And Thus the War Began

by The A-Demonbane

He fought to revive the old world, now he has to fight to keep it, surrounded by two of the strongest forces in existence, with a butt-monkey doctor, a ditzy inventor, a kouhai with a Final Fantasy Shield and a ragtag group of demons and heroes at the end of the world...Meh seems like a normal day in the office for the Demi-Fiend.

To be honest this idea just came to me, but I had to iron it out before I could start writing it, so here we go!

Disclaimer: I do not own either series, because if I did then there would be a crossover already! C'mon people that kind of plot writes itself!

Also a warning there will be TONS of spoilers from both games because story wise there was no way I could have kept some things hidden

ENJOY

Tokyo/ 26 hours remaining

Many people did not know this, and he liked it that way, but Naoki Kashima was not exactly somebody one could just mess with.

He really didn't understand people, he was reserved and he liked it that way, letting him live the way he saw fit, whenever somebody tried talking to him, due to a wager or something stupid like that, they always ended up intimidated, not because he actively tried to intimidate them, but rather because he was….Well the best word he could use was complicated

He knew better than anybody else that he was a contradiction, he hated the bullies and the bullied, the bullies for misusing their strength and the bullied for not having the guts to stand up to them, he believed that the law should be used as a guide for children, so that they could form some standards, but abandoned when they became adults, arguing that laws were made with human reasons and values, and if that was the case then it should be perfectly reasonable for other people to develop their own equal values, and when told that such a thing would only cause chaos he would reply that laws do not stop chaos, they merely hide it.

Such were mere examples of the kind of morality Naoki Kashima had; he had heard many opinions about it, the most popular being that it was twisted, and he had seen many adults trying to fully comprehend it, but none were able to, some called it flawed, they were wrong, for they didn't understand, they wanted to understand, but they were fundamentally unable to.

They would never understand, and he knew this, and while he had long gone past the phase of an angsty teenager, there was no way for any mortal to understand what he was going through, because at the end of the day, he was different, different from everyone else, on paper it seems like the complains of any seventeen year old yeah?

Well those kinds of problems kind of blew out of most people's proportions when one understood the little, tiny, almost insignificant fact that Naoki Kashima, also known as the Demi-Fiend, was also the freaking Anti-Christ!

But perhaps this requires more explanation than that, you see up until some time ago the world, nay the entire multiverse, was finite, destroyed each time by an entity that called itself the Great Will, although others called it YHVH, in the search for a world without free will, each time it was destroyed, in an event called the Conception, an agent of his will, an entity that represented the sun and the moon called Kagutsuchi would create a new world, based off of a Reason, an inner philosophy that would define the laws of the new world that is backed by a powerful demon sponsor, and Naoki was involved in this process, he came in contact with the Vortex World, a World that is dead and is waiting for its resurrection, before he came in contact with it he was a normal human, but after the end of humankind he became a demon.

In his case there were Three Reasons, the first one was the Reason of Shijima, the Reason of the Mastermind behind the beginning of the Conception, a man called Hikawa, if it had been successful it would have created a world of stillness and oneness, individuality would be eradicated and there be replaced with a collective inner peace in which everyone is equal to God, this reason was clearly based, at least somewhat on the concept of Nirvana, and it's demonic sponsor was Ahriman the Middle Persian equivalent of Angra Mainyu and the chief evil spirit in Zoroastrianism.

The second was the Reason of Musubi, the Reason of his former best friend Isamu Nitta, based on solitude and isolation, if it had been successful then the self would have become absolute, individuals could use their mind to shape their world at will into their own personal paradise, without consequences or unwelcome interference of others, it was likely that it was based on the philosophy of René Descartes, though he had no idea whether Isamu had even heard of Descartes before, it's demonic sponsor was different from the others, they called it "Noah" but the reality was that it was nameless due to the fact that it was so removed from the time stream, in this case Naoki rolled his eyes, in his eyes this wasn't even a Reason, hell in Isamu's eyes it wasn't a Reason, he didn't believe in it he just wanted to do whatever he wanted without consequences.

The third and final Reason was the Reason of Yosuga, the Reason of another of his former best friends Chiaki Hayasaka, he snorted, out of all the reasons that he had seen, Yosuga was the worst by far, it was at least related to Social Darwinism, but what it was definitely based on was elitism and the survival of the fittest, if it had succeeded, it would have created a world where the weak and useless would be purged from society and would have been forced to serve the strong, the strong would have ruled and power would have been the only thing of value, Chiaki created this Reason so that she wouldn't have to be part of the weak or the lower classes she so despised, but it was a Reason born of fear, such a world would be one of paranoia, always having to worry whether she would be overthrown or not, it's demonic sponsor was a Baal Avatar, which in this case originally meant either the Canaan god of rain, fertility, agriculture, and thunder called Hadad, or the demonized version by the Cristian Religion, either meaning Beelzebub, something he doubted, but it was possible, or the far more likely Bael.

Those were the three Reasons that would shape the world if it had been a normal Conception…..However it wasn't a normal Conception.

One man intervened….Well you know him as the Devil, Lucifer, Satan, whatever, intervened and implanted a Magatama, a parasitic entity that is the very essence of a demon and is capable of turning a normal human into a demon, and with that his destiny became sharply different from the rest.

He could follow the Reasons….Or he could reject them all and side with Lucifer, reach the depths of the Labyrinth of Amala, in an effort to understand the Vortex World and end that nightmarish world….He almost did just that.

The Labyrinth, that now that he looked back on had similarities to both Makai and the Christian Hell, was divided in levels called Kalpas, at first it started out fairly weak, and he had confidence that he could reach the end…..

Then he met Matador.

He scowled a bit, while the Fiend was a great ally to have, he was a nightmarish foe to defeat….

"Thank you Young Fiend, you too were a great rival" Naoki remembered those last words well, he lightly smirked

Indeed all of the Fiends had been nightmarish foes and invaluable allies, Matador, Daisoujou, Hell Biker, the Riders of the Apocalypse, Mother Harlot, Trumpeter and Dante were all pains in his ass and also the saviors of said ass in more than one occasion.

But either way he was getting distracted, he, having no idea what the Vortex World, and devoid of hope sought to align with Lucifer, both in order to understand that nightmare, and to end it, and he almost made it to the end, until his last foe…

Metatron, the Voice of God, the right hand man of YHVH.

It wasn't that the Seraph defeated him, no; rather it was what happened after the battle…

Flashback

There was the mechanical angel, what was previously an overwhelming foe and terrifying, if noble presence, lied defeated, Naoki simply sighed and prepared himself to deal the final blow….

"Wait Boss" Dante called out to him, making him stop and making the Archangel look up to the Devil Hunter

"You wanted answers right? Listen to me Boss, I'm telling you, going to the final depths of this labyrinth is a bad idea, and if you want answers, then this guy can give them to you!" Dante explained to Naoki, contrary to his usual cheer and devil-may-care attitude, right now he was quite serious, which was why Naoki decided to listen to him and he turned towards the Archangel, who was looking straight to the Devil Hunter

"So thou too were here Son of Sparda, what has caught thine interest? Why have thou sided with the Lightbringer?" The Archangel asked in confusion, Dante chuckled

"I haven't sided with anyone, that guy just came to me for a job, but….I don't want nothing to do with what he's got planned for this" He said seriously once again, and Metatron rose from his knee

"Then prove it! Strike down his Champion and we will never have to deal with such a nightmarish scenario ever again!" Dante shook his head though

"You know that the only thing that'll cause is make good ol' Luci to go look for another one, gotta give it to the guy he is patient as hell, and this guy right here is nowhere near as bad as you make him out to be"

"He crossed the Labyrinth! You know what that entails, and so must he!" The Voice of God roared in outrage, but Dante waved him off

"No he doesn't, and that's Luci's plan, he has no idea what that'll mean for this universe, not until it's too late, it's not too late yet Metatron, make him understand the situation and, once he has all the details, let him decide when he has all the information" Naoki was kinda getting annoyed about how much they talked about him like he wasn't there, but focused on the Archangel when he turned towards the Demi-Fiend

"Is it true? Do thou truly know nothing of this situation?" He sounded incredulous

"Look I don't know what kinds of things are classified as common knowledge among angels, but I can assure you things like the end of the world and Vortex Worlds are NOT common knowledge among humans! I was just a normal guy for fuck's sake! Look at me! Do I look older than sixteen?! And yet all of you are soooo sure that I can know everything instantly by waking up here, I just want to know what the hell is going on and how to stop it!" Naoki finally exploded, and Metatron brought a hand to his chin, hummed and then nodded

"Very well, thou makes a fair point, allow me to explain in full" Then he explained everything, how the Conception was, originally, a natural process, that usually had happen when things like all suns dying and the universe renovating itself, it was merely in order to regain its strength….Until YHVH took over.

