Hello there any and all reading this. I would just like to state that this is the very first story I have ever made, so bear with any rookie mistakes I may make and feel free to give me criticism and any tips on how to improve.

I will try to replicate most of the canon characters' personalities to the best of my ability with a handful serving as the outliers. These outliers will consist of side characters who may have their personalities and/or histories tweaked in favor of the story.

There are going to be numerous OC's in this story serving as both minor and major characters. So if you absolutely disdain OC stories, this is your warning. That aside, I hope I don't leave (too) much of a bad impression via this story.

To give a time frame for this story, it begins between Gasper's training and the Leaders' Summit.

I do not own High School DxD or its canonical characters. Those belong to Ichiei Ishibumi solely.

Abduction and a Decisive Battle

After a jarring awakening from an equally jarring dream, Issei is hurried out of bed by Rias and Asia before being able to so much as ask about what was going on. As of now, the three prepare to take to the skies in search of their dear human friends.

Kasai Residence, 2:30 AM

"Hurry up, I don't know how much time we have left!" Rias shouted to Issei, taking him and Asia by their arms and rushing towards an open window. Her bat-like wings sprouted from her body.

"Can someone explain what's goin' on?" Issei asked before his wings, too, jutted from his back. A biting chill ran through him as he asked the question, hopelessly wishing for the news to not be as bad as what he was predicting.

"The mercenaries came in the night and took the Kasais. Ddraig told us everything," Asia said, her wings sprouting from her back as well.

Her answer froze Issei's blood. They actually did it; the madmen actually did it. The mercenaries risked putting themselves in a hopeless position, striking when the Devils were all bunched together with Grayfia, and actually succeeded.

Rias threw herself out of the second-floor window, taking Asia and Issei along with her. It was only then she let go of their arms. She flew higher up into the air, stopping her ascent shortly after. "Come on!" she shouted to her subordinates before flying herself towards the cluster of buildings that was Kuoh's urban division.

Expecting to be carried along the way, Issei wasn't prepared for her to let go; he fell behind a little before his reflexes caught him up and sent him airborne.

"Ddraig? What the Hell? Why didn't you wake me up?" Issei thought, expecting a good answer.

"I tried what I could. I somehow lost contact with you the moment you went to sleep," Ddraig answered with a sharp tone.

"Ya think it might've been one of Skeletor's spells?" Issei thought as he groggily followed behind Asia, who was closely following Rias.

"No. They arrived several hours after that. It wouldn't make sense for him to cast such a spell only to wait hours before doing anything," Ddraig answered.

The mentioning of magic caused a small glimmer of hope to touch Issei's heart; he thought of the warp wards Rias and Sona had placed on the Kasai family in case something like this happened. "Hey, why should we be worried anyway? Wouldn't they just warp back to safety?" Issei shouted.

"Ddraig said that the Lich broke the warp wards," Asia answered, partially turning her body as she flew behind Rias before turning back towards her King.

That short-lived light of hope was blotted out by Asia's words and the chill of fear returned to his body. "You gotta be kiddin'," he muttered. His gaze narrowed down while he grit his teeth from behind his lips. The brown-haired Devil closed the gap between him and the two girls. "I'm assumin' everyone else is searchin' the town?"

"Correct," Rias answered, her eyes honed to a tense glare. She put a finger to her ear. "Sona, have any of your servants found anything?"

"I'm afraid not, Rias," Sona's voice sounded from a glowing orb by Rias's head. A faint tremble could be heard from her voice.

Rias's hand dropped back to her side. "Stay strong my friend. We'll get them back," she thought before picking up her speed, her crimson hair and her school attire violently fluttering as she sped through the air.

Issei and Asia followed suit and sped up as well, the deafening sound of the wind resisting their advance running through their ears.

A thought darted through Issei's mind as the air blew upon his face. Why didn't the mercenaries kill them in their sleep? They attained confidential information, so why didn't they take the chance to wrap up loose ends with one decisive move? Issei pushed this thought to the back of his mind for the moment, being more focused on retrieving his human friends.

Kuoh Streets, 2:40 AM

Due a fair distance south of the central plaza and flying over the roofs of a row of perfectly lined buildings of varied structure and height, Xenovia and a following Yuuto kept watch from above. Tomoe stayed closer to the ground, running along the rooftops.

"Anything up there, you guys?" Tomoe asked with a finger pressed to her ear as she ran. She looked to her left and to her right to see not a soul in sight save for blackbirds.

They seemed to watch her as she ran.

"No, nothing yet. How's it going down there with you?" Yuuto answered back, a finger to his ear as well. Even with a bird's-eye view, he was unable to identify any cloaked figures despite the bright streetlights below illuminating even the darkest alleyways.

"Nothing but a bunch of… what are those... Ravens? Sparrows?" Tomoe answered, prying her eyes from the rooftops and streets to pay a slight iota of attention to the birds as she passed by.

"Forget the birds. They aren't our concern," Xenovia remarked with a sharp tone, her finger pressed to her ear as well. Her eyes were like those of a hawk's in how intense their gaze was as she surveyed the land below her.

"R-Right," Tomoe bounced back with a stutter before she dropped her hand from her ear and continued her ground-level surveying.

Yuuto dropped his hand from his ear as well before looking down. "I think I see some movement down over there," he said, pointing towards a street a fair distance ahead of them. Much like the streets they were currently observing, it was lined with two parallel rows of houses.

Xenovia said nothing. She grit her teeth and her eyes narrowed as she sped up towards where Yuuto pointed, letting loose a rumbling growl as she did so.

Yuuto put his finger to his ear again. "Tomoe, follow me and Xenovia," he said before dropping his arm away from his ear and following Xenovia with a speed burst of his own.

Xenovia touched down upon the ground and, without even the slightest hesitation, drew out Durandal from a glowing portal beside her. "Show yourselves, you damn cowards!" she shouted, eyes darting from side to side as she hastily analyzed her surroundings.

"Xenovia, please be a little more silent. We don't want to alert the inhabitants," Yuuto said as he, too, landed. A Sword of Betrayer manifested from the ground beside him before he drew it from its earthen sheath.

Xenovia grunted; though she knew Yuuto was right and that drawing the attention of the human population would only result in more casualties, she adamantly refused to let that show through. "Ren, I'm going to bring you back to your home. I'm not going to let them take your smile," she thought, the warm smile of that innocent black-haired child still fresh in her mind.

Brandishing Durandal, she ran down the street, peering left and right every time she approached a branching alleyway while Yuuto followed behind her.

Tomoe ran by the two on a rooftop to their left.

Nothing. There was nothing save for flocks of blackbirds.

"Dammit Kiba, these birds better not be the motion you were seeing," Xenovia thought.

"Over there!" Tomoe said with a loud voice, but not loud enough to be considered yelling.

Xenovia and Yuuto turned towards the girl, her teeth grit with her katana in one hand pointed over to the parallel line of houses on the other side of the street. They looked towards where she was pointing to see a cloaked figure standing on the edge of the building, between two groups of those blackbirds which seemed to bear vivid red eyes that pierced the pitch-black hue of their forms. Glowing, crimson-red eyes could be seen under the figure's hood; it was the Okuri-Inu, Ripper.

"You again..." Xenovia muttered as she turned towards the figure and pointed Durandal towards the cloaked Youkai.

The figure said nothing, it just stood there. A thunderous chorus of birds erupted.

"Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!" the birds repeated without end, disorienting the three's senses with the overwhelming orchestral.

The young Devils slouched over and covered their ears, but the song of the birds still pierced through. When the noise stopped, the three looked back towards Ripper.

He was no longer there: only blackbirds.

Xenovia threw her head around, looking in every direction for the figure. "What!? Are you afraid I'll slice your leg again you damn mutt!? You damn Hellhound!" Xenovia ranted, brimming with an intensely burning fury.

The birds sung their chorus once more as if laughing and mocking Xenovia's frustration. "Chi! Chi! Chi!" they sung.

A felling of chilling dread cast over the three, briefly making even Xenovia's fiery will waver. The three turned to where they felt that oppressive fear radiate. There he was, behind Yuuto and Xenovia, standing directly beneath the halo of a streetlamp with hellish crimson eyes shining through the darkness of his hood.

He didn't move. He didn't speak. He didn't even blink as he observed Xenovia and Yuuto.

A whistle in the air was heard before the flash of reflected light sped its way towards Ripper's neck; Tomoe had snuck up on him while he was fixated on the other two.

The blade halted before the Youkai's throat, hovering just millimeters away from it. "Got you!" Tomoe shouted with tone that reeked of a smug air.

Xenovia's eyes shot wide open. "She caught him that easily? No, that can't be right," she thought.

"Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!" the birds sung once again in that same mocking manner.

A heavy feeling of uncertainty befell Tomoe, causing her previously rigid stance to give way to slight trembling. Her gaze, too, seemed to tremble. "I… I don't like where this is heading," she thought.

Ripper's body dimmed, growing darker and darker in hue until even his crimson eyes were blotted out by darkness. His form dissipated into a thick, black smoke that rose up into the sky.

Xenovia grunted and grit her teeth even harder than before. Her hold on Durandal's hilt tightened to the point it felt as if the skin of her palms was being torn apart. "He's stalling. The mutt's stalling," she muttered through her closed teeth. She grunted once again as she stabbed Durandal into the ground. The blade began to glow a bright white. "If you don't come out, I'll weed you out!"

"Xenovia! Stop this!" Yuuto shouted, pulling the blue-haired Knight away from Durandal. The light around Durandal faded. "He's trying to test your patience, to make you angry and accident prone. He can only fight when we fumble, remember?" he said, holding Xenovia by her shoulders.

Xenovia grit her teeth and growled at her ally, but she understood where Yuuto was coming from. She swallowed down her fiery storm of rage. "I understand, but the longer we wait here, the less likely we are to find the Kasai's," she refuted with a calmer voice.

"They'll have to come back for the Okuri-Inu; judging from how effective he is as an assassin, they can't afford to lose him. If we can catch him, we'll at least be in a stalemate even if they do get away with the Kasai's," Yuuto explained, letting Xenovia go and allowing her to retrieve Durandal.

"So we just have to catch him?" Tomoe asked, huddling up with her back towards the two Knights of Rias and raising her blade in the direction her body faced.

"Easier said than done," Xenovia remarked, placing her back up against Tomoe's and raising her blade as well.

Yuuto manifested a second sword to accompany his Sword of Betrayer. Out from the ground came a pure-white blade bearing a golden hilt, a sapphire pommel, and a gold crossguard beset with a sapphire within it. Upon grasping its golden hilt, its sapphires twinkling in the light of the nearby streetlamps, he joined the two in their back-to-back formation.

There was silence as they surveyed their surroundings. Everywhere they looked, those same red-eyed blackbirds sat and observed the three.

Yuuto spotted the grim man standing atop a streetlamp, his crimson eyes piercing the dark of the night as they peered down upon the three. "There!" he shouted, prompting his comrades to turn their attention towards the figure above.

"Can we be certain that's the real one?" Tomoe asked, turning her head to look towards the figure but keeping her body stationary. Her blade remained pointing in the direction her body was facing.

Yuuto raised the white sword into the air as it brilliantly reflected whatever light was found in its surroundings. The sword began to glow brighter and beams of light began spewing from the blade like a prism exposed to a lamp.

"Chi!" sung a single bird before it descended and gashed Yuuto's hand, causing him to drop the sword.

"Chi! Chi! Chi!" the rest of the flock followed, descending upon the three Knights and attacking them with talons, wings, and beaks. They pulled upon their hair, clothing, and weapons all while the Youkai watched from above.

"Damn birds!" Xenovia exclaimed as a large clump of the red-eyed avians attempted to rip Durandal away from her. Though their individual strength was that of a normal sparrow, their sheer numbers were physically overwhelming.

"Enough of this!" Yuuto shouted before a blast of light erupted from his Sword of Betrayer, scattering the birds around him and his allies. He reached for his white blade.

The birds swooped back in for another assault.

Yuuto grasped the sword's golden hilt and held it up once more. It glowed the same white light from before and expelled radiant beams once again.

"Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!" the birds sung, this time sounding panicked as their physical forms were warped. They merged into a stream of darkness that flooded towards the white blade. The shadows enveloped the white sword, turning it black for the briefest of moments before the inky blackness faded to the blade's standard pure-white. As it turns out, the sword Yuuto made was a Darkness Purification Sword.

"The birds are shadows too?" Tomoe asked under her breath. "You sure we aren't fighting the black-haired Doppelgänger? I don't remember Toujou telling us anything about this guy using shadow magic."

"No, this is him. I remember this exact same feeling of dread," Xenovia said, turning back towards the streetlamp to see Ripper still standing there, silently watching them. "It's irreplicable."

The Okuri-Inu hopped down from the streetlamp. His feet failed to make a sound when he landed. From the darkness of his robe fluttered two red-eyed blackbirds.

"Chi!" they sung as they perched themselves on the Youkai's shoulders.

"So, what's the plan here?" Tomoe whispered to Xenovia.

Xenovia turned towards her allies, darting her eyes towards her own legs.

Yuuto nodded in understanding.

"What? Watch our footing?" Tomoe thought, a vacant look in her eyes piercing through her stern expression.

Xenovia's eyes narrowed before darting to Durandal, then at her legs once again.

"Oh, I see. Go for the legs," Tomoe thought before giving a nod to Xenovia.

"Meguri! With me!" Xenovia shouted before dashing towards Ripper, Tomoe closely following behind.

Yuuto manifested two Darkness Purification Swords along their paths.

The two Knights grasped the swords' hilts as they ran.

Ripper didn't even budge. He stood there and watched.

As Xenovia and Tomoe neared, a flood of blackbirds erupted from Ripper's robe and clouded their sight. The two held up their Darkness Purification Swords. In two flashes of bright white light, the birds were absorbed into the blades.

When their vision cleared, the Okuri-Inu was nowhere in sight.

"Chi!" a bird sounded from the darkened rooftops behind the three. It dove into the back of Yuuto's left knee, forcing him to buckle onto one knee. He felt a chilling, deathly aura overtake the area.

A grunt of pain forced Xenovia and Tomoe to turn their heads. A robed figure stood behind Yuuto. Before either Knight could even draw a breath or shout a warning, an odd symbol manifested in front of the Youkai and he vanished from sight.

Gashes appeared along Yuuto's body before blood spurted from them. He toppled over, falling face-down on the ground.

"Kiba!" Tomoe shouted with a heightened pitch.

"Damn it!" Xenovia shouted with an angry timbre.

The Okuri-Inu appeared before the two within arm's reach. He bore shining clean fangs and untainted claws, which quickly retracted themselves. Behind him were deep gashes upon the ground and the walls of the bordering buildings leading to where he now stood. Just how fast was this creature? Why did he choose to stop right in front of them?

Xenovia grunted and ran past Ripper. It was pointless swinging at him when he was expecting it. "Why did I think that would work? Come on Meguri!"

Tomoe followed behind her fellow Knight while the Okuri-Inu just stood and watched.

Xenovia scooped up Yuuto in her arm and hoisted him over her shoulder, his warm blood running down her back. She continued running from the Youkai, not looking back for even a second.

"I'll split up down the next alleyway and stay on the neighboring road. He'll be going for you since you're carrying Kiba. Tell me of each turn over our communication link so we can stay close. If he's going to play cat-and-mouse with us, we'll play back," Tomoe said as she followed right behind Xenovia.

"What?" Xenovia responded. "You're going to leave me with that bloodthirsty hound?"

"Just trust me. We can't fight him with speed or force alone nor can we escape him, so we need to use our wits," Tomoe explained.

Xenovia nodded in understanding.

Tomoe branched off down an alleyway opening up to the next street.

Durandal vanished through a portal as Xenovia ran. She couldn't be fighting with Yuuto on her back against something she couldn't even keep up with without the extra weight. That, and the massive sword would only further slow her down as she fled.

The sounds of footsteps were heard behind Xenovia. They were rapid, but didn't sound forced or heavy at all. It was as if Ripper wasn't even trying to keep up, like it was a light jog to him.

"Meguri, your plan better go well or we're all dead," Xenovia thought. She put a finger up to her ear. "Right," she said before an upcoming corner.

Ripper followed her every step, a flock of birds singing their mocking song as he followed.

Kuoh Cemetery, 2:40 AM

Fairly east of Kuoh's central plaza lied one of the town's larger graveyards. A division of Sona's Peerage members consisting of Genshirou Saji, Ruruko Nimura, and Sona Sitri herself believed the mercenaries took to hiding at this very location. They carefully tread through the valley of the dead, wary of an ambush.

"Ugh, never been too fond of cemeteries," Genshirou remarked under his breath. The air was still and tainted with a faint scent of death and bittersweet decay. The dark of the night didn't serve to alleviate the dreary vibes in any regard and frigid air swept throughout the graveyard, sending a chill down the Pawn's spine that caused him to wrap his arms around himself and slouch over for warmth.

"The leader is an undead creature himself, it wouldn't be too far-fetched for him to take to hiding in a field dedicated to the fallen," Sona said. Her heart had sunk deep in her chest, but it was not out of fear of the dead or even of the mercenaries themselves. Her worries dwelled elsewhere: the safety of Daisuke and his family. She swallowed the bitter pill and held a stoic look upon her face to boost the morale of her two Pawns.

"You think he might raise the dead to fight us?" Ruruko asked, her head shifting to the left and to the right as she kept a wary eye out for any abnormal movement and an open ear to any heavy rustling.

"It is a possibility; but with how he battled Lucifuge, I don't think he'll need the aid against us," Sona answered.

"Then why are we trying to fight him? Shouldn't we be getting her for that?" Genshirou refuted.

Sona turned her head towards Genshirou, which caused his body to straighten out and his arms to drop to his side. The chill of the wind paled in comparison to the frigidity of the stern look in Sona's eyes.

"If we come across the Lich, I will alarm Grayfia. Me and Rias have seals on us that allow us to call upon her when needed. That being said, we only summon her if the Lich appears. If we summon her for any other one of the mercenaries, the group actually facing him will be rendered utterly helpless," she explained in a sharp tone with hushed volume.

