Tales Of The Fearless Dragon

by streetlife34

Delinquent, Brother, Protector of the weak, Undefeated fighter, Kind, Ruthless. Add Devil to that list. There all kind's of strange beings in this new this world, but that doesn't matter, no matter who gets in my way I will be victorious. I'm the current Red Dragon Emperor, Shirou Tsukiharu and I never lose.

35. The Party Begins And Darkness Unleashed

Hey everyone and welcome to this new chapter. For this chapter, right from the start, the training will already be over and the plot will be moving along. If some of you were hoping to see more of the others' training, let's face it, in these types of stories rather than seeing the training itself, it's more effective to see the results of their training. Even in the canon, most of their training arcs are glossed over with just a few clips at best.

I plan on having this chapter be a chapter of interactions between characters and reintroduction of previous characters, with something extra by the end that I had planned for a while.

And let my expression gratitude to all the followers of this story as not too long ago, this story finally gained over 1000 followers and I couldn't have been happier. Let's hope this is only the first milestone for this series.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody, Highschool DxD, Highschool DxD New, Highschool DxD Born, Highschool DxD EX, and Highschool DxD Hero are all owned by Funimation, Fushimi Shobo, TNK, Passione, and Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.

---

"Shirou" Regular speech.

"Shirou" Thoughts.

DRAGON SHOT Attack names.

(Shirou) Words said previously.

"SHIROU!" Shouting speech.

[Ddraig] Dragon talking.

---

The Party Begins And Darkness Unleashed

---

And so, many days had passed since the members of the Gremory Peerage had set off for training. The battle with the Sitri family is on August 25th. Today was August 21st. Four days remaining. Time-wise, they were in the period where they were finishing things up.

The time all of them to gather together was now. It was planned for there to be a day for them to gather together again and also get some rest. For the sake of recovering on that day from the fatigue gathered during our training.

Afterward, there would also be a party sponsored by the Devil Kings before the game, and the families of all the Young Devils participating in the Games will all be invited. In other words, there was no time left for any more training.

Thus, everyone who went away for training would now gather outside the main household of the Gremory family.

"Hey, Xenovia."

"Oh Kiba."

The first ones to arrive were the two Knights—Kiba and Xenovia.

Kiba was dressed in his jersey, but it was all tattered. It was clear that his training was very severe. His good-looking face also looked quite tightened now. Xenovia was even worse. She had bandages all over. her whole body. Even despite that, Xenovia's appearance was also ragged. Her training was like her fighting style, over the top.

Even so, their training clearly paid off. The aura around Xenovia's body was quieter and thicker than before. Not only that, but Kiba's aura was also denser. They had both taken strides to acquire what they lacked and now they have become more complete.

"You've improved since the last time I saw you."

"I'm glad you noticed. But, I see that you got pretty roughed up during your training."

Kiba good-naturedly pointed out as Xenovia looked over her appearance again and spoke.

"Yeah. I became like this because I trained, got injured and bandaged myself, and then trained, got injured and bandaged myself again."

Kiba smiled at her. "I'm guessing you're not used to bandaging yourself."

"Hmm, how did you know?" Xenovia blinked.

"Kiba-san, and Xenovia-san too!"

Coming out from the mansion to greet them was—Asia in her nun clothes. She looked really happy and excited to see them again.

"Asia, it's been a while." Xenovia greeted her.

"Eh, Xenovia-san, do you need some healing?" Asia nervously offered after seeing her bandaged state.

"I'm fine, I have plenty of bandages." Xenovia assured her, not seeing the problem.

"Ara, it seems everyone from the group that went out has returned."

The next to appear was—Rias. She casually walked up to them looking spotless while still wearing her school uniform.

"Chief." Kiba respectfully addressed her.

"Welcome back, everyone." Rias smiled happily at them. "Please come in. Once you've taken a shower and changed clothes, we'll meet to report the outcome of our training. Everyone else is already inside."

"That sounds wonderful right now." Xenovia sounded relieved.

"Please, wait a minute." Kiba raised his hand. "Has Shirou-kun returned yet?"

Rias frowned and shook her head. "I was hoping he would arrive along with you two. I'm actually planning on waiting out here until he returns."

"In that case, I will wait too." Kiba decided.

"Then, I will also wait for Shirou-san." Asia agreed.

"How flattering, but there's no need."

With the sound of a familiar voice, they became relieved and looked to their right to see the man in question approaching them. But the second they saw him, something was different.

"Hey guys, long time no see." Shirou waved at them as he approached.

"S-Shirou?"

Rias had trouble hiding her surprise. And, she wasn't the only one. All of them were looking at Shirou with expressions that showed they didn't know how to react. On the surface, he looked exactly the same. His clothes weren't even tattered and his face and body were spotless. His tone of voice and manners were the same too, he was definitely Shirou.

Yet, at the same time, he felt different from Shirou. The obvious was that his deep-blue eyes were now shinning gold, but that wasn't the strange part. It was the way he walked, the way he carried himself, the presence he let out. It was all different.

Shirou walked and carried himself with a grace he didn't have before, he felt much less and more, in a word—Dignified. He let out the aura of someone more—Noble. It was similar to the presence Sirechs gave off when he was doing his job as a Satan—The presence of someone who felt so natural ruling over others. The aura of a ruler.

"What's up?" Shirou stopped in front of them. "Oh I get it, you're all confused as to why the guy with the hardest training menu came back looking the cleanest right?"

His mood is also something they found odd. He was being much more casual and lighthearted compared to how stand-offish and rough he was when he left.

Kiba decided to ask the main question. "Shirou-kun, what happened during your training?"

"I'll answer that after we meet up with the others. I'd hate to have to explain it twice."

After saying those words, Shirou walked past them and made his way to the Gremory mansion as the rest followed suit, really wanting to know what he had to tell them.

---

This was actually the first time in over two weeks that the members of the Rias Gremory group had all gathered together like this.

After they all had gotten our training plans from Azazel and Mika, everyone had gone their separate ways after that as well. That's why; this was their first gathering since then.

To be honest, this may have been the first time that they had all lived separately from the rest of the group for so long.

After the ones who had trained outside—Shirou, Kiba, and Xenovia had taken showers and changed their clothes, we all gathered in Shirou's room. The truth was that they did have a meeting room they could have used, but it seemed that the reason was that it was easiest for them to gather here. It seemed there was a problem with going into Rias' room. Apparently, there was something there that she didn't want others.

But the biggest reason was that everyone wanted to hear what Shirou had to say. Right after they saw him, all of them (Except Mika) became surprised at the different feeling he gave off and wanted to know what had happened.

So, they had gathered and talked about the contents of our training. Kiba gave a detailed account of his training with his master. Xenovia also recounted the contents of her training. Gasper spoke about his progress, Rias reported her new mastery at controlling her magic and abilities as a King. Akeno seemed reluctant to speak of her training. Koneko was miffed as she reported her inability to keep up with Ren, though Ren remembered it comically.

Once it was finally Shirou's turn he told everyone what had taken place on the mountains and the results of his training.

"You… Merged your soul with his?" Azazel sounded completely flabbergasted.

The story that Shirou told them shocked and amazed almost everyone present in the room. The one most surprised by this information was Azazel. This outcome was something he had never even considered or even thought was possible. Honestly, he didn't even know how where to begin unpackaging all this in his mind.

But the one person who wasn't surprised or amazed by all this was Rias. Instead, she was upset and furious at Azazel.

"Azazel, you had Tannin fight Shirou with intention of killing him." Rias was practically fuming. "And on top of that, without even consulting me, you forced him to face a trial that put him at greater risk than ever and based all of this on an assumption that it would work?"

"Well…Sure it sounds bad when you say it like that." Azazel stretched the bad of his hair. "If I just let him alone he would have completely fallen under his influence and who knows where he would have been." He reasoned.

"So giving him a death sentence was a better idea. It was pure luck this didn't end horribly!" Rias snapped at him. "If anything had happened to him, I would have held you completely responsible."

"Yeah, I was willing to accept that." Azazel shrugged.

Shirou placed a hand on Rias' shoulder. "Calm down, would you. Everything worked out so you don't need to be so upset."

"I know but…" Rias quieted down a bit before placing her hands around his shoulders as she looked up at him longingly. "If something had happened to you I…I…"

Shirou gently ruffled her hair. "Heh, you really are so damn clingy."

"Shirou-kun, you're being surprisingly magnanimous about this." Kiba pointed out.

"He's right, I would have thought you'd be upset by Azazel's scheme." Xenovia agreed.

"Well, normally I might have been, but I'm still in a really good mood after the results of training."

Shirou then held out his hand and manifested Miike Tenta Mitsuyo. Once again, everyone was shocked, this time by the power and radiance of the Sword. Sword-wielders like Kiba and Xenovia were the most impressed as they could truly appreciate the caliber of the Sword.

Shirou smirked. "Not only do I know have full control of the Divine aura of Power of Darkness, but I now have this God-Slaying Sword at my disposal as well."

"Wait, Divine aura while wielding a God-Slaying Sword. Isn't that contradictory?" Gasper noticed.

