Meruem's POV...Two Days Later…Shit! I just realized that in the Kokabiel fight, I forgot about the reveal of the death of the Biblical God! Damn it! Welp, I fucked up guys, plain and simple...don't know how the hell I'm going to fix that.

I sigh, sitting down next to Kunou "Alright, what's next on our list of things to do?"

The little fox girl sighs "We still need to do that mile run, along with 4000 push-ups. Other than that, we are almost finished training...you're so strong, Meru Nii-Chan!"

I chuckle softly, cracking my neck "Aw shucks. You're going to make me blush. Anyway, how about we hold off on my training and work on yours?"

Kunou grumbles "But Nii-Chan! We're working to get you stronger, not me!"

I roll my eyes, entering a meditative position "Tell ya what, Little Fox, you work with me on your Senjutsu, and I'll let you make me do whatever you want me to for my own training. Fair trade?"

Kunou's eyes light up and she sits down beside me. I shake my head "Easy come, easy go, I guess. Alright, breathe in, and breathe out. You have got to control your Ki, if you can do that, I can attempt to teach you Touki...or at least, have Kuroka teach you Touki. I'm not exactly sure how to teach a tiny person like you."

To be honest, I probably should have expected something like this to happen, as Kunou was pretty much a natural at anything she learned. As I opened my eyes, prepared to instruct her in some way, shape or form, and I found out that she had almost perfect control over her Ki, a white flame aura surrounding her."

I blink and then smile "Kunou, you're doing it! I'm proud of you, little sister! Looks like I'll be teaching you Touki after all!"

The little fox girl jumps for joy, eager for the next lesson. Before I can begin to teach it, Kuroka comes out of nowhere, her tails swinging as she sashays her hips "Meruem, are you ready yet? Nya~"

I scratch the back of my head, confused "Ready for what?"

Almost as if it was planned, Vritra and Kuroka say in unison "Your/Our date is tonight, Idiot."

I sweatdrop and then start to panic "Wait, that's tonight?! Shit, I'm not ready, I'm not ready at all!? Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

With that, I race off, rushing in a hurry. What can I say, when you forget something, especially something that big, you'd better make it up, and make it up fast. Of course, when you can use Godly Touki, fast is easy.

So, I gradually slow down after making sure that I've left Kuroka in the dust, and I start to get ready. I might not be good at many things, but getting everything done the way that I wanted it to is definitely something that I am good at. So, I bought her flowers, quickly got a reservation at the best Ramen Shop in Kyoto, and even put on a Tuxedo, which is a miracle in itself!

Eventually, though, everything was set up, and all that it required was Kuroka herself, which was easy enough to grab. As we headed out after I gave her the red roses that I had bought, I had my fingers crossed, hoping that everything would be okay for our date.

We got to the Ramen Shop and I sweatdrop, looking to the floor "I know it's not a five-star restaurant, but I figured that it would be nice to go back to our roots...if you don't like it, I'm sure that we can figure out something…"

Kuroka puts a finger to my lips, her black, rather loose Kimono shifting with the movement "I love it. I knew that you'd pick out the perfect place for our date, Meru-Senpai. Never doubt yourself, Nya~"

I smile slightly, nodding "T-Thanks Kuroka-Chan. You're the best...now then, since we got that out of the way, let's eat!"

Five Minutes Later…

I groan, my Tuxedo stretching slightly due to my stomach bulge "Ooh...why didn't you tell me not to eat as much...ugh…"

The black-haired Nekomata sitting beside me chuckles slightly "Because you needed to learn a lesson...did you learn it? Nya~"

I nod slightly "Uh-huh...Ms. Kuroka, I don't feel so good…"

Kuroka sighs, putting my head on her shoulder "It's okay, I've got you."

I burp, closing my eyes as she rubs my back "Thanks...Kitten, what have I done to deserve you? I'm a simple Dragon, I'm not royalty or anything...I've got nothing to give you, but myself...so am I really worth it?"

The next thing that I know, my face is on the table, and Kuroka's pissed. She growls, her ears flattened completely against her head "Don't you ever say that you're not worth it! You are worth more than you will ever know, especially to me, so believe me when I say that it doesn't matter whether you are royalty or not, I love you no matter what."

