Man, I'm just spoon-feeding these chapters to you! Probably just because I felt bad for all those month-long waits at the end of 2014...
Warning! This chapter will contain A LOT of canonical stuff. You have been warned...
Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD. It belongs to Ichiei Ishibumi. OCs are mine. Anything referenced in this chapter belong to their respective owners.
Last Time…
Cerberus however could only get up after Akeno's attack before it was suddenly… cut in half?!
"RRAAAAAAAAUUUUUUuuuu…" Its deafening cry slowly faded out as both halves lay across the ground. Suddenly, a lone figure appeared in the distance. At first everyone was confused as to who is was that had finished off Cerberus, but a few of them immediately recognized it be the head of blue hair with a green fringe.
"I'm here to help…"
"Xenovia-san!" Kuro called out. The Holy Sword wielder, Xenovia, has come out to play!
The little reunion between Xenovia and Kuro ended abruptly when the body of the Cerberus Kuro had taken out suddenly arose. The entire group looked onward in shock.
{"Eeeeewww… It's like a cockroach…"} Xurok whined.
'Now is NOT the time!' Kuro retorted as he, Akeno, Koneko, and Ryuka prepared for Cerberus's next move. The body charged in their direction, ready to swipe at them with its claws…
…That was until countless swords pierced through Cerberus's chest where its heart should be. The enormous canine's body fell limps and finally disappeared.
["!"] Everyone adopted surprised faces. The only person who could possibly be able to do that was…
"Hey there…"
"Woah!" Kuro jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was then that he was met with a familiar face. His face brightened as he placed his fists on his hips.
"Yuuto-san! 'bout time you came to join the party!" he chided.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world" Yuuto retorted as he and Kuro shared their usual fist bump greeting. Both males then turned their attention towards Kokabiel as did everyone else.
"I'm sure I don't need to fill you in on what's going down, right?"
"Not at all…" Yuuto glared harshly at the Fallen Angel. It was then that Rias and Akeno took to the skies and pointed their hands towards Kokabiel.
"Take this!"
Both Rias and Akeno's attacks merged and formed one huge mass of demonic power, all aimed at the leader of the Fallen Angels. Said leader himself only sighed in exasperation as he—
*BANG!*
["?!"]
"What?!"
Kokabiel simply deflected the blast skyward with just a single hand. He smirked after taking a glimpse of the smoke rising from the palm of his hand.
"…I see… So, this is the power of Rias Gremory and her 'family'…" Kokabiel chuckled darkly.
Suddenly, the four Excalibur fragments that were seemingly forgotten started giving out higher frequencies of light, which eventually spread across the field and had become so bright that everyone shielded their eyes. After a while the light subsided and everyone could only gawk with wide eyes.
The once-four Excaliburs had finally combined into one! It hovered over the ground while emitting a bluish-white glow.
"It's done…" Balba stated. He then turned to the surprised group of fighters as Kokabiel simply applauded.
"Just so you're aware. The light exuding from Excalibur caused a reaction with this seal. In just thirty minutes, your precious town that you've been fighting for will be nothing but a pile of rubble! The only way to stop it is to defeat Kokabiel, but why should that matter?! It's impossible now!"
"FREED!"
The silver haired priest made his appearance. His mad smile still plastered onto his face.
"Yo. 'Sup, boss?" Kokabiel jerked his head towards the sword.
"We've just finished merging the Excaliburs together. You are going to use it against them for my enjoyment."
"Yeesh. You sure like using a guy, Boss… But I'm not complaining since I get a new toy to play with! Oh, yeah! Time to slice some Devils into shish kabobs!" Freed's crazed smile widened as he gladly picked up Excalibur, wielding it quite easily. Xenovia looked towards Kuro and Yuuto, with the latter returning the gesture.
"Rias Gremory's [Knight]. Given the current situation, I think our cooperation is still valid."
"Is that fine with you?" Yuuto asked skeptically.
"Heh. Even if that's a Holy Sword, it's the same as any other weapon. That's a sword of heresy." Xenovia said fearlessly. Balba only cackled at the duo's conversation. Yuuto glared hatefully at him.
"Balba Galilei! I think it's time to pay you back for all those years ago. Even though I've lived happily as a Devil, I've never once forgotten my promise to cut you down!"
"Oh… It's you. How are you? I didn't think fate would have such a cruel sense of humor as to have us meet in such a situation…" Balba chuckled again.
"You see, I love Holy Swords. I've wanted to have them so much, that I was devastated when I found out that I couldn't wield one. As such, my admiration for those who could only grew and I began experiments to create such wielders."
