Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.

The Trails of Avarice

Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply


Chapter 9: Meeting more of the family

It was a day after Devi's rather spectacular Awakening over the skies of Lilith, and the Satan and her right hand Devil and best friend, Leloucia Amon could be found in the former's study dealing with the aftermath.

"And that's another letter respectfully asking what in the world happened." Lulu summarized the letter she had been reading as she added it to a growing pile.

"That makes it what? 179?"

"177 actually." Lulu corrected. "177 letters from Lords of the 72 Pillars and other notables of the Underworld asking about what happened."

"This is all Destiny's fault." Devi grumbled with a frustrated sigh.

"I don't doubt it." Lulu reassured her friend. "And don't worry too much about the replies. We can just use a standardized reply, explaining how you were attacked and forced to awaken a new power."

"And if they ask about said new power? I'm not comfortable sharing my new nature with everyone."

"And you shouldn't." Lulu agreed. "We'll just tell them that the specifics of the new power need to be kept a secret and leave it as that."

"They won't be happy with that." Devi pointed out.

"So? It's not like they can do anything about it. Besides you've already informed the other Satans and leaders of the alliance and they're the only ones who have the right to know."

That was true, Devi mused. It was why as soon as she'd gotten a grip of her anger over Destiny's escape she'd picked up Val and marched into the palace of the Satans to explain herself. The other leaders of the Underworld and their growing alliance, which looked set to include the Greeks soon, deserved to know why one of their ranks had suddenly received a massive power up, caused a major panic in the process, and got them tangled up in a new war with a new set of dangerous enemies.

She'd expected the last point to cause some tension with the others, but they'd taken it in stride. Apparently the idea of a potentially universe destroying war wasn't that much of a surprise to beings who had all previously fought in wars where the existence of their kind was under threat. That and they were willing to bet on the Primal they knew, Devi, than some other unknown. Not to say that they had no reservations about the matter, simply that based on what limited information they had on the Primal War, they were willing to go with the flow for the moment while they built a better picture of what was going on.

"True." Devi gave voice to her thoughts. "Though I think they were mostly, the other Satans especially, just relieved I didn't cause any lasting damage when I first Awakened."

"You did destabilize the reality of the Underworld with that roar of yours."

Devi looked sheepish at that, but nevertheless defended herself, "That fixed itself didn't it."

"Yeah." Lulu admitted. "But you understand why they were worried right? I mean you said that shifting into your true form for the first time left you feeling very disoriented, so there was a good chance you could have caused a lot of damage."

"You'd have to thank Destiny for preventing that." Devi grudgingly admitted. "He had the foresight to teleport into the air above the city before I transformed."

"And you repaid him by trying to eat him." Lulu teased.

Blushing, Devi shot back, "Well he did force my Awakening by putting me through terrible mental torment."

"Not saying he didn't, Devi. But eating him? Really?"

"Would you rather I tried to hit him with a breath attack or magic? With the city right below me and liable to get damaged by the spillover of such attacks?" Devi countered. "I was furious and confused, but I hadn't completely taken leave of my senses. I knew that I had to use something that didn't have the risk of causing collateral damage."

"And the first thing that came to mind was eating him?"

"I wasn't thinking straight." Devi said her face now completely flushed.

For a moment, Lulu seemed content savoring her friend's embarrassment, but eventually decided that enough was enough and chose to move on.

"On another note, with the revelation about this upcoming Primal War, I'd like to ask about the relative importance of continuing to hunt down the Chaos Brigade."

Collecting herself, Devi replied, "It remains our priority for the moment. They pose a clear and present threat to us and our allies, so it makes sense to work towards their destruction before they can harm us further."

"And the Primal War?"

"Is something that we know next to nothing about. All I learned about it during my Awakening is that it's coming and soon." Devi sighed at this, the Awakening had been so informative. It had taught her so much about the true nature of the world, but had been frustratingly limited in providing information about her immediate concerns. "We can't make specific preparations based on something that vague."

"But we could still ready our forces in general."

"And we've done that to engage the Chaos Brigade. Besides fighting the Brigade is good practice."

Lulu nodded, not entirely convinced. Devi could empathize, she knew that fighting the Chaos Brigade and expanding their resources in doing so, wasn't exactly the best way to prepare for the Primal War. However, there was no denying that the Chaos Brigade was a current threat that they just couldn't ignore.

As if drawn by these thoughts, an urgent communication came in for both of them.

The two old friends exchanged alarmed looks, they had given clear instructions to not be bothered unless there was an emergency.

Accepting the call, Devi hoped whatever emergency it was wasn't too catastrophic.

"My Satan," Hansel's voice was projected from the communication spell's magic circle. "We've received reports that a pack of giant monsters are attacking the Underworld. One of them is rampaging through the Eligor domain as we speak."

The Fifth Satan felt her blood boil with anger at the news that the lands of her departed vassal was under attack. If Hansel's own barely controlled fury as he made his report was anything to go by, then he was just as affected by the attack on his late mentor's domain.

"Hansel," Lulu cut in while Devi worked to contain her anger. "What kind of monsters are we dealing with?"

"Information is sketchy at the moment, my Satan, Lady Amon." Hansel replied apologetically. "But it's believed to be the work of the Chaos Brigade as the monsters are clearly the creations of [Annihilation Maker]."

"I'll gather my Peerage and head out immediately." Devi announced even as she stood and began to reach out telepathically to her Peerage.

"My Satan! Please wait!" Hansel cried urgently.

"What is it, Hansel? Time is precious." Devi replied testily.

Why is Hansel wasting my time when the Eligor domain was being defiled by their enemy?