The Conception was not something that could be called forth initially, nor did it need the Reasons, it could help, but it wasn't necessary, but when YHVH took over he allied with Kagutsuchi in order to regulate the Conception in order to make the world that he wanted above all else.

A world where Free Will, did not exist.

Lucifer on the other hand detested the Conception and sought to end it….Permanently, by using a similar method that YHVH used when bringing people to his side.

That was another thing actually, what people called "God", or YHVH, and what demons called the Great Will were two separate things, the Great Will was the creator of all existence, a force that created all that ever was and tended to it through its Avatars and it's Messiahs…..

One of which was him.

It was quite the shock, to be told that the Lord of all Creation saw him as someone important, for the most part in the Vortex World; he was being led to believe that nothing really mattered to the Great Will, but that was a misconception, one that Lucifer had been purposefully feeding him, YHVH is NOT the Great Will, it is one of its Avatars though, based on the Christian God, but not really being the Christian God, YHVH was once a just champion of the Order of the Great Will, but something happened, something turned YHVH completely mad and made him obsessed with absolute order under his control, a world without free will. In order to restore the balance the Great Will created Lucifer, a being of pure Chaos to oppose YHVH….But something went wrong.

The idea was for both of them to duck it out in the boundaries of the afterlife but other Avatars of the Great Will, such as Kagutsuchi, rebelled and started taking sides, and their fights spilled into the world of the living, and even things like the Conception started to become tools for the plans of YHVH….

Meanwhile Lucifer turned him, a Messiah originally meant to be the eyes of the Great Will, into the Anti-Christ in order to counter the plans of YHVH and bring himself an ally that could counter anything that YHVH could throw at him, his initial Magatama, Marogareh was born from the essence of Lucifer himself, in essence he was now Lucifer's child.

How are you supposed to react to that? That somebody just goes to your face and straight up tells you "you are the Anti-Christ" and you can't deny it? It hit him like a ton of bricks, but at the end of the day…

Well he couldn't afford to care.

So yeah he was the Anti-Christ, he would have all the time in the world to moan and bitch about it later, but the Vortex World was not the best place to have an existential crisis.

So he asked the million dollar question.

"What happens if I reach the end of the Labyrinth?"

"Thou shall become a full demon, thy loyalty will be to the Lightbringer in full, and thou shall destroy Kagutsuchi in full, killing the entire multiverse, and bringing an end to time itself"

Well that didn't sound good.

Naoki then began to wrack his head, trying to think of a way to get out of this situation, he didn't agree with any of the Reasons, but he didn't want to destroy the world either!

"What…..What would happen if no one who represents a Reason reaches Kagutsuchi, but he is still killed anyway?"

"It would be a difficult task; Kagutsuchi would attempt to flee at any cost in order to make sure that the Conception is completed, so as long as those who hold any of the Reasons still live, Kagutsuchi will not confront thee"

"But what happens if that million in one chance actually happens?"

"…..To be honest I do not know, nothing like what thou suggests has ever happened before, though granted nothing like thee has ever stepped foot in the Vortex World before…..Anything could happen" The Voice of God sounded so unsure…

"In what side are you?"

"Beg thy pardon?"

"You heard me the first time, in what side are you? YHVH's? Or the Great Wills'?" Metatron raised an eyebrow, how he had no idea given that he was basically a robot.

"All I want is for humanity to be at peace….."

"That doesn't answer my question"

"Tis a difficult question Chaos King, YHVH promises a world of peace under his rule, but he is a fickle being indeed, and many have raised questions about his methods before, but the Great Will refuses to do anything, he refuses to return us to the Garden that was once ours by right…" The angel stopped suddenly but he had done enough, Naoki was no fool and he quickly connected the dots.

"So it's true, that Metatron once was known as the man named Enoch, the man who lived 365 years, the ancestor of Noah, and was taken directly by God" Naoki said, Metatron turned to him

"Thou art well versed"

"So the Garden still exists?"

"Indeed, but now it lies far beyond time itself, tis where the identities of humanity go when they die, so that they can be at peace when the Great Will uses their souls to create new life"

"…..You know the world that YHVH wants will never be born right?" Both Dante and Metatron looked at him, and Metatron's eyes gained a dangerous glint, Naoki knew that if he answered incorrectly, battle would resume

"Oh? And what makes thou so certain of this?" He asked with a dangerous tone, Naoki shrugged

"It is the nature of the universe, if only Order existed then progress can never be achieved, because the only thing that would happen would be stagnation, humans will always want something new and exciting, something to test themselves, something to prove themselves, if YHVH made his ideal world, then eventually someone would gain just enough will to wonder why YHVH gets to have a will while everybody else has to just accept their lot in life, that someone would become the new Lucifer and we would be back in these shenanigans again, similarly, the world Lucifer wishes can never exist, Chaos by its nature cannot be the sole domineering ruler of the universe, because all living things seek order in order to aid each other, however misguided that is, if Lucifer obtained his ideal world then eventually someone would get sick of it, gain enough power and make his own brand of order, that someone would eventually become the new YHVH and, surprise surprise, we would be back to these shenanigans again" Both Metatron and Dante remained silent at this, but Metatron's stance relaxed, indicating that he didn't wish to fight anymore

"Then what would be thy solution?"

"….All laws were made not based on some rock that wrote at the start of the universe that told us what to do, they were written because of the merits that the people wanted to live by, it is meaningless to try to escape suffering, it is a part of the world, but that doesn't mean that we have to just give up and submit ourselves to some unseen force or fate, it means that we can do something that only we can do"

"And that would be?"

"Endure it, the world is full of suffering and vice, made through the abominable creature that is known as the people, but through that creature something known as the individual is born, the individual that is willing to stick by their own beliefs will suffer, because the people cannot accept the fact that such a thing can exist, but if they stick by their beliefs, unknown to either Fate or that dreaded lie known as Common Sense, then they can reach their own Paradise, and now that I know everything, I know what I must do"

"That is awfully naïve"

"About as naïve as hoping everybody will only follow the path of Order or the path of Chaos no?" Metatron nodded and then stared at nothing, lost in his own thoughts

"If thou are thinking what I think thou are thinking, then it would be the biggest spit in YHVH's face since the dawn of time, to use his own plans against him to create such a world…..He would try to bring forth a fate worse than death for thee"

"And what will you do?" Naoki asked the Archangel, who turned towards him "My path is set"

"It is a path of thorns"

"But can you tell me what lies at the end?"

"…..No"

"Indeed, you can't, because it is my path to take and my path to build, it may be a path of thorns but it is the only path in which I will find happiness, or, since we are being naïve here, the only path in which leads to a happy ending, so I ask you, what will you do?"

"…..To align with you would be sacrilege against YHVH"

"Are you not the least bit curious? Are you not the least bit hopeful? For a world where peace and freedom can coexist? A world where the people finally comprise of individuals with their own thoughts and opinions? As we once had in the Garden?"

"It was those opinions that led us outside of the Garden"

"It is said that the sweetest fruit is the one that is forbidden, I disagree, the sweetest fruit is the one that is earned, through one's own sweat, blood and tears, yeah it's true, our mistakes led us out of the Garden of Eden, but it can be our decisions that lead us back, and if it is earned, then not even that apple can deny us the Garden anymore." Naoki said with determination in his voice, Metatron remained silent for a while before he turned to Dante, who watched the whole exchange with satisfaction in his eyes

"He is an odd one indeed" Dante smirked

"You think so? I think I made the right choice in asking him for a job" At that Metatron turned to Naoki

"…..Does thou not understand? Thou art the Anti-Christ, that means that thou are meant to be the anti-thesis of the Son of God"

"Indeed….."

"So that means that thou must obey the Lightbringer….."

"That is where you are wrong" Naoki interrupted, Metatron raised an eyebrow, clearly wanting an explanation

"I am to be the anti-thesis of Jesus…..And that means a number of things. He was a loyal son to his Father, that doubted him only once and even then not all the way through, that means that I have to be the rebellious son to my father, and obey him only once, I went through the Labyrinth, so I obeyed him, but not all the way through, he brought the people closer to his Father, so I have to lead people away from mine…."

"He was wholly good…" Metatron tried to intervene

"That doesn't mean I have to be wholly evil, I can't be Superman, but that doesn't mean I have to be Darkseid, it means that I cannot be pure good, but that doesn't mean that there can't be good in me, look nobody ever called Naoki Kashima a messianic archetype, I beat the living shit out of people, I'm freely plotting the murder of my two best friends, my teacher and a cult leader, and if I get a test, most of the time I just cheat, and if we ever get back to the normal world and I retain my powers, then I'm gonna use them to cheat even more, but even somebody like me knows what evil is like, evil are those who force people to do what they can't do for themselves, evil are those who force people to see the way they want to see instead of letting them mature and become their own individual"

"He was meant save the world…." Again Metatron tried to intervene

"And I am meant to destroy the world I was born in, very well I will destroy this world then, the Vortex World, because this is the world where the Demi-Fiend was born, I'll destroy it, and bring forth a new one"

Both Metatron and Dante stared at him shocked, all of those were technicalities, and yet….They were valid

"Ha….." Both Naoki and Dante turned to Metatron who was….Trembling?

