And dad90 has arrived back at the Fanfiction station just in time not only for the Holidays, but ready for another exciting Act of The Red-Star Marked Dragon Emperor. And I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving, and getting ready the Big Holidays. Now, reactions to some of the reviews.

Dad's Review Corner:

Shin XIX – What did you expect? I was determined to have 2 Full Peerages, and these members are stronger than you think. Also, it will follow the terms of the DxD Peerage, and unfortunately, real and fictional, at night, the World is dangerous.

Enigma95 – Thanks for your support, as always.

The DragonBard – Well, this is Fanfiction. You can do ANYTHING you want to them. However, I know how you feel about The Great Red and Ophis. Not to worry, though. Over the last 500 years, they've grown stronger thanks to their failure of not seeing Mordred, who had Samuel's blood, by the way, which explains why they've grown a little weaker.

Draco5764 – Ask, and you shall receive.

Draig56 – Thank you so much for liking my story so far.

Dragonberry – Thanks for the impression about the Mother Dragon.

Almost and exactly 30 favs and followers so far, and I have some good news for you all.

I'm going to make Ash Blake a Composite Character of the following:

1. Ash Blake

2. Saito Hiraga (without the perverse part)

3. Kinji Toyama (Aria the Scarlet Ammo; You will find out why here…)

4. Tigrevurmud Vorn (Vanadis)

5. Kamito Kazehaya (Blade Dance)

And I'm also going to make Vali Lucifer a Composite Character of…

1. Vali Lucifer

2. Ichika Orimura (Infinite Stratos; Only reason: The machine he uses)

And to all of you who don't know what a Composite Character is, I'll explain from TvTropes as it reads and I quote:

Certain mediums, including Real Life, tend to have the time and space to utilize Loads and Loads of Characters, a large number of individuals with significant and/or necessary contributions to the storyline. But in an adaptation it can be difficult to offer adequate time and space so that each and every character gets their just due for how they impact the story. To be faithful to these characters may, at worst, make them come across as a living Plot Device, existing only for the sake of the plot and not a fleshed out character of their own with individual talents, interests and backstory.

A solution is to invoke artistic license and compress two or more such figures into a single character with traits drawn from all of them. For the sake of telling a proper story those contributions are relegated to the actions of only a few. Instead of showing the legwork of an entire team of intelligence officers to decipher important information, it's rolled up into one person putting it together. Instead of having three different smart guys on the team divided up into distinct fields, you make one of them an Omnidisciplinary Scientist and discard the others. It's a method of streamlining both the plot and the character interactions, less people to follow and everyone who is still around has more to contribute to the story.

This is frequently done in works Based on a True Story, since no medium can compete with the Loads and Loads of Characters featured in Real Life. While most of humanity's most interesting achievements have involved lots of people with different motivations, it suits the Rule of Drama to simplify things to a handful of characters with well-defined objectives. While there may be nameless individuals wandering around with their own story to tell, the core plot is dictated by the people with names. Some might object to removing an important character and their contribution to the story, but on the other hand it means the story has a chance to be told.

And now, with those said, let's go to Act 3 of…


The Red Star-Marked Dragon Emperor

OP Song: Superstitious by Stevie Wonder


Act III: Feverish Temptation, The Sword & The Count

** At Arc Strada; At the Apollo Halls **

Ash Blake couldn't stop his excitement because his Pal, Ddraig, has been born; although it was born thanks to another Fallen Angel named Kalawarner.

In fact, he was so excited that he didn't have much sleep until the next morning. Luckily for him, it was the beginning of the weekend, so there were no classes. He soon heard a knock on the door.

"Coming," Ash groaned. As he got to the door, he could think that it was either his maid Titta, or 2 of his friends, Raymond or Max. However, he got…

"Hello, Ash Blake!"

…the President of the Student Council herself, Rebecca Randall. And behind her is Max, the Student Council Treasurer, with an emotionless look on his face. Ash immediately blushed when he saw Rebecca, standing in front of his room.

"Oversleeping doesn't make a good impression, even on a day off," said Rebecca.

"M-Miss President!" Ash exclaimed, taking a few steps back to the opposite wall. "This is the boys' dorm!"

"Think nothing of it," replied Rebecca as she walked into Ash's room. "Pardon me. And there's no need to use formal titles with me. My name will do."

"Um… can I help you, Miss Rebecca?" asked Ash.

"I've come to check up on your Pal," Rebecca answered.

There was a small growl, and there, on Ash's bed, was his Pal, Ddraig. Now, how did she know about Ash's Pal, you ask?

Well, since it's Ash, the Problem Child of Ansullivan Dragonar Riding Academy, there were 2 questions about the rumor spreading like wildfire. It's because when Kalawarner tried to attack Ash last night, and when the sky turned purple, some of the students woke up, thinking that something happened outside, but it only happened for no more than 2 minutes. They took no notice of this, and went back to sleep.

However, some of the staff saw the Fallen Angel attack Ash, and it was just so seems to happen that Ddraig was born outside of his room. Some thought that it was impossible, but after seeing the red ball of light, as well as the Gauntlet, they've decided to contact the Student Council and check on Ash the next day.

"Now then," said Rebecca, after looking at Ddraig, thinking of how cute (and abnormal) the dragon is, before turning serious, "we've heard word that this Dragon is… ahem… undetectable. We haven't seen this kind of Dragon before. So, the Academy has decided to ask Dr. Cornwell to conduct an investigation, as it determines the best way to find out what kind of Dragon is this."

"Wait!" said Ash. "By Dr. Cornwell, you mean…"

"The foremost authority on Dragon Research," answered Rebecca. "So, until Dr. Cornwell weighs in, your Pal will live here."

"Understood," said Ash. "I'll be sure to take good care of him."

"Also, I've spoken with the Registrar's office, so you can bill them for your Pal-raising expenses," said Rebecca.

Ash could only sigh. Be it a noble family or a traders family, it had nothing to do with Ash who was born in a small village at the borders. However, as he remembered from what some of the students from Grand Libra Academy told him, he is definitely a commoner.

Soon, Rebecca left with a smile while Max followed her. Ash went back to bed, waking up Ddraig.

[Mmmm… those were some bunch, eh Partner?] asked Ddraig.

Ash was surprised that Ddraig saw the whole thing. In fact, he was pretending to be asleep when he saw Rebecca and Max enter into his room.

"So… is it true that you're not either an Earthia, a Hydra, a Strada, or a Maestro?" asked Ash.

Ddraig closed his eyes for a moment, and then answered…

[No. I'm actually…]

However, Ddraig won't be able to finish answering Ash's question when a magic circle appeared in front of Ash. Ddraig, not taking any chances, converted back into Gauntlet form, and then disappearing from Ash's left arm.

Ash then placed bandages all over his left arm and put on his uniform, and just in time as there standing before him now was…

"It's about time I've found you!"

"L-Lady Amagi?"

That's right. It's Rias Gremory's twin cousin, Rinako Amagi/Seere in his room now.

"Hmph. What a poor-looking room. As expected from a Problem Child like you," said Rinako, stating her first impression.

"W-Well, what are you doing here?" asked Ash. "Shouldn't you be in the other Academy by now?"

"Which is exactly where we're going right now!" stated Rinako.

"We? What do you mean 'we'?" asked Ash. "I've got my weekend off, and-"

TUG!

Rinako then pulls Ash closer to her by the ear, and it hurts!

"So what? You are needed at the Grand Student Council room, and I mean NOW!" said Rinako as she and Ash disappeared.

Looks like Ash's weekend is going to be one of THOSE weekends.

** At Tristan; At the Grand Libra Academy **

At the Grand Student Council room, everyone, including Annerose and her team of Guardians were waiting for Ash's arrival.

And sure enough, there coming through the doors were Rinako and Ash. Rinako had to drag Ash by pulling his ear the whole way through.

"Here he is," said Rinako, letting go of Ash's ear. "Hopefully he'll stop complaining now."

"Sorry for the trouble I've let you do," said Annerose. "But I had to be in a meeting with the staff earlier today."

"And thank goodness that you didn't let Michiko go," whispered Rio. "Who knows what she could've done to him…"

Michiko silently growled at Rio at what she said to her, but took no notice.

Then Mayu, one of the Guardians, came to Ash, bowed down and apologized. "Sorry for forcing you to come here on such short notice, but the Student Council have a few questions for you."

Ash smiled at Mayu's kindness. He felt a little better.

Just then…

"All rise! The President is coming!" yelled Haruna.

As expected, everyone rose as President Lily and her closest Student Council members entered, and everyone went to their proper seats.

Also, two of Rias' Peerage, Naegleria and Korone, were there too, and not as drunk as last time.

"Good! Now that everyone's here, we can get started!" said Rias.

"Yes, and the first order of business is…" said Lily. "To find out how you managed to gain a Dragon, Ash Blake!"

Ash was surprised as everyone looked at him.

"Don't try to play dumb!" said Aria. "Some of our Ladies' members all saw you after that attack last night!"

Ash gasped at the fact that some of Rias' and Rinako's peerage came to stop the Fallen Angel from attacking him, and they all saw the birth of his Pal, Ddraig.

"Well, they've been trying to kill me time and time again. Maybe they were trying to do this to prevent my Pal from being born," said Ash.

"That could be a possibility," said Rias. "After all, you have been attacked by them 3 times so far."

"And to me, we need to do something about it," said Annerose. "After all, you are a part of my team, via Contract for saving you the other day."

"Oh…right," said Ash, remembering that Raynare killed him and Annerose resurrected him after that.

"So, do you have the Dragon right now?" asked Rias. Some of the others were anticipating of what Ash was going to say next.

"Well, I can summon him through my left arm," said Ash. "But due to the attack last night, I've decided to let him rest for a bit."

"Fine by me," said Lily. "But we're all going to see your Dragon sooner or later."

Rinako looked at Ash with disinterest, until she felt a tap on her left shoulder, and looked at Eucliwood, or Eu, sitting on a desk, and showed her a notepad that read…

"Can you get to the important stuff, please? Class starts in 15 minutes."