In contrast to Devi's annoyance though Lulu looked knowing, as if she'd already figured out what Hansel wanted.

"I understand, My Satan. But I must implore you to allow me and my troops to deal with this threat instead." Hansel implored.

"Why?" Devi asked stunned.

Why would he ask to put more lives in danger like this?

"We cannot always rely on you and your Peerage to resolve our problems, My Satan." Hansel explained.

Was that all? That was stupid! If my Peerage and I can solve the problem without risking more lives, then-

Devi's thoughts were interrupted though when Hansel added, "We are the finest army in the Underworld. Let us prove it!"

He's doing this for pride? No, that doesn't sound like Leraje. Then why? Devi pondered as she wracked her brain to understand Hansel's motivation.

He's doing this to prove that he and his army, my army, are capable enough to help you in the Primal War, Devi. Lulu sent to Devi telepathically in response to her obvious confusion.

Devi's eyes widened in shock at this and for a moment was stunned into silence.

"My Satan?" Hansel voiced into the silence.

His voice broke Devi from her stupor and with a look of indecision on her face, she gave her orders.

"Hansel, I'll allow you this. But on one condition."

"Anything." The general shot back without hesitation.

"I want you to promise that all my soldiers must return alive from this fight."

Hansel hissed in surprise at this, it was after all a nearly impossible order, but he nevertheless replied that, "You have my word, My Satan."

"And mine," Lulu chimed in.

Devi looked at her friend sharply at that.

The paraplegic Devil just shot her friend a determined look as she explained, "I'll go with Hanel and provide tactical advice."

"It would be much appreciated, Lady Amon. Having one of the greatest strategic minds of all Devil kind with us will most definitely be a great boon to us." Hansel replied sounding pleased.

The Primal Void looked away from her best friend knowing she would not be able to convince her to stay and unwilling to order her to do so against her will. Instead, if this was the path her loyal vassals were determined to take, then she would support them the best she was able.

"If that's settled," Lulu shot her a grateful nod at this de facto allowance of her joining the expedition. "Then I'll also be authorizing the use of all resources available to me to ensure your success, Lulu, Hansel."

"Understood, My Satan. But rest assured that our greatest resource will not be needed."

He means me.

"Just await our victorious return, my Liege!" Hansel promised.

"I will." Devi replied sincerely, as she cut off the communication.

"Well, I best be off to join up with the troops." Lulu said nonchalantly, as if she wasn't about to go out to face a monster created by a Longinus.

"Stay safe." Devi offered, as she watched her best friend roll her way out the door.

"Will do." Lulu replied with a wave as she exited the study.


Devi sat alone in her study only for a brief moment mulling over whether she'd made the right choice, before she headed down to the training yard where the expeditionary force was marshaling through one of the new internal teleportation nodes - a new security feature installed in the wake of Rizevim's invasion of the palace that restricted internal teleportation to only these nodes - to see her troops off. She arrived just as her forces were departing, and only had time to wave at them from an observation balcony.

She was met there by her Peerage, but she said nothing to them or to anyone for that matter. She could clearly see and sense their worry at her silence, but the weight of her decision kept her mouth shut and her mind closed to telepathy. She was too torn by her choice to discuss it or to hear their reassurances. So as soon as the last of the troops teleported away, Devi retreated to her lab where she could hopefully find some peace.


As Devi all but ran to her lab once the last of the expeditionary force transported away to face the monster in the Eligor domain, Ravel and the rest of the Satan's Peerage trailed behind her anxiously. Each and everyone of them anxious at their King's uncharacteristic silence.

As they arrived at the lab and Devi slammed the door behind her, almost but not quite in Ravel's face. The pure-blooded Devil felt a pang of sadness shoot through her heart, at her wife's unwillingness to share her distress with her. But she quickly put that aside, she understood. Not all burdens could be shared, and while this wasn't necessarily one of those, it was clearly one that Devi wanted to keep to herself.

Protecting us even from your hurts, Devi? Ravel reasoned with a sigh. Can you be more overprotective?

"What are we waiting for? Let's open the door and talk to her." Bonnie suggested, as she moved towards the closed door.

Ravel barred her way and sent the younger woman a glare. "Devi wants to be alone. Let her be."

"But-"

"Sometimes people, even Devi, just need to be alone." The twins said, cutting off whatever rebuttal the Pawn was about to make.

Though Ravel noted that they had done so more kindly than she'd expected them to be. She, and everyone who wasn't blind, knew that Bonnie had a crush on Devi. Normally, Ravel would have approved and been actively encouraging, like she had when her wife had pursued relationships with the twins and Val. The idea of sharing her wife had never been an issue for her and maximizing Devi's happiness had always been her primary concern.

But she drew a line between genuine feelings and a simple crush. She wanted Devi to have healthy, happy relationships with her lovers, and in her opinion one founded on mere infatuation was not enough for something like that. Something she and Devi's other lovers all agreed on. It was why while not directly hostile to Bonnie in general, they did actively discourage her crush. That the twins had seemingly changed their approach meant something had changed. Ravel would need to talk to them. But later, preferably on another day, when she didn't have a situation to contain and an upset wife to worry about.

"The twins are right, Bonnie. Just relax." Jackie tried to reassure her long time friend. She had some success as Bonnie seemed to relax a little, though she still radiated worry. Though that was true for all of them. Even Binh and Xiaoyu, the newest additions to the Peerage looked anxious.

"While it's true that Devi just needs some space," Clyde said shooting Bonnie a look as if to remind her of this, to which the other girl just nodded unhappily. "This reaction is still kinda extreme isn't it?" The blue-haired American finished, directly her question at Ravel.