The two of us pause and then I cough, my face turning purple "Um...put in on my tab, Noshimori-San, we've got to get going. I'll be by later to pay for the tab."

As the two of us leave, the Chef, Noshimori Sayo, waves me off "Don't worry about it Dryar-Sama, these bowls are on the house!"

I smile, and then the two of us head off, walking towards a nearby park. I sit down, Kuroka sitting and leaning into me "So, what was that you said about loving me?"

Kuroka blushes slightly, remaining silent, so I shrug as Vritra chuckles "Who would have thought that watching you fail would be as comedic as watching Dumb and Dumber? Heh, go get her partner!"

I shake my head and then sigh, pulling Kuroka even closer "Well, since you won't tell me, I guess I'll just tell you then. I love you too, Kitten, probably even more than you love me."

Kuroka rolls her eyes, starting to purr "I wouldn't be so sure about that…"

With that, she kisses me. And to be honest, we don't stop...and also, that drives my Draconic Instincts wild. I wanted to take Kuroka and claim her as my mate...I shook my head, breaking the contact "No...no, no, no. We are not doing that."

Kuroka looks at me with a weird look on her face, breathing a little heavier than normal "Doing what? Nya~"

I put my head in between my hands as the pain from my instincts grows "N-nothing. Nothing at all…"

Kuroka grunts "I know when you are lying to me, Meruem…"

I sigh as Vritra grunts "You need to tell her what's happening, Partner. The sooner she knows, the sooner maybe the pain will stop."

I mutter underneath my breath 'Well, why the hell are the Dragon Instincts bothering me now? Why didn't they bother me when, let's say, Kokabiel attacked?'

Vritra rolls his eyes "The instincts were bothering you when Kokabiel attacked, but you just worked with them then. Now, you are working against them, although it would benefit you to work with them."

So, I run my fingers through my hair, and I explain everything to Kuroka. And when I say everything, I do mean everything. Kuroka was silent for a little bit, and then she grabbed my hand, teleporting us somewhere. When I finally looked up, I saw that we were back in my bedroom. Of course, as soon as I look up, Kuroka pulled her Kimono off and purrs huskily "You never asked me whether I wanted to become your mate…"

I gulp as Dragon scales completely cover my body and my voice gets slightly deeper "Well, do you?"

She giggles as my eyes glow slightly "I thought you'd never ask...make me your mate, Meruem Dryar."

The Next Day…

I grunt, waking up to find a black-haired girl, naked, against me "K-Kuroka...are you okay?"

The black-haired Nekomata nods, purring slightly in my arms "I'm perfectly fine, Meruem...in fact, I feel much stronger than I ever have!"

I smile "Good...I'm glad."

Of course, that is when Vritra, the party pooper, simply had to chime in, ruining the little moment. Vritra rumbles "You do realize that you have just made a Devil your mate, not to mention the fact that you have had an intense distrust of Devils for God knows how long...right?"

I grunt, muttering 'I'll figure out a way to fix that. Besides, Vali and I were working on a way to switch the Evil Pieces with something else, turning the person into that thing...maybe I can figure out a way to transform Kuroka into a Dragon like myself.'

Kuroka nudges me as she gets out of bed "Come on Koibito, let's go get some breakfast, I heard Lady Yasaka talk about having to go to some Rating Game or something, and we already know that you'll have to be there."

I groan, getting up to follow her, and that's when I notice it...a large, black Dragon Tattoo, spread out across her back. I raise an eyebrow "That is new...when'd you get a Dragon tattoo? Kind of reminds me of Vritra, if I'm being honest…"

Kuroka sweatdrops, shaking her head "I never got a tattoo…"

Vritra rumbles from the Longinus, which appeared on my arm "It's a mate mark. It shows to any other dragons that she is yours and that they can...how do humans say it? Oh yeah, they can 'look but not touch'. As you are a Dragon King, you can have multiple mates, so you'll be seeing that mark a whole lot more than you might think."

I grunt "I can have multiple mates?! I somehow managed to get one, how the hell do you think I'm going to get more?!"

Kuroka herself answered that question "Because they will see in you what I see in you. They will see a handsome, loyal dragon who would do whatever it took to make sure that his loved ones were safe."