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!" And much to their shock the Voice of God started to laugh

"Very well Chaos King, thou have piqued my interest, I shall accompany thee and see what lies beyond the designs of the universe and the Lord…..Though it may be blasphemy I wish to see where this road leads"

Flashback End

And thus his path was set, he left the labyrinth and went to fight all Reason holders, he killed them all, and fought Kagutsuchi who lamented that his power would be used to bring forth such things as a World of Freedom.

And thus he found himself back where it all began, with only him and his teacher remembering the events that happened, his teacher Yuko Takao quickly called the higher ups of Hikawa and they took care of him rather quickly.

A year has passed since then, and he was actually kind of sad at the fact that he, Isamu and Chiaki grew apart, he simply couldn't see them in the same light anymore, their worst traits had been exploited and turned up to eleven, and they tried to kill him, and unlike him who pretended to bring them back, they had no intention of doing such a thing with him, moreover, unlike him who at least had the excuse of being turned into a demon, they were human up until they decided to turn into something else, so their madness came from their fear…Well he couldn't fault them for that he supposed.

That didn't meant he was alone though.

"Wooooo more booze!"

"Over here darling, let Mama Harlot treat you…"

"ANOTHER!"

"Haha! You bunch of weaklings; THIS is how Hindus do it!"

"Holy shit he's drinking through his mouth AND that hole at the top of his head where all the flame comes from! Hahahahaha!"

Naoki sighed amused and turned to see the party behind him, the ones that were drinking all the booze were, in order, Pixie, Mother Harlot, Thor, Mada and Cu Chulainn.

It didn't meant that they were the ones that were partying either, turns out Demons need very little incentive to party, so now they were in pre-party to the party for New Year's Eve.

Pre-parties for the actual parties are very important after all.

Hell he couldn't remember the time when his house was so full for any party, back then he was lucky if a couple of people came, now? Everybody was here:

Foul Demons like Shadow, who was occupying all the walls laughing and somehow drinking, Phantom, Black Ooze, Blob, Mou-Ryo, Slime and Will O'Wisp

Haunt demons like Rakshasa, Legion, Pisaca, Chatterskull, Yaka, Choronzon and Preta.

Gurr was flying around excitedly around the building.

Tyrant Demons like Beelzebub, who spent time either flying or eating, Mot, Aciel, Surt, Abaddon and Loki

Vile Demons like Mada, Samael, Tao Tie, Girimehkala, Pazuzu, Baphomet and Arahabaki.

Wilder Demons like Hresvelgr, Mothman, Nue, Raiju, Bicorn and Zhen

Avatar Demons like Barong, Yatagarasu, Cai-Zhi and Makami.

Garuda was chasing Gurr trying to keep his fellow avian and counterpart under control…..Best of luck there.

Deity Demons like Vishnu, Mithra, Odin, Amaterasu, Atavaka and Horus.

Dragon Demons like Long and Gui Xian.

Elemental Demons like Flaemis, Aquans, Aeros and Erthys

Albion was doing…Some sort of dance, but apparently the others were enjoying it.

Fury Demons like Shiva, Beiji-Weng, Wu Kong and Dionysus.

Genma Demons like Cu Chulainn, Hanuman and Kurama.

Holy Demons like Chimera, Baihu, Feng Huang, Senri, Unicorn and Shiisa.

Kishin Demons like Thor, Bishamon, Futomimi, Jikoku, Mikazuchi, Ukukinushi, Koumoku, Zouchou and Minakata.

Lady Demons like Skadi, Kali, Parvati, Kushinada and Kikuri-Hime

Megami Demons like Scathach, Lakshmi, Sati, Sarasvati, Uzume.

Hell even the Seraph were celebrating…..In their own manner he supposed, though it didn't involve alcohol, Metatron, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel all were celebrating in their own way.

Wargod Demons like Ganesha and Valkyrie.

Beast demons like Cerberus, Sparna, Orthrus, Badb Catha, Nekomata and Inugami.

Brute Demons like Ongyo-Ki, Fuu-Ki, Sui-Ki, Kin-ki (hehehe), Shiki-Ouji, Ikusa, Oni, Momunofu and Shikigami.

Divine Demons like Throne, Dominion, Virtue, Power, Principality, Archangel and Angel were all following the Seraph, but they seemed to be having a good time.

Fairy Demons like Titania, Oberon, Setanta, Troll, Kelpie, Pyro Jack, High Pixie, Jack Frost and Pixie.

Fallen Demons like Flauros, Decarabia, Ose, Berith, Eligor and Forneus.

Femme Demons like Rangda, Atropos, Lachesis, Clotho, Dakini, Yaksini, Shikome, Taraka and Datsue-Ba.

The Fiends also joined in, though they were waiting for Dante to arrive, Trumpeter, Mother Harlot, Pale Rider, Black Rider, Red Rider, White Rider, Hell Biker, Daisoujou and Matador.

Jirae Demons like Gogmagog, Titan, Sarutahiko, Sudama, Hua Po and Kodama.

The Mitama Demons, Saki, Kusi, Nigi and Ara, all with a Mitama at the end of their names.

Night Demons like Lilith, Nyx, Black Frost, Queen Mab, Loa, Kaiwan, Succubus, Incubus, Fomor and Lilim.

Snake Demons like Yurlungur, Quetzalcoatl, Raja Naga, Mizuchi, Naga and Nozuchi.

And finally Yoma Demons like Efreet, Purski, Jinn, Onkot, Karasu, Dis, Koppa, Isora and Apsaras.

As for him? Well he was fighting a terrible threat right now….

"Naoki….."

"Yes Scathach?"

"How are we going to pay for all this?"

"That is exactly what I'm trying to figure out"

"That's what I was afraid of" The beautiful woman sighed.

Something to note was that a couple of his demons had changed when they left the Vortex World, Scathach was now a beautiful purple haired red eyed woman in a purple spandex, much to her chagrin and the demons, and his admittedly own, delight, and Cu Chulainn now had blue hair and red eyes and his spear was now crimson red, when Naoki asked why his outfit hadn't changed, he said the following

"Eh I like this outfit more"

And that was that.

Naoki himself had changed quite a bit in the span of a year, was it because he was half demon? Mother Harlot and Scathach seemed to think so, but also claimed that there was the possibility that he simply could be having a grow spurt…..So yeah that cleared absolutely nothing, regardless his physical change was clear, for some reason his shoulders were a bit broader, his muscles were also a bit more pronounced, nothing ridiculous like those superheroes from the western comics, but nevertheless he wasn't gonna get mugged any time soon, his wardrobe had also been significantly changed thanks to Mother Harlot, when he protested, she had this to say:

"My King, you are above mortals, you are the Lightbringer's Child, you are a Champion of Chaos and Neutrality, you represent Lucifer, Masakado, Izanagi and Izanami, as such, as a loyal follower, I cannot allow you to have a fashion sense so below mortal standards!"

Against such scathing criticism he could not fight, as such he allowed some of his more fashion oriented demons to give him an "extreme makeover" for one his hair was buzzed cut, Pixie claimed that you either had your hair in order or you had it in a mess, you couldn't go the middle ground like he had tried to go, she also claimed that the fact that he tried to pass the spikes on the sides and top of his head as "cool" was atrocious, he was given longer pants, right now he was wearing black pants with two belts with gold and black triangles, with a star and a skull in each knee, both gold and with the lower jaw of the skull on the lower side of the knee, making a fun little effect when he sit down or stood up, opening it's little jaw, he wore a green hoodie with tribal golden marks all throughout it, the marks were not random however, if one looked closely they would be able to see his adventures in the Vortex World, though given that only two people remembered the Vortex World, to most it would be just random work sown into the jacket, though he would have to give credit to whomever had made this artwork, it was amazing…Finally he had a red shirt with a white flame and a phoenix rising from it, it wasn't even remotely subtle from part of the demons, the Demi-Fiend was born from the ashes of Naoki Kashima after all…

And as he tried to think of a way to defeat the unbeatable monster known as debt, a ring came from his door.

"Must be Dante" He said to Scathach who nodded and went back to trying to calm the others down, key word being trying.

When he opened the door, sure enough, there was the white haired Devil Hunter, with his red coat, but now he was going for a more cowboy-ish look

"Yo Boss!" He saluted him so cheerfully…..

"Do you have my money?" He asked in deadpan

"Ugh!" And so the Devil Hunter recoiled, apparently from what he knew from some of Dante's friends this wasn't an odd situation for the Son of Sparda, he was always asking for some money.

"Okay Boss, I haven't been able to get a new job! It's only been a month c'mon!"