"But you failed!" Kuro walked up right next to Yuuto. "Your little experiment was ass and it cost the lives of so many innocents. Yuuto-san included! He's the only lucky one to survive after your failed attempts at making him into one of you little 'Pawns'."
"Ah, but it's quite the contrary. The experiment was complete." Balba took out a crystal-like object. "We took out the Holy elements from those who received them and in turn, they are crystallized like this little beauty. I had realized an essential requisite for ones to be able to wield a Holy Sword. And I had asked myself: What if there was a way to extract elements and converge them?"
"…And then you came up with those…" Xenovia concluded. She was rewarded (if you can call it that) with a chuckle from Balba.
"…My friends… You killed every single one of them… just to take these damn elements required to wield a Holy Sword…?" Yuuto asked with a voice loaded with KI.
"Hyahaha! Take that, Shitty Devil! You died 'cuz you couldn't adapt to these itty bitty elements! Looks like I'm more special than you." Freed's statement only made Yuuto's rage grow. His hands were shaking violently and his teeth clenched so hard that they made a clicking noise.
"And with that… Here… You can have it. We're already mass producing them as is. Kokabiel and I will create an army of Holy Sword wielders… of course, after we reduce this town into rubble. Next, we'll take our wielders and wage war against Michael! Then he'll see the results of my research and will regret ever convicting me!"
"…Everyone…" Yuuto leant down and picked up the orb that Balba had carelessly tossed away. His eyes glistened with tears of sorrow and anger as he held it lovingly.
*RRRRRRRRUUMMBBLLEE*
Next thing anybody knew, the very ground itself was quaking. Was it an earthquake? Now of all times?! No. It was something else. The air was filled with so much KI that it was almost suffocating. Even Balba and Kokabiel were stunned to silence.
"What?"
"Where is this coming from?! This power—"
"Rrrrrrr…" A low growl of barely restrained anger filled the air, mixing with the KI so perfectly that it left an ominous echo. All eyes turned to Kuro with the exception of Yuuto, who seemed to be distracted by something. Kuro's eyes were hidden behind his bangs and he stood slumped over slightly. His teeth clenched to the point where his gum are showing, his fist tightened dangerously, and he was surrounded by an aura of a red, orange, and yellow color.
"You…" he started. His voice much deeper than usual. "You stole the Excaliburs in order to start a war… You killed my friend to fill this disgusting desire… You threaten to destroy this city full of innocent people who have done nothing to you… And now… Now you go and threaten not only my home, but my superior…" He growled lower as his body's trembling worsened.
"I'LL KILL YOU! BALBA! KOKABIEL!" Kuro swore. As he did this, the orb seemingly responded to Kuro's rage and floated out of Yuuto's hands and neared him. It integrated itself into Kuro's body.
"?!" He gasped as he felt the voices, spirits, and emotions of several people he had never met before. He started groaning and grasping his head and finally slumped over with a scream. Kuro fell to his knees, his eyes hollow and his mouth hung open slightly. His body periodically pulsated with shallow light. Rage gave away to silence for a brief moment before Yuuto approached the catatonic Kuro slowly.
"…E-Everyone… Kuro-san…?" Yuuto was still distraught but found strength in his legs to keep going and check on his best friend.
"Kuro-san? Kuro-san!" Yuuto shook Kuro's body, but the Nephilim remained silent and still.
["…You don't have to worry about us anymore. You're still alive at least."] a voice that didn't belong to Kuro told Yuuto.
"What happened? What's going on with Sochi-kun?"
"That massive power output caused the spirits to react and I guess now they're using Kuro as a sort of conduit to speak with Yuuto."
"They are?! Really?!"
Yuuto started tearing up again as he spoke to his friends through Kuro.
"…I… I couldn't forget about it…I-I was the only one…who could live a happy life…So-So many others wanted that life…but it was…just me…I'm sorry…"
Kuro's lips started moving again.
["It's okay. We were never any good alone. It's our friendship that makes us whole. Not only us… but the friends you will make and of course, these ones, too."]
["You must accept the Holy-Sword."]
["Don't be afraid."]
["Even if God is watching…"]
["Even if He's not…"]
["We will always be together…"]
["Our hearts will make us…"]
[WHOLE.]
The light emanating from Kuro receded until it removed itself from Kuro and formed itself into an orb. The orb floated briefly before edging its way into Yuuto's chest.
Into his heart…
Yuuto's body began to glow as the light formed a pillar that split the evening sky. It truly looked like he was being given a blessing from God Himself.
