So on Scrubblehub, I have a poll in the previous chapter about the highschool dxd girl I would pick for the mc's harem. I figured I could put it here too.
🔹️Nyx- Yes (Makes more sense for the story. Fits the MC's personality better)
🔹️No (For reasons...)
🔹️Still Rias
🔹️Still Raynare
🔹️Stop asking, and just choose author
---
The moment Gabriel left Heaven, she felt the weight of the task Michael had given her settle over her shoulders like a celestial mantle.
The truth had to be uncovered.
The evidence had to be irrefutable.
And Azazel? He had to answer for what he had done. 'If he really did what Raziel forsaw in his visions, they he must pay for his sins.'
But to achieve that, she needed to find his laboratory.
No...Azazel was no fool. If there was one hidden facility, there were others. 'I need to find them all.'
Day 1
Gabriel descended upon the human world in the dead of night, her radiance dimmed so as not to draw attention. The first step in her investigation was to track down the oldest sources of intelligence—those who dealt in whispers and secrets that spanned centuries.
She sought out the Grigori's underground information network. It wasn't just Fallen Angels who worked under Azazel; there were rogue sorcerers, black-market relic dealers, and knowledge brokers who trafficked in the kind of lore even devils feared.
Gabriel's first visit was to an old Nameless Library—a hidden archive built into the ruins of a forgotten city, where texts that had been erased from history were kept by those who refused to let knowledge die.
The caretaker, a withered former priest who had long since abandoned faith but still revered celestial beings, nearly collapsed in fear at the sight of her.
"Holy One," he breathed, dropping to his knees.
Gabriel's gaze was piercing. "I need information. Find me information on the experiments done by the Fallen Ones."
His trembling hands led her through the dust-covered halls to a tome—bound in serpent leather, its pages filled with ink that flickered between black and gold.
"Experiments of the Betrayed."
As she flipped through its ancient pages, her lips pressed into a thin line.
There were records. Documents detailing whispered rumors of Grigori's past experiments, mentions of beings who had disappeared throughout history—test subjects never seen again.
But one entry stood out.
"The Abandoned Seraphim. A project long hidden from even the highest of Grigori's ranks. The one rumored to hold divinity, corruption, and something beyond our understanding. This was no mere child of God. This was something… more."
Gabriel's grip tightened on the book.
Azazel had hidden this so well that not even Heaven's records contained this level of detail.
She needed to know more.
Day 2
The next stop was an old contact in the supernatural underworld—an exiled alchemist, one of the last practitioners of ancient transmutation techniques. If Azazel had tampered with divinity, someone had to have supplied him with the materials.
When Gabriel arrived at the underground alchemical den hidden beneath Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, she barely had to speak before the alchemist—a woman with silver-threaded hair and gold-etched irises—knew why she was there.
"You're here about him, aren't you?" the woman whispered, setting down a vial of bubbling gold liquid.
Gabriel nodded. "Tell me everything."
The alchemist took a long breath before revealing what she knew.
"A long, long time ago, before the Great War, there was a king among Phoenixes. A pureblood so old that his flames burned with creation itself."
Gabriel stiffened. The Phoenix lineage had always been powerful, but this…
"This king was wiped from history," the woman continued. "Erased, like he never existed. But I know for a fact that a single vial of his blood was preserved."
Gabriel's eyes narrowed. "Where?"
The alchemist smirked. "Where else? The leader of the Grigori took it."
Gabriel's hands curled into fists.
"A drop of that blood could make a lesser being immortal. A whole vial? That could rewrite the very essence of whoever it was fused with."
She exhaled sharply. So that's how he did it.
Azazel had taken the divine essence of a forgotten king and fused it into his experiment.
Into Hespera.
'Sister, have mercy, for we did not know of your trespasses.'
Day 3
The next lead was one that made even Gabriel uneasy.
Chaos Dragons.
A race so ancient, so powerful, that they had been wiped from existence before Heaven, Hell, and Earth had solidified into their current forms.
No one spoke of them.
No records remained.
No remnants of their power were thought to have survived.
And yet, Azazel had found them.
Gabriel's search led her to the depths of the Hindu Kush mountains, where an underground vault—warded so heavily that not even time could breach it—had once contained artifacts too dangerous to exist in the hands of mortals or divines.
It had been looted.
There was evidence of Grigori magic, traces of their energy signatures seared into the very stones.
Gabriel walked through the hollowed-out cavern, golden light spilling from her fingertips as she reached out—sensing the echoes of what had once been here.
Then, in the center of the cavern, she saw them.
Skeletal fragments.
Not of a dragon she knew. Not of a Heavenly dragon. Not of an Earthly one.
Something older.
Gabriel knelt, pressing a hand to the ground, and felt it.
An energy signature. A fragment of what had been stolen.
'Azazel took these remains and spliced them into big sister Hespera.'
The realization struck like lightning.
Not only had he bound her to an immortal Phoenix's blood—he had tainted her with chaos itself.