"I don't care; you don't have to live with them!" He pointed to the main room where the party was raging

"Dante!"

"Come join us Son of Sparda there is so much booze!"

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!"

"ANOTHER!"

"Oh Lord, forgive these sinners for they know not the bill…"

"Maybe later guys….." Dante chuckled and Naoki raised an eyebrow

"Hey just because you owe me money doesn't mean I'm not gonna let you party"

"You'd have to be pretty petty in order to do that, no there's someone else that wants to see you, boss" He turned and Naoki now could see who was behind him….

All the demons partying suddenly went quiet….

"ANOTHER!"

"SHUT UP THOR"

Well almost everyone.

The man behind Dante had a lab coat, or well the closest thing to a lab coat, it seemed to be a gigantic shirt that had some strange gray symbols, it had green in the chest and in the waist, he had white gloves and white shoes, he had a light complexion and had green eyes and light orange hair….There was a lot of light in that sentence.

"…Hello" Naoki finally said, now this was unusual, what would a doctor, because he had to be a doctor otherwise his dressing code would cause him some legal issues, want with him? If he could see the demons then it was clear something was up, if he could not see the demons then it was likely a debt collector…He didn't know which was worse.

"…..I see I came at a bad time hehehe" He laughed a bit awkwardly, so he could see the demons, well this just got interesting

"Lord Metatron isn't that….." A Throne spoke to Metatron who nodded

"Indeed that is a soul I never expected to see again…" The doctor looked at the angels and his eyes widened, he tried to bow but Metatron stopped him and turned to Naoki

"Naoki perhaps its best if we go to thy room" He spoke seriously, Naoki regarded him for a couple of seconds before nodding

"Metatron, Dante, Scathach and whoever you are, follow me, the rest continue to party" He turned to the rest who were looking at the situation in anticipation.

"….Another?"

"Another" Naoki nodded

"ANOTHER!" And with that Thor went to drink, and the rest followed him, Great Will bless his soul, he knew what he wanted, either fight or party, he wanted none with complex planning.

The four went to his room, while the party raged on the main hall, Metatron was the last one to come in and he closed the door behind him.

He sat down on his chair and put his elbows on the desk, with his hands intertwined, looking at the doctor who was squirming under his scrutinizing gaze.

"Ummm…" The orange haired man seem unable to actually come up with a topic, huh, was this guy stupid? He was the one who came here and he can't even think of a topic?

"So who are you?" That seemed to catch Doctor Orange by surprise but he managed to cough into his fist, likely to regain some sort of dignity…..He was in the wrong place for that.

"R-Right, my name is Romani Achaman; I am a doctor from a group called Chaldea Security Organization, and I am here in order to offer a job to you Naoki-kun and….."

"Man there's either two scenarios, either Chaldea pissed off somebody important and now they need to send doctors to recruit teenagers to fight for them or you pissed off somebody in your group and now this is your first job as a lying demoted doctor" Naoki noted giving Romani a blank look

"No! I just…Ugh well admittedly this does look suspicious, let me explain, we of Chaldea have one mission: To protect Humanity's Future"

""Protecting Humanity's Future" huh? Weird, I didn't see you anywhere when the Conception took place or in the Vortex World" Naoki casually said making Romani flinch

"That's not fair, it took us all by surprise, nobody, not even Hikawa's superiors in the Cult of Gaea knew what he was doing until it was too late" The Doctor defended himself and Naoki shrugged

"Fair enough, so? What does this have to do with us?"

"Perhaps it's best if I just cut to the chase, in 2018….The World will end, humanity will be eradicated" He clearly meant it to be a serious statement…

"Oh c'mon seriously! I just wanna party and eat pizza! I don't wanna deal with another end of the world!" Dante tiredly sighed

"Oh Lord, lend me thy patience for these foes know not the essence of madness" Metatron prayed with an exasperated voice

"For fuck's sake you would think he would wait a bit more than a year before starting to throw a temper tantrum!" Scathach just threw her arms into the air exasperated

"….Meh nothing new there" He simply said, he already said that he was in the wrong place for his own dignity

Roma, as he decided to call the newly named Doctor Orange, actually face-faulted, which was more than a little amusing to him

When he picked himself up he coughed into a fist

"Yes I suppose you would be accustomed to the whole human race being wiped out, which is why I came here specifically to seek you out to help us stop it" He requested, he shot the doctor an uninterested look

"…Why should I?" He asked in a deadpan voice

"What?! How can you say that?! The world will end and millions of people will die!" Roma asked in outrage, Naoki rolled his eyes

"You are underestimating me, if they make another Conception then I will survive, so will my demons, I'll kill the Reason Holders and then confront the one in the Vortex World, maybe it'll be Kagutsuchi, always nice to kill that fucker, maybe it's Lucifer that took control of the Vortex World as a way to spite me, Dad is a better sport than that though so I don't think he did, or if I'm really lucky it's YHVH and I can end this conflict sooner than I thought"

Roma surprised him though

"No! You don't understand, there shall be no Conception, this end of the world shall be permanent!" Roma shouted

What?

The others looked at Romani more surprised now

"Solomon….What happened?" The Voice of God said seriously causing Scathach and Dante to turn towards him and Naoki to look at the Head Angel, meanwhile Roma, or rather Solomon, sighed.

"There was no way I could have hidden it from you huh….." He said drily

"Do not be stupid Solomon, what sort of Voice would I be if I could not recognize the one that was chosen by God, carried his gift of wisdom and his Ten Rings, and became the ancestor of the Messiah?" The Seraph Leader said sternly

"My apologies Lord Metatron, but I assure you there is a reason for all of this" Both of them turned to Naoki who was chuckling to himself

"Something funny Chaos King?" Roma asked him warily, by now the former King of Magic probably had no idea what to think of him, as he had reason to dismiss the Conception as a threat, but probably thought him as callous for dismissing the rest of humanity

"How can I not laugh Solomon? The Ancestor of Christ and Chosen One of YHVH seeking out the help of the Anti-Christ….It's the joke of the century!" He laughed a bit before he spoke again

"Very well….Explain yourself Solomon, how is it that you walk among the living? What exactly is Chaldea? And what is going to happen to the world that makes you so desperate to come to me?" He asked with an interested smirk, Solomon sighed and began to explain

"Surely you know what happens when we die Chaos King, our souls are divided between the identity that we used to be, that part used to be handled by YHVH, but now the process is more…Chaotic, ultimately the Great Will tries to ensure that we reach the Garden but it can't always be successful, especially because it's also managing the redistribution of souls in order for new souls to be born…."

"Yes I know all of this, so you might wanna get to the point, you know end of the world and all that" Naoki said bluntly, making Solomon sweatdrop

"Naoki-kun…..You are a very blunt guy aren't you?" Oh he might have been a little too rude there, well that wouldn't do, the Demi-fiend would be the very first to admit that he could be an asshole, but never without a reason, being an asshole to somebody without a reason is a pretty good way to alienate allies and possible resources, stupidity, repetitiveness, and lack of a personal goal where the things that made him mad, but a guy trying to explain his situation would not make him this cranky, and the King of Magic merely mistook him for being impatient.

"Sorry if I sounded rude, but I'm not sure I can trust you just yet, after all YHVH is not known for letting his puppets, former or current, go very easily" He stated bluntly

Roma's expression became a mask of seriousness.

"It's true, and, had it been any other form of resurrection, then I would still very much so be his puppet, but I assure you, I am, for the very first time in my life, free, please let me explain, because there is a part you don't know…And honestly reciting previous lessons makes me less nervous" He finished scratching the back of his head with a nervous smile.

Naoki looked at him for a couple of seconds…That was emotion, genuine emotion, and a free admittance to a flaw at that, this man was telling the truth, he was no puppet, so he nodded.

"Very well my apologies please continue" Solomon nodded, a bit surprised that he apologized, and went on with the tale

"Anyway, yeah that's the usual process, but there are some people, so extraordinary, even among humans, that they bypass this issue entirely, the first are the agents of the Great Will, the Messiahs, even I do not know what happens to them when they die, this is the kind you know best, after all you are one of them Naoki-kun, they are the rarest of them all, I myself only know of a couple of Messiahs excluding you; then there are the Counter Guardians, humans who have made a contract with Alaya and now serve as humanity's protectors, and then there are the Heroic Spirits, legends of humanity's history that have gained a especial place in the afterlife, the Throne of Heroes, because of the Observation of Humanity"

"I'm assuming you; one of the most important individuals in Christianity is part of the Throne of Heroes?"

"Indeed, but it's not just me, Heracles, Arthur Pendragon, Jack the Ripper, Gilgamesh, Cu Chulainn, Sun Wukong, so as long as they have a legend, then they have a place in the Throne of Heroes, these Heroes can be summoned in a ritual that, up until recently, it was merely used for Magi ambition, to reach the Holy Grail, they would summon seven heroes, these heroes would kill each other and would claim the Grail, for one omnipotent wish" Naoki raised an eyebrow at that

"Oh? And does it grant that wish?"