"Balance Break…" Yuuto mumbled as a new sword never used before had been born into his hand. In his mind, the words of his comrades were replaying in his head.
"That's right… I have the best of friends and comrades now… Buchou, Akeno-san, Koneko-chan… Kuro-san. Buchou saved my life. Kuro-san, an Angel, became friends with me, a Devil. I've lived a happy and better life after becoming a Devil… Although, my lust for vengeance… made me forget that. They're all here to help me. I can't let go of my Demonic Swords as they carried my hatred… I could never forget my comrades' vengeance… but… they weren't asking me for revenge. No, not one bit!" Yuuto said to himself. He then glared at Balba who was stunned at what was transpiring at the moment.
"Balba… Galilei…" he said, this time much calmer. "If I don't end you right here and now, there will only me many more victims of your torture."
Balba quickly recovered and delivered a confident smirk.
"Heh. Research comes with sacrifices. That's one of the rules of the world. Don't you get that, stupid boy?!"
"'EY, YUUTO-SAN!"
"—?! Kuro-san?"
"Get over there and destroy that priest and his toy! You got this, man! Don't let your friends' deaths be in vain now, you hear me?!"
"…Kuro-san…"
"Yuuto! This is your fight now! I know my [Knight] would never lose to some Excalibur, now!"
"…Buchou…"
"Yuuto-kun! You can do it!"
"…Akeno-san…"
"…Yuuto-senpai!"
"Yuuto-san!"
"…Koneko-chan… Asia-chan…"
["GET HIM!"] Everyone screamed. Yuuto smiled at their encouragement and then set his sights on Freed, who of course still had on his psychotic smirk.
"Okay, now are you done with the soap operas? Because seriously, I nearly barfed all over the place. And it didn't help that I was hearing your dead friends' singing ringing in my head for the past few minutes. Urrrg! I'm about to just explode! Good thing you're here though and I've got the lovely ultimate Excalibur here! Hyahahaha! Let's get it on!"
"…Freed Zelzan… My friends… my comrades' spirits reside in that sword… I will never allow you to do what you please with them! I will become the sword of Buchou and my new friends! Now! Sword Re-Birth! Sword of the Betrayer!"
Both holy and demonic powers converged and morphed into a single sword. Yuuto smirked confidently as he charged at Freed using his [Knight]'s specialty: speed. Despite Freed being caught off-guard he still managed to fend off Yuuto's strike. He gazed at the sword with a dismayed expression.
Freed clicked his tongue and put some distance between himself and Yuuto. Once he's had enough he transformed his blade, causing it to twist and come at Yuuto with great speed. Despite this, Yuuto's new powers allowed himto easily see and parry all of the offending objects.
"What the fuck?! How are you doing that?! This is an unrivalled Holy Sword Excalibur were talking about here! It should be manhandling you! YOU'RE JUST ONE DAMN DEVIL!"
"There is a price to pay for overestimating yourself, Freed."
"[Knight] of Rias Gremory… Keep him right there." Xenovia intruded as she raised her right hand.
…Though suddenly, everything stopped.
"…Huh?" Kuro was the only one who was able to move. He looked around and saw Yuuto and Freed still clashing and Xenovia with her arm outstretched with closed eyes.
"Guys? What's going on?"
"—?!" Kuro quickly turned around and saw a dark portal form from the ground. Out came Yoroi.
"Y-Yoroi! Are you the one who did this?"
…No response from Yoroi other than him opening his hand and a cloud of reddish-black smoke covered the area. Both of them were transported to a deserted area with a dark red sky, dead trees and plants, and the ground was a dark grey color.
Kuro and Yoroi were standing on opposite ends. Yoroi held out two swords made of pure darkness and got into a fighting stance, all the while remaining silent. Kuro responds by summoning the Aublade and charging at his opponent, Yoroi doing the same. Their swords clashed as spark flew and one struggled to overpower the other.
"What…What're you doing?" Kuro asked through his teeth.
"I'm not really doing anything…" Yoroi finally spoke and the two separated from each other a considerable distance.
"Are you stalling so the city can get destroyed…? Or are you just doing your 'job'?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. Can't say for sure…"
"STOP PLAYING GAMES!" Kuro clenched his fist. Yoroi crouched down and held the tips of his blades towards the ground.