I blush slightly and start to move to kiss her again...except Amaterasu decided to use that moment to make her appearance. She clears her throat as we almost reach each other, and the two of us jump back like a rocket appeared in between us. I sweatdrop, realizing that I'm still naked, and quickly toss on a pair of black shorts "W-What do you need?"

Amaterasu winks, wiggling her eyebrows "Ooh, looks like I caught the two lovebirds in action! Anyway, I was just coming to get Meruem because Saka wants to be leaving here soon….maybe I'll have to tell her the reason that you were so late, see what she says."

I sweatdrop, getting on my knees as Kuroka and Amaterasu both start laughing "Onii-San, if you love me at all, you won't do this! You know as well as I do that Yasaka will never let me live it down when she finds out about me taking Kuroka as my Mate!"

Amaterasu rolls her eyes, messing with my hair "Of course I'm not going to tell her, goofball, that's your job. Now hurry up. Also, Kuroka-San, I would suggest that you get dressed as well, as Lady Yasaka is taking Vali-kun, Kunou-Chan and you with them."

I sigh "Am I going to be stuck in a tuxedo all day again, or can I wear my armor?"

Amaterasu waves her hand "As far as I know, you can wear your armor. So, get going!"

So, I rush off, heading down to the armory. The armor that we are talking about is actually really simple. All the armor was a simple body sheath, with armored pads to protect me from any bladed weapon.

When I come back up, Dwyrmyr in its scabbard, Kuroka, Vali, Kunou, and Yasaka are all waiting for me. I scratch the back of my head "What, was I taking that long back that?"

Yasaka simply shakes her head, and then we teleport away. As everyone gets set up, I stand beside Yasaka, who has all nine of her tails spread out and I mutter "So, what are we doing here anyway?"

She whispers back "This is a Rating Game between Rias Gremory and Diodora somebody, the guy's last name I can't pronounce. Apparently, this Diodora is the person who got Ms. Asia kicked out of the church. And now he's in love with her and wants her to marry him, which is why the Rating Game is happening. If Rias wins, Diodora leaves Asia alone, but if she loses...well, you get the idea."

I simply nod, and then resume my job. That's when Vali sneaks over, just as the Rating Game begins and whispers directly into my ear "So, you finally managed to convince Kuroka to be your mate, or rather, Kuroka convinced you to let her be your mate. Good job."

I sweatdrop as I watch Issei, in his Scale Mail, completely destroy the competition so far and I whisper back "Who the hell told you that?"

Vali snickers "What, you thought that one dragon wouldn't know when another dragon takes a mate? Come on, what do you take me for, an idiot?"

Vritra rumbles from inside the Longinus "He does have a point. Anyone who has dragon blood, or a Dragon Sacred Gear, or really a Dragon anything will be able to sense your mate mark while in close proximity."

I facepalm as we watch Issei lead the charge of the Gremory team, this time in his Welsh Dragonic Rook form and I mutter "Of course you didn't say anything…"

Yasaka looks up at me with those innocent eyes "Are you talking to me, Meruem?"

I rapidly shake my head "No, Lady Yasaka. Sorry, I was talking to myself."

Yasaka simply nods after giving me a look, as if to tell me that she doesn't believe me. I breathe a slight sigh of relief. What can I say, I'm still not ready for everyone to know that I have a mate. In fact, the only person to know besides Vali, and probably Issei once he comes to say hello, is Amaterasu, and lucky for me, she's good at keeping secrets.

Ophis walks over, dressed in a gothic loli dress along with a rather cute little hat and then tugs on the jacket that I'm wearing over my armor "Meruem...Meruem...Meruem…"

I sigh, looking down slightly at the short-ish Dragon God "Yes, Ophis?"

Her stomach growls as she deadpans "I am hungry."

I grunt, making sure that there is no one to possibly hurt Yasaka and then I lean down. It's interesting when you can kneel down and still be taller than one of the strongest existences, but then again, I am tall for my age anyway, at 6-foot 6-inches. Either way, acting quickly, as I have come to realize that when Ophis gets hungry, she can definitely get angry, and an Angry Ophis is not something anyone wants, I get Ophis a big bag of several different types of cookies. As she starts to chow down, I pat her head softly and then lift my rather lanky body back up, time to get back to my actual job.