"I wouldn't be here, truly alive if it didn't, Servants may look like they have flesh, but in reality they are spirits, linked to the world by a tether called a "Master" in turn they gain a new body and they are called "Servants""

"That sounds oddly kinky" Naoki said with a raised eyebrow making Metatron sigh and Scathach and Dante chuckle

"Thank the gods I thought I was the only one" The Queen of the Land of Shadows remarked

"Nah I'm pretty sure we all thought that" The Devil Hunter chuckled

"Regardless of the names, we can summon these Heroes in up to nine classes, though two classes are unusual ones, these classes are determined by the legends of the Spirits, Saber, the class of Swordsmen, is the strongest class, Lancer, the class of Spearmen, Archers, the class of Bowmen, Rider, the class of, well, riders, Caster, the class of mages, Berserker, the class of madmen, Assassin, the class of silent killers, Avenger, the class of the damned, and Ruler, the class of the referees of previous wars" Solomon explained

"I'm assuming you used to be a Caster" Naoki remarked casually and Solomon nodded

"Quite so, I managed to win the Holy Grail War with my Master and together we founded Chaldea with the Grail's help, and now we need your help in order to save humanity" He finished with quite the serious expression, Naoki turned to look at the window behind his desk

"I'm assuming this Servant summoning system is how you managed to regain your free will after being a puppet for YHVH for such a long time" He stated and Solomon nodded

"Indeed throughout my life the people didn't see me as "Solomon the Slave of God", but rather "Solomon the Wise King", and so I managed to be revived with full free will, I know that it sounds suspicious but…This era, the era of humanity where they can recreate miracles, this is the one thing I managed to actually do on my own, and I need to do everything in my power to protect it, can you not say that you don't at least empathize? You who would have been Lucifer's puppet had you not broken away yourself?" He hated when other people made arguments that he empathized with, it made it all too difficult to make a counter-argument

"Surely you understand that I cannot simply "take a job", that would be seen by others as me yielding to Chaldea"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures" Solomon replied "And humanity is at risk"

"Humanity is always at risk, it will always be at risk so as long as that madman of YHVH and my father continue their little pissing match, the fact that there is more danger now changes nothing…..But I am willing to fight for it"

"May I ask for what reason?" Naoki smiled at Solomon's question

"This world is mine, and I believe that, if humanity is given the right tools they could reach greatness that even the angels or the demons could not reach….Do you know what was one of the first lessons I learned in the Vortex World King of Magic?"

"No I do not"

"Life matters, ironic isn't it? Life matters because it can be snuffed out at any second, the decisions you make matter because they can never be taken back, so you better leave such things as reservations behind and do everything you can, I went through hell to give birth to this new world, and I have every intention of making the most out of this world"

"And yet here you are, partying with demons with reckless abandon" Naoki turned towards Solomon with a raised eyebrow who seemed like he had spoken before he could catch himself and was looking with dread, like Naoki was about to explode or something, he merely smirked

"Well it seems you do have guts King of Magic, as for the reason why I'm in this predicament, if you believe that this is peace then you are a fool, this is merely the calm before the storm, neither YHVH nor Lucifer have given up, they were merely set back, and the first one between us three who makes a move, opens themselves for retaliation, no this is time for planning, so I allow my demons to party, they cannot grow weaker after all, while I try to decipher what will be his next move, moreover, unlike you lot, I don't have a cheat code that gives me a fully funded organization that obeys my whims, so I have to be more reserved in my plans that I'd like to be"

Solomon flinched at the insult towards Chaldea, but he could not counter that, indeed for all that he did not act like it, Naoki Kashima was still just a seventeen year old young man, he would not have the resources to make advanced plans, and he was right in the fact that all they had was because of the Grail's interference

"But as I said, this world is mine, and I have no intention of leaving it to rot, it seems that one of those parties, likely YHVH being how petty he is and how bad his position was after the Conception, has grown tired of waiting and simply intends to destroy the table all together, I will not yield to Chaldea…But I am willing to make a deal"

Solomon sighed

"So a deal with the devil it is….."

"Oh I'm not the devil Solomon, I'm merely his son"

"…Then what are your terms?"

Naoki turned towards the window once more

"Would there be a limit to how many Heroic Spirits I would be able to summon?" Solomon shook his head

"No, it only depends on how many you can draw from the Throne, the Fate System, our replacement for the Holy Grail, will allow you to use as many as you wish, in a sense it creates a time-space effect, every Servant will be as strong as they would be if you were their individual Master, they can also be improved through a process we call Ascension, which improves their Saint Graph, the core of their spirit, so that they can, in a sense, evolve into a better stage of what they used to be"

Naoki nodded

"Here are my terms, any and all Heroic Spirits that I pull from the Throne will be under my authority, not Chaldea's, this shall be a partnership, Chaldea shall become my powerbase, and in return I shall become Chaldea's demonic sponsor, in return for the Heroic Spirits, my forces shall aid Chaldea whenever they ask for help, Chaldea shall fund my plans, and of course give me payment for my services, and in return I shall personally oversee all of Chaldea's important operations" Naoki stated his terms, and Solomon was left with his mouth hanging

"But…..That's ridiculous! You are asking for way too much! We'd basically be your lackeys!"

"Really? I think I'm asking for little, and no, you wouldn't be my lackeys, your original offer would have turned me into a lackey, fighting for your cause with no benefit for me; this is what is called a mutual benefit arrangement, you give me what I don't have, money and resources, and I give you what you don't have, an army of demons who can and have beaten the forces of Law and Chaos before, and someone who will make sure that the aforementioned forces do not storm into Chaldea and kill you all when they inevitably get annoyed with your interference" Naoki replied casually

"Look Doc you are not gonna get a much better deal with him, either you take it or leave it" Dante told Roma who sighed

"I'd have to talk with my bosses, I'm going to go out and make the call, then we'll see"

He left the room, and likely the apartment in order to talk to his superiors, meanwhile Dante, Metatron and Scathach got themselves a seat in the room

"Well when I woke up this morning I certainly didn't expect this" He said amused

"So does that mean my debt is paid boss?" Dante smirked at him

"Hell no"

"Was worth a shot"

"This worries me greatly Chaos King, why would YHVH suddenly want to destroy the game entirely?" Metatron asked with a frown on his face

"Maybe it's not him but rather a third party" Scathach suggested

"No it's most likely YHVH; he was left the worse after the Conception, not only was a world of freedom created, but Kagutsuchi was killed too, that means that it will take some time for it to recover and that means it will take YHVH sometime before he can use the Conception again…..Though it's also likely that a third party will jump at the opportunity" Naoki replied

Just then Futomimi entered; there was a sheet of paper in his hand

"You certainly do keep things interesting for me old friend"

"Aaah Futomimi as diligent as ever" Naoki said with a smile on his face, Futomimi handed him the sheet

"Let's see….Yes indeed, all the terms are correct, as expected of someone capable of seeing the future"

"You seem very confident that they will accept" Scathach noted

"They came to us that means they are far more willing to negotiate, besides under such circumstances they are likely desperate"

Outside the Apartment/ 25 hours remaining

"WHAT?!"

"Well…That backfired spectacularly"

Roman sighed as Olga Marie Animusphere ranted on the other side of the line, Da Vinci quietly laughed at the director's rage and Leff tried to calm her down

"Calm down Olga, this could be much worse" Leff tried to reason with the infuriated director

"Worse?! That little brat spit on our offer and made us his lackeys!"

"We are not his lackeys, we are partners, besides you can't get a Messiah's help that easily, if he had given in to that offer then I would have told you to back out because he would likely be trying to stab us in the back, at least this way we know he is in our side" Da Vinci intervened

Roman sighed; he had just told the rest about the deal the Demi-Fiend had offered them, obviously omitting the fact that he had discovered his real identity, after all the only one who knew was Da Vinci, he could not for the life of him say what he thought about him….

Naoki Kashima did not act like a seventeen year old, but he could not blame him, it was simply unreasonable, the Vortex World likely killed any childhood innocence he could possibly have and replaced it with a driving desire to survive, in a sense they were fortunate that he was merely morally ambiguous rather than an evil psychopath…..Still it was clear that if this alliance happened it would be strenuous at best, magi that were aware of the Conception were actively trying to either bring the Demi-Fiend to their side or make attempts on his life, none of the wannabe assassins had returned. This was one of the major points of tensions between factions that knew about the problem of Law and Chaos, they simply could not agree and many preferred to be the ones in charge rather than unite against a common threat and it was clear that, while Naoki himself didn't care what they did, the demons were starting to get insulted and if something wasn't done to ease relations then the magi in the Clock Tower would not have to wait for the end of the world in order to meet the Root…..