"Tell you what: Defeat me and I'll grant you a gift…"
Yoroi charged at Kuro, his blade dragging up dirt and debris while Kuro got into a defensive stance. Yoroi swung his right hand up for an upwards slash, but Kuro slicked his head back and the tip only cut a few strands of his hair. He then swung his second down and Kuro guarded, forcing the blade to dig into the ground. Yoroi struggled to extracted his blade until he settled for jumping over Kuro, leaving the blade, and reverse spin kicking Kuro into the air. He then dislodged the blade and jumped after Kuro, but the young Angel quickly rights himself midair and the two swordsmen started clashing swords at a fast pace while descending towards the ground. Kuro then backed up from a horizontal slash from Yoroi, who then pursued him with numerous horizontal, vertical and diagonal swings until Kuro planted his feet firmly on the ground and put on a guard stance.
Kuro grunted as he was bombarded with vertical slashes until Yoroi swept his legs, kicked the Aublade away from him and swung again, grazing Kuro's right cheek and leaving a moderately sized cut. Kuro started back flipping away from Yoroi as he thought about getting his Aublade back.
["Why are you back flipping?"] Ijuu asked incredulously.
'To gain distance! Duh!'
{"YOU CAN FLY!"} Xurok screamed. Xurok screamed. Kuro rolled his eyes as he sped towards his discarded Aublade, but Yoroi beat him to it as he dug one of his blades into the ground inside the hand guard area and pointed the free one at his face.
"So… ready to give up and die?"
"Rrgh…" Kuro growled in frustration. It was then that he heard a groan from one of his 'tenants…'
{"Summon it from here!"}
'Oh, yeah. I sometimes forget about that…' Kuro retorted as he stretched out his hand towards his weapon and concentrated. The Aublade disappeared in a flash of light, catching Yoroi off-guard.
"What?! How…"
Once Kuro got his weapon back, he wasted no time in performing a cross slash on Yoroi at point-blank range. Yoroi was pushed back, struggling on his feet as blood gushed out from his torso in an "X" shape. He finally righted himself before silence ensued. Both swordsmen could practically feel the other's heartbeat as the stood face to face. Light and darkness at a struggle for dominance.
"Heheh….heheheheh…HAHAHAHAHA!" Yoroi started laughing hysterically. He then got up and brushed the dust away from his coat, seemingly ignoring the large "X" shaped cut on his chest.
"Well, this is what I get for taking it easy on ya… Fine, you win Round 1, but…" Yoroi punched Kuro in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Kuro felt his consciousness wane as the last words of Yoroi rang in his ears.
"…Remember what I said when we first met…. I will be victorious… And that's a promise…"
'Yo…roi…'
Kuro emerged from a small dome of light and stood at the front gates of Kuoh Academy, still inside the barrier. He slowly opened his eyes as he gradually registered the existence of everything around him.
"—?! Why did I end up here?! The others need me!" Kuro raced off after realizing that he was separated from the others, not noticing his left hand pulsating periodically with a dark haze.
"Blow AWAY!"
Rias fired a huge amount of her Power of Destructive from her hands. The attack was powerful to say the least as it created a shockwave, yet Kokabiel simply placed his hands forward and took the attack head-on.
*BOOM!*
Kokabiel's features stiffened. Rias's shot was gradually getting pushed back. While he remained uninjured the cloak he was currently donning became tattered from the massive energy output from Rias's attack. Rias herself was breathing heavily, that last shot took a lot out of her and she fell on one knee.
"Lightning!"
Akeno attacked Kokabiel with lightning, but the Fallen Angel merely deflected all of them with his wings and then looked at her from the corner of his eye.
"So, this is what you've become, daughter of Barakiel…"
Akeno suddenly became filled with KI as she increased the frequency of her attacks.
"Don't you dare… put me in the same sentence as him!"
Kokabiel merely laughed at her expense as he finally nullified Rias's attack. After which Xenovia and Yuuto appeared and slashed at him with their swords.
"Hmph." Kokabiel swung his arm swiftly causing the air to shift, knocking away both sword wielders. Koneko and Ryuka tag teamed Kokabiel with melee attacks, but they proved ineffective as he sidestepped with ease.
"Worthless…" The feathers on Kokabiels wings sharpened as he launched them at the two. More than a few of them dug into their bodies as they fell down due to the damage. Saiga attacked from above with light energy attacked and while some did hit Kokabiel, he remained rather unfazed as he flew to Saiga's level and spin kicked him back on the ground. Koneko and Ryuka were being treated by Asia, ensuring their survival by a great margin.
"…So, that's it? Even after having your precious 'master' killed, you still wish to fight?" Kokabiel taunted as he landed.