However, to Rinako, whenever she looks at Eu, she has some…"interesting thoughts" on her mind…

Rinako's Fantasy…

"Please get to the important stuff!" Eu said, holding to Rinako's hand. Eu was also making a sad face. "Can you cheer me up in 15 minutes?"

"I sure will!" said Rinako, hugging Eu with all of her might.

End of Rinako's Fantasy.

Rinako could only smile in glee after seeing Eu, but then quickly shook her head, realizing that time was running out.

"Ahem…" coughed Rinako. "We do have some things we need to tell to Ash…"

"Ah yes! Good timing, Rinako!" said Rias. "Ash, the reason why we called you here is for you to know about Devils. As you can see, both Rinako and I are high-class devils, and my servants here are low-class devils."

Ash decided to sit down and listen to Rias as she explains.

"All of my servants, except Louise, are low-class devils. Louise is a high-class devil due to her family status. However, you can all get promoted to middle-class devils when you have notable achievements in your record that gets the Demon Kings to agree that you can take the Promotion Test. The Test is for Devils who were resurrected by a high-class devil to serve them. So, do you understand, Ash?"

Ash nodded at what Rias told him.

"However," said Annerose. "You won't have to do that as you are a Guardian, like the rest of us. Our job is to simply protect and help the members of the Gremory and Seere families and make sure that there's little to no incident."

"Now, even though you are a Guardian, there are some rules that you need to know, and follow," said Lily. "Arnoul, the book, please."

As Arnoul handed Lily one of the books, Ash sat up and gave President Lily his full attention.

Lily then began reading.

"Rule #1: You are not allowed to engage in battle against Fallen Angels, Angels, Aristocrats, or any other non-human races unless you have to defend yourself. Rule #2: As a guardian or a Devil servant, you are expected to obey Lady Rias, Lady Rinako and Lady Annerose, no matter what they tell you to do. Rule #3: You are not allowed to provoke a battle with another Devil, unless it's a Stray Devil and especially not a High-Class Devil. If they try to provoke a fight with you, you must bring this to any one of them, or me. As a Guardian, you are under Annerose's protection and that of the House of Gremory, and as such if they harm you, they must answer to either me, Lady Rias, Lady Rinako, or Lady Annerose. Rule #4: You can't go into a church or shrine, since they are territories of Fallen Angels and Angels, and going in those places might result in a war between factions again, and neither side can afford that. Rule #5: You are not allowed to reveal that any one of us is a Devil to anyone, except to our customers."

"I hope you got it so far," said Rinako. "Because she's not going to repeat it again."

"Yes, I understand," replied Ash.

"Continue."

"Thanks, Rinako," said Lily as she continued reading. "Rule #6: You cannot force one of our servants to make a contract with them. They have to summon us to do that, or sometimes Annerose, but only in special cases. Rule #7: If a customer makes a request of you that you consider ridiculous, you are allowed to try and haggle them to something more appropriate. It doesn't work often, but you can try. Rule #8: You are allowed only one familiar, or in your case, a Pal, which is a type of shape-shifting assistant that is totally loyal to you, at any given time. If a familiar, we can try and acquire another one, but that's difficult so it's best to take care of them. Rule #9: No sex with humans! Well, since you a Guardian, we'll let that one slide, but to us Devils, it cannot happen! A hybrid created from such a union would possess Devil powers but have no weaknesses, which is a potential threat to Devils like us, and it might start another war with Heaven. And lastly, Rule #10: You are not allowed to go into another Devil Family's realm in the Underworld, unless you have their permission. If you do so without permission and they catch you, they have full right to do whatever they want with you."

"And even I can't help you with that one," said Annerose. "In their realm, it's their rules."

Ash gulped as he heard that.

"Well…how will I know which territory belongs which family?" Ash asked.

"Oh, you'll know. Either if you're a Devil or a Guardian, you should know what boundaries you are limited to. But either Rinako or I will explain the specific differences to you later on," said Rias. "Understood?"

"Yes, Lady Rias," said Ash.

Then Kanna Shiroyuki, one of the Oni Princesses, decided to have a say.

"Oh! And one more thing that I should consider that you take this as a piece of advice: If a Devil prays or praises to God, or touches something like a cross, holy water, or reads a bible, the Devil will take some serious damage."

"Also, the light powers that the Fallen Angels and Angels possess are like poison to Devils, and especially to us," said Annerose. "But as long as I'm here, you'll be fine, even if they try to cut your body into a billion pieces."

Ash gulped at that part. "Light powers. Got it."

However, before anyone could continue, Ms. Kano arrived and said, "All right, everybody. Time's up. We have classes coming up. Let's move it!"

So as everyone began heading to class, Ash asked Annerose, "Well, are you going to take me back? I have the weekend off."

"Actually," said Annerose. "I want you to stick around for a bit. You may need to know about magic and other things here for a bit. How about I take you to class to where I'm teaching? Louise, Tabitha and Kirche will be there, too."

Louise glared at Ash for a split second, while Kirche secretly licked her lips, and Tabitha, as always, is reading her book. Akeno noticed Kirche licking her lips at Ash, and she soon found out why.

"Oh my. Looks like we have a little competition on our hands. Fufufufu," chuckled Akeno to herself.


END OF PART 1: Ash and Ddraig looking at the Grand Libra Academy Students and their familiars.

START OF PART 2: Annerose walks into the classroom while Rio, Sakuya M., Rena T., and Natsume all hold Michiko.


** At one of the classrooms **

Ash could only sigh deeply as nothing seems right for him. This was supposed to be his weekend off so he could show his Pal all the things the town of Ansullivan has to offer. Instead, he's sitting next to Louise in her classroom with Annerose as their teacher as Miss Chevreuse had other duties to attend to. Kirche, Tabitha, Guiche and Montmorency, as well as many other students were there too.

"Good morning class," said Annerose. "Today is going to be a short class, but that doesn't mean we're not going to cover what I'm going to teach you today. So let's get right to it. The elements of Fire, Water, Wind, Ice, Light, Lightning, and Earth can be combined to create stronger and more diverse effects. And our levels as mages are determined by how many we can combine. And what are those levels?"

"Miss Vajra," said Montmorency as she raised her hand.

"Tell us, please," said Annerose as Montmorency stood up with confidence and waved her braided hair.

Montmorency explains, "If you can combine two, it's Line. Three makes a Triangle. Four makes a Square, five makes a Pentagon, six makes a Hexagon, and seven makes a Heptagon."

"Very good," said Annerose as Montmorency sat back down.

Ash was getting sleepy again as he is sometimes known to be a very heavy sleeper. Louise found out about this, and being the kind girl she is, she decides to wake Ash up…

STOMP!

…with a stomp to his foot. Ash quickly woke up, with his right foot in pain, and glared at Louise, who took no notice.

"And from what I see here," said Annerose. "I can assume that most of you can only use one-"

"Sorry for interrupting you," said Kirche, standing up, as she is about to make a foolish mistake. "But you do realize that there's one person who can't use any one of the elements with 0% chance of success."

When Kirche said that, all eyes went to Louise. And that was when Ash found out that Louise cannot use magic. At the same time, Annerose scolded Kirche as she already knows about Louise and has punished her to carry 2 tons of water after class. Louise was pleased.

"I see…" Ash whispered to himself and began to feel some sympathy for Louise.

** Later that night **

Ash found out why everyone calls her "The Zero Louise" as she cannot successfully use a spell and usually ends up exploding. Ash decided to be wise and keep that as a secret as he feels sorry for her. After all, Ash himself has been called "The Problem Child" from his own school and everyone made fun of him and his Pal, and he too would get angry at those making fun of his Pal.

So, he decided to find Louise to cheer her up and tell her about his problems, but instead he finds…

"A-Ash?"

…the maid Siesta.

** At the Cafeteria Kitchen **

The Kitchen staff gave Ash a LOT of food to eat. The reason why is because Siesta told the staff about the duel between Ash and Guiche and Ash had won. They all gave Ash their respect as the Head Cook, a big but jolly man, slapped Ash in the back.

"Sorry that it's all leftovers, but eat as much as you want, Our Sword," laughed the Head Cook.

"'Our Sword'?" asked Ash.

"That's right," said the Head Cook. "You're a plebian just like all of us, yet you beat that snobby aristocrat brat. You are the pride of us commoners, 'Our Sword'."

"Well, when I held the sword, my body just reacted. And how I turned the sword into a Fire Sword, I don't know," said Ash, remembering about the duel.

"Hey, you hear that? A true master never boasts of his own skill," said the Head Cook. "That's why you are different and special, compared to those stupid aristocrats."

"Impressive," said one of the other cooks.

"In any case, they always eat something THIS good?" asked Ash.

"Well, with my hands, I, the chief cook, Marteau, can give any cuisine a magnificent taste. It's my own form of magic."

"You're right," said Ash. "I've never had a stew this good before, compared to the ones in my school."

"And from a student from Dragonar Academy, who also have some of those snobby aristocrats there, you are such a great guy, Ash!" said Marteau. "You are amazing! In fact, please let me kiss you, 'Our Sword'!"

Ash turned blue at that part as he backs away from Marteau. "P-Please excuse me from that name and from that kiss!"

"How modest. Very impressive."

"He's impressive."

"What kind of Dragon does he have, now that I think about it?"

The cooks are began telling Ash on how great he was from the duel. Siesta herself smiled at Ash.

** 30 minutes later **

Both Ash and Siesta were outside the Playground Area, looking at the night sky with 2 moons; one blue and one pink.

"Please come again. They're all your fans now," said Siesta.

Ash smiled. The cooks have given him confidence. However, will that also happen in his school back at Arc Strada?

"Now, I have the confidence to live on," said Ash. "I thought I was done for when I got injured the other day."

"You were actually in a very serious condition," said Siesta.

"I was?"

"Miss Gremory asked Dr. Tori to heal you."

"I believe that both she and Lady Amagi are aristocrats as well, as they have a lot of people following them. Not to mention having loads of money sitting at their tables."

