The Adventures of a True Immortal in DxD

by The Fengo

For millennia the Three Factions have fought in the Great War to the point of near extinction. In one final battle the Biblical God and the Four Great Satans were supposed to fight to the death and with their deaths bring an end to the Great War. Well, that's what would have happened, if it wasn't for one person showing up in exactly the right place, at exactly the right time.

2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD

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As Fengo started walking away from the battlefield to begin exploring the Underworld, he froze in mid-step when he noticed a presence which hadn't been there before. Turning around, he looked at what had stopped him.

Standing in front of him was a cute young girl. She had long, glossy black hair which reached all the way down to her hips and a small stature; her height just a fraction of Fengo's own. Well-hidden by her hair in such a way that Fengo could barely notice them were her ears, which ended in pointy tips. She was wearing a black dress and her gray eyes were completely blank and unexpressive.

Incidentally, her emotionless eyes were what Fengo noticed first and foremost. They immediately captured his attention and almost automatically he began walking towards her with a gentle smile on his face.

Once he reached her, he bent down so that he was at eye-level with her.

"Hey there, little one."

She didn't respond at all and continued to stare at him in a way that would have outright subdued anyone else.

Fengo was undaunted, however, and pressed onwards. "My name's Fengo. What's yours?"

Again she didn't answer, but Fengo was unwilling to back down and thus the two titans engaged in a battle of wills.

Anyone watching the two would have been incredulous at the ridiculousness of the situation. On one side was a small girl, and on the other a man who would have towered over her had he not been bending down. The smile on the man's face and the lack of emotion from the young girl clashed and created a quiet pressure that bore down on their surroundings. They were staring at each other directly in the eyes and neither was apparently willing to back down.

For the first couple of minutes this would have been an amusing sight to any spectators. After around ten minutes had passed, those same spectators would have begun to feel just a little bit awkward and they would have felt uncomfortable after the thirty-minute mark.

However, as hours passed and the two of them continued to remain in that same position with literally no change from them at all, anybody watching would have felt unsettled and disturbed at how unnatural the whole situation was.

Finally, after an absurd amount of time had passed, the young girl responded to him. "...I, am Ophis."

Her intonation and manner of speaking was decidedly odd; as if she had never spoken to anyone before, or spoken at all.

"'Ophis, huh? That's a lovely name."

As Ophis heard Fengo complimenting her name with sincerity in his voice and a heartfelt smile on his face, she felt a twinge of some "unknown thing" from inside of her. For a brief moment, she pondered on that mysterious phenomenon which she had never observed happening to her before.

However, Ophis discarded that train of thought as Fengo straightened his back and looked down at her with the same gentle smile she first saw on him.

"So, what can I do for you, Ophis?"

"..."

Ophis didn't immediately respond and they descended once more into silence, though the silence this time was more comfortable and relaxed than the one before it. She wondered why she left her home, the Dimensional Gap, for the first time in her existence. It had everything she wanted and needed and she was perfectly content in living there until the end of time. She would occasionally peek into some of the other realms if something caught her interest, but those moments were few and far between and she had never before left her home to do so.

Ophis thought long and hard on why she specifically left the Dimensional Gap to meet Fengo and eventually came up with a simple answer to her question.

"You, interest me." Even though she said this in her completely monotone voice, for the briefest of moments, there was a flash of "something" in her usually blank eyes.

Fengo blinked at Ophis' response, which was to her own internal question and not his own.

"Err, okay. Why do I interest you?"

"You are not from here."

Fengo's eyes flashed and his smile slightly widened as he half-heartedly tried to play dumb. "What do you mean by that?"

"You are not from this dimension." Ophis replied immediately, not even noticing his lackluster attempt to deceive her.

"So you noticed, huh?" Fengo confirmed easily, apparently not caring that she knew.

"I, saw your portal. It threaded a tunnel to this dimension from another one." Ophis said, recalling the moment she witnessed the portal first opening up. She had never seen anything like it and could only theorize how difficult it must have been to create a stable passageway between entirely separate dimensions. The difficulty in doing so would go beyond conventional problems like distance and direction. It had to involve some kind of power with which he used to locate this dimension and another power to actually create the passageway and make it stable enough to traverse through.

"Yep." He said. "You're absolutely correct. Good job, Ophis." As he praised Ophis and beamed at her, he also reached out with his hand to pet her head.

Once again Ophis felt that "unknown thing" pulse from deep within her when she heard Fengo's praise. Then, when he stroked her head, her eyes slightly narrowed as that "unknown thing" began to flutter around inside of her.

Fengo's eyes softened and his smile became warmer when he saw her reaction. Seeing the ever-impassive Ophis squint her eyes in pleasure from his petting was just too adorable, so he continued to pamper her.

Meanwhile, Ophis was just basking in the unknown sensations that Fengo was generating within her. For the first time in her existence, she actively wanted something: she wanted those sensations to continue.

After some time had passed, she felt Fengo stop and perceived another "unknown thing" forming within her, causing her to crane her head up to gaze at him.

Although Ophis remained as emotionless as ever, when she looked up at him like that, Fengo could only think that she was acting like a spoiled child.

Giving her a wry smile, he started rubbing her head again.

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Several more hours passed again before Fengo reluctantly brought the pampering session to an end.

He was forced to explain to her that he had something else he needed to do at the moment all the while enduring Ophis' gaze, which managed to look beseeching to him even though she herself still remained emotionless.

After it seemed like he managed to convince her that he needed to leave, he bent down so that he was looking into her eyes again. Grabbing one of her small hands, he entwined their fingers together while he grabbed her other hand and brought it to his chest where he held it there.

After doing that he smiled and said, "Do not worry, Ophis. I promise we will meet again soon."

Ophis felt a comforting warmth from where their hands were entwined and could feel the calm beating of his heart from her other hand. And, for some reason, as Ophis looked into his blue eyes, she believed that since he said so, since he promised, it would definitely come to pass.

"...Yes."

Fengo's smile broadened when he heard her reply.

"Then, until we meet again, Ophis."

"Yes... Fengo." She said, calling him by name.

Happiness seemed to radiate out of Fengo as he heard her articulating his name for the first time.

Separating from her, he gave her a cheerful nod and watched as the air around her began to vibrate and grow hazy before she disappeared.

He stood straight back up again and stared at the spot where Ophis had departed from.

"What an interesting little girl."

[You know she's not a little girl, right?]

Cali's voice rang through his head.

"Ahh, even though she's a Dragon or whatever, it doesn't matter. As far as I'm concerned, she's just a little girl."

[Fufufu. That's just like you, Fengo.] Cali said affectionately, chuckling. [Well, this way is fine too.]

Adjusting his clothing, he dusted himself off and began to walk away with an excited gleam in his eyes and a grin on his face. He was looking forward to finding out what this new land had to offer.

"So, shall we?"

[Yes, let's.]

Then, Fengo vanished.

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In a conference room located in the main headquarters of the Grigori organization were all of the leaders of the Fallen Angels. Azazel, Shemhazai, Baraqiel, Kokabiel, Armaros, Sahariel, Penemue, and Tamiel were all standing around a table and discussing with one another. They were in the middle of a meeting to determine the current state of affairs and were all giving their reports.

I wonder where Fengo is.

Azazel was listening to Shemhazai, his Vice Governor General, give his report. At the same time, he was also thinking about their unusual acquaintance.

It had been some time since Azazel had last seen the man and he was unsure what Fengo had been up to during it. Was he visiting the other factions first? Or was he just wandering all over the Underworld haphazardly? And for that matter, how would he even make his way to them and the other factions?

There were so many questions and unknowns that surrounded Fengo and his actions that Azazel couldn't help but worry about it. Doubt began to creep in concerning whether or not it was wise for him to put so much trust and hope into Fengo. For all he knew, Fengo could have just completely played all of them for fools and was now laughing at them as they scrambled around in the dark.

As his thoughts took a pessimistic spiral downwards, Azazel was broken out of them when he heard a series of knocks that interrupted Shemhazai as well.

Azazel and his fellow leaders looked towards the door leading outside of the conference room where the knocks originated from.

Giving his permission, Azazel said, "Enter."

The door opened to reveal one of his Fallen Angel subordinates who saluted to the leaders in the room after making his way in.

"What is it?" Azazel questioned.

"Governor Azazel, there is someone at the entrance requesting to see the leaders of the Fallen Angels. He doesn't appear to be one of us, nor does he seem to be an Angel or Devil, and he somehow managed to make it inside the headquarters without anyone noticing."

Looks of realization appeared in Azazel and the other leaders' eyes as they all had a vague suspicion on who that was. Before jumping to conclusions, Azazel decided to make sure that the person asking for them was the same person they were all thinking about.

"Does he have a happy-go-lucky attitude, pointlessly-bright red hair, blue eyes, and a constant smile on his face?"

While some of the leaders grinned at the rather accurate description of Fengo, the subordinate furrowed his eyebrows.

"Umm... Yes. He is exactly as you described him, Governor."

Azazel looked towards his companions, directing a grin at them when he confirmed everyone's thoughts.

However, Shemhazai was frowning as he thought about something their subordinate had mentioned.