"…What do you mean?" Rias spoke up. Saiga stiffened as his eyes grew wide. Surely Kokabiel wasn't going to tell them—
"Pfft… Gahahahahaha! That's right. You lesser beings never figured it out! Well, I'll just be blunt about it. The precious God you know and love is dead. He was wiped out in the War along with the Yondai-Maou!"
["?!"] was everyone's general reaction. Kokabiel laughed at their reaction, finding it hilarious.
"In the aftermath of war, the only things that were left were the Angels without God, the Devils without their Maou, and us Fallen Angels losing a large quantity of our race besides me and the other leaders. Numbers became so low, that we were forced to rely on humans…" he spat out humans with distate while darting his eyes to Ryuka who returned a glare. "…to build our next generation. "
"N-no…No, no, no…That's…a lie…It has to be…"
Xenovia started panicking as her will began to fade. She slumped over on one knee and nearly started to hyperventilate.
"…He…doesn't exist…anymore…? Then…the love we've given Him is…"
Kokabiel answered Asia with a laugh.
"Lies, lies, all lies. There was no love to begin with and there'll never be any ever again."
Asia fell silent as she tried to process what she just heard, but was failing miserably. For her, a follower of God, to hear that said God had perished, not only she but Xenovia as well could feel their world come crashing down.
"But don't feel bad. I'll let you in on a little secret: A piece of God still exists today."
All present raised an eyebrow and Kokabiel elaborated further.
"As you know, Michael was the first creation of God and as such he was next in line to actually become God. However, there was one last—long-lost and forgotten—piece of information that no one had ever been able to find: Along with Michael, there existed a being known as the God of Creation, a diety that housed a vast majority of God's destructive power. However, shortly after that very being died physically and its spirit lived on, looking to reincarnated. And as of today, it has finally done just so, and who that person is may just come as a shock…"
"…Wh…who is it…?" Xenovia asked weakly.
"It's me, Xenovia-san…" Kuro appeared and answered for Kokabiel. All eyes were glued to him in disbelief. Even his own parents' jaws hung open at the declaration. Kuro's expression became downcast as he looked down and sighed.
"Yes… Why don't you introduce us to the God of Creation?"
"…It's Goddess of Creation… and her name is Ijuu… I'm her reincarnation and I've known about her for some time now… I wasn't aware of her existence until about a month ago and… she gives me her power to use to defend the ones I care about… and those people are right in front of us!" Kuro explained as several tendrils of light surrounded him and a familiar red-orange aura engulfed him. He transformed into his Kami no Keshin form and braced himself for the reactions to come.
["…"] there was silence at first, then…
"Ku-Kuro…?"
"Kuro-kun…?"
"Kuro-san?"
"Senpai…?"
"Sochi-kun…?"
"Kuro…"
"…"
["I'm… sorry, Kuro-kun…"]
'It's not your fault, Ijuu-chan…' Kuro tried to placate his goddess.
["But… I…"]
{"Don't worry about it. This could've happened to anybody! No one's at fault here!"} Xurok piped in as well.
["…Thank you…..both of you…but, Kuro-kun's friends…"]
'I can handle being hated for a while… I deserve it for keeping this a secret for so long… especially from Asia. She probably feels betrayed. I… broke her heart most likely.'
His somber expression turned fierce as he glared at Kokabiel.
"For daring to hurt my friends and parents both physically and emotionally, I have no choice but to kill you, Fallen Angel leader Kokabiel."
Kuro flew at Kokabiel and readied his assault. Kokabiel, not the least bit tired from his fight with the others quickly met Kuro blow after blow, neither side showing signs of fatigue. Fists met fists and kicks parried kicks as the intensity of their fight grew as time went on. The two eventually reached an impasse as Kuro caught Kokabiel's punch and vice versa.
"…It's funny. I thought the great God of Creation would give me trouble. Right now all this is is child's play. Do you not even know the limits of your strength?"
"…Maybe I don't, but I'll use whatever I do know to bring you down right now!" Kuro's emotions turned into power as he sent a fist to Kokabiel's face causing him to stagger and tried to follow up with a jab to the heart as a finishing move, but Kokabiel intercepted and counterattacked by elbowing the back of Kuro's neck. Kokabiel grabbed Kuro's leg and started swinging him around. Not having that much time left, Kuro immediately brought his free leg to kick the Fallen Angel in the face and back away. He then fired an orange orb of energy, which Kokabiel easily dodged and readied a light spear. Kuro braced himself for an attack but Kokabiel grinned and aimed the spear downwards.
