"Ah, Selene it's been a whi" The woman struck out with her fist catching Noruas straight on the jaw knocking it back through the barrier into the forest. Noruas stood for a few seconds his eye's widening, his tongue lolling. He gurgled weakly clutching at the empty air that was his jaw; the woman winded up and kicked him in the stomach raising him three feet of the ground with a sound like popping balloons. The woman stood over his convulsing retching body, crimson eye's glowing

"Shut up"

Moka brought her hands over her mouth "My, god"

Tsukune had to swallow the rising bile in his throat, no matter who that happened to it was still disturbing. Noruas was now making horrible gurgling screams made all the more horrible by the lack of a lower jaw. Strangely enough he did not bleed, at least not blood, instead a golden thick liquid oozed from his wounds and pooling around his body like a puddle of honey.

The woman who had struck the deadly blows slowly backed away from the puddle and it became apparent why when the blood overflowed onto the grass on either side of the marble path and incinerated the greenery instantly leaving a growing patch of black ash. The woman stood and watched as Noruas's breaths became more ragged until they just became spasms in his chest and then finally with a final sigh he stopped breathing altogether. His body slowly relaxed and his head rolled to the one side facing Tsukune and the rest of the students, Yukari hid behind Moka's legs, he blinked one more time and his fiery eye's slowly faded into a dull grey.

And so, Noruas Kardrold died, killed by an old acquaintance and for once Noruas was unable to have the last word. Tsukune had fought several people, he may have attacked them with the intent of causing grievous injury but he had never killed anyone. He had faced the consequence of death for his actions even rushed headlong into it but in truth this was the first time he had seen death first hand and it unnerved him. Noruas was an unsavory character but he was so full of life always moving, talking, fighting but what remained of him now was hard to look at.

The woman turned, she wore her silver hair back in a bun with several strands rebelling against the restraint and hanging loose about her face. She wore only a trailing white night gown that had become nearly transparent due to the rain, it became clear she was wearing nothing else; Tsukune averted his eyes color touching his cheeks. Two more vampires' one male and one female armored from head to toe descended from the wall next to the woman; the female carried a blouse and offered it to the woman with a short bow and polite

"M'lady".

The woman quickly slipped on the blouse covering the worst of her exposure but the group was shocked that a vampires pride would allow them to bow or refer to someone as 'My lady'. In a synchronized motion the armored vampires drew their halberds and brought them to bear on the group of students. The women raised her hand and said sternly

"No, attend to my daughter first, take her to her quarters and make sure she doesn't leave."

She closed her eyes and sighed wearily "Raphael will be there shortly to help her, after that you may return to your posts." The guards remained where they were for maybe a fraction of a second the rain plinking against their armor before putting away their weapons with another

"M'lady" and moving to assist Beatrice. The guards had to bodily move her as she was reluctant to leave fighting back feebly and actually managing to break free long enough to spit on Noruas's body before they were able to jump back over the wall with her. The crowd of vampires on the wall saw fit to disperse at that moment, drifting of to the other side of the wall in small groups or alone, the excitement of the main event over and done with.

The woman who must have been Selene turned her attention on the group of soaking wet, ragged and shivering students. She looked over them with keen crimson eyes before addressing them in a confident almost regal tone

"What is your association with that creature" she said pointing at the corpse of Noruas "Speak quickly" Tsukune stepped forward

"We are his- ow!" Tsukune began but was cut short when Kurumu brought her foot down on his instep "Hey what was that for- mmpf!" an icy hand covered his mouth cutting him off again

"What he meant to say was" Mizore said "That this boy kidnapped us from Youkai academy and brought us here, we don't know why" she said in a surprisingly victimized voice compared to her regular monotone.