"That last thing you reported. You said that he made it inside the headquarters without anyone noticing?" He asked, bring up his concern.

The subordinate shifted uncomfortably as he answered. "Yes, Vice Governor Shemhazai."

Hearing this, the other leaders became interested and listened on as Shemhazai further questioned him.

"Are you saying that he made it past the door, the guards, the barriers—our entire security system and no one noticed?"

"...Yes, Vice Governor." The subordinate replied, looking even more uncomfortable.

Shemhazai sighed.

"...How?"

"W-We don't know, Vice Governor."

"...Then how did you find him?"

"W-Well..."

Seeing his subordinate hesitate, Shemhazai impatiently urged him on. "Just spit it out!"

"W-We didn't exactly find him, Vice Governor..."

Shemhazai and his fellow leaders raised their eyebrows at this.

"H-He walked up to us while we were on guard duty and asked, 'Hey, can you tell me where I can find Azzy? I'm here for a chat with him and his buddies.'"

As the subordinate finished his story and averted his eyes, the room descended into silence. The subordinate broke out into a cold sweat as the silence dragged on, but thankfully for him it was soon broken.

"Pfft."

It was difficult to tell who started it, but three of the Fallen Angel leaders soon burst out into laughter.

"Guhahahahaha!"

""Hahahahahaha!""

Armaros, Azazel, and Penemue doubled over, holding their stomachs in delightful amusement.

Shemhazai just sighed again and palmed his face in consternation.

Azazel wiped away a mirthful tear from his eye as he settled down.

"Ahh, yeah. That's definitely Fengo." He said cheerfully.

"Guhaha! What an interesting guy!"

"Fufufu. I can't wait to talk to him personally."

Continuing after Azazel, Armaros and Penemue spoke up as well after calming down.

Rubbing his face wearily with his hand, Shemhazai asked his subordinate another question. "Where is he right now?"

The subordinate had felt relief when he witnessed his leaders' reactions. When Shemhazai focused on him once again, he directed his attention towards him.

"Before I had left to report the situation, we had surrounded him so that he couldn't do anything."

"Bring him here."

"Right away, Vice Governor!"

The subordinate saluted before leaving to carry out his orders, closing the door behind him.

A little bit after that, Azazel puffed out his chest proudly and declared smugly, "See? I told you guys he would come."

Sahariel looked amused as he deflated Azazel's ego. "Even though you were the one who was worried the most."

"No I wasn't!" Azazel denied immediately.

However, including Sahariel, everyone in the room could easily see through Azazel's lie.

Looking at him with half-opened eyes, Shemhazai said, "Yes you were. In fact, you were probably thinking about it while I was giving my report just now."

"Guh!"

"Adding on to Shemhazai, you often seemed to be lost in thought and inattentive lately." Baraqiel added.

"Gah!"

"I've heard you muttering to yourself and mentioning the name 'Fengo'."

"Ugh..."

Tamiel delivered the final blow to Azazel who had already been figuratively stabbed by his friends' remarks. Everyone shared a smile as they gazed upon Azazel who was now on his hands and knees with a depressing rain cloud hanging over him.

Although they were having some fun with him, they all knew that Azazel was, actually, really worried. He and Fengo had actually gotten along very well in the short amount of time that had passed, a fact that had surprised them, which could also be the reason that he placed his trust and hope in Fengo. That was a very risky move to make and they knew that Azazel would have been devastated if his belief in him was betrayed, even if he had realized that that was a possibility from the beginning.

Azazel perked up, however, when he heard faint voices coming from the hallway outside.

"... No way! Did that really happen?"

"Haha, really, really it did! You should have seen Azzy and the rest of them. The looks on their faces were priceless."

Everyone in the conference room could make out the voice of the subordinate who had been sent off and recognized the cheerful tone of the other.

"So the Great War is really over, huh? When Governor Azazel announced that to us I think that everyone thought that it was just a hoax."

"...Anyways, we're here. They're right through that door."

The door to the conference room opened to reveal their subordinate and a familiar crimson-haired, blue-eyed figure standing behind him.

Fengo smiled when he saw everyone in the room.

"Hey, everyone." He greeted, waving his hand at them.

The subordinate looked aside at Fengo, a little shocked that he was acting so casual with his leaders.

He was even more shocked when Azazel walked up to them, smiling, and greeted him back. "Yo. You're finally here."

Addressing his subordinate, Azazel said, "Thanks for bringing him. You can go now."

He saluted his Governor and was about to leave when Fengo stopped him, saying, "I'll see you later, Jacob."

Giving Fengo a grin, Jacob replied to him. "I look forward to it, Fengo."

Azazel was surprised that Fengo had already befriended his subordinate in such a short time and voiced it after he left. "You two are already friends, huh."

"Yeah. He's a good guy." Fengo replied cheerfully.

Grinning at his simple response, Azazel switched topics. "So where have you been? It's been a while since that day."

"Oh, I've been... around." Fengo said ambiguously.

Azazel was not the only one who raised their brow at Fengo's answer.

"'Around'?"

"You know... various places."

Azazel saw that he wasn't going to get a clear answer from him. When he was about to say something else, he was interrupted by Fengo.

"But more importantly, Azzy... 'Pointlessly-bright'?" Fengo said. There was a smile on his face but his eye was twitching.

"Whatever do you mean, Fengo?" Azazel said innocently, whistling while averting his gaze.

Fengo wasn't buying any of it; he could clearly see the smile tugging at Azazel's lips. "Oh spare me, Azzy."

"Besides," Fengo smirked. "You are the last person I want to hear that from."

Azazel froze in place as his smile became strained. "Oh? What do you mean by that?"

Fengo glanced at Azazel's hair before looking away and covering his mouth.

"Pfft."

"Oi. You have something to say about my hair?"

"No, nothing. I mean, your dual colored hair is... Pfft... Nice."

"Ahh, well at least people don't have to squint or cover their eyes when they look at my hair."

"Ha ha, is that so?"

"Ha ha, yeah."

By this point, the two were pushing their foreheads up against one another and, although they still had smiles on their faces, were glaring bloody murder at each other. If one looked closely enough, streaks of lightning could be seen jumping between their eyes.

""Ahahahaha!""

All of a sudden they pulled back and started laughing loudly.

As the rest of the leaders looked on at the two who were laughing their heads off like idiots, they were inwardly amazed at how well Fengo got along with Azazel. At the same time, they were also resigned at the fact that their lives had just become more troublesome.

"So, would you mind introducing me to your friends?" Fengo asked Azazel, after they eventually settled down.

"Yeah, come on over."

Following Azazel to the conference table that the other leaders were standing around, Fengo was introduced to the leaders of the Grigori.

"Everyone already knows this, but this guy's Fengo." Azazel said, pointing at him. Fengo waved to everyone around the table.

"This is Shemhazai." Azazel said, starting with his Vice Governor General.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Fengo." Shemhazai stated formally.

The first feature of Shemhazai's that Fengo noticed was his pure white hair. It was of medium length and unlike the white hair of the elderly in that it looked vibrant and gave him a distinguished and striking look. He had blue eyes set on a serious-looking face that could turn heads and appeared to have a strong body underneath his clothing.

"It's nice to meet you too, Shemmy!" Fengo chirped in response.

Closing his eyes, Shemhazai said, "My name is Shemhazai and I would appreciate—"

"Next is Tamiel." Azazel interrupted, cutting Shemhazai off. This caused him to twitch and clench his fists as he silently fumed at his idiot of a friend.

Ignoring Shemhazai's plight as well, Fengo looked at who Azazel pointed to.

Tamiel was a tall, handsome man with long blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing robes that were decorated with many ornaments and was wearing a circlet on his head. He had an impassive expression on his face and was surrounded in a calm atmosphere.

He nodded his head at Fengo when he was introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Tammy."

When Azazel saw that there was no other response from Tamiel, he moved on.

"He is Armaros." Azazel said, pointing to another man.

Looking at Armaros Fengo thought that he looked like a villain. He had wild brown hair, a wild beard, and an eye patch covering one of his eyes. Fengo saw that his uncovered eye was green and that it was filled with vitality. He had a good physique and he spoke in a thick and booming voice.

"It's nice to meet you, Fengo!"

"Likewise, Armos!"

"Guhaha! I've never had a nickname before. How interesting!"

Azazel grinned at Armaros' behavior and introduced the next person.

"That is Baraqiel."

Baraqiel was a gruff, middle-aged-looking man. He possessed a muscular body and had black hair and a matching well-kept beard. His eyes were narrow, almost setting into a thin line, and contributed to his severe countenance. All in all, he looked like an honest and somewhat boorish warrior.

"I look forward to our future interactions." He said seriously.

When Fengo did not respond immediately, Baraqiel and the others all regarded him while wondering what was wrong. He was just looking at Baraqiel, almost quizzically, as if trying to puzzle something out. Baraqiel received a bad premonition about Fengo's silence and was about to speak up when Fengo did.

"Ah." The leaders watched as Fengo brought his fist down into his palm and made a sound of realization.

"You're an 'M', aren't you?"

Baraqiel snapped.

