Man everyone keeps asking for Thor vs Vali and for Thor to get the hammer. I have my plan for Thor and Vali and as for Mjolnir he WILL get it, you expect him to be the god of thunder without the hammer? Well, he has been so far. In the myth, Thor used many weapons before the hammer was made for him and that is how I plan to have it. So be patient and wait.
Doomqwer: So that's why you hate the Abrahamic factions. All points are understandable and yes it was the Himejima clan's fault for what happened to poor Akeno. If she hadn't let her hatred cloud her judgment which is also understandable due to being a child and seeing her mother die, she could have possibly joined Grigori as a Fallen Angel or if Rias didn't find her, be a priestess at a shrine. That could be a unique what-if idea.
Marcus20011999: Patients! He will get it when the time has come!
Optimus470: As Issei thinks with his dick, Vali only thinks with his fists.
Valtazar: Yes, yes I will. As I said in the message, Nero was a minor character that appeared in cannon after vol 20 and had little to no point to the series. Plus we still have Irina and Xenovia who are much more important and this shows that in war anyone can be a casualty. Look at Rota? She died at Olympus and now so has Nero at the peace summit to protect Micheal and other leaders.
Terror: Haha not in trouble, just giving them a tougher challenge than what cannon did. Giving them a bigger threat to worry about ups the stakes.
King Scarlet: It's just like Freya said; pride will be the downfall of the Satan's.
Lorenzo Macchiavelli: The Satan's were very foolish to not attack as one at the summit. Sending just Katerea was a stupid move. They were too arrogant to think one Satan could bring down all the faction leaders. Yeah, Vali has made a great mistake hurting Freya but will Thor truly be able to get past Bikou? He is this generation's monkey king so he'll have some tricks up his sleeve to keep Thor at bay until the Dragons finish their dance.
Dragonsayianblue: If you recall my friend Thor didn't want to kill Eris because she was his friend and he STOLE Vali's kill. He beat Kokabiel earning him his second braid and he could have killed him but went after Ares assuming he could beat the God of War. As for his brawl with Bikou, read and see what happens.
Livewire: Like I said to Dragonsayinblue he didn't want to kill Eris and he defeated Kokabiel. He will win battles but not all of them otherwise he'll be too overpowered. Where's the challenge for the protagonist is too powerful?
"Stop them! Ensure they-'' The magician's command was cut short by Henrietta's elbow slamming into his face breaking bone and knocking teeth out. Thanks to Sona's Peerage the two Rooks of Rias and Valhalla's champion were given a clear path to the old school building and even managed to sneak around the defense setup. Granted they had little to nobody guard the outside with most of their forces participating in the battle raging outside. They still had a handful guarding the building which meant Andreas must be alive.
Their presence was unexpected and prepared thus allowing the trio to smash through a window on the first floor and the magicians off guard. It had worked for a bit but soon more and more began to appear to attack. The more spellcasters that appeared the stronger the Einherjar and Devil's resolve became. Rescuing Andreas could not fail!
Henrietta ducked beneath a spell sent her way before throwing Koneko at her, the Rook's fists knocking her unconscious for Vandill to finish off with a gruesome stomp to her head.
"Must you be so violent?" She asked her fellow Rook as she performed Glima on another magician. Vandill's teachings of the Norse martial arts had been a boon to the little Rook's hand-to-hand skills and were most effective in this particular battle.
"They are the enemy, Koneko. We have to kill them."
"I don't care about kill it's how you kill them."
"I'm a Jotun. The warriors of the north are brutal." Vandill said as he slammed his opponent through the wall with his hammer, not far from him Henrietta beheaded another.
Koneko shook her head, she had seen death many times when facing Strays but the way the Norse people took their lives was just too brutal. Returning her focus back to combat she rushed another and close-lined him before slamming her into a wall making her slump to the floor.
"They just keep coming!" Shouted Henrietta, a beam of magic scorching her shoulder. She wielded no shield so the warrior had to dodge or block with her sword. It looked normal but thanks to some Dwarven smithing managed to upgrade it to be able to withstand spells up to high-class beings. Beskytter was its name and it would protect the ones she cares for.
"If they have this tight security that means Andreas is alive but where!? It might be any room!"
"Nay, Vandill. If I know magicians then will likely use the highest room in this building and that most certainly is the main office Miss Gremory uses! That is where Andreas is! Group up and push-" The Einherjar was interrupted as multiple blasts of magic were sent at her, unable to block them all she was sent tumbling to the floor, Beskytter held tight within her grip. As they move on her the five Khaos Brigade wizards were unprepared for Vandill leaping over the railing from the second floor to save her, swinging his hammer like a madman and sending them flying in all directions with bones broken and limbs bending the wrong way.
"Your chances of victory are useless and foolish, Devils! The Greek is already dead! Used as a sacrifice to boost our powers!"
But Henrietta was not so quick to react as Koneko and Vandill did, "Your bluffing! Magicians don't use sacrifices unless it's for a very powerful spell and no sacrifice requires a boost in strength. If you are that stupid you clearly are a dropout."
"Shut your mouth, Northwoman! You shall regret insulting the mages of Nilrem!"
Nilrem? So that's the name of the mage's organization within the Khaos Brigade.
The mage fired his spell but Vandill took the blow head-on and retaliated by throwing his hammer but never reached its target due to the barrier. Drawing his knife he rushed his foe dodging more spells sent his way until closing the distance and stab repeatedly into the Khaos Brigade member's neck till he went limp before tossing the lifeless corpse at Koneko's attacker, the smaller Rook was holding her own knocking mages down left and right but even she couldn't fight endlessly. More magicians appeared surrounding the trio with spells prepared to finish, Vandill's retrieved hammer tightened in his right hand while his left hand still held the bloody knife.
Suddenly there came the sound of breaking glass and a loud commotion from above giving pause to the battle in the hallway. The identity of the newcomer was soon revealed as a green blur came zooming in slicing limbs and heads with such grace it looked like chopping food. The blur came to a halt before the Einherjar and Devils prompting a sigh of relief from Vandill.
"Sigrun!"
The Emerald Valkyrie nodded a greeting, her focus solely on the battle. Her shield, Svalinn, blocked spell after spell sent her way, even combined into one powerful spell it was not enough to break the most powerful shield in all the Norse Faction nor Skofnung, King Hrólf Kraki's sword forged of pure Mithril. Sigrun stabbed Skofnung into the floor boards and soon the entire hallway was covered in ice pillars that many mages were impaled upon by the rapid appearance, their blood turning the blue icicles red. With the enemy's numbers cut in half, she readied to counterattack but stopped when the magicians pulled back to the second level.
"Sigrun! By the Allfather's grace, we are lucky you arrived in time." Said Henrietta, "We think Andreas is up on the second floor in the main office."
"Then let's waste no time." She said, rushing to the second flight.
Like Andreas, the Emerald Valkyrie's skills in the first battle at Kuoh were witnessed by Koneko and what she had done was quite a sight to behold. Koneko heard of the warrior maidens of Asgard and seeing her and Rossweisse display such incredible power was truly inspiring to grow stronger. If she was here that meant…
Inside Kuoh Academy thirty minutes earlier
Freya awoke with a terrible headache and was helped towards a chair by her warrior maidens. Her brow furrowed in disappointment when recalling how she ended up like this, Albion's host attacked her, and now hearing from her family's bodyguard of the situation at hand soured her mood more. To think Vali was Lucifer's descendant was a surprise to be sure but it was not a welcome one, with all four Satans here how could Azazel, Serafall, Micheal, and Issei handle them? From her view of the battles raging across the sky they seemed eventually matched, most of them, the Red Dragon Emperor was struggling against his rival but doing the best he could. As for her son…her eyes focused on the God of Thunder's clash with Sun Wukong's descendant, the current Monkey King Bikou, who danced around attacks or parried them away causing Thor to grow wilder with every new attack.
Freya grimaced, Bikou isn't even trying, he is just toying with Thor to keep him away from Vali until he defeats Issei. Oh, Thor, you're so focused on getting to Vali for hurting me that you're not thinking straight. If he sees me maybe that will allow him to focus…
"Rossweisse! Inform my son of my condition and aid him. Sigrun, help save Andreas, I refuse to let that boy die again!"
With their orders given they set off towards their destinations, Sigrun took off towards the old school building while the silver-haired genius went to aid the prince.
"Welcome back, Lady Freya." Sirzechs greeted, his posture relaxed but eyes alert for any approaching danger.
"I see we are at a stalemate by the looks of things."
"Indeed we are. However, that soon will change. Miss Sitri has an idea that will happen very soon."
The sound of thunder interrupted Freya's response prompting her gaze to shift skyward again. Bikou had nearly been struck by lightning from Jarnbjorn.
In the sky above
Bikou dodged, blocked, and parried every strike sent his way with a taunt here and there only for Thor to grow angrier and, by the looks of his latest attack, stronger. His opponent's recent attack managed to singe a few hairs off his tail with some thunderbolts and even sent him stumbling off his cloud to the ground that his armor protected against. Getting back to his feet he frowned at the God for Thunder, if that was it was gonna be so be it!
"Tch. You nearly got me their Lord of Thunder! Since you don't wanna monkey around I guess I'll show you why I became king!"
Pulling a tuft of hair from hair he blew them to the wind and eleven identical copies of Bikou appeared, all glaring at Thor who readied another attack. Signaling the clones to attack they lept towards Thor, the real Bikou mixing himself in with the copies to confuse his opponent. He had to admit Thor was proving to be tougher than he thought, neither was tiring nor scoring hits on one another it had been a stalemate like the rest of the battle but now with his clones, the odds would be stacked against the young prince.
They closed the distance and each sent a flurry of attacks at Thor, the God of Thunder struck back with parries and dodges but he couldn't do so forever. Two struck him in the stomach, another in the left thigh, and one to his head that sent him spinning into another that slammed him into the earth. The twelve Bikou's laughed and pointed but their taunts were short-lived as the axe came hurtling towards them, one sighed while another shook his head and another simply dodged the weapon altogether letting it fly past them.
"Come on buddy you've tried that already it won't-"
Bikou's words were cut short as Thor vanished in a flash of light, twenty four identical eyes searched in all directions but no sign of Thor could be seen. As the axe fell Thor Odinson, bruised and bloodied with dented armor appeared in the middle of the small, as soon as Jarnbjorn was back in its owner's hand torrents of forked lightning shot forth like a tree growing branches with each one hitting a Bikou, each Bikou screaming in pain and falling. Thor scanned the falling Bikou's for the real one watching each one disappear until only three were left, taking his chance he buried the head of his axe deep into one's chest caving the breastplate in while pushing another hard in the face, both disappeared. Landing on his feet the Aesir's gaze settled on the only remaining Bikou who staggered to his feet, his armor dented and burnt but still stood tall for more battle. Bikou truly was worthy of the title Monkey King, if Thor wasn't so hell-bent on getting to Vali he'd be enjoying this duel between king and prince but sadly all he wanted to do was end this and make Vali pay and he would.
"Wow….I wasn't expecting a move like that. You must have used a teleportation spell etched upon your weapon to get right in the center of my defense, very clever. Vali said he saw you do that against Kokabiel. Hmph! I should have been better prepared for that but you certainly got the drop on me. However," He spread his feet apart in a fighting stance and pulled more hair this time forming twenty copies, "We still can't let you fight Vali."
Thor glared at the Monkey Kings, his loyalty to Vali was commendable but if he keeps this up he'll die. If the Norns have weaved his fate to die by his hands in this battle so be it. Thor readied himself once more with anger surging through him, each moment wasted on Bikou is another he should be using to take down the White Dragon Emperor. From the glimpses he caught of the Dragons, Issei started off strong but now Vali had the advantage and will kill Issei if he doesn't stop him now. Perhaps if he put all his power into this next attack he can end it and move on to Albion's host. Hopefully, he'll have the strength to keep fighting afterward.
Gripping the axe with both hands he channeled his power into it, thunder and lightning cracking around it as he bent his knees to lunge forward. He watched his foe and the copies ready themselves for the coming attack, that pole had the power to extend to incredible length but it was dodgeable; he just had to get in close to enact his plan. Suddenly before the battle could continue hundreds of spells from above bombarded the clone army of Bikou's while the real one got clear at the last minute but was thrown off his feet by the shockwave from the explosion.
Thor didn't pause to look back to whoever aided him; he flew as fast as he could toward Bikou who was quickly recovering from the surprise attack. Just as he expected the pole was aimed at him and extended forward at a rapid pace. Tension his muscles cast as powerful as a defense barrier he could with one hand and braced for the impact. The pole was stopped for three seconds, just three seconds before breaking through to slam into Thor's palm. That however was more than enough for the God of Thunder to throw Jarnbjorn as hard as he could while sending a current of electric volts down the pole toward Bikou.
Bikou yelped in surprise at the double attack but was more than prepared for it. Releasing the pole and letting it retract to its normal shape he leaped over the axe and was just about to call his flying cloud when a dozen magic seals suddenly surrounded him like a ball and kept him in place. Who had done this was cut short as Thor appeared in front of him with his fists cupped together with thunder coursing around them. Bikou stared in shock, grinned sheepishly, and saw nothing but black as thunder boomed in his ear.
Thor looked down upon the unconscious Youkai, a large bump forming on his head as his body twitched slightly. He did it, he beat this generation's monkey king and could end his reign right now. He just had to deliver the killing blow by lopping off his head and Vali would be left with one less teammate. His axe was back in hand and with just the movement of his arm could do the deed.
No. It wouldn't be a worthy death. He was only following Vali's orders, he didn't hurt his mother and it was fun to fight him. A shame he is not on our side. He'd make a great sparring partner…
"Thor!"
Floating down gracefully beside the God of Thunder came the warrior maiden he cherished so much. Grayfia that she had aided him he couldn't help but wonder why she was here, her duty was to protect his mother, not him. Seeing the questioning look he gave her the Valkyrie answered.
"Lady Freya has awakened and has given me orders to aid you, my prince."
Relief washed over Thor, his mother was awake now but the firing for revenge on Vali still burned within his heart. He wanted to make Freya's words come true for the punk; allowing his pride to be his downfall. He thinks he's stronger than everyone here just because he has Lucifer's blood and Albion well that won't help him today.
"Thor, if I know what you're about to do. Think before you throw yourself at the White Dragon Emperor. If he's strong enough to divide the Allmother he can do the same to you and you are Asgard's stronger warrior."
You say I am but that title belongs to Vidar, not me. Not yet. The redhead thought before saying, "That's why I'm not facing him alone. He still has Issei to deal with and I know you'll come up with a plan to bring him down. You are the smartest Valkyrie, Rossweisse, and that's what I like about you."
"W-what!?"
"Now enough talk, you think of a plan while I'll give Issei time to recover."
Aqua eyes watched Thor zoom off to the Heavenly Dragons, her cheeks growing red. She couldn't have misheard what Thor said but she was right next to him his words rang like bells in a church inside her head. He liked her, did that mean he liked her more than a friend? No, such thoughts shouldn't be on her mind right now she was in the middle of a battle. Once they won then she could make sense of what he meant.
On the battlefield
"Father Nero…" Irina couldn't find the words to say as she dodged another swipe by the undead Nero. The shock of seeing one of their greatest warriors turn into a zombie broke her heart. Slaying undead Angels and Exorcists was an experience she may never forget but to a friend…could she bring herself to do it?
Nero roared and rushed the Exorcist, his Sturdy Saint no longer usable now he was dead. The wielder of Excalibur Mimic hesitated, her partner did not. Xenovia rushed the undead priest and brought Durandal down upon Nero, his body split in half by the strength of the strike. Irina looked away, not wanting to keep the image of father Nero's corpse saved in her memories.
"Focus, Irina! Father Nero is one of the many Exorcists we know who have become undead. I've already slain many I knew in the Orthodox Church and while I grieve for their loss I keep my heart closed until the battle is won. First, we fight, then we mourn for the fallen!"
Irina nodded solemnly but did not look Xenovia's way, Nero was in that direction. Instead, she turned her sights to the Sphinxes, one she saw was being skewered like a kabob as a forest of swords erupted beneath it sending the behemoth slumping to the floor dead. Rias Knight was that way, they had to help take down those creatures to save more lives. Gripping Mimic tightly she rushed to Kiba's aid, Xenovia following close behind.
"The sooner we help, Kiba, the soon we can-"
Her sentence was interrupted by a powerful surge of energy, looking towards the source she saw high in the Katerea Leviathan was shielding her eyes against a bright light. When it faded she was faced with a warrior in armor similar to Vali's except it was gold with violet jewels. The ten black feathered wings were a dead giveaway of who the golden warrior was.
"So that's Azazel's Artificial Sacred Gear, the one that Micheal told us houses Fafnir, the dragon slain by Siegfried. The power radiating from it is incredible. There's no way Leviathan can win now." Xenovia's words of hope were quickly dashed away when a swarm of bees intercepted the Governor-General's attack. Beelzebub had joined the fight and managed to hold Azazel at pay for Katerea to prepare another spell. If he was there that meant…
"Lord Micheal!"
The blue-haired church warrior's eyes widened in horror at spotting the Archangel lying on his side bleeding profusely. Never had she thought Micheal would be beaten by Beelzebub's descendant but the facts were staring her right in the face. Already the dead were rushing to turn him into one of them and no one was close enough to protect the Lord of Heaven. Nobody but herself and Irina. She bit her lip in frustration, Micheal had to be saved at all costs but they would be leaving Kiba alone. Was one Devil's life worth Micheal's…if Commodus was here he would say yes but she was not Commodus.
"We're changing plans! You protect Lord Micheal and get him to safety! I'll help Kiba!" Shouted Xenovia and charged headlong toward the Sphinxes.
Irina watched her partner disappear in the crowd, she wanted to help but Xenovia was right, Micheal needed protection and she was handpicked by him to be his bodyguard. Turning direction on a dime she ran as fast as she could to Micheal before the undead could reach him. Struggling to stay conscious the new leader of the Angels fired a dozen spears of light to slow the enemy, the attack was all Irina needed to reach her lord and active Mimic's ability making the sword she held morph into a giant metal shell covered in spikes skewering every undead creature that came close to the defense. She rushed to the Archangel's side to check on him and winced at the deep stab wound leaking blood, even with the armor Beelzebub's attack had easily pierced the armor and, if it had been two inches to the right he would hit Michael's heart. Even in death God still watched over his children.
Elsewhere the Lich Queen stood calling more and more monsters from her portals. Her mind flooded with excitement at so many joining her undead horde. The more she claimed the larger her army will grow, perhaps she can try swarming the building where Sirzechs, his family, and the Norse Goddess stood. To take them out she would need heavy firepower to shatter the shield and turn them into her undead. Perhaps it was time to-her mind halted as she caught sight of a red and blue glow nearby followed by a burst of what looked to be black fire with a red outline and thunderbolts. Who had managed to get this far without harm? The answer came when the attackers carved a path toward her, green eyes narrowed as she opened her mouth to speak.
"Rias Gremory, Akeno Himejima, and Sona Sitri. How honored I am to face you three."
Sona's eyes narrowed but gave herself a mental pat on the back for the success of her plan. Getting one of her Rooks to get close enough to the Lich Queen had allowed her to swap places by castling. Adding Rias and her Queen had been the tricky part but thanks to Akeno tracing a seal on a piece of paper Sona had allowed the King and Queen to follow closely behind. Now they had a clear path to drive off the Lich Queen and turn the tide of battle.
"Your time is over Lich Queen! In the name of the Gremory family, we will-"
But the Lich Queen did not let the Gremory heiress finish her speech. With a flick of the wrist, a group of Centaurs came galloping forward. The master of necromancer would not let these children touch her. The Devils answered with a blast of magic, each monster obliterated in seconds by their combined powers. So they had some fight in them, well let them try they won't reach her!
In the old school building
The doors to the top floor were blasted off their hinges and Sigrun zoomed in, the magicians within however were ready with defense barriers to halt the Valkyries. Behind came the Einherjar and Rooks, the Giant carrying the first year and throwing her at the enemy like a javelin, easily shattering its defense and allowing a gap to open up to let Sigrun slip past and start attacking their exposed backs. It was over in less than 5 minutes the Occult Research Club home base was back in the alliance's hands.
"Oh, Andreas!" Sigrun gasped, rushing to the boy's side.
Andreas was hanging upside-down by magic seals in nothing but his underwear. From head to toe, he was bruised and cut in many different places, fresh blood pooled beneath him while dry blood stuck to his skin like glue. One of his eyes was swollen shut and the other had a nasty cut beneath it making blood blur his vision.
"S…Sigrun?"
"We are here, Andreas!" Henrietta said while shattering the seals to free her fellow Einherjar.
"What have they done to you?" Sigrun asked, she slowly lowered him down and carried him to the sofa.
"Nothing a little healing can fix. Hehe. Ouch!"
"They tortured you!"
"That they did. They wanted answers and I gave them insults thus leading to my current state."
"We have to get him back to Asia," Vandill said, standing guard for any approaching danger.
"We can't." Henrietta said as she examined Andreas' wounds, "If we move him he may die and I assume none of us know how to teleport a large group?"
Silence was her answer.
"I thought as much. If only Asia was here she could heal him."
Andreas smiled weakly, "Hey, I'm an Einherjar. It's gonna…ugh…it's gonna take more than that to take me down. Herakles' punches were way worse."
Sigrun shook her head, he was obviously lying, whatever they did to him must have been worse than fighting the Son of Zeus. She cursed herself for not learning the arts of healing, if she had then Andreas could be saved. He could live and join her in the Drunken Draugr to celebrate another successful peace summit. Rota's was hard to endure; she couldn't deal with another death so soon, especially a close friend.
Just then Koneko stepped forward, her face hidden behind her bangs, her fists were shaking as she put then on
"Andreas," Koneko whispered low, gripping his hands powerfully. She remembered how he had been there to help defeat the Amazons and willingly sacrifice himself to save her and Gasper. She was forever grateful to him and his allies, willing to go further than she had in a long time. "Please don't be scared of me."
The dying Einherjar didn't get a chance to ask her meaning before, quite unexpectedly, a pair of white cat ears popped into being atop the rook's head with matching tail emerging from beneath her skirt. With the partial release of her form, Koneko's hands started to glow as she quickly placed them upon Rossweisse's chest.
"Great Odin's ravens!" Exclaimed Henrietta, "You are one of the near-extinct Nekotama, a subspecies of the Nekoshou cat-youkai. You've been suppressing your power, hiding the ears and tail as well as the aura your people are famous for, Senjutsu."
"And you know this because…" Vandill asked.
"Vestri told me all about them. He said as a teacher I should learn about it."
They watched as the little Nekomata poured more energy into Andreas, the wounds he gained slowly began to heal, and soon what had once been a bloody and bruised warrior now laid a boy with no sign of harm done to him. Koneko turned to face her allies, no, her friends, ears drooping sadly. They could tell right away she was scared of what they would think of her true self, of the fact she hid this secret from them all like Akeno had.
Henrietta's fists clenched, all of Rias' servants had issues and not one was given the help needed. What kind of king neglects helping their followers? A cruel king but Rias was not cruel she was kind and compassionate to her servants. She did not neglect them; they chose to keep their problems locked away but still, Rias should have helped them.
Vandill lowered himself to Koneko's level and pulled her into a hug, "We don't hate you, Koneko Toujou. I had this same talk with Akeno and I will say what I said to her; I don't hate you for being who you are and you forget that Lady Freya has cats of her own. If she saw you I am sure she would smother you with the same love she gives Bygul and Trjegul."
"And how could we be scared of the brave little Nekomata who saved my life?" Added Andreas sitting up from the couch.
"Andreas, sweetie,... pants."
The Einherjar shrugged, accustomed to the old Greek ways of sharing a bathhouse with men and women. He got up and strode about in search of his clothes and armor. Henrietta sighed and summoned a cloak to make the Greek descent.
"And also," continued Vandill, "we don't have to discuss the reason-"
"Kuroka is my sister." She cut in, silence filled the room at the statement, "I know she's here. I saw her fighting Azrael and Havi. They can't beat her, she's too powerful."
"Heh. Is that so?" Henrietta asked with a grin, "Your sister may be Ultimate-class but I assure you Dwarfs are very crafty people, especially in building and magic."
In the front of the school
Spears of light fell like rain from the heaven's but each one missed Kuroka who bounced around like a kid who had too much soda dodging every spell cast by the Fallen Angel while at the same time firing off wheels of blue energy that collided with spears. The combined youkai and demon magic easily blasted through the light-based weapons with ease while another dozen struck from other angles with less impact as a half dozen Kuroka stood around the Fallen Angel.
"Am I here…or here?" She teased as her illusory clones dashed about to confuse Azrael and split his focus.
The Governor-General's son hovered off the ground refusing to accommodate his sultry opponent's desire for conversation, darting back and forth to keep ahead of the attacks. Not only the Kuroka's were illusory, but so were the impacts behind each one. He had no way to determine which were real or fake based on sound, feel or sight and none could surpass a youkai in sense of smell. He had foregone flight after Kuroka revealed how many avenues of attack she had in the wide-open field, forcing Azrael to remain relatively grounded.
Behind the black winged hybrid, Havarti unleashed spell after spell upon the Kuroka's picking some off or being repelled by her own spells. This Youkai turned Devil was not to be underestimated with the power she was throwing at him and Havarti was not one to over or underestimate his opponents. Keeping a level head he formed complex calculations in his mind erecting layered barriers around himself and Azrael to shield against the tide of fire that bombarded them. For every barrier broken another would be erected just as quickly to stop her spells. The Dwarf was clearly a spell caster like those magicians of Nilrem but he specialized in defense magic. Yet even the strongest defense had a weakness and she would exploit it.
"A shame you won't come to bed with me. I'm sure I can make your first time a great time." Purred the cat Youkai.
"Again, I have to decline the offer. I already told you my heart belongs to someone else."
"And who's the lucky girl?"
"That you don't need to know for if I told you I know you'd go after her to hurt me or force me to sleep with you."
"You know me so well. Still, even if I didn't know the girl you fancy I'd have tried pouncing on you already. Between you, Vali, his rival, and the handsome redhead. I'd put you at the bottom."
"Because I'm small?"
"Because you're not a God or a Heavenly Dragon. I may have to rely on you to give me a strong baby. Even if it will be a Dwarf I know it will have a strong connection to magic, Youkai and Norse magic combined will make it quite powerful. Not as powerful as a God or Dragon but still quite strong."
Havarti chuckled, "That's true. I have to commend you on your desire to repopulate your species. I know the Nekoshou are on the verge of extinction and you wish to repopulate them with someone powerful. So as I say, I commend you on your noble goal."
The playful smirk had faded just a second but returned much wider than before, "You praise me for wanting to repopulate my species? I think you just moved up on the list of men who can help me make a baby."
Again the Dwarf laughed and managed to bow while still keeping his defense seals up, "I am honored by your words. Unfortunately, not only are my eyes set on another girl, you are a criminal to the Underworld, and an ally to the Khaos Brigade so you must be stopped."
"I can't believe you're having a conversation with the enemy." Sighed Azrael.
"And I thought being the big bird's son would mean you are strong. You have good looks but are lacking in skill. Both in battle and in bed."
Azrael's nostrils flared as he sent forth another hail of spears at Kuroka, this time the size of tree trunks but like before the weapons of heaven could not stand against the wheels of fire or defense barriers of the Youkai. However, as the colliding spells lit up the sky with explosions Azrael, zipped between them to cover his advance toward his foe until burst through the smoke with a rather large explosion to be face to face with a bunch of surprised Kuroka, a two-handed sword of light in hand already slicing the women in half their forms dissolving into mist as they did. Swinging like a madman left and right he carved his way through more copycats of the Khaos Brigade agent, hoping that one of them would be the real Kuroka. Each Kuroka he cut down dissolved into smoke meaning he hadn't found the real one yet but if he kept this up he would eventually.
"Your quite rough, I thought your daddy taught you to be gentle to a lady." One said before being split in half.
"Splitting me in half? You DO like it rough! Nya!" Another commented, her head being removed seconds after.
"It's so amusing seeing you try and fail so hard at hide and seek. Keep splitting me in half I'm sure you'll penetrate the real me. Nya."
"Ohhh, your sword is so big!"
A scream of frustration was let loose as Azrael threw his sword into the air, the blade of pure light exploding into javelins of light that were easily blasted away by Kuroka's spells. Readying another sword of light as he scanned the crowd he suddenly felt something hit him hard in the back sending him flying toward another Kuroka that grabbed him by the face and slam him into the ground.
"You have your father's looks but not his brains. You really let yourself fall prey to my words. That's kinda sad if you ask me. With these many clones, you'll die which I'm sure your father won't care about. He can just fuck another girl and-"
Light burst forth from Azrael dissolving the clones nearest into nothing, so bright was the attack they had to shield their eyes from blindness. When it faded Azazel's son was standing before them, wings extended and a look of pure rage on his face. Fear was an emotion everyone had but some had little or nothing to fear and this little display of strength and rage did nothing to faze the black-haired cat woman.
"Uh oh. I think I hit a soft spot." She didn't sound concerned one bit, but rather teasing.
"I'm going to fucking murder you!" The Fallen Angel screamed while preparing a spear of light.
"For only having a single set of wings you are unleashing loads of power. Of course, that's because you are Azazel's son. I bet in a few weeks if not months you'll gain a second set. Unfortunately for you, that won't happen."
Havarti shook his head, Azrael let Kuroka get in his head and now was paying the price for it. If he was a lesser man he'd abandon him to his fate but his father raised him right and he would see the son of Azazel come back to him alive.
"You know, Kuroka," said Havarti as power began gathering in his hands, "There's an old saying the Allfather's grandfather used to say about us; always judge a Dwarf by his brains, not brawns."
Then he clapped his hands together and began murmuring in his native tongue that none could understand. Sensing trouble Kuroka unleashed dozens of flaming wheels at the Dwarf, whatever he was planning would be stopped. Her attempt was too slow as a large orange pentagram with the Gremory sigil inside a circle with runes etched on the edge appeared, the size and power of the defense barrier easily stopping any attack sent its way.
"That's the Gremory sigil! How can you use demon magic if you're not a Devil!?" Demanded Kuroka.
The Dwarf only continued chanting as two smaller pentagrams appeared and shot powerful beams of magic at the Khaos Brigade agent. Realizing the power behind the attack Kuroka was forced to dodge and watch it erase everything in its path. Not one clone caught in the blast survived and a large trench was all that remained of the spell. Another flare-up of magic was sensed from behind and even more spells with runes on them appeared, one even formed beneath Azrael and swallowed him in a bright light before he could hurtle his spear, where the handsome boy went she didn't know but he definitely wasn't anywhere she could see nor sense his presence. How much power was this Dwarf hiding, just what else did he have? Testing the waters Kuroka sent more flame wheels and magic bullets the Dwarfs' way, each one easily stopped by the massive defense barriers. Her grin was gone, replaced by a tight frown at the tide slowly turning against her.
Fine if spells wouldn't work I'll use- she paused as if hit by Gasper's time power then looked in the direction of the forest. She didn't know where the Fallen Angel went but Senjutsu was a power she was familiar with and there was only one other person on the battlefield that used Senjutsu. Shirone…
The voluptuous cat woman leaped to the side as another beam sored by catching the edge of her kimono. Kuroka frowned, she always thought Dwarves were just builders but today showed they were more than that, they were warriors too. If he was serious she'd get serious and show just how powerful she really is.
Near the battlefield
Issei continued his forward assault upon his rival, swinging the mighty sword Ascalon exactly how Sigrun taught with each strike doubled by the gear to either nearly hit or lightly graze Vali. This type of strategy was dwindling time on Azazel's device for temporarily unleashing his Balance Breaker, but Issei had Vali keeping his distance for fear of taking a solid strike by the sword. If he could just get close enough he might hit him and, coming up with the current strategy of his own…overloading the radiant wings of Vali's Sacred Gear. He shot forward and, keeping an eye on Vali's movement, grabbed a hold of his wings just in time.
"What the…!?"
BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!
Issei's plan was a success, the stolen power bleeding out of the wings, leaving Vali powerless for a moment as the Dividing Gear reset to zero. Taking advantage in that instant, Issei buried a fist with Ascalon extended into Vali's gut. The blade shattered his Balance Breaker utterly, heralding a gush of blood from his opponent's mouth as blue and green shards rained from the sky, the gems across his armor shattered to pieces. Despite the injury, Vali could only chuckle as he wiped a trickle of blood from his chin.
"You blew my Balance Breaker away. And even managed to give me a proper wound."
"And there's a lot more where that came from," Issei panted, exhausted from all the boosts. "Next time I'll…"
His heart sank as Vali stood back to his feet, his Dividing Gear Balance Breaker instantly reconstituting itself back to full power.
It was a good effort Ddraig sighed to his wielder. But it won't work that way, overload it all you want but it will merely reset. This fight will not end until one of you can no longer lift a fist.
Damnit! There has to be something we can do!
Nothing, your time limit is nearly up and the gap between your strength on the whole is large. You should retreat and…
"I won't!" The devil pawn roared in frustration. "If I leave, that bastard will…" He looked over to Rias upon the battlefield, the Power of Destruction destroying undead after undead to get to the Lich, before panning to his other friends fighting for their lives. He could barely stand, the wounds from his previous back and forth with Vali catching up to him as the adrenaline abated. "He attacked the thunder boy's mother. What if he does the same to me? What if he killed my family and the others if I failed? I won't back down even if it kills me!"
"It was more interesting than I thought Hyoudou Issei," Vali sighed, his new armor just as strong as the other, even his shattered gems were already remade. "But if that is the extent of your resolve…then-"
Suddenly there was a boom of thunder as something impacted Vali sending him flying toward the school building. Behind blue lenses surprised eyes looked into the face of Thor Odinson, his battle cry sounding as loud as thunder before a first coated in lightning began punching him hard in the face seconds before he was slammed through the top floor of the school. Desks and chairs flew every as Thor flew Vali through each classroom with a punch just as powerful as the next.
"You think you can threaten my mother!" Thor yelled, continuing his punching. He didn't care he stopped the famous Heavenly Dragons battle, he was gonna hit Vali as hard as he could until he bled!
Out the other side of the school they went and before Vali could counter was kneed where the wound of Ascalon hit stunning the White Dragon Emperor for a second to be punched back into the academy with Thor following close behind. Vali grabbed a desk chair to halt himself and threw it at the God of Thunder who chopped it in half with his axe to not slow his assault, he was going to make sure Vali felt everything he threw at him. Fainting a swing of his axe he threw his left hand forward, opening it at the last minute to fire a blast of lightning at the Heavenly Dragon that caught him by surprise and followed up with a shoulder slam that would have worked if Vali didn't grab him by the other shoulder and throw him out the window halving his power in the process.
Divided but not powerless Thor used his flight magic to stay afloat in the air. His training paid off in the end, he was more than a match for Vali. Nevertheless, he had to be careful, his surprise attack wouldn't work twice and if Vali touches him he again he would get more power sapped away like what happened to Kokabiel. It would be best to fight him from range and lucky for him he had magic to spare.
"You dare interrupt our battle!?" Vali cried, his rage visible in his voice.
"You hurt my mother." Thor snarled as thunder coated his arms, "So now you face me and I'm gonna make sure you know why I am Asgard's strongest warrior!"
Wasting no more words, the God of Thunder clapped his hands together creating a shockwave that roared toward the Heavenly Dragon before flying around to fire every he knew. Thor grimaced, each attack was either dodged or absorbed meaning both close and ranged attacks would be impossible to use still he had to try. Clenching his fists he blasted toward Vali, spells still firing as he drew closer and closer dodging to the left at the last minute missing Vali's outstretched hand by inches.
"Your attempt is futile, Thunder God, the more attacks you send the stronger I get with each I divide. I thought you'd have realized that after watching me lay waste to Kokabiel and my rival. You said you are Asgard's strongest warrior, was that just bravado to hype yourself up!?"
"Your one to talk! You think being Lucifer's descendent AND a Heavenly Dragon makes you better than the rest only shows that like your fellow Satan's that your pride will be your downfall. There will always be those stronger than you!"
"I am the strongest White Dragon Emperor to exist and I'll show it by defeating Odin's son!"
"Defeat? I guess even you aren't stupid enough to kill me since you know all of Asgard will come crashing down upon you."
"Enough words, Thor Odinson! Show me the strength you have!"
Issei floated to the ground just as his gear dissolved, exhaustion overwhelmed him but his resolve to keep fighting pushed him forward. He just needed a moment to regain his strength and figure out what to do next; help Thor finish his rival or help Rias and his friends? Either choice would have a big consequence to it but what should he do? He could Rias even from here, her red hair was like a curtain the way it whipped around with each attack sent forth, he wanted to help her, protect her, but Vali…
Issei snorted, hm well that serves you right Vali. You should have never pissed off the God of Thunder. If Thor can beat that monkey king guy he can do the same to you Vali.
All alone?" Ddraig questioned, He may be a God but my rival has shown he is very strong. Very strong. He may need a partner to help.
"But what can I do? I've wasted all our power and I barely hurt him."
Look again. Remember that wound you gave him. It's still there and Odin's son is purposefully aiming for it. He knows where to strike and you can give him that opening if you work together!
"But how am I supposed to help? It's gonna take forever to recover my full strength. I am gonna have to sacrifice my other arm to gain more power?"
Have you forgotten how Sacred Gears work, boy!? Use your emotions! Do you wanna protect the red-haired Devil?
"I do… I wanna protect the president! I will protect her and her boobs! If she dies I'll never get buried in those enormous fun bags again!"
Ddraig sighed, of all the hosts he had Issei Hyoudou was the most perverted. Well, at least his desire was regaining his strength quicker. The sooner he was a full strength the sooner he could defeat his rival.
"Wait a moment!"
The Pawn turned his gaze away from the battle to see Rossweisse approaching making his eyes wander all around her body, how could he not resist with so much skin exposed and Thor's attention solely on Vali. His peeping however received a nasty glare from the Valkyrie.
"I'd keep my eyes on my face if I were you." She growled, sure she was in the middle of a battle but this pervert was going to stare at her then she would ensure he receive a hard punch to the face. The pervert's apologetic smile wasn't convincing but she continued talking, "Lord Thor wished for me to devise a plan and I believe I have come up with one. However, this will require your help Mr. Hyoudou."
"M-me?"
"Yes. You. Now listen."
Well, that ends this chapter. Not much to say for afterthoughts only that I hope the battles have been written well. Next time I'll focus on Rias and Azazel since they didn't get much screen time. I hope you all have a happy thanksgiving.