"Understood, President," Genshirou said with a bow before the three continued onward through the graveyard.

As they progressed, the area became more and more overgrown with weeds and other plant life. The introduction of soothing, green stems and vivid flowers sprouting from the ground helped to lighten the sad visual of weathered names engraved on stones and life-stories lost to time.

"Man, it's crazy how nature works. Even in a place of gloom and doom, life finds a way to not only thrive, but bring beauty to everything it touches," Genshirou remarked.

"That's because the human corpses serve as a surplus of nutrients for the plant life here. There will be more plants growing elsewhere; these ones just had the luxury of going undisturbed for decades," Sona said with a cold voice.

"I know that, but it's still amazing, Maybe Buddhism was onto someth-" Genshirou said, the squeak of a shoe sole halting his words. "Agh!"

"Saji! What happened?" Sona exclaimed, turning towards her Pawn with utmost urgency.

There, laying on the ground before a low-lying headstone completely enveloped in shrubbery, was Genshirou face-down on the ground.

Sona cupped her face in the palm of her hand, sliding her fingers under her glasses as to not smudge the lens. She let out an exasperated sigh before speaking. "Bloody Hell, Saji, I thought one of the mercenaries did something to you."

"Bloody Hell? I see he's rubbin' off on you a little," Ruruko remarked with a giggle.

"Can we save the teasing and whatnot for when this operation has come to a close? This is a serious matter," Sona barked, her face gaining a slight tinge of red despite her stern words.

And so, the three trailed on. The darkness of the graveyard grew more and more oppressive as they headed deeper into the graveyard. Were they heading in the right direction? Were they on the verge of stumbling across something else? Another obstacle much like the Humbaba conjured by the Lich perhaps? Nonetheless, the three prepared themselves for a confrontation.

"Be ready..." Sona said as the darkness grew, becoming a suffocating cloud of bleakness that threatened to snuff out their vision if they continued.

A blue magic circle appeared before Sona's hand; it didn't help to penetrate the dark, but it did summon forth an orb of water that remained stagnant before the circle.

Ruruko promoted herself to a Queen while Genshirou promoted himself to a Rook and summoned forth his Absorption Line. They focused their senses on the everything around them, gradually losing focus on sight as they progressed.

There was rustling that sounded a little too heavy to be the rustling of dead leaves blown against stone. The air smelt a little too foul for it to be standard decomposition. Whistling could be heard from around them that sounded too lively for it to just be the wind.

Suddenly, the cloud of shadow dropped itself. All the grim sensations from before washed away as vision returned to the three Devils. They looked around, wide-eyed and confused, before turning behind to find themselves before the graveyard's entry gate.

"What? How did we wind up back here? I could've sworn we were going straight the whole time," Genshirou whispered, examining the gate while placing his hand against the bar-frame. The rough feel of rust and the dry chippings of weathering and other unknown substances made his skin crawl. This was no illusion; they were back to where they had started their search.

"I'm startin' to think the Lich isn't the one we're stuck with," Ruruko muttered. The darkness felt too familiar to her. The dense, inky-black cloud capable of blotting out even the vision of a Devil. The total feeling of aimlessness and fear of what dwelled just beyond their sight. She knew who the culprits were.

An eerie, feminine giggle sounded to their left.

The three Devils turned towards the noise and Sona immediately broke into a sprint towards it. Ruruko and Genshirou, though taken aback briefly by Sona's impulsive action, followed behind her.

They ran through the cemetery. Every so often, the voice would giggle from another direction, to which Sona responded by turning, on a dime no less, and running towards the voice. Ruruko and Genshirou struggled to keep up with her sharp turns, so they were forced to promote themselves to Knights to keep pace.

The giggling stopped after a while. Having no lead to follow, Sona stopped her rush. Her breaths were lightly labored. Following her, Ruruko and Genshirou stopped behind their King.

"Show yourself!" Sona shouted before gritting her teeth behind closed lips. Her gaze was unblinking and piercing as she looked around the cemetery from where she stood. Something caught her eye: ruffled and broken blades of grass in an otherwise untouched field of foliage. Someone had to have been here just recently.

"Hold on a second..." Genshirou said, moving towards the patch of grass. He knelt down and shuffled the grass around to find a familiar low-lying headstone. "We just went in a circle. Whoever is out here is toying with us."

"You're kidding..." Sona said with an airy voice.

"No, I'm not. You can even see where my shoe scuffed the polish of the stone when I tripped," Genshirou answered, pointing towards a thick, black streak on the side of the stone.

"Maybe it's the Grim Reaper? It wouldn't be beyond her to play these childish games," Sona suggested.

"No. It's not that bitch," Ruruko said. She stepped ahead of her allies, hands perched on her hips. "Hey, you red-eyed freaks of nature, I know you're stringin' us along to stall for time!"

"Who's here?" a familiar, light-toned voice sounded from behind a tree.

The three turned towards the source of the voice to see the left half of a familiar face poking out from behind the tree with a hand placed lightly upon the trunk. Platinum-blonde hair dangled from the person's head with sharp ears standing in defiance of the streaks. A large, pink eye was visible.

It was Gasper.

"Vladi?" Genshirou said quietly. He shook his head before speaking with stern words. "Show us the rest of your face."

Gasper head reeled back behind the tree with a meek yelp.

"If you really are Gasper, you should have no qualms with showin' us the other side of your face," Ruruko said.

Platinum-blonde hair began poking out from the other side of the tree. Following behind it were pointed ears and, above all else, a matching pink eye.

Ruruko let out a sigh of relief. "You finally decided to come out of your box to help us, I see. We could really use your aid here," she remarked with a soft smile.

"I don't trust it..." Genshirou said with a cold voice.

Gasper pulled himself back behind the tree accompanied by another yelp. "Why do you have to be so mean?"

"Saji is right. Step out from behind the tree; it's the only way to be sure," Sona said with an equally cold voice. A serpent made of water manifested around her. "Do it, prove you are truly Vladi."

Silence came from behind the tree.

"I will give until the count of five before we are forced to attack you. If you are Vladi, it would be best to muster up your courage immediately," Sona announced, signaling for Genshirou to summon forth his Absorption Line and for Ruruko to get into a battle-ready position. "One..."

"P-Please, I-I just want to help!" Gasper said with plentiful quaking in his voice.

"Two..."

"Why are you all being so mean to me?" Gasper asked, sounding as if he was actually crying mid-sentence.

"Three..."

"Miss Sona, you're scaring me!" Gasper plead. His desperation and fear was convincing.

"President, maybe it is him. I don't think they could be that good at acting," Ruruko said.

"Yeah, that fear sounds pretty genuine," Genshirou said.

Sona, however, wasn't swayed. "Four..." she said with an aggressive rumble.

A sigh was heard. "A tough mind to twist, aren't you?" A feminine voice said from behind the tree. Out stepped Gasper with a red and black left eye alongside a pink right eye, both bearing an almost crazed look. Accompanying this gaze was an insidious grin. His shape contorted and stretched, like slime, into the form of a hooded figure bearing a broken Faceless Mask Longinus covering all but its green right eye and grim left eye; it was Umbra.

"Your wit is as sharp as the rumors lead on, heiress of Sitri," another feminine voice spoke from behind the tree. Out stepped Gasper with a red and black right eye alongside a pink left eye, both bearing a calm look. Accompanying this gaze was an almost serene smile. His shape contorted and stretched, like slime, into the form of a hooded figure bearing a broken Faceless Mask Longinus covering all but its green left eye and grim right eye; it was Lux.

"I fuckin' knew it!" Ruruko said, getting back into a battle-ready stance.

"Did you really, Meguri? It seemed our act convinced you well enough for you to accept us as the Dhampir," Lux said, tilting her head slightly.

"Had it not been for Sona, you would've been a helpless hatchling ripe for plucking," Umbra said, finishing Lux's thought in a grim fashion.

"That doesn't matter now. Where are you keeping them?" Sona interjected with a steely stare.

"Like we'd tell you," Umbra answered.

"Do you take us as meek?" Lux followed.

"You know what happened last time. Tell us or we'll force you," Genshirou said, getting into a fighting stance with his still manifested Absorption Line.

"The only reason you won against us last time was because of Rias's Knight," Lux said. Her Faceless Mask transformed into a Sacred Gear with the form of wings made from milky-white bones. She sprouted her six Angel wings on top of the Sacred Gear, giving her eight wings in total, and took to the air.

"Now there's only the three of you, alone and utterly helpless," Umbra said. Her Faceless Mask transformed into a Sacred Gear in the form of an onyx-black ring embedded with a crystal skull wrapping around her left index finger. She pressed her left hand into the ground and black electricity erupted from the ground around her that arced throughout the graveyard.

"I don't think I like where this is going…" Genshirou muttered.

The ground below the Devils began to rumble and growl as the dirt before the tomb stones began to bulge up and fall away. The creaking of mausoleum doors could be heard from all around them and low, guttural croaking and labored groaning could be heard in every direction.

"No… you didn't…" Sona said, her eyes wide.

Out from a nearby grave rose a corpse partially decayed and eaten away at by subterranean creatures. Bodily fluids leaked from various wounds and a centipede crawled out of its mouth. It groaned in a raspy voice and its head turned to the three Devils.

"You're endangering this whole town just to get a hold of one family! Are you truly that desperate?" Sona shouted.

"Don't worry, they are completely under our control and only exist to fight you," Lux said, summoning forth a massive light spear that hovered just above her.

"That being said, they are primed and hungry for your flesh and bone marrow," Umbra said, her shadow slowly leaking out and expanding across the area as her very body became more and more draped in darkness.

"You guys take care of the Doppelgängers and I'll fight off the corpses," Ruruko said before rushing off into the cemetery to fend off the developing horde of the reanimated dead. She swapped her promotion from Knight back to Rook to make her body tough enough to endure the hordes' scratches and bites.

"Meguri! Be careful!" Sona shouted to her Pawn before turning her attention back to the Doppelgänger duo.

Umbra's ever-expanding shadow pooled up into a large puddle behind her. Segments of the puddle rose up into pillars slanted towards Sona and Genshirou. The pillars of shadow sharpened into a floor of spikes. With little warning, the spikes shot out towards the two.

Sona sicked her coiled water serpent on Umbra and put up a barrier around her and her Pawn.

The spikes broke upon the barriers around Sona and Genshirou before crawling their ways back towards Umbra.

Meanwhile, the water serpent flew and weaved between each shadowy spike as it made its way towards Umbra.

A blinding beam of light shot from above. The serpent immediately vaporized in the face of the light.

Sona and Genshirou looked up to see Lux waving her hand through the air, forming a crucifix of light before drawing a circle around it. The crucifix began to glow brighter until light filled the insignia.

"Watch out President!" Genshirou shouted, prompting Sona to leap to the side as he did the same.

Just as they did so, a blinding beam of light erupted and struck right where they stood before, burning a crater into the ground. The area around the hole glowed orange with heat.

"This Doppelgänger knows more about Angel magic than I thought," Sona thought. Her eyes focused on Lux, briefly disregarding Umbra.

A hand of shadow lunged from beneath Sona, wrapping itself around the Sitri heiress and her barrier. It grasped her with great force, pressuring the barrier and threatening to engulf her if the barrier were to fail. With vision blurred by inky blackness, Sona was unable to see anything beyond her barrier.

"Oh no you don't," Genshirou muttered before sprinting towards Umbra.

Another barrage of shadowy spikes flew towards Genshirou. Despite the overwhelming wave of hardened shadows, he scraped by with only minor cuts and kept going.

The sky above Genshirou glowed brighter, urging him to look up. Above him, the large light spear hovering above Lux from before barreled its way towards him.

He stopped on a dime and leaped to the side, avoiding the spear.

A blast erupted from the spear and pushed the Devil away.

Genshirou tumbled and rolled a fair distance before catching himself.

"How am I supposed to get a hit in if they can hold me at bay like this. I could try to hold one of them with my Absorption line. No... the other will focus me down and we'll both be screwed. Damn it," Genshirou thought. He turned his gaze to where Sona was imprisoned. "Hold on, President!" he shouted before evading a smaller light spear.

Kuoh Woods, 2:40 AM

Venturing out westwards from Kuoh's central plaza and into the dense woods nearby Kuoh Academy, Koneko Toujou, Akeno Himejima, and Tsubasa Yura traverse the wilderness near where they had fought the mercenaries for the first time in hopes of finding, at the least, a lead. Akeno takes to the skies to gain a bird's eye view of the ground below while Koneko takes to the ground and Tsubasa hops from tree to tree to gain a heightened, albeit fairly obscured, range of view over the area.

"Are you certain this is the right place, Toujou?" Tsubasa asked, perching herself on a tree branch with a finger to her ear.

"I picked up a familiar energy here; they have to be close," Koneko answered with a flat voice.

Akeno was adrift in thought, only half-mindedly paying attention to the world below her. Her heart felt as if it would drag her back to earth with how heavy it was to her. The possibility of losing someone she just developed such a close bond with was a very distracting thought.

"Himejima, anything up there?" the voice of Tsubasa rang in her ear, to which she blocked out as she wandered her mind.

"When we get you back, I'm never letting you out of my sight again," Akeno thought, holding her arms close to her chest.

"Himejima?" Tsubasa's voice spoke once again with a worried tone.

This broke Akeno from her daze. She threw her hand up to her ear. "Yes, yes. What is it?"

A sigh was heard over their communications link. "Good, you're still there. Answer me next time, I thought one of them got you too," Tsubasa said.

"Pay attention," Koneko spoke with a slightly agitated tone of voice.

"I just got a little lost in thought, that's all. I don't see anything up here so far," Akeno said.

"Just pay a little more attention from now on. We can't save them if even one of us is slacking," Tsubasa said before dropping her hand from her ear and continuing her tree jumping.

With those words, Akeno dropped her arm to her side and took in a deep breath. She held it for a few seconds and, upon releasing her stored air, felt invigorated with a strengthened resolve. "Can't argue with that..." she hushedly said before placing a hand back up to her ear. "Koneko, what energies did you pick up?"

"A mutt and a human. Can't tell which yet," Koneko said.

"So the Werewolf or the Okuri-Inu and the German psychic or the Irish boxer?" Tsubasa said.

"That sounds about right," Akeno answered.

"This is going to be painful either way then," Tsubasa thought with a heavy sigh.

"On me. I found fresh tracks," Koneko ordered.

"Can you give us a sign of where you're at?" Akeno asked.

"Be quick..." Koneko spoke sharply. She concentrated her demonic energy into a brief, prominent aura to serve as a form of beacon.

"Alright, on my way," Tsubasa said, heading towards the direction of Koneko's spiked energy.

Akeno, without saying anything, flew towards Koneko's direction at high speed. Despite her velocity, it would still take a short while before she could reach the petite Rook.

Koneko, left alone and predicting an enemy ambush, took a moment to investigate the environment from the clearing she stood in. Not much could be made from what she saw: a sea of trees piercing the sky and blotting out most of the waning moon's light. Gazing into the woods only yielded a glimpse into darkness and foliage. All that could be heard was the nocturnal tune of night-dwelling insects and frogs accompanied by a background of leaves rustling in the wind. Oddly enough, there were no owls hooting along.

The sounds of nature, though deafening in silence, were pierced by a voice.

"A mutt huh?" a familiar, female voice spoke to the left of Koneko. Out from the cover of the woods came a hooded figure bearing a red, dog-like tail. It was the Werewolf: Huntress.

Koneko turned to face the woman, taking a defensive combat stance. Her round and inexpressive eyes narrowed to a steely glare.

"Hey, isn't she the cheeky blade ya said smelt like a puss?" a familiar, male voice bearing an Irish brogue spoke from the opposite side of the clearing. Out from behind a hearty tree came a hooded figure fiddling with a pair of golden gauntlets attached to the arms. It was the bearer of Strike Stockpile: Swarmer.

Koneko turned partially towards the man. She leaped back in order to keep the two of them within her cone of sight. "I knew they would be on me, but I didn't think they'd be this close by. You two better hurry," she thought.

"Yeah, she is. And ya know what 'mutts' do to little cats, right?" Huntress asked with a ferocious grin shining from under her hood, slouching over as if she was getting ready to attack. Claws grew from her hands and a set of claws jutted from under her robe where her feet would be. From her mouth grew large canine teeth that turned her grin into a fierce smile.

"Now hold your shite, Animorphette. I'm gettin' the first jab," Swarmer spoke to his ally with his attention trained on Koneko. Though his face and eyes were obscured, Koneko could tell he was looking at her with a vengeful glare.

"Sorry dude, but I'm goin' first. Me and her have a score to settle," Huntress refuted, turning towards her ally.

"You be actin' like she busted your dial somethin' fierce when ya can naturally feckin' regenerate. Piss off with that," Swarmer barked back at Huntress with a hostile voice.

"I got blasted by the fucker with the Boosted Gear, I think I deserve the first hit more by that alone," Huntress argued back, approaching Swarmer in a hostile manner.

"Then take it up with that himbo. Last I heard, he snuck up on your arse. How are you 'bout to let a walkin' alarm clock that goes off every ten feckin' seconds jump ya? If anythin', ya deserved that blast for slackin' of the way you did ya ejit," Swarmer argued, approaching Huntress in an aggressive manner as well.

The two met and butted heads with each other in a literal sense, barking back, forth, and together too quick and angrily for Koneko to understand.

"Oh… good… they're both idiots," Koneko thought. The display, despite it buying her some time, was exhausting to witness. Any form of danger she had felt prior was replaced with an aching disappointment.

So the two went on, stubbornly arguing over who would get the first round. First, Huntress would provide a point, then Swarmer would shut it down and provide his own before it, too, was shut down by Huntress.

The cycle kept on for a few minutes; to Koneko, however, the entire thing felt as if hours slowly ground away with each turn the two took to bicker. She wanted to break the cycle, but she knew that it would only lead to her being ganged up on.

Motion in the trees permeated the monotony and drew Koneko's attention.