"Um…Ash. I'd like to sit down and talk to you next time," said Siesta.

Ash then blushed at what Siesta said. "W-Why that would be a pleasure. Um…I'll see you again sometime. Let me go find Ms. Annerose."

"Yes," replied Siesta as Ash began to leave and find Annerose. "Good night."

"Good night," replied Ash.

** At the Dorms' **

Ash was looking for Ms. Kano to ask her where Annerose's room is. Since Ms. Kano is the Dormitory Manager, she knows who's living where. Problem is, Annerose is at the large tower, where most of the staff reside there, and he doesn't know it. Not to mention that looking at him at the entrance to one of the girls' dorm buildings is Kirche's familiar, the red salamander named Flame. The large reptile blinked as it noticed him, and then charged at Ash rapidly before literally bowling him over and knocking him down to the ground.

"He-Hey!" Ash cried as Flame picked him up by the back of his shirt with his teeth and began tugging him inside the girls' dorms. "If you eat me, you'll definitely get an upset stomach! You're sure about this?! You're going to regret it! Hey, are you listening to me?!"

** A few minutes later **

Flame dropped Ash into one of the rooms to where everything was dark at first, but then he noticed that the room was lit with only a few candles, setting a somewhat intimate atmosphere. And as Ash tried to stand up to get his bearings, he has come face to face with…

"Welcome."

…one of Rinako's servants, and quite the beauty, too, Kirche in silky purple lingerie that left nothing to the imagination but that made her intent obvious. It looked like a nightgown that reached to mid-thigh, but was open at the front to reveal her purple panties and tied enough to keep her breasts bouncing free.

"Welcome to my sweet room, Ash Blake," said Kirche. "And quite a lovely name. I know it sounds dirty, but my nickname is The Feveret, and like a torch, I'm easy to turn on."

"I…see," replied Ash, blushing, but trying hard not to show it. He wasn't dumb. A girl would not bring a boy to her room and dress as provocatively as Kirche had with the simple intent of having a simple chat or doing homework, or in the Devils' case, do some contracts. Ash tried his best to keep looking at Kirche above her neck level. He was hoping to keep her distracted with some talking to see just how seriously she was going to take this.

Ash soon found out that Kirche was taking this situation very seriously. "Don't you get it?" she asked. "I'm in love. With you. Love always start unannounced. It always does."

Ash jumped in shock as Kirche moves closer to him. "Your name itself, the way you look when you managed to defeat Guiche, and how you turned that sword into a flaming sword, and that Red Dragon, protecting you from that Fallen Angel. You looked so fantastic. Seeing you then, The Feveret Kirche became The Passionate Kirche."

Ash had to admit, but not openly, that Kirche was hot. As hot as President Rebecca. Unfortunately, his hormones began to react and was starting to feel a little…strange. Here, he sees a hot, busty tanned redhead literally throwing herself to him and even it was for only one night. He tries not to touch her, but he couldn't resist as Kirche moves closer, anticipating for the kiss she was aiming for.

Of course, Ash tried to resist, and in more ways than one. "But we've just met for only a few days, Kirche," he managed to get out.

"Then let's get to know each other," Kirche giggled as her nose touched his, "Intimately."

And now, CUE THE COCK-BLOCK!

"Kirche!"

Both Ash and Kirche looked at the window to where someone called her name, ruining the moment. There was a man with short spiked brown hair with sideburns.

"Hey Sticks," said Kirche.

The man named Sticks replied, "You didn't show up on time, so I came here and…"

"Then let's change it to two hours from now," said Kirche in an unimpressed mood.

"That isn't what you said!"

Then Ash quickly realized something. "T-This is the 3rd floor, right?"

Then Kirche produced her wand from…somewhere. She waved it slightly before the flame on one of the candles shot out and took form of a snake which collided with Sticks' forehead and sent him three stories to the ground.

Ash felt bad. "Who was that?"

"Just a friend of mine," answered Kirche. "Anyway, the person I love the most right now is…"

CUE COCK-BLOCK #2!

"Kirche!"

There was another person floating at Kirche's window, and this time, it's a man with glasses and chin-length blonde hair. "Who is this guy? I thought we're going to have a hot night-"

And once again, Kirche waved her wand and another snake-like stream of flame hit the boy, sending him three stories straight down.

"Another one of your friends, I suppose?" Ash asked.

"That's right," answered Kirche. "Anyway, the night is short, and I don't want to waste my time with you."

CUE COCK-BLOCKS 3, 4 AND 5!

"KIRCHE!"

"What are you doing?!"

"You said you didn't have a boyfriend!"

Now, there were 3 boys crowding at the ledge trying to get the redhead's attention. They were torn gazing longingly at her and shooting dark looks at Ash, while Ash himself looked at Kirche's body, the smell of her sweet perfume, and her red hair up close.

That's when he felt something BIG inside him as his runes from his left hand turned dark-purple.

Kirche didn't notice any of this. "Manica! Ajax! Gimly! Ahh…then in 6 hours…"

"WHAT?! THAT'LL BE MORNING!"

"Flame," said Kirche as her familiar stood up on his hind legs and inhaled deeply before unleashing a gout of flame which impacted the three boys which they fell down with panicked screams.

"Now then," Kirche nodded, seeing her other guests were dealt with. "Where were—OH!"

The reason for her sudden gasp was that Ash suddenly was taken hold of her and like a pair of ballroom dancers spun until both of them were in the moonlight pouring in through the window. Ash kept his back to the light while he stared down at her, one hand holding hers while another was wrapped around her waist.

What Kirche didn't know, however, and neither Ash himself, was that Ash is now in Hysteria Mode.

Hysteria Mode, or known as Hysteria Savant Syndrome, is a trait that causes the bodies of men carrying it to activate 30 times more neutral transmitters than the average person, which makes the function of his central nervous system, namely the cerebrum, cerebellum, and spinal cord, accelerate dramatically when he is sexually excited. The user develops a hyperprotective manner towards girls, protecting them, speaking seductively to them and never hurting them, no matter what happens. However, the effect only lasts for a few minutes, with the exception of fulfillment through other manners.

In Ash's case, after seeing Kirche's body, up close and personal, the runes on his left hand glowed dark-purple, and that's when Hysteria Mode kicked in.

As for Kirche, she was surprised that Ash is doing something bold like this, considering that she was taller and bigger than him, of course not knowing that Ash is in Hysteria Mode, but she smirked in anticipation.

Then, Ash's voice, now in a seductive voice that can burn almost any girl's heart spoke, "Truly, your name of Kirche the Passionate is well-deserved. I have never seen a woman burn as brightly as you have."

Ash's voice made Kirche feel hotter than ever. "Yes, oh yes!" she gasped joyfully. She really must of thought she had Ash. "Oh, it burns! I burn! I burn my love for you Darling!"

Ash then trailed his right hand up to run his fingers through Kirche's hair. The real Ash wouldn't do or doesn't know any of this, but he will eventually. "Such fire is indeed a wonderful sight. However…there is one thing about it I fear."

"Fear?" Kirche gasped, her eyes widening as she gazed at him. "Oh don't fear love, Darling! Although it burns like an inferno to my heart, it could never harm you! The flames within me shall never burn a hair on your head! They will only embrace you so that our combined love can light a torch which the even heavens will be able to see!"

"Ah, but it's not being burned that I fear," Ash sighed dramatically, idly playing with the tips of Kirche's hair. It was a move she seemed to like as she leaned into Ash's fingers. It was to tell if she was just playing along or if she really was taken in by his words. Running his fingers through her chin, Ash looked at Kirche with passionate eyes…somehow.

"What I fear, is your flames of passion burning out, leaving me cold and alone. I already saw 5 examples just now. Would I be the sixth one?"

"Oh Darling! Never! My love will never die!" Kirche gasped, with her one visible eye tearing up. "I shall show you Darling! I shall prove to you tonight that the love I have for you can never be stifled and it shall never die! Like the flames of a phoenix, it shall go on forever!"

"And how do you—URK!"

And now, CUE THE SUPER COCK-BLOCK!

SLAM!

"ZERBST…"

There, at the door entrance, which was destroyed, was none other than Rinako Seere with electricity sparkling through her hands. In fact, Rinako said this with so much force and anger that Ash could immediately tell that the whole room trembled.

"Stop molesting that boy this instant, or I'll destroy your face entirely!" Rinako threatened.

Kirche clicked her tongue, knowing that this show is over. She separates from Ash, not wanting to wait until every living soul came to see what was going on.

"I was so close. I hope we meet like this again, Darling," she said lustily, making Rinako even more cross.

Ash himself, decided to calm Rinako down by saying, "Don't worry, my lovely princess. I haven't done anything to your servant."

Both Rinako and Kirche blushed at what Ash said. Also, they were both caught off-guard when Ash hugged Rinako from behind and said, "If you need to have some comfort, I'll do anything for you."

Rinako stuttered, "Um…uh…AAAAAAAHHH!" Rinako then electrocuted Ash, knocking him down and out, and also out of Hysteria Mode. And as Rinako drags Ash away to punish him, Kirche could only sigh in deep delight.

"If he's actually in that mode Aria kept talking about," said Kirche. "Then that means Ash is truly a special person. His seductiveness, and his boldness. He has stolen my heart."


END OF PART 2: Kirche looking at the two moons with a smile on her face.

START OF PART 3: Ash walking with Louise and Yuuto to the village.


** Next morning **

Ash managed to get some sleep in Rinako's room, but not without being electrocuted which was the last thing he could remember before being knocked out. He was now in the Grand Student Council room with everyone present, and some of the members saw Kirche looking more cheerful than ever.

"Okay, everyone. Listen up!" said Rias. "Today is Hollow Day. Even though today's a holiday, we're going to begin training immediately!"

"What?!" asked Akiwo. "This is our day off! Can't we rest for once?"

"Not as Devils, we don't," replied Rinako. "Besides, we need to train this pipsqueak here since he's one of the new Guardians."

Everyone looked at Ash, knowing he somehow has a bad feeling about this.