"Yeah, So is a Devil wielding a Holy-Sword." Mika pointed out.

"Or a Dragon-user wielding a Dragon-Slaying Sword." Akeno added with a smile. "Let's face it, Shirou-kun just has a thing for contradictory."

Azazel chimed back in the conversation.

"Still though, I never imagined you would Shirōu Amakusa Tokisada would actually let go of his hatred and agree to cooperate with you. Not to mention the fact that the two of you fused into one, that was a possibility that was never in any of my predictions."

"I'm the same, but turns out there was always another option, it was just up to him to offer it." Shirou looked at his hand and smiled. "Before I always considered him as just some being of darkness, but he turned out to be more Human than I thought."

"I'm still having a bit of trouble understanding how this works." Ren spoke out. "I mean, you say that the two of you merged into a new existence that is the sum of both your individual selves but for the most part you still seem like just you." He noticed.

"It's not too hard to get. When our souls merged, our powers and personalities fused. But only my sense of self remained when his faded." Shirou explained. "So, we're predominately me, but I have all of his memories and experiences."

"To put it in plain terms, you're now a more mature version of yourself we'll on the surface you appear the same, you handle some situations and make decisions differently than the old you would have." Mika summarized. "You left a wild man and came back a King, like Kozuki Oden."

Shirou shrugged. "I guess, but honestly I still just feel like me."

"Which is good, that means you won't mind me doing this."

Mika hopped off of the bed and jumped on Shirou's back while she wrapped her arms around his neck and nestled her face near his.

"Need I ask why I'm being ridden?"

"Oh let me." Mika clung harder to him. "It was the first time in all my life that I was separated from you for more than I day. Weeks after weeks I spent every night missing you. Now, I'm never letting you go again, and to make up for lost time we're going to spend all day together."

"Hold it right there!" Rias stood up. "I planned on spending the day with Shirou after he got back."

"You already got to see him that one time he came back for the night." Mika argued.

"That just made me want to see him more." Rias grabbed Shirou's arm and held onto it. "All those lonely nights where I couldn't sleep with him were pure torture."

"Well add one more night because I'm sleeping in his bed tonight." Mika declared.

"As usual they didn't ask for permission." Shirou looked annoyed.

"P-Please wait, I missed Shirou-san as well and I think I deserve to spend time with him as well." Asia nervously joined in. "A-Also, um…I would also like to share a bed with him."

"Ara. Ara~ Asia-chan sure is bold, but personally, I wouldn't mind having Shirou-kun for myself." Akeno held onto Shirou's other arm and clasped his hand on her breast. "Though, I also wouldn't mind sleeping together."

Then Koneko moved in and wrapped her arms around Shirou's front torso while looking up at him.

"…Sempai, me too."

Xenovia raised her hand. "If we're talking about sleeping with him then I want to go first. I called dibs in his gene first."

"Hey, look normally I enjoy these situations, but I'm seriously right now, Big Bro is mine so the rest of you take a hike!" Mika snapped at them while being possessive.

[No, he's mine!] All the others argued loudly.

As the girls were all trying to lay their claim on him. Shirou just sat there and with a blank expression and thought to himself.

"Somehow, a month on a mountain where I was living in the wild was more peaceful than this. And half the time I was being chased by a fire-breathing Dragon King." He noticed deadpanned.

"Shirou-Senpai is amazing." Gasper gushed with adoration. "He's only been back a little while and yet he's already the center of attention."

"Well, I'm just glad that everything is back to normal, everything worked out for the best." Kiba noted with a pleased expression.

Ren crossed his arms. "I don't think he would agree with that statement."

"Well, it's fine. The report meeting ends here. Tomorrow is the party. You're all dismissed for today." The report meeting ended with Azazel's voice.

But while Azazel may have said that, the others just remained where they were and carried on and so Azazel merely left himself and walked out of the room. That said, once he was out the door, he thought over everything he learned about Shirou's new powers and what they could mean for the future.

"I would have been satisfied if he had just returned a few notches stronger, but now…" Azazel rested his chin on his hand. "From what I've seen from the Power of Darkness, it's definitely not inferior to the reserves a Satan has and if that's the case, the idea of him catching up to Vali even at full power doesn't seem out of reach anymore. Not to mention the new amount of potential he has for the future."

He then had a wide grin and spoke out loud.

"I hope he never stops being interesting."

---

The night had come and now Shirou was laying in his oversized bed. Snuggling next to him was his little Sister, Mika.

After continuous arguments, the girls finally settled on how they were going to decide who would get to join Shirou in his bed. Though most of them were fine with all doing it together, others—For example, Rias and Mika, insisted on being alone with him.

Their method was the time-honored and iron-clad ruling of… Rock-Paper-Scissors. Shirou didn't know why Rock-Paper-Scissors was so absolute that they were all prepared to accept the results without argument so easily. But, to them, it seemed natural.

In the end, Mika was victorious and now the privilege of spending the night in his bed belonged to her. The whole time, she never let go of him once they laid down. That said, while both of them didn't make a sound, neither one of them was asleep.

.

.

.

"…Hey, you awake?"

"…No."

Mika narrowed her eyes at him. "I know you are, you just told me."

"Then why bother asking?" Shirou casually brushed off. "So then, mind telling me what's on your mind?"

Mika kept her head down.

"I just… Wanted to know if you were awake." She quietly responded.

"Mika, you know that if I really wanted to, I could have made it so none of you guys could have entered my room, not just my bed?" Shirou pointed out. "And yet, I decided to let you be here, why do you think that is?"

"Because you knew I was the only one who slept with my clothes on?" Mika made a guess.

"Well, yes, that…" Shirou agreed before continuing. "But what I'm talking about is—It's because I knew something was bothering you."

"I don't know what you're…"

"Mika." Shirou interrupted her and looked her in the eye. "I can tell when something is bothering you, what's wrong?"

Mika could tell this somewhat mirrored a previous conversation they once had, only now their roles were reversed. And she knew that just like how he couldn't hide it from her, she could hide it from him, and knowing that he could see through her, she decided to just come clean.

"I meant what I said before." Mika confessed meekly. "For our entire lives, this was the very first time we've been apart for so long. I…hated being away from you, to know have you close by. It was scary for me."

She sounded sincere, it was a toe of voice she only ever spoke when no one else was around. She seemed to play it off and acted like her usual self earlier today, but now she was showing her true feelings.

She moved in closer and rested her head on his chest. He didn't make an attempt didn't push her away and just spoke.

"How bad were the nightmares?" Shirou delicately asked.

"No worse than usual, just… More of them." Mika answered, not looking at him.

"You know, this really puts things into perspective." Shirou noticed, staring up at the ceiling. "Before the training started and in the middle of it, all I was looking at were the means to get stronger, that's all I cared about, so much so that I pretty much forget everything else. Even though I should have noticed this, your problems didn't even register in my mind."

"That wasn't your fault." Mika shook her head. "You had a lot on your plate, and you were dealing with your own problems."

"That didn't mean everyone else just stopped mattering." Shirou argued, upset at his old self. "There were better ways I could have handled my emotions instead of just ignoring everything around me and trying to force my way through things like a damn child."

Mika noticed what he was saying seemed usual for him. Before, regardless of the things he did or how things played out, he almost never had anything negative to say about himself. Yet, somehow it still sounded like something he would say.

"You a changed a little…" Mika muttered before smiling. "But, you're still you."

"I think so too. Well, that's what happens when two become one."

"Hey, what was he like?" Mika looked up at him, like a child wanting to hear a story. "Before you two fused, you got to know him for real, what kinda person was he?"

"Well, in a word, he was like me." Shirou answered honestly while taking as though he recalling something from his past. "I'd say we were similar but, it was so much more than that. It almost felt like… Like seeing yourself from a past life. I think if it had been me born in that era instead of him, I would have followed the same road he did."

Mika smiled at him. "In that case, he must have been someone great."

Shirou thought back to their conversation and smiled as well as he thought. "Yeah, he was pretty fucking great."

"Hey, Big Bro…" Mika got his attention and innocently smiled lovingly at him. "I love you."

Shirou waited to respond before he nodded. "Yeah, me too."

Now Mika pouted at his flavorless response. "You were supposed to tell me you love me too."

Shirou closed his eyes and looked upward. "I will… When I feel like it."

Mika sighed but reluctantly accepted this outcome as their conversation came to an end. With that, the two of them drifted off to sleep.

---

The next day came and Shirou was parlor waiting for the others to arrive. It was the middle of the evening and tonight was the night of the big party sponsored by the Devil Kings. After spending the whole day yesterday recovering from any fatigue built up from training, everyone was now ready to attend the celebration.

The girls had been taken away by all the maids, saying that it would take some time for them to get ready.

Kiba and Gasper were also taken away somewhere by some of the butlers. Ren wasn't going to attend the party considering he wasn't a Devil so he planned to wait for them at the mansion when they returned.

As for Shirou, he was dressed in his formal suit, the same one he wore at the after-party after their first Rating Game, and just waiting for the rest.

"Shirou?"

When I turned to look towards the familiar voice—Sona was there. She was dressed in a formal dress that was a soft light shade of blue.