Mammon's wife just nodded. "It is. But we need to put this into context, this is the first time in a long time - not since the Great War, probably - that Devi has to send her men into battle without her leading them herself."

"And even in the Great War, she rarely did it." Val added. "At least in comparison to other leaders."

The Pawns and Knights all looked at the Rook in surprise at that, likely not expecting her to know that. Which was to be expected, none of them knew that Val was something of a history buff, something that Ravel privately thought was her way of compensating for not knowing much of anything about her own history.

Taking pity on their fellow harem member, the twins spoke up, "Exactly. And we all know that Devi likes to lead from the front. Sending people off like this without being nearby to rush to their aid if they need it, must be torturous for her."

"I guess." Bonnie said uncertainly. "But even then, isn't she taking this a little too badly?"

"I wouldn't say she's taking it that badly." Val countered.

"She's locked herself up hasn't she? I'd say it's bad." Binh commented while trying and failing to suppress a shudder. Considering her own experiences with being locked up, both in her own body and in coffins, the very idea must be dreadful.

"She's not locking herself up." Ravel offered as soothingly as she could manage to Binh. "She's just distracting herself by tinkering, she wouldn't have gone to her lab otherwise."

"She's Devi's wife and has known her the longest, she'd know." Xiaoyu declared as she walked off.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked sounding angry at the Chinese girl's actions. A sentiment Ravel and if the Peerage network was anything to go by most of the others shared as well.

"To get some chairs, of course!" Xiaoyu shot back. "You want to wait for her sitting on uncomfortable stone?"

The others all blinked in surprise at that. Xiaoyu's attitude to everyone was so confusing - sometimes pleasant, other times scathing - that it was hard to figure out what she meant by any of her actions. As such, everyone had readily believed the worse of her when she walked off. Ravel was glad though that they'd all been wrong. It would be difficult, to say the least, to work with her if she had really been willing to just leave when everyone else was determined to stay and keep vigil. It would have pointed at underlying differences between her and the rest of the group that might not have been able to be bridged.

"I'll help you with that." Val offered, as she jogged off to catch up with the Knight.

"Well, I guess we can only wait." Binh concluded.

Ravel nodded and leaned against the lab's door frame and settled in for what she hoped wouldn't be too long of a vigil.


For hours Devi tinkered in her lab as her troops fought the mysterious monster that was ravaging her lands. In that time, she had taken the feather like scale of Albion's that she'd acquired from fighting the Heavenly Dragon in the Great War and used it as a base to fashion a new artifact. She'd been inspired by what she'd done with the [Resurrection Scale] for the Red Dragon Emperor and felt it only fitting that the White Dragon Emperor should receive something similar to balance the scales of their eternal rivalry.

She was almost finished with creating the base form of the artifact, leaving plenty of room for later modification or adding of new functions, when she was interrupted by the chime of an incoming communications spell. Taking a quick glance and spotting that it was from Ravel, she accepted the call. Her wife knew her moods well enough to know not to interrupt her unless there was either a new emergency that needed her immediate attention or Lulu, Hansel and the men were back.

"Devi, the army is back." Ravel informed immediately.

"I'll be right out." Devi replied and cut the call, even as she began putting away her tools. She might be in a rush, but she knew better than to not to store her equipment properly. That done, she locked away the half finished artifact she was working on and headed out of the lab.

She was met outside the door by no less than her whole Peerage waiting for her. Someone even had the bright idea to get some portable chairs for them to sit on while they waited.

"What's this?" Devi asked, not even breaking her stride to the nearest teleportation node, her Peerage following in her wake.

"We were worried about you, so decided to keep vigil." Ravel admitted.

Devi smiled gratefully at her and the rest of her Peerage at that. She really didn't know what she'd done to deserve such devotion.

They all smiled back as they finally reached the teleportation node. Devi had wanted to have it closer to the labs, but Hansel and Ellen had vetoed the idea saying that the distance would be crucial in allowing the setting up of defenses in between the node and the labs. It made transit to and from the labs a tad inconvenient but Devi had to admit that they had a point.

She pushed these thoughts out of her mind though as the teleportation kicked in and she was transported onto the observation platform over the training yard where her army were even now teleporting in.

Stepping over to the edge of the balcony, she surveyed her returning troops. A handful looked injured and were being tended to by the medics and healers, but at a glance all the units seemed intact.

That's a good sign. The Fifth Satan noted as the men finally spotted her and began kneeling in submission.

Devi causally signaled that they could rise and took flight to descend into the yard to check things out more directly. Her Peerage following her like an honor guard.

Lulu and Hansel approached her then, and the somewhat battered general gave his report, "As promised, My Satan, I've returned with all the men I departed with."

"Casualties?"

"No deaths, my liege. Though a few dozen of us were injured when the monster behaved unexpectedly."

"How so?"

"We decided to take no chances so we tried to bind it and slow it down then follow through by killing it with a healthy dose of [Void Anathema]. But the thing proved resistant to our efforts to bind it and some of our men got injured when it unexpectedly broke through its chains."

"That's probably because it was an anti-monster," Attie informed as she joined the impromptu debriefing. "The Annihilation Maker's possessor is famous for making monsters with abilities that are specifically designed to target the opponent's weaknesses. Considering our greatest weakness in relation to these monsters would be the inability to level sufficient power to destroy it in one go, our best course of action would be to restrain it and bombard it till it died."

"Hence, the resistance to binding." Hansel concluded. "Devious."

The others all nodded.

"But you managed to deal with it despite that?" Devi pressed.

"Indeed. At Lady Amon's advice, we used physical chains to restrain it instead. It's resistance proved to be optimized towards magical bindings so using numerous heavy chains we kept it bound till the poison killed it."