"We underestimated him that much is true, now we have to make a decision, he likely knows that we are desperate so arranging for a better deal will be impossible, do we take it?" Leff asked, Olga fumed

"Look we have to face facts, if this truly is the work of YHVH or Lucifer then the Demi-Fiend is the only being currently alive and in the side of humanity that is able and willing to fight them, so unless you are willing to take a stupid gamble and likely get us all worse than killed, I suggest we take the deal" Da Vinci spoke firmly, Roman had to wonder how someone as trollish and ditzy as her could be such an effective voice of reason in these kinds of situations

Olga growled….But ultimately gave in

"Fine…Fine! Tell the brat that we agree to his terms" Olga growled and Roman sighed

"Until we manage to find our own demon army and demonic superpowers I would refrain from antagonizing the Anti-Christ director" He suggested with a sigh

"Tch….." The director then cut off the connection

Roman sighed and went back to the apartment

Naoki's Room

When Solomon returned, Naoki only needed to see his face once to see that he was gonna sign the contract, so he smiled and put the paper forward, causing the former King of Magic to sigh

"You had a contract prepared?! When did you even have time to write it?!"

"This is what happens when someone has dependable friends on the other side"

"Don't turn this into a Disney villain song!"

"Oh don't be such a downer, it's time to celebrate! Now that the biggest pain in my ass has been corrected I can drink to my heart's content! Just sign there and we can get started" Naoki said with a smile

"….I would need my bosses to sign too, but what the hell, might as well" He got a pen and started to sign

"You never did answer my question though"

"What question?" Solomon looked up to question him

"Why you? Why send you out?"

"I requested to do it, the director can be quite prideful and temperamental and this needed to be…Handled carefully, our second in command was busy at the time and our technical director…Well her situation is complicated but she couldn't come"

"Let me guess, she is a Heroic Spirit too?" Naoki guessed and Solomon chuckled

"Yes quite so, although unlike me, she is still has her existence and powers, what gave me away?"

"You said before that you are truly alive, and that Heroic Spirits have limitations to their lives, so if you said that it was complicated then I assume it would be impossible for Heroic Spirits to walk around on their own"

"Nope, in that you are wrong, the true complication was her personality, she would have bombarded you and your demons with questions to find out how you tick, normally Heroic Spirits can go wherever they want, but that one is very difficult to control….As expected of Leonardo Da Vinci I suppose" Naoki raised an eyebrow at that

"Leonardo….Da Vinci…Wasn't Leonardo a man?"

"Yes"

"Then why are you referring to him as…"

"The legend of a Heroic Spirit affects their body when they manifest, we assume that, since one of the first things that most people think about when thinking of Leonardo Da Vinci is the Mona Lisa, we think that influenced the shape of her body, now Da Vinci looks exactly like the Mona Lisa, and thus we refer to her as a she" Solomon explained

"…..Meh I've seen weirder" If the doctor was expecting him to be freaked out then he was gonna have to try harder than that, nothing could quite beat the likes of Mara or the Manikins in terms of creepiness

"I have no doubts you have" He finished signing his name

"So then, when do I meet Chaldea?"

"Tomorrow a car will come to you house in the morning, it will take you to the airport and from there, it's directly to Chaldea"

"And Chaldea is…"

"In the North Pole"

"…Dammit I hate the cold"

And with that Solomon got up and offered a hand

"Might as well begin the partnership with the right foot, right?" He asked with a hopeful smile, Naoki eyed him for a bit before he smiled and shook his hand

"To a good partnership"

And with that, the doctor left and Naoki returned to the party

The next day Naoki had stuffed his demons inside his shadow, basically his shadow had become a gateway for the Cathedral of Shadows and it was where he stuffed his demons when they weren't actively fighting with him.

Sure enough the car came early in the morning, much to his chagrin due to his migraine, and took him directly to the airport, from there the plane took a very long trip, directly to the North Pole…..

And meanwhile his demons wouldn't stop doing Christmas references….

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way….."

"I wonder if Sandy Claws will give me a snake for Christmas…I want it to be big enough to eat the tree!"

"You are kidding right? No way the end of the world will stop Santa from delivering the presents, he is gonna wipe out a candy cane lightsaber and go all Badass Santa!"

"Big Boss will kill anyone who threatens Santa anyway…"

"I hear that Santa sings horribly~ And is also a Roman~"

"I hear that Santa is a King! And is also a Café Maid!"

"Don't worry guys I have the Santa Clauses one two and three right here, I've got the Kranks on speed dial and I got us a passage from the Jungle two the Jungle!"

"Is jungle two jungle a Christmas movie?"

"Ech jury is still out on that one….."

Naoki never thought he would become an expert on what hours of Christmas puns can do to a person's psyche but life was funny that way…

Chaldea Security Organization/ 1 hour and 30 minutes remaining

When he finally saw it…..Well the size was impressive he would give it that and he praised the fact that they constructed it glued to the mountain, so people looking from afar would likely not see it, but alas the architecture was nothing too impressive for a foundation with the resources of a nation, in fact it looked like something ripped straight out of Star Wars the Empire Strikes Back.

The plane landed and he, feeling quite like the VIP, got off to see Solomon standing there waving at him

"Why hello Doctor, how are you?"

"Quite well thank you Naoki-kun, now if I may there's a couple of things you need to know before we get to work"

"Then lead the way"

They went inside and the corridors were just as boring as the outside, the Doctor gave him a tour and showed him to his room, where he put his things, he refused to use the uniform though, he was Chaldea's partner, not their lackey.

"The first thing is….Well I'd appreciate if you kept my…Former job a secret, most here don't know what I used to do for a living"

"Oh? Didn't you make the Organization with the first Director? Beyond your association with the Forces of Law, I see nothing to be ashamed of"

"I don't regret anything, but I want to live a normal life, a life of my own choices, which would be in danger if you reveal it" Solomon replied with a serious tone

"…..Hmm while the part of wanting to live a normal life is a blatant lie, I'll at least respect the fact that you want to make your own choices, very well doctor"

"Please call me Roman"

"Very well, what's the next thing?"

"Second we will have to make a small test to see your Master compatibility, to see if you will be able to travel through time with our systems; it's a small technicality with you, but an important step with everybody else"

"I'd rather know I won't be ripped apart by the streams of time" Naoki replied casually making Solomon chuckle uneasily

"Don't worry I'm sure you'll pass given what you are"

They went to his office; the doctor took a bit of his blood and ran a couple of test while Naoki took a seat

"As I thought, one hundred percent, well given that you are a Messiah it isn't too surprising"

"One hundred percent….And that's the minimum? Well I'll at least applaud your standards"

"It's necessary, anything less than a hundred gives a tremendous risk of being torn apart"

Suddenly, the door opened, both of them turned to look at the door, but no one was there…And then Naoki felt a weight in his lap

"Fou!" He looked to his lap to see an adorable white and pink little animal that was looking up to him

"Hmm how odd, a Cath Palug? I never thought I would find one out of Avalon…." Titania wondered out loud, meanwhile Naoki scratched the back of its ears which made the Palug move its tail happily

"Fou!" It said quite happily

"Fou-san! It's not nice to just barge into the Doctor's…Oh" Another person barged into the office

She was quite cute, with silver hair with some pink undertones, and purple eyes, she was dressed in what he could guess was the uniform of Chaldea with a white jacket

"Oh Mashu and Fou how are you both?" Roman asked kindly and the now named Mashu nodded shyly

"Ummm Doctor who is this?"

"Naoki Kashima, nice to meet you" He presented himself

"Oh I'm Mashu Kyrielight, nice to meet you" She bowed to him, which was kind of adorable

"He is one of the Masters that have been chosen for the mission" The Doctor explained

"This guy is special Mashu! We really needed him but the Director was being a dumbass and didn't want him in the facility" Fou suddenly talked making Naoki turn to him

"I deemed it necessary to give you a translator Chaos King" Oberon explained

"Fou-san it's not nice to talk about the Director like that" Mashu sighed, oh so she could understand him too? He turned to the Palug who seemed quite happy

"I really wanted to meet you! But it sucks that you can't understand me….." Now it looked depressed

"Oh? And why did you want to meet me?" He asked drawing surprised looks from the other three

"You can understand Fou?" She asked bewildered, he merely shrugged and allowed himself a teasing smile

"I am a man of many talents"

"Ooohh as expected of someone who dominated the Boss and Boss Lady of Avalon! Well…..I wanted to meet you because in a sense we are similar" It said

"In what way?" The Palug's tail moved again, likely showing that he was happy…..Or smirking

"That is a long story, and besides the meeting is about to begin, you need to attend in order to summons your first Servant!"

Oh? They hadn't mentioned that…..He turned to the doctor who was smiling nervously

"To be honest we were about to go there, but Fou's interruption…." Naoki shrugged, unexpected things could always happen, and it was clear that the Palug was looking for him

"I can guide Senpai over there Doctor" Mashu offered…Wait.