"Uuuooohhh! What did you call me?!"

Shemhazai and Armaros were forced to hold Baraqiel back, lest he charge towards Fengo and murder him.

Holding his hands up placatingly, Fengo tried to calm him down. "Ahaha, I was only kidding! Just kidding."

Baraqiel didn't trust the smile on Fengo's face nor his words, but managed to calm himself down anyway. He glared irritatedly at some of his friends who were holding their hands to their mouths, trying to stifle their laughter.

Azazel couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he whispered to Fengo out of the corner of his mouth. "He's totally an M."

"Yeah, definitely." Fengo replied back, his hand covering his mouth conspiratorially.

Baraqiel heard them, of course, but he refused to give in and show any more reactions to their teasing.

"It's nice to meet you, Barry." Fengo said afterwards, his smile and voice more genuine now.

Baraqiel just grunted and looked away, still annoyed and embarrassed from the previous incident.

"Aww, look at him. Poor Barry is embarrassed now." Penemue smiled mischievously as she teased him.

A vein throbbed on Baraqiel's forehead as he snapped at her. "Don't call me that."

"Fufufu."

"The giggling woman over there is Penemue." Azazel said, thoroughly enjoying the antics he was witnessing.

"I think that we're going to have lots of fun together, Fengo." Penemue said with a wink, giving him a playful smile.

Penemue was an incredibly beautiful woman. She had a stunning and gorgeous body with large breasts, long purple hair, and intense violet eyes. At first glance her appearance would suggest that she was strict and was the calm and collected type. However, her easy-going attitude and light-hearted behavior revealed to Fengo what she was really like.

Giving her a wide smile, Fengo said, "Definitely. Look forward to it, Penny."

Their eyes sparkled like mischievous children as they looked at each other and everyone in the room had an ominous premonition of the trouble those two were certainly going to get themselves into.

Azazel chimed back in. "Before that, there are still two more people for me to introduce."

"The guy with the glasses is Sahariel." Azazel said, this time pointing at another man.

Sahariel was a young man who was wearing a white lab coat and a pair of thick glasses. He was of a smaller stature than the others in the room and had messy black hair that seemed as if it hadn't been combed in... Ever. His appearance gave Fengo the overall impression that he was a scientist or the like.

Fengo's hunch about him was proven correct by Sahariel's next words. "You said that you were a human, correct? How fascinating. I have never seen a human like you before and I would love to have the opportunity to conduct some experiments with you."

"Sure, Sari. It sounds like it'd be fun."

"Shishishi." Sahariel let out a creepy laugh as a black aura seemed to billow out of him and cover his body. "I wonder what I should do first. Should I take a look at his insides or should I test his mental endurance? I wonder how much he can take before he breaks..."

As Sahariel began muttering dangerous-sounding things to himself, Fengo just gave him a wry smile.

"Riiight..."

"And moving on," Azazel continued seamlessly, as if he was used to Sahariel's strange behavior. "Last but not least is Kokabiel."

Looking over at the last person that Azazel introduced to him, Fengo was met by a disdainful glare that was set upon a regal visage. Wearing fine black robes, Kokabiel had long black hair that was dark as night and yellow eyes which were trying to bore a hole through Fengo's head.

"Nice to meet—"

"You will not receive any welcome from me, human."

Unperturbed by Kokabiel's attitude, Fengo tried to extend his greetings to him only to be rejected before he could even finish speaking.

"Kokabiel..." Azazel frowned at his long-time comrade.

"Does no one else see the ridiculousness of this situation?" He said angrily, looking at everyone there. "For thousands of years we have fought the Great War and were on the verge of winning it that day. Then all of sudden a human of all things shows up, declares the Great War to be over, and we all just return to our homes with our tails between our legs?"

The room was silent as they all listened to Kokabiel.

"Don't fucking joke with me!" Kokabiel roared as he slammed the table in front of him, smashing it into splinters. Pieces of the table and papers were sent flying around the room as he vented his anger.

"We are the Grigori! Defying the Biblical God we gained our freedom and when he tried to take it away from us we denied him by fighting back! When the Devils attempted to force us out of our new homes we fought back! Even as we fought against both of the other Factions we triumphed! We Fallen Angels are the superior beings and I am disgusted at the fact that we were forced to work together with our mortal enemies because a lowly human suggested the idiotic idea of peace!"

Azazel's frown became more pronounced the longer Kokabiel went on but he was careful to keep the darker emotions he was feeling from showing on his face. Glancing around at his other friends' faces he could tell that they were doing the same.

Kokabiel's words captured the general feeling of what a lot of Fallen Angels felt when they were told that the Great War had ended. Like Kokabiel himself, some felt that they could have won if they had only kept on fighting, believing in their own natural superiority over their enemies and refusing to think otherwise.

However, above all else, what Kokabiel's words represented was the doubt and negativity that many Fallen Angels felt when they were presented with this situation. It might not be for exactly the same reasons as Kokabiel and those like him, but there were plenty of others to choose from and it was easy to think of only the worst outcomes.

That same process was occurring within the leaders of the Grigori as they struggled to fight against the negative emotions that were hiding deep inside them and whispering dark thoughts in their minds. Kokabiel's words had brought their fears and doubts out into the forefront of their thoughts and it seemed as if they would succumb to them as well.

An end to the Great War...? Ridiculous...

Peace between the Three Factions...? Impossible...

The other factions are surely thinking the same thing, so wouldn't it be better if we just attacked them and wiped them out right now...?

"Peace? How can there possibly be peace?!" Kokabiel continued. "To lower our weapons after we have already stabbed them into our enemies is absolutely foolish! No, the only option is to fight and kill them all!"

Kokabiel is right... How can our enemies possibly forgive us after we have killed so many of their people..?

We have to protect our people first...

If we attack them now, we could take them by surprise and truly end the Great War...

"Now is the perfect chance to—!"

"Hey, Biel."

The Fallen Angel leaders' dark thoughts were put on hold as they turned to look at Fengo when he nonchalantly interrupted Kokabiel, who scowled at the interruption and at Fengo's nickname for him.

"Listen, I'm really sorry to interrupt you in the middle of your tirade—."

Fengo paused as he gained a thoughtful look on his face.

"...Well, no, I'm not sorry at all, actually."

Kokabiel felt his anger climb further at that.

"Anyways!" Fengo said, denying Kokabiel a chance to get a word in when he was about to respond.

"I'm not sure if your friends have ever told you this before, so I'll just tell it to you right now."

Here, Fengo paused for dramatic effect and all of the Fallen Angel leaders subconsciously leaned in as they awaited his words. Even Kokabiel was wondering what Fengo was going to say.

Blue clashed with yellow as Fengo looked directly into Kokabiel's eyes when he delivered his words.

"You're an idiot."

The refreshing smile on Fengo's face as he said this only pissed off Kokabiel more.

The other Fallen Angel leaders, meanwhile, were gaping at Fengo who had just bluntly insulted Kokabiel.

"I won't claim to know much about the history of your race or the history of the Great War," Fengo continued. "But what I do know is that thousands of years of constant warfare are usually rather detrimental to the continued well-being of any race, no matter how superior they may think they are."

"Do you doubt my words, human?" Kokabiel hissed, putting as much derision as he could into the word.

"Yes, I do." Fengo said easily, ignoring the threatening tone in Kokabiel's words. "From what I've seen so far, although there are obvious differences between the three races, I don't believe that any of the three races are inherently superior to the others."

Fengo fearlessly matched Kokabiel's eyes which were now glaring at him dangerously.

"From the same vein, I find your belief that the Fallen Angels were going to win the Great War to be hilariously delusional. And just in case you've already forgotten, I only suggested the idea of peace while it was all of you who agreed upon it. If you guys had truly wanted to end each other that day…" Fengo shrugged his shoulders. "I would have just left."

Kokabiel was trembling with rage as his vision was dyed red the more Fengo spoke.

"It takes strength to lower your weapons after they have already been raised, Biel." Fengo went on. "And it takes wisdom to look beyond the easy solution of just killing everything."

The other Fallen Angel leaders had been listening with rapt attention to the two of them as they went back and forth, but they grew alarmed as they gazed upon Kokabiel. His fists were clenched at his sides and his demeanor was becoming increasingly more dangerous. As Kokabiel's power began to leak out of him and fill the room, they glanced at each other and nodded, preparing themselves to stop him by force if necessary.

Looking over at Fengo, they couldn't tell if he had not noticed the danger that he was in or if he did know but just didn't care.

Whether or not he was aware of how close Kokabiel was to his breaking point, Fengo continued onwards.

"Besides," Fengo said, giving Kokabiel a knowing smile. "Is the reason you're so angry about this whole thing really because of the Fallen Angel's superiority and all that?"

Every other person in the room gave Fengo a quizzical look at what he said. Kokabiel had clearly stated his grievances with the agreement that had been reached between the Three Factions and it was in line with what a large portion of their people believed as well.

"Or is the real reason you want the Great War to continue is because you want to keep fighting?"

The Fallen Angel leaders looked at their friend when Fengo pointed out something they hadn't taken into account.