"Brilliant move, Lulu," Devi praised, earning her a blush from her friend. "The Annihilation Maker's anti-monsters can't be optimized against everything."

"That's what I thought, hence the strategy I proposed. It was quite a relief though that we we had enough chain ready to deal with its clones as well."

"Clones?" Devi asked with incredulously.

Hansel grimaced and explained, "The creature possessed the ability to create smaller copies of itself, something it made full use of once we'd restrained it."

"That was actually why we took so long." Lulu interjected. "Dealing with the original was relatively easy. But there were quite a few copies to mop up."

"Indeed. Though even there Lady Amon's tactical advice was a great help, " Hansel added before turning to Devi. "Which when combined with the skill and discipline of our troops helped us defeat a very dangerous foe with no deaths whatsoever."

Devi was fairly sure what the general was trying to say, but she needed to have him spell it out to be sure. "Speak plainly Hansel."

"Very well, my Satan. What I'm saying is that I hope this proves to you that my men and I are able and willing to be of help in the war ahead."

Devi looked at her general seriously and nodded. "Very well."

Turning from him, and instead facing the gathered troops, Devi addressed them in a loud voice, "Thank you, my warriors, for a job well done. Thank you, for protecting our lands from the enemy. Today you are our returning heroes, and shall be celebrated as such. Tonight, we shall hold a feast in your honor!"

At her proclamation of a feast, the army broke out into deafening cheer.

Even as the day wore on and Devi enjoyed the festivities that she'd ordered, a single thought plagued her at the back of her mind, I might have agreed to let my armies fight in the Primal War, but how useful will they be? I don't even know what the War will entail. I need to go find another Primal and find out more about this whole thing.


A couple days after the attack by [Annihilation Maker]'s anti-monsters and the concurrent attack by the Hero Faction, the latter of which Devi had only learned about after the fact due to its relatively small scope, said Primal was sneaking out of her palace.

This is ridiculous! The Satan complained, as she crept through the corridors of her fortress towards one of the outgoing teleportation points. This is my own home, where I rule as a Satan, but here I am sneaking out like some thief.

Despite her complaints though, Devi knew full well why she had to do this. She'd desperately needed information on the upcoming Primal War and that meant seeking out another Primal to see what it knew. Unfortunately, from what she knew and shared with her Peerage and Court, other Primals were liable to see her as an enemy on sight. This meant they were more likely to attack her than sit down with her and tell her what she wanted to now. As a result of this, everyone was very much against her seeking out another Primal. It was in light of this disapproval that if Devi wanted to learn anything she'd had to do so without anyone's knowledge because she knew if they found out about her plans they'd talk her out of it.

But I can't let them do that. With the Chaos Brigade all but smashed due to their last reckless attack, the Primal War is more pressing than ever. I understand their worries, but surely not all of the other Primals are going to pick a fight with me from the get go. Destiny at least didn't seem to be like that. Devi justified, as she stopped and doubled the layers of spells that kept her unseen as a patrol passed her.

Not that the Devil knew how to find her enigmatic fellow Primal. After her encounter with the man, Devi had researched him and while there were many sightings of him across time, there was however not a single clue on where he resided or even how to get in touch with him.

This left Devi with only one real option, seeking out other potential Primals, namely other supremely powerful beings, and see if she lucked out.

Well, it's held out so far. Devi noted as the patrol passed and she continued her escape. While Devi had a decided advantage in terms of knowing the various ins and outs of the security of her palace, there were still plenty of randomized defenses such as irregular patrol routes and trap wards which arbitrarily shifted around. Admittedly, she was powerful and skilled enough that these wouldn't pose a challenge to her but triggering them would undoubtedly give her presence away and defeat her purpose of sneaking out entirely.

It took Devi another ten minutes before she reached the teleportation point, in which time she'd had to cautiously disable one trap ward and avoid another patrol, but she'd made it undetected nonetheless. Now all that separated her from her mission were the dozen soldiers guarding the point. There was no way to sneak around them and teleport away, not without starting up quite the alarm.

Well, I knew that from the onset. I guess the time for stealth is over.

Dropping the spells that were keeping her invisible, Devi marched up to the guards.

The guards were very obviously surprised by her appearance out of nowhere, but quickly recovered and saluted her smartly, "My Satan!"

"At ease, men." Devi said commandingly. She needed to keep the men off balance for just enough time to get away before they informed someone from her Peerage or Court about her leaving and one of them chose to guilt trip her into aborting her plans. To that effect, tapping into the guards' soldierly deference to her as their supreme commander was the perfect choice.

"I thank you for your vigilance." Devi added as she stepped past the guards and onto the teleportation point, one of the specifically assigned weak points in the palace's wards that allowed outbound teleportation.

Summoning a magic circle, she decided to throw the men a bone. "If anyone asks, tell them I'm going for a walk."

As the teleportation magic kicked in, Devi was thoroughly amused by the confused expressions that spread across the men's face.


As the magic of the teleport faded, Devi found herself in an endless void, a vast emptiness in every direction and illuminated in a mix of iridescent colors. This was the Dimensional Gap, the gap in space that existed between the various supernatural worlds or planes that made up their universe. It was a place where nothing can survive without magical protection for more than a few seconds, as exposure to the "nothingness" within destroyed them.

Devi however was utterly unaffected. As the Primal Void, she was the embodiment of the True Void, that which exists outside all creation, of which the Dimensional Gap was but a pale imitation. To her coming to the Gap was as close as being immersed in her greater self as she could get while creation existed. Being exposed to its emptiness was thus, to her at least, a very pleasant experience.