I watch on, watching Issei absolutely destroy anybody from the other peerage who even came close to him, and I found myself, along with everyone else, cheering him on. I finally saw exactly how strong my rival actually was when he had the proper motivation. Let me tell you, it was definitely interesting, and a little disappointing, but oh well, based on what I heard, Issei needs the power.

I was thinking that everything was going to be going Issei's way, Diodora's Sacred Gear activated, and he and Asia disappeared. The rest of the Gremory Team tried to follow, but they couldn't even teleport out of the Rating Game Arena. I growl, looking at Yasaka "They need help…"

The Yokai Leader nods "Go, help them. Be safe."

I smile, nodding, and then rush off, stopping next to Kuroka "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, alright?"

With that, I give her a quick kiss and then sprint off, down from the box where all of us were. Little did I know, everyone had actually followed behind me as I rushed off to go rescue my friend and his family.

I growl as I go down the stairs, two at a time "Balance Breaker! Dragon King's Flame Prison of Guilt!"

As the black and purple glow subsides and I am in my armor, I gain a white/gold glow. Vritra rumbles "Are you sure you know what you are doing, Partner?"

I shrug "Oh you know, just planning on seeing whether or not God Energy can stand up to this guy's barriers or not. Don't worry, if the barriers are still standing, I do have a plan B."

Vritra nods "Good, I was slightly worried."

So with that, once I reach the green barriers that are sealing off the Gremory Team from the outside world, I flare my aura as far and as fast as I can. The sheer pressure from the aura shatters the barriers. I grin, scratching the back of my head as my helmet disappears "Okay, that worked...guess Plan B is a nogo...oh well. So, what are we going to do now? This fucker has Asia!"

Issei growls "You don't think I know that?! I'm not stupid! I was right there, right there and I couldn't do anything to protect her!"

I raise up a hand with a sigh "Calm yourself, we still have a chance to find her. Does anyone know...where he is. Well played, well played."

I look up to see Asia attached to some sort of machine, looking as scared as can be. If I thought that I was mad, boy, oh boy, Issei was pissed! He switches back to his Scale Mail, and then charges at Diodora, only to get stopped by a barrier or rather several of them. Diodora grins sadistically "I do not know how you broke out of my barriers, but I assure you, I was not even trying then. I am of the house of Bael, and I will not lose to a disgusting Dragon like you!"

I growl, shouting over the din of Issei trying to break Diodora's barriers "Remember our Training, Issei! Kick his ass!"

The brown-haired boy that I have come to respect and know as a friend simply nods before shouting, a red glow nearly consuming him "Form Change: Welsh Dragonic Rook!"

[Form Change: Solid Impact!]

As the pressure emitting from Issei changed, I could sense his energy changing slightly too. It was much less pure...more darkness than anything else, and that scared me slightly. As Issei was boosting and pushing through barrier after barrier, I noticed one thing...there was another energy signature. Thanks to the extra training that Amaterasu has been putting me through after we got back from the training trip with Tannin, I could sense any energy signature around me, no matter how far. And that's the thing with this one...it was there, but it wasn't moving, like, at all. It was like it was watching...waiting for something.

I am snapped out of my thoughts by Issei, back in his normal Scale Mail form, shouting my name. I look to see Diodora, basically unconscious on the floor and I smile. I then rush forward and grab one end of the machine that Asia was trapped in while Issei grabbed the other end and we tried to pry it off of her, but without any luck.

Issei growls "Meruem, get back. Asia, hang on tight. I'm about to do something that is probably pretty stupid. Now, Ddraig!"

All of a sudden, before I can even react, I hear the call from the Boosted Gear, [Explosion!] and I get knocked ass-over-teakettles. I will admit, not my proudest moment...what bothered me more, is that it knocked me out, only for a couple of minutes, but still!

When I reawaken, I see Asia, starting to glow. And that's when everything slows down. Issei and I trying to get to her, and then the presence that I had felt when all of this started appeared, killing Diodora, and introducing himself as Shalba, even as he drove Issei and I back.

And that's when it happened, a bright white light encircled Asia, and then there was an explosion, and once again, we found ourselves on the floor. When we got up...Asia was no more. And that set Issei off. As I struggle to get up, having landed closer to Shalba than anyone else, I feel Issei's energy spike, and that is when I know, something big is about to happen.