"Oh hey Sona." Shirou greeted her. "What brings you here?"

"The truth is that Rias and I planned on going to the meeting point of the party together. Though, it seems I arrived before she did."

"Well, I'm early too, so we might as well wait here."

Sona walked up to him and took a seat nearby.

"The game will be taking place very soon now."

"Yeah, I know."

Sona looked down and placed her hands on her lap. "Shirou. Do you remember last month at the gathering of Young Devils?"

"I do. You told everyone your dream." Shirou recalled.

"Yes. Everyone laughed at the time, but I meant every word of it." She spoke with determination. "Regardless of whether or not they believe I'm just a child spouting nonsense, I have every intention of establishing my school."

"Let me ask you, why is building an open school that excepts all classes so important to you?" Shirou decided to ask. "It'd make sense if you were a commoner who rose to power or something but you're the Princess of the Sitri and Sister of Leviathan. What brought this up?"

Sona fixed her glasses. "I wanted… To help the Underworld move into the future."

"Huh?"

"Ever since I was little, I was always made aware of the difference between classes in our society. Things like discrimination and traditions have been softened in the Devil industry little by little, but that's only on the surface, at our core, it is still deeply rooted in the foundation of society, we still refuse to accept these changes. Even if someone wasn't born into power, they still had potential and the possibility to be someone great if only given the chance."

"True. But the guys on top don't want the ones at the bottom to keep rising up and overtaking them, so not everyone gets a chance."

Shirou didn't disagree with her, he just pointed out the existing problem with her dream that she was already aware of.

"That line of thinking is what's hold our society back, it's not bad to honor traditions, but you can't keep using it as an excuse to deny others of what they rightfully deserve." Sona declared. "At the very least, I want to do something about it."

"But why Rating Games specifically?" Shirou questioned.

"The Rating Game is the one thing in the Underworld where class plays no factor. Even reincarnated Devils can climb the ranks and become a hero. The problem is to be successful in the Rating Game, you need to be taught the different types of rules and functions in the Games along with the complicated methods of facing other opponents, not to mention the most effective ways to use certain abilities and when. You can't win just by being strong. Since the Rating Game school in the Underworld won't accept the Lower-Class, they are mainly self-taught or only know what their master taught them."

"But being self-taught can only go so far and a master would typically only teach them enough to be useful to the master themself rather than teaching them to fight on their own." Shirou summarized.

Sona nodded, not becoming discouraged. "Exactly, if they're never taught, they never succeed and that's how the Nobles have a monopoly on the higher ad middle ranks in the Rating Game. But if my school is approved and I can teach them and help them live up to their potential, more common-born and reincarnated Devils can achieve success in the Games and gain more influence in society, it'll be the first step in moving forward."

"You really looking far into the future on this aren't you?" Shirou noticed.

"Well, of course, I am, after all, it is my dream." Sona said, sure of herself. "But in order for it to even have a chance, I need to show my worth and gain results, so I need to win these Games, not just this one but against anyone, even Sairaorg if it comes to that."

Shirou smirked at her. "Heh, you're talking about winning the whole thing despite having to face me in the first round."

"Yes, and I have every intention of winning." Sona smirked back at him. "I already devised a strategy that I believe will certainly retire you and after that, I'll have Rias in checkmate."

"Oh, you have my attention." Shirou remained confident. "If anyone else told me that, I'd think they were full of it, but you're different so I think I'll be able to have some fun with you."

"Have fun, that reminds me…"

Sona held out her hand and with magic, she brought out a white Chess piece in her hand, it was a King Piece.

"We ever really got around to settling our Chess game, did we?" Sona thought back before looking back at him. "But maybe it's more fitting we settle it this way, a Rating Game suits both of us after all."

"You have a point, considering here, there are no draws." Shirou agreed, closing his fist.

"Sona, sorry for making you wait. Ara, Shirou, you were also here."

When Shirou turned round—He saw Rias approaching all dressed-up and so were all the other club members as well.

Everyone had put on makeup and was wearing dresses. Their hair was also done up.

Rias wore a dark-scarlet colored dress that hugged her body to show off her curves and hips but really drew attention to her chest. Her hair was tied in a ponytail with a black scrunchy.

Akeno was wearing a western black dress this time instead of her usual eastern clothes, it wasn't as revealing as Rias' but showed off her beauty, all the same, she kept her hair tied as usual.

Asia was also embarrassed, but her dress really suited her, it was a lime-green dress that had a few frills around the bottom, her hair was tied in a back-bun.

Xenovia was wearing a darker blue dress and also appeared to be unfamiliar with wearing such things, but she was sufficiently taught in being more etiquette.

Koneko wore a soft whitish-blue dress that was a size smaller, but she had a cuteness that just made it work and like Xenovia, kept her hair the same as normal, though she seemed as calm as usual.

Mika was wearing a formal dress as well. Just like at the after-party from before, she cleaned up surprisingly amazingly. Her dress suited her, not to mention it highlighted her face which was cross between both cute and beautiful. Her hair was groomed to flow delicately down her neck and carried herself with such grace.

If she stayed silent the whole time and you didn't know it was Mika, she could pass for a Princess.

Kiba and Gasper were also present. Kiba was wearing a formal black-tied, three-piece suit and had his hair slicked back as well.

The odd man out was Gasper.

He was wearing the summer uniform of Kuoh Academy. He also wore an armband that had the Gremory pattern inscribed on it. With this, it seems like it was okay for him to attend the party.

Shirou raised a brow. "Why are you wearing your student uniform?"

"U-Uh, I…" Gaper started to babble nervously.

Mika raised her hand. "I can answer that. We were all getting dressed up by the maids for the party when I caught "this guy" show up and start eyeballing the dresses."

Akeno giggled a little. "Ufufu… It was quite funny. When the maids led us to the dressing room and told us to pick which dresses we wanted to wear, Gasper-kun entered as well and seemed to have his eye on a certain dress. But before he could reach for it, Mika-chan shouted "I don't think so" and dragged him out by the arm."

"After that, she came back sealed the door with magic so Gasper couldn't get back in until the rest of us were done."

Xenovia continued the story and Koneko finished it off.

"…And in the time we were all getting dressed, Gya-kun waited outside the room. Because it took a while for all of us to finish getting ready, we'd be late if we waited for him to get dressed so he had to settle for his uniform."

"And thankfully, I prevented Gasper from wearing a dress." Mika proudly pumped her chest.

"B-But, I wanted to wear a dress too."

Gasper looked like he wanted to cry but Shirou walked up to him and asked.

"Gasper, do you want to wear a dress more than you want to be a guy?" He asked bluntly and unreserved/

"….…No." Gasper lowered his head like a child who had just been scolded.

Shirou let out a sigh. "Geez, getting someone to break a habit is annoying tedious."

"You're one to talk mister chain-smoker." Rias pointed out with a small smile.

"I only smoke once a month." Shirou reminded her with a sneer. "Besides, I could quit anytime I wanted."

"I'm here."

A voice groaned as someone else arrived. This time it was Saito, he was also wearing a suit.

"Saito, you've arrived." Sona greeted him.

"Yeah, the others are all ready and waiting." He informed her with a shrug.

His attitude changed when he saw Shirou and likewise when Shirou saw him. They both stood in a stand-off as they were sizing each other up, checking to see whatever changes the other made during their training periods.

"He's strong. It's like his powers multiplied in just a month." Shirou noticed.

"This is crazy. He's like a completely different person, and not just because his eyes are a different color, what the hell happened this past month?" Saito was taken aback.

Despite thinking this way, Saito didn't falter. In fact, he seemed like he half-expected something like this.

"I'm curious, what kind of training do you do since the last time I saw you?" Shirou asked.

"Enough to get the job done." Saito answered with confidence. "My fighting had evolved since last time, once the match starts, I'll wipe that smug look off your face."

"Hmph… Do your worst." Shirou accepted his challenge.

DON!

Once all the discussions were finished, there was the massive sound of something flying in the garden along with a soft tremor in the ground.

Soon a butler came and spoke to us.

"Tannin-sama and his family have arrived."

Apparently, beforehand, Tannin had promised to escort both the Gremory and Sitri Peerage to the party. When they went out to the garden the rest of Sona's Peerage was there and they were greeted by the most extravagant escort they could imagine.

Along with Tannin, there were 10 other Dragons about the same size as the Dragon King and each was a different color.

"I came just as promised, Shirou Amakusa."

"I still say this isn't necessary, we could have just used a teleportation circle or even flown ourselves if we had to."

"But this is your first time attending an official event in the Underworld, you have to present yourselves in a grand fashion." Tannin reasoned. "While you all ride on my back, I'll place a special barrier around you. With that, your hair and clothes won't get messed up by the wind. Since those things are important to women."

Rias stepped forward. "Thank you, Tannin. We'll be relying on you until we get to the meeting place. The people of Sitri are also here, is that okay?"

"Ooh, Miss Rias. You're especially beautiful tonight. Please leave that matter to me."

Rias was pleased at first but then noticed something different about his appearance. "Tannin, where did you get that scar?"