"Is the training really that hard?" Ash asked.

"Yes," answered Rias. "And here's why."

Rias snapped her fingers as Otome scanned her eyes and presented a large screen in front of everyone. "The death of the Original Four Great Satans during the Great War, as well as the formation of the Vanadis by the Black Dragon are two of the most important events. But there was another one: The destruction and loss of the Sacred Gears. And I've heard word from Rinako that yours could be one of the 13 Longinuses."

"Longinuses?" asked Ash.

"I'll explain later," said Rias. "But first, we need you to get a sword. Since I've heard word from the kitchen staff calling you 'Our Sword', I want to see if what happened from the fight the other day can come true again. Oh, and Louise, you and Yuuto are going with Ash to find a sword."

"Yes, Lady Gremory," said Yuuto.

"Wait! Why me?!" asked Louise.

"Do you want me to help you improve on your spells?" asked Rias.

Louise didn't think twice before answering, "You can count on me, Lady Gremory! Yuuto! Problem Child! Let's go!"

"I have a name, you know," Ash sighed, following Louise out the door, while Yuuto walked behind them.

"Oh, and don't take too long," said Annerose. "We have a long afternoon of training ahead of us!"

Rinako sighed, and quickly asked Sera and Saras, "Please follow them. There's a good chance that they could get ripped off."

[Yes!] replied the Vampire Ninjas as they both quickly rushed in hot pursuit for the 3.

Meanwhile, Kirche grabbed Tabitha and quickly exited out of the Student Council room, and as soon as they both got out, Tabitha, with the fluid motion of one well-practiced, gripped her staff and raised to unleash her magic just as Kirche opened her mouth. The redhead's mouth moved as if she were babbling about something, but no sound came out. Kirche continued to rant for a few moments without seemingly noticing that no noise was coming out. Eventually, it seemed that Kirche wasn't going to run out of steam so Tabitha released the spell to see what her friend had to say.

"I'm in love, Tabitha~!" Kirche swooned. She then told Tabitha, with extravagance, of her romance rendezvous with Ash. Tabitha listened and then Kirche finished, "But I can't believe Lady Gremory has sent Pretty Boy Kiba and the Zero to buy him a sword! I need a ride, and a fast one! Can I borrow Sylphid?"

"Not on my watch."

There, behind both Kirche and Tabitha, were Aria and her Baskerville Squadron Team.

"You're not going anywhere," said Aria, pointing her guns towards the two. "I've heard word about what happened last night between you and Ash. Tell us what happened, and in every detail."

Kirche clicked her tongue again as she got stopped by Aria and her team.

** Around town **

At the same time, both Seraphim and Sarasvati secretly jump from tree to tree, watching Ash, Louise, and Yuuto walk into town, which Ash found out it was a bustling marketplace in which he was later told by Yuuto that it was the largest street in all of Tristan. To Ash, it made sense since such a high number of nobles, albeit children, with deep pockets were living nearby so all of the merchants would want to sell their wares near the school in order to get a big payday. Children certainly had a disposable income and liked to buy things often, doubly so for noble children who likely had the money to buy just about anything a teenager could want.

The shop itself was down an alleyway, which again to Ash, it made sense since most of the people who visited the town were likely civilians or students. Not many would need a sword aside from enthusiasts, guards for the nobles, or the odd wandering adventurer. It wasn't a commodity in high demand so he probably couldn't afford to take up some of the prime real estate in the main street. Still, the alley itself didn't seem too dingy so he probably did well enough.

There were also other weapon shops around the main street, but none of them were sword shops.

The trio finally made it to the shop and entered and Ash had to blink twice. There were weapons of all kinds, but most of the swords littered the shelves. They were all in different shapes, sizes, and materials which made them look impressive in many cases and well-made in many cases. Ash made a few good looks at some of the swords, but he couldn't tell which ones were damaged or ruined, but he was hardly an expert on the subject. On the contrary, Yuuto Kiba is an expert on swords, so it was a good thing that Rias ordered Yuuto to tag along with the two.

Sera and Saras looked at one of the windows and could see the swords themselves.

"Some of those swords are fake the moment I saw them," said Sera as she is an expert on swords herself.

"Let's hope these guys use their brains for picking a good sword," said Saras.

The Vampire Ninjas were about to find out when the trio saw a man in which Ash could only describe as greasy and mouse-like behind a wooden desk at the front of the room. He a long mustache that looked like whiskers while his front teeth were rather…pronounced. Just looking at him made one feel like they need to take a bath, and to Ash, he was no exception. However, his attention was more on Louise and Yuuto rather than Ash, because the man could tell that Louise and Yuuto were nobles.

"Ah, nobles! What can I get you?" the man asked as he rubbed his hands eagerly with a glint in his eyes. To Ash and Yuuto, they call tell that the man was a greedy one and from the looks of it, he expected to get a ton of gold from Louise. Sera and Saras saw this too, but Louise, being the sheltered little girl she is, cannot.

"I need a sword for this guy," said Louise, pointing to Ash.

"Ah, yes. I've got just the thing!" the man answered as he ducked underneath his counter before he brought out of what appears to be a sword made of gold and decorated with jewels. Not one piece of it was steel like the rest of the blades. Just gold, silver, and fine decoration. "How's this?"

Sera and Saras looked at the sword and can immediately tell that it's a phony sword.

"It's beautiful!" said Louise as she admired the blade.

"What is she thinking?!" asked Saras. "That sh*tty sword is a rip-off."

"And I bet the price is too," said Sera. In fact, the price of that sword is…

"300,000 gold," the shopkeeper said to the three.

"And there's the rip-off price. What a desperate piece of sh*t," said Sera. "Let's hope Louise doesn't fall for his scheme."

Louise herself cried out, "WHAT?! That's enough for a new manor with servants included!"

"Yes, but as you can see, this sword was forged by a famous alchemist and with gold and jewels it has to be as valuable as a house," said the shopkeeper, pointing out the beauty of the blade in his hands.

However, Louise cursed at the fact that she doesn't have enough money to buy the sword. Luckily, Yuuto decided to 'test' the sword out.

"Can I look at the sword, if you don't mind?" Yuuto asked.

"Of course," said the man, giving the sword to Yuuto, in which he looked at it, and then went into a fighting stance. The shopkeeper began to sweat a little bit, and then, his worst fears came true.

BANG! BREAK!

When Yuuto swung the sword to the table, it first made a dent, and then the blade itself broke into several pieces. The sword was destroyed.

"Trying to rip-off people? Nice try, sir. I'm a man who knows swords like the back of his hand," said Yuuto. Once again, Yuuto has crushed the man's hopes of hitting it big as Yuuto found his flaw.

"H-How dare you try to rip me off?!" Louise asked in anger as she held the shopkeeper by the collar.

"Do you have a sword that's more…low key?" Ash asked as he tried to calm Louise down.

[Well, it looks like you know what you want in a sword, boy!] a new voice rung out. It was odd, because no one knew who made that voice, until…

[In here!] The voice was referred inside a barrel, and there was a rusted sword with part of the guard moving up and down like a mouth. [Hi!]

"A talking sword?" Ash blinked. Now there was something you don't see every day. Both Ash and Yuuto went closer as the sword was at moderate length and seemed like it might be a good size for Ash. It didn't seem to be as big as the broadswords and definitely not small or thin as the rapiers or the cane swords which the shop had; just a regular sword with a decent amount of weight.

"Derf, shut up!" the shopkeeper snapped, apparently very used to the sword's smack-talk. "You're ruining my business!"

[Serves you right for trying to cheat these people!] the sword named Derf shot back. Having said his piece to the shopkeeper, the sword turned back to Ash. [So, what's your name, kid?]

"Ash. Ash Blake."

[Well then, Ash Blake, if you're looking for a sword, then why not choose good old Derflinger?]

Yuuto was shocked when the sword's name was Derflinger. He remembered something about that name, but he couldn't think of it right now…

Louise tugged Ash's sleeve and whispered, "You can't be serious be considering buying that piece of junk, are you?"

Yuuto interrupted and replied, "I think it's a good idea to buy that sword. I can tell that it's a good, all-purpose sword. And if that sword talks, then he could pack some serious magical power somewhere."

"I think so, too," Ash agreed as he asked the shopkeeper, "How much for this one?"

"1,000 gold!" the shopkeeper shouted, looking like he was mixed between being happy someone wanted Derflinger and disappointed that the other sword was destroyed by Yuuto.

"He's in the bargain bin and covered in rust," said Yuuto. "I think 100 gold is a generous offer."

"500!" he lowered the price again.

"100," Yuuto insisted.

"400!"

"100," said Yuuto, still smiling throughout the entire thing. Yuuto wanted to see how far he could go until the shopkeeper cracked under pressure and let him have his way.

"Fine, 100! I wanted to get rid of him anyway! He scares off my customers!"

Sera and Saras outside sighed in relief that it was all over, and reported to Rinako and Rias that the job is complete. However, they quickly fail to realize that Kirche and Tabitha were right behind Ash, Louise and Yuuto as they left the store.

Kirche was annoyed after she heard from Aria that Ash was in Hysteria Mode, but that didn't change her mind about Ash as she was still in love with him, but thanks to the delay of Aria, her plans were beginning to diminish.

"Man, that Aria. Forcing me to tell her everything. And what's more, I just saw a rusty sword that girl brought for Ash! How arrogant, that Zero Louise!" Kirche said in frustration. In the end, she did something that every woman would do to gain a person's attention, and that is—

** 20 minutes later **

As Louise, Yuuto, and Ash were heading back to the school, Derflinger was happy to be friends as he interjected in any conversation Louise, Yuuto, and Ash had. The only one who wasn't in a very good mood was Louise.

"I can't believe I bought you that rusted piece of junk," Louise froned as she walked beside Ash.

"Hey, look at it this way," Yuuto interrupted. "You have saved some Gold, Ash got a sword, and we'll be back just in time for training."

[I like the way this blonde guy thinks. You should think the same way, Partner!] said Derflinger, pleased with how Yuuto apparently understood his splendor.