Tsukune realized the necessity of the ploy and fell silent which wasn't that hard considering Mizore was covering his mouth. Selene raised her eyebrow balancing on the knife edge of believing them or attacking them, the students did their best to look like kidnapped teenagers who just wanted to go home which was not so far from the reality of things and so was also not very difficult to pull off. Both parties held their breath waiting for the other to make a move, after a few moments the deciding factor came unexpectedly from Moka

"Aunt Selene?" she inquired cautiously stepping to the front of the crowd. Selene's eye's narrowed

"Moka? Moka Akashiya? What are you doing here? Where are your other sisters?" Her voice took on a dangerous edge "Did your father send you to spy on me?" she took a menacing step forward to which Moka took a step back, caught off guard by the sudden aggression and accusation "My father?" The inquiry was unable to be answered as the two armored vampires from before reappeared and knelt in front of Selene, the male spoke

"Beatrice has been returned to her quarters but Raphael insisted that we help him with the demon" Selene looked back at Noruas's corpse

"Is he aware that the demon is dead?" As if on cue a howl of despair sounded from the top of the wall

"No M'lady". A man garbed in the same black armor Noruas had been wearing leapt from the wall and slid on his knees next to Noruas's dead body, the blood didn't bother the armor. The man wrenched off his own helmet and raised his hands above the body shaking as if he was afraid to touch him. The particularly long canines and silver if somewhat unkempt revealed the man to be a vampire but his sunken eye's, hollow cheeks and unnaturally pale skin made him look gaunt, like he had been living in a cave. He sat like that for a long time before he finally spoke and when he did it was whisper quiet and full of grief

"Oh Selene, what have you done?" her reply was both deliberate and without regret

"I did what you should have done well over a thousand years ago" Raphael didn't reply he was quickly moving his hand over Noruas checking his pulse in several places even placing his uncovered head against Noruas's chest uncaring of the smoke curling from his face as it burned from the blood.

He sighed sadly and lifted his head, the burns already healing; he closed Noruas's eyes by dragging his fingers across the eyelids first horizontally then vertically. He knelt for a moment and bowed his head, before standing to face Selene tears forming in his eyes

"He may have been the last" he said accusingly. Selene made an imperious gesture

"Then the world is all the better for it" she pointed at the group of students "Tend to the living not the dead" Raphael brought his crimson eye's to bear on the students and began to shuffle towards them until he stood in front of Kurumu who shrank back holding her injured wrist away from the strange vampire. Raphael smiled sadly and extended his hand

"I will not hurt you child" The vampire moved to untie the knot that held the sling but he froze his eye's fixed on the knot "Did… did he do this?" he asked slowly. Kurumu didn't respond she just pursed her lips, violet eye's flashing; he nodded somberly then untied the knot. When he touched her wrist Kurumu winced instinctively but much to her surprise there was no pain and after only a quick examination he dropped her hand and said "your fine" although he kept the sling.

When Selene was satisfied with the results she snapped her fingers and pointed at Noruas

"Frida! Eirik!" she called at the guards who stood at attention "Help Raphael dispose of the body, I will take the 'students' to the guest house until I decide what to do with them." The armored vampires bowed and strode towards the body while Selene walked towards the wall and ran her hand along a section above her head. Were her skin touched the marble the wall disintegrated leaving a doorway that lead through the wall big enough for two people to walk abreast. Selene walked in and beckoned over her shoulder at the students to follow "This way. Now"

They didn't need to be asked twice, they quickly filed in after her, squeezing into the tunnel. Tsukune was able to cast one last look over his shoulder at Raphael kneeling beside Noruas's body while the two guards looked on impassively before he was forced to move with the press of bodies.

It was impossible to see inside the tunnel and the only thing they could hear was the panting breaths of those around them. They had been walking for about five minutes and they were beginning to wonder how wide this wall was when some of the more claustrophobic of the students began to panic and steadily quicken their pace, unfortunately panic is contagious and it wasn't long until the whole group was running at a dead sprint desperate to escape the enclosed space.

The students at the head of the pack finally reached the end of the tunnel but they stopped suddenly gaping at an unknown source the exit causing the students behind them to run headlong into them resulting in a heap of tangled limbs, Selene stood to the side of the mass of students and scowled unimpressed. When the stack of monsters righted themselves they nearly fell over again when they saw their current environment. It was still pouring rain but the fine sheets of mist, lightning and black clouds could not hide the enormous orb hanging in the sky. Suspended among the clouds was an immense multi-colored planet circumnavigated by a vertical ring, looking like an over-ripe Neptune. The landscape was made up of rolling hills covered by a green carpet of long grass and interspersed with clumps of trees and even large buildings of an unknown make were gathered in what looked like a small town in the distance, illuminated by the soft glow exuded by the planet.

Tsukune was in awe like the others but he couldn't shake the feeling that he had been here before, it wasn't until a large blue whale dipped in and out of the thunder clouds swimming through the air like it was water and serenading those below with its call that it finally came to him.