It was true, on the upper part of Tannin's chest cavity, that was a horizontal scar that resembled the mark of a cut from a Sword.

"Ah yes, that." Tannin became bashful.

"I did that." Shirou admitted casually.

"Eh… Huh?!"

Not just Rias but almost everyone who heard that was taken aback by this new information.

"You scarred him?" Kiba sounded amazed. "But he's a Satan-Class Devil with a Dragon King's body."

"Well, what could I do? I wanted to test out the sharpness of my new Sword during training and he was just too big a target to miss."

Tannin let out a sigh. "I suppose this can be considered a wake-up call from me, I need to stop thinking I can just power through incoming attacks with my natural durability."

"I believe the words you're looking for are, 'you're welcome'."

Shirou's abrasive word-play grated on Tannin's nerves.

"The ends don't justify the means!"

"You're mean!"

Thus, once all that was out of the way, they all got on the Dragon's back and flew off into the sky of the Underworld. Shirou stepped onto the top of Tannin's head. He stood instead of setting, it just made him more comfortable and made it easier to survey the sky.

---

As the Dragons took off and were now soaring through the sky. Everyone looked out and enjoyed the stunning view from above. The ky being so close, being able to see the horizon from every direction, the lights from the city on the ground beneath them that resembled stars. It was like riding an airplane but enjoying the impossible experience of seeing the view from the outside of the plane.

[For me to see this scenery from on top of a dragon, it's an experience that can't be described.]

Judging by Ddraig's tone, he gave off a rare bitter smile. Ddraig originally had the body of a Dragon himself, after all, and the idea of a Dragon riding on the back of another was too unusual to imagine.

"Hahahaha, that is an interesting experience, Ddraig. However, there are only three mighty Dragons that are still active left, including myself. No, since I was reborn as a Devil, the only real ones remaining are Ophis and Tiamat. The rest have either been sealed, or have retired. Yu-Long and Midgardsormr never come out onto the surface anymore. And Ddraig, Albion, Fafnir, and Vritra have been sealed into Sacred Gears—In all ages, strong Dragons have been suppressed. Strong Dragons are a fearful existence, after all."

Tannin said that in just a slightly lonely tone.

"Well here's a question, why did one of the only actives Dragons left in the world become a Devil?" Shirou questioned him. "I know there wasn't something in it for you I just don't know what."

Tannin seriously responded to his question. "One reason is that, in this era where there aren't any big battles anymore, I thought that I would get to fight various guys if I participated in the Rating Games. And there's another reason."

"What?" Shirou raised a brow. "Reason one would be reason enough for me, what other reason could there be?"

"…Do you know of a fruit called the Dragon apple?" Tannin informed him. "It's an apple that Dragons eat."

"Yeah, I read about it a little while ago. It's a rare fruit but has an obvious and uncreative name."

"There is a certain race of Dragons that can only live by eating that Dragon apple. However, the ones that grew in the human world have become extinct because of sudden environmental changes. Now, that fruit only grows in the Underworld. But, Dragons are hated in the Underworld. They're detested by both Devils and Fallen Angels. There's no way they would give it away for nothing, right? —That's why; I became a Devil and so the territory that grows the fruit was all made my territory. When you exceed a High-Class Devil, you can receive a part of the Underworld from the Satans. I had my eyes on that place."

Shirou now understood. "I get it, and to save those Dragons from dying due to the famine you invited them into your territory that was filled with Dragon apples."

"Yeah, thanks to that, they avoided becoming extinct. And I also performed research on how to artificially grow the Dragon apple in my territory successfully. It's a special fruit, so the research takes time." Tannin explained his ambition. "Still, if it lets there be a future for that race, it's better to continue."

"You're a researcher too?" Shirou didn't expect that.

"Indeed, since there's hardly a chance for me to fight, I needed something else to devote myself to."

"No offense, but as far as Dragon Kings go, you just seem like a strange one." Shirou confessed.

"A strange Dragon King?" Tannin laughed at himself without feeling insulted. "Gahahahahahahahaha! That's the first time I've been told such a thing! But, I can't exactly say you're wrong, especially when looked at from the perspective of the Red Dragon Emperor! However, boy, the desire for the continuation of one's race is the same among all living beings. It's the same, for Humans, Devils, and Dragons. I only thought of saving my fellow Dragons as well. That is what a Dragon who has power does for Dragons without any power."

Shirou could see the reasoning behind that and didn't disagree with it, but lifted his hand. "Well, there's a Dragon with power who only thought about fighting his fellow Dragon but can't even remember why."

[….….…]

Ddraid chose not to respond to that.

"Seriously though, it's not unusual to have something personal to pursue. Ever since I got to the Underworld, all I've heard lately is what goals everyone has." Shirou looked back on it. "Wanting to win in the tournament, wanting to become Satan, wanting to save Dragons, wanting to build a school. They're all fundamentally different, yet they all aim for it fully believing they'll make it happen."

"And, what goal motivates your ambitions?" Tannin asked.

"To be the absolute King of the Underworld." Shirou proudly declared.

"That's fitting for one who possesses Ddraig, but the amount of opposition you'll face is insurmountable." Tannin informed him. "Why do you want such a thing?"

Shirou looked up. "It's something I'd rather show you than tell you."

"Gaha, then I'll look forward to seeing it."

Tannin let out a small laugh as their talk concluded. After a short hour, bright lights began to spread out below them. It seemed as though they had finally arrived at the meeting place.

---

The High-Class high-rise hotel that was being used as the meeting place for the party was located in a wide clearing within a huge area of forest that was on the edge of Gremory territory with many mountains in the distance. The scale was incredibly wide-spread, and the scope of it was so great that the entire town of Kuoh could completely fit inside of it.

The Dragon they were riding on alighted down to a place that was like the grounds of a sports field. When Dragon came to the skies above these open grounds, lights were simultaneously concentrated on him from below, making him look like a large jet that was descending on a runway.

"Then, we'll be going to the waiting space exclusively for large Devils."

Tannin informed them as everyone climbed off of the Dragons they were riding on.

"Thank you, Tannin."

Rias gave her thanks as Tannin and the other Dragons then flapped their wings again and moved towards another area of the party grounds. Then, they were led by the hotel employees who had come to pick them up at the clearing and they were led to an expensive-looking limousine.

They each entered one at a time as the Gremory Peerage took the front seats while the Sitri Peerage claimed the back seats. Rias and Asia sat next to Shirou while Mika sat on his lap, the others sat nearby so they could talk.

"There are also facilities located around the hotel, and the army is also standing by here. It is much stricter here than in the lower urban areas, you know?" Rias gave an explanation while she took a comb out from an expensive-looking bag and combed Shirou's hair. It seems his hair had become disheveled because I rode on Tannin's head instead of on his back. Though Shirou didn't really mind about his messy hair, Rias was really adamant about this sort of thing. "It seems that Azazel will also be present and head here after joining up with my Brother and the others on another route. Since they're really close friends, after all…"

"Close friends?" Shirou repeated with confusion. "When did that happen?"

"They sometimes do their own thing."

She was smiling, but just then Rias got a serious look. "Shirou, you couldn't hear because you were on Tannin's head, but just before, I declared war on Sona—Saying that 'we will beat you for the sake of our dream'."

"You mean your dream?" Shirou corrected her. "You don't need to hide it, this is something you've both wanted for yourselves for a while."

"Yes, that's true. A school—A Rating Game school. For the sake of building that, Sona studied the school system of the human world while living as a student there. The schools of the human world, which anyone can enter, are important for Sona, after all."

"Completely different from you who just wanted a place to be accepted for reasons aside from your name." Shirou pointed out.

Rias didn't deny it but still smiled. "I know, our reasons for going to school in the human world were completely different, and yes, she may have put more effort into her dream in the grand scheme of things. Even so, we will win. We have our own dreams and goals as well, everyone does." Rias' determination was firm.

After making that proclamation, she finished combing his hair, and Shirou smiled at her in agreement. "That is the correct line of thinking."

After saying all that, the limousine arrived at the hotel. When they came out, they were welcomed by many employees. The whole group entered inside like that, and once Akeno confirmed us at the front desk, the two clubs went into two separate elevators.

"It seems the party is on the huge top floor. Shirou, if you're called out to by any people from distinguished families, make sure to greet them properly, okay?" Rias advised him.

"Wouldn't it be more likely that they would call out to you?" Shirou made a valid point. "I mean, this is your debut party."

"That is the official stance. In truth, people won't get very excited even once we enter the room. This is an annual custom. If anything, it's more like a gathering for the members of all the distinguished families to meet. We, the next family heads, are just extras, while it's really a party for our fathers to enjoy themselves. In reality, they've made reservations at the nearby facilities until the fourth or fifth after-parties. Proof of that is that they arrived at the meeting place separately from us. They probably gathered together before the young people arrived and may have already finished their alcohol."

Rias grumbled with a displeased face. Next to them, Akeno and Kiba were also giving bitter smiles. Considering this wasn't their first time attending one of these, it was natural that they knew what to expect.