To Ash, when he heard "Partner", he remembered about Ddraig, his Pal. He knows he's going to summon Ddraig soon.

"Thanks," Ash smiled.

** Back at Grand Libra Academy **

The Gremory Peerage and the Guardians are now at the Playground Area. All of the Gremory members were in their gym clothes, except for Aisha, Korone and Nene, in which they at the seating area cheering them on.

While the Guardians were practicing on their shooting skills, and their sword skills, both Rias and Annerose instructed their servants to put Ash through a series of basic workouts. And there's nothing Basic about it.

"500 push-ups, 500 sit-ups, a five-mile run, and then I have to do hand-stands for 30 minutes?!" Ash gasped as he finished up his stretches in a black track suit. "Are you sure Lady Gremory and Lady Annerose are not trying to kill me?"

"Well, you're already dead," giggled Michiko, enjoying seeing Ash in pain.

"Do not argue, Ash. Miss Gremory knows what she's doing," said Koneko, dressed in a white shirt and bun-huggers, socks and shoes. While Ash wasn't into younger girls, he had to admit that Koneko did look cute.

"We've been through it, so it'll be no problem for you," said Akiwo.

Meanwhile, on the other side where the Guardians are training, Rias and Akeno were talking.

"Master?" Akeno asked, while dressed in a yellow and green tracksuit, which left little to the imagination as it was nicely tight around her body.

"Yes, Akeno?" Rias replied, wearing her own red and pink tracksuit that little as well.

"If what Rinako said is true, then does Ash have one of those Longinuses?"

"Rinako's accuracy is almost 100% true. As you know, there are 13 Longinuses, and if what Rinako said is true, then Ash could be the answer to almost all of our problems. She has already informed all of this to my brother, and he advises that we keep our eyes open in case the others appear."

"But how could we even begin to locate them?" Akeno asked.

Rias answered, "We'll use the technology Rinako and her family has for a start, and we also have Otome to help us. And… there's something else."

"What?"

"Those runes…Ash could be in trouble."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" Akeno asked.

"I've heard from Prof. Colbert earlier about the runes Ash has in his hand. And it could be possible that it has something to do God himself," Rias answered.

"God!" Akeno gasped.

"Yes, which means that the Angels and Fallen Angels are certainly setting their eyes on him. And then there's Ash's Pal… his Pal could also be a part of his Sacred Gear, meaning that there's a possibility that he could have a famous Dragon…as in a Heavenly Dragon."

"A Heavenly Dragon?! You mean…"

"Either Ddraig or Albion…" said Rias. "Of course, we'll have Rinako and our servants and their servants give us more information, and my brother is also on it as well."

Rias and Akeno then proceeded to the rest of the two groups.

** Later that night **

Ms. Kano was able to have Ash rest in Annerose's room at the Large Tower using 'Special Permission'. Ash had to be dragged back by Rena T., the robot maid, who had no problem carrying him.

"Ugh…I feel terrible," Ash groaned.

"You got that right," said Sakuya M., another one of the maids. "You should be lucky that the next meeting is going to be a short one."

"Now, Rio," said Annerose. "Prepare a bath for Ash! It'll help him ease his sore muscles."

Ash felt grateful that he was going to get a nice bath.

** At the girls' dorms **

Tabitha was wearing earmuffs as Kirche and Louise were arguing on where Ash is. Apparently, Ash is not residing in her room, nor in Yuuto's room at the boys' dorms.


END OF PART 3: Ash taking a nice long bath.

START OF PART 4: Old Osmond and Longueville preparing for work at the large tower.


** At the Large Tower; Next Morning **

Inside the office of Old Osmond, the headmaster is currently signing a document for the Royal Count and stamps his seal of approval onto it before he rolls the paper up by a wave of his staff and return it to the royal count, who fixed a satisfied look on his face. The Count checks on the document for the confirmation and puts it away into his satchel once he had a good look on it.

"We appreciate the academy's understanding and cooperation," the Royal Count told to Osmond with a smile on his face.

"We have no other choice if it's a direct order from the Royal Palace," Osmond replied.

"Since that's done, please excuse me…" the aristocrat politely bows before he turns around and heads to the door. As the door opens, Miss Longueville was bowing at him near the doorway, which caught his attention for a moment.

"Would you like to join me for dinner, Miss Longueville?" he offered to the secretary while his are fixed on her assets.

Miss Longueville noticed his glance and managed to cover it up with her cape before she replied back with a smile on her face, "It would be an honor, Count Mott."

"Hmm…I'll be looking forward to it," Count Mott replied with anticipation before he left from Osmond's office.

As soon as he left, her sincere expression changes into a bad mood due to his earlier actions as she enters back into Old Osmond's office to resume her work by placing the books onto the shelves.

It is then she began to ask, "So, what impossibility did the royal palace force on us today?"

"They only came to warn us about the Fallen Angels, 2 Serial Killers and a thief," Old Osmond replied, which certainly gained her attention.

"Fallen Angels? Serial Killers? A thief?"

"Yes. It seems like there has been an uproar recently with that kind of activity, and this all due to a mage thief leading the pack named Fouquet Claude of the Crumbling Earth, who has not only been stealing valuables only from aristocrats, but also using the Fallen Angels to kill them without a trace."

"Fouquet Claude?"

"That's right. We are holding the Staff of Destruction for safekeeping at the request of the Royal Palace," the headmaster explained further as Miss Longueville used her want to put the book at the highest rack.

"The 'Staff of Destruction'? The name of the weapon is already dangerous enough to be heard…" she added with a smile on her face.

"I don't know how skilled of a mage is this Fouquet of the Crumbling Earth really is, but our treasure vault is a special one as it has layers of spells cast by a Pentagon mage. And as a matter of fact, they're working too much. Not to mention that a part of the famous book, The Grand Grimoire, is there as well."

While she was putting away the books, Old Osmond uses this opportunity by waving his wand around and started to lift the hand paper weight on his desk with a pointed finger with his magic. He levitates it towards the back of the unsuspecting Miss Longueville's back and slides the finger up her back. Due to this, the action causes her to drop her books from her hands.

Osmond seems entertained for a bit as he lets out a few chuckles of his own… until he noticed the paper weight was in her hand, ready to be thrown at him.

"Wa-wa-wait! Wait!"

As much as he tried to beg, in the end, the toss that she made landed right on the forehead of the headmaster before she storms off from his room.

** Later that night **

As Ash was looking at the night sky, thinking of how magic can be scary sometimes, he didn't notice the maid Siesta coming up behind him.

"Ash?"

Ash didn't notice her at first, but when he did, he was shocked when Siesta was right behind him while thinking about the new sword Derflinger, and his Pal Ddraig.

"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" Siesta asked, as she apologizes, "I did call your name a few times and I thought you were asleep on the grass all alone. I was just about to wake you up so that you don't really get yourself a cold."

"Oh, it's okay," said Ash. "I was just taking a little bit of a nap, that's all…"

It was only a few minutes before Ash stood up and looked at Siesta with a smile on his face. "Is something the matter?"

"Ash? I was wondering. What does it feel like to ride a Dragon from Dragonar Academy?" Siesta asked in curiosity.

"Dragon riding is great! You can communicate with the dragons and take great care of it, and help you in upcoming battles. It such a fun experience," said Ash as he closed his eyes, letting the soft wind blow to his face, calming him down for a while until Siesta broke the silence.

"Um…Ash?"

"Yes?"

Without hesitation, she bowed down suddenly in front of him, leaving him surprised and confused at the same time. "Um…Siesta?"

"Ash, thank you very much."

"Eh? For what? Why did you do that all of a sudden? Ash asked to Siesta while the maid faced him with a smile on her face.

"You never complain about anything, and you fight against aristocrats with your own powers even though you're just a plebian like us. Because of that, you have given me a lot of courage. Thanks to you, I can keep working hard from now on."

To Ash, for the second part was true, as he stood up on those guys and show them how REAL magic does. And because of his actions, he gains the title 'Our Sword' from other guys that he knew. One thing for sure, he left his first impression in Tristan, and now, how is that going to impact back at Arc Strada?

"Well…I don't know what to say, Siesta, but thanks!" Ash perked up while rubbing the back of his head because of her sincere comment.

"I should make my leave now. Have a good night, Ash," said Siesta as she bows politely before walking away.

It was then that Ash's left gauntlet was summoned and Ddraig said to Ash…

[Well, you do realize that something's wrong with her, right?]

"Yeah…" said Ash. "It's as if she's feeling down…"

** Next morning **

As the morning bell was heard throughout the whole academy, Siesta was looking at the larger where Ash is sleeping with sadness in her eyes, while carrying her luggage in casual clothing. She wanted to tell him the truth about last night's matter when she had the chance, but words didn't come out of her mouth, and in the end, she didn't tell him at all.

"Miss Siesta, the carriage is ready," the man spoke to her, getting her attention back to the current situation.

"Ah, right!" said Siesta while walking towards the carriage that was prepared outside of the academy. Before she enters in, she looked at the same tower for one last time while muttering the name that she knew…

"Ash, thank you for everything…"

Those were the last words before she enters in and the carriage made its way towards its destination.

** One hour later **

At the Student Council room, Ash asks a question to Rias and President Lily.

"I had a few questions that I didn't get to ask before," said Ash.

"Oh? Like what?" Rias asked.

"I was wondering if the Angels and the Fallen Angels have a similar method to Evil Pieces…"

Rinako was surprised when Ash said something like that, while Rias smiled at Ash's question.

"A good question, Ash. A very good question. The truth is the Fallen can increase their numbers whenever an Angel falls from Heaven. Unfortunately for us, and the Angels, this is becoming more if a frequent thing. Angels, however, can replenish their own ranks by resurrecting a human with what is called The Brave Saint. Much like the Evil Pieces we Devils use, the Brave Saints are cards that are used on people with a pure heart. However, there are only 12 cards per suit instead of 16 pieces in chess, and each Angel is only allowed one suit per century."

"Why only 12?" Ash asked.