"—?!" Kuro followed the spear's path. It wasn't aimed at him. It was going for—
"TOU-SAN! LOOK OUT!" he warned.
"Ngh!" Saiga tried moving, but his left leg was impaled by a moderately sized stone, disabling his ability to walk.
*SPELCH!*
He couldn't move fast enough and the light spear pierced his stomach and blood came oozing out. Kuro's face turned blue as his jaw dropped. His mother's eyes watered and tears fell out at what happened to her husband.
"FATHERRR!"
"SAIGAAAA!"
Saiga's eyes turned hollow and he fell backwards. A pool of blood began making itself noticeable. Kuro stiffly landed a few feet in front of his father. His body trembled furiously and tears started welling up in his eyes.
"…Otou…-san…Dad…Tou-san…"
"…" Nothing. Kuro couldn't stop the tears from falling as his teeth clenched. He started sobbing quietly. Kokabiel chuckled darkly as he landed behind the traumatized boy.
"Oops… Did I just murder your father…?" he taunted.
Kuro didn't respond. He just stood there crying and trying hard to dissuade himself from believing his Dad died.
…He couldn't… He failed miserably…
…How could he let this happen?
Why did it happen…
["Kuro-kun!"]
Ijuu's voice called him. He ignored her.
{"Kuro, listen to us! Calm down!"}
Xurok… his inner self…
He's telling me to calm down…?
…Calm down…
…CALM… DOWN…
…As if I could…
…I let him… died?
…Tou-san's dead?
…No… he's can't… Tou-san's tough…
He can live through this…
…I just need Asia to…
…but what if he's too far gone…
…Asia's still emotionally scarred…
…Kaa-san's too distraught to move…
…Rias-senpai and the others… are injured and exhausted…
Why couldn't I have taken Kokabiel down sooner…?
…I… I…
("You're weak.")
I'm… weak
What do I do…?
("…Get angry…")
…Get angry? Will that work?
("Rage is your answer… Make the rotten Fallen Angel suffer… Kill him if it makes you happy…")
*BU-DUMP!*
…Kuh!
("Don't be afraid… Make him know terror… The terror of a God!")
…Fine! I get it now…
…Kokabiel… must… DIE… TODAY!
Kuro snapped. His rage now unbreakable. The dam that represents his restraint… the small bird that represent his innocence and freedom of thought…
…have been completely and utterly…
SHATTERED!
"Hrrrrrrr…RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRR!"
With a mighty scream, Kuro lets out his anguish… his sadness… his fury all at once. Ijuu's power responded to all of Kuro's negative emotions and he gained a huge influx of strength. His aura burst forth in a gigant column of red light. The ground where Kuro was standing couldn't handle the massive power output as it steadily broke apart. Dust and debris flew out in various directions and the wind became harsher.
Everyone including Kokabiel himself were taken aback by this sudden outburst. After a bit, lone figure stood in the aftermath. The dust cleared and revealed Kuro seen in a new light. His eye turned sharper and more narrow with pitch black eyes and red, slitted pupils. His muscle mass became more defined and had a barely noticeable bulk up. His hair is now a blood red that nearly mirrored Rias's and stood up on end except for one long bang hanging down the middle of his face.
His once bright and gentle face now held the face of a vengeful warrior, hell bent on reducing Kokabiel into a bloody mess. He lowered his head and narrowed his eyes as his scowl grew deeper and a low growl escaped his lips.
"Kokabiel…" Kuro emerged from the pillar of light as it subsided and slowly approached Kokabiel.
"—!" the Fallen Angel leader quickly recovered from his state of shock and hastily flung sharp-edged feathers from his wings, similar to how he used against the tag team of Koneko and Ryuka. Each projectile seemingly passed through Kuro when in actuality, he was moving so fast that he only looked like wasn't moving. Kokabiel smirked regardless.
"Indeed… This is an interesting development" he mumbled as he charged at Kuro, intent at seeing what he can do in his rage-fueled state. Kuro remained impassive and stood perfectly still, not really caring to move. Kokabiel punched Kuro in the face and while Kokabiel's strength was nothing to laugh about, Kuro wasn't the least bit fazed and just silently glared at the Fallen Angel. If anything, that attack only served to make Kuro angrier. Kuro punches Kokabiel harshly in the stomach, causing him to cough out a lot of blood. After staggering for a bit, the Fallen Angel took to the skies and glared menacingly at Kuro.
"Tch! I enjoyed this briefly, but now it's time to end this game! I have a war to start and you're currently the only thing in my way!"