Kokabiel showed no outward reaction to what Fengo said, but that wasn't enough to deceive him.

"Ahh, I'd recognize that look anywhere." Spotting what he was searching for in Kokabiel's eyes, Fengo smiled triumphantly. "You're the type of person who only feels alive when you're trading blows with others in a life-or-death battle, aren't you?"

That's right. How could they have forgotten? For as long as they have known him, Kokabiel had always been like that.

"When you're in the middle of a fight, does your heart not race and are your spirits not lifted as you engage in combat with your opponent?" Fengo spoke as if he could see straight through Kokabiel's very being. "Do you not enjoy the thrill and excitement of facing an equal in a contest of power and strength?"

From the ferocious smile slowly growing on Kokabiel's face and the gleam of light appearing in his eyes, it was obvious to everyone in the room that Fengo had been spot-on.

The Fallen Angel leaders now understood the real reason behind Kokabiel's reluctance and push-back against the peace they all wanted between the Three Factions. Kokabiel, after all…

"In the end, you're a—"

He had always been a—

"Battle-maniac."

The room was silent as everybody awaited Kokabiel's reaction to Fengo's accusation, wondering what was going to happen next.

On one side was Kokabiel, who was wearing the same smile he would have during a heated battle; a smile which would have usually sent chills running down the spine of anyone who witnessed it. And on the other side was Fengo, who was enduring it effortlessly and matching Kokabiel's wild smile with a grin of his own.

"And what of it?" Kokabiel finally responded. "Is there anything wrong with that? Do you take issue with that piece of information?"

"Actually, no, not at all. If fighting makes you happy then it makes you happy, but are you telling me that you want to continue a war that will lead to the extinction of your people just so you can fight?"

"Absolutely."

"And that's why you're an idiot." Fengo retorted, hearing Kokabiel reply without hesitation.

While Kokabiel twitched at being called an idiot again, several of the other Fallen Angel leaders groaned as they held their faces in their hands at the absurdity of their friend.

"Kokabiel…" Even Azazel had a cramped expression on his face as he looked at his friend.

Meanwhile, Kokabiel appeared completely unapologetic about the trouble he caused for everyone, creating no small amount of consternation for all of them.

"Well it's not as if any of the other battle-maniacs I've met were any different." Fengo commented, rolling his eyes.

"You've met people who were like Kokabiel before, Fengo?" Penemue asked, knowing how much of a pain it was having Kokabiel as a friend and sympathizing with Fengo if that was the case for him as well.

"I've known worse." Fengo said, giving Penemue a wry smile. "You all are lucky that this guy here only wants the continuation of a war that will lead to the extinction of your race and two other races."

She, and the other Fallen Angel leaders listening in, stared long and hard at Fengo as his words registered in their minds. Then, as one, they all turned to look at Kokabiel who was taken aback at the intense looks he was receiving. As their imaginations went to work, some of their expressions changed into comic looks of horror.

"Hey." Kokabiel interjected, frowning indignantly at the treatment from his friends.

"Ahem. Moving on, where do we stand now, Kokabiel?" Clearing his throat, Shemhazai brought the conversation back to the main issue at hand. "For the sake of our people and the future of the Fallen Angels, the leaders of the Grigori must present a united front. All of them." He said, looking directly at Kokabiel. "What would it take to do that?"

Kokabiel crossed his arms and gave a simple reply. "I just want to fight."

Shemhazai frowned at his stubborn response and looked to his colleagues for help. None of them, however, had a solution to their problem.

As they thought about what they could do to convince Kokabiel, a cheery voice chimed in from the side.

"The solution is really simple, actually."

The gazes of those in the room gathered back to Fengo who stared directly at Kokabiel as he said that. They were curious about what he was going to propose and, considering his past record of outlandish proposals, were understandably feeling a mixture of anticipation and dread.

However, they never in their wildest dreams could have imagined what was going to happen next.

"I'll give you a fight."

Two things happened in that instant.

The first was that, before Fengo had even finished his sentence, every single one of the Fallen Angel leaders unfurled their wings and scrambled back, flapping their wings frantically as they did so, in an attempt to get as far away from him as possible.

The second thing happened simultaneously with the first, which was that they each materialized their own light weapons. Everything ranging from swords to spears to a bow appeared in their hands—and they were all pointed at Fengo.

Their minds were in turmoil as their thoughts tried to catch up to their instincts and reflexes which automatically moved their bodies. Even now they were fighting the urge to react violently and dangerously. Slowly, however, their mental faculties began returning to them, allowing them to assess the situation more calmly and rationally.

The first thing they noticed was the overwhelming and overpowering sensation that was emanating from Fengo himself. It was similar to the feelings of bloodlust and killing intent that they regularly experienced on the battlefield, but it wasn't quite the same. If they had to describe it, what they were sensing felt more… pure than either of those two feelings. It was like what they were experiencing was just pure fighting intent, if such a thing even existed.

Of course, calling it "pure" would be misleading as that sensation immediately triggered every single one of their finely tuned instincts that had been honed through deadly combat. It caused their hearts to start pounding within their chests and their breathing to quicken, as if they were suddenly placed into the middle of a life-or-battle, and it wasn't going away. It permeated the entire room, filling the air and creating an incredible pressure that bore down on all of them. It was incomprehensible that one moment they were all having a discussion and in the next it felt as if they were in the middle of a battle during the Great War.

And Kokabiel was enjoying every second of it.

It was absolutely amazing! He could feel the smile on his face threatening to split it into two as he basked in the sublime state of being that he was currently feeling. It felt as if he was experiencing every battle he had ever fought all over again. The joy, elation, excitement, fear, restlessness, and nervousness he experienced in each of those battles were coursing through him like an unstoppable flood and he soaked them all in like a sponge.

This is why life is worth living! Kokabiel crowed in his mind, looking at Fengo's teeth-filled smile which seemed to be pushing for a fight.

This is all I want and need! He thought, as Fengo's eyes, which looked as if a fire had been lit inside them, matched directly with his own savage gaze.

Tightening his grip on his light swords, he prepared to launch himself straight at Fengo—

"But it will have to wait until later."

Now, unfortunately for Kokabiel, Fengo's statement came at exactly the same time as Kokabiel was about to bolt towards him. The conflicting signals sent from his brain because of this unfortunate event resulted in a loss of balance and coordination across his entire body, ultimately culminating into a straight-forward descent to the ground.

Basically, he fell flat on his face.

"Pfft… Ahahaha!"

As Fengo burst into laughter upon seeing Kokabiel plant his face into the floor, Kokabiel raised himself as he roared angrily at him.

"What do you mean 'later'?!"

Fengo's laugh calmed down into chuckles so that he could reply to him. "Well it's not as if I can fight you right this instant. I have things to do!"

Incidentally, Fengo's amusement did nothing to temper Kokabiel's anger.

"Are you fooling around with me?!"

"No I'm not, I'm being completely serious!" Fengo said, grinning. "I came here to get an idea of how the Fallen Angels are doing and I still have to travel around to the two other factions!"

While Fengo and Kokabiel were going back and forth with each other, the rest of the Fallen Angel leaders were left blinking repeatedly as they numbly stared at Fengo and tried to understand what had just happened. Fengo's fighting intent had disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared and it left them off kilter and bewildered as to how he could change so quickly.

As they looked at Fengo who had a cheerful smile on his face and merriment dancing within his eyes while he bantered with Kokabiel, they wondered if what they had just experienced was a hallucination. The Fengo they were watching right now who was playing around with Kokabiel was the familiar person they knew. But the weapons in their hands and their racing hearts, which were just now calming down, were damning evidence which told them that it really did happen.

"So when are we going to fight then?"

"I'll tell you what, Biel. After I'm done here I'll be moving on to the Angels and Devils next. I'll come back here after that and we'll have our fight then, okay?"

Kokabiel grumbled and frowned when he heard that he was going to have to wait for the fight he wanted.

"Do I have your word?"

"Yeah, I promise." Fengo reassured him.

For some reason, as Kokabiel heard Fengo make his promise, he saw something in Fengo's eyes which convinced him that the promise was going to be kept. He didn't know what to make of the feeling of reliability that he had arbitrarily assigned to Fengo, but he decided to trust in his instincts.

"So will you work together with your friends from now on?"

"Whatever."

"Good enough!" Fengo said happily. "There you have it, everyone. Problem solved."

Azazel was the first to recover and made his way back to the center of the room and the shattered remains of their table. Dissolving the light weapons he had created in his hands, he walked up to Kokabiel and smacked him on the back in a friendly fashion.

"Great! Glad to finally have you on board, Kokabiel."

Kokabiel only grunted and showed an annoyed face when Azazel hit him on the back.

"Now go get another table."

Kokabiel let out another grunt as a magic circle appeared underneath him, teleporting him away.

As Azazel began cleaning up the remains of the shattered table using his magic, Fengo asked him a question after seeing how smoothly the interaction between the two of them went.

"Does he break tables often, Azzy?"

"Well, often enough that we have a room full of spare tables." He said to Fengo, giving him a wry smile.

His statement sent Fengo into another fit of laughter which some of the other leaders watched with amusement as they made their way back to the center of the room.