"Why did you call me Senpai?" Naoki asked

"Yeah you haven't called any of the Master candidates that before" This wasn't a normal situation either it seems.

"Well…I'm not too sure myself, he feels….I don't know more human? Or maybe it's a sense of familiarity? It's strange but even so he has more experience than me, so I call him Senpai" She explained like it was only logical…

….What kind of people did this poor girl hanged around with that she believes that he, the freaking Anti-Christ, "felt more human"?

And what was this sense of familiarity she spoke of? He didn't feel it, and her appearance was so unique that he would remember meeting her

"Ah, that makes sense, alright Mashu can you guide Naoki to the meeting room? I have some things to do….." He said with an easy-going smile but Mashu's face turned into a frown

"I don't think today is the right time to continue your idol obsession doctor" At that rather odd statement, that for some reason made the Doctor go pale and start sweating bullets, Naoki turned towards Mashu with a bemused look on his face

"I-I don't know what you are talking about Mashu!" He said hastily

"What's this about idols?" He asked

"The Doctor loves to go to his computer and consults with an idol called Magi Mari…..Constantly" …..The King of Magic…..The Chosen One of God…..likes…..Idols.

He really was a Hero, he managed the impossible, every single one of his Demons was now dead silent….Before they all burst out laughing, well all would be an exaggeration, the angels were covering their face in embarrassment

"Oh Lord forgive this sinner for he knows not how sinful the idol industry is….." Metatron prayed, making the rest laugh even harder

"Snrkt…." He himself was trying to so hard to not laugh if only because he felt a bit of pity towards the former king

"They are all laughing at me aren't they?" The doctor asked depressed, Mashu looked at him oddly and then re-focused on Naoki

"It's alright to laugh senpai; everyone in Chaldea has done so at least once" She stated plainly and that was the straw that broke the camel's back

"Hahahahahahahahahaha!" He started laughing almost hysterically, to think that this was the hobby of the King of Magic!

"My…Reputation…." Roman whimpered sadly in a corner

"What reputation?" Mashu asked in honest confusion, making Roman sulk harder, Naoki and the demons laugh harder and Fou to get impatient

"Hey! We need to get to the meeting room! The meeting is about to start!"

"Ah that's right, follow me senpai! Don't be late doctor!" Mashu said as she ran, Naoki waited until one of his demons told him that she was a fair distance away and turned towards the former King of Magic

"Soooo….Idols huh? That's the fetish the Forces of Law tried to repress?" The demons laughed even harder and Roman sulked even harder

"Hey now, no need to sulk, everyone has their fetishes, though I myself prefer women that actually eat, don't fill every single sentences with winks, hearts and stars, and don't try to show their panties at every given opportunity" He replied with mirth in his voice, the demons were now roaring with laughter

"D-Did they hear it?"

"Come now Doctor, you left the Forces of Law, it's too late to be asking for a miracle" He replied as he left the room

"Maybe he should make a pact with the Shinigami; I hear blonde idols love the ones with the books!"

"Nah, he should go to those Pokemon celebrity contests, I hear there are tons of idols in there!"

"Or, and hear me out here, he should go to a Japanese town in the middle of the sticks, and hope for a murder mystery! Especially if they involve televisions, I hear that idols can't resist them!"

"He should be careful, I hear that a Detective named Conan has quite the run ins with idols, and one of them always ends up dead or with their career over…"

"Ahh the memories, I still remember the last time I coached someone to be an idol….."

That made him stop dead in his tracks

"You train idols Mother Harlot?" He dared ask….

"Why of course! The last one I trained was such a sweetie, she had pink hair too! Regrettable end, unfortunately, they locked her up and even sealed the windows when the poor thing started to cry, aaahh poor Liz you really should have just chosen milk for the skin as Mama Harlot told you, blood is better drank anyway…"

"…..Somehow I don't think I should ask….."

"Senpai!" He turned to see Mashu running towards him, she finally stopped in front of him and looked at him with a hint of annoyance

"Please don't make me run ahead, I thought for sure you had followed"

"Ah my apologies Mashu, I had some business to finish with Roman"

"C'mon, c'mon let's go!" Fou made them hurry and they went towards the meeting room…..

Conference Room/ 20 minutes remaining

They finally arrived at the conference room, and the meeting had already started, there were forty seven people, and Naoki rolled his eyes at that, they were likely brought here to be used as cannon fodder and to prevent him from obtaining too many Heroic Spirits, but it mattered not, there were ways around it that he could use…..

The director, a young lady, likely in her middle twenties, with conservative clothes that he swore could have passed for being part of the nineteen century, silver hair and yellow eyes, was giving orders to the cannon fodder, telling them that their lives and opinions no longer mattered, they were her soldiers and they would fight and die for her if she required them to. He would give her points for honesty, but that approach would not give her any loyalty from them, as the great Machiavelli once said, it's best to be loved and feared, but if you cannot be both, then it's better to be feared than loved, with this approach they would not love her, and very few things would make the Masters fear her once they had their Heroic Spirit, this was fantastic he would have to be in the lookout for any potential uprising…..What a drag.

After a few complaints were shot down, she instructed them to get into their positions for the summoning; it was then that she noticed Naoki, Mashu and Fou, if it was even possible, her face looked even less pleased and she made their way to them

"For someone who claims that they will help us, you are making it a habit to show up late" She remarked

"For someone who claims that they want to save the world, you sure are taking the necessary steps at the last possible minute" He shot back, and she grit her teeth

"Don't make me regret this"

"Same to you, you are already trying to get in the way of our deal" She suddenly smirked tauntingly

"Nothing in the deal said that you were going to be our only Master" He shrugged, while Mashu and Fou looked at the two of them, wondering where this tension was coming from

"I do wonder how long they'll last though; they are cannon fodder after all…"

"Maybe they'll surprise you" Now she looked annoyed, and it was his turn to smirk

"Cannon fodder? Surprising me? Do you even know any of their names or how talented they are?"

"I do know as a matter of fact, they used to be our first line of defense before Romani and Da Vinci insisted we invited you" She replied casually

"Good thing that at least a couple of members of Chaldea have sense" He told her with a smile on his face

"Indeed otherwise we'd only have you" He would give her this, at the very least the woman had an edge to her tongue

"So let me see if I get your logic, you would prefer a bunch of replaceable Magi who have no loyalty to you and will get killed faster than you can say "shit" when they confront a member of either faction to a guy who made his terms clear and can actually fight either side?" She frowned

"They know their place, unlike you"

"I wonder how many will "know their place" when they have a super powered hero who only a select few can defeat…Especially for a boss they don't like" She tsk'ed and he smiled victoriously

"Enough, do you know the words for the ritual?"

"The doctor explained it to me in the tour"

"Well at least he is useful for that…" She then pointed for the last spot with a circle in front of it and Naoki went towards it, Mashu following him

"What was that about? Do you and the Director know each other?" She asked confused

"Nothing to worry about, I have a bit of a reputation as a….Well kind of a wild card, and apparently she doesn't like that" Mashu seemed to relax at that

"That's true, the Director doesn't like it when she doesn't have control over a situation…But why did you call them cannon fodder senpai? That's not nice, they are to be our allies" She questioned him again and he sighed

"You have much to learn Mashu, in paper they are supposed to be our allies, but if the Director doesn't deny at any point that they are cannon fodder in our conversation, then why do you think they are here?"

"I…Don't know"

"There is much for you to learn Mashu, stick around and I'll show you, at least, how to discern the intentions of other people"

"I…..Won't be able to accompany you to the other side Senpai" She said sadly

"Can you watch from the monitor room?"

"How do you know if there is a monitor room?"

"It would be sloppy if you didn't"

"…..Yes I can"

"Then there is no problem, a very important part of learning is watching after all"

Mashu looked a bit surprised but then she gave a small smile

"Thank you Senpai"

"….Aren't you being a bit too nice to the girl my King? What purpose does this serve?" Matador questioned him; Naoki shrugged and thought his answer so that only his demons could hear it

"I was once like that too, naïve, wanting to prove my worth, not being able to read the intentions of those around me; I guess in the end I'll always be nice to the underdog" He shrugged

He then started to remove his jacket and his shirt, much to Mashu's shock

"S-Senpai what are you d-doing?!" She asked stunned, he ignored her though and concentrated

Soon enough the familiar, shaman-like tattoos began to appear, black in the center and green in the outlines, he also felt the horn in the back of his neck, when he had heard his father's voice once he had reset everything, he had wondered what he meant by "stay strong…" so he focused and there were his tattoos, and his demons, deep down he was actually kinda happy that the part of what he was would not be just a memory, regardless of how twisted it may seem to miss such a world….

And now here he was, about to fight once more, to be honest he was a bit worried, militaristically speaking, his forces were strong, due to their sheer variety and importance of some of the demons he collected, but due to their lack of initial funding and influence, not aided at all by the fact that factions that should have backed him were more interested in manipulating him or removing him all together, allowed the Forces of Law and Chaos the time to prepare….But it mattered not.

They had time to prepare before, and he still won, they had control over the Vortex World, and he still won, and this time he wasn't going to be the underdog, the director of this organization may try to hinder him with any and all petty schemes, but it wouldn't matter in the end, he would get his army, this time it would be an all-out war…..And he was gonna win it.

He raised his hand and began the spell, and with it, his newest….Well calling it adventure wouldn't really suffice would it? Adventures are supposed to be fun after all…

Ah but before that…

"Odin" He called to the All-Father who was quick to respond

"Yes Naoki?"

"Put the runes, in the case that I were unlucky enough to pull a Berserker…I have no need for madmen" The runes wouldn't stop the summoning of course, nor would they change the odds, but they would solve the biggest problem with that class….

"Of course my King" Suddenly, faster than any mage could see, an arm appeared with a spear on hand and carved the runes into the floor into the summoning cycle, a simple matter for the King of the North Gods, and thus he began to chant…

"Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. Let my great Master Lucifer be the ancestor"Apparently one had to use the name of one's most prominent ancestor or teacher in magic, and preferably over summoning and miracles, while his human ancestors had nothing to do with magecraft, nor did Lucifer much care about it to be honest, but he was well used to miracles and the summoning of demons…

"Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall. Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."He honestly wondered which Kingdom did the chant meant, did they meant the Root? Then why not say so? Regardless it meant nothing in the end….

"I hereby declare. Your body shall serve under me. My fate shall be your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Fate System. If you will submit to this will and this reason…Then answer!"He repressed a sigh, he had made some investigations in order to see how this usually went, and for all their air of superiority, the reality was that Magi were idiotic brutes when it came to summoning in general, expecting respect that they hadn't earned, and loyalty that wasn't theirs to claim, because they had three cheap shots. When dealing with cognitive beings that you summoned you must always give them a personal reason to follow you and that requires effort, effort to get to know them, effort to understand their motivations, desires and backgrounds, and that they understand you in return, so that they wish for that partnership to continue. Such an effort could not be done in the Vortex World, so he just had to rely on his strength to keep his demons on the line, a crude method that he wasn't fond of, but now he was confident that even if he were to fall unconscious or be incapacitated, his demons would fight for him until he could return and if he was on the border of death, they would come to rescue him….

Could any of these mages say the same if they were in a partnership with these heroes? Even if the partnership had been long considering their "morals"?

"An oath shall be sworn here! I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven. I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!" Now he was repressing a laugh, he supposed that no matter how much they claimed to no longer be human, old views did not die quickly, if at all, virtue? Evil? In heaven and hell? Such things were subjective for each realm and neither are compatible with human morals, well it showed the ignorance of the Magi and that was something to amuse him, so he could let it pass

"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three greet words of power. Come forth from the ring of restraints. Protector of the Holy Balance!"He smirked when he saw the figure emerging…

0 seconds remaining

And then, much to his annoyance, an explosion suddenly tried to engulf everyone in the room.

He went to shield his Servant; the explosion would not harm him thanks to the Masakados Magatama, but he wasn't quite sure his Servant was as tough as him….

And so the World ended…..

And thus the War began.

Aaaaaannnnndddd I'm done! I took an interest in this idea out of curiosity, since I could very easily connect both plots by taking the Neutral Ending of Nocturne, but you likely have questions so here are the ones I can think of! Mind you there will be some spoilers for Fate Grand Order.

Demi-Fiend's Character: Defining Naoki's character was a difficult thing because he is a SMT protagonist and thus the idea is that he has as little personality as possible, so I had to think of how the events of the game would shape him and the themes of Nocturne in order to shape him as a character. In most cases after the adventure is over, and the protagonist is still alive, then they come out as better people and in these type of stories that would mean that they are admired as a result because of their virtues, but I simply cannot see that being the case with the Demi-Fiend, he went through literal hell and the idea of the game was to shape him into the Nietzsche übermensch, so ultimately I decided to take the idea of him being an übermensch and ran with it.

Naoki's personality is meant to be a character that represents the ideals of the Neutral Path, that is to say, a character who sticks to their ideals regardless of the morality of them, it is very debatable whether he is an Anti-Hero or an Anti-Villain, charming yet ruthless, loving the potential of humanity but detesting its current state, hedonistic in life yet cautious in planning, prideful yet accepting of anyone's ideals so as long as they truly believe in them, a good, caring boss yet an utterly terrifying opponent that will not desist until his enemies are either dead or permanently out of his way, duty bounded and wishing for a true happy ending for humanity, yet an utterly savage and downright sadistic opponent.

That was a lot to write, but it was necessary to make sure everybody understood more or less the kind of character he is, so as to not expect the typical hero, as an add note, characters like Tywin Lannister, Goro Majima and Skullduggery Pleasant were inspirations for his personality.

Demi-Fiend's Powers: Yet again a difficult situation because not only is Nocturne an RPG, thus encouraging freedom for the players to make their own moveset according to their needs, moreover it is a very difficult RPG so many players tend to stick with certain attacks and spend the remaining slots on buffs and debuffs, on top of that, the Demi-Fiend not only has unique skills to him, thus hinting at how he fights in the story proper, but also cameos, as a boss or as an ally, on Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner and Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, each with their own moveset, so I decided to make it a combination of how the game wants to be played, and the way he plays in other games.

In terms of this story the Demi-Fiend is, unlike 90 percent of the Masters in Fate, a front-line commander that specializes in physical attacks, whenever he does use magic he centers on the Almighty element, buffing himself, debuffing his enemies and healing himself or his allies, the only exception for this is his Magma Axis, and even then it's a mix between physical and fire magic, he doesn't care much about defense because he has the Masakados Magatama but this does leave him vulnerable to Almighty attacks and Gun attacks, which are the only two types of attacks that can harm him

Demi-Fiend Moveset

Offence

Gaea Rage

Freikugel

Magma Axis

Divine Shot

Spiral Viper

Oni-Kagura

Deadly Fury

Javelin Rain

Xeros Beat

Support

Fog Breath

Focus

Wild Dance

War Cry

Mediarahan

Samarecarm

Almighty Pleroma

That's more than eight moves….: Yeah well I don't think the actual amount of moves the Demi-Fiend can learn is eight when even his personal skills can surpass that number, that's just gameplay convenience to not make the protagonist too powerful.

So if YHVH was the one behind Solomon, why did he give Solomon Ars Nova?: Ars Nova had a completely different purpose in this story than in Fate Grand Order, but I will not say more, that is for later chapters.

Couldn't you have kept Solomon's identity a secret?: I honestly wished I could have kept it a secret, but I couldn't find a reason without making Naoki, the Demons and/or the Angels look like complete idiots, Solomon's soul was deeply connected to YHVH and they wouldn't keep secrets from Naoki so story wise I couldn't find a reason for them not to find out and then immediately tell Naoki.

What is Mashu's role in all of this?: I know that one of the biggest fears with this story would be that Mashu would be sidelined because of Naoki's power, but do not fear, I have no intention to do that to her, but Mashu's role in the story will change:

In Grand Order both Mashu and the Protagonist are more or less equals, he didn't know much about Chaldea but she did, she didn't know much about the world but he did, she had the strength and he had the brain. Because of that their relationship grew as that of equals, and Mashu eventually gained a crush on the Protagonist, that is obviously not gonna be the case here, I based Mashu's relationship with Naoki on that of Skullduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain. He is her teacher, her partner, but the relationship is far more complicated than mere equals, Mashu knows that she is weaker than Naoki, so she seeks out his guidance to become stronger and eventually be his actual equal, similarly Naoki sees potential in Mashu and that's why he takes her under her wing. Don't worry just as Naoki is not just a demon with powerful physical abilities, Mashu will eventually have far more to her arsenal than her Servant abilities.

What is the Garden of Eden? It doesn't appear in the Nasuverse or the SMT-Verse: The Garden has in fact appeared on the Nasuverse….Just not with the name "Garden of Eden"

Who are you gonna pair Naoki with?: That is one of the two questions that I haven't been able to answer, Nocturne doesn't exactly lend itself to many romantic scenarios, if you want a pairing, put it in the reviews with the reason behind them, and they have to be actual reasons as to why the pairing would work.

Who is the Servant that Naoki summoned?: The other question I wasn't able to answer on my own, so I'm going to leave it to you, which Servant do you want him to summon the most? The only limitation I'm going to put is that they cannot be allied Servants from the main events, there'll be a poll and you can enter the specific one you want in the reviews.

And with that done, here is a bit of a preview for the next chapter!

"…Well that went smoothly"

"How can you just shrug it off?!"

"…..This can't be happening!"

"How about an alliance kid?"

"Your war ends here"

"▂▂▃▃▅▅▅▅!"

"I ask of you are you my Master?"

Until next time!