"The 12 cards represent the 12 Apostles, who originally followed Jesus," Haruna answered immediately.

"Then did God create them?"

"No," answered Lily. "It was Archangel Micheal who created the Brave Saint cards in order to increase the number of Angels to their ranks."

"Hmm…" Ash muttered, as of thinking about something else.

"Is something wrong, Ash?" Akeno asked.

"Well, it's nothing. But if they're based on the 12 cards in a regular suit…then what is the Joker card considered?"

Everyone looked at Ash before Rias comes out of nowhere and began hugging the boy's head between her ample breasts tightly, shocking everyone.

"Oh, you brilliantly intuitive boy! I'm so glad you're not an idiot!" Rias cried out, before Rinako pulled Rias back.

"Don't try to spoil him, Rias!" warned Rinako. "And coming from that mouth of yours, I'm surprised that you know something like this."

The others had to agree.

"Indeed!" said Lily as she continued the explanation. "In the Brave Saint 'deck', there is a Joker card, which is basically an additional card that can be used to resurrect someone into an Angel. Much like the same way, the Evil Piece system has something like that. It's called a 'Mutation Piece.'"

"Mutation Piece?" Ash asked curiously.

"Yes," answered Rias. "If reviving a person requires 8 Pawns, then using 1 Mutation Piece would be enough to revive that person instead of using all 8 Pawn Pieces. And Rinako and I could resurrect them into a Queen, Rook, Knight, Bishop, or Pawn. However, they are pretty rare."

"However, due to a lottery program, both Rias and I have managed to nab up to 20 of them, which is pretty rare!" Rinako boasted, shocking Ash.

"And if we ever did use these special, it would be for someone special," finished Rias.

"I see," Ash sighed. "Guess that makes sense. Well, is resurrecting humans into Devils the only way to increase their ranks, or do they do it the old fashion way?"

Rias giggled at Ash's question, while Kirche glares at Rias, knowing that there will be some serious competition soon, while Tabitha kept reading her book.

"Well, Pure Devils, like myself and Rinako, are somewhat rare. This is mostly because there are so few of us nowadays, thanks to the Wars which killed off more than half of the original 72 Pillars."

"And as a result, the heads of the Devil families often arrange their daughters to marry someone from another family of pure Devils," said Rinako. "Though some of us are rather against the idea of marrying someone we don't want to marry, even if they are pure-blooded Devils."

"And may I add that we Vampire Ninjas automatically get married when we kiss a man, whether we know him or not, and some of us don't like that," said Saras.

"Of course, there have only been a handful of instances where a resurrected human got promoted to a High-Class Devil and married a Pure Devil. But the last case was about a millennia ago," said Rias.

"And to this point, almost all of us in this room never really found human men that interesting…" said Rinako. "And for good reason." She said that part to herself.

"I solely agree on that," replied Michiko, inching closer to Annerose. "And if I had the chance to marry Annerose, I would do it!"

Some of the members sweat-dropped at Michiko's statement. It was then that once again Ms. Kano came in, along with 2 other teachers, Kanna S. and Rena K.

"You do realize that it's almost lunchtime, right?" asked Ms. Kano.

When they looked at the clock, it was almost 12:00 noon.

"Ah! You're right! Thanks, Ms. Kano," said Lily. "Everyone, you're dismissed!"

"We'll talk later, Ash," said Rias as everyone proceeded to the Cafeteria building.

** 45 minutes later **

"Yo! Our Sword!"

That was the sound of the Head Cook, Marteau, with his casual smile, approaching to Ash while he's standing outside the entrance again.

"Can't get in, huh?" he asked.

"Nope," Ash answered. "After all, I'm a student from Dragonar Academy, so it's natural they won't let me in, and I can fully understand that."

"Well if that's the case, then why don't you come to my kitchen and fill up that stomach of yours?" Marteau offered. All Ash could do was smile as he followed Marteau into the Kitchen.

** At the Kitchen **

Ash was eating bread which was dipped in the stew the Head Cook made. Ash quickly filled his stomach earlier than he anticipated.

"Thank you for treating me with food all the time, Marteau," Ash said to the Head Cook.

"You don't have to worry about it," Marteau answered. "It's the aristocrats' leftovers, anyways."

As Ash continued eating, he noticed that Siesta wasn't here. Usually, she'll come here to pick up some food and have a chat together whenever there was time. He still didn't get it regarding to her sudden thanks last night. Ash decided to ask Marteau…

"Um. Where's Siesta?"

"Hm?" the Head Cook asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Could she be working at this time? Her job isn't to cook, but to serve the meals to the people, right? Is that the reason why she isn't here?"

"You didn't hear it from Siesta?"

"About what?"

"That she's quitting from her duty…"

That's when Ash finally solved the mystery after what Marteau said.

"Eh?! She's quitting her duty? How come?" Ash asked in shock.

"Yeah, it was all out of the blue and she had to go to serve Count Mott. She left early this morning on a carriage."

'So that explains why she was hesitant and why she had that sad look on her face. Ddraig was right,' Ash thought. "But… why now? Why too sudden to do so?"

"Well, in the end," Marteau sighed, "peasants have no other choice but to listen to aristocrats." Then he began walking to other direction. "Right! Back to work!"

Ash looked at the stew, and could've sworn that he saw the head of a familiar princess named Silvia Lautreamont. After rubbing his eyes, he only saw the stew. Then he said to himself…

"Siesta… Why did you keep quiet about the matter? If it's something that important, she should've told me about it because I'm her friend and we should help out for those who is in need… That's what Silvia told me…"

** Later that evening **

While Ash and the maids cleaned up the windows, he asked Annerose about this Count Mott character. She was surprised by Ash's sudden question, so her good friend Aisha decided to answer for her.

"According to my studies, Count Mott is an imperial messenger, so he occasionally comes to the academy. He's always bossy, and most of us don't like him."

Many agreed on Aisha's response.

"But I don't get it. Why would Siesta go to that aristocrat's house?"

It was then that his sword, Derflinger, answered, shocking the maids and Annerose.

[If you want to know, partner, I can tell you! When an aristocrat appoints a young maid by name, it usually means she's to become his concubine! You don't even know that?]

Ash was shocked about that. "A concubine?! How am I supposed to know THAT?! I-Is that even possible?!"

"Being into a forced marriage is one thing," said Annerose. "But even I have heard things like that, too. There are many types of aristocrats, after all…"

Ash could only tighten his grip as he looked at the sun setting. He could only think of the fate of that girl, and from what Rias and Rinako said earlier…

Ash decided to head out of the room to get some info, but not before Rio asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go and dry this rag for a moment, and maybe I'll take a breather…" Ash told Rio before he exited the room and continue to walk down the stairs.

Ash has decided to get some info and he knows just where to go.

** At the Academy Hall **

It didn't take long for Ash to find who he was searching for: Guiche de Gramont. He found him talking to Montmorency near the fountain and gave her something. And it doesn't seem like he's learning his lesson from the previous incident.

"It's fabulous," said Montmorency. "A broach made of mithril."

Guiche kept his usual coolness. "Don't you think it would look good on you, Montmorency?"

"Are you trying to make me forgive you for the recent events with this?" she asked him while giving him a glare of her own as he continued to keep his cool.

"Oh, please. You don't believe that vulgar man from Dragonar Academy-"

It was at this point he received a tap on his shoulder, and saw Ash right behind him, and his eyes widened in terror as he began to back away from him.

"Relax," Ash said to Guiche calmly, "I'm not here to fight." Guiche already knows that this is a bad idea to challenge him again.

"Ah…yes…" said Guiche, wiping some sweat off of his brow. "What can I do for you?"

"I want to know about Count Mott's place. Do you have any idea how to get there?" Ash asked him bluntly, surprising Guiche.

"To Count Mott's estate? I know where it is…" said Guiche.

"Hold that thought!" Ash said and began touching his left arm. It glowed and out of nowhere comes his Pal, Ddraig.

"Wow! A cute red dragon!" Montmorency said, looking at Ddraig.

"T-That's your familiar?!" Guiche asked in surprise that the Dragon came out of Ash's arm.

"That is my Pal, Ddraig," Ash told him. "Now then, can you tell Ddraig the directions of the directions of that place?"

Taking a gamble, Guiche simple told the directions to get to that aristocrat's estate without missing any details.

** Outside the school **

Ash found himself a horse while Ddraig was flying.

[Alright! Now I can show you that we Dragons have an excellent sense of direction! Follow me, Partner!] said Ddraig as he flew towards the estate.

Ash quickly followed Ddraig while riding on one of the horses, hoping that Ddraig is right.

"I'm coming for you, Siesta… just hang in there!" said Ash.

Unfortunately, he failed to see one of Rias' servants, Korone watching him exit the school.


END OF PART 4: Ash following Ddraig on a horse to Count Mott's estate.

START OF PART 5: Korone telling Annerose about Ash.


** At the Large Tower **

"What?! Ash went out to save Siesta by himself?!" Annerose asked in horror.

3 minutes earlier, Korone told him exactly what happened.

"And he had…a Red Dragon with him…" Korone said.

"A Red Dragon?!" asked Michiko.

"Could it be…Well, we need to find the others and find him as fast as possible!" said Annerose, getting her sword ready. "Rio, Sakuya, Rena, and Natsume, you stay here in case something happens."

[ROGER!] the 4 maids replied.

"Let's go, Michiko!"

"Yes!" replied Michiko as she and Annerose took off to fetch the other Guardians.

** At the Cafeteria Building **

The students were having dinner and among them were Rias and her servants, including Louise.

Kirche came by as she was grumbling about what happened earlier.

"That Lady Gremory. Spoiling my Ash. It'll be interesting if she's interested in him. Maybe if I offer Ash a talisman ring, or a fire-eater bird-blood earring, or even my heirloom book, he'll sure to come back to me!" Kirche said as she approached to the Gremory group.

"Oh my. What are you doing here?" asked Akeno. "Aren't you supposed to be out doing some contracts?"

"Well, Lady Amagi has given me some boring ones, so I left them to some of the others," replied Kirche.