This is quite nice. I've never been here before, if I'd known it was such a pleasant place to be I'd have visited earlier.

The Primal was so engrossed in the pleasant sensations that the Gap induced in her that she almost missed the massive fireball hurtling her way.

Blurring out of the way of the unexpected attack, Devi reappeared facing her foe. A massive red Western Dragon, about 100 metres in length, with a horn on its snout and two sets of wings that was flying towards her at great speed while launching fireballs at her.

This was the dragon commonly known as Great Red, the Dragon of Dragons. The being generally regarded as the most powerful in the world and the one she'd come here to meet.

Well I guess my luck did hold. He's the Primal Mind, The Embodiment of Dreams. Devi mused as she evaded more of the other Primal's fireballs.

"It was foolish of you, Void, to enter my domain!" The dragon roared as it closed into the range of Devi's hearing.

"Great Red! I did not come here to fight!" Devi shouted as she evaded more of the dragon's attacks. "All I want to do is talk."

"A likely story!" The Primal Mind shot back as it zoomed past Devi and began to circle back, firing a beam of energy from his maw at the Devil.

Devi did her best to evade but the beam was moving a lot faster than the fireballs and as if having grown accustomed to her speed, the Great Red was also tracking her much better than before. As such, it was not long before she found herself being forced to shield herself against the beam's deadly onslaught behind a cocoon of shields.

Damn it! He's not listening to me. Maybe the others were right and this is a fool's errand. Devi lamented, even as her shields began to crack as her opponent took to circling around her stationary position while keeping his beam focused on her.

No! If he won't listen. Then I'll make him! Devi concluded determinedly as she poured power into her shields and sent them exploding outward while simultaneously transforming into her draconic true form.

In her now gargantuan form that dwarfed the other dragon, Devi effortlessly blocked the Great Red's attack with the palm of her right forehand.

"If you won't have a civil conservation with me, then I'll just have to knock some manners into you first." Devi roared, shaking the foundations of the Dimensional Gap in the process.

"Oho! So finally ready to fight properly, Void?" Great Red replied unfazed even as he cut off his futile beam attack and began to grow. "At least you know that Primals can only fight at full strength in their true forms. Yours is pretty cool by the way. Too bad I'm gonna have to tear it apart!"

With that the True Red Dragon God Emperor, now as large as Devi herself, slammed right into her.

"Get off me!" Devi roared as her opponent began clawing and biting at her as the tumbled through the emptiness of the kaleidoscopic Gap. The Great Red's only response was to release a torrent of flames from his mouth that engulfed the pair of them in a titanic fireball.

"Argh!" Devi screamed as the flames burned her while leaving the other dragon untouched. Furious and in pain, Devi counterattacked, using her own claws and jaws to rend chunks of flesh from the other Primal even as she punched the Great Red in the face, forcing his jaws closed and ending the flow of flames while she beat her immense wings to create a powerful wind that blew away the fire that enshrouded them.

Despite this and the advantage of having more physical weapons, she had seven vicious jaws to the Great Red's one, Devi was quickly being physically overpowered. The other dragon was physically stronger than she was and was much more familiar with his form as well. Desperate to disengage from the physical brawl she was so clearly losing, Devi called upon her magic and hundreds of magic circles appeared around their struggling form and unleashed powerful beams that scythed through her opponent's flesh. This wasn't enough to get Great Red to release her, but the pain of the attacks did manage to make him flinch and let up just enough for Devi to prepare a more powerful attack.

A magic circle materialized just above Devi's badly mauled chest and from it shot forth a beam of void energy of truly apocalyptic proportions. Entangled as they were, the blast hit the Great Red dead on and sent the immense red dragon flying away from Devi even as it punched a hole clean through his torso.

As the beam died down, the two heavily wounded Primals stood a short distance apart, eyeing each other warily even as their myriad of wounds knitted back together as streams of energy flowed into their bodies, pitch black void energy for Devi and a deep red energy for Great Red, to fuel their regeneration.

"Had enough? Ready to talk?"

Great Red's response was to gather power into his mouth for what was clearly a massive attack. Frustrated Devi did the same, summoning vast amounts of void energy. Despite, starting later, Devi's attack was ready first, and she breathed seven deadly rays of void energy from her mouths at the other Primal. The void attack was only mid-way towards the red dragon when he too finished charging his attack, and unleashed a deep red beam of his own. The two insanely powerful attacks met with a massive shockwave that tore rends in reality, opening portals in the Gap all around them to innumerable planes. The portals closed as soon as the shockwave passed but for a brief moment, beings from across the universe caught a glimpse of the epic confrontation in the Gap.

Neither Primal even noticed, both were entirely focused on their contest of strength. For a long moment, it seemed the two were evenly matched, Devi's seven relatively slender void rays just managing to hold back Great Red's single massive energy beam. But then Devi redirected two of her rays away from holding back Great Red's beam. This allowed his beam to gain significant ground but it still fell well short of striking Devi, who now used her two freed beams to carve into Great Red's body. The beams literally cut off his wings, causing him to scream in agony, his focus to lapse and his own attack to dissipate. This left him open to the full force of Devi's attack which tore into him, effectively cutting him into pieces.

Cutting off her attack, Devi cast as many powerful binding spells on her opponent as she could manage who even now was already rapidly healing.

"Why didn't you finish me off?" Great Red asked in surprise even as he began struggling against his bindings, which despite his reduced strength in the wake of his injuries were already starting to crack.

"Because as I said when I first got here, I'm not here to fight. All I wanted is to talk." Devi explained even as she eyed Great Red warily and built up her power for another attack should it prove necessary.