I can hear the dark voices, and I see Issei's energy turning Crimson, and I can hear Issei growl out the words...the words that none of us had hoped to have to hear, the words activating the chant of Juggernaut Drive.

Issei growls, transforming as he speaks "I, who shall awaken, am the Heavenly Dragon who stole the Principles of Domination from God. I laugh at the Infinite and I grieve at the Dream. I shall become the Red Dragon of Domination, and I shall sink you to the depths of the Crimson Purgatory! Juggernaut Drive!"

Vritra rumbles as Issei lets out a furious roar "This became a problem. In that form, with the way that he is now, Issei will know neither friend nor foe. You will need to become the one to defeat him."

I growl, barely dodging the energy blast that Issei let out, the very one which completely burnt Shalba to ash "Damn it...it looks like we have no other choice. We'll have to use Juggernaut Drive as well."

I gimance slightly, muttering "Forgive me…"

I growl, a purple glow floating off my body like a flame "I, who shall awaken, am the Black Dragon King who earned the Principle of Freedom from God. I love the Infinite and enjoy the Dream. I shall become the Black Dragon of Rebellion and I shall shatter these oppressive chains!"

As I finish the chant, the purple glow explodes, and I let loose one of my own roars, charging forward and driving my fist into Issei's face. I have to do something, anything. Issei is not in his right mind right now, and he could easily kill any one of our friends without a second thought...I can't allow that. I don't care if I die in the process, I will defeat Issei!

So, I charge up my energy, and my chestplate opens, revealing a large black cannon. I smile, the dragon teeth now showing "Boy, oh boy, this is going to be fun...Longinus Smasher!"

Issei fires his own Longinus Smasher, and it becomes a beam struggle. Due to my inexperience with the form, I could feel my energy already starting to expend itself, much too fast then I would have liked, but oh well, there is not much that you could do about it.

So, using the strength I have left, I spin out of the beam struggle and then jump on top of him, holding him down. I growl, starting to lose the form "You guys need to get clear. I don't know how much longer I can hold Issei for, but it's sure as hell not going to be much longer. So leave. Leave while you still can."

I can hear Kuroka, Yasaka, Rias and Kunou all deny me, and so I remove my fist from Issei and slam it into the ground, causing a slight Earthquake "You want to live, you'll do as I say! It's probably already too late for Issei and I, due to the Juggernaut's effect of taking Life Force to power it, but it's not too late for you guys if you go now."

I am trying to concentrate on holding Issei down as he is struggling like a wild banshee, but I can hear Kuroka starting to cry. I sigh "I am sorry that it had to be like this, but I wouldn't have it any other way. If I could go back into time...I would do everything over again, the exact same, if for no other reason then to let my mate live on."

Boy does that get everyone's goat. I shut them out though, concentrating on just trying to make it till morning...and then, like the great brother he is, Vali comes out of nowhere, alongside Ophis, holding none other than Asia herself, alive and well. Rias flies up to meet them, and then, as I continue to hold him down, Rias and Asia somehow manage to get Issei to drop out of Juggernaut Drive willingly.

As soon as I'm sure that they are safe, I can feel my body practically giving up on itself, and I return back to normal, flying into the ground, unconscious. As darkness overtakes me, the last thought I had was that, even if I die now, I can die peacefully. My friends, my family are safe.

(Author chuckles) "I'm going to leave it right there, simply because I can. And now, it has begun. Kuroka has officially become Meruem's mate. Meruem's unlocked Juggernaut Drive, which, in case you were wondering, looks like...well, a big ass black metal dragon with several different weapons and other things sticking out of it. Of course, due to the busyness of the fight, no one really got a good look at Meruem's Juggernaut Drive. That will change the next chapter, and shit got real, real quick! Alright, for mates, next up is Ophis, and then Rosewiesse, and then Yasaka, and that should be it unless I get some spur of the moment decision, but that probably won't happen. I'm not leaving it out of the realm of possibility that one other girl, emphasis on ONE, might join the Harem, but I'm also not saying it's a definite. But, next chapter, using a little bit of God energy and Senjutsu, alongside his Balance Breaker, Meruem is going to take the Evil Piece from Kuroka, and give her a little scale from himself, turning her into Nekomata/Dragon hybrid. Alright, now that you know that, I'm going to try and get one or two more chapters out before I leave for the summer, but no promises. Now then, peace out!"