Honestly, Rias seems fed up with this kind of party…or rather, with the actions of her father and the others. In other words, although it was sponsored by the Devil Kings, since it seemed to be a casual kind of party that's still different from a High-society party, her father and the others looked forward to it very much, as it was one of the few times they could cut loose.

That said, Shirou was skeptical about one thing she said.

The elevator arrived, and when they stepped out, the entrance to the meeting place also opened.

The ORC was led into a gorgeous hall. On this incredibly large floor, there was a crowd of Devils and various expensive-looking foods spread out. The ceiling had—as expected, a huge sparkling decorated chandelier. Tables for people to sit and talk, standing room for others to mingle. Though, right away many of them reacted to one thing.

[Ooh!]

A lot of Devils in attendance noticed Rias' entrance, and breaths of admiration were let out.

"Princess Rias. You've become more and more beautiful…"

"Sirzechs-sama must also be proud."

Rias looked more uncomfortable as a crowd gathered around her.

"Yep, I knew it." Shirou commented.

"I thought the Chief said that they wouldn't be excited, but they seem plenty excited right now." Xenovia noticed.

"Young, Big breasted girl, in a tight, strapless dress walks into a room with old geezers and alcohol." Shirou painted a metaphorical picture for her. "This is probably the real reason she doesn't like these parties."

"It's not the type of attention she was hoping for." Kiba agreed.

"But I'm confused, what do they mean by Sirzechs-sama being proud?" Asia asked, innocently unaware.

Mika placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're better off not knowing."

"Uuu, there are so many people…"

The scared Gasper was tightly sticking to Shirou's back. Still, he's improved if only slightly. Even though he was exposed to the curious gazes of so many people here, he didn't try to run away. It was a step in the right direction.

"Everyone, we're making our rounds of greetings." Rias announced to the rest. "Please make an effort not to offend anyone—Mika."

Mika rolled her eyes. "Oh sure, single me out."

---

As the party went underway, Shirou ended up being led around by Buchou as they circulated the floor. It seemed the fact that the Legendary Dragon had become a Devil was famous and there were many High-Class Devils who wanted to greet me. Even more so due to his debut match with Raiser, though more of the older Devils preferred to avoid him due to the outburst that took place during the after-party.

After having finished many greetings, he was freed, but he, Asia, Mika, and Gasper sat down on chairs prepared in a corner of the floor while Shirou stood with his back against the wall.

Rias and Akeno were a distance away conversing with some female Devils on certain matters. Kiba was surrounded by all the female Devils for obvious reasons, and he had no idea where Koneko went.

Though even if this wasn't exactly their first time attending something like this, they still weren't used to the atmosphere of it all, Mika, Gasper, and Asia were all mentally fatigued and completely exhausted in a corner. Shirou just didn't have much interest so he was merely killing time.

Occasionally, there were male Devils that greeted Asia and Mika. And some female Devils that greeted Gasper, the conversation didn't really last more than a few seconds so Shirou ignored them.

"Mika, Asia, Gasper, I've gotten some food, eat up." Xenovia, who had gotten up from her seat a little while ago, was skilfully holding a massive quantity of dishes. On top of the dishes were various extravagant foods.

Mika sat up and looked more awake. "Great, if there's one upside to being at this boring party, it's the food."

"Sorry about this, Xenovia-san. Since it's my first time doing this kind of thing, I was nervous and my throat got dry…"

"No, it's nothing. This amount is inexpensive. And it's better for you to have a drink."

"Thank you very much, Xenovia-san…"

Asia accepted the glass of juice from Xenovia and started drinking it.

A Xenovia was placing the different helpings of food on the table, Shirou stepped forward.

"If it's all the same to you guys, I'm gonna go wander around a bit." Shirou told them. "Call me when it's time to go or if anything happens."

"All right." Xenovia answered for all of them.

After that, Shirou walked off. The room was so big and so wide you could actually get lost in here. He hadn't been walking for that long and yet in just a few minutes he lost sight of the others and still hadn't reached the center of the room.

And then, there was a silhouette in front of me. It was a girl wearing a pink dress. She was staring at me really hard. That said, one glance was all it took for Shirou to recognize her.

"I-It's been a while, Red Dragon Emperor."

"Ravel Phenex from the Rating Game."

Yes, it was the Sister of Rias' former fiancé, Raiser Phoenix—Ravel Phenex. She looked exactly the same, same pink, princess-like dress, same elegant demeanor, same drill-hair styled pigtails.

It had been several months since they had last met and yet, it felt like so long ago.

"Y-You remembered my name?" Ravel sounded both nervous and surprised, with a hint of relief.

"Well, of course, I always remember the names of people who catch my eye."

His choice of words caused Ravel to blush a bit but she hid it by looking away. "You're being too forward for a Low-Class—" She stopped before correcting herself. "No, I heard you've recently been promoted to a Mid-Class Devil, let me congratulate you."

"Feels like everyone has heard about that." Shirou looked around. "I'm guessing Raiser didn't show up?"

"No, my Brother chose to remain home, lately he's been working on different Rating Game simulations. Ever since his loss to you, he decided to take a hiatus from the official Games and seems to only care about improving himself and his Peerage." Ravel informed him. "Well, since he had always relied on his talent and got cocky because of it, it should have been a good lesson for him."

"That's funny, I seem to remember another Phenex who was pretty cocky and seemed to think her family's talent made them invincible." Shirou sarcastically reminded er.

Ravel's eyes immediately shot open and she averted eye contact. "Well… That was different." She muttered.

Shirou thought to himself. "Speaking of different, the change in his attitude still surprises me, I didn't think losing that fight would have this kind of effect on Raiser." He then felt like asking something else. "If he's trying to improve his Peerage, does that include you?"

"About that, I've currently finished trading, and I've now become my mother's servant." Ravel clarified. "My mother traded away an unused piece she had in exchange for me. Since my mother said that she would trade me again when I found someone whose family I want to become part of, I'm essentially a free Bishop now. Since my mother doesn't participate in the games."

"That's allowed?" Shirou asked before thinking it over. "Though, I'm guessing the option of being "free" only exists if you're already a Noble."

"That's correct. Kings can trade their pieces to another King with the same pieces as on as both are the same piece, but if the piece being traded is a reincarnated or Low-Class Devil, they consent isn't taken into account." Ravel explained. "On the other hand, High-Class Noble Devils like me can decide for ourselves if we want to be traded and to whom."

"Not to mention you just went from one member of your clan to another, so nothing really changed for you." Shirou summarized.

"Yes, you're right. B-By the way, Red Dragon Emperor.…."

Ravel started to say something but trailed off as she fidgetted nervously.

"What is it?"

"I was, um, wondering if… I-It was okay for me to call you by your name!?"

She let out what was on her mind, and Shirou noticed she seemed a bit happy.

"That's fine, but my name isn't exactly what it used to be." Shirou informed her.

"Hmm, what do you mean?" Ravel looked up at him curiously.

"These days, I identify myself as Shirou Amakusa Tsukiharu." He proclaimed.

"Amakusa?" Ravel repeated, staying composed. "The same name as your ancestor?"

"It's a pretty long story, but the bottom line is, that's my name now."

Ravel then corrected herself and coughed into her fist. "*C-Cough*. T-Then, I'll oblige and call you Shirou-Sama without reservation."

"Huh, It doesn't feel too bad to hear someone else call me that." Shirou muttered to himself before responded. "That works."

"That's good." Ravel became pleased a beamed a smile at him. "By the way, Shirou-Sama. May I ask something else of you?"

"What now?"

"Have you recently studied etiquette recently?" Ravel asked. "I've noticed that you carry yourself with more gallantry since the last time I saw you."

"Well, a lot has happened this past month." That was all he planned to tell her.

"Ravel-sama. A friend of the master is calling for you."

Someone else appeared before them. It was another familiar face from the Rating Game, the masked Rook Isabella.

"I understand. Shirou-Sama, the next time we meet, would you like to have some tea with me? A-A-A-And if it's okay with you, would you like to have a homemade cake p-p-prepared by me?" Ravel offered, sounding like it was a request.

Shirou gave her a small but soft smile. "I will if I have time.

Satisfied with that answer, Ravel suddenly raised the hem of her dress, curtsied, and then left.

"Well, she's certainly in a good mood." Shirou watched her go.

"Hey, Shirou Tsukiharu."

This time it was Isabella who spoke to him.

"It's Amakusa now." Shirou corrected her before returning the greeting. "But yeah, no time no brawl."

"Yes. You gave me a good blow back then. I still remember it." Isabella sounded pleased when she remembered that. "It seems you've become even stronger. I'm glad, I'll be able to boast about my story as well. Maybe I'll even get to face you again someday."

"There's a whole forest area outside, we can go at it right now." Shirou offered, intentionally saying it that way.

"I'll have to pass." Isabella reluctantly shook her head. "The way you are now, I'd probably burn out right away. That wouldn't do for an escort."

"I'm guessing you came as Ravel's escort because she couldn't attend alone but really wanted to go." Shirou figured.

"Well, something like that. Because that girl has things that she can't grasp as a child, like our master Raiser-sama…Since that battle for the engagement, Ravel-sama has only talked about you. She seems to have found the fight between you and Raiser-sama very impressive."