"Thank you for the help with Kokabiel, Fengo." Azazel said quietly, seriously, as he busied himself with his cleaning task.

Sensing the sincerity in Azazel's voice, Fengo settled down and gave him a small smile.

"No problem, Azzy. That's what I'm here for."

Azazel flashed him a thankful smile as he finished cleaning up the remains of the table and watched as his friends arrived to where they were standing previously.

"Geez, Fengo. Next time give us a little warning before you go all 'Kokabiel' on us, okay?"

Penemue said that jokingly to Fengo once she had regained her composure.

"Sorry about that, Penny. I got a little carried away." He said, smiling apologetically

Everyone looked at him when he said that and thought, That was only a "little"?

"Just a 'little', huh?" Penemue said, amazed. "Fufufu, Fengo, you're just as bad as Kokabiel, you know?" She teased, smiling slyly at him.

"Hey now, though sometimes I can be as bad as Kokabiel, there is a big difference between me and him." Fengo responded, pouting at her.

"What's the difference?" She asked, tilting her head out of puzzlement.

"Well, if you told me that I could no longer fight for the rest of my life I'd be relatively okay with that. If you told Kokabiel that he'd probably kill himself."

Penemue and the others mulled over what Fengo said. Would Kokabiel really react like that? They arrived at their answer immediately.

Yes. Yes he would.

"Sure, fighting can be a lot of fun." Fengo continued, shrugging. "But there are a lot of other things that I enjoy doing as well and the same can't really be said about Kokabiel, unfortunately." He said with pity in his voice.

Spotting a chance to learn more about him, Penemue jumped on it. "So what are some of those things?"

"Let's see…" He placed a finger on his chin and began thinking. "I like to cook and eat good food, read, spend time with friends and loved ones, take walks through forests…"

Here, Fengo's voice trailed off. In the middle of listing the activities he enjoyed doing, he began recalling a recent memory from before he had arrived at the Fallen Angel headquarters; from when he was still exploring the Underworld.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Located in a secluded portion of the Underworld was a massive forest. It was populated by massive trees whose canopies covered the skies overhead and blocked most of the light from reaching the forest floor. Glimpses of various animals and monsters could be seen as they threaded their way through the brush and underwood of the forest. Sounds of combat occurring between the highly territorial and dangerous occupants of the forest could be heard all throughout the area as they fought; just another natural part of life in the forest.

Making his way through this incredibly dangerous and isolated forest with a grin on his face was Fengo. As per usual it appeared as if he was talking out loud to himself, but he was of course talking to Cali.

"This forest is amazing! Who would have thought that a place like this existed in this new world?"

[This world is rather odd, though. Its lack of oceans being one of the reasons why.]

"Yeah, that's kind of weird."

[The wildlife is interesting as well.]

Fengo chuckled at that. "Remember the Hydra? She was a lot of fun."

[Or the Undines?] She said in a mischievous tone.

"Umm… Well… They were…"

[Interesting?] She teased.

"Different. They were different."

[Fufufufu.]

Smiling as he listened to her melodious laughter, he tried elaborating on what he had just said.

"It's just that Undines aren't usually that… well-built. They were very polite, though."

[That was only after you wrestled with them.] She said, sounding amused.

"Well that was because I intruded upon their lake. And they were very gracious even after I defeated them." Fengo recalled.

[Hmm. And what about their Queen, Fengo?]

"Err, what about her?" He said cautiously, hearing a change in her tone.

[She was very beautiful, was she not?] She said offhandedly.

Now, Fengo was not an idiot. He realized that he was in a precarious position and that he would have to choose his next words very carefully.

"Yep! She sure was."

[Mwu…]

Fengo couldn't keep the smile off his face as he pictured in his mind the image of Cali pouting adorably.

"But, I just so happen to know another incredible person whose beauty doesn't lose out at all when compared to the Undine Queen." He continued, as if not noticing Cali's reaction. "She has been by my side the longest and she saved my life. She is my friend, my partner, my most beloved, and I love her very, very much."

[Fengo…]

After hearing her demure and bashful voice he could feel a warmth being pressed into his back, as if someone was hugging him.

With a gentle smile on his face he stayed silent in order to bask in the feeling and the two shared a warm moment in the dark forest.

Making his way through the forest in peaceful silence, Fengo eventually happened upon a clearing in the forest.

"Oh, it's pretty nice here—"

—A torrent of blue flames suddenly cascaded down from the sky, engulfing the entire clearing and everything in it, turning the forest into a blazing inferno. It all happened in a split second, completely without warning.

High above the destruction and chaos below was a colossal Dragon. Its blue scales glinted in the dim light of the Underworld and its cold blue eyes coolly surveyed the scene of absolute devastation it had created. A tempest was created with each flap of its massive wings, which allowed it to hover in the air, and just its mere presence was enough to cause a massive commotion as every living being in the surrounding area began to run as far away from the place as possible.

The Dragon let out a snort and prepared to leave, but all of a sudden its eyes widened when—

"Fengooo. Hey Fengooooo."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Fengoooo."

Fengo blinked as he returned to the present, finding that Penemue was waving her hand in front of her eyes and calling out his name.

"Are you alright, Fengo? You seemed to have left us for a moment there." She asked, concerned.

"Oh, sorry about that, Penny. I was just remembering something. Anyways, there you have it. The difference between me and Kokabiel. At least one of them, anyways." He said with a smile.

While Penemue wondered about what Fengo had recalled just then, Shemhazai asked Fengo a question that had been on his mind after seeing him deal with Kokabiel.

"Are you really going to fight him, Fengo?"

"Of course. I promised him, after all."

Shemhazai frowned. "That is not a good idea. Agreeing to a fight will just encourage him; it will not solve the long-standing issue. Furthermore…"

He trailed off as he saw Fengo smiling widely at him, as if Fengo knew something he didn't.

"…What is it?"

"Aww, are you worried about me, Shemmy?" He said, his eyes twinkling.

As Shemhazai blinked in confusion at Fengo's response, Penemue and Azazel turned towards Shemhazai with wide smiles on their faces as well. Glancing around, he could see the other Fallen Angel leaders looking at him with amusement in their eyes.

"Fufufu, how cute of you, Shem." Penemue giggled, teasing him.

"I am not—"

"But don't worry, Shemmy."

A vein appeared on his forehead and his eye began twitching as he was cut off by Fengo again.

"I'll be fine. We'll fight, I'll beat him up, wait for a few days, then repeat." He cheerfully said. "It will all work out just fine."

Shemhazai opened his mouth to respond when a magic circle materialized in the room. Appearing from it was Kokabiel along with a table.

"What took you so long?" Azazel asked Kokabiel, raising an eyebrow.

Moving the table into place, he responded to Azazel a little irritatedly. "The room where we keep the spare tables was empty, so I had to search around for one."

Azazel rolled his eyes at Kokabiel's moody response while Penemue and Fengo snickered together at his misfortune.

"It's your fault for always breaking them so you only have yourself to blame."

Kokabiel only grumbled discontentedly as he finished moving the table and everyone began picking up the papers that had been scattered by him.

"Since Fengo is here now let's start from the beginning." Azazel told his companions.

As everyone finished cleaning up the room and placing the papers back onto the table, the meeting was restarted with one extra member this time around.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"… and that is the end of my report."

After Tamiel finished his report, Azazel thanked him and then addressed Fengo.

"That's all of it. So what do you think, Fengo?"

As the Fallen Angel leaders gave their reports on the current state of affairs both domestically and with the other factions, Fengo listened attentively, only interrupting occasionally to ask questions.

"Things seem to be going pretty well, actually." Fengo said, pleased. "All fighting between the Three Factions has stopped and you guys are focusing now on your people and on rebuilding. As long as this continues, we should be able to move on to the next step. And after I meet with the other two factions, I'll confirm that their situations are proceeding smoothly as well."

"Great!" Azazel replied happily.

The other Fallen Angel leaders also appeared to be happy with their current situation and it was now up to Fengo to do his part and visit the other factions to check on them as well.

While his Fallen Angel friends began cleaning up their papers, Azazel made his way over to Fengo and slung an arm around his shoulder.

"So now that the boring work is done, what do you say we do something fun?" He proposed with a grin on his face.

"What did you have in mind?" Fengo asked.

"How would you like to have a tour of the place?"

"Oooh, you're going to take Fengo on a tour? I want to come too!" Penemue said excitedly, practically bouncing over to the two of them.

"I would love to have one." Fengo decided. "I'll be in your care." He said, smiling at the two of them.

"Alright! Let's go then!" Penemue eagerly grabbed Fengo's arm after hearing his response and began dragging him to the exit.

Before the three of them could go any further, however, Shemhazai stopped them. "Wait!"

They turned their heads to look at him and Penemue appeared to be slightly annoyed at being obstructed from having her fun.

"What is it?" Azazel asked him.

"You cannot just shirk your duties. The two of you still have a lot of work to do." Shemhazai protested.

Azazel, Fengo, and Penemue responded simultaneously to his objection

""I can just do it later."" "They can just do it later."