A massive sized light spear became present in the Fallen leader's hand. He threw it as hard as he could and it came careening at Kuro at colossal speeds, yet the enraged young warrior remained stationary. He just cocked his right arm to his left side and then—
*BOOM!*
"Hmph!" Kuro bounced it back like a beach ball and the attack pretty much left the stratosphere, never to be seen again. He then sped towards the incredulous Fallen Angel, a mad, animalistic smirk plastered on his face.
*BAM!*
"GUH!" Kokabiel grunted as Kuro sent his fist straight through his gut leaving a hole the size of Kuro's arm and soaking said arm in the Fallen Angel's blood. Yanking his fist out of him, he double-axe handle punched Kokabiel into the ground and caught him by the face. Kuro savagely slammed Kokabiel into the earth below and straddled him, then proceeding to send punch after punch to the Fallen Angel's face.
"Heheheheheh….Hahahahahahaha…AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Kuro laughed like a madman as he relished torturing Kokabiel, much to the horror of those watching. Kokabiel himself felt his vitality almost fully leave him when Kuro impaled his stomach with that one punch and was a human punching bag to the Angel he had angered.
Once finished pummeling Kokabiel, Kuro—
"Oh, no… I'm not finished yet!" he yelled as he grabbed Kokabiel's leg and lifted him upwards only to slam him down onto the hard ground left and right over and over until he finally brought him hard, sending him reeling buried in the ground.
"Heh" Kuro smirked. As he stalked towards the half-dead Fallen Angel.
"Kuro! That's enough!"
"…?" he looked to the right, his sadistic smile still present. He bore his eyes down on Rias with a semi-fearful expression on her face, much like everyone else.
"Kuro…"
"Congratulations… you know my name. Now, either shut up and stay there, or… you could probably kill him in my stead. This is getting tedious for me. In fact, I invite any of you to go in and kill this bastard. Make it quick or else I'll just kill you along with him." Kuro exuded enough KI to let it be known that he meant it, causing everyone to tremble in fear. Was this really the same guy they all came to like (…or love in the girls' case)?
"Actually, I'm afraid I'll have to take him off your hands now."
"?" Kuro looked to the left and upwards with everyone else followed suit. A figure clad in what appeared to be pure white, plated armor hovered about an inch off the ground with their arms crossed.
"…And just who the hell are you? Interrupting my fun like this…"
"Hey, I'm into beating my opponents within an inch of their life but I was given orders to take this Fallen Angel here with me alive. And as I can tell, you did quite the number on him" the armor clad person spoke. From the sound of their voice, it was a young man.
"Tch! Fine. Do what you want… I'm done with him anyways. Take the batshit crazy priest with you on your way. I'm disgusted by the mere sight of him" Kuro responded indignantly.
"The name's Albion, by the way, Kuro Kaizukki."
"Honored you know my name, Albion the Vanishing Dragon…"
Albion tucked the defeated Kokabiel and Freed over his shoulders lazily before taking off into the sky, but stopped midway to turn to Kuro.
"If you happen to spot my rival, the Welsh Dragon, let him know that our destined day is fast approaching…"
"No promises. Now, get lost."
With a simple "hmph" as a response, Albion was gone. Kuro gazed at the sky with the same indignant expression on his face before turning towards his beaten and exhausted comrades.
"Hmph! Are you scared of me?" he taunted before walking right up to them, specifically Saiga who laid on Ryuka's lap. The blue haired woman looked up towards her son with widened eyes as he bent down to his unconscious father.
"S-Sochi-kun…?" she said in almost a whisper as she reached for Kuro's face. His features softened just slightly as he felt his mother gently stroke his face.
Kuro held his hand over Saiga's puncture wound and it glowed red briefly. Slowly, but surely the wound began to close as the color returned to Saiga's skin.
…He was going to live.
"…Okaa-san…" he muttered before his hair and eyes returned to their usual colors.
"…Don't worry…Tou-san's gonna be fine…He just needs rest…Let's take him home…"
"Kuro!"
""Kuro-kun!""
"Uhh…AH!" Kuro was promptly tackled to the ground by Rias, Akeno, and Asia for pretty much the same reason as they shed tears of relief. Ryuka looked on with a smile and rolled her eyes.
'Sochi-kun… You're getting a lot of attention recently and it's starting to both amuse and worry me.'
Later…
"Welcome to La Casa de Kaizukki! Make yourselves at home."