"I get that a lot, go figure." Shirou stayed nonchalant.

"Now then, please excuse me now. Please have a good time at the party."

With that, Isabella waved her hand and left just like that. Shirou decided to follow suit and continued to make his way around the party hall.

A bit more time passed before Shirou stopped at a certain table where drinks were being served and decided to help himself to one. As he took a sip, he noticed someone else approach the same table, this time it was someone he didn't recognize. The person in question decided to greet him.

"Oh, hello."

Shirou lowered his glass and responded. "…Hi."

Shirou was sightly thrown off by this person's appearance. He was a young man only an inch shorter than him, he had soft, noble features with well-combed black hair and violet-purple eyes. He was dressed in expensive-looking noble clothes. The thing that Shirou noticed was that his eyes, hair, and the design of his clothing all resembled those of someone else he knew.

"Do I know you?" Shirou asked curiously.

"Not exactly, but I have heard quite a bit about you. When I saw you I thought I might as well greet you, my name is Magdaran Bael."

That was who Shirou believed he resembled. This young man looked like a slimmer, younger, softer version of Sairaorg, he was even wearing the same clothes as him. If anything he looked more like a Nobleman than Sairaorg.

"Bael? You're related to Sairaorg?"

Magdaran nodded. "Yes, I am his half-Brother."

"Half-Brother?" Shirou repeated.

"Sairaorg is the son of our father's first wife, I am the son of his second wife." Magdaran explained.

"Oh, well I'm Shirou Amakusa, the Red Dragon Emperor." Shirou introduced himself before looking around. "You know, I just noticed Sairaorg himself isn't here."

"Yes, well, that's part of the reason why I am here." Magdaran admitted. "My Brother was supposed to attend but he doesn't care much for gatherings like this and decided to stay home, I'm sure he's in the middle of training right now. But, our father demanded I attend as his proxy as it would be improper for a member of the House of Bael not to be in attendance to a Devil King sponsored event."

"Sounds like a raw deal for you." Shirou noticed the unhappiness in his tone.

"Well, I'm used to these types of things, though I do admit that I also had other things I wanted to devote my time to." Magdaran didn't disagree with his assessment.

"Really, what plans did you have?"

"Well, nothing fancy honestly." Magdaran had a good-natured smile as he lowered his head. "But, I'm actually a successful botanist, I spend most of my free time studying different plants and flowers."

"You… Like working on plants?" Shirou paused before finishing.

Magdaran titled his head for a moment. "I know it's strange for a Noble, a Great King at that to—

"I never said it was strange." Shirou interrupted him. "It's surprising mind you, but I don't see anything wrong with it."

Magdaran blinked when he heard that, he seemed pleasantly surprised by Shirou's response. "That's nice to hear, you'd be surprised how many people would disagree though."

"You know, you're surprisingly mellow for a Great King." Shirou noticed, changing the subject. "I was under the impression that members of the Bael family were all prideful and self-important… I mean, more than the average Noble Devil."

"That's the general consensus, but honestly… I don't have much to be proud of."

Madgaran said the last part of that sentence a bit quieter than the rest. Though, before Shirou could ask what he meant by that, he continued.

"But, more than that, I really don't see a reason to treat others with contempt and with arrogance for no apparent reason other than rank. Personally, I feel that acting in such a manner shows a lack of character."

Madgaran's line of thinking was completely different from the majority of High-Class Devils in the Underworld, the vast majority at that. And yet, it was the line of thinking that Shirou respected.

"You know, you're a pretty cool guy." Shirou told him, not just flattering him but being sincere.

Madgaran smiled back at him. "Thank you, and you are someone whose company I actually enjoy, even though we just met I feel comfortable being open around you."

Shirou shrugged from his returned compliment. "I have that effect on people—?"

Suddenly, Shirou stopped when he saw something in the corner of his eyes that captured his attention.

It was Rias.

For some reason, she was quickly heading out of the party room. Her expression seemed absorbed in something and filled with anxiety.

"What's wrong? Your expression changed."

Madgaran noticed as Shirou decided what he was going to do next.

"I just saw Rias, she was leaving in a hurry." Shirou informed him as he prepared to leave as well. "I gotta go, something might be wrong."

"Wait, I'm going to." Madgaran insisted. "If this is a problem that doesn't just involve your Peerage, I should go as well in case reinforcements are necessary."

"Fine, let's go."

Shirou decided not to argue as they both took off to follow after Rias.

---

After exiting the party room, the two Young Devils made their way to the elevators, they saw that one of the elevators had stopped on the first floor and so they opened the second one, stepped inside, and pushed the button that would take them to the first floor as well.

"What are the chances anyone noticed a few of us left the party?" Shirou asked while the elevator was descending.

"Not high, the Satans were preparing to make their appearance around the same time we left." Madgaran answered him. "Aside from a few of the staff, majority of everyone in this building will have their full attention on the Devil Kings."

"That's good. If it turns out this isn't something big, we're better off not causing a scene."

Once the elevator touched the ground floor the doors open and they both stepped out. The Bael Great King and Gremory Pawn asked around to nearby staff members and were told that Rias had passed by and that she had exited the building just moments ago. They both followed suit and made their way outside.

Once outside, all they saw was the endless forest lands in every direction and Madgaran looked around. "There's no sight of her, how do we know where she went?"

Shirou stared at the forest while concentrating before he honed in on a specific direction and pointed at it.

"She's that way."

"How do you know?" Madgaran asked.

"I'm just good at tracking, now follow me."

Deciding it wouldn't help to start an argument, Madgaran followed him as they both ran into the woods.

After they left the familiar places behind, the two of them ran through the forest in the dark night. After advancing through the forest for several minutes, Shirou pulled Madgaran by the arm and pulled him back so they could hide in the shadow of a tree. Before he could ask why. Shirou covered his mouth and motioned him to stay quiet before pointing forward.

Madgaran saw what Shirou saw. Rias was there and she was also hiding behind a tree a few feet in front of them.

"It's Rias?" Madgaran whispered. "But why is she hiding?"

"Might be because of that?" Shirou pointed gain.

When he peeked my face out just a little more, he saw Koneko was over there. Koneko was restlessly turning her head back and forth in the middle of the forest as if looking for something.

"Koneko." Shirou whispered.

"That's one of Rias' Rook?" Madgaran noticed before guessing. "Did she came here because she was following her?"

"The better question is; what is she doing out here?" Shirou wondered.

Shirou soon got his answer when she noticed something and turned her gaze in that direction. Everyone who was hiding also followed Koneko's gaze and looked.

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

An unfamiliar voice.

Appearing without making a noise—was a woman lounging comfortably on top of a tree branch. She is a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure, long black hair with split bangs, and hazel-gold eyes with cat-like pupils. Her attire consists of a black kimono, a yellow obi, a set of golden beads, and an ornately detailed headband. The kimono features a red interior and it is open at her shoulders, giving a view to her large breasts which rival those of Rias and Akeno in terms of size. The most defining characteristics she had were the cat ears on her head and not one but two cattails wrapped around her hips. She was a Nekomata.

"—!" Koneko's whole body shook in violent surprise. "…You."

"Hello, Shirone. It's me, your Big Sister."

Shirone. This wasn't the first time that Shirou heard that name, after all, it was Koneko's true name. And the fact that this woman called her that. It gave Shirou a clear idea of who she was.

"Kuroka-Neesama…"

Koneko-chan's voice squeezed out those words.

It was true, this woman was Koneko's older sister. Not only that, this beautiful Nekomata woman is the "Stray Devil" that killed her master and became a wanted criminal. Kuroka.

"Onee-chan is very impressed that you came this far following after I only sent out a bit of my aura-nya."

That explained it, Koneko sense an aura that she recognized that belonged to her Sister before she came here following it.

"…Nee-sama. What is this about?"

There was anger in Koneko-chan's voice. But, Kuroka just smiled.

"Don't make such a scary face. I just had some minor business to take care of. I heard that the Devils were holding a big party here, you know? That's why I was a little interested. Nyan~" She waved her hand like a cat and winked cutely.

"Hahahaha, could it be that you're a member of the Gremory group?"

A voice that I had heard from somewhere before spoke out—Then, a good-looking man wearing what looked like ancient Chinese armor came out—it was Sun Wukong Bikou. The same man who arrived at the end of Shirou's fight with Vali to retrieve him.

"Bikou." Shirou whispered with recognition.

"He's a member of the Khaos Brigade." Madgaran realized ergency. "And if an SS-Class criminal is with him, this can only be a terrorist attack. We need to alert the authorities."

"I don't think they'll give us a chance to do that." Shirou informed him knowingly.

Suddenly, Bikou's gaze turned to look in the direction of them as well as Rias.

"Even if you erase your presence, it's useless." Bikou informed them smugly. "With people like me and Kuroka who know Senjutsu, we can approximately detect you with just a slight variation in the flow of your spirit."

Begrudgingly, Rias came out of her hiding place in the shadows and stepped forward to confront them. Koneko was surprised to see her. "…Chief."