Gabriel rose, her expression unreadable.
This was worse than she thought.
Just then...the air shifted.
A ripple of something other disturbed the silence of the cavern.
Gabriel turned swiftly, wings flaring slightly as she felt the pressure of something vast settle upon the room.
Then—they appeared.
A figure materialized from the very fabric of the cavern's dim shadows.
They wore a black and white robe, a flowing garment that seemed woven from the essence of the void itself, swallowing the very light around them. Their hood was drawn low, obscuring most of their features—yet despite that, their presence was undeniable.
It wasn't power. It wasn't divinity.
It was conceptual.
Something that existed because existence itself demanded it.
Gabriel inhaled sharply, taking an instinctive step back, gripping her staff tightly.
This presence—this overwhelming, paradoxical force—was not of Heaven, not of Hell, not of Earth.
And then, they moved.
Slowly, almost deliberately, the robed figure approached the skeletal remains of the Chaos Dragon.
They studied it. Examined it.
Long, elegant fingers—too fluid to belong to a mortal—brushed along the bones, tracing something unseen. The energy in the room trembled at the touch.
Then, just as slowly, they turned.
And for the first time, Gabriel saw them.
From beneath the shadow of the hood, two piercing, heterochromatic eyes gleamed at her.
One silver.
One gold.
Gabriel's breath caught.
Those weren't ordinary eyes.
They weren't even the eyes of a divine being.
They were mirrors.
Reflections of the very beginning and end of existence.
And then...they smiled. Not wide. Not exaggerated. Just the barest curve of lips.
A knowing expression. An amusement that held too many meanings.
Gabriel's grip tightened on her staff. "You—"
Before she could finish, the figure raised a hand.
Blackish-silvery mist spilled from their fingertips, spreading like ink across water, blanketing the entire skeletal remains of the Chaos Dragon.
The moment the mist touched the bones, the very air quivered.
Reality itself…shuddered.
The cavern seemed to distort, as if struggling to decide whether it was truly there or not. The mist coiled and twisted, consuming the ancient remnants of a race long forgotten.
Gabriel felt her own power surrender.
Heaven itself seemed to bow to whatever was happening—because this?
This was something beyond its jurisdiction.
And then—they raised a single finger to their lips.
A silent command. A gesture of secrecy.
Gabriel's eyes narrowed. Confusion. Wariness. Suspicion burned in her chest.
But she didn't move.
Didn't attack.
Because despite everything, despite every instinct screaming at her that she should act, she couldn't.
Because the one standing before her was a Primordial.
A being of Absolute.
Then, in the next breath—they vanished.
The skeletal remains vanished with them.
The cavern fell into absolute silence.
Gabriel stood still for a long moment, staring at the now-empty space where the remains of the Chaos Dragon had once rested.
Her grip on her staff loosened slightly.
Then, with a slow, steady exhale, she turned away.
She had more work to do.
But in the back of her mind, a single, undeniable truth settled into place.
Something else was moving behind the scenes.
Something older than Heaven, Hell, and Earth combined.
And whoever they were…They had just made a move. And for whatever reason...
"Why do I have a strange feeling the figure has something to do with big sister Hespera?"
Days 4-6
For the next several days, Gabriel tore through the hidden remnants of Azazel's research facilities.
One in Rome—built beneath the ruins of an ancient temple where the echoes of forbidden rituals still stained the air.
One in Kyoto—buried deep beneath an abandoned shrine where youkai refused to tread.
One in Moscow—hidden beneath the bones of a forgotten battlefield, where divine and demonic energies still clashed in silent agony.
Everywhere she went, she found remnants of his obsession.
And finally, on the seventh day, she found the final piece.
~☆~
The dim glow of holy flames flickered along the abandoned ruins of what had once been one of the most well-hidden laboratories of the Grigori. The remnants of celestial bindings still crackled faintly against the cold stone walls, golden etchings barely clinging to their divine essence after centuries of neglect.
Archangel Gabriel stepped through the broken threshold, her pristine white robes untouched by the filth and decay that surrounded her. Her golden-blonde hair cascaded in soft waves behind her as she moved forward, her radiant blue eyes sharp and unwavering. There was no hesitation in her stride, only determination.
This was one of his laboratories.
One of Azazel's many sins.
The moment she crossed the threshold, Gabriel's very presence seemed to push against the remnants of fallen corruption lingering in the air. She could feel the weight of suffering imprinted into the walls, the echoes of failed experiments, of shattered divinity. This place reeked of something beyond mere scientific curiosity.
It was sacrilege.
She exhaled slowly, adjusting her grip on her golden staff. "This is what Michael sent me to find. The moment Raziel had received his vision—the truth of what had been done to her—there had been no question."
Azazel had truly experimented on their sister.
Gabriel's fingers twitched slightly at the thought. Anger, sharp and hot, coiled beneath her usually serene exterior.
She was not one for wrath.
But this? This was an unforgivable crime.
