::Author's Note::

Well folks, I thought we'd never get to this point yet here we are. The next Chapter will be the Epilogue but this one will completely wrap up major plot points of the story. It's been a long, crazy, (and at times arduous) ride but we're finally here. I'll be going over some things to look forward to in the next Arc once I've post the epilogue, but in the meantime I just have a couple of quick notes.

I wanted to address something one of my reviewers pointed out. I somehow completely left out Uriel when addressing all the major players in the Three Factions a few chapters back. Oops. I'll address this issue in the next Arc and fix the problem, so no real worries there.

One thing to be on the lookout for in this chapter. I changed the name of the Chaos Brigade. For no particular reason than I just don't think the name is severe enough for what is essentially the primary villainous force of the entire Highschool Dxd canon. Chaos Brigade is just too tame for my liking and sounds like something someone would call them as a joke. Not to be taken seriously.

Aside from that, I don't really wanna talk too much about this chapter as I don't want to spoil it. This chapter has been a long time in the making, and a lot of the story that I've crafted over the past few months has been leading up to this point, so I hope you enjoy it.

I proudly present to you all, Chapter 41.

::End Note::

Jon's eyes closed and his thrusters went cool. He fell towards Earth alongside Rias, his armor breaking off and vanishing in massive chunks, leaving him bare. He had just finished the battle of his life. And now, spent of everything, Jon had officially lost consciousness.

Kiba and Koneko quickly swooped in and caught them both, bringing the pair back to the others where they belonged. Irina immediately rushed over to Jon and inspected him for injuries.

"Is he okay?!" She asked desperately, her nerve having been completely frayed some time ago.

Koneko nodded assuredly. "Just drained, that's all."

She breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly but surely, Jon began to come around. Groaning in pain as he shakily sat up in Koneko's arms.

"So...I take it we won?" He asked, clear exhaustion in his voice.

After a moment, Irina's breath hitched. A bright smile enveloped her features and tears formed in her eyes. She pressed herself against him and hugged tight, letting the relief spill out of her eyes now that the worst had finally passed.

It was over. It was finally over.

"Ow! Hey, easy easy!" He insisted. "I'm pretty sure I bruised a rib up there!"

"I can't believe we're alive!" She insisted sincerely before pulling away and smiling at him again. "Jon...that was INCREDIBLE!"

Koneko smiled and nodded her head in agreement. Before he could reply, Rias began to come to as well.

"Mmmm." She rubbed her sore temples with both hands and shook the cobwebs loose before checking to see if she was still decent. "Well...at least this time I didn't wind up half naked."

Kiba chuckled at her incredulously. "Really? That's what you're worried about, Rias?"

Akeno and Xenovia soon followed, each of them opening their eyes and sitting up. As the group collectively processed what had just happened, Jon finally stood up out of Koneko's grasp and slowly began making his way to the massive hole he'd left in the Lindou District. A look of severity in his eyes.

"Where are you going?" Rias asked worriedly.

"I have to see it." He spoke vehemently. "I have to know he's dead."

The President shot a concerned look to Kiba who nodded in understanding before running after Jon. The two approached the massive crater and peered down. There was no telling how deep it truly ran.

"We should fly down there." He insisted.

"Jon…" Kiba shook his head assuredly. "...save your strength. Come on, we both know he's dead."

"I need to confirm the kill!" He growled.

"Jon, trust me!" Kiba shouted back at him. "The fucking ratbastard is a charcoal briquette!"

The Dragon peered back down into the hole nervously before Kiba placed both his hands on his shoulders.

"You did it, Brother." He smiled at him ecstatically. "You won."

After shifting his gaze between the hole and Kiba several more times, at last, a bright smile enveloped his features. Jon began to laugh whereupon Kiba soon joined him. The two hugged it out, relief washing over both their beings as the finality of their ordeal truly began to sink in.

One by one, Jon's entire Peerage rushed over to him to join in the celebration. They were exhausted beyond measure, sore beyond belief, and completely drained of power. Not that anyone would have known that by the looks on their faces.

Irina watched from a distance as they each took it in turns to hug and praise each other. A content smile on her face. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and looked to see Asia standing next to her. Her expression was bright and friendly as always.

"You should go up there too. After all...you're one of his Treasures, aren't you?"

She gasped at her words, at a complete loss as to how to respond.

Asia giggled at her. "Well...give it some thought at least. Either way, you're still his family."

With that, she turned and merrily made her way towards the others. Leaving Irina to ponder her words while her heart thumped loudly in her ears. She had no clue what to do. If she went over there, Irina was certain she would never leave. On the other hand, if she just quietly left, she'd basically be ensuring that she never saw Jon again either. The more she thought about it, the louder her heartbeat became.

Until it suddenly stopped dead in her chest and all went quiet. Time seemed to slow down around her as she watched Asia run in, what looked to her at least, slow motion towards the others. Something was wrong...terribly wrong. She didn't know how she knew it, she just...did.

And that's when Irina saw it. Directly at Asia's feet, a figure burst up from the earth below her. Time continued to move at a crawl around her as the Ten Winged Monster himself burst up from the ground as if crawling out of Hades itself, causing Asia to shriek in absolute terror. Irina's feet were already moving even as Jon and the others turned their heads one by one to look back at the source of the scream. Each of their expressions changing from one of relief and merriment to that of sheer unbridled horror as Kokabiel grabbed the Phylactery roughly off of Asia's person, tearing her skirt and blouse in the process and knocking her backwards onto the ground.

A Lance of Light appeared in his hand and Irina willed her body to move even faster, using her Psionic Energy to propel her legs forward. Meanwhile Jon knocked over four people in a mad dash to save his Treasure. Kokabiel brought his lance up over his head and Asia covered her eyes with her arms, bracing for the end.

The lance came down right as Irina jumped in its path, embedding itself in her chest in Asia's place.

Jon's feet stopped and he stood paralyzed, his whole being shattering in a single moment. He, along with everyone else, watched in slow motion as Irina's body collapsed into the dirt, Kokabiel's lance protruding from her chest. A blank, vacant look in her eyes as time reverted to normal.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Xenovia shrieked.

Their faces all contorted into looks of stunned horror, save for Jon and Asia who both just looked completely vacant. Like they weren't really there. Meanwhile, Kokabiel calmly pulled the spear from Irina's breast, causing her to lurch up and cough blood onto Asia's shellshocked face.

The Angel of Stars flew up into the sky, laughing maniacally as he proceeded to raise his lance again. Kiba, having been the first to regain his wits, immediately sprung into action. Using his speed to swoop in and grab both Asia and Irina before beating a hasty retreat back to the others. All in the fraction of time it took for the lance to hit the ground and detonate.

"IRINA!" Xenovia grabbed the mortally wounded Holy Sword User from Kiba and held her in her arms. "Irina, speak to me! SPEAK TO ME!"

"Tsk! Quick little rat, aren't you?" Kokabiel slowly turned and glared at Kiba and the others hatefully. "No matter…you'll all be dead soon anyway." An insidious look formed in his eyes "You took away my future...I'm just returning the favor."

He proceeded to slam the crystal into his chest whereupon power rushed through his being. Sickly green energy coursed through his veins, turning his raven hair and wings grey and paling his skin.

While this transformation took place, Asia broke out of her stupor to see Xenovia shaking her desperately, sheer panic in her voice.

"Fix her!" She cried desperately. "Asia, please FIX HER!"

Realizing she was being called to act, Asia pushed Xenovia and the others aside and immediately began channeling her Twilight Healing into Irina's body.

Upon feeling the extent of the injury, dismay set into her being. It was bad...REALLY bad.

"I...I can't close this wound!" She shook her head in denial. There wasn't anything she could do, not for this.

Meanwhile, Kokabiel's transformation had finished. With the power of the Phylactery in his chest, the Angel of Stars was infused with his deceased wife's powers. His new form was a grim hybridization of a Lich and a Fallen Angel. The right half of his face was shrunken in and skeletal, his right eye was glowing that sickly green color, and a tattered waist cape formed on his back. With the transformation complete he landed on the ground in front of the tired and beleaguered Peerage. Having seemingly been completely restored.

"Now THIS is more like it!" Kokabiel laughed like a man unhinged, his voice taking on a deathly rattle. "With Eurus's power at my disposal we can REALLY have some fun!"

Xenovia's pain and despair quickly boiled into seething rage. She grabbed Durandal and charged at Kokabiel with reckless abandon. The Angel of Stars summoned a green blade of light mixed with ethereal ectoplasm and blocked her initial swing. Causing a shockwave that could be felt by all.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" She railed in equal parts fury and despair.

"My, but how quickly the tides do change." He taunted nastily, sparks flying off their swords as they both clashed for supremacy. "Don't worry, Little Hunter, you will not be far behind her."

He knocked her away with his blade, pushing her back several yards. Xenovia dug her heels in and remained standing, using her sword to brace herself before charging yet again and leaping into the air. With an angry shout she brought her sword down upon him once more. Kokabiel blocked the blow, leaving his back exposed.

Seeing an opportunity, Kiba quickly capitalized. Summoning his Holy Devil Sword and darting at lightning speeds to attack from the flank.

"Oooooh, now we're talking!" Kokabiel laughed before summoning another blade with his free hand and using it to block Kiba. "What's more fun than fighting Durandal and a Balance Breaker at the same time?"

"This!" Koneko, who had snuck around behind him dove straight down from the sky with her heels out in front of her, intent on delivering a spine shattering double kick to Kokabiel's back.

Glowing barbed feathers shot from his wings and detonated upon impact with her body. Koneko cried out loudly in pain as she was knocked into the ground and sent sliding on her back through dirt and debris. Most of her clothes had been blasted off in addition to being badly burned in multiple places.

"Koneko!" Kiba shouted moments before being blasted back alongside Xenovia.

Kokabiel crossed his blades together and then slashed the air sharply, creating an X shaped energy attack on a direct course for Kiba. Xenovia quickly darted in front of him and slammed her sword into the ground, erecting a Holy Barrier from her pommel.

The energy overwhelmed her shield and blasted them both. The Knights shouted in pain, their bodies riddled with injuries as they too were sent to the ground alongside Koneko.

Rias and Akeno both stood and hurled everything they could at him. Anything they had left. Kokabiel chuckled in sardonic amusement at the attempt. Deflecting both Destruction Spells and lightning bolts alike with his twin blades.

"Resistant to the end, eh Rias? Good! I want you to struggle as I meticulously tear every single one of your beloved Servants apart!"

He threw the blades. One at Rias and one at Akeno. They both immediately erected barriers but ultimately were overwhelmed same as the others. Rias and Akeno fell, alive but in severe pain.

Knowing full well he had won, Kokabiel ascended towards the sky, laughing maniacally at all of them.

"Yes! YES! Struggle and suffer little rats! Your pain has only just begun!"

He channeled Eurus's power and brought time to a complete stand still. Though all of them could still move, the world around the ORC was completely frozen.

"With this magic I can take my time in making you all suffer." Kokabiel explained with sick enjoyment. "I hope you're watching Rias. I'm going to slowly break them all one by one until they BEG me for death. And then, once you've seen every last one of your precious friends suffer and die, ONLY THEN will it be your turn!"

Rias tries to stand only to collapse onto her hands and knees. Tears streamed down her face as she gazed around at the broken and bloodied bodies of her Peerage.

"Again…" She whispered painfully. "...I let my pride get in the way again. I'm so sorry everyone…"

It was then she began to notice the earth beneath her was shaking. Rias turned to Akeno for confirmation on what she was seeing, who nodded her head in response.

Both of them, along with every other member of the Peerage, turned their heads back towards their Pawn. Jonathan Hyodo was building power into his body. How? They had no earthly idea. Yet there it was all the same.

"I will not…" His voice came out as a deathly severe growl. "...let you get away with this…"

His heart pumped fire into his veins as the Dragon's Mark covered his body once more. The markings pulsed with neon green energy and an aura of power enveloped his being. Jon reared his head back and roared in almighty rage, spewing hellfire high into the air.

"KOKABIEEEEEELLL!"

Jon's entire body was trembling, the raw, untamed power coursing through him making him growl and snarl like a feral beast. The pulsing marks on his body turned from neon green to gold as his features began to morph. His skin began to turn red and form thick, shiny scales. His fingers grew razor sharp claws and his ears turned sharp and pointy. Massive canines grew in his mouth and his Dragon Eyes darkened. His hair turned from brown to red and his forehead grew two shiny golden Dragon's Horns.

Finally, two red and gold Dragon's Wings sprouted on his back.

Kokabiel's face contorted into an intrigued grin at the sight. "Oh? Well now...this should be good."

Jon summoned his Sacred Gear, forming two gauntlets on his hands and two metal boots on his feet. The Boosted Gear responded to his new form and upgraded, morphing into better, shinier versions of the original with gold trimming on the edges.

Power erupted from his body in all directions. Clearing the sky completely of the frozen water droplets around them. An aura of red energy continued to flare off the creature whom Rias could barely recognize anymore as he stepped with purposeful strides until he was in front of her.

"What the hell?" Kiba asked, not knowing what else to say.

"Is that...really Jon?" Koneko looked nervous. The creature in front of her looked absolutely nothing like the man she knew.

"This power…" Xenovia found herself subconsciously dropping to her knees in front of him. Completely captivated. "...it...it can only be divine!"

"Oh Jon…" Asia looked incredibly worried. "...please be careful."

From below, Irina stirred, casting her gaze weakly at the Red Dragon Emperor.

"Rias...Akeno…" The voice that came from Jon's lips was not his own. "Look after the others. This will not take long."

"I…" Again, Rias turned her gaze towards her Queen, her eyes wide with shock. Akeno simply shook her head, unable to believe what she was seeing herself. Having no clue what else to do, the President simply nodded her head. "Okay Jon...we will."

Kokabiel bellowed in hideous amusement as Jon slowly ascended into the sky, meeting him at eye level. "Oh get real! You think a little power up will save you this late in the game?!"

He didn't respond, his murderous gaze firmly locked to Kokabiel.

"Don't make me laugh!" The Angel of Stars cast a powerful Time Spell, freezing Jon in place along with the rest of the world. "Everything here moves as fast as I want it to! So long as I control time you cannot hope...to…"

Slowly, the ether around Jon's body began to crack and tear, his power leaking through the very fabric of reality before shattering the spell completely.

"WHAT?!" Kokabiel reeled back in horror.

Moments later, Jon's fist connected with his stomach. Knocking the breath from Kokabiel's lungs and leaving a bewildered look of pain on his dumbfounded face. The blow knocked them back into reality and time reverted to normal.

"Im...im…possible." He sputtered.

With a single swift uppercut from his left gauntlet, Jon sent Kokabiel rocketing into the air. Up into the Troposphere and into the clouds.

Without so much as another word, Jon ignited his thrusters and fired up after him. Breaking the sound barrier, he left the others in his dust.

A moment later, rain began to fall on their heads once more.


All throughout the tunnels of the Nexus, Orc Warriors cheered in victory. Raising their Lancers and firing into the air in celebration over their decomposing enemies. As soon as the cure rained down on the city and began trickling into the sewers, Saya used her hacking skills to open up every ventilation system in every single tunnel of the nexus. Allowing the cure to spread throughout its entire network.

Humans who were once zombies fell into an unconscious stupor, their bodies slowly returning to normal. Mutants began to break down and liquify into nothing. The rest of the Nexus security forces were quickly overrun and before long the tunnels belonged entirely to the Assault Tribes.

Wesker took all of this in as his body slowly began to break down. "I see...so you used our virus against us."

Sammy nodded victoriously as the cure vented deeper into the tunnels. "In hindsight, you were probably better off running after the rest of my Squad than you were staying and fighting me. So much for the perfect lifeform eh? Looks like even you make mistakes."

"So it would seem…" Wesker didn't look angry, just...indifferent.

"In the end, it wasn't us that brought you down. It was just four ordinary humans." Aika boasted.

"Well...four ordinary humans with genetic mutations." Sammy admitted awkwardly. "But our point still stands. Humanity can do just fine without you deciding who lives and who dies."

"Still clinging to that tired old belief, are you?" Wesker chuckled in amusement. "I can't help but wonder, what if our roles had been reversed? What if it was we who got the upper hand and not you?"

"Then I would die still believing in humanity's potential." Sammy insisted. "I may not have been born human but I was raised by them. I fought alongside them. Bled alongside them. I know better than most the potential humanity has to offer the world."

"Sarge, Aika!"

Aika beamed upon hearing Motohama's voice. He, along with the other members of Delta Squad had survived. She quickly ran to go hug them while Sammy pointed with his thumb over to the four humans he was so ridiculously proud of.

"If ya don't believe me, just take a look at them."

Wesker shifted his gaze to the five friends hugging and celebrating boisterously with one another. He had that once...so very long ago. And now, as his genetic code continued to slowly degrade and his internal organs liquefied, he couldn't help but become just a tad sentimental.

"Perhaps…" He coughed up a huge clot of watery blood. "...you were right after all, Fynn." Wesker turned his head towards Sammy. "Can I make a request?"

Delta Leader quirked a curious brow at him. "Shoot."

"The Swordsman who now serves with Rias Gremory...don't tell him I was here." He requested. "I would...like for him to remember me as I was...not as what I became."

Sammy frowned in agitation and crossed his arms. "Not sure why I should do you any favors…" After a moment of thought, he sighed. "Fine. I won't say a word."

"You have my thanks…" The life began to drain from him completely. "...for whatever...that is...worth…"

As he gasped out his final breath, Wesker melted along with the rest of the bioweapons. With him gone, Sammy could finally return to his squad.

"One thing I still don't get though." Matsuda scratched his head. "Why is it the cure doesn't affect us?"

Saya pushed up the bridge of her glasses. "Oh well that one's simple really. Our Demon Blood makes us immune."

"Still...it's a shame we had to use the last of that mutagen making the cure." Rei admitted.

"An army of enhanced demons is a small price to pay for curing this disease, if you ask me." Aika insisted.

"I'll second that." Motohama smiled. "What's important is that we all made it out of this alive."

At that moment, a dreadful feeling washed over Sammy. For a moment, he thought he could hear someone shouting in Draconian. His ear perked up at the noise and he turned his head, but no one was there.

"Hey Sarge? Everything okay?" Matsuda asked.

"Huh?" He turned back to them, still slightly distracted. "Yeah yeah. Everything's fine."

"Well if it's all the same to you guys. I need to get the hell out of this tunnel. The Presidential Bath is calling my name." Saya insisted.

As they turned to leave, Sammy cast one last glance back towards the source of the sound he heard.

"I could swear that sounded exactly like Hyodo…"


Rain fell from the sky as Riser and Sona's forces continued to clash with the Two Hundred Watchers and remaining Fallen. Aside from Sona, Riser, and their Queens, almost every single member of both their Peerages were running low on magical energy. It was to the point where they had been forced fully on the defensive, their only escape route cut off. All that could be done was hold their ground and pray beyond hope that reinforcements of some kind would be arriving soon.

"I hate to say it Brother, but I think we might be in trouble!" Ravel gritted her teeth as she held the magical barrier keeping their foes at bay alongside Mihae.

"We can do this!" Sona blasted another group of Fallen with magic. "Just hold the line!"

Their last line of defense began to crack under the pressure of sustained attacks by the Watchers. Just as it seemed they were about to fall, a stream of silver lightning zapped seven Watchers faster than the eye could track. Disintegrating all of them instantly.

Riser and Sona, along with their Peerages, all turned their heads upward to see none other than Grayfia Lucifuge herself descend upon them, an aura of power surrounding her being.

Upon bearing witness to the presence of the Legendary Silver Haired Queen of Annihilation, every single member of the Fallen Forces, including the remaining 157 Watchers all took a healthy step back.

"Lady Grayfia?" Sona asked in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"You made it clear to us you would not leave Lord Lucifer's side for so long as he was in the city." Riser insisted.

A small prideful smile formed on her lips. "I haven't."

The hearts of every single one of Kokabiel's forces stopped dead in their chests as they suddenly felt the presence of an obscenely dark aura looming over them. One by one they turned towards the sky to see a single figure casting a very large shadow down upon them.

Lord Lucifer loomed over the battlefield like a Reaper of Death. The breadth of his power unfathomable, the terror brought by his presence absolute. No one moved, nor made a sound. There was no need. The Watchers, the Fallen, they knew that they were staring at their death.

Sirzechs extended a single hand out in front of him and wrought absolute devastation upon his enemies. Obliterating them all with a single spell that created a series of thousands upon thousands of detonations. Destroying everything they touched while leaving the defenders trapped in the middle completely unharmed.

Sona and Riser looked up after flinching at the massive blast to find the skies clear of any Fallen. With only black feathers blowing on the breeze serving as a reminder of their presence.

It was over. They had survived.

Lord Lucifer descended upon the defenders who immediately bowed with respect in his presence.

"Your Lordship, thank you for your timely arrival." Riser spoke graciously. "We were in a rather tight spot there, I'll admit."

Sirzechs smiled at him and waved off his respects. "It was no trouble whatsoever, Lord Phenex. With the barrier down, I figured I may as well make myself useful."

"We more than appreciate it, my Lord." Sona spoke up just as respectfully. "You have the Sitri Clan's eternal thanks."

"I should be the one thanking you." Lucifer insisted. "That was some excellent work on both you and your Queen's part developing a cure for this disease in so short a span of time."

Tsubaki made a small startled noise, not expecting to be complimented in such a way. "I...I could not have done it without Souchiro Takaga's Daughter, Sir. The girl is an absolute genius even by our standards."

"Indeed?" Lucifer sounded intrigued. "I'll ask my Father to pass along my compliments to the man, then." Next, he turned his attention to Riser. "And as for you, Lord Phenex. Your defense of the skies above Kuoh was remarkable. Be assured, you will be fully reimbursed for the Sentinels you lost."

"That's...far too generous, my Lord. I was just happy my House could be of aid." Riser assured.

"But we humbly accept, regardless." Ravel curtsied politely. "Don't we Big Brother?"

"Ravel!" Riser chided her in embarrassment. "Must you speak over me in front of his Lordship?"

She huffed at him while placing her hands squarely on her hips. "Don't you 'Ravel' me! You know good and well we're still recovering from our revolt. We need all the resources we can get."

"Still…" He groaned in protest before bowing his head. "Lord Lucifer I apologize for her outburst."

Sirzechs laughed in good humor. "Pay it no heed. I find your Younger Sister's frankness rather refreshing."

At that, Lady Grayfia snickered. "Remind you of someone, my Lord?"

He sighed wearily and rubbed his forehead as his thoughts turned to his own feisty little sister. "All too much. In any case, we best-"

His words were interrupted by a massive shockwave that hit the entire city. For a moment it stopped raining only to start raining again immediately after. As if the shockwave had literally blasted all the rain out of the sky momentarily.

"Goodness me. What in the name of the Four Great Satans was that?" Yubelluna asked while turning her head towards the source of the shockwave.

"Grayfia, do you feel that?" Lucifer asked his Queen.

She nodded in confirmation. "It would seem Kokabiel has acquired a resurgence in power…" Grayfia narrowed her eyes sharply. "And I feel the presence of an old enemy I have not felt in a long time."

"Yes, I feel Eurus's power as well." Lucifer assured. "However...that is not what I was referring to."

Grayfia quirked her head at him in confusion before reaching out with her senses again. The moment she felt what he was referring to her mouth fell agape and a small surprised noise escaped her lips.

"Oh...oh my."

He nodded in agreement. "My thoughts exactly."

"Well this is certainly unexpected." She admitted. "I knew the boy had talent but he shouldn't have been able to gain this much power that quickly."

"Clearly someone forgot to tell HIM that." Lucifer joked in a blithe manner.

Grayfia rolled her eyes at him when she was sure he wasn't looking. "We should check on your sister, my Lord. I get the distinct impression this is about to get messy."

He sighed wearily once more. "I fear you may be right, Darling. Best not delay."

Another massive shockwave hit the group. Interrupting the rain momentarily before starting up again.

"Grayfia...be honest with me. You know him better than I do." Lucifer felt a migraine coming on. "What am I looking at in terms of collateral damage?"

She cleared her throat and straightened her posture. "Well, my Lord. That really all depends."

"On what exactly?"

"On just how badly Kokabiel has managed to piss him off." She explained.

Meanwhile, Ravel peered off in the distance, worry etched into her face for a certain Dragon she knew was fighting at that very moment.


Kokabiel thought he understood what pure rage looked like. When he learned that his virus had been ruined, in his mind, that was the true essence of rage. Surely, he thought, there was nothing on this Earth that could come close to the depths of hatred and anger he felt in that moment.

How wrong he was. Whatever he may have felt at the time. It was nothing compared to what he had just unleashed. Rage didn't even begin to describe what the Red Dragon Emperor was experiencing. This was more akin to Berserk.

And yet Jon never said a single word. Not while he launched Kokabiel up into the air, not while he proceeded to pummel him with a flurry of near untrackable punches, and not even when Kokabiel attempted to retaliate with the glowing green Death Scythe he had summoned. Jon didn't say a word or make a single sound.

He didn't have to. The murderous aura Jon was giving off said it all.

The Angel of Stars swung madly at Jon who nimbly dodged out of the way of and blocked each slash. They both began wrestling for control of the scythe while flying through the clouds of the storm, heat lightning and thunder surging all around them.

"Interesting! INTERESTING! So this is the fury of the Red Dragon Emperor?!" Kokabiel shouted over the loud storm and the massive battle. "Not bad, Ddraig! I'm almost impre-GAK!"

His words were cut off by Ddraig jamming the handle of his own scythe into his throat. With a boosted kick he knocked Kokabiel backwards, dislodging the weapon in the process before smashing it to pieces against his knee.

With an angry bellow Kokabiel summoned a sword in each hand and charged. He swung with his right sword which Jon calmly caught with his left gauntlet. He then swung with his left sword which Jon caught with his right. Flaring in anger, Kokabiel summoned a short saber to his mouth and gripped the handle in his teeth before trying to slice through his opponent's throat.

Jon chomped down on the blade, crunching it to pieces between his teeth. The shock caused Kokabiel to freeze for a moment, allowing Jon to deliver a stiff punch to the face, sending him flying head over heel deeper into the clouds.

The Red Dragon Emperor took a breath and shouted in Draconian.

"Strun Bah Qo!"

The elements obeyed the Dragon's command and zapped Kokabiel with a massive chain of lightning from all directions. He screamed in agony as the lightning surged through his flesh seemingly endlessly.

"Ven Gaar Nos!"

Next, the clouds formed a cyclone around Kokabiel that swirled him round and round in its impossibly strong gust. Only to then spit him out above the cloudline into the stratosphere.

"Lok Vah Kor!"

Upon his next shout, the clouds parted around him. Revealing clear night skies above, along with his prey. Jon took one final breath and shouted his final command.

"Yol Toor Shul!"

A spinning helix of molten meteors flew from his mouth on a direct course for the still recovering Kokabiel. He quickly shook the cobwebs loose and roared in anger.

"Enough of this!" He shouted before forming a barrier in front of him. "You think to defeat ME with such a-"

A gleam caught his eye a moment too late and Kokabiel turned around just in time to see his opponent's fist come barreling towards his face as Jon nailed him with his vintage fake out maneuver. Kokabiel was sent careening into the meteors which detonated upon impact.

His smoldering body went into free fall, upon which Jon caught him by the wings.

"W….what are you doing?!" Kokabiel squirmed in his grasp, trying desperately to shake free.

With his metal boot pressed against the Angel of Stars back Jon gripped and pulled with all the strength he could muster. Kokabiel let loose a blood curdling scream of pain as two of his wings were unceremoniously torn from his flesh. Jon followed up by igniting his boots on Kokabiel's back, searing his flesh and sending him tumbling.

"Gyyyyyaaaahhh! Diiiiieeee!" Blinded by pain and rage, Kokabiel flipped around mid fall and began unloading on Jon. Hitting him with anything and everything he could conjure up.

The blasts of magic bounced off Jon's barrier harmlessly as he slowly floated down towards Kokabiel. He then gripped the Fallen Angel by the throat with his left gauntlet, stopping his stream of violent curses and angry shouts.

Jon charged energy into his right gauntlet while hoisting Kokabiel up into the air. The Fallen Angel went wide eyed in terror before being hit with the most vicious uppercut of his entire life.

He went flying. Past the stratosphere, past the mesosphere, past the thermosphere, into the exosphere. All went silent around him as he was left floating, bloody, and barely conscious in the vacuum of space.

Down below, Jon summoned his Scale Mail. Which now came equipped with shiny gold trimming around the armor as well as a pair of red and gold metal wings on the back. Six rocket thrusters on the wings ignited and Jon picked up the pursuit of Kokabiel. Joining him in space to deliver another solid right hook.

The Angel of Stars flew higher and higher, breaking out of Earth's gravity well as he was silently pummeled to death in the vacuum of space. With only the shockwave of Jon's constant, never ending attacks adding any noise to the onslaught.

As he spun around like a black sock in a tumble dryer, Jon grabbed him by the wings yet again and pulled two more off. A silent scream escaped his prey's lips, heard by no one in the void of space.

The Red Dragon Emperor then quickly rocketed in front of his opponent and set his thrusters to full burn, slamming into Kokabiel's sternum like a comet and bringing them both back down to Earth.

A cone of fire formed around their bodies upon reentering Earth's atmosphere. While Jon was protected by his completely sealed Scale Mail, Kokabiel's body burned in the heat of reentry. His remaining wings crumbled and turned to ash until none were left.

Down below, stargazers made a wish upon what they thought was a falling comet. The massive fireball that was Jon and Kokabiel came careening back down to Earth's surface before landing in a massive, snow covered forest that was in the middle of a galing blizzard. The blast upon impact with the ground was with such force it wiped out every tree within a ten mile radius, leaving the land around it bare and flat and clearing the air of the gale force winds and icy snow.

In the center of it all, Jon stood over the broken body of what once was the Ten Winged Angel Kokabiel. His Scale Mail slowly disappeared, leaving the still irate Dragon to quietly glare down at his beaten opponent.

Despite the hellish injuries Kokabiel received, he still found some measure of strength in his arms to roll over on his stomach and sit up on his knees. After sucking in some much needed oxygen, Kokabiel began to laugh, albeit very painfully, before coughing up a massive clot of blood into the ashen ground.

Hearing the Angel of Stars laugh at his situation only proved to piss Jon off even more. He slowly, with purpose, walked up towards Kokabiel who was still laughing and coughing up blood before grabbing him by the back of his hair and lifting his half dead carcass into the air.

"What is it now?!" He barked impatiently. "You've lost Kokabiel! Your armies, your weapons, your family, even your wings!"

Kokabiel responded by coughing up blood onto Jon's cheek. A livid growl emanated from the back of his throat as he wiped the blood off and proceeded to punt Kokabiel away, sending his body rolling across the ground before coming to a stop on his back.

Yet STILL he just lay there laughing. Jon's nostrils flared fire as he walked up to the Angel of Stars and planted his metal boot on his chest.

"All this death, all this destruction, all this chaos! I've taken everything from you! Yet still you laugh?! What is it?! What the hell is SO DAMN FUNNY?!"

His voice boomed over the horizon, creating an echo that could be heard for miles around. For a moment, all was silent until at last Kokabiel opened his bloodshot eyes and spoke.

"It's just funny to me…" He spoke in a hushed, blood choked tone. "...that you still think I give a damn about any of that." Kokabiel choked on more blood before continuing. "You may be old, Ddraig, but that vessel of yours is still young. You haven't shed your skin of naivete just yet."

Jon made a slightly surprised noise, his anger turning to confusion.

"In case my wife and children were not proof enough. Ours is a cult of Death and Nihilism." Kokabiel explained. "But unlike my family, I did not come to your city for cyanide and valium."

He weakly raised his arm into the air before clenching his fist.

"I came...for glory. To pit myself against Hell's strongest warriors." He chuckled painfully. "In a way...this is what I always wanted."

"You...you did all of this just to die...by my hand?" Jon asked incredulously.

He shook his head. "It wasn't supposed to be you. I was aiming for Lucifer. If anything, I feared you would just get in the way. But…" More blood spurt from his mouth. "...you proved just as worthy an adversary for my final battle."

Jon couldn't believe what he was hearing. This guy was just like that crazed Lich Lady! He was just as dead inside!

No wonder they made a good couple.

"When the Great War ended, men like me, those committed to winning by any cost, were ousted as the instigators. In the end, we lost everything to peace, and had nothing to show for it. We lost our friends, our families, our purpose. But more terrible than that...we lost the one gift that could be awarded to men such as us. A true...glorious...death."

Jon snarled in anger and clenched his metal fists.

"Without glory, our sacrifice...our deaths, they would have been meaningless. So in this new world of peace and stagnation...we had to break through." He coughed again. "Little by little, we carved away at the peace the Church tried so desperately to establish, until at last, we could see our glory on the other side." A hideous bloody grin formed on his features. "We found our inspiration in the form of another Great War. One fought between humans in the bloody trenches of a fractured world. Started by the hand of your Lord Lucifer, I might add."

"Bullshit…" Jon growled.

"Ask him if you don't believe me." Kokabiel chuckled and coughed. "It was by his hand that the Archduke fell. All so he could break up the monopoly of power held by the Church and replace it with his own." Kokabiel grinned back up at the sky. "A single strike of a matchstick creating a fire that can burn millions of lives at once. We were inspired. And so...after allowing the losing side to wallow in their own misery for a few decades, we reignited the War. We took a broken people, stoked their bitter resignation into seething hatred, gave them a leader we knew would inspire...and an enemy they could blame all of their suffering on."

He remained silent while Kokabiel finished.

"We had hoped by spreading the second World War over enough territory, we might be able to ignite our OWN glorious war once again." He laughed painfully before scowling in bitter resentment. "But in the end, we were bested. And I was left permanently crippled by that damn blade your Knight wields. The others were content to retreat back into the shadows and scheme for the future. But me? I still wanted my last stand. My final fight."

"So this whole thing…" Jon was trying to wrap his head around this. Equal parts angry, disturbed, and in denial. "...all this death and destruction. The nightmares you caused. All of this...was your fucking SWAN SONG?!"

He cackled on the ground in a raspy pitch. "When I married Eurus, heard of her prophecies, I bore witness to the lie that has been perpetuated by the Imperium of Order for so long. The factory seal on society. A world mired by complacency. Three factions of power all slaves to their instincts, fueled by nothing but anger and hatred. A rocket propellant as volatile as it is potent. And frighteningly…self sustaining."

"You're starting to bore me, Kokabiel." Jon did his best to keep his temper even. "Is there a fucking point to all this?"

"My point, Jonathan Hyodo…" He used Jon's given name for the first time since they met. "...is that as old as you and I are, we are still nothing but scared spiteful children playing at adulthood. We live a fictitious lie of comfort and complacency." He clenched his fists tight. "What is a man to do in such a time of life but wage war so calamitous that it would snap the nonbelievers out of this worthless charade…"

Finally, he cast his gaze back at Jon.

"...and who better an opponent than the Red Dragon Emperor?"

Jon took all of this information in. While most of what Kokabiel was saying was complete horseshit as far as he was concerned, there was one thing that stood out to him.

"You keep saying we, us, them...who exactly is THEM?"

The Angel of Stars chuckled. "Of course that's all you care about. Go figure." He coughed up more blood. "I tell you what...let's make a deal, you and I. You do me a tiny favor, and I'll give you all the information you need to know about my Order."

He scowled viciously at him. "There's still time to cause you pain, Kokabiel. How about you just give me the information?"

"You have nothing to threaten me with boy." Kokabiel stated with flat disinterest. "And what I would ask is quite simple. Once I'm done telling you, put a bullet in my head with that fancy revolver of yours.

His request threw him. "Okay, but what's the catch?"

Kokabiel chuckled. "I'm a dead man no matter what I do. My body is rejecting Eurus's power and soon I'll crumble into nothing. At least this way, all may know I was killed by the Devil's Colt himself."

After mulling it over for a moment, Jon summoned Devil's Colt to his right hand, twirled it on his finger, aimed for Kokabiel's head, and pulled back on the hammer.

"You want me to put you out of my misery then so be it. Now start talking!" He barked.

Kokabiel took a breath, spat out another tooth and began.

"They are known as the Legion of Ruin. Their objective is nothing short of the total destruction of the Three Factions."

"No shit. I gathered that much." Jon insisted bluntly. "I want details. What's their ultimate objective?"

Kokabiel snickered at him in amusement. "No you're not getting it, that IS their ultimate objective. It's their ONLY objective. The Legion of Ruin has no desires beyond destroying the established order and allowing glorious Chaos to spread in its wake."

"How many Fallen Angels make up their ranks?"

He shook his head, that insidious grin on his face only growing as he spoke. "Again you misunderstand. It's not JUST Fallen Angels. There are Devils among our ranks too. Even members of the Church have sided with us."

At that, Jon lowered his gun, a nervous pit forming in his stomach.

"You remember Salazar, yes? He intended to use your Master as a bargaining chip to gain a high ranking position within our Order. One of our own was right under Lucifer's nose and he didn't have the faintest idea." He laughed. "And Salazar wasn't the only one, either. Our numbers grow by the day. We are EVERYWHERE."

"In that case tell me everything!" Jon demanded. "How many more Devil Clans are aligned with the Legion of Ruin? Who is their Leader? I want to know it all!"

"Oh, but that's not part of the deal." Kokabiel insisted with a mischievous grin. "For that kind of information you'll need to sweeten the pot."

Before Jon could respond, the voice of Ddraig spoke gravely in his head.

"Jon...he's here."

"Who's here?" Jon asked somewhat impatiently. "Is now really the time for this, Ddraig? I'm kinda doing a thing here."

And then it hit him. A power that was both completely alien and yet so terribly familiar all at once. Like a distant memory of a past life coming over a great distance.

Jon slowly turned his head up towards the sky above and nearly dropped his revolver on the ground. Up above him, a blue streak of light came soaring towards the blasted lands they were standing in.

Ddraig didn't need to say it, he already knew.

"The White One…" He growled.

At the mention of the White One, a nervous look formed on Kokabiel's features. He turned his head just in time to see a figure crash into the Earth a couple yards away.

Jon covered his face with his arm before glaring back at the one now standing in front of him. He was wearing Scale Mail incredibly similar to his, only white and blue in color.

"The...the Vanishing Light is...here?" Kokabiel's body began to tremble.

"I think you've divulged quite enough, Angel of Stars." The figure spoke with a metallic voice full of power and authority as he slowly approached the downed Kokabiel. He didn't seem to regard Jon at all. Or at least, from what he could tell. With the helmet on it wasn't quite clear.

"What's the meaning of this?" Kokabiel tried to move but couldn't. "Albion...why are you here?"

"Do you realize how many articles of the ceasefire you've violated?" He responded completely indifferently. "I'd list them all, but we don't have the time. I'm here to deliver justice by the order of Azazel and the Grigori Council."

At the mention of the Council Kokabiel sneered viciously. "To hell with those cowards! I won't be a slave to their toothless machinations a moment longer!"

"You misunderstand." Albion corrected firmly. "You'll not stand trial for this, Kokabiel. You've already been stripped of your position within the Council and charged with high treason. I'm here to execute your punishment here and now. You'll be sent to Cocytus for this."

A look of absolute horror came over Kokabiel's features. For the first time since Jon met him, the Angel of Stars looked genuinely terrified.

"Ddraig!" Kokabiel suddenly lurched up and grabbed onto Jon's pant leg, a desperate look in his eyes. "If you truly are a man of your word then shoot me now! We had a deal, now fulfill your end of the bargain!"

"Get off me!" He kicked Kokabiel away.

"Your fate is not for the Red Dragon Emperor to decide." Albion stated matter of factly. "Azazel has already decreed you're to be sealed in the Ice Hell for eternity."

"So you just gonna keep ignoring me?" Jon growled.

Albion finally seemed to acknowledge him. Again, it was impossible to tell what the figure in the armor looked like or what his emotional state was, as he only had a glowing neon blue visor to go off of.

"It's been a long time...Ddraig."

"Albion…" Jon responded warily.

For whatever reason, Jon REALLY wanted to put a bullet in this guy's head. Almost even more so than he did Kokabiel. It wasn't for any particular reason he could think of. More like a deep instinct coming to life.

"Listen...I'm not sure what sort of deal he offered you Red One, but you're making a mistake." The White Dragon Emperor assured. "This man deserves to be punished for his heinous acts, wouldn't you agree?"

"I do agree." Jon replied, his eyes never once deviating from Albion. "Which is exactly why I was about to finish him off once and for all."

"Again, I must remind you that that's not your decision to make." His rival challenged.

"Last I checked it wasn't YOUR city he turned into a giant Necropolis." He spoke through gritted teeth. "If anyone deserves to take this bastard down it's me."

"Think about what you're doing for a second." Albion spoke diplomatically if somewhat aggravatedly. "By killing him you're just giving Kokabiel what he wants. In Cocytus, he will never know peace for as long as he lives."

That made Jon stop. He looked down at Kokabiel, who still seemed genuinely terrified of what Albion was referring to.

"And if he should escape?"

"No being has ever escaped the Ice Hell in the countless eons it has existed." Albion assured. "That is not likely to change any time soon."

He looked down at Kokabiel once again, considering his options. "He still has information my benefactors could use."

"I'll tell you everything!" The Fallen Angel pleaded desperately. "I'll tell you all you wish to know if you will grant me this one request!"

"You have, perhaps, two minutes before his body begins to undergo rapid cellular decay." Albion insisted vehemently. "At which point it will be too late. Which do you care about more, Ddraig? Information or justice?"

He narrowed his eyes down at Kokabiel, still weighing both options in his mind, his finger dangerously close to pulling the trigger.

"I heard about what happened to that Irina girl." Albion added apologetically. "It's a shame that someone so beautiful fell prey to this monster."

And just like that, Jon had made his decision. A wicked grin crossed his lips, sending a nervous shiver down Kokabiel's spine.

"We had a deal Ddraig!" He insisted angrily.

Jon slowly uncocked the hammer of his revolver and vanished it back to the pocket dimension he kept it in. "Yeah see...something you seem to forget about me. I ain't just a Dragon. I'm also a Devil. And there's a rule about making deals with our kind that everyone seems to forget."

He twiddled all five fingers on his now empty hand.

"If you don't shake on it and make a pact, no deal can be done."

An evil gleams shown in Albion's eyes. "A wise choice, Red One."

Sheer terror formed all through Kokabiel's being. "No! No please! Just kill me! KILL ME!"

Albion rushed him. Grabbing the Angel of Stars and sending him high into the sky in a bolt of blue light.

"NOOOOOOOO!" His victim screamed in abject horror.

Jon shielded himself from the bright light that followed Albion slamming Kokabiel back into the ground. Upon looking back at the result of the White Dragon Emperor's work, he was pleased to see the Angel of Stars was now frozen in a solid block of ice, a look of pure agony permanently contorted on his face.

"And this is how we will leave him." Albion assured. "Perfectly aware of everything around him but permanently frozen in space. Gasping for a breath that will never come, suffering from wounds that will never heal, begging for a death that will never arrive."

After taking a moment to appreciate the contorted expression on Kokabiel's face once more Jon nodded in approval. "Enjoy eternity you evil son of a bitch."

With a snap of his gauntlet Albion opened a portal beneath Kokabiel and the Angel of Stars descended into Cocytus. An eternity of suffering awaiting him at the lowest point in Hell.

Jon turned to leave, having seen all he needed to. Kokabiel was brought to justice and that was good enough for him. It didn't make him happy, but it did bring him peace.

"Ddraig..."

He stopped upon hearing his name be called by Albion. Jon took a breath and flared fire from his nostrils before slowly turning around to meet the White One once more.

"Yeah?"

"You understand we are destined to fight soon. It is inevitable." The White Dragon Emperor spoke matter of factly.

He nodded. "Yeah...looking forward to it. Should be a hell of a ride."

"Since you aided in my hunt, I'll go ahead and let you know, if you intend to claim victory over our next duel…."

Albion took to the skies.

"...you will need A LOT more power than that."

With those final words, the White Dragon Emperor vanished in a blur of white light. Jon's skin color returned to normal and the mark receded from his body along with his horns and Sacred Gear. All was as it should be.

He grinned before chuckling to himself. "Catch you later, Asshole."

Now that his business with Kokabiel and Albion was resolved, Jon could move on to the next issue. Getting back to his Peerage. The problem was...he had no earthly idea where the hell he ended up. At some point he lost control and just sort of started moving without any thought as to where he was going or where he'd end up. As a result, he was now here...wherever the hell HERE was.

A couple yards away, a portal opened up. Sirzechs and his wife Grayfia both stepped through and looked around at the damage that had been done.

Lucifer groaned before shaking his head. "Well...I was afraid of this. I suppose this is what I get for dragging my heels."

"I did say we needed to intervene before things got out of hand, my Lord." Grayfia chided gently. "We should be thankful it was just a few miles of trees this time. Next time we may not be so lucky."

"Lord Lucifer! Lady Grayfia!" Jon bowed respectfully. "Glad to see you're out of that cellar."

Lucifer raised his hand assuredly. "Save your respects, Jonathan. You performed remarkably."

Grayfia giggled at him. "Even if you DID wipe out a couple trees in the process."

"Errr…" He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "...speaking of which, where exactly am I?"

'You're in the middle of the Taiga. The largest forest in Russia." Grayfia explained.

That would explain the cold. Jon looked around at the damage after having had a chance to calm down. Now that he got a good look at it, he realized it was way worse than he initially thought.

"I did all of this?" He marveled at the blasted landscape.

Lucifer nodded. "Now you see why it's forbidden for high level beings such as us to use their full power while on Earth. Imagine if this had been a town or a large population center?"

"Lord Lucifer I am so sorry." Jon apologized vehemently. "I had no idea what I was doing and-"

Grayfia placed a hand up to her lips and lightly chuckled at him in amusement. "You misunderstand, Jon. We're not blaming you whatsoever. Kokabiel is the one responsible for all of this. Not you."

"Having said that, now that you're aware of these newfound powers, remember that the law of the Ceasefire applies to you as well." Lucifer warned. "We were lucky this time. The damage seems to have been restricted to wildlife only. Next time could be disastrous."

He nodded in understanding. "Understood."

"In any case, we best head back." Grayfia insisted. "There are some very worried ladies back at Kuoh who are waiting for you to return."

And then he remembered. Jon's entire being sank in on him as if the weight of the world had just come crashing down on his shoulders. Amidst the rage and chaos of battle...somehow he had entirely forgotten…

"Irina?" He asked worriedly.

Lucifer and Grayfia both looked at each other…

...and their expressions turned grave.

"Jon...I'm sorry…" Grayfia spoke, her heart breaking for what she was about to tell him.

She didn't have to say it. He already knew. He'd known from the moment that spear entered her chest.


It was still raining when he got back. But beyond that, everything was quiet. The world seemed...visibly darker around him. Maybe it was just the clouds...or maybe it was just him.

She was still where he had left her. With Asia and Akeno tending to her wounds as best they could while Xenovia held her hand and quietly wept. As Grayfia had explained it, the injury was too grave to be fully healed, even by Twilight Healing. The best they could do was keep Irina comfortable and give her a little more time.

Just enough time to say goodbye.

"Jon…"

As the somber, depressed Hunter returned to the group, Rias approached him with her eyes downcast and her aura dark.

"How is she doing?" He asked in a detached monotone.

She shook her head, not wanting to talk about it. "You should...go talk to her. It's best if you..."

Her voice trailed off. Jon walked away, heading towards the deathly pale body of Irina while Rias remained behind.

"Ms. President…"

She turned to see her Rook walking up to her. A grave expression on her face as well.

"What is it, Koneko?"

"Freed disappeared." She reported, her mind clearly elsewhere, same as Rias.

The President clenched her fists in anger. "Dammit...even with all that blood loss?"

Koneko nodded sadly.

"Well...there's nothing we can do about it now. At least the fragments of the Holy Swords are in our possession." She cast her gaze back at Jon, who was now kneeling down in front of Irina.

"Is there...really nothing we can do?" Koneko asked the President, a hint of desperation in her voice. "Maybe...reincarnate her as a Devil or something."

Rias sighed in a depressed tone. "Koneko, you know as well I do that's not how it works. Irina never gave up on her faith. She remained pure and virtuous until the very end." She gripped her aching heart, which was breaking for her Dragon. "There's nothing we can do."

Koneko joined the President in somber silence. Watching as Jon knelt down and took Irina's free hand in his. The young Hunter slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"J...Jon? Is...that you?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

He smiled despite the agony he was in. "Yeah...it's me. I'm here."

"Did we do it?" She asked. "Did we win?"

He nodded silently. "Yeah...we won. It's over."

"Really?" Irina coughed painfully. "Go team…"

Asia and Xenovia were both a mess, tears streaming in thick rivets down their faces while Akeno shut her eyes and shook her head in somber, mournful silence. A few yards away, Kiba sat on a nearby boulder, his eyes cast away from everything.

"I'm glad...we have this chance to talk…" She coughed again. "...before the end."

"Don't talk like that." He was smiling though it was clear by the look in his eyes he was dying on the inside. "Come on, we've gotten out of tougher spots than this before. You'll be fine."

She chuckled at him weakly. "Where was this optimism back at the Monastery? It's strange seeing the shoe on the other foot."

He gripped her hand tighter, not wanting to let go for anything.

"Jon...the truth is...ever since we found each other again...I've been afraid. Afraid of what you had turned into...of what my partner had turned into...of what I was turning into. It felt like everyone was just...lying to me. Like the whole world was just...one big lie. I felt so...alone." She gazed at him proudly. "But...this is what you've been fighting all this time, isn't it? All by yourself. This feeling of isolation."

"Irina…" His voice shook.

"That's why...in the end...I just wanted to be someone who could at least be honest with you. And the truth is...I could never have been a part of this world you've created. But…" Tears formed in her eyes as she smiled up at him lovingly. "...dying for you. That's something I can do. And I'll do it happily."

"Irina don't." He shut his eyes and silently wept. "Don't do this. We were finally together again."

"I love you, Jonathan Hyodo." Her voice was becoming weaker and her skin more pale. "Even knowing what you are now, I simply can't hate you. Even though you left me, I still fell in love with you. Even though I tried so hard to forget you, I just fell in love with you all over again."

Irina's eyes began to close.

"Please no…" His voice came out as a pained whisper.

"Though our souls may have diverged onto different paths, I'll keep loving you Jonathan Hyodo. A thousand years from now, as I gaze down upon you from the sky above, I'll STILL keep loving you….forever…"

Her eyes shut and her final breath left her body.

"I'll love you...forever...my...Mentor…."

Irina's hand went limp in his grasp. She was gone. The last light of his old life...snuffed out. As her hand slipped from his grasp, Jon looked down into his palm.

She had placed her Mother's Cross into his hand. A final memento of their time together.


The ORC Headquarters was quiet that night. Outside, the others were celebrating a hard fought victory, while the members of the Occult Research Club had resigned themselves to mournful silence in their rooms. Koneko had gone to comfort Asia while Akeno was keeping an eye on Xenovia. Kiba resigned to his room to think about everything that had happened and how he had changed.

Which left the task of comforting Jon to the President of the Club herself. Rias took a deep breath and knocked on the door of her room. Her Dragon had holed himself up in their several hours ago and no one had heard a peep from him since.

"Jon? Can you hear me?" She spoke in a quiet, gentle tone.

No response. She tried knocking again.

"Jon...I'm starting to get worried. I'm coming in okay?"

Still nothing. Rias sighed in a sad tone before slowly creeking the door open.

"Jon? I'm just checking in. If you want me to leave I'll-"

She gasped upon seeing him. Jon was doing something she had never seen him do before. Rias half expected to find him comatose on the bed, or gazing off into space completely dead to everything. But that wasn't the case.

Jon was on his knees on the floor, hands clasped together, Irina's cross between his hands...eyes shut in prayer.

Upon hearing Rias's voice, he finally spoke. Keeping his head bowed and his eyes shut.

"Hey, Rias." His voice was a dull placated shell of its former self.

"Jon?" She did a double take and took a moment to really let this sink in. "Are you...doing what I think you're doing?"

He nodded in confirmation and continued to pray. "Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"N...no." She shook her head assuredly. "It's just...I've never seen you do that before."

Jon shrugged. "Never thought I had a reason to before now. Turns out I have several."

"Should I leave?"

After a moment, Jon sighed in woeful resignation before dropping his hands and opening his eyes. "No…" He stood up and sat on the edge of the bed, patting the seat next to him. "...I've spent enough time alone."

Rias slowly approached the bed and sat next to him. Jon continued to stare down at the cross in his hands while his Treasure simply kept her eyes on him.

"Some good news…" She reported, not knowing what else to say or do. "...there's talks of a Peace Summit between the Three Factions."

"Is there?" He barely seemed to notice her words.

She nodded. "Kokabiel's actions stirred up quite a lot of attention. And your report regarding the presence of this...Legion of Ruin has everyone on edge. But any talk of a lasting Peace is a ways off. Right now, everyone's focus is on keeping this catastrophe quiet."

Again, he barely seemed to notice. "That makes sense…"

"It's going to be at least a week before the city can be reopened to the general public." She continued. "Buildings and roads have to be repaired, minds have to be erased, and a cover story has to be worked up. The good news is, for the humans who survived this ordeal, it'll all just be like a bad dream."

"And the Holy Sword fragments?"

She bit her lip and turned her head back towards the door. "We decided to trade them back to the Vatican in exchange for having any and all information about you or Xenovia stricken from their records. They're useless to us anyway, in the condition they're in now. And this way no more Hunters will bother you or our new Knight ever again. You're both completely free of the Church."

He nodded. "That's good to know."

"And…" She continued, her voice becoming low. "...there was another condition of us leaving them the fragments. Irina's body is to be left with us. The Church would have her cremated but we...figured...you would want to…"

Her voice trailed off. After a few moments of silence, she began to tear up. Rias placed both her hands on his cheeks and turned his gaze towards her.

"I'm sorry." Her voice conveyed the pain she felt for him. Rias kissed his lips feverishly, staining his face with her tears. "I am so….SO sorry, Jon." She kissed him again, and then again after that. Desperately wanting to make this all better yet knowing full well she couldn't. "What do you need?" She asked while resting her forehead against his, eyes shut and tears streaming down her face. "Jon, tell me...what do you need?"

At long last, he smiled. If only briefly. Jon placed a hand up to her cheek and kissed her back. "I just need time...and you."

Rias nodded in understanding before wrapping herself tightly up to his chest. "I'm here, my Love. Whatever you need, I'm right here."

They kissed each other for a moment longer before Jon finally pulled away, his gaze returning to the cross. Meanwhile, Rias cuddled herself up next to him. Looking at the cross made her physically ill but she did it anyway. She wanted to be there for her Dragon no matter what.

"I think she's proud of you." The President spoke earnestly. "Even if she didn't understand why you chose this, I believe with all my heart that she was happy for you in the end."

His thumb caressed the silver rosary beads Irina's cross was attached to. "I wonder...if I really am going to wind up changing completely."

She frowned at him. "For becoming a Devil?"

He shook his head. "For being a Dragon. I understand what I am, and what I'll eventually become. I've accepted that..but...what if one day I forget all this?"

She remained silent, unable to answer his question.

"Before I met you, I did have a different life. A human life. My parents...Father Kyle...Irina. All I have to remember them by are the memories of that sad little human life."

"Jon…"

He gripped the cross in his hands. "What if one day soon...everything about that human life becomes a lie? What if everything I felt so desperately then...everything that was important...what if it fades away and is gone forever? What if...I was just fooling myself into believing any of it really meant anything to me?"

Again she frowned at him. Jon turned his head away shamefully and sighed.

"I'm such a damn coward…"

After a moment of thought, an idea crossed Rias's mind. She placed a hand against her favorite scar on his pectoral muscle and circled it with her fingers.

"This scar...do you remember how you got it?"

He gazed down at her hand curiously. "A Skinwalker gave it to me." A smile formed on his lips. "Funny story there, it was actually the first hunt that…"

She peered up into his eyes expectantly as it suddenly dawned on him.

"...that was the first hunt Irina and I ever went on together."

Rias nodded before moving on to a different one. "And this one?"

"Black Dog." He explained. "Again, another Irina hunt. Though Father Kyle was there for that one as well."

She nodded. "And then you have all these little ones down here."

"Errr…" He turned his head away in embarrassment. "Those are different…"

Rias quirked a playful brow at him. "Oh? How is that?"

"Those came from the Head Mother's kitchen knife." Jon explained. "She chased me around with it after she caught me in the pantry half naked with one of the neophytes."

At that, she giggled at him. "My point is Jon...nobody LIES their way into a body with this many scars. If nothing else, they're proof that what you did during your human life WAS important. It DID matter."

"I will never regret what we have. This Peerage, this home, my Treasures, you...all of it means the world to me."

She nodded in understanding. "But you still regret that you couldn't do more for her."

He bit down on his lip until it drew blood as the pain he felt resurged inside his heart. "It's not that I...didn't save her life...or that she died for her beliefs…"

His voice caught and fresh tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"It's just that I never once told her how much I loved her. That it was an honor to stand beside her as a Hunter…" Jon's face contorted with pain. "...and that...it meant so much to me to call her my Family."

Jon quietly began to weep again. Noiselessly, almost completely silently. Rias, meanwhile, allowed him to work through his grief while slowly undressing herself until she was completely naked. Once he had worked the worst of it out of his system, she wrapped her warm naked body around him.

"Rias?" He asked curiously.

"I can't heal you unless I'm naked…" She smiled while holding him tight, her eyes shut and tears gently falling down her face. "...you already know that."

After a moment, he smiled at her. "Forget it. At this point you'd just be licking my wounds."

"Fine." She stated insistently while running her hands along his scarred body comfortingly. "Even if that's all it is, I'm fine with that."

Rias leaned in and licked her favorite wound, and then the one below that and then another as well.

"I've already shown you everything." She spoke while licking each scar. "All my weaknesses have been laid bare for you." Rias chuckled quietly. "Somehow...I feel like we're finally even in that regard."

"Rias…"

"It wasn't just Irina. You've bled so much for me too, Jon." Her tongue passed over a more recent scar. "This one came from Raynare's Spear, right? And this one here came from the Rating Game with Riser."

Finally, her tongue passed over his most recent one. "And this one is the one I gave you when we fought. Licking wounds is good enough for me."

Rias gazed up into his eyes lovingly and kissed his lips once more.

"I too want a wound...that I can say you gave me."

They kissed each other passionately. Jon finally set Irina's cross down on the nightstand, allowing his troubles to be briefly moved aside so he could relish in the feeling of Rias's soft lips and silky warm body. She laid down on top of him, her crimson hair falling to the side as she kissed her Dragon with slow feverish intensity.

"My place is within your heart, Jon." She whispered to him, absolute adoration in her eyes. "Through suffering and in joy. I don't just want to be given happiness by my Dragon. I want to be able to give it back to him as well."

The two lovers pressed their lips together once more, finding peace and comfort in each other's embrace. No matter how much pain entered his heart, Jon knew that so long as Rias Gremory was there, so long as his Treasures were all there, he could take the pain.

And bare the scar to remember for the rest of time.


Six days passed before Irina's funeral could be held. Just as she wanted, Jon made sure she was buried in the same Cemetery as Father Kyle and the rest of their old Monastery's Hunters. Though the building itself had been abandoned by the Order, Jon was happy to see a Protestant Minister had taken over the building and that it was still very much in use. Getting a plot next to Father Kyle's was as simple as making a generous donation to their congregation.

This time around, the funeral was different. Jon knew that God was still important to several of his girls, and he was everything to Irina, so of course he allowed the Pastor to speak his metaphors, about life in God's eyes, the whole nine yards. But then once all the ceremony was over, and her casket was buried, they focused entirely on the woman who now lay beneath the freshly carved headstone.

Everyone was there, dressed in their most respectful black attire. Not just Jon's Peerage, but Sona's as well. Hell, even Riser Phenex was there with Ravel. Both having brought lovely bouquets of orange flowers to add to the massive pile of memorial offerings. Matsuda and Motohama were there with their Girlfriends, who spent most of the time helping to cheer up Xenovia. Something Jon was eternally grateful for considering she seemed to be taking this just as hard as he was.

Overall, it was a wonderful service. And though it didn't bring Jon happiness, it did at least bring him a small amount of peace to know there were so many present who would hold Irina's memory in their hearts.

When the service was over and done, the guests began to file out of the cemetery one by one. First to depart was the Phenex Clan. Before leaving, Ravel took a moment to hug Jon tightly to her and speak a few words.

"I'm so sorry for what you've lost." Fresh tears formed in her eyes as she spoke to him. "Jon...if you ever need anything at all from me…"

He smiled at her solemnly and nodded. "I know, Ravel. It was good seeing you again. Don't be a stranger for too long, ya hear?"

She wiped her face clean and smiled up at him. "I do. I've decided I'm going to stay with my Brother's Peerage for just a little while longer but…" Ravel placed her hands behind her back and cast a bashful look to the ground, her cheeks flaring red. "...I'll be applying to Kuoh Academy soon. And I'm...hoping we can see more of each other then."

"Of course we can." He then added with a slick grin. "You are my Treasure after all, aren't you?"

She peeped in surprise, her face going from red to scarlet. "So then...you're saying…"

He nodded. "I am." Jon then cast his gaze back to a rather perturbed looking Koneko who was glaring at him from a few yards away. "Errr….just don't tell Kani I said that yet...I think she's still coming around to the idea."

Ravel giggled before nodding in understanding. "Well then...until next time…" She reached up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. Fire rushed through Jon's body at the gesture.

"I'll be seeing you again soon Johnny Darling." She waved two dainty little fingers at him before unfurling her parasol and rejoining her brother. Riser cast a weary gaze back at Jon before bowing his head respectfully and leaving with his sister.

"Guess he ain't warmed up to me just yet." Jon sighed.

"Hey, Hyodo."

He turned to see Sammy standing behind him, his hands firmly tucked in his suit pockets.

"My Peerage is heading out, but…" He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "...I was thinking, you know all the good dive bars around here right? If you wanna grab a beer before we all duck out, I'm game. You of all people could probably use a drink right now."

Jon chuckled before placing a reassuring hand on Sammy's shoulder. "I appreciate the offer, Man. But I'll be fine. I need to stay with my Peerage for now."

The Black Dragon King nodded in understanding before returning the gesture. "Keep ya head up, Jon. Those girls still need your strength."

"Will do."

With that, Sammy turned and rejoined his Peerage. Sona quietly nodded to Jon before taking her leave. Aika stopped before they left and ran up to give Jon one final hug. After saying goodbye, she rejoined her Peerage and took Reya by the hand before making her exit with the rest of them.

Jon went to rejoin the others, bumping into Matsuda and Motohama along the way. Accompanied by Saya and Rei.

"Hey Bro…" Matsuda spoke in a solemn, understanding voice. "How're you holding up?"

"I'll be fine." Jon assured. "It'll just take time is all."

"She was a remarkable woman." Rei spoke softly. "We didn't know her that well, but she still helped save our lives."

"Thank you." Jon replied quietly. "But ya'll don't have to stick around just for my sake. Go enjoy the break while we you can. The campus will be reopened before we know it."

"Ugggh, don't remind me." Motohama groaned. "After all the crap we've been through, classes are the last thing on my mind."

Saya smacked him on the back of the head. "He's not talking about classes, you doofus! We're Gremory Demons now. We'll have work to do once the city is back on its feet."

"So...does this mean we're part of the ORC?" Matsuda asked curiously.

Jon shrugged. "Ain't got a clue. I'd have to ask Rias." He then added with a slick grin. "But if that's really what ya'll want, I'm certain she'd be open to letting you in."

They all beamed in excitement. Even Saya seemed to like the idea.

"Just don't go getting your hopes up too much." He warned. "I still have to run it by her first."

"We understand." Rei assured.

With that, he walked away to rejoin his Peerage.

"Jon!" Motohama called back to him.

"Hmm?" He turned his head.

"Thank you for being our friend." Motohama smiled at him. "We won't ever forget how you helped change our lives."

Jon smiled at him before laughing and waving the group off. "Get out of here you knuckleheads."

Matsuda and Motohama left with Rei and Saya on their arms. Leaving Jon and his Peerage as the only ones remaining. Kiba had distanced himself from the group, prompting Jon to walk up and speak to him first.

"Something on your mind, Brother?"

"Hmm?" The Knight turned his head and peered at Jon, clearly lost in his own thoughts. "Oh no, it's just...I've spent so long obsessing over making Valper pay for what he did that...now I'm not sure what to do with my life. My friends wanted me to guard their dreams but...what does that even mean?"

Jon placed his hands on Kiba's shoulders. "You could always start by trying to find a dream of your own."

At that, Kiba smiled and nodded. "I...I think I'd like that. Thanks, Man."

They hugged it out before Jon turned his head towards the girls. Rias and Akeno were talking to one another about plans regarding the rebuilding of Kuoh, while Asia and Koneko were helping Xenovia say her final goodbyes to Irina.

"How is she holding up?" Jon asked gravely.

"The others are doing fine but...well…you know…"

He nodded in understanding before patting Kiba on the back and walking over to Xenovia and the girls. She was staring mournfully at the headstone next to Asia while Koneko held the Bishop's hand.

"It's okay to still be sad." Asia assured her. "I didn't know her as well as you or Jon but...I still thought of her as a friend. I understand how hard it must be for you."

"I'm not sad." Xenovia insisted, taking a breath to steady herself. "I'm angry."

"That's not unusual either." She continued. "Irina was a good woman. She didn't…" Asia's eyes glassed over and her voice hitched. "...she didn't deserve this."

The Bishop clasped a hand over her mouth and shut her eyes, refusing to give into her emotions yet again. She had cried enough over this, or so she thought. Yet still, poor Asia couldn't help herself.

Koneko gently tugged on Asia's hand while she quietly wept. "Come on. Let's go see Rias."

The Rook lead Asia away, taking a moment to cast Jon a look as if asking "Are you okay being by yourself?" to which he nodded assuredly. While she tended to Asia, he patiently stood behind Xenovia and watched her, his hands resting in the pockets of his suit. She was just standing there, not really saying anything. As if she couldn't quite bring herself to accept it yet.

"Umm…" Xenovia took a deep breath and cleared her throat."...you...told me once...when we first became partners that...you thought I was a hero…" She took a moment to steady herself and blink the tears away, trying to remain composed before speaking to the stone again. "But...if either one of us can rightfully say they were a hero it's you. You were...one of the best Hunters I had ever known. One of the best Holy Sword Users I had ever known…" She swallowed back her emotions, trying so desperately to fight it. "...one of the best friends I had ever known and...you helped me to believe in miracles again. So...there…"

Jon continued to watch as she fidgeted in place, unsure if she should leave or stay. Finally she settled on placing a hand on the stone.

"I was...so alone…" Her bottom lip began to quiver as she inevitably began losing the battle. "...and...your friendship, for as brief as it was, meant the world to me. I...I owe you so much."

With that, she let go of the stone and turned to leave and rejoin the others. Xenovia almost immediately turned around and spoke again.

"But please...Irina, there's just one more thing I'd ask. One last miracle you could give me. Don't...be…." Grief overpowered her features as fresh tears welled up in her eyes. "...dead."

Xenovia barely even got the word out before collapsing to her knees and silently sobbing. "Just...just for me...just...stop this….please."

She buried her hands in her face and wept. Jon, meanwhile, quietly walked up next to her and knelt down before placing a hand over her shoulder. Xenovia gasped and turned her head up to cast two raw cheeks and tear stained eyes at him.

"Asking nicely doesn't work." He joked sadly. "Believe me, I've tried."

She lost it again. This time burying herself in his chest. While she wept, Jon held her tight and stroked the back of her hair.

"It should have been me." Xenovia quietly cried. "Her feelings for you were stronger than mine. She knew you longer. Dear God, it should have been my sacrifice, not hers."

He shook his head vehemently. "She wouldn't have wanted that. You know it perfectly well." Jon pulled away and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I've thought that very same thing about myself so many times. As has Kiba. And we can both tell you that, when things like this happen, beating yourself up over it only poisons the mind. Instead…"

They both turned and looked at the gravestone.

"...instead, you have to figure out a way to go on living. If not for your own sake, then for theirs."

After a moment, Xenovia finally seemed to calm down. She wiped her face clean and took a deep breath, finally done crying. At least for now.

"Okay...you're right." She nodded with finality before standing and taking one last longful look at the stone. After which, she turned to him and bowed her head. "Thank you, Master."

"No problem." Jon turned and gazed at the stone. When it finally hit him what she just said his eyes bulged and he immediately turned back to her. "Wait...what did you just...call…"

Xenovia had already left to rejoin the others. Leaving Jon now completely alone with his thoughts. He turned back to the stone that bore the name of Irina Shidou within its carvings, took a deep breath, and sighed.

"You're leaving a lot of people behind. I hope you know that." He smiled before placing his hand on the grave, kneeling on one knee. "And while I can't say for certain if your dream died with you too, I can say that...you helped to create new ones." With another solemn breath he continued. "But more than that, you helped give me mine. Something I have never had. I may not have known it at the time but...it's because of you, that I can dream again. Your sacrifice gave me hope...but…"

He shut his eyes and rested his head against the stone, sighing one final time.

"...Irina...wherever you are now...I miss you."

Silence filled the gravesite as he allowed one last tear to roll down his cheek and hit the freshly laid dirt below.

"Hey Jon…"

He turned back to see Koneko standing behind him, her arms in her lap, a pensive frown on her features. "I think everyone is ready to go if you are."

He nodded before turning one last time to the stone and standing up. "Yeah...it's time."

Koneko took him by the hand and peered up with sad catlike eyes. "I'm so sorry she's gone."

Jon smiled and shook his head. "God didn't take her from us forever. He just needed his Angel back for a while is all."

They turned and rejoined the others. With heavy hearts, the Occult Research Club left the Cemetery and returned home.

Two figures, who had kept their distance during the entire procession, stepped up to her grave the moment the group was gone. They were both dressed in black, one appearing to be a young girl wearing a funeral veil that obscured her features, and the other her father, a tall man wearing a coat with the lapel turned up and a hat to hide his face as well.

"It was certainly a moving eulogy." The man spoke up.

"I cried a few times." The girl admitted. "Silly I know...considering what we're about to do. But still…"

The man shook his head assuringly. "There's nothing silly about that. These people care for her, even if they are Devils."

"Still, it's awfully bold of them to come here." The girl admitted. "Even if they did show proper respects."

"You know as well as I do that times have changed, Cassiel."

She quietly shushed him. "Not so loud. The Devils might hear you."

He chuckled in amusement. "Come now, where's the harm in it? We're here all by ourselves, are we not?"

"As long as we're on Earth we should maintain a low profile." She insisted. "Call me by my human name for now. Like we've been doing."

He nodded in understanding. "Very well, Alice."

"Don't you find it strange?" She considered curiously. "Us posing as Father and Daughter like this?"

"No more strange than me pretending to die in front of you." He admitted. "If it bothers you that much, we can always change up the story."

"It's not that it necessarily bothers me, per se." Alice admitted. "It just feels a lot like trickery is all. This poor woman died thinking she saved a little girl's life."

"She did save it." He assured. "And besides, it's not technically a lie. The bodies we currently inhabit used to be of a Father and Daughter after all."

At that, she glowered somewhat. "A shame nothing could be done for them."

"They were both bitten by zombies, Alice." The man insisted. "At least with us, their bodies could be put to good use while their souls ascended to heaven to be with their mother."

Her expression seemed to perk up a bit at that. "I suppose there's some merit to your words. Very well then, shall we get this over with 'Dad'?"

He sighed wearily. "Don't make this weird, please."

Alice approached the fresh grave and placed her hand on the stone. "This chapter in your life may be complete, Irina Shidou. But your story is far from over."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a playing card that glowed with magical energy. Alice proceeded to flick the card into the air before turning and walking out of the cemetery with her Father.

The card landed on Irina's grave, revealing itself to be the Ace of Spades, before glowing with magical power and sinking into the dirt.