Huntress sighed. "Ya know what, to Hell with it. There's no point in arguin' with a boxer whose been hit in the head a few times too many," she said with crossed arms and a stout, upwards pointing tail.

Suddenly, the heel of a foot smashed against the Werewolf's head. The force of the attack pressed her face into the ground while the assailant sailed through the air and landed perfectly beside Koneko.

Koneko turned to get a look at her aid to see Tsubasa standing beside her with a few twigs and fallen leaves jutting out from her blue hair.

"Looks like I got here before things went too far south," Tsubasa said with a smug grin and light panting.

Meanwhile, Swarmer couldn't help but break out into a fit of hysterical laughter. He held his gut with one arm and pointed towards his downed ally with his other. "What's that about gettin' hit in the head? I couldn't hear ya over the amount of shite ya just ate! Woooweee!" he said, wiping his hooded face with the back of his gauntlet before turning his attention towards Koneko and Tsubasa. "Aaaaallrighty then, back to business. Which one of ya dolls are gonna get decked in the teeth first?"

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down upon the man with a mighty boom, kicking up a cloud of dust and dirt. Blackened feathers fell around Koneko and Tsubasa, signaling Akeno's presence as she descended down to her allies' sides.

The man stood a little less than firm when the cloud of dusty debris settled, his arms down by his side as he slouched and his robe burnt a fair bit on his back. "Karma's one cruel biddy, ain't she..." he said with a defeated tone of voice. He let out a sigh before getting into a boxer's stance. "Ya ready, pup?"

Huntress pulled her face from the ground, her tail wagging slowly as she growled. "I am gettin' sick of this… Yeah, I'm ready."

"Fair dig, ya feckin' pack a' gobshites!" he shouted before tucking his body in with his fists held up to his face. He broke out into a rush towards the three.

A magic circle appeared before Akeno. An arc of lightning shot from the circle towards Swarmer.

Swarmer weaved out of the path of the arc and kept going.

A flurry of six arcs shot from the circle before Koneko and Tsubasa sprouted their wings and flew towards Swarmer.

Swarmer stopped his advance and lined his fist together. The six arcs hit him head on, his Strike Stockpile glowing more radiant with each strike. He pulled his fists away from each other before returning to his boxer stance.

Koneko flew in with a diving kick.

Tsubasa rushed in with a spinning kick to Swarmer's side.

Swarmer blocked both strikes with his forearms. He grabbed Koneko's leg and tossed her aside before turning to Tsubasa and driving his fist into her gut.

The strike blew away the surrounding air and took her breath away. Tsubasa was sent careening towards a tree.

Koneko recovered from Swarmer's toss-away and started another rush towards him.

Huntress tackled Koneko out of the air, forcing her to the ground. She crouched atop of her, claws at the ready. She reeled back, ready to slash at Koneko with wild abandon.

Akeno sent a supporting rush of lightning arcs to blast away Huntress. The Werewolf was launched back by the strike, giving Koneko some breathing room.

"Karma!" Swarmer shouted before his fist landed squarely in Akeno's face. Another shockwave erupted from his fist before sending Akeno flying.

She crashed against a tree with a loud thud before falling to her knees. The cold feel of steel lingered and the taste of iron welled up in her mouth.

Swarmer walked up to the downed Akeno. His Strike Stockpile glowed a brilliant golden light that partly illuminated what lied beneath his hood. A solemn straightness to his mouth could be seen. "Ya know, I don't really take a likin' to hurtin' dolls like yourself; that's why I pulled my punch a wee more than a wee bit. I coulda made you a Butter Face Betsie. Keep that fresh in your mind next time ya look in the mirror."

A twig snap was heard to his side. He turned to be met with a fist to his face.

"Talk shit, get hit…" Koneko said with a deathly coldness in her voice.

Swarmer reeled back a little from the strike. His hood fell down for a brief moment, revealing short and messy brown hair. He flipped his hood back up and turned towards Koneko before spitting out some blood. "Ohohoho. Now you: I'm gonna make your face look like your arse for that 'un," he said, hopping in place. He raised his fists up and got back into a boxer stance.

"Suck it…" Koneko remarked.

"Maybe after ya get that ten-meter pole outta your arse, ya bleedin' stick in the mud," Swarmer retorted.

Another twig snap was heard behind him.

"Nah-ah! Not this time!" Swarmer shouted before turning and blocking a punch with his forearm. He stood face-to-face with Tsubasa.

Tsubasa lunged back and prepared another strike.

Swarmer weaved out of the way and hopped off away from Akeno, keeping his body facing the Fallen Angel hybrid. From behind his head, Koneko's fist sailed through the air.

The two Devil Rooks' fists clashed against one another in a menacing display of sheer strength. Koneko and Tsubasa pulled their arms back before rushing to the injured Akeno's side.

Standing in the clearing, the combatants separated themselves into two sides. Koneko, Akeno, and Tsubasa were basically cornered up against a tree, the only escape being the darkness of the woods that would prove to be of little aid against a Werewolf's nose. Huntress and Swarmer commanded a majority of the clearing with Swarmer taking the lead and Huntress staying behind him.

The cracking of bone and ripping of flesh was heard behind Swarmer. Tsubasa and Koneko looked past the man to see Huntress hunched over. Brown fur sprouted from her tanned body before being dyed in a red hue. Her body mass grew and grew. She was attempting to transform into her red-furred beast form.

A lightning arc shot out from between the two Rooks and struck Huntress, interrupting her transformation.

"Someone keep tabs on the Werewolf! We can't afford to let her transform!" Akeno shouted, a thin stream of blood trailing from her mouth as she stood in a slight daze.

"Good luck with that one…" Huntress retorted, the glint of her teeth revealing a grin from under her hood. She turned around and, on all fours, sprinted into the woods. "Keep 'em busy, knucklehead!"

"Sure, sure… Leave the tough shite for Ye Ol' Human Punchlad while your furry What-cha-ma-call-it-pilus Werewolf of Bust Shite Up arse runs off to get a handicap," Swarmer muttered, gazing off at his ally as she fled.

The whistling of a fist through the air signaled an attack. He blocked the strike with his forearm.

"You wanted a good fight. Well, here it is. No going back now," Tsubasa said with a smirk.

"The cheek of this one, startin' after gettin' busted up twice," Swarmer replied, his arm failing to budge in Tsubasa's attempt to overpower him. "How's this then?" he asked before reeling his head back and bashing it against Tsubasa's.

Tsubasa stumbled back a little. There was no accompanying shockwave from this attack. A realization struck Tsubasa's mind. "Toujou, Himejima, get the Werewolf! I think I got the download on this guy!" she shouted.

Swarmer turned his attention towards the two.

Akeno snapped herself from her daze and Koneko got into a defensive position in front of her ally, ready for another assault.

"Gwan. Make that pup work for her win condition. I won't stop ya," Swarmer said.

Akeno's brow raised and Koneko harbored an uncertain look in her golden eyes.

"Ya dense? Gwan before she goes beast!" he shouted, pointing in the direction Huntress ran off in.

Koneko and Akeno ran past Tsubasa and Swarmer, keeping an eye on Swarmer as they passed by.

Swarmer made no sudden moves even when the two were within arm's-length of him. He continued to point in the direction Huntress had fled.

The two Devils disappeared into the woods, leaving Tsubasa alone with Swarmer.

"W-Why did you do that?" Tsubasa asked, her arms lowered to her sides with a widened gaze. What was he planning?

"She relies too much on that ol' beast form. If anythin' goes even a wee bit wrong, she just pops it like a damn bottle o' pain killers and has at it. I'm cut to the bone from that shite having been a man who worked to the bone to get my strength. Ya get what I'm sayin'?" Swarmer answered, tilting his head with one hand perched on his hip.

"You do realize we may kill her if it comes down to it?" Tsubasa asked.

"Nah, I wouldn't bet a crisp on it: not even one. Archmage done had his premonition. You lot lost before we even met," he said, perching his other hand his hip. Though his face was obscured, Tsubasa could tell he was looking down on her with an air of arrogant sureness.

"You want to bet on that?" Tsubasa retorted with a narrowed gaze, getting into a fighting stance in defiance of her opponent's claim. She grit her teeth. "All I have to do is avoid his fists. Strike Stockpile only seems to affect his punches," she thought.

"Now that, I'd bet me nelly on," Swarmer said, raising his fists up and getting into a boxer's stance.

Kuoh Park, 2:40 AM

Due quite a ways north of the central plaza flew three of Sona's most magically inclined Peerage members: Tsubaki Shinra, Momo Hanakai, and Reya Kusaka. After flying about for what felt like hours over the grassy expanses of the lightly wooded park below with nothing to show for it, they took to the nearby Kuoh Lake. The vast body of water stretched on into the horizon with a glistening display of moonlight dancing upon its gentle ripples and waves.

"I could've sworn I detected an energy spike around here," whispered Reya as she sat upon a bench by the water's edge.

"Could it be that they ran us through a loop?" Tsubaki pondered, failing to keep her thoughts to herself. The moonlight cast a slight gleam upon her glasses as she racked her head in thought, arms crossed underneath her breasts.

"I mean, they're mercenaries. They have to have some kind of wit to survive their line of work," Reya said, resting her elbows on her legs as she propped her head up with her hands. She gazed off into the twinkling lake.

"I'll see if I can do a run through of the left half of the park again," Momo suggested, taking off to the left as her snow-white hair weakly fluttered in the mild turbulence of her slow ascent.

"I suppose I'll take the right half then..." Reya said. She got up from the bench and sprouted her leathery, bat-like wings.

"We've combed the park the best we could. Any further scouting would just be a waste of energy and time," Tsubaki said, halting the two with her words. She adjusted her glasses before looking up.

"Then what do we do? We can't just stand here," Reya retorted, plopping herself back down onto the bench before once again resting her head on her hands supported by arms anchored to her thighs.

"You said you detected an energy spike? As in one? Right?" Momo asked as she descended down to sit by Reya on the left side of the bench.

"Yes. Why do you need to know that in specific?" Reya answered, gazing back off into the twinkling lake. Her thoughts began to wander.

"We can use that information to narrow down who we could've been following," Tsubaki said. She held her hand up to the side of her head and closed her eyes as she walked up to the right side of the bench: where Reya was sitting. "It's unlikely that we're dealing with the Doppelgänger duo; unless one of them is using its Faceless Mask to hide one of their presences in some way, of course. I don't think it was the Lich either."

"It definitely wasn't the Lich. That one has a distinct feel to its energy: ancient, steeped in magic, and overwhelming," Reya said.

"Could you describe how the energy felt?" Momo asked, gazing off into the mesmerizing lake as well.

"It felt… oddly gentle: serene even," Reya answered.

"Angelic?" Tsubaki inquired, turning her head towards her ally.

"Not really. It felt a little more tranquil. Like that of..." Reya paused. Her eyes jolted wide open and she looked out into the lake's horizon. A chill ran down her spine as she recalled a warning she had overheard while engrossed in researching their enemy.

"If the enemy Wani transforms, do not attempt to fight it: just run. Toujou informed me that Wanis will most likely transform when near a large body of water, so be wary of your surroundings when fighting that thing," Genshirou's words rang in her head.

"Water..." Reya finished with a restricted voice.

The originally entrancing glisten of the lake then felt more like a blanket: a blanket covering unseen eyes of an aquatic monstrosity that observed the three's every move, waiting to lunge from the surface and drag them all into a watery grave. Every countless shimmer of light that vanished began to look more like blinking eyes of an ancient, unholy creature of the watery abyss.

"It's a trap..." she said with a hushed and hurried voice. She leaped away from the water's edge and over the bench. She turned away from the lake and prepared to flee. "We need to run, now!"

"You mean..." Tsubaki began. Her heterochromic eyes shot wide open. She, too, understood the implications. Her heart hastened for every second the lake was in view.

Momo, sharing an unspoken understanding of the situation, prepared to flee with her comrades. Turning her back to the lake made her blood run cold. The anticipation of being snatched up in the Wani's maw made it hard to keep her eyes off of the water.

The three ran from the water, but were unable to get far before a voice sounded from behind them.

"Please stay. I have no desire to hurt you," a gentle, female voice spoke.

The three looked back towards the lake to see a figure standing upon the surface of the water, the lake frozen where its feet would be. How it had just appeared there was uncertain.

It seemed fairly voluptuous, bearing a healthy bust and wide hips. The figure tightly clutched a blue, coral-like trident in its hands with the prongs facing down to the water below. The moonlight refracted through a blue gem beset in the weapon and gave off a blue, electric light. Without a doubt, it was the Wani: Typhoon.

"I... I just want to talk a little," Typhoon said, walking herself towards the shore of the lake. As she walked, the water before her froze into a crystalline path of ice while the frozen water behind her returned to a liquid state.

The three slowed their retreat, but were still primed to flee at the slightest sign of danger.

"Oh, i-is my Gear worrying you? I'm sorry," Typhoon said with an oddly genuine and shaky voice. Her Storm Core glowed a blue light before returning to her being as streaks of erratically branching electricity. She slowly advanced closer to the boundary between land and water, her blue eyes shining from underneath her hood.

Though a little more relaxed now that their opponent had lowered her weapon, the three were still reluctant to reciprocate her approach and meet her halfway. They stood there, watching her with stern eyes.

"Where are they?" Tsubaki broke her silence with a sharp tone of voice.

"My allies are spread around the town. Archmage divided us up depending on his...well... I'm not sure if me talking about it will affect the outcome," Typhoon answered with a weak tone of voice. She stepped upon the shore and walked up to the bench the three once loitered by.

Tsubaki cocked her head back and her mouth fell partially agape. She was referring to the Kasais' location, but this information was widely welcomed as well. "It seems this one is easily imposed on. I might be able to make use of her without even having to fight her," she thought before putting a hand to her ear.

"Archmage lined this place with communication-jamming ward spells. You can't contact anyone outside the range of the park," Typhoon warned softly.

Her words failed to reach Tsubaki as she tried anyway. "Shinra to President. They've split themselves up. I think they're planning a divide-and-conquer approach."

Nothing was heard on the other end.

"President! Do you hear me?" Tsubaki shouted.

No avail. No voice came from the other end.

A dial-like projection then protruded from her ear. She twirled her hand as if turning a dial. "Yura! Meguri! Anyone! Can anyone hear me?" Tsubaki attempted again, twirling the dial-like projection several times in a hurry.

Nothing.

Tsubaki dropped her hand from her ear and the projection sank back into her head. "What's going on?"

"Was I not loud enough? Archmage lined the place with jamming magics. I tried to save you the time and effor-" Typhoon spoke, holding onto her arm with her other hand.

"Don't patronize me. What do you need to speak to us about?" Tsubaki interrupted with a cold tone of voice and crossed arms, hoping to pin the Wani in a submissive mindset on the spot.

"O-Oh, y-yes. Of course," Typhoon responded with a slight jolt of her body. She walked around the bench, manipulating the water of the lake to form an armchair and table set-up bearing a large, circular table and four armchairs that looked oddly comfortable despite being made out of lake water. "Take a seat… if you wish, of course."

"I… would rather stay as far away from the lake as I can," Reya remarked with hesitation. The offer looked promising, but her instincts told her otherwise.

"Oh, I suppose that is fair. I am a Wani, afterall," Typhoon said with a disheartened tone and shuttered eyes shining under her hood. She looked down at the watery table, one of the chairs falling to the ground and becoming a puddle as she did so. "Do either of you want to sit down?"

"I'm fine with standing," Tsubaki answered, arms still crossed.

"I can't really trust you all too well, so I'm afraid I'll have to decline," Momo answered.

"Very well then. I suppose it is unwise to put trust in me given all that has happened," Typhoon lamented. The rest of the chairs, save for the one she sat in, turned into puddles.

"Now, I will ask you this once: where are the Kasais?" Tsubaki inquired, a growl in her voice being heard as she spoke.

"Titan has them... he, Archmage, Hybrid, and Harvest. In case you don't know, Titan is the large man with the maces, Hybrid is the Doppelgänger not part of the duo, and Harvest is the Grim Reaper. They wait in the town's central plaza for the group with Grayfia," Typhoon spoke. These answers were all coming along a little too easy.

"Wait? Why not make off with them right there?" Momo asked.

"Titan has to be there when Ddraig initiates the Dragon of Supremacy. If they don't stand by, the Dragon will release itself out of pure rage and obliterate the town," Typhoon answered.

"How do you know all of this? Why are you intending on protecting this place? What's this about a Dragon of Supremacy and how can you be certain your ally can handle it?" Tsubaki asked in rapid succession, gritting her teeth and clutching her sleeves tightly.

With every question, Typhoon lowered her head some more. "It's all part of Archmage's vision. He foresaw everything happening currently and even potential variations," Typhoon spoke with a hurried voice. She gently held her hand against her mouth.

Reya's mouth dropped and her breathing stopped for a brief moment. "So he's capable of precognition? Everything we've tried and planned has been all part of his own plan?" she thought.

Momo held her hands close to her chest, her heart thumping at a rapid rate. "There exists such magic? How do we fight against someone who can see our actions before they even happen?" she thought.

Tsubaki took in a sharp breath and held it in for a few moments. She released her air and spoke. "What amount of mystical apparatus do you have access to that allowed him to see that far ahead? There is no being short of a God capable of seeing more than a few moments ahead in time without outside aid."

"That is... I'm not allowed to tell you. I'm sorry, but I think I've told enough," Typhoon replied.

"I don't think you have. If this is all part of the Lich's vision, then who is to say you elaborating a little isn't part of it?" Tsubaki retorted with a smug grin.

"You do have a point. He never really goes into full detail with his visions when asked about them. He only talks about them with Titan, the Captain, and a few others. Even then, he's cryptic and indirect with how he explains them. He says knowing how fate strings along is a dangerous thing if word gets out. He may have well forseen this too," Typhoon responded, twirling her finger through her desk of water. Despite its physical shape, the table swirled in the same way a beverage would had a straw stirred it up. "That being said, I still don't feel safe talking about your question concerning the apparatus."