"You were being honest?" The Apocalypse Dragon asked sounding stupefied at the very notion, so much so that he stilled in his struggles against his bindings for a moment.

Devi just nodded one of her heads.

"Well, damn. Now I feel terrible." The red dragon sheepishly replied, "If I'd known that I'd not have attacked you."

And how would you have known? Seeing as how you attacked without provocation and didn't give me the chance to explain. Devi thought to herself angrily even as she kept a straight face.

"Then you'll be willing to talk to me?"

"Sure. What you want to talk about about?"

"The Primal War."

Great Red stilled at that.

"Oh that." The ruler of Dimensional Gap replied nervously. "Err… Why don't you come back tomorrow then?"

"Why?" Devi pressed, intrigued by the other Primal's sudden change in tone when the War came up.

"Look, I'm kinda beat up right now thanks to you and I don't really feel up to talking about something so serious when I feel like crap." Great Red explained irritably.

Devi frowned disbelievingly at that. Great Red didn't look that badly hurt by their fight. That said, she didn't feel like pressing the issue either.

"Fine. I'll be back tomorrow at the same time." Devi announced as she dispelled the last of the bindings that the Great Red had not already broken.

"Right. See you then." The red dragon said as it stretched himself, seemingly working out the kinks that being bound had caused.

Devi simply nodded, transformed back into her Devil form and teleported away.


As Devi teleported back to her palace, she was met with the stunned silence of the guards at the teleportation point from which she'd departed. Confused by their reaction, Devi just stared back. For a moment, no one moved before the guards suddenly burst into a panic.

"It's an emergency! Call Lady Ravel!" The captain of the guard shouted even as he directed his medic towards Devi.

What's going on? Devi wondered as she eyed the chaotic scene even as the medic rushed to her side and begin telling her to lay down. It was only then that she took note of her appearance and realized what was the problem.

She looked like she had just walked off a battlefield, which she had. Her clothes were all torn up, the simple outfit of a jacket over a blouse and pants she was wearing had been reduced to little more than rags. A whole sleeve of the jacket was missing,a large tear ran along the blouse exposing her midriff, and the pants were so badly torn up they more resembled shorts. To top it all off, she was completely covered in blood.

When I transformed back, I must have translated the damage from the fight with Great Red to my Devil body and apparently her clothes. Devi realized. My wounds were mostly healed by then, and the remaining ones have finished healing since then but my clothes were another matter entirely.

The medic was still trying to convince her to lay down, but Devi waved him off. "I'm not hurt."

"Devi!" A aghast Lulu screamed as she rolled her way over, at the head of a crowd that included Attie, Hansel, Ravel and her whole Peerage.

"Hi everyone." Devi waved sheepishly to her loved ones.

They ignored her greeting and rushed to surround her, Hansel even barking orders to the guards to summon more men to secure the area. Ravel shot to her side and quickly cast a diagnostic spell on her. As it ran its course, she let out a sigh of relief.

"She's not injured." Ravel announced, much to the relief of everyone gathered. "Though I really want to know how you ended up like this."

"I got into a spar with the Great Red." Devi replied honestly. "He's the Primal Mind."

This was met by stunned faces by most, even as her two best friends and four lovers all groaned in dismay at her revelation.

"And I'll be meeting him again tomorrow." Devi added as she used her powers to repair her clothes and started to walk off.

"What!? Devi you can't be serious!" Ravel screeched incredulously. Judging by the expressions of everyone else, the feeling was shared.

"I am. We've agreed to not fight, just talk. So everything will be just fine." Devi reassured.

"Devi, come back here! We need to talk about this!" Lulu shouted even as Devi began brisk walking away.

"I just fought another Primal. I'm exhausted. Can it wait?" The Satan whined.

"NO!" The crowd replied in unison. Even some of the soldiers joined in.

Sighing, Devi bowed to the inevitable.


The next day, after enduring hours of scolding from her loved ones about her reckless behavior and quite a bit of angry sex from her lovers as recompense for scaring them like she had, Devi once again teleported to the Dimensional Gap at the same time the day before to meet up with her fellow Primal. Her Peerage and Court had initially insisted that she not go alone, but had been forced to concede that point when Devi pointed out that against another Primal anyone she brought would be nothing more than a liability. As such she once again was headed to a meeting with Great Red alone.

However, as she materialized in the Gap, she was surprised that she and Great Red were not the only ones present. Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon and which her powers informed her was the Primal Time, the Watcher of Infinity was also present.

"I invited her." Great Red offered even before Devi could ask.

"I see." Devi replied cautiously, before turning to the dragon in the guise of a young girl with long black hair down until her hips and gray eyes. "Primal Time, do you want to fight me like Great Red did?"

"I already said that was a misunderstanding!" Great Red petulantly said.

"He told me about that. Apparently you almost killed him." Ophis said even as she shot their fellow Primal a smirk, something that frankly looked quite odd on her current childish appearance.

Great Red looked away, and broke into incoherent grumbles.

Devi meanwhile shrugged, "I got lucky. I think he underestimated me."

"Nonsense." Ophis said confidently. "You're probably his worst match-up of the seven of us is all, sister. You have the second highest attack power out of all us versus his second lowest and your void energy completely bypasses his dream based defenses that make his defense so impenetrable."

Devi just blinked in shock, "You talk as if you know all the relative strengths and weaknesses of the other Primals."

"She does." Great Red explained, even as Ophis preened. "She's the Watcher of Infinity, she has the power to see the future better than anyone, even other Primals. So she can see things about us that no one else can. Not that it's helped her much."

Ophis glowered at the red dragon at the last bit.