Bikou spoke while smiling. "Rias Gremory."

"Ah, Shirone was followed." Kuroka noted with amusement.

"…Why are you here?" Koneko asked her master.

"I could ask you the same thing." Rias responded with her arms crossed, clearly displayed. "I saw you leave the party with a concerned expression and so I went after you, what were you thinking of coming here all by yourself?"

Koneko kept her head down, not sure how to answer that.

"…I—"

"Didn't I tell you?" Bikou interrupted her by calling out to the trees again. "I also have an interest in Senjutsu and can sense the flow of your spirit to a degree. Come out, I know one of you is still hiding back there."

Both Rias and Koneko were surprised and puzzled by this sudden revelation. Wondering who could still be hiding back there. On the other hand, Madgaran was also puzzled, though for him it was because of Bikou's choice of words.

"One of us?" He thought looking at Shirou. "Can they not sense him?"

Shirou just used his eyes to motion him to come out of hiding while putting a finger on his lips, telling him to not let them know he was also hidden. Understanding what he wanted, Madgaran chose to comply and stepped out of his hiding place.

"Fine, you caught me." Madgaran announced himself.

Once he was out in the open, Rias' eyes widened in confusion at the sudden and unexpected appearance of her cousin.

"Madgaran? Why are you here and how did you find us here?"

"Just as you noticed your Rook leaving the party, I noticed you, I followed you in case there was something wrong." Madgaran explained in a way that made him sound believable. "And from the look of things, it seems I was right to be concerned."

Rias nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so."

Kuroka tilted her head slightly. "And, who are you exactly."

"I am Madgaran Bael. The former heir to the House of Bael of the Great King Faction."

Madgaran introduced himself to them but Kuroka just smiled condescendingly at him. "Ah, I know you. You're the Bael family's extra."

Madgaran grimaced sightly, clearly not happy with what he was just called.

"Hahaha! Yeah, you're right." Bikou joined in. "He's the former Great King's heir who was challenged and lost his right to succession before fading into obscurity. Now hardly anyone in the Underworld is even aware of his existence."

It took a lot of his willpower for Madgaran to keep his cool. He did not appreciate the ridicule they were giving them and despite his lack of arrogance, he still had enough self-respect to feel ager when he was insulted. That said, now wasn't the time to lose his cool and so he asked.

"Why have the two you come here? Is this a planned out attack by terrorists?"

He was frank with his question, but the two of them just smiled.

"No, we didn't come down here for such a thing." Bikou told him truthfully. "It's just that a standby order has come out in the Underworld. Me and Kuroka are off-duty right now. When the order was given, Kuroka suggested visiting the Devils' party. Since she likely wouldn't return easily, I came along with her too. Okay?"

After saying all that, Bikou spoke while yawning.

"Kuroka~ let's go back. Since we can't participate in that party anyway, it's a waste to stay here."

"Yes, let's return. But, I'll take Shirone with me-nyan. Since I didn't bring her with me that time~" Kuroka said like it wasn't up for debate.

"Arara, if you bring her back with you of your own accord, Vali might get angry, you know?" Bikou reminded her.

"When they know that the same power as mine flows within her, both Ophis and Vali will be convinced, right?" Kuroka reasoned with him.

Bikou shrugged at that. "Well, that may be so."

Kuroka-san smiled widely with narrowed eyes. Seeing that, Koneko's small body shivered. She was afraid. Even if she had taken strides in overcoming her fear of Senjutsu, she still had a fear of her Sister which remained to this day.

Rias stepped forward with an angered expression. "This child is my servant. I won't let you put even a single finger on her."

"Ara-ara-ara-ara, what are you saying-nya?" Kuroka didn't sound worried in the least. "She's my little Sister. I have the right to love her. A High-Class Devil like you doesn't have that privilege."

The atmosphere had completely changed. Rias and the black-furred Nekomata were glaring at each other and carried the aspect of an explosive situation. But, it was Kuroka who stopped glaring first. She spoke while giving a wide grin.

"Since you're so troublesome, I'll kill you-nyan~"

WHOOSH!

At that instant, the three of them felt themselves being seized by an indescribable sensation. It was the feeling of having been transported to another space. Even though the scenery hadn't changed, it was like the air and mood had changed or something, there was even a bit of fog-like mist around them.

"…Kuroka, so you learned not only Senjutsu, Youjutsu, and Devil magic, but also the skill to control space?" Rias said this while making a sour face.

Kuroka had a prideful expression. "I didn't go as far as learning how to control time, but I have fairly picked up on how to control space. If I use the essentials of barrier techniques, it's relatively easy, after all. I covered this entire forest with a barrier and isolated it from the outside world-nyan. That's why even if we do flashy things here, it won't leak outside and Devils from outside won't come in. You're going to get pleasantly killed here by us and say goodbye-nya~ "

"Making both me and Kuroka as your opponents would be suicidal though but, we'll leave immediately once we take this girl, so if you hand her over without a right, we'll let you two go, sounds fair right?" Bikou gave them an offer.

"Nyan~"

As if to prove how outmatch they were Kuroka gave them a bewitching smile, but there was a dark ominous aura permeating her whole body that both of them could feel. It was a black aura that was different from the other ones Rias had felt. This one here was completely evil. he could feel strong malice and killing intent directed at them.

But regardless of that, neither Rias nor Madgaran fluttered. Whether it was out of concern for Koneko, their Prie as High-Class Devils, or the fact that they didn't want to accept the whims of terrorists, both of them mentally prepared themselves for a fight.

"…Nee-sama. I'll go with you. So please overlook these two people!"

Everyone stopped when Koneko had suddenly blurted out such a thing.

In a flash, Rias tightly embraced Koneko. "What are saying!? Koneko! You're a servant of my group! I won't allow you to do as you please!"

However, Koneko shook her head.

"…It's no good. I understand my Sister's power best. Nee-sama's power rivals that of an Ultimate-Class Devil. For the Chief and Madgaran-san… I don't think you can capture my Sister who excels in both Genjutsu and Senjutsu…"

"No, even so, I absolutely won't hand you over to that person's side!" Rias insisted. "To this Nekomata that didn't try to help Koneko-chan who cried so much!"

Kuroka merely smiled at Rias' anger. "It's because a Youkai cannot help another Youkai. However, this time, I simply want Shirone because I want another piece under my control. I can understand Shirone's power better than a red-haired Bitch like you, you know?"

"…No… I don't need that kind of power… I don't want to use Senjutsu like you do… You just use your power to bring pain and misfortune to people…"

She started to tremble and shed tears. Rias hugged Koneko even more tightly before sending a death glare at Kuroka.

"Kuroka… You who had been blinded by power left a wound on the heart of this girl that won't disappear for her whole life. After you killed your master and left, this child saw Hell. When I first met her, there were no feelings left in her. Koneko was betrayed by you, who was her only family to her, lost a future to rely on, and was despised and abused by other Devils, to the point where she was going to be disposed of…" She also spat that part out. "She saw many harsh things. That's why I will show her many fun things! This girl is Koneko Toujou, Rook of Rias Gremory's Peerage! My important servant Devil! I won't let you put even a single finger on her!"

Hearing that, Koneko began to overflow with tears.

"…I don't want to go… I am Koneko Toujou. Kuroka-Neesama, I don't want to go with you! I want to live with Chief Rias! To live!" Koneko cried that out. That was a declaration that could also be called her way of breaking off her relationship with her Sister.

Madgaran smiled, feeling swept up by mood around the two of them, he stepped up as well.

"I may not be your servant or a member of your clan for that matter, but still, I will aid you as well." He promised Rias.

Rias smiled at him with gratitude. "Thank you Madgaran."

"Hmm?"

Shirou thought something was off. While he was still in the shadows, he kept his eyes on Kurka and even though it was only for a moment, he noticed something about her that caught his attention.

But, no one else noticed anything and after hearing that, Kuroka briefly showed a bitter smile, and then gave a derisive laugh that seemed to freeze the atmosphere.

"Then, die."

Suddenly, a thin mist-like substance sprung out from the Cat-girl's body. It gradually spread and reached them. And the fog didn't stop there and continued to cover up the whole forest.

The mist was really thick. It even reached Shirou. However, there was an ominous air about it that made him feel a sense of dread. When he came into contact with the fog he couldn't feel anything but a chill—

"—Ah!"

At that moment, Rias and Madgaran both knelt down to the ground.

"…This is." Next to them Koneko also dropped to her knees while covering her mouth.

It's a poison mist that only works on Devils and Youkai-nyan. Because the poison is thin, one suffers a little while it spread throughout the body. I won't kill you quickly. I'll kill you all gradually-nyan~" Kuroka informed them as she sat back down on a high tree branch and was looking down on them.

"Haha!" Bikou laughed and leaned back against the tree. "Of course, as long as you use some Senjutsu you'll be protected from the poison so the two of us are perfectly fine."

When Koneko heard that, she forced herself back up to her feet, and then after making her decision she gathered her thoughts and activated her own Senjutsu aura. Following that, cat ears appeared on her head and her own tails came out. With that, she was now cured of the poison. She then placed a hand on Rias and Madgaran and used her powers to help cure them as well.