With a flick of her wrist, golden light surged from her fingertips, illuminating the vast laboratory in an ethereal glow. Rows upon rows of shattered stasis chambers lined the walls, each one bearing the remnants of divine inscriptions—seals meant to contain something unnatural.
Gabriel stepped forward, her eyes scanning the ruined remains of notes, broken equipment, and shattered vials. The weight of time had not erased the truth; it lingered in every corner of this forsaken place.
Then, she saw it.
A single, intact stasis pod.
Her breath hitched.
Slowly, she approached, her golden light brightening to reveal the form inside.
It was empty. But the imprint of what had once been sealed within still remained.
Her fingers barely grazed the glass before a surge of energy pulsed outward, a lingering memory imprinted into the divine containment.
And then—visions.
Echoes of the Past
The walls of the laboratory blurred, replaced by a fragmented memory playing before her.
A cherub.
A child with platinum-blonde hair and wings the color of moonlight. Wings that were not tainted by unnatural powers. Pure, angel wings.
Her breath was slow, even, despite the heavy seals weighing her down.
Azazel stood before her, his golden eyes gleaming with a scientist's intrigue, lips curved into a cruel smirk.
"Fascinating," he murmured, pressing a gloved hand against the pod's surface. "You were supposed to be a fail-safe. A living, breathing ball of chain for the greatest fallen angel who rebeled against our father. And yet, after everything, Father abandoned you."
The cherub inside the stasis chamber did not move. Did not react.
Gabriel's heart twisted. She was so small. So pure.
Azazel's voice grew softer, but no less dangerous. "Your body is a miracle. Divine… and yet corruptible. A contradiction. A perfect blend of celestial, angelic, and something beyond even my understanding." He tilted his head, as if examining a puzzle. "I've tested the limits of angels and devils alike, but you? You are something far more… malleable."
He pressed a hand against the glass, watching as golden and abyssal runes flickered around her prison.
"I wonder, dear sister, how much of you is truly divine? And how much of you…" His smirk widened. "Can be rewritten?"
The memory shattered.
Gabriel staggered back, her breath uneven, her fingers curling into a tight fist.
Her body trembled—not with fear, but with something far worse.
Fury.
Azazel… he had tried to rewrite their sister. To change her. To remake her into something that should never have existed.
She turned sharply, her mind racing.
She needed to find more. She needed The Final Record.
Moving quickly, Gabriel spread her wings, the golden tips glowing with divine energy as she searched through the scattered remnants of the laboratory. Her power hummed through the air, guiding her to what she needed.
There.
A small, still-intact console near the far end of the room.
She approached it, raising a hand, channeling her energy into the ruined device.
It flickered. Glowed.
And then… a single file remained.
She activated it.
A holographic display appeared before her, Azazel's voice crackling to life.
"Log 3942. Subject: The Failed Experiment."
Gabriel's fingers tightened.
"For all my efforts, I cannot seem to fully unlock the potential sealed within Subject Hespera Eveningstar."
"Her body has adapted to every material I have introduced—blood of the long-dead Phoenix King, DNA extracted from the skeletal remains of the extinct Chaos Dragons—yet she refuses to break."
"I had theorized that, by blending her celestial core with a force older than even the Three Factions, I could create something beyond divinity itself."
"And yet, she remains whole. Unyielding. Even with her divine power locked away, she still possesses the endurance of a god."
"Termination has proven… unsuccessful. As expected of one of the first children of Father's divine essence. "
Gabriel's heart pounded.
"The only method of disposal left is the Dimensional Gap. If I cannot study her, then she will be no one's to claim."
The recording ended.
Silence.
Gabriel closed her eyes, taking a slow, deep breath.
Then, she turned.
With a sweep of her hand, golden fire ignited around her, engulfing the ruins of the laboratory, burning away every trace of Azazel's sins.
She had what she needed.
~☆~
Gabriel returned to Heaven with her proof.
She stood before the Council once more, her wings flaring behind her as she recounted everything she had found.
Michael listened, his hands folded, his golden eyes unreadable.
Raziel's expression was grim.
Phanuel, for the first time, looked troubled.
Uriel, seethed in his anger.
And when Gabriel finished, the silence that followed was suffocating.
Finally, Michael spoke.
"This is no longer just a crime against Heaven."
His golden eyes burned.
"This is a war crime against existence itself."
He exhaled, closing his eyes briefly.
"Azazel must answer for this."
Gabriel's voice was steady. "I agree."
Michael looked to Phanuel. "Issue the summons."
Phanuel gave a single nod.
"And Hespera?" Raziel murmured.
Michael's gaze darkened.
Gabriel answered for him.
"She is beyond our jurisdiction now."
A pause.
"We did not save her."
Her lips pressed together.
"But I will make sure she knows that we are on her side in this."
A celestial storm was coming.
And Azazel would not escape it. It's just too bad...that chaos had no sides. All were equal in their embrace of mayhem.