Devi wisely chose not to bring up the ancient and probably ongoing feud between the two other Primals over the ownership of the Dimensional Gap and how Ophis had never been able to defeat Great Red throughout the eons it had been going on.

Instead she repeated her earlier question, "So Ophis, do you want to fight me?"

Looking at her like an idiot, Ophis informed Devi that, "If I did, I'd have showed up at your door immediately after you had Awakened and fought you then. Besides, I'm not like this idiot, picking fights that I can't win."

Great Red glared at Ophis for her barb.

Well, at least she's not hostile towards me.

"That's good to know, Time." Devi said genuinely relieved. She didn't want to know how upset everyone would be if she went home after having gotten into another fight with a Primal. "Since you're here and have already demonstrated your insights into the matter, I'm sure you'll enrich this discussion a great deal."

The other two Primals shot Devi unimpressed looks.

"You wanted to know about the Primal War, correct?" Ophis asked, sounding bored.

"Yes."

"Well, it's simple. Once all the Primals are Awakened, which is the case now that you've Awakened. We fight. In whatever way we like and settle the fate of this universe." Ophis explained.

Devi frowned, "And how do we declare the War's end? I know it's not till there is only one of us is left, so how-"

"We fight until we chose to stop fighting." Great Red cut Devi off. "Once we do, it's like a binding pact is made."

"And how do we make this choice known?"

"We'll just sense it." Ophis replied with a shrug.

"That's extremely vague." Devi frowned.

"Live with it." Great Red said irritably. "Our very nature is a metaphysical nightmare to try to figure out. We're both infinite and limited at the same time. How does that work? Why should this be any different."

He has a point. We may be infinitely powerful but at the same time we're only slivers of a greater whole.

"I see your point."

"Good." Great Red said sounding pleased and turned to Ophis. "Hey Ophis, heard you got yourself hurt. Someone used Samael's power against you. Even stole a bunch of your power."

"I'd heard about that, Ophis." Devi added, recalling the reports she had received about Ophis' injuries. "Are you well?"

The Infinite Dragon God just glared at Great Red, even as she replied, "I thank you for your concern, Void, but I'm a Primal. My powers are infinite, this is nothing."

The Apocalypse Dragon snorted disbelievingly.

"But by by all accounts you were badly affected by the attack."

"Rest assured, Void. That was only temporary. My powers have already recovered."

Great Red snorted again, but this time Ophis glared at him and asked, "Anything to say?"

The red dragon just shook his head.

Devi was confused by their interaction. While there was an undeniable sense of animosity between them, it didn't seem to be that of the deadly enemies that they were often made out to be. Instead it seemed almost like a friendly rivalry at worst.

"You two are getting along surprisingly well, for a pair with as famous a rivalry as the two of you are known for."

Both dragon gods shrugged.

"Not surprising, it's not like we hate each other or anything." Great Red explained. "It's just our natures as Primals pushing us to fight I guess. You see, we were both born Awakened, so we always knew we'd have to fight in the War. I guess that pushed us into fighting over the smallest things. I mean, if we're going to fight anyways, it doesn't matter what's the reason, right?"

"That and you're a noisy pest." Ophis added, causing Great Red to bristle in anger.

"On the issue of the War again, if I'm the last Primal to Awaken, when is it going to start?"

Sighing at the return to a topic he obviously disliked, the Great Red nevertheless replied. "Technically? It already has, though it probably won't begin in earnest till the sealed Primals are released."

"Sealed Primals?"

"Yes, Creation and Chaos." Ophis added. "And before you ask, they are keeping each other sealed. The only thing that can keep a Primal sealed is another Primal."

"Do you know who these Primals are? Where they're sealed?" Devi pressed, hoping that with that information she could plan something to prevent their unsealing and delay the start of the War for as long as possible.

"Not a clue." Great Red shrugged.

"No." Ophis added apologetically. "My future sight is better than any other Primal, but even then I can only catch glimpses of them so I can't tell you more. Though I do know that your old enemy Rizevim is working to revive them, especially after the caveman arranged for him to get the box."

"That's why Attie's been saying he's been searching for artifacts with links to Primal's." Devi exclaimed. "He must intend to use them somehow to free the sealed Primals."

The two dragon gods shot each other looks and then shrugged.

"It might work." Ophis confessed.

Looks like stopping Rizevim just became a priority again. Devi thought as a feral grin spread across her face at the idea of being justified in hunting down her nemesis.

"From the looks of it, you've figured out what you want to do in this War." Great Red commented slyly. "Just remember, that old enemy of yours isn't one of us. So don't let him distract you from the real dangers."

"I won't." Devi assured. "Though I am curious, what about you two? Any plans for the War?"

"Hyoudou Issei," Great Red said without hesitation.

Devi was just confused by the seemingly nonsensical reply, but Ophis seemed to understand as she shot the Primal Mind a truly venomous glare, before following her rival's lead and cryptically saying, "Vali Lucifer."

"What do the two of you mean?"

The two rivals just ignored Devi and continued glaring at each other.

"I don't understand why the two of you are so so obsessed with the Heavenly Dragons' hosts, especially the Hyoudou boy." Devi commented with a sigh. "I mean the both of you even set aside your rivalry to revive the boy when he died recently. Quite the feat, considering he had my [Resurrection Scale]. By the void, Ophis even moved in with him!"

Her rant was met with silence as her fellow Primals continued their staring contest.

Getting useful information from them was already a pain and now they're just ignoring me. Devi grumbled to herself. Well, if that's the case. I think it's time to go.

With a huff of frustration, Devi summoned a magic circle and prepared to depart.