This caught both Bikou and Kuroka off guard.

"Well, this is unexpected." Bikou commented. "I was under the impression that she had sworn off using Senjutsu."

"Me too." Kuroka whispered to herself. "Tell me—Not that I'm complaining but why the change of heart? Didn't you say you didn't need powers like mine?"

Koneko shook her head. "This is different. Sempai taught me that I didn't need to be afraid of my own power, even if I use Senjutsu, I'll never be like you."

"Oh, someone taught you to accept yourself?" Kuroka sounded almost intrigued. "That's a relief actually, I was worried for a while that you would just keep stubbornly refusing, maybe I'll pay them a visit later on to give them my thanks."

"Kuroka!"

Hoping to take advantage of her distracted foe, Rias reached out to fire a blast of her Power of Destruction at her.

DON!

The attack hit Kuroka directly completely. Her body vanished. But while Rias would have liked to have believed that her attack wiped her out, she didn't feel any resistance from her attack and know something was going on.

[That was a good attack. But it's useless, useless. I can easily make a clone of myself with the essentials of Genjutsu.]

Kuroka's voice echoed through the forest. Suddenly, silhouettes were born one after another within the mist and all of there were had the same appearance. They were all Kuroka. Clones that created by illusions.

They all looked real, so much so that Rias couldn't tell them apart. All these clones were wearing the same auras over their bodies.

"…If you can't read the flow of spirit, you can't deal with Genjutsu used by skilled practitioners." Koneko said that while trying to find the real one.

[It's no use Shirone. It looks like you still only know the basics of your powers, you are skilled enough in Genjutsu to see through my clones.]

Kuroka informed her as this time, Madgaran also forced himself and held out his hand.

"In that case, why not just take them all out?"

Madgaran gathered a blast of Power of Destruction in his hands like Rias did, but unlike her instead of discharging it, he held it up. Then—To the surprise of everyone watching—The power of magic flared before much smaller bullets of Power of Destruction fired out in every direction, each one hit and took out a Kuroka clone, this only lasted a few seconds but by the time his magic stopped, all the clones were gone and the real Kuroka was revealed.

"He took out all the clones?" Rias was taken aback.

"…No way." Koneko muttered surprised.

Shirou smirked at him. "Not bad."

Everyone user of the Power of Destruction had different styles and different manners in how they used it. Madgaran didn't have the same destructive power or magic reserves that Rias had, but he had better control of the shape of his blasts and power output which came in handy in situations like this.

"Hmm~" Kuroka mused at him. "I think I'll reevaluate my opinion on you, I wouldn't call you an extra, but you still just a grunt."

"And unfortunately…" A long staff appeared in Bikou's hands and he aimed it at Madgaran. "Grunts are the first to be taken out! Power Pole! Extend!"

The staff extended at a high speed that was too fast for them to follow and was closing the distance to hit directly into Madgaran. He didn't have any way to block or dodge it.

CLASH!

The sound of an impact echoed in their eyes as they looked to see that the staff didn't hit its mark and used was blocked. The one who blocked it was Shirou who had finally come out from the shadows and used his Boosted Gear to block the staff as he stood in front of Madgaran.

"S-Shirou?"

Rias gasped out as she along with Koneko was surprised yet again. he certainly wasn't expecting her Pawn to suddenly appear before them.

"Who do we have this time?"

"It's the Red Dragon Emperor."

When she heard that, Kuroka's eyes widened.

"Really-nyan? Heh~ So this is the current Red Dragon Emperor who repelled Vali before. Is he the reason Vali came back looking like a slaughtered cow back then?"

"That's right, but…" Bikou squinted his eyes at him. "There's something different about him, the flow of his spirit seems to have changed—It's like when two colors mix to make a new one, it looks similar but clearly different."

"So he's gone through some kind of change?" Kuroka summarized, looking interested. "How curious, nya~"

While they were talking, Shirou and the others were having their own conversation.

"Shirou, how did you find us?" Rias asked confused.

"…My Sister's barrier should have put us in a different space that cut us off from the outside."

"You guys are misunderstanding." Shirou corrected them. "I didn't find you in this place, I was here the whole time and was placed in this barrier at the same time as you."

Both those two and Kuroka and Bikou were thrown off by this revelation. Madgaran decided to explain it to them.

"He's telling the truth. He was the one who noticed you leave the party hall and went after you, I followed him. When we caught up to you, we stayed hidden to not be found, but when they sensed me out, I came out of hiding but didn't let them know he was still there."

"I stayed in the shadows because I wanted to get a got read on the situation first before jumping in, but I couldn't wait anymore so here I am."

Madgaran looked downward. "Forgive me, I wasn't much help."

"You did fine, don't worry about." Shirou assured him before looking to the other two. "This goes for you guys as well, leave them to me."

Rias' eyes widened as she held onto his shoulder. "Wait a minute, Shirou. Our enemies are two people who are as strong as Ultimate-Class Devils. You can't expect to take them both alone."

"Rias….…"

Shirou paused before a flashed her smile. It was similar to his old smile of brash confidence but had something else this time. Dauntless, peerless, it was like he gave off the feeling that he could do anything, somehow even in this situation, he just felt so reliable.

"Do I seem like that kind of weakling?"

With that, he was able to calm Rias' nerves and she let go before smiling back at him. "Just… Be careful."

"I'll be reckless if it means I can win, but I don't think that'll be necessary this time." Shirou walked towards his two foes. "Right now, I feel like I could take on the world."

As he approached them, Bikou narrowed his eyes at him and asked what was on his mind.

"Something's up about what you said before, if you really did arrive at the same time as the others, how come we didn't sense you?"

"How indeed?" Shirou responded colly before coating his body with darkness as he stopped. "But forget about that, let's get started already."

Hearing my declaration, both Bikou and Kuroka laughed.

"No, no, that's very brave of you, but do you really intend to make me and Kuroka your opponents?"

"You may have gotten the jump on Vali once, but against the two of us and under our terms, you're just marching off to your grave."

Shirou wasn't concerned at all with their words or attitude as he muttered, quiet to the point where they probably didn't hear him.

"I don't think you two understand who your dealing with."

With that, both the cat and monkey Youkai leaped forward to go on the attack.

"We'll kill the others and take Shirone!"

"Let's see what you've got! Red Dragon Emperor!"

Kuroka prepared her claws and Bikou readied his staff. But Shirou didn't move, then with a vicious smirk, he raised his arms up before bringing them down along with his torso as though he was hurling something.

DOOOOOOOOON!

Darkness blasted forward like an inferno and collided with Kuroka and Bikou, knocking them into the ground just a few steps away from him before the darkness resembled a large bonfire with his two foes in the center of his. They were both pinned down onto the ground and unable to break free as they both felt as though they were being weighed down by a heavy amount of pressure.

"Grrr… Augh…" Kuroka struggled to move but couldn't even lift her head from the ground. "This is insane, it feels like my body is made of lead."

Bikou let out a pained laugh as he pushed his hand on the ground forcibly lift his head and shoulder up from the ground.

"Well look at that… You learned how to control that power…" He breathed out.

Shirou put more force into one of his hands.

"Gwagh!"

Bikou's rise was short-lived as the pressure on him increased and he was forced back down as his head and arm were pinned again. It was like he and Kuroka were being pushed down by gravity and their bodies were unable to break free. Everyone watching was in disbelief at how Shirou was able to keep them pinned down like that.

This was similar to when Shirou was half-possessed and unleashed the full force of the Power of Darkness on Vali back at the Peace Summit. The extreme amount of pressure held him off and was enough to overload his Juggernaut Drive. But this was different, it had the same concept but it was more controlled and stable. Shirou contained it to only have enough pressure to keep them down and compressed it enough to just cover the two of them instead of the whole clearing.

"That's better." Shirou got closer and spoke to them with authority. "Despite all my training, there were some things I didn't get to work on with my darkness this past month. Like how I can use it in a fight. So… I'll have you two help me complete my training."

The one who rules over Darkness has revived. Seizing his place at the absolute pinnacle, he accepts none as his equal.

—…

Ō ō

---

And that's the chapter. First of all, I know this chapter didn't have much action in it, but considering how heavy the last chapter was, I wanted to lighten things up a bit. Everyone who knows him can see that Shirou is a bit different now, it's not a big difference but a noticeable one. You'll be able to see more of it as time goes on.

Now tell me, what did you think about me adding Madgaran to the story. In the canon, he barely appeared at all, ad when he did, he never got to do much, despite his character being interesting and having some potential. I also felt that was a waste, so he'll have more appearances and a bigger role in my version of the story.

And now, just so you know, Tannin nor anyone else is going to show up to help. Shirou will take on Bikou ad Kuroka alone. This fight will be a fight to show off how much stronger he has become now that he has the Power of Darkness and the rest of Shirōu Amakusa's powers. He's not going to one-shot them or anything, but it will be a pretty tough fight for them.

Anyways thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, if you liked the story leave a review, if you want more click the follow/favorite, if you want an early release feel free to become a patron, and as always have an awesome day.