DxD: Ascension - Redux

Chapter 62: A Bad Deal

yknow when i was first trying to decide who would betray the ORC my first thought was "irina's too dumb for that" but i think it'll work out. anyway this chapter marks the end of Volume XIII: Divine Conspiracy.

Old Schoolhouse, Kuoh Academy

As the Occult Research Club dispersed following their meeting, Zach tapped Xenovia's shoulder. "Hey, Xenovia? A word? In private."
Xenovia narrowed her eyes. Zach, wanting to talk to her one-on-one? That was a rarity. "Sure," she said warily. The duo split off from the rest of the group, returning to the now empty meeting room. "What is it?"
"There's some things you need to know. About Luci and about Irina."
Xenovia frowned. "If you're about to tell me that you suspect Irina of trying to kill-"
"I don't suspect. I know. And I know how I sound right now, but if you give me a chance to explain the whole story, you'll see what I'm saying. Do you want the long version or the short version?"
"Just tell me what I need to know. If you're so certain, why'd Irina do it?"
"Okay. Short version." Zach took a deep breath, then recounted the story, talking as fast as possible: "Luci is Lucifer. As a young angel, she figured out that God wanted to take away humanity's free will because He thought they were abusing it. She organized a nonviolent rebellion against Him. They failed and were turned into the first generation of devils. Lucifer was forcibly transfigured into a guy because reasons? I dunno. Devils' memories of the reason for their rebellion faded and got replaced by a desire for domination. After a few generations in the Underworld, Lucifer started the Great War. Great War stuff happened. Other Satans were killed by Metatron and the other Seraphs. Lucifer and God thought they killed each other, but they both somehow persisted after death in some kind of disembodied soul state. Original body but devil reformed in January. God's also alive and has been biding his time. After Metatron came back, Luci sensed God's aura on Irina. Then a few days later, boom. Stabbed. Irina is the only one of the suspects who matched every clue. We think Metatron and God got in her head because she's emotionally not doing great at the moment- my fault. But they probably told her an altered version of Luci's origin story to convince her that Luci is evil and a threat."
Xenovia blinked a few times. "Are you sure that was the short version?"
"Well, we could've been here all afternoon, but we've got to spend some time actually dealing with Irina."
"Okay... let's say you're right about everything. Why did you need my help, again?"
"Irina's been avoiding me since I turned her down, but she's sure to meet up with you if you ask. You'll arrange a meeting with her for, say, an hour or so from now, and we'll wait for her together wherever you plan to meet. When she arrives, we figure out what's really going on."
Xenovia nodded. "Okay. That works. If she confesses, then what? And what if she denies it?"
"If she denies it, we apprehend and escalate. If she comes clean, we make her a deal that could end up backfiring on us horribly."
"Not an ideal situation, but... okay. Let's do it." Xenovia took out her phone. "I'll call her now."

About an hour later, in a cafe near the school... (BGM: Persona 5 Royal - Another Ideology)