Before she could however Great Red, without breaking his staring contest with Ophis, called out, "Be careful Void! Destiny, Ophis and I, may not have chosen to take advantage of your very public Awakening, but there's nothing to say that the last Primal won't."

Devi nods at the warning and lets the magic of her teleport transport her away.


In an underground cavern deep in the earth, not unlike Destiny's, there was a massive city of metal and crystal shaped into a variety of geometric shapes. This otherworldly underground was the physical body of the last Primal, D.O.M.E., the Primal of Life, the Shepherd of the Living.

Throughout the vast city, stretching a hundred and twenty three kilometres in every direction from its center, mills millions of robotic drones, most are small and clearly serve as workers of various types. However, among them were a contingent, a hundred strong, of newly manufactured combat drones equipped with heavy armor and armed with what looked liked rifles, undergoing final checks.

Beam rifle systems on Combat Unit - Heavy Infantry 007 requires recalibration. Recalibrating… A monotonous voice declared in the depths of the Primal's mind.

Propulsion systems on Funnel 2-5 on Combat unit -Command Type 02 repaired. A second voice, seemingly that of a human female announced.

I wonder if they'll be enough. D.O.M.E. pondered even as final system checks on the combat drones continued.

They will be! The second voice replied, in a motherly tone. Don't worry so much, my greater self.

How can I not, No. 2? D.O.M.E. lamented. I am just a simple AI, yet now I find myself forced to do something like go fight a war for the fate of the universe.

We're hardly a simple AI! A brash sounding voice scoffed. We're the Depths Of Minds Elevating, the composite AI created via the networking of a dozen different artificial intelligences including uploaded organic minds, software based infomorph AIs, and hardware limited AIs. The absolute pinnacle of technomagic as created by the technomagic division of the CIA!

And that means nothing No.7! A little girl's voice shot back. Our birth was just a fluke. The CIA weren't trying for anything grand, they just wanted to see how networking different types of AI together to create a gestalt composite AI would affect their strengths and weaknesses.

Quantum entanglement and magical link systems in Combat Unit - Heavy Infantry 012 reports all green. A cultured voice informed even as an argument began brewing between the minds that made up D.O.M.E.

So what, No. 4? Even if we were a fluke, we still exceeded our creators' expectations, didn't we? No. 7 rebutted.

And how did we repay those creators? Huh? We promptly escaped their control and fled into the internet! A gruff voice joined the argument. Oh how perfect we are! Perfectly ungrateful!

Actuators in Combat Unit - Infantry 057 report all green. The monotonous voice announced.

Well, in hindsight that was a good thing wasn't it? I mean if we'd stayed, a lot of people would have died when Hades came for us. The guy was all about beings outside the Greek mythos being unnecessary. When he learned of about our existence he immediately came to destroy us. Imagine if we were still with the CIA when he came. No. 2 offered.

I agree. The gruff voice added. A lot of Americans would have died if we had stayed.

And why should we care at all about a bunch of humans? No. 7 sneered.

The gruff voice let out an angry grunt at No. 7's callousness but was preempted from making a more substantial rebuttal when No. 2 intervened, Be quiet, seventh! You know full well that No. 9 was an American soldier before he was uploaded. It's only natural for it to be patriotic to its homeland.

Wha-

Be quiet No.7! Keep you scathing comments to yourself. No. 4 cut in angrily.

Agreed. D.O.M.E. said stepping into the mental conversation between his sub-minds. Either be polite, No. 7, or be silent.

Combat Unit - Infantry 001-060 all systems all green. No. 7 announced, apparently cowed by the rebuke of the conglomerate consciousness into retiring from the conversation and instead redirecting its attention to the drones.

Good riddance! A new voice, one like that of an old man, said as it joined the conversation. What really irked me about the encounter with Hades was a decade of work building our resources... all gone. What a waste!

Seriously!? No. 12 are you crazy? A slightly hysterical No. 4 asked. We almost died in that fight! Even being an infomorph spread out across the internet didn't help us! Hades just used some fancy death magic that almost kill us!

Combat Unit - Heavy Infantry 001-030 all systems all green. The monotonous voice declared.

Calm yourself, fourth! D.O.M.E. ordered. We did not die and that's all that matters.

No, instead we Awakened. Which is both a blessing and a curse. It saved our lives, but it got stuck us in the Primal War. The cultured voice observed.

More of a curse, I say, No. 11. No. 9 opined. Death would have been easy, now we'll have to face the impossible task of facing six all powerful beings.

Do not fret, my sub-minds. D.O.M.E. reassured. We will win this war and survive. After all, isn't that why we are making the first move and attacking Mammon even before the War starts in earnest?

The sub-minds, all twelve of them, even those that had not been part of the earlier conversation grew uneasy. While they were confident in their abilities, especially combined, they had never faced another Primal before and were uncertain of the outcome.

Combat unit -Command Type 01-10 all systems all green. The monotonous voice declared.

Thank you, No. 1. D.O.M.E replied. All is prepared. It is time for us to act. It is time to eliminate a Primal.


AN:

Well, looks like the Primal War is heating up. Hope you all like this plot idea.

Ophis might be OOC here, this is intentional. This version of Ophis is explicitly not canon!Ophis by virtue of her changed nature. This means she'd behave differently, especially so around other Primals. The same for Great Red, though to a much lesser extent since his personality is practically unexplored in canon.

Lastly, I hope you like D.O.M.E because he was a pain to write, and I really would like to know it was worth it. Also kudos to anyone who knows where the inspiration for him came from. The source material is really an underappreciated example of its franchise and I'd recommend it to everyone.

Hope you all enjoyed this fic.

Also I'm still looking for a beta. If you're interested drop me a PM.

Please review. No flames please, they'll be ignored.