"This is paradise!" he gasped, remembering when the headmaster spirited him away with Ruby to train here with Belmont. Selene raised an eyebrow

"That is not the usual first response when seeing our home" Tsukune shook his head vigorously when he caught her meaning

"No, I mean that is what The headmaster calls it" She took a step towards him, Tsukune shivered and braced himself for the incoming impact but she merely grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. She studied his eye's intensely then rolled up his sleeve to look at the holy lock and to his surprise a smirk tugged at her mouth "I didn't think you had it in you Moka" she called, releasing Tsukune and walking to the distant buildings

"Keep your pet on a short leash and follow me, I have decided what is to be done with you" Tsukune frowned at being called someone's pet but was stunned to see that Moka was blushing

"Moka what did she mean?" Kurumu said in a sickly sweet tone as she placed a hand on Moka's left shoulder, followed shortly by a cold one on her right

"Yes, what have you done to him?"

"If Tsukune is to be anyone's pet he's going to be mine, Desu!" Moka was unable to answer with more than an 'eeep!' when Selene called to them

"We have arrived." When they looked up they saw it was true, what had looked to be a small town from afar was in reality a huge multi floored mansion with several smaller building erected in a semi-circle around it. They tried to look back at the wall they had just exited but it was just a long black line in the distance, but that was impossible they couldn't taken more than a few steps. "Distance works differently here" Selene said guessing their thoughts "You may stay in the guest house until tomorrow when I am able to contact Mikogami… er … your headmaster."

She began walking towards the wall and within a few heartbeats she was just a speck on the horizon. The group turned to look at the gigantic space she couldn't have meant this whole place is the guest house! They walked towards the mansion in hopes that they would be able to rest inside but they couldn't help but notice the surrounding buildings.

The buildings on the left where all spiraling columns, slabs of chiseled stone statues and reminiscent of ancient Greek architecture. They all seemed to be dedicated to relaxation from a massive library with hundreds of towering shelves of books seen through the windows, to a hot spring that was shaded by two oak trees, their branches interlocking to form a canopy to shield all potential occupants from the elements. Kurumu and Mizore noticed with a smile that the bath was mixed and many an evil plan took root in their heads should they be able to stay longer.

However the buildings to the right seemed to be made exclusively for physical exertion, including a several sets of ridiculously large weights and a gravel track for running. The rain began to pick up and several green puddles began to form around the mansion

"Wait. Green?" Moka thought to herself, she broke off from the group and knelt to examine the puddle and it smelt just like the rain… devils herb, the water was filled with devil's herb which explained why the rain wasn't treating her to a less than pleasant electrical shower. She had to admit though, she smiled and looked up at the clouds, it felt good to feel the rain on her skin for what had to have been the first time.

"Come on Moka its freezing!" she looked back to the mansion, Tsukune was holding the door open for her

"Coming!" she called and ran to catch up with her friends.

"Oh my god this is awesome!" Kurumu yelled all exhaustion forgotten as she beheld the contents of the mansion; a satisfying echo resounded back at them due to the extreme size of their accommodations. The mansion was for lack of a better term… Ginormous. The entrance opened up to a huge circular concave hall with a spiral staircase going up through the center that lead up to unseen floors above. The hall was mostly empty but had several doors each uniquely different, from sliding paper doors to oaken double doors with brass rings for handles and even in one case red silk drapes, bags were left at the door and so began exploration of 'the guest house'. The students broke into their own groups and moved to different part of the mansion, until only Tsukune and Co. were left standing in the door way.

Almost immediately after they were left alone a musical tone sounded from Yukari's wand which she flicked once making a small pink cell phone with a miniature crystal ball on the end of the antenna appear out of the air. "What's the matter?" Kurumu snickered "Crystal balls go out of fashion?" Yukari stuck her tongue out but flicked open the phone and held it up to her ear

"Hello? Desu… Mom! I… I can't hear you" she began to walk upstairs, perhaps to get a better reception , but they were able to discern the last bit of the conversation before she went up out of sight "What do you mean 'how is the museum'? We never went to a museum. Desu!"

"Well that explains why our parents signed permission slips for us to go to a vampire coven; they didn't even know where we were going, Noruas fooled all of us to the end" Kurumu deducted perceptive as ever.