Right after the words left their mouths, the three of them turned to each other with smiles on their faces.

"Great minds think alike." Azazel said cheerfully

"Idiots tend to have the same thought processes as well." Shemhazai's voice was flat and unimpressed.

"Pfft." Fengo let out a snort of amusement while a tick mark appeared on Azazel's forehead.

"Well it just so happens that this idiot is your boss and I'm telling you to hold down the fort while we show our new friend around."

"Yeah, come on, Fengo." Penemue said smiling brightly at him. "Let's leave these bores and have some fun!"

And with that the three of them left the room, leaving the rest of the Fallen Angel leaders to think over everything that had happened since Fengo had arrived.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"The building we're in right now is the main headquarters of the Grigori and the Fallen Angels."

Azazel began explaining to Fengo as he and Penemue led him around. They were currently walking down a long hallway and occasionally passed by other Fallen Angels who sent glances towards the group.

"It was also the first institute we established in the Underworld when the first of the Grigori were kicked out of Heaven. And since all of us were researchers, this institute was established as a research center. Since then other institutes have been set up as well."

Fengo, who was nodding along as he listened to Azazel, interrupted to ask him a question.

"Wait, you're all researchers?"

"Yep." Azazel glanced over at Fengo. "Is that such a surprise?"

"Well, yeah!"

"Hmph!" Azazel pouted when Fengo answered immediately and looked away causing Penemue to giggle at him.

"Fufufu, so what was your impression of him then, Fengo?" She asked curiously.

"To be honest with you, Azzy seems like the type of guy who chases after women a lot."

"Well, you're not wrong." Penemue said, giving Azazel a wry smile when he gave her a look of betrayal. "But he wasn't lying about the research part."

"Ohh, really? So are you doing any research right now, Penny?"

"Actually, I didn't take part in any research. Instead, I was something like a manager who looked after all of them."

Fengo gave Azazel a look before replying to her. "I'm sorry, that must have been hard on you."

"Ara, finally somebody who understands the ordeals I've been through."

"No respect… I get no respect…" Azazel was moping by himself off to the side as the other two tore him apart.

Sharing a chuckle at his expense, Fengo and Penemue continued to follow Azazel as he proceeded with the tour.

Engaging in small talk as they made their way through the institute, Azazel stopped when he arrived at a certain door.

"So why are we stopping here?" Fengo asked.

Azazel had a smug and eager look on his face as he answered him. "Since you seemed to harbor some doubts about me being a researcher I wanted to show you my personal lab."

After saying that he placed his hand on the door and Fengo watched as multiple magic circles sprung up around it. They faded after a few seconds passed and Azazel then turned the handle of the door, opening it.

"Welcome to my lab. Come on in."

Walking through the door, Fengo looked around animatedly with an amazed expression on his face.

"It's like the lab of a mad scientist."

"Is there something wrong with being a mad scientist?" Azazel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not." Fengo replied with a grin. "If you're a scientist and you're not at least a little mad, then you're doing it wrong."

Azazel's lab was a cavernous space that was filled to the brim with an assortment of items. Various scientific tools were set up all over the room and some of them seemed to be running. Pieces of paper were strewn about on the tables that were in the lab, along with other objects that Fengo could not immediately identify.

"But still, you really weren't kidding."

Giggling, Penemue who was standing in the middle of the room asked, "You were still skeptical, Fengo?"

"I believed him once you confirmed it as well, Penny." He responded. "But I thought he was researching, like, lovemaking techniques or something like that."

Azazel sweat dropped upon hearing Fengo's response.

"I feel like your image of me is kind of messed up."

"So what do you actually research, Azzy?" Fengo was looking interestedly at the various instruments and experiments that were in the lab as he asked his question.

"You're going to ignore what I just said, huh?" Azazel wryly commented, while Penemue once again giggled at Fengo's antics. "Anyways, my topic of research is on Sacred Gears." He said excitedly.

Fengo shifted his sight to Azazel and tilted his head.

"Sacred Gears?"

"Yeah. Sacred Gears are basically powers and abilities that Dad created to help humans and they come in a variety of shapes and forms."

"Dad?"

"He's the leader of the Angel Faction and you saw him last time when we were all on that battlefield together. The Biblical God?"

"Oh right, the glowy guy."

Azazel and Penemue shared a chuckle at the casual attitude Fengo took towards the Biblical God.

"Yeah, him."

"So what kind of powers and abilities are we talking about here?"

"There are all kinds!" Azazel's eyes began shining as he passionately explained to Fengo. "There are simple Sacred Gears like Twice Critical which doubles the user's power and then there are others with amazing potential, like Sword Birth, which can create an assortment of different swords. But perhaps the most interesting of the Sacred Gears are the Longinus."

"And what are those?"

"The Longinus are unique Sacred Gears and they are the most powerful; each of them granting their users the potential to slay gods." Azazel explained proudly.

Fengo let out an impressed whistle.

"Wow. Sacred Gears seem to be pretty amazing."

"Right, right." Azazel agreed, nodding along happily to Fengo.

"And so how are they distributed?"

"It's completely random—"

"Wait, wait, wait." Fengo interrupted. "Can you please repeat that?"

Azazel blinked.

"Umm, as far as I can tell, Sacred Gears are bestowed randomly among the human race."

Fengo stared blankly at him for a second before looking up at the ceiling.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose in exasperation he said, "I thought that your dad was kind of an idiot when I first met him, but now I know that he's definitely an idiot."

Azazel and Penemue looked at each other with the same wide grins on their face after witnessing Fengo's reaction.

"You know, it's rather refreshing hearing you talk about Dad like that. Most humans would be falling onto their knees and worshipping him by now." Penemue remarked.

"I guess that means that I'm not like most humans, then." Fengo replied offhandedly, his gaze still on the ceiling.

"You could say that again." Penemue chirped back.

There was a moment of silence afterwards where Fengo continued to look at the ceiling while Azazel and Penemue watched him amusedly.

"Is that really the way it works, Azzy?" Fengo eventually spoke up. "Sacred Gears with the potential to kill gods are just arbitrarily handed out to random humans?" He asked Azazel in complete monotone.

"Dad created those Sacred Gears with the purpose of giving humanity a defense against elements of the supernatural that wanted to exploit them." Azazel reasoned in a neutral tone.

Fengo looked back down from the ceiling and into Azazel's eyes.

"Yeah, sure." Fengo scoffed. "But for every human who uses their Sacred Gear to protect, how many others will use it for selfish or idiotic reasons?"

"Aren't you a human yourself, Fengo?" Azazel pointed out.

"Yes, I am." Fengo stated plainly.

After another brief moment of silence Fengo spoke up again. "You know what? It doesn't even matter. I don't really care about it either way, so whatever." He said, shaking his head. "Anyways, how has your research been going, Azzy? What does it actually consist of?"

Azazel and Penemue were a bit nonplussed at how fast Fengo seemed to drop his issue with Sacred Gears and move on.

"Ah, it's been going well." Azazel told him. "And I've been doing a lot of things with Sacred Gears. One of them has been cataloging all of the different kinds of them; finding out what their abilities are, naming them, that sort of thing."

Seeing Fengo listen so attentively to him and having a genuine interest in his passion brought about good feelings within him, spurring him to continue onwards.

"After researching them for some time I've even been able to create my own Sacred Gears."

"Oooh, really?"

"Yep, yep." Azazel said, nodding proudly. "I call them Artificial Sacred Gears. I think I have some here in the lab that I can show you…

"Hey, hey, Azazel." Penemue cut in. "Show him that." She said with a massive grin on her face.

Azazel's face immediately stiffened which instantly caught Fengo's attention.

"Show me what?"

"It's nothing—"

"It was one of the first Artificial Sacred Gears that Azazel created." Penemue interrupted, still grinning like a madwoman.

"That sounds interesting. Do you still have it, Azzy?"

"Well—" Azazel was about to say something when he stopped and sighed in resignation.

"I'll bring it to you." He said reluctantly, trudging off further into his lab and grumbling under his breath the entire way.

"What's with him?" Fengo asked.

"Fufufu, just wait and see, Fengo. You'll definitely get a kick out of it." She finished mysteriously.

Fengo raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything else.

Not much time passed before Azazel returned, this time with an object in his hands.

From what Fengo could see, it looked like a sword. As he observed it more carefully he could perceive two distinct auras emanating from it.

"Here it is." Azazel said uncharacteristically without fanfare, handing over the sword to Fengo.

Taking it from him, Fengo took the chance to examine it more carefully. But even then, Fengo concluded that it was just a sword that seemed to possess an aura that was a mixture of light and darkness. Deciding to test out the blade, he took a few steps away from Azazel and Penemue and began casually swinging it.

However, for Azazel and Penemue, it looked anything but casual as they watched transfixed to the mesmerizing and beautiful sight of Fengo's swordplay. It was so swift and fluid that there were no stops or breaks in his swings; the sword twirled and weaved itself around both of his hands and each strike and swipe chained with one another to create a seamless performance that looked fantastic.

The two of them were abruptly brought out of their spellbound state when Fengo ended his test and made his way back towards them, returning the sword to Azazel.