"Captain? You mean the Lich isn't your leader?" Momo asked with a shaky voice.

"Yes, that's correct. He's lingering around the group at the central plaza. His role there is to take care of Grayfia so Titan can reliably subdue the Dragon of Supremacy," Typhoon answered, her voice now sounding a little calmer.

This composure was something Tsubaki couldn't allow if they were to get answers from Typhoon.

"Do you honestly think your so-called Captain can even ward off Lucifuge? She overshadowed the Lich, who is already a considerably powerful being," Tsubaki asked with doubt and hubris, expecting to catch the Wani on a bluff.

"I have full faith in Archmage's vision and even more so in Captain's ability," Typhoon answered, unfazed by Tsubaki's confidence as she spoke.

This earned a grunt from the bespectacled Queen. For such a meek being, Typhoon's rigid confidence could only mean she was speaking truthfully. But just how much more capable was this "Captain?"

Kuoh Skies, 3:00 AM

Rias took Asia and Issei to the belly of Kuoh to begin scouting for their human friends. The dim night sky shrouded the three Devils, allowing them to monitor undetected. Rias led the way while Issei followed close by, a worried Asia staying close to his side as they flew.

Issei, with the lingering venom of anxiety draining his spirit and derailing his mind, couldn't help but quicken is pace so that he would be level with Rias. "How are we going to find them? Should we go search that old buildin' they holed themselves up in?" he asked.

Rias turned towards her Pawn. His worried eyes weighed heavily on her. "Our observation spells aren't responding; they know we know their hideout. I don't think they would be foolish enough to retreat there," she said.

Issei's heart sank just a little more. "What is our plan then? Just fly around and hope we find them?"

"Not at all. When I said everyone was scouting the town, I forgot to mention that me and Sona divided our Peerages up to comb through different sections of the town in order to maximize the amount of ground we cover. The only place I think they haven't covered is the central plaza," Rias answered.

"So we're heading that way then?" Issei asked. Though his heart weighed heavy, the fact that there is some direction gave him some form of assurance. He looked onward towards the town, towards the direction of the central plaza.

Asia, not wanting to be left behind and suffering from the same venomous anxiety, pulled herself up towards Issei and held onto his arm as to not be left behind again. "What are you guys talking about? Do we know where they are yet?"

"No, but we have a hunch of where they are. And when we find them, we're gonna make sure they'll regret ever being mercenaries in the first place," Issei answered, his strong will shining through his worry.

A smile formed on Asia's face and she tightly hugged Issei's arm.

"Quarta to President! Quarta to President! Me, Meguri, and Kiba found the Okuri-Inu! He has gravely injured Kiba and we are on the run!" Xenovia's voice spoke from over Rias's communication link.

"Xenovia? Don't worry, we're on the way!" Rias responded with haste.

Before Rias could even turn South, towards Xenovia's division, another voice spoke through the communications link.

"President, we have the Werewolf on the run. Yura stood back to fight the wielder of Strike Stockpile. Be wary, they are not bunched up like we thought," Akeno's voice spoke. Her speech sounded labored and weak, adding onto Rias's worry.

"Akeno..." Issei said hushedly. His heart felt heavy, this time with pure fear.

"Hold on Akeno! Someone will be on their way!" Rias spoke with the same hastened manner as before. She turned towards Issei and Asia and spoke. "We're going to need to split up. I'll head over to help Xenovia's group while you and Asia will go and help Akeno's group down towards the woods around-"

"Sona to Rias. Me, Saji, and Nimura found the bearers of the two Faceless Mask Longinus. Nimura is fending off a horde of the shambling dead, Saji is stuck fighting both of them, and I'm trapped in my barrier by a hand of shadow. We need assistance ASAP," Sona's voice interrupted.

"Wait, shambling dead? You mean as in zombies?"" Issei inquired with a quake in his voice.

"They've got everyone… what do we do?" Asia said weakly. Her smile vanished and she held her hands close to her chest. "Please God, don't let this happen. I know you're dead, but don't let them take my friends," she whispered. A ringing in her ears disoriented her briefly.

"Hold on Sona, I'll send someone your way! In the meantime, try to call upon Tsubaki's group!" Rias once again answered hurriedly.

"I've already tried. They aren't responding. They've either jammed our communications or done them in," Sona refuted.

"Damn..." Rias muttered. She turned her attention back towards Issei and Asia. "Asia, you need to head down to Kuoh Park and tend to Tsubaki's group. They may still be able to be saved. Issei, you need to head down to Xenovia's group and help them with the Okuri-Inu. I'll go help Sona's group."

"That will nary beon necessary, Heiress of the Gremory Clan," a light male voice spoke over the communications link. The dialect froze the three Devils stiff; Archmage had somehow permeated their link. How long had he been listening? How did he do it in the first place? Is his understanding of magic so great he can just hop into a link whenever he desires?

"You son of a bitch!" Issei shouted. The mere sound of the Lich's voice made his blood boil. He grit his teeth and failed to restrain a rolling growl.

"There beon nary a merit to such vulgarity, Gent Issei Hyoudou. Thy Devil companions earon nary imperiled; they earon merely being preoccupied. Thy human friends earon thy foremost concern," Archmage spoke over the link.

"Don't you fuckin' touch them Skeletor!" Issei shouted once again. His temper worsened the longer the Lich spoke.

"Hyoudou, steel your nerves..." Ddraig warned.

"We await thee by the central plaza's fountain. Most unfortunately, I could nary maketh this confrontation a meaningful one by having us combat where thy journey through the supernatural began, Gent Issei Hyoudou. I would've held the climax of the performance at the park's fountain, but I doth suppose this fountain will make do. Fear nary of waking the town, I hast entranced the denizens in a deep, deep slumber. Doth feel free to give it thy all," Archmage spoke.

"Then your sleep magic must really suck if we woke up!" Issei barked at the Lich.

"That is untrue, kinder. There was a scrawny, pale man present who shot at us with an archaic waffe before Archmage could completely render Sie Teufel— you Devils—no longer a hinderance. He chased us down and even got in a few hits, but he was eventually subdued. Quite a valiant man. Ruhe gut bin der Gottes Armen," the voice of Titan spoke over the communication link.

"Holy shit… Ryuu, your sacrifice will not be in vain," Issei thought. Though he wasn't on good terms with the man, it was because of Ryuusuke they had this chance to fight back. With his heart and blood on fire, Issei wasted no time in thoughtlessly flying towards their location. He summoned forth Boosted Gear and began boosting his power as he flew. Somewhere along the way, he activated the countdown timer on his Scale Mail.

"Ise! Stop! This has to be a trap! We need to go and help the others then come back and finish them off!" Rias shouted to her Pawn.

Issei didn't even slow in his advance towards the central plaza's fountain. He was too filled with rage to let reason reach his mind.

"Damn it… I'm sorry everyone," Rias muttered before flying after Issei. The others would have to wait for their aid.

Asia, not wanting to be left alone in this hectic mess, followed behind her King.

Kuoh Central Plaza-Fountain, 3:10 AM

Issei touched down upon the stone path surrounding the fountain, Rias and Asia soon following suit. The area was large, flattened, and plain, only bearing an entourage of decorative pillars lining the edges of the stone path. Buildings stood outside of the stone path, all of their lights shut off. Not a creature could be heard or seen in this otherwise busy part of town. Before them, in front of the fountain, stood Archmage.

To the Lich's left, Harvest hopped about as giddy as could be as she twirled her twin-scythe around frenetically. She hummed a tune before setting her gaze upon the Devils. Her twin-scythe twirled around as she got into a combat-ready stance with a youthful giggle.

The Grim Reaper's giggle chilled Asia. The moonlight revealed the woman's white skull mask. The details of the painted skull and the wide-open maw depicted only caused a colder wave to sweep over Asia. She stood behind Issei and Rias, blocking her from the woman's gaze.

Before the Lich stood Hybrid with its back turned to the three Devils. It seemed to take note of Harvest's focus and turned to where she gazed before it, too, prepared for combat. Its arms turned into a pair of wings bearing sharp, metallic feathers.

Though its eyes were obscured, Rias knew the creature had eyes honed on her. She had nearly obliterated the thing previously, it would only be natural for it to hold a vendetta against her. She held a hand behind her back, a magic circle appearing in it. It glowed a bright red before shattering. A wave of relief washed over her as she did so.

To the Lich's right was Titan. The gargantuan man held in his arms the entire Kasai family, still and silent as their bodies dangled. Ryuusuke, however, was not among those hanging from his arms. Before him, planted firmly into the ground, were his maces: the golden, blunt-flanged mace to his left and the tri-faced, sharp-flanged mace to his right.

Issei's eyes caught a look at the family. He let out a rolling growl before Scale Mail deployed itself. "Let them go before I make you wish you killed us in our sleep," Issei growled, clenching both his fists and his teeth. His muscles tensed themselves, slightly expanding his armor.

"Now that I think of it, why didn't they take that chance instead of putting everyone else in a slumber?" Ddraig asked, not expecting a rational answer from his partner.

"Die auftrag—the mission—must come first, Drachen. We planned deal with you later, but der kinder are a persistent bunch and your pale friend only made the task much more difficult," Titan answered with a stoic voice.

"So now you're manning up to fight?" Rias asked with a smugness that seemed odd given the situation.

"Cut it with the confidence, red-head," Hybrid retorted with a monotone voice.

"You want another taste of the Gremory's Power of Destruction? You seemed to like it last time," Rias rebounded, a confident smirk appearing on her face.

Asia looked up to Rias and took note of her sure demeanor. She felt a warm comfort, burning confidence, and, most importantly, a radiant hope.

"This confidence… it shows thou hast summoned the maiden Grayfia, doth I not speak the truth?" Archmage asked, placing his hands behind his back.

Rias only nodded.

"Most well then, I hope to-" Archmage spoke, going silent for seemingly no reason mid-sentence.

A magic circle appeared by Rias's side before it glowed with an intense light. A form manifested within the light before stepping out. The long, braided, silver hair of the figure along with the distinct maid attire and overwhelming presence belonged to none other than Grayfia Lucifuge.

Any doubt in Asia's mind was blotted out with the silver-haired maid's entrance. Those fuzzy emotions Rias imposed upon her were heightened. She stepped out from behind her King and stood by her side with confidence and a tough face.

Though the very sight of their enemy enraged Issei to no end, the presence of Grayfia helped to lift the veil of tension he had felt earlier. Now that she was here, there was no way he could see them losing this.

"Ah, so you found them just in time. Very well then, I shall handle it from here," Grayfia said. She walked out to the front lines and passed by Issei. Her red eyes honed onto Archmage. "It's such a shame a rare existence such as yours has to be punished with eternal entombment within Limbo. Had the story been different, you and your band of ruffians would've been powerful allies." She stopped before the four, hands clasped together at her waist.

The four seemed unfazed by her presence. Archmage stood adamantly, hands still held together behind his back. Titan continued holding the Kasai's, not even attempting to reach for his maces. Hybrid merely crossed its winged arms like a cloak of lustrous feathers hanging before it as if asking for her to strike. Harvest even seemed to let out a silent giggle judging from the repeated rising and falling of her shoulders.

"Thy ego shalt beon thy folly, Lucifuge..." Archmage spoke with an unwavering tone. He outstretched his arms from behind his back and looked to the sky. "Captain! I beseech thee! Aid us against this most mighty opponent so that we may fulfill our task!"

"Captain?" Rias asked, her smug smile wavering for a brief moment. In none of their reports or observations had there even been hinted that there was another member.

"Captain?" Ddraig repeated. Though the thought of something stronger than Archmage felt a little disheartening, he couldn't help but feel anticipation to see what this "Captain" was.

"Captain?" Grayfia asked with a raised brow and curious tone.

"It doesn't matter if you summon your leader, we'll kick his ass just as bad as yours," Issei barked.

Once those words slipped past Issei's lips, an overbearing presence fell upon the plaza. A dense energy capable of blotting out even Archmage's incredible magical aura constricted all but Grayfia, whose shoulders merely rose in surprise. The air became still and cold as the young Devils ceased their breathing for a brief moment. Their hearts pounded in their ears loud enough to drown out their thoughts.

"You shouldn't have said that, Dragon Man," Harvest sung in a cheery, yet at the same time eerie tone.

Before the Devils could even blink, a figure descended from above and landed, half-slouched, before Grayfia without kicking up even a small puff of dust from its descent. Though the figure was slouched, it stood level with Grayfia's chin. The figure straightened itself out, towering over Grayfia while standing roughly equal to Ripper's height. Its form was broad, but wasn't as bulky as Titan's. Its black cloak seemed more pristine than its underlings' and gave off a slight shine as if made from silk. This was their trump card: their Captain.

"Interesting, I hadn't expected you to actually deliver on that promise," Grayfia remarked, looking up at the figure's face. Without an iota of fear in her heart, she dropped her prim posture and lept up to deliver a swift, spinning kick to the Captain's head.

It ducked the kick with blinding speeds before retaliating with a fist against Grayfia's midsection.

Grayfia was sent flying back as if struck by a mountain, passing by her comrades as she did so. A shockwave erupted from where the punch struck, pushing away any stone and dirt nearby the Captain's feet. Grayfia recovered her footing by planting her feet firmly into the ground, scarring the earth as she slowed her launch to a grinding halt.

"Hmmm. This might be more of a problem than I thought," Grayfia said, her complacent gaze now turned into a piercing glare. Her own power flooded from her body and conflicted with the Captain's.

The Captain obliged and followed through with her challenge of dominance. Its own power flooded from it in reciprocation.

Winds swirled around the two as they gauged each other. The air currents tossed about large stones and various debris while shaking about the surroundings and rumbling the earth beneath them. The display of power buffeted both sides, causing even their most adamant fighters to brace themselves against the near-unbearable winds and quaking ground. They walked towards each other at a menacingly slow pace until they once again stood face to face and within arm's reach.

The Captain's energy felt fiery and overwhelmingly chaotic, like an active volcano primed to erupt and devastate any and all nearby.

Not to be outmatched, Grayfia's energy excelled with a menacing and cold air comparable to an iceberg on course to crash and grind everything in its path to dust.

These two powerful entities stared each other down, their energy continuing to climb and their influence on the nearby area intensifying as they conflicted for dominance.

The winds ceased, the earth settled, and their overwhelming auras died down.

"Yes, much more of a problem. I apologize, but I can't fight this one with you around," Grayfia said, her stern gaze staring down her adversary.

"What do you mean?" Rias asked, taking a step back from the two.

"What I mean is that I'll have to actually try when fighting this one. If I do that, I risk harming you and your underlings. You will have to fend for yourselves until I am through with this Captain of theirs," Grayfia answered.

"Are you serious? You can't just leave us here to fight these guys!" Rias refuted.

"Calm yourself. You have the Red Dragon Emperor on your side. You should at least be able to fend them off now that Hyoudou can use his Boosted Gear. Just trust in your underlings and you should be fine until I get back. Remember their strengths and exploit any enemy weaknesses you know of," Grayfia spoke softly, yet sternly.

Rias took another step back, not daring to argue with or defy her sister-in-law's words any further.

"She's got a point! You rejected circus acts may have fought me before, but ya haven't faced me at my best yet! I'm gonna personally show ya why you don't mess with Prez or the Kasais when I'm around!" Issei shouted before flying at the group with burning valor.

"Boost!"

The Captain raised an arm towards Issei, its hand in a prime flicking posture.

Grayfia pushed the Captain's arm to the side just as it flicked its fingers. A small but mighty shockwave erupted from its fingers that pierced into a nearby decorative stone pillar roughly the height of an average man, completely blowing apart the top half of the structure.

The Captain's display of sheer might lingered in Rias's mind even after the shockwave had ceased. Her attention turned to the crumbled stone and the damaged pillar it stood before. "Wait a minute… is that…" she thought, dazed by the technique. She shook her head and snapped herself from her trance. "No, don't be silly. That couldn't be him."

"Boost!"

"Your fight is with me. Leave them to their own devices," Grayfia barked with a sharp tone as Issei flew by her and the Captain on a mission to mow down the one mercenary holding his friends: the Germanic Titan.

She delivered a mighty punch to the Captain's gut that sent the creature flying into the night sky before sprouting her wings and giving chase, leaving the three to fight against their friends' captors while she took on the biggest threat.

"Boost!"

Titan dropped the humans from his arms and reached for his maces, the humans then being put into a shining barrier that floated towards Archmage. He managed to grasp the golden mace with his left hand, but was sent flying by Issei's fist crashing into his face just before he could wrap the fingers of his right hand around the three-faced mace.

A gut impulse forced Issei to promote himself to a Knight and lunge back. As he did so, the curved blade of a scythe came down from above and grazed him.

The double-scythe of Harvest kept going and got stuck in the ground.

"Blade!"

Ascalon protruded from Scale Mail's right gauntlet as Issei dove right back in, going for Harvest with a mighty roar. His blade aimed true for the Grim Reaper's head.

A metal shard in the shape of a feather flew by and struck Ascalon, knocking Issei's plunge off course and causing him to miss his opportunity.

He turned to look behind him for a brief moment to see Hybrid rushing towards him, the moonlight reflecting off of its metallic, winged arms. It jumped up into the air and prepared to bring its sharp wings down upon Issei.

Issei dove towards the advancing Hybrid, sliding underneath it as the creature crashed down and dug its wings into the ground.

"Boost!"

Before Issei could even take advantage of this, Harvest floatily swerved around Hybrid and twirled a horizontal, circular slash at Issei.

Issei had to take another leap back lest he bear a deep gash in his torso.

"Boost!"

A surge of menacing demonic energy erupted from behind Issei, causing him to turn to look behind him.

There stood Rias, once again charging up her specialty: Extinguished Star.

Issei knew what he had to do.

Thunderous footsteps barreled and seemed to come ever so closer with each step, causing him to turn back towards his opposition. He was met with the background sight of the massive Germanic Titan rushing towards his three-faced mace, his golden mace still in hand.

Issei's opportunity arrived just as he needed it. He rushed forwards, gliding underneath another slash from Harvest and running past her.

"Boost!"

Hybrid spewed out a plume of intense, white flames directed at Issei.

Though the fire scorched his nerves with an intense, searing pain and gave a burning pain to his eyes, Scale Mail protected him from the actual damage as he forced himself through the inferno. He grabbed the hilt of the three-faced mace with his left hand before Titan could even get close to it.

Merely touching the hilt of the weapon flooded Issei's senses with voices from around him.

"He's got a hold of meine waffe; keep your thoughts on lock-down. Forget the Gremory and retrieve die waffe," Titan announced with his thundering voice.

"Wait, what?" Issei thought.

"How is that not burning his hand? Isn't he supposed to be a Devil?" the voice of Harvest spoke in his head, but with an echo as if she had spoken from within a cave.

Issei pieced it together almost immediately. "So that's how he was able to read minds…" he thought as he looked down at the three-faced mace, it's glowing details and evil appearance making his body shudder.

"Attack coming from behind. Assailant: Exitia. Trajectory: Downwards. Solution: Dodge left or right," a light-toned voice spoke, clear as day, with the briefness of a fleeting thought.

Issei immediately dodged to the left, evading another downward slash from Harvest. The three-faced mace dragged him down and barely budged from its location as he did so.

"Boost!"

"Several projectiles coming from the left. Assailant: X. Trajectories: All straight with no discernable arc. Solution: Assume a moderate limbo position," the same, light-toned voice spoke into Issei's ear.

So Issei followed the weapon's orders. He bent over backwards and perfectly weaved through a volley of metallic feathers from Hybrid.

"This thing kicks ass!" Issei shouted with an energetic vibe as he pulled himself back upright. He twirled the mace around with one hand, batting away Harvest in the process, and mounted the weapon on his left shoulder while donning Ascalon with his right arm.

The weapon had to be at least as long as he was tall, being almost cartoonishly disproportionate as he brandished the oversized beat-stick. His shoulder and legs quickly began to quake and quiver under the weight of the three-faced mace and the weapon crashed back into the ground behind the Devil, pulling Issei's left arm up with it.

Even with seven boosts to his power, Issei was still unable to adequately wield the weapon. "What's with this thing's weight?" he asked, grunting as he attempted to haul the weapon back onto his shoulder.

"Amazing distraction Ise. I can always count on you," Rias voice spoke in his head with a cave-like echo.

Issei's face burnt up before turning towards where Rias was. The moment he set eyes upon her, she let loose her Extinguished Star. The red orb of sheer destructive energy barreled right towards Hybrid.

A rift opened before Hybrid and completely engulfed Rias's attack. The crimson orb slowly faded to black as it entered the empty void.

"There shalt beon none of those shenanigans this time, Lady Rias Gremory," Archmage spoke. They made the foolish mistake of thinking Archmage would sit idly by this time with the objective of the mission on the line.

What was odd though was the fact that the mace had not warned Issei of the spell. Was there a limit to what the mace could detect, or was Archmage simply capable of bypassing the weapon's detection ability?

"As for thou..." Archamage said, casually raising a hand towards Issei.

A rift opened before Issei and in it, a glowing red orb heading its way towards him at full speed. Once again, no accompanying warning or method of evasion was provided by the weapon. He barely had any time to react, so he was forced, by instinct, to ditch the three-faced mace and take to the skies.

Rias's Extinguished Star zoomed out from the rift before being engulfed by another one that opened up in the orb's path.

"Shit!" Issei thought, looking back down at the mace. He wasn't even aware, but Titan had been standing next to him when he let go of the weapon.

Titan grasped the hilt of his evil-looking mace and raised it up with little effort. He turned his head up towards Issei. "Great utilization and quick-thinking, but you lack what truly matters to hold this waffe."

Out of the corner of Issei's eyes, he could see Hybrid dashing up to Rias.

Rias raised her arms and released a barrage of demonic energy bullets from her fingertips.

Hybrid raised its metallic wings up in front of its body. The attacks battered and chipped away at its wings, but it was unharmed by the attack. The metallic feathers quickly grew back with a polished sheen, just as sharp as before. It kept rushing towards Rias.

Issei gave chase after Hybrid on a course to intercept it.

Harvest followed behind Issei, most likely to intercept his interception.

Issei stopped on a dime and, before the Grim Reaper could even halt her advance, delivered a punch to her head. The clang of Dragon scale against metal could be heard as his armored fist struck Harvest's mask. The girl was sent careening towards Archmage while Issei resumed chasing down Hybrid.

"Ise, look out!" Rias shouted.

What Issei didn't realize was that, while he was briefly distracted by Harvest, Hybrid decided to switch targets. It flew towards him at high speed as its left arm turned into a spikey, monstrous form about ten times the size of its standard arm. Arm bulging with bountiful muscle and adorned with sharp blades, Hybrid swung at Issei and delivered a thunderous punch.

Issei was almost instantly sent straight down into the ground with a loud crash. The stone path around him caved and shattered, forming a small crater from the impact.

Issei attempted to rise from the crater, but the strike made every movement of his body sting with immense pain. He fell back, collapsing to the ground.

"Stay down," Hybrid spat with a disinterested tone, its gigantic arm stretching well below his feet as it relaxed.

Magical ropes tied around Hybrid and restrained it. The crimson braids led to Rias, magic circles around her expelling the bonds.

While Hybrid was restrained and Harvest was recovering from being struck, Asia rushed over to Issei's side and placed her hands on his chest. Her hands glowed a bright, green light as she activated her Twilight Healing.

Jagged rocks erupted from around the two. Blue electricity sparked from the earthen hazards, threatening to electrocute Asia if she continued.

"Don't worry, I won't let this stop me. You and Rias have to finish this fight," she said. She continued healing her downed ally. The electricity shocked her and scorched her skin. She struggled to restrain a cry of pain as she kept her hands placed on Issei.

"A most valiant spirit. Fitting for a daughter of the Faith. Allow us seeth how long thee shalt hold on," Archmage tested.

The electricity continued to zap and burn her body, sometimes even feeling like it was getting stronger. Through grunts and whimpers, Asia held on.

"Stop this right now!" Rias shouted with a rage rarely seen from her. A magic circle appeared above her facing towards the Lich. As it glowed a crimson-red light, demonic energy gathered into a large, dewy, blood-like drop and floated before the circle. With a thrust of both of her arms and a savage screech, Rias sent out a large, red laser aiming straight for Archmage, threatening to annihilate the entire division of mercenaries.

It clipped off the monstrous arm of Hybrid just as it broke through the magic ropes binding it in place, forcing it to retreat back to its allies. Had it not forced its way through, the laser would've cleared away its head.

Titan ducked under the laser, it nicking the top portion of its hood and vaporizing it almost immediately.

Harvest wasted no time weaving out of the laser's path. She was still reeling from the pain of Issei's attack, so it was unlikely she wanted to feel any more pain.

A magic circle appeared before Archmage. It glowed a vivid blue as magical energy gathered in the center. He raised his right arm and placed it before the circle. A large, blue laser shot from the circle.

The two collided midway, creating a loud boom and powerful shockwave from the collision point. The lasers kicked up mighty winds that pushed around and battered the surroundings.

Rias screamed her heart out in burning fury, pouring more and more of her demonic energy into her attack.

Archmage walked forward, the circle being pushed onwards as he walked with a stoic silence.

Rias poured more ire into her attack, overwhelming Archmage's retaliation as her laser engulfed the blue laser.

Archmage stood his ground briefly and, with a thrust of his right hand, empowered his laser to equalize the playing field. The Lich continued walking towards the red-haired heiress.

Even with all of the rage put into the attack, the Lich's taunting stride towards Rias showed that the effort was, overall, fruitless. His magic just seemed too strong for the young Devil to overcome by herself.

"Boost!"

Issei rose up and forced away the stone spikes from him and Asia. He retracted Ascalon rushed to Rias's side.

Behind him, Asia collapsed from the pain brought on by the blue electricity and was rendered unconscious.

Once by his King's side, Issei placed a hand upon her back.

"Transfer!"

All of Issei's stored power flowed into Rias. With one more push and a primal yell, Rias forced more energy into her attack and broke through Archmage's laser.

Archmage placed his hands before him and erected a barrier.

It was futile: the laser pierced through his barrier and struck him head-on.

A massive explosion erupted and engulfed almost the entire fountain area. Windows of nearby buildings shattered and lampposts were uprooted entirely. In the wake of the blast remained nothing but a crater of obliterated earth, destroyed stone, and bone dust. They had done it; they had taken down the Lich...

Issei knelt down and panted. "That worked? Is he actually dead, like for real?"

Rias, too knelt down, panting as her vision became blurry. "Thank you Ise... you did well today."

But what of the others?

"Bravo, bravo, kinder! You managed to destroy Archmage's body! Very few manage to even touch him," Titan applauded, dropping his maces to the ground and giving loud, meaty applause.

"What's with the clapping? We fuckin' dusted him! Don't be playin' it off like we only inconvenienced you!" Issei barked back. He stood up, ready to fight once more. "Come on, you and me Schwarzenegger!"

"Kind, do you honestly think you can take me in the state you are now?" Titan asked.

"Why don't ya ask your mace that? See what it thinks!" Issei snapped back.

Like so, Titan grabbed his three-faced mace's hilt. He let out a sigh. "Really, kind? At least try to be dignified in defeat."

Issei chuckled. "Grayfia should be back anytime now. When she does, you guys are fucked. You've got no way of teleporting away and soon no Captain to get you outta this mess."

"Boost!"

"Then I suggest we get this over with," Titan spoke. He picked up his maces. "Hybrid. Harvest. Stand back and let me take it from here."

"You... stay away... from him," Rias struggled as fatigue hindered her. She had consumed too much energy to be of any use in a fight, so she collapsed. She was down, but not out just yet. She watched their confrontation from the most ground-level of views.

"Boost!"

Titan didn't acknowledge Rias's demand, he only walked towards Issei. "Stahl dich, Rot Drachen Kaiser!" Titan charged towards Issei, his every footstep like a rolling storm as he crossed his arms across his body in a manner that had his maces trail behind him.

Kuoh Park, 3:40 AM

As this battle raged on, Sona's Queen and Bishops continued to converse with the meek Wani. Reaching in any way they could to get vital information out of her without prompting her to fight, Reya and Momo prodded carefully and with kindness while Tsubaki took a more dominating and intimidation-heavy approach.

"You mentioned something about a Dragon of Supremacy. What exactly is that and why does it merit such a careful approach from you?" Momo asked.

"You know how the Boosted Gear holds The Red Dragon of Domination?" Typhoon asked.

"Yes. What of it?" asked Tsubaki with stern eyes.

"Well, the Dragon of Supremacy is basically Ddraig releasing his restraints and flooding the wielder of Boosted Gear with his own power. Archmage described it as this: a daunting transformation brought on when in a state of great distress that strips Boosted Gear's wielder of all rationality and turns him or her into a walking catastrophe. If left unchecked, it could destroy entire countries and kill the user," Typhoon answered.

The three Devils fell silent as a chill gripped their blood and bones. Something capable of destroying countries if left unchecked? How would they even begin to defend against something like that? Why were the mercenaries even risking waking something like that in the first place? More importantly, could these mercenaries even hold their claim and suppress such a beast if it were to be unleashed?

"And you're risking this awakening for a run-of-the-mill mark? Are you all mad?" Tsubaki shouted.

Typhoon's body flinched and she let out a soft yelp in response to Tsubaki's yelling. "W-When one's life is on the line, anything tends to be fair game if it means survival. I'm sorry, but that is a truth of life-" Typhoon responded with a soft voice and sunken posture.

"Not when it comes to the lives of tens of thousands of innocent people! You lot are just a bunch of selfish rats if you truly believe any of this is justifiable! You all deserve to be locked up in Cocytus's frigid dimension for even attempting something like this!" Tsubaki went off, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.

"Just… listen for a-" Typhoon began.

Tsubaki shot off a sphere of demonic energy aimed at Typhoon, not even giving her a chance to finish her thought.

A wall of thick ice rose up between Typhoon and the sphere. The ball of energy exploded against the wall, only barely thawing a quarter of the way through the wall.

"Please… there's more to this than-" Typhoon attempted to speak once again.

"No! We're ending this right now!" Tsubaki shouted as she threw eight more orbs of demonic energy out towards the Wani.

The ice wall shattered itself into eight chunks and hurled themselves towards the orbs.

With each collision between ice and energy, an explosion sent shards of ice in every direction. The ground and trees were decorated in the crystalline fragments.

The Wani's eyes seemed to narrow from under her hood. That serene aqua blue in her eyes now appeared as dispiriting as the bleak void of the oceanic depths. She slammed a hand against her water table, making a splash instead of a crash. "Just let me explain! There's more to this than you think!"

The shards of ice adorning the location immediately kicked up into a flurry of ice around Tsubaki. A freezing sensation sliced into her limbs and torso like a knife through butter as the shards grazed by. The blizzard donned a red tint to it.

"Shinra!" Reya shouted to her ally, blood dripping from the Queen's legs, arms, and chest.

The blizzard settled as quickly as it had begun. Typhoon got up from her watery table and ran over to Tsubaki, her hands held up to her face and that angered glare flipped to worry. "I'm so sorry! I only wanted to intimidate you so you'd stop attacking me! I didn't want to cut you!"

"Just say what you have to say," Tsubaki said with a sharp tone of voice as Reya helped keep her on her feet.

Her tone stopped Typhoon in her tracks. She clasped her hands together before her chest. "Just let me heal you at least."

Water rose up from the ground around Tsubaki.

"Don't you even…" she warned, unable to stop the Wani if she so decided to do anything.

The water wrapped around her body and engulfed it, leaving only her head exposed. The water was a perfect balance of hot and cold, feeling nothing short of heavenly. With little time, the wounds on her body began sealing up and the wooziness of blood-loss faded. Once the waters had done their job, they returned to the earth by sinking into the soil. Not even a drop of water was left on Tsubaki's skin, hair, or clothes.

Reya's mouth dropped at the display. Not only was Archmage capable of healing others, but so was Typhoon. Just how much was this creature holding away from them?

"The waters are known to purify and renew, which is why I'm considered the group's medic," Typhoon stated.

"What of the Lich? He seems capable of being a medic. He did heal everyone with those barrier spells," Reya pointed out.

"Archmage is a genius in the field of magic. It's only natural for him to have access to such magic. He's often too preoccupied with planning and observing to concern himself with mending wounds," Typhoon answered.

"Doesn't that seem a little unfair? You guys jumping around while he watches doesn't seem like good teamwork," Momo inquired.

"He's usually more hands on than he is with this mission. It all depends on his visions. Had he been more direct, this would've been over before you even met the Kasais," Typhoon answered.

Tsubaki's brow raised and her gaze sharpened. "Then why didn't he do so? If the mission would've been resolved before we even met, then there was no need for any of this."

Typhoon let out a yelp and turned to silence. Her eyes were held wide open.

"What are you hiding from us?" Tsubaki pressed.

Typhoon conjured up her water table and chair set once again. "Here… take a seat. I should just get on with what I was trying to say before."

This time, the Devils obliged the Wani's offer and took a seat at the water table. Despite the chairs' aquatic compositions, they were somehow neither cold or wet.

"Now, I have to say I can't just tell you everything. In order for everything to go through smoothly, some information must be held from you," Typhoon spoke.

"You're taking away the lives of an innocent family on behalf of an exploitative Devil. What could possibly merit secrecy for such a horrendous act," Tsubaki asked with a sharp tone.

"This 'everything' I'm talking about goes beyond our mission. There is so much more to the story than what you know now, but is imperative for you not to know. What you can know, however, is that there are other forces at work here," Typhoon explained with hesitation and soft words.

"Then why are they needed? It's probably safe to assume these forces you speak of are supernatural, so why would a human family be needed?" Momo inquired.

Tsubaki stood up from her seat, pressed her hands onto the water table, and leaned herself on it. "Better yet, why do you need them when all you are going to do is kill them? Is there something special about their souls that you need?" she added.

"About that… We weren't really going to kill them. We just needed a lead on where they were, so we took this job," Typhoon answered with hesitation once more.

"Then what of the soul-binding contract? If you don't fulfill your end, your souls will be taken from you," Reya spoke.

"Oh that? We-Well. You see, it said that all we had to do was bring them to the contractor. It said nothing about killing them," Typhoon answered, getting shakier in voice the more she spoke.

"Tell us the truth..." Tsubaki urged, staring down the Wani with an unblinking gaze.

Typhoon remained silent. She looked down at the water table.

"Tell us!" Tsubaki shouted.

"There was no contract nor was there any Devil who issued it!" Typhoon shouted back.

The water table heated up, scalding Tsubaki's hands and forcing her to pull back from the table. She shook her hands to fan off the heat.

"We just said that so you would think we had no other choice," Typhoon continued.

"Then how did you know they were here? How do you know about their history? What else are you lying about?" Tsubaki asked.

"Didn't the Kasai's actually confirm the existence of a Devil contacting them? Are you meaning to tell us they are lying too?" Reya questioned with a hand resting against her cheek, index finger tapping the side of her head.

"Are you guys even mercenaries?" Momo prodded.

Typhoon remained silent and fidgeted with her hands.

"Come on… come on… crack already…" Tsubaki thought, her jaw clenched tightly behind her closed lips. She kept and unblinking eye on Typhoon, taking note of every nervous gesture and sign of weakness.

"I-uh...We..." Typhoon stammered. She went on with making half-baked statements with little to no logic behind each of them, all while stuttering profusely. With every attempt to construct a story, she made more holes in her explanations. She was on the ropes with nowhere to run, which was odd given her current league of power.

Typhoon gave up the façade in short time. She clasped her hands together and she let out a sigh. She took a deep inhale as if she was about to speak.

A slight, white glow surrounded Typhoon. It quickly intensified and almost entirely engulfed her being.

"Oh… thank goodness," Typhoon spoke hushedly. She stood up from her seat.

The three Devils sprang up from their positions and took a few steps back.

"Just wait. It will all make sense in due time: during the Summit," Typhoon said.

With that being said, Typhoon vanished in a flash of white light.

"Damn it. So close," Tsubaki thought.

"During the Summit… You think maybe one of the other Factions set them up to do this since they weren't hired by a Devil?" Momo asked.

"I don't think the Angels would try something this morally questionable. Maybe the Fallen?" Reya suggested.

"I don't think they'd try something so reckless just before the Summit," Momo answered.

"Just what are you planning?" Tsubaki thought.

Kuoh Woods, 3:40 AM

Koneko and Akeno chase down Huntress through the woods. Though given a chance to catch and stop her from transforming, it would prove most difficult for the two to find a Werewolf in its natural habitat. As the wild goose chase commences, Tsubasa squares off against Swarmer in their second bout.

The trailing light of a golden fist flies towards Tsubasa's torso, prompting her to swerve to the side.

"Ya can't keep dodgin' forever. Even Devils tire out eventually," Swarmer said, turning his torso and dragging another punch along with it.

Tsubasa tilted herself to the side and trapped Swarmer's arm under hers as his fist flew by. She delivered a punch aimed for his face.

Swarmer reeled his head back and bashed his forehead against Tsubasa's fist.

The impact put a deep pain in Tsubasa's knuckles, causing her to pull her arm back. She dragged Swarmer, by his trapped arm, to the side and tripped him over her leg.

Swarmer tumbled over onto his back, looking up in time to see Tsubasa reeling her other arm back to strike him while he was down. He rolled out of the way, causing Tsubasa to strike the ground.

"You said something about the Werewolf being a form of subspecies, right?" Tsubasa asked, raising her fist from the ground and getting back into a defensive stance.

"Yeah, I don't remember the exact name, but it's supposed to translate to Bloodhair," Swarmer answered, raising his fists back up.

"A Sanguispilus Werewolf?" Tsubasa spoke with an airy voice and widened eyes.

"Yeah, that's the name. Ya know 'em, the ones born under the direct light of a Blood Moon. Known to be one of the most physically overwhelmin' breeds o' Werewolf. Feckin' rare as a diamond too…" Swarmer answered, dashing in with his body tucked in. He stopped just before Tsubasa and, with his fists turned upwards, lunged upwards with a double uppercut.

Tsubasa somersaulted back to avoid the strike. The beautiful arc of golden light emanating from Strike Stockpile just barely missed her chin.

"They aren't the sharpest crayons on the cuttin' board though. Also, they be a pain in the arse to keep control of. They just kinda do their own gig when the time calls for it," Swarmer finished.

"Shit, you two better stop her transformation. We absolutely need silver or wolfsbane for her breed," Tsubasa thought as she prepared to defend against another assault.

"Come on, what happened to that ill set spunk ya was showin' off just a moment ago?" Swarmer taunted, outstretching his arms as if welcoming her to try and hit him. "What's with all this turtlin' shite?"

"You're fighting with your Sacred Gear. For someone who's about not relying on powers to do his job, you sure seem to like using that as a crutch in a fight against an academy student of all things," Tsubasa retorted.

Swarmer's body jolted. The light from his Sacred Gear revealed a mouth of forcefully grit teeth. "Oh, you bitch! I'll show ya who needs powers when your batty arse is draggin' yourself to the nearest E.R. in Hell!" Swarmer shouted, dissipating his Strike stockpile before rushing towards Tsubasa in his usual arms-tucked-under-body posture.

Tsubasa prepared to guard from below. She smirked as he approached her.

Swarmer swerved to Tsubasa's right and delivered a swing to her upper arm.

The strike hit directly, but it didn't hurt as much as it would had he struck her with Strike Stockpile.

Tsubasa toughed through the pain and stood her ground before retaliating with an outstretched left arm. She hooked Swarmer's neck with her arm and caused him to crash into the ground.

Swarmer attempted to get up only to receive a foot pressing down upon his throat.

"Got a little reckless there, didn't you?" Tsubasa taunted.

"You be a dirty little bimbo, aren't ya?" Swarmer asked.

"Who said I was going to fight clean? You've got quite a fragile pride: fitting for someone who runs his mouth nonstop," Tsubasa retorted.

"So we be fighting dirty now… Grand," Swarmer said with an off-putting sureness.

Before Tsubasa could react to his words, her eyes, nose, and throat were assaulted by a sudden cloud of dirt. She was forced to pull away from the man.

The feeling of a calloused fist struck against her cheek before being followed by another to her chin. She could feel her teeth crack as her jaw was forced upwards from the second hit. She sprouted her wings and took to the air.

Once vision returned to her, Tsubasa looked down to see the man standing below her with outstretched arms.

"Mon well! Ya wanted to fight dirty, so I fought dirty! Get shagged by a rabid mongrel!" Swarmer shouted to the airborne Devil.

Suddenly, two figures flew out of the woods and tumbled around on the ground. The flowing black hair and short white hair proved to Tsubasa that the two sent flying were Akeno and Koneko.

"Himejima! Toujou!" Tsubasa shouted to her allies.

Koneko laboriously pulled herself from the ground. Her face was caked in dirt. "We couldn't find her in time!" she shouted.

"Damn it…" Tsubasa muttered.

From the woods, towering over every other grounded individual as it walked on its hind legs, approached a massive beast bearing blood-red fur: Huntress had successfully transformed.

"You had your chance, and you mucked it up. You let her transform even after I let ya chase her down," Swarmer spoke with a disappointed tone.

Huntress let loose a snarl directed towards her ally.

"Yeah, I let 'em tail ya! Whatcha gonna do about it!?" Swarmer barked back at his ally.

Now, with Huntress transformed and two servants of Rias at the mercy of the two mercenaries, Tsubasa had no other choice but to stay and fight in this uphill battle. She touched down upon the ground, knowing she can do no good hiding up in the sky.

"All that aside, it was a good fight doll. You got me all worked up and kicked my shite in for it," Swarmer said with a solemn tone before turning towards Tsubasa, fists raised up once again.

Huntress got down on all fours and began approaching Akeno and Koneko in a menacingly slow fashion.

Suddenly, she stopped. Her ears twitched and turned towards a shady clearing in the woods. She turned her body in the same direction and growled.

The rumbling of something heavy and mechanical could be heard in the woods. A mild tremble could be felt in the ground.

"What is that?" Tsubasa asked hushedly.

"Ya mean you don't know what that is?" Swarmer said with a worried tone. He turned towards the source of the noise and summoned forth his Strike Stockpile, the gauntlets still brimming with the golden light of stored power.

As the noise got closer and more intense, everyone in the clearing tensed up in anticipation. The rumbling noise got more overpowering, the trembling ground got slightly more intense.

Bursting out of the shadows came a massive green locomotive fixed with a large tube sitting upon the top pointing onward like the lance of a charging knight. It was clad in heavy looking metal plates and moved on rolling treads that pressed its march into the earth. The moonlight reflected off its metallic exterior, speckling its green carapace with shimmering white.

"Is that a feckin' tank!?" Swarmer shouted, his stance broken by shock.

Huntress stood up on her hind legs and reached down as the tank headed her way.

A thunderous boom erupted from the barrel of the tank, launching a heavy, metal shell towards the Werewolf.

Huntress tilted herself to the side, almost evading the shell. The projectile took her right arm clean off and continued on through the woods before making a loud boom somewhere in the depths of the foliage. Subsequent snapping of wood and rustling of leaves came from the direction of the shell.

The tank continued on.

Once within arms-reach, Huntress grabbed the underside of the tank with her left arm and began to pull it upwards with little issue. Her hind-legs scarred the ground as she tilted the vehicle threatening to trample her. Her right arm began to regrow at a rapid pace and the claws of her feet sank into the ground, anchoring her and completely halting the advance of the tank.

The tank's cannon twirled around and struck Huntress's head with a loud clang, causing the Werewolf to drop the tank and lose her balance. It continued on and pinned Huntress against a hearty tree.

A hatch on top of the tank flew open. A singular bat flew out of the vehicle and hovered in front of the pinned beast. It's eyes glowed and made still all before its gaze. This was no ordinary bat.

"Gasper?" Akeno spoke with a labored voice. Though battered and injured, her aching facial muscles still managed to form a weak smile.

Following the bat, the long barrel of a massive gun rose from the tank's interior and perched itself on top of the vehicle. Once fully revealed, it took the shape of an arbitrarily large sniper rifle. Upon it stood a scope and below it lied a bipod stand as it aimed straight at the Werewolf. It looked exactly like the T-Gewehr Ryuusuke had donned before.

Following the rifle came a pale man's head bearing ghastly eyes and ash-colored hair. A pair of lanky, whitened arms followed behind, grasping the weapon as the head positioned itself to peer down the barrel. Pressed against the shoulder directly behind the stock of the weapon seemed to be three pillows tied on by a braid of rope.

"You again!?" Swarmer shouted at the man.

"He actually owns a tank... how in the Hell did he hide that?" Tsubasa thought. A smile stretched across her face.

A loud bang was heard from the gun: not as loud as the bang from the tank, but still enough to hurt the ears of those nearby. Stopping just before the Werewolf's head, in stopped time, was a pointed bullet at least ten times the size of an average bullet.

"First bullet: on schedule for a kill-shot. Vladi, hold your position," Ryuusuke spoke with urgency, not even bothering to call Gasper "Dear" or "Creature." He put his weapon to the side before leaping out of the tank and charging towards Swarmer. Mid-dash, he threw off the pillows tied to his shoulder.

As Ryuusuke approached him, Swarmer pulled his fists back up to his face and took a firm stance. He swung with an arc of golden light once the pale man was within his range.

Ryuusuke ducked under the golden light and circled behind Swarmer. He wrapped his arms around the boxer's waist and hoisted him upwards.

"Shite!" Swarmer shouted before he was forcefully suplexed into the dirt with a painful-sounding thud.

The two stood back up and stared each other down. Swarmer took his boxer stance and Ryuusuke took a more militaristic stance with open palms.

"If he gets struck even once, he's good as dead," Tsubasa thought. She stepped forward.

The sound of her shoe grating across the dirt drew Ryuusuke's attention. "Do not interfere: I can't promise your safety if you fight him," he spoke, not even blinking as he kept his eyes on Swarmer.

"Let us take it from here. You can't take a hit from him," Koneko urged, rubbing the caked dirt off of her face.

"Then I won't get hit," Ryuusuke retorted with a cold tone.

"Cheeky bastard..." Swarmer muttered. He opened with a jab aimed for Ryuusuke's torso, golden light trailing behind the punch.

Ryuusuke caught Swarmer by the arm and flipped him over his shoulder. Once his opponent was on the ground, he held Swarmer's arm as he delivered several stomps to the head.

Swarmer dissipated one of his Strike Stockpile gauntlets to free himself from the man's grip and got back up to deliver a haymaker with his other arm.

Ryuusuke batted away Swarmer's arm with his forearm, being careful to not let the man's fist touch any part of him. He spun his torso around and delivered a bare-footed kick to Swarmer just below his chest.

Swarmer reeled back and coughed profusely. He slouched over and struggled to maintain eye contact with his enemy whilst violently hacking up all the air in his lungs.

Ryuusuke delivered a rising knee to Swarmer's face, forcing him back a little more as he stumbled and coughed without pause.

"I don't care if you're supernatural, above humanity, or whatever it is you may be. Every being has a limit; humans are bound by a pitifully weak flesh cocoon that often fails to compare to their absurd ambition; animals live solely on basic instincts that limit what they are fully capable of; monsters, no matter how powerful, must hide themselves to survive in a world flushed with threats upon their lives; and no God in whatever pantheon you are tied to is going to able to fix you when I'm done with you. Consider this the price you pay for even laying a hostile finger on my masters," Ryuusuke lectured, walking circles around Swarmer in a slow, almost casual manner.

Swarmer chuckled, only occasionally being interrupted by the sparse cough. "Well, I gotta give it to ya; ya sure do know your anatomy, goin' for my diaphragm to take the wind outta me. What's next, ya gonna go for me joints to slow me down and weaken my arms? Go for the ol' fashioned shin abuse to keep me from movin' much?"

Swarmer, without any warning, struck the ground with his Strike Stockpile at an angle that kicked up a massive cloud of dirt in Ryuusuke's direction. He rushed into the cloud, arms and body tucked in as usual.

Once at where Ryuusuke stood, he let loose a mighty strike that pushed cleared away the entire cloud.

The hobo wasn't there.

"Wha!?" Swarmer exclaimed. He turned around.

Standing only a few feet away from him, a Colt Python and a Desert Eagle pointed straight at the boxer's head, was Ryuusuke with an empty look in the eyes.

"What's next is that I'm going to make you spill: Brain matter or intel. One gets me closer to my masters and the other is just there because I don't like you or your attitude: take your pick on which comes first," he spoke with a serious tone.

The two stood silent, waiting for one to make a false move. Ryuusuke kept his eyes focused and unblinking while Swarmer seemed apt and ready to risk a sly disarm. The air choked the three young Devils as they processed what had just happened.

"I'll be damned... Never met a man who could best me in a fist-fight. Got somethin' to train for from now on," Swarmer said with a confident tone.

"Implying I'll leave you in any state better than irreversibly vegetative?" Ryuusuke threatened.

"Implying that you'll get the chance?" Swarmer responded with a confident tone.

A white glow surrounded Swarmer.

Ryuusuke shot both of his guns. The shots went through Swarmer, but not in the way the pale man would've hoped for: they phased through Swarmer like he wasn't there. Ryuusuke looked towards Huntress and found she had that same glow surrounding her despite being trapped in stopped time.

"Better luck next time, ya lanky freak o' nature," Swarmer taunted.

In a flash of bright white light, the two vanished.

"What!?" Tsubasa exclaimed.

"So close..." Koneko muttered.

Gasper reverted to his humanoid form, rubbing his strained eyes as he fell to his knees.

The bullet Gasper had suspended crashed into and blew through the tree it hovered before, causing the sturdy plant to topple over to the side with a rumbling crash, rustling leaves, and the sharp sound of snapping branches. If that massive bullet did that much to that tree, there is no telling what havoc it would've brought upon Huntress had it struck her.

"Please don't be mad, Mr. Akahoshi," he thought, not wanting to even turn in the pale man's general direction.

The corner of Ryuusuke's straightened mouth twitched and his brow seemed to furrow. He looked up to the sky and raised his guns upwards. With a violent, continuous yell, he fired off his guns into the night sky until there was no more ammunition in either firearm.

Gasper yelped and disappeared back into the tank with the aid of his Sacred Gear. He peered through the periscope of the heavy locomotive.

"I have to contact President," Akeno urged with pained grunts. She raised her hand to her ear. "This is not good. Please tell me at least someone has made some headway," she thought before speaking over the communication link.

Kuoh Cemetery, 3:40 AM

Genshirou holds his own against the combined forces of Lux and Umbra. The two Doppelgängers prove to be too much of a ranged threat for him to get in close, so he takes to cover behind a large headstone. Sona, still held within the shadows of Umbra, is unable to be of any assistance in this confrontation. Meanwhile, Ruruko is finishing up the remainder of the resurrected dead summoned forth by Umbra's transformed Faceless Mask.

The groans of the shambling corpses die down with each body Ruruko reduces to a scattered, decomposing mess until all of their voices are reduced to futile wheezing and death rattles as they once again return to the domain of death. Ruruko, alone, stands before piles of fetid bodies piled up and scattered about, insects and small animals of many types flocking towards the massive feast she had inadvertently prepared for them.

"Ya know, maybe I should've had Saji take care of this. This is absolutely disgusting," Ruruko lamented, shaking old blood off her fists. Her two brown ponytails had a plethora of insects entangled in locks of hair with patches of blood soaking into her hair. "I'm gonna need a long, hot shower after this," she said, not wanting to put her hands anywhere near her hair in fear of get more gunk trapped in it. She groaned in disgust. "I think this would be too much filth for even Yura to tolerate."

"Nimura, we need you here immediately," Sona's voice spoke to Ruruko through the communication link.

"What's goin' on?" she asked with a finger to her ear.

"The Doppelgängers are proving to be too much of a threat for me and Saji to handle. We need you here immediately to help Saji," Sona answered with urgency.

Ruruko turned to where she was feeling the familiar demonic energies of her allies. Her eyes narrowed. "Are they taking the forms of you and Saji?"

"No," Sona answered.

Ruruko flew towards the energies. "On my way. How bad is the situation?"

"The umbrakinetic Doppelgänger has got me contained. Saji is stuck confronting the both of them himself. I'm currently thinking of a way to free myself. Until then, I'll feed you two whatever information I can recall on Doppelgängers. Not much is known on them, but maybe we can use something here to put the odds in our favor," Sona explained.

Genshirou, still taking cover behind a headstone, sits silently. Though hoping to ambush at least one of the Doppelgängers, he dedicates some thought towards how to get out of his situation if caught here.

"I can't use my wings to move around; they'll hear it too well in this near dead silence. Maybe I can use my Absorption Line as a silent grapple hook to move around. No, no, no: a glowing blue line that sticks out like a sore thumb would arguably be a worse idea to use for a stealthy approach," Genshirou thought. He peered around the headstone.

The Angelic wings of Lux faced away from him as they hovered in the air. Her hooded head seemed to be turned away as well.

Umbra, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit…" Genshirou thought. Where could the other one be?

Lux's head began turning towards Genshirou.

Genshirou dipped back behind the headstone.

"The other Devil re-murdered my undead minions," Umbra spoke. Her voice sounded as if it came from the other side of the headstone Genshirou was huddled against.

"I shall breathe life into them once more," Lux spoke from a distance. Her bone wings crackled with green electricity.

Genshirou's heart froze and he broke into a cold sweat. "Damn, damn, damn. She was this close to finding me." A sudden thought struck his mind that brought back his resolve. "Wait a minute, now's my chance." He stood up from behind the headstone and deployed his Absorption Line.

The bright blue line ensnared Umbra, who let out a strained grunt as his Sacred Gear did its work and absorbed Umbra's energy.

Almost immediately, the shadows encapsulating Sona weakened. From within her barrier, she could faintly see Lux turned away with the green electricity enveloping her transformed Sacred Gear. A series of bright, yellow portals appeared before her.

Sona put her hand to her ear. "Be cautious, Saji. The Angelic one is preparing something."

"She wouldn't dare fire a spell at her own dear partner" Genshirou retorted as he stood behind Umbra, using her as a meat shield.

Lines of golden light shot out from the portals, all heading towards Genshirou's direction.

"Apparently she would! Get out of there!" Sona warned.

"She's just trying to scare me off. Just watch." Genshirou said, a smug grin spreading across his face.

The lines of light started to bend and warp. Their forms refined into glowing chains of golden light.

"Those weren't lasers?" Genhirou thought. He dissipated his Absorption Line and started his tactical retreat. At least he managed to get some pressure off of Sona.

Something grasped his leg as he tried to flee. He looked down to see a glob of liquid darkness holding onto his foot like a wad of heavy tar.

"Shit!" Genshirou exclaimed. The chains, though having to travel a fair distance, would have no problem ensnaring an immobile target.

Just then, a foot struck the side of Umbra's head, sending her flying away from Genshirou. The glob of shadow around his foot vanished.

Before Genshirou took any time to take note of his savior, he sent forth another glowing blue line from his Sacred Gear and wrapped it around the chains Lux had sent his way. He promoted himself to a Rook and pulled on the line in hopes of dragging the Doppelgänger down.

Despite not having any ground to anchor herself in place, Lux held her ground with equal, if not greater, strength. Lux summoned forth a swarm of light arrows that hovered just above her.

A water serpent wrapped itself around the Doppelgänger and a massive flock of water falcons flung themselves at the light arrows before Lux could even fire them off. Bright explosions littered the sky as the water falcons took the hits for the Devils.

"What, no thank you?" Ruruko jested, flicking her hand on Genshirou's arm.

"Oh… yeah… Thanks for the save," Genshirou said, turning to where Ruruko had kicked Umbra to.

The Doppelgänger pulled herself back up with a grunt. Umbra turned back to look at Ruruko, her evil-looking left eye shining through like a malevolent beacon.

"I'll be sure to drown you in your own shadow," she threatened with a rolling growl.

"You're not going to be doing anything if you value your ally's life," Genshirou retorted, titling his head towards the ensnared Lux with a sure grin.

"Which ally?" Umbra asked followed by a chilling chuckle. Unholy groaning and gurgling could be heard alongside thunderous footsteps.

"Wha-" Genshirou began, a meaty mass bashed into his body with an unpleasant, wet, squishy sound. He crashed through a headstone and smashed up against another one.

Ruruko took to the skies to get a visual on the new opponent. She nearly vomited upon seeing what had struck her fellow Pawn.

Below Ruruko, producing a sickening orchestra of deathly wailing and guttural growls, was a massive abomination made with the corpses of the undead she had just recently reduced to worm food. Its massive arms consisted of full torsos with the occasional head or limb poking out and wiggling like a parasitic larva emerging from its host. Its hands were adorned with an uneven and abnormal number of fingers that consisted of arms and legs. It bore not just four stout, puss-covered legs, but also an extra appendage jutting from just under its left arm that ended in a ball of decaying heads and stripped skulls. The stench flooding from the corpse golem was beyond compare.

"What the Hell is that!?" Ruruko shouted, holding her nose and struggling to keep her lunch where it belongs.

"My sister's little toy soldier," Umbra answered.

"These wings aren't just for show," Lux added, the water serpent not even seeming to phase her as it constricted her.

A pillar of light erupted from the ground and evaporated the serpent. Lux turned towards Sona. "Now we fight, Heir of Sitri. Me and you."

"I'll give you a choice, Nimura: me or the golem? Eitherway, something's going to reduce your male friend to a pile of ground meat," Umbra proposed.

"Then I'll take you both!" Ruruko boasted with a defiant tone and smirk.

"So you choose to fight with no hope of escape from your demise? Wouldn't have it anyway else, if I am to be honest," Umbra spoke before letting out a malevolent chuckle. She rose her arm to point at Ruruko. "Get her."

The corpse golem barreled towards Ruruko, wobbling around like a jelly in the wind as it ran on its four legs. Its club appendage swung at Ruruko with an accompanying nightmarish screech, to which she evaded.

Light spears hailed upon Sona, forcing her to take cover in a mausoleum.

The crashing and explosions of the light projectiles aided her escape, albeit a little too well. She was thrown against the far back wall of the mausoleum, bashing her head against the stone structure in the process.

Though in a daze, the finely polished stone nameplates of those who had passed still shone like diamonds in her eyes. It was almost enough to make Sona not question why the sound of a corpse trying to escape its entombment was not present anywhere within this specific mausoleum. There was no sign of any prior exiting, as everything kept a pristine shimmer to it that reflected Sona's image similarly to a mirror.

She got up, dazed but still able to read a few names as she leaned upon the wall for leverage. One of the names snapped her from her daze.

"Ryuusuke Akahoshi," the nameplate read.

Sona readjusted her glasses to see if her eyes were merely tricking her.

"Ryuusuke Akahoshi: Superior Private of Squad 7th and one of the greatest marksmen of his time. Nicknamed Snowy Falcon by his squad-mates and known only as a sudden bang by his foes. Died under the gun while protecting his homeland from an inside threat. Though his remains are yet to be found, our condolences go out to his family and friends who have suffered from his passing," the nameplate read.

"What the Hell…" Sona spoke under her breath. How could Ryuusuke be dead if he's been with them this entire time? She glanced at a neighboring nameplate and noticed that the entire wall she stood before was erected in remembrance of this "Squad 7th."

Another nameplate stood out to her. While every other plaque there seemed to be kept in top shape, it was oddly the only one weathered and eroded. She glanced over the nameplate, the words were incomprehensible save for a few fragmented semblances of a sentence in the beginning.

"-Eng Ne-... Pr-te of Sq-... th... dear fri-... hoshi..." Everything else was illegible.

Her eyes narrowed as she tried to make sense of the broken words.

The sounds of footsteps cut Sona's time of contemplation short. She snapped from the nameplate and stared towards the entryway of the mausoleum.

Walking her way, Angelic wings outstretched proudly in the enclosed location, was Lux.

"There is no hiding from this confrontation, Heir of Sitri. Face your demise with pride befitting that of your ranking and grant me the honor of felling such a Devil," Lux spoke. A sword of light manifested in her hand as she walked towards Sona.

Sona sent a swarm of water hornets towards Lux.

Lux erected a barrier of light, evaporating the hornets as they threw themselves against her.

"So this is how I die: by the hands of a mimic in Angel's clothing?" Sona thought. Her eyes drew back towards the nameplate bearing Ryuusuke's name.

Something caught her eye as she briefly glared at the nameplate.

A figure, grotesque and skeletal, stood where Lux would in the reflection. Its skin was sickly green and translucent, showing some semblance of organs and veins beneath the flesh as it tightly stretched over the torso in a way that made it seem heavily emaciated. The eyes failed to match: the left was a beaming yellow, frog-like eye while the right was a fairly human-styled eye bearing the typical red iris and black sclera used to distinguish Lux from Umbra. Its arms and legs seemed to be nothing but bone tightly covered by flesh. Its fingers were like those of spider legs ending in rounded fingertips similar to that of a human. It seemed to have no mouth… or nose… or ears. It looked, to put it simply, alien.

The voice of Lux wailed as if in great distress and pain before contorting into an unholy screech of some inhuman creature. The reflection seemed to cave in and claw at itself like there was some parasite squirming just beneath its skin. Its screeching got worse the longer Sona watched. Was this the true form of a Doppelgänger?

She turned back towards Lux to see her kneeling on the ground, panting.

"So your kind hates others viewing your reflection. This is valuable information," Sona thought before turning her gaze back towards the reflected monstrosity. She put a finger to her ear. "Nimura, get the other Doppelgänger in front of a reflective surface and stare at its reflection. It seems to be a weakness of theirs," Sona spoke as Lux's screeching continued.

"I… uh… think I'm fine. She kinda just fell to the ground and started screaming like she was on fire or somethin'. I didn't look at any reflection: she just… dropped. The corpse golem also fell apart, so I think that means we won?" Ruruko spoke over the communication link with an unsure tone.

"Odd… they seem to have some form of deep sensory connection. Do all Doppelgängers share this collective reaction, or is it just these two?" Sona thought, keeping an eye on Lux's reflection.

Lux's screeching gave way to her glowing with a gradually intensifying white light.

Sona manifested a barrier around herself, anticipating this to be a last-ditch-effort tactic. She kept her eyes trained on the reflection.

"President, the shadow-using Doppelgänger is glowing white. Should she be doing this?" Ruruko asked over the communication link with a wavering voice.

"What? Her too?" Sona responded.

A bright, white light erupted, blinding Sona briefly. When her vision returned, the Doppelgänger was nowhere in sight.

"President! The Doppelgänger is gone! Be on guard!" Ruruko shouted over the communication link.

"Agh! Nimura, quiet down. You are speaking directly into my ear, remember?" Sona snapped, cupping her ear with her hand as a deafening ringing took over. "And don't worry, I think they just retreated. The photokinetic Doppelgänger vanished as well.

"My apologies, President," Ruruko spoke.

"I'll have to inform Rias of this development immediately. Get Saji up and regroup at my location," Sona spoke.

After she finished speaking, a projection similar in appearance to a radio dial manifested before her ear. She twirled her hand as if changing channels on the dial of an old model T.V. and prepared to speak, but not before a thought crossed her mind and sank her heart. "Please. Daisuke, please be safe," she thought, growing pale at the thought of the worst possible result if the mercenaries get away.

Kuoh Streets, 3:40 AM

The symphony of birds cheered on the Okuri-Inu as he chased down Xenovia. Yuuto still clung over her shoulder, bleeding. However, he seemed to have regained at least some consciousness as evidenced by his weakened groans of pain. From time to time, Tomoe intercepted the three on their run and attempted to slash at Rippers legs. Every time she did, he deftly evaded as if he was expecting her to come from nowhere. As Xenovia's stamina dwindled, so did her willingness to go along with Tomoe's plan.

"Meguri, I can't keep running like this for much longer," Xenovia said with a labored voice. She turned her head to look back at Ripper, keeping her finger to her ear.

He showed no signs of exhaustion. His steps still matched Xenovia's perfectly.

"You know what? Fuck this. If I wind up exhausted, me and Kiba are both goners. I need to stand my ground here and now," Xenovia thought. "I'm stopping."

"We have to keep running. He'll let his guard down eventually; it's only a matter of time," Meguri plead.

"Well, I have to carry Kiba while I flee from a death hound. I can't keep running. If I do, I won't have any energy left to defend myself when he does decide to stop playing this game with us," Xenovia refuted. She stopped her run and turned towards Ripper.

Ripper, too, stopped. The birds that swarmed him sung their obnoxious song as they perched themselves on the nearby buildings.

Xenovia carefully walked herself over to the wall of a building. She knelt down, careful to not make a misstep, and placed Yuuto against the wall. She rose back up and turned back towards Ripper.

Ripper only watched, his crimson eyes shining like headlights through the darkness of his hood.

"Come on, mongrel. You and me," Xenovia spoke. She outstretched her arm and summoned forth Durandal from a glowing portal. Brandishing the hefty Holy Sword, she circled around Ripper like a wolf spotting for an opening.

Ripper followed along with Xenovia's circling. He matched her step-for-step, not taking his eyes off of her.

The shadow birds became a silent audience as they watched the two pace around each other in a slow, meticulous manner.

"Since he won't attack first, I can use this to my advantage. Just got to keep looking like I'll strike at any moment," Xenovia thought. Hoping to get as much stamina back as she could from this little dance, she kept hostile eyes on Ripper.

Ripper's red eyes were unblinking as he awaited Xenovia's next move. He seemed to be falling for the ploy.

The two continued to circle each other. Each circle they made, Ripper seemed to lurk closer by only a few inches. Though her time of reprieve was limited, Xenovia had plenty of time to catch her breath before Ripper was too close for her to be playing the stalling game.

"Chi! Chi! Chi!" a few of the red-eyed birds sung.

The flash of steel glided towards Ripper from behind him. Behind the glimmer was Tomoe once again. The sound of a sword slicing through the air zoomed towards the Okuri-Inu.

Ripper evaded and hopped a short distance away without so much as a grunt of frustration.

"Damn it, those birds won't let us sneak up on him," Tomoe muttered.

"We can't touch him, can't outrange him, can't defend against him, and can't hide from his senses. What can we do?" Xenovia thought. She circled around the Okuri-Inu again, keeping Durandal trained on him.

Ripper, this time, didn't follow Xenovia in her circling. He stood stationary, cutting glares at her and Tomoe that were only broken by his red eyes disappearing behind his eyelids each time he swapped his focus. When Xenovia was out of his peripherals, he wouldn't even bother to turn around to keep an eye on her.

Once Xenovia was on the other side of Ripper, Tomoe circled around him as well. She kept her katana trained on him at all times and kept an ear out for the flapping of wings from the birds watching from the sidelines.

Ripper stood there and did nothing as usual.

Having regained a substantial amount of stamina, Xenovia lunged in from behind Ripper.

Tomoe followed suit and rushed in from the front, katana trailing through the air behind her.

Xenovia let lose a downward slash to Ripper's left side.

Tomoe went for an upwards slash aimed at Ripper's right side.

Ripper turned his body to the left and weaved between the two slashes with profound expertise.

Tomoe turned and swung a horizontal slash at Ripper's head.

Xenovia tagged along and swung a slash at Ripper's legs, boxing him in even more.

Ripper flipped forwards. Tomoe's blade flew by his head while Xenovia's Durandal failed to strike his legs.

Before Ripper could even touch the ground, the Devils both prepared a downwards slash.

"Got you now!" Tomoe sounded in triumph.

A flock of the sparrow-like creatures flew into Ripper and surrounded him. They carried him away from the two just as they released their attacks, causing both Tomoe and Xenovia to miss and almost strike each other.

Tomoe and Xenovia turned towards where the birds were carrying Ripper off to. The sight was not the most encouraging.

The flock of red-eyed avians parted in a way that revealed Ripper's crimson eyes among the cloud of blackened feathers and red dots. His eyes shone far brighter than those of the birds. His robed matched the pitch-black color of the sparrow-like creatures he created, making him seem to be one with the mass. The deafening sound of wings flapping and the birds' mocking song drowned out the Devils' very thoughts.

As the birds flew from the flock and returned to their posts on the surrounding buildings, Ripper's figure became more and more discernible. He was posed with a menacing perversion of Jesus's when he was nailed to the cross. His feet touched the ground and, within an instant, the rest of the birds dispersed.

It was back to square one for the two Knights.

"Damn it, we almost had him," Tomoe muttered as she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Xenovia.

"No. He was taunting us. He knows we can't do anything to him, so he's toying with us... giving us hope that we can win only to snatch it away," Xenovia refuted.

"Sadistic bastard. Well, at least we have some time to think of a plan," Tomoe whispered as she looked around the narrow battlefield.

The street was empty save for a few metal garbage bins by Yuuto. A perfectly good, bright red ball sat in the top level of garbage of one of the bins, but what use would that have? On the other side of the street stood a stout, metal street lamp. It seemed inoperable judging by the shattered bulb and frayed wiring sparking every so often. The glowing red eyes of the sparrow-like creatures stared her and Xenovia down in silence.

"Well, whatever it is, don't say it out loud. This thing has good ears," Xenovia warned, keeping her eyes trained on Ripper and her Durandal pointed in his direction.

"Good ears..." Tomoe repeated in her head. She focused her attention fully on the street lamp. She walked towards the construct slowly, making sure each and every step was sure-footed.

The birds watched her closely. They seemed ready to strike Tomoe at any moment.

"Hey! Focus on me, you Hellhound!" Xenovia shouted, rushing towards Ripper full speed.

"Chi! Chi! Chi!" the birds sounded furiously. They all dove towards Xenovia in a mad rush.

Tomoe scraped her katana against the street lamp, doing the best she could to make the noise as loud and earsplitting as possible. A piercing, grinding screech echoed through the street.

Immediately, the birds ceased and dropped to the ground, squirming before being reduced to liquid shadow. Their song faded and their red eyes disappeared into darkness.

A rolling growl akin to that of an angered hound emanated from Ripper. He held the top of his head with a slouch.

"Meguri, you damn genius!" Xenovia shouted. She lunged towards Ripper, ready to put an end to his terrifying existence.

Ripper painstakingly dragged his hand through the air. An odd, red symbol appeared before him and, before Xenovia could land a killing blow on him, a wall of blackened smoke erupted from beneath him.

Durandal kept going and struck nothing. Despite his pained state, Ripper was still considerably adept at evading. Now covered in the black smoke, Xenovia lost visual on the Okuri-Inu.

"Meguri, watch out!" Xenovia shouted in warning.

A single "Chi!" sounded followed by a pained grunt from a female voice.

"No!" Xenovia shouted. She knew what came next.

The overwhelming aura of dread spiked yet again, chilling Xenovia's blood as she rushed from the smoke.

The sound of a garbage bin toppling over rang and, along with it, the bouncing of a ball could be heard.

Xenovia escaped the smoke. She rubbed her eyes and coughed before turning a gaze to Tomoe. "Megur…i?

Rolling around on the ground, chasing that red ball Tomoe had seen earlier, was Ripper.

Xenovia looked at Tomoe. A look of sheer terror existed before being swapped out with a visage of visible confusion.

"Eh?" Tomoe sounded with a pitched voice.

Xenovia looked over to the toppled bins to see Yuuto stumbling around, that same confused look on his face.

"You've got to be shitting me..." Xenovia lamented as she watched what was perhaps her greatest enemy play will a red ball in a fashion similar to that of a domesticated dog. It all felt a little insulting, but was nonetheless welcome.

A ring of blades of various shapes and sizes rose from the ground at a slant towards Ripper, entrapping him in a cage of swords with little to no room for movement.

"Make even a suspicious twitch and I'll use those blades to tear you to shreds before you can even blink," Yuuto threatened with labored breathing.

Ripper rolled a low growl in response.

"I have half a mind to kill you where you stand, but we have a need for you," Xenovia spoke, approaching Ripper with Durandal hoisted over her shoulder.

Ripper turned his eyes towards Xenovia, that same growl crawling from his mouth. Though his movement was restricted and was essentially rendered harmless, his presence was still unnerving enough to dissuade direct eye contact.

"If you value your life, you should start spilling everything you know," Xenovia demanded, pulling her Durandal from over her shoulder and holding before the Okuri-Inu's face. Its point hovered just a few centimeters from his head.

A sudden white glow surrounded Ripper, illuminating only the bottom half of his face from under his hood. A smirk formed on his face, showing a set of sharpened canines. The glow grew more and more bright.

"No you don't!" Yuuto shouted. He clenched his hand into a fist.

The blades surrounding Ripper collapsed in on him like an elaborate cookie cutting utensil. The blades phased through him, failing to leave even a scratch.

"What!?" Tomoe exclaimed.

"Objective: Distract Division B. Status: Complete. Awaiting further instruction," Ripper spoke with a deep, yet oddly smooth voice. The light was almost blindingly bright at this point. "You failed."

Light exploded from Ripper, blotting out the vision of the three Knights. When their vision returned, the Okuri-Inu was gone.

"No! No! No!" Tomoe shouted, dropping her katana and grasping both of her reddish-brown pigtails.

"Damn it. We can't let them get away," Xenovia thought. She put her hand up to her ear. A dial-like projection manifested before her ear and she twirled her hand around, adjusting the projection.

Kuoh Central Plaza-Fountain, 3:30 AM

After having destroyed Archmage, Titan became the only thing truly stopping the Devils from saving their human friends. Harvest had been injured enough to warrant her to stay out of the fight while Hybrid had to cauterize the open wound Rias gave him when she blew off his entire arm. The Captain was still preoccupied with combating Grayfia, so that creature was no longer of the young Devils' concern. It all came down to a one-on-one fight: Issei versus Titan.

"Boost!"

Issei flew forward and threw out a punch aimed for Titan's midsection.

Titan batted away the strike with his right arm and retaliated with a downward swing from his golden mace.

Issei swerved to the left, but was still struck by the attack. It was as if Titan had been aiming a little to the side before Issei even made a move. Pinned under the weapon, Issei struggled to force it off of him.

Titan released his grip on the gold mace and walked over to Issei's side. He knelt beside him, his free arm strewn across his knee and his three-faced mace hoisted over his shoulder.

"You may have seen how mein waffe works, but you fail to understand how it works. Think about it, kind, and you might just find a way to win this. Or better yet, don't think about it," Titan lectured in his deep, Germanic voice.

"What in the Hell is that supposed to mean ya German asshole?" Issei asked, grunting every so often as he tried to push away the golden mace.

Titan stood back up and walked back over to his mace. "It will make sense eventually. You're a little dense, but even you should be able to figure it out," He gripped the mace once again and, with a wave of his arm, dragged Issei through the dirt, flinging him away from the massive man.

"Boost!"

Issei caught himself mid-flight. He extended his right arm.

"Blade!"

Ascalon jutted out from his right gauntlet once again. With haste, he flew back towards Titan and delivered a slash aimed for his head.

Titan simply batted him away with his three-faced mace before Issei was even within striking range, sending the armored Devil flying away once more. His maces were more than capable of covering more ground than Ascalon could.

"You can't win this fight by fighting the way you currently do. Fight the way a cornered beast would and you may see some results," Titan lectured once again.

"There are innocent lives on the line and here you are, treatin' this whole battle like a class for me! Shut the fuck up, you pretentious shrimp-dicked steroid guzzler!" Issei shouted. Every word that thundered from the man made his blood boil hotter and hotter.

"Don't think about it...fight the way a beast would..." Ddraig repeated quietly with an inquisitive hum.

"Hey, it would be nice if ya helped me out once in a while," Issei snapped at the in-thought Ddraig.

"I see now. He has a blind-spot," Ddraig responded.

"Well, what is it?" Issei urged, keeping an eye on Titan.

"Yes Rot Drachen Ddraig, what is your revelation? What knowledge do you have to impart on your ally?" Titan chimed in. He twirled his maces around and planted them firmly into the ground, still holding a firm grip on both of them.

"Shit, he's listening," Issei lamented internally with grit teeth.

"It can't be helped. I can't tell you what you need to do; he'll know you've figured him out and will most likely adapt. Just take to heart what he says; he's dropping hints for you to pick up on. Do remember just what it is his faced mace does and the answer should come to you," Ddraig stated before going silent.

"Hey, don't leave me to fight him with no idea what I'm doing! Ddraig! Damn it!" Issei shouted. It didn't take long for him to give up and turn his attention back to the battle.

"It would be wise to listen to Der Rot Drachen Ddraig. He knows my weakness, but also knows you must learn it yourself if you are to take any advantage of it," Titan spoke. He lifted his maces once again and pointed the golden one towards the young Devil. "Stahl Dich!" Titan rushed towards Issei again.

"Boost!"

Issei flew towards Titan, promoting himself to a Queen to give himself an even larger speed advantage and boosted strength. He feigned a slash and swerved behind Titan.

Titan merely swung his three-faced mace over his shoulder and let it fall to the ground behind him, causing Issei's attack to strike the shaft of the weapon with a loud metallic clang.

Issei let out an agitated grunt before flying around Titan a few times at high speed. At this point, he was going too fast for the lumbering man to physically keep up with his position.

"Boost!"

Issei dove in from Titan's right with a plunging stab.

Titan turned and "punched" Issei with the golden mace. The spiked ball tip of the weapon pierced through a portion of the Scale Mail, stabbing Issei a few times in his midsection.

An agonizing, burning sensation flooded the entry points of the weapon's spikes. He let out bloodcurdling screams of pain as he was sent flying back from the strike. He smashed against the wall of a building, indenting himself in it.

"Ddraig! Damn it! I need some help here!" Issei shouted, the searing pain of his wound kicking his adrenaline production into overdrive.

No answer.

"Damn… What do I do now? I can try to disarm hi-" Issei thought.

"I would not recommend trying that tactic when you are the only combatant. Think about what I had told you," Titan intercepted.

"Don't think about it...fight the way a beast would..." Issei repeated Ddraig's words in his head, hoping to get a similar train of thought his partner did.

"Yes: those words. You're already closer than you realize," Titan spoke as he planted his maces into the dirt at his side once again.

Issei pulled himself from the building, blood leaking from his puncture wounds before Scale Mail repaired itself.

"Boost!"

He lunged from the wall and flew at Titan. Raising Ascalon up, he prepared to deliver a slash down upon Titan's head. He stunted his speed.

Titan lifted his maces back up and prepared to once again punish Issei's attempt.

"Don't think... Don't think..." The words repeated in Issei's head just before getting within Titan's range.

Issei's breathing stilled and his body loosened. His vision blurred and all became silent.

Titan swung his three-faced mace down. The mace crashed against the ground, but with no Devil pinned under. He looked down to see Issei with his right fist planted against his midsection, Ascalon burrowed into his body.

"Well done, kind," Titan said with a light chuckle. He coughed out blood, which fell upon Issei's visor.

"Wait, what?" Issei said, retracting Ascalon and stepping away from the man. "That worked?"

"Yes, that did work," Titan reassured.

Issei turned his attention to the Kasais, hope burning brightly in his heart. What he saw left him puzzled instead.

The Kasais were unharmed, but still within those same barriers Archmage had enveloped them in. But didn't they destroy the Lich? Does his magic work even after death?

"What's goin' on?" Issei asked with a shaky voice. "Why are they still in those bubbles?"

Titan didn't answer. He sat down in silence, releasing his maces and allowing them to crash into the ground with a heavy thud in order to hold his wound.

"Don't tell me..." Rias spoke.

Titan and Issei turned towards Rias's voice.

There she stood, somehow having found the strength to get back up on her feet. She was panting and stumbling as she approached Issei's side. Held under her arm was an unconscious Asia. "Don't tell me... the Lich isn't really dead."

"Like I said, kind, you only destroyed his body. Revenants can't be killed by anything other than the hands of a death deity or a Grim Reaper. Liches, being magically talented Revenants, can use this ability to their advantage," Titan explained. He stood up and walked over to his other allies, passing between Rias, Asia, and Issei. He held his wound with one hand and held onto both of his maces with his other hand, dragging them across the ground as he walked. "Observe."

Beside Harvest and Hybrid formed six different dots of white light.

"Quarta to President: the Okuri-Inu escaped! Beware of red-eyed sparrows: he seems to be able to use them as extra eyes and another means of attack! As ridiculous as this sounds, get a ball or a Frisbee ready!" Xenovias voice shouted at Rias over the communication link.

"Sona to Rias: The Doppelgänger duo vanished into thin air. I haven't heard back from either Shinra, Kusaka, or Hanakai. Be wary of an ambush; I'll be heading over to their location to aid them. If you do see the duo, find a reflective object and keep an eye on their mirrored forms," Sona's voice spoke right after Xenovia's.

"President, the Werewolf and the boxer are gone. We're dealing with a Sanguispilus. Repeat: a Sanguispilus," Akeno's voice followed Sona's. She spoke hurriedly and weakly as if she had been greatly injured before contacting Rias.

"No..." Issei said with an airy voice. He watched as the six dots grew.

In a flash of light, the remaining mercenaries manifested.

First came a figure bearing aqua-blue eyes—Typhoon—who seemed to be completely unharmed.

Second came a hulking, red-furred man-beast missing an arm—Huntress—and a human with golden light emanating from his arms—Swarmer. It didn't take even a full ten seconds for the Werewolf's arm to regrow.

Third came a pair of figures fallen to their knees, grasping at their heads. Briefly shouting in unison in a pained manner, they calmed down and got back up. One bore three pairs of Angel wings and a single pair of skeletal wings while the other wore an onyx-black ring bearing a crystal skull around its left index finger. Their eyes distinguished them—Lux and Umbra.

Lastly came a tall, crimson-eyed figure. Despite panting in what was either exhaustion or fear, it exuded a menacing aura. This was the Okuri-Inu—Ripper.

Typhoon hurried to the injured Titan's side.

"Jaecar! What happened?" Typhoon asked.

"Jaecar?" Rias repeated. Her blue eyes narrowed. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"I'm fine. I trust this is part of Archmage's vision," Titan answered before reaching out and pulling Typhoon's head close to his. The sound of a hushed, Germanic voice crawled from the two.

"I'm sorry. I just got a little worried and blurted it out in the heat of the moment. Let me heal you," Typhoon spoke.

"I feel that Hybrid requires hilfe more than me," Titan responded, pointing over to the Doppelgänger missing its arm.

Typhoon turned to look at Hybrid.

It seemed Lux and Umbra were already on the case. Their Sacred Gears had already shifted into something akin to Asia's Twilight Healing. They held their hands up to their injured ally, its arm regenerating as their hands glowed.

"Nevermind, I guess," Titan retracted before letting Typhoon use her water magic to mend his stab wound.

A bright, purple orb of light manifested below the captured Kasai family, causing the mercenaries to turn towards it. Dust flowed towards the light and engulfed it in a grainy cloud of white. Was that… bone dust?

The cloud vanished into the light. A bleached human skeleton manifested around it before the light branched out into the bones of the skeleton, glowing dimmer with time until it had faded to nothing. The eye sockets, starting as blackened and empty holes, became home to a pair of ominous and dim blue dots. A black robe materialized around the skeleton. Like so, Archmage stood once again as if nothing had happened.

"And now, the finale," Archmage spoke. He raised an arm and snapped his bony fingers.

"No... no... no no no. We were so close. We were so close," Issei thought. He knew there was no way he could fend off the rest of them himself; they had lost.

He choked on the air and fell to his knees. Tears streamed from under his visor as he watched his dear friends, one of the few things that reminded him of what it was to be human, vanish within flashes of white light in pairs of two.

First went the hardworking Romeo and Juliet pair: Haru, the jovial businessman with the bulk of a bear, and Miu, the sweetheart with a crazy switch.

Second went the adorable flower duo: Ren, the endearing numbskull with a love for nature, and Ran, the sharp-witted social recluse with a protective heart.

Then, lastly, went the siblings he had bonded so closely with: Daisuke, the shy prince with a distinct set of eyes, and Ai, the gentle giant with an infectious mood.

They were all gone. He had failed in his promise to protect them

"It would be ill advised to stay here any longer. Rias Gremory, take your allies and leave immediately if you value your and their lives," Ddraig spoke from Issei's Boosted Gear.

"What do you mean by that?" Rias responded.

"The Dragon of Supremacy," Typhoon answered with an airy, energetic voice. Her body trembled, but it was uncertain if it was out of fear.

"It seems you know a fair amount concerning of my power, yet you still oppose me. I thought you crazy Wanis were supposed to be Dragon fanatics. No matter," Ddraig spoke.

Immediately, an overwhelming energy erupted from Issei, kicking up a fierce wind that pushed away even the stoutest of the combatants.

"Uh oh, Dragon Man's really mad," Harvest said with a quiver.

"I sure hope ya know what ya be doin' Archmage!" Swarmer shouted to his ally.

Though the mighty winds pushed his bony frame back, Archmage remained in stoic silence.

"Ise!" Rias shouted, attempting to make a sudden move towards her Pawn only to be stopped by a sharp pain in her leg. The combination of the strong winds and her exhaustion made it impossible for her to get close.

"Rias, get out of there! Whatever that thing is, it's going to tear you apart!" Sona's voice barked at Rias.

"No... that's Issei. What in the world is going on over there?" Akeno corrected.

"How in the world could that be Hyoudou!? Last time I checked, his peak power wasn't even a tenth of what I'm picking up! Run Rias!" Sona barked again.

"That nary beon necessary. This scuffle hast already been settled," Archmage's voice permeated the communication link once again.

"You! What have you done!?" Xenovia butted in.

Archmage never answered her.

"Final warning, Rias Gremory. Leave immediately or be destroyed," Ddraig urged with a stern tone.

Green orbs fluttered from the gem on Scale Mail's chest and floated around Issei like a cloak of wisps. They seemed to speak in pained, often saddened whispers undecipherable.

"I, who am about to awaken..." Ddraig's voice thundered, amplifying the already immense aura Issei was exuding.

"Titan… play thy final part so we can return to our place of dwelling," Archmage spoke, turning his back to Issei despite the Devil's near insurmountable energy that made his own seem more akin to a flickering lighter.

"Very well," Titan responded. He rose his golden mace up. It glowed with a bright light more blinding than even the sun itself. "Schlaf, Issei Hyoudou. Awaken when your ire cools."

Immediately, the strong winds died down and the spike of energy faded to nothing. The wisps that circled Issei silenced and faded away into his body.

"What!? Hyoudou, what's wrong!? What did you do!?" Ddraig thundered with a raised tone.

Scale Mail automatically retracted, revealing Issei with closed eyes as his body fell to the ground, unconscious.

"It's hard to activate Juggernaut Drive when your vessel is unable to supply negative emotion," Titan answered. His mace stopped glowing as he lowered it.

"This concludes our performance. For being such a swell audience, we will let you live and leave you be. Have yourselves a most splendid life," Archmage spoke before he vanished in a flash of light.

"Farewell, Rot Drachen Ddraig," Titan said with maces planted in ground by his side before he, too, vanished.

"It was fun playing with you guys," Harvest said with a wave before vanishing as well.

Hybrid only stared down Rias with an ireful aura before he vanished with Lux and Umbra.

"Operation Status: All objectives complete. Returning to base," Ripper spoke in his undeservingly pleasant voice before vanishing.

"Hey, tell that pale fecker with the empty eyes a spot be open in our company if he ever be needin' employment!" Swarmer shouted before he and Huntress vanished.

"Even if it was only for a brief moment, your power was truly an experience. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ddraig, even as an enemy," Typhoon said with a bow before vanishing.

Those words and goodbyes being said, the three Devils were left in an empty, destroyed battleground. The fountain that used to liven up the place was reduced to wettened rubble. It's an absolute miracle how most of the nearby buildings remained intact.

"Hyoudou... you did well. I only wish I could've been of more aid. Rest now, we'll figure this out later," Ddraig said, leaving the young Devil to his well deserved slumber.

Now speechless and having lost the battle, Rias finally caved in to her exhaustion while uttering a broken sentence.

"Ise… I…" she drifted off.

Hello everyone reading. Surprise, it's me once again crawling back from the bloody grave to give you another train-wreck (or perhaps an early Christmas gift depending on how you view my story).

For those of you concerned with why it took me so long to make just this single chapter (aside from it being about 30,000 words in length), I would like to foremost apologize. Things, at least over the past few months, have been a downward spiral. I fell into a near crippling depression, fell roughly a full month behind on college work, had my whole world view flipped upside-down, lost pretty much my entire childhood (a lot of sentimental belongings being most of the composition) and a lot of other crazy personal nonsense that I feel is better off not talked about in excessive detail. Only recently have I had any form of joy and motivation return to me.

More bad news, the notes I had taken for this story wound up missing as well, so I may have to take time to either draw upon recollections and make new notes or keep rummaging around in the faint hope of me finding them yet again. Either way, the following chapters will be delayed: hopefully not as much as this one was, but still. I may take this time to refine earlier chapters again, so there's that option.

Having endured some time of hardship, I may have grown rusty with my writing style. Do be sure to point out any error or flaw you feel needs to be pointed out. I may just be recovering from being a sad-sack, but I can still take some criticism.

Now, enough of my pity-party. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I dearly apologize for my utter lack of consistency and prevalent incompetency. I'm planning on making this the final chapter of the second volume, but I may add in an extra chapter if something does come to mind.

Also, I may decide to start responding to reviews in the little heading bits starting just below the disclaimers in their own little section to see if I can be more connected with my readers. What do you guys think about that? Should I do it?