"Anybody else notice that we're all soaked and in serious need of a change of clothes?" Mizore said getting straight to the point. Mizore of course was right, they were making there own little green puddles on the floor from their wet clothes, and Mizore's sleeve was torn from its use as a sling along with everyone else's school clothes that had been shredded from their walk in the woods. Kurumu raised her hand

"I volunteer myself and Tsukune to go look for a bath and a place to change clothes" she said threading her arm through Tsukune's. Mizore scowled and grabbed Tsukune's other arm

"I'll go with Tsukune, we'll be able to get their much faster without the extra baggage" she emphasized with a prod to the Succubus's chest. Tsukune released his arms and backed up to the door, hands raised submissively

"Hey, how about you two go find the room and I'll stay here and umm… guard the bags." He reasoned. Kurumu and Mizore cast a single glance at one another then returned their eye's to Tsukune

"Fine" Kurumu announced "but Moka comes with us". Tsukune was about to protest but Moka stepped forward and smiled in a peacekeeping fashion

"Sure I'll go" but before Moka or Mizore could react she had already chomped onto Tsukune's neck and was sucking his blood. She had had her fill before Mizore and Kurumu were able to drag her off with her between them, she was able to yell "We'll be back soon Tsukune!" before their footsteps faded off into silence.

Tsukune leaned against a window, a little weak from blood loss and rubbed his neck wondering if one of these days he was going to go into cardiac arrest. He noticed something on the window frame, there were flickering words flashing back and forth between green and blue, he leaned in closer to read the words. From what he could see, the words were flashing either a green

Elysium

Or a blue

Valhalla

Tsukune didn't know what those words were supposed to mean but the soft blue and green glow brought him comfort.

He saw a small movement outside so adjusted his position to look out the window, Selene stood in front of the two armored vampires from before 'Frida' and 'Eirik'. Selene was pointing at the doorway and saying something that could not be heard through the glass and the occasional rumble of thunder but Tsukune quickly ascertained that they were being ordered to guard the doors to make sure that their guests didn't escape when Selene stopped talking and Frida and Eirik saluted and took up positions on either side of the door. Selene nodded satisfied then ran back out of the grounds, once Selene was out of sight Eirik relaxed, set aside his halberd and sat down on the doorstep with his hands behind his head. Frida didn't relax exactly but she also laid aside her halberd then proceeded to the weights Tsukune had noticed earlier and started working the bench press.

"Vampire security" Tsukune thought absentmindedly "is a little unreliable"

Almost as soon as he thought this Eirik jumped up from his sitting position and gestured wildly at the horizon. Frida put down the weights and followed his gaze, when she was looking at the object of his sudden interest she jumped up, ran to get her halberd and sprinted out of the mansion followed shortly by Eirik. Tsukune looked at the horizon for himself and saw a harsh red glow, growing steadily larger in the distance. He had seen something similar before when he was a child, it was when protestors in Tokyo had set fire to a nearby forest, and the resulting blaze killed hundreds of people.

Something was burning.

Another red glow brought his attention back to the window sill, gone was the soft green and blue letters from before, they were now replaced with harsh red letters

Tartarus

Niflheim

Hell

Tsukune understood the last one perfectly and a cold lump of fear and dread fell into his stomach, it was then that he noticed the sound. He hadn't heard it before because of the thunder but it was getting steadily louder *thump**thump**thump**thump**thump* It was coming from up the stairs working steadily downwards; it wasn't long before he saw what was making the noise. Yukari's body was rolling down the stairs with a bone crunching thud each time she connected with the ground; she finally came to rest facedown at Tsukune's feet her body laid out in an unnatural angle.

Tsukune cried out and quickly bent down and rolled her gently face up, she was still breathing but there was blood leaking out the side of her mouth and from a cut on her forehead and it was obvious she needed immediate help.

"She should really watch where she's going" a cruel, smooth voice drifted from the stairs, Tsukune looked up and saw a boy wearing only tattered jeans sitting on the banister and carrying one half of a wooden staff in his right hand while his left drew fiery patterns in the wood he was sitting on.

"You!" Tsukune said horrified, picking up Yukari's body and getting ready to bolt "Your supposed to be dead!"

"Really?" the boy said sardonically, checking himself over then looking back up, smiling with pointed black teeth "Death becomes me."

Authors note: TBA