It was at that moment when Korone and Annerose and the Guardians came in.

"Lady Gremory! There's trouble!" said Annerose.

"What happened?" asked Rias, getting up.

"Ash has gone off to Count Mott's estate, and Korone said that he had a Red Dragon with him!"

"A RED DRAGON?!" asked the remaining members of the group.

"Could it be the Dragon Ash has been saving all this time?" asked Hifumi.

"Could be," answered Rias. "But we're going to Count Mott's estate and find out what in the world is going on! Let's go!"

[YES!] replied the Gremory Group and the Guardians.

Otome began scanning where Count Mott's place is while Akeno begins the magic transport spell.

** At another area **

Ash found out where Ddraig is, and the Dragon didn't miss his expectations as they have arrived to the right place.

It was a huge mansion, which almost looks like Buckingham Palace.

"So, this is it?" Ash muttered to himself before Ddraig sits on his right shoulder. "Thanks for the help, buddy…"

[Hahaha! Anytime, Partner!] laughed Ddraig as he disappears while Ash's left arm glowed.

That also caught the attention to one of the guards who was rushing towards Ash and began to ask, "Who are you?"

"I need to see Count Mott. I have an urgent business to ask of him," Ash requested.

"Hm…Very well. Come with me," said the guard as he guided Ash to Count Mott's mansion, with another guard following him to make sure that everything's under control.

** Inside Count Mott's mansion **

Ash could tell that he was amazed. The surrounding of the place is beautiful, with some self-portraits of the Count and a big chandelier on top which brightens up the whole room and also makes it an eye-catching piece indeed.

By closer inspection with one of the self-portraits, it seems like his appearance consists of flat hair with one of those curly, thin mustache and eyebrows, wearing a blue noble-class suit with red lining at the middle, buttoned by yellow strings and wearing black pants and black leather shoes and white socks. He had a red mantle on his shoulder and one of those frilly collars on his neck, standing mighty with his cane. That guy could be Count Mott.

When the 3 men got to the door that has the Count inside, one of the guards knocks his door, while the other one aims his spear at Ash's back.

"What is it?" a voice was heard from inside.

"A man named Ash wishes to meet you, sir!" the guard informed him.

"Ash? I've never heard such a name before," he replied back. And, why not? He has never met Ash.

"But he said he has urgent business to do with you…" the guard informed him again. There was a tense moment of silence, and then the voice said…

"Let him in."

The guard opens the door and Ash enters while being accompanied by the 2 guards. There, sitting on a chair with his legs crossed and an unsatisfied look on his face was Count Mott.

"What could a peasant want to discuss with me?" Mott asked with an annoyed tone.

Ash decided to answer back with a simple, blunt tone, "I want Siesta to return back to the Academy."

The Count just chuckles at Ash's request before his face became stiff once again. "What a foolish thing."

He stood up from his chair and pointed his finger at the direction of the door. "Leave! You should be honored that I even allowed a peasant to meet with me!"

He still has no idea whose he talking with, but Ash decided to bear with it and continued to plead him. He has a plan and he's about to make his move.

"Please, if you would send Siesta back to the Academy, I'd do anything!"

The Count turns around, looking at Ash in confusion. "What is your relationship with Siesta?"

"Hm…" Ash crosses his mind while thinking about the matter. "A co-worker should be sufficed for the time being… even though we work at different places…"

"Hmph, you're just an employee of the Academy."

The Count brought Ash's lie. Ash decides to go one step further.

"I heard that when an aristocrat appoints a maid by her name, is she like a concubine to that aristocrat?"

"Huh…Siesta is an official maid of the Mott Estate. It's a master's freedom to do what he pleases with them," the Count replied while combing his curly mustache, while Ash is beginning to get ticked off. He also remembers why so many students at Dragonar Academy did not want to be friends with Silvia and what happened with Julius.

"Damn you…" Ash growled with Mott smirked.

"So what if I am? It's a great honor for a nameless plebian to serve a well-known aristocrat such as myself," he boasted.

Ash has seen enough. "Why you little-!" He began to step forward and draw his sword, only to have 2 guards stop him. "Doing whatever you want, knowing Siesta can't fight back! You aristocrats are all the lowest scum I've ever met!"

"Damn you! How dare you insult an aristocrat when you're a peasant?!" Mott was now ticked as he reaches for his staff, while Ash got his sword Derflinger ready. "Stand still!"

But before anyone could make a move, the door suddenly opens up as Siesta rushes in and begged for his mercy.

"Siesta?!" Ash was surprised by her actions as she kneels down in front of him, pleading for Ash to be pardoned from his punishment.

"Count, please forgive this man's insolence."

"No! If I leave this kind of plebian alone, Jour de Mott's name will be shamed! Therefore, you should move away, Siesta!" Mott commanded, but Siesta didn't move.

"Yeah, just let me loose on this pinhead!" Ash told Siesta.

"I can't!" Siesta replied, surprising Ash. "Please, Count Mott. I will accept any form of punishment for freeing this man."

"You can't be serious, Siesta?!" Ash asked her, while Mott ponders a bit before coming to a conclusion.

"So, you're Ash? You said you would do anything, didn't you? Can your words be truthful?" he asked.

"And if I am?" Ash asked since he's still a bit ticked as the Count makes his way towards one of the bookshelves and took out a particular book.

"It's my hobby to collect books. Among the books that I've read, there's this one book that I seek; one that I sought to read for a long time."

"A book?" Ash asked in confusion.

"It's a book that someone found by accident at another continent during some experiment. And according to my information, there's a family in Germania has it as their heirloom. And their daughter is in the Academy right now," the Count explains.

"Germania? Have I heard that before?" Ash asked.

"I don't know if a peasant like you would know her, but she's from Zerbst," said the Count, and that's where it hit Ash hard.

Ash could only conclude that it had to be Kirche. Kirche Zerbst. One of Rinako Seere's servants. Ash could only shudder at that part.

"If you want Siesta back, you must bring her heirloom book to me."

Those were the words the Count promised Ash as he slowly makes his way back to the horse, where there were guards waiting for him.

"Ash? Tell me why you're here…"

Oh wait. Scratch that. The guards have all been beaten up badly by the Gremory group and the Guardians of Gremory.

"Oh! Annerose…" Ash said, sweating bullets.

"That's Lady Annerose to you!" said Michiko, getting out her battle axe.

"This better be a good explanation of why you ran to this place…" said Rias, with an unsatisfied look on her face.

** 20 minutes later **

After Ash told them about what happened to Siesta, some of them felt for sorry for the maid.

"Geez, I can't understand why Siesta would stop you from getting your hand on that Count…" said Sakuya K.

"He's a high-ranked person in the Royal Palace. You can't compare him to Guiche," Louise said.

It was then that Kirche appeared behind the group, and Ash decided to ask a question, after gulping so many times.

"Um…Excuse me, Kirche. There's something I want from you…" Ash said quickly.

"What would like to ask me for?" Kirche smiled seductively. Some of the girls were glaring at Kirche.

"Can I borrow your book for the time being?" Ash asked bluntly.

"My heirloom? Oh, sure!" she replied as she swings her wand and out of nowhere, a book appeared on Kirche's left hand.

"I don't have any interest in reading books like Tabitha, hence the reason why I never opened the lock," she said.

"And the reason why they gave you that book is…?" asked Rias in curiosity.

"They forced it on me as a bridal item, since that it can make males a bit horny, if I'm not mistaken…" Kirche replied,

"A dangerous book…" Koneko said in a cold voice.

"I guess I get the gist of it why he practically begs for it…" Ash muttered under his breath.

Ash quickly ran back to the main hall of the mansion, and while all of that was happening, his runes glowed dark-purple, turning himself into Hysteria Mode.

And right on cue, Count Mott was waiting, with Siesta on his side.

"Ash!" Siesta called.

"How did you get in here undetected?!" Mott asked.

"I got my own tricks up on my sleeve. That, and a magician never reveals his secrets to others," Ash lied, but once again, the Count bought it.

"Well, I don't know why you came back so quickly, unless you have the item that I have requested before," Mott said with anticipation.

"Sorry… it seems like I have to go with Plan B," said Ash.

"Plan B?"

"Yeah, which is to beat the living life out of you, and save Siesta from your clutches!"

The remaining guards began to protect their master from harm.

"I've never heard such a foolish peasant before and you have to remember this," said the Count.
"No aristocrat would ever give away their treasures to a plebian. I was expecting more from you, but it seems you've come here unprepared. How boring…"

"No, YOU have to remember something good! People's lives can't be treated as a property and due to that, you've taken away their hope. And because of that… I'm going to save Siesta!" Ash declared as he begins to summon out Derflinger.

"So, you've drawn it…" Mott replied with a smirk.

"Ash, don't! If you draw out your sword on him, you'll be sentenced to death, regardless of your status!" Siesta warned Ash, as he's preparing for the worst.

"That won't be the case!" another voice cried out from the hall.

And to everyone's surprise, in came Rias Gremory, her servants, and the Guardians of Gremory, led by Annerose.

"W-what?! What's the meaning of this?!" Count Mott asked as he and his guards were surprised to see Rias and her team come in.

"We've heard about Siesta, and we're not going to let you do whatever you want with her!" said Rias. "My servants and my Guardians, take them down!"

[YES!] replied Rias' servants and Guardians.

The fight began as two soldiers began rushing in as Aria, Mayu, Reina, Sara, and Miyabi F. began shooting towards the soldiers with their guns, knocking away each of their spears that they had in hand.

Then Hifumi gave one of the soldiers a hard elbow on his helmet and a back elbow on his chest, knocking him down. Akiwo does a full left kick to the second soldier in the stomach, sending him back to a wall, knocking him unconscious.

Ash saw Siesta and said to himself, 'Don't worry…I'll bring you back to the Academy and keep you hope alive, Siesta.'

"For a man to be teaming up with such a strong group, you sure know how to change odds…" the Count praised Ash as 8 more of them enters the fray, but they were quickly taken down by Erika who used her magic to turn them into Plushy Dolls.