Kuro and Ryuka had unanimously decide to bring the Occult Research Club home to both recuperate and celebrate victory over Kokabiel (despite the fact that Kuro really beat him brutally, but he apparently doesn't remember…).
"We'll let you guys get settled. We've gotta lay Tou-san in bed and I'm gonna go get in the shower. I'll see you in a little bit! Hey, Kuroko-chan. Bye, Kuroko-chan."
"Hi, Onii-chan~! Bye, Onii-chan~! Oh, hello! Are you friends with Onii-chan? I'm his sister, Kuroko~! I just transferred to Kuoh Academy just recently." Kuroko greeted both her brother and his friends.
"Ufufufu… Kuro-kun has such a cute baby sister~" Akeno complimented her, earning a blush from Kuroko.
The group sat in the living room, sitting, conversing, and getting to know each other (as well as, Kuroko and Ryuka letting the ORC in on Kuro's more embarrassing secrets). Tensions rose briefly when Raynare and Mittelt came home from whatever they were doing, but it quickly subsided once they felt KI coming from Ryuka, threatening them not to destroy their house.
Twenty minutes later…
"Eek! No way~!" Rias squealed. Her face lit up as she had hearts in her eyes.
"Yup! I've always wanted to do this whenever Kuro-kun had many female friends over." Ryuka responded as she held out a book titled "Baby Photos: Kuro".
"Kuro-san's… baby photos?" Yuuto asked amused while he set his tea on a nearby coaster.
"Kuro-senpai… as a baby… I must see…" Koneko muttered with rosy cheeks.
"Ara ara. I'd love to see my cute kouhai as a tiny baby." Akeno said.
"We never got to see these either." Mittelt mentioned.
"Mainly because Kuro-kun would immediately take it out of our hands when he caught us trying to look…" Asia deadpanned.
"Well, I'm his mother and I took the pictures, so I control whether or not you get to see them and you do~! Come see my Sochi-kun when he was little~" Ryuka sat and everyone gathered around her. Rias and Asia's eyes were gleaming at the sight of the photos.
"Eek!" Rias squealed again with a light blush. Seriously, she's like a child right now… "Look at baby Kuro!" Rias pointed at a picture of a one-year-old Kuro running around trying to pop a few bubbles blown by Saiga.
"He's so… squishy-looking…" Yuuto commented as he looked as one of the photos of a nude two-year-old Kuro with a dinosaur plushy hiding his genitals.
"I am so never gonna let him live this down…" Raynare snickered albeit with a faint blush.
"…Same here…" Mittelt agreed in a similar condition.
"Woooooww~! He's so CUTE~! Look at his little flower crown~" Asia pointed at a photo of Kuro shaking a pair of maracas with a poorly put together flower crown sitting on his head.
"…Kuro-senpai loves his sweets, too…" Koneko deadpanned with a small smirk after gazing at another photo of a teary-eyed, two-year-old Kuro sitting in his cradle, holding a chocolate bar protectively from his mother with a pout and angry eyes.
"Ara ara~" Akeno giggled with a blush forming on her face. She was laughing at one particular picture of Kuro standing on top of the coffee table, naked with a towel tied to his neck like a super hero and Saiga face palming at the scene while reading a newspaper with an amused smile.
"Onii-chan~! Why would you keep these from us?" Kuroko asked with a gleam in her eyes similar to Rias and Asia's as she perused one photo of Kuro having a tea party with two stuffed animals and an embarrassed and disgruntled Saiga, who had a heart-shaped hair clip in his hair (A/N: Naw! Where else, Me?!).
"What're we all laughing at?" Kuro asked as he descended down the stairs now wearing a simple, red, v-neck shirt and black sweats.
"Yeah, what's up?" Saiga followed up, finally awake.
The girls were too immersed in the photo viewing to notice their presence, but Yuuto merely shrugged with a sympathetic smile aimed at Kuro.
"I think you'd oughta see for yourself…"
Father and son rose an eyebrow and approached the uproarious crowd of women.
"Oh, no…" Kuro murmured with an embarrassed blush as Saiga merely chuckled and shook his head.
"Wow… Sorry, man. I can tell you from experience that once a girl gets a load of your baby photos, she won't rest until she's seen 'em all and, well… let's just say your mother was very photogenic when you and your sister were young…"
"Ugggghhh…" Kuro groaned as Yuuto and Saiga chuckled at his embarrassment.
Excalibur Saga... DONE!
Rias and co. are thoroughly enjoying Kuro's baby pics, though... -_-'
Favorite, Follow, and Review PLZ!
~ Peace!