiress answered with a hint of irritation in her voice.
Kuō was her territory, her responsibility. Whoever had killed these ratmen had snuck in and acted as they pleased without so much as a by-your-leave. Rias couldn't allow anyone, Yōkai, Devil or otherwise, to flaunt her authority like this.
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The Next Day
With Issei
With a yawn, Issei padded down the stairs of his family home. He was still tired after he took down that ratman den the previous day, even although he had gotten plenty of sleep. Odd.
Floating above his bed had been a screen telling him that his HP and MP had been restored for sleeping in a proper bed, which was useful information.
"Morning, Kaa-san." he greeted his mother as he entered the kitchen.
"Good morning, Issei." his mother replied as she dished up breakfast.
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