"So you guys are Mages as well?! But I know you're not as strong as I am as I'm a Triangle-class Mage!" said Mott as he waved his wand at a nearby vase, deliberately tumbling down, causing water to be poured out. In an instant, a big stream of water shoots out from that small puddle and he redirects it onto Ash's direction, but of nowhere, Yuuto comes in with a sword of him, and blocks the attack.

"Having one of your friends defend you will not change anything! I can also do things like this!" Mott yelled before conjuring a few blobs of water floating up the ceiling before changing into an ice of spiky water.

And as the spiked dashes towards both Ash and Yuuto, Miyabi T. uses her long purple hair to catch them and then break them apart, much to Mott's surprise.

"What?!" the Count asked in a surprised tone.

Then Aria and her Baskerville Squadron began shooting towards the Count, trying to distract him.

"Just give up!" said Aria. "You are clearly being outnumbered!"

"Then why don't take this one for size!" Count replied as he began to make a Water Shield to block the bullets, and then creating a large sphere of water as it slowly went towards Aria and her team.

Annerose quickly saw this, and went in front of Aria and the others as she was being swallowed by the blob before changing it into ice, trapping her inside of it.

[Lady Annerose!] the others replied.

"Ha! I didn't think that this woman would take your place. Never mind, though. It's time for you to enjoy your trap in ice for eternity!" Count Mott laughed as the icy prison begins to lower its temperature to subzero, but what comes next might surprise him.

Annerose summoned her sword Kongoyasha, and with one swing, the ice that trapped her was shattered into a million pieces and the Count was flown a few meters away, with the staff out from his hand.

Isis took the staff away while Annerose pointed her sword towards Mott, walking up to him.

"P-Please! Don't hurt me!" Mott begged.

"You do realize that you can't beat me: Annerose, The Iron Witch!" she said.

"Hold it right there!" Rias said, stopping Annerose from doing something to the Count. "You should know that pointing a sword at a Royal Palace employee is a felony."

Annerose was surprised while Mott went back to his arrogant self.

"She's right!" Mott replied. "Honestly, the quality of the students at the Academy has fallen…I must request Old Osmond to give you a severe punishment for this, so you better get ready to get your family involved in this case."

"These people have nothing to do with this," said Ash as he steps forward. "Most of my actions are by my own will, so don't put the blame on them!"

That's when Kirche steps up to Count Mott and spoke.

"Count Mott. How about we settle this case with this?" she asked as she lifts up her school uniform while searching for something inside her skirt.

"Oi, what are you-" Mott asked as he was surprised by her actions as she pulls out a book from her skirt.

"I heard that you were looking for this," said Kirche, leaving a confused look on the Count's face. "And sorry for my late introduction. My name is Kirche von Zerbst." She then politely bows down to him.

"Zerbst?!" asked Mott in shock as he looked at the book. "Then, that means…"

"Yes, our heirloom, the summoned book. Please have it…" she offers him with the key on it as well.

"Well… since the deed is done, now it's your turn to fill in your part of the bargain," Ash said while Mott's eyes didn't leave a sight from the book that he now holds.

"Oh yes, I forgot. Siesta, you're free to go," Mott commanded as Siesta was happy for the matter as the remaining guards escorted to her room to pack her belongings. "So, this is the famous book."

"Are you sure? Isn't it your heirloom?" Louise asked as Kirche looked at Louise as she crossed her arms.

"Hmph, I've checked out the content, and I don't need it…" Kirche replied.

"And good riddance for it…" said Koneko.

"Don't need it…" replied Otome.

As the group began to leave and waiting for Siesta, Mott finally goes to his room, and begin unlocking the lock with the key. And after all of this, what the Count finally get?

A book case with a set of P-nography magazines. Yep, turns out Count Mott is a huge pervert. He should be thankful that the group didn't see any of this, or he would be REALLY beaten up to death.

** 5 minutes later **

As Ash manages to strap Siesta's luggage properly at the back of the horse, and get out of Hysteria Mode, while the others already teleported themselves back to the Academy, she began to look at him with a smile on her face.

"Ash… I want to thank you for what you did for me…" Siesta began to thank him.

"Well, Kirche did most of the work for you.…" Ash reminded her.

"But, it's because of you working hard… just for my sake," she said as Ash mounted on his ride and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Ash didn't see that coming as he sees Siesta with a slight blush on her face. Her arms that wrapped around his waist were tighten up for a bit as she laid her head on his back while closing her eyes as the horse takes off back to Grand Libra Academy.

"Thank you… for becoming my hope… Ash…" Siesta said to herself.

"That's what friends are for…" said Ash to himself before he somehow thought of Silvia.

** At Arc Strada; At the Apollo House **

Ash finally made it back to his room without being noticed as he summoned Ddraig out and sees Derflinger for the first time.

[Well, for a rusty sword like you, you are actually a useful sword.] said Ddraig to Derf.

[I've seen my days, but I'm certainly not out yet! Besides, I might be the material that'll knock everyone's socks off!] replied Derf.

"Man, my weekend is ruined, but it was worth it for saving Siesta," said Ash, getting ready for bed. "I REALLY need to take a rest after all of this hard work…"

[You earned it, partner! Sometimes, using your brain is as good as using brawn!] said Ddraig.

Ash now has his Pal, Ddraig, and a talking sword, Derflinger. He's probably thinking of what the other classmates are going to say about this.

** Next Morning; At the Marketplace in Tristan **

There was a young, blonde girl getting off of a carriage carrying a huge luggage bag while looking at the town name.

"Hawawa…I hope the church is around here somewhere…" said the young girl as she begins searching for her destination.


Act III – COMPLETE!

ED Song: Love Never Felt So Good by Michael Jackson

To be continued…


Next time on The Red Star-Marked Dragon Emperor…

During his free time at the Grand Libra Academy, Ash bumps into a nun named Asia Argento and helps her find the Church, only to have Rias and Rinako remind Ash not to go there as it could have plenty of Fallen Angels residing as their base.

Ash then sees how Rias, Rinako, and their servants deal with a Stray Devil and witness their powers and which Evil Pieces they are in for the first time.

Then later, Ash gets a request to do one of the contracts for Eu from Rinako, only to meet 2 Serial Killers: An insane exorcist named Freed Sellzen and an even crazier Magical Girl named Kyoko.

But an even bigger shock comes to Ash when he finds out that Asia is working with the 2 Serial Killers, and Asia herself is shocked to find out that Ash is working for the Devils, in which Freed and Kyoko assumed, not knowing that Ash is part of the Guardians of Gremory.

Ash should be lucky to have not only save Siesta from certain danger, but also lucky to have Derflinger and Ddraig on his side, because he's going to need them as there's going to be more action, drama, and girls coming up on Act 4 of The Red Star-Marked Dragon Emperor!


And there we go! Act 3 is finished! First and foremost of all, sorry for not updating this story sooner, but this is due to the fact that so many things happened to me, that I lost my concentration on trying to make this Act, and it won't be the last time! Now, this is going to be a short reference list this time around.


REFERENCES:

Buckingham Palace – based on the real building in England

Hysteria Mode – Aria the Scarlet Ammo


Now, I hope you enjoyed what I did to Ash with Hysteria Mode and Kirche, and it won't be the last time. I've tried to put him the same way for Count Mott, but I'll save that for another douchebag named Raiser Phenex.

To those who want to know who has which Evil Piece, they are as follows…

Rias' Peerage (so far):

Rias Gremory (King)

Akeno Himejima (Queen)

Koneko Toujou (Rook)

Yuuto Kiba (Knight)

Sakuya Kazamatsuri (Koi Koi 7 – Pawn – 2 Mutation Pieces)

Miyabi Tsukuyomi (Koi Koi 7 – Pawn – 2 Mutation Pieces)

Otome Chono (Koi Koi 7 – Pawn – 1 Mutation Piece)

Akiwo Suzuka (Koi Koi 7 – Pawn – 4 Mutation Pieces)

Hifumi Inokai (Koi Koi 7 – Pawn – 4 Mutation Pieces)

Korone (Demon King Daimao – Pawn – 1 Mutation Piece)

Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière (Familiar of Zero – Pawn – 4 Mutation Pieces)

Naegleria Nebiros (Is this a Zombie? – Pawn – 2 Mutation Pieces)

Rinako's Peerage (Complete):

Rinako Seere/Rinako Amagi (King)

Eucliwood Hellscythe (Is This a Zombie? – Queen – 4 Mutation Pieces)

Kanna Kurohime/Shiroyuki (Onihime VS – Rook – 2 Mutation Pieces)

Lily Shiraishi (The Great Demon King in the Back Row – Rook – 2 Mutation Pieces)

Rena Kurohime/Kuroyuki (Onihime VS – Knight – 1 Mutation Piece)

Seraphim (Is This a Zombie? – Knight – 1 Mutation Piece)

Haruna (Is This a Zombie? – Bishop – 1 Mutation Piece)

Mitsuko Tori (The Great Demon King in the Back Row – Bishop – 1 Mutation Piece)

Hina (Onihime VS – Pawn – 1 Mutation Piece)

Sarasvati (Is This a Zombie? – Pawn – 1 Mutation Piece)

Erionelle (Onihime VS – Pawn – 1 Mutation Piece)

Michie Otake (The Great Demon King in the Back Row – Pawn – 1 Mutation Piece)

Kanna Kamiyama (The Great Demon King in the Back Row – Pawn – 1 Mutation Piece)

Arnoul (The Great Demon King in the Back Row – Pawn – 1 Mutation Piece)

Tabitha (Familiar of Zero – Pawn – 1 Mutation Piece)

Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst (Familiar of Zero – Pawn – 1 Mutation Piece)

Since many of these have at least 1 Mutation Piece, then that means that they are very strong, but I'm going to hold them back for good reason.

The next Act should come before Christmas Eve, but I make no promises. However, I do have the Holidays off, so I should have plenty of time to write another Act or 2 before the New Year.

So with all that said, Happy Holidays, read and review, and no flames! Flames will be ignored!