Xenovia and Zach sat together in a corner booth, sipping their drinks while they waited.
"She should be here soon. Are you sure she won't just turn around and walk back out when she sees you?" Xenovia asked as she checked the time on her phone.
"No," Zach admitted, not taking his eyes off the door. "But she has no reason to suspect anything."
"That's true, but... I feel terrible lying to her. I don't want to lose her."
Zach's frown deepened. "Neither do I."
"Why Sona, by the way?" Xenovia looked over at Zach. "Why'd you choose her?"
"Not a great time for this, Xenovia." Zach kept his gaze fixated on the door, not meeting Xenovia's eyes.
"It's a simple question. Did you ever really love Irina, or were you just leading her on?"
"In what world is that a simple question?"
"I just want to understand. You'd been close to Irina for months, then Sona just suddenly invites you on a trip and out of nowhere you're completely captivated by her. What changed? Or did you never have any intention of being with Irina to begin with?"
"Xenovia, not one of the questions you've asked me in the past minute or so have been simple ones."
Xenovia's expression hardened. "Fine. If you don't want to tell me, then you should at least be ready to explain to Irina herself, because she is going to ask."
"I know. And when she does, I- eyes up." Zach's posture straightened as he watched Irina enter the cafe.
As she walked in, she scanned the room, looking for Xenovia. Her eyes lit up briefly when she saw her best friend, but she immediately took notice of Zach sitting right next to her. Irina approached the booth apprehensively. "Xenovia? What's Zach doing here? I thought-"
Xenovia gestured to the other side of the booth. "Irina, there's something we need to talk about. Please, just sit down."
Irina hesitated for a few seconds but eventually sat, laying her bag on the seat beside her. "What's going on?"
"We know what you did to Luci," Zach said, getting straight to the point.
Irina's eyes darted between her best friend and her crush. "What are you talking about?" she asked. Her tone was almost convincing enough, but the fear in her eyes betrayed her.
"Irina, please don't make this any harder than it has to be," Xenovia pleaded.
"...How? How'd you find out?"
"The clues only had one reasonable conclusion," Zach answered.
"And you, Xenovia?"
"I didn't figure it out at all," Xenovia said. "Zach filled me in on everything right after the club meeting earlier."
"We just want to know why," Zach continued.
Irina's eyes filled with a mix of frustration and determination. "I did what I had to. This is the only way we'll ever have our peaceful world."
Xenovia frowned. "Peaceful world?"
"She's talking about a conversation we had back on Mount Leviathan, way back when we were climbing up for the tournament. We were talking about if we'd ever get to live in a peaceful world where we're not constantly fighting for our lives," Zach recalled. "What did they say, Irina? To convince you?"
"They told me the truth. What Luci really wants, what she plans to do once Rizevim is out of the way."
"And why didn't you ask us for help? If Luci's really dangerous, we could've handled it," Xenovia said. "Together."
"None of you would've understood!" Irina countered, raising her voice a little. "This is bigger than anything we ever thought about her."
"Irina." Zach's tone became more forceful. "What, exactly, did they tell you?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Irina looked away from Zach.
"Was it something along the lines of Luci actually being Lucifer, the daughter of God who rebelled against Him in a mad grab for power before being turned into the first devil?" Zach guessed.
Irina's eyes widened. "How... how did you know that?"
"She told me. I believe you think you're doing the right thing. But you weren't told the whole story, Irina. Metatron probably conveniently forgot to mention that the reason Luci rebelled against her father was because she discovered that He planned to take free will away from humanity."
"No... no, that's a lie!" Irina argued. "God would never hurt His subjects like that! Lucifer's trying to trick you into following her!"
"I doubt it. I watched her memories as she was telling the story. Those aren't easy to fake." Zach's voice was gentle but firm. "They're using you. If you just tell us the whole story, we'll figure everything out and things can go back to normal."
Irina's conviction shook for a brief second, but when she looked back at Zach, her eyes were filled with determination, along with something he'd rarely seen in her: anger. "I know what I'm doing is for the good of everyone. So stay out of it. If you don't... I don't wanna see you hurt."
Zach returned the glare, his eyes shifting from blue to scarlet. "You know as well as I do that you wouldn't stand a chance against the two of us together. You can't even beat us one-on-one. Don't make a promise that you can't keep."
"We don't want to fight you. That's the last thing on our minds," Xenovia promised. "We just want to help."
"I won't lose to anyone," Irina swore. "Our work is too important."
Zach sighed. "Okay. You're not gonna listen. Then how about a deal instead? Rizevim said that he's gonna attack on Christmas Eve. The Alliance needs all the help it can get to prepare beforehand and fight back when the day comes. So, if you agree to not hurt anyone else for the time being and keep the fact that you were discovered a secret from the Seraphs, we'll let you go free for now. Once the war is over, though, we will circle back to this and get it all sorted. Deal?" He held his hand out to shake on it.
Irina stared at Zach's hand for a moment. Without so much as a word, she slapped his hand away and exited the cafe.