"It's a pretty nice sword, Azzy." He said with a smile.

"Uhh, thanks." Azazel mumbled, still a little bit out of it as a result of what he had just witnessed.

Taking his Artificial Sacred Gear back, Azazel found himself, once again, wondering about the human in front of him who called himself Fengo.

"Wow! That was amazing, Fengo!" Penemue exclaimed, bounding over to Fengo excitedly.

"Oh, thank you." Fengo replied with a carefree smile.

Looking over at Azazel, Fengo asked Penemue a question. "So what was the big deal, Penny? The Artificial Sacred Gear seemed fine to me."

"Oh, right!" She said in realization. "You haven't told Fengo what you named it, yet, Azazel."

There was an expression of the utmost of innocence on Penemue's face as she said this which confused Fengo and ticked off Azazel.

Glaring daggers at Penemue—who he knew was laughing her butt off on the inside—he decided to just bite the bullet and say it.

"Blazer *mumble* *mumble* *mumble* *mumble*…"

"Can you please speak up, Azazel? I don't think that Fengo heard you."

"It's called Blazer Shining Aura Darkness Blade!" Azazel shouted, agonizing pain resonating deep down within his soul.

In the silence that followed Azazel's proclamation, a grin tugged at Fengo's lips as he mulled over that… imaginative… name.

"Well… At least it just rolls off the tongue, eh, Azzy?"

"Pfft—Ahahaha!"

Azazel willed Penemue to burn with his eyes as she doubled over in laughter, leaning over on Fengo for support so that she wouldn't fall onto the ground.

"I hate you."

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"Come on, Azzy. Are you still angry about that?"

Fengo called out to Azazel who was walking ahead of him and Penemue.

Stopping, Azazel turned back, allowing Fengo to see that he had his arms crossed and his lower lip stuck out in a petulant pout. With a huff he turned his head away and continued walking.

"I'll take that as a yes." Fengo said, smiling wryly.

"Don't worry about him, Fengo. He'll get over it eventually." Penemue said casually from beside him.

"If you say so Penny."

The three of them had made their way out of Azazel's lab and were currently outside of the main institute that was the Grigori headquarters.

They were walking along a main street that was flanked on both sides by beautiful residential buildings. Sometimes they would pass by other Fallen Angels going about their day that would stop and greet Azazel and Penemue while sending curious and interested gazes towards Fengo who was with them.

"Anyways, where was I?" Penemue wondered.

"You were explaining to me how the first Fallen Angel city was established." Fengo reminded her.

"Oh, right. As you already know, the first Fallen Angels were the original members of the Grigori and they were all researchers so they were fine with living in the research institutes they set up. However, as more and more Angels fell, a new living space was needed to house all of them because a few research institutes set up by those research bores weren't going to cut it. So a city plan was developed around the main headquarters, the main institute. Over time, the city just grew and grew outwards while still having the institute in the center and that was how the first Fallen Angel city, Primus City, was born. And ever since, Primus City became the model for all of our cities."

Fengo's eyes were constantly taking in the city as he listened to Penemue's explanation, looking this way and that, taking in even the smallest of details.

"It's a beautiful city." Fengo commented.

"It is, isn't it?" Azazel consented, having once again made his way back to Fengo's side.

"Oh, have you finally stopped sulking?"

"I wasn't sulking, Penemue!" Azazel cried indignantly.

However, there was another thing that Fengo noticed as they walking around the city.

"The city seems kind of empty, though."

Fengo's words brought on a heavy silence that he waited for them to break.

"The Three Factions truly were on the brink of extinction. We Fallen Angels in particular were, at most, only a century away from annihilation."

It was impossible to miss the misery and helplessness permeating Azazel's voice as he admitted to that bleak reality.

"None of us had a way out of that hopeless situation." Penemue murmured sadly. "But then, out of nowhere, you showed up, Fengo." She said brightly, presenting Fengo a lovely smile. "We still have no idea how you managed to do what you did that day, but we will be forever grateful to you for doing it."

"Don't mention it, Penny." He replied nonchalantly, a carefree smile on his face.

A frown marred Penemue's beautiful features upon hearing Fengo's casual response to such a monumental accomplishment.

"I think you're underestimating just exactly what you achieved that day, Fengo!" She protested. "What you did will forever go down as one of the defining moments in all of our histories! Please recognize that!"

While Fengo seemed taken aback at how much emotion Penemue directed towards him, Azazel was surprised by the passion that she exhibited. Although Penemue was the most carefree person he knew, she was also notorious for rarely ever showing the kind of passion or interest she was displaying at the moment. He could also understand it, however, as even he felt slightly frustrated at how little Fengo seemed to think of what he did.

Collecting himself, Fengo gave Penemue a sincere, heartfelt smile that brought some color to her cheeks, an observation that interested Azazel greatly.

"Thank you, Penny." He said warmly. "But like I said before, I only presented the opportunity for all of you to end the Great War yourselves."

The smile that had been on Penemue's face when Fengo thanked her quickly changed to her pouting with puffed out cheeks, a sight Fengo found to adorable.

"This isn't the first time I've done something like this, you know." Fengo revealed, bringing surprise to both Penemue and Azazel's faces. "And sometimes people are just unwilling to make peace. Instead, they would rather fight until their people are, quite literally, all dead."

Penemue and Azazel could not imagine the mindset required to go through with something like that.

"And if they want to fight, then that's fine as well. I won't stand in their way." He said indifferently with a shrug.

Both Penemue and Azazel paled when they realized how close the Three Factions actually came to mutual destruction. If anything had gone differently, if they had continued to fight and Fengo had left them to do so, they would be in a completely different situation right now

Stopping in place, Fengo looked directly in the eyes of Penemue and Azazel as he delivered his next statement, giving them a glimpse into the man before them.

"But regardless of what could have happened, just remember that it was all of you who decided to end the war. Remember that you decided that peace was preferable to war. And remember that this peace belongs to you."

Fengo smiled brilliantly.

"So don't be afraid to give yourselves some credit."

Both Penemue and Azazel were captivated as Fengo's words resonated within their minds. Penemue opened her mouth to respond—

"Greetings, Governor Azazel, Lady Penemue."

—but before she could, another voice entered the conversation.

Three pairs of eyes fell onto the owner of that voice as he approached them. With handsome features typical for a Fallen Angel, he confidently walked up to Penemue and Azazel, brushing past Fengo without even sparing him a glance.

"Hey." Azazel lightly returned his greeting while Penemue remained silent.

"What brings you out today?"

"We just wanted to take a look around the city, see how things were going."

"I see. Hopefully you've seen that everything is going well." He said, giving Azazel his best flattering smile.

That smile vanished as he turned to look at Fengo with dismissive eyes and an unconcerned expression on his face.

"And may I ask who you have brought with you?"

"This is Fengo."

The instant he heard the name, a contemptuous and disdainful expression replaced the one he had before as he directed it all towards Fengo.

"Ah, so this is the rumored 'Fengo'."

"Nice to meet—"

"Silence!" The Fallen Angel roared, furiously and hatefully. "A filthy human like you is only allowed to speak when spoken to!"

This attracted a lot of attention as other Fallen Angels in their surroundings, who had already been paying attention to the group, heard what was said and directed their full attention towards the developing situation. They soon began to whisper to each other and steal glances at Fengo as they quickly identified the human who had supposedly stopped the Great War.

Fengo blinked as an oppressive silence descended upon the group.

"Alrighty then."

After saying that he stuck his hands into the pockets of his coat and turned his head to look around at the architecture of the surrounding buildings. He was particularly interested in their designs and took the opportunity to observe them more carefully.

Meanwhile, Azazel and Penemue's expressions turned stony after seeing the way Fengo was treated.

The Fallen Angel's silky countenance returned as he addressed his leaders. "I apologize for my outburst. The human needed to be reminded of where he stood amongst his superiors and I was glad to oblige."

Azazel and Penemue didn't respond and opted to continue staring icily at the man. And whether it was because the Fallen Angel was an idiot or because he was too self-conceited, he interpreted the looks he was receiving as those of approval.

"May I inquire as to why a miserable human is in the presence of greater beings such as you?"

"He was here to confirm the details regarding the end of the Great War." Penemue said emotionlessly.

The Fallen Angel frowned upon hearing her answer.

"Please say it isn't so. Was the declaration of peace simply not a ploy in order to deliver a devastating blow to our enemies?"

"It was not." Azazel said coolly.

"… Then, the rumors that the human stopped the Great War are true…?" He uttered incredulously. "That's impossible! We are the dominant race and we were on the verge of winning!" Familiar words left his frenzied mouth. "No! I refuse to believe that a weak and pathetic human could possibly have done anything of the sort!"

"Then you should duel him yourself and discover if the rumors were true or not." Penemue suggested frigidly with a clear purpose in mind.

"Ah, that's an excellent idea, Lady Penemue! I will crush the human and affirm the superiority of Fallen Angels!" He declared excitedly.

His excitement quickly turned to confusion, however, as he turned to challenge Fengo, only to find him missing.

His confusion was shared with Penemue and Azazel as they too were surprised that he was nowhere to be seen.

Looking this way and that, a smile appeared on Penemue's face and she began to giggle as her eyes landed on an amusing spectacle. She had found Fengo, who had somehow slipped away from them, standing close to a nearby building and peering intently at the patterns and designs on it. He seemed to be genuinely interested and engrossed in what he was doing.

Noticing Penemue's giggles and following her gaze, Azazel also spotted Fengo and called out to him with a grin. "Hey, Fengo!"

"Yeah?" Fengo called back.

"Do you want to fight?"

"Sure." Fengo said with a lazy smile, walking back to them.

"So who am I fighting?"

"Isn't that something you should ask before you accept a fight, Fengo?" Penemue teased him, smiling mischievously.

"Yeah, probably." Fengo agreed with a grin of his own.

"You will have the honor of being crushed by me, human." The Fallen Angel said, stepping in with an arrogant smile on his face.

"Oh. Cool." Fengo responded simply. "Will we be doing it right here in the street?"

"I'll set up a barrier." Azazel volunteered.

"Thank you, Governor Azazel." The Fallen Angel said, bowing.

"Yeah, thanks, Azzy."

The Fallen Angel directed a murderous gaze at Fengo after hearing how casually he spoke to Azazel but decided to hold it in. His anger would dissipate after watching Fengo bleed out and die in the streets, anyway.

As the two of them moved into position, the crowd of Fallen Angels who had been watching the entire thing hastily moved out of their way and into a better location to watch. If the excited murmurs and whispers were anything to go by, they were looking forward to the match.

Once the two of them made it to their positions Azazel stepped up. Holding out his hand, a large magic circle appeared beneath them, engulfing an area that was plenty large enough to fight. Soon after, a barrier began to form starting from the magic circle, eventually forming a dome around the two.

Fengo, who was immediately fascinated by the barrier, instantly turned his back on his opponent and began observing the barrier curiously.

"What an interesting barrier. It looks sturdy, solid, durable..."

Every other Fallen Angel sweat dropped upon seeing this. The only Fallen Angel who didn't was the one who was facing Fengo and he was enraged at the apparent disrespect he was showing him.

But seeing a chance, the Fallen Angel without delay seized on it, creating multiple spears of light and sending them tearing through the air towards Fengo's exposed back.

He smiled viciously as they approached closer and closer to Fengo without him even noticing and almost all of the Fallen Angels there, him included, believed that the fight was already over.

They were proven wrong and utterly shocked when Fengo stepped to the side like it was so natural and completely evaded the light spears. Fengo hadn't even turned around from observing the barrier when he did so, adding to the shock value.

Fengo eventually did turn around to see his Fallen Angel opponent trembling in fury and glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.

"How dare a shitty human like you disrespect me?! I am a powerful, high-class Fallen Angel with three pairs of wings and I will destroy you!" He roared, emphasizing his point by causing his three pairs of wings to burst from his back and taking to the skies.

Fengo wasn't really paying attention to that, though, as he was more intent on asking Azazel and Penemue a question.

"Is that a lot?"

Azazel and Penemue looked at each other before shrugging.

"Kind of."

"Sorta."

Fengo's opponent felt that right in a man's two most sensitive places: his dignity and his pride.

"Well anyways, sorry for ignoring you. Let's get this thing started, yeah?" Fengo declared with a challenging grin.

Apparently not noticing the fact that the battle had already started the moment his opponent decided to attack him.

To call what happened next a "fight" would be rather misleading. For the next several minutes Fengo's Fallen Angel opponent furiously attacked him, sending hundreds, thousands, of light spears at him. It was a futile effort, however, as Fengo easily and effortlessly dodged all of them while interspersing a few meaningless comments here and there, like "That was close~" and "You almost got me there". And to top the entire thing off, Fengo's hands still had not left his coat pockets from when he had originally put them in there.

After some more time had passed, Fengo's opponent was back on the ground and he was panting heavily as a result of tiring himself too quickly during the fight.

Fengo, on the other hand, was standing there with his hands in his pockets as if nothing had happened at all.

As he looked at his exhausted opponent in front of him, Fengo tilted his head and asked him an innocent question. "Is that all you've got?"

The response he received was a single light spear launched at him which Fengo dodged by shifting his head to the side a little and which seemed to be the last move that his opponent could muster.

"Hm. Well, since you showed me something interesting, let me show you a trick of my own." Fengo offered, putting his opponent on guard for whatever would come next.

Fengo finally took his hands out of his pockets and spread his arms out wide, attracting even more attention from the surrounding spectators as they wondered what he show them.

Fengo smiled mischievously.

"Now you see me."

Then disappeared.

The Fallen Angel he was facing only had enough time to widen his eyes before Fengo reappeared in front of him and flicked him on the forehead. The Fallen Angel's head snapped back forcefully as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and Fengo watched as he slowly fell backwards like a chopped tree.

"And now you don't."

As Azazel's barrier began breaking down, Fengo made his way back to them unconcerned by the gazes he was being bathed in from the spectating Fallen Angels. Although they ranged from shock to awe and to fear, Fengo was undisturbed as evidenced by the happy smile on his face.

"Well. That was fun."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Penemue's cheeks were puffed out once again—a sight which Fengo still found to be adorable—while she and Azazel were once again walking with Fengo, flanking his sides.

"You should have just killed him, Fengo."

Fengo directed a wry smile at her.

"Well, there really wasn't a need to do so, you bloodthirsty woman."

"I am not bloodthirsty." She declared with a huff and a turn of her head away.

Fengo rolled his eyes and grinned.

Azazel glanced over at Fengo before facing forwards again.

"I'm sorry for what happened back there, Fengo."

"Eh, don't worry about it, Azzy."

Azazel looked back towards Fengo, raising an eyebrow.

"You're not angry? Or annoyed? Or sad? Or anything?"

"No, not really."

Azazel and Penemue looked at Fengo incredulously, trying to detect any signs that would have indicated that Fengo was merely being tough or hiding it… but couldn't find any.

"Why not?"

This time it was Fengo's turn to look at Azazel with a raised eyebrow.

"Why not? I just do not care about people like him or their interactions with me."

"Oh. Okay, then."

There was something odd about his answer, slightly confusing them, but they decided to accept it for now.

As the three of them continued to make their way through the city, introducing to Fengo all the sights and places, they happened across a small family. It consisted of a man, a woman, and what was presumably their young daughter who was in between them and holding their hands. The young girl, who looked to be around five years of age, was happily skipping along, swinging her arms back and forth, while her parents looked at her with gentle smiles.

"Mommy, Daddy, is the Gweat War really over?"

Her parents shared a small laugh at her mispronunciation of the word but quickly stifled it upon seeing the puffed up cheeks of their annoyed daughter.

"Yes, sweetie. It's over."

"Really?" She asked, looking up at them with big, round eyes.

"Yes, really. Mommy and Daddy won't have to fight to protect you anymore and now, Mommy and Daddy will be able to spend allll~ of their time with you."

"Yay!"

The parents' smiles widened upon hearing the joyful laughter of their daughter and as they walked onwards their steps were a bit lighter and their arms swung a little farther.

The three who had quietly observed this scene remained silent.

"Azazel, Penemue." Fengo called them quietly, breaking the silence.

Hearing themselves being addressed by their actual names and not by the nicknames that Fengo gave them instantly seized their attention.

"Do you regret ending the Great War? Do you regret working towards peace between the Three Factions?"

They thought over their answer carefully, even though they didn't need to.

""No.""

Fengo smiled.

"Good."

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And thus ends the second chapter. Sorry it took so long, completely my fault on account of the fact that I am a terrible writer. So anyways, I was looking through the traffic stats on the story and I was just amazed at the many, MANY different countries people have read it from. United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Italy, Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, Japan, Finland, Bahrain, Peru, Poland, Ireland, Hungary, Russian Federation, Sweden, Turkey, Portugal, Austria, Slovakia, Israel, Greece, Vietnam, Belgium, Europe, Colombia, Chile, Grenada; literally all over the world. So. Cool.

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Featured Review of the Chapter:

"For your first story it is really well done. I don't think I've read a story with this premise before and I'm really looking forward to where you take it. I really hope that you keep going with your writing. Hope to read more soon." - Ronin Katarn

Thank you for the compliment. A unique premise was one of the things I was going for when deciding to write this story and I've always found that a lot of the great stories on have one. For me, personally, it's always a lot of fun to read something new which hasn't been done before and I wrote this story with that in mind. Finally, I hope that I will deliver on your expectations.

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Darkconvoy99:

Q1) Will Fengo eventually visit other groups such as the Youkai, Vampires, Greeks, Shinto and Norse in the future?

A: He will definitely visit Earth eventually. But I still don't know if I want to actually write out the various things that will happen or just keep it off-screen with references to them later on.

Q2) Will there be anyone paired with Fengo? If yes, who will it be (Be it single or harem)?

A: I am a fan of romance and I think that it can make a great addition to many stories, including this one, which is all I want to say for now.

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I want to say thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed, it's a lot of fun reading them. I really appreciate it and it makes me happy to know that other people are enjoying the story as well.

And thanks for reading :)