Chapter 19 - Night of the Monkey Pt 4 [ Finale ]

Tianheng Plateau.

A spacious piece of land located a little distance away from the main mountain of Heart and Mind. A blanket of soft, green grass was spread across the plateau with plum-blossoms, pine, and maple trees lined naturally by the edge. A small waterfall spilled out from the side and into a crystalline clear spring below. It was also more commonly known to the pupils as the Second-Grade Disciples' Training Grounds. Each grade of disciple under Subhuti had different areas to practice. Third-Grades were usually close to or within the main Academy. Second-Grades were assigned to the plateau, while the First-Grades' location was kept a secret as most of them were beginning their journey on the path to immortality.

Wukong rushed to the plateau, leaping out of bed before the sun had even risen. A bright smile on his face from his recent promotion from Third-Grade to Second. It was the most he had been delighted with since he was given a name.

One step closer to immortality.

He leaped from tree to tree, clambering from rock to rock, and finally, using a long shoot of bamboo as a spring, he flew through the air and onto the plateau.

The monkey dashed through the undergrowth before bursting out into the open field of grass. His steps slowed down and he came to a stop as he saw the rest of the Second-Grades already gathered around the meadow. Wukong's smile never dropped and he weaved through the crowd of students. Demons, Spirits, and Humans all mixed together, warming up their joints, and helping each other with their flexibility stretching. It was like a pond of white and gray robes with a spot of a unique coloring. Several of the Second-Grades briefly glanced over to their newest member before focusing back into their physical preparations for the intense training that was about to begin.

Wukong was looking around curiously, there was a lion-headed, bulking disciple talking to a deer-horned man. A man with quills instead of hair was helping a crocodile-humanoid stretch, while a normal human boy was trying to push a pale-purple skinned woman down into the splits. It was then he noticed a familiar pair of pointed, triangular ears that were black in color, on a head of smooth, flowing hair the same shade as a moonless night sky.

The Monkey King expression brightened upon recognizing who it was. He quickly made his way to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

The girl spun around, her delicate features were painted with surprise when she realized who it was.

"Stone Monkey?" she gasped.

"Hi Ahri," Wukong greeted with a mischievous grin.

"W-What," the fox-girl smiled wide, still shocked that the familiar monkey was standing in front of her, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm a Second-Grade Disciple now," Wukong proudly stated.

"No, I mean… The Academy of Heart and Mind…since when?" Ahri stuttered in disbelief, though she was beaming.

She was right to be surprised. It was rare for different grades of disciples to ever meet due to the different schedule they all had, added with the grade-specific locations and dorms they were assigned. It wasn't unheard of for one generation of students to never meet their seniors and juniors.

"Since two years ago," Wukong revealed, "And that makes it ten years since leaving the mountain,"

"So you've just left it unguarded?"

"Eh," the monkey waved his hand nonchalantly, "They know why I've left so it's fine, besides no one ever goes to Flower Fruit Mountain anyway…not since…"

The monkey's face briefly fell, recalling an incident that had happened ten years ago, but not wanting to spoil the mood of a reunion with an old friend he quickly hid his expression with another one of his cheeky grins.

"Ah nevermind, the past is in the past,"

However Ahri's brows furrowed with worry, "Did something happen after I left?"

"Nothing, y'know just…the circle of life and all that, nothing but that," the Monkey King replied with a sheepish scratch to the back of his head.

Ahri narrowed her eyes, he was hiding something and she knew it was something that was weighing heavily on his shoulders. However, she also knew that he would find every opportunity to avoid talking about it so Ahri decided to drop the subject.

Thankfully, Wukong did as well, "So, when did you arrive here?"

"Around two or three years after I left," the fox girl replied.

The monkey was astonished, "What?! That quick, it took me eight years to even find this place!"

Ahri tilted her head, "That long?... you went by sea didn't you,"

"Yeah,"

"AhThere you go then,"

Wukong stared at her blankly before remembering, "...oh that's right, you did ride away on a phoenix,"

"Second-Grades! In line! Now!"

The booming voice of a senior disciple echoed through the grass field. All of the students immediately rushed over and formed rows of twelve in perfect sync.

Ahri looked back at the Monkey King and gestured for him to follow, "Come on Stone Monkey, the seniors can get pretty terrifying if we're late by even a second,"

"Hey Ahri," he spoke to her in a low voice now that they were getting into line.

"Hm, what is it?"

"I have a name now, it's…,"

"Sun Wukong,"

孫

悟

空

Ahri watched as Vali flew back from the impact of her last kick.

The two fighters were flying above a small empty island off the coast of Japan after Ahri had teleported the both of them away from Kuoh.

Vali grit his teeth and was breathing heavily, for the past fifteen minutes the fox had been doing nothing but avoiding his attacks and occasionally countering him with shots to the body with the intention to stun but not heavily damage.

"Damn it!" he growled, "She's stronger than I thought,"

[ Agreed ]

The fox was leering down at the White Dragon Emperor, sliding her hands into the pockets of her red hoodie as she floated down to his level.

"You know we don't have to continue this," she said calmly, "Just go back to whoever sent you and tell them you've failed, whatever the repercussions will be a lot better than continuing this,"

Vali snorted,"You mean for me to give up? Hah! Sorry but I don't do that, I live to battle against opponents in order to get even stronger, and you are nothing but another stepping stone for me,"

Ahri sighed through her nose, "I already know how your Divine Dividing works, you sacrifice your stamina in order to half and absorb your opponent's strength. Let me warn you now, it won't work on me,"

"You sure talk a lot don't you,"

"I'm only saying this for your own benefit, the last thing you want to do tonight is to face my flames,"

The half-devil smirked, "When you put it that way, now I'm curious!"

WIth that Vali launched himself at Ahri, as soon as he reached her he lashed out a kick directed to her head. However, his leg swung through the air, passing through a fading mirage of the fox girl.

"An afterimage!"

Behind him, Ahri reappeared.

"You're fast," she commented.

Vali immediately spun to elbow her, only for it to be another illusion.

"But not fast enough,"

A strike to the side of the abdomen, followed by an uppercut palm thrust that shattered his helmet completely. Vali coughed up blood as his body was lifted from the force of the hit. He felt his arm being grabbed before hearing the violent whistling of an object passing through the wind at high speeds. Before he knew it, he crashed down onto the island, cracking the ground beneath and creating a huge dust cloud in the air.

"It'd be in your best interest to stay down, White Dragon Emperor," announced Ahri.

The silver-haired devil pushed himself off the ground painfully, the snow white armor was now decorated with dirt and cracks.

"This fight…isn't over," he stated as a grin stretched across his face and his wings glowed a brilliant blue, "I'm just getting started!"

Ahri furrowed her brows, "Don't,"

[ DIVIDE ]

In that moment Vali felt a surge of new power pumping through his body, his blood warmed to a type of heat he had never felt before and a newfound vigor overcame him.

Ahri shook her head and shrugged.

"This power," Vali chuckled, staring down at his hands in awe, "It's like nothing I've absorbed before. I feel like I could fight the Gods easily with this energy. Heh, I should've taken it earlier,"

He glared up at the fox, "So, ready for round two?"

But Ahri only scoffed in amusement, "Stealing my energy was a mistake, White Dragon. Where I'm from, power absorption is a common skill. Even regular soldiers were trained to resist and counter it," she held out her hand, "There will be no round two,"

As he listened, Vali felt it, all of a sudden the heat inside him increased until it felt as if he was being scorched by the sun from the inside, the blue crystalline gems on his armor and wings began to flicker a deep orange with the blazing color starting to take over. He screamed as he collapsed onto his knees, feeling as if everything inside his body was turning into magma, trying to burn a hole through his skin to be free.

"With a snap of my fingers, I can cause you to implode from the inside out, splattering your burning flesh all over the ground and force Albion to take a new host," calmly stated Ahri, "Or perhaps I'll burn your brain just enough to keep you alive but no more intelligent than a worm, so you can live out the rest of your life on this small little island until you die of starvation, or perhaps dehydration, whichever will take you first,"

His agonizing cries rang through the night sky.

[ Vali! She's blocking out the power filtration of Divine Dividing! She's right, if you don't surrender soon you'll explode! ]

'NO! I can still…I-I can still…,'

[ Enough Vali! Know when you're beat, this is an opponent that the both of us heavily underestimated! Continue on and you'll die! ]

'I still have…the Juggernaut Drive,'

[ And if she sees you trying something, she'll snap her fingers. Forfeit now! We can live to fight another day! ]

It was then that the silver-haired half-devil realized the vast difference in strength between him and the fox girl. Like a matchstick to a flaming star. He reluctantly gritted his teeth, swallowed his pride, and managed to utter out.

"I…I surrender,"

Ahri snapped her fingers, and Vali's eyes widened in shock.

But instead, it was his armor that was blasted off. The white pieces of metal scattered across the ground and the silver-haired devil fell onto his back.

"A wise decision," said Ahri, "My job here is done. I respect your tenacity, and your desire to get stronger reminds me of someone I know, so let this be a lesson to you White Dragon. The world's changing. After tonight. Be careful who you fight, for not all will be as merciful as me,"

She turned and flew in the direction of Kuoh Town.

As she crossed the sea, she focused on getting a sense of the situation back at the small city. Her brows furrowed after detecting a huge amount of low energy signatures all clustered together by the sea, a speck of Devil aura was by the cluster's edge. All of a sudden a spike of familiar energy erupted from Kuoh, it felt as if she was being stabbed through the chest from the abruptness of it which caused her to stop flying.

Her eyes were drenched in shock and disbelief, in the distance where Kuoh once was. There was a massive lance of light illuminating the sky like a miniature sun, with swirling purple streaks surging violently around it, shattering like glass into hundreds of thousands of pieces.

Ahri's golden gaze glowed in excitement hidden in anticipation and recognition, "He…He's back,"

Meanwhile, Vali laid on his back with his arms and legs spread apart. He was breathing heavily from exhaustion and stared up at the twinkling night sky.

[ It was an unfortunate loss today Vali. But at least you live. ]

Vali clenched his fists and after a couple of moments he grinned, then chuckled, before breaking out into laughter.

"There's still so many strong beings out there, undiscovered, staying hidden in the shadows. I'm getting pumped just thinking about it. Losing is just a part of the experience, Albion. I'll only get stronger from here. I might not be able to fight 'God' anymore but… I'm glad to know that this world hasn't gotten boring,"

[ Heh, as expected from the host with the greatest potential. ]

"Anyway, Albion, how much longer before you can reassemble the armor?"

[ Half an hour, maximum. Rest for now Vali, it'll be good for your recovery, I'll call you when it's ready. ]

"Very well," said Vali, and he took in a deep breath before shutting his eyes.

…

…

…

"Me? I'm the Monkey King,"

Kokabiel shuddered, teeth chattering and his eye's shivered.

"No, no, no. nononononononono nonononononononono!" he roared, and hastily spawned a large halo of light spears behind him filling out the entire night sky.

"I will not have my dream dirtied by a filthy worm like you!"

And the shining rain began.

Such a deadly attack would devastate the land, and annihilate any ultra-level fighter with the overwhelming pressure of the exploding, burning spears.

However, to the Monkey King, this was nothing new.

Kokabiel - due to the peach with unknown origins - was now much stronger than before, perhaps on the same level as an Ultimate-Class Devil.

However, to the Monkey King that power meant nothing. Back during the War with the Heavens, even a soldier in the Jade Emperor's infantry was more threatening.

Wukong flipped off the ruins he stood upon, and leisurely but expertly weaving through all the lances descending at blinding speeds upon him. The monkey walked through the destruction like it was nothing but a spring breeze, occasionally deflecting lances out of the way with his staff as he made his way to Kokabiel.

Although the Monkey King was going at a casual pace, to the monstrous cadre it was threateningly fast.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!" he screeched and panickedly launched endless barrages of long-ranged attacks, believing that his distance was still going to be the advantage to gain the victory.

He was wrong the moment Wukong decided to speed up.

In a split-second, Wukong had vanished leaving a delayed cloud of dust as the only proof of his movement. Kokabiel's eyes widened in horror.

"W-Where?!"

In the corner of his eye appeared the tip of a gray pole. The moment he glanced over it was lightly smacked into his face…lightly in Wukong's standards at least. Kokabiel was sent tumbling through the skies before he was able to halt himself.

Kokabiel glared up at him. It frightened him that he couldn't get a read on what the Monkey King was thinking. His expression was void of any emotion but there seemed to be a small curve in his lips. Was he bored? Excited? Mad? The fallen angel couldn't tell and his teeth were grinding in his hopeless frustration. He felt like a sparrow being eyed by a hawk.

Wukong simply twirled his staff before letting it rest on his shoulders, then with an open hand, beckoned the Cadre to attack him.

"Arrogant! Cocky! Bastaaaarrrrd!" Kokabiel could only roar as he rushed him.

For a moment, he swore he saw disappointment flash across the Monkey King's face. Nevertheless, his hatred for the current predicament and the one floating in front of him flooded over all other thoughts. His hands created two greatswords of light and a ring of lances appeared behind him, pointing their sharp tips towards the monkey and ready to fire.

"NOW YOU'LL DIE!"

It was a simple, continuous motion.

Holding the staff in one hand, sweeping it in a swift arc from the right to left.

No glorious death. No flashy death. Not a death filled with intricate techniques, energy-based strikes, and explosions.

One swing of the Ruyi Jingu Bang was all it took, to end the Cadre's short-lived reign of terror.

Kokabiel coughed out a wave of blood, a disbelieving shock overtook him as he watched his lower half plummet to the ground, a trail of thick crimson chasing after it. His mouth agape as he slowly raised his head to face the Monkey King.

The gray staff had torn through his abdomen, ripping through his guts as if were nothing but wet paper, and slashing through his spine, crushing the bone into powdery dust that blew away with the wind.

'Huh?'

The next second, Kokabiel saw the Monkey King floating higher…unless he himself was falling.

'I can't…feel…anything,'the Cadre realized.

As he turned over, he saw the reason.

Following his lower half, his torso was also dropping to the crater below with blood gushing out both ends.

'...When did he…?'

The Cadre never saw it, he never noticed or felt it until it was too late. At some point after the first hit, the Monkey King had struck with his staff again, tearing through his neck just above the collarbone.

Wukong watched as the three pieces of Kokabiel plummeted, landing with loud thuds and sending waves of dust on impact.

Soon, the Monkey King flew down and landed inside the crater. Almost immediately he moved towards Kokabiel's head, the red glowing eyes of his monstrous transformation still twitching in utter shock.

After spinning the staff around instinctively, Wukong lifted it up above the Cadre's decapitated head.

Kokabiel opened his mouth, perhaps he was going to say one last snarky remark, curse him, beg for mercy, or scream in hopelessness.

But that chance was never given.

*CRUUUNCH*

Ruyi Jingu Bang crushed the Cadre's head like a melon under pressure before he could speak, Blood flew up, decorating the gray weapon and splattering across the ground.

Wukong removed his staff and flicked the crimson off before resting the staff on his shoulders. Kokabiel's remains began to sizzle away, specks of ash and dust floating into the air.

In a span of less than ten seconds, the threat that had destroyed Kuoh, the threat that had been sparking the first flames of a new war, was no more.

Wukong sighed lightly through his nose.

Looking around, the damage wasn't all that bad. Buildings of all sizes crumbled into rubble, streets and roads ruptured, and the remains of trees and vehicles were scattered across the ruins of the city. Not to mention the giant crater in the ground, it was as if Kuoh was the site of a meteor impact. At least the country still remained in one piece.

Shrinking his staff, the Monkey King put it in his ear and bounded out of the crater.

He took in a deep breath and his glowing red eyes surveyed the area.

"...This world," he murmured.

A wide toothy smirk stretched across his face, "This body…Heh! Not bad,"

*B-BMP*

He stumbled back slightly.

Mori blinked, once, twice, three times.

Red eyes shifted back into brown, but his dark spiky hair remained unchanged.

"...What?"

He stuffed a finger in his ear and pulled out the tiny, gray line that was a shrunken Yeoui.

Mori stared down at the mini shard rolling to a stop in the middle of his palm. As if he was responding to its master's gaze, the weapon gave off a soft golden glow with a nearly inaudible hum.

He tore his brown eyes away, looking to be in deep thought for only a moment before closing his fingers around the shard.

He looked around, scanning the area for any signs of life before he sprinted away towards the mountains in the distance that were unaffected by the damage caused to the Kuoh territory.

Kuoh Outskirts

The young businessman furrowed his brow. His tongue scraped across his teeth in frustration followed by a light click.

Ingvild noticed his annoyed look and asked, "My lord, is something wrong?"

The young man took in a deep breath before answering, "Nothing, just another False Eruption,"

"Another False Eruption?" the purple-haired girl echoed.

"When all the signs are in place for a real Eruption to occur but a hidden, missing variable hinders the entire event," Tiamat told her, "It's frustrating but this is a pretty common occurrence,"

"I see," hummed Ingvild.

'Damn, how could I not see it, he was able to fool me this time,' he ran a hand through his blue hair, disheveling it, 'That—,"

"Hey boss,"

The young man looked down, having his thoughts cut off by his subordinate's call.

"Your communicator is flashing," Tiamat pointed out, nodding her head toward an earpiece attached to her leader's belt.

"Oh, thank you Tiamat," In one smooth motion he brought it up and attached it to his ear.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end was of an exuberant woman with a high-pitched voice.

[ Hi hi~ How's my favorite cutie doing tonight? I imagine that the mission went well? ]

"Negative, it was a False Eruption,"

[ Another one? Haah~, that's the second one this month ]

"It is rather disappointing, but none of us expected this to be easy," the young man sighed.

[ Well if it makes you feel better, we've got some new updates on our end regarding; Traces of another Sage has been found, along with a couple new traces left behind by the Asura in the Human Realm. It'll be difficult to report all of this to you through the communicator so why don't you, Tia-chan, and Vivi come back to HQ first? Then we can discuss our next moves more clearly. Besides~, you've been out in the field for a week, I miss you. ]

Despite his frustration at the results of the mission, his lips curved up into a small smile, "Right, we'll head back now,"

The girl on the other side giggled, [ Can't wait cutie, *MWAH* See ya soon ]

"Yeah,"

As soon as the call ended, the dark blue-haired male hopped off his stone perch and landed between his two subordinates.

"What's our next move, boss?" asked Tiamat.

"We head back to HQ," he told the two of them, "We're done with Kuoh and we'll be temporarily putting the Sage of Victory investigation on hold, something else requires our immediate attention,"

He raised his right hand in front of him, the tips of his fingers were cloaked in a flickering swirl of brilliant azure energy. With a controlled swing of his arm, he sliced across the air and left behind a thin blue line hovering in the air. It crackled to life as a tempest of azure flames ignited along the line, before converging until it formed a circular portal.

"Ingvild, Tiamat, once you go through, report straight to Briefing Room One,"

"Yes sir / Got it," the two girls replied at the same time.

The younger purple-haired female was the first to enter the swirl, followed by her blue-haired, busty senior. Just as their leader was about to step through, he raised an open hand before clenching it tightly. When he exited through the portal, the azure swirl dissipated until not even a vibrant blue speck remained, and the sound of a barrier shattering echoed through the darkened sky.

"Why do you smell like fish?"

Were his wife's first words to him when he returned. Sirzechs let out a sigh and said to her, "Fish market, don't ask I'll tell you later,"

Grayfia looked him up and down. The Maou Lucifer was covered in a layer of transparent slime, sticking his red hair and clothes together. The pair were a little distance away from the recently awakened group of young devils. The silver-haired maid reached up to his face and brushed off bits of slime before moving to clean out the strings in his hair.

"You're taking a bath first thing when we get back," she said in a soft and graceful voice that she used only around the ones she really cared for.

"Don't worry I will," Sirzechs chuckled before looking over her shoulder to see the group, resting on the ground either sitting or laying, "How are the kids?"

"They're tired but alive," the silver queen reported as she flicked the slime off her fingers, "I healed most of them to best of my ability, but wounds from Light attacks will take a while to fully recover from,"

"That's good," the Maou looked relieved as he watched the younger devils.

Issei and Koneko were bickering about something that was more likely than not, had something to do with the former's perverted tendencies again. Asia watched and occasionally giggled with Saji and Momo trying to find a tamer way to end their verbal fight. Yuuto and Akeno were engaging in conversation with the rest of the Sitri princess's group. Off to the side, Rias and Sona were chatting privately. Xenovia was simply observing the devils from her own seated spot, not knowing if or should she include herself into the chittering.

"Did you find Mori?" Grayfia suddenly asked, snapping Sirzechs from his trance.

He shook his head, "I couldn't reach Kuoh at all, someone had set up an Illusory Barrier around its perimeter,"

"I'm guessing that the same barrier triggered a forced teleportation which sent you to that fish market you mentioned?"

Sirzechs nodded in confirmation.

"Kokabiel's work?" his wife pressed.

"No, the barrier was set several kilometers away from the outskirts of Kuoh, whoever put it up knew what was going to happen tonight… Well and from what I know, Kokabiel isn't much of an illusion guy,"

Grayfia's eyes simmered with a hint of growing concern, "Illusory Barriers are one of the hardest Fields to put up, and to trap you no less…," the maid leaned in closer to her husband's ear, "I don't like this, if they can trap a Maou like you then they're certainly not some pushovers,"

"Don't worry about it, Fia," Sirzechs smiled and placed a hand on top of Grayfia's head before stroking her silver hair, inciting a blush from the maid, "The fact that they didn't send me into the middle of a volcano, or to the bottom of the ocean, or into outer space means, is most likely a sign that they never intended to hurt me. Just a warning for me to stay away,"

"If you say so," Grayfia uttered softly.

Sirzechs slid his hand off her head and walked over to the group, his queen following behind him.

The younger devils immediately straightened up as he approached but a wave of his hand was all they needed to know for them to relax a bit.

"Did you find Mori?" Rias asked worriedly after making her way to the front of her peerage.

Sirzechs shook his head much to the dismay of the Occult Research Club.

"There was…a complication on my way there," he told them.

"Complication?" Rias repeated, confused as to what could have stopped her brother, a Super Devil with Destructive Power acknowledged and respected by even some of the Gods.

"An Illusory Barrier," said Grayfia, "A highly advanced form of Protective Field rarely, possibly even never used in the generations following the Civil War,"

"What of Kuoh itself?" Sona asked, stepping forward to join her friend's side.

"It looked to be standing from a distance," replied Sirzechs, "Though truthfully I'm unsure now,"

"Can we go back and check the damages?" asked Rias.

Sirzechs and Grayfia exchanged glances, then turned back to the young red-haired devil.

"Not yet," said Grayfia, "If the Illusory Barrier is still up we don't know where it could send you,"

"At least, let's wait for another five minutes," added Sirzechs, "During that time, Grayfia and I will be monitoring the status of the teleportation circles, if we can transport ourselves directly into Kuoh, we might not have to deal with the Barrier,"

Time must've flown by in an instant and those five minutes were up in a heartbeat.

Sirzechs nodded to Grayfia who started on a magic circle back to Kuoh.

"Onii-sama," Rias stepped to his side, "Kuoh is territory currently governed under me," she took a deep breath, and spoke in a voice that was already shaky, "If there's been any damage done to the town, I would like to see it,"

"Ria…,"

"Please," she urged, "This is something I need to do,"

Sirzechs gazed at his sister for a moment longer before sighing in defeat, he knew that unless the situation was absolutely out of their control, there was no way of convincing her to do otherwise, "Okay, let's go,"

"Maou-sama," Sirzechs looked over his shoulder and spotted Sona walking towards them.

"If I may, I would like to go too,"

"I don't think it's a good idea, Sona," he replied, noticing the surprise and bafflement on her face he continued, "It's not every day that the Maou Lucifer comes to the Human World so abruptly, or for Ajuka to suddenly drop his tasks, if only for a moment, to help me with a mass teleportation spell. Think about it Sona, your sister would've heard of the situation by now. In my opinion, it is best if you head back to the Underworld for now to calm her down before she does something rash, which we both know, is the last thing we want right now,"

Sona looked at the ground, he was right. Her sister was probably more overprotective of her than Sirzechs was to Rias, if things escalated that could add even more issues to their current dilemma.

The Sitri teen nodded, "I understand, Maou-sama, I'll head back immediately,"

Sirzechs gestured to Grayfia, "Grayfia, please help transport Sona and her peerage back to the Underworld, I'll be able to teleport Rias and I to Kuoh,"

The maid bowed in understanding before configuring the settings to her circle, and telling the Student Council to step into it.

"And Grayfia, watch over the rest of them while we're away,"

"Of course, Sirzechs-sama," the maid bowed.

With that, a light red shine sweeped over the sibling duo.

That same light reappeared miles away, in the middle of a wasteland that was the former small city known as Kuoh.

Rias's knees buckled as she slumped to the ground, her tears were practically immediate and rapidly trailed down her pale cheeks.

If her brother wasn't by her side, she wouldn't have believed that the sight in front of her was the large town that she loved, where she made so many precious memories with her friends. The territory that she was meant to watch over and protect had been razed to the ground. There was not even a single slip of greenery left.

Black, gray, and brown stretched as far as the eye could see. Few buildings were lucky, and the surviving ones were aged and buried halfway in the scorched earth. Even now, the stone structure groaned as they crumbled to the ground, becoming nothing but piles of rubble. Shadows of their former selves.

Sirzechs placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly as she sobbed. Not once did she wipe her tears and allowed them to fall freely. He looked away, and spotted the edge of the absolutely giant crater in the ground where Kuoh Academy and a quarter of the small city had once stood.

"Rias," he spoke softly, "If this is too much, we can go back,"

His younger sister slowly shook her head and said between hiccups, "No…I need…to see…this through,"

"Alright, just promise me you won't blame yourself for any of this," the Maou said as he help her to her feet, "No one would've seen this coming, not even me,"

"I…,"

"Rias, I'm being serious,"

The younger sibling nodded her head, "Can we…can we go and see the school?"

"Yeah, of course,"

The redheaded duo traveled in the direction of the crater, it felt like a long, neverending walk as they trudged through the wasteland, with only the edge of that crater informing them of how much closer they were getting.

Once they arrived, peering down, they realized that the crater had grown even deeper and wider than before to the point that it had become a wide chasm. Sirzechs could even see former underground lakes experiencing fresh air for the first time and running across the new surface, some even pouring down to places even further below. Sirzechs couldn't lie, even with the enhanced night vision that their race was granted, he had to strain his eyes to catch even a glimpse of the very bottom of the chasm. If a normal human were in his place, all they would see would be a giant bottomless pit.

It was surreal seeing the damage up close.

'What happened here?' was all he could think of, noticing that Kokabiel's aura had also disappeared completely .

"Mori…," his sister whimpered, "He…,"

'That's right…Mori. He couldn't be…,' Sirzechs looked down into the chasm, 'Though looking at this, it is possible that he…sacrificed himself?'

He looked down at his sister, tears still welling up in her crystalline blue eyes. It broke his heart to see her like this, but a part of him told him that it would be better for her to experience the feeling of loss sooner rather than later. A bitter reality of the world they live in, or any world in general. At the same time, he did want her to retain the feeling of hope that Mori was still alive, just missing or taking a recharging nap somewhere deep within the chasm. Though he had already extended his senses, reaching out in all directions, he could not sense Mori's aura at all.

Behind them, the two devils heard something skidding across the rough scorched surface.

"Mori?!" Rias exclaimed, a newfound hope glazed her eyes as she spun around, only for that hope to dim when she saw who it was.

"H-Hey, aren't you…?"

Sirzechs was immediately wary of the newcomer, his muscles twitching with anticipation just in case something happened. Too much destruction had occurred tonight, and with his little sister right next to him, he wasn't going to take any chances.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Ahri stood up and removed her hood, her ears flicking when she saw the two devils standing closeby.

Her sharp golden gaze moved from Rias to Sirzechs, scanning them and their surroundings for any weak points that she could exploit if a fight were to take place. A beyond helpful habit she had acquired from fighting in a war against the Gods.

She casted an unsmiling look at the duo and answered their question with one of her own.

"Where is he?"

Mori landed on top of the peak of a mountain far away from the borders of Kuoh's territory. The leaves of closeby Pine, Maple, and Oak trees danced from the force of his quick landing. It was a rather secluded area, a flat surface fenced off by greenery and at a decent level in the air where few birds flew.

Seeing as there was no sign of life within an eavesdropping distance, he pulled the staff out of his ear and threw it out in front of him.

The staff instantly grew to its regular size and anchored itself into the ground.

The owner of the weapon slumped onto his knees with a thud.

He stared at the ground, heaving heavy, shaking, breaths.

Sweat profusely rolled down his body from head to toe.

He ran his hands through his dark hair.

'Good morning! I'm Dan Mori, I hope we can all get along,'

'One should get ten hours of sleep every night for a healthy body and mind. My name's Jin Mori! Nice to meet you,'

'The name's Sun Wukong! Better remember it!'

"...Who…,"

'I'm Dan Mori,"

'My name's Jin Mori,'

'It's Sun Wukong,'

"...Am…,"

'Dan Mori… Jin Mori… Sun Wukong… Dan Mori? Jin Mori? Sun Wukong? Dan Mori! Jin Mori! Sun Wukong! Dan Mori. Jin Mori. Sun Mori. Jin Mori. Sun Wukong…

DanMoriJinMoriSunWukongDanMoriJinMoriSunWukongDanMoriJinMoriSunWukongDanMoriJinMoriSunWukongDanMoriJinMoriSunWukongDanMoriJinMoriSunWukong,'

"...I…,"

"I'm…Mori? …Right? But no, that can't be right because I'm…Wukong…? I had…a grandfather that was a human…But how can that be when I've lived on Mount Huaguo all my life? I have a kingdom to rule…so why am I in Kuoh? It's because…I'm a high school student? I'm a member of the Occult Research Club?"

The Monkey raised his head to look at his famous weapon.

"My mind's a mess, all a haze, a bunch of bubbles in a blanket of fog… What do you think, old friend?" he asked the Ruyi Jingu Bang, "You've been with me from the start. Ever since getting you from the Eastern Dragon Palace. If anything, your memories will make more sense than mine won't it? Perhaps I should've found a way to store a backup version of my memories, so situations like this wouldn't inhibit me,"

The staff remained stationary. The Monkey scoffed lightly and rubbed his face.

"...What am I saying…as if it could talk…or see…it's just a staff,"

His gaze dropped back to the ground, and unbeknownst to him, then the legendary staff began to hover off the ground, a faint gold cloak emitting off of it.

[ Haha, most entertaining. So that's how it is? ]

"Huh?!" he instantly raised his head to stare at the staff, "...D-Did you…?"

[ Yes, it talks. Well the Jingu Bang isn't talking… I am…through the staff… I like to call it resonance but now we're getting off topic. ]

"Hold on, who…who are you?"

[ Me? Well… We were destined to meet each other at some point. There's no other way of introducing myself without being straightforward because I know that's the only way for you to understand. ]

…

…

…

[ My soul has been sealed within a shard of the Ruyi Jingu Bang for two thousand years now. 'You', the 'me' from that other world, are the key to my return. ]

"The 'me'...from that other world?" Mori echoed.

Time slowed around then, the fall of leaves halting, and the dark morning mist floating. Mori could hear the amused smirk on the one talking to him through the staff. For a moment under the lunar light, the staff's stone surface shone like a mirror. He watched the reflection of himself take shape. The same face. The same hair. The same eyes, only the doppelganger's was red and gold. A long, dark, furry appendage lashed out from behind, the tip curving playfully. Unlike his current shirtless and battle damaged self. The reflection donned a yellow-gold monk robe, tied at the waist by a black sash and tiger pelt, and a black cowl that rested comfortably around his neck.

The reflection lazily saluted.

[ Yo! Nice to finally meet ya. I'm this world's Sun Wukong ]

"The one you call Mori, where is he?" Ahri asked in a firmer tone.

"Who's asking?" Sirzechs pressed.

"That's Cho Ahri, she's a transfer student in the same class as Mori, Issei and Asia," explained Rias after wiping away her remaining tears.

The Maou narrowed his eyes, "Those ears, she's a fox,"

"She is?" the heiress's eyebrows raised, putting her attention back onto the black-haired female, "I never even realized someone like that was living in Kuoh,"

"Foxes are notorious for their seamless ability to blend and adapt. Don't think about it too much Ria, you're still young and still inexperienced so I doubt you would've known anyway," her brother told her.

'And you even had a half Phenex living right under your nose,' Sirzechs added silently, 'Seems like Kuoh was becoming some sort of supernatural hub,'

"Are you two Devils even listening? I asked you a question," the fox growled.

"What's it to you?" Rias countered. The girl in front of her was no more than a stranger, and although not knowing where Mori currently was, she still didn't want to put her club member in any sort of danger.

"I need to speak with him,"

"That's all?"

"What else?" Ahri scoffed, "What, do you think I'm working with Kokabiel?"

"It's a possibility," Crimson streaks of destructive magic fluttered around Rias's fingertips. Too much had happened tonight, and she would no longer take any risks, even if that meant she would have to take the initiative to attack.

Sirzechs took note of his sister's rising aggression and placed a hand on her shoulder, gently moving her back as he stepped forward.

"Hey, Ahri, right?" he began, moving to a position between the two girls.

"Look, I don't know if you have any prejudice or misunderstanding of our race, and if it was something other Devils had done in the past, then as Maou Lucifer I apologize on their behalf. But I promise you, we mean no harm. Mori is a good friend of ours too and we're also trying to locate his whereabouts," he told her calmly, "We both have the same goal. So what do you say that we work together on this? All we want to know is what happened to him, and if he's okay,"

Golden eyes scanned the Crimson Maou. There was truth to his words. There was also no sign of malicious intent and Ahri loosened her guard, relaxing her tense exterior.

"Fine. Just this once," she said.

"Of course," Sirzechs agreed.

'...Me? Him? Wukong? Me? He can't be me. I'm me! I'm the only Wukong. No, my name is Mori. No it's Sun Wukong, Master Subhuti gave me that name. Grandpa gave me another name. So which one is it…the staff said I'm Wukong…but everyone calls me Mori…but the staff…Issei, Rias, Yuuto, Akeno, Koneko, Asia, the others…Daewi, Mira, Ilpyo…Wait who's Daewi, Mira and Ilpyo? I know them. I know them. I know them. Do I? Grandpa can tell me. I just need to find him. But I won't, I can't, he's dead, remember? What? How? Mubong! Park Mubong! PARK MUBONG! WHO!?'

Mori's grip tightened around his head and face as he slumped further and further into the ground, his mind a swirl of different thoughts and emotions stemming from shattered fragments of memories colliding together at lightspeed.

'NO SHUT UP! Wukong is my name. It's always been my name. It's been my name for hundreds of years. Why the hell would I change it?! Everyone calls me Wukong. Master Subhuti. Xuanzang. Bajie. Wujing. White Dragon Horse. Ahri… Wait, Ahri! Ahri's here! I know! I saw her. I gave her a tour of Kuoh Academy. NO! That was Mori! I AM WUKONG! Ahri…Ahri…My second-in-command, Huaguo Army's Great General, and Military Advisor, Ahri. Nine-tailed Fox Ahri. She'll know…She'll know who I really am. Mori? Or Wukong? Ahri will know. She's been there from the start. She'll tell me. Right? That's right. That's what I'll do. I'll find Ahri. I need to find Ahri. I'll go find Ahri,'

[ Are you done? ]

Mori snapped his gaze towards the reflection who was watching him intently, then he chuckled.

[ Hey I get it. When I first found out about the multiverse I had an existential crisis too, but you might've been hit harder since y'know, suddenly all your memories both good and traumatic came rushing back at lightspeed crashing into your hippocampus. I'm also guessing that they're not in chronological order, based on your reaction. ]

"...,"

Seeing as the other world's version of him wasn't responding and only staring at him, the other Wukong continued.

[ Look I'll give you some time to collect your thoughts, but do it quickly. I can't Resonate for long and we've been given this one in a hundred-thousand chance to meet so let's not waste it. I'll give you…hmmm…three minutes. ]

The second Wukong smiled and plopped down, sitting with his legs crossed. He observed Mori's every detail with a hand holding up his cheek.

Finally, the martial artist spoke up.

"...You… You're really…I mean, we're really the same being?"

[ No. Yes. Maybe. Potentially. Kinda. All five words are suitable answers for your question. Sure, we're from different universes, but we're still counterparts. Of course there's going to be differences here and there but I know for sure at least more than fifty percent of our memories are relatively the same. ]

"How can you be so sure?" Mori slipped his legs under to sit in a more comfortable position. His attention now fully on the universal clone.

To call it a weird experience would be an understatement. Mori had communicated with his clones hundreds of times in the past, heck even one had gained his own identity. So he should've been more comfortable at seeing a reflection of his. But how wrong he was, looking at the eyes of the Wukong of this world, he couldn't describe the sensation he was feeling even if he tried. Like a bolt of frozen lightning that ran continuously through his bones and veins, giving no pain but instead an unreachable, numbing itch. It felt as if every cell in his body was moving forward to get a better look, extending their grasps in order to get closer and closer. Like they were being attracted to the second Wukong, akin to moths to a flame or two magnets when close to each other.

[ Well…if our experiences weren't similar, how do you think I helped reinstate your memories. ]

Mori's eyes widened and he reeled back with shock. "Y-You?! You restored them?"

[ I helped. I can't take all the credit. If you want to thank someone, thank the Ruyi Jingu Bang. It did most of the work. ]

"The staff?"

[ Mhm. What? Did you think that it was just some magical stone staff kept oh-so coincidentally in Ao Guang's thirtieth back garden? ]

Wukong released a hearty laugh at Mori's bewildered expression..

[ You really don't know that much about it do you? Well, if it makes you feel better, I don't either. All I know is that Jingu Bang truly is a mystical weapon, tied to our existence before we even existed. It's our destined partner on this neverending battlefield called the universe, and yet it still doesn't accept us. Only assists us whenever we need to call on its power, not as an act of respect, but responsibility. Jingu Bang has just as many secrets as this vast vast world. And we've only scratched the surface. The fact that it unlocked a major portion of your previously sealed memories proves so. ]

"All I've ever done is make it grow and shrink,"

[ You and me both. ]

A faint twitch of an amused smile appeared on Mori's face. A gust of wind blew by before any of them spoke again, and the martial artist asked, "So, what is this Resonance anyway?"

[ Ah, good question. Which also brings me to the main reason why I'm trying to communicate with you. As you can see, Jingu Bang isn't in the best condition right now, having been shattered in both your world and mine. We've been left with nothing but shards of its former self spread across the world. And unfortunately, I'm contained in one of them, but I haven't been sitting around doing nothing. I developed the Resonance Technique which allows me to speak and observe through any shard from my position. Though it does take a lot of energy. ]

"Let me guess, you can only use it once a day?"

[ Exactly. And for ten minutes each time, maximum. Which also means that our conversation is going to be ending in a minute or so. ]

"...,"

[ Look, I know it's hard to believe but— ]

Wukong was suddenly interrupted as the staff's reflective surface glazed over, flickering and rippling, like a dying flame and a disturped puddle. The Monkey King's face curved to a frown.

[ Oh, looks like I estimated the timing wrong. ] He nonchalantly waved it off before suddenly sharpening his gaze onto Mori, somewhat catching the latter off guard. [ Before I leave there's three things I need to say to you so listen closely. ]

Mori leaned slightly forward.

[ One. If you want your memories to shift back into order, find the rest of the Jingu Bang shards. I suspect that that'll be the only way for you to get back to normal, and on the plus side, I might be able to be released in the process. Two. Resonance has another secret use, if you….ver….I…..ca..n….ta….k….ver….f..a..bit… Shit. it's already breaking up. Final…ly….do..n't….tr….s.t….th….c.. …n…s….n…w….ko..n..g….. ]

Without warning Wukong disappeared and the staff returned to normal. Leaving Mori sitting there, staring at the weapon and replaying the Monkey's words - and that little event as a whole - in his head over and over again, trying to break it down and peel apart every little detail.

His head slumped into his open palm. For the first time in a while, he didn't know which step to take first and which direction he should go. It was as if he stood at the trunk of a tree and the paths were the branches, sticking out in every single direction, tangling and stretching into the dark. Some snapped off, some looped around, while some made it to the top of the canopy to catch all the sunlight and rainfall.

He thought about just standing up and sprinting away, to first run away from everything that had happened here and find somewhere far to clear his mind for a bit. But he shut that thought down quickly, he knew that sooner or later this was something he had to face, even if he didn't want to say it out loud nor admit it within.

He raised both hands and rapidly slapped the sides of his face. The sound of his slap rang clearly through the quiet nocturnal mountain top.

"Plan…," he said quietly before gradually increasing his voice, "I need a plan, I need to get all the shards back and repair Jingu Bang. But I can't do any of that without a plan,"

"I don't know where any of the other shards are. Thinking about it now, it was just by pure luck that I happened to come across this one, thanks to Kokabiel. Guess he somehow found it first. But as for the others…,"

"Argh!" Mori frustratingly rubbed his face, "They could be anywhere!"

He came to halt when a small sliver of realization smacked him in the head, and his hands slid off his face.

"Wait...Ahri. She's here in Kuoh isn't she. She's always been an intelligent one and she didn't have any memory troubles, right? Maybe she'll know… Well it's better than nothing and I gotta start somewhere,"

Extending his hand, he shrunk and called back the staff before sticking it into his ear.

"Alright then, first step. Find Ahri,"

"Is he down there?" Sirzechs called out from the edge of the crater.

Ahri leaped out of the chasm, landing beside Rias and dusted off her hands.

"No, it appears that the extra depth within the crater was created rather recently. It looked like the original crater was already deep enough to meet with an underground system of tunnels and rivers, it was only a matter of time before it would collapse into it," the fox girl explained, "I couldn't sense him down there either,"

"So we're back to square one," commented Rias, her previous hostility had simmered but still had a bit of her guard up around the fox.

Then a thought appeared in Rias's mind, she turned to her brother, "Onii-sama, did you ever tell Mori where we were going to be transported to?"

Sirzechs shook his head and folded his arms, "I didn't get a chance to. He was on the other side of Kuoh distracting Kokabiel to stall for time while Grayfia and I were setting up the spell. It was designed to teleport him too, so I assumed that he would've been by the coast with the rest of you, but as you can see…,"

"Then is it possible that he went off to find us?" suggested the red-haired heiress.

"Or that he was teleported elsewhere," added Ahri.

The Crimson Maou rubbed his chin, "Both are indeed valid possibilities. But I apologize in advance for suggesting the worse, but in the potential scenario that he indeed did sacrifice himself—,"

"He's not dead!" snapped Rias, "...He can't be,"

Ahri, on the other hand, looked to be unbothered by the suggestion, "You don't need to fret, princess. He'll be fine,"

'He's immortal…he is still immortal right?'

"And how do you know!?" replied Rias, "Look at this place! A city once stood here and now it's nothing but razed ground. How are you so sure that Mori isn't hurt!?"

"I–-,"

"Well now that the topic has been brought up, how do you know Mori?" asked Sirzechs, "The way you mentioned him, you seem to be familiar with him. Do you know something that we don't?"

Not wanting to reveal too much of her information, Ahri settled for telling only a sliver of the truth.

"I've known him since we were kids," she answered matter-of-factly, "I heard he was staying in Kuoh so I decided to pay him a visit,"

"He's never mentioned you before," said Rias.

"Between his memory issues and not seeing each other in a long time, I'm not surprised,"

"So you only came to Kuoh to visit him?" the redhead pressed.

Ahri nodded, "Yeah, at first it was just a curious check-up, but then the high school life grew on me so I stayed,"

Rias's blue eyes swept carefully over the girl, as if scanning for any lies in her motives.

Ahri placed a hand on her hip and an amused expression formed on her face, "You can relax princess, if I was really here to cause trouble, it'd be pretty pointless now anyway,"

Just as Rias was about to retort, they heard a soft double-tap on the ground nearby.

The three of them turned to see who it was. An ecstatic and relieved look grew on Rias and Sirzechs, while Ahri felt her breath caught in her chest, her ears stood on end, her eyebrows raised as her golden eyes grew wide.

Standing before them was the one who they had been desperately searching for.

Mori, who was wearing nothing but his track pants and displaying his lean muscular build for the world to see, waved at them with a small smile, "Hi,"

A gasp was released from Rias's lips as she rushed forward to embrace her friend tightly with tears welling up and flowing from her eyes once again, surprising the Monkey King…and causing one of Ahri's ears to flick.

"You're not dead…I'm so glad… I was so worried…," sobbed Rias.

"Um," Mori simply offered several pats on her back in an attempted way of comfort, "I'm sorry for worrying you Rias,"

"You idiot…what the hell were you thinking?...,"

"...Sorry," the martial artist whispered, remaining still, allowing Rias this moment to release her pent up emotions, from the destruction of her beloved city, to the posible death of a close friend. When he felt her loosen the grip, he took the initiative and gently slid her arms away from him. The slight hastiness in his actions left Rias feeling slightly taken aback, as she watched him move away, she looked at his back and couldn't help but notice that something had changed with the bright but impulsive boy she knew.

Then he walked up to Sirzechs, who greeted him with a nod.

"You did it, you defeated Kokabiel and stopped a second war between the Tri-Factions," the Crimson Maou grinned, "The next time you come to the Underworld—,"

Mori cut him off, "Are the others and the people okay?"

"Yes, they're fine, they've been teleported to the coast east of here," Sirzechs was also taken aback by his new demeanor.

"That's great, I'm glad, really,"

Sirzechs wasn't given a chance to say anything back as Mori had already moved on, heading towards Ahri.

He stopped in front of her, and the two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, before Mori smiled at her.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Ahri didn't answer, instead she slowly lowered her gaze with her bangs shadowing her eyes. Her hands trembling, and her fists clenching and releasing repeatedly.

Anger.

Guilt.

Sorrow.

Joy.

Two thousand years worth of the pent up blazing tornado of emotions burned through her body, surging through every vein and overtaking every nerve.

"...You…," she growled quietly, and tightly squeezed her fists until they were stiffer than steel.

Red flames blasted into ignition in one fist.

"You… Asshole!"

*CRACK*

Ahri's flaming punch collided directly into Mori's cheek, taking him and the devils watching by surprise.

The Monkey King flew back and bounced across the ground. Rias and Sirzechs immediately leapt into action, summoning orbs of destruction in their hands.

"Wait, don't!"

Mori quickly raised his hand to signal the devils to stop as he pushed himself off the ground.

At the same time…

"Stay out of this!" snapped Ahri.

She swung an arm across in the direction of the Gremory sibling duo, faster than any of them could comprehend, a huge wall of fire erupted between them stretching all the way up to the clouds and bursting them apart.

A lightning-fast, threatening chill ran down Rias and Sirzechs's neck when they caught a glimpse of Ahri's animalistic, glowing golden gaze glancing at them briefly from behind the flame wall.

"MORI!" Rias cried.

Without waiting another second, Ahri was already up in the air, and coming down like a meteor. This time her leg was cloaked in red flames as she slammed her foot across the Monkey's face. She dropped onto all fours and pushed off with muscles pumping from every limb. Using the force from the ascent, the fox girl's uppercut connected with Mori's chin, the sound it created cracked like thunder. In an instant, Mori was sent high into the air and the fox followed without being a even split-second late.

Three snow-white tails that flickered with specks of fire suddenly lashed out from behind her.

"This!" Ahri whipped her body around as she chambered her blazing leg.

[ Subhuti's Tenth Generation - Red Comet ]

"Is for starting that damned war!"

Mori coughed up blood when the fox's scorching kick made contact to the middle of his chest. The shockwave shot through his back, reaching the ground in a second, kicking up a tsunami of dust and leaving another crater in the ruined Kuoh earth.

The monkey speedily fell but Ahri zoomed past him to reach the ground first.

"This…,"

The fox was on the ground for less than a second before launching herself back into the air directly at the descending monkey.

[ Subhuti's Tenth Generation - Rising Asteroid ]

"Is for all the innocent lives who died because of you!"

Ahri spun around, building enough momentum to strike his spine with her elbow, digging into his back and sending him soaring back up.

The fox girl flew after him, grabbing his head tightly in her hands, and rushed back towards the ground, dragging Mori along with her.

*KRAK-BOOOOOM*

A geyser of dirt shot up and waves of air pulsed out when they crashed to the ground. Mori laid on the ground on a bed of splintered earth. Ahri released her grip, she got off the Monkey with a flip and shot back into the sky.

Her silhouette eclipsed the moon, and the scarlet three whisker marks on one side of her cheeks faded.

[ SIX TAILS ]

An additional three snowy tails burst out in a flaring crimson.

Her black pupils sharpened into thin diamond slits.

She clenched a hand until it resembled a claw, cloaking them in flames.

Ahri smoothly swiped the ignited hand out in front of her.

Long claw marks of fire appeared, growing in size until they combined into one open scorching tear in the sky.

A symphony of howls, barks, and snarls started to fill the air. From the tear, a fox made of pure fire emerged, followed by another, then another, first one-by-one, then ten-by-ten. The vulpine inferno swarmed around Ahri guarding her as they laughed and danced in the night sky.

[ Night Parade of One Hundred Demons ]

With a simple snap of her fingers, every single firefox rushed down at impeccable speed towards the downed monkey.

"...And this…,"

A sonic boom cracked as Ahri shot downward, flaming fists clenched by her waist.

"Is for abandoning us when we needed you the most!"

Mori propped himself up on his elbow, when he glanced up, he saw streaks of the fox's flames flash a bright blue as she descended like a blinding meteor. The foxes cackled and joined together, merging with each other and growing larger and larger around Ahri, until she was encased in an aura of raging flames the shape of a giant, sly grinning fox.

*FWOOOOSH*

The bright blaze abruptly dispersed into the darkened sky.

Her hands were an inch away from his eyes, when Ahri had stopped.

The midnight-colored hair hung over her eyes as she grit her teeth, flashing a bit of her canines.

"...Why?" she began, her shoulders started to tremble.

Mori pushed himself up into a slightly more comfortable sitting position.

"...Why aren't you fighting back?" the fox asked.

She didn't get an answer, and for what felt like the longest time, Mori had remained silent before he finally answered.

"...I'm not going to," he smiled remorsefully, "I…don't deserve to,"

The Monkey King saw the Fox Girl's golden eyes behind her loose, dark bangs, widened in surprise at his words.

"The pain that you've inflicted on me…is nothing compared to the pain that I inflicted on you and the others at Huaguo Mountain two thousand years ago… I…I ran away, twice. The first time was because of my own greed and selfish reasons, the second was because I didn't want to bother trying to repair the damages done…at least that's what I used to tell myself, but I guess deep down, a part of me always knew it was because I didn't want to face all of you again, to see your disappointment in me, anger at me, sorrow for what I'd done… I didn't have the strength to apologize. So instead I accepted my fate to be sealed under that mountain for five hundred years, I thought 'By then, you all would've forgotten anyway right?' A…lot of things happened after that, and now…"

"...I know it won't be enough but, on this day, two thousand years later," The Monkey placed a hand over his heart, "I, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Ruler of the Water Curtain Cave and Huaguo Mountain, Sun Wukong, sincerely apologize for starting the Divine-Demon War, for every innocent life lost, and for…well for everything that I'd done back then,"

A moment of silence passed between them. Until he noticed Ahri's hand slowly but gradually lowering from in front of his eyes, and it was then he heard her quietly sobbing. A single trail of tears trickled down her porcelain-white cheeks. When the wind picked up, it gently ruffled their dark hair. Ahri's bangs fluttered to one side revealing glassy tears in her beautiful aurulent eyes.

"This…," she said, her voice barely a whisper as she slumped onto her knees and sitting on her calves, "...This isn't like you,"

"I've…changed… and for the most part, I'm sure you have too, but hey," Mori tapped Ahri's chin for her to look up at him and into his eyes. He smiled whimsically at her, "I'm still that little stone monkey that ran around the entire mountain looking for the largest peaches with you every summer all those centuries ago. I'm still that stone monkey who accompanied you every time you went to the mountain peaks to stargaze. I'm still that freshly-named Wukong that joined you as a Second-Grade Disciple at Master Subhuti's Academy,"

"Ahri, I've changed…but at the same time I'm still me," he finished with a bright grin.

The fox girl caught her breath the moment she saw her old friend's happy expression. A wave of memories swept through her and for a moment, she was taken back to a more innocent time. A time without kings, gods, blood, gloom, and wars. A time when worry was only a concept passed down from the older generations.

A young monkey, no older than seven clambered up the side of a small mountain. Using the vines and moss on the side of the stone to pull himself up. A small satchel made of banana leaves and ferns was strapped to his back, containing his favorite food. Peaches. He looked back at the rest of the Huaguo Clan of Monkeys, spread out across the towering trees and cliffaces. Each of them sitting and huddling comfortably with their families and friends watching the sky with curious intent and wondrous anticipation.

The Clan Elders had informed them that tonight there would be a shooting star shower. The news sent ripples of excitement through the monkeys and unanimously agreed to watch the shower together.

The young monkey had been late to the gathering spot as he had been trying to select which peaches would be the best to eat while watching, after all, such a momentous occasion deserved the bestest of peaches. When he finally arrived, only a natural pillar of stone remained and he had no other choice as all the other good spots were taken by the other monkeys.

"Hup!" he hauled himself onto the top and dusted off his hands.

Something rustled in response to his arrival.

"Hm?"

Gazing in front, the young monkey saw a seated silhouette turning its head around to face him. Large, wary but innocent, golden eyes were staring at him.

Not knowing what to do, he looked around before slowly inching forward and distanced himself from the silhouette, who was doing the same by shuffling over. The monkey eventually plopped himself down on the soft grassy surface of the small pillar of rock and flung his satchel of peaches around to hold in his hand.

While waiting for the shower to start, he curiously glanced at the one seated - distantly- next to him. Under the shine of the silver ocean of stars above. She was finally illuminated.

A beautiful young girl no older than he was with delicate facial features. Her skin was a healthy pale complexion, her hair as dark or if not darker than the night sky, her eyes resembled those of a fox and speaking of fox. On the top of her head, there were two small triangular ears that flicked in response to an incoming gentle ocean gust. Behind her a fluffy white tail wavered around behind, settling to wrap around her waist. She wore a basic-looking white robe tied at the waist by a red sash belt.

Like the rest of the creatures living in the mountain range, she was staring up at the starry sky.

The monkey just shrugged and ignored the fox, instead his full, undivided attention was turned to the juicy, pink, fuzzy round object laying in his lap. He grinned and giggled gleefully and took one out of his satchel.

Holding it two hands, he raised the massive peach to his mouth that was already stretched open preparing for the inevitable bite. But then he felt a pair of eyes burning into his side. The monkey looked over to see the fox girl staring at him…and or the peaches he had. He glanced down at the remaining peach then up at the girl, then back down, then back up, then back down, then back up. Until he finally let up. The thought of what he had to do clenched his heart. But in the end, he still reached into his satchel and held out the only remaining peach towards the fox.

She sniffed at it a couple of times before reaching out and grabbing it with both hands, before snapping back to her spot.

Simultaneously, the monkey and fox bit into their respective peaches just as the comet shower began. An array of glittering stars flew across the sky at once, leaving their shining tails as trails. The two youngsters raised their heads and gazed up at the shooting stars, their eyes reflecting the sheer amazement that they felt. The entire galaxy was above them, and at the same time, they reached up with their small hands in an attempt to reach for the stars.

Unbeknownst to them at the time. The stars were only the beginning of something much larger than either of them could comprehend.

This was the first meeting of Wukong and Ahri.

In every universe.

Ahri then looked down and saw all the damage she had caused during her outburst.

Burns, lacerations, dark bruises, decorated the body of her oldest friend.

The floodgates opened, and the fox wept.

If she was being honest to herself, despite everything she had done only moments before, harming her oldest friend was the last thing she wanted to do.

Truthfully, Ahri didn't expect for her to react the way she did. She thought she'd be fine after seeing Wukong in his blue-haired 'Mori' form earlier in the month. But seeing the same face that she grew alongside with, triggered something inside of her. Every pent up emotion, stored and sealed within her for hundreds of years chose that moment to be released into the world.

"I'm…," she began but Mori cut her off.

"Don't apologize,"

"But I—,"

"You don't, really,"

Ahri nodded, and swallowed her building apology. The two friends remained silent once again for a while, basking under the night sky with the stars now visible thanks to the loss of the town's light pollution - and basking beside the giant fiery wall that was till up.

"Hey, so…there's still things to be done," said Mori.

"O-Oh, right," stuttered Ahri, wiping away the remainder of her tears as she got to her feet and offered her hand to Mori.

"I may have my memories again but, due to reasons unknown to me, they've all been sorted irregularly in my mind. Like, I do remember…most things, it's just that I'm not clear on what order they come in, but I do know they've happened," revealed Mori as he pulled himself up.

"That does sound like a problem,"

"And there's…this other thing," added the Monkey King.

Ahri tilted her head in confusion, "What other thing?"

Mori looked over to the fire wall, where he could sense that Rias and Sirzechs were still behind it, and by the looks of it, they were both pacing around, tense and carefully planning their next course of action with haste. He then looked back at Ahri.

"Not here," he whispered, just in case, "Is there someplace where you're sure that no one can eavesdrop?"

Ahri thought for a moment before nodding, "I know a place,"

"Good, just gimme a sec," he said, and walked over to the wall, "Oh and can you extinguish this?"

With a wave of her hand, the roaring wall flickered out of existence.

"Thanks,"

The two devils were surprised when the wall of flames had vanished, but their expressions soon shifted to one of delight when they saw their friend walking towards them, though worry quickly clouded their faces when he got closer and they saw his fresh injuries.

Mori noticed their looks and followed their eyeline down to his body. He scratched the back of his head and laughed, "Don't worry, I'm fine,"

"Fine? You're bleeding a lot and you're burned everywhere," Rias commented clutching a hand close to her chest, and getting closer to the martial artist to examine his wounds, "Let's hurry up and get you back to Asia so she can make you healthy again,"

The heiress looked over Mori's shoulder and shot daggers at Ahri, who was standing a little distance away. The black-haired girl noticed her glare but simply looked away as if she didn't see it.

"That fox, how dare she hurt you this bad," growled Rias, still glaring at the fox, "She said she's your friend! What's her problem?"

"Come on, Ria," Sirzechs stopped her before anymore fighting could happened and summoned a red magic circle, "Let's discuss things properly once we regroup with the others,"

"...Yes, Onii-sama," she nodded before moving over to his position.

But when she turned, she saw that Mori hadn't left his position.

"Mori? Why are you just standing there? Come, let's go," she said, "The others are waiting and worried for you,"

Mori simply gave her a grin, "Sorry, Rias. I'm not going…not just yet,"

"...What?" Rias's expression dropped, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry but it's a bit complicated to explain it right here and now, but just know that I'll return soon, I swear," he replied, "I just need a day or two to sort some things out. But for now, I'll see you and the others later,"

The Monkey King looked back and nodded to Ahri who responded with an ear flick. The fox sliced her hand across the air and summoned a black hole-esque portal.

"Let's go," said Ahri before stepping into the void.

Mori smiled and waved at the sibling duo, "Tell the others I said 'Hi' and 'I'll be back soon',"

"Wait Mori!"

With that, he stepped back and his form disappeared along with the portal. Leaving a speechless and heavily confused Rias and Sirzechs alone in the middle of the wasteland ruins of Kuoh Town.

When they reappeared, the vast realm of the shimmering stars above and the gentle rolling of ocean waves greeted them. The vortex behind them fizzled out as Mori took in the sight. The dark navy sea stretched as far as the eye could see, its glimmering surface a mirror of water as it reflected the stars perfectly. It was as if the sea and sky were beaming at them to welcome them.

Mori's gaze never tore away from the awe-striking astral sight that only showed during the darkness, his mouth parted slightly, and the wind danced through the lines of his fingers.

"It kinda reminds you of the old Huaguo, doesn't it?" said Ahri, who had made her way to his side, "Before…everything,"

Mori chuckled and agreed, "Yeah, it does,"

"I thought the same when I first came here,"

"And where is 'here'?"

"I'll show you," Ahri beckoned him to follow with her tails, "Come,"

From the seaside they strolled over to a cliff face, a natural rocky stairway made itself visible as they got closer and closer, and soon the duo ascended to the top.

A sprawling grassland welcomed them at the top. Even in the dark, the healthy greenery was visible and wavered in the calming breeze. Hills, big and small, rose and fell. Trees of all kinds; Maple, Pine, Oak, Willow, and Sakuras were scattered across the land, seemingly at random but not one looked out of place. Formations of rock and other shrubbery followed the example of the trees. Through the middle of the grassland, a thin crystalline lake with a pebble beach, twisted and turned before falling off the cliff as a small waterfall.

Ahri led him to the beginning of a pale gravel path, a large Torii Gate stood before them, and after taking a look up the rest of the trail, several more of the red gates were positioned at specific points along the path, with each of them neatly separated from each other with the same distance between each one. At the very end of the path, Mori could see a traditional Japanese building, a shrine of some sort.

The duo made their way to the shrine in silence.

Suddenly something rustled in the bushes, Mori turned to see what it was. The head of a red fox popped out from the leaves, followed by a white fox, and a brown one. They yipped and pounced out of the undergrowth. Eying the Monkey King with curiosity, the foxes sniffed and circled his feet, occasionally brushing their sides alongside his legs while looking up at him. From the shadows of the trees, more foxes of all colors and sizes joined in as they came to see the newcomer to their territory. A couple of them padded up to and pranced around Ahri, who smiled at them warmly, allowing them to join her on her walk to the shrine ahead.

Mori on the other hand, wasn't taking their welcome as well as his friend did. The hair on the back of his neck was raised as he shuffled along, holding back the urge to get on all fours and growl at the foxes in order to not cause more trouble for the night.

It wasn't long before they passed through the final Torii Gate and arrived at the shrine illuminated by glowing lanterns. The foxes all came to a stop, some dispersed to go back to whatever they were doing while others sat down outside the shrine's boundary, their unwavering curious gaze locked onto the duo.

Mori looked around the shrine's front garden as he and Ahri headed to the main building. Aside from the shrubs, there wasn't much greenery. The trees were blooming Cherry Blossoms, and violet-leaved Willows. Even the garden's small pool had purplish water. The shrine itself was primarily red in color with dark brown and cream in certain areas such as the doors, windows, and roof.

"What is this place?" The Monkey King asked, looking around and taking in the tranquil scenery. His nose twitched when a firefly suddenly flew up in front of his face.

"Well, I did consider going to Yasaka's Palace," replied Ahri, "But then I realized that this person is the better choice since she is more familiar with our…situation,"

"By familiar you mean…,"

"She knows that we're not from this universe,"

"Oh, I see,"

Suddenly, the door of the shrine's main entrance slid open.

The sound of heeled sandals clacking on the wooden floor was clear, and one could practically hear the grace exuding in her steps.

"Ara~, looks like I've got visitors,"

A beautiful shrine maiden stepped out into the luminous starlight, revealing herself to Monkey and Fox with a sly smile across her face.

She had milky-white skin, a thin frame and curves in all the right places. Her long, silky, muted pink hair flowed down to her hips. She wore a sleeveless red and white miko attire that revealed her smooth shoulders and the upper half of her back. The outfit was cut off at the thighs, though the tails stemming from the outfit's sashes fell to her calves. In addition, individual, long flowing sleeves adorned her arms.

Electric-violet eyes lingered on the duo as the shrine maiden quietly walked down the steps.

It was then Mori noticed something about her. He wasn't able to make it out clearly before since they had blended so well with the direction her hair was sweeping in, but the maiden had downward facing fox ears.

"Welcome back, Ahri," the pink-haired miko greeted with a brief nuzzle to Ahri's cheek.

"Glad to see that this place hasn't changed," the black-haired commented with a small smile and returned the gesture, pressing her forehead and nose to the shrine maiden's cheek.

"Ah… Ahri, who's this?" Mori asked as they separated, pointing lightly to the second fox.

"Oh right, I need to do some introductions,"

Ahri gestured over to the pink-haired miko standing next to her, who had a calm demeanor and was looking at Mori with an unreadable expression.

"This is—," began the black-haired fox girl, but the maiden paused her by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I can do it myself, Ahri,"

Ahri nodded and stepped back.

An impish grin stretched across the shrine maiden's face. She bowed a politeful greeting.

"Greetings, Monkey King of the other world,"

Mori was taken aback that the maiden knew his identity, he glanced at Ahri. The two foxes seemed to know each other, perhaps she had told her about him sometime in the past. The pink-haired fox straightened herself before continuing.

"I am Yae, the Guardian of the Sanctuary of Vulpes," she turned and beckoned the two towards the entrance of the shrine, "Come, I'm sure we have much to discuss,"

…

…

…

"Welcome back, my lord,"

Two guards equipped in dark, futuristic armor, wielding polearms with a neon blue blade, greeted the navy-haired young man as he appeared through the - now disappearing - void.

He nodded at the duo, and the two guards continued their patrol through the corridors of their headquarters. Without wasting any more time, he headed straight for the briefing room. Weaving through the halls of the headquarters and after being greeted by several more of his workers, he finally made it to his destination.

The automated doors opened and he stepped inside. Tiamat and Ingvild were already seated around a long ovular table, and in the middle of the table there was a black and white cube with hexagonal patterns.

"Oh, Sir, you're here," Ingvild bowed politely as soon as she noticed him.

Tiamat on the other hand just waved while picking out split ends in her hair.

His amber eyes scanned the room, searching for someone, "...Where's—?"

Suddenly his vision went dark, and felt a pair of soft hands covering them along with a bubbly, melodic voice.

"Guess who~?"

He sighed, "Must you always do this every time I return from a mission, Elysia,"

Elysia giggled a response and slipped her hands away, placing them behind her back as she pranced around to the front to face him.

"Yup," she chirped, "Don't lie to yourself, I know you like it,"

The young man simply shook his head, though a small smile graced his features and he took a seat on one end of the table.

Elysia was a young woman with a voluptuous body and exuded a sparkling aura of elegance. Her wavy hair was a pastel pink that was tied in a low ponytail and flowed down to her thighs, and her eyes were a light sky blue with pink irises. She also sported a pair of elf-like ears. Like the rest of them, she was dressed in a semi-formal outfit, a white blouse, black skirt, light purple tie, and black short jacket with violet accents. She was never seen without a bright grin, seemingly cheerful all the time and always gave off a floral scent.

"Tia~, I haven't seen you in a while, how are you?" asked Elysia while running her fingers through the Blue Dragons long hair.

"I'm fine," Tiamat shrugged and propped her chin on her fist, then she looked at the young man and a devilish glint shone in her eyes, "But I'd feel even better if someone lifts the 'No-Snacks' on missions rule,"

"Yeah, come one Fei, snacks never hurt anyone," Elysia added, taking the Chaos Dragon's side, "Beautiful girls like us need their daily snacks in order to keep our stress levels to a minimum so our skin remains smooth and our hair stays silky, not to mention that it's a delicious hobby,"

"No,"

"Oh well, I tried," The pink-haired girl laughed, instantly switching sides as Tiamat slumped forward on the table in defeat.

But a newfound resolve burned in her chest…one day…one of these days she'll convince him to allow her to bring alcohol on field missions again. A new task to add to her to-do list, on the same line of importance as 'Beat the shit out of Ddraig for losing my treasures,'.

Ingvild giggled at the short banter with a hand over her mouth.

"Vivi~,"

Elysia squealed delightedly as she practically flew over the table to Ingvild's side and wrapped the purple-haired girl in a tight hug.

"Don't think for a second that I forgot about you my cute little half-devil," she cooed, pulling away and pinching her cheeks.

"M-Master Elysia," Ingvild's face flushed as she averted her timid gaze.

"C'mon tell me how your first field mission with Fei went," Elysia said excitedly, "Was he too strict? Was he mean to you? Did he give you enough sleep? Do you want me to pummel him for you!? How did he—?"

The navy-haired male cleared his throat, cutting Elysia off, who in turn teasingly smirked.

"Oh? What's wrong? Are you perhaps jealous that I'm putting so much attention on my cute student?" the pink-haired girl glided across the floor to his side, "Don't worry," she leaned forward until her lips were right on his ear, "I always save the best for last,"

"Anyway!"

Fei smacked his palms together, the loud noise reverberated through the room,"Let's begin this mission debrief, shall we?"

Elysia giggled, "Okay, okay,"

She left his side, picking up the cube on the table before making her way to the other end. Elysia swiped a finger across the object before tossing back to the middle of the table and the moment it landed, an abundance of holographic files, diagrams, documents, and photos blossomed to life in front of them, stretching to the ceiling and filling out most of the room's interior.

"On April 19, Feilong, Tiamat, and Ingvild left headquarters to investigate new energy readings of a Sage in Kuoh Town, under the guise that Azure Scales was discussing new business opportunities in Japan," said Elysia, dragging a 3D model of a perfectly replicated Kuoh Town from the hologram and expanding its size.

"A territory previously looked after by Cleria Belial and now by Rias Gremory after the latter's death, both are Devils of the Underworld. Recently, more supernatural activity began to stir within this town outside of the realm of the Tri-Factions. First, the appearance of one of Gautama's head warrior monks though he kept himself hidden within a small pocket dimension and as such, we're unable to confirm his identity. Second, the Ahri of [ Time Branch 2 ] arrived in Kuoh on the same day as you three. Third and finally and most importantly, there were two separate readings of [ Sage Energy ] residue that we initially thought were stemmed from the same being, but recently we've confirmed that they are indeed two very different signals,"

"The first we've identified as latent chi from the…

[ Sage of Phantasma ]

And the second, slightly more potent chi from the…

[ Sage of Victory ]

The latter is the main reason for this investigation mission,"

"And that wraps up my side of the report," beamed Elysia, "Fei, do you want to take over now?

Feilong nodded and stood up.

He walked around the table, collecting pictures and documents before throwing them out, enlarging them for all of them to see clearly as they slowly orbited the table.

"Dan Mori, and Reiz Phenex," he began, folding his arms, "Victory and Phantasma respectively. Reiz Phenex disappeared from Kuoh Town a week before we arrived and so our investigations focused largely on the one named 'Dan Mori'. First, let's get this out of the way. I can now personally confirm that he is the Sun Wukong of Time Branch 2, and sometime late last year, he was transported through the Rift and landed in this Timeline. From appearance alone, he does slightly resemble the original when he enters a powered-up state. One major factor to take in is that he has lost his memories, whether by the sealing was done by himself after a certain traumatic event or by another outside power is unknown to us as of now,"

"In addition," Feilong enlarged holographic images and models of Kuoh Academy and the members of the Occult Research Club, "Dan Mori currently attends Kuoh Academy and is in affiliation with the Devils, more specifically Rias Gremory, younger sister of Sirzechs Lucifer, and her peerage that consists of: Himejima Akeno, Queen, Daughter of Barakiel. Kiba Yuuto, Knight, Wielder of Sword Birth and recently acquired his Balance Breaker. Toujou "Shirone'' Koneko, Rook, Kuroka's younger sister. Gasper Vladi, Bishop, Half-Vampire and wielder of Forbidden Balor View. Asia Argento, Bishop, Former excommunicated nun and wielder of Twilight Healing. Lastly, Hyoudou Issei, 8-Piece Pawn, Current wielder of the Boosted Gear and host of Ddraig—,"

A loud snap interrupted him, he turned to look at Tiamat with narrowed eyes who had broken a pencil. She mouthed a sorry before throwing the snapped pencil over her shoulder.

"—The Red Dragon Emperor,"

"Moving on," Fei manifested a holographic model of a certain magical staff, placing it in the middle of the briefing room.

"Vivi, do you know what this is?" Elysia asked with a joyful smile.

Ingvild jumped slightly at the sudden call of her name but soon regained her composure and nodded. She stood up from her seat and leaned in to observe the model more closely, unconsciously puffing out her cheeks a little as she thought of the answer.

"...Is it…the Ru Jin Yi Bang?" she answered with an innocent expression.

Elysia giggled and murmured quietly, "She's so cute~,"

"Close," said Fei with an amused twitch on his lips, "It's a weapon famous all throughout the Human and Supernatural World, thus it goes by many titles: Power Pole, The Magic Staff, Yeoui, Nyoi-bo, The Golden Cudgel, The Needle that Controls the Oceans, and it's original name, Ruyi Jingu Bang,"

"Ruyi…Jingu Bang," Ingvild repeated, turning to look at the model again, "Who does it belong to?"

"The Monkey King," said Fei, "Which brings us to the next part of the report. Earlier tonight, energy from Jingu Bang was seeping out from inside the clouds which was one of the best signs that Wukong was truly imminent. And despite being used in the hands of Wukong ro defeat the Fallen Angel Cadre Kokabiel only a couple hours later, no Sage appeared and all readings remained normal. Resulting in a False Eruption, as this Time Branch's Wukong was not inside that shard of the staff,"

"And until further investigation results in a hundred percent confirmation of his whereabouts, the Sage of Victory mission will be put on hold," Elysia finished.

Tiamat leaned back in her chair, "So we're fully pulling out of Kuoh now? Seeing as both Phantasma and Victory missions are being halted…and because that there's no Kuoh left,"

"That's right," the pink-haired girl nodded as she dismissed the holograms and the room went back to its former appearance.

"So what now?" The blue dragon asked, placing her legs on the table.

"We continue working," Fei answered, standing up from his seat.

"The Asura, or whatever title they're going by now, aren't going to stop their invasion. They've been sensed simmering inside the shadows of societies all across the realms. We'll need to keep vigilant on all their activities, especially in the Mortal Realm. They might be able to slither past the eyes of the other Pantheons but not us. After all that's why this organization was formed. To stop the invasion and conquest of the Asura, and to prevent what happened to the [ Previous Timeline ] to the current one,"

"Until the day they're eradicated. This is our eternal mission,"

…

Since the Dawn of Human Civilization

…

From the first time they looked up to the Stars.

The first time they tried to understand the Universe.

The first time they constructed Temples to their Gods.

The first time they spilled seas of blood for the honor and glory of their Gods.

The first time they interacted with their Gods.

…

They watched it all unfold.

Residing within the shadows.

They watched as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was constructed.

They watched as the Pyramids rose.

They watched as the Three Kingdoms raged on.

…

Appearing when they need to.

Disappearing when they need to.

Whispering in the ears of the world.

To ensure that history would repeat itself to a certain point.

Slipping out of mortal and divine gaze and mind as if they were but a fleeting dream.

…

Existence or Extinction

With the knowledge and experience from a bygone era.

To prevent the Calamity from happening ever again.

Their silent forever war against the evil lurking in the darkness alongside them.

Only they held the option.

…

[ EMPYREA ]

Chapter 19 - END

AFTERWORD:

…

… So.

… I probably have written one of, if not the most controversial GoH and DxD fic as of now. Y'know with Mori's memories and Ahri's introduction and the decision to stick with canon for now and whatnot.

I won't lie. The initial plan I had for this when it first started has changed at least ten times during the first chapter to now. Which does show in the narrative. It is mainly because for a long time I didn't really have a set direction to take this. I knew how I wanted to end it (if we ever get to that point ehe), and the important events that must happen, but it's the in between where I lose inspiration to write and just stare at the page deleting and rewriting over and over again. Heck this chapter took seven rewrites. Basically, there was always a skeleton of a story, but the meat was at times randomly slapped on.

But on the other hand, Now I do have a more solid idea of where this story's direction is going to be headed. (No promises on faster chapters though, life getting busier). I might go back and change a couple of things in the older chapters but it won't be anything major.

And this is where I'm going to stop because now I'm just rambling to you guys.

…Anyway…

So, with this concludes the Night of the Monkey + Second Arc. With the introduction of several major players in the future arcs.

The Sun Wukong of DXD. The Fox Guardian, Yae. The organization led by Feilong and Elysia, known as [ EMPYREA ].

This Chapter was pretty crazy too. Ahri's power finally revealed fighting Vali and Mori . The Monkey King easily taking out Kokabiel. Ruyi Jingu Bang's secrets. The revelation of the alternate Wukong. The two Wukongs meet for the first time. Mori's new goal of collecting all the shards. Reunion with Ahri. Leaving the ORC temporarily to focus on his new task. Meeting Yae who has history with Ahri? Feilong, the guy in the suit, has finally been revealed at the end of the Arc. Sages. Time-Branches. Previous Timeline. Bygone Eras. Organization in the Shadows that has been fighting the Asura for millenia. EMPYREA.

This marks the start of the narrative heading off and away from the Canon Train. So yes, Original Content incoming.

Future Arcs are gonna be wild.

Anyway, that concludes this chapter. I just wanna give a big shoutout and thanks to all of the people who have been supporting and reading this until now, I never imagined that it would get this popular and I really do appreciate each follow, favorite, and review. It's been a journey and the path is still long so I hope that you'll remain until we reach the end.

Until Next Time! Thank You For Reading!

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Did you think it would end there?

The automated doors closed with Tiamat and Ingvild's silhouettes disappearing behind it. The only ones left in the room were Elysia and Feilong.

"So, there was one more thing you wanted to tell me?" the dark blue-haired man asked.

"Mhm," Elysia nodded, she reached inside her pocket and extracted another cube, only it was pink, "Information that we shouldn't let out to the rest of the organization just yet,"

She swiped her fingers across the cube and it bloomed into a myriad of holographic files. The files then began to automatically combine and sort themselves until they formed a singular row of seven.

Dominion

Order

Phantasma

Might

Arcanum

Deliverance

Victory

"Earlier you said you've found traces of a new Sage," said Feilong, "So which one of these have we located?"

Elysia softly giggled, "I never said 'new'. But~, new is correct,"

She snapped her fingers and from the original seven files, stemmed an additional six that orbited the room until falling into place beside the first row.

"What's this?" Feilong's eyes sharpened, suppressing his initial surprise as he inspected the six new, mostly unnamed files.

"It's what you think it is. Throughout the last three centuries our systems have been scouring this universe and now we've recently discovered something new and important," Elysia explained, stepping to his side, "From what had happened last time, the failure of the Original Timeline, and the emergence of the Asura in this Time-Branch. The Universe has finally answered, and this is its response,"

"Six new Sages will appear," Feilong deduced, "To combat the Asura,"

"You seven weren't enough in the past, unfortunately, but now our chances to succeed have essentially doubled. But more research has to be done on these six new sages, who knows how the differentiate from the original seven,"

"Then let's not waste any time. I'm guessing you've already gotten to work on them,"

Elysia grinned and chirped, "Yep,"

She extended her hand and one of the files floated down to her palm, with a simple tap it opened up to reveal a spread of ten pictures.

Among them was a beautiful young woman with a gentle face, with long blonde hair and sapphire eyes, dressed in a blue and white sorceress outfit.

Another shot was captured on a surveillance camera. It was a young teen, whose face and body was obscured by a baggy black hoodie, though by looking at the body shape, it was most likely a male. He was traversing across the cyberpunk rooftops, illuminated on one side by luminescent neon lights while the other side was cloaked in the darkness of night.

"Though we haven't identified what kind of Sage they are yet, fluctuating energy residue have been sensed on these people more than once,"

"If they really are new then do they still need to go through a [ Soul Eruption Event ] to become Sage?"

Elysia shrugged, "I don't know, we don't have enough information on the six new ones to make a definitive answer. For all we know, they don't even need to find their counterparts for it to happen,"

Feilong stared up at the myriad of pictures and thirteen files for a moment longer, before he turned on his heels.

"Come on, we won't be making any progress idling around," he said as he marched toward the exit.

"Right," the cheerful pink-haired girl followed beside him and a teasing grin stretched across her face, "Your Majesty,"

Feilong ground and rolled his eyes, "Elysia, what did I say about calling me that. You're on the same rank as me you know, it's weird,"

Elysia laughed as the doors opened, "Sorry, sorry, it's just that your reaction every time makes me laugh. Though, I thought you would've gotten used to it after all this time, after all, you are the original…,"

"Saurian Demon King,"

…

Okay, now the chapter is finished.

…

[ EMPYREAN ARCHIVES ]

/-/-/

Sun Wukong I

Additional Titles: The Monkey King. Monkey Awakened to Emptiness. Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Keeper of the Celestial Horses. Handsome Monkey King. First Disciple of Xuanzang. Victorious Fighting Buddha. Sage of Victory.

Born from stone on the tallest peak of the Hua Guo Mountains. Lived as a normal inhabitant until he was challenged to enter the Waterfall. After discovering the Water Curtain Cave, he was crowned the Monkey King.

Certain incidents caused him to go on a search for immortality which led him to the Academy of Heart and Mind, it was there he met and trained under the mystical master Subhuti, and it was there he was named Sun Wukong. However, he was kicked out of the Academy after ten years for his arrogance, and ego.

Upon returning to Huaguo, he liberated the mountain from a Demon King that took over in his absence. Following that, he militarized his entire kingdom, having a force of 40,7000 soldiers in his army. The top four were made into the Generals of the Cardinal Directions. Soon after, he acquired the Ruyi Jingu Bang deep in the Eastern Dragon Palace. In the original and Time-Branch One, he also acquired the Dragon Phoenix Armor Set at this time. However, in Time-Branch Two, the Armor Set was created by a dying Hephaestus after being commissioned to craft it.

Another difference in the Timelines is that in the Original. Wukong had met and allied with six other demon kings, therefore forming the Seven King Alliance. In the two Time-Branches, an additional two kings appeared, resulting in a Nine King Alliance.

From here on out, the differences in the Timelines, past and present are more evident.

/-/-/

…

…

Okay NOW this chapter is finished.