Not long after their conversation, Rias Gremory quietly returned to her room. Though she had spoken with him at length, she still hadn't gotten the answer she truly wanted.
Once she was gone, Akira exhaled softly and turned his gaze toward the shadowed corner of the garden.
"That's enough. How long were you planning to hide there?" he asked calmly, his tone devoid of surprise.
From the darkness, a graceful figure stepped into the moonlight—Hijima Akeno.
Akira gave her a small, knowing smile. Of course, Rias had co here tonight without telling Akeno, hoping he could sohow help resolve her inner conflict. But as it turned out, Akeno had followed her from the start.
She had overheard everything.
The night was still. Their voices hadn't been particularly hushed. For soone like Akeno—no ordinary human—it had been easy to hear every word.
"Is there sothing you want to say?" Akira asked.
Akeno shook her head gently. "Not really."
She had already guessed Rias's intentions. They had grown up together—closer than sisters, and more familiar with each other than anyone else could be.
"So then," Akira said again, "what will you do now?"
"That question should be for you," she replied, her tone quiet but clear. "Didn't Rias leave this in your hands?"
"Because you're the one at the heart of this," he answered easily.
Akeno lowered her head, her expression uncertain. "I... don't know."
Her hatred toward her father—wasn't it just another form of love?
Only deep affection can birth pain so profound... and anger that defies words.
Deep inside, Akeno understood that the suffering and regret her father carried was far heavier than her own. The guilt of losing the woman he loved... the grief of watching that woman die to protect their daughter... and the heartbreak of being hated by the very child he treasured most—those emotions must have eaten away at him more than anything.
"Akeno," Akira said softly, "there's sothing I've always wanted to ask. The mother you loved was killed by the Hijima clan. So why did your hatred fall on your father... instead of the ones truly responsible?"
Akeno fell silent.
Of course, she hated them.
But hatred alone wasn't enough.
The Hijima clan was one of Japan's Five Great Onmyouji Clans—its influence spread across the country like roots in soil. As she was now, rely a Devil servant under the Gremory family, the idea of revenge was laughable.
Besides, the Hijima clan was human—while Akeno stood with the Devils. Her father, Baraqiel, was a high-ranking officer in Grigori, the organization of the Fallen Angels.
If she acted recklessly, she could spark a war between humans and Grigori... and perhaps even drag the rest of the Onmyouji clans into it.
The web of power in this world was too tangled to be unraveled by emotion alone.
"You and your father… are still father and daughter," Akira said gently. "That bond doesn't just vanish. And believe ... the pain he carries probably runs deeper than yours. In the end, he's just a powerless husband... and a grieving father."
"Akira…"
"I'm not asking you to forgive everything. I know that's impossible. The rift between you two... only the two of you can nd it. Outsiders like can't interfere."
Akeno lowered her gaze again. Disappointnt—or perhaps emptiness—flashed across her face.
What she truly wanted deep down was a reason.
A reason strong enough to forgive him.
But that reason... had never co.
"…But Akeno," Akira said, his voice calm but sincere, "the Fallen Angel blood in you is part of who you are. And honestly, I kind of like Fallen Angels. Especially you—you're a rare, beautiful blend of Devil and Fallen Angel."
A soft chuckle escaped her lips, though her eyes were distant. "You say you like soone disgusting like ...? That's a pretty weak reason, Akira-kun."
"Not at all," he said. "I like you just as you are. I might be human, but I've always had a thing for non-human girls. Monster girls, Fallen Angels, Devil won... I think they're all beautiful."
"…You really are a weirdo, Akira-kun. So that's your taste?"
"Got a problem with that?"
"No. If anything… I think it makes you even more charming."
"Then, Akeno... for —would you be willing to try?"
She smiled, faint but genuine. "That's a hard request to say no to, Akira-kun."
"That's just how I am," he said with a quiet grin.
And under the moonlight, Akeno smiled—a real one.
Not her usual teasing, seductive smirk. But a warm, honest smile that blood from the depths of her heart.
In that mont, a pair of wings unfolded from her back.
One was a sleek, dark wing of a Devil—calm, composed, regal.
The other, a feathered black wing of a Fallen Angel—tainted by sorrow, yet pure in its own way.
She looked like an infernal queen—a temptress born from twilight itself.
"To have t you, Akira-kun... it's the greatest luck of my life," she said softly. "Because we're alike. We both hide our real selves behind a perfect mask."
But at that mont—Akira felt sothing shift.
Her voice.
Her smile.
Sothing... felt off.
There was a hint of sothing darker leaking from beneath the surface. A subtle obsession... slowly seeping out.
Is this a Yandere mont…? Akira thought, brow twitching.
"Hey, don't go spreading weird labels. I'm a good guy, okay?"
"Ufufu~ That's such an Akira-kun thing to say."
"Since when did my na beco synonymous with 'trouble,' huh…"
He sighed, shaking his head slightly. It felt like he'd just caught a glimpse of Akeno's hidden side.
People called it "moe cloaked in darkness," but with Akeno, it felt more like pure darkness wrapped in elegance.
Then—energy began to gather in her hands.
In her left, golden bolts of lightning danced and sparked—the power of Divine Lightning, inherited from her father.
In her right, a brilliant white light began to glow—the sacred energy typically wielded by Angels.
Light energy was deadly poison to Devils. But Akeno, with her Fallen Angel blood, was a rare exception. She could manipulate it freely.
The two forces—lightning and light—clashed in her palms.
And then… they rged.
A radiant, crackling surge erupted between her hands.
Holy Lightning.
A hybrid force that fused her father's Divine Lightning with the sacred power of Angels.
In that mont, Akeno had fully embraced the bloodline passed down from her father—unlocking the might of a true Ultimate-class Fallen Angel.
Within her now flowed three bloodlines:
The human blood of her mother.
The Fallen Angel blood of her father.
And the Devil blood granted through Reincarnation by the Gremory family.
Though she had accepted her heritage, mastering the full power of a Fallen Angel would still take ti.
But one thing was certain:
Once she did, Hijima Akeno would surpass many High-Class Devils.
After all, she was the daughter of one of the most powerful Fallen Angels—Baraqiel, wielder